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B-1 pullout shows wily tactics of a weaker foe

Outgunned Tehran uses threat of unconventional attacks to sow chaos

BY GREG MILLER

LONDON — In a speech to U.S. forces last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed President Donald Trump's triumphant descriptions of Iran as a vanquished foe.

The United States has "destroyed" Iran's navy, air force, leadership and "entire defense base," Hegseth said, crippling Tehran's conventional capabilities and leaving its shattered "nuclear ambitions laid bare for the world."

Days later, American B-1 bombers secretly began leaving a high-security military base in the British countryside, fleeing what U.S. officials described as the threat of a potentially catastrophic "swarm drone" attack planned by Iran.

The evacuation from Royal Air Force Fairfield — a British air base in use since the 1944 D-Day invasion — underscored Iran's continuing ability to wield the threat of asymmetric warfare despite being militarily outmatched by the U.S. and Israel.

Tehran has used the threat of unconventional attacks not just to instigate the hasty relocation of a dozen long-range U.S. bombers but also to inflict chaos on global energy markets and threaten the safety of Air Force One — all against a drumbeat of declarations by Trump administration officials that the war has been won.

Iran's use of unconventional tactics — or in some cases merely the threat of doing so — has enabled it to claim a series of remarkable symbolic and tactical victories, security experts said.

SEE IRAN ON A12

President Donald Trump welcomes Ken Paxton to the stage Wednesday night at a campaign rally in San Antonio. Paxton, Senate nominee from Texas and the state's attorney general, is in a close race with Democratic nominee James Talarico.

WIN MONANEE/GETTY IMAGES

ELECTION 2026

Trump returns to Texas, where GOP is sweating

Party is investing heavily to defend a state won comfortably two years ago

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BY KATHERINE DOYLE

President Donald Trump headed to Texas for the second time in less than a week — and the third time in less than a month — amid Republican worries about losing support from the blue-collar workers and Latinos who helped build their win-

ning coalition in 2024.

Trump headlined a rally Wednesday evening at Freeman Coliseum on San Antonio's East Side alongside Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton and Carlos De La Cruz, the Republican running in the newly drawn 35th Congressional District. Hispanic voters are expected to be critical to Republicans' efforts to hold congressional seats in the region. Polls show the party losing ground with those voters and facing unexpectedly tight contests across Texas, including in

Paxton's Senate race and several House districts.

Republicans are spending heavily to defend a state Trump won comfortably two years ago. But voters who turned to him out of frustration with the cost of living are still waiting for relief, and some are growing disillusioned with their choices.

Jeremie Trevino, a 33-year-old Hispanic and Filipino veteran and podcaster who twice voted for Trump, said he wasn't sure how — or even if — he would vote in the Senate race.

"I'm going to take one from

Joe Rogan and say I'm politically homeless on that," Trevino, a San Antonio native, said in an interview. "I definitely align with Ken Paxton on his Second Amendment view, because that's big for me. However, a politician is a politician at the end of the day," describing the decision as a choice between "the lesser of two evils."

Trevino said he plans to vote for Democratic Rep. Henry SEE TEXAS ON A6

Border counties: Labor shortages shake up House races in Texas. A4

A new Camp David in Fla.

TRUMP WANTS GOLF

RESORT AS A RETREAT

Federal government

would get part of property

BY MERYL KORNFIELD

Much of President Donald Trump's second term has focused on changes to the nation's capital.

But his ambitions to remake the physical architecture of the presidency transcend Washington: Trump wants to transform his West Palm Beach golf club into a presidential retreat modeled after Camp David.

The plan calls for a parcel of the private club to be designated a permanent, official sanctuary for foreign leaders and future U.S. presidents, designed to host international summits and house presidents when they take vacations in Florida, according to a proposal presented to Palm Beach County officials by Trump International Golf Club's legal counsel. Future presidents would also be offered comped memberships to the Trump club.

"Just as Camp David, Windsor Castle, or the Elysee Palace are known worldwide, so too will the Presidential Golf Course in Palm Beach County," Harvey Oyer, a lawyer representing the Trump course, wrote to the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners in a letter last month. Oyer asked the county, which owns the property the course is on, to provide a piece of the land to the federal government, and he promised Trump would pay for the construction of a presi

SEE TRUMP ON A6

Israelis still scarred by Oct. 7 weigh Netanyahu's future

Some survivors see this month's election as a long-delayed reckoning

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BY LIOR SOROKA

TEL AVIV — Three years after the deadliest day in Israel's history, some survivors, including ex-hostages, and their families see an election later this month as a long-overdue political reckoning for the officials who were in charge when the country let down its defenses.

After Hamas attackers breached the border, and unleashed bloodshed and mayhem on Oct. 7, 2023, some people in the hardest-hit communities emerged as fierce critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government, which clung to power.

"I'm terrified of these elections," said Merav Svirsky, 45, whose parents, Orit, 70, and Rafi, 71, were killed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Beeri, near the Gaza border, and whose 38-year-old brother, Itay, was taken hostage into Gaza, where he was killed by his captors, according to an Israel Defense Forces investigation.

She and other critics have demanded accountability for the security failures that allowed the carnage and for the prolonged ordeal of hostages that followed.

"I'm terrified that the government that brought this destruction upon us will remain in power," Svirsky said.

"We paid the heaviest prices," she said. "It cannot be that the person who led us into the worst massacre this country has ever seen, which cost me the lives of my family, continues to lead this nation."

Netanyahu, who is now fighting for political survival in the Oct. 27 vote, has blamed Israel's security chiefs for those failures, while refusing to accept personal responsibility or authorize an investigation by an independent commission.

The prime minister has argued that his leadership delivered a fierce and effective battlefield response that has reshaped the Middle East to Israel's advantage, in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Iran — a view some Oct. 7 survivors also hold.

Talik Gvili, whose son, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, was killed on Oct. 7 and whose body was held in Gaza, recently joined Netanyahu's party to run for office and is expected to win a seat in the next Knesset, Israel's parliament. "I want a strong leader," Gvili said in a video announcing her candidacy.

The Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took 251 SEE ISRAEL ON AII

DAWOLD ABU ALIKAS/REUTERS

A Palestinian man works amid the rubble of a damaged building in Gaza City this week. Three years after Oct. 7, Israeli strikes in the devastated enclave continue and deaths continue to climb. Story, A10

Tenn. is told to preserve evidence in the Pike case

In Gaza, violence grinds on

Convicted killer survived execution, now described as 'angry and confused'

BY VIOLET JIRA

AND KATIE METTLER

NASHVILLE — A Tennessee judge on Wednesday ordered state officials to preserve all evidence related to the botched attempt to execute inmate Christa Pike, who survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital last week and remains hospitalized in Nashville.

Pike, 50, was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 30. Her sentence was handed down decades ago for her role as a teenager in the torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995.

But the drugs, which officials expected to kill Pike within minutes, did not work, and state officials rushed her to a hospital for lifesaving medical care.

