Watch: Trump suggests FCC should revoke licenses from networks covering him negatively
US President Donald Trump has suggested some TV networks should have their licences “taken away”, as he backed America’s broadcast watchdog in a row over the suspension of ABC host Jimmy Kimmel.
The network announced on Wednesday that it was pulling the comedian off air “indefinitely” amid a backlash over his remarks about the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel appeared to suggest the suspect was a Trump supporter. Authorities in Utah, where the shooting occurred, have said he was “indoctrinated with leftist ideology”.
ABC axed the show after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) threatened regulatory action – raising concerns the Trump administration was curtailing the free speech of its critics.
The FCC’s chair, Brendan Carr, a Trump apointee, accused Kimmel of “the sickest conduct possible” and said firms like the Disney-owned ABC could “find ways to change conduct and take action… or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC”.
Trump spoke about the issue to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday while returning from a state visit to the UK.
“I have read some place that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily, all seven swing states [in last year’s election],” the president said.
“They give me only bad publicity [and] press. I mean, they’re getting a licence. I would think maybe their licence should be taken away.”
In his monologue on Monday, Kimmel, 57, said the “Maga gang” was “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them” and trying to “score political points from it”.
He also likened Trump’s reaction to the death of his 31-year-old political confidant to “how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish”.
After the shooting, Kimmel had also gone on Instagram to condemn the attack and send “love” to the Kirk family.
FCC chair Carr told Fox on Thursday: “We’re going to continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest – and if broadcasters don’t like that simple solution, they can turn their licence in to the FCC.”
The FCC has regulatory power over major networks, such as ABC, and their independently-owned affiliates.
But the agency has limited authority over cable channels, like Fox or MSNBC, and no authority over podcasts or most streaming content.
Legal scholars say the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects free speech, would prevent the FCC from lawfully revoking licences on the basis of political disagreement.
Watch: Jimmy Kimmel “appeared to mislead the public”, says FCC chairman
Joe Strazullo, a late-night writer who worked on Jimmy Kimmel Live! from 2015-21, told the BBC there was an atmosphere of fear in the writers’ room.
“It’s heartbreaking to see the threat of them being out of work,” he said. “Nobody knows exactly what’s going on still and they’re working things out behind the scenes.”
Kimmel’s suspension was announced shortly after Nexstar Media, one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the US, said it would not air his show “for the foreseeable future”.
Nexstar called his remarks about Kirk “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse”.
Carr praised Nexstar – which is currently seeking FCC approval for a $6.2bn (£4.5bn) merger with Tegna – and said he hoped other broadcasters would follow its lead.
Sinclair, the largest ABC affiliate group in the US, said it would air a special remembrance programme dedicated to Kirk during the original time slot for Kimmel’s show on Friday.
Kirk, a high-profile conservative activist and father-of-two, died of a single gunshot wound to the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on 10 September.
A 22-year-old man was charged on Tuesday with aggravated murder, and prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.
Watch: How the Jimmy Kimmel saga has unfolded, so far
Writers, actors and other prominent Democrats have condemned Kimmel’s suspension.
Former US President Barrack Obama said the Trump administration had taken cancel culture to a “new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like”.
In a rare mid-week episode of The Daily Show, comedian Jon Stewart poked fun at the curtailing of free speech under the current administration.
Stewart described himself as a “patriotically obedient host” and his programme as “administration-compliant”. He then referred to Trump as “dear leader” who has been “gracing England with his legendary warmth and radiance”.
In a later segment of his show, Stewart interviewed Maria Ressa, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for her fight for free speech and democracy in the Philippines under former President Rodrigo Duterte.
What’s happening in the US is “identical to what happened in the Philippines,” Ressa said. “It’s both deja vu and PTSD.”
She added: “Americans are like deer in headlights. If you don’t move and protect the rights you have, you lose them, and it’s so much harder to reclaim them,” she said.
Actor Ben Stiller said what happened to Kimmel “isn’t right”, while Hacks star Jean Smart said she was “horrified at the cancellation”.
On Thursday, the hosts of late-night shows on rival networks rallied behind Kimmel.
“This is blatant censorship,” Stephen Colbert on CBS said. “With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch.”
In July, CBS announced it would not renew The Late Show With Stephen Colbert for another season.
The Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild, two Hollywood trade unions, condemned the suspension of Kimmel as a violation of constitutional free speech rights.
But others argued it was accountability, not cancel culture.
“When a person says something that a ton of people find offensive, rude, dumb in real time and then that person is punished for it that’s not cancel culture,” said Dave Portnoy, who founded media company Barstool Sports.
“That is consequences for your actions.”
Late-night Fox host Greg Gutfeld argued that Kimmel had “deliberately and misleadingly” blamed the killing of Kirk on the activist’s “allies and friends”.
British presenter Piers Morgan said Kimmel had “lied about Charlie Kirk’s assassin being Maga” and his comments caused “understandable outrage all over America”.
“Why is he being heralded as some kind of free speech martyr?” he added.
But one of Carr’s FCC leadership colleagues, commissioner Anna Gomez, criticised the regulator’s stance on Kimmel.
She said that “an inexcusable act of political violence by one disturbed individual must never be exploited as justification for broader censorship or control”.
BBC News used AI to help write the summary at the top of this article. It was edited by BBC journalists. Find out more.
MILWAUKEE — Brandon Woodruff pitched five solid innings, Sal Frelick hit a three-run homer and Blake Perkins tied a career high with five RBIs to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-2 win over the Angels on Wednesday night.
Woodruff (7-2) gave up two hits and one run, struck out nine and threw 52 of his 69 pitches for strikes. He was pitching on 10 days rest to manage his workload after he missed last season while recovering from right shoulder surgery.
Angels starter José Soriano (10-11) exited with one out in the second after being struck by a line drive off the bat of Jake Bauers. Soriano sustained a right forearm contusion. X-rays were negative.
Connor Brogdon came on in relief and gave up an opposite-field single to Blake Perkins that drove in a pair. Frelick’s three-run homer later in the inning gave the Brewers a 5-0 lead.
Taylor Ward provided the Angels offense with homers in the fourth and sixth.
The Angels (69-83) have lost six straight, while the major league-best Brewers (93-59) have won four of five.
Key moment
After Soriano departed, the switch-hitting Perkins, batting left-handed, came up next and hit a grounder between shortstop and third on a 2-2 pitch from Brogdon to get the Brewers on the board.
Key stat
Mike Trout remains stuck on 399 career home runs after going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. Trout has homered just twice since Aug. 6, the last coming on Sept. 11.
Up next
LHP Yusei Kikuchi (6-11, 4.08 ERA) starts for the Angels against Brewers RHP Quinn Priester (13-2, 3.25) in the series finale Wednesday.
WEIGHT loss injections and weight loss surgery are both effective ways to slim down.
But one may lead to longer life and fewer serious health problems, say scientists.
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There’s been a sharp rise of GLP-1 receptor agonists in the UK, driven primarily by use for weight lossCredit: Getty
A large Cleveland Clinic study found people with obesity and type 2 diabetes who undergo weight loss surgery (known as bariatric or metabolic surgery) live longer and face fewer health risks compared with those treated with GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist weight loss jabs.
Patients who underwent weight loss surgery lost more weight, achieved better blood sugar control, and relied less on diabetes and heart medications over 10 years.
“Even with today’s best medicines, metabolic surgery offers unique and lasting benefits for people with obesity and diabetes,” saidAli Aminian, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Bariatric & Metabolic Institute and primary investigator of the study.
“The benefits we observed went beyond weight loss. Surgery was linked to fewer heart problems, less kidney disease, and even lower rates of diabetes-related eye damage.”
GLP-1 receptor agonists are a class of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.
There’s been a sharp rise of their use in the UK, driven primarily by use for weight loss through private prescribing.
Both surgery and jabs improve cardiovascular health and metabolism.
But at the end of the study that followed 3,932 adults with diabetes and obesity who received care at Cleveland Clinic for up to 10 years, patients who underwent surgery had a:
32 per cent lower risk of death
25 per cent lower risk of major health problems (such as heart attack, heart failure, or stroke)
47 per cent lower risk of serious kidney disease
54 per cent lower risk of diabetes-related eye damage (retinopathy)
On average, people who had weight loss surgery lost 21.6 per cent of their body weight over 10 years, while those on weight loss jabs lost 6.8 per cent.
I’ve lost 3 stone in 8 months on fat jabs – there’s a common error new starters are making & it means nasty side effects
Hemoglobin A1c, a marker of average blood sugar, improved more with surgery than with GLP-1 medicines.
And patients who had surgery required fewer prescriptions for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol.
