Despite playing in only 14 games, Adams finished with 60 catches for 789 yards and an NFL-best 14 touchdown catches, becoming the first player to lead the league in touchdown receptions with three different teams.
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The Rams are looking to avenge their loss in Carolina earlier this season with a win over the Panthers in the NFC wild-card playoffs.
In 2020, with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, Adams caught 18 touchdown passes for the Green Bay Packers. In 2022, with Derek Carr at quarterback, he caught 14 touchdown passes for the Las Vegas Raiders. And this season, Adams achieved the feat by catching nearly a third of quarterback Matthew Stafford’s league-leading 46 touchdown passes.
“He’s in rarefied air,” coach Sean McVay said of Adams.
McVay sensed the possibilities when he aggressively pursued Adams to replace Cooper Kupp, and the Rams signed the three-time All-Pro to a two-year contract that included $26 million in guarantees.
Adams, 33, has been an upgrade, especially when the Rams have the ball close to the goal line. His 117 career touchdown catches are the most among active players, and seventh all time.
With Stafford sitting out all of training camp because of a back issue, it took the two veterans a third of the season to establish a consistent connection. Adams broke out with three touchdowns in a Week 7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
“We struggled to hit on a few things early in the season,” Stafford said, “to where he was absolutely dominating people in the red zone.”
Or, as offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur put it: “Once it clicked, it just clicked.”
Adams, 6 feet 1 and 204 pounds, said he has possessed “a nose for the end zone,” since his college days at Fresno State.
Rams wide receiver Davante Adams celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 23.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
His ability to separate from defenders becomes especially acute and effective in the tighter space near the goal line. But dominating near and in the end zone goes beyond physical moves.
“It’s understanding how to communicate with the quarterback, and knowing what he sees and being able to react,” Adams said.
Adams’ skills benefit other Rams receivers as well.
“It’s been an advantage for everybody else in our offense, knowing where the defense is trying to land and trying to stop every cut they can from No. 17 and the opportunities are given to everybody else,” said Puka Nacua, who led the league with 129 catches.
Adams played through a hamstring issue for much of the season before he went down while running a route against the Lions. The injury might have been worse, Adams said, if he attempted to “push through” to catch the ball rather than collapsing to the turf.
“Me bailing out of it right there,” he said, “I think I saved it a little bit.”
The first few days after an injury are a mental challenge because “you’re feeling sorry for yourself,” Adams said. But the realization that he remained a role model for younger receivers helped him work through the anguish.
“I still have to be there for them, being strong for the team, being present and finding a way to still include myself in things and be helpful,” he said.
Adams’ presence and personality also has influenced players on the Rams’ defense.
Edge rusher Jared Verse, a third-year pro and noted trash talker, said he initially was wary of teasing Adams.
“I won’t lie,” Verse said, “if you go against Davante, you have to be ready because he’s going to have something crazy to say back.
“You have to be prepared for it.”
Now Adams is preparing for his seventh playoff appearance, his first since the 2021 season. In 11 postseason games, all with the Packers, he caught 72 passes, eight for touchdowns.
Adams has played in four NFC championship games but is still searching for his first Super Bowl victory.
“We have bigger goals in mind than to just survive the first round of the playoffs,” he said.
How quickly Adams and Stafford can establish their connection remains to be seen.
Adams said a few weeks off would not “deteriorate the success and the growth” they experienced during the season.
“We’ve put in the work and we understand each other a lot better than what we did when we first started the season,” he said. “Hopefully that takes care of that.”
Stafford is not concerned.
“I just have to put it in the ballpark,” he said, “and let him go do his thing.”
Jan. 9 (UPI) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday said he authorized the state’s National Guard to be “staged and ready” amid protests against the Trump administration after a federal immigration law enforcement officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis.
Protests have been reported in cities nationwide after a DHS officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good on Wednesday in Minneapolis, with the city again being thrust into the national spotlight for protests against the federal government.
