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Netflix stock plunges to 52-week low following mixed earnings report

Netflix stock plunged 9% on Friday morning to $67.74 a share, after the streamer’s second quarter earnings report renewed concerns among investors and analysts about the streamer’s future growth.

The Los Gatos-based company on Thursday narrowed its 2026 forecast to $51 billion to $51.4 billion from $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion, causing equity analysts to cut their estimates. The stock reached a new 52-week low on Friday and is down 49% from a year ago.

“This outlook likely reinforces investor concerns,” wrote analysts from Guggenheim Securities in a research note on Friday, which has a “buy” rating on the stock.

Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its declining stock price.

Investors have been skittish about the amount of time people spend on the streaming platform. Netflix’s share of TV viewing time in the U.S. has steadily declined in recent months as YouTube has gained market share, according to Nielsen data.

Investors are concerned that if people spend less time watching Netflix, it could cause people to cancel their subscriptions and make it more challenging for Netflix to raise prices in markets like the U.S.

Netflix said engagement is healthy on its platform and its programs continue to draw large audiences with popular shows like crime drama series “I Will Find You.”

Netflix said subscribers watched more than 97 billion hours on the streaming service in the first half of the year, up 2% from a year ago.

“We are increasingly concerned that younger generations are less interested in long form content as their time migrates to ‘free’ social media platforms,” wrote Jeffrey Wlodarczak, CEO of Pivotal Research Group in a report on Friday, who has a hold recommendation on Netflix stock. “We believe this will result in slower subscriber growth and attempts by the company to offset this via more aggressive price increases and investment in content.”

Netflix executives in a Thursday earnings presentation emphasized that measuring engagement at the company goes beyond hours spent watching the streaming service.

“There is not a linear relationship between view hours and revenue and profit because all hours are not created equal,” said Greg Peters, Netflix co-CEO on an earnings presentation on Thursday. “All hours don’t provide the same kind of value to the business.”

The streamer said it plans to allocate just over 5% of its content spend on live programming this year. Live content has been a key driver for subscriptions, accounting for six of the top 10 new member sign-up days over the last five years, the company said, even though it makes up roughly 1% of overall watch time this year.

The company is also diversifying the content it offers on its platform, adding live sports games and video podcasts, in addition its large library of TV shows and movies.

Netflix revenue rose 13% to $12.6 billion in the second quarter. Net income was $3.4 billion, up 9% from a year ago.

The company said its advertising business is on track to reach $3 billion in revenue this year, double the amount in 2025.

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The Sports Report: Can anything derail the Dodgers in the second half?

What can derail the Dodgers?

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior was worried. But how worried? He couldn’t say at first.

The team had taken major steps to address Shohei Ohtani’s lingering left knee condition, presenting him with a plan to skip his last start before the All-Star break and have his knee drained that Sunday. And he’d co-signed it.

The swelling in Ohtani’s knee, however, had been more persistent than the team expected. And pitching seemed to irritate it.

“I would say, moderately concerned,” Prior eventually said in a conversation with The Times last weekend. “But no more concerned than I probably am with anybody else who’s had to deal with aches and pains. Hopefully, this break and this rest will get it to calm down a little bit, and then we’ll see where we’re at next weekend.”

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Dodgers face the most pressing question for their second half: Will they be able to manage Ohtani’s knee condition?

Of course, plenty of other questions loom: What approach will the Dodgers take at the trade deadline? Will the pitchers coming off the injured list in the second half provide enough depth? Can they maintain the best record in the majors?

But naturally, Ohtani’s health is tangled up in all those answers.

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Plaschke: Who says they don’t need him? Dodgers need to trade for Tarik Skubal

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World Cup: Spain hopes to recapture 2010 magic

From Kevin Baxter: If something happened once, it can happen again. That’s kind of what Yogi Berra was getting at when he said “it’s like deja vu all over again.”

Berra, the late Yankee catcher and once New Jersey’s unofficial poet laureate, spent most of his life within walking distance of East Rutherford, N.J., where history could repeat itself all over again in Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. And that makes his words newly relevant.

Argentina and Lionel Messi, the reigning champions, will be seeking to become the first to repeat in 64 years while Spain will be playing in the title game for just the second time ever. And the similarities to its first trip, in 2010, are uncanny.

Sixteen years ago Spain became just the second reigning European champion to win a World Cup. It will enter Sunday’s game as the reigning European champion.

In the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, Spain ran off a 35-game unbeaten streak, which matched the longest in history at the time. La Roja will enter Sunday’s game with a 37-game unbeaten streak, which matches the current longest streak in history.

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World Cup schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Third-place match
France vs. England, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match
Spain vs. Argentina, Sunday, noon

LeBron James remains mum on his next team

If LeBron James knows where he will play this coming season, he’s still not saying.

The NBA’s career scoring king and current free agent spoke publicly for the first time in weeks Thursday afternoon, though stopped short of revealing which team he’ll choose to play for this fall — despite at least one cry from someone in a jam-packed room shouting for him to “pick a team.”

“It’s going to be fun wherever I land,” James said.

The four-time NBA champion was recording an episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast alongside guest co-host Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers in New York on the opening day of Fanatics Fest, a four-day event featuring dozens of athletes, celebrities and sports legends. Single-day general admission tickets were sold out, organizers said, and it’s likely that many of those patrons — there were at least several hundred there, phones out to capture the moment — were hoping to hear James’ next decision.

Not yet, he said.

“There’s no decision,” James said.

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This day in sports history

1939 — Henry Picard beats Byron Nelson 1-up in 37 holes to win the PGA championship.

1955 — Beverly Hanson beats Louise Suggs by three strokes in a playoff to capture the first LPGA championship.

1966 — Jim Ryun becomes the first American to hold the record in the mile since 1937. With a time of 3:51.3 at Berkeley, Calif., Ryun shatters Michel Jazy’s mark of 3:53.6 by 2.3 seconds.

1979 — Sebastian Coe breaks the world record in the mile with a time of 3:48.95 in Oslo, Norway. The time is rounded up to 3:49.

1983 — Bobby Hebert passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Michigan Panthers to a 24-22 win over the Philadelphia Stars in the first USFL championship game.

1983 — Tom Watson wins his second straight and fifth career British Open title. Watson shoots a 9-under 275 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England to finish one stroke ahead of Andy Bean and Hale Irwin.

1994 — Brazil wins a record fourth World Cup soccer title, taking the first shootout in championship game history over Italy.

2005 — Tiger Woods records another ruthless performance at St. Andrews, closing with a 2-under 70 to win the British Open for his 10th career major. He wins by five shots, the largest margin in any major since Woods won by eight at St. Andrews five years ago. He joins Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the career Grand Slam twice.

2006 — Stacey Nuveman and Lovieanne Jung each homer to power the United States to the World Cup of Softball title with a 5-2 victory over Japan.

2011 — Japan stuns the United States in a riveting Women’s World Cup final, winning 3-1 on penalty kicks after coming from behind twice in a 2-2 tie. Goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori makes two brilliant saves in the shootout. Japan, making its first appearance in the final of a major tournament, hadn’t beaten the Americans in their first 25 meetings.

2011 — Darren Clarke gives Northern Ireland another major championship, winning the British Open by three strokes over Americans Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.

2016 — Henrik Stenson shoots an 8-under 63 to beat Phil Mickelson by three strokes, becoming the first man from Sweden to win the British Open.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1924 — Jesse Haines of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Braves.

1925 — Tris Speaker is the fifth player to reach 3,000 hits.

1936 — Carl Hubbell’s 24-game winning streak over two years began as he beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on five hits.

1941 — Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak of 56 games was stopped by Al Smith and Jim Bagby of the Indians before 67,000 at Cleveland. The Yankees still won, 4-3.

1956 — In the second game of a doubleheader against Kansas City, Ted Williams hit his 400th home run. Williams connected in the sixth inning off Tom Gorman to give the Red Sox a 1-0 win over the A’s.

1966 — Chicago’s Billy Williams hit for the cycle to lead the Cubs to a 7-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader. Williams singled in the first inning, doubled in the third, had an RBI-triple in the fifth, homered to center in the seventh and popped out to third baseman in foul territory. The Cardinals took the opener 4-3 in 11 innings.

1969 — Jim Kaat, Gold Glove winner for seven straight years, was charged with three errors, leading to three unearned runs against the Chicago White Sox. Nevertheless, he won the game at Minnesota 8-5.

1974 — Bob Gibson struck out Cesar Geronimo of the Reds in the second inning to become the second pitcher in major league history to record 3,000 strikeouts. Cincinnati beat St. Louis, 6-4.

1978 — Doc Medich of the Texas Rangers saved the life of a 61-year-old fan who had a heart attack just before a scheduled game at Baltimore. Medich, a medical student, administered heart massage until help arrived.

1987 — Don Mattingly became the first AL player to hit at least one home run in seven consecutive games as the New York Yankees disposed of the Texas Rangers 8-4.

1990 — Minnesota became the first team in major league history to pull off two triple plays in one game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Boston as the Red Sox beat the Twins 1-0.

2007 — Ryan Garko hit a tying pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning and singled home the winning run in the 11th to give Cleveland a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox.

2011 — Dustin Pedroia singled with two out in the top of the 16th inning, snapping a scoreless tie and giving the Red Sox a 1-0 victory over the Rays. It was the longest 1-0 game in the major leagues since the Brewers at Angels on June 8, 2004 went 17 innings.

