While McDaniel and his system have been a hot topic throughout training camp, he isn’t the only new coordinator in town.
Thursday’s game will offer a similar peek at what Chris O’Leary’s starting defense has in store.
“Overall, we played together; we played fast; we played violent,” O’Leary said of the group’s performance in Houston. “The result was a good result for us. We see a lot of stuff we can clean up along the way.”
O’Leary’s defense followed up a strong opening game by playing well against the 49ers’ offense in Tuesday’s practice.
“Honestly, don’t think it was our best day,” San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy said.
The Chargers would like to hear Purdy — who might play Thursday, according to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan — say that again.
EXCLUSIVE Emmerdale’s Joe Tate actor Ned Porteous told the Mirror that the huge wedding week will impact the whole village, and could signal a new era for the ITV soap
20:00, 19 Aug 2026Updated 20:00, 19 Aug 2026
Emmerdale actor Ned Porteous teases ‘new era’ for the soap
Emmerdale’s Joe Tate actor Ned Porteous has teased the big wedding week could be a “new era” for the ITV soap.
With stunts and tragedy teased, the wedding of Joe and his bride Dawn Taylor [Olivia Bromley] is set to end in disaster. With Dawn planning to flee with her ex Billy Fletcher [Jay Kontzle], Ned told the Mirror that Billy may need to watch.
He said: “I’ve always assumed that with a character like Joe, there’s one thing that he holds closest to his heart. The one thing that you can’t buy, and that’s love and family.
“It’s the things that he holds really dear. As a man who is outwardly volatile and dangerous, and unable to regulate his emotions, if you were to take the final thing tethering him to a life of moral good, what could that man then be capable of?”
Ned warned that as the wedding arrives, Joe may have something up his sleeve. He told us: “Well, we don’t know whether Joe already knows about Dawn and Billy.
“He could be formatting some serious revenge, or he could be completely oblivious, but we do know that Joe is capable of anything. So we’ll see.” It’s safe to say the consequences of the big week will be far-reaching.
Ned said: “It’s going to affect everyone in the village.” Ned also told us what fans can expect from the week of episodes, suggesting a new era for the soap was on the way.
He commented: “It’s a higher quality version of Emmerdale. Emmerdale is already fantastic as a show, it’s the best job I’ve ever had, but the amount of work that has been put into these episodes, and on this block and on this unit.
“The episodes that we’ve all been part of, there is a feeling to it, not just in thematic vibe, but also the quality of the cameras that we’ve been using. It is going to look and sound and feel very different, and hopefully, this could be the start of a whole new era for Emmerdale.”
Ned also addressed Joe’s deadly feud with his uncle Caleb Miligan, which is a huge part of the big week. Asked if things would get dangerous, Ned said: “Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I mean, he’s taken his kidney, we’ll see what else he manages to take!”
Asked who may come out on top, Ned coyly revealed: “I wouldn’t mess with either of them, to be honest. But, we’ll see. Ned loves the rivalry between the Tates though.
He said: “I have only ever enjoyed playing scenes with Will Ash where we’re at each other’s throats. The character that he plays, and this power dynamic between us, has been so much fun as an actor to play. So, I’m welcoming as much of that as possible, I’m really enjoying it.”
Sarah Jooste, Product Executive at Sundeals said: “Taking the ferry across to La Graciosa for the day completely changes your perspective of Lanzarote and feels like discovering a hidden island that many visitors never see.”
“For lunch, I’d recommend Casa Enriqueta on La Graciosa, where tapas start from around €6 (£5.13) per dish, while traditional rice and seafood dishes such as paella are typically around €16 (£13.69) per portion, served overlooking the harbour.”
While on the island, you can also head to Caleta de Sebo, which is the main hub of the island where you will find local shops and places serving fresh fish.
For a beach spot, visit Playa de las Conchas, which boasts golden sand and amazing views.
Both Lanzarote and La Graciosa both have amazing beachesCredit: AlamyAnd the two islands are just a short ferry ride from each otherCredit: Alamy
Thanks to the rugged landscape, another popular activity is to head off on a 4×4 Jeep Safari across volcanic land formations.
Prefer hiking? Head up Montaña Amarilla for panoramic views over the sea and coast.
Of course, Lanzarote has many amazing spots too including diving around Museo Atlántico which is Europe’s only underwater sculpture museum, with more than 300 sculptures.
You could also head to Jameos del Agua where you’ll find an underground lagoon inhabited by tiny blind albino crabs found nowhere else in the world.
There is even a restaurant hidden inside the volcanic cave too.
The restaurant serves traditional Canarian dishes but you could also book onto the Insólita Experience guided tour, which includes access to hidden areas of the caves, a tasting at Bar Galería and entry to the Casa de los Volcanes Museum from €41.20 (£35.24) per person.
You could even head to an underwater museum and an underground lagoonCredit: Alamy
Sarah also recommends: “Back on Lanzarote, Bodega Rubicón, in the La Geria region, is a brilliant place to experience the island’s unique volcanic wine culture, with tastings from around €22 (£18.82). It is one of those places where the landscape is just as memorable as the wine itself.”
Kevin Nelson, Managing Director at Sundeals said: “Our research tells us travellers are looking for smart ways to book holidays that give them exactly the experiences they want, with flexibility and a great price.
“A two-in-one holiday, where you have a central base but other destinations or countries nearby to spend a day in, are a great way to pack a lot in for a low-cost.
“Lanzarote is a brilliant example of that. Visitors can enjoy everything they expect from a Canary Island escape but also discover a real hidden gem in La Graciosa.
“For anyone looking to make the most of their holiday time, Lanzarote offers something increasingly valuable – the chance to experience several different sides of a destination without spending your trip travelling between airports.”
The Chargers were bitten by the injury bug Tuesday during a joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers in El Segundo.
Center Tyler Biadasz went down hard after 49ers defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez fell on his left leg during an 11-on-11 drill. Biadasz, who was unable to put weight on his left leg, was carted off the field and visibly upset.
“Obviously praying for the best,” Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said. “I don’t know exactly what happened. And I haven’t heard the report back. But hoping for the best for him.”
Biadasz was replaced by rookie offensive lineman Jake Slaughter, who is among the candidates to play left guard.
“Yeah, man, that hurt me,” Slaughter said. “He’s been nothing but a wonderful mentor. He’s been such a good leader in the room, helping me see the big picture better. We’re hoping and praying he’s in a good spot, and it’s nothing serious.”
Outside linebacker Kyle Kennard exited practice with a trainer after limping off the field.
Wide receiver Quentin Johnston limped to the sideline after attempting a leaping catch. It appeared to be a lower-body injury, and trainers worked on him afterward.
The Chargers have consistently endured devastating injuries over the years.
And it seems there’s a good chance they’ll be shorthanded at SoFi Stadium during Week 2 of preseason play against the 49ers.
“I take it as a blessing that I can help the team in any way that I can,” Slaughter said about potentially starting at center if Biadasz is sidelined for an extended period of time.
Welcome back to this week’s Lakers newsletter, where we’ve apparently never heard of an offseason.
During an allegedly sleepy period on the NBA schedule, the Lakers shook everyone awake with a blaring alarm. Twice.
Mark Walter, 14 months after agreeing to buy the NBA’s premier franchise, is selling his controlling stake in the Lakers to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger at a staggering $12.5 billion valuation that would be the highest in sports history. When Kushner and Iger seemed poised to cash in even more after a reported Buss family vote to sell remaining shares of the team, team governor Jeanie Buss said emphatically, “Not today.”
Buss is contesting her family’s reported plan to sell its remaining 17.8% of the team to Iger and Kushner. Her lawyers issued a scathing letter saying her younger brothers are “doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers,” and that she should remain the controlling governor of the Lakers, as described in the family trust.
One 47-year reign in the NBA hangs in the balance this week. Quietly, another 18-year run has already concluded.
All things Lakers, all the time.
Get all the Lakers news you need in Thuc Nhi Nguyen’s weekly newsletter.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
‘Just a kid from inner city L.A.’
Russell Westbrook with the Clippers in 2023.
(Matt York / Associated Press)
Reggie Morris Jr. won’t just remember the way Russell Westbrook changed basketball. Even after Westbrook’s retirement, his former high school coach chooses to see the way the former Lawndale Leuzinger star is changing the city that raised him. That’s even more important than the NBA record 209 triple-doubles.
“I believe that his impact on this community,” Morris said, “is far greater than his basketball impact.”
Westbrook was once just a short kid with size 14 shoes and an even bigger chip on his shoulder. He grew into an electrifying guard at UCLA, where he went to two Final Fours. He blossomed into one of the most productive, yet polarizing, players in NBA history. Through it all, he remained dedicated to the community that would later fail to fully embrace his no-holds-barred playing style.
The L.A. native was named NBA most valuable player in 2017. The same season, when Morris was coaching at Loyola Marymount, Westbrook reached out about starting an Elite Youth Basketball League team for young players.
Westbrook set the NBA record for triple-doubles and averaged a season-long triple-double four times. Between the stat-stuffing performances, he launched Why Not Premier, an EYBL girls team with the same resources and investment as the boys.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist was named to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team in 2021 after snarling, dunking and driving with full force every play, every night. On the way, he regularly returned to his hometown.
“Before he was a walking headline,” actor Michael B. Jordan said in a video Westbrook posted on social media last Wednesday for his retirement announcement, “he was just a kid from inner city L.A. who could jump higher than anybody had a right to.”
The video shows Westbrook walking through a museum of his basketball career then into an unfinished wing that represents “the mentorship, the foundation, the kids who are going to grow up wanting to move just like he did … [that] hasn’t been built yet either.”
Tributes to Westbrook flooded in. Fifteen-year-old highlight reels showing baggy shorts, jaw-dropping athleticism and a crossover that nearly shook defenders out of their shoes popped up on social media again. Even his own high school coach had forgotten just how dynamic Westbrook was in his prime.
“He didn’t back down from anybody,” said Morris, now the director of Westbrook’s Team Why Not EYBL team and the boys’ basketball head coach at Redondo Union. “He was fearless. He was relentless. There’s never really been a player quite like him. I would say he kind of has, like, a Charles Barkley, a young Charles Barkley spirit, where he was just passionate and fiery. He wasn’t PC. He wore his emotions on his sleeves, and he didn’t really apologize to anyone for how he felt or what he was there to do.”
Westbrook’s unapologetic attitude became a defining characteristic of his game. He was defiant. He was dynamic. He was exciting and explosive, but exhausting.
After 11 seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where the Thunder went to the playoffs nine times with one NBA Finals appearance, Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets. When he got to the Lakers in 2021, it was his fourth team in as many seasons.
Russell Westbrook brings the ball upcourt for the Lakers.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
Westbrook’s two-year run with the Lakers was “bittersweet” for Westbrook, Morris said. Returning to the community that raised him was expected to be a triumphant homecoming. But the team struggled, his efficiency waned and fans turned on him. He became a punch line and a negative example of LeBron James’ potential influence after the superstar lobbied for the trade that brought Westbrook to L.A. He sparred with reporters.
The public feuds started to overshadow what those close to Westbrook know him to be in private: a maniacal hard worker with a competitive streak that demands respect.
“A lot of people looked at the emotions on the court and thought Russ was loud,” Durant wrote in a poignant note on X. “Nah to me, he was quiet and methodical. He [led] by example and once the lights were bright, he let everything out and experienced pure freedom. It was inspiring as his teammate and everywhere I went, I seen it inspire people from all walks of life.”
Westbrook will now inspire away from the court. When Nike reached out to Westbrook about starting an EYBL team, he knew where to go with the idea. He hadn’t been part of the regular travel ball circuit growing up and instead stuck closely with his local coaches, including Morris. He wanted that same loyal experience for his youth team.
Westbrook’s Team Why Not expanded to include a girls program Why Not Premier in 2022. His wife, Nina, also played basketball at UCLA, and the couple has been a strong supporter of the UCLA women’s basketball program.
Westbrook, who often trained at UCLA’s basketball facility that the men’s and women’s programs share, would readily share knowledge with UCLA’s women’s players, UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close said. He welcomed them in workouts, showed them what food he had packed in Tupperware containers to stay on a healthy diet and encouraged them to train for long, productive careers.
“There’s so much bad press about, ‘Oh, college athletes or pro athletes are just a bunch of takers, they all are about money first,” Close said, “and the Westbrooks, and specifically Russ and Nina, they’re about giving back and they’re about making a difference.”
Even during the season, Westbrook made himself available to players on his EYBL teams as often as possible, visiting between playoff runs or at least supporting them through social media.
