turns

From Jack Harris: The celebration had hardly begun, when Shohei Ohtani first voiced the theme of the day.

“I’m already thinking about the third time,” he said in Japanese, standing atop a double-decker bus in downtown Los Angeles with thousands of blue-clad, flag-waving, championship-celebrating Dodgers fans lining the streets around him for the team’s 2025 World Series parade.

Turns out, he wasn’t alone.

Two days removed from a dramatic Game 7 victory that made the Dodgers baseball’s first repeat champion in 25 years, the team rolled through the streets of downtown and into a sold-out rally at Dodger Stadium on Monday already thinking about what lies ahead in 2026.

With three titles in the last six seasons, their modern-day dynasty might now be cemented.

But their goal of adding to this “golden era of Dodger baseball,” as top executive Andrew Friedman has repeatedly called it, is far from over.

“All I have to say to you,” owner and chairman Mark Walter told the 52,703 fans at the team’s stadium rally, “is we’ll be back next year.”

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Photos: World Series champion Dodgers parade through Downtown L.A.

Fernando Valenzuela to be considered for National Baseball Hall of Fame induction

DODGERS POLL

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the pitching star for the Dodgers, but who would you consider to be the hitting star in the World Series?

Shohei Ohtani, who hit .333 with three doubles, three homers, five RBIs and six runs scored

Will Smith, who hit .267 with two doubles, two homers and a team-leading six RBIs, including the go-ahead homer in the 11th inning of Game 7

Max Muncy, who hit .214 with two homers, including a clutch homer in the eighth inning of Game 7 to bring the Dodgers within one

Miguel Rojas, who only went two for 10 but hit that tying, ninth-inning homer in Game 7

or someone else?

Vote here in our poll and let us know.

LAKERS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: After Nick Smith Jr. had scored eight consecutive points, slashing to the rim for a layup followed by two deep threes, Rui Hachimura could tell the 21-year-old guard was going to deliver a big game just when the Lakers needed it.

“Keep going,” Hachimura encouraged Smith during a second-quarter timeout.

Smith did. Straight to the tunnel, where the third-year guard got sick.

With their three biggest stars out, the Lakers literally gutted out a 123-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday at Moda Center as Smith fought through an uneasy stomach to notch 25 points and six assists in the Lakers’ fourth consecutive victory.

Smith, playing on a two-way contract with the South Bay Lakers, gave the Lakers (6-2) the perfect substitute off the bench as Luka Doncic (leg) and Austin Reaves (groin) sat out. He delivered electric shooting, making five of six shots from three-point range. With the team’s primary ball-handlers sidelined against an aggressive Portland defense, Smith steadied the offense. He also ignited it with 17 second-half points.

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Lakers box score

NBA standings

CLIPPERS

Bam Adebayo had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Norman Powell added 21 points in his return to Southern California and the Miami Heat held off the Clippers 120-119 on Monday night.

Powell was a key member of the Clippers for three seasons before being traded to the Heat before this season

Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points and Kel’el Ware added 16 to help the Heat end a two-game losing streak and win on the road for the second time in five games. Miami is 1-2 to open a four-game trip.

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Clippers box score

NBA standings

RAMS

From Gary Klein: Puka Nacua returned to the Rams’ lineup in spectacular fashion, catching a touchdown pass, amassing nearly 100 yards receiving and picking up key yardage on a fourth-down jet sweep during a victory over the New Orleans Saints.

But that rushing play, which ended with a crushing hit, came with a cost.

On Monday, Nacua was scheduled to have a scan of his injured ribs, though coach Sean McVay said during a videoconference with reporters that “I feel optimistic … in regard to where we’re potentially heading.”

McVay on Monday said he felt “sick” about leaving Nacua susceptible to injury because of the play call.

“I’m kicking myself about putting him in that spot where he sustained that shot to the ribs,” McVay said

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CHARGERS

From Sam Farmer: A bad situation on the Chargers offensive line just got worse, as the team announced Monday that standout left tackle Joe Alt will undergo season-ending ankle surgery.

Alt, who missed three games earlier in the season because of an ankle injury, re-injured the same ankle during Sunday’s victory at the Tennessee Titans when linebacker Jihad Ward was blocked into the back of his legs.

“Feel bad for Joe,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. “I know it’s going to be OK. It’s not going to be life-altering. Feel bad for him.”

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UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: It was the sort of postgame rant that Mick Cronin usually saves for a bad loss at a time when he’s trying to swing a season back in the right direction.

This one came after a victory in the season’s first game.

That’s how few positive takeaways there were for UCLA on Monday night on its home court.

Having beaten two quality opponents in exhibition games, the 12th-ranked Bruins struggled mightily in a game that counted against a team from the Big Sky Conference.

Most of the problems came on the defensive end.

“There’s so many mistakes,” Cronin said after his team held on for an 80-74 victory over Eastern Washington at Pauley Pavilion, “I’d like to fire myself for our defense.”

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UCLA box score

————

From Kara Alexander: The No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball team won its first game of the season, defeating feisty San Diego State 77–53 on Monday at the Honda Center.

The Bruins (1–0) built an eight-point lead in the first quarter, but the unranked Aztecs (0–1) managed to cut the deficit by three by the end of the period.

San Diego State struggled to score in the second quarter when UCLA went on a 12–2 run.

The scoring gap continued to increase as the Bruins extended their lead to 15 points, ending the first half with a 37–22 advantage.

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UCLA box score

USC BASKETBALL

From Andrés Soto: For most of Monday night, USC played exactly like a team with 13 new players.

Coach Eric Musselman’s preseason concerns about the Trojans’ offense likely were not abated after USC struggled in the first half of its season opener against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at Galen Center.

Cal Poly, a mid-major coming off a 16-19 season, wouldn’t let USC run away with the game, with the Trojans clinging to a six-point lead at halftime.

But then sophomore forward Jacob Cofie — one of 10 transfer portal additions — came alive in the second half, notching a 23-point double-double as the Trojans pulled away for a comfortable 94-64 win.

Continue reading here

USC box score

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1934 — The Detroit Lions rush for an NFL-record 426 yards in a 40-7 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The only bright spot for the Pirates is scoring the first touchdown against Detroit this season, ending the Lions’ shutout streak at seven games.

1951 — The U.S. wins six of eight singles matches and ties another to win the Ryder Cup 9½-2½ over Britain at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

1960 — Wilt Chamberlain of Philadelphia scores 44 points and sets an NBA record by missing all 10 of his free throws in the Warriors 136-121 victory the Detroit Pistons.

1984 — Seattle’s Dave Brown returns two interceptions for touchdowns in a 31-17 triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs.