“Even in the era of these powerful new drugs to treat obesity and diabetes, metabolic surgery may provide additional benefits, including a survival advantage,” said Steven Nissen, Chief Academic Officer of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic and senior author of the study.
“Our findings indicate that surgery should remain an important treatment option for obesity and diabetes,” said Dr Aminian.
What are the side effects of weight loss jabs?
Like any medication, weight loss jabs can have side effects.
Common side effects of injections such as Ozempic include:
Nausea: This is the most commonly reported side effect, especially when first starting the medication. It often decreases over time as your body adjusts.
Vomiting: Can occur, often in conjunction with nausea.
Diarrhea: Some people experience gastrointestinal upset.
Constipation: Some individuals may also experience constipation.
Stomach pain or discomfort: Some people may experience abdominal pain or discomfort.
Reduced appetite: This is often a desired effect for people using Ozempic for weight loss.
Indigestion: Can cause a feeling of bloating or discomfort after eating.
Serious side effects can also include:
Pancreatitis: In rare cases, Ozempic may increase the risk of inflammation of the pancreas, known as pancreatitis, which can cause severe stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting.
Kidney problems: There have been reports of kidney issues, including kidney failure, though this is uncommon.
Thyroid tumors: There’s a potential increased risk of thyroid cancer, although this risk is based on animal studies. It is not confirmed in humans, but people with a history of thyroid cancer should avoid Ozempic.
Vision problems: Rapid changes in blood sugar levels may affect vision, and some people have reported blurry vision when taking Ozempic.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): Especially if used with other medications like sulfonylureas or insulin.
“These long-term benefits are harder to achieve with GLP-1 medicines alone, as many patients stop using the medications over time.”
There were some limitations to the study – it was observational rather than a randomised comparison of drugs and surgery.
It also didn’t focus exclusively on the newest and most effective GLP-1 medicines.
The researchers said future studies should directly compare surgery with newer GLP-1 medicines, such as semaglutide and tirzepatide to guide treatment decisions.
The side effects of bariatric surgery
Bariatric surgery carries risks of both short-term and long-term side effects.
Short-term side effects
Infections: Wounds or internal areas can become infected after surgery.
Anethesia risk: Risks associated with general anesthesia can include breathing problems.
Nausea and vomiting: These are common, but severe or prolonged episodes should be reported to your surgeon.
Bleeding: Internal bleeding is a possibility after surgery.
Blood clots: These are a risk after any surgery and can occur in the legs.
Pain and swelling: Some discomfort and swelling are normal, but severe pain or swelling may indicate a problem.
Long-term side effects
Malnutrition: Reduced ability to absorb vitamins and minerals can lead to deficiencies.
Dumping syndrome: Rapid passage of food, especially sugary foods, into the small intestine can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, sweating, and dizziness.
Gallstones: Rapid weight loss can lead to the formation of gallstones.
Bowel obstruction: The stomach or small intestine can become blocked by scarring or other issues.
Hernias: These can occur after surgery.
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia): Especially common after gastric bypass, this can be triggered by high-sugar foods.
Acid reflux: While some surgeries can help with reflux, others, like the gastric sleeve, can worsen it.
Stomach ulcers: Ulcers can develop in the stomach after surgery.
Excess skin: Rapid weight loss can leave loose folds of skin, which may require further cosmetic surgery to remove.
Failure to lose weight or weight regain: This can happen if lifestyle changes are not maintained.
The island of 10 million’s worsening energy and economic crisis has led to a series of ‘frustrating’ grid collapses.
Published On 11 Sep 202511 Sep 2025
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Another total electricity blackout has struck Cuba, the latest in a string of grid collapses that have rocked the island of 10 million over the past year.
The island-wide outage, which hit just after 9am local time on Wednesday, is believed to be linked to a malfunction at one of Cuba’s largest thermoelectric plants, the Ministry of Energy and Mines said.
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The ministry said crews had been dispatched to build a microsystem capable of providing basic services, and were prioritising the return of electricity to essential sites such as hospitals and food production plants.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero also made an appearance on state TV at Cuba’s state-run power company, asking Cubans for their trust and promising that electricity would be restored gradually.
Cuba’s worsening economic and energy crisis has led to repeated daily blackouts and full grid outages. In March, a breakdown at a substation in the capital, Havana, led to rolling blackouts across the island, with three more blackouts occurring late last year.
Across Havana, traffic lights were down as people scurried around to buy groceries and basic goods before dark. Pumps supplying the capital’s apartments with water rely on electricity.
Havana resident Danai Hernandez told Al Jazeera she had left work to prepare her home for the blackout. “We just have to wait. There’s no other choice,” she said.
“We’re cooking with wood and charcoal, so we have to adjust our schedules,” resident Ernesto Gutierrez told Al Jazeera. “It’s complicated, stressful, and frustrating, too.”
Cuba’s energy supply crisis has deteriorated in recent years because of US sanctions, which prevent it from holding sufficient foreign currency to upgrade or repair fast-ageing plants that have been in use for more than three decades.
Havana has tried to fill the gap by renting floating Turkish power ships and installing Chinese-funded solar parks. Some wealthier families have installed rechargeable devices and solar panels in their homes.
Still, the blackouts have prompted rare protests, with crowds flooding the second-largest city of Santiago last year.
SACRAMENTO — A popular perk for California drivers of electric and low-emission cars is coming to an end.
Beginning Oct. 1, motorists with a Clean Air Vehicle decal will no longer be able to drive solo in carpool lanes because the program was not extended by the federal government, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
The carpool benefit was promoted as a cost-effective incentive to encourage Californians to buy clean and zero-emission vehicles. More than a million motorists have applied for the decal since it became available more than two decades ago. There are roughly a half million vehicles in California with active decals, allowing them to use the carpool lane alone. Last month, the DMV stopped issuing new decals and warned that the program could be ending.
Extending the program would have required approval from Congress and President Trump.
“A Trump traffic jam is on its way to California and other states – all because Republicans in Congress decided to let a wildly successful bipartisan program expire,” Newsom said in a statement. “That’s Trump’s America: more traffic, more smog and a government more committed to slashing proven programs than solving real problems.”
California is one of 13 states offering the benefit. Vehicles that qualified included fuel cell electric, natural gas or plug-in electric cars.
Last year, Newsom signed a bill that extended California’s decal program until 2027, but the state will no longer be able to continue it without federal authority, the governor’s office said. According to the California Energy Commission, 25% of new cars sold in the state are zero-emission vehicles.
Drivers in electric and low-emission cars will only be able to use carpool lanes after the program expires if they meet the multiple occupant requirements. The reduced toll rates available in some areas to drivers with a decal will also end on Oct. 1.
California law indicates that drivers will not be cited for driving in the carpool lane with an invalid decal within 60 days of the program ending.
“Californians are committed to lowering their carbon footprint and these decals helped drivers be good stewards of our highways and environment,” said Steve Gordon, director of the California DMV, in a statement. “By taking away this program, hundreds of thousands of California’s drivers will pay the price. It’s a lose-lose and we urge the federal government to retain this program.”
From Kevin Baxter: Years ago, when Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax were at the top of the Dodgers’ pitching rotation, Drysdale missed a game to attend to some personal business. Koufax pitched a no-hitter that day.
When told about the achievement, Drysdale had one question: “Did he win?”
That’s a fair question for the current Dodgers pitching staff as well. Because Monday, for the second time in three days, the Dodgers took a no-hitter into the ninth inning.
They lost the first one. And while they won the second, it wasn’t easy with the Colorado Rockies bringing the tying run to the plate three times before Tanner Scott got the last out to preserve a 3-1 win at Dodger Stadium.
The victory kept the Dodgers a game ahead of the San Diego Padres in the National League West with 18 games left in the regular season.
It was Tyler Glasnow who flirted with history Monday, pitching seven hitless innings before turning the game over to relievers Blake Treinen and Scott.
After listening to worry warts spend all summer fretting about a lingering disc injury that sidelined him throughout training camp, quarterback Matthew Stafford took the field Sunday for the first time in a competitive game in seven months and offered a two-word response.
Back off.
He’s fine, he’s better than fine, he’s destined-for-the-Super-Bowl fine, it was predicted in this space last week, it’s even more evident now after a season-opening 14-9 victory against the Houston Texans amid a roaring SoFi Stadium filled with a misplaced cheer.
On this afternoon, anyway, this was not the Rams house, this was Stafford’s house.
From Kevin Baxter: The first phase of ticket sales for next summer’s World Cup will open Wednesday with a 10-day presale lottery that will give applicants the opportunity to purchase up to four tickets apiece for as many as 10 matches.
Two other similar phases, the first running from late October through early December, will be followed by a first-come, first-served phase after the World Cup draw in early December.
