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Oct. 27 (UPI) — Forecasters are warning residents of Jamaica to “seek shelter now,” as Melissa, a Category 4 hurricane, was making its way toward the Caribbean island nation early Monday.

The storm was expected to make landfall along Jamaica’s southern coast on Tuesday morning, but the National Hurricane Center reported that the island is already experiencing damaging winds and heavy rainfall that will cause catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and landslides.

The hurricane, a Category 4 storm, was located about 130 miles south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 315 miles south-southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. EDT update.

It had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph and was crawling west at 5 mph.

Forecasters said it was to take a slow westward turn overnight, followed by a north and northeastern turn on Monday and Tuesday.

“On the forecast track, the core of Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica tonight and Tuesday, across southeastern Cuba [on] Tuesday night and across the southeastern Bahamas on Wednesday,” the NHC said.

The storm — which became a hurricane Saturday morning and was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane by Saturday night — continues to gather strength.

Additional intensification of the storm is forecast over the next day or two, after which strengthening is expected to fluctuate.

However, the NHC expects it to be “a powerful major hurricane” when it makes landfall along Jamaica’s southern coast. This would be the strongest direct landfall for the island since records have been kept in the Atlantic Basin.

Either Tuesday night or Wednesday, Melissa is anticipated to make landfall along Cuba’s southeastern coast.

Catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in parts of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica are expected through early next week.

A hurricane warning is in effect for all of Jamaica and for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.

Hurricane watches are in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince.

“Seek shelter now,” is the key message the NHC has for Jamaica.

“Damaging winds and heavy rainfall tonight and Monday will cause catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and numerous landslides before potentially devastating winds arrive Monday night and Tuesday morning,” NHC forecaster Philippe Papin said in a discussion on the storm.

“Extensive infrastructural damage, long-duration power and communication outages and isolation of communities are expected.”

Accuweather meteorologist Alex Duffus warned that entire communities could be cut off from aid and support for several days.

“Melissa’s slow movement over the mountainous islands greatly increases the risk of catastrophic flash flooding and deadly mudslides,” Duffus said. “This can quickly escalate into a humanitarian crisis, where a large number of people are in need of basic supplies such as food, safe drinking water, housing and medical care.”

Rainfall of 15 to 30 inches through Wednesday is forecast for portions of southern Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, with a local maximum of 40 inches, the NHC said.

Eastern Cuba is expected to receive rainfall of 6 to 12 inches, with local amounts up to 18 inches into Wednesday.

“Life-threatening storm surge is becoming more likely along the south coast of Jamaica later in the weekend or early next week,” the NHC said.

Peak storm surge heights could reach 9 to 13 feet above ground level, near and to the east of where the center of Melissa makes landfall and are expected to be accompanied by large and destructive waves.

There also is a potential of significant storm surge along the Cuban coast next week.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the season, and it’s the first in the Caribbean.

This season has seen few storms, resulting in unusually warm Caribbean waters, and the warm water is potential fuel for stronger and more dangerous storms.

After taking his normal round of infield grounders during the Dodgers’ off-day workout Sunday, Kiké Hernández jogged to center field and spent a noticeable amount of time fielding fly balls there.

On the eve of Game 3 of the World Series, it might not have been a coincidence.

After using the same nine players in their starting lineup in six straight games since the start of the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers have been considering a change for Monday — one that could drop struggling second-year slugger Andy Pages to the bench.

While the Dodgers’ overall offense has been inconsistent this postseason, Pages has endured the most glaring slump. He has collected just four hits in 43 at-bats, registering a .093 average. He has 11 strikeouts, no walks, and only one extra-base knock, providing little pop or spark from the No. 9 spot.

Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged before Game 2 that he was mulling whether to keep Pages in the lineup. And though the 24-year-old outfielder, who had 27 home runs and 86 RBIs in the regular season, had a hit and run scored on Saturday, Roberts reiterated Sunday that making a move with Pages was “still on the table” and “front of mind.”

“Just trying to figure out where he’s at mentally, physically,” Roberts said. “The performance hasn’t been there. So thinking of other options, yeah.”

One reason the Dodgers have stuck with Pages is because of their limited defensive alternatives — including, first and foremost, utilityman Tommy Edman being restricted to only second base this October because of a lingering ankle injury.

Edman, who split time last postseason between center field and shortstop, did say this weekend that his ankle was feeling better (even though he didn’t close the door on potentially needing surgery this offseason). But Roberts noted that Edman “hasn’t taken a fly ball out there in a month,” casting continued doubt over his ability to play anywhere else.

Without Edman, Hernández is the only other true center-field option for the Dodgers to use in their starting lineup, having also played there during the team’s World Series run last year. This postseason, Hernández has been a fixture in left (while also mixing in at third base). But if he were to slide to center field for Game 3, it could open left field for someone like Alex Call.

Call, a trade deadline acquisition who was a part-time player down the stretch in the regular season, does not represent as much of a power threat as Pages, but is a better contact hitter with more on-base ability.

Of course, the Dodgers’ offensive inconsistencies have gone beyond Pages.

They have not topped five runs in a game since the wild-card round. They have hit just .216 as a team since the start of the division series. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are still batting under .225 in the playoffs. Mookie Betts is batting .136 since the start of the NLCS.

During their Game 2 win, Roberts felt the club missed a lot of hittable pitches against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman, before Will Smith and Max Muncy finally broke through with home runs in the seventh.

