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on Wednesday that 6-foot-7 Tyran Stokes, considered the No. 1 high school basketball player from the class of 2026, has withdrawn from school.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.
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.
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.
Hello and welcome to SunSport’s coverage of the Wuhan Open!
Unfortunately we do not have anyone working through the night – or from China – to cover the early games (3am BST).
However, we will keep you updated with all the latest scores as they happen for the later sessions, which start at 7am and 12.30pm BST.
Our first person through the door arrives at 7am and has been tasked with immediately updating this blog with the latest headlines.
Eight matches are due to start in 10 minutes, with a further eight at 7am and then eight more in the final session.
Mark Allen headlines this first session, while the likes of Judd Trump, Mark Williams, Mark Selby, defending champion Xiao Guodong and Zhao Xintong are all in action at different points in the day.
Today’s matches are also a mix of round one holdovers and round two games.
Kristian Nairn said he is having treatment and assured fans “I’m OK”
Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn has pulled out of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, just days after the line-up was announced, saying he’s been struggling with “a high level of stress and a little bit of grief”.
Nairn, 49, is best known for playing Hodor – the guileless servant of House Stark – in HBO’s fantasy drama.
He told his Instagram followers that after the line-up announcement last week, his problems had “manifested physically” for the first time and had caused “a spike in my vitals as an area of concern”.
Actor Lewis Cope, best known for playing Nicky Milligan in ITV’s Emmerdale, will replace Nairn on this year’s show.
Getty Images
Nairn played Hodor in the first four seasons of Game of Thrones
Ahead of the announcement of Cope as Nairn’s replacement, Nairn wrote: “I’m gutted. I was really looking forward to taking part in this.”
Nairn is also known for playing Wee John Feeney in the US TV period comedy drama Our Flag Means Death, and is a house music DJ.
Last Friday, the 6ft 10in Northern Irishman became the 15th and final contestant to be unveiled for this year’s Strictly.
Medical check
“I’ve been given a wonderful opportunity to be part of the Strictly Come Dancing family, as you may know,” he said in an Instagram video on Thursday.
“Sadly, I’m having to withdraw from this year’s show. There’s been such a response, I definitely want to share why. Like so many people at the minute, I’ve been dealing with a high level of stress and a little bit of grief, if I’m going to be really real.
“I’ve always been my mother’s son and I’ve always powered through things like this in the past. I think I’ve got a pretty healthy attitude towards stuff like this. Well, I thought I did, at least.
“But for the first time it’s manifested physically and has caused a spike in my vitals as sort of an area of concern.
Nairn was revealed as a Strictly contestant on Gary Davies’s BBC Radio 2 show on Friday
“I am a big guy, always have been, ever since I set foot on this Earth, so I take my health very seriously, and I do see my doctor all the time, and I was checked for the show two weeks before [the announcement] and everything was fine, so he was happy for me to take part.
“Please know I’m OK. I’m under treatment already, and my doctor isn’t concerned. After two, maybe three weeks, I’ll be pretty much back to normal, but sadly… it’s not going to be in time for all the training and everything like that.”
‘Taking it easy’
Nairn went on to say he had been “100% supported” by producers and others on the show.
“I’m going to be taking it easy for now, and I’ll be able to return to work very shortly.”
He added: “We live in strange, crazy times at the moment. So without being preachy, please look after yourself. Don’t ignore what’s going on inside your head.
“This is something I haven’t dealt with before, so this has really come as a surprise for me. I always thought I had this.”
He asked people not to worry about him, saying: “I’ve totally got this.”
When his participation was announced last Friday, he said taking part in the dance contest would be “a huge challenge for me physically, but I’m ready to rise to it.”
In a statement from the BBC on Thursday, his withdrawal was put down to “unexpected medical reasons”.
The show’s executive producer Sarah James said: “We’ve absolutely loved getting to know Kristian in this short time, and he has all the makings of a brilliant Strictly Come Dancing contestant.
“We’re incredibly sorry to lose him from this year’s series and we all wish him a speedy recovery.”