“They feel his presence when he’s there, and he’s hands-on in the situation,” Morris said. “He’s not just giving money; he’s trying to help the kids, give them a different aspect or a different take on what he knows and give it back to them.”
Jared McCain is one of Team Why Not’s most prominent alumni. The 22-year-old Oklahoma City guard posted a picture from his EYBL days to his Instagram story last week showing Westbrook with his arm wrapped around McCain’s waist.
“Legend!!” wrote McCain, who graduated from Corona Centennial. “Thank you for everything.”
Morris and Westbrook had talked about the end more often lately. They knew if not this year, it would have probably been next year. Morris could never have envisioned the career was going to be this decorated, but the longtime coach knew it was going to be successful. If he hadn’t become a future Hall of Famer, Westbrook would have easily become a president of a successful company, Morris said.
Don’t rule it out for his second act.
“When you have a work ethic like his, it’s just part of who he is,” Morris said. “It’s not gonna go anywhere.”
Best thing I ate this week
Signature beef udon at Azuki in Seattle.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
This technically isn’t the best thing from this week, but I needed to share this extra food gem from my hometown. Azuki’s unassuming storefront in Seattle’s Capital Hill neighborhood is easy to miss but the homemade udon noodles should not be overlooked. The signature beef udon noodles had a simple, light broth that leaves the perfect amount of salty coating on your tongue. The thin slices of beef are perfect with the chewy udon noodles. The only way the meal would have been better was if it was on a cold winter day.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. The high school football season begins this weekend with zero week games. Let’s review some of the top openers.
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
Big opening games
Thursday
Corona Centennial vs. Servite at Orange Coast College: It’s a challenging debut for first-year Servite coach Rick Garretson going against a Matt Logan offense that should be one of his best with quarterback Jaden Jefferson, running back Malaki Davis and receiver Quentin Hale. Servite has lots of speed and a trio of outstanding linebackers, plus new quarterback Gino Wang, so let’s see if the Friars can stay close. The pick: Corona Centennial.
Murrieta Valley at Rancho Cucamonga: These two top 25 teams exude toughness. Murrieta Valley is known for daring anyone to stop their running game. Rancho Cucamonga has had a year to get quarterback Trey Towns comfortable with the offense. The pick: Murrieta Valley.
Paraclete vs. St. Bonaventure at Ventura College: Former NFL defensive back Troy Hill, in his second year as head coach, had his first off season and the results should be good. The offense will be explosive behind improving junior quarterback Jaxson Carper and a group of speedy receivers. Angelus League favorite Paraclete has St. Francis transfer Shawn Sanders.
Friday
St. John Bosco at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman: This is a real national championship game. Whomever wins can finish unbeaten by season end. St. John Bosco’s experience on defense should be beneficial, but priority No. 1 is stopping running back Terrance Grant Jr., who has a huge offensive line to support him. Junior quarterback Koa Malau’ulu is in his third season as a starter. The receiving corp was hit hard by graduation but the offensive line should be much improved with the addition of Servite transfer Elisha Mueller. The pick: St. John Bosco.
Crenshaw at Palisades: Robert Garrett has left Crenshaw after 300 career victories. Interim coach Terrence Whitehead and his group of Garrett-trained assistants have worked hard to increase the roster level. There’s lots of athleticism at quarterback with Ethan Grant, a transfer from Los Angeles, and returnee Danniel Flowers. This is the first campus football game at Palisades since the Palisades Fire in January of 2025, so emotions will be high. The pick: Crenshaw.
Chaparral at Mission Viejo: Get ready for an entertaining TV opener in which both teams have a terrific group of receivers, so it will come down to who can protect their quarterback best. That’s where Mission Viejo has an advantage with probably the best offensive line since coach Chad Johnson arrived. The pick: Mission Viejo.
Loyola at Crean Lutheran: The Cubs go on the road to face a veteran team that has added lots of transfers, and the only question is how many will be eligible come game time. There are five Crean Lutheran players committed to Arizona. The pick: Crean Lutheran.
Gardena Serra vs. Palos Verdes at El Camino College: Get ready for Serra to pound the ball with its five returning offensive linemen and new running back AJ McBean. Palos Verdes has four-year starter Ryan Rakowski at quarterback to work his magic. Look for Serra’s speed advantage to be tough to stop. The pick: Serra.
Tustin at San Clemente: The Tritons won their game in Hawaii. Their defense faces a challenge from a Tustin team that has standout receiver Hayden Koo among a number of college prospect. But with Jaxson Rex leading the way, San Clemente figures to get some turnovers. The pick: San Clemente.
All-City linebacker De’Andre Kirkpatrick of Crenshaw has grown to 6 feet 3, 220 pounds entering his senior season.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The Times’ nine-part series previewing some of Southern California’s best football players continues on Monday with a profile of Crenshaw linebacker De’Andre Kirkpatrick, who had to overcome the loss of his mother and father within weeks of each other. Here’s the profile.
Southern California teams traveled to Hawaii last week and came away 9-0. Chaminade, Villa Park, San Juan Hills, Viewpoint, Edison, Beaumont, San Clemente, Newport Harbor and Capistrano Valley all won their openers.
San Juan Hills beat Castle 67-0. Nikos Ioja rushed for 93 yards.
Bellflower showed off two promising freshmen receivers in a scrimmage: Ke’Ondre Smith and Ryan Clark. They could help with Austin Miller out with an injury.
JSerra quarterback Kate Meier reaches across the goal line for the winning touchdown an instant before her flag is pulled.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Defending Southern Section Division 1 champion JSerra showed Saturday that it remains the team to beat in 2026 by winning the Chargers tournament Gold Division championship over Newport Harbor.
Sophomore quarterback Kate Meier and a terrific defense sparked the Lions to victory. JSerra defeated Orange Lutheran in the semifinals in a rematch of last year’s Division 1 final.
Right before its opening game of the season and its first game in school history, Sierra Canyon was able to get eligible quarterback Makena Cook, who transferred from Orange Lutheran. The Trailblazers played in the Chargers tournament and should be much stronger when the transfer sit-out period ends for those who did not change residences.
Two flag football standouts, Ayden Klaiber (transfer from Florida) and Ava Irwin (JSerra) have to sit out the first half of Sierra Canyon’s season.
Coach Morgan Wijay of Harvard-Westlake has her team playing well to start the girls volleyball season.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
In a season-opening matchup between reigning state champions, Harvard-Westlake pushed Mater Dei to five sets before senior outside hitter Westley Matavao took control in the Monarchs’ 26-28, 25-18, 25-19, 17-25, 15-8 victory in Studio City. The UCLA commit had 16 kills, 19 digs and six aces while Cal-bound middle blocker Emma Kingston had 13 kills for Mater Dei, which has won the CIF Open Division state championship twice in the last three years.
Brooke Cotter and Ruby Sampson had 12 kills apiece and Princeton commit Sophia Cotter added 11 kills for Harvard-Westlake, which won the Division 1 state title last fall under first-year coach Morgan Wijay, who had spent the previous 10 seasons at Alemany and guided that program to section titles in 2021 and 2022. The Wolverines finished third in the Mission League last year after being swept twice by Sierra Canyon and Marymount and are projected to be third again.
Mater Dei is the heavy favorite to repeat as Trinity League champion having added five transfers — two of those from its own league.
Sierra Canyon won the prestigious Ann Kang tournament in Hawaii, beating one top team after another.
Former Marina first baseman Jake Bauers has 21 home runs for the Milwaukee Brewers.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
From not making the varsity at Marina High until his junior year to hitting 21 home runs this season for the Milwaukee Brewers to marrying the girl he met in 10th grade, Jake Bauers’ journey has been quite rewarding. He went four for four on Sunday at Dodger Stadium against the Dodgers.
CIF media rights contract with PlayOn Sports and the NFHS Network.
(Los Angeles Times)
The CIF has reached agreement with PlayOn Sports, the owner of MaxPreps, the NFHS Network and GoFan, on a 10-year, $11.1 million broadcast rights deal.
El Camino Real players celebrate winning a 10th City Section baseball title at Dodger Stadium.
(Craig Weston)
As if replacing its executive director and assistant principal in charge of athletics wasn’t enough summer drama for El Camino Real, now the school has put on leave multiple coaches and launched an investigation over a dispute about first-aid cards and why they couldn’t be found in the Red Cross database.
Multiple El Camino Real coaches have been placed on administrative leave because of a school investigation. The school has been in turmoil since the summer when the executive director and assistant principal in charge of athletics were both ousted. Here’s the report.…
Former Crespi pitcher Tim Leveque is the interim pitching coach for the Angels….
La Mirada Junior Little League won the World Series championship, beating Taipei 6-3 on a 10th-inning three-run home run from Jaylen Valdez, who is one of seven players on the team already enrolled as freshmen at La Mirada High….
Infielder Ian Nunez from La Mirada has committed to Cal State Northridge….
St. Bernard will be getting a new all-weather turf field in 2027….
Linebacker Ezekiel Su’a of Mater Dei has committed to Dartmouth….
Catcher Maddie Schepp from Torrance has committed to Fresno State softball….
Jaylee Moore of Etiwanda has committed to Hawaii for women’s basketball….
Arcadia will not use its longtime nickname Apaches this school year as it transitions to a different mascot after a new state law. It will use only Arcadia this year.
From the archives: Cody Fajardo
Former Servite quarterback Cody Fajardo has found a home in the Canadian Football League. He was MVP of the Grey Cup in 2023 in leading the Montreal Alouettes to the championship. He’s with the Edmonton Elks, his fifth team. This season, he’s completing 70% of his passes.
The 34-year-old helped Servite win the 2009 Southern Section Division 1 championship, then became starting quarterback at Nevada. He’s always been known for his ability to pass and run while showing toughness.
From MLB.com, a story on former Thousand Oaks shortstop Jacob Wilson setting a major league record with 111 consecutive games without making an error.
Tweets you might have missed
High school basketball players have been playing games nonstop since the “season” ended in March. Now it’s August. School is about to begin. Practices are about to start. Is there any time to rest the bones and the mind? A week? A day?
Friends of Golf, which has donated millions to help junior golfers, high schools and colleges, will honor Rickie Fowler and Kay Cockerill at its Charity Golf Tournament in October. https://t.co/PofOgg3XVP
Where did I find new Servite baseball coach Eric Borba? Working to clean mats and the clubhouse. Life as a high school baseball coach. Field maintenance. pic.twitter.com/TliUl4gESQ
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — NFL rosters must be set in two weeks.
Will defensive tackle Aaron Donald decide in the days ahead if he will return to the Rams?
Rams coach Sean McVay is not putting a hard timeline on it.
“I’m hopeful that it will be sooner than later, but I also want to respect when he does feel like that clarity will come,” McVay said Saturday after the Rams’ 20-12 preseason victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. “I think there’s a chance that we’ll be closer to that than not. But again, I don’t want to say too much or put some sort of invisible deadline on something that doesn’t exist in my mind for him.”
Donald, 35, retired after the 2023 season. But after the Rams traded for two-time defensive player of the year Myles Garrett in June, Donald has contemplated rejoining a Rams team that is favored to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.
During training camp, Donald did a workout in front of defensive line coach Giff Smith and Rams trainers. In videos posted to social media, he also was captured hitting a blocking sled at UCLA, and going through speed and agility drills at the Rams’ facility in Woodland Hills.
If Donald returns, it would impact Rams roster decisions and also have possible implications for players that are in the final years of their rookie contracts and eligible for extensions.
McVay said he has had “great dialogue” with Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year and eight-time All-Pro.
“We’ve had some tentative discussions behind the scenes,” McVay said. “There’s a lot of stuff, without getting to granular with it. … He knows himself in terms of, ‘Am I able to stack back-to- back days? Am I able to do some of the benchmarks’ that he’s set out for himself.
“And what I don’t want to sit here and do is put a timeline on it, and then something comes up where I’ve got to kind of push it back. … We have some loose things where we’ve identified, you know, dates that we’d like to be able to hit. But what I don’t want to have is any sort of unnecessary pressure on him if there’s some unforeseen circumstances.”
McVay emphasized he wants to respect the decision-making process Donald is going through.
“If he’s put himself in a position to be able to say yes or no, I think he’s earned that right to have clarity on that,” McVay said. “We’re not at that point quite yet.”
The Rams will hold a joint practice this week against the New Orleans Saints, and then play the Saints on Saturday at SoFi Stadium. Their final preseason game is Aug. 27 against the Chargers.
The roster must be set three days later.
“I feel great about our football team as it currently stands,” McVay said, “and I know he’ll add value if he decides to come.”