That, Roberts felt, was a sign his lineup was “a little bit in between” in its approach, squandering opportunities to do damage against fastballs over the plate while also trying to protect against breaking stuff out of the zone.

“They have made good pitches, but we have missed pitches as well,” Roberts said. “I do think that coming home, I feel that we’re back into a little bit of a rhythm offensively.”

Perhaps shaking up the lineup will help, as well.

Oct. 26 (UPI) — Two U.S. Navy aircraft went down in the South China Sea in two incidents separated by half an hour on Sunday, according to U.S. Pacific Fleet, which said all service members were rescued.

In a statement, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said a U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting routine operations at about 2:45 p.m. local time.

It had deployed from aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and was assigned to “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73.

All three crew members were rescued.

The second incident involved a F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22.

According to the Navy, it went down at 3:15 p.m. while also conducting routine operations.

“Both crew members successfully ejected and were also safely recovered by search-and-rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11,” it said.

“All personnel involved are safe and in stable condition.”

The incidents are under investigation.

Commissioned in 1975, the USS Nimitz is on its final deployment, which began late March, USNI News reported. It had operated in the Middle East this summer as part of U.S. military plans to thwart Houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and had entered the South China Sea on Oct. 17.

McLaren’s Lando Norris avoided early mayhem to cruise to a dominant Mexico City Grand Prix win and retake the Formula One championship lead by a single point from teammate Oscar Piastri on Sunday.

Australia’s Piastri, who started the race seventh and 14 points clear of the Briton, finished fifth after a virtual safety car in the last two laps denied him a shot at fourth after a thrilling chase.

Charles Leclerc was runner-up for Ferrari, a hefty 30.3 seconds adrift of Norris, while Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen took third – just 0.7 behind the Monegasque driver.

Norris, who started from pole position and led every lap, now has 357 points to Piastri’s 356, with Verstappen on 321 and four rounds remaining.

“What a race. I could just keep my eyes focused and forward and focus on what I was doing,” said Norris, who was booed by the home crowd for reasons that remained unclear.

“A pretty straightforward race for me, which is just what I was after. A good start, a good launch, a good first lap, and I could go from there.”

Norris turns championship frontrunner

Norris last led the drivers’ standings in April, a gap of 189 days, and had not won a race since Hungary in early August. Sunday was his sixth victory of the season, one less than Piastri, and his 10th career win.

“I felt like the whole race I was right behind someone and struggling with the dirty air. That was pretty difficult,” said Piastri.

“Today was about trying to limit the damage, but also trying to learn some things about that. If I’ve made some progress with that, I’ll be happy.”

Oliver Bearman was fourth for Haas, a best result for the Briton and also the US-owned team, and was 1.1 seconds clear of Piastri at a chequered flag waved by former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.

“I held off Max in the first stint, I held off the Mercs in the second, and I held off the McLaren in the third one,” the rookie said.

“I spent more time looking in my rearview mirrors than in front. But that’s sometimes how it has to be.”

Kimi Antonelli was sixth for Mercedes, with teammate George Russell seventh and Lewis Hamilton eighth for Ferrari after a 10-second penalty dropped him from third and dashed his hopes of a first podium for the team he joined in January.

Esteban Ocon was ninth, making a double points finish for Haas, and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto took the final point.

Ferrari moves back into second place

The top three all completed the race on a one-stop strategy, while Bearman, Piastri and the Mercedes drivers all pitted twice.

Ferrari moved back into second place, a point ahead of Mercedes, in a constructors’ championship already won by McLaren but with a tight scrap for the runner-up slot.

Norris made a clean start from pole when the lights went out, but was caught in a four-way tussle down the long run to turn one, with Verstappen cutting the corner and bumping over the grass.

Leclerc then cut turn two, giving the place back to Norris, who emerged from the chaos ahead, while Verstappen gained a place in fourth to the intense irritation of Russell.

“I got squeezed like crazy,” said Verstappen over the team radio as Russell, who started fourth, called in vain for the four-time world champion to hand the place back.

A scary incident saw Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, who came in for a new front wing on lap three, accelerate out of the pits as two marshals ran across the track in front of him.

Verstappen and third-placed Hamilton made contact on lap six as they went side by side with the Red Bull driver trying to go past at turn one, but ending up cutting the next corner.

Hamilton went off at turn four, cutting back across the grass, and was handed a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

Bearman, meanwhile, climbed to fourth, from ninth at the start, and looked on for a podium once Hamilton took his penalty on lap 24, only to be reeled in by Verstappen.

While Norris enjoyed a calm afternoon in the sunshine, Piastri had to fight back from a low of 11th after his first stop, passing Antonelli in the pits and Russell on track.

The virtual safety car was deployed after Williams’s Carlos Sainz, last year’s winner for Ferrari, spun and stopped on track on the penultimate lap with smoke coming from it.

Oct. 26 (UPI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country has tested a new, nuclear-capable missile and is preparing to deploy it.

Putin’s military maneuver comes just after a planned meeting with President Donald Trump collapsed.

The weapon runs on nuclear power, which makes it capable of flying much further than other missiles, according to the Kremlin, and is able to evade missile detection and defense systems.

“This is a unique product that no one in the world has, Putin, dressed in military fatigues, said during a meeting with military commanders, according to a video posted by the Kremlin. “We need to identify potential uses and begin preparing the infrastructure for deploying this weapon in our armed forces.”