Wednesday's hearing in Nashville was the first court appearance her lawyers have made since the failed execution. They asked Judge I'Ashea Myles in Da

IN THE NEWS

What money can't buy Since Labor Day, Republicans have pumped half a billion dollars into competitive House and Senate races. The polls haven't moved in their direction. A7

Cutting corners ICE recruits received a shortened training course on immigration laws and real-world scenarios, emails show. A2

THE NATION

A Washington girl

has asked the Supreme Court to block rules allowing trans athletes on female sports teams. A2

Fraternities at the University of Arizona face investigation over alleged misconduct. A3

Flávio Bolsonaro, son of an imprisoned former president, is likely to be Brazil's next leader. A13 A Marine's arrest on suspicion of killing a Japanese woman in Okinawa has once again inflamed tensions. A14

Children are being automatically enrolled in Trump Accounts, a program aimed at giving kids a stake in the stock market. A18 Caregiving takes many forms. What begins as casual help can become a major commitment of time and money. A18

STYLE

David Nail might be Nashville's best singer you've never heard of — and he's tired of being called "underrated." B1

SPORTS

An offensive line in flux and more X-factors for the Commanders in a must-win game against the Giants. B7

THE REGION

The fraud trial in

Alexandria of a former

CIA official raises ques-

tions about the agency's

vetting measures. B13

LOCAL LIVING

Most of us have too much stuff. An A-to-Z guide to getting rid of odds, ends and everything in between.

BUSINESS NEWS....A18

COMICS....B4

OBITUARIES....B17

OPINION PAGES....A15

TELEVISION....B6

WORLD NEWS....A10

CONTENT © 2026 The Washington Post Year 149, No. 54728

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CORRECTION

• An Oct. 3 A-section article about Michigan's sex offender registry incorrectly said that Larry Nassar, a former sports physician who sexually abused female gymnasts, had been one of more than 20,000 sex offenders who were removed from Michigan's public registry, based on information from the Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Nassar. After the article was published online, Eaton County Prosecutor Douglas R. Lloyd said: "It was an error because [Nassar] was never placed on the registry to begin with. My office contends that he should have been." Nassar is serving a 60-year prison sentence in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Washington Post is committed to correcting errors that appear in the newspaper. Those interested in contacting the paper for that purpose can:

Email: corrections@washpost.com.

Call: 202-334-6000, and ask to be connected to the desk involved — National, Foreign, Metro, Style, Sports, Business or any of the weekly sections.

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Trump gets snagged in 'the weave' and hands Democrats a target

President Donald Trump dances onstage Monday during a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska.

NATHAN HOWARD/REUTERS

Karen Tumulty

THE TAKE

Donald Trump describes his unscripted, me- andering speaking style as "the weave." He has boasted: "I'll talk about like nine different things, and they all come back brilliantly together."

But occasionally, the president gets tied up as tightly as Gulliver in all those threads that he has spun.

He confuses his allies and leaves plenty of room for his adversaries to interpret — or misinterpret — as they will.

Democrats by now have learned — and sometimes adopted — Trump's tactic of creating and amplifying false storylines when it serves their purposes. But rarely has he handed them such an opportunity as with his megaton blooper at a packed rally Monday evening in Grand Island, Nebraska.

In an apparent reference to gas prices, though he hadn't explicitly mentioned them, Trump said: "It's just artificial. It's a little bit high. It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They can take out a city. Let them take, let them take out Los Angeles; let them take out San Diego. That's — this is a very small price to pay."

No speechwriter would have crafted those words that way. It takes some attention to context and no small indulgence of syntax to understand Trump

was claiming that high energy costs are a temporary necessity to prevent an attack by Iran on major U.S. cities.

But the approving roar of the MAGA crowd suggested that his devoted supporters believed Trump had said he would welcome as a "small price" the annihilation of two heavily Democratic metropolitan areas with a combined population of more than 16 million people.

It didn't help that Trump has a long record of animosity toward California. He withheld disaster aid to assist in recovery after 2025 wildfires, overstepped legal bounds by deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles during protests over immigration raids and has called the nation's populous state "a disgrace to our country."

Leading what became a chorus of denunciations by Democrats, California Gavin Newsom wrote on social media: "After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego. He is deranged and dangerous."

The two cities' mayors joined in, with Karen Bass of Los Angeles saying Trump's comments "potentially compromise our safety" and San Diego's Todd Gloria pronouncing: "San Diego is not collateral damage. We are not expendable."

Others, including former vice president Kamala Harris, found opportunities to raise money off Trump's comments.

But even some Republicans criticized Trump's comments. Among them was San Diego County Board of Supervisors member Jim Desmond, who has been endorsed by Trump in his bid for an open House seat. "I vehemently disagree with President Trump's comments,"

Desmond posted on the social media platform X. "No American city is expendable, and no American family should ever be treated as collateral damage."

On a local Fox affiliate in San Diego, one news anchor announced grimly that Trump had called for "a foreign adversary to attack America," which was "something an American president has never, ever done or said."

Not until Tuesday did the White House move aggressively to put out the fire the president had started. Communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X: "The media freak-out over President Trump's comments is not rooted in reality. He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn't been stopped."

Cheung was backed up by subsequent nonpartisan analysis. "While his wording is confusing, a more plausible interpretation is that he meant the war would prevent Iran from posing a threat to U.S. cities, and higher gas prices are a small sacrifice to make. He's made versions of those points before, using similar language," FactCheck.org wrote.

But the damage that Trump himself had inflicted with the speaking style he so often touts had already been done. In today's world, an old saying often misattributed to Mark Twain might be rewritten this way: "Misinformation can travel halfway around the world while the fact-checkers are putting on their shoes."

Justices weigh in on fight over Guam munitions-disposal site

A 2017 military exercise off the coast of Guam. The Air Force has been exploding bombs, tear gas and more on Tarague Beach since 1982.

STAFF SGT. AARON RICHARDSON/PACIFIC AIR FORCES PUBLIC AFFAIRS

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BY JUSTIN JOUVENAL

Nonprofit group argues against exploding cache, citing a raft of risks

The Supreme Court wrestled Wednesday with how to resolve a dispute over the disposal of military munitions on a Guam beach that environmentalists say threatens the island's main water source, the surrounding environment and an important cultural site.

The justices appeared to think that the Air Force and the group challenging the disposal, Prutehi Guahan, had made compelling points during roughly $1 \frac{1}{2}$ hours of questioning, indicating it might be difficult for the high court to arrive at a ruling.

The case turns on technical legal questions, but at stake is an idyllic stretch of coastline that is home to migratory birds, sea turtles and a 3,000-year-old village that was home to the Indigenous Chamorro people. The bombing site also sits atop an aquifer that provides drinking water for more than 80 percent of the people living on the island, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean.

The Air Force has been exploding bombs, tear gas, grenades and other munitions, including some that date to the World War II era, on Tarague Beach since 1982. The Air Force has been renewing its permit to continue the disposal every three years. The beach is part of Andersen Air Force Base on Guam's north coast.

The current fight kicked off in 2021 when the Defense Department applied for a new permit.

Prutehi Guahan, a nonprofit group that aims to preserve the island's habitat and cultural history, sued the next year, saying the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) required the military to perform an environmental review to obtain a permit.

A federal court dismissed the lawsuit, but a divided appeals court ruled it could go forward. The Supreme Court agreed to take up an appeal by the government in March, setting the stage for Wednesday's arguments.

