Rob Gronkowski spent nine years as a member of the New England Patriots.
On Wednesday, that stint will become nine years and one day as the fun-loving and ever-popular tight end will sign a one-day contract with the Patriots so he can officially retire as a member of the team with which he won three of his four Super Bowl rings.
“I am signing a one-day contract with the Patriots this week coming up to retire as a Patriot and be a Patriot for life,” the “Fox NFL Sunday” analyst announced during this week’s broadcast.
The next day, the Patriots revealed when the ceremonial signing would take place.
“The greatest tight end in @NFL history is retiring a Patriot!” the team posted Monday on X. “Watch @RobGronkowski sign his one-day contract this Wednesday at 12:15 PM LIVE on Patriots digital & social.”
A second-round draft pick for New England in 2010, Gronkowski quickly became a key and beloved member of a Patriots dynasty that was already going strong under coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. He retired after the 2018 season but returned to the NFL in 2020 to join Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Two seasons and one Super Bowl victory later, Gronk retired again.
Last summer, the idea of Gronkowski re-retiring with the Patriots was floated publicly by Susan Hurley, the founder and president of the CharityTeams fundraising firm for nonprofits. Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Gronk Playground in Boston, Hurley threw in a personal plea toward Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who was also in attendance.
“Can we just make it official and sign [Gronkowski] for a day so he can retire as a Patriot?” Hurley asked. “What do you say?”
Kraft and Gronkowski both indicated their approval in the moment, with Gronkowski telling reporters that Hurley was the spark behind the idea of his ceremonial signing.
“The reason we’re really going to do that is because of Susan Hurley,” Gronkowski said. “She wants to see that happen and has been dreaming about it happening for a while.”
Hurley died Nov. 1 at age 62 after a long battle with ovarian cancer.
Patriots spokesperson Stacey James told The Times in a statement that the Patriots were initially planning on honoring Gronkowski’s “legendary contributions to our franchise and the bond he shares with Patriots Nation” with a ceremonial contract upon his induction to the team’s Hall of Fame. Gronkowski is eligible for that honor starting next year.
However, James said, “we chose to expedite the honor when Susan Hurley, a former Patriots cheerleader and dear friend of Rob’s, made it her dying wish to see Rob retire a Patriot. Her love for the team and for Rob was deeply moving, and we were looking forward to hosting her for the announcement. Sadly, she passed earlier this month. While she won’t be present, her presence will surely be felt.”
Gronkowski posted a lengthy tribute to Hurley last week on social media.
“We lost a good one over the weekend,” Gronkowski wrote. “Susan Hurley has known my family and I for a long time, she became a good friend of ours and supported our foundation more than words can express over the years.
“But even beyond our team, Susan took care of so many charity teams for the Boston Marathon and their bibs, helping raise so much money to give back to charities. She always did it out of love, her love of the game, her love of people, her love of helping others, and her love for the kids.
“She always had a smile on her face and the utmost positivity, staying an inspiration for runners and charities every single day, even while she was fighting cancer. Her strength and resilience were truly inspirational, and she will be greatly missed.
“Without Susan, there would be no Gronk Playground. I’m thankful that her legacy can live on through the playground, making a huge impact not only on all the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation kids she helped, but all the kids she continues to inspire every day.”
A 99-yard touchdown return from New York Jets running back Kene Nwangwu and Keenan Allen’s history-making catch for the Los Angeles Chargers top the best plays from week 10 of the NFL season.
The striking beach appears like an alien landscape from above. The way its orange sand undulates and twists across great hills is unlike anything else you can find in Europe
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
The beach is the sunniest in Europe
The sunniest beach in Europe during winter has been crowned, and it’s surprisingly cheap to get there.
Playa de Maspalomas in Spain has topped the chart, soaking up an average of just over 10 hours of sunshine a day – perfect to escape the winter blues. By some measures, the vast beach sprawls for 7.5miles along the coastline.
The golden-sanded beach is best known for its spectacular dunes, which form the protected Maspalomas Natural Dune Reserve. People out walking, surfers and nudists mingle freely on a beach, which also has quiet, isolated areas for nude bathing.
It is home to the iconic Maspalomas Lighthouse. Built in 1861, it was once a vital guide for steamboats navigating routes between Europe, Africa, and America. Today, the lighthouse marks the beginning of a vibrant seaside promenade.
Milo Boyd
A little further from the beach is the Maspalomas Palm Tree Plantation, a protected natural space providing a resting spot for birds migrating from Europe to Africa. Wandering through its palm-lined paths offers a breath of fresh air after a day in the sun.
The striking beach appears like an alien landscape from above. The way its orange sand undulates and twists across great hills is unlike anything else you can find in Europe.
It was named the Continent’s sunniest winter beach by Saga, which has compiled a list of the beaches that enjoy the most hours of sunshine during the winter months.
Playa de Maspalomas, which sits on the south of the Canary Island of Gran Canaria, isn’t just sunny during the winter. It’s hot as well. The island has hit 24C today and is forecast to stay at that level for the rest of the week.
The beach is well loved on TripAdvisor, where it has received thousands of positive reviews. One person wrote: “Enjoyable especially in the early morning and at sunset, when the sun seems to play with the ocean waves and golden sand dunes giving unique and always new views.”
Another added: “One of the most beautiful beaches in Gran Canaria. Super extensive and the dune landscape is unique. The beach as well as the water are always super clean. We love coming here.”
If the idea of swapping the soggy UK for a spell on a sunny beach appeals, then the good news is that Gran Canaria is not too far or too expensive a flight away. The cheapest direct flight this week is £24, with Ryanair from Edinburgh Airport. Later in the month, a one-way fare can be yours for £13.
There are also direct flights this month from the following airports: Bristol, Manchester, Bournemouth, Belfast, Newcastle, Liverpool, Nottingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Cardiff and Exeter.
Speaking of the Patriots, they’re one of three 8-2 teams in the NFL, all AFC sides, but are they the best?
You can pick holes in New England, Denver and Indianapolis really for feasting on the lesser sides, with only five of their combined 24 victories coming against teams with a winning record – and one of those was the Colts beating the Broncos.
Denver beat the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are kings of the fourth-quarter while Indy can ride Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots adding Sunday’s win in Tampa Bay to their primtime success in Buffalo seems like a statement.
Their two defeats came in new head coach Mike Vrabel’s first three games, with seven straight wins, just like Denver, since then – but taking down Baker Mayfield after the Bucs had a bye to prepare was huge.
Drake Maye’s MVP claims won’t go away, and he certainly deserves point for bravery after taking some savage hits in Tampa Bay but hanging in there to steer his side to victory.
The defence is solid and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson exploded on Sunday with 147 yards and two exhilerating touchdowns of 55 and 69 yards – becoming just the fifth ball carrier to break 22mph this season on his first score.
While you can argue who ‘the best’ is technically, the Pats should be favourites to finish with the best record thanks to their schedule – which includes just one game against a winning team, albeit a huge one against Buffalo.
Visiting Baltimore is also tough, but Denver have it even tougher in the AFC West with the Chiefs to play twice, the Chargers (who could also challenge for top seed but face the same problem) and also the Packers on the schedule.
The Colts also face the Chiefs, and have the Seahawks, 49ers and two games with the 5-4 Jaguars to contend with. There’s a long way to go but the door is open for a shock top seed in the AFC.
IF THERE is one thing the world’s biggest YouTuber loves more than giving away money, it is taking on a challenge. And now Mr Beast is doing exactly that.
The YouTube giant, who has a staggering 450million subscribers on YouTube, is entering the attraction world by opening a theme park based on the challenges and games seen on his channel.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
YouTuber Mr Beast is opening his own theme parkCredit: SplashBased in Saudi Arabia, the new theme park will feature challenges created by the YouTuberCredit: X/MrBeastFor example, there will be a zip line experience where players must drop a weighted bag on a targetCredit: X/MrBeast
Named Beast Land, the new theme park will open on November 13, in Saudi Arabia.
Jimmy Donaldson (Mr Beast’s real name) said via X: “We built custom games modelled after our videos that don’t exist ANYWHERE else and will have the world’s largest prize wall.”
At one of the games called ‘Tower Siege’, visitors must load balls into catapults, which then have to land in giant 18 metre tubes for points.
In an attraction called ‘Drop Zone’, six people stand on trap doors – a button then lights up in front of all the players, but the person who presses it last gets dropped. The last player remaining gets the most points.
Another of the main game-style attractions is ‘Airmail’, where visitors head off on a zip line with a weighted bag, which they must then drop on target below.
Little information has been revealed about the other attractions available at the theme park, but when visitors book tickets, others mentioned include Endeavour, Energize, Sling Shot and Coco Beach Coaster.
Mr Beast, 27 said: “I didn’t want this to be like a typical theme park.
“Thought of things from first principles and created games I would love to play.
“Tons of original games created plus of course we have rollercoasters and rides.”
When asked why he chose Saudi Arabia, the YouTuber responded that it is because the majority of his audience is outside of America and that he has a big Middle Eastern fan base.
