Monday

Before Disney announced Monday that Jimmy Kimmel would be returning to ABC, the dialogue about the indefinite pause on his late-night show had continued to heat up.

Protesters packed the Hollywood block where Kimmel’s show is taped and sounded off both online and in public displays since the announcement of the suspension last week, and a horde of actors, writers, musicians and artists made their opinions on the matter clear.

Tom Hanks, Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Kerry Washington, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Pedro Pascal, Maya Rudolph and more than 400 other artists signed an open letter organized by the American Civil Liberties Union calling for the defense of free speech in the wake of Kimmel’s benching.

The letter, which was published Monday, says Kimmel’s suspension marks “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation” and said that the government’s “attempt to silence its critics” runs “counter to the values our nation was built upon, and our Constitution guarantees.”

“Regardless of our political affiliation, or whether we engage in politics or not, we all love our country,” the letter continues. “We also share the belief that our voices should never be silenced by those in power — because if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.”

The letter came together over the weekend, according to Jessica Weitz, director of artist and entertainment engagement at the ACLU. The list of names continued to grow after the letter was published, she said.

“Behind those signatures are teams of people who made their own calls to their networks to ask people to join, feeling strongly that this attack on free expression must be called out,” Weitz said in a statement to The Times. “When speech is being targeted with so much precision, it takes courage from every single person to speak out — and the creative community is meeting the urgency of this moment.”

Kimmel’s late-night program, which airs weeknights on ABC, has been dark since Wednesday, when the Disney-owned network announced it will be “preempted indefinitely.” The decision came after two major owners of ABC affiliates said they were dropping the show because of Kimmel’s remarks about the suspect in the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Late-night hosts were quick to respond to the news, with Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon each commenting on Kimmel’s situation in their Thursday episodes.

Over the weekend, HBO talk shows “Real Time With Bill Maher” and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” weighed in on the controversy, beginning with Maher, who focused on Kimmel in his monologue Friday. Maher referred to “Politically Incorrect,” his late-night show that was canceled by ABC in 2002 after advertisers pulled out following a comment by the host about the Sept. 11 hijackers, saying they were “not cowardly.” Kimmel’s show replaced Maher’s slot.

“I got canceled before cancel even had a culture,” Maher said. “This s— ain’t new. It’s worse. We’ll get to that. But you know, ABC, they are steady. ABC stands for ‘Always be caving.’ So Jimmy, pal, I am with you. I support you. And on the bright side, you don’t have to pretend anymore that you like Disneyland.”

Maher, who is a self-described “old-school liberal” and has been critical of the Democratic Party in recent years, said he disagreed with Kimmel’s comments about Kirk’s suspected killer but believed he shouldn’t lose his job over them.

“You have the right to be wrong or to have any opinion you want, he said. “That’s what the 1st Amendment is all about.”

“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver zeroed in on Kimmel’s suspension and the Federal Communications Commission during his Sunday night episode. He blasted FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, directly addressed Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger and dove into the implications of the suspension in a nearly 30-minute-long segment.

“Kimmel is by no means the first casualty in Trump’s attacks on free speech. He’s just the latest canary in the coal mine — a mine that, at this point, now seems more dead canary than coal,” Oliver said. “This Kimmel situation does feel like a turning point, and not because comedians are important, but because we are not. If the government can force a network to pull a late-night show off the air and do so in plain view, it can do a f— of a lot worse.”

In addressing Disney head Iger, Oliver urged him to understand that “giving the bully your lunch money doesn’t make him go away. It just makes him come back hungrier each time.”

Oliver said his show is “lucky” to be in a different situation than Kimmel’s because neither HBO or its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, owns broadcast networks, meaning they are “much less susceptible to pressure from the FCC.” He then cut to a news segment about how Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS, is preparing a bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, which Oliver followed up with repeated expletives.

The women who host ABC’s “The View,” which is known for not shying away from hot-button topics, had been silent on the issue last week, but addressed Kimmel’s suspension Monday.

“Did y’all really think we weren’t going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel?” host Whoopi Goldberg said. “I mean, have you watched the show over the last 29 seasons? No one silences us.”

FCC head Carr has indicated that “The View” might be the next subject of a future investigation.

The panel, including Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin, also weighed in before Goldberg said, “We fight for everybody’s right to have freedom of speech because it means my speech is free, it means your speech is free.”

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR -10.21%) didn’t have timing on its side with its latest round of capital raising. The cryptocurrency mining and holding company that concentrates on Ethereum saw its share price sag by more than 10% on Monday after it provided details of a share sale. That came on a trading day when the S&P 500 index closed up by 0.4%.

A big share and warrant sale

That morning, Bitmine divulged that it signed a purchase agreement for an institutional investor to buy slightly over 5.2 million shares of its common stock. That investor, which the company did not identify, is paying $70 per share for the stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

It is also receiving warrants to buy an additional pack of up to 10.4 million-plus shares at an exercise price of $87.50 apiece. Bitmine wrote that the “Potential future aggregate proceeds from the warrants represent approximately $913 million from cash exercises.”

All told, the company added, the total take from these issues could be roughly $1.28 billion.

Future 5% holder?

Bitmine has set a goal of acquiring 5% of total available Ethereum. Helpfully, and also on Monday, it offered an update on its holdings of the popular cryptocurrency. It wrote in a press release that its portfolio of Ethereum now tops 2% of supply.

That amount has ramped up quite considerably of late. Fueled by $20 billion in equity financing, in late August, the company snapped up almost 200,000 Ethereum. Prior to that buy-in, Bitmine held less than 1%.

Unfortunately for the company, its twin announcements came on the heels of a broad cryptocurrency sell-off this past weekend, which leaked into Monday trading. Timing is often critical in the ever-volatile cryptoverse; the bright side of this is that investor sentiment on Bitmine could improve quite drastically once Ethereum starts to head north in value again.

Lumen Technologies (LUMN 9.11%) saw a very healthy bounce in its stock price on Monday, following the telecom company’s latest operational update. Investors enthusiastically traded the tech and telecom stock up by 9% in reaction to the news, a figure that was more than good enough to beat the 0.4% rise of the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.44%).

