Reporting from Washington — To any nefarious hackers looking for information that could be used to sway elections or steal Americans’ identities, the file compiled by a GOP data firm called Deep Root Analytics offered all manner of possibilities.
There in one place was detailed personal information about almost every voter in the U.S. It was a collection of some 9.5 billion data points that helped the firm assess not only how those Americans would probably vote, but their projected political preferences. In some cases, the data collectors had scoured people’s histories on Reddit, the social media platform, to match vote history with social media use, and well-informed predictions were made about where each voter would stand on issues as personal as abortion and stem cell research.
It’s the kind of sensitive information that, if a bank or a big-box retailer or almost any other corporation had failed to protect it, would have triggered major trouble with regulators. But there it sat on the Internet, without so much as a password to guard it, for 12 days.
Luckily for the Republican Party and Deep Root, an Arlington, Va.-based firm that handles data management and analysis for the party, it was a cybersecurity consultant who came across the treasure-trove of political data this month, not a foreign agent. There is no indication that the database had been tapped by any other unauthorized parties while it was unprotected.
But the exposure of the data, which some are describing as the largest leak of voter information in history, is a jolting reminder of how deeply the political parties are probing into the lives of voters and how vulnerable the information they are compiling is to theft.
The Deep Root incident is the latest in a series of such problems with political data, the most infamous being the case of the Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee. As cybersecurity experts sound an increasingly loud alarm about the potential consequences, the lapses keep happening — often with nobody held accountable for them.
“This is a catalog of human lives, with intrinsic details,” said Mike Baukes, chief executive of UpGuard, the Mountain View, Calif., firm that came across the file during a routine scan of cloud systems.
“Every voter in America is potentially in there. The scale of it is just staggering, and the fact that it was left wide open is wholly irresponsible.…This is happening all the time. We are continually finding these things. It is just staggering.”
Privacy experts were skeptical that political operatives will change their ways following the latest incident.
“The state of security for massive data sets is so incredibly poor despite a daily drumbeat of data breached,” said Timothy Sparapani, a former director of public policy for Facebook who is now a data privacy consultant at the firm SPQR Strategies, based in Washington. “It is shocking. It is embarrassing. People ought to lose their jobs.”
Sparapani said if the culprit had been a private firm, it would be subjected to punitive actions by attorneys general, consumer lawsuits and big fines from regulators. But political operations face no such repercussions.
“As a voter, you are left with almost no recourse because our laws have not caught up to the massive computing power which is readily available to gather enormous data sets and make them searchable at the click of a button,” he said. “The breadth and depth of data collection by these companies is not well understood. If it were, I think the average voter would be frightened.”
UpGuard was able to access the file merely by guessing a Web address. It alerted Deep Root as well as federal authorities.
Deep Root apologized in a statement, but also suggested the incident had been overblown.
The data file “is our proprietary analysis to help inform local-television ad buying,” the statement said. It noted that much of the voter information the analysis is built on is “readily provided by state government offices.” The firm said it has put security procedures in place to prevent future leaks.
Other digital strategists warned, however, that the failure to protect such detailed information not only raised major privacy and security concerns, but also may have tipped off political adversaries to the inner workings of the Republican Party’s closely guarded digital strategy.
The GOP contracted with Deep Root during the presidential campaign. The firm’s co-founder, Alex Lundry, led the data efforts of GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 and then worked for the unsuccessful presidential campaign of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush last year.
GOP officials said the data belonging to the party that was exposed was limited to very basic information about voters, such as their party registration. They said none of the GOP’s sensitive strategic data was exposed. The party has suspended work with the firm pending an investigation by Deep Root into security procedures.
The failure by Deep Root to protect its massive database was particularly troubling to some advocates at a time when Congress is investigating how Russia exploited data vulnerabilities to meddle in last year’s presidential election.
“This is data used for opinion manipulation,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the nonprofit research group Electronic Privacy Information Center, based in Washington. “It needs to be regulated. And there needs to be consequence for breaches. We have a major problem in this country with data security, and it’s getting worse.” The foundation wants Congress to hold hearings on political data security.
But holding political parties and contractors accountable for their data practices has proven tricky. David Berger, an attorney with the Bay Area-based firm Girard Gibbs who has represented consumers affected by data breaches at Anthem and Home Depot, said part of the problem is voters are not demanding changes loudly enough.
When a retail company fails to protect the privacy of its customers, Berger said, the company suffers and lawmakers hear about it from the victims.
“When people see Deep Root, they are not going to necessarily associate that with the [Republican Party] or anything else,” he said. “If your average American knew the amounts of data and profiling that is already put together by these companies about every single one of us, people would be very concerned. But there’s no face here, and they try to keep quiet.”
Halper reported from Washington and Dave from Los Angeles.
TORONTO — The Dodgers announced Thursday that reliever Alex Vesia is away from the team as he and his wife “navigate a deeply personal family matter,” and manager Dave Roberts said his availability for the World Series is uncertain.
Vesia, who has been the Dodgers’ top left-handed pitcher in the bullpen this season, was not present at the team’s World Series media session on Thursday, and was not seen at the club’s open workout at Dodger Stadium on Monday.
Roberts said that the club was reviewing its options within MLB’s postseason roster rules, but that for now Vesia’s status was considered day-to-day.
“We have a little bit of time — I think 10 o’clock tomorrow or something like that — to finalize our roster,” Roberts said. “But, yeah, we’re going through the process of trying to backfill his spot on the roster.”
One potential option for the Dodgers would be to place Vesia on MLB’s Family Medical Emergency List, which would require him to miss a minimum of three days but make it possible for him to rejoin the active roster later in the World Series.
For now, however, Roberts said “we’re just going day-to-day with really no expectations.”
In the Dodgers’ team statement, the club said “the entire Dodgers organization is sending our thoughts to the Vesia family.”
On Saturday, a home belonging to a South Carolina Circuit judge burned to the ground. Three people, including the judge’s husband and son, were hospitalized with serious injuries.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. An investigation is underway.
Obviously, the harm and destruction were terrible things. But what turned that particular tragedy into something more frightful and ominous is the fact the judge had been targeted with death threats, after ruling against the Trump administration in a lawsuit involving the state’s voter files.
Here’s a short quiz. Using professional norms and human decency as your guide, can you guess what Dhillon did in the aftermath of the fire?
A) Publicly consoled Goodstein and said the Justice Department would throw its full weight behind an urgent investigation into the fire.
B) Drew herself up in righteous anger and issued a ringing statement that denounced political violence, whatever its form, whether perpetrated by those on the left, right or center.
C) Took to social media to troll a political adversary who raised concerns about the targeting of judges and incendiary rhetoric emanating from the Trump administration.
If you selected anything other than “C,” you obviously aren’t familiar with Dhillon. Or perhaps you’ve spent the last many months in a coma, or cut off from the world in the frozen tundra of Antarctica.
The cause of the fire could very well turn out to be something unfortunate and distinctly nonpolitical. Faulty wiring, say, or an unattended pot left on the stove. South Carolina’s top law enforcement official said a preliminary inquiry had so far turned up no evidence that the fire was deliberately set.
What matters, however, is Dhillon’s response.
Not as someone with a shred of sympathy, or as a dogged and scrupulous seeker of truth and justice. But as a fists-up political combatant.
The timing of the blaze, the threats Goodstein received and the country’s hair-trigger political atmosphere all offered more than a little reason for pause and reflection. At the least, Goodstein’s loss and the suffering of her husband and child called for compassion.
Dhillon, however, is a someone who reacted to the 2022 hammer attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband not with concern but rather cruel and baseless conspiracy claims.
By then, Dhillon — a critic of Trump before he won the 2016 Republican nomination — had shape-shifted into one of his most vocal backers, a regular mouthpiece on Fox News and other right-wing media. Her pandering paid off with her appointment to the Justice Department, where Dhillon is supposed to be protecting the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans — not just those in Trump’s good graces.
There’s plenty of tit-for-tat going around in today’s sulfurous climate. Indeed, the jabbing of fingers and laying of blame have become something of a national pastime.
When Neera Tanden, a liberal think-tank leader and prolific presence on social media, suggested there might be a connection between the blaze and Miller’s hate-filled rhetoric, Dhillon responded like a juvenile in a flame war. “Clown … grow up, girl,” Dhillon wrote on X.
When a spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom pointed a finger at Dhillon and her criticism of the South Carolina judge, Dhillon seized on some over-the-top responses and called in the U.S. Marshals Service. “We will tolerate no such threats by woke idiots, including those who work for @GavinNewsom,” Dhillon said.
All around, a sad display of more haste than good judgment.
That said, there is a huge difference between a press staffer getting his jollies on social media and the assistant attorney general of the United States playing politics with personal calamity.
And, really, doesn’t Dhillon have better things to do — and better ways of earning her pay — than constantly curating her social media feed, like a mean girl obsessing over likes and followers?
Worse, though, than such puerile behavior is what Dhillon embodies: an us-vs.-them attitude that permeates the administration and treats those who didn’t vote for Trump — which is more than half the country — as a target.
It’s revealed in the briefings — on military plans, on operations during the shutdown — given to Republican lawmakers but denied to Democrats serving on Capitol Hill.