He added: “Wanted to give them a chance to participate.”
Drop Zone will feature trap doors that players fall through if they are the slowest to complete a challengeCredit: X/MrBeastThere will also be a classic-style maze challengeCredit: X/MrBeast
There are four different ticket types including admission only for £5.12 per person – that’s just 3p more than the price of a Big Mac – and includes zone entry but none of the rides, experiences or games.
Junior entry, which is for kids aged between six and eight, then costs £10.03 per visitor and includes the challenges, experiences, games and access up to two rides.
A Beast Mode ticket costing £20.27 is for kids over eight-years-old, and allows visitors to have access to all the same elements as the Junior entry ticket, but with up to three rides.
Finally, Beast Mode + tickets allows all the same as the Beast Mode entry ticket, but includes all of the rides.
In other theme park news, plans for the world’s first retro theme park have been revealed with lands that take you back to the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Plus, one travel writer shares how she has been visiting the UK’s best value theme park since she was a kid – here are her six tips for doing it on a budget.
The theme park officially opens on November 13Credit: X/MrBeastTickets cost as little as £5.12 per personCredit: X/MrBeast
Not for the Chargers, whose defense put the clamps on the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 25-10 victory before a sea of black-and-gold-clad fans and a national TV audience.
Neither team had many offensive highlights — or first downs, for that matter — but the Chargers did enough to win their third game in a row, something they hadn’t done since the first three games of the season.
You might call the Chargers inhospitable, seeing as the Steelers came into the game averaging 25.3 points. You might call the Steelers inhospitable for filling SoFi Stadium with Pittsburgh fans.
The Terrible Towels were everywhere, but there were precious few opportunities to swirl them. By the fourth quarter, thousands of those fans were streaming for the exits. The Steelers were held to 11 first downs, converted two of 11 third downs and generated 221 total yards.
Aaron Rodgers looked every bit of his 41 years. He was sacked three times, intercepted twice, brought down in the end zone for a safety and he finished with an anemic passer rating of 50.6.
The Steelers looked nothing like the team that forced six turnovers against Indianapolis the week before and handed the Colts just their second loss.
In the waning moments, Keenan Allen caught a pop pass and ran seven yards to become the Chargers’ all-time receptions leader (956), surpassing Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates.
Rodgers couldn’t establish anything close to an offensive rhythm, and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert took an all-too-familiar beating, playing behind an offensive line that has had 19 different combinations this season.
Herbert was sacked five times, a week after the Tennessee Titans got to him six times.
Chargers linebacker Bud Dupree dances after sacking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The Steelers scored first with a 59-yard field goal by Chris Boswell in the opening quarter, but after that it was virtually all Chargers. Cameron Dicker had three field goals, and Ladd McConkey and Kimani Vidal scored touchdowns.
Rodgers threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson with 2 minutes 57 seconds remaining, but that was merely a cosmetic score that made the game appear a bit closer.
Herbert took a hit from behind in the second quarter, was slow to his feet and got both ankles taped on the sideline.
According to NBC, he came into the game having been pressured an average of 17 times per game, more than any other quarterback this season, and having absorbed an average of nine hits per game, second-highest for an NFL quarterback in the last 20 seasons.
Even though they leaned into a bunch of quick-developing pass plays to get the ball out of Herbert’s hands quickly, the Chargers still saw their quarterback knocked down time and again. His passes were batted down at the line of scrimmage too, with one winding up back in Herbert’s hands for a reception (although that was wiped out by a Pittsburgh penalty).
The Chargers’ defense got to Rodgers as well, putting the first points on the scoreboard for the home team by sacking the future Hall of Famer in the end zone.
The Chargers next head to Jacksonville. The Jaguars, who got off to a 4-1 start, have lost three of four.
Jacksonville is the site of a horrible memory for the Chargers, who blew a 27-point lead there to suffer a one-point loss in a January 2023 playoff game.
Fans can’t get enough of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami’s limited edition Dodgers gear, decorated with colorful, cartoon flowers featuring smiling faces in surprisingly un-jockish colors like pastel pink and butter yellow. The merch sold out in a matter of minutes at a pop-up store in March before the two-game season opening in Japan. A second collection was released in April.
Three’s a charm — as always.
On Friday at 1 p.m. a final Murakami collection will go on sale, this time commemorating the Dodgers’ historic World Series Championship. The series of T-shirts and hoodies — decorated in Murakami’s distinctive flowers, and featuring the team name in Japanese Katakana characters — is being presented by the sports and youth culture platforms Fanatics and Complex. The merch can be found on their websites as well as MLBShop online stores, the MLB app, the Dodger Stadium Team Store and the MLB Flagship Store in New York City.
I know friends who spent hours trying to obtain a single Murakami-designed Dodgers baseball cap last spring, so I expect the merch to sell fast. I’d set an alarm for 12:55 p.m. and log in exactly at 1 p.m. if I were hoping to score an item or two.
Dodgers fans are more than fans after their team won in what many are calling a “series for the ages” — they are fanatics. I should know. I wrote a story that mentioned the game, and I referred to the Dodgers being one “point” down to the Toronto Blue Jays. I awoke to an inbox full of letters from readers alerting me to the fact that a “point” in baseball is called a “run.” Some said it not so nicely.
Point taken! I mean, run. Either way, I’ve made much worse mistakes and never gotten so much as a single letter. That’s how I know Dodgers fans are not messing around. Neither is the merchandising machine surrounding the team’s epic win.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, shooting baskets for baseball and scoring touchdowns for a home run. Here’s your arts and culture news this week.
On our radar
Joshua Francique with Alonzo King Lines Ballet.
(RJ Muna)
Alonzo King Lines Ballet Choreographer and California Hall of Fame inductee Alonzo King brings his San Francisco-based contemporary ballet company to Long Beach for an evening of dance immersed in the spiritually rooted, avant-garde jazz stylings of Alice Coltrane, including her seminal album “Journey in Satchidananda.” In addition to this tribute to one of America’s only jazz harpists, the company will present a fresh take on Maurice Ravel’s suite of Mother Goose fairy tales, “Ma mère l’Oye,” which was originally written as a piano duet in 1910. — Jessica Gelt 8 p.m. Saturday. Carpenter Center is located at 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org
Pacific Opera Project Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s funny, tuneful, gang-can’t-shoot-straight, long-out-of-fashion early 19th century comic French opera, “Fra Diavolo” is just the kind of thing on which Pacific Opera Project (POP) has made its irrepressibly wackier-than-thou reputation. While the company performs a range of operas, serious and not-so-serious, here and there (including Descanso Gardens and Forest Lawn), its heart is at the Ebell, a historic Highland Park club, where you sit at tables with wine and hors d’oeuvres, surrounded by dazzling singers, goofy costumes and sets, and the intoxicating hokum that the company’s irrepressible founder and director, Josh Shaw, comes up with. — Mark Swed 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Wednesday and Nov. 14; 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15 and 16. The Highland Park Ebell, 131 S. Ave. 57. pacificoperaproject.com
A stage version of the horror franchise “Paranormal Activity” comes to the Ahmanson.
(Pamela Raith)
Paranormal Activity The premiere of an original story set in the world of the film franchise, the show seems determined to scare you silly. The theater has caught the horror bug — and why not? Fear knows no bounds. Written by Levi Holloway, whose “Grey House” had a brief Broadway run in 2023, and directed by Felix Barrett, whose immersive “Sleep No More” captivated New York audiences for years, the production sets out to give new meaning to the term stage fright. — Charles McNulty Through Dec. 7, check days and times. Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. centertheatregroup.org
You’re reading Essential Arts
The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
The new play “Border Crisis” at City Garage.
(City Garage)
Border Crisis A new absurdist comedy by playwright Charles A. Duncombe, based on “The House on the Border” by Sławomir Mrożek as translated by Pavel Rybak-Rudzki, about a typical U.S. family that finds itself at the center of an international crisis, has its world premiere. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 4 p.m. Sunday, through Dec. 13. City Garage, Bergamot Station Arts Center, 2525 Michigan Ave. T1, Santa Monica, citygarage.org
Leah Ollman In addition to a reading and book signing, the author will discuss her new publication, “Ensnaring the Moment: On the Intersection of Poetry and Photography,” with poet Rae Armantrout. 6 p.m. Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla. mcasd.org
SATURDAY
Katherine Ross, Paul Newman, seated, and Robert Redford in the 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
(20th Century Fox)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The American Cinematheque’s tribute to Robert Redford continues with the 1969 George Roy Hill-directed western that first paired the late actor with Paul Newman in one of Hollywood’s great buddy movies. 2 p.m. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com
The Butterfly Effect The reopening of a secret cafe where people are rumored to have time traveled is the setting for the latest immersive and interactive audience experience from Last Call Theatre. 8 p.m. Saturday and Nov. 14-15, 20-22, Dec. 4-6. Stella Coffee, 6210 San Vicente Blvd. ticketleap.events
Comic Creators Block Party A full day of signings, meet and greets, live panels, food and vendors featuring some of your favorite writers and artists, including Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Revenge Of Comics, 3420 Eagle Rock Blvd., Suite A. comiccreatorsblockparty.com
iam8bit 20th Anniversary Art Show The creative production company celebrates two decades of innovation with an exhibition heavy on video game and pop culture history. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Studio 8, 614 E. 12th St., Los Angeles. eventbrite.com
Redrawing the Rancho The performance platform homeLA presents a program of interdisciplinary performance, dance and installation work by Nao Bustamante, Eva Aguila, Rosa Rodríguez-Frazier and Victoria Marks that evaluate the legacy of Southern California’s oldest surviving brick structure. the Rowland Mansion, and the complex history behind it. 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. John Rowland Mansion and Dibble Roundhouse Museum, 16021 Gale Ave., City of Industry. homela.org
“Sweet Nothings,” 2025. Aluminum and bowling balls. 223⁄4 x 183⁄4 x 221⁄4 in. (57.78 x 47.63 x 56.52 cm) by Kathleen Ryan.
