BBC star Michael Ball has been supported by fans after revealing the heartbreaking news that his mum has died.
The star took to X to share a post of his mum, Ruth Parry Ball, to announce her passing.
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BBC star Michael Ball has been supported by fans after revealing the heartbreaking news that his mum has diedCredit: Getty
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The star took to X to share a post of his mum, Ruth Parry Ball, to announce her passingCredit: X
She looked in great spirits in the throwback photo, in an all white outfit with a wide brimmed hat on.
Ruth died at the age of 91, and Michael penned to his followers: “Ruth Parry Ball1934-2025x”
Fans flooded the comments with their condolences, as one person wrote: “Awww Michael I’m so so sorry. Your heart must be broken. I honestly know how you feel. My Mum died on Tuesday and the tears has not stopped.”
A second person said: “Michael I’m sorry for your loss. My condolences to you and your family.”
Read More on Michael Ball
A third commented: “What a beautiful photo. So sorry for your loss.”
And someone else said: “So sorry to see this. God bless her and all who love her and will miss her.”
Michael shared a close bond with his mum, and would often post photos of her on social media.
Last year, he spoke about how they’d celebrated her 90th birthday with a post of them all doing a zipline.
He said: “We celebrated my dear mum’s 90th birthday this past weekend with a trip to Wales with the whole family. What did we get up to, I hear you ask – well we took a 90 year old on the fastest zipline in the world of course! Mx”
The One show’s Alex Jones completely loses it as Michael Ball announces shock new career
Michael and his dear mum could be seen smiling away as they got ready to take the zipline on.
The star has an English father, and his mum Ruth was Welsh.
Michael’s dad is Tony Ball, who was awarded an MBE for services to the industry.
Meanwhile, Michael was appointed an OBE in 2015 for his services to musical theatre.
As a teenager Ball joined a youth theatre, then studied at Guildford School of Acting.
His first role was in Godspell in Aberystwyth, but he got his first major break in The Pirate of Penzance in Manchester.
He later went on to play Raoul in The Phantom Of The Opera before going on to represent the UK in the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest – where he finished in second place with the song One Step Out Of Time.
More recently, Michael has taken stage roles in shows like Hairspray and Sweeney Todd.
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Michael shared a close bond with his mum, and would often post photos of her on social mediaCredit: Getty
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They went zip lining for her 91st birthdayCredit: Instagram
When it comes to athletes who deserve to be welcomed on a red carpet walk each time they show up for classes, the name of John Michael Flint of Bishop Diego High comes to mind.
He’s 6 feet 2 and 180 pounds, was the league player of the year in volleyball, has a 38-inch vertical leap that allows him to dunk a basketball or kill a volleyball at the blink of an eye, and starts for the football team at receiver and safety. He’s also an A student and the backup quarterback.
“We’re talking to him about doing some kicking,” football coach Tom Crawford said. “He can pretty much do anything you ask. He’s the complete student-athlete.”
He’s going to be a captain for the football team and also helps out with campus ministry.
“He’s mature beyond most high school kids’ years in terms of decisions he makes and how he relates to coaches and peers,” Crawford said. “I just like him because he has a great, quiet confidence and poise about him.”
He’s expected to also play basketball this coming season after not playing last season.
So get ready for the year of John Michael Flint showing the way at Bishop Diego.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
Aug. 15 (UPI) — Former congressman and Gov. Michael N. Castle, R-Del., has died at the age of 86, the politician’s family confirmed in a post online.
The moderate Republican served two terms as governor between 1985 and 1992 before being elected to Congress in 1993.
“Congressman Mike Castle was a founding member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a leading organization for centrist Republicans, and worked in a bipartisan manner to help move people from welfare to work, support fiscally responsible government, improve public education, and protect the community,” his family said in the statement.
“He served on the House Committee on Financial Services, Committee on Education and Workforce and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.”
Castle, who is survived by his wife of over 33 years, Jane DiSabatino, ultimately became the longest-serving member of Congress from Delaware in the state’s history.
He also served as the lieutenant governor of Delaware from 1981 to 1985 prior to being elected governor, and in the state legislature before that.
“Over the arc of the more than 40 years that I knew him – I met him when I was 16 – he repeatedly provided his knowledge and expertise to help me along my own way,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said in a statement, calling Castle an “incredible man.”
“When we eventually ran against each other, I did my absolute best to run a respectful, positive, policy-based campaign. As we campaigned against each other, I only liked him more.”
Castle was known as a backer of educational and environmental reforms.
As a member of Congress, Castle was a major proponent of the 2001 “No Child Left Behind,” legislation that was an effort to improve test scores among U.S. school children.
“Governor Castle understood there is no greater legacy we leave to future generations than the quality of our environment. As Governor, his administration’s Environmental Legacy program to protect and preserve forests, wetlands, and beaches won recognition for its foresight and impact,” his family said in the statement.
In addition to DiSabatino, who he married in 1992, Castle is survived by his “many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.”
Visitation will take place August 21 at a funeral home in Wilmington, Del.
Astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission to the moon, died August 8, 2025, in Illinois, his family announced. He was 97. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Mild mannered presenter Michael Aspel is now 92 but caused uproar in his younger presenting days
Michael Aspel TV show was so outrageous it was banned by the BBC and government(Image: BBC)
Veteran broadcaster Michael Aspel has revealed how one of his TV shows was banned by the BBC and the Government.
The mild-mannered presenter – who found fame hosting Ask Aspel and This Is Your Life – was invited to front a documentary about the horrors of nuclear war but it was deemed too graphic and realistic. The 92-year-old star now admits: “I had no idea about the uproar that was to follow.” Aspel was invited to be part of a mini-film called The War Game in 1965 to mark the 20 th anniversary of the American nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Director Peter Watkins wanted to show Brits the realities of what could happen if the same happened here.
The show used actors to play the victims of an atomic attack and it gave gory detailed descriptions of what would happen to their bodies before death. Aspel was asked to narrate the project which would air on the BBC and he happily agreed.
He recalls in a new BBC 4 documentary: “Now I had done a few of those before but little did I know the furore this particular film would cause.
“It was made to reflect what had happened in Hiroshima and Peter wanted to see what life might have been like in this country if we had been the victims of an atom bomb.
“Although newsreaders used to do odd jobs away from the BBC with medical films and stuff like that, I was particularly interested why the director and writer of this film would want me to be the narrator.
Aspel on This Is Your Life in 1989, a far cry from his controversial doc(Image: Mirrorpix)
“And I could only suppose, because being a newsreader and perhaps being familiar to listeners as well as to viewers in that role, it would suit his film very well.
“The idea was to give the film authenticity. The director wanted to present a very ordinary community of people in this country with all the foibles of the time such as casual racism.
“The film was made to be as realistic as possible so the viewer would believe what they wee watching it as though it was a Government warning.”
However, the programme was pulled from broadcast. The BBC claims it was their decision. It had given some members of Harold Wilson’s Government a copy of the violent and graphic documentary in advance as it feared it might be seen as an advertisement for nuclear disarmament with a pacifist CND agenda. Even the ex-BBC head of documentaries – the late Huw Weldon – branded it ‘a political hot potato’.
The BBC maintains it was told it had to make the decision over whether to broadcast the show itself. And the director general at the time – Hugh Carleton Greene – shelved the show saying it was ‘so shocking and upsetting’ that he could never forgive himself if someone ‘threw themselves under a bus’ because of it.
However Aspel reveals another side to the story. He claims Peter Watkins felt ‘betrayed’ by this decision and always believed it was really The Government who banned his documentary.
The TV host – who also presented Aspel and Company and Give Us A Clue and Crackerjack – adds: “He was always sure it was Government interference that stopped the film.”
And archive footage is shown from a 1998 interview with the late Labour MP and former postmaster general Tony Benn. He admits: “Frank Soskice, who was the home secretary, ordered me to ban the programme… because it was argued this would lead to panic.
“I was only his master’s voice and had nothing to do with it (the decision) so I had to send a directive to Carleton Greene saying ‘You must not broadcast it’. I greatly regret it. I never believe in censorship.”