Valery V. Gerasimov, general staff of the Russian armed forces, said the missile had remained in flight for 15 hours and traveled 8,700 miles during testing.

“It is a tiny flying Chernobyl,” Gerasimov said during a briefing, referring to a nuclear power plant in Ukraine that became widely known for a catastrophic explosion in 1986.

The missile, known as the SSC-X-9, has been in development for years, and while Putin’s announcement was not a surprise, nuclear experts say it is a bad turn of events.

“This is a bad development,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert at Middlebury College. “It is one more science fiction weapon that is going to be destabilizing and hard to address in arms control.”

Putin’s announcement of the missile revives the back and forth between the United States and Russia over nuclear arms, but the first action since President Donald Trump took office in January.

It is the latest in a long series of volleys over nuclear arms between the two countries stretching back decades.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — Melissa was upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane as it made its way toward Jamaica, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.

It is expected to strengthen to a Category 5 storm, causing catastrophic conditions for Caribbean nations.

The hurricane became a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph while moving west at 5 mph and positioned about 110 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 285 miles south-southwest of Guantanamo, Cuba, the National Hurricane Center reported in its 2 p.m. EDT update.

The storm had become a hurricane at 9 a.m. EDT on Saturday and was upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane by Saturday night.

It continues to gain strength and could cause life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides in parts of Southern Hispaniola and Jamaica into early next week.

Currently, a hurricane warning is in effect for all of Jamaica.

Hurricane watch advisories are also in effect for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince and for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Holguin.

Accuweather Meteorologist Alex Duffus warned that entire communities could be cut off from aid and support for several days.

“Melissa’s slow movement over the mountainous islands greatly increases the risk of catastrophic flash flooding and deadly mudslides,” Duffus said. “This can quickly escalate into a humanitarian crisis, where a large number of people are in need of basic supplies such as food, safe drinking water, housing and medical care.”

A hurricane warning is in effect in Jamaica, while a hurricane watch is in effect for the southwestern tip of Haiti and the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin.

A turn to the north and northeast is forecast on Monday and Tuesday.

“This remains a very serious situation, in terms of catastrophic rainfall, wind, and storm surge hazards for Jamaica, and preparations should be rushed to completion in the area currently under a Hurricane Warning,” NHC forecaster Jack Beven said in a discussion.

On the forecast track, Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica through into early next week, and it could be near or over eastern Cuba by the middle of next week and then head northwest in the Atlantic farther from the United States.

“It must be noted that there is very little practical difference in the overall impacts of a Category 4 or 5 landfall, and Melissa is expected to be at least that intensity when it moves over Jamaica,” Beven wrote in a discussion.

“Melissa should weaken as it interacts with Jamaica and Cuba, although it is still forecast to be a major hurricane when it nears Cuba. A faster weakening should occur after passing Cuba when the cyclone encounters strong shear over the southwestern Atlantic,” he wrote.

This would be the strongest direct landfall for the island since tropical cyclone record-keeping has been kept in the Atlantic Basin.

Tropical-force winds stretch outward to 115 mph from the center.

Rainfall of 15 to 30 inches through Wednesday is forecast for portions of southern Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, with a local maximum of 40 inches, the NHC said.

Eastern Cuba is expected to receive rainfall of 6 to 12 inches, with local amounts up to 18 inches into Wednesday.

“Life-threatening storm surge is becoming more likely along the south coast of Jamaica later in the weekend or early next week,” the NHC said.

Peak storm surge heights could reach 9 to 13 feet above ground level, near and to the east of where the center of Melissa makes landfall and be accompanied by large and destructive waves.

There also is a potential for significant storm surge along the Cuban coast next week.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the season, and it’s the first in the Caribbean.

This season has seen few storms, which have warmed the Caribbean Sea, and the warm water is potential fuel for stronger and more dangerous storms.

Great Britain’s Anna Morris leaps from sixth to second after the final sprint for the line to take silver in the women’s points race at the World Track Cycling Championships.

SEE MORE: GB’s Archibald & Leech win madison gold

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PARIS — At least two suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris’ Louvre Museum, the Paris prosecutor said Sunday, a week after the heist that stunned the world.

The prosecutor said that investigators made the arrests Saturday evening, adding that one of the men taken into custody was preparing to leave the country from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

France’s BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper earlier reported that two suspects had been arrested and taken into custody. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not confirm the number of arrests and did not say whether any jewels had been recovered.

Thieves took less than eight minutes Oct. 19 to steal jewels valued at more than $100 million from the world’s most-visited museum. French officials described how the intruders used a basket lift to scale the Louvre’s facade, forced open a window, smashed display cases and fled. The museum’s director called the incident a “terrible failure.”

Beccuau said investigators from a special police unit in charge of armed robberies, serious burglaries and art thefts made the arrests. In her statement, she rued the leak of information, saying it could hinder the work of more than 100 investigators “mobilized to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators.” Beccuau said further details will be unveiled after the suspects’ custody period ends.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised “the investigators who have worked tirelessly, just as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence.”

The Louvre reopened last week after one of the highest-profile museum thefts of the century stunned the world with its audacity and scale.

The thieves slipped in and out while museum patrons were inside, making off with some of France’s crown jewels — a cultural wound that some compared with the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019.

The thieves escaped with eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.

They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship — were also part of the loot.

