WASHINGTON — President Trump took executive action Monday threatening to cut federal aid to cities and counties that offer cashless bail to criminal defendants, a move that could place Democratic jurisdictions throughout the country under further financial strain.
Trump’s first executive order specifically targeted the practice of cashless bail in the District of Columbia, where the president has sent National Guard troops to patrol the streets. His second action directed the Justice Department to draw up a list of jurisdictions that have “substantially eliminated cash bail as a potential condition for crimes that pose a clear threat to public safety and order” — a list that would then be subject to federal funding cuts, the White House said.
“That was when the big crime in this country started,” Trump said. “That was when it happened. Somebody kills somebody, they go and don’t worry about it — no cash, come back in a couple of months, we’ll give you a trial. You never see the person again.”
“They thought it was discriminatory to make people put up money because they just killed three people lying in the street,” he added. “We’re ending it.”
Trump does not have the power to unilaterally change D.C. law. But administration officials hope the threat of significant financial pressures on the city will force local lawmakers to change it themselves.
Similarly, his second order could ultimately result in cuts to federal grants and contracts with Los Angeles County, where courts use cash bail only in the most serious criminal cases.
Studies have not shown a correlation between cashless bail policies and an increase in crime.
As of October 2023, nearly everyone accused of misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies in Los Angeles County is either cited and released or freed on certain conditions after their case is reviewed by a judge. The judge can offer other conditions for release, including electronic monitoring or home supervision by probation officials.
“A person’s ability to pay a large sum of money should not be the determining factor in deciding whether that person, who is presumed innocent, stays in jail before trial or is released,” then-Presiding Judge Samantha Jessner said at the time.
The county reached out to the court on how Trump’s executive order may affect the county’s bail policies and had not heard back.
The county policy has proved controversial with some cities saying they believed the lack of cash bail would make their communities less safe. Twelve cities within the county sued unsuccessfully to block the cashless bail reform, arguing it would lead to higher crime rates and violated the court’s responsibilities to uphold public safety. Sheriff Robert Luna told the supervisors in 2023 that some communities were alarmed at the “lack of consequences for those who commit crimes.”
The sheriff’s office and the public defender’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The county had initially begun a zero-bail system during the pandemic to prevent crowding in jails. A report to the Board of Supervisors found instances of re-arrest or failure to appear in court remained relatively stable despite the change.
In the fall of 2022, six people sued the county and city, arguing they spent five days in custody solely because they could not afford bail, leaving them in “dismal” conditions. Demanding cash bail created a “wealth-based detention system,” the plaintiffs alleged. The suit led to a preliminary injunction barring the city and county from enforcing cash bail requirements for some people who had yet to be arraigned.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill in 2018 to end cash bail across California. Voters nixed it after the bail bond industry spearheaded a campaign to send the measure to voters. The referendum was defeated in 2020 with 56% voting “no.”
Trump also signed an executive action directing the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute individuals for burning the American flag, calling it an act of incitement, despite standing Supreme Court precedent that doing so is an expression of free speech.
They were the latest steps in a spree of executive actions from Trump ostensibly targeting crime in the United States, following Trump’s deployment of Marines and the National Guard to Los Angeles in June and his federalization of the National Guard in D.C. earlier this month.
He has threatened to launch similar operations with federal forces to New York and Chicago, despite local officials telling the Trump administration that the deployments are not necessary.
“They probably do want it,” Trump said. “If we didn’t go to Los Angeles, you would literally have had to call off the Olympics. It was so bad.”
Ahead of the 2028 Olympics, to be held in Los Angeles, American cities should be “spotless,” Trump added.
Wilner reported from Washington, Ellis from Los Angeles.
WASHINGTON — The FBI on Friday searched the Maryland home and Washington office of former Trump administration national security advisor John Bolton as part of a criminal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, a person familiar with the matter said.
Bolton, who emerged as an outspoken critic of President Trump after being fired in 2019 and fought with the first Trump administration over a scathing book he wrote documenting his time in the White House, was not in custody Friday and has not been charged with any crimes, said the person who was not authorized to discuss the investigation by name and spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
The searches, seemingly the most significant public step the Justice Department has taken against a perceived enemy of the president, are likely to elicit fresh concerns that the Trump administration is using its law enforcement powers to target the Republican’s foes. They come as the Trump administration has moved to examine the activities of other critics, including by authorizing a grand jury investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe that dogged Trump for much of his first term, and as FBI and Justice Department leaders signal their loyalty to the president.
Speaking to reporters during an unscheduled visit to the White House Historical Assn., Trump said he had seen news coverage of Friday’s searches and expected to be briefed about it by the Justice Department but also insisted he didn’t “want to know about it.”
“I could know about it. I could be the one starting it. I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer. But I feel that it’s better this way,” Trump said.
Bolton had said in interviews this year that he was mindful that he could be scrutinized, telling the AP in January shortly before Trump took office, “Anybody who ever disagrees with Trump has to worry about retribution. It’s a pretty long list.”
An FBI search like the one at Bolton’s properties requires authorization from a federal magistrate judge. It wasn’t immediately clear what information authorities submitted to demonstrate that they had probable cause of a crime, though the Justice Department years ago launched an investigation into whether Bolton improperly disclosed classified information in a book manuscript he had written. The inquiry was later closed.
Vice President JD Vance denied in an NBC News interview on Friday that Bolton was being targeted because of his criticism of Trump. “If there’s no crime here, we’re not going to prosecute it. If there is a crime here, of course, Ambassador Bolton will get his day in court. That’s how it should be.”
Bolton was in his office building at the time
Bolton was not home for the search of his home, but after it started, he was spotted Friday morning standing in the lobby of the Washington building where he keeps an office and talking to two people with “FBI” visible on their vests. He left a few minutes later and appeared to have gone upstairs in the building. Agents were seen taking bags into the office building through a back entrance.
Messages left with a spokesperson for Bolton were not immediately returned, and a lawyer who has represented Bolton had no immediate comment.
The Justice Department had no comment, but leaders appeared to cryptically refer to the searches in a series of social media posts Friday morning.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who included Bolton on a list of “members of the Executive Branch Deep State” in a 2023 book he wrote, posted on X: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.” Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi shared his post, adding: “America’s safety isn’t negotiable. Justice will be pursued. Always.”
The Justice Department is separately conducting mortgage fraud investigations into Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James, who brought a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his company, and ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith faces an investigation from an independent watchdog office. Schiff and James have vigorously denied any wrongdoing through their lawyers.
The Bolton searches also unfolded against the backdrop of a 2022 search for classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., an action that produced since-dismissed criminal charges but remains the source of outrage for the president and supporters who insist he was unjustly targeted despite the retrieval of top-secret records.
Patel said in a Fox Business Channel interview this week that the Mar-a-Lago search represented a “total weaponization and politicization” of the bureau, and Trump himself referenced it on Friday, telling reporters: “I guess his house was raided today, but my house was raided, also.”
Trump and Bolton have been at odds for years
Bolton served as Trump’s third national security advisor for 17 months and clashed with him over Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea.
He faced scrutiny during the first Trump administration over a book he wrote about his time in government that officials argued disclosed classified information. To make its case, the Justice Department in 2020 submitted sworn statements from senior White House officials, including then-National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone, asserting that Bolton’s manuscript included classified information that could harm national security if exposed.