FIFA, the tournament organizer, said around a million tickets would likely be available in the first presale phase, one-sixth the total available for the entire tournament.
To enter Wednesday’s opening ticket lottery, fans must have a Visa card and must register their interest by creating a FIFA ID at FIFA.com/tickets. Fans can then sign in to the same site between 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, and 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19, to enter the draw. After a randomized selection process, successful applicants will be given a date and time to purchase tickets beginning Oct. 1.
FIFA stated the timing of a fan’s entry in the presale draw will not impact the chances of success since the draw is random.
1909 — Jack Johnson retains his heavyweight boxing title when he fights Al Kaufman to a no decision in 10 rounds at Coffroth’s Arena in San Francisco.
1940 — Donald McNeil beats Bobby Riggs after losing the first two sets to capture the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association title. Alice Marble wins her third straight title with a two-set triumph over Helen Jacobs.
1956 — Australia’s Ken Rosewall wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association title with a four-set victory over Lewis Hoad. Shirley Fry beats Althea Gibson 6-3, 6-4 for the women’s title.
1960 — The Denver Broncos beat the Boston Patriots 13-10 in the American Football League’s first regular-season game. The game is played on a Friday night at Boston University’s Nickerson Field.
1968 — Arthur Ashe wins the U.S. Open by beating Tom Okker 14-12, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Ashe is the first Black male to win a Grand Slam tournament. As an amateur, Ashe is ineligible to receive the $14,000 winner’s prize, but collects $280 in expenses for the two-week tournament.
1972 — UCLA’s Efren Herrera kicks a 20-yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining to beat preseason No. 1 Nebraska 20-17 at the Memorial Coliseum.
1974 — Jimmy Connors romps to a 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 victory over Ken Rosewall to win the U.S. Open.
1978 — Chris Evert beats 16-year-old Pam Shriver 7-5, 6-4 to win her fourth straight U.S. Open.
1979 — In an all-New Yorker U.S. Open men’s final, John McEnroe beats Vitas Gerulaitis, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. Tracy Austin, at 16 years, 8 months and 28 days, becomes the youngest U.S. Open women’s singles champion, ending Chris Evert’s 31-match win streak at the Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win.
1984 — John McEnroe beats Ivan Lendl 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to win his fourth U.S. Open.
1990 — Pete Sampras, at the age of 19 years and 28 days, becomes the youngest U.S. Open men’s singles champion, defeating Andre Agassi, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
2000 — Venus Williams wins her first U.S. Open singles title, defeating Lindsay Davenport, 6-4, 7-5.
2006 — Top-ranked Ohio State tightens its hold on the No. 1 spot after beating the No. 2 ranked and defending champion Texas Longhorns 24-7 in Austin, Texas.
2007 — Asafa Powell sets another world record in the 100 meters, winning a heat at the Rieti Grand Prix in 9.74 seconds. The world’s fastest man improves his record by 0.03 seconds, having run 9.77 three times.
2012 — Serena Williams, two points from defeat, suddenly regains her composure and her game, coming back to win the last four games and beat No. 1-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 for her fourth U.S. Open championship and 15th Grand Slam title overall.
2015 — Japan’s Saori Yoshida wins her 16th world or Olympic freestyle title at the world wrestling championships. The most decorated athlete in wrestling history, the 32-year-old Yoshida wins her 13th title at worlds — to go with three Olympic golds in as many tries.
2017 — Sloane Stephens dominates Madison Keys in the U.S. Open final and wins 6-3, 6-0 for her first Grand Slam title. The 83rd-ranked Stephens is the second unseeded woman to win the tournament in the Open era, which began in 1968.
2018 — Alabama strengthens its hold on No. 1 over No. 2 Clemson. The Crimson Tide made its 106th overall appearance at the top of the AP football rankings, which started in 1936, passing Ohio State for the most by any school.
2018 — Green Bay Packers start 100th season with historic 24-23 comeback win over Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field; first ever Packer recovery from 17+ points deficit after three quarters (20-3).
2018 — Cleveland ends its 17-game losing streak with a 21-21 tie against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2021 — Tom Brady becomes the first player in NFL history to start 300 regular season games. Brady and the Buccaneers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-29 on opening day of the 2021 season.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1914 — George Davis of the Boston Braves pitched a 7-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second game of a doubleheader. Davis’ no-hitter was the first thrown at Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox.
1922 — Baby Doll Jacobson hit three triples to lead the St. Louis Browns to a 16-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
1936 — The New York Yankees clinched their eighth American League pennant with a doubleheader sweep of the Cleveland Indians, 11-3 and 12-9. The Yankees finished 19½ games ahead of the Detroit Tigers for the largest margin in team history.
1945 — Dick Fowler of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns in the second game of a doubleheader.
1948 — Rex Barney of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 2-0 no-hit victory against the New York Giants on a rainy day at the Polo Grounds. He walked two and struck out four.
1965 — Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers tossed his fourth no-hitter, a perfect game, against the Chicago Cubs. Koufax fanned 14 in the 1-0 victory while Cubs pitcher Bob Hendley allowed one hit — a double by Lou Johnson.
1987 — Nolan Ryan strikes out his 4,500th batter.
1988 — Atlanta’s Bruce Sutter joined Rollie Fingers and Rich Gossage as the only pitchers to save 300 games as the Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 in 11 innings.
1992 — Robin Yount became the 17th player to reach 3,000 hits in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Yount singled to right center off Cleveland’s Jose Mesa in the seventh inning.
1998 — The New York Yankees officially clinched the AL East title, the earliest in AL history, beating the Boston Red Sox 7-5. The Yankees improved to 102-41 — 20½ games ahead of second-place Boston.
2001 — Barry Bonds hit three home runs to give him 63 for the season. The third homer was a three-run shot in the 11th inning lifting San Francisco over the Colorado Rockies 9-4. Bonds broke Roger Maris’ record of 61 for most homers in a season by a left-handed hitter.
2004 — Joe Randa had six hits and tied a major league record with six runs, and Alex Berroa hit a three-run homer and drove in a career-high five runs in Kansas City’s 26-5 victory over Detroit in the first game of a doubleheader. Randa became the first AL player to have six hits and six runs in the same nine-inning game.
2007 — Milwaukee became the third team in major league history to open a game with three straight home runs when Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy and Ryan Braun connected off Cincinnati’s Phil Dumatrait in a 10-5 victory. Weeks and Braun each hit two home runs and J.J. Hardy homered and hit two doubles — all in the first four innings.
2017 — Jose Abreu became the first White Sox player to hit for the cycle in 17 years in Chicago’s 13-1 rout of the San Francisco Giants.
2020 — At the urging of Roberto Clemente’s family, Major League Baseball pays tribute to its first Latin American superstar by allowing Puerto Rican players and others to wear his uniform number, 21, in his honor, on this day. This is akin to the wearing of #42 on Jackie Robinson Day. In addition, all members of the Pirates, Clemente’s former team, wear the number, the first time it has been worn by a team member since Clemente’s passing 48 years earlier.
2022 — Major League Baseball announces the adoption of a number of changes to the rules to be introduced at the start of the 2023 season. They include a pitch clock, limits on defensive shifts, and larger bases. All of these changes have already been successfully tested in minor league games and aim to improve pace of play, reduce injuries and create more in-game action.
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.
As many as 16 million households are in danger of Freeview being taken off the air as the Labour government appeared unsure about securing its future
One major TV service could vanish from 16 million homes forever(Image: GPetric via Getty Images)
Millions of households across the country could lose a major television service as MPs warned of a potential blackout. Currently, 16 million Brits use Freeview and the network is seen as a lifeline for those who cannot afford subscription-based TV services.
However, its future has been thrown into doubt as the Government did not appear to commit to securing its future beyond 2034, when the digital terrestrial TV (DTT) licence is due to be renewed. There are fears ministers could scrap Freeview or make it available only via the internet, not standard TV aerials.
Stephanie Peacock, the media and culture minister, acknowledged the spiralling cost of running Freeview to public service broadcasters (PSBs) and households, while claiming fewer people are actually using it. She said the Government will work alongside broadcasters and other organisations.
She said: “We also know this is not an easy decision. The choices ahead are complex and must be guided by evidence, and that is why we are taking the time to get them right, drawing on data, research and the views of people across the sector and across the country.”
Freeview was launched on October 30, 2002 following the catastrophic collapse of ITV Digital almost two weeks earlier. The joint venture between the BBC and Arqiva (formerly Crown Castle) is home to the UK’s beloved networks such as BBC One and ITV1, as well as other digital channels like BBC Three, ITV2 and E4.
