Tries from warp-speed back-row pair Ben Earl and Henry Pollock helped England see off Australia as their power-packed bench ultimately swung an untidy opening autumn Test.
After the Wallabies edged a 10-try classic last year, England took revenge with a performance heavy on perspiration, if a little short on cohesion, at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.
Australia trailed by only three points at the break after wing Harry Potter’s breakaway try had given them a lifeline back into the contest.
But replacement Pollock scampered in just before the hour to restore England’s cushion, before a snipe from Alex Mitchell and a rolling maul steered over the line by Luke Cowan-Dickie ensured they could see out the final stages in comfort.
England have won eight successive Tests, a run stretching back to their defeat in the opening game of this year’s Six Nations in Ireland.
Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami went up, up, up for their “Golden” moment on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
The trio, who provide the singing voices for the animated “KPop Demon Hunters” central girl group Huntr/x, hit the late-night TV show Tuesday to perform the Netflix movie’s signature song. It marks the first time they have hit the stage together for a live, full-length performance of “Golden,” and even Fallon could not contain his excitement.
The first No. 1 female K-pop song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, “Golden” has helped propel the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack to its newest accolade. Fallon informed Ejae, Nuna and Ami during the show that the record had gone platinum.
When asked about their experiences around the massive popularity of “KPop Demon Hunters,” the trio offered words including “surreal,” “scrumptious” “delicious,” “stunning” and “bonkers.”
“We try to come up with new adjectives every time,” said Nuna, who provides the singing voice for Mira.
Their “Tonight Show” appearance follows their brief cameo on the Season 51 premiere of “Saturday Night Live.” During their sitdown interview with Fallon, both Nuna and Ami (the singing voice of Zoey) recounted real-life encounters with “Golden” that drove home the magnitude of “KPop Demon Hunters’” impact.
For Nuna this happened on a trip to Korea when she saw an elderly street performer playing “Golden” on a traditional Korean instrument.
“I had to do a double take because in Korean culture, it’s especially impressive if an elderly person is impressed with you,” said Nuna, who explained that Korean elders rarely bat an eye at accomplishments like attending an Ivy League college or graduating top of your class. “It’s really hard [to impress them]. They have high standards. So for the older generation to embrace it, it’s something different.”
Ami’s encounter was with a much younger fan. She recalled a trip to an H Mart where she saw a young boy singing “Golden” at the top of his lungs while holding hands with his mother.
“I think it’s one thing to hear our song on the radio, but to hear it come out of a child, live?” Ami said. “In H Mart, my favorite place? … I just cried at HMart.”
Ejae, meanwhile, offered an anecdote that suggests “Golden’s” success may have been preordained.
Prompted by Fallon, the co-writer of “Golden” shared that while recording her part of the song at the studio, she saw a brief glimpse of “a grunge ghost.”
It was “a tall dude with a flannel … and blue jeans,” Ejae said. And this brief encounter may have been auspicious.
“My mom reminded me later [that] there’s a myth in Korea in the music [business], if you see a ghost or any paranormal activity while recording a song, it’s a hit,” she said.
As Dickens prophetically reminds us, ours is hardly the first age of wisdom and of foolishness, the first epoch of belief and of incredulity. Dudamel’s great challenge is to make his 17th and final season as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic — and his prelude season before taking over the New York Philharmonic (in September he officially became designate music and artistic director) — the best of musical times for both cities.
The opening concerts for the two orchestras were two weeks apart, the Big Apple having come first. The main works on the New York-centric program were by two great 20th century composers, Bartók and Charles Ives, who were treated as outsiders by the city’s musical establishments during their lifetimes.
The performances were impressive. An orchestra that has a reputation for being difficult was responsive. If I read the room right, there was a genuine, if somewhat guarded, sense of optimism from a welcoming crowd.
Following a tradition he started with his first season in L.A., Dudamel opened with a newly commissioned work, Leilehua Lanzilotti’s “of light and stone.” He struck instant sonic gold with this mystical evocation of Hawaii, wondrous in sound, Lanzilotti, a hopeful good start.
Dudamel has a different look these days when he walks out on stage for an L.A. Phil concert after he’s been away for a while. Thursday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, he again seemed ever so slightly hesitant, as if not knowing what to expect now that his leaving has become manifest. But greeted by a full house’s demonstratively embracing thankful enthusiasm, he beamed, the hesitant posture turning into ownership.
