As he held the championship trophy high, San Pedro flag football coach Ron Carter faced his players and shouted “third time’s a charm!”
The Pirates beat Marine League rival Banning 14-7 in the City Section Open Division final Saturday night at Contreras High in L.A. to capture their first flag title and avenge an overtime loss in the final two years ago.
The first half was a defensive stalemate, but the Pirates scored on an eight-yard strike from sophomore quarterback Daniela Ardaiz to senior receiver Lexi Lopez late in the third quarter. Ardaiz ran for the one-point conversion to make it 7-0.
The Pilots tied it on Victoria Guerra’s 11-yard touchdown catch and the subsequent one-point conversion run by Arianna Martinez with 8:55 left in the fourth quarter.
San Pedro (18-8) marched to the five-yard line on its ensuing possession before Ardaiz threw a dart to Lopez, who outmuscled a defender for the ball at the goal line for the go-ahead score with 2:13 left. Maya Solorio caught the one-point conversion to make it 14-7.
Banning (12-11), which lost both of its league contests against San Pedro by six combined points, moved to the Pirates’ 26 before Ardaiz picked off a pass over the middle at the 15 and returned it to the 35 to seal the victory with 7.6 seconds left.
Ardaiz finished the season with 60 touchdown passes and Lopez had 28 touchdown catches, none bigger than the last one — the final grab of her career.
“I was the only freshman on the team the first year and this is my last game, so I wanted to play my best,” said Lopez, who also plays second base and pitches for the Pirates’ softball team.
The winning touchdown play was called “Smash Right.”
“The most important thing was to catch it with two hands and hold onto the ball,” Lopez said. “I didn’t know if it would be a touchdown. … I didn’t think it was across the plane.”
It was San Pedro’s 90th win in the last four seasons — the most of any City school since the sport debuted in 2023 — and it eased the pain of the Pirates’ previous playoff failures. They had a tying score called back in a loss to Birmingham in the inaugural Open Division final, lost to Banning the next year and were upset 14-13 by eventual champion Marshall in the semifinals last season.
Nina Ramirez threw three touchdown passes — two to Cindy Martinez and the other to her sister Amber — and Taiya Johnson and Sydney Tibbals each intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter to preserve the shutout in Cleveland’s 18-0 victory over King/Drew in the preceding Division I final. The Cavaliers (13-5) finished on a seven-game winning streak.
Cleveland lost to El Camino Real 26-0 in the Division II final in 2024. King/Drew lost to Narbonne 7-0 in the Division I final the same year.
North Hollywood scored twice in the first half of the Division II final and held on for a 12-6 victory over Westchester, which cut its deficit in half with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was the first City title for the Huskies (16-4), who denied the Comets (12-6) their second crown. Westchester captured the Division III crown last fall.
In the first game of the day, Crenshaw defeated South Gate 7-0 in the Division IV final, and in the following Division III final, Sotomayor scored late in the fourth quarter to edge Santee 6-0. The Cougars (10-10) and Wolves (19-8) both won their first City titles.
JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska voters have elected a Democrat for governor for the first time since 1998, part of a national midterm election wave that gave the party sweeping wins in state governments across the country.
Former state lawmaker Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins defeated three Republicans, including one endorsed by President Trump. His victory means Democrats will control the governor’s office in 30 states, including several they flipped after years of Republican control in places such as Iowa, Georgia, Ohio and Texas. The Associated Press declared him the winner Friday night, with 50.8% of the vote.
Kreiss-Tomkins, often referred to as JKT, completed a political comeback three years after leaving the state House. He traveled throughout Alaska to build his coalition and focused on affordability, advocated for full funding of public schools and called for all oil and gas producers to pay corporate income tax. He also sought a moratorium on new data centers until state lawmakers pass regulations for their development.
He said Alaska had become “broken” under eight years of outgoing Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and needed a change. He cited among other issues a state ferry system that he said has been left in shambles, with routes to many communities cut drastically. The ferry is a key mode of transportation for southeast Alaska communities not connected by roads, some of which also have limited air service.
Kreiss-Tomkins, 37, emphasized a willingness to work across party lines and said he wanted a Cabinet with Republicans, Democrats and independents.
“If they’re competent, if they’re service-minded, if they’re entrepreneurial, if they’re problem-solvers, you’re on the team. Game on,” he said during a candidates forum last month. “Let’s go, and let’s get Alaska back on track.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has at times been at odds with her party, including Trump, endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins a week before the election. She said Kreiss-Tomkins “understands that governing requires listening to people with different perspectives and finding common ground to solve the problems all of us face.”
Three former governors including Democrat Tony Knowles, independent Bill Walker and Republican Frank Murkowski, the senator’s father, also endorsed him.
In a statement declaring victory earlier Friday, Kreiss-Tomkins said voters wanted change and “a government that works across party lines to move Alaska forward. Our administration will not waste a single day getting to work to solve problems for Alaska.” He said his campaign had more than 10,000 donors.
His campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the AP called the race.
He defeated Republicans Bernadette Wilson, Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor. Trump had endorsed Wilson, a business owner, and criticized the other Republican candidates for staying in the race. Bronson is a former mayor of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, while Taylor was a state attorney general under Dunleavy.
Bronson congratulated Kreiss-Tomkins on social media and wished him success. A message seeking comment from Wilson’s campaign was not immediately returned.
Many Republicans saw ranked voting as their party’s best shot of retaining the governor’s seat. It was a message that conflicted with that of Trump, who has consistently complained about Alaska’s voting method, including during a rally in Alaska in October.
Kreiss-Tomkins finished first in August’s open primary, followed by a second Democrat, Tom Begich, who withdrew from the race. Begich’s campaign at the time said it had concluded that the “strongest path to victory is to bring Democratic voters, donors and resources together behind one candidate.” Wilson finished third in the primary.
Kreiss-Tomkins said that compromise “is a virtue, not a dirty word,” and said he saw the mission of the new governor as working with lawmakers to resolve long-standing problems in the state.
The state’s last Democratic governor, Knowles, left office in 2002 after serving back-to-back terms. Walker served from 2014 to 2018.
Kreiss-Tomkins will be sworn in Dec. 7. His lieutenant governor is Zac Johnson, an independent.
It took awhile, but the team that opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite is finally on a roll.
So why doesn’t it feel that way?
With receiver Puka Nacua the latest star to hit injured reserve, the Rams are anything but giddy heading into Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz.
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Gary Klein breaks down what to watch for Sunday when the Rams face the Arizona Cardinals.
“It has been unique with the amount of different information that you’re dealing with and different injuries,” McVay said, “but we’re excited to have won those last three games.”
The Rams have not lost since Oct. 18, when Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur — the Rams’ former offensive coordinator — outcoached McVay in an 18-16 victory at SoFi Stadium. The Cardinals’ victory extended the LaFleur brothers’ record to 6-0 over McVay, who is 0-5 against Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur.
But tight end Terrance Ferguson suffered a hamstring injury the day before the Rams departed to play the Commanders, and Nacua suffered a knee sprain and toe injury on the Rams’ final play of the 20-13 victory.
“There have been a lot of people in and out, [which] sometimes takes that major joy out of a win sometimes,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said when asked about the team’s mood. “You’re like, ‘Man, we just won, but we lost Puka for a little bit of time,’ or we lost ‘Ferg.’ …
“That’s part of it. Then I think, frankly, there are opportunities for us to play better a little bit as well.”
The Rams, who led the NFL in offense and scoring last season, are tied for fourth in yards, averaging 379.8, and 13th in points (23.8).
The defense is giving up 302.4 yards and 20.1 points per game, which ranks fifth and eighth, respectively.
