LA Times - 29 April 2024

$3.66 DESIGNATED AREAS HIGHER © 2024 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 latimes.com Getbreakingnews, instantly. Download theapp forup-to-the-minutealerts. In a quiet corner of the Qatari capital, between an Indian restaurant and a hair salon, lies a housing compound once meant to host World Cup visitors. Instead it’s become a temporary home for about 1,500 Palestinian medical evacuees from Gaza — a micro-sized Gaza-on-the-gulf and a living catalog of the horrors inflicted on the human body by the tools of war. There’s 17-year-old Yacoub abu Hijris, who was carrying a bag of flour to his parents when a sniper’s bullet found him. He described trying to make it home with a splintered knee. “I walked with my leg at a crazy angle,” he said. It was difficult to not fall, he added, his voice quiet: “It turns out blood is slippery.” Now he’s learning to walk on crutches after doctors amputated his leg, and is waiting for a prosthetic. There’s Arwa Ghanem, 10, whose family was staying in a corrugated metal hut in Khan Yunis in late January when an Israeli tank busted through the wall, collapsing the structure. Arwa’s father, Mounir, and her 6-year-old sister, Asya, were killed; a heavy wardrobe fell on Arwa, probably saving her from suffocation but pulverizing the bones in her left leg. They had initially been set with platinum pins, but now her leg was in a cast. It would take a year to heal. Then there is 5-year-old Fatma Nabhan, who goes by the nickname “Battah,” or Duck. In a place where FATMA Nabhan, 5, is among the medical evacuees to Doha, Qatar, whose injuries are far too severe for the Gaza Strip’s hospitals to treat. Photographs by Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times In Qatar, medical evacuees from Gaza find respite from war Children are a living catalog of what weapons do to the human body THE COMPOUND housing the convalescing Gazans includes a soccer field. Volunteers set up soccer matches to accommodate those with disabilities. By Nabih Bulos reporting from doha, qatar [See Evacuees, A4] After school on April 15, a fight broke out a couple of blocks from Washington Preparatory High School. In a cellphone video of the incident, an adult can be heard saying off camera, just before the fight began: “Let them ... fight. If they want to fight, let the ... police [inaudible]. ... I’m not breaking up s—. I don’t give a f—.” The adult who apparently declined to intervene was a member of the “safe passages” program designed to make sure students get to and from school unharmed, according to students and a senior union official. Less than 10 seconds after the fight began, three shots rang out and Elijah McGinnis III, 15, collapsed. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. For 10 days, Los Angeles Unified School District officials referred all questions about the shooting to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating, and would not confirm that the individual speaking on the video was a safe passages worker. But amid mounting pressure, L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho on Friday said on KTLA-TV Channel 5 Death stokes school police debate A safety worker allegedly declined to try to stop a fight that ended with gunfire. By Howard Blume [See Shooting, A7] Biden’s promises have an asterisk With Trump in court, what would president’s second term look like? Doyle McManus asks. PERSPECTIVES, A2 UC divestment demand rejected Leaders cite academic freedom in refusing pro-Palestinian request to boycott Israel. CALIFORNIA, B1 Clippers, Lakers take up gauntlet Clippers even series at 2-2 with Dallas. Down 3-1 to Denver, can the Lakers stave off elimination? SPORTS, D1 Weather Mostly sunny. L.A. Basin: 76/56. B5 For the latest news, go to latimes.com. Printed with soy inks on partially recycled paper. On Friday, John Travolta debuted his latest film — “Cash Out,” an action thriller about a bank heist gone wrong. The trailer credits it as “a film by Ives.” “Cash Out” is the first and only project Ives has ever worked on, according to IMDb. But over his quarter-century in the entertainment business, “Ives” has in fact directed five films, produced dozens more and appeared on the reality TV show “Vanderpump Rules.” He was also the subject of a 2022 Los Angeles Times investigation and subsequent Hulu documentary that delved into allegations of abuse against women and assistants as well as mistreatment of business partners, which he has denied. It was after those headlines that Randall Emmett began using Ives, which is his middle name, as his professional name. The shift began on “Cash Out” and continued with its sequel, RANDALL EMMETT RESURFACES WITH NEW NAME AFTER SCANDAL Filmmaker flies under radar as Ives but is still dogged by controversy [See Emmett/Ives, A8] By Meg James and Amy Kaufman RANDALL EMMETT, second from left, directs a scene from “Armored” with Sylvester Stallone, right, on a bridge in Mississippi in 2023. Alex Lopez doesn’t contest that Joe Biden was elected president in 2020. His concern lies with how those results came to be. “By the numbers? He absolutely won it. Ethically? Probably not,” said the 38- year-old Anaheim resident, who works as a logistics coordinator. Questions about the integrity of the election process have been stoked nationally for years, in large part because of former President Trump’s claims that victory was stolen from him. The same goes for Orange County, where 26% of adults surveyed in a UC Irvine poll released this month said they did not believe Biden legitimately won the presidency in 2020, with an additional 17% unsure about the question. In a purple county with several key races that could help determine the balance of power in Congress, these doubts could cause voters to stay home in November — Poll finds election skeptics in O.C. In a purple county, such doubts could sway key Congress races in November. By Hannah Fry [See Election, A7]

A2 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM PERSPECTIVES WASHINGTON — Tempted to make a bet on the rematch between President Biden and former President Trump? There are a lot of reasons that would be a bad idea. Here’s a big one — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Polls, pollsters and pundits disagree about how much support Kennedy has — or even which candidate he potentially would hurt more. The Trump and Biden campaigns, however, seem more in agreement: They’re both acting as if Kennedy poses a small, but significant threat to Biden’s reelection. They’re probably right. An exceedingly close contest With the election now just over six months away, the vast majority of voters, probably about 9 in 10, have made up their minds. Only a handful of states are truly in doubt. But those locked-in voters and states are evenly balanced between the two sides. Within the closely divided states, the sliver of the electorate who remain uncertain about which candidate they will vote for — or whether they’ll vote at all — will be crucial to the outcome. A newly released study by the Pew Research Center finds that 91% of people who voted for Biden last time and 94% of those who voted for Trump plan to vote for the same person this year. Registered voters who did not cast a ballot in 2020 are almost evenly divided, Pew found. So it’s not surprising that over the last year, the race has fluctuated only within a very narrow band. In most polls during the first half of last year, Biden led by a small margin. Trump took a small lead in surveys during the last few months of the year, which he held until early spring. Now, Biden appears to have regained some ground, especially among his fellow Democrats, and the race appears to be back to a dead heat, at least in national surveys. One thing hasn’t changed: A lot of voters don’t like this choice. That’s especially true of less partisan voters. In theory, the unpopularity of both Biden and Trump provides an opening for a third-party or independent candidate. Whether Kennedy is well positioned to take advantage of that opening is unclear. Gauging Kennedy’s support One reason it’s hard to guess how much support Kennedy will win this fall is that polls have a hard time measuring how much support he has now. The most recent Quinnipiac University national poll for example, showed 16% of registered voters saying they would support Kennedy if the election were being held today. Several other surveys have shown results in a similar range. By contrast, the Economist/YouGov poll pegged Kennedy’s support at just 3% among registered voters. The wide variation underscores the problem pollsters face in measuring Kennedy voters. His backers come from both the left and the right and disagree widely on many issues. What most of them share is disaffection from the political system. Disaffected people are inherently hard to poll — they tend not to readily respond to surveys — and hard to predict in terms of turnout. Another big challenge: We don’t know whether Kennedy will be on the ballot in all, or even most, swing states. Kennedy got access to his first swing-state ballot, Michigan, this month, when the state’s Natural Law Party — a one-person operation that has maintained itself on the ballot for two decades — agreed to give its slot to him and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan. Utah and Hawaii have also placed Kennedy on their ballots. Unlike Michigan, neither state is remotely in contention. Shanahan’s large fortune means that Kennedy probably will have the money to run petition drives in other states, but the outcome won’t be known until later this year. Even small vote totals can matter In the vast majority of U.S. elections, third-party and independent candidates fade as the election approaches. Some exceptions exist: Ross Perot received just under 19% in 1992 — the high point for an independent — but that came in an era when partisan loyalties were much weaker than today. But in a close race, a third-party candidate needn’t get double-digit support to change the outcome. Ralph Nader may well have cost Al Gore the election in 2000, for example, by swinging the outcome in Florida: He won 97,488 votes there, about 1.5% of the state’s total, and Gore lost the state by fewer than 600 disputed ballots. In 2016, candidates other than Trump and Hillary Clinton took 5.6% of the vote, with most of that going to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s Jill Stein. In three swing states, Stein’s total exceeded Trump’s margin. It’s impossible to know how many of Stein’s voters might have voted for Hillary Clinton, but the claim that she cost Clinton the election is at least plausible. In 2020, by contrast, all the independent and thirdparty candidates combined took less than 1.8% of the vote. Which side does Kennedy hurt? Kennedy, of course, has a famous Democratic name. But surveys have given mixed results on whether he would siphon more support from Biden or Trump. “His role and who he takes votes from is likely to be quite dynamic” as the campaign develops, said Lis Smith, the veteran Democratic strategist who leads the party’s efforts against Kennedy. Recent polls have shown Kennedy getting more support from the Republican camp, which could be “a function of our getting the word out about him,” Smith said. That has included a public endorsement of Biden this month by 15 members of the Kennedy family. The latest NBC News poll, for example, asked voters two horse-race questions. First, it asked about a Biden-Trump matchup and found Trump ahead 46%-44% — a result well within the survey’s margin of error. Then the pollsters asked about a five-way race involving Biden, Trump, Kennedy, Stein and Cornel West, the philosopher and political activist. In that matchup, Biden led by 2 points — 39%- 37%. Kennedy picked up 15% of those who had chosen Trump in the two-way matchup and 7% of those who had chosen Biden, giving him 13% overall, the poll found. Ideologically, that makes some sense: Kennedy’s antivaccine theories, which form a key part of his platform, may appeal more to the political right than the left. Some of his other views also clearly wouldn’t sit well with groups of Democrats who are disenchanted with Biden, especially those on the left. In an interview last month with Reuters, for example, Kennedy strongly supported Israel and expressed skepticism about a cease-fire in Gaza. Every previous cease-fire “has been used by Hamas to rearm, to rebuild and then launch another surprise attack. So what would be different this time?” he said. In an interview late last year, he referred to the Palestinians as “pampered by international aid organizations.” But the bulk of voters who are attracted to Kennedy aren’t activists. They skew young, but also tend to be less focused on politics and less likely to vote at all, polls show. Smith says the “most effective message” for moving those voters away from Kennedy is simply that “he’s a spoiler for Donald Trump.” “He was encouraged by Trump allies,” including Steve Bannon, Trump’s former top strategist, and “is being propped up” by big Trump donors, like Timothy Mellon, the banking heir who is by far Kennedy’s biggest contributor. Mellon, 81, has given $20 million to Kennedy’s super-PAC, American Values 2024, and has also given tens of millions to Republicans, including $16.5 million over the last two years to Trump’s Make America Great Again PAC. Democrats have also zeroed in on Kennedy’s equivocal statements on abortion, including one in August in which he said he would sign a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks. His campaign later disavowed that statement. Republicans have no equivalent to Smith’s operation. The difference reflects the strategic calculations of the two campaigns. Trump’s campaign isn’t premised on winning a majority, something a Republican has managed only once in the last eight presidential elections (George W. Bush in 2004). Trump took 46% in 2016 and 47% in 2020. His campaign’s best bet is to sufficiently hold Biden’s vote down in the key swing states to allow 46% or 47% to prevail. That scenario requires third parties to win a significant vote. By contrast, Biden, who won 51% of the vote last time, knows that Trump’s core vote is solid. Rather than try to chip away at Trump’s total, his goal has to be to get past him. Kennedy stands as a threat to that. How serious that threat will be is one of the great unknowns of the current campaign. ANALYSIS Will RFK Jr. hurt Biden or Trump more? Both campaigns act as if third-party hopeful is a bigger threat to incumbent. It’s hard to gauge his support. By David Lauter ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. speaks at an April 21 campaign event in Michigan. How serious a threat Kennedy will be to Donald Trump or President Biden is one of the great unknowns of the current campaign. Jose Juarez Associated Press For two weeks, former President Trump has been cooped up in a Manhattan courtroom on charges that he falsified records to conceal payments to a porn actress. “I should be in Georgia right now. I should be in Florida right now. I should be in a lot of places campaigning right now,” Trump raged last week. While he was stuck in court, he griped, President Biden was giving speeches in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida. “We’re locked up in a courtroom, and this guy’s out there campaigning,” Trump complained. The former president is often accused of making things up, but this time he spoke the truth. Biden may be 81, but at the moment, he’s campaigning with the energy of a 76-year-old. Some presidents rely on a “Rose Garden” strategy when they run for reelection, hoping the backdrop of the White House will boost their popularity. Biden has taken the opposite tack — partly to show that he’s vigorous enough to do the job, a campaign aide said, but also to sell voters on what he wants to do in a second term. Last month, I wrote several columns about what Trump has promised to do if he retakes the White House — a list that includes deporting millions of immigrants without legal status, reversing efforts to slow climate change and repealing the federal health insurance program known as Obamacare. So I figure I owe readers a column about the promises Biden is making: What does he hope to deliver if he wins a second term? Part of the answer is unsurprising. In a second term, Biden says, he wants to “finish the job” — to implement the economic and environmental programs he got through Congress in his first term and then try to pass several more. Last month, he laid out an ambitious wish list in his State of the Union speech. Now he has taken that unashamedly progressive agenda on the campaign trail. In a second term, Biden says, he would raise taxes on corporations and high income earners, meaning anyone making more than $400,000 a year. He says he would use some of the new revenue to reduce the federal deficit and the rest to fund a long list of programs, including an expanded child tax credit, a $10,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, family and medical leave and universal prekindergarten education. “Imagine a future with affordable child care, paid leave, home care, elder care and more, like every [other] major country in the world has,” he said in a speech in Scranton, Pa. Of the nation’s billionaires, Biden said, “They don’t pay enough taxes.” That big-government vision drew praise from progressives, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. It may hold less appeal for fiscally conservative independents and moderate Republicans, voters Biden is trying to woo into a broad anti-Trump coalition. Even for progressives, those proposals should come with a warning label: A second-term Biden would find it difficult to get them through Congress unless Democrats win solid majorities in both the House and Senate, an outcome that looks unlikely. The president’s campaign pitch includes other priorities that may appeal to broader audiences. One is abortion rights. The president has promised to seek new legislation to protect women’s rights to obtain abortions in every state. “I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land,” he promised in his State of the Union address. “In our view, this is the most defining issue of the election,” a Biden campaign aide told me, speaking on condition that he not be identified by name because he was not authorized to talk on the record. The president traveled to Florida last week to denounce that state’s new ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, and he is likely to travel to Arizona soon to denounce the 1864 abortion law that the state’s Supreme Court recently revived. But codifying Roe vs. Wade in federal law is another promise that is easier said than done. To pass such a law would require at least 60 votes in the Senate or a decision to suspend the filibuster rule. A third pillar of Biden’s campaign should be easier to deliver if he wins: his promise to protect the nation’s democratic institutions from Trump, who has said he would order the Justice Department to prosecute his political opponents if he returns to the White House. “Democracy is on the ballot,” Biden says frequently, warning that when Trump muses about ruling as a dictator, “he means it.” Anti-Trump voters who don’t love the rest of Biden’s program should vote for him, the president suggests, “not because I’m running ... but because of the opposite. What happens if we lose this election?” The president’s campaign strategists say they hope those themes can persuade voters to put aside their disappointment with Biden’s economic record, especially his failure to bring high prices under control, and focus on their misgivings about Trump. “A lot of the campaign, at this point, is making sure voters understand the choice they face — that one of two people on the ballot will actually be president next year,” the Biden aide said. And they argue that their strategy is beginning to work, as evidenced by the fact that recent national polls have shown the race narrowing toward a virtual tie. “The momentum is clearly in our favor,” Biden said in Tampa, Fla., last week. “People are beginning to listen.” But that optimistic forecast should come with a caveat. A presidential election is won by electoral votes, not popular votes — and Biden is running behind in most of the six to eight “swing states” that will decide that contest. Biden has offered an unabashedly progressive vision for how he would govern in a second term. But he’s still a long way from winning four more years in the White House — not to mention the big congressional majorities he’d need to turn those ambitious proposals into law. LETTER FROM WASHINGTON President Biden’s campaign promises come with a caveat IN A SECOND term, President Biden wants to raise taxes on high earners and restore Roe vs. Wade. Evan Vucci Associated Press DOYLE McMANUS

LATIMES.COM MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 A3 DID YOU OWN OR OPERATE A MOBIL SERVICE STATION IN THE 1970s OR 1980s? DID YOU WORK AS A MECHANIC AT A MOBIL STATION? IF SO, YOU MAY BE THE PERFECT CANDIDATE TO CONSULT WITH OUR LAW FIRM BY PHONE FOR UP TO $100/HOUR TO PROVIDE REAL WORLD EXPERTISE FOR A CASE WE ARE WORKING ON. PLEASE CALL (510) 302-1090 LEAVE A MESSAGE FOR OUR INVESTIGATIONS DEPARTMENT AND WE WILL PROMPTLY RETURN YOUR CALL KAZAN MCCLAIN SATTERLEY & GREENWOOD PLC WWW.KAZANLAW.COM Call Andrew Morris for your free in-home appraisal Third-Generation Family Owned FREE VALUATIONS FROM APRIL 29th - MAY 4th • Sell with immediate payment, or by auction • STEWART AUCTIONS & ANTIQUES SELL YOUR ART & JEWELRY FOR THE BEST PRICES TIME TO DOWNSIZE? BEVERLY HILLS 310-275-5565 ORANGE COUNTY 949-497-0868 812 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035 e-mail us at [email protected] THE WORLD tory decades ago. On Sunday, Meloni accused the left of being more of a totalitarian threat to Italy today. She said Communist Party members had made a complaint about the tents put up on the Pescara beachfront to host the Brothers of Italy rally, during which Meloni announced she would head the party’s campaign before European Parliament elections in June. “I note that the Communist Party still exists, and I say so to show where the nostalgics for totalitarianism are in Italy today,” she said. ROME — Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies Sunday to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution. Dressed in black, the neofascist supporters marched through northern Italian towns where Mussolini was arrested and executed at the end of World War II, and also in Predappio, Mussolini’s birthplace and final resting place. Mussolini was stopped by anti-fascist partisans in Dongo, on the shores of Lake Como, on April 27, 1945, as he tried to escape with his lover, Clara Petacci, after the Allied liberation of Italy. On Sunday, a group of neo-fascists marched through Dongo and placed 15 roses in the lake in memory of the ministers and officials from the Mussolini government who were killed there, according to video by LaPresse news agency. The partisans executed Mussolini and Petacci the following day in the nearby lakeside town of MezzegraGiulino, where commemorations were also held Sunday. After a rendition of taps, the leader of the commemorations shouted “Comrade Benito Mussolini,” and the crowd responded with a stiff-armed fascist salute and chant of “present.” Police trucks separated the demonstrators in Dongo from hundreds of protesters who sang the famous partisan song “Bella Ciao” during the ceremony. The anniversary of Mussolini’s execution fell on the same day that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was leading her far-right Brothers of Italy party in an election rally in the city of Pescara. Brothers of Italy traces its roots to the Italian Social Movement, or MSI, which was founded in 1946 by a chief of staff in Mussolini’s last government and drew fascist sympathizers and officials into its ranks after Mussolini’s fall. Meloni, who joined the MSI’s youth branch as a teenager, has tried to distance her party from its neofascist roots. She has condemned fascism’s suppression of democracy and insisted that the Italian right handed fascism over to hisFascist salute marks anniversary of Mussolini’s execution associated press KYIV, Ukraine — Russian drones early Sunday struck the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv, setting a hotel ablaze and damaging energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said, while the army chief warned of a worsening situation as his forces wait for much-needed arms from a huge U.S. aid package to reach the front lines. Vitaliy Kim, the governor of Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv province, said that Russian drones “seriously damaged” a hotel in its namesake capital, sparking a fire that was later extinguished. Kim also reported that the strike damaged heat-generating infrastructure in the city. He added that there were no casualties. Russian state agency RIA reported that the strike on Mykolaiv targeted a shipyard where naval drones are assembled, as well as a hotel housing “English-speaking mercenaries” who have fought for Kyiv. The RIA report cited Sergei Lebedev, described as a coordinator of local pro-Moscow guerrillas. His comments couldn’t be independently verified. Also on Sunday, Ukraine’s army chief reported that the battlefield situation was worsening for Kyiv, with Ukrainian forces tactically retreating along three sections of the front line in the eastern Donetsk region. In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Russian troops continue to attack “along the entire front line” of more than 620 miles, with battles raging west of the city of Avdiivka. Russian troops “will likely make significant tactical gains in the coming weeks” while Kyiv awaits badly needed weaponry from the U.S., a Washingtonbased think tank said. In its latest operational assessment, the Institute for the Study of War said that Moscow’s forces have opportunities to push forward around Avdiivka, the eastern city they took in late February after a grueling, months-long fight, and threaten nearby Chasiv Yar. Its capture would give Russia control of a hilltop from which it can attack other key cities forming the backbone of Ukraine’s eastern defenses. Despite this, the think tank assessed that neither of these efforts by Moscow is likely to cause Kyiv’s defensive lines to collapse “in the near term.” President Biden promised on Wednesday that U.S. weapons shipments would begin making their way into Ukraine within hours, as he signed into law a $95-billion measure — $61 billion of which was allocated for Ukraine — that also included assistance for Israel, Taiwan and other global hot spots. The announcement marked an end to the long, painful battle with Republicans in Congress over urgently needed assistance for Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday confirmed that Moscow’s troops had taken a village about nine miles north of Avdiivka, days after the war institute reported on its likely capture early on Thursday. That day’s assessment described Moscow’s gains as “relatively quick but still relatively marginal,” adding that Russian troops had advanced by no more than three miles over the previous week. Also on Sunday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 17 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight over four regions in the country’s southwest. Three drones were intercepted near an oil depot in Lyudinovo, an industrial town about 143 miles north of the Ukrainian border, Gov. Vladislav Shapsha said. One of the Ukrainian drones damaged communications infrastructure in Russia’s southern Belgorod province, which borders Ukraine, Gov. Vyachaslav Gladkov said later on Sunday. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Sunday that its forces had destroyed ammunition depots and military equipment housed at three airports across Ukraine, including assault drones stored at Kamyanka Airfield in the country’s east. The ministry’s online update said the attacks took place over the last 24 hours. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv. Russian shelling on Saturday wounded at least seven civilians across Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. A 36-year-old woman was pulled alive from the rubble after shells on Sunday morning destroyed her home in the northeastern Kharkiv region, the local administration reported. Her 52-year-old neighbor was rushed to a hospital with a stomach wound, the administration said. Blann writes for the Associated Press. Russian drones set hotel ablaze in Ukraine town A UKRAINIAN service member drives past a tank on the front line in the Donetsk region, where some forces were retreating under fire from Russia. Alex Babenko Associated Press The strike damages Mykolaiv amid reports of growing challenges for troops on the battlefield. By Susie Blann

A4 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM Home Delivery and Membership Program For questions about delivery, billing and vacation holds, or for information about our Membership program, please contact us at (213) 283-2274 or membershipservices@ latimes.com. You can also manage your account at myaccount.latimes.com. Letters to the Editor Want to write a letter to be published in the paper and online? E-mail [email protected]. For submission guidelines, see latimes.com/letters. Readers’ Representative If you believe we have made an error, or you have questions about our journalistic standards and practices, our readers’ representative can be reached at readers.representative @latimes.com, (877) 554-4000 or online at latimes.com/readersrep. Advertising For print and online advertising information, go to latimes.com/mediakit or call (213) 237-6176. Reprint Requests For the rights to use articles, photos, graphics and page reproductions, e-mail [email protected] or call (213) 237-4565. Times In Education To get the digital Los Angeles Times at no cost (along with our newspaper–based teaching materials), contact us at latimes.com/tie, or email [email protected] The Newsroom Know something important we should cover? Send a secure tip at latimes.com/tips. To send a press release go to the newsroom directory at latimes.com/staff. Media Relations For outside media requests and inquiries, e-mail [email protected]. L.A. Times Store Search archives, merchandise and front pages at latimes.com/store. How to contact us (800) LA TIMES A Publication Founded Dec. 4, 1881 Vol. CXLIII No. 148 LOS ANGELES TIMES (ISSN 0458-3035) is published by the Los Angeles Times, 2300 E. Imperial Highway, El Segundo, CA 90245. Periodicals postage is paid at Los Angeles, CA, and additional cities. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the above address. Home Delivery Subscription Rates (all rates include applicable CA sales taxes and apply to most areas) Print + unlimited digital rates: Seven-day $28/week, $1,456 annually. Thursday–Sunday $16/week, $832 annually. Thursday & Sunday $10/week, $520 annually. Saturday & Sunday $9/week, $468 annually. Sunday $8.50/week, $442 annually. Monday–Saturday $18/week, $936 annually (also includes Sundays, except 3/31, 5/26, 9/1, and 10/13). Monday–Friday $16/week, $832 annually. All subscriptions may include up to eight Premium issues per year. For each Premium issue, your account balance will be charged an additional fee up to $4.49, in the billing period when the section publishes. This will result in shortening the length of your billing period. Future Premium issues may include: Shohei Ohtani’s Journey 3/17/24, Books in Hollywood / Festival of Books 4/14/24, 101 Best West Coast Experiences 5/19/24, Our Queerest Century 6/23/24, The Best Tacos of LA 7/28/24, Climate 9/15/24, Holiday Gift Guide 11/3/24, and 101 Best Restaurants 12/8/24. Printed with soy-based ink on recycled newsprint from wood byproducts. Download the app. Discover more. pain is ever present she was one of the few who seemed to exhibit moments of joy. She giggled, fidgeting in the chair as a volunteer painted a Spider-Man mask on her face. Then she scampered off on her one leg, hopping quickly across the room as her purse, showing a smiling Snow White, swung in her wake. The three are among the medical evacuees whose injuries are far too severe for Gaza’s collapsing medical system to treat, and who were brought along with some of their relatives to Doha as part of an initiative by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. After an agreement among Israel, Hamas, Egypt and Qatar, the injured were allowed to leave the Palestinian territory through the southern Gaza city of Rafah and then transported on more than 20 Qatari military flights. They’re part of a much larger group of people wounded in Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, when Hamas operatives killed roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel and took hostages. In Gaza, in addition to the more than 34,000 killed in Israel’s subsequent attacks, more than 77,000 Palestinians have been wounded, according to the Health Ministry there. In a population where nearly half are younger than 18, the majority of victims have been women and children, the ministry says. Those who have made it to the Doha compound suffer from life-altering injuries, medical professionals say. “Burns. Amputations. Head injuries. Fractures. Shrapnel. Crush injuries — we’ve never seen this severity, or this number of amputees, or such severe injuries to internal organs,” said Dr. Ahmed al Hammadi, the acting chief medical officer for Sidra Medicine, a 400-bed hospital in Doha that is providing some of the most complex treatments for the evacuated Gazans. To convalesce, they stay in this compound and exercise by walking around its well-ordered clusters of three-story buildings and a synthetic turf avenue with a playground and soccer field. When the ferocious Doha sun allows, the children come out to play or visit a recreation center. Some zoom in wheelchairs up and down the streets. “We were told to expect that the kids are mostly amputees and have major trauma,” said Noura Al Jaber, a 21-year-old volunteer with the Qatar Foundation, which is offering psychological counseling among other services. “But it’s different when you come here. The reality of it hits you.” She was helping set up recreational activities for the children and soon went to the volunteers setting up soccer matches to make sure they could accommodate anyone with disabilities. “I’ve seen more kids in crutches and mobility aids in the compound than kids walking around.” :: It was after midnight on Nov. 23 and the call to prayer had just ended when three missiles hit the apartment building in central Gaza where Battah’s family had sought refuge. One didn’t explode, but the others sent a cascade of rubble onto Battah, who was sleeping on the floor beside one of her brothers, Basel, 9, and sister Nada, 13. Nada died instantly. The bones in one of Basel’s legs crumbled under the pressure. Battah’s left foot was hanging by a thread of skin. “You could see her foot wasn’t attached,” said Battah’s mother, Raedah Nabhan, 43. “If you pulled at it, it would come off in your hand.” But the doctors in Gaza refused to amputate, hoping to save the foot. They put Battah on medication for three days, then transferred her to another hospital. Three more days passed. By then, infection had set in. Not only could the foot not be saved, but once she got to Doha, her leg would have to be amputated above the knee. “The first thing she asked me when I saw her in the hospital after the operation was, ‘Will I grow a new leg?’ ” Nabhan said. “I told her, ‘We’ll get you the most beautiful leg,’ ” Nabhan said. “I couldn’t stop crying.” Like about 40% of the Gaza patients who came to Qatar, Battah could have had a significantly less complicated prognosis had she received proper attention early on, Al Hammadi said. “They came late,” he said of many patients. “Any delay, there’s a lot of impact. You have to intervene as soon as possible. “If you treated it in less than 24 hours, maybe one or two surgeries would be enough. Now we’re talking seven, eight, maybe more.” And the complexity of many cases has often required more than one surgery at a time, with three to four specialist surgeons going into the operating room together for hourslong procedures. One of the patients who faces a particularly difficult road to recovery is 10-yearold Yahya abu Odeh. His family had moved within Gaza several times to try to outrun the violence before settling in at a schoolturned-shelter in the Mawasi area. On Feb. 5, Yahya was at the door of a fourth-floor classroom when a piece of shrapnel, barely half a millimeter, lanced through his skull and lodged itself two inches inside. His mother, Rasha abu Odeh, 36, thought he was dead when she first saw him. She ran and hugged him and heard a heartbeat. But there was no transportation, so she had to carry him two miles until she found someone with a cart. It took five hours before they got to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and saw a doctor. The hospital was already inundated with casualties. Yahya, who was still unconscious, was admitted but only got a bed days later, when another patient died. Abu Odeh had to chase after overwhelmed doctors and try to care for her son based on her pharmaceutical training. Yahya woke from his coma four days after the attack, but he could not see and had lost function in his right arm and leg. The once rambunctious boy who loved playing with friends was also suffering from short-term memory problems. With much of the medical infrastructure destroyed, there was little doctors in Gaza could do, so Yahya was put on the list for evacuation. On March 6, Yahya and his mother arrived in Egypt; they reached Doha on April 8. Abu Odeh had left behind five other children in Gaza and her husband, who lost his eye in the Israeli attack. A scan showed the shrapnel had cracked Yahya’s skull and left bone splinters lodged inside, some near the optic nerve. The doctors will operate in a few weeks, after they conduct tests to determine the shrapnel’s exact location. In the meantime, Abu Odeh was working on Yahya’s memory, having him recite what he could remember of numbers and the alphabet. So far he remembers nine of the 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet. “I just pray he’ll see again,” she said. :: Though Battah’s condition was stable, she too faced a complicated future. She was getting a prosthetic leg in the coming weeks, but it would need to be changed in the coming years. “You’ll have to do followup, a lot, especially in pediatrics,” Al Hammadi said. “Correction [on issues with traumatized bones and amputations] needs more surgeries, because they’re growing. The bone is growing, the muscle, everything is growing.” For the moment, playing in the family’s temporary apartment as the noon heat sent residents indoors, Battah appeared unconcerned. She casually maneuvered herself onto the couch to watch cartoons with her toddler sister and four brothers, including Basel, whose leg was still in a cast. Seven-year-old Ibrahim “was the only one who was completely uninjured,” Nabhan said. Though Battah smiles a lot and appears to have moments of joy, her mother knows there is sadness. She turned to Battah, and asked her whether she knew what was going to happen to her leg. Battah smiled but said nothing. “She knows, but she doesn’t talk. Before she would speak to everyone. Now it’s different,” Nabhan said. “And she hates hospitals.” Sometimes, when Battah visits the physical therapist, Nabhan continued, she refuses to speak at all. “You’d get more words from a stone,” Nabhan said, tearing up at the memory. Though the children are safe here — “Just sleeping without the sound of drones, that’s enough,” Nabhan said — they hardly feel happy. There were too many family members back home, too much that had been lost. Nabhan had applied for her husband to join her, but it seemed unlikely. And she didn’t know when she could go back to Gaza; she had left without even visiting the cemetery where they buried daughter Nada. “The kids are OK here. They tell me they don’t want to go back,” Nabhan said. “When we call their father, we all just sit here and cry.” As she watched TV, Battah noticed a visiting photojournalist’s camera at her side. She picked it up, declaring it hers now. She started snapping pictures, hopping from one corner of the room to the other and laughing as her mother watched. At compound, a living catalog of the horrors inflicted by war ARWA GHANEM, 10, in a wheelchair, and other Palestinians play in a compound housing Gazan medical evacuees in Doha, Qatar. A wardrobe fell on Arwa during an Israeli attack, pulverizing the bones in her left leg. Photographs by Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times “I’VE SEEN more kids in crutches and mobility aids in the compound than kids walking around,” said a volunteer with a foundation offering help to the evacuees. [Evacuees, from A1] TEL AVIV — The White House on Sunday said President Biden had again spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month war in Gaza. The White House said Biden reiterated his “clear position” as Israel plans to invade Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah despite global concern for the more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering there. On the phone call, which lasted nearly an hour, Biden stressed that progress in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip be “sustained and enhanced,” according to the statement. The two leaders agreed that the onus remains on Hamas to accept the latest offer in cease-fire negotiations, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. There was no comment from Netanyahu’s office. Meanwhile, a senior official from key intermediary Qatar urged Israel and Hamas to show “more commitment and more seriousness” in negotiations. Working alongside the U.S. and Egypt, Qatar was instrumental in negotiating a halt to the fighting in November that led to the release of dozens of hostages. But in a sign of frustration, Qatar, which hosts Hamas’ headquarters in Doha, this month said it was reassessing its role. An Israeli delegation is expected in Egypt in the coming days to continue negotiations; senior Hamas official Basem Naim told the Associated Press that a delegation from the militant group will also head to Cairo. In interviews with Israeli daily Haaretz and public broadcaster Kan that were released Saturday evening, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed alAnsari expressed disappointment with Hamas and Israel, saying each side has made decisions based on political interests and not with civilians’ welfare in mind. He didn’t reveal details on the talks other than to say they have “effectively stopped,” with “both sides entrenched in their positions.” Negotiations this month centered on a six-week cease-fire proposal and the freeing of 40 civilian and sick hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Hamas in recent days has released videos of three hostages, an apparent push for Israel to make concessions. The pressure for a ceasefire deal is also meant to avert an Israeli attack on Rafah. Israel has amassed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles in the area. “Only a small strike is all it takes to force everyone to leave Palestine,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asserted Sunday to the opening session of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia, adding that he believed an invasion would happen within days. But White House national security spokesman John F. Kirby told ABC that Israel “assured us they won’t go into Rafah until we’ve had a chance to really share our ... concerns with them. So we’ll see where that goes.” The Israeli troop buildup may be a pressure tactic on Hamas in talks. Israel, which has vowed to destroy Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, sees Rafah as the group’s last major stronghold. The war was sparked by Hamas’ attack Oct. 7, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities, who say roughly 240 were taken hostage. Hamas and other groups are holding about 130 hostages, including the remains of about 30, Israeli authorities say. Israel’s assault on Hamas has killed more than 34,000 people, most of them women and children, according to health authorities in Gaza, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally. Biden, Netanyahu discuss Gaza negotiations associated press

LOS ANGELES TIMES MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 A5 © 2024 Hennion & Walsh. Securities ofered through Hennion & Walsh Inc. Member of FINRA, SIPC. Investing in bonds involves risk including possible loss of principal. Income may be subject to state, local or federal alternative minimum tax. When interest rates rise, bond prices fall, and when interest rates fall, bond prices rise. If sold or called prior to maturity the amount received may be less than the amount paid, and the yield received may be less than the yield calculated at purchase. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. *Investment grade municipal bonds had a cumulative 10-year default rate of 0.09% between 1970 and 2021 according to Moody’s Investor Service, April 21, 2022 “US Municipal Bond Defaults and Recoveries”, 1970–2021. OURFREE BOND GUIDE IS SO SENSIBLE, ITWOULD BE SILLY NOT TO READ IT. About Hennion & Walsh Since 1990 Hennion & Walsh has specialized in investment grade tax-free municipal bonds. The company supervises over $3 billion in assets in over 16,000 accounts, providing individual investors with institutional quality service and personal attention. CALL (800) 929-1929 to get your copy of the Hennion & Walsh Bond Guide. There’s no obligation and it’s COMPLETELY FREE Municipal bonds have historically been a low-risk way to invest.* Particularly if you’re after the potential for tax-free and regular investment income. Investment-grade, rated Municipal bonds from Hennion&Walsh? Well, that might be even better. We’ve studied them from every angle, for more than 30 years. So we know how to use them to help you reach your financial goals. The benefits and risks of municipal bonds. How municipal bonds provide federally tax-free income. Why municipal bonds ofer the potential for regular income. Strategies for smart bond investing. Municipal bond facts every investor should know. HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: AND HERE’S WHATITCOSTS:$0

A6 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM THE NATION about increased hiring. The survey shows that although small and medium departments had more sworn officers than they did in January 2020, large departments are still more than 5% below their staffing levels from that time, even with a year-overyear increase from 2022 to 2023. The survey also showed that smaller departments with fewer than 50 officers are still struggling with a higher rate of resignations and retirements. The survey asked only for numbers, Wexler said, so it’s hard to say whether those officers are leaving for larger departments or leaving the profession altogether. He also said smaller departments, which account for 80% of agencies nationwide, were underrepresented in the responses the think tank received. Many larger departments have increased officer pay or started offering incentives such as signing bonuses for experienced officers who are willing to transfer, something smaller departments can’t really compete with. At least a dozen smaller departments have disbanded, leaving the municipalities they once served to rely on state or county help for policing. But even some of the highest-paying large departments are still struggling to get new hires in the door. “I don’t think it’s all about money. I think it’s about the way people perceive their job and feel they are going to be supported,” Wexler said. “You have West Coast departments that are paying six figures, but still seeing major challenges in hiring.” In addition to pay and bonuses, many agencies are reexamining their application requirements and hiring processes. Lauer writes for the Associated Press. PHILADELPHIA — Police departments across the United States are reporting an increase in their ranks for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which led to a historic exodus of officers, a survey shows. More sworn officers were hired in 2023 than in any one of the previous four years, and fewer officers overall resigned or retired, according to the 214 law enforcement agencies that responded to a survey by the Police Executive Research Forum. Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers spurred nationwide protests against police brutality and heightened scrutiny of law enforcement. As more and more officers left, many of the departments had to redeploy stretched resources by shifting officers away from investigative work or quality-oflife issues such as abandoned vehicles or noise violations to handle increases in crime and, in some cases, the shortages meant slower response times or limiting responses to emergencies only, police officials say. “I just think that the past four years have been particularly challenging for American policing,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the research forum, a nonprofit policing think tank based in Washington. “And our survey shows we’re finally starting to turn a corner.” Individual departments are turning that corner at different rates, however, said Wexler, who noted that many are still struggling to attract and keep officers. As a whole, the profession “isn’t out of the woods yet,” he said. The Associated Press left phone and email messages with several unions and police departments to ask Police officer hiring up in ’23, survey finds By Claudia Lauer Maryam Alwan figured the worst was over after New York City police in riot gear arrested her and other protesters this month on the Columbia University campus, loaded them onto buses and held them in custody for hours. But the next evening, the college junior received an email from the university. Alwan and other students were being suspended after their arrests at the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” — a tactic colleges across the country have deployed to calm growing campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war. The students’ plight has become a central part of the protests. Students and a growing number of faculty are demanding their amnesty. At issue is whether universities and law enforcement will clear the charges and withhold other consequences, or whether the suspensions and legal records will follow students into their adult lives. Terms of the suspensions vary from campus to campus. At Columbia and its affiliated Barnard College for women, Alwan and dozens more were arrested April 18 and barred from campus and classes, unable to attend in-person or virtually. Questions about their academic futures remain. Will they be allowed to take final exams? What about financial aid? Graduation? Columbia says outcomes will be decided at disciplinary hearings, but Alwan says she has not been given a date. “This feels very dystopian,” said Alwan, a comparative literature and society major. What started at Columbia has turned into a nationwide showdown between students and administrators over antiwar protests and the limits of free speech. In the last 10 days, hundreds of students have been arrested, suspended, put on probation and, in rare cases, expelled from USC, Yale, Vanderbilt, the University of Minnesota and other colleges. Barnard suspended more than 50 students who were arrested April 18 and evicted them from campus housing, according to interviews with students and reporting from the Columbia Spectator campus newspaper, which obtained internal documents. On Friday, Barnard announced that it had reached agreements restoring campus access to “nearly all” of those who had been arrested. A statement from the college did not specify the number but said all students who had their suspensions lifted have agreed to follow college rules, and some were put on probation. On the night of the arrests, Barnard student Maryam Iqbal posted a screenshot on the social media platform X of a dean’s email saying she could briefly return to her room with campus security before getting kicked out. “You will have 15 minutes to gather what you might need,” the email read. More than 100 Barnard and Columbia faculty last week staged a rally “to support our students,” condemning the arrests and demanding that suspensions be lifted. Columbia is still pushing to remove the tent encampment on the campus’ main lawn, where graduation ceremonies are scheduled for May 15. The students have demanded that the school cuts ties with Israel-linked companies and ensure amnesty for students and faculty who are arrested or disciplined in connection with the protests. Talks with the student protesters are continuing, said Ben Chang, a Columbia spokesperson. “We have our demands; they have theirs,” he said. For international students facing suspension, there is the added fear of losing visas, said Radhika Sainath, an attorney with Palestine Legal, which helped a group of Columbia students file a federal civil rights complaint against the school Thursday. The complaint accuses Columbia of not doing enough to address discrimination against Palestinian students. “The level of punishment is not even just draconian; it feels like over-the-top callousness,” Sainath said. More than 40 students were arrested at a Yale demonstration last week, including senior Craig BirckheadMorton. He is due to graduate May 20 but says the university has not yet told him whether his case will be submitted to a disciplinary panel. He worries about whether he will receive a diploma and whether his acceptance to Columbia for graduate school could be at risk. “The school has done its best to ignore us and not tell us what happens next,” said Birckhead-Morton, a history major. Across the country, college administrators have struggled to balance free speech and inclusivity. Some demonstrations have included hate speech, antisemitic threats or support for Hamas, the group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking a war in Gaza that has left more than 34,000 dead. May commencement ceremonies add pressure to clear demonstrations. University officials say arrests and suspensions are a last resort, and they give ample warnings beforehand to clear protest areas. Vanderbilt University in Tennessee has issued what are believed to be the only student expulsions related to protesting the IsraelHamas conflict, according to the Institute for Middle Eastern Understanding. More than two dozen students occupied the chancellor’s office for several hours March 26, prompting the university to summon police and arrest several protesters. Vanderbilt then issued three expulsions and one suspension and put 22 protesters on probation. In an open letter to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, more than 150 Vanderbilt professors criticized the university’s crackdown as “excessive and punitive.” Freshman Jack Petocz, 19, one of those expelled, is allowed to attend classes while he appeals. He has been evicted from his dorm and is living off campus. Petocz said protesting in high school helped him get into Vanderbilt and secure a merit scholarship for activists and organizers. His college essay was about organizing walkouts in rural Florida to oppose Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-LGBTQ+ policies. “Vanderbilt seemed to love that,” Petocz said. “Unfortunately, the buck stops when you start advocating for Palestinian liberation.” Gecker writes for the Associated Press. Student protesters consider ramifications AN ARREST is made Wednesday during a protest at the University of Texas at Austin. Students and a growing number of faculty are demanding amnesty for those facing disciplinary or legal action over protesting. Jay Janner Associated Press Hundreds are being arrested, suspended, put on probation and, in rare cases, expelled from their colleges. By Jocelyn Gecker SULPHUR, Okla. — Tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma have flattened buildings across one rural town, killing at least four people, causing widespread power outages and leaving a trail of destruction, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Sunday. Nearly 30,000 people remained without power after tornadoes began late Saturday night. The damage was extensive in Sulphur, a town of about 5,000 people, where some downtown buildings were reduced to rubble and roofs were sheared off houses across a 15-block radius. “You just can’t believe the destruction,” Stitt said. “It seems like every business downtown has been destroyed.” Stitt said about 30 people were injured in Sulphur alone. Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in the nation’s midsection since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect Sunday for Oklahoma and other states — including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas. In Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through Holdenville, a town of about 5,000 people, late Saturday, killing two people, and injuring four others, Hughes County Emergency Medical Services said in a statement Sunday. Another person was killed along Interstate 35 near the southern Oklahoma city of Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. In Holdenville, houses were demolished and road signs were bent to the ground in the community roughly 80 miles from Oklahoma City. The sound of chain saws could be heard in the distance as workers began tackling the damage. “My prayers are with those who lost loved ones as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma last night,” Stitt said in a statement. He issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties as crews worked to clear debris and assess damage from the severe storms that downed power lines. More than 30,000 customers had lost power in Oklahoma as of midday Sunday, according to poweroutage. us, which tracks electric utility outages. In Texas, nearly 52,000 customers were without power. In Sulphur, authorities reported unspecified injuries along with significant destruction as the tornado began in a city park before tearing through downtown. Search and rescue operations were underway, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Photos from local news media showed several leveled buildings and roofs ripped off homes. The Murray County Sheriff’s Office urged people to stay away from the city to clear the way for first responders following extensive damage from tornadoes, according to a statement posted by the agency on Facebook. “Stay home and do not come to look,” the Sheriff’s Office said. A hospital was damaged in Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management, which also said that Interstate 35 was closed at the border with Texas “due to overturned vehicles and powerlines across the highway.” Residents in other states were also digging out from storm damage. A tornado in suburban Omaha demolished homes and businesses Saturday as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slammed an Iowa town. Fewer than two dozen people were treated at Omaha-area hospitals, said Dr. Lindsay Huse, health director of the city’s Douglas County Health Department. “Miraculous,” she said, stressing that none of the injuries were serious. Neighboring communities reported a handful of injuries each. The tornado damage started Friday afternoon near Lincoln, Neb. An industrial building in Lancaster County was hit, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated, and the three injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said. One or possibly two tornadoes spent around an hour creeping toward Omaha, leaving behind damage consistent with an EF3 twister, with winds of 135 to 165 mph, said Chris Franks, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Omaha office. Ultimately the twister slammed into the Elkhorn neighborhood in western Omaha. Miller writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report. Four killed in Oklahoma tornadoes IN SULPHUR, OKLA., a town of about 5,000 people, roofs were sheared off houses across a 15-block radius. Buildings downtown were reduced to rubble. Bryan Terry Oklahoman The night of severe storms also leaves damage across Texas and part of Nebraska, knocking out power. By Ken Miller