A couple have been trapped in Italy for a week after a volcanic eruption saw their flights cancelled. Barbara Krmelj, 35, and partner Roy Barone, 46, went to Sicily to spend a week’s holiday with his parents. They were due to fly back to their home in Hackney, east London, on August 11 – but when Mount Etna became active that day, their flights were cancelled as a red warning level was issued.
The couple have had to take an extra week’s leave from their jobs and find alternative sitters for their two cats back at home as they remain “trapped” in the seaside town of Marina di Modica. They have alternative flights provided by the airline for August 17 but anticipate having to pay around £700 to rebook with a different airline if those are cancelled too, which they feel is likely.
They remain in a small holiday home owned by Roy’s family but say they “feel like a weight on his parents” to overstay. They checked but said the only hotel available would have cost over £2,000 for five nights because of high demand as it coincides with Ferragosto, a holiday period across Italy which sees people flock to the region.
Sales associate Barbara said: “On the way to the airport to fly back to London we got a message that our flight was cancelled. Eventually we managed to get a flight for the 17th, but the budget we allocated for our holiday is gone now. We have come back to Roy’s parents but the place is small and we feel like a weight on them now. We’ve had to organise for our friends to pop over to our home in London because the cat sitters we booked are done now.
“We’ve been paying for things like food and drinks with credit cards – and if we aren’t able to fly on the 17th we’ll have to book new flights. If we have to book new flights it will have cost us around £1,000 in total. It’s a beautiful city, but the holiday has turned into a frustration now as we want to go back home to our pets now. We can’t enjoy all the beauty around us as we feel trapped on the island.”
Barbara and Roy have been paying elevated prices for taxis to travel around due to high demand due to the Ferragosto festival. They said they have seen a steady flow of ash over the region as well as eruptions in the distance coming from Mount Etna.
The couple did not purchase travel insurance ahead of the trip. Barbara said: “We have had a chat with a few other tourists, people are definitely frustrated. People have been sleeping at the airport – when we went, people were sleeping or sitting in every hallway. There was no space even to sit and organise ourselves when we were trying to rebook flights.
“We were given a hotel for one night when our flights were cancelled, and thank God we have Roy’s parents here. I don’t know what people are doing when they don’t know other people living here.
“When we tried to go and stay at a hotel, there was nothing we could book, the prices had skyrocketed, it was around £2,000 for five days and there were only one or two options.”
The couple are going to the beach each day and trying to make the best of their situation but say they are no longer enjoying the once-relaxing trip. Barbara added: “We’ll have spent over our budget by about £1,000 if we end up having to rebook flights.
“We’ve been using credit cards because you do what you have to do in this situation, but we have to be careful, we don’t have a lot of money left because we didn’t expect this. Ordinarily, the holiday was lovely, and I’d recommend the area to everyone. But now the holiday has turned into a frustration.”
A EUROPEAN airport has finally restarted flights after a week of chaos – but passengers are still being warned of cancellations.
Catania Airport in Sicily, Italy, was forced to cancel hundreds of flights last week as well as close for a number of days due to Mount Etna erupting.
Mount Etna has been erupting for over a week and causing travel chaosCredit: SplashWhile flights have restarted, there are still lots of cancellationsCredit: Reuters
There are currently no restrictions on departures, but only five flights are allowed to arrive at the airport per hour.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
And despite departure flights going ahead, there are already several delays this morning affecting Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways passengers.
In the latest statement on the airport’s website, it says: “Due to Etna’s eruptive activity and the associated release of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, the airspace corresponding to Sectors B1 and B2 has been closed.
“Arriving flights are limited to 5 aircraft per hour until 2:00 PM today, Monday 17 August.
“There are no restrictions on departures.
“Passengers are kindly advised to check the status of their flight with their airline before heading to the airport. Further updates will follow in the coming hours.”
In the latest update, at 7:09am this morning a new volcano vent opened, creating a new lava flow.
The chaos has been causing problems for over a weekCredit: SplashTwo passengers were due to fly back to London but have been stuck in Sicily since August 11Credit: SWNSEvgenia Filimianova has also been left strandedCredit: SWNS
“Intense explosive activity” also resumed at the summit crater, with an ash plume rising a few kilometres, according to Volcano Discovery.
Some passengers have been left stranded during the volcanic activity.
Barbara Krmelj, 35 and partner Roy Barone, 46, were due to fly back to London on August 11 but their flights were cancelled.
As a result, the duo had to take an extra week’s leave from their jobs and while they have been given new flights, they anticipate that they too will be cancelled.
The couple, who said they are likely to have been left £1,000 out of pocket, added: “We can’t enjoy all the beauty around us as we feel trapped on the island.”
Another passenger, Evgenia Filimianova, 39, flew to Sicily from London to attend a friends wedding but their return flight was cancelled.
Evgenia said: “It feels like there is no way out. Emotionally, it’s not easy – it’s stressful and tiring and we weren’t prepared for it.”
In this week’s episode of The Envelope podcast, Chase Infiniti discusses her meteroic rise, her Emmy nomination for “The Testaments” and nurturing the ambition to become an actor since age 10.
Kelvin Washington: Hello, everyone, and welcome to this week’s episode of The Envelope. You have myself, Kelvin Washington, alongside my usual suspects, Yvonne Villarreal, Mark Olsen as well. It’s been a week, so I’m trusting everybody’s good. Yvonne, we’re coming to you here because you’re going to help us break this down. Don’t bug the eyes. Yes, we’re coming to you. The [TV] Academy, they’re making some changes when it comes to the live broadcast, and it can be a little bit confusing. That’s why we got you here. Tell us more.
Yvonne Villarreal: They announced that they will be moving five categories that are usually handed out during the ceremony, the Primetime [Emmys] ceremony, to a week prior and handing them out during the Creative Arts Emmys’ weekend. They say the decision is sort of to make space to innovate the live show and incorporate new things. You know, viewership is always something that they’re after. But it’s causing a stir in Hollywood because we’re losing some mainstays of the show, and that’s writing for a variety series, but also taking a big hit is the limited series or movie categories. We’re losing supporting actor, supporting actress, but also writing and directing. And people have a lot of thoughts. Mark, I want your thoughts. Kelvin, I want your thoughts.
Mark Olsen: I feel like there’s a disconnect between the people who watch award shows and the people who make and produce award shows, where I feel like those of us who watch them, we just want more sort of genuine moments from the talent, from the nominees. I want more speeches! And so taking away five categories, there’s going to be that much fewer speeches. I just can’t help but think of like Linda Cardellini, who’s one of the people nominated, she was on our roundtable earlier this year and just like a great presence, a stalwart TV actor, and to have to take away that chance for her to potentially get up onstage be really genuine, why would you not want that as part of your show instead having these kind of like canned comedy bits or, you know, hacky reunions plus canned comedy bits that nobody particularly wants.
Villarreal: It’s an awards show.
Washington: True, but maybe I’m Nobody in this case. We were talking about this a little bit earlier, you guys were making fun of the 1990s reunions there. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing, I think it was maybe two years ago, when they had “Martin” up there and they had never been invited; they were kind of joking, “Oh, we never got invited” or “We never won an Emmy.” And so I think it’s been pretty cool. And I will say that this is the challenge for productions, when you’re trying to appease everyone. Is it about the awards? It is about the length of time — just speed this thing up? Is it about having the magical moments? And then you see the Grammys try to get these things right as well. You’re never gonna be able to please everyone. So I think it’s always a difficult balance. So we’ll see how it works out this year. But I’m looking at you, Mark, some people might enjoy those. And you too, those nerdy little reunion shows.
Villarreal: But in a time when it’s already hard to get a show visibility in this marketplace, and so many people don’t know what’s nominated anymore, when you’re taking away an access point for them to discover something or not tell them about a show, it’s a short-sighted change I think.
Washington: The only response I would add to that is that’s kind of where we are. Even if you keep up with television, movies and music, it seems to be a lot more word of mouth than historically where things are plastered everywhere. And even if you didn’t care about the particular thing, you saw it, you heard it. Now it’s like word of a mouth and just watercooler or just the algorithm telling you what to like.
With that being said, somebody who’s having a great run right now, Chase Infiniti. I know you had a chance to speak with her. Of course, “Handmaid’s Tale” did so well. Then there’s the spinoff, “The Testaments.” Tell me a little bit more about your chat with her.
Villarreal: Talk about, like, a breakout nomination this year. Chase has really been a star on the rise. She made her debut in Apple TV’s adaptation of the legal thriller, “Presumed Innocent” playing Jake Gyllenhaal’s daughter. And in recent projects, she’s played this young revolutionary, both in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” and now in “The Testaments,” which takes place after the events of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” She’s the daughter of a high-ranking commander, but she’s also the biological daughter of June, who’s Elisabeth Moss’ character. And this show is really about seeing the rebellion of young teenage girls and how they are sort of key to the inside resistance of toppling this regime. And so we talked a little bit about that.
Washington: All right, well, you got me a little nervous. You’re talking about the rebellion of teenage girls. You know, I’ve got a 9, a 7, and a 5-year-old, so that could be my future.
Villarreal: Let’s hope it is. They’re the future.
Washington: You’re right, you’re right. Yvonne and Chase, here they are now.
Chase Infiniti, photographed in late March ahead of “The Testaments” premiere.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Yvonne Villarreal: Chase, thanks so much for being here. Congratulations on your Emmy nomination. What do you want to remember about this moment, this feeling?
Chase Infiniti: Oh. I don’t know. I’m trying to take little pictures in my brain of everything and remember all of the influx of emotions that I felt that entire time, but also throughout the whole journey of making Season 1 of “The Testaments.” There’s so many things about it that I’m like — I just never want to lose that feeling. There’s a lot of [memorable] moments I had on set and also during the press tour and then even finding out about the Emmy nomination, which feels very crazy to say. But even finding out about that, there’s so many little things that I’m like, “I never want to lose that feeling. I want to keep it in my brain forever.”
Villarreal: Is it as thrilling as what you remember feeling when you booked that first role in a local production of “Hairspray,” when you were 10?
Infiniti: It definitely does. I also feel very grateful that with my job and with everything I get to do, I really try to keep intact how much I love the work and how much I love creating. That’s what helps it keep that same energy as me finding out I’m playing Crystal in “Hairspray” versus me finding out that I have an Emmy nomination.
Villarreal: Were you on Cloud 9 getting the news of Crystal?
Infiniti: Oh, yeah. I was so happy because I was it was the first time I ever had a name in a musical. And I remember when I was a kid, I watched the movie version of it every night for six months. Not a lie. Me and my sister would turn it on religiously after school and we would start singing “Good Morning, Baltimore.” It got to the point where we knew almost every line in the movie.
Villarreal: I feel old asking which version of “Hairspray”… Zac Efron? What was it about it?
Infiniti: It’s just catchy — everything about it. It just makes me happy, When I hear “Run and Tell That,” I just want to do twirls in my room. I love musicals so much and they make me so happy. If I’m ever down or need a little pick-me-up, I’ll literally just blast that soundtrack. I blast the soundtrack to “Pippin” or … “Shrek: The Musical.” I remember being in the production and it kind of brings me back to those happy memories I had ,or productions that I saw that I was like, “Oh, my gosh, this really makes me want to work towards being in something like that.” I love musicals.
Villarreal: It was just two years ago where the general public was starting to learn your name with your debut in Apple TV’s “Presumed Innocent.” Since then, you’ve navigated the film award season with “One Battle After Another,” and now the TV awards season with “The Testaments.” How do you make sense of what this moment is? Are there still things you’re getting used to? What have you enjoyed about this part of the job?
Infiniti: There’s a lot of things I’m still getting used to. Especially with “One Battle,” I think the biggest adjustment I had was people knowing me before I walked up to them — people that I’m massive fans of. I met Angela Bassett at something, and she came up to me and said my name, and I was like, “You’re Angela Bassett, and you know who I am?” That was like an “Oh, my gosh” [moment]. I’m still really adjusting to that. I feel like there’s a disconnect in my brain between like what I think people know of me versus what reality actually is. And my friends bring it up all the time and they’re like, “Chase, these people know who you are.” But I can’t wrap my head around that. It’s very strange, especially going from like a 0 to 100 situation. That’s something that I’m still trying to find an adjustment on in my brain.
[What have I] enjoyed about it? I’ve gotten to meet all of my superheroes, in a way. All the people that I’ve grown up watching on the screen and on the stage, [I’ve encountered at] all of these different events and in passing, and everyone could not be kinder and just getting to meet them and just pour into them how much they’ve shaped my life and shaped the creative work I want to do. Another adjustment thing is hearing them pour back into me too. That’s something that I’ve been getting used to. But meeting the superheroes of it all in my brain has been something I’ve really loved. Also getting to meet people who’ve watched “The Testaments”; like younger girls who’ve watched it and then really found a connection point with it, and it’s had an impact on them and their friends. That’s something I really cherish about getting to do what I get to do. I had it with “One Battle.” It’s really cool to see it happening again with “The Testaments.” That’s a very wonderful gift.