1987 — NBA announces four new franchises; Charlotte and Miami for 1988 and Minneapolis and Orlando for 1989.

1989 — Sunday Silence holds off the late charge by favorite Easy Goer to win the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a neck at Gulfstream Park.

2000 — R.J. Bowers rushes for 128 yards to become the first player in NCAA history to gain 7,000 yards in his career, leading Grove City past Carnegie Mellon 14-10.

2000 — In the highest scoring Division I-AA game in NCAA history, Ricky Ray passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns and scores three more to lead Sacramento State over Cal State Northridge 64-61.

2006 — Rod Brind’Amour of Carolina scores his 1,000th career point, assisting on a goal in the Hurricanes’ 3-2 win over Ottawa.

2007 — Adrian Peterson runs for an NFL-record 296 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota’s 35-17 win over San Diego.

2012 — Andrew Luck breaks the NFL’s single-game rookie record by throwing for 433 yards in leading Indianapolis to a 23-20 win over Miami

2016 — Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell and Josh Anderson score two goals apiece and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat Montreal 10-0, matching the biggest loss in the Canadiens’ storied history.

2017 — Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw rushes for a career-high 265 yards and Army ends Air Force’s 306-game scoring streak with a 21-0 victory.

2017 — With a 31-24 overtime victory over Nebraska, Northwestern becomes the first Football Bowl Subdivision program to win three consecutive overtime games.

Compiled by the Associated Press

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1959 — Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks wins his second consecutive NL MVP award.

1976 — Baseball holds its first free agent draft with 24 players from 13 major league clubs participating. Reggie Jackson eventually signs the most lucrative contract of the group, $2.9 million over five years with the New York Yankees. Others free agents are Joe Rudi, Don Gullett, Gene Tenace, Rollie Fingers, Don Baylor, Bobby Grich and Willie McCovey.

2001 — Luis Gonzalez’s RBI single caps a two-run rally off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth, and the Arizona Diamondbacks win their first championship by beating the New York Yankees 3-2 in Game 7.

2009 — The New York Yankees win the World Series, beating the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 behind Hideki Matsui’s record-tying six RBIs.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Nov. 1 (UPI) — As daylight saving time ends overnight Saturday, a large majority of Americans will turn their clocks back and gain an extra hour of sleep early Sunday morning.

Many clocks will self-adjust at the appropriate time, such as the clocks on computers and cell phones, but others still must be changed manually.

The official time to turn the clocks back is 2 a.m. in states that participate in daylight saving time, which many view as an opportunity to get in an extra hour of celebration in states and locales that require bars to close at 2 a.m. or later.

Most of Canada and northern Mexico also will change their clocks as daylight saving time ends for them.

The purpose is to add an hour of daylight during the morning hours during the winter months and an extra hour of daylight during the evening hours during the summer months, according to USA Today.

Most of Arizona and all of Hawaii do not follow daylight saving time, though, which means clocks will remain the same as the rest of the nation joins them on standard time.

Arizona, with the exception of the Navajo Nation, forgoes daylight saving time due to the summers there being so hot.

Hawaii does not participate in daylight saving time due to its close proximity to the Equator and relatively consistent daylight hours throughout the year.

The U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands likewise do not participate in daylight savings time due to their relatively stable hours of sunlight.

Daylight saving time started this year on March 9, and Sunday marks its earliest end since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed the end date from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November, starting in 2007.

The act also changed its start date to the second Sunday in March, which extended daylight saving time by about four weeks per year.

Daylight saving time returns at 2 a.m. on March 8, 2026.

Germany was the first nation to adjust its clocks in 1916 during World War I, with the goal of reducing its energy usage.

Other nations, including the United States, soon followed.

Daylight saving time became a requirement in the United States upon the adoption of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, but states have the ability to opt out.

No state, however, has the option of permanently setting their clocks on daylight saving time.

Acceptance of the annual fall and spring time changes is not universal.

A CBS/YouGov poll in 2022 showed 80% of respondents favored keeping daylight saving time in effect all year, and the Senate that year passed the Sunshine Protection Act.

The measure died in the House of Representatives, however, as it chose not to bring it up for a vote.

Nineteen states, though, are prepared to eliminate the time change if Congress passes enabling legislation to do so.

A measure that would do so has been introduced in the Senate, but it has not been put up for a vote.

Emmerdale may have aired a brutal and unexpected death on Thursday night, as one teen committed a violent act in self-defence as the County Lines plot escalated

Another death could be looming on Emmerdale, months on from multiple characters facing grim demises.

Thursday’s episode hinted a character had been killed off without warning, while another villager could face a grim fate too. A character was attacked with a glass bottle, and left lifeless and bleeding in dramatic scenes.

There was also concern for missing teenager Dylan Penders who had not been seen since another run-in with villain Ray Walters. As for the possible death victim, newcomer Callum was attacked in self-defence by teenager April Windsor.

She was left shaken when she saw Callum slumped on the bed after she hit him, with blood pouring from his head. He looked dead if not seriously injured, while fans will have to tune in on Friday to find out his fate.

READ MORE: Coronation Street star reveals favourite’s return and teases mystery new characterREAD MORE: Emmerdale fans fume over ‘invisible’ character: ‘How has no one noticed?’

He had just forced himself on April, attempting to rape her after she tried to flee the room they were in. She’d been sent there by Ray and evil Celia, who are heading up a dangerous drugs scheme which April and Dylan have been drugged into.

Convincing April and Dylan they are in serious debt, Ray and Celia have made it clear that they expect 16-year-old April to have sex with their clients to pay the money back, and to keep their clients returning. The grim storyline has also seen the pair getting closer to other villagers linked to April to put on the pressure.

April is terrified, and reluctantly agreed to meet with client Callum knowing he was paying Ray and Celia to sleep with her. As the episode went on, a scared April decided she didn’t want to go through with it.

Callum turned on her though, claiming he didn’t care what she did or didn’t want and he was “gonna do it anyway”. He then warned her there was no escape as he’d locked them both in.

As he began to undress the teenager, April freaked out and pushed him away only for him to grab her. As she managed to get him off, she picked up the vodka bottle and slammed it over his head.

Callum landed on the bed lifeless, with blood pouring out from his head. April gasped as she watched on terrified, but has she killed him? If she has, how will Celia and Ray react?

It comes as Mark Charnock, who plays April’s father Marlon Dingle, teased a massive twist is on the way. He said something that happens in a special episode with April and Marlon left him “thrown”.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

MODEL Emily Ratajkowski looks a real treasure at an exhibition to celebrate the Swarovski jewellery brand.

The US star, 34, wore a revealing black coat and glittering crystal necklace at the Los Angeles event marking the Austrian company’s links to Hollywood.