While the Trump administration is claiming the officer shot in self-defense, many activists and politicians say videos of the shooting contradict their explanation.
Amid the protests on Thursday, Walz, a Democratic and political opponent of President Donald Trump, ordered the Minnesota National Guard to be ready to assist local and state law enforcement in protecting critical infrastructure and maintain public safety.
“Minnesotans have met this moment. Thousands of people have peacefully made their voices heard. Minnesota: Thank you. We saw powerful peace,” Walz said in a Friday statement.
“Yesterday, I directed the National Guard to be ready should they be needed. They remain ready in the event they are needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety and allow for peaceful demonstrations.”
Videos of the shooting show masked officers approaching Good in her car parked across a street. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer can be heard cursing and demanding Good to exit the vehicle before reaching into her driver-side window and trying to open the seemingly locked door.
The vehicle then backs a small amount before the wheels of the car are turned right and going forward. An ICE officer standing in front of the car then fires multiple shots, first into the front windshield and then through the opened driver-side window.
Trump and members of his administration have claimed the mother of three was a domestic terrorist trying to ram the ICE officer who fired on her in self-defense. Democrats and state and local officials have staunchly challenged the Trump administration’s claims.
“The Trump Administration is brazenly lying to justify murder, telling us to ignore what we’ve seen on video,” Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said in a statement.
The comments come as the Kremlin slammed a plan for France and the UK to send peacekeepers to Ukraine after a ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said an agreement on a security guarantee from Washington is now “essentially ready” to be finalised by US President Donald Trump, following days of negotiations in Paris.
In a post on X on Thursday, Zelenskyy said the document – a cornerstone of any settlement to end the war, which would guarantee Washington and other Western allies would support Ukraine if Russia invaded again – was almost complete.
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“The bilateral document on security guarantees for Ukraine is now essentially ready for finalisation at the highest level with the president,” he said.
He said the talks in Paris, involving teams from the US and Europe, had addressed “complex issues” from the framework under discussion to end the nearly four-year war, with the Ukrainian delegation presenting possible solutions for these.
“We understand that the American side will engage with Russia, and we expect feedback on whether the aggressor is genuinely willing to end the war,” he said.
Washington, which on Tuesday endorsed the idea of providing security guarantees for Ukraine for the first time, is expected to present any agreement it reaches with Kyiv to Moscow, in its attempt to broker an end to the conflict.
Kyiv says legally-binding assurances that its allies would come to its defence are essential to deter Moscow from future aggression if a ceasefire is reached.
But specific details on the guarantees and how Ukraine’s allies would respond have not been made public.
Zelenskyy said earlier this week that he was yet to receive an “unequivocal” answer about what they would do if Russia did attack again.
Russia slams peacekeeper plan
Zelenskyy’s comments came as Russia rejected a plan that emerged from the Paris talks for European peacekeepers to be deployed to Ukraine as “militaristic”, warning they would be treated as “legitimate military targets”.
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a declaration of intent with Zelenskyy in Paris, setting out the framework for troops from their countries to be deployed to Ukraine after a ceasefire was reached with Russia.
But in Russia’s first comments in response to the plan, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova denounced the proposal as “dangerous” and “destructive”, dampening hopes the plan could prove a step in bringing the war to an end.
“The new militarist declarations of the so-called Coalition of the Willing and the Kyiv regime together form a genuine ‘axis of war’,” Zakharova said in a statement.
“All such units and facilities will be considered legitimate military targets for the Russian Armed Forces,” she said, repeating a threat previously made by Putin.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that it would not accept any NATO members sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.
Russia attacks energy infrastructure
In his social media post, Zelenskyy also called for more pressure on Russia from Ukraine’s supporters, after further Russian missile attacks on energy infrastructure, which, he said, “clearly don’t indicate that Moscow is reconsidering its priorities”.
“In this context, it is necessary that pressure on Russia continues to increase at the same intensity as the work of our negotiating teams.”