MPs fear Freeview could be gone by 2034, when its licence is up for renewal(Image: Freeview)
Since its inception, it has proven a worthy rival to the likes of Sky Digital and Virgin Media TV, but it faced greater challenges in recent years thanks to streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+. Such topics took centre stage in a heated debate at the House of Commons last week when MPs made an impassioned plea to save Freeview.
Parliamentarians also took issue with the lack of commitment from the Government to renew the DTT licence. Conservative MP David Mundell said: “Freeview is a universal service reaching 98.5 per cent of the UK population, including those in remote and rural areas.
“It is available at no additional cost over and above the licence fee. This is a crucial point: people do not need to pay any additional monthly bills to watch terrestrial TV; all they need is a TV set and an aerial.
“The options for watching TV have broadened in the last few years, with the arrival of TV streaming over the internet. Many of us enjoy those services, but the fact is that to do so, someone needs a high-speed fixed broadband subscription of sufficient speed and reliability, and not everyone has that.”
He added: “Millions of people are relying exclusively on mobile for access to the internet. Indeed, data from Citizens Advice suggested that, in 2022 alone, up to 1 million people cancelled their broadband subscription because of the high cost of living reports.
Freeview is available through terrestrial TV aerials(Image: PeskyMonkey via Getty Images)
“Despite being a widely used and, in my view, essential service, it [Freeview] is currently under threat of being switched off within a decade. The licences that support terrestrial TV expire in 2034, and the Government have so far not provided a long-term commitment. Yet there is no need to consider switching off terrestrial TV in the mid-2030s, be that for political, technological or financial reasons.”
Labour’s Richard Quigley claimed that Freeview has helped many elderly viewers combat loneliness and warned axing it would add to the cost of living crisis blighting the country, reports Plymouth Live.
He said: “Three quarters of people say that terrestrial TV has helped to reduce loneliness, and among those aged 65 and over the figure rises to 87%. Additionally, I worry that any decision to switch off terrestrial TV could further exacerbate the cost of living crisis and deepen existing inequalities in our communities.”
In response, Ms Peacock said: “The way we watch TV is changing rapidly. Over the past decade, we have seen significant shifts in how content is delivered and consumed. Increasing numbers of viewers are moving to internet-based platforms, both for on demand content and, increasingly, for live programming.
“DTT is guaranteed until at least 2034. Before making any decisions, we will carefully consider the challenges for public service broadcasters and, importantly, the impact on loyal daily viewers, especially those who rely on digital terrestrial services.
“The cost of DTT to the PSBs is substantial. As fewer people rely on DTT, the cost per house is going up and will continue to do so. I am aware from my visits and meetings with providers that as part of the network reaches the end of life, investment would be needed to carry on even the current services.”
England’s poor form in white-ball cricket continued as they were beaten by South Africa to lose the second one-day international and the series with a game to spare.
Though not nearly as one-sided as the hammering at Headingley on Tuesday, a five-run margin did not reflect the nature of the contest.
Set 331, which would have represented the highest successful chase in an ODI on this ground, England fell short on 325-9.
The series defeat is England’s first since Harry Brook took charge of the white-ball team at the beginning of the summer, and their fifth in six ODI series since the 2023 World Cup.
In damp conditions, England chose to field and reduced South Africa to 93-3, only for Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs to rebuild. Breetzke made 85 and Stubbs 58.
Dewald Brevis’ 42 from only 20 balls lifted South Africa to 330-8. Though Jofra Archer claimed four wickets, a combined 10 overs of spin from Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks cost 112.
England lost Jamie Smith to the first ball of the reply and Ben Duckett for a scratchy 18, yet the chase was ignited by Bethell’s 58. With Joe Root in superb touch for 61, England were in in the hunt at 143-2.
Bethell cut to point and Root was stumped by a distance, the two wickets falling for the addition of only four runs.
From then on, England never got on top of the chase. Jos Buttler made 61, Brook 33 and Jacks 39 without ever being in control.
Archer kept a thinning crowd entertained and, in the company of last man Saqib Mahmood, needed 16 from the last over. Spinner Senuran Muthusamy held his nerve and Archer could not find the six from the final delivery that would have tied the scores.
England must win the dead rubber in Southampton on Sunday to avoid being on the wrong end of a home ODI series clean sweep for the first time since 2006.
PITTSBURGH — It was a pivotal moment, in a pivotal game, in what’s become a pivotal week for the Dodgers in the National League West standings.
Which, rather predictably given their recently floundering form, meant they found a new way to mess it all up.
In the top of the second inning on Wednesday night at PNC Park, the Dodgers appeared to be in optimal position.
Earlier in the day, the second-place San Diego Padres had been swept by the woebegone Baltimore Orioles, opening the door for the Dodgers to extend their 2½-game lead in the division. And despite trailing by a run in their own showdown against a last-place team, the Dodgers had the Pittsburgh Pirates on the ropes, loading the bases with no outs for a chance to take the lead.
The task, at that point, was simple.
Get the ball in play. Manufacture some early scoring. And, at the very least, set a positive tone for a night in which the NL West lead could grow.
“That’s a situation where you get shorter with your swing, use the big part of the field and you’ve got to drive in a run,” manager Dave Roberts said.
That approach, however, never materialized.
Over the rest of an inexplicable 3-0 loss to the Pirates, what happened next would instead loom large.
First, second-year outfielder Andy Pages came up, worked another full count against Pittsburgh starter Braxton Ashcraft … then went down swinging chasing a slider that would’ve been ball four.
Next, rookie infielder Alex Freeland again ran the count full, got an elevated slider up in the zone to hit … but kept the bat on his shoulder as the umpire rung him up for a called third strike.
A Kiké Hernández flyout would ultimately end the inning. But it was the first two at-bats that had Roberts fuming afterward.
“You never want to say that one inning kind of win or loses a game,” Roberts said. “But the second inning, bases loaded, nobody out — I just felt that we had two bad at-bats and didn’t come away with anything.”
“That flipped the game,” Roberts later added. “It flipped the momentum.”
Indeed, on a night the Dodgers (78-61) failed to score any of their 11 baserunners or record a hit in seven at-bats with men in scoring position, no sequence was more frustrating than their second-inning fizzle.
It was the latest epitome of the team failing to produce in a clutch situation. Another example of their roster flunking some basic fundamentals.
“We’ve got to collectively get all of us on board understanding the magnitude of each at-bat, each situation,” Roberts bemoaned from his office postgame. “I sound repetitive [about how] it’s got to get better. But I do believe that having the right approach, the right mindset, the right urgency in a particular at-bat lends itself to better results.”
This has been a recurring theme for the Dodgers during the second half of the season; the kind of fine-margin miscues that have haunted them during a perplexing 22-29 stretch since July 4.
Sometimes, it’s their big-name superstars that falter. In other cases, it’s younger contributors like Pages and Freeland who fail to execute when required.
The only constant: Every time the Dodgers seem to be turning a corner, they find another way to trip themselves up.
“I do believe that the guys that we have in the room are capable of putting together consistent team at-bats of urgency from the first pitch on,” Roberts said. “But at the end of the day — and I’m sure our players are echoing the same message — we just got to get it done.”
This week’s series at PNC Park (the fourth straight the Dodgers have dropped here over the last four years) has exemplified the club’s maddening current rut in other ways.
One night, they explode at the plate for seven runs … only for their pitching staff to give up nine as it did in Tuesday’s loss.
The next, they piece together a decent pitching effort (even after Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his scheduled start because of an illness) … only for the offense to squander every single opportunity they had to take control of the contest (and lose catcher Will Smith along the way to a bruised hand he suffered on an errant foul ball, though postgame X-rays came back negative).
“We haven’t really put it together at all for a while now,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “We need to start playing better.”
On Wednesday, the Pirates jumped in front in the first inning, when Bryan Reynolds homered in the 12th pitch of his at-bat off spot starter Emmet Sheehan. Andrew McCutchen doubled the lead in the second, adding to the sting of the Dodgers’ squandered bases-loaded opportunity with a line-drive home run in the game’s very next at-bat.
After that, “we just really couldn’t put anything else together,” Roberts said.
Or, more precisely, they failed to finish any other chances off.
The Dodgers loaded the bases again with two out in the third, before Alex Call hit a dribbler up the first-base line to retire the side.
The team had two runners aboard again in the fifth and seventh, but continued to come up empty each and every time.
“We had guys on, we just didn’t get the hit,” said Freeman, who rolled into a fifth-inning double-play to extinguish that threat. “Frustrating night.”
The only saving grace right now is that the Padres (who have lost four in a row while dealing with a string of deflating injuries) haven’t made up ground against them.
“I’m very much aware of that,” Roberts said. “But they’re feeling the same thing we are. We’ve got to control what we can control. And we’re certainly not.”
