stick

Dominic Perfetti is a 6-foot-7 starting basketball player for St. John Bosco. Even more impressive is that he’s one of the top high school lacrosse players in the nation and has committed to Syracuse.

He became interested in lacrosse when a friend gave him a stick when he was 6 years old. He started fooling around with it and has been playing lacrosse ever since. He got so good that top programs on the East Coast reached out. And he’s been playing for a club team, too.

He’s so tall as a defender that it makes him a unique player.

“I might be the tallest lacrosse player in history,” Perfetti joked.

His size, combined with 6-9 Christian Collins and 7-1 Howie Wu, gives St. John Bosco a formidable trio in basketball. If his team is busy in the basketball playoffs, he’ll also try to play lacrosse simultaneously for the Braves.

He’ll gladly demonstrate his shooting ability in lacrosse if anyone presents him with a stick and ball. And he can dunk, too.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

For most retirees, Social Security is more than just a monthly deposit into their bank accounts. It represents a financial lifeline that helps them make ends meet.

In 2023, Social Security lifted more than 22 million people out of poverty, according to an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), and 16.3 million of these recipients were aged 65 and over. If Social Security didn’t exist, the CBPP estimates the poverty rate for adults aged 65 and up would jump nearly fourfold, from 10.1% (with existing payouts) to 37.3%.

Meanwhile, 24 years of annual surveys from Gallup show that 80% to 90% of aged beneficiaries lean on their payouts in some capacity to cover their expenses.

For retirees, few announcements have more bearing than the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) reveal in October. Though Social Security payouts are on track to do something that hasn’t been witnessed in almost 30 years, next year’s “raise” appears set to give retirees the short end of the stick, yet again!

Image source: Getty Images.

What is Social Security’s COLA and why might the 2026 reveal be delayed?

The fabled “COLA” you’ve probably been hearing and reading about over the last couple of weeks is the tool the Social Security Administration (SSA) has on its proverbial toolbelt to keep benefits aligned with inflation.

Hypothetically, if a large basket of goods and services that retirees regularly purchase increases in cost by 2% from one year to the next, Social Security benefits would also need to climb by 2%. Otherwise, these folks would see their buying power decline. Social Security’s COLA attempts to mirror the inflationary pressures that program recipients are facing so they don’t lose purchasing power.

This near-annual raise is based on changes to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which has measured price changes for Social Security since 1975. It has more than 200 individually weighted categories, which allows the CPI-W to be chiseled down to a single figure at the end of each month. These readings can be compared to the prior-year period to determine if prices are collectively rising (inflation) or declining (deflation).

What makes the COLA calculation unique is that only CPI-W readings from July, August, and September (the third quarter) are used to determine the upcoming year’s raise. If the average third-quarter CPI-W reading in the current year is higher than the comparable period last year, prices, as a whole, have risen, and so will Social Security checks in the upcoming year.

The catch with Social Security’s 2026 COLA is that its expected reveal on Oct. 15 may be delayed. The September inflation report is the final puzzle piece needed to calculate the program’s cost-of-living adjustment. However, most economic data releases are delayed during a federal government shutdown, which, in turn, can postpone the Oct. 15 COLA announcement set for 8:30 a.m. ET.

A higher prevailing rate of inflation in recent years has led to beefier annual COLAs. U.S. Inflation Rate data by YCharts.

A first-of-its-century raise is eventually headed retirees’ way

Once the SSA does have the necessary data to calculate and reveal the 2026 COLA, it’s a virtual certainty that beneficiaries will witness history being made.

Over the last four years, Social Security recipients — retired workers, workers with disabilities, and survivor beneficiaries — have enjoyed above-average cost-of-living adjustments. From 2022 through 2025, their Social Security checks grew by 5.9%, 8.7%, 3.2%, and 2.5%, respectively. To put these figures into some sort of context, the average COLA increase over the last 16 years was 2.3%.

Based on two independent estimates that were updated following the release of the August inflation report, a fifth-consecutive year above this 16-year average is expected.

Nonpartisan senior advocacy association The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) has pegged their 2026 COLA forecast at 2.7%, while independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson is calling for a slightly higher boost of 2.8%. These two forecasts would imply a roughly $54 to $56 per-month increase in the average retired-worker benefit in the new year.

More importantly, a 2.7% or 2.8% COLA would result in an event that hasn’t been witnessed in almost three decades. From 1988 through 1997, Social Security COLAs vacillated between 2.6% and 5.4%. If the 2026 COLA comes in at 2.5% or above, which looks like a virtual certainty based on independent estimates, it would mark the first time in 29 years that benefits will have risen by at least 2.5% for five consecutive years.

Image source: Getty Images.

The purchasing power of a Social Security dollar isn’t what it used to be

Unfortunately, this potentially history-making moment won’t be fully felt or enjoyed by aged beneficiaries. Though nominal payouts have notably climbed in recent years, the painful reality is that the buying power of Social Security income simply isn’t what it once was.

For example, you might be surprised to learn that the CPI-W isn’t doing retirees any favors. While this index is designed to mirror the inflationary pressures that Social Security’s retired workers are contending with, it has built-in flaws that keep this from happening.

The CPI-W is an index that tracks the cost pressures faced by “urban wage earners and clerical workers,” who, in many cases, are workers under the age of 62. By comparison, 87% of Social Security beneficiaries are 62 and above, as of December 2024.

Aged beneficiaries spend their money differently than workers under the age of 62. Specifically, retirees spend a higher percentage of their budget on medical care services and shelter than younger folks. Even though seniors make up 87% of all Social Security recipients, the CPI-W doesn’t account for the added importance of shelter and medical-care service costs in the COLA calculation.

