Facing deportation from Japan, a Ugandan filmmaker makes a samurai film inspired by his own life.
For more than 15 years, Sunday, a Ugandan asylum seeker, has lived in limbo in Japan. Once detained at the Shinagawa immigration centre, he must now regularly report to the authorities and rely on charity to help feed his children.
Changes to Japan’s immigration laws mean he could face deportation. Refusing to be reduced to a statistic, Sunday throws himself into an unlikely project: a samurai film inspired by Yasuke, remembered as Japan’s first Black samurai. For Sunday, filmmaking becomes an act of survival, dignity and hope.
Sunday in Japan is a documentary film by Antonio Rui Ribeiro, Leo Nelki and Golriz Kolahi.
The New England Patriots quarterback finished second in the Associated Press poll of national media members, with 23 first-place votes and 361 total points. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford edged him out with 24 first-place votes and 366 overall points.
Chances are, Maye won’t be receiving any votes this year — at least not if the first three games are any indication of how the rest of the season will go. Months after helping the Patriots to a surprise Super Bowl appearance, the third-year player and two-time Pro Bowl selection is not playing close to the standard he established last year.
Maye has thrown only one touchdown pass so far this season after tossing 31 a year ago. And he has been intercepted six times already in 2026 after getting picked off only eight times total last season.
The Patriots are 1-2 at the moment, the same record they had after the first three games last season. But Maye showed promise in those games a year ago, throwing for five touchdowns and two interceptions.
During a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Maye was picked off twice and also fumbled two times, losing one. The lost fumble came first, when an untouched Maye lost grip of the ball while reaching back to pass late in the first quarter.
After the game, Maye told reporters that blood from center Jared Wilson’s hand had gotten on the ball and made it slippery. But, he added, “at the same time, I’ve got to hold onto the football.”
Jaguars two-way player Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and second overall draft pick in 2025, got his first NFL interception when he picked off Maye in the end zone late in the second quarter.
Then in the third quarter, on the Patriots’ first play from scrimmage after falling behind 21-3, Maye had a pass intercepted by Jacksonville’s Jarrian Jones. Jones stepped in front of a pass intended for Kyle Williams and returned it to the New England 5-yard line.
The Jaguars scored on the next play to take a 28-3 lead, after which Patriots coach Mike Vrabel could be seen on the sideline with both hands on Maye’s shoulders in an apparent attempt to comfort his quarterback.
“My conversations with each person on that sideline, I have to do my best each and every play, whoever I’m communicating with, to try to get the best out of them,” Vrabel told reporters Monday. “So I’ll have conversations with a lot of people. I’ve got a lot of faith and confidence in everybody that’s here. That’s why they’re here.”
Maye, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 199 yards and was sacked three times, finished with a passer rating of 48.6, the second-lowest of his career.
“It’s disappointing,” Maye told reporters after the game. “I think the ball starts rolling like that, we can’t get out of our own way — can’t get out of my own way, personally. So I gotta look myself in the mirror and take it to the turning point. … I’ve got to start with myself and lead these guys and we’ve got to get back after it.”
After the 2025 season, Maye revealed that he had injured his throwing shoulder during the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos and received an injection to help with the pain before the Patriots’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Both he and Vrabel have said they don’t feel there have been any lingering effects from that injury.
On Sunday, Maye told reporters that his confidence hasn’t wavered despite the rough start to the season.
“This is an opportunity to band together and realize that the best football that we play is together,” he said, “and realize that’s going to start with me, protecting the football and protecting this team. Because that’s my job and I’ve been failing to do that.”
That’s why the seventh-year quarterback cut off a reporter’s question about whether the team’s locker room needs heightened vocal leadership as the Chargers carry an 0-2 record into Sunday’s road game against the unbeaten Buffalo Bills.
“I think I’m going to stop you right there,” Herbert said. “We’ve got great leadership on this team. I trust those guys in that locker room, so I don’t think anyone has panicked or worried because that’s not going to do us any good.
“It’s [about] moving on to the next play and understanding we’re close, we made mistakes, how do we fix it and how do we move on?”
Herbert’s intense messaging was surprising. The quarterback usually speaks in emotionless platitudes during news conferences.
But that response, or leadership — a trait teammates and coaches see far more from Herbert than the public — is one of several reasons why the Chargers are supporting their quarterback despite the offense’s sloppy start to the season.
“Ain’t anybody giving up on anything,” wide receiver Tre’ Harris said. “Everybody’s still on the same page. Everybody has extreme belief in 10 — I know I do — and extreme belief in [offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel] as well. We’ll go out there and do what we need to do.”
The Chargers are averaging just 14 points per game, above only the winless Miami Dolphins (13) and the 1-1 Pittsburgh Steelers (11.5).
And Herbert is partially responsible.
He ranks 27th in completion percentage (59.3%) through two weeks and is 23rd in passing yards (401) with the second-most interceptions (3).
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is sacked by Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jordan Burch on Sept. 13.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Herbert just hasn’t looked comfortable in yet another new scheme. But, as usual with him, context is key.
With a revolving door at left guard and rookie Jake Slaughter starting at center, the Chargers have allowed the league’s second-highest pressure rate (45.5%), according to Pro Football Focus.
Herbert’s pass-catchers have been inconsistent, too, struggling with pre-snap communication, frustrating — sometimes comical — drops and, of course, injuries.
The offense overall is having too many fumbles (7), penalties (15 for 109 yards) and other self-inflicted wounds. So while Herbert’s stats aren’t pretty, the Chargers’ woes go beyond his performances.
They have Herbert’s back, though, as they collectively sort things out.
“He’s been locked in [and] dialed in, man,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “He’s working hard in the weight room [and] making all his throws out there. So, I can’t wait to try to get him some stops on Sunday.”
Then, there’s the McDaniel factor.
He admitted that he thought the Chargers would score more than 28 points thus far. As a result, he is considering “everything” moving forward, including shrinking the playbook.
McDaniel added that he and Herbert are “much closer” than they were two weeks ago as they work through the offensive struggles.
“It can be a lonely world as a starting quarterback — that’s a franchise quarterback — when you have successive losses,” McDaniel said. “It can be lonely as a playcaller [or] offensive coordinator. And the only way to approach it is that you’re not alone.”
The Chargers and their turbulent offense are on the verge of starting 0-3 for the first time since 2017.
Many outsiders are looking to Herbert to save the franchise from an abysmal season not many projected.
But to those in the building? They just want Herbert to be Herbert.
“One thing that separates him from a lot of other leaders … he’s the same person, each and every day, consistently great at everything he does,” said reserve quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
After all, when Herbert’s comfortable, he’s arguably among the league’s top signal-callers.
“Since I’ve been with Justin, there’s not a thing I’d change about Justin,” coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Leslie Jones was 14 when her father broke the news to her: “We’re moving to Los Angeles.”
For the actor and former “SNL” cast member, leaving her Memphis hometown felt like the end of the world. “I lost every bit of my s—,” she recalls. “I cried and begged him, like, ‘Please don’t take me away now.’” She’d just become friends with the popular kids at her high school. Plus, she was in the marching band — a rifle twirler — which in the South basically means “you’re a jock, you’re a star,” she says, laughing.
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.
