withdraws

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame confirmed on Wednesday that 6-foot-7 Tyran Stokes, considered the No. 1 high school basketball player from the class of 2026, has withdrawn from school.

Stokes arrived last season from a Northern California prep school and helped the Knights reach the Southern Section Open Division championship game and the Southern California Regional final.

His departure could produce changes in national TV game plans for Notre Dame. The Knights are still expected to be one of the top teams in Southern California with San Diego State commit Zachary White and top junior NaVorro Bowman.

Stokes leaving Notre Dame makes Sierra Canyon the Mission League preseason favorite.

Oct. 21 (UPI) — Paul Ingrassia withdrew his nomination on Tuesday to head the Office of Special Counsel after his Republican support in the Senate crumbled following the release of his racist and inflammatory text messages.

Ingrassia announced his decision in a post on X just a day after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that the 30-year-old lawyer and political commentator did not have enough support in the chamber and asked the White House to rethink his nomination.

“I appreciate the overwhelming support that I have received throughout this process and will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!” he wrote.

The development is a rare instance of Senate Republicans publicly drawing a line with President Donald Trump over his picks for who works in his administration.

Ingrassia has been nominated by Trump to lead the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency responsible for protecting government whistleblowers and investigates complaints of wrongdoing.

His nomination began unraveling after Politico reported on Monday on a series of his texts where he said he had a “Nazi streak” and that the federal holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs.”

Ingrassia used an Italian slur for Black people, according to Politico. He also wrote “Never trust a chinaman or Indian” in reference to former Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Following the report, Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rick Scott of Florida and James Lankford of Oklahoma all signaled that they would not vote to confirm Ingrassia, Semafor reported. Republicans hold a 53-seat majority in the chamber.

For the most part, Trump’s controversial nominees have cleared the chamber and Republicans even changed the chamber’s rules to overcome Democratic opposition. However, Trump recently withdrew his nomination of E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Ingrassia serves as the Trump administration’s go-between with the Justice Department and previously represented Andrew Tate, who has been accused of human trafficking, money laundering and other charges, which he denies.

Ingrassia performed poorly in a meeting with committee staff ahead of a confirmation hearing, Axios reported.

“There’s just some different statements he’s made in the past that need clarification,” Lankford told the news outlet at the time.

Actor and Neighbours star Stefan Dennis has withdrawn from Strictly Come Dancing due to injury.

“I was told that on Saturday I had torn my calf so significantly that I am now forced to withdraw from the show,” he said in a statement.

The Australian was a contestant in the BBC dance show, partnered with professional Dianne Buswell.

“I owe both the Strictly Family and Dianne a massive debt of gratitude for giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dream of being able to dance with my wife. (When my leg is better),” the 66-year-old added.

The actor had only just returned to the show, after missing his week three performance due to an illness.

“I had a little bit of a turn, a little bit of an episode with vertigo,” he said during an appearance on companion programme Strictly: It Takes Two.

“But it was all OK, I made myself right again with the help of some good people at the hospital,” he added.

Dennis’s return, in week four of the show on Saturday, saw him and Buswell secure their highest score of the series – performing a Charleston to the song Dance Monkey by Australian musician Tones and I.

Strictly judge Shirley Ballas said Dennis had come “back with a bang”, and that he had pushed his limits with a difficult routine.

The pair are scheduled to be interviewed on Strictly: It Takes Two on Wednesday.

Dennis is best known for playing Paul Robinson in Neighbours, the longest-running character in Australian television history.

Following his first appearance in 1985, he went on to feature in 6,000 episodes across four decades.

Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Japan Open before Friday’s quarter-final because of a leg injury sustained in the second round.

The former world number one held back tears and needed painkillers to come through a three-set last-16 win over defending champion Suzan Lamens on Wednesday.

Top seed Osaka, who completed the match with strapping on her left thigh, was due to face Jaqueline Cristian in the last eight but the Romanian will instead progress to the semi-finals.

The Japan Open made the announcement on X, saying: “We regret to announce that Naomi Osaka has not recovered from a left leg injury sustained during the second round of this tournament and has withdrawn from the quarter-finals scheduled for today.”

It is not yet known whether Osaka will play in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo later this month.

The four-time Grand Slam champion is the latest high-profile player to suffer late-season injury issues.

In September, Iga Swiatek complained the season is “too long and too intense” following a string of injuries among players at the China Open.

British number one Emma Raducanu called time on her season on Thursday after retiring from her two previous matches with illness.

Australia’s Daria Kasatkina, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Spain’s Paula Badosa also ended their seasons early in recent weeks.

Across two tournaments in China last week, five players retired injured.

Defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson remains in heptathlon medal contention with just two events remaining in Tokyo – but rival Nafi Thiam withdrew on Saturday.

Johnson-Thompson, bidding for a third world title, will begin the final session of the competition in third place, 167 points behind American leader Anna Hall and 59 behind Taliyah Brooks.