Reality TV sisters Sarah Jane Nader, 23, and Brooks Nader, 28, also sparkled on the red carpet.

They are appearing in the Disney+ show Love Thy Nader, which follows their attempts to make it as models in New York.

Brooks said: “I’m shocked because I know that we’re just psychos at heart.”

It comes as Emily last week bared her soul about how she suffered from self-doubt.

‘I’M SHOCKED’

Kirsty Gallacher breaks down after being kicked ‘like a football’ by man

NOT HOLDING BACK

Lily Allen’s fresh scathing attack on David Harbour’s ‘mistress’ Madeline

She revealed how writing her 2021 memoir My Body had sparked feelings of inadequacy.

The best-selling author, whose memoir has sold millions of copies, recently teamed up with Lena Dunham, 39, creator of TV series Girls, for a brand new show. 

Talking to Beyond Noise magazine, Emily said: “I’ve had a real journey related to imposter syndrome. I wrote my book literally on my phone.” 

She added: “That was five years ago.

“Now I have a desk. I have my bookshelf. I have a proper computer.

“I’ve really embraced it, but I loved how I could trick myself into thinking what I was doing wasn’t important.” 

Edinburgh is a stunning city at any time of year, but it’s said to be particularly beautiful during autumn when the leaves turn into shades of yellow, orange, and red.

One travel blogger on Ourcrossings described the city as “beautiful” throughout the year, but particularly stunning during autumn.

There’s reportedly an “extra dose of magic” as foliage transforms into hues of yellow, orange, and red.

The blogger observed: “With colourful leaves framing its every corner, Edinburgh turns into an autumnal dreamland that feels like a world away from the rest of Europe.”

Edinburgh presents a magnificent sight, positioned against the majestic Castle backdrop, and boasts numerous parks for visitors to explore.

Key locations include Princes Street Gardens, where you can stroll towards attractions such as the Scott Monument, Ross Fountain, and the National Museum of Scotland, reports the Express.

Additionally, there’s the Royal Botanic Garden, the adjacent Inverleith Park – merely a three-minute stroll away – and Edinburgh Old Town.

“The Old Town is home to some of Edinburgh’s biggest and best attractions,” highlighted Forever Edinburgh.

Renowned landmarks feature Edinburgh Castle, St Giles’ Cathedral, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The Palace serves as the official Royal Residence in Edinburgh where guests can view Mary Queen of Scots’ bedchamber.

Edinburgh has also gained recognition for its guided walks, allowing you to discover stories from historical periods whilst becoming familiar with the ancient city.

Forever Edinburgh suggests Mercy Tours to uncover stories of murder and mystery along the cobblestone streets.

For those who fancy a bit of exploration, GuruWalk’s free walking tours allow you to hop-on and hop-off at various intriguing spots.

Not to mention, the Scottish capital is brimming with snug pubs, delightful eateries and shops just waiting to be discovered.

The airline said Andy would need to pay almost four times the price of his ticket if he wanted the bag on the plane

A man was charged over a thousand pounds – to take one extra suitcase on his Qatar Airways flight. Andy Donovan, 23, planned a trip to Kingsbury, Melbourne, for six months to play cricket over the Australian summer.

He booked a Cathay Pacific flight, which included a transfer in Hong Kong. But he switched his ticket that morning for a Qatar Airways flight to Melbourne, via Doha, Qatar, when he saw the ‘super typhoon Ragasa’ was headed for Hong Kong.

The flight, on September 22, cost him £312.28 to book. Andy’s bag allowance changed with his flights and was reduced to one bag of checked luggage, rather than two, as his Cathay Pacific flight had been. As Andy needed two suitcases – one for his possessions and a second for cricket kit – he attempted to buy an extra bag on the Qatar Airways website but claims it kept crashing.

So he resolved to pay at the airport – until, to his horror, he was charged £1,103.72 for his additional 25kg bag. Andy, a marketing executive, from Exeter, Devon, said: “I thought I could pay for the extra luggage in person – I knew it might be more, but I didn’t think it would be that much. It was several times the cost of the actual ticket, it didn’t make any sense.

“I was in shock. I had no choice but to pay it because I needed my kit. It’s personalised to me for my specifications so I couldn’t just replace it.

“They charge you per kilo you’re over the limit, and I had a whole extra 25kg bag. I wasn’t offered to buy a whole extra bag at the airport.”

Andy said it wasn’t explained to him how the charge was calculated but he paid it so he could still fly. Qatar Airways’ website states that within six hours of departure, per additional kg of luggage, there is a $60 (approx £44.60) charge. Andy plays for the Philippines national cricket team.

His younger sister, Katherine Donovan, 21, also plays for that team and he claims she had taken the same flight a week earlier, with two bags, with no issues. But ahead of Andy’s departure, dad Barry Donovan, 81, a retired pilot, was the one who spotted news of the typhoon near Hong Kong the day of the flight.

To avoid his son being stuck in Hong Kong airport, he advised Andy switch to a flight which transferred elsewhere, which he was allowed to do because Barry had privileges as an ex-employee of Cathay Pacific. On the day of the flight, Andy instead got a ticket for a Qatar Airways flight to Melbourne, via Doha, Qatar.

Andy had to call Barry for a loan to cover the costs – as he had no choice to pay if he still wanted to fly. Barry compared the policy to “extortion” and feels “someone should go to jail for this”. Barry said: “We got the tickets sorted for Andy, but nowhere on the tickets was the luggage restriction mentioned.

“He tried to book an extra bag online but couldn’t. When he rang me from the airport, I told him to just pay whatever they charged, and we’d sort the money later. But when he told me what that was, I couldn’t believe what they charged him.”

“£1,100 is totally unacceptable. It’s extortion – ‘give us the money, or you don’t travel at all’.”

Barry says both he and Andy have attempted to contact Qatar Airways but have not received a response. Barry added: “How many other people have they done this to? It’s just not right.”

Qatar Airways has been approached for comment.

Junior quarterback Nathaniel Cadet, who has a 4.5 grade-point average, is so passionate about football at Marshall High that the coaches sometimes have to order him to go home or they won’t be able to leave school.

“He’s one of those kids we have to beg to leave,” first-year head coach Jose Razo said. “I can’t name anyone who works harder. The kid has a drive I’ve never seen.”

Cadet tutors players on academics and football. His contributions have been key in Marshall going 6-0 entering its Northern League opener against host Eagle Rock on Friday. Cadet has passed for 691 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Razo has his own interesting story. He’s a 2007 Marshall graduate who spent 17 years as an assistant coach under three head coaches before getting the job this season. The Barristers have wins over Glendale, Sylmar, Contreras, Belmont, L.A. Jordan and Jefferson.

