remains

Sept. 4 (UPI) — Hurricane Kiko continues to track in the general direction of Hawaii while maintaining its Category 3 status with 120 mph winds on Saturday afternoon.

Kiko weakened slightly and was located about 935 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, and 1,135 east-southeast of Honolulu, while moving west-northwest at 12 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported in its 5 p.m. EDT update.

Hurricane-force winds extend about 25 miles from the storm’s eye, while tropical-storm-force winds extend outward by up to 80 miles.

The hurricane is expected to continue moving toward the west-northwesterly and gradually weaken over the next several days.

No coastal watches or warnings are in effect, but “interests in the Hawaiian Islands should monitor the progress of Kiko,” NHC forecasters said.

“Swells generated by Hurricane Kiko are expected to reach the Big Island and Maui by Sunday,” the NHC announced.

“These swells will gradually build and are forecast to peak along east-facing exposures of the Hawaiian Islands late Monday through midweek, potentially producing life-threatening surf and rip currents,” the NHC forecasters said.

Officials in Hawaii declared a state of emergency on Saturday to prepare for a possible strike by Kiko and other storm-related effects.

The state of emergency is in effect through Sept. 19, unless it is terminated sooner or extended beyond that date.

The storm formed on Sunday, making it the 11th named storm in the Eastern North Pacific this year.

A SUSPECT has been arrested in connection with four bodies which were found mysteriously floating in the River Seine in Paris last week.

It comes after a horrified train passenger spotted a corpse in the water before police rushed to the scene and found another three bodies.

1

A 24-year-old Algerian man has now been taken into custody and accused of committing several murders.

The bodies were found in the French capital on August 13 in Choisy-le-Roi.

One of the victims died from strangulation while another had suffered “violent injuries”, the local prosecutor said on Saturday.

It is currently unclear how many of the four victims the man is accused of killing.

The first body which was reportedly submerged for a shorter time than the others was identified as a man aged around 40 who lived in the local area.

More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.

Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun

Asian stock markets see big gains amid growing expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

Japan’s benchmark stock market index has topped its all-time high for a second straight day amid expectations of an interest rate cut in the United States and easing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The Nikkei 225 rose above 43,421 points on Wednesday after better-than-expected US inflation data bolstered the case for a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve at its next committee meeting in September.

The milestone came after the Nikkei on Tuesday breached the 42,999-point mark for the first time.

In the US, the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also closed at record highs on Tuesday after rising 1.13 percent and 1.39 percent respectively, as investors cheered the latest inflation data release, which showed consumer prices rising a lower-than-expected 2.7 percent in July.

The inflation data added to a positive turn in investor sentiment following US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday of a 90-day extension of his pause on crippling tariffs on Chinese goods.

Other Asian stock markets also racked up big gains on Wednesday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and South Korea’s KOSPI rising about 2.50 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

The Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, have for months been under intense pressure from Trump to lower interest rates.

A cut in the benchmark rate would deliver a boost to the US economy, the biggest driver of global growth, by lowering borrowing costs for American households and businesses.

But the Fed has been reluctant to cut the rate due to concerns it could stoke inflation at a time when Trump’s sweeping tariffs are already putting pressure on prices.

“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must NOW lower the rate,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, claiming that the Fed chair had done “incalculable” damage to the economy by not lowering borrowing costs.

On Tuesday, CME Group’s FedWatch tool raised the likelihood of a September rate cut to 96.4 percent, up from 85.9 percent the previous day.

THE remains of a Brit researcher who died in Antarctica have been discovered nearly six decades after a tragic accident.

Dennis “Tink” Bell, at the time 25, fell into a crevasse during an Antarctic mission – leaving his devastated family unable to repatriate his body.

6

6

6

Dennis’s body was never recovered until January 29 – when a team of Polish researchers from the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station stumbled upon bones later confirmed to be his.

His brother, David Bell, told the BBC: “I had long given up on finding my brother. It is just remarkable, astonishing. I can’t get over it.”

Born in 1934, Dennis worked with the RAF and trained as a meteorologist before joining the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey – later renamed the British Antarctic Survey.

In 1958, he began a two-year posting at the UK base in Admiralty Bay, Antarctica.

His main role was to send up weather balloons and radio the data back to the UK every three hours – work that meant firing up a generator in brutal sub-zero conditions.

The base sat on King George Island – around 75 miles off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Archivist Ieuan Hopkins from the British Antarctic Survey unearthed detailed reports describing work on the “ridiculously isolated” island.

One report described Dennis as “cheerful and industrious, with a mischievous sense of humour and fondness for practical jokes”.

He was said to have loved the husky dogs that pulled sledges around the island and was known as the hut’s best cook – often managing the food store through the long winter when no supplies could get in.

The fatal accident happened just weeks after his 25th birthday, while Dennis was surveying King George Island to help map the terrain.

On July 26 1959 – deep in the Antarctic winter – Dennis and his colleague and pal Jeff Stokes had climbed and surveyed a glacier.

Dennis was encouraging the weary dogs but wasn’t wearing his skis when he suddenly vanished into a crevasse, according to British Antarctic Survey accounts.

Jeff shouted down to him and Dennis was able to call back, grabbing hold of a rope lowered in a rescue attempt.

The dogs pulled at the rope, hauling Dennis – who had attached it to his belt – up towards the edge of the hole.

6

6

But tragically, the belt broke and Dennis fell back into the crevasse.

When Jeff called out again, Dennis didn’t reply.

David Bell recalled how, in July 1959, a telegram boy knocked on the door of the Bells’ family home in Harrow, London to deliver the devastating news of Dennis’ death.

He said two men from Dennis’s base later visited the family and brought a sheepskin as a gesture of sympathy.

“But there was no conclusion. There was no service; there was no anything. Just Dennis gone,” David says.

David described feeling overwhelmed by the news and expressed his gratitude to the Polish researchers who found his remains.

“I’m just sad my parents never got to see this day,” he said.

David, who lives in Australia, plans to visit England with his sister Valerie so they can lay their beloved brother to rest.

“It’s wonderful; I’m going to meet my brother. You might say we shouldn’t be thrilled, but we are,” David said.

“He’s been found – he’s come home now.”

Professor Dame Jane Francis, Director of the British Antarctic Survey, paid tribute to Dennis: “Dennis was one of the many brave personnel who contributed to the early science and exploration of Antarctica under extraordinarily harsh conditions.

“Even though he was lost in 1959, his memory lived on among colleagues and in the legacy of polar research.”

Since 1944, 29 people have died working in the British Antarctic Territory on scientific missions, according to the British Antarctic Monument Trust.

Among them were Alan Sharman and Russell Thompson, who also died in 1959.

6

As Nigerian women dominate sport on the continent, they’re facing off not just against top talent abroad but a domestic atmosphere of mismanagement and pay disparities – and even the risk of repression for speaking out.

Nigeria is fresh off a win at the finals of Women’s AfroBasket, their fifth-consecutive championship at the continent’s top hardwood basketball tournament, while last month the Super Falcons clinched their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) football title.

The football team’s successes, however, have come despite pay disparities compared with their male counterparts – when they are paid at all.

The women receive a training camp allowance, but the bulk of their pay comes from per-match bonuses, which vary depending on the team’s results.

Both the women’s basketball and football teams have been plagued by late or unpaid match bonuses for years, despite their records as arguably the best teams on the continent.

But when the Super Falcons landed in Abuja after their 3-2 WAFCON victory over hosts Morocco last month, none of the players answered questions shouted by an AFP reporter in the press scrum about whether they would ask the president, who was welcoming them at his villa, about being paid the same as the men’s team.

Nigerian journalists on the scene said the question was useless: it was far too politically charged.

“If you speak up against what’s going on, you completely lose the possibility of getting what you’re entitled to, you could actually be blacklisted,” Solace Chukwu, senior editor at Afrik-Foot Nigeria, later told the AFP.

Not that there are no clashes: In 2021, basketballers called out the authorities when they topped Africa, protesting against unpaid match bonuses.

The Nigeria Basketball Federation at the time denied any wrongdoing, blaming the issue on clerical errors.

Like the basketball team, the women’s football team has found remarkable success, stemming in part from the country’s population of more than 200 million, the largest on the continent, complemented by a widespread diaspora.

They also benefitted from early investments in women’s football at a time when other African countries focused on men’s teams, Chukwu said, helping the Super Falcons win the first seven editions of the WAFCON, from 1991 to 2006.

Yet they only played a handful of test matches before they landed in Morocco for this year’s competition, cobbled together at the last second.

The Super Falcons have not been completely silent in the face of mismanagement and disinterest from authorities.

But rocking the boat too much appears to come with a cost.

“Players who lead or dare to protest… always risk not being invited or sidelined outrightly,” said Harrison Jalla, a players’ union official.

After Super Falcons captain Desire Oparanozie – now a commentator – led protests over unpaid wages at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, she was stripped of her captaincy and not called up for the 2022 tournament.

Former men’s coach Sunday Oliseh – who himself was let go from the national squad amid protests over backpay in the early 2000s – called the situation a case of “criminal” retaliation.

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) at the time denied that it dropped Oparanozie over the protests.

The NFF and the Super Falcons did not respond to an AFP request for comment on the allegations that players are afraid to speak out.

Players still have hopes for women’s sports to expand.

“I think the sky is the limit,” Nigerian point guard Promise Amukamara told AFP in Abuja, fresh off her AfroBasket win.

“Obviously, more facilities should be built around Nigeria. I feel like, maybe one year, we should host the AfroBasket.”