Special teams problems that plagued the Rams in the first seven games appear to be resolved for now.
Rams linebacker Nate Landman tackles Cardinals running back Tyler Allgeier on Oct. 18 at SoFi Stadium.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Last season, after Davante Adams suffered a hamstring injury, McVay masterfully pivoted to an attack relying heavily on multiple tight ends.
With Nacua and Adams out, will McVay make another significant shift? Perhaps a two-back set?
“I think you explore everything,” McVay said.
Running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum said they can carry a heavier load and also augment a depleted receiver corps that now includes Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell, Xavier Smith, Brennan Presley and rookie CJ Daniels.
“Kyren and I prepare for anything,” Corum said. “Our mindset, whether we run a lot or don’t, we’re ready for whatever coach feels is best for this team.”
Williams said he attended college recruiting camps as a slot receiver. So if McVay asked him to split out wide?
“I’m fine with it,” he said. “I’ll do anything with a smile on my face, especially that.”
The last time they played the Cardinals, the Rams were without left tackle Alaric Jackson, who had been suspended for punching a Buffalo Bills player after a defeat. David Quessenberry played well in Jackson’s absence, but Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis had his players blitzing throughout the game, and Stafford sustained multiple violent hits.
With Adams and Nacua sidelined, the Rams are preparing for another onslaught of pressure.
“That’s been part of their M.O.,” McVay said. “It’s not necessarily anything that surprised us, but they do a good job. … Protecting Matthew will always be at a premium and at the forefront of our minds, regardless of whether you have two of those premier players or not.”
A victory over the Cardinals would keep the Rams on track for a possible playoff run. A defeat, with what is regarded as the league’s toughest remaining schedule ahead of them, could face-plant those chances before the Rams reach their bye.
The first line in the biography for Calaveras County’s leading vote-getter in the District 5 supervisor’s race states: “This election is about moving forward.”
It’s a message campaign staff members for candidate Bruce Giudici took to heart.
Before Dec. 3, the county’s recorder is expected to certify an election victory for Giudici, as only a few hundred ballots remain to be counted or cured.
The triumph would have been a dream come true had Giudici lived to see it. The 68-year-old candidate unexpectedly died months earlier during a freak accident while campaigning.
His grief-stricken staff, not sure how to proceed at first, pushed forward, campaigning for a candidate they knew would never sit in office.
Days away from victory, Essential California spoke with Team Giudici treasurer Roberta “Ro” Corso about the candidate, the race and the will to win.
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Far from Blue California
Rural Calaveras County sits about 60 miles southeast of Sacramento in a parallel universe from this state’s coastal portions.
The county is about one-fourth the size of L.A. County landwise with a relatively tiny population (47,000).
Here, every statewide result is flipped on its head with Republican Steve Hilton trouncing Xavier Becerra (76.% to 24%) and GOP candidates winning every state seat in which they ran.
Giudici found an audience
Giudici connected with voters in the non-partisan county supervisor’s race.
The self-proclaimed fiscally conservative economist campaigned on offering “new leadership” and financial oversight, according to campaign materials. He also stood against data centers.
“Bruce was a really honorable man and he had high morals and he deeply cared about Calaveras County and District 5,” Corso said. “He’s the best person for the job.”
Tragedy strikes
Giudici’s campaign released a social media message on Aug. 31 saying that their candidate had slipped and died while “knocking on doors.”
“He fell off a steep incline, hit his head and died the next day,” Corso said. “It was shocking.”
She noted that campaign staff had several discussions on whether to proceed and questioned the county recorder’s office about possible options.
“We realized that the time to remove his name had already passed and we decided to move forward with Bruce,” Corso said.
What happens if Giudici wins
Should Giudici win, Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra would appoint a temporary replacement for the position until a new supervisor could be elected.
Barring a special election, the seat would become available during the next election in March 2028.
Message to voters: campaign for Bruce and against Clyde Clapp
Giudici narrowly topped opponent Clyde Clapp in June’s three-way primary, 37% to 36%, in which both advanced to the Nov. 3 general election.
This general election was a rematch of the 2016 District 5 recall that Clapp won with 33.8% of the vote, finishing ahead of third-place Giudici (23.4%).
It was in that election that Corso said she first aided Giudici.
She called Giudici “wicked smart with numbers.”
Team Giudici’s first social media post after his death explained that his campaign would continue.
“Bruce was determined to defeat Clyde Clapp and prevent him from returning for a second term,” the Sept. 2 post noted. “That’s why we must still elect Bruce on November 3 and give the voters of District 5 the opportunity to carry Bruce’s mission forward.”
Now what
The county has about 600 ballots left to cure and count as Giudici maintains a lead of 497 votes, as of Tuesday afternoon’s last count.
“We’re so far ahead there’s no way we can lose,” Corso said. “We have a written statement ready to release soon.”
As for Giudici’s replacement, Corso said the campaign has several interested candidates and will send an endorsement to Sacramento soon.
“We want someone who will care for District 5 the way Bruce did,” she said. “This is his win after all.”
The week’s biggest stories
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Transportation concerns
El Niño rains
Santa Cruz is the news
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Editor’s pick
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(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
🚀 Opening Friday, the California Science Center’s $450-million Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center turns Southern California’s aerospace legacy into a sprawling, immersive museum experience. Its centerpiece is the 20-story space shuttle Endeavour, displayed upright with boosters and external tank in a dramatic gallery.
🎶 The indie band Cold War Kids are all right. The resulting “Robbers & Cowards / Complete Cowards” expands the original album with six live recordings from 2007 and the four newly completed tracks: “Loyalty,” “Jesse Latour,” “She Can Do No Wrong” and “There Goes the Night.” (The digital version includes Phantogram’s cover of “Hang Me Up to Dry.”)
This recipe for Aunt Angie’s Thanksgiving oyster dressing with fried oysters is for the oyster lovers and the oyster lovers only, wrote my colleague Stephanie Breijo. Oyster dressing — or stuffing — has a centuries-long history up and down the East Coast, dating back to the country’s founding colonies, and it’s still particularly beloved in the Northeast and the South.
Photo of the day
Robynn Franson, left, and her mother, Frances, wait for their flight home to Canada at LAX on Friday.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jack Dolan, investigative reporter Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Brook Lopez scored 26 points and Darius Garland added 24 as the Clippers finished off a 113-112 victory Friday night in an NBA Cup game, sending the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder to a season-high third straight loss.
Derrick Jones Jr. and rookie Keaton Wagler had 14 points apiece, and Gradey Dick added 13 as the Clippers scored the final seven points to win for the second time in three games after opening the season with a 1-7 record.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 for the Thunder but missed a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer that would have won it.
Jared McCain had 23 points and Isaiah Hartenstein added 21 points with 16 rebounds as Oklahoma City fell to 0-3 on a four-game West Coast trip. McCain finished seven of 11 from three-point range.
The Clippers led 57-44 at halftime behind 12 points from Lopez, while the Thunder were just two of 17 on threes over the first two quarters. Oklahoma City recovered to outscore Los Angeles 40-25 in the third by going five of 11 from long distance.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a leaning three-pointer with 3:01 remaining for a 110-106 lead. The Clippers trailed 112-106 with 2:43 remaining before closing the game on a 7-0 run. Lopez scored a pair of baskets down the stretch before Garland put the Clippers ahead for good on a three-point play with 50.4 seconds left.
Without starters Chet Holmgren (knee), Jalen Williams (leg) and Cason Wallace (shoulder) since Oct. 26, the Thunder started a pair of 7-footers in Hartenstein and rookie Aday Mara for the second consecutive game and fourth time this season. Mara finished with 10 points and three blocks.
