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WASHINGTON, United States: The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, defying President Donald Trump’s demand for cuts, as central bank chief Kevin Warsh stressed the need to combat inflation that has been “too high” for “too long.”

The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to raise rates by 25 basis points to between 3.75 and 4.00 percent, saying the rate hike would support a “timelier return” to its two-percent target for inflation.

Warsh, appointed by Trump, said the decision was a “serious” one, but needed to be taken.

“The plain fact is that inflation is too high, and has been for too long,” he told a press conference.

And Wednesday’s rate hike may not be the last — the vast majority of Fed policymakers indicated that at least one more rate hike was likely necessary before the end of the year, according to their Summary of Economic Projections.

US households and businesses have been battered by years of higher-than-target inflation, and prices have surged in the wake of Trump’s war on Iran, his signature tariff policies and the ongoing AI boom.

Trump has launched an unprecedented assault on the Fed’s independence since taking office, attempting to fire a Fed Governor and launching a criminal probe against Warsh’s predecessor in his quest for lower rates to spur economic activity.

The president’s Republican Party faces a stern test in upcoming midterm elections, with rival Democrats seeking to wrest control of both houses of Congress and economic issues front-and-center for voters.

Growing calls for hike

The Fed has held rates steady since January, choosing to wait to gauge the effects of the Iran war’s energy price shocks and to let the impact of tariffs on prices ripple through the economy.

Since July, however, a growing faction of policymakers had indicated a rate hike may be required to tame inflation, as the war grinds on and prices remained elevated.

On Friday, August’s consumer price index came in at 3.4 percent — unchanged from the month before, but still well above the Fed’s long-term two-percent target.

In its SEP, the Fed raised its forecast for its preferred gauge of inflation — the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index — by 0.1 percentage points to 3.7 percent by year-end.

The Fed also raised its projection for GDP growth by year-end to 2.3 percent, up 0.1 percentage points.

‘Rather unfortunate’

US stock markets largely priced in Wednesday’s rate hike, but they were still down on the news — expected with any rate hike as equities become less attractive.

Yields on 10-year US Treasury bonds — which have surged in recent days as uncertainty on long-term inflation has spiked — were also up past the five-percent threshold.

Following the Fed’s announcement, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the decision was “rather unfortunate” and that Trump had been clear that he wanted lower interest rates.

Warsh was named to his position after a contentious Senate confirmation process, where Democratic lawmakers accused him of being a “sock puppet” for Trump, which he denied.

So far, Trump has supported Warsh, claiming that the Fed chair wants lower rates and accusing the board of being “political.”

The Fed has a dual mandate to deliver maximum employment while keeping inflation to its long-term two-percent target.

It mainly achieves these goals by setting the key US interest rate — lower rates tend to spur economic activity but fuel inflation, and hiking them cools both activity and prices.

The Fed’s SEP showed that at least 12 of 18 policymakers who participated in the projection expected one more rate hike would be required before the end of the year.

Four policymakers expect two more rate hikes to be required.

Warsh has criticized the Fed’s policy of offering such projections in the past and did not participate in the previous iteration in June.

This projection also included only 18 policymakers, suggesting he had once again withheld his contribution.

“American Idol” is packing up its stars after 25 years in Hollywood.

In the latest blow to Los Angeles film production, ABC’s long-running program will move its upcoming season to the Atlanta area, according to Fremantle, which produces the show with 19 Entertainment, owned by Sony Pictures Television.

Fremantle declined to comment further.

The move comes as Los Angeles’ production levels have tumbled, prompting concern from film workers, union leaders and elected officials who are scrambling to address the crisis. California, despite boosting its tax incentive program, has been struggling to compete against other states that offer more lucrative credits.

TV production activity in the L.A. region was down 27% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, largely because of fewer reality TV shoots, according to the nonprofit FilmLA.

Earlier this year, another broadcast TV stalwart, Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” made plans to vacate its space on the Fox lot on West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles and head to New Jersey, also in search of more lucrative tax credits. Another ABC hit, “Shark Tank,” also is relocating to Atlanta from its longtime home base on Sony’s Culver City lot.

“American Idol” has been a local economic engine since launching on Fox in 2002. For years, the show ranked as the No. 1 show on TV and employed hundreds of workers each season as aspiring singers hoped for their big break.

The most recent season originated from Red Studios in Hollywood.

Georgia offers generous tax incentives, including up to a 30% tax credit for reality television productions that spend at least $500,000 in the state. Unlike California, Georgia’s tax program allows compensation for actors and other so-called above-the-line workers to be included.

Like California, Georgia has been grappling with lower production levels. For more than a decade, its soundstages attracted colossal movie productions, but the region was dealt a blow when the Walt Disney Co. recently shifted production of its Marvel superhero films to facilities near London.

On Tuesday, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, the Motion Picture Assn., industry unions, Hollywood special ambassador Jon Voight and filmmaker Steven Paul made a pitch for a federal film and television tax credit to keep jobs in Hollywood and in the U.S. broadly.

Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) plans to introduce a bill into Congress as early as this month in collaboration with Rep. Brian Jack (R-Ga.), who represents a district southwest of Atlanta. The MPA released a study estimating a federal tax credit could add 143,000 film and TV jobs.

This year, in particular, has seen big swings as the California Film and TV Tax Credit Program expanded eligibility to include competition shows.

Large-scale competition shows are eligible under the state’s incentive program if they have a minimum budget of $1 million per episode. The credit, however, does not include traditional reality shows, game shows, talk shows or docu-follow television programs.

Changes in California’s formula resulted in a jump to 676 shoot days in the second quarter, compared with 463 shoot days during the first three months of the year. Nonetheless, this year’s April-June quarter still reflected an almost 40% decline when compared with the same time last year.