Prutehi Guahan said in court filings that the destruction of the munitions in open pits sends shrapnel into the ocean and surrounding area and leaches toxic chemicals into the ground. The group says the beach is popular with local residents.

The group also said the government should examine new technologies that could lessen the impact of the disposal on the environment.

The government argued in court filings that the lawsuit was premature, since Guam's Environmental Protection Agency has yet to issue a permit. It also said it did not have to perform an environmental review because another federal law governing the handling of hazardous waste already required environmental analysis.

The justices peppered Assistant Solicitor General Sopan Joshi on both points, but several justices were particularly strong in questioning whether the government's reading of the law left any room to legally challenge the issuance of a permit.

"The Air Force's action is never final so never reviewable?" Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. told Joshi, summing up his take on the government's position.

But some of the justices also expressed discomfort with allowing groups to file a lawsuit when an agency has simply put forward a proposal to do something. Joshi said it could open the “floodgates” to rounds of

litigation.

"You're saying that the regulated body that submits the proposal actually has engaged in a final agency action," Justice Clarence Thomas told Prutehi Guahan's attorney, referring to the standard required to legally challenge a government move. "And I asked you for any other examples that you might have of the regulated body's request or application being considered a final agency action."

The attorney, Caroline Anne Flynn, admitted she knew of no other.

The high court will probably issue a decision before the end of the term in June or July.

Girl asks Supreme Court to block Wash. state rules allowing trans athletes

ARON SCHWARTZ/REUTERS

The U.S. Supreme Court in D.C., seen last month.

BY JULIAN MARK

A high school student in Washington state on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to block rules there allowing transgender athletes to play on female sports teams, signaling the next front in legal battles over trans women in competitive athletics.

The request, which was made in an emergency application filed by a high school athlete and her mother, is the first time the issue has returned to the high court since June, when the justices upheld state bans on transgender women playing on women's sports teams.

Although that decision allowed states to impose bans, the court's majority opinion acknowledged that it left unanswered the question of whether officials could set their own policies and allow trans girls and women to participate in female sports.

The application Tuesday alleges that Washington's policies are discriminatory and violate Title IX. The filing states that the high school athlete — identified by the initials "K.M.K." — was sexually assaulted during a wrestling match after being "assigned to wrestle a male."

Without the high court's intervention, the filing states that K.M.K. and her mother, Stephanie Brown, "will suffer irreparable harms" because the student would have to miss the wrestling season starting next month. K.M.K. was 16 years old as of August, according to court records.

"High-school athletics are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities," the filing states. K.M.K. is "already missing soccer, and she will soon miss her girls' wrestling season" because of the policy, it continues.

The justices could rule in the coming days or weeks.

"This would make a consistent body of law for the entire country," said John Bursch, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal nonprofit organization representing the plaintiffs.

In her petition to the Supreme Court, K.M.K.'s attorneys wrote that her opponent in the wrestling match, who was "stronger and more powerful," touched her inappropriately.

K.M.K.'s attorneys argue that the incident is proof of the safety risks inherent in allowing trans athletes to play on female sports teams.

Attorneys for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the defendant, noted in court filings that the Pierce County prosecuting attorney, following an investigation, declined to file criminal charges in connection with the incident.

The prosecutor concluded that "physical contact was a foreseeable, albeit penalizable, byproduct of the sport," the association wrote in court filings.

"The attempt to dress up a wrestling penalty into a Title IX sexual assault is illustrative of the hyperbole fueling Plaintiffs' claims," the WIAA attorneys wrote.

Attorneys for the both the WIAA and the state did not respond to requests for comment about the Supreme Court petition.

The legal issues at play may nevertheless revive the issue at the Supreme Court. Washington is among 23 states that allow transgender female athletes to compete on women's teams.

In June, the justices ruled that West Virginia and Idaho could ban trans athletes from playing on girls' and women's sports teams.

Those bans, the court held, did not violate the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection of the laws. The court also concluded that bans did not offend Title IX, a landmark 1972 anti-discrimination law involving education.

Now, the court confronts a different question, said Ryan H. Nelson, an associate professor of law at South Texas College of Law at Houston.

"In June, the Supreme Court said states may keep transgender girls off girls' teams," Nelson wrote in an email. "This application argues they must."

K.M.K.'s attorneys argue that Washington's athletics rules are interfering with Brown's constitutional right to direct her daughter's upbringing. She is further asking the court to order the state to notify her if she will compete with a transgender athlete.

"In contact sports like wrestling, parents have the right to decide whether their daughters will compete against males," K.M.K.'s attorneys wrote.

THE NATION

ICE sped up deputized officers' training, emails show

one week.

Law enforcement officials detain a man in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. Partnerships between ICE and local police have been expanding.

NICK OXFORD/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Police who helped agency got reduced instruction on immigration laws

BY SILVIA FOSTER-FRAU

The Department of Homeland Security sped up training for police officers making immigration arrests by scaling back instruction on the nation's immigration laws and real world scenarios they might encounter, according to emails reviewed by The Washington Post.

The Trump administration reduced training for officers whose departments agreed to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from four weeks of in-person education to 40 hours of virtual training last year as part of a broader effort to expand the agency's footprint across the nation.

While The Post and others have reported on the shortened training, relatively little has been known about what components had been trimmed.

Watchdog group American Oversight obtained a trove of documents through a Freedom of Information Act request that included an email sent last February from an ICE official to David Venturella and Todd Lyons. The official's name was redacted. Lyons was ICE's acting director at the time and resigned in May; Venturella was an adviser and now leads the agency.

In the correspondence, the official described how teachings on immigrant classifications and removal charges would be "truncated" to meet the requests of unnamed individuals who requested that the course be shortened. Instruction providing officers with real world scenarios they might encounter while out in the field was eliminated altogether.

"The records we uncovered are so concerning because we are getting a front-row seat to how the process to educate and train the officers that are now performing such incredibly sensitive work is being completely gutted," said Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight.

The partnerships between local police and ICE, known as 287(g) agreements, have expanded exponentially since last January. Under the Biden administration, ICE had 135 active agreements across 16 states. Now, there are more than 2,600 agencies signed up. Most of the accords provide departments compensation in exchange for training officers to help arrest people for civil immigration violations during routine activities like traffic stops.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the changes to the training program, but it has previously praised local agencies for their work collaborating with ICE on

arrests.

"We have had tremendous success when local law enforcement work with us," the agency said in a written statement to The Post in August.

In the email sent last year, the ICE official notes that the agency was initially instructed to cut the four-week training program to two weeks, but was then asked to trim it further to

"Some of the materials that were removed, the subject matter was seemingly designed to help the officers understand whether or not they have a lawful basis to act against someone in the first place," Chukwu said. "So for example, who is actually a citizen, what is their immigration status, what grounds could possibly justify seeking their removal?"

The ICE official listed 10 topics that remain in the abbreviated 40-hour program, including use of force policy, liability and civil rights law, immigrant detention and "cross-cultural issues," among others. The official says the recruits would have one test per training day.

Five hours after the email was sent, Venturella responded with a one-word reply: "Thanks."