A different approach in Wednesday’s second inning might have changed all that. Instead, it served as another regrettable failure, turning a potentially pivotal chance to stretch the division lead into one of the season’s most dispiriting losses.
Smith update
Smith exited Wednesday’s game after the second inning, when a foul tip bounced off the dirt and hit his right throwing hand as it was hanging behind his right thigh.
Because Smith’s X-rays came back negative, Roberts said the club was hopeful he could avoid the injured list. However, given the swelling and soreness he was feeling postgame, the team was still planning to call up a third catcher on Thursday for more roster insurance.
The ban by India’s government of online betting games has ended the national cricket team’s sponsorship by Dream11.
Published On 2 Sep 20252 Sep 2025
India are looking for a new lead sponsor to replace Indian fantasy sports platform Dream11 after the government banned real-money online gaming last month, leaving the world’s richest cricket board scrambling to secure new revenue.
Dream11, which had signed a three-year contract worth about 3.6 billion rupees ($44m) running through 2026, can no longer sponsor the national team after the central government banned real-money online games as well as their promotion, including fantasy sports.
India’s upper house of parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 last month.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which commands some of the world’s most lucrative broadcast deals thanks to cricket’s popularity and India’s vast population, set a September 16 deadline for new bid submissions.
The auction is unlikely to remain unsold for long, but with the Asia Cup starting on September 9, India may take the field without a front-of-shirt sponsor in the opening week, which includes the marquee match against rivals Pakistan on September 14.
The Economic Times reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the board is seeking 35 million rupees ($397.6k) per match for bilaterals, and 15 million ($170.4k) per match for India’s fixtures in International Cricket Council and Asian Cricket Council tournaments in a three-year sponsorship cycle.
Over an estimated 140 games in the 2025-28 cycle, the BCCI expects to generate about 4.52 billion rupees ($51.3m), about 940 million ($10.7m) more than under Dream11’s deal, which was 3.58 billion ($40.7m) for the period July 2023 to March 2026 – an uplift of more than 20 percent.
Seattle record an emphatic win in a match where Miami’s Luis Suarez appeared to spit on a Sounders staffer post-game.
Published On 1 Sep 20251 Sep 2025
Alex Roldan converted from the penalty spot late in the second half and had an assist during the first half as hosts Seattle Sounders defeated Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami 3-0 to win the 2025 Leagues Cup final.
The match on Sunday was marred by a melee at the final whistle involving multiple players from both teams. Miami striker Luis Suarez appeared to be one of the players at the middle of it, and video cameras appeared to capture him spitting at a member of Seattle’s staff post-game as the melee died down.
The Leagues Cup is held jointly by Major League Soccer (MLS) and Liga MX with Concacaf sanctioning, and thus has a disciplinary committee independent from both leagues or the continental federation. Presumably, it would be responsible for deciding any discipline for the incident, though potentially MLS could also get involved.
Roldan set up Osaze De Rosario’s fourth goal of the tournament for the opener for Seattle, which won its second Concacaf honour and ninth all-time major trophy since beginning MLS play in 2009.
It is the Sounders’ first since they defeated Mexico’s Pumas UNAM over two legs to win the 2022 Concacaf Champions League, ending a run of 16 consecutive Mexican champions in that event.
Paul Rothrock scored the third in the final moments of a win that guaranteed Seattle a first-round bye into the round of 16 at the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Sounders midfielder Paul Rothrock, centre, celebrates with teammates, including forward Pedro De La Vega, left, after scoring the third goal against Inter Miami in the 89th minute at Lumens Field in Seattle [Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo]
Miami failed to secure their third major trophy since Messi’s arrival during the summer of the 2023 season and their second Leagues Cup title after winning the 2023 event.
The Herons are still guaranteed a Concacaf spot next year, but they will start in the first round unless they win the 2025 MLS Cup.
Seattle were dominant during the first half and went deservingly in front in the 26th minute.
Jesus Ferreira played the initial ball out wide to Roldan on the right, and Roldan curled in an outswinging cross to the far post, where De Rosario met it with a decisive header.
Miami wasted two excellent chances to level early in the second half, with Suarez providing the link-up play.
In the 50th minute, it was Messi, arriving just above the six-yard box to Suarez’s spinning, cutback pass, but the Argentinian star fired over goalkeeper Andrew Thomas.
Then in the 60th minute, Tadeo Allende was on the end of Suarez’s clever backheel, but he sent his strike wide of the right post as Thomas charged off his line.
That proved costly when Sounders substitute Georgi Minoungou got free down the left side of the field in the 82nd minute. With Yannick Bright tracking back to defend, Minoungou attempted a cutback and was caught by Bright’s sliding challenge.
Roldan coolly converted the penalty past Oscar Ustari in the 84th minute to turn tension into joy for most of a crowd of 69,314 at Lumen Field – a Leagues Cup and club single-game attendance record.
A video camera that was posted on social video appeared to show Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez, left, spitting on a Sounders staffer after the full-time whistle [Lynne Sladky/AP Photo]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida taxpayers could be on the hook for $218 million the state spent to convert a remote training airport in the Everglades into an immigration detention center dubbed “ Alligator Alcatraz.”
The facility may soon be empty as a judge upheld her decision late Wednesday ordering operations to wind down indefinitely.
Shutting down the facility for the time being would cost the state $15 million to $20 million immediately, and it would cost another $15 million to $20 million to reinstall structures if Florida is allowed to reopen it, according to court filings by the state.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management will lose most of the value of the $218 million it has invested in making the airport suitable for a detention center, a state official said in court papers.
Built in just a few days, the facility consists of chain-link cages surrounding large white tents filled with rows of bunk beds. As of late July, state officials had already signed more than $245 million in contracts for building and operating the facility, which officially opened July 1.
President Trump toured the facility last month and suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide as his administration races to expand the infrastructure needed to increase deportations.
The center has been plagued by reports of unsanitary conditions and detainees being cut off from the legal system.
It’s also facing several legal challenges, including one that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled on late Wednesday. She denied requests to pause her order to wind down operations, after agreeing last week with environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe that the state and federal defendants didn’t follow federal law requiring an environmental review for the detention center in the middle of sensitive wetlands.
The Miami judge said the number of detainees was already dwindling, and the federal government’s “immigration enforcement goals will not be thwarted by a pause in operations.” That’s despite Department of Homeland Security lawyers saying the judge’s order would disrupt that enforcement.
When asked, the Department of Homeland Security wouldn’t say how many detainees remained and how many had been moved out since the judge’s temporary injunction last week.
“DHS is complying with this order and moving detainees to other facilities,” the department said Thursday in an emailed statement.
Environmental activist Jessica Namath, who has kept a nearly constant watch outside the facility’s gates, said Thursday that fellow observers had seen white tents hauled out but no signs of the removal of Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers or portable bathrooms.
“It definitely seems like they have been winding down operations,” Namath said.
Based on publicly available contract data, the Associated Press estimated the state allocated $50 million for the bathrooms. Detainees and advocates have described toilets that don’t flush, flooding floors with fecal waste, although officials dispute such descriptions.
The facility was already being emptied of detainees as of last week, according to an email exchange shared with the AP on Wednesday. The executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, said on Aug. 22 “we are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days,” in a message to a rabbi about chaplaincy services.
Funding is central to the federal government’s arguments that Williams’ order should be overturned by an appellate court.
Homeland Security attorneys said in a court filing this week that federal environmental law doesn’t apply to a state like Florida, and the federal government isn’t responsible for the detention center since it hasn’t spent a cent to build or operate the facility, even though Florida is seeking some federal grant money to fund a portion of the detention center.
“No final federal funding decisions have been made,” the attorneys said.
Almost two dozen Republican-led states also urged the appellate court to overturn the order. The 22 states argued in another court filing that the judge overstepped her authority and that the federal environmental laws applied only to the federal agencies, not the state of Florida.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison in north Florida.
Civil rights groups filed a second lawsuit last month against the state and federal governments over practices at the Everglades facility, claiming detainees were denied access to the legal system.
A third lawsuit by civil rights groups on Aug. 22 described “severe problems” at the facility that were “previously unheard-of in the immigration system.”
Schneider and Payne write for the Associated Press.
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres’ bullpen is considered one of the best in baseball. Their lineup, revamped by a couple of key trade deadline acquisitions, at least rivals the recently inconsistent version the Dodgers have gotten out of theirs.
But this weekend, with first place on the line in the teams’ final meeting this season, the Dodgers were supposed to have one distinct advantage.
Their starting rotation was healthy, fresh and lined up to throw three of its best arms at Petco Park.
The Padres, on the other hand, were banged up and starting three veterans with a collective earned-run average north of 5.00.
Yeah … so much for all that.