FilmLA said that over the last five years, reality productions have plummeted nearly 63%.

ABC in late July announced “American Idol” was returning, marking its 10th season on the Walt Disney Co. network. Producers are auditioning potential contestants this week during stops in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

ABC declined to comment on the move.

Ryan Seacrest has long hosted the show, which last season featured Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood, a previous “American Idol” champion, as the celebrity judges.

Deadline first reported the planned move to Georgia.

Game shows are also leaving L.A.

A growing number of programs long based around Hollywood and New York have headed across the ocean to Ireland and Britain to take advantage of tax credits that bring down the cost of production as broadcast network executives contend with shrinking audiences and lower profit margins.

Fox currently has several prime-time game shows produced overseas, including “The Floor,” “Celebrity Name That Tune” and “Beat Shazam.

Staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.

LONDON — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have moved their two children to a new school over security concerns, a spokesperson said Tuesday, just weeks after the family returned to the U.K. to make a fresh start.

“The decision for the children to move school was taken following a discussion with the family’s security team about the practicalities of their current arrangements,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, had only just started the new school year in England after the family relocated from California in late August.

British media reported that the distance of the school run and the heavy traffic on the route were among the concerns raised by the couple and their security team. The family is living at a private, non-royal residence outside of London.

“This decision should in no way be interpreted as a reflection on the school or the exceptional care the children have received there,” the statement added.

The news followed reports that Harry and Meghan were awaiting a new risk assessment from the government committee that reviews protection of VIPs, including a decision on whether the family should be entitled to publicly funded security now that they live in the U.K.

Harry and Meghan gave up their royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago, saying they wanted to earn their own living. They later signed lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify.

Although relations with the rest of the royal family have soured since then, Harry has recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles III.

Harry has fought a long-running battle with Britain’s government for the restoration of publicly funded police protection, which was canceled when the couple gave up their royal roles.

He had previously said he couldn’t “see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K.” without a security guarantee.

Earlier this month, the king reiterated that Harry and Meghan remain non-working members of the royal family and would continue to refrain from using formal royal titles, such as his royal highness and her royal highness, as they have done since 2020. The couple said they were surprised by the way the monarch issued that statement because they were given little time to review it.

Gabriel Jesus claims he was forced to train alone before Barcelona move, but Arsenal ‘surprised’ by criticism.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he was “very surprised” by Gabriel Jesus’s claim that he was forced to train alone and was given no information prior to joining Barcelona.

Jesus ended his four-year spell with the Gunners in September and has since made it clear he felt disappointed with the way his exit was handled.

The Brazilian striker said in an interview this week that “out of nowhere they put me to train apart from the group,” adding that “nobody told me nothing” before he signed for Barcelona.

Responding to Jesus’s criticism, Arteta insisted he had spoken to the former Manchester City star about the transfer and had parted on good terms.

“Very surprised, to be fair. Especially because with Gabi (Jesus) I had an individual talk in the dressing room,” he told reporters on Friday.

“I don’t know what words were said; it’s fine. The words that we used were all about gratitude.”

Arteta also came under fire from former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, who recently said he was “uncomfortable” with what he perceived to be a lack of dialogue between the club and Gabriel Martinelli, who moved to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal on September 3.

But Arteta used the presence of Leandro Trossard, who was sold to Besiktas in July, to watch Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea last weekend as an example of the club’s bond with their former players.

“I don’t know, it’s OK. Sometimes I understand that when you have to deliver bad news, or news that people don’t expect, somebody has to be the bad cop. If I have to be, I have to be and I understand,” he said, before the Premier League champions’ trip to Sunderland on Saturday.

“What is important is normally what happens three months or six months later. When Trossard comes, he’s in the dressing room with all of us, the atmosphere and the relationship you have.

“Thank God so far that with all the players that left, at some point the relationship has been really good. I hope this is the same case.”

LIV Golf and its related entities have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection four years after the league’s debut as a heavy-spending, player-friendly alternative to the PGA Tour.

Rather than signal the end of LIV, though, the move is designed to help the league move into the future without Saudi funding.

“We are excited about what lies ahead and yet, there is still much to accomplish in the months ahead,” CEO Scott O’Neil said in a statement released by the league on Tuesday. “We believe deeply in LIV Golf’s future, the opportunity in front of us, and the people who will help us realize it. We will not rest until we deliver on LIV Golf’s full potential.”

After launching in June 2022, LIV once paid nine-figure signing bonuses to lure away top players from the PGA Tour. Spending had reached an estimated $6 billion by the time the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia decided to end its financial support in April.

On Tuesday, LIV said it has entered a restructuring support agreement with BC Partners Advisors and voluntarily entered a court-supervised restructuring process under Chapter 11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

Last month, O’Neil announced a long-term plan that would have the golfers become the majority equity holders in the league. In a letter to fans on Tuesday, he said that this week’s moves are steps toward the league’s long-term goals.

“Now it is time to enter the next phase of LIV Golf,” O’Neil said. “Today, we took an important step forward to get there. LIV Golf has entered a court-supervised restructuring process that provides us with the time and framework to address previous financial obligations and complete a transaction that will make the League’s next phase a reality. Put simply, this process is designed to build a stronger and more sustainable future for LIV Golf.”

O’Neal said the new league model will expand the field for events from 57 to 75 players, introduce a 54-hole cut and create Monday qualifiers. It will “be built around a sustainable business model and deeper alignment between players and the League, with team golf at its core,” he wrote.

“Players will have the opportunity to share directly in the value they help create, while teams will be positioned to grow into enduring global sports businesses. And fans will remain at the center of everything we do.”