Powered by fiber

That morning, Lumen announced that so far this year, it’s added over 2.2 million new intercity miles to its existing fiber-optic network. This is a technology that allows for much faster data transmission speeds than more traditional methods. At such a pace, the company expects to have 16.6 million intercity fiber miles by the end of this year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Ultimately, the telecom’s goal is to wire America with 47 million intercity fiber miles by the end of 2028, which counts on a continued and rather aggressive build-out schedule. This is a foundational aim of its broader Big Build program.

Fiber is appropriate for our modern age, as it can handle the vast chunks of data required to power artificial intelligence (AI) functionalities.

Lumen quoted its executive vice president of enterprise operations Kye Prigg as saying, “AI is fueling a surge in network demand like we’ve never seen, and Lumen is building the backbone to meet it.”

A good-looking play on AI

Recently, many investors have cooled on the stocks most closely identified with the Great AI Boom. Currently, they’re looking for less obvious plays in companies that should benefit from the increased resource needs of the technology, and Lumen fits the bill. Assuming its fiber rollout goes at least close to plan, the company’s stock should stay in the good graces of the market.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday it will decide on reversing a 90-year precedent that has protected independent agencies from direct control by the president.

The court’s conservative majority has already upheld President Trump’s firing of Democratic appointees at the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board. And in a separate order on Monday, it upheld Trump’s removal of a Democratic appointee at the Federal Trade Commission.

Those orders signal the court is likely to rule for the president and that he has the full authority to fire officials at independent agencies, if Congress said they had fixed terms.

The only hint of doubt has focused on the Federal Reserve Board. In May, when the court upheld the firing of an NLRB official, it said it decision does not threaten the independence of Federal Reserve.

The court described it as “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States.” Trump did not share that view. He threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during the summer because he had not lowered interest rates.

And he is now seeking to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a Biden appointee, based on the allegation she may have committed mortgage fraud when she took out two home loans in 2021.

Trump’s lawyers sent an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court last week seeking to have Cook removed now.

Long before Trump’s presidency, Chief Justice John G. Roberts had argued that the president has the constitutional power to control federal agencies and to hire or fire all officials who exercise significant executive authority.

But that view stands in conflict with what the court has said for more than a century. Since 1887, when Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad rates, lawmakers on Capitol Hill believed they had the authority to create independent boards and commissions.

Typically, the president would be authorized appoint officials who would serve a fixed term set by law. At times, Congress also required the boards have a mix of both Republican and Democratic appointees.

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld that understanding in a 1935 case called Humphrey’s Executor. The justices said then these officials made judicial-type decisions, and they should be shielded from direct control by the president.

That decision was a defeat for President Franklin Roosevelt who tried to fire a Republican appointee on the Federal Trade Commission.

In recent years, the chief justice and his conservative colleagues have questioned the idea that Congress can shield officials from direct control by the president.

In Monday’s order, the court said it will hear arguments in December on “whether the statutory removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission violate the separation of powers and, if so, whether Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U. S. 602 (1935), should be overruled.”

Justice Elena Kagan has repeatedly dissented in these cases and argued that Congress has the power to make the law and structure the government, not the president.

Joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, she objected on Monday that the court has continued to fire independent officials at Trump’s request.

“Our emergency docket should never be used, as it has been this year, to permit what our own precedent bars,” she wrote. “Still more, it should not be used, as it also has been, to transfer government authority from Congress to the President, and thus to reshape the Nation’s separation of powers.”

MONDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Bell 17, Legacy 0

Bell 33, South Gate 0

Camino Nuevo 16, Collins Family 0

Crenshaw 18, View Park 4

Dorsey 43, Dymally 6

Dorsey 28, Washington 6

Foshay 9, Angelou 2

Foshay 26, WISH Academy 0

GALA 26, Hawkins 12

Hawkins 34, Fremont 19

Jefferson 333, Stella 0

King/Drew 21, Paramount 0

LA Hamilton 25, Maywood Academy 0

LA Roosevelt 21, Maywood CES 0

LA Wilson 37, Maywood CES 0

LA Wilson 52, LA Roosevelt 6

Legacy 14, South Gate 13

Locke 26, Diego Rivera 0

Manual Arts 18, Los Angeles 13

New Designs University Park 12, Locke 6

North Hollywood 6, East Valley 0

Orthopaedic 26, Animo De La Hoya 6

Panorama 30, East Valley 0

Panorama 12, North Hollywood 0

Rise Kohyang 20, CALS Early College 13

Santee 31, Los Angeles 0

Santee 32, Manual Arts 0

Stern 30, Hollywood 0

Taft 32, Reseda 6

TEACH Tech Charter 18, Simon tech 6

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 20, San Gorgonio 14

Anaheim 34, Garden Grove Santiago 14

Anaheim Canyon 46, Sonora 6

Bell Gardens 38, Alhambra 7

Bolsa Grande 26, Loara 20

Brentwood 31, YULA 14

Buena Park 20, Godinez 6

Burbank Burroughs 26, Sacred Heart 0

Burbank Burroughs 45, Sacred Heart 0

Chaparral 29, Temecula Valley 0

Chino 27, Ontario 12

Colony 27, Los Altos 6

Compton 26, Long Beach Wilson 13

Corona 28, Corona Centennial 21

Covina 18, Rowland 13

Don Lugo 13, Chaffey 0

Edison 14, Corona del Mar 7

Esperanza 13, Cypress 7

Etiwanda 19, Los Osos 0

Fullerton 32, Segerstrom 12

Garden Grove 26, Costa Mesa 21

Garey 13, Nogales 0

Golden Valley 25, Saugus 13

Hacienda Heights Wilson 7, Charter Oak 6

Hart 6, Castaic 0

Hemet 19, Valley View 6

Hillcrest 28, Canyon Springs 26

Immaculate Heart 24, Village Christian 6

Katella 18, Ocean View 6

La Canada 34, Temple City 6

Laguna Hills 37, Tustin 0

La Habra 27, Brea Olinda 7

Lakewood St. Joseph 38, Gardena Serra 0

La Serna 14, El Rancho 0

Linfield Christian 38, Ontario Christian 0

Loma Linda Academy 18, Redlands Adventist 6

Long Beach Poly 35, Long Beach Cabrillo 6

Los Alamitos 20, Marina 0

Los Amigos 14, Western 0

Millikan 18, Lakewood 2

Mountain View 7, El Monte 7

Montebello 21, Keppel 6

Murrieta Valley 13, Vista Murrieta 6

Newport Harbor 39, Fountain Valley 0

Norco 20, Eastvale Roosevelt 6

Norte Vista 6, La Sierra 0

Northview 25, West Covina 12

Norwalk 12, Artesia 7

Orange Lutheran 46, Aliso Niguel 20

Palm Desert 6, Palm Springs 0

Patriot 12, Ramona 7

Placentia Valencia 6, Westminster 0

Portola 47, Laguna Beach 0

Rancho Alamitos 33, Orange 6

Rancho Cucamonga 38, St. Lucy’s 12

Rialto 47, Colton 6

Riverside King 31, Corona Santiago 20

Rosemead 20, Arroyo 6

Saddleback 39, Magnolia 6

San Dimas 24, South Hills 7

San Marino 47, Rio Hondo Prep 0

Santa Ana Foothill 6, Garden Grove Pacifica 0

Schurr 26, San Gabriel 20

Serrano 6, Aquinas 0

Shadow Hills 32, La Quinta 0

Shalhevet 32, Windward 31

South El Monte 13, Gabrielino 0

St. Anthony 48, Bishop Montgomery 12

Summit 30, Jurupa Hills 25

Sunny Hills 41, Fairmont Prep 14

Upland 35, Chino Hills 0

Valencia 6, Canyon Country Canyon 0

Villa Park 6, El Modena 0

West Ranch 7, Vasquez 0

Whittier 24, Santa Fe 0

Woodbridge 26, Irvine University 7

Yorba Linda 40, Troy 0

Yucaipa 20, Arlington 0

INTERSECTIONAL

JSerra 20, Torrey Pines 12

King/Drew 21, Paramount 0

Venice 26, Culver City 0

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 36, Rim of the World 0

Antelope Valley 35, Palmdale 0

Beaumont 32, Yucaipa 7

Beckman 19, Tesoro 15

Buena 20, Rio Mesa 13

Cajon 20, Redlands East Valley 19

Camarillo 39, Moorpark 0

Canyon Springs 27, Tahquitz 7

Chaminade 0, Alemany 0

Claremont 12, Ayala 9

Colony 13, Alta Loma 12

Dos Pueblos 21, Oxnard 14

El Toro 14, San Juan Hills 7

Etiwanda 41, St. Lucy’s 0

Hemet 32, Riverside North 13

Highland 32, Eastside 0

Indian Springs 18, Pomona 8

Lancaster 54, Littlerock 0

La Sierra 32, Redlands Adventist 28

Linfield Christian 32, Shadow Hills 6

Los Osos 12, Chino Hills 6

Monrovia 32, Rio Hondo Prep 0

Murrieta Mesa 18, Indio 12

Newbury Park 26, Agoura 12

Oxnard Pacifica 8, Santa Barbara 7

Palos Verdes 19, El Segundo 6

Patriot 28, Norte Vista 6

Quartz Hill 19, Knight 14

Ramona 13, Loma Linda Academy 6

Redlands 24, Citrus Valley 7

Redondo Union 15, Torrance 0

Riverside Poly 26, Hillcrest 0

Royal 25, Simi Valley 18

San Dimas 44, Los Altos 6

San Gorgonio 7, Jurupa Hills 6

San Jacinto 18, West Valley 0

San Jacinto Valley Academy 24, Nuview Bridge 6

San Marcos 33, Ventura 0

Santa Margarita 34, Dana Hills 0

Santa Monica 20, Burbank Burroughs 6

Schurr 32, Keppel 0

SEED LA 21, YULA 12

Summit 20, Arroyo Valley 14

Sunny Hills 36, Anaheim 6

Temecula Prep 47, California Military Institute 12

Thousand Oaks 21, Oaks Christian 12

Trabuco Hills 19, Aliso Niguel 18

Upland 27, Rancho Cucamonga 0

Vista Murrieta 18, Canyon Springs 12

Westlake 39, Calabasas 0

Bye-bye bye.

Hello, Dodger bullpen.

It was all so familiar. It was all so infuriating. It was the 2025 season boiled down into three hours of roars, then screams, then sighs.

The gasping, grappling Dodgers needed a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies this week to have any chance at a first-round bye in the upcoming playoffs.

Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda (43) reacts during the first inning of a loss to Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

One game down, and their bullpen has already suffocated them.

They’re not going to get the bye. They couldn’t survive Philly’s first punch. It was the same old story. The Dodgers’ continually vexing relief pitchers gave back a two-run lead, ruined two ensuing comebacks and then were burned for a 10th inning double steal that led to the winning run in the Phillies’ 6-5 victory.

In a scene reminiscent of past October failures, a mournful Dodger Stadium crowd witnessed the Phillies dancing out of their dugout and squeezing into souvenir T-shirts and loudly celebrating on the field after clinching the National League East title.

In a scene also reminiscent of past October failures, just a few steps from the party, the Dodgers clubhouse was deathly quiet.

Max Muncy was asked about the bullpen, which allowed all six Phillies’ runs Monday, including three homers.

“That’s a tough question,” he said.

He attempted to answer it anyway, saying, “It’s frustrating from a team perspective, but they’ve done a great job for us all year and they’ll continue to do a great job.”

Sorry, but there is no spinning out of this mess. This is not a championship bullpen. This is not even a pennant-winning bullpen. This bullpen has been overworked and outmatched and simply outplayed all season, and when the Dodger front office had a chance to fix it at the trade deadline, they did virtually nothing.