2016 — Starling Marte hit a solo home run in the 18th inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 2-1 in a marathon game that lasted almost six hours. Pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy homered with two outs in the ninth inning for Washington.

2022 — Second-generation players take the first two spots in the 2022 amateur draft as SS Jackson Holliday, son of Matt Holliday, goes first overall to the Orioles, while OF Druw Jones, son of Andruw Jones, is selected second by the Diamondbacks.

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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

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The Sports Report: Argentina to face Spain in World Cup final

Argentina advances to World Cup final

From Kevin Baxter: The jury is still out on whether Lionel Messi is the greatest soccer player ever. But there should be no doubt he’s the greatest to ever play in a World Cup.

And you don’t need the records, the wins or the goals to prove that — although he certainly has enough of those. You just need to see Messi at his most magical, as he was Wednesday, setting up a pair of game-changing goals in a seven-minute span to lift Argentina to a 2-1 win over England and into Sunday’s World Cup final with Spain.

“It’s really hard to speak right now, but I’m going to try not to cry,” Lautaro Martínez, who scored the winning goal two minutes into stoppage time, said in Spanish. “I’m already overwhelmed inside. It’s incredible. Everything we’ve achieved is just incredible.”

Like their 13-game World Cup unbeaten streak, dating to the opening game of the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Or back-to-back trips to the final, which gives them a chance to become the first repeat champion in the men’s tournament since Brazil in 1962.

But it hasn’t been easy. Eleven of Argentina’s 19 goals — including both scores in Wednesday’s semifinal — have come after the 75th minute. They trailed in the 80th minute or later in two of their last three knockout games, only to rally both times.

And Messi has either scored or assisted on three of the four goals that rescued Argentina.

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World Cup semifinals schedule, results

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
Spain 2, France 0

Wednesday
Argentina 2, England 1

Third-place match

France vs. England, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match

Spain vs. Argentina, Sunday, noon

Nneka Ogwumike ties team record in Sparks’ loss

Nneka Ogwumike scored 23 points for the Sparks on Wednesday. But it was her 15-foot jumper with 1:45 left in the game that put her in the record book.

Ogwumike’s final points tied Lisa Leslie as the franchise’s all-time scorers with 6,263 points in the Sparks’ 96-87 loss to the Minnesota Lynx, who won their fourth in a row.

Candace Parker is third with 5,684 points.

Ogwumike, who played 12 seasons in L.A. before returning this season, added 12 rebounds and five assists for the Sparks, who dropped to 10-13. The inconsistent Sparks have dropped back-to-back games since firing GM Raegan Pebley.

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Sparks box score

WNBA standings

This day in sports history

1920 — The United States sweeps Australia in five matches to win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1913. The U.S. team is made up of Bill Tilden and Bill Johnston.

1938 — Paul Runyan wins the PGA Championship by routing Sam Snead 8 and 7 in the final round.

1947 — Rocky Graziano scores a technical knockout with a barrage of 30 punches against Tony Zale in the sixth round to win the world middleweight boxing title. Held in Chicago Stadium, it’s the largest grossing fight in history.

1950 — Uruguay beats Brazil 2-1 to win soccer’s World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.

1967 — Kathy Whitworth wins the LPGA championship by one stroke over Shirley Englehorn. Whitworth sinks a fifty-foot uphill putt for a birdie on the 18th green at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton Mass.

1989 — Betsy King birdies three of the first four holes of the final round to win her first U.S. Women’s Open championship by four strokes over Nancy Lopez.

1993 — Nick Faldo ties the best single round in 122 years of the British Open with a course-record 63 to give him a one-stroke lead after the second round.

1995 — Annika Sorenstam of Sweden wins the U.S. Women’s Open by one stroke over Meg Mallon, her first victory on the LPGA Tour.

2005 — In Las Vegas, Jermain Taylor beats Bernard Hopkins for the undisputed middleweight title. Hopkins, a winner of a record 20 consecutive defenses, starts slowly and the undefeated challenger builds up a big enough lead on two judges’ scorecards to take the crown.

2006 — J.R. Todd becomes the first Black driver to win an NHRA Top Fuel event, beating Tony Schumacher in the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

2011 — Kyle Busch wins the Nationwide race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to become the third driver to win 100 races in NASCAR’s three national series. Busch, with 22 Cup victories and 29 Trucks wins, also ties Mark Martin for first place in career Nationwide Series victories with 49. Richard Petty and David Pearson are the other drivers with at least 100 wins.

2012 — Roger Federer surpasses Pete Sampras to set the record for the most weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings. After winning Wimbledon a week ago — his 75th career ATP title — Federer returns to the top for the first time since June 2010. Today marks his 287th week at No. 1, one more than Sampras.

2017 — Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, to claim a record eighth Wimbledon men’s title.

2023 — Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: In a classic final, 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz ends Novak Đoković’s 34-match win streak at the All England Club with a 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1897 — Chicago’s Cap Anson became the first major leaguer to reach 3,000 hits when he singled off Baltimore’s George Blackburn.

1902 — John McGraw was named manager of the New York Giants, a post he would hold for 30 years.

1909 — Ed Summers of the Detroit Tigers gave up only seven hits and pitched all 18 innings of a 0-0 tie with the Washington Senators, the longest scoreless game in AL history.

1920 — Babe Ruth broke his own season record of 29 homers with his 30th as the New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-2. Ruth would finish the season with 54.

1933 — Red Lucas of the Cincinnati Reds pitched a 15-inning 1-0 win over Roy Parmelee and the New York Giants in the opener of a doubleheader.

1941 — Joe DiMaggio extended his hitting streak to 56 games with a 3-for-4 day as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 10-3.

1948 — After 8 1/2 years as Brooklyn manager, Leo Durocher stunned baseball by taking the helm of the archrival Giants in midseason.

1958 – In the nitecap of a doubleheader, Baltimore pitcher Jack Harshman hit two homers in a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox.

1970 — The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pirates 3-2 before 48,846 in the first game at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium.

1985 — Sparky Anderson became the first manager to lose an All-Star Game in both leagues. The National League won 6-1 for the 21st win in the last 23 games.

1996 — Colorado’s streak of scoring at least seven runs in a game ended at 11. The Rockies beat the Giants 5-3 and tied the 1911 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1938 New York Yankees and 1976 Cincinnati Reds with 11 7-run games.

1997 — Kevin Brown pitched his first career one-hitter to lead Florida to 5-1 win over the Dodgers. Brown, who no-hit San Francisco on June 10th, faced two batters over the minimum and gave up a lead-off single to left by Raul Mondesi in the fifth. He struck out eight and retired his final 15 batters.

1998 — Randy Johnson pitched a one-hitter to lead Seattle to a 3-0 win over Minnesota. Johnson struck out 11 and gave up a single to third baseman Brent Gates.

2006 — Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer in Atlanta’s 10-5 win at San Diego to give him an extra-base hit in 14 straight games, tying a 79-year-old major league record. Jones tied the record set in 1927 by Pittsburgh’s Paul Waner.

2006 — Mariano Rivera earned his 400th save, escaping two jams and getting six outs to preserve the New York Yankees’ 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Rivera joined Lee Smith, Trevor Hoffman and John Franco in the 400-save club.

2009 — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard became the fastest player in major league history to reach 200 home runs, breaking the record previously held by Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. Howard reached 200 homers in his 658th game, hitting his 23rd of the season in the sixth inning of a 4-0 win over Florida. Kiner hit No. 200 in his 706th game.

2013 — Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect eighth inning in his final All-Star appearance, Jose Bautista, J.J. Hardy and Jason Kipnis drove in runs to back a night of pulsating pitching, and the American League beat the National League 3-0.

2015 — Brock Holt became the first Boston player to hit for the cycle since 1996 and the Red Sox slugged their way out to a 9-4 victory over Atlanta.

2021 — Jake Cronenworth hit for his first career cycle, Wil Myers had a grand slam and a two-run shot and the San Diego Padres set a franchise record for runs in a 24-8 blowout of the Washington Nationals.

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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

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Rubio gathers countries on left-wing political violence as it becomes a Trump focus in elections

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday convened leaders from more than 60 countries to take part in the Trump administration’s latest effort to quell what it calls “left-wing” political terrorism, a marquee issue for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.

This focus comes even as studies show that there are very few reported cases of such incidents in the U.S., especially compared to historically higher levels of far-right violence.

With sweeping statements about the “alarming rise” of political violence by the left, Rubio and other U.S. officials painted a dark image of the future if the “communists and Marxists” perpetrating these supposed acts are not defeated. He urged officials in attendance — mostly from European and Latin American countries — to unite to address the issue, which he says has been a “blind spot” in counterterrorism doctrine.

“So many people in positions of power have repeatedly dismissed acts of violence and even terrorism as legitimate forms of political expression, so long as they served a left-wing cause,” Rubio said in opening remarks. “A bomb planted by a neo-Nazi group was ‘a nefarious and murderous act of evil.’ It is, but a bomb planted by a Marxist revolutionary, well, that’s just merely a tragic excess of idealism.”

A report published last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that left-wing terrorism attacks as of July 4, 2025, had surpassed those from the far right for the first time in more than 30 years. However, a closer look at the data reveals that the uptick reflects a very low starting level and a concurrent drop on the far right.

There was an average of 0.6 left-wing incidents annually from 1994 through 2000, compared with an average of 20.6 on the right, the report shows. From 2016 to 2024, there was an average of four per year on the left and 22.7 per year on the right. Those numbers had dropped dramatically on the right as of early July 2025, with only one incident. Meanwhile, there had been five from the left.

