year

An extra live public vote on the night will hand fans more power – putting the audience at the heart of the biggest night in British sport

Gabby Logan has worked in live sports broadcasting for nearly 30 years and is riding high, having recently bagged a permanent presenting role on Match of the Day.

Now she’s gearing up for her 13th stint as host of Sports Personality of the Year next month alongside Clare Balding and Alex Scott, the annual two-hour TV extravaganza in which the sporting triumphs of the previous 12 months are celebrated.

Gabby, married to former rugby player Kenny Logan, says that despite having absolutely loved watching her BBC pal Clare on Celebrity Traitors, she’ll have to rule herself out of any cloak-themed action herself – for now, at least. “We had Tom Daley, Clare and Joe Marler representing sport, so it felt like we had a three-pronged attack,” she says, admitting that she’d been glued to every episode.

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Having seen Clare make a big mistake in the Trojan Horse mission at the very start, Gabby said she didn’t have the heart to message her initially, knowing that she’d have felt “devastated” over the blunder. But when she did send a text, it was to point out that it didn’t really matter. “The one thing I did say to her was, look, you normally get everything right in life. I don’t think there’s any harm in showing people you’re human.”

So would Gabby, 52, fancy her chances in the castle? “I don’t think so,” she admits. “Not because it doesn’t appeal, I just know the time of year they film it would mean an enormous amount of time for me away from sport.

“And I feel like I’m just bedding in to Match of the Day and I still do the Six Nations, so that would take me away for a few weeks, which wouldn’t necessarily be a very good move in terms of my day job.”

Perhaps she might consider it a few years down the line? “At the age when you can go on and just fart willy-nilly, you mean?” she laughs, referring to Celia Imrie’s famous cabin parp. “That was one of the great moments.”

Gabby took over on Match of the Day from departing host of 26 years, Gary Lineker, in August, alongside Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates, and says that no backlash has ever arrived. “I’m sure there are people who had their grumbles, but the other day I had someone who said to me, ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying, I was a bit concerned that there were gonna be two women on Match of the Day. But actually it’s great. I really like it.’”

Laughing, she adds: “And then he went ‘I’m sorry, that sounds like a backhanded compliment’. But he was obviously a fan of the show and that kind of feedback actually means a lot really, because the fact this guy felt confident enough to express it, was good.”

A former gymnast, Gabby says she achieves balance in her life by never compromising on her exercise regime, by sleeping and eating well and by not going crazy with the booze.

Having fronted a podcast about midlife, The Mid-Point, for the past five years, there is not much she doesn’t know about the issues affecting both men and women in their fifties. “I have absolute commitment to my training sessions and have really ramped up doing weights, which is so good for bones,” she says. “And obviously, muscle density is so important; being strong is such a predictor of longevity. It’s so important.”

She says that even when on the road for work, she will locate a place for a workout, which is how she ended up in a £9-a-session cage-fighter gym in Manchester’s Moss Side earlier this month. “It was a kind of spit and sawdust type gym, and there were no showers,” she laughs. “But it had all the equipment I needed, it was great. I did it in 50 minutes, and I walked back to my hotel afterwards.”

She runs her diary with a rod of iron to ensure that she finds time for three weekly weights sessions, plus two pilates classes for flexibility, and then a run or a walk. “I have one rest day,” she says.

Gabby, whose 20-year-old twins, Lois and Reuben, with husband Kenny Logan, have now left home, keeps her sleep pattern regular and eats a healthy, balanced diet. “You do your own elimination of things and work out how you react to foods which make you feel a bit bloated or a bit sleepy or are driving your insulin up,” she explains. “That’s definitely something that I’ve noticed – sugars are the enemy.”

With booze, she says that it’s rare for her to have more than one drink. “Lee Mack is teetotal and he came on the podcast and said that after the first drink, you’re just chasing that feeling of the first drink,” she says. “I love having a gin and tonic on Friday when I’m cooking. But actually, what I’ve noticed is, he’s right. The first one does the trick, I don’t need the second one.”

She said that having seen her father, former footballer Terry Yorath, fight his own battle with booze, she was inclined to be careful. “I’ve got a dad who’s had a problem with alcohol and so I’ve seen the damage that it can do,” she says, admitting that there was “a bit of vanity” involved in the decision to be a moderate drinker too. “There’s a lot of sugar in alcohol and it generally doesn’t do much for your your looks to drink too much of it. So I think that kind of keeps me definitely on the right side of a healthy relationship.”

Looking ahead to SPOTY, Gabby says that despite her long service to the big night of live TV, it’s still her most nerve-wracking gig of the year. “You just wanna get that first intro section nailed, you know? And then you feel like you’re up and running. I remember Gary once saying, he was quoting Des Lynam, that SPOTY was the best laxative known to man. Thanks Gary! So even with all Gary’s experience, with all Des Lynam’s experience and for anybody else who’s hosted it down the years, it does send the nerves to a different level and the butterflies go a little bit harder.”

This time around she is thrilled that Rory McIlroy has already confirmed his attendance, with the golfer being a dead cert for the shortlist when it comes out this week. One change for this year’s event is that the Team of the Year Award will be voted for by the public, just like the main award, rather than being decided by a panel of experts – in a move designed to entice younger viewers to engage.

She’s hoping to remember this year’s show for the right reasons rather than for any gaffes. “I’ve had a few moments where I nearly took a tumble down the stairs,” she recalls. “And then when Mo Farrah won, the line went down – it really does test your live telly chops when things like that happen. She said that Mo’s reaction was priceless. “He was obviously just thrilled to be held in that esteem by the population, that people had picked up their phones and tapped in the numbers to vote. It’s that proactiveness which we really encourage because we want the audience to feel they are part of the directional travel of that award.”

Her most emotional moment came when a close family friend, Doddie Weir, was honoured, amid his ongoing battle with motor neurone disease. “That was very emotional because Doddie was a fantastic friend of our family, he and Kenny had been mates for 30 years.” They had both helped him to fundraise for more research into MND. “To see him honoured on stage for the work he’d done, which saw him selflessly giving up, pretty much, the last five years of his life – that was really emotional. His family, his beautiful sons were in the room. And I look back on that as a moment that definitely sticks out.”

She says that the job, while stressful, is also one of her favourite. “It’s the joy that you remember the most, and seeing people celebrated. It’s the feeling that you’ve reached out and touched people and made a difference to their lives. And that’s what sport does.”

– Sports Personality of the Year, Thursday 18 December, 7–9pm on BBC One and iPlayer

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Move comes as a growing number of countries are rolling out measures to limit children’s exposure to digital platforms.

Malaysia plans to ban social media for users under the age of 16 starting from next year, joining a growing list of countries choosing to limit access to digital platforms due to concerns about child safety.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on Sunday the government was reviewing mechanisms used to impose age restrictions for social media use in Australia and other nations, citing a need to protect youths from online harms such as cyberbullying, financial scams and child sexual abuse.

“We hope by next year that social media platforms will comply with the government’s decision to bar those under the age of 16 from opening user accounts,” he told reporters, according to a video of his remarks posted online by local daily The Star.

The effects of social media on children’s health and safety have become a growing global concern, with companies including TikTok, Snapchat, Google and Meta Platforms – the operator of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – facing lawsuits in the United States for their role in driving a mental health crisis.

In Australia, social media platforms are poised to deactivate accounts registered to users younger than 16 next month, under a sweeping ban for teenagers that is being closely watched by regulators around the world.

France, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Greece are also jointly testing a template for an age verification app.

Malaysia’s neighbour Indonesia said in January it planned to set a minimum age for social media users, but later issued a less stringent regulation requiring tech platforms to filter negative content and impose stronger age verification measures.

Malaysia has put social media companies under greater scrutiny in recent years in response to what it claims to be a rise in harmful content, including online gambling and posts related to race, religion and royalty.

Platforms and messaging services with more than eight million users in Malaysia are now required to obtain a license under a new regulation that came into effect in January.

“Can you just give me one of your leftover sharks?”

It was early in Jay Stein’s tenacious pursuit to turn a throwaway business into a sweet spot for Universal Studios, then owned by Lew Wasserman’s powerhouse entertainment firm MCA.

In 1975, Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” was a cultural sensation and Stein wanted to capitalize on the movie’s success. He asked his colleagues in film production for props so his crews could re-create the fictional Amity Island coastline in the studio’s hilly back lot miles from downtown L.A.

“He convinced them: ‘Can you just give me one of the leftover sharks and I’ll put it on the studio tour, and we’ll get some promotion out of that,’ ” author Sam Gennawey told The Times, recalling Stein’s brilliance and his pioneering use of intellectual property.

Jay Stein with his wife, Connie, in Oregon.

(Connie Stein)

Stein died Nov. 5 at his home in Bend, Ore., according to his wife, Connie Stein. He was 88 and had been suffering from complications related to Parkinson’s disease and prostate cancer.

“He left a big hole — but he also left a wonderful legacy,” she said in an interview Sunday. “Not a lot of people have the opportunity to leave a legacy that touches generations. But he’s still making people smile every day.”

The tram tour’s shark attack, which terrified tourists when it debuted in 1976, has long been a staple. It was among Stein’s many theme park enhancements during his more than 30 years as a top MCA executive, which included Universal’s push into Florida to compete with Walt Disney Co.

The “Jaws” attraction helped cement Universal’s decades-long relationship with Spielberg, a span that would include such films as “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jurassic Park,” “Schindler’s List” and “The Fabelmans.” It also spawned other movie-themed attractions that included a “Waterworld” live show and a “King Kong” ride.

Stein insisted that the ape would spew “banana breath,” his wife said.

Within Universal, such jolts and flourishes became known as “JayBangs,” which Gennawey used as the title for his 2016 book about Stein’s contributions to the industry, “JayBangs: How Jay Stein, MCA, & Universal Invented the Modern Theme Park and Beat Disney at Its Own Game.”

“Jay wanted to put you in the movie,” Gennawey said. “He wanted to grab you by the collar and shake you a bit.”

The “Runaway Train” attraction on the Universal Studios backlot tour, one of its many exhilarating “JayBangs.”