Eagle Rock will present the toughest challenge yet with its outstanding quarterback Liam Pasten and coach Andy Moran, who used to coach at Marshall and is the Barristers’ all-time winningest coach. Razo played for Moran, who has a 12-0 record against his former school.

Cadet gets to be in the spotlight to show off his strong arm. “Sometimes our guys can’t catch it because he throws so hard,” Razo said.

Before the varsity game, two of the league’s top flag football teams will play at 5 p.m.

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

Just one week after Max Branning’s return – another legend will be returning as Ben Mitchell makes his surprise return to the soap for Jonno Highway’s funeral

If the return of Max Branning wasn’t enough, EastEnders are giving us yet another legendary return next week, as its time for Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) to return.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Ben, along with Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ) would be making a return for Jonno Highway’s funeral. But of course, with Callum’s recent fling with Johnny – there’s sure to be drama.

The Mitchells gather for the occasion at the start of the week, in which Callum tells Johnny it’s best to stay away to avoid suspicion. The pair then kiss, but Ben’s mum Kathy Beale secretly spots them. Phil, Kathy, Billy, Honey, Ian and Harvey collectively confront Callum, but things take a turn when he hits them with some home truths and tells Johnny he’s serious about the relationship – and asks him to the funeral.

READ MORE: EastEnders confirms ‘huge U-turn’ in Stacey Slater exit story next weekREAD MORE: EastEnders fans ‘rumble sinister reason’ for Jasmine’s arrival – and it’s not for Zoe

The Mitchells then tell Callum he needs to reveal all to Lexi and Ben after the funeral, but Callum gets the shock of his life when Ben turns up to the funeral unannounced.

Johnny and Stuart work hard to keep the truth under wraps during the funeral, but things get too much for Callum back at The Vic when Callum reasons he must tell Ben after Johnny tells him to keep quiet. But will he tell Ben and if so, how will he react?

As we know, Ben was sent to prison in the US, but next week, it will be revealed that he was transferred to a UK prison for turning informant on his cellmate and granted release for the funeral. It was said Ben’s return was only for a short stint, but could it end up being longer in the future?

Across the other side of the Square, Joel Marshall’s storyline takes the darkest turn yet – as he turns violent towards his stepmother Vicki Fowler.

An incident at school started by Joel and Tommy, raises debate in Walford as parents and their teens discuss the ramifications of the event, and the impact of harmful content online.

Kat, Alife, Ross and Vicki attempt to police Joel and Tommy on their misogynistic views, but things take a horrific turn and escalate when Joel hits Vicki…

Elsewhere, Priya, Ravi, Avani and Nugget reluctantly move back into No.41, sale as Suki attempts to build bridges with her family, and later meets Eve for a drink. To Suki’s shock, Eve reveals that she wants to adopt a baby with Suki.

Priya then spies Suki looking up information about adoption, and the family pass judgement – but will they go through with it?

As we know, Balvinder Sopal, who plays Suki, is currently taking part in Strictly Come Dancing. The actress has revealed she isn’t leaving the soap, but working on a “reduced schedule” while she takes part in the competition.

There’s fear for Kojo as he collapses yet again, as Harry realises he is still working for Ravi and Okie. Harry’s forced to turn to his dad Teddy for help as he attempts to catch Ravi and Okie out…

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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La Cañada High football coach Dave Avramovich said he has never heard anyone greet, question or call out running back Dash Paper by his last name. It’s always, “Dash!”

It’s an appropriate nickname (his real first name is Dashiell) for how he’s been performing on the football team for the 5-0 Spartans. In his latest game on Thursday night, Paper rushed for 189 yards and one touchdown in a 42-13 win over Maranatha.

The senior has gained 689 yards and scored six touchdowns.

“He’s awesome,” Avramovich said. “He’s grown up a ton. Last year he was the backup running back. He had a bunch of touchdowns called back because of penalties. We could see the explosiveness in practices and games. He’s running tough.”

La Cañada has wins over Crescenta Valley, La Salle and Maranatha, all neighboring schools. If they played and beat St. Francis, they could claim to be neighborhood champions.

“I don’t want to play St. Francis,” Avramovich said.

He’s become good friends with St. Francis coach Dean Herrington.

For now, it’s about watching Dash dash his way for touchdowns.

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

Sophomore running back Arman Papazyan was supposed to be the backup to his brother, Gev, this season at Glendale High. Then Gev went down with a season-ending injury. Little brother Arman came to the rescue.

He had 215 yards rushing in 32 carries in a loss to Marshall. He has continued to be a productive offensive weapon for 1-2 Glendale. He has 349 yards and five touchdowns in three games.

“He’s been carrying the load,” coach Manuel Lemus said. …

Several football teams are enjoying turnaround seasons. Westlake has gone from 0-10 to 4-0. Bellflower is 3-0 after going 0-10. L.A. University is 4-0 after going 2-9 last season, while L.A. Marshall and Norco are 4-0 after finishing 3-7 last season. …

Banning improved to 4-0 on Friday night with a 21-20 win over Garfield in which the Pilots stopped a two-point conversion attempt to win. Mauricio Ortiz Jr. made the game-saving tackle.

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

In his 36th season coaching, Angelo Gasca has been known for his quarterbacks and passing the ball at Venice High. Well, Air Gasca is taking a back seat to defense this season.

Last week, the Gondoliers improved to 2-1 with a 17-3 win over Harvard-Westlake that featured six tackles for losses by Jon Sharp and 11 tackles by Donner Livingston. Donte Ross had two interceptions. Gasca also points out Joseph Iwunze, Nicholas Stratman, Will Oeser, Joshua Aaron and Hector Lopez.

The team’s defensive coordinator, Iggy Porchia, is a Venice grad, so Gasca is enthused that his defense can make Venice a Western League title contender.

Most of the defensive players have grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher, which helps give options to the coaches because of their intelligence.

“Hard workers and very fast,” Gasca said.

Why does Gasca keep coaching?

“It’s taking your guys, a group of kids every year, and shaping them, developing them, on and off the field,” he said. “While ultimately helping them live out their dreams on the football field. All of this while they are navigating growing up. It’s everything and more, way more, than I could have ever imagined it being. That’s what being a part of this for so long has been. I am very grateful, to say the least, and also very proud.”

Venice plays at Norwalk on Friday night.

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

WASHINGTON — Former President Biden has decided to build his presidential library in Delaware and has tapped a group of former aides, friends and political allies to begin the heavy lift of fundraising and finding a site for the museum and archive.