LATIMES.COM MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 A7 that, based on a district probe, a private company that had been employed to provide safe passages at the school is no longer working for the school system. Officials continue to refuse to release the name of the company. The shooting in an unincorporated neighborhood near South L.A. is adding fuel to a debate over campus safety in the nation’s secondlargest school system and the reduced role of school police. In June 2020, during the wave of local and national Black Lives Matter demonstrations — and persistent, ongoing student activism against the L.A. school police — the Board of Education removed officers from campus, limiting them to patrols, investigations and crisis response. The board also approved a 35% cut in the police budget, leading to a reduction in officers. Before that, one officer was typically assigned to each high school, while two middle schools would share an officer. Instead, officials turned increasingly to safe passages programs, which have relied on school staff, volunteers, community organizations and private vendors. Historically, these efforts also had included close coordination with law enforcement. A safe passages worker might not be expected to break up afight, but they were in place as a visual deterrent to conflict, to try to calm down tense situations, to help students and to call police if necessary. The shooting at Washington Prep raises serious questions about the ramped-up safe passages effort, including about the level of training and screening for participants and the extent to which they are willing and able to coordinate with police when a situation begins to get out of hand. So far, district officials have provided no specific answers to these questions. The full actions of the person identified by students as a safe passages worker have not been disclosed — nor has their name. But in a moment when a dangerous situation might have been averted, the individual is caught on video, in an expletive-filled tirade, refusing to intervene, expressing no interest in the brewing altercation and waving off one or more students who had approached for help. The fight began about a minute later. “We preach to parents — we stress to parents — that we are there and our priority is to the safety of the students, and that incident shows otherwise,” said Nery Paiz, president of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, the union that represents principals, other school administrators and mid-level managers. Early last week, after The Times published the first account of the moments before the shooting, district officials released a statement saying that the school system was reviewing “the events of Monday the 15th, including actions taken by district staff and contracted services.” Captured on video by onlookers The shooting occurred a few blocks from the school, at 108th Street and Western Avenue, where students were milling around a bus stop in front of a convenience store. The Times reviewed two videos of the confrontation. After the alleged safety team member did not intervene, the videos show a youth rushing in and punching a boy wearing a red and white jacket in the face. At least five boys join in, punching and kicking him, before he pulls out a gun and opens fire. A few seconds after the shots, a police siren can be heard on the video. One law enforcement source said a school police officer was on patrol about half a block away and probably heard the shots and saw the crowd. Two 10th-grade witnesses, interviewed by The Times, said they did not hear what the safety team member said; they were out of earshot as they walked down 108th Street to the bus stop. But one of them, who identified herself as Jasmine, said she saw one school safety person in the background “who was just kind of watching it all happen.” The other 10th-grader, who identified himself as Jahsai, said more than a dozen people seemed to have their cellphones out before the melee started, in apparent anticipation of the fight. He and Jasmine were there only to catch a bus. Police presence remains a hot topic Students and community activists — many of them Black — joined by the leadership of the teachers union, have long called for the complete dismantling of the school police department, pointing to researchers who challenge whether police make campuses safer. The presence of any officer on a campus, they say, “criminalizes” students, making them targets for potential harassment and undermining the role of school as a nurturing, academically focused environment. Tanya Ortiz Franklin has been the school board member most adamant about ending all spending on school police. She said that, in the big picture, reforms are working to make schools safer and improve learning environments. “Just last week, the board’s School Safety and Climate Committee, which I chair, heard from two of our more than 60 communitybased safety partners about their approaches, successes and opportunities for improvement,” she said. “A theme we heard ... is that with daily safe passages outside school and peace-building and mentoring inside school, we can prevent a majority of unsafe incidents from occurring in the first place.” In schools where such practices are well managed, Franklin said, “we are seeing improved relationships and student attendance, and reduced physical altercations.” Washington Prep, like other district high schools, has abided by district policy and tried to minimize the presence of police. These officers enter campus only to deal with an emergency. Schools instead are relying increasingly on a counseling-oriented approach that is universally approved of, although not necessarily as a substitute for police. The counseling approach has been hindered by a shortage of social workers and by limited “de-escalation” training for staff. Outside campus, there’s been growing reliance on safe passages. Anti-police activists insist that safe passages programs are the wave of the future: They can provide more block-by-block coverage than one or two patrolling officers — and without the threatening presence, in their view, of armed officers. Safe passages workers are meant to be easily recognized by the yellow jackets or vests they wear. More parents, however, especially Latinos, who make up the vast majority in the school system, want to keep the police, demanding their return to on-campus duties. They also say that school police are preferable to relying wholly on city police in emergencies. Reactions to video bring mixed feelings The presence of a safe passages worker has not been confirmed or denied by the school district. The common perception among students is that this worker refused to intervene, based on interviews with the two witnesses and about half a dozen other students who were not at the scene. Paiz, of the administrators union, said he saw video showing two safe passages participants who did not step in. “And you can clearly hear the audio where the person said that he was not going to intervene,” Paiz said. “He said, ‘Let them fight if they want to fight.’ So that’s a problem.” Washington Prep Principal Tony Booker sent out a district-approved message to students and parents, emphasizing that the “incident” occurred “off-campus after school hours.” “It is with deep sadness that I am calling to inform you of the death of one of our students,” Booker said in the message. “I wish to express our sincere condolences to the student’s family, friends and teachers.” He added that crisis counselors would be available for students and staff and that “in an abundance of caution, the Los Angeles School Police Department will be providing support to the campus and extra patrols.” Interim School Police Chief Aaron Pisarzewicz noted at a school safety task force meeting last week that he had reviewed five cellphone videos of what happened and could not say more because of the ongoing investigation. Senior district officials declined to respond to questions submitted about the protocols for those involved in safe passages, for example, under what circumstances they are supposed to alert the school police. Nor would they respond to questions about how participants are trained or how they are supposed to deal with fights. “The district is not being transparent,” said Evelyn Aleman, who heads Our Voice, a group representing Latino parents. “Parents want answers,” she said. “And they want to feel that their children will be free of violence on a school campus. They want to know that the district will be accountable and not just say it took place down the street so we’re not responsible.” Sgt. Jason Muck, the head of the union representing Police Department managers, said the Washington Prep shooting points to a need for consistent de-escalation training. He also called for coordination between the school police and the safe passages teams. His view is that some of the safe passages providers see police as the enemy and are unwilling or unprepared to bring police into a potentially dangerous situation in which the officer could be an ally. The safe passages workers, he said, “don’t have walkie-talkies. They don’t have to report things to us. They’re just standing out there. I’m not saying that this still couldn’t have happened with officers there, but trained officers can deal with situations like this. “From what I’m hearing, this weapon could have been in this student’s possession on campus all week,” he added. “This is stuff that was brewing all week long. And if we had an officer on campus, the officer well could have gotten wind of this and maybe this could have been prevented.” Board member George McKenna, who represents Washingon Prep — and who once gained fame as its hard-charging principal — strongly supports a police presence. “The only people who are required to break up fights and run to the problem are the school police,” he said. The campaign against the L.A. school police caught fire in the wake of the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by city police officers — one of a string of high-profile police abuse cases across the country. The police budget has crept upward since being slashed by the school board — because of districtwide salary increases and other higher costs — which angered activists who accuse the board of backtracking from commitments to phase out police. Washington Prep junior Pierre Clark has mixed feelings about safety issues. Those supposed to provide safety were not doing so “if you look in the video,” he said. “They were just standing there watching. I feel like your job is to break up that stuff.” And at school, “nobody checks you when you walk in. Anybody can walk in there with anything and nobody would know.” All the same, he has misgivings about a ramped-up police presence: “I want to feel normal. I don’t want to see all these police officers. It’s just a heavy presence, having a lot of cops around you.” L.A. student is shot to death during fight SCHOOL POLICE parked in front of Washington Preparatory High School in South L.A. and increased patrols after one student fatally shot another after school on April 15 outside a nearby convenience store. Howard Blume Los Angeles Times [Shooting, from A1] particularly conservative voters. Amajority of the O.C. Republicans surveyed for the poll — 55% — thought Biden had not won fairly, while most Democrats — 88% — believed the election results. A majority of people surveyed who aren’t members of either party said Biden won legitimately. However, 23% said he didn’t, and the same percentage didn’t know. “Distrust in the election system may very well convince some people not to participate, and what we’re seeing is that people who distrust it more tend to skew to the right, and so that would hurt Republicans,” said Jon Gould, dean of the UCI School of Social Ecology, who spearheaded the poll. The issue has played out locally in Huntington Beach, a longtime GOP stronghold that in recent years — along with the rest of the county — has grown more politically and demographically diverse. This has led to friction among residents and politicians with opposing political views. In March, voters approved a measure allowing the city to require that voters show government-issued photo identification, beginning in 2026. Huntington Beach Councilman Tony Strickland and Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark wrote in support of the ballot measure that voters “deserve the right to know that our elections are secure.” “It is crucial for our democracy that voters have faith in our election results. That trust in the outcome of elections comes into question when we can’t always be certain who is voting,” they wrote. California law requires residents to verify their identities when they register to vote and imposes criminal penalties for fraudulent registration. The state does not ask for photo identification at the polls, but voters are required to provide their names and addresses. This month, California sued Huntington Beach over its new law. Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said during a news conference that the photo identification requirement “is not only misguided — it is blatantly and flatly illegal.” Election skepticism in O.C. may be lower than in some other parts of the country. In a national poll conducted by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland in December, 36% of respondents said Biden’s victory was not legitimate. But in the highly competitive Orange County congressional races, particularly the 47th and 45th districts, where a few votes could sway the outcome, the repercussions could be farreaching. In the 45th District, Democrat Derek Tran is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Michelle Steel. In the 47th District, which runs largely along the coast, Democrat state Sen. Dave Min and Republican Scott Baugh are facing off to replace Democratic Rep. Katie Porter. As for the presidential rematch between Biden and Trump, there is little suspense in California because of its deep blue population in urban areas. Still, Trump asserted in a speech at the GOP California Convention in Anaheim last year that “we would win California in a general election if they didn’t have a rigged voting system.” He alleged that people are getting five or six ballots mailed to them. “Nobody knows where they’re going, who they’re going to, who signs them, who delivers them and who the hell counts them? Nobody knows,” he said. The widespread use of vote-by-mail ballots, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained popular, has altered the pattern of vote counting as results trickle in, fueling beliefs that something nefarious is afoot. “Trump was winning on election night, and then as more and more votes were counted, he began to lose, and that looks to some people like someone’s been tweaking the election results, as opposed to people for the first time being exposed to vote by mail,” Gould, of UCI, said. Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page started conducting open tours of the ballot counting operation in Santa Ana during the 2022 midterms in an effort to show people the process and alleviate concerns. But election skepticism and allegations of a “rigged” voting system have persisted. The economy, abortion, foreign policy and immigration remain top issues for Orange County voters this cycle, according to the UC Irvine poll. The economy is among the top issues for both Democrat and Republican voters. Democrats rank abortion as the third-most important issue, behind checking a Trump presidency from “going too far” and the economy. Republicans rank the economy and situation at the border as their first and second-most important issues. Lopez, who is a nonaffiliated voter, said he worries about issues like ballot harvesting — particularly affecting people who might be susceptible to outside pressure — that he fears could skew election results. He also has concerns about the “motor voter” system, in which Californians applying for or updating a driver’s license are automatically registered to vote, unless they opt out. In 2018 — the year the system rolled out in California — roughly 1,500 people, including noncitizens, were wrongly registered to vote. “I would love to hear the government and states come out and say, ‘Hey, you know what, these are the concerns from a lot of people, and we’re going to put some stopgaps in there,’ ” Lopez said. Lopez, who ranks the economy as a top issue, still plans to vote. He is still researching candidates in all the races but said he’s leaning toward Trump for president. Others disillusioned with the voting process might choose to sit this one out. “By selling doubts in the election, there is an interesting question as to whether Republicans and Trump in particular are sowing the seeds for their own defeat,” Gould said. Poll finds voting distrust in Orange County IN ORANGE COUNTY’S competitive congressional races, only a few votes could sway the outcome. Allen J. Schaben Los Angeles Times [Election, from A1]

A8 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM which was shot last spring at a Mississippi casino. On the set of “Armored,” a film made during the actors’ strike in the fall, star Sylvester Stallone arrived on set unaware that Emmett was the project’s director, according to four crew members who worked on the film. Stallone and his representatives declined to comment. The film’s assistant director and another producer insisted that Stallone was not surprised by Emmett’s “presence” on set. Crew lists initially credited “Ives” as the director on the $11.5-million production featuring Stallone as a bad guy who must face off against a former cop (costar Jason Patric) as he and his band of thieves attempt to rob an armored truck. But just as shooting got underway in southern Mississippi in late September, “Ives” vanished from the production record. He was replaced, at least on the call sheet, by Justin Routt, a 63- year-old Miami film novice and convicted felon who did not direct any scene in the movie, according to eight members of the film’s production. “Justin Routt didn’t direct a thing,” said Steve Noell, the prop master on “Armored.” “He was just there. Randall was the one who called all the shots.” Despite the demise of his former production company, a trail of lawsuits and bad publicity, Emmett continues to work Hollywood’s angles, lining up producing partners and big-name stars to make his small-budget films. But whether the 53- year-old producer is going by Emmett or Ives, he continues to confront allegations of not paying his bills on time and presiding over rushed and chaotic film sets, according to a Times review of emails, text messages and interviews with nearly a dozen people. Emmett declined to comment for this story or to respond to specific questions from The Times. The producer’s attorney provided written declarations from eight crew members and producers disputing that there were problems on the set of “Armored.” “The set was safe and all crew and vendors were paid,” line producer Josh Fruehling said. “Overall, the shoot went without incident,” First Assistant Director Gustavo Peña said. Randall Emmett is largely known to TV audiences as the pickleball-playing former fiance of “Vanderpump Rules” star Lala Kent, and their messy 2021 breakup that became a storyline on the hit Bravo show. In Hollywood, however, he’s recognized for fine-tuning the “geezer-teaser” formula for making action films. He has thrived for years by paying aging A-list stars — Bruce Willis, Stallone, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Mel Gibson — millions of dollars to be the face of his movies, often in exchange for just a day or two of work. On “Armored,” Stallone was paid $3.5 million for one day’s work, according to multiple crew members, including one with direct knowledge of the budget who was not authorized to comment. Crew members and vendors, including sheriff’s deputies who provided security, struggled for months to be paid what they said they were owed. Several vendors reported the payment issues to journalists and the Mississippi Film Office, part of a state agency that approved a $2.8-million cash rebate to the producers, state documents show. Since the late 1990s, Emmett has produced more than 120 films, many of them critical and box-office flops. There have been a few standouts: Peter Berg’s “Lone Survivor” and Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated “The Irishman.” But his influence waned amid the industry’s shift to streaming. Two years ago, his Emmett/Furla Oasis production company collapsed after multiple lawsuits over unpaid bills from former business partners and the Writers Guild of America. Then Willis, Emmett’s biggest star, ended his career because of his declining health, dealing the producer another blow. In early 2022, Emmett formed a new company with financier Joel Cohen called Convergence Entertainment Group, according to Nevada business records. It’s based in the same Wilshire Boulevard office building in Los Angeles where Emmett has worked for decades. Yet when Hollywood trade site Deadline touted the launch of Convergence last year, there was no mention of Emmett’s involvement. The publication said two other producers — Steve Small and Gwen Osborne — ran the shop, despite the Nevada business records listing Emmett and Cohen as owners. “There are no roles at a film startup,” Osborne said in a sworn statement to The Times. “Everyone works together bringing their expertise, knowledge and relationships to the table in order to enhance the productivity of the company.” Soon, the “Ives” moniker began to appear, including on crew lists viewed by The Times for “Cash Out 2: High Rollers,” also starring Travolta. (A representative for the actor said he was traveling and unable to comment for this story.) Although some performers in Hollywood have stage names, it’s exceedingly rare for a director to use an alternate identity in film credits and production documents. The Directors Guild of America has rules governing directors’ creative rights and responsibilities, but Emmett isn’t subject to them because he’s not a DGA member. “Armored” and Emmett’s “Cash Out” films were not DGA-covered productions, the union said. Emmett was listed as the director of “Armored” in a May 31, 2023, application for a Mississippi cash rebate. When state officials later received production call sheets and crew lists for the project that began shooting in late September, Routt was identified as the director. Like many films in Hollywood, Emmett’s productions receive generous subsidies from states, including Mississippi and Ohio — funds that help Emmett attract talent, financiers and local crew members. “Armored LLC” also landed a coveted waiver from the performers union SAG-AFTRA to shoot during the actors’ and writers’ strikes. Indeed, several crew members said they hadn’t worked in months and took a job on “Armored” out of desperation. “We all really needed a paycheck. We were going broke fast,” key grip Nathan Hughes said. Several crew members said they agreed to work for far less than their normal rates because of the strikes. When they arrived, it was initially unclear who was running the show, crew members said. “I didn’t know who Ives was,” Chad Chamberlain, the Steadicam and A-camera operator, said in an interview this year. “Sadly, I’ve been on a lot of train wrecks. And I knew this was going to be a train wreck.” On paper, Routt was in charge. “This character was just kind of looming around on the periphery of the set,” recalled Hughes, the grip. “He kind of stood around and had strange conversations ... about his sexual exploits and his business dealings in Miami.” Reached last week, Routt spoke briefly to a Times reporter. “Do you mind if I add Randall Emmett to this call?” he asked. The reporter agreed and Routt put the reporter on hold for a few moments before the call abruptly ended. Routt didn’t respond to subsequent calls, texts or emails. Routt is a convicted felon who has for decades expressed a desire to be a filmmaker. In 1989, the Miami native was arrested for operating what Reuters described as “the largest illegal steroids laboratory ever uncovered in the United States.” He was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and mislabeling of prescription drugs. Routt reportedly worked in the 1990s as a paralegal, drugstore manager, landscaper, vending machine owner and bartender in Florida. He later told the Miami Herald that even while tending bar at a fish restaurant, he spent most of his time talking to customers about a movie he wanted to make. In 2004, that project, a short film called “Clear Cut,” premiered at the Made in Miami festival. In his Herald interview, he described how he had managed to spend only $2,000 on the movie by securing free locations, getting discounted sound equipment from a local high school and using a yacht owned by one of the bar’s regulars. On the first day of “Armored,” Routt handed props assistant Michael Castro his cellphone and asked Castro to take a video of him so he could post it on social media accounts. “He literally was pretending he was directing the scene that was going on — looking at the monitor and then looking over at the action and making hand motions to make it look like he was telling people what to do,” Castro said. “It was all make-believe.” Obliging local news outlets covered the production’s presence in Mississippi, and Routt heaped praise on the film crew: “They’re all good people, they’re hard workers, no lazy ones on the crew,” he told WXXV-TV. A second TV station, WLOX-TV in Biloxi, in its report captured images of Emmett wearing the director’s headset. Routt told the WLOX reporter that “Armored” would be released in about a year and “with me as director, it’ll do great,” he said, laughing. But eight people who were on set insist that he never directed a single scene. “That Justin guy did absolutely nothing,” said another member of the production who was not authorized to comment. Routt was pleasant but uncomfortable, Chamberlain said: “He would apologize, saying: ‘Sorry, am I in your way?’ ” Routt was listed as director on the call sheet when Stallone arrived for his single day of shooting. That morning, around 7:10, Emmett approached several of the filmmakers as they were preparing for the day, including the director of photography, according to multiple crew members. “When Stallone got there, Randall asked the DP to come in and talk to Sly with him,” said one person who was on set that day. “He said, ‘Sly doesn’t quite know that I’m directing this. I want you to back me up that this [film shoot] is going poorly and I need to take over the ship.’ ” Another person involved, who asked not to be identified, said that Stallone “absolutely didn’t know that Randall was directing.” “Stallone basically took over for that one day,” said Noell, the prop master. The star and the cinematographer largely choreographed the scenes. “Directing by committee,” Chamberlain said. In response to The Times’ questions, Emmett’s attorney submitted nine signed declarations from others involved in the production, including Emmett’s girlfriend, Alissa Holley. In their declarations, Convergence executive Osborne and Peña said Stallone was not surprised by Emmett’s “presence” on set, although they did not address whether the actor knew Emmett was the director as well as a producer. Emmett would often retreat to his trailer during filming, crew members said, leaving an assistant director, camera operator, the stunt coordinator or Holley to step in. Two production members said he often showed up late and got into public spats on set with Holley, who was hired to help run the production office. “There were so many snappy, barky, yelling moments. ... It was all just very petulant,” Hughes said. In a declaration sent to The Times, Holley said it was false that Emmett “would get into arguments with me in the trailer.” At times, producers offered outlandish suggestions for scenes, such as plunging an armored truck off the East Pearl River Bridge (where much of the film’s action takes place) and into the water near a NASA facility, two sources said. Crew members balked. “Our decision to not actually drop the Armored vehicle into the river, and instead use CGI, to ensure safety and save time was supported by Convergence,” stunt coordinator Andy Dylan said in his statement. For one scene, Patric, Stallone’s co-star, stunt men and camera crew members waded into brackish waters of the East Pearl River. Patric had been told that the river was safe, according to two people involved in the incident who are not authorized to speak publicly. (Patric had no comment, his publicist said.) Environmental tests, however, had revealed an unacceptable level of enterococci bacteria, indicating the presence of feces, according to a copy of the Aug. 10, 2023, water quality report viewed by The Times that was provided to production managers before the shoot. Chamberlain, the cameraman, also said he was not warned about any danger before or after going into the foul-smelling river. The Screen Actors GuildAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists confirmed that it learned during a set visit that Patric and others had been sent into contaminated water. A SAG-AFTRA representative said the guild “investigated the incident and addressed that and other safety concerns.” Communication breakdowns were common, according to Chamberlain, Hughes and a third crew member. In separate interviews, the three men recalled when, in a rush, directors failed to entirely seal off a bridge before staging a special-effects explosion, startling a grip who was walking at the end of the bridge. “One of my guys was getting the last few pieces of grip equipment off the bridge without any warning that the explosion was about to happen,” Hughes said. “He technically wasn’t in the danger zone, but he could have been within another 45 seconds. It all comes down to the chaotic nature, and cavalier nature, of that set.” Dylan and Peña denied the situation was unsafe. “The explosion was merely a special effect propane pop that was controlled,” Dylan said in his statement. “The only issue a crew member might be referring to is that the Assistant Director did not yell ‘FIRE IN THE HOLE’ loud enough just before the truck was pulled to its side.” Dylan claimed the crew member would not have been within 100 feet of the “safe and controlled” maneuver. “No safety violations or grievances were brought by any of the unions in regard to anything during production,” Fruehling, the line producer, said in his statement, adding that after SAG-AFTRA investigated the water quality issue, the guild “raised no concerns with the production team.” Set medic James Mora said in his signed statement: “I witnessed no injuries other than the minor cuts and bruises sustained on most sets, and none of them were caused by or related to safety issues.” Initially, producers told Mississippi officials that “Armored” would be a 15-day film shoot, documents show. Then producers cut it to 10 days, knowledgeable people said. Shooting abruptly wrapped on the ninth day. “Production finished a day early due to the efficiency of everyone involved,” Fruehling said. Money problems soon became apparent. Crew members were paid their daily wages, but many went months before they were paid for renting their equipment to the production, internal emails show. Vendors —including the port-a-potty provider, armored truck owner, snake wrangler and even Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, whose deputies provided security detail — struggled to get paid. One was owed as much as $40,000. In December, Convergence Entertainment President Small emailed the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office lawyer. “We’ve never been in this position in the past, and have always made it a priority to pay our employees in a timely manner,” Small wrote in his email, which was viewed by The Times. The delay, according to Small, was due to a production accountant quitting. In January, there was a flurry of activity after a vendor emailed a Deadline reporter, complaining about the lack of payment. Emmett was in touch with the prop master, Noell, text messages show, and told him that people would get paid — as long as the vendor backed down. Emmett wanted the vendor to send a “retraction” letter and include the reporter. The vendor, Emmett said, should tell people “he has [had a] great experience.” Emmett urged vendors to “not say my name[,] just someone from production,” the text messages show. Mississippi Film Office Director Nina Parikh told The Times she was “aware of nonpayment issues.” Those payments have been resolved, Rick Moore, Convergence’s entertainment partner in Mississippi, said in a declaration. “We are pleased to report that all outstanding invoices from ... ‘Armored’ have been paid and the production is in good standing,” his declaration said. Noell, Castro and a third crew member said they’ve been paid. The wire transfers they received came not from “Armored,” but from a subsequent Convergence production called “Alarum,” a $19-million spy thriller starring Stallone and Scott Eastwood, that wrapped last month in Ohio. The producer in charge of the production, according to Ohio tax records, is Justin Routt. Times photo editor Jerome Adamstein and staff researchers Scott Wilson and Cary Schneider contributed to this report. RANDALL EMMETT, fourth from left, is shown during filming of a scene from “Armored” on the East Pearl River Bridge. Crew lists initially credited “Ives,” Emmett’s middle name, as director of the $11.5-million film. EMMETT RESURFACES WITH A NEW NAME JOEL COHEN and Randall Emmett speak at the March 21 premiere of “Cash Out” in Tampa, Fla. They formed Convergence Entertainment Group in 2022. Octavio Jones Getty Images [Emmett/Ives, from A1]

LATIMES.COM MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 A9 BUSINESS I t didn’t take much for Eric Swenson to start a chain reaction that in less than two years would prompt the world’s most influential entertainment company to make a powerful clean energy commitment. Swenson was at Disneyland with his wife, celebrating her birthday. He was startled when he realized that the classic 1955 Autopia ride was as “loud and foul” as ever, with oil-fueled cars spewing lung-damaging, planet-warming gases. “When I saw Autopia was still like 1,000 lawnmowers running at the same time, I took pictures and sent a note to Paul,” he said. That would be longtime electric vehicle advocate Paul Scott. Startled by Swenson’s message, Scott and fellow advocate Zan Dubin filed complaints about Autopia’s air pollution with California regulators, raising questions about possible health dangers to guests waiting in line, and to Disney employees working the attraction, breathing in those fumes for hours on end. Dubin and Scott also reached out to an L.A. Times climate reporter (me), urging me to write about the opportunity for Disney to convert Autopia to electric cars. I started pressing the company for answers on why it hadn’t done so yet — especially in an area of the park known as Tomorrowland, intended by Walt Disney to showcase technologies that would create a better future. Lo and behold, Disney quickly promised to ditch gas engines at Autopia. A win for the climate and for our bodies. Then this month, under continued pressure from a growing coalition of electric car proponents, Disney went further, pledging that Autopia’s new vehicles would be fully electric, not hybrids. The company also promised to stop operating the combustion vehicles by fall 2026 — a much firmer commitment than its initial timeline of “in the next few years.” On a recent Sunday, Swenson was among two dozen climate advocates who gathered outside Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to cheer the company’s action — and celebrate their own achievement. Dubin led the group in a collective call of “thank you, Disney.” As a climate journalist and lifelong Disneyland obsessive myself, it was hard not to feel inspired. Several attendees held handmade “Lightning McClean” signs emblazoned with lightning bolts, a reference to Lightning McQueen, the lead character in Disney’s “Cars.” One attendee raised a Mickey Mouse cutout with “I Love EVs” written on Mickey’s ears. I chatted with veteran EV evangelist Linda Nicholes — who bought one of the first Teslas ever made and pulled up to the rally in a newer Tesla model with the license plate ZAP OIL — and also with 17-year-old Maya, a Santa Monica High School student and one of the youth plaintiffs in a lawsuit designed to force the Biden administration to take stronger action on climate. “Autopia going electric isn’t going to fix all of the world’s problems,” said Maya, who’s been advised not to share her last name for safety reasons. “More than anything it’s a symbolic change. And it’s showing that we are transitioning away from the fossil fuel industry, and just showing the world that hey — this is not OK for workers. This is not OK for kids going to Disneyland.” Several people referenced a well-worn Margaret Mead quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” It’s a cliche, but it’s true. Sunday’s rally was proof. And although climate change is far too broad a challenge for any one campaign or law or regulation to do more than help a little bit, pushing Disney to act is a pretty effective strategy. The company’s movies, theme park attractions and characters can become global cultural touchstones, with songs and stories such as “It’s A Small World” and “Black Panther” going beyond entertainment and sharing important messages about world peace, diversity, inclusion and more. An electric Autopia will hopefully do the same, inspiring kids and their parents to embrace a future of mobility fueled by climate-friendly solar and wind energy, rather that the planetwrecking oil that the ride has been hawking for nearly 70 years. But as thrilled as the climate advocates gathered in Burbank on Sunday were, they want more. They want to see Disney commit to electric cars at the Autopialike attractions at Florida’s Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris too. Dubin in particular said she’ll keep pressing California officials to hold Disney accountable for the noxious fumes that Autopia continues to spew in Anaheim, as the attraction’s gas engines run for up to 21⁄2 more years. “We want [air quality] measurements,” Dubin told me. “I don’t want to do anything without data.” I have my own ideas for other steps Disneyland could take on climate, as I shared in a column a few weeks ago. But even if the company doesn’t adopt my personal vision for a Tomorrowland reoriented around clean energy and sustainability, Disney could pepper its parks with climate-friendly flourishes that entertain and enlighten — and enhance the guest experience. Flourishes such as solarpanel shade structures that keep guests cool waiting in line, and gas-free induction stoves that clean the air in restaurants, and permeable pavement that makes Main Street, U.S.A. easier to navigate when it rains. As Walt Disney said, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” Fortunately, there’s a lot of imagination left in the world. We’ll need it to solve the climate crisis — or limit the crisis, I should say. There’s already so much extra carbon in Earth’s atmosphere that the planet will probably keep heating up for many years even if we manage to ratchet down emissions close to zero with lightning speed. But just because we can’t avoid all harm doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do as much good as we can. That much was clear listening to Jordan Howard before the rally. Howard, the founder and chief executive of ShftSpace, advises companies and other organizations on sustainability and socially conscious choices in their supply chains and community engagement. Clad in a whimsical Tokyo Disney jacket that she bought at Goodwill, the 32-year-old South Central L.A. resident told me how much harder her life has become since contracting long COVID and later being diagnosed with lupus, which researchers have found can be caused at least in part by environmental factors. Howard has also “watched more Disney than any other type of television,” from Zendaya on “Shake It Up” to classics like Mickey, Goofy and Cinderella. To her, companies “as large and as imaginative” as Disney need to be trendsetters, not dinosaurs. “I was born and raised in L.A. Fantasy is life, fantasy is love,” she said. “But fantasy also has to be truthful and honest. And fantasy should always keep up with innovation and what’s possible.” Once in a great while, we might look to the past for innovations and inspirations. Before personal cars fueled by petroleum became our dominant mode of transportation, the L.A. area had a thriving system of electric streetcars called the Red Car trolleys. I was reminded of that after the April 21 rally, when I took a half-hour stroll to Griffith Park’s Travel Town Museum, crossing the Los Angeles River to explore a lovely railroad history exhibit and picnic spot. Hidden among the old trains was a waiting shelter from the Rio Vista Station on the Red Car’s L.A. to Van Nuys line, circa 1920. I’m bringing this up because it made me think about Disney. At Disney’s California Adventure Park in Anaheim, there’s a wonderful Red Car Trolley ride based on the real-life originals, running up and down the park’s 1920s-themed Buena Vista Street — the name a nod to the location of Walt’s studio, where the victorious climate advocates gathered on Sunday. Disney actually released a movie in the 1980s, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” dealing with the elimination of L.A.’s electric streetcars to make way for freeways. There’s a great ride inspired by the film at Disneyland. And as most climate advocates will tell you, electric cars are crucial for replacing fossil fuels, but they’re not enough. To slash climate pollution fast enough to avoid catastrophic climate damage — while also lessening other injustices caused by oil combustion and freeway construction — we also need rebuild our cities around people, not cars. That means fewer parking spots and more public transit, bike paths, walkways, parks and green spaces that provide protection from heat and flooding. Disney doesn’t need to start displaying radical messages about the end of cars. A sign or two at California Adventure explaining the history of the Red Car trolleys and alluding to the value in moving back toward electrified public transit would be great. Like Walt said, Disneyland will never be completed. And neither will the work of healing the Earth. There’s all that carbon built up in the atmosphere, and the decades or centuries it’ll take us to get global temperatures under control, should we succeed in that task. Beyond that, we’ll have other problems to keep grappling with. Microplastics. Forever chemicals. Who knows what else. No one at the rally bothered to mention that it was taking place the day before Earth Day. Because — get ready for another cliche — every day is Earth Day. So long as we have sun and wind and soil and sky... Sounds like a Disney song. Alan Menken, get on that? This column is the latest edition of Boiling Point, an email newsletter about climate change and the environment in California and the American West. For more climate and environment news, follow @Sammy_Roth on X. BENJAMIN KAY, who teaches marine biology at Santa Monica High School, attends a rally celebrating Disney’s decision to replace gas engines in its Autopia ride. Photographs by Dania Maxwell Los Angeles Times BOILING POINT We’ll need activists with imagination to heal our own Tomorrowland HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT Maya, 17, also at the rally, is among the youth plaintiffs in a lawsuit that’s seeking to force the Biden administration to take stronger action against climate change. SAMMY ROTH

