meet

Bangladesh crumble as Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf take three wickets each in Super Fours match in Dubai.

Pakistan have set up a blockbuster Asia Cup 2025 final against archrivals India after defeating Bangladesh by 11 runs in a thrilling Super Fours match in Dubai.

Chasing 136 to win in a winners-take-all match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, Bangladesh’s batting collapsed dramatically in front of Pakistan’s pace bowling attack, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Once Pakistan took the field after posting a meagre total of 135-8 in 20 overs, Afridi put on an authoritative display of fast bowling by picking up two wickets in his first two overs and ended with match figures of 3-17 in four overs.

Fellow pacer Haris Rauf contributed with three wickets of his own, two of which helped wrap up Bangladesh’s innings, while part-time, left-armed slow bowler Saim Ayub bowled a tidy spell of 2-16 from four overs.

Bangladesh opener Saif Hasan (18) formed brief partnerships with Mahedi Hasan (11) and Nurul Hasan (16), but none of the batting stands lasted long enough to see the team through.

Some late resistance by lower middle order batter Shamim Hossain (30) briefly raised the hopes of Bangladeshi fans, but once Shamim became Afridi’s third victim in the 17th over, Pakistan became clear favourites to wrap up the win.

Rishad Hossain, who had an excellent outing with the ball and in the field, hit two fours and a six in his innings of 16 but kept losing batting partners as Bangladesh’s innings came to a close on 124-9 in 20 overs.

Earlier, when Pakistan were sent in to bat by Bangladesh’s stand-in captain Jaker Ali, the decision paid off almost instantly as the Pakistani openers struggled to score runs.

Taskin Ahmed’s disciplined opening spell led to the dismissal of Sahibzada Farhan on the fourth ball of Pakistan’s innings while one-down batter Ayub fell in the next over to Mahedi.

Fakhar Zaman (13) and captain Salman Agha (19) formed a brief and sluggish partnership but could not hit a single six.

Rishad, who took two catches before coming on to bowl, dismissed Zaman in the seventh over and then sent back Hussain Talat in the ninth. Agha fell to Mustafizur Rahman between the two Rishad wickets as Pakistan were reduced to 49-5.

A lower order flourish from Mohammad Haris (31 off 17), Muhammad Nawaz (25 off 15) and Afridi (19 off 13) took Pakistan to 135-8 on a tricky Dubai pitch.

Afridi was named player of the match for his all-round heroics.

Pakistan will be especially delighted to see their premier pace bowler return to wicket-taking form before the final against bitter rivals India on Sunday.

The South Asian neighbours have already met twice in the tournament, and India recorded thumping wins on both occasions.

Sunday’s match, also to be played in Dubai, will be the first India-Pakistan clash in the final of the Asia Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1984.

Tensions have run high, and political standoffs have spilled onto the cricket field in both of the previous two meetings between the teams this month.

Fans can expect another politically charged match, especially with the trophy on the line.

Pakistan will hope it will be a case of third time lucky while India will look to complete a 3-0 drubbing in the tournament.

At least 17 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn, including 15 in Gaza City, according to medical sources.

Sept. 22 (UPI) — President Donald Trump plans to meet this week with the two top Democratic leaders in Congress, as a Sept. 30 funding deadline to keep the government open nears, according to a source familiar with the planning.

Trump is expected to meet with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York, on Thursday after receiving a letter, the source told Roll Call, CBS and NBC News.

The president told reporters over the weekend he is not expecting any breakthroughs but will “continue to talk to the Democrats, but I think you could very well end up with a closed country for a period of time.”

“They want all this stuff. They don’t change. They haven’t learned from the biggest beating they’ve ever taken,” Trump said. “I’d love to meet with them, but I don’t think it’s going to have an impact.”

One of the biggest sticking points is healthcare. Democrats are demanding any resolution include an extension of the Affordable Care Act‘s enhanced tax credits, which are currently set to expire at the end of the year.

“I hope and pray that Trump will sit down with us and negotiate a bipartisan bill,” Schumer told CNN on Sunday.

On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting is still under consideration.

“Discussions are ongoing with both Republican and Democratic members of Capitol Hill,” Leavitt said. “I don’t have any meetings or any scheduling updates for you today. But what I will share is … what this White House wants and what Republicans want, we want a clean funding extension to keep the government open.”

The Republican bill to keep the government running narrowly passed Friday in the House before lawmakers left Capitol Hill for a week. The short-term funding measure that would have kept the government open through Nov. 21, and boost security funding for lawmakers by $88 million, failed in the Senate.

A Democratic measure, prioritizing heath care at the expense of Trump policies while keeping the government open until Oct. 31, also failed.

“Tens of millions of Americans are on the brink of their healthcare costs increasing by thousands of dollars per year, risking bankruptcy for many families,” Schumer and Jeffries wrote to Trump.

“We do not understand why you prefer to shut down the government rather than protect the health care and quality of life of the American people.”

MARRIED At First Sight UK is back with a bang and a whole host of soon-to-be newlyweds looking for love.

Here we get to know brand-new bride Julia-Ruth, who’s more familiar with the spotlight than most reality TV contestants.

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Who is Julia-Ruth from Married at First Sight UK 2025?

Julia-Ruth is a 29-year-old professional dancer, originally from South Africa, who currently calls New Zealand and the UK home.

She has performed with some massive artists, even working as a backup dancer for rap megastar 50 Cent.

Julia-Ruth is one of the contestants starring in Married At First Sight UK 2025.

She had a challenging childhood, including being adopted at the age of 16 by her sister.

Julia-Ruth has experience in reality TV, so this isn’t her first foray into reality romance.

In 2023, she appeared on the Paramount+ programme Are You The One?

Julia-Ruth found love on the show, but the relationship didn’t last.

She has now been single for two years and admits she’s had a bad habit of choosing the wrong men.

So for her next chapter, Julia-Ruth is turning to the experts on Married At First Sight UK.

She’s hoping to find a grounded, ambitious and empathetic partner.

When is Married At First Sight 2025 on?

The new series of Married At First Sight UK starts on Sunday, September 21, 2025.

It runs nightly at 9pm from Sundays through to Wednesdays for its first few weeks on E4.

In previous years, the show aired Mondays to Thursdays, meaning MAFS UK on the weekend is a special treat for viewers this time around.

Expert matchmakers Paul C Brunson, Mel Schilling and Charlene Douglas are returning to make matches and guide couples through the process.

Who are the other Married at First Sight UK 2025 contestants?