Furthermore, the trailing-12-month inflation rate for shelter and medical care services has pretty consistently been higher than the annual COLAs beneficiaries have received. According to TSCL, this disparity has played a role in reducing the buying power of Social Security income by 20% from 2010 to 2024. A 2.7% or 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment isn’t going to offset or halt this decline in purchasing power.

To make matters worse, dual enrollees — those receiving Social Security income who are also enrolled in traditional Medicare — are expected to see sizable COLA offsets due to a projected double-digit percentage increase in the Part B premium in 2026.

Part B is the portion of Medicare responsible for outpatient services, and the premium for Part B is commonly deducted from a Social Security recipient’s monthly benefit. An estimate from the 2025 Medicare Trustees Report calls for an 11.5% jump in the Part B premium to $206.20 next year. For lifetime low earners, this increase might gobble up every cent of their projected 2026 COLA.

Regardless of whether or not Social Security’s 2026 COLA is delayed, it’ll mark another year where retirees get the short end of the stick.

Headlines are filled with news of the U.S. government shutdown thanks to a budget impasse. There are real-world impacts from this event and it is both serious and worth watching. However, you need to keep what is likely to be a short-term issue in perspective when you consider the long-term investment approach you take. Here’s what you should do instead of panicking.

The media’s job is to grab your attention

Budget battles in Washington are actually a pretty common affair, as each political faction attempts to advance its priorities. On occasion disagreements lead to a failure to find common ground, and the necessary bills needed to fund the government don’t get passed in time to keep the government funded. When that happens the government is “shut down.” Even the U.S. government needs to work within a budget.

Image source: Getty Images.

“Shutdown” is a rather harsh word, since the government isn’t exactly shut down. For example, the Social Security Administration (SSA) provided a contingency plan for a shutdown before it began. According to that plan, the SSA employed 51,825 people before the shutdown and following the shutdown it plans to retain 45,628 of those employees. That’s hardly shutting down, and Social Security recipients are still going to be paid.

Simply put, the government will continue to operate select services that are deemed vital. The big impact is going to be on what some would consider less essential government-run operations, such as national parks and museums. And some essential employees may be asked to work without pay until a budget is passed, and then get paid retroactively. On that note, it is important to keep in mind that the longest shutdown to date lasted roughly a month (35 days).

Even though most media outlets are covering the shutdown intensely, and it could affect parts of the economy directly and indirectly, history suggests that it probably isn’t as big a deal as it may seem for most investors and for the markets. Remember, the media, including financial media, is trying to get your attention so it can generate advertising revenue. Turning news events into something huge and exciting is how it does that.

Step away from your portfolio

There is a problem here that investors should pay attention to. The news frenzy around the budget impasse could lead some people to make short-term investment decisions that end up being bad for their long-term financial health. Letting emotions drive investment choices is usually a bad choice. The chart below offers evidence that government shutdowns have little real effect on markets.

Data by YCharts.

The chart shows the performance of the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.36%) since 1974, which is when the Congressional Budget Act was passed. It’s a pretty darn good return, right? As the chart highlights, the S&P 500 index has advanced more than 6,700% even though there have been multiple government shutdowns along the way. So far, not a single shutdown has resulted in the permanent destruction of capital.

Data by YCharts.

The shutdown started Oct. 1. As the one-month chart above shows, the market isn’t reacting negatively … so far and is maintaining its current upward trajectory. That said, there could be near-term uncertainty. Emotions can be a powerful force on Wall Street, and the longer the shutdown lasts the more emotional investors are likely to get. Try not to get carried along with the herd. Step back and think about your long-term goals. For example, if you are a buy-and-hold investor, don’t suddenly start selling all of your stocks. If history is any guide, this situation will blow over in a month or so, and maybe much sooner.

Little reaction so far

So far there’s no indication that a precipitous bear market has begun. Wall Street appears to have seen the news and continued along its merry way. That’s exactly what you should do, too. In fact, history suggests you should keep doing that even if Wall Street starts to notice that there is a government shutdown going on.

Sticking to a long-term buy-and-hold investment plan has been the winning play through all of the shutdowns that have taken place to date. In other words, you are better off doing nothing than reacting rashly and making emotionally driven portfolio decisions.

Joelinton says it was troubling to see Newcastle United team-mate Lewis Miley “get stick” after a landmark moment, but the Brazilian believes genuine supporters are firmly behind the teenager.

Miley chose to limit replies to a post he made on X to mark his 50th first-team game for Newcastle at the weekend. It is understood this was a precaution as he is still young.

The 19-year-old put in an accomplished display in the goalless draw against Bournemouth – his first Premier League start since February – but he still came in for criticism from a small minority of social media users who questioned his first-team credentials.

Miley’s course of action on the social media platform was noticed, and fans have since sent messages of support, while captain Bruno Guimaraes hailed his fellow midfielder as a “top player and guy”.

Joelinton played alongside academy graduate Miley in Newcastle’s 4-1 win against Bradford City on Wednesday night and said the youngster has a “great future in front of him”.

“It’s always difficult when you see your team-mate get stick,” Joelinton said following the Carabao Cup third-round tie. “I have had a difficult time here, too. I know how it is.

“I know the fans are behind the team and a really good young player. He played really well on Sunday. The team has to get better and everyone has to look on the mirror and get better.”

Miley praised Newcastle’s “amazing” travelling support in his post on Sunday, saying he was “very proud” to have hit the milestone for his boyhood club.

The midfielder broke a number of records during a breakout campaign at Newcastle a couple of years ago, including becoming the youngest player in Champions League history to provide an assist for an English side by doing so at the age of 17 years and 226 days.

Miley went on to suffer back and foot injuries and has faced intense competition for a starting berth while competing with fellow midfielders Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali.