Police officers are not the only ones whose training on enforcing immigration laws was significantly shortened after President Donald Trump returned to office. Training for new ICE officers was also reduced. Their 72-day instruction program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, was trimmed to a 42-day course.

The Trump administration reverted to the longer training program earlier this year after Democrats and former federal law enforcement officials questioned whether the recruits were being rushed on to the job without adequate preparation.

ICE received tens of billions of dollars in additional funds under Trump and has hired thousands of new officers. The agency has been making record numbers of arrests, and a Post analysis of government data showed most of those ICE is detaining do not have a criminal record.

Parents of 21 are charged with child abuse in alleged surrogacy scheme

DAVID BUTOW/LOS ANGELES TIMES/GETTY IMAGES

Authorities allege that Silvia Zhang, center left, and Guojun Xuan, center right, kept their children in a "house of horrors."

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California couple accused of recruiting surrogates under false pretenses

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BY HANNAH KNOWLES

The couple monitored more than a dozen of their surrogate-born children from 32 cameras spread around their Los Angeles-area mansion, authorities say, watching from a live CCTV feed as nannies meted out brutal punishment.

The father, walking in on a nanny striking one child, encouraged them to hit harder and joined in, according to law enforcement. The mother allegedly laughed from her office as she watched a child get beaten with a shoe.

And in one room not under surveillance, officials say, children's screams could be heard.

"This house could only be described as a house of horrors," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Tuesday as he announced child abuse charges against the couple, Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang.

Xuan, 66, and Zhang, 39, are accused of recruiting surrogates from around the country to bear their children under false pretenses and then raising those children in an abusive home. The case has drawn national attention since authorities began investigating more than a year ago, with surrogates seeking answers and going viral online.

The couple had at least 21 children, but not all of them were living at the house when authorities began investigating last year. The defendants are accused of abusing at least 14.

The motive behind the surrogacy operation remains mysterious. Asked about it Tuesday, Hochman said it is part of an ongoing investigation.

With the couple under scrutiny before the charges were announced, a lawyer for Xuan, Mitchell Krems, told local news outlet ABC 7 that the defendant was driven by "his altruism."

"The reason he has all these children is because he wants them to contribute to society," Krems said. Xuan, he added, wanted to spend his wealth to educate his children so "they can be the philosophers, the physicians, the researchers and the inventors that help society."

Zhang told the Wall Street Journal last year that "we never sell our babies" and "take care of them very well."

Krems did not respond to questions on Tuesday after authorities announced charges against his client. It was not immediately clear whether Zhang has a lawyer.

The couple faces one count each of conspiracy to commit child abuse. Xuan, who is also charged with child abuse and other crimes, faces a maximum sentence of more than 17 years in prison if convicted, officials said. Zhang — who is also charged with other offenses including dissuading a witness — faces more than 11 years imprisonment if convicted.

Xuan and Zhang operated a surrogacy agency, Mark Surrogacy Investment, out of their 10,000-plus-square-foot mansion in Arcadia, California, starting in 2021, according to authorities. They paid surrogates as much as \$135,000 to have their children and often deceived them, officials allege.

One surrogate was told that Zhang was "a single mother struggling to conceive," according to charging documents. Another got pregnant not knowing the couple already had more than a dozen children.

They tracked the children — ranging in age from 2 months old to more than 4 years old — on a spreadsheet and employed nannies to supervise them. At “learning centers” in the mansion, the children sat at desks for several hours a day, charging documents say.

The discipline they allegedly received was “nothing short of absolute physical abuse, beatings and punishment on a daily basis,” Hochman, said at a news conference, calling the case “unprecedented.”

Authorities grew suspicious of the couple after they brought a 2-month-old infant to the hospital with a head injury in May 2025. A nanny had struck the child in the head, but Zhang falsely told hospital staff that the baby had fallen off a bed, according to charging documents.

Around that time, Xuan and Zhang met with the nannies to urge that they not leave visible marks.

Officials said it took time to put together the complex case.

Hochman said prosecutors will be seeking \$100 million bail due to the seriousness of the charges, the defendants' wealth and concerns that they pose a flight risk. Authorities have also filed charges against one of the nannies but said they have not been able to arrest her.

University of Arizona halts fraternity activities amid reports of misconduct

The University of Arizona's dean of students informed students about the activities suspension Monday.

2011 PHOTO BY CHRIS CARLSON/NP

BY AMY B WANG

AND AOIFE WALSH

The University of Arizona has suspended activities for many of its fraternities amid several reports of misconduct less than two months into the school year, Chrissy Lieberman, dean of students for the Tucson-based university, said Monday in a letter to students.

The abrupt suspension follows a warning that Suresh Garimella, the university's president, issued to fraternity presidents in August, after an "egregious" number of misconduct violations reported in the spring, Lieberman wrote.

The behavior allegedly included physical assault, abuse of drugs and alcohol, hazing and creating unsafe environments for students. Some cases are under criminal investigation.

Garimella “made it clear that the university will not tolerate further violations that put our students in harm’s way. ... Despite [those] expectations, here we are,” Lieberman wrote. “Reports continue to come in regularly from parents, students, and the local community.”

The letter did not offer further details on the nature of the new allegations, but it noted that the potential violations involved nearly half of the 21 groups governed by the school's Interfraternity Council (IFC). Campus police did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.

At least five of the IFC chapters that had already been put on some form of activities suspension now are under investigation by the university for “endangering behaviors,” according to the school’s fraternity and sorority site. One fraternity was accused of forcing new members to “consume large quantities of alcohol and live goldfish” last fall. Three of those chapters are accused of violating state or federal laws.

Chapter leaders were warned at a meeting in August that the university would act if the behavior continued, Lieberman wrote in Monday's letter. She said the dean's office is "at capacity" for the number of cases it can investigate simultaneously and noted that "the value of the Greek experience is under scrutiny nationwide."

A former Cornell University student last month filed a civil lawsuit against the school, alleging she was sexually assaulted and raped at a fraternity house in 2024. The lawsuit has sparked a national outcry over Cornell's handling of the allegations and prompted student protests. Sal-

ly Q. Yates, a former acting U.S. attorney general, will lead an independent review into Cornell's handling of the allegations, including disciplinary decisions and oversight of Greek life, a new committee of the university's board of trustees said Tuesday.

In a separate case, a former fraternity leader from Northern Arizona University was sentenced to two months in jail last week for his role in a hazing that led to a fellow student's death, the Associated Press reported.

At the University of Arizona, Lieberman wrote that all interfraternity chapters are on "activities suspension" until she can hold mandatory meetings with advisers. The suspension, she said, "prohibits hosting, attending, participating in, and sponsoring any organizational activities."

Chapters that were previously in good standing will regain that standing after a chapter adviser has attended at least one meeting. Lieberman wrote.

University of Arizona spokesman Nick Prevenas said in an email Wednesday that the school "has been proactive in its efforts to prevent hazing," citing campuswide prevention initiatives announced in July. Those included moving the already required hazing prevention education for new fraternity and sorority members earlier in the rush process, as well as hiring a new student affairs professional tasked with strengthening hazing prevention programming on campus.

