year

Five days. That’s how long President Trump’s latest press secretary, Katie Zacharia, lasted before she was fired Friday.

Her stint, which was about as long as the recommended shelf life for an open can of beans (if refrigerated), broke the previous record set by Anthony Scaramucci.

During Trump’s first term, Scaramucci lasted 11 days as White House communications director — the suggested length of time before a sealed pack of hot dogs expires.

Their minuscule tenures represent an impressive race to the bottom in a once-prestigious role that was created just under a century ago, during the Great Depression.

The press secretary typically stuck in the job for years or entire terms, rather than days or weeks. For reference, Scaramucci’s dizzying 2017 arrival and departure broke a 72-year-old record.

Jonathan Daniels served just 19 days (recommended expiration time for a tub of sour cream) in 1945. He at least had a valid excuse for his short run: President Franklin D. Roosevelt died.

Trump told reporters Friday that Zacharia might continue to work for him “in some form, but maybe a more pleasant form.”

He sowed further confusion when he recounted his conversation with Zacharia, claiming that he told her, “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider” and asked her, “Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this.”

With verbal chops like those, who needs an articulate press secretary? Apparently not Trump, judging by his appointment of someone whose debut was anything but professional.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane and recall her first day on the job. It was Monday.

Zacharia appeared wholly unprepared when she took the lectern to address the press corps. She looked down and read nervously from a script, took just three questions and embarrassingly mixed up references to “her husband” and “her president.” She abruptly exited the briefing after just 11 minutes.

Zacharia previously worked as a conservative commentator and senior communications advisor for Trump Media & Technology Group (Truth Social). She monitored the president’s social media posts to discern what was of importance to him, then would go on air to talk about those topics. In essence, she was a press secretary, just not in the White House.

She told the conservative outlet Human Events on Thursday that she had been aiming for a job within the administration, frequently appearing as an expert voice on conservative platforms such as Fox News.

“My philosophy is, I’m on TV enough where if he sees me and he likes me, then I will be recruited for the job,” she said. “I do not believe that lobbying for that job would have been successful, and I wanted to work for it. I wanted to audition for it.”

She succeeded Karoline Leavitt, who served quite a long time — 19 months — before leaving to “spend more time with my family,” then immediately signed on with Fox News as an on-air contributor.

The revolving door of Trump administration press secretaries has at least been entertaining. Most stayed on significantly longer than Zacharia (the bar is low, after all), and at least a few managed to leave a lasting impression.

Sean Spicer kicked off the parade in 2017, scolding journalists his first day on the job when defending the size of Trump’s inauguration crowd. It was record-breaking, he claimed. It was not.

Spicer became the inspiration for one of the best recurring “SNL” sketches ever when Melissa McCarthy transformed into him, embodying the new administration’s disdain toward the press: “I’m not here to be your buddy!” she screamed at befuddled reporters.

McCarthy’s “Spicy” is hard to beat, but a Zacharia parody could come in a close second should it end up as the premise for “SNL’s” cold open this weekend.

When Trump announced her appointment last week in a social media post, he referred to her as “an attorney.” She referred to herself as a lawyer.

But when a reporter asked Trump on Monday where she had passed her bar exam, the president threw the question to Zacharia, who was standing behind him on the South Lawn. She stepped up to the mic and answered, “When I moved to China.”

By Wednesday, reporting surfaced that Zacharia sat for the California bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University’s law school in 2011, but did not pass. In China, she worked in international transaction law, which didn’t require admission to a state bar.

If history is any indicator, whoever replaces Zacharia as Trump’s press secretary should have a go bag packed and stashed directly behind the lectern.

The once-respected position has been degraded by six years of poor decisions and a volatile president who prefers to communicate with the electorate at 3 a.m. in ALL CAPS via his own social media platform.

Here’s to the next White House press secretary. May you outlast the shelf life of a carton of milk.

The Savannah Bananas embarked on their first so-called world tour five years ago. It included only one stop — in Mobile, Ala.

As the unique brand of baseball entertainment known as Banana Ball expanded into a six-team league, the tours have grown in size and scope but never actually ventured out of the United States.

That will change next year. The 2027 Banana Ball Championship League tour will visit 79 stadiums across 74 cities, including the first-ever international stops. Four teams will travel to Mexico, with the Bananas playing the Texas Tailgaters in Monterrey on Feb. 5 and 6 and the Party Animals taking on the Loco Beach Coconuts in Tijuana on Feb. 12 and 13.

The tour swings to Canada in late summer, with the Bananas playing the Indiananapolis Clowns in Toronto on Aug. 14 and 15 and the Tailgaters facing the Party Animals in Winnipeg on Aug. 26 and 28.

“We got a lot of criticism over the years. ‘It’s not a world tour, you’re playing in one city! It’s not a world tour, you’re playing in seven cities in the southeast!’” Banana Ball creator and owner Jesse Cole said Thursday on ESPN2. “But we saw where we could go, and we’ve always had a vision to create 1 billion fans, one fan at a time. And over the last two or three years, we’ve heard from a lot of different countries all over the world.”

The Savannah Bananas, featuring Banana Ball creator and owner Jesse Cole in his signature yellow suit and derby hat, perform onstage during the 2026 ESPY Awards in New York.

(Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

Cole said he expects the 2027 tour to draw an estimated 4.3 million fans.

“Everything we do is do one experiment and then see where it can go,” he said. “And this crazy experiment of Banana Ball has gone some places we never imagined.”

Another new stop next year will be Dodger Stadium, where the Bananas will play the Firefighters on April 23 and 24. The same teams also will face off at Angel Stadium on July 2 and 3, marking the third consecutive year the Bananas have played at the venue.

