Actor Kaylee Hottle, best known for her portrayal of a young deaf orphan who shares a special bond with the giant guardian ape in “Godzilla vs. Kong” and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” has died. She was 18.
Hottle died Tuesday morning after the car she was a passenger in crashed into a culvert off the side of the road in Ijamsville, Md., the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Her father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed her death in a video on Facebook.
“I am taking a flight that I never would like to take,” he wrote in the caption of the video post, in which he explained the situation in American Sign Language. He was on his way from Texas to claim her body, according to TMZ.
The Texas School for the Deaf also addressed the actor’s death on social media.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking news that one of our TSD seniors, Kaylee Hottle, tragically passed away yesterday in a car accident in Frederick, Maryland,” read the Instagram post. “Our hearts are with Kaylee’s family, friends, classmates and everyone who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time.”
Hottle’s breakout role was in the 2021 MonsterVerse crossover “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which marked her big-screen debut as the young orphan Jia. Jia is the last remaining survivor of the Iwi tribe on Skull Island who shares a connection with Kong, the island’s protector. Her adoptive parent, Dr. Ilene Andrews, is a linguistics expert and Kong researcher, played by Rebecca Hall. Hottle reprised the role in the 2024 follow-up, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”
“After I watched the movie, I thought, ‘Wow, this is going to make such a big impact,’” Hottle said in a 2024 interview with New York’s WABC. “I was so excited. She’s a young deaf girl, just like many others out there. And this journey that she’s going on is just going to be so amazing.”
The actor, who was born in Atlanta, was from an all-deaf family, which included four generations of deaf relatives on her father’s side, according to IMDb.
Authorities said Hottle was one of two passengers in the 1995 Honda Accord that was involved in the crash. While the incident is still being investigated, the Sheriff’s Office said in its news release that “excessive speed is believed to be a contributing factor in the collision.”
Millie Bobby Brown, who also appeared in “Godzilla vs. Kong,” was among those who shared tributes to Hottle following the news of her death.
“I’m so devastated to hear this,” she wrote in her Instagram story, which included a black-and-white photo of Hottle as Jia. “You will be deeply missed Kaylee.”
“I am absolutely gutted about the passing of sweet Kaylee Hottle,” Oscar winner Marlee Matlin wrote on Instagram. “May her beauty and talent be a memory for eternity. … Such a privilege to have met Kaylee last year. Please be kind to one another. Take the time to listen to your child. Say 🤟🏼 each time you part. 🩵”
I’m one of those rare Mexicans who never cared for soccer.
My family is from the north-central Mexico state of Zacatecas, where baseball is king and even volleyball was more popular in the ranchos of my parents than futbol. The childhood sports idols for my generation of cousins were Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela and boxing champion Julio César Chávez, not Mexican soccer legends Hugo Sánchez and Jorge Campos. Our dads bought us hats and bats to occupy our summer, not kits and cleats. I don’t even remember any of us ever owning a soccer ball — and I have nearly 100 cousins.
The first World Cup I remember was the 1994 edition hosted by the United States. I remember reading a huge Times special preview section on the affair and collected some of the commemorative pins that McDonald’s sold. But the matches were background noise in our living room during family parties as we splashed around in the swimming pool at our Anaheim home. When the tournament finale happened at the Rose Bowl, my favorite cousins and mutual best friend instead caught a baseball game at Angel Stadium and knew about Brazil’s victory over Italy only because the people above us in a private suite let us know.
As a sports fan, I paid enough attention to soccer as the decades passed to know who was who and what team was what and which sides kept winning — and that was mostly because I enjoyed EA Sports’ excellent video game version of it. What made playing soccer on consoles so fun — an exponential number of domestic leagues and international tournaments, the fact that every English-language match seemed to have a Scottish color commentator, the seeming aimlessness and formlessness on the pitch broken up by flairs of beauty — made it a slog when watching in real life.
As a reporter, I knew enough about soccer culture to file stories from watch parties across Southern California’s cornucopia of diasporas every World Cup. As a Mexican American, I cared enough about Mexico’s perpetually heartbreaking El Tri squad to watch their runs and sigh about how we’ll always have it harder than most. But I never bothered to tune in to other matches even as soccer leagues from across the globe have stormed network, cable and streaming channels in recent years.
I never hated the sport — it just never moved me. But when the final whistle blew on this year’s World Cup finale and three-quarters of the packed house at Chapter One: The Modern Bistro cheered wildly, I realized I was finally, truly a soccer fan.
Over 104 games, a bunch of questionable VAR calls, another heartbreaking downfall by Mexico, a bizarre Tom Cruise pregame monologue in the last match and the brilliant goal by Ferran Torres in extra time that let Spain squeak by Argentina 1-0, I slowly learned and felt why soccer is the world’s most popular sport, why a billion-plus people watched alongside me Sunday afternoon, and why this Cup kept setting viewership records in the United States and beyond until the end.
Who wouldn’t be moved by the heroic performances of underdog countries against the game’s traditional powers, such as tiny Cape Verde and ancient Egypt? Who couldn’t feel the thrill of seeing young stars meet the hype around them and exceed it — Erling Haaland of Norway, Lamine Yamal of Spain, Mexican midfielder Gilberto Mora, to name the most fabulous? Who didn’t want to interact with fan bases that distilled the best of their side’s cultures and traditions and showed it off to everyone and anyone — I’m doing Norway’s Viking Row even as I type.
Who can’t learn from the life lessons soccer offers — and I’m not talking about the obvious geopolitical metaphors? I knew some of them, yet I never really absorbed them until I decided to make Chapter One my gustatory church for the Cup and watch as many games there as possible. I caught so many that I effectively became a walking Manhattan cocktail for the summer, and while my liver won’t forgive me for a while, my heart and soul absolutely have.
The one thing I always admired about domestic leagues — well, except Major League Soccer — is the relegation system, where the bottom teams in one league swap places with the top teams in a lower-ranked league at the end of each season. For national tournaments, the corollary is how poorer countries always have to match up against richer ones for regional face-offs and qualifiers that culminate in the quadrennial dream that is the World Cup.
That makes soccer a beacon of hope and possibility that few other team sports can offer, especially in an era where top teams try everything possible to keep everyone else out of their riches (which is why relegation will probably never come to MLS). In a world where the haves are grinding down the have-nots, soccer is a reminder that anything truly is possible for anyone — you just have to keep at it.
The Chapter One gatherings quickly taught me how the long lulls broken up by spurts of passion that I once found a drag were actually as stirring as a religious experience. It’s impossible not to feel this watching even one game — but a succession of them have the effect of a full conversion.
Cheers and chants turned into prayers. Boos against opponents and bad referees and yells at your side to do better was the Spirit moving you to testify. Text threads among friends became daily missals. When your side scored, it was like the gift of life itself — I’ve never been in a louder environment than when Mexico scored against England, a roar that rivaled a jet engine.
When your side lost, like Mexico eventually, inevitably did, it was a reminder that we all must at some point — but that we shouldn’t dwell on defeat because while eternal glory isn’t guaranteed, it can happen. And that’s why soccer teaches we must continue no matter how bad our team performed, no matter how terrible things get or how hopeless life seems.
After every Mexico match, downtown Santa Ana became the most wonderful expression of happiness I’ve ever been lucky enough to join — fireworks, conga lines, street takeovers or just standing among thousands of strangers and soaking it all in. It was the revival of a people whom a year early were angrily protesting on those same city blocks if they weren’t sheltering in place because ICE was running roughshod over Southern California.
Only soccer could’ve caused such a joyous revolt. We should all channel some of that magic into our daily lives.