It’s everyone’s fault. It’s an organizational failure. This bullpen is going to be the death of them. The slow expiration officially started Monday.

Fueled by fat pitches from Anthony Banda and Jack Dreyer and Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen, the Dodgers suffered a loss that may well have ended their hopes of defending their title.

Now trailing the Phillies by 5 ½ games with a dozen games to play, there’s virtually no way the Dodgers can pass them and finish with the National League’s second-best record, which means instead of getting a week off they are headed for a dangerous three-game wild card series.

If they win the West over the San Diego Padres — no guarantee — they will play those three games at home. If they finish second in the West, they will play those three games on the road.

Either way, a team with a cooked bullpen and a sore-handed star catcher and all kinds of uncertainty surrounding their rotation won’t get the advantage of a much-needed rest.

“We want the bye, obviously,” Freddie Freeman told reporters last weekend.

It’s strangely not so obvious to everyone. Throughout the next two weeks there will undoubtedly be experts who will make the argument that the Dodgers don’t really want or need a bye week because it robs the team of its routine and rhythm.

Don’t be a dummy.

Dodgers pitcher Anthony Banda throws from the mound during a loss to the Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers were desperate for that bye. The Dodgers knew they needed that bye. They knew they needed to rest the relievers, set up a Shohei Ohtani-led rotation, and give Will Smith’s right hand time to heal.

Yes, the bye week bewitched them in 2022 and 2023, when the offense lost its swagger and the Dodgers were beaten in two stunning division series upsets by the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.

But, then again, they earned the bye last year and you know how that ended up.

They needed to pass the Phillies. And they needed to start that process this week, as the Phillies’ remaining schedule includes a closing six-game stretch against the Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is understandably steering clear of the bye-no bye debate, telling the media, “We’re gonna try to win as many games as we can. … Where it falls out is where is falls out. … I don’t think it matters for me to say how important it is. … I kind of just want to win games and see where it all plays out.”

Here’s how it — ugh — played out Monday:

Banda starts the game as an opener and allows a shot into the right-center field stands by Kyle Schwarber.

Dreyer enters the game with a two-run lead in the seventh and allows a two-run homer to somebody named Weston Wilson.

Vesia allows a go-ahead homer by Bryce Harper in the eighth.

Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia tosses a rosin bag in frustration after Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper homered at the top of the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

Treinen doesn’t hold the runners on base in the 10th, allows a double steal, and JT Realmuto hits the eventual game-winning fly ball.

“I had the guys that I wanted, and that doesn’t always work out,” said Roberts.

It feels like it’s too late to work out.

“Trying to see which guys step up,” said Roberts. “Just gonna try to figure out who’s going to seize the opportunity.”

On Monday night, the opportunity seized them, dragging them into a three-game series that could cost them everything.

Tough to beat a wild card opponent with a bullpen that folds.

Grammy winner Lil Nas X is seeking treatment out of state after his naked run-in with law enforcement last month, according to multiple reports.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shellie Samuels said during a hearing on Monday that the 26-year-old “Dreamboy” and “Industry Baby” artist “is allowed to remain out of state as long as he remains in treatment,” Rolling Stone reported. The outlet said Samuels modified the terms of the singer’s release to account for the ongoing treatment.

A legal representative for Lil Nas X (born Montero Lamar Hill) did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for confirmation on Monday.

The judge also did not disclose additional details about the singer’s treatment, adding that “it’s private, nobody needs to know where he is, but he is in treatment,” Billboard reported.

Hill, who broke out with his hit “Old Town Road,” was arrested last month in Studio City on suspicion of charging at a police officer. He was also hospitalized for a possible overdose. At the time, officers responded to reports of a “nude man walking in the street.”

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged Lil Nas X with four felony counts stemming from the incident: three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer. Hill allegedly assaulted officers who were trying to take him into custody. At least three were injured, the L.A. County district attorney’s office said.

The musician pleaded not guilty on all counts and was released from a Van Nuys jail after posting $75,000 bail. He faces up to five years in state prison if convicted on all charges.

Shortly after his arraignment, Lil Nas X reassured fans that he’s “gonna be all right” and said the ordeal with law enforcement made for a “terrifying four days.”

Hill’s attorney Drew Findling spoke to Rolling Stone after Monday’s hearing about the judge’s mention of “treatment.” “We’re doing what is best for Montero in a personal standpoint and a professional standpoint, but most importantly for his well-being,” Findling says in video shared on X by reporter Nancy Dillon.

“He is surrounded by an amazing family and amazing team of people that care about him and love him and we’re just addressing those issues,” Findling added. “It’s really as simple as that. He’s had a great life, he’ll continue to have a great life and this is a bump he’s gonna get over.”

The Dodgers are planning to use Shohei Ohtani as a starting pitcher in the playoffs, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed Monday.

That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t certain scenarios in which he could also come out of the bullpen, as well.

“Things play out in October that you can’t foresee,” Friedman said before Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies — shortly after, coincidentally, catching up with new Phillies signing and ex-Dodgers favorite Walker Buehler, who made three starts in the Dodgers’ rotation last postseason before emerging for a title-clinching save in Game 5 of the Fall Classic.

“Walker Buehler was a starting pitcher for us last year, and finished out Game 5 of the World Series,” Friedman noted. “So you never know how things are going to play out.”

The possibility of Ohtani pitching in relief has been percolating for the last several weeks. Pitching coach Mark Prior said he could “absolutely” envision it during an appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show” last month. Manager Dave Roberts has more recently reiterated that the conversation regarding Ohtani’s postseason pitching role remains open as the regular season winds down.

“Could it change down the road in the postseason? Possibly,” Roberts said Sunday when pressed on the topic again. “But right now we see him as a starter.”

Friedman largely echoed that sentiment Monday, a day before Ohtani was set for his next scheduled start in a pivotal series against the Phillies (who entered this week’s visit to Dodger Stadium 4 ½ games ahead of the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the National League standings, and the first-round bye that comes with it).