The schedule reveal show included a number of announcements, including the debut of a concept called Banana Ball 360 on June 26 at Notre Dame Stadium. Two baseball fields will be set up on opposite ends of the stadium, with the game taking place on each during alternating innings.

“I do believe that fans at that show are going to be able to see things they’ve never seen before, and also every single seat is a great seat,” Cole said. “And that was the idea.”

Also announced were a new Disney-produced film documenting the growth of Banana Ball, which will premiere June 12 at Atlanta’s Truist Park, and the league’s third cruise, “Bananaland at Sea + Puerto Rico,” in January 2028. The cruise will depart from the Port of Miami and will feature a Banana Ball game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Game 4. What will happen? Let’s find out together.

Game 4 thoughts

Pregame

—I’m interested to see how much energy and drive the Dodgers have in Game 4. Will they go down swinging (figuratively, not literally). Will they force the Brewers to rip the title from their hands?

—Fox did a great segment on Charley Steiner before Game 3. You can watch it here. There are things you can criticize the Dodgers for, but you also have to salute them for taking care of people like Steiner and Andrew Toles. They gave Steiner some hope during his cancer battle, and that’s very important.

—One thing about Shohei Ohtani before the game begins. It’s easy to pin the 3-0 deficit on him. He’s the most famous baseball player right now, and he’s not playing well. I wish there was a lot more clarity around his injuries. However, to pin the 3-0 deficit on him is unfair. Going into Game 4, here are the batting stats:

Miguel Rojas, 1 for 2
Mookie Betts, .250, no extra-base hits or RBIs
Kyle Tucker, .250, one double, no RBIs
Shohei Ohtani, .222, no extra-base hits or RBIs
Teoscar Hernández, .200, no extra-base hits, one RBI
Tommy Edman, .167, no extra-base hits or RBIs
Andy Pages, .125, no extra-base hits, one RBI
Max Muncy, .111, no extra-base hits or RBIs
Freddie Freeman, .091, no extra-base hits, one RBI
Will Smith, .091, one double, two RBIs
Kiké Hernández, 0 for 5
Team, .165, two doubles, five RBIs

Ohtani has hit better than most of the Dodgers this series.

First inning

—The one thing that bothers me about Tyler Glasnow: It seems he gets two quick strikes on a batter, then tries to get cute with the pitches.

—Holding the Brewers scoreless in the first is nice.

—First and second, one out. Really should score a run here.

—And a double play. This could be important later.

Second inning

—Hey, they got Jake Bauers out using only four pitches. Miracle!

—And the Brewers go down quietly.

—If you mute the TV and watch an ad, but can’t tell what the ad is for without the sound, then it’s a bad ad.

—Manny Machado was in an ad. Reminds me of the old Yogi Berra quote, “Nobody likes Manny Machado.”

—Kyle Tucker has been the star of the Dodger offense.

—Here comes Dustin May to pitch for the Brewers. The Dodgers used to have a pitcher named Dustin May. I wonder if they are related.

—First and third, nobody out. It would be advantageous to score here.

—Miguel Rojas, in what could be his final game, starts, but is pinch-hit for before getting a chance to bat. You can’t let Rojas end his career like that, so a win is in order.

—Max Muncy strikes out. The worst thing you can do in that situation.

—Now, a double play?

—Andy Pages singles! Another miracle! He’s the only Dodgers who can hit in the clutch this postseason. Dodgers 1, Brewers 0.

—Kiké flies to center. Now Ohtani.

—And a majestic home run! Ohtani let about two months of frustration out with that scream after the homer. Dodgers 4, Brewers 0.

—I feel like Tom Hanks in “A League of Their Own” after Geena Davis returns to the team. “We’re gonna win!”

—Now can the Dodgers stop the Brewers from responding?

Third inning

—Glasnow is pitching great.

—Max Muncy seemed to be anticipating that bunt.

—Now if Will Smith could just get going.

—The Dodgers go down quietly. But they have a four-run lead for the first time in forever.

Fourth inning

—”Buy one Subway footlong, get one free” sounds more like a punishment than a reward.

—”Meal of Horror” describes every meal at Jack in the Box, not just this special Krusty the Klown one.

—John Smoltz tried to explain why Glasnow can be dominant, but it made no sense whatsoever.

—Will Smith makes an ABS challenge and loses. Oh well, it happens.

—Brice Turang walks. Don’t walk people with a four-run lead.

—A ground-rule double. Let’s hold them to no more than one run here.

—Another ground-rule double. Uh oh. Dodgers 4, Brewers 2.

—And the Dodgers get out of it. But Glasnow will be on a short leash.

—The Dodgers can’t just rely on four runs to carry them.

—Max Muncy gets a much-needed hit for him.

—And that ends the fourth.

Fifth inning

—Please stop walking people with a lead.

—Frelick steals second. It’s not hard to steal off of Glasnow.

—And the Brewers immediately cash in. Dodgers 4, Brewers 3.

—Evan Phillips comes in. Still has never given up a run in the postseason.

—Brewers are like the Dodgers, making the pitcher work.

—Brewers load the bases with two out. And that’s it for Phillips.

—Can Alex Vesia escape the jam against the pesky Jake Bauers?

—He cannot. Bauers walked on four pitches. Remember all the little things the Dodgers did right the last two years to win the World Series? They are doing none of those things this year. Dodgers 4, Brewers 4.

—The Dodgers go down quietly. This is beginning to feel like the first three games.

Sixth inning

—And just like that, the Brewers lead. Team of destiny. Brewers 5, Dodgers 4. Some people don’t like that I’m named Houston. Will they hate that I’m named Mitchell too? Do I have to change my whole name?

—You certainly can’t blame any of the losses on Tucker. Another hit for him.

—But the Dodgers can’t cash in. This could be important later.

Seventh inning

—It’s so funny that Edwin Díaz is the steadying presence out of the bullpen after the season he had.