The attacks left Ukrainian authorities scrambling to restore heating and water to hundreds of thousands of households in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions.
“This is truly a national level emergency,” Borys Filatov, mayor of Dnipropetrovsk’s capital Dnipro, said on Telegram.
He announced power was “gradually returning to the hospitals” after the blackouts forced them to run on generators. The city authorities also extended school holidays for children.
About 600,000 households in the region remained cut off from power in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian energy company DTEK said.
Earlier, three-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev called for the tournament to bring forward its night session matches.
Matches begin at 19:00 local time, with two matches scheduled to take place on Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena.
Djokovic and Andy Murray have previously spoken about late finishes in Melbourne, with Murray describing his 04:05am finish in 2023 as a “farce”.
Medvedev, who was beaten by Learner Tien in a match that finished at 2:55am local time, said he was “happy” to play in the night sessions but scheduling changes would be “better for everyone”.
“I like soccer, but here [in Australia] I don’t watch the Premier League because it’s at two in the morning.
“It’s pretty much the same — people who really love tennis would like to see it at six because then they are almost sure to watch both matches.
“OK, if it goes ridiculously long, [instead of finishing] at three, it would finish at two. It’s better for everyone.”
US president says a military operation focused on Colombia’s government ‘sounds good’ to him.
Published On 5 Jan 20265 Jan 2026
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United States President Donald Trump has threatened his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, in the wake of Washington’s abduction of Venezuela’s leader, and said he believed the government in Cuba, too, was likely to fall soon.
Trump made the comments late on Sunday while speaking to reporters on board Air Force One.
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“Venezuela is very sick. Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he’s not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you,” the US president said.
When asked if he meant an operation by the US on Colombia, Trump said: “Sounds good to me.”
He added that a US military intervention in Cuba is unlikely because the country appears to be ready to fall on its own.
“Cuba is ready to fall. Cuba, looks like it’s ready to fall. I don’t know how they , if they can hold that, but Cuba now has no income. They got all of their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil,” Trump said.
“They’re not getting any of it. Cuba literally is ready to fall. And you have a lot of great Cuban Americans that are going to be very happy about this.”
Trump’s comments come a day after US forces captured and detained Maduro and his wife in a surprise attack on Caracas. The Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, are due to appear in court on drug-related charges in New York later on Monday.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump also insisted the US was ‘in charge’ of Venezuela, even though the country’s Supreme Court has appointed the country’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as interim leader.
He also reiterated a threat to send the US military back to Venezuela if it “doesn’t behave”.
Trump has made no secret of his ambitions to expand US presence in the Western hemisphere and revive the 19th century Monroe Doctrine that states Latin America falls under the US sphere of influence. Trump has called his 21st century version the “Don-roe Doctrine”.
The US president has also previously threatened both Colombia and Cuba. Over the weekend he said that Petro has to “watch his ass” and that the political situation in Cuba was “something we’ll end up talking about because Cuba is a failing nation”.
A “masterpiece” that comes from the creator of The Night Manager can be streamed for free.
The Night Manager has made its comeback to our screens, but there’s another “utterly amazing” drama that fans can binge-watch.
It’s been a decade since BBC viewers last saw Loki star Tom Hiddleston as former soldier Jonathan Pine, and now he’s returned for a second series which was initially revealed, much to everyone’s astonishment, in 2024.
The Night Manager, which draws from the bestselling 1990s novel of the same title, isn’t the sole John le Carré tale brought to television.
Eight years ago, another of le Carré’s narratives was transformed into a mini-series focusing on Charlie, an English actress recruited by Israeli intelligence to penetrate a Palestinian terrorist organisation by masquerading as the girlfriend of a bomber’s sibling.
Branded as both the “ultimate spy novel” and “one of the most beautiful heartwrenching love stories”, this alternative to The Night Manager shouldn’t be overlooked.