The Joe and Jill Biden Foundation this past week approved a 13-person governance board that is charged with steering the project. The board includes former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, longtime adviser Steve Ricchetti, prolific Democratic fundraiser Rufus Gifford and others with deep ties to the one-term president and his wife.

Biden’s library team has the daunting task of raising money for the 46th president’s legacy project at a moment when his party has become fragmented about the way ahead and many big Democratic donors have stopped writing checks.

It also remains to be seen whether corporations and institutional donors that have historically donated to presidential library projects — regardless of the party of the former president — will be more hesitant to contribute, with President Trump maligning Biden on a daily basis and savaging groups he deems left-leaning.

The political climate has changed

“There’s certainly folks — folks who may have been not thinking about those kinds of issues who are starting to think about them,” Gifford, who was named chairman of the library board, told The Associated Press. “That being said … we’re not going to create a budget, we’re not going to set a goal for ourselves that we don’t believe we can hit.”

The cost of presidential libraries has soared over the decades.

The George H.W. Bush library’s construction cost came in at about $43 million when it opened in 1997. Bill Clinton’s cost about $165 million. George W. Bush’s team met its $500 million fundraising goal before the library was dedicated.

The Obama Foundation has set a whopping $1.6 billion fundraising goal for construction, sustaining global programming and seeding an endowment for the Chicago presidential center that is slated to open next year.

Biden’s library team is still in the early stages of planning, but Gifford predicted that the cost of the project would probably “end up somewhere in the middle” of the Obama Presidential Center and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

Biden advisers have met with officials operating 12 of the 13 presidential libraries with a bricks and mortar presence that the National Archives and Records Administration manages. (They skipped the Herbert Hoover library in Iowa, which is closed for renovations.) They’ve also met Obama library officials to discuss programming and location considerations and have begun talks with Delaware leaders to assess potential partnerships.

Private money builds them

Construction and support for programming for the libraries are paid for with private funds donated to the nonprofit organizations established by the former president.

The initial vision is for the Biden library to include an immersive museum detailing Biden’s four years in office.

The Bidens also want it to be a hub for leadership, service and civic engagement that will include educational and event space to host policy gatherings.

Biden, who ended his bid for a second White House term 107 days before last year’s election, has been relatively slow to move on presidential library planning compared with most of his recent predecessors.

Clinton announced Little Rock, Arkansas, would host his library weeks into his second term. Barack Obama selected Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side as the site for his presidential center before he left office, and George W. Bush selected Southern Methodist University in Dallas before finishing his second term.

One-termer George H.W. Bush announced in 1991, more than a year before he would lose his reelection bid, that he would establish his presidential library at Texas A&M University after he left office.

Trump taps legal settlements for his

Trump was mostly quiet about plans for a presidential library after losing to Biden in 2020 and has remained so since his return to the White House this year. But the Republican has won millions of dollars in lawsuits against Paramount Global, ABC News, Meta and X in which parts of those settlements are directed for a future Trump library.

Trump has also accepted a free Air Force One replacement from the Qatar government. He says the $400 million plane would be donated to his future presidential library, similar to how the Boeing 707 used by President Ronald Reagan was decommissioned and put on display as a museum piece, once he leaves office.

Others named to Biden’s library board are former senior White House aides Elizabeth Alexander, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón and Cedric Richmond; David Cohen, a former ambassador to Canada and telecom executive; Tatiana Brandt Copeland, a Delaware philanthropist; Jeff Peck, Biden Foundation treasurer and former Senate aide; Fred C. Sears II, Biden’s longtime friend; former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh; former Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young; and former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.

Biden has deep ties to Pennsylvania but ultimately settled on Delaware, the state that was the launching pad for his political career. He was first elected to the New Castle County Council in 1970 and spent 36 years representing Delaware in the Senate before serving as Obama’s vice president.

The president was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he lived until age 10. He left when his father, struggling to make ends meet, moved the family to Delaware after landing a job there selling cars.

Working-class Scranton became a touchstone in Biden’s political narrative during his long political career. He also served as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania after his vice presidency, leading a center on diplomacy and global engagement at the school named after him.

Gifford said ultimately the Bidens felt that Delaware was where the library should be because the state has “propelled his entire political career.”

Elected officials in Delaware are cheering Biden’s move.

“To Delaware, he will always be our favorite son,” Gov. Matt Meyer said. “The new presidential library here in Delaware will give future generations the chance to see his story of resilience, family, and never forgetting your roots.”

Madhani writes for the Associated Press.

Since he left the White House three years ago, Ronald Reagan has become the master of the Hollywood cameo appearance.

There he is on a quick segment on the news at 11, blowing out his candles at his 80th birthday party, or breaking ground for his presidential library, or stepping out of limousines for elegant charity dinners–always with wife Nancy at his side.

In retirement even more than in office, it seemed, “The Great Communicator” preferred to communicate in carefully orchestrated pictures and sound bites.

But on Wednesday afternoon, Reagan seemed to loosen up and share with the public the kinds of jokes and rollicking anecdotes he is known for telling in private.

“You know,” he joked before a sellout crowd at a luncheon of the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, “When he (Iraqi President Saddam Hussein) was born, they didn’t give his mother a medical bill–they fined her for dumping toxic waste.”

With that icebreaker, many of the more than 400 men and women in the Biltmore Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom turned to each other over their raspberry parfait desserts, uncertain how hard they were supposed to laugh at what was scarcely typical Oval Office diplomacy.

Here was a man many of them were too young to vote for in 1980, and had never seen in the flesh: Ronald Reagan the Raconteur.

To be sure, much of Reagan’s prepared 20-minute speech was standard for what he calls the “mashed potato circuit”–entreaties to young businessmen to become “citizen politicians,” pleas for Americans to rise up and demand a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, and an enduring faith that America will only get better as it grows older.

But there were also the anecdotes, some of which appear in his memoirs and others that seemed new. Most came in extended answers to five questions asked by Jaycees selected in advance.

“You know how to explain the Middle East?” he asked the crowd in answer to a question.

“A scorpion came to a stream there in the desert and there was a frog. And the scorpion said, ‘Oh, I can’t swim, will you carry me across?’ And the frog said, ‘If I make that mistake, I’d die.’

“With those words, the scorpion said, ‘Any fool would know we’d both die (if I did that) because I can’t swim.’ Well that made sense, and the frog said ‘Get on.’

“In the middle of the stream, the scorpion stung him. And the frog said . . . ‘Now, we’re both going to die. Why did you do that?’ And the scorpion said ‘This is the Middle East.’ ”

That joke, about the seeming impossibility of bringing peace to the Middle East, was told impeccably. Reagan, at 80, has not lost his timing, either reading from a script or departing from it, as he did often Wednesday.