And in the middle of all this emotion, I actually watched what was going on. I saw talented teams such as South Korea collapse under pressure and my beloved Mexico valiantly fall against an English squad that was taller, faster and just better — for now. Haaland’s singularity was a testament to how humanity seeks heroes — but Spain’s ultimate triumph via crisp passes and selfless teamwork offered a stirring, convincing collective counterpoint.
Soccer probably won’t supplant my love for baseball, football, basketball and hockey — but I can now mention it in the same breath as them.
International and professional soccer is rife with corruption and avarice and increasingly embraces the worst tendencies of late-stage capitalism. And yet fans suspend their cynicism for a few hours — for a tournament, for a season — because they know that the communion that soccer offers is pure and holy.
Now that the Cup is over, my mind is racing with what club teams I should start to follow and continue my World Cup experience. I already kind of like Bayern Munich because that was the side I chose in EA Sports FIFA 18 (to show how retrograde my soccer knowledge remains, I still think James Rodriguez, Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski play for them), but who will I root for in Premier League? I can’t do Arsenal even though Chapter One is the official Orange County home for Gooner fans because that would be too obvious. Maybe Crystal Palace, about which I know nothing other than that was also the name of the Bakersfield music hall owned by country legend Buck Owens?
Zacatecas has never had a successful club team — baseball still rules there, after all — so I think I’ll root for Pumas UNAM to honor all my Mexico City friends who urged me forever to give soccer a true chance. I don’t really know any La Liga squads besides Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and FC Barcelona, so I have a lot of studying to do there. And between the Galaxy and LAFC? Well, time for me to catch a home-and-home El Tráfico and let their support groups court me.
One team I know I’ll now follow: Angel City, the L.A. women’s soccer side brilliant enough to rebrand itself “Immigrant City Football Club” last summer in the midst of President Trump’s deportation deluge while the city’s other professional sports teams stayed quiet. And I’m already counting down the months before Brazil hosts the Women’s World Cup a year from now and Chapter One becomes my Cheers anew.
Soccer: it’s been a long time coming between you and me. But here I am! Drop those hydration breaks, and you’ve got a fanático for life.
The Crown Prosecution Service sees first-hand the impact that domestic abuse has on victims.
It says that of every five cases the police refers to it, four result in charges being brought.
Olivia Rose, the CPS’s National Stalking Lead, says it does not just see physical abuse. There is coercive and controlling abuse too.
“It’s crucial for victims to spot the signs early,” Rose said. “What our prosecutors see can include monitoring of victims’ phones and social media, often inundating them with dozens of messages.
“There’s also emotional blackmail, such as threatening to kill themselves if their partner leaves.
“It’s incredibly important that we get the message out to say that behaviour like this is not just unacceptable: it’s illegal.”
The CPS, the government department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases, say it works closely with the police and women’s charities to ensure that action is taken to stop such behaviour and to help victims to get away.
It says it needs help from communities too. And it is urging people to look out for friends, family and neighbours who could be vulnerable during the World Cup.
“If you can step in to help, you could be making a life-changing difference,” Rose said.
She also wants to get the message to victims that they will be supported if they speak out.
“We understand how difficult it can be to report domestic abuse,” she added. “But if you come forward, you will be taken seriously, and we will bring offenders to justice.
“The World Cup should bring communities together, and it should never be an excuse to fuel abusive behaviour.”
Anyone experiencing domestic abuse who is in immediate danger should always call 999. Victims can also report abuse to the police on 101.
Confidential support services are available. Anyone affected can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 in England, or the Live Fear Free helpline on 0808 80 10 800 in Wales.
The voluntary pause until Sept. 9 comes after the California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County officials sued the Trump administration last month to block the facility from being developed near Gilroy. The lawsuit remains ongoing.
“This pause in the construction, demolition, and development at the site of the challenged ICE facility is a significant step towards protecting our people, our communities, and our environment while the case remains ongoing,” Bonta said in a statement Monday night.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
State and local officials believe the facility will be used for short-term detention of up to 150 people at a time, though ICE denied that it would be a detention center.
Community members and advocates for immigrants swiftly opposed the project. ICE has consistently looked to increase its detention capacity in California, where eight detention centers can now hold a combined 9,000 people, though the state has long been a thorn in the agency’s side.
The halt is part of a compromise between both sides involved in the legal action. After the state and county submitted a request for the court to temporarily halt the project, a hearing was set for Oct. 7.
Now, state and federal officials jointly requested that the court move up the hearing by at least a month. The agreement also extends how much time the federal government has to respond.
A federal judge signed off on the agreement Monday night.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San José, alleges that the leased land is zoned exclusively for agricultural use and that the federal government violated laws requiring state and county notification, as well as procedural steps before beginning construction.
Despite already playing twice on home soil in the inaugural Nations Championship, New Zealand will relish a return to Eden Park, where they have not lost a Test since France were the victors in 1994.
However, the New Zealand coach said they cannot rest on their laurels when they welcome an Ireland side who are unbeaten in six games.
“It’s always nice going to Eden Park. It’ll be nice having a lot of supporters cheering for us,” he continued.
“It’s been a fortress, but what’s happened in the past counts for little. It’s about us making sure we get our prep right and mindset right.
“To play against an Irish side who, last time they toured this country, they won a series.”
Rennie also added the importance of closing down New Zealand-born scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park.
The Leinster half-back crossed during Ireland’s tight 33-31 victory over Australia but did not feature in the much-changed team that faced Japan.
“Leinster have had a massive influence on Irish rugby for a lot of years. I like their combinations. They’re really strong. Jamison’s a big part of their success.
“We need to make life difficult for him so he can’t play on the front foot and apply pressure that way.”
Victor Wembanyama has signed what will be the richest contract in San Antonio Spurs history, a five-year extension that could exceed $250 million if the player option in the final season is picked up, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the financial figures were not disclosed by either side. The Spurs, who went to the NBA Finals this past season behind the All-NBA center and unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, announced that Wembanyama had signed, simply saying the sides agreed on “a multi-year contract extension.”
The agreement comes at a discount; Wembanyama could have agreed to a deal that topped $300 million — but chose a lesser amount to help give the Spurs flexibility going forward with their young core and in anticipation of the contracts some of those budding stars will be eligible for in coming years, the person said.
NEW YORK — E. Jean Carroll can be paid the $5.8 million that was set aside after a jury found three years ago that President Trump sexually abused her in 1996 before he became president and defamed her after she publicly revealed the attack, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order that says the money can be paid to Carroll, along with interest that has grown since the verdict.
Carroll’s lawyers had requested the disbursement after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the 2023 civil verdict.
Trump had resumed defamatory attacks against Carroll as his lawyers considered asking the high court to reconsider its decision.
Both sides’ attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The jury reached its verdict in a trial that Trump did not attend after Carroll testified that she was sexually abused by him in the dressing room of a Manhattan luxury department store after a flirtatious and friendly chance encounter between them turned violent.
Carroll, 82, first talked about the attack publicly in 2019 in a memoir while Trump was president. He repeatedly insisted that he never knew Carroll. He also accused her of trying to sell books at his expense and having political motives.
Trump is also appealing $83 million in defamation compensation granted to Carroll by a separate Manhattan jury after a January 2024 trial at which Trump briefly testified.
At that trial, Kaplan required the jury to accept the findings of the previous jury and only determine how much money, if any, Trump owed Carroll for comments he made about her as president.
Sisak and Neumeister write for the Associated Press.
July 7 (UPI) — An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City’s Upper East Side has sickened nearly two dozen people, officials said Tuesday, as they continue to investigate the cluster.
The community cluster has been identified in the neighborhoods of Carnegie Hill and Yorkville. The NYC Health Department said in a statement that there have been 23 cases of the disease, including 17 hospitalizations, since July 6.
The count is also an increase from 14 cases reported on Sunday. The cluster was first made public July 2 after two people were diagnosed with the disease.