For the second-straight night on Saturday, in San Diego’s 5-1 win, a Padres starter unexpectedly dominated the Dodgers, while a Dodgers starter disappointingly stumbled in the fourth inning. This time, it was Nestor Cortes who was in cruise control, spinning six scoreless innings while retiring his first 16 batters. On the other side, it was Tyler Glasnow who ran into trouble, yielding three runs in the fourth to leave the Dodgers for dead.
Just like that, what was a two-game division lead for the Dodgers (73-57) at the start of this week, coming off their sweep of the Padres in Los Angeles last weekend, is a one-game advantage for San Diego in the National League West standings, with the Padres (74-56) primed to sweep the Dodgers right back.
A night after managing just one run and one hit off Yu Darvish on Friday (after he entered the game with an ERA close to 6.00), the Dodgers looked even more overmatched by the left-handed Cortes — who was out for redemption after giving up Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in the World Series while playing for the New York Yankees last season.
Since that fateful October night, Cortes has switched teams twice. In the offseason, he was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers, where he made two early starts before suffering an elbow injury. At the deadline, he was one of seven players the Padres acquired to bolster their roster for the stretch run.
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Nestor Cortes delivers against the Dodgers in the third inning Saturday.
(Derrick Tuskan / Associated Press)
Cortes had offered minimal help in his first three Padres outings, giving up seven runs in 15 innings while averaging barely 90 mph with his fastball.
But on Saturday, he found a rhythm with his trademark cutter, throwing it more than any other pitch while recording at least one out with it in all six innings he pitched.
The Dodgers hardly threatened in the first, with Shohei Ohtani leading off with a strikeout and Mookie Betts rolling over a center-cut cutter to third base. In the second, Cortes won his rematch with Freeman; throwing a down-and-in fastball all so similar to the one that landed in the right-field pavilion of Dodger Stadium last year — only to turn and watch another deep drive die at the warning track, this time to straightaway center field at Petco Park.
From there, the outs kept coming.
In the sixth inning, Miguel Rojas finally broke up the no-no, adjusting to yet another cutter for a line-drive single to right.
But by then, Glasnow had already dug a hole too deep for the Dodgers’ slumping lineup to climb out of.
After retiring his first six batters, Glasnow started losing his command in the third. He issued a leadoff walk to Ramón Laureano, another to Fernando Tatis Jr., and only escaped the jam after a 10-pitch at-bat against Luis Arraez ended in a grounder.
In the fourth, the Padres wouldn’t come away empty-handed again.
Walks to Manny Machado (on four pitches to lead off the inning) and Xander Bogaerts (on a string of fastballs that missed the zone) were sandwiched around a single from Ryan O’Hearn. Then, with the bases loaded, Laureano lined a two-run single to right. Jake Cronenworth tacked on a sacrifice fly. And just like on Friday, the Dodgers stared down the deficit — and found no way to erase it.
Cortes stranded Rojas, with the inning ending on a fly out from Ohtani. After that, the Padres’ talent-rich bullpen kept things at an arm’s length, with a pinch-hit home run from Alex Freeland (his second in as many nights) representing the Dodgers’ only scoring for a second-straight night.
Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers against the Padres in the fifth inning Saturday.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
To do some quick math so far this weekend…
The Padres’ two starters have combined for 12 innings, one run and two hits compared to the 12 innings and five runs the Dodgers’ rotation has allowed.
The Dodgers have totaled five hits, three walks and 14 strikeouts. The Padres have 10 hits, eight walks and only 10 Ks against Dodger pitching.
And, most critically, the Padres have two wins — putting them back alone in first place by one game, and on the verge of a sweep that (at least based on the pitching matchups) few would have seen coming.
Cristiano Ronaldo is first player to score 100 goals for four professional clubs but Al Nassr lose final to Al-Ahli.
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 competitive goals for four different clubs, though Al Nassr lost to Al-Ahli in a penalty shootout after the Saudi Super Cup final ended 2-2.
The first half strike at Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday took the 40-year-old to his century for the Saudi Arabian club, which he joined in December 2022.
It adds to his 450 goals for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United and 101 for Juventus and moves Ronaldo ahead of the three players who had scored 100 times for three clubs: Isidro Langara, who played in Spain from 1930 to 1948, as well as Brazilian stars Romario and Neymar.
Ronaldo, who has yet to win a major trophy in Saudi Arabia, is also the leading international goalscorer with 138 goals for Portugal.
Al-Ahli’s Edouard Mendy lifts the trophy and celebrates on the podium with Franck Kessie and teammates after winning the Saudi Super Cup [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner put Al Nassr ahead after 41 minutes with a penalty, though Franck Kessie quickly equalised for Al-Ahli.
With seven minutes remaining, Marcelo Brozovic restored Al Nassr’s lead, but there was still time for Brazilian defender Ibanez to head home a corner and take the game into a penalty shootout.
Ronaldo scored once more from the spot, but his teammate Abdullah al-Khaibari did not, and Al-Ahli won 5-3 to lift the first trophy of the Saudi Arabian season.
Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo with Joao Felix and teammates as he looks dejected after the match [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
SAN DIEGO — The home team was one strike from victory Friday night, when the Petco Park video board suddenly erupted in hues of pink and mint, flashing the preferred accompaniment to any game against the Dodgers: BEAT LA.
Then came the 102-mph fastball, then a swing and a miss, and the San Diego Padres had indeed beaten the Dodgers.
For Dodgers fans who thought the National League West had been won last weekend at Dodger Stadium, this just in from San Diego: The NL West is tied.
These were words in this publication just five days ago: “The Dodgers now lead the National League West by two games, but it feels like 20.”
The Dodgers had just swept the Padres, their only competition for the division title. The Dodgers were 8-2 against the Padres this season. There was a blue wave of emotion. The thing that happened last is the thing you remember best.
“It’s natural,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s the great thing about fandom. People get excited. That’s a great thing about sports.”
The feeling in the clubhouse last weekend?
“In here? We played a great series, but there’s still a lot of baseball left to play,” Roberts said. “It wasn’t going to be won or lost then, and it’s not going to be won or lost this weekend.”
The trouble is not with the emotion. The trouble is with the schedule.
The number of games left after this weekend: 31. The number of Dodgers-Padres games left after this weekend: 0.
This is baseball’s best rivalry, with a division title and potential first-round playoff bye on the line. The Dodgers and Padres should be facing each other to wrap up the season, with all that emotion bursting forth.
Instead, the Dodgers finish the regular season against another traditional rival, the (checks notes) Seattle Mariners.
There has been plenty of emotion among the Dodgers and Padres fan bases already this year, mostly in the form of angst.
The Dodgers won the winter, and Padres fans wondered why their team was not keeping up with the competition.
The Padres won the trade deadline, and Dodgers fans wondered why their team was not keeping up with the competition.
For the Dodgers, the cliche is about to be put to a real-life test: Getting a player off the injured list is just like getting a player in a trade.
Reliever Tanner Scott was activated Friday. Reliever Kirby Yates could be activated as soon as Saturday.
On Friday, infielder Alex Freeland hit his first major league home run, but infielder Buddy Kennedy (.287 OPS) went hitless, and the Dodgers burned their backup catcher to bat for him. They trusted outfielder Justin Dean to pinch-run and play center field, but not to bat.
Alex Freeland celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the third inning of a 2-1 loss to the Padres on Friday.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
“This is our club right now,” Roberts said. “We have guys coming back.”
On a hot August night, Petco Park was its usual lively self, with its usual sellout crowd, with Dodgers fans drowning out chants of “Let’s Go Padres” and Padres fans returning the favor at the sound of “Let’s Go Dodgers.”
Amid intensity fit for October, the Dodgers and Padres each let a strong starting pitcher — Blake Snell for L.A., Yu Darvish for San Diego — continue rather than reflexively remove him for the third time through the lineup.
How do you win in October, with pitchers like Snell and Darvish lined up?
Is it with the home run?
Only one major league team has more home runs than the Dodgers. The Dodgers scored their only run Friday on a home run.
Is it with small ball?
Only one major league team has fewer home runs than the Padres. The Padres scored both their runs in one inning Friday, with a rally that included three singles, a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly.
The Padres dropped three sacrifice bunts Friday. They have 40 this season, the most in the majors. The Dodgers have eight, the fewest of any NL team.
Before the game, I spoke with Mason Miller, the former Athletics All-Star closer turned Padres eighth-inning setup man. To this point in his career, Miller said, the biggest game of his career has been closing the A’s final game in Oakland last September.
“I think I said it after that game: until I play in the playoffs, that will probably be my all-time baseball memory,” Miller said. “Now it doesn’t seem like I’ll have to wait that much longer to get that playoff taste.”