Brides

• Anita, 54, operations manager from Durham — following some turbulent times she’s ready to say yes to everything, including a man she’s never met
• Grace, 31, midwife from Norwich — funny Grace is looking for a tall, dark, handsome, confident and humorous partner
• Leah, 35, business owner from Liverpool — searching for a fun and spontaneous partner after coming to the realisation she prefers women aged 25
• Leigh, 30, NHS clinical coder from Romford — following heartbreak, she’s ready for her happily ever after
• Maeve, 29, aesthetics practitioner from Newcastle — ‘trouble maker’ mum who refuses to settle for a man who won’t put the effort in
• Nelly, 30, cosmetic dentist from Manchester — hoping to get everything she deserves after a year alone
• Rebecca, 32, aesthetics nurse and clinic owner from Liverpool — looking for her dream man following a broken engagement
• Sarah, 31, recruitment consultant from Aberdeen — thinking there aren’t any eligible bachelors in her hometown, she’s only after “the nicest guy in the world”

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Grooms

• Ashley, 35, operations director from Bridgend — Sporty father whose ex-girlfriends include a former Miss Universe
• Bailey, 36, sales manager from St Albans — dad who set up a microbrewery, looking for family-oriented partner
• Davide, 33, cabin crew from Portugal — looking for fellow romantic following heartbreak after his huge wedding was cancelled earlier this year
• Dean, 31, team-building host from Feltham — following a year on his own he’s hoping to find his soul mate
• Divarni, 29, musician from London — self-proclaimed ladies’ man looking for partner with a nice smile
• Joe, 31, personal trainer from Huddersfield — former lothario and world traveller who’s ready to settle down after a frank talk from his mum
• Keye, 33, marketing manager from London — hoping the experts will find a man to look after him following his previous marriage ending
• Paul, 60, retired — father of three looking for someone he can share his hobbies with
• Steven, 34, investment banking manager from Essex — dad of two, ready to find lasting love after a year single

Kyiv in sanctions push as NATO states on Europe’s eastern flank take preventive action after Moscow’s air incursions.

Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City next week in a bid to urge him to impose stronger sanctions on Russia.

The Ukrainian president shared his plans on Saturday, as Russia intensified attacks on his country following air incursions into Europe’s eastern flank that have sparked anxiety over a potential spillover of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The announcement, reported by the AFP news agency, came the day after the European Union presented its 19th sanctions package.

“We now expect strong sanctions steps from the United States as well – Europe is doing its part,” Zelenskyy posted on X on Saturday.

This week brought us closer to finalizing the 19th sanctions package – we expect its approval soon. We will quickly synchronize the package in Ukraine. Russia’s energy resources are being restricted. The infrastructure of the “shadow fleet” will face new pressure. Cryptocurrency… pic.twitter.com/JzgvsQQHHQ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 20, 2025

Trump already signalled last week that he was ready to impose “major sanctions” on Russia, which has so far evaded his attempts for a ceasefire, but only if all NATO allies agree to completely halt buying oil from Moscow.

Zelenskyy is also expected to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent future Russian attacks after an eventual truce, though Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that he would not accept the presence of Western troops in Ukraine.

Moscow stepped up attacks on Ukraine overnight, firing 40 missiles and some 580 drones in one of the biggest barrages of Russia’s war on its neighbour, killing at least three people and wounding dozens.

Preventive operations in east

NATO countries took measures to strengthen defences on Europe’s eastern flank after Russian drone incursions in Poland and Romania over the past two weeks, and unprecedented reports of three Russian fighter jets entering Estonian airspace on Friday.

Poland’s army said that Polish and allied aircraft were deployed early on Saturday in a “preventative operation” to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes targeting western Ukraine, near the Polish border.

The United Kingdom said that its fighter jets had flown their first NATO air defence sortie to patrol Polish skies and defend against potential aerial threats from Russia as part of the alliance’s Eastern Sentry mission.

On Saturday, Russia’s Ministry of Defence denied that its aircraft flew into Estonia’s airspace the day before, but Estonian officials said the 12-minute violation was confirmed by radar and visual contact.

Colonel Ants Kiviselg, the commander of Estonia’s Military Intelligence Centre, said that it still “needs to be confirmed” whether the border violation was deliberate.

Sept. 20 (UPI) — Democratic Party leaders Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer on Saturday demanded that President Donald Trump meet with them to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

The Senate on Friday failed to pass a House-approved budget extension, which Jeffries and Schumer, both of New York, say means the president must deal with them to prevent a shutdown.

“It is now your obligation to meet with us directly to keep the government open and address the Republican health care crisis,” they said in a joint letter to Trump on Saturday.

“We do not understand why you prefer to shut down the government rather than protect the health care and quality of life of the American people,” they wrote.

Jeffries and Schumer are the minority party leaders in the Senate and House, respectively, and have insisted that the fiscal year 2026 budget include an extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act.

The subsidies are scheduled to expire, along with the fiscal year 2025 budget, on Oct. 1.

Jeffries and Schumer said Republican leaders in the House and Senate have repeatedly refused to negotiate to overcome a potential Senate filibuster by Democrats, which would require 60 votes, NPR reported.

Senate Democrats proposed an alternative budget extension bill on Friday, which also failed to muster enough votes.

Jeffries and Schumer said a government shutdown could occur because Republicans refuse to talk with Democrats on the matter.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Friday denied excluding Democrats from budget negotiations.

“The House has just passed a short-term, clean, non-partisan continuing resolution to fund the government for a few additional weeks while we continue bipartisan work on appropriations bills,” Thune, R-S.D., said on the Senate floor.

He said congressional Democrats voted 13 times to shut down the federal government during the Biden administration and won’t “gain political points from shutting down the government over a clean, non-partisan continuing resolution.”

NELLY Patel will be a cast member for the tenth series of Married at First Sight.

She has taken a bold step into embarking on the reality TV show, having been single for the past year.

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Who is Nelly from Married at First Sight UK 2025?

Nelly is a 30-year-old cosmetic dentist from Manchester.

In a teaser trailer for the new series, she is shown having one of the most dramatic entrances ever seen on the show.

She advances down the aisle in a Bollywood-style outfit on a dolly covered with brightly coloured flowers in an extraordinary spectacle.

The 30-year-old narrates the video by portraying her nervousness about the reaction of her soon-to-be husband.

She says: “If he doesn’t react well to my entrance, I’d be devastated…

“I’m putting my heart on the line and I just really really hope it doesn’t get squished to little pieces because I don’t know how I’m going to come back from it if it does…”

Described as “Outspoken, confident, and warm”, Nelly has been single for over a year and is now ready to search for true love.

She “knows what she deserves” and is looking for a man who is “strong, emotionally intelligent, and not intimidated by a woman who knows exactly who she is.”

When is Married at First Sight UK 2025 on?

The tenth series of Married at First Sight begins on Sunday, September 21 at 9pm (BST).

Relationship experts Paul C. Brunson, Melanie Schilling and Charlene Douglas will be returning for another series.

For the first time ever, new episodes will be running from Sunday to Wednesday rather then from Monday to Thursday.

The show is on E4 and will be available to stream on demand via Channel 4.

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Who are the other Married at First Sight UK 2025 contestants?

Expert Paul has claimed that the new series will be “one of the most memorable” in the reality show’s history.

Another show source said: “For the first time in MAFS UK history, there will be two gay weddings in the same series.

“In the upcoming run, which hits screens later this month, viewers will see a gay male pair and a lesbian twosome meet for the first time at the altar.”