In its bankruptcy filing, LIV listed estimated assests of between $100 million and $500 million and liabilities of between $500 million and $1 billion. Players Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith were listed as the four leading creditors.

The league ended its season in August. Four vendors already have filed lawsuits because they have not been paid.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEW YORK: Elena Rybakina is headed to the US Open semifinals and to the top of the women’s tennis rankings.

Rybakina edged Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday, guaranteeing she will become No. 1 in the WTA rankings.

The Australian Open champion will face No. 4 Coco Gauff or No. 5 Mirra Andreeva on Thursday. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.

But no matter what happens in the remaining matches, Rybakina will end Sabalenka’s 99-week stay at No. 1 when the new rankings are released Monday.

“It’s just a number right now and of course I’m in the semis so my goal is to win the tournament,” Rybakina said. “It’s an amazing achievement but you know how quick everything can change in tennis, ranking-wise, during the match, so I feel like I just need to focus on my game, try to recover and enjoy tomorrow.”

Rybakina and Zheng were scheduled to start about eight hours after Ben Shelton finished off his victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish in U.S. Open history.

Rybakina said she struggled with the sun and shadows in Arthur Ashe Stadium early on after starting later in the day in her previous matches.

Zheng capitalized on Rybakina’s early struggles to get her only break of the match against one of the best servers in women’s tennis and take a 5-3 lead in the first set.

But Zheng, who had been playing from behind so much in Flushing Meadows, couldn’t hold onto the lead and Rybakina rolled through the second set in 38 minutes.

Zheng, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist from China, had to come through the qualifying tournament just to make the main draw after elbow surgery dropped her down the rankings to her current place of No. 121. Once ranked No. 4, she is guaranteed to move back into the top 60.

She made a dramatic run to the quarterfinals, erasing a 5-0 deficit in the third set against Madison Keys in the third round and then climbing out of another 5-0 hole in the first set in her fourth-round victory over No. 8-seed Iga Swiatek.

But a double-fault gave her opponent a 5-4 lead in the third set and Rybakina served it out to reach the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time.

“I think the wins that I had so far are great, but obviously today in the match I got a lot of chances in the third set, but I didn’t take it,” Zheng said. “That was a bit pity for me to lose this match, but obviously I could take positive things from U.S. Open this year.”

Rybakina came into the tournament needing only to reach the semifinals to ensure she would move past Sabalenka. Had the 27-year-old from Kazakhstan lost before the final four, Sabalenka, Pegula or Gauff could have been No. 1 next week by winning the tournament.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev was to face Botic van de Zandschulp in one quarterfinal match Wednesday, with No. 28 Alexander Blockx playing Karen Khachenov in the other. The winners will meet Friday, the same day Shelton and No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe will square off in an all-American semifinal match.

“It’s terrible for Israel and for Israel’s future, it’s not what Judaism teaches and it’s deeply wrong”, he added.

Supported by other Rabbis in the liberal and progressive UK Jewish communities, Rabbi Wittenberg believes that it is possible to support Israel, be concerned for the safety of British Jews, and that it is right for the UK government to take action to protect Israelis and Palestinians.

However, he also said he was “extremely sad that it’s come to this” and that he shared the “concerns of the Jewish community leadership that people will use this for antisemitism and for demonising Israel even further”.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, who represents the Orthodox community, previously said the sanctions marked a “truly dark day” and placed British Jews at greater risk of attacks.

In Golders Green – where ambulances run by a Jewish medical charity were set on fire and two visibly Jewish men were stabbed in what police called a terror attack earlier this year – there was concern the government’s actions against Israel would increase attacks against British Jews.

“It’s so tricky because, in principle, I agree with opposing these new settlements,” Michael Cohen, who works for a Jewish charity, told the BBC.

But he added: “The timing of it, I think, was completely… just self interest for the Labour Party, signalling before a by-election, before the party conference.”

He said the practical impact of the move would be “almost zero”.

One woman, who runs a jewellery shop that was was twice cordoned off due to incidents in Golders Green, was very critical of the sanctions and said she would “make it my mission” to continue to buy Israeli goods whenever she could.

“We have to [support] our own because no one else is going to”, Deborah Miller told the BBC.

At the end of the week, Jewish congregations will celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.

Police are already increasing security around Jewish areas to protect communities who have faced multiple attacks this year and are fearful of more.

The number of antisemitic incidents recorded across the UK since the start of the year is up by a fifth compared to last year, figures show.

The Community Security Trust (CST), an organisation that provides security support to the Jewish community, recorded 1,926 incidents of anti-Jewish hate across the UK in the first six months of 2026.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales, external, estimates that only 44% of hate crime incidents between April 2022 and March 2025 came to the attention of the police.

Billionaire comedy duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone are unveiling a new name for “South Park” ahead of the show’s 29th season: “South America.”

The satirical series’ name change follows President Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America amid the escalating U.S.-Canada trade war. Last week, tech behemoths Apple and Google honored Trump’s executive order and renamed the Great Lake on their maps for U.S. users.

Parker and Stone made the announcement on social media on Tuesday, writing, “Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA. We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount — a Skydance Capitulation.”

The duo also jabbed at their parent company and its new owner, Skydance Media, for what media critics have characterized as caving to the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission. The “capitulation” involved controversial corporate and programming adjustments as well as agreeing to a $16-million settlement over a lawsuit brought by Trump involving a “60 Minutes” segment to get Paramount’s $8-billion merger with Skydance approved.

Last year, following a particularly incendiary episode of the show — in which a parody of Trump has an X-rated fling with Satan, and the president is portrayed as having an animated micropenis — the White House issued a statement to Variety slamming the series.