The 32-year-old recorded a long jump best of 6.42m on Saturday, after marginally fouling on a much bigger leap with her third and final attempt, to reach 4,874 points before the javelin (11:00 BST) and 800m events (13:11).

Ireland’s Kate O’Connor dropped to fourth, 50 points outside the podium places, while GB’s Jade O’Dowda is sixth.

Belgium’s Olympic champion Thiam ended the penultimate session in eighth place – however her coach later confirmed that she would not continue.

“I withdrew her from the competition,” said Michael van der Plaetsen, according to Belgium’s national press agency, external.

Thiam, who has split the past four world golds with Johnson-Thompson, had a disrupted build-up to the championships amid a disagreement with Belgian Athletics.

The 31-year-old’s federation have rejected her claims that she was blocked from joining the team camp before the championships for refusing to sign its code of conduct, relating to a sponsor conflict.

Prior to her withdrawal, Thiam told Belgian newspaper DH Les Sports+, external: “It was difficult from the beginning. I tried to fight, to go through these difficulties, but clearly it does not follow. I have trouble explaining it myself.

“Clearly my body is not happy. I don’t want to do anything stupid, because I think that now, finishing would be for the principle.”

Pegula arrived in New York in poor form, winning just two matches in her previous four tournaments and losing in the first week of a major four times in six appearances.

While she brushed away the cobwebs with routine wins over Mayar Sharif, Anna Blinkova, Victoria Azarenka and Ann Li, the quarter-finals presented a different challenge.

Pegula has previously struggled at this stage – last year’s run to the US Open final was her first success in the last eight of a Grand Slam singles draw after six defeats.

But Pegula was unruffled by her 1-6 record, capitalising on a slow start from Krejcikova to race into a 3-0 lead, including breaking to love in the second game.

She dominated the baseline exchanges, hitting deep groundstrokes to trap her opponent at the back of the court and regularly attacked the net to keep her opponent off balance.

Although Krejcikova pulled it back to 4-3, she was left to rue a poor serving performance, with a double fault at 40-30 opening the door for Pegula to break again in the eighth game and then close out the set.

Krejcikova’s serving struggles – winning just 28% of points on her second serve in the opener – continued and a pair of double faults at the start of the second set gifted Pegula an early break.

Pegula was not without her own service wobbles, throwing away a double break lead in the sixth game as Krejcikova sniffed another unlikely comeback.

But she maintained her composure and, a seventh double fault of the afternoon from Krejcikova brought up match point – which Pegula seized at the first attempt.

“I think I’ve been playing some really good tennis. I’ve been playing really solid and having good starts,” Pegula said.

“She had a couple of really good returns when I was serving at 4-1 and we all saw what she did against Taylor, so I’m happy that we’re done.”

Draper said before the tournament that he was “ready to go” despite struggling with a bruised humerus – the bone that runs from the shoulder to elbow – on his left serving arm.

He arrived in New York having not played since his second-round defeat at Wimbledon in early July, having withdrawn from key tournaments in Canada and Cincinnati in order to recover.

The Englishman competed in the US Open mixed doubles tournament alongside Jessica Pegula last week and wore a sleeve on his injured arm during his first-round match.

He admitted afterwards his presence at the tournament had been in doubt, saying: “I wasn’t too sure if I was going to make it here.”

Draper practised in New York on Wednesday morning but later announced he would be unable to continue in the tournament.

It is a bitter blow for the Briton, who had his breakout major performance in New York last year.

His ranking points from his run to the last four will drop off after the tournament, which could impact his bid to qualify for the year-end ATP Tour Finals.

BBC

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Medical check

‘Taking it easy’

France has handed over its two remaining military bases in Senegal, ending its 65-year presence in the African country. A departure ceremony was held in Dakar for the final contingent of around 350 French soldiers.

The Trump administration said about half the troops deployed to help enforce immigration raids would leave the city.

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 National Guard troops from Los Angeles, roughly half the federal troops deployed to the city, the Pentagon said.

President Donald Trump ordered some 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines into Los Angeles in early June to help enforce federal immigration raids amid widespread protests.

According to Department of Homeland Security figures, cited by NBC Los Angeles, the raids have led to the arrest of 2,792 undocumented immigrants.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell on Tuesday confirmed the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen “from the federal protection mission”. He claimed the move was because “the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding”.

Mayor Karen Bass described the withdrawal as a “retreat”, crediting the success of peaceful protests and legal actions.

“This happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong,” Bass said.

“We organised peaceful protests, we came together at rallies, we took the Trump administration to court. All of this led to today’s retreat,” the Democratic mayor said.

She referred to a lawsuit the city joined that led to an order from a federal judge barring immigration officers from detaining people based solely on their race or for speaking Spanish.

Federal troops deployed to Los Angeles are authorised to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them.

Military officials are not allowed to carry out arrests themselves.