Aisha Falode, an NFF official, meanwhile, called on the government to “invest in the facilities, invest in the leagues and the players, because the women’s game can no longer be taken lightly”.

Despite the challenges, women’s sport is still finding a foothold among younger fans.

Justina Oche, 16, a player at a football academy in Abuja, told the AFP that the exploits of the team inspired her to pursue a career in the sport.

“They say what a man can do, a woman can do even better,” said the youngster, whose role model is six-time African Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala.

“The Super Falcons have again proved this.”

Matthew Stafford will apparently remain an observer for a while.

The Rams star quarterback, who has not practiced during training camp because of a back issue, will “probably not” practice Sunday in the final workout at Loyola Marymount, will not participate in Tuesday’s joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys, and his availability for a joint practice with the Chargers the following week will be determined, coach Sean McVay said.

Stafford, 37, saw back specialist Dr. Steven Watkins again on Saturday, McVay said.

McVay reiterated that Stafford was “week to week.”

“What I don’t want to do is set a timeline,” McVay said. “I know he’s making good progress. He saw Dr. Watkins again. … Everything is in good shape.”

Good shape?

McVay does not play starters in preseason games, so joint practices are regarded by the ninth-year coach as instrumental for evaluating young players and progress by the offense, defense and special teams.

Stafford, entering his 17th season, worked with new receiver Davante Adams during offseason workouts. But he has yet to work on timing with the three-time All-Pro during a full-speed, padded practice.

Veteran Jimmy Garoppolo continues to take first-team reps in Stafford’s place, and Stetson Bennett is directing the second-unit offense as the Rams prepare for their Sept. 7 opener against the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium.

“Can’t wait to be able to get Matthew back out here leading the way,” McVay said, adding that Stafford felt the same way. “But in the meantime, Stetson and Jimmy are doing a really good job of continuing to get better and using these reps for their benefit.”

Stafford was one of several players who did not practice Saturday.

Rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson (groin) and defensive lineman Kobie Turner (back) sat out. Linebacker Nate Landman (calf) left practice as a precautionary measure, McVay said.

But Stafford’s continued absence from on-field drills continues to be the dominant storyline for a team that will be regarded as a legitimate Super Bowl contender if he is physically sound. And a question mark — at least on offense — if he is not.

After practicing with the Cowboys in Oxnard, the Rams and Cowboys will play Saturday at SoFi Stadium. The Rams play the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 16, and they conclude the preseason on Aug. 23 against the Browns in Cleveland.

The Rams then have two weeks to prepare for the Texans.

Etc.

Safety Quentin Lake intercepted another tipped pass. Safety Jaylen McCollough also intercepted a pass. … Tight end Colby Parkinson made a one-handed touchdown catch. … Bennett connected with rookie receiver Konata Mumpfield on several impressive pass plays. “He’s a mature rookie,” McVay said of Mumpfield. “He’s a guy that is wired to be able to separate. … He continues to be able to just answer the bell with the opportunities that he’s gotten.” … Former Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald attended practice.

KYIV, Ukraine — Glide bombs and ballistic missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight as Russia’s relentless strikes on civilian areas killed at least 27 people across the country, officials said Tuesday, despite President Trump’s threat to soon punish Russia with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops.

Four powerful Russian glide bombs hit the prison in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, authorities said. At least 16 inmates were killed and more than 90 wounded, Ukraine’s Justice Ministry said.

In the Dnipro region of central Ukraine, authorities said Russian missiles partially destroyed a three-story building and damaged nearby medical facilities, including a maternity hospital and a city hospital ward. At least three people were killed, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman, and two other people were killed elsewhere in the region, regional authorities said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said overnight Russian strikes across the country hit 73 cities, towns and villages. “These were conscious, deliberate strikes — not accidental,” Zelensky said on Telegram.

Trump said Tuesday he is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 days to stop the killing in Ukraine after three years of war, moving up a 50-day deadline he had given the Russian leader two weeks ago. The move meant Trump wants peace efforts to make progress by Aug. 8.

Trump has repeatedly rebuked Putin for talking about ending the war but continuing to bombard Ukrainian civilians. But the Kremlin hasn’t changed its tactics.

“I’m disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said during a visit to Scotland.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Russia is determined to achieve its goals in Ukraine, though he said Moscow has “taken note” of Trump’s announcement and is committed to seeking a peaceful solution.

Zelensky welcomed Trump’s shortening of the deadline. “Everyone needs peace — Ukraine, Europe, the United States and responsible leaders across the globe,” Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram. “Everyone except Russia.”

The Kremlin pushed back, with a top Putin lieutenant warning Trump against “playing the ultimatum game with Russia.”

“Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran,” former President Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy head of the country’s Security Council, wrote on social platform X.

“Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” Medvedev said.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, the Kremlin has warned Kyiv’s Western backers that their involvement could end up broadening the war to NATO countries.

“Kremlin officials continue to frame Russia as in direct geopolitical confrontation with the West in order to generate domestic support for the war in Ukraine and future Russian aggression against NATO,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said late Monday.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles along with 37 Shahed-type strike drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight. It said 32 Shahed drones were intercepted or neutralized by Ukrainian air defenses.

The Russian attack close to midnight Monday hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility with glide bombs, according to the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine.

Glide bombs, which are Soviet-era bombs retrofitted with retractable fins and guidance systems, have been laying waste to cities in eastern Ukraine, where the Russian army is trying to pierce Ukrainian defenses. The bombs carry up to 6,600 pounds of explosives.

At least 42 inmates were hospitalized because of serious injuries, and an additional 40 people, including one staff member, sustained various injuries.

The strike destroyed the prison’s dining hall, and damaged administrative and quarantine buildings, but the perimeter fence held and no escapes were reported, authorities said.

Ukrainian officials condemned the attack, saying that targeting civilian infrastructure, such as prisons, is a war crime under international conventions.

The assault occurred exactly three years after an explosion killed more than 50 people at the Olenivka detention facility in the Russia-occupied Donetsk region, where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners were killed.

Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling the prison. The Associated Press interviewed over a dozen people with direct knowledge of details of that attack, including survivors, investigators and families of the dead and missing. All described evidence they believed points directly to Russia as the culprit. The AP also obtained an internal United Nations analysis that found the same.

Russian forces also struck a grocery store in a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region, police said, killing five and wounding three civilians.

Authorities in the southern Kherson region reported one civilian killed and three wounded over the last 24 hours.

Alongside the barrages, Russia has also kept up its grinding war of attrition, which has slowly churned across the eastern side of Ukraine at a heavy cost in troop losses and military hardware.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Tuesday that Russian troops have captured the villages of Novoukrainka in the Donetsk region and Temyrivka in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukraine launches long-range drones

Ukraine has sought to fight back against Russian strikes by developing its own long-range drone technology, hitting oil depots, weapons plants and disrupting commercial flights.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that air defenses downed 74 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight, including 43 over the Bryansk region.

Yuri Slyusar, the head of the Rostov region, said a man in the city of Salsk was killed in a drone attack, which started a fire at the Salsk railway station.

Officials said a cargo train was set ablaze at the Salsk station and the railway traffic via Salsk was suspended. Explosions shattered windows in two cars of a passenger train and passengers were evacuated.

Arhirova and Novikov write for the Associated Press.

BOSTON — President Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship for the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally will remain blocked as an order from one judge went into effect Friday and another seemed inclined to follow suit.

U.S. District Judge Joseph LaPlante in New Hampshire had paused his own decision to allow for the Trump administration to appeal, but with no appeal filed in the last week his order went into effect.

“The judge’s order protects every single child whose citizenship was called into question by this illegal executive order,” said Cody Wofsy, the ACLU attorney representing children who would be affected by Trump’s restrictions. “The government has not appealed and has not sought emergency relief so this injunction is now in effect everywhere in the country.”

The Trump administration could still appeal or even ask that LaPlante’s order be narrowed, but the effort to end birthright citizenship for children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily can’t take effect for now.

The Justice Department didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

Meanwhile, a judge in Boston heard arguments from more than a dozen states who say Trump’s birthright citizenship order is blatantly unconstitutional and threatens millions of dollars for essential services. The issue is expected to move quickly back to the nation’s highest court.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin was asked to consider either keeping in place the nationwide injunction he granted earlier or consider a request from the government either to narrow the scope of that order or stay it altogether. Sorokin, located in Boston, did not immediately rule but seemed to be receptive to arguments from states to keep the injunction in place.

Lawyers for the government had argued Sorokin should narrow the reach of his earlier ruling granting a preliminary injunction, arguing it should be “tailored to the States’ purported financial injuries.”

Much of the hearing was focused on what a narrower ruling would look like. The plaintiffs raised concerns that some alternatives floated by the Trump administration — such as giving children in states affected by the birthright citizenship order Social Security numbers, but not citizenship — would be costly and unworkable.

They said such a system would burden these states with having to set up new administrative systems, sow confusion among the parents whose children are affected and possibly turn these states into magnets for families from other states looking to access the benefits.

Government lawyers didn’t seem tied to any one alternative, but told Sorokin the scope of his injunction should be limited. When pressed on how they would do that, a lawyer for the government, Eric Hamilton, would only commit to complying with whatever order was issued.

“If the court modifies the preliminary injunction or stays the preliminary injunction, it should be at most tailored to injuries plaintiffs are alleging, which are primary financial,” Hamilton said.

Sorokin pushed back, at one point using an analogy of someone who sued a neighbor over loud music. The defendant offers to build a wall to limit the noise but Sorokin wondered how they could ensure it met the zoning code and was something the defendant could afford.