A10 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM/OPINION HOW TO WRITE TO US Please send letters to [email protected]. For submission guidelines, see latimes.com/letters or call 1-800-LA TIMES, ext. 74511. OPINION EDITORIAL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Chairman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong News: Executive Editor Terry Tang • Managing Editor Hector Becerra • Editor at Large Scott Kraft • Deputy Managing Editors Shelby Grad, Amy King, Maria L. La Ganga • Assistant Managing Editors John Canalis, Steve Clow, Angel Jennings, Iliana Limón Romero, Samantha Melbourneweaver, Craig Nakano, Ruthanne Salido, B.J. Terhune • General Manager, Food Laurie Ochoa • Opinion: Editorials Editor Mariel Garza • Op-Ed Editor Susan Brenneman • Business: President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Argentieri • Chief Human Resources Officer Nancy V. Antoniou • Chief of Staff; Head of Strategy and Revenue Anna Magzanyan • Chief Information Officer Ghalib Kassam • General Counsel Jeff Glasser • V.P., Communications Hillary Manning FOUNDED DECEMBER 4, 1881 A Publication C alifornia may be a leader in the fight against climate change, but the state is years, even decades, behind other states when it comes to granting environmental rights to its citizens. While a handful of other state constitutions, including those of New York and Pennsylvania, declare the people’s rights to clean air, water and a healthy environment, California’s does not. That could change as soon as November. Under a proposal moving through the Legislature, voters would decide whether to add one sentence to the state Constitution’s Declaration of Rights: “The people shall have a right to clean air and water and a healthy environment.” The proposed green amendment could be seen as a well-meaning but symbolic change in a state that, despite tough environmental rules, struggles to address deep environmental problems like air pollution, contaminated drinking water and the worsening impacts of climate change. But there’s a reason that powerful business interests have come out in opposition. Enshrining environmental rights in California’s Constitution would give citizens a new tool to hold the government accountable for failing to act in the interest of environmental health, protection and justice. That could, in turn, force the state to crack down on polluters. It should be obvious that we need more tools to address the climate crisis. And in California, of all places, citizens should have the chance to weigh in on whether a healthy environment is a right on par with life, liberty, safety, happiness and privacy, which are all spelled out in the Constitution. Lawmakers should advance this proposal to let the voters decide. To be put on the ballot the amendment must be approved by two-thirds of lawmakers in both the state Assembly and Senate. It must win the support of a simple majority of voters to be added to the Constitution. States like Montana, which declares “the right to a clean and healthful environment,” added this kind of language to their constitutions more than 50 years ago in response to the burgeoning environmental movement. After the advent of Earth Day, Pennsylvania in 1971 amended its constitution to add the people’s right to “clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment.” In recent years, some of those rarely invoked amendments have seen new life as bases to challenge government decisions over oil and gas permitting and the cleanup of contaminated sites and other environmental hazards. There’s now a nationwide movement to get green amendments onto more state constitutions. In 2021 70% of New York voters passed an amendment adding the right to “clean air and water, and a healthful environment” to its state constitution’s Bill of Rights, language that is nearly identical to the California proposal. But state Legislatures have also been a chokepoint for these proposals. In some states, such as New Jersey, green amendments with bipartisan support have languished for years because key lawmakers have prevented them from being being considered. Business interests in California are lining up in opposition to putting the proposed green amendment on the ballot. Brady Van Engelen, a policy advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce, told lawmakers during a legislative hearing earlier this month that it was a “job killer” that could spur lawsuits and be weaponized by “wealthy white NIMBYs” to block development. Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) who introduced the green amendment legislation, dismissed the Chamber’s opposition as “ridiculous.” He said that lawmakers opted for simple, direct language that is more limited than other states’ to make it clear the amendment is not intended as litigation bait, but rather to establish a clear obligation that the state make decisions in a way that upholds the environmental values it espouses. A green amendment would not establish any new right for individuals to sue businesses for environmental violations. But just as in New York, Pennsylvania and Montana, a California green amendment could be used to hold state officials accountable for their decisions, from legislation and permitting to the enforcement of existing environmental laws. Californians should have the chance to not only send a message about how much they value a healthy environment, but to also assert that something as fundamental to life as clean air and clean water isn’t just an aspiration or an ideal, but a right. There’s no right to clean air and water in California Lawmakers should let voters decide to change that by placing a ‘green amendment’ on the ballot. RAINBOWS over the Golden Gate Bridge. Lawmakers are considering asking voters to put the right to clean air and water into the state Constitution. Brian van der Brug Los Angeles Times In your article on Metro declaring a safety crisis, I saw no mention of efforts to increase the safety of the riding public. They’re putting bus drivers behind protective tempered-glass barriers — great! Now, place an armed officer on each bus and in each subway car. Until then I will consider each ride on Metro a game of Russian roulette. I have lost confidence in the leadership of Metro. Scott Herbertson Burbank :: Hours before Mirna Soza was killed exiting a train at the Universal City Metro station, I rode the very same subway line. When I exited at Universal City, there were two police officers walking outside near the stairwell. I thanked them for keeping us safe. In hindsight, they should have been inside the station rather than outside. Perhaps the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles will spur Metro and the city to take action — the almighty buck has a way of doing that. For now, police officers need to be inside the trains, not outside. Patricia Tyson Glendale Big pay raise for new DWP chief Re “New DWP chief to make $750,000 a year,” April 25 I read in disbelief that the new general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will be paid $750,000 a year, much more than her predecessor’s $447,082 salary. This agency has been riddled with scandal and criminality. Why not wait and see how the new chief, Janisse Quiñones, performs before the DWP throws so much money at her? Los Angeles ratepayers deserve more reassurance that they will be well-served under Quiñones before she is rewarded with this significantly increased salary. Peggy Jo Abraham Santa Monica :: Let me try to get this straight. The state faces a budget deficit of up to $73 billion. The city is also under financial pressure, and yet there is no one in the entire United States who can head the DWP for less than $750,000? The DWP had to significantly increase the current general manager’s salary, which was obscene to begin with. I can’t wait for my DWP bill to double or even triple. Glenn Zweifel Mar Vista A safety rule that does harm Re “My father lied to his doctor. The results were tragic,” Opinion, April 25 We at the Epilepsy Foundation Los Angeles were heartbroken to read Paul Karrer’s article about his father’s death. His story, however, is a tragic outlier. Adults with well-controlled epilepsy are involved in fewer crashes than drivers with many other medical conditions. One study found that a fraction of 1% of all car crashes are caused by a person with epilepsy. People with uncontrolled epilepsy or who are not taking their medication as prescribed should not be driving. People should also be honest with their doctors — but California is one of only six states that require doctors to report anybody with epilepsy to the government, making many afraid to speak openly to their physicians. That’s why we support Senate Bill 357 by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge). SB 357 would replace an ineffective mandatory reporting system with one that promotes honest dialogue, while maintaining the DMV’s authority to withhold or suspend a license from a potentially unsafe driver. Too many people with epilepsy live in fear and shame of their condition. As we learned from Karrer’s op-ed piece, making people afraid to talk about their seizures with their own doctors can have tragic consequences. David Parker and Rebekkah Halliwell Los Angeles The writers are, respectively, a board member and the executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation Los Angeles. :: Karrer’s op-ed article reminded me of when I lost my driver’s license due to epilepsy. Just like his father, I had a tragic accident as a child — I drowned and had to spend weeks in an oxygen tent. I then began going through life with weird little episodes that my mother just told me were headaches. I was finally diagnosed in my late teens with a complex partial seizure disorder. No one was the wiser and I was able to get my driver license. Reporting was slow back then and I drove for years. I would always pull over when I started feeling “funny.” One day I was contacted by the DMV. My doctor had reported my condition, and the DMV finally caught up to me and took my license. How dare you! Driving is my right. “Ha,” said the DMV. “It’s a privilege, sir.” So, I had to take public transportation during college. I had brain surgery in my early 20s to remove a scar that developed on my brain from the drowning. After six months being seizure free (no lying), I got my license back. That was more than 30 years ago, and I’m still seizure free and driving — again, no lying. Jason Williams Lakewood They really mean ‘all men’ Re “Idaho law treats pregnant women like incubators,” editorial, April 26 “All men are created equal” — it seems that they really mean all men. Men would not stand for being denied treatment for prostate cancer or cancer of the genitals because their sperm are considered human beings. They would not stand for being told that they could not have a vasectomy for the same reason. Why are men allowed control over what they do with their bodies, but women, supposedly equal under the law, are denied the same control? Susan Greenberg Los Angeles COMMUTERS at the North Hollywood Metro station. A woman was killed last week at a nearby station. Genaro Molina Los Angeles Times A safety and poverty crisis on Metro Re “Metro declares crisis over violence,” April 26, and “Metro killing suspect was tied to earlier violence,” April 24 I ’ve lived in the L.A. area since 2007 and have been a champion of public transit. Yet, in the last five years, I’ve seen the degradation throughout the system as reported in your recent articles on Metro safety. Yes, we have to make our bus drivers and other personnel safe. But we’re also dealing with a problem occasioned by our nation’s failure to deal with poverty. As more and more people become homeless, drug-addicted, frightened and broken, violence grows. We can’t make life perfectly safe, but we can do so much for those likely to resort to violence — better schools and universal healthcare come to mind. We must become a nation dedicated to the abolition of poverty. We have the money for it; I’m not sure we yet have the will for it. Hats off to our public transit system and those who make it work, and hats off to those who point us in the right direction to mitigate the deadly influence of poverty. Tom Eggebeen, Pasadena LETTERS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LATIMES.COM/OPINION MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 A11 OP-ED T his month, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) unveiled a rare government feat: a bipartisan bill that has lawmakers feeling “optimistic” and “fired up.” It’s the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA), and it’s long overdue. The U.S. lags far behind the rest of the world on privacy legislation; 137 of the world’s 194 countries have national privacy laws, according to the United Nations. We’re the G-20 outlier without one. This isn’t the kind of “exceptionalism” Americans should strive for. The proposal, which aims to “make privacy a consumer right” and “give consumers the ability to enforce that right,” comes at a pivotal moment. On April 20, President Biden signed a bill to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. While this law is a tool for safeguarding national security against foreign targets, it also allows collection of the web and cellphone data of hundreds of thousands of Americans and has a history of abuse by intelligence agencies. Meanwhile, the new law forcing a sale or ban of TikTok, meant to prevent foreign access to Americans’ data, provides only narrow protections. Congress is under enormous pressure to deal with the rise of AI, combat surveillance capitalism and reduce the serious harms tech companies inflict upon kids and teens. There have been other federal privacy proposals, but they have failed in our gridlocked Congress. Led by the chairs of the House and Senate Commerce committees, APRA is the first to gain significant bipartisan and bicameral support. The immediate need for this legislation is clear. Tech companies aren’t the only culprits guilty of misusing our data. In March, General Motors was caught in a scandal when it was found sharing data on its customers’ driving behavior with insurance companies via data brokers — those often massive, multibillion-dollar companies that exist to buy, sell and resell our data. This speaks to part of APRA’s appeal: It’s remarkably broad. It would encompass the private sector, not-for-profits and common carriers, including tech and other companies and medium or large organizations that handle our data. And it proposes extra restrictions on data brokers. To minimize data sharing, the legislation would prevent companies and organizations from collecting data that is not “necessary” or “proportionate” to the purpose for which the data is collected. In a victory for transparency, entities would be required to disclose the data they have on you and explicitly allow you to edit or delete it. In addition, it would require companies to allow consumers to opt out of targeted advertising and data collection by brokers. And finally, this legislation would allow you to sue companies and seek damages for violations. The bill faces some significant criticisms, including from leading privacy advocates and organizations. A post from the Electronic Frontier Foundation took issue with the bill “preempting existing state laws and preventing states from creating stronger protections in the future,” warning that this condition “would freeze consumer data privacy protections in place.” Caitriona Fitzgerald, deputy director at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, cautioned that any preemptive legislation should be stronger than existing state laws — which APRA currently is not, she suggested. The Electronic Frontier Foundation post argued that, for example, the bill should “limit sharing with the government and expand the definition of sensitive data.” And the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), said the bill “could be stronger in certain areas, such as children’s privacy.” These criticisms are valid but not enough so to derail the proposal. Consider that California has among the strongest state privacy laws, yet tech giants such as Meta and Google, which make their homes here, are still accused of some of the most egregious privacy violations. A powerful and universal federal law is required to rein them in. It would also be more effective than the status quo of a byzantine patchwork of state laws. And APRA can be strengthened over time. That happened with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, passed in 1998 to protect children under age 13. In 2013, the law was broadened and updated by the Federal Trade Commission to reflect evolving technology such as mobile devices. It also expanded the definition of “personal information” to include geolocation data, photos, videos, audio of children and more. Once passed, APRA could similarly serve as a foundation for future improvements. Eventually it could be strengthened with an important guardrail like one built into the U.K.’s Online Safety Act. Depending on the severity of the violation, it imposes jail time for executives and fines of up to $22 million or 10% of a company’s gross revenue, whichever is greater. These harsh penalties can help prevent the trend of tech giants routinely flouting privacy laws by simply paying fines as costs of doing business. The bill’s review by committees in both chambers of Congress may bolster it further. Our government should not waste this watershed moment to establish a bedrock of privacy rights for all Americans. Mark Weinstein is a tech entrepreneur, privacy expert and the author of the forthcoming book “Restoring Our Sanity Online.” U.S. is finally close to a right to privacy There is long-overdue bipartisan momentum in Congress to protect us from Big Tech intrusions. By Mark Weinstein D uring Vietnam War protests, the Nixon administration called them “outside agitators.” Now my university’s provost prefers “participants — many of whom do not appear to be affiliated with USC.” Beyond Andrew Guzman’s misdemeanor of wordiness, the playbook is the same: Blame outsiders as part of the justification for police action against students exercising their rights to question a heinous U.S. foreign policy that is killing tens of thousands of men, women and children half a world away. In his statement to the USC community Wednesday, Guzman claimed that almost entirely peaceful protesters in Alumni Park were “threatening the safety of our officers.” USC officials determined that its own police were unable to contain the chanting, singing, marching-in-a-circle demonstrators. Agenda items for the student action, before it was broken up by police, included yoga, kitemaking, Black/Palestinian solidarity, a Jewish Voice for Peace Kaddish reading and a sunset vigil. In the face of these allegedly threatening protests, USC officials shut down the campus and called in the Los Angeles Police Department. I watched riot-ready officers posted at 36th and Vermont with more than three dozen police cruisers. As the Daily Trojan reported, LAPD “officers in riot gear marched into campus at around 5:30 p.m. armed with 40-millimeter less-lethal [projectile] launchers, sponge batons and zip ties.” Later, according to USC Annenberg Media, which posted a video, police fired a rubber bullet into a crowd gathered outside the school’s main gate. As Guzman pointed fingers, USC President Carol Folt appeared to be walled off in her office, steps from Tommy Trojan. Finally she broke her silence — to gush about USC football. While protesters chanted “USC, shame on you, your hands are bloody too,” Folt took her stand — applauding the reinstatement of Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy. “I am so happy for Reggie and the entire Trojan Family,” our president declared. The surreal disconnect follows 10 days of disingenuous statements from USC leadership, which in apparent deference to donors, and perhaps with a nervous gaze at right-wing congressional attacks on university presidents, has trampled on students’ free speech rights, citing — unoriginally — “security risks.” On April 15, USC canceled valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s graduation speech. Her pro-Palestinian views roiled backers of Israel. “As always, and particularly when tensions are running so high across the world, we must prioritize the safety of our community,” Guzman rationalized, although no threats were specified. On Wednesday, this concern for our safety had transmogrified into a call for riot police to clear the “camp-in” at the center of campus. USC students and faculty were ostensibly protected by arresting 93 protesters who offered little to no real resistance. Now USC may raise the stakes. The university’s Department of Public Safety announced to protesters Wednesday that students who didn’t disperse could face suspension or expulsion. These same students presumably learned USC’s “Unifying Values”: to “stand up for what is right, regardless of status or power.” My university’s shameful doublespeak threatens to taint promising careers before they start. Professors arrested Wednesday, including vulnerable untenured colleagues, may also face sanctions. We should remember what the protests are about: According to Gaza officials, more than 34,000 Palestinians, some 14,000 of them children, have been killed by Israeli armed forces, with weapons supplied in part by U.S. taxpayers. Survivors driven from their homes face widespread famine. And as students at USC and other campuses realize, their Palestinian counterparts are victims of “scholasticide” — every university in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed. Universities exist to advance knowledge, independent thinking and an open exchange of ideas. But USC is criminalizing protest and speech with the Orwellian charge of trespassing. This, for students assembling peacefully on their own university campus. On Thursday, the PR-challenged USC leaders announced the cancellation of the university’s main commencement ceremony, the one at which Tabassum was to have spoken. Not to worry, though: University leadership promised to add “uniquely USC” celebrations, including performances by the Trojan Marching Band and the “releasing of the doves.” Uniquely USC, indeed. Among protest organizers’ demands are calls for investment “transparency” and divestment from Israel. This will not come any time soon: USC is a private university and is unlikely to reveal its investments. But with the support of the USC community, another of the demands is feasible: full and unconditional amnesty for those who were arrested on Wednesday. Student protesters and the faculty members who demonstrated along with them must not pay for the disastrous, unnecessary decisions of USC administrators to call in police to squelch legitimate protest and the free expression of ideas. Sandy Tolan is a professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the author of two books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “The Lemon Tree” and “Children of the Stone.” @sandy_tolan A PRO-PALESTINIAN gathering at USC last week. Police later broke up the demonstration. Brian van der Brug Los Angeles Times USC’s claim of ‘security risk’ from protests is not justified By Sandy Tolan Donald Trump has fussed about many things during his criminal trial in Manhattan: the judge, prosecutors, their relatives, witnesses, jurors and of course the media, for reporting on the sparse crowds outside. Yet Trump of all people knows that his fellow New Yorkers are proudly blase about celebrity goings-on. It shouldn’t be surprising that not much of a crowd forms at the courthouse where the Don has been in the dock. After all, if you’ve seen one trial of a mob boss in Gotham, you’ve seen ’em all. And Trump’s trial — where he’s charged with fraudulently covering up preelection hush money payments to Stormy Daniels in 2016, to keep voters in the dark about their alleged tryst — resembles nothing so much as a prosecution of yet another organized crime figure, even if it is, in fact, unprecedented: The first criminal case against a former U.S. president in history. Lest anyone think the quick-to-complain Trump might grouse about being likened to gangsters, he draws the parallel himself, repeatedly. “I’ve been indicted more than Alphonse Capone,” Trump boasted at a conservative conference in February. (Fact check: False, but he’s close.) He regularly, and admiringly, compares himself to ol’ “Scarface” at MAGA rallies. “He was seriously tough, right?” tough-guy Trump said to Iowa rallygoers in October. Last year on social media, he called Capone “the late great gangster.” Great? The shtick might be funny if what underlies it weren’t so serious. As we head into the third week of the People of New York State vs. Donald J. Trump in that dingy courthouse so far removed from the Don’s usual gilt opulence, it’s downright disturbing to contemplate the similarities between his trial and that of a mob boss. How can it be that this man is tied or ahead of President Biden in the polls? I remain confident Trump will pay a political price in time, as the sordidness of all this sinks in. Perhaps the most distressing of the mob comparisons is this: The safety of jurors is a real concern. Their identities are secret to protect against intimidation or harm, and one juror was dismissed after confessing her fear. Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance posted on X that she’s seen such trepidation for jurors only “in a case involving violent organized crime.” And it’s not the first time for Trump. The jurors who in January found that he defamed writer E. Jean Carroll after she successfully sued him for sexual assault also had their identities withheld. After that civil trial, federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan warned them, “My advice to you is that you never disclose that you were on this jury.” Chilling. Former prosecutor and FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann noted on MSNBC that he’d last heard a judge similarly caution some jurors decades ago, after they convicted Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante. “It is remarkable,” he added, “that that same admonition was said with respect to somebody who was the president of the United States.” It’s tragic, actually. Trump once swore to uphold the rule of law; now he’s making a mockery of it and putting innocents and civil servants at risk. There’s also worry for witnesses. Prosecutors won’t share their witness list with Trump’s defense team, an act that’s typically routine. “Mr. Trump has been tweeting about the witnesses. We’re not telling them who the witnesses are,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said. “I can’t fault them for that,” Judge Juan M. Merchan said, dismissing the appeals of Trump lawyer Todd Blanche. Trump’s tweets earned him a gag order from Merchan against attacking witnesses as well as prosecutors, court staff and the judge’s and Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg’s families. Such gags are rare, except of course in trials of boorish mobsters. The judge and prosecutors fear Trump will intimidate those he’s targeted, and perhaps spur some unhinged supporter to violence. (It’s not as if there is no precedent for that!) The threats Trump stokes also explain much of the heavy security around the courthouse. A final mob connection: Trump’s demeanor in court — the practiced scowls captured in photos and courtroom sketches, and his wise-guy mutterings reported by journalists in the room. His model, Trump told biographer-turned-critic Tim O’Brien, is none other than the murderous mafioso John Gotti. “The thing he respected about Gotti,” O’Brien told MSNBC, “was that he … sat there in court and he looked at the jurors and he looked at the judge with a big F-U on his face.” Trump’s mob modeling goes way back. His former lawyer Michael Cohen, a key witness against him, said Trump for decades ran his family company “much like a mobster would do.” Cohen, a self-described consigliere, admits to intimidating people and lying on Trump’s behalf. “He doesn’t give you orders,” Cohen told Congress in 2019. “He speaks in a code, and I understand the code.” Trump responded to Cohen’s testimony in mob-speak, natch, tweeting that his former lawyer was “a rat.” The trial’s first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, testified last week about his cooperation with Trump in 2016 to “catch and kill” prurient Trump stories before that year’s election. He repeatedly described Cohen warning him that “the boss” would be angry if Pecker didn’t hold up his end of the bargain. The mob mentality gives a particularly clear perspective on Trump’s claim earlier in 2016: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” Eight years later, he’s on trial for something less than murder, yet the upshot is the same: He’s banking that his voters don’t care. He’s almost certainly right about most if not all of them. But Trump needs more than just his MAGA loyalists to win. Let’s hope this trial, whatever the outcome, leaves everyone else determined not to see a godfather in the White House again. @jackiekcalmes That scowl. The gag order. Fear for jurors. Who’s on trial, a former president or a don? DONALD TRUMP imitates and praises mob bosses like Al Capone. Mark Peterson Pool Photo JACKIE CALMES

A12 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LOS ANGELES TIMES PRO BATTERY multi task multi tool ƒ TACKLE ANY TASK The battery-powered KMA 135 R KombiMotor has 15 optional attachments, making it the ultimate piece of outdoor power equipment. Available at participating dealers. ©2024 STIHL Find Yours at STIHLDEALERS.COM KOMBI SYSTEM KMA 135 R

CALIFORNIA MONDAY , APRIL 29 , 2024 :: L ATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA B A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled that a landmark law ending single-family-homeonly zoning in California is unconstitutional, a decision that could lead to the law being invalidated in the state’s largest cities. Judge Curtis Kin determined that state Senate Bill 9 does not provide housing restricted for low-income residents and therefore cannot override state constitutional protections afforded to local zoning practices. “Because the provisions of SB 9 are not reasonably related and sufficiently narrowly tailored to the explicit stated purpose of that legislation — namely, to ensure access to affordable housing — SB 9 cannot stand,” Kin wrote in a April 22 ruling. Kin’s decision now applies to the five Southern California cities — Redondo Beach, Carson, Torrance, Whittier and Del Mar — that challenged SB 9, which passed in 2021. If his ruling is appealed and upheld, it would affect 121 communities known as “charter cities,” including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, that have greater autonomy under state law. Redondo Beach City Atty. Michael Webb hailed the ruling as a victory for communities fighting against state overreach on housing laws. State lawmakers have passed SB 9 and other “one-size-fits-all” measures in recent years without regard for how they would affect the ability to provide water, policing, fire and other municipal servLaw to get rid of single-family zoning is tossed A judge rules that SB 9 is unconstitutional in five Southern California cities. By Liam Dillon [See Housing, B2] The University of California won’t divest from firms that do business with Israel or boycott academic exchanges with the country, rejecting demands that are driving the pro-Palestinian protests sweeping campuses across the nation. “The University of California has consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel,” UC said in a statement Friday. “While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.” UC also said that no tuition or fee revenue is used for investment purposes. Instead, tuition and fees serve as the “primary funding sources for the University’s core operations,” according to the statement. That appeared to address a central demand of the UC Divest Coalition: that student tuition dollars not be used to make investments that support war and weapons manufacturing — including firms that supply arms and services to Israel. The university’s $169-billion investment portfolio includes funds for its retirement plan, endowment and working capital. No estimate was available for how much of that portfolio is invested in firms that do business with Israel. Divestment proponents have taken particular aim at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. Others have targeted Amazon and Google for their $1.2-billion artificial intelligence and cloud-computing services contract with the Israeli government. Sit-ins at a number of Google offices led the company to fire 28 employees who participated in the protests this month. Student organizers of the divestment campaign against UC said the university’s position would not deter them from continuing to orDARREN LEVATON of Las Vegas holds up a flag among supporters of Israel as pro-Palestinian demonstrators surround them at UCLA on Sunday. The opposing protests were mostly peaceful. B6 Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times UC rejects demands of pro-Palestinian protests A PRO-PALESTINIAN rally at the Westwood campus on Friday. UC says a boycott would impinge on “the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.” Michael Owen Baker For The Times PROTESTERS on Sunday. A UC regent said the anti-Israel campaign would go nowhere. Dania Maxwell Los Angeles Times The university cites academic freedom in refusing to divest from and boycott Israel. By Teresa Watanabe [See UC, B4] The state Fish and Game Commission recently declared the Southern California steelhead trout an endangered species. You think? These native beauties have been endangered for decades. In March, there was excitement when one steelhead was spotted in the Santa Ynez River basin in Santa Barbara County. “One fish where 25,000 used to be,” says Russell Marlow, south coast project manager for California Trout, a nonprofit activist organization. “While I celebrate the ability of one fish to exist, it’s a giant red flag.” Three adult steelhead were sighted five years ago in the Santa Clara River that flows between Santa Clarita and Oxnard, Marlow adds. Only 177 Southern California steelhead have been seen in the last 25 years, he says. Endangered? They’re practically extinct. “I get a lot of students from Southern California and many have no idea about these beautiful creatures that are unique to the region. They’ve never heard of them before,” says Andrew Rypel, a UC Davis fish biologist. Southern California’s steelhead trout appears ‘on the clock toward extinction’ GEORGE SKELTON in sacramento SMALL steelhead trout at a hatchery in Oroville. Patrick T. Fallon Getty Images Proposed ‘climate bond’ would include $100 million for dam removal [See Skelton, B6] CAPITOL JOURNAL The IRS recently notified teachers, nurses, counselors and other faculty members in the Glendale Unified School District that they could not file their taxes this year because they already had — or at least somebody using their information did. In December, the school district with more than 25,000 Los Angeles County students learned that it was the latest victim of a ransomware attack aimed at institutions that store sensitive data, but lack the same type of security standards of a large government agency. The attackers locked district employees out of their own system and demanded an undisclosed ransom for the safe return of their data, according to a district spokesperson. The data included employee and student names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security and driver’s license numbers and financial account information, according to a letter sent to district employees reviewed by The Times. In the ensuing months, the full extent of the breach emerged when district employees tried to file their federal and state income taxes but couldn’t because they’d already been filed fraudulently. As of Friday, at least 231 union members have been affected by the breach and many were required to verify their identity with the Internal Revenue Service to legitimately file their taxes, said Taline Arsenian, president of the Glendale Teachers Assn. “The [union] members are spending a lot of their time to clear this issue,” Arsenian said. “It’s very timeGlendale Unified faculty find taxes filed fraudulently Union says data breach has affected at least 231 members. Some fault district. By Nathan Solis [See Glendale, B5] Among the myriad side effects of the pandemic: a surge in billboards and bus ads for personal injury law firms. The advertisements seem to have sprouted all over Los Angeles. Morgan & Morgan’s blue-and-yellow billboards proudly declare “Size Matters,” Jacob Emrani’s ads with red cursive writing direct readers to CallJacob- .com, and Pirnia Law’s silhouette designs say, “We didn’t meet by accident.” Billboards and bus ads for personal injury law firms have become a bigger part of the landscape. Along with the entertainment industry, injury law firms dominate billboard space. According to the media intelligence company Vivvix, legal services have been among the top 10 industries featured in outdoor advertising in Los Angeles for the last decade. Advertising experts attribute the abundance to lawyers’ need to build brand awareness and to market conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. “There’s probably more ads for lawyers now than ever,” said Brian Alexander, an outdoor media strategist at Billboard Connection Los Angeles. “It has to be effective for these companies to continue doing it.” During the pandemic, Alexander said, many industries were forced to slash advertising budgets to weather the economic downturn. This meant there was more billboard space available, for a lower price. “When the market slowed down, there was definitely It’s no accident: Lawyers are bonkers for billboards in L.A. The abundance of ads for personal injury attorneys is rooted in market conditions. By Caroline Petrow-Cohen [See Billboards, B6]

B2 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM ices, and without guaranteeing new development would help those most in need, he said. “SB 9 had all the bad impacts on disrupting the community with none of the positive features of ensuring affordable housing actually be built,” Webb said. A spokesperson for California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, whose office defended the law, said the attorney general is reviewing the decision “and will consider all options in defense of SB 9.” SB 9 is one of the highestprofile laws approved in response to California’s housing affordability problems as Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have aimed to spur new home building. The law affects vast swaths of the state. Between half and three-quarters of the developable land in much of the state would be reserved only for single-family homes if not for SB 9, according to UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation. Under the law in most cases, property owners statewide can build up to four units on those lots. So far, SB 9’s effects have been muted, especially compared with a series of state laws first passed in 2016 that aimed to increase the construction of smaller, secondary units, known as ADUs or casitas, on single-family home parcels. San Francisco Bay Area NPR affiliate KQED recently surveyed 16 cities of varying sizes across California and found that from 2022 to 2023, the cities approved 75 lot split applications and 112 applications for new units under SB 9. Over the same period, those cities permitted 8,800 ADUs, the news organization found. But SB 9 is as much about symbolism as new housing. The lifestyle afforded by owning a suburban single-family home with a backyard and barbecue has long been mythologized as part of the “California dream.” Allowing multiple units to be built on parcels previously reserved only for single-family homes departs from that vision. In defense of SB 9, lawmakers argued that all areas of the state needed to accept growth and often cited the origins of single-family-home-only zoning as a means of excluding Black and other nonwhite residents from neighborhoods. Legislators reasoned that individual units in duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes would be more affordable than just one house on the land, and that more housing in general would ease affordability pressures. But, citing the costs to build, they did not mandate any units constructed under SB 9 specifically to be set aside for low-income residents. The five cities, which have been some of the most aggressive in pushing back against state attempts to promote more housing, argued that distinction mattered. Kin agreed. The law’s stated intent calls for increasing access to “affordable housing,” a term that Kin said elsewhere in the text refers explicitly to housing restricted for low-income residents. Because SB 9 doesn’t require those kinds of developments, it fails to meet the state Constitution’s high standards to override local control over zoning in charter cities, Kin said. “In order to justify SB 9’s interference with the municipal concerns of land use and zoning regulations, the Legislature cannot rely on a potential, eventual decrease in prices resulting from increased housing supply to demonstrate that SB 9 would increase the supply of affordable (i.e. below market-rate) housing,” Kin wrote. But Chris Elmendorf, a law professor at UC Davis who closely follows state housing legislation and litigation, criticized Kin’s reading of the law. Kin’s analysis of the “affordable housing” language in SB 9 means that the judge believes that lawmakers intended to create housing restricted to low-income residents without actually mandating it in the law, he said. “The only way that interpretation is right is if the Legislature is a house full of idiots,” Elmendorf said. “If that was their purpose, they would have required some of the units to be sold or rented at below-market rates.” Elmendorf said he expected Bonta, who has made enforcing state housing laws a priority while in office, to appeal the decision. State lawmakers also easily could change SB 9 to address Kin’s decision, he said. State Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who wrote the law while she was leader of that chamber, said in a statement that she was considering doing so. “The goal of SB 9 has always been to increase equity and accessibility in our neighborhoods while growing our housing supply and production across the state,” Atkins said, adding that she believed Kin’s decision was “very disappointing and sadly misguided.” In the judge’s defense, Webb, the Redondo Beach city attorney, said state lawmakers have written numerous other housing laws in which their stated intent matched the language in the bill. Lawmakers could amend SB 9, he said, to mandate it produce low-income housing. “The Legislature can address [the ruling] by putting the words in the initiative to match the intent, which is if you’re tearing down a singlefamily home, it would be replaced with affordable housing,” Webb said. Judge strikes down SB 9 in five cities REDONDO BEACH, where people fished on the pier at sunset Dec. 4, is one of five charter cities that challenged Senate Bill 9, a 2021 law ending single-family zoning statewide. A judge ruled in favor of the cities. Jay L. Clendenin Los Angeles Times [Housing, from B1] Kern County Supervisor Zack Scrivner is being investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting one of his four children, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said. Sheriff Donny Youngblood said in a news conference Thursday that he received a call from Dist. Atty. Cynthia Zimmer — Scrivner’s aunt — on Tuesday, saying Scrivner was armed and appeared to be having a “psychotic episode” at his Tehachapi home. Zimmer then called Youngblood back to say that Scrivner was no longer armed. “We were responding to what we believed at the time was a suicidal person having a psychotic episode, not any crime,” Youngblood said. Deputies secured the firearm and found that Scrivner had had a physical altercation with his children and had been stabbed twice in the upper torso over allegations that he had sexually assaulted one of them, Youngblood said. His injuries were non-life-threatening, he added. Scrivner’s four children, who are minors, and his parents were at the house at the time of the incident, Youngblood said. His wife, Christina, who filed for divorce in March, was not present. “Child was protecting other child from what he believed occurred,” Youngblood said. Detectives got a search warrant and seized 30 firearms, psychedelic mushrooms, electronic devices and possible evidence of sexual assault in the house, he said. Scrivner’s attorney, H.A. Sala of Bakersfield, told KGET-TV that the allegations weren’t true and that Scrivner was going through a mental health crisis. Kern official is focus of sex assault inquiry By Ashley Ahn Download the app. Discover more of The Times. Use your camera to scan the QR code. Tap the link when it appears to be directed to your device’s app store. Hit download and start exploring.

LATIMES.COM MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 B3 CITY & STATE A new general manager was tapped. The board of commissioners elected a new president, former state lawmaker Richard Katz. And a search is underway for a new ratepayer advocate to keep tabs on the spending at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. But behind the scenes, the utility has also been facing withering scrutiny. A confidential report recently outlined long-standing problems with its culture and management structure. The DWP board sought the report in the wake of a corruption scandal involving top executives at the utility, who were accused of rigging contracts and taking bribes, costing the agency tens of millions of dollars. Three people who worked for the DWP, including a former general manager, are now serving prison sentences. The report, prepared by the law firm Paul Hastings, doesn’t offer earth-shattering revelations about the corruption scandal. But it does provide a bracing assessment of the department’s upper management, describing a workplace culture that encouraged employees to keep their “heads down” and “curry favor” with management in order to advance professionally and “maximize” their pensions. The report, completed last year, looked at “systematic failures and gaps” that allowed wrongdoing to be carried out at the utility. The document was never publicly released but has been reviewed by The Times. Investigators with Paul Hastings interviewed about 40 people, including current and former DWP employees and commission members, according to the report. “Everyone we spoke with agreed there is a significant accountability problem at the department,” the law firm wrote in its 95-page report, using italics for emphasis. The report also depicted the DWP as a cliquey environment where employees received plum positions and promotions based on their relationships with top leaders, rather than their job performance. The assessment concluded that the role of the DWP general manager is akin to a celebrity where there are “limited checks and balances” and “lots of feigned obsequiousness.” Also, the DWP lacks an internal system for reporting fraud, waste and abuse, the law firm found. The report did recognize that the DWP has “hardworking” and “smart” workers. And it offered several recommendations, including regular reviews of employees and managers and a stronger role for the ratepayer advocate. That post is currently held by Fred Pickel, who is departing later this year. Representatives for Mayor Karen Bass and the DWP declined to comment on the report, saying it is a “confidential” communication between Paul Hastings and the utility. Paul Hastings has a $4.25-million contract with the utility that started in 2022. Since the corruption scandal became public in 2019, some moves have already been made. The ratepayer advocate — which is housed in the Office of Public Accountability — now sits in on closed-door board meetings, after previously being shut out. Pickel, asked about his reaction to the report, told The Times that the Office of Public Accountability “can only be effective if listened to. It is easy for what we say to be ignored.” Jack Humphreville, who volunteers with the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, said the DWP faces competing pressures from City Hall, the union representing DWP workers and environmentalists. Humphreville said that he sees “an element of fear” among staff at the utility, who don’t want to lose their jobs or perks by bucking the system. The feeling at the DWP is “if you don’t play by the rules, [you’re] going to get screwed,” he said. Leaked report offers peek at DWP culture By Dakota Smith SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking his climate change advocacy overseas next month to the epicenter of Catholicism, where he was invited to speak at a summit of mayors and governors hosted by Pope Francis at the Vatican. State and local leaders will gather at the summit from May 15 to 17 to discuss the effects of rising temperatures in their communities, with the goal of broadening the conversation from combating climate change to include strategies to adapt to the reality of a warming planet. Newsom, who aides said will talk about the effects of fire, flood and drought on California, is expected to be one of a few speakers to address the pope and more than two dozen leaders from around the world. “This year holds unprecedented significance for democracy and the climate, two intertwined issues which will define our future,” Newsom said. “With half the world’s population poised to elect their leaders amidst a backdrop of escalating political extremism, and global temperatures hurtling towards alarming new heights, the stakes could not be higher. There is no greater authority than moral authority — and the Pope’s leadership on the climate crisis inspires us all to push further and faster. “ Francis is the first pope to make climate change a top priority of his papacy, seeking to marry scientific facts about greenhouse gas emissions with a moral call to the 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide and leaders across the globe to protect the planet for future generations. Critical of the lack of urgent action, the pope called climate deniers “foolish” in his first interview on U.S. television last week. For Newsom, a Catholic, the invitation from the Vatican provides an opportunity to show that he’s aligned with Francis and appeal to the 50 million Americans who follow the religion. The trip also gives the Democratic governor an international stage to emphasize the importance of 2024 elections — and the choice between President Biden and former President Trump — on the climate crisis. Biden is considered a friend of the climate movement, and his Inflation Reduction Act, a 2022 law to increase renewable energy production and decrease greenhouse gas emissions, is one of the nation’s largest climate investments. The president has sought to reduce the country’s reliance on coal and gas plants, which Trump has said he would reverse. Former Gov. Jerry Brown used his visit to the Vatican in 2017 to deliver a scathing critique of Trump’s climate policies. The visit came months after Trump withdrew from the Paris climate accord. Lauren Sanchez, Newsom’s climate advisor, also pointed to elections in India, Mexico and other nations as crucial to climate change efforts this year. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, serves on Pope Francis’ Council for the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and helped organize the event. He said invitations were limited to international mayors and governors, including Govs. Maura Healey of Massachusetts and Kathy Hochul of New York. President Biden and other world leaders were not invited, but representatives of his administration will be present, Ramanathan said. Ramanathan said pressure is on international heads of state to cut emissions, but adaptation starts “bottom up.” “The key thing is to ask yourself, if there’s drought, and then there’s a fire in our backyard, who is fighting it?” Ramanathan said. “Not presidents of the nation. It’s the mayors and governors. We want to give them sort of a blueprint of how to deal with it.” Ramanathan said California is a leader on climate change and the council felt it was important to hear from the state at the summit. Newsom is expected to repeat the message that the “climate crisis is a fossil-fuels crisis” and call out the role of oil companies. “We think the governor stands alone among elected officials around the world who are really willing to say that this crisis is created by the burning of coal and oil and gas, and that we need to move away from those fossil fuels as quickly as possible,” Sanchez said. In honor of Earth Week, Newsom announced a plan last week to transform more than half of the state’s 100 million acres of land into multi-benefit landscapes that absorb more carbon than they release. The plan is part of Newsom’s strategy to curtail emissions and reach carbon neutrality in California by 2045. The challenge includes other ambitious targets, such as requiring all new vehicles sold in California to be hybrid or electric by 2035. Newsom’s visit to the Vatican is expected to be brief, with the governor touching down Wednesday, speaking at the conference the following day and wrapping up his engagements Friday. His delegation includes a few members of his staff. Wade Crowfoot, California’s natural resources secretary, is also expected to speak. Newsom’s travels have drawn criticism from his GOP critics, who contend he should be focusing exclusively on problems in California such as the state’s massive budget deficit. The governor went to China in October to promote climate cooperation with a short stop in Israel in the early stages of the war with Hamas. He left the state again the following month to debate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Georgia and has campaigned in other states in support of Biden’s bid for reelection. Newsom takes climate change advocacy on road to Vatican PEOPLE gather April 14 in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, where California Gov. Gavin Newsom will speak about climate change to the pope and more than two dozen governors and mayors from around the world. Andrew Medichini Associated Press Governor will speak at a May summit of mayors, governors hosted by the pope. By Taryn Luna Four L.A. County probation officers have been placed on leave in connection with “youth-on-youth violence” inside a Downey detention facility, officials announced Friday. The discipline comes after eight officers working at Los Padrinos juvenile hall were placed on leave for allowing a group of youths to beat up a teen in December. The involvement of four additional sworn peace officers may indicate that incidents of guards being present while youths assault each other are more widespread than previously known. L.A. County Probation Department Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa said the action against the four, after an internal review, was “part of a comprehensive push to root out departmental staff responsible for perpetrating a culture of violence, drugs, or abuse in County juvenile institutions.” “My commitment to dig deeper into potential wrongdoing, to take immediate action, and to publicly disclose my actions should make it clear that we will not tolerate anything that creates or contributes to a culture of violence in our juvenile facilities,” Viera Rosa said in a news release, while offering no specifics on what occurred. The incidents have been turned over to the California attorney general’s office to investigate, according to the Probation Department. The Times obtained footage of the December incident earlier this month showing at least six youths assaulting a 17-year-old while guards stand by, laughing and at one point shaking hands with an assailant. The 17-year-old sustained a broken nose, according to his public defender, Sherrie Albin. The video raises the question of whether the violence was coordinated, with one county supervisor calling the conduct “organized fights.” 4 more on leave at youth facility By Rebecca Ellis GRADUATION GOE S ON Genaro Molina Los Angeles Times USC graduates Elise Torres, 22, from left, Halle Maxwell-Stallcup, 22, Alli Nguyen, 22, and Evelyn Eigen, 21, raise their graduation scarves over their heads in celebration Saturday near Alumni Park. USC canceled its main commencement amid protests.

B4 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM Paramount Global Chief Executive Bob Bakish is expected to be ousted from the company, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Bakish’s departure comes as Paramount’s future hangs in the balance. The company is in a 30- day exclusive negotiating period with tech scion David Ellison, whose Skydance Media has teamed up with investment firms RedBird Capital and KKR to acquire Paramount controlling shareholder Shari Redstone’s National Amusements holding company. That exclusive negotiating period ends in early May. Under a complicated two-step proposition, Ellison would gain control of the media company, which includes the storied Melrose Avenue Paramount movie studio, broadcast network CBS and various cable channels such as MTV and Comedy Central. Ellison’s camp would pay $2 billion for National Amusements, and Paramount would then absorb Skydance. But shareholders have balked at reports of Ellison’s proposal, arguing that it would value Redstone’s shares at a premium while diluting the value for them. Several shareholders have said they’d prefer a deal with private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which is offering $26 billion, including the assumption of Paramount’s debt. Bakish is said to have been opposed to the Skydance transaction. Redstone, according to one person familiar with the matter, has also been frustrated with some of Bakish’s decisions, including not selling Showtime. The company, meanwhile, has lost massive amounts of money on its streaming service, Paramount+. The company now known as Paramount Global was formed in 2019 from the merger of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. But the combination never convinced Wall Street of its promise. In the last year alone, Paramount Global’s stock has lost nearly half its value. Recently, Sony has engaged in talks with Apollo to potentially join its bid, which could give the Japanese entertainment and electronics company a significant majority stake in Paramount. CNBC and Variety first reported the news of Bakish’s ouster. CNBC, in its report, said Bakish could be fired as soon as Monday, citing anonymous sources. Representatives for Paramount declined to comment. Bakish was named CEO in 2016, after a tumultuous year for the company then known as Viacom. At the time, the company’s stock had fallen 45% in two years as Viacom faced declining ratings at some of its key networks, including Comedy Central and MTV, as well as struggles at its Paramount Pictures film studio. After Redstone orchestrated the merger of Viacom with CBS, Bakish became CEO of the combined enterprise. Bakish had been a Viacom executive since 1997. Before that, he was a management consultant with a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia Business School. In 2016, Redstone described Bakish as “an exemplary forward thinker” who “embraces disruption and brings teams along with him.” Ouster expected for Paramount Global’s CEO Exec is said to have been opposed to a merger with David Ellison’s Skydance. By Samantha Masunaga and Ryan Faughnder BOB BAKISH was named CEO in 2016. Maury Phillips Viacom ganize. The UC Divest Coalition includes chapters at UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz. “We understand these investments are profitable for UC. War is profitable,” said one UCLA divestment campaign organizer, who asked for anonymity to protect their personal safety. “It just means we have to keep organizing.” The organizer said the campaign’s goal was to redirect UC investment dollars from firms that promote “mass violence being perpetrated against people all over the world” through weapons manufacturing, for instance, or surveillance technology. Instead, UC funds should better support students, staff and faculty battered by unaffordable housing, low wages, college debt and other financial hardships. In 2020, UC became the nation’s largest university to divest from fossil fuels, a five-year effort undertaken to fight climate change by shifting funds into more environmentally sustainable investments, such as wind and solar energy. UC sold more than $1 billion in fossil fuel assets from its pension, endowment and working capital pools and surpassed its five-year goal of investing $1 billion in clean energy projects. UC also joined the antiapartheid divestment campaign against South Africa in the 1980s, after thousands of student protesters boycotted classes, erected shantytowns to dramatize the plight of Black South Africans and prompted a police crackdown and arrests at UC Berkeley. UC had held investments of more than $3 billion in firms that owned plants, had employees or did business in South Africa. But it will be more difficult to persuade UC to divest from Israel, which has fierce and powerful supporters. University leaders already have spoken out against targeted action against Israel, including in a 2018 statement by all 10 campus chancellors that rejected an academic boycott and endorsed continued engagement with both Israeli and Palestinian colleges, universities and colleagues. A boycott would pose “a direct and serious threat to the academic freedom of our students and faculty, as well as the unfettered exchange of ideas and perspectives on our campuses, including debate and discourse regarding conflicts in the Middle East,” said the statement, which was reaffirmed in 2023. One member of the UC Board of Regents said Saturday that the anti-Israel campaign would go nowhere. “We’re never going to divest,” said the regent, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The regent was not in favor of moving to dismantle protest encampments, saying escalation would be unwise, but added that board members planned to have discussions this summer about what should be the proper time, place and manner of protests. UCLA student organizers said the divestment effort would take years — the anti-apartheid campaign lasted more than two decades before it succeeded — and that the recent wave of student protests would get only stronger. UC rejects calls for divestment from and boycott against Israel [UC, from B1] HOW TO PLACE AN AD ADVERTISING POLICIES For Los Angeles Times advertising terms and conditions go to: www.latimes.com/about/la-ads-terms-20181105-htmlstory.html Self-service 24/7: latimes.com/placead Contact us by phone 24/7: 800-234-4444 PETITION FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE Case Number: 23STFL11501 Petitioner: Monika Freeman Respondent: Charles Darius Delaunay-Driquert PETITON FOR: Dissolution (Divorce) of Marriage LEGAL RELATIONSHIP We are married. RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS Petitioner has been a resident of this state for at least six months and of this county for at least three months immediately preceding the iling of this Petition. (For a divorce, at least one person in the legal relationship described in items 1a and 1c must comply with this requirement.) STATISTICAL FACTS: Date of marriage (specify): September 24, 2015 Date of Separation (specify): January 21, 2017 Time from date of marriage to date of separation: 1 year 4 months. There are no minor children. Petitioner requests that the court make the following orders: Divorce, irreconcilable diferences. SPOUSAL OR DOMESTIC PARTNER SUPPORT: N/A. SEPARATE PROPERTY: There are no such assets or debts that I know of to be conirmed by the court. COMMUNITY AND QUASI - COMMUNITY PROPERTY: There are no such assets or debts that I know of to be divided by the court.. OTHER REQUESTS: RESPONDANT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL LEGAL FEES THEY INCUR IF THEY RETAIN AN ATTORNEY. PETITIONER WILL PAY INITIAL FILING FEE OF DIVORCE. Court’s Name/Mailing Address/ Telephone number is as follows: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 111 North Hill Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 The name, address, and telephone number of the petitioner’s attorney, or the petitioner without an attorney, are: Monika Freeman 4653 Farmdale Ave North Hollywood, CA 91602 310-428-0012 [email protected] Filed: NOV 03, 2023 David W. Slayton, Executive Oicer/Clerk of Court by: D. Jackson, Deputy Clerk Published in the Los Angeles Times Mexico Home for sale in San Miguel de Allende 2 bedroom 3 bathroom 1800sq foot with garage and Mx car included. 15 minute walk to center. property tax 300$ free trash pickup and city sewer. Sunset and city views all year.3terraces and more. 490000 dollars Email [email protected] phone 617.721.3374 Pp Other Countries FOR SALE FREONWANTED Certified buyer looking for R11, R12, R22 & more! Call Xiomara at 312-697-1976. Miscellaneous Merchandise MARKETPLACE JOBS · REAL ESTATE · MORE latimes.com/placead To place an ad call 1.800.234.4444 (Answers tomorrow) Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, as suggested by the above cartoon. THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek Unscramble these Jumbles, one letter to each square, to form four ordinary words. ©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved. Get the free JUST JUMBLE app • Follow us on Twitter @PlayJumble CNEEF SSNEE TBNOUT BWLOEB FLUKE CHEER WHIMSY CLOSET Saturday’s Jumbles: Answer: For the struggling starting pitcher, being replaced wasa—WELCOME RELIEF Print answer here: The California Construction Authority is soliciting bids from Licensed Contractors for the following public works project at the AV Fair & Event Center in Lancaster, CA: Material and labor for the Construction of two new buildings (170k sf) and a new kitchen facility within an existing building (6k sf). Engineers Estimate: $85,000,000.00 A Mandatory Job Walk will be held on 5/9/24 @ 9:30 am at the Administration Offices Board Room (Enter Gate2off Avenue H), at the AV Fair & Event Center, 2551 W Avenue H, Lancaster, CA 93536. Electronically Submitted Bids Due by 6/6/24 @ 2:00 pm. For complete Electronic Bid Package, contact Rachelle Seitz: [email protected], (279)236-0051 or visit www.ccauthority.org. Bids Wanted SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL) Case Number (Numero delCaso): 24SMCP00076 NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: (AVISO AL DEMANDADO): ROSEMARY OBI, MD YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: (LO ESTA DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE): RESIDENTS MEDICAL GROUP, INC. NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and haveacopy served on the plaintiff.Aletter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www. courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web Site (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. іAVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 dias, la corte puede decider en su contra sin escuchar su version. Lea la informacion a continuacion. Tiene 30 DIAS DE CALENDARIO despues de que le entreguen esta citacion y papeles legales para presenter una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una cartaouna llamada telefonica no lo protegen. Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corteymas informacion en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www.sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede mas cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentacion, pida al secretario de la corte que le de un formulario de exencion de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podra quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin mas advertencia. The name and address of the court is: (El nombre y direccion de la corte es): SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 1725 Main Street Santa Monica, California 90401-3291 The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is: (El nombre, la direccion y el numero de telefono del abogado del demandante, o del demandante que no tiene abogado, es): Diana Spielberger 11400 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 1500 Los Angeles, California 90064 310-399-3259 Date: (Fecha) 03/25/2024 David W.Slayton Clerk (Secretario) K. Parenteau Deputy (Adjunto) L.A. City and County law requires all cats & dogs to be spayed or neutered (with some exceptions). For more info, contact LA Animal Services (call 311) or visit www.laanimalservices.com SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL) CASE NUMBER (Número del Caso): 23STCV31210 NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: (AVISO AL DEMANDADO): ALBERT NAZARYAN, an individual; NELLI NAZARYAN, an individual; ALBERT OHANJANYAN, an individual; ZHASMEN TOVBEKHAKYAN, an individual; SAMANTHA TE LE, an individual; and DOES 1 through 30, inclusive. YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, a corporation. NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to ile a written response at this court and haveacopy served on the plaintif. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can ind these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the iling fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not ile your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot aford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonproit legal services program. You can located these nonproit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. ¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 días, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su version. Lea la información a continuación. Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presenter una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada telefónica no lo prolegen. Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puedo encontrar estos formularios de la corte y más información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www.sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condadooen la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le dé un formulario de extención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y hiener sin más advertencia. Hay otros requisites legales. Es recommendable que llameaun abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remission a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisites para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de servicios legales sin lines de lucro. Puede encontrar estos grupos sin lines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (www.sucorte.ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos extentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 ó más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdoouna concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil. Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso. The name and address of the court is: (El nombreydirección de la corte es): Los Angeles Superior Court 111 North Hill Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 The name, address, and telephone number of the plaintif’s attorney, or plaintif without an attorney, is: (El nombre, la dirección y el número del abogado del demandante, o del demandante que no tiene abodgado, es): Knapp & Spurlock, LLP, 3525 Hyland Avenue, Suite 220, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 714-434-9600 Date: 12/21/2023 David W. Slayton Executive Oicer/ Clerk of the Court (Secretario) Y. Marks Deputy Adjunto) Published in the Los Angeles Times LEGAL NOTICE Notiication is given that Valley National Bank, 615 Main Avenue, Passaic, New Jersey 07055, has iled an application with the Comptroller of the Currency on April 29, 2024, as speciied in 12 CFR 5 for permission to establish a stafed branch at 225 N. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, California, 90212. Any person wishing to comment on this application may ile comments in writing with the Director of Licensing, Comptroller of the Currency, Northeastern District, 7 Times Square, 10th Floor, New York, New York 10036 or at [email protected] within 30 days of the date of this publication. To request a copy of the public portion of the iling, contact the Director for Licensing at Comptroller of the Currency, Northeastern District, 7 Times Square, 10th Floor, New York, New York 10036 or email [email protected]. Filing information may also be found in the OCC’s Weekly Bulletin available at www.occ.gov. Legal Notices Legal Notices Sign up now. latimes.com/the-wild An outdoors newsletter.