But the report’s authors note that right-wing terrorism could easily return to elevated levels and that it is important to fight terrorism on both sides of the political spectrum.

President Trump and his allies have prioritized talking points against the far left ahead of the congressional elections this November. Trump has repeatedly stated that the Democratic Party’s ascendant left are communists who want to “completely destroy the traditional American way of life” and even engage in assassinations.

Vice President JD Vance has similarly called out communism as a political shift that is “something we haven’t seen in the U.S.” House Speaker Mike Johnson has decried “radical candidates” who are “self-described, self-identifying Marxists.”

For Rubio, his worldview on this issue has been largely shaped by his own history: he is the son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in Miami in May 1956, a few years before communist leader Fidel Castro rose to power in Havana. The former Florida senator said Thursday that it was that same government’s sprawling intelligence and ideological network that “helped to build the far left in our country and in our hemisphere.”

Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and main architect of the administration’s immigration policy, followed Rubio’s remarks, aiming to drive home the immediacy of the perceived threats he saw to American institutions coming from the left, and what response is needed in return.

“If your civilization is your home, you must defend it with the same passion and force as if an enemy intruder is inside your own house where your family lives,” Miller said. “That is the level of dedication and urgency that is required.”

This ideological focus has repeatedly conflated democratic socialism — which often centers on securing universal healthcare, higher taxes on the wealthy and stricter corporate regulation — with communism, under which private ownership is largely eliminated.

It has only intensified in the last year, after the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to become New York City mayor and several of his proteges who won their New York City congressional primaries last month, beating out incumbents.

One of the ways the administration has started to target left-wing efforts is through sanctions. In November, the State Department designated four antifa or anti-fascist groups in Europe as foreign terrorist organizations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in his remarks Thursday that targeting these entities’ financial networks is the best way to circumvent their efforts.

“We have spent decades developing the world’s most sophisticated financial counterterrorism capabilities, and now we are mobilizing some of the same tools that we have deployed against terrorists abroad to confront this emerging threat here at home,” he told the conference.

Amiri and Kinnard write for the Associated Press. Amiri reported from New York and Kinnard from Columbia, S.C. AP writer Melissa Goldin in New York contributed to this report.

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Judge blocks California law on recycling symbols on plastic containers

A federal judge has halted California’s groundbreaking “Truth in Recycling” law, which aims to reduce consumer confusion about which packaging can be recycled.

California’s recyclable packaging law prohibits manufacturers from using a “chasing arrows” recycling symbol on products or materials unless they are actually being recycled in a meaningful way, which the law quantifies. The bill was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 and was to go into effect on Oct. 4.

A coalition of farming, forestry, restaurant and packaging organizations sued the state in March, arguing the law violates their right to free speech. They argued that Senate Bill 343 operates as “government-imposed censorship.”

Judge William Hayes agreed that their challenge has merit, and on Tuesday ordered California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, the defendant in the case, to pause enforcement of the law “until further order of the Court.”

The industry trade groups, which include the Dairy Institute of California, the Flexible Packaging Assn. and the Western Growers Assn., applauded the decision.

The coalition “will continue to press the case that California can strengthen recycling without censoring truthful information on packaging and without adding unnecessary and significant costs for California families and businesses,” Californians for Affordable Packaging said in a statement.

The “ruling is a significant win, not just for our members, but for every business that wants to give consumers accurate information about the products they buy,” said Julie Landry, vice president of government affairs at the American Forest & Paper Assn. “The Court recognized what we’ve said from the beginning: California cannot fix consumer confusion by restricting truthful speech.”

Advocates of reducing the use of plastic disagreed.

“The court got it wrong, and I’m confident that the state will ultimately prevail,” said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for Californians Against Waste. “SB 343 does not violate the First Amendment; it requires companies to tell the truth when they make recyclability claims. Suggesting that the First Amendment protects misleading environmental marketing is inconsistent with the basic principles of consumer protection that states like California have implemented for decades.”

In January, CalRecycle, the state’s waste agency, issued a report showing that less than 10% of most single-use plastic materials in the state were being recycled.

Even yogurt containers and margarine tubs — made of ubiquitous polypropylene, or #5 plastic — are being recycled at a rate of only 2% in the state, the report said. Only 5% of colored shampoo and detergent bottles, made from polyethylene, or #1 plastic, are getting recycled.

Reports on abysmally low rates of recycling for milk cartons and polystyrene had been widely shared even before that.

Plastic materials that can’t be recycled are typically sent to landfills or sometimes illegally shipped overseas, where they are burned or end up in landfills, rivers and waterways.

A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that nationwide, taxpayers, governments and businesses are spending between $9.8 billion and $13.3 billion per year cleaning up plastic litter, and almost $3 billion is spent by local governments on landfilling plastic.

According to one state analysis, 2.9 million tons of single-use plastic and 171.4 billion single-use plastic components were sold, offered for sale or distributed in California in 2023.

Single-use plastics, and plastic waste more broadly, are considered a growing environmental and health problem. In recent decades, plastic waste has overwhelmed waterways and oceans, sickening marine life and threatening human health.

“It is a terrible decision which denies consumers basic information needed to make informed choices,” said Judith Enck, former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator and president of the nonprofit Beyond Plastics. “Given the long history of the plastics industry deceiving the public about plastics recycling, this is an especially bad outcome. It is a reminder that the plastics industry has enough money to fight even the most modest policy designed to protect people and the planet.”

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Detainees at ICE facility in Texas report frequent beatings and abuses, say rights advocates

Dozens of people held at a sprawling Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas say they were either beaten by guards or witnessed others being beaten, according to a new report issued by legal and human rights advocates.

The 84-page report issued jointly Wednesday by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union also says men and women held at Camp East Montana, located at the U.S. Army’s Fort Bliss in El Paso, recounted being denied necessary medical care, forced to live in filthy conditions and fed inedible meals. Detainees also said they were prevented from contacting their lawyers or family members.

Of the 71 detainees contacted over a five month period, 64 — about 90% of those interviewed — said they had either personally been assaulted by the staff or had seen others physically abused, according to the report.

“ICE’s Camp East Montana is a human rights disaster,” said Angélica César, a fellow at Human Rights Watch and the ACLU who was a lead researcher for the report. “The U.S. government should shut it down, conduct independent investigations into all abuses and deaths in custody, and put an end to mass deportations and mandatory immigration detention.”

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The new accounts of violence and substandard living conditions inside Camp East Montana are consistent with earlier reports by The Associated Press and others. At least three detainees held at the facility since it opened in August have died, including a 55-year-old Cuban migrant who was handcuffed and stopped breathing earlier this year after being held down by guards.

A local medical examiner later ruled that death a homicide and a federal report issued last month said evidence in the case was “missing or destroyed.” That report by the Government Accountability Office found mismanagement by the Department of Homeland Security had created unsafe conditions that contributed to detainee deaths and suffering even as millions of wasted tax dollars enriched contractors.

In March, ICE replaced Acquisition Logistics, LLC, the prime contractor that had been awarded a deal last year worth up to $1.3 billion to build and manage the camp. The Virginia company had no prior experience running an ICE detention facility, had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million and lacked a functioning website.

The change came as an internal ICE review documented 49 deficiencies, which it defines as violations of detention standards or policies, in areas including the use of force and restraints, security and medical care.

Despite the change in contractors, interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch and the ACLU as recently as last month found serious problems at the camp have persisted.

Detainees recounted degrading and inhumane living conditions that included bathrooms covered in feces, flooded housing units and no access to soap or other basic hygiene supplies, according to the report. They also reported being held indoors for weeks without meaningful access to recreation, sunlight or fresh air.

People also described receiving spoiled food and inconsistent meal schedules, with delays of up to 12 hours between meals.

The report recounts detainees saying that guards beat detainees in response to hunger strikes, requests for medical attention and complaints regarding detention conditions. Several people said that guards imposed collective punishment, striking or assaulting multiple people after accusing one detainee of violating rules, according to the report.

Researchers found that staff pressured and coerced those held there into abandoning immigration claims and accepting removal to third countries if they could not be sent back to their own country. The detainees said they were threatened with violence, criminal prosecution, and indefinite detention if they refused deportation.

In some cases, the report concluded, the circumstances of ICE detention could amount to enforced disappearances, a potential violation of international human rights law.

Human Rights Watch and the ACLU called on the Trump administration to close Camp East Montana and to allow independent investigations into deaths in custody, excessive force, medical neglect and enforced disappearances.

“The abuses documented at Fort Bliss are the predictable outcome of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, its brutal expansion of immigration detention, and the erosion of federal oversight mechanisms,” said César, the lead researcher. “People at Camp East Montana are human beings who deserve to be treated with dignity and protected from harm.”

Biesecker writes for the Associated Press.

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The Sports Report: Spain advances to World Cup final

Spain advances to World Cup final

From Kevin Baxter: In a World Cup boasting a galaxy of stars, a lunch-bucket team of blue-collar everymen may wind up outshining them all.

Spain clinched a berth to the final Tuesday by smothering France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, running its unbeaten streak to 37 games while eliminating a team that had run roughshod through the tournament.

And it wasn’t even close. France came into the game with 16 goals, second only to Argentina in the tournament, then failed to put a shot on goal in the first 81 minutes.

It had Kylian Mbappé, who is tied with Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this summer and was the Golden Boot winner four years ago in Qatar. He was all but invisible until, frustrated, he felled Spanish keeper Unai Simón with a cheap shot in the final minutes, drawing a well-deserved yellow card.