—But he will remain unusable, regular season or postseason in Strat-o-matic or APBA.

—Leadoff double by Pages. Can they cash in?

—Kiké bunts! Pages to third.

—And look who’s coming up.

—And Ohtani strikes out, and looks bad doing so.

—And the Dodgers waste another chance.

Eighth inning

—Well, at least it looks like the Dodgers have a closer for next season.

—Quick inning for the Brewers. Do the Dodgers have a run in them?

—Will Smith comes through. Man on third, one out. If they don’t score here, it’s over.

—And Tucker pops out.

—And Teoscar strikes out.

—Two innings in a row, the Dodgers have a runner on third and one out and fail to score.

Ninth inning

—Maybe Díaz should have pitched earlier in this series.

—Brewers add an insurance run. Brewers 6, Dodgers 4.

—Again, the Brewers are playing like the Dodgers did the last two postseasons.

—Dodgers have been out-homered 7-1 in this series.

—Bottom of the ninth. Do the Dodgers go quietly?

—Tommy Edman grounds out.

—Pages struck out.

—Kiké lines to left.

—That’s it. Remember that Tom Hanks quote from earlier? They lost that game.

—Remember what Joe Davis said at the end of last year’s World Series? “To beat the champ, you’ve got to knock them out.” And that’s exactly what the Brewers did.

—As Max Muncy said after the game, “They were relentless with everything that they did. They just strung together good at-bat after good at-bat. That’s usually what we do. We didn’t do it this series and they did.”

—The three teams with a shot to win the World Series: The Brewers, who have never won. The Rays, who have never won. The Guardians, who haven’t won since 1948. It will be fun to see who wins.

Miguel Rojas is retiring

That was indeed the final game of Rojas’ career.

“This is it, guys,” he said, announcing his retirement after Game 4. “It’s been a lot, the last four years of my life here. And obviously making my debut here in 2014 changed my life, not just for me but for my whole family. They took care of my son, my daughter, my wife, and everybody in my family. It’s really amazing what I can think about, what happened to me and to my family the last few years.

“I just wanted to say thank you to all the veteran guys for allowing me to be myself when I got here, even though I didn’t play one game for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the last eight or nine years before I came here. They allowed me to be the leader that I wanted to be, the person that I wanted to change the culture and kind of give a little bit more of a culture, chemistry to the clubhouse. I feel like that is going to be a legacy that I wanted to leave here, other than my performance on the field. … I want them to remember me as a guy who always did everything possible to help my teammates win and to help the team get better every single day.”

You can read more here.

Wrapping it up

I had a reader email me in the ninth inning that he felt ill watching the Dodgers play. Really? The team won the last two World Series and reached the NLCS in the third year. To feel ill or angry over this team is just the wrong way to look at it. Disappointed? Sure. Sad? Sure.

But if those feeling linger into Friday, remember that this team has given you many memorable moments over the last three seasons. They were outplayed by a better team here. Tip your cap to the Brewers. And, after the disappointment ends, thank the Dodgers for three incredible seasons. In fact, here are the Dodgers since 2016:

2016, Lost in NLCS
2017, Lost in World Series*
2018, Lost in World Series
2019, Lost in NLDS
2020, Won World Series
2021, Lost in NLCS
2022, Lost in NLDS
2023, Lost in NLDS
2024, Won World Series
2025, Won World Series
2026, Lost in NLCS

*-Astros cheated to win.

An embarrassment of riches.

Up next

That concludes the 12th season of Dodgers Dugout. We’ll be back in the next couple of weeks to discuss the offseason and whether there will even be a 2027 season.

In the meantime, today’s a new day. Look at the sunshine. Look at your family and loved ones. Everything is OK.

In case you missed it

Dodgers’ three-peat dream dies with Game 4 NLCS loss to Brewers

Plaschke: The Dodgers had everything needed to three-peat. This is why they failed

Miguel Rojas announces his retirement after Dodgers’ NLCS loss

Dave Roberts on Dodgers losing the NLCS and having no regrets

And finally

The Dodgers win the 2025 World Series. Watch and listen here.

Until next time …

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

In the race to become L.A.’s next mayor, the city’s top cop — LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell — has become a lightning rod for debate.

The two candidates — incumbent Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman — have staked out differing positions about how the Los Angeles Police Department has performed under McDonnell.

Raman has vowed to replace McDonnell, saying he has not “met the moment” given the department’s response to federal immigration raids. Bass has publicly backed the chief she hired two years ago, saying the LAPD could be thrown into disarray if McDonnell is removed before the 2028 Olympic Games.

Raman’s potential ouster of McDonnell and desire to push reforms on the LAPD has pitted her against the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the powerful union for rank-and-file officers that campaigned against Bass during her first election but is now backing her. The union has poured millions of dollars into attack ads against Raman, who has said she declined contributions from the organization in the past.

In an op-ed published in the Protective League’s monthly magazine earlier this year, union president Richard Mendoza called the Democratic Socialists of America, which has endorsed Raman, an “imminent threat to our members.”

Last week, Raman faced criticism for an Instagram video in which she appeared to slam McDonnell and the mayor, saying at one point “only you can stop fascist liars.” She later denied that she was referring to Bass or McDonnell, saying her remarks were improperly edited — and that she had the video pulled.

The Raman campaign did not respond to numerous requests for an interview about her vision for the LAPD.

Raman, a Harvard-educated urban planner, has sought to burnish her credentials as a political outsider by publicly calling for a change in LAPD leadership — but she hasn’t given a clear timeline on when she would replace McDonnell.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell greets Mayor Karen Bass during a ceremony at police headquarters in downtown Los Angeles on May 27.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Last week, Raman told ABC7 she expected to replace McDonnell in 2030, after he has finished his first five-year term. Hours later, she pulled back a bit, issuing a statement saying she expects to replace him prior to the end of his term, which concludes in late 2029.