“The Left’s hypocrisy truly has no end — for years they have come after ‘South Park’ for what they labeled as ‘offense’ [sic] content, but suddenly they are praising the show,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to the outlet. “Just like the creators of ‘South Park,’ the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows.”

Last week, “South Park,” won an Emmy Award for outstanding animated program. And last summer, Parker and Stone reached a five-year, $1.5-billion deal with Paramount to secure exclusive global streaming rights on Paramount+, making the series one of television’s most valuable shows and its creators two of the highest-paid comedy writers in the biz.

The 29th season of “South America” premieres Sept. 16 at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.

This article appears in the September 2026 issue of Global Finance Magazine.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has appointed Jean-Christophe Laloux as its next CEO, effective Jan 1. He will succeed Marjut Falkstedt, who plans to retire. 

Laloux currently leads the European Investment Bank’s lending and advisory operations in the EU and has spent more than two decades at the EIB. He has helped develop financing tools for high-growth technology companies, infrastructure, climate projects, and private-sector investment, including venture debt, risk-sharing mechanisms, and project finance. 

EIF Chair Nadia Calviño praised Laloux’s track record in developing innovative financing tools to support Europe’s technological competitiveness. Before joining the EIB in 1999, Laloux worked at Boston Consulting Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers. —Anthony Noto

Mike Jool and Adeel Khan will take the reins of Barclays’ investment bank business in February as co-CEOs, subject to regulatory approval. Jool will join the bank early next year from Bank of America, where he most recently co-headed global investment banking. Khan currently leads Barclays’ global markets.

Each will have a seat on the bank’s group executive committee. “Since 2023, our investment bank has delivered a strong performance, growing revenues and returns and driving a more integrated service for clients,” said C.S. Venkatakrishnan, Barclays Group chief executive.

“As we enter the next stage of our strategy, and reflecting the ambition we have for our investment bank, Adeel and Mike will form a strong partnership to deliver an even stronger, more integrated service to our clients.”—Rob Daly

Standard Chartered PLC confirmed the appointment of Manus Costello as Group CFO and executive director. Costello’s appointment, initially announced in May, formalizes his role atop the emerging markets-focused banking group. 

The 25-year industry veteran spent 14 years at AllianceBernstein, rising to global head of research, and earlier served as senior director of equity research at Merrill Lynch.  

Since joining Standard Chartered in 2024 as global head of Investor Relations, Costello has made “a significant contribution to the group’s strategic positioning and engagement of stakeholders, while also bringing strong rigor and an entrepreneurial mindset to the role,” CEO Bill Winters said in a press release. —Luca Ventura

Swiss private bank Julius Baer appointed Peter Burrill as CFO and member of the Executive Board, effective August 17, subject to regulatory approval. He joins from Standard Chartered, where he was interim group CFO for nine years. Before that, Burrill spent nearly four years at Deutsche Bank as group controller and co-head of group finance, He succeeds Evie Kostakis after a top management shake-up. 

“We are delighted to welcome Pete to Julius Baer,” Bollinger said in a press release. “He brings profound depth and breadth of financial expertise, having led the full range of finance and regulatory functions. With extensive international experience across our core markets and working at a bank strongly focused on wealth management, he will be an outstanding addition to our team.” —LV

The announcement revives a 2023 commitment by President Tshisekedi and comes as several governments signal plans to deepen diplomatic ties with Israel.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reiterated its decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, becoming the latest country to announce such plans.

Following a visit to Israel by President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi, both countries said in a statement on Thursday that they would take steps towards “the relocation of the embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem”, AFP news agency reported.

The plan dates back to September 2023, when Tshisekedi met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In 2020, the DRC president announced plans to appoint an ambassador to Israel after two decades and establish an economic section of the embassy in Jerusalem while the embassy remained in Tel Aviv.

The relationship has since expanded. Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the DRC capital, Kinshasa, in November. Tshisekedi has spoken warmly about Israel for years, saying his support is driven by his Christian faith. He has also been eager for support from the United States, which has increasingly pressured Rwanda over armed rebel advances in the DRC.

Why does the embassy move matter?

The announcement comes weeks after Colombia’s new hard-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, also announced that he would move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem, a sharp shift from his leftist predecessor who criticised Israel over its genocidal war on Gaza.

The United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term. Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay have followed.

Kosovo and Somaliland, which are not UN member states, also maintain missions they consider embassies in the city.

Most countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel keep their embassies in the Tel Aviv area, maintaining that Jerusalem’s final status should be determined through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel considers the entire city its capital and has encouraged foreign governments to establish embassies there. Palestinians want occupied East Jerusalem to serve as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

The UN Security Council has rejected measures seeking to alter the status of Jerusalem and has called on countries not to establish diplomatic missions there.

California lawmakers have voted to shift a state forest system away from commercial logging and pave the way for tribal co-management, delivering a win to a movement rooted in the historic timber wars.

Managed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, the state’s 14 demonstration forests are currently required to produce and sell timber to show — or “demonstrate” — sustainable practices, while considering factors like recreation and wildlife.

AB 2494 eliminates what’s often cast as a logging mandate, instead prioritizing values such as carbon storage, wildfire resilience and biodiversity conservation. There could still be logging, but it would need to support those principles.

It also directs state officials to seek agreements with Native American tribes to integrate their traditional knowledge into managing the land. The bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

“We don’t need more demonstrations of what clear cutting does to a forest — we have plenty of those,” said Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa), who authored the bill. If the forests are being used to show how to boost commercial logging gains, “then that is not how we want to use our public assets.”

At the center of the discussion is Jackson Demonstration State Forest, spanning nearly 50,000 acres in Mendocino County. For decades, loggers and environmentalists have clashed over the fate of its stately redwoods.