“What you are telling me is we will do it but, in response to my question, you have no answer how you will do it,” Sorokin said.

LaPlante issued the ruling last week prohibiting Trump’s executive order from taking effect nationwide in a new class-action lawsuit, and a Maryland-based judge said this week that she would do the same if an appeals court signed off.

The justices ruled last month that lower courts generally can’t issue nationwide injunctions, but it didn’t rule out other court orders that could have nationwide effects, including in class-action lawsuits and those brought by states. The Supreme Court did not decide whether the underlying citizenship order is constitutional.

At the heart of the lawsuits is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1868 after the Civil War and the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision. That decision found that Scott, an enslaved man, wasn’t a citizen despite having lived in a state where slavery was outlawed.

The Trump administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship.

Casey writes for the Associated Press.

July 4 (UPI) — The remains of at least some of the seven people missing at the site of Tuesday’s deadly fireworks warehouse explosion in Yolo County, Calif., have been found, authorities said.

Personnel with the Yolo County Coroner’s Division accessed the site on Thursday and located human remains, the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office announced on Friday.

“Out of respect for the families, the identities of the deceased will not be released publicly until official identification has been made and the next of kin have been formally notified,” the YCSO announced.

Coroner’s office staff have contacted the families of the seven people who are missing and will continue to provide them with updates.

The search for missing victims began Thursday afternoon, and stretchers containing what appeared to be human remains were seen outside the site, KCRA reported.

The fireworks warehouse site is located near county roads 23 and 86A in the Esparto area of Yolo County.

The facility caught fire at 5:50 p.m. PDT on Tuesday and produced a plume of black smoke that could be seen for miles before triggering multiple explosions.

Officials with the Esparto Fire Protection District have asked Cal Fire arson and bomb investigators to lead the investigation into the explosion’s cause.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also has some of its investigators at the site.

Cal Fire officials on Wednesday announced seven were missing but did not begin searching for survivors until the site was deemed safe on Thursday.

The California Fire Marshal’s office and other agencies delayed the search due to the potentially dangerous chemicals and unignited fireworks that remained after the explosion.

Yolo County is located directly west of Sacramento in northern California, and the warehouse location is 36 miles northwest of the city.

July 2 (UPI) — Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain behind bars while awaiting sentencing after a federal jury on Wednesday found him guilty of two prostitution-related charges.

The jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and innocent on one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking at the U.S. District Court of Southern New York in Manhattan.

Combs’ attorneys sought bail to obtain his immediate release, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied the request, CNN reported.

“The defense conceded defendant’s violence in personal relationships, saying ‘it happened,'” Subramanian told the court.

“This highlights a disregard for the rule of law and a propensity of violence,” the judge said, adding that violence and illegal acts continued after investigators searched Combs’ homes and he was aware of the investigation.

Subramanian proposed a sentencing hearing for Combs at 10 a.m. EDT on Oct. 3 but said he would be willing to move up the date if Combs’ attorneys request it.

Throughout the nearly two-month-long trial, prosecutors alleged Combs used his business empire to push two people into taking part in drug-fueled, sexual activities called “freak offs.”

The defense argued the sexual activities were consensual, and Combs had pleaded not guilty to the five criminal counts against him.

Each of the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution carries a 10-year maximum sentence.

Prosecutor Maurene Comey said the government will request that Combs serve each sentence concurrently, which would give him a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Comey also said a pre-sentencing investigation is necessary to ensure a fair sentence is imposed, which would be done as soon as possible, CNN reported.

Lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo wants to waive the pre-sentencing investigation to end the matter sooner.

He said the defense will argue for a sentence that is less than the maximum of 10 years per count.

July 2 (UPI) — Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain behind bars while awaiting sentencing after a federal jury on Wednesday found him guilty of two prostitution-related charges.

The jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and innocent on one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking at the U.S. District Court of Southern New York in Manhattan.

Combs’ attorneys sought bail to obtain his immediate release, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied the request, CNN reported.

“The defense conceded defendant’s violence in personal relationships, saying ‘it happened,'” Subramanian told the court.

“This highlights a disregard for the rule of law and a propensity of violence,” the judge said, adding that violence and illegal acts continued after investigators searched Combs’ homes and he was aware of the investigation.

Subramanian proposed a sentencing hearing for Combs at 10 a.m. EDT on Oct. 3 but said he would be willing to move up the date if Combs’ attorneys request it.

Throughout the nearly two-month-long trial, prosecutors alleged Combs used his business empire to push two people into taking part in drug-fueled, sexual activities called “freak offs.”

The defense argued the sexual activities were consensual, and Combs had pleaded not guilty to the five criminal counts against him.

Each of the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution carries a 10-year maximum sentence.

Prosecutor Maurene Comey said the government will request that Combs serve each sentence concurrently, which would give him a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Comey also said a pre-sentencing investigation is necessary to ensure a fair sentence is imposed, which would be done as soon as possible, CNN reported.

Lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo wants to waive the pre-sentencing investigation to end the matter sooner.

He said the defense will argue for a sentence that is less than the maximum of 10 years per count.

One of the most maddening situations that any L.A. outdoors lover can experience is wanting to go camping only to find that every campground within a 100-mile radius is booked for months.

L.A. resident Josh Jackson found himself in that predicament in January 2015. He asked a friend whether he knew of any place Jackson could take two of his kids camping. “What about BLM land?” his friend said. “I don’t think you need reservations.”

Jackson wasn’t familiar with the federal Bureau of Land Management or the 245 million acres of public land, primarily in the West, that the agency manages.

Jackson couldn’t have known that his trip with his children to the Trona Pinnacles would launch a 10-year obsession that would take him hundreds of miles across the West where he’d find solitude and sanctuary in areas dubbed by historians as “leftover lands” because they weren’t seen as valuable by homesteaders, multiple federal agencies and developers.

On Tuesday, Jackson’s decade-long odyssey was published in “The Enduring Wild: A Journey Into California’s Public Lands” (Heyday), which he spent 42 months and took 32 trips, walking 400 miles through BLM lands, to write. The book is a continuation of the work he’s done on his Forgotten Lands project.

Josh Jackson’s “The Enduring Wild” published this week.

(Heyday Books; Asher Moss)

“I had almost no idea what lay ahead, but I wanted to find out,” Jackson wrote. “If these so-called leftover lands had a story to tell, I wanted to play a small part in telling it.”

“The Enduring Wild” is not a guidebook but rather a beautifully crafted introduction into California’s 15 million(ish) acres of BLM land and how Jackson fell in love with them through his exploration of them.

He shares many of his adventures, highlighting experiences on BLM lands in the Mojave, Carrizo Plain National Monument, the Borderlands, the Eastern Sierra, Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and the King Range National Conservation Area where (insert longing sigh from me) you can hike along the Lost Coast.

I asked Jackson if we could hike at a BLM spot near L.A., so last week, we met up at the Whitewater Preserve, a gorgeous desert canyon where you can swim in the Whitewater River and hike along the Pacific Crest Trail and other paths through BLM land. As our feet crunched through the sandy soil, we kept pausing to stop and marvel at the surprises of the desert (and curse aloud that we couldn’t spot any bighorn sheep).

Josh Jackson, author of “The Enduring Wild,” looks for bighorn sheep often spotted in the Whitewater Preserve and surrounding BLM land.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

I was so eager to talk to Jackson. I have long been BLM curious. I am a type B person who sometimes misses deadline because I’m daydreaming about my next trip, and lately those daydreams have included what it would be like to explore remote places without official trails. But I felt intimidated to get started.

I asked him — for you Wilders, of course — how someone who might not be ready to navigate their own way could start exploring California’s BLM lands, which vary from remote swaths of land to a national monument with a staffed office, without getting totally lost in the desert (not that anyone here has had a nightmare about that).

“The gateway to BLM land in California is 100% the 60-plus campgrounds,” Jackson said. “They’re all first-come first-served. No reservations. They’re free to $10 a night… Those are easy gateways because, by campgrounds, there’s almost always trails. There’s infrastructure. Almost all of them have a pit toilet and maybe a shade structure in the desert or a fire ring.”

A refreshing swimming hole at the Whitewater Preserve.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Jackson also recommended for BLM newbies to go hiking at national monuments in California like Sand to Snow National Monument where we spent the morning last week. And for any BLM land you’re interested in visiting, Jackson suggests calling the field office where staffers can answer your questions about camping spots, road conditions and trails.

As we hiked, I asked Jackson how he navigates the dichotomy between encouraging the general public to visit BLM lands and protecting them from getting trashed by jerky interlopers. It’s a challenge that any outdoors writer, myself included, has to keep top of mind.

Jackson said that, for one, you won’t find GPS coordinates to streams, hot springs or other natural areas in his book.

“I’m trying to paint a picture, let’s say, of the Carrizo National Plain Monument, which is 250,000 acres,” he said. “Yes, there are some campgrounds. Yes, there are a couple of trails, but … I’m trying to [show] what it feels like to be here and [show] some images I took in hopes more people will get out there and experience them for themselves.”

The Whitewater Preserve features the Whitewater River, which starts on 11,499 foot Mount San Gorgonio and runs 28 miles through the Coachella Valley area.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Our smartphones and copious number of hiking apps have made it easy to find trails near us. But, Jackson writes, one of the most fun parts of visiting BLM land is all the research you must do before arriving.