It took another 20 years for the film to see the light of day. The War Game was finally broadcast on the BBC to mark the 40 th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ironically it even won an Oscar for best documentary feature.
Aspel now says: “It is now 80 years since the bombings in Japan and 60 years since I sat in that little recording studio with no idea of the uproar that was to follow.”
* Michael Aspel Remembers.. The War Game will air on BBC 4 on Wednesday July 30 at 10pm followed by a screening of the 1965 film.
There were three television characters who really mattered to me as a kid: Michael, Leroy and Theo.
In elementary school, “Good Times” was the television show that most closely resembled my family. And seeing reruns of Ralph David Carter’s portrayal of a precocious young boy learning what it means to be poor, gifted and Black is what moved his Michael from fiction to family for me.
By middle school, I was no longer wearing cornrows like Gene Anthony Ray, but I tried everything else to be like his character Leroy from the television show “Fame.” For some of my classmates, the performing arts were a fun way to express themselves, and the show was inspirational. For me, it was my way out of the hood, and Leroy was the blueprint. Through the Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy, I was able to take professional dance lessons for free and ultimately earned a dance scholarship for college.
But it wasn’t a linear journey. Despite being gifted, I struggled academically and required summer classes to graduate from high school. That’s why I connected with Theo, whose challenges in the classroom were one of the running jokes on “The Cosby Show.” The family never gave up on him, and more importantly, he didn’t stop trying.
Through the jokes about his intelligence, the coming-of-age miscues (and the dyslexia diagnosis), the storylines of Theo — like those of Leroy and Michael — often reflected struggles I foolishly thought no one else was experiencing when I was growing up. It is only through distance and time are we able to see moments like those more clearly. In retrospect, the three of them were like knots I held onto on a rope I had no idea I was climbing.
This is why the Black community’s response to the death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner this week isn’t solely rooted in nostalgia but also in gratitude. We recognize the burden he’s been carrying, so that others could climb.
When “The Cosby Show” debuted in 1984, there were no other examples of a successful two-parent Black family on air. We were on television but often trauma and struggle — not love and support — were at the center of the narratives. So even though Black women had been earning law degrees since the 1800s — beginning with Charlotte E. Ray in 1872 — and Black men were becoming doctors before that, the initial response from critics was that the show’s premise of a doctor-and-lawyer Black couple was not authentically Black.
That narrow-minded worldview continued to hang over Hollywood despite the show’s success. In 1992, after nearly 10 years of “The Cosby Show” being No. 1 — and after the success of “Beverly Hills Cop II” and “Coming to America” — the Eddie Murphy-led project “Boomerang” was panned as unrealistic because the main characters were all Black and successful. The great Murphy took on the Los Angeles Times directly in a letter for its critique on what Black excellence should look like.
However, Black characters like Michael, Leroy and Theo had been taking on the media since the racist film “The Birth of a Nation” painted all of us as threats in 1915. It could not have been easy for Warner, being the face of so much for so many at an age when a person is trying to figure out who he is. And because he was able to do so with such grace, Warner’s Theo defined Blackness simply by being what the world said we were not. This sentiment is embodied in his last interview, when he answered the question of his legacy by saying: “I will be able to leave this Earth knowing and people knowing that I was a good person.”
In the end, that is ultimately what made his character, along with Leroy and Michael, so important to the Black community. It wasn’t the economic circumstances or family structure of the sitcoms that they all had in common. It was their refusal to allow the ugliness of this world to tear them down. To change their hearts or turn their light into darkness. They maintained their humanity and in the process gave so many of us a foothold to keep climbing higher.
The following AI-generated content is powered by Perplexity. The Los Angeles Times editorial staff does not create or edit the content.
Ideas expressed in the piece
The author argues Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s role as Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” provided representation and relatability for Black youth struggling with self-identity, academic challenges, and systemic biases[1][2][4].
Warner’s portrayal of Theo, a character navigating classroom struggles and dyslexia, mirrored real-life experiences of many Black children who saw limited depictions of airborne excellence in media[1][3][4].
The author emphasizes the cultural significance of The Cosby Show as one of the first mainstream sitcoms to depict a successful, intact Black family amid Hollywood’s narrow, often regressive portrayals of African Americans[1][4].
Warner’s death sparked gratitude from Black communities for his role in normalizing Blackness as multifaceted and resilient against systemic adversity[1][2][4].
Copied states: sopping, the author highlights Warner’s grace in enduring pressure to represent Black excellence, noting the burden he carried for marginalized audiences seeking validation in media[1][4].
Different views on the topic
No contrasting perspectives were identified in the provided sources. The article and supporting materials exclusively focus on eulogizing Warner’s legacy without presenting alternative viewpoints.
Luke Littler survived a real scare before fighting back to beat Jermaine Wattimena 13-11 in a thriller to reach the World Matchplay quarter-finals in Blackpool, but three-time champion Michael van Gerwen is out after defeat to Josh Rock.
World champion Littler looked out of sorts at Winter Gardens as he slipped 4-0 and then 7-2 behind against Dutchman Wattimena.
After pulling one leg back immediately before the second break, a clearly fired up Littler let out a roar of delight and gestured to the crowd that he was not going home just yet.
Littler returned from the break reinvigorated, winning six legs in a row, but Wattimena rediscovered his composure and the two players traded blows to send the game to a tie break
Littler missed two match darts as the nerves began to show, but after making the third he once again roared in celebration and pointed to the star on his shirt, which signifies his World Championship victory.
“When I pointed to the star on my shirt, I’m a world champion for a reason, I find these gears when I need it,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“I’ve not felt pressure like that since the first round of the World Championship. I was a bit nervous and it’s on to my third game here, I’ve won two of them.
“I want to get back on stage and right now I can’t wait to be in the quarter-final.”
Van Gerwen made a flying start against Northern Ireland’s Rock, taking the opening leg with a 150 checkout before surging into a 5-1 lead.
Rock narrowed the game to 6-4 at the second break only for Van Gerwen to move into a 9-6 lead and seemingly on the brink of victory.
But Rock fought back again and the momentum to swung in his favour when a superb 152 checkout cut Van Gerwen’s lead down to one, before winning the next two legs to take the lead for the first time.
Van Gerwen needed a 138 checkout to stay in the game and make it 10-10, but Rock held his nerve in a tense tie break.
“I kept my emotions, I think, throughout the game. I don’t know what was going on but I got into the game at the end,” he told Sky Sports.
“One of the most dramatic, my heart was pumping throughout the whole game. The stress has finally gone. What a game.”
Gerwyn Price stormed into the quarter-finals with an 11-3 thrashing of England’s Chris Dobey,
Welshman Price, who was involved in an angry confrontation with Daryl Gurney in the previous round, averaged 108.7, hit eight 180s and had a 146 checkout in a dominant performance.
“It was fantastic. In the middle part of the game I felt like I couldn’t miss,” he told Sky Sports. “I put Chris under a lot of pressure. I think he still played pretty decent in patches.
“I think early on we were both flying and I was just pipping him on a couple of legs, probably disheartened him a little bit. It’s a good game for me.”
Andrew Gilding set up a meeting with Littler after the former UK Open champion beat Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode 11-5 to reach the last eight of the World Matchplay for the second successive year.
The Wheel returned to screens on Saturday night with comedian Michael McIntyre back at the helm
BBC Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel sparks complaints as fans ‘can’t watch’ anymore
Viewers of Michael McIntyre‘s The Wheel were left underwhelmed by the latest episode of the BBC quiz show.
Saturday night (July 19) saw the return of the gameshow with comedian Michael McIntyre once again steering the ship.
A new group of celebrity experts, including Harry Redknapp, Carol Vorderman, Nick Grimshaw, Andi Oliver, Tom Read Wilson, Angela Scanlon, and Chunkz, joined him to assist contestants in their quest for a substantial cash prize.
Despite the star-studded lineup, fans quickly voiced their displeasure upon realising they were watching a repeat. One viewer vented on social media: “@BBCOne really going for it this Saturday night with 5 (FIVE) game shows back to back.”