GABRIEL V. CARDENAS/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

"We didn't think this administration was going to crack down on undocumented workers that hard," said David Reyna, owner of Reyna Homes LLC and Riverside Building Materials, in Rio Grande City, Texas.

Border counties that swung for Trump may swing back

---

Labor scarcity tied to ICE arrests could shake up a trio of House races

---

BY TEO ARMUS AND FEDERICA COCCO

RIO GRANDE CITY, TEXAS — Across his two businesses in this once-booming border town, David Reyna sees signs of ramped-up immigration enforcement everywhere.

Fewer customers are coming to his lumberyard. Even fewer people are calling his upstairs real estate business. And the house he is building? It is stalled, a set of concrete slabs and wooden planks untouched for months.

"We didn't think this administration was going to crack down on undocumented workers that hard," Reyna said, but "it is completely devastating the local construction industry. It's grinding it down to a halt."

That slowdown has been weighing heavily on the 50-year-old as this slice of South Texas could determine control of Congress this fall. The Rio Grande Valley is carved up into three highly competitive House contests, all of which could be key in next month's midterm elections. The region is also pivotal in unusually competitive races for Senate and governor.

Voters like Reyna, a second-generation Mexican American, helped Trump flip this overwhelmingly Latino area for the first time in generations, in part due to the president's promise to lower the cost of living and secure the border. Trump is set to rally for GOP candidates in San Antonio on Wednesday.

But here, in a part of the country that depends on illegal immigrant labor to fuel the economy, a different part of Trump's immigration agenda — his effort to deport people already in the United States — has come into conflict with his economic agenda. And interviews with more than two dozen business leaders, local officials and economists suggest what polls show: Republicans may suffer as a result.

A sharp uptick in arrests by federal agents has taken undocumented immigrants out of local labor forces that depend on them, from construction sites in new subdivisions — building permits are down sharply across the state — to shrimping boats on the Gulf Coast. A ban on commercial driver's licenses for some immigrants has left the trucking industry hurting, too.

The effects have been severe enough that some business owners traveled to Washington earlier this year to warn Trump administration officials that raids on construction sites could lose them the midterm elections.

As the government continues arresting laborers who are in the U.S. illegally, many South Texas voters who backed the president appear to be shifting back to Democrats.

More than one-fifth of Hispanic Trump voters in Texas said they would not support a generic GOP House candidate, according to a Cook Political Report-TelevisaUnivision poll last month. The same pollster found that nearly two-thirds of all Hispanic voters in Texas would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supports Trump's deportation policies.

Reyna still keeps "Make America Great Again" caps in his office, but he counts himself among the skeptics.

"The whole valley was red," Reyna said, "and now it's going to be blue."

---

More ICE arrests, fewer workers

Trump broke through the Rio Grande Valley's long-standing allegiance to Democrats by vowing a hardened border and a strengthened economy.

Like others here, Reyna said he was drawn in by the president's promises to tame inflation and bring down taxes. He was also frightened by people running through his small ranch in a gated community after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico.

"The borders were wide open" under Joe Biden's presidency, he said, "and we saw what that meant firsthand."

Starr County, the hilly scrubland in the Rio Grande Valley where Reyna lives and runs his businesses, had been steadily trending toward the GOP for years.

Trump flipped it in 2024, breaking a Democratic presidential winning streak that began in 1896.

Reyna acknowledged that Trump had vowed to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally — a cheap source of labor on which his industry has become reliant.

But he didn't expect the ramped-up enforcement that swept up people without criminal records. "I don't think anybody saw that coming," he said.

Arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in South Texas "at large" — in

Texas employers are asking for a record number of foreign seasonal workers

Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Workers requested by type of seasonal work visa, rolling totals over the last 12 months

Employers must show they could not find U.S. workers before applying.

Source: Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification

As arrests climbed, construction jobs in Brownsville-Harlingen kept falling

Annual percent change in payroll jobs in construction in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

homes, at worksites, during immigration check-ins, or in other public spaces — rose more than twentyfold, from about 400 in 2024 to more than 9,000 in 2026, according to a Washington Post analysis of government data.

Since Trump returned to office, nearly 80 percent of those arrested at large by the agency's Harlingen field office had no criminal records.

The fallout has been devastating to the subcontractors that build new houses and strip malls in this sprawling region, said Mario Guerrero, president of the South Texas Builders' Association.

Most U.S. citizen construction workers who live in the area often travel north to San Antonio or Houston for jobs with higher wages, he said. Undocumented

The Valley's ICE office arrested more people on the street last month than in all of 2023 and 2024 combined

Arrests made in the community by ICE's Hartlingen field office, which covers the Rio Grande Valley, per month.

Source: Immigration Customs and Enforcement

Excludes people transferred from jails or picked up at the border.

Percent change in farm jobs since Q1 2025

— South Texas — Texas — United States

workers, who were willing to work for less, rushed to the industry — and federal officials didn't seem to do much about it.

Trump has long pointed to the impact of illegal immigration on lowering wages as a basis for the crackdown. But many of his supporters here say American workers have not filled the gap, resulting in delays of several months on construction projects.

"It's easy to see a lot of jobsites aren't moving the way they normally do," Reyna said.

Construction payrolls in the Brownsville-Harlingen area are down 5 percent from a year ago, even as Texas builders keep hiring, and in Cameron County, the labor force has shrunk by nearly 2 percent as people have left or stopped looking for work, according to a Post analysis of U.S.

The sharpest impact has been in agriculture. Agricultural jobs in the four counties fell 13 percent in the year to March, one of the steepest drops of any Texas county with a sizable farm workforce, while farm employment across the state held steady. The decline began years before the current crackdown, but it accelerated sharply in 2025.

---

Economic crunch leads to political friction

Earlier this year, Guerrero, the local construction official, traveled to Washington with a message to top DHS officials: If ICE continued arresting laborers at worksites, the GOP would lose the South Texas voters that Trump had won over.

The agency did appear to pause arrests at work sites. But it soon increased other kinds of enforcement, and ICE agents now simply stop crews on their way to and from work, said Jacob Monty, an attorney in Houston who advises companies in construction and other industries that have large Hispanic workforces.

"They found out that stopping a number of Latinos in a truck, it's a good bet that some of them are undocumented," he said.

At a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the White House last week, Trump suggested he was not sweating the consequences.

"They'll say you're too tough or you're too soft," he said. "Get tougher, get softer. No matter what you do, it's always tough."

Reyna and others, however, say they are looking to make their own statement in the midterm elections.

In the 28th Congressional District where he lives, the GOP candidate, Tano Tijerina, has sought to in some cases distance himself from the Trump administration on immigration.

Tijerina is a former Democrat who serves as the top elected official in Webb County, which includes Laredo.

He said he supported efforts to create a temporary guest-worker program for construction workers, an idea floated by Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R), who is running in a neighboring district, as well as measures that would give amnesty to "dreamers" who were brought to the U.S. as children and create special exceptions for Canadians and Mexicans to promote trade.

"I'm going to go out there and do everything I can. It might not be fully a Republican thing to do, but I have to work for my district," he said.

---

"They found out that stopping a number of Latinos in a truck, it's a good bet that some of them are undocumented."

Jacob Monty, an attorney in Houston

But the frustration may instead boost Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat from Laredo who has represented parts of South Texas in Congress since 2005.

