Thursday

It’s odd the moments you remember after someone’s gone.

Scrolling through a seemingly infinite number of clips featuring Rob Reiner being compassionate and kind, scenes from his movies that feature a bone-deep empathy for the ways human beings struggle and strive to be better, I kept thinking back to a little wink in “This Is Spinal Tap,” the 1984 mockumentary Reiner directed and co-starred in, playing filmmaker Marty DiBergi.

I’ve seen this movie so many times that I could probably act out the whole thing upon request. It provided a soundtrack to a family trip to Stonehenge several years ago. But thinking about Reiner in the wake of the horrible news that he and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their home on Sunday night, their son Nick subsequently charged with their murders, I randomly landed on the scene where DiBergi talks with Spinal Tap lead singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) after guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) leaves the band.

St. Hubbins blithely insists he won’t miss Nigel any more than insignificant band members who played briefly in the group. DiBergi is stunned. He loves Spinal Tap and fears for its future. Reiner plays the moment with such sincere heartbreak, partly in character, but mostly I think because that’s who he was. Reiner couldn’t help it. He felt things deeply and spent much of his life working to make things better for those on society’s margins. He will be missed in so many ways.

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter. How to describe this week? None more black will do. But Christmas is coming, and that Vince Guaraldi song never fails to make me smile. Let’s look at some good news for those who made the Oscar shortlists this week.

Voters, consider these

The film academy announced shortlists for 12 categories at the 98th Oscars, whittling down the list of contenders and offering a few indications about what films are scoring early points with voters.

Ryan Coogler’s critically acclaimed, genre-defying blockbuster “Sinners” picked up eight mentions, as did “Wicked: For Good.” Both movies placed two songs on the original song shortlist and both were cited in the newly created casting category.

Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” followed with six mentions, and “One Battle After Another,” “F1” and “Sirât” each scored five.

The bounty for “Sirât,” the Oliver Laxe thriller that is unquestionably one of the most memorable movies of the year, offered an indication that the word of mouth on this movie is strong enough to land it a spot among the nominees for international feature.

Can it do better than that? It should. Here are five suggestions for voters, including “Sirât,” as the lists are narrowed ahead of Oscar nominations on Jan. 22.

Cinematography: ‘Sirât’

“Sirât” contains so many surprising twists and turns that when asked to describe the plot, I simply tell people that it’s about a father who shows up at a rave in southern Morocco with his young son looking for his missing daughter. The long desert journey they end up taking is astonishing, and cinematographer Mauro Herce, shooting on 16mm film, captures every treacherous mile in dramatic detail.

Original score: ‘Marty Supreme’

Voting with the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn., I cast my ballot for Kangding Ray’s hypnotic score for (you guessed it) “Sirât.” But that was just one of many soundtracks that found its way into my life this year. Hans Zimmer’s synth-heavy “F1” score makes for propulsive listening while pedaling on an exercise bike and ranks among the celebrated composer’s best work. And I share Times film editor Josh Rothkopf’s enthusiasm for Daniel Lopatin’s throwback electronic beats in “Marty Supreme,” a delight for anyone who grew up listening to the ethereal soundscapes created by Tangerine Dream.

Casting: ‘Weapons’

I’m highlighting Zach Cregger’s horror-mystery “Weapons” here partially because of its inexplicable absence in the makeup and hairstyling category. I guess voters knew it was Amy Madigan in that bright red wig all along. That omission aside, “Weapons” is a prime example of what a great casting director can do, making use of familiar faces (Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Madigan) in unexpected ways, finding the right child actor (Cary Christopher) to deliver big emotional moments and elevating emerging talent (Austin Abrams) to unexpected heights. Allison Jones, one of the greats, belongs among the casting category’s inaugural set of nominees.

Original song: ‘I Lied to You’

I mean, you saw that scene in “Sinners,” right?

Documentary: ‘My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow’

Julia Loktev’s five-hour chronicle of the chilling Russian crackdown on independent journalists has won documentary honors from both the Los Angeles and New York film critics. The doc begins in 2021, when the journalists, mostly women, are forced to label themselves as “foreign agents” simply for doing their jobs, covering Putin’s regime in a factual manner. Things intensify after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, turning “My Undesirable Friends” into a cautionary tale about the perils of bending to an autocrat. It goes without saying, but this is essential viewing.

Pete Davidson has officially entered fatherhood, welcoming his first child with British model-actor Elsie Hewitt.

The former “Saturday Night Live” comedian, 32, and his girlfriend, 29, are new parents to a baby girl, Hewitt announced Thursday. “Our perfect angel girl arrived 12/12/2025,” the model captioned her Instagram post.

Hewitt shared scenes from Scottie Rose Hewitt Davidson’s arrival, including their first family selfie, images from the labor room and snaps of her own post-push sushi meal. In her caption, Hewitt described her daughter as “my best work yet.”