Addy Brown had 18 points and eight rebounds, Sienna Betts had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks and No. 10 UCLA never trailed Thursday night in a 76-44 win over Arizona on Thursday.
Makayla Presser-Palmer and Aliyahna Morris led Arizona (2-1) with eight points apiece.
Betts made back-to-back baskets before Donovyn Hunter hit a three-pointer that made it 14-4 a little more than four minutes into the game and the Bruins took a 13-point lead into halftime.
Sumayah Sugapong hit a three-pointer and Gerda Raulusaityte followed with a layup 48 seconds into the second half that made it 37-29 but the Wildcats got no closer.
Brown had a three-point play and hit a three-pointer as part of a a 16-2 run that closed the third quarter and gave UCLA a 62-39 lead going into the fourth.
The Wildcats scored just 19 second-half points, five in the fourth quarter — their lowest-scoring quarter this season. Arizona shot 24% (14 of 58) overall, made just three of 16 (19%) from three-point range, and hit 13 of 19 (68%) from the free-throw line.
The Bruins have won four straight against Arizona and lead the all-time series with their former Pac-12 rival 67-25.
Up next for UCLA: vs. Princeton at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.
Serbian star Nikola Kusturica scored 17 points and Jaylen Pettit added 16 as No. 9 UCLA routed Arkansas Pine Bluff 106-37 Wednesday night and set a program record for margin of victory.
The Bruins (3-0) won by a record 69 points. UCLA’s previous largest margin of victory was 65 points, accomplished three times and most recently in a 122-57 win over Portland in 1967, a mark that stood for 59 years.
Trent Perry finished with 11 points and 11 assists for his first double-double.
Macaleab Rich led Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-3) with 11 points.
UCLA used a 20-0 run early to build a 33-4 lead in the first half.
UCLA’s stingy defense limited Arkansas-Pine Bluff to nine points in the first half. That matched a school record for fewest points allowed. The Golden Lions’ starting five was a combined 0 for 9 from the field in the first half.
The last time the Bruins held a team to nine first-half points was against Howard on Dec. 19, 1983. The Bruins won that game 63-52 at Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins led 51-9 at halftime. That 42-point lead is UCLA’s largest halftime advantage since the 2012-13 season. UCLA had a 63-29 lead over James Madison on Nov. 15, 2012.
The Bruins did commit 11 turnovers in the first half. The Golden Lions had 21 turnovers in the first half and finished with 30 total.
Kieron Bowie is having a difficult time at Sassuolo and Robbie Ure is in-and-out of the Sevilla team, but he scored twice for them last month. Oli McBurnie’s painful wait for a Scotland goal carries on, but he has two in his last three for Hull in the Premier League.
Pocognoli says he has no fixed system, no slavish adherence to his favoured back three. It does sound like he’s sticking with it for North Macedonia, though.
“I try to find the best shape to make the players shine on the pitch,” he says. “After that, it’s up to them to show it. But I always try to adapt to my team. I think the shape that we play is the best shape to fit the best quality of the team.
“At Union Saint-Gilloise, when we became champions, we played three at the back because that was the system of the club.
“Sometimes I felt like, if we try a back four, maybe we can have more power in the game, but I didn’t do it because the club was building. In Monaco when I make the analysis of the squad, the best shape was a back three, but sometimes we played with a back four.
“It depends on the players’ abilities. I believe for this team, right now, it’s one of the best shapes. It’s a brave style of play that demands a lot of energy. But it’s a process. You need to analyse what is good for the future.”
Randall Winston has declared victory in his campaign for Seat 6 on the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees, in what was the closest of three races in last week’s election for the seven-member board.
Second-place finisher Gabriel Buelna has conceded.
According to the count released Monday, Winston had 38.7% of the vote and Buelna had 31.7%, followed by community college professor Roberto David LaCarra in third place and realtor Tonia Arey in fourth.
To win a seat on the seven-member board, candidates need only a plurality of votes, not a majority.
Winston declared victory in an email to supporters over the weekend.
“You voted and told your friends and family why this race mattered,” Winston told supporters on Saturday. “Because of you, the Los Angeles Community College District will have a trustee who believes our colleges are where this city builds opportunity.”
In a brief interview Monday, Buelna said he called Winston to concede and wished him the best in his new role.
Seat 6 turned out to be the most contentious of the races for the Board of Trustees, which oversees the largest community college district in the country with some 200,000 students, most of whom are low-income.
During the campaign, Buelna and Arey accused Winston of misleading the public by describing himself as an architect and an educator, when his full-time job is deputy mayor of infrastructure and climate resilience under Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Winston responded by saying his first professional degree is in architecture, he is licensed in the field and he will be teaching a leadership class at West L.A. College this fall.
Helping boost him to victory was a key endorsement from the community college district’s faculty union, which put significant financial resources behind his candidacy.
Between Sept. 20 and Oct. 17, the union contributed $800,000 to a committee supporting Winston and the two other winning candidates, helping produce slate mailers that hit the doors of voters, according to campaign filings.
James McKeever, president of the faculty union, AFT Local 1521, declined to discuss many details of the union’s decision, but told The Times that the executive board wanted to go “in a different direction” and saw Winston as the best candidate.
In the race for Seat 2, incumbent Steve Veres held a 40.91% to 33.48% lead over educator Adriana Cabrera, who was in second.
Cabrera did not return emails seeking comment, and Veres said she had not called to concede. As of Monday afternoon, Veres had nearly 97,000 more votes than Cabrera with an estimated 44,000 more ballots to be counted county-wide, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
In Seat 4, Darryn Harris, a government and community affairs officer for St. John’s Community Health, has the biggest lead of all.
According to the latest numbers, Harris had 57.3% of the vote in a seven-person race. Healthcare workforce specialist Elaine Alaniz was in second place with 14.4%.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame football coach Evan Yabu pulled off a rare feat — he changed what had been working during the regular season with a new strategy for the playoffs.
All season, Tahj Skinner, the team’s best athlete and starting safety, had been playing quarterback. Notre Dame qualified for the Southern Section Division 2 playoffs and faced Corona del Mar on Friday.
That’s when Yabu made a big change. He put in freshman West Dunton, a junior varsity player, to be the starting quarterback to free up Skinner to play receiver and also focus more on defense. Dunton kept his poise to deliver a 20-19 victory. Skinner caught 10 passes.
Yabu said Dunton had been preparing well on junior varsity and it gave the Knights the opportunity to use Skinner’s other skills.
Next up for the Knights is a Friday showdown against top-seeded Chaparral at home.
Call it bold what Yabu did but it worked, and Skinner can always return to quarterback if needed for his running skills.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
When Angelenos chose Nithya Raman as their next mayor, Karen Bass wasn’t the only establishment pillar that was resoundingly rebuked.
Here in the country’s Latino capital, the metropolis that delivered California its first Latino U.S. senator and pioneered the type of winning political machine that Latinos across the country replicated for decades, almost all the city’s Latino power brokers — politicians, nonprofit leaders, union activists, celebrities — bet big on longtime ally Bass, only to now find themselves on the outside looking in.
All that might and hype delivered worse than nada for Bass, who finished first in the June primary thanks in part to Latino support, winning 35 Latino-majority neighborhoods compared with just seven for Raman. The reverse happened in last week’s general election, with Raman winning many of the city’s key Latino neighborhoods — South L.A. to the Eastside, Pico-Union to Wilmington — according to a Times analysis of precinct data.
It was a fitting dénouement to Mayor Bass’ one term in office, and the capstone of a terrible four-year run for L.A.’s Latino political establishment, beginning with the leak of a profane, racist conversation that disgraced four top politicos.
Bass should have run as far away as possible from our caudillos y caudillas. But she just couldn’t quit them. Take an Oct. 24 lunchtime rally at Plaza Del Valle in Panorama City, the nexus for the fabled San Fernando Valley Latino political machine.