(@ Kathleen Ryan. Courtesy the artist and Karma/Artwork photography by Lance Brewer)
Kathleen Ryan Everyday objects become the stuff of dreams in the exhibition “Souvenir,” featuring nine sculptures rooted in the artist’s use of motifs, techniques and conceptual decisions. Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Dec. 20. Karma, 7351 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles. karmakarma.org
Wild Up L.A.’s transformative new music chamber orchestra and collective was founded 15 years ago by Christopher Rountree with a seemingly limitless collection of inventive ideas for bringing classical music into the 21st century and beyond. This fall it begins a new series at the Nimoy, home of UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, beginning with “What I Call Sound,” a look at the historic influence L.A. jazz has had on new music of all sorts. Given that Wild Up is composed of accomplished improvisers and composers, it is ideally suited to follow the course of the avant-garde jazz scene from Eric Dolphy in the late 1950s to such current leading figures as Anthony Braxton. — Mark Swed 8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu
SUNDAY Deep Cuts: Block Printing Across Cultures The exhibition features more than 150 works from around the world exploring the medium as both a means of creative expression and a vehicle for mass production of both images and ideas, extending from the patterned fabrics of India to German Expressionist artists and contemporary makers like Christiane Baumgartner. Also includes the Los Angeles–based Block Shop demonstrating reinterpretations of the ageless art form. Through Sept. 13, 2026. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Resnick Pavilion, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org
Burt Lancaster See the Hollywood legend in two very different films and performances: The American Cinematheque screens Luchino Visconti’s 1963 drama “The Leopard,” in which Lancaster stars opposite Claudia Cardinale; at the New Beverly, the actor appears in the delightful 1983 comedy “Local Hero” with Peter Riegert (on a double feature with another Bill Forsyth film, “Housekeeping”). “The Leopard,” 2 p.m. Sunday. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com; “Local Hero,” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd. thenewbev.com
TUESDAY An Evening with Annie Leibovitz The celebrated photographer discusses her new book, “Women,” which features Louise Bourgeois, Hillary Clinton, Joan Didion, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama, Rihanna, Patti Smith, Elizabeth Taylor, and Serena and Venus Williams. 7 p.m. The Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd. livenation.com
Recovecos The LA Phil New Music Group, conducted by Raquel Acevedo Klein, explores works by Caribbean and Latin American composers in a program curated by Angélica Negrón and featuring vocalist Lido Pimienta. 8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
WEDNESDAY
Broadway star Melissa Errico performs Wednesday at the Carpenter Center in Long Beach.
(David Kenas)
Melissa Errico In her new show “The Streisand Effect,” Errico, accompanied by a quartet that includes Streisand’s own 40-year pianist Randy Waldman, performs such favorites as “Send In the Clowns,” “I’d Rather Be Blue,” and “I Never Meant to Hurt You.” 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Carpenter Center is located at 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org
THURSDAY Celebrating 50 years of Laverne & Shirley Producer Bob Boyett presents the Garry Marshall Theatre’s annual fundraiser, which this year marks a half-century since the debut of Marshall’s hit ABC sitcom and welcomes special guest Michael McKean, who had a breakout role on the show as Lenny. The event, which includes dinner and entertainment, also honors actor Yeardly Smith of “The Simpsons.” Tickets are $500-1000. 6:30 p.m. Verse Restaurant, 4212 Lankershim Blvd., Toluca Lake garrymarshalltheatre.org/50years
An Inspector Calls Theatre 40 presents J.B. Priestley’s classic drawing-room mystery about the investigation of a young woman’s death that disrupts an upper-class British family’s engagement party in the industrial north Midlands in 1912. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; also, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 and 10; dark on Nov. 27 and 28, through Dec. 14. Beverly Hills High school, Mary Levin Cutler Theatre, 241 S. Moreno Dr. theatre40.org
New Original Works (NOW) The second weekend of REDCAT’s annual festival of experimental performance features a program of works by Gabriela Burdsall; Orin Calcagne and Jenson Titus; and Divya Victor, Carolyn Chen, AMOC (American Modern Opera Company). NOW 2025 continues with additional programming Nov. 20-22. 8 p.m Thursday-Saturday. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Hollywood, 1992, Silver Gelatin Photograph, Ed. of 25, 20 x 16 inches, by Herb Ritts.
(Fahey/Klein Gallery)
Herb Ritts The exhibition “Allies & Icons” presents the photographer’s portraits of activists, artists and cultural leaders who led the global fight against AIDS, including Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Magic Johnson, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Sharon Stone, Tina Turner, Keith Haring and many others. In celebration of STORIES: The AIDS Monument, which opens Nov. 16 in West Hollywood. Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Thursday; Regular hours, 1-7 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, through Dec. 21. ONE Gallery, 626 N. Robertson Blvd, West Hollywood. faheykleingallery.com
Culture news and the SoCal scene
The Scourged Back. The scarred back of an African American slave named Gordon who escaped from Mississippi and reached a Union Army camp in Louisiana in 1863. The photograph is one of many targeted for removal by the Trump administration.
(Getty Images)
National treasure “In recent months, a small army of historians, librarians, scientists and other volunteers has fanned out across America’s national parks and museums to photograph and painstakingly archive cultural and intellectual treasures they fear are under threat from President Trump’s war against ‘woke’,” writes Times investigative reporter Jack Dolan in a recent story about the volunteers creating a “citizen’s record” of existing exhibits and more, “in case the administration carries out Trump’s orders to scrub public signs and displays of language he and his allies deem too negative about America’s past.”
Theater beat Times theater critic Charles McNulty reviews a production of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” at A Noise Within. McNulty deems the script, “arguably the finest work in August Wilson’s 10-play series chronicling the African American experience in the 20th century,” and writes that the new show — set in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911 — “seems like a gift from the other side, that mysterious, creative realm where history is spiritualized.”
McNulty also attended Lloyd Suh’s “The Heart Sellers,” at South Coast Repertory, for a production directed by Jennifer Chang, who staged the play’s 2023 world premiere at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre featuring the same two-person cast. The show explores the thorny, timely issue of immigration through the stories of two women — one from the Philippines, the other from South Korea — living in an unnamed mid-sized American city in 1973.
Angela Bassett arrives at the LACMA Art + Film Gala on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision/AP)
LACMA ups and downs The Los Angeles County Museum of Art was in the news again this past week. I attended its celebrity-packed Art + Film gala on Saturday night — and watched the room explode in celebration after the Dodgers won the World Series. The annual event, this year honoring filmmaker Ryan Coogler and artist Mary Corse, raised more than $6.5 million in support of the museum and its programs.
40 authors, 40 dinners I also attended a dinner sponsored by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles featuring historian Rick Atkinson, who won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 2003. Called “Literary Feasts” the biannual event featured 40 authors spread out at 40 dinners hosted at private homes across the city on a single night in order to raise funds for the foundation’s mission in support of the library and its community-driven efforts including adult education and homework support for kids.
Yoko goes solo It doesn’t seem possible, but it’s true: Yoko One, 92, is staging her first solo museum exhibition in Los Angeles. The show, “Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind,” will open at the Broad museum on May 23 and will run through Oct. 11, 2026. The interactive exhibition is organized in collaboration with Tate Modern in London.
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Faustian The Verdi Chorus is launching its 42nd season with a special, two-nights-only performance delving into Goethe’s “Faust.” Audiences can expect operatic renditions of Berlioz’s “La Damnation de Faust,” Gounod’s “Faust,” and Boito’s “Mefistofele.” The concerts will take place at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica on Nov. 15 and 16. Artistic director Anne Marie Ketchum will lead the performances, and it should be noted has been leading the group for all 42 years of its existence. The Verdi Chorus dubs itself, “the only choral group in Southern California that focuses primarily on the dramatic and diverse music for opera chorus.”