“I am absolutely overflowing with love and gratitude and disbelief,” she added.

Davidson apparently had other words to herald the arrival of his first child: “Wu tang forever.”

The pair welcomed their first child after less than a year of dating. Davidson (whose dating history notably includes high-profile relationships with Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande) was first romantically linked to Hewitt (who previously dated Jason Sudeikis and Benny Blanco) in March when they were seen kissing in Palm Beach, Fla. Two months after making their relationship red carpet official, the couple announced in July they were expecting a little one.

“welp now everyone knows we had sex,” Hewitt captioned her casual pregnancy announcement.

In addition to recovering from labor, Hewitt revealed that she is simultaneously bouncing back from another procedure. In an Instagram story posted Thursday, Hewitt shared a selfie of herself in a pink hoodie with an ice pack around her cheeks as she held onto her daughter’s car seat.

“Who else had to get a wisdom tooth removed directly from the hospital the day after they gave birth,” she captioned the photo.

Puka Nacua’s comments about NFL officiating came with a cost — and not just the distraction the controversy caused the Rams before their overtime defeat by the Seattle Seahawks.

The NFL fined the Rams receiver $25,000 for remarks he made about NFL officiating, according to NFL Media.

Nacua caught 12 passes for a career-best 225 yards and two touchdowns against the Seahawks.

During a livestream on Tuesday, with YouTubers N3on and Adin Ross, Nacua said, “The refs are the worst.”

Nacua did not stop there.

“These guys are lawyers, and like, really, they want to be on TV, too, bro,” Nacua said. “You don’t think he’s texting his friends in the group chat like, ‘Yo, you guys just saw me on “Sunday Night Football.” Like, that wasn’t [pass interference], but I called it.’”

After the loss to the Seahawks, Nacua appeared to double down.

“Can you say I was wrong,” he posted to X. “Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. Lol”

The post was quickly deleted.

“Just a moment of frustration after a tough, intense game like that, just thinking of the opportunities that I could have done better to take it out of their hands,” Nacua told reporters in the locker room. “Just a moment of frustration.”

Coach Sean McVay said during his postgame news conference that he had not seen Nacua’s post to X.

In regard to Nacua’s criticism of officials during the livestream, McVay said, “Yeah, we don’t want to do that.”

It was a tumultuous week for Nacua, who apologized Thursday for making a antisemitic gesture during the same livestream, saying he didn’t know that the gesture was considered offensive.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
THURSDAY’S RESULTS

BOYS
CITY SECTION
AHSA 53, Neuwirth Leadership 35
Alliance Levine 43, Alliance Bloomfield 32
Bernstein 74, Arleta 46
Bravo 62, LA Marshall 61
Downtown 80, Animo Bunche 21
LA Hamilton 64, LA University 55
LA Wilson 77, Franklin 61
Manual Arts 48, Diego Rivera 47
Panorama 76, Reseda 23
San Fernando 69, Canoga Park 57
Sylmar 74, Van Nuys 58
Torres 68, Umiversity Prep Value 53
West Adams 66, Santee 53
Westchester 52, Venice 47
WISH Academy 74, Gertz-Ressler 25
USC-MAE 39, Annenberg 34

SOUTHERN SECTION
AAE 68, NSLA 30
Animo Leadership 76, Compton Early College 36
Banning 73, Twentynine Palms 66
Bishop Diego 82, Orcutt Academy 37
Burbank 67, Muir 47
Burbank Burroughs 61, Hoover 56
Calvary Baptist 70, Crossroads Christian 25
Carter 56, Kaiser 54
Cerritos Valley Christian 70, Paramount 64
Chaminade 75, Santa Monica 57
Citrus Hill 67, Paloma Valley 55
Desert Christian Academy 38, San Jacinto Leadership 34
El Dorado 92, Placentia Valencia 84
Elsinore 82, West Valley 35
Esperanza 59, Yorba Linda 47
Flintridge Prep 83, Rio Hondo Prep 60
Fullerton 52, Sunny Hills 45
Gahr 74, Cerritos 46
Gardena Serra 77, Firebaugh 65
Garden Grove 47, Oxford Academy 44
Garden Grove Pacifica 49, Western 28
Indian Springs 62, Beaumont 42
Jurupa Hills 88, Grand Terrace 40
Legacy Christian Academy 77, Norco 38
Long Beach Cabrillo 72, Compton 63
Los Altos 80, Hacienda Heights Wilson 61
Mayfair 74, Long Beach Jordan 72
Millikan 73, Long Beach Wilson 62
Palmdale Aerospace Academy 84, Lancaster Baptist 35
Palm Springs 71, La Quinta 22
Quartz Hill 77, Palmdale 62
Redlands East Valley 89, Indio 36
Rubidoux 61, Nogales 31
Santa Barbara 59, San Marcos 50
Segerstrom 60, Westminster La Quinta 53
Shadow Hills 47, Xavier Prep 19
Silverado 54, Hesperia 47
South Hills 61, Keppel 48
St. Monica Academy 66, Mesrobian 42
Tahquitz 67, San Jacinto 41
Temecula Prep 68, San Jacinto Valley Academy 31
Thousand Oaks 54, Oxnard 34
United Christian Academy 46, Anza Hamilton 42
Upland 58, Western Christian 33
Vasquez 79, Santa Clarita Christian 37
Webb 59, Bassett 32