One piece — Eugénie’s emerald-set imperial crown with more than 1,300 diamonds — was later found outside the museum, damaged but repairable.

News of the arrests was met with relief by Louvre visitors and passersby on Sunday.

“It’s important for our heritage. A week later, it does feel a bit late; we wonder how this could even happen — but it was important that the guys were caught,” said Freddy Jacquemet.

“I think the main thing now is whether they can recover the jewels,” added Diana Ramirez. “That’s what really matters.”

Petrequin and Garriga write for the Associated Press and reported from London and Paris, respectively.

Oct. 26 (UPI) — French prosecutors on Sunday announced that arrests had been made in connection with the brazen daylight heist of historic jewels worth more than $100 million from the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Laure Beccuau, the Paris public prosecutor, said in a statement that the office’s anti-gang unit had made the arrests Saturday evening, but did not disclose precisely how many arrests had been made. It previously had been reported that at least four people were believed to have been involved in the heist last Sunday.

Beccuau revealed that one of the men was preparing to flee the country from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport when he was arrested.

The arrests had first been reported by the French newspaper Le Parisien, citing anonymous sources, before the news was confirmed by Beccuau. The prosecutor lamented that the leak that arrests had been made before authorities were ready to disclose the news.

“I deeply regret the hasty disclosure of this information by informed individuals, without consideration for the investigation,” she said in her statement.

“This revelation can only hinder the investigative efforts of the hundred or so investigators mobilized in the search for both the stolen jewelry and the perpetrators. It is too early to provide any further details.”

Beccuau said that she would provide further information to the public at the end of this phase of police custody.

A representative for the Louvre confirmed to UPI last week that several people broke in through a window in the Galerie d’Apollon, which houses many of France’s royal jewels, around 9:30 a.m. local time after the museum had already opened its doors to the public.

The thieves had posed as workers in yellow vests and used a hoist truck to break into a second-floor window of the Galerie d’Apollon and cut through the glass display cases to snatch the jewels before dashing away on motorcycles along the A6 motorway.

The theft set off alarms on the gallery’s exterior window and display cases, and museum workers present in the gallery during the theft quickly notified police, but the thieves escaped with the jewels in less than seven minutes.

Interpol later added the jewels to its Stolen Works of Art database, an international registry of cultural property stolen worldwide to aid in their recovery, the art news publication Urgent Matter reported.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez praised investigators for working tirelessly to find the men who stole the jewels.

“The investigations must continue while respecting the confidentiality of the inquiry under the authority of the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Parquet de Paris,” he said.

The heist has heightened scrutiny of security flaws faced by French institutions.

Also last week, thieves stole historic silver and gold coins from the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot museum in the town of Langres.

And French authorities announced that a Chinese woman had been charged in connection with the September theft of gold nuggets from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris.

Amy Jones’ unbeaten 86 runs off 92 balls helps England to an eight-wicket win over New Zealand with twenty overs to spare in their final group stage match at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match in Visakhapatnam, India.

MATCH REPORT: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – England v New Zealand

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TORONTO — There might be no greater reminder of how far the Dodgers have come than the opposing pitcher on Monday. When the World Series returns to Dodger Stadium for Game 3, the starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays is scheduled to be Max Scherzer.

You may remember his brief tenure with the Dodgers four years ago, which ended with an elimination game in which Scherzer said he could not pitch. The Dodgers lost, the last domino in a cascade triggered by a front office that miscast its humans as widgets in a search for even the tiniest of edges.

Don’t just take my word for it. This was the word from Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez at the time: “Dodgers analytics dept really misused probably the best rotation in all of baseball. …They need to figure out a way to let starters be who they really are and let them pitch how they are used to.”

In the 2021 postseason, by choice, the Dodgers used an opener three times, a 20-game winner as a middle reliever, and a Hall of Fame starter as a closer. There would be no parade.

In the 2024 postseason, and not by choice, the Dodgers ran four bullpen games. There would be a parade.

In 2025, the Dodgers are simply throwing out a top-flight starting pitcher in every game. Presumably, there is nothing for the front office to overthink here.

Just sit back and enjoy the show — on Saturday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s second straight complete game show. This must be less stressful, at least.

“I don’t think it’s less stressful,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said to an inquiring middle-aged reporter with gray hair getting a little too noticeable. “We’ve got matching hair.”

Still, there isn’t much mystery in the Dodgers’ 10-2 postseason record. In every game in which their starting pitcher has gotten an out in the sixth inning, they have won. In every game in which their starting pitcher has not gotten an out in the sixth inning, they have lost.

To the rotation of Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, take a bow.

To Andrew Friedman and his front office, take a bow too. Just because your ownership provided you with a $1.35-billion rotation does not guarantee that you will leave well enough alone.

In the final month of the season, remember, the Dodgers entertained a flurry of ideas about how to best combine a talented rotation and an iffy bullpen into an effective October staff.

Would they deploy Ohtani in relief? Would they use their best arms as often as possible, as the Washington Nationals did in 2019, when they used their top three starters — Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg — as starters and relievers?

The Dodgers let their starters be starters. The conventional wisdom does not always need to be challenged.

“Clearly, Blake Snell, Yama, Glasnow, Shohei, all really good pitchers,” Prior said. “I think we can all agree that they’re all really good pitchers, and any team would probably roll them out in a playoff game.

“So I don’t think this is any master plan.”