City health officials are urging New Yorkers and those who have visited the areas since late June and are experiencing flu-like symptoms to contact a healthcare provider immediately.
“More than 100 NYC Health Department staff members have worked nonstop since the start of this cluster as we take aggressive action to ensure that we are cutting off the source of exposure as quickly as possible,” Dr. Alister Martin, NYC health commissioner, said in a statement.
Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, which grow in warm water. Those who inhale water vapor that contains the bacteria can get sick with the disease, which causes flu-like symptoms. Most people exposed to the bacteria do not develop the disease. However, among those who do contract it, complications can be fatal.
All cooling towers in the affected area are being sampled and tested at the city’s public health lab in order to locate the source, NYC Comptroller Mark Levinesaid, but warned that “it unfortunately takes several weeks for cultures to grow.”
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said that the issue is not with any building’s plumbing or indoor air conditioning and residents of the two neighborhoods are safe to drink tap water, bathe, shower and cook.
“The collection of water samples, laboratory testing and community outreach has been ongoing through the Fourth of July holiday weekend,” he said in an online statement.
Legionella bacterial culturing takes precision and expert hands.
It also takes several weeks for results to come back.
Our @nycHealthy scientists are working around the clock to analyze UES cooling tower samples and keep New Yorkers safe.
Living here has certainly been good for his acting career. Though he broke into the business as a member of NYC-turned-MTV sketch comedy group the State in 1994, he moved to L.A. in the fall of 1997 when he landed a role in the second season of “Men Behaving Badly,” an NBC sitcom. Marino shot just 13 episodes before the show was canceled. Still, he stayed in L.A., landing roles in much-loved shows like “Veronica Mars,” “Party Down,” “The Residence” and “Running Point.” He’s also co-written a few things, including “Role Models” and “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,” out July 10, which was filmed in and around Los Angeles.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
“Working around L.A. and running around to jobs is how I got to understand L.A.,” Marino says. “It’s just a very comfortable city to live in. I just think it’s fun to be able to bounce around and do anything you feel like doing.”
Here’s how Marino would spend his perfect, carefree Sunday in Los Angeles.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
6 a.m.: Dog walking, coffee and flowers
We have two dogs. They need to go outside in the morning and eat, and they are very vocal about it. For a while, every morning at 5:58 my one dog, Dot, would start whining and moving around until I’d go “yeah, OK, let’s feed you.”
In our family, I’m the one who feeds the dogs and takes them out, because I’m a morning person. I enjoy it when it’s not fully light out, maybe making myself a coffee or taking a walk to this place called Project Bloom Coffee. It’s a little mom and pop kind of place and they have terrific coffee and breakfast sandwiches. They’re also a florist. Sometimes they even use this cool paper holder with a handle where, on one side you put the coffee and then on the other side you put your beautiful flower display. So then you get to walk home with your coffee and your flowers together and it’s something I’ve never seen anywhere else.
7:30 a.m.: Online chess
After I go get my coffee and walk the dogs, I’ll still be the only person up so I’ll get on my computer and get a couple of games of chess in. I play people from around the world online on Chess.com, and I usually either get frustrated or feel like I’m the best chess player in the world. Anyway, I’m getting my rating up on the app and I’m very excited about it. I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of chess tutorials on TikTok and YouTube that teach me how to play better.
9 a.m.: More coffee and “911”
If I go to Project Bloom, I’ll bring my wife a coffee and some flowers but if not, we have a little espresso and cappuccino maker so I’ll use that to make her a cappuccino, which I’ll bring to her in bed. She’s always very happy about that and then I’ll go try to wake my [16-year-old] daughter up, which usually takes about two or three tries until I take her phone, set the timer for five minutes, and then put it on the other side of her room so she has to get out of her bed to turn it off when it sounds.
She and I have been religiously watching “911” recently. We started with Season 1 and now we’re about six or seven seasons in so I’ll make her breakfast — maybe a Nutella crepe with some little cherry tomatoes on the side, which is weird but she likes it or maybe some oatmeal — and then we’ll watch “911” and talk about our favorite characters, like Buck, Chimney and Bobby.
Noon: Lunch on the Westside
We have a little apartment in Marina Del Rey that’s right by the beach so sometimes I’ll go out there with the dogs, just to sit for a while and enjoy. I usually walk between the Venice pier and Washington Street, but sometimes I’ll go further north and walk along Venice Beach if I want to hang out with some freaky deakies.
When I’m over on that side of town, there’s a couple of places that I might go for food, like this Italian restaurant called Ospi that’s in Venice. They’re incredible. They make their own homemade pasta and it’s delicious. There’s also this chain called Guisados, and I love their tacos so sometimes I’ll do that too. Venice Ramen is good too, and they do these things called jumbo gyoza that are absolutely delicious. They’re like 2.5 times bigger than a normal gyoza, like palm-sized, and I really like them.
2 p.m.: Play practice and a pint
My daughter is in two plays right now at this place called the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica, so it’s my responsibility to take her over there and drop her off for practice. When I do that, if it’s a Sunday, I might want to grab a Guinness somewhere and watch basketball. There’s a bar called Weary Livers down the street that has a lot of board games and it feels like you’re in somebody’s basement, which is good. It’s also right next to the Brixton, which is another nice bar that I’ll go to from time to time if I’m waiting for my daughter to finish rehearsal because it’s a lot of driving otherwise.
Right now, David [Wain] and I are trying to figure out different promotional things we can do for our movie, “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,” so maybe we’d do some more of that. It’s a really funny movie and we sold it at Sundance.
Anyway, two Sundays ago we walked around with our friend Frank Barrera, who is also one of the camera operators on “Gail Daughtry.” We went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and we shot promos for the movie where we were talking to different people and pretending that the Gail Daughtry cinematic universe is vast and has been around for decades, like we were asking people what their favorite Gail Daughtry movie is. It confused a lot of them, but every once in a while somebody would say something so we’re using those for promo spots.
I also spent some time just running up and down the street being very overly enthusiastic and screaming “the new Gail Daughtry movie is coming out!” and then we shot people’s reactions, which were typically “confusion” and “not caring.” Like, “Stop yelling at me, weirdo.”
7:30 p.m.: Thai takeout
On weekends, my wife and I like to order from a specific Thai place that’s won many awards. It’s called Luv 2 Eat Thai Bistro and it’s absolutely fantastic. The crab curry is so delicious and they do these street food sausages that we crave. They come with ginger and peanuts and garlic, plus a big slab of raw cabbage and some hot peppers and we’ll eat them like popcorn, just throwing them in our mouths while we catch up on “Survivor.” The flavor is just insane, and we think about how good they are all the time.
9:30 p.m.: Checkmate
After we watch “Survivor,” usually what happens next is that we’ll end up going, “Should we watch a movie?” Then we’ll look around for a movie for a while and then my daughter will be like, “Hey, Mom! Come in here and watch this YouTube show with me” so my wife will get pulled away, and I’ll immediately pick up my computer and start playing chess again. I like to bookend my day with a quiet chess game in the morning and another quiet game at night. It’s a nice way to wind down.
I’ll typically play a minimum of about three games before my eyes start to close because they’re trying to fall asleep. That’s when I’ll quit because I’ll be making stupid moves and it affects my rating, like “Oh, I just lost that game because I fell asleep while my computer was on,” so that’s how I know when I’m done.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — He’s a prize-winning presidential historian who wrote an entire biography of Thomas Jefferson. But even Jon Meacham needs to think for a moment before defining what it means to be a “Jeffersonian.”
“Well for a long time, before the civil rights movement, it meant to be more inclined toward states’ rights and limited government,” says Meacham, the National Constitution Center’s Semiquincentennial Scholar. He then pauses, and asks to start over, recalling how President Franklin Delano Roosevelt evoked Jefferson as an “apostle of liberty” who would have supported the U.S. fighting the Nazis in World War II.