The 18 participants are listed in full below:

• ANITA, 54, Durham, Operations Manager
• GRACE, 31, Norwich, Midwife in mental health services
• JULIA-RUTH, 29, New Zealand, Professional Dancer 
• LEAH, 35, Liverpool, business owner
• LEIGH, 30, Romford, NHS Clinical Coder
• MAEVE, 29, Newcastle, Aesthetics Practitioner 
• NEELIMA (NELLY), 30, Manchester, Cosmetic Dentist
• REBECCA, 32, Liverpool, Aesthetics Nurse and clinic owner 
• SARAH, 31, Aberdeen, Recruitment Consultant 
• ASHLEY, 35, Bridgend, Operations Director
• BAILEY, 36, St Albans, Sales Manager
• DAVIDE, 33, Portugal, Cabin Crew
• DEAN, 31, Feltham, Team Building Host 
• DIVARNI, 29, London, Musician
• JOE, 31, Huddersfield, Personal Trainer 
• KEYE, 33, London, Marketing Manager
• PAUL, 60, Edinburgh, Retired
• STEVEN, 34, Essex, Investment Banking Manager 

LA VOIX has made history by becoming the first drag artist to sign up for the main series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Here’s everything you need to know about the trailblazing performer, whom The Sun exclusively revealed would be part of the Strictly 2025 line-up.  

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Who is La Voix?

La Voix, born Christopher Dennis, is a dynamic performer, presenter and vocalist.

She first rose to prominence in the entertainment world as a semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent in 2014.

La Voix later gained international acclaim through appearances on shows including Queen of the Universe and Queens For The Night.

In 2024, La Voix was a fan favourite and runner-up on the sixth series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, earning four RuPeter Badges for winning multiple challenges, including the Snatch Game and a musical Rusical performance.

Growing up in Stockton-on-Tees, La Voix moved to London aged 18 to study drama at Brunel University before training in musical theatre at the Urdang Academy.

Her career spans decades and includes performances worldwide on over 80 cruise ships and regular pantomime roles.

This is on top of La Voix’s live shows combining powerful vocals, comedy and celebrity impressions — she has the ability to channel legendary divas like Tina Turner, Cher and Judy Garland.

La Voix interviewed iconic personalities such as Dawn French and Joanna Lumley, and even performed for the Royal Family at its exclusive New Year’s Eve ball for two consecutive years.

The entertainer has also been involved in film, including a role in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie.

La Voix’s participation in Strictly Come Dancing is historic as she is the first drag queen to compete in the main series of the show.

While drag performers have appeared in the program’s Christmas specials before, La Voix is breaking new ground by joining the main line-up.

Speaking with the BBC, La Voix said: “I’ve performed for royalty, RuPaul and Simon Cowell, but nothing fills me with more excitement, and quite a bit of terror, than the thought of dancing in front of millions on live Saturday night TV.

“Strictly is a national institution, and I can’t wait to get started.

“All that’s left to say is: good luck to my partner! Here’s hoping they can help me go from La Voix into La Danse.”

La Voix also told Radio 2’s Scott Mills: “I can’t dance, I’ve always said it’s not my thing.

“I’ve managed to get through 20 years of being on stage by standing in the centre and having dancers choreographed around me, now I can’t hide behind that any more.”

Who else is on Strictly this year?

The 2025 Strictly Come Dancing line-up includes a stacked cast of celebrities alongside La Voix:

• Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Olympian and Gladiator)
• Dani Dyer (TV personality)
• Alex Kingston (Doctor Who actress)
• Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (former footballer)
• Balvinder Sopal (actress from EastEnders)
• Ellie Goldstein (model and the first contestant with Down syndrome on the full show)
• Karen Carney (Lioness legend)
• Kristian Nairn (Game of Thrones actor)
• Vicky Pattison (TV personality)
• Stefan Dennis (actor from Neighbours)
• Tom Skinner (former Apprentice star)
• Chris Robshaw (former Rugby Union star)
• Ross King (TV presenter)
• George Clarke (YouTube star)

The Fresno State football players wanted to be heard after so much frustration, so much uncertainty.

A season that had started with their coach leaving the job because of health problems, only to deteriorate further with four losses in six games during a maddening midseason stretch, was now back firmly on the upswing.

Their temporary coach having steadied them through every challenge, including his own uncertain future, those players yearned to preserve what might have been the best part of a burdensome season.

“We want Skip!” the players chanted in the locker room last November after a victory over Colorado State that made them eligible for a bowl game. “We want Skip!”

Tim Skipper, the interim coach who was practically a Fresno State lifer after having starred as a speck of a linebacker for the Bulldogs before going on to coach for them in various capacities, was making the best of what he had to work with once more.

It wasn’t the first or last time he would be needed in that capacity. The Bulldogs had tapped him to serve as the acting coach for a bowl game the previous season after coach Jeff Tedford’s first bout of health issues, and now UCLA is turning to Skipper to lead its team after the dismissal of coach DeShaun Foster on Sunday after the Bruins’ 0-3 start.

It’s an especially difficult spot given Skipper’s ties to his longtime friend, who hired him before this season as a special assistant to the head coach and once called himself “an honorary Skipper.” Skipper’s father, Jim, was Foster’s running backs coach with the Carolina Panthers. Skipper’s brother, Kelly, had been Foster’s running backs coach at UCLA.

“You know, DeShaun is kind of like family,” Jim Skipper said. “Tim’s got his work cut out, he knows that. But he’s up for the challenge. He’s been an underdog his whole life.”

This might be Tim Skipper’s greatest test, far greater than the six consecutive plays inside the three-yard line that the middle linebacker helped Fresno State stymie Ohio State during a goal-line stand in 2000. Among the biggest difficulties facing Skipper are rallying team morale and keeping the roster intact after a winless start that led to the firing of the coach who brought these players into the program. There’s also an offense and a defense that rank among the worst in the country and a persistent penalty problem.

“I know from the outside, people may look and say, the talent’s not changing, this imposing schedule isn’t changing, how can anyone expect different results?” said Paul Loeffler, Fresno State’s radio play-by-play announcer. “But I would say he’s a guy who can foster belief in young men because he believes. He’s relentlessly positive and it’s not fake positivity.

“There’s a gravitas there that I think the players would buy into and as hard as it’s going to be for him because of how close he and DeShaun have been for a long time, I think the way he attacks this opportunity will probably be colored by his experience last year.”

It was easy for Fresno State to turn to Skipper in July 2024 given his performance in guiding the Bulldogs to a 37-10 victory over New Mexico State in the New Mexico Bowl at the end of the previous season. The bowl triumph was welcome relief from a three-game losing streak and worries about Tedford after the coach stepped aside to address health issues.

After the game, Skipper dedicated the victory to his boss.