Despite her resistance, Jones’ father stood firm: “He was like ‘I can’t let you stay here in Memphis. You’re not going to do what you need to do with your life,’” Jones says.
Though she hated L.A. at first, she eventually found her footing and joined the basketball team at Lynwood High School. She grew to love the city and now splits time between L.A. and New York.
“[My dad] was really strategic and smart and I’m really glad he did it,” she says.
Jones’ latest project is hosting HGTV’s “Roast My Rental,” a reality show in which she visits some of America’s worst-rated short-term vacation rentals and attempts to transform them within 72 hours, alongside designer Jasmine Roth.
One of her Airbnb pet peeves: when owners put out items that are too personal. “Sometimes they want to put their personal linens in there. They’ve got pictures in there. Like why are your pictures in my room? I don’t want to know who’s renting to me,” she jokes.
Jones, who is also in the middle of a comedy tour, shared what her Sunday Funday in L.A. entails.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
1 p.m.: Sleep in ’til the afternoon then make a big cup of tea
Sunday is the day I know that I can sleep in. I don’t schedule anything on Sundays and Mondays. I’ll probably get up around 1 or 2 p.m. because I stay up until about 3 or 4 a.m. I’m a comedian so we have late hours. Then I’ll come out my room, which is a freezer — it’s literally 59 degrees because I gotta sleep in the cold — to warm up.
I’ll make me a big cup of tea. I’ve got those big “Friends” cups. My favorite is ginger tea. I’ll pick a lemon off my tree to add to it. Then I’d lay on the couch and figure out if I’m going to watch something on TV or play a video game. I play the dumbest games. What has me in a choke hold right now is “Brilliant Sort.” It’s almost like jigsaw puzzle, but it’s electronic. It’s so f— relaxing and I play it for hours. It’s bad now because I’ve been spending money on it and my accountant was like “Hey, you’re spending a lot of money on a video game.” I said “Well, it’s not crack” and they were like “What?” [laughs]. I might have end up deleting this f— game.
3 p.m.: Brunch at the Waffle
About an hour later, I’d figure out what I want to eat. Sunday is the day I eat anything I want. I don’t like to call it a cheat day. I always order from this place called the Waffle in Hollywood because they’ve got this biscuit sandwich with a whiskey glaze and bacon. It’s good as f— and then I get my egg over medium. I always order it with a blood orange-flavored Pellegrino over some ice. Wooooo.
5 p.m.: Watch an action movie
On Sundays, I really like to watch movies. I’ll go on Apple TV or another streamer to find something to watch. If not, I’ll watch “SVU” all day. Some days I can watch serious stuff, but I really like a good action movie like all of the “Fast & Furious” films. I know people talk about them but I f— love “Fast & Furious.” I love “Mission: Impossible.” I love all of the Marvel movies.
7 p.m.: Order dinner from all my favorite spots
Usually I order food from my cook when I’m at home and she’ll make like a week’s worth of food. But if I don’t, I’ll order in. If I want a really good steak, I’ll go to the Nice Guy. I spoil myself on Sundays because I might get a steak from there, a salad from Tender Greens and a lemonade from Cheesecake Factory. The key is getting one driver and telling them, “I’m going to order something else, do you want to go get it?” because then you can give them a big tip. I might not eat until like 10 or 11 p.m. though.
11 p.m.: Catch a second wind
During the day, I probably took a nap so my brain is activated around 11 p.m. to midnight. If my friends call me and say they want to go out, I might go to this karaoke night hosted by Project Studio that my friend Neff took me to. There’s good drinks and a good DJ. I like to go see live music too. I recently saw Olivia Dean [at the Crypto.com Arena]. If there’s a Sparks game on a Sunday, I will go. If not, I’ll stay home and I’ll be up until maybe 4 or 5 a.m. just watching TV, playing my game, doing nothing [laughs].
Sam Farmer makes his picks and predictions for each game in Week 3 of the NFL season, with the Chargers falling to the Bills and the Rams winning again.
Rams star receiver Puka Nacua remains sidelined because of groin soreness and his status for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos is unclear, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.
Nacua was not scheduled to participate in a light team jog-through. Asked if he expected Nacua to play against the Broncos, McVay said, “I’m not sure.”
Will Nacua practice this week?
“I would say it’s more likely than not, but we’ll see,” McVay said.
Nacua, the NFL’s receptions leader in 2025, sat out the Rams’ victory over the New York Giants on Monday night.
Are the Rams concerned that Nacua’s injury could be a longer-term issue?
“I don’t think so,” McVay said, adding. “When you’re a skill player and you’re really trying to hit high-speed yards and really open up… it’s like some of the things that can almost be pre-hernia is kind of what he’s feeling.
“You err on the side of caution. Usually time is the best thing that allows that thing to heal.”
McVay said Nacua does not have a hernia, and that the team’s training and medical staff did not feel the issue was “any type of long term threat.”
“I just know that he’s frustrated,” McVay said, “and we all want him to be able to be out there. But we want him to be able to return to performance, not just be able to just kind of gut through it.”
Quarterback Matthew Stafford said Nacua is an “unbelievable” player and loves having him on the field. But he trusts in all Rams receivers.
“Certain things that he does at a high level that maybe move down the list a little bit on things that we might run,” Stafford said. “But once the play’s called and things that we do, I trust all those guys to go out there and execute at a high level.”
Etc.
Running back Ronnie Rivers, who is also a key special teams player, was placed on injured reserve because of a “freak” calf injury suffered when he jumped to loosen up during the game against the Giants, McVay said. Running backs Dean Connors or Jordan Waters could be promoted to the roster for the game against the Broncos. The Rams signed safety Maximus Pulley to the roster.
Be careful what you wish for when you’re wishing for a new offensive coordinator.
Chargers fans were so over Greg Roman. Anything would be better than his run-heavy scheme stunting quarterback Justin Herbert’s anticipated ascension. Anyone would be preferable to the man holding the reins while the Chargers scored just three points in last season’s wild-card loss to the New England Patriots, after which Roman was fired.
Somehow, after just two games, the Chargers’ offense under McDaniel has Bolts fans wishing anyone else was running the show. Roman included.
Because Roman wouldn’t have overcomplicated a third-and-inches play-call. He wouldn’t have had the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Herbert line up in shotgun and call for motion.
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The Chargers lost to the Las Vegas Raiders 26-14 on Sunday, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier for them moving forward.
And the subsequent snap wouldn’t have hit receiver Tre’ Harris before it got to Herbert. And instead of losing five yards and having Herbert, in a rare show of emotion, slapping the turf in frustration, the Chargers probably would have gotten a fresh set of downs.
So far, McDaniel’s brief Chargers’ tenure hasn’t just been a disappointment. It has, through two games, been a disaster. Because the Chargers really needed these first two wins against opponents who both won only three games last season.
Instead, the Chargers’ offense looked as disjointed and discombobulated in Sunday’s 26-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders as it did the previous week in their 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
It was an unwanted second helping of “humble pie,” as McDaniel described the Chargers’ Week 1 defeat. And it was nasty.
Now the Chargers’ schedule is about to come at them fast, with their next games against the Buffalo Bills, the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and then the Rams, the preseason Super Bowl favorites.