INTERSECTIONAL
Austin (TX) Prep Academy 70, SoCal Academy 69
Beverly Hills 55, Rancho Dominguez 42
Brentwood 60, Punahou (HI) 58
Clovis East 53, King/Drew 42
Crenshaw 52, Capistrano Valley 51
Harvard-Westlake 84, Lexington Catholic (KY) 37
Heritage Christian 71, ANTHS (AZ) 21
Palos Verdes 63, San Pedro 61

GIRLS
CITY SECTION
Animo Bunche 31, Downtown Magnets 5
Diego Rivera 40, Manual Arts 22
Eagle Rock 49, Lincoln 27
Fulton 21, East Valley 14
Gertz-Ressler 46, WISH Academy 17
LA Wilson 39, Franklin 26
Northridge Academy 65, Vaughn 16
Palisades 69, LACES 45
Panorama 42, Reseda 36
San Pedro 79, Legacy 6
Santee 46, West Adams 32
Smidt Tech 33, Animo De La Hoya 10
Torres 38, University Prep Value 19
USC-MAE 48, Annenberg 31
Westchester 59, Venice 48

SOUTHERN SECTION
AAE 56, NSLA 14
Apple Valley 61, Granite Hills 19
Bolsa Grande 31, Garden Grove 29
Burbank Providence 39, Le Lycée 15
California Military Institute 50, Nuview Bridge 25
Chaffey 36, Tustin 31
Coachella Valley 61, Desert Mirage 6
Compton 59, Long Beach Cabrillo 11
Crescenta Valley 64, Glendale 39
Flintridge Prep 54, Keppel 36
Godinez 47, Corona del Mar 45
Hacienda Heights Wilson 61, Los Altos 56
Holy Martyrs Armenian 61, Milken 44
Indian Springs 55, Bloomington 15
Laguna Blanca 24, Santa Clara 17
La Habra 51, Irvine 43
Long Beach Jordan 67, Irvine University 14
Long Beach Wilson 38, Millikan 19
Norwalk 49, Western 25
Oxnard Pacifica 47, Foothill Tech 45
Pioneer 49, Maranatha 42
Redlands 38, Indio 19
Riverside King 50, Warren 35
Riverside Notre Dame 28, Colton 19
Sage Hill 57, Marlborough 35
Santa Margarita 62, Xavier College Prep 53
Savanna 44, La Palma Kennedy 39
Segerstrom 51, Cerritos Valley Christian 45
Shadow Hills 57, Xavier Prep 39
South El Monte 57, Pomona Catholic 4
Southlands Christian 50, Legacy College Prep 11
South Torrance 43, Queen Creek (AZ) Casteel 40
Twentynine Palms 24, Banning 10
West Covina 71, Edgewood 21
Woodbridge 42, Westminster La Quinta 26

INTERSECTIONAL
Bartlett (TN) 59, Mater Dei 56
Clovis 66, Moreno Valley 45
Lakewood St. Joseph 66, Gilbert (AZ) Highland 30
Long Island Lutheran (NY) 61, Fairmont Prep
Rolling Hills Prep 62, Denver (CO) Mullen 28
St. Anthony 62, Chandler Hamilton (AZ) 49
Villa Park 72, Scottsdale (AZ) Notre Dame Prep 56
Waddell (AZ) Canyon View 42, Lynwood 31

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to effectively ban gender-affirming care for minors, building on broader Trump administration restrictions on transgender Americans.

The sweeping proposals — the most significant moves this administration has taken so far to restrict the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical interventions for transgender children — include cutting off federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children and prohibiting federal Medicaid dollars from being used to fund such procedures.

“This is not medicine, it is malpractice,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said of gender-affirming procedures on children in a news conference on Thursday. “Sex-rejecting procedures rob children of their futures.”

Kennedy also announced Thursday that the HHS Office of Civil Rights will propose a rule excluding gender dysphoria from the definition of a disability.

In a related move, the Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to a dozen companies that market chest-binding vests and other equipment used by people with gender dysphoria. Manufacturers include GenderBender LLC of Carson, California and TomboyX of Seattle. The FDA letters state that chest binders can only be legally marketed for FDA-approved medical uses, such as recovery after mastectomy surgery.