But Miley, tellingly, kept his place in Eddie Howe’s starting line-up for the visit of Bradford.

“I thought Lewie was excellent,” the Newcastle head coach said. “In part, I think he really helped us in the first half. He played some lovely little deft touches and short passes into midfield using Joe and Bruno as a springboard, really, to control that midfield area.

“He’s come back into the team and produced two really good performances back-to-back. I thought he was really good against Bournemouth in maybe a slightly different way to tonight, but he’s developing his experience all the time and I’m really pleased with him.”

The California League might be ending its long run in Modesto, but professional baseball appears poised to remain.

The independent Pioneer League is in talks to place a team at John Thurman Field, the current home of the Modesto Nuts.

In a closed session Tuesday, the Modesto City Council discussed the potential terms of a lease under negotiation between the city manager and Pioneer League President Michael Shapiro. The council took no action Tuesday, and neither Shapiro nor a city spokesperson immediately returned messages seeking comment.

Modesto’s California League history dates to 1946 — John Thurman Field opened in 1955 — but the Nuts are down to their final three homestands.

After negotiations for a renovated stadium and a new lease collapsed, the team was sold last December and will move to San Bernardino next season, part of a California League shuffle that includes the Dodgers’ affiliate moving into a new ballpark in Ontario.

A Modesto team would give the league two new teams next year and 14 in all; leagues prefer an even number of teams for scheduling purposes.

The other new team would play in Long Beach, in what would be the city’s first entry in an independent league since 2009.

On Tuesday, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved pursuing an agreement with an expansion Pioneer League team that would share historic Blair Field with the Long Beach State baseball program.

“A team in Long Beach is a chance to show what makes Long Beach great: our diversity, our passion and our community spirit,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement.

Paul Freedman, the co-founder of the Pioneer League’s Oakland Ballers, would be one of the owners of the Long Beach team. In a Times story last year about the Ballers and how they were filling the baseball void created in Oakland by the departure of the Athletics, Freedman already had his eye on Long Beach.

“I think Long Beach should have a Pioneer League team,” Freedman said then. “Long Beach has its own unique identity. If I’m from Long Beach, I don’t want to be told I have to be a Dodger or Angel fan.”

Spanish tourists have been handed a list of 10 strict rules they must follow while visiting Malaga. The new campaign by the local council is aimed at reducing bad behaviour

British holidaymakers visiting Malaga are now being confronted with a fresh initiative designed to tackle unruly conduct in the city.

The local authority’s “Improve your stay in Málaga drive features a comprehensive list of 10 guidelines that travellers are encouraged to follow, in a bid to curb inappropriate behaviour. The guidelines tackle a broad spectrum of problems, ranging from attire standards and hygiene to sound disturbance and the responsible operation of bicycles and e-scooters.

Tourists are being urged to remain considerate and behave in a manner that respects peaceful coexistence with residents of the local community.

Additional measures highlighted by the council include the ‘Keep the City Clean’ drive, requesting visitors to utilise the rubbish bins available and the public conveniences scattered throughout the city, whilst also ensuring respect for historic sites, green spaces, and municipal amenities such as park seating.

READ MORE: NASA tests new supersonic plane with revolutionary tech that solves Concorde’s fatal flaw

Local authorities have also emphasised the significance of refraining from shouting or blasting music during evening hours in residential neighbourhoods, advising tourists to “do not be conspicuous.” Dressing suitably within the city represents another concern mentioned, with the council stating simply “dress completely.”

This likely refers to avoiding venturing into urban areas shirtless or in swimwear, as such clothing is only acceptable on the beach.

A further aspect of the initiative concentrates on transportation, with the message “Sidewalks Are for Pedestrians,” highlighting that cycles and scooters must stick to their designated routes. The initiative has received extensive promotion – across social media platforms, on buses and at every essential location throughout the city.

Málaga has previously tackled reports of antisocial conduct by ramping up penalties for violations including dropping litter and excessive noise levels.

The previous year also witnessed pandemonium surrounding overtourism in the city, with locals marching through the streets in protest against the deluge of visitors. Residents argued they were being forced out of their communities due to short-term holiday rentals, whilst also voicing concerns about disruptive behaviour and certain tourists’ conduct.

READ MORE: UK’s worst seaside town now overwhelmed by terrible mystery smell ‘from France’READ MORE: ‘I’m a world record traveller but there are two islands left on my bucket list’

During the peak of the protests, some demonstrators even stuck anti-tourism stickers throughout the area, featuring messages such as “This used to be my home”, “go f****** home”, “stinking of tourist” and “this used to be the city centre,” used.

Protests regarding mass tourism and anti-tourism sentiment took place across Spain throughout 2024, with numerous campaigns continuing into 2025. In the opening quarter of 2025, Spain reportedly received 17.1 million overseas visitors. For the complete year of 2024, this number reached a record-shattering 94 million.

The nation remains particularly beloved by Brits, who descend upon the country seeking a sunny getaway.

WASHINGTON — In 2016, the nonpartisan Pew Research Center surveyed the American electorate and discovered levels of partisan mistrust and animosity worse than any in a generation. The findings helped explain how tribal American politics have become and the rise of a political figure, President Trump, who has made exploiting those divisions his main stock in trade.

Three years later, Pew is out with a new report, based on a survey of 9,895 American adults. Its conclusion? Partisan divisions have gotten worse.

Just over half of people who identify themselves as Republicans say that Democrats are “more immoral” than other Americans, for example. Just under half of people who identify themselves as Democrats say the same about Republicans. In both cases, the share holding that view of the other side has increased since 2016.

And this latest survey was conducted in early September — before the impeachment debate took hold.