After consecutive 11-win seasons under Jim Harbaugh — who’d never lost to the Raiders and never previously lost two consecutive games to start a season — the Chargers might blink and find themselves 0-7.
What’s worse than frustratingly quick postseason exits? Not making the playoffs at all.
And the Chargers are going to need to engineer a quick turnaround if they’re going to be among the 15% of teams that start a season 0-2 and still reach postseason play.
Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel walks on the sideline before a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 20.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
To do that, they’ll need to score more points. They’ll need to stop shooting themselves in the proverbial feet and take some better shots downfield. Stop dropping the ball — figuratively, literally. They fumbled six times Sunday!
And stop thinking so much. Sundays are for reacting, and any amount of thinking is overthinking.
Maybe it’s personnel? The fact that, outside of Ladd McConkey, the Chargers are short on receivers who can reliably create separation.
Maybe it’s just a matter of time that the Chargers don’t have much of, cramming to learn McDaniel’s methods, to dial in the timing and coordination.
Or maybe, for McDaniel, it’s as simple as simplifying what he’s trying to do with this Chargers offense.
When he was hired in January, the prevailing thought was that the cerebral partnership between McDaniel and Herbert would prove a perfect match.
Even though McDaniel was dismissed after the Dolphins missed the playoffs two consecutive seasons, the coach — who’d developed a reputation as a talented offensive mind under Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers — was a hot commodity on the coaching market.
McDaniel reportedly drew interest from the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bills and Raiders. But he opted to come to L.A. to work with Herbert as the All-Pro QB’s fifth offensive coordinator in seven seasons (following three offensive coordinators in his four years at Oregon).
Starting over again, in these two games with McDaniel, Herbert has thrown for a modest 401 yards, just two touchdowns and three interceptions — though one of them bounced off David Njoku’s hands Sunday.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert watches a pass attempt fall incomplete after he is hit by Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce during the fourth quarter Sunday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
There have also been protection problems, fumbles, a missed field goal, and lots of penalties — including four on star left tackle Joe Alt, who was called for a hold that resulted in a safety on an anything-that-can-go-wrong-will-go-wrong Sunday.
“I’m not looking in any one direction,” Harbaugh said Sunday. “I’m looking at it all.”
On TV, Herbert appeared to be looking off into space on the sideline as McDaniel sat chattering beside him, the game mercifully winding down.
Asked what McDaniel’s message was to the offense, Herbert said: “I haven’t been able to speak with him after.”
There’s a lot to talk about, but be careful what you ask.
Fox Sports announcer Tom Brady might have spoken for all of us when viewing the play in which Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Brady said an expletive on the air, expressing a genuine reaction to the gruesome sight of Daniels’ joint bending in the wrong direction after he planted his left hand to break a fall.
The same expression was no doubt used by countless Commanders fans who had seen their quarterback miss much of the 2025 season with the same injury to the same elbow.
Chicago Bears fans also probably reacted with similar words when star quarterback Caleb Williams was carted off the field with a hamstring injury.
The coaches of both teams had injury updates Monday about the quarterbacks who were selected first (Williams) and second (Daniels) in the 2024 draft. Bears coach Ben Johnson told WMVP in Chicago that Williams appears to have avoided a major injury but would “likely miss some time.”
Hours later, however, Johnson told reporters he wasn’t yet ruling out Williams for the Bears’ “Monday Night Football” game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He said Williams underwent an MRI scan on Monday and that the team received news that was “somewhat encouraging.”
“He’s right now working through every avenue that he’s got available to get back on track here,” said Johnson, who added that Williams probably would not practice this week. “We’ll see what that looks like. Here’s what I know: This guy’s a little bit different than the average human being. … He gets back, he has in the past, a lot faster than what people can anticipate. I’m not putting a timeline on this. We’re going to say week to week.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn told reporters that Daniels underwent imaging that morning and would see specialists the following two days.
“We’ll go through the process from there,” Quinn said. “I know you’ll have some questions regarding timelines, but until we go through that process, I’d be guessing to give you any.”
Quinn did say that veteran backup Marcus Mariota would start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks and that he might have an update on Daniels on Thursday or Friday.
Williams, after going 5-12 as a rookie, threw for a franchise-record 3,942 yards while leading the Bears to an 11-6 record and the NFC North title. He got hurt during Chicago’s 9-3 loss Sunday while scrambling deep in Minnesota Vikings territory midway through the fourth quarter.
Williams was replaced by Tyson Bagent, a fourth-year player who has appeared in 13 games and is 2-2 as a starter. Johnson told reporters Monday that he was confident in Bagent should he have to start any games in Williams’ place.
“If it goes that route, I feel strongly about what he’s capable of, and our team does, too,” Johnson said. “They know he’s a darn good football player.”
Daniels was an immediate star in Washington, leading the Commanders to a surprise appearance in the NFC championship game his rookie season, but he missed all but one game in the second half of last season after dislocating the same elbow Nov. 2 against the Seattle Seahawks.
He injured it Sunday on a play from the Dallas one-yard line with three seconds remaining before halftime. Left guard Chris Paul stepped on Daniels’ foot as he backed away from center and the quarterback threw a wild incomplete pass as he braced himself on the ground with his other hand.
Mariota replaced Williams in the second half and completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards with one touchdown.
AUSTIN, Texas — A Venezuelan man shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was in custody Monday at an ICE detention center in Texas after he was released from a hospital with a bullet still lodged in his back, according to a spokesperson for the man’s attorney.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was making a DoorDash delivery in Austin, the state capital, on Sunday before he was shot during a traffic stop, said Fabiana Meléndez Ruiz, a spokesperson for immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch.
Ruiz said Perez called his wife around 12:30 p.m. Sunday to tell her that he had been shot. She said Perez’s wife hasn’t spoken with him since then.
Perez was being detained at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, about 130 miles southwest of Austin, Ruiz told the Associated Press. She said Lincoln-Goldfinch spoke by phone with Perez, who told her that he was being interrogated while a bullet remained in his back. Perez also said he had no pain medication, according to Ruiz.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has released little information and has not said what prompted the shooting. In a statement early Monday, the department said it was investigating the shooting of a Venezuelan man in the U.S. illegally who “had a final order of removal.”
Perez is an asylum seeker and entered the United States through a parole program, and he has no criminal history, Ruiz said.
“Regardless of his status, the use of force was unwarranted,” Ruiz said. “As far as we understand, he was here legally.”
The shooting occurred amid a surge in ICE enforcement across the U.S. during President Trump’s second term. During the summer, it reported more than 50,000 monthly arrests in July and August — a first for the agency.
Immigration officers have come under intense scrutiny amid a series of shootings during the crackdown. At least four people have been fatally shot by federal officers during immigration enforcement operations this year.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis told reporters Sunday that the shooting occurred after a traffic stop. She said local police were not involved. Local officials said the man was shot once in the torso and had been hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
Perez’s wife and attorney were unable to get information on his condition from the hospital Sunday until hospital attorneys told them about 6 p.m. that he had been discharged 90 minutes earlier, Ruiz said.
She said ICE had not confirmed any information to Lincoln-Goldfinch, who used legal databases and other means to discover where he was being detained.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said Sunday he wants local police to have a role in investigating the shooting. Watson said it wouldn’t be appropriate for ICE to investigate on its own.