The conductor opened his farewell season with Ellen Reid’s “Earth Between Oceans,” a joint commission bridging his two orchestral families.
(Timothy Norris / Los Angeles Philharmonic)
The new work this year is Ellen Reid’s “Earth Between Oceans,” and it is Dudamel’s first effort at bringing together what he calls his two families.
Reid, who is herself bicoastal between L.A. and New York, narrates, through astonishing orchestral properties and powers, an environmental tale of her two cities. The work is a joint commission with the New York Philharmonic; Dudamel will take it east in the spring.
Earth, air, water and fire are Reid’s subject matters, which she translates into four movements that cover a New York winter, an aerial approach to Manhattan’s noise and quiet, the Altadena and Pacific Palisades conflagrations, ending on a sort of surfboard ride over crashing blue waves. With the help of a wordless Los Angeles Master Chorale, Reid tells the story through ever-surprising instrumental evocation.
Nothing, however, sounds like you might expect in Reid’s massive orchestral soundscape capable of holding a listener in tight grip for 30 minutes. Is that percussive pounding in earth the ground moving under our feet and the cello solo snowy Central Park? I don’t know how she does it, but I immediately bought into weird sounds from the chorus indicating something words can’t express about what those New York skyscrapers are up to. The effect of what sounded like ticking clocks going astray felt like an inviting dip in the lake.
Dudamel ended the concert with Richard Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony,” 125 orchestral musicians schlepping up the mountain, finding spiritual ecstasy at the summit and getting drenched on the way down, a self-satisfied drinking in of nature with every step. It is an astonishing, so to speak, over-the-top score, which you either love or abhor for its instrumental vulgarity.
Love was in order Thursday. Dudamel first performed “Alpine Symphony” at Disney in 2008, a year before beginning as music director. He jogged up the mountain and back, full of beans, showing off but also sharing his enthusiasm and demonstrating a skill that gave confidence that this 20-something conductor had the chops.
Dudamel’s performance of Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony” demonstrated the L.A. Phil’s distinctive immediacy compared with his more formal European interpretations.
(Timothy Norris / Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Last summer, I heard Dudamel conduct the “Alpine” with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival. The playing was sumptuous but formal and distant. These were the Alps as seen from a comfortable gondola taking in the view, and what a view, indeed.
The L.A. Phil sound, on the other hand, reveled in being-there, huffing-and-puffing immediacy. A rainstorm was a rainstorm: wet. The pastures replete with cowbells weren’t so much scenic as earthy, the real thing.
The orchestra sounded rapt and ready for ecstasy Thursday. There are two new first-chair players. A member of the orchestra’s second violin section, Melody Ye Yuan, has become her section’s principal. Ryan Roberts is the new principal oboe, and he had a luminous solo in the “Alpine.”
It was only after Roberts, who grew up in Santa Monica, won the L.A. Phil blind audition for principal oboe that Dudamel discovered he had just hired away a rising star in what is about to become his New York Philharmonic. But it’s all in the big new family.
One of the most thrilling and unexpected moments in the tennis world in recent weeks was headlined by a Latina.
On Aug. 25, during the first round of the U.S. Open women’s singles tournament, U.S. player Madison Keys — who went into the competition ranked sixth in the world and had previously won the 2025 Australian Open — was defeated by Mexico’s Renata Zarazúa after three neck-and-neck sets.
The Mexican native, who is ranked 82nd in the world, previously had an 0-6 record against opponents ranked in the top 10.
After the over-three-hour match, Zarazúa revealed that she was so nervous before playing Keys that she was nearly in tears — but that she felt dialed in as the first game began.
“I’m a little bit small in height, so coming in here, it was like: ‘Oh, my God. This is huge!’ But I was just trying to focus on the court,” said Zarazúa, who stands 5 feet 3 inches tall. “I just tried to find my way and enjoy it, because I knew that when I retire, I’m going to be really happy about it.”
By securing this win, Zarazúa became the first Mexican player to defeat a top 10 seed at a major since Angélica Gavaldón upset No. 3 player Jana Novotná in the 1995 Australian Open.
When she was done with post-match obligations, Zarazúa noticed her phone was blowing up with messages and mentions online.
“It was funny because it was the first time I got a lot of followers in a few hours,” she told The Times in a Zoom interview. “It was hard at the moment, because I didn’t want to distract myself too much with social media. So I just left it until the tournament was over, and now I’m just looking at the messages and all of that. The attention was a bit more than I expected. Singers and actors and actually [reached out] and I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool.’”