Volunteers handed out “Latinos Con Bass” signs to customers and store owners. An all-star roster of elected officials — City Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez and Imelda Padilla, Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez (no relation to Monica) and Rep. Luz Rivas — gathered in a community room to make the case that Bass was the best choice.
“You have tías and cousins and primos that call you, ‘Who should I vote for? What do I do? How do I fill out the ballot?’” Rivas told a crowd of about 60, most of whom were not Latino. “You need to remind them Mayor Karen Bass is the right leader.”
“This is where we win elections,” Rodriguez asserted, describing the mayor — whom she bitterly opposed until fellow Councilmember Raman entered the race — as a “Valley girl” and the election as “our moment.”
The enthusiasm level struggled to exceed that of a line at the DMV. Half an hour later and a few miles east in Sylmar, a very different scene was unfolding.
DJ Danny Guerrero blasted quinceañera classics like “Vivir mi Vida” and “Come On Let’s Go” by Pacoima native Ritchie Valens as Raman’s team hosted a canvasada — free tacos for everyone to fuel an afternoon of canvassing. L.A. Unified school board member Kelly Gonez was the only elected official at the Carpenters Local 818 training center. The others were union members, Latino hipsters or kids too young to vote.
“Her passion to protect our community — that compassion resonated with me,” said Guerrero, a 21-year-old Cal State Northridge political science major who helps undocumented college students at his school’s Dream Center. “I advocate for that in my life, and I see Nithya doing that. She meets us where we’re at.”
Guerrero cheered as Raman kicked off her remarks with an “¡Hola, Sylmar!,” pronouncing the “y” like an “i” the way a Spanish speaker would. The candidate shouted out Latino Valley icons like Lenchita’s, Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural and even Plaza Del Valle. But she received the biggest cheers when she said, “La communidad latina merece más.”
Latinos deserve more.
In the end, Raman captured most of the precincts in Padilla’s and Rodriguez’s districts even after the two council members whacked away at her through the election like brats hogging the piñata stick at a birthday party.
Without institutional support, Raman focused on a new generation of Latino leaders who are not part of the traditional political machines.
“Maybe they [Latino establishment leaders] felt obligated to back her,” Rocío Rivas said of Bass. The L.A. Unified school board member and democratic socialist endorsed Raman and attended her election night party at the Greek Theatre, where a crowd of hundreds chanted, “Sí se puede.”
“Or maybe they’re not as connected to the community as they once were,” Rivas added.
The trouble for the establishment started in 2022 when three City Council members and a powerful union leader became pariahs after starring in the audio leak scandal. That same year, democratic socialist upstarts Hugo Soto-Martínez and Eunisses Hernandez won City Council seats, despite a lack of support from Chicanosauruses who mocked their chances.
In January 2024, former City Councilmember Jose Huizar — once a rising star with aspirations for higher office — was sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges. In the fall of that year, Eastside Assembly and City Council seats held by Latinos for decades went to Filipina Americans Jessica Caloza and Ysabel Jurado. Meanwhile, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign for governor sputtered out with just 1% of the vote.
In the race to succeed Nury Martinez, who resigned from the City Council after the audio leak, Padilla won with backing from the Valley Latino political machine.
Marco Santana lost to Padilla in the primary. despite an endorsement from Raman, and supported Raman’s mayoral campaign.
“The mayor ran on a very institutional playbook of getting a bunch of Latino politicians together so they could tell Latinos how to vote,” said Santana, 36. “That doesn’t work anymore. Latinos want deeds.”
Instead, outdated ideas were all Bass had.
It started with her choice of chief campaign strategist: Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who was campaign manager for President Biden’s disastrous 2024 reelection bid and then Kamala Harris’ failed attempt to pick up the pieces. I quickly tuned out the one time Chavez Rodriguez described her vision for Latino outreach, which would have been revolutionary in L.A. two generations ago.
While Bass’ campaign mounted a vigorous media outreach effort in English and Spanish, her own attempts to court Latino voters kept backfiring. The crowd at the annual City Hall Mexican Independence Day celebration booed when Padilla, in a green outfit that matched Bass’, hailed the mayor as “good.”
At Homegirl Cafe in Chinatown the morning before the election, customers largely ignored Bass while swarming gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra. She stood next to Becerra at the restaurant, only to have him later clarify to reporters that he wasn’t endorsing anyone in the mayor’s race.
Michael Trujillo is a longtime political consultant who served as an unpaid advisor to a pro-Bass independent expenditure committee and has participated in the rise and struggles of the Eastside and San Fernando Valley machines.
“It’s going to take a long time” for L.A.’s Latino political establishment “to be reconstructed, and that’s ironic when you have Latinos in charge in Sacramento now,” he said. But he predicted that Raman would bear her former opponents no ill will, because “they’re going to give her a fair shot” — because what else can they do?
The Raman era will undoubtedly boost a new generation of Latino leaders. But establishments don’t fade away so easily — and insurgents don’t automatically shun them.
On Saturday, Raman attended a news conference to condemn the arrests of two people by federal immigration agents during an anti-ICE protest outside Adventist Health White Memorial Center. The mayor-elect shook the hands of state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, SEIU California President David Huerta and Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, all of whom endorsed Bass and recorded social media videos in support of the incumbent.
When it was Raman’s turn to speak, she led the crowd in chants of “ICE out of Boyle Heights” and praised Huerta, Durazo and Salas. Raman concluded by promising Angelenos in Spanish that she would “defend” immigrants.
And then L.A.’s Latino political establishment did the only thing they could: They applauded.
Darius Garland had 24 points and 10 assists, Brook Lopez added 20 points and the Clippers ended a seven-game losing streak with a 139-123 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night.
Gradey Dick and rookie Keaton Wagler each scored 15 points and Rui Hachimura added 14 as the Clippers won for the first time since getting past the Sacramento Kings in the season opener.
The Clippers went on a 15-6 run to open the fourth quarter to take control with a 117-101 lead and finished off the victory after failing to hold on to double-digit fourth-quarter leads in their previous two games.
Trey Murphy III scored 26 points, while Zion Williamson and Jeremiah Fears each added 25 as the Pelicans lost their second consecutive game after a four-game winning streak. Saddiq Bey had 13 points for New Orleans, which was playing the opener of a two-game California trip.
The Pelicans shot 50.6% from the floor while getting held to 52 points in the paint after entering the with 61.6 per game in that department to lead the NBA.
The Clippers took a 124-107 lead with 4:56 remaining on three free throws from Garland and cruised to the victory from there with a season high in points. They shot a season-best 54.8% from the field.
The Clippers led 67-60 at halftime after shooting 52.3% from the field and getting 14 points from Garland, while Williamson had 17 points for the Pelicans. New Orleans opened the second half on an 18-10 run to take their first lead since the opening minute at 78-77.
The Clippers were without center Isaiah Jackson (groin), as well as former Pelicans star Brandon Ingram (heel), who is close to his debut for his new team.
All hail the JSerra Lions, the best high school flag football team in California and probably in the nation.
The Lions went 28-0 this season, their second straight unbeaten season. They won the Southern Section Open Division championship game on Saturday night with a 40-14 victory over Newport Harbor at Huntington Beach.
Coach Brian Ong wasn’t supposed to have a better team than the unbeaten 2025 squad, but the Lions pulled it off led by quarterback Kate Meier and receiver Tessa Russell, both of whom are only sophomores.
Meier passed for four touchdowns on Saturday. Russell had 12 receptions for 153 yards. No opponent came closer than 13 points all season. Newport Harbor, the No. 2 team in Southern California, lost three times to the Lions.