France couldn’t even score into an open net, with Desire Doue lining a low shot right at a rapidly retreating Simón, who had come well off his line and left the goal unattended. For Simón, Tuesday’s clean sheet was his sixth in seven games in this tournament.

Continue reading here

How World Cup senior citizens like Lionel Messi have bio-hacked longer careers

Folarin Balogun says his red card controversy ‘didn’t help’ U.S. at World Cup

Norway star Erling Haaland left the U.S. with seven World Cup goals and a taxidermy raccoon, sparking a run on the item

Go beyond the scoreboard

Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.

World Cup semifinals schedule, results

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
Spain 2, France 0

Wednesday
England vs. Argentina, noon

Third-place match

France vs. England or Argentina, Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match

Spain vs. England or Argentina, Sunday, noon

Cody Bellinger is MVP of AL’s All-Star game victory

Dylan Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter in a show of pitching dominance that led the American League to a 4-0 win over the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

All-Star most valuable player Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies.

Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eighth-inning home run off the Dodgers’ Justin Wrobleski, who was pitching on his 26th birthday, for the game’s only extra-base hit. Wrobleski struck out five in two innings.

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Shaikin: ‘You never know when it’s your last.’ Mike Trout savors every moment of this All-Star Game

All-Star game box score

MLB standings

USC extends deal with Nike

From Ryan Kartje: The Swoosh is staying at USC for the foreseeable future.

USC and Nike agreed this week to a 10-year extension of their all-sports apparel deal through 2036, the school announced on Tuesday.

Their partnership was already among the longest-running apparel deals in college athletics. Now it’s ensured to carry into its fifth decade.

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What do the Sparks do next?

From Marisa Ingemi: A day after general manager Raegan Pebley was fired, the Sparks were in Atlanta and seemingly still focused on trying to reach the playoffs this year.

The suggestion that Pebley’s removal was a sign that the team is performing poorly didn’t sit well with coach Lynne Roberts.

“I don’t think we underachieved last year and this year is still going,” Roberts said in Atlanta on Monday before the team’s loss to the Dream. “For where we want to get, that’s not where we want to be, but we tripled our win total in my first year — that’s not underachieving. We haven’t hit our stride, we’ve been injured all year. Hopefully we get [Kelsey Plum] and Cam [Brink] back. Our system is designed around KP. I’m not close to thinking we are underachieving.”

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Clippers probe should wrap up this summer

From Broderick Turner: NBA commissioner Adam Silver reiterated Tuesday night after the Board of Governors meeting that the investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by funneling money to Kawhi Leonard for an endorsement deal he allegedly never fulfilled still is not completed.

Silver said his “timeline remains this summer” to make his findings known after high-powered New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz wraps up its investigation and presents the findings to the NBA.

The investigation centers on a $28-million endorsement deal to Leonard from a company called Aspiration that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $60 million into.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1912 — Jim Thorpe wins the decathlon at the Stockholm Olympics and, in the closing ceremony, Sweden’s King Gustav proclaims Thorpe the world’s greatest athlete.

1922 — Gene Sarazen shoots a final-round 68 to beat out Bobby Jones and John Black for the U.S. Open golf championship.

1923 — Amateur Bobby Jones beats Bobby Cruikshank by two strokes in a playoff to win the U.S. Open golf title.

1927 — Bobby Jones wins the British Open shooting a championship record 7-under 285 at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. It’s the second straight Open title for the amateur, who goes wire-to-wire for a six-stroke victory over Aubrey Boomer and Fred Dobson.

1945 — Byron Nelson defeats Sam Byrd in the final round of the PGA golf tournament.

1961 — Arnold Palmer shoots a 284 at Royal Birkdale to win his first British Open title.

1967 — Argentina’s Roberto DeVicenzo wins the British Open by two strokes over defending champion Jack Nicklaus.

1972 — Lee Trevino wins his second consecutive British Open title by beating Jack Nicklaus by one stroke.

1978 — Jack Nicklaus shoots a 281 at St. Andrews to win his third and final British Open.

1984 — Hollis Stacy wins her third U.S. Women’s Open golf title, beating Rosie Jones by one stroke.

1990 — Betsy King overcomes an 11-shot deficit over the final 33 holes to win her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Open as Patty Sheehan blows an eight-shot lead over the final 23 holes.

1991 — Sandhi Ortiz-DelValle becomes the first woman to officiate a men’s pro basketball game, working a United States Basketball League game between the New Haven Skyhawks and the Philadelphia Spirit.

2000 — Lennox Lewis stops Francois Botha at 2:39 of the second round to retain his WBC and IBF heavyweight titles in London.

2007 — BYU star Daniel Summerhays becomes the first amateur winner in Nationwide Tour history. Summerhays scores a two-stroke victory over Chad Collins and Chris Nallen in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational.

2007 — Copa América Final, Maracaibo, Venezuela: Defending champions Brazil win their 8th title with a 3-0 win over Argentina.

2010 — Rory McIlroy, a 21-year-old from Northern Ireland, ties the major championship record by shooting a 9-under 63 in the opening round of the British Open at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.

2010 — Caster Semenya wins her first race since being cleared to return to competition after undergoing gender tests, winning the 800 meters in a modest time against a weak field at a low-key meet in Finland.

2018 — Novak Djokovic wins his fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-2, 6-2 7-6 (3) victory over Kevin Anderson. It’s Djokovic’s 13th major trophy, the fourth-highest total in the history of men’s tennis, trailing only Roger Federer’s 20, Rafael Nadal’s 17 and Pete Sampras’ 14. At No. 21, Djokovic is the lowest-ranked Wimbledon titlist since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.

2018 — France wins its second World Cup title with a 4-2 win over Croatia in a dramatic final in Moscow.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1901 — Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants pitched his first of two career no-hitters, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0.

1921 — NY Yankees slugger Babe Ruth ties MLB record of 138 career home runs (held by Roger Connor since 1895).

1960 — Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson goes 5-for-5, hitting for the cycle and driving in three runs to lead the Orioles past the Chicago White Sox 5-2.

1969 — Cincinnati’s Lee May hit four home runs in a doubleheader split with the Atlanta Braves. May had two home runs and drove in five runs in both games. The Reds lost the opener 9-8 but won the second game 10-4.

1969 — Rod Carew stole home off Chicago’s Gerry Nyman in the Minnesota Twins’ 6-2 victory. It was Carew’s seventh steal of home for the year and tied Pete Reiser’s 1946 major league mark.

1973 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels struck out 17 batters and threw his second no-hitter of the year, beating Detroit 6-0.

1980 — Johnny Bench broke Yogi Berra’s record for home runs by a catcher, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Montreal Expos 12-7. Bench hit his 314th homer as a catcher off David Palmer. Bench had 33 home runs while playing other positions.

1997 — The San Francisco Giants scored 13 runs to set a modern NL record for runs in a seventh inning en route to a 16-2 rout of the San Diego Padres. The Giants set the NL record for the most runs in a seventh inning since 1900.

1999 — After 22½ years in the dreary Kingdome, Seattle finally played a home game outdoors, moving into a $517.6 million ballpark with a retractable roof. Jose Mesa wasted a ninth-inning lead by walking four batters and the Mariners lost 3-2 to the San Diego Padres in Safeco Field’s opener.

2003 — Garret Anderson of the Angels went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a double, powering the American League past the National League 7-6 in the All-Star Game.

2005 — Baltimore’s Rafael Palmeiro became the 26th player to reach 3,000 hits with an RBI double into the left-field corner off Joel Pineiro in the fifth inning of a 6-3 win over Seattle. Palmeiro joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players with 3,000 hits and 500 homers.

2007 — The Philadelphia Phillies lost their 10,000th game, 10-2 to St. Louis. The franchise, born in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers and later unofficially called the Blue Jays in the mid-1940s, fell to 8,810-10,000.

2008 — Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League a 4-3 victory in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. The AL extended its unbeaten streak to 12.

2014 — With Derek Jeter going out a winner in his last All-Star appearance, Mike Trout drove in two runs with a triple and a double to lead the American League past the National League 5-3. Jeter started his 14th and final midsummer classic and went 2 for 2 before being removed in the top of the fourth inning.

2017 — Cody Bellinger became the first Dodgers rookie to hit for the cycle and Alex Wood became the first Dodgers pitcher in more than a century to win his first 11 decisions in a season, helping Los Angeles beat the Miami Marlins 7-1.

2021 — Tampa Bay catcher Travis d’Arnaud becomes first player in MLB history to hit three homers while catching and batting leadoff in the Rays’ 5-4 win over the NY Yankees.

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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

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Adam Silver says Clippers probe should wrap up before next season

NBA commissioner Adam Silver reiterated Tuesday night after the Board of Governors meeting that the investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by funneling money to Kawhi Leonard for an endorsement deal he allegedly never fulfilled still is not completed.

Silver said his “timeline remains this summer” to make his findings known after high-powered New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz wraps up its investigation and presents the findings to the NBA.

The investigation centers on a $28-million endorsement deal to Leonard from a company called Aspiration that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $60 million into.

With the investigation being about 11 months old, Silver was asked about a timeline for the NBA to announce the results.

“As you know, I am not conducting the investigation, nor is the league office,” Silver said. “It’s being conducted by the Wachtell law firm, independent of the league. Of course, as I have said previously, we all have an interest in wrapping this up and as I most recently said in an interview, that I’m hopeful that it will wrap up this summer so that will continue to be the goal here.”