Girl dad, the musical My mother’s heart was touched when a father named Matt Braaten — who is also the artistic director of Eagle Rock Theatre Company — wrote to me about a new musical at the theater called, “Daddy Daughter.” The show features Braaten and his 11-year-old daughter, Lily, as they explore the music that has touched her life and informed her childhood to date. “This family-friendly musical comedy celebrates the different stages of Lily’s life through banter and songs, and takes a musical journey from Elmo to Elsa to Elphaba and beyond,” Braaten wrote. I’m getting teary just thinking about it. The show is at 4 p.m. on Sunday Nov. 9, and Sunday Nov. 16.
Since her breakout into the mainstream last year for her scorched-Earth set on “The Roast of Tom Brady” and a top-notch comedy special “Someday You’ll Die,” Nikki Glaser has become an A-lister in the stand-up comedy world. But did that success translate for her first time as “Saturday Night Live” host?
Not too surprisingly, Glaser did well given that her best qualifications for the gig are that she’s very good at delivering jokes for a living and that she’s not shy about pushing the boundaries of taste in her comedy. That’s a good fit for the current incarnation of “SNL,” which tends to have at least one gross-out scatological sketch per episode and lots of “Weekend Update” segments and jokes that either land in the “just dirty enough” or “way over the line” camp.
A sketch about a stalled plane and a chatty pilot (James Austin Johnson) was good, but only because of Johnson’s perfect impression of flight intercom chatter.
Less successful were a half-baked mashup, “Beauty and Mr. Beast,” about the popular YouTuber, and a sorority sketch with Mikey Day as an interloping man wearing a bad facial disguise.
Glaser’s lengthy monologue may not have been as perfect a fit as it should have been, but her sketch performances were spot-on.
Musical guest Sombr performed “12 to 12” and “Back to Friends.” There was also a sweet and funny animated short, “Brad and His Dad,” about a divorced father trying to connect with his video game-obsessed 11-year-old.
In this week’s cold open, President Trump (James Austin Johnson) commented on the bizarre White House incident where a pharmaceutical representative (Jeremy Culhane) collapsed in the Oval Office while Trump was captured on camera looking away. As Trump put it in the sketch, “Someone dying in my office, I stand there and stare like a sociopath.” “Each week I try to create a visual,” he said, that represents what’s going on in the country like last week’s White House demolition. Trump walked over the fallen man to deliver a monologue on the week’s events, starting with the New York City mayoral election and concluding with SNAP benefit cuts and rising food prices. He offered that the cancellation of flights caused by the government shutdown will help by keeping families apart for Thanksgiving. “Killing two birds with one bird. Can’t afford food? Have some cheap Ozempic,” he said. Next up: stealing Christmas. “We’re doing Grinch!” Trump said.
Like a lot of “SNL” monologues from stand-up comics, Glaser’s was a microdose of her comedy act. As such, it was full of jokes about race, politics, sex acts and, for one uncomfortable stretch, the idea that someone (not Glaser, but maybe!) might suddenly realize they’re a pedophile. Glaser began by calling New York City “Epstein’s original island” before discussing white women being cultural appropriators by spray tanning, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (“I’m no health expert, but neither is he”), dating a short man with anger issues and PSAs in public bathrooms about human trafficking. In her 20s, Glaser joked, the only fear she had was “good old-fashioned rape.” The barrage of jokes was exactly what you expect from Glaser, but some of the jokes didn’t seem to land as well on the “SNL” stage as they typically would on roasts or in her own comedy specials.
Best sketch of the night: When declining a Jennifer Hudson spirit tunnel invite is the only option
“The Jennifer Hudson Show’s” signature bit, in which guests dance through a hallway while staffers clap and cheer them on, has become such a big deal that celebrities like Glaser, playing herself in this commercial, have major anxiety about their dancing. Glaser, a self-described “uncoordinated white woman” claims her dance moves are so bad they’re potentially career-ending. “I even tried to put my ass into it. But I don’t have one,” she laments. But luckily there’s a drug, Hudsacillin, that makes you so violently ill that the celebrity in question has to cancel their appearance. “What’s the alternative?” the ad asks, “lightening up and being fun?”
Also good: Maybe this pilot shouldn’t be texting, even on the tarmac
With all the flight delays and cancellations happening, this topical sketch was about a couple (Sherman and Andrew Dismukes) sitting on an airport runway waiting for their flight to take off while their pilot (Johnson) announces delays and also shares updates about a woman he’s texting that he met on a dating app. What really sells the piece is Johnson’s delivery as the pilot, but also the funny interactions he has with the co-pilot (Kam Patterson), Glaser as the disaffected flight attendant and a set of passengers who argue nonverbally about whether or not to get involved (Kenan Thompson and Bowen Yang).
‘Weekend Update’ winner: A way to visit Staten Island without going to Staten Island
As the only guest segment on “Weekend Update” this week, Pete Davidson’s check-in on the Staten Island Ferry he purchased a few years ago with Colin Jost wins by default. Davidson referenced a New York Times article about trouble with their business venture, but said, “I cant spend $5 on a paywall when I have a kid on the way.” He promised to give parenting, “all the enthusiasm I never had for this show.” Davidson revealed that the new plan for the ferry is to convert it to a city on the water, New Staten Island, with all the things that make Staten Island great: pizza (it turns out it’s just one thing). Davidson couldn’t resist getting in a dig at his old boss after saying he’s not giving up on the ferry. “If Lorne Michaels has taught us anything, it’s never give up even if everyone says the time has come and Tina Fey is ready to take over.”
The Philippines is bracing for its second typhoon strike in a week as Typhoon Fung-Wong aims for the archipelago on Sunday. The second storm is expected days after Typhoon Kalmeaegi decimated parts of Talisay City, Cebu Province, and other areas after making landfall on Tuesday. Photo by Juanito Espinosa/EPA
Nov. 8 (UPI) — The Philippines is under high alert as Typhoon Fung-Wong is forecast to strengthen and make landfall on Luzon as soon as Sunday evening.
The Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council issued its highest alert in anticipation of the storm making landfall and lashing the Philippines with high winds and heavy rainfall from Sunday through Tuesday.
“This is our highest state of readiness,” Civil Defense Director George Keyser said during an emergency meeting.
“The volume of rain could be unprecedented, even if the eye makes landfall far north,” Keyser said.
He said forecasters are unsure of how much rain to expect, which requires coordination among 17 local governments and national governmental agencies to handle the storm’s impacts.
“Sunday afternoon through Monday night is critical,” Keyser said. “We must clear streets for search-and-rescue and relief efforts.”
The alert helps to ensure the readiness of 486 traffic enforcers, 130 flood control teams, and 40 road emergency crews, in addition to K-9 units, according to the Philippine Information Agency.
It also activates full response protocols for flood control at 71 pumping stations, video monitoring of 85 critical sites, and the immediate deployment of boats, cranes, payloaders and buses for evacuations as needed.
The Philippines are recovering from Tuesday’s strike by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which killed nearly 200 in the Central Philippines, plus another five in Vietnam, CNN reported.
That storm was the 20th cyclone of 2025 and was the deadliest so far as it passed over the Philippines and made landfall eight times across the archipelago before moving on to Vietnam.
Fung-Wong might prove to be stronger, with wind speeds forecast to reach 115 mph before striking the eastern Philippines as soon as Sunday evening local time.
The typhoon’s mass covers 932 miles and already is impacting the eastern portion of the Philippines with strong winds and heavy rainfall.
Fung-Wong is forecast to pass over the northwestern Philippines while moving northwesterly before turning north on Tuesday and the northeasterly toward Taiwan.
Since they first squared off in 2017, nearly half of their 18 matchups have been decided by three points or fewer, including the 49ers’ 26-23 overtime victory on Oct. 2 at SoFi Stadium.
Share via
Gary Klein breaks down what you need to know for Sunday’s matchup between the Rams and San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
So expect another game that could come down to the final possession when the Rams play the 49ers in an NFC West game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
“Two good teams with two good staffs that are familiar with each other,” Rams tight end Tyler Higbee said in explaining the tight nature of the matchup, “and then you throw the rivalry part into it.”
McVay is 7-11 against Shanahan, his former mentor, though the Rams had won three in a row before the Week 5 loss that ended when 49ers star linebacker Fred Warner stopped Kyren Williams on a fourth-and-one play at the 49ers’ 11-yard line.
Rams kicker Joshua Karty missed a 53-yard field goal attempt and had an extra-point attempt blocked in the defeat.
The Rams this week moved to improve their season-long kicking-game issues by signing rookie kicker Harrison Mevis and veteran long snapper Jake McQuaide to the practice squad. Both will be elevated to the roster and play on Sunday.
Mevis, 23, made 89 of 106 field-goal attempts at Missouri, including one from 61 yards. In the United Football League this past season, he made 20 of 21 field-goal attempts.
The 49ers wasted no time addressing their own kicking-game issues.
After a season-opening defeat that included a missed field goal and a blocked kick, they released Jake Moody and signed Eddy Pineiro.