BLM lands offer an alternative choose-your-own-adventure experience for those willing to comb over maps and other websites, which you can find more about in Jackson’s “Guide for Exploration,” a short chapter where he provides organizations, tips and best practices to get you started on your journey. Note: This type of information looks simple to gather, but given the rugged and sweeping nature of BLM land, it likely took hours to compile. (Thank you, Josh!)

The BLM land highlighted in Jackson’s book was part of what was threatened to be sold by Congress in recent weeks. Jackson writes in his book about the many threats that remain for BLM lands, including mining and overgrazing.

The view from a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail that passes through the Bureau of Land Management land adjacent to the Whitewater Preserve.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Of the 245 million acres managed by BLM, Jackson writes, only 37 million acres (15%) have been set aside for conservation. “While I fully support the multiple-use mandate for BLM lands, and I appreciate the role that cattle, natural gas, oil, and certain minerals play in our everyday lives, I still see the pendulum swinging too far toward industry,” Jackson wrote of how the BLM manages today’s public lands.

So how can we protect these lands? Visit them.

Jackson writes about “place attachment” theory which, to run the risk of oversimplifying it, is the concept that when we visit public land and have a memorable experience, we develop an attachment to it. And then, when it is threatened, we rally to protect it.

A lush path near the Whitewater Preserve visitor’s center.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

For example, at the same time that thousands flocked to the Carrizo Plain, about three hours northwest of L.A., in 2017 to see wildflowers blanketing its landscape, President Trump ordered a review of 27 monuments, including the Carrizo Plain. Jackson writes about how the public outcry that followed — fed by people’s memories of that land and its beauty — saved it from losing its monument status.

“My initial fascination with exploring new landscapes had deepened into a commitment to protecting all that I’d experienced,” Jackson wrote. “If these precarious places go unseen and unspoken, who will notice when the subtle beauties of desert, sagebrush, grasslands and remote mountains slip away under the pressure to turn places into profits? In other words, how can we protect what we don’t know?”

That sounds like a great reason for your (and my) next road trip. In the meantime, if you’d like to hear me and Jackson talk about the lessons he learned in writing this book, join us at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena at 7 p.m. Tuesday. I hope to see you there!

3 things to do

A western fence lizard — a.k.a. blue belly — presides over its domain from atop a stump.

(James Maughn)

1. Learn to draw reptiles in La Puente
L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation will host a free nature-focused art class from 6 to 7 p.m. Saturday at San Gabriel River Park (255 S. San Fidel Ave. in La Puente). Students will observe what’s around them and draw, paint or used mixed-media techniques to create artwork. This month’s class focuses on reptiles. Artists of all skill levels ages 8 and older are welcome. Materials are provided. Learn more at the park’s Instagram page.

2. Clean up the cove in Rancho Palos Verdes
The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy needs volunteers to plant native plants and remove weeds from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Saturday at Abalone Cove Park (5970 Palos Verdes Drive S in Rancho Palos Verdes). Participants should wear closed-toed shoes, long pants and long sleeves and bring sun protection and a refillable water bottle. Sign up at pvplc.volunteerhub.com.

3. Provide habitat for monarchs in Huntington Beach
Volunteers are needed from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday in Huntington Beach to improve habitat at the Huntington Beach Monarch Nature Trail. Volunteers will yank out invasive plants, plant native species that provide food and shelter for butterflies, and collect seeds for future growth. All ages are welcome, and organizers will host nature-themed activities specifically for children. Register at eventbrite.com.

The must-read

A view of the 101 Freeway and surrounding landscape from atop the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Agoura Hills, which is entering Stage 2 of construction.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

It was one small step for reptile, one giant leap for the animal kingdom. Local animal rights leader Beth Pratt was showing a group around the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing when she spotted a Western fence lizard basking in the sun, about 75 feet above the traffic racing along the 101 Freeway. It seemed like just another lizard at first, given how common they are in L.A. “But then it hit me, ‘Wait. This lizard is on the bridge!!!!! And this is the first animal I have seen on the bridge!!!!’” Pratt, California regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation, wrote in an email. “I stopped the group … and told them — ‘You are seeing the first animal on the crossing itself.’ Everyone cheered. Even the lizard seemed to know it was a special occasion. He posed for the photos I took.” Times staff writer Jeanette Marantos wrote about the moment in her latest story about the world’s largest wildlife crossing, which is entering Stage 2 of construction. Spoiler alert: We’re starting to see native plants grow on the bridge too!

Happy adventuring,

P.S.

Great news! The state of California will provide $6.75 million to continue financing the California State Library Parks Pass program, which allows library card holders to check out park passes that cover vehicle day-use entry to more than 200 participating state parks. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget originally didn’t include money for the program, which launched in 2021 with an aim of lowering the cost of entry to our state public lands. More than 8,000 Californians signed a petition demanding the program be saved. In celebration of that success, head over to your favorite library, including L.A. Public Library and L.A. County Public Library branches, to see if they have a park pass waiting for you.

For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.

June 27 (UPI) — The second-to-last of 10 escapees from a New Orleans jailbreak last month has been recaptured after six weeks on the run, authorities said Friday.

Antoine Massey, 33, was located and arrested in a house in New Orleans on Friday night, according to the Louisiana State Police. The previous two inmates were apprehended on May 26 in Huntsville, Texas.

Officers with the NOPD, State Police, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and U.S. Marshals participated in the arrest of Massey. More than 200 law enforcement personnel participated in the manhunt since the May 16 jailbreak.

Massey was taken to a secure state correctional facility at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Agola, which is 135 miles northwest of New Orleans.

The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous tip from a citizen that led law enforcement to the house in the city’s Third District, according to New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick.

“He peacefully gave up to law enforcement who had surrounded the house,” Kirkpatrick said during a news briefing.

The house was an Airbnb, according to Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Robert Hodges.

Authorities are investigating whether anyone helped him.

“It’s pretty obvious over the last six weeks, to remain a fugitive that long, he had assistance — he had help,” Hodges said at the briefing.

Earlier this month, Louisiana authorities found a video online that appeared to show Massey pleading to rappers and President Donald Trump to help him while he was still on the run.

Massey was incarcerated for domestic abuse battery involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle and a parole violation, state police said.

Authorities increased the reward for information leading to the arrest of Massey and Derric Groves to $50,000 per inmate last month.

Groves is last remaining escapee.

“Law enforcement personnel from various local, state, and federal agencies will continue to work around the clock to locate the one remaining fugitive,” Louisiana State police said in a news release.

Kilpatrick addressed Grove during the briefing: “We are going to capture you. You will be taken into custody. But you still have the option to peacefully turn yourself in, and we will make an appeal to you to do so.

“All of these captures have been able to be done peacefully and that is also the end of the game. We don’t want anyone hurt.”

Groves was convicted last year of two counts of second-degree murder in a 2018 Mardi Gras Day shooting. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.

The inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center early in the morning after climbing through a hole behind a toilet. Their disappearance was unnoticed for several hours.

“We’re installing new razor wire, tightening physical barriers, upgrading locking mechanisms,” Kilpatrick said. “These all play an important role in the safety of our residents, staff and the entire community

Three inmates were apprehended in New Orleans within the first 24 hours of the jailbreak.

Alleged accomplices, including Groves’ girlfriend Darriana Burton, inmayes and jail workers, have been arrested.

From Jack Harris: For so long, the biggest question surrounding Shohei Ohtani’s future as a pitcher was simple.

When, after a second career Tommy John surgery, would he finally get back on the mound? When, after a year and a half of exclusively hitting, would he be able to resume two-way duties?

Over the last week, that answer finally arrived.

Twice in seven days, Ohtani climbed the bump as the Dodgers’ starter, throwing one inning in each outing in his long-awaited return to pitching.

Both times, he left his teammates and coaches in astonished amazement, giving them their first up-close glimpse of his dual-role skill set.

“I’ve seen [him throw] bullpens and lives and simulated games, or whatever,” manager Dave Roberts said Sunday. “But to kind of watch it in real time, to go from the mound to the on-deck circle and then go to the batter’s box, it’s pretty remarkable. And he’s just handling it the right way. He’s just unflappable.”

What comes next, however, remains shrouded in some uncertainty.

Now that Ohtani is again pitching in live-game action, new questions are lingering about where his buildup will go from here.

“It’s going to be a gradual process,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Sunday. “I want to see improvements with the quality of the pitches that I’m throwing, and then also increasing the amount of pitches. So it’s going to be gradual.”

Continue reading here

ANGELS

Zach Neto hit a leadoff homer and rookie Christian Moore had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in a four-run eighth inning that sent the Angels to a 9-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.

LaMonte Wade Jr. opened the eighth with a single off reliever Garret Whitlock (5-1). Wade stole second and went to third when catcher Connor Wong’s throw bounced into center field for an error.

Luis Rengifo walked, and Moore hit a sacrifice fly for a 6-5 lead. A single by Neto, who had three hits, and an intentional walk to Mike Trout loaded the bases with two outs. Taylor Ward walked to force in a run, and Travis d’Arnaud’s two-run single made it 9-5.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Darrell Doucette didn’t mean any disrespect. All the U.S. flag football star wanted to do in an interview that went more viral than any of his numerous highlights was to fight for his sport.

So when he told TMZ in 2024 that he is “better than Patrick Mahomes” at flag football for his IQ of the sport, the generally soft-spoken Doucette wasn’t trying to issue any challenges. Watch the two-time world champion throw touchdowns, catch them, snap the ball and play defense all in the same game and it’s clear he prefers to let his game speak.

“It wasn’t about me vs. them,” said Doucette, who is known in the flag football world by his nickname “Housh.” “It was about flag football, putting eyes on this game.”