Dhillon is just one cog in Trump’s malevolent, weaponization of Washington. But her reflexively partisan response to the razing of Judge Goodstein’s home is telling.
When the person in charge of the nation’s civil rights enforcement can’t muster even a modicum of civility, we’re living in some very dark times indeed.
WASHINGTON — President Trump, once a casino owner and always a man in search of his next deal, is fond of a poker analogy when sizing up partners and adversaries.
“We have much bigger and better cards than they do,” he said of China last month. Compared with Canada, he said in June, “we have all the cards. We have every single one.” And most famously, he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in their Oval Office confrontation earlier this year: “You don’t have the cards.”
The phrase offers a window into the worldview of Trump, who has spent his second stint in the White House amassing cards to deploy in pursuit of his interests.
Seven months into his second term, he’s accumulated presidential power that he’s used against universities, media companies, law firms and individuals he dislikes. A man who ran for president as an angry victim of a weaponized “deep state” is, in many ways, supercharging government power and training it on his opponents.
And the supporters who responded to his complaints about overzealous Democrats aren’t recoiling. They’re egging him on.
“Weaponizing the state to win the culture war has been essential to their agenda,” said David N. Smith, a University of Kansas sociologist who has extensively researched the motivations of Trump voters. “They didn’t like it when the state was mobilized to restrain Trump, but they’re happy to see the state acting to fight the culture war on their behalf.”
How Trump has weaponized the government
Trump began putting the federal government to work for him within hours of taking office in January, and he’s been collecting and using power in novel ways ever since. It’s a high-velocity push to carry out his political agendas and grudges.
This past month, hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops fanned out across Washington after Trump drew on a never-used law that allows him to take control of law enforcement in the nation’s capital. He’s threatened similar deployments in other cities run by Democrats, including Baltimore, Chicago, New York and New Orleans. He has also moved to fire a Federal Reserve governor, pointing to unproven claims of mortgage fraud that she denies.
Trump, his aides and allies throughout the executive branch have trained the government, or threatened to, on a dizzying array of targets:
—He threatened to block a stadium plan for the Washington Commanders football team unless it readopted the racial slur it used as its team name until 2020.
—He revoked security clearances and tried to block access to government facilities for attorneys at law firms he disfavors.
—He revoked billions of dollars in federal research funds and sought to block international students from elite universities. Under pressure, Columbia University agreed to a $220-million settlement, the University of Pennsylvania revoked records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, and presidents resigned from the University of Virginia and Northwestern University.
—He has fired or reassigned federal employees targeted for their work, including prosecutors who worked on cases involving him.
—He dropped corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams to gain cooperation in his crackdown on immigrants living in the country illegally.
—He secured multimillion-dollar settlements against media organizations in lawsuits that were widely regarded as weak cases.
—Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi is pursuing a grand jury review of the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation and appointed a special prosecutor to scrutinize New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
That’s not weaponizing government, says White House spokesperson Harrison Fields; it’s wielding power.
“What the nation is witnessing today is the execution of the most consequential administration in American history,” Fields said, “one that is embracing common sense, putting America first, and fulfilling the mandate of the American people.”
Use of power
There’s a push and a pull to power. It is both given and taken. And through executive orders, personnel moves, the bully pulpit and sheer brazenness, Trump has claimed powers that none of his modern predecessors came close to claiming.
He has also been handed power by many around him. By a fiercely loyal base that rides with him through thick and thin. By a Congress and Supreme Court that so far have ceded power to the executive branch. By universities, law firms, media organizations and other institutions that have negotiated or settled with him.
The U.S. government is powerful, but it’s not inherently omnipotent. As Trump learned to his frustration in his first term, presidential powers are limited by the Constitution, laws, court rulings, bureaucracy, traditions and norms. Yet in his second term, Trump has managed to eliminate, steamroll, ignore or otherwise neutralize many of those guardrails.
Leaders can exert their will through fear and intimidation, by determining the topics that are getting discussed and by shaping people’s preferences, Steven Lukes argued in a seminal 1974 book, “Power: A Radical View.” Lukes, a professor emeritus at New York University, said Trump exemplifies all three dimensions of power. Trump’s innovation, Lukes said, is “epistemic liberation” — a willingness to make up facts without evidence.
“This idea that you can just say things that aren’t true, and then it doesn’t matter to your followers and to a lot of other people … that seems to me a new thing,” at least in liberal democracies, Lukes said. Trump uses memes and jokes more than argument and advocacy to signal his preferences, he said.
Trump ran against ‘weaponization’
Central to Trump’s 2024 campaign was his contention that he was the victim of a “vicious persecution ” perpetrated by “the Biden administration’s weaponized Department of Injustice.”
Facing four felony criminal cases in New York, Washington and Florida, Trump said in 2023 that he yearned not to end the government weaponization, but to harness it. “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Aug. 4, 2023.
“If I happen to be president and I see somebody who’s doing well and beating me very badly, I say, ‘Go down and indict them,’” he said in a Univision interview on Nov. 9, 2023. And given a chance by a friendly Fox News interviewer to assure Americans that he would use power responsibly, he responded in December that year that he would not be a dictator “except on Day One.”
He largely backed off those threats as the election got closer, even as he continued to campaign against government weaponization. When he won, he declared an end to it.
His victory essentially ended the felony criminal indictments against him, including his role in the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which led to his second impeachment. Long-standing Justice Department policy says that sitting presidents may not be charged with crimes.
He still entered the White House in January as the only felon to ever occupy the office, after his conviction last year on fraud charges related to a hush-money payment to a porn star just before his first election, in 2016.
One of Trump’s first acts of his new term in January was to issue pardons or commutations for more than 1,500 people convicted of crimes related to Jan. 6, including sedition and attacks on police officers.
“Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents — something I know something about,” Trump said in his second inaugural address.
A month later: “I ended Joe Biden’s weaponization soon as I got in,” Trump said in a Feb. 22 speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington. And 10 days after that: “We’ve ended weaponized government, where, as an example, a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his political opponent, like me.”
Two days later, on March 6, Trump signed a sweeping order targeting a prominent law firm that represents Democrats. And on April 9, he issued presidential memoranda directing the Justice Department to investigate two officials from his first administration, Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor.
With that, the weaponization has come full circle. Trump is no longer surrounded by tradition-bound lawyers and government officials, and his instinct to play his hand aggressively faces few restraints.
BOSTON — As he gave his acceptance address at the Republican National Convention last week, Mitt Romney for the first time gave America an intimate look at the role that his Mormon faith has played in his life and how his work in the church as a pastor helped shape him.
When Romney and his wife, Ann, attended church Sunday in Wolfeboro, N.H., his close friend J.W. Marriott (who is known as “Bill”) offered a bookend to that discussion — testifying during the service about how the spotlight on Romney this week had cast the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a positive light and had drawn welcome attention to good works of the church.
“There has never been as much positive attention to the church, thanks to the wonderful campaign of Mitt Romney and his family,” Marriott told the congregation during his testimonial, which is a part of the service where church members often speak about what their faith means to them.
“Today we see the church coming out of obscurity and we see that 90% of what has been written … has been favorable. And that’s a great tribute to Mitt and Ann and their family for living such an exemplary life,” Marriott said. “A life of love and compassion, a good Latter-day Saint life. A life of leadership, reaching out to others, and touching others, and worshiping the lord and putting families and the church first.”
He added that now that the church was in the public eye, “everybody is looking at us and saying, ‘Are you as good as the Romneys?’ And of course we all have to continue to do better and live the commandments, and do the best we can to serve our church.”
The Marriotts have been a major presence in the communities around New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee. During a brief interview in July 2011, after a Wolfeboro campaign event, Ann Romney said she and her husband got their first glimpse of Lake Winnipesaukee when they came to the area to visit the Marriott family.
The friendship between the Marriott and Romney families extends over many decades. Bill Marriott, who spoke Sunday in Wolfeboro, has been a major financial backer of Romney’s campaign, and for a time Romney served on the board of Marriott International.
The Republican nominee’s parents, George and Lenore, were close friends with J. Willard Marriott, Bill Marriott’s father. George Romney’s papers at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan show that he relied on his friend for advice throughout his life on matters of church, family and politics.
After their introduction to the Lake Winnipesaukee area, the Romneys have used their lakeside retreat in Wolfeboro to relax and gather with their five sons and grandchildren. The house is set up for family activities including boating and games on a sand volleyball court. A building that was once used as stables has been converted to bedrooms that can house all 18 of the Romney grandchildren in a series of bunk beds.
The family’s home is set in the white pines with views of the Belknap Mountains and is only visible from the lake. After a busy few days on the campaign trail, Romney will spend time there this week (and at a friend’s home in neighboring Vermont) preparing for his fall debates with President Obama while Democrats hold their convention in North Carolina. Follow Politics Now on Twitterand Facebook
The weekend crash follows some rocky years for the one-time Republican presidential candidate.
Published On 31 Aug 202531 Aug 2025
Former New York City mayor and United States President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has been hospitalised after a car crash near Manchester, New Hampshire, a spokesman said.