Responding to the withdrawal of some of the troops, California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, said that “thousands of members are still federalised in Los Angeles for no reason and unable to carry out their critical duties across the state”.

“End this theatre and send everyone home,” he added in a post on social media.

Despite legal challenges, a US appeals court has let Trump retain control of California’s National Guard, the first to be deployed by a US president against the wishes of a state governor since 1965.

Newsom’s office said in late June that California National Guard firefighting crews were “operating at just 40 percent capacity due to Trump’s illegal Guard deployment”, as fires were “popping up across the state” months after devastating fires tore through Los Angeles.

Originally a part of the Mexican empire, Los Angeles continues to have a large population of people with Central and South American origins. The Californian capital is also one of several so-called “sanctuary” cities in the US, offering protection from deportation to hundreds of thousands of undocumented people living there.

Trump has promised to deport millions of people in the country without documentation and has executed raids at work sites, including farms that were largely exempted from enforcement during his first term. The administration has faced dozens of lawsuits across the country challenging its tactics.

Trump has also increasingly turned to the military in his immigration crackdown.

In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles, thousands of active-duty troops have been deployed to the border with Mexico, and the Pentagon has created military zones in the border area.

The zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use troops to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events such as civil disorder.

A recent poll showed support for immigration in the US has increased since last year, while backing for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants has gone down.

Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova has withdrawn from Eastbourne with a thigh injury just four days before her SW19 title defence begins.

The Czech was taken to three sets in both of her matches on the south coast, beating Britons Harriet Dart and Jodie Burrage in round one and two respectively.

She was set to face France’s Varvara Gracheva in the quarter-finals but pulled out before the match began.

Two-time major singles champion Krejcikova initially felt the issue on Wednesday and said it had “got worse” overnight.

“I’m very sorry to have to withdraw as I’m having some soreness in my right thigh,” the 29-year-old said.

“I think it’s better with Wimbledon in the next couple of days just to rest it and to see what’s going on and to resolve that.”

Krejcikova, who will open play on Tuesday at Wimbledon as the defending women’s champion, has played just six matches this year after a lengthy lay-off with a back injury.

She lost her first-round match at Queen’s last week then saved match points against both Dart and Burrage.

The world number 17 beat Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon final last year.

Judge Julieta Makintach was accused of participating in a documentary about the famed football player’s death.

One of the three judges presiding over a negligence trial related to the death of Argentinian football player Diego Maradona has resigned, leaving the case’s future uncertain.

On Tuesday, Judge Julieta Makintach announced she would recuse herself after reports emerged that she had participated in a documentary about Maradona’s death and its aftermath.

“This is a judicial tragedy,” said Fernando Burlando, a lawyer for Maradona’s eldest daughters, Dalma and Gianinna.

Judges are largely forbidden from taking part in interviews and other public commentary while proceedings are ongoing. Since March 11, Makintach has been part of a three-judge panel weighing the fate of seven healthcare workers who tended to Maradona during his final days.

The seven have been charged with negligent homicide following Maradona’s death by cardiac arrest in 2020 at age 60.

It is a high-profile case that has stirred a great deal of scrutiny in Argentina. Maradona is a national hero, having led the national football squad to a World Cup victory in 1986.

His performance in that year’s World Cup tournament has since become the stuff of sporting legend. Even a foul he committed during the quarterfinal has been dubbed the “Hand of God”, since it led to an Argentinian victory over England – a rival with whom the country had an ongoing territorial dispute.

In 2000, the football governing body, FIFA, named Maradona one of its two “Players of the Century”, alongside Brazil’s Pele.

But Maradona struggled with addiction, and he passed away shortly after undergoing brain surgery for a blood clot. The circumstances of his death, in turn, led to questions about whether the football player received adequate medical care in his final days.

The seven defendants include a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, nurses and other healthcare professionals who attended to him. They face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. An eighth person is expected to face court separately.

More than 190 witnesses are expected to testify against the seven main defendants. One coroner already told the court in March that Maradona’s death “was foreseeable” and that the football player likely died in “agony”.

But the trial was brought to a halt last week when one of the key defendants, Leopoldo Luque, called for Judge Makintach to be removed from the bench.

Luque was a neurosurgeon and a personal doctor to Maradona when he died. Luque’s lawyer, Julio Rivas, told the court that his client had been approached by the BBC, a British news company, to take part in the documentary.

Through that interaction, Rivas explained they found out that the documentary’s production company had ties to Judge Makintach’s brother, Juan Makintach.

Police also indicated that they had seen a camera in the courtroom, allegedly approved by Judge Makintach.

On May 20, prosecutor Patricio Ferrari called for the trial to be paused for a week while the incident was reviewed. Footage was presented to the court from the documentary, showing the start of the trial. It appeared to feature the judge as a central figure.

Judge Makintach has denied wrongdoing. But Ferrari argued, “The situation compromises the prestige of the judiciary.”

It is unclear whether a new judge will replace Makintach in the coming months.