LATIMES.COM MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 B5 Pressure: L Low C H High Warm Front old Front Jet Stream Trough –0 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100+ Rain T-storm Snow Ice Temps ◗ ▲ Monterrey 93/69 Chihuahua 87/56 Los Angeles 76/56 Washington Washington 91/67 New York 83/55 Miami 82/72 Atlanta 80/64 Detroit 77/59 Houston 88/71 Kansas City 72/54 Chicago 74/50 Minneapol Minneapolis 50/41 El Paso 85/59 Denver 69/46 Billings 68/37 San Francisco 67/49 Seattle 51/40 Toronto 56/48 Montreal 59/43 Winnipeg Winnipeg 45/32 Monterrey 93/69 Chihuahua 87/56 Los Angeles 76/56 Washington 91/67 New York 83/55 Miami 82/72 Atlanta 80/64 Detroit 77/59 Houston 88/71 Kansas City 72/54 Chicago 74/50 Minneapolis 50/41 El Paso 85/59 Denver 69/46 Billings 68/37 San Francisco 67/49 Seattle 51/40 Toronto 56/48 Montreal 59/43 Winnipeg 45/32 Good Moderate Unhealthful for: Sensitive people All Not Available South Coast Air Quality Management District forecasts air quality Air quality Today in Southern California Today in North America 5-day forecasts High/low temperatures are average forecasts for entire zone. L.A. Basin Valleys Beaches Mountains Deserts Surf and sea POINT CONCEPTION TO MEXICO California cities* Tides Almanac UV index Sun and moon L.A. Outer Harbor, in feet. County Height Period Direction Temp Sunday Downtown readings Minutes to burn for sensitive people Temperature Los Angeles Fullerton Ventura* Today’s rise/set May 1 May 7 May 15 May 23 Los Angeles Co. Orange Co. Ventura Co. VENTURA CO. LOS ANGELES CO. RIVERSIDE CO. SAN BERNARDINO CO. SANTA BARBARA CO. SAN DIEGO CO. ORANGE CO. Santa Barbara Ventura Oxnard Ojai Camarillo Santa Paula Westlake Village Woodland Hills Santa Monica Torrance Long Beach Newport Beach Santa Ana Laguna Beach San Clemente Mission Viejo Irvine Oceanside Escondido Poway Ramona San Diego Temecula Hemet Palm Springs Fullerton Chino Riverside Ontario Pomona/ Fairplex San Bernardino Yucca Valley Hesperia Whittier Hills UCLA Simi Valley Chatsworth Burbank Monrovia Santa Clarita L.A. Downtown Key: Su sunny; Pc partly cloudy; Cy cloudy; Fg foggy; Prcp precipitation; Dr drizzle; Hz hazy Sh showers; Ts thunderstorms; R rain; Sn snow; Sf snow flurries; I ice; Rs rain/snow; W windy; Tr trace. Notes: National extremes exclude Alaska and Hawaii. * - data estimated. Sunday’s readings as of 2 p.m. U.S. cities City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Sky City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Sky World City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Hi Lo City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Hi Lo City Hi Lo Prcp. Hi Lo Hi Lo Sun 6:06a/7:36p 6:05a/7:34p 6:09a/7:40p Moon 12:43a/10:17a 12:41a/10:16a 12:48a/10:20a Mostly sunny 76/58 Mostly sunny 73/55 Breezy 81/59 Sunny 81/57 Mostly sunny 81/56 Mostly sunny 80/58 Sunny; windy 85/57 Sunny; warm 87/60 Partly sunny 67/57 Partly sunny 66/54 Mostly sunny 74/55 Partly sunny 74/57 Mostly sunny 66/41 Sunny 64/31 Sunny 63/33 Sunny 64/32 Sunny; hot 97/66 Sunny; warm 96/67 Sunny; warm 92/66 Sunny; hot 99/68 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny Mostly sunny Sunny Sunny and warm Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Today Inner waters: Wind variable less than 10 knots becoming west at 10-15 knots in the afternoon. Wind waves 1-2 feet. Swell west 3-4 feet at 9 seconds. Surf zone: The risk for strong rip currents is moderate at Orange and San Diego county beaches and high elsewhere. Santa Barbara 3-5’ 8 sec W 55 Ventura 3-6’ 8 sec W 55 Los Angeles 3-5’ 8 sec W 58 Orange 2-4’ 14 sec SSW 59 San Diego 2-4’ 14 sec SSW 62 Today 12:12a 5.2 Hi 8:39a 0.0 Lo ------ Hi ------ Lo Tue. 1:21a 4.8 Hi 9:55a 0.0 Lo 6:00p 3.4 Hi 8:54p 3.2 Lo High/low 74/55 72/52 65/51 Normal high/low 73/56 75/55 68/50 High/low a year ago 69/56 73/57 58/52 Record high/date 96/2008 98/2008 83/1969 Record low/date 41/1900 48/2002 38/1970 24-hour total (as of 2 p.m.) 0.00 0.00 0.00 Season total (since Oct. 1) 22.02 16.49 24.61 Last season (Oct. 1 to date) 27.48 20.53 25.87 Season norm (Oct. 1 to date) 13.78 11.37 15.67 Humidity (high/low) 80/40 83/43 89/65 Precipitation Los Angeles Fullerton Ventura* Las Vegas, 25 Los Angeles, 25 Phoenix, 25 San Francisco, 25 76/56 80/55 68/55 64/32 94/66 70/51 76/52 65/52 67/50 76/49 74/50 76/51 80/55 68/56 74/57 69/57 68/56 71/53 74/53 76/50 71/53 69/56 77/46 80/49 75/53 75/55 74/58 68/55 78/54 77/55 82/51 80/49 94/66 80/48 76/56 72/54 80/55 78/52 82/52 79/54 80/55 82/45 79/53 80/54 82/53 81/54 Forecasts by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2024 High 97 in McAllen, Texas Low 19 in Dakota Hill, Colo. Sunday Today Sunday Today Albany 73 48 .13 65 48 Cy Albuquerque 67 38 .01 76 50 Su Anchorage 53 35 -- 49 38 Pc Aspen 45 32 .18 57 33 Pc Atlanta 78 60 -- 80 64 Su Austin 82 65 .71 90 66 Ts Baltimore 85 52 -- 92 65 Su Boise 65 40 -- 58 34 Pc Boston 67 45 Tr 63 49 Pc Bufalo 70 61 .19 72 58 Pc Burlington, Vt. 67 49 .29 56 45 Cy Charleston, S.C. 79 60 -- 82 64 Su Charlotte 75 57 Tr 84 59 Su Chicago 74 62 .42 74 50 Pc Cincinnati 80 62 -- 79 61 Ts Cleveland 81 68 Tr 83 63 Ts Columbia, S.C. 77 57 -- 83 60 Su Columbus 82 64 -- 82 61 Ts Dallas/Ft.Worth 79 62 2.52 84 63 Su Denver 60 36 .10 69 46 Su Detroit 79 63 .31 77 59 Ts El Paso 80 56 -- 85 59 Su Eugene 58 48 .10 59 42 Sh Fort Myers 86 69 -- 87 67 Su Hartford 73 47 .16 78 55 Pc Honolulu 83 71 Tr 83 72 Pc Houston 82 75 .27 88 71 Ts Indianapolis 80 67 -- 71 57 Ts Jacksonville, Fla. 80 66 -- 82 62 Su Kansas City 71 60 2.03 72 54 Pc Knoxville 82 54 -- 83 62 Pc Las Vegas 81 58 -- 86 62 Su Louisville 83 65 -- 82 63 Ts Medford 69 45 Tr 63 39 Sh Memphis 80 66 .03 72 61 Ts Miami 82 73 .05 82 72 Su Milwaukee 51 46 .50 74 48 Pc Minneapolis 50 48 .75 50 41 Sh Nashville 82 64 -- 82 63 Ts New Orleans 83 72 .03 83 69 Ts New York 78 50 .07 83 55 Pc Norfolk 83 57 Tr 87 62 Su Oklahoma City 77 60 .83 81 60 Pc Omaha 65 55 .38 70 50 Pc Orlando 82 65 Tr 85 65 Su Philadelphia 81 50 .13 89 62 Pc Phoenix 88 63 -- 93 67 Su Pittsburgh 82 64 -- 86 61 Pc Portland, Ore. 60 51 .13 56 43 Sh Providence 59 43 .09 73 51 Pc Raleigh/Durham 81 59 -- 86 62 Su Reno 71 43 -- 70 38 Su Richmond 85 58 -- 90 61 Su St. Louis 79 70 .15 78 56 Pc Salt Lake City 63 45 Tr 71 38 Pc Acapulco 89 70 -- 88 71 Su Amsterdam 63 54 .29 66 50 Pc Athens 77 59 -- 76 59 Su Bangkok 100 88 -- 102 85 Su Barcelona 63 59 .28 62 55 R Berlin 73 48 -- 69 53 Cy Cabo San Lucas 82 63 -- 83 63 Pc Cairo 87 64 -- 85 64 Su Dubai 99 81 -- 99 82 Su Dublin 55 30 .08 57 45 Sh Havana 86 70 .02 87 68 Sh Ho Chi Minh City 100 86 -- 102 84 Pc Hong Kong 87 81 .57 87 81 Ts Istanbul 67 55 .06 60 56 Cy Jerusalem 76 62 -- 79 58 Hz Johannesburg 70 44 -- 72 54 Su Kuala Lumpur 94 77 .34 95 79 Ts Lima 75 65 -- 75 66 Su London 55 46 .21 60 46 Pc Madrid 64 37 -- 67 43 Sh Mecca 104 71 -- 99 74 Ts Mexico City 84 58 -- 85 58 Cy Montreal 66 48 .24 59 43 Cy Moscow 59 41 -- 67 45 Pc Mumbai 100 84 -- 99 83 Su New Delhi 99 79 -- 102 74 Hz Paris 61 50 .05 66 52 Pc Prague 73 39 -- 75 53 Pc Rome 76 46 -- 75 50 Su Seoul 81 50 -- 73 52 Cy Singapore 89 80 .31 91 81 Ts Taipei City 91 75 .17 93 75 Pc Tokyo 79 63 -- 75 64 Hz Vancouver 54 46 .20 54 41 Sh Vienna 73 48 -- 77 53 Pc Seattle 52 46 .12 51 40 Sh Tampa 87 67 -- 86 69 Su Tucson 81 51 -- 88 58 Su Tulsa 73 61 2.78 80 59 Cy Washington, D.C. 83 56 Tr 91 67 Su Wichita 74 58 .64 77 58 Pc SUNDAY’S EXTREMES FOR THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES Anaheim 73 54 -- 78 54 77 55 Avalon/Catalina 66 56 -- 69 57 67 53 Bakersfield 78 52 -- 78 51 79 52 Barstow 84 58 -- 88 58 91 58 Big Bear Lake 60 32 -- 64 32 66 41 Bishop 78 43 -- 82 43 84 45 Burbank 72 56 -- 79 54 77 56 Camarillo 72 50 -- 74 50 73 51 Chatsworth 78 57 .03 80 55 80 53 Chino 80 51 -- 82 51 82 52 Compton 72 54 -- 75 56 74 58 Dana Point 68 55 -- 69 54 69 57 Death Valley 91 83 -- 94 87 95 87 Del Mar 68 53 -- 64 55 63 56 Escondido 74 49 -- 76 50 75 50 Eureka 61 45 Tr 56 43 56 40 Fallbrook 71 50 -- 77 51 76 50 Fresno 79 52 -- 78 51 80 53 Fullerton 75 55 -- 77 55 77 56 Hemet 79 49 -- 80 49 82 49 Hesperia 76 46 -- 79 46 80 47 Huntington Beach 66 56 -- 68 56 68 57 Idyllwild 64 48 -- 69 48 73 49 Irvine 70 55 -- 75 55 74 57 L.A. D’ntown/USC 74 55 -- 76 56 76 58 L.A. Int’l. Airport 68 54 -- 68 55 68 57 Laguna Beach 62 56 -- 68 56 68 59 Lancaster 80 52 -- 78 53 82 49 Long Beach 72 56 -- 74 57 72 59 Mammoth Lakes 60 31 -- 63 29 62 27 Mission Viejo 73 54 -- 75 53 72 55 Monrovia 78 54 .03 80 55 79 54 Monterey 61 48 -- 61 46 62 45 Mt. Wilson 61 47 -- 54 50 57 50 Needles 89 64 -- 94 66 95 68 Newport Beach 66 57 -- 69 57 66 59 Northridge 76 56 -- 81 56 81 54 Oakland 66 51 -- 68 49 68 49 Oceanside 72 51 -- 74 53 72 54 Ojai 74 51 -- 76 52 79 52 Ontario 78 54 -- 80 54 80 52 Palm Springs 92 66 -- 94 66 97 66 Pasadena 76 54 -- 78 53 77 56 Paso Robles 78 42 -- 78 40 79 41 Redding 79 50 -- 76 48 78 50 Riverside 79 49 -- 80 48 81 49 Sacramento 78 48 -- 77 47 78 50 San Bernardino 80 52 -- 82 53 83 52 San Diego 67 55 -- 69 56 67 58 San Francisco 64 51 -- 67 49 65 47 San Gabriel 77 55 -- 79 55 79 55 San Jose 73 50 -- 72 49 71 50 San Luis Obispo 73 49 -- 72 49 75 50 Santa Ana 69 58 -- 74 58 71 59 Santa Barbara 66 53 -- 70 51 71 51 Santa Clarita 81 54 -- 82 52 84 53 Santa Monica Pier 68 54 -- 68 55 67 57 Santa Paula 75 50 -- 76 49 77 50 Santa Rosa 75 45 -- 74 42 74 40 Simi Valley 75 52 -- 78 52 80 49 Tahoe Valley 59 26 -- 59 22 59 23 Temecula 74 49 -- 80 49 79 50 Thousand Oaks 72 50 -- 75 51 76 50 Torrance 72 55 -- 68 56 67 59 UCLA 67 55 -- 72 54 72 56 Van Nuys 79 57 -- 81 53 80 55 Ventura 62 51 -- 65 52 64 52 Whittier Hills 76 54 -- 78 54 76 57 Woodland Hills 78 55 -- 80 55 79 54 Wrightwood 61 45 -- 65 49 66 48 Yorba Linda 76 52 -- 78 51 77 53 Yosemite Valley 63 37 -- 67 37 68 34 Sun. Today Tue. Sun. Today Tue. Sun. Today Tue. A good deal of sunshine: Weak upper-level ridging will cover the region on Monday. There will be a weak onshore flow, with patchy morning low clouds. A northerly flow will bring more windy conditions to the Mojave Desert’s slopes and Santa Barbara County’s southwestern coastal areas later in the day. Sunshine will prevail for all areas. Tuesday will bring much of the same for the region. Severe thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast: The risk of of severe thunderstorms, including hail, stretches from eastern Texas into Mississippi. Meanwhile, a flash flood threat will stretch from Louisiana to Missouri. Elsewhere, warm weather will cover much of the East. consuming when you get down to it.” The first sign of a problem arrived in district inboxes Dec. 6. In an email, the district asked employees and students to stay off their Chromebook laptops and not log in to their school accounts. “After learning of the cybersecurity incident, GUSD immediately partnered with local law enforcement, outside cybersecurity experts, and the FBI to investigate its scope and assess the potential risk to our employees and students,” district spokesperson Kristine Nam said in an email. Around the same time, Glendale Unified reached out to employees going back 20 years and notified about 14,000 people that they could potentially be affected by the data breach, Nam said. It’s unclear whether all the information compromised in the breach was accessed and posted to the dark web, a part of the internet not accessible by traditional search engines, but often where stolen information can be found. But the district has offered one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft detection for anyone who wants the service as a precaution regardless. Still, some employees have not been satisfied with the district’s handling of the situation. A current employee who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from their employer said the district has been slow to disclose information about the data breach. “They’ve been so unclear about what happened. It’s been on a need-to-know basis,” the employee said. “The reality is that my information is out there and the damage could happen years from now.” In contrast, when thesecond-largest school district in the country, Los Angeles Unified, was the target of a ransomware attack in September 2022, district administrators notified the public within days that they had partnered with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement to investigate. Glendale Unified, on the other hand, did not initially let district employees know about what was happening, and information since then has been released as a “slow drip of updates,” the anonymous employee said. In response to the criticism, Nam said, Glendale Unified is “committed to being fully transparent with our community and providing employees, students and families with as much information and support as possible. As is protocol in any cybersecurity incident, communications are dictated by law enforcement and the external cybersecurity team.” Nam also pushed back on suggestions from employees that the district was slow in notifying staff. “We sent a message to our entire community immediately on Dec. 6 when the incident occurred, sent a followup on Dec. 7 stating that a cyber forensics team was working on the issue, and sent almost daily messages after that,” Nam said in an email. But Arsenian, the union president, said the union was not notified about the 14,000 former and current employees until April 19. In January, the district announced that personal data on the school’s network were accessed in a ransomware attack, including those of some current and past employees and students. In late February, the district notified the California Franchise Tax Board about the data breach “after an employee reported concerns about their tax filing,” Nam said. On March 4, a district administrator sent out a districtwide email warning employees of the fraudulent activity. That administrator included the phone number and mailing address for the Franchise Tax Board, along with a link to an IRS webpage to help protect against identity theft. “At that point, it felt like the cat was already way out of the bag,” the anonymous employee said. “They have just been unhelpful through all of this.” Though Nam said that no student information had been compromised in the breach, she acknowledged there could be a small handful of exceptions such as paid student tutors whose financial information is in the school’s information system. “We do not have reason to believe that, in general, students’ personal information was compromised by the data breach,” Nam said. “If we identify that a student’s personal information was compromised for any reason, we would notify the student and parent/guardian directly.” Clifford Neuman, director of the USC Center for Computer Systems Security, said if a ransomware attack gains access to someone’s wage and tax statement — commonly referred to as a W-2 — it’s a “treasure trove of information for someone looking to commit identity theft.” But there is different information stored for an average student that is likely not the type of information used to fraudulently file taxes, Neuman said. School districts are not necessarily a high-priority target for the type of people who would be behind a ransomware attack, but they’re relatively easy targets because they have so many vulnerabilities, Neuman said. The “attack surface” on a school district is larger than a bank’s, for example, because there are more people exchanging messages and documents through email in a school. Ransomware perpetrators understand that schools and hospitals are willing to pay a ransom to regain access to their systems because it’s valuable information and, in the case of a hospital, potentially a lifeor-death situation. If someone were to trace where the Glendale Unified ransomware hack originated, it could be something as simple as someone on the district’s network visiting a website with an outdated web browser, Neuman said. “It’s pretty hard to secure their systems against all of these types of instances,” he added. For all the affected employees in Glendale Unified, Neuman expects the IRS would be held liable if it processed any fraudulent filings and sent a check to a fake address, not the school district. “That takes a long time to straighten out,” Neuman said. Arsenian, the union president, said that employees affected by the fraudulent filings have been told they’ll have to wait three to six months for their income tax returns. Glendale Unified data hacked SOME workers are unhappy with the district’s response. Above, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. Mel Melcon Los Angeles Times [Glendale, from B1] A San Gabriel Valley woman who was accused of using counterfeit postage on tens of millions of packages pleaded guilty Friday to defrauding the United States Postal Service out of more than $150 million. Lijuan “Angela” Chen, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and one count of using counterfeit postage, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department. Chen, a resident of Walnut, has been in federal custody since she was arrested in May 2023. A co-defendant, 51-year-old Chuanhua “Hugh” Hu — who authorities say is considered a fugitive hiding in China — has been charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., three counts of passing and possessing counterfeit obligations of the U.S. and one count of forging and counterfeiting postage stamps. In all, authorities allege that the duo mailed more than 34 million parcels containing counterfeit postage labels from January 2020 through last May. According to Chen’s plea deal, she and Hu owned and operated a City of Industrybased package shipping company that offered shipping by U.S. Mail for Chinabased logistics businesses. Hu then began to print duplicate and counterfeit NetStamps in an effort to cut the cost of postage, authorities allege. In November 2019, officials say, Hu became aware that federal authorities were investigating, so he fled to China, where he continued to create counterfeit postage and avoid detection. Federal authorities believe he used a computer program to fabricate shipping labels. Meanwhile, Chen remained in the San Gabriel Valley, managing the warehouses the two used to ship packages for their business. The pair then began using counterfeit postage to ship items by U.S. Mail in 2020. Authorities say they would receive packages from China-based companies and apply the fake postage to ship them through the Postal Service. According to court documents, the red flags raised by fake postage included the reuse of “intelligent barcode data” already applied to other mailed packages. Those data are used to prove the labels have been paid for prior to shipping. Multiple packages shipped by Chen and Hu included counterfeit Priority Mail postage, authorities said. Under the terms of Chen’s plea agreement, she will forfeit funds in her bank accounts, insurance policies and real estate in Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, South El Monte, Walnut and West Covina. She is scheduled to be sentenced in August, and faces up to five years in prison for each count. “This defendant participated in a fraud scheme that caused massive losses to our nation’s postal service,” U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada said in a statement. “My office will continue to focus on holding fraudsters accountable and bringing justice to victims everywhere.” Southland woman guilty in $150-million fake postage scheme By Melissa Gomez FAKE postage was used for millions of packages. Nam Y. Huh Associated Press

B6 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM James C. Turner Mount Sinai Mem Parks - H. Hills 800-600-0076 www.mountsinaiparks.org Obituaries Placeapaid notice latimes.com/placeobituary Search obituary notice archives: legacy.com/obituaries/latimes “This is a species that’s really on the clock toward extinction. If things continue, it may last only 30 to 50 years — and maybe that’s even generous.” That’s sad, especially for a guy like me who’s old enough to remember the excitement of steelhead spawning runs up the Ventura River. That was prior to so much human “progress.” The steelhead is a rainbow trout that — unlike its freshwater little brother — grows up in the ocean. And it grows up really big, to 2 or 3 feet. The steelhead is like its cousin, the salmon. They’re both hatched upstream and, as kids, fight their way past bullies down to the ocean, where they fatten up on marine nutrients not available in freshwater. Then they battle their way back upriver to their original hatching waters and spawn a new generation. Unlike salmon, however, steelhead don’t die after spawning. These superfish live on, beating it back to sea and returning once or twice more to mate and reproduce. That’s the way nature designed it and how it worked for thousands of years until humans mucked it up — mostly as we overpopulated California after World War II. We built dams that blocked spawning runs, diverted the fish’s water for agriculture and urban use and destroyed estuaries with development — all the while saying the right things and kidding ourselves it wouldn’t harm the fish. Right! I got hooked on steelhead as a little kid watching my dad pluck them out of the Ventura River. We had a small orange ranch in Ojai on a bluff overlooking the river canyon. I fondly remember one late afternoon when my brother and I tagged along with our dad and his best friend, Bill — a former hunting and fishing guide on the Smith River near the Oregon border — as they deftly cast spinners into a picturesque pool with their fly rods. This was before fishing rods were made of fiberglass, let alone graphite. Dad’s was a beautifully varnished split bamboo. Twice, he and Bill maneuvered leaping steelheads into nets. And somewhere at home in a shoebox of treasures is a prized photo of my father and his fishing buddy holding up the two gorgeous natural wonders. Back then, winter steelhead runs were a festive time for anglers along the Ventura River. Then one day in 1947 I was with my dad in the front yard and heard a loud boom. “What’s that?” I asked. It was dynamite. “They’re building a dam, but it’s not going to work,” Dad replied. “Why not?” “It’s just going to fill up with sand and dirt.” Dad had only an eighthgrade education, but he knew nature — and coastal stream flows. Sure enough, the reservoir behind Matilija Dam filled with sediment in a few years and has been useless and an embarrassing eyesore for a long time. Worse, it blocked steelhead from their spawning waters in Matilija Creek, a Ventura River tributary. The final death knell for Ventura River steelhead was construction of the larger Casitas Dam near Oak View in 1959. That reservoir is partly fed with Ventura River water, siphoned through a canal below Matilija Dam. A few weeks ago I revisited Ojai. There was a strong river flow down to the diversion canal. After that, the stream was a trickle. It’s doubtful any steelhead could have swum in that water. Many local people and fish enthusiasts — like California Trout — have been trying to tear down Matilija Dam for years and reopen the spawning grounds. The reservoir is 99% filled with crud. But it could be a $200-million project. In the Legislature, a $10-billion “climate bond” is being talked about for the November ballot. It would include $100 million for dam removal. But that bond is in competition with other proposals for housing and education. And everyone is freaked out because Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $6.4-billion mental health bond barely squeaked past voters in the March election. There’s justifiable concern that voters might not be ripe for spending more borrowed money. “We have to go into this with our eyes wide open,” says Sen. Ben Allen (DSanta Monica), who’s pushing a climate bond. But for any steelhead to survive in the Ventura River, that dam has to be smashed and less water diverted. The Santa Clara and Santa Ynez rivers also once teemed with steelhead. And they likewise need lots of attention to save the majestic fish. The endangered species law gives the state tools to act. It has plans and plenty of talk. But little apparent action. Can a few dozen native fish survive and propagate in watersheds occupied by 22 million humans? It’s possible. But it doesn’t seem to fit human nature. Too bad. We’ve lost a prized asset — the kind that once lured people to California. Time to help Southland’s endangered steelhead trout [Skelton, from B1] said injury lawyers are not immune to worsening economic conditions. The pandemic resulted in fewer car accidents, fewer in-person workplace accidents and a significant slowdown in courtrooms. But as the cost of ad space decreased, lawyers were able to take advantage, Cohen said. Other factors, such as a need to build name recognition, contribute to the trend too. “I do get calls from law firms that say, ‘We want to be like Jacob Emrani or Sweet James,’ ” Alexander said. “They all want to be the next big thing. They see their competitors, and they want to be up there.” Indeed, billboards can help develop a legal brand. “Law straddles between a service and a business,” said Cohen, who has been in the industry for 30 years and specializes in car accidents. an impact on billboard adspace occupancy and rates,” Alexander said. “The lawyers found opportunities in ad space that wasn’t available before.” During the pandemic, personal injury lawyer James Wang was pictured wearing a mask on billboards around Los Angeles. Wayne Cohen, founder of Cohen Injury Law Group, “It’s kind of in-between. There’s the trade of the practice of law, and then there’s the business of it, which is getting cases in the door.” Lawyers have to consider the “acquisition cost per case,” Cohen said, meaning the amount it costs to get a case in the door relative to its value. Small law firms may spend a few thousand dollars a month on advertising, according to Cohen, while larger firms might spend more than $1 million. Outdoor advertising, also known as out-of-home advertising, delivers about 7.1 billion impressions — or occasions when a user sees it — per week in the Los Angeles market, according to the Out of Home Advertising Assn. of America. Data provided by the association show that almost two-thirds of consumers recently recalled seeing a legal services outdoor ad, and more than 40% who saw a legal services ad engaged in some way, such as talking about it with friends. The cost of billboards varies widely depending on size and location. A full-size billboard in Los Angeles costs roughly $5,000 to $10,000 per fourweek period, Alexandersaid. On the Sunset Strip near Hollywood, the highestdemand location for outdoor advertising in the city, a full-size billboard could cost $80,000 to $100,000 for four weeks. As the market recovered from the pandemic at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, the billboard industry began to boom again, Alexander said. Personal injury law firms represented a large portion of this expansion. “The billboard market was recovering and not only recovering but thriving and reaching new heights,” Alexander said. Cohen, whose firm doesn’t purchase billboard space, said clients must do their due diligence before selecting a lawyer. “You only have one shot at getting it right,” he said. He points out that having lots of billboard ads doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of the lawyer. “There has to be a return on investment on the advertising, or the lawyers wouldn’t do it,” Cohen said. “Does that mean that the lawyers who are the best advertisers are the best lawyers, the best advocates for their clients’ rights? I don’t even know if there’s a correlation there.” Drive-by legal ads proliferate in L.A. A PANDEMIC-ERA billboard along the Pomona Freeway shows a personal injury attorney in a mask. Kent Nishimura Los Angeles Times [Billboards, from B1] Demonstrators supporting and opposing Israel over the war in Gaza clashed in a large and noisy but mostly peaceful assembly at UCLA on Sunday, shouting slogans and pulling at police barricades not far from where pro-Palestinian students have maintained a tent encampment for days. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the grass at UCLA’s Dickson Court, waving banners, listening to speeches and sometimes yelling obscenities at one another. Reporters witnessed minor scuffles, but organizers had come armed with private security, and ended the demonstration with a call for attendees to leave peacefully. Campus police showed up at 2:30 p.m. The protest came one day after police were called in at USC, where pro-Palestinian protesters returned with tents and reestablished an encampment in Alumni Park, days after 93 people were arrested in campus demonstrations. At UCLA, supporters draped in Israel’s flag and waving smaller U.S. and Israel flags made their way to the front of a screen set up on the lawn by organizers of the rally, held to protest a similar pro-Palestinian encampment. To one side, group of men and women in kaffiyeh scarves linked arms, attempting to block access to the stage, demonstrators screaming and shouting even as speeches started. Sunday’s UCLA counterprotest was organized by the nonprofit Israeli-American Council, which on Thursday used social media to denounce pro-Palestinian demonstrations across U.S. campuses. “It is utterly unacceptable that any university campus should become a platform for pro-terror and anti-American activities,” the statement read in part, calling the protests “overtly antisemitic.” But a representative for the student encampment stressed that their target was not Israel but the university itself. “We want UCLA to divest from corporations that are profiting from the genocide in Gaza ... we are trying to get UCLA to divest because UCLA has blood on its hands,” said Kaia Shah, a 2023 UCLA graduate who now works for the university as a researcher. Shah said the encampment started Thursday with 200 people and has since grown, with no arrests or other physical pushback from the university. “UCLA has continued to ignore us,” she said, prompting efforts to enlarge the encampment and elicit a university response. She said those behind the plywood barricade sought to remain focused on what was happening in the Gaza Strip, not on the campus lawn. “We’re doing our best to stay levelheaded.” At the center of their conflict is the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, and Israel’s retaliatory war on the Palestinian territory. Gaza health authorities say Israeli forces have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians. The United Nations says roughly 2 million civilians in Gaza are now living in near-famine conditions. The conflict has ignited demonstrations at university campuses across the United States in recent weeks and resulted in the arrests of more than 700 people, according to various news sources. At both UCLA and USC, the protests have been organized in support of Palestinians in Gaza and have drawn counterprotesters to the outskirts of the encampment to rally against Hamas and call for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. “The Jewish students at UCLA are brilliant and resilient and they’re proud and they’re loud,” Dan Gold, executive director of the Hillel at UCLA, told demonstrators from the pro-Israel stage set up on the campus lawn Sunday. “We are on the right side of history.” A young woman sat shaded by an Israeli flag, blood visible on her scalp, awaiting medical attention after she said she was shoved to the ground by another demonstrator while attempting to retrieve her fallen flag. Private security guards, meanwhile, attempted to restrict access to the pro-Israel rally. Across the lawn, demonstrators carried signs that ranged from a handmade “Free Hugs Jewish Students” to pre-printed “I go bananas for Israel” — a taunt aimed at reports of someone with a banana allergy in the pro-Palestinian encampment, now encircled by a protective wall of plywood. Through gaps in the wood, a person waved a large Palestinian flag. When one demonstrator began throwing peanuts at others, UCLA alum Randy Fried stepped in. “We make peace when we find the ability to talk to one another. If we want them to listen to us, even if they’re wrong, we have to at least find a way to listen to them,” said Fried, who said he belonged to a social justice organization and whose former teacher is among the hostages still held in Gaza. “I would argue that most people on this side of the fence have skin in the game,” Fried said, referring to those on the pro-Israel side of Sunday’s security barriers. After reports that demonstrators were crossing those barriers, a UCLA spokesperson voiced distress. “UCLA has a long history of being a place of peaceful protest,” Mary Osako, the vice president for strategic communications, said in a statement released by the university press office. “We are heartbroken about the violence that broke out.” The head of the IsraeliAmerican Council, Elan Carr, confirmed Sunday that the group had organized the counterprotest at UCLA, as well as others at demonstrations across the country, and had hired multiple security companies to patrol the Los Angeles event. “We don’t want any violence,” Carr told the crowd. “Don’t engage. You go right to your cars, you move peacefully. Can we agree?” At the edge of Portola Plaza, a group of two dozen people in purple T-shirts held signs advocating peace, such as “Not One More Drop of Blood.” They were representatives from the L.A. chapter of Standing Together, a nonprofit founded in Israel by Arabs and Jews, said member Zahra Sakkejha. Organizers of the UCLA encampment say it is being put on by UC Divest, a coalition that includes Students for Justice in Palestine but also Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Student Labor Advocacy Project. Sherene Razack, a professor of women’s studies at UCLA, said students in the encampment have been “extraordinarily disciplined and working extremely hard to keep the camp safe.” “They have been trained on de-escalation tactics and have managed to keep things under control,” she added. “As a faculty member witnessing their behavior I couldn’t be prouder.” USC has been roiled by bitter controversy over the rescinding of a graduation speaking slot for valedictorian Asna Tabassum and the subsequent cancellation of the “main stage” commencement ceremony. Los Angeles police arrested 93 demonstratorslast week, and tension was renewed Saturday after proPalestinian protesters reestablished a tent encampment in Alumni Park. Dueling Gaza protests at UCLA draw hundreds Palestinian and Israeli supporters gather near a tent encampment, mostly peacefully. By Corinne Purtill, Ian James, Paige St. John, Safi Nazzal and Teresa Watanabe KICKING UP THEIR BOOTS Allen J. Schaben Los Angeles Times Nathan Archuleta of Newport Beach gives Taylor Gillespie of Mission Viejo a lift Friday on opening day of the Stagecoach country music festival in Indio, where an eclectic lineup set the tone. CALENDAR, E1

S MONDAY , APRIL 29 , 2024 PORTS :: L ATIMES.COM/SPORTS D The day’s top stories, at your fingertips. Scan the code to download the app. MLB Local teams are defeated The Dodgers can’t get a clutch hit and fall 3-1 at Toronto, and the Angels lose to Minnesota 11-5. D6-7 WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Stanford star transferring to USC Kiki Iriafen, a former standout at Harvard-Westlake, says she will join the Trojans next season. D7 PREP BASEBALL Top players plentiful in postseason Eric Sondheimer takes a look at the Southland’s best players who will compete in the CIF playoffs. D8 DALLAS — The Clippers were missing their main cog, the absence of Kawhi Leonard because of right knee inflammation and swelling in Game 4 leaving the group short-handed in what was deemed a potential seriesaltering playoff encounter. But these were the moments why the Clippers acquired James Harden, why they added another future Hall of Famer, and why they felt good about their chances even when Leonard couldn’t play. And Harden didn’t let the Clippers down, scoring 11 of their final 16 points to help them withstand blowing a 31-point lead, finishing with 33 points to lead them to a 116-111 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon at American Airlines Center. With Harden’s seven assists and six rebounds along with Paul George’s serieshigh 33 points, eight assists and six rebounds, the Clippers tied the Western Conference best-of-seven series at 2-2. Game 5 is Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena Interestingly, the Clippers have won both games in which Leonard was sidelined. Harden made sure of this win by scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter, his five consecutive floaters down the stretch the difference. “Game 1 we knew Kawhi was out and I had to be more aggressive,” said Harden, who made 12 of 17 shots from the field, four of five from three-point range. “Tonight we knew Kawhi was out, I had to be more aggressive. And so, it’s pretty simple for me.” Perhaps, but the game turned tenuous when the Clippers’ big lead turned into a 105-104 deficit with 2:14 left after a Kyrie Irving (40 points) scored over three Clippers’ defenders. But the Clippers did not fold. George hit a high-arching three-pointer for a one-point lead with 1:55 left, a lead the Clippers never relinquished despite the Mavericks charging back behind Luka Doncic’s triple-double of 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. “It was about keeping our composure,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “It was funny. I was looking at you (the media) and you were looking crazy and I said, ‘We’re OK. We’re OK.’ Like, they are a great team. Kyrie and Luka, they are going to make crazy shots, they are going to make some tough shots and we knew they were going to make a run. But also we didn’t think we’d come into this building and be up 31 points either. So, I told our team, ‘Just get the win, however got to get it.’ ” Leonard was ruled out Harden delivers to help Clippers survive With Leonard out again, veteran guard takes over in fourth quarter to even series. By Broderick Turner [See Clippers, D4] LeBron James, in the Lakers’ white uniform, stood at the scorer’s table, filled his hands with chalk and tossed it into the evening air — the same as always. Yet Saturday, even if similar to the previous 11 meetings with the Denver Nuggets, was always going to be different. Before Saturday, a loss didn’t mean the Lakers might make a coaching change. Before Saturday, a loss didn’t mean the Lakers were going to have to reimagine their roster. Before Saturday, a loss didn’t mean James might’ve thrown that chalk into the air for the last time as a Laker. The stakes were so high, but the feeling was so familiar. With 12 minutes left — two hours or so since James threw the powder into the air — the Lakers were at that LeBRON JAMES, who scored 30 points in 39 minutes of a Game 4 victory, drives to the basket and looks to shoot against Denver’s Aaron Gordon during the first half. The Lakers finally held on to a second-half lead after Denver had come back to win the previous three games. Photographs by Wally Skalij Los Angeles Times Full effort produces ray of hope For once this series, L.A. stands firm and doesn’t let a big lead slip away again By Dan Woike TAUREAN PRINCE of the Lakers, left, battles for a rebound [See Lakers, D5] with Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who finished with a triple-double. NBA PLAYOFFS :: LAKERS VS . DENVER NUGGETS LEAD SERIES, 3-1 | GAME 5: MONDAY AT DENVER, 7 P.M. TV: SPECSN, TNT While fielding questions after his team’s victory over the Denver Nuggets, Lakers coach Darvin Ham asked a question of his own. “Why not us?” he asked. Why not the Lakers? Why can’t the Lakers be the first in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series? In their 119-108 victory in Game 4, the Lakers proved what was evident in their losses in each of the first three games. They can play with the defending NBA champions. They can beat the defending NBA champions. So, once again, why not them? Why not the Lakers? LeBron James soared on Saturday night, scoring a team-high 30 It’s a mile-high task, sure, but why can’t the Lakers come all the way back? DYLAN HERNÁNDEZ [See Hernández, D5]

D2 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS MON TUE WED THU FRI 29 30 1 2 3 DODGERS at Arizona 6:30 SNLA at Arizona 6:30 SNLA at Arizona 6:30 SNLA ATLANTA 7 SNLA ANGELS PHILA. 6:30 BSW PHILA. 6:30 BSW PHILA. 1 BSW at Cleveland 4 BSW LAKERS at Denver* 7 SpecSN, TNT DENVER*# TBA SpecSN CLIPPERS DALLAS* 7 BSSC, TNT at Dallas*# TBA BSSC KINGS at Edmonton* TBA BSW EDMONTON *# TBA BSW GALAXY SUNDAY: AT SEATTLE, 3:45 P.M., FS1, APPLE TV LAFC SATURDAY: AT SAN JOSÉ, 4:30 P.M., APPLE TV ANGEL CITY at Utah 6:30 BSSC Shade denotes home game. *-Playoffs #-if necessary PRO CALENDAR TIME EVENT ON THE AIR BASEBALL 4:30 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago White Sox TV:FS1 6:30 p.m. Dodgers at Arizona TV: SNLA, MLB R: 570, 1020 6:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Angels TV: BSW R: 830, 1220 6:30 p.m. Atlanta at Seattle TV: MLB 6:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Oakland TV: ESPN+ BASKETBALL 4:30 p.m. NBA playoffs, Game 4, Boston at Miami TV: TNT, truTV 5:30 p.m. NBA playoffs, Game 4, Oklahoma City at New Orleans TV: NBA 7 p.m. NBA playoffs, Game 5, Lakers at Denver TV: SpecSN, TNT, truTV R: 710, 1330 COLLEGE SOFTBALL 4 p.m. Mississippi State at Missouri TV: SEC GOLF 2 p.m. PGA Professional Championship, second round TV: Golf HOCKEY 4 p.m. NHL playoffs, Game 5, Tampa Bay at Florida TV: ESPN 6:30 p.m. NHL playoffs, Game 4, Dallas at Vegas TV: ESPN, ESPND 5 a.m. (Tues.) IIHF U-18 World Championships, Switzerland vs. Sweden TV: NHL SOCCER 11:45 a.m. Italy, Genoa vs. Cagliari TV: Paramount+ Noon Spain, Barcelona vs. Valencia TV: ESPN+, ESPND TENNIS 2 a.m. (Tues.) Madrid Open, ATP Round of 16; WTA quarterfinals TV: Tennis TODAY ON THE AIR A few hours before UCLA players dragged each other to the ground as part of a one-on-one competition and linemen thudded viciously into one another, there were fist bumps and hugs in the revival of a grand Bruins tradition. Wearing white sweatpants and hoodies adorned with a Bruins logo on the chest, players disembarked from a bus at the Rose Bowl and walked between ropedoff lines of family and friends, some cheering and others holding up cellphones to document the moment. Coach DeShaun Foster, easy to spot in a blue sweatsuit amid the sea of white, paused to interact with a handful of fans on his way into the stadium. With UCLA holding its first Bruin Walk since the end of the Jim Mora era and staging its first spring showcase at the Rose Bowl since 2015, it was fun to be a Bruin again. “Coach Foster has L.A. behind us again,” defensive lineman Jay Toia said, “so it feels great.” A crowd of 11,703 that dwarfed previous turnouts for the spring showcase at Drake Stadium saw the UCLA offense defeat the defense 43-31 in a reversal of fortunes given the defense’s dominance during much of spring practices. “It was easier for them to score points in my score system,” Foster said with a laugh of the offense, “but the defense did a great job all spring.” Foster’s system awarded points to the offense for first downs, field goals and touchdowns while granting the defense points for stops and holding the offense to a field goal in red-zone situations. Quarterback Ethan Garbers continued his latespring surge, particularly when it came to connecting with wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala. After Garbers found Mokiao-Atimalala over the middle during one team period, the quarterback rolled out on the next play and completed a pass to his new favorite receiver near the sideline. “Titus is my guy, for sure,” Garbers said of the receiver who sat out last season for unspecified reasons, “and we’re definitely building a good connection going into the season.” The offensive line featured a different look than it had earlier this spring, with Josh Carlin moving from right guard to center and Bruno Fina from left tackle to right guard. Jaylan Jeffers took Fina’s spot at tackle and Carlin displaced redshirt freshman Sam Yoon, who played second-string center. Foster said the movement was intended to increase players’ versatility while also allowing them to try new positions should reinforcements arrive from the transfer portal. The Bruins have already received a commitments from former Nevada Las Vegas guard Alani Makihele and former Louisville tackle Reuben Unije. “It was just to make sure that guys can play multiple positions,” Foster said of the juggling on the offensive line, “in case there’s multiple injuries or anything crazy that can happen in a game.” A running game that was missing fullback Anthony Adkins (knee) did not produce many explosive plays except for one memorable touchdown. Joshua Perry, a boy who had undergone a liver transplant at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, took a handoff from Garbers and ran untouched into the end zone before being hoisted into the air by players from both the offense and defense. It was a daylong celebration featuring notable alumni including Chicago Bulls All-Star guard Zach LaVine and football luminaries Wendell Tyler, Gaston Green, Zach Charbonnet and Laiatu Latu, who was recently selected No. 15 in the NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts. The spring showcase concluded a whirlwind week for Toia, who withdrew from the transfer portal on Monday — later joking it was a “four-day vacation” — and attended the draft Thursday to support Latu alongside Foster and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe. “It’s just culture and development over everything,” Toia said. “That’s ultimately what brought me back.” The culture shift could be heard long after the showcase ended, fans who lingered for an autograph session with players also ringing the Victory Bell. “This is my fourth year and this is the first time we’re doing this,” Toia said. “You could just tell it was a whole different type of energy here, so yeah, it was great. … Coach Foster brings this new type of energy. Everyone’s excited, it’s like L.A. is Bruin fans again.” Spring of positivity persists for UCLA in Rose Bowl showcase BRUNO FINA (75) and other UCLA linemen run drills during the team’s annual spring game. A crowd of 11,703 watched at the Rose Bowl, dwarfing previous turnouts for the showcase at Drake Stadium on campus. Meg Oliphant For The Times By Ben Bolch It’s the thing everyone always asks about. It used to weigh on Aidan Knipe. Some aspects of being a coach’s son are unavoidable. But for the Long Beach State setter, it was never about the external pressure of playing for his father, head coach Alan Knipe. It was what he would do under that weight. “I just had to play for who I was,” Aidan said, “and prove that I belonged here.” Despite any outside scrutiny, the redshirt senior setter has cemented his place in the Long Beach State record books. Aidan, just the eighth player in Long Beach State history with 3,000 career assists, leads the secondseeded Beach into the NCAA tournament at 5 p.m. Tuesday against No. 7 seed Belmont Abbey (21-4) at Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State (29-2) is hosting the tournament for the first time since 2019, when it used the home court advantage to help win its latest NCAA title. Aidan couldn’t be at the Pyramid for the championship match that year. It is seemingly one of the few major events in program history he’s missed. The Huntington Beach High alumnus, who was playing in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs when Long Beach defeated Hawaii in four sets to win its second consecutive NCAA title, has been attending men’s volleyball matches almost since birth. His first trip out of the home as a newborn was to the Pyramid, he proudly points out. It was the same year his father took over as the head coach. In two decades at his alma mater, Alan has built Long Beach State into a volleyball powerhouse. He is the only person to be involved in all three of Long Beach State’s national titles, from being the star outside hitter in 1991 to coaching in 2018 and 2019. But this experience with Aidan, Alan said, “has been the most meaningful in my entire coaching and playing career.” Alan relished coaching his sons — Aidan and younger brother Evan, who is also a student at Long Beach State — in youth sports from soccer to baseball to football. But when Aidan started showing increased interest and aptitude in volleyball, Alan stepped back from the sidelines of his son’s games. As Aidan grew into a college prospect and played with USA Volleyball for five years, Alan knew it was the right choice to not coach his son during his juniors career. He wanted to save their time for college. Aidan always knew it would be Long Beach. But, with his father encouraging him to explore other schools, there was still a recruiting pitch from the Long Beach staff. Aidan even took an official visit. Alan, who grew up playing soccer and was coached by his father, knew he needed to delicately balance father and son vs. coach and player. “When Aidan got here, I always tried to say I don’t want it to be harder on him than anybody else,” Alan said. “I just don’t want it to be easier than anybody else.” The key to their dynamic may be separation, even during the season when they spend nearly every day in the gym together. Aidan lives with teammates in Long Beach. Associate head coach Nick MacRae, the team’s offensive coordinator, works directly with Aidan on the technical points of setting, as was the case for previous setters in the program. Alan is left to coach the team from a wide lens. He doesn’t see his son any more than any other player on the team. Despite the separation behind the scenes, outside assumptions of favoritism are unavoidable in many father-son dynamics. If Simon Torwie saw a son playing for his father on any other team, the Long Beach State senior middle blocker said he might have the same ideas many internet critics have of Aidan’s position on the court. But Torwie, who counts Aidan as one of his closest friends on the team, said the notion that the setter is successful or gets to play only because he shares a last name with his head coach is “completely wrong.” “I’ve seen it every single day, I’ve seen it on off days, I’ve seen their relationship outside the court, it’s not fair to just reduce it all to that,” said Torwie, the nation’s leading blocker at 1.366 per set. “Both of them are basically the hardest workers you could ever see.” Aidan orchestrates the fifth-best offense in the country as the Beach, hitting 0.346%, won its third consecutive Big West regular season title, claimed its first conference tournament title since 2018 and enters the NCAA tournament as the only team with fewer than four losses this season. After two seasons earning all-conference honorable mentions, Aidan picked up his first Big West first-team honor this season after averaging 10.23 assists per set with career bests in blocks (0.69) and digs (1.52) per set. A chronic injury that resulted in ankle reconstruction surgery after the 2021 season hampered much of Aidan’s first two seasons. While undersized at a wiry 6 feet 3 Aidan is one of the team’s best jumpers, Alan attests. Because of the surgery, Aidan was ground-bound for five months leading into his redshirt sophomore season. He still piloted the team to the national championship game in 2022. “I want to be able to show that I can jump high and do all the things that the big guys can do,” Aidan said. “But at certain points I wasn’t able to do that. … I just kind of have to give up on being selfish in that sense and just provide whatever I can to the team.” It’s no coincidence that Aidan’s career has taken off with his improved health. To set himself up for his best season, the 23-year-old dedicated himself to the weight room and lifted five times a week during the offseason. He refined his diet and is 20 pounds heavier than when Long Beach played in the NCAA semifinals last year. Back in the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year, Long Beach is trying to win its fourth national championship. Aidan has had this opportunity on his mind for years. When he took his official recruiting visit, the staff told him the Pyramid would host the NCAA tournament during his would-be fifth season. Getting here required more detours than expected with the COVID-19 pandemic decimating the roster and almost instantly ending the program’s previous golden era that featured back-toback titles in 2018 and 2019. The current senior class has carried the weight of the program without much veteran leadership, Alan said. They left it better than they found it, the coach added. That, after a career of trying to carve out his own legacy, is why Aidan belongs at Long Beach State. “He is the one that we need on court,” Torwie said. “He deserves it and he has worked his ass off to be that guy. …. I would not want anyone else to set for me.” Knipe duo’s sights are set on NCAA volleyball title SETTER Aidan Knipe, left, a redshirt senior, stands next his father, Long Beach State volleyball coach Alan Knipe, after Alan earned his 400th career victory. John Fajardo Long Beach State Athletics Long Beach State setter and his coach father work to avoid hints of favoritism. By Thuc Nhi Nguyen SPORTS EXTRA For late coverage of Dodgers, Angels, Lakers and Clippers games and more, see our daily digital eNewspaper. Subscribers get free access to an exclusive “Sports Extra.” View it on your phone, tablet or computer at latimes.com/enewspaper.