The Little Drummer Girl, which is available to stream without charge on BBC iPlayer, has garnered tremendous acclaim since its original broadcast.
Writing on IMDb, one viewer remarked: “This was such a breathtaking screen adaptation.”
Another agreed: “This is a beautifully made, written, directed and acted period thriller that has it all.
“This is not your typical Hollywood action fodder but an elegant and stylish piece of theatre,” a third contributor noted.
One devoted fan branded it “utterly amazing” whilst another viewer hailed it as a “masterpiece of acting, pacing and writing”. One viewer gushed: “I am speechless and overwhelmed…This has left me wanting for more, unlike The Night Manager.”
With a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%, on par with The Night Manager, The Little Drummer Girl boasts an impressive cast.
At the centre of the drama is Florence Pugh, known for her roles in Marvel’s Thunderbolts, Little Women and Oppenheimer, who plays Charlie.
She stars alongside Alexander Skarsgard, famed for his roles as Eric Northman in True Blood, Perry Wright in Big Little Lies and Tarzan in the 2016 film The Legend of Tarzan.
Other notable names include Michael Shannon from Death By Lightning, Simona Brown of Behind Her Eyes fame and Clare Holman, known for Inspector Morse.
The Little Drummer Girl is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Rosenior, a right-back, had a solid but unspectacular career as a player – featuring in the top flight for Fulham, Reading, Hull and Brighton.
Roughly half his career was spent in the EFL and that’s where he started his coaching career.
After a spell as Brighton‘s under-23s coach, he spent three years at Derby.
He was first-team coach under Phillip Cocu and then assistant boss to Wayne Rooney – before taking over as interim boss after Rooney’s departure.
But he was more hands-on than the average assistant.
“There was an argument when Mel Morris sacked Phillip Cocu in November 2020, Rosenior should have been put in charge, not Rooney,” said BBC football news reporter Simon Stone.
“Rooney had the profile of course, but it was Rosenior who put the sessions on at Derby and who guided the team during games.
“Rosenior replaced Rooney for a short time in 2022, after administration had led to relegation into League One.
“It was Rosenior who put Derby back together, helping to bring in 14 new players after the club had been left with only five under contract.
“History suggests the new ownership would have been better leaving Rosenior in charge, given they were seventh when he left and under his replacement, Paul Warne, they didn’t even end with a play-off place.”
He then spent almost two years as Hull manager – with observers again thinking he was harshly done by at the end.
The Tigers were one point above the relegation zone when he took over in November 2022 and led them to 15th.
The following season they finished three points off the play-off places, and Rosenior was sacked.
In 2024-25 while Rosenior was leading Strasbourg into Europe, Hull City avoided relegation from the Championship on goal difference.
From Anthony Solorzano: Through tears, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza thanked every member of his family after becoming the first Hoosier to ever win the Heisman Trophy. The Cuban American quarterback recognized his family for believing in him throughout his career.
He was a two-star high school recruit who drew little attention before finally landing an opportunity to play at California. After three years with the Golden Bears, including a redshirt year, he transferred to Indiana. On Thursday, the No. 1 Hoosiers will take the field at the Rose Bowl, where they will face college football traditional power Alabama in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Pressure is familiar for Mendoza. He’s faced challenges throughout his career — from proving himself as an overlooked high school athlete to earning his starting role at Cal.
Anytime Mendoza has met a hurdle, he considers how to help those around him shine.
“I know that’s my responsibility to my coaches, to my teammates and to the entire team, to be able to be sharp mentally and not have outside influences, pressures and noise able to impact my game,” Mendoza said. “I think one thing is just keeping the process on how I got here, how the entire team got to this place, which is keeping the process that I’ve kept for every single game.”
The Hoosiers finished the season undefeated. They will play for their first Rose Bowl victory in 57 years and it’ll be the second year in a row Indiana has reached the College Football Playoff.
“His leadership has increased in those crucial moments and I think that’s what makes him such a special player — because when the stakes are the highest, he steps up and gets the team going,” Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “He’s a guy that people want to get behind and run a play for.”