IT’S NOT JUST TRUMP

Democratic figures, most notably former Vice President Joe Biden, often blame Trump for the divisions in American society. But while the president has definitely stoked the fires of grievance, the earlier Pew study serves as a reminder that the blaze existed before him — he probably wouldn’t have captured the Republican nomination without it.

Partisanship has raged out of control because the two party labels have become proxies for so many preexisting divides. Democrats have become a party of a racially diverse, urban, coastal population, much of which is unmoored from traditional religious practices and accepting of immigration and dramatic changes in gender roles and sexual mores. Republicans are increasingly the party of older, white, rural conservatives, suspicious of urban elites and feeling threatened by immigrants and what they see as a decline of traditional morality and social order.

The breadth and bitterness of the partisan division explains why Trump is so unlikely to lose the support of his core voters in the current impeachment debate — it’s not some special magic of his own so much as the dislike, often revulsion, they feel toward the other side.

Indeed, the fact that, despite partisanship, a significant minority of Republicans currently say they find Trump’s conduct in the Ukraine scandal “troubling” — about one in five in the latest Fox News poll, for example — is a strong indicator of just how serious his problems are.

Not all partisan division is a bad thing. Just a couple of decades ago, a lot of Americans thought the two parties didn’t differ much. Only about a third of Americans saw real differences between Democrats and Republicans through much of the 1980s and ’90s and on into the early years of the current decade.

Voters need “a choice, not an echo,” the conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly famously declared half a century ago in an assault on liberal Republicans. Well, we got that. Today, “liberal Republican” is an oxymoron and fewer than one in 10 Americans think the two parties have “hardly any” difference.

Now, a large majority of Americans feel the difference has gone too far.

On both sides of the aisle, a large majority of Americans see partisan division as a problem: More than 70% say voters in both parties “not only disagree over plans and policies, but also cannot agree on the basic facts.” More than 80% see partisan division as a cause of concern.

But that concern doesn’t mean either side is suddenly about to lower tensions.

The two parties are not strictly mirror images of each other. By most measures, Republicans are somewhat more negative about Democrats than the other way around — 63% of Republicans see Democrats as “more unpatriotic” than the rest of the country, for example, and almost half of them see Democrats as lazier.

Democrats, in turn, see Republicans as “more closed-minded” than other Americans, with three-quarters of Democrats holding that view.

And Democrats are somewhat more open to compromise — at least in the abstract. Almost six in 10 say it’s important for their presidential candidates, if elected, to find common ground with Republicans on policies even if that means giving up some things Democrats really want; about four in 10 say they should push hard for things the party wants, even if that means less gets done.

Among Republicans, the split is more even, with slightly more saying Trump should push hard for things the GOP wants, even if that means less gets done.

But on both sides, the level of animosity — already high in 2016 — has grown during the Trump years. Americans who pay the most attention to politics have led the way. They are the most partisan. They’re also the most likely to express negative views about the other side.

And while the ranks of self-described independents have grown markedly in the last decade, that doesn’t represent a way out of the partisan divide. The vast majority of independents lean toward one party or the other, and those leaners are about as likely as partisans to express negative views of the other side. What makes them distinctive is that leaners are more likely to also express negative views about their own side, as well.

The Pew survey was conducted Sept. 3-15. It has a margin of error for its full sample of 1.5 percentage points in either direction.

ARRESTS BRING NEW TWIST TO IMPEACHMENT CASE

The Ukraine scandal — the focus of the impeachment case against Trump — continues to develop at startling speed. On Thursday, the case took what could prove to be a significant turn when two men who worked with Trump’s lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, were arrested on campaign finance charges.

As Eli Stokols and Alexa Díaz wrote, the men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were accused of several illegal acts, but the one that most directly connects them to the current case is that they allegedly provided campaign contributions to Pete Sessions, who at the time was a powerful Republican member of the House, to get him to help in a campaign to oust the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.

She was ultimately removed from her post this spring, and House investigators want to know if that happened because she was opposing Giuliani’s efforts to get Ukraine to help Trump by announcing an investigation of Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.

In the meantime, a defiant White House says it won’t participate in what Trump’s White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, called an “unconstitutional” impeachment inquiry. In a lengthy letter, Cipollone said Trump should be allowed to cross-examine witnesses, receive transcripts of testimony, have access to evidence the House collects and have counsel present during questioning, Noah Bierman, Sarah Wire and Díaz reported.

Legal scholars say that strategy is on shaky constitutional grounds, David Savage reported, but as is usually the case with Trump, the legal arguments may be secondary to the political goal of rousing his base.

The moves took place just days after a second whistleblower emerged in the impeachment inquiry. As Laura King wrote, the lawyers who represent the initial whistleblower in the case said Sunday they now have “multiple” complainants.

Trump has tried to argue that during his fateful phone conversation with Ukraine’s president that sparked the impeachment inquiry, he was appropriately trying to battle corruption and that he has an “absolute right” to do so, Bierman reported. He also wrote about the millions of dollars that Trump’s children are taking in overseas even as he attacks Biden’s son.

What was Joe Biden’s actual connection with Ukraine? Tracy Wilkinson in Kyiv examined his actions as vice president.

One skirmish point in the House is over the refusal of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) to hold a full vote on the House floor to open the impeachment inquiry. A vote of that sort took place in both the Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton impeachment cases, but Pelosi notes there’s no rule requiring such a vote. One reason Pelosi doesn’t want a floor vote: It could open the way for Republicans to demand independent subpoena power, which they don’t currently have, Wire reported.

Democrats want to stop Republicans from hijacking the impeachment investigation by launching their own probes into the investigators. That’s already happened at the Justice Department, Del Wilber wrote.