Proposed rules would threaten youth gender-affirming care in states where it remains legal

Medicaid programs in slightly less than half of states currently cover gender-affirming care. At least 27 states have adopted laws restricting or banning the care. The Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding Tennessee’s ban means most other state laws are likely to remain in place.

Thursday’s announcements would imperil access in nearly two dozen states where drug treatments and surgical procedures remain legal and funded by Medicaid, which includes federal and state dollars.

The proposals announced by Kennedy and his deputies are not final or legally binding. The federal government must go through a lengthy rulemaking process, including periods of public comment and document rewrites, before the restrictions becoming permanent. They are also likely to face legal challenges.

But the proposed rules will likely further intimidate health care providers from offering gender-affirming care to children and many hospitals have already ceased such care in anticipation of federal action.

Nearly all U.S. hospitals participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the federal government’s largest health plans that cover seniors, the disabled and low-income Americans. Losing access to those payments would imperil most U.S. hospitals and medical providers.

The same funding restrictions would apply to a smaller health program when it comes to care for people under the age of 19, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, according to a federal notice posted Thursday morning.

Moves contradict advice from medical organizations and transgender advocates

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, on Thursday called transgender treatments “a Band-Aid on a much deeper pathology,” and suggested children with gender dysphoria are “confused, lost and need help.”

Polling shows many Americans agree with the administration’s view of the issue. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey conducted earlier this year found that about half of U.S. adults approved of how Trump was handling transgender issues.

Chloe Cole, a conservative activist known for speaking about her gender-transition reversal, spoke at the news conference to express appreciation. She said cries for help from her and others in her situation, “have finally been heard.”

But the approach contradicts the recommendations of most major U.S. medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, which has urged states not to restrict care for gender dysphoria.

Advocates for transgender children strongly refuted the administration’s claims about gender-affirming care and said Thursday’s moves would put lives at risk.

“In an effort to strongarm hospitals into participating in the administration’s anti-LGBTQ agenda, the Trump Administration is forcing health care systems to choose between providing lifesaving care for LGBTQ+ young people and accepting crucial federal funding,” Dr. Jamila Perritt, a Washington-based OB/GYN and president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, said in a statement. “This is a lose-lose situation where lives are inevitably on the line. “

Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, senior vice president at The Trevor Project, a nonprofit suicide prevention organization for LBGTQ+ youth, called the changes a “one-size-fits-all mandate from the federal government” on a decision that should be between a doctor and patient.

“The multitude of efforts we are seeing from federal legislators to strip transgender and nonbinary youth of the health care they need is deeply troubling,” he said.

Actions build on a larger effort to restrict transgender rights

The announcements build on a wave of actions President Trump, his administration and Republicans in Congress have taken to target the rights of transgender people nationwide.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order that declared the federal government would recognize only two immutable sexes: male and female. He also has signed orders aimed at cutting off federal support for gender transitions for people under age 19 and barring transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

On Wednesday, a bill that would open transgender health care providers to prison time if they treat people under the age of 18 passed the U.S. House and heads to the Senate. Another bill under consideration in the House on Thursday aims to ban Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for children.

Young people who persistently identify as a gender that differs from their sex assigned at birth are first evaluated by a team of professionals. Some may try a social transition, involving changing a hairstyle or pronouns. Some may later also receive hormone-blocking drugs that delay puberty, followed by testosterone or estrogen to bring about the desired physical changes in patients. Surgery is rare for minors.

Swenson, Perrone and Shastri write for the Associated Press. Shastri reported from Milwaukee. AP writer Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report.

’Tis the season of Top 10 lists. On occasion, being at the bottom of the list is a plus.

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter, wondering if you’ve felt that 1% decrease in traffic congestion this year. I had plenty of time to contemplate its veracity the other day while inching my way down the 405 Freeway on my drive home. Let’s just say I’m unconvinced.

Let’s think happier thoughts — the continued, sweeping success of the year’s best movie, “One Battle After Another.”

This week’s digital cover story

(Bexx Francois / For The Times)

I spoke with the women of Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed epic, “One Battle After Another,” on a rainy day last month in the midst of that atmospheric river that washed through the city. You want to talk traffic congestion? Try going down San Vicente during rush hour on the way to a premiere at the Academy Museum.

The only movie worth that effort this year might be … “One Battle After Another.”

For our Envelope digital cover story, we gathered stars Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor for a stunning photo shoot with Times contributor Bexx Francois, followed by a conversation accompanied by a slate of appetizers that evoked memories of the night before when Taylor’s French fries went missing at their Governors Awards table.

“I went to the bar during the dinner and came back,” Taylor says. “And Regina’s like, ‘Somebody took my plate.’ And I look down and say, ‘Somebody ate my fries.’” She motions at Hall. “Goldilocks over here.”