Texas Christian running back Jeremy Payne carries the ball during a 30-27 win over USC in Alamo Bowl.
(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)
From Ryan Kartje: Two years ago, a day after he decided to fire Alex Grinch as USC‘s defensive coordinator, Lincoln Riley made a promise to those concerned about the future of the Trojans’ defense.
“I have complete belief, conviction. We will play great defense here,” the coach said in November 2023. “It is going to happen. There’s not a reason in the world why it can’t.”
Two years later, another defensive coordinator is out the door at USC. The day after Grinch’s replacement, D’Anton Lynn, left to take the same job at Penn State, Riley stood in front of reporters, assuring everyone once again that soon enough, USC would be great on that side of the ball.
“The arrow,” he said Tuesday, “is pointing straight up.”
“The opportunity for us to make a hire, to continue to make us better and to go from being a very good defense to being a great defense is the goal.”
UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close reacts during a win over Penn State on Wednesday.
(Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
From Ben Bolch: As she spoke about her team’s growth amid its first conference trip, Cori Close steered her comments toward something else she would like to nurture: coverage of women’s college basketball.
It was a topic that the UCLA coach had thrust into the national spotlight three days earlier when she voiced her frustration with a lack of reporting on a top-20 showdown involving her No. 4 Bruins and No. 19 Ohio State.
Now, after her team’s runaway 97-61 victory over Penn State on Wednesday inside Rec Hall, Close glanced at the 10 reporters on a Zoom call and doubled down on her previous remarks.
“The reality of what my comments were after Ohio State were, I have two really passionate agendas in regards to this, and that is, I want to be a pioneer of growing the game, period,” Close said. “I want to really be a part of the surge that’s happening and I want to be a part of telling these amazing stories that these players have, and they’re incredible young women as well as amazing basketball players.”
Tired from hosting family for the holidays and planning on rising early for a workout, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner and star USC quarterback did not stay up to catch the end of his alma mater’s game against Texas Christian in the Alamo Bowl on Tuesday night.
He likely does not regret that decision.
After allowing a 10-point lead to slip away in the final minutes of regulation, the Trojans eventually lost 30-27 in overtime after TCU running back Jeremy Payne caught a check-down pass on third-and-20 and broke multiple tackles on his way to the end zone for a 35-yard, game-winning touchdown.
Lakers coach JJ Redick reacts during a loss to the Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Lakers started the day by singing “Happy Birthday” to LeBron James as the superstar forward turned 41 on Tuesday. They ended by singing another familiar, but more somber tune.
The Lakers got blown out again Tuesday, letting a close game devolve into a 128-106 loss to the Detroit Pistons. James scored 17 points with four assists and five turnovers while the Lakers (20-11) lost by 20 points for the sixth time this season. They are tied for the third-most 20-point losses in the league, yet somehow are still clinging to fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
“The intent and the, like, effort was there for the most part tonight,” coach JJ Redick said. “… The turnovers and the fast-break points, they kill you.”
The year 2025 was more tumultuous than any silly football game and its accompanying overwrought metaphors. It was a year that knocked me flat, tearing me apart from so many things that once anchored me, setting me afloat in a sea of guilt and despair and ultimate uncertainty.
JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is gearing up to defend his state championship in the high jump.
(Craig Weston)
From Eric Sondheimer: It’s time to peer into my crystal ball to see what 2026 has in store for the Southland’s high school athletes (and a few former ones), coaches and fans:
JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, armed with passports from the United States, Israel and Australia, will soar so far past 7 feet in the high jump that national organizations from three different countries will fight to have him represent their team.
Striker Pence, a sophomore pitcher at Corona Santiago with a 100-mph fastball, will receive an endorsement deal from a radar gun company.
The UCLA-USC women’s basketball games will have so many celebrities and former players wanting to be seen that TMZ won’t need to pay for video.