Bolton’s lawyers have said he moved forward with the book after a White House National Security Council official, with whom Bolton had worked for months, said the manuscript no longer contained classified information.
The Biden administration Justice Department in 2021 abandoned its lawsuit and dropped a separate grand jury investigation, with Bolton’s lawyer calling the effort to block the book “politically motivated” and illegitimate.
Bolton’s harshly critical book, “The Room Where It Happened,” portrayed Trump as grossly ill-informed about foreign policy and said he “saw conspiracies behind rocks, and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government.”
Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “crazy” warmonger who would have led the country into “World War Six.”
Bolton served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush and also held positions in President Reagan’s administration. He considered running for president in 2012 and 2016.
Trump, on his first day back in office this year, revoked the security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials, including Bolton. Bolton was also among a group of former Trump officials whose security details were canceled by Trump earlier this year.
In 2022, an Iranian operative was charged in a plot to kill Bolton in presumed retaliation for a 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed the country’s most powerful general.
The handling of classified information by top government officials has been a politically loaded topic in recent years. Besides Trump, the Justice Department also investigated whether then-President Biden, a Democrat, mishandled classified information after serving as vice president in the Obama administration, and the FBI also recovered what it said were classified documents from the home of former Trump Vice President Mike Pence. Neither man was charged.
Tucker writes for the Associated Press . AP writers Michelle L. Price, Jill Colvin, Nathan Ellgren, Lindsay Whitehurst, Alanna Durkin Richer and Byron Tau contributed to this report.
The strawberry delivery driver was making his last drop-off in Little Tokyo, unloading nearly a dozen boxes onto the sidewalk outside the Japanese American National Museum.
Inside the building, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies were holding a news conference about a Democratic Party plan to fight back against President Trump’s efforts to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives through redistricting in Texas.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios knew nothing of the powerful men’s clash as he stacked cardboard boxes filled with ripe, red fruit Thursday morning. He also didn’t know that dozens of Border Patrol agents were massing nearby.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios at his 48th birthday celebration this year.
(Courtesy of the family)
Minguela was caught between the two spectacles. His life was about to be upended.
In the days that followed, Newsom accused the Trump administration of trying to intimidate the president’s political opponents by sending the immigration agents. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin has said the agents were “focused on enforcing the law” not on Newsom.
Newsom has since submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records from the administration about why agents arrived at the museum as he was announcing his latest skirmish with the president.
For Minguela, who has been in the country for close to a decade, that day felt a lot more personal. He was arrested by Border Patrol agents and now faces deportation back to Mexico. Speaking from behind a plexiglass window at the “B-18” federal detention center in downtown L.A. on Monday, Minguela stressed that he is not a criminal.
“One comes here to work, not commit crimes,” said Minguela, who wore the same red T-shirt and jeans he’d been arrested in four days prior.
When asked last week whether the person arrested outside the news conference had a criminal record, a Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency would share a criminal rap sheet when it was available. After four follow-up emails from a reporter, McLaughlin on Saturday said agents had arrested “two illegal aliens” in the vicinity of Newsom’s news conference — including “an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member and narcotics trafficker.”
Asked twice to clarify whether the alleged gang member and narcotics trafficker were the same person, Homeland Security officials did not respond. But when presented with Minguela’s biographical information Monday, the department said he had been arrested because he overstayed his visa — a civil, not criminal, offense.
Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino told Fox News on Aug. 15 that operations were based on intelligence about the alleged Tren de Aragua gang member. They arrested that man two blocks away from Newsom’s news conference.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios took this image of a federal agent looking at his identification outside the Japanese American National Museum on Aug. 14.
(Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios)
Two law enforcement sources who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak with the media told The Times they had received word from federal authorities that Little Tokyo had been targeted because of its proximity to the Newsom event.
For those who know Minguela, it felt like mala suerte — bad luck.
As Martha Franco, one of Minguela’s employers, put it, “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
::
Like every other weekday, Minguela rose before the sun to start his 2 a.m. delivery route Thursday. He had around eight places to hit.
He’d worked for the same produce company for around eight years and never missed a day.
That day, Minguela left his partner and their three children — ages 15, 12 and 7 — asleep in their home, hours before the kids would head off for their first day of school. His partner, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, had worked the night before as a cashier at a liquor store. She did not get off work until about 12:30 a.m. She brought him coffee as he started his day.
Shortly before 6 a.m., Minguela called his partner to wake her up so she could take the kids to school. Throughout the morning, they checked in with each other on how the day was progressing.
She called to warn him about immigration agents at Slauson and Miles avenues in Huntington Park. Over the last couple of months, as immigration raids became a part of daily life, the couple’s world had slowly shrunk.
Minguela had overstayed a tourist visa after fleeing the Mexican state of Coahuila in 2015 because of violence he faced there, his partner said. She said he had worked servicing ATMs there, was kidnapped twice and at one point was stabbed by people intent on stealing the money. After his employers cut staff, she said, he lost his job, helping drive his decision to leave.
Because he was undocumented, he rarely went out, leaving the house only for work and errands. Minguela began wondering whether it was even safe for him to pick up the kids from school, his partner said. He planned ahead, made copies of his keys and left money for his family in the event that he was grabbed by immigration agents.
That morning, he reassured his partner he was fine. He was heading to his last stop at a tea room in Little Tokyo.
“Ten mucho cuidado,” his partner told him.
Be very careful.
::
The Border Patrol agents descended on 1st Street in Little Tokyo about 11:30 a.m., just as Newsom’s news conference got underway.
They were decked out in camouflage and helmets, their faces obscured by black masks. One wore an American flag neck gaiter. They were armed, some with AR-15-style weapons.
Nearby, Minguela was busy unloading several boxes of strawberries and a box of apples. He didn’t notice the agents until they were close behind him. Then, he ducked back inside the van.
A video shared with The Times shows at least eight Border Patrol agents as they passed the van, its side door wide-open. They did not stop. Then, one appeared to double back and peek inside.
Minguela said he feels he was targeted based on his physical appearance.
When the agent began asking him questions, Minguela said he pulled a red “know your rights” card out of his wallet and handed it to the agent.
“This is of no use to me,” he said the agent told him. Another agent soon joined them.
Minguela told them he didn’t have to talk. But they kept asking questions, he said. What was his nationality? What was his name? Did he have papers?
“They demanded I show them some kind of identification,” he said. “Insisting, insisting.”
The agents were armed, and Minguela said he grew scared. Believing he had no choice, Minguela said, he gave one of the agents his California driver’s license.
Minguela tried to call his partner twice, but she was at a doctor’s appointment and couldn’t answer. At 11:22 a.m., he sent her three WhatsApp messages:
“Amor ya me agarró la migra..no te preocupes.”
“Todo va a estar bien.”
“Diosito nos va a ayudar mucho.”
Federal agents produced a show of force outside the Japanese American National Museum, where Gov. Gavin Newsom was holding a redistricting news conference on Aug. 14.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Immigration had gotten him, he said, but everything would be fine. God would help them, he assured her.
Minguela sent her a picture of an agent holding his license and seemingly plugging the information from it into a phone. Then, the agent arrested him.