Friedman praised Ohtani, who has returned from a second-career Tommy John surgery this year with a 3.75 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 36 innings, as “one of the best starters in the National League.”

Shohei Ohtani delivers against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Sept. 5.

(Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)

He said the team’s expectation is that the right-hander “will impact us as a starting pitcher” in the playoffs — even though Ohtani might not pitch much past the fifth inning of games (the limit he has been held to in his recent regular season starts) and won’t be asked to make consecutive starts on normal four days of rest (he has gotten at least five days off between each of his outings this year).

“No one is taking on more than [he is with the] pitching and also hitting and running the bases,” Friedman said. “So just trying to be cognizant of that.”

However, pitching out of the bullpen in some specific, late-game situations could remain on the table.

Like Buehler last year, and Clayton Kershaw in many Octobers before that, a long postseason run would likely offer opportunities for the Dodgers to use Ohtani as a reliever in the days between his starts — perhaps in potential close-out games or on nights when the back end of the team’s struggling bullpen is low on other trustworthy options.

Ohtani does have memorable personal experience in such a role, having recorded the final outs of Team Japan’s victory in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

When looking ahead to this postseason, Friedman did not close the door on that possibility either; even though he said his focus has remained on navigating the final two weeks of the regular season first.

“We’re expecting him to be a starter for us,” Friedman said, “and depending on everything else, we’ll figure out where to go from there.”

Of course, Ohtani’s two-way status would add extra complications to any potential bullpen plans.

There are logistical questions — like how he would warm up if his spot in the batting order comes up the inning before he’s supposed to take the mound.

And then there is a technical dilemma — with MLB’s two-way rules having been written in a way that, if Ohtani were to enter the game as a reliever, the Dodgers would lose him as a designated hitter once he exits the mound.

“Once you fire him … and you decide to come out of it, you have to take that cost of losing the DH and losing him as a hitter,” Roberts said. “You got to be willing to take the chance.”

That reality might restrict Ohtani to pitching only out of the bullpen in the ninth inning of games, and could make the Dodgers more hesitant to use Ohtani in relief at all for fear of what would happen if a game extended past the end of his outing.

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani remains a key bat for the team, adding weight to any decision to use him as a reliever.

(Eric Thayer/Eric Thayer For The Los Angeles Times)

“I think they missed the mark with it,” Friedman said when asked if he was frustrated by the language of the two-way rule; which was enacted by MLB several years ago in response to Ohtani’s emergence as a two-way star, but only allows him to remain in the game as a hitter after he exits pitching starts, specifically.

“I think the rule was put in place to try to encourage people to do it, to incentivize people,” Friedman said. “So yeah, I think they missed.”

Friedman noted he’d liked to see the rule eventually changed to also include relief appearances, but acknowledged “that’s more of an offseason, future thing.”

“Obviously,” he added, “it’s not reasonable for us to ask for that in-season.”

Thus, for now, the Dodgers will continue to weigh the complex pros and cons of how to use Ohtani’s arm once they reach October.

His current weekly pitching schedule has Ohtani lined up to throw in Game 1 of a potential wild card series, which will begin exactly two weeks from his Tuesday night start against the Phillies (though Friedman insisted that wasn’t intentional).

Whether his services are needed, even in narrowly conceivable circumstances, out of the bullpen beyond that remains to be seen — with the Dodgers continuing to leave that possibility open for now.

“I think so much of it is, when does he start? What’s that time off in-between? How lined up are our other starters?” Friedman said.

“Until we know that, it’s hard to get too much into it.”

“Is he actually coming?”

A Sherman Oaks Notre Dame football player had heard the rumors of a new student joining the football team on Monday at practice.

Sure enough, 6-foot-8 Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 high school basketball player in the country from the class of 2026, showed up wearing practice jersey No. 67. He’ll need 10 days of practices before he can play in a football game, but coach Evan Yabu was excited to have him.

He’s supposed to play receiver and Yabu observed, “We don’t have anyone 6-8, 245 pounds.”

Notre Dame’s Tyran Stokes celebrates after a slam dunk in the closing seconds of a 68-61 victory at Harvard-Westlake last season.

( Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Stokes could use a break from basketball after a busy offseason of traveling and games. Notre Dame basketball coach Matt Sargeant is fine with Stokes trying football. He has three other players on the football team.

USC basketball coach Eric Musselman looked like a genius when he went out to the football field to watch Stokes. He had come to Notre Dame to watch basketball practice, then heard about Stokes missing basketball practice.

Basketball player Zach White said of Stokes trying football, “He’ll do great if he puts his mind to it.”

Monday was a good day to be invested in Scholar Rock (SRRK 6.19%) stock. The clinical-stage biotech received a nod from an analyst initiating coverage on its shares, a move that sent its price more than 6% higher across the day. That rate was well higher than the 0.5% increase of the S&P 500 index.

A bullish start

Well before market open, Leerink Partners’ Mani Foroohar launched his coverage of Scholar Rock, rating the healthcare stock as an outperform (i.e., buy) at a price target of $51 per share. That anticipates considerable growth in the value of the company’s equity, as it’s — coincidentally — more than 51% higher than Scholar Rock’s most recent closing price.

Image source: Getty Images.

The biotech’s leading investigational drug is apitegromab, an add-on therapy that targets a disorder called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). According to reports, Foroohar’s main source of optimism is the prospects for the drug, which is currently being reviewed for approval by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA, a regulator for the European Union).

In his inaugural note on Scholar Rock, the analyst also waxed bullish on the background of the company’s team, characterizing it as the most experienced in the commercialization of rare diseases among its covered healthcare stocks.

High potential

If Scholar Rock can win approval from one or both of those major regulators for apitegromab, it would be well positioned for success. However, I need to caution that getting the green light isn’t enough for a biotech — a new medicine must be effectively rolled out and marketed if it’s going to have any chance at success. So far, though, the indications look good for the company.

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the U.S. military again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel.

“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S.,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the strike. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests.”

The strike that Trump says was carried out Monday came two weeks after another military strike on what the Trump administration says was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela that killed 11.