Tampa Bay defenseman Darren Raddysh, left, scores on Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal in overtime of the Lightning’s 4-3 win Wednesday at Honda Center.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press:Darren Raddysh scored midway through overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning blew three one-goal leads before beating the Ducks 4-3 on Wednesday for their fifth consecutive victory.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper celebrated his 1,000th regular-season game in charge with his 595th victory as the longest-tenured bench boss in the NHL. The Lightning’s coach since March 2013 has also led them in 155 playoff games, won two championships and reached four Stanley Cup Finals.
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist as the Lightning skated off with a win in the opener of their three-game California trip when Raddysh converted a pass from Brandon Hagel, who had three assists.
1902 — Michigan beats Stanford 49-0 in the first Rose Bowl. Neil Snow scores four touchdowns in a game that ends with eight minutes to play. The Wolverines earned the nickname as the “Point a Minute” team, having scored 501 points in their ten games. The next Rose Bowl game does not occur until 1916.
1916 — Washington State beats Brown 14-0 in the return of the Rose Bowl. Brown halfback Fritz Pollard, the first African-American to play in the Rose Bowl, gains just 47 yards in the rain-soaked game. After a scoreless first half, Washington State scores on short runs by Ralph Boone and Carl Dietz.
1934 — Columbia upsets Stanford 7-0 in the Rose Bowl when Al Barabas scores in the third quarter on a 17-yard hidden-ball play.
1935 — Bucknell beats Miami 26-0 in the first Orange Bowl.
1935 — Tulane beats Temple 20-14 in the first Sugar Bowl. The Green Wave complete a 14-0 comeback when Temple defender Horace Mowery tips a pass into the direction of Dick Hardy, who takes it in to the end zone.
1961 — The Houston Oilers beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-16 to win the first AFL Championship.
1961 — Boston Bruins rookie Willie O’Ree, the first black player in NHL history, scores his first goal in a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Boston Garden.
1971 — Notre Dame ends Texas’ 30-game winning streak with a 24-11 win in the Cotton Bowl.
1991 — Georgia Tech routs Nebraska 45-21 in the Citrus Bowl to finish as college football’s only unbeaten team (11-0-1).
1992 — Miami beats Nebraska 22-0 in the Orange Bowl, the first shutout of the Cornhuskers since 1973, and finishes with a 12-0 record.
1993 — No. 2 Alabama wins its first national championship in 13 years and deprives Miami of its fifth title as the Crimson Tide defense humbles the No. 1 Hurricanes 34-13 in the Sugar Bowl.
1993 — Florida State beats Nebraska 27-14 in the Orange Bowl to set an NCAA record by winning eight consecutive bowl games.
2000 — Georgia’s Hap Hines kicks a 21-yard field goal in overtime to complete the greatest comeback in bowl history. The Bulldogs pull out a 28-25 victory over Purdue after trailing 25-0 early in the second quarter in the Outback Bowl.
2006 — New England’s Doug Flutie converts the NFL’s first successful drop kick in 64 years during a 28-26 loss to Miami.
2007 — Boise State, after tying the game with seven seconds to go in regulation, stuns No. 7 Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime to win the Fiesta Bowl. The No. 9 Broncos win on Ian Johnson’s 2-point conversion run after receiver Vinny Perretta throws a fourth-down touchdown pass to Derek Schouman.
2008 — Sidney Crosby’s shootout goal gives Pittsburgh a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in the inaugral outdoor Winter Classic in front of a league-record 71,217 fans. In elements way more suited for football than hockey, Crosby wins the NHL’s second outdoor game — and first in the United States — in the most dramatic of fashion at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
2012 — Backup quarterback Matt Flynn throws for a franchise-record six touchdowns to give Green Bay a 45-41 victory over the Detroit Lions.
2014 — Central Florida pulls off one of the biggest upsets of the bowl season by outlasting No. 6 Baylor 52-42 in the Fiesta Bowl. It’s the highest-scoring game in Fiesta Bowl history and second-highest BCS bowl ever.