About five years ago, tensions reignited when community members caught wind of plans to cut towering trees near the coastal town of Caspar.

Tribes whose historic homelands fall within the forest became leading voices in the effort to halt logging, with the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians’ Priscilla Hunter emerging as a major force. She has since passed away but her legacy looms large in the movement.

While running for his assembly seat representing the North Coast, Rogers heard from constituents and local politicians who wanted to see the forest run differently. The bill grew in part out of those discussions.

Polly Girvin, Hunter’s former partner and a retired lawyer focused on Native American issues, called AB 2494’s passage by the Legislature “nearly miraculous.”

“We’re at a time right now where scientists are going to have to reach across the table to the Indian voice,” she said. “They feel they have a sacred obligation to manage their forest, not for commercial logging per se. So I think it’s really a meeting of science and the sacred.”

Some backers say the bill offers a new economic path forward for communities behind the so-called redwood curtain. With the decline of logging and cannabis as livelihoods, they see income from tourists attracted by ultramarathons, mushroom foraging and other outdoor activities as a financial savior.

But the push to reshape forest management is fiercely opposed by loggers and mill owners, who say their work is sustainable and provides blue-collar jobs in a region where they’ve dwindled. Already California imports most of its wood from Oregon, Washington and Canada.

The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has supported the bill, but it’s opposed by the Rural County Representatives of California, an advocacy group representing 40 counties.

Staci Heaton, senior policy advocate for the organization, said they’re concerned that the new management goals are so vague they would expose forest projects — including wildfire research — to costly lawsuits.

“We’ve experienced the majority of the largest wildfires across the state over the last decade, and it is paramount that research and forest management knowledge be fostered in these demonstration state forests so that it can be used statewide,” Heaton said.

Currently, money from logging — roughly $8.5 million a year — pays for management of the demonstration forests. Under the latest iteration of AB 2494, it will remain one source of funding but not the only one, Rogers said.

Cal Fire’s Kevin Conway believes that if the bill becomes law, it will, in practice, limit funding. So they’d likely look to bring in money by charging day-use and other new recreation fees.

Conway, who is the agency’s chief for resource protection and improvement, added that some aspects of their mission wouldn’t change; the land would remain “actively managed.” For instance, he called wood products “a big part of our climate strategy in the built environment” and suggested it would still be prudent to understand how they’re produced in California.

“We don’t think that just locking up your forest and making a tree museum longterm will deliver biodiversity, carbon, recreation — all these things,” he said. Cal Fire has not taken a position on the legislation.

Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill.

Who’s house? Angels’ house!

To all you long-suffering Halos fans, light that baby up, because salvation is at hand.

His name is Stan Kroenke, and he’s Rams tough, and he’s just spent a record $4 billion to transform your slumbering baseball organization into something that dazzles like Matthew Stafford and dominates like Myles Garrett.

Kroenke, whose illustrious ownership of the Rams resulted in their move to Los Angeles, a $5.5-billion stadium, and a Super Bowl championship, has agreed to take control of the Angels’ carcass from Arte Moreno in the franchise’s best move since Darin Erstad caught that fly ball on Oct. 27, 2002.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke holds up the Lombardi Trophy after his team beat the Bengals to win the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in 2022.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

This is huge. This is landscape altering. This is like Southern California just added an expansion team led by one of the best owners in sports.

For the Angels, currently the second-worst team in baseball and on track to finish a league-worst 12th consecutive season out of the playoffs, this is downright life changing.

Kroenke builds. Kroenke spends. Kroenke wins.

The sale is not expected to close until early 2027, so change will come slowly, but buckle up, because a bumps-be-damned renovation is coming.

First, the Angels are getting a new stadium. Kroenke hasn’t confirmed it, but it’s surely happening. He’s a real estate guy at heart who loves turning empty lots into palaces and that’s what he’ll do in Anaheim.

You think SoFi is nice? Here’s guessing the new Angels stadium will be nicer, and surrounded by the sort of commercial baseball village sprouting up all over the major leagues. The stadium and its environs will offer everything the Dodgers can’t, and may just steal a few fans in the process.

Second, the Angels are getting new swashbuckling leadership. Don’t know who, but expect the new general manager to be the kind of leader who will boldly sacrifice the future to win now, because that’s what Kroenke does, he wins now. Think baseball’s version of Les Snead.

Third, the Angels are getting one of the game’s bright young managers. Don’t know who, but he will be a guy who’s big on analytics and even bigger on the human touch, and he’ll probably be very young and very anonymous and eventually very successful. Think baseball’s version of Sean McVay.

The overall theme of Kroenke’s leadership will be championship or bust. He hates finishing second, and has left no stone unturned in giving the Rams every opportunity to succeed.

When he brought the Rams back to Los Angeles in 2016, he gave the team all of 13 games before firing then-coach Jeff Fisher after going 4-9. Soon thereafter he made 30-year-old McVay the youngest coach in NFL history and they’ve since become arguably the most admired franchise in the NFL.

Kroenke wins both on the field and in the community. His entire operation, which also owns the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, the Colorado Rapids of MLS and Arsenal of the Premier League, is led by Kevin Demoff, a lifelong Angeleno who understands and works the local market as well as any sports executive ever. The community has become saturated with Rams, and the same will be happening with the Angels as they increase their reach into Los Angeles County, something Moreno tried but could never pull off.

The name will remain the Los Angeles Angels, not because Kroenke doesn’t like Anaheim, but because he knows his investment must expand out of Orange County to eventually reap rewards.

“The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market,” Kroenke said in a statement. “We look forward to an exciting future with the Angels organization.”