LATIMES.COM/SPORTS MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 D3 The Rams went into the NFL draft with two pressing needs. Star lineman Aaron Donald’s retirement left a humongous hole in the defense. And, after last season’s kicking debacle, they also had to address that position. General manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay said no single player could fill the void left by the future Hall of Famer Donald, so the Rams attempted to do it with volume. Four of 10 players the Rams selected were defensive linemen, including firstround pick Jared Verse, an edge rusher from Florida State. They also selected Florida State defensive tackle Braden Fiske in the second round and Saturday added Washington State edge rusher Brennan Jackson in the fifth and Clemson nose tackle Tyler Davis in the sixth. “To be able to get two guys on the edge, two guys inside that we feel like can affect the game in a positive way, that was something that we had identified,” McVay said. “And obviously Aaron creates a big void. You’re never going to ask somebody to replace that void he created, but you can do that by the unit.” Miami safety Kamren Kinchens, a third-round pick, also is among the new players under the guidance of new defensive coordinator Chris Shula. “We’ll do some similar things,” McVay said, “but I think there’s going to be some different things that we can explore of how to really be able push the envelope and do some things that are in alignment with where we feel like there’s a lot of improvement and things that we can build off of, not exclusive to defense, but on offense and the kicking game as well.” Michigan running back Blake Corum and Texas wide receiver Jordan Whittington, third- and sixthround picks, respectively, could immediately fill rotational roles. Arkansas center Beaux Limmer, a sixthround pick, and Kansas State tackle KT Leveston, chosen in the seventh, could provide offensive line depth. The Rams selected Stanford kicker Joshua Karty in the sixth round, potentially filling what Snead acknowledged was a “dire” need after Brett Maher’s and Lucas Havrisik’s inconsistency last season. The Rams chose Karty six picks after the Minnesota Vikings selected Alabama kicker Will Reichard and three picks before the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Arkansas kicker Cam Little. “We just knew, like as soon as one of us was going, that other teams would start to bite,” Karty said of the kickers. “And I was hoping if another kicker went first it wasn’t going to be the Rams. “And boy, I’m glad the Rams had the next pick. I’m super excited. I wanted to be here all along.” Karty joins a special teams unit that includes second-year punter/holder Ethan Evans and secondyear long snapper Alex Ward. The addition of Karty could give the Rams an opportunity to develop a longterm specialists group, as they did with kicker Greg Zuerlein, punter Johnny Hekker and long snapper Jake McQuaide from 2012 to 2019. “That’s always been an element of a vision,” Snead said, adding, “We’ve had that blueprint here — easier said than done. And we probably had to live through a little bit of stormy weather last year with the kicking position.” The Rams began Saturday without a fourthround pick, but with six picks in the final three rounds. Jackson, who attended Great Oak High in Temecula, played at SoFi Stadium with Washington State in the LA Bowl in 2022. “I was in the locker room and I sat in Aaron Donald’s locker when I was there,” he said. “So it’s come full circle.” The Rams then selected Davis, giving them four rookie defensive linemen to augment a front that includes tackles Kobie Turner, Bobby Brown III and Larrell Murchison, end Desjuan Johnson and outside linebackers Byron Young and Michael Hoecht. After selecting Karty, they used their last three picks for offense. Whittington described himself as “gritty” and said he was looking forward to learning from receivers such as Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. “I’m a student of the game,” Whittington said, “and Cooper Kupp I feel like is a professor.” The Chargers drafted nine players at five positions with the parallel goals of immediate help this year and further depth for seasons to come. One of the spots they didn’t address — because they didn’t need to — was quarterback, where Justin Herbert is entering the fifth season of a career off to a record-setting start. However, the Chargers did, in fact, draft someone who has played the position. “I was a bigger quarterback,” Joe Alt explained, causing laughter throughout his introductory news conference Friday. “Let’s be real, I ran the ball most of the time.” Alt, all 6 feet 9 and 321 pounds of him, was the team’s first-round pick, selected fifth overall and projected to take over at right tackle. His quarterbacking days ended in high school in Minnesota. His addition, plus the Day 2 selections of wide receiver Ladd McConkey and linebacker Junior Colson, highlighted the first Chargers draft for general manager Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh. “I’m really excited the way it went, especially [when] you look at our first pick,” said Hortiz, who then talked about Alt being the best tackle available. “And then the opportunity to take the players we took each time, we were just excited to take every one. I really believe we made our team better.” Hortiz and Harbaugh addressed obvious needs while sticking to selections with both production and potential mostly from major programs. The Chargers’ picks came from Notre Dame, Georgia, Michigan, Alabama, USC, Maryland and Troy. There were no headscratching decisions or glaring reaches that could be questioned. The Chargers pretty much followed a path that was easy to understand. “It was outstanding,” assistant general manager Chad Alexander said. “You could tell by how happy everyone was at the end … everyone’s high-fiving and just really pumped up and excited about the result.” As the first pick, Alt will be the most instantly scrutinized as he makes a key transition that will help determine the overall success of the Chargers up front. Alt played left tackle at Notre Dame but began working on the right side during his predraft ramp-up to better prepare for all the possibilities that awaited him. He said he trained with former NFL guard Alex Boone at a facility in Minnesota, adding he didn’t think the switch will be “very drastic” because of that experience and his time as a tight end, which Alt played after giving up quarterback. Alt’s athletic ability and footwork also are expected to help in the move. He clearly possesses the sort of attitude Harbaugh famously embraces, the coach always preaching blocking and tackling and old-school principles. Last season, the Fighting Irish frequently pulled Alt on runs to exploit his skills in more open spaces. “When I heard those plays called, it was the most fun because you get to show your athletic ability but also [you] have so much more speed rolling behind you to hit somebody,” Alt said. “You have a bigger impact.” Alt said he has studied All-Pros Joe Thomas and Lane Johnson in readying for the NFL. He also has watched tape of his father, John, who played offensive tackle for Kansas City for 13 years starting in the mid-1980s. Hortiz specifically touted McConkey’s route-running precision, which he combines with quickness and 4.39-second speed in the 40- yard dash. Said Harbaugh, “I love the guys who can run in the 4.3s.” McConkey is forecast to give Herbert a reliable target, particularly on the inside, where the Chargers lost Keenan Allen, trading the veteran in March because of salary cap constraints. But Hortiz also noted McConkey’s production at Georgia when lining up outside, adding that there’s “a lot of football intelligence in his play that carries over in both positions.” Colson also has flexibility, Harbaugh explaining that his former Michigan star can hold down either inside linebacker position. Coming off a national championship, Colson sounded ready to keep the momentum rolling. “I believe I’m the guy in the middle they’ve been looking for,” he said, “that guy to be able to run the defense, call the plays.” On Saturday, the Chargers first beefed up their defensive front by selecting Justin Eboigbe of Alabama in the fourth round. They followed a round later by focusing on the back end, taking a pair of cornerbacks — Maryland’s Tarheeb Still and Notre Dame’s Cam Hart. Eboigbe, who is 6-4 and 297 pounds, offers the sort of skill set that allowed him to play throughout the Crimson Tide’s defensive line and also has an NFL-ready level of resiliency. In 2022 he lost his brother, Trey Larenz Earl, in May and then suffered a significant neck injury in September, ending his season after four games. Eboigbe had surgery and then started on the road back, returning in time for spring practice last year. The Chargers finished with an offensive push, adding Troy running back Kimani Vidal in the sixth round and two wide receivers in the seventh — USC’s Brenden Rice and Michigan’s Cornelius Johnson. Only 5-8 but weighing 213 pounds, Vidal amassed more than 4,000 yards rushing in college, Hortiz noting his ability to break tackles and, especially, his prowess as a stiff-armer. “He’s not a tall back,” Hortiz said, “but he’s not a small back.” Rice is the son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and a player who caught the Chargers’ attention in part because of his ability to make plays down the field. Alexander said both Rice and Johnson “have NFL bodies. They look like NFL receivers.” Rice took the call from the Chargers while he was out of town for a friend’s funeral. Because he was traveling, Rice was unable to speak to the media. “It was a tough one knowing what he and his family and friends were going through,” Hortiz said. “[I] certainly felt the emotion through the phone. I felt the emotion myself having to make that call. “I know he was very excited, you know, while having to deal with the emotions he was facing. He told me when we were talking, ‘I’ve wanted to play for Coach Harbaugh. I’m so excited to play for Coach Harbaugh. I can’t wait.’ “He was so happy to be a Charger. To feel that, to hear that, it was a pretty cool moment for me. And I’m sure it was a great moment for him.” Etc. After the seventh round ended, the Chargers proceeded to sign undrafted free agents: Karsen Barnhart (G, Michigan), Casey Bauman (QB, Augustana), Luke Benson (TE, Georgia Tech), Akeem Dent (S, Florida State), Jaelen Gill (WR, Fresno State), Thomas Harper (S, Notre Dame), Zach Heins (TE, South Dakota State), Savion Jackson (OLB, North Carolina State), Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (LB, Mississippi), Leon Johnson (WR, Oklahoma State), Jaylen Johnson (WR, East Carolina), Robert Kennedy (CB, North Carolina State), Micheal Mason (DL, Coastal Carolina), Tremon Morris-Brash (OLB, Central Florida), Tyler McLellan (OT, Campbell), Willis Patrick (G, Texas Christian), Jalyn Phillips (S, Clemson), Tyler Smith (OT, Western Carolina), Zamari Walton (CB, Mississippi), Luquay Washington (LB, Central Connecticut), and Bucky Williams (C/G, Appalachian State). Rams’ third-day picks BRENNAN JACKSON, edge 6 feet 4, 264 pounds, Washington State, Round 5, Pick 154 Notable: Jackson, who played at Great Oak High in Temecula, had 20 career sacks, which rank eighth in Washington State history. He also had 33½ tackles for lost yardage. Last season: Jackson had 8½ sacks and 12½ tackles for lost yardage for the Cougars. Why the Rams drafted him: Jackson’s selection continued their heavy emphasis on pass rushers to help fill the void left by Aaron Donald. They selected Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse in the first round and Florida State tackle Braden Fiske in the second. Jackson joins a position group that includes second-year edge rusher Byron Young and veteran Michael Hoecht. TYLER DAVIS, defensive lineman 6 feet 2, 301 pounds, Clemson, Round 6, Pick 196 Notable: Davis was selected first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference in each of the last three seasons. Last season: Davis played in 13 games and had 3½ sacks. As a junior, he had 9½ tackles for lost yardage, including 5½ sacks. Why the Rams drafted him: It has become more than a trend. Davis is the fourth defensive lineman selected to help make up for the loss of Donald. Davis is the second interior line prospect, joining second-round pick Fiske. Davis is a nose tackle who could allow Kobie Turner to move to the three-technique spot. Bobby Brown III is in the final year of his rookie contract. JOSHUA KARTY, kicker 6 feet 2, 207 pounds, Stanford, Round 6, Pick 209 Notable: Karty, who was All-Pac-12 the last two seasons, is the first kicker drafted by the Rams since they took Sam Sloman in the seventh round in 2020. Last season: Karty made 23 of 27 field-goal attempts and all 21 extra-point attempts. Why the Rams drafted him: They desperately needed a reliable kicker after the debacle that was last season. They started with veteran Brett Maher and then turned to rookie Lucas Havrisik before returning to Maher. The Rams no doubt are hoping Karty can become an effective weapon the way Greg Zuerlein was after being drafted in 2012. JORDAN WHITTINGTON, wide receiver 6 feet 1, 205 pounds, Texas, Round 6, Pick 213 Notable: Whittington moved from running back to receiver after the 2019 season. He caught a combined 92 passes in the last two seasons. Last season: Whittington played in 14 games and caught 42 passes for 505 yards and a touchdown. Why the Rams drafted him: Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and Demarcus Robinson are the starting receivers, and Tutu Atwell also will play. The Rams need depth, however, because Kupp is entering his eighth season and was injured for much of the last two, Robinson is playing on a one-year contract and Atwell is in the final year of his rookie contract. BEAUX LIMMER, center/guard 6 feet 5, 302 pounds, Arkansas, Round 6, Pick 217 Notable: Limmer played several seasons at right guard before moving to center for his final college season. Last season: Limmer started 11 games at center and played one at left guard. Why the Rams drafted him: Coleman Shelton, who started at center last season, signed with the Chicago Bears. The Rams released veteran Brian Allen. So second-year pro Steve Avila is moving from left guard to center for a line that was bolstered by re-signing guard Kevin Dotson and signing free agent Jonah Jackson. Limmer will provide depth at center and possibly guard. KT LEVESTON, offensive line 6 feet 4, 326 pounds, Kansas State, Round 7, Pick 254 Notable: Leveston mainly played left tackle during his college career, but he is projected as an NFL guard. Last season: Leveston started 13 games for a Kansas State team that finished 9-4 and 6-3 in the Big 12. Why the Rams drafted him: Leveston could provide depth for an offensive line that has been fortified by the re-signing of Dotson and the free-agent signing of Jackson. Leveston’s experience at tackle also could make him an eventual successor to Joe Noteboom as a swing tackle. With no pressure to play right away, Leveston can learn from the veterans. —Gary Klein Chargers’ third-day picks JUSTIN EBOIGBE, defensive tackle 6 feet 4, 297 pounds, Alabama, Round 4, Pick 105 Notable: He had a rough 2022, losing his brother, Trey Larenz Earl, and suffering a significant neck injury that ended his season after four games. Eboigbe said he never considered not coming back and rebounded to have his best season during his final year with the Crimson Tide. Last season: Eboigbe had 63 tackles, including 11½ for lost yardage, and seven sacks in 14 games for Alabama, earning first-team All-SEC honors. Why the Chargers drafted him: They began Saturday facing depth issues at multiple spots, and defensive line was at the top of the list. Eboigbe offers production and versatility as they look to replace Austin Johnson and Nick Williams. They also released starter Sebastian Joseph-Day late last season. TARHEEB STILL, cornerback 6 feet, 189 pounds, Maryland, Round 5, Pick 137 Notable: He has brothers named Sabreeah, Ishaaq, Suhaila and Lubanah. His calls Deion Sanders his sports hero. Last season: Still tied for sixth in the Football Bowl Subdivision with five interceptions while picking up second-team All-Big Ten accolades. He started 10 games and finished with 45 tackles and two pass breakups. Why the Chargers drafted him: After Asante Samuel Jr., they lack a cornerback who has proven production. Still’s 2023 interception total fits their mold of corners who can make plays on the ball. After Samuel, there’s a lot of uncertainty and more promise than production with players such as Deane Leonard, Ja’Sir Taylor and Kristian Fulton. CAM HART, cornerback 6 feet 3, 202 pounds, Notre Dame, Round 5, Pick 140 Notable: He was a nationally regarded wide receiver coming out of high school in Maryland before becoming a full-time defensive back with the Fighting Irish. Last season: Hart started 12 games, finishing with 21 tackles — including three for lost yardage — and four pass breakups. Why the Chargers drafted him: With two selections in the span of four picks, they doubled down on cornerbacks. Hart has impressive size and is considered a freakish athlete, two things that no doubt impressed them as they searched for potential contributors to build secondary depth. KIMANI VIDAL, running back 5 feet 8, 213 pounds, Troy, Round 6, Pick 181 Notable: His father was a running back at Florida A&M in the early 1990s. Vidal also is the great nephew of baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. Last season: Vidal finished second nationally in rushing with 1,661 yards in 297 carries. He topped the 100-yard mark seven times and rushed for 200-plus yards three times. Why the Chargers drafted him: General manager Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh are revamping the offense with more of a running mind-set, and Vidal brings another option to the backfield. He will join free-agent signees Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins as the Chargers look to take pressure off quarterback Justin Herbert. BRENDAN RICE, wide receiver 6 feet 2, 208 pounds, USC, Round 7, Pick 225 Notable: He is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Last season: Rice caught 45 passes for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns playing with Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick of the draft. Rice finished his four-year college career with 21 touchdown receptions. Why the Chargers drafted him: With so much emphasis this offseason on improving the run game, they still employ Herbert and need to lean into his potential. Rice joins Ladd McConkey, who was taken in the second round Friday, as wide receivers selected by Hortiz in his first Chargers draft. Entering Thursday, the team had only four receivers on its roster. Rice could provide depth while still developing his game. CORNELIUS JOHNSON, wide receiver 6 feet 3, 212 pounds, Michigan, Round 7, Pick 253 Notable: He earned Academic All-Big Ten honors three times and graduated with a degree in communications and media. Last season: In his fifth year at Michigan, Johnson caught 47 passes for 604 yards and a touchdown. He finished his college career with 2,045 yards receiving and 14 scores. Why the Chargers drafted him: With their final two picks, they continued to fill their thinnest position group entering the draft. Johnson brings a bigger frame and plenty of experience. He appeared in 61 games at Michigan, the third most in program history. He also led the Wolverines in touchdown receptions in 2022 with six. Harbaugh’s familiarity with Johnson from college no doubt made this an easier selection. —Jeff Miller Rams’ post-Donald era begins with a rebuilt line They add four draft picks to the defensive front, including two talented edge rushers. By Gary Klein Chargers’ Hortiz says he’s ‘excited the way it went’ The GM appreciates athletic Alt as well as additions of defensive big men and receivers. By Jeff Miller

before the game and there was no timetable for his return, Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations said. Leonard sat out Game 1, returned to play 34:55 in Game 2 and then 24:32 in Game 3. But he was laboring from the start. “He’s extremely disappointed and frustrated that he’s not playing today,” Frank said before the game. “He wants to play, but it was obviously in Game 3 that his mobility was severely restricted. So, organizationally we just made a decision that he’s out. “The obvious question, and I know it’s coming so I’ll beat you to it, when he’s coming back? Um, can’t tell you a timeline. I wish I had a crystal ball. Basically until he can show that he can make all the movements that he needs to make, that’s when he’ll come back. That will be the time frame.” Frank said Leonard was “obviously restricted” and that even the idea of using their best player as a shooter in the corner was not a viable option. “Game 2, he felt fine. It was basically condition, rhythm, timing,” Frank said. “The following night some of the swelling came back. We were comfortable with what the amount of swelling was. We obviously reduced his minutes and played him in a different way. But when you watch him play, it was very obvious that that’s not Kawhi Leonard and we have to be able to get him to a point where he feels like he felt in Game 2. The expectation is that he would progress, but it didn’t work out that way so he obviously needs more time.” Frank said the team did “another image” on Leonard’s knee and that it “structurally was intact.” “There’s different thoughts of why there’s inflammation,” Frank said. “He’s doing around the clock every [method] you can do. The medical staff is doing everything that they can do and we knew that there was a chance that it could come back. It’s just hard to predict. ... There’s no acute injury. It’s just been really tricky.” Leonard played in 68 regular-season games this season for the Clippers, the most since he played in 74 for the Spurs during the 2016-17 season. He sat out the Clippers’ last eight regular-season games because of the issue, last playing March 31. He sat out the first playoff game against the Mavericks but played in the next two. Last season, Leonard played in the first two playoff games against the Suns but sat out the rest of that series and it was revealed he had a torn meniscus in his right knee. So, with this injury of inflammation and swelling in Leonard’s knee, Frank was asked about the team’s confidence that it’s not more serious. “Anytime a player swells up you are always looking for the reason why,” Frank said. “And when you do MRIs, obviously you are looking for the main structures: the ACL, the MCL, the PCL. ... All of that is intact, which is comforting. But he’s still dealing with inflammation and it doesn’t take a medical expert or someone who is a basketball person to realize that when you watch him play in Game 3, every movement was very, very restricted. It wasn’t like that in Game 2. So, we saw that. Like I said, he’s disappointed and upset that he’s not playing today. But ultimately at the end of the day, until he can do the movements that he needs to do on a basketball court, we’re going to hold him out.” IVICA ZUBAC, left, of the Clippers goes up for a shot near the basket in the second half but is fouled hard by Dallas guard Luca Doncic. Zubac scored 13 points and was one of four Clippers starters in double figures. Photographs by Jeffrey McWhorter Associated Press Harden strong down stretch as Clippers hold on in Dallas [Clippers, from D1] WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND 1 Okla. City vs. 8 New Orleans Thunder lead, 3-0 Gm 1 Okla. City 94, New Orl. 92 Gm 2 Okla. City 124, New Orl. 92 Gm 3 Okla. City 106, New Orl. 85 Gm 4 Monday, 5:30, NBATV Gm 5 Wednesday, 5:30, NBATV* Gm 6 Friday, TBD* Gm 7 Sunday, TBD* 2 Denver vs. 7 Lakers Nuggets lead, 3-1 Gm 1 Denver 114, Lakers 103 Gm 2 Denver 101, Lakers 99 Gm 3 Denver 112, Lakers 105 Gm 4 Lakers 119, Denver 108 Gm 5 Monday, 7, SpecSN, TNT Gm 6 Thursday, TBD* Gm 7 Saturday, TBD, TNT* 3 Minnesota vs. 6 Phoenix Timberwolves lead, 3-0 Gm 1 Minnesota 120, Phoenix 95 Gm 2 Minnesota 105, Phoenix 93 Gm 3 Minn. 126, Phoenix 109 Gm 4 at Phoenix, late Gm 5 Tuesday, 6:30, TNT* Gm 6 Thursday, TBD* Gm 7 Saturday, TBD, TNT* 4 Clippers vs. 5 Dallas Series tied 2-2 Gm 1 Clippers 109, Dallas 97 Gm 2 Dallas 96, Clippers 93 Gm 3 Dallas 101, Clippers 90 Gm 4 Clippers 116, Dallas 111 Gm 5 Wednesday, 7, BSSC, TNT Gm 6 Friday, 6:30, BSSC Gm 7 Sunday May 5, TBD* * if necessary EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND 1 Boston vs. 8 Miami Celtics lead, 2-1 Gm 1 Boston 114, Miami 94 Gm 2 Miami 111, Boston 101 Gm 3 Boston 104, Miami 84 Gm 4 Monday, 4:30, TNT Gm 5 Wednesday, 4:30, TNT Gm 6 Friday, 4 p.m., ESPN* Gm 7 Sunday, TBD* 2 New York vs. 7 Philadelphia Knicks lead, 3-1 Gm 1 New York 111, Phila. 104 Gm 2 New York 104, Phila. 101 Gm 3 Philadelphia 125, N.Y. 114 Gm 4 New York 97, Phila. 92 Gm 5 Tuesday, 4, TNT Gm 6 Thursday, TBD* Gm 7 Saturday, TBD, TNT* 3 Milwaukee vs. 6 Indiana Pacers lead, 2-1 Gm 1 Milwaukee 109, Indiana 94 Gm 2 Indiana 125, Milw. 108 Gm 3 Indiana 121, Milw. 118 (OT) Gm 4 at Indiana, late Gm 5 Tuesday, TBD Gm 6 Thursday, TBD* Gm 7 Saturday, TBD, TNT* 4 Cleveland vs. 5 Orlando Series tied, 2-2 Gm 1 Cleveland 97, Orlando 83 Gm 2 Cleveland 96, Orlando 86 Gm 3 Orlando 121, Cleveland 83 Gm 4 Orlando 112, Cleveland 89 Gm 5 Tuesday, TBD Gm 6 Friday, TBD Gm 7 Sunday, TBD* All times PDT, p.m. unless noted NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE D4 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND 1C Dallas vs. WC2 Vegas Golden Knights lead, 2-1 Gm 1 Vegas 4, Dallas 3 Gm 2 Vegas 3, Dallas 1 Gm 3 Dallas 3, Vegas 2 (OT) Gm 4 Monday, 6:30, ESPN Gm 5 Wednesday, TBD Gm 6 Friday, TBD* Gm 7 Sunday, TBD* 2C Winnipeg vs. 3C Colorado Avalanche lead, 3-1 Gm 1 Winnipeg 7, Colorado 6 Gm 2 Colorado 5, Winnipeg 2 Gm 3 Colorado 6, Winnipeg 2 Gm 4 Colorado 5, Winnipeg 1 Gm 5 Tuesday, 6:30, ESPN Gm 6 Thursday, TBD* Gm 7 Saturday, TBD* 1P Vancouver vs. WC1 Nashville Canucks lead, 2-1 Gm 1 Vancouver 4, Nashville 2 Gm 2 Nashville 4, Vancouver 1 Gm 3 Vancouver 2, Nashville 1 Gm 4 at Nashville, late Gm 5 Tuesday, 7, TBD Gm 6 Friday, TBD* Gm 7 Sunday, TBD* 2P Edmonton vs. 3P Kings Oilers lead, 2-1 Gm 1 Edmonton 7, Kings 4 Gm 2 Kings 5, Edmonton 4 (OT) Gm 3 Edmonton 6, Kings 1 Gm 4 at Kings, late Gm 5 Wednesday, TBD Gm 6 Friday, TBD* Gm 7 May 5, TBD* * if necessary EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND 1A Florida vs. WC1 Tampa Bay Panthers lead, 3-1 Gm 1 Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2 Gm 2 Fla. 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT) Gm 3 Florida 5,Tampa Bay 3 Gm 4 Tampa Bay 6, Florida 3 Gm 5 Monday, 4, ESPN Gm 6 Wednesday, TBD* Gm 7 Saturday, TBD* 2A Boston vs. 3A Toronto Bruins lead, 3-1 Gm 1 Boston 5, Toronto 1 Gm 2 Toronto 3, Boston 2 Gm 3 Boston 4, Toronto 2 Gm 4 Boston 3, Toronto 1 Gm 5 Tuesday, 4, ESPN Gm 6 Thursday, TBD* Gm 7 Saturday, TBD* 1M N.Y. Rangers vs. WC2 Wash. Rangers lead, 3-0 Gm 1 New York 4, Washington 1 Gm 2 New York 4, Washington 3 Gm 3 New York 3, Washington 1 Gm 4 at Washington, late Gm 5 Wednesday, 4, ESPN* Gm 6 Friday, TBD* Gm 7 Sunday, TBD* 2M Car. vs. 3M N.Y. Islanders Hurricanes lead, 3-1 Gm 1 Carolina 3, New York 1 Gm 2 Carolina 5, New York 3 Gm 3 Carolina 3, New York 2 Gm 4 New York 3, Car. 2 (2OT) Gm 5 Tuesday, 4:30, TBS Gm 6 Thursday, TBD* Gm 7 Saturday, TBD* All times PDT, p.m. unless noted NHL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Jalen Brunson had just finished the highest-scoring game of his playoff career, the highest ever by a New York Knicks player in the postseason, and he was impressed. Not by his own performance. Brunson loathes talking about that. He meant by the Knicks fan base, which came into Philadelphia, took over the arena and made Joel Embiid as miserable as the guys wearing blue. Brunson scored a career playoff-high 47 points, added 10 assists and the Knicks beat the 76ers 97-92 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series. Brunson had a 41-point game for Dallas against Utah in 2022 and another for the Knicks last year against Miami, but that one came in the Game 6 where the Knicks’ season ended. He wouldn’t let them lose Sunday and a crowd that seemed split between big Northeast cities had a decidedly Knicks sound down the stretch. “The Philadelphia fan base is, I said this before, they’re very relentless and very passionate. I mean, I’m an Eagles fan, I would know,” said Brunson, who won two national championships playing collegiately for Villanova. “But seeing the Knicks here and hearing the Knicks here, it was pretty cool and it’s awesome.” Not for Embiid, who had to hear Brunson get louder chants of “MVP! MVP!” than the guy who actually won the award last season. “Disappointing. It’s unfortunate,” Embiid said. “I’m not calling them out but it is disappointing,” adding that he’s aware that Knicks fans often make the short train trip for the road games. But Brunson’s performance was too marvelous not to cheer as he surpassed the 46 points scored by Bernard King in 1984. OG Anunoby added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and took on some of the defensive assignment against Embiid in the fourth quarter as the Knicks moved to within a victory of getting to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight year. Embiid finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Tyrese Maxey added 23 points for the 76ers. Saturday’s late game Boston 104, at Miami 84: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points, and the Celtics soundly beat the Heat to a take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Tatum added 10 rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who led Game 3 wire-to-wire and reclaimed the home-court edge they lost when Miami won Game 2 in Boston. Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and Derrick White scored 16 for the Celtics, who used runs of 12-3, 11-0 and 20-8 in the first half to take control. Bam Adebayo scored 20 points for eighth-seeded Miami, which remains without starters Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier because of injuries. Nikola Jovic and Tyler Herro each scored 15 for the Heat, who got 12 from Jaime Jaquez Jr. Game 4 is Monday in Miami, where the Celtics are 9-2 in their last 11 games and 6-1 in their last seven playoff games. It was a season low in points scored for Miami and a season low in points allowed for Boston. Bucks’ stars out The Milwaukee Bucks were without injured AllStars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard for Sunday night’s playoff game at Indiana. Both were officially listed as out for a pivotal Game 4 on Sunday’s injury report. Antetokounmpo has sat out the first three games in this series and has not played since straining his left calf April 9. Lillard joined the injury list after Friday’s Game 3 loss . He twisted his left knee in the first quarter, went to the locker room and then injured his Achilles tendon in the waning minutes of regulation. NBA PLAYOFFS KELLY OUBRE JR., second from right, takes a shot under the basket as players from both teams contend. Matt Slocum Associated Press Brunson gets 47 to power Knicks over host 76ers associated press CLIPPERS 116, MAVERICKS 111 CLIPPERS Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T Coffey ...............23 2-5 0-0 1-3 0 1 4 George..............42 11-19 4-7 0-6 8 3 33 Zubac ...............30 6-11 1-2 1-4 1 4 13 Harden..............40 12-17 5-5 1-6 7 4 33 Mann................34 3-9 2-2 1-3 2 4 11 N.Powell ............32 4-8 0-0 0-0 0 3 11 Westbrook .........22 2-8 0-2 0-3 1 3 5 Plumlee.............14 3-3 0-0 1-4 3 5 6 Totals 43-80 12-18 5-29 22 27 116 Shooting: Field goals, 53.8%; free throws, 66.7% Three-point goals: 18-29 (George 7-10, Harden 4-5, N.Powell 3-5, Mann 3-6, Westbrook 1-2, Coffey 0-1). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 6 (Plumlee 2, Coffey, George, Harden, Zubac). Turnovers: 12 (George 4, Harden 2, Westbrook 2, Coffey, Mann, N.Powell, Zubac). Steals: 10 (George 4, Westbrook 2, Coffey, Harden, N.Powell, Zubac). Technical Fouls: None. DALLAS Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T Jones Jr. ............33 6-9 0-1 4-7 1 4 14 Washington........41 4-9 1-1 0-4 1 3 10 Gafford .............18 1-4 3-4 2-5 2 1 5 Doncic ..............44 10-24 8-10 4-10 10 5 29 Irving ................44 14-25 6-6 2-7 5 4 40 Kleber...............21 1-1 0-0 0-2 1 1 3 Lively II .............17 4-4 0-1 2-6 1 1 8 Green ...............13 0-3 2-2 0-1 1 2 2 Hardy..................2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Exum ..................2 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 40-81 20-25 14-42 22 21 111 Shooting: Field goals, 49.4%; free throws, 80.0% Three-point goals: 11-33 (Irving 6-12, Jones Jr. 2-3, Kleber 1-1, Washington 1-5, Doncic 1-9, Exum 0-1, Green 0-2). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 5 (Washington 2, Doncic, Jones Jr., Kleber). Turnovers: 16 (Irving 7, Doncic 3, Washington 3, Gafford 2, Lively II). Steals: 5 (Green, Jones Jr., Kleber, Lively II, Washington). Technical Fouls: Doncic, 5:59 second. L.A. Clippers 39 27 16 34— 116 Dallas 16 33 29 33— 111 A—20,411. T—2:36. RUSSELL WESTBROOK, right, loses the handle as P.J. Washington of the Mavericks tries to grab the ball from him. Westbrook had five points in 22 minutes.

ANTHONY DAVIS, who was dominant inside with 25 points and 23 rebounds, shoots over Denver’s Peyton Watson in the first half. Davis also had six assists. point again. Stand or fall. Resist or crumble. Lead or lose. Back to Denver or off to Cancún. For the first time in this Western Conference playoff series — really for the first time since the end of the 2022 season — the Lakers didn’t fall apart against the Nuggets’ second-half force. They didn’t panic as Denver pushed and as the Lakers’ shots rimmed in and out. James drove through the Denver defense to hit the big buckets in the fourth quarter, D’Angelo Russell bounced back from a nightmare Game 3, Austin Reaves was aggressive and Anthony Davis dominated as the Lakers won 119-108 in Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena to extend their series with the Nuggets at least through Monday. “Beautiful day to be alive in order to stay alive,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “That was the message yesterday and the message today. Just win one game.” The win ended a stretch of 11 straight losses to the Nuggets. “We get another opportunity to go play one more game. And if we win, we’ll come back and play another and keep moving from there,” Reaves said. “I obviously wish we won 4-0. The odds aren’t stacked in our favor. But anytime we can keep ourselves floating above water, we have an opportunity to do something special. And we’re ready for the challenge.” James scored 30 points, Russell and Reaves had 21 each and Davis scored 25 with 23 rebounds. Nikola Jokic led Denver with 33 to go with 14 assists and 14 rebounds. Russell, for the second time this series, bounced back from a bad game with a strong one — finishing with a team-best plus-15 rating. “I mean, this isn’t a place that you can come out and try to dominate the game when you got LeBron and AD right next to you. So, for me to come out [in] Game 3 and not score and then come out and be ultra aggressive and do all that extra stuff, that’s not really me,” Russell said. “I know that’s what people were expecting me to do, so it may be easy for me to prepare my mind for that approach and let the game come to me and be aggressive and it was as simple as that. We looked up, everybody was aggressive, everybody was pitching in.” The Lakers, as they have all series, outplayed the Nuggets early, outscoring them by five to extend their point differential to 27 points in first quarters. That lead grew to double figures in the second quarter, the fourth time that has happened this series despite the Nuggets’ spotless record. It grew to 15 early in the third quarter, as Denver took a timeout to try to gather itself. And while Jokic sank consecutive threes, the Lakers, for the first time this series, punched back. The Nuggets’ late-game shot making, which has broken the Lakers’ backs for the last 15 months, surprisingly dried up. And the Lakers’ attention to detail was at a series high, led by James, who was extra demonstrative. He screamed at the Lakers’ assistant coaches for not calling a timeout to trigger a fourth-quarter review. And after the Lakers got beat on a backdoor cut by Aaron Gordon, he yelled at Reaves. The intensity, which has dipped throughout the series, never faded, the Nuggets never leading. “The only opportunity for us is just to play the next game. And we’ve given ourselves another life. We’ve given ourselves another lifeline and it’s a one-game series for us,” James said. “…Monday’s game is the most important game of the season for us and we understand that and we know that, so it’s that stage where you lose, you’re done. You win and you keep going. So, it’s not much to talk about.” Not yet, at least. The big decisions, the big moments move forward to a Game 5 when they start over again. “It sucks to get swept. Nobody wants that feeling, especially going into the summer. You gotta live with that feeling for the rest of the summer. So we didn’t really talk about it, not just me and Bron, but the entire team. We know what’s at stake,” Davis said. “Like I said, nobody wants that feeling in their mouth for the rest of the summer. So the way we play tonight is the way we gotta play for the rest of the series: a sense of desperation and coming out with a sense of urgency.” Hope alive as Lakers finally stand tall, deliver JAMAL MURRAY of the Nuggets goes up for a shot but is stopped by the hand of LeBron James, though no foul was called on the play. Photographs by Wally Skalij Los Angeles Times [Lakers, from D1] LATIMES.COM/SPORTS MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 D5 points. Anthony Davis dominated the boards, collecting 23 rebounds to match his career postseason high. D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves hit shots that preserved the Lakers’ advantage, each of them contributing 21 points. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was kept in check. Forward Aaron Gordon was completely shut down. This is what this Lakers team was built to do. This was the vision for this team when the nucleus from the previous season’s team was kept intact. This was how this team was expected to win games — with James and Davis controlling the game; with two of the other starters establishing themselves as legitimate scoring threats; with the defense smothering their opponents over 48 minutes. The Lakers have done it once. They might still have a three-games-to-one deficit, but why can’t they do it again and again and again? They snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Nuggets in Game 4 by avoiding the kind of second-half collapses that cost them the previous three games of this series. The Lakers were outscored in the third quarter again, but by only a 32-30 margin. They went into the fourth quarter with a 91-80 lead. “Obviously, we’ve just been talking about how we have to sustain our effort, we have to sustain our energy,” James said. “I thought the third quarter was very important. “We scored with them.” Of the 192 minutes played in this series, the Lakers have been ahead for more than 136 of them. Outside of a few stretches, they have outplayed the Nuggets. This series could easily be tied. Which isn’t to say the problematic stretches for the Lakers weren’t reflections of larger issues. Their best player, James, is 39, and their second-best player, Davis, is an old 31. The Lakers have been overly dependent on them for offense because of the inconsistencies of Russell, Reaves and Rui Hachimura. Russell somehow went scoreless in Game 3. Reaves scored a combined 22 points in Games 1 and 2. Hachimura is averaging six points a game in this series. There’s a reason the Lakers were seeded low enough to have to take on the defending champion Nuggets in the first round. But what if they can continue to prevent Murray from taking over games? Murray is shooting just 38% in this series, down from 48.1% in the regular season. What if they can lock down Gordon the way they did in Game 4, when they limited him to seven points? In the previous game, Gordon scored 29 points. “They’re going to make adjustments,” James said. “They’re a great team. They’re super-well-coached. We have to be able to counter their attacks but also come in with the same mind-set that we have to sustain our effort, we have to sustain our energy. We’re here to do that. Keep attacking, and try to keep them [at bay] in the things that we can control, like fast-break points.” The Lakers gave up only 12 fast-break points, which encouraged James. He also pointed to how they conceded only nine offensive rebounds and five secondchance points. Game 5 will be in Denver. James called on his team to not look beyond that. “Our next task is Monday’s game,” he said, “and we’ll see what happens.” If the Lakers win and force the series to return to Los Angeles, who knows what can happen? Ham described every game as a new opportunity — “a new opportunity for us to be more competitive, more together, more selfless.” Also an opportunity to do something no NBA team has ever done. Why not? Why not them? Lakers have done it once; how about three more times? THE LAKERS’ Anthony Davis tries to steal the ball from Denver’s Nikola Jokic in the first half of L.A.’s 119-108 victory over the Nuggets in Game 4 of their playoff series. The Lakers led at halftime in all four games. Wally Skalij Los Angeles Times [Hernández, from D1] Saturday’s late box LAKERS 119, NUGGETS 108 DENVER Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T Gordon..............41 3-7 1-2 0-3 4 1 7 Porter Jr.............40 10-20 3-5 2-11 1 1 27 Jokic.................41 10-20 11-11 5-14 14 4 33 Caldwell-Pope ....40 6-8 0-0 0-2 3 3 14 Murray ..............39 9-23 4-5 1-6 5 1 22 Watson..............12 0-3 2-2 0-0 0 1 2 Braun ...............11 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 1 0 Jackson...............8 0-1 0-0 0-2 2 2 0 Holiday ...............4 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 3 Totals 39-87 21-25 9-40 30 15 108 Shooting: Field goals, 44.8%; free throws, 84.0% Three-point goals: 9-30 (Porter Jr. 4-11, Caldwell-Pope 2-3, Jokic 2-5, Holiday 1-2, Braun 0-1, Gordon 0-2, Watson 0-2, Murray 0-4). Team Rebounds: 6. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 4 (Watson 2, Jokic, Murray). Turnovers: 14 (Murray 4, Jokic 3, Caldwell-Pope 2, Gordon 2, Porter Jr. 2, Watson). Steals: 9 (CaldwellPope 4, Holiday 2, Gordon, Jokic, Porter Jr.). Technical Fouls: None. LAKERS Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T Hachimura.........21 4-8 0-0 2-4 1 3 9 James...............38 14-23 2-2 1-5 4 0 30 Davis ................41 11-17 3-4 3-23 6 4 25 Reaves..............29 7-15 6-6 0-1 6 2 21 Russell..............40 8-15 1-2 1-4 4 2 21 Prince ...............29 3-7 2-2 0-3 1 4 9 Vincent .............17 1-4 0-0 0-1 0 1 3 Dinwiddie ..........14 0-1 1-2 0-2 0 3 1 Hayes .................6 0-2 0-0 1-3 1 1 0 Totals 48-92 15-18 8-46 23 20 119 Shooting: Field goals, 52.2%; free throws, 83.3% Three-point goals: 8-26 (Russell 4-8, Vincent 1-2, Hachimura 1-3, Prince 1-4, Reaves 1-6, Dinwiddie 0-1, James 0-2). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 2 (Davis, James). Turnovers: 11 (James 6, Davis, Prince, Reaves, Russell, Vincent). Steals: 6 (James 3, Prince, Russell, Vincent). Technical Fouls: None. DENVER....................... 23 25 32 28— 108 LAKERS....................... 28 33 30 28— 119 A—18,997. T—2:19.