There were no beefs over the apps that day, just the kind of camaraderie evident by the care Infiniti showed her co-stars, helping them keep their immaculate outfits pristine. “One Battle After Another” feels like a lock for a Screen Actors Guild Award (now known as the Actors) ensemble nomination, in no small part due to the exemplary work of these three women, along with co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro.

Taylor won a supporting actor prize Sunday from the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. for her portrayal of Perfidia Beverly Hills, the revolutionary leader of the French 75. The character dominates the movie’s 35-minute opening section, an extended prologue that ends with Perfidia betraying members of her group to avoid prison and abandoning her daughter in the haze of postpartum depression.

“Perfidia anchors this movie,” Taylor says. “We got a boat ride to the middle of the ocean and we gonna anchor this boat, and when we anchor this boat, I’m done.” She turns to Hall. “Then I need you to get on your jet ski and go.”

Taylor loves Perfidia, as do Infiniti and Hall. She’s protective of the character, admitting that, yes, Perfidia is selfish. But also: She has her reasons.

We talked about a scene that Anderson cut from the film featuring Perfidia and Hall’s steadfast Deandra, another member of the French 75. Perfidia calls Deandra from custody, Sean Penn’s Lockjaw lurking in the background, and tells Deandra, “Remember those baby socks I was telling you about? I need you to go out and get them.”

It’s code: Perfidia wants Deandra to make sure that she takes care of her baby, Willa, and get out of town.

“When people have certain opinions of Perfidia, that’s the part of her that they didn’t see,” Taylor says. “People write her off, but she made that phone call.”

“Perfidia and Deandra are best friends,” Hall says. “Watching the movie, you can feel that. But that scene made it clear.”

“But in hindsight,” Taylor says, “artistically that scene would not have made sense. We needed Perfidia to be selfish.”

“She’s not selfish,” Infniti, who plays Willa, interjects. “She was doing the only thing she felt she could do.”

“That’s true,” Taylor replies. “But she’s also selfish. That’s why I think Paul is a f— genius. He is a mad scientist. He really knew what to do with this movie to create a healthy dialogue. He got people talking.”

More coverage of ‘One Battle After Another’

Filmmaker Carl Erik Rinsch, who directed the 2013 action film “47 Ronin” starring Keanu Reeves, was convicted Thursday for defrauding Netflix of $11 million.

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff found Rinsch guilty of wire fraud, money laundering and other charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York announced. Attorney Benjamin Zeman, who represents Rinsch, denounced the verdict in a statement shared Friday.

“I think the verdict was wrong and I fear that this could set a dangerous precedent for artists who become embroiled in contractual and creative disputes with their benefactors,” Zeman said, “in this case one of the largest media companies in the world, finding themselves indicted by the federal government for fraud.”

A representative for Netflix did not comment on Rinsch’s conviction.

Federal prosecutors alleged in a March indictment that the $11 million was meant to go toward finishing a TV show in which $44 million had already been invested. Prosecutors allege the money instead went into Rinsch’s personal accounts, his personal spending and his personal gains and losses. The director, 48, “quickly transferred” the money from the Rinsch Co. account, where it had been deposited March 6, 2020, by Netflix, through a number of additional accounts until about $10.5 million wound up weeks later in a personal brokerage account. Rinsch proceeded to lose more than half of that money in less than two months via risky investments in the stock market, the indictment said.

Though he told the streamer that his sci-fi show “White Horse” was “awesome and moving forward really well,” Rinsch, over the next couple of years, allegedly moved the remaining money into cryptocurrency and ultimately profited from crypto speculation. He was accused of spending around $10 million on five Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, watches, clothing, luxury bedding and linens, credit card bills, attorneys to sue Netflix for more money, and lawyers to work on his divorce.

According to the indictment, about $3.8 million was spent on furniture and antiques, including two mattresses that cost $638,000 total. The half-dozen cars cost a little over $2.4 million.

Rinsch was arrested in West Hollywood in March and released the same day after agreeing to post a $100,000 bond to guarantee his appearance in a New York federal court.

“Carl Erik Rinsch took $11 million meant for a TV show and gambled it on speculative stock options and crypto transactions,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Thursday. “Today’s conviction shows that when someone steals from investors, we will follow the money and hold them accountable.”

Rinsch never finished the show. His sentencing is set for April.

Times assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

The U.S. Justice Department is suing four more states as part of its effort to collect detailed voting data and other election information across the country.

The department filed federal lawsuits against Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Nevada on Thursday, accusing them of “failing to produce statewide voter registration lists upon request.” So far, 18 states have been sued, including California, along with Fulton County in Georgia, which was sued over records related to the 2020 election, which President Trump continues to falsely claim he won.