(NBCUniversal Archives & Collections)

Stein was born in New York City on June 17, 1937, to Samuel and Sylvia “Sunny” (Goldstein) Stein.

His father was a watch salesman who moved the family to Los Angeles when Stein was young. As a teenager, he occasionally skipped school to go to Hollywood Park Racetrack to bet on horses. He had finagled some blank report cards and used them to bring home self-inserted high marks.

But the scam was revealed when the family briefly moved back to New York and Stein was nearing the end of high school. His parents were summoned for a conference, where they learned Stein lacked the credits to graduate. Summer school remedied that.

The family returned to L.A. Stein attended UC Berkeley, majoring in political science, but he left about a semester shy of graduating.

He served in the Army National Guard and, near the end of his service, in 1959, began working in MCA’s mailroom. Initially he wanted to get into film production, but by the mid-1960s, he was steered into the fledgling tour unit.

The company had launched the tram tour in 1964 to make a little money from its ample real estate. But some executives viewed the endeavor as tacky. Its prospects looked dim.

“It started out as two trams and a Quonset hut on Lankershim Boulevard,” Stein told The Times in a 2023 interview. “Quite frankly, the tram was considered something that interfered with television production.”

“I worked for the production office and was given the task of trying to coordinate how close we could come on the backlot without interfering. Everyone I worked for said it was an annoyance and disruptive and will not ever be welcomed.”

Stein was able “to convince others of the benefits of having the studio tour,” Gennawey said. “That’s what saved it.”

Early signage advertising Universal Studios as a tourist attraction.

(NBCUniversal Archives & Collections)

Gennawey considers Stein a key pioneer of U.S. theme parks.

“He was remarkably competitive. He recognized that Disney had its thing — but Universal could create something different and complimentary, particularly in the early days,” Gennawey said.

Disneyland was, of course, a top draw.

“But if you are a Los Angeles resident and had relatives coming in town, you knew they [also] wanted to see Hollywood,” Gennawey said. “But Hollywood was kind of scary, so you took them to Universal Studios.”

Stein’s contributions have only recently been appreciated, according to Gennawey. That’s largely because Stein subscribed to Wasserman’s edict that the “stars were the stars,” and executives should blend into the background. Stein also retired early, leaving Universal by the mid-1990s, after Japanese electronics giant Matsushita bought MCA.

Visitors line up for the studio tour of Universal Studios.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Stein worried that Universal’s new owner (and a string of subsequent buyers) would fail to recognize the value of the theme parks, Gennawey said, an observation that proved correct.

That changed in 2011 when Comcast acquired NBCUniversal and began investing heavily.

The company opened its $7-billion theme park, Universal Epic Universe, near Orlando, Fla., to raves earlier this year.

The theme park unit — which includes destinations in Los Angeles, Florida, Japan and China — has become one of the most reliable profit engines for NBCUniversal. Last year, Universal theme parks produced $8.6 billion in revenue.

“Jay was the visionary behind Universal’s expansion from the Studio Tour in Hollywood to the creation of our world-class theme park destination at Universal Orlando and beyond,” Mark Woodbury, chairman and chief executive of Universal Destinations & Experiences, said in a statement.

“He had tremendous creative instincts and defined our style of immersive storytelling, making us the brand that brings great movies to life for generations to come,” Woodbury said.

Stein is survived by his wife, son Gary Stein, daughter Darolyn Bellemeur, and their spouses, children and grandchildren, his brother Ira Stein, a nephew, cousins as well as Connie Stein’s children and grandchildren.

NEW YORK — A tax on tea once sparked rebellion. This time, it’s just causing headaches.

Importers of the prized leaves have watched costs climb, orders stall and margins shrink under the weight of President Trump’s tariffs. Now, even after Trump has given them a reprieve, tea traders say it won’t immediately undo the damage.

“It took a while to work its way through the system, these tariffs, and it will take a while for it to work its way out of the system,” says Bruce Richardson, a celebrated tea master, tea historian and purveyor of teas at his shop, Elmwood Inn Fine Teas, in Danville, Ky. “That tariffed tea is still working its way out of our warehouses.”

While some bigger firms are behind the biggest supermarket brands, the premium tea market is largely the work of smaller businesses — family farms, specialty importers and a web of little tea shops, tea rooms and tea cafes across the U.S. Amid an onslaught of tariffs, they have become showcases for the levies’ effects.

On their shelves, selection has narrowed, with some teas missing because they’re no longer viable products to stock with the steep levies. In their warehouses, managers are consumed with uncertainty and operational headaches, including calculating what a blend really costs, with ingredients from multiple countries on a roller coaster of tariffs. And in backrooms where the wafting scent of fresh tea permeates, owners have been forced to put off job postings, raises, advertising and other investments so they can have cash available to pay duties when their containers arrive at U.S. ports.

“If I were to add up all the money I’ve spent on tariffs that weren’t there a year ago, it could equal a new employee,” says Hartley Johnson, who owns the Mark T. Wendell Tea Co. in Acton, Mass.

Johnson’s prices used to stay static for a year or longer. He ate the tariff costs before being forced to respond. His most popular tea, a smoky Taiwanese one called Hu-Kwa, has steadily risen from $26 to $46 a pound.

He knows some customers are reconsidering.

“Where is that tipping point?” Johnson asks. “I’m kind of finding that tipping point is happening now.”

That tipping point already came for one tea company in the City of Commerce.

International Tea Importers, already under financial strain from climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, said that tariffs were the final blow, creating an untenable cash flow crunch and forcing its closure after 35 years in business.

“We just became over-leveraged financing — not just the inventory, but also the tariffs,” says the company’s chief executive, Brendan Shah.

Despite the other financial challenges, if not for the tariffs, Shah says, it may have survived.

“Unpredictable tariff policies,” he wrote to customers in announcing the company’s closure, “have created the final, insurmountable barrier.”

Though Trump backed off some tariffs on agricultural products last week, many in the tea trade are wary of celebrating too soon and caution tea drinkers shouldn’t either. Much of next year’s supply has already been imported and tariffed, and the full impact of those duties may not have fully spilled downhill.

Meantime, other tariff-driven price hikes persist. All sorts of other products tea businesses import, such as teapots and infusers, remain subject to levies, and costs for some American-made items, like tins for packaging, have spiked because they rely on foreign materials.

“The canisters, the bamboo boxes, the matcha whisks, everything that we import, everything that we sell has been affected by tariffs,” says Gilbert Tsang, owner of MEM Tea Imports in Wakefield, Mass.

Though globally tea reigns supreme, imbibed more than anything but water, it has long been overshadowed by coffee in the U.S. Still, tea is entwined in American history from the very beginning, even before colonists angry with tariffs dumped tons of it in Boston Harbor.

Boston may run on Dunkin’ today, but it was born on tea.

The 1773 revolt that became known as the Boston Tea Party rose out of the British Parliament’s implementation of tea tariffs on colonists, who rejected taxation without representation in government. After an independent United States was born, one of the new government’s first major acts, the Tariff Act of 1789, ironically set in law import taxes on a range of products including tea. In time, though, trade policy came to include carve-outs for many products Americans rely on but don’t produce.

For more than 150 years, most tea has passed through U.S. ports with little to no duties.

That began to change in Trump’s first term with his hard-line approach to China. But nothing compared to what came with his return to the White House.

In July, the most recent month for which the U.S. International Trade Commission has tallied tariff numbers, tea was taxed at an average rate of over 12%, a huge increase from a year earlier when it was just under one-tenth of a percent. In that single month, American businesses and consumers paid more than $6 million in tea import taxes, amassing in just 31 days more tariffs than any previous full year on record.

“All over again, taxation without representation,” says Richardson, an advisor to the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. “Our wants and needs and our voices are not being represented because Congress is avoiding the issue by simply allowing the president to act like George III.”

All told, tea importers paid about $19.6 million in tariffs in the first seven months of 2025, nearly seven times as much as the same period last year.

It’s all been confounding to those steeped in the world of tea, on which the U.S. depends on foreign countries for nearly all of the billions of pounds Americans brew each year. Though a number of small tea farms exist in the U.S., they can’t fill Americans’ cups for more than a few hours of the year.

Said Angela McDonald, president of the United States League of Tea Growers: “We don’t have an industry and we can’t produce one overnight.”

Sedensky writes for the Associated Press.

Elphaba and Glinda have changed the box office, at least for this weekend.

“Wicked: For Good” — the conclusion to Universal Pictures’ two-part film franchise — hauled in an estimated $150 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, marking the second-highest domestic opening this year, trailing only blockbuster hit “A Minecraft Movie.” Globally, the film grossed about $226 million.

The opening weekend audience for “Wicked: For Good” skewed even more female (69%) than the first film, which counted 61% of its viewers as women, according to data from EntTelligence.

Lionsgate’s “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” came in a distant second at the domestic box office with $9.1 million. The third installment of the illusionist franchise has now brought in a cumulative $36.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and a total of $109.4 million globally across its two weekends.

Disney’s 20th Century Studios’ “Predator: Badlands,” Paramount Pictures’ “The Running Man” and “Rental Family” from Searchlight Pictures rounded out this weekend’s top five.

The Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-led film was bolstered by a massive marketing push that began early last year before the first “Wicked” movie debuted. Though the films are based on the hit Broadway play, Universal wanted to expand awareness of the story to markets that had been less exposed to the theatrical show.

As a result, the franchise has partnered with more than 100 brands, including toy companies like Lego and Mattel as well as more unexpected firms such as household goods giant P&G and online Asian supermarket Weee!, where director Jon M. Chu serves as chief creative officer.

The film’s opening weekend success also points to a demand for female-focused franchises.

After 2023’s “Barbie” grossed $1.4 billion at the global box office, there were countless calls for more films geared toward women. But this year, many of the big-budget movies were male-leaning, and the narrower returns at the box office have prompted questions about whether films were reaching all possible demographics.

“Women continue to be a really underserved audience,” said Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of the website Box Office Theory. “In terms of large blockbusters, it’s been a minute since there’s been a female-skewing movie on the scale of ‘Wicked’ or ‘Lilo & Stitch.’”

Back in 2024, Universal conjured a pink and green tornado that swept pop culture.

