year

On Monday, Louisiana State fired football coach Brian Kelly.

On Wednesday, the state governor Jeff Landry said the university’s athletic director, Scott Woodward, should have no say in the selection of the new coach.

On Thursday, Woodward and LSU “agreed to part ways,” according to the school’s athletic department.

And on Friday, the interim athletic director attempted to assure everyone that, despite all that has transpired in this week, the department is not in disarray.

“This place is not broken,” Verge Ausberry said during a news conference at which he sat between two members of the LSU Board of Supervisors at the front of a meeting room inside Tiger Stadium. “The athletic department is not broken. We win.”

Ausberry has been given “full authority” to run the athletic department and lead the search for a new football coach, board member John Carmouche told reporters.

“We’re going to hire the best football coach there is,” said Ausberry, a former Tigers football player who has worked in LSU athletics administration since 1991. “That’s our job. We are not going to let this program fail. LSU has to be in the playoffs every year in football.”

Woodward, a Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate, had served as the university’s athletic director since April 2019. During that span, the Tigers won two national titles in baseball and one each in football, women’s basketball and gymnastics.

One major move made during Woodward’s tenure was the 2021 firing of football coach Ed Orgeron, who had led the Tigers to the national championship following the 2019 season, and subsequent signing Kelly, the former Notre Dame coach, to a guaranteed 10-year contract worth about $100 million.

This week, days after LSU suffered its third loss in four games, Kelly was fired with more than six years remaining on his contract. Running backs coach Frank Wilson was named interim head coach.

“When Coach Kelly arrived at LSU four years ago, we had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge,” Woodward said in announcing Kelly’s firing. “Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize.”

The move leaves the university on the hook for a substantial buyout. Louisiana’s governor said Wednesday he was involved in the discussions that led to Kelly’s ouster but made clear that he was unhappy with the finances of the situation.

“My role is about the fiscal effect of firing a coach under a terrible contract,” said Landry, who was speaking to reporters about other matters but was asked about recent developments at LSU. “All I care about is what the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for.”

Unnamed private donors are said to have pledged to cover the cost of Kelly’s buyout.

“If big billionaires want to spend all that kind of money, no problem,” Landry said. “But if I’ve got to go find $53 million … it’s not going to be a pleasant conversation.”

Landry also made it clear that he had no intention of allowing Woodward to play a role in the hiring of the next coach.

“Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select him before I let [Woodward] do it,” the Republican governor said.

The next night, Woodward was out.

“We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director,” LSU Board of Supervisors chair Scott Ballard said in a statement. “He had a lot of success at LSU, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and best positioning LSU to achieve its full potential.”

The news of Woodward’s departure dropped during a women’s basketball exhibition game between LSU and Langston. Tigers coach Kim Mulkey, who was hired by Woodward in 2021, did not attend a postgame news conference, with associate head coach Bob Starkey telling reporters Mulkey was “heartbroken” over the news.

Woodward wrote in an open letter to Tiger Nation: “Others can recap or opine on my tenure and on my decisions over the last six years as Director of Athletics, but I will not. Rather, I will focus on the absolute joy that LSU Athletics brings to our state’s residents and to the Baton Rouge community. …

“Our University will always hold a special place in my heart and I will never be too far from LSU.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

TORONTO — As soon as Blake Treinen entered for the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night, Clayton Kershaw dropped his guard and began to look around.

For the previous three hours, the future Hall of Fame pitcher had been locked in on the game, mentally preparing for a potential relief appearance from out in the bullpen.

But when that didn’t come, the 37-year-old Kershaw then let himself relax, took in the scene of an October night at Chavez Ravine, and soaked up the final moments of what was his final game ever at Dodger Stadium.

“It’s a weird thought, of like, ‘This is your last game ever there,’” said Kershaw, who announced last month he will retire at the end of this season. “And not a sad thought. Honestly, just a grateful thought. Just like, ‘Man, we spent a lot of great times here.’”

Win or lose in Games 6 and 7 of this World Series, Kershaw’s overall career will end this weekend at Rogers Centre in Toronto. But on Wednesday night, he closed the book on the ballpark he has called home for all 18 seasons of his illustrious MLB career.

Dodger Stadium is where Kershaw first made his big-league debut back in May 2008, as a highly anticipated left-handed prospect with a big curveball and quiet demeanor. It was the stage for his rise to stardom over the nearly two decades that followed, as he went on to capture three Cy Young Awards, 2014 National League MVP honors and a career 2.53 ERA that ranks as the best among pitchers with 1,000 innings in the live ball era.

It is where he experienced some of the most defining moments of his career, including a no-hitter in 2014 and his 3,000th strikeout earlier this year. It’s also where he suffered repeated October disappointments, none bigger than the back-to-back home runs he gave up in Game 5 of the 2019 National League Division Series.

In other words, it was always home for Kershaw, the place he would return to day after day, year after year, season after season — no matter the highs or lows, aches and pains, successes or failures.

“I just started thinking about it when the game ended,” said Kershaw, who elected to traverse the field to get back to the clubhouse after Wednesday’s game instead of the connected bullpen tunnel. “I was like, ‘Man, I might as well walk across this thing one more time.’”

About an hour later, Kershaw would linger on the field a little longer, joined for an impromptu gathering by his wife, Ellen; their four children; and other family and friends in attendance for his last home game.

“Ellen just texted after and was like, ‘Hey, we got a big crew,’” Kershaw said. “So I was, ‘Well, just go to the field. I’ll try to shower fast so we can hang out.’”

Television cameras caught Kershaw laughing as his kids ran the bases, tried to throw baseballs at a hovering drone and enjoyed a diamond that had become their own personal childhood playground over the years.

At one point, Kershaw posed with the Dodger Stadium grounds crew for a picture — standing on a mound they had manicured for all of his 228 career starts in the stadium.

“Honestly, it was awesome,” Kershaw said. “It was the perfect way to do it. Just have everybody out there, running around … It was unplanned, unprompted, but a great memory.”

Kershaw, of course, is hoping to add one more Dodger Stadium memory next week. If the team can reverse its three-games-to-two deficit in the World Series this weekend in Toronto, it would return to Chavez Ravine for a championship celebration.

If not, though, he’ll have a couple parting moments to cherish, from Wednesday’s postgame scene down on the field, to his final career Dodger Stadium outing back in Game 4 in which he stranded the bases loaded in the 12th for one of the biggest outs in his entire career.

“I’m super grateful with how that went, as opposed to the last time before that,” he quipped, having given up five runs in his only other Dodger Stadium appearance this postseason. “You can’t plan any of that stuff. Who knows if it ever works out. But yeah, to get that one last out was pretty cool.”

So, too, was his one last night Wednesday.

Californians renewing their public health plans or who plan to sign up for the first time will be in for sticker shock when open enrollment begins on Saturday. Monthly premiums for federally subsidized plans available on the Covered California exchange — often referred to as Obamacare — will soar by 97% on average for 2026.

The skyrocketing premiums come as a result of a conflict at the center of the current federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1: a budgetary impasse between the Republican majority and Democrats over whether to preserve enhanced, Biden-era tax credits that expanded healthcare eligibility to millions more Americans and kept monthly insurance costs affordable for existing policyholders. About 1.7 million of the 1.9 million Californians currently on a Covered California plan benefit from the tax credits.

Open enrollment for the coming year runs from Nov. 1 until Jan. 31. It’s traditionally the period when members compare options and make changes to existing plans and when new members opt in.

Only this time, the government shutdown has stirred uncertainty about the fate of the subsidies, first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and which have been keeping policy costs low, but will expire at the end of the year if lawmakers in Washington don’t act to extend them.

Californians window shopping on the exchange’s consumer homepage will have to make some tough decisions, said Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman. The loss of the tax credits to subsidize premiums only adds to what can already be a complicated, time-consuming and frustrating process.

Even if the subsidies remained intact, premiums for plans offered by Covered California were set to rise by roughly 10% for 2026, due to spikes in drug prices and other medical services, Altman said.

Without the subsidies, Covered California said its members who receive financial assistance will see their monthly premiums jump by an additional $125 a month, on average, for 2026.

The organization projects that the cost increases will lead many Californians to simply go without coverage.

“Californians are going to be facing a double whammy: premiums going up and tax credits going away,” Altman said. “We estimate that as many as 400,000 of our current enrollees will disenroll and effectively be priced out of the health insurance that they have today. That is a devastating outcome.”

Indeed, the premium spike threatens to lock out the very Americans that the 2010 Affordable Care Act — President Obama’s signature domestic policy win — was intended to help, said Altman. That includes people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but who either make too little to afford a private plan or don’t work for an employer that pays a portion of the premiums.

That’s a broad swath of Californians — including many bartenders and hairdressers, small business owners and their employees, farmers and farm workers, freelancers, ride-share drivers, and those working multiple part-time gigs to make ends meet. The policy change will also affect Californians who use the healthcare system more frequently because they have ongoing conditions that are costly to treat.

By raising the tax-credit eligibility threshold to include Americans earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level, the Biden-era subsidies at the heart of the budget stalemate have brought an estimated 160,000 additional middle-income Californians into the system, Covered California said. The enhanced subsidies save members about $2.5 billion a year overall in out-of-pocket premium expenses, according to the exchange.

California lawmakers have tried to provide some relief from rising Covered California premiums by recently allocating an additional $190 million in state-level tax credits in next year’s budget for individuals who earn up to 150% of the federal poverty level. That would keep monthly premiums consistent with 2025 levels for a person making up to $23,475 a year, or a family of four bringing in $48,225 a year, and provide partial relief for individuals and households making slightly more.

Altman said the state tax credits will help. But it may not be enough. Forecasts from the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research group and think tank, also show a significant drop-off of roughly 400,000 enrolled members in Covered California.

The national outlook is even worse. The Congressional Budget Office warned Congress nearly a year ago that if the enhanced premium subsidies were allowed to expire, the ranks of the uninsured would swell by 2.2 million nationwide in 2026 alone — and by an average of 3.8 million Americans each year from 2026 to 2034.

Organizations that provide affordable Obamacare plans are preparing for Californians to get squeezed out of the system if the expanded subsidies disappear.

L.A. Care, the county’s largest publicly operated health plan, offers Covered California policies for 230,000 mostly lower-income people. About 90% of the Covered California consumers they work with receive subsidies to offset their out-of-pocket healthcare insurance costs, said Martha Santana-Chin, L.A. Care’s CEO. “Unless something drastic happens … a lot of those people are going to fall off of their coverage,” Santana-Chin said.

That outcome would ripple far and wide, she said — thanks to two factors: human behavior and basic economics.

If more and more people choose to go uninsured, more and more people will resort to visiting hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency care, disrupting and overwhelming the healthcare system.