Late Saturday evening, Giuliani suffered a fractured vertebra as well as other cuts, the spokesman, Michael Ragusa, said in a post on X. He said that Giuliani’s rental car was hit from behind at high speed, adding that it was not a targeted attack.
Giuliani, 81, was taken to a nearby trauma centre and was being treated for injuries including “a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg”, according to Ragusa.
Prior to the accident, Giuliani had been “flagged down by a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence incident”, and contacted police assistance on her behalf, Ragusa said.
After the police arrived, Giuliani continued on his way, and his vehicle was hit shortly after pulling onto the highway. Ragusa told The Associated Press in an emailed statement that the car crash was “entirely unrelated” to the domestic violence incident.
Ragusa said Giuliani was “in great spirits” and expected to be released from hospital in a few days.
The weekend crash follows some volatile years for the one-time failed Republican presidential candidate, who was dubbed “America’s mayor” in light of his leadership in New York after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Giuliani later became Trump’s personal lawyer for a time and a vocal proponent of Trump’s false allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump and his backers lost dozens of lawsuits claiming fraud, and numerous recounts, reviews and audits of the election results turned up no signs of significant wrongdoing or error.
Two former Georgia elections workers later won a $148m defamation judgement against Giuliani. As they sought to collect the judgement, the former federal prosecutor was found in contempt of court. He faced a trial this winter over the ownership of some of his assets.
He ultimately struck a deal that let him keep his homes and various belongings, including prized World Series rings, in exchange for unspecified compensation and a promise to stop speaking ill of the ex-election workers.
A 12-year-old volunteer is making sure visitors to Hiroshima’s Peace Park get a personal look at the tragedy of the world’s first nuclear bombing, recounting his own family’s experiences as passed down generation to generation.
TEMPLEGATE takes on Friday’s racing from Glorious Goodwood confident of success after banging in a 28-1 treble on Thursday.
Back a horse by clicking their odds below.
FIFTH COLUMN (2.30 Goodwood, nap)
John Gosden has a nice three-year-old on his hands in this son of Kingman. He showed promise last season and got off the mark in a Kempton maiden on comeback in April. That form was quickly left behind with a smooth handicap success at Sandown – before an excellent effort in the Britannia at Royal Ascot. He was only seventh in that hot contest but he was first home in his group getting the worst of the draw. He clocked a personal best when winning at Newmarket last time and relishes this mile trip. He goes on any ground so it won’t matter what the weather does.
BIG MOJO (3.05 Goodwood, nb)
Likes it here and can show his class in the King George Qatar Stakes.
DIEGO VENTURA (1.55 Goodwood, treble)
He is just about the only runner in the field who is proven in testing conditions – and looks set to get just that.
Templegate’s TV verdicts
1.20
KYLE OF LOCHALSH is fancied to go three better than last year’s fourth and land this marathon prize.
He’s on the same mark, handles any ground and shaped with promise on his reappearance.
He’s much more lightly raced than 12 months ago and looks primed to peak.
Aggagio loves it round here and was impressive under Ashley Lewis last time but stamina beyond 2m remains a question mark.
Align The Stars hasn’t quite fired this year but ran well in a strong Royal Ascot handicap and is lurking on a handy mark.
He has a good record here but came up short in this last year.
Tashkhan is classy and thrives in deep ground should it rain, with similar comments applying to Zinc White.
Sheradann has been knocking on the door and shapes as though this trip will suit.
Irish raider Mordor is interesting as this stamina test could bring improvement.
1.55
DIEGO VENTURA is just about the only runner in the field who is proven in testing conditions.
James Doyle’s mount has been running well at Listed level in France and scored over seven furlongs at Longchamp in May.
He then went well at Epsom before going down in a bunch finish at Chantilly last time.
Conditions will be ideal and he has more to come.
Cosmic Year has shown his best on good ground as he showed when second in the Irish 2,000 Guineas which is strong form.
The ground may not be ideal but this is a fair drop in class which makes him a player.
King Of Cities has been placed on tacky ground and sees out this trip well.
He has yet to win this season but could go well under Ryan Moore.
Seagulls Eleven was a solid second to non-runner Opera Ballo at Newmarket last time.
He’s unproven on this ground and needs a step forward.
2.30
FIFTH COLUMN can take another step up for the Gosdens.
His only defeat this season came when a strong-finishing seventh in the Britannia at Royal Ascot, where he won his group and shaped like the best horse on the far side.
He confirmed that when winning stylishly at Newmarket last time, and a 3lb penalty might not be enough to anchor this improving three-year-old who can beat his elders.
Skukuza is the main threat.
He’s officially 8lb well in after two smooth wins at The Curragh, including a Listed last time, and is clearly thriving.
Greek Order ran a screamer in the Royal Hunt Cup on his first start back from the US and again shaped well at Sandown behind Arisaig who is a contender here.
He’s a big player if things fall right. Ebt’s Guard has run well here before and wasn’t beaten far in the Royal Hunt Cup.
3.05
BIG MOJO can follow up last year’s Glorious Goodwood win in the King George Qatar Stakes.
Mick Appleby’s flyer ran a cracker at Newmarket last time and looks up to this level.
Aussie Asfoora will show her true colours here after a poor Ascot run, while She’s Quality lives up to her name.
Here’s my guide to the field, where I rate them one (worst) to five (best):
ASFOORA 4
FOOR star. Aussie raider won the King Charles III at Royal Ascot last year was just denied in this. Had excuses this year and could bounce back.
BIG MOJO 5
BIG chance. Won Molecomb here last year and has progressed at three. Unlucky in the Commonwealth Cup and ran a huge race in the July Cup. Strong claims back at 5f.
CELANDINE 2
HARD Cel. Chased home Big Mojo in last year’s Molecomb and beat Time For Sandals over 6f at York. Needs to prove she enjoys 5f as much.
CLARENDON HOUSE 1
DON for. Has run well over this C&D before but was poor at Epsom last time and needs more at this level.
FROST AT DAWN 3
HOT Frost. Won 6f Listed race earlier this season and showed real speed when second in the King Charles III at Royal Ascot. Can go close again.
JM JUNGLE 2
JUNGLE fever. Won over C&D at this meeting in 2023 and landed the Epsom Dash in June. Ran well in Listed last time but not up to this.
KERDOS 3
TAKE Ker. Fifth in this race last year and good run in the King Charles III. Likes tacky ground and cheekpieces may help.
KHAADEM 3
KHA motors. Won this in 2022 and has landed two Group 1s. He’s unbeaten in two runs here and looks a big place price.
MANACCAN 1
DANGER Man. Solid Listed performer over this trip but has been struggling for a while.
NIGHT RAIDER 3
NIGHT shifts. Unbeaten in four AW starts including a Listed 6f at Newcastle. Turf form not as hot but it’s early days.
SHE’S QUALITY 4
QUALITY pays. Ran a stormer when second in a hot Group 2 at Haydock in May. Sandown didn’t suit last time and this test looks much more suitable.
SPARTAN ARROW 2
BLUNT arrow. Has improved since sporting cheekpieces and took a French Listed prize latest. Goes well here and track/trip suits but this is much tougher opposition.
TIME FOR SANDALS 3
TIME trial. Surprise winner of the Commonwealth Cup over 6f at Ascot. Could improve again but drop in trip an unknown.
TOWN AND COUNTRY 1
TOWN and out. Few miles on the clock and is a Listed winner over this trip. Progressive but needs a lot more in this company.
3.45
SOCIALITE can get the party started.
Charlie Hills’ four-year-old can take this prize with a bold front-running show.
He quickened smartly to win at Windsor on handicap debut, shaping as though this extra furlong would suit.
Lightly raced, progressive and effective on any ground, he could prove tough to pass from a handy draw.
Liberty Lane is the main danger, with a soft-ground Cambridgeshire win and a Listed success here this year marking him out as a serious player.
Haunted Dream won this race last year and had excuses at Royal Ascot. He’s a big threat back at this track.
Godwinson is thriving after wins in the Lincoln and at Newcastle. He’ll be right there if liking this longer trip.
Fox Legacy is flying and isn’t written off provided the rain stays away.
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July 31 (UPI) — The Federal Reserve‘s preferred inflation gauge rose more than expected in June, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released Thursday.
The personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE, rose 0.3% in June from the previous month and 2.6% from June 2024. Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy prices rose 2.8% on an annual basis.
Additionally, when measured at a monthly rate, Americans saw their income increase by 0.3%, or $71.4 billion. However, after taxes that increase in dollars dips to around $61 billion, and the value of the goods and services bought by or for American citizens, or personal consumption expenditures, also rose 0.3% to $69.9 billion.
As for savings, residents held on to $1.01 trillion in personal savings in June, and when measured as a percentage of disposable income, those personal savings came in at 4.5%.
Inflation was also evident via the consumer price index, or CPI, as that rose 0.3% for urban consumers increased 0.3% since June when seasonally adjusted, and 2.7% over the last 12 months not seasonally adjusted, despite dipping as low as 2.3% in April.
The Fed continues to hold short-term interest rates steady at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% following its meeting earlier this week, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell citing earlier this month that the impact of President Donald Trump‘s reciprocal tariff strategy is the reason the Fed hasn’t gotten back to cutting rates.