VIllarreal: Before we delve further into “The Testaments,” I do want point out this moment onstage at the Academy Awards. When “One Battle After Another” won best picture, Paul Thomas Anderson singled you out, calling you “My American girl” and the “heart of this movie.” Place me in that moment as Chase.
Infiniti: Well, I didn’t hear him. I just heard him say my name. I remember he was going down the list and saying names of different people, and I thought that it was something like that. I was touched that he even mentioned me onstage. Obviously, that movie has quite literally changed my life and that entire cast. And I love Paul so much. So I didn’t hear him onstage, and it wasn’t until afterwards that my parents had sent me a screenshot of the [closed] captions from that night. They were like, “This is what Paul said about you.” I just remember feeling so honored that I got to be a part of something that changed my life, but [it was a film that] also really, I think, changed a lot of people’s lives as well; they connected with it. I can distinctively remember every single day on that job. I just remember feeling such a rush of emotions after reading [what he said] because I love that movie and I love Paul so much. I could not be more grateful for that opportunity and for the opportunity to play Willa, let alone get to be a part of the crazy world that is a Paul Thomas Anderson set. But I learned so much. There’s so much I could say about it.
Villarreal: How did playing Willa inform how you thought about Agnes, who’s also this young revolutionary in the making, as you were putting yourself on tape for “The Testaments”?
Infiniti: I signed on to it with one script in mind. Obviously, I had read the book beforehand, so I had an idea of what she was going to go through, but I didn’t necessarily know how it was going pan out onscreen. The biggest help Willa [provided] beforehand going into that is, I feel like I, by nature, have a little bit of a rebellious spirit, but I really had to turn it up with Willa. I think that being able to access that through Willa and then shape it differently for Agnes, given the circumstances of where she is, was the biggest key between the two. They do share the strong sense of rebellion. Granted, Agnes doesn’t know where it comes from. She doesn’t really know how to handle it, necessarily. But I think that that was a nice way into Agnes and creating her world mentally of where she is and also the inner turmoil of, “I know that there’s this thing happening inside me, but I don’t really understand it.” I think [that] was the biggest cheat code from Willa to Agnes.
Villarreal: What was it about “The Testaments” that spoke to you and made you want to tackle the material?
Infiniti: Just from that one script alone that I read before I signed on, it was hidden that it was “The Handmaid’s Tale,” but you can get a sense of what the world is based off of that initial script. I just fell in love with how detailed it was. It didn’t feel like there were any question marks in the world, and I think that diving into something [like] that felt very interesting because it’s not otherworldly but it feels otherworldy in the sense of the way that they speak and the way Gilead itself looks on paper versus on the screen. That was something that I found to be very interesting. But I think with Agnes specifically, I really love the amount of love that she has for her friends, because that’s something that I feel very strongly about. My friends and my family, but especially my friends, are the people I cherish most in my life. My loved ones are near and dear to my heart, and I will do anything for them. That’s something that I really loved about Agnes. That makes me very happy to see, that even in a world that’s so dark and so dim — even if she doesn’t view it as that, it is dark and it is dim for a young girl in Gilead —she still has so much love and so much hope for her friends. And I found that to be very inspiring.
Villarreal: Did you have any hesitation about the heaviness of this fictional world?
Infiniti: I don’t think that that necessarily terrified me, because I think that I have this very privileged ability to step into this world that seems like it’s so far outside of what we are, I guess, used to — but it’s really not. Nothing that Margaret Atwood writes is fiction. It is all based off of history or things that are happening at the time that she’s written it. I knew that it was going to be very relevant. I’m in this very privileged position where this isn’t my reality, but this is the reality of so many women around the world. And I thought when I read this script that this was a way for people to not, I guess, become desensitized to seeing these things, because I think that we’re in a world where it’s so easy to just turn off your phone, scroll past something, and just ignore what’s actually really happening. With “The Testaments” and with the things that these girls go through, I truly feel heartbroken. But if this in any way can wake people up, can help people continue to ask questions and really question their own environments, that was something that I wasn’t scared of. And I really felt empowered to join something that was doing that. And I am also grateful that on that set, it never felt like the material was too heavy for a day because our entire cast and our entire crew kept the energy on set very light. And if there was ever a point where a day was extra heavy, I knew that I could turn to Lucy [Halliday, who plays Daisy] and she would always be there for me. I know that I can turn to one of the directors and they would always be there, or even one of the [production assistants]. Everybody on set was very forthcoming with kindness and always very open. That was something that helped to keep the heaviness of the subject matter [from] going home with us.
Villarreal: Agnes has only known obedience and repression. She’s very controlled with her emotions. As somebody with roots in musical theater, did you have to curtail some of those instincts that you might’ve had to be a little more expressive? How was it settling into Agnes?
Infiniti: It was honestly pretty easy because you get into the space, you get into the world, and you instantly are transported and you get little context clues based off of the things that you see in Agnes’ room versus the things that you’ve seen in the school — or the absence of things. The absence of things really helped to start to put me in a box in a way — not the negative connotation of that — like putting the costume on. It really helped for me to feel the restriction of the world to understand what Agnes’ mind is, and getting to see that from the outside and then getting to step into it. It wasn’t that hard to shut off that part of my musical theater brain, but I think part of that is also I’ve learned how to maneuver through that just based off of “Presumed Innocent” and “One Battle,” because both of those parts are also very, very much so not musical theater-y at all. So I think that was also something that I had the privilege of learning on both of those sets.
Villarreal: Something that stands out with Agnes is we’re witnessing her awakening. Gilead is all she’s ever known. And she’s very dutiful to the practices of that society. But she’s grappling with coming into her identity and feeling this gap of her internal thoughts and feelings and what society tells her to be. What was important to you in having those two realities live side by side?
Inifiniti: The one thing I never wanted her to lose was her sense of love. She is a character who that is at the root of most of her decisions, especially when it comes to the final episodes with Becka [played by Mattea Conforti]. I think the love that Agnes has in this world is something baseline I never want to lose. I really tried to maintain that throughout.
There’s so much that you keep to yourself — your inner thoughts, your inner personality in a way — versus what you outwardly show the world. I just had to turn up the extremes when it came to Agnes, and really make sure to keep those things that she keeps close to her heart guarded. And put on this almost armor in a sense of what she views to be the most perfect version of herself for the outside world. And then watching that kind of crumble, those layers are peeled apart based off of what happens to her and what she sees happen to her friends. But also, there’s a point in everyone’s life where they realize, “Oh, what I had been raised under the belief of is actually not the reality. Whether it be something like that or whether it be an idea or an ideal that you have about the world or about yourself or your morals, just based off of what you’ve been raised with. I think that everybody has a point in their life where they have to face a version of reality that they’ve been told versus what actually is reality. There’s things that I’m still learning, and there’s still things that I’m questioning just based off of what I see in my personal life, and then also with my friends or what my family goes through.
Villarreal: A key character in the show is menarche and the menstrual cycle. We see how it’s weaponized, but we also see how it gives these young girls their power. What was it like to explore that?
Infinti: The thing I honestly really enjoyed about it is the openness of it. Like, you know when you go to the bathroom — and this is perfect podcast talk — and you’re taking your pad or your tampon to go change, but you’re hiding it because you’re like, “I don’t know if I want anybody to see it” [or hear] the crinkling of everything. But I think that the openness of everything in the show — granted, circumstances are completely different — but the openness that they have with it, I found to be very freeing and refreshing in a way. That was something, especially when we started shooting, that we all talked about, because we were like, “We’ve never been in a place where it didn’t feel like there was a stigma against it.” It felt like we were almost encouraged to talk about it. Getting to put this show out into the world and letting girls see that there isn’t something that they should be afraid of, but also letting them see that this is normal. This is not something that we should be scared of, let alone try to hide, because it’s a part of womanhood. It’s also a part of girlhood and a point of connection between younger girls. Getting to see it on the screen and see the way that these girls talk about it, ignoring the society of Gilead and the amount of pressure that the men put on them in this society, that connection that they have with those few things that span across culture, that is something that we were all very happy to kind of have that openness with something that we’ve felt so scared to talk about, especially at like 14 and 15.
Villarreal: Scared to experience too.
Infiniti: I remember when I got my period for the first time I was like, “What is happening? I don’t know what is going on.” The first person that you call, if it’s not your mom or another maternal figure in your life, is your friends. Because they’re normally the person closest to you in proximity if you’re at school or if you were at an after-school activity or something like that. Getting to have that openness felt very refreshing to have on set.
Villarreal: There was so much openness that there was a menarche playlist curated by director Mike Barker. Tell me the backstory on this.
Infiniti: We did. I’m trying to remember how we found out about this playlist. We were doing a camera test for the costumes, and I remember Mike just putting on this playlist and he’s like, “I like putting up these songs for everyone to listen to” because there was no dialogue in this little camera test between me, Mattea, Rowan [Blanchard], Lucy, Brad [Alexander], Amy [Seimetz] and Mabel [Li] — I can’t remember if I might be forgetting somebody else, and I’m so sorry if I am. But it was a bunch of the cast and then there was also some pinks in there just to see how everything looks on camera. And we were hearing all these different songs playing. We’re like, “Wow, this is great. Thanks for putting together a playlist, Mike.” At some point, Lucy went to grab his phone to look at what the song was and his playlist was open, and she’s like, “Why is the playlist called ‘The Menarche Playlist’? And after that, it just became us trying to get him to approve a song that we would suggest.
Villarreal: I remember you telling me Britney Spears’ ”… Baby One More Time” was on it. But I had wondered who else made the cut.
Infinti: “… Baby One More Time” was on it. I think that was the first song on it, but there would be points in lunch — we’d all eat lunch together — and we’d be like “OK, Mike, what about this one for the menarche playlist, or what about about this one?” We would all secretly hope that they would get added to the show.
Villarreal: Did one of your suggestions get added?
Infiniti: There are songs on there that I don’t even remember. So one of them probably did get added. I just don’t remember what it was.
Villarreal: Agnes is somebody that doesn’t really experience culture. We don’t know what kind of music she likes, what kind of TV or film she likes. And you’re someone that’s very much into culture, at least from what I’ve seen. Were you thinking about what she might like? How did you think about her backstory with that kind of absence?
Infiniti: I was really just relying on what you saw of her in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and that was the extent of what I would let a part of her backstory be because she doesn’t remember much about her childhood. Once she becomes conscious, in a way, in Gilead, all I did was rely on the things that I knew that she liked and really try to remind myself, “She doesn’t know what a movie is. She knows what ‘Jaws’ is, but she doesn’t really have an understanding of what watching a movie is like. She doesn’t know what YouTube is, she doesn’t know what a phone is.” I had to keep reminding myself, especially at the beginning, to not put those things in the forefront of our minds, unless, of course, like you’re a Pearl girl who has prior knowledge of everything. A lot of it was just reminding myself, “You don’t know what this is, she doesn’t know what this is.” If I were to meet Agnes right now, she would probably think I was crazy because she just doesn’t understand a lot the things I’ve seen, and the things that we use in our day-to-day life, and I really tried to make sure to keep that intact, but also relying on the bits of information that I had from “The Handmaid’s Tale” going back to the show. And also, of course, we had Bruce Miller, so I could ask him anything.
Villarreal: What would you, Chase, expose her to? If she were to come to you, what she should be listening to or watching, what’s the guide you’d give her?
Infiniti: The crash course to being 14? I would show her One Direction. I’m sorry. That is something that is so quintessential to being a 14-year-old, especially me being 14. I would be like, “Agnes, I see the things that you love and you’re obsessed with. I’m going to show you the thing that I was in love and obsessed with when I was your age.” I would be very curious to see how she would react to hearing One Direction for the first time; hearing “What Makes You Beautiful,” that would be interesting to see. I would show her something that is representative of me being her age. I still am a fan. I’ve always been a fan my whole life, but especially One Direction, that’s probably something I would show her.
Villarreal: Who was Chase at 14? You talked earlier about having a little bit of that rebellion in you. And after playing these two characters back to back, what have you sort of learned yourself, about your power or finding your voice, especially in an industry like Hollywood?