Healthcare providers will be forced to address the cost of treating rising numbers of uninsured people by raising the prices they bill to insurers for patients who have private plans. That means Californians who are not Covered California members and don’t receive other federal healthcare aid will eventually see their premiums spike too, as private insurers pass any added costs down to their customers.

But right now, with the subsidies set to end soon and recent changes to Medicaid eligibility requirements threatening to knock some of the lowest-income Californians off of that system, both Altman and Santana-Chin said their main concern is for those who don’t have alternatives.

In particular, they are concerned about people of color, who are disproportionately represented among low-income Californians, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Any hike in out-of-pocket insurance costs next year could blow the budget of a family barely getting by.

“$100, $150, $200 — that’s meaningful to people living on fixed incomes,” Altman said. “Where is that money coming from when you’re living paycheck to paycheck?”

These days, a night at one of SoCal’s most popular haunted attractions usually begins with attendants scanning digital tickets at a clearly marked entrance.

At Coffin Creek, things were a little different.

Those who made the journey to Corona’s annual haunt entered an eerie scene the moment they veered off the 71 Freeway and down the desolate roads to Riverview Recreation Park, where Coffin Creek made its home. In the parking area, the dust kicked up by the vehicles created its own layer of fog, and sounds could be heard in the darkness — faint screams, the echo of chain saws and the nervous chatter of the hauntgoers. There was always a sense of mystery and excitement: With its independent, grassroots vibe, Coffin Creek — one of the longest-running Halloween attractions in Southern California — was the little haunt that could.

Coffin Creek has had its final run. Its founder and operator, Gary Shireman, passed away last month at the age of 74. But its legend lives on in the community of Halloween enthusiasts.

Coffin Creek, situated at Riverview Recreation Park, had a rustic feel, which added to the spookiness.

(Warren So)

While Coffin Creek, which at times went by the name Crossroads Haunted Village, was essentially a destination populated by several independently owned and operated haunted mazes, Shireman was the head of the operation. An electrician by trade and a longtime horror fan, Shireman launched the enterprise in 2007 after spending years searching for a location. He landed upon 180 acres of a park in Corona near the Santa Ana River. And as he soon discovered, it was already haunted, perhaps.

The backstory of the Coffin Creek locale — at least as it’s told through a newspaper story on the haunt’s website — is that in 1938, a massive flood hit Southern California, unearthing 13 coffins in Corona from an abandoned cemetery. Only some of the human remains from those coffins were recovered, and soon people in the area began seeing and hearing strange things at night.

Local artists and volunteers worked all year to open Coffin Creek, which was never a production as flashy or refined as Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, Knott’s Scary Farm or any of SoCal’s well-established haunted maze destinations — but that was part of the allure. The darkness of the woods and muddy terrain was just as effective scenery as any of the bedsheet drapery or wooden flats that had been set up. While a discerning guest may have noticed that some of the haunted set pieces were missing a little paint or not lighted all that well, the cackling heard from the dark spaces in between reminded folks that it was all about the final thrill. One could never tell when a chain-saw-wielding madman was about to jump out from behind a wall.

The sign for the Coffin Creek Manor maze.

(Scott Feinblatt)

“Gary’s mazes were very old-school and very low-tech, and he was a big proponent of that,” said Warren So, a contributor for Hollywood Gothique, an online guide to all things horror in L.A. “He felt that all we need is a good old-school scare. As long as people scream, then it’s successful.”

In one 2011 interview, Shireman said he would work all year for that “first scream of the season.” Some attendees would take one step through the front door and come right back out.

The mazes at Coffin Creek had names like Chambers of the Mausoleum, Labyrinth of Lost Relics, Bog of the Abyss, the Dark Realm and Coffin Creek Manor, the legend’s namesake. One of the most endearing aspects of the destination was that several of the mazes took residence in the permanent structures that composed the medieval-inspired village of the Koroneburg Renaissance Festival on the park’s grounds.

A scare actor ready for his next victim.

(Scott Feinblatt)

Actors played all types of ghoulish creatures, including orcs and vampires. Uncle Zed’s Zombie Safari, which was one of several haunted hayride-style attractions that appeared over the years, even featured something of a community-sourced collection of monsters, all of which originated from independent contributions to the Secure, Contain, Protect (SCP) horror subgenre. Guests of this Coffin Creek attraction were carted along from one breached containment scenario to the next, with roving monsters periodically surprising them in the darkness between the scantily lighted vignettes.

Steve Biodrowski, the owner and operator of Hollywood Gothique, said Shireman worked tirelessly behind the scenes, dealing not only with the haunt’s creation but also with all the red tape that came with operating at the Corona park. Biodrowski recalled Shireman telling him about the complex nature of its ownership. “There were like four different owners,” Biodrowsky explained. “One was federal, and I believe it had something to do with the Army; then there were state and local departments involved. Getting everybody to sign on to a deal or agree to allow the haunted village to operate was just near impossible.”

Clowns haunted the premises — and visitors’ dreams.

(Scott Feinblatt)

Over the years of Coffin Creek’s various incarnations, a number of ancillary attractions complemented the mazes: a magic show, horror merchandise vendors and food stands. Some of the haunts included higher production value effects — Chambers of the Mausoleum, for instance, featured inventive animatronics from its principal operator, Figment Foundry. Even by the mid-2010s during a proliferation of local haunted attractions, the village downsized but the mazes never lost their charm. By continually utilizing veneers and components from past maze builds, the distinctive landscape and the talents of passionate, volunteers, Shireman continued to conjure an entertaining enterprise.

His passion for haunted attractions did not end at Coffin Creek. In 2022, Shireman partnered with haunt producer Jason Thompson to host the Haunt X convention at the Fairplex in Pomona. The event provided independent haunt owners and artisans an opportunity to network, learn trade techniques and showcase their enterprises and goods with one another and with their fans.

“He wasn’t just into haunted houses,” So said of Shireman. “He was always bouncing ideas about other Halloween stuff that was family-friendly — not scary — for the kids.” Additionally, So said that Shireman was generous with the community. “He loved talking to you about your haunt and his haunt and sharing ideas. I think everybody would agree that he was always willing to help. Another buddy of mine was building his haunted house, and even though it had nothing to do with Gary, he was down to help out and build out in the heat, in the desert. And Gary did not benefit one single cent. That’s just the guy he was — he doesn’t ask for anything and just wants to make a friend and help make a good haunt.”

The legend of the Coffin Creek location is that a flood hit Southern California, unearthing 13 coffins from an abandoned cemetery.

(Scott Feinblatt)

Shortly before his death, Shireman expressed enthusiasm about Coffin Creek’s future. He had announced that the haunt would be moving to a new Riverside location, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, where it would operate in tandem with the Perris Pumpkin Patch. That couldn’t happen, but the Perris Pumpkin Patch has been operational this season and remains a family-friendly destination.

And while the haunt may have ended, like with any good maze, there may always be something more lurking ahead.

The Trump administration will limit the number of refugees admitted to the US to 7,500 over the next year, and give priority to white South Africans.

The move, announced in a notice published on Thursday, marks a dramatic cut from the previous limit of 125,000 set by former President Joe Biden and will bring the cap to a record low.

No reason was given for the cut, but the notice said it was “justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest”.

In January, Trump signed an executive order suspending the US Refugee Admissions Programme, or USRAP, which he said would allow US authorities to prioritise national security and public safety.

The previous lowest refugee admissions cap was set by the first Trump administration in 2020, when it allocated 15,000 spots for fiscal year 2021.

The notice posted to the website of the Federal Register said the 7,500 admissions would “primarily” be allocated to Afrikaner South Africans and “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands”.

In February, the US president announced the suspension of critical aid to South Africa and offered to allow members of the Afrikaner community – who are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers – to settle in the US as refugees.

South Africa’s ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, was later expelled after accusing Trump of “mobilising a supremacism” and trying to “project white victimhood as a dog whistle”.

In the Oval Office in May, Trump confronted South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and claimed white farmers in his nation were being killed and “persecuted”.

The White House also played a video which they said showed burial sites for murdered white farmers. It later emerged that the videos were scenes from a 2020 protest in which the crosses represented farmers killed over multiple years.

The tense meeting came just days after the US granted asylum to 60 Afrikaners.

The South African government has vehemently denied that Afrikaners and other White South Africans are being persecuted.

On his first day in office on 20 January, Trump said the US would suspend USRAP to reflect the US’s lack of “ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans” and “protects their safety and security”.

The US policy of accepting white South Africans has already prompted accusations of unfair treatment from refugee advocacy groups.

Some have argued the US is now effectively shut to other persecuted groups or people facing potential harm in their home country, and even former allies that helped US forces in Afghanistan or the Middle East.

“This decision doesn’t just lower the refugee admissions ceiling,” Global Refuge CEO and president Krish O’Mara Vignarajah said on Thursday. “It lowers our moral standing.”

“At a time of crisis in countries ranging from Afghanistan to Venezuela to Sudan and beyond, concentrating the vast majority of admissions on one group undermines the programme’s purpose as well as its credibility,” she added.

Refugees International also slammed the move, saying it “makes a mockery of refugee protection and of American values”.

“Let us be frank: whatever hardships some Afrikaners may face, this population has no plausible claim on refugee status – they are not fleeing systematic persecution,” Refugees International said in its statement.

The South African government has yet to respond to the latest announcement.

During the Oval Office meeting, President Ramaphosa said only that he hoped that Trump officials would listen to South Africans about the issue, and later said he believed there is “doubt and disbelief about all this in [Trump’s] head”.

Earlier this year, Ramaphosa signed a controversial law allowing the government to seize privately-owned land without compensation in some circumstances.

While the country does not release race-based crime figured, figures published earlier this year showed that 7,000 people were murdered in South African between October and December 2024.

Of these, 12 were killed in farm attacks and only one of the 12 was a farmer. Five others were farm dwellers and four were employees, who are likely to have been black.

NBCUniversal owner Comcast is indeed interested in some of Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets.

On a Thursday call with analysts to discuss third-quarter earnings, Comcast President Mike Cavanagh suggested the Philadelphia giant might bid for certain Warner assets, primarily the Warner Bros. film and television studios and its streaming service HBO Max.

Sources had previously said Comcast was angling to join the Warner Bros. Discovery auction after that company’s board formally opened the process last week. The Warner board has unanimously rejected three unsolicited bids from David Ellison’s Paramount, which has offered $58 billion for all of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Comcast isn’t looking to acquire the entire company or Warner’s large portfolio of cable channels that include CNN, TBS and Food Network. Instead, Cavanagh suggested that Comcast’s interest would be more narrow.