You could define it in so many ways. Historians may argue over the “greatness” of individual founders, but as the country’s 250th anniversary approaches many agree that no one’s life and work resonates like Jefferson’s. He embodied the “very best and the very worst” of the United States, Meacham says.
And a great deal in between.
America’s birth is rooted in his most profound contradiction — the man who proclaimed that “all men are created equal” while being a slaveholder to the end of his life. But Jefferson advanced and explored both sides of so many issues and world views that have defined the country’s path: agrarian self-sufficiency and worldly innovation, pluralism and separatism, limited government and dreams of an “empire of liberty.”
“There is no more malleable figure in early America than Jefferson,” says Andrew Burstein, a professor of history at Louisiana State University who has summed up Jefferson’s legacy in a book he published a decade ago: “Democracy’s Muse: How Thomas Jefferson became an FDR Liberal, a Reagan Republican, and a Tea Party Fanatic, All the While Being Dead.”
“There have been times in American history when just about everyone would have considered themselves ‘Jeffersonian,’” says historian Peter S. Onuf, author of numerous works on Jefferson. “Yet even at those moments, he was a controversial figure.”
It’s an argument without end
Jefferson’s legacy is debated even in settings that owe their existence to him.
On the campus of the University of Virginia, the college he founded and regarded as a signature achievement, stands a memorial to thousands of enslaved people who lived and worked there.
At Monticello, the mountaintop estate and plantation outside of Charlottesville where Jefferson lived when not in public office, a banner near the entrance features the Declaration and the caption, “After all, our guy wrote it.” But once on the grounds, reminders of his enslavement of hundreds are found throughout, from its “Burial Ground for Enslaved People” that includes dozens of graves to an exhibit dedicated to Sally Hemings, the enslaved woman with whom Jefferson is widely believed to have had six children.
Monticello’s director of historic interpretation and audience engagement, Brandon Dillard, cites the staff’s mission “to tell unflinching stories of America’s complex origins and fitful progress toward the ideals Jefferson articulated in the Declaration of Independence.”
Jefferson regarded Monticello as a refuge from the times, but the times inevitably find their way here. A guide on the gardens and grounds tour points out that a foldable plant Jefferson tried and failed to grow — the “Mimosa Pudica,” or “sensitive plant” — now thrives because of climate change. The visitors’ center is LEED Gold-certified for green energy, Dillard says, and geothermal systems have been installed in other buildings for temperature control.
Monticello raises questions old and new about race. Virtually all of the guides are white, an issue Dillard notes is prevalent nationwide. A recent survey released by the American Association for State and Local History found that around just 10% of workers at museums, historic sites and historical societies were nonwhite and that many “Latino/a/x, and multiracial respondents reported higher rates of discrimination and harassment.” (Dillard declined to answer in detail the experience of guides of color at Monticello.)
There is a Jefferson for every occasion
Jefferson’s contradictions date back through much of American history; he was claimed by both sides of the Civil War and both sides of the civil rights movement.
Nineteenth-century Confederates and 20th-century segregationists cited his defense of states’ rights, while Abraham Lincoln and civil rights leaders emphasized Jefferson as the author of the Declaration of Independence. In the space of a few months in 1963, he would be invoked in the inaugural speech of Alabama Gov. George Wallace as he vowed defiance of federal efforts to integrate the state’s schools and by the Rev. Martin Luther King as he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington.
Roosevelt enlisted Jefferson as an ideological ally for the New Deal (the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., began as a New Deal project) and a former New Dealer-turned conservative, President Reagan, held up Jefferson decades later as a foe of wasteful spending. Jefferson has been cited often by free-speech advocates for his crucial support for the Bill of Rights, while President Trump has quoted Jefferson’s 1807 lament that “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper” as an implicit endorsement of his modern war against “fake news.”
Jefferson has also been placed on either side of today’s divide over immigration. Ibram X. Kendi, author of “How to Be an Anti-Racist,” cites his well-documented belief in colonization for Black people as inspiration for contemporary scapegoating and xenophobia. Meanwhile, at a time when the Trump administration is aggressively trying to restrict immigration and even denaturalize some citizens, Monticello continues its decades-old July 4 naturalization ceremonies, with Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger scheduled as this year’s keynote speaker.
“As new citizens share their personal stories every Fourth of July,” Dillard says, “we are reminded that the values uplifted in that Declaration are values toward which people from all backgrounds aspire.”
Many Monticello visitors, many reasons to visit
Monticello attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. They come for many reasons.
Erin Porter is a Virginia native in her 40s who until recently had never been to Monticello and wanted to cross it off her bucket list, while Nathan Jaycox of Connecticut is a former nuclear engineer now seeking to absorb history for a class he hopes to teach. Duane Cromwell, a longtime resident of Vancouver, was here on a very personal mission.
Cromwell, 70, grew up in Greenville, S.C., where she was taught that slavery was “an economic necessity” and learned nothing about Jefferson’s history of enslavement. In town last month for a family reunion, she arrived at Monticello anxious to get past the “whitewashed Southern version” and the myths of evil “yankees” and the victimized rebels who defied them.
“Did you (ever) notice kudzu growing up over trees and buildings while in the South? It is an invasive plant brought to the region to control erosion. Well, it is like racism. It is pervasive, part of the horizon, always there but soon you don’t notice it,” she says.
“Having said that, I do think that people do go along better, there is more interactions, relationships than when I was growing up. Everyone needs each other and in the South, there is a great sense of humor and friendliness that help people navigate the awkward moments.”
For Cromwell, Monticello was a chance to educate herself, to become a better person — and, like countless others before her, using Thomas Jefferson as a prism.
Mel Brooks turned 100 on Sunday. To the 2000 Year Old Man, that probably wouldn’t seem like a big deal. For the rest of us, it was.
Few filmmakers in Hollywood history have remained this funny — or this relevant — for this long. Brooks’ improbable career, chronicled last year in a two-part HBO documentary, took him from defusing land mines during World War II to writing for Sid Caesar and reinventing movie comedy with hits like “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Spaceballs.” Along the way, he conquered Broadway and became one of the few entertainers to win an EGOT — an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.
Even at the century mark, Brooks doesn’t seem especially interested in slowing down. A “Spaceballs” sequel is set for release next year. Asked by The Times in 2016, when he was 90, whether retirement held any appeal, Brooks joked, “Well, first of all, I don’t know how to play golf. I could play tennis if it was triples — not doubles. But if there were three on each side, I could cover my spot.”
Every Brooks fan has a favorite scene, and there’s a good chance yours isn’t on this list. That’s OK. We weren’t trying to settle the argument. These aren’t necessarily Brooks’ funniest scenes or his most famous — he didn’t even direct them all. Instead, we’ve highlighted eight moments that show his different sides, whether it’s his fearlessness, his showmanship or the warmth that so often ran beneath the anarchy. No handful of moments could tell the whole story. But these are a good place to start.
On the back of eight straight losses things could hardly have got off to a worse start for the Giants when Johnstone got in at the corner and prop McMeeken then dotted down, after Rourke flicked Jake Trueman’s kick back.
However, they did not go under and two solo efforts in four minutes from Gagai and Geyer saw them turn the match on its head for the first time.
Sinfield’s first Super League try since joining from Leeds in the off-season gave Wakefield a 16-12 lead at the break, but Russell kicked a 40/20 in the first play of the second half and O’Donnell crashed over.
Huddersfield, who were looking for a first wince since 4 April, could not hold on to their narrow lead as Jowitt kicked a penalty after a high shot on McMeeken to level and Rourke held off the attentions of three players to get in at the corner.
The visitors fought back once more when Swift cut in off the left edge and grounded the ball to make it 22-22.