Infiniti: Something that I realized when I was probably about 13 or 14 is, I used to be very upset when people would underestimate me. I found a way to, I guess, not make it my superpower … but use it as opposed to [letting it be] something that would defeat me. [I would] use it as something to continue to motivate me to work towards the goal that I already had because there’s always gonna be people that underestimate you. There’s always going to be people in the world that want to pour negativity into you when you’re truly just living your life, working towards the things that you want. That was something that I realized pretty young because I knew at 10 that I wanted to be an actor. And so at that point, I kind of made a shift in my mind where I was like, “OK, I need to start working towards the thing that I want to do.” At 13, people were like, “Why are you so motivated to do this? It’s a bit embarrassing that you want to be an actor. What makes you think you can do that?” And I was like, “Because I want to do it.” I never had a doubt in my mind that this would be the thing that I would get to do because that was something that my parents always told me. They were like, “Dream big because the dreams that you’re imagining can be your reality, especially if you work hard enough towards it.” And I feel very lucky that I get to do the thing I’ve always dreamed of doing.
Villarreal: How does that live side by side with also learning how to deal with rejection so young?
Infiniti: It’s a lot of tears, a lot of sad days, sad weeks, conversations with my friends, conversations with parents. But from being underestimated, I remember my dad being like, “You have to get comfortable with ‘no.’ And it’s not going to be fun. It’s not gonna be something that you’re excited to hear, because no one’s excited to hear that they didn’t get something that they really wanted.” Now I’m at a point where I’ve really learned how to process it and not let a no or a rejection affect my view of myself or affect my view of a performance or my abilities to do anything. It took a long time to learn, and I’m still nowhere near perfect, but I’m definitely at a place that’s better than when I was 13 because it is hard for somebody that young to get that amount of rejection. It’s also hard for somebody at my age to handle that level of rejection, especially when you get so close to something. I have to give that credit to processing those things to my parents because that is all them. I had many tear-filled nights when I was a kid because I was so sad that I didn’t get a solo in something, and they’re like, this doesn’t mean that you’re not talented. I’m also somebody who believes the right things will find you. And they’re [my parents] also the people that kind of instilled that in me too.
Villarreal: Does that reframing of no also give you the confidence to approach Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio del Toro and say, “Will you make a TikTok with me?”
Infiniti: It honestly was like a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I was very specific. I did lots of research because I also was like, “I want it to be something that they can look at and also laugh at.” They can enjoy it.
Villarreal: Do you think you’ll get there with Ann Dowd? A TikTok?
Infiniti: I would love to. I don’t know what it would be, but I would love to make a TikTok with Ann Dowd one day. If it could be like all the girls on set making a TikTok, I would be very happy. I do have some planned. So, we’ll see.
Villarreal: Margaret Atwood makes a cameo in the finale of Season 1. How do you even talk to Margaret Atwood when you meet her? What was that experience like for you?
Infiniti: The person who was probably the most shocked was Lucy because Lucy Halliday is the biggest Margaret Atwood fan I think I’ve ever met. I had the gift of getting to witness Lucy meeting Margaret for the first time. But meeting her — she’s so kind. [Producer] Warren Littlefield says this all the time where he’s like, “You can’t talk to Margaret Atwood and not learn something with every conversation.” I just remember being very quiet and listening to her talk and listening to her ask questions of me, ask questions of Lucy, but we would just pour into her and be like, “Thank you so much for your work because you truly have touched millions.” She’s also so funny and so witty and very charismatic. I remember being very nervous beforehand, but she made it very easy for our nerves to go away. The highlight was getting to see Lucy meet Margaret.
Villarreal: You’re about to head out to Canada to start production on Season 2. You’ve seen two scripts. What do you hope to see for Agnes in Season 2?
Infiniti: I hope Agnes is happy, and I hope that she can continue to push and find her happiness. I hope that she doesn’t lose her spark, and I hope that’s something that she continues to explore and understand why she is the way that she is. Those are two hopes that I have.
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zahniser, with an assist from Noah Goldberg, giving you the latest on city and county government.
It was a move this week that drew immediate blowback: Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson pulled Councilmember Nithya Raman off of her position as chair of the city’s housing and homelessness committee, just as Raman enters the homestretch in her campaign to unseat Mayor Karen Bass.
Raman quickly suggested that she was being punished for challenging Bass, a Harris-Dawson ally. On a video titled “Bass’ Ally Removed Me as Chair,” she portrayed the move as retribution for saying City Controller Kenneth Mejia should audit the mayor’s homeless programs.
“Mayor Bass and her allies are protecting what we all know is a deeply broken status quo, one that is not serving any person here in the city of Los Angeles,” she said.
For months, many at City Hall had expected Raman to make a stink if she was yanked from her post, transforming herself into a martyr. So what exactly was Harris-Dawson thinking?
You’re reading the L.A. on the Record newsletter
Sign up to make sense of the often unexplained world of L.A. politics.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
In an interview Friday, Harris-Dawson said the removal of Raman as committee chair was simply one piece in a larger effort to make the council’s committees work better — and not punishment at all.
“If I were trying to punish her, I would have moved her off [her post] the day after she filed to run for mayor” back in February, he said.
Harris-Dawson said he split Raman’s committee into two — one focused on housing, the other on homelessness — because the two subjects were simply too big for a single committee to handle effectively. He said he and Raman had talked extensively about that idea, disagreeing on whether the two topics should have been combined.
The homelessness committee needs someone who can focus their undivided attention on the ongoing crises surrounding homeless services — including the Trump administration’s effort to strip hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, Harris-Dawson said.
“We’ve got to be able to move, and move in the most efficient manner possible,” he said.
Councilmember Nithya Raman attends a city council meeting at City Hall in downtown Los Angeles on August 14, 2026.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
As part of the reshuffling, Harris-Dawson picked Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents Skid Row, to lead the now renamed homelessness and health committee. Jurado will also sit on the new three-member housing committee, which will be chaired by Councilmember Imelda Padilla.
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, fresh off his reelection victory, will head up the council’s economic development committee, replacing Councilmember Curren Price, who leaves at the end of the year.
Even Councilmember Monica Rodriguez landed a spot in charge of the committee that deals with parks, a pet issue of hers. Harris-Dawson stripped Rodriguez of her committee seats last year, after she criticized his leadership.
The new assignments could give Harris-Dawson a base of support the next time there’s a vote on his presidency. Harris-Dawson dismissed the idea that there was any connection, calling such speculation “completely inaccurate.”
The committee assignments take effect next month.
Raman will continue serving on the five-member homelessness committee, just not as its chair. She will head the council committee dealing with immigration and civil rights. She even broadened her portfolio in some ways, securing a seat on the public safety committee, which deals with police and fire responses.
“If you’re on a committee, you definitely can get things done, and you don’t have to be the chair,” Harris-Dawson said.
Raman offered a different take, telling reporters on Friday that a committee chair simply has more authority, setting the agenda.
“You also have some more power in trying to get the departments to reply — although even my best efforts to get the departments to reply to report-backs didn’t work,” she said.
Not happy with the homeless count
The hot potato that is homelessness now heads to Jurado, at a critical time for the city and her district.
Jurado’s district, which takes in downtown and parts of the Eastside, saw a 23% increase in unsheltered homelessness, according to this year’s homeless count. On top of that, The Times recently reported that the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which runs the count, failed to tally hundreds of residents at a Skid Row shelter in 2024 and 2025, skewing this year’s citywide numbers.
Jurado voiced frustration over those issues, saying city officials shouldn’t have to spend time and money verifying data that “should have been accurate from the start.”
She isn’t the only one voicing displeasure.
Harris-Dawson questioned the accuracy of the count in his own South L.A. district, where LAHSA reported a 127% increase in unsheltered homelessness.
Harris-Dawson thinks the big increase may stem from a single census tract south of Manchester Avenue between Normandie and Van Ness avenues. In that area, LAHSA said it found 277 unsheltered homeless people.
Last year, the agency counted 19, Harris-Dawson said.
“A jump of this magnitude in a single corridor strongly suggests a data collection or processing error rather than an actual change on the ground,” according to a motion signed this week by Harris-Dawson that calls for an explanation.
LAHSA officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Sherman Oaks Smackdown, Part II
It was the most personal of the mayoral debates staged last spring: Bass and Raman going mano a mano in front of an audience at the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.
During that 90-minute back-and-forth, the two took shots at each other over homelessness, police hiring and their respective leadership styles, among other things.
Now, with the Nov. 3 runoff approaching, Bass and Raman are set for a Valley rematch on Wednesday, which will again feature Fox11’s Phil Shuman, as well as a panel of representatives from Sherman Oaks community groups.
Reservations have been filling up for in-person attendance. The event will also be live streamed on www.soha914.com and aired on LAist 89.3, organizers said.
State of play
— HITTING HUD: In a scathing order, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from taking control of federal funding for homelessness programs across L.A. County. In his preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said the Department of Housing and Urban Development acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it suspended LAHSA from managing federal funds.
— LOATHING LAHSA: Federal officials also denounced LAHSA as corrupt and incompetent during an appearance at the Dream Center, a faith-based residential treatment center. LAHSA pushed back, saying the federal government has failed to provide evidence of graft or abuse.
— RETURN ENGAGEMENT: The mayor’s Inside Safe homelessness program is spending more and more time going back to the same locations. Data reviewed by The Times showed that, in the fourth quarter of 2025, four out of every five Inside Safe operations were carried out in places already visited by its outreach teams. The repopulation problem has been especially pronounced along the 110 Freeway in South L.A.
— WAREHOUSE WOES: City leaders have accused Lineage, whose warehouse in Boyle Heights was destroyed by fire, of blowing past the city’s 45-day deadline for removing millions of pounds of rotting food from its property. Lineage reported Friday that the task was 94% done. Bass wants the city’s lawyers to take Lineage to court and impose penalties.
— RISKY BUSINESS: A divided City Council finalized an agreement aimed at controlling the city’s costs during the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, amid complaints that the event poses a major financial risk.
— TRAIN IN VAIN: Despite months of test runs, the Automated People Mover train is facing new uncertainty, with a bond rating downgrade and a legal battle between the city and the contractor.
— ZEROING IN: City Controller Kenneth Mejia told The Times he’s planning to use his auditing authority to examine spending by LA28, the privately run committee that is staging the Games.
— BUMMER NUMBERS: Euthanasia rates for cats and kittens are up in a big way in L.A. this year, according to the city’s latest stats.
— LICENSE TO CARRY: The federal government and the county’s Sheriff’s Department have reached a settlement over what prosecutors alleged was a pattern of delaying applications for permits to carry concealed firearms. The Sheriff’s Department has cut its waiting times and now complies with statutory deadlines, officials said.
— END OF THE PARTY: A mansion in Encino, located in the western end of Raman’s district, has become a massive party house, drawing a neighborhood outcry.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature homeless program went to the area around Bessemer Street and Cedros Avenue in Van Nuys, an area represented by Padilla.
On the docket next week: As we mentioned earlier, Bass and Raman go head to head in Sherman Oaks on Wednesday. Tune in!
Stay in touch
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.
This week’s caption reads:
BALLYMENA, NORTHERN IRELAND – FEBRUARY 4: The communal recreation room at a nuclear bunker site on the Woodside Road industrial estate on February 4, 2016 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. The underground shelter has been put up for sale by the offices of the Northern Ireland First and Deputy First Minister. The bunker which was completed in 1990 was built to hold up to 235 people in the event of a nuclear bomb and is complete with kitchen facilities, dormitories and decontamination chambers. The site, one of approximately 1,600 nuclear monitoring posts built in the UK since 1955, is on the housing market with an asking price of £575,000. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
PRIME DIRECTIVES:
If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you.
If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like.
Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.
So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on.
Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.
The school year is beginning in the Los Angeles area, with LAUSD back this week and Pasadena Unified School District starting Monday. My 10-year-old daughter just got her new backpack and shoes and is aflutter about her return for her final year of elementary school. But she’s sad about one thing in particular: Last year her school had to choose to keep PE or art. It voted for art. She loved both, and didn’t think the choice was fair. I asked her to write about it and said I’d share her thoughts with readers.
For context, late last school year PUSD laid off more than 150 full-time-equivalent certificated positions. According to United Teachers of Pasadena President Jonathan Gardner, that number included almost 25 art, music, dance, orchestra and choir teachers. It also included librarians, coordinators for special education and counselors, and, of course, plenty of irreplaceable regular teachers. It’s a bitter pill for educators and parents to swallow, especially when the country is spending billions on an ill-advised war in Iran that was never approved by Congress and many people in the city are struggling to afford groceries and healthcare.
My daughter, Henri Boo Biller, gets into that a bit in her essay:
“Because the district couldn’t pay for certain activities and classes anymore, subjects like art, music and PE have ended. Some people have protested about these layoffs and budget cuts, but the children are especially sad.