Trump, who has been pushing for the Fed to lower rates, posted to Truth Social Thursday in regard to the Fed’s hold, saying Powell “is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS,” and called him a TOTAL LOSER.”
Fern Britton returned to This Morning on Thursday to promote her new ITV series
Fern Britton shared a personal update as she returned to This Morning on Thursday (June 26).
The 67-year-old is recognised for her stint presenting the acclaimed ITV daytime programme from 1999 until 2009, alongside Phillip Schofield.
Since leaving This Morning, Fern has hosted an array of other successful series, such as Ready Steady Cook and All Star Mr and Mrs, as well as participating in Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.
She was back in the ITV studio today, chatting with hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard about her latest project, Inside the Vet’s, which she labelled “emotional”.
Premiering on July 4 on ITV1 and ITVX, Fern’s new series sheds light on the crucial role played by veterinary teams, reports Wales Online.
Fern Britton returned to This Morning on Thursday (June 26)(Image: ITV)
She’ll be giving viewers a peek into the everyday work of The Grove Vets in Bristol, covering all aspects from routine health checks and dental work to critical operations and more.
On This Morning, Fern declared: “I found the whole thing very emotional, but so do the vets. Fortunately, we didn’t have any beloved pet who died.”
She added: “I must say, I was just blown away with how respectful the vets were to these animals who were in very insecure situations.”
The conversation then moved to Fern’s latest literary offering, A Cornish Legacy, which tells the story of a woman reconstructing her life in Cornwall – seemingly mirroring Fern’s own life.
Fern is presenting a new veterinary series(Image: ITV)
The presenter notably relocated to the county back in 2020 after her separation from chef Phil Vickery.
Fern expressed her excitement, stating: “A Cornish Legacy came out a couple of weeks ago and it went straight to number six on The Sunday Times List, so I’m thrilled to bits with that.”
Cat went on to say: “The last I saw of you, you were sitting in your garden writing… Sitting in the garden, enjoying the Cornish countryside, listening to the birds singing.”
“It’s not too bad. Life is good,” responded Fern, before confirming that she’s currently penning her latest novel.
In the international relations structures in Southeast Asia, “strategic trust” acts as a glue between countries that are diverse in terms of institutions, histories, and national interests. Strategic trust can be understood as the extent to which one country believes that another country will not harm its core interests, even in the absence of strong enforcement mechanisms. This is not blind trust but calculated trust, based on consistent behavior, policy transparency, and commitment to complying with common rules of the game. In Southeast Asia, strategic trust is not only the foundation for bilateral cooperation but also a prerequisite for building the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) according to the roadmap by 2025.
The relationship between Thailand and Cambodia is a case in point, reflecting the complex and fragile nature of strategic trust in the region. There have been periods of serious border conflicts, such as the dispute over the Preah Vihear temple area in 2008–2011, and the two countries have repeatedly been embroiled in military tensions. Although bilateral relations have stabilized under Hun Sen and subsequent civilian governments in Bangkok, underlying factors such as anti-Cambodian sentiment in the Thai military and a lack of transparency in the handling of migrant workers and border issues persist. In this context, the ASEAN institution, with its principles of non-interference and consensus, has shown its limits even more clearly. When tensions flare up, ASEAN often lacks effective tools for coordination and mediation, leading to a situation of “every man for himself” and dependence on personal relationships between leaders.
The leak of an audio recording between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen in June 2025 is a typical example of the failure of strategic trust in a loose institutional framework like ASEAN.
What is remarkable about the incident is not only the content of the call but also the nature of the diplomatic form used. The 17-minute exchange was conducted outside official channels and was marked by an excessively intimate tone: Ms. Paetongtarn called Mr. Hun Sen “uncle” and agreed with him to ignore criticism from a Thai military general. This reflects the deeply personal political model in both countries. In Thailand, “Thaksinism” is not just a political phenomenon but also a family-based power structure, where the Shinawatra clan still holds great influence in politics, despite opposition from the military and royalists. In Cambodia, “Hun Senism” is a symbol of decades of personal rule, where Mr. Hun Sen and his family control almost all state power, passing the throne to his son without any real democratic competition.
The leaked audio recordings reveal a number of statements that have crossed the line on the military and security. Notably, the Thai military’s disdain for Ms. Paetongtarn’s response to her claim that the generals were just “showing off” is a provocative and insulting statement to the military, which has staged coups to overthrow governments led by her family. In addition, the fact that the prime minister of one country made such a clear statement in favor of another country’s leader on a potentially disputed border issue has touched the limits of domestic and international strategic trust. Not surprisingly, shortly afterwards, the Bhumjaithai Party—the second largest partner in the ruling coalition—announced its withdrawal from the government, citing the serious damage to the honor of the nation and the military.
Hun Sen’s role in releasing the recording has further complicated the situation. While Cambodia has said that Hun Sen simply wanted to “clarify the truth” after the first nine minutes of the recording were leaked earlier, observers have said that the release of the entire transcript was politically calculated. On the one hand, it helped Hun Sen demonstrate his status as a “great friend” of Thailand while sending a message to the Thai military that they should not underestimate his influence. On the other hand, he also unintentionally—or intentionally—put the Thai Prime Minister in a difficult position when Ms. Paetongtarn was forced to apologize publicly, undermining her reputation and legitimacy at home.
The impact of the leaked audio recording between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen goes beyond the bilateral level, spreading like a domino effect to many levels of national political structures, international relations, and institutional functioning of ASEAN. At each level, this incident highlights the fragility of strategic trust while exposing the gaps in the ability to control and institutionalize individual power in Southeast Asia.
For Thailand, the political consequences are profound and potentially long-lasting. Internally, Paetongtarn’s government—newly formed with the support of the Shinawatra family—is on the brink of collapse after the Bhumjaithai Party, the second-largest partner in the ruling coalition, announced its withdrawal. This move not only created a parliamentary majority crisis but also cost Paetongtarn her already fragile political legitimacy and credibility as the “political heir” to her father, Thaksin Shinawatra. Polls after the event showed that the government’s approval rating plummeted, while support for the military’s role as a guarantor of national stability increased significantly.
The Thai military—which has traditionally been deeply involved in politics—now has a new justification for acting in the name of “protecting national honor and the face of the military.” The coups of 2006 and 2014 were both carried out in the name of maintaining stability and countering the influence of the Shinawatra family. This time, a civilian leader directly insulting the generals and showing subservience to foreign leaders could be interpreted as a threat to national security. In this context, the possibility of the military intervening, directly or indirectly, is a very real risk. This raises questions about the future of Thailand’s young democratic system, which has been repeatedly disrupted by military coups.
For Cambodia, this event can be seen by Hun Sen as a tactical victory in domestic affairs. The release of the entire recording demonstrates his proactive control of information and public opinion and helps him affirm his role as a powerful regional figure, despite having stepped down from the position of prime minister. In the eyes of the Cambodian public, Hun Sen is praised as someone who maintains his influence in foreign affairs and takes the initiative against a larger country like Thailand. However, on the international level, the release of a private recording between two heads of state may raise doubts about Phnom Penh’s diplomatic credibility. The deliberate release of confidential information will make other partners—both within and outside ASEAN—more cautious in all forms of high-level contact with Cambodian leaders. This, in the long term, may cause Cambodia to be partially isolated in strategic diplomatic channels or at least lose its image as a responsible partner in the region.
In terms of bilateral relations, Hun Sen’s release of the full transcript of the call also puts Thailand in a vulnerable position, forcing the Paetongtarn government to publicly apologize. This is an extremely dangerous diplomatic precedent, especially in the context of the two countries still having unresolved historical disputes. Without a clear and in-depth trust-building strategy from both sides, Thai-Cambodian relations risk taking a major step backward. Any efforts to build trust through defense, border security, and labor cooperation channels could be frozen or shifted to a state of precaution.
Regionally, the impact of this event is systemic for ASEAN. First of all, the incident has seriously undermined strategic trust within the bloc. ASEAN countries, which are already very cautious about sharing information and coordinating security, will now be even more cautious in high-level communications if they are concerned that the content may be leaked or exploited for internal political purposes. The fact that a high-level leader was recorded and then released in full without any official response from ASEAN shows the inability of this organization to handle internal crises. ASEAN does not have any mechanism to investigate, intervene, or mediate in bilateral diplomatic crises, especially when they do not take the form of traditional armed conflicts.
In addition, this incident also sets a dangerous precedent for the entire regional diplomatic culture: when personal relationships can be recorded, edited, disseminated, and exploited for political purposes. This breaks the unwritten norms of ASEAN diplomacy, where friendliness and discretion are considered the foundation. If this trend continues, regional leaders will gradually lose trust in each other, and instead there will be a permanent state of hidden tension. More importantly, strategic rivals outside the region, such as China or the United States, can take advantage of these trust gaps to amplify internal ASEAN conflicts. If any member state feels threatened or betrayed, it can turn to external powers as a strategic counterweight, leading to polarization in regional foreign policy and seriously weakening ASEAN’s neutrality in the Asia-Pacific security architecture.