LIONS POSTGAME: Sophomore Kate Meier threw for 262 yards and four touchdowns, including three to fellow sophomore Tessa Russell (who had 12 catches for 153 yards), to help spark the JSerra Girls Flag Football team to a 40-14 win over the Newport Harbor Sailors in the CIF-SS Open… pic.twitter.com/3JKAcUoibb
In other finals, Oxnard won its first Division 1 title with an 18-12 win over Palos Verdes. In Division 2, San Clemente defeated Gahr 35-34 in overtime.
In Division 3, Valencia defeated Quartz Hill 12-7. Valencia’s 11-man football quarterback, Evan McCalister, was on hand to help his father, Cedric, the head coach. Camila Quintero threw three touchdown passes.
Valley Christian won Division 4 with a 33-18 win over West Ranch. Loma Linda defeated Peninsula 33-6 in Division 5. St. Monica, in its inaugural season, won Division 6 with a 39-20 victory over Heritage.
After this week’s major wins by the Democratic Party in the midterm elections, it’s no surprise that the cold open on “Saturday Night Live” was political in nature.
But there was one surprise guest: The new senator-elect of Texas, James Talarico.
The cold open began with a conversation between Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (Kenan Thompson) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (Sarah Sherman), the minority leaders of the House and Senate (and possible future majority leaders), respectively, as they celebrated their party’s victory, including flipping Texas blue — for which they took credit. (Schumer: “That was all me. I found the candidates, I recruited them. And as a show of respect, they begged me not to appear at their campaign events.”)
Jeffries pledged that their first order of business would be to march up to President Trump and tell him, “Hey, knock it off, Buster.”
But Trump (James Austin Johnson), not one to be left out, interrupted to take the credit for the Democratic victories instead — thanks to the “horrible economy and terrible war.” “So in the words of Moana’s big fat friend, ‘You’re Welcome,’” he said.
After an appearance from J.D. Vance (Jeremy Culhane) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost), plus Trump’s complaints about having to work with millennials and the return of their optimism, he began listing some of the newly elected senators who would be arriving in Washington: “Jon Ossoff, or as I call him Thinky Herman. Abdul El-Sayed, or as I call him, Mamdani for men. And of course, down in Texas, Talafreako.” Talarico then stepped into frame to a roar of applause and cheers from the audience, leading to this exchange:
Talarico: “Hi America, I am James Talarico, the guy who has been texting you everyday asking for $5.”
Trump: “In this economy, who can blame you.”
Talarico: “But I think Mr. President, if we can work together, we can make life better for everyday Americans. It’s clear people want something new. They want something different. I’m talking of course about ‘SNL’s’ cold opens. How many of these Trump freezes are they going to do?”
Trump: “Infinity.”
Talarico: “Well in that case, there is only one thing to say: Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night Live.”
Barri Worth Girvan, a veteran government employee who ran on a platform of leveraging her experience to advocate for residents, declared victory in the race for Los Angeles City Council’s Third District seat late Friday.
Worth Girvan’s announcement came after the latest vote tally Friday evening showed her widening her lead over rival Tim Gaspar, with 51% of the vote to Gaspar’s 49%.
“I will bring competence, transparency, follow-through, and ethical leadership to City Hall, which Angelenos deserve and too often do not get,” she said in a statement, which also thanked Gaspar for stepping up to run as well.
“I know how City Hall works, and I know how to make it work for you,” Worth Girvan said. “I am ready to hit the ground running on Day One, delivering the services our neighborhoods deserve, and leading with the integrity you have every right to expect.
Earlier Friday, Gaspar’s campaign said he wasn’t yet ready to concede. The campaign couldn’t immediately be reached for comment following Worth Girvan’s announcement.
The current Third District councilmember, Bob Blumenfield, is leaving office because of term limits. The 3rd District seat includes Woodland Hills, Reseda and Canoga Park.
Worth Girvan and Gaspar were virtually tied on election night Tuesday, but on Thursday Worth Girvan began pulling ahead as more mail-in ballots were counted.
Before entering the race, Worth Girvan was L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s district director for three years, handling constituent services on the Westside and in the Valley.
A former insurance company owner, Gaspar is running on a pro-business platform and has been endorsed by the Valley Industry & Commerce Assn. and the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union representing LAPD officers. He’s also been endorsed by Blumenfield, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, real estate developer Rick Caruso and former Democratic state Assemblymember Bob Hertzberg, Worth Girvan’s former boss.
Worth Girvan was endorsed by the L.A. County Democratic Party and labor unions including the local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Service Employees International Union. She’s also been endorsed by Horvath and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
In the race for District 9, both Jose Ugarte and Estuardo Mazariegos remain locked in a tight contest. Councilmember Curren Price is also termed out.
District 9 encompasses South L.A. neighborhoods, the Convention Center and USC. But no matter who wins, District 9 will undergo a shift in representation after decades of being represented by a Black council member.
Price is currently facing charges of embezzlement and conflict of interest and he has denied wrongdoing. Price has endorsed Ugarte, his former deputy chief of staff, whose platform includes protecting city residents from federal immigration enforcement and the Trump administration.
Mazariegos is backed by the L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. He’s worked as a community organizer for decades and said he’s running to improve quality of life in the city, including by making housing more affordable and spending money on basic services other than policing.
Ugarte’s campaign received outside support from special interest groups including Airbnb, Uber, the California Apartment Assn. and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, which represents workers at the Department of Water and Power.
Mazariegos was supported by groups including United Teachers Los Angeles and the Progressive Era PAC. Special interest groups have spent more than $250,000 supporting his campaign.
DEARBORN, Mich. — Campaigning relentlessly across Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed didn’t highlight the possibility that he could become the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. But with victory in hand, he savored his triumph over the vitriol aimed at him and his fellow Muslim Americans.
“They tried to demonize people because of how they pray,” he told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “And Michigan — the whole Michigan — clapped back. People don’t want that. They’re sick of it.”
He showed his pride in his victory speech, declaring: “My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.”
Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 attacks and their aftermath yanked anti-Muslim sentiment into the forefront of American life, those emotions are shared by many Muslim Americans in Michigan and across the country.
They saw a surge of anti-Muslim rhetoric after Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City mayor a year ago, and they saw the attacks intensify as El-Sayed became the new prime target. President Trump called him a “jihadist” who was “on the side of the terrorists.” Dozens of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress formed a Sharia-Free America Caucus, depicting Islam’s religious code as a threat to the U.S. Constitution.
But now, after El-Sayed’s defeat of GOP rival Mike Rogers was confirmed early Wednesday, there is a pervasive sense that a broader victory is at hand.
The outcome “represents a historic turning point for American Muslim political engagement and a historic defeat for the politics of hate,” said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“Anti-Muslim extremists, Israel lobby groups and even the president of the United States used every smear in the book to paint Dr. El-Sayed as a Muslim bogeyman,” he said. “None of it was true, and none of it worked. Anti-Muslim hate was on the ballot, and it failed.”
In Dearborn, talk of ‘a beautifully American story’
Excitement over El-Sayed’s victory was palpable in Dearborn, a city near Detroit with a sizable Arab American population. The mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, said residents showed up at the ballot box in huge numbers.
“What a beautifully American story,” Hammoud said. “One of our brightest and best earned the support of the majority of Michiganders who participated in yesterday’s election. And regardless of the direction in which he prays, they’re sending him to the U.S. Senate.”
Hammoud, who has known El-Sayed for more than a decade, said although his win was important for many Arab Americans, people voted for him because of his platform, not his identity. He cited support in Dearborn for independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. Sanders, who is Jewish and caucuses with Democrats, ran on a progressive platform.