Sinfield’s drop-goal nudged Wakefield back into the lead before Russell’s long ranger levelled the scores yet again.
But the former Trinity man was left desolate when his pass was grabbed by Rourke who managed to get away from the chasers and win it.
Huddersfield will raise the curtain on Magic Weekend when they play York Knights at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next Saturday, with Daryl Powell’s men playing his former side Castleford in Sunday’s first match.
Scotland, who have played at each of the past two European Championships, booked their spot at a World Cup for the first time since 1998 in dramatic fashion with an unforgettable victory against Denmark at Hampden Park in November.
Backed by tens of thousands of fans who had travelled to the United States, John McGinn’s deflected strike against Haiti earned the country’s first win at a World Cup for 36 years.
That would be Scotland’s only goal of the tournament.
They lost to a second-minute strike by 2022 semi-finalists Morocco in their second match, so they entered their final group game against Brazil knowing a draw would probably be enough to send them through as one of the best third-placed teams.
However, first-half defensive errors would prove their undoing.
They once again conceded early when defender Scott McKenna was robbed of possession inside his own penalty area, gifting an opener to Vinicius Jr.
The Real Madrid forward was denied a second when the video assistant referee (VAR) deemed he had fouled Jack Hendry before rolling the ball past Angus Gunn, but just before half-time Scotland again gave the ball away near their own goal and Vinicius Jr nodded in at the back post to make it 2-0.
Matheus Cunha extended Brazil’s advantage after half-time and a late rally failed to yield a reply that would have improved Scotland’s goal difference.
Diego Cano-Lasso had been looking for an architectural project when he found two hillside lots with spectacular views for sale in Mt. Washington. With work scarce in 2012, the SCI-Arc graduate persuaded his family to invest in the property, and together they bought the two plots for $95,000.
“We are not developers,” he says, “but sometimes you have to jump.”
He didn’t realize the Mt. Washington project would take 12 years to complete, including a shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, or that he, his family and friends would end up doing much of the work themselves.
Diego Cano-Lasso stands in front of the hillside lots in 2012. (Hassan Ismail)The lots today.(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
As a fan of Los Angeles’ Midcentury Modern architecture, he imagined designing and building a post-and-beam dream home next-door to a similar home by his aunt Lucia Cano and her husband, José Selgas, of the Madrid architecture firm SelgasCano, stretching over the hillside and connecting to the city below.
“It’s why I moved here,” Cano-Lasso says. “Midcentury design was like a dream to me, because it’s not just an architectural style; it’s a lifestyle.”
But his dream quickly hit a snag when the geotechnical engineer arrived in Mt. Washington to assess the site.
“He said the plots were unbuildable,” Cano-Lasso recalls. “He told me, ‘It is impossible. We cannot even do the soils report, because a big machine can’t fit up here on these narrow streets.’”
Eventually, Cano-Lasso found someone who visited the site and said, “No problem.”
La Canaria House by José Selgas and Lucia Cano features canary yellow aluminum tubes.
Cano-Lasso and his wife, Belén Rodero, in the open kitchen and living area of La Canaria House.
Then the city told him that he didn’t have the right to build on the property. To get permission, Cano-Lasso and his family would need to widen the narrow street, put in a sewer system and add a power pole.
Permits were just as difficult. According to Cano-Lasso, neighbors complained about the project, and the city bureaucracy dragged out the process for three years.
Eventually, he and his crew began digging into the hillside and moved more than 120 truckloads of soil through the steep, narrow streets of Mt. Washington. Without a general contractor, they managed construction themselves and hired different crews for each job.
When COVID-19 hit, construction on the project stopped, and Cano-Lasso returned to Spain. Construction did not restart until 2022, by which time the construction industry had changed and the project felt even more challenging to complete.
“Everything cost more, and there weren’t enough skilled workers,” Cano-Lasso says. As a result, Juan de Santiago, the master builder Cano-Lasso hired and calls “paramount to the project,” was too busy to finish the houses, which had windows and drywall but still needed finishing.
“The only way we could do it was by doing most of the work ourselves and with friends,” Cano-Lasso says.
With help from his brother Alejandro Cano, who is also known as Cato, and his wife, Belén Rodero, they handled everything from carpentry and metal work to lighting, wall finishes, flooring, painting, furniture, custom garage doors and landscaping.
“What I didn’t realize at the time — not even when hundreds of boxes of Moroccan tiles showed up at our door in Madrid — was that I was signing up for both a crash course and a career in tiling,” Cato says of designing murals for three of the Cano Home’s four walls. “I wasn’t expecting to lay a single tile, let alone take on the filing, sanding, rearrangement and all the care and attention required when most tiles come in odd sizes.”
Seven years and plenty of mishaps later, including the time a truck got stuck on the narrow, winding streets of Mt. Washington hauling 42-foot wooden beams, Cano-Lasso finally has a finished home that feels peaceful and warm.
With eye-catching details everywhere, the 2,250-square-foot homes feel relaxed and reflect the style of a Spanish designer inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler. (Cano-Lasso once lived in Schindler’s Sachs apartment in Silver Lake.) The open floor plan, designed by his father, Spanish architect Diego Cano Pintos, features warm oak floors, inexpensive radiata pine walls and ribbed wood ceilings.
“I am enjoying witnessing the house being lived in,” Cano-Lasso says of renting his house to music producer Jennifer Jimenez and interior designer Hanna Li, pictured right.
The rooms of the Cano House are filled with colorful art, accessories and custom furniture by Andrew Riiska and Cato. “Although we were working toward a deadline on a project that had already been under construction for several years, most pieces of furniture were designed and fabricated on site, with the conviction that we were building something special,” Cato says of setting up a furniture workshop in the garage.
Ceramic rain gutters from Ceramiques Est in Spain have been repurposed as wall-mounted light fixtures for indoor use. Door handles are made from stones found on the beach, and glass light fixtures by Luz Mixtura in Spain echo Robert Irwin’s disc installations. Large boulders from the excavation were brought inside to serve as furniture. Built-ins were made in Spain and shipped to Los Angeles in three containers. Outside, the house is covered in shou sugi ban charred-wood siding, which they installed themselves.
Both homes have similar structures and layouts with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, but La Canaria House features canary yellow powder-coated aluminum tubes inspired by California sunsets, while the Cano House is minimal and warm. “The homes are all about the beams,” Cano-Lasso says, which makes them look like they are floating above the city.
The neutral rooms feel warm and simple, with striking pops of yellow that reflect Southern California’s sunshine and decks that allow a smooth flow from indoors to outdoors.
Li, left, and Jimenez in their music room. The custom DJ workstation, designed by Li, is clad in ceramic tiles designed to look like plywood.
Behind the Cano House, Cano-Lasso created a narrow outdoor space with built-in banquette seating, a raised-bed herb garden and a water fountain. Now the house opens up to the outdoors, making it easy to entertain. “The garden is the coolest feature,” he says. “It really makes the house feel special.”
In some ways, the modern design has revived the midcentury ideal by using post-and-beam construction, an open floor plan, simple materials and easy indoor-outdoor access, all with Cano Lasso’s artistic touch.
But finishing the project also left Cano-Lasso with the large debt he took on — he estimates the project cost about $1 million, although he saved around 40% by acting as his own contractor.
Cano-Lasso and his wife divide their time between La Canaria House and a project in Venice, so he is renting out his dream house to interior designer Hannah Li and music producer Jennifer Jimenez, who grew up together in Pasadena.
Li descends the spiral staircase to the music room on the first floor.
Renting such a personal project might seem overwhelming for the tenants, since the rental included some of Cano-Lasso’s custom furnishings, but the two have made the house their own. They added a striking listening room on the first floor, with a turntable lined with ceramic tiles designed by Li to resemble plywood.