At the scene of the shooting, a dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes before it was towed away Sunday evening.
About 100 anti-ICE protesters gathered Sunday in the shooting’s aftermath.
Wilder and Bedayn write for the Associated Press. AP writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Ga., contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Sunday that the massive arch he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would become a “top grade military complex” able to host drones and snipers while storing ammunition.
It is one more example of how Trump is insisting that his initiatives to remake the White House and its environs are also serving a defensive purpose. Trump has been calling the new White House ballroom a “military complex” and arguing it is necessary for national security purposes, at least in part to help it pass legal muster.
The Pentagon said it had no information beyond the president’s statement.
Trump’s announcement comes as the arch, like his other projects, faces legal challenges. Though the arch has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all appointed by Trump, a group of three veterans and an architectural historian sued, saying the project needs to be approved by Congress.
“The president’s belated efforts to manufacture a national security justification for this project do nothing to cure its fundamental illegality,” Nicolas Sansone, one of the attorneys representing the litigants, said Sunday. “Congress has not authorized the arch, and unless and until Congress does so, the project should not be permitted to move forward.”
The president said in a social media post that he had agreed, at the “strong request” of the military, to convert the planned 250-foot-tall memorial arch “into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch, to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage.”
The arch is proposed for a circle adjacent to the Memorial Bridge, which is a heavy traffic area as one of several connecting bridges between the nation’s capital and northern Virginia.
Among the other projects Trump is pursuing to refashion Washington’s cityscape are renaming and renovating the Kennedy Center, refurbishing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and rebuilding a golf course in East Potomac Park that could significantly reduce the public’s access to running and biking paths. Some of the projects have run into trouble: The Kennedy Center now faces closure and perhaps demolition, and the botched Reflecting Pool renovation, originally set for completion by July 4, remains incomplete.
The groundbreaking for the arch was to have happened sometime this month. The project has not yet received final approval from the National Capital Area Planning Commission, which greenlighted the site and preliminary plans at its July meeting. The commission is expected to take up the matter again this fall.
TORONTO — An actor from last year’s Toronto International Film Festival has been turning heads around town this week: Inde Navarrette, whose “Obsession” went from a modest 2025 Midnight Madness slot to a box office behemoth.
But if you had to pick this year’s Navarrette, who would it be? Among the breakout names of TIFF 2026 is unquestionably Rosalind Eleazar, the London-born 38-year-old star of “Misty Green,” the first film written and directed by Chris Rock since 2014’s “Top Five” and among the most notable world premieres at this year’s festival.
Misty is a Hollywood survivor who was never able to make the most of her own success, winning an Emmy a few years back but now losing the apartment she has been living in because the widow of the man she was cheating with wants it back. With her bad attitude and personal problems, Misty has burned many bridges along the way. There’s a chance she could be cast in a remake of “Dreamgirls” that would turn everything around for her, but Misty’s brother, Jay (Daniel Kaluuya, in his first major screen role since 2022’s “Nope”), was recently released from a mental facility and needs monitoring.
Though there are comedic moments along the way, “Misty Green” is very much a character study, as well as an unsparring examination of the systemic pressures on Black women in Hollywood — one executive interrupts Misty’s audition to ask if she is “mixed.” She does herself no favors, frequently self-sabotaging and getting in her own way.
“Being an actor is hard,” Eleazar said in an interview at The Times’ photo and video studio in Toronto on Sunday with a sense of well-earned candor. “I could totally relate to Misty’s journey and the setbacks and the constant picking yourself back up after multiple rejections and just going again. And trying not to have armor because as an actor you want to keep yourself open and you don’t want to harden too much. But it can be easy to harden yourself to an industry that can be unforgiving.”
Though “Misty Green” is Eleazar’s first lead in a film, she has had a steadily building career. She is probably most familiar to American audiences from her role as an MI5 agent on the Apple TV series “Slow Horses.” But soon she will likely be known for the explosive announcement that is “Misty Green.” The film will go on to play at the New York Film Festival and the London Film Festival and be released by distributor A24 on Oct. 9.
“It can be easy to harden yourself to an industry that can be unforgiving,” Eleazar says.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
After her movie’s TIFF world premiere in a coveted Saturday night slot at Roy Thompson Hall, Eleazar was included among those celebrated at the annual TIFF Tribute Awards, a fundraising gala put on by the festival. She was recognized alongside such actors as Helen Mirren, Penélope Cruz and Isabelle Huppert, whom she called “extraordinary company.”
“I grew up watching them and admired their work,” Eleazar says earlier in the day. “It’s just such an honor to be considered amongst heavyweights like that. Dame Helen Mirren. Crikey.”
With a warm smile she adds, “Just went very British.”
In accepting the prize, Eleazar recalled how when she came to Toronto for the premiere of her first feature film, 2019’s “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” she stepped away from a party to call her mother at 4 a.m. London time. Not wanting to make that same mistake again, she made sure her mother was there with her in Toronto for this year’s Sunday gala, sitting at a table with Eleazar’s husband, the actor and producer Gabriele Lo Giudice.
Eleazar performs two songs in the film, a heartbreakingly vulnerable cabaret version of Radiohead’s “Creep” and a stripped-down, tender reading of “One Night Only” from “Dreamgirls.” (Eleazar does not consider herself a singer and took vocal lessons before shooting.) Then, in a scene in which Misty demands she be allowed to finish an audition, she flashes into someone else in a bit of pure craft that leaves those in the room astonished.
It was important that Misty be seen as someone who is in fact immensely talented, who may even be worth all the bother and strife that she brings along with her.
“I think we’ve seen movies before where the character isn’t talented and it’s about the hustle and the dream of making it in Hollywood,” says Eleazar. “But I think it’s really interesting seeing someone that cannot get out of their own way — someone that is railing against the industry and is fighting Hollywood, fighting herself, fighting the people around her. It becomes quite a universal subject. It is about our industry but it’s also just about someone who is trying to escape herself.”
Despite Misty’s obvious talents, acting simply may not be the best career for her anymore; it strains her emotional and mental health and enables her substance abuse. Over the course of her own career, Eleazar has at times had to check in with herself to make sure she was heading down the right path.
“There are definitely times that I’ve questioned it,” she says. “For me it does really feed my soul and therefore, at my low points, I’ve managed better. But it can be really heavy. And maybe I shouldn’t but I feel like I’m pretty happy being an actor.”
Chris Rock and Rosalind Eleazar in the movie “Misty Green.”
(A24)
To land the role, after a few meetings with Rock over Zoom, Eleazar flew herself from London to Los Angeles so she could read in the room. As it happened, it made for an intense few days: First she had a chemistry read with Ralph Fiennes in the U.K. for a stage role (she would appear opposite Fiennes in “Small Hotel” in 2025) and then immediately flew to L.A. to read with Rock.
“What a mad, amazing three days,” she recalls. Similarly, Eleazar would be ending her whirlwind few days in Toronto by heading to Los Angeles to be with the “Slow Horses” team for the Emmys on Monday.
In introducing her tribute on Sunday night, Rock recalled when Eleazar auditioned for the part.