The Trump administration justified the earlier strike as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.

But several senators, Democrats and some Republicans, have indicated dissatisfaction with the administration’s rationale and questioned the legality of the action. They view it as a potential overreach of executive authority in part by using the military for law enforcement purposes.

The Trump administration has claimed self-defense as a legal justification for the first strike, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing the drug cartels “pose an immediate threat” to the nation.

U.S. officials said the strike early this month targeted Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. And they indicated more military strikes on drug targets would be coming as the U.S. looks to “wage war” on cartels.

Trump did not specify whether Tren de Aragua was also the target of Monday’s strike.

The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported strike.

The Trump administration has railed specifically against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for the scourge of illegal drugs in U.S. communities.

Maduro during a press conference earlier on Monday lashed out at the U.S. government, accusing the Trump administration of using drug trafficking accusations as an excuse for a military operation whose intentions are “to intimidate and seek regime change” in the South American country.

Maduro also repudiated what he described as a weekend operation in which 18 Marines raided a Venezuelan fishing boat in the Caribbean.

“What were they looking for? Tuna? What were they looking for? A kilo of snapper? Who gave the order in Washington for a missile destroyer to send 18 armed Marines to raid a tuna fishing vessel?” he said. “They were looking for a military incident. If the tuna fishing boys had any kind of weapons and used weapons while in Venezuelan jurisdiction, it would have been the military incident that the warmongers, extremists who want a war in the Caribbean, are seeking.”

Speaking to Fox News earlier Monday, Rubio reiterated that the U.S. doesn’t see Maduro as the rightful leader of Venezuela but as head of a drug cartel.

“We’re not going to have a cartel, operating or masquerading as a government, operating in our own hemisphere,” Rubio said.

Following the first military strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, America’s chief diplomat said Trump was “going to use the U.S. military and all the elements of American power to target cartels who are targeting America.”

AP and others have reported that the boat had turned around and was heading back to shore when it was struck. But Rubio on Monday said he didn’t know if that’s accurate.

“What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up,” Rubio said. “We can’t live in a world where all of a sudden they do a U-turn and so we can’t touch them anymore.”

Madhani and Garcia Cano write for the Associated Press. AP writer Matthew Lee in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Sept. 9 (UPI) — Financial markets dealt Argentina a harsh blow after President Javier Milei’s coalition suffered a major defeat in midterm elections in Buenos Aires province, the country’s largest district.

The market reaction to Milei’s electoral setback was immediate: the peso fell about 5%, the S&P Merval index dropped more than 10% and several ADRs — shares of Argentine companies traded in New York — lost as much as 20% during the day Monday.

The “country risk” — which measures the premium investors demand to hold its debt over U.S. Treasury bonds — jumped above 1,000 basis points for the first time since Oct. 24.

After Monday’s rout, markets saw a technical rebound Tuesday, with the S&P Merval recovering by 2% to 3% and ADRs rising 1% to 6%, while country risk remained elevated at about 1,108 basis points. On the currency front, the dollar gained 10 Argentine pesos, or 0.7% on the day.

The government’s electoral setback at the hands of the opposition — 47% for Peronism versus 34% for the ruling coalition — was read as a rejection of President Javier Milei’s shock program that includes spending cuts, deregulation and market openings, and as a signal the administration will face greater challenges in passing reforms and sustaining its economic plan.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley abruptly reversed its favorable outlook on Argentina after the ruling coalition’s defeat. The firm warned of increased uncertainty around reforms and cautioned about a potential deterioration in Argentine bonds, according to the Argentine outlet Perfil.

Morgan Stanley’s shift on Argentine debt was drastic, as only a week earlier it had recommended taking advantage of lower prices to buy. The firm has dropped that recommendation and withdrawn its favorable outlook on the country.

Milei had framed the Buenos Aires election as a political test ahead of the October legislative vote. He entered the contest after a sharp fiscal adjustment, amid social tensions and controversies that eroded support.

Although inflation has eased compared with 2023, the economy remains fragile and reliant on political credibility to stabilize the exchange rate and restore access to credit.

“Beyond this electoral result, I want to tell all Argentines that the course for which we were elected in 2023 will not change, it will be reinforced. We will continue to defend fiscal balance tooth and nail,” Milei said in his speech after conceding the electoral defeat.

“We will maintain a tight monetary policy. We will sustain the exchange-rate system committed to Argentines. We will redouble our efforts on deregulation.”

He added, “We will not retreat a single inch on government policy. The course is not only confirmed — we will accelerate and deepen it further.”

Although Milei has managed to reduce Argentina’s triple-digit inflation in recent months and ended the excessive spending of his Peronist predecessors, Argentines have yet to see the economic recovery that was expected to follow his harsh austerity measures.

His government has dismantled Argentina’s complex currency controls as part of a $20 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund, analysts say, but it is still seeking the confidence of international investors who could provide the capital needed to create jobs and spur economic growth.

Issues accessing tickets from the MLB app caused problems at the entry gates for fans trying to enter Dodger Stadium before Monday’s game between the Dodgers and Colorado Rockies.

It’s unclear how many fans were affected, but the problem wasn’t confined to fans entering Dodger Stadium — the issue has been ongoing since at least last weekend at MLB ballparks across the country.

“MLB’s ticketing system TDC is experiencing difficulties across multiple venues for retrieving tickets and fan entry,” the Dodgers said in a statement. “The league is working with the Dodgers and other franchises to address the issues.”

The Dodgers notified season ticket holders Monday about the situation, urging them to reset their passwords on the MLB website. They instructed them to contact the team’s member services department if they were unable to access their tickets or couldn’t reset their passwords.

An MLB representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Trump on Monday continued to flirt with the idea of mobilizing National Guard troops to combat crime in Chicago, just a day after he had to clarify that he has no intent to “go to war” with the American city.

The push to militarize local law enforcement operations has been an ongoing fixation for the president, who on Saturday used war imagery and a reference to the movie “Apocalypse Now” to suggest that the newly rebranded Department of War could descend upon the Democrat-run city.