Storied. Anchored. Exciting. Those are words you rarely heard about the Angels under Moreno, whose 23-year stewardship began with a cheer and ended with a whimper.

Angels owner Arte Moreno has agreed to sell the team to Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

Remember how, in his first news conference after buying the team from Disney, he lowered beer prices? He was fun, he was innovative and he was the first Latino majority owner in major American team sports. It was all so cool, and the team responded with five American League West titles and two appearances in the American League Championship Series.

But he eventually made some terrible free-agent decisions — bringing in Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Vernon Wells — and slowly lost touch with a winning formula.

The last straw was four seasons ago when he refused to trade star Shohei Ohtani and eventually lost him to the Dodgers in a free-agent bidding war he reportedly could have won.

In the end, fans were chanting for him to get out and this columnist wrote that he should sell the team … to Stan Kroenke.

Somebody listened!

It’s a sweet marriage, a perfect match, an outcome that deserves to be accompanied by the words of the late, great Rory Markas.

“Just another Halo Victory!”

Is it ever.

The Dodgers made a flurry of moves on Tuesday, as rosters expanded for September, the most surprising of which was activating catcher Dalton Rushing (sprained right elbow) off the injured list.

The Dodgers also activated catcher Will Smith (neck) from the IL, optioned outfielder Alek Thomas to Triple-A Oklahoma City and designated catcher Ben Rortvedt for assignment. With two extra active roster spots for the rest of the season, the team activated left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski from the IL and recalled infielder Alex Freeland from Triple-A.

Rushing has been on the IL since early August, has been working through a hitting progression, and according to manager Dave Roberts has also started a throwing program. But Roberts indicated over the weekend that he wasn’t necessarily expecting Rushing to be ready to be activated Tuesday.

Regardless of how far Rushing’s throwing has advanced, he can provide a left-handed bat off the bench — a role the Dodgers could also use in the postseason. The Dodgers still have catcher Hunter Feduccia on the roster, and he can serve as the backup to Smith.

Smith returns after being sidelined for almost three months by a nagging neck injury. Wrobleski (left forearm inflammation), on the other hand, spent just over two weeks on the IL, as the Dodgers kept an eye on his workload for the overall season.

Freeland, a switch hitter, also provides a left-handed bat. And his addition improves lineup flexibility: when he plays second base, that could free up Tommy Edman to move to the outfield.

Manchester City have opened talks with Chelsea in their bid to sign midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

In what is set to be one of the key narratives on transfer deadline day, City have set the wheels in motion towards what would be one of the most expensive deals of the summer.

It is understood Chelsea want a minimum of £120m for Fernandez and talks are under way as both clubs negotiate a price.

Fernandez, 25, worked with City manager Enzo Maresca during the Italian’s reign at Chelsea.

Maresca is keen to work with the Argentina international again, while Fernandez is open to a move to City.

Richarlison is one of three players who De Zerbi says have asked to leave Tottenham.

He, Kevin Danso and Pape Matar Sarr have all been linked with moves away from Spurs and none were included in De Zerbi’s match squad as Tottenham lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle on Saturday.

Asked about their status after the loss, De Zerbi said: “Richarlison, I don’t know. He said too many times he wants to leave.

“Danso came to me two days ago and he said wants to leave and Pape Sarr the same, but he suffered a small injury, but he is almost ready to train.

“I have very good relationships but if they want to leave, they have to bring the solution, the economic solution, to the club, and they can go.”

Spurs have spent more than £300m this summer in an effort to restore their competitive edge following back-to-back 17th-place Premier League finishes.

But Tottenham are bottom of the table, having lost their first two games to Brentford and Newcastle and failing to score a goal.

With 11 goals, Richarlison was Tottenham’s top scorer last season and a key figure during their struggle for Premier League survival, which was secured on the final day.

Earlier in August, De Zerbi said that the Brazilian was uncertain about his future, noting that “it’s not easy to find another striker like Richarlison”.

Last week, Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush joined Spurs on loan and he replaced Richarlison in De Zerbi’s starting XI against Newcastle.

Danso’s first-team opportunities may be limited this season as Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke arrive to challenge for his place in central defence, where Micky van de Ven’s spot was secured by the signing of a new contract and the award of the captaincy.

Sunderland made an offer to take Danso, who has 36 Austria caps, on a season-long loan – but Spurs rejected it.

In midfield, Sarr’s chance to play has been impacted by the arrivals of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali early in the window, as Tottenham kicked off their a statement summer of transfers by breaking their club record fee twice in one week.

The Senegal international, 23, has attracted interest from a number of clubs, including several in the Premier League and Turkish side Besiktas.

However, Juventus are understood to be confident of winning the race for his signature on a loan deal that includes a conditional obligation to buy.

California lawmakers have passed legislation that will make it easier for government agencies to protect themselves from the rising use of artificial intelligence for public comment, records requests and other forms of civic engagement.

Senate Bill 1159 from Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-West Sacramento) prohibits anyone from knowingly using AI to falsely represent that a real person engaged with a government agency. It also specifies that agencies are not required to treat engagement from AI or bots as if they were real humans.

“What we have seen with the result of the advent of artificial intelligence and other similar technologies is the capability for these systems to flood the zone — to drown local governments, and potentially state agencies as well, in inauthentic, non-human engagement” Cabaldon said during a March meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The legislation was introduced shortly after a February report from The Times about a campaign to sway a vote on gas-powered appliances at the South Coast Air Quality Management District. A Southern California based public affairs consultant named Matt Klink took credit for the campaign, stating that he used a platform called CiviClick to flood the district with 20,000 public comments opposing the rule ahead of the air board’s vote.