LONG HISTORY OF WHISTLEBLOWERS

Whistleblowers are as American as apple pie, Laura King writes. The first U.S. whistleblower case dates to 1777 — before there was a Constitution — when 10 U.S. Navy sailors reported their commandant for brutal treatment of captured British sailors and won protection from the Continental Congress.

BIDEN CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT

After considerable hesitation, Biden joined most of the rest of the Democratic presidential field and called for Trump’s impeachment. Of Trump’s actions, he said, “It’s wrong. It’s un-American.”

Trump escalated his rhetoric saying in tweets Sunday that Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) committed “treason” and should be “impeached.”

Most votes in the House are already nailed down. Texas Rep. Will Hurd, a Republican and former CIA officer is an exception. That makes him one of the most keenly watched House members, Molly O’Toole wrote.

ECONOMIC TROUBLES

While impeachment gets all the headlines, a quieter development could endanger Trump’s reelection: U.S.
manufacturing is now officially in recession, Don Lee wrote. As measured by the Federal Reserve, manufacturing output shrank over two straight quarters this year. That’s the common definition of recession.

Because most of the U.S. economy involves services, not manufacturing, a recession in the factories may not have as much national impact as it might have a few decades ago. But it could still be critical in some important states.

Trump might get good news on a different economic front, however: Democrats are warming to Trump’s revised NAFTA trade deal after Mexico pledged labor reforms, Jennifer Haberkorn wrote.

THE DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN

Seven years ago, Biden’s decision to publicly back same-sex marriage made major news, putting him briefly ahead of President Obama, who had not yet taken that step. This week, Democratic candidates held a televised forum on LGBTQ issues and vied to announce the most sweeping plans to reverse Trump’s rollback of LGBTQ rights, Michael Finnegan wrote.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein officially backed Biden for president, snubbing her fellow California Democrat, Sen. Kamala Harris, Melanie Mason reported.

Sen. Bernie Sanders set off a scramble by saying he would scale back campaigning after his heart attack, Finnegan reported. Sanders’ campaign spent much of the week trying to fend off rumors that he might drop out of the race.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren needs to connect with Latino voters. She has a plan for that, Mason and Matt Pearce reported. Whether it works remains to be seen.

JANE FONDA BACK IN D.C.

She’s 81 and launching a new activist campaign — this one on climate change. Jane Fonda talked with Evan Halper and Anna Phillips about why she is moving to Washington (for now).

A TOXIC LEGACY

Firefighting foam used at military bases has contaminated Californians’ drinking water, Phillips, David Cloud and Tony Barboza reported. No one knows how many people may be affected because the military does only limited testing off-base.

A CRISIS OF TRUMP’S MAKING

Trump’s abrupt announcement that had ordered U.S. troops to pull back in Syria, moving away from the border with Turkey, threatened chaos in the region and sparked a GOP revolt. The move essentially abandoned Syrian Kurds who have been U.S. allies to face Turkish advances alone.

As Doyle McManus wrote, the Trump Doctrine is allies can’t trust him.

LOGISTICS

That wraps up this week. Until next time, keep track of all the developments in national politics and the Trump administration on our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics.

Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to [email protected].

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At least 77% of UK travellers said at least sometimes revisit the same place they’ve been before. And seven in 10 of those who have ever gone back to a familiar location have also chosen to book the exact same accommodation at some point

A recent survey of 1,200 UK holidaymakers revealed that a whopping 77% tend to return to familiar destinations at least occasionally. Moreover, seven out of 10 (71%) of those who have revisited a place have even booked the same accommodation again.

The main reasons for this trend include the desire to experience a beautiful location once more (37%), relive joyful memories (31%), and enjoy the comfort of a second home (20%).

Nostalgia plays a big role in travel plans, with many intending to revisit specific beaches (48%), eateries (37%), or picturesque viewpoints (32%) this year.

The most favoured spots for a repeat visit are coastal areas (46%), rural retreats (37%), and camping sites (14%). Despite these preferences, over one-third (36%) believe that discovering new experiences is the highlight of a staycation.

Darren Whittington from The Camping and Caravanning Club, which conducted the study and developed a tool to help find your ideal staycation style along with a list of thrilling activities for your next holiday, commented: “We can be creatures of habit when it comes to our holidays, but there’s so much to see in the UK.

“Trying a new activity or taking up a hobby can elevate a holiday to one you’ll never forget. With UK holidays now making up 59% of all the trips we take, there’s a lot of opportunity to discover new places and things to do, creating memories that will last a lifetime along the way.

“And with the rising popularity of staycations, more and more people are realising how much the UK has to offer, whether you prioritise excitement or relaxation.”

More than eight in 10 (86%) agreed they enjoy trying new things when they go away. And according to them, the best things about broadening their horizons include the opportunity to discover something new (62%), grow as a person (29%), and learn new skills (23%).

The research by OnePoll found new experiences also provide 47% time to bond with their family and 15% relish the chance to pick up a new hobby.

Respondents were excited to embark on adventures such as going on a cross-country road trip (24%), discovering a hidden gem (41%), and visiting sets from their favourite films or TV shows (23%). With activities they’re keen to try ranging from wild swimming (14%) and paddleboarding (13%) to mountain climbing and biking (12%).

Specific regions holidaymakers are most interested to explore are the Scottish Highlands (36%), Cornwall (36%), and the Lake District (35%). Where they aspire to uncover a variety of fresh attractions, including coastlines for leisurely walks (44%), heritage locations to expand their understanding (41%), and nature reserves to forge a deeper bond with the environment (26%).

Among those still hesitant about embracing novelty during their upcoming getaway, potential encouragements featured local pursuits they wished to experience (34%) and the opportunity to develop a new outlook on life (27%).