Video captured Minguela, hands cuffed behind his back, as the agent linked an arm through his. He walked Minguela away from the van, toward Bovino.
After conferring with colleagues, the agent walked Minguela back toward his delivery van. Bovino patted the agent on the back and said, “Well done.”
At about the same time, one of Minguela’s employers, Isaias Franco, received a call from Little Tokyo warning him about the immigration activity. He immediately called Minguela, whose cell number is saved in his phone under “paisa,” countryman. Both hail from the Mexican city of Torreón.
No answer.
Franco texted him, trying to tell him what was unfolding.
By that time, though, Minguela was already in handcuffs.
::
Hours before visitation began at the detention center in downtown L.A. on Monday, families began lining up along a driveway where “B-18” was stamped in black on a concrete wall.
Someone had scrawled on the ground in chalk: “Abolish ICE” and “Viva La Raza.” Another message read, “Civil disobedience becomes a duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.”
By 11:30 a.m., 18 people were waiting for visitation to start at 1 p.m. In less than an hour, that number had ballooned to 33.
Three siblings there to visit their uncle who had been arrested at a car wash in Long Beach the day before. A woman whose uncle was taken from a Home Depot in Pasadena. Two sisters whose loved one had been arrested at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in.
They carried bags of medication and sweaters for detained loved ones, because they’d heard it was cold inside. Each person hoped to get in before visitation ended at 4 p.m., although it seemed increasingly unlikely for those at the back of the line.
Martha and Isaias, Minguela’s employers, were among the hopeful. It was their third attempt to see him. The day of Minguela’s arrest, they got there too late.
The next day, they arrived earlier and were in luck. On the advice of others in line, they brought a jacket to keep Minguela warm.
In the years they’ve employed Minguela, they’ve only ever seen his serious, professional side. But during the five minutes they got to visit with him Friday, he spent most of it in tears, hardly able to speak.
The couple assured him they would help however they could.
They returned on Monday, this time bringing a blue Ralph Lauren shirt and a pair of black New Balance socks so he could change clothing. Isaias and the couple’s son, Carlos, had both come, despite starting their workday at 2 a.m.
“We’re going to be with him until the end,” Martha said. “He’s part of our family. He’s one of us.”
As the hours wore on, people in line squatted or sat on the concrete to rest their aching legs. Martha flitted around, advising people to bring sweaters for loved ones and letting them know the officers allowed in only one item of clothing for each detained person.
By the start of visitation, 44 people were in line. Martha was No. 19. Families exited red-eyed, tears dripping down their cheeks after getting only a few minutes with their loved ones.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios several years ago, with his son.
(Courtesy of the family)
About 3 p.m., after waiting three and a half hours, the Francos handed the officer their passports and identification, before finally making it inside. They had to turn off their phones. They could give Minguela only the T-shirt. The officer said no to the socks, a prohibited second item of clothing.
Minguela beamed when he saw the Francos, who greeted him through the plexiglass window. He was trying to maintain his spirits, but said he felt “impotente.” Powerless.
The Francos told him not to sign anything.
“Vamos a estar con usted,” Isaias told Minguela, letting him know they would be with him. He and Carlos fist bumped Minguela through the Plexiglass.
“Échale ganas,” Isaias added, keep going.
::
Minguela’s children have hardly stopped crying since his arrest.
During the eight years he and his partner have been together, he’s helped raise her two children and their 7-year-old son, who is autistic.
Minguela’s lawyer, Alex Galvez, said the hope is that his client will be released on bond, as he initially entered the country lawfully and is the primary breadwinner for the family. The lawyer said he believes Minguela was arrested in defiance of a federal judge’s order that immigration authorities cannot racially profile people or use roving patrols to target immigrants.
“It was a political opportunity. He was one of the two guys picked up right during Newsom’s press conference,” Galvez said. “They had to show something for it.”
Just days before his arrest, Minguela’s family had celebrated his 48th birthday. His partner made him his favorite dish, shrimp ceviche.
Her birthday was Tuesday. The family had planned to go on a rare outing for a dinner of enchiladas de mole.
But they spent the day without him. There was no celebration.
The children asked their mother, as they have every day for nearly a week: When is papá coming home?
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
Two years after a sign-stealing scandal at the University of Michigan rocked college football, the NCAA on Friday increased sanctions the Wolverines had self-imposed but refrained from handing down the most severe punishments.
Michigan won’t be subject to a postseason ban and won’t be required to vacate victories — especially important because the Wolverines won the national championship in 2023, the last of three seasons they were accused of improperly stealing signals that opposing coaches used to communicate with players on the field.
However, they were fined approximately $30 million and the program was placed on four years of probation. Also, the suspension of head coach Sherrone Moore was increased from the self-imposed two games to three. In addition to the third and fourth games of the 2025 season, Moore also will miss the 2026 opener.
Jim Harbaugh, the Michigan head coach from 2015 to 2023 who now is coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, will have a 10-year show-cause penalty tacked onto the current four-year show cause that resulted from scouting and recruiting violations in 2021-2022.
Connor Stalions, the staff member who carried out the sign-stealing scheme, was handed an eight-year show-cause penalty and former assistant Denard Robinson was hit with a three-year show-cause sanction for recruiting violations and failing to attend an NCAA hearing on the matter.
As long as Harbaugh remains in the NFL, the penalty will have no real impact on him. However, the sanction could make him unwelcome in the college ranks for more than a decade.
The show-cause sanction effectively makes it difficult for the person to secure employment at an NCAA school because it requires a school attempting to make the hire to “show cause” to the NCAA why it shouldn’t also be penalized for giving the person a job.
The NCAA had charged Michigan with 11 rule violations, six of them the most serious Level 1 variety, after an investigation revealed that Stalions had carried out a scheme to shoot video of the signals opposing coaches used to communicate with players on the field.
Stalions, a retired captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was paid $55,000 a year as an off-field defensive analyst at Michigan. He is alleged to have arranged for people to attend the games of upcoming Michigan opponents and film the sideline signals from 2021 to 2023, when the scheme was uncovered and Stalions resigned.
The NCAA does not prohibit stealing signs during games, but since 1994 schools are not allowed to scout upcoming opponents in person. The rule was designed to prevent well-funded programs from gaining an advantage by sending scouts to opponents’ games when programs with smaller budgets couldn’t afford such scouting.
According to the NCAA notice of allegations, Stalions was accused of arranging the scouting of at least 13 future opponents on 58 occasions. He purchased tickets at nearly every Big Ten school.
The fine imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions includes a $50,000 initial fine, 10% of the football budget, 10% of the cost of football scholarships for the 2025 season and the loss of all postseason-competition revenue sharing for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Added up, it should exceed $30 million.
Moore improperly deleted a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions when the scandal became public. However, the NCAA was able to retrieve the texts, but Moore was not charged with having knowledge of the sign-stealing.
Harbaugh was suspended for the last three games of the 2023 regular season despite his adamant denial that he knew anything about the sign-stealing. Michigan won all three games anyway and went on to capture the national championship.
While preparing the Chargers for his first season at the helm in August 2024, Harbaugh reiterated that he was “not aware nor complicit” in the sign-stealing at Michigan. He felt compelled to address the situation because Moore — his replacement as head coach — was one of seven staffers from the 2023 championship Michigan team under investigation.
“Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal,” Harbaugh said in a statement in 2024. “I was raised with that lesson. I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams that I’ve coached. No one’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you make it right.
“Today, I do not apologize. I did not participate, was not aware nor complicit in those said allegations. So for me, it’s back to work and attacking with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti became an unlikely Michigan advocate in pushing the NCAA to keep sanctions to a minimum, suggesting to the NCAA Committee on Infractions that Michigan deserved no further punishment.
This was the same Petitti who suspended Harbaugh in a Nov. 10, 2023, letter to Michigan athletics director Warde Manuel that appeared to question the integrity of the Wolverines’ program.
The school sought an emergency temporary restraining order against the Big Ten to allow Harbaugh continue coaching, saying due process had not been followed and asserting that Harbaugh had no knowledge of Stalions’ sign-stealing.
Michigan eventually withdrew the restraining order request, but the relationship between the school and the commissioner remained contentious as Harbaugh served the suspension and the Wolverines turned the episode into a rallying cry.
This season, Michigan will visit USC on Oct. 11 but does not play UCLA.
As a rookie, Ladd McConkey studied Allen’s practice film on his team-issued iPad, trying to absorb lessons from one of the league’s best route runners — the very player whose rookie records for receptions and receiving yards McConkey would eventually surpass.
“You sit in team meetings, pull up your iPad and just watch,” McConkey said. “Watching his one-on-one stuff from previous years, when he was here. I’m going to check this out, see what he’s got.”
Now, the 33-year-old Allen and 23-year-old McConkey are inseparable on the field. Throughout practice, McConkey picks the veteran’s brain — something he says “would be dumb if I didn’t.”
“He’s been doing it at a high level for a long time, so any knowledge I can get, I’m going to take it,” McConkey said. “He’s very decisive and smart… He knows how to win using leverage. He doesn’t just run past you — he can set you up at the top, stick and he has great hands.”
The prospect of the two playing in the same offense excites McConkey, who says any doubts about their chemistry can be set aside because “in this offense, we can all move around.”
“We can all rotate in different positions and scheme it up the way they want,” McConkey added. “That’s something that’s really good about our receivers, and we’re all very versatile.”
It was the first day the two were able to participate in the same 11-on-11 session, with McConkey returning from an undisclosed injury that sidelined him for several practices and Allen just coming back last week.
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman said Allen’s presence has already made a difference, noting, “We always knew he was a great player, but now that he’s here, he’s proven it once again… Keenan creates flexibility for us and also makes us stronger.”
“Our training staff is doing a great job acclimating him, getting him up to speed,” Roman said. “We’re taking it slow, in a gradual manner… Getting into football shape.”
Running back rotation
At times last season, when healthy, the Chargers rotated as many as three-deep at running back.
With Najee Harris — expected back at some point — and first-round pick Omarion Hampton projected to handle the bulk of the carries, there’s still an opening for a third back in Roman’s system.
With Hampton sitting out Sunday’s preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, plenty of reps were up for grabs. Roman called it a “wide-open competition.”
“There’ll definitely be a rotation no matter what happens,” Roman said. “We’ll try to keep guys fresh throughout the game. I think the days of one running back taking every rep are going the way of prehistoric creatures.”
That leaves the spot up for grabs between second-year back Kimani Vidal — who started Sunday and finished with six carries for 16 yards — and undrafted rookie Raheim Sanders, who had 10 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown.
“He [Sanders] did a great job, kind of created some things on his own,” Sanders said. “Leaned on the defense in the fourth quarter… A lot of it [drive] was him pounding the rock. He did a really nice job for his first game.”
Sanders faces an uphill climb, though. Vidal is coming off a rookie season in which he worked his way from a fringe roster hopeful to contributor, making the 53-man roster and appearing in 10 games.
At practice, the two continue to fight for a good share of reps, with Hassan Haskins mixed in.
Etc…
Quarterback Trey Lance sat out full-team drills Tuesday, which Roman said was simply a rest day after Lance played most of Sunday’s game — stressing it was not injury-related… Guard Mekhi Becton has now missed two full weeks of practice as he continues to “work through something.”
That could change in a couple of days, based on a tease posted on the “New Heights” social media accounts Monday — and on Swifties’ interpretations of the tease. The text is straightforward, simply informing fans of the special nature of the episode and the guest and noting it will drop Wednesday at 4 p.m. PDT.
The real juicy bits, though — if Swift’s fans are to be believed — are apparently found in the post’s graphic. Over the years, Swifties have become pretty good at spotting and deciphering Easter Eggs, so here’s what jumped out at the “You Need to Calm Down” singer’s diehard fans (based on observations they posted on social media and Reddit):
1. A silhouette of a slender person with long hair appears between images of the Kelce brothers, and naturally fans are convinced it can only be that of one particular slender woman with long hair. One commenter on X insists they can see Swift’s bangs in the completely darkened image.
2. Jason Kelce appears to be wearing a shirt bearing Swift’s image. Swifties are noting that the garment is from the Eras tour and that Travis is wearing one from that tour as well. This reporter, who did not attend the Eras tour, has no reason to doubt them on this.
3. The graphic’s background color is orange and sparkly. This apparently is seen as a reference to a particular dress Swift wore during the Eras tour. (Although didn’t she famously change her outfit more than a dozen times during each performance? Or so we’ve heard.)
4. Travis Kelce has a giant smile on his face. OK, sure, he has probably smiled numerous times during his life — like, say, maybe after at least one of the three Super Bowls he won with the Chiefs. But apparently he has a special grin reserved for the “Lover” singer, which one X commenter refers to as his “Tay smile.”
There are many other observations — including several that involve numbers, math and calendar dates — all of which clearly add up not only to Swift being the podcast’s “VERY special guest” but also that she will be there to announce something else very special, like perhaps a new album. (Reminder: This is only a fan theory; please remain calm.)
It wouldn’t be the first time this summer that Swift has made an appearance during one of her boyfriend’s projects. In June, she gave a surprise acoustic performance of her hit “Shake It Off” at a concert linked to Kelce’s Tight End University camp.
Come to think of it, Swift was introduced onstage that night by singer Kane Brown as a “really, really, really special guest.” That’s pretty darn close to “VERY special guest,” don’t you think?
WASHINGTON — President Trump is promising new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington, prompting the city’s mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets in the nation’s capital.
Trump wrote in a social media post that he would hold a White House news conference on Monday to discuss his plans to make the District of Columbia “safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.”
Ahead of that news conference, Trump said Monday on social media that the nation’s capital would be “LIBERATED today!” He said he would end the “days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people.”
For Trump, the effort to take over public safety in Washington reflects a next step in his law enforcement agenda after his aggressive push to stop illegal border crossings. But the move involves at least 500 federal law enforcement officials, raising fundamental questions about how an increasingly emboldened federal government will interact with its state and local counterparts.
Combating crime
The president has used his social media and White House megaphones to message that his administration is tough on crime, yet his ability to shape policy might be limited outside of Washington, which has a unique status as a congressionally established federal district. Nor is it clear how his push would address the root causes of homelessness and crime.