The Trump administration has characterized the lawsuits as part of an effort to ensure the security of elections, and the Justice Department says the states are violating federal law by refusing to provide the voter lists and information about ineligible voters.

The lawsuits have raised concerns among some Democratic officials and voting rights advocates who question exactly how the data will be used, and whether the department will follow privacy laws to protect the information. Some of the data sought include names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

“States have the statutory duty to preserve and protect their constituents from vote dilution,” Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release. “At this Department of Justice, we will not permit states to jeopardize the integrity and effectiveness of elections by refusing to abide by our federal elections laws. If states will not fulfill their duty to protect the integrity of the ballot, we will.”

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said her office declined to provide unredacted voter data.

“We will not hand over Coloradans’ sensitive voting information to Donald Trump. He does not have a legal right to the information,” Griswold said Thursday after the lawsuit was filed. “I will continue to protect our elections and democracy, and look forward to winning this case.”

Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, also a Democrat, said the Justice Department hasn’t provided clear answers about how the data will be used, and he has a duty to follow state law and protect voters’ sensitive information and access to the ballot.

“While these requests may seem like normal oversight, the federal government is using its power to try to intimidate states and influence how states administer elections ahead of the 2026 cycle,” Aguilar said in a news release. “The Constitution makes it clear: elections are run by the states.”

In a Sept. 22 letter to the Justice Department, Hawaii Deputy Solicitor Gen. Thomas Hughes said state law requires that all personal information required on a voter registration district other than a voter’s full name, voting district or precinct and voter status must be kept confidential. Hughes also said the federal law cited by the Justice Department doesn’t require states to turn over electronic registration lists, nor does it require states to turn over “uniquely or highly sensitive personal information” about voters.

An Associated Press tally found that the Justice Department has asked at least 26 states for voter registration rolls in recent months, and in many cases asked states for information on how they maintain their voter rolls. In addition to California, other states being sued by the Justice Department include Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Nearly all the states are Democrat-led, and several are crucial swing states.

The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5 to 1 on Thursday against turning over unredacted voter information to the Trump administration. The lone dissenter was Republican commissioner Robert Spindell, who warned that rejecting the request would invite a lawsuit. But other commissioners said it would be illegal under Wisconsin law to provide the voter roll information, which includes the full names, dates of birth, residential addresses and driver’s license numbers of voters.

Boone writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., contributed to this report.

The saga of a Los Angeles Army veteran who legally immigrated to the United States, was wounded in combat and self-deported to South Korea earlier this year, became a flashpoint during a testy congressional hearing about the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was grilled Thursday on Capitol Hill about military veterans deported during the immigration crackdown launched earlier this year, including in Los Angeles.

“Sir, we have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans,” Noem responded when questioned by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.).

Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Thursday. He was joined on a video call by Sae Joon Park, a U.S. military veteran who self-deported to South Korea.

(Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press)

An aide then held up a tablet showing a Zoom connection with Purple Heart recipient Sae Joon Park in South Korea. The congressman argued that Park had “sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have” and asked Noem if she would investigate Park’s case, given her discretion as a Cabinet member. Noem pledged to “absolutely look at his case.”

Park, reached in Seoul on Thursday night, said he was skeptical that Noem would follow through on her promise, but said that he had “goosebumps” watching the congressional hearing.

“It was amazing. And then I’m getting tons of phone calls from all my friends back home and everywhere else. I’m so very grateful for everything that happened today,” Park, 56, said, noting that friends told him that a clip of his story appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show Thursday night.

The late-night host featured footage of Park’s moment in the congressional hearing in his opening monologue.

“Is anyone OK with this? Seriously, all kidding aside, we deported a veteran with a Purple Heart?” Kimmel said, adding that Republicans “claim to care so much about veterans, but they don’t at all.”

Park legally immigrated to the United States when he was 7, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley, and joined the Army after graduating from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988.

Sae Joon Park received a Purple Heart while serving in the Army.

(From Sae Joon Park)

The green card holder was deployed to Panama in 1989 as the U.S. tried to depose the nation’s de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. Park was shot twice and honorably discharged. Suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, he self-medicated with illicit drugs, went to prison after jumping bail on drug possession charges, became sober and raised two children in Hawaii.

Earlier this year, when Park checked in for his annual meeting with federal officials to verify his sobriety and employment, he was given the option of being immediately detained and deported, or wearing an ankle monitor for three weeks as he got his affairs in order before leaving the country for a decade.

At the time, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park had an “extensive criminal history” and had been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport.

Park chose to leave the country voluntarily. He initially struggled to acclimate in a nation he hasn’t lived in since he was a child, but said Thursday night that his mental state — and his Korean-language skills — have improved.

“It hasn’t been easy. Of course, I miss home like crazy,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can. I’m usually a very positive person, so I feel like everything happens for a reason, and I’m just trying to hang in there until hopefully I make it back home.”