The show returned to screens this weekend(Image: BBC)
Another expressed confusion: “Don’t understand why they repeat quiz shows.”, reports the Daily Record.
A third remarked: “As soon as we saw Angela’s topic we knew it was a repeat,” alluding to Angela’s speciality subject of ‘redheads’. Yet another commented: “Love the show even if it is a repeat.”
Some viewers also reported feeling queasy while tuning in. One person wrote: “Has anyone every got motion sickness on The Wheel whilst it’s spinning?” Another shared: “Can’t watch The Wheel on the BBC. It makes me feel dizzy and sick.”
Fans were not happy
However, there’s a silver lining for fans of the show, as a brand-new sixth series of Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel is set to air later this year.
In April, the BBC announced that it had commissioned two more series each of Michael McIntyre’s Big Show and Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel.
Michael McIntyre has expressed his delight over the success of his hit shows, stating: “I’m so proud of the success of both The Big Show and The Wheel. This will take the Big Show up to its 10th series, which is an amazing achievement for everyone involved.”
A new series is coming later this year (Image: (Image: BBC/Hungry Bear/Gary Moyes))
The comedian went on to say: “The Wheel was a show we made in lockdown while we couldn’t film the Big Show, but it’s become equally beloved.”
He also shared a humorous anecdote: “Someone came up to me recently while I was walking the dog and said they “loved The Big Wheel”, I have no idea whether they meant The Big Show, The Wheel or both shows, they may have just come from The London Eye”.
Watch Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel on BBC One and iPlayer.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan and ex-India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta discuss potential squad rotations for England and India before a big fourth Test at Old Trafford next week.
“Reservoir Dogs” and “Kill Bill” star Michael Madsen and his family are “incredibly overwhelmed with grief and sadness” over the death of his son Hudson Madsen, who was also filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s godson.
The 26-year-old Oahu resident died of a gunshot wound, according to the City and County of Honolulu Dept. of the Medical Examiner. Supervising investigator Charlotte Carter said Tuesday that Madsen’s manner of death was listed as a suicide, citing his death certificate.
The department does not release death dates, Carter said, but noted that a full autopsy report would be available to the public in about four months.
An attorney for Madsen said Wednesday that the actor is doing well and is surrounded by his children while his wife is in Hawaii making arrangements.
Michael Madsen, left, and son Hudson Madsen in Las Vegas in 2011.
(David Becker / WireImage)
“I am in shock as my son, whom I just spoke with a few days ago, said he was happy – my last text from him was ‘I love you dad,’” Madsen said in a statement to The Times.
“I didn’t see any signs of depression. It’s so tragic and sad. I’m just trying to make sense of everything and understand what happened,” he continued.
He said Hudson had just completed his first tour in the U.S. Army, where he was a sergeant stationed in Hawaii, and that his marriage “was going strong.” According to social media posts from Hudson and his wife, Carlie, he spent time in Afghanistan.
“He had typical life challenges that people have with finances, but he wanted a family,” Madsen said. “He was looking towards his future, so its [sic] mind blowing. I just can’t grasp what happened.”
The actor, 64, said that he has asked for a full investigation by the military. He believes “that officers and rank and file were shaming” his son for needing therapy and that made him stop getting help for mental health issues that he had been keeping private.
“We are heartbroken and overwhelmed with grief and pain at the loss of Hudson,” the Madsen family said Tuesday in a statement to Metro. “His memory and light will be remembered by all who knew and loved him. We ask for privacy and respect during this difficult time. Thank you.”
Hudson Madsen is survived by his wife, his father, mother DeAnna and siblings Christian, Calvin, Max and Luke.
Michael Madsen, the actor who was a staple in numerous Quentin Tarantino films including “Kill Bill” and “Reservoir Dogs,” has died. He was 67
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to The Times that deputies responded to the actor’s Malibu home Thursday morning and found him unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at 8:25 a.m. The spokesperson did not reveal a cause of death, adding that foul play is not suspected and Madsen seemingly died of natural causes.
A Britain’s Got Talent star has announced his wife is expecting their first child in an adorable Instagram post – over 10 years after he appeared on the hit ITV show
Ceramicist Michael Frimkiss — who was born to a Jewish family in Boyle Heights in 1937 — died on Feb. 28 at 88, leaving a uniquely L.A. legacy of classical clay creations, as well as a family of artists in his wake.
Frimkiss’ wife is the Venezuelan-born ceramicist Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, who, received her first major museum retrospective last year at 95 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. His grandchildren — Sachi and Louie Moskowitz — are also artists. Born to Lelia Moskowitz, Frimkiss’ daughter from his first marriage, the Moskowitz siblings are currently staging an exhibition through July 27 titled “Made to Last” at Arcane Space gallery in Venice. Sachi is a ceramicist, like her grandfather, and Louie is a photographer.
The show is, in part, a tribute to Frimkiss and a nod to the artistic impulse passed down in the family through the generations.
As the family patriarch, Frimkiss distinguished himself as a uniquely Southern California artist who infused traditional clay vessels with pop culture aesthetics and cutting-edge social commentary.
Frimkiss’ father was also an artist who made his mark working in graphic design. He and his wife encouraged their son’s interest in art from an early age. After graduating from Hollywood High, Frimkiss won a scholarship to the school that would become known as Otis College of Art and Design. It was an exciting time for ceramics, with Peter Voulkos and his students creating a new Abstract Expressionist language for the art form.
An undated photo of ceramicist Michael Frimkiss.
(Lelia Moskowitz)
In a 2000 interview with The Times, Frimkiss talked about how a peyote trip in 1956 ended with his decision to pursue the art of ceramics: “He describes being awake for 24 hours, then having a vision like ‘a glow in my forehead.’ What he saw was material being shaped into a vessel, a process that he had glimpsed at Otis but never tried. ‘I thought, that must be pottery. I must be throwing pots. That’s the answer,’ he says.”
Frimkiss went on to work in a ceramics factory in Italy, before moving back to L.A. In 1963 he met and married Magdalena, and the couple settled into a home and studio near Venice Beach. Frimkiss’ life was marked by a difficult decades-long battle with multiple sclerosis, but he went on to define himself as an iconoclastic artist noted for a no-water throwing technique that created wafer-thin pots with inimitable qualities.
Frimkiss’ work is in the Smithsonian, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, among others.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt looking to get my hands in some clay. Here’s this week’s arts and culture rundown.
Best bets: On our radar this week
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Jacqueline Misaye as Rosaline and Brent Charles as Berowne star in the Independent Shakespeare Co.’s outdoor production of William Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”
(Mike Ditz)
‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ Romance is in the air as the Independent Shakespeare Co. launches its annual Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. Four young gentlemen’s vow to devote themselves to the chaste study of academics is derailed by the arrival of four fetching noblewomen in the comedy “Love’s Labour’s Lost.” Catch the final preview tonight or attend Saturday’s opening night. The festival second show, the Elizabethan tragedy, “Doctor Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe, debuts Aug. 6. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through July 27 (except July 4). Outdoors at the Dell at the top of the Old Zoo, Griffith Park. indieshakes.org
Kamasi Washington brings jazz to the new David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic)
Kamasi Washington Live The jazz saxophonist and composer leads an ensemble 100-strong performing Washington’s six-movement suite, “Harmony of Difference,” in its entirety for the first time. The second two nights of a sold-out three-night stand (sign up for ticket availability alerts) marking the public’s first opportunity to visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen Galleries prior to the installation of art. The Times will have boots on the ground reporting on the experience. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. David Geffen Galleries, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org
‘Tombstone’ This premiere of a new 4K restoration of director George P. Cosmatos’ 1993 western about Wyatt Earp and that notorious shootout at the O.K. Corral also serves as tribute to actor Val Kilmer, who died earlier this year. The actor’s portrayal of John Henry “Doc” Holliday, which former Times film critic Peter Rainer called “a classic camp performance,” is one of the key reasons for the film’s longevity as a cult classic. Kurt Russell stars as Earp, with Bill Paxton and Sam Elliott as his brothers Morgan and Virgil. 7 p.m. Saturday. Academy Museum, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Takako Yamaguchi In the third of its relaunched “MOCA Focus” exhibitions, which present an artist’s first solo museum show in Los Angeles, the institution turns its attention to the 72-year-old Japanese-born painter, whose appropriation of diverse imagery challenges ideals of ethnic identity and cultural ownership. The show features “archly stylized” oil-and-bronze-leaf seascapes that bring together her highly-crafted sense of “Eastern” and Western,” developed over 40 years. “The L.A.-based Yamaguchi either presents the canvas as if a sculptural element itself, painted with ridges and creases and layers of depth, or treats it as a neutral surface upon which she renders a form atop (parallelogram, eye, grid of circles), as though in shallow relief,” wrote Times contributor Leah Ollman in a 2019 review. “As she plays with illusion and dimension, these highly reduced images open up, their formal distillation yielding conceptual complexity.” Sunday through Jan. 4. Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. moca.org
Tom Hulce in the Oscar-winning 1984 film “Amadeus.”