“The room just changed,” he said. “She was funny, she was dangerous, she was moving and completely in command. Misty Green is a woman whose life is coming apart. Rosalind never played her as a victim. She made you see the intelligence, the appetite and the fight underneath all the chaos. The audition was supposed to help me decide who to play Misty, but halfway through, the decision had already been made.”
“It becomes quite a universal subject,” Eleazar says of Chris Rock’s latest movie. “It is about our industry but it’s also just about someone who is trying to escape herself.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
There is something poetic about the fact that playing a mid-career actress struggling to land her next job may be the very thing that brings Eleazar wider recognition.
“It’s kind of meta, isn’t it?” she says with a laugh. “Look, I’m so happy that people are responding to the film and my performance. That really is the cherry on top because for me — I know it sounds rather cheesy — but I literally felt like I won once I did that film. I had such a great time exploring who she was and working with Chris and Daniel and Adam [Driver] and that cast. So everything else is just so lovely.”
In accepting her own tribute award on Sunday, Helen Mirren went off-script from her prepared remarks to say how moved she had been by Eleazar’s earlier speech, adding, “It’s exciting to see the generations coming up, especially women.”
As Rock succinctly added in his speech, “Misty Green wishes she could be Rosalind Eleazar.”
Regardless of what happens with “Misty Green” commercially or throughout awards season, Eleazar will continue tending her steady climb. Production will begin soon on season 7 of “Slow Horses” and Eleazar is currently shooting a film role that she isn’t yet allowed to talk about.
But Misty and the experience of bringing her to life on the screen will remain transformative.
“It almost reminded me of like a Shakespearean character in a way,” Eleazar says. “She’s so self-destructive and flawed and contradictory and at times it’s hard to get onside with her. We see it a lot of the time with male roles and I’d love to see it more with female roles — these really complex and messy characters.”
Sunday’s highly anticipated premiere of “60 Minutes” scored 7.9 million viewers according to Nielsen, the lowest for a season opener since 2000.
Nielsen data showed the news magazine was down 21% compared to last year’s opener, which averaged 10.3 million viewers. The premiere was the first ratings report card for the program since a major upheaval that occurred behind the scenes under CBS News Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
The number — which was also below the 2025-26 season average of 9.1 million viewers — has to be a disappointment to CBS News. The episode received a major promotional push in the weeks leading up to the premiere, which featured an exclusive interview with an Air Force officer who was shot down over Iraq.
The story of the pilot’s heroism may not have been enough to overcome the public’s antipathy toward the U.S. military operation which has gone on much longer than President Trump predicted.
The program did suffer from some comparisons to 2025.
The ratings for “60 Minutes” are often tied to the lead-in from the late afternoon NFL game on CBS, which was also off from 2026. Most of the country saw the Minnesota Vikings top the Green Bay Packers by a score of 39-22 which, with 18.4 million viewers, was down 22% compared to a comparable broadcast window last year.
Broadcasters tend to blame Nielsen when there are significant ratings declines. The NFL has already raised concerns to the research company about changes to its methodology in counting viewers, as the first week of games are down significantly compared to a year ago.
This year, CBS did not have the exclusive late Sunday window with its NFL game. Fox carried the Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Redskins contest in the time period. Last year’s “60 Minutes” opener was on Sept. 28, when CBS had the sole game with a Kansas City Chiefs-Baltimore Ravens contest.
CBS News did see “60 Minutes” retain a larger portion of its audience lead-in compared to last year, despite a later start time of 7:48 p.m. Eastern. The delay meant half of “60 Minutes” competed with NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” the most-watched TV program of the week. It dropped to 6 million viewers by the final quarter hour.
While there are plenty of rationales, CBS News will have to be patient and hope that viewers will sample the program, which largely had the same look as last year despite Weiss’ changes.
But personalities matter to TV viewers, and the new “60 Minutes” is without four of its longtime correspondents — Anderson Cooper, Scott Pelley, Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. The latter three were fired by Weiss after clashing with her over their belief she is pushing the show to the political right. Weiss — who took over editorial control of CBS News after parent company Paramount acquired her heterodox digital news site the Free Press — also dismissed “60 Minutes” executive producer Tanya Simon and replaced her with screenwriter and documentary filmmaker Nick Bilton, who has no previous experience in TV news.
Viewers on Sunday briefly saw one of Weiss’ new hires, former conservative New York Times opinion writer Ross Douthat, who has no previous experience as a TV presenter.
The first edition of “60 Minutes” since CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss initiated drastic changes to the venerable program made it to air Sunday. But the changes weren’t all that apparent on screen.
The 59th season premiere was highly anticipated following months of turbulence behind the scenes. Weiss fired “60 Minutes” correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, both of whom complained the executive pushed them to add right-wing talking points to their stories. Longtime correspondent Scott Pelley was ousted after he angrily questioned the firings at a staff meeting.
Weiss — who took over editorial control of CBS News after parent company Paramount acquired her heterodox digital news site the Free Press — also dismissed “60 Minutes” executive producer Tanya Simon and replaced her with screenwriter and documentary filmmaker Nick Bilton, who has no previous experience in TV news.
Weiss restocked the program’s correspondent corps with one new full-timer — Ross Douthat, the longtime conservative opinion writer for the New York Times — and several new contributors, none of whom showed up in the premiere.
Douthat is the only newcomer added to the opening credits where the correspondents introduce themselves on camera. He also did the closing segment called “The Last Minute,” talking about the dangers of AI and the need for “journalism you can trust.”
But the look and tone of “60 Minutes” remained intact, with only a few minor tweaks to the graphics.
The episode was heavily promoted, with one on-air spot drawing on clips with from the program’s storied past. Correspondents throughout CBS News touted the premiere on their social media accounts.
The program opened with Norah O’Donnell’s exclusive interview with the Air Force officer who was shot down over Iran and rescued by special forces. The U.S. fighter jet was the first to be lost over enemy territory in more than 20 years.
The interview gave a detailed account of the rescue mission and steered clear of any political discussion about the Iran war, which O’Donnell described as “costly and unpopular.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sat for an interview, focusing solely on the rescue mission.
The second segment was a hidden-camera investigation showing how self-styled lobbyists are shopping access to President Trump to felons looking for a pardon. Video captured pardon brokers Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, who were seen asking for $300,000 for their help, saying they worked with influencers close to Trump who would advocate for their cases. (The White House told “60 Minutes”: “Anyone spending money to lobby for pardons is foolishly wasting their money … President Trump performs his constitutional duties in an ethically sound manner, and to suggest so otherwise is either ill-informed or malicious.”)
Some on social media expressed surprise that “60 Minutes” would do a tough story on the Trump administration under Weiss after repeated reports that she is attempting to make the program more amenable to conservatives. “So I guess Bari Weiss didn’t totally destroy “60 Minutes” after all?” political analyst Chris Cillizza wrote on X.
The Los Angeles Rams made up the third segment in the program, which typically includes sports stories when CBS has a late afternoon football game leading into prime time. The package mostly focused on Rams head coach Sean McVay.
The ratings for “60 Minutes” will be issued by Nielsen later this week. Last year the program averaged 9.1 million weekly viewers, making it the most watched non-sports program in prime time.