Recent developments are a wake-up call for Southeast Asia on the need to institutionalize and make transparent strategic diplomatic channels. First, countries need to establish clear standards for high-level contacts between leaders—including confidentiality, recording, and public statements. Calls or personal contacts between leaders should be coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and controlled by an official system to ensure accountability and information security. Second, ASEAN countries need to strengthen the role of professional diplomacy, limiting the use of backroom channels or friendly relationships as tools to resolve crises. In a region where individual leaders can change quickly, betting on personal relationships is a risky strategy.
ASEAN also needs to rethink its operating model. It is necessary to establish an early warning mechanism for intra-bloc diplomatic crises, as well as a code of conduct for senior leaders in bilateral contacts. This is not to control or limit the freedom of leaders but to ensure that individual actions do not undermine the foundation of shared trust. In the long term, a strong ASEAN security community can only be built if member states agree to abandon the mindset of “personal politics” and replace it with institutionalized, accountable, and transparent diplomacy.
The scene: Ginny, 16, is carrying an unwanted pregnancy. She’s seeking an abortion. During a preconsultation, a clinic provider asks if she needs more time to decide. No, says the teen, she’s sure.
There’s no proverbial wringing of hands around the character’s decision. No apologizing for her choice. Why? Because it’s not for us to judge. It’s a personal matter, despite all the politicization around reproductive rights that might have us believe otherwise.
Opinions, debates and legislative fights around abortion have raged since Roe vs. Wade was adjudicated by the Supreme Court in 1973, then overturned in 2022. It’s no secret why such a lightning-rod issue is rarely touched by series television. Alienating half the country is bad for ratings. Exceptions include breakthrough moments on shows such as “Maude,” “The Facts of Life” and “Jane the Virgin,” but even those episodes were careful to weigh the sensitivity of the political climate over a transparent depiction of their character’s motivations and experience.
Another pitfall is that subplots featuring abortion storylines are hard to pull off without feeling like a break from scheduled programming for an antiabortion or pro-abortion-rights PSA, or worse, a pointless exercise in bothsidesism.
Season 3 of Netflix dramedy “Ginny & Georgia” dares to go there, unapologetically making the political personal inside a fun, wily and addictive family saga. The series, the streamer’s No. 1 show since it returned two weeks ago, skillfully delivers an intimate narrative that defies judgment and the fear of being judged.
The hourlong series, which launched in 2021, follows single mom Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey), her angsty teenage daughter Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and her young son Austin (Diesel La Torraca). This formerly nomadic trio struggles to forge a “normal” life in the fictional Boston suburb of Wellsbury.
Flamboyant, fast-talking Southerner Georgia stands out among the fussy, provincial New England set. Born in Alabama to drug-addicted parents, she fled her abusive upbringing as a teenager. Homeless, she met Zion (played as an adult by Nathan Mitchell), a college-bound student from a good family. Soon into their relationship, she fell pregnant, giving birth to their daughter Ginny, kicking off a life on the run and in service of protecting her children.
Georgia (Brianne Howey), left, had Ginny as a teenager, and history appears to repeat itself in Season 3 of the show.
(Amanda Matlovich / Netflix)
Now in her 30s, the blond bombshell has relied on her beauty, innate smarts and countless grifts to endure poverty and keep her family intact. The hardscrabble lifestyle has made Ginny wise beyond her years, though she’s not immune to mercurial teen mood swings and the sophomoric drama of high school.
But history appears to repeat itself when Ginny becomes pregnant after having sex just once with a fellow student from her extracurricular poetry class. Overwhelmed, he’s the first person she tells about their dilemma. “That’s wild,” he responds idiotically, before abruptly taking off, leaving her to deal with the pregnancy on her own.
Episode 7 largely revolves around Ginny’s decision to have an abortion, a thoughtfully paced subplot that breaks from the perpetual chaos and deadly secrets permeating the Millers’ universe.
Ginny is painfully aware that she is the product of an unwanted pregnancy and her mother’s choice not to have an abortion. Georgia has repeatedly said her kids are the best thing that ever happened to her. But when counseling her distraught daughter, Georgia says the choice is Ginny’s to make, and no one else’s.
Here’s where “Ginny & Georgia” might have launched into a didactic, pro-abortion-rights lecture cloaked in a TV drama, or played it safe by pulling back and highlighting both women’s stories in equal measure.
Instead it chose to bring viewers in close, following Ginny’s singular experience from her initial shame and panic, to moving conversations with her mom, to that frank counseling session at the women’s health center where she made it quite clear she was not ready to be a mother. We watched her take the medication, then experience what followed: painful cramping, pangs of guilt, waves of relief and the realization she now bore a new, lifelong emotional scar that wasn’t caused by her mother.
By sticking to Ginny’s intimate story, through her perspective, the series delivers a story that is hers and hers alone, partisan opinions be damned.
“Ginny & Georgia” has offered up many surprises over its three seasons. Georgia has emerged one of the more entertaining, cunning and inventive antiheroes of the 2020s. As such, she attracts men in droves, schemes a la Walter White and doesn’t believe in therapy: “We don’t do that in the South. We shoot things and eat butter.”
But therapy might be a good idea given Season 3’s cliffhanger ending: another accidental pregnancy.
I was driving while listening to the news Sunday when I heard House Speaker Mike Johnson justify President Trump’s move to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles.
“We have to maintain the rule of law,” Johnson said.
I almost swerved off the road.
Maintain the rule of law?
Steve Lopez
Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist.
Trump pardoned the hooligans who ransacked the Capitol because he lost the 2020 presidential election. They clashed with police, destroyed property and threatened the lives of public officials, and to Trump, they’re heroes.
Maintain the rule of law?
Trump is a 34-count felon who has defied judicial rulings, ignored laws that don’t serve his interests, and turned his current presidency into an unprecedented adventure in self-dealing and graft.
And now he’s sending an invading army to Los Angeles, creating a crisis where there was none. Arresting undocumented immigrants with criminal records is one thing, but is that what this is about? Or is it about putting on a show, occupying commercial and residential neighborhoods and arresting people who are looking for — or on their way to — work.
Protesters and members of the National Guard watched one another in front of the federal building in Los Angeles on Monday.
(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that U.S. Marines were on high alert and ready to roll, and in the latest of who knows how many escalations, hundreds are headed our way.
What next, the Air Force?
I’m not going to defend the vandalism and violence — which plays into Trump’s hands—that followed ICE arrests in Los Angeles. I can see him sitting in front of the tube, letting out a cheer every time another “migrant criminal” flings a rock or a scooter at a patrol car.
But I am going to defend Los Angeles and the way things work here.
For starters, undocumented immigration is not the threat to public safety or the economy that Trump like to bloviate about.
It’s just that he knows he can score points on border bluster and on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), so he’s going full gasbag on both, and now he’s threatening to lock up Gov. Gavin Newsom.
To hear the rhetoric, you’d think every other undocumented immigrant is a gang member and that trans athletes will soon dominate youth sports if someone doesn’t stand up to them.
I can already read the mail that hasn’t yet arrived, so let me say in advance that I do indeed understand that breaking immigration law means breaking the law, and I believe that President Biden didn’t do enough to control the border, although it was Republicans who killed a border security bill early last year.
I also acknowledge the cost of supporting undocumented immigrants is substantial when you factor in public education and, in California, medical care, which is running billions of dollars beyond original estimates.
But the economic contributions of immigrants — regardless of legal status — are undeniably numerous, affecting the price we pay for everything from groceries to healthcare to domestic services to construction to landscaping.
Protesters shut down the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles on Sunday.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Last year, the Congressional Budget Office concluded that a surge in immigrants since 2021 — including refugees, asylum seekers and others, legal and illegal — had lifted the U.S. economy “by filling otherwise vacant jobs,” as The Times reported, and “pumping millions of tax dollars into state, local and federal coffers.”
According to a seminal 2011 study by the Public Policy Institute of California, “many illegal immigrants pay Social Security and other taxes but do not collect benefits, and they are not eligible for many government services.”
In addition, the report said: “Political controversies aside, when illegal immigrants come, many U.S. employers are ready to hire them. The vast majority work. Estimates suggest that at least 75 percent of adult illegal immigrants are in the workforce.”
Trump can rail against the lunatic radical left for the scourge of illegal immigration, but the statement that “employers are ready to hire them” couldn’t be more true. And those employers stand on both sides of the political aisle, as do lawmakers who for decades have allowed the steady flow of workers to industries that would suffer without them.
On Sunday, I had to pick up a couple of items at the Home Depot on San Fernando Road in Glendale, where dozens of day laborers often gather in search of work. But there were only a couple of men out there, given recent headlines.
A shopper in the garden section said the report of federal troops marching on L.A. is “kind of ridiculous, right?” He said the characterization by Trump of “all these terrible people” and “gang members” on the loose was hard to square with the reality of day laborers all but begging for work.
I found one of them in a far corner of the Home Depot lot, behind a fence. He told me he was from Honduras and was afraid to risk arrest by looking for work at a time when battalions of masked troops were on the move, but he’s got a hungry family back home, including three kids. He said he was available for any kind of jobs, including painting, hauling and cleanup.
Two men in a pickup truck told me they were undocumented too and available for construction jobs of any type. They said they were from Puebla, Mexico, but there wasn’t enough work for them there.