PITTSBURGH 4, SAN FRANCISCO 3 (10 INN.) Pittsburgh AB R H BI Avg. MCtchn dh 5 0 1 0 .205 Reynolds lf 5 1 2 2 .264 Hayes 3b 5 1 2 1 .281 Joe rf-1b 5 1 2 0 .296 Swnski cf 5 0 1 0 .182 Bart c 3 0 0 0 .269 Cruz ss 1 0 0 0 .240 Triolo 2b 3 0 1 0 .220 Davis c 0 0 0 0 .175 Tellez 1b 3 0 1 1 .187 Taylor cf 0 0 0 0 .273 Wllms ss 4 1 1 0 .314 Totals 39 4 11 4 San Fran. AB R H BI Avg. Slater rf 3 0 0 0 .103 Ystrzmski 1 0 0 0 .212 Flores 1b 4 0 1 1 .227 Lee cf 4 0 1 0 .270 Chapman 3b 4 0 0 0 .220 Bailey c 4 1 2 0 .309 Soler dh 3 1 1 2 .222 Conforto lf 4 0 1 0 .277 Estrada 2b 4 0 1 0 .232 Ahmed ss 3 1 0 0 .262 Wade 1 0 0 0 .350 Totals 35 3 7 3 Pittsburgh 000 000 100 3 _ 4 11 1 San Francisco 000 001 000 2 _ 3 7 2 Walks—Pittsburgh 1: Triolo 1. San Francisco 2: Slater 1, Soler 1. Strikeouts—Pittsburgh 13: McCutchen 2, Reynolds 2, Hayes 2, Joe 1, Suwinski 2, Bart 2, Triolo 2. San Francisco 8: Yastrzemski 1, Lee 1, M.Chapman 3, Conforto 1, Estrada 1, Wade 1. E—Williams (2), Flores 2 (2). LOB—Pittsburgh 8, San Francisco 5. 2B—Joe (8), Flores (4). HR—Reynolds (4), off Ta.Rogers; Hayes (1), off Ta.Rogers; Soler (5), off Bednar. RBIs—Tellez (7), Reynolds 2 (17), Hayes (9), Flores (10), Soler 2 (8). SB—Taylor (3). SF—Tellez. Runners left in SP—Pittsburgh 5 (Suwinski 3, Williams 2); San Francisco 2 (Estrada 2). RISP—Pittsburgh 1 for 8; San Francisco 2 for 6. Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Pérez ..........................6 4 1 0 2 4 81 2.86 Holderman...................1 1 0 0 0 0 8 1.35 Fleming.....................1 1 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 17 1.29 Stratton, W, 1-0 ........... 2 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 11 3.07 Bednar, S, 5-8..............1 2 2 1 0 3 19 11.70 San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Hicks ..........................6 5 1 1 0 9 88 1.59 Jackson, BS, 0-2 ..........1 1 0 0 1 0 23 13.50 Ty.Rogers .....................1 2 0 0 0 1 16 2.84 Doval..........................1 1 0 0 0 1 17 2.79 Ta.Rogers, L, 0-1...........1 2 3 2 0 2 14 4.32 U—Nic Lentz, Emil Jimenez, Lance Barksdale, Gabe Morales. T—2:46. Tickets sold—34,841 (41,915). D6 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS NATIONAL LEAGUE West W L Pct. GB L10 DODGERS 18 11 .621 — 7-3 San Diego 14 16 .467 41 ⁄2 3-7 San Francisco 13 15 .464 41 ⁄2 6-4 Arizona 12 16 .429 51 ⁄2 3-7 Colorado 7 20 .259 10 3-7 Central W L Pct. GB L10 Milwaukee 17 9 .654 — 7-3 Chicago 17 10 .630 1 ⁄2 7-3 Cincinnati 15 12 .556 21 ⁄2 6-4 Pittsburgh 14 14 .500 4 3-7 St. Louis 13 14 .481 41 ⁄2 5-5 East W L Pct. GB L10 Atlanta 18 7 .720 — 8-2 Philadelphia 18 10 .643 11 ⁄2 8-2 New York 13 13 .500 51 ⁄2 5-5 Washington 12 14 .462 61 ⁄2 5-5 Miami 6 22 .214 131 ⁄2 2-8 AMERICAN LEAGUE West W L Pct. GB L10 Seattle 15 12 .556 — 8-2 Texas 14 14 .500 11 ⁄2 5-5 Oakland 11 17 .393 41 ⁄2 4-6 ANGELS 10 17 .370 5 2-8 Houston 8 19 .296 7 2-8 Central W L Pct. GB L10 Cleveland 19 8 .704 — 7-3 Kansas City 17 11 .607 21 ⁄2 5-5 Detroit 15 12 .556 4 5-5 Minnesota 13 13 .500 51 ⁄2 7-3 Chicago 5 22 .185 14 3-7 East W L Pct. GB L10 Baltimore 17 9 .654 — 7-3 New York 18 10 .643 — 6-4 Boston 15 13 .536 3 6-4 Tampa Bay 13 15 .464 5 3-7 Toronto 13 15 .464 5 3-7 STANDINGS Through Saturday Today’s games DODGERS at Arizona ....................... 6:30 p.m. Philadelphia at ANGELS ................... 6:30 p.m. New York (AL) at Baltimore ............... 3:30 p.m. St. Louis at Detroit .......................... 3:30 p.m. Washington at Miami ....................... 3:30 p.m. Kansas City at Toronto .......................... 4 p.m. Chicago (NL) at New York (NL) ............... 4 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago (AL) ............... 4:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Milwaukee .................. 4:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Oakland ...................... 6:30 p.m. Cincinnati at San Diego ................... 6:30 p.m. Atlanta at Seattle ............................ 6:30 p.m. BASEBALL : SATURDAY FLASHBACK DODGERS 4, TORONTO 2 Dodgers AB R H BI Avg. Betts 2b 5 1 3 1 .391 Ohtani dh 5 0 1 1 .347 Freemn 1b 3 0 1 1 .305 Smith c 5 0 1 0 .367 T.Hrnándz rf 4 0 1 0 .266 K.Hrndz 3b 4 1 1 0 .224 Pages cf 4 1 1 0 .282 Rojas ss 4 1 1 0 .268 Taylor lf 3 0 1 1 .063 Totals 37 4 11 4 Toronto AB R H BI Avg. Bichette ss 4 0 0 0 .208 Guerrero 1b 4 0 1 0 .208 Varsho cf 4 0 0 0 .241 Turner dh 4 0 0 0 .309 Jansen c 2 1 0 0 .261 Schneider lf 3 1 1 1 .218 Biggio 2b 3 0 1 1 .242 Clement 3b 2 0 0 0 .275 a-Vogelbach 1 0 0 0 .111 Kiner-Flfa 3b 1 0 0 0 .250 Barger rf 3 0 0 0 .000 Totals 31 2 3 2 Dodgers 120 100 000 —4 11 2 Toronto 000 000 101 —2 3 1 a-flied out for Clement in the 7th. Walks—Dodgers 1: Freeman 1. Toronto 3: Jansen 2, Schneider 1. Strikeouts—Dodgers 3: Ohtani 1, Freeman 1, Taylor 1. Toronto 15: Bichette 1, Guerrero 3, Varsho 2, Turner 3, Jansen 1, Schneider 1, Biggio 2, Clement 1, Barger 1. E—Smith (3), Phillips (1), Biggio (2). LOB—Dodgers 9, Toronto 6. 2B—Smith (9), Rojas (2), Guerrero (4), Schneider (3). 3B—Betts (2). RBIs—Freeman (18), Taylor (4), Ohtani (18), Betts (23), Schneider (11), Biggio (6). SB—Betts (8). SF—Freeman. S—Taylor. Runners left in scoring position—Dodgers 4 (T.Hernández 2, Smith, Freeman); Toronto 3 (Barger, Varsho, Clement). RISP—Dodgers 3 for 12; Toronto 1 for 6. Runners moved up—Rojas, Smith. Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Glasnow, W, 5-1 ...........6 2 1 1 3 9 95 2.72 Kelly, H, 5....................1 0 0 0 0 2 12 6.30 Brasier, H, 4.................1 0 0 0 0 2 11 4.63 Phillips, S, 8-8 .............1 1 1 0 0 2 25 0.77 Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Kikuchi, L, 2-2..............6 9 4 4 0 3 91 2.94 Cabrera ...................... 2 ⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 16 7.45 García ......................1 1 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 15 0.71 Romano...................... 2 ⁄3 1 0 0 1 0 19 3.86 Pearson ...................... 1 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 6 2.00 Inherited runners-scored—Kelly 1-0, García 2-0, Pearson 2-0. U—John Tumpane, Nick Mahrley, Phil Cuzzi, Hunter Wendelstedt. T—2:49. Tickets sold—39,405 (39,150). MINNESOTA 16, ANGELS 5 Minn. AB R H BI Avg. Kirilloff lf 4 2 1 2 .260 Julien 2b 5 2 3 3 .244 Jeffers c 4 1 2 2 .286 Larnch dh 5 1 2 1 .379 Kepler rf 4 2 2 2 .231 Margot rf 1 0 0 0 .180 Castro ss 6 2 2 0 .229 Sntna 1b 4 3 2 4 .181 Farmr 3b 3 2 2 2 .100 Martin cf 5 1 1 0 .220 Totals 41 16 17 16 Angels AB R H BI Avg. Trout cf 3 0 0 0 .223 Moniak cf 1 1 1 0 .143 Neto ss 5 0 0 0 .222 Ward lf 5 1 2 0 .275 Drury 2b 3 0 0 1 .176 Hicks dh-p 3 1 1 1 .151 Thaiss c 4 1 2 0 .316 Adell rf 4 1 3 3 .333 Rengifo 3b 4 0 1 0 .288 Schnuel 1b 4 0 1 0 .211 Totals 36 5 11 5 Minnesota 133 301 302 —16 17 0 Angels 022 000 100 — 5 11 0 Walks—Minnesota 7: Kirilloff 1, Julien 1, Jeffers 1, Larnach 1, Kepler 1, Farmer 2. Angels 2: Trout 1, Hicks 1. Strikeouts—Minnesota 5: Julien 1, Jeffers 1, Larnach 1, Castro 1, Martin 1. Angels 5: Trout 1, Neto 1, Ward 1, Hicks 1, Thaiss 1. LOB—Minnesota 8, Angels 7. 2B—Santana (3), Farmer (2), Martin (6), Julien (5), Ward (5). HR—Santana (3), off Cisnero; Kepler (1), off Fulmer; Jeffers (5), off Hicks; Adell (3), off Paddack. RBIs—Kepler 2 (7), Kirilloff 2 (7), Julien 3 (12), Larnach (7), Santana 4 (10), Farmer 2 (4), Jeffers 2 (16), Adell 3 (9), Hicks (5), Drury (5). SF—Kirilloff, Drury. Runners left in scoring position—Minnesota 2 (Castro, Julien); Angels 3 (Rengifo, Trout, Ward). RISP—Minnesota 7 for 16; Angels 2 for 6. Runners moved up—Martin, Neto. DP—Rengifo. GIDP—Castro. DP—Minnesota 1 (Santana); Angels 1 (Neto, Schanuel). Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Paddack, W, 2-1...........5 8 4 4 1 2 95 5.88 Funderburk ..................2 1 1 1 1 1 38 2.38 Jackson.......................2 2 0 0 0 2 29 4.30 Angels IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Soriano, L, 0-4...........1 2 ⁄3 3 4 4 3 1 48 4.76 Suarez ......................1 1 ⁄3 5 3 3 0 1 41 10.12 Cisnero....................... 2 ⁄3 2 3 3 1 0 23 7.07 Fulmer ......................3 1 ⁄3 5 4 4 2 2 61 3.75 Strickland....................1 0 0 0 0 1 10 3.38 Hicks ..........................1 2 2 2 1 0 18 18.00 Inherited runners-scored—Suarez 2-1. HBP—Soriano 2 (Jeffers, Santana). WP—Soriano. U—Tripp Gibson, Mark Carlson, Dan Merzel, Jordan Baker. T—3:05. Tickets sold—44,478 (45,517). BALTIMORE 7, OAKLAND 0 Oakland AB R H BI Avg. Ruiz lf 4 0 1 0 .267 Nevin rf 4 0 1 0 .277 Rooker dh 3 0 1 0 .207 a-Brown 0 0 0 0 .197 Langeliers c 4 0 0 0 .165 Toro 1b 2 0 1 0 .220 b-Noda 1 0 0 0 .151 Bleday cf 3 0 0 0 .223 Schuemn 2b 2 0 0 0 .118 Allen ss 3 0 0 0 .179 Hernaiz 3b 3 0 1 0 .162 Totals 29 0 5 0 Baltimore AB R H BI Avg. Hnderson ss 4 2 2 2 .302 Rtschmn dh 4 1 1 1 .324 Mntcstle 1b 4 1 1 1 .299 Santander rf 4 1 1 1 .224 Westburg 3b 4 1 2 1 .304 Mullins cf 4 0 1 0 .233 J.McCann c 4 0 1 1 .256 Cowser lf 3 0 0 0 .313 Mateo 2b 2 1 0 0 .250 Totals 33 7 9 7 Oakland 000 000 000 —0 5 0 Baltimore 000 320 20x —7 9 0 a-walked for Rooker in the 9th. b-grounded out for Toro in the 9th. Walks—Oakland 1: Brown 1. Baltimore 1: Mateo 1. Strikeouts—Oakland 6: Ruiz 1, Rooker 2, Bleday 1, Allen 2. Baltimore 9: Henderson 2, Rutschman 1, Mountcastle 2, Santander 1, Westburg 1, Cowser 1, Mateo 1. LOB—Oakland 5, Baltimore 3. 2B—Santander (8). HR—Rutschman (3), off Sears; Mountcastle (3), off Sears; Henderson (9), off Sears. RBIs—Santander (18), Westburg (19), J.McCann (6), Rutschman (16), Mountcastle (12), Henderson 2 (22). SB—Henderson (6), Mateo (4). Runners left in scoring position—Oakland 1 (Nevin); Baltimore 2 (J.McCann, Cowser). RISP—Oakland 0 for 2; Baltimore 4 for 8. Runners moved up—Mullins. GIDP—Bleday, Langeliers. DP—Baltimore 3 (Mateo, Henderson, Mountcastle; Westburg, Mateo, Mountcastle; Henderson, Mateo, Mountcastle). Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Sears, L, 1-2 .............6 1 ⁄3 8 7 7 1 8 98 4.64 Kelly.........................1 2 ⁄3 1 0 0 0 1 20 3.52 Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Irvin, W, 2-1.................7 4 0 0 0 5 89 3.49 Baumann ....................1 1 0 0 0 1 15 5.06 Tate ............................1 0 0 0 1 0 8 3.09 HBP—Irvin (Toro), Baumann (Schuemann). U—James Hoye, Rob Drake, Jonathan Parra, John Libka. T—2:10. Tickets sold—28,364 (45,971). ST. LOUIS 7, N.Y. METS 4 St. Louis AB R H BI Avg. Donovan lf 4 1 2 1 .230 Contreras c 5 1 1 0 .289 Nootbaar rf 4 0 0 0 .184 Arenado 3b 4 2 1 1 .284 Gdchmt 1b 5 2 2 2 .214 Burlesn dh 2 0 1 0 .268 a-Hrrera dh 1 0 0 0 .212 Gorman 2b 4 1 2 1 .204 Winn ss 3 0 1 1 .314 Siani cf 3 0 0 0 .118 Totals 35 7 10 6 New York AB R H BI Avg. Nimmo lf 4 1 2 2 .213 Lindor ss 5 0 0 0 .198 Alonso 1b 4 1 1 2 .252 Martinez dh 4 0 1 0 .375 Stewart rf 2 0 1 0 .200 McNeil 2b 4 0 0 0 .244 Taylor cf 4 1 1 0 .321 Baty 3b 1 1 0 0 .253 b-Vientos 3b 2 0 1 0 .500 Narváez c 2 0 0 0 .176 c-Nido c 2 0 0 0 .273 Totals 34 4 7 4 St. Louis 401 010 010 —7 10 1 New York 000 040 000 —4 7 0 a-struck out for Burleson in the 7th. b-flied out for Baty in the 7th. c-struck out for Narváez in the 7th. Walks—St. Louis 4: Nootbaar 1, Arenado 1, Burleson 1, Winn 1. New York 4: Nimmo 1, Stewart 2, Baty 1. Strikeouts—St. Louis 9: Contreras 1, Arenado 2, Goldschmidt 3, Herrera 1, Siani 2. New York 13: Nimmo 1, Lindor 4, Alonso 1, Martinez 3, McNeil 2, Narváez 1, Nido 1. E—Arenado (1). LOB—St. Louis 7, New York 7. 2B—Donovan 2 (6), Goldschmidt (2), Gorman (5). HR—Alonso (8), off Gray. RBIs—Arenado (13), Goldschmidt 2 (11), Winn (7), Gorman (12), Donovan (13), Nimmo 2 (17), Alonso 2 (14). SB—Goldschmidt (1), Nootbaar (2). SF—Donovan. S—Siani. Runners left in scoring position—St. Louis 6 (Herrera, Siani, Winn 2, Nootbaar, Contreras); New York 3 (Lindor 2, Martinez). RISP—St. Louis 5 for 16; New York 1 for 7. Runners moved up—Gorman. GIDP—Taylor. DP—St. Louis 1 (Winn, Gorman, Goldschmidt). St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Gray, W, 3-1.................6 4 4 1 3 9 92 1.16 Romero, H, 10 .............1 0 0 0 0 2 12 1.23 Kittredge, H, 10............1 1 0 0 0 1 11 0.75 Helsley, S, 9-10 ............1 2 0 0 1 1 24 1.80 New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Houser, L, 0-3............4 1 ⁄3 9 6 6 2 2 89 8.37 Walker ......................1 1 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 24 0.00 Núñez .........................1 0 0 0 1 3 25 3.00 Diekman ...................1 1 ⁄3 1 1 1 1 1 22 3.86 Reid-Foley ...................1 0 0 0 0 2 10 0.00 Inherited runners-scored—Walker 2-1, Diekman 1-0. WP—Gray(2). U—Erich Bacchus, Laz Diaz, Nate Tomlinson, Mike Estabrook. T—3:03. Tickets sold—32,332 (42,136). CINCINNATI 8, TEXAS 4 Cincinnati AB R H BI Avg. Bensn cf-lf 5 1 2 2 .198 DeLaCrz ss 5 0 0 0 .283 Steer lf-1b 4 0 0 0 .253 Encrncn 1b 3 2 1 0 .196 Frchild cf-rf 0 0 0 0 .204 Fraley rf 3 1 0 0 .340 Thompsn cf 0 0 0 0 .111 Stephnsn c 2 1 1 0 .231 Maile c 1 1 1 0 .172 India 2b 4 1 4 4 .222 Martini dh 2 1 1 2 .210 Espinal 3b 4 0 0 0 .190 Totals 33 8 10 8 Texas AB R H BI Avg. Semien 2b 2 0 0 0 .261 Wendzel 2b 1 1 1 2 .154 Seager ss 4 1 1 1 .247 Lowe 1b 4 1 1 0 .280 Carter lf 4 0 0 0 .213 Smith 3b 4 0 2 1 .304 Langford dh 4 0 1 0 .245 Heim c 2 0 0 0 .259 Knizner c 2 0 0 0 .125 Jankowski rf 2 0 0 0 .190 a-Duran rf 2 0 0 0 .200 Taveras cf 3 1 1 0 .221 Totals 34 4 7 4 Cincinnati 020 100 410 —8 10 0 Texas 000 000 004 —4 7 1 a-struck out for Jankowski in the 8th. Walks—Cincinnati 2: Steer 1, Fraley 1. Texas 1: Semien 1. Strikeouts—Cincinnati 6: Benson 2, De La Cruz 3, Steer 1. Texas 8: Lowe 2, Carter 1, Smith 1, Langford 1, Heim 1, Duran 1, Taveras 1. E—Jankowski (1). LOB—Cincinnati 4, Texas 4. 2B—Smith 2 (9). HR—India (1), off Lorenzen; Benson (4), off Ureña; Wendzel (1), off Suter; Seager (2), off Suter. RBIs—India 4 (8), Martini 2 (15), Benson 2 (10), Wendzel 2 (2), Seager (7), Smith (13). CS—Benson (2). SF—Martini 2. Runners left in scoring position—Cincinnati 1 (Martini); Texas 3 (Jankowski, Duran 2). RISP—Cincinnati 3 for 6; Texas 3 for 9. Runners moved up—Fraley, Heim. GIDP—Espinal. DP—Texas 1 (Semien, Seager, Lowe). Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Greene, W, 1-2.............7 1 0 0 1 6 98 3.63 Suter ........................1 1 ⁄3 6 4 4 0 2 38 4.00 Díaz, S, 6-7................. 2 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 7 3.27 Texas IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Lorenzen, L, 2-1 ...........6 6 5 5 1 3 100 4.24 Ureña .........................3 4 3 2 1 3 55 3.60 Inherited runners-scored—Díaz 2-0. HBP—Lorenzen 2 (Encarnacion-Strand,Stephenson). U—Brian O’Nora, Paul Clemons, D.J. Reyburn, Brennan Miller. T—2:34. Tickets sold—36,553 (40,000). BOSTON 17, CHICAGO CUBS 0 Chicago AB R H BI Avg. Hoernr 2b-ss 4 0 0 0 .283 Tauchman rf 3 0 0 0 .281 Happ lf 3 0 0 0 .228 Madrigal 2b 1 0 0 0 .226 Morel 3b 3 0 1 0 .219 Wisdm 3b-p 1 0 0 0 .200 Busch 1b-3b 4 0 1 0 .287 Swanson ss 3 0 0 0 .237 Canario lf 0 0 0 0 .250 Mervis dh 3 0 0 0 .083 Gomes c 4 0 2 0 .220 Crow-Arm cf 3 0 1 0 .400 Totals 32 0 5 0 Boston AB R H BI Avg. Duran cf 5 1 2 1 .252 Devers 3b 4 0 1 0 .262 Reyes 3b 2 0 1 1 .183 O’Neill lf 5 3 3 2 .333 Abreu rf 6 2 2 1 .309 Wng c-1b 4 1 0 0 .333 Yshda dh 5 3 4 1 .269 McGuire c 0 0 0 0 .275 Valdez 2b 2 0 1 0 .154 Rfsnydr 0 0 0 0 .391 Hltn 2b 2 2 1 1 .211 Dalbc 1b 4 2 2 3 .128 Rafla ss 4 3 4 7 .191 Totals 43 17 21 17 Chicago 000 000 000 — 0 5 0 Boston 200 160 26x —17 21 0 Walks—Chicago 2: Canario 1, Mervis 1. Boston 2: Duran 1, O’Neill 1. Strikeouts—Chicago 7: Tauchman 1, Madrigal 1, Morel 1, Busch 1, Swanson 1, Gomes 1, Crow-Armstrong 1. Boston 6: Devers 2, O’Neill 1, Abreu 1, Valdez 1, Dalbec 1. LOB—Chicago 8, Boston 8. 2B—Crow-Armstrong (1), Duran (6), O’Neill (1), Rafaela 2 (5), Yoshida (3), Dalbec (2). HR—O’Neill (9), off Brown; Rafaela (2), off Brewer. RBIs—O’Neill 2 (11), Rafaela 7 (17), Abreu (11), Dalbec 3 (4), Duran (11), Yoshida (11), Hamilton (2), Reyes (5). SB—Rafaela (4). SF—Rafaela. S—Dalbec. Runners left in scoring position—Chicago 5 (Crow-Armstrong, Hoerner 2, Busch, Gomes); Boston 4 (Abreu 2, Duran, Devers). RISP—Chicago 0 for 5; Boston 10 for 17. Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Brown, L, 0-1.............3 2 ⁄3 7 3 3 0 4 61 4.30 Little........................... 2 ⁄3 3 5 5 1 1 34 7.00 Brewer ......................2 2 ⁄3 3 3 3 0 1 42 6.75 Mervis ........................ 2 ⁄3 7 6 6 0 0 37 81.00 Wisdom ...................... 1 ⁄3 1 0 0 1 0 13 0.00 Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Winckowski..................3 3 0 0 0 1 52 3.50 Bernardino...................1 1 0 0 1 1 19 0.84 Slaten, W, 2-0..............2 0 0 0 0 2 25 0.55 Booser ........................2 0 0 0 0 3 27 3.86 Reyes..........................1 1 0 0 1 0 18 0.00 U—David Rackley, Larry Vanover, Brian Walsh, Chris Segal. T—2:40. Tickets sold—35,169 (37,755). WASHINGTON 11, MIAMI 4 Wash. AB R H BI Avg. Abrams ss 4 1 1 1 .301 Nuñez ss 1 0 0 0 .000 Winker lf 5 1 2 4 .291 Call lf 0 0 0 0 --- Mnses 1b 5 0 1 0 .253 L.Grcía 2b 4 0 0 0 .293 Ruiz c 4 1 1 1 .167 Lpscm 3b 4 1 3 0 .262 Rosario rf 4 1 0 0 .094 Senzel dh 5 2 1 2 .200 Young cf 4 4 2 1 .309 Totals 40 11 11 9 Miami AB R H BI Avg. Arraez 2b 3 1 2 0 .301 b-Lopez 2b 2 1 2 2 .267 DeLaCruz lf 5 0 1 0 .252 Bell dh 5 0 2 0 .183 Chisholm cf 2 0 1 0 .242 Gordon cf 2 0 0 0 .203 A.García rf 2 0 1 0 .240 a-J.Snchz rf 2 0 0 0 .219 Andersn ss 3 0 0 0 .222 Rivera 1b 4 0 1 0 .235 Bruján 3b 4 1 2 0 .200 Bethncrt c 4 1 1 1 .033 Totals 38 4 13 3 Washington 001 051 301 —11 11 0 Miami 100 000 003 — 4 13 3 Walks—Washington 4: Abrams 1, L.García 1, Lipscomb 1, Rosario 1. Miami 2: Chisholm 1, Anderson 1. Strikeouts—Washington 8: Winker 2, Meneses 2, L.García 1, Ruiz 1, Rosario 2. Miami 4: De La Cruz 1, A.García 1, Rivera 1, Bethancourt 1. E—Bethancourt (2), Bruján (3), Anderson (3). LOB—Washington 8, Miami 9. 2B—Lipscomb (1), De La Cruz (5). 3B—Abrams (4), Bruján (1). HR—Winker (3), off Cabrera; Ruiz (2), off Emanuel; Senzel (3), off Emanuel; Lopez (1), off Rainey. RBIs—Young (4), Winker 4 (13), Ruiz (4), Senzel 2 (4), Abrams (13), Bethancourt (2), Lopez 2 (2). SB—Young 2 (8), Anderson (3), Rosario (2). Runners left in scoring position—Washington 4 (Rosario 2, L.García, Winker); Miami 5 (J.Sánchez, Rivera 4). RISP—Washington 2 for 11; Miami 1 for 8. Runners moved up—Abrams, Rosario, Senzel, Chisholm. GIDP—Bruján, Bethancourt. Washington IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Parker .........................4 6 1 1 2 2 82 1.69 J.Barnes, W, 1-0 ...........2 2 0 0 0 0 25 0.00 Floro...........................1 1 0 0 0 2 11 0.75 M.Barnes.....................1 0 0 0 0 0 11 5.56 Rainey ........................1 4 3 3 0 0 24 8.10 Miami IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Cabrera, L, 1-1...........4 1 ⁄3 4 6 5 2 4 78 5.28 Cronin ......................1 2 ⁄3 2 1 1 2 2 37 2.45 Emanuel......................3 5 4 3 0 2 48 10.50 U—Clint Vondrak, Mark Wegner, Tom Hanahan, Jeremie Rehak. T—2:48. Tickets sold—12,695 (37,446). HOUSTON 12, COLORADO 4 Houston AB R H BI Avg. Altuve 2b 3 0 0 0 .336 b-Ksnr 2b 1 0 0 0 .000 Brgmn 3b 5 0 0 0 .204 Alvarz dh 5 2 3 3 .283 Tucker rf 4 3 2 1 .291 Meyers cf 0 0 0 0 .217 Peña ss 4 2 1 0 .321 Diaz c 4 3 3 0 .293 Cabbge lf 2 0 1 1 .500 a-Dbón cf 3 1 2 2 .298 J.Abru 1b 5 0 2 2 .104 McCrk lf 4 1 1 1 .236 Totals 40 12 15 10 Colorado AB R H BI Avg. Tovar ss 5 0 1 0 .295 Doyle cf 4 2 1 0 .326 McMahn 3b 2 1 1 2 .310 c-Trejo 1 0 0 0 .105 Díaz c 4 0 0 0 .294 Blackmn dh 5 1 1 1 .226 E.Montro 1b 5 0 1 1 .231 Jones lf 4 0 2 0 .163 Rodgers 2b 2 0 1 0 .235 Goodman rf 3 0 0 0 .111 Totals 35 4 8 4 Houston 013 002 024 —12 15 1 Colorado 200 000 002 — 4 8 1 Walks—Houston 5: Altuve 2, Tucker 1, Peña 1, Diaz 1. Colorado 6: Doyle 1, McMahon 1, Jones 1, Rodgers 2, Goodman 1. Strikeouts—Houston 4: Bregman 1, J.Abreu 1, McCormick 2. Colorado 14: Tovar 4, Doyle 2, McMahon 1, Díaz 1, Blackmon 1, E.Montero 1, Rodgers 1, Goodman 3. E—Diaz (3), Goodman (1). LOB—Houston 7, Colorado 12. 2B—Cabbage (1), Dubón (4). HR—Alvarez (6), off Quantrill; Tucker (6), off Quantrill; Alvarez (7), off Kinley; McMahon (4), off Blanco. RBIs—Cabbage (1), Alvarez 3 (17), Tucker (18), Dubón 2 (13), J.Abreu 2 (3), McCormick (8), McMahon 2 (16), Blackmon (8), E.Montero (7). Runners left in scoring position—Houston 3 (McCormick, Bregman, J.Abreu); Colorado 6 (Díaz, Tovar 4, Jones). RISP—Houston 6 for 12; Colorado 2 for 11. Runners moved up—J.Abreu, Trejo. DP—Kessinger. GIDP—J.Abreu. DP—Colorado 2 (Rodgers, E.Montero; E.Montero). Houston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Blanco, W, 3-0...........5 2 ⁄3 5 2 2 2 8 102 1.65 Martinez, H, 1.............. 1 ⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 11 2.35 B.Abreu.......................1 0 0 0 1 3 20 4.61 Scott ..........................1 1 0 0 1 2 25 2.19 Bielak .........................1 2 2 2 1 0 25 6.08 Colorado IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Quantrill, L, 0-3 ............5 6 6 6 2 2 95 5.34 Beeks .........................2 2 0 0 0 1 29 1.93 Vodnik ........................1 3 2 2 1 1 29 2.60 Kinley ......................... 1 ⁄3 4 4 4 2 0 25 13.06 Molina........................ 2 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 6 9.82 U—Sean Barber, Alan Porter, Ryan Blakney, Bruce Dreckman. T—3:09. Tickets sold—19,934 (20,576). DETROIT 6, KANSAS CITY 5 Kansas City AB R H BI Avg. Garcia 3b 5 1 2 2 .222 Witt ss 5 1 2 1 .310 Psqntno 1b 5 0 0 1 .220 Perez c 4 0 2 1 .350 Frazier dh 3 0 0 0 .197 Velázqz dh 1 0 0 0 .231 Renfroe rf 4 0 0 0 .153 Massey 2b 4 2 1 0 .174 Blanco lf 4 1 2 0 .222 Isbel cf 4 0 0 0 .211 Totals 39 5 9 5 Detroit AB R H BI Avg. Greene lf 4 1 1 0 .234 Canha dh 3 1 1 1 .273 Pérez cf 4 0 1 0 .258 Carpenter rf 4 1 1 1 .277 Torkelson 1b 4 0 0 0 .214 Keith 2b 1 1 0 0 .169 Vierling 3b 2 1 1 3 .278 McKnstry 3b 2 0 1 1 .216 Knndy 2b 2 0 0 0 .200 Báez ss 4 0 1 0 .193 Rogers c 3 1 1 0 .137 Totals 33 6 8 6 Kansas City 210 000 002 —5 9 1 Detroit 010 000 50x —6 8 4 Walks— Detroit 6: Greene 1, Canha 2, Pérez 1, Keith 1, Rogers 1. Strikeouts—Kansas City 2: Pasquantino 1, Frazier 1. Detroit 7: Greene 1, Canha 1, Carpenter 2, Torkelson 2, Kennedy 1. E—Witt (3), Báez 2 (4), McKinstry (3), Torkelson (3). LOB—Kansas City 7, Detroit 9. 2B—Perez (5). 3B—McKinstry (1). HR—Vierling (2), off Stratton. RBIs—Pasquantino (13), Perez (26), Garcia 2 (20), Witt (15), McKinstry (2), Canha (15), Carpenter (14), Vierling 3 (7). SB—Witt (8), Garcia (7). Runners left in scoring position—Kansas City 4 (Witt, Garcia 2, Frazier); Detroit 5 (Torkelson 2, Pérez, Greene 2). RISP_Kansas City 3 for 11; Detroit 3 for 13. Runners moved up—Pasquantino, Isbel 3, Blanco, Garcia, Carpenter, Pérez. GIDP—Isbel. DP—Detroit 1 (Báez, Torkelson). Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Singer.........................5 4 1 1 3 6 93 2.62 Zerpa, H, 3 ..................1 0 0 0 0 0 9 2.31 Stratton, L, 2-2, BS, 1-2 1 4 5 5 1 1 24 6.23 Sauer .........................1 0 0 0 2 0 22 1.93 Detroit IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Mize ...........................5 6 3 2 0 2 87 3.08 Faedo, W, 2-1 ..............2 0 0 0 0 0 26 2.55 Chafin, H, 3 .................1 0 0 0 0 0 19 1.69 Foley, S, 8-8.................1 3 2 2 0 0 14 1.50 U—Adam Beck, Dan Iassogna, Scott Barry, CB Bucknor. T—2:30. Tickets sold—22,734 (41,083). CHICAGO WHITE SOX 8, TAMPA BAY 7 (10 INN.) Tampa Bay AB R H BI Avg. Palacios rf 3 2 3 2 .298 Arzrna lf/cf 6 0 1 2 .154 Paredes dh 5 0 0 0 .265 Shenton 1b 4 1 2 1 .200 Rosario 2b 4 0 0 0 .323 Mead 3b 5 2 1 0 .240 Rortvedt c 3 2 3 0 .378 Cabllro ss 5 0 1 1 .264 Siri cf 1 0 0 0 .179 Goodrum lf 3 0 0 0 .111 Totals 39 7 11 6 Chicago AB R H BI Avg. Lopez 2b 4 1 1 0 .219 Pham cf 5 1 2 0 .400 Sheets rf 5 1 1 1 .243 Jiménez dh 5 1 2 0 .222 Ortega 0 1 0 0 --- Vaughn 1b 5 1 1 1 .167 Bentndi lf 5 2 3 6 .191 Mendick 3b 3 0 0 0 .250 Grossmn 1 0 0 0 .173 Shwmke 3b 0 0 0 0 .158 DeJong ss 4 0 0 0 .215 Maldndo c 2 0 0 0 .083 1-Lee c 1 0 0 0 .273 Totals 40 8 10 8 Tampa Bay 010 212 000 1 _ 7 11 1 Chicago 000 330 000 2 _ 8 10 1 Walks—Tampa Bay 7, Chicago 2. Strikeouts—Tampa Bay 9, Chicago 10. E—Mead (3), DeJong (2). LOB—Tampa Bay 11, Chicago 7. 2B—Mead (1), Shenton (3), Arozarena (2), Jiménez (1), Sheets (7). HR—Palacios (3), off Cannon; Shenton (1), off Cannon; Rortvedt (1), off Wilson; Benintendi (1), off Civale; Benintendi (2), off Maton. RBIs—Caballero (12), Palacios 2 (5), Shenton (2), Arozarena 2 (9), Benintendi 6 (10), Sheets (11), Vaughn (5). SB—Palacios 2 (3), Rortvedt (1), Lopez (1). S—Goodrum. Runners left in SP—Tampa Bay 7 (Shenton, Arozarena 3, Paredes 3); Chicago 5 (Mendick, Jiménez, DeJong, Sheets 2). RISP—Tampa Bay 5 for 16; Chicago 4 for 18. Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Civale .......................4 1 ⁄3 8 6 6 0 3 73 5.06 Armstrong .................1 1 ⁄3 1 0 0 1 2 25 4.05 Cleavinger ................... 1 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 3 2.45 Kelly ...........................2 0 0 0 0 3 24 4.15 Adam .........................1 0 0 0 1 1 13 1.38 Maton, L, 0-2, BS, 0-2 .. 1 ⁄3 1 2 1 0 0 2 7.59 Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Cannon .......................5 8 4 4 2 5 102 7.24 Leone, BS, 0-1 .............1 2 2 2 1 1 28 6.23 Brebbia.......................1 0 0 0 0 0 12 1.59 Wilson ........................1 1 0 0 1 0 12 3.86 Kopech .......................1 0 0 0 1 1 14 4.40 García, W, 1-2..............1 0 1 0 2 2 21 7.07 U—Marvin Hudson, Tony Randazzo, Alex Tosi, Dan Bellino. T—2:59. Tickets sold—28,009 (40,241). N.Y. YANKEES 15, MILWAUKEE 3 N.Y. AB R H BI Avg. Volpe ss 4 2 0 0 .274 Soto rf 3 2 1 0 .324 Trml rf 1 1 1 0 1.000 Judge cf 4 2 2 2 .190 Jnes 3b 1 1 1 0 .200 Vrdgo lf 5 2 3 4 .274 Stntn dh 5 2 2 3 .241 Rizzo 1b 4 3 3 2 .250 Grsh cf 2 0 0 0 .063 Trres 2b 6 0 3 3 .210 Wells c 5 0 2 0 .159 Cbra 3b 5 0 1 1 .258 Totals 45 15 19 15 Milwaukee AB R H BI Avg. Contreras dh 2 0 0 0 .350 Frelick 3b 1 0 0 0 .264 Adames ss 3 0 0 0 .267 Dunn 3b-2b 1 0 0 0 .207 Hoskins 1b 3 1 1 1 .228 Bauers 1b 0 1 0 0 .176 Perkins cf 3 0 0 0 .299 Sánchez c 4 1 1 1 .196 Ortiz 2b-ss 4 0 2 1 .281 Miller 3b 4 0 0 0 .091 Chourio rf 4 0 1 0 .207 Wiemer lf 3 0 0 0 .118 Totals 32 3 5 3 New York 303 014 004 —15 19 0 Milwaukee 100 000 002 — 3 5 1 Walks—New York 6: Volpe 1, Soto 2, Judge 1, Stanton 1, Wells 1. Milwaukee 3: Contreras 1, Bauers 1, Perkins 1. Strikeouts—New York 7: Volpe 2, Judge 1, Stanton 3, Rizzo 1. Milwaukee 10: Contreras 1, Dunn 1, Hoskins 1, Perkins 1, Sánchez 1, Ortiz 1, Miller 1, Chourio 1, Wiemer 2. E—Hoskins (2). LOB—New York 11, Milwaukee 5. 2B—Torres (3), Wells (1), Ortiz 2 (3), Chourio (2), Sánchez (3). HR—Verdugo (4), off Ross; Judge (5), off Vieira; Rizzo (4), off Vieira; Stanton (6), off Miller; Hoskins (6), off Rodón. RBIs—Verdugo 4 (13), Torres 3 (5), Cabrera (15), Judge 2 (15), Rizzo 2 (13), Stanton 3 (16), Hoskins (18), Sánchez (6), Ortiz (8). SF—Verdugo. Runners left in scoring position—New York 5 (Volpe 3, Cabrera 2); Milwaukee 4 (Wiemer, Miller, Chourio, Dunn). RISP—New York 6 for 14; Milwaukee 2 for 11. New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Rodón, W, 2-1..............6 2 1 1 1 8 93 2.48 Weaver........................2 1 0 0 1 2 26 3.57 Trevino ........................1 2 2 2 1 0 18 18.00 Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Ross, L, 1-3.................5 8 7 6 3 5 99 5.40 Vieira..........................1 4 4 4 2 1 48 5.68 Junk ...........................1 2 0 0 0 1 17 0.00 Miller ..........................2 5 4 4 1 0 37 18.00 U— Andy Fletcher, Mike Muchlinski, Jansen Visconti, Derek Thomas. T—2:45. Tickets sold—41,620 (41,700). CLEVELAND 4, ATLANTA 2 (11 INN.) Cleveland AB R H BI Avg. Kwan lf 5 2 2 0 .345 Giménez 2b 5 0 2 0 .265 Ramírez 3b 4 1 1 1 .259 J.Naylor 1b 4 0 2 1 .295 Brennan rf 4 0 0 0 .235 b-Laurno rf 0 0 0 1 .160 Freeman cf 3 0 0 0 .213 Florial dh 4 0 0 0 .222 B.Naylor c 3 0 1 0 .194 a-Fry c 1 0 0 0 .275 Arias ss 4 1 0 0 .259 Totals 37 4 8 3 Atlanta AB R H BI Avg. Acuña rf 5 0 0 0 .258 Albies 2b 5 0 1 0 .319 Riley 3b 5 0 0 0 .223 Olson 1b 4 0 0 0 .211 Ozuna dh 3 1 2 0 .354 Arcia ss 4 0 1 0 .309 Harris cf 4 1 1 0 .324 d’Arnaud c 3 0 1 1 .281 1-Williams 0 0 0 0 --- Tromp c 1 0 0 0 .261 Kelenic lf 4 0 1 1 .309 Totals 38 2 7 2 Cleveland 000 000 020 02 _ 4 8 0 Atlanta 000 000 020 00 _ 2 7 0 Walks—Cleveland 4: Ramírez 1, Freeman 2, Florial 1. Atlanta 1: Ozuna 1. Strikeouts—Cleveland 9: Giménez 1, Brennan 2, Freeman 1, Florial 3, B.Naylor 1, Arias 1. Atlanta 11: Acuña 2, Albies 1, Riley 1, Ozuna 1, Arcia 1, Harris 1, d’Arnaud 1, Tromp 1, Kelenic 2. LOB—Cleveland 8, Atlanta 6. 2B—J.Naylor 2 (7), Ozuna 2 (6), Albies (7), d’Arnaud (7). RBIs—Ramírez (24), J.Naylor (21), Laureano (3), d’Arnaud (16), Kelenic (4). SB—Ramírez (4), Kwan (3). CS—Florial (1). SF—Laureano. Runners left in scoring position—Cleveland 4 (Brennan, Florial, Kwan, J.Naylor); Atlanta 5 (Riley, Acuña, Harris, Kelenic 2). RISP—Cleveland 2 for 10; Atlanta 4 for 16. Runners moved up—Giménez. GIDP—Florial. DP—Cleveland 1 (Arias, Ramírez, J.Naylor); Atlanta 2 (d’Arnaud, Arcia, d’Arnaud; Albies, Arcia, Olson). Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Bibee..........................7 2 0 0 0 9 91 3.45 Gaddis, BS, 0-1............1 4 2 2 0 0 14 1.35 Clase..........................1 0 0 0 0 0 13 0.64 Barlow, W, 2-2..............1 1 0 0 1 1 9 3.46 Sandlin, S, 1-1.............1 0 0 0 0 1 11 2.84 Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Morton........................7 4 0 0 1 6 91 3.60 Jiménez.......................1 3 2 2 0 0 25 2.45 Iglesias .......................1 0 0 0 1 1 11 2.61 Lee, L, 0-1...................2 1 2 1 2 2 26 1.46 U—Brian Knight, Jim Wolf, Ryan Additon, Chris Guccione. T—2:47. Tickets sold—41,696 (41,149). PHILADELPHIA 5, SAN DIEGO 1 Philadelphia AB R H BI Avg. Schwarbr dh 4 1 0 0 .190 Turner ss 5 2 3 0 .345 Harper 1b 3 0 0 1 .244 Bohm 3b 4 1 2 4 .354 Realmuto c 4 0 0 0 .237 Marsh cf 3 0 1 0 .293 Castllnos rf 4 0 1 0 .181 Stott 2b 4 0 0 0 .210 Merrifield lf 4 1 1 0 .209 Totals 35 5 8 5 San Diego AB R H BI Avg. Bogaerts 2b 4 0 0 0 .212 Tatis rf 4 0 0 0 .243 Profar 1b 3 0 1 0 .295 Machado dh 3 0 0 0 .252 Kim ss 3 0 0 0 .226 Campsno c 3 0 0 0 .286 Rosario 3b 3 1 1 1 .279 Merrill cf 3 0 0 0 .308 Azocar lf 2 0 1 0 .306 a-Wade 1 0 0 0 .226 Totals 29 1 3 1 Philadelphia 200 030 000 —5 8 0 San Diego 000 000 010 —1 3 0 a-struck out for Azocar in the 9th. Walks—Philadelphia 3: Schwarber 1, Harper 1, Marsh 1. Strikeouts—Philadelphia 10: Schwarber 4, Realmuto 1, Marsh 1, Castellanos 3, Stott 1. San Diego 11: Bogaerts 3, Tatis 2, Machado 1, Kim 2, Rosario 1, Merrill 1, Wade 1. LOB—Philadelphia 6, San Diego 1. 2B—Turner (10). HR—Bohm (4), off Cease; Rosario (3), off Suárez. RBIs—Bohm 4 (26), Harper (18), Rosario (6). Runners left in scoring position—Philadelphia 3 (Merrifield, Bohm, Realmuto); San Diego 0. RISP—Philadelphia 2 for 6; San Diego 0 for 0. Runners moved up—Stott, Harper. Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Suárez, W, 5-0 .............8 3 1 1 0 8 96 1.32 Hoffman......................1 0 0 0 0 3 15 1.46 San Diego IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Cease, L, 3-2 ...............6 6 5 5 3 5 91 2.78 Morejon ......................3 2 0 0 0 5 47 0.93 U—Alfonso Marquez, Lance Barrett, Mark Ripperger, Roberto Ortiz. T—2:09. Tickets sold—43,018 (40,222). SEATTLE 3, ARIZONA 1 Arizona AB R H BI Avg. McCarthy rf 3 0 1 1 .316 Gurriel lf 4 0 0 0 .278 Marte 2b 4 0 0 0 .309 Walker 1b 4 0 1 0 .262 Pederson dh 4 0 0 0 .294 Suárez 3b 3 0 0 0 .228 Moreno c 3 0 0 0 .236 Carroll cf 3 0 0 0 .196 Alexander ss 2 1 1 0 .322 Totals 30 1 3 1 Seattle AB R H BI Avg. Rojas 3b 4 0 0 0 .295 Rodríguez cf 3 0 0 0 .276 Raleigh c 4 0 0 0 .235 Haniger rf 2 0 0 0 .239 Polanco 2b 2 1 0 0 .159 France 1b 3 1 1 2 .259 Garver dh 3 1 1 0 .151 Raley lf 3 0 2 1 .204 Moore ss 3 0 0 0 .196 Totals 27 3 4 3 Arizona 000 000 010 —1 3 0 Seattle 000 010 20x —3 4 0 Walks—Arizona 2: McCarthy 1, Alexander 1. Seattle 3: Rodríguez 1, Haniger 1, Polanco 1. Strikeouts—Arizona 14: McCarthy 1, Gurriel 2, Marte 3, Walker 1, Pederson 3, Suárez 2, Moreno 1, Carroll 1. Seattle 11: Rojas 1, Raleigh 3, Haniger 1, France 1, Garver 2, Moore 3. LOB—Arizona 4, Seattle 3. 2B—Alexander (5), Garver (4). 3B—McCarthy (1). HR—France (2), off Jarvis. RBIs—McCarthy (7), Raley (3), France 2 (8). SB—Raley (1). CS—Rodríguez (2). Runners left in scoring position—Arizona 2 (Marte, Gurriel); Seattle 1 (Rojas). RISP—Arizona 0 for 3; Seattle 1 for 2. DP—Arizona 1 (Moreno, Alexander, Moreno). Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Cecconi, L, 1-1.............6 3 1 1 1 8 84 2.25 Jarvis ......................... 1 ⁄3 1 2 2 1 1 14 5.28 Mantiply......................1 0 0 0 0 1 9 4.50 Ginkel......................... 2 ⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 14 3.27 Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Kirby, W, 3-2 ................7 2 0 0 1 12 95 4.18 Stanek, H, 5 ................1 1 1 1 1 1 23 2.70 Muñoz, S, 4-5 ..............1 0 0 0 0 1 11 2.61 U—Chad Whitson, Bill Miller, Malachi Moore, Doug Eddings T—2:16. Tickets sold—38,956 (47,929). Austin Martin and Alex Kiriloff drove in two runs apiece as the Minnesota Twins stretched their winning streak to seven games Sunday with an 11-5 victory over the struggling Angels, completing a weekend sweep. Martin had a two-run single during a four-run fifth inning for the Twins, and Kiriloff had a pinchhit two-run double in Minnesota’s four-run seventh. Ryan Jeffers, Jose Miranda, Christian Vázquez and Willi Castro had three hits apiece as Minnesota pounded out 17 hits while scoring at least five runs in its seventh consecutive game and moving back above .500 for the season at 14-13. Luis Rengifo and Nolan Schanuel homered, and Jo Adell had an RBI double in the fifth for the Angels, who have lost four straight and nine of 10 after giving up 32 Minnesota runs in the threegame series. Mike Trout had a late RBI single as the Angels committed three errors and fell to 3-9 at Ange Stadium this season, matching the second-worst start at home in franchise history. Pablo López (2-2) dominated the Angels from the start, retiring their first 14 batters in order before Logan O’Hoppe’s two-out double in the fifth kicked off a four-run rally. López finished with a seasonhigh eight strikeouts. Reid Detmers (3-2) wasn’t sharp on his second turn through the Twins’ lineup, eventually yielding five runs and nine hits over fiveplus innings. The left-hander gave up only three earned runs in his first four starts this season before giving up nine in his next two. After both starters opened with three perfect innings apiece, Miranda drove in Minnesota’s first run with a single off Detmers. Martin then drove in Vázquez and Kyle Farmer with a fifth-inning single. O’Hoppe finally ended López’s perfect game bid and scored moments later. Rengifo followed with a two-run shot for his first homer of the season, and Schanuel made it 5-4 with a homer that extended his hitting streak to 10 games. But Angels reliever Luis García had a dismal seventh inning, giving up four runs, three hits and two walks. Kiriloff delivered a basesloaded double before Carlos Santana and Castro drove in runs. Los Angeles reliever Zac Kristofak allowed two unearned runs over the final two innings in his major league debut. Santana powers Twins rout on Saturday Carlos Santana hit a home run in his third consecutive game and drove in four as the Twins scored 10 times over the first four innings to extend their winning streak to six with a 16-5 victory over the Angels on Saturday night. Max Kepler and Ryan Jeffers also hit home runs and Edouard Julien had three hits and three RBIs as the Twins improved to 7-1 following a five-game losing streak that included a three-game sweep by the Baltimore Orioles. Twins starter Chris Paddack (2-1) wobbled a bit by giving up four runs, eight hits and a walk but went five innings. The Twins have at least 10 hits in every game of the winning streak and had six different players drive in runs over the first three innings on Saturday. “It just meant that we did a good job being relentless in the way we approached the at-bats,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “To have that kind of production [three runs] in four different innings, honestly, what more can you ask for? There were no breaks. We didn’t make it easy on them.” Jo Adell hit a home run and drove in three runs for the Angels, who lost for the eighth time in their last nine games. Angels starter Jose Soriano (0-4) gave up four runs with three walks over a season-low 1 2⁄3 innings. He has walked 11 batters over his last three starts. Twins again pile up runs on the Angels A SINGLE by Minnesota’s Christian Vázquez gets past Zach Neto in the seventh inning of the Twins’ 11-5 victory over the Angels on Sunday. Minnesota scored 32 runs in the three-game sweep. Jayne Kamin-Oncea Getty Images associated press NICE CATCH ON A SLIDING SCALE Lindsey Wasson Associated Press Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. slides to make a catch on a ball hit by the Mariners’ Ty France in the third inning.