“Chief McDonnell is Mayor Bass’s police chief,” her statement said. “I have made it clear that I would seek a chief who can keep Angelenos safe and restore trust with our immigrant communities.”

Her comments at a mayoral debate this week threw further uncertainty about who will run the LAPD if she gets the top job.

Raman sidestepped a question about whether she would replace McDonnell before the Olympics.

“I believe he’s lost the trust of Angelenos, especially in light of the ICE raids,” she said, adding that she wasn’t sure that she could make a “unilateral decision” to fire McDonnell outright. Bass pounced on the comment, saying that the fact that Raman didn’t know the mayor has that authority to get rid of a police chief shows she is unfit for the office.

The LAPD didn’t immediately respond to a request Thursday for an interview with McDonnell.

Asked about Raman’s remarks during his regular appearance on Fox 11 Los Angeles on Wednesday, McDonnell said he found it “problematic” to hear criticism of the LAPD’s response to civil unrest from someone “who wasn’t there.”

He defended the department’s protest response, saying his officers acted appropriately when confronted by unruly demonstrators hurling bottles, bricks, Molotov cocktails and commercial-grade fireworks. Fifty-two officers suffered injuries, ranging from concussions to hearing loss, he said. Such “riotous situations” necessitated the use of tear gas against crowds, he said, something the department hadn’t done in decades.

“It was getting to a point where it could become a deadly force situation, which we were trying to avoid at all costs,” he said. “I don’t think it could’ve been done differently that could’ve had a better outcome.”

City Councilmember Nithya Raman speaks during a debate with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass on Oct. 13.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Conventional wisdom holds that new mayors will eventually select their own chief, a decision that is considered as important as any in defining a city leader’s legacy. Some have waited longer than others to do it. Bass, for instance, oversaw the reappointment of McDonnell’s predecessor, Michel Moore, shortly after her election and stood by him for a year before Moore’s abrupt resignation in early 2024.

Mayors in other big cities have faced similar dilemmas.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist whom Raman is sometimes compared to, recently announced that he intends to retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, in a move that was decried by his progressive base. Mamdani told local media that he believed that Tisch was right for the job, based on a proven track record of rooting out corruption and had overseen a crime drop as commissioner, which is the equivalent of a police chief in L.A.

Bass selected McDonnell to lead the LAPD in November 2024 after a lengthy nationwide search.

His appointment was viewed with surprise in local political circles, where some questioned why a progressive mayor like Bass, with a background in community organizing, would hitch her fortunes to a law-and-order chief. Others argued that McDonnell was an appealing choice: An LAPD veteran who offered experience and respect after serving as the chief in Long Beach and later as L.A. County sheriff.

After numerous scandals under Moore, McDonnell was seen as offering stability while the city prepared for the massive security challenges of the World Cup and Olympic Games. In McDonnell, his supporters say, the mayor has an honest and principled leader who has managed to steady a department beset by low morale, dwindling staffing levels and aging facilities. Violent crime has fallen to historic lows under his watch, as it has it many other U.S. cities.

McDonnell, however, has faced withering scrutiny over a dramatic rise in police shootings last year and for the department’s use of hard foam projectiles, tear gas, horse-mounted officers and other tactics against protesters. Within the LAPD, some have also criticized McDonnell for taking a detached approach to running the department and ceding control to underlings, such as Assistant Chief Dominic Choi.

During Tuesday’s debate, Raman suggested that under McDonnell the LAPD has drifted back to being a more opaque, closed-off agency that no longer publishes basic information such as neighborhood-level crime statistics.

In a recent interview with The Times, Bass signaled her frustration with the slow pace of change within the LAPD.

Without singling out McDonnell by name, Bass said she was concerned about the lack of progress on revamping LAPD’s much-maligned disciplinary system, which the chief oversees and which — depending on who you ask — either punishes officers too harshly or fails to hold them accountable.

Bass said that when she toured police station houses after being elected, the number one complaint she heard was about the perception that lower-ranking officers are punished more severely than command staff.

“They feel that command gets away with a lot of things that the rank and file does not,” she said. “So I feel like the reform of the disciplinary system has not gone fast enough, and I am concerned about that.”

Bass has also vowed to make a priority of addressing police shootings of civilians, particularly those involving people experiencing mental health crises. Last month, she signed an executive directive calling for an outside review of the LAPD’s policies and training, which she referred to as “woefully inadequate.”

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell speaks at a news conference at the Hall of Justice on Aug. 6.

(Arwen Clemans / Los Angeles Times)

If McDonnell has any doubts about his future, he hasn’t hinted at them during recent public appearances, often talking about the department’s role in the Olympics.

Bass told The Times that a push to replace McDonnell right before the 2028 Olympic Games would leave the LAPD with a leadership vacuum just as its leaders are supposed to be focused on security plans for that event. The last time city leaders recruited a new chief, the search process was nationwide, lasting more than 10 months, she said.

“I think that [Raman] is naive on what it means to do that,” Bass said. “I think she’s naive, and not understanding the instability to the department when leadership is in flux. And so if it took her the same amount of time, that means we’d have a new police chief about seven to eight months before one of the most high-profile security events in U.S. history.”

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell with his wife Kathy, right, is introduced as the 59th chief of the Los Angeles Police Department with Dr. Erroll Southers, then the president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, left, and Mayor Karen Bass on Nov. 14, 2024.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

In some ways, Raman and Bass are not as far apart on public safety as they previously were. Both candidates have been critical of the license plate reader company Flock Safety, advocated for investing in alternatives to policing and have recently indicated that they are committed to keeping the LAPD from shrinking any further. And since launching her mayoral bid, Raman’s campaign has publicly distanced itself from the “defund the police” movement that Bass has consistently rebuffed.