He noted that NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. have compatible businesses. Comcast wants to grow its studios business and its struggling streaming service, Peacock, which lost $217 million during the quarter.

“You should expect us to look at things that are trading in our space … It’s our job to try to figure out if there are ways to add value,” Cavanagh told analysts.

But he added a note of caution, saying the company didn’t feel that a merger was “necessary.”

“The bar is very high for us to pursue any [merger] transactions,” he said.

The Warner Bros. Discovery auction comes amid deep turmoil in the industry. Traditional entertainment companies, including Warner and NBCUniversal, have long relied heavily on cable programming fees to boost profit but consumers have been scaling back on pay-TV subscriptions amid the move to streaming.

To address that challenge, Comcast is spinning off its cable channels, including CNBC, MSNBC, USA and Golf Channel, into a separately traded company called Versant. That process is expected to be complete this year.

As part of the transition, the liberal-leaning MSNBC is changing its name to MS Now and dropping the peacock from its network logo, reflecting its pending exit from NBC, which will remain part of Comcast.

Cavanagh suggested that Comcast would not double down in a declining cable channel business that it was already exiting.

But Warner has other compelling businesses, including HBO and its Warner Bros. film and television studio. The Warner Bros. studio has released a string of movie blockbusters this year, including “Superman” and “A Minecraft Movie.”

Warner and NBCUniversal are investing in their respective streaming services but both lag Netflix, YouTube and Walt Disney Co. in terms of subscribers and engagement. Peacock has 41 million subscribers; the service has lost billions of dollars since Comcast launched it five years ago.

To shore up Peacock and the NBC broadcast network, Comcast has doubled down on sports, including striking a $27-billion, 10-year deal for NBA basketball, a contract that kicked in this month with the new season. (Nielsen ratings for the inaugural NBA game on NBC last week were strong — nearly 5 million viewers).

Most analysts believe that Ellison’s Paramount is in the best position to win Warner Bros. Discovery. They point to the Ellison family’s determination, wealth and political connections. Tech titan Larry Ellison, who is backing his son’s bid, is the second-richest man in the world behind Elon Musk, and President Trump views the elder Ellison as a good friend.

In contrast, Trump has displayed a dim view of Comcast Chairman and Chief Executive Brian Roberts, in large part, because of Comcast’s ownership of MSNBC, which Trump has accused of being an arm of the Democratic National Committee.

The tension has led observers to conclude that Comcast would face a stormy regulatory review process with Trump overseeing the Department of Justice, which would likely perform an anti-trust review of any major transaction for Warner Bros. Discovery.

Concerns about Comcast’s ability to get deals through the Trump administration may be overblown, Cavanagh said.

“I think more things are viable than maybe some of the public commentary [suggests],” Cavanagh said.

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell.

Game 5 thoughts:

—Magic Johnson, part owner of the Dodgers and perhaps the greatest Lakers player of all time, sent out a very important tweet before the game: “With the Series being 2-2, Game 5 is very important. Whichever team wins takes control of the Series!”

—That’s the type of insight you can only get from someone who has been there.

—Magic also threw out the first pitch before the game. Apparently, Kurt Rambis and Norm Nixon were unavailable.

—But really, Magic throws out the first pitch? All the great Dodgers in history who are still around, and you pick the Lakers star?

First inning

—So what’s going to happen tonight? Will Blake Snell be locked in? Will the offense show up?

—Some lineup changes, Mookie Betts drops to third and Will Smith moves to second. Andy Pages hits the bench and Alex Call starts and bats ninth.

—This is not the start the Dodgers were looking for.

—We don’t know if Snell has his good stuff yet because we haven’t seen any of his pitches. Just home runs.

—That’s a great way to take the crowd out of the game.

—And, as usual, the Dodgers go down quietly.

Second inning

—Trey Yesavage looks like a much better pitcher than he did in Game 1. He strikes out the side as the Dodgers continue to just swing at everything.

—What happened to the patience? They know it works, because they talk about it.

Third inning

—A rare misplay from Mookie Betts at short. He seemed to be in too big a hurry to throw the ball. It happens.

—The problem with this Blue Jays team is there’s no one on it to dislike, other than George Springer. And he’s not playing. They have a bunch of baseball players and no giant superstar.

—This is Trey Yesavage’s season:

April 8: First career start in single A
May 20: First high-A start
June 12: First double-A start
Aug. 14: First triple-A start
Sept. 15: First start in the majors
Oct. 5: First postseason start
Oct. 13: First ALCS start
Oct. 24: First World Series start
Oct. 29: Second World Series start

—Super Kiké has finally arrived. But can the Dodgers eventually hit a home run with runners on base?

—Major league players voted Kyle Schwarber the NL player of the year. That’s a surprise.

—This game won’t end 2-1.

Fourth inning

—Another terrible defensive play by Teoscar Hernández. He has been brutal in the field this year.

—And really, despite the rules of scoring a game, he should be given an error on that play. It should be a single and two-base error.

—And the Blue Jays immediately cash it in.

—Remember last season, when some Dodgers were bragging afterward that they knew they could take advantage of a sloppy Yankees team, which was poor on fundamentals on defense? That has been the Dodgers for much of this season. Poor at the basics and defense. What goes around, comes around.

—Quick everyone! Gather around the TV! It’s the in-game manager interview!

—Tommy Edman ends the inning. Whatever happened to Tommy Tanks?

Fifth inning

—Mary Hart got a foul ball after it bounced off her husband!

—The Dodgers have turned into strikeout machines.

—Once again, Shohei Ohtani will lead off an inning. No one on base. The switch to Call has not paid off.

Sixth inning

—I believe that Liberty Mutual seagulls commercial was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

—Snell really settled down after that first inning. The third run wasn’t his fault. The Blue Jays are making him work, but he’s not giving in.

—Moving Smith to the two spot hasn’t really paid off. Better to move Freeman to the two spot.

—Eleven strikeouts for Yesavage.

Seventh inning

—You know, the Dodgers have never won a World Series when Game 3 went 18 innings.

—Edgardo Henriquez comes in during a tough spot. This is where not having Brusdar Graterol, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and the real Blake Treinen hurts.

—Blue Jays score a run on a single and three wild pitches (one was initially called a passed ball, but it was really a wild pitch). What was that about the Yankees not being fundamentally sound again?

—And the wheels come off again. It’s now 5-1. And with this Dodger offense, there’s no coming back.

—Why do we blame the Dodger offense for being bad and not give credit to the Blue Jays’ pitching? After all, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches a gem, we give him the credit and we don’t say the other team’s offense is weak. Human nature, I guess. Seeing everything through the lens of the team you root for.

—I’m not sure why they go to Tom Verducci and Ken Rosenthal for their comments during the game. They don’t say anything we don’t already know and … the game is still going on!

—And an inning-ending double play. Masterful game from Yesavage.

Eighth inning

—No game tomorrow. The Dodger offense will take batting practice and go 2 for 27 with 10 strikeouts.

—Another wild pitch. Will Smith caught all 18 innings in Game 3, and he looks like he’s moving slow back there. The Blue Jays’ main catcher, Alejandro Kirk, did not catch all 18 innings.

—The Dodgers have one of the oldest rosters in the league. The average age of their position players this season was 30.7 years old. That was the oldest in the majors. And they are playing like how I feel after spending a day at Disneyland.

—It’s funny, because my inbox is filling up with emails from people saying this team is an embarrassment or a disgrace. Really? The series isn’t over. The Dodgers won the World Series last year. If this team is an embarrassment or a disgrace to you, then you should move on with your life and find another sport to watch, because baseball isn’t for you.

Ninth inning

—Blake Treinen is in the game! It’s 6-1, so he’ll probably pitch a perfect inning.

—And he did.

—It looks like Mary Hart gave up on the game. She took her foul ball and went home.

—On the telecast, John Smoltz wondered what the team batting average was for teams who went into a World Series after sweeping an LCS when the other team went the full seven games. Well, if he read this newsletter, he would know! We covered that in the preview! Come on John, subscribe!

—And that’s that. The Dodgers made 27 outs, 46 of them by strikeout.

—Game 6 is Friday. Joe Davis and Smoltz seemed very confident about Yamamoto, but everyone was very confident about Snell coming into this series and the Dodgers lost both of those games.

—Last two games combined took less time than Game 3.

—My prediction remains, like I’ve said all along, Dodgers in seven.

—More important, we wish Alex Vesia and his wife the best as they go through a trying time.

World Series stats

Batting

Dodgers

Teoscar Hernández, .318/.375/.455, 7 for 22, 1 homer, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 7 K’s
Shohei Ohtani, .316/.500/.895, 6 for 19, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 5 RBIs, 7 walks, 5 K’s
Freddie Freeman, .250/.400/.450, 5 for 20, 1 double, 1 homer, 2 RBIs, 4 walks, 4 K’s
Will Smith, .238/.333/.381, 5 for 21, 1 homer, 4 RBIs, 2 walks, 6 K’s
Kiké Hernández, .211/.200/.368, 4 for 10, 1 homer, 3 RBIs, 10 K’s
Max Muncy, .150/.261/.350, 3 for 20, 1 double, 1 homer, 1 RBI, 3 walks, 8 K’s
Alex Call, .143/.250/.143, 1 for 7, 1 walk, 2 K’s
Tommy Edman, .143/.217/.190, 3 for 21, 1 double, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 6 K’s
Mookie Betts, .130/.231/.130, 3 walks, 5 K’s
Andy Pages,.067/.067/.067, 1 for 15, 2 K’s
Miguel Rojas, 0 for 2
Team, .201/.296/.354, 5 doubles, 8 homers, 24 walks, 55 K’s, 3.6 runs per game.

Justin Dean, Hyeseong Kim and Ben Rortvedt have not batted during the series.