With preparations ramping up for the 2028 Olympics, flag football just wants its respect.

Continue reading here

SPARKS

From Anthony De Leon: Well before fans stream into Crypto.com Arena for the Sparks’ rematch against the Phoenix Mercury, Sarah Ashlee Barker is on the court two and a half hours early. The first out of the tunnel, as she’s been all season, she fires off jump shots with a stone-faced expression.

Thrown unexpectedly into a starting role as a rookie, Barker’s rise in the WNBA has outpaced even her own expectations. Amid a season riddled with injuries, the Sparks have leaned on their first-round pick.

On this day, Barker was trying to adjust to a new role coming off the bench after forcing some plays that hindered the team’s success.

Life for a rookie in the WNBA demands adaptability.

An uncommon sight across the league, the Sparks kept all three of their recent draft picks on the roster. They are former college standouts who earned conference honors, with one winning a national championship. But they face far greater physicality, speed and overall grit in the WNBA.

Continue reading here

BOXING

From Jad El Reda: Raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement have sparked fear, protests and the cancellation of several public events throughout the Los Angeles area. Amid the tense climate, more than 100 people recently gathered at the Maywood Boxing Club to watch Julio César Chávez Jr. train as he prepares to face Jake Paul on June 28 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Chávez, visibly surprised by the turnout, confessed that he did not expect to see so many people given the circumstances.

“I thought there wouldn’t be people here, because of everything happening, but I’m glad they made the time to come,” the Mexican boxing star told L.A. Times en Español moments before beginning his training session.

While they were drawn to the chance to watch a boxing star train, the event also united a community and showed its resilience in the face of adversity.

The last few weeks have been particularly difficult in Los Angeles. Testimonials and videos on social media have documented arrests of immigrants in the middle of public streets, generating a generalized state of fear. Chávez, who has lived in the city for more than a decade, reflected on the impact of the raids.

“It even scared me, to tell you the truth, it is very ugly,” he said. “I don’t understand the situation, why so much violence. There are many good people and you are setting an example of violence to the community.”

Continue reading here

HORSE RACING

From John Cherwa: D. Wayne Lukas, 89, who has been a staple in horse racing since 1968 when he was training quarter horses at Los Alamitos, is leaving the game after contracting a potentially life-ending illness.

In a note to owners and friends on Sunday, Lukas Enterprises announced: “We regret to inform you that D. Wayne Lukas will not be returning to racing. A severe MRSA blood infection has caused significant damage to his heart, digestive system, and worsened pre-existing chronic conditions. The doctors proposed an aggressive treatment plan, involving multiple surgeries and procedures over several months. Even with the best-case scenario, Wayne would require 24/7 assistance to manage daily activities.”

The note goes on to say that Lukas declined the aggressive treatment plan and would “return home to spend his remaining time with his wife, Laurie, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”

Continue reading here

DUCKS

The Ducks traded Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, ending the exciting forward’s inconsistent half-decade in Orange County.

The Ducks get forward Ryan Poehling and the 45th overall pick in the upcoming draft that initially belonged to Columbus, along with a fourth-round pick next season.

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said he dealt away the Ducks’ charismatic former leading scorer in part because Zegras no longer fit the Ducks’ roster as they attempt to end their seven-year playoff drought.

Continue reading here

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1910 — James Braid wins his fifth British Open with a four-stroke victory over Sandy Herd.

1911 — John McDermott becomes the first American-born winner of the U.S. Open when he beats Michael Brady and George Simpson in a playoff. McDermott finishes two strokes better than Brady and five strokes better than Simpson.

1913 — John Henry Taylor wins his fifth and final British Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake, England.

1922 — American Professional Football Association renamed the National Football League.

1922 — Charter NFL club Chicago Staleys renamed Chicago Bears by team founder, owner and head coach George Halas.

1928 — John Farrell beats Bobby Jones by one stroke in a 36-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open.

1947 — Jim Ferrier wins the PGA championship by defeating Chick Harbert 2 and 1 in the final round.

1958 — Brazil, led by 17-year-old Pele, beats France 5-2 in a semifinal of the World Cup. With Brazil up 2-1 in the second half, Pele scores three consecutive goals.

1968 — Joe Frazier stops Mexican challenger Manuel Ramos in 2nd round TKO at NYC’s Madison Square Garden in his first heavyweight boxing title defense.

1968 — Canada’s Sandra Post beats Kathy Whitworth by seven strokes in a playoff to become the first non-U.S. player and rookie to win the LPGA championship.

1980 — The Atlanta Flames relocate to Calgary, Alberta. The NHL team keeps the name “Flames.”

1990 — Criminal Type becomes the first horse to win consecutive $1 million races after capturing the Hollywood Gold Cup. He had previously won the $1 million Pimlico Special on May 12.

1991 — The NHL’s Board of Governors adopts instant replay.

1992 — NBA Draft: LSU center Shaquille O’Neal first pick by Orlando Magic.

1995 — Stanley Cup Final, Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ: New Jersey Devils beat Detroit Red Wings, 5-2 for a 4-0 series sweep; Devils’ first Stanley Cup finals appearance.

1998 — NBA Draft: Pacific center Michael Olowokandi first pick by the Clippers.

2000 — Rick DiPietro is the first goalie drafted No. 1 when the New York Islanders select the 18-year-old star from Boston University at the NHL Draft.

2001 — Karrie Webb, 26, captures the LPGA Championship by two strokes to become the youngest woman to complete the Grand Slam.

2004 — NBA Draft: Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy power forward Dwight Howard first pick by Orlando Magic.

2010 — John Isner outlasts Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history. Isner hits a backhand winner to win the last of the match’s 980 points, and takes the fifth set against Mahut 70-68. The first-round match took 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days, lasting so long it was suspended because of darkness — two nights in a row. Play resumed at 59-all and continued for more than an hour before Isner won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68.

2010 — John Wall is selected as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft by the Washington Wizards, and a record number of Kentucky teammates follow him. Four more Wildcats are among the top 30 selections, making them the first school ever to put five players in the first round.

2011 — NHL Draft: Red Deer Rebels (WHL) center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first pick by Edmonton Oilers.

2013 — Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland score 17 seconds apart in the final 1:16 of the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup with a stunning 3-2 comeback victory in Game 6 over the Boston Bruins.

2016 — NHL Draft: ZSC Lions (NLA) center Auston Matthews first pick by Toronto Maple Leafs.

2018 — Harry Kane scores a hat trick to propel England to its most emphatic World Cup victory and into the knockout stage. With John Stones heading in twice and Jesse Lingard curling in a shot, England beats Panama 6-1 and scores its most goals ever in a World Cup game.

2022 — American Katie Ledecky wins the 800m gold medal in 8:08.04 at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest; completes 400/800/1500m treble for unprecedented 4th time at a single worlds.

2024 — The Florida Panthers win their first title in franchise history defeating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7. MVP: Connor McDavid (Oilers C).

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1936 — Rookie Joe DiMaggio hit two homers in the fifth inning and added two doubles in the New York Yankees’ 18-4 victory over the St. Louis Browns.

1950 — Wes Westrum of the New York Giants hit three home runs and a triple in a 12-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

1955 — Harmon Killebrew hit his first major league homer, off Billy Hoeft at Griffith Stadium, but the Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators 18-7.

1962 — Jack Reed, a substitute outfielder, hit a homer off Phil Regan in the 22nd inning to give the New York Yankees a 9-7 win over the Detroit Tigers in a game that lasted 7 hours, 22 minutes. It was the only homer Reed hit in the majors.

1968 — Jim Northrup tied a major league record by hitting two grand slams in one game as the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 14-3.

1983 — Don Sutton of the Milwaukee Brewers became the eighth pitcher in major league history to strike out 3,000 batters. Sutton’s 3,000th victim was Cleveland’s Alan Bannister in a 3-2 win over the Indians.

1984 — Oakland’s Joe Morgan hit his 265th home run as a second baseman, breaking Roger Hornsby’s career home run record for that position. Morgan’s homer off Frank Tanana was the 267th of his career and led the A’s to a 4-2 win over Texas.

1993 — Carlton Fisk of the White Sox, plays his 2,226th and final major league game, surpassing Bob Boone’s record of 2,225 for most games caught.

1993 — The Marlins obtain OF Gary Sheffield and P Rich Rodriguez from the Padres for P Trevor Hoffman, Andres Berumen and Jose Martinez. The Fish will give Sheffield a four-year contract extension in September.

1994 — Jeff Bagwell hit three homers, two in one inning to tie a major league record, as the Houston Astros beat the Dodgers 16-4.

1997 — Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners struck out 19 batters — one short of Roger Clemens’ major league record for a nine-inning game. He became the first AL left-hander to fan 19, but the Oakland Athletics won 4-1.

2002 — Both starters in the first game of the Angels-Texas doubleheader — Joaquin Benoit and Aaron Sele — threw 96 pitches, 53 strikes and 43 balls. Benoit and the Rangers won 8-5.

2003 — Brad Wilkerson hit for the cycle, going 4-for-4 with four RBIs, in Montreal’s 6-4 win over Pittsburgh. It was the first cycle in the majors this season and was performed in sequence — single, double, triple and homer.

2014 — Brothers B.J. and Justin Upton tied the major league record for brothers homering in the same game as teammates, accomplishing the feat for the fourth time, in Atlanta’s 3-2 win over Houston. Other brothers who had homered in the same game four times were Jeremy and Jason Giambi for the Oakland A’s and Vladimir and Wilton Guerrero for the Montreal Expos.