Said catcher Will Smith: “I think that’s just this team. We have four starters now that are pitching their best. … We’re just riding those guys.”

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow is set to start Game 3 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times )

That brings us back to 2021, when the front office decided the best way to approach the winner-take-all finale of the division series against the San Francisco Giants was to use reliever Corey Knebel as an opener, 20-game winner Julio Urías from the third through the sixth innings, closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning and Scherzer as the closer.

That is the kind of all-hands-on-deck approach better suited to the end of a World Series. The Dodgers won that game against the Giants, but Scherzer could not complete five innings in his first championship series start and said he could not take the ball for his next start, an elimination game.

“My arm’s been locked up the past couple of days,” Scherzer said then.

He said that he would be the one at risk if he were not honest with the Dodgers about his condition, rather than trying to push through.

“Guys, when they lie, they go out there and they take on too much, then they blow out,’’ he said. “That’s the ultimate risk here.”

That line of thought did not go over too well in some corners of the clubhouse. Urías was miffed because he believed the Dodgers did not believe in him. Walker Buehler, who started on short rest as a late replacement for Scherzer, gave up four runs in four innings. The Dodgers were eliminated.

Scherzer’s last World Series start, for the Texas Rangers in 2023, lasted three innings. He isn’t thinking about the Rangers, or for that matter the Dodgers.

“I wouldn’t be looking backwards at all for any motivation,’’ he said here Saturday. “I have plenty of motivation. I’m here to win and I’ve got a clubhouse full of guys who want to win too. So we’re a great team and that’s the only thing I need to think about.”

The only thing the Dodgers need to worry about on Monday, at least based on their postseason run: Can they get six or seven innings from Glasnow? If they can, they should be halfway to the World Series championship.

Highlights from the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 2 of the World Series.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a rare four-hitter to get the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers back in the World Series.

Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto flipped the World Series script in favour of the reigning champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are headed home for three games and flying high after a 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 2 on Saturday.

Yamamoto was spectacular while pitching a complete game, striking out eight batters and walking none, while Will Smith drove in three runs, including a solo home run in the seventh inning that put the Dodgers ahead for good.

“Yeah, he was just locked in tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Yamamoto. “It was one of those things he said before the series: losing is not an option, and he had that look tonight.”

The win leve;led the best-of-seven series at 1-1 and put the star-studded Dodgers back on track in their bid to become Major League Baseball’s (MLB) first repeat champions in 25 years.

Baffled hitters

A day after a humbling 11-4 defeat that exposed the thinness of the Dodgers’ bullpen, and may have allowed some doubt to creep into their clubhouse, the team turned the ball over to their ace in the hopes he could right the ship.

Making his first start since pitching a complete-game gem in the National League Championship Series, Yamamoto again went the distance, and left Blue Jays hitters baffled one day after they were seemingly hitting pitches at will.

“Going into the game, the pregame bullpen, I was feeling really good with the splitter,” Yamamoto said about his signature pitch.

“I’m very happy and proud of the fact that I was able to bring a big contribution and give a chance for the team to win.”

Fast Start

The Dodgers made a fast start as Freddie Freeman hit a two-out double in the first inning before Smith singled to put the visitors ahead 1-0.

Toronto threatened in the bottom half of the inning, getting runners on first and third with no outs, but Yamamoto retired the next three batters to get out of the jam and never looked back.

Yamamoto was so dominant that he retired the final 20 batters he faced on the night, a remarkable run that started when he got Alejandro Kirk out on a sacrifice fly that scored George Springer in the third.

“He made it hard for us to make him work,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Yamamoto’s performance. “He was in the zone, split was in and out of the zone. It was a really good performance by him.”

‘Pitchers duel’

The Dodgers, who also had their hands full with Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, broke through in the seventh when Smith homered into the second deck in left field before Max Muncy’s solo shot two batters later.

Los Angeles added two more runs in the eighth on a wild pitch before Smith grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Shohei Ohtani.

Gausman, who prior to Smith’s homer had retired 17 Dodgers batters in a row, took the loss after allowing three runs and striking out six batters in 6-2/3 innings.

“I thought Kev matched [Yamamoto] pitch for pitch, really,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “They both had low pitch counts. It was kind of a classic pitchers’ duel, and they made a couple more swings.”

Game 3 is on Monday.

Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and catcher Will Smith starred as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 to draw level at 1-1 in the best-of-seven World Series.

Japanese right-hander Yamamoto needed only 105 pitches to record his second successive complete game of the postseason.

Meanwhile, Smith led the Dodgers’ offence with three runs batted in (RBI) as the Blue Jays had a night to forget.

In contrast to the free-scoring opener, game two was a pitching duel for long stretches at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

The Dodgers went ahead in the top of the first inning when Smith drove in Freddie Freeman, but were tied down after that by Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman, who retired the next 17 Dodgers hitters he faced without allowing a baserunner.

Though the Canadian side drew level in the bottom of the third inning when Alejandro Kirk’s sacrifice fly scored George Springer, the game remained deadlocked until the top of the seventh when Smith and Max Muncy both lifted Gausman over the left-field fence with solo home runs to give the 2024 champions a two-run cushion.

The Blue Jays fell apart in the top of the eighth as, with the bases loaded, the Dodgers scored on a wild pitch, before Smith recorded his third RBI of the evening to make it 5-1.

And while the Dodgers’ bullpen had taken a beating in game one, Yamamoto was able to give his relievers a night off as he pitched all nine innings without any late scares.