2015 — Marcus Mariota and Oregon roll past defending national champion Florida State 59-20 to turn the first College Football Playoff semifinal into a Rose Bowl rout.
2015 — Cardale Jones turns in another savvy performance in his second college start and Ezekiel Elliott runs for a Sugar Bowl-record 230 yards, leading Ohio State to a 42-35 upset of top-ranked Alabama in the second semifinal of the College Football Playoff.
2018 — Sony Michel’s 27-yard touchdown run in double overtime gives Georgia a 54-48 win over Oklahoma in a Rose Bowl. It’s the first overtime game in the 104-year history of the Rose Bowl, the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever and the first College Football Playoff game to go into overtime.
2022 — Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozen becomes first player in NBA history to hit buzzer-beaters on consecutive days; hits three-pointers to beat Washington Wizards, 120-119 and previous night Indiana Pacers, 108-106.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Strictly’s Tess Daley and Claudia Winkleman looked ready for bed after an emotional farewell. The iconic duo were joined by their friends, families and colleagues to celebrate their final show.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual live broadcast press conference with Russian federal, regional, and foreign media in Moscow. Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
Dec. 19 (UPI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was determined to continue the war in Ukraine until his conditions are met, which include taking Ukrainian territory.
“The strategic initiative is completely in the hands of the Russian forces,” Putin said. He added that Russia is “ready to end the conflict peacefully” if Ukraine cedes large areas of its eastern territories.
Russia has also demanded that Ukraine give up its bid to join NATO and said that if NATO members sent troops, Russia would view them as “legitimate targets.”
“The ball is entirely in the court of our Western opponents,” he said, adding that Russia had agreed to compromises proposed by the United States in its peace plan negotiated by the President Donald Trump administration.
Earlier this week, Zelensky was asked if Kyiv would give up its attempts to join NATO. He said Ukraine’s “position remains unchanged.”
“The United States don’t see us in NATO, for now,” he said. “Politicians change.”
European leaders have agreed to continue funding Ukraine in its fight against Russia with a two-year, $105 billion loan for munitions in the ongoing war.
European leaders couldn’t agree on their first choice to arm Ukraine using frozen Russian state assets to back the loan.
The plan to use frozen Russian assets fell apart in the final moments after Belgium pushed back, fearful that it would be at legal and financial risk. The bank holding the assets is in Belgium, and Russia has sued to block the plan.
European leaders announced Thursday that they will instead use money from the EU budget. The new plan could be more costly and difficult to mobilize.
Former President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Citizens Medal to Liz Cheney during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on January 2, 2025. The Presidential Citizens Medal is bestowed to individuals who have performed exemplary deeds or services. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo
The Mexican actor and human rights advocate taps into her inner Sydney Bristow alongside Simu Liu in “The Copenhagen Test,” the new spy series on Peacock.
Melissa Barrera is no stranger to a certain type of espionage. Dangerous missions. Sometimes starting in the dark of night. One particular covert operation she regularly took part in is one many daughters have had to take with their resolute mothers — Black Friday shopping.
She recalls crossing the border from her hometown in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in the wee hours of the morning to McAllen or Brownsville in Texas to score primo deals at the big-box stores.
“It felt like a treasure hunt for me,” she recalled. “In my mind, it was like a mission, getting the things that we had to get. I like challenges and being given instructions. That was very satisfying for my personality type.”
That experience prepared the Mexican actor for her role as a spy juggling secret identities in Peacock’s “The Copenhagen Test,” premiering Dec. 27. The espionage thriller stars Simu Liu as an intelligence analyst whose brain has been hacked, putting his thoughts and memories in the hands of unknown perpetrators. Barrera co-stars as Michelle, a spy tangled in the web of deceit.
“It was a challenge. I’d never done anything like this before, in the sense that you really don’t know who Michelle is,” said the actor, who chatted over Zoom from Barcelona where she’s filming another thriller, “Black Tides.”