Among Park’s top concerns when he left the United States in June was that his mother, who is 86 and struggling with dementia, would die while he couldn’t return to the county. But her lack of awareness about his situation has been somewhat of a strange blessing, Park said.

“She really doesn’t know I’m even here. So every time I talk to her, she’s like, ‘Oh, where are you?’ And I tell her, and she’s like, ‘Oh, when are you coming home? Oh, why are you there?’” Park said. “In a weird way, it’s kind of good because she doesn’t have to worry about me all the time. But at the same time, I would love to be next to her while she’s going through this.”

The FSA has joined Football Supporters Europe (FSE) in demanding the sales process is stopped so fans’ groups can hold talks with Fifa over its pricing policy.

“We back Football Supporters Europe in calling for a halt in ticket sales and we are calling on the Football Association to work with fellow FAs to directly challenge these disgraceful prices,” the FSA said in a statement.

“We call on all national associations to stand up for your supporters, without whom there would be no professional game.”

Fifa has yet to comment on the criticism, while both the FA and the Scottish FA have yet to comment on the ticket prices.

BBC Sport has been told the FA is aware that England fans are angry, and is planning to pass on those concerns to Fifa.

There is a Fifa Council meeting in Doha next week, and FA chair Debbie Hewitt will be present. Last month she said she was opposed to dynamic ticket pricing, and has vowed it will not be used at Euro 2028, which the UK and Ireland is hosting.

With the Home Nations FAs hoping to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup, they – and the UK government – may be wary of upsetting Fifa.

Privately, Fifa insiders say while tickets will seem expensive to many, the governing body has a duty to set prices with the US market in mind, grow the game around the world, and to use its revenues to develop men’s, women’s and youth football.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has also promised to achieve record revenues, and the most lucrative sports event in history will do no harm to his re-election hopes in 2027.

The huge increase in the price of tickets was revealed on Thursday when Fifa released allocation details for the official supporters’ groups of each country.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, group stage fixtures all had set prices of £68.50, £164.50 or £219.

But for England v Croatia and Scotland v Brazil next year, tickets cost around £198, £373 or £523.

The cost ramps up considerably in the latter stages.

Quarter-finals for all teams are £507, £757 and £1,073, with the semi-finals £686, £1,819 and £2,363.

The cheapest tickets for the final are £3,119, seven times more expensive than in Qatar.

There are no concessions across any of its tickets for children or other groups.

Next year’s World Cup, the first time 48 nations will be taking part, takes place from Thursday, 11 June to Sunday, 19 July, with the draw made last Friday.

While Colombia v Portugal has been the most popular match so far, Fifa says that is followed by Brazil v Morocco (New Jersey, 13 June), Mexico v South Korea (Guadalajara, 18 June), Ecuador v Germany (New Jersey, 25 June), and Scotland v Brazil (Miami, 24 June).

According to Fifa, the most requests for tickets have come from the three host nations, followed by Colombia, England, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Scotland, Germany, Australia, France and Panama.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that he is nervous about the public response to his forthcoming autobiography’s candid details about his life and those around him.

“Just being honest — it comes with a cost,” said Newsom, who made the rounds at a Democratic National Committee meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Newsom, who already acknowledged that he is considering a 2028 bid for president, said he didn’t hold back in the book. His co-writer, former Los Angeles Times reporter Mark Arax, told the governor that he wouldn’t be a part of the project unless Newsom was forthcoming.

“And then you read stuff and [wonder] ‘Oh, how’s this going to read?’” said Newsom, who expects that conservative commentators will attack him over some passages.

“This is not a politician’s book, it’s not a book that you would expect me” to write, he said.

“It’s all out there.”

Many of the turbulent and personally traumatic chapters of the California politician’s life are already well-documented. In 2007, Newsom, then mayor of San Francisco, acknowledged that he had an affair with the wife of a longtime aide.

Newsom’s mother, Tessie Newsom, ended her life in 2002 at age 55 through assisted suicide after a long fight with breast cancer.

The governor has also talked about growing up watching his mother struggle to make ends meet, and how oil executive Gordon Getty and his wife, Ann, gave him experiences his parents could not afford, including an African safari when he was a teen.

It’s the third book for Newsom and comes at a pivotal time. Not only is the California governor considering a White House run, he’s become a persistent foil to President Trump and vocal critic to his controversial policies, including the administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles and failure to provide adequate federal assistance to California wildfire victims.

A promotional book tour would offer a chance to meet with voters in swing states and to appear on a range of media platforms. A memoir specifically allows the governor to reintroduce himself on his own terms at a moment when national interest in his political future is growing.

Newsom’s visit to the DNC meeting was one of his few public events since news broke that his former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, was arrested on federal corruption charges.

