Author: ifonge

Pitcher Violet Ascencio struck out 13 to lead Venice High to a 7-2 win over Eagle Rock in the City Section Division I softball championship game on Saturday.Abilgail Ascencio had two doubles and finished with three hits.Players held up a photo of the late Angelo Gasca, Venice’s football coach who also helped coach softball.Division IIArleta 11, Marshall 0: Naomi Tachin struck out four, walked none and led Arleta to the Division II title. Adriana Vasquez went four for four and Brenda Aguilar hit two doubles and finished with three RBIs.Division IVFranklin 17, Huntington Park 5: The Panthers, seeded No. 14,…

Iran claimed to have shot down a U.S. drone on Sunday just hours after American forces fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of a commercial ship trying to circumvent a U.S.-led blockade of the Islamic republic’s ports. The incidents come as Washington and Tehran appear to be nearing a deal that would extend a ceasefire between the two sides, though the exact state of negotiations remains murky. President Trump said over the weekend that he plans to soon make a “final determination” on whether to approve a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire with Iran. That…

LOS ANGELES — In a unanimous 10-0 vote that sent shockwaves through City Hall, the Los Angeles City Council has demanded an immediate investigation by the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the city’s Housing Authority after samples of drinking water in the Watts neighborhood were found to contain elevated levels of lead. The discovery has drawn national comparisons to Flint, Michigan — where a decade-long water contamination crisis poisoned a generation of children — and has raised urgent questions about the safety of tap water across one of America’s largest and most densely populated cities.An analysis of LADWP’s…

When the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan last year to a small North Carolina startup linked to Donald Trump Jr., defense officials and the company tried to tamp down suspicions of cronyism.  The president’s eldest son said through a spokesperson that he wasn’t involved. The Pentagon said Trump Jr. played no role in the record-setting deal. And the startup’s founder told reporters that his company, Vulcan Elements, received no political favoritism. But interviews and Defense Department records reviewed by ProPublica show that the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm linked to Trump Jr. was…

The hype was real. Cooper Flagg has officially been named the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year, taking home the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy after a historic rookie season, the league announced Monday night.A Blue DevilbBattle: FlaggeEdges KnueppelIn one of the most contested rookie races in recent memory, the No. 1 overall pick narrowly beat out fellow Duke standout Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets) for the honor. VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia 76ers) rounded out the top three in a class that lived up to its NBA Draft hype.Joining Mavericks royaltyFlagg becomes just the third player in Dallas Mavericks history to earn the award,…

The long-awaited spinoff of the Sony animated Spider-Verse movies is officially here. Spider-Noir is now on Amazon Prime, and you can watch all episodes in both “authentic black and white” and “true hue full color” formats. In a recent interview, the Spider-Noir show’s creator, Oren Uziel, said the decision to release it in both formats was made early in the process and required extensive preparation. He explained, “The experience at the end is radically different, and I don’t think I expected it to matter that much.”  Having seen the first two episodes of Spider-Noir, one in black and white and…

SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.AAARescue efforts at the flooded cave in Laos have turned fully towards the two trapped miners whose whereabouts in the complex system of tunnels and chambers remains unknown.The trapped villagers are Bay and Lup, two unemployed young men from the tiny village of Nampha, a few kilometres by rocky path from the cave site, which is still teeming with volunteers and rescue crews.Bay, who is still a teenager, and Lup, who is 33, went down the cave to fossick for gold at about 7pm…

Vaibhav Suryavanshi‘s dream run in IPL 2026 may have ended with Rajasthan Royals falling short in Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans, but the 15-year-old has already established himself as the biggest revelation of the season. Following his extraordinary performances throughout the tournament, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has shared his thoughts on the youngster’s future, expressing confidence that Indian fans would eventually love to see him represent the country in Test cricket while urging everyone to avoid placing unnecessary pressure on the teenage star.Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s brilliance lights up IPL 2026 despite Rajasthan’s exitSuryavanshi enjoyed a season that will be remembered for…

Conor here: It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that there is a concerted effort taking place to wreck American food production. There is now the following taking place: Iran War sending fertilizer prices through the roof. Tech companies agricultural land grab for data centers, which will drive up electricity prices and strain water supplies. Increased foreign purchases of US farmland. Deportations causing farm labor issues. And the mother of all challenges: climate change. I’m probably forgetting a few other examples, but what conclusions can we draw from this? Is it a war on small farmers to force the remaining few…

Former Texas sheriff’s deputy Renard Spivey had a long television career as the courtroom bailiff on the show “Justice for All with Judge Cristina Perez.” In 2019, his life changed drastically when he was arrested for his wife’s murder. Shortly after 3 a.m. on July 28, 2019, police were called to the Houston home of Renard and his 52-year-old wife Patricia. When first responders arrived, they found Patricia dead in the closet with multiple gunshot entry and exit wounds. Renard, 63, had a bullet wound in his leg. He told first responders that he and his wife had been arguing…