“We’re all artists in this house,” Jimenez says. “We’re always creating here, and other music producers often come over to make music and jam with us. It’s such an inspiring, creative space.”
“It’s a very comfortable house,” adds Li, who enjoys practicing archery on the terrace deck.
The friends’ rental is filled with treasures from their travels, along with pieces Li designed specifically for the home. Li turned one of the first-floor bedrooms into a cozy study by paneling the walls with wood and adding textiles she collected on her trips.
Recently, they hosted a birthday party with art-making stations, candle-making and even goats and they invited their landlord. “Mt. Washington has so many artists, so it’s wonderful to bring everyone together,” Li says.
Cano-Lasso, greets Jimenez, center, and Li on their side-by-side terraces.
When asked if he might consider tackling another hillside project, Cano-Lasso laughs.
“When I finished, I said, ‘I will never do that again,’” he says. “Now I’m starting to think there’s a plot of land for sale nearby. We installed a sewer line, so why not take advantage of it?”
Despite his debt, he isn’t planning to sell the house. “In a way, the project doesn’t finish with construction; I am enjoying witnessing the house being lived in,” he says. Even if he’s not the one living in it.
If Scotland lose and finish with three points, there are a number of results they will need to look out for – they will want as many groups as possible with two teams finishing on fewer than three points.
In Group A, if Mexico beat the Czech Republic and South Korea beat South Africa, that would leave the team in third on one point.
The next best scenario would be a big South Africa win to leave South Korea in third with three points and a poor goal difference.
Wins for South Africa and the Czech Republic would spell bad news for Scotland, leaving the third-place finisher on four points.
One of the few games that take place before Scotland face Brazil that has a bearing on where Scotland could finish comes in Group B.
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Qatar meet three hours before Scotland play and, if they draw, both sides will have two points.
In Group D, Australia and Paraguay are second and third respectively and meet in their final game. The losers would end the group with three points, while a draw would leave both sides on four.
On we go to Group E. Ecuador and Curacao have one point apiece and play Germany and Ivory Coast respectively. Failure to win would mean whoever finishes third cannot better Scotland’s tally of three points.
In Group F, Scotland will be hoping second-placed Japan beat third-placed Sweden convincingly. A point for Sweden, though, would leave the third-placed finishers on at least four points.
The key fixture in Group G as far as Scotland are concerned is Egypt v Iran. A win for Egypt will ensure the team finishing third will have fewer than three points.
It is the same situation in Group H where Scotland fans will be rooting for Spain to beat Uruguay so the third-placed team can only finish on two points, while in Group I, a draw between Senegal and Iraq would mean the team in third will have just one point.
In Group J, Austria and Algeria – second and third respectively on three points – meet in their final group game, so Scotland would not want that to end in a draw.
DR Congo and Uzbekistan are vying for third place in Group K.
A win for Uzbekistan would give them three points but, with a goal difference of -7, they would need a big win against DR Congo and for Scotland to lose badly to move above them in the standings.
In Group L, a point or more for Croatia against Ghana could be bad news for Scotland as it would again leave the third-place finishers with four points.
A big win for Ghana, and Panama not beating England, would be Scotland’s ideal scenario from a mathematical point of view.
The fluorescent green gaiters seemed a ridiculous suggestion, but prove a godsend as we plod across the sand. “I bet you’re glad I told you to get a pair of these bad boys now, aren’t you?”my friend Luke jokes. We’re marching across a wide, crescent-shaped, honeyed beach. The sun is high in the sky and slivers of light flicker through a thick sea fog, as 6ft waves crash and fizz, their white foam licking the towering limestone cliffs.
I’m in Portugal, in the west Algarve, with two friends, hiking part of the Rota Vicentina, or Fishermen’s Trail, a 140-mile (226km) trek that runs from Lagos to São Torpes in Alentejo. Traversing cliffs that lead to wild, remote beaches like this one is part of the trail’s calling card. As the name suggests, it was originally carved out by fishers to reach otherwise inaccessible fishing spots along the Atlantic Ocean. Now it’s part of the Rota Vicentina, a hiking and cycling route spanning 466 miles across Portugal.
Already, this corner of the Algarve feels a far cry from downtown Lagos, where we’d been woken up the night before by noisy tourists after one too many Super Bocks. Our official starting point is 25 minutes away in Salema – a fishing village set within the Vicentine Coast natural park.
Barriga beach, on the Atlantic coast near Vila do Bispo. Photograph: Jose Luis Alvarez Esteban/Alamy
The sedate seaside haven is perhaps how the rest of the Algarve was before mass tourism arrived in this part of the Iberian peninsula following the opening of Faro airport in the 1960s. More than 20 million tourists visited the Algarve last year, 5.7 million of them from the UK.
Visitors to Salema drift in and out like the tide, pottering along cobbled streets, past traditional blue-and-white fishers’ cottages, stopping to indulge in fresh seafood on the terraces of family-run restaurants overlooking the long, empty beach flanked by chalky cliffs.
Tempted to postpone the first day of hiking to idle away the hours, we instead polish off a load of pastéis de nata and a bica or two down at Pastelaria Solmar, then set off. For the first few miles, we wend along a relatively flat, clay-coloured coastal path, following the blue-and-green striped Fishermen’s Trail logo that should lead us to Sagres.
A street in Salema. Photograph: CMS Pic/Getty Images
Keeping the sea to the left (we’re heading north), it’s easy to navigate. Magical, too, with views stretching as far as the eye can see, across an Atlantic Ocean glinting in the summer sun. Occasionally, we have to scramble up or down a steep, rocky embankment. But the rewards, a series of serene beaches that seem to get better with every mile, make it worthwhile. Given the remote location, these pretty coves attract only the hardiest beach-goers, and the odd naturist.
Over the day’s almost 12-mile hike, we hardly see another soul. So, when we arrive at Sagres, we’re ready for some human interaction. The seafaring town is where slave trader Henry the Navigator spent the final years of his life. Nowadays, Sagres is better known for its enviable surf breaks.
“I’m ready for a Sagres in Sagres,” Luke says, as we drop our bags and freshen up at Alojamento Mareta, a modest two-bed apartment that hovers on a cliffside with a blushing garden and sea views (about £78 per night). We mooch around looking for somewhere for dinner and a cold beer.
Sagres doesn’t have any sense of coherent organisation; its scattering of cafes, restaurants and bars appear to have been sketched out by bored teenagers when the city planners were on holiday. Instead of joining a growing gaggle of surfers waiting for live music to start at Three Little Birds, we order piri-piri chicken and a glug of local wine from the family-run Cafe Conchinha and retire to bed.
Waking early, we zip down to the empty Mareta beach for a meditation session led by another friend, James, before plunging into the icy sea. As if the morning isn’t already wholesome enough, we head to the Laundry Lounge – a boho, wooden-clad laundrette-cum-brunch spot – for a 90-minute yoga session and some breakfast before getting back on the road.
‘Craggy cliffs bathed in a golden light’ …. the lighthouse at Cabo de São Vicente. Photograph: Allard1/Alamy
We make our way to Cabo de São Vicente, where a 19th-century lighthouse sits perilously on an isolated rocky headland whipped by the elements. Mainland Europe’s most southwesterly point was known as the “end of the world”. It’s not hard to understand why. There’s nothing but an endless melange of blue water and craggy cliffs bathed in a golden light. It’s little wonder that the Greeks and Romans believed it to be a sacred promontory.
Later, we cut inland across a pancake flat expanse of arid shrubland with only the odd purple thistle for colour. Then, after 12 miles or so, we arrive in Vila do Bispo, a dusty, eerily quiet town, like something from a spaghetti western. Low-rise, pastel-coloured houses seem worn by time and old dusty cars sit beneath purple wisteria on cobbled street corners.