Where the two candidates diverge most sharply was over a package of police raises negotiated by Bass in 2023 that Raman said has deepened the city’s financial problems. Sold as a way to boost recruitment, the pay increases are among the reasons the police union has endorsed Bass’ reelection. The next mayor will be asked to negotiate a new police contract, which is set to expire next year.

Matt Klink, an L.A.-based Republican political consultant, said that law enforcement groups, such as the Protective League, were skeptical of Bass when she first took office but now back her because she has “shown through her first term in office that she has consistently supported the police.” He said that Raman, on the other hand, has played to the far left by villainizing McDonnell and downplaying concerns about safety.

“Mayor Bass has a stronger record of supporting the police,” he said. “She backed our contracts and our budgets — she has generally supported public safety.”

UCLA professor David Turner said despite his wariness of Bass’ centrist drift, he and other progressives are equally skeptical of Raman, who, has repeatedly voted to increase the LAPD budget without any meaningful efforts to rein in police misconduct.

“That money was proposed by Mayor Bass and voted and approved by Councilmember Nithya Raman,” said Turner, who runs Million Dollar Hoods, which seeks to map the impact of mass incarceration. Still, he said, he hopes that Raman’s tough talk about McDonnell will translate into more accountability for the LAPD.

“What I’m looking for and what L.A. progressives are looking for is a certain level of boldness and a willingness not to capitulate to the [Protective League] and their whims,” he said.

Times staff writers David Zahniser and James Queally contributed to this report.

Gas prices are high. Diesel prices are higher — about $8 a gallon in California, $2 more than the national average.

For truckers, that’s a crisis. Their big rigs get about a paltry six miles to the gallon and filling their tanks in the Golden State now costs up to $2,500 a pop. For the guys who own a single truck or the small companies (which is the majority of trucking businesses), it can be hard to pass along those extra fuel costs to customers — which, as my colleague Nilesh Christoper wrote about, is causing a lot of pain in the industry.

Truckers everywhere are stomping mad, and it’s a problem for President Trump and Republicans heading into the midterms. Eventually, higher diesel prices are going to mean higher prices on the goods those trucks are transporting, and that’s an even bigger problem.

Trump has been throwing spaghetti at the wall trying out one limp solution after another to bring prices down — cutting taxes, brokering deals with Russia, telling us it’s just not a problem. But of course, it is.

Truck drivers fill they diesel tanks at United Oil in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

One Southern California energy expert has spent recent days in Washington, D.C., trying to convince the administration that the solution lies in California, in the vast oil reserves under our cities and farms that we largely leave untapped for environmental reasons. Environment aside, it’s a long-running and compelling (to some, anyway) argument that may have found its moment, meaning California might become Trump’s next solution — or at least scapegoat — to a costly problem.

More on that, but first, a recap of where we are.

The red dye ploy

Three thousand years ago in Trump time, but which I mean earlier this month, the president signed an executive order that allowed truckers to use red dye diesel as a way to lower costs.

Red dye diesel is, you guessed it, my genius readers, diesel that has been dyed red — to differentiate it from the stuff at truck stops. Farmers and other agricultural types are allowed to buy red dye diesel without certain taxes to use in tractors and other equipment that doesn’t run on our roads.

The Trump order allows truckers to buy red dye and defer paying the roughly 25-cent-per-gallon federal tax on it. So it’s not really saving them money, just delaying payment.

“It’s a small step, but nonetheless, it’s a positive step,” said Michael Mische, a professor at the USC Marshall School of Business whose conservative-leaning take on energy policy has often raised the ire of the Newsom administration.

President Trump signs an executive order to lower the cost of diesel fuel during a campaign rally on Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb.

(Win McNamee / Getty Images)

But there’s a problem with Trump’s red dye plan. States have their own laws about red dye diesel, and the feds can’t change them. So even if truckers could find a place to buy red dye diesel (again, not sold at regular gas stations), and even if the incentive of paying taxes later made the search seem worthwhile, they would often be breaking state laws.

Eric Sauer, chief executive of the California Trucking Assn., a trade group that advocates for the industry, said his group has been advising members not to use the crimson fuel until it’s clear that states are going to change their rules. Some, like Missouri, have. California has not.

Either way, Sauer said, allowing truckers to use diesel dyed red really doesn’t increase the overall supply, just shifts it around — which is unlikely to bring prices down.

“It’s still the same supply of diesel fuel out there,” Sauer said.

Global supply

The global supply of crude oil, has been, shall we say, negatively affected by our war with Iran. Despite Trump’s assurances that the conflict is winding down, two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked this week, highlighting that perhaps Iran is unaware the war is over. Fears of that conflict and others sent energy prices soaring even higher.

Faced with that unpleasant reality, Trump this week also announced he was lifting sanctions on diesel exports from Russia, a move that shocked his own party and most of the world.

The PCK petroleum refinery stands illuminated at twilight on April 28, 2026, in Schwedt, Germany. The refinery, which produces gasoline, diesel, kerosene and bitumen, receives 20% of its oil from Kazakhstan through the Russian Druzhba pipeline.

(Sean Gallup / Getty Images)

That deal could bring 36 million barrels of Russian diesel, at most, to American shores, which sounds like a lot until you realize we use about 4 million barrels of the stuff every day. So Trump essentially sold out Ukraine and demolished what was left of our European standing for nine days of diesel — an amount unlikely to lower prices.

In California, that’s especially true because, as UC Berkeley professor Aaron Smith points out, about 70% of our diesel “is actually not made from crude oil and coming from oil refineries. It’s made from vegetable oils and animal fats.”

Yes, the Golden State relies heavily on so-called renewable diesel that, Smith says, “introduces, I think, another wrinkle” when trying to lower costs.