About 500 federal law enforcement officers are being tasked with deploying throughout the nation’s capital as part of the Trump administration’s effort to combat crime, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday.
More than 100 FBI agents and about 40 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are among federal law enforcement personnel being assigned to patrols in Washington, the person briefed on the plans said. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Marshals Service are also contributing officers.
The person was not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. The Justice Department didn’t immediately have a comment Monday morning.
Focusing on homelessness
Trump in a Sunday social media post had emphasized the removal of Washington’s homeless population, though it was unclear where the thousands of people would go.
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote Sunday. “We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.”
Last week, the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option “to extend as needed.”
On Friday night, federal agencies including the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service assigned more than 120 officers and agents to assist in Washington.
Trump said last week that he was considering ways for the federal government to seize control of Washington, asserting that crime was “ridiculous” and the city was “unsafe,” after the recent assault of a high-profile member of the Department of Government Efficiency.
The National Guard
The moves Trump said he was considering included bringing in the D.C. National Guard.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, questioned the effectiveness of using the Guard to enforce city laws and said the federal government could be far more helpful by funding more prosecutors or filling the 15 vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court, some of which have been open for years.
Bowser cannot activate the National Guard herself, but she can submit a request to the Pentagon.
“I just think that’s not the most efficient use of our Guard,” she said Sunday on MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” acknowledging it is “the president’s call about how to deploy the Guard.”
Bowser was making her first public comments since Trump started posting about crime in Washington last week. She noted that violent crime in Washington has decreased since a rise in 2023. Trump’s weekend posts depicted the district as “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World.”
For Bowser, “Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false.”
Crime statistics
Police statistics show homicides, robberies and burglaries are down this year when compared with this time in 2024. Overall, violent crime is down 26% compared with this time a year ago.
Trump offered no details in Truth Social posts over the weekend about possible new actions to address crime levels he argues are dangerous for citizens, tourists and workers alike. The White House declined to offer additional details about Monday’s announcement.
The police department and the mayor’s office did not respond to questions about what Trump might do next.
The president criticized the district as full of “tents, squalor, filth, and Crime,” and he seems to have been set off by the attack on Edward Coristine, among the most visible figures of the bureaucracy-cutting effort known as DOGE. Police arrested two 15-year-olds in the attempted carjacking and said they were looking for others.
“This has to be the best run place in the country, not the worst run place in the country,” Trump said Wednesday.
He called Bowser “a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances.”
Trump has repeatedly suggested that the rule of Washington could be returned to federal authorities. Doing so would require a repeal of the Home Rule Act of 1973 in Congress, a step Trump said lawyers are examining. It could face steep pushback.
Bowser acknowledged that the law allows the president to take more control over the city’s police, but only if certain conditions are met.
“None of those conditions exist in our city right now,” she said. “We are not experiencing a spike in crime. In fact, we’re watching our crime numbers go down.”
Klepper writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Ashraf Khalil, Alanna Durkin Richer and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
The Pimlico Race Course Sign is seen in Baltimore, Maryland in May. One person was killed and five others, including a five year old girl, were injured during a shooting Saturday night. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 10 (UPI) — One man was killed and 5 others injured in a shooting in Baltimore Saturday night, police said.
Victims ranged in age between 5 and 52 years, and a 5-year-old girl was shot in the hand. A 38-year-old man died from his injuries, police reported. The other victims received non life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses reported a block party taking place in the 5100 block of Queensbury Ave. blocks from Baltimore’s famous Pimlico horse racing track shortly before the shooting, which police said was reported about 8:45 p.m. EDT, according to local news reports.
“Once on scene, officers located six victims suffering from gunshot wounds, four males and two females,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said during a news conference. “One of the victims is a 5-year-old girl. All of the victims were transported to area hospitals for treatment.”
An 18-year-old man has been arrested after the sex toy he allegedly threw during a WNBA game in Phoenix hit a man and possibly a young girl sitting in front of him.
Waddell, Ariz., resident Kaden Lopez was booked on suspicion of one felony count for public display of obscene materials and two misdemeanor counts for assault and disorderly conduct. He appeared in court Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance, with his next court appearance scheduled for Aug. 21.
According to a probable cause statement filed by the arresting officer from the Phoenix Police Dept. and viewed by The Times, Lopez was attending the Mercury’s game against the Connecticut Sun at PHX Arena on Tuesday when he “threw a green dildo towards the seats in front of him.”
The statement initially indicates that the object allegedly struck an “adult male victim as well as the victims 9 year old niece.” The document later states that the “male victim” told officers that the object hit him on the back and “then fell to the ground next to them.”
Lopez then attempted to leave the arena, the statement reads, but an arena volunteer who witnessed the alleged incident followed him, tackled him and waited for authorities to arrive.
According to the statement, Lopez told the arresting officers that he bought the toy the previous day to take with him to the game but had not intended for it to “hit anyone” or “fall next to a child.”
“Lopez stated he was very sorry, that it was just a stupid prank that was trending on social media,” the statement added.
The trend of throwing sex toys — seemingly always colored green — at WNBA games appears to have started July 29, when one of the objects was tossed onto the court while the Golden State Valkyries played the Atlanta Dream at Gateway Center Arena. The WNBA announced Saturday that “the subject involved in the incident in Atlanta has been arrested.”
According to an ESPN report, 23-year-old Delbert Carver was arrested on Saturday by College Park, Ga., police in connection with that incident. Carver allegedly told police that the stunt was meant as a joke to go viral.
Court records show that Carver faces counts of criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and public indecency. He was released on bond for an undisclosed amount on Sunday and was scheduled to appear in court the following day.
On Aug. 1, a sex toy was tossed under the basket during a game between the Valkyries and the Chicago Sky. Then, during the Sparks’ win over the Indiana Fever at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday, another such object landed in the paint near Fever guard Sophie Cunningham with 2:05 remaining in the first half.
A fan video also appears to show one of the objects being thrown toward the court and nearly hitting a child while the Dallas Wings played the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on Tuesday.
According to a USA Today report Thursday, a cryptocurrency group is claiming responsibility for some of the incidents, although it says neither Lopez nor Carver is affiliated with the group. The “pranks” are part of a protest against the “toxic” environment in the crypto world, according to the report, and more such stunts have allegedly been planned.
The WNBA declined to comment for this article and instead referred The Times to a statement it released Saturday.
“The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league,” the league stated. “Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans. In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”
On Tuesday, the Rams and the fourth-year pro agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The person requested anonymity because the deal has not been signed.
The extension includes about $23 million in guarantees, the person said.
Williams’ extension is the first by the Rams for a running back since they gave Todd Gurley a then-record deal in 2018.
The Rams and Williams’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, had been negotiating since the end of the 2024 season. General manager Les Snead had said the Rams would “definitely like to engineer a long-term partnership,” with Williams, but progress was slow.
Williams, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick from Notre Dame, is scheduled to earn $5.4 million in the final season of his rookie contract, according to Overthecap.com.
Williams rushed for more than 1,100 yards in each of the last two seasons, and is regarded as an integral part of an offense that features quarterback Matthew Stafford and receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
Williams said at the start of training camp that he gave no thought to not reporting or not participating in drills. Rosenhaus met with Rams executives at Loyola Marymount on July 23 but no agreement was reached then.