The Clippers traded Leonard to the Raptors for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a pick swap and two second-round picks. Leonard, who spent the last seven seasons with the Clippers, led the Raptors to the NBA championship in 2019. The Raptors then decided to put the trade on hold until the investigation is over.

“And I just want to clarify, so everyone understands, the league did not pause the trade,” Silver said. “The parties that did the trade made the decision not to go forward given that the investigation would remain open and the possible impact on Kawhi or his contract was yet to be known and so they chose not to live with that uncertainty. But, that was well-known before the trade was proposed and I didn’t think there was any reason for people to believe that the status of Kawhi Leonard would change merely because he was traded. The investigation needs to run its course.”

The Clippers have consistently denied any wrongdoing regarding the investigation.

Because of the probable length of the report, Silver was asked about reading such a voluminous amount of information and if things would be resolved before the start of next season.

Silver also didn’t talk about whether Leonard is being investigated for any other side deals.

“I don’t know specifically what will be in the report,” Silver said. “To the best of my information, the report is not done. I do get regular updates from our general counsel, who is Rick Buchanan, and he deals with on a weekly basis on who they are talking to and what they are finding on a preliminary basis. But my understanding is that Wachtell is now in the process of going through the information they’ve gathered and drawing conclusions from that information. And I think, yes, it is realistic to think that this can be wrapped up, and I would say needs to be wrapped up before the beginning of next season.”

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The Sports Report: Austin Reaves looks at life after LeBron

Austin Reaves discusses the Lakers after LeBron

From Broderick Turner: From the time Austin Reaves joined the Lakers in 2021 as an undrafted prospect, his basketball life centered around playing with a savant in LeBron James.

That no longer will be the case.

Reaves re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $180-million deal, but James decided to move on as he prepares to play an unprecedented 24th season.

Reaves was stunned when he heard about James’ decision while playing golf in Lake Tahoe. Nearly two weeks later, Reaves says he still is trying to process the development.

“I kind of was thinking about it last night when I got here,” Reaves said Monday in his first news conference since re-signing. “Starting the season without him being on the team is going to be different for me. He’s kind of all I’ve ever known. Just him being around, joking around, acting like he’s 15. But that’s his decision and like I said in Tahoe, anytime I’ve talked about it, I got nothing but love and respect for him and yeah, let’s play some golf soon.”

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Lakers sign Ziaire Williams to one-year, $3-million deal to bolster their depth

Go beyond the scoreboard

Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.

How France became a World Cup power

From Kevin Baxter: Before it could rise in the World Cup, France first had to fall.

And the fall was spectacular.

In 2010, four years after reaching the final for the second time in three World Cups, the players revolted against coach Raymond Domenech during the tournament. In response, the managing director of the country’s soccer federation resigned in disgust, and the team left South Africa winless after scoring just once in three games.

That matched France’s worst World Cup performance in 76 years. The team, outsiders agreed, had become impossible to coach.

Four years later France made the quarterfinals, beginning a streak in which it has reached the final eight in four consecutive World Cups for the first time. If France beats Spain in the semifinals Tuesday it will advance to the final for a third straight time.

Only Brazil and Germany have done that.

The base for that success was laid a generation before the collapse in South Africa, when a series of poor performances led the French Football Federation to create a series of 16 government-subsidized academies known as Centres de Formation.

Continue reading here

World Cup semifinals schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
France vs. Spain, noon

Wednesday
England vs. Argentina, noon

Third-place match

Saturday, 2 p.m.

Championship match

Sunday, noon

How Justin Wrobleski became an All-Star

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski could have been content with his performance the first couple of months this season. After all, he’d come into the year fighting for a rotation spot, and he’d shown in that time that he was ready to be a full-time major-league starter.

That wasn’t enough.

While still holding on to his identity as a pitcher who goes right at hitters, Wrobleski tallied 20 strikeouts over his last two starts of the first half.

“We’re just doing a good job with the plan,” Wrobleski said last week, days before he was named a first-time All-Star. “I feel like I’m continuing to get better at knowing where to go with two strikes, knowing where to go versus a certain hitter with two strikes and just kind of reading the game.”

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Shaikin: Love it or hate it: Would the Dodgers’ NL West rivals call a Tarik Skubal trade overkill?

Shaikin: Inside the Shohei Ohtani Economy driving a wild auction for his worn cleats

Sparks lose to the Dream

Angel Reese had 23 points and 13 rebounds for her WNBA-leading 16th double-double of the season, Allisha Gray added 20 points, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Sparks 101-92 on Monday night.

Gray made Atlanta’s first field goal of the fourth quarter with 4:07 remaining to tie it at 87. Then, Reese got a friendly roll on her third made three-pointer of the season to make it 90-87 and she added two free throws on the next possession for a five-point lead. Jordin Canada capped the 9-0 run for a 94-87 lead.

Canada finished with 16 points and Rhyne Howard added 11 for Atlanta (14-10), which had lost six of its last seven games. Reese, who missed Saturday’s game against Portland, was seven for 11 from the field and made all eight of her free throws in 32 minutes.

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Sparks box score

WNBA standings

This day in sports history

1912 — Kenneth McArthur runs Olympic record marathon (2:36:54.8).

1951 — Citation is the first horse to win $1 million in a career by taking the Hollywood Gold Cup by four lengths in Inglewood. Citation retires after the race with total earnings of $1,085,760. In 45 starts, Citation ran out of the money only once.

1964 — Jacques Anquetil wins his fifth Tour de France. It’s his fourth straight title of the cycling event.

1973 — Tom Weiskopf wins the British Open by three strokes over Johnny Miller and Neil Coles. Weiskopf goes wire-to-wire and his total of 12-under-par 276 matches the Open Championship record set by Arnold Palmer on the same Troon Golf Club course in 1962.

1985 — Kathy Baker beats Judy Clark by three strokes to win the U.S. Women’s Open golf title.

1985 — The Baltimore Stars defeat the Oakland Invaders 28-24 to win the United States Football League championship.

1986 — Jane Geddes beats Sally Little in an 18-hole playoff to take the U.S. Women’s Open championship.

1991 — Meg Mallon shoots a 4-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over Pat Bradley in the 46th U.S. Women’s Open. Mallon finishes with a 1-under 283.

2001 — John Campbell scores an unprecedented sixth victory in the $1 million Meadowlands Pace as Real Desire beats favored Bettor’s Delight in the stretch. Real Desire paces the mile in 1:49.3 in matching the record set by The Panderosa two years ago in the race that gave Campbell his fifth win. Campbell, 46, is a winner of a $1 million race 19 times.

2005 — In Oklahoma City, the United States is beaten in an international softball game for the first time since 2002, losing 2-1 to Canada in the inaugural World Cup of Softball.

2011 — Kaio breaks former grand champion Chiyonofuji career sumo victory record, beating Mongolian Kyokutenho for No. 1,046. The 39-year-old Kaio forces out Kyokutenho in the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

2011 — Amateur Tom Lewis shoots a record 5-under 65 in the opening round of the British Open. The 20-year-old Lewis posts the lowest round ever by an amateur in golf’s oldest major to pull even with Thomas Bjorn at Royal St. George’s.

2013 — Jordan Spieth becomes the youngest winner on the PGA Tour in 82 years. The 19-year-old outlasts David Hearn and Zach Johnson on the fifth hole of a playoff to win the John Deere Classic. He’s the first teenager to win since Ralph Guldahl took the Santa Monica Open in 1931.

2018 — Angelique Kerber claims her first Wimbledon title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over seven-time champion Serena Williams.

2019 — Novak Dokovic wins the longest ever Wimbledon title over Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) in 4 hours 57 minutes.

2019 — English Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins a record sixth British Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone; moves him one win clear of Jim Clark and Alain Prost (five).

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1916 — St. Louis Browns pitcher Ernie Koob went the distance in a 17-inning 0-0 tie with the Boston Red Sox. Carl Mays went the first 15 innings for the Red Sox and Dutch Leonard finished.

1946 — Cleveland player-manager Lou Boudreau hit four doubles and a home run in the first game of a doubleheader against Boston, but Ted Williams connected for three home runs and drove in eight runs for an 11-10 Red Sox victory.

1956 — Mel Parnell of the Boston Red Sox pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox for a 4-0 victory at Fenway Park.

1967 — Eddie Mathews of the Astros hit his 500th home run off San Francisco’s Juan Marichal at Candlestick Park. Houston beat the Giants 8-6.

1968 — Hank Aaron hit his 500th home run off Mike McCormick as the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2.

1968 — Don Wilson of the Houston Astros struck out 18 Reds in a 6-1 victory over Cincinnati in the nightcap of a doubleheader.

1969 — Oakland’s Reggie Jackson knocked in 10 runs in a 21-7 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Jackson had five hits in six at-bats, including two two-run homers and a double.

1970 — Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds scored on Jim Hickman’s 12th-inning single after bowling over Cleveland’s Ray Fosse at home plate to give the NL a 5-4 victory over the AL at Riverfront Stadium.

1972 — In a major league first, Bill Haller was the umpire behind the plate while his brother Tom was the catcher for the Detroit Tigers.

1995 — Ramon Martinez threw the first no-hitter of the season as the Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins 7-0. Martinez was perfect for 7 1-3 innings before walking Tommy Gregg.

2006 — The New York Yankees snapped Jose Contreras’ winning streak at 17 decisions with a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox. Contreras (9-1) hadn’t lost since dropping a 4-2 decision to Minnesota last Aug. 15.