Mexican actor Eiza González was one of the stars whose message surprised Zarazúa; she admitted she is a big fan of the “Baby Driver” star. She also noted that notable brands like Evian and sports networks like ESPN and Televisa also contacted her following her first-round win.
But Zarazúa didn’t let the spotlight affect her preparation for her second-round singles match against France’s Diane Parry.
“I honestly kept my routines going exactly the same. Even though the chaos was going on, the next day [my team and I] were back on the courts at 9 a.m. practicing, because that’s how I was preparing before my first round,” she said. “I didn’t really celebrate because I don’t think it was the right time. I literally stayed in my room, had dinner and went to bed early.”
During her second singles match on Aug. 28, she began to feel the weight of expectations as a sizable Mexican crowd cheered her on.
“I felt like I just couldn’t shake the nerves off. I just didn’t want to let the people down,” Zarazúa said. “At some point during the match I realized I should be doing this for me. I should be winning for me and not to please people. That’s what helped me settle the nerves and when I started playing better.”
Zarazúa ultimately exited the tournament after losing to Parry in a three-set match that ended in a super tiebreak.
“My mind started overthinking a little bit more than I should have, but I think that will help me as an experience for the next matches that I’m in that situation,” she said. “I’ve never felt that much support from the people. It was one of those days that you will remember forever, but it was also really heartbreaking.”
Zarazúa was also eliminated in the second round of women’s doubles play on Sunday alongside her partner Miyu Kato, after losing to the duo of Wu Fang-Hsien and Fanny Stollár.
When asked what it felt like to be the face of Mexican tennis, Zarazúa said she doesn’t feel burdened by the title.
“For me it’s more of a motivation, actually, because I’m a little bit older in the tennis world. I’m 27, so sometimes you really need that push to keep you going or something to look forward to,” she said. “For me to be that face of Mexico is what keeps me alive. Honestly, I don’t take it as an extra pressure on myself.”
Over on the women’s doubles side of the bracket, perennial star Venus Williams staged her comeback after a 16-month hiatus alongside 22-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez.
There is an over two-decade age gap between Williams and Fernandez (who has Ecuadorean and Filipino heritage). Yet their chemistry on the court did not point to that being a struggle.
The duo was a late wild-card entry into the tournament, and handily defeated its first three opponents without dropping a set.
“I feel like we kind of don’t really need to say much on court, and it just kind of flows,” Fernandez said after one of the pair’s wins last week. “That’s what I like, that we don’t need to talk as much, plan so many things. When I cross, I know Venus is behind me moving to the other corner; when she crosses, I’m going to go to the other corner. Just kind of like a nice harmony dynamic.”
Williams added, “I think we have a very similar mindset, similar attitude. So I think we’re on this wavelength that makes it easy for us to really move in the same direction.”
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But this isn’t the first time that Fernandez has found success on the U.S. Open stage. In 2021, she made it to the women’s singles final of the tournament as an unseeded player before losing to fellow tennis youngster Emma Raducanu in straight sets. Their match was the first U.S. Open women’s singles final between two teenagers since 1999. En route to the final, Fernandez beat marquee players like Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Aryna Sabalenka.
Williams and Fernandez’s underdog run came to an end Tuesday in a straight-sets loss to the top-seeded duo of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova in the quarterfinals.
Following the loss, Fernandez thanked Williams for reminding her why she decided to play tennis.
“It’s just been an incredible week and a half being here and learning so much from from Venus. I’m just kind of like a sponge, so I’m just sucking everything in and learning,” Fernandez said in a post-match interview Tuesday. “Venus playing on the court, for joy, brought me back [to] why I started playing tennis … I started playing tennis for the love of the game and for bringing joy on court, not only for myself, but also for the fans.”
Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia entered the U.S. Open as the top-ranked active Latina player in the tournament. The 29-year-old São Paulo native advanced to the women’s singles round of 16 before being bested by American Amanda Anisimova. Haddad Maia and her doubles partner, Laura Siegemund, were eliminated from the women’s doubles bracket in the second round by Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Three Colombianas also made an appearance at the U.S. Open earlier in the tournament.
Camila Osorio lost her first-round singles match against New Zealand’s Lulu Sun in three sets. The 23-year-old player also reached the women’s doubles round of 16 with her partner Yue Yuan, where they lost to Townsend and Siniakova.