Darren continued: “There’s such a range of things out there to try – and it’s fantastic to see so many are already open to adventure. But for the one in 10 people who don’t enjoy trying new things while on holiday, we believe that the campsite is the perfect base to launch yourself into the incredible outdoors, try something new, and make this your summer of why not.

“Whether you’re drawn to the seaside, the mountains, the woods, or anything in between – there’s something out there for you to discover. It’s about time we break out of our routines and experience the full array of beautiful places and opportunities the UK has to offer.”

When Max Muncy first went down on Wednesday night, clutching his left knee and writhing in pain after a collision with Chicago White Sox baserunner Michael A. Taylor on a steal attempt at third base, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes couldn’t help but let his mind go to a dark place.

“Obviously, [there were] a lot of emotions,” Gomes said. “From a coping mechanism in my head, it was like, ‘OK, he’s done for the year. We’re gonna have to figure out what the next path is. We have to be prepared for whatever is coming.’”

What came the next day, however, was unexpectedly good news.

Despite having his knee bent awkwardly, gruesomely inward, Muncy escaped with only a bone bruise. There were no ligament tears. No structural damage. No season-ending catastrophe.

Dodger Max Muncy grimaces as he holds his left knee after colliding with White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“We’ve had a lot more [injury situations] where we’ve gone in optimistic and then come out the other side not as optimistic,” Gomes said. “So it was nice to have that turned on its head and know that, ‘Hey, he’s gonna be out there.’”

On Thursday, Muncy said he is expected to miss roughly six weeks. But even that timeline would give him a month-plus before the playoffs to try and rediscover the swing that made him one of the hottest hitters in baseball the past two months.

And because Muncy’s injury was to the lower half of his body, manager Dave Roberts noted, the hope is that “it’s not something that should affect the swing” when he does return.

“With the time we have, there’s nothing pressing as far as needing to rush him back,” Roberts said. “I think we’re in a good spot.”

That’s why, as of Friday, Gomes had shelved those contingency plans that were running through his mind 48 hours earlier. His front office wasn’t urgently scouring the trade market looking for an instant replacement.

Instead, Gomes and Roberts insisted the Dodgers’ trade deadline plans are unlikely to be altered in the wake of Muncy’s injury — with the team content to rely on internal options now, while awaiting Muncy’s return later this year.

“Knowing the certainty of Max coming back at some point,” Roberts said, “I don’t think that will really impact our thinking going into the deadline.”

“Even if [his recovery] is way slow,” Gomes added, “you have a full month of baseball before we hit the playoffs. So we’re giving him that time to get back into a good place and try to set a good foundation, like we try to do with all of our guys, to be prepared for that stretch run.”

Fans cheer after Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy hit a three-run homer against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on June 22.

(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)

Trade speculation surrounding the Dodgers’ third base position is nothing new.

Earlier this year, when Muncy was struggling mightily through the opening month of the year, there were growing calls from the fanbase for the team to find a more productive replacement before the July 31 deadline.

Lately, however, Muncy had quieted such noise with one of the best stretches of his career. Before getting hurt, he was batting .308 over his past 46 games with 12 home runs, 48 RBIs and more walks (32) than strikeouts (26).

“When he’s not in the lineup,” Roberts said, “our offense tapers off.”

Whether Muncy can return to such levels of production, of course, won’t become clear until well after the deadline passes. But finding impact bats on this year’s trade market might not be an easy task, especially at third base.

Nolan Arenado has long been linked to the Dodgers in trade rumors. But he has career-lows in batting average (.247) and OPS (.701) this year, and is still due some $40 million over the next two-and-a-half seasons on his contract.

The Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado watches his double in the sixth inning of a game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland on June 27.

(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)

Lower-profile names such as Eugenio Suárez, Ryan McMahon and Ramón Urías (who could be a better roster fit for the Dodgers as a utility weapon) could also be moved. But the Dodgers won’t be desperate to overpay for an impact bat knowing Muncy should be back well before the start of the playoffs.

“Obviously, he’s been so dialed in, one of the best hitters in the game over the last six weeks, so there’s always some [question of], ‘How are we going to get back to that spot?’” Gomes acknowledged of Muncy.

“But I don’t think that is something that Max has never done before,” he added, referencing Muncy’s ability to contribute to last year’s World Series run despite missing three months in the regular season with an oblique injury. “So there’s a comfort level. We have some time. We’ll make sure that he’s eased back in. We have enough technology that he can take at-bats and see pitches before he ever has to go out on rehab and is back in a major-league game. We should be getting some approximation of what his swing was, and then use that time to get into a rhythm.”

In the meantime, the Dodgers plan to incorporate Tommy Edman at third base, where he has 94 career big-league appearances (mostly in 2019 and 2020 with the St. Louis Cardinals, before Arenado’s arrival there).

“It’s a position I’m comfortable with,” Edman said Friday, after taking grounders at third at the start of his pregame work. “The hops [there] are weird, so you gotta play a little bit more one-handed … But it’s still the infield. You still gotta work on the footwork, just like you would at second and short. Catching the ball, getting behind your throws. It’s a lot of the same concepts.”

Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas will also see time at third, typically against left-handed pitching, while triple-A prospect Alex Freeland could offer depth from the minors if needed.

Hyeseong Kim, meanwhile, should also get a bump in playing time at second base on days Edman is at third.

“It’s gonna be a good opportunity for him,” Roberts said of Kim. “It’ll be good to know more and get him some more experience.”

When the deadline rolls around at the end of the month, the Dodgers will have more information to work with — not only on the state of Muncy’s rehab, but also about how their lineup fares without him.

With a top-five farm system in the sport, according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, they will have the ammunition to make a splash if needed.