2015 — Pavin Smith homered and drove in three runs and Brandon Waddell turned in another strong College World Series pitching performance, leading Virginia over Vanderbilt 4-2 for the school’s first baseball national championship.

2017 — Three Oakland A’s players, Matt Olson, Jaycob Brugmand and Franklin Baretto, hit their first career home run in a 10-2 win over the White Sox.

2019 — The Yankees tie a record belonging to the 2002 Rangers by homering in their 27th straight game on their way to defeating the Blue Jays.

2018 — The Dodgers set a National League record with seven solo home runs in an 8-7 win over the Mets.

2021 — The Chicago Cubs throw the first combined no-hitter in franchise history beating the Dodgers 4-0. It was the seventh no-hitter of the season.

Compiled by the Associated Press

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 [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Ben Howland planned it like this. Of course he did.

This was a coach so engrossed in details that he would grumble about the room temperature at news conferences and call a timeout when his team was in the middle of a big run just so that he could set up his defense.

So it should come as no surprise that before his 10-year run as UCLA’s basketball coach ended in 2013, Howland had schemed for his dream retirement.

In 2011, he bought a four-bedroom, ranch-style house in his native Santa Barbara close to so many old friends and family, knowing the full remodel job would take years. The Howlands moved in three years ago, after the coach’s final season at Mississippi State.

The home is now his departure point for frequent trips to see another old friend — the program he guided to back-to-back-to-back Final Fours from 2006-08. Howland likes to leave many hours before tipoff, arranging his schedule so that he can visit friends or fit in a doctor’s appointment.

He recently learned that he was only one day younger than former Bruins star forward David Greenwood, who died earlier this month from cancer.

“It’s sobering, you know? Sixty-eight now seems young,” Howland said between bites of a Tuscan chicken sandwich inside the Luskin Center on the campus that once served as his basketball home. “But there’s always something. You’ve got to make sure you’re on top of your colon and your prostate, and that’s one of the reasons I come to UCLA for all my doctor appointments.”

The old coach remains close to several retired doctors he’s known for many years, including Jean B. DeKernion, the former longtime chair of UCLA’s urology department, and Bennett Roth, the gastroenterologist who established the school’s endoscopy unit.

Perhaps nobody at the school can put a smile on his face like the current basketball coach. Mick Cronin and Howland have known one another since the former helped run Sonny Vaccaro’s ABCD Camp in the 1990s, going on to forge a friendship rooted in mutual respect.

UCLA coach Ben Howland celebrates after a basket by Malcolm Lee against Michigan State in the 2011 NCAA tournament.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

There’s so many similarities between the coaches, from their demanding practices to their relentless defenses to their wry senses of humor to their lack of hair to their admiration for things that are difficult but worthwhile.

“Coaching’s changed and I can still appreciate Mick because he comes from the old school and what he’s doing is no different than what [Bob] Huggins and [Rick] Pitino did as he’s working for them and watching these guys, who are both Hall of Famers, two of the greatest coaches ever,” Howland said.

“And because you’re demanding — I mean, I think my players always knew at the end of the day that I loved them and was trying to get the most out of them, I’m trying to push them to be their very best, but as long as they know that you really love them and care about them and you want what’s best for them most of all, then they respect that and I think he does that.”

A regular at UCLA practices and games, Howland sometimes comes alone and other times brings his wife, Kim, and some combination of children Meredith and Adam and grandsons Benjamin, Elijah, Asher and Abraham.

“I really enjoy it,” Howland said of coming to games at Pauley Pavilion. “I mean, I’m a fan too. I was yelling like crazy during that Wisconsin win. I’m telling you, I was so pumped up; that was such a great win, really, really exciting because they were good and you knew how important that game was. The same thing with the Michigan State win, that was an incredible win.”

During his first year of retirement, Howland received a standing ovation during a timeout when he stepped onto the court as an honorary captain. Fans who recognize him during games shower him with appreciation, telling him that he did a great job or they really love him or they treasured his decade-long run at UCLA that was the longest by any Bruins coach since John Wooden’s 27-year reign ended in 1975.

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden, right, sits next to then-UCLA coach Ben Howland during a news conference at Honda Center in December 2006.

(Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

Howland said he agreed with those who believe the school should honor its Final Four teams with a banner inside Pauley Pavilion alongside those that recognize national championships.

“I mean, in this day and age, it’s incredibly difficult to, No. 1, get to the Final Four,” Howland said, “and we can’t be arrogant to where we don’t recognize that.”

Maybe the game that gets mentioned most in any conversation with Howland is the comeback from 17 points down against Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 of the 2006 NCAA tournament. In the final seconds, with his team trailing by only one, Howland could be seen in front of the UCLA bench mimicking the defense he wanted his players to apply, waving his arms wildly.

Cedric Bozeman and Jordan Farmar complied, trapping J.P. Batista in the backcourt before Bozeman knocked the ball loose. Farmar grabbed the ball and threw a lob to teammate Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, whose layup put UCLA ahead with 9.2 seconds left. In an even more remarkable display, Mbah a Moute tackled the ball at midcourt to force a jump ball, giving the Bruins possession on the way to an eventual 73-71 triumph.

“That’s incredible — I’ve never seen that,” Howland said of Mbah a Moute’s heroic defense. “The best thing about it was the whole idea that you never stop, you keep fighting the entire time until the clock is at 0:00.”

The clock ran out on Howland’s time at UCLA after a season in which the Bruins won the Pac-12’s regular-season title but lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The coach whose admiration for UCLA went back to watching Wooden’s first national championship in 1964, held a farewell news conference to convey his gratitude.

“It was a real blessing to be here,” Howland said, “and I wanted to leave taking the high road, doing it the right way.”

By that point, a narrative had emerged that Howland had changed his ways, forgoing the sort of grinders such as Mbah a Moute and Lorenzo Mata-Real who had fueled his early success in favor of more prolific scorers. Howland disagreed, pointing out that he left replacement Steve Alford with five eventual NBA players — Zach LaVine, Norman Powell, Kyle Anderson, Travis Wear and Jordan Adams — upon his departure.

UCLA coach Ben Howland prepares to talk to his players during a timeout against Washington in December 2010.

(Katie Falkenberg / For the Times)

Having been offered a job by a Big Ten school — he won’t say which one — during his second-to-last-year at UCLA, Howland remained a coveted coach. He agreed to go to Mississippi State in 2015, ringing a cowbell at his introductory news conference and getting to know quirky football coach Mike Leach. (“He loved the microphone, loved to be on camera, very funny,” Howland said of the late Leach.)

Yet the recruiting challenges in rural Starkville, Miss., made winning far more difficult than it was in Westwood.

“Kids aren’t growing up saying, ‘I always wanted to be a Mississippi State Bulldog’ like they do a Bruin,” Howland said.

The Bulldogs went to one NCAA tournament in Howland’s seven seasons, losing in the first round, though they were on the bubble during a COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 season that ended after they had secured a double bye in the Southeastern Conference tournament. The school dismissed him in March 2022.

The timing proved fortuitous in that it allowed Howland to come home and spend two years with his mother before she passed away. Other family remains nearby. Howland’s son, Adam, is a deputy district attorney based in Santa Barbara and his daughter, Meredith, is a nurse who lives in Valencia. A granddaughter is expected to arrive in October.

Howland said he misses the relationships with his players and assistants, not to mention the practices and games. But old friends abound. He recently went to a Dodgers game with Mata-Real, and several links to his time at UCLA remain on campus. Doug Erickson is the do-everything director of basketball administration, Chris Carlson an associate athletic director, Kenny Donaldson a senior associate athletic director and Alex Timiraos the director of athletic communications.

“I hired Kenny as our academic coordinator,” Howland said. “Now he’s [athletic director] Martin Jarmond’s right-hand guy, along with Chris.”

The current UCLA players might as well be Howland’s given his glowing praise. Consider his takes:

On transfer point guard Donovan Dent: “Boy, to have him coming in here as the point guard next season, it’s such a critical element.”

Donovan Dent is among the new players on coach Mick Cronin’s UCLA roster for the 2025-26 season.

(David Richard / Associated Press)

On transfer big man Xavier Booker: “I watched him in our game here [against Michigan State]; I was like, who’s that guy? I liked the way he moved, I liked his athleticism. He just needs minutes. I think Mick will get a lot out of him to help his team.”

On returning forward Eric Dailey Jr.: “He had big games in big games. He’s just got to consistently bring that, but he’s only a junior.”

Howland acknowledged being “heartbroken” that center Aday Mara transferred to Michigan on the cusp of a huge season after two years of development under Cronin.

“They had done such a great job of bringing him along,” Howland said, “and he was finally going to really have the kind of year that he’s capable of this year. I think he’ll be heartbroken that he’s not here come this next season.”

One guy who can be counted on to be there at big games for the foreseeable future is a face familiar to a generation of UCLA fans, clapping wildly, his heart full, a Bruin until the end.

CAPTAIN COOK’S ship, HMS Endeavour, which the adventurer used to explore Australia, has been identified after a 250 year long mystery.

The vessel was the first European ship to reach Eastern Australia, in 1770, and went on to circumnavigate the main islands of New Zealand.

5

5

5

It was then sold, renamed the Lord Sandwich and was last seen in the US in 1778, during the American War of Independence.

During the war, the ship was scuttled (intentionally sunk) to create a blockade to prevent French ships from entering the harbour and supporting the American forces. 

And it has now been confirmed that a shipwreck off Newport Harbour, Rhode Island, USA, called RI 2394, is in fact the HMS Endeavour.

In a new report the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) announced the verdict, after 25 years of studying the wreck.