“He did a wonderful job getting our team prepared and ready for the bowl,” said Terry Tumey, the former UCLA nose guard who appointed Skipper as interim coach in December 2023 when Tumey was Fresno State’s athletic director. “This is a much larger stage, of course, but it’s not a foreign proposition for him to be in an interim situation and kind of taking over and kind of keeping things at bay as the administration figures out its next direction.”

Less than a year ago, Skipper made Fresno State seriously consider giving him the Bulldogs’ permanent job. The team got off to a 5-2 start before second-half slipups against Hawaii and Air Force were followed by a loss to UCLA in which the Bulldogs managed just a field goal after halftime.

Four days later, Fresno State athletic director Garrett Klassy hired USC linebackers coach Matt Entz as the Bulldogs’ new coach. Skipper eventually found a landing spot on Foster’s staff.

“He’s just somebody that’s very knowledgeable and he knows me,” Foster said in July. “So it’s just somebody that I know I can trust, and I’m just excited to be able to add somebody with that type of knowledge to our team.”

Given a new, unexpected opportunity as Foster’s replacement, Skipper, 47, might use any lingering disappointment from his last interim stop as motivation.

“Knowing Tim,” Tumey said, “he’s going to want to prove that he has what it takes to be a head coach, whether it’s this opportunity or somewhere else, and so he has something to prove too. I think our entire program at UCLA, we all have something to prove.”

Skipper’s lengthy coaching career has included stops at Western New Mexico, Sacramento State, Colorado State, Florida, Nevada Las Vegas and Central Michigan in addition to multiple stints at Fresno State. He’s mostly coached on defense but has spent four seasons as a running backs coach.

Scheduled to meet with the UCLA media for the first time on Wednesday morning, Skipper is known for a magnetic personality that allows him to quickly build trust among players. He’s already instituted one meaningful change in allowing photos and videos to be taken at practices after his predecessor had barred that custom.

“He’s so genuine, he’s so engaging, he’s got a million-dollar smile and he’s just present,” Loeffler said, “so I think he’s got a gift in terms of connecting.”

But he’s no softie. Pat Hill, the legendary former Fresno State coach known for backing up his “Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere” mantra with victories over major-conference opponents, said his onetime star defender who still ranks as the second-leading tackler in school history will rise to his latest challenge.

“When he walks into a room, take away the stature — he’s a small guy, he’s 5 feet 8 — but he commands the room and he will get the respect of the team immediately,” Hill said. “I guarantee the team will play with more emotion and they will play harder now.

“I don’t know what the wins and losses will be with the people they have, I really don’t know enough about it, but from a standpoint of leadership and getting a message to the team, he’ll be outstanding.”

Tumey said the expectations going into UCLA’s Big Ten opener against Northwestern on Sept. 27 should be for Skipper to stabilize the program, make sure the Bruins are competitive in conference play and support his players.

But what if UCLA starts unexpectedly rolling off one victory after another?

“Hey, stranger things have happened,” Tumey said. “I was a part of that 0-3-1 football team that ended up going to the Rose Bowl [in 1986]. So you never know.”

Sept. 12 (UPI) — Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, will be at the White House on Friday before a summit between Arab states regarding Israel’s attack on Qatar’s capital city of Doha.

Al-Thani is expected to discuss the strike by Israel and potentially a defense deal between Qatar and the United States.

He is expected to meet with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and diplomat Steve Witkoff.

Trump was in Doha in May, when the United States and Qatar finalized agreements regarding a letter of intent on defense cooperation between the Qatari Ministry of Defense and U.S. Department of Defense, which included a purchase of both drone systems and drone defense systems, as stated in a press release from the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Trump has distanced himself from the Israeli strike, which was intended to target the leadership members of Hamas. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that Trump assured the Qatari government that such an attack would never take place again.

The Israeli attack struck a residential compound in Doha and killed six people, including a Qatari security officer.

Qatar has since stressed it would “take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity” in a statement from the Qatari government.

Other countries in across the Persian Gulf are also concerned and are holding an emergency summit in Doha Sunday in response to Israel’s attack.

Israel’s latest forced displacement order for Gaza City is one too many for Nahd al-Rafati. He is refusing to leave, weary of what seems like a never-ending cycle of expulsion.

Sept. 11 (UPI) — The relationship between King Charles III and Prince Harry may be on the mend as the two met and spent a short time together in London on Wednesday.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that both father and son were at Clarence House in London together for tea for about 50 minutes, their first such gathering since February of 2024.

Charles made a trip into London Wednesday from Scotland, while Harry, who has lived in the United States since 2020, was already in Britain to attend charity events.

The last time they were together was shortly after the king was diagnosed with cancer last year, at which time the prince met with his father briefly.

Harry had spoken with the BBC in May and said he wanted reconciliation with his family.

After the meeting concluded, the palace said that no more information regarding the meeting would be provided.

The relationship between Harry and Charles has been tense since Harry and his wife Meghan Markle ceased to take part in key royal duties in 2020 and moved to California.

Harry has said we wouldn’t bring either his wife or their two children on the trip without guaranteed security. Once he stopped having royal responsibilities, his protection by the palace in Britain was reduced from full-time to a case-by-case situation.

SEOUL, Sept. 8 (UPI) — The defense chiefs of South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Monday to discuss cooperation across a range of issues, including North Korea‘s growing nuclear and missile threats.

The meeting between South Korea’s Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his counterpart, Gen Nakatani, marked the first visit by a Japanese defense minister to Seoul since 2015. Nakatani is in town to attend the Seoul Defense Dialogue, an annual security forum that runs from Monday to Wednesday.

The ministers “reaffirmed their firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and agreed to continue South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” they announced in a joint statement.

“They also emphasized the need to jointly address the deepening of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia,” the statement added.

North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and missiles to Russia to aid in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, and is believed to be receiving financial support and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs in return.

The meeting comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Beijing last week to attend a military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Kim stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the display of military might in Tiananmen Square, the first time the three leaders have been seen together publicly.

The appearance was viewed by many analysts as a major diplomatic win for Kim in his efforts to further cement North Korea’s status as a de facto nuclear state.

Ahn and Nakatani stressed the importance of promoting bilateral security ties and three-way cooperation with the United States amid a “rapidly changing security environment,” their joint statement said.

The defense chiefs agreed to boost mutual visits and personnel exchanges while seeking opportunities for high-tech defense cooperation.

“In particular, they agreed to explore future-oriented and mutually beneficial cooperation opportunities in cutting-edge science and technology fields such as AI, unmanned systems and space,” the statement said.

Seoul and Tokyo have seen their historically frosty relations thaw in recent years. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met last month and called for closer cooperation on trade and security issues.

Ishiba, however, announced his resignation on Sunday, raising questions about the future of Tokyo’s diplomatic relationship with Seoul.

South Korea’s presidential office said Monday that it planned to “continue positive relations going forward” with Japan, news agency Yonhap reported.

Pacific Island leaders have kicked off their annual summit in the Solomon Islands, with climate change and security expected to take centre stage amid the battle for influence in the region between China and the United States.

The weeklong gathering began in Honiara on Monday with a meeting of the group’s small island states.