2008 — Josh Hamilton of Texas, with a dazzling display of power, hit a record 28 homers in the first round of the All-Star Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium before he was beaten out by Minnesota’s Justin Morneau in the finals.

2009 — The American League continued its dominance over the National League with a 4-3 win in the All-Star game. The AL is 12-0-1 since its 1996 defeat at Philadelphia — the longest unbeaten streak in All-Star history. Carl Crawford of Tampa, robbed Brad Hawpe of a go-ahead homer in the eighth and took home MVP honors.

2014 — Yoenis Cespedes successfully defends his title as Home Run Derby champion in the annual event held before the All-Star Game at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN. Cespedes defeats Todd Frazier in the final round, 9 long balls to 1, having hit 28 overall. Ken Griffey Jr. was the only other repeat winner in the event, winning in 1998 and 1999.

2015 — Mike Trout became the first player in 38 years to lead off the All-Star Game with a home run, and the American League beat the National League 6-3 to secure home-field advantage in the World Series for the third straight time and 10th in 13 years. Trout also became the first player to be selected the game’s MVP two years in row.

2018 — The Cardinals fire manager Mike Matheny just before the All-Star break, after a loss to the Reds that puts them just one game above .500. Hitting coach John Mabry and assistant hitting coach Bill Mueller are also let go, while bench coach Mike Shildt is named interim manager, with a permanent replacement expected to be named when play resumes after the Mid-Summer Classic in a few days. However, Shildt will do so well that he will be made permanent within a few weeks.

2023 — Brothers Josh Naylor and Bo Naylor both hit two-run homers in the 3rd inning in the Guardians’ 12-4 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Park. It the first time that brothers hit multi-run homers for the same team in the same inning.

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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

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TSMC’s June sales drive revenue surge of 68% ahead of earnings report

Published on

TSMC said on Monday that June revenue rose 67.9% year on year to NT$398.27 billion (€10.8bn), bringing the first-half of the year revenue to NT$2.4 trillion (€65.4bn), a 35.6% increase from the same period in 2025.


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Based on the company’s monthly revenue disclosures, second-quarter revenue amounted to roughly NT$1.27 trillion, ahead of the NT$1.264 trillion (€34.4bn) consensus forecast from 20 analysts surveyed by LSEG.

Monday’s release covers June revenue and cumulative first-half sales only.

TSMC will publish its full second-quarter earnings on Thursday, including net profit, gross margin, operating margin and updated financial guidance.

The road ahead

At its April earnings presentation, TSMC said it expects full-year 2026 revenue to grow by more than 30% in US dollar terms and projected capital expenditure of between $52 billion (€45.5bn) and $56 billion (€49bn) as it expands manufacturing capacity to meet AI-driven demand.

New fabrication plants are under construction or in preparation in Arizona, Japan and Germany, reflecting both the scale of customer demand and government efforts to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

Shares in TSMC rose about 1% following Monday’s revenue update.

Investors will now turn their attention to Thursday’s full earnings report for updates on profitability, margins, full-year guidance and the rollout of the company’s two-nanometre manufacturing technology, which is already attracting strong customer interest.

The AI engine

The company sits at the centre of one of the largest investment cycles in the semiconductor industry’s history.

Many of the world’s leading AI processors, including Nvidia’s GPUs and much of the custom AI silicon designed by Amazon, Google and Microsoft, are manufactured by TSMC in Taiwan.

At the company’s April earnings presentation, CEO Che-Chia Wei described AI demand as “extremely robust”, driven by the shift from chatbots that answer questions to agentic AI systems capable of taking actions.

That transition requires significantly greater computing power, increasing demand for the advanced chips TSMC manufactures.

Advanced technologies, defined as chips produced using process technologies of seven nanometres or smaller, accounted for 74% of wafer revenue in the first quarter.

TSMC’s three-nanometre technology alone contributed 25% of wafer revenue.

Reports have indicated that Nvidia has reserved roughly 60% of TSMC’s advanced chip-packaging capacity for 2026, highlighting continued supply constraints across the AI semiconductor market.

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At least 27 killed in Bangkok bar fire, Thai media report

At least 27 people have been killed in a huge fire which ravaged through a Bangkok bar, Thai media has reported.

Firefighters were called to the scene just after midnight and discovered patrons fleeing through the flame-enveloped front door of the venue.

Unverified footage shows flames blasting out of the bar as one woman falls to the floor before getting to her feet to get away.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told journalists at the scene that 27 people died and several have been taken to the hospital, according to local media. He stressed the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

The bar is located in the Chatuchak District and is a famous entertainment venue and restaurant in the area, Thai outlet the Daily News reported, external.

Firefighters were able to bring the flames under control in half an hour.

Pictures taken inside the bar after the fire was put out show it completely charred and blackened, with the ceiling peeling off.

A number of people are still missing after the disaster, Thai outlet Thairath reported, external.

This is a breaking story. More updates will follow.

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Wembanyama signs contract with Spurs for five years, $252m: Report | Basketball News

Victor Wemnanyama, the NBA’s tallest player, inked the third-largest rookie extension in history.

Hours after he told Spurs fans he was “here to stay”, Victor ⁠Wembanyama signed a ⁠multiyear contract extension with San Antonio that ESPN reported is for five years and $252m.

The deal, ⁠which is worth $50.4m per year, is the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) maximum rookie-scale extension and carries a player option ⁠for the fifth season.

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“Spurs family, I’m here to stay,” Wembanyama tweeted Friday. “Whatever it takes.”

The Spurs, who did not confirm financial details, published photos and videos of Wembanyama inking his ‌contract.

Wembanyama has been viewed as one of the elite young players in the sport going back before the Spurs selected him No 1 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The 7ft4in (2.24-metre) centre with an 8-ft (2.44-metre) wingspan has averaged 23.4 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists ⁠and 3.5 blocks per game through ⁠three NBA seasons.

The Defensive Player of the Year and a first-time All-NBA first-team selection, Wembanyama finished third in Most Valuable Player (MVP) balloting this season ⁠after putting up career highs of 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

He ⁠is a career 34.2% 3-point shooter ⁠who has made 2.2 triples per game, and he’s led the league in blocks in every season since his arrival.

The Spurs fell to ‌the New York Knicks in five games last month in Wembanyama’s first NBA Finals.

The current pieces around ‌him ‌include guards De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper, and the Spurs recently signed veteran forward Tobias Harris.

Victor ⁠Wembanyama reacts.
Wembanyama, left, with teammate Stephon Castle during the NBA Finals in June [Ross D Franklin/AP]

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Xi meets N. Korea’s premier ahead of 65th anniv. of friendship treaty: report

Chinese President Xi Jinping, seen here at a reception in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People in September 2025, met with North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song on Friday, Chinese media reported. File Photo by Kremlin Press Office/UPI | License Photo

Chinese President Xi Jinping met North Korea‘s premier in Beijing on Friday ahead of an event marking the 65th anniversary of the signing of a friendship treaty between the two nations, news footage aired by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed.

North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song arrived there earlier in the day for a three-day visit to attend the event commemorating the treaty anniversary at the invitation of China’s Communist Party, according to the report.

The Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance was signed July 11, 1961, by late North Korea founder and former leader Kim Il-sung and then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang’s state media, reported on Pak’s planned visit to Beijing the previous day, without specifying a detailed schedule.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping held summit talks in Pyongyang last month and vowed to strengthen bilateral ties through expanded exchanges across multiple sectors, from economy to culture, as well as more frequent high-level visits.

At that time, Xi stressed the importance of marking the anniversary, fueling speculation that the two countries would hold a large-scale event.

In socialist nations like North Korea and China, anniversaries that fall on five- or 10-year intervals carry particular significance and are typically celebrated with grand events. High-level official visits and exchanges of congratulatory messages had been widely expected.

South Korea’s unification ministry said at a briefing earlier in the day it will “closely monitor” related developments in Beijing.

According to the ministry, this marks the first time in seven years that a North Korean government delegation has been dispatched to Beijing in celebration of the treaty’s anniversary.

The ministry also noted that North Korea has elevated the rank of its chief delegate to premier this year from vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly back in 2019.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

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Marcellus Wiley arrested after allegedly threatening to kill his wife

Former NFL defensive end and Los Angeles sports radio personality Marcellus Wiley was arrested Saturday in Florida after allegedly threatening to kill his wife and poking her in the face with his finger.

Wiley faces a possible charge of misdemeanor domestic battery. According to the Orange County (Fla.) Corrections Department, he was released on a $1,000 cash bond Sunday at 8:43 p.m. An arraignment hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 4.

“I completely and unequivocally deny these allegations, and I’m certain the truth will prevail,” Wiley wrote Monday on X. “As you know, I’m usually the first to break down the truth and separate facts from fiction. But because this is now a legal matter — and because my greatest responsibility is protecting my babies, who have already been impacted — I have to handle this differently.

“When I can speak freely, I absolutely will. Until then, thank you for your patience, your prayers, and for continuing to stand with me.”

The former Pro Bowl player is married to Annemarie Wiley, a former cast member of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and the mother of three of his children. The name of the alleged victim is redacted from the arrest affidavit viewed by The Times, but she is identified as a woman who said she has been married to Wiley “for approximately 14 years” and shares three children with him.

A sheriff’s deputy responded to a call at the World Marriott in Orlando around 4:47 p.m., according to the arrest report, and the accuser said she wanted Wiley removed from their hotel room.

“She stated Marcellus told [her] he was going to kill her and she was afraid of his behavior,” the report states. “When asked to elaborate, she stated on the previous morning Marcellus had put his hands on her.”