CiviClick describes itself on its website as “the first and best AI-powered grassroots advocacy platform.” Company officials maintain that AI was not used in the AQMD campaign, but said it is a tool they offer and use in other campaigns. Chief executive Chazz Clevinger said he could not share how the 20,000 comments to the air board were generated or how constituents were identified and contacted.

Agency insiders said the onslaught of emails almost certainly influenced the air board’s decision to reject the proposed rules, which would have imposed fees on new gas-powered furnaces and water heaters for some 10 million appliances across the South Coast region.

Cabaldon cited The Times story when he introduced the legislation, noting that at least three people contacted by the air district said they had not submitted the public comments attached to their names.

He also cited a report from the San Francisco Chronicle about a similar campaign to sway a different rule at the Bay Area Management District, which was run through a platform called Speak4 that advertises its ability to produce custom AI-powered letters.

The business advocacy group that ran the campaign also denied that AI was used. However, 10 people contacted by The Chronicle said they had not written the letters attributed to them. “This was forged,” one person said.

Reached by phone, Cabaldon said the legislation will help public agencies navigate how to respond to the deployment of AI, which is increasingly being used in a way that “swamps our civic engagement process, but also disables our state and local governments altogether.”

For example, the California Public Records Act requires government agencies to respond to requests for public records within 10 days, while the Brown Act and the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act guarantee the right to participate in public meetings and provide public comment.

“The point of the bill is to say that these laws are about humans, and just because it comes in the form that a human would write it, does not mean you have to treat each of these communications as if it’s a human being, and therefore, AI is not entitled to 10 days, AI is not entitled to three minutes at the school board meeting,” he said.

Experts said the use of AI for “astroturfing,” or faking, civic engagement is a growing trend. In the United Kingdom, a service called Objector.ai is using AI to identify and generate formal objections to local planning applications, garnering the concern of experts, The Guardian reported.

Public officials in California are worried, too. Vacaville vice mayor Michael Silva said the city has been receiving AI-generated public records requests, which are slowing its ability to respond to other legitimate requests submitted by residents.

Dylan Plummer, deputy director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Heat Campaign, said many AI campaigns have benefited the fossil fuel industry and pose an “existential threat to public participation in our democracy.”

“The passage of Senate Bill 1159 is an important step to clarify the law and discourage the use of emerging technologies to falsify public records and mislead regulators in California,” he said. “That said, much work still needs to be done to understand how widespread this practice is, and to hold bad actors accountable for laws that may have already been broken.”

Lawmakers acknowledged that the legislation is just a start, and that it is increasingly difficult for public officials to detect bespoke letters, deepfake videos or other kinds of engagement powered by AI. The bill authorizes government agencies to use disclosure verification tools to determine if AI is present — something the Bay Area Air District already indicated it may do by replacing its email system with a website for public comment submissions instead.

The legislation does not preclude real people from using AI to facilitate genuine public engagement, such as someone using ChatGPT or Perplexity to improve the text of a letter, so long as the volume and frequency of their engagement are consistent with ordinary participation from a real person.

For its part, CiviClick notes on its website that it supports SB 1159, and said its platform already complies with what the bill proposes.

Some lawmakers said the use of AI in a civic capacity represents a new frontier.

“If I’d have read this bill back when I was on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, I would have wondered what you were smoking,” Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) said during the March meeting of the Judiciary Committee.

“But that’s how things have progressed, and the development of technology will always outpace the development of defenses against the undesirable effects of technology,” he said.

SB 1159 passed the legislature this month and will head to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for signature in September.

Aston Villa are close to an agreement to sign striker Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea in a deal worth up to £65m.

There is a broad agreement between the clubs over the terms of a move for the 25-year-old, with Chelsea set to achieve their asking price with an initial sum of £47.5m with £17.5m in add-ons.

And if the Senegal international agrees personal terms and completes the switch to Villa his arrival is likely to trigger England international Ollie Watkins’ move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.

The deal remains subject to personal terms being agreed, but negotiations are at an advanced stage, with Jackson expected to reunite with Unai Emery having played under the Villa boss at Spanish club Villarreal.

Jackson would become the latest player in Villa’s summer rebuild following the arrivals of record buy Johan Manzambi, midfielder Joao Gomes, goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and defender Matteo Ruggeri.

However, there has also been significant movement out of the club and Watkins leaving would mean they had sold five of the starting XI who won the Europa League in May.

Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa have already left with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez expected to depart too.

Chelsea are weighing up a move for the Argentine, who is now deemed surplus to requirements after Suzuki joined from Parma.

In signing Jackson, Villa would be getting a forward who joined Chelsea from Villarreal for £35m in 2023 and scored 30 goals in 81 appearances.

His most recent appearance for the Blues came against Fluminense in the Club World Cup in 2025, while he also won the Europa Conference League with the club.

He spent last season on loan to Bayern Munich, scoring 11 times in 34 games and helping Bayern win the Bundesliga.

Chelsea banked a £14.3m loan fee from the move, though an obligation to buy for £56.2m was not triggered after Jackson failed to make 40 appearances of 45 minutes or more.

Fellow forward Liam Delap is also likely to leave the Blues, with a £50m fee agreed with Nottingham Forest for the striker.

Meanwhile, the club have also been holding talks with Atalanta’s Honest Ahanor, 18, over a potential move to Stamford Bridge. The defender is valued at £34.3m by the Italian club.

In January, BBC Sport highlighted how Manchester City, as a separate entity, has turned selling players nurtured in their academy into big business.

Morgan Rogers, Douglas Luiz, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Oscar Bobb are among the players developed by City to have been sold on and are now playing, or have played, for rival Premier League sides.

City have recouped more than £250m from selling young players over the past five years alone.