Fish, hung out to dry on washing lines, flap around in the wind as we wander the streets looking for somewhere to eat. We stumble across Pisco, an unassuming restaurant with a cosy atmosphere – whitewashed walls hung with art and crammed with wine bottles – where the vegetarian menu has excellent Mediterranean dishes, sourdough pizzas and organic wines.
Charging back towards the coast the following morning, we arrive at perhaps the most picturesque part of the hike. On the cliffs above Praia da Pena Furada, a vast, windswept beach, we perch on the cliffside for a moment to admire tall sea stacks battered by waves, the wind whistling through them as gulls swoop like kites overhead. It feels more like Steinbeck’s California than the Algarve. But for the hissing of the sea, everything is silent.
We barely say a word to one another until we land at the impossibly long sandy beach of Bordeira near Carrapateira a few hours later. The atmosphere here couldn’t be more different. The beach is busy with Portuguese holidaymakers and surfers. It’s the perfect antidote to hiking fatigue, so we settle in for a well-deserved burger at the hillside beach bar Amadobar as low-fi rock drifts from the speakers and surfers paddle out to distant breakers.
The hike ended at Praia da Arrifana in the Aljezur area of the west coast. Photograph: GM/Getty Images
Our digs for the night, which we make our way to after sunset, are about 20 minutes from the beach. Carrapateira Lodge (about £52 per night) sits in the centre of a small, charming whitewashed town with a scattering of restaurants, bars, cafes and surf shops. We dine alfresco on the cobbles just off the main plaza at O Pontal, getting to work on plates of tender octopus, roasted salt cod and beef entrecote to sustain ourselves for tomorrow’s final push.
When we arrive at Arrifana, our final destination the following afternoon, we’re beat. The parish town is settled on the hillside in the Aljezur municipality. Like Carrapateira, it’s popular with surfers. It feels closer to the Algarve most visitors know in some ways, but it’s still relatively low key. A single lane road helter-skelters down to another postcard-worthy beach, where there’s a sprinkling of bars and restaurants. Shattered, we round off the trip watching sunset at Café Restaurante Sol E Mar, a no-frills bar that spills out on to the headland overlooking the beach, which is busier than others we’ve passed but not as crowded as other Algarve hotspots I’ve visited. No rowdy Britons in sight – except us three.
Four years on from his last Test appearance, Matt Fisher returns to the England side in style with a wicket in just his third over as he removes Devon Conway for nine on the opening morning of the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval.
LAS VEGAS — Carolina spent the first part of the Stanley Cup Final surviving, finding ways to overcome deficits and play a high-scoring game that didn’t fit the Hurricanes’ typical style.
But when it came down to doing what it takes to win the Cup, the Hurricanes’ defense put its stamp on this series, shutting down the Vegas Golden Knights and not letting up.
The Hurricanes held Vegas to five total goals in Games 4 and 5 and used a suffocating defense in a 3-0 shutout in Sunday night’s clinching Game 6 to win their first championship in 20 years.
“That’s a lot of years,” said Carolina center Jordan Staal, who received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. “It’s amazing. This is something I’ve been going after ever since we got the first one. You want to win it again and again and again. What a feeling, what a battle. The boys were grinding today, my goodness. So many individual efforts just to keep the puck out of our net. It was an amazing ride. I’m just so proud of these guys.”
Carolina Hurricanes players celebrate after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup on Sunday.
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Brandon Bussi, whose entrance late into Game 3 helped turn around the series for Carolina, recorded his first career playoff shutout in stopping 22 shots. Jackson Blake had a goal and assist, and Taylor Hall scored just 3:47 into the game to set the tone. Nikolaj Ehlers added an empty-net goal.
“Your mind wanders the last couple of days and wonder what it may be like out here (on ice after winning) and it’s better than I could have expected,” Hall said. “My career has taken a lot of different turns, but to end up here with this group of guys and to do this is amazing.”
The Golden Knights, who made an unlikely run just to reach the final, struggled badly to muster any kind of offense in Game 6 and went 18:37 between shots on goal in the second and third periods. Playing in their third Cup final, this is the first time they have been shut out.
This clinching game was what many observers expected the series to be like between the defensive-minded teams, but each side watched leads of two-plus goals disappear in the first three games.
Now, the Cup belongs to the Hurricanes, led by coach Rod Brind’Amour, who also captained Carolina to its 2006 title.
This was the first game of the series that Vegas goalie Carter Hart didn’t allow four goals in a game. He finished with 20 saves.
Carolina Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers celebrates after scoring an empty-net goal in the third period against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
(John Locher / Associated Press)
The Hurricanes began to assume control of the series after falling behind by the score of 4-0 in Game 3. They came back force overtime, and though the Hurricanes lost, they outplayed the Golden Knights from there on out.
Reflecting the do-or-die situation for the Golden Knights, they made several lineup changes, with Brett Howden replacing the injured William Karlsson at second-line center. Mitch Marner could have moved there, but remained at right wing.
Original Golden Knight Reilly Smith made his Cup final debut at third-line right wing, and Braeden Bowman made his playoff debut at fourth-line right wing. Kaedan Korczak replaced Dylan Coghlan on the third defensive pairing.
This title is a testament to Carolina’s resilience as a franchise that kept coming close to winning the Eastern Conference, but couldn’t quite get through until now.
Brind’Amour made sure the Hurricanes kept getting back up after losing in the conference final twice in the past three years and three times in their current eight-year playoff run. The talent was clearly there, but there was always a stumbling block.
Not anymore.
After dispatching Montreal in five games to make the final, the Brind’Amour-led Hurricanes then faced perennial power Vegas and took care of business there too. Now, he will get his name on the Cup for the second time.
So will 37-year-old Staal, who also won the title in 2009 with Pittsburgh. He planted himself in front of Hart and dared the Golden Knights to knock him out of the way. Staal scored in each of the first five Cup final games, the first time that has happened.
The Hurricanes got off to a fast start with a goal just 25 seconds into Game 1, only to lose 5-4 on a late goal from Tomas Hertl. And the Golden Knights were on the verge of taking complete control as minutes ticked down in Game 2 while holding a 2-0 lead and appearing as if they would take a two-game advantage back home.
Then, it all changed. Carolina showed a fight that not only brought the Hurricanes back into the series by rallying to win 4-3 in overtime on Seth Jarvis’ one-timer, but would serve as their signature throughout the series.
That was especially true the following game when the Golden Knights took a 4-0 lead into the third period and the Hurricanes seemed to have no answers. Brind’Amour even appeared to wave the white flag by removing goalie Frederik Andersen and replacing him with Bussi.
Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour hugs Jordan Staal after the team’s Stanley Cup win on Sunday.
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
But the Hurricanes weren’t simply trying to get to Game 4. They sent a message, going on a remarkable rally to force overtime. Though Carolina lost, it was inflection point, with Bussi backstopping a team that was only growing stronger. Carolina then went on to win the next two games and moved within a victory of the championship.
The Hurricanes got it done against the Golden Knights team that was on a heater after John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy with eight games left in the regular season. Vegas then went from third in the Pacific Division to first, knocked off Utah and Anaheim in six games apiece in the playoffs and shockingly swept Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado to win the West.
Now, the Golden Knights have some notable questions to ask, including at the top of the list whether to make Tortorella a full-time coach. He didn’t have any guarantees of coaching in Vegas beyond this season, but getting to the Cup final is a good argument to run it back.
Golden Knights management will make the final call on that, and they don’t always follow league norms.
Foketi, 31, was born in New Zealand before his family moved to Australia.
He played for Australia Under-20s and made his Super Rugby debut for Melbourne Rebels in 2014 before leaving to play for French side Bayonne later that year.
Foketi returned to New Zealand where he played a couple of seasons for Bay of Plenty in the Mitre 10 Cup competition before linking up with the NSW Waratahs from 2018 until 2025.