A longtime member of the powerful Appropriations Committee and the top Democrat on its DHS subcommittee, Cuellar is pitching himself as having both the independence to stand up to his party and the ability to navigate Washington for solutions.

He set up the meeting between Guerrero and top DHS officials and also pointed to his efforts to fund body cameras for ICE and order the agency to focus on criminals through funding bills.

And Cuellar also brought up recent cases of Texas religious workers who were taken into ICE custody. "I can still pick up the phone and call somebody up there and they release the nun within a few hours," he said.

---

A scandal-plagued Democrat

The election battle between Tijerina and Cuellar, like the two other seats covering the Rio Grande Valley, will also answer much broader questions about whether voters who went for Trump will stick with the GOP.

In 2024, Cuellar outperformed the president by 13 percentage points. This year, the congressman is betting that similar crossover from voters will keep him safe, even in a district that Texas Republicans redrew to try to boost the party's chances of holding onto the House.

Cuellar's record of personal scandal adds an additional complication: He and his wife were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024 on corruption charges, then pardoned in late 2025 by Trump, who proceeded to lash out at Cuellar for his failure to join the Republican Party.

Takeaways from the first debate in Maine's Senate race

on Iran, tariffs and immigration enforcement.

Troy Jackson (D) and Sen. Susan Collins (R) met Tuesday in the first of four planned debates in the U.S. Senate race in Maine.

PHOTOS BY GETTY IMAGES

Collins, Jackson touch on Trump, high prices and the war in Iran

BY LIZ GOODWIN

Democrat Troy Jackson attempted to pierce Republican Sen. Susan Collins's reputation as an effective senator who steers millions of dollars to Maine in a Tuesday night debate, criticizing her for making life more expensive for Mainers by posing what he termed as inadequate resistance to President Donald Trump's war in Iran and tariffs against Canada.

Collins, who is running for a sixth term, frequently accused Jackson of inaccuracies when he attacked her record. She blamed Jackson, a former Maine Senate president, for his role in setting state policies that she said caused the high energy and housing costs. She touted steering \$1.5 billion in funds to Maine in recent years.

Collins stood by her vote for Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who voted to overturn the right to abortion in 2022 and brushed off the idea that Trump could campaign with her in the blue state. "I'm not exactly his favorite senator," she said.

Collins is the only Republican senator this year up for re-election in a state that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. The race is crucial to Democrats' hopes of gaining control of the Senate.

Polls show a tight race between the two, with a recent New York Times poll finding Collins with a slim edge over Jackson and showing Trump is deeply unpopular in the state.

The debate, hosted by WGME CBS 13 and FOX23, was the first of four the candidates have agreed to before the Nov. 3 election.

Here are our takeaways:

Collins stands by Kavanaugh vote: 'I do not feel he lied to me'

Jackson repeatedly pressed Collins on her 2018 vote to confirm Kavanaugh, who later went on to join an opinion overturning Roe v. Wade's abortion protections. Collins has said she does not regret the vote, even though she disagreed with Kavanaugh's abortion decision.

"What will it take for you to admit that you were wrong?" Jackson asked Collins.

The senator said she bases her decision on judges' qualifications — not how they would vote on future cases — and has supported judges nominated by Democrats and Republicans. When pressed by the moderator, Collins said she did not feel Kavanaugh had lied to her when he told her in a private meeting before the confirmation vote that he considered Roe v. Wade to be settled law.

"I do not feel he lied, but I think that he should not have said it was settled law because, to me, that meant it would not be overturned," she said. "But to be fair you cannot ask a nominee how he might vote on some hypothetical future case."

---

The Augusta vs. Washington blame game

Collins and Jackson, both longtime lawmakers, sought to shift blame for high prices facing Mainers onto the other's political institution.

Jackson, who was president of the state Senate until 2024, blamed high gas and electricity prices on the Iran war, which Collins initially did not vote to oppose. (She later voted for the resolutions calling for the president to withdraw U.S. troops.)

"The reason why our fuel prices are going through the roof ... is because she wouldn't stop President Trump with the Iran war," Jackson said.

Collins blamed high housing prices, electricity rates and property taxes on policies approved in the state capital, Augusta, enacted under the “failed leadership of Troy Jackson.”

The two also sought to blame each other for high health care costs, with Jackson saying Collins should have reimbursed hospitals more under the Medicaid program.

"She's been in Congress for 30 years. She touts how she's chair of appropriations," he said. "It would be great if she actually worked on that and got that

done."

Collins pointed out that the state of Maine could raise its Medicaid reimbursement rates for hospitals.

"The appropriations committee has no jurisdiction over the Medicare and Medicaid program," she said. "The state does have jurisdiction over the Medicaid rates and could raise them to cover the cost."

---

The Trump drag

Collins distanced herself from Trump during the debate, saying she does not believe he will campaign with her.

"I'm not exactly his favorite senator," she said.

Still, his presence loomed over the night, as Jackson repeatedly sought to tie her to his policies

Jackson also argued that Collins's vote to advance Trump's Big Beautiful Bill of tax cuts and social safety net cuts still mattered, even if she eventually voted against its final passage. Collins said she supported it advancing so she could append a \$50 billion fund to support rural hospitals.

"She's like an arsonist who helped set the fire, and then she wants credit for bringing a cup of water to put it out," Jackson said.

Collins disputed a 2025 CQ Roll Count analysis showing she has voted with Trump 95 percent of the time, saying other analyses that include more votes find a lower number.

"I voted against my party more than any other senator on either side of the aisle," she said.

---

A referendum on effectiveness

Jackson turned much of the debate into a referendum on Collins's effectiveness as a senator, a cornerstone of her reelection campaign in which she touts the money she's brought home to Maine.

Collins advertised her ability to get some items removed from the tariffs Trump levied against Canada, including rock salt needed to make Maine's icy roads safe to drive. She criticized Jackson for "mocking" her for those improvements to the tariff policy.

"I didn't mock the fact that she got road salt back," Jackson said. "I mocked the fact that: What about everything else? You can't eat rock salt."

He said fuel costs are so high, Mainers might not even be able to afford to drive.

Collins also questioned Jackson's effectiveness, asking him why many of his bills faced unanimous resistance in committees when he served as senate president. "You couldn't even find one Democrat on the committee to support a third of your bills," she said.

"How do you think you're going to get things done in a closely divided Senate as the most junior senator?" she asked.

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Trump wants to transform West Palm Beach golf club into presidential retreat

President Donald Trump applauds in 2017 as he is greeted by the Palm Beach Central High School band upon arriving at the golf club.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

MARDN SCHWARTZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

TRUMP FROM A1

A support helicopter arrives at Camp David in Maryland on July 31.

dential residence and facilities on that land.

Oyer told The Washington Post that a name has yet not been selected for the presidential golf course.

"It would further cement Palm Beach County as one of the most recognizable brands and destinations in the world," Oyer said.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment.

A White House official with knowledge of the proposed plans said in a text message the facilities would provide amenities of a "world-class property."

"The property is minutes away from the Donald J. Trump International Airport, does not have buildings looming, does not have houses along the course, has great security features, is close to law enforcement, and happens to be a highly rated golf course. These are features that are necessary for any presidential retreat," said the White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview plans.