Not much longer at all. As of Friday morning, Baseball Prospectus put the Dodgers’ chance of making the playoffs at 99.8% and the Padres’ chance at 99.6%.
Maybe this weekend won’t mark the last Dodgers-Padres game this season. What we really want is the first NL Championship Series between the Dodgers and the Padres, with the winner advancing to the World Series: SoCal vs. the World.
Happy Thursday. Your usual host, D.C. Bureau Chief Michael Wilner, is off today. So you’re once again stuck with me, California Columnist Anita Chabria.
I’m reporting from Columbus, Ohio. Although it’s 2,300 miles from Sacramento, you wouldn’t know it from the national news, where Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to gerrymander the Golden State’s election maps is dominating the conversation, even in the Midwest.
That’s a huge win for Newsom’s presidential aspirations. A week ago, I might have argued that Newsom’s chances at the Oval Office were irrevocably tied to the success of his “Election Rigging Response Act,” which seems likely (though not certain) to make it onto a November ballot.
But it’s increasingly seeming like win or lose on that initiative, the fight itself is a victory for Newsom.
Let’s dig into the details on where we are and why.
The recap
President Trump does not like uncertainty, especially when it comes to his power. The midterm elections in 2026 are nothing but uncertainty. Republicans hold a Ozempic-thin majority in the House at 219-212, with four seats vacant. If Democrats were to take control, it would make autocracy really hard.
So Trump’s team reportedly called up Texas and asked them to rig their election maps to gain five GOP seats and a comfortable margin for the election. Newsom responded, unexpectedly, by pushing an if/then proposition for the same map-rigging in California: If Texas does it, then so will we.
The Legislature is expected to approve that plan (and new maps that smash the state’s Republicans mostly along an inland stretch against the Sierra Nevada), allowing it to go before voters in November. Because unlike Texas, California voters will have to OK the gambit for it to move forward.
That seems as though it could happen. Axios reported this week that Newsom’s pollster, David Binder, found that 57% of California voters were likely to back the redistricting plan once they understood two points. First, that it was temporary and the state would go back to fair maps in a few years; and second, that California will go forward only if Texas or another state gerrymanders first.
And it seems as if Trump is pushing these just-in-case states to at least try. Vice President JD Vance visited Indiana recently, supposedly to encourage that state to drum up support for the idea, even though Republicans hold seven of nine of the state’s seats already. Florida is another place where map-rigging could happen. MAGA drummed up four additional seats after Gov. Ron DeSantis redrew maps in 2022 to give the GOP more seats. So there is little reason to believe he wouldn’t push it even further.
From Gavin to gavel
But like so many political policies these days, redistricting is likely to end up in courts.
California Republicans appealed to the state Supreme Court to at least delay redistricting. They are argued that state law requires any legislation to be in print for 30 days before a vote is taken on it.
The Legislature has a long-used but ethically dubious workaround to this — they take another bill, one that is already written but basically dead, and simply delete its contents and drop in whatever new measure they don’t have time to pass under a fresh bill number. Voila — in print for 30 days, technically.
Will the Supreme Court choose to censure that behavior now?
Texas might also find itself in courts with new maps it advanced on Wednesday.
The UCLA Voting Rights Project released a study this week that found the new Texas maps may violate federal law that protects minority voters from being pushed into districts where their favored candidate has no chance of winning.
“Federal law prohibits purposefully drawing large minority populations of Black and Hispanic voters into districts in which their preferred candidate loses,” the report notes. “While the map appears to add an extra Hispanic-majority district, VRP findings show it systematically places minority communities in districts where bloc-voting by white voters overrides their candidate of choice.”
Someone will probably sue. Which raises the interesting but as-yet unanswered question (I did ask, but no word back yet from the governor’s office) on whether California would still move forward if the Texas maps are passed by the Legislature but held up in courts. That scenario might melt Republican heads — the possibility of five new Democratic seats without Texas to even them out.
A win, regardless
Whether or not Newsom manages to get his “big beautiful maps,” as he’s cheekily calling them, through voters, this is already a win for him.
That aligns with a new Economist/YouGov poll showing that 56% of voters disapprove of Trump, a really high number.
Meanwhile, between his social media explosion and map-rigging, Newsom is seeing a huge bump. One California poll by Politico-Citrin Center-Possibility found him significantly leading over former Vice President Kamala Harris when it comes to who state voters would back in the next presidential race.
That poll found that Newsom leads Harris 25% to 19% among the state’s registered no-party-preference, Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters.
But it’s not just California. I am seriously shocked that even here in the Midwest, folks are talking about Newsom and many — even if they don’t agree with redistricting — see him in a favorable light for fighting back so aggressively on Texas and Trump.
Even if Newsom loses the redistricting initiative in California, he will be able to argue that he fought harder than anyone else to curtail Trump’s power, and have the receipts to back that up.
So whether he gamed this out in advance or luck and timing have collided in that magical fashion, Newsom has, for the moment, captured lightning in a bottle — and certainly will ride that energy as far as it will take him.
An excitable atmosphere continued as the fans – who paid between $25 (£18.50) and $145 (£107) for what British doubles player Jamie Murray described as a “glorified exhibition” – danced to tunes played by an on-court DJ and acted up when appearing on the big screen.
Both sets of players smiled and laughed throughout, further illustrating how the stars are using the event to tune up for their greater priority of the singles.
For some, it underlined the view of the doubles specialists sidelined that a Grand Slam tournament had lost value.
Pegula, who has been ranked world number one in the women’s doubles, and Draper were also a scratch pairing but had too much quality against a pair who are less experienced in tour-level doubles.
For Draper, it was third time lucky – having seen previous planned partners Zheng Qinwen and Paula Badosa withdraw through injury.
Pegula and Draper’s mutual will-to-win was more evident than some of the pairings, looking focused as they later beat Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev to reach the last four.
The Russian pair earlier knocked out 24-time major singles champion Novak Djokovic and his fellow Serb Olga Danilovic in the first round,
From Kevin Baxter: The half-empty Dodger clubhouse was so quiet you could hear a winning streak snap Monday. But amid the silence there was one conversation that spoke volumes.
After a 4-3 walk-off loss to the last-place Colorado Rockies — a loss set up by two poor plays from right fielder Teoscar Hernández — Mookie Betts met with manager Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, in Roberts’ office.
Betts, the Dodgers shortstop, is a six-time Gold Glove winner in right field. Hernández is not. On Monday, Hernández threw to the wrong base in the third inning, allowing the Rockies to score their second run, and in the ninth he was unable to hold Ezequiel Tovar’s bloop double. Two pitches later, Warming Bernabel bounced a single up to middle, scoring Tovar to end the game.
The Betts conversation afterward was private. But the circumstances that led to it were not. Clearly the bullpen is not the Dodgers’ only problem.
“He’s got to get better out there. There’s just no way to put it,” Roberts said of Hernández. “It’s not a lack of effort. But, you know, we’ve just got to kind of get better. We do.”
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ANGELS
Gavin Lux hit an early two-run homer and the Cincinnati Reds used three leadoff triples to beat the Angels 4-1 on Monday night.
TJ Friedl had a leadoff single in the first inning off Victor Mederos, making his second career start, and Lux followed with his fifth homer for a 2-0 lead.
Elly De La Cruz led off the fifth with his fourth triple this season before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Austin Hays to make it 3-1. Hays tripled in the third but was stranded.
Scott Barlow replaced Luis Mey with two on and two outs in the eighth and struck out Jo Adell swinging to keep it 4-1. Barlow fanned three more in the ninth for his first save this season.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Great Depression threatened the 1932 Olympics. A pandemic raged during the 2021 Tokyo Games. Parisians planned a “poop protest” in the Seine before the 2024 Games.
From natural disasters, construction woes or unpopular opinion, every Olympics has faced threats in the planning process.
Yet nearly every time, the city, ready or not, still hosted the Games.
With less than three years before the L.A. Olympics, calls on social media for the city to withdraw or cancel have intensified. Wildfires devastated Pacific Palisades and Altadena in January. L.A. had to balance a $1-billion deficit. Immigration raids have put communities on edge while President Trump has threatened further military intervention.
But Olympic preparations press forward. So invested in the success of the 2028 Games, the International Olympic Committee allowed venue naming rights for the first time in history. LA28, the private group responsible for organizing the Games, has contracted more than 70% of its $2.5-billion sponsorship goal, with more deals coming.
Stafford, sidelined since the start of training camp because of a back issue, practiced Monday for the first time.
That qualified as an unexpected and momentous development for the Rams as they prepare for their Sept. 7 opener against the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium.
Stafford, 37, went through individual and team drills with the first-team offense. The 17th-year pro was a full participant, but he did not speak to reporters afterward.