Pineiro has made all 19 of his field-goal attempts and 14 of 15 extra points.
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zahniser, with an assist from Noah Goldberg and Libor Jany, giving you the latest on city and county government.
L.A.’s elected leaders took a dramatic step to cut police spending this year, chopping in half the number of officers that Mayor Karen Bass had been hoping to hire.
In May, the City Council voted to give the LAPD just enough money to recruit 240 officers this year, down from the 480 requested by Bass. They did so not just to close a $1-billion budget shortfall, but also to prevent other city workers from being laid off.
But on Tuesday, council members learned that the LAPD is on track to blow way past its budget allocation by adding 410 officers by summer 2026, the end of the fiscal year. That would mean hiring as many as 170 officers who lack funding in this year’s budget.
Councilmember Tim McOsker voiced frustration, saying the LAPD’s overspending represents “everyone’s worst fear about a department running rogue.”
“The budget has to mean something,” McOsker said during a Budget and Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday.
You’re reading the L.A. on the Record newsletter
Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky was equally irritated. At the meeting, she asked City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo whether his office had identified the funds to hire the 170 extra officers. Szabo, a high-level budget official, said no.
“At some point, we’re going to have to stop the hiring,” Yaroslavsky replied. “That’s all I’m going to say. If we can’t find the money, we have to stop the hiring once we hit the 240 that’s budgeted for in this year’s budget.”
Police hiring was the biggest source of tension between Bass and the council during this year’s budget deliberations. Bass, who has seen the LAPD lose hundreds of officers since she won office in 2022, had been hoping, at minimum, to keep the department from shrinking significantly this year.
Council members, on the other hand, were determined to avert the mayor’s proposal to lay off as many as 1,600 civilian workers — even if that meant scaling back police. Cutting the number of recruits ultimately freed up the money to save scores of jobs, including civilian crime specialists working at the LAPD.
By the end of May, Bass was seriously considering a veto of the council’s budget. But by that point, the city was being upended by federal immigration raids, with helmet-wearing LAPD officers captured on video using tear gas while facing off against protesters in downtown Los Angeles.
Bass ultimately signed the budget but, at the 11th hour, said she had reached an agreement with the council’s leadership — that is, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson — to find the additional money to restore the police hiring.
In her announcement, Bass said that would happen within 90 days. For now, they haven’t come up with the money.
Clara Karger, a Bass spokesperson, said in a statement that her office is working to find the additional funding. The city is preparing for next year’s World Cup, as well as other large-scale events, she said.
“Crime is down and we are going to keep reducing crime and, obviously, hiring officers is a key component of a comprehensive approach,” Karger said.
Police Chief Jim McDonnell, in an interview, said his agency’s recruiting numbers are “substantially up” after a long slump. Yet even if the council signs off on the additional hiring, sworn personnel will still drop by the end of the budget year, he said.
“We’re going to still have a net loss, because we’re projected to lose [through] attrition between 500 and 600 people this year,” he said.
On Tuesday, Yaroslavsky and McOsker said they want to hire more officers — but only if the city has the money to pay for them. They warned that if the additional funding isn’t there, overspending at the LAPD could force city leaders to contemplate cuts to other city jobs, which they oppose.
“Either we find the money, new money, for the additional hires, or we need to have a serious conversation about following the budget,” Yaroslavsky said.
Szabo told council members this week that, if the budget committee instructed him to, he would prepare a report identifying additional money to cover the cost of the extra 170 officers.
“But we didn’t,” McOsker, an attorney who at one point represented the police union, quickly responded. “If we did, we would. But we didn’t. And it still came out the same.”
The council’s budget advisors had previously projected that the city would need an extra $13.3 million to restore the 240 police hires sought by Bass. In 2026-27, the cost of those same officers would grow to about $60 million, since they would have worked a full year, the advisors said.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents about 8,600 rank-and-file officers, supports the mayor’s effort to increase LAPD hiring. In a statement, the union’s board of directors said it is confident that Bass and the council will find the money to add the additional officers.
“We have every confidence that city leaders will act with the same sense of urgency to identify funds for additional officers … as they recently did to protect other city workers from layoffs,” the union said.
State of play
— END OF AN ERA: Bass announced this week that she is ending her declaration of emergency on homelessness, nearly three years after she announced it. Bass was facing pressure from council members to lift the emergency, which allowed her to award contracts and leases without bidding or council oversight. In her letter, she said she would not hesitate to reinstate the emergency if she finds that insufficient progress is being made on the crisis.
— WHITHER ED1? The biggest question mark is the mayoral initiative known as Executive Directive 1, which fast-tracks the approval of 100% affordable housing projects and was made possible by the homelessness emergency. The council recently voted to make ED1 permanent law. But City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto still needs to finalize the legal language, and for now, it’s not clear how long that will take. The homelessness emergency expires Nov. 18.
— POOR COMMUNICATION: L.A.’s emergency responders had communication breakdowns, inconsistent recordkeeping and poor coordination during their response to the Palisades fire, according to a new report issued by the LAPD. The report said communications were particularly poor between the LAPD and the city’s fire department on the wildfire’s first day.
— LOOKING FOR TEXTS: Meanwhile, a federal grand jury issued a subpoena seeking text messages and other communications from the fire department regarding the Jan. 1 Lachman brush fire, which reignited six days later into the massive Palisades fire, according to an internal memo. The Times previously reported that a battalion chief ordered firefighters to pack up and leave the burn area the day after the Lachman fire, even though some firefighters said the ground was still smoldering.
— MANY, MANY McOSKERS: Councilmember Tim McOsker is just one of the many McOskers who have had a toehold at City Hall. There’s daughter Nella McOsker, who heads the Central City Assn., the business group that weighs in on city policy, and brother Pat McOsker, who was at one point president of the firefighters union. There’s nephew Emmett McOsker at the tourism department and a few others beyond that. We spell it all out here, along with a helpful family tree.
— CAPPING THE RENT: The council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee voted 3-2 to endorse Councilmember Nithya Raman‘s plan to limit rent increases in rent-stabilized apartment buildings to no more than 3%, down from 10%. (The city’s housing department had proposed lowering the cap to 5%.) The proposal heads to full council on Wednesday.
— NO SOLICITORS: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors took the first step toward cracking down on “predatory” salespeople who they say hit up vulnerable residents seeking benefits from social services offices. The looming crackdown follows a Times investigation that found nine plaintiffs in sex abuse lawsuits against the county who said they were recruited outside the offices.
— PRESS PROTECTIONS: Councilmember Ysabel Jurado is looking to change the way the city issues press credentials to journalists in the wake of the LAPD’s treatment of the news media at anti-ICE protests. Her proposal would, among other things, change the design of press passes so officers can more easily identify journalists.
— WILL HE OR WON’T HE? Billionaire developer Rick Caruso still isn’t saying. The erstwhile mayoral hopeful might run for mayor or governor, but had no answer on either while speaking with podcaster Adam Carolla on Monday at a town hall at Caruso’s Americana at Brand mall in Glendale.
Caruso asked the audience, which was filled with his supporters, to clap for the office they want him to run for. Carolla concluded that mayor won out by a small margin. “I’m getting pushed in a lot of different directions,” Caruso said.
— HE’S BACK: Councilmember Curren Price returned to the council chamber after a monthlong absence. He suffered a “health-related incident” during an Oct. 1 press conference, with his staff saying at the time that he had been dehydrated. Price also made an appearance in court this week for a preliminary hearing in his ongoing corruption case. The hearing was delayed until Dec. 11.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to address homelessness went to the area around 15th Street and St. Andrews Place, which is in the Harvard Heights section of Councilmember Heather Hutt’s district.
On the docket next week: The council’s Public Safety Committee takes up the mayor’s nomination of Deputy Chief Jaime Moore to be the next fire chief on Wednesday.
Stay in touch
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to [email protected]. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
For Zuri Crawford, the last several weeks have been an emotional whirlwind — swinging from fears to frustration to now partial relief.
A 20-year-old single mother and Riverside City College student, Crawford depends on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to buy groceries for herself and her young son. Earlier this week, she braced herself for the possibility that — because of the federal shutdown — she would not receive the $445 that typically gets loaded onto her state-issued debit card on the sixth day of every month.
“I really feel like I’m going to be burnt out. I feel like it’s going to be hard on me because I am a single mom,” she said on a recent afternoon. “I have to push through, but I am going to be overwhelmed.”
On Thursday, however, Crawford was surprised to learn that the $445 payment had showed up on her card. Soon after, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that, because of a court victory, “food benefits are now beginning to flow back to California families” — at least temporarily.
Crawford is one of roughly 5.5 million statewide who depend on this food aid — known in California as CalFresh — and one of 42 million people nationwide. In recent weeks, this group has been caught in the crosshairs of a political battle that has shifted from Congress to courtrooms amid a federal shutdown that has now lasted more than five weeks.