The series now switches to Los Angeles for the next three games, with game three at Dodger Stadium on Monday evening.

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (UPI) — South Korea’s law firm industry is ruled by Kim & Chang by any measure, while a handful of other companies struggle to catch up with the leader.

In terms of annual revenue, Kim & Chang reportedly posted about $1 billion last year, which was roughly equivalent to the combined revenue of its next four competitors — Lee & Ko, Bae, Kim & Lee, Yulchon and Shin & Kim.

When it comes to the number of lawyers, Kim & Chang was also second to none.

According to the Ministry of Justice, 1,020 lawyers licensed in Korea worked for Kim & Chang as of July, followed by 565 at Lee & Ko, 519 at Shin & Kim, 497 at Bae, Kim & Lee and 433 at Yulchon.

Kim & Chang was the only South Korean law firm in 2024 to be featured among the world’s Top 100 in a survey published by The American Lawyer and Law.com International.

Observers expect that the outfit will maintain its dominant position for the foreseeable future.

“As a perennial leader, Kim & Chang enjoys a premium. Corporate clients with deep pockets tend to select the best law firm available regardless of cost,” Sungkyunkwan University former law school professor Choi June-seon told UPI.

“Kim & Chang has a recruiting team that picks the cream of the crop. Its reward system, based on intense internal competition, is also notable. Its dominance is unlikely to fade within five years. And I expect it to continue even for a decade,” he said.

Economic commentator Kim Kyeong-joon, formerly vice chairman at Deloitte Consulting Korea, said that Kim & Chang has savored a first-mover advantage. Named after two founders, Kim Young-moo and Chang Soo-kil, it was established in 1973.

“As one of the earliest law firms in South Korea, Kim & Chang has stood out by meeting the mounting demand from corporate clients at a time when the country was undergoing rapid economic growth,” Kim said in a phone interview.

“In addition to its long history, the firm’s strength lies in its diversity across practice areas and industries, including M&A consulting, finance, antitrust, tax and litigation in both Korean and foreign languages,” he said.

Kim & Chang said the full-service law firm employs up to 2,100 professionals, including accountants, tax specialists and patent attorneys, on top of Korean and international lawyers.

Yonhap Infomax, a subsidiary of Yonhap News Agency, reported that Kim & Chang advised on 168 M&A deals last year worth $25.95 billion, capturing a 35.88% market share and remaining atop the list for 12 consecutive years.

Shin & Kim ranked No. 2 with 19.8%, chased by Lee & Ko with 12.6%, and Yulchon with 10.31%.

During the first half of this year, Kim & Chang again topped the podium with a market share of 28.27%.

Globally renowned law firms have tapped into the South Korean market since the early 2010s, but they have failed to make their presence felt. Some even exited the country after failing to achieve significant results.

“From the perspective of global law firms, it would be very difficult to build networks within Korea’s tightly-knit legal community. That’s why they have languished,” Seoul-based consultancy Leaders Index CEO Park Ju-gun said. “The situation is not likely to change in the near future.”

Asked which company might emerge as a serious contender to Kim & Chang, Park named Yulchon, which has chalked up fast growth over the past several years. Even so, he projected that it would take quite a lot of time.

Founded in 1997 as a latecomer, Yulchon has risen to the top ranks on the back of its expertise in tax, antitrust, and regulatory affairs. Other major players were mostly launched in the 1970s and 1980s.

Oct. 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Saturday said he will add a 10% tariff to Canadian goods after the airing of a controversial ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan during the World Series.

As the Toronto Blue Jays were on their way to winning the opening game by an 11-4 score over the Los Angeles Dodgers, an anti-tariffs ad featuring edited comments made by Reagan regarding his tariffs on Japanese goods.

The ad spurred Trump to follow through on an earlier threat to increase the tariff on Canadian goods exported to the United States.

“Canada was caught red-handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s speech on tariffs,” Trump said Saturday in a Truth Social post.

“The sole purpose of this fraud was Canada’s hope that the United States Supreme Court will come to their ‘rescue’ on tariffs that they have used for years to hurt the United States,” the president said.

“Ronald Reagan loved tariffs for the purpose of national security and the economy, but Canada said he didn’t,” Trump added.

The president said Canada was supposed to immediately cease airing the ad and remove it, but “they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a fraud.”

“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts and hostile act, I am increasing the tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now,” Trump added.

Reagan made the comments during an April 25, 1987, radio address to defend his tariff policy, but the Ontario government used and edited them without permission from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.

The Ontario ad runs for a minute and edits the former president’s comments, which Trump and others have called “misleading.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the ad’s intent is to “initiate a conversation” with U.S. officials and to reach “U.S. audiences at the highest levels,” CBS News reported.

The U.S. imposes a 10% tariff on Canadian energy, energy resources and potash and 35% for all other products that are not exempted by the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, according to the ReedSmith Trump 2.0 Tariff Tracker.

There was probably no Dodgers fan more grateful to see the Blue Crew lose badly in the opening game of the World Series than Conrado Contreras. See, the 75-year-old was happy to enjoy any Fall Classic at all.

A year ago tomorrow , the Zacatecas native suffered a heart attack and mild stroke in the moments after seeing his Dodgers win Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees. He spent three days in a medically induced coma at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and regained consciousness to news from jubilant nurses that the Dodgers had won the championship.