In El-Sayed, residents of Dearborn “finally saw themselves and a candidate who appealed to them, but it had to do with far more than just his ethnicity or his religion,” Hammoud said. “It was honestly because of the policies and building a coalition with this community in an honest way.”
When Zaynah Jadallah, 26, canvassed for El-Sayed in Dearborn, she said most people told her they already planned on voting for him before inviting her in for water or food. She credited the name recognition to El-Sayed’s grassroots campaigning and his pride in his Egyptian heritage.
“He’s always been proud of his identity. He never shied away from it or from saying his name,” Jadallah said.
Yasmin El-Sayed, no relation to the senator-elect, took her two daughters to the Detroit watch party from New York. She teared up after the victory speech.
“Having grown up in a post-9/11 world, being Muslim, being Arab myself, never in a million years did I think we would see what we saw today,” she said.
In a time of suspicion of government, a message of representation
El-Sayed depicted his election as a victory for all those “who don’t see themselves reflected in our government or who’ve been told that they don’t belong for some reason or another — not just how they pray but who they love, how they identify, the color of their skin, where they grew up.″
“I didn’t run to be the first Muslim senator. I ran to be the next senator of the state of Michigan who happens to be Muslim,” he said. ″But I also know that democracy is constantly about the conversation about who we are, who we want to be.”
“Michigan proved just how big we are. Rejected a hateful, spiteful campaign that had nothing to say about the issues and only wanted to point to my name and my face,” he added. ″I want all of those folks out there who have been told that America’s not big enough for them to reflect on that. America really is big enough for all of us.”
Mohamed Gula, CEO of the Muslim American advocacy group Emgage Action, said he was elated by El-Sayed’s triumph after a year of “extremely Islamophobic and disgusting rhetoric being used as a campaign strategy.”
“For Abdul to come out last night and use his full name meant the world to someone who grew up in post-9/11 America, where the Muslim American community was seen through a national security lens,” Gula said.
“Our children, years from now, will be able to run for office,” he said, “to be seen as who they are.”
A debate over the place of sharia law — and its very definition
Among the most frequent targets of anti-Muslim rhetoric was sharia, the religious code that provides Muslims with guidance on how to lead righteous lives. At the Republicans’ midterm convention in Dallas, some of the loudest cheers came after GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas declared: “Sharia law has no place in America.”
Muslim American civic leaders and scholars — in Texas and other states — responded forcefully to the anti-sharia rhetoric that dates back more than 15 years.
They passionately defended sharia — the way it’s practiced in the United States — as positive guidance that shares elements with the codes of other faiths, such as the Ten Commandments and the collective body of Jewish law derived from the Torah. They rebutted the claims of GOP critics that sharia is a coercive code that threatens the Constitution and the judicial system.
Gula noted that Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton were among the leaders of the anti-sharia campaign. Abbott lost his bid for reelection in Tuesday’s voting, and Paxton was trounced by Democrat James Talarico in the race for a U.S. Senate seat.
“I saw this as not just Muslims standing against Islamophobia as never before,” Gula said. “I saw Americans saying hate will not be used as a campaign issue … we are not going to accept hate.”
Asma Uddin, a professor at Michigan State University’s College of Law, has argued that many American politicians are depicting ordinary Muslim religious practices — such as prayer, choice of apparel, family counseling and mosque attendance — as evidence of political danger.
“What I find especially exciting is that El-Sayed won in a political climate where being visibly Muslim can still be a liability,” she said. His victory “gives us real reason for optimism. It suggests that anti-Muslim attacks don’t necessarily carry the political weight that those deploying them assume they do.”
GaNun, Cappelletti and Crary write for the Associated Press. Cappelletti reported from Washington and Crary from New York.
From Broderick Turner: On a night when Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team was “a little flat,” Luka Doncic flattened yet another opponent.
Even Doncic started slow compared to his usual first-quarter exploits, but he picked up his pace as the game progressed, dropping 40 points on the woeful Sacramento Kings to lead the Lakers to a 116-103 win Wednesday night at Golden1 Center.
Doncic has scored 40-plus points in three straight games and in five of his last six.
So, after he went 11-for-23 from the field and six-for-13 from three-point range and after he also notched nine rebounds and seven assists, Doncic was asked if he’s ever had a better offensive stretch over his eight-year NBA career.
“Maybe. I don’t know,” he said. “I had some good stretches in my career. But obviously this could be one of the highest ones. But there’s still some work to do.”
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Clippers lose at last second
Klay Thompson made the winning three-pointer with a second left in overtime and the Miami Heat rallied past the reeling Clippers 117-116 on Wednesday night.
Bam Adebayo set season highs with 35 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who have won three of four after losing their first four games. Thompson scored 30, going eight of 17 from three-point range, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 14 boards and six assists.
Miami trailed by 20 in the second quarter and was still down 10 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the fourth before a 9-0 spurt set up the tight finish.
Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, has been on injured reserve since undergoing left knee surgery after the Rams’ season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.
Coach Sean McVay said the Rams have attempted to be “as diligent, as thorough” as possible before allowing Garrett to practice and opening the 21-day window for him to return to the roster.
McVay said Garrett would take half the amount of full reps on Wednesday and would be evaluated each day before determining when he would be activated to the roster for a game. Garrett went through individual drills with edge rushers during the portion of practice open to reporters.
The Rams play the Washington Commanders on Sunday in Landover, Md.
Watson, who signed with the Rams as a free agent after winning two Super Bowl titles in four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, reinjured his shoulder during last Sunday’s victory over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
“That’s a big blow,” McVay said. “Bummer for him. He’s been such a stud for us. He wanted to be able to play through it but just kind of understanding the totality of it all, just some of the different things, recommended to get that surgery.
Adrian Kempe had a hat trick and an assist, Quinton Byfield scored two goals, and the Kings routed the San José Sharks 7-2 on Wednesday night.
Erik Haula and Joel Armia also scored for the Kings and Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves. Artemi Panarin had four assists.
It was the 37th multigoal game Kempe has had with the Kings, moving him past Dustin Brown for sole possession of ninth place in the history of the franchise. Kempe returned to the lineup after missing a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday because of an undisclosed injury.
1927 — Walter Hagen beats Joe Turnesa 1-up to capture the PGA Championship for the fourth consecutive year and fifth overall.
1955 — Montreal’s Jean Beliveau scores the second fastest hat trick in NHL history in a 4-2 win over Boston. Beliveau, who scores all four Canadien goals, gets three in 44 seconds against Bruins goaltender Terry Sawchuk on the same power play.
1961 — Bill Stacy of the St. Louis Cardinals returns two interceptions for touchdowns in a 31-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
1966 — Virgil Carter of Brigham Young passes for 513 yards and rushes for 86 to set an NCAA record for total yards with 599 in a 53-33 victory over Texas Western.
1977 — BYU sophomore Marc Wilson sets an NCAA record with 571 passing yards in a 38-8 rout of Utah.
1978 — Oakland coach John Madden becomes the 13th head coach to win 100 games in the NFL as the Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-10.
1988 — Alysheba becomes the richest racehorse when he beats Seeking the Gold by a half-length in the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.
1994 — George Foreman regains part of the heavyweight title he lost to Muhammad Ali in 1974, stopping Michael Moorer with a two-punch combination at 2:03 of the 10th round. Foreman, 45, captures the IBF and WBA championships to become the oldest champion in any weight class.
1999 — Carolina’s Ron Francis becomes the sixth NHL player to reach 1,500 points when he assisted on Sami Kapanen’s first-period goal for the Hurricanes in 3-2 loss at Detroit.
2008 — Tony Parker scores a career-high 55 points, including a 20-footer at the buzzer to force a second overtime in San Antonio’s 129-125 victory over Minnesota.