“I have well exceeded my life expectation when I was born, which is a source of annoyance to a lot of people,” the former actor quipped at one point, adding that he had gone to Washington, lived in “public housing,” and now finds himself “out of work.”

At his first economic summit as President, Reagan said, he looked around and found himself in the company of six of the world’s most important leaders “calling each other by their first names.”

“I listened to that,” he said. “I was the new kid in school and I hadn’t opened my mouth. And finally I said, ‘My name is Ron.’ ”

John Paulson, president of the local Jaycees, sat near Reagan at lunch Wednesday. He said the former President kept up a steady stream of both humorous and serious anecdotes about his White House years.

Reagan told the table, for example, that he learned to trust Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev through his “deeds,” rather than his words, Paulson related. It became a habit of his, Reagan said, to put a small piece of paper into Gorbachev’s hand when they met that contained the names of a handful of Russian citizens who had suffered human-rights problems. Invariably, he said, they would wind up with U.S. visas a few months later.

Others at the table said Reagan disclosed that he told Gorbachev at one summit meeting that Moscow would ultimately lose the arms race.

“I stood up, looked at him across the table,” they quoted Reagan as saying, “and said, ‘We’re going to have to start destroying weapons, because if we continue the arms race, you will lose, because of the resolve of the American people.’ ”

WASHINGTON — The F-35 is the most advanced fighter jet on the planet, capable of waging electronic warfare, of dropping nuclear weapons, of evading the surveillance and missile defenses of America’s most fearsome enemies at supersonic speeds.

Ten of them are being deployed by a newly branded War Department to Puerto Rico to combat drug traffickers in dinghies.

It is the latest example of the Trump administration using disproportionate military force to supplement, or substitute for, traditional law enforcement operations — first at home on the streets of U.S. cities and now overseas, where the president has labeled multiple drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and has vowed a “tough” response.

On Tuesday, that response began with an inaugural “kinetic strike” targeting a small vessel in the Caribbean allegedly carrying narcotics and 11 members of Tren de Aragua, one of the Venezuelan gangs President Trump has designated a terrorist group. Legally designating a gang or cartel as a terrorist entity ostensibly gives the president greater legal cover to conduct lethal strikes on targets.

The operation follows Trump’s deployment of U.S. forces to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., for operations with dubious justifications, as well as threats of similar actions in San Francisco, Chicago and New Orleans, moves that a federal judge said last week amount to Trump “creating a national police force with the President as its chief.”

Trump has referred to both problems — urban crime and drug trafficking — as interlinked and out of control. But U.S. service members have no training in local law or drug enforcement. And experts question a strategy that has been tried before, both by the United States and regional governments, of launching a war against drugs only to drive leaders in the trade to militarize themselves.

U.S. drug policy “has always been semi-militarized,” said Jeremy Adelman, director of the Global History Lab at Princeton University. Trump’s latest actions simply make more explicit the erasure of a line “that separates law enforcement from warfare.”

“One side effect of all this is that other countries are watching,” Adelman said. “By turning law enforcement over to the military — as the White House is also doing domestically — what’s to stop other countries from doing the same in international waters?

“Fishermen in the South China Sea should be worried,” he added.

The Trump administration has not provided further details on the 11 people killed in the boat strike. But officials said the departure of a drug vessel from Venezuela makes Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s dictatorial president labeled by the White House as a top drug kingpin, indirectly responsible.

“Let there be no doubt, Nicolás Maduro is an indicted drug trafficker in the United States, and he’s a fugitive of American justice,” Marco Rubio, Trump’s secretary of State and national security advisor, said on a tour of the region Thursday, citing a grand jury indictment in the Southern District of New York.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference Wednesday in Mexico City.

(Hector Vivas / Getty Images)

The president’s war on drug cartels will continue, Rubio said, adding that regional governments “will help us find these people and blow them up.”

Maduro has warned the strike indicates that Washington seeks regime change in Caracas. The Venezuelan military flew two aircraft near a U.S. vessel in international waters Thursday night, prompting an angry response from Pentagon officials and Trump to direct his Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to “do what you want to do” in response.

“Despite how dangerous this performance could be, because of its political consequences, it can’t be taken seriously as a drug policy,” said Lina Britto, an expert on Latin America and the Caribbean at Northwestern University with a focus on the history of the drug trade. “It lacks rigorousness in the analysis of how drug trafficking operates in the hemisphere.”

Most drugs entering the U.S. homeland from South America arrive in shipping containers, submarines and more efficient modes of transportation than speedboats — and primarily come through the Pacific, not the Caribbean, Britto said.

Trump has flirted with military strikes on drug cartels since the start of his second term, working with Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, to coordinate drone strikes over Mexican territory for surveillance of cartel activity.

But Sheinbaum has ruled out the use of force against cartels, or the deployment of U.S. forces within Mexico to combat them, warning that U.S. military action would violate Mexican sovereignty and upend collaboration between the two close-knit trade and security partners.

In comparison, Venezuela offers Trump a cleaner opportunity to test the use of force against drug cartels, with diplomatic ties between the two governments at a nadir. But a war with Maduro over drugs could create unexpected problems for the Trump administration, setting off a rare military conflict in a placid region and fueling further instability in a country that, over the last decade, already set off the world’s largest refugee crisis.

Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that Trump’s use of foreign terrorist designations changes the rules of engagement in ways that allow for action “where law enforcement solutions failed in the past.”

“What we are witnessing is a paradigm shift in real time,” Berg said. “Many of Latin America’s most significant criminal organizations are now designated foreign terrorist organizations. The administration is demonstrating that this is not only rhetorical.”

But Paul Gootenberg, a professor at Stony Brook University and author of “Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug,” characterized Trump’s military operation as a “simplistic” approach to complex social problems.

“This is more a performative attack on the Venezuelan regime than a serious attempt at drug policy,” Gootenberg said.

“Militarized drug policy is nothing new — it was tried and intensified in various ways from the mid-1980s through 2000s, oftentimes under U.S. Southern Command,” he added. “The whole range and levels of ‘war on drugs’ was a long, unmitigated policy failure, according to the vast, vast majority of drug experts.”

Times staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.

PITTSBURGH — It was not quite a benching. But it served as a reminder nonetheless.

Last year, in many ways, Teoscar Hernández was the heart and soul of the Dodgers. Not their best player. Nor their biggest star. But someone who provided effervescent vibes in the clubhouse, veteran leadership in the dugout and clutch hits in several of the season’s biggest moments at the plate.

“Teo is a guy that we counted on a lot last year,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s a guy that I really admire, because he can balance the fun part of baseball but also have that edge.”

This year, however, frustration has doused much of the fun. Struggles have dulled his usual edge.