In the letter, which was first reported by the Palm Beach Post, Oyer said the construction would not be completed before Trump leaves office, so the project would be "a gift" to Trump's successors and the county would benefit from high-power traffic in the area.

The county is seriously considering the proposal and is seeking more information, Palm Beach County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo told The Washington Post. In a meeting last week, Trump representatives assured county officials that, under the proposal, Trump's company would continue to make lease payments for the golf course and would agree to build the presidential retreat on a connected piece of land that would have a separate entrance from the private club, Abruzzo said.

Trump's club would continue to operate under the Trump family company and would probably benefit from more business if it becomes a site of long-lasting presidential importance.

The county is in contact with the General Services Administration, the agency that manages federal properties, and the county will be selecting a parcel of the land for the proposal, Abruzzo said.

"My understanding is that President Trump views this as a lasting contribution to the presidency and to those who will hold the office after him," Abruzzo said.

Though presidents already have a retreat at Camp David, Trump has visited the complex less frequently than many of his predecessors, preferring to spend his weekends and holidays at his own properties. He once commented that Camp David's rustic charm would wear off after half an hour.

Previous presidents have left their own marks on the woodsy

Maryland retreat. Franklin D. Roosevelt established the getaway for federal workers as a presidential compound and dubbed it Shangri-La, though

Dwight D. Eisenhower later named it after his father and grandson.

Marjorie Merriweather Post, who was once the wealthiest

woman in the United States, also had hoped to create a presidential retreat in the South. She gifted her Palm Beach estate — better known as Mar-a-Lago — to the federal government upon her death in 1973, with the intention that it be turned into a Winter White House. But the National Park Service returned the property to her estate due to high maintenance costs, and Trump bought the property in 1985.

Trump International Golf Club opened in 1999 after Trump settled a lawsuit with the county regarding airplanes flying over Mar-a-Lago and the county agreed to lend him the land. Near the golf course, state officials have branded the Palm Beach airport and the road along it with Trump's name.

Trump's influence over Palm Beach and its image would be further cemented if the golf club becomes a presidential retreat. The wealthy strip of South Florida has undergone a MAGA transformation with Trump's base flocking to Mar-a-Lago for political events and networking. The nearby golf club has become a go-to destination for Trump spotting.

Trump reported an income of nearly \$37 million last year from the golf course in his latest financial disclosure.

Although Trump had mocked former president Barack Obama for golfing during his presidency, Trump has frequently golfed since he has been in office. One online tracker calculated that Trump has spent at least 137 days in his second term golfing.

Rick Reilly, a former Sports Illustrated columnist who wrote "Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump," has golged with Trump and said the president is less interested in the sport than the attention he gains at his own clubs. Reilly described how Trump always plays first in his golfing party and speeds on his golf cart to the next hole, wrapping up his game in less time than is typical, before heading to the clubhouse, where he makes the rounds, talking to his members and fans. If the Palm Beach club were a destination for foreign leaders, they would be part of the display of influence.

"I suppose he wants to make a power play with these people and show them who is the king of America," Reilly said.

Don Van Natta Jr., an ESPN senior writer who wrote "First Off the Tee: Presidential Hackers, Duffers, and Cheaters From Taft to Bush," a book on the history of presidents who golfed, said 17 of the past 20 presidents have golfed. The first avid golfer in the Oval Office was William Howard Taft, and the last president who didn't golf was Jimmy Carter.

"There is a long history of presidents playing golf," Van Natta said. "It's an escape where they can, as President [Bill] Clinton told me for my book, to be out in nature, and it's an escape hatch from the pressures of the Oval Office."

Republicans spend heavily in state president won comfortably two years ago

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

From right, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Senate nominee Ken Paxton and other Republicans listen to President Donald Trump speak Wednesday night at a campaign rally in San Antonio. Paxton is in a close race with Democratic nominee James Talarico.

TEXAS FROM A1

Cuellar over Republican Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina in the 28th Congressional District, citing Cuellar's responsiveness to his constituents. "I lean to the right, but that doesn't mean they should get a free vote," Trevino said.

That uncertainty reflects a broader unease that voters, business owners and political strategists across South Texas say is straining the coalition that helped power Trump's victory two years ago.

"When elephants fight, it's the grass that hurts. And small business and the middle class, we're the grass," said Louis Barrios, a small-business owner in the San Antonio area. Barrios, who declined to detail his past votes, said he was heading into the midterms thinking about high food costs, especially the surging price of meat. "Everything gets delivered to us in those refrigerated trucks — they have increased fuel costs," Barrios said. "So everything has been going up as a result of that."

The economic pressure is especially acute in Texas, where diesel prices have soared over the past year and there are more registered light-duty diesel vehicles than in any other state. The average price of diesel stood at \$5.72 a gallon on Wednesday, up from about \$3.22 a year ago, according to AAA. The increase has affected drivers of diesel-powered pickups as well as ranchers, farmers and businesses that depend on trucks to move goods across the sprawling state.

The increase has hit working-class Hispanic voters especially hard, said political strategist Steve Cortes, who served on Trump's National Hispanic

Advisory Council in 2016 and advised his 2020 campaign. "They're feeling that sting, and they're very angry. They're also very anti-war, and of course, the war and the prices are intrinsically linked."

"It's almost the cliché of the midterm, but it's so true," said

Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican strategist based in Austin. "It's gas prices and diesel."

The frustration is enough to prompt some GOP voters to reconsider.

One Republican small-business owner in South Texas, who said he was considering voting

Democratic down the ticket, explained that the political environment has become so toxic that he won't discuss politics anymore.

"There's no middle ground," said the man, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of drawing Republican ire.

Such disillusionment does not necessarily represent a permanent shift toward Democrats. Mark Jones, a professor of political science at Rice University, said Trump's gains among Latino voters in 2024 reflected an ephemeral set of circumstances, including dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's handling of the economy and the border, and voters' memories of stronger economic conditions during Trump's first term.

"In 2026, Biden isn't in the White House. Kamala Harris isn't on the ballot, and Trump hasn't kept the promise on economic prosperity," Jones said.

Republicans cautioned against interpreting the polls as evidence that Trump's gains with Hispanic voters have disappeared. They said that the party doesn't need to replicate Trump's 2024 margins to stay competitive and that low-propensity voters among the working class who support Trump remain challenging for pollsters to capture.

A new NBC News-Telemundo poll shows 27 percent of Hispanic voters have a positive view of the Republican Party, compared with 30 percent in 2022, when Republicans took control of the House.

The survey also found a growing identification with the president's populist Make America Great Again movement, with 24 percent of Hispanic voters offering a positive assessment, up from 18 percent in 2023.

"The Latino vote is moving from being a racial and ethnic voting bloc to an economic pocketbook voter," said Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant who recently spent five weeks in South Texas and who co-founded the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. "They will say ICE raids, they've gone too far. But remember, these are the same voters that were saying we need we need more border security and more crackdowns two years ago. What's driving the anxiety and the anger and the angst is the economy."