For Orville Peck, the best Sundays are basically all the same. And they are pretty similar to every other day of the week too. The masked country singer (and now actor) got sober three years ago and has figured out a routine that helps him stay clear-minded and present with the people in his life whom he cares about.
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.
“If I don’t keep up that routine, especially on a day like a Sunday, it quickly falls into no day feeling fun,” he says. “[The routine], which to some people is like, ‘Oh God, that looks like hell,’ is fun for me because it is fun for me to show up for myself.”
Peck’s latest album, “Mule,” which details his sobriety journey, is out Friday. That same day, he’s headlining the Hollywood Bowl, one of his favorite venues in the city.
Peck currently lives in the Hollywood Hills and has been in Los Angeles, on and off, for 18 years. “It’s definitely home to me,” he says. “I met my partner there. I’ve had some of the most important moments of my life in Los Angeles. I will always love this city.”
It’s also particularly conducive to his new lifestyle. “There’s a ton of other crazy people going to the gym and swimming and going to [12-step] meetings every single day,” Peck says. “So I’m in appropriately obsessive company for sure.”
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
5 a.m.: Early to rise
I wake up painfully early. I’ve been doing that since I was a toddler. I used to hold my mother’s eyelids open in the morning to get her to wake up.
When I wake up, the first thing I will do is meditation. I do transcendental meditation. I find every other form of meditation impossible. I’ll do TM for 20 minutes. My partner started doing it and I saw how much he was benefiting from it, so I decided to go and take the course and just loved it.
And then I’m an avid journaler, so I usually journal for probably about half an hour in the morning.
7 a.m.: Caffeination and hydration
I will make a very large iced coffee. I’m not snobbish about coffee, I’ll drink whatever.
I also fill up a massively obnoxious water bottle that has times on it that I carry everywhere. It looks like performative hydration, but it’s literally because if I don’t challenge myself to drink water, I just won’t drink water at all. It’s basically to shame myself into drinking water.
8 a.m.: Pool time, Part 1
I get to a public pool and I do laps. I grew up in South Africa and you’re forced to play every sport known to mankind. I always excelled at swimming, so it’s the one thing I still love to do. I just started up [again] within the last year.
I work out a lot, but when I’m at the gym, I don’t do any cardio. I’m never going to be on a treadmill or anything like that. Swimming feels like a fun way to keep me engaged.
10 a.m.: Meal prep
Then I go meet back up at home with my partner. We’ll go take our dog for a walk or we’ll go to a farmers market to get some produce for the week.
Then we’ll go grocery shopping because I love to cook. I will go to whatever is easiest. I’ll frequent a Gelson’s or a Ralphs or a Whole Foods. If I’m going to Whole Foods, I’m not doing regular grocery shopping. I want brands. I like a Coca-Cola.
I’d say I’m cooking usually about five or six nights a week. I’m very organized — I’m a Capricorn, if you can’t tell. I usually have a whole menu of what I’m going to do for the week, so I’ll get everything I need for that.
I will read a recipe or see a recipe I like, and then I will just freestyle it. I used to work in restaurants, so I feel pretty confident about it. But in terms of the style [of cooking], I’m best at recipes that take a long time, so anything that requires lengthy flavor building, like stews or curries.
Noon: Pool time, Part 2
Back at the house, we’ll have some lunch, something easy by the pool. So more swimming.
2 p.m.: Gym time
I’ll work out either at the house or go out to the gym. I’ve been sticking with a weight training routine for a couple of years now, but I try to evolve the exercises all the time because I get bored really easily.
Sometimes I work with a trainer. I filmed “Street Fighter” last year in Australia, so I did a ton of different training and martial arts training for months. It opened up my horizons to a lot of different forms of working out that I just didn’t know before. I’ve got a pretty big encyclopedia to pull from at this point.
4 p.m.: Recovery
I’ll usually head to a 12-step meeting, I’ll either catch one online or try to find one in person because there’s a lot around L.A.
6 p.m.: Not cooking tonight
On the weekend is where we will typically order in or eat out, maybe with some friends. Some places I love to order in from are the Sisters Cafe, which is Vietnamese, and Jon and Vinny’s.
9 p.m.: Early to bed
Both my partner and I are 80 years old at heart. We always have grand plans about watching a movie or whatever, and then we’re both inevitably snoring by 10 p.m. at the latest.
I used to live my life like a psycho maniac doing everything unhealthy. It definitely didn’t involve going to 12-step meetings and swimming laps at seven in the morning. It was whatever the opposite of that is.
When I went through the first two years of my sobriety, I went through a lot of trial and error in terms of overdoing it with things like therapy and mindfulness, and then also underdoing it as well. It took me a couple of years to really find what are the things that make me feel good about myself, make me feel grounded, make me feel accountable, and still feel like I’m living a happy life and not just white-knuckling 12 hours of, essentially, therapy every day. So I’ve found the things that really work for me.
There’s days where I will totally not do every one of those things. There’s days where I’m too lazy to go swimming and there are days where I’m like, “I don’t want to go to the gym.” I’m not militant about it. The other thing I’ve learned is to be easy with myself.
THE reboot of the musical Sunday In The Park With George has been axed after both its leading stars Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey dropped out.
The show, announced last year, was set to run at the Barbican in London nextsummer but won’t go ahead, with organisers instead hoping to launch a version with a different cast the following year.
Wicked stars Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande – have quit the London show they were diue to star inCredit: GettyProducers have now made the decision to axe Sunday in the Park with GeorgeCredit: Barbican Theatre
In a statement, bosses said: “The planned 2027 production of Sunday in the Park with George at the Barbican will no longer proceed as scheduled.
“Empire Street Productions will retain the rights with a view to presenting the production in 2028. Further details will be announced when appropriate.”
“She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny.
“This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
Ariana is taking a hiatus from the spotlightCredit: GettyActor Jonathan also starred in Wicked alongside ArianaCredit: Getty
At the time, bosses at Empire Street Productions said her role would be recast.
They said: “We wish her nothing but the best. The production will open at the Barbican in summer 2027 as planned, and casting will be announced in due course.”
Sweden has two major political blocs featuring four parties on the right and four on the left – meaning coalition and minority governments are relatively common.
Andersson’s party, the Social Democrats, have been a major force in Swedish politics since the end of World War Two.
But SD – founded by Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s – had been shunned for years until 2022 when it became the country’s second largest party after campaigning on violent crime and immigration.
After casting her vote on Sunday, Andersson laid out the choice facing the Swedish public: “Should we have a government entirely dominated by the Sweden Democrats, something that has never happened in Sweden before? Or should we have a government led by me, which will steer Sweden in a new spirit of co-operation?”
Kristersson, for his part, said it was important he and his alliance were able to continue their work.
“I think there is a genuine enthusiasm for us being able to continue our important work,” he said after casting his ballot in his home municipality of Strangnas.
National security, gang crime and welfare spending dominated the election campaign.
Tim Lovejoy was left confused by Penn Jillette’s comments during the latest edition of the Channel 4 show
Sunday Brunch: Penn Jillette reveals he can’t understand accents
Sunday Brunch presenter Tim Lovejoy was left baffled by one guest.