Between injuries, slumps, defensive miscues and mechanical swing flaws, Hernández has endured one of his worst career seasons. He is batting just .247, his lowest since 2019. He has a .734 OPS, the lowest of his career and just a smidge above league-average. His limited range in right field has led to a flurry of dropped balls and some of the poorest defensive metrics of any big leaguer at the position. And going back to the last week of June, no other Dodger player (not even Michael Conforto) has been worth fewer wins above replacement than Hernández’s negative-0.5 mark, according to Fangraphs.

“For me, not being the same as last year is a little frustrating,” Hernández said. “I don’t want to be like that. I want to be better than last year. But it’s baseball. It’s life. You just have to keep working, keep trusting in yourself and the things that you can do to help the team.”

Last weekend, however, Roberts had a different idea. In the midst of Hernández’s latest cold spell, the outfielder was unexpectedly benched for Sunday’s series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“He’s an every-day guy,” Roberts said that day. “But I do think that where we’re at, you’ve got to perform, too, to warrant being out there every single day.”

The move wasn’t punitive, with Roberts also accounting for Monday’s off day in hopes “a two-day reset could help” the two-time All-Star.

But still, with the stretch run of the season nearing, the manager was dropping a hint to his star slugger as well.

“I think we’ve lost a little bit of that edge over the last couple months,” Roberts said Tuesday of Hernández, having had “numerous conversations” to communicate the same message with him personally.

“For me, I want to see that edge, that fight, that fire, and I’ll bet on any result. I just want to see that. We’re past the mechanical part of [his struggles with his swing]. Let’s just get into the fight. I’ve seen it. And I believe that’s what’s to come in the next month and beyond.”

This is not the position the Dodgers expected to be in when they re-signed Hernández to a three-year, $66 million contract this offseason — a move Roberts described as a “no-brainer” at the time after pushing for the front office to bring the free-agent back to Los Angeles.

He trusted Hernández’s bat, which mashed 33 home runs and 99 RBIs in his debut Dodgers season in 2024. He appreciated Hernández’s heartbeat, and how he delivered one of the season’s biggest swings in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series.

In bringing Hernández back, the Dodgers hoped that his mere presence would elevate the rest of the roster for this year’s championship defense.

“He knows his value for our ballclub,” Roberts said. “He knows my expectations of him individually.”

Only, to this point, Hernández has struggled to replicate that same intangible magic.

After a blistering start to the season (.315 average, nine home runs, and an MLB-most 34 RBIs through his first 33 games), the outfielder suffered a groin/adductor strain while stretching for a line drive in Miami, landing him on the injured list for two weeks. When he returned, he looked far from 100%, struggling to rediscover his swing or cover much ground in right. Before long, a slump took hold. And as it stretched on through the summer — compounded by foot contusion on a foul ball he suffered in July — frustration began to mount.

“It’s tough when you feel good and then something happens and you have to miss … whatever the amount of games might be,” Hernández said. “It was one of those for me this year. I got injured, then I came back. I fouled it off my foot and then missed games [again].”

He later added: “For me, being hurt is more frustrating than having a bad year. I’d rather be on the field having a bad year, than not being on the field and just fighting back and forth.”

Staying on the field, of course, hasn’t alleviated Hernández’s problems. After the All-Star break, he said his body finally started feeling better. On Tuesday, he proclaimed his groin and foot to be back to full health.

And yet, over his previous eight games, he had batted only three-for-27 leading up to Sunday’s removal from the lineup. Worse than that, he had fallen back into a habit of chasing too much, leading to non-competitive at-bats at a time Roberts had been trying to emphasize the opposite.

“[I want to see] Teo getting back to having that edge,” Roberts reiterated.

In Hernández’s return to the lineup Tuesday, some positive signs finally presented themselves. He fought off a pair of two-strike pitches before lining a second-inning single. He did the same thing in the third inning to drive in a run. Defensively, there was another awkward moment, when Hernández failed to make a sliding catch on a shallow fly ball down the right-field line in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ four-run first inning. But even on that play, Roberts argued postgame, Hernández got a good jump and covered a lot of ground — breaking into the kind of hard-charging sprint that hadn’t always been there earlier this season.

“If I see a good jump getting off the ball, good effort, I’ve got no problem with it,” Roberts said.

Really, that’s all Roberts is hoping for from Hernández moving forward now.

To have the kind of consistent intensity level that has wavered at times this season. To rekindle that balance of having fun and playing with an edge down the stretch run of the season.

“We’re going to see that,” Roberts said. “I have no doubt.”

“You just leave everything on the field,” Hernández echoed. “I’m going to keep working, keep doing my routine, keep doing the stuff that I normally do to get back on track. And hopefully I get the results that I want to help the team.”

On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, intending to provide financial security during the Great Depression. More than four years later, in January 1940, the first monthly Social Security checks were sent out. Since then, the program has grown tremendously to be one of America’s largest and most important.

In the 90 years that Social Security has been in place, it has benefited hundreds of millions of retirees. In fact, the program will make over $1.6 trillion in payments to around 72 million beneficiaries, including those receiving retirement benefits, disability benefits, and survivor benefits.

Image source: Getty Images.

A lot has changed with Social Security over the past 90 years. If you’re a current recipient, you can attest to how much continues to change — including eligibility, benefit calculations, and full retirement ages. But arguably the most important change happens annually with the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

The annual COLA was put in place in 1972 to help retirees deal with inflation while receiving fixed monthly benefits. The official COLA percentage will be announced on Oct. 15, but retiree advocacy group The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) has routinely put out projections to help retirees plan ahead.

In its latest estimate released this month, TSCL has the upcoming COLA at 2.7%. Although the projection shouldn’t be taken as a guarantee, it’s worth taking a deeper dive into how the COLA works and what a 2.7% adjustment could mean for retirees.

How the annual COLA is determined

To determine the yearly COLA, the Social Security Administration (SSA) looks at a specific measure of inflation called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). It’s published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and takes into account the price of goods and services like food (groceries and restaurants), transportation (vehicles, gas, and public transportation), housing (rent and utilities), and healthcare (services, prescriptions, and insurance premiums).

The SSA uses a three-step process to come up with the specific percentage to set as the COLA:

1. Calculate the CPI-W average for the third quarter (July, August, and September) of the current year.
2. Calculate the same average for the previous year.
3. Set the percentage increase as the COLA for the upcoming year (rounding it up to the nearest 0.1%).

For example, the third-quarter CPI-W average in 2024 was 308.729, and the average in 2023 was 301.236. That 2.43% increase is how we ended up with the 2.5% COLA for 2025.