I’ve been to Puebla, a city known for its roughly 300 churches. I was passing through about 20 years ago on my way to a small nearby town where almost everyone on the street was female.
Where were the men?
Protesters shut down the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles on Sunday.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
City workers repair broken windows at LAPD headquarters on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles on Monday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
I was told by a city official that the local economy was all about corn, but local growers couldn’t compete with American farmers who had the benefit of federal subsidies. So the men had gone north for work.
Another reason people head north is to escape the violence wrought by cartels armed with American-made weapons, competing to serve the huge American appetite for drugs.
In these ways, and more, the flow of people across borders can be complicated. But generally speaking, it’s simply about survival. People move to escape poverty or danger. They move in search of something better for themselves, or to be more accurate about it, for their children.
The narratives of those journeys are woven into the fabric of Los Angeles. It’s part of what’s messy and splendid and complicated about this blended, imperfect corner of the world, where many of us know students or workers or families with temporary status, or none at all.
That’s why this overheated invasion looks so ugly and feels so personal.
We’re less suspicious of our neighbors and the people we encounter on our daily rounds than the hypocrites who would pardon insurrectionists, sow division and send an occupying army to haul away members of our community.
From Bill Plaschke: They pull giant boxing gloves over aging, sometimes shaking hands.
They approach a black punching bag on weary, sometimes wobbly feet.
Then they wail.
They hit the bag with a left-handed jab, a right-handed reverse, a hook, another hook, an uppercut, another jab, bam, bam, bam.
They end the flurry with kicks, side kicks, thrust kicks, wild kicks, their legs suddenly strong and purposeful and fueled by a strength that once seemed impossible.
Outside of this small gym in a nondescript office park in Monrovia, they are elderly people dealing with the motion-melting nightmare that is Parkinson’s disease.
But inside the walls of Kaizen Martial Arts & Fitness, in a program known as Kaizen Kinetics, they are heavyweight champs.
Ranging in age from 50 to 90, spanning the spectrum of swift strides to wheelchairs, they are the most courageous athletes I’ve met.
I am in awe of them, perhaps because I am one of them.
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NBA PLAYOFFS RESULTS
All Times Pacific
NBA FINALS
Oklahoma City vs. Indiana
Indiana 111, at Oklahoma City 110 (box score, story) at Oklahoma City 123, Indiana 107 (box score, story) Wednesday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC Friday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC Monday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABC Thursday, June 19 at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC* Sunday, June 22 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC*
The Big Ten Player of the Year — a projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB draft by some analysts — turned Charles Schwab Field in Omaha into a playground during the Big Ten tournament, winning player of the tournament honors despite UCLA not claiming the championship.
So far, in the NCAA tournament, Cholowsky had been uncharacteristically quiet for his standards. He still made hard plays look easy as a “premium shortstop” — as UCLA coach John Savage glowed about his defensive skills — but his bat wasn’t making its usual noise.
Cholowsky finally had his moment Sunday.
Cholowsky’s RBI single off that strike in the fifth, a part of his two-for-five day, clinched UCLA’s spot in the Men’s College World Series with a 7-0 victory over Texas San Antonio. The two-game sweep of the Roadrunners gave the Bruins their sixth berth to Omaha and first since 2013, when they won it all.
From Kevin Baxter: The Dodgers have sent Clayton Kershaw to the mound to give a slumping team a lift countless times during his 18-year career. And they’ve rarely been disappointed.
They did it again on a sultry Sunday afternoon in St. Louis and once again Kershaw delivered, earning his first win of the season in a 7-3 victory over the Cardinals that broke a two-game losing streak and ended a slide that had seen the Dodgers lose five of their last seven.
“He’s been a stopper for many years. He’s been a staff ace for many years. He’s going to the Hall of Fame,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “So he understands. And he’s going to be prepared.”
George Kirby struck out a career-high 14 during seven innings of two-hit ball, and the Seattle Mariners snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Angels on Sunday.
Kirby (1-3) issued no walks while retiring both his first 11 and his final 10 batters. His strikeouts were the most by a Mariners pitcher since James Paxton had 16 in May 2018, and he matched Miami’s Max Meyer for the most strikeouts in a major league game this season.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in the fourth for the Halos, who struck out 18 times overall while losing for only the second time in six games.
Denis Bouanga had a goal and two assists, Eddie Segura scored his first goal since 2020 and LAFC extended its MLS unbeaten streak to nine games with a 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on Sunday night at BMO Stadium.
Bouanga converted from the penalty spot in the 59th to give LAFC (7-4-5), which had 56% possession and outshot Kansas City 21-5, a 2-1 lead.
Dejan Joveljic scored a goal for the fourth consecutive game when he ran onto a through ball played ahead by Manu García, and scored from near the penalty spot to make it 1-0 in the 39th minute.
Coco Gauff won the French Open for the first time by defeating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in Saturday’s final for her second Grand Slam singles title.
The second-ranked Gauff made fewer mistakes in a contest that was full of tension and momentum swings to get the better of Sabalenka for the second time in a Grand Slam final. She also came from a set down to beat the Belarusian in the 2023 U.S. Open final.
Gauff raised the winner’s trophy aloft, then kissed it several times. She held her hand over her heart when the U.S. national anthem played. She is the first American woman to win at Roland-Garros since Serena Williams in 2015.
She then thanked her parents for doing everything “from washing my clothes to keeping me grounded and giving me the belief that I can do it.”
“You guys probably believe in me more than myself,” Gauff said in her on-court speech.
It was the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years.
Carlos Alcaraz rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) on Sunday and win the French Open title for a second straight year.
Alcaraz, who won his fifth Grand Slam tournament in as many finals, produced one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the clay-court tournament.
It was even better than his performance here last year, when he came back from 2-1 down in sets in the final against Alexander Zverev. But this time Alcaraz emulated Novak Djokovic’s feat from the 2021 final at Roland-Garros, where he fought back from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Edmonton vs. Florida at Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT) (summary, story) Florida 5, at Edmonton 4 (2 OT) (summary, story) Monday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT Thursday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT Saturday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT Tuesday, June 17 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT* Friday, June 20 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT*
* If necessary
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1888 — James McLaughlin sets the record for wins by a jockey in the Belmont Stakes, six, when he rides Sir Dixon to a 12-length victory. McLaughlin’s record is matched by Eddie Arcaro in 1955.
1899 — Jim Jeffries knocks out Bob Fitzsimmons in the 11th round in New York to win the world heavyweight title.
1930 — Paavo Nurmi runs world record 6 mile (29:36.4).
1934 — Olin Dutra edges Gene Sarazen by one stroke to win the U.S. Open.
1940 — Lawson Little beats Gene Sarazen by three strokes in a playoff to win the U.S. Open golf title.
1945 — Hoop Jr. wins the Kentucky Derby, which is run one month after a national wartime government ban on racing is lifted.
1946 — Joe Louis KOs Billy Conn in 8 for heavyweight boxing title.
1973 — Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte, wins the Belmont Stakes in record time to capture the Triple Crown. Secretariat sets a world record on the 1½-mile course with 2:24, and a record for largest margin of victory in the Belmont, 31 lengths.
1978 — Larry Holmes scores a 15-round split decision over Ken Norton for the WBC heavyweight title in New York.
1979 — Coastal, ridden by Ruben Hernandez, spoils Spectacular Bid’s attempt at the Triple Crown with a 3¼-length victory over Golden Act. Spectacular Bid finishes third.
1984 — Swale, ridden by Laffit Pincay, wins the Belmont Stakes by four lengths over Pine Circle. Swale dies eight days later.
1984 — French Open Women’s Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats Chris Evert 6-3, 6-1; 2nd women in Open Era to hold all 4 Grand Slam titles at once.
1985 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores 29 points to lead the Lakers to a 111-100 victory over the Boston Celtics and the NBA title in six games.
1990 — Monica Seles holds off four set points in the first set tiebreaker and goes on to become the youngest winner of the French Open, beating two-time champion Steffi Graf 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Seles is 16 years, six months.
1991 — In the first all-American men’s final at the French Open since 1954, Jim Courier rallies to beat Andre Agassi 3-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 for his first Grand Slam title.
1993 — Patrick Roy makes 18 saves and the Montreal Canadiens capture their 24th Stanley Cup, beating the Kings 4-1 in Game 5.
2001 — Stanley Cup Final, Pepsi Center, Denver, CO: Colorado Avalanche beat defending champion New Jersey Devils, 3-1 for 4-3 series win; Avalanche 2nd title.
2001 — Jennifer Capriati beats Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 to win the French Open, her second consecutive Grand Slam title.
2003 — The New Jersey Devils end the Mighty Ducks’ surreal season, winning the Stanley Cup with a 3-0 victory. Mike Rupp, who had never appeared in a playoff until Game 4, scores the first goal and sets up Jeff Friesen for the other two.
2007 — Rags to Riches, a filly ridden by John Velazquez, outduels Curlin in a breathtaking stretch run and won the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first of her sex to take the final leg of the Triple Crown in more than a century.