As of early Friday, two federal judges had ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use billions of dollars in contingency funding to continue providing SNAP support — the reason Crawford and many others nationwide received their full benefits Thursday. On Friday the Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to block one of those orders. The appeals court let the order stand, and then late Friday the Trump administration succeeded in persuading the Supreme Court to block the judicial rulings and — at least temporarily — withhold food benefits from millions of Americans.
Many recipients in California already have their payments, but the legal drama late Friday may add to their anxieties. Many were already improvising, and may have to do so again.
Zuir Crawford, 20, loads groceries bought using gift cards supplied by Riverside City College.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
In Crawford’s case, she already juggles college coursework, picks up shifts as an UberEats driver and cares for her 1-year-old. When she learned her food aid would be delayed this month, she made a plan: She would drop two classes and then pick up additional work as a caregiver so she and her son could afford to eat. She would use that money to supplement the support she is receiving from her school and community.
Even with food aid, she depends on food pantries to help her obtain items such as canned ravioli, Rice-a-Roni and frozen dinners for the last two weeks of the month.
Single parents could be hit especially hard by the delay in food benefits. Nationwide, single-adults make up nearly two-thirds (62%) of all SNAP households with children, according to the USDA. In California, almost a quarter of single working parents (23.2%) are in poverty, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
Households headed by single mothers are especially vulnerable amid a worsening gender wage gap and rising costs for education, housing and child care, said Jesseca Boyer, vice president of policy and strategic initiatives for the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. “All of those factors require a single mother to stretch their already limited dollars even further,” she said.
In the Bay Area city of Mountain View, Abigail Villavicencio usually gets between $500 and $700 each month loaded onto her CalFresh cards, she said. It depends on her fluctuating income delivering food for apps such as Uber Eats. A single mom with three children, she first qualified for SNAP in 2021, and at that time was able to stretch the money to cover groceries for an entire month.
“But over the last year, it hasn’t been enough. I spend $500 in 2 weeks. I noticed prices were going up,” she said, and her weekly grocery trip often now costs $200 to $300. “I have two weeks when I have to figure out what to do.”
Villavicencio said she augments her benefits by collecting donated food at her son’s school twice a month.
The last few weeks have been particularly hurtful, she said, when she sees commenters on social media deriding food stamp recipients as “lazy.” She notes that she has to show her bank accounts every six months to qualify for CalFresh. For the past three years, she’s been home with her twin daughters as they went through intensive behavior therapy for autism.
News of the delayed SNAP benefits gutted her carefully calibrated food plan. She dipped into her savings for the last grocery trip and bought enough to make meals she could sell to construction workers to earn a few extra dollars.
Now that her twin daughters are in kindergarten, she’s also been searching for more consistent work — but it’s been challenging, she said, to find one that will allow her to drop off and pick up her children from school.
Holding her dog Bear, Zuir Crawford, 20 fears losing her SNAP benefits because of the federal government shutdown. “I really feel like I’m going to be burnt out. I feel like it’s going to be hard on me because I am a single mom,” she said on a recent afternoon. “I have to push through, but I am going to be overwhelmed.”
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
As for Crawford, she said she experienced “trauma after trauma” growing up, bouncing between homes in Los Angeles and Riverside counties. She has sought stability since becoming a teen mom to her son, whom she affectionately calls Baby Z.
She is in her second semester at Riverside City College, where she is taking prerequisite courses to pursue a nursing career. She makes “little to nothing” driving for Uber Eats, she said, “but it’s enough for me to at least put gas in my tank.”
Without the financial support of her family or a partner, she relies on a patchwork of government programs.
Two months ago, she, her son and her fluffy white dog Bear moved into a one-bedroom apartment that she obtained through a county housing program for the homeless. She uses the nearly $900 a month she receives through CalWorks, a state welfare program, to cover her rent, utilities and phone bill. Along with CalFresh, she gets a monthly allotment of healthy food through the Women, Infants and Children program.
She said she’s also sustained by her Christian faith. She attends regular Bible studies and uses a portion of her food budget to make meals for the homeless.
Inside the college’s Basic Needs Resource Center on Wednesday afternoon, Crawford filled a black basket with peanut butter, jelly, oatmeal, a can of pozole and hygiene products. While students can typically access the pantry every two weeks, they can collect staples once a week during the shutdown, a volunteer explained.
Crawford is in her second semester at Riverside City College, where she is taking prerequisite courses to pursue a nursing career.
With SNAP beneficiaries becoming pawns in the shutdown fight, she said she’s grateful for the public assistance, which she views as a “stepping stone” to a more financially secure life.
“It’s not my fault that I was born into the family I was born into,” she said later that day, as she sliced and spiced chicken and steamed vegetables for a low-cost meal. “I can’t control that. But what I can control is my outcome. And I know that if I keep on working hard, if I keep on persevering through all the hardships, I’m going to be OK.”
Zuir Crawford, 20, carries groceries from a local market and also from a food pantry to her apartment in Riverside.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Up until Thursday, both Villavicencio and Crawford were preparing for hard times. The Mountain View mom was worried about telling her children about a diminished Thanksgiving this year. Crawford was calculating how to further improvise on using her food budget wisely.
Both women were relieved that, on the sixth day of the month, their benefits had fully reloaded.
“I can breathe now,” Villavicencio said Friday.
“I’m super-shocked,” added Crawford with a laugh. “I feel relieved. I just feel happy.”
This article is part of The Times’ equity reporting initiative,funded by the James Irvine Foundation, exploring the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to addressCalifornia’s economic divide.
WASHINGTON — President Trump made historic gains with Latinos when he won reelection last year, boosting Republicans’ confidence that their economic message was helping them make inroads with a group of voters who had long leaned toward Democrats.
But in this week’s election, Democrats in key states were able to disrupt that rightward shift by gaining back Latino support, exit polls showed.
In New Jersey and Virginia, the Democrats running for governor made gains in counties with large Latino populations, and overall won two-thirds of the Latino vote in their states, according to an NBC News poll.
And in California, a CNN exit poll showed about 70% of Latinos voting in favor of Proposition 50, a Democratic redistricting initiative designed to counter Trump’s plans to reshape congressional maps in an effort to keep GOP control of the House.
The results mark the first concrete example at the ballot box of Latino voters turning away from the GOP — a shiftforeshadowed by recent polling as their concerns about the economy and immigration raids have grown.
Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill celebrates with supporters after being elected New Jersey governor.
(Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
If the trend continues, it could spell trouble for Republicans in next year’s midterm elections, said Gary Segura, a professor of public policy, political science and Chicana/o studies at UCLA. This could be especially true in California and Texas, where both parties are banking on Latino voters to help them pick up seats in the House, Segura said.
“A year is a long time in politics, but certainly the vote on Prop. 50 is a very, very good sign for the Democrats’ ability to pick up the newly drawn congressional districts,” Segura said. “I think Latino voters will be really instrumental in the outcome.”
Democrats, meanwhile, are feeling optimistic that their warnings about Trump’s immigration crackdown and a bad economy are resonating with Latinos.
Republicans are wondering to what degree the party can maintain support among Latinos without Trump on the ticket. In 2024, Trump won roughly 48% of the Latino vote nationally — a record for any Republican presidential candidate.
Some Republicans saw this week’s trends among Latino voters as a “wakeup call.”
“The Hispanic vote is not guaranteed. Hispanics married President Donald Trump but are only dating the GOP,” Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida said in a social media video the day after the election. “I’ve been warning it: If the GOP does not deliver, we will lose the Hispanic vote all over the country.”
Economic issues a main driver
Last year Trump was able to leverage widespread frustration with the economy to win the support of Latinos. He promised to create jobs and lower the costs of living.
But polling shows that a majority of Latino voters now disapprove of how Trump and the Republicans in control of Congress are handling the economy. Half of Latinos said they expected Trump’s economic policies to leave them worse off a year from now in a Unidos poll released last week.
In New Jersey, that sentiment was exemplified by voters like Rumaldo Gomez. He told MSNBC he voted for Trump last year but this week went for for the Democratic candidate for governor, Rep. Mikie Sherrill.
“Now, I look at Trump different,” Gomez said. “The economy does not look good.”
Gomez added he is “very sad” about immigration raids led by the Trump administration that have split up hardworking families.
While Latino voters fear being affected by immigration enforcement actions, polling suggests they are more concerned about cost of living, jobs and housing. The Unidos poll showed immigration ranking fifth on the list of concerns.
In New Jersey and Virginia, Democrats’ double-digit victories were built on promises to reduce the cost of living, while blaming Trump for their economic pain.
Marcus Robinson, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said Democrats “expanded margins and flipped key counties by earning back Latino voters who know Trump’s economy leaves them behind.”
“These results show that Latino communities want progress, not a return to chaos and broken promises,” he said.
Republicans see a different Trump issue
GOP strategist Matt Terrill, who was chief of staff for then-Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign, said the election results are not a referendum on Trump.
Latino voters swung left because Trump wasn’t on the ballot, he said.