California’s fault

But let’s get back to Mische, the USC professor. For years, he’s been arguing that California’s refusal to pump more oil should be viewed as a national security concern.

California actually imports the majority of its crude oil, more than 60% from other countries, and our refineries for a number of debated reasons have been closing. Our imports have been growing in recent years. We also have no pipelines connecting us to the rest of the U.S., unlike many other states. That means we can’t easily get oil except what’s shipped in through our ports.

At the same time, the West Coast with its many military installations is undeniably pivotal to national security. Mische argues that without adequate fuel reserves for a shortage — like during a war — our military readiness could be jeopardized. He wants to see California not only pump more, but for the federal government to store more of that California crude.

A train of tank cars enters the Chevron EL Segundo refinery, one of the largest petroleum processing facilities in California, on April 8, 2026. California imports approximately 75% of its crude oil, with nearly one-third of the crude supplied from the Middle East. Prices at the pump in the state are averaging $5.93 per gallon today amid the war in Iran.

(Mario Tama / Getty Images)

These arguments haven’t gained much traction in our heavily Democratic state, which has moved forcefully away from fossil fuels and toward renewable sources in recent years and which has little interest in increasing drilling. But Mische and his colleagues may have found their moment.

Earlier this year, they wrote draft executive orders about California’s oil industry that he says the Trump administration is considering — one would attempt to force California to pump more oil using the authority of the Defense Production Act of 1950.

Trump has used that wartime act several times in the last few months, and Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance announced it would be used to expand production at a Texas oil refinery.

Mische said he spent last week in conversations with the administration on the proposed orders and is “confident” Trump will “issue additional executive orders under the Defense Production Act for California” by the end of the year.

Beyond the national security argument, such orders could please Trump because they do two things. First, if California pumps its own oil, it could free up some imported oil for other states, which could lower prices — though it would certainly take time and require more refinery capacity.

Second, and likely of more interest to the White House, it makes California — and Newsom — the villain for this sticky Republican problem. California will sue, of course, which would just help the Trump political narrative.

Kevin de León, a California Senate president emeritus and author of SB 100, California’s landmark 100% clean energy law, said he can easily envision Trump claiming that “we have lots of cheap oil in the United States that can lower your gas prices — but crazy lefty California is blocking us.”

Actually, it’s hard to imagine Trump not grabbing the chance to blame gas prices on the Golden State — or Newsom.

What else you should be reading:

The must-read: ‘Very few people out in the streets’: ICE surge rattles California’s Central Valley

The California angle: Justice Dept. demands California prove citizenship for lists of voters or withhold ballots

The L.A. Times Special: The U.S is in the death business. Newsom can change that, and win votes
Stay Golden,

Anita Chabria

—

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Karina Longworth loves Los Angeles for all its quirks and charms.

Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, the film critic, author and journalist has made a career out of celebrating her city. Her podcast “You Must Remember This,” about “the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century,” has spent 21 seasons diving into the intricacies of the movie industry, from lauded stars to undersung production designers. (Its new season, “The Bisexuals,” tells the story of singer turned actor Libby Holman, whose love life would later intersect with the now-famously queer screen star Montgomery Clift.)

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

She’s also fiercely loyal to the hangouts and haunts she grew up frequenting.

“Until they closed down three or four years ago, my favorite Indian restaurant was this place in Studio City on Ventura Place called Gangadin,” she says. “That was the only place I would order from, and I have not been able to find an Indian spot that I like since just because I’m comparing it to Gangadin, which probably wasn’t even the most authentic or the best. It’s just what I had been eating for 30 years.”

Here’s how Longworth would spend her perfect Sunday in L.A., from a stroll down Mulholland Drive to grabbing a cup of frozen yogurt with a cinematic spin.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

9 a.m.: Get up and grab a latte

I try to sleep as late as possible, but the older I get, the harder it is to actually sleep in. Ideally on a perfect Sunday, I would sleep until 9. It doesn’t always happen, but I try.

My favorite place to get coffee in L.A. is Kings Road Cafe. I’ve been going there since the ‘90s, and I still think they have the best coffee in Los Angeles. It’s very strong and they give you a large portion, and I find that you rarely get both of those things in L.A. (I like a coffee that can last me multiple hours.) I’ll usually get an almond milk latte — iced if it’s warm out, hot if it’s not.

10 a.m.: A Laurel Canyon hike

Probably what I’d do next is go over to Laurel Canyon. I built my recording studio in a tiny house at the end of a cul-de-sac in Laurel Canyon a few years ago, and I really like hiking around there. So I’d drive up, park there, and then walk up Laurel Pass to the Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook.

The first half of that walk is really tough because it’s just straight uphill until you get to Mulholland, but I like it because it’s not a hiking trail, so it’s not dusty and there aren’t that many people. There’s an element of solitude and quiet to it, and I love that the end of it is all downhill so you can just kind of run down and get it over with.

Growing up in the Valley, I always romanticized Mulholland Drive, which was always quote-unquote “over the hill.” There’s something about manifesting and then realizing my ideal adult life that I can come to understand by standing at the overlook and looking at the other side, remembering when I dreamed of living where I do now.

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, the Valley wasn’t what it is now. There wasn’t an Alfred Coffee or anything like that. It was a few years behind the times compared to Hollywood or Beverly Hills, where all the cool stuff that I wanted to do was usually happening. All the good record stores, all the good bookstores and movie theaters.

I used to go to the Silent Movie Theater when I was a teenager or the Beverly Cinema, which is now the New Beverly. I’d go to the Nuart all the time, too. I saw a lot of important movies at the Sunset Five, which is now called the Landmark Sunset [Hollywood] and isn’t going to be showing the 2026 equivalent of “Gummo.” I think being in the Valley just felt like being in the Los Angeles version of suburbia and so it was like, “I’ve got to get out of here and go to where things are actually happening.”