2010 — Chicago’s Patrick Kane sneaks the puck past Michael Leighton 4:10 into overtime, stunning Philadelphia and lifting the Blackhawks to a 4-3 overtime win in Game 6 for their first Stanley Cup championship since 1961.
2013 — Rafael Nadal becomes the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam tournament after beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the French Open final, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
2018 — Justify becomes the 13th Triple Crown winner by winning the Belmont Stakes with Mike Smith aboard.
2019 — French Open Men’s Tennis: Rafael Nadal beats Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1; 3rd straight French singles title; 12th overall; first to win 12 singles titles at same Grand Slam; 18th major.
2022 — The controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series gets underway at the Centurion Club, Hertfordshire; PGA suspends 17 participating players.
2024 — French Open Men’s Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz becomes the youngest man to win grand slams on all three surfaces, coming back to beat Alexander Zverev 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in a final lasting 4 hours 15 minutes
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1901 — The New York Giants set a major league record with 31 hits in beating Cincinnati 25-13. Al Selbach of the Giants went 6-for-7 with two doubles and four singles and scored four runs.
1906 — Boston snapped a 19-game losing streak by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3.
1914 — Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates got the 3,000th hit of his career off Philadelphia’s Erskine Mayer in a 3-1 loss to the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. Wagner’s hit, a double, came in the ninth. Wagner joined Cap Anson as the only members of the 3,000-hit club.
1935 — The St. Louis Cardinals became the 10th team in major league history to score a run in every inning in a 13-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
1946 — Commissioner Happy Chandler imposed five-year suspensions on players who jumped to the Mexican League and three-year suspensions for those who broke the reserve clause.
1946 — The New York Giants’ Mel Ott became the first manager to be ejected in both ends of a doubleheader. The Pittsburgh Pirates won both games, 2-1 and 5-1.
1963 — Playing the first Sunday night game in major league history because of excessive heat during the day, the Houston Colt .45s handed the San Francisco Giants their seventh straight loss in Houston, 3-0. Turk Farrell and Skinny Brown pitched the shutout.
1966 — Rich Rollins, Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva, Don Mincher and Harmon Killebrew homered in the seventh inning for the Minnesota Twins in a 9-4 victory over the Kansas City Athletics.
1979 — Nolan Ryan struck out 16 batters as the Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 9-1. It was the 21st time in his career he struck out 15 or more batters in one game.
1986 — White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver (306) and Angels hurler Don Sutton (298) had the highest composite win total (604) for opposing pitchers since 1926, when Walter Johnson (406) faced Red Faber (197). Sutton pitched a two-hit shutout to beat the White Sox 3-0.
1990 — Eddie Murray of the Dodgers tied Mickey Mantle’s record by homering from each side of the plate in the same game for the 10th time in his career. The Dodgers beat the Padres 5-4 in 11 innings.
1998 — Cecil Fielder of the Angels and Yamil Benitez of the Diamondbacks each hit grand slams in the same inning in Anaheim’s 10-8 win over Arizona. It was the first time both teams hit grand slams in the same inning since 1992.
2008 — Ken Griffey Jr. became the sixth player in baseball history to reach 600 homers with a drive off Mark Hendrickson in the first inning of the Cincinnati Reds’ 9-4 victory over the Florida Marlins.
2014 — Lonnie Chisenhall had nine RBIs and three home runs in a five-hit game, Michael Brantley scored five times and the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers 17-7.
2015 — Chris Heston pitched the first no-hitter in his 13th career start, leading the San Francisco Giants over the New York Mets 5-0. The rookie allowed three baserunners — all on hit batters. He also had a two-run single for his first big league RBIs and finished with two more hits than the Mets.
2019 — The Nationals accomplish a very rare feat as four consecutive batters hit solo homers in the 8th inning in Petco Park in San Diego to break a 1-1 tie. Pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick starts things off against Craig Stammen, and is followed by Trea Turner, Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon, who all go yard. This is only the ninth time in major league history this has happened, and the Nats were the last to do so, on July 27, 2017.
2019 — Former Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz shot in the back while visiting in his native Dominican Republic.
2022 — The Twins open the bottom of the 1st against the Yankees with three consecutive homers off Gerrit Cole at Target Field, by Luis Arraez, Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa. This is the first time in franchise history this has happened.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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Since first playing each other in the 2024 World Championship final, the pair have faced off a further 22 times with Littler claiming 13 wins to Humphries’ 10.
They are the two top-ranked players in the world and over the past 18 months, that has been abundantly clear.
When they are on top form, it feels as if the other is the only player who can live with them.
Add in the consistency with which they are able to reach that level and it is little wonder the Littler-Humphries rivalry is being talked about as one that could dominate darts for years to come.
“These two could have darts sewn up,” Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle said.
“They are going to be the mainstay of the darting world. Others are going to have to play really well to get the better of these two.
“If they have that hunger for four, five, six or even 10 years then someone is going to have to step up.”
Asked if he felt that he and Littler would be fighting it out at the top for the next 10 or 15 years, Humphries was less convinced.
“The problem is, there’s always another person who comes around the corner,” he said.
“In five years’ time there could be about 10 players who are as good as me and Luke and it could be a battle between us all.
“I’d love to say over the next 10 years we’ll battle it out in many finals – and we probably will – but they’ll probably be a lot of other names involved with us.”
For the time being, though, Humphries and Littler have put some distance between themselves and the chasing pack.
But even after 23 matches against each other in such a short space of time, there is no sign of familiarity breeding contempt just yet.
“I love him. I think he’s a good kid,” Humphries said of his teenage competitor.
“He’s a close friend of mine in darts. He’ll probably win much more than I’ll ever win in my career because he’s young and he’s a great talent.
“I’m just happy when I nab one here and there. I said to him on the stage, I’m really happy to win this but I’m sure he’ll get me back plenty of times in the future.
“It’s just another final in the Luke and Luke saga.”
The next stage in the saga will see the rivals become team-mates as they join forces for England at June’s World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt.
“I cannot wait,” Littler told Sky Sports. “He won it last year so hopefully he can lead me to victory.”
They should form a formidable duo but it is only a matter of time before they will be battling it out again on the oche in a major tournament.
And next time it is Littler, rather than Humphries, who might have a bit of revenge on his mind.
The countdown to the 2025 season of Love Island is underway – with the new season expected to start next month. As the start date draws closer, the first contestant has reportedly been revealed.
The first Love Island 2025 contestant has reportedly been uncovered(Image: Instagram)
A personal trainer has been unmasked as the first Love Island contestant for the upcoming summer 2025 season. ITV’s long-running reality dating show is set to make a come back in a few weeks time – and rumours are emerging over the upcoming cast.
First to be linked to the show is a fitness fanatic called Aaron Buckett – who is set to turn heads down to his height alone. The personal trainer, from London, stands at an impressive 6 foot 5 inches tall and frequently shows off his muscles online.
The 2025 summer season of Love Island will be the 12th season of the show since it returned to ITV in 2015. After the show made headlines by casting The Only Way Is Essex star Joey Essex in the 2024 season, show bosses are said to be desperate to ensure the 2025 season has a cast worth talking about too.
There are hopes that Aaron’s charm will also work in favour along with his good looks and athletic physique. As Love Island traditionally airs from early June, the new season could be just days away.
A source told The Sun of Aaron’s casting: “It’s a fact of life that girls go crazy for a tall lad and Aaron is a man mountain. He’s got great chat too.”
Aaron Buckett is a 6’5″ personal trainer from London(Image: Instagram)
The source added: “Aaron is in the mix for this year’s cast but execs are still finalising whether he’ll be in the opening line-up or as a tempting bombshell.”
When asked for comment, and ITV spokesperson told The Mirror: “The Love Island cast for series 12 is yet to be confirmed. The Islanders for the new series will be announced in due course.”
An exact start date for Love Island has yet to be revealed, however show host Maya Jama has been whipping fans into excitement over the new season. The presenter, 30, gave a recent update via Instagram Stories where she ordered her followers to stand by.
The video showed a letter which read: “Attention: Love Island is coming soon. Attendance mandatory. Signed, CEO of love, Maya x.”
Love Island host Maya Jama has urged fans to brace themselves for the new season(Image: Ricardo De Leca/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Soon after, the official Love Island account re-posted the clip and captioned the update: “100% our type on paper.” The news was like music to the ears of Love Island fans who reacted with excitement about the new show.
Fans are able to apply to be contestants on the show. The official Love Island application website declares: “ITV2 are looking for vibrant singles from across the UK who want to head to the sun, in search of love!
“The chosen cast will spend time in a luxury villa, getting to know one another, but to remain in paradise they must win the hearts of the public and their fellow Islanders who ultimately decide their fate on Love Island. If you think you’ve got what it takes, then we want to hear from you straight away.”
Strict rules and conditions are in place for those that want to find fame via the show – including the fact that applicants must be aged 18 years or over if they want to apply. A string of reality stars have gone on to find fame after appearing on the show.
Chris Hughes, who featured in season three of the show in 2017, recently returned to the spotlight as a contestant on ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother. He is now drawing even further attention for his emerging romance with American singer JoJo Siwa.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada pledges to continue ‘relentless fight against insecurity’.
Two top aides to the mayor of Mexico City have been shot dead in the latest attack against public officials in the Latin American country.