Kids love and adore some of these teachers that have been teaching them how to draw or play a sport or musical instrument. Taking away these activities is ending certain opportunities for kids. For example, kids love to run and play just as much as they love to draw and sculpt. Taking away one of the two wouldn’t mean that the kid doesn’t still want to do it!
One of the subjects they’ve been taking away in some schools is music. This is a problem because some kids can’t afford instruments or lessons from an expensive instructor. That’s why music is so important, to let kids learn an instrument without having to pay big bucks for it. Taking away that is taking away a giant opportunity. The instruments the kids are learning, such as trumpet, trombone, flute, guitar, saxophone, cello and violin are expensive instruments that are hard to find, or at least hard to find in good condition.”
I’ll interject here. This is true. My family benefits from a school-loaned saxophone for my daughter.
In her essay, my kiddo interviewed her neighbor and best friend who lives across the street, asking her what she thought should be done about these budget cuts. Her answer broke my heart.
Q. What do you think we can do about these changes? A. Have more fundraising events throughout the year. As well as school sales, bake sales and lemonade stands.
My daughter continues, “As [my friend] mentioned, we could hold more school sales like bake sales and lemonade stands. But we could also think about why this is happening. The money that is usually going to schools across the country is instead being used by the government to buy more weapons for the war in Iran [editor’s note: we have discussed that one thing being funded doesn’t necessarily take away from another, and that it is really a matter of what we prioritize as a society] … and because of this PUSD and other districts are having to take away certain programs. Some of these programs are even their main selling point! Programs like art, music and PE are being shut down, ending certain opportunities for children. We can try to get some of that money back, like the interview stated, or protest to show the world we mean business. Thank you for your time. Next week I will come back with an equally intriguing topic. Have a nice rest of your week! I’m Henri B. Biller, signing out.”
As her mother, I vote for protest! We do mean business, right?
I’m arts editor Jessica Gelt sending my love to the teachers of the city. This is your arts and culture news for the week.
You’re reading Essential Arts
Our critics and reporters guide you through events and happenings of L.A.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
Battleship Potemkin Sergei Eisenstein’s epic 1925 silent film screens with the world premiere of a live music score for string quartet and vocal quintet composed and conducted by George Sarah. Sarah also performs on synths/electronics, joined by soprano Jenna Hansen, mezzo soprano Anna Caplan, tenors George Sterne and Sean McDermott, Kaija Hansen on violin/viola, Katie Kim on violin and cellists Carolyn Regula and Paul Hyun. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org
SUNDAY
Jas Ahluwalia and Kamaljeet Ahluwalia of Absolute Focus.
(Sierra Madre Playhouse; courtesy of the artist)
Absolute Focus + Chris Votek The husband-and-wife duo of Santoor virtuoso Kamaljeet Ahluwalia and tabla master Jas Ahluwalia are joined by cellist Votek for an afternoon of traditional Hindustani raga. 4 p.m. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org
Pacific Chorale’s Choral Festival The annual event brings hundreds of community members together with the voices of the Chorale for Maurice Duruflé’s “Requiem.” Robert Istad conducts the Pacific Chorale’s Festival Chorus. 5 p.m. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. pacificchorale.org
TUESDAY
Gershwin, Bernstein & More Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra make their Bowl debut with music from “West Side Story,” “An American in Paris” and Dvořák’s “From the New World.” 8 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave., Hollywood. hollywoodbowl.com
WEDNESDAY
An Enemy of the People Director Bart DeLorenzo has reimagined Henrik Ibsen’s classic play to highlight its contemporary resonance in a society in decline. The cast includes Lauren Campedelli, DeJuan Christopher, Dennis Dun, Clay Hollander, Jason McBeth, Cara Mitsuko and Jay Paulson. Previews, 8 p.m. Wednesday-Aug. 21; opening night, 8 p.m. Aug. 22; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and Wed. Sept. 16; 3 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 27. Odyssey Ensemble Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com
Herbie Hancock performs at the 2026 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
(Amy Harris / Invision / AP)
Herbie Hancock Celebrates Miles Davis The Grammy-winning keyboardist has recruited a stellar lineup including two of Miles Davis’ former bassists — Ron Carter and Marcus Miller — trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, former Davis saxophonist Kenny Garrett, bassist Christian McBride and conductor-arranger Vince Mendoza, to honor Davis through his music. 8 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
THURSDAY
Presented in VistaVision A tribute to the cinematography technique created by Paramount Pictures in 1954. Its popularity waned in the 1960s but contemporary filmmakers such as Brady Corbet, Yorgos Lanthimos and Paul Thomas Anderson have embraced the format. The series begins with John Ford’s “The Searchers” (1956) in 70mm on Thursday, and includes “North by Northwest” (1959), also in 70mm, and “One Battle After Another” (2025), the first film shot in VistaVision to win the Academy Award for best picture. 7:30 p.m. Thursday; the series continues through Aug. 31. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Gustavo Dudamel conducts his final concert in Disney Hall as L.A. Phil music director on June 7.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Celebrating Gustavo at the Bowl As Gustavo Dudamel departs L.A. for New York, he goes out with a bang of four nights with four different programs: Beethoven Ninth with the L.A. Phil and YOLA on Thursday; Gustavo’s Fiesta, with Los Tigres del Norte, singer-songwriter Lila Downs, Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles, singer Sílvia Pérez Cruz, La Sonora Dinamita and Los Panchos, joining with the L.A. Phil for a night of Latin music on Aug. 21; Foo Fighters with the L.A. Phil and YOLA on Aug. 22; and last, but not least, “A Concert for Venezuela: A Benefit to Support Earthquake Relief” on Aug. 23. 8 p.m. Thursday-Aug. 22; 7 p.m. Aug. 23. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
— Kevin Crust
Retrospective
L.A. Times arts coverage from the past …
Lynda Benglis. “MI,” 1984. Glass, sandcast, powdered; ceramic oxides, metal inclusions 13 1/2 x 17 x 16 in. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser.
(Museum Associates / LACMA; Lynda Benglis / VAGA, New York)
Shattering expectations
Aug. 6, 2006
It was 1986 and Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser were 10 years into their passion for collecting glass art. Their home was lined with the kinds of works they loved.
That was when Stephanie Barron, a curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, called to suggest that they look at an unusual piece at Margo Leavin Gallery in West Hollywood. Titled “MI,” it was a thick twist of sand-cast glass with a roughened texture reminiscent of glass unearthed from ancient sites. Even more unusual, the artist was Lynda Benglis, better known for avant-garde sculpture and performance and video work.
It was as if glass, as an artistic medium, had reached a critical juncture. “A whole group of artists who were not part of the glass movement but who worked in glass suddenly appeared,” Greenberg says.
He and Steinhauser viewed “MI” with puzzlement at first, then respect and finally appreciation. “This was part of our learning experience,” he said. “It expanded our horizons.” The couple helped LACMA purchase the piece. READ MORE
— Scarlett Cheng
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Anthony Hopkins at Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles on Aug. 1.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Anthony Hopkins’ first love was music, and, at 88, he’s returned to it. Later this month, the two-time Academy Award-winning actor will release his debut album, “Life Is a Dream,” on Decca Classics, featuring London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.
Dudamel will play his final show at the Hollywood Bowl later this month as the music and artistic director of the L.A. Phil, and although the city has had years to get used to the idea of losing him, it still stings. In a tender, thoughtful column filled with insider information, Times classical music critic Mark Swed looks back at Dudamel’s arrival in L.A. more than 20 years ago to track how the Venezuelan wunderkind went from “rising star to star to savior.”
Swed also broke the news that German composer and conductor Matthias Pintscher will be Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s new music director, replacing Jaime Martín beginning in the 2027-28 season. “Pintscher, who is 55, says he is not ready to make any grand statements about LACO other than being eager to explore West Coast music and that he loves combining old with everything else,” Swed wrote.
Michael Shaeffer as King Aerys II Targaryen in the “Game of Thrones: The Mad King,” which opened Saturday at Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
(Johan Persson)
The wildly popular “Game of Thrones” franchise, which began in book form and spawned one of HBO’s most successful series of all time, is branching out to the stage. A 3.5-hour play, “Game of Thrones: The Mad King,” opened last weekend at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Author George R. R. Martin was in attendance to celebrate, and audiences seemed delighted by the expansion of the fantasy world-building effort, with many fan questions answered.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art this week announced its flagship restaurant: Skywalker Grill, inspired by founder George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch in Marin County. The restaurant is located on the top floor of the museum with sweeping views of the city. It will be open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch with hours that last long after the museum closes. Think American cuisine with California-sourced ingredients, including a signature Skywalker Ranch Wagyu burger.
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Self Help Graphics & Art announced the launch of a $6-million capital campaign for the completion of its permanent home at 1300 E. 1st St. in Boyle Heights. The fund is intended for the final phase of a major renovation that will turn the space into a destination arts and culture center. The goal is to complete the project by the end of the year.
Growing up in a hiking family with a history along the Appalachian Trail, I became obsessed this summer with 91-year-old Dale “Greybeard” Sanders’ attempt to recapture his record as the oldest person to complete the more than 2,190-mile trek across 14 states. Known as “thru-hikers,” these backpackers walk the entire trail within a 12-month period. Each week, I’d search online for videos showing Greybeard’s journey, a pep in his step or the grueling grind across the miles. The current recordholder, M.J. “Nimblewill Nomad” Eberhart, who knew my parents, achieved this feat at age 83 in 2021, taking the honor from Greybeard, who set a record at age 82 in 2017. I wasn’t surprised to learn the two men were close friends; they even look alike, with their long white beards and sparkling eyes.
But Monday morning this week, with only 142 miles remaining, Greybeard announced he was heading home for rest in Tennessee. He’d spent a night in a Maine hospital due to complications from a fall and then learned his mother-in-law had died. “When it rains unfortunate incidents, it seems to come in buckets,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
These age-defying records and pivots felt personal.
It wasn’t accidental how the Appalachian Trail became my family’s backbone.
When I was about 7, my parents brought my younger siblings and me to Springer Mountain in Georgia, our daypacks filled with cans of Vienna sausages, boxes of raisins, a change of clothes and a sleeping bag.
“If you continue on this trail, you can walk all the way to Maine!” my dad said, pointing northward.
The path felt like a magical forested portal far from coastal Alabama where we lived. As a child, I couldn’t imagine how hiking would shape my parents as they got older: their physical fitness, spiritual connection to nature and access to community — all assets in aging well, according to extensive research. But more importantly, the outdoors would help them, and ultimately me, learn to adapt to change. That’s a survival skill for us all.
With the trail name “Fairhope,” my brother Laurence became the first in our family to complete the Appalachian Trail in 1992, followed by my parents, known as “Annie and the Salesman,” in 1994. Then my sister married a thru-hiker from north Florida.
“Hiking is a walking meditation, a way to carry everything we need,” my mom told me. “We may not leave you much money, but our legacy will be lives of adventure.”
Pursuing a trifecta of long-distance hikes after the Appalachian Trail, my parents completed the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada and nearly half of the Continental Divide Trail when I had my own health crisis. An amniocentesis revealed a serious genetic defect in the chromosomes of the child I was carrying — years before the current extreme restrictions on abortion care. When my parents happened to call from a payphone near the trail, I shared my heartbreaking decision to end the pregnancy.
“We’ll find a way there,” my mom said.
I don’t remember much discussion about abortion when I was younger, and I believe the community of young hikers over many years helped shape my parents’ evolving mindsets on many issues (as well as my mom’s newfound comfort cussing with her Southern drawl).
Somehow they hitchhiked to find a rental car and drove cross-country to Warren Wilson College in western North Carolina, where I still live and teach environmental education. This is a work college where all students hold jobs on campus like farmer, fiber artist and genetics lab tech. Like the trail, it’s a place with steep learning curves.
“Sometimes you have to change course,” my mom said, “when you sense the right path to take.” While she spoke, she held my 3-year-old, who would stay home with my dad while we drove more than five hours to a hospital in Virginia.
More than a month after returning to the Continental Divide Trail, my mom came down with a severe stomach virus, which my father caught a few days later. Much like Greybeard’s pivot, they decided to pause the hike. “The trail will still be here, but mom had a feeling it was time to go home,” my dad said.
Less than a year later in 2003, my mother, 58, was killed in a cycling accident, hit by a teen driver in Fairhope, our hometown. With time and a few trial runs, my dad returned to hike for a month on the Continental Divide Trail without her.
“I was never lonely, but I missed her every day,” he said.