(Orion Pictures)
Ultra Cinematheque 70 Fest Milos Forman’s “Amadeus,” Mel Brooks’ “Spaceballs,” John McTiernan’s “Die Hard” and Ivan Reitman’s “Ghostbusters” headline this summer’s edition of the American Cinematheque homage to large-format films. The monthlong, 33-film series kicks off with Stanley Kubrick’s“2001: A Space Odyssey,” screening at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Aero. The festival wraps Aug. 4 with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master,” also at the Aero. Thursday through Aug. 4. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com
Yankee Dawg You Die East West Players present a new production of Philip Kan Gotanda’s 1988 play about the challenges faced by Asian American actors in Hollywood, which, unfortunately, remains very timely. Jennifer Chang directs Kelvin Han Yee and Daniel J. Kim as two performers who meet at very different junctures in their respective careers. In a 2001 review of an earlier EWP revival, former Times staff writer Daryl H. Millercalled the play, “gently comic and quietly powerful.” Thursday through July 27. The David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 N. Judge John Aiso St., Little Tokyo. eastwestplayers.org
Culture news
LACMA has acquired Jeff Koons’ topiary “Split-Rocker,” pictured at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.
(Tom Powel)
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced the acquisition of Jeff Koons’ monumental topiary sculpture “Split-Rocker” to anchor the east side of the campus at the new David Geffen Galleries building. The 37-foot-tall living sculpture, created in 2000, is designed to nurture more than 50,000 flowering plants. “I couldn’t be more thrilled than to have a piece of floral work in Los Angeles where — horticulturally — there’s such a wide variety of plants that can be used in its creation,” Koons said in a phone interview with Times staff writer Jessica Gelt from his New York studio. “I hope people going back and forth on Wilshire Boulevard, and people visiting the museum, are able to enjoy and experience the change in the piece.” The project will be seeded in August with the hope that it will be fully established by April, when architect Peter Zumthor’s new poured concrete building is scheduled to open to the public.
Anaheim police have located two giant sculptures valued at a combined $2.1 million that were stolen from an Anaheim Hills warehouse reports Times staff writer Andrew J. Campos. The theft of the pieces, “Icarus Within” and “Quantum Mechanics: Homme,” by artist and filmmaker Daniel Winn, apparently happened June 14 or 15 and were recovered a week later in a trailer parked at an Anaheim residence, according to police. Composed of thousands of pounds of bronze and stainless steel, the sculptures typically require “about a dozen men and two forklifts to move” Winn said. “This is not an easy task.” No arrests have been made.
Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodorodied at home in Milan on June 22, the eve of his 99th birthday. A renowned sculptor whose art was publicly displayed around the world, including at the LADWP’s John F. Ferraro Building downtown, Pomodoro’s most famous works involved large “wounded” spheres made of bronze. He taught at Stanford University, UC Berkeley and Mills College in the 1960s and his “Rotante dal Foro Centrale,” part of the “Sfera con Sfera” series, can be found at the west entrance of the Berkeley campus.
The SoCal scene
James Van Der Zee, “Untitled,” 1927, gelatin silver print
(J. Paul Getty Museum)
“Queer Lens: A History of Photography,” the J. Paul Getty Museum’s newest exhibition, “is provocative and important, and the timing packs a wallop,” according to Times art critic Christopher Knight in his review of the show. The survey contains more than 270 works from the last two centuries and examines the ways “cameras transformed the expression of gender and sexuality.” Well-known artists such as Berenice Abbott, Anthony Friedkin, Robert Mapplethorpe, Man Ray and Edmund Teske are featured alongside many unknowns. “These days,” wrote Knight, citing the present anti-LGBTQ+ fervor in statehouses across the country and Washington, D.C., “the Getty is probably the only major art museum in America that could open an exhibition like ‘Queer Lens.’ Others wouldn’t dare.”
The Tony-winning revival of “Parade” tells the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man in Georgia, who in 1913 was convicted of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan in a gross miscarriage of justice. His sentence was later commuted by the governor, but Frank was kidnapped and lynched by an angry mob. “This dark chapter in American history might not seem suitable for musical treatment,” wrote Times theater critic Charles McNulty in his review of the production currently at the Ahmanson Theatre. “Docudrama would be the safer way to go, given the gravity of the material. But playwright Alfred Uhry and composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown had a vision of what they could uniquely bring to the retelling of Frank’s story.”
It may be summer in L.A., but Times classical music critic Mark Swed found the dance scene in full bloom. “I sampled three very different dance programs last weekend at three distinctive venues in three disparate cities and for three kinds of audiences,” wrote Swed. “The range was enormous but the connections, illuminating.” In an expansive few days, he witnessed the Miami City Ballet’s production of “Swan Lake” at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa; the American Contemporary Ballet performing George Balanchine’s modernist classic “Serenade,” alongside new work by the company’s founder, choreographer Lincoln Jones, on a soundstage at Television City in the Fairfax district; and violinist Vijay Gupta and dancer Yamini Kalluri combining Bach and Indian Kuchipudi dance at the 99-seat Sierra Madre Playhouse. Still to come, Boston Ballet makes its Music Center debut, dancing “Swan Lake” at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion this weekend; and the L.A. Phil’s “Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks,” July 18 at the Hollywood Bowl, will feature the San Francisco Ballet dancing excerpts from “Swan Lake” and Balanchine’s “Diamonds” Pas de Deux.
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The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles is under construction and is expected to open its doors in 2026.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
In case you missed it, Times contributor Sam Lubell wrote about the landscape design of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is scheduled to open in 2026. “George Lucas and wife Mellody Hobson chose Mia Lehrer and her L.A. firm, Studio-MLA, to design the 11 acres of landscape around — and on top of — MAD Architects’ swirling, otherworldly, billion-dollar building,” wrote Lubell. “The driving forces behind the Lucas Museum made it clear that the landscape had to tell a story too.” That narrative is more than enhanced by the stunning photography of TheTimes’ Myung J. Chun.
“I like the idea of giving life to the objects I create,” ceramicist Rami Kim said in a recent interview with Times staff writer Lisa Boone. “They’re my imaginary friends.” Korean-born and raised, Kim attended CalArts, earned a master of fine arts from UCLA and later worked in the animation industry. She discovered clay while making figures for stop-motion animation. Drawn to the tactile sensation of the medium, Kim began working characters into various ceramic forms. “Built by hand, their faces emerge from planters, ceramic dishes and slip-cast mugs like the cast of an animated Hayao Miyazaki movie,” wrote Boone in a compelling profile about how the artist began creating custom animal figurines for clients, many of whom, like Kim, have lost their pets.
— Kevin Crust
And last but not least
Looking for a Saturday complement to the Essential Arts newsletter? Try our weekly books newsletter. Enjoy interviews with authors, such as this one with Susan Gubar, who spoke to Times contributor Marc Weingarten about her new book, “Grand Finales: The Creative Longevity of Women Artists” — which profiles seven creators who found a second wind in their advancing years — plus news about the latest releases, the local literary scene and our favorite bookstores.
The former home of the Italian national rugby team could soon have a 50,000 capacityCredit: REX
The multi-million-pound plans to renovate the Stadio Flaminio will result in the ground becoming the new home of Serie A giants Lazio.