Last year “it wasn’t Latino voters turning out for the Republican party, it was Latino voters turning out for President Trump,” he said. “Like him or not, he’s able to fire up voters that the Republican party traditionally does not get.”
With Trump barred by the Constitution from running for a third term, Republicans are left to wonder if they can get the Latino vote back when he is not on the ballot. Terrill believes Republicans need to hammer on the issue of affordability as a top priority.
Mike Madrid, a “never Trump” Republican and former political director of the California Republican Party, has a different theory.
“They’re abandoning both parties,” Madrid said of Latinos. “They abandoned the Republican party for the same reasons they abandoned the Democratic party in November: not addressing economic concerns.”
The economy has long been the top concern for Latinos, Madrid said, yet both parties continue to frame the Latino political agenda around immigration.
“Latinos aren’t voting for Democrats or Republicans — they’re voting against Democrats and against Republicans,” Madrid said. “It’s a very big difference. The partisans are all looking at us as if we’re this peculiar exotic little creature.”
The work ahead
Democrat Abigail Spanberger was elected governor in Virginia in part because of big gains in Latino-heavy communities. One of the biggest gains was in Manassas Park, where more than 40% of residents are Latino. She won the city by 42 points, doubling the Democrats’ performance there in last year’s election.
The shift toward Democrats happened because Latinos believed Trump when he promised to bring down high costs of living and that he would only go after violent criminals in immigration raids, said Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, who worked with Spanberger’s campaign on outreach to Spanish-language media.
Instead, she argued, Trump betrayed them.
Cardona said Medicaid cuts under Trump’s massive spending package this year, along with the reduction of supplemental nutrition assistance amid the government shutdown, have Latinos families panicking.
“What Republicans misguidedly and mistakenly thought was a realignment of Latino voters just turned out to be a blip,” she said. “Latinos should never be considered a base vote.”
Political scientists caution that the election outcomes this week are not necessarily indicative of how races will play out a year from now.
“It’s just one election, but certainly the seeds have been planted for strong Latino Democratic turnouts in 2026,” said Brad Jones, a political science professor at UC Davis.
Now, both parties need to explain how they expect to carry out their promises if elected.
“They can’t sit on their laurels and say, ‘well surely the Latinos are coming back because the economy is bad and immigration enforcement is bad,’” Jones said. “The job of the Democratic party is now to reach out to Latino voters in ways that are more than just symbolic.”
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.
Also, a reminder:
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.
While Birmingham is an important industrial and cultural centre, and the UK’s second-largest city with a population of around 1.2 million.
The proposed plans are on track to deliver up to 130 extra train services each week, which would provide around two million additional passenger seats a year.
Andy Clark, rail programme lead at Midlands Connect, said: “This would be a real boost for passengers.”
The first phase of the scheme is also expected to create nearly 13,000 jobs nationwide.
Swindon North MP Will Stone welcomed the development, saying it would boost the local economy and reconnect communities that have long relied on slower, indirect services.
Currently, there are no direct services between Swindon and Birmingham, meaning passengers must change at Cheltenham, Gloucester, or Reading stations.
The revived route would re-establish a direct connection between the two cities.
Mr Stone said: “It’s fantastic that Swindon could be benefiting from the Midlands Rail hub expansion.
“We’re a town built on connection via the railways, and so it’s great to see Swindon getting an hourly service between a fellow industrial town like Birmingham.”
Once home to the Great Western Railway works, Swindon has a proud railway heritage that shaped the town’s identity.
The project has secured government backing following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending review and forms part of the government’s 10-year infrastructure strategy.
Mr Stone added: “Innovative projects like the Midlands Rail hub prove that investments in our railways, fully funded by the Chancellor, are transformative for communities, bringing new jobs and skills to areas across the country.”
No one has won the City Section individual golf championship four times, but Layla Phillips has a chance to be the first.
The 14-year-old freshman from Harbor Teacher Prep carded a five-under-par 67 on Thursday at Balboa Golf Course in Encino, good enough for a six-stroke victory over Macy Lee of El Camino Real.
“She’s been playing since she was 2,” explained her father Kasey, who was there to watch his daughter’s round and could not have been more proud. “Our old house was right off of Maggie Hathaway Golf Course and balls were constantly flying onto our property. It was an annoying thing and my wife was afraid the kids might get hit playing in the backyard. So we complained about it and they offered us free lessons as kind of a peace offering.”
As fate would have it, Layla and her sister Roxanne, one year younger, both took to the sport like fish to water.
“We started taking lessons at Chester Washington Golf Course because they had a better driving range there,” said Layla, who started playing the Toyota Tour Cup series 18 months ago. “We get along great and we practice together everyday. She’s following in my footsteps. We’re opposites. I get really nervous but she just hits the ball and doesn’t care. At times, we have to take advice from each other.”
After bogeying the first hole, Phillips birdied the second, eagled the third and birdied the fourth to vault to the top of the leaderboard. She maintained at least a two-shot lead the rest of the way. A bogey on No. 6 was followed by two pars and three consecutive birdies that stretched the margin to six.
“I can’t be too mad with my performance today but there’s always room for improvement,” said Phillips, who got to six-under before bogeying 18 and who finished two strokes off the City finals record of 65 set last year by Palisades senior Anna Song, now a freshman at Stanford. “I’ve only played this course twice before and I’d never played the back nine.”
Phillips tries to get a round in once a week and plays a two-day tournament every month. She shot six-under (equaling her personal best) to win a Southern California PGA Junior Tour championship in Palm Springs in December. She has won around 50 SCPGA Junior events since she was 10. In March, Roxanne won the L.A. City Junior championship by 15 shots on the same course when she was only 12.
“School lets out at 3:30 so I’m practicing from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at Los Verdes [in Palos Verdes] or Victoria [in Carson],” said Phillips, who finished in the top 10 at the Junior World Golf Championship last year in San Diego.
Phillips longs to play college golf (maybe at USC, which is only a 30-minute drive from where she lives in Harbor City). When told she could potentially be the first four-time City champion, she said: Yeah, it’s a possibility. My best competition in City might be my sister. She’s beaten me a couple of times already.”
She will also have to contend with fellow ninth grader Lauren Song (Anna’s sister) who shot a 75 to finish alone in third Thursday to help Palisades (+55) win its fifth straight team title, one shy of the City record accomplished twice by Granada Hills. The Highlanders finished second by 64 shots Thursday but still advanced to next week’s SoCal Regionals.
Well, it was fun while it lasted … wait, it’s not over?
There’s somehow at least four games left in a UCLA football season that feels like it’s already exhausted its story arc and run out of acts.
Act I: The fall of a proud Bruin.
Act II: The rise of a proud (Fresno State) Bulldog-turned-Bruin.
Act III: A 50-point implosion that sucked the air out of the season and didn’t please any Bruin.
What’s left after an 0-4 start that included the firing of a coach followed by a three-game winning streak and a 56-6 loss to one of the nation’s top teams? Somehow, there’s still at least a third of a season to go.
A victory over Nebraska on Saturday evening at the Rose Bowl could essentially put the Bruins right back where they were a few weeks ago, giving interim coach Tim Skipper another chance to reclaim the hearts of the college football world with an upset of top-ranked Ohio State the following weekend.
But first they have to get past a Cornhusker team missing its biggest kernel. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola is out for the season with a broken leg, forcing the team to turn to a true freshman who was throwing passes for Orange Lutheran High this time last year.
Don’t expect TJ Lateef or any of his teammates to walk into the Rose Bowl waving a white flag.
“It would just be so average to go out there and be like, well, we’ve got a freshman quarterback and it is what it is,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule told reporters this week. “Like, no, we’re not doing that. We’ve got TJ Lateef and we’re going to rally around him.”
Here are five things to watch when the Bruins (3-5 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) face the Cornhuskers (6-3, 3-3) in a game that starts at 6 p.m. PST and will be televised by Fox:
Quarterback quandary
Nebraska quarterback TJ Lateef hands off the ball to running back Emmett Johnson during the second half against USC.
(Bonnie Ryan / Associated Press)
Lateef is about to become just the fourth true freshman quarterback to start a game for Nebraska since 1950.
Will it be a performance for the ages?
Lateef didn’t wow in relief of Raiola last weekend against USC. He completed five of seven passes as the Trojans rallied for a 21-17 victory, those completions going for a grand total of seven yards — 1.4 yards per completion. Lateef might be more dangerous as a runner than a passer, having averaged 4.5 yards and scored two touchdowns in his 11 carries.
Skipper said the Bruins would watch Lateef’s high school game footage to get a fuller understanding of his potential.
“We know we’re going to get some unscouted looks, unscouted plays,” Skipper said. “I’m sure there’s things that he does well that they’re gonna want to do that they haven’t really shown. He kind of had to do the game plan and scheming that they had up for Dylan and his reps [against USC], so we’ll have to adjust as the game goes.”
On the other hand . . .
Nebraska’s uncertainty at quarterback likely means more opportunity for its running game.
And the Cornhuskers have a good one.