In 2005, wearing a reflective vest and biking on the shoulder of the road, my dad, 64, was hit and killed by another teen driver. At their gravesites, we placed two metal sculptures, the “Final Blaze,” gifts from the Appalachian Trail community, many members of whom came to shovel earth upon the graves.
Since then, I’ve corresponded with Nimblewill Nomad, the record holder and caretaker of a hostel at Flagg Mountain, the start of the Pinhoti Trail in Alabama. There he has dreams to create a community where elders who are hikers can live together in the montane longleaf pine ecosystem.
“Your parents’ heart was years ago divinely placed in trust, in a chest — yours,” he wrote to me years after their deaths.
Now 60, I have outlived my mother, and I’m also surrounded by young people — my two daughters and my students — just as my parents were on their long-distance adventures. My undergrads are rightly fearful about the climate crisis but working in community to find their way. They’ve read the research documenting how the outdoors, including urban green spaces, improves cognition, social connection and physical strength, while decreasing depression and anxiety in all ages, but especially seniors. Nature helps humans adapt to change, and not everyone has proximity to it.
My students also know the Trump administration has cut funding for and even decreased the size of our public lands. They’ve met alums with careers in conservation whose federal jobs no longer exist. And we’re still recovering here from Hurricane Helene, a devastating climate disaster almost two years ago.
But what I know for sure, I tell them, is we must join with others to protect both people and places, even when we don’t know how this path will end. That’s my parents’ legacy to me.
While prepping for classes this week, I checked updates from Greybeard, who was home under the care of his physician for exhaustion after the rugged southern mountains in Maine — but he was cleared to hike again and intended to complete the trail. Regardless of the record-breaking deadline of Sept. 6, he’s adapting to a new “finish plan” and shared this truth for us all: “Together we will conquer this seemingly impossible task.”
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani took the bullpen mound at Dodger Stadium, with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and pitching coach Mark Prior looking on, and began his first bullpen throwing session in more than three weeks.
Friday marked an important step in Ohtani’s throwing progression. He threw 34 pitches before the Dodgers’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers, appearing to mix in different pitch types.
Although Ohtani hasn’t landed on the injured list for lingering inflammation and soreness in his left knee, he hasn’t pitched in a game since July 3.
After Ohtani received a lubricating Orthovisc injection in his knee at the beginning of the All-Star break, the Dodgers hoped he would pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 22. But as they monitored his response, it became clear he wasn’t going to be ready.
Instead, Ohtani threw a 31-pitch bullpen. But his recovery regressed, and he was shut down from throwing.
“At the end of the day, he wants to be healthy,” manager Dave Roberts said earlier this week. “He wants to be there in the postseason. I think that did check him up. If you look at how we kind of paused things — we all want to be smart and careful. I’m happy that we’ve done that with him.”
Ohtani restarted catch play on Aug. 7. And after playing catch three more days this week, Ohtani and the Dodgers determined he was ready to throw off the mound again.
“Rather than rush the progression of this I would rather make sure we’re headed in the right direction,” Ohtani said last week. “Making sure we’re taking the right steps.”
Ohtani is expected to go through a bullpen progression and then advance to throwing live batting practice — although Roberts said earlier this week he didn’t know how many of each he’d need before returning.
Because the Dodgers want to keep Ohtani in the lineup, he’ll have to build up in games rather than going on a minor-league rehab assignment.
Ohtani did something similar last season, but then, he was returning to the mound for the first time since 2023 elbow surgery.
“Having kind of done that — an inning here, an inning there and then you sort of build up during the season, absolutely,” said Roberts when asked if 2025 could serve as a blueprint. “And I think he’s seen what that buildup can lead to and how it looks. I certainly feel that he’ll buy in.”
Injury updates
Catchers Will Smith (neck) and Dalton Rushing (elbow) each took steps in their hitting progressions. Both took batting practice before the game.
Simpson started only 15 games at Alabama before the Rams ostensibly made him the eventual heir apparent to Matthew Stafford.
Now, after offseason workouts, two weeks of training camp and a few preseason practices, Simpson will get his first NFL game opportunity when the Rams open the preseason against Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT (CBS).
“I’m really ready to show who I am,” Simpson said this week.
Simpson, 23, acknowledges the pressure that comes with his draft position, especially for a team that is favored to win Super Bowl LXI. But he does not feel it.
Not outwardly, anyway.
“I try to be as present as I can, and make sure every day I understand how much of a blessing it is knowing that I am the No. 13 pick and everything that comes with it,” Simpson said during training camp. “But also understanding that being here every day, and making the most out of every opportunity that I get, is everything I can ask for.”
Simpson started slow in the first few training camp workouts, but he appeared to break through when he stepped up in the pocket and completed a pass across the middle of the field. Simpson said he had begun to “put the puzzle pieces together,” marrying concepts with lessons learned watching Stafford and Bennett.
“His arm and the confidence that he’s throwing the ball with has definitely grown a ton,” since offseason workouts, Nacua said before the Rams broke camp. “I think he’s feeling more comfortable in the pocket, understanding and seeing more guys run routes.”
Said offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase: “You’ve certainly seen him go and make some throws and go and compete in a really cool way.”
But there is no tackling during practices. So Saturday will be Simpson’s first time experiencing NFL contact.
“It’s going to be a whole different lifestyle,” he quipped.
Rams quarterback Ty Simpson looks to pass during a drill in training camp at Loyola Marymount on July 27.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Coach Sean McVay does not play starters or other projected significant contributors during the preseason. In addition to Nacua and Davante Adams being held out, receivers Jordan Whittington and Konata Mumpfield also will not play, McVay said.
Simpson’s fellow rookies — tight end Max Klare, offensive lineman Keagan Trost, receiver CJ Daniels and defensive lineman Tim Keenan — will play.
Scheelhaase will call plays.
This will be Bennett’s seventh — and most important — preseason start.
Jimmy Garoppolo is no longer on the roster and Stafford was on a limited schedule during training camp, so Bennett worked with the first-team offense for the first time in his career. The former Georgia star, who led the Bulldogs to two national titles, played with confidence and made plays in his bid to show McVay and teammates that he can step in if Stafford is sidelined during the season.
McVay is looking to see how Bennett and Simpson manage the offense before and after the snap. He anticipates that both will use their mobility to make plays if the pocket collapses.
“Seeing some of that stuff come to life will be important,” McVay said. “But I think it’s got to occur naturally.”
Stafford, Bennett and quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone are among those who have eased Simpson’s transition to the NFL. As Simpson prepared for Saturday’s game, Stafford offered counsel.
“The best advice he gave me was, ‘Just go let it rip. It’s nothing that you haven’t done before,’” Simpson said.
But this will be the first time Simpson will do it as a pro.
Simpson anticipates that it will be “surreal” to put on his game jersey and fulfill a dream of playing in the NFL.
“There are going to be things that I mess up on,” he said. “I’m going to learn from them and move on, and next week be able to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. will be suspended for the first eight games of the 2026 season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, the league announced Friday.
Pearce was arrested in February following a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend and WNBA player, Rickea Jackson. The incident took place in Doral, Fla.
Pearce’s charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing police and resisting arrest, and misdemeanor stalking could be dropped if he cooperates in a pretrial intervention program requiring random drug tests, distance from Jackson and staying out of legal trouble for one year.
Pearce will be available to participate in preseason games and all team activities until the suspension takes effect on Sunday, Aug. 30.
The second-year defensive end can be reinstated on Monday, Nov. 2, following Atlanta’s Week 8 road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons are set to play the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid, Spain, the following week.
The Falcons’ pass rush has taken a hit recently following Jalon Walker’s season-ending ACL tear. The group is left with Christian Harris, JD Bertrand, Samson Ebukam, Kendal Daniels and Bralen Trice. The Falcons also added Cameron Sample after Walker’s injury.
Atlanta traded back to the No. 26 pick in the first round of the 2025 draft to select Pearce. The former Tennessee Volunteer has played a substantial role in transforming the Falcons’ pass rush, leading the team with 10½ sacks during his rookie season.
Other suspensions
Pearce was one of four suspensions the NFL handed out on Friday.
The NFL also suspended Commanders edge rusher Dorance Armstrong, Tennessee Titans safety Nazeeh Johnson and Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis.
Armstrong was suspended one game for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. He will miss the Commanders season-opening game against Philadelphia on Sept. 13.
Armstrong opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list, but has since been activated to resume practicing. He was limited to playing seven games last season before tearing a knee ligament.
He’s entering his ninth NFL season, and third with Washington.
Johnson was suspended six games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancers. Mathis was issued a three-game suspension for violating the league’s substances of abuse policy.
Under league rules, the players are allowed to practice and play with their respective teams through Aug. 30, when NFL teams are required to set their 53-player rosters.
Johnson is eligible to return for the Titans’ home game against Cleveland on Oct. 25. Mathis can return for Buffalo’s home game against New England on Oct. 4.
Johnson has three previous seasons of NFL experience, all with the Kansas City Chiefs, and signed with the Titans on July 27, just before the opening of training camp.
The 28-year-old had six starts in 29 NFL games with the Chiefs since being selected by Kansas City in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. A shoulder injury limited Johnson to appearing in just two games last season. He also missed the entire 2023 season with a torn ACL in his right knee.
The 28-year-old Mathis appeared in six games with the Bills last season. He spent his first three NFL seasons appearing in 23 games with Washington.
“Sterling Point” has all the hallmarks of your usual YA obsession — yearning, an awkward love triangle, a lack of adult supervision, an enviable waterfront setting and complicated friendships. Unlike most other YA series of the moment, it’s an original story that isn’t based on a book. Created by Megan Park, the writer-director behind Sundance hit “My Old Ass” and an actor with roots in the coming-of-age circuit in shows like “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” the heartfelt drama centers heavily on the complex relationship between two teens who discover they’re half sisters after a death exposes a deep family secret.
It’s the latest series helping Prime Video step further into its WB/The CW era as a go-to destination for younger audiences, joining hits that include “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “Every Year After,” “We Were Liars” and “Off Campus.” Not to show my millennial wrinkles, but unless the streamer invests in a campaign that evokes the spirit of late ‘90s marketing push known as “The Faces of WB,” what’s even the point of it all? Until then, in this week’s Guest Spot, we spoke with Park about the series that has teen drama enthusiasts hooked.
You are reading Screen Gab newsletter
Sign up to get recommendations for the TV shows and streaming movies you can’t miss, plus exclusive interviews with the talent behind your favorite titles, in your inbox every Friday
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver. You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.
Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our writers recommend a six-part British television drama that recounts the tragic 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and a 2007 stoner comedy directed by Gregg Araki that will help you mellow out and pregame this weekend’s latest addition to the genre. — Yvonne Villarreal
Turn on
Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
Phyllis Logan, left, Molly Geddes and Cora Bissett in “The Bombing of Pan Am 103.”
(Netflix)
“The Bombing of Pan Am 103” (Netflix)
Admittedly, I didn’t know a lot about the Pan Am flight disaster that this miniseries depicts, but I’m glad that’s no longer the case. This BBC production (it debuted in the U.K. last year) depicts the stories of American and Scottish investigators who spent more than a decade combing through evidence, clues and tips to bring justice to the families affected by the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. In 1988, the commercial jetliner was transporting 259 people, including 190 Americans, when it exploded over the skies of Lockerbie, Scotland, killing everyone on board and 11 Scots on the ground. Until the events of Sept. 11, 2001, it was one of the most lethal acts of air terrorism, according to the FBI. In the series, we see the gravity of the disaster, but also a deep layer of humanity, showing how Lockerbie and its citizens were irrevocably changed, yet their compassion never wavered, whether for each other or the victims’ families, who formed a lasting bond in an unlikely place. The main characters in the show are based on real-life people: Connor Swindells is DS Ed McCusker, who helped lead the investigation in Scotland; Patrick J. Adams is FBI Agent Dick Marquise, who led the American investigation; and the brilliant Merritt Wever is Kathryn Turman, a tireless advocate whose work led to reforms and services for families of victims. Be prepared to watch with a box of tissues. — Maira Garcia
Anna Faris, John Krasinski, center, Michael Shamus Wiles in 2007’s “Smiley Face.”