“It was also confusing for me as an actor, because we didn’t have all the scripts at the beginning, so I had made up who I thought Michelle was — and then I would get more scripts and I was like, ‘Well, that goes out the window.’ It was a constant construction.”
Those Black Friday missions weren’t the only ways in which Barrera was innately prepared for the role. Growing up, she devoured the Jennifer Garner spy series “Alias.” She spent hours as a teen watching and rewatching episodes on DVD. It was Garner’s ass-kicking turn as Sydney Bristow, and her many stealthy alter egos, that planted a seed in Barrera.
“I was obsessed with that show,” she says. “As a young teenager, I was like, ‘I want to be a spy.’ I would research online: ‘How do you get recruited as a spy?’ That’s how obsessed I was.”
She longed for intrigue, for covert operations, for wigs. Not just the kind of spy business that equates to elbowing señoras at Best Buy for a deeply discounted TV. And then came “The Copenhagen Test.”
“I just thought that it was so fun, the role playing within the role playing that happens,” she said. “I read the scripts, and they were really good. And I got to be a spy. I was like, this is a no-brainer for me. I’ve been asking for this since I was 12, so it was a dream come true for young me.”
From “Episode 101” of “The Copenhagen Test”: Melissa Barrera as Michelle and Simu Liu as Alexander.
A spy series is just the latest in a long wishlist of roles for Barrera, who got to flex her dramatic side in “Vida,” her vocal and dance prowess in the musical “In the Heights,” and dive into scream queen territory in “Scream V” and “Scream VI.”
“I think it’s valuable for Latinos onscreen to bring in some of their background when it fits, and when it doesn’t, there’s no need to push it — I’m representing Latinos just by being there,” said Barrera, with a nod to ongoing discussions surrounding Latino inclusion in Hollywood. “[Yet] I’ve always wanted to explore all parts of myself. I’ve always wanted to try different things. I think it’s been happening, because I do believe that whatever you put out into the universe comes to you.”
It’s not just dream acting roles that Barrera puts out into the universe, hoping it produces something good. The 35-year-old is an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights, wearing her beliefs quite literally on her chest — during our call she sports a hoodie with the phrase “words not actions” in the shape of a watermelon, a symbol of perseverance and resistance for Palestinian people. She’s never shied away from using her voice, in particular for this specific human rights issue, and it’s come with its consequences.
Two years ago, Barrera was fired from the forthcoming installment of the Scream franchise, “Scream VII,” as well as dropped from her agency for posts she shared and wrote on social media calling Israel’s attacks on Gaza acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” read one of her Instagram stories in following the events of Oct. 7. “Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt [sic] nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
Her firing drew widespread attention and critical discussion over what was viewed by many as the latestform ofHollywood blacklisting. Last year, Barrera spoke to De Los about the backlash, saying, “It wasn’t easy to be labeled as something so horrible when I knew that wasn’t the case. But I was always at peace because I knew I had done nothing wrong. I was aligned with human rights organizations globally, and so many experts and scholars and historians and, most importantly, Indigenous peoples around the world.”
Over a year later, her stance hasn’t changed. In fact, that period changed everything for Barrera.
“I’ve always had that inner inquietude, that kind of yearning for equality and for justice and for eliminating any kind of prejudices and racism and colorism, which is very prevalent in Mexico,” she explained. “But I honestly think it was Palestine that did it for me, that crumbled everything for me. After that, it’s been a before and after in my way of thinking and my way of viewing the world; in my way of viewing the industry and the way that I want to move forward.”
As Barrera moves forward, using her platform to speak up for injustice is inextricable from her sense of self and her place in Hollywood. What she brings to the screen is her full self, regardless of the role; to play a spy, or a scream queen, or any other character takes knowing who you are and what you stand for. Now, more than ever, Barrera is firmly grounded and ready for action.