The leaders of the 18-member forum, including Australia and New Zealand, will head to the seaside settlement of Munda for a retreat on Thursday.

Notably, this year’s summit will take place without the forum’s two dozen donor partners, including China, the US and Taiwan, after a dispute over Taipei’s attendance caused the Solomon Islands to bar those observers.

Among 18 forum members, three have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, three have defence compacts with the US, and several are French territories. Thirteen of the members have ties with China.

Divavesi Waqa, the secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum, said this year’s meeting will cover “regional priorities”, including “climate change, ocean governance, security, [and] economic resilience”.

“These are not just policy issues. They are lived realities for our people,” Waqa told reporters on Sunday.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, who welcomed leaders from neighbouring countries to Honiara, said the meeting’s theme “Lumi Tugeda: Act Now for an Integrated Blue Pacific Continent” reflected the “urgency for regional unity and action”.

“If ever there was a time that demanded strengthened Pacific regionalism and collective action, it is now,” Manele said, according to a statement.

The Solomon Islands leader, who has sought to strengthen relations with Australia after Western criticism of his predecessor’s close ties with China, has previously defended his decision to bar foreign observers.

Manele told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) last month that the decision was temporary while the forum updates its procedures for non-member participation.

“The Pacific region must always lead, drive and own their own agenda and not be distracted by divisive issues pushed by external media,” Manele said, in apparent reference to reports that the decision was related to a decision not to include Taiwan in this year’s meeting.

“We are not under pressure from any external forces,” he said.

“Let me be very clear: Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation. Our government acts in the best interests of our nation and the region.”

At this year’s forum, the Pacific Islands leaders are expected to sign the Fiji-proposed “Ocean of Peace” Declaration, which the country’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said comes as the Pacific region has “endured catastrophic calamities caused by climate change” as well as “its rich resources exploited by many”.

The proposal includes guiding principles, including “protecting and recognising the Pacific’s stewardship of the environment” as well as “peaceful resolution of disputes” and “rejection of coercion”, he said.

According to ABC, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will arrive in Honiara on Wednesday after visiting Vanuatu, where he is expected to sign a landmark pact to strengthen economic and security ties.

Vanuatu recently led an important case before the International Court of Justice, which saw the United Nations’ top court rule that states must act urgently to address the “existential threat” of climate change by cooperating to cut emissions.

Australia’s bid to host next year’s COP31 climate change meeting, as a Pacific COP, will be on the agenda in Honiara, amid criticism of Canberra’s mixed record on reducing its own emissions and fossil fuel exports.

Australia has previously pledged to work closely with its island neighbours to raise awareness of the challenges they face from rising sea levels and worsening storms.

The forum’s 18 members are Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Sept. 5 (UPI) — The United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea came together in Seoul this week, then in Tokyo Friday, for two Trilateral Quantum Cooperation meetings, the State Department said.

The meetings were to recognize the value of trilateral cooperation to strengthen and secure emerging technologies, a press release said. Experts from government and industry met to share best practices and discuss how to protect quantum ecosystems from physical, cyber, and intellectual property threats.

“Our trilateral partnership helps ensure Americans can benefit from the breakthroughs in quantum computing that have the potential to reshape the global balance of power, spark entirely new industries, and revolutionize the way we live and work. These workshops highlighted the growing importance of trilateral cooperation in safeguarding innovation and strengthening the quantum ecosystem, which has the promise of increasing human flourishing and the economic prosperity of Americans and our partners,” said a press release from the State Department’s spokesperson.

In August, South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung reflected on the partnership after having met President Donald Trump.

“The golden era is yet to come, not because we lack something, but [because] possibilities are endless,” Lee said, describing future cooperation.

He said Japan can’t be left out of this equation, as trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo will be essential to address North Korea and drive technological innovation.

Likely to help in quantum computing is new deputy secretary of the Department of Commerce Paul Dabbar. He was the president and CEO of Bohr Quantum Technology before his Senate confirmation. He led the development and deployment of emerging quantum network technologies while at Bohr.

North Korea announced in 2019 that it intends to adopt quantum computing for economic development. NK Economy reported quantum computers are being highlighted in the Korean Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

Quantum computing and its lower toll on the power grid — relative to supercomputers — could hold appeal for North Korea.

Rolling blackouts and power outages are common in the country, according to defectors and former residents of the country.

Some other year, under some other president, Republican Young Kim might have been a shoo-in to represent a majority-minority congressional district containing pieces of Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

Kim’s profile is as compelling as it is rare for someone running under the GOP banner: an immigrant, an Asian American and, perhaps most important, a woman in a year when female voter enthusiasm is surging. If she wins, she would be the first Korean American woman elected to Congress.

All of these facets might help her navigate the demographic changes that have been eroding Republican support for decades in the 39th Congressional District, where roughly two-thirds of residents are either Asian or Latino and immigrants make up about a third of the population.

But in this year’s tough midterm election, likely to be a referendum on Donald Trump’s divisive presidency, Kim will be forced to stitch together a majority out of disparate factions: die-hard Trump supporters, Trump-averse minorities and affluent suburban women. Kim, 55, finds herself in a race that’s virtually tied in a district where retiring GOP incumbent Ed Royce won the last three elections by double digits.

Republicans face big risks in contested California races as Democrats fight for control of the House »

On the campaign trail, she says, she’s faced questions about the president — his tweets, his policies, his tone. Kim says that Trump’s rhetoric concerns her and that his disparaging remarks about immigrants and women can be frustrating.

“I try to tell them I’m not running to be his spokesperson or represent Donald Trump in the White House,” she says.

Many GOP House candidates — in similarly diverse districts from the Virginia exurbs outside Washington to the bedroom communities east of Denver — share her plight.

In Southern California, Republicans’ tactics for dealing with Trump range from avoidance, as with two-term Rep. Mimi Walters of Laguna Beach, to a full embrace by Diane Harkey, who is running for a seat left open by retiring Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista.

Kim’s 39th Congressional District includes Chino Hills, Fullerton, Yorba Linda — the birthplace of Richard Nixon — and Diamond Bar.

Here, a taqueria can share a parking lot with a Taiwanese cafe. Spanish, Korean, Mandarin and Tagalog can be heard along with English in the upscale ethnic supermarkets that dot the area.

Will California flip the House? The key races to watch »

As she travels the region, Kim has tried to drive home two major points: that people living here know her, and that she understands their stories. She’s spent decades in the public arena, first as a longtime district staffer to Royce and then as a one-term state assemblywoman. She was once a TV talk show host on Korean-language television.

Kim speaks with a knowing ease about the sacrifices immigrants make for a shot at prosperity.

She often shares memories of interpreting for her parents and picking up cans and bottles on the beaches of Guam — a way station between Seoul and Hawaii, where her family later settled — to help raise money for their church.

“My personal experience of being an immigrant, having gone through what this diverse immigrant community has gone through, struggling,” Kim said. “Those are real life experiences that really helped me understand … the district.”