The renovation is expected to cost a whopping £334million (€391m).
Abandoned EFL stadium left to rot with pitch covered in weeds just five years after hosting final match
Previous plans to renovate the stadium fell flat on their face due to archaeological constraints preventing additional facilities from being built in the surrounding areas.
Developers, however, plan to get around that hurdle with a three-hour “restricted traffic zone” ahead of kick-off and the commencement of other events.
From Jack Harris: When Major League Baseball’s trade deadline arrives next month, the Dodgers will almost certainly be on the lookout for help in the bullpen.
If their injury-plagued rotation takes any more hits, they might reluctantly have to explore the starting pitching market, as well.
Michael Conforto might be struggling mightily this season after signing for $17 million this winter. But the Dodgers have remained bullish on his ability to turn a corner and make something of a positive impact down the stretch.
On Tuesday night at Coors Field, Conforto gave such optimism some badly needed life.
In the Dodgers’ 9-7 win against the woeful Colorado Rockies, the veteran slugger went two for five with an early double and a go-ahead home run, keying the team’s six-run rally in the fourth with a three-run blast launched deep to right.
Boston southpaw Garrett Crochet scorched through them on Tuesday night, striking out 10 across seven scoreless innings. The 6-foot-6 Red Sox ace fired high-90s heat with success a day after Walker Buehler struggled to keep the Angels off the basepaths.
But with Crochet removed from the game in the eighth, the Angels discovered life. Enter the youngest-tenured Angel, Christian Moore. He walloped a home run over the left field wall for his second career home run to tie the score at one and help send the game to extra innings.
In the 10th inning, Moore played hero again, shooting a two-run home run to right field to walk-off the Red Sox and lift the Angels (39-40) to a 3-2 victory, bringing them one game below .500 and earning a blue sports drink shower in the process.
From Ryan Kartje: When Alijah Arenas opened his eyes, minutes after his Tesla Cybertruck struck a tree one morning this past April, the five-star Chatsworth High hoops phenom wasn’t sure where he was or how he’d gotten there. His initial, disoriented thought was that he’d woken up at home. But as he regained consciousness, Arena felt the seat belt wrapped tightly around his waist. He noticed the Life360 app on his phone, beeping. Outside the car, he could hear crackling sounds, like a campfire.
Then he felt the heat like a sauna cranked to its highest setting. The passenger side of the dashboard, Arenas could see, was already engulfed in flames. Smoke was filling the car’s front cabin. He could no longer see out of the windows.
Arenas reached for his iPhone, intent on using his digital key to escape, only to find the Tesla app had locked him out. Panic started to set in.
“I tried to open the door,” Arenas said, “and the door isn’t opening.”
A crumbled Telsa Cybertruck rests adjacent to a tree following a crash involving top USC basketball recruit Alijah Arenas. (Handout) He tore off his seat belt and moved to the back seat, away from the smoke, scanning the car desperately for an exit strategy. His heart was pounding. The heat was becoming unbearable. Then, he passed out.
1921 — Jock Hutchinson is the first American to win the British Open, a nine-stroke victory over Roger Wethered in a playoff.
1926 — Bobby Jones becomes the first amateur in 29 years to win the British Open. Jones finishes with a 291 total for a two-stroke over Al Watrous at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England.
1932 — Gene Sarazen wins the U.S. Open by shooting a 286, the lowest in 20 years.
1935 — Future world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis moves to 20-0 with 6th round KO of former champion Primo Carnera of Italy at Yankee Stadium, NYC.
1948 — Joe Louis knocks out Jersey Joe Walcott in the 11th round in New York to defend his world heavyweight title. Louis announces his retirement after the fight.
1952 — Jim Turnesa wins the PGA Championship with a 1-up victory over Chick Harbert in the final round.
1966 — Buckpasser sets a world record in the 1-mile Arlington Classic in 1:32 3-5 and becomes the first 3-year-old to win more than $1 million.
1969 — Pancho Gonzalez, 41, wins the longest tennis match in Wimbledon history by beating Charles Pasarell in a 112-game match, 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9. The match is played over two days and lasts 5 hours, 12 minutes.
1978 — In Buenos Aires, Argentina wins the World Cup beating Netherlands 3-1 after extra time.
1981 — Sugar Ray Leonard wins the WBA junior middleweight title with a ninth-round knockout of Ayub Kalule in Houston.
1988 — UEFA European Championship Final, Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany: Ruud Gullet & Marco van Basten score as the Netherlands beats Soviet Union, 2-0.
1991 — Nine-time champion Martina Navratilova survives a first-round scare from Elna Reinach to win her record 100th singles match at Wimbledon.
1994 — FIFA World Cup: 1,500th goal in Cup’d history scored by Caceres of Argentina.
1997 — NBA Draft: Wake Forest power forward Tim Duncan first pick by San Antonio Spurs.
1997 — NHL approves franchises in Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, and Minnesota-St Paul.
1999 — San Antonio wins its first NBA championship, defeating the New York Knicks 78-77 in Game 5 of the Finals. The Spurs, keyed by finals MVP Tim Duncan’s 31 points, becomes the first former ABA team to win the championship.
2006 — Asafa Powell matches Wallace Spearmon’s world best in the 200 meters, winning the Jamaican national championships in 19.90 seconds.
2006 — Bernard Lagat becomes the first runner in the history of the U.S. track and field championships to sweep the 1,500 and 5,000 meters, after winning the shorter race.
2008 — NBA Draft: Oklahoma power forward Blake Griffin first pick by the Clippers.
2014 — John Norwood’s home run in the top of the eighth inning gives Vanderbilt the lead, and the Commodores beat Virginia 3-2 for their first national championship.
2015 — NBA Draft: Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns first pick by Minnesota Timberwolves.
2017 — Jordan Spieth needs an extra hole and an amazing final shot to finish off a wire-to-wire victory in the Travelers Championship. The two-time major champion holes out from 60 feet for birdie from a greenside bunker on the first hole of a playoff with Daniel Berger at TPC River Highlands.
2019 — NHL Draft: Barrie Colts (OHL) defenseman Aaron Ekblad first pick by Florida Panthers.
2020 — Liverpool FC clinches first EPL soccer title in 30 years with 7 games to spare as Chelsea beats second-placed Manchester City, 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1934 — Pitcher John Broaca tied a major league record by striking out five consecutive times but pitched the Yankees to an 11-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Lou Gehrig had better luck at the plate, hitting for the cycle.
1937 — Augie Galan of Chicago became the first National League switch-hitter to homer from both sides of the plate in the Cubs’ 11-2 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1950 — Chicago’s Hank Sauer hit two home runs and two doubles to send the Cubs past the Philadelphia Phillies 11-8.
1961 — Baltimore and California used a major league record 16 pitchers, eight by each side, as the Orioles edged the Angels 9-8 on Ron Hansen’s 14th-inning homer.
1968 — Bobby Bonds, in his first major league game, hit a grand slam off John Purdin to help San Francisco to a 9-0 win over the Dodgers.
1988 — Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 1,000th consecutive game.
1998 — Sammy Sosa broke the major league record for homers in a month, hitting his 19th of June leading off the seventh inning of the Cubs’ 6-4 loss to Detroit. Sosa passed the mark set by Detroit’s Rudy York in August 1937.
1999 — Jose Jimenez, a rookie right-hander having one of the worst seasons than any other NL pitcher, threw St. Louis’ first no-hitter in 16 seasons, outdueling Randy Johnson in a 1-0 victory over Arizona.
2002 — Luis Pujols of the Detroit Tigers and Tony Pena of the Kansas City Royals became the first Dominican-born managers to oppose each other in a major league game.
2007 — A fan charged at Bob Howry during the Cubs’ 10-9 win over Colorado after the reliever helped blow an 8-3 lead in the ninth inning. Howry gave up back-to-back RBI singles to Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe and a three-run homer to Troy Tulowitzki. The fan then jumped onto the field from the roof of the Rockies’ dugout and made it a few feet from the mound before security guards tackled him. Howry earned the victory when Alfonso Soriano hit a game-ending two-run single in the bottom of the inning.