Emiliana Arango ran into Iga Swiatek, the second-ranked player in the world and 2025 Wimbledon singles champion, in the first round of the women’s singles tournament. The 24-year-old Arango was defeated by Swiatek in her U.S. Open debut.
Julieta Pareja was also making her U.S. Open debut on both the singles and doubles brackets. At 16, she was the youngest player at this year’s tournament. Pareja was eliminated in the first round of singles play by 9th-ranked Elena Rybakina. She and her doubles partner Akasha Urhobo were ousted in the first round by Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan.
It was ICE’s first major event since $170 billion was earmarked for border and immigration enforcement in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law on July 4. Included in the legislation was tens of billions for new deportation agents and other personnel.
According to ICE, 3,000 people attended the expo, and nearly 700 received tentative job offers. This adds on to the more than 100,000 applications that the Department of Homeland Security claims to have received in recent weeks.
The agency has tried to sweeten the deal with incentives such as bonuses of up to $50,000 and student loan repayment benefits, in an effort to hire 10,000 deportation officers by the end of the year.
As aspiring ICE agents created a line out the doors of the career expo, a group of about 30 protesters yelled “Go home Nazis,” among other things, at expo attendees.
Of particular note was the sizable Latinx representation among the ICE agent hopefuls.
An interaction that Mejia captured between one young Latinx man named Ricardo with his friend over text captured the tension of communal versus personal goals.
“Oh hell no Ricardo I thought you was joking. I will not speak to you ever again if you become and ice agent … You have a dad who was deported dude.”
ICE officials say it’s the first of several hiring events planned around the country. According to the ICE website, there is a DHS expo scheduled for Sept. 15 and 16 in Provo, Utah.
Matt Fitzpatrick completes a six under-par round of 66 on the second day at Portrush, which leaves the Englishman nine under for the tournament at the halfway stage.
The majority of Andy Farrell’s Test squad is more or less settled, but there were some guys out there playing for big stakes.
Hugo Keenan needed a reassuring display at full-back given that Blair Kinghorn will miss the first Test in Brisbane. And he delivered. Jac Morgan was competing for the open-side jersey that’s flitted between himself, Josh van der Flier and Tom Curry. Morgan was influential.
With the news coming through about Ringrose, Huw Jones picked a good night to have a big game. His partnership with Sione Tuipulotu was convincing.
By the time Farrell entered the fray the game was over as a contest, but he looked good all the same, although there are bigger examinations to come, of course.
After so many slow starts, the Lions must have craved a fast one – and they made it happen.
Hansen was good in the air, Morgan was good on the floor and Keenan was particularly good when taking a quick line-out throw that was at the heart of the first try, the brilliant Jones giving the pass for Van der Merwe to score.
Within a blink of an eye, White had taken advantage of a giant amount of space at the side of a ruck and he ran away to the posts. Smith’s conversion made it 12-0. The high hopes some might have had for the AUNZ side started to disappear into the night sky above the Adelaide Oval at that point.
The Lions were slick and sharp, the best they’ve been on tour. Ruthless, too. Pollock might have been held up in the corner, but it didn’t really matter. Soon enough, Tuipulotu and Smith were putting Van der Merwe away for the big man’s second try of the night.
More good stuff from Jones and more reminders of what a world-class attacker he is. If the Lions get bad news on Ringrose then what a player they have in Jones, who’s been getting better and better since returning from injury.
Last month, the US and the EU announced the relaxation of sanctions on Syria.
“It’s their time to shine. We’re taking them all off,” said US President Donald Trump in a speech that sparked an outburst of joy in Damascus.
After 14 years of war, 90% of the Syrian population live beneath the poverty line. Since the Assad regime fell in December, removing the sanctions to kickstart the economy has been a top priority of transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the victorious rebellion; but Syria has been under severe US restrictions since 1979 and lifting them won’t be simple.
The principal strictures are the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act and the 2003 Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act (SALSA). Only Congress can fully repeal them, and that will take months, at best. The executive branch can issue temporary waivers, as the Treasury Department did in May, but the real impact on Syrian corporates and finan- cial institutions remains limited.
“Only the full cancellation of US Caesar and SALSA laws, and not just their temporary suspension, could open the door for long-term investment,” argues Samir Aita, president of the Circle of Arab Economists, a Paris-based think tank.