Kim, who owns a government affairs consulting business, moved to Southern California 37 years ago to attend USC. She lives in Fullerton with her husband, Charles; they have four adult children.

One recent Saturday at a campaign office in Rowland Heights, Kim bowed and greeted supporters with “Annyeonghaseyo!” — “Hello!” in Korean — before Saga Conroy took the stage.

“President Trump is not on the ballot, but his agenda is totally in this midterm election,” said Conroy, trying to pump up volunteers. “If we lose the majority in Congress, everything he achieved could be lost.”

It was a departure from Kim’s attempts to cast herself as an independent voice who will call out the president when she disagrees but is willing to work with him on policies that help the district. Kim’s campaign manager, wincing at the remarks, felt compelled to point out that Conroy isn’t a staffer but a volunteer coordinator for the California Republican Party.

“Voters want somebody to stand up to Trump and put a check on him,” said Ben Tulchin, a veteran pollster helping strategize for Kim’s opponent, Democrat Gil Cisneros. “A Republican who worked for a Republican member of Congress is not the person they’re looking for.”

As supporters snacked on spicy Korean rice cakes and egg rolls at the campaign office, one young woman approached Kim with a contribution and an invitation to speak at the next Rotary Club meeting in Fullerton.

“There’s three rotary clubs in Fullerton, so which one?” Kim said without missing a beat. “The main one,” the woman replied.

Kim insists that her strategy of showing up to dozens of groundbreakings, cultural fairs and community events will insulate her from national politics in a way she couldn’t manage in 2016, when she sought reelection to her Assembly seat.

Her Democratic opponent plastered the district with mailers featuring Kim’s face alongside the polarizing GOP presidential nominee and even released an ad disguised as a music video featuring lyrics declaring “Young Kim is like Donald Trump.” It contributed to her loss in the swing district.

Back then, Kim tried to sidestep the issue, saying she’d never met Trump and calling the tactic “desperate.” This time, she’s drawing sharper distinctions between her views and the president’s.

In an interview, Kim maintained that her party has not been captured by one man. “There is no party of Trump,” she said, banging her hand on a table. She’s running, she said, “because I’ve been here, I’ve been working here, I’ve raised my family here, I know the district…. I’m not running for the party of Trump.”

Still, Trump so dominates political discussion these days Kim can’t help but be drawn into the conversation. Her strategy is to ignore the president and his serial controversies as best she can. Kim, for instance, declined this week to comment on Trump’s mocking of Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

Coverage of California politics »

Kim has sought to carve out her own identity on issues by opposing, for instance, Trump’s policy of separating children from their parents who crossed the border illegally, saying it “does not live up” to American values. She vows to fight for a pathway to citizenship for young people brought to the country illegally as children.

She also breaks with Trump by supporting what he refers to as “chain migration,” which allows citizens to sponsor family members to join them. Like many in her district, Kim’s family has benefited from the long-standing policy. Kim’s adult sister, who had married an American serviceman and joined the military herself, was able to sponsor her, both of her parents and four siblings.

But Kim echoes Trump in other ways.

She called California’s so-called sanctuary state law an “affront to law-abiding citizens and a threat to public safety.” She praised a decision by the Trump administration to weigh in on a lawsuit against Harvard that alleges the university’s admissions policies discriminate against Asian Americans.

One of her first campaign ads emphasized how her family came to the country legally “and not because we wanted handouts.”

Bernie Overland, left, speaks to Democratic congressional candidate Gil Cisneros, center, at his home in Fullerton.

(Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times)

Those positions may help Kim hold on to support from the Republican base, but they alienate others who want no part of Trump and his presidency. There are frequent reminders of the fine line she walks.

Bernie Overland, a 78-year-old Republican, opened his door in Fullerton one recent Saturday when Cisneros, the Democrat, came knocking. Cisneros was there to speak to Overland’s wife, who’s a Democrat, but he first asked Bernie what issues he cares about most.

“Well, Trump is certainly one,” he said with a laugh.

He’s angry about Trump’s plans to build a border wall (he called it “a waste”) and is incensed by the risk of ballooning national debt from recently passed tax cuts.

“I just think he is taking this country down the garden path to disaster,” Overland said in an interview later. Overland says that he wants to send a message to Trump in this midterm election and that nothing Kim does and says will change his mind.

His plan: Vote for any candidate who is not a Republican.

[email protected]

Twitter: @cmaiduc

Tragedy and comedy make freaky bedfellows in “Oedipus the King, Mama!” This latest romp from Troubadour Theater Company turns the Getty Villa’s annual outdoor theater production into a Freudian carnival of psychosexual madness.

In “Lizastrata,” the troupe’s 2021 Getty Villa production, Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata,” the old political comedy in which women declare a sex strike to stop a ruinous war, and that singular showbiz sensation, Liza Minnelli, were merrily united in a lampoon with Bob Fosse flourishes. Here, Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” and Elvis, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, are brought together for an equally madcap if less artfully composed mashup.

The Elvis that storms into this ancient land known as Malibu is long past his prime. As impersonated by Matt Walker, the company’s director and comic frontman, he makes the late-career Las Vegas singer look like a spring chicken. Wearing a white jumpsuit adorned with rhinestones and a wig that looks as if some woodland creature had nested on his head, Walker’s Elvis has a bowlegged gait that suggests either a cumbersome protuberance or the early stages of rigor mortis.

There’s a younger version of the character, played by Steven Booth in a cartoon muscle suit and a tunic that makes it easy to flash the audience. But this exhibitionistic Oedipus is the star of the show’s unnecessary preface, a belabored warmup act that should have been cut in rehearsals.

The show feels overextended, as if 45-minutes of comic material had been inflated to fill out a 90-minute slot. The company’s commedia dell’arte-style shenanigans have a natural elasticity but farcical lunacy snaps when stretched too far.

The references to Southern California are unfailingly funny (this Oedipus claims to have started out as the crown prince of Temecula). But there’s something tired about an Elvis parody. The pompadour gag has lost its cultural shelf life. For the TikTok generation, it might as well be Thomas Jefferson who’s crooning “Hound Dog.”

The music still instantly captivates, even if whole swaths of the audience won’t be familiar with the original songs, impudently rewritten for the occasion. A version of “All Shook Up” is brilliantly deployed just as Oedipus is told the truth of his identity by Teiresias (Mike Sulprizio, outfitted to make the blind prophet look like a rejected member of the “Harry Potter” universe.)

How could any son not be shaken to the core after discovering that he not only killed his father but married his mother and sired his own siblings! That’s a lot to take in, as the cast routinely jokes. But denial buys time for a protagonist who’s too busy acting out his Oedipal fantasies to grapple with difficult realities.

The cast of “Oedipus the King, Mama!” at the Getty Villa.