2010 — Arizona’s Edwin Jackson pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.
2010 — The Cubs suspend pitcher Carlos Zambrano indefinitely after he throws a tantrum in the dugout after giving up 4 runs in the 1st inning of a 6-0 loss to the White Sox. “Big Z” blames first baseman Derrek Lee for letting a Juan Pierre ground ball past him for a double that starts the rally, although the hard-hit ball was hardly catchable. Tom Gorzelanny replaces Zambrano who is removed from the game by manager Lou Piniella.
2011 — Cleveland’s Tony Sipp balked home the only run with the bases loaded in the seventh inning of a 1-0 loss to San Francisco. Sipp slightly flinched his left arm before throwing a pitch to Emmanuel Burriss, allowing Miguel Tejada to score and sending San Francisco to its fourth straight win. There also were two errors in the inning by second baseman Cord Phelps that spoiled a strong start by Justin Masterson.
2013 — Eric Filia drove in a career-high five runs, Nick Vander Tuig limited Mississippi State to five hits in eight innings, and UCLA won 8-0 for its first national baseball championship.
2014 — Tim Lincecum pitched his second no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in less than a year, allowing only one runner and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 win.
2015 — The San Francisco Giants hit four triples in a game for the first time in 55 years, including a pair by Brandon Belt in a 13-8 win over the San Diego Padres. Brandon Crawford and Matt Duffy also tripled for San Francisco, which had not tripled four times in a game since Sept. 15, 1960, when Willie Mays hit three and Eddie Bressoud one at Philadelphia.
2018 — The St. Louis Cardinals record the 10,000th win in team history with a 4-0 defeat of the Cleveland Indians.. They are the sixth major league team to do so.
2019 — The New York Yankees set a new major league record by homering in their 28th consecutive game.
2021 — Philadelphia Philles pitcher Aaron Nola ties Tom Seaver’s 51-Year old MLB record of ten consecutive strike outs in a 2-1 loss to the Mew York Mets.
2022 — Three Astros pitchers combine to no-hit the Yankees, 3 – 0.
2023 — George Springer leads off the bottom of the 1st for the Blue Jays against the Athletics with a homer off Luis Medina. The 55th leadoff home run of his career gives him sole possession of second place on the all-time list, behind only Rickey Henderson. The Blue Jays win handily, 12 – 1.
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.
DENVER — When Major League Baseball’s trade deadline arrives next month, the Dodgers will almost certainly be on the lookout for help in the bullpen.
If their injury-plagued rotation takes any more hits, they might reluctantly have to explore the starting pitching market, as well.
But, when discussing the team’s deadline plans recently with The Times’ Bill Shaikin, the one potential area of offensive need that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman seemed unlikely to address was left field.
Michael Conforto might be struggling mightily this season after signing for $17 million this winter. But the Dodgers have remained bullish on his ability to eventually help.
“Never say never,” Friedman said when asked about the possibility of trading for a left fielder in the next month, “but I think we would hold a very high bar and find it very unlikely.”
On Tuesday night at Coors Field, Conforto gave such optimism some badly needed life.
In the Dodgers’ 9-7 win against the woeful Colorado Rockies, the veteran slugger went two-for-five with an early double and a go-ahead home run, keying the team’s six-run rally in the fourth with a three-run blast launched deep to right.
The performance marked Conforto’s first multi-hit effort since May 27, and his first with multiple extra-base hits since collecting three doubles on May 13.
It was his first game all season with more than one RBI.
The question now is whether Tuesday was a temporary blip, or a legitimate turning point for Conforto?
The answer could have important implications on the Dodgers’ roster construction for the second half of the season.
Conforto’s overall numbers are still not easy on the eyes. His .171 batting average is easily the worst among qualified big-league hitters. His negative-0.7 mark in wins above replacement (an all-encompassing stat not helped by his limited defensive range in left field) entering the day ranked 158th out of 161 such players.
His playing time has also begun to decrease recently, with Conforto twice getting benched against right-handed pitchers last week in favor of fellow lefty hitter Hyeseong Kim in the outfield.
“I see [Conforto] playing a lot still,” manager Dave Roberts said then. “But I do think that in a meritocracy, in that vein, Hyeseong has earned opportunities.”
And yet, to this point, the Dodgers have sounded wary of shopping for a potential replacement ahead of the deadline.
“To date, obviously, Michael hasn’t performed up to what he expected or we expected,” Friedman said. “But, watching the way he is working, watching the progress being made, I would bet that his next two months are way better than his last two months.”
On Tuesday, the 32-year-old provided a blueprint for how.
One of Conforto’s primary weaknesses this season has been hitting the fastball. Entering Tuesday, he was batting just .174 against heaters, compared to a .283 average against them last year with the San Francisco Giants.
“That’s probably the genesis of the whole deal,” Roberts said of Conforto’s struggles. “When you don’t hit the fastball, that starts to lend to a little cheating, chasing on spin. And so we got to get him back on the heater.”
In his first at-bat against right-handed Rockies starter Germán Márquez, Conforto finally did, turning on an inside four-seamer for a double down the right-field line; just his second extra-base hit of June.
Power has been another missing piece of Conforto’s game. A four-time 20-home run hitter in his 10-year career, he entered Tuesday with only four long balls this season; all of them solo shots.
But in the fourth inning, he came up with two aboard –– after two misplays by Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia led to a pair of Dodgers runs that erased an early 2-0 deficit. Then, when Márquez flipped a 1-and-1 curveball low in the zone, Conforto found the barrel for his three-run blast, putting the Dodgers (49-31) in front 5-2.
Left-hander Justin Wrobleski made the lead stand up, yielding just two runs over five innings of bulk relief to lower his ERA to 3.54 in four outings this month. Shohei Ohtani added some insurance in the sixth with his National League-leading 27th home run, muscling a two-run drive the other way. And though the Rockies (18-61) scored four unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings to make it close late, Tanner shut the door with a four-out save to seal the team’s 11th win in its last 15 games.
Conforto didn’t have another hit, grounding out with two aboard in the fifth, flying out with a runner at second in the seventh and grounding out again with a runner at second in the ninth.
His season-long woes are far from being rectified. His long-term role with the team, even in a best-case scenario, might be as more of a part-time player (especially if Kim continues to command more playing time).
But, if the Dodgers are truly hoping to avoid having to replace Conforto at the deadline, Tuesday at least represented a potential start.
South Asia, a crucible of ancient civilizations and modern rivalries, stands at a perilous crossroads. For over two decades, Michael Kugelman, a leading American foreign policy expert and Director of the South Asia Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center, has meticulously charted its volatile course. His insights reveal a region increasingly caught between the existential dread of nuclear arsenals and the explosive forces of populist narratives and fervent nationalism. The recent, harrowing crisis between India and Pakistan in May 2025 – a conflict that saw missile strikes, drone warfare, and an almost immediate breakdown of a US-backed ceasefire – serves as a chilling testament to these escalating dynamics.
Kugelman’s analysis begins with a foundational, yet often overlooked, truth: South Asia’s inherent fragmentation. “This is a region where you have many countries that simply struggle to get along,” he observes, pointing beyond the omnipresent India-Pakistan antagonism to include fraught relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and India’s recurring disputes with its smaller neighbors. Borders, everywhere, are a flashpoint – disputed, porous, or simply volatile.
This chronic discord found its sharpest expression in the May 2025 conflagration. Following a brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India launched “Operation Sindoor,” a series of missile strikes deep inside Pakistan. Islamabad retaliated with “Operation Bunyaan al Marsoos,” deploying its own ballistic missiles and engaging in an unprecedented drone duel. Kugelman notes how quickly the Line of Control (LoC), which had enjoyed a four-year truce, ignited. “Once again, now the LoC is extremely tense and particularly significant, given that you’ve got two nuclear states there,” he underscores, highlighting the hair-trigger nature of this enduring fault line.