The report states that the woman told the deputy that on the morning of July 3, Wiley “used one finger to sternly and intentionally poke her in the cheek. [She] stated he did not have permission to do this, and she stated she believed he did this to cause her harm.”

She did not request medical attention after the alleged incident, according to the affidavit, and the deputy said he did not see any visible injury. The woman also told the deputy that Wiley “had an unreported history of violence toward her and she was planning to divorce him when they returned home to California.”

Their 7-year-old daughter, who the woman said had witnessed the incident, told the deputy she did not see her father touch her mother but had heard them arguing that morning.

According to the affidavit, Wiley told the deputy in an oral statement that “he and his wife had not had any physical altercation while at the hotel, and he also stated they have never had any physical violence between them.”

In addition, the report said, “Marcellus stated he believed his wife had called deputies to make a report due to her intention to divorce him. Marcellus stated he had been taking care of the children and no violence had occurred between them.”

The deputy determined probable cause existed for Wiley’s arrest, and he took the 10-year NFL player to the correctional facility “without incident.”

According to court records, Wiley has been appointed a public defender. He is allowed to return to California but must obey a no-contact order that prohibits him from “having any type of contact with the victim(s), either directly or indirectly.”

He can return home one time with law enforcement to collect his belongings.

A Compton native, Wiley played four years at Columbia before a 10-year NFL career from 1997 to 2006. He spent three seasons with the San Diego Chargers, including his only Pro Bowl year in 2001, and also played for the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. His post-football broadcast career included several years as a host on KSPN-AM (710) in Los Angeles.

Multiple women accused Wiley in civil lawsuits of sexually assaulting them in the past. One Jane Doe filed in April to turn her lawsuit into a class-action suit against Wiley and Columbia University. The filing included four new accusers and stated that “at this time, without the benefit of discovery, there appears to be at least 10-12 victims. It is anticipated that discovery will reveal more.”

Wiley has denied all the allegations against him in court documents and publicly.

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White House report brands Smithsonian leadership as radical activists who can’t be trusted

A White House report brands the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution, especially at the National Museum of American History, as radical activists who cannot be trusted, indicating that President Trump may be preparing to install his own team.

The report released late on Independence Day by the White House Domestic Policy Council comes in the midst of Trump’s aggressive campaign to overhaul some of Washington’s most sacred cultural and historic institutions. Trump in March revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targeted funding for programs that advanced “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” as he continued a broadside against culture he deems too liberal.

“The Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of American History in particular, under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology, cannot be trusted to tell America’s story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic,” according to the report by the council, which is led by a former top Trump speechwriter.

The authors added: “As this report shows, confirmed in the words of Museum leadership, this ideological capture has moved the Museum’s mission away from straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country.”

The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday.

Historian Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian’s current secretary, is the first African American to lead the institution. In an unrelated interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Bunch said “the notion of being a more perfect union, not the perfect union, is really what motivates me.”

“I think what I want people to understand is that there is a responsibility to continue to make those aspirations available, accessible, meaningful to a whole range of people,” Bunch said. “And that, in essence, America’s greatest strength, it’s not running away from its history, but it’s understanding how that history shaped us and continues to shape us.”

Historian Anthea M. Hartig is the first woman to serve as director of National Museum of American History.

Trump’s escalating effort to force changes at the Smithsonian marks the Republican president’s latest move to transform cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming, and his handpicked board voted to add his name to the building, only to have a federal judge later order the signage to be removed.

The administration also forced Columbia University to make a series of policy changes by threatening the Ivy League school with the loss of several hundred million dollars in federal funding.

Trump has also imposed changes on historical sites beyond Washington, including in Philadelphia, where the administration won a court ruling last week allowing it to reinstall interpretive panels that critics say whitewash the history of slavery at the site of President George Washington’s home. Advocates, academics and officials have been concerned for months that the version that complies with Trump’s order could give a history that plays down the pain in the nation’s past in favor of a more triumphant view.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa., accused Trump and his allies of trying to “rewrite history.”

“There’s not one individual narrative that a president gets about our history,” Shapiro, a potential presidential prospect, said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And any president should want to make sure that that full history is shared, that the American people are able to draw their own conclusions.”

Shapiro added, “If we understand where we came from, we’re going to have a better path forward.”

Trump’s Domestic Policy Council does not necessarily agree.

The National Museum of American History “confronts visitors with materials intended to undermine faith in American institutions and the longstanding shared ideals of the American people,” the council’s report said. “We must be committed to restoring truth and sanity in how American history is presented and taught.”

In seeking to fulfill Trump’s order, which he called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” the review concluded by finding that the museum “by the intention and at the direction of current Museum and Smithsonian leadership, has become subject to institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology that is fundamentally opposed to telling the noble, honest story of the great country we know and love.”

Peoples writes for the Associated Press.

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Russia “Highly Likely” Behind Drone Incursions Over U.S. Bases In England Report Concludes

Back in November 2024, TWZ broke a story about a series of incursions over U.S. bases in England by drones of mysterious origin. While the source of these uncrewed aerial vehicles does not appear to have been officially determined, a new report suggests they were launched by Russian ships

Produced by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the report investigated a spate of drone incursions across Europe that began in August 2024 and found that “it is highly likely that the Kremlin conducted a UAV campaign over Europe.”

“We assess it is likely that Russian-linked vessels and the ‘shadow fleet’ were used as launch/recovery platforms for UAVs as part of the Kremlin’s wider unconventional war on Europe,” the report added.

Investigators rely heavily on circumstantial evidence and open-source information. TWZ cannot independently confirm these findings, which offer new insights, if not concrete answers, about who could have been behind the flights.

The drone incursions over the bases we were the first to write about were among the earliest in the wave over Europe investigated by IISS. Around this same time, there were also flights over Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the report notes. We covered those incidents as well.

As we reported at the time, drones of an unknown origin were first spotted over RAF Lakenheath and then over RAF Fairford, RAF Feltwell, and RAF Mildenhall.

RAF Lakenheath. (Google Earth)

The report makes particular note of the importance of RAF Lakenheath, which is being readied to host nuclear weapons, a topic we previously covered.

“A public appeal for information drew roughly 170 reported sightings, about half of which were deemed credible, either corroborated by multiple witnesses or backed by imagery that couldn’t be explained away as ordinary air traffic.”

“Operational security appeared sophisticated,” IISS posited. “The UAVs entered the airspace around the RAF bases at low altitude with their lights visible and departed at higher altitudes. Arrival and departure directions varied across the incident period.”

Witness reports “indicate more than one platform type may have been involved,” the report proffers. “Some observations were consistent with multirotor UAVs; others with fixed-wing platforms. The propulsion noise of the UAVs was inconsistent across accounts, with some observers describing sounds more typical of petrol engines than electric motors.”

“Notably, the Hav Dolphin, a vessel later linked to a 2025 drone incident in Germany, happened to be docked in the UK at the time,” the investigators found.

That vessel was one of many either operated by Russia as part of its so-called “dark fleet” of sanctioned ships, or those connected to Russia, that the report goes into great detail to link to drone incursions throughout Europe after the incidents at U.S. bases there. The report describes these vessels as “Russian-linked commercial vessels, including shadow-fleet tankers, coastal freighters, and smaller craft.”

IISS

IISS suggested that the Russian Orlan-10 drone could have been one of the platforms used during the incursions.

“Orlan-10, a compact, multi-purpose UAV in service with Russian Armed Forces since 2010, has a range and payload profile consistent with stand-off collection against coastal and inland targets and fits the deck space of a mid-sized commercial vessel,” IISS stated. 

“Commercial specifications for the platform, including those published by Russian geospatial firms using the Orlan-10 for civilian aerial survey operations, document an operational range of 500 kilometers, endurance of up to 12 hours, and speeds of 90–130 km/h, performance parameters consistent with maritime launch from a vessel operating well beyond visual detection range of the European coastlines in question.”

Moreover, “the Orlan-10’s power is an internal combustion engine, a detail that may be relevant in light of witness accounts from November 2024 incidents at RAF Lakenheath, where propulsion noise was described by some observers as more characteristic of petrol engines than the electric motors typical of consumer and first-person view (FPV) drones.”

In addition, the Orlan-10’s available payloads “include a satellite navigation spoofing module and a Global System for Mobile Communications network monitoring module alongside optical and thermal sensors, indicating the Orlan-10 family has active electronic warfare capability as well as passive ISR.”

The Orlan-10 has been widely used as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone by Russia in its ongoing war on Ukraine. Given that, however, using it for a clandestine operation like this seems very strange. The report critically recognizes this, stating “the use of identifiable Russian UAV platforms carries inherent attribution risk.”

“An alternative, and operationally credible, hypothesis is that commercially available or modified platforms were used precisely to preserve deniability, including long-range [first-person view] FPV systems, home-built fixed-wing aircraft or commercial UAVs modified to use cellular rather than radio frequency (RF) communications,” IISS added.

Russia uses 'Orlan-10' drones to help detect and attack Ukrainian military positions thumbnail

Russia uses ‘Orlan-10’ drones to help detect and attack Ukrainian military positions




The think tank acknowledges that its maritime-launch hypothesis “rests on a convergence of opportunity, demonstrated capability and a consistent geographic pattern — but no European government has yet publicly tied a specific shadow-fleet vessel to a specific incident, despite officials suggesting privately that they could. The rest of this report treats the maritime-UAV link as the most plausible explanation for where and when the incidents occurred, while acknowledging that confirming it will require evidence that isn’t yet public.”