From themed drinks at Starbucks and dolls of Elphaba and Glinda, to joint appearances by stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the Olympics and throughout a heavily-publicized press tour, “Wicked” was everywhere.

As the conclusion of the two-part film franchise heads to theaters at the end of the week, the marketing for “Wicked: For Good” has accelerated.

There are still themed Legos, but now also Gain laundry scent boosters, Swiffers and Pottery Barn bedding. There was a “Wicked” night on rival network ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and a “Wicked: One Wonderful Night” musical event broadcast on NBC.

The complete takeover of culture was all part of Universal’s plan to build one of its biggest and most important franchises, which has already brought in nearly $759 million in worldwide box office revenue for the first film, not to mention the haul from merchandise sales, theme park tie-ins and other categories.

Beyond the immediate revenue, “Wicked” also gives Universal a rare, female-focused franchise, an underserved audience, particularly as so many recent films have been geared toward men.

The success of the Broadway play, which has run for more than two decades, gave Universal the confidence in its potential for the big screen, said David O’Connor, president of franchise management and brand strategy at Universal Pictures. He’s also been a fan of the stage production almost from the beginning — he watched a table reading on the Universal lot, saw the musical additions to the script and finally, its run in San Francisco.

“For us, you had this potential to really take the fanship and really make ‘Wicked’ into a cultural imperative,” he said in a call from New York ahead of the film’s premiere. “When you think about the characters, the two leads, the themes of friendship, identity and empowerment, and how that resonates universally, and then, of course, the fantastical worlds of Oz and Shiz and Munchkinland, it just seemed like such a great opportunity for us.”

“Wicked” has proved to be a key boost to Universal’s lineup of blockbuster franchises.

Though the studio boasts series like “Jurassic Park,” “Despicable Me” and “Fast & Furious,” it has lacked the deep roster of intellectual property that rivals like Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. have, said Brandon Katz, director of insights and content strategy at data firm Greenlight Analytics.

The series “has really emerged as a much-needed, fresh tentpole for Universal,” he said. “There’s such a waterfall of value that this two-part franchise creates that Universal will be banking out on this for years to come.”

The two films were shot back-to-back, with a combined production budget of $300 million, reportedly split evenly between the two.

So far, interest for the second film is high — as of Thursday, “Wicked: For Good” was the highest ticket pre-seller of the year, according to Fandango. It is also the highest PG-rated ticket pre-seller ever on the Fandango platform, passing 2017’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast,” 2019’s animated hit “Frozen 2” and the first “Wicked.”

The film is tracking to haul in $150 million to $160 million in its opening weekend, according to estimates from industry analysts.

And the film’s appeal to women is crucial, particularly in a year when there were few films geared toward female viewers. Despite the persistent debates about the dearth of female-focused films, there have been few big, recent hits, other than 2023’s “Barbie” and last year’s “Wicked.”

“Every three or four years, female audiences are rediscovered with some hit,” said Alisa Perren, professor in the department of radio-television-film at the University of Texas at Austin’s college of communication. “It’s kind of striking how little mainstream female [films] have been released.”

To court all audiences, including those who were familiar with the play as well as those new to the story, Universal leaned into its so-called Symphony program to leverage all arms of the company to promote a film.

The program has been used previously for films like “Despicable Me” and has become a critical part of the marketing campaign, O’Connor said.

One new strategy the company used for supporting this franchise was building a “Wicked” fair, which was held on set in 2023 in London and allowed more than 200 partners to get a feel for the story, see the filmmakers and actors and meet heads of departments, like costumes and props. The studio has done set visits in the past, but nothing like this.

That open house was pivotal in driving partnership agreements and started to fuel the franchise’s success, O’Connor said. One of those was Lego, which signed on with “Wicked” after the fair and has been a partner on both films with product lines and an episode of “Lego Masters.”

Because not all geographic markets had the same built-in awareness of the Broadway play, getting corporate brands on-board was key to increasing knowledge of “Wicked” around the globe, he said.

Though “Wicked: For Good” marks the conclusion to the two-film series, O’Connor was coy about what’s next for the franchise.

“Our focus remains on building experiences that will deepen that connection to ‘Wicked,’” he said. “And all I can say is, we are very committed to ‘Wicked,’ but it’s probably too early to share much more than that.”

Today we discuss Texas, overreaction and the voluminous field of candidates for California governor.

Is there anyone who is not running for governor?

I’m not. And neither are my two cats. At least they weren’t as of this morning, when we discussed the race before breakfast.

That leaves us somewhat short of the 135 candidates who ran in California’s 2003 recall gubernatorial election. But not by much.

I count nearly a dozen serious candidates, with possibly more to come. Why so many?

Opportunity.

This is the most wide-open race for California governor in decades. By comparison, you’d have to go back to at least 1998, when Lt. Gov. Gray Davis surged past a pair of moneybag candidates, Al Checchi and Rep. Jane Harman, in the Democratic primary, then stomped Republican Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren in November to win the general election.

Now, as then, there is no one who even remotely resembles a prohibitive front-runner.

Polling in the governor’s race has shown former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and Chad Bianco, Riverside County’s Republican sheriff, narrowly leading the field. But with support for both in the middling 13%-to-21% range, we’re not talking about a pair of world-beaters.

Like nature, political ambition abhors a vacuum.

Speaking of moneybags…

Tom Steyer!

Yes.

After making a bundle as a hedge fund manager, the San Francisco billionaire and environmental activist has been panting after public office for years. Running for president didn’t work out in 2020, even after Steyer spent more than $345 million on his effort. (That’s close to what the Dodgers spent on their 2025 payroll.)

So now Steyer is running for governor, a move he appeared to telegraph by airing nearly $13 million in self-promotional ads that, oh yes, supported passage of Proposition 50, the Democratic gerrymander initiative.

What are his chances?

Longtime readers of this column — both of you! — will know I make no predictions.

But California voters have never looked favorably upon rich candidates trying to make the leap from political civilian to the governorship or U.S. Senate. In fact, over the last 50-plus years, a gilded gallery of the well-to-do have tried and spectacularly failed.

Perhaps Steyer will display the policy chops or the razzle and dazzle they all lacked. But his launch video certainly didn’t shatter any molds. Rather, it presented a stereotypical grab bag of redwood trees, potshots at Sacramento, multicultural images of hard-working-everyday-folk, a promise to fight, a pledge to build more housing and, of course, a dash of profanity because, gosh darn it, nothing says “unbridled authenticity” like a political candidate swearing!

Maybe his fellow billionaire, Rick Caruso, will show more creativity and imagination if he gets into the governor’s race.

At least Democrats have been showing signs of life.

Indeed. Dare I say, the party’s mood swing from near-suicidal to euphoric has been quite something.

Winning gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia — not by a little, but a lot — and prevailing in down-ballot contests in Pennsylvania and Georgia had a remarkably transformative effect. (Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory in sky-blue New York City was no big surprise once the democratic socialist prevailed in the primary.)

Literally overnight, Democrats seized the momentum heading into the 2026 midterm election, while Republicans have begun scrambling to reposition their party and recraft its messaging.

All that being said, even before their buoyant off-year performance those widespread reports of Democrats’ demise were greatly … well, we’ll leave that Mark Twain chestnut alone. As analyst Charlie Cook points out, 2024 was a deeply disappointing year for the party. But it wasn’t a disaster.

Democrats gained two House seats. There was no net change in any of the 11 gubernatorial races and legislative contests across 44 states ended in something close to a wash. The party lost four Senate seats — and control of the chamber — but three of those losses came in the red states of Montana, Ohio and West Virginia.

“This is not to argue that Democrats had a great night in November 2024, but it certainly wasn’t a massacre or a party-wide repudiation,” Cook wrote in a recent posting. “If voters had intended to take it out on the party as a whole, the results would have looked quite different.”

Rather than a wholesale takedown of Democrats, the result seemed very much a rejection of President Biden and, by extension, his hasty replacement on the ballot, Vice President Kamala Harris.

What does that mean going forth?

If you’re asking whether Democrats will win control of the House or Senate…

Yes?!?

…I haven’t a clue.

Democrats need to gain three seats to take control of the House and both history and Trump’s sagging approval ratings — especially as pertains to the economy — augur well for their chances. The president’s party has lost House seats in 20 of the last 22 midterm elections and, according to Inside Elections, the fewest number of seats that flipped was four.

That’s why I thought Proposition 50, which sets out to all but decapitate California Republicans in Congress, was a bad and unnecessary move, effectively disenfranchising millions of non-Democratic voters.

An appeals court last week tossed out a Republican gerrymander in Texas, putting Democrats in an even stronger position, though the legal wrangling is far from over. The Supreme Court temporarily blocked the decision, pending review. And still to come is a high court ruling that could gut the Voting Rights Act and yield Republicans a dozen or more House seats nationwide.

So the fight for control is far from decided.

As for the Senate, Republicans stand a much better chance of keeping control, given how the seats contested in 2026 are located on largely favorable GOP terrain.

But until the votes are counted, nobody knows what will happen. That’s the thing about elections: they help keep wiseacres like me honest.

Russian officials claim that a prototype of the Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate fighter could be in flight testing by early next year. Development of the single-engine aircraft, which first broke cover four years ago, is otherwise said to be ongoing with a heavy emphasis on potential export sales. There also continues to at least be plans, which currently look to be aspirational, for further variations on the design, including an uncrewed derivative.

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) officially unveiled a Su-75, also known as the Light Tactical Aircraft (LTA), or LTS in Russian, at the 2021 Dubai Airshow. A full-scale mockup of the jet was shown at that event. Later that year, UAC said that work on an actual flying prototype was underway.

We’re “still working on development of this aircraft,” Sergey Chemezov, head of Russia’s state-run defense conglomerate Rostec, told TWZ and other outlets at this year’s Dubai Airshow on Tuesday, according to a translator. “We need some time to get the real prototype for the test flights.”

“Basically, we are almost at the stage of the testing flights, and in the near future, we will be launching it into production,” Chemezov added, again per the translator.