Private secretary Ximena Guzman and adviser Jose Munoz were shot dead on Tuesday in an early morning ambush in the central neighbourhood of Moderna, city authorities said.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada condemned the killings and pledged to continue her administration’s “relentless fight against insecurity”.
“Investigating, clarifying and ensuring there is no impunity is our commitment,” Brugada said during a news conference.
Mexico has one of the highest murder rates on the planet, largely due to violence driven by drug cartels, but the capital is known for its relative security compared with the rest of the country.
Reporting from Mexico City, Al Jazeera’s John Holman said there had been 50 political murders in the country in the first three months of the year alone, though political killings are relatively rare in the capital.
“The reasons for this one are still unknown. But there are powerful criminal groups in the capital fighting for territory and control of lucrative rackets,” Holman said.
“Politicians can get in the way, as elsewhere in the country.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, a Brugada ally who previously served as the capital’s mayor, expressed condolences over the killings and said her government would ensure that “justice is served”.
“We express our solidarity and support for the families of these two individuals who have worked in our movement for a long time,” Sheinbaum said.
“We know them, we stand with their families, and we will give her [Brugada] all the support the city needs from the Mexican government.”
In 2020, Mexico City’s security chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch, survived an ambush by gunmen that killed two of his bodyguards and a bystander.
CARLOS BALEBA isn’t just here to make up the numbers, he’s chasing football’s ultimate individual prize and wants to leave an indelible mark on the game.
The 21-year-old Brighton midfielder is full confidence and charm as he reveals his dream of getting to the top of world football from his home in Hove after inviting me over for an interview.
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Carlos Baleba has wasted little time in settling into the Premier LeagueCredit: Rex
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Baleba is the latest midfielder being linked with a move away from BrightonCredit: INSTAGRAM @carlos_baleba
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Baleba was born in the same town as Samuel Eto’o in CameroonCredit: AFP
Baleba is dreaming of winning the Ballon d’Or, and says praise from Declan Rice and inspiration from Rodri’s success have convinced him it’s possible.
He told SunSport in an exclusive interview: “Declan Rice, Matheus Cunha, Joelinton, they’ve all told me I’ve got it in me.
“I want to win the Ballon d’Or like Rodri.
“I watched him during the Euros and before his injury I played against him and time I got the ball, he was right in front of me.
“It was my first game against Manchester City, and it was very difficult.
“He made it so hard to dribble or pass. That showed his class.
“His success has opened the door for midfielders like us to believe we can win the Ballon d’Or someday.”
Baleba is already making waves with his performances. The Cameroonian is the only midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues this season to register 30+ tackles, 30+ interceptions, 30+ clearances, 30+ take-ons, and 30+ aerial duels won, a stat line that shows just how complete his game is.
But for now, Baleba is focused on developing and not paying attention to the rumour mill.
Brighton players in tunnel post match after beating Bournemouth 2-1
He said: “Yes, I can get to the very top of world football.
“But I need to stay focused, stay calm, not rush, and not let what people write get in my head. If I keep working hard, I can be like Luka Modric or Toni Kroos, I just need to stay grounded.”
The Brighton star’s journey is nothing short of remarkable so far. Just three years ago, he was still in Cameroon, uncertain about his future.
When he finally got his breakthrough move to Lille, tragedy struck, he lost his mother, he says it was sudden and quick. It’s a pain that still drives him.
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Baleba spent just a season in France before Brighton made their moveCredit: Getty
He revealed: “It was very difficult for me because I didn’t see my mum. I wanted her next to me, but when I signed for Brighton, she wasn’t here.
“That’s why the first season was really hard. I thought about her a lot. But I vowed that I would be the best version of myself and go as far as I can in my career.”
The Premier League is the dream destination for many young African players, but Baleba warns it’s not for the faint-hearted.
“The intensity, if you don’t run, you cannot play in the Premier League. That’s the truth. You have to be willing to put in the hard work.”
What makes Baleba stand out isn’t just his football, it’s his effort to adapt to a new culture and language.
His English is still a work in progress, but he’s proud of the steps he’s taking to settle in, even if the British weather isn’t always his cup of tea.
“I love it here, to be honest. My favourite English food is the English breakfast, if I’m allowed to say that!.
“But the weather is the only issue, it changes all the time.”
Brighton will be hoping Baleba can continue his meteoric rise, following in the footsteps of midfield stars like Alexis Mac Allister, Yves Bissouma, and Moises Caicedo.
All arrived as unknowns but left as stars. The Cameroonian might just be the next one off the Seagulls’ midfield conveyor belt, and if he keeps dreaming big, he could go even further.
1 of 2 | CEO of UnitedHealth Group, Andrew Witty, resigned on Tuesday, citing “personal reasons.” File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI. | License Photo
May 13 (UPI) — UnitedHealth Group announced Tuesday CEO Andrew Witty will step down, citing “personal reasons.”
Witty will leave the role of CEO and be replaced by Stephen J. Hemsley, effective immediately.
“Leading the people of UnitedHealth Group has been a tremendous honor as they work every day to improve the health system and they will continue to inspire me,” Witty said in a statement without providing further details on his decision to step away from the role.
Witty will continue to serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley, who served as CEO of UnitedHealth Group from 2006 to 2017 and will also remain chair of the board, the company said.
“Steve Hemsley brings a combination of strategic vision and deep operational focus that are highly valuable to our company,” UnitedHealth Group lead independent director Michele Hooper said.
Hemsley first joined UnitedHealth Group as CEO in 1997 and then became president in 1999, before being named board chairperson in 2017.
“We are grateful for Andrew’s stewardship of UnitedHealth Group, especially during some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced,” Hemsley said. “The board and I have greatly valued his leadership and compassion as chief executive and as a director and wish him and his family the best.”
UnitedHealthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, named Tim Noel the CEO of its in January after its former CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Manhattan in December 2024. Police arrested Maryland resident Luigi Mangione for allegedly having gunned down Thompson, to which Mangione has since pleaded not guilty and awaits his next hearing in December.
The company reports it has suspended its outlook for 2025 due in part to the higher-than-expected medical costs of several Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, and also because of a rise in care activity that has been widened to include more in the way of benefit offerings than found in the first quarter.
A class action lawsuit was filed against UnitedHealth Group last week “on behalf of persons or entities who purchased publicly traded UnitedHealth securities between December 3, 2024 and April 16, 2025,” which alleges the company violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in regard to its announced 2024 outlook, which the suit purports to have contained false fiscal guidance.
As of 10:18 a.m., UnitedHealth Group stock has dropped 12.97% in price since the opening bell.
Marks & Spencer has revealed that some personal customer data has been stolen in the recent cyber attack, which could include contact details and dates of birth.
The High Street giant said the personal information taken could also include online order histories, but added the data theft did not include useable payment or card details, or any account passwords.
M&S was hit by the cyber attack three weeks ago and is struggling to get services back to normal, with online orders still suspended.
The retailer said customers would be prompted to reset passwords for accounts “for extra peace of mind”.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said the company was writing to customers to inform them that “unfortunately, some personal customer information has been taken”.
“Importantly, there is no evidence that the information has been shared,” he added.
What has been taken?
M&S confirmed the contact information stolen could include:
name
date of birth
telephone number
home address
household information
email address
online order history
The retailer added any card information taken would not be useable as it does not hold full card payment details on its systems.
What should you do?
M&S operations director Jayne Wall told customers in an email: “You do not need to take any action, but you might receive emails, calls or texts claiming to be from M&S when they are not, so do be cautious.
“Remember that we will never contact you and ask you to provide us with personal account information, like usernames, and we will never ask you to give us your password.”
Mr Machin said M&S was “working around the clock to get things back to normal” as quickly as possible.
How did the hack happen?
Problems at M&S began over the Easter weekend when customers reported problems with Click & Collect and contactless payments in stores.
The company confirmed it was dealing with a “cyber incident” and while in-store services have resumed, its online orders on its website and app have been suspended since 25 April.
There is still no word on when online orders will resume.
M&S’ announcement that customer data had been stolen as part of the ongoing cyber attack was expected due to the nature of the attack.
The hackers behind it, who also recently targeted Co-op and Harrods, used the DragonForce cyber crime service to carry out the attacks.
DragonForce operates an affiliate cyber crime service on the darknet for anyone to use their malicious software and website to carry out attacks and extortions.
The group is known to use a double extortion method, which means they steal a copy of their victim’s data as well as scramble it to make it unusable.
They can then effectively ask for a ransom for both unscrambling the data and deleting their copy.
However, if the person or business hacked does not want to pay a ransom, criminals can in some cases start leaking the stolen data to other cyber criminals, who could look to carry out further attacks to gain more sensitive data.
At the moment, DragonForce’s darknet website does not have any entries about M&S.
Catherine Shuttleworth, retail analyst from Savvy Marketing, said the latest update was a “further blow for M&S”.
“So far M&S customers have been very supportive of the business in the light of the cyber attack but they will be very concerned that their data has been compromised and will need a good deal of reassurance from the business about what this means for them,” she said.
“M&S is one of the most trusted brands in the land and shoppers hold it to the highest standard.”