From Ryan Kartje: When they chose to continue their college careers, both USC offensive lineman DJ Wingfield and UCLA wide receiver Kaedin Robinson thought the courts and NCAA had cleared the way for them to play a fifth season of football.
USC had told Wingfield as much, offering him $210,000 in NIL to join the Trojans’ offensive line. UCLA, meanwhile, offered Robinson $450,000 to be one of the Bruins’ top wideouts.
But after first seeing their waivers rejected in the spring, then suing the NCAA this summer, a U.S. District Court judge has now shut the door on either Wingfield or Robinson suiting up this fall.
1909 — The first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Twelve-thousand spectators watch Austrian engineer Louis Schwitzer win a five-mile race with an average speed of 57.4 miles per hour. The track’s surface of crushed rock and tar breaks up in a number of places and causes the deaths of two drivers, two mechanics and two spectators.
1934 — Helen Hull Jacobs wins the women’s title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships.
1981 — Renaldo Nehemiah sets the world record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 12.93 seconds in a meet at Zurich, Switzerland.
1984 — Lee Trevino beats Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins by four strokes to take the PGA championship at Shoal Creek, Alabama.
1993 — Sergei Bubka wins his fourth consecutive pole vault title at the World Track and Field championships at Stuttgart, Germany.
1995 — Mike Tyson starts his comeback, knocking out Peter McNeeley in 89 seconds at Las Vegas. McNeeley’s manager Vinnie Vecchione jumps into the ring to stop the fight after his boxer is knocked down twice in the first round.
2001 — Michael Schumacher gets his fourth Formula One championship and matches Alain Prost’s series record of 51 victories by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix.
2004 — American swimmer Michael Phelps wraps up the 200/400m individual medley double at the Athens Olympics when he wins the 200m (1:57.14 OR) ahead of teammate Ryan Lochte.
2016 — Usain Bolt scores another sweep, winning three gold medals in his third consecutive Olympics. At the Rio de Janeiro Games, Bolt turns a close 4×100 relay race against Japan and the United States into a typical, Bolt-like runaway, helping Jamaica cross the line in 37.27 seconds. Allyson Felix wins an unprecedented fifth gold medal in women’s track and field, running the second leg of the 4×100-meter relay team.
2018 — Novak Đoković beats Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Cincinnati Masters to become the first player to win all 9 Masters 1,000 tennis tournaments since the series started in 1990.
2018 — Jockey Drayden Van Dyke wins a record-tying seven races at Del Mar, including the $200,000 Del Mar Mile. He ties Hall of Famer Victor Espinoza for most wins in a single day in the seaside track’s history. Van Dyke’s only loss in eight mounts comes when he finishes second in the sixth race.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1909 — The Philadelphia Phillies were rained out for the 10th consecutive day, a major league record.
1913 — The Chicago Cubs tagged Grover Alexander for nine straight hits and six runs for a 10-4 triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies.
1921 — Detroit’s Ty Cobb got his 3,000th career hit at age 34, the youngest player to reach that plateau. The milestone hit was a single off Elmer Myers of the Boston Red Sox.
1934 — Moose Solters of the Boston Red Sox hit for the cycle in an 8-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.
1951 — Eddie Gaedel, a 65-pound midget who was 3-foot-7, made his first and only plate appearance as a pinch-hitter for Frank Saucier of the St. Louis Browns. Gaedel wearing No. 1/8 was walked on four pitches by Detroit Tigers pitcher Bob Cain and then was taken out for pinch-runner Jim Delsing. The gimmick by Browns owner Bill Veeck was completely legal, but later outlawed.
1957 — New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham announced that the team’s board of directors had voted 8-1 in favor of moving to San Francisco. The Giants would start the 1958 season in Seals Stadium.
1965 — Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds no-hit the Cubs 1-0, in 10 innings in the first game of a doubleheader at Chicago. Leo Cardenas homered in the 10th for the Reds.
1969 — Ken Holtzman of the Cubs blanked the Atlanta Braves with a 3-0 no-hitter at Wrigley Field. Ron Santo’s three-run homer in the first inning provided the Cubs’ offense.
1990 — Bobby Thigpen recorded his 40th save as the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 4-2. Thigpen became the eighth — and fastest — to accomplish this feat.
1992 — Bret Boone made history when he became part of the first three-generation family to play in major league baseball. Boone is the grandson of Ray Boone, who played from 1948-60, and son of Bob Boone, from 1972-90. Bret, 23, completed the triangle when he started at second base for the Seattle Mariners against Baltimore.
2007 — Johan Santana finished with a franchise-record 17 strikeouts in eight innings to help Minnesota edge Texas 1-0.
2009 — Florida reached 10 hits for the 15th straight game in a 6-3 loss at Houston, matching the longest streak since the St. Louis Browns had one that long in 1937. The Marlins were held to four hits the next game.
2011 — LaGrange, Ky., starter Griffin McLarty struck out 12 and hit a homer in a 1-0 victory over the hometown favorites from Clinton County in the Little League World Series at South Williamsport, Pa. The game drew 41,848 fans, breaking the record of 40,000 set in the 1989 and 1990 championship games.
2016 — Jose Altuve homered and had five RBIs, and the Houston Astros beat the Baltimore Orioles 15-8 despite allowing four home runs in the first inning. The Orioles became the first team in the modern era (since 1900) to open a game with four home runs before making an out. Adam Jones hit Collin McHugh’s first pitch into the seats in left field and Hyun Soo Kim singled before Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo homered in succession.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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Almost hidden in a mocha pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt, and wearing those same fire-red Air Jordans from his Aug. 4 return to Los Angeles, Clippers royalty Chris Paul adorned the Sparks’ bench.
And though the 20-year veteran barely lifted a palm — leaving the cheering to his wife and daughter — Paul’s court savvy still seemed to seep across the hardwood, finding its way to the Sparks’ Kelsey Plum.
Plum, who can very well be the tale of any Sparks game, but “chooses to win,” as coach Lynne Roberts says, seemed to be scoring and assisting at will through a coast-to-coast battle against the New York Liberty, a tug-of-war that stayed taut until the rope finally slipped from the Sparks’ grasp, 105-97.
The Sparks’ stalwart finished with 26 points alongside five rebounds and five assists.
“It came down to them scoring 105 points,” Plum said, “like, 97 is a lot of points.”
Across the court, with veteran Breanna Stewart sidelined with a a right knee bone bruise, the internationally seasoned presence of Emma Meesseman assumed control to keep the Liberty’s offense in rhythm, its poise intact and restart its win streak.
Emma Meesseman, who made her Liberty debut soon after Stewart’s exit, looked nothing like someone fresh off a lengthy league layoff on Thursday. The 2019 Finals MVP returned Aug. 3 after a three-year hiatus from the WNBA — time she spent competing for Belgium — and scored a season-high 24 points with nine rebounds.
“She’s one of the best players in the world,” Roberts said, “so, there’s a lot of problems one of the best players in the world can bring you. She’s got great hands, … she’s just good. She’s so smart, skilled, big, she changes their team.”
Stewart took the hit to her knee during the last edition of the East-West rivalry on July 26. And that was also a game before Sparks sophomore star Cameron Brink returned from a 13-month-long left knee injury.
About three minutes before halftime, Brink sat on the bench while trainers wrapped her left ankle during a Sparks timeout. She never joined the team’s halftime huddle as play resumed after the break, and when she finally emerged at the 6:17 mark in the third quarter, she watched the rest of the game from her seat.
“I have not talked to the medical team yet,” Roberts said, “but yeah, she tweaked her ankle. She’s still on a minutes restriction, so the decision was made not to put her back in.”
In absence of the Sparks’ most threatening defensive presence, though, Dearica Hamby and Azurá Stevens policed the key and cleaned up under the rim to ensure the Sparks stayed close. The two combined for 38 points and 12 rebounds, but couldn’t produce the same pressure defensively.
“We’ve got to do a better job defensively,” Roberts said in reference to the Liberty’s 50% shooting from three and 55.9% from the field. “I have not lost an ounce of faith or confidence in them [the Sparks], just a tough night for us tonight.
The loudest battle, however, seemed to be the fans versus the officials.
Fans groaned and barked over whistles — and the no-calls in between — as the night wore on. Roberts shared the mood, zeroing in on referee Tyler Mirkovich during a defensive sequence late in the second quarter. She sustained dialogue through the ensuing timeout, punctuating her point with a seemingly sarcastic double thumbs-up in Mirkovich’s direction.
“I mean, I would appreciate being communicated to from an official,” Roberts said. “Nothing will piss a coach off more than not being communicated to.”
Whether the whistles were with merit, no call was going to bail the Sparks out of a 10-point ditch with 22 seconds left to play.