Foketi was given his first Australia cap as a replacement in the 29-28 defeat against Wales in Cardiff in November 2021, before appearing three times in the 2023 World Cup in France.
Foketi played for the First Nations and Pasifika XV against the British and Irish Lions on the 2025 summer tour of Australia before leaving Waratahs later that year.
He joined Hamilton-based Chiefs for the 2026 campaign and will be involved in the Super Rugby final next weekend.
Foketi was instrumental in the semi-final win against Crusaders with three try assists, the joint most of any centre in a Super Rugby game since 2020.
“This is another great bit of news for the club and our supporters,” said Ospreys head coach Mark Jones.
“Lalakai is an experienced international who can immediately make a real contribution for us on and off the field.
“He’s a real all-rounder at centre with what he can offer on the ball and in defence, and we feel he will add even further quality to our already talented group of centres.
“He’s got a few points of difference that will bring a new dimension to our attack, and we’re excited to utilise that.”
The 35-year-old played 160 times for Newcastle after joining from Atletico Madrid in January 2022, and made 54 appearances for England between 2017 and 2024.
“We know what we’ve lacked this year, and we know what we need next year – experience, leadership, resilient characters and strong characters,” said head coach Rob Edwards, external.
“That’s what we’re going to need in abundance, and Tripps ticks every box.”
Jimenez, 35, was listed by Fulham on Monday among a group of players set to leave the Premier League club when his contract expires at the end of the month.
It is understood negotiations have begun over a return to Molineux, where he scored 57 goals in 166 games between 2018 and 2023.
His 40 Premier League goals make him Wolves’ top scorer in the English top flight.
Jimenez is on international duty with World Cup hosts Mexico, who begin the tournament against South Africa on Thursday.
Wolves are looking to rebuild after finishing bottom of the Premier League last season and being relegated to the Championship.
BEIRUT — Israel and Iran traded fire on Monday, all but derailing a brittle two-month ceasefire that had largely stopped the fighting in the U.S and Israel’s assault on Iran.
The tit-for-tat attacks between the two sides threaten to widen the scope of a conflict that has already killed and wounded thousands, displaced more than a million people and rattled economies across the globe — even while embroiling the U.S. in a war with no clear off-ramp.
“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’ ” wrote President Trump early Monday on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Later, he wrote, “Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!”
“Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way. The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly.”
The latest escalation came after Israel attacked the suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Sunday in what it said was a targeted strike against Hezbollah, an Iran-supported paramilitary faction and political party.
In recent days, Iran conditioned a ceasefire agreement with Israel and the U.S. on a cessation of hostilities across all fronts, including Lebanon, threatening it would respond to any Israeli action on the Lebanese capital. Israel rejects linking both battlefields, and insists on having a free hand to attack Hezbollah.
A number of U.S.-brokered ceasefires between the Lebanese and Israeli governments — but without Hezbollah involvement — failed to stop most of the fighting, with Israeli warplanes pounding wide swaths of Lebanon’s south while Hezbollah launched drones and missiles on northern Israel. Nevertheless, the Lebanese government has rejected being included in Iran’s negotiations with the U.S.
By Sunday night, Iran’s threats came to pass with several waves of Iranian ballistic missiles, which caused no injuries and were the first Tehran had fired at Israel since a ceasefire took hold in April. Iran’s military said the fusillade was a warning. But Israel said it would retaliate.
President Trump initially downplayed the Iranian attack on Sunday, saying in an interview with the Financial Times Iran’s barrage was “not going to have any impact on the deal.”
“We’ll see how it ends up. But they [the Iranian strikes on Israel] were attacks that did not kick at all,” he said.
“The deal may make it on its own merit, or not, but this will not have any effect on it.”
Trump also told the Axios news site he would talk to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop him retaliating against Iran’s barrage.
He also told the Financial Times that Netanyahu “won’t have any choice” but to accept the deal Trump negotiates with Iran.
“I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots,” Trump said.
Yet by the early morning on Monday, dozens of Israeli warplanes were striking western and central Iran. They hit a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr in southwestern Iran, and waged extensive strikes on “strategic defense systems,” according to Israeli military statements, in what observers said was a prelude to a wider offensive. Residents in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz and Shiraz reported powerful explosions.
The Israeli military said in a statement it expected several days of fighting with Iran but was prepared for a prolonged campaign. It said the strikes on Iran were conducted by Israel on its own, but that they had been done in “full coordination” with U.S. Central Command, which also helped in intercepting Iranian missiles launched at Israel.
But that distinction appeared to matter little to Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, who said in a press conference on Monday that the U.S held direct responsibility for recent ceasefire violations and Israel’s action “cannot be looked at in isolation from the U.S.”
“No one believes the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States,” he said.
“The U.S. bears responsibility for the Israeli regime’s aggression, and it will also be responsible for the consequences of any escalation in tensions.”
Iran launched additional barrages throughout Monday, targeting Israeli airbases in Nevatim and Tel Nof and a petrochemical plant in Haifa, according to a statement from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. It added Israel was engaging in “a dangerous game by targeting civilian and oil infrastructure — a game that will now encompass all regional energy targets, with global economic consequences resting on America.”
The renewed hostilities also saw Yemen’s Houthis — who receive support from Iran and Hezbollah, and are part of a regional network of Iran-backed factions — enter the fray with a pair of ballistic missiles lobbed at Israel. The Israeli military said one of the missiles was intercepted; the second fell short of Israel.
Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Sarea confirmed the attack in a televised statement on Monday, and said Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea would be targeted.
During the Gaza war, the Houthis attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea — including ships with no link to Israel — to pressure Israel into lifting its blockade on the enclave.
But, unlike Hezbollah, which attacked Israel on March 2, three days after the U.S. and Israeli campaign on Iran, the Houthis had refrained from helping their ally, until Monday.
Their involvement now raises the specter of another squeeze on energy markets already beleaguered by closures on the Strait of Hormuz. Since the U.S.-Israeli assault, the Red Sea has acted as the main alternative conduit for energy supplies, especially for those from Saudi Arabia. If the Houthis closed the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, it would all but paralyze commercial flows.
Oil prices spiked in the wake of the exchanges, with Brent Crude rising 5% to hit $98 a barrel.
England have a golden opportunity for victory in the first Test against New Zealand despite a chaotic collapse of four wickets for one run in 11 balls on the second day at Lord’s.
After 16 wickets fell on day one, another 17 came on Friday on a devilishly difficult surface for batting – an alarming amount of uneven bounce has been added to the sideways movement.
At the end of it all, New Zealand are 36-3 in pursuit of a victory target of 254. Captain Tom Latham was out to the third ball of the chase and, crucially, Kane Williamson was palpably lbw to Josh Tongue, before Gus Atkinson cleaned up nightwatchman Will O’Rourke.
Though the weather forecast for Saturday and Monday is poor, there will be a result in this match, with England strong favourites to secure a morale-boosting win following their heavy Ashes loss.
Ollie Robinson marked his comeback with best Test figures of 5-39, taking the final wicket as New Zealand were bowled out for 113 in their first innings – an England advantage of 27.
England, helped by Emilio Gay’s half-century on debut and more New Zealand dropped catches, steadily built what looked to be an imposing lead. Gay was put down and could have been out lbw in his 57.
When Gay eventually fell, it began the carnage. Harry Brook, Joe Root and Ben Stokes all followed inside two overs. While an England implosion was familiar, perhaps only Stokes was culpable for his dismissal.
England’s lead was 154, with four wickets in hand. They were in danger of handing the initiative to New Zealand, only for important runs from the lower-order. Jamie Smith made 39, Atkinson 14 and Robinson swiped 29.
The hosts were eventually bowled out for 226, New Zealand’s Nathan Smith outstanding for his six wickets.