“I think this is the beginning of 2026,” Sergey Bogdan, Sukhoi’s chief test pilot, also said about the expected timeframe for the start of Su-75 flight testing in a separate interview with Russia’s state-run Channel One television station on Tuesday. “The aircraft is already on the shop floor, it is already being finalized, and there are already certain time plans. Therefore, with God’s help, it should take place soon enough.”

Specifications for the Su-75 that UAC has provided at this year’s Dubai Airshow say the design, at least in its present form, has a maximum takeoff weight of some 57,320 pounds (26,000 kilograms). The jet is said to be able to carry up to 16,314 pounds (7,400 kilograms) worth of air-to-air and/or air-to-ground munitions on an array of underwing hardpoints, as well as one inside three internal bays. UAC has stated the aircraft’s top speed to be between Mach 1.8 and Mach 2 with an engine in the 32,000 to 36,000-pound-thrust-class (14,500 to 16,500 kilogram-force). Size-wise, the design, as it was shown in 2021, is approximately 57 feet long and has a wingspan of 39 feet.

As TWZ has noted in the past, despite its LTA moniker, the Su-75 is really more of a middle-weight design. As a comparison, Lockheed Martin’s single-engine F-35A is 51 feet long and has a wingspan of 35 feet, and has a stated maximum takeoff weight in the “70,000 pound class.” As another reference point, Russia’s twin-engine Su-57 Felon, a heavyweight fighter design, measures 66 feet in length with a 46-foot wingspan, and has a stated maximum takeoff weight of 74,957 pounds.

Based on models and renderings that UAC has shown, the Su-75’s design has evolved since 2021. This includes the enlargement of the rear edges of both wings, with flaperons that now stretch all the way down both sides of the tail, and the extension of the wing roots at the nose end of the jet. The shaping of the wing tips, as well as parts of the nose and tail ends of the jet, has also changed. The cockpit canopy now has sawtooth edges at the front and back, as well.

There have also been changes observed to what is easily one of the Su-75’s most striking visual features, its highly angular air intake that wraps around the underside of the nose section. The mock-up that was unveiled in 2021 had a divider in the middle of the intake, which has since disappeared in renders and models of the design. The underside of the intake has also gotten flatter. It still has a diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) style of design, the benefits of which you can read about in more detail here. Lockheed pioneered DSI technology in the 1990s, with this becoming a key aspect of the F-35’s design. It has now appeared in various forms on a number of other crewed and uncrewed aircraft, especially ones developed in China.

Overall, like the Su-57, the Su-75’s design does look to have some low-observable characteristics, but appears to be mostly focused on reducing the radar signature from the frontal hemisphere, rather than any kind of all-aspect stealth. UAC claims that Checkmate will be effective in areas “protected by air defense systems” and “in a complex jamming environment” thanks to its sensor suite, including an active electronically scanned array radar and an infrared search and track (IRST) system, and other features.

As noted, since the Su-75 was first unveiled, UAC has talked about plans for an entire family of designs based on the single-seat LTA configuration. Models of a two-seat crewed version, as well as the aforementioned uncrewed derivative, have been shown over the years.

Evidence is growing that Russia’s Su-75 Checkmate may appear not only as a single-seater, but also an unmanned wingman and a two-seat version — the latter eyed by Middle Eastern buyers. Commercial models with “Iran” and “UAE” markings hint at export plans. https://t.co/YFNxsirvHL pic.twitter.com/nZgDwlzHpr

— Mohammad Hassan Sangtarash (@MHSangtarash) November 15, 2025

There is notably a more refined model of the uncrewed Checkmate design on display at this year’s Dubai Airshow. It shows an overall configuration in line with the revisions to the single-seat design.

The Checkmate drone model also notably features what looks to be an electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) underneath its fuselage that sits inside a windowed enclosure broadly akin to the ones seen on the U.S. F-35 and Chinese J-20, as well as other designs globally. There is what appears to be another electro-optical and/or infrared sensor system with a more fixed forward field of view on the underside of the fuselage, as well. A sensor aperture is also present on top of the nose. These latter two systems look to be part of a distributed aperture system (DAS) type arrangement that could also have a more capable IRST capability. Advanced combat drones have a particular need for an array of sensors around the aircraft to provide general situational awareness, especially if they are designed for more independent autonomous operations, as well as to help spot and track targets in the air and down below.

All of this being said, much about the Checkmate effort, especially plans for follow-on variations, crewed and uncrewed, currently look to be highly aspirational.

“Generally, it takes about 10 to 15 years to create the proper aircraft,” Rostec’s Chemezov said in Dubai on Tuesday about ongoing work on the Su-75, according to the translator. “You can have a baby born in nine months, but the aircraft will take a little longer than that.”

Chemezov’s remarks here are, broadly speaking, true. As a point of comparison, the first flight of a pre-production Su-57 prototype occurred in 2010 and it took another decade or so for serial production of that design to officially kick off. At the same time, this then points to UAC reaching a high level of maturity with the baseline Su-75 design, let alone putting it into large-scale production, sometime well into the next decade, at the earliest.

When it comes to the prospective first flight of the Su-75, it should be noted that, to date, there has been no imagery or other hard evidence of a real prototype under construction or any initial testing. This is in marked contrast to how images and other details highlighting progress on other advanced Russian aircraft developments, like the S-70 Okhotnik-B uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV), have emerged in the past.

The pressures of the ongoing war in Ukraine make it impossible not to question whether Russia is really willing to dedicate the resources necessary for a new fighter project. Though Rostec’s Chemezov was quick to downplay any concerns in Dubai earlier this week, there are also real questions about Russia’s current ability to produce combat aircraft, crewed or uncrewed, in general, after years of Western sanctions. The Russian defense industry chief also acknowledged the additional demands that conflict has placed on Russia’s defense industry to meet the immediate needs of the country’s armed forces. Deliveries of production Su-57s to the Russian Air Force have been notably sluggish, with the Russian Air Force having received around 18 of the jets between 2022 and 2024. The service has a standing order for 76 of those aircraft, and it is unclear when it might be fulfilled in full.

Earlier this year, authorities in Belarus, a very close Russian ally, announced that they were exploring a joint partnership on the continued development of the Su-75. This could help at least defray the costs of the Checkmate program.

Since 2021, UAC has also been very heavily pitching the Su-75 as a more advanced, but also lower-cost fighter option, especially for smaller air arms in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. In the ensuing years, there have been reports of interest from a host of countries, including India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Algeria, and Vietnam. To date, however, there have been no confirmed orders.

It is worth noting here that reports earlier said Algeria had become the first export customer for the larger Su-57. UAC also said just this week that it had delivered the first two export Su-57s to an unnamed foreign customer. No visual evidence of Su-57s entering service outside Russia on any level has yet to emerge.

Competition, in general, in the international fighter market only looks set to grow, as well. China has been making particularly pronounced inroads in this space globally, and export variants or derivatives of its J-35 stealth fighter could be on the horizon. The Su-75, which again has yet to even fly, faces additional challenges posed by the fact that any nation that buys Russian weapon systems runs real risks of triggering secondary sanctions, especially from the United States.

Altogether, it very much remains to be seen when a prototype Su-75 might take to the skies for the first time, as well as when, or if, any of the broader ambitions for the Checkmate program, including the drone derivative, become a reality.

Jamie Hunter contributed to this story.

Special thanks to Michael Jerdev, who you can follow on X under the handle @MuxelAero, for sharing additional imagery from the 2025 Dubai Airshow.

Contact the author: [email protected]

SACRAMENTO — On a recent day at Sacramento native Lecho Lopez’s comic shop in the city, his 5-year-old nephew read his first word aloud: “bad.” It was from a graphic novel.

There was irony in that being his first word, because Lopez credits comic books with many positive things in his life. That is why he supports repealing a city ordinance dating to 1949 that bars the distribution of many comic books to kids and teens. It is not enforced today.

“It’s a silly law,” said Lopez, who has a red-and-black tattoo of the Superman logo on his forearm, in an interview at his store, JLA Comics. “A lot of good things come out of comic books.”

A City Council committee unanimously voted last week to advance the repeal and designate the third week of September as “Sacramento Comic Book Week.” It now heads to the full council for a vote. The ban prohibits distributing comic books prominently featuring an account of crime that show images of illegal acts such as arson, murder or rape to anyone under 18.

In the mid-20th century, as comic books were on the rise, fears spread over their effect on children, with some arguing they could lead to illiteracy or inspire violent crime. The industry decided to regulate itself, and local governments — from Los Angeles County to Lafayette, La. — adopted bans to shield certain comics from young people. While some cities like Sacramento still have those laws on the books, they are rarely if ever enforced.

Now, proponents of repealing the Sacramento law say it is necessary to reflect the value of comics and help protect against a modern wave of book bans.

Local artist pushes for repeal

Comic book author Eben Burgoon, who started a petition to overturn Sacramento’s ban, said that comics “have this really valuable ability to speak truth to power.”

“These antiquated laws kind of set up this jeopardy where bad actors could work hard to make this medium imperiled,” he said at a hearing Tuesday held by the City Council’s Law and Legislation Committee.

Sacramento is a great place to devote a week to celebrating comics, Burgoon said. The city has a “wonderful” comic book community, he said, and hosts CrockerCon, a comics showcase at a local art museum, every year.

Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Assn., said “there is no good reason” to have a ban such as Sacramento’s on the books, saying it “flies in the face of modern 1st Amendment norms.”

The history behind comic book bans

The movement to censor comics decades ago was not an aberration in U.S. history, said Jeff Trexler, interim director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which fights to protect the free speech rights of people who read or make comics.

New York, for example, created a commission in the 1920s dedicated to reviewing films to determine whether they should be licensed for public viewing, based on whether they were “obscene” or “sacrilegious” and could “corrupt morals” or “incite crime,” according to the state archives.

“Every time there’s a new medium or a new way of distributing a medium, there is an outrage and an attempt to suppress it,” Trexler said.

The California Supreme Court ruled in 1959 that a Los Angeles County policy banning the sale of “crime” comic books to minors was unconstitutional because it was too broad. Sacramento’s ban probably doesn’t pass muster for the same reason, Trexler said.