If the CPI-W decreases or stays the same, there is no COLA, and benefits remain unchanged. It’s not common, but it has happened (in 2010, 2011, and 2016).

US Inflation Rate data by YCharts.

Complaints about the COLA

A benefits increase sounds like a good thing for Social Security, and for the most part, it is. However, a major (and valid) complaint has been that the COLA isn’t typically enough to truly offset the effects of inflation.

According to TSCL, Social Security recipients have lost around 30% of their purchasing power since 2000. This means every $100 in benefits received in 2000 would only buy $70 worth of goods and services today. From 2010 to 2024, TSCL says that Social Security benefits lost 20% of their purchasing power; that’s far from ideal.

If TSCL’s 2.7% COLA estimate turns out to be true, the average monthly benefit would increase from $2,007 (July’s average) to $2,061. A $54 monthly increase is better than no increase, but retirees have likely seen their monthly expenses increase by more than that.

There aren’t any concrete plans in place to change how the SSA calculates the annual COLA. In the meantime, it’s best for retirees to assume that benefits alone may not fully keep up with inflation, and make efforts to adjust their spending accordingly.

Everyone can use an editor, and Shakespeare is no exception. Fortunately, he married one.

Tired of being cooped up with the kids in Stratford-upon-Avon, Anne (Teal Wicks), wife of the great playwright, pops down to London to see the first performance of “Romeo and Juliet.” The new tragic ending that Shakespeare (Corey Mach) proudly previews to the company strikes her as completely wrongheaded.

“What if … Juliet doesn’t kill herself?” she proposes. As strong-willed as her husband, she doesn’t wish to argue the point. She merely wants to put her idea to the test.

Behold the premise of “& Juliet,” the euphoric dance party of a musical that updates Shakespeare with a dose of 21st century female empowerment. The production, which opened Friday at the Ahmanson Theatre under the fizzy direction of Luke Sheppard, reimagines a new post-Romeo life for Juliet while riding a magic carpet of chart-toppers from juggernaut Swedish producer Max Martin, who has spun gold with Katy Perry, Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, among other pop titans.

Teal Wicks, left, and Rachel Webb in the North American Tour of “& Juliet.”

(Matthew Murphy)

This good-time jukebox musical relies as much on its wit as on its catalog of pop hits. The show’s music and lyrics are credited to Max Martin and friends — which sounds like a low-key cool table at the Grammy Awards. The clever book by Emmy winner David West Read (“Schitt’s Creek”) creates a world that can contain the show’s musical riches without having to shoehorn in songs in the shameless fashion of “Mamma Mia!”

Take, for instance, one of the early numbers, “I Want It That Way,” a pop ballad made famous by the Backstreet Boys. Anne starts singing the song when Shakespeare initially resists her idea of giving Juliet back her life. She wants him to go along with her suggested changes not because she’s sure she’s right but because she wants him to trust her as an equal partner. The song is redeployed in a way that has little bearing on the lyrics but somehow feels coherent with the original emotion.

Obviously, this is a commercial musical and not a literary masterpiece on par with Shakespeare’s tragedy of ill-starred lovers. “& Juliet” would have trouble withstanding detailed scrutiny of its plot or probing interrogation of Juliet’s character arc. But Read smartly establishes just the right party atmosphere.

Juliet (a vibrant Rachel Webb), having survived the tragedy once scripted for her, travels from Verona to Paris with an entourage to escape her parents, who want to send her to a nunnery for having married Romeo behind their backs. Her clique includes Angélique (Kathryn Allison), her nurse and confidant; May (Nick Drake), her nonbinary bestie; and April, her newbie sidekick out for fun who Anne plays in disguise. Shakespeare casts himself as the carriage driver, allowing him to tag along and keep tabs on the cockeyed direction his play is going.

In Paris, the crew heads directly to the Renaissance Ball, which has the look and feel of a modern-day mega-club. Entry is barred to Juliet, but not because she’s ridiculously underage. Her name isn’t on the exclusive guest list. So through the back door, Juliet and her traveling companions sashay as the production erupts in “Blow,” the Kesha song that encourages everyone to get their drink on and let loose.

Rachel Webb and the North American Tour Company of “& Juliet.”

(Matthew Murphy)

The dance setting — kinetically envisioned by scenic designer Soutra Gilmour, lighting designer Howard Hudson, sound designer Gareth Owen and video and projection designer Andrzej Goulding into a Dionysian video paradise — provides the all-purpose license for Martin’s music. It’s the atmosphere and the energy that matter most. Paloma Young’s extravagant costumes raise the level of decadent hedonism.

In this welcoming new context — imagine “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” suffused with girl power — there’s never anything odd about the characters grinding and wailing like karaoke superstars. The ecstatic motion of Jennifer Weber’s choreography renders dramatic logic irrelevant.

But love is the name of the game, and both Juliet and May fall for François (Mateus Leite Cardoso), a young musician with a geeky sense of humor who’s still figuring out his identity. May doesn’t expect romance to be part of their fate. In the Spears song “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” they give powerful expression to an inner confusion this musical romance is determined to sort out with an appropriate partner.

Unlike for the original characters, a happy ending is no longer off-limits. Shakespeare and Anne wrestle to get the upper hand of a plot that seems to have a mind of its own. Shakespeare pulls a coup at the end of the first act that I won’t spoil except to say that what’s good for the goose proves dramaturgically viable for the gander.

Teal Wicks, left, Rachel Webb, Nick Drake and Kathryn Allison in the North American Tour of “& Juliet.”

(Matthew Murphy)

This spirited competition stays in the background, but their marital happiness matters to us. Mach’s Shakespeare has the cocky strut of a rapper-producer with a long list of colossal hits. Wicks gives Anne the heartfelt complexity of one of her husband’s bright comic heroines. There’s a quality of intelligent feeling redolent of Rosalind in “As You Like It” in Wicks’ affecting characterization and luscious singing.

But the musical belongs to Juliet, and Webb has the vocal prowess to hijack the stage whenever she’s soaring in song. If Juliet’s character is still a work in progress, Webb endows her with a maturity beyond her years. She makes us grateful that the Capulet daughter is getting another crack at life. When the big musical guns are brought out late in the second act (“Stronger,” “Roar”), she delivers them as emancipatory anthems, fueled by hard-won epiphanies.

Allison’s Angélique is just as much a standout, renewing the bawdy earthiness of Shakespeare’s nurse with contemporary sass and rousing singing. If the supporting cast of men doesn’t make as deep an impression, the festive comic universe is nonetheless boldly brought to life.

“& Juliet” bestows the alternative ending everyone wishes they could script for themselves — a second chance to get it right. This feel-good musical is just what the doctor ordered in these far less carefree times.