Trump clarified Sunday that his post was meant to convey he wants to “clean up” the city, and on Monday once again floated the possibility of deploying federal agents to the city — a move that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has staunchly opposed.

“I don’t know why Chicago isn’t calling us saying, please give us help,” Trump said during a speech at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. “When you have over just a short period of time, 50 murders and hundreds of people shot, and then you have a governor that stands up and says how crime is just fine. It’s really really crazy, but we’re bringing back law and order to our country.”

A few hours earlier, Trump posted on social media that he wanted “to help the people of Chicago, not hurt them” — a statement that Pritzker mocked as insincere, saying that Trump had “just threatened an American city with the Department of War.”

“Once again, this isn’t about fighting crime. That requires support and coordination — yet we’ve experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks,” Pritzker said in a post on X. “Instead of taking steps to work with us on public safety, the Trump administration’s focused on scaring Illinoisians.”

The White House did not respond when asked whether Trump would send National Guard troops to Chicago without the request from the governor. But the Department of Homeland Security announced in a news release Monday that it was launching an immigration enforcement operation to “target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago.”

For weeks, Trump has talked about sending the military to Chicago and other cities led by Democrats — an action that governors have repeatedly opposed. Most Americans also oppose the idea, according to a recent CBS/YouGov poll, but the Republican base largely sees Trump’s push as a means to reduce crime.

If Trump were to deploy U.S. forces to the cities, it would follow similar operations in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles — moves that a federal judge last week said was illegal and that amounted to Trump “creating a national police force with the President as its chief” but that Trump sees as victories.

In his Monday remarks, Trump claimed that he “saved Los Angeles” and that crime is down to “virtually nothing” in Washington because he decided to send military forces to patrol the cities. Trump downplayed instances of domestic violence, saying those are “much lesser things” that should not be taken into account when trying to discern whether his crime-fighting efforts have worked in the nation’s capital.

“Things that take place in the home, they call crime. They’ll do anything they can to find something,” Trump lamented. “If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime. Now, I can’t claim 100%, but we are a safe city.”

Trump said “we can do the same thing” in other cities, like Chicago and New York City.

“We are waiting for a call from Chicago,” Trump said. “We’ll fix Chicago.”

As of Monday afternoon, Pritzker’s office had yet to receive any “formal communication or information from the Trump administration” about potential plans to have troops deployed into the city, said Matt Hill, a spokesperson for the Illinois governor.

“Like the public and press, we are learning of their operations through social media as they attempt to produce a reality television show,” Hill said in an email. “If he cared about delivering real solutions for Illinois, then we would have heard from him.”

Pritzker, in remarks posted on social media Sunday, said the Trump administration was trampling on citizens’ constitutional rights “in the fake guise of fighting crime.”

“Once Donald Trump gets the citizens of this nation comfortable with the current atrocities committed under the color of law — what comes next?” he said.

The closely watched Murdoch succession drama has ended with a $3.3-billion settlement that gives Lachlan Murdoch control of the family’s influential media assets, including Fox News, the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal.

Fox Corp. on Monday announced the “mutual resolution” of the legal wrangling that had clouded the future direction of the television company and the Murdoch-controlled publishing firm News Corp. The dollar figure was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly.

The succession dispute flared into public view last year after three of Murdoch’s children attempted to block proposed changes that patriarch Rupert Murdoch wanted to make to his trust to cement his oldest son Lachlan’s grip on power. In December, a Nevada probate commissioner rejected Rupert Murdoch’s request to amend his trust amid the opposition by his three adult children.

The 94-year-old mogul wanted to ensure the conservative leanings of his media empire would carry on and felt that Lachlan Murdoch, who serves as chairman and chief executive of Fox, was the most ideologically compatible with his own point of view.

Until now, Rupert’s four oldest children — Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch and James Murdoch — were set to jointly inherit control of the businesses. But, as part of the settlement, Prudence, Elisabeth and James agreed to relinquish their shares in the family trust and give up any roles going forward.

Two new trusts will be established. One will benefit Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch’s two youngest daughters, Chloe and Grace Murdoch, who were born during his union with ex-wife Wendi Deng.

The second trust will benefit Prudence, Elisabeth, James and their descendants. Fox Corp. separately announced a public offering of 16.9 million shares of Fox Corp. stock, currently held by the Murdoch Family Trust.

Those proceeds, along with the sale of 14.2 million shares of publishing company News Corp.’s Class B common stock, will fund the new trust.

Fox said Monday that voting control of the Fox and News Corp. shares held by this trust “will rest solely with Lachlan Murdoch through his appointed managing director” through 2050.

“Fox’s board of directors welcomes these developments and believes that the leadership, vision and management by the Company’s CEO and Executive Chair, Lachlan Murdoch, will continue to be important to guiding the Company’s strategy and success,” the board said in a statement.

Fox said it is not selling any of its stock.

The family will sell nonvoting Class B shares and hold on to its voting shares — and control. Rupert Murdoch will remain the company’s chairman emeritus.

During a six-month period following the stock sales, James, Prudence and Elisabeth will be expected to “sell their de minimis personal holdings in FOX and News Corp.” to severe all ties with the companies.

Beaten-down chemical industry stock Dow (DOW -2.27%) absorbed another body blow on Monday. Investors traded out of the company’s shares, on the back of an analyst’s bearish adjustment, to the point where they closed the day more than 2% lower in value. In contrast, the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.21%) ended up rising by 0.2%.

A cut to the chemical giant

The pundit behind the move was Jefferies‘ Laurence Alexander. Well before market open that day, he reduced his Dow price target to $23 per share from his preceding $28. He maintained his hold recommendation on the shares in the process.

Image source: Getty Images.

Alexander’s new take on Dow was due to several factors, including the company’s lingering supply chain woes, according to reports. The analyst also wrote that there was a risk that a potential interest rate cut would take some time to result in increased demand for the company’s wares.