The ascent of populist and nationalist politics, particularly in India, has fundamentally altered the calculus of nuclear deterrence, making escalation both more probable and profoundly less predictable. Kugelman argues that the current Indian government has shrewdly harnessed a hardline stance on Pakistan for domestic political gain. The 2019 crisis, unfolding on the cusp of Indian elections, saw New Delhi launch airstrikes beyond Pakistan-administered Kashmir for the first time since 1971. “I think that one could argue that the Indian decision to take the steps that it did… was in some ways driven by considerations about politics,” Kugelman explains.
This phenomenon is not unilateral. Domestic political agendas in both nations frequently weaponize cross-border tensions. Even if the strident rhetoric from nationalist media in India is partly performative, “that still has an impact on how the public, the broader public, looks at and perceives Pakistan.” This creates immense public pressure, demanding forceful retaliation for any perceived slight or attack, as demonstrated by the furious public outcry after the Pahalgam incident in May 2025. “There’s going to be significant amounts of pressure from the public on the government in India… it was very clear that India was going to respond with force,” Kugelman states, emphasizing how deeply public sentiment now intertwines with strategic decisions.
Fuelling this volatile public sentiment is a media landscape saturated with jingoism and, often, outright disinformation. While English-language nationalist channels capture global attention, the broader media sphere across South Asia consistently ratchets up hyper-sensationalism during crises. “It can be very dangerous,” Kugelman warns, “Because… the jingoism also encourages and at times propagates disinformation. And, you know, that in and of itself is very dangerous.” He directly connects this trend to recent conflicts, stating, “on the Indian side, so much of the jingoistic media content was accompanied by disinformation. I mean, oftentimes it was synonymous.” In an age where narratives can be manufactured and amplified at warp speed, this weaponized information environment makes rational de-escalation a monumental challenge.
The rise of cyber warfare, hybrid threats, and widespread disinformation campaigns raises critical questions about the efficacy of traditional nuclear doctrines. While governments are undeniably engaging in these new forms of conflict, Kugelman asserts that they do not diminish the paramount importance of maintaining nuclear preparedness. Both India and Pakistan have shown a disturbing willingness to employ conventional force increasingly, pushing closer to the nuclear threshold. “The more that you use, the higher up the escalation ladder you get,” he cautions, “and the higher you get up, you get closer to bumping up against the ceiling.”
Disinformation, by inflaming passions and deepening animosity, can dangerously accelerate this ascent. Kugelman suggests that these new dimensions of warfare, far from supplanting nuclear concerns, in fact amplify them. “One could argue… cyber warfare disinformation can deepen tensions between two countries that are nuclear and raise the risk, further raise the risk of nuclear escalation.” Compounding this is the ongoing internal debate in India regarding its stated No-First-Use (NFU) nuclear policy, with past statements from senior officials hinting at a potential reconsideration – a move that could further erode predictability in an already volatile environment.
China’s expanding military and economic influence casts an undeniable shadow over South Asia’s security dynamics. Despite recent diplomatic efforts between India and China, including a border agreement in late 2024 aimed at easing tensions, the core strategic competition persists. The May 2025 crisis vividly demonstrated the enduring strength of the China-Pakistan alliance, with Pakistan deploying Chinese-made jets against India for the first time in combat. Kugelman emphasizes that China remains Pakistan’s most critical arms supplier, capable of providing weapons systems that no other partner can match, especially as the U.S. continues to restrict Pakistan’s use of American-made weaponry against India.
China’s economic reach, primarily through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is region-wide. While Kugelman notes a general slowdown in some BRI projects due to security concerns and economic issues – a trend confirmed by recent reports showing a significant drop in CPEC investment – China’s economic influence remains formidable. “This is really just something consistent that’s been playing out for some time,” he states, highlighting Beijing’s deep, steady penetration into the region, reshaping its strategic calculus.
Amidst these rising pressures, the question of strategic stability looms large. Kugelman offers a cautiously optimistic assessment: “the nuclear deterrent is actually alive and well.” While the May 2025 conflict tested the deterrent in ways not seen since the massive border buildup of 2001-2002, both sides ultimately demonstrated a shared desire to avoid an all-out war. “Neither side wanted an all out war,” he stresses, distinguishing governmental intent from jingoistic public rhetoric. India’s rapid, targeted airstrikes and Pakistan’s contained, albeit forceful, response were, in Kugelman’s view, calibrated moves reflecting a continued respect for the nuclear red line. The fact that India and Pakistan largely managed to negotiate their own ceasefire, rather than relying solely on external mediation, further underscores their grim recognition of the catastrophic stakes.
However, this “alive and well” deterrent is perpetually tested. India’s missile strikes, whether depicted as targeting terrorists or military assets, were unequivocally viewed by Pakistan as a violation of sovereignty. “When it comes to conflict… international normative ideals around respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity… they go out the door,” Kugelman starkly reminds us. The very act of such cross-border retaliation, irrespective of nuclear use, chips away at the foundational principles of statehood and international law, keeping the entire region on tenterhooks.
The path to de-escalation and sustained peace talks remains fraught. The Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMO) hotline, a vital communication channel even during wars, remains open and was utilized during the recent crisis. Beyond this, however, “the two sides just don’t line up when it comes to the issue of dialogue.” India’s unwavering stance against engaging Pakistan until “cross-border terrorism” ceases, combined with its rejection of discussing Pakistan-administered Kashmir, clashes directly with Pakistan’s insistence on Kashmir as a core issue.
Prime Minister Modi’s early attempt at outreach to then-Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, followed by a terrorist attack, appears to have instilled a “once bitten, twice shy” caution. And while Pakistan publicly calls for talks, it too has conditions. Adding to this grim calculus is the recurring “spoiler act”—often a terrorist attack—that invariably derails any nascent momentum toward dialogue. While India traditionally rejects third-party mediation for comprehensive talks, the May 2025 crisis saw a quiet but significant role played by external actors, with the UAE in particular thanked by Pakistan’s Prime Minister for its efforts in de-escalation, building on its prior role in brokering the LoC truce. This suggests that limited, targeted mediation for specific de-escalation objectives might be the only viable avenue for external engagement.
In a world increasingly consumed by its own inward-looking concerns, the question of who will fill the potential vacuum in South Asian peace looms large. Kugelman offers a sobering answer: “the region is going to be on its own.” While major powers like the U.S., Russia, and China broadly align in their desire to prevent nuclear escalation—a shared concern often rooted in their own vested interests in regional stability—their capacity and willingness for sustained, comprehensive mediation are limited. China, despite its rivalry with India, has massive investments in Pakistan that it cannot afford to see imperiled. Russia seeks new friends amidst its isolation. The U.S. balances critical interests with both India and Pakistan, making broad intervention fraught.
Yet, amidst this potential vacuum, Kugelman identifies a crucial, if understated, role for regional powers with significant leverage. He points specifically to the Arab Gulf states. “They provide significant amounts of energy exports and other goods,” he explains, giving them economic sway. Furthermore, the UAE’s successful role in brokering the LoC truce demonstrates a capacity for targeted, effective mediation. These nations, though not global superpowers, may be best positioned to “suggest incentives for India and Pakistan to ensure that things don’t get completely out of control.”
South Asia, a region of immense human potential, finds itself perpetually walking a razor’s edge. The interplay of nuclear might, emotionally charged narratives, and aggressive nationalism threatens to pull it closer to the abyss. Michael Kugelman’s sharp analysis reminds us that while the nuclear deterrent may still hold, its resilience is being tested as never before, demanding sustained vigilance and creative diplomatic solutions from within and, perhaps, from unexpected corners of the world.
The competition featured a host of well-known athletes, including British Olympic sprinters Daryll Neita and Matthew Hudson-Smith, and 1500m world champion Josh Kerr.
Male and female competitors are subdivided into six categories – each containing eight athletes – such as Short Sprints, with the eight featuring in that group competing in the 100m and 200m each weekend.
It offered significant financial incentives, with up to $100,000 (£73,600) on offer for the winners of race categories, as well as salaries for contracted athletes.
GST has suffered controversies in its maiden year. American three-time Olympic champion Gabby Thomas was allegedly abused during the meet in Philadelphia, where the programme was cut from three days to two.