(Craig Schwartz / J. Paul Getty Trust)

The object of Oedipus’ stunted affection is Jocasta (played by Beth Kennedy in a Priscilla Presley wig and the manner of a Southern ex-showgirl turned cougar). Kennedy not only steals the show but comes close to saving it. The comedy isn’t afraid to go low — poor mixed-up Oedipus isn’t yet fully weaned — but Kennedy’s Jocasta never loses her audacious, sexy-mama vivacity.

Rick Batalla, who plays Creon (pronounced crayon here), Oedipus’ straight-shooting brother-in-law, is another standout, eager to show off his own impish Elvis moves. The musical numbers are more elaborate than karaoke acts, but the volume is contained in deference to the Getty Villa’s neighbors, draining the staging of some of its theatrical power.

Scenically, the costumes of Sharon McGunigle and the puppet and prop design of Matt Scott do the heavy lifting. Walker’s direction has a grab-bag aspect, as if the invitation from the Getty Villa came too late to smoothly integrate all the moving parts.

Walker makes a jokey aside to that effect at the start of “Oedipus the King, Mama!” But no one’s complaining. The Getty Villa survived the fires and it can survive this jovial, if half-baked, Sophoclean circus. Levity is what’s needed now, and the Troubies are still funnier than anything AI could come up with, even if the joke is that ChatGPT had a hand in the script.

MEXICO CITY — A day after President Trump dramatically stepped up his administration’s military role in the Caribbean with what he called a deadly strike on a Venezuelan drug cartel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting the president of Mexico, who has voiced fears of the U.S. encroaching on Mexican sovereignty.

Rubio will sit down with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday to stress the importance the U.S. places on cooperating with Washington on Western Hemisphere security, trade and migration. Rubio will visit Ecuador on Thursday on his third trip to Latin America since taking office.

Trump has alienated many in the region with persistent demands and threats of sweeping tariffs and massive sanctions for refusing to follow his lead, particularly on migration and the fight against drug cartels. Likely to heighten their concerns is the expanded military footprint. The U.S. has deployed warships to the Caribbean and elsewhere off Latin America, culminating in what the administration said Tuesday was a lethal strike on an alleged Tren de Aragua gang vessel that U.S. officials say was carrying narcotics.

“Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!” Trump said of the strike, which he said had killed 11 gang members.

Rubio, defending the strike, made clear that such operations would continue if needed. Though it was a military strike, America’s top diplomat tweeted about it around when Trump announced it at the White House and then spoke to reporters about the operation.

“The president has been very clear that he’s going to use the full power of America and the full might of the United States to take on and eradicate these drug cartels, no matter where they’re operating from and no matter how long they’ve been able to act with impunity,” Rubio said Tuesday. “Those days are over.”

Rubio, a son of Cuban immigrants, has spoken out against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and other Latin American leftist governments, notably in Cuba and Nicaragua, for years and supported opposition leaders and movements there. Just before leaving for Mexico, he attended an award ceremony in Florida for a Cuban dissident who he said was an inspiration for freedom-loving people everywhere.

In Mexico, Trump has demanded, and so far won, some concessions from Sheinbaum’s government, which is eager to defuse his tariff threats, although she has fiercely defended Mexico’s sovereignty.

“There will be moments of greater tension, of less tension, of issues that we do not agree on, but we have to try to have a good relationship,” she said shortly before Rubio arrived in Mexico City on Tuesday.

Earlier this week, in a State of the Nation address marking her first year in office, she said: “Under no circumstance will we accept interventions, interference or any other act from abroad that is detrimental to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the country.”

Sheinbaum has gone after Mexican drug cartels and their fentanyl production more aggressively than her predecessor. The government has sent the National Guard to the northern border and delivered 55 cartel figures long wanted by U.S. authorities to the Trump administration.

Sheinbaum had spoken for some time about how Mexico was finalizing a comprehensive security agreement with the State Department that, among other things, was supposed to include plans for a “joint investigation group” to combat the flow of fentanyl and the drug’s precursors into the U.S. and weapons from north to south.

Last week, however, a senior State Department official downplayed suggestions that a formal agreement — at least one that includes protections for Mexican sovereignty — was in the works.

Sheinbaum lowered her expectations Tuesday, saying it would not be a formal agreement but rather a kind of memorandum of understanding to share information and intelligence on drug trafficking or money laundering obtained “by them in their territory, by us in our territory unless commonly agreed upon.”

On the trip, Rubio would focus on stemming illegal migration, combating organized crime and drug cartels, and countering what the U.S. believes is malign Chinese behavior in its backyard, the State Department said.

Lee writes for the Associated Press.

From Ryan Kartje: A dozen years before he charted a bold, new path for the USC football program, Chad Bowden was living on the pull-out couch of a cramped studio apartment in Hollywood with no clue where his life was headed.

Bowden couldn’t have dreamed up the role he’d one day occupy a few miles down the street at USC, where as the Trojans football general manager, Bowden has infused the program with new energy while putting together the top recruiting class in America.

So how did Bowden rise from that couch to being held up as one of the most consequential arrivals at USC since Pete Carroll himself?

Bowden thought that he might play college football. A few small schools had offered him opportunities to play linebacker coming out of high school in Cincinnati. But Bowden’s father, former baseball general manager Jim Bowden, didn’t think it was the right move. He worried about how his son would handle the rest of the college experience.

“He felt like it was best for me, from a maturity standpoint, to go right into working,” Bowden says.

Which is what led him to the tiny apartment off Highland Avenue. He split the place with Jac Collinsworth, his close high school friend, the two of them packed like sardines into a single room that doubled as the kitchen and dining space. Neither seemed to mind the close quarters. Everything became a competition, with each of them pushing the other.

Continue reading here

From Ben Bolch: Nico Iamaleava is the rare commuter enjoying his time on the 405 these days.

Every pump of the brakes, every maddening mile in traffic that can be more stop than go, puts him closer to hearing his dad’s voice and seeing his mom’s smile.

These are the visits that can fill a young man’s heart, not to mention his belly. During a recent trip home, the UCLA quarterback savored the family recipe of pisupo, a Samoan dish consisting of corned beef with rice.

“I’ve been getting a lot of home-cooked meals from mom and just having them. You know, an hour away has been fun, man,” Iamaleva told The Times after practice Wednesday. “You know, I’ll go to Long Beach as much as I can. But, you know, during this week, I’ve been locked in with the game plan and stuff like that.”

As he spoke, Iamaleava’s hair was tied back with a pink elastic band reading “Team Leinna.” Two years ago, Nico established a foundation to support breast cancer research and awareness after his mom, Leinna, recovered from Stage IV breast cancer.

Continue reading here

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: Thursday might be an off-day for the Dodgers.

But for their most intriguing recent draft pick, it’s also the opening day of a different kind of season.

In the 17th round of last month’s MLB draft, the Dodgers took a flier on University of Missouri pitcher Sam Horn, a 6-foot-4 right-hander with a big fastball, a promising slider and an athletic, projectable build.

Like most late-round prospects hoping to become a diamond in the rough, Horn came with questions. He pitched just 15 innings in his college career after undergoing Tommy John surgery as a sophomore. His limited body of work led to a wide range of scouting opinions.