The lifelong baseball fan had no idea what they were talking about. His passion for the sport was lost along with his memory.

When family members put on highlights from the 2024 championship during his rehabilitation at a clinic in Gardena throughout the end of the year, the former carpenter would shrug and change the channel. When someone told him that legendary Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela had died, Contreras swore that he had just seen his fellow Mexican pitch at the stadium.

It wasn’t until the 2025 baseball season came along that Contreras’ mind began to truly rebound. He watched games from his longtime home in the unincorporated Florence-Graham neighborhood and learned to love the Dodgers anew. But he didn’t cheer like before. Contreras followed doctor’s orders to stay calm when the Dodgers were losing instead of cursing like the past and quietly applaud when the team was winning when he would’ve previously roared.

He’s the father-in-law of my sister Alejandrina. And I wanted to hang out with Don Conrado for Game 1 of this year’s World Series to experience fandom in all its mortality.

Wearing a flat-brimmed fedora and a blue Dodgers 2024 World Series champion, I caught Contreras just as he was entering my sister’s Norwalk home holding on to his walker with the help of Alejandrina’s husband, Conrad. His father talks slower than he used to and can’t drive anymore, but Contreras is once again the same man his family knows: witty, observant and baseball-crazy.

A schoolyard pitcher in his hometown of Monte Escobedo, Contreras fell in with the Dodgers almost as soon as he migrated to the United States in 1970 to join a brother in Highland Park. He used to attend games every week “when $10 got two people into the stadium and you could also eat a hot dog,” Contreras told me in Spanish before Game 1 began.

His stories from those years were immaculate. Don Sutton throwing a shutout. The Cincinnati Reds always “ready to play to the death.” Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Willie Stargell hitting a home run out of Dodger Stadium in 1973 “and all of us just staring above our heads in awe.”

Contreras was such a fan that he took his pregnant wife Mary to watch Valenzuela pitch on the day in 1983 that Conrad was due because they were giving out “I (Heart) Fernando” T-shirts, an anecdote that left their son flabbergasted.

“What happened to the shirt?” Conrad asked his mom in Spanish.

“I threw it away,” replied the 61-year-old Mary.

“They’d cost a lot of money now!” he groaned.

“They were cheap! The color really faded fast.”

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run during the seventh inning of Game 1 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays at Roger Centre on Friday in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays won, 11-4.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The family continued to attend games through Conrad’s teenage years but stopped “when even the birds couldn’t afford to attend,” Mary said. Conrad, 42, thinks the last time he went to a game with his dad was “at least” 20 years ago. But they regularly watched games on television. It was he who administered the CPR a year ago that saved his dad’s life.

“He was walking around the house angry all that game,” Conrad said.

“No, well, Roberto was making me mad,” Conrado replied, his nickname for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But I can’t get mad anymore.”

I asked how he thought this year’s series would go. He mentioned Shohei Ohtani, whom he kept calling el japonés in a respectful tone because, well, his memory can be fuzzy.

“He strikes out too much, but when he hits it, he hits it. If he plays like that, they win the series. But if Toronto hits, forget it.”

One more question before game time, the one too many liberal Latino Dodgers fans are belly-aching over right now: is it ethical to root for the team considering they haven’t been too vocal in opposing Donald Trump’s deportation campaign and owner Mark Walter has investments in companies that are profiting from it?

“Sports shouldn’t get into politics, but all sports owners are with Trompas,” he said, using a nickname I’ve heard more than a few rancho libertarians use for Trump. He shrugged.

“So what’s one to do? They kept la migra out of the stadium,” referring to an unsuccessful June attempt by federal agents to enter the stadium parking lot. “If the team had allowed that, then there’d be a huge problem.”

Mary wasn’t as sympathetic. “Latinos shouldn’t let the Dodgers off so easy. But when Latinos surrender, they surrender.”

It was game time.

Conrad slipped into a gray Dodgers away jersey to match his black team cap. My sister, an Angels follower for some reason, wore a Kiké Hernández T-shirt “because he stands with immigrants.”

“The only good thing about the Dodgers is that they aren’t winning with a gringo,” said Mary, who actually doesn’t care much about baseball because she finds it boring. “It’s someone [Ohtani] who doesn’t want to speak English who’s winning it for them.”

Her husband smiled.

“Let’s see if Mary gets into baseball.”

“That’ll be the real miracle,” she snapped back.

Contreras rubbed his hands in glee as the Dodgers went up 2-0 in the top of the third and merely frowned when the Blue Jays tied it in the bottom of the fourth while we were enjoying takeout from Taco Nazo. “His anger comes in waves, it’s a trip,” Conrad said. “He’s calmer but se enoja.”

“Who?” Conrado deadpanned.

When Dodger starting pitcher Blake Snell left the game with the bases loaded and no one out in the bottom of the sixth, Contreras shook his head in disgust but kept his voice calm.

“This is what gets me mad. They should’ve taken him out long ago, but Roberto didn’t. This is what I was afraid of. When Toronto get on, they get on. They won’t stop until they destroy.”

Sure enough, the Blue Jays erupted for nine runs that inning, including a two-run blast by catcher Alejandro Kirk, who had sparked the Jays’ initial rally a few innings earlier.

Earlier in the game, Alejandrina had told Conrado that Kirk was a Tijuana native. The pride in shared roots, albeit generations apart, took a little bit of sting off his home run, which made the score a humiliating 11-2.