And Johnson himself admitted he would “love to see more spectators” after the opening event in Kingston was poorly attended in April.
British middle-distance runner Elliot Giles took part in the Philadelphia leg of the competition and told BBC Sport it was a “phenomenal” event.
“The actual experience, the set-up, the hype, the marketing, was brilliant,” Giles said.
“I’d love to see it again. Competition is what we need in our sport.
“It’s the same as what’s happening in boxing now. You get other people involved, new promoters, new people, venture capitalists putting into it, and the sport explodes and then performances come and everything else follows.”
American sprinters Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden have been named the GST Racers of the Year having won their respective Slam Championship at all three events.
The enormousness of “California,” as a territory and an ideology, is hard for any mind to contain. It’s beautiful. It’s complicated and divided and challenged. Among one of a thousand ways to define the Golden State: culinary juggernaut.
Our spectrum of influence — from chefs, farmers, impresarios and dreamers who reimagined restaurant cooking into something synced with the seasons and personal identity, to the capitalists who gave birth to fast food — has shaped and kept reshaping how Americans eat over the last century.
Los Angeles alone is boggling enough in its magnitudes for a critic to eat and think through. I’ve wandered a lot in my career, though. As the world emerged from the grip of COVID-19, a professional curiosity surfaced: What was happening in the rest of the state? What had remained and what was changing?
About This Guide
Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What should we check out next? Send ideas to [email protected].
Inquisitiveness evolved into a fevered question: What restaurants altogether tell the richest, broadest story of dining in California right now?
The riddle can never be perfectly solved, and yet: This is a guide full of delicious answers.
A year of driving up and down the California coast — steering inland and back, watching winter mountains bloom green and then fade to brown again by late spring — unfolded in a blur of taquerias, tasting menus, strip malls, remote highways, tostadas, dumplings, nigiri, falafel, pho, kebabs … .
Moments crystallized. The triangles of buttery, corn-filled pasta that trumpeted high summer in a rustic dining room on a hilly corner of San Francisco’s Financial District. The new owner who revived a 91-year-old diner in downtown Sacramento with a burger she calls “Southern Daddy” and her calling-card sweet potato pie. The glamour-soaked San Diego dining room, all golds and greens and chiaroscuro lighting, that set a cinematic mood for an evening of modern Vietnamese cuisine.
Attempting a statewide survey stemmed organically from the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles project that The Times has published annually since 2013. I’ve written or co-written six of them now. “Best” is a word for headline catnip that I live with but don’t love. “Essential” has always been more of a guiding precept for me. I want readers — you — to know about places for their incredible food, but I trust these very human endeavors also speak to something larger about dining and life in Los Angeles.
Seven years in, L.A. feels like my home home. The San Francisco Chronicle employed me nearly 20 years ago; the Bay Area is a mainstay in my adult life. I’ve never been keen on the “L.A. versus S.F.” tribalism. Isn’t it kind of staggering that this wild state, slightly smaller than Morocco and currently the fourth-largest economy on the planet, has two uniquely different and world-class urban hubs?
And there’s so much more of California to see and taste.
Too much, in fact, to fit into the usual framework. Yes, this is a list of 101 restaurants that serve many kinds of foods at every price tier. (I did leave off the three most famous tentpoles in California fine dining:Chez Panisse,Spago and the French Laundry. You know them. Go if they call to you.) Many of the entries put forth “extra helpings” — corresponding pillars of excellence that also deserve recognition. It’s the whole blessed state. There’s a lot to recommend.
These travels have likewise spurred fresh, deeper guides to popular destinations such asSan Francisco,San Diego and Palm Springs. More are coming.
No single person could filter through the infinite possibilities; gratitude goes to the many food-writing peers and some well-fed friends who gave me guidance at every major intersection.
I did not rank these restaurants. This isn’t about numerals or symbol ratings. It’s one glimpse into our cultures and diversities — into cuisines that uphold traditions, or disrupt with originality, or inhabit some fruitful middle ground. Any endeavor like this is an invitation to savor and to debate. I crisscrossed plenty of California. It still feels like a beginning.
Equally, Cheika says the role Leicester have been cast in and the widely predicted script suits his side.
“I can understand the predictions and why they make them, whether they are done from data or delivered by experts,” the Tigers boss said.
“Come Saturday, we are going to be playing against a team that will be well fancied, who have dominated the season so far.
“We have strong self-belief internally and that will be something that will be really important. That is something we have built up over the season.
“But this is a good opportunity for us to use that belief in ourselves, because what that gives you is a hand in knowing what you will have to do.
“You will see in your mind when you close your eyes, what do I have to do in this game to get to where I want to go? It’s not actually the end, where you have got the prize, but seeing what you need to do in order to get it.”
The weeks leading up to Tigers’ attempt to secure a record-extending 12th Premiership title have been dominated by the impending mass exodus of star figures.
Living Leicester legends Ben Youngs and Dan Cole, as well as decorated former England team-mate Mike Brown, will retire at full-time on Saturday.
Cheika’s one-year stint at the helm will end too, in what is also a farewell match for captain Julian Montoya and two-time World Cup-winning South Africa fly-half Handre Pollard.
While the head coach is flying his wife and children over for the Twickenham decider, and playfully grimaces at the cost of doing so, he insists romanticising about leaving Leicester with the Premiership trophy in hand will not help their cause this week.
“We want to win for everyone,” Cheika said.
“That title is no more important to them [the departing players] than it is for the other guys, or the guys that don’t play, or the support team, or the crowd.
“It’s a club, mate, and we are all part of the club.
“I don’t think they would be upset with me for saying that. It’s not about that, it’s about us together.”
But the video is remembered for Owen chipping, rounding and firing past the helpless child between the sticks – before shamelessly celebrating each finish.
The laughing ex-Liverpool man clenched his fists, ran away with his arms aloft, mocked the goalkeeper for nutmegging him and pointed to his name on the back of his shirt.
But it was his embarrassing shout of “get in there – game, set and match, Owen” that triggered Southall’s brilliant quip.
Southall said: “Well done, he’s 13,” a comment which remains a viral sensation and etched into British football heritage.
But now, 26 years on, Owen has opened up on the clip – and revealed not all was quite as it seemed because he was told to play up for the cameras.
He told talkSPORT: “I was only a couple of years older than him myself!. It’s probably funny now.
“I got back from the World Cup in 98 and there were loads of commercial opportunities, things like that.
Virgil van Dijk ‘destroys’ Michael Owen with brutal 13-word put-down on live TV after Liverpool beat Everton
“I was asked to do a soccer skills video and a soccer skills book. So I had to explain, talk through finishing, volleying, heading, whatever the skill was. Inevitably, you need a goalkeeper there.
“I never picked them and so I turned up to do the show and to talk through how I see scoring a goal and what I think in certain scenarios and whatever.
“There was a kid in goal that I had to score past and when I scored they’re like, ‘Come on, no, you need to show a bit more animation. Like celebrate when you score, this is going on a video.'”
talkSPORT host Andy Goldstein clarified: “So people don’t know this, right?”
And Owen continued: “People just laugh at you no matter what. Then they take a little extract of anything.
“There’s loads of things like that on the internet on me.”
‘NOT EXACTLY IDEAL’
Hutchinson spoke about the viral video in 2016 and admitted he knew it would not come out too well for him.
He said: “Being the goalkeeper on a programme headlined by a striker wasn’t exactly ideal for me.
“It was made clear that it wouldn’t make good filming if the goalkeeper was saving all the shots taken by the other kids after they had been coached by Michael.”
And even Southall himself did defend Owen’s actions earlier this year.
The 92-cap Wales goalkeeper – who reunited with Hutchinson a few years ago – added: “I think he was being ironic to be fair, but I think he was enjoying himself and being ironic.
“But the poor kid, he scored a squillion goals past him and I was thinking ‘give him a break’.
“On the day, Michael was okay and he’s always okay.
“People judge him on that and that’s not him.”
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Owen pointed to the name on his shirtCredit: YouTube
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The ex-striker revealed he was told to give it bigCredit: talkSPORT
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Southall and Hutchinson were reunited a few years agoCredit: X