LATIMES.COM/SPORTS MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 D7 Former Harvard-Westlake star Kiki Iriafen is coming home. The former Stanford forward committed to USC out of the transfer portal, she told ESPN on Saturday, turning the Trojans into immediate national championship contenders. The 6-foot-3 forward, who was named the Pac-12’s most improved player last year, will join forces with national freshman of the year JuJu Watkins and the nation’s top recruiting class as the Trojans try to build on their first Elite Eight appearance since 1994. Iriafen averaged 19.4 points and 11 rebounds for Stanford as a junior after just 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds as a sophomore. She was named an honorable mention All-American while playing alongside Cameron Brink and leading the Cardinal to a Pac-12 regular season title. She scored a career-high 41 points to hold off Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA tournament. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen Three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Candace Parker said she’s retiring after 16 seasons. “The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time,” Parker wrote in a social media post. “My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.” Parker, 38, played her first 13 seasons in the league with the Sparks, establishing her dominance early as a No. 1 pick who won Rookie of the Year and league MVP in the same season. She also played two seasons in Chicago and spent 2023 with Las Vegas. ETC. Hamlin holds off Larson at Dover Denny Hamlin held off a hardcharging Kyle Larson over the final laps and wiggled through traffic to win the NASCAR Cup race by about a quarter of a second at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway. Hamlin’s third win tied William Byron for most this season in the series. Hamlin also picked up his 54th career Cup victory. He’s tied with Lee Petty for 12th on the career Cup list. “It’s just fantastic,” Hamlin said. “I couldn’t hold Lee Petty’s helmet.” Larson finished second and nipped at Hamlin’s bumper for most of the final 25 laps and seemed on the brink of passing the Toyota. Scott McLaughlin won his second straight race in Birmingham, Ala., giving Team Penske a muchneeded triumph just days after IndyCar erased Josef Newgarden’s victory and also disqualified McLaughlin from the season opener. McLaughlin and Penske’s fuel strategy worked to perfection, with teammate Will Power finishing second — the same order they started in. ... Reigning funny car world champion Matt Hagan posted his 50th career victory at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, N.C. Justin Ashley (top fuel), Greg Anderson (pro stock), and Gaige Herrera (pro stock motorcycle) also won titles. Fierceness was made the 5-2 morning line favorite for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby and will look to make history in the race as the first entrant to win in 45 attempts from the No. 17 post position. Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz cruised past Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-3, 6-3 in the third round of the Madrid Open to earn another comfortable win. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry defeated Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer on the first playoff hole (No. 18) to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. After a missed green and flubbed pitch from Ramey and Trainer, McIlroy and Lowry won on the first playoff hole by making par. The victory is the third for Lowry on the Tour and the 25th for McIlroy. ... Three-time PGA Tour winner Brendan Steele (Hemet High, UC Riverside) held off a fast finishing Louis Oosthuizen to win the LIV Golf Adelaide tournament by one stroke. The Irvine resident shot a final round 68 for a 54-hole total of 18- under 198 to earn his first victory since he won his second Safeway Open in 2017 on the PGA Tour. ... In Duluth, Ga., Stephen Ames celebrated his 60th birthday with a successful title defense in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, closing with a five-under 67 for his eighth Champions victory. ... Grace Kim stumbled to a five-over 76 on Saturday in the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship — and still held on to a share of the lead after three rounds. It was that kind of a day at Wilshire Country Club, the tree-lined layout made difficult by bumpy poa annua greens and tricky wind conditions. Denis Bouanga scored in the second minute of stoppage time, Timothy Tillmanadded a goal and LAFC beat the Portland Timbers 3-2 Saturday night at BMO Stadium. Kei Kamara’s header off a corner kick was swatted away by goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau but skipped out to the left side of the area where a charging Bouanga scored on a one-touch shot that ricocheted off the back post into the net to cap the scoring. ... Lionel Messi scored two goals to excite a New England Revolution-record crowd, leading Inter Miami CF to a 4-1 victory on Saturday night. Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell was shot in Florida and sustained a minor wound, the team announced on social media. Dell was shot Saturday night in Sanford and has since been released from a hospital “in good spirits,” the team wrote in its post. Gabby Douglas, who became the first Black woman to win the Olympic all-around title when she triumphed in London in 2012, competed for the first time in eight years on Saturday at the American Classic in Katy, Texas. The 28-yearold looked rusty in spots and promising in others while posting a score of 50.65 in the all-around. Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday. Other inductees included ex-players Taj McWilliams-Franklin and Rita Gail Easterling; former official Violet Palmer, the first woman to referee an NBA game; and coaches Sue Phillips and Roonie Scovel. THE DAY IN SPORTS Former Stanford standout Iriafen transferring to USC staff and wire reports KIKI IRIAFEN, a 6-foot-3 forward out of Harvard-Westlake, says she will transfer to join JuJu Watkins and USC next season. Jeff Chiu Associated Press TORONTO — After six consecutive wins this week, three empty at-bats doomed the Dodgers on Sunday. Despite trailing the Toronto Blue Jays by multiple runs for most of the afternoon at Rogers Centre — a game in which the hosts got a big second-inning rally from their offense, a dominant start from right-hander Kevin Gausman and a bunch of dazzling plays defensively — the door to a Dodgers comeback opened in the top of the eighth inning. But, in the kind of squandered sequence the team had avoided during its return to form, the Dodgers failed to capitalize, wasting a bases-loaded situation in their eventual 3-1 loss to the scuffling Blue Jays. “All the games we’ve lost, we’ve had a chance or opportunity to come back and win,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “We just haven’t had that big hit. Kind of the same thing today.” It was Muncy who came closest to flipping the script in the eighth inning, when the Dodgers (18-12) finally found life against the Blue Jays’ bullpen following Gasuman’s seven-inning start. Austin Barnes drew a leadoff walk. Mookie Bettssmacked a double into the gap. And with no outs in the inning, the team had the heart of its order coming to the plate. It didn’t make a difference. Shohei Ohtani popped up after chasing two fastballs out of the zone. Teoscar Hernández struck out after Freddie Freeman was intentionally walked in front of him. And then, Muncy watched a deep towering drive die at the warning track, just missing extra bases (if not more) on a 370-foot flyout hit a little too high to clear the wall in right center. “Can’t really say I missed it,” Muncy said, noting the ball’s lofted 42-degree launch angle. “Just hit it too high.” That all but sealed the Dodgers’ first defeat since last Saturday, a setback in which — well before their close call in the eighth inning — almost nothing seemed to break their way. Right-hander Michael Grove got knocked around at the start of a scheduled bullpen game, giving up three runs on three hits — including Alejandro Kirk’s homer — in the bottom of the second. His counterpart, Gausman, halted a poor start to the year by giving up just one run on a Freeman solo blast in the sixth. Every time the Dodgers hit the ball hard, the Blue Jays (14-15) found a way to avoid damage. A deep drive from Ohtani in the first inning was snagged by center fielder Daulton Varsho, who turned his body at the last second before making a leaping catch as he crashed into the wall. A fourth-inning fly ball from Freeman was caught on an equally athletic play by right fielder George Springer, who drifted to the warning track before flashing the leather with a jumping grab. Then, Springer went full sprawl on an Andy Pages line drive in the ninth, extinguishing any hope of a late Dodgers comeback — and unlikely extension of their week-long winning streak. “They made plays,” Roberts said. “It was a good ballgame.” Indeed, there were some silver linings Roberts and his team took from Sunday. Freeman’s homer was just his second of the year, ending a monthlong drought that has coincided with frustrating inconsistency for the former MVP — despite his .306 batting average on the year. “Starting to more often [take] a good swing, rather than feeling one good swing every couple days,” Freeman said. “I’m not trying to hit home runs. I don’t care. I just know once the swing is there for being a good hitter, the power will come behind it.” Pages also continued his strong start to his first MLB call-up, collecting two more hits for a .302 batting average (and .861 on-baseplus-slugging percentage) through his first 11 career games. “I’m happy that he’s getting a good little run,” Roberts said this week of Pages, the club’s top outfield prospect. “He’s a hitter first with some power behind it. I like it.” The one Dodgers star who didn’t do much Sunday: Ohtani, who cemented only his second hitless game in the last two weeks with his pop-out in the eighth inning. Ohtani chased an inside fastball on the first pitch of the at-bat, fouling it off to the screen. Then, he swung outside the zone again on a heater near his chest, recording the first of three empty outs that ultimately decided the game. Roberts didn’t criticize Ohtani’s swing choice, arguing that while the pitch was high, it was a ball “that I thought he could drive.” But, like so many other moments Sunday, the swing amounted to nothing, sending the Dodgers to their first defeat in more than a week. DODGERS PITCHER Michael Grove has a look of frustration after he gave up a home run to the Blue Jays’ Alejandro Kirk in the second inning on Sunday. Grove gave up three runs in two innings. Frank Gunn Associated Press Key hit eludes the Dodgers as six-game winning streak ends By Jack Harris Brock Stewart arrived in Anaheim this weekend throwing 97 mph, and where was that when he pitched for the Dodgers? It’s a long story, and a good one. It also puts a face on the issue that has dominated the major league conversation this month: What is causing all these pitching injuries, and what can we do about them? Stewart, now pitching for the Minnesota Twins, made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 2016. In his first home start, he pitched five shutout innings. He still has a recording of the game. “Vin Scully called it,” Stewart said. “I will cherish that forever. “I loved my time with the Dodgers. That’s about as big league as you get: Dodger Stadium, and Hollywood.” For four years, the Dodgers shuttled him between the starting rotation and the bullpen in the majors and the minors. In 2018, his average fastball dipped from 93 mph to 91. From the middle of 2019 to the middle of 2020, he journeyed from three organizations — the Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs — to the independent Chicago Deep Dish. The uniform top there was covered, if you will, with what Stewart described as “a deep dish slice, with melted cheese falling off of it.” As summer turned to fall in 2020, Stewart and his wife hosted a barbecue, and one of the guests — “a friend of a friend’s boyfriend” — ran a baseball development facility called Tread Athletics. Driveline is the brand name in the field, but the common goal is better performance through intensive analysis. For pitchers, throwing harder can be a goal in itself, not a byproduct of a new workout routine. Within weeks after Stewart got on the Tread program, his velocity spiked. Five months later, he had Tommy John surgery. “At 29 years old, I gained 5 mph in two months, so that sudden jump? I’m sure that’s what led to my elbow breaking down,” Stewart said. “Do I know that for a fact? No. I don’t think anybody does. But I think you’d be silly to say the added velocity doesn’t play a big part.” He is not blaming Tread. Far from it. Without training there before and after the surgery — rebuilding his delivery so his hips and arm path were more efficient; building his flexibility, mobility and strength; and, yes, cranking up his velocity — he says he wouldn’t be here. Stewart has emerged as one of the most effective relievers in the majors. In 39 appearances with the Twins this season and last, he has been scored upon once. His ERA this season: 0.00. He also spent three months of last season on the injured list because of what the Twins called “right elbow soreness.” Said Stewart: “I don’t regret anything. I’m here now. I’m helping out a good team. Injuries are part of the game. I know that part of the game.” Higher velocity correlates with success and also with an increased risk of injury. The proper balance is something of a holy grail. Pitch counts and innings limits are rudimentary and generalized measures, borne more of common sense than decades of data. The same goes for teams putting pitchers on the injured list because of soreness that might or might not foretell a serious injury. What we really need — and biomechanical data should be able to help — are individualized injury prevention guidelines. The Dodgers are working on that, and they are not alone. “From an evidentiary standpoint, it is clear that, as an industry, we don’t know a lot,” said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations. “I think that’s a really important starting point. “As we have access to more and more information, there is no question we will be smarter on this front a year from now. That had better continue as far as we can see out, if we have a chance of slowing down this epidemic.” The 30 major league teams paid more than $1 billion to injured players last season, according to Stan Conte, a former Dodgers head athletic trainer. Conte now runs his own injury analytics operation, and he is working with a data scientist on how to determine which players are at highest risk of injury. Unfortunately for Stewart, high velocity and previous injury are two prominent risk factors. Conte and his partner have put together a panel of 37 factors that can contribute to injury risk for pitchers, with everything from pitch count, age, height and weight to the variance in release point on individual pitches. The overall risk is then assessed as high, moderate or low, with the risk changing after inputs from each start. For instance, an elbow dropping below its usual slot in one start could indicate fatigue, which increases risk. However, as Conte acknowledged, he and other researchers have yet to be able to provide the answers teams really want: Which factors are the ones most likely to lead to injury, and what exactly should a team do about a pitcher assessed at high risk? Conte agreed to pull up Stewart’s profile and tell us what he saw — not all 37 factors, but the overall risk. “I would say,” Conte said, “this guy does not have a significant risk.” Pursuit of velocity could be a factor in pitcher injuries BILL SHAIKIN ON BASEBALL TORONTO 3, DODGERS 1 Los Angeles AB R H BI Avg. Betts ss 4 0 1 0 .387 Ohtani dh 4 0 0 0 .336 Freeman 1b 3 1 1 1 .306 T.Hernández lf 4 0 0 0 .257 Muncy 3b 4 0 1 0 .258 Pages rf 4 0 2 0 .302 Outman cf 4 0 0 0 .173 Lux 2b 4 0 1 0 .187 Barnes c 2 0 0 0 .238 Totals 33 1 6 1 Toronto AB R H BI Avg. Springer rf 4 0 0 0 .219 Guerrero dh 4 0 2 0 .218 Bichette ss 4 0 1 0 .210 Turner 1b 4 1 1 0 .306 Clement 3b 0 0 0 0 .275 Schneider lf 2 1 1 0 .228 Varsho cf 3 0 0 1 .233 Kiner-Falefa 3b-2b 3 0 0 1 .240 Kirk c 3 1 3 1 .206 Biggio 2b-1b 2 0 0 0 .235 Totals 29 3 8 3 Los Angeles 000 001 000 —1 6 0 Toronto 030 000 00x —3 8 0 Walks—Los Angeles 2: Freeman 1, Barnes 1. Toronto 1: Schneider 1. Strikeouts—Los Angeles 8: Ohtani 1, Freeman 1, T.Hernández 2, Muncy 1, Outman 1, Lux 2. Toronto 6: Springer 2, Guerrero 1, Bichette 1, Schneider 1, Kiner-Falefa 1. LOB—Los Angeles 7, Toronto 4. 2B—Pages (4), Lux (2), Muncy (7), Betts (10), Schneider (4). HR—Freeman (2), off Gausman; Kirk (1), off Grove. RBIs—Freeman (19), Varsho (14), Kiner-Falefa (6), Kirk (10). CS—Pages (1). Runners left in scoring position—Los Angeles 4 (Betts, Barnes, Muncy 2); Toronto 1 (Varsho). RISP_Los Angeles 0 for 9; Toronto 0 for 3. Runners moved up—Barnes, Varsho, Kiner-Falefa. GIDP—Bichette, Biggio. DP—Los Angeles 2 (Lux, Betts, Freeman; Lux, Freeman). Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Grove, L, 0-1................2 4 3 3 0 3 34 6.88 Vesia ..........................1 1 0 0 1 1 20 1.88 Yarbrough ....................4 2 0 0 0 2 54 3.00 Crismatt ......................1 1 0 0 0 0 8 0.00 Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Gausman, W, 1-3..........7 5 1 1 0 5 93 4.50 García, H, 4................. 2 ⁄3 1 0 0 2 1 20 0.68 Mayza, H, 3 ................. 1 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 8 6.30 Romano, S, 4-4............1 0 0 0 0 2 11 3.18 Inherited runners-scored—Mayza 3-0. IBB_off García (Freeman). HBP_Grove (Biggio). U— Nick Mahrley, Phil Cuzzi, Hunter Wendelstedt, John Tumpane. T—2:20. Tickets sold—39,053 (39,150).

Get ready for lots of twists, turns, drama, excitement and big-time players coming through in big-time situations as the Southern Section high school baseball playoffs begin this week. Pairings will be announced Monday. Let’s take a look at players to watch during May Madness: Bryce Rainer, HarvardWestlake: Nobody has improved his draft status more than Rainer, who has performed like a most valuable player at the plate and at shortstop. His senior year has been nothing short of spectacular, with 44 hits and a batting average of .518. Players are most remembered for what they do in the playoffs, and that will be the challenge for Rainer, who is also the team’s closer. Seth Hernandez, Ethan Schiefelbein, Josh Springer, Corona: The fantastic trio for No. 1-ranked Corona will try to live up to expectations and deliver the Division 1 title that has been predicted for months. It won’t be easy in a single-elimination tournament facing top teams and top pitchers every game, but in pitchers Hernandez and Schiefelbein, the Panthers have the best one-two punch of any team. And their catcher, Springer, continues to excel defensively and with the bat. Cade Townsend, Santa Margarita: Townsend is reaching peak form just as the playoffs begin. He’s 5-0 with 76 strikeouts in 50 innings. He has given up only 28 hits. He didn’t play high school baseball last season, so the playoffs should be his opportunity to show off his talent and potential to pitch in college and the pros. Nate Castellon, Calabasas: A clutch hitter and standout at shortstop, Castellon continues to thrive under pressure. He finished the season with 42 hits and a .506 batting average. Boston Bateman, Camarillo: Bateman has given up only six hits in 48 innings while striking out 102. He’s 6 feet 8 and committed to Louisiana State. Camarillo went unbeaten in the Coastal Canyon League and is ranked No. 1 in Division 4. Dylan Volantis, Westlake: Volantis, a left-handed pitcher committed to USC, led the Division 2 Warriors to their first Marmonte League title since 2011. He’s 7-0 with an 0.41 earned-run average and 76 strikeouts in 51 innings with 15 walks. Zach Ireland, Beckman: He struck out 16 and threw a no-hitter last week against Irvine. Trevor Goldenetz, Huntington Beach: The junior outfielder leads Surf League champion Huntington Beach in hitting with a .392 average and 29 hits. Landon White, San Dimas: With 34 hits, 36 RBIs and four home runs, White has been the clutch hitter for Valle Vista League champion San Dimas. Levi Sterling, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame: As a pitcher and hitter, the Texas commit will be someone who must be dealt with in the Division 1 playoffs. Vinny Van der Wel, Chaminade: He has 37 hits and is the closer for Chaminade, which finished second to Harvard-Westlake in the Mission League and gets relief playing in Division 3. Jackson Klein, Santa Monica: Klein is 8-0 with an 0.24 ERA for the team ranked No. 1 in Division 5. Michael Malki, Corona Centennial: After competing in the Big VIII League, Malki moves to Division 3, where he will be tough to contain. He has six home runs and is 5-1 pitching with a1.39 ERA. Chapman Weber, Paloma Valley: In helping his team finish the season 27-1, Weber batted .378 with four home runs and was 6-0 with a1.20 ERA. He’ll be in the Division 2 playoffs. Brandon Tatch, Aliso Niguel: He had 30 hits and went 7-3 with a 1.43 ERA for the Sea View League champion. Aliso Niguel will be in a wide-open Division 2. Walker Calvo, La Mirada: He’s one of the many Division 1 pitchers capable of delivering a top performance. He went 7-1 with a 1.34 ERA. Nathan Chavez, Arlington: Chavez, a junior lefthander committed to California Baptist, is 8-0 with an 0.64 ERA. Arlington was ranked No. 3 in Division 2. Zach Strickland, Maranatha: The junior UCLA commit throws in the 90s and isn’t going to lose when he’s on the mound in the Division 2 playoffs. Anthony Pack, Long Beach Millikan: The junior is a dynamic player for Moore League champion Millikan. Committed to Texas, he’s fast, athletic and puts pressure on pitchers to throw strikes. Top players to watch in baseball playoffs CORONA SENIOR LEFT-HANDER Ethan Schiefelbein comprises one third of the Panthers’ fantastic trio this season. The pairings will be released on Monday. For The Times Harvard-Westlake's Rainer and Corona’s trio of stars are among the best in Southland. ERIC SONDHEIMER ON HIGH SCHOOLS D8 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS By Eric Sondheimer Rk. School (W-L) Comment (last week’s ranking) 1 CORONA (25-3) Will be No. 1 seed in Division 1 playoffs (1) 2 HARVARD-WESTLAKE (23-4-1) Thomas Bridges could be back pitching in playoffs (3) 3 ORANGE LUTHERAN (22-6) Trinity League champions (2) 4 SANTA MARGARITA (19-8-1) Eagles could make a Division 1 title run (4) 5 HUNTINGTON BEACH (20-8) Nathan Aceves can be playoff ace (5) 6 WESTLAKE (24-4) Dylan Volantis keeps throwing shutouts (6) 7 SAN DIMAS (23-4) If the pitching holds out, beware in D1 playoffs (8) 8 CORONA CENTENNIAL (21-6) Ranked No. 1 in Division 3 (11) 9 MATER DEI (16-12) Monarchs should get Division 1 at-large berth (9) 10 LA MIRADA (21-6) Had three-game sweep of Gahr (13) 11 ARLINGTON (24-4) Pitching and defense key playoff run (10) 12 JSERRA (15-12-1) Lost three times to Servite (7) 13 CHAMINADE (19-9) Second-place finish in Mission League (14) 14 GAHR (17-9) Second place in league (12) 15 LOS ALAMITOS (21-7) Finished third in Surf League (16) 16 CALABASAS (19-9) Jordan Kingston ready for playoff opener (15) 17 PALOMA VALLEY (27-1) Impressive regular-season record (17) 18 ST. JOHN BOSCO (16-10) Finished fourth in Trinity League (18) 19 AQUINAS (22-6) Twelve-game winning streak (20) 20 FOOTHILL (20-8) Earned share of league title (19) 21 ALISO NIGUEL (18-7) Brandon Tatch’s hitting, pitching have been key (21) 22 MARANATHA (21-6) Watch out for Zach Strickland in playoffs (22) 23 SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (18-9-1) Have pitching depth for playoffs (23) 24 BISHOP AMAT (18-8) Aaron Sandlin is 4-0 (24) 25 FOUNTAIN VALLEY (18-9) Second place in Surf League (NR) PREP BASEBALL TOP 25 Aleena Garcia makes everything look easy on and off the diamond. In a way it is, but only because she has dedicated so much time and effort to the three things she values most: family, faith and softball. A senior shortstop at Whittier Christian High in La Habra, Garcia leads her team in practically every offensive category, and her 12 home runs rank No. 12 in the state and 10th in the Southern Section. She is third in the state in runs scored (49) and boasts a .692 slugging percentage, a .610 batting average, 50 hits, 17 doubles, three triples, 33 RBIs and five stolen bases. A typical 24-hour period begins with a 5 a.m. run, after which she spends 30 minutes writing in her journal or reading the Bible before getting ready for school. She has classes from 8 a.m. to 1:40 p.m., then high school practice for an additional 2 1⁄2 hours. Before getting home for dinner, she’ll fit in an extra workout on her own until dark. Fortunately, she never gets tired of the routine. “I started baseball at the age of 3 and when I was 6, I went right into travel ball,” she said. “My dad was also my coach, which I’m happy about. Between the ages of 8 and 10, I won three national championships, which everybody doesn’t get to do, and from then to now I transitioned into travel softball at the highest level. “It’s a bit ironic that in baseball I always played outfield, but playing with boys growing up helped me become a better player faster and it also helped me competitive-wise because boys are very competitive from the day they’re born.” Garcia tried shortstop for the first time when she went to her first softball tryout, and she has played the position ever since. “I love it,” she said. “You’re moving the most. I get to use my athletic ability there.” Of all the instruction and advice she has absorbed along the way, though, her father, Rudy, has had the most influence. “He’s been a huge part of my success and my journey in this sport,” Garcia said. “Since the day I started playing sports, he’s pushed me to be my best, but he also knows who I am as a person. He’s helped me become a better person and player.” Living with two brothers, one older and one younger, also accelerated Garcia’s personal and athletic growth. “It’s a blessing,” she says. “Not everyone has brothers who compete at a high level. “My older brother, Andy, played baseball when he was younger and he may not know it, but I’d always try to be as good as him and be like him. My little brother, Aaron, was out there running around since he was in diapers. Now we train together all the time and it’s competition every day.” Andy attended La Serna High and played baseball until he was 11 before switching to golf. He is now a sophomore on the the men’s team at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Aaron, meanwhile, follows in his sister’s footsteps as a shortstop and catcher. “We train together all the time; we’re never without each other,” said Aaron, who is completing eighth grade and eager to start his own high school career at St. John Bosco in the fall. “We push each other and make each other better.” Garcia spent her freshman year during the pandemic honing her skills at EM Speed and Power, a training facility in Rancho Cucamonga specializing in high-intensity, full-body workouts. When the pandemic eased, she enrolled at Whittier Christian, a school with 428 students about 10 miles from her home in Pico Rivera. “A huge reason I came here was my faith,” she said. “We’re not ashamed to talk about God and we’re allowed to, so being here helps me grow in that aspect of my life as well.” Dale Van Duyn is in his 18th season at Whittier Christian and believes Garcia is the most complete player he has ever coached. “All around, definitely,” he said without hesitation. “She can hit, catch, throw, play defense, run the bases … she’s the whole package. Usually when you have a really good player, they have an attitude to them and even though she’s very competitive, she’s also a phenomenal teammate. She leads by her actions.” Van Duyn is quick to point out that for all of her God-given talent, Garcia’s success can be attributed to hours and hours of repetition. “She works on her swing constantly; she takes a minimum 200 swings a day,” added Van Duyn, who piloted the Heralds to backto-back Southern Section Division 5 titles in 2009 and 2010. “She works on every aspect of her game, not just hitting. Actually, she’s improved her base running the most. She’s not only the fastest I’ve had, she’s also the smartest. I have no doubt she’ll succeed at the next level. If she struggles, she’ll work herself out of it.” Despite being a power hitter, Garcia is not one to swing at offerings outside the zone. She is a pitcher’s worst nightmare in that she will work the count, take a walk if there is nothing to attack, and pounce on any mistake. She has struck out only once in 82 at-bats this season. “One key to hitting is to work on it all the time,” she said. “It’s no secret … the more you hit in practice, the better you’ll hit in games. Another key is the mind-set, which not many people think of. A hitting mind-set is so important because you’re going to fail a lot in this sport. It’s a game of failure. If you’re failing you don’t want to get too low, if you’re succeeding you don’t want to get too high. Keep the mind-set that you know you’re good enough to beat anybody and you know you’ve succeeded before so every time up you believe you can do it.” On March 15, Garcia hit three homers and batted in six runs versus Mary Star, and in the Heralds’ last game she went three for three with a double, a triple, one RBI and two runs scored in a 13-2 rout of Los Altos. For all of her hitting prowess, she has also been stellar on defense, posting a .925 fielding percentage with 22 putouts, 40 assists, two double plays and only five errors in 67 total chances. Stats like those will draw the attention of any Division I program and, sure enough, when Sept. 1 rolled around, Garcia received 15 offers, according to her dad, including from Oregon, Stanford and Texas A&M. Although Rudy was hoping she would pick Stanford, Aleena opted for UCLA and cited several reasons: “First, it just felt like home when I was there,” she said. “I felt at peace with the coaches and the players in a way that was different than the other places I visited. Second, it’s one of the winningest programs. I could be there next year and right away be competing for the national championship. ... Third, it’s close to home. I love my family and being that close it’ll be easier for them to come see me play than if I went somewhere else. Fourth, softball is not forever. I see myself being an Olympian, psychology interests me too, and L.A. has lots of connections.” Garcia cannot wait for the day she gets to don the powder blue uniform. “Committing to UCLA was the best moment of my life because that’s been a dream of mine since I started playing softball,” she said. “I could see myself living with them every day for four years there and continuing that relationship after college,” she addsed “The way they push each other, their competitiveness, how they compete in everything they do … it’s a place I want to be.” Garcia wants nothing more than to cap her prep career with one of the only things she still has not achieved on the diamond: a CIF championship. In her sophomore year the Heralds lost to La Mirada in the first round in Division 1, and last year they made the Division 2 quarterfinals, losing to Grand Terrace despite a Garcia homer. “This year we have a very strong team with a lot of young players who came in and have really developed,” Garcia said. “But we older girls are still here to lead, we all have a great relationship with each other, so I think we can win the title this year.” A five-tool softball star who makes it all look easy Whittier Christian’s Garcia hopes to lead school to Southern Section title. By Steve Galluzzo ALEENA GARCIA, a senior shortstop at Whittier Christian High in La Habra, has committed to UCLA. Steve Galluzzo For The Times

The Kings needed a change in fortune Sunday, so they made a change in goal. And while that changed the way the team played, it didn’t change the momentum of the Kings’ bestof-seven Western Conference playoff series, with defenseman Evan Bouchard’s second-period powerplay goal giving the Edmonton Oilers a 1-0 victory to send the series back to Canada for Game 5 on Wednesday with the Oilers holding a 3-1 edge. The loss was only the fifth in 20 games for the Kings at home since the All-Star break. Two of those have come in the last four days against the Oilers, and Sunday’s loss could wind up being the last game at Crypto.com Arena this season with the Kings needing to win in Edmonton to avoid elimination. Given the stakes, Kings coach Jim Hiller really had no choice but to make a change. With the Oilers overwhelming goalie Cam Talbot in the first three games of the series, scoring 17 times, the Kings were in danger of being run out of the playoffs. It wasn’t all Talbot’s fault; seven of the goals he gave up came against the Kings’ once-vaunted penalty kill, which ranked second in the NHL during the regular season. Still, Hiller had to do something to change the direction of the series so he sat Talbot for Game 4 and gave Rittich his second career playoff start. Rittich had previous success against Edmonton, going 5-5-1 with a 2.73 goals-against average in 13 games. And in February he shut out the Oilers, giving the Kings their only win over Edmonton in the regular season. He played well again Sunday, holding the explosive Oilers scoreless before Bouchard’s goal ruined the Kings’ most complete performance of the playoffs. The Kings were aggressive and physical from the start Sunday, outshooting Edmonton 10-4 in the first period and delivering punishing hits on both ends of the ice. More importantly, the Kings stayed out of the penalty box and kept the Oilers off the board. The two things are undoubtedly related since Edmonton, which has been exceptionally successful on the power play, had scored in every full period in the series until then. It was a noticeable improvement from Game 3, when the Kings fell behind 3-0 in the first period and were never in the game. That all ended just after the midway point of the second period when Andreas Englund was called for a holding penalty. The Oilers needed only 63 seconds to make the Kings pay, with Bouchard scoring on a one-timer from well above the circle at 11:49 from a pass by Leon Draisaitl. Connor McDavid also had an assist, giving him a league-best nine in the postseason. The goal was the Oilers’ eighth in 15 tries on the power play and it was a bad omen for the Kings since the team that scored first won each of the first three games in the series. The Kings, meanwhile, rarely tested Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner. Although they outshot the Oilers 33-13, Skinner was forced into only a handful of uncomfortable saves — none of which came on the Kings’ only power play, midway through the third period. The Kings have failed to score in 11 power-play opportunities in the series. Sunday’s shutout, Skinner’s first in the postseason, was also the first in the playoffs against the Kings since Game 2 of their firstround series with the Oilers in 2022. Edmonton won that game 6-0. TREVOR MOORE skates away as Edmonton players celebrate the game’s lone goal in the second period. It was also the Oilers’ only power play in a 1-0 defeat for L.A. Gina Ferazzi Los Angeles Times Kings get complete effort but lose anyway By Kevin Baxter Hannah Green won the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship for the second straight year Sunday, holing out twice from off the greens in a pivotal back-nine stretch at challenging Wilshire Country Club. A year after making a 25-foot birdie on the final hole of regulation and winning on the second hole of a playoff, Green — with help from Maja Stark — took the late drama out of this one for her fifth LPGA Tour victory and second of the year. “It’s really kind to me,” Green said about the course. “I felt like a couple times today almost got like a member bounce. I, obviously, really am fond of the golf club and joked that they didn’t approve it with me that they were making alterations. I love it here.” Green closed with a five-under 66 to beat Stark by three strokes. The 27-year-old Australian, also a winner last month in Singapore, finished with a 12-under 272 on the tree-lined layout with poa annua greens that become bumpy late in the day. Green began the key run with a chip-in birdie on the par-three 12th and made a six-foot birdie putt on the par-five 13th. Then, after Stark bogeyed the par-four 16th two groups ahead, Green ran in a 25- footer for eagle from the fringe on 15 to open a four-stroke lead, and made it five under in five holes with a birdie on 16. “When I chipped in on 12 I kind of felt like I really snagged one there,” Green said. “I really like the 13th hole and also played the 15th really well. When I made eagle on 15, that kind of sealed the deal. I did see Maja got it to nine under so I know what I needed to do. Usually, Imake it really tricky on myself and only win by a shot.” Stark finished with a 68, rebounding from the bogey on 16 to birdie the final two holes. The 24- year-old Swede also finished second last week in The Chevron Championship, two strokes behind top-ranked Nelly Korda in the first major of the year. “I’m really proud of the way I’ve played,” Stark said. “I feel like I’ve hit a lot of good shots and I feel like my nerves kind of took over for a little while, but I was always able to get back to the normal — my normal state of mind.” Haeran Ryu (69) was third at six under, followed by fellow South Koreans Jin Young Ko (67) and Jin Hee Im (72) at five under. Grace Kim, four strokes ahead entering the weekend after opening rounds of 64 and 66 and tied with Green for the lead after a third-round 76, finished with a 77 to tie for 25th at one under. She failed to make a birdie the final two days. Korda withdrew from the event Monday, a day after her record-tying fifth straight victory. Green surges to win LA Championship for 2nd straight year associated press HANNAH GREEN kisses the trophy after winning the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club. Last year she won the event in more dramatic fashion — in a playoff. Ashley Landis Associated Press SP O RTS E XT RA A TIMES E-NEWSPAPER EXCLUSIVE :: MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 latimes.com/sports BONUS COVERAGE Go to our website for takeaways from The Times’ staff on your favorite home teams at latimes.com/sports. THE SPORTS REPORT Sign up for our daily sports newsletter at latimes.com/newsletters/sports-report. STAY CONNECTED 8 On Instagram @latimes_sports 8 On X @latimessports

DD2 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LOS ANGELES TIMES Actual house, meet extra small house. A free digital newsletter about, you guessed it, ADUs. Free for subscribers! Scan the code or visit latimes.com/ADU to sign up. Maybe you need more space. Maybe you just need extra income. But how do you know if building an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, is right for you? Start with You Do ADU, a six-week newsletter series from the L.A. Times. We’ll guide you through building an ADU in California — including financing, planning and solving common problems — so you can make the right decision for you and your property.