11:30 a.m.: An old favorite

After that walk, I’ll go back to my place in Laurel Canyon to have a shower and get dressed and then it’s off to Art’s Deli on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, which is a place that I’ve been going to since 1987. I had friends that worked there in high school, too, so I was there almost every day having matzo ball soup and coffee.

There used to be a lot more really good delis in L.A. My favorite actually was Solley’s in Sherman Oaks, where I used to go with my grandfather. I’ve never had white fish salad that’s better than what they had at Solley’s, but Art’s Deli is good, too. I really like their knishes, or I’ll get a half-sandwich and soup. I’d probably do turkey on rye with mustard, but with coleslaw and Russian dressing on the side so I can add small amounts when I want. That and a cup of split pea soup.

1 p.m.: Sweet treats

Ideally after lunch, I’ll get dessert at Humphrey Yogart. It’s sort of a funny joke that I’ve become this classic movie person and there’s this frozen yogurt place inspired by the name Humphrey Bogart, but I’ve actually been eating Humphrey Yogart since before I knew who Humphrey Bogart was.

They take frozen yogurt — sweet or tart — add mix-ins, and then put it in this crazy blender that’s like a giant drill with a handle that comes down. I like to do sort of a fake Cherry Garcia with cherries and some kind of nut, but they also have an option called Killer Chocolate where they take plain tart yogurt and add a dark chocolate syrup, which I really like. I’ll add orange and espresso to that, and sometimes I’ll have them put sprinkles on top because sprinkles are amazing.

2 p.m.: Movie magic

I love to go to the movies. On Sundays at the Los Feliz Three, they do something called “Sunday Print Edition” where they show a 35mm print and have somebody come and talk about it, which is always cool. Or if there’s a festival happening at the Egyptian or something I wanted to see at Vidiots, maybe I’d do that.

I think the Egyptian is probably my favorite movie theater in L.A. It’s historic, it’s beautiful inside, and I find that the projection and programming are both very good. It’s also close to where I live so that’s convenient and, assuming they’re open, you can go have a drink or food at Musso and Frank after, which is perfect.

4 p.m.: Dodgers and drinks

Usually on Sundays, the Dodgers play at 1 o’clock, but if it’s a nationally broadcast game sometimes it’ll be on at 4 o’clock. If that’s the case, then I’d like to go to Colombo’s to sit at the bar, have a drink, and watch some of the game.

I think I’d have either a vodka martini, a Manhattan on the rocks, or maybe a glass of wine. Colombo’s is my favorite place to watch a Dodger game that’s not a sports bar. I don’t really love sports bars anyway, but if it’s a big World Series game maybe I’d go somewhere in Koreatown that’s more sporty to watch. But for sitting in a dark bar to watch an hour and a half of a game while you have one or two drinks, Colombo’s is perfect.

6 p.m. Dinner at Da Prato

Right now, I really like Da Prato, which is run by this chef Elisa Da Prato, and she’s calling it a supper club. It’s in this strange almost-loft space on 2nd Street downtown, and I’ve been there three times since early July. Each time it’s gotten busier and busier, too, so I think word of mouth is growing.

She just makes very beautiful traditional but artistically done Italian food. Everything is homemade, and it’s very L.A., but at the same time, it feels like you stumbled into some small place in an alleyway in Rome because it’s informal and they only have a small staff. It’s such a great experience, but you have to think of it in a European way because it’s not a place where you’re going to get in and out in 45 minutes. You’re going to have several courses, you’re going to linger over your food, order a couple bottles of wine, and everything’s going to be very relaxed and wonderful.

If I can’t go to Da Prato or if I need a more “special occasion” place, I’d do Jacaranda, which was started by chef Daniel Patterson and his wife, Sarah Lewitinn. I’ve been internet friends with Sarah for 15 to 20 years, so I went a couple times when they were doing it as a pop-up in their house, and now I’ve gone once since they opened the official restaurant. I’m not normally a tasting menu person because some places it can feel like too much food, but Daniel’s cooking is so phenomenal and you can absolutely manage to eat all 12 courses without feeling like you want to die.

10 p.m.: Skincare and sleep

After dinner, I’d head home and maybe take a little walk to burn off dinner a bit. Otherwise, it’s time for my nighttime routine, which is boring middle-aged lady stuff like skincare and taking magnesium. I try to be asleep by 10, but oftentimes the only time I really have to read a novel or to read for pleasure is in the 10 minutes before bed. So I’ll read a physical book or my Kindle or put on a show that I’ve seen 1,000 times if I just need something to fall asleep.

Miguel Rojas didn’t want to take his cleats off.

The veteran infielder stood by his locker at Dodger Stadium, his eyes red and watery, his uniform covered in dirt, knowing that when he pulled them off, it would be for the last time.

“This is it, guys,” he said, announcing his retirement, after the Dodgers were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series on Thursday. “It’s been a lot, the last four years of my life here. And obviously making my debut here in 2014 changed my life, not just for me but for my whole family. They took care of my son, my daughter, my wife, and everybody in my family. It’s really amazing what I can think about, what happened to me and to my family the last few years.”

Rojas addressed the team after the 6-4 loss to the Brewers. He said he was going to stay loyal to the Dodgers organization but in a different role.

Rojas, 37, has a player development role lined up, the first step in a post-playing career that he hopes eventually will land him in a manager’s seat.

“I just wanted to say thank you to all the veteran guys for allowing me to be myself when I got here, even though I didn’t play one game for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the last eight or nine years before I came here,” Rojas said. “They allowed me to be the leader that I wanted to be, the person that I wanted to change the culture and kind of give a little bit more of a culture, chemistry to the clubhouse. I feel like that is going to be a legacy that I wanted to leave here, other than my performance on the field. … I want them to remember me as a guy who always did everything possible to help my teammates win and to help the team get better every single day.”