(Lacey Terrell / First Look Pictures)
“Smiley Face” (Prime Video)
This has been a stand-out summer for highbrow discourse about Homeric adaptations. As a reward, let’s get stupid with Gregg Araki’s 2007 stoner flick “Smiley Face,” a giddy, silly romp about a slacker (Anna Faris) whose troubles start when she snarfs a plate of pot cupcakes for breakfast. Her misadventures treat us to a tour of L.A. — from a Hollywood casting office to the Venice Beach boardwalk, with a pit stop at a meat-packing plant in El Monte. Even better, it’s a tour de force performance from Faris, who plays an impulsive mess with the fearlessness of a clown leaping into a kiddie pool of pudding. She deserved to make a dozen more movies just like it. (The “Scary Movie” franchise only halfway counts.) If “Smiley Face” gives you the munchies for a great new comedy, check out “The Wrong Girls” with Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat and Araki’s latest farce, “I Want Your Sex,” which stars a ferociously funny Olivia Wilde. — Amy Nicholson
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
Ella Rubin and Amélie Hoeferle in “Sterling Point.”
(Prime Video)
The enemies-to-lovers romance trope in a teen drama? It’s been done. “Sterling Point” anchors its premise on an enemies(ish)-to-sisters storyline. The coming-of-age drama opens with 17-year-old twins, Annie Jacobson (Ella Rubin) and her twin brother Connor (Keen Ruffalo), who were raised in New York City and inherit a Canadian island following the death of their estranged grandfather. The series follows Annie as she sets out to the island and encounters Ramona (Amélie Hoeferle), the half sister she didn’t know existed until she arrived there. Their initial friction gives way to a tight bond as they piece together emotionally heavy family secrets.
The series hails from Megan Park, who has become known for her nuanced stories about young people with films like “The Fallout,” a drama starring Jenna Ortega about the aftermath of a school shooting, and the Aubrey Plaza-led “My Old Ass,” about a teenager who meets her older self while on a mushroom trip. Over video call, Park discussed the “Sterling Point’s” origins, her hopes for Season 2 and the coming-of-age stories that she admired growing up. — Y.V.
Many series about and catering to young adults right now, some of which are part of Prime Video’s lineup, are based on books that have built-in fan bases. Did that make “Sterling Point” a harder sell? What was your experience of pitching it?
Yes, I think people are always more nervous to take a risk on something brand new when you’re like, “This is just a weird idea I had in my brain, but trust me I think it’ll work.” But I was really lucky with Amazon being so supportive because they had just acquired “My Old Ass” and I think they understood the voice and the stories that I was wanting to tell with the show. I was shocked that people were willing to take the risk of being like, we’re going to go in a writers room and we’re going to figure out the show in an old-school way; we’re not going to rely on any kind of built-in audience or IP. I’m very thankful for Amazon for taking that chance on us. It’s not that I’m against adapting IP. I’m sure I would do that at some point, but I had an idea and somebody still wanted to listen to it, so I feel very grateful for that.
What inspired this story ?
I wanted to try [writing for] TV because I was like, “Well, eight hours is a lot more content than just making a movie.” That was a fun challenge to me. When I was acting, I spent so many years doing TV, so it felt like home. For me, it was the sisterhood story and sort of the the idea of these two young women who are connected by this woman that they don’t know and don’t feel like her death has necessarily affected either one of them, and it has very much affected both of them. I thought it was an interesting idea to explore, nature versus nurture. I come from a family where there’s a lot of adoption, and I had also never really seen a character like Annie where they were adopted and they didn’t have the desire to seek out their biological family, and that was just something they were fine with. That’s been an experience of a lot of people in my family. Oftentimes, [we see] stories about you know people wanting to find their biological family. Both of them exist, but I hadn’t seen the latter in a lot of things. I was excited to explore that.
Daniel Quinn-Toye, Bo Bragason and Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie in “Sterling Point.”
(Prime Video)
Identity, and how that’s shaped by our parents, drives so much of the story. What interested you in that parent-child or just familial dynamic?
I’ve always just loved stories that are about that; family dynamics are the most interesting to me because they’re so full of triggers, and everybody has some kind of crazy story within their family, or a mystery. At that age, you’re finally realizing your parents are just people too, and they maybe don’t know everything. And maybe you have different ideas or thoughts about how the world works than your parents, and that can sometimes not go over very well. It is an interesting time. And as a mom now with children — I have a 2- and 6-year-old — you think a lot about like, “Wow, how are my kids going to feel about A, B, and C when they’re this age? What’s my relationship going to be with them as teenagers and adults?” It’s so wild to think about. I was also writing it, thinking about a lot about the mom and the parents POV as well.
The show has romance or feelings of infatuation that are a hallmark of young adult dramas, but it’s not the focus of the show. It’s the relationship between the sisters. There’ve been studies saying that teens want less sex in TV and movies, that they prefer watching stories about deep friendships or platonic relationships. Was that top of mind for you at all?
You’re the first person who’s asked me that, and I feel like yes. We love a love triangle, we love a love story — it’s so fun and such an escape; it’s almost like an essential part of a show in a way. But especially this generation, their friendships are deeply important and they live at home longer, statistically. Their relationships, their parents, are a lot different than maybe millennials’. When I was in high school, I was never involved in romantic relationships. That was a later part of life, and I feel like I’ve talked to a lot of people, they were like, I wasn’t dating really in high school. I was not ready and not there yet. You don’t often see that. And so it was fun to have this this North Star that the real love story and the real heart of the show is the sisterhood, and I hope that sets the show apart in an exciting way, because it felt that way when we were writing it.
The season ends with Annie and Ramona essentially swapping locations. What are you interested in exploring in a Season 2 with these characters?
I have a whole bunch of ideas left, so we shall see. There’s a lot between these two young women having now experienced each other’s lives fully that is going to be really interesting to explore and pick up, hopefully, if we get the chance to. Listen, eight hours seem like a lot, but once you get into it, you’re like, “Wait, man, there’s eight hours more that I think I could get deeper into A, B, and C.” And there’s so many great supporting characters in the show, and we had stuff [for them] that we wanted to fit in for them in Season 1 that we just couldn’t fit in. Season 2 could be fun in that way, where you know these people and know the world, and now you can go more into [who they are.] Who is Oona’s mom? There’s all these other characters who we can get more into their world as well.
The YA genre is thriving right now. And it’s not even just young people tuning in — I feel like I see so many TikToks from millennials and Gen X talking about their obsession with them. Why do you think we’re still turning to these types of stories later in adulthood?
Because it’s nostalgic. It’s such a defining time in every single person’s life. It’s why young people are finding shows that we grew up on, like “One Tree Hill” or “Dawson’s Creek.” And why women in their 50s or 60s are still relating to the newer shows like “Off Campus” and and “Elle.” It doesn’t matter the era; it’s just the unique sort of idea that it’s the first this, the first that; the defining moments of our lives in so many ways.
In the spirit of this series, what were some of the coming-of-age films, TV series or books that shaped you?
I grew up in like the era of such great coming-of-age comedies — “Clueless” was a big one for me — and really epic rom-coms like “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” Those movies really stuck with me. I would say that Chris Columbus, as a filmmaker, makes movies like “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Step Mom” — those movies that are such wild ideas or really sad things, but you’re also unexpectedly crying. In “Mrs. Doubtfire,” you’re like, oh, this is a story about a dad who misses his kids, but it’s so heartfelt but also funny at the same time.” I want to make things that are heartfelt, which isn’t necessarily a cool word to some people. I think it’s cool because I want to make things that are meaningful but also lead with their heart, and you’re surprised when the emotion comes. It’s not just super, super dark or super, super light and fluffy; it hopefully falls perfectly right in the middle.
Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing went through the second-opinion carousel — “opinions on opinions,” as he put it — after his elbow started bothering him on Aug. 2 while playing catch in the outfield before a game against the Red Sox.
“We then come to an agreement that surgery is not necessary,” Rushing said Tuesday. “So, we’re going to rehab the muscle on the inside of my forearm. And the details as to timeline, I don’t really have any for you. But at the same time, I can say it feels 10 times better than it did a week ago. And as soon as I can be throwing a baseball, I will be.”
Rushing said that Sunday was the first time he’d felt pain while throwing — “didn’t feel a pop or anything, but felt pretty serious as it kind of tightened up on me a little bit.”
Manager Dave Roberts said last week that Rushing’s MRI scan showed a slight ulnar collateral ligament tear. Rushing added Tuesday that something similar had appeared on previous scans, without symptoms.
“It’s something we’ve known about, but it hasn’t gotten worse over the years,” Rushing said. “And so it puts my arm in just a fine spot, and obviously, we just worry about the muscle.”
Strengthening the surrounding muscle and addressing the inflammation in the area should help stabilize and take pressure off the inside of his elbow.
On Monday, Rushing started swinging, which he said didn’t bother his elbow. His eventual throwing progression will give him and the Dodgers more information on his availability the rest of the year and any potential offseason interventions — “I don’t think [surgery] will be necessary,” Rushing reiterated when asked specifically about the offseason.
While Roberts said last week that he thought the chances of Rushing catching again were “very small,” Rushing was more optimistic.
“Yeah, if I can throw, I’m going to be able to catch,” he said. “So I’m not too worried about it. And two months at least of playing baseball, and that’s what I’m going to worry about at the moment. And when the season’s over with, and we have another World Series, then we can worry about what the next step is.”
Klein hopes to avoid surgery
Dodgers relief pitcher Will Klein.
(Kyusung Gong / AP)
Dodgers reliever Will Klein hopes to avoid surgery to remove the loose bodies in his right elbow.
“We’re going to rehab and let the inflammation calm down and get back to where it’s manageable this year and try to build back up and see where that puts us,” he said. “It’s feeling a lot better right now. So that’s encouraging.”
Klein has been on the injured list since the start of the month, with what the Dodgers called right elbow discomfort. The Athletic was the first to report a more specific diagnosis.
Klein said he’d known about the small pieces of bone in his elbow, which had previously been manageable. But they’d calcified and become larger, causing inflammation.
His exact timeline to return is in flux, but Klein is scheduled to start throwing weighted plyo balls this week.
“I’m going to do everything I can to get back and pitch again this year,” he said.
ROD Stewart has sparked concern for his health as he pulled out of a second concert in a week over a mystery medical issue.
It’s been revealed 81-year-old rocker has pulled out of his August 9 gig at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati.
Rod Stewart has told fans he has no plans to fully retire from music or performing all togetherCredit: GettyFans have shared their concerns for rocker Rod Stewart’s health on social mediaCredit: Getty
The organisers of the event announced the shocking news yesterday – the day of the gig.
Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter
Thank you!
They confirmed Rod was undergoing an “unforeseen but minor medical procedure.”
The venue shared a statement on social media, which said: “Due to an unforeseen but minor medical procedure that required prompt attention, Rod Stewart’s performance tonight in Cincinnati has been postponed.
Following the sad news, Rod also postponed his concerts at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado in June, citing vocal rest.
He has repeatedly told fans that while he is winding down large-scale global arena touring, he has no intention of fully retiring from music or performing altogether.
Rod Stewart, who is married to TV personality Penny Lancaster, shot to fame in 1971 following the release of his debut album, Every Picture Tells A Story.
His biggest hits include Maggie May, Sailing and Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?
Over his six-decade career, he’s sold over 250 million records worldwide, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, and received a knighthood in 2016.
Coronation Street spoilers for next week reveal death news and Richie targets Tim – The Mirror
Need to know
Coronation Street spoilers for next week’s episodes tease some sad news, new revenge drama and some big discoveries, and maybe one storyline isn’t what it seems
23:58, 10 Aug 2026Updated 00:00, 11 Aug 2026
Coronation Street Kacey’s real plan for Sarah exposed
Everything you need to know about next week’s Coronation Street as new spoilers tease danger, revenge and bombshells
Kacey enters prison inmate Sarah’s cell in tears and reveals that her son has been arrested for armed robbery, before begging Sarah to speak to her ex, detective Kit.
Sarah declines to ask Kit for his help, so Kacey threatens her. Then when Kit refuses to help a desperate Sarah, Kacey turns violent.
Shona and Sally try to get Lily and Lucy to make up after their fight. Lucy lashes out as Tim refuses to let her visit her dad in prison.
When Tim visits Richie, Richie asks him to back his self-defence story over his wife Rachel’s murder. When Tim refuses, Richie blames him for what happened and lashes out.
Adam advises Alya to decline Idris’s offer for the restaurant.
Idris holds a poker night at the restaurant in secret. Leanne finds out and tells Idris he’s no longer welcome at the restaurant, while dodgy businesswoman Fiona is shocked to find out Ollie, who beat her at the poker night, is a chef at the venue.
George rejects Christina over her spending, after she recently revealed her spending addiction
Celeste arrives and reveals she’s planning her funeral, as she only has six weeks to live.
When Glenda eyes up newcomer Fraser, Todd finds out from Celeste that Fraser is gay, and he forms a plan against Glenda after their constant clashing
Nina is offered a job in Whitby, teasing the character’s exit storyline which airs this summer