Williamson’s attorney McGregor Scott, a former U.S. attorney in Sacramento, told The Times in November that federal authorities had approached Williamson more than a year ago seeking help with some kind of investigation of the governor. Newsom has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Some aspects of the case described in the Williamson indictment match that of a controversial sex discrimination investigation that the state of California led into one of the world’s largest video game companies, Santa-Monica based Activision Blizzard Inc.

Newsom told The Times on Thursday that he doesn’t know whether the U.S. Department of Justice is looking into the state’s handling of the Activision case.

“I don’t know any details about it, but I’m aware of the subject matter, absolutely,” Newsom said.

In 2021, the state sued Activision, accusing it of discriminating against women and ignoring reports of egregious sexual harassment. One of the lawyers overseeing the case for the state was fired by the Newsom administration. Her chief deputy resigned and alleged that she was doing so to protest alleged interference from Newsom’s office in the investigation, a claim that the governor’s office denied.

Newsom’s visit to the Democratic National Committee meeting on Thursday was somewhat of a victory lap for the governor after passage of Proposition 50, the ballot measure that redrew California’s congressional maps to favor Democratic candidates in next year’s midterm elections.

The governor proposed the measure after President Trump asked Texas to redraw its congressional maps in an effort to keep Republican control of Congress.

Walking through the hallways of the InterContinental hotel, Newsom stopped every few yards for conversations with committee members at Thursday’s conference or to pose for photos. He also huddled with a group from Missouri, where Democrats are seeking to overturn new districts created by Republicans.

The governor told reporters that he would help fundraise for the Missouri Democrats’ ballot measure.

His forthcoming book, which will be published in February, is intensely personal, he said in a promotional video released this week. Many people see only his “stark white shirt, blue suit and, yeah, the gelled hair, and they think ‘Oh, I know this guy,’” he said in the video.

“This is a story about a kid who always felt like he wasn’t quite enough,” Newsom said in the video. “This is a truly vulnerable book, it was incredibly hard, even painful, to write.”

Newsom’s first book, “Citizenville, How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government,” came out in 2013 after he’d been elected lieutenant governor. He released a children’s book, “Ben and Emma’s Big Hit” in 2021 about a young boy’s love of baseball and attempts to overcome his struggles with dyslexia. The story was inspired by Newsom’s own history with dyslexia.

Last week, Newsom traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers and renew calls for billions in federal recovery aid after the Los Angeles fires.

On Thursday, Newsom announced he will deliver his final State of the State address Jan. 8 as he begins his final year as governor. Newsom has delivered his remarks in writing the last five years, breaking with the decades-old tradition of an annual in-person address to lawmakers in the state Capitol. His most recent written State of the State came unusually late, in September.

“Over the past seven years, we have tackled some of the state’s most significant problems and improved countless lives in this miraculous state, blessed and challenged by Mother Nature and enriched by ingenuity and hard work,” Newsom wrote to legislative leaders Thursday in calling for his address to be delivered in person during a joint session of the Legislature.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday linked the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela to the Trump administration’s counterdrug efforts in Latin America as tensions escalate with the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Noem’s assertion, which came during her testimony to the House Homeland Security Committee, provided the Republican administration’s most thorough explanation so far of why it took control of the vessel on Wednesday. Incredibly unusual, the use of U.S. forces to seize a merchant ship was a sharp escalation in the administration’s pressure campaign on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States.

Trump officials added to it Thursday by imposing sanctions on three of Maduro’s nephews. The Venezuelan leader discussed the rising tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin reaffirmed his support for Maduro’s policy of “protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure.”

Asked to delineate the U.S. Coast Guard’s role in the tanker seizure, Noem called it “a successful operation directed by the president to ensure that we’re pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs and killing our next generation of Americans.”

Noem went on to lay out the ”lethal doses of cocaine” she said had been kept from entering the U.S. as a result.

Asked Thursday whether U.S. operations in the region were about drugs or oil, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also gave a bifurcated answer, saying the administration was “focused on doing many things in the Western Hemisphere.” She noted that such seizures could continue, arguing that the commodities being transported were used to fund the illegal drug trade.

“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narcoterrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” she said.

The Justice Department had obtained a warrant for the vessel because it had been known for “carrying black market, sanctioned oil,” Leavitt said, adding that “the United States does intend to get the oil” that was onboard the tanker.

Trump told reporters a day earlier at the White House that the tanker “was seized for a very good reason.” Asked what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker, Trump said, “Well, we keep it, I guess.”

The U.S. has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, a campaign that is facing growing scrutiny from Congress.

Trump, who has said land attacks are coming soon but has not offered more details, has broadly justified the moves as necessary to stem the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the U.S.

Venezuela’s government said in a statement that the tanker seizure “constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.” Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the U.S. military operations is to force him from office.

Kinnard writes for the Associated Press.