IISS

This is not the first time Russia was accused of being behind the drone incursions.

In February 2025, the U.K.-based The i Paper made similar allegations in its investigation, however, they suggested the flight could have been carried out by Russian operatives on the ground.

That investigation spurred some politicians to call for further investigation.

“Julian Lewis, the former Tory Chair of the Defense Select Committee said: ‘When the US and British authorities detected the drone intrusions at both airbases last November, they stated that investigations were underway,’” the outlet reported. “‘Meanwhile, there is credible evidence here of the possible presence of GRU-linked operatives near Lakenheath and Mildenhall. I shall be asking Ministers to consolidate the findings of all these investigations and to make a Statement in the Commons as soon as possible.’”

Tom Tugendhat, the former Security Minister, told The i Paper that the findings “demand urgent investigation by the MOD and UK intelligence services.”

Still, the MoD investigation into the RAF Lakenheath incidents concluded with no suspects identified, according to the Bury Mercury newspaper.

RAF Lakenheath. (RAF)

Less clear are results from investigations into the other three bases involved.

“The UK takes the security of military bases seriously and works closely with allies, law enforcement partners and other authorities to protect Defense people, sites and capabilities,” the U.K. MoD told us Thursday morning when we asked about the allegations made by IISS that the Russians were likely behind the drone incursions and for their assessment of who was operating them.

“Through the Armed Forces Bill, we’re giving our defense personnel greater powers to defeat drones threatening our bases and we have invested significantly in counter-drone capabilities. We continue to strengthen our ability to detect, deter and respond to potential threats,” MoD added.

MoD declined to provide further details, saying it “does not comment on intelligence matters or on the specific security arrangements at Defense sites.”

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 555th Fighter Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy, taxis out to the runway in preparation for takeoff for a training flight prior to the start of Cobra Warrior 24-2 at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, Sept. 11,2024. Combined exercises between the U.S., NATO, and Partners for Peace nations are conducted to improve coordination, collaboration and interoperability among allies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Karen Abeyasekere
A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 555th Fighter Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy, taxis out to the runway in preparation for takeoff for a training flight prior to the start of Cobra Warrior 24-2 at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, Sept. 11, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Karen Abeyasekere Karen Abeyasekere

We also asked U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa (USAFE) whether the IISS allegations about Russian involvement in these events were accurate.

“We can confirm small Unmanned Aerial Systems activity took place over several of our UK installations in 2024,” a spokesperson told us. “These events were monitored, and it was determined there was no impact on personnel or operations.”

“Due to operational security, we cannot speak to intelligence matters,” the spokesperson added. “We continue to work closely with our UK partners to ensure the safety and security of our installations.”

The command said it is working on a response to our question about who was behind these incursions, but that it would not be ready before the July 4 holiday.

The issue of drone incursions is not unique to Europe, as we have frequently reported. There have been numerous incursions at military installations across the U.S., including some near the water, like Langley Air Force Base in December 2023 that The War Zone was the first to report. More recently, Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, home of B-52 strategic bombers and nuclear weapons, experienced a similar series of very troubling incursions. Off the cost of California, American warships were swarmed sporadically for days in the summer of 2019. There are many other examples, as well, and as is case in Europe, it remains publicly unknown who operated those drones in all those instances.

The IISS report does not go into any of the cases outside of Europe. It does, however, clearly point the finger at Russia as the culprit behind the drone overflights that have bedeviled Europe, including U.S. bases in England and Germany.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com 

Howard is a Senior Staff Writer for TWZ. He writes frequently about conflict, focusing heavily on the Middle East and Ukraine, and interviews with military and intelligence officials and industry leaders from around the globe. He lives near Tampa, Florida, home of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command.




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Gold jumps after weak U.S. payrolls report dents rate-hike bets (GLD:NYSEARCA)

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Gold futures gained Thursday after a weaker-than-expected June employment report pressured the U.S. dollar and cooled near-term expectations for rate-tightening from the Federal Reserve.

Only 57K non-farm jobs were added in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, well below analyst forecasts

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Brother of NFL’s Calais Campbell charged with murdering their mother

A brother of veteran NFL star Calais Campbell has been charged with the murder of their mother in her Atlanta home on Tuesday.

Ciarre Campbell, one of the Baltimore Ravens defensive end’s seven siblings, faces two counts of murder as well as aggravated assault, and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony in connection with the death of his 71-year-old mother Nateal Campbell, according to the affidavits for his arrest issued by the magistrate court of Fulton County, Ga.

“We are devastated to share that the Campbell Family has lost its matriarch, Mrs. Nateal Campbell,” the family said in a statement. “While the details of her passing are still being investigated, we take comfort in knowing she is reunited with our father, her beloved Chuck, and in the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We ask for privacy at this time so that we may honor her and share in our overwhelming grief privately and as a family.”

According to the Atlanta Police Department, officers responded Tuesday at around 12:36 p.m. to a welfare check at Nateal Campbell’s address. They found a male, later identified as Ciarre Campbell, 41, who “appeared to have barricaded himself inside the home.”

Nateal Campbell was found unresponsive inside the home and was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS services. Ciarre Campbell was detained by the officers and transported to the Fulton County Jail, where he was held without bond. He waived his initial court hearing Wednesday.

A booking photo of Ciarre Campbell provided by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday.

A booking photo of Ciarre Campbell provided by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday.

(Fulton County Sheriff’s Office Via Associated Press)

WSB-TV in Atlanta reports that Ciarre Campbell is being represented by defense attorney Jay Abt, who told the station that his client is innocent.

“We look forward to his day in court,” Abt said. “I’m honored to defend him and, most importantly, the Campbell family.”

In a 911 call released by police, a man said he was calling for authorities to check on his mother at her house. He said he was there with his sister and brother-in-law but they couldn’t get inside. According to the caller, his brother — whom the caller says is “mentally ill” — had been staying at the house and was seen driving their mother’s car, “which is very unusual [because] he doesn’t drive at all.”

The caller said his brother was inside the house and told them their mother had left, even though video footage from a neighbor showed that wasn’t the case.

The affidavit for arrest stated that Ciarre Campbell created “incisions upon the victim’s neck causing her to be nearly decapitated.”

Atlanta police say they have received at least 10 calls for service at that address since September, including one in April reporting arson. According to a police report from that incident, Kimba Blaylock had called 911 because her brother, identified in the report as Ciarrie Campbell, had started a fire to rid the house of demons.”

Firefighters found no one inside the house.

Another police report from May 26 states that police were dispatched to the address on a dispute call. The responding officer wrote that a neighbor told him that her neighbor’s son, identified in the report as Ciarri Campbell, “was acting crazy and putting stuff in her trash and yelling at her.” She told the officer that the neighbor’s son had just been released from a hospital “for mental issues” a couple of days earlier.

The neighbor also said that Nateal Campbell had told her that her son “was a good kid.”

Calais Campbell is a five-time Pro Bowl selection who has played 18 seasons in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and Ravens. He was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2019.

“We are incredibly saddened to learn about the passing of Calais Campbell’s mother,” the Ravens said Wednesday in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences and full support to Calais and his family during this difficult time.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Nearly three in four US scam victims report mental health harm, poll finds | Crime News

Gallup survey says the financial toll of scams in the United States in 2025 was estimated at $68bn.

A tenth of adults in the United States directly or indirectly experienced a scam last year, adversely affecting their financial and emotional wellbeing, according to a new Gallup poll.

The report by Gallup released on Tuesday indicated that 6 percent of US adults were personally scammed in 2025, while 4 percent experienced a scam indirectly, with someone in their household affected.

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Scams are a widespread problem in the country, with Gallup noting that they can leave victims more cautious, less likely to shop online, and more hesitant to engage with unfamiliar businesses.

“The data suggest the cost of scams extends beyond what can be measured in dollars, as nearly three in four victims say the experience negatively affected their mental health or wellbeing,” the report stated.

The poll suggested that people from lower-income households were more likely than wealthier people to report being scammed.

Adults with less than a bachelor’s degree were more likely to report being scammed than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher – 7 percent versus 4 percent, Gallup found.

Black (8 percent) and Hispanic (9 percent) adults were also more likely than white adults (5 percent) to say they had been scammed. However, victimisation rates did not differ by age, the report stated.

In more than half of the scams reported to Gallup, people lost $500 or less. However, the average loss per scam was $5,578, as some scams reached tens of thousands of dollars, the report said.

In total, the financial toll of scams in 2025 was estimated at $68bn, amounting to an average of $186m stolen each day.

One in five adults who were personally victimised or live in a household that was scammed in 2025 reported that it created a severe financial hardship for their household, with households earning less than $80,000 annually hit harder.

Emotional damage from scams, however, was more widespread, the survey indicated.

Among adults in households affected by scams, more than a quarter (28 percent) said the experience had a very negative impact on their mental health or wellbeing, while a further 45 percent describe the impact as moderately negative. Overall, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of people reported that the scam adversely affected their mental health or wellbeing.

The emotional toll was also pervasive among those who live with someone who was scammed, the survey suggested.

The poll also indicated that the lifetime prevalence of being scammed is much higher than the 6 percent of people who were in 2025. Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of adults report having been scammed at some point in their lives, including 10 percent who said that they had fallen victim multiple times.

“At a time when institutional trust in the US is already weak, the prevalence of scams represents not just a personal financial threat, but a broader erosion of confidence in the businesses and systems used in everyday life,” the report said.

Gallup surveyed 5,173 US adults between January and February of this year.

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