2010 — Calvin Borel and Javier Castellano tussle at Churchill Downs just moments after tangling during the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Marathon in an ugly, chaotic scene. Castellano’s horse Prince Will I Am runs into the path of Romp and Martin Garcia. Garcia is able to stay on top of his horse but also impedes Borel and A.U. Miner. After the race, an enraged Borel is restrained by security personnel and his older brother Cecil.
2010 — Mexico beats the United States in one of the biggest upsets in the history of women’s soccer. The Mexicans, on goals by Maribel Dominguez and Veronica Perez, post 2-1 victory and qualify for the 2011 World Cup.
2011 — Drew Alleman kicks a 25-yard field goal in overtime to give top-ranked LSU a 9-6 win over No. 2 Alabama.
2016 — Arrogate catches 4-5 favorite California Chrome in the final 100 yards to win the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
2017 — Shalane Flanagan dethrones three-time winner Mary Keitany to become the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977.
2017 — Eli Manning of the Giants became the seventh NFL quarterback to reach the 50,000-mark with his completion to Sterling Shepard in the fourth quarter against the Rams.
2022 — Alex Ovechkin scores 787th goal for the Washington Capitals surpassing Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, for all-time NHL record for most goals scored for a single team, in 3-2 loss to Arizona Coyotes.
2022 — World Series: Houston Astros win second title in franchise history; beat Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 iat Minute Maid Park, Houston for 4-2 series victory; MVP: Astros SS Jeremy Peña, Dusty Baker (73) becomes oldest manager to win championship, Phillies set ignominious record striking out 71 times.
2025 — Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin becomes first NHL player to score 900 goals in a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Blues
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 houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Klay Thompson made the winning three-pointer with a second left in overtime and the Miami Heat rallied past the reeling Clippers 117-116 on Wednesday night.
Bam Adebayo set season highs with 35 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who have won three of four after losing their first four games. Thompson scored 30, going eight of 17 from three-point range, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 14 boards and six assists.
Miami trailed by 20 in the second quarter and was still down 10 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the fourth before a 9-0 spurt set up the tight finish.
Darius Garland had 26 points and seven assists to pace the Clippers, who have lost seven games in a row since winning their season opener Oct. 21 against Sacramento.
Iranians celebrated the US midterm results as a victory for Iran, after US President Donald Trump acknowledged the Republicans’ crushing defeat was partly due to the war. Now, attention turns to whether a Democratic majority in Congress can challenge Trump’s military decisions.
Mike Madrid was prepping to interview Xavier Becerra on Olvera Street last month when the immensity of the moment hit him.
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That morning, Becerra held a rally for his gubernatorial campaign in the birthplace of Los Angeles alongside California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and the leader of the state Senate, Monique Limón, that doubled as a referendum on where Latinos stood politically.
Never before have Latinos occupied the top spots in both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s mansion simultaneously, Rivas told the cheering crowd. Becerra reminded the audience that the moment was fraught for Latinos, though. Federal agents were still detaining undocumented immigrants across the state, and Latino residents — the state’s largest ethnic group at 41% — were suffering under the crushing cost of food, gas and housing.
“[Latinos] are here, we are present and we will fight,” Becerra said. “But right now, our fight is to get the vote out, to make sure everyone understands that our power lies in our vote.”
Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra purchases an agua fresca from Taqueria Vista Hermosa in Mercado La Paloma on June 9.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Madrid, a longtime political commentator and strategist, had set up his recording equipment at the Pico House, formerly a historic hotel named after the last Mexican governor of California. He recalled how Pio Pico, who helped found the California Republican Party but ended up dying destitute, opened the structure in 1870 as a testament to what Latinos had contributed to their state. But they would eventually be seen as a relic of the bygone days when Mexicans ruled — days that gringos imagined would never return.
The symbolism of a Becerra victory would be “kind of a big deal,” Madrid said, representing a back to the future opportunity for an ethnic group that ruled California until the United States won the Mexican-American War, then was relegated to political irrelevance for over a century before finally being at the doorstep of the governor’s mansion again. Becerra would become California’s first Latino governor in modern times and the second since Romualdo Pacheco served for 10 months in 1875.
Now that the race has been called, Becerra’s victory signifies how much Latinos have advanced since Pico’s days. But it’s also anticlimactic.
As California’s Latino population grew and their political power eventually did too, the days when such a victory would have been an inspiring surprise are long gone. Becerra is now just one of many Latino political captains who steer the Golden State.
Xavier Becerra, right, fist bumps with Roy Kuroyawagi, owner of Japangeles, during a tour of businesses in Little Tokyo on Aug. 18.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero became the first Latina to occupy that role when Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed her in 2023. The state’s senior U.S. senator, Alex Padilla, is the son of Mexican immigrants who settled in the San Fernando Valley. Rep. Pete Aguilar, a fourth-generation Mexican American from Redlands, is the third most powerful Democrat in Congress as the head of the party’s House caucus. Lorena Gonzalez, daughter of a Mexican immigrant father and white mother, leads the California Labor Federation, a longtime kingmaker in state politics.
And now, with Becerra at the helm, they will have to govern at a precarious moment, inheriting a state with existential problems affecting everyone, everywhere.
Droughts, El Niño, an eroding coast and the year-round threat of wildfires, much of it accelerated by climate change. Stagnant population growth that threatens to shrink the number of congressional seats. A presidential administration that keeps fighting California in federal court and has attempted to block the votes of 20,000 Californians it alleges are noncitizens. A restive population that Madrid predicts won’t let Becerra bask in his historic win.
“This is what you’ve always wanted. Here’s the keys to the car,” he cracked. “You’re responsible for it now. Who you’re going to blame if things don’t get better — Trump?”
Jody Agius Vallejo, associate director of USC’s Equity Research Institute, said she hopes that California’s new caretakers remember the struggles of getting to the summit — that they represent the dreams and battles of generations of politicians, voters and activists — as they embark on whatever’s next.
“You use these narratives [of Latino personal and collective struggle] to get elected,” she said. “Use them to understand what people need, and govern for them.”
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1.Patricia Guerrero, left, is sworn-in to the California Supreme Court in 2022 by Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Nathaniel Levine / The Sacramento Bee via Associated Press)2.Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., questions Attorney General Pam Bondi as she testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee in 2025.(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)3.Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., speaks at a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee hearing in 2026.(Allison Robbert / Associated Press)4.Lorena Gonzalez at podium with California Attorney General Rob Bonta during a news conference in Los Angeles in 2024. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
Many voters were already shrugging about the significance of Becerra’s likely victory — especially Latinos. Only 45% of Latino voters in California felt “proud” about the prospect of a Latino governor, according to a Berkeley IGS poll released last week.
Those results aren’t surprising to Lena Gonzalez, a Long Beach-area state senator who chairs California’s Latino Legislative Caucus. She praised Becerra’s victory as the culmination of decades of political organizing. But voters care more about results than identity, she said — something the Latino political class has been slow to realize.
“People will say, ‘OK, that’s great [he’s Latino], but how are you fighting back?’” she said. “I just think we need to lead now and not advertise we’re Latinos.”
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Xavier Becerra waves goodbye after a visit to Hoover St. Elementary School in March 2001.
(Kim D. Johnson / Associated Press)
Becerra has long been a poster child for Latino political firsts, representing L.A.’s Eastside in the state Assembly and Congress for 27 years before Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him to be California’s first Latino attorney general in 2017. Three years later, Becerra became the country’s first Latino Health and Human Services secretary under President Biden.
Becerra has rarely highlighted his latinidad while never shying away from his background as the child of Mexican immigrants. He told Madrid at the end of their interview at the Pico House that Californians should be prouder of his working class roots than his ethnicity.