There is not a lot of recent research on whether there is a link between comic books and violent behavior, said Christopher Ferguson, a professor of psychology at Stetson University in Florida. But, he said, similar research into television and video games has not shown a link to “clinically relevant changes in youth aggression or violent behavior.”

Comic-book lovers tout their benefits

Leafing through comics like EC Comics’ “Epitaphs from the Abyss” and DC’s and Marvel’s collaboration “Batman/Deadpool,” Lopez showed an Associated Press reporter images of characters smashing the windshield of a car, smacking someone across the face and attacking Batman using bows and arrows — the kinds of scenes that might be regulated if Sacramento’s ban were enforced.

But comics with plot lines that include violence can contain positive messages, said Benjamin Morse, a media studies lecturer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“Spider-Man is a very mature concept,” said Morse, who became an “X-Men” fan as a kid and worked at Marvel for 10 years. “It’s a kid who’s lost his parents, his uncle dies to violence, and he vows to basically be responsible.”

Lopez’s mother bought him his first comic book, “Ultimate Spider-Man #1,” when he was about 9 years old, he said. But it was “Kingdom Come,” a comic featuring DC’s Justice League, that changed his life at a young age, with its “hyperrealistic” art that looked like nothing he had ever seen before, he said.

He said his interest in comic books helped him avoid getting involved with gangs growing up. They also improved his reading skills as someone with dyslexia.

“The only thing that I was really able to read that helped me absorb the information was comic books, because you had a visual aid to help you explain what was going on in the book,” Lopez said.

And a comic book can offer so much more, Burgoon said at last week’s hearing.

“It makes imaginative thinkers,” he said. “It does not make widespread delinquency. It does not make societal harm.”

Austin writes for the Associated Press.

Another big game, another big stink.

Another loaded season, another lost season.

Four years after Lincoln Riley arrived at USC amid gaudy promises to return the football program to national prominence, well, two words.

Still waiting.

Needing a win at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium Saturday to have a chance at its first college football playoff berth, the Trojans once again fell short, fell deep and basically fell on their faces.

Still waiting.

In front of jubilant fans roaring like USC fans once roared, Oregon used an 85-yard punt return, a terrible Trojan penalty and awful Trojan play calls to roll to a 42-27 victory.

Still waiting.

With the win, the seventh-ranked Ducks almost certainly have earned a playoff spot.

With the loss, the 15th-ranked Trojans have definitely been eliminated for the fourth time in Riley’s four seasons while hanging an equally damning number on the embattled coach.

Under Riley’s leadership, the Trojans are 0-5 against top-10 teams.

Nearly as bad, in four years the Trojans have won just three road games against teams that finished the season with records better than .500. Before beating Nebraska earlier this year, Riley’s Trojans had not recorded a quality road win since his first season.

If USC beats UCLA next weekend as expected, the Trojans will finish with a 9-3 record and a nice vacation in some anonymous bowl game.

And that will not be enough. That cannot be enough.

One wonders how long the USC deep-pocketed people will endure such failed expectations, such fruitless autumns, such … mediocrity.

Heck, if UCLA can buy its way out of the Rose Bowl, one imagines that USC could buy its way out of a head football coach.

Just saying. Just saying, because at this point, there really isn’t anything more to say.

USC coach Lincoln Riley, center, walks on the sideline during a 42-27 loss to Oregon on Saturday.

(Lydia Ely / Associated Press)

USC began Saturday’s game with strength and style, forging a 14-all tie on the first play of the second quarter on a trick play that didn’t work against Notre Dame, receiver Makai Lemon throwing 24 yards to Tanook Hines to tie the game at 14-all.

If only the swaggering Trojans weren’t also so sloppy.

One possession later, a line-drive punt was returned 85 yards for a touchdown by Malik Benson to give Oregon a 21-14 lead.

Then at the end of the first half, everything fell apart for USC, just like everything always seems to fall apart in big games.

The breakdown began when USC seemed to regain momentum on a missed 44-yard field-goal attempt by the Ducks’ Atticus Sappington. But on the play, the Trojans’ Desman Stephens II leaped over the line for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Given new life, the Ducks quickly took advantage with a one-yard touchdown run by linebacker Bryce Boettcher to give the Ducks a 28-14 lead with 1:52 remaining in the half.

Then USC looked even worse on its ensuing drive when, on first and goal from the Oregon 8-yard line, Riley inexplicably called two running plays by Lemon that were both stuffed. The Trojans were eventually forced to attempt a field goal, but Ryon Sayeri bounced it off the right upright and the Trojans ended up with zilch.

At halftime, the 14-point Ducks lead seemed a lot larger and, it turns out, was insurmountable.

At the start of the second half, the Trojans held Oregon on fourth and one from around midfield, stole the Ducks’ next possession on an interception by Kennedy Urlacher, converted their own fourth down, and eventually scored on a four-yard pass from Jayden Maiava to Lemon to make it 28-21.

But then Oregon used several bruising runs to set up a 28-yard touchdown pass to Kenyon Sadiq to make it 35-21 late in the third quarter and that was that.

The Trojans made it a one-possession game again on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Lake McRee early in the fourth quarter, but Oregon drove down the field and scored on another bruising run by Noah Whittington to clinch it.

End of game. End of season.

Still waiting.

Canadian officials are investigating the death of actor Spencer Lofranco, who died Monday.

The British Columbia Coroners Service confirmed its investigation on Friday, days after the “Gotti” and “Unbroken” actor’s brother announced his death on social media. Lofranco died Tuesday at age 33.

“My brother. You lived a life only some could dream of. You changed people[‘s] lives, and now you are with God,” Santino Lofranco wrote in a Facebook statement shared Thursday morning. “I will always love you and miss you BEAR. RIP.”

The statement did not include a cause of death. A spokesperson for the British Columbia Coroners Service did not share additional details, pending the ongoing investigation.

Spencer Lofranco most notably shared the screen with John Travolta in the critically-panned John Gotti biopic “Gotti” and appeared in Angelina Jolie’s Oscar-nominated World War II-set drama “Unbroken.” His credits also include films “At Middleton,” “Jamesy Boy,” “Dixieland” and “King Cobra” and the 2015 short film “Home,” according to IMDb.

In his “Jamesy Boy” review for The Times, critic Martin Tsai wrote, “newcomer Lofranco deserves credit for carrying the film.” Starring as ex-convict-turned-filmmaker James Burns, Lofranco “holds his own against vets” Ving Rhames, Mary-Louise Parker and James Woods, Tsai added.

Lofranco, born Oct. 18, 1992, told Interview in 2014 that he became interested in acting at age 17 despite his father’s wishes for him to be a hockey player or lawyer. His mother was a dancer, musician and actor and would often take him along to auditions, he said.

Amid his brief acting career, Lofranco faced legal trouble for running over a cyclist with his SUV in Hollywood in 2013. The cyclist suffered severe injuries, including a broken hip and several fractures, according to CBS News. Officials said Lofranco got out of his vehicle after the accident to apologize to his victim before leaving the scene.

A judge, after his victim’s urging for a harsher sentence, sentenced Lofranco in 2015 to 50 days of community service, two years of probation and $161,000 in restitution.

Over the last year, Lofranco often posted to Instagram, sharing photos of his outfits, tattoos and graffiti art. In his final Instagram post, a black-and-white selfie, Lofranco seemingly wrote about starting a new chapter of his life.

“Period the best is yet to come,” he said, after encouraging fans to follow his OnlyFans account. “The hair is on it way it’s got held up customs. Crazy.”

When he spoke to Interview more than a decade ago, Lofranco said his future path included doing “real-life, candid films.”

“I don’t want to be thrown into anything that could jeopardize my career. I want to be wise about what I choose,” he said. “Actors whose choices I’ve liked are Sean Penn, Leonardo DiCaprio, River Phoenix.”

Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, is battling a rare form of leukemia and may have less than a year to live.

In an essay published Saturday in the New Yorker, the 35-year-old environmental journalist wrote her illness was discovered in May 2024 after she gave birth to her daughter. She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia with a rare mutation known as Inversion 3 and has undergone several treatments, including chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants.

Schlossberg is a daughter of former U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, the former president’s daughter, and Edwin Schlossberg. They live in New York.

In her essay, Schlossberg acknowledged that her terminal illness adds to a string of tragedies that has befallen the famous political family. Her grandfather was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Nearly five years later, his brother, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was fatally shot in Los Angeles after giving a victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel following his California presidential primary win. Her uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., died in 1999 when his small plane crashed.

“For my whole life, I have tried to be good, to be a good student and a good sister and a good daughter, and to protect my mother and never make her upset or angry,” Schlossberg wrote.

“Now I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family’s life, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

She wrote her diagnosis was stunning. She had just turned 34, didn’t feel sick and was physically active, including swimming a mile one day before she gave birth to her second child at Columbia-Presbyterian hospital in New York.

After the delivery, her doctor became alarmed by her high white blood cell count.

At first, medical professionals figured the test result might be tied to her pregnancy. However, doctors soon concluded she had myeloid leukemia, a condition mostly observed in older patients. She ended up spending weeks in the hospital.

“Every doctor I saw asked me if I had spent a lot of time at Ground Zero, given how common blood cancers are among first responders,” Schlossberg wrote. “I was in New York on 9/11, in the sixth grade, but I didn’t visit the site until years later.”

She has endured various treatments. Her older sister, Rose, was one of her bone marrow donors.

In the article, Schlossberg mentioned the Kennedy family’s dilemma over controversial positions taken by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., her mother’s cousin. Schlossberg wrote that while she was in the hospital in mid-2024, Kennedy suspended his long-shot campaign for president to throw his weight behind then-Republican candidate President Trump.

Trump went on to name Kennedy to his Cabinet as secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In one of his early moves, Trump demanded a cut in government money to Columbia University, which employs her husband, George Moran.

“Doctors and scientists at Columbia, including George, didn’t know if they would be able to continue their research, or even have jobs,” she wrote. “Suddenly, the health-care system on which I relied felt strained, shaky.”

On Saturday, her brother Jack Schlossberg, who recently announced his bid for Congress in a New York district, shared on Instagram a link to her New Yorker essay, “A Battle with My Blood.”