Williams said throughout the offseason and at the start of camp that he was confident a deal with the Rams would get done.
The Israeli blockade of aid has caused a hunger crisis in Gaza and is condemning a growing number of its people to death by starvation. Nonetheless, Palestinian journalists are risking their lives to expose what Western media often softens or obscures: the use of starvation as a tool of genocide.
Contributors: Diana Buttu – human rights lawyer Alice Rothchild – Health Advisory Council, Jewish Voice for Peace Anas al-Sharif – correspondent, Al Jazeera Alex de Waal – author, Mass Starvation
On our radar
In Iran, TV channels, news bulletins and newspapers have been in patriotic overdrive. Meenakshi Ravi reports on the wave of nationalism that has been sweeping across Iran since its 12-day war with Israel.
Galamsey: Covering Ghana’s illegal gold rush
Journalists covering illegal gold mining in Ghana face violent and powerful enemies. Iraklis Taxiarchis reports on the multibillion-dollar “galamsey” industry and the politics influencing its coverage.
Featuring:
Kwadwo Afriyie – Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Emmanuel Ameyaw – cofounder, Climate Journalists Network Ghana Erastus Donkor – environmental journalist
The difference in price between breaks during the summer holidays and those when most state kids have to be in school has long been a sore point for parents
Families have to pay an awful lot more to head away during school holidays than term time(Image: Xavier Arnau)
British families face forking out £388 more per person if they don’t break school rules and head away during term times.
The difference in price between breaks during the summer holidays and those when most state kids have to be in school has long been a sore point for parents.
New research has revealed just how big the price hike facing families still planning a getaway during the school summer holidays this year is. The figures reveal that summer holiday package prices rise by an average of 15% when compared to term-time travel – equal to an extra £338 per person.
According to the study, a family of four will pay an additional £716 on average if they travel during a school half-term or holidays across the year, compared to travelling in term time. It also finds that this number rises even further during the six-week summer break, when travel costs increase the most.
Do you take your kids on holidays during term time to save money? Email us at [email protected]
The summer holiday premium is considerable (Image: monkeybusinessimages via Getty Images)
Go.Compare analysed package holiday prices for popular European family destinations, uncovering the cost to parents who want to travel during school holidays. The comparison site found that prices increase by 9% per person overall during school holidays.
The average price for term-time packages to family-favourite destinations like Spain, Italy and France is as low as £290 per person. Meanwhile, the lowest average package price during school breaks sits at £384 per person – close to £100 more per person.
Trips to Spain saw the largest spike in costs, with holidaymakers charged 27% more per person – an increase of £496 – if they travel during the summer break. But across all the school holidays, Greece was the most expensive destination, with a median price of £2,329 per person.
Due to rules around unauthorised absences, the sharp rise in prices is particularly concerning for parents who would otherwise be faced with fines for removing children from school to travel. Without authorisation, a family of four could be fined up to £640, depending on the rules for their council.
Despite these risks, more than two out of five (44%) parents and guardians said they have, or would consider taking their children out of school for a family holiday. More than half (53%) of these parents said the biggest reason for this was to help save on travel costs.[3]
Rhys Jones, travel insurance expert for Go.Compare, said: “The cost difference between term time and school holidays is stark, particularly during the summer holidays. For many families, it’s a choice between affordability and avoiding a fine or even further action.
“Although travelling outside school holidays can seem tempting to save money, it’s important to factor in if the trip might impact your child’s education. You’ll also need to consider the full cost of a trip, including insurance, local travel, food and entertainment.
“Travel insurance, in particular, shouldn’t be overlooked. Prices for cover can vary significantly based on timing, destination and the size of your group. Comparing policies early ensures families can get the right protection without adding unnecessary costs.”
USC star freshman Alijah Arenas will miss at least the next six to eight months after sustaining a serious knee injury that will require surgery, leaving his future with the Trojans in question.
An MRI this week found a slight meniscus tear, as well as a bone bruise, according to a person familiar with the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly, dealing a critical blow to both USC and a player it hoped could become a superstar in short order.
“Alijah is a tremendous worker, teammate, competitor and person,” USC coach Eric Musselman said in a statement. “He is understandably disappointed that he will not be able to take the court to start the season, but his health is our No. 1 priority.”
The injury comes just two weeks after Arenas was cleared to practice with USC, and three months after he survived a carwreck in his Tesla Cybertruck. Now it’s unclear how much he’ll play for USC — if at all.
At best, Arenas may be cleared to return late in his freshman season. But considering his status as a top draft prospect, there could be more to consider surrounding his return to action.
The five-star freshman was expected to step in and play a major role in his first year with the Trojans, despite being a full year younger than most freshmen in the same position. Arenas graduated a year early from Chatsworth High in order to reclassify into the 2025 class and join USC.
“We have no doubt that he will come back even stronger,” Musselman said.
Netflix Inc. has begun using artificial intelligence video generation software from startup Runway AI, testing the waters with a technology that’s controversial in Hollywood.
Netflix is currently using the New York-based startup’s tools in content production, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named in order to discuss private conversations. Netflix declined to comment.
Walt Disney Co., meanwhile, has been testing out Runway’s technology and has talked with the startup about possible uses for its generative AI tools, the person said. A Disney spokesperson said the company has no plans to integrate Runway’s software into its content production pipeline at this time. Runway declined to comment.
The companies’ use of Runway’s AI video tools, which has not previously been reported, could raise concerns in the entertainment industry. Many film and TV professionals are anxious about AI’s impact on their livelihoods. Disney recently sued Midjourney Inc., another AI image and video startup, for copyright infringement. But AI also offers the promise of speeding up some video production tasks and saving money.
In a conference call Thursday, after Netflix released its second-quarter results, co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos said the company is using AI in content production. That includes creating special effects shots more quickly and cheaply than it previously had been able to with traditional visual effects tools and processes.
Sarandos said Netflix used the technology for the first time on screen to depict a building collapsing in a show called “El Eternaut” from Argentina. He did not disclose which AI software it used for that particular scene; a source familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named in order to discuss private information, said Runway’s software was not used to create the effect.
Runway is competing in an increasingly crowded corner of the fast-growing market for AI tools with established companies like OpenAI and Google, along with a slew of smaller, newer startups.
The startup has more traction than most AI startups in Hollywood, however. It kicked off a frenzy around AI video generators in early 2023 with the release of a model that could produce slightly choppy-looking three-second clips based on written prompts such as “drone footage of a desert landscape.” Its technology has since become far more capable and the company has inked a deal with Lionsgate to train an AI model on the studio’s content that can be used in its film projects.
Investors have poured $545 million into the company thus far, with a funding round of $308 million earlier this year valuing the company at more than $3 billion.
More recently, Runway has pushed deeper into the world of animation and special effects. Earlier this month, the company started rolling out a new AI model called Act-Two that is meant to make the motion-capture process — traditionally clunky, pricey and time consuming — simpler and cheaper. The model, which works with Runway’s flagship Gen-4 AI system, can map a video of a person’s body movements onto animated characters.
Other AI startups have also tried to make inroads in the entertainment industry. As Bloomberg News previously reported, OpenAI spent months talking to large studios, including Disney, about its AI video generator, Sora. While OpenAI has found a receptive audience among some filmmakers, it has yet to announce a large commercial partnership for the product.