CALENDAR MONDAY , APRIL 29 , 2024 :: L ATIMES.COM/CALENDAR E It’s official: Center Theatre Group is reopening the Mark Taper Forum in the fall. The prominent Los Angeles theater organization announced Sunday night that the historic downtown L.A. venue, which abruptly paused its season last year because of a significant budget shortfall, will resume programming in October. One of the first productions to play the Taper after its 16-month pause will be the world premiere of “Fake It Until You Make It” (Jan. 29-March 9, 2025), the commissioned play by Larissa FastHorse that was halted just weeks before opening last year. Directed by Michael John Garcés, the saTaper plans a fall reopening Larissa FastHorse’s play, halted by last year’s pause, will be among the first to run. By Ashley Lee [See Mark Taper, E3] THE WORLD premiere of “Fake It Until You Make It” by Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse is set for a January start at the Mark Taper Forum. Genaro Molina Los Angeles Times Ricky Martin to get his Pride on Latino singer Ricky Martin will headline at the L.A. Pride in the Park festival in Chinatown in June. E2 Musical family is the ‘Hero’ This nontraditional biopic focuses on a family’s struggles as it tries to hit it big in Nashville. Review, E2 Comics ................... E4-5 Puzzles ...................... E5 On camera or off, Zendaya stays in character. From her wet-look Balmain gown at the 2021 Venice Film Festival to her recent jaw-dropping futuristic Mugler bodysuit at the “Dune: Part Two” world premiere, the young star has built quite a reputation for bold, “method” fashions. The 27-year-old actor, who will co-chair the Met Gala in May, has graduated from a Disney Channel heroine to a blockbuster star and budding fashion icon over her nearly 15 years in the spotlight. Much of this transformation is thanks to the work of Law Roach. Roach, who opts for his trademarked title image architect, as opposed to stylist, has worked with the actor since she was on Disney Channel’s “Shake It Up” in 2011. Roach calls the duo’s thematic approach to red carpets method dressing — a nod to the acting technique — and it’s a hallmark of the pair’s collaboration. On the press tour for “Challengers,” now in theaters, the duo gleaned inspiration from Zendaya’s tennis champion character, Tashi Duncan, who’s at the top of her game — with the talent and intensity of a Williams sister — when an injury stunts her career. Throughout the movie’s international premieres and the cast’s promotional appearances, Zendaya has served up looks with tennis whites, collars and pleats, Love at first serve for Zendaya’s outfits Stylist breaks down actor’s tennis-inspired looks for new film, ‘Challengers.’ Call it ‘method dressing.’ By Kaitlyn Huamani [See Zendaya, E3] A fter Coachella’s back-to-back weekends, barely any grass remained on the grounds of the Empire Polo Club. But that didn’t stop thousands of country fans from venturing here for Stagecoach, which got underway Friday afternoon and closed Sunday night with headliners Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen. A rundown of the highlights and lowlights of Day 1 and Day 2. DAY 1 Eric Church lives up to his name Church used his fifth headlining appearance at Stagecoach as an opportunity to try something different: Instead of leading his sturdy road band through a set of the hits that have made him a kind of older-brother figure to the likes of Wallen and Luke Combs, Church turned the so-called Mane Stage into an openair chapel (complete with stained glass) for a stripped-down acoustic performance in which he was backed by a 16-member gospel choir. The set mixed originals like “Mistress Named Music” and “Like Jesus Does” with far-flung covers: “Amazing Grace,” “I’ll Fly Away,” “Take Me to the River” and “Gin and Juice.” His aim seemed to be to showcase the music that formed him as a kid growing up in small-town North Carolina — and to draw attention, in this year of Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter,” to the Black roots of country music. (The performance also shared some DNA with the solo-acoustic residency Church has going STAGECOACH FESTIVAL ERIC CHURCH turns the Mane Stage into an open-air chapel, complete with stained glass and 16-member gospel choir, on Day 1. Photographs by Allen J. Schaben Los Angeles Times THE BEST, WORST AND WEIRDEST Jelly Roll’s big night, Eric Church’s righteous set and Dwight Yoakam’s fringe strike an eclectic tone. BY MIKAELWOOD AND VANESSA FRANKO indio, calif. CARIN León delivers a rootsy yet polished Spanish-language set of regional Mexican music on the Palomino Stage on Day 1. at Chief’s, his new bar in Nashville, where Wallen was arrested this month for throwing a chair off the roof.) Energy-wise, it was a risky choice at the end of a day many spent drinking in the sun: Half an hour or so after Church opened with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” — probably not a song anyone still needs to keep doing, if we’re being honest — one guy near me yelled, “This is Friday night, not Sunday morning!” As they went along, though, Church and his accompanists picked up a righteous steam. — Mikael Wood Dwight Yoakam and the fabulous flying fringe If you’re going to wear a Canadian tuxedo, make it memorable. While top-and-bottom denim is a perennial look for Yoakam, on Friday the troubadour paired it with his standard cowboy hat and boots, but the standout was the jacket covered in white fringe on the front and back. Yoakam, whose name was misspelled on the official Stagecoach set-times sign outside of the Palomino stage (as was Nickelback’s), started about 10 minutes after his scheduled start of 7:20 p.m. Back to the fringe, it was almost hypnotic to watch it bounce and sway as Yoakam shimmied and shuffled across the stage while he and his band (also snazzily dressed with sparkles, no fringe) played songs including “Little Sister,” “Streets of Bakersfield” and a cover of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” Since Yoakam didn’t allow press to photograph his set, the best you can get from us is a stick-figure drawing [See Stagecoach, E6] The mention of mass graves is so deeply disturbing that it’s preferable to think of such wartime horrors as dark remnants of another era, chapters of history we’ll never repeat. The Armenian genocide, the Bolshevik revolution, Nazi Germany, El Salvador, BosniaHerzegovina. The fairy tale that the human race has evolved beyond such barbarism was shattered (again) last week when reports surfaced that three mass burial sites had been unearthed in Gaza. The shocking development should have made headlines, but it barely made it onto most people’s radars. The media are instead hyper-focused on how we protest atrocities rather than the atrocities themselves. Anti-war protests on college campuses dominate conversations and coverage about the Israel-Hamas war. Every imaginable news source — legacy print outlets, user-generated posts, broadcast and cable news — has its sight set on the encampments and rallies breaking out on campuses across the nation. The protests are worthy in their own right for drawing attention to critical issues. They’ve raised awareness (and hackles) around Wrong news angle on Gaza? University protests are big news, but they obscure true horror of the war in Mideast. LORRAINE ALI NEWS AND CULTURE CRITIC [See Protests, E2]

E2 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR Ricky Martin will headline this year’s L.A. Pride in the Park festival. June 8’s concert, held in in Chinatown’s L.A. State Historic Park, will be the first Pride festival performance from the Latin pop superstar, who will also be the first out gay Latino to headline the event. “I am thrilled to be headlining L.A. Pride in the Park because it’s an incredible opportunity to celebrate love, diversity, and equality,” Martin said in a statement. “L.A. Pride is a testament to the power of community, the power of visibility, and the power of standing up for our rights. Being part of this vibrant community fills me with pride and purpose.” Martin is the first act to be announced for L.A. Pride in the Park, the music-centric event from promoter Christopher Street West that left West Hollywood in 2021 after tensions with local government in the longtime gay enclave. After inaugurating the new 25,000-capacity event in 2022 with Christina Aguilera, last year’s fest booked Mariah Carey and Megan Thee Stallion to headline. West Hollywood’s competing event last year had Grace Jones and Carly Rae Jepsen. “With his electrifying stage presence and charttopping hits, Ricky Martin has long been an inspiration to millions around the world,” said Gerald Garth, board president of CSW/L.A. Pride. “His participation in L.A. Pride in the Park goes beyond mere entertainment; it symbolizes a powerful affirmation of queer Latin identity and a celebration of diversity within the LGBTQ+ community.” The Puerto Rico-born Martin’s groundbreaking career began in the boy band Menudo and took off with “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and the Latin explosion of the late ’90s. He came out as gay in 2010. He’s won two Grammy and four Latin Grammy awards, and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.” His most recent album, “A Quien Quiera Escuchar,” came out in 2015, and he currently co-stars in the Apple TV series “Palm Royale.” Tickets for the event are on sale at lapride.org. RICKY MARTIN is coming to L.A June 8. Emmanuel Sanchez Monsalve Ricky Martin to headline at Pride By August Brown Cinematic memoir can be a complex creative endeavor. Film is a collaborative medium and memoir requires a certain acknowledgment of the author’s creation. Without that self-reflection, it can slip into murky, confusing territory. This space is where the new film “Unsung Hero,” which is billed as a “For King + Country Film,” exists. If you’re not yet aware of the Grammy-winning Christian pop duo For King + Country, comprising brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, “Unsung Hero” will introduce you to their folksy family lore, if not their musical successes. The film is a biographical drama about the Smallbone family, a large brood from Australia who immigrated to Nashville in the early 1990s, following father David’s dreams of working as a promoter in the music industry. “Unsung Hero” is co-written and co-directed by Joel Smallbone (with Richard L. Ramsey), and he also stars in the film playing his own father, who eventually managed the music careers of For King + Country and Joel’s sister Rebecca St. James. Their siblings work in the family business as managers, lighting directors and documentarians (they all make cameos in the film), and there’s a sense of can-do collaboration among the tight-knit Smallbone family. This theme runs throughout the film, and it makes sense that Joel would undertake the telling of his family’s own story in such an intimate way. Therefore, “Unsung Hero” is like a much more expensive extension of the camcorder home movies that serve as a running motif throughout. This isn’t just a music biopic or a family drama — it’s a presentation of a family narrative as told and embodied by the family members themselves. A valid endeavor, to be sure, but important context when considering the work as a cultural product. Joel Smallbone is an appealing actor, even if it is a bit distracting that he’s portraying his own father (he has described the experience as a “therapy session”). Joel is also a character in the film, as a child (Diesel La Torraca), while Daisy Betts plays Helen, the Smallbone matriarch. Helen is, of course, the unsung hero of this story, the heart and spine of the family who insists on keeping them together while David makes one last-ditch attempt to make it in the music industry in Nashville. Betts is the emotional center of this film, her character unflagging in her determination, keeping spirits up as David’s dreams are slowly crushed. The family of attractive Aussies arrive in the United States without a stick of furniture in their rental home, and they nest in beds of clothes while they get on their feet with the help of a couple from their church (Lucas Black and Candace Cameron Bure). They clean houses and landscape yards, clip coupons and accept the charity that comes their way, reluctantly on David’s part. While David struggles with the dampening of his dreams, his daughter Rebecca (Kirrilee Berger) is just starting to embrace her musical aspirations. But she can’t chase them until her father gets over his own deep hurt at being rejected by the industry. It takes him some time to understand the advice given to him by his own father, James (Terry O’Quinn), back in Australia, that his family isn’t in the way of what he wants. Rather, they are the way. “Unsung Hero” follows a predictable narrative path of struggles and salvation, but it’s not a traditional music biopic. It doesn’t start with a record deal, it ends with one. The focus is on their hardships to get to that record deal, which is clearly what matters to filmmaker Joel Smallbone. It’s not the success, the stadium concerts, but the ways they stuck together, allowed themselves to dream, all thanks to their mother, who never let David’s challenges get in the way of her kids’ imaginations. It’s a humble story, one with the capacity to inspire in its simple message of perseverance. But the film itself, as an artistic product, feels limited in its observational scope, because the filmmaker doesn’t have any distance from the material. Smallbone is a fine actor, but alongside Ramsey, he’s a limited filmmaker. Their visual style is drab at best, and the storytelling lacks the kind of self-reflection that might elevate this project. As it is, “Unsung Hero” feels more like band merch than an insightful family portrait. Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic. MOVIE REVIEW Their family is the family business in ‘Unsung Hero’ A little professional distance would help in tale behind the rise of For King + Country. By Katie Walsh ‘Unsung Hero’ Rated: PG, for thematic elements Running time: 1 hour, 52 minutes Playing: In wide release “UNSUNG HERO” tells the story of an Australian family’s struggles to make a go of it in Nashville. The biopic focuses on how they stick together through it all. Lionsgate the staggering Palestinian death toll, antisemitism, occupation, the oft-forgotten hostages and free speech. The largely peaceful demonstrations, dealt with ineptly at best by university heads and law enforcement, are rightfully the leading national story, and its stars are a generation that many older folks had written off as apathetic. In SEO terms, the protests present the perfect setting for a media blitz. They’re taking place at colleges, and they come with powerful images and ample social media content. As an example, protests at USC unfolded live on television across various local stations, with choppers capturing the action from every imaginable angle. They’re also an easier way into the war, bringing the Mideast conflict home to America without the horror of witnessing a real battle. But blanket coverage of the uprising by students is so omnipresent, it’s overshadowed news from the very war they’re protesting. There’s been a stunning lack of coverage and outrage following an announcement Friday by Palestinian authorities that they’d uncovered 390 bodies from mass grave sites around Gaza’s Nassar and Shifa hospitals, facilities that were raided and destroyed in Israeli strikes. The bodies were reportedly found in the pits, buried by bulldozed debris, after the Israeli Defense Forces ended operations in the region. Women and children are among the deceased; the majority are still unidentified. Some of the dead were allegedly found stripped naked with their hands bound behind their backs. “It indicates serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and these need to be subjected to further investigations,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a chief spokesperson for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk. The sheer barbarity of these scenes may explain why they haven’t garnered more attention. It’s simply too awful to process, so we turn away. And if the discovery of mass graves is a hard story to watch, it’s an even harder one to cover. Israel continues to restrict international journalists’ access to Gaza, so there are fewer reporters there to bear witness. For those who are there, it’s one of the deadliest wars on record for media workers, and civilian casualties are more than 34,000. If reporters do survive, they’re faced with intense investigative digging to get to the truth. And when their stories are finally reported, they’ll be lambasted, trolled and harassed by one side — or both — for their perceived bias. But we need answers, and short of an independent investigation (the Biden administration has left it up to Israel to investigate itself), we’re left to guess whether war crimes have or have not been committed. The dearth of information is partly due to the contraction of American newsrooms. Journalism outlets big and small have lost the resources, access and the expertise to cover wars like they once did. It’s also up to elected officials to draw attention to potential war crimes, especially when the U.S. plays such a central role in the conflict. Politicians like Mike Johnson have instead been busy raising their profiles by inserting themselves into the Palestinian-Israeli mire. Painting himself as a defender of student safety, the Republican House speaker instead put hundreds if not thousands of anti-war protesters in danger — Jewish students included — by conflating their pro-Palestinian stances with sympathy for Hamas. “The things that have happened at the hands of Hamas are horrific, and yet these protesters are out there waving flags for the very people who committed those crimes. This is not who we are in America,” Johnson posted Thursday on X, formerly Twitter. It was refreshing to see that ABC News didn’t just quote him and move on, as many other news outlets did. The network reported that there had been no documented cases of demonstrators waving Hamas flags. Such details matter when the safety of students is at stake. But critical questions remain around Gaza’s mass graves, and there’s the matter of accountability. “The grave in question was dug — by Gazans — a few months ago,” tweeted Nadav Shoshani, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Force. “This fact is corroborated by social media documentation uploaded by Gazans at the time of the burial. Any attempt to blame Israel for burying civilians in mass graves is categorically false and a mere example of a disinformation campaign aimed at delegitimizing Israel.” Israeli officials said the corpses buried near Nasser Hospital had been exhumed to check whether they were those of Israeli hostages. An Israeli military official said that all remains were then “respectfully returned to their place.” Gaza authorities affirm that graves were dug before the Israeli military’s arrival, but allege that the IDF added bodies to the site. Gaza Civil Defense said that only about 100 people were buried in graves before the IDF raid, and that 390 to 392 bodies (accounts vary) had since been recovered. The widely reported slaughter of innocent Israelis and Palestinians, and the taking of hostages, prompted the protests in the first place. Now, the cries of demonstrators are the story. But we can certainly pay attention on both fronts, even if one of them requires a lot more work and emotional girding. It’s our moral imperative to pay attention or risk becoming bystanders as another dark chapter on wartime atrocities writes itself. Protests the wrong news angle on Gaza? [Protests, from E1] BODIES lie in a mass grave uncovered in the courtyard of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City earlier this month. Hamza Qraiqea Anadolu via Getty Images noWhere sPeCiAl 1:30 4:30 7:30 unCroPPeD 4:00 PM the olD oAK 4:10 PM fAreWell, Mr. hAffMAnn 1:00 PM BeyonD the rAging seA 7:00 PM PrAtfAll 1:10 7:00 ChAllengers E 1:00 4:00 7:00 We groWn noWB 1:00 3:10 5:15 7:30 little eMPty Boxes 1:30 4:30 7:10 exhiBition on sCreen: John singer sArgent - fAshion & sWAgger 7:00 PM Civil WAr E 1:20 4:10 7:20 CouP De ChAnCeC 4:20 PM the BeAst 1:00 PM WiCKeD little letters E 4:20 PM lA ChiMerA 1:10 7:00 ROYAL 11523 Santa Monica Blvd. West L.A. MONICA 1332 Second Street Santa Monica www.LAEMMLE.com AFRAID OFSUBTITLES NOT Info Line 310.478.3836 TM BARGAIN IN ( ) FOR 4/29/2024 ONLY ChAllengers E 1:00 4:00 7:00 We groWn noWB 12:50 3:00 5:10 7:30 exhiBition on sCreen: John singer sArgent - fAshion & sWAgger 7:00 PM Civil WAr E 1:10 4:10 CouP De ChAnCeC 1:20 7:20 WiCKeD little letters E 1:30 7:10 fAreWell, Mr. hAffMAnn 4:20 PM ruBy’s ChoiCe 4:00 PM Boy Kills WorlD E 1:20 4:20 7:10 ChAllengers E 1:00 4:00 7:00 unsung heroB 1:00 4:00 7:00 ABigAil E 1:10 4:10 7:20 sAsquAtCh sunset E 4:20 PM the Ministry of ungentleMAnly WArfAre E 1:10 4:10 7:10 Civil WAr E 1:30 4:30 7:30 goDzillA x Kong: the neW eMPireC 1:20 7:20 TOWN CENTER 17200 Ventura Blvd. Encino NEWHALL 22500 Lyons Ave. Santa Clarita Boy Kills WorlD E 1:20 4:10 7:10 ChAllengers E 1:00 4:00 7:00 egoist 1:10 7:00 PhotogrAPhiC JustiCe: the CorKy lee story 4:30 PM sAsquAtCh sunset E 12:50 5:10 exhiBition on sCreen: John singer sArgent - fAshion & sWAgger 7:00 PM Civil WAr E 1:30 4:20 oMen 3:00 PM lA ChiMerA 7:20 PM GLENDALE 207 N. Maryland Ave Glendale Alien DAy 45th AnniversAry re-releAse 1:10 4:10 7:10 Boy Kills WorlD E 1:20 4:20 7:20 ChAllengers E 1:00 4:00 7:00 We groWn noWB 3:00 7:30 ABigAil E 1:20 4:20 7:20 sAsquAtCh sunset E 12:50 5:10 the Ministry of ungentleMAnly WArfAre E 1:00 4:00 7:00 Civil WAr E 1:30 4:30 7:10 Boy Kills WorlD E 1:20 4:10 7:20 ChAllengers E 1:00 4:00 7:00 We groWn noWB 3:00 7:30 sAsquAtCh sunset E 12:50 5:10 the Ministry of ungentleMAnly WArfAre E 1:10 4:10 exhiBition on sCreen: John singer sArgent - fAshion & sWAgger 7:00 PM Civil WAr E 4:20 7:20 WiCKeD little letters E 1:30 PM NoHo 7 5240 Lankershim Blvd. No. Hollywood CLAREMONT 450 W. 2nd Street Claremont CLOSED CAPTION NON-STANDARD PRICING

LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 E3 sportswear fabrics like mesh and even actual tennis balls. These sporty yet chic silhouettes dominated her promotional appearances and photo calls, including an April 14 stop in Milan, where the star sported a 1992 Ralph Lauren dress that Cindy Crawford had originally modeled. Some of her other getups were more on the nose. During a visit in Rome, Zendaya wore a glitzy custom Loewe dress with a pleated skirt — a prime example of the elevated tenniscore looks that she and Roach have crafted. The main attraction of the ensemble, though, was the stilettos with tennis balls at the bottom of the heels. Another tennis ball popped up as the centerpiece of a custom bright green gown at the afterparty for the Los Angeles premiere. The bold look came hours after Zendaya stepped onto the red carpet in a black and pink corset ball gown, prompting fans to think it marked the end of her method dressing on the press tour. “I wanted to be literal. I wanted to have this cultural moment and bring tenniscore back to the masses,” Roach said. “It becomes another way to add interest to the movie.” Some of her looks were less obvious than others, like those that featured touches of tennis ball-green or tennis whites. Roach said one all-white look paid homage to Althea Gibson, one of the first Black athletes to play international tennis and the first Black player to win a Grand Slam event title. Roach said he was happy to “highlight someone who, culturally, did so much for us as Black Americans and Black people, and also the sport of tennis.” The duo also re-created a look from a 1998 Vogue shoot with Venus and Serena Williams; Roach said Venus Williams told him that she almost liked Zendaya’s look better than the original. “You want to get it right and you want to make them proud,” Roach said. “And you can’t really get a better compliment from someone like Venus Williams.” Many “Challengers” ensembles incorporated silhouettes or styles from the 1960s and ’70s, likely in acknowledgment of the period when women’s tennis gained traction. In one checkered mod look from Louis Vuitton, the star nailed the tennis inspiration without going over the top. She similarly rocked a pink ’60s-inspired dress with a tennis-like collar and modern cutouts on her torso. The splashiest, and most talked-about, look from her tour was Zendaya’s custom Loewe gown that featured the silhouette of a tennis player preparing to serve a ball. She wore the shimmering green dress with matching heels to the Sydney premiere in March; this kicked off the conversation about her long history of method dressing. Zendaya and Roach have a lengthy history of crafting red carpet looks that mirror her films’ aesthetics, themes or content, thereby using fashion to promote her projects. In 2017, she wore a gown with Monarch butterfly-like wings to echo the circus at the heart of her movie “The Greatest Showman.” “With Law and I, we always find inspiration from films that I’m doing,” she said in a recent interview with Vogue. “A butterfly isn’t the theme, per se, but it is this idea of being costumey. You’re the greatest showman, and so everything is drama, and that’s what this dress was to me.” For the premieres and appearances promoting “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two,” the actor played with both the sci-fi storytelling in the film and its desert setting, showcasing the diversity of Roach’s styling. Before the space-warrior saga, she traversed the SpiderVerse with cobweb and spider detailing on her “SpiderMan” press tour ensembles. Zendaya and Roach are method-dressing pioneers, but Roach acknowledges that others used the technique before them. “We can take some responsibility for bringing this trend to the forefront, but we don’t think that we’re the first people to ever do it,” Roach said. “Geena Davis did it in 1992 at the premiere of ‘A League of Their Own.’ She had this little white dress with baseball stitching. Glenn Close did it when she played Cruella de Vil. We are not saying we invented it, but we have been very much purveyors of it for these last films she’s been in.” While promoting “Barbie,” Margot Robbie and several of her co-stars borrowed inspiration from the doll and her hundreds of iconic outfits. Fans eagerly awaited Robbie’s arrivals on the red carpet to see which Barbie she’d “portray.” Other stars have donned looks inspired by their projects in the past — most recently Jenna Ortega for “Wednesday,” Halle Bailey for “The Little Mermaid,” Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney for “Madame Web” and Zoë Kravitz for “The Batman.” Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson and Keira Knightley also nailed the trend years ago. Method dressing is likely here to stay, and Roach is hoping it will spill over from red carpets to movie theaters. Roach predicts tenniscore looks will take over this summer, and he has been reposting on social media “Challengers” theatergoers in their tennis skirts and chic white looks. “It’s just fun,” he said. “There’s a lot of things going on in the world, and I’m not naive to think that fashion or movies can change that. But I think sometimes just adding something that can bring joy into people’s lives is really the point.” ZENDAYA is at the top of her game as she promotes “Challengers” with outfits inspired by the tennis-themed film: crossed rackets at the London premiere; in Milan, a 1992 Ralph Lauren dress originally modeled by Cindy Crawford; and in Rome, a Loewe dress where the main attraction was stilettos with tennis balls on the heels. Hoda Davaine / Dave Benett WireImage Stefania D’Alessandro Getty Images Andrea Straccioli Mondadori Portfolio The ‘method’ behind Zendaya’s chic outfits [Zendaya, from E1] THE ACTOR sported a Mugler bodysuit at “Dune: Part Two” world premiere in London in February. Samir Hussein WireImage via Getty Images tirical comedy about shifting identities will debut after CTG’s two-week workshop last fall. “Despite the disappointment of last summer,” FastHorse said, the workshop was a way for CTG Artistic Director Snehal Desai, Managing Director and Chief Executive Meghan Pressman and the rest of the group to say, “We’re still behind this piece.” “It was a huge gift that basically saved us two weeks of rehearsal, as we worked out fight choreography, physical comedy timing and the nuts and bolts of farce,” FastHorse said. “The Taper is my hometown theater, and it’s my favorite space in America for seeing a play,” continued FastHorse, who will be the first Native American writer to have a mainstage production at the Taper since it opened in 1967. “I’ve always wanted to have a play there, so it’s deeply meaningful that it will still be in that space.” After its L.A. run, the co-production will later play Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage. CTG’s 2024-25 season — Desai’s first as the nonprofit theater group’s artistic director — kicks off with Green Day’s “American Idiot” (Oct. 2-Nov. 10), the politicallycharged musical based on the band’s hit album of the same title. The rock opera, which made its Broadway debut in 2010, follows a trio of young Americans as they struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world. The Taper staging will be produced with Deaf West Theatre and will feature an ensemble of deaf and hearing actors, performing simultaneously in American Sign Language and English. Desai approached Deaf West Artistic Director DJ Kurs about collaborating on “American Idiot,” a selection made strategically as a “cathartic” offering for this election year. “These characters are screaming into a world that doesn’t hear them, so why not invert the metaphor with a trio of deaf friends who are trying to be heard in this world?” said Desai, who will make his CTG directorial debut with the production. “DJ shared that, throughout the deaf community, there’s all these covers of punk rock, because you can feel the vibration of the music. We found a real organic synergy with the concept, and it felt like a way to reopen the Taper in a big way.” Over at the Ahmanson Theatre, CTG’s largest house, Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga will lead the previously announced “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends” (Feb. 8-March 9, 2025). Directed by Matthew Bourne, the tribute to the legendary composer heads directly to Broadway after its North American premiere in L.A. The season continues with the Broadway tour of “Life of Pi” (May 7-June 1, 2025), based on the beloved novel by Yann Martel. The play, written by Lolita Chakrabarti and directed by Max Webster, will transform the Ahmanson into the vast Pacific Ocean, where a 16- year-old boy is stranded on a lifeboat with four other survivors: a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a 450-pound royal Bengal tiger — all of which come to life with an acclaimed combination of puppeteering and visual effects. Meanwhile, the Taper will debut a new version of “Hamlet” (May 28-July 6, 2025), adapted and directed by Robert O’Hara with inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock and the film noir genre. Desai approached O’Hara, who helmed CTG’s production of “Slave Play” in 2022, about presenting a fresh take on a classic. “I hope to do a new reimagining every season at the Taper moving forward,” said Desai. “While the Taper is known as a playwrights’ theater, I also want it to be a home for adventurous directors.” The Ahmanson will welcome “Parade” (June 17-July 12), the touring production of the Tony-winning Broadway revival. The musical — co-conceived by Harold Prince and featuring a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown — examines the true story of Leo and Lucille Frank, a newlywed Jewish couple whose lives in 1900s Georgia is upended when Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime. A seventh show of the 2024-25 season will be a Broadway musical at the Ahmanson, to be announced in the coming weeks. CTG’s season also includes a continuation and expansion of CTG:FWD programming, an initiative created last year to present special events and community gatherings during the Taper’s programming pause. These engagements include the 7 Fingers’ “Duel Reality” (Sept. 11-22), an acrobatic spectacle inspired by “Romeo and Juliet” at the Ahmanson, as well as “SCAT! ... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar” (Nov. 22-24), a dancedriven jazz club piece from Urban Bush Women produced in association with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center. The company’s third stage, the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, will have its own lineup of CTG:FWD events including TheaterWorksUSA’s “Cat Kid Comic Club: The Musical” (Nov. 22- Jan. 5), adapted from Dav Pilkey’s “Dog Man” spinoff book series, and “El Otro Oz” (dates to be announced), a bilingual musical inspired by “The Wizard of Oz,” which had a limited run at the Douglas earlier this year. CTG’s 2024-25 season subscription package, on sale Monday at centerthe atregroup.org, includes “American Idiot,” “Fake It Until You Make It” and “Hamlet” at the Taper; as well as “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends,” “Parade,” “Life of Pi” and the yet-to-beannounced musical at the Ahmanson. Fall 2024 CTG:FWD programming will be available to purchase as add-on performances to the subscription package, and spring 2025 CTG:FWD programming will go on sale at a later date. CTG announces fall reopening of Mark Taper Forum [Mark Taper, from E1] THE BROADWAY tour of “Life of Pi,” adapted from Yann Martel’s novel, will head to the Taper in May 2025. Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman MurphyMade CENTER Theatre Group’s 2024-25 season will be the first one for new Artistic Director Snehal Desai. Phillip Faraone

E4 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR LIO By Mark Tatulli CANDORVILLE By Darrin Bell CRABGRASS By Tauhid Bondia PEARLS BEFORE SWINE By Stephan Pastis NON SEQUITUR By Wiley LA CUCARACHA By Lalo Alcaraz LOOSE PARTS By Dave Blazek ZITS By Jerry Scott & Jim Borgman SIX CHIX By Isabella Bannerman FRAZZ By Jef Mallett TUNDRA By Chad Carpenter BABY BLUES By Jerry Scott & Rick Kirkman JUMP START By Robb Armstrong MACANUDO By Liniers CRANKSHAFT By Tom Batiuk & Chuck Ayers BETWEEN FRIENDS By Sandra Bell-Lundy BIZARRO By Wayno and Piraro BLONDIE By Dean Young & John Marshall DRABBLE By Kevin Fagan MUTTS By Patrick McDonnell PEANUTS By Charles M. Schulz PICKLES By Brian Crane COMICS

LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 E5 ACROSS 1 SUV alternative 6 Say “I do” 9 Tire speed stats 13 Speaker on a dais 15 Rd. crosser 16 “Pick me! Pick me!” 17 Closely held conviction 19 Peeved 20 Top combat pilots 21 Yahoo! alternative 22 Nickel or copper 23 Sport with flying saucers 26 College level HS course 30 Novel thought 31 For all to hear 32 Reward for giving a pawshake, perhaps 36 Limit, with “in” 37 Gem State capital 39 Wide valley 40 Organ that produces insulin 42 Classic breath mint 43 Microwave 44 Ceramic cooker for a classic Boston dish 46 Blue toon in green overalls and a straw hat 50 Shiny and smooth 51 “__ you happy now?” 52 “Poor Things” Oscar winner Stone 56 “Please clap now!” 57 Formal sleeve style 60 Fail to include 61 Sweets 62 __ sauce: seafood condiment 63 Pea homes 64 Colorado Plateau Native 65 Bonkers DOWN 1 Furniture to crash on 2 Rapper Eazy-E’s given name 3 Truth alternative, in a party game 4 Money dispensers 5 Noodle 6 Cries and cries 7 Genesis figure 8 Rock’s __ Leppard 9 Site of many outdoor presidential press conferences 10 Shutterstock image 11 “Little Bunny Foo Foo” lesson, e.g. 12 Tchotchke holder 14 Guides into adulthood 18 Daily Planet reporter Lane 22 “__ me halfway” 23 Short-term trend 24 Short get-to-know-you pieces 25 Precipice 26 Group with a Staying Sharp program 27 Impassioned cry 28 Nickel or copper 29 Cold cuts 32 Insult 33 Old West icon Wyatt 34 Midrange voice 35 Experiment 37 Fozzie, for one 38 Horse feed grains 41 Stink to high heaven 42 Half-__: coffee blend 44 Insult 45 Standing tall 46 Camera lens setting, and a feature of both ends of 17-, 23-, 46-, and 57- Across? 47 San Antonio field trip site 48 Tried again 49 Irish novelist Binchy 52 Eggshell shade 53 Pup of unknown origin 54 Some drama degs. 55 Questlove’s hairstyle 57 Winter malady 58 Dull routine 59 Solo of “Star Wars” ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE 4/29/24 4/29/24 CROSSWORD By Harry Doernberg © 2024 Tribune Content Agency SUDOKU BLISS By Harry Bliss KENKEN Every box will contain a number; numbers depend on the size of the grid. For a 6x6 puzzle, use Nos. 1-6. Do not repeat a number in any row or column. The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares must combine to produce the target number found in the top left corner of the cage using the mathematical operation indicated. A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column. FAMILY CIRCUS By Bil Keane FREE RANGE By Bill Whitehead SPEED BUMP By Dave Coverly DENNIS THE MENACE By Hank Ketcham MARMADUKE By Brad & Paul Anderson Edited By Patti Varol COMICS Aries (March 21-April 19): An idea can be every bit as dramatic as the main character in the drama — in fact, the idea just may be the main character today. Taurus (April 20-May 20): There’s a fine line between an independent spirit and stubbornness. Gemini (May 21-June 21): Worry won’t do any good and could wear on your immune system. Stress dissipates when you have a plan on paper that makes sense to you. Cancer (June 22-July 22): We buy and sell because we’re emotional about money, though this approach is not particularly helpful. Buy and sell based on data. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Change happens when people understand things differently. You’ll earn trust by educating without an agenda. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Chasing things such as happiness and love only makes them run. It may seem the more desirable a thing is, the less attainable it is. Attraction is the way. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): You’re not one for reveling in others’ misfortunes, but the woes of a tragic figure of entertainment or someone in your social circle can make you appreciate your own lot. Scorpio(Oct. 24-Nov. 21): A bit of dialogue and those with surplus will share with those in need, restoring equilibrium. Sagittarius (Nov. 22- Dec. 21): Even if you’ve got no news, reaching out to loved ones is worthwhile. You’ll be amazed at the serendipitous tidbits that surface in unstructured conversations. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): So few people are patient, and many rely on others’ patience and would be left behind or run over without it. The world desperately needs your patience. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In new circumstances, take a moment to orient yourself. Knowing your North Star will be key to getting anywhere at all. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): You’re doing your best with your current understanding. You’ll soon know better, do better and miss the stage you’re at right now. Today’s birthday (April 29): This year you cannot help but push the boundaries of what’s possible. You will be both accomplished and quite humble because the work you do will be more fulfilling than ego gratification. More highlights: Lovely relationships enhance many realms of your life at once. You’ll save record amounts, and a group will make you their leader. Virgo and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers: 3, 2, 14, 1 and 34. Mathis writes her column for Creators Syndicate Inc. The horoscope should be read for entertainment. HOROSCOPE By Holiday Mathis “The Time Travel Club will meet here at 7:30 pm last Thursday.” — graffiti No doubt you wish you could go back for a second shot at deals you booted. At today’s 3NT, South won the first spade with the ace and let the nine of diamonds ride. East took the king and returned a spade. South played low and won the third spade. He had eight tricks, but when he led aheart to his king next, West won and took two spades. Down one. South is safe if West has the king of diamonds but will need a heart trick otherwise. If South must lose the lead twice, he must lose to West early, before the spades are set up. South must win the first spade in dummy and lead a heart to his queen. If West wins to continue spades, South ducks, wins the third spade and finesses in diamonds. He is home when East has no more spades. If West ducks the first heart, South finesses in diamonds. If East wins and returns a spade (or a heart), South is sure of at least nine tricks. You hold: ♠ K 6 4 ♥ 5 3 2 ♦ A Q 10 8 3 ♣ K 10. Your partner opens one club, you bid one diamond and he rebids two clubs. The opponents pass. What do you say? Answer: You should certainly make an effort to reach 3NT, the cheaper ninetrick game, but you can’t bid notrump yourself with no heart stopper. Bid two spades. If your partner bids 2NT next, raise to 3NT. If he goes to three diamonds or rebids three clubs, you will avoid notrump. North dealer N-S vulnerable NORTH ♠ K 6 4 ♥ 5 3 2 ♦ A Q 10 8 3 ♣ K 10 WEST EAST ♠ Q J 10 8 7 ♠ 9 2 ♥ A 7 4 ♥ J 9 8 6 ♦ 7 ♦ K 6 4 ♣ J 6 5 3 ♣ Q 9 8 2 SOUTH ♠ A 5 3 ♥ K Q 10 ♦ J 9 5 2 ♣ A 7 4 NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST 1 ♦ Pass 2 NT Pass 3 NT All Pass Opening lead — ♠ Q Tribune Content Agency BRIDGE By Frank Stewart Dear Amy: My boyfriend’s dad is a CPA, with decades of experience. A few years ago he offered to do my taxes, due to the sudden complexity because of an inheritance. I was using cheap software for very basic returns. He has consistently made mistakes that have cost me quite a bit. He left off amajor account distribution one year; this should have been easily caught by him. When I discussed the mistake with him, he never acknowledged it was due to his error, nor did he offer to pay the interest I owed. This year, I decided to start filing my taxes again on my own. I found out he had given me incorrect advice for all of these years regarding paying my estimated taxes. He told me it was a suggestion to pay the estimated taxes, but it’s actually required! Again, the software would have told him this and also would have given him the penalty amount I owed. Not once did he mention the penalty I owed and it’s not on any of the returns he gave me, after filing. I am upset and feel that he should reimburse me for these mistakes. He offered to do my taxes, he gave me incorrect advice and he never mentioned the penalties I was charged. When I contacted him to tell him I didn’t realize I was being charged penalties, I heard nothing back. My boyfriend believes I should not ask to be reimbursed because although his dad offered to do my taxes, he never charged me for the services rendered. What is your opinion? Taxed Dear Taxed: You get what you pay for. In my opinion, your boyfriend’s father does not owe you for mistakes he made. These tax returns are filed under your name, with information you supply. You should review them and do your due diligence on taxes and penalties before signing and submitting the returns. The IRS requirements on estimated taxes are clear and readily available. Penalties should show up on a line on your return, but when reviewing your return, you might have looked only at the “bottom line.” If you had hired this CPA and signed a contract, he also would have signed your returns, and the IRS could penalize him for making avoidable mistakes, but you are still on the hook. Dear Amy: My wife of 30- plus years won’t stop flirting with a man who works for her. He is also married and flirts back. What bothers me is he has slept with at least one other woman in her office. He told her that his wife refused to have sex with him. I have seen texts from both of them, by accident. They do dinners and meetings outside work when spouses are “unavailable.” I told her this needs to stop. She claims he’s a friend and she needs his help. She refuses marriage counseling. I recently learned that she had an affair with another co-worker. She refuses to talk about that as it was over 20 years. I love her but can’t take this disrespect any longer. In reality, as I near retirement, I feel I have wasted the best years of my life. Any suggestions? Distraught Dear Distraught: The best years of your life could be ahead. You will feel better if you take some of your power back. See a lawyer, commit to counseling and start making choices that are in your best interests. Email questions to Amy Dickinson at askamy@ amydickinson.com. ASK AMY Take charge of tax returns

E6 MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR I made — unfortunately art is not my strong suit and I really couldn’t do the fringe justice. Other than a couple of feedback screeches on the microphone, Yoakam and his band played a tight set. The crowd began filtering out to hike over to the Mane Stage to catch Jelly Roll, which was a shame because Yoakam just kept getting better with “Honky Tonk Man” and “Guitars, Cadillacs” in the back half of the performance. — Vanessa Franko Best multitasker: Jelly Roll Nobody made more of their time at Stagecoach than Jelly Roll, who, before his set on the Mane Stage, turned up for a cooking demo with Guy Fieri and afterward schlepped over to the Palomino to join Nickelback for “Rockstar.” His primary performance was a condensed version of the road show he’s been touring hard over the past couple of years, with bruised yet muscular country hits like “Son of a Sinner” and “Save Me” alongside a medley of the hip-hop classics (including Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend”) that inspired him to become a rapper before he turned to singing. He brought out Maddie & Tae to do a new song, “Liar,” that he said he’d put on his next album if the crowd liked it (and wouldn’t if the crowd didn’t); he also brought out T-Pain, who did “All I Do Is Win” and helped Jelly Roll pay tribute to the late Toby Keith with a take on Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” After “Need a Favor,” Jelly Roll ushered his wife and daughter to the stage — he’d taken his daughter out of school for the day and flown her to California, he happily pointed out — and thanked the audience for changing the trajectory of their lives. Then he did a spiel about proving naysayers wrong that climaxed with his enumerating how many People’s Choice Awards he’s won. Iconic, obviously. — M.W. Worst surprise guest: the wind Jelly Roll brought out T-Pain. Mother Nature brought out winds that were so bad that if you drove in to the festival along the 10 Freeway it was difficult to see the mountains because of the dust. While the worst of the wind was west of the festival site (some gusts reached up to 60 and 70 mph in the Coachella Valley, according to the National Weather Service), the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued an advisory through late Friday. And if you were on the grounds, you could feel all of that windblown dust sticking to you. It did lead to some interesting people-watching, though, as many a cowboy hat was chased across the field. — V.F. A return visit from a Coachella headliner A week after she headlined Coachella — and with an album on the way called “Lasso” to hype — Lana Del Rey turned up at Stagecoach to trill the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” with Paul Cauthen, a hammy up-and-comer with a booming baritone and a televangelist’s fashion sense. No idea what kind of relationship these two might share in real life, but together onstage they brought a touch of slightly creepy glamour to the desert. — M.W. Inside the secret spots that make you feel like you’re not at a country festival Heading into the weekend, George Michael, INXS and the Human League were among the artists I would’ve least expected to hear at Stagecoach. But if you made your way to the password-protected Sonny’s — the ’80s-tastic speakeasy from Attaboy with a light-up dance floor and tropical print wallpaper that could have been ripped from the bedroom of one of the Golden Girls — it was less honkytonk and more new wave. Surrounding Sonny’s was the outdoor tiki-inspired speakeasy Tropicale from PDT, but you still got the same 1980s tunes pumping from inside Sonny’s. The third speakeasy, the Basement, was also back for Stagecoach. It still had black-light posters of Cheech & Chong and neon artwork of an alien with dorm-room vibes, but it’s where you heard alt-rock and mainstream hip-hop from the ’90s. When I stopped by I was greeted with a Sublime sing-along from fellow patrons followed by some Cypress Hill and Eminem. — V.F. One to watch Is it too early to anoint the next Zach Bryan? Wyatt Flores, a 22-year-old singersongwriter from Bryan’s home state of Oklahoma, seemed to be gunning for the job in an impressive set on the Palomino Stage that got the place shouting along at top volume, as folks do with Bryan at his famously rowdy gigs. With a scrapedup voice and a painedlooking expression on his face, Flores sang ragged yet cathartic emo-country songs about bottoming out emotionally; he also added the Fray to the list of 1990s/2000s rock acts shaping the sound of modern Nashville with a punked-up rendition of that band’s “How to Save a Life.” — M.W. A difference of opinion Her dad, comedian Rob Schneider, has lately reoriented his career around railing against what he calls “woke bull—.” But Elle King introduced her cover of Tyler Childers’ “Jersey Giant” with as woke a set of instructions as I heard all day: “Grab someone you know. If not, ask permission.” — M.W. Carin León brings it The rootsy yet polished Mexican singer and songwriter was the first Spanishlanguage act to play a full set at Stagecoach, a sign of both his popularity and that of the regional Mexican music that also took him (and Mexico’s Peso Pluma) to Coachella this month. — M.W. Right where they belong “Very strange to be playing a country festival,” Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger said not long into the band’s late-night set, but it wasn’t really: Nashville has been absorbing Nickelback’s caveman-rock lessons for years, as Kroeger reminded us when he brought out Hardy (who shares Nickelback’s longtime producer, Joey Moi) to yowl his happily knuckledragging “Sold Out.” — M.W. DAY 2 A new face with old songs Post Malone took a swig from a red plastic cup and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his plaid-print western shirt. After signaling for months that he was pivoting to country music, the former (and no doubt future) hip-hop star had come to Stagecoach to make it official, and now here he was standing on the Mane Stage between the band of Nashville pros behind him and an audience of many thousands of country fans in front of him. “My name is Austin Richard Post,” he said. Because he collaborates so widely — this year he’s already appeared on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” — it can be tempting to think of this scraggly charmer with the face tattoos and yearning voice as a dilettante. Yet what struck you about Malone’s Stagecoach set was his commitment to the bit as he covered 11 smartly chosen country tunes with just the right balance of ease and determination: not a dude trying to impress anybody with his rarefied taste but a fan eager to join a community with a rich cultural history. (Has Malone’s warm reception been aided by his identity as a white guy? Uh, you could say that.) His repertoire was appealingly down the middle: hits by the likes of George Strait, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith and Alan Jackson sure to be known by anyone who grew up around a radio over the last couple of decades. His guests were crowd-pleasers too: Brad Paisley, who joined him for “I’m Gonna Miss Her” and Vince Gill’s “One More Last Chance”; Sara Evans, who did “Suds in the Bucket”; and Dwight Yoakam, who came out for “Little Ways.” Malone’s singing wasn’t showy, but it had the right feel, nowhere more so than in a lovely rendition of Randy Travis’ “Three Wooden Crosses.” After that one, he brought Paisley back out to close with Jackson’s deathless “Chattahoochee” — another sign that he understood the assignment. — M.W. Stagecoach’s strangest bedfellows There’s always a wild card or two on the Stagecoach schedule, but the one that seemed most like a fever dream was the teaming of Clint Black, Diplo and Guy Fieri for a cooking demonstration late Saturday afternoon at Guy’s Stagecoach Smokehouse. Would you believe me if I tell you it got weirder? Tshirt cannons were fired into the crowd; Stephanie Izard, of acclaimed L.A. restaurant Girl & the Goat, appeared during the demo; M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” which was co-written by Diplo, played over the P.A. until someone realized that we were at Stagecoach and asked for it to be turned off — the replacement was Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town.” Oh, and Black, who performs at Stagecoach on Sunday, busted out a harmonica for some cooking music. (I promise you that this was not a hallucination brought on by too much sun exposure.) During all of this, there was actually a cooking demo. As Diplo went to work on some mac and cheese, Black and Fieri worked on stuffing a turkey. We learned that Diplo told Fieri he’s a “mac ’n’ cheese and ramen king.” And Black loads his own trailer with his own food when he’s on the road, but when he was young and didn’t have money, he would mix mac ’n’ cheese with chili. When it would start to run out, he would add ketchup. “That’s your stretch ingredient — ketchup? People use Autotune and you use ketchup,” Fieri joked. These days, Black said his specialty is a Sicilian pasta sauce. “I use a variety of meats with it — something mild, something a little stronger and then something really hot,” Black told the crowd. “The secret to making a great Sicilian pasta sauce is the green bell pepper. And then the cherry on top of that is cooking it for a hell of a long time. I’ll cook a sauce for two days before I’ll indulge.” “I told you this guy was a chef,” Fieri told the crowd. — V.F. A blown opportunity for Miranda Lambert Lambert’s headlining set ended strong with a surprise appearance by Reba McEntire, who joined the singer for a rowdy “Mama’s Broken Heart” — “I was thinking it would be pretty badass if I had a feisty redhead come out and sing this song with me tonight,” Lambert said — then stuck around to sing her own “Fancy” before helping Lambert close the show with “Gunpowder & Lead.” For most of this disappointing show, though, Lambert — typically one of Nashville’s wiliest and most precise storytellers — struggled to connect emotionally, coasting with little engagement through both uptempo stuff about drinking and revenge and quieter ballads about family and regret. (“Wranglers,” her so-so new single, failed to move the needle.) Perhaps Lambert was distracted by the high desert winds that kept threatening to blow off her cowboy hat; perhaps she’s spent too much time in Las Vegas, where the undemanding enthusiasm of a residency audience can soften a performer’s game. Either way, this was a reminder — after Church’s polarizing Friday-night gospel experiment — that sticking to the hits isn’t always what you want. — M.W. Bluegrass throwback Trampled by Turtles’ afternoon set at the Palomino Stage was a callback to the early years of Stagecoach. When the fest started in 2007, there was another stage called the Mustang that was dedicated to bluegrass and it’s where Trampled by Turtles made their Stagecoach debut in 2010. It was a rollicking party back then like it was on Saturday. With a setlist that leaned heavily on the Minnesota band’s early albums, it was a welcome nostalgia trip. And 14 years after its release, set closer “Wait So Long” still absolutely shreds. — V.F. Willie Nelson’s legend status: secure Consider this: At 90 years old, Willie Nelson is still finding new ways to phrase his singing and guitar playing in “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.” Flanked by his sons Lukas and Micah, here he complemented the expected oldies — “Whiskey River,” “You Were Always on My Mind,” “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” — with a cover of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe” and welcomed Ernest, Jelly Roll and Charley Crockett to the stage for a loosey-goosey take on “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” — M.W. Boot scootin’ boogie — with a disco ball At Coachella, the space that occupies Diplo’s Honkytonk is the Yuma Tent, a place for pulsing beats presided over by a giant disco ball shaped like a shark. At Stagecoach, Disco Shark is replaced with Disco Horse and there are still pulsing beats, but also some fiddles. (The sparkly equine had some corners of the internet convinced it was a nod to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album cover and it was further proof that she would show up at the fest.) Early in the day there are traditional line dancing demonstrations, a hallmark of the Honkytonk since it started at the fest, but since Diplo has taken over the branding of the dance hall, the space is bringing in more big-name EDM acts in the late afternoon and early evening. And if you wanted to see Dillon Francis on Friday or the Chainsmokers on Saturday (both artists who have played Coachella), you needed to be there well in advance to even get into the tent. — V.F. The surprise guest that really wasn’t Rumors swirled that Beyoncé was going to swing by Stagecoach ever since her big rig and a plane with a “Cowboy Carter” banner flew around the Coachella grounds. And Saturday seemed like the most likely day for an appearance since Willie Nelson, Post Malone and Tanner Adell not only performed on her new album, but that plane was spotted flying overhead again. Plus, there was the whole Backwoods Barbie conspiracy theory that had some members of the Beyhive convinced that the DJs playing Saturday evening in Diplo’s Honkytonk were actually Beyoncé. They were not. — V.F. Partying and cross-country fun [Stagecoach, from E1] DANCERS raise the roof — and more — during Alana Grace’s set at Diplo’s Honkytonk on opening day. Evan Schaben Los Angeles Times POST MALONE delivers a repertoire that is both crowd pleasing and right down the middle. Allen J. Schaben Los Angeles Times JELLY ROLL, right, with his special guest Ernest, presents a condensed version of his road show. Allen J. Schaben Los Angeles Times ELLE KING, daughter of comedian Rob Schneider, performs on the Mane Stage on Day 1. She yelled: “Grab someone you know. If not, ask permission.” Allen J. Schaben Los Angeles Times