He added: “Life is short — let it rip.”

Former Clipper Rodney Rogers died Friday of natural causes linked to a spinal cord injury he sustained in a 2008 dirt bike accident. He was 54.

Wake Forest, which retired his No. 54, announced his death Saturday along with the National Basketball Players Assn., which released a statement on behalf of Rogers’ family.

Rogers was the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year in 1991 and player of the year in 1993. The burly 6-foot-7 forward with powerful athleticism earned the “Durham Bull” nickname during his prep career, then was drafted ninth overall in 1993. He played 12 years in the NBA, scoring nearly 9,500 points and being named league sixth man of the year in 2000.

Rogers had been paralyzed from the shoulders down since his accident in November 2008.

“The last 17 years have been both challenging and profoundly blessed,” the NBPA statement said. “Through every moment, Rodney remained a light — positive, motivated, and full of the quiet strength that inspired everyone around him.”

Rogers’ injury led to the establishment of a foundation bearing his name, with Rogers encouraging people with spinal cord injuries while promoting resilience and personal growth in the face of those challenges. Wake Forest honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022 along with an honorary degree.

Clippers forward Rodney Rogers has a few words for referee Leon Wood after getting called for a foul during a game in 1997.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

“Rodney is the strongest person I have ever met — physically and mentally — and his resilience was evident in the fight he showed every single day,” program great and former teammate Randolph Childress said in a statement. “I’ve said this before and I still mean it today: He was the best athlete ever to walk onto Wake Forest’s campus. He meant so much to so many people, and I feel profoundly blessed to have been with him yesterday.”

Rogers played three years at Wake Forest, averaging 21.2 points in 1992-93 as the Demon Deacons reached the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16, before entering the draft as a junior. He started his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets before being traded to the Clippers in 1995 along with the draft rights to Brent Barry for the draft rights to Antonio McDyess and Randy Woods. Rogers averaged 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in four seasons in L.A. before becoming a valuable reserve with the Phoenix Suns. He also played for the Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers.

“It’s easy to focus on his extraordinary talent, but what stood out to everyone who knew him was that he was every bit as remarkable as a human being,” said Dave Odom, Rogers’ coach at Wake Forest. “He loved his teammates, he loved his family, he loved Wake Forest and he loved the game of basketball. He loved playing for Wake Forest.

“Every time we visited him, I walked away reminding myself never to complain — because he never did. He faced life exactly as it came and made the very best of every moment. He was a joy to watch as a basketball player, but he was an even greater man. He shared his strength, his spirit and his life with everyone around him.”

According to the NBPA statement, Rogers is survived by wife, Faye; daughters Roddreka and Rydiah; sons Rodney II and Devonte; his mother, Estelle Spencer; and Eric Hipilito, embraced as a son by Rogers.

L.A. County voters are fuming.

Two out of three think the county is headed in the wrong direction. Four out of five feel its leaders are closely connected to “big money interests, lobbyists, and developers,” and the same fraction felt county supervisors were effective “only some of the time” — or not at all.

How to turn things around? Seven out of ten agreed the county government needed “major reform.”

Those are the top-line findings from a new survey on local governance published this week by the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.

The survey, paid for by the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, took the pulse of just over 1,000 registered voters and found most were feeling quite glum about the local state of affairs.

“Voters and residents are in a state of distrust and think that the government is not working,” said Fernando Guerra, the center’s director.

But the survey was meant to show more than just a dejected electorate, Guerra said. He argued it made another point: Now is not the time for opponents to try and undo Measure G, a controversial measure that overhauled the county’s form of government.

“There are some people that are trying to relitigate Measure G, and I’m talking at the level of political elite,” said Guerra, who supported the overhaul. “What these numbers are suggesting, and what I’m suggesting, is if it were to be put up for an election again, it would pass again.”

It’s been almost exactly a year since voters approved Measure G, bringing something akin to a wrecking ball to the county’s governance structure and promising to replace it with something unprecedented in California: namely, nine supervisors instead of five and an elected county executive rather than an appointed one.

The measure was always controversial, with criticism lobbed at the position of chief executive, who opponents said would now hold far too much power over a $45-billion budget and the well-being of the county’s 10 million residents.

The measure barely passed, with a little more than half of voters agreeing to give it a shot. But the ultimate bureaucratic flub is giving some opponents of the overhaul new ammo to bring it back to voters.

Due to an error with how the county handles charter updates, voters inadvertently gave a 2028 expiration date to a different ballot measure that allocates funding for anti-incarceration efforts — known as Measure J — when they approved Measure G. (The head-scratching error is a wonky one — readers curious as to how it came about can find out here.)

Months after the error came to light, the county has still not said how it plans to fix the mistake. There are a few options, including putting either of the measures back on the ballot.

The survey of voters was not an election poll, and respondents were not given opposing arguments. Most voters did not seem to know much about the impending county government overhaul and the survey did not ask about the bureaucratic screw-up, which could be seized upon in a campaign. About half didn’t remember how they voted.

It’s not clear who exactly is pushing so hard for G’s demise currently. While the overhaul had its vocal opponents — including two supervisors — the effort would be extremely expensive and some may not relish the idea of a campaign that may come with an acute sense of déjà vu.

Some on the government reform task force who opposed Measure G said they didn’t think it was in the cards — though those who opposed the measure said they didn’t think it was such a bad idea.

“I have not heard that,” said John Fasana, a task force member who first noticed the error and voted against both Measure G and J. “I think that’s what they should do: if they’re going to do one, I would say it should be G.”

Instead, the county appears to be leaning toward a ballot measure involving Measure J for 2026.

On Nov. 3, Dawyn Harrison, the county’s top lawyer, laid out the possible options for the board to “reverse the error and honor the will of the voters.” That memo included language for various ways to enshrine Measure J through a ballot measure and make sure it doesn’t go poof in a few years.

Brian Kaneda, who is part of the coalition that got Measure J passed, said the group believes the county has multiple options to fix the blunder. But putting Measure J back on the ballot, they warn, should be the last thing the county considers.

“If evidence surfaces that a new ballot measure is legally required, we’re ready,” said Kaneda. “But we believe the county should rectify this internally, honoring the will of 2.1 million voters.”

State of play

— RUFF WEEK: One of the opponents of L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia accused the controller of misusing city resources by using images of his corgis and other graphics for both his office and his campaign. A campaign spokesperson suggested the opponent was “jealous of our cute corgi graphics.”

— BIN BONANZA: Los Angeles has left dozens of green bins on city blocks, so residents can dump their food waste and comply with a state composting law. Some residents say it’s overkill.

— ‘SMEAR’ STANCE: Newly appointed Fire Chief Jaime Moore says the media is trying to “smear” firefighters. The accusations appear to be in reference to a Times report that a battalion chief ordered firefighters to leave the burn area of the Jan. 1 Lachman fire, which would reignite into the deadly Palisades fire.

— FIRE FUND: The city’s firefighter union plans to propose a ballot measure that would increase the sales tax for Angelenos by half a cent in perpetuity, raising hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually for the department to build dozens of new stations, add rigs and increase the size of the department by more than 1,000 by 2050. “This is the most important thing for the LAFD really ever,” said Doug Coates, the acting president of UFLAC.

— FRAUD PROBE: Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said his office will investigate claims that plaintiffs made up stories of sexual abuse in order to sue L.A. County. The announcement follows Times investigations that found nine people who said they were paid by recruiters to join the litigation.

— RESERVOIR QUESTIONS: State officials determined that even if the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been full during the Palisades fire, the water system still would have been overwhelmed and quickly lost pressure. Officials concluded the water supply in Southern California was “robust” at the time of the fire and that the water system isn’t designed to handle such large, intense wildfires.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to address homelessness went to Beverly Boulevard and Mountain View Avenue in Historic Filipinotown, an area represented by Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez. Outreach teams also returned to previous Inside Safe locations in Echo Park, Van Nuys, Mar Vista, Little Armenia, Sun Valley, Woodland Hills and the Figueroa Corridor, according to Bass’ team.
• On the docket next week: The county supes will consider deferring permit fees for some homeowners who are rebuilding single-family homes in areas of Malibu after the Palisades Fire.

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to [email protected]. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

Coach Matt Logan stood on the sideline with nine seconds left and his Corona Centennial team leading Mater Dei 28-27. He had called a timeout trying to ice Mater Dei kicker Jerry Shifman, who would be attempting a 46-yard field goal to decide the Southern Section Division 1 semifinal playoff game Friday night in Corona.

“I was just hoping he would miss,” Logan said.

Centennial defensive lineman Miles Schirmer broke through to block the field-goal attempt and send Centennial to face Santa Margarita in next Friday’s championship game at the Rose Bowl.

“It was unreal emotion and I’m so happy for these kids,” Logan said. “They play their butts off.”

Said Schirmer: “I reached up and it hit my forearm. I just pulled all my strength on a bull rush and jumped as high as I could.”

After Centennial quarterback Dominick Catalano took a knee to run out the clock, the sold-out crowd went wild with noise and excitement as Centennial players celebrated on the field.

“We got it done,” Logan said.

It was 10 years ago that Catalano’s brother, Anthony, now the team’s offensive coordinator, led Centennial to a Division 1 championship. Now little brother will have his moment in the spotlight after a courageous performance that saw him endure a powerful Mater Dei pass rush to throw for 290 yards and run for two touchdowns.

It was his 24-yard touchdown pass to Keawe Browne with 1:35 left that provided the winning score.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Catalano said.

Keawe Browne of Corona Centennial makes game-winning 24-yard touchdown catch to take down Mater Dei.

(Craig Weston)

Said Browne: “I saw the ball go up and I had to get it.”

There were so many big plays for Centennial (11-1), none more than a group sack before the field-goal attempt that pushed Mater Dei from the 17-yard-line to the 29.

Jonathan McKinley, who’s brother Javon also played on Centennial’s last championship team 10 years ago, was part of five players that surrounded and took down Mater Dei quarterback Ryan Hopkins.

“Oh my gosh, it feels amazing,” McKinley said.

Browne and receiver Ty Plinski kept making catch after catch. Plinski’s one-handed catch, something he has become known for, was another instant classic.