The brother of late NFL star and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman is being held in custody in connection with a vehicle driven into a Northern California post office.
The San Jose Police Department said in an email to The Times on Monday that 44-year-old resident Richard Tillman was booked on charges of arson after he allegedly drove a car into the Almaden Valley Station Post Office at around 3 a.m. Sunday and caused the box lobby area to catch fire.
The fire was extinguished and no injuries were reported.
According to to the Santa Clara County Sheriff Office’s inmate locator, Richard Tillman is being held on a $60,000 bond and has a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
“The motive and circumstances are still under investigation,” the SJPD said.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which is leading the investigation, said in a statement emailed to The Times that it is looking into the incident “as a potentially intentional act.”
NBC Bay Area reported that the suspect told officers on the scene that he is Pat Tillman’s brother. The station also reports that the suspect live-streamed the incident on social media.
A third Tillman brother, Kevin, released a statement Monday.
“Our family is aware that my brother Richard has been arrested. First and foremost, we are relieved that no one was physically harmed,” Kevin Tillman stated. “We have limited information at this time but we are in communication with local authorities and are providing as much background and context as we can.
“To be clear, it’s no secret that Richard has been battling severe mental health issues for many years. He has been livestreaming, what I’ll call, his altered self on social media for anyone to witness. Unfortunately, securing the proper care and support for him has proven incredibly difficult — or rather, impossible. As a result, none of this is as shocking as it should be.”
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, Pat Tillman famously walked away from a three-year, $3.6-million contract offer from the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army, along with Kevin.
On April 22, 2004, Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire in the province of Khost, Afghanistan. Richard Tillman spoke at his brother’s public memorial service on May 4, 2004, at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden.
Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Richard Tillman had posted an 11-minute video onto YouTube in which he stated he would “take down the system,” including the U.S. government. His YouTube channel has since been removed, the Chronicle reports, but previously contained several videos “posted in recent months documenting his own apparent unraveling.”
July 20 (UPI) — At least one person died Saturday after a group of six people were swept through Dillon Falls, a series of whitewater rapids on the Deschutes River near Bend, Oregon.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that search-and-rescue operations were underway after the group went missing around 2:57 p.m.
Authorities conducted an aerial search and were able to rescue three people from the water. One person was declared dead at the scene and two others remain missing. Police did not release their identities.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, the area near Dillon Falls in the Deschutes National Forest allows for non-motorized boating.
While the river does drop sharply at Dillon Falls, creating a steep and turbulent descent, the drop is more like a chute of Class IV-V rapids than a vertical plunge.
From certain angles, it can appear waterfall-like due to the intensity and steepness, but technically it’s classified as whitewater rapids, not a true waterfall.
Two people are still missing after six people were swept over the falls
One person has died and two people remain missing after a group of six people were swept over a waterfall in Oregon on Saturday afternoon, a local sheriff office said.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said it rescued three people from the Deschutes River who were transported to the hospital, while another person was declared dead at the scene.
Emergency responders used drones to look for survivors near Dillon Falls after receiving an emergency call in the afternoon and plan to resume search efforts on Sunday after pausing overnight.
Dillon Falls has a 15-foot (4.5-metre) drop that turns into “churning rapids in a quick, step ladder-like pattern”, according to Visit Central Oregon.
The falls over the Deschutes River are near the city of Bend in the Deschutes National Forest, a popular spot for visitors.
Each summer, thousands of people boat, kayak or float on inner tubes on the river, which boasts whitewater areas as well as trout and salmon fisheries.
Local fire and police officers responded to 911 calls around 15:00 PDT (21:00 BST)
Officials have yet to name the victims so they can notify family members before.
A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order that blocks Los Angeles police officers from using rubber projectiles and other so-called less-lethal munitions against reporters covering protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
In a ruling made public Friday, U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera said a coalition of press rights organization successfully argued that a court injunction was necessary to protect journalists and others exercising their 1st Amendment rights.
The Los Angeles Press Club and investigative reporting network Status Coup filed suit last month to “force the LAPD to respect the constitutional and statutory rights of journalists engaged in reporting on these protests and inevitable protests to come.” The lawsuit challenged the “continuing abuse” by police of members of the media covering the demonstrations.
Vera’s order bars the department from using less-lethal munitions and other crowd-control tools such chemical irritants and flash-bang grenades “against journalists who are not posing a threat of imminent harm to an officer or another person.”
“On some occasions, LAPD officers purportedly targeted individuals who were clearly identifiable as members of the press,” Vera wrote.
The judge cited a June 8 incident at a demonstration downtown where an Australian reporter named Lauren Tomasi was wrapping up a report on live TV, dozens of feet away from a line of officers.
“No protesters are visible near her,” Vera wrote. “Despite this, an LAPD officer appears to aim at Tomasi, hitting her leg with a rubber bullet.”
The judge ruled that the LAPD cannot prohibit a journalist from entering or remaining in protest areas that have been closed off to the public while “gathering, receiving, or processing information.”
The order also forbids intentionally “assaulting, interfering with, or obstructing any journalist who is gathering, receiving, or processing information for communication to the public.”
Free press advocates who brought the suit praised the judge’s decision.
“The press weren’t accidentally hurt at the immigration protests; they were deliberately hurt,” said attorney Carol Sobel. “It’s astonishing to me that we are at the same point with LAPD over and over again.”
City lawyers could challenge the order before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell has said he’s “very concerned” by instances of journalists being targeted by police munitions and vowed each incident would be investigated. He said he did not believe officers were aiming at reporters with less-lethal weapons.
“It is a target-specific munition,” he told reporters at a press briefing. “That’s not to say that it always hits the intended target, particularly in a dynamic situation.”
Vera’s order says that if the LAPD detains or arrests a person who identifies themselves as a journalist, that person may contact a supervisor and challenge their detention. The order also required the LAPD to report back to the court with details of officers being informed of the new rules. The judge set a preliminary injunction hearing for July 24, in which both sides will argue the merits of the case.
The lawsuit accuses the LAPD of flouting state laws passed in the wake of the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, when journalists were detained and injured by the LAPD while covering the unrest.
Apart from journalists, scores of protesters allege LAPD projectiles left them with severe bruises, lacerations and serious injuries.
Under the restrictions ordered by the judge Friday, police can target individuals with 40-millimeter rounds “only when the officer reasonably believes that a suspect is violently resisting arrest or poses an immediate threat of violence or physical harm.” Officers are also barred from targeting people in the head, torso and groin areas.
Times staff Writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.
On the stunning “What’s It All For” on her new album, “I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me,” Noah Cyrus sings: “Why have a family/If that ain’t what you want?/Why have a child/You don’t know how to love?
I’ve asked all of these questions/And I got one more/If that’s all there is/Then what’s it all for?/What’s it all for?”
Cyrus, often writing with Australian singer-songwriter PJ Harding, has a way of storytelling that captures the grit and highs and lows of real life the way Kris Kristofferson does on the classic “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down,” or John Mellencamp and Lucinda Williams do.