“This final report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel”, said museum director Daryl Karp.

“It has involved underwater investigation in the US and extensive research in institutions across the globe.”

“This final report marks our definitive statement on the project.”

The ship was hard to identify because anything that would have been of value, such as a bell, would have been stripped from the boat before it was intentionally sunk.

However, experts were able to determine that the shipwreck is the lost ship by comparing it with plans for the Endeavour.

For example, they discovered timbers which matched with the placement of the main and fore masts of the ship.

Additionally, measurements from the wreck corresponded to those taken during a 1768 survey of the ship.

Analysis of the ship’s wood also revealed that it had come from Europe, which is consistent with records show that the Endeavour was repaired there in 1776.

ANMM archaeologist, Kieran Hosty, said: “We’ll never find anything on this site that screams Endeavour. You’ll never find a sign saying ‘Cook was here’. 

“We will never see a ship’s bell with Endeavour crossed out and Lord Sandwich inscribed on it.

“We’ve got a whole series of things pointing to RI 2394 as being HMB Endeavour. 

“The timbers are British timbers. 

“The size of all the timber scantlings are almost identical to Endeavour, and I’m talking within millimetres – not inches, but millimetres. 

“The stem scarf is identical, absolutely identical. 

“This stem scarf is also a very unique feature – we’ve gone through a whole bunch of 18th-century ships plans, and we can’t find anything else like it.”

However, the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project previously said the identification is “premature” and has not yet ruled out that the Endeavour could be another shipwreck .

Only 15 percent of the ship remains and researchers are now focused on what to do to preserve it.

5

5

June 14 (UPI) — Russia and Ukraine exchanged an unreported number of prisoners of war on Saturday during the fourth such exchange during the week.

Ukraine also received the bodies of 1,200 dead civilians and military personnel from Russia.

The bodies are in addition to 2,412 that were sent to Ukraine on Wednesday and Friday and are being released per agreements reached during recent negotiations in Istanbul, the Kyiv Independent reported.

“The remains will now undergo forensic examination and identification procedures conducted by law enforcement investigators in cooperation with expert institutions under the [Ukrainian] Interior Ministry,” officials for the Coordination Headquarters Prisoners of War said in a prepared statement.

Identifying the bodies enables respective Ukrainian families to recover them for burial.

Ukrainian and Russian officials agreed to exchange the bodies of 6,000 soldiers and civilians for each side for a total exchange of 12,000 bodies.

Although the two nations agreed to exchange bodies, Russian officials said Ukraine did not return 1,200 bodies during Saturday’s exchange.

Russia and Ukraine are also exchanging prisoners of war who need medical care.

Ukraine has transferred wounded Russian soldiers who have been captured, including many who were transferred directly from the frontlines.

As cease-fire negotiations continue to end the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has continued to strike Ukraine with drone attacks.

Russia is on pace to strike Ukraine with nearly 7,000 drones, which would exceed the record number of 4,198 drones launched against Ukrainian military and civilian targets in March.

“This is terrorism against the civilian population aimed to create a series of doom, war-weariness and to put pressure on the [Ukrainian] authorities,” Liveuamap co-founder Rodion Rozhkovskiy told the Kyiv Independent.

While the war in Ukraine and related negotiations continue in Istanbul, Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Donald Trump on Saturday to wish him a happy birthday and discuss matters in Iran during the one-hour call.

“We talked at length,” Trump said in a White House statement issued after the phone call ended.

“Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week,” Trump said.

He said Putin knows Iran “very well” and agreed the war between Israel and Iran should end.

Trump said he told Putin, “his war should also end” in Ukraine.

The president did not offer more details on his conversation with Putin.

Russian forces on Friday captured the Ukrainian village of Yablunivka, which is located in northeastern Ukraine and about 5 miles from the border between the two nations, Russian officials announced on Saturday.

Russian forces also reportedly captured the villages of Koptevo and Komar in the eastern Donetsk region in Ukraine and six in total over the past week.

At least 123.2 million people, or one in 67 individuals worldwide, remain forcibly displaced, according to a report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today.

The number of displaced people has increased by seven million people, or 6 percent, compared with the end of 2023. This continues a 13-year trend which has seen a year-on-year increase in the number of displaced people globally.

However, the UNHCR estimated that forced displacement fell in the first four months of this year, to 122.1 million by the end of April 2025.

“We are living in a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile, harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering. We must redouble our efforts to search for peace and find long-lasting solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

Of the 123.2 million total forcibly displaced, 73.5 million are internally displaced within their own countries due to conflict or other crises. This is an increase of 6.3 million compared with 2023. Internally displaced people (IDPs) account for 60 percent of the majority of those who have been forced to flee globally.

In Gaza, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimates that about 90 percent of the population, or more than two million people, have been displaced by Israel’s continuing assault.

As of 2024, the number of refugees stood at 42.7 million, a decrease of 613,600 from the previous year. Of this number, 31 million are under the UNHCR’s mandate, 5.9 million are Palestinian refugees under the mandate of UNRWA, and another 5.9 million need international protection.

According to the UNHCR, the lower number of refugees in 2024 reflects lower estimates of Afghan and Syrian refugees and updated reporting on Ukrainian refugees. However, the number of Sudanese refugees increased by nearly 600,000 to 2.1 million.

The number of asylum seekers – people seeking protection in another country due to persecution or fear of harm in their home country – waiting for a decision stood at 8.4 million, an increase of 22 percent from the previous year.

This puts the number of displaced people globally at one in 67 people.

How have forcibly displaced people’s numbers changed over the years?

In 1951, the UN established the Refugee Convention to protect the rights of refugees in Europe in the aftermath of World War II. In 1967, the convention was expanded to address displacement across the rest of the world.

When the Refugee Convention was born, there were 2.1 million refugees. By 1980, the number of refugees recorded by the UN surpassed 10 million for the first time. Wars in Afghanistan and Ethiopia during the 1980s caused the number of refugees to double to 20 million by 1990.

The number of refugees remained fairly consistent over the next two decades.

However, the invasion of Afghanistan by the United States in 2001 and that of Iraq in 2003, together with the civil wars in South Sudan and Syria, resulted in refugee numbers exceeding 30 million by the end of 2021.

The war in Ukraine, which started in 2022, led to one of the fastest-growing refugee crises since World War II, with 5.7 million people forced to flee Ukraine in less than a year. By the end of 2023, six million Ukrainians remained forcibly displaced.

The number of IDPs has doubled in the past 10 years, with a steep incline since 2020. Conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis, with a total of 14.3 million Sudanese remaining displaced at the end of 2024. This was 3.5 million more people than 12 months prior.

Where are people displaced from?

In 2024, more than one-third of all forcibly displaced people globally were Sudanese (14.3 million), Syrian (13.5 million), Afghan (10.3 million) or Ukrainian (8.8 million).

IDP and refugee returns

In 2024, 1.6 million refugees returned to their home country.

“However, many of these refugees returned to Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan or Ukraine, despite the fragile situations in each,” Matthew Saltmarsh, UNHCR’s media head, said. “Returns to places in conflict or instability are far from ideal and often unsustainable.”

In 2024, 8.2 million IDPs returned to their area of origin.

The UNHCR estimates that nine in 10 refugees and IDPs returned to just eight countries, which included Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Lebanon, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria and Ukraine.

“Large IDP returns during the year were also registered in several countries that simultaneously saw significant new displacements, such as the DRC (2.4 million), Myanmar (378,000),  Syria (514,000) or Ukraine (782,000),” Saltmarsh said.

“Even amid the devastating cuts, we have seen some rays of hope over the last six months,” Grandi said. “Nearly two million Syrians have been able to return home after over a decade uprooted. The country remains fragile, and people need our help to rebuild their lives again.”

The Dodgers’ biggest question this season is an eerily familiar one.

Will their pitching ever get back to full (or at least, significantly improved) health? And will it be as productive as expected if or when that happens?

To this point, the team remains confident on both fronts.

Injured starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki are all in throwing progressions. Two-way star Shohei Ohtani is continuing to build up his arm through weekly live batting practices, and Emmet Sheehan is on a rehab assignment with triple-A Oklahoma City. And a whole litany of relievers are also expected back at some point, with Kirby Yates and Michael Kopech likely to return this weekend, and Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol possibilities over the coming couple of months.

Still, as this last week has epitomized, there is an ever-present lack of certainty hanging over the state of the staff as well, with the recovery of any injured pitcher seemingly liable to shift at any moment.

“I’m very confident we’re going to get them all back,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “I just don’t know when.”

This week, Glasnow became the latest example of that unpredictable dynamic.

On Monday, Roberts offered a seemingly troublesome update on the oft-injured right-hander. After Glasnow had thrown one bullpen session a week and a half earlier, a bout of back tightness had kept him from throwing off a mound again since.

“There was one ‘pen and, then [his] body didn’t respond,” Roberts said. “So we’re trying to figure out when we can ramp him back up.”

On Tuesday, however, Glasnow presented a more optimistic version of events. Yes, his back became “a little tight” after his initial bullpen session, he said. But he described the resulting pause in his throwing progression as nothing more than a “precaution,” adding that he plans to resume throwing bullpens in the coming week.

“I feel totally fine, totally normal,” said Glasnow, who initially went on the injured list in April because of shoulder inflammation. “My shoulder’s totally fine. That issue, I haven’t felt since I started throwing. It was fine. [The back tightness] really was just, I think, a precaution. I felt totally fine. I’m good to go.”