“He’s unreal,” Logan said of Plinski, who had four catches for 98 yards.

Mater Dei opened a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. Hopkins was six-for-six passing for 57 yards. But Centennial took a 14-10 halftime lead. Four-yard touchdown runs by Malaki Davis and Catalano gave the Huskies momentum.

In the third quarter, Mater Dei (8-3) regained the lead 16-14 on a 43-yard touchdown catch by Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Back came the Huskies and Catalano, who had a two-yard touchdown run for a 21-16 lead. Mater Dei settled for a 23-yard field goal by Shifman, then took a 27-21 lead when Shaun Scott recovered a fumble, returned it to the seven and Chris Henry Jr. caught a seven-yard touchdown pass.

Centennial made adjustments. It was expected to try to run the ball, but with Mater Dei’s secondary missing several players because of injuries, Logan turned to his passing attack. And when the Huskies needed to run the ball on their final drive, Zander Lewis came through with two important runs.

The time loop has been broken. Eight years of ending the high school football season in Southern California with either Mater Dei or St. John Bosco as the No. 1 team is over. No more Groundhog Day. Welcome to a fresh start.

It was the second time this season that Centennial had beaten Mater Dei. Centennial taking on Santa Margarita should be a crowd-pleasing final. Carson Palmer, the first-year coach of Santa Margarita, taking on Logan, who passed the 300-win mark this season. Santa Margarita’s defense has been extraordinary. Santa Margarita beat Centennial earlier this season 33-27 in overtime in a game Logan missed because of a heath scare.

“I’ll be there this time,” said Logan, who was eating healthy watermelons before the game but wearing his usual short pants during the game on a night to remember.

Before he took the reins at USC, Lincoln Riley had a reputation as something of a road warrior. It wasn’t until his third season at Oklahoma that Riley’s team had lost a true road game with him as head coach. During five years with the Sooners, he won 17 of 21 on the road.

But four years into his tenure as the Trojans’ coach, Riley’s once-sterling road reputation feels like a relic of a past life. Until USC won at Nebraska earlier this month, Riley hadn’t beaten a team on the road that finished better than .500 since November 2022, when his Trojans toppled UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Otherwise, outside of L.A., USC’s only road victory against a quality team under Riley came against Oregon State … in his fourth game leading the Trojans.

Never have the stakes been so high for Riley than they are this week, as No. 15 USC heads to No. 8 Oregon with its College Football Playoff hopes hinging on a huge road victory. Still, it’s hard to ignore how starkly different Riley’s Trojans have looked when challenged away from home.

USC has been the best offense in college football when inside the Coliseum. But in four road games, USC is averaging 18 fewer points and two fewer yards per attempt on offense. Its red zone touchdown rate plummets 25%, while its third-down conversion rate drops 16% on the road. Simply put, by any measure, Riley’s offense has been much worse away from home this season.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava throws a pass during a win over Iowa on Nov. 15 at the Coliseum.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

That disparity starts at quarterback. At home, Jayden Maiava has been one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football this season. The junior has completed 74% of his passes at home and averaged 10.7 yards per attempt at the Coliseum, both of which rank top 10 in the nation. He’s accounted for 18 total touchdowns to just two turnovers at home, while his quarterback rating puts him in the rarefied air of Heisman contenders such as Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin.

That version of Maiava, however, has yet to take his show on the road. In five true road games as the Trojans’ starting quarterback, Maiava has completed fewer than 57% of his passes. His average yards per attempt tumbles nearly three yards. He’s committed more turnovers and been sacked more often.

USC can’t afford for that to be the case Saturday, if it hopes to hold onto its Playoff hopes. But while recent history might be against his Trojans, Riley reminded this week that he’s not new to contending like this late in November.

“This is what I’m used to, man,” RIley said. “It’s good to be right there again, no question.

”… This is the time of year that I enjoy most.”

Here’s what to watch as USC clashes with Oregon on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PST (CBS, Paramount+):

Los Angeles County prosecutors moved to drop manslaughter charges Friday against two Torrance police officers who shot and killed a Black man in 2018, attempting to end a seven-year saga that saw the case rejected and then reexamined by three different district attorneys.

Matthew Concannon and Anthony Chavez were indicted in 2023 for the shooting death of Christopher Deandre Mitchell, a 23-year-old car theft suspect who was in possession of an air rifle at the time he was killed.

Michael Gennaco, a special prosecutor hired earlier this year by Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman to review the case, filed a motion to dismiss charges late Thursday, saying he did not believe prosecutors could prove voluntary manslaughter at trial. Attorneys for the officers filed a joint motion in agreement, they said in court Friday.

But in a surprising move, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta declined to rule on the motion Friday, because the case is currently under the jurisdiction of the California Supreme Court. Concannon’s attorneys had previously filed a writ of habeas corpus after Ohta rejected a motion to dismiss the charges.

“I am not going to rule on this because it would be inappropriate for me to do that at this point. The Supreme Court has to tell us its decision,” Ohta said.

One of Concannon’s attorneys, Matthew Murphy, said he felt Ohta was punishing the defendants for exercising their right to challenge Ohta’s prior ruling. Ohta slapped that argument down, pointing out it was the defense team who put the case before the California Supreme Court.

Ohta signaled he wouldn’t decide the motion until the case was withdrawn from the Supreme Court, and even then, he would need time to review the filings.

Ohta said he was “surprised” that the motion was filed at 3 p.m. on Thursday, giving him little time to digest it ahead of Friday’s 8:30 a.m. appearance.

“It’s going to be a lot of work. I’m not just going to orally say yes go ahead and dismiss the case, case dismissed,” the judge said.

Murphy said he would move to withdraw the habeas filing.

Chavez and Concannon were among those investigated in 2021 when the district attorney’s office uncovered a thread of racist text messages sent by members of the Torrance Police Department. The Times has never seen evidence that either of the two officers sent racist messages, but the scandal infuriated community activists, who have long called for them to face justice for killing Mitchell.

Jeff Lewis, a civil attorney for Concannon, said his client “never sent or replied to any racist messages.”

The shooting incident occurred when officers approached Mitchell while he was seated in the car in a Ralph’s parking lot. They said they spotted what was later revealed to be a “break barrel air rifle” between his legs.

Concannon told authorities he saw Mitchell reaching for what he believed to be a real firearm and opened fire, according to the district attorney’s office. Chavez fired two rounds immediately after. The two officers then retreated and waited for backup.

Nearly 30 minutes elapsed before anyone checked on Mitchell, who was then pronounced dead of gunshot wounds, according to court records.

Concannon and Chavez were initially cleared of all wrongdoing by then-Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey. But when George Gascón swept into office on a police accountability platform and ousted Lacey in 2020, he hired a special prosecutor to reexamine several cases Lacey declined to prosecute, including Mitchell’s death.

But Lawrence Middleton, the special prosecutor brought on by Gascón, did not obtain an indictment in the case until 2023, more than two years after he had been hired to reconsider charges in shootings by police.

The statute of limitations for involuntary manslaughter, an easier case to prove than the voluntary manslaughter charges that Middleton brought, expired in late 2021. Concerns about the timeline Middleton would face to pursue the cases Gascón targeted were raised almost immediately after he joined the D.A.’s office.

Middleton appeared in the courtroom Friday morning and sat beside Mitchell’s mother and a number of activists who have long monitored the trial. All declined to comment.

Middleton previously argued the officers “created the jeopardy that led to the shooting,” by needlessly confronting Mitchell when he was not a threat and had no means of escaping arrest as the car was parked facing a wall, according to grand jury transcripts. But Ohta disallowed that evidence after a hearing in late 2023. The shooting happened in 2018, two years before a change in California law modified the threshold by which fatal uses of force are judged.

Hochman fired Middleton shortly after ousting Gascón in the 2024 election cycle, a move which drew praise from one of Concannon’s attorneys at the time. Gennaco was hired a short time later. He also declined to comment on Ohta’s refusal to rule on the dismissal motion.

In an interview, Hochman said that while he did not believe the officers were “innocent” he also did not think prosecutors could meet the legal bar needed to prove voluntary manslaughter. He said Gascón and Middleton bungled the case.

Hochman questioned Middleton’s attempt to argue that the officers executed the arrest of Mitchell so poorly that they caused the situation that required the use of deadly force.

That evidence of so-called “officer-created jeopardy” was deemed inadmissible by Ohta last year.

The evidence might have been admissible under a change in California law passed in 2020, which lowered the standard for charging officers in fatal use-of-force cases, but it did not apply retroactively, Hochman said.

“These are difficult cases. The fact that they’re difficult doesn’t mean we won’t bring them when they are appropriate,” Hochman said. “I’d say we probably spent hundreds of hours on the 12 seconds that were involved in the case.”

Hochman would not say directly if he believed the officers should have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

“What we’re saying is this would have been a potential charge for the grand jury to consider. I can’t tell you how the grand jury would have come out on it,” he said. “It certainly would have been something that was up for consideration.”

Chavez is no longer employed by the Torrance Police Department. Concannon remains on administrative leave. An agency spokesman declined to comment.

In the 2021 scandal, The Times uncovered messages that were replete with racial slurs and descriptions of violence against Black men and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

In one string of messages, officers used the N-word to describe Mitchell’s relatives and joked about what would happen after Concannon and Chavez’s names were made public.

“Gun cleaning Party at my house when they release my name??” one officer asked, according to a summary of the text messages made public in a 2022 court filing, which redacted the names of the officers sending the messages.

“Yes absolutely let’s all just post in your yard with lawn chairs in a [firing] squad,” another replied.

Lewis said in a letter to The Times that Concannon was “never a part of any text thread where an N-word was used to describe Mitchell’s family.”

Concannon and Chavez are the last officers connected to the scandal with pending cases.

Cody Weldin and Christopher Tomsic — whose criminal case led to the exposure of the scandal — struck a plea deal earlier this year to vandalism charges for spray painting a swastika on a car towed from a crime scene.

David Chandler, another officer investigated as part of the scandal, pleaded no contest earlier this month to assault charges for shooting a Black suspect in the back. Chandler will eventually see his case dismissed under the terms of the agreement.