The weekend show returned to screens on Sunday (September 13), with presenters Tim and Simon Rimmer at the helm. Joining them on the show were guests Beverley Knight, Lara Pulver, Jay Sean, Bloc Party, Van Tulleken, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Penn Jillette.
As the usual format got underway, the Sunday Brunch studio made for engaging viewing but American magician Penn shared a rather surprising confession.
During the segment where the presenters ask their guests to “dump their grumps” by openly sharing their dislikes, Penn confessed that he was rather lost and only understood a fraction of what was being said.
While discussing the topic of Marmite, and whether they have the sticky spread in the US, Penn said: “I haven’t understood very much of anything that’s being said.”
Revealing that he has bad hearing, Penn also shared that he wasn’t a fan of the British accent. He said: “I don’t hear well and I don’t understand accents so, so far on the show I’ve understood about 30% of what is going on. So when I’m in England, which I am often, I spend most of my time understanding no one.”
He then added that he wrote what he believes he hears and believes that this should be one of his grumps he would dump. He added: “It’s just totally a garble nonsense, which I hear every time you speak.”
Emphasising his point, he then said: “I have no idea what you’re saying. I’m sitting here nodding and smiling in total ignorance.”
Confused by Penn’s admission, Tim branded his complaints as “weird”. He said: “I think that’s really weird because I think we’re speaking like…” Penn interjected: “No, you are! You are speaking wonderfully for people like you!”
It comes after Tim was missing from the show at the end of August. The surprise switch was likely to have been noticed by regular Sunday Brunch viewers, particularly given the long-standing on-screen partnership between Tim and Simon.
The pair have worked together for many years, first joining forces on Something for the Weekend before becoming the faces of Sunday Brunch when the Channel 4 programme launched in 2012.
Their presenting partnership has remained a familiar part of Sunday mornings for more than a decade, making Lovejoy’s absence from this week’s episode all the more striking.
Stepping in to replace him was presenter Yinka Bokinni, who is an experienced broadcaster in her own right. She has worked across both radio and television and has established herself as a familiar face through a range of TV appearances, as well as her work covering entertainment and culture.
There was no explanation given during the programme for Lovejoy’s absence. At the beginning of the show, Yinka simply told viewers that she would be stepping in as his replacement.
Sunday Brunch airs Sundays from 10am on Channel 4.
Jim Harbaugh wants his teams to finish seasons the way they start them.
If the Chargers do that, they’re going all the way.
Counting his four seasons with San Francisco, Harbaugh is 6-0 in NFL season debuts as a head coach. That’s tied for the most opening victories without a loss in league history.
“It’s September. It’s time to play our first game,” Harbaugh told reporters this week. “And I support no cause, foreign or domestic, other than the greatness of the Los Angeles Chargers.”
His team plays host to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, and oddsmakers see a blowout in the making. The Chargers are favored by 9½ points, the biggest spread of Week 1.
Despite a 2-0 start last season, the Cardinals lost 14 of the next 15 and wound up with the third overall pick in the NFL draft, which they used on Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. The rookie is questionable for this game because of an ankle injury.
Their quarterback is no longer Kyler Murray, now in Minnesota, but Jacoby Brissett, who is on his sixth franchise — and seventh if you count two stops in New England.
This game is the “Mike” drop, if you will, with Mike LaFleur coaching his first game for Arizona, and Mike McDaniel making his debut as Chargers offensive coordinator.
LaFleur and McDaniel have history. They were young offensive assistants in Cleveland, Atlanta and San Francisco and both represent branches of the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree.
There’s a link too between Harbaugh and LaFleur. Both are younger brothers of other current NFL head coaches: Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers and John Harbaugh of the New York Giants.
Throughout his 40 years in Los Angeles, one piece of advice on where to live still rings true for Jimmy Smits, known for starring in “L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue” and “Sons of Anarchy.” Long ago, producer Steven Bochco, who helped launch Smits’ TV career, encouraged the native New Yorker to stick around.
“He said, ‘I think you’re going to be working at Fox or around here for a while,’” Smits recalls. “‘Don’t be a schmuck. Stay near, so you can get to work on time. Get the s— house in the best ZIP Code you can.’”
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.
And so, from West Los Angeles to Santa Monica to Brentwood, Smits and his wife, actor Wanda De Jesus, have made the Westside their home base.
“Even when I lived in Brooklyn, we were near water,” Smits says. “It’s not Coney Island, but it’s the Santa Monica Pier. We have this New York-L.A. thing.”
When he’s not working, Smits prioritizes relaxation and his spiritual life. Most Saturday evenings, there’s a Mass to attend. All physical activities are done near water.
Beyond acting, the Emmy and Golden Globe winner is an advocate for education and the arts. This year is the 30th anniversary of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, which he co-founded to support emerging talent in the performing arts.
Here’s a look at his ideal Sunday, with a bit of a New York-L.A. state of mind.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
6:30 a.m.: First, the news
I still love reading the newspaper, tactile-wise. I keep the entertainment sections for weeks at a time for both the L.A. Times and New York Times. I recently had to go digital with the New York Times because my wife was like, “we can’t have all these newspapers around here!”
8 a.m.: People watching over breakfast
We’re not real foodies. Food is more like fuel for me. I love to experiment with different types of cuisines, but going to restaurants is more about the atmosphere. For breakfast, we’ll go to the Brentwood Farmers Market off San Vicente or the Coast Beach Café at Shutters on the Beach. You can people watch there. Or, they have an enclosure in the back that’s more chill. You can feel the ocean breeze on the water. If I’m really hungry, I’ll have the brioche French toast with some scrambled eggs and turkey bacon. But most of the time, it’s a pressed juice, English breakfast tea with warm milk and honey and a blueberry muffin.
9:30 a.m.: Beachside workouts
Part of the day will always have some kind of physical thing, and it’ll always relate to the water. Biking, brisk walking or wogging on the beach is ideal. If we’re biking, we’ll go up to where Will Rogers State Park is. It’s much quieter around there. We’ll start there and go towards the Santa Monica Pier and do laps back and forth. We’ll make stops along the way, at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica or the bluffs at Palisades Park in Santa Monica, where they have a rose garden, [the California Incline roadway] and a lot of ways to get physical activity.
11:30 a.m.: What’s for lunch? Pasta
For lunch, it’s Divino, which is an Italian place in Brentwood. I’d order a light pasta and salad.
1 p.m.: Head to the playhouse for a matinee
My main go-to theaters are the Geffen Playhouse, which is close to us on the Westside; the Center Theatre Group, with the Ahmanson Theatre or the Mark Taper Forum, the Pasadena Playhouse or the Latino Theater Company Center at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, which specializes in Latino and multicultural productions. I get my New York theater fix by going to see plays at one of those places.
4 p.m.: Family time
At some point in the day, there would always be an East Coast call that winds up lasting way too long. With FaceTime, wherever we’re at, we can talk with the family, who are mostly in New York.
6 p.m.: Longtime faves for dinner
One of our favorite restaurants is Carlitos Gardel Argentine Steakhouse on Melrose Avenue, which has been around since the ‘90s. Italy plays big in Argentinian food, so you can get wonderful pastas there. I’ll usually have the entraña, which is a wood-grilled skirt steak, and the gnocchi is off the hook. The place reminds me of my college buddy-celebrity chef Michael Lomonaco, and his [former] restaurant Porter House in New York, where we’d go after the theater.