Blue Jays

Addison Barger, .471/.500/.647, 8 for 17, 1 homer, 5 RBIs, 1 walk, 3 K’s
Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., .364/.500/.636, 8 for 22, 2 homers, 3 RBIs, 6 walks, 2 K’s
Alejandro Kirk, .333/.458/.667, 6 for 18, 2 homers, 6 RBIs, 5 walks, 4 K’s
Ernie Clement, .318/.304/.364, 7 for 22, 1 double, 2 RBIs, 2 K’s
Bo Bichette, .313/.389/.313, 5 for 16, 3 RBIs, 2 walks, 2 K’s
George Springer, .273/.333/.364, 3 for 11, 1 double, 3 K’s
Ty France, .250/.250/.250, 1 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Nathan Lukes, .250/.333/.313, 4 for 16, 1 double, 1 RBI, 2 walks. 3 K’s
Daulton Varsho, .227/.346/.455, 1 triple, 1 homer, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, 4 K’s
Davis Schnedier, .222/.300/.556, 2 for 9, 1 homer, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 4 K’s
Andrés Giménez, .158/.261/.158, 3 for 19, 3 RBIs, 2 walks, 9 K’s
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, .063/.118/.063, 1 for 16, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 3 K’s
Tyler Heineman, 0 for 3, 1 K
Myles Straw, 0 for 8, 3 K’s
Team, .261/.341/.389, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 7 homers, 22 walks, 44 K’s, 5.8 runs per game

Pitching

Dodgers

Will Klein, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 2 hits, 2 walks, 5 K’s
Justin Wrobleski, 0.00 ERA, 2.2 IP, 1 hit, 2 K’s
Jack Dreyer, 0.00 ERA, 2.1 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 3 K’s
Edgardo Henriquez, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, i hit, 2 walks, 2 K’s
Roki Sasaki, 0.00 ERA, 1.2 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks
Clayton Kershaw, 0.00 ERA, 0.1 IP
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 1-0. 1.00 ERA, 9 IP, 4 hits, 8 K’s
Tyler Glasnow, 3.86 ERA, 4.2 IP, 5 hits, 3 walks, 5 K’s
Blake Treinen, 5.40 ERA, 1.2 IP, 5 hits
Shohei Ohtani, 0-1, 6.00 ERA, 6 IP, 6 hits, 1 walk, 6 K’s
Blake Snell, 0-2, 7.71 ERA, 11.2 IP, 14 hits, 7 walks, 11 K’s
Emmet Sheehan, 9.00 ERA, 3 IP, 5 hits, 3 walks, 2 K’s
Anthony Banda, 18.00 ERA, 3 IP, 6 hits, 1 walk
Team, 2-3, 4.58 ERA, 53 IP, 53 hits, 22 walks, 44 K’s

Blue Jays

Eric Lauer, 0.00 ERA, 5.2 IP, 2 hits, 5 walks, 3 K’s
Chris Bassitt, 0.00 ERA, 4 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 5 K’s
Jeff Hoffman, 0.00 ERA, 3.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 walk, 4 K’s
Shane Bieber, 1-0, 1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP. 5 hits, 3 walks, 3 K’s
Trey Yesavange, 1-0, 2.45 ERA, 11 IP, 7 hits, 3 walks, 17 K’s
Seranthony Dominguez, 1-0, 2.70 ERA, 3.1 IP, 1 hit, 3 walks, 4 K’s
Kevin Gausman, 0-1, 4.05 ERA, 6.2 IP. 4 hits, 6 K’s
Mason Fluharty, 5.40 ERA, 1.2 IP, 3 hits, 2 K’s
Braydon Fisher, 5.40 ERA, 3.1 IP, 2 hits, 3 walks, 4 K’s
Max Scherzer, 6.23 ERA, 4.1 IP, 5 hits, 1 walk, 3 K’s
Louis Varland, 9.00 ERA, 3 IP, 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 K’s
Brendon Little, 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 K
Team, 3-2, 3.06 ERA, 53 IP, 38 hits, 24 walks, 55 K’s

In case you missed it

Plaschke: Disappearing Dodgers backed to the brink of disaster after World Series Game 5 loss

Dodgers’ offensive woes send them into a World Series tailspin with Game 5 loss

World Series Game 5: Dodgers fall, on brink of losing the World Series | Dodgers Debate

Freddie Freeman on the Dodgers’ World Series Game 5 loss

Hernández: Why Shohei Ohtani’s Game 4 failure will drive him to pitch again in this World Series

And finally

A palate cleanser from Game 5. One year ago today, the Dodgers win the World Series. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Trump described his face-to-face with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday as a roaring success, saying he would cut tariffs on China, while Beijing had agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying American soybeans.

The president told reporters aboard Air Force One that the U.S. would lower tariffs implemented earlier this year as punishment on China for its selling of chemicals used to make fentanyl from 20% to 10%. That brings the total combined tariff rate on China down from 57% to 47%

“I guess on the scale from 0 to 10, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump said. “I think it was a 12.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China agreed to purchase 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually for the next three years, starting with 12 million metric tons from now to January. U.S. soybean exports to China, a huge market for them, had come to a standstill in the trade dispute.

“So you know, our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns, that’s off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come,” Bessent told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria.”

Trump said that he would go to China in April and Xi would come to the U.S. “some time after that.” The president said they also discussed the export of more advanced computer chips to China, saying that Nvidia would be in talks with Chinese officials.

Trump said he could sign a trade deal with China “pretty soon.”

Xi said Washington and Beijing would work to finalize their agreements to provide “peace of mind” to both countries and the rest of the world, according to a report on the meeting distributed by state media.

“Both sides should take the long-term perspective into account, focusing on the benefits of cooperation rather than falling into a vicious cycle of mutual retaliation,” he said.

Sources of tension remain

Despite Trump’s optimism after a 100-minute meeting with Xi in South Korea, there continues to be the potential for major tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Both nations are seeking dominant places in manufacturing, developing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and shaping world affairs like Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs since returning to the White House for a second term, combined with China’s retaliatory limits on exports of rare earth elements, gave the meeting newfound urgency. There is a mutual recognition that neither side wants to risk blowing up the world economy in ways that could jeopardize their own country’s fortunes.

When the two were seated at the start of the meeting, Xi read prepared remarks that stressed a willingness to work together despite differences.

“Given our different national conditions, we do not always see eye to eye with each other,” he said through a translator. “It is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then.”

There was a slight difference in translation as China’s Xinhua News Agency reported Xi as telling Trump that having some differences is inevitable.

Finding ways to lower the temperature

The leaders met in Busan, South Korea, a port city about 47 miles south from Gyeongju, the main venue for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

In the days leading up to the meeting, U.S. officials signaled that Trump did not intend to make good on a recent threat to impose an additional 100% import tax on Chinese goods, and China showed signs it was willing to relax its export controls on rare earths and also buy soybeans from America.

Officials from both countries met earlier this week in Kuala Lumpur to lay the groundwork for their leaders. Afterward, China’s top trade negotiator Li Chenggang said they had reached a “preliminary consensus,” a statement affirmed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who said there was “ a very successful framework.”

Shortly before the meeting on Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that the meeting would be the “G2,” a recognition of America and China’s status as the world’s biggest economies. The Group of Seven and Group of 20 are other forums of industrialized nations.

But while those summits often happen at luxury spaces, this meeting took place in humbler surroundings: Trump and Xi met in a small gray building with a blue roof on a military base adjacent to Busan’s international airport.

The anticipated detente has given investors and businesses caught between the two nations a sense of relief. The U.S. stock market has climbed on the hopes of a trade framework coming out of the meeting.

Pressure points remain for both U.S. and China

Trump has outward confidence that the grounds for a deal are in place, but previous negotiations with China this year in Geneva, Switzerland and London had a start-stop quality to them. The initial promise of progress has repeatedly given way to both countries seeking a better position against the other.

“The proposed deal on the table fits the pattern we’ve seen all year: short-term stabilization dressed up as strategic progress,” said Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Both sides are managing volatility, calibrating just enough cooperation to avert crisis while the deeper rivalry endures.”

The U.S. and China have each shown they believe they have levers to pressure the other, and the past year has demonstrated that tentative steps forward can be short-lived.

For Trump, that pressure comes from tariffs.

China had faced new tariffs this year totaling 30%, of which 20% were tied to its role in fentanyl production. But the tariff rates have been volatile. In April, he announced plans to jack the rate on Chinese goods to 145%, only to abandon those plans as markets recoiled.

Then, on Oct. 10, Trump threatened a 100% import tax because of China’s rare earth restrictions. That figure, including past tariffs, would now be 47% “effective immediately,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.

Xi has his own chokehold on the world economy because China is the top producer and processor of the rare earth minerals needed to make fighter jets, robots, electric vehicles and other high-tech products.

China had tightened export restrictions on Oct. 9, repeating a cycle in which each nation jockeys for an edge only to back down after more trade talks.

What might also matter is what happens directly after their talks. Trump plans to return to Washington, while Xi plans to stay on in South Korea to meet with regional leaders during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which officially begins on Friday.

“Xi sees an opportunity to position China as a reliable partner and bolster bilateral and multilateral relations with countries frustrated by the U.S. administration’s tariff policy,” said Jay Truesdale, a former State Department official who is CEO of TD International, a risk and intelligence advisory firm.

Boak, Megerian and Schiefelbein write for the Associated Press. Boak reported from Tokyo and Megerian reported from Busan, South Korea. Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Seung Min Kim and Michelle Price in Washington contributed to this report.

An L.A. County Superior Court judge handed a 146-year sentence to Hollywood producer David Brian Pearce on Wednesday for multiple rapes and the 2021 deaths of a model and her architect friend.

Pearce was found guilty in February on two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, who overdosed on fentanyl. Prosecutors said Pearce supplied them with the drug.

Pearce was also found guilty of crimes against a series of women between 2007 and 2021, including three counts of forcible rape, two counts of sexual penetration with force, one count of rape of an unconscious or sleeping victim and one count of forced sodomy.

“This sentence delivers long-awaited justice for Cabrales-Arzola, Giles, and the courageous sexual assault victims who came forward and testified,” L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement.

“Not only were the victims sexually assaulted, but the lives of Cabrales-Arzola and Giles were stolen in one of the most devastating ways — a fentanyl-induced sexual assault by Pearce.”

A call to Pearce’s lawyer was not immediately returned.

Pearce’s co-defendant, 46-year-old Brant Osborn, is headed to a pretrial appointment on Nov. 18; after a mistrial in February, he will probably face a second trial.

In November 2021, Giles and Cabrales-Arzola, as well as Michael Ansbach, who had spent the day filming for a documentary Pearce was supposedly producing, went out with the producer and his roommate, Osborn. The night at an East Los Angeles warehouse rave involved heavy cocaine use.

The group returned to Pearce’s Beverly Hills apartment in the early-morning hours.

That was about all that was agreed upon among the parties.

Pearce provided the two women and Ansbach with gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and fentanyl, causing Giles and Cabrales-Arzola to overdose, according to the district attorney’s office.

Although Cabrales-Arzola called a ride-sharing service, neither she nor Giles left.

About 11 hours later, Pearce dropped off Giles at a hospital; 90 minutes later, he did the same for Cabrales-Arzola, the district attorney’s office said.

Court records showed the car that dropped the women off did not have license plates, which Ansbach said he saw Pearce remove. Though Ansbach was originally arrested in connection with the women’s deaths, he became an important prosecution witness.

Giles was dead by the time she reached the hospital. Cabrales-Arzola survived for 11 days before being pulled off life support by her family.