“To find a balance between recruiting players for sporting success and ones that could become more of an asset in the future is difficult,” explained Marwood.

“One of the hardest bits about signing young players is that you don’t know an awful lot about them but some will come in, adapt, work hard, have ambition and aspiration and go on and have fantastic careers.

“Oleksandr Zinchenko is a prime example. Taty Castellanos is another. So is Jack Harrison.”

Invariably, CFG is not always on point with its talent identification of young talent. Some will make it, some will not. That’s the nature of the player recruitment beast.

The success of Rogers and Palmer, with Aston Villa and Chelsea, has shown that City have sometimes have sold too soon.

Former Aston Villa forward Rogers was sold by Manchester City to Middlesborough in February 2024 for an initial fee of £8m. Last month Chelsea paid £117m for him.

Palmer – sold by City for £40m in 2023 – would demand a similar fee if he were to leave Stamford Bridge.

But as Savinho takes the next step in his career, City are turning their attentions to the future.

There are high hopes for Ryan McAidoo, an 18-year-old at City who has already made his senior debut for the club.

Japan’s Shin Miidera, a 16-year-old attacker playing for partner club Yokohama F. Marinos, is another CFG are monitoring very closely.

Then there is 16-year-old American midfielder Cavan Sullivan, who currently plays for MLS club Philadelphia Union, but will join Manchester City when he turns 18.

Vitor Reiss – who spent last season on loan to Girona from City – is tipped to make the grade.

“In an ideal world you would love for them to stay with you from the beginning right through to the very end – but the reality is it’s probably not going to happen,” added Marwood.

“The challenge is can we produce the next one? OK- Savinho’s gone – but where is the next one? That’s the fascination of this business, you have to look three and four years ahead.

“It’s important we grow this hub of young talent and hopefully find them pathways and produce a conveyor belt of talent and use our network of clubs to aid there development.”

The measure of their success will be judged on the pitch and on the books.

AFTER months of speculation, Olivia Attwood and Pete Wicks finally hard-launched their relationship last week.

But while from the outside it looks like the 35-year-old is happier than ever following the collapse of her marriage to Bradley Dack earlier this year, we can reveal the niggling issue that has been holding her back.

Insiders tell us that the Love Island alumni finally feels ready to move on after taking a huge step and getting rid of ex Bradley from her life once and for all. 

Our insider explained: “Olivia finally decided to unfollow Brad’s mum.

“The unfollow feels like Olivia’s final act of cutting herself off from Bradley’s world completely.

“She’d already started emotionally detaching, but removing his mum feels far more symbolic because that was a relationship she genuinely valued in its own right.

“For Olivia, it’s less about being petty and more about drawing a line under that entire chapter. She knows keeping those connections alive would make it harder to properly move on.

“There’s a real sense of finality to it — almost like she’s accepted she can’t keep one foot in the family while trying to build a life away from Bradley. Olivia feels like she can finally breathe.”

Over the years, Olivia had grown very close to Brad’s family, particularly his mum and sister.

She first started dating the footballer in 2015, when Olivia was 24 and he was just 21. 

While it was an on and off relationship – thanks to Olivia taking part in Love Island – they ended up marrying.

His mum and sister even appeared in Olivia Meets Her Match and fans saw an unusually emotional side to Olivia as she thanked Brad’s mum for accepting her. 

In moving scenes she told her: “It means a lot to me to be welcomed into your family. 

“I’m being serious, it does. Throughout loads of periods of my life people haven’t got who I am. I can be misunderstood. It’s a lot. A lot of hair, a lot of boobs and I just love your son a lot.”  

But when the marriage came crashing down, Olivia’s relationship with his family was put to the test and we’re told that for some time, the star still felt very tied to them all.

Bradley has since been pictured with ex Emily Rose Moloney and she has started afresh with Pete, but being estranged from her in-laws has hit her hard.

Our insider continued: “It hurts because she didn’t just lose a husband, she lost a whole extended family dynamic she’d become attached to.

“But after seeing Bradley pictured with another woman and Olivia already exploring her new relationships, Olivia seems to have decided she needs a clean break, even if that means cutting ties with people she still cares about like his mum.”

Olivia has often been outspoken about her harrowing split from footballer Brad back in January.

She’s taken a series of savage swipes at her former man after claiming he cheated on her multiple times over the course of their 10-year relationship.

The TV star told fans she “stood by him” through the “lies” and “cheating” and hasn’t held back since. 

Just this week, she shared a post which many assumed was directed at Brad.

It read: “Stop being so f**king forgiving, people know exactly what the f**k they’re doing.” 

And when Brad reunited with his former flame  Emily Rose Maloney, Olivia’s outrage was almost palpable.

She couldn’t resist taking a swipe and remarked: “I have definitely beat up myself over my poor judgement over the past decade.

“But I guess I could have spent 10 years as the bit on the side / professional bench warmer… so silver linings I guess.”

The star has found happiness of her own though; her eight-year-long friendship with Pete recently developed into a romantic relationship.

Only weeks after splitting from Brad she was spotted snogging Pete on a night out – and they have been joined at the hip since.

Insiders suggested that Olivia would be keen to keep this relationship more under wraps, but both her and Pete haven’t been able to resist sharing snippets of their romance.

She gushed: “We tick a lot of the boxes that are really important.

“Our friendship group is nauseated by us – we’re one PDA away from being exiled. I’m like, ‘who are we?’ We’re bringing out a [new] side of each other.”

Up until now, Brad has clearly still been a thorn in her side, but could she be rid of it at last?

Our source added: “Those around her feel this was the last emotional cord she needed to cut before she could genuinely start looking forward rather than backwards. She can finally move on properly now.”