Some have complained that Becerra is an unworthy, boring torchbearer for Latinos — not dynamic enough to meet a moment where many hoped for a firebrand. But in many ways, his style is a callback to the past.
When Latino politicians first began winning local and state legislative elections in the decades after World War II, they “were constantly about, ‘How do I mobilize the Latino vote without alienating the white vote, and how do I get support from the establishment which is white?’” said Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University and a longtime chronicler of California politics.
Latinos were the majority of the population in some areas during that era, but politicians couldn’t rely solely on them to win, because they still didn’t represent a majority of voters. That changed by the late 1980s, as immigration brought millions of Latinos to California.
Mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, center, and Assemblywoman Karen Bass, left, dance to gospel music sung by the McCoy Memorial Baptist choir during an endorsement celebration in 2005.
(Stefano Paltera / For The Times)
That set the stage for politicians who “didn’t need the external validation anymore” of white voters or power brokers, Guerra said. “They could now say, ‘I am a Latino candidate with a Latino agenda, because I represent a Latino district.’”
By 1996, two years after the anti-immigrant Proposition 187 galvanized Latino activism, a record number of newly registered Latino voters in Orange County helped Loretta Sanchez upset longtime Republican Rep. Bob Dornan, the first welt of purple in a famously red county. That same year, Cruz Bustamante became the first Latino Assembly speaker, then lieutenant governor — the first Latino elected to statewide office in California since Pacheco ascended to the same position in the 1870s. In 2005, Antonio Villaraigosa was elected mayor of Los Angeles, sparking national headlines as the first Latino to occupy that position in modern times.
The Latino political firsts kept coming over the next 20 years, now reaching a pinnacle with Becerra’s win. Guerra said that “incremental” approach made Latinos mainstream to the point where the novelty of another milestone quickly wore off.
“Do you want a transformative moment? Absolutely,” he said. “But those come few and far in between. Incremental comes every two years.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra takes a selfie with supporters after a campaign stop on May 21 at the Wende Museum in Culver City.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Becerra started his campaign for governor far behind in the polls, surging after Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out due to sexual assault allegations. Becerra’s campaign leaned into his milquetoast persona and crowned him Tío Xavier — Uncle Xavier — to market him as a non-threatening moderate who happened to be Latino.
Madrid, a lifelong Republican, voted for Becerra because of GOP candidate Steve Hilton’s refusal to denounce MAGA. He also thinks Becerra can “resurrect a healthy economy for the working class” — something he accuses Democrats of “abandon[ing] for a generation.” The “burden” is on California’s Latino leaders to show they can serve not just their own community but everyone, he said.
On Monday, Becerra mingled with eaters at Homegirl Cafe in Chinatown, looking anodyne in a white shirt, wire-framed glasses and tan khakis as supporters asked for selfies or a hug.
Half-hearted shouts of “¡Sí se puede!” gave way to authentically boisterous chants of “Be-ce-rra!”
The heavy favorite for governor took questions in the packed dining room and didn’t flinch when I asked him to reflect on the fact that Latinos will head every branch of California government if he wins.
“We’re all fortunate when a state like California gives all of us opportunities to be in position of authority,” Becerra replied.
He nodded at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who stood by his side.
“But we gotta do it right,” he said. “And it’s on me to be a good governor — not to be a good Latino governor, but to be a good governor.”
Credit to Lincoln Riley. USC’s embattled football coach stood and stared directly at what could have been the death knell for his Trojans tenure and said: Not today.
Actually, he said more than that after his unranked Trojans upset No. 2 Ohio State, 30-18 on Saturday.
“I got one other thing I want to say here,” said Riley, whose victory kept alive the Trojans’ hopes of making the College Football Playoff for the first time on his watch. “I want to make sure to articulate my thoughts.
“This program’s not built on internal joy — excuse me, is built on internal joy — not external applause. This win’s for all the staff members, the players, the leaders, admin, all the people within the walls.
“I said before this game, that I’m the right person for this job, and as long as all those people know that, that’s all I care about.
“I appreciate being a part of this university and all it does. I appreciate our kids and our staff, and I’m going to continue to fight on because that’s what being a Trojan’s all about. Fight On.”
Then he stood and punctuated his address: “Adios.”
The way USC dismantled a Buckeyes team that was considered one of the leading national championship contenders this zany college football season, Riley deserved to crow.
The way his team refused to let go of the rope — even with their head coach on the ropes, Riley deserved a victory lap.
It’s just that before sharing his statement, he didn’t seem all that interested in taking it.
He began his news conference looking, appropriately, to lend perspective to the victory — his first in his USC tenure against a top-10 team — in which the Trojans exploded on a Buckeyes team that hadn’t given up more than 24 points in a game since losing to Oregon 32-31 on Oct. 12, 2024.
“Every win’s important,” said Riley, whose overall record at USC in his fifth season is now 42-20. “When you get a chance, like tonight, to play a really good football team — one of the best programs in America over a long, long period of time — those are great opportunities.”
He gave deserved kudos to his team for staying together and responding after last week’s disappointing 24-7 loss at Wisconsin. And reiterated his usual message, win or lose: “I know what’s building within those walls. Like, I know it. All my years of experience and all that I’ve kind of seen and got to experience in this game tells me that. I believe that with every fiber in my being.”
USC coach Lincoln Riley watches his players warm up before facing Ohio State at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Saturday’s victory won’t necessarily be good news for dissatisfied fans rooting for Riley’s ouster. But it was big for anyone partial to a good comeback story — and for those tenuous CFP prospects.
“I keep saying, look at all the craziness across the country,” Riley said. “The teams that just hang in there, keep going, get better, stay together, are going to be the ones that are there in the end.”
The Trojans could be one of those teams. They should be, in fact.
They have the talent, as we saw Saturday when previously injured freshmen Trent Mosley and Mark Bowman gashed a Buckeyes defense that hadn’t allowed a play longer than 36 yards all season with plays of 69 and 70 yards.
And they have the fortitude, as we witnessed when USC’s defense forced Ohio State to settle for a field goal after they had first and goal at the one-yard line late in the second quarter: “Grit play, a toughness deal. A mindset thing,” defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren said.
What made the Trojans’ previous losses so galling was the gauntlet ahead of them, starting with Ohio State.
Before, we wondered: If they couldn’t beat Oregon and its backup quarterback at home, how the heck were they going to beat Ohio State (and its understudy QB, Mission Viejo’s Luke Fahey)?
Earlier, we asked: If Wisconsin was going to force them into the worst offensive showing in the Riley era, what was defending national champion Indiana going to do to them?
And, of course: If they were just sneaking by struggling teams like Rutgers, Penn State and Washington, what chance was there that they could surprise still-undefeated UCLA?
But now, after Saturday’s sensational showing, we’ll spend next week’s bye and then the week ahead of their game in Bloomington against the Hoosiers — who escaped Saturday with a 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota — doing the math and wondering why can’t USC knock off another top-five team?
USC linebackers Ta’mere Robinson, left, and Jadyn Walker leap in celebration following a 30-18 win over Ohio State on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
And if the Trojans can beat Indiana, why can’t they beat the 8-0 Bruins, who have been taking care of business against opponents who have no business beating them, like Nevada on Saturday, 27-0?
Because the Trojans haven’t folded. In fact, things went so well on this rainy Halloween evening — which ended with pirates and princesses and people in all varieties of costume celebrating on the field with the players — you might have started to wonder whether they had been bluffing.
Just like we assume Riley is bluffing whenever he talks about being able to block out “the noise.”
He might not want to worry himself with the “external applause,” but if he wants to fight on at USC, he’s going to need to continue earning it.