Emmett Johnson has already topped 100 yards rushing in five games this season, totaling 1,002 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Against USC, he ran for 165 yards and a touchdown while averaging 5.7 yards per carry.
“We’re going to need to know where he is at all times,” Skipper said. “He does a great job of just making people miss, I’m really impressed by how he plays. You know, I come from a family of running back coaches, and I’ve watched a lot of backs, and he’s one of the top guys I’ve ever seen.”
Another mantra
Skipper could keep a custom T-shirt shop busy with all his slogans.
He’s told his players to strain. He’s asked them whether they were one-hit wonders. He’s implored them to uphold the standard they had established.
Over the two weeks that followed his team’s 56-6 loss to Indiana, he’s delivered a new message.
“We’re just getting back to the basics,” Skipper said. “It’s about fundamentals and little details. That’s kind of been what we’ve been really preaching.”
Linebacker Jalen Woods said plenty of time has been spent on tackling after the team experienced significant slippage in that area against the Hoosiers. Offensive tackle Garrett DiGiorgio said players ran between drills to quicken the tempo of everything they were doing.
With an extra week to prepare for the Cornhuskers after a bye, the Bruins have tried not to let the disappointment they experienced in their last game linger.
“Don’t let it carry over into the next game,” Woods said of the team’s collective mindset.
A line redrawn
Eugene Brooks celebrates a UCLA touchdown against Penn State.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
UCLA guard Eugene Brooks was back at practice this week, a significant development for an offensive line that had struggled in his absence.
The Bruins ran for just 88 yards — 60 by running backs — and allowed three sacks with Brooks sidelined against Indiana.
It appears they’ll be back at full strength against a Nebraska defense that’s allowing only 289.9 yards per game, ranking No. 13 nationally.
Skipper said the Cornhuskers create confusion using multiple defensive fronts with hybrid players who either rush the quarterback or drop into coverage.
“They’re going to create a lot of havoc that way with the people that they use,” Skipper said. “They create a lot of turnovers. They’re very good on third down. They don’t give up big plays in the passing game. They’re really good at keeping people in front of them.”
Another boost
Running back Anthony Woods also returned to practice after missing the Indiana game.
His ability to run the ball and catch passes out of the backfield could help an offense that did not score a touchdown for the first time this season when it faced the Hoosiers.
Running back Jalen Berger said the success UCLA had on the ground during its three-game winning streak, when it averaged 236.7 yards rushing per game, was largely a result of an increased emphasis on its ballcarriers.
“I’d say it’s more of a commitment,” Berger said of an approach the Bruins had to abandon after falling behind big against Indiana. “Just being run-first, you know?”
Budget airline Ryanair to scrap the option for passengers to print out and use a paper boarding pass
12:58, 06 Nov 2025Updated 12:59, 06 Nov 2025
Ryanair is pressing ahead with a big change to aircraft boarding by going 100% digital (Image: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Ryanair passengers will be forced to use digital boarding passes only from next week.
The budget airline issued update to remind customers, ahead of the big change from Wednesday November 12. From that date, passengers will no longer be able to download and print a physical paper boarding pass.
Instead, they will have to use the digital boarding pass generated in the “myRyanair” app on their mobile device – smartphone or tablet – during check-in process to board any of its flights.
Ryanair insisted the “vast majority” of people already use digital boarding in this way, adding that nearly 80% of its more than 207 million passengers annually did so. But that still means that around 40 million passengers who prefer other methods, including printing their pass, will be impacted.
Dara Brady, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, said: “While over 80% of passengers already use digital boarding passes, and therefore won’t be affected by this progressive change, we remind the small number of passengers who still print boarding passes to download the myRyanair app ahead of the move to 100% digital boarding passes from Wednesday, 12 November.
“Moving fully digital means a faster, smarter, and greener experience for passengers, whilst also providing easier access to a range of innovative in-app features, including ‘Order to Seat’, live flight information and direct updates during disruption. We look forward to delivering an enhanced travel experience for 100% of our customers, streamlined through our best-in-class myRyanair app.”
Ryanair insisted the move would mean lower airport costs and so fares for all Ryanair passengers, as well as saving 300 tonnes of paper annually.
But it has already had to reassurance customers who fear they will be caught out. For instance, it says that if passengers lose their smartphone or tablet they can get a free boarding pass at the airport, but assuming they have already checked-in to their flight online. The same is true if their battery runs out before they get through airport security, it says, while if it packs up before boarding then they “will be assisted at the gate.”
Then there is the question of what happens if a customer does not have a smartphone with the Ryanair app. The airline says: “If passengers don’t have a smartphone or tablet, as long as they have already checked-in online before arriving at the airport, they will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport.”
Ryanair added that, as long as passengers have checked-in online, the digital boarding pass will be available regardless of whether they have a mobile signal or not.
Kaylon Miller was on the six yard line in the fourth quarter, blocking on a USC run play when he saw King Miller, his running back and twin brother, blow right past him.
“Run, run, go, go!” he remembers shouting as King bumped it outside and crossed the Nebraska goal line for the go-ahead touchdown that would ultimately be the game winner in the Trojans’ 21-17 Big Ten win last Saturday in Lincoln.
When King turned around in the end zone, it was his brother who was the first to greet him; the two brothers shared a moment as their facemasks clashed into each other. Both walk ons. Both finding opportunities to get on the field as redshirt freshmen — and both making the most of those opportunities.
“You owe me a burger,” King remembers Kaylon telling him.
Kaylon has been happy to see his brother succeed — King Miller was pressed into duty last month due to injuries, and he responded with big games against Michigan and Notre Dame — but he continued to wait for his moment. Then in the first quarter against the Cornhuskers, right guard Alani Noa went down with an injury. Kaylon was standing next to USC offensive line coach Zach Hanson, who turned to him.
“This is your opportunity,” Hanson told him. “Let’s go.”
It was Kaylon’s turn.
“Honestly, just a remarkable story that I’ll be able to tell when I’m older,” he said. “Obviously, everybody wants their opportunity to go and play and you just have to be ready when your number’s called on. It just so happened that mine had to be that night.
“I just knew that when I got that opportunity I was gonna make the most of it.”
And make the most of it he did. Despite taking all of his practice reps that week at center, Miller stepped in at guard and didn’t just hold it together — he elevated the o-line in a low-scoring slugfest against a tough Nebraska defense.
Allowing zero pressures on the night, Miller recorded a pass block grade of 88.2, the third-best in the Big Ten last week and the sixth-best among Power Four guards.
“Played awesome. He really did,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said. “He was physical, he pass pro’ed well. He was really physical in his pull game, was really sharp assignment-wise, which — I know I’ve mentioned several times — was all the more impressive because he really hadn’t been able to take a lot of practice reps at guard. Thoroughly impressed.”
While Miller still says he feels more confident snapping the ball due to the more compact nature that comes with playing center, he attributes his success at right guard to being able to rely on his teammates. The o-line, especially at guard, is a symbiotic relationship. So much of it is depending on the tackles and center for help (and vice versa), and Miller was 100% confident in his teammates next to him.
Things could’ve gone south with Miller playing for the first time in an intense road environment at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers, and the 86,529 fans in attendance, were dressed in all black. Black balloons were released by a raucous crowd each time Nebraska scored. But in between series, left tackle Elijah Paige — who made his return from a knee injury he suffered in Week 4 against Michigan State — kept Miller’s mind right.
“Just treat it like practice,” Paige said. “Obviously, that’s a pretty hostile environment. It’s one of the best environments out there. So obviously that can get to you, the noise can get to you, everything can get to you. But I kind of just tell him to focus in and act like this is a Tuesday or Wednesday practice.”
As the Trojans prepare to host Northwestern on a short week, Miller’s trying to think too much about what happened the week before; he knows opportunities can be taken away just as quickly as they’re earned. He likes to lean on a saying he tells his twin brother all the time:
“Never look back upon any situation that you’ve ever been in, just look forward because nothing that you did in the past can be taken back. You can only have your eyes in tunnel vision, forward.”
As for the burger that King still owes him?
“I ain’t get him it yet, but I got to,” King said with a laugh. “I don’t know when it is, he gonna keep asking me about it for sure, but I got him one day.”
A look at two of this week’s top high school football playoff games in the Southland:
FRIDAY
Leuzinger (8-1) at Crean Lutheran (10-0), 7 p.m.
Leuzinger, the Bay League champions, has a top offensive line and an aggressive, hard-hitting defense that will try to contain Crean Lutheran’s athletic quarterback, Caden Jones, who has 29 touchdown passes. This Division 2 opener is part of a division loaded with tough first-round matchups. The pick: Leuzinger.
Can Laguna Beach deal with Notre Dame’s huge offensive line? That’s the big question in this Division 3 playoff opener. Versatile quarterback Wyatt Brown has run for 19 touchdowns. If the Knights can throw around their weight, things will look good. Laguna Beach has talented junior quarterback Jack Hurst, who has 41 touchdown passes. The pick: Notre Dame.