Pearce maintained during his trial that he found the two women unconscious in his apartment around 5 a.m. near liquor bottles and a powdery substance. He said he didn’t think much of it, at first.

“The lifestyle that I was living at the time was not very conducive to regular behavior, if that makes sense,” Pearce, 43, testified earlier this year. “It was not uncommon for people to use my house as a crash pad, a party house. I know it’s horrible, but at least on a weekly basis friends were passing out at my house.”

Pearce said he grew concerned when neither woman woke up and repeatedly checked on them, eventually taking them to different hospitals.

He said he administered CPR but did not call 911.

Since his arrest in December 2021, seven women came forward to accuse Pearce of raping them.

In testimony that spanned two days, Pearce denied each rape accusation, saying he’d never met at least one of his accusers and dismissing the rest of the encounters as consensual.

Pearce described a booze- and drug-fueled lifestyle and said most of the women came on to him at parties or through dating apps.

“This case is a stark reminder of the devastation caused by fentanyl,” Hochman said. “Fentanyl poisoners who harm and exploit others will be held accountable.”

Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.

The hair of the dog is no miracle remedy. Colin Farrell knows this from experience.

The Irish actor learned the limits of the folk remedy many moons ago while filming “Minority Report,” the Steven Spielberg-directed tech noir film based on Philip K. Dick’s science fiction novella of the same name.

That fateful day on set, as Farrell told it Tuesday on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” was perhaps even more disturbing than the surveillance-state setting wherein the 2002 film unfolds.

It all started on the eve of Farrell’s birthday, he said. That night, he “got up to all sorts of nonsense” that landed him back home in the wee hours. At the time, Farrell was struggling to kick a longtime substance abuse habit.

“I remember getting into bed, and as soon as I turned off the light the phone rang,” the Academy Award winner said. He was 10 minutes late for his 6 a.m. pickup.

“I went, ‘Oh, s—.’”

Farrell said he had hardly fumbled his way out of his car when assistant director David H. Venghaus Jr. intercepted him, insisting, “You can’t go to the set like this.”

In response, the young actor requested six Pacifico beers and a pack of Marlboro Reds.

“Now listen, it’s not cool because two years later I went to rehab, right?” Farrell told Colbert. “But it worked in the moment.”

Did it, though?

In the end, Farrell said it took him 46 takes to deliver one single line, albeit a verbose one: “I’m sure you’ve all grasped the fundamental paradox of pre-crime methodology.”

“Tom wasn’t very happy with me,” Farrell said. Lucky for Cruise, he got a consolation prize in the form of a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Plus, “Minority Report’s” $35.6-million domestic opening didn’t hurt.

Farrell finally got sober a few years later, shortly before he filmed “In Bruges” (2008), he said at the 2021 Dublin International Film Festival.

At first, the transition was difficult to manage, Farrell said: “After 15 or 20 years of carousing the way I caroused and drinking the way I drank, the sober world is a pretty scary world.”

But “to come home and not to have the buffer support of a few drinks just to calm the nerves, it was a really amazing thing,” he said.

Oct. 29 (UPI) — Generation Alpha’s perhaps meaningless slang term “6-7” has been declared word of the year for 2025 by Dictionary.com, beating out words including “aura farming,” “broligarchy,” “tradwife” and the dynamite emoji.

“Each year, Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year and short-listed nominees capture pivotal moments in language and culture,” Dictionary.com said in a news release Wednesday.

“These words serve as a linguistic time capsule, reflecting social trends and global events that defined the year.”

The reference site said that, in determining the word of year, its lexicographers analyzed data including news headlines, social media trends and search engine results. Still, even Dictionary.com said it isn’t sure what it means.

“And now for the moment adults around the world have been waiting for: What does 67 mean? Well…it’s complicated,” the lexicographers said.

The term 6-7 is believed to have originated from rapper Skrilla’s song “Doot Doot (6-7),” which was released last December and was quickly used as a sound by TikTok creators making compilation videos of LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets. It quickly spread.

“Within weeks, teachers were trading tips online about how to get their students to stop saying 6-7 all day long,” Dictionary.com said.

Some say that it’s meant as an ambivalent response, like “maybe-this, maybe that.” But more often than not, Generation Alpha seems to just use it as a response to any question.

“Perhaps the most defining feature of 67 is that it’s impossible to define. It’s meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical. In other words, it has all the hallmarks of brainrot,” Dictionary.com said.

“It’s the logical endpoint of being perpetually online, scrolling endlessly, consuming content fed to users by algorithms trained by other algorithms.”

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. One of the most exciting World Series games in history followed by one of the most boring.

Game 4 thoughts:

—Tinashe sang the U.S. national anthem. Deborah Cox sang the Canadian national anthem. Apparently, Bruce Hornsby and Avril Lavigne were unavailable.

—Orel Hershiser threw out the first pitch. Apparently Dave Goltz and Don Stanhouse were unavailable.

First inning

—You have to wonder which relievers will be available for either team. Let’s look at those Game 3 pitch counts:

Dodgers
Anthony Banda, 3
Justin Wrobleski, 28
Blake Treinen, 15
Jack Dreyer, 5
Roki Sasaki, 29
Emmet Sheehan, 37
Clayton Kershaw, 8
Edgardo Henriquez, 30
Will Klein, 72

It would seem Banda, Treinen, Dreyer and Kershaw would definitely be available.

Blue Jays
Fluharty, 14
Varland, 20
Dominguez, 27
Bassitt, 8
Hoffman, 33
Fisher, 19
Lauer, 68
Little, 28

You have to figure Fluharty, Varland, Bassitt and Fisher would definitely be available.

—No George Springer in the lineup for the Blue Jays. He hurt his side while swinging in Game 3. Sometimes this can be a rallying point for a team, and the player who replaces the star can lift his game, just like Mickey Hatcher did when he replaced Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series.

—Will pitcher Shohei Ohtani‘s legs be strong tonight after reaching base nine times yesterday? We’ll find out.

—Great defensive play by Kiké Hernández. He hasn’t quite been Super Kiké at the plate, but he still raises his game in the postseason.

—The Blue Jays made Ohtani work a little, but he got out of it. 19 pitches.

—They pitch around Ohtani, then the runner is stranded. Uneventful first inning.

Second inning

—Seven-pitch inning for Ohtani. Blue Jays should be trying to work the count more.

—Dodgers have first and third and one out. Need to score a run here.

—Kiké brings him home.

—Can Andy Pages break out of his slump?

—He cannot.

Third inning

—Well, that home run by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was well struck. It’s OK, seemed unlikely the game was going to end 1-0.

—Ohtani has made 42 pitches through three innings. This may become important later.

—The Dodgers are hitting the ball hard, but right at people.

Fourth inning

—Everyone on the field seems tired. Heck, I’m tired. Are you tired?

—Ohtani strikes out the side. He’s the only one who doesn’t look tired. I’m pretty sure he’s some sort of android.

—Ohtani has made 59 pitches through four innings.

—And poor Will Smith. Catches 18 inning last night, back in there today.

—I’m not a fan of these in-game interviews with the manager. The questions are usually lame and it detracts from the actual game going on. People tune in to see the game. They don’t call out to their family, “Honey, quick, you are missing the in-game manager interview!”

Fifth inning

—Ohtani has made 76 pitches through five innings. Perhaps two more innings for him? Maybe three? It’s his last pitching start of the season.

—Can Andy Pages break out of his slump?

—He cannot.

—The Dodgers are not working the count ever. Bieber has made 75 pitches through five.

—I’m guessing this game does not end 2-1.

Sixth inning

—Ohtani made only one bad pitch this game, and it cost him two runs. He has looked great otherwise.

—Ninety pitches through six innings, so one more inning.

—Freeman gets a single and again the next batter doesn’t work the count.

—Bieber talked manager John Schneider into leaving him in the game. Will that come back to haunt him?

—Teoscar Hernández singles, so so far it was a bad decision.

—And now Bieber comes out for left-hander Mason Fluharty.

—And Fluharty gets Max Muncy and Tommy Edman. The Dodgers waste their best chance so far.

Seventh inning

—Single. Double. This game could be out of hand in a hurry.

—That’s it of Ohtani. Anthony Banda is the next man up for the Dodgers.

—If the Dodgers can get out of this giving up only one run, it’s a rousing success.

—The Blue Jays get two runs. It’s 4-1. The Dodgers can come back from that, but they look tired.

—Oh, no! It’s Blake Treinen!

—And he Blake Treinens the place up. It’s 6-1.

—With a tired bullpen, maybe Dave Roberts had no choice but to bring Treinen in today. But let this be the last time we see him this season.

—Like usual, it doesn’t look like the Dodgers will be winning the World Series at home.

—Can Andy Pages break out of his slump here?

—We’ll never know, as Alex Call pinch-hit for Pages and struck out. Heck, Pages could have done that.

Eighth inning

—The Dodgers just look lethargic. Of course, their offense has been below par ever since the start of the NLDS.

—Their starting pitching has carried them, and when the starting pitcher gives up a couple of runs, trouble ensues.

Ninth inning

—Dreyer ate up the innings, which is just what the Dodgers needed. He probably won’t be available in Game 5, but everyone else will be.

—Now the Dodgers need Blake Snell to pitch better than he did in Game 1.

—The offense comes alive a little bit in the ninth, but too little, too late.

—Mason Fluharty is the unsung hero of the game.

—Mason and Hannah were in their assigned seats, but the Dodgers lost, so they are now released from captivity.

—It’s now a best-of-three series, and the Blue Jays have home-field advantage.

—I get the feeling there will be at least one lineup change for the Dodgers in Game 5.

—My prediction remains, like I’ve said all along, Dodgers in um, six.

—More important, we wish Alex Vesia and his wife the best as they go through a trying time.

In case you missed it

Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series matchup a boon for viewership in Japan and Canada

‘Who is this guy?’ Inside Will Klein’s impossible rise to Dodgers World Series hero

Who would have pitched had World Series Game 3 went to 19+ innings?

‘Got an out’: Inside Clayton Kershaw’s brief but clutch appearance in World Series Game 3

This is how much Dodgers fans spent to attend the World Series: ‘This is the golden ticket in L.A.’

Former Dodger Mike Davis wants to be remembered for more than a well-timed walk

The perfect L.A. bakery for this Dodgers moment

And finally

Forget Game 4, let’s look at 30 minutes of highlights from that amazing Game 3. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

PHILADELPHIA — After waiting more than four decades to clear his name in a friend’s 1980 killing, Subramanyam Vedam was set to walk free from a Pennsylvania prison this month.

Vedam and Thomas Kinser were the 19-year-old children of Penn State University faculty. Vedam was the last person seen with Kinser and was twice convicted of killing him, despite a lack of witnesses or motive.