But for now, their expectation is that Muncy’s injury won’t force them into a drastic midseason roster makeover. They are hopeful that what initially appeared to be a season-altering moment will be nothing more than a temporary speed bump in their pursuit of a second consecutive title.

“We’re playing good baseball as a team. We’re in a good position division-wise right now,” Gomes said. “So if we keep doing that, we can weather [Muncy’s absence].”

In the aftermath of Democrats’ widespread electoral failures last year, party activists in California who gathered for their annual convention this weekend struggled with balancing how to stick to their values while also reconnecting with voters who were traditionally part of their base — notably working-class Americans.

California’s progressive policies and its Democratic leaders were routinely battered by Republicans during the 2024 election, with then-vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris taking the brunt of it. Harris ultimately lost the election to Trump, partly because of shrinking support among traditional Democratic constituencies, including minorities and working-class voters.

“We got to be honest in what happened, because losing elections has consequences,” said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, during a rousing speech Saturday afternoon. “We’re in this mess because some of it’s our own doing. … None of us can afford to shy away from having hard conversations about what it’s going to take to win elections.”

Walz, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said Democrats don’t need to retreat from their ideals, such as protecting the most vulnerable in society, including transgender children. But they need to show voters that they are capable of bold policy that will improve voters’ lives rather than delivering incremental progress, he said.

“The Democratic Party, the party of the working class, lost a big chunk of the working class,” he said. “That last election was a primal scream on so many fronts: do something, do something, stand up and make a difference.”

California is home to the most Democrats in the nation as well as a large number of the party’s most deep-pocketed donors, making the state a popular spot for presidential hopefuls from across the country.

In addition to Walz, another potential 2028 White House candidate who addressed the 4,000 delegates and guests at the Anaheim Convention Center was New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. Booker argued that Democrats must remember the courage of their ancestors who fought for civil and voting rights and created the social safety net for the most vulnerable Americans as they try to fight Trumpism.

“Real change does not come from Washington. It comes from communities. It comes from the streets,” he said in a Saturday morning speech. “The power of the people is greater than the people in power.”

Harris, who is weighing a 2026 gubernatorial run and is also viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, addressed the convention by video. Gov. Gavin Newsom, also viewed as a possible White House contender, did not appear at the convention.

Delegate Jane Baulch-Enloe, a middle school teacher from Pleasant Hill in the Bay Area, said she wasn’t sure that California’s particular brand of liberalism will sell on the national stage.

“I don’t know if a California Democrat can win a presidential election,” she said as she and her daughter sorted through swag and campaign fliers in the convention cafe. “California is thought of as the crazy people. … I don’t mean that in a bad way — though I know some people do — but we do things differently here.”

She said she learned from President Obama’s memoir, “Audacity of Hope,” that most, if not all, Americans “want the same things,” but talk about them differently and have different approaches for getting there. California Democrats, Baulch-Enloe said, “need to get people on our side and help them understand that we aren’t just wacko liberals, and teach people that it’s okay to want things” like healthcare for all and high union wages.

But the 2028 presidential race was not the focus of this year’s California Democratic Party convention. Delegates were more concerned about last year’s presidential and congressional losses — though California was a rare bright spot for the party, flipping three districts held by the GOP — and preparing for next year’s midterm elections. Delegates hope Democrats will take control of Congress to stop Trump from enacting his agenda.

Aref Aziz, a leader of the party’s Asian American Pacific Islander caucus, said the party needed to sharpen its messaging on economic issues if they want to have a chance of victory in coming elections.

“When it comes to the affordability issue, when it comes to economics, those are the things that across the broad spectrum of our coalition, all those things matter to everybody,” Aziz said. “And what really is, what really is important is for us to focus on that economic message and how we’re going to improve the quality of life for everyone in these midterm elections and future presidential elections.”

He noted he was in France on his honeymoon recently, and was strolling through a grocery store and buying half a dozen eggs for 1.50 euros (the equivalent of $1.70) when the news broke that California’s economy had grown to the fourth largest in the world.

“When you look at a lot of our economies, California and New York, by all accounts, GDP, the numbers that you look at, they’re doing great,” he said. “But when it comes to the cost that consumers are paying in these places, they’re so high and so far above other countries that we end up diminishing whatever value there is in our GDP, because everything’s so expensive.”

Some Democrats questioned the impact of the weaponization of California’s liberal policies, including defending transgender rights, on voters in battleground states in 2024.

But delegates and party leaders largely argued that the state needs to continue to be on the vanguard of such matters.

“People like to point a finger somewhere, and I think California is an easy target, but I disagree,” said delegate Melissa Taylor, president of our local Foothill Community Democrats. “Because I think that California is standing up for values that the Democratic Party believes in, like we believe in labor, we believe in healthcare, we believe in women’s rights, we believe in rights for LGBTQ people.”

Jodi Hicks, the president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said issues such as reproductive healthcare access also have an economic impact.

“We have to walk and chew gum at the same time,” she said, adding that the party’s 2024 losses were likely prompted by multiple factors, including Harris’ being the Democratic nominee for a little over three months after then-President Biden decided not to seek reelection.

“We’re going to be analyzing 2024 for a very long time,” Hicks said. “It was such unique circumstances.”

Times staff writer Laura J. Nelson contributed to this report.

On the most basic level, “Stick” is about a prematurely washed-up golfer who takes a teen prodigy under his wing and on the road. Off they go in an RV to hit some big amateur tournaments, accompanied by the kid’s mother and the old pro’s irascible buddy. The kid gets to fall in love with a free-spirited lass. Adventures are had. Lessons are learned.

But very little about golf takes place on a basic level (except maybe in “Caddyshack”). The sport is rife with metaphors. Lay up or go for broke? (see also, “Tin Cup.”) Keep your cool under pressure or lose it in the sand trap? So it makes sense that “Stick,” premiering June 4 on Apple TV+, uses the game of golf to take a swing at the game of life.