For Syrian banks, which remain largely cut off from global financial networks, rejoining the Swift system for transfer and reporting correspondent banking relationships is first on the agenda. “The Syrian market is very promising; it is almost virgin,” says Ali Awdeh, head of research at the Union of Arab Banks, “but honestly, no banks from the Arab region or elsewhere will dare to enter this market until there is a full lifting of US sanctions.” In Europe, the process is less complicated. Last month, the European Council lifted sanctions on several Syrian companies operating in key sectors like oil production, agriculture, finance, construction, telecoms, and media. Depending on how the situation in Syria develops, other companies could be delisted in the coming months. Restrictions will remain, however, for industries that pose security concerns, such as weapon sales.
In comic book terms, Servite’s group of talented sprinters would be described as “faster than a speeding bullet.”
There’s so many of them that a rival coach quipped, “They run so fast no one can see them.”
Under an overcast sky and with unusually cool temperatures for May, Saturday’s Southern Section track and field championships at Moorpark High was not conducive to record times, but that didn’t prevent the Friars from turning on the speed.
It started with winning the Division 3 4×100-meter relay in 40.43 seconds but really got going when sophomore Benjamin Harris ran a career-best time of 10.32 seconds to win the 100 meters, an event in which the Friars accumulated 20 points.
“I feel I have more in the tank,” Harris said. “It’s not my favorite weather. I like running in heat, but you have to adapt.”
Later in the 200 meters, he won in 20.96 seconds and Servite athletes also claimed third, fourth, fifth and sixth. Freshman Jalen Hunter won the 400 in 47.10.
Brandon Thomas, Servite’s coach, has used his many fast runners to push each other in practices.
“The next three weeks we’re going to be real hot,” he said.
Servite could be a state title contender, but despite its sprinter success, the Friars fell short to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for the Division 3 team title. The Knights found enough depth in the field events to finish with 106.5 points to Servite’s 104. JJ Harel made major contributions with a win in the high jump, second place in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump. Aaron Uzan got a surprise win in the 110-meter hurdles.
The Masters Meet next Saturday at Moorpark, which features the 18 best qualifiers, will have a memorable 100. Rodney Sermons of Rancho Cucamoga, a USC commit, won the Division 1 100 in 10.36 seconds. He also took the 200 in 20.29. Sophomore Demare Dezeurn of Bishop Alemany set a Division 4 100 record in 10.42 seconds.
Keelan Wright of Chaparral defended her Division 1 100 meters title, winning in 11.50 seconds.
(Craig Weston)
In the girls Division 1 100, Georgia-bound Keelan Wright of Chaparral repeated as champion with a time of 11.50. Marley Scroggins of Calabasas set a Division 3 100 record at 11.59 and won the 200 in 23.84. Wright also won her 200 in 23.32.
Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, one of the top distance runners in the nation, broke his own record in the Division 1 1,600 meters, winning in 4:03.71. The Stanford commit is aiming for his best performance to come next month at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. He has limited his appearances this spring trying to peak at the right time.
Evan Noonan of Dana Hills set a Division 1 record in the 1,600.
(Craig Weston)
“I wasn’t planning on it today but it was fun,” he said of his record. “I don’t feel 100% fresh but am moving in the right direction.”
Junior Alden Morales of JSerra set a Division 3 record in the 800 meters at 1:50.79.
Sophomore Darren Haggerty of Viewpoint, the school’s top wide receiver, surprised himself with personal bests to win the Division 4 long jump at 22 feet, 8 inches and high jump at 6-6. “It just happened,” he said. Viewpoint tied Gardena Serra for the Division 4 team title.
Aja Johnson of Notre Dame, headed to Louisville, won the Division 4 girls shotput at 46-2. Kaylin Edwards, the Long Beach Wilson senior who won a state championship in the 300-meter girls hurdles as a sophomore, showed she has regained her form in the 100 hurdles, winning Division 1 in 13.90. Wilson won the team title.
Benjamin Harris of Servite (middle) holds off Jaxon Gates of Damien (right), winning the Division 3 100 meters in 10.32 seconds.
(Craig Weston)
Braelyn Combe of Corona Santiago won her second straight Division 1 girls title in the 1,600 with a time of 4:46.99. She finished second at last year’s state final to Ventura’s Sadie Engelhardt.
On the boys’ side, Long Beach Poly (Division 1) and Culver City (Division 2) were among the team title winners. Canyon Country Canyon (Division 2), JSerra (Division 3) won girls’ team titles, as did St. Mary’s and Rosary, which finished tied in Division 4.