In Horn’s case, however, the biggest unknowns had nothing to do with his potential as a pitcher.

Because, starting Thursday night, he will also be under center as quarterback for Missouri’s football team.

Continue reading here

Shaikin: How Shohei Ohtani turned the Dodgers into a global entertainment gateway

RAMS

Rams linebacker Jared Verse shows off the team’s new uniforms.

(Los Angeles Rams)

From Gary Klein: Nothing, it seems, commands the attention of Rams fans more than the team’s uniforms.

And on Thursday, the Rams revealed a new “Midnight Mode” uniform part of the NFL’s Rivalries program.

The “near black” ensemble and helmet was designed by Nike and the Rams based on the ethos that “We work hard all night to earn the spotlight,” said Kathryn Kai-ling Frederick, the Rams’ chief marketing officer.

Continue reading here

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1885 — John L. Sullivan wins the first world heavyweight title under the Marquess of Queensbury rules when he beats Dominic McCaffrey in six rounds. The fight features 3-ounce gloves and 3-minute rounds.

1952 — Dr. Reginald Weir becomes the first Black man to compete in the U.S. Tennis Championships. Weir appears two years after Althea Gibson breaks the color barrier in the tournament and loses in four sets to William Stucki.

1962 — A.C.’s Viking, driven by Sanders Russell, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.

1968 — Open tennis begins at the U.S. Tennis Championships. Billie Jean King wins the first stadium match at the U.S. Open and amateurs Ray Moore and Jim Osborne have upset wins over professionals. Moore beats No. 10 Andres Gimeno and Osborne defeats Barry MacKay, each in four sets.

1974 — Nineteen-year-old high school basketball star Moses Malone, signs a contract with the Utah Stars of the ABA to become the first player to go directly from high school into major pro basketball.

1978 — The USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. opens. Bjorn Borg beats Bob Hewitt in the first match 6-0, 6-2 in the best-of-three sets.

1987 — Charlie Whittingham becomes the first trainer to surpass 500 stakes wins when he sent Ferdinand to victory in the Cabrillo Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack.

1993 — Laffit Pincay Jr. wins the 8,000th race of his career aboard El Toreo in the seventh race at Del Mar racetrack to become the second thoroughbred jockey to ride 8,000 winners.

1993 — Brandie Burton’s 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff edges Betsy King for the du Maurier Classic title, the LPGA tour’s final major of the season.

2005 — Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova becomes the first U.S. Open defending women’s champion to fall in the first round, losing 6-3, 6-2 to fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova on the first day of the U.S. Open.

2011 — Petra Kvitova becomes the first defending Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round at the U.S. Open, 7-6, 6-3 to Alexandra Dulgheru.

2013 — The NFL agrees to pay $765 million to settle lawsuits from thousands of former players who developed dementia or other concussion-related health problems they say were caused by the on-field violence. The settlement, unprecedented in sports, applies to all past NFL players and spouses of those who are deceased.

2015 — Usain Bolt anchors Jamaica to a fourth successive men’s 4×100-meter title and adds to his record-breaking personal haul of IAAF World Championships gold medals to 11.

2018 — Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers signs NFL record contract extension with the Green Bay Packers; 4 years worth $134m rising to a possible $180m with a record $103m in guarantees.

2018 — Wanheng Menayothin surpasses Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s 50-0 record, beating Pedro Taduran in a unanimous decision to improve to 51-0. The 32-year-old Menayothin (51-0, 18 KOs) won his 10th successful title defense of his WBC minimumweight belt that he won in November 2014.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1918 — The Chicago Cubs, behind the pitching of Lefty Tyler, clinched the National League pennant with a 1-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

1934 — The Philadelphia A’s ended Schoolboy Rowe’s 16-game winning streak with a 13-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

1948 — Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers hit for the cycle in a 12-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Robinson drove in two runs, scored three runs and stole a base.

1965 — San Francisco’s Willie Mays broke Ralph Kiner’s National League record with his 17th home run of the month in an 8-3 triumph over the New York Mets. Kiner had 16 homers in September of 1949. Mays hit a tape measure shot off Jack Fisher.

1967 — Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City A’s hit three triples in a 9-8, 10-inning loss to the Cleveland Indians. Campaneris was the first to have three triples in a game since Ben Chapman in 1939.

1971 — Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves knocked in his 100th run of the season, giving him the National League record of 11 seasons with 100 or more RBIs.

1977 — Lou Brock of St. Louis stole base No. 893, breaking Ty Cobb’s modern record for career stolen bases. The Cardinals lost to the San Diego Padres 4-3.

1977— Cleveland’s Duane Kuiper hit a one-out solo home run in the first inning off Chicago’s Steve Stone at Municipal Stadium. It was Kuiper’s only homer in 3,379 career at-bats — the fewest homers in most at-bats for any player in MLB history.

1985 — Don Baylor of the New York Yankees set an American League record when he was hit by a pitch for the 190th time in his career. Baylor was struck by Angels pitcher Kirk McCaskill in the first inning, breaking the old mark of 189 set by Minnie Minoso.

1991 — Carlton Fisk of the Chicago White Sox hit two homers to become the oldest player in the 20th century to accomplish the mark. He’ll top this by hitting two homers on October 3. Jack McDowell went the distance to beat Cleveland 7-2.

1993 — George Brett recorded his 200th stolen base in Kansas City’s 5-4, 12-inning victory over Boston to join Willie Mays and Hank Aaron as the only players with 3,000 hits, 300 homers and 200 steals.

1998 — Toms River, N.J., wins its first Little League World Series with a 12-9 victory over Kashima, Japan. Chris Cardone hits home runs in consecutive at-bats — including the game-deciding two-run shot.

2000 — Darin Erstad went 3-for-5 to reach 200 hits faster than any player (132 games) in 65 years as the Angels defeated Toronto 9-4. Ducky Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals did it in 131 games in 1935.

2002 — Mark Bellhorn became the first player in NL history to hit a home run in the same inning from both sides of the plate, in the fourth of the Chicago Cubs’ 13-10 win over Milwaukee.

2004 — Albert Pujols hit his 40th home run and reached 100 RBIs for the fourth straight season to help St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 4-0. He’s the fourth player to start his major league career with four straight seasons with at least 100 RBIs, joining Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.

2010 — Brian McCann hit a game-winning homer with help from video replay, giving the Atlanta Braves a stunning 7-6 victory over the Florida Marlins. It was the first time a game ended using a video review.

2018 — Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich went 6 for 6 and hit for the cycle and Jesus Aguilar homered in the 10th inning, powering the Brewers to a 13-12 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The Brewers had a season-high 22 hits and rallied to take the lead four different times.

2021 — Taylor, Michigan wins the Little League World Series with a win over Hamilton, Ohio.

2022 — Aaron Judge of the Yankees hit home run #50 of the season, to stay just ahead of the pace set by Roger Maris when he hit 61 homers to set the team and American League record in 1961.

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.