In August, a judge threw out the conviction after Vedam’s lawyers found new ballistics evidence that prosecutors had never disclosed.

As his sister prepared to bring him home on Oct. 3, the thin, white-haired Vedam was instead taken into federal custody over a 1999 deportation order. The 64-year-old, who legally came to the U.S. from India when he was 9 months old, now faces another daunting legal fight.

Amid the Trump administration’s focus on mass deportations, Vedam’s lawyers must persuade an immigration court that a 1980s drug conviction should be outweighed by the years he wrongly spent in prison. For a time, immigration law allowed people who had reformed their lives to seek such waivers. Vedam never pursued it then because of the murder conviction.

“He was someone who’s suffered a profound injustice,” said immigration lawyer Ava Benach. And “those 43 years aren’t a blank slate. He lived a remarkable experience in prison.”

Vedam earned several degrees behind bars, tutored hundreds of fellow inmates and went nearly half a century with just a single infraction, involving rice brought in from the outside.

His lawyers hope immigration judges will consider the totality of his case. The administration, in a brief filed Friday, opposes the effort. So Vedam remains at an 1,800-bed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in central Pennsylvania.

“Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email about the case.

‘Mr. Vedam, where were you born?’

After his initial conviction was thrown out, Vedam faced an unusual set of questions at his 1988 retrial.

“Mr. Vedam, where were you born?” Centre County Dist. Atty. Ray Gricar asked. “How frequently would you go back to India?

“During your teenage years, did you ever get into meditation?”

Gopal Balachandran, the Penn State Dickinson Law professor who won the reversal, believes the questions were designed to alienate him from the all-white jury, which returned a second guilty verdict.

The Vedams were among the first Indian families in the area known as “Happy Valley,” where his father had come as a postdoctoral fellow in 1956. An older daughter was born in State College, but “Subu,” as he was known, was born when the family was back in India in 1961.

They returned to State College for good before his first birthday and became the family that welcomed new members of the Indian diaspora to town.

“They were fully engaged. My father loved the university. My mother was a librarian, and she helped start the library,” said the sister, Saraswathi Vedam, 68, a midwifery professor in Vancouver, British Columbia.

While she left for college in Massachusetts, Subu became swept up in the counterculture of the late 1970s, growing his hair long and dabbling in drugs while taking classes at Penn State.

One day in December 1980, Vedam asked Kinser for a ride to nearby Lewisburg to buy drugs. Kinser was never seen again, although his van was found outside his apartment. Nine months later, hikers found his body in a wooded area miles away.

Vedam was detained on drug charges while police investigated and was ultimately charged with murder. He was convicted in 1983 and sentenced to life without parole. To resolve the drug case, he pleaded no contest to four counts of selling LSD and a theft charge. The 1988 retrial offered no reprieve from his situation.

Although the defense long questioned the ballistics evidence in the case, the jury, which heard that Vedam had bought a .25-caliber gun from someone, never heard that an FBI report suggested the bullet wound was too small to have been fired from that gun. Balachandran only found that report as he dug into the case in 2023.

After hearings on the issue, a Centre County judge threw out the conviction and the district attorney decided this month to not retry the case.

Trump officials oppose the petition

Benach, the immigration lawyer, often represents clients trying to stay in the U.S. despite an earlier infraction. Still, she finds the Vedam case “truly extraordinary” given the constitutional violations involved.

“Forty-three years of wrongful imprisonment more than makes up for the possession with intent to distribute LSD when he was 20 years old,” she said.

Vedam could spend several more months in custody before the Board of Immigration Appeals decides whether to reopen the case. ICE officials, in a brief Friday, said the clock ran out years ago.

“He has provided no evidence nor argument to show he has been diligent in pursuing his rights as it pertains to his immigration status,” Katherine B. Frisch, an assistant chief counsel, wrote.

Saraswathi Vedam is saddened by the latest delay but said her brother remains patient.

“He, more than anybody else, knows that sometimes things don’t make sense,” she said. “You have to just stay the course and keep hoping that truth and justice and compassion and kindness will win.”

Dale writes for the Associated Press.

When Elias Redlew was 14 years old and a freshman putting on football pads for the first time to try to impress his parents at home, he didn’t know what he was doing.

“I didn’t know how much range of movement I’d have or how it would affect my speed,” he said.

His father tried to help him.

“I walked outside and hit the door and he said, ‘You’re going to have to get used to the pads.’”

Redlew, 6 feet 2 and 185 pounds, has gotten as comfortable wearing pads as Superman wearing a red cape.

He has become a three-sport standout at San Pedro High with a 4.7 grade-point average. He was the City Section Open Division offensive player of the year as a junior receiver. This season, he has 60 catches for 1,150 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s also a starting guard who dunks for the basketball team and is one of the favorites to win a City high jump championship after tying for second place last year.

He’ll be one of the players to watch when San Pedro plays host to Carson on Thursday night to decide the Marine League football championship.

“He never played football until high school,” coach Corey Walsh said. “His potential is super high. Each year, he’s continued to get better.”

Redlew’s intelligence combined with a personality that makes him unafraid to explore new experiences offers insights into an athlete not afraid to be uncomfortable at times.

“Experience brings you intellect,” he said. “If you step out of your comfort zone, it will build knowledge.”

San Pedro basketball coach John Bobich has known Redlew since he was 11. He was on a youth basketball team with his son.

“He is one the most humble and kindest athletes I’ve known,” Bobich said. “He definitely has the record for fist bumps as not a day goes by where Elias walks up with a fist bump and a smile saying, ‘Hello coach B!’”

Redlew has received one B in high school. He’s taking four advanced placement classes this semester.

“I’m down for the challenge,” he said. “In order to play sports, I had to hit the books. In middle school, I was always shy and thought I could do it on my own. I learned to ask for help. Teachers are never not going to help you.”

Redlew welcomes challenges on and off the field. He’s had several huge performances this season. He had six catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns against Wilmington Banning. He had 11 receptions for 217 yards and two touchdowns against unbeaten Laguna Beach. There were six catches for 212 yards and two touchdowns against Granada Hills Kennedy.

Receiver Elias Redlew of San Pedro has a 4.7 GPA.

(Jonathan Alcorn/For The Times)

Redlew said of playing receiver: “I really like how different it is. There’s so many unknown things you can do with the player guarding you . He doesn’t know your next move. You have the ability to affect the game as long as your team trusts you.”

San Pedro (5-4, 3-0) vs. Carson (6-3, 3-0) is always a big rivalry game. This one should be better than ever. Beside the league title being at stake, a Carson win might propel the Colts to the No. 1 seed in the City Section Open Division playoffs. Pairings will be revealed on Saturday. The atmosphere should be electric at San Pedro.

“I can’t wait for that game,” Redlew said. “Everybody will be there. Everybody knows that’s the biggest game of the year and is our senior night.”

If San Pedro wins, maybe he’ll do a dunk afterward in the gym or bring out the high-jump pit and try to clear his career-best 6-2.

Whatever happens, it’s OK to admire a teenager who gets A’s on his report card, plays three sports and has a desire to challenge his mind and body every day.

With the 2028 Olympic Games less than three years away, Mayor Karen Bass is showing a newfound interest in one of L.A.’s less flattering qualities: its trash-strewn streets.

In April, Bass announced the launch of Shine L.A., a beautification program that sends ordinary Angelenos out with shovels, gloves and trash bags to remove detritus from streets and sidewalks.

Officials are also scrambling to comply with a June 2026 legal deadline for removing 9,800 homeless encampments — tents, makeshift shelters and even RVs. And they’re working to divert three-fourths of the city’s food scraps and other organic waste away from landfills, as required under state law.

Now, the Bureau of Sanitation faces the prospect of more disruption, with its top executive stepping down after four and a half years.

Barbara Romero, who was appointed in 2021 by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti, told sanitation employees in an email on Monday that she will leave at the end of the year. She did not say what prompted her departure or whether she has another job lined up.

Romero did not respond to requests for comment. A Bass spokesperson declined to comment on the reason for the exit, referring The Times to Romero’s email.

“Mayor Bass thanks her for her many years of service and significant contributions to the people of Los Angeles,” said the spokesperson, Clara Karger.

Bruce Reznik, executive director of the environmental group Los Angeles Waterkeeper, said he is “frustrated and angry” over the pending departure — and is convinced that Romero is being pushed out by the mayor.

Reznik described Romero as a crucial voice at City Hall on environmental issues, such as the effort to build new wastewater recycling facilities. Romero also secured new funding to pay for repairs to the city’s aging sewer system, which will in turn avert future sewage spills, he said.

“She genuinely cares about these issues,” Reznik said. “She will engage communities, even when it’s uncomfortable.”

Romero’s departure comes at a crucial time for her agency — one of the city’s largest, with well over 3,000 employees and a budget of more than $400 million. Since Bass took office in December 2022, the agency has been working to bring in more money to cover the cost of trash pickup and sewer system upgrades.

This month, the City Council hiked trash removal fees to nearly $56 per month, up from $36.32 for single-family homes and duplexes and $24.33 for three- and four-unit apartment properties. The increase, which is expected to generate $200 million per year for the city, will be followed by several more fee hikes through 2029.

The department is also in the middle of its once-a-decade selection of private companies to carry out RecycLA, the commercial trash program that serves L.A. businesses and apartment buildings with five or more units.

Then there’s the basic issue of trash, which ranges from discarded fast food wrappers lining gutters to illegal dumping problems in Watts, Wilmington and other neighborhoods. International visitors to L.A. — first for next year’s World Cup, then the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028 — will have a close-up view of some residents’ slovenly ways.

Bass has sought to avert that scenario by creating Shine L.A., which has marshaled thousands of Angelenos to participate in monthly cleanups and tree plantings in such areas as downtown, Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. In her most recent State of the City address, Bass said the initiative would restore local pride in the city.

“It’s about choosing to believe in our city again, and proving it with action,” she said. “Block by block, we will come together to be stronger, more unified than ever before. And that matters, especially in a world that feels more divided with each passing day.”

Chatsworth resident Jill Mather, who founded the group Volunteers Cleaning Communities, said she has already participated in Bass’ program. Still, she warned it will do little to address the parts of the city that have been hit hard by illegal dumping or others that have long-term homeless encampments.

“There are serious areas that need serious cleanup, and once a month in one area is not going to do it,” said Mather, whose members fan out across the Valley each day to pick up trash.

Mather said the city’s homelessness crisis is deeply intertwined with its trash problem, with sanitation crews facing limits on the removal of objects that might be someone’s property. Beyond that, Mather said, the sanitation bureau lacks the resources to gain control over the volume of refuse that’s discarded on a daily basis.