All three officers had to give up their rights to be peace officers in California under the terms of their plea deals.

The Torrance Police Department and the California Attorney General’s office entered into an “enforceable” agreement to reform earlier this year.

Six years ago, when San Jose author Katie Keridan joined Disney+, the cost was just $6.99 a month, giving her family access to hundreds of movies like “The Lion King” and thousands of TV episodes, including Star Wars series “The Mandalorian” with no commercials.

But since then, the price of an ad-free streaming plan has ballooned to $18.99 a month. That was the last straw for 42-year-old Keridan, whose husband canceled Disney+ last month.

“It was getting to where every year, it was going up, and in this economy, every dollar matters, and so we really had to sit down and take a hard look at how many streaming services are we paying for,” Keridan said. “What’s the return on enjoyment that we’re getting as a family from the streaming services? And how do we factor that into a budget to make sure that all of our bills are paid at the end of a month?”

It’s a conversation more people who subscribe to streaming services are having amid an uncertain economy.

Once sold at discounted rates, many platforms have raised prices at a clip consumers say frustrates them. The entertainment companies, under pressure from investors to bolster profits, have justified upping the cost of their plans to help pay for the premium content they provide. But some viewers aren’t buying it.

Customers are paying $22 more for subscription video streaming services than they were a year ago, according to consulting firm Deloitte. As of October, U.S. households on average shelled out $70 a month, compared to $48 a year ago, Deloitte said.

About 70% of consumers surveyed last month said they were frustrated the entertainment services that they subscribe to are raising prices and about a third said they have cut back on subscriptions in the last three months due to financial concerns, according to Deloitte.

“There’s a frustration, just in terms of both apathy, but also from a perspective that they just don’t think it’s worth the monthly subscription cost because of just fatigue,” said Rohith Nandagiri, managing director at Deloitte Consulting LLP.

Disney+ has raised prices on its streaming service nearly every year since it launched in 2019 at $6.99 a month. The company bumped prices on ad-free plans by $1 in 2021, followed by $3 increases in 2022 and 2023, a $2 price raise in 2024 and, most recently, a $3 increase this year to $18.99 a month.

Disney isn’t the only streamer to raise prices. Other companies, including Netflix, HBO Max and Apple TV also hiked prices on many of their subscription plans this year.

Some analysts say streamers are charging more because many services are adding live sports, the rights to which can cost millions of dollars. Streaming services for years have also given consumers access to big budget TV shows and original movies, and as production costs rise, they expect viewers to pay more, too.

But some consumers like Keridan have a different perspective. As much as some streaming platforms are adding new content like live sports, they are also choosing not to renew some big budget shows like “Star Wars: The Acolyte.” Keridan, a Marvel and Star Wars fan, said she mainly watched Disney+ for movies such as “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and shows like “The Mandalorian.” Now she’s going back to watching some programs ad-free on Blu-Ray discs.

While Keridan cut Disney+, her family still subscribes to YouTube Premium and Paramount+. She said she uses YouTube Premium for workout videos instead of paying for a gym membership. Her family enjoys watching Star Trek programs on Paramount+, like the third season of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” Keridan said.

Other consumers are choosing to keep their streaming subscriptions but look for cost savings through cheaper plans with ads, or by bundling services.

“Consumers are more willing today than ever to withstand advertising and for the sake of being able to get content for a lower subscription rate,” said Brent Magid, CEO and president of Minneapolis-based media consulting firm Magid. “We’ve seen that number increase just as people’s budgets have gotten tighter.”

Keridan said she’s already cutting other types of spending in her household in addition to quitting Disney+. The amount of money her family spends on groceries has gone up, and in order to save cash, they’ve cut back on traveling for the year. Typically, Keridan says, they would go on two or three vacations annually, but this year, they will only go to Disneyland in Anaheim.

But even the Happiest Place on Earth hasn’t escaped price hikes.

“Just as the streaming fees have risen, park fees have risen,” Keridan said. “And so it just seems every price of anything is rising these days, and they’re now directly in competition with each other. We can’t keep them all, so we have to make hard cuts.”

The final film of the late Glenda Jackson and, if he remains true to his word, of Michael Caine, “The Great Escaper” has made its way to America two years after its U.K. release. Premiering Sunday under the umbrella of the PBS series “Masterpiece Theatre,” the film tells the true-life story of Bernie Jordan, who, at 89, set off unaccompanied and unannounced from an English retirement home to attend celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. (This event also inspired a Pierce Brosnan film, “The Last Rifleman,” which came out about the same time.) Love and time and duty are its themes. Written by William Ivory and directed by Oliver Parker, it’s a simple story, simply told — sweet, but not saccharine, and moving even when you know what’s coming.

Bernie (Caine) lives with his wife, Rene (Jackson), in a care home by the sea in the town of Hove. She needs more medical attention than he, but both have their wits about them. Having missed securing a spot among the groups traveling to Normandy, Bernie, a Royal Navy veteran, with Rene’s encouragement, decides to go it alone. Though he uses a walker and can seem tired or abstracted at times — he has much on his mind, and a specific mission to fulfill — the trip itself is not especially hard on him. It becomes all the easier once he meets, on the ferry across the English Channel, Arthur Howard-Johnson (John Standing, very fine), an RAF veteran who offers him a place with his group and a bed in his hotel room. As the film goes on, he becomes more and more focused, growing alert and lively and taking charge of Arthur, who had earlier taken charge of him. Each, it will transpire, carries a burden of guilt dating from the invasion.

Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson in “The Great Escaper.”

(Rob Youngson / Masterpiece, Pathé, BBC Films)

Back in Hove, the staff, represented by aide Adele (Danielle Vitalis) and manager Judith (Jackie Clune), is not immediately aware of Bernie’s absence — he’s allowed to come and go — and Rene, who has a tendency to fence with them anyway, is keeping quiet in order to give him time to get away. When they learn he’s missing, a search begins; eventually, Rene lets the truth slip, the exploit hits the press and Bernie, unaware of any of this, is given the nickname “The Great Escaper.” He’ll return home an annoyed celebrity.

Flashbacks, with Will Fletcher as young Bernie and Laura Marcus as young Rene, recall the couple’s wartime meeting and Bernie’s interactions with a young soldier on D-Day. Integrated as memories, they enrich the present action without overexplaining it.

Jackson and Caine, you may know or should learn, were icons of British thespian glamour in the 1960s and ’70s, she in “Marat/Sade,” “Women in Love” and “Elizabeth R,” he in “Alfie” and the Harry Palmer films (“The Ipcress File,” et al.); in 1975, they starred together in Joseph Losey’s “The Romantic Englishwoman,” co-written by Tom Stoppard. Always politically active, Jackson took off 23 years from acting, from 1992 to 2015, to serve as a member of Parliament, and returned to play “King Lear” in London and on Broadway and win a Tony for a revival of Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women.” Caine, notwithstanding some slow times, made movies all along, all sorts of them, playing Scrooge in “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” Mike Myers’ father in “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and Alfred in the Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy and parts in five other Nolan films. Watching “The Great Escaper,” you’re seeing history.

Neither has lost a step. (I find it pleasant to remember that, however frail or confused an older character may be, the person playing them is doing a job that requires strength and thought.) Given both the eminence of the actors and their age — Caine was 90 when “The Great Escaper” premiered, while Jackson, 87, died shortly before — it’s hard not to watch with a double consciousness of the players and the parts. But rather than a distraction, it redoubles the impact. Jackson and Caine wear their years proudly; there’s no vanity in their performance or their appearance. The couple’s eventual reunion is deep and real and, like their whole relationship, gorgeously ordinary.

WE’RE not even in December yet and the streaming platforms are churning out Hallmark movies quicker than you can watch them – but why not step into one instead at a year-round Christmas hotel?

Located in Pigeon Forge in Tennessee, America, you will find a unique Christmas themed hotel located in the scenic setting of the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.

Despite being in America, The Inn at Christmas Place hotel features Bavarian architecture with pretty gardens.

The hotel features a number of different room types including double queen rooms, king mini suites, two room suites and even a ‘Santa Suite’.

Each room comes equipped with free Wi-Fi, a TV, DVD players, microwaves and a mini-fridge.

In the mini suites there are even full-sized Christmas trees and an in-room whirlpool tub and fireplace.

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The two room suites then have two full-sized decorated Christmas trees, a kitchen with all the appliances you need to cook up a meal and a sofa bed.

Guests all get a complimentary hot breakfast and a visit with Santa – who plays the guitar and sings Christmas carols.

Breakfast includes made-to-order omelets, scrambled eggs, bagels, toast, pastries, yoghurt and fresh fruit.

As for things to do at the hotel, there is a heated indoor pool and hot tub and then a seasonal outdoor Winter Wonder Lagoon, with a Lazy Reindeer River, Sleigh Ride Slide and Gumdrop Grotto.

There are even Candy Cane Cascades, which are giant candy canes that shower down at the entry of the pool.

For those wanting to keep up with their gym sessions, there is a fitness room as well.

Coffee lovers can grab a cup from the lobby and in typical festive style, guests can have cookies at bedtime too.

Rooms cost from around £200 per night and sleep up to four people.

One recent visitor said: “The Inn at Christmas Place is our very favourite hotel.

“The hotel is beautifully decorated. I always go from floor to floor and take pics of the Christmas decorations and the lobby is breathtaking.”

Another added: “One of our highlights were the 8pm sing along with Santa & Tinsle the elf and even ran into Mrs. Claus at breakfast.

“The room was so festive and warm, the entire experience was amazing and one to always remember.”

The city of Pigeon Forge is home to a number of attractions including Dollywood – an amusement park with a number of rides and shows.

There is also The Island, which is a large entertainment complex with shopping, restaurants and attractions.

Make sure to also head to the Titanic Museum, located in a giant replica of the Titanic itself.

And to take in the surrounding area, head into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which has a number of hiking trails, whitewater rafting and scenic drives.

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For other festive travel inspiration, the prettiest Christmas markets in Britain – with hotel stays from £37.

Plus, these are the best affordable Christmas days out and festive fun events across the UK – either free or under £10.