During his time on the IL, Glasnow believes he found a middle ground between the pitching mechanics he had last year (when his season ended early with elbow tendinitis) and the changes he made over the winter (which he felt contributed to his more recent shoulder issue).

Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki watches a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks from the dugout at Dodger Stadium on May 21.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“Trying to meld a best-of-both worlds situation,” he said. “But right now, I feel really, really good mechanics-wise, to just be athletic and throw. It’s enabled me to just be myself more now.”

And though he is still weeks, if not a month or more, away from being activated, Glasnow said he’s confident about having enough time over the second half of the season to rediscover a rhythm ahead of the playoffs.

“I’m trying to get back as soon as I can,” Glasnow said. “But we’re on the same wavelength of, ‘Let’s get you back out as healthy as possible as soon as possible, in a healthy way.’”

Snell, who has also been out since early April because of shoulder trouble, has endured his own stop-and-start recovery process.

After first going on the injured list two starts into the season — because of shoulder pain that he later said had been bothering him since spring training — Snell started to ramp up a few weeks later, progressing to a bullpen session on April 19.

His shoulder, however, didn’t respond well in the days following that step. Thus, he was shut down from throwing again, and received an injection to help alleviate his lingering discomfort.

Since then, Snell has been on a more methodical throwing plan. Recently, his shoulder has finally started to feel normal. And, like Glasnow, he is hoping to begin throwing bullpens once more over the next week.

“I can’t wait [to get back],” Snell told AM 570 last weekend. “Having to wait, it sucks. It’s a long process. But I’m gonna go slow. I’m gonna make sure I’m ready. So when I start pitching, I can get going and do my thing.”

This remains the Dodgers’ company line with most of their injured arms — the team wanting to purposely take their progressions slowly in the short term, to ensure they are available in the long run later this year.

“As far as return to play, there’s certainly a cautiousness to it,” Roberts said. “Because as you start getting into the middle of the year, then any setback could be detrimental for the rest of the season.”

In the meantime, uncertainty on the mound — where the Dodgers currently rank 22nd in the majors with a 4.10 team ERA — will continue to loom.

There is always the threat of setbacks; like what happened with Evan Phillips, who underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery Wednesday for an injury that was initially expected to sideline him for only two weeks.

And even once pitchers do come back, their levels of performance are subject to variance. That’s been the case recently with Kopech, who struggled so much during a rehab stint in Oklahoma City (where he gave up 11 runs and 11 walks in 6 ⅓ innings) that the Dodgers had him throw a live batting practice session in front of their big league coaching staff Wednesday to help him work through some mechanical adjustments.

“The stuff was good,” Roberts said of Kopech, out since the start of the year because of a shoulder impingement. “Just curious to see what the pitching guys and the training staff feel, and what he thinks of how he felt today. And we’ll kind of move forward after that.”

Yates, who has not required a rehab stint recovering from a hamstring strain, also threw live BP on Wednesday.

“We’ll see how they feel tomorrow,” Roberts said. “And then I think we’ll have a much better decision on this weekend for both guys.”

The good news for the Dodgers is that they do have depth. They don’t need every one of their injured pitchers to return to health and previous form. Even if only half of the arms currently on the IL get back to where they were before, they could still have a pitching staff capable of contending for another World Series title.

Because of that, it seems unlikely they’ll make overly aggressive moves on the trade market leading up to the July 31 deadline. They could use another right-handed reliever to replace Phillips but might be wary of a high-cost splash for a front-line starter (especially after doling out more than half a billion dollars the last two winters to Glasnow, Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto).

For now, they continue to trust that pitchers such as Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani will be impact contributors for the stretch run of the season. They are confident that Sasaki (who has continued regular catch play while battling his own shoulder issue), Sheehan and Graterol will give them more pitching coverage as well.

But until then, they will nonetheless face a precariously familiar situation: hoping enough injured pitchers are able to regain health over the course of the season, and that more unforeseen setbacks won’t continue to leave them shorthanded on the mound.

“I think we’re very confident that we’re going to get the guys we’re talking about back,” Roberts said. “Then once we get them back, we got to make sure we keep them back too.”

Every weekday, 38-year-old Fatima Musa grips her son’s hand as they step onto a makeshift bridge in Fori, a community in Jere Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. Together, they cross the poorly constructed structure to reach the primary school he attends, and later make the same journey home.

The original Fori Bridge collapsed during the devastating floods of September 2024, which inundated Maiduguri and its environs, leaving dozens dead and thousands displaced. The destruction severed vital connections between Bama Park and Market, the University of Maiduguri, and several neighbourhoods.

With no official intervention, local youths erected a makeshift crossing far from Fatima’s home. Constructed from wooden planks, logs, and sand-filled sacks, the narrow bridge hovers precariously over the Ngadda River, the same river that swept away homes, businesses, and livelihoods just months ago.

The disruption forced residents like Fatima to undertake perilous detours or depend on the makeshift bridge, which is far away from her home. 

The community’s improvised fix has restored a semblance of connectivity, but it is fragile. In less than two months, seasonal rains will return, swelling the Ngadda once again. Residents told HumAngle they fear the structure will be destroyed, cutting them off from schools, hospitals, and markets, and deepening the isolation they already face.

The original Fori Bridge, a vital link for residents across several communities in Jere, was the first structure to collapse when the floods ravaged the area. 

A student’s dread

For 27-year-old Zainab Yahaya, a student at the University of Maiduguri, the broken bridge is more than a daily inconvenience, it threatens her future. She crosses the makeshift bridge every day to attend classes. As the rainy season looms, her anxiety increases.

“I use the makeshift bridge now, but when the water returns, the bridge won’t survive it,” she said. “And then, everything becomes more difficult, more expensive, more dangerous and more exhausting.”

Last year’s flood destroyed her neighbourhood. This year, she fears her education may be next. Without the bridge, Zainab would be forced to take longer detours that significantly increase both cost and travel time.

“What used to cost ₦100 will now jump to ₦400,” she explained. “And the hours I lose taking detours, it’s hard to keep up with school. I will be exhausted before I reach class.”

Crossing by canoe is not an option she trusts. “It’s dangerous. The water is unpredictable, the canoes are unstable, and sometimes you don’t even know if the person paddling them is a professional or not,” Zainab added.

Her frustration is echoed throughout the community. “The government hasn’t done anything tangible. No repairs, no support, not even a visit,” she says. “We’re left on our own.”

A cycle doomed to repeat

A HumAngle investigation published in 2024 traced the flood’s origins to a combination of infrastructural decay, poor planning, and delayed emergency response at the Alau Dam.

Originally designed in 1986 to hold 112 million cubic meters of water, the dam’s capacity has swelled to an estimated 279 to 296 million cubic meters, primarily because of unchecked sediment buildup. 

Every year, during the June-to-September monsoon, stormwater flows from the Mubi highlands into the Yedzeram River. This major tributary quickly swells and merges with the Gambole River, before entering the wetlands of the Sambisa Forest to form the headwaters of the Ngadda.

From there, the Ngadda empties into Lake Alau, held back by the Alau Dam, a large reservoir on the outskirts of Maiduguri. When rainfall is heavy upstream, the rivers surge downstream with little delay, raising water levels sharply in Lake Alau.

The dam is gate-controlled, designed to hold and release water in a regulated manner.

However, another dam downstream lacks this control. Without gates, it simply overflows once water reaches a certain level, releasing torrents into vulnerable communities with no warning. This unregulated spillway worsened last year’s catastrophe in Maiduguri.

In February, the federal government announced a ₦80 billion rehabilitation and expansion project for the Alau Dam to prevent any disaster in the future. On March 2, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, officially flagged off the project, stating it would be executed in two phases over 24 months.

Yet, a visit by HumAngle to the site in May painted a different picture.

Three bulldozers sat idle in the sun. No workers were present. The dam, still visibly broken, lay open like an unhealed wound. A makeshift sand barrier was the only sign of intervention, containing stagnant water where a flowing river once ran.

Nearby, fishermen cast their nets into the shallow puddles, making do with what remains of their vanishing livelihood. 

“They [referring to government contractors] brought those bulldozers months ago,” said Musa, a wiry young man watching the water. “All they did was pile sand to block the flow. Since then, nothing.”

Adamu, another resident and a fisherman, leaned against a tree and shook his head. “This sand is like candy floss,” he muttered. “It will melt when the floods come. Then we’ll flood again.”

At 53, Bulama Isa no longer moves with the vigour of his youth. Yet he frequently walks his farmland along the banks of the Ngadda River, inspecting what remains of his farmland. 

“This place used to feed my whole family,” he says, gesturing at the gaping holes where his garden once stood. “Now I don’t have a farm.” Isa has farmed near the Alau Dam since the early 2000s. He watched the flood swallow his fields last September and his year’s harvest. When the water receded, he was left with a gaping hole. 

Now, with no compensation and no clear plan from the government, he survives on support from relatives and the little his wife makes selling fried groundnuts.

Residents who spoke to HumAngle expressed frustration over the lack of progress and now fear that this year’s flood could be even worse than the last. 

As of May 2025, neither the Fori Bridge nor the Alau Dam has been repaired. 

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has projected that the onset of the rainy season in Borno State will occur between early June and July 2025. In northern states, flooding will likely occur at the peak of rainfall between July and September, according to NiMet. Urban areas with poor drainage systems are particularly at risk of flooding during this period.

HumAngle reached out to the Ministry of Water Resources through the state commissioner, Tijjani Goni Alkali, to inquire about the project’s status and the concerns of nearby communities. As of press time, no response had been received.

With the forthcoming rains, many fear that their lives will be uprooted once again.