Estela Lopez, executive director of the Downtown Industrial District Business Improvement District, said her organization regularly sends the city photos and videos of trucks and other vehicles — with license plates clearly visible — dumping garbage in the eastern half of downtown.

Those perpetrators have treated the neighborhood like an “open-air landfill,” she said.

“We’ve seen everything from rotting produce and other food to refrigerators, couches, green waste, flowers, tires and construction debris,” Lopez said. “It’s the extent of it, the amount of it, and the fact that no one seems to have a solution to it.”

Lopez said she believes that downtown’s trash problem has gotten worse since the city created RecycLA a decade ago. That trash franchise program was so expensive for customers, she said, that some businesses scaled back pickup service or dropped it entirely.

“The city shot itself in the foot,” she said.

Romero, in her letter to her staff, pointed to her agency’s many accomplishments. Since she took the helm, she said, the bureau succeeded in increasing sewer fees for the first time in a decade, putting them on track to double by July 2028.

Romero championed the construction of a water purification facility that is expected to recharge the San Fernando Valley groundwater aquifer and provide drinking water for 500,000 people. She also pushed for a comprehensive strategy for reducing citywide use of plastics.

Lisa Gritzner, chief executive of the consulting firm LG Strategies, said Romero has been “very accessible” at City Hall, jumping on problems that go far beyond trash pickup. When a multistory, multi-tower affordable-housing project faced a tight deadline to secure a wastewater permit in Skid Row, Romero moved quickly to address the situation, Gritzner said.

“She was very good at helping to navigate the red tape, so we could get the project open,” said Gritzner, who represented one of the project’s developers.

City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez said he feels good about the city’s handling of trash — at least in his district, which stretches from Echo Park and Historic Filipinotown to Hollywood and Atwater Village.

“I feel like our district does a good job of addressing 311 requests, illegal dumping, the trash,” he said. “We have a very nimble and efficient team.”

Soto-Martínez said he’s not too worried about Romero’s departure, noting that the top managers of city agencies “change all the time.”

“We have a lot of talented people in the city,” he said. “Losing one person doesn’t mean the city falls apart, whether it’s a council member or a general manager.”

A new report from the city controller’s office questions the effectiveness of the LAPD’s signature crisis response program, saying clinicians trained in de-escalation too often are forced to defer to armed patrol officers.

For years, Los Angeles Police Department officials have touted the success of the Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team, or SMART. But critics say the program, which pairs licensed specialists with officers in unmarked cars, is failing in the crucial initial minutes of encounters when multiple police shootings of mentally ill people have occurred.

Dinah M. Manning, chief of strategic initiatives and senior advisor in the controller’s office, said the report found an “inherent contradiction” in the SMART program.

Even though its purpose is to send in clinicians and tap their expertise to avoid killings, LAPD policy still requires armed patrol officers to clear a scene of any potential threats beforehand.

Traditional police units almost always take charge, even on calls in which no weapon is involved, such as a person threatening to commit suicide, Manning said.

Referring to SMART as a co-response program “is pretty much a misnomer in this case,” she said. “How is it that we’re ending up with so many fatalities?”

An LAPD spokesperson declined to comment in response to questions about the report.

LAPD officers have opened fire 35 times this year; in recent years, department statistics showed at least a third of all police shootings involved someone with obvious signs of emotional distress.

The report pointed to other shortcomings with the SMART program, which is housed within the department’s Mental Health Unit. Officers detailed to the units receive no specialized training, the report said, also finding that the department has failed to properly track uses of force on mental health-related calls.

The department’s existing use of force policy “falls short” of best practices for dealing with people in mental distress, the controller’s report said. The LAPD’s policy, it said, “only makes cursory mention of ‘vulnerable populations’ without expounding on the dynamic realities presented in encounters with people who have a mental health condition or appear to be in a mental health crisis.”

Too often in cases in which SMART responds, the report said, the outcome is that the person in crisis is placed on an involuntary 72-hour hold. Such scenarios do not involve an arrest or criminal charges; instead the person is held under state law that allows for detention if a person poses a threat to themselves or others.

The controller’s report comes amid a continued debate in L.A. and elsewhere about how officials should respond to emergencies involving mental health, homelessness, substance use or minor traffic incidents.

The city has expanded its alternative programs in recent years, but proponents warn that looming cuts in federal spending for social safety net programs under the Trump administration could hinder efforts to scale up and have more impact.

LAPD leaders in the past offered support of such programs, while cautioning that any call has the potential to quickly spiral into violence, necessitating the presence of officers.

Paramount on Wednesday was expected to cut 1,000 employees, the first wave of a deep staff reduction planned since David Ellison took the helm of the entertainment company in August.

People familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment said the layoffs will be felt throughout the company, including at CBS, CBS News, Comedy Central and other cable channels as well as the historic Melrose Avenue film studio.

Another 1,000 jobs are expected to be cut at a later date, bringing the total reduction to about 10% of Paramount’s workforce, sources said.

The move was expected. Paramount’s new owners — Ellison’s Skydance Media and RedBird Capital Partners — had told investors they planned to eliminate more than $2 billion in expenses, and Wednesday’s workforce reduction was a preliminary step toward that goal.

Paramount has been shedding staff for years.

More than 800 people — or about 3.5% of the company’s workforce — were laid off in June, prior to the Ellison family takeover. At the time, Paramount’s management attributed the cuts to the decline of cable television subscriptions and an increased emphasis on bulking up its streaming TV business. In 2024, the company eliminated 2,000 positions, or 15% of its staff.

Longtime CBS News journalist John Dickerson announced earlier this week that he would exit in December. The co-anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” Dickerson has been a familiar network face for more than 15 years, completing tours at “CBS This Morning” and the Sunday public affairs show “Face the Nation.” He was named the network’s evening news co-anchor in January alongside Maurice DuBois to succeed Norah O’Donnell. The revamp, designed in part to save money, led to a ratings decline.

The Paramount layoffs are the latest sign of contraction across the entertainment and tech sectors.

Amazon said this week it was eliminating roughly 14,000 corporate jobs amid its embrace of artificial intelligence to perform more functions. Last week, Facebook parent company Meta disclosed that it was cutting 600 jobs in its AI division.

Last week, cable and broadband provider Charter Corp., which operates the Spectrum service, eliminated 1,200 management jobs around the country.

Los Angeles’ production economy in particular has been roiled by a falloff in local filming and cost-cutting at major media companies.

As of August, about 112,000 people were employed in the Los Angeles region’s motion picture and sound recording industries — the main category for film and television production. The data does not include everyone who works in the entertainment industry, such as those who work as independent contractors.

That was roughly flat compared with the previous year, and down 27% compared with 2022 levels, when about 154,000 people were employed locally in the industry, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The industry has struggled to rebound since the 2023 strikes by writers and actors, which led to a sharp pullback in studio spending following the era of so-called “peak TV,” when
studios dramatically increased the pipeline of shows to build streaming platforms.

“You saw a considerable drop-off from the strikes and the aftermath,” said Kevin Klowden, an executive director at Milken Institute Finance. “The question is, at what point do these workers exit the industry entirely?”

Local film industry officials are expecting a production boost and an increase in work after California bolstered its film and television tax credits.

But Southern California’s bedrock industry is confronting other challenges, including shifting consumer habits and competition from social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

“There is a larger concern in terms of the financial health of all the major operations in Hollywood,” Klowden said. “There’s a real concern about that level of competition, and what it means.”

Sometimes, the best place you can go is a dead end. Especially when that dead end is surrounded by crashing surf on empty beaches, dramatic cliffs and lonely trails through forests thick with redwoods.

That’s the situation along Big Sur’s South Coast right now.

A chunk of the cliff-clinging highway has been closed for a series of landslide repairs since January 2023, making the classic, coast-hugging, 98-mile San Simeon-Big Sur-Carmel drive impossible. Caltrans has said it aims to reopen the route by the end of March 2026, if weather permits.

That means the 44-mile stretch from San Simeon to Lucia will likely be lonely for at least six more months. Travelers from the near north (Carmel, for instance) will need to detour inland on U.S. 101. Meanwhile, many Canadian travelers (usually eager explorers of California) are boycotting the U.S. altogether over President Trump’s tariff policies and quips about taking over their country.

And so, for those of us in Southern California, the coming months are a chance to drive, hike or cycle in near solitude among tall trees, steep slopes and sea stacks. The weather is cooler and wetter. But over the three October days I spent up there, the highway was quieter than I’ve seen in 40-plus years of driving the coast.

Moreover, those who make the trip will be supporting embattled local businesses, which remain open, some with reduced prices. Fall rates at the Ragged Point Inn, 15 miles north of Hearst Castle, for example, start at about $149 nightly — $100 less than when the road was open.

“It’s kind of perfect,” said Claudia Tyler of Santa Barbara, on her way from Salmon Creek Falls to two nights of camping at Plaskett Creek in Los Padres National Forest.

“I am sorry for the businesses…,” Tyler said, “but it’s good for the traveler.”

Further north, David Sirgany, 64, of Morro Bay, was getting ready to surf at Sand Dollar Beach, thinking about coastal erosion, climate change and this moment in history.

“To me,” he said, “it feels like the end of a time that will never be again.”

The Ragged Point Inn stands at the southern end of Big Sur.

The closed area, known as Regent’s Slide, begins about 26 miles north of Ragged Point, toward the south end of Big Sur, and covers 6.8 miles. Thus, you’d need to detour inland via U.S. 101 to reach most of Big Sur’s best-known attractions, including the Bixby Creek Bridge, Pfeiffer Beach, Nepenthe restaurant, Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, McWay Falls and Esalen Institute.

But there’s plenty to explore on the stretch from San Simeon north to the roadblock at Lucia (milepost 25.3). Just be careful of the $8.79-per-gallon gas at the Gorda Springs Resort. (At $6.99, the Ragged Point gas station isn’t quite so high.)

San Simeon Bay Pier at William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach.

Here, from south to north, are several spots to explore from San Simeon to Lucia. Be sure to double-check the weather and highway status before you head out.

See Hearst’s castle. Or just one of his zebras.

I’ve been hoping to see some of the Hearst zebras in the hills of San Simeon for years, and this time I finally did — a single zebra, surrounded by cows in a pasture beneath distant Hearst Castle.

That was enough to make my brief stop at the castle visitor center (which has a restaurant, historical displays and shop) well worth it. Other travelers, however, might want to actually take a tour ($35 per adult and up) of the 165-room Hearst compound (which is officially known as Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument).

The state park system’s visitor tallies from June through August show that 2025 was slightly slower than 2024, which was slightly slower than 2023.