On the spending side, Alexander opined that with such ongoing pressures, Dow management will be compelled to continue reining in capital expenditures. This, plus anticipated restructuring measures in 2026 and the following year, are likely to affect the company’s fundamentals negatively.

Not a good time for the industry

Dow, a long-standing incumbent in the chemical sector, is a highly unfavored stock these days. Over the summer, the company cut its quarterly dividend in half; as this payout was a major draw pulling people into the stock, many investors sold on the news.

Globally, the industry is in a significant down cycle, in many ways still adjusting from oversupply at the start of this decade. The tariff policy of the current presidential administration isn’t helping sentiment, either.

Given all that, Alexander’s cautious move feels entirely justified.

WASHINGTON — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released on Monday a sexually suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly signed by President Trump, which he has denied.

Trump has said he did not write the letter or create the drawing of a curvaceous woman that surrounds the letter. He filed a $10-billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for a report on the alleged letter.

The letter was included as part of a 2003 album compiled for alleged sex trafficker Epstein’s birthday. The president has denied having anything to do with it. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee received a copy of the birthday album on Monday as part of a batch of documents from Epstein’s estate.

The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Trump has denied writing the letter and creating the drawing, calling a report on it “false, malicious, and defamatory.”

“These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” Trump said.

The letter released by the committee looks exactly as described by the the Wall Street Journal in its report.

The letter bearing Trump’s name and signature includes text framed by a hand-drawn outline of what appears to be a curvaceous woman.

“A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the letter says.

Price writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday let President Trump remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of high-profile firings allowed for now by Supreme Court.

Trump first moved to fire Rebecca Slaughter in the spring, but she sued and lower courts ordered her reinstated because the law allows commissioners to be removed only for problems like misconduct or neglect of duty.

Roberts halted those decisions in a brief order, responding to an appeal from the Trump administration on the court’s emergency docket.

The Justice Department has argued that the FTC and other executive branch agencies are under Trump’s control and the Republican president is free to remove commissioners without cause.

Slaughter’s lawsuit over her firing will keep playing out, as Roberts asked her lawyers to respond to the Trump administration’s arguments by next week.

The court has previously allowed the firings of several other board members of independent agencies. It has suggested, however, that his power to fire has limitations at the Federal Reserve, a prospect that could soon be tested with the case of Fed Gov. Lisa Cook.

Monday’s order is the latest sign that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has effectively abandoned a 90-year-old high court precedent that protected some federal agencies from arbitrary presidential action.

In the 1935 decision known as Humphrey’s Executor, the court unanimously held that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause.

The decision ushered in an era of powerful independent federal agencies charged with regulating labor relations, employment discrimination, the airwaves and much else. But it has long rankled conservative legal theorists who argue the modern administrative state gets the Constitution all wrong because such agencies should answer to the president.

The agency at the center of the case was also the FTC, a point cited by lower-court judges in the lawsuit filed by Slaughter. She has ping-ponged in and out of the job as the case worked its way through the courts.

The FTC is a regulator created by Congress that enforces consumer protection measures and antitrust legislation. Its seats are typically comprised of three members of the president’s party and two from the opposing party.

Whitehurst writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.

LONDON — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday she doesn’t think the detention of hundreds of South Koreans in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia will deter investment in the United States because such tough actions mean there is no uncertainty about the Trump administration’s policies.

The detention of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Korean, in the Sept. 4 raid has caused confusion, shock and a sense of betrayal among many in the U.S.-allied nation.

“This is a great opportunity for us to make sure that all companies are reassured that when you come to the United States, you’ll know what the rules of the game are,” Noem said at a meeting in London of ministers from the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing partnership focused on border security.

“We’re encouraging all companies who want to come to the United States and help our economy and employ people, that we encourage them to employ U.S. citizens and to bring people to our country that want to follow our laws and work here the right way,” she told reporters.

The detained Koreans would be deported after most were detained for ignoring removal orders, while “a few” had engaged in other criminal activity and will “face the consequences,” Noem said.

Newly appointed U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood welcomed Noem and ministers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand to the 18th-century headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Company for talks on countering unauthorized migration, child sexual abuse and the spread of opioids.

Mahmood, who was given the interior minister job in a shakeup of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Cabinet on Friday, said the ministers would “agree new measures to protect our borders with our Five Eyes partners, hitting people-smugglers hard.”

The far-flung countries are close allies with some common problems but also widely differ in their approaches to migration. The Trump administration’s program of street raids, mass detentions and large-scale deportations of unauthorized migrants has drawn domestic and international criticism and a host of legal challenges.

Noem says tough measures are an inspiration to others

Noem said there had not been disagreements among the ministers in talks focused on sharing information on criminal gangs, using technology to disrupt their networks and speeding extradition arrangements.

“I don’t think that the discussion today has covered politics at all,” she said. “It is what resources do we have that we can share so we can each protect our countries better?”

Noem said that “when we put tough measures in place, the more that we can talk about that and share that is an inspiration to other countries to do the same.”

She denied a plan to expand immigration raids and deploy the National Guard in Chicago, which has met with opposition from local and state authorities, was on hold.

“Nothing’s on hold. Everything is full speed ahead,” Noem told reporters, saying “we can run as many operations every single day as we need to, to keep America safe.”

Also attending Monday’s talks were Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Judith Collins, the attorney general and defense minister of New Zealand.

U.K. grapples with migrant crossings

Britain’s center-left Labor government is struggling to bring down the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, some 30,000 so far this year. It faces calls from opposition parties to leave the European Convention on Human Rights in order to take tougher action.

The government says it won’t do that, but may tweak the interpretation of the rights convention in British law. It has struck a deal with France to return some migrants who cross the channel and is working on similar agreements with other countries.

Mahmood said Monday that the U.K. could suspend issuing visas to people from countries that do not agree to take back their citizens with no right to remain in Britain, though she did not name any potential countries.

“We do expect countries to play ball, play by the rules, and if one of your citizens has no right to be in our country, you do need to take them back,” she said.

Lawless writes for the Associated Press.