If not there, we’ll go to the restaurant we’ve been going to since I first got here. One of my first jobs was at then-MGM, which is now Sony, in Culver City. In ’86, I was working on “L.A. Law” and had a lunch break. I just wanted to walk around and found a Cuban restaurant called Versailles. I thought it was the closest I was going to get to the way Mom cooked. I developed a great relationship with the owners, the Garcia family. They have great Cuban food. I’ll have their arroz con pollo, which is chicken and rice.
8:30 p.m.: TV catch-up time
After dinner, we’d go home and get ready for the week. Depending on whether we go to a matinee or evening play, we would DVR stuff, like whatever sports that were on during the day that I missed. We’d definitely watch “60 Minutes,” “John Oliver” and pop in a movie or watch a stand-up comedy show. If we’re shooting something, I have to study for the next day. If not, we just relax, watch TV and go to bed between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Sam Farmer makes his picks and score predictions for Week 1 of the 2026 season, with the Rams winning in Australia and the Chargers beating the Cardinals.
WASHINGTON — An armed assailant charged toward the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, Amy Acton, on Sunday during a campaign stop at the Canfield Fair, injuring several people before he was stopped by troopers, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
The Highway Patrol said in a statement that a man it identified as Patrick Havas, 38, forced his way through a crowd, knocking over members of the audience as he moved toward Acton, the state’s former public health director. He had a taser and two pistols, the statement said.
The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office said two handguns and a set of brass knuckles were recovered after his arrest, and “no weapons were ever brandished or even removed from their holsters.”
Havas was taken to the county jail and booked on charges of disorderly conduct and two counts of assault, the Highway Patrol statement said, adding that no other details were available pending an investigation. Online court records didn’t yet list the case, and it wasn’t clear as of Sunday night whether Havas has an attorney.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement that the man “tried to forcefully push himself” toward Acton as she was speaking at the fair in Canfield, in northeastern Ohio.
“Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable,” DeWine added.
The attack is the latest act of political violence to roil the United States. The Ohio gubernatorial contest is one of the most high-profile races this year as the campaigns enter the final six weeks of campaigning before the election in November.
Acton is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who has parlayed his national name recognition from his 2024 presidential run, tech industry connections and alliance with President Trump into a record fundraising haul that he is tapping for advertising spots. He is using campaign rallies and advertising to criticize Acton.
Ramaswamy’s campaign called Sunday’s attack unacceptable.
“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence. What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no one was hurt,” Ramaswamy’s communications director, Connie Luck, said in a statement Sunday.
Addie Bullock, communications director for Acton’s campaign, said in a statement that the assailant lunged at Acton. She said the candidate “will always stand up to the chaos, hate and vitriol that pits us against one another.”
The incident brought condemnation from Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who said on X that he and his wife were “disturbed by the attempted attack on Amy Acton today at the Canfield Fair. We are grateful for law enforcement’s quick response. There is no place for this kind of behavior, and it must never be tolerated.”
The country has seen a rise in political violence over the last decade, including assassination attempts against Donald Trump at a rally in 2024 and at the White House Correspondents Assn. dinner in April, and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by a pro-Trump mob at the U.S. Capitol.
Other examples include a 2017 shooting at a Republican congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Va., a 2022 hammer assault on then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband at the couple’s San Francisco home, and the fatal shootings last year of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in Utah.
Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on expenses labeled as security during the 2023-24 campaign cycle, the most recent one for which data are publicly available, according to a report released in April from the Public Service Alliance, a nonpartisan group that focuses on security for public officials.
Before running for governor, Acton had been recruited by DeWine in 2019 to lead the Ohio Department of Health while serving as an associate professor of public health at Ohio State University. As the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in early 2020, she was thrown into the state and national spotlight — becoming a source of comfort to many viewers of the governor’s daily news conferences.
For her service as health director, Acton earned the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s Profile in COVID Courage Award, the Columbus Foundation’s Spirit of Columbus Award and Ohio State’s highest alumni honor, the Alumni Medalist Award.
Her position as the face of the DeWine administration’s aggressive stance against the coronavirus also earned Acton many enemies, among them statehouse Republicans and conservative Ohioans who opposed pandemic public health restrictions.
Fields writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed to this report.
Rob Reiner has won a posthumous Emmy for his appearance in Season 4 of “The Bear.”
On Sunday, the Television Academy hosted the second night of Emmy ceremonies, where guest actor awards were among those announced. Reiner, who died in December, won for guest actor in a comedy series for his appearance as Albert Schnurr, a consultant who mentored line cook Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), on the FX show’s fourth season. It was his third Emmy Award, having previously won twice for supporting actor in a comedy for “All in the Family.”
While Reiner largely focused on directing, writing and producing in the latter part of his career, he would occasionally make appearances on TV shows and in films. He was most recently seen in an episode of Larry David’s HBO series “Larry David in Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: an Almost History of America,” which aired in July. In the final season of “The Bear,” which premiered at the end of June, the show nodded to Reiner, referencing a line from his 1987 film “Princess Bride.”
Guest actress in a comedy series was awarded to Betty Gilpin for “Widow’s Bay.” In the Apple TV horror-comedy series, she plays Sarah Westcott Warren, wife of the founder of the town at the center of the show.
On the drama series side, Ernest Harden Jr. won for guest actor in a drama series for “The Pitt,” while Shailene Woodley won for guest actress in Season 2 of “Paradise.” It is the first Emmy Award for both actors.
In HBO’s medical drama, Harden played Louie, an alcoholic who was a regular visitor at the Pitt, befriending many of the doctors and nurses on staff. However, tragedy strikes after a medical emergency, leaving the staff to mourn him during the Fourth of July shift. Meanwhile, in Hulu’s postapocalyptic series, Woodley played Annie, a former tour guide at Graceland and survivor of the Day. Her storyline dovetails with Xavier, played by series lead Sterling K. Brown, and the pair share an intense and emotional moment.
Also announced were supporting actor and actress in a limited series, which went to David Harbour and Linda Cardellini, who both won their first Emmys, for “DTF St. Louis.” In the series, they play a husband and wife whose marriage is struggling, and they become enmeshed with a local TV weatherman, played by Jason Bateman, who was also nominated in the category.
The first pair of Emmy ceremonies, formerly called the Creative Arts Emmys, were held over two nights two weekends before the Primetime Emmy Awards and honored many of the behind-the-scenes workers and craftspeople in television. An abridged version of the ceremonies will be broadcast Sept. 12 on FXX and stream on Hulu the following day. The Primetime Emmy Awards will be held Sept. 14 in Los Angeles with Mariska Hargitay as host.
The winners from Sunday’s ceremony:
Television Movie “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
Supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie David Harbour, “DTF St. Louis”
Supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie Linda Cardellini, “DTF St. Louis”
Guest actor in a comedy series Rob Reiner, “The Bear”
Guest actress in a comedy series Betty Gilpin, “Widow’s Bay”
Guest actor in a drama series Ernest Harden Jr., “The Pitt”
Guest actress in a drama series Shailene Woodley, “Paradise”
The complete list of winners for Sunday’s ceremony can be found at televisionacademy.com.