Perhaps with that in mind, the castle last fall added “Art Under the Moonlight” tours, which continue this autumn on select Friday and Saturday nights through Nov. 16. The castle also decorates for the holidays.

If you’re spending the night, the Cavalier Oceanfront Resort has 90 rooms (for as little as $169) and firepits overlooking the sea.

A zebra, part of the Hearst Castle animal collection, is seen from the visitor center off Highway 1 in San Simeon.

San Simeon Bay Pier or hike San Simeon Point Trail

My southernmost hike was at the San Simeon Bay Pier. From the parking lot there, walk north on the beach and follow a path up into a eucalyptus grove. That puts you on the 2.5-mile round-trip San Simeon Point Trail (owned by Hearst Corp. but open to the public.)

At first, the route is uneventful and surrounded by imported eucalyptus (now being thinned) and pines. But there’s a payoff waiting at the point, where tides lap on a little sand beach, waves crash on dramatic black rocks and pelicans perch on sea stacks. Look back and you see the beach, the pier and the hills of the central coast sprawling beyond them.

Then, if you’re as hungry as I was, you rapidly retrace steps and head to the Seaside Foods deli counter in Sebastian’s General Store, a block from the pier. (I recommend the Coastal Cowboy tri-tip sandwich, $21. But you could also take your meal across the street to the Hearst Ranch Winery tasting room.)

Find the Piedras Blancas elephant seal viewing area, then go beyond it

California’s coast is a catalog of uncertainties, from rising tides and crumbling cliffs to private landowners discouraging public access. But we can count on the elephant seals of Piedras Blancas.

Elephant seals gather at Piedras Blancas, north of San Simeon.

Once you pull off Highway 1 into the observation area parking lot, no matter the time of year, you’re likely to see at least a few hulking sea creatures flopped on the sand and skirmishing for position.

Because it’s a great spectacle and it’s free, there are usually dozens of spectators along the shore. But most of those spectactors don’t bother to follow the boardwalk north and continue on the Boucher Trail, a 1.9-mile path along the bluff tops and across a meadow, leading to striking views of sea stacks and Piedras Blancas Light Station.

Along Boucher Trail, just north of the elephant seal viewing area at Piedras Blancas.

(BTW: Visitors need an advance reservation to tour the Piedras Blancas Light Station. At press time, all tours were canceled because of the federal government shutdown.)

At Ragged Point, that Big Sur vibe kicks in

About 10 miles beyond the elephant seals, the raw, horizontal coastal landscape morphs into a more vertical scene and the highway begins to climb and twist.

Right about here, just after San Carpoforo Creek, is where you find the Ragged Point Inn, a handy place to stop for an hour or an evening. It has 39 rooms, flat space for kids to run around, cliff-top views, a restaurant, gift shop, gas station and a snack bar that’s been closed since the highway has been blocked.

Right now, this stretch of the highway “is a great place to cycle,” said Diane Ramey, whose family owns the inn. “I wouldn’t do it at a normal time. But now the roads are uncrowded enough.”

To recover from the “frightening” drop in business when the road first closed, the inn has put more emphasis on Sunday brunch, the gift shop and live music on summer weekends, Ramey said.

At Salmon Creek Falls, roaring water meets tumbled rocks

At the Salmon Falls trailhead, 3.6 miles north of Ragged Point, there’s room for about 10 cars in the parking area on the shoulder of the highway.

When the highway is open, those spots are often all full. Not now. And it’s only about 0.3 of a mile to the base of the 120-foot falls, where there’s plenty of shade for the weary and boulder-scrambling for those who are bold. In the hour I spent scrambling and resting, I encountered just two couples and one family, all enjoying the uncrowded scene.

If you want a longer, more challenging hike, the falls trailhead also leads to the Salmon Creek Trail, a 6.6-mile out-and-back journey through pines, oaks and laurels that includes — gulp — 1,896 feet of elevation gain.

The yurts and quirks of Treebones Resort

Treebones, about 14 miles north of Ragged Point and 2 miles north of the rustic, sleepy Gorda Springs Resort, is an exercise in style and sustainability, producing its own power and drawing water from its own aquifer.

Treebones Resort, just off Highway 1 in the South Coast area of Big Sur.

Born as a family business in 2004, Treebones has 19 off-the-grid units, mostly yurts, whose rounded interiors are surprisingly spacious. Its Lodge restaurant offers chef’s-choice four-course dinners ($95 each) and a sushi bar.

If you book a yurt (they begin at $385), you’ll find your headboard is a felted wood rug from Kyrgyzstan (where yurts go back at least 2,500 years). The resort also has five campsites ($135 nightly, advance reservation required) that come with breakfast, hot showers and pool access.

A deck at Treebones Resort.

“For the last 20 years, we were basically 100% occupied from April through October,” assistant general manager Megan Handy said, leading me on a tour. Since the closure, “we’ve stayed booked on the weekends, but we’ve seen at least a 40% decline midweek.”

Once you’re north of Treebones, beach and trail possibilities seem to multiply.

Stand by the edge (but not too close) on the Pacific Valley Bluff Trail

Several people told me I shouldn’t miss the Pacific Valley Bluff Trail, a flat route that begins just north of Sand Dollar Beach. It runs about 1.6 miles between the roadside and the bluffs over the Pacific. Here you’ll see sea stacks in every shape, along with a dramatic, solitary tree to the north. In about 45 minutes of walking amid a land’s end panorama, I never saw another soul. Plenty of cow patties, though, and a few patches of poison oak, which turns up often near Big Sur trails.

A little farther north, I did run into four people walking the beach at Mill Creek Picnic Area. I found even more at Kirk Creek Campground, which was booked solid because it has some of the best ocean-view campsites in the area and it’s on the ocean side of the highway.

Waves crash near Sand Dollar Beach.

Big trees and a meandering creek at Limekiln State Park

Limekiln State Park is one California’s youngest state parks, having been set aside in the 1990s. But its occupants, especially the redwoods, have been around much longer.

And now, after park closures over storm damage and infrastructure issues and a reopening early this year, we have a chance to enjoy the place again. Or at least part of it. The park’s campground, Hare Creek Trail and Falls Trail remain closed.

But there’s still plenty of opportunity to check out the rare overlap of species from northern and southern California. As the Save the Redwoods League notes, “You can’t find both yucca and coast redwoods in very many parks.”

The park is about 4.4 miles south of the Highway 1 closure. Entrance is $10 per vehicle. I savored the 1.5-mile out-and-back Limekiln Trail, which is one of the best ways to see redwoods in the area. And once again, no fellow hikers.

Highway still too busy for you? How about an isolated lodge or a silent monastery?

Just south of the highway closure, the rustic, isolated Lucia Lodge and the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery, remain open for overnight guests.

But not everyone knows this. Unless somebody at Google HQ has just made a fix, Google Maps will tell you incorrectly that the hermitage and lodge are beyond the road closure. Nope. They’re both on the south side of the road closure, accessible to northbound traffic. And they’re both really quiet.

“People come here for silent, self-guided retreats,” said Katee Armstrong, guest ministry specialist at New Camaldoli Hermitage. Its accommodations, high on the slopes above the highway, include nine single-occupancy rooms and five cottages with kitchenettes ($145 nightly and up).

Meanwhile, on the ocean side of the highway, the Lucia Lodge’s 10 very basic units are visible from the road. Four of them are cabins that go back to the 1930s, when Highway 1 was new.

Some nights, there are only one or two guests, and those guests typically see no hotel employees, because there’s no lobby and the staff is down to a skeleton crew. (The lodge’s restaurant and lobby burned down in 2021.) The nearest restaurant is at Treebones, about 10 miles south.

“We have to have a conversation with every guest who books with us,” said Jessie McKnight, the lodge reservationist. Many “end up canceling once they understand the situation,” she said. “You’re kind of on your own.”

Ad yet, she added, “it’s so rare to experience Big Sur like this. Once the road opens, I think it’s going to be right back to being a zoo.”

The road to Ragged Point Inn.

SUNRISE, Fla. — Troy Terry and Mason McTavish scored in a shootout, and the Ducks beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist, and Cutter Gauthier also scored to help the Ducks end a five-game trip with a victory in coach Joel Quenneville’s first game against his former team.

Quenneville, who coached the Panthers from 2019-21, returned to Sunrise for the first time since resigning as Florida’s coach after details of a sexual-assault scandal involving his 2010 Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks squad were revealed in October 2021.

Quenneville was banned from the NHL for nearly three years for his handling of the situation before taking over the Ducks in May. He won three titles in 10 years with the Blackhawks and last coached for Florida on Oct. 27, 2021.

Carlsson buried a short-handed goal midway through the second period to extend his point streak to four games. He assisted on Gauthier’s power-play goal a couple of minutes later to give Carlsson a team-leading 11 points this season.

Lukas Dostal stopped 31 shots for the Ducks.

Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart scored for the Panthers. Reinhart had the tying goal — his fifth of the season — with three about minutes left in regulation after the Panthers had trailed 2-0 midway through the third.

Daniil Tarasov made 15 saves.

The Panthers, whose depth has already been tested this season because of a rash of injuries, were without forwards Jonah Gadjovich (upper body) and Brad Marchand (personal reasons).

What’s different in the World Series this year? The New York Yankees are not here, and the Toronto Blue Jays are.

For Major League Baseball, that represents an opportunity.

On the eve of the World Baseball Classic, as the league attempts to grow its popularity around the world and considers sending its star players to the 2028 Olympics, the World Series ratings are encouraging.

For the first two games of the World Series, the average viewership in Japan was almost as high as in the United States, despite a population one-third that of the U.S., and the average viewership in Canada was 10 times greater than it was last year.

The average in the three countries, through two games: 30.5 million, MLB said Tuesday. The average for the World Series last year: 28.6 million.

The Game 1 audience for those three countries: 32.6 million, the highest for an MLB game in the U.S., Canada and Japan combined since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians.

When the Dodgers and Yankees played in last year’s World Series — a clash of the two biggest markets in the United States — the average game attracted 15.8 million viewers in the U.S. For the first two games of this year’s World Series, the average game attracted 12.5 million viewers on Fox platforms, so Canadian markets are not included.

However, even without a U.S. team to oppose the Dodgers, Fox said this year’s ratings are better than any other World Series since the pandemic, besides last year’s.

This year’s NBA Finals — a small-market matchup between Oklahoma City and Indiana — attracted a U.S. average of 10.3 million viewers.

This year’s World Series features Japan’s team — the team of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki — against Canada’s lone major league team. The average viewership in Japan: 10.7 million, despite the games starting there at 9 a.m.

The average viewership of last year’s World Series in Canada: 720,000. That number through two games this year: 7.2 million. The U.S. population is 10 times greater than that of Canada.