Her song, “July,” released when she was 19, was praised by the likes of John Mayer and Leon Bridges and has more than a billion streams. So the potential for something special has always been there. But now that she has put it all together on “I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me” the result transcends special. The 11 songs on the album bridge storytelling with classic country and folk sounds that hark back to the ‘70s, a la songs like the Eagles’ “Wasted Time.”
“I hope that this record, when I hear it, I hear something that’s very classic and reminds me of music that’s been around for a very long time,” she says.
Cyrus has that “classic” music in her blood and bones. Old soul is often a trite, overused expression, but when you grow up in a famous family in the public eye, as Noah Cyrus has, it is an accurate one — her father is country music veteran Billy Ray Cyrus and her sister is pop star Miley Cyrus.
Cyrus said she grew up faster than most people her age. “I’ve been touring since I was 16, I’ve been making music since I was 16,” she tells The Times. “ I grew up in a family that was in the public eye. I think with that there were certain things that we could and couldn’t do, that felt restricted because of the public eye or the way we’d be judged or the way we were judged whenever we made mistakes just as kids.”
She turned 25 in January, which brought a new maturity. Like another all-time great songwriter, Jackson Browne, who famously wrote “These Days” when he was 16, Cyrus has shown a wisdom beyond her years.
“I found out a lot about my senses on a song and learning to trust that as a songwriter,” Cyrus said. “I learned a lot how to lead for myself as a musician.”
(Jason Renaud)
She addresses growing up throughout the album. “I turned 25 this January and I talk about this on the record It’s one of the themes of the album … growing up and new countries about walking on your own two feet and going into unknown land and no matter where you go, there you are. And just learning how to deal with that and cope with that as a young adult,” she says. “That was something that was going on at the time of creating this record. That’s why I just fell into the themes because as a person I was like, ‘How do I not second-guess myself with every single move? How do I learn to trust myself? How do I learn how to become an adult that’s going to be a mother one day? How do I grow up so one day I can take care of another actual person?’”
Having confronted fame and the insecurity that comes with youth, she was ready to take control of her artistic vision with this album.
“I found out a lot about my senses on a song and learning to trust that as a songwriter. I learned a lot how to lead for myself as a musician. This is the first record that I have actual producer credits on and I actually produce some of these songs with Mike [Crossey],” she says. “It was a really beautiful experience and a great learning experience. I really was surprised by those intuitions. And when I listened to the final product, I think it’s the first time in my career where I’m actually really proud of myself.”
Cyrus made sure her personal touch was felt on every aspect of the record, including the eclectic quartet of guests: Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, Bill Callahan, Ella Langley and Blake Shelton.
She made sure the invite to Shelton on “New Country” came directly from her. “I really wanted to personally talk to Blake and wrote him a letter and did all the things to really make this a personal connection,” she says. “Blake and I have a mutual friend on the song — Amy Wadge, she’s one of my favorite songwriters and I love her so much. It was like a God thing telling me you have to reach out to Blake. When I heard that song, it was Blake’s from the beginning. And Blake made it happen. It felt like this spiritual thing that was bound to happen and something that was just written up there in the stars was having Blake on this record.”
For all the notable guests, the centerpiece of the album fittingly features Cyrus’ grandfather. The mesmerizing spiritual hymn “Apple Tree,” which is like the love child of a Nick Cave song and Dolly Parton track, is built around her grandfather’s voice.
“I do feel like ‘Apple Tree’ is a song from God because of the prayer that is said at the end and spoken by my grandfather Ron Cyrus,” she says.
It’s fitting that the song features her grandfather because “I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me” is very much Cyrus returning to her Nashville roots and the music she grew up around. Though she says it’s just a happy accident, her embracing the music that is her birthright coincides with the surge in popularity of country music.
“When I was making this album, country was really getting its mainstream momentum again and taking over the world again as it was when I was a baby, when CMA fans used to have Fanfare and stuff. I remember my dad doing Fanfare. For me it’s really awesome because I think country music has so much more of a wider audience and so many people are starting to connect with country,” she says. “I think that was just God’s timing with the album and everything and it all lining up.”
While artists have been increasingly embracing country, for Cyrus this wasn’t about a trend — she was following the natural order of things. Many musicians will say that as they get older, they return to their roots.
So this was Cyrus coming home. “The more freedom I got I just kept putting more and more of myself into the record, which is metaphorically and literally back to my roots. I think I’ve been longing to feel closer to where I come from. I put that into my music and that’s such a beautiful outlet for me. And I think there’s so many people, not just kids, as an adult, as your parent, you feel things, they’re just like you and the child inside you, it’s all still broken, no matter how old you get, you still have that inner child inside of you. I think a lot of that inner child goes into my music and you hear a lot of my inner child.”
Though Cyrus loves the storytelling aspect of classic country records, it is just as much about the sound of those albums and artists as it is the lyrics. She reveled in that raw, organic sound in making this album.
“The more freedom I got I just kept putting more and more of myself into the record, which is metaphorically and literally back to my roots,” Cyrus said.
(Hannah DeVries)
“That was a fun thing for me again to learn is when you take all the bells and whistles away on a vocal and you just have that person’s originality and that person’s personality and let that shine through on a vocal. That’s the best thing you can do, just have the most amazing and natural raw vocals for people to hear and that’s what I love about the genre of country music and especially older records where you’re singing full takes and that’s what the record is. That’s a lot of the time what Mike and I like to do with our songs, is our songs are full takes of everything. We like everything to feel live, and I think that’s an important part of the record.”
The goal was an album that defies categorization and time. She wanted a record that if you had found it in 1975 and put it on right next to Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks” or you played it in 2025 it would have sounded of that time. In her pursuit of that lofty goal, she transcends the genre tag. This isn’t what most people think of as country today. The closest contemporary artist would be Chris Stapleton, who, when seen live, embodies a Neil Young solo acoustic; it could be country, folk, rock.
That’s what Cyrus set out to do. “When I hear it, I hear a record that will hopefully give the listener a chance to heal as it was a really healing experience for myself,” she says. “And I hope that this record, for me, is something that in 20 years … people are still mentioning and it’s a monumental album in the timeline of my career.”
As college athletic departments across the country brace for a new era of sharing revenue directly with their athletes, USC is eliminating a dozen jobs in its athletic department in an effort to reduce costs in the wake of the House vs. NCAA settlement.
Six athletics employees were told late last week that their roles in the department had been eliminated, a person familiar with the decision not authorized to disucss it publicly told The Times. The most senior among them was Paul Perrier, an executive senior associate athletic director, who spent two six-year stints at USC working under three different athletic directors.
Six other vacant roles have also since been eliminated, the person said.
USC is planning to share the maximum of $20.5 million with its athletes that’s permitted by the settlement in 2025, the vast majority of which will go to the football program. That’s no small expenditure — especially for a university in the midst of serious financial issues.
USC, like other schools, continues to explore other revenue streams to help pay for the costs associated with this new landscape of college athletics. USC recently signed a 15-year multimedia rights deal with Learfield that should help ease some of the burden of revenue sharing. Last season, the school sold ad space in the Coliseum end zone to DirecTV.
Some schools have opted to cut sports, in an attempt to reduce costs. But USC has yet to choose that route. Instead, athletic director Jennifer Cohen announced last month that USC would invest revenue-sharing dollars, in some form or fashion, with all 23 of the school’s athletics programs.