“Thank goodness he’s Mexican,” Conrado told his son, patting his knee. “That’s what’s left for us” to be happy about the game.

An inning later, Contreras began to feel woozy. His sugar level was elevated. Mary took off his jacket to fix his insulin device. My sister’s corgi, Penny, jumped onto the couch and lay on his lap.

“They do know when someone someone’s ill, right?” he said to no one before scratching Penny’s tummy and cooing, “You know I’m ill, right? I’m ill!”

When the “massacre” finally ended, Contreras remained philosophical.

“It’s incredible that I’m able to see this. But I’m still malo. My feet hurt, my memory isn’t what it used to be, my sense of balance isn’t there. But there’s the Dodgers. But they need to win.”

Conrad went to the bedroom to grab his father’s walker.

“Do you want a Toronto shirt now?” he joked.

His dad stared silently. “No, that would give me another heart attack.”

Oct. 25 (UPI) — Qatari officials are preparing peacekeeping troops for Gaza if needed to help maintain a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, President Donald Trump said during a refueling stop.

Air Force One stopped in Qatar on Saturday evening to refuel while the president is flying to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, amid a Southeast Asia trip that includes a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea.

Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani joined Trump on Air Force One for a short meeting.

Trump announced Qatar likely will be among the nations providing troops to maintain peace in Gaza while seated between the Emir and the prime minister, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Emir Al Thani told Trump he wanted to visit him at the refueling stop when he learned of the brief refueling stop by Air Force One.

“The Emir is one of the great rulers of the world,” the president responded, adding that the “prime minister has been my friend.”

He said they were instrumental in accomplishing the “incredible” feat of bringing about “peace in the Middle East.”

Also traveling to Southeast Asia on a separate flight is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who made a stop in Qatar.

While there, he and other U.S. officials on Sunday will discuss a potential United Nations resolution or an international agreement to authorize the use of a multinational peacekeeping force in Gaza, according to The Times of Israel.

“Many of the countries that have expressed an interest in participating at some level, whether it be monetary or personnel or both, are going to need that because their domestic laws require it,” Rubio said of a resolution or an international agreement.

He said a team is working to outline a possible resolution or agreement.

Rubio also spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to discuss continuing efforts to end all conflict in Gaza, State Department principal deputy spokesman Tommy Piggot said in a news release.

“During the call, Sec. Rubio and Prime Minister Netanyahu affirmed the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Israel,” Piggot added.

Rubio is also bound for Busan, South Korea, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit is scheduled from Monday through Nov.1.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — Melissa intensified into near-hurricane strength and is forecast to rapidly increase this weekend into a possible Category 5 storm with life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding and landslides through portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica.

Melissa rose to maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and was moving east-southeast at 1 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. EDT update. Melisa would be designated as a hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph

Melissa was about 155 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 235 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

“The exceptionally warm waters, reaching hundreds of feet deep, will act like jet fuel – providing extra energy for Melissa,” AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said about Melissa. “The warmest water in the Atlantic basin is in the central Caribbean, in the direct path of this storm. Rapid intensification into a Category 5 hurricane is not out of the question this weekend.”

A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica and a hurricane watch for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-Au-Prince.

“Melissa is still expected to make landfall in Jamaica as an upper-end Category 4 hurricane, which could be the strongest direct landfall for the island in since tropical cyclone record keeping has been made in the Atlantic Basin,” NHC forecaster Philippe said in a discussion.

A turn to the north and northeast is forecast on Monday and Tuesday.

Melissa is forecast to become a hurricane later Saturday and a major hurricane by Sunday.

On the forecast track, Melissa is expected to move near or over Jamaica through early next week, and it could be near or over eastern Cuba by the middle of next week.

“Unfortunately, a large majority of the latest reliable track models show Melissa making landfall on Jamaica in about 72 hours,” NHC forecaster Robbie Berg said. “What’s most concerning here is that the island is likely to experience a couple of days of heavy rainfall and tropical-storm-force winds before the core — and strongest winds — even reach the coast.”

Berg said major hurricane strength is likely when it reaches eastern Cuba “but increased shear should lead to weakening below major hurricane strength by day 5.”

Tropical-force winds stretch outward to 115 mph from the center.

Rainfall of 15 to 25 inches through Sunday is forecast to portions of southern Hispaniola and Jamaica through Tuesday with local maximum 35 inches possible across the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti, the NHC said.

Eastern Cuba is expected to receive rainfall of 4 to 8 inches, with local amounts up to 12 into Tuesday.

Additional rainfall is likely beyond Tuesday in all the areas, NHC said.

Minor coastal flooding is likely along the south coast of Jamaica later in the weekend or early next week, NHC said. Peak storm surge could reach 5 to 10 feet above ground level near and to the east of where Melissa makes landfall, NHC said.

“This storm surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves,” NHC said.

Swells are also expected to affect portions of Hispaniola, Jamaica and eastern Cuba during the next several days.

Melissa is the 13th named storm of the season, and it’s the first in the Caribbean.

This season has seen few storms, which have warmed the Caribbean Sea, and the warm water is potential fuel for stronger and more dangerous storms.

Alana King takes a stunning 7-18 – a record at a Women’s World Cup – as Australia bowl South Africa out for 97, before chasing down their target with seven wickets in hand in Indore.

MATCH REPORT: King takes 7-18 as Australia thrash South Africa

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