Rojas put together a 13-year career split between the Dodgers and Miami Marlins. He had a career .260 batting average, won two World Series rings and three straight Roy Campanella Awards for his leadership in the Dodgers’ clubhouse.

Miguel Rojas hits a single during Game 3 of the NLCS against the Brewers on Wednesday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

After Rojas made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 2014, the team traded him to the Marlins. He played eight seasons there. Then in 2023, the Marlins traded him back to the Dodgers.

Rojas, a key contributor in the Dodgers’ back-to-back championship seasons, saved the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series with his Game 7 home run. He re-signed in December for what was expected to be his last season.

Right before the playoffs, Rojas, who is from Venezuela, took his U.S. citizenship test. He said the person administering his interview didn’t realize he was a baseball player until she asked who his employer was.

“I actually wanted it to be that way because I didn’t want to have any kind of preference or anything because this process has nothing to do with baseball,” he said last week. “I felt like, as a citizen, as a human being, I always wanted to be a good person off the field and not let my performance influence anything, because we all know how hard this game can be and how high you can be and how low you can be one day. I don’t want to be judged by my performance on the field. I want to be judged by the person I am and my preparation.”

Heidi Burge Horton, a former WNBA player who started her basketball career alongside her twin sister at Palos Verdes High School and inspired a Disney Channel Original Movie, has died. She was 54.

Horton died Oct. 5 after a battle with gliobastoma, a type of brain cancer, according to an online obituary. The former University of Virginia standout was reportedly diagnosed with the Grade 4 cancer last year and briefly went into remission, but the tumors returned in July, according to Houston news site Chron.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Heidi Burge Horton,” the Virginia women’s basketball team said in a statement posted last week on X. “Heidi was a cherished member of the Virginia Women’s Basketball family, her legacy will forever be a part of Virginia Athletics.”

Horton and her identical twin, Heather Burge, played four seasons at Virginia, where they helped the team win three Atlantic Coast Conference titles and make three NCAA Final Fours under future Hall of Fame coach Debbie Ryan. Among their teammates at college was Dawn Staley, the Hall of Famer and Olympian who coaches the University of South Carolina.

“We are all heartbroken!” Staley wrote on X following Horton’s death. “We love you Heidi. May your soul rest in peace and your body pain free.”

The University of Virginia’s Heidi Burge, right, with sister and teammate Heather Burge during the 1991 NCAA women’s championship game against Tennessee.

(Jim Gund / Getty Images)

After graduating from college, Horton and her sister headed overseas to play professionally in Europe. When the WNBA was formed in 1996, she joined the Sparks to play in the inaugural season alongside a familiar face, Lisa Leslie.

“I played with the twins since we were 14 years old,” Leslie wrote, along with a broken heart emoji, in the comments of the WNBA’s Instagram post announcing Horton’s death. “I’m so sad to hear this! I pray for the whole family.”

Heidi Ann Burge was born six minutes after her twin sister, Heather Marie, on Nov. 12, 1971, in Harbor City. She grew up in Redondo Beach before her family moved to Palos Verdes so the sisters could attend the high school there, according to a notice by Eickenhorst Funeral Services.

The twins didn’t grow up playing basketball but were recruited by Palos Verdes High‘s coach, who noticed their towering height. Both sisters were 6 feet 1 by ninth grade and would grow to be 6-5.

Horton was more resistant to trying out than her sister, and both were novices when they joined the team. The sisters would become star players over the course of their high school careers, but they were praised more for their character and work ethic than their impact on the court.

“I don’t think they’ve had a weekend off in three years,” their coach, Wendell Yoshida, told The Times in 1989. “They’ve practiced when they didn’t want to practice. They’ve worked through the tears, the sweat, the hurt, the pain. That’s what made them special. They didn’t make it just because they’re tall.”

Horton was known as the more outgoing and gregarious of the pair, but both sisters were described as being inquisitive, opinionated, fiercely loyal and competitive.

The adjustment to the college game was a bit rough for them at first, and the sisters did not get much playing time together until their junior year. They developed a reputation for being prone to mistakes and turnovers and were considered a bit soft. But once again, the sisters put in the work to improve and became key pieces for their team.

“When we did cry it was mostly out of frustration,” Horton told The Times in 1992. “Just not being able to do the things the other players could do. … Our defense wasn’t effective enough for us to deserve to be out there together. Now, we’ve proved offensively and defensively that we are an unstoppable pair when we get to play together.”

Heidi Burge, right, rises up to block Houston Comets guard Kim Perrot during a game on July 16, 1997.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

After graduating with degrees in Spanish and rhetoric and communications studies, Horton played basketball professionally in Europe. After the establishment of the WNBA, she played for the Sparks in 1997 and the Washington Mystics in 1998 before retiring after two seasons.

Horton and her sister inspired the 2002 Disney Channel Original Movie, “Double Teamed.” The movie told a fictionalized account of the twins’ time at Palos Verdes High School. Horton was portrayed by Annie McElwain.

After retiring from playing, Horton moved to Houston, where she briefly served as a commentator for the Comets. She later became involved with Hoops-School, a youth basketball camp where she served as a coach and mentor.

“When you had the kind of coaching I did, you have to work really hard,” Horton told the Buzz Magazines in 2024. “But I also want to give a lot of credit to my coaches. Now I get to give the golden nuggets of wisdom to the kids I coach.

“Second graders, fifth graders, they listen,” she added. “That’s the biggest reward in your whole life. I had so many people pour into me, and I get to just pour it right out. That’s the torch.”

Horton is survived by her husband, Patrick; their children, Jonathan and Holly; her twin sister, Heather Quella, and other loved ones.