The wash-up, Pryce Cahill (played by Owen Wilson), seeks redemption. Years back, he flipped out on the course, and his life has been in free fall since — he and his wife (Judy Greer) are getting a divorce, and their home is being sold. But then he meets the 17-year-old prodigy, Santi (newcomer Peter Dager), who he sees as the key to a second chance. Santi, meanwhile, knows he’s good; when he pummels a ball, it sounds like a sonic boom. But his first coach was his hard-ass, now-vanished dad, and Santi now has trouble taking golf seriously or respecting his elders.

These human elements intrigued series creator Jason Keller far more than anything that might happen on the links. “I love golf, but I’m not good at it,” he said. “I am routinely frustrated by it.”

Owen Wilson, left, Judy Greer and Peter Dager in a scene from “Stick.”

(Apple)

Frustration, of course, is a universal quality. So is disappointment. These are the elements that pushed Keller, who wrote the screenplay for the 2019 movie “Ford v Ferrari,” to create “Stick.”

“Long before the story was set on a golf course, I was really interested in exploring a character who had not lived up to expectations,” he said. “I was interested in characters that had great promise but ultimately didn’t achieve that promise. What happens to somebody afterward? How do they react to that? Do they let themselves be defined by not achieving that level, or do they try to reconcile that? Does it motivate them to excel in other areas of their life?”

Wilson, who also readily admits his golf game isn’t the strongest — “My dad and my brothers played, but I was always intimidated by it” — sees another key parallel to life: As much as you seek perfection, you can never achieve it.

“There’s a little bit of a chess thing with golf, in that you can never really master it,” he said. “That can feel like life too. People talk about Tiger Woods winning the Masters by like 12 strokes and deciding his swing isn’t quite right. Pryce talks about how the game takes and takes and takes. I think people feel that way about life as well.”

Mariana Treviño, the Mexican actor who plays Santi’s mom, Elena, agrees that “Stick” is about dealing with hardships. “Elena is in a moment in her life where she had a big disappointment,” she said. “Her family broke down. Sometimes in life when something very strong happens to you, you just kind of shut out from the world. You think that you’re going to protect that wound by just not moving too much from a place, or not directly confronting something that is painful.”

“Long before the story was set on a golf course, I was really interested in exploring a character who had not lived up to expectations,” said “Stick” creator Jason Keller.

(Matt Seidel / For The Times)

If this all sounds a tad serious, “Stick” really isn’t. As with most anything starring Wilson, whose Texas/California cool works just fine in the series’ Indiana setting (Keller hails from Indianapolis), “Stick” feels easy and breezy even when it gets into heavy-ish themes. The tone suggests a riff on “Ted Lasso” but with golf instead of soccer.

Wilson and Marc Maron, who plays Pryce’s grumpy, long-suffering best bud (who is dealing with grief of his own), keep up the steady banter of two guys who know each other’s foibles and try to resist the urge to poke them. Zero, Santi’s new friend and life guru played by Lilli Kay, is a self-described “genderqueer, anticapitalist, postcolonial feminist,” and the series manages to have fun with her without making fun of her.

Elena, meanwhile, is mildly suspicious of the whole endeavor, but she finds the aging white golfers amusing. She also likes the cash Pryce has thrown her way for the privilege of coaching her son.

Put them all together in an RV, and on a series of golf courses, and you’ve got the makings of a modern family comedy. Except most of the “family” aren’t related.

“They’re a sort of a found family, and they are all very different personalities,” Keller said. “But ultimately they are what each other needed, and none of them knew it. I think that’s the beauty and the fun and the heart of the show. We’re watching a group of people that don’t fit together at first, and then they realize they needed each other. I hope that warmth and the feel-good element of that is felt by audiences.”

“They’re a sort of a found family, and they are all very different personalities,” said Jason Keller about the characters. “But ultimately they are what each other needed, and none of them knew it.” Lilli Kay, left, Mariana Treviño, Judy Greer and Marc Maron in “Stick.”

(Apple)

But that sense of major disappointment, and the question of how to turn the page, still lingers over the story. Keller is intimately acquainted with that kind of challenge.

He was 25, newly arrived in Hollywood, when doctors discovered a benign brain tumor. It was successfully removed, but the subsequent nerve damage meant Keller had to retrain his brain to let him walk again. Now 56, he says he “didn’t realize what a gift that hard experience was. I became very grateful for being physically healthy.”

Keller used that sink-or-swim experience to write his “Stick” characters. “Everybody has a point in their life that just brought them to their knees,” he said. “It could be a divorce or the death of a loved one. We all face these personal tragedies or challenges. What do you do with them after you go through ’em and survive ’em? That’s the real question.”

Even Santi, the youngest character in “Stick,” has been burned by life. “He’s scared, and he has every reason to be,” Dager said. “His father left him.” And he responded by building a hard shell and walking with a swagger.

Dager embraced the whole package. “I fell in love with his past but also his soul and the way he protects himself with the humor he uses as a defense mechanism,” Dager said. “And then once we get to know him and he starts to fall in love and he starts to trust people, you really see the kid. You see who he actually wants to be.”

And if you do happen to be a golfer, if you know a birdie from an eagle, an iron from a wood, “Stick” doesn’t skimp on the sports stuff. It might even inspire you to go out to the garage and excavate that moldering set of clubs. Or not.

“The golfers I’ve shown it to have connected to it and appreciated it at the level of the sport,” Keller said. “And the others who have seen it who are not golfers seem to be responding to it at a purely emotional character level. I think they’re connecting to it. We’ll see if we got it right. I hope we did.”