\$500 million in GOP spending does little to move polls

Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, waves as President Donald Trump speaks at Peterbilt Motors in Denton, Texas, on Oct. 1. Paxton's race against Democrat James Talarico has gotten expensive.

ALEX BRANDON/AP

Trump at a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday.

KENT NISHIMURA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Republicans' massive money edge has yet to reshape midterms map

BY ISAAC ARNSDORF

Since Labor Day, when President Donald Trump opened up his war chest for the midterms, Republicans have pumped half a billion dollars into competitive House and Senate races.

A month later, the polls haven't moved in their direction.

High-quality public surveys show Democratic Senate candidates tied or leading in Alaska, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas – the same as before Labor Day. Democrats' lead on the generic congressional ballot has slightly widened since, from about six points to roughly nine, according to analyst Nate Silver's polling average.

Notably, the surge of attack ads has not sunk the Democrats at the center of some of the most expensive races. More voters hold a favorable than unfavorable view of Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, according to a late September New York Times-Siena poll — despite more than \$115 million spent attacking him. Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's favorability actually increased by five points since August, to 47 percent, Fox News surveys show, despite \$76.2 million in attacks.

One factor: Republicans' advantage looks bigger in dollars than in actual airtime, thanks in part to the timing of their purchases. In Senate battlegrounds, the GOP spent 26 percent more than Democrats did to secure just 7 percent more broadcast ads, according to AdImpact.

Republicans say the attacks are steadily eroding Democratic support and keeping the races competitive. Democrats counter that the GOP is stuck spending heavily just to contain their expanding ambitions in states Trump won handily in 2024 — the equivalent of Republicans fielding competitive challenges in Rhode Island, Washington state or Maryland.

"They should be getting more for what they're spending, and they're not," said Lauren French, a spokeswoman for the pro-Democratic Senate Majority PAC. "Can they spend their way out of a bad economy, a bad president, a bad candidate, and a bad message in Texas and Kansas?"

In a cycle with so many advantages for Democrats — an unpopular president, an unpopular war, inflation, the usual pattern of midterm swings — money was supposed to be the GOP's ace. In particular, Republicans were counting on the more than \$400 million in Trump's super PAC, plus a similar amount he says is held in a related nonprofit, to come to their rescue. Trump has said he will spend \$400 to \$500 million on the midterms and save some for 2028. So far, his super PACs have reserved more than \$194

million in advertising, according to media tracker AdImpact. But the super PACs didn't turn on the money until Labor Day, so they faced higher prices for scarcer airtime compared with groups that reserved their ads earlier. In addition, super PACs pay full freight for TV ads, while campaigns pay discounted rates; that has benefited Democrats whose candidates have been better fundraisers in high-profile contests, whereas Republicans have relied more heavily on party committees and super PACs under Trump's control.

In Texas, the discrepancy is especially pronounced as the expensive Senate, House and governor's races drive up prices for limited inventory. Last week in the Dallas media market, Talarico's campaign paid \$950,000 for the average viewer to see its ads 10 times, according to a Democratic media buyer. By comparison, Paxton allies spent \$4.65 million for the average viewer to see their ads 13 times — five times the money for just 30 per-cent more impact.

The cost of running TV ads in Texas has gone up so much that Paxton allies started running spots nationwide during sporting events hoping that people in Texas would see them, because that cost less than buying the same airtime in all the state's local markets.

The campaigns' cost advantage over super PACs does not extend to digital advertising, which both parties are increasingly emphasizing as consumer habits change. More than 80 percent of the electorate is now reachable on YouTube, compared with closer to 50 percent on traditional TV, the Democratic media buyer said.

Democrats anticipated that they would be outspent and took advantage of the Republicans' delay. In focus groups, the Talarico campaign found that if he established and defined himself with voters first, he could withstand the expected attacks — but not if the attacks got there first, a person familiar with the research said.

Republicans struggled to point to an example of a race where the recent influx of money fundamentally changed the dynamic. One GOP strategist working on Senate races compared the incremental changes to World War I trench warfare.

"Our spending has enabled us to stay competitive," said an operative working for Trump's political team, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly.

In some races, Republican groups have begun cutting their losses. The main Senate GOP super PAC canceled its remaining ads in North Carolina, where former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley trailed former governor Roy Cooper (D) by 11 points in a YouGov survey last month. The GOP House super PAC similarly cut reservations in Omaha, where Democrat Denise Powell is leading Republican Brinker Harding in the race for the seat being vacated by Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska).

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Source: U.S. Education Department

Reports of sexual violence are up, available data shows

Madelyn Smith, 20, a student at Cornell University, attends a rally this week on campus to demand change from the school administration.

SETH HARRISON/THE JOURNAL NEWS/USA TODAY NETWORK/REUTERS CONNECT

Vast majority never reported to police or became formal cases

BY TODD WALLACK

Rape allegations at Cornell University sparked protests and outrage across the country in recent weeks, in part because of the brutal nature of the allegations and the lack of criminal charges. Many questions have surfaced about whether the Ivy League school and the local prosecutor did enough to fully investigate and address the allegations at the time.

But the case stands out in another way: It's one of only a small fraction of sexual misconduct cases at Cornell and other colleges in the state that result in expulsions and suspensions, government data shows.

The Cornell case went viral after a former student, identified in court records only as Jane Doe, sued the school, seven students and others last month. In her lawsuit, she said she was drunk when she was plied with drugs and then sexually assaulted by multiple students at a fraternity house in 2024. One of the young men posted about "free p--y" in a Snapchat message, according to the complaint.

Cornell said Tuesday it hired former Justice Department official Sally Q. Yates to review how the university handled the matter. Separately, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to reinvestigate the case after saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney.

New York state data shows most cases are either never reported to authorities or never result in serious discipline.

Of the more than 1,200 incidents reported to Cornell from 2018 to 2024 that involved students, seven people were expelled or dismissed. Fourteen were suspended. The data includes students who were accused of sexual violence, as well as staff members who were accused of assaulting or stalking students.

But the vast majority of reported incidents were never reported to police and never became formal disciplinary cases against students or staff, the data shows. And even when cases were opened, most of the respondents were either found "not responsible" or received more modest disciplinary measures.

"We've seen schools instead turn to methods like no-contact orders or removing the perpetrator from the survivor's classes or from their dorm," said Zoey Scheinblum-Brewer, policy and grassroots coordinator for Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, an advocacy group for survivors known by its acronym as RAINN. "Expulsions and suspensions tend to be the final thing that schools tend to turn to."

The data for Cornell and other colleges in New York is available because of a state law, called Enough is Enough, that requires schools to report incidents involving sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking and the outcome of the school investigation and disciplinary process. The federal government doesn't collect similar disciplinary data nationally.

The New York data, collected from nearly 300 colleges in the state, shows Cornell is not unique. Of more than 25,800 incidents statewide from 2018 to 2024, only a little more than 1 percent resulted in expulsions of students or dismissals of university employees. Another 2 percent resulted in suspensions.

Scheinblum-Brewer noted that many students who suffer rape or other sexual violence ultimately decide to withdraw from the process or drop out of school because of the trauma they have suffered. Some students also reach informal resolutions with the accused after mediation, avoiding formal disciplinary rulings.

"There are a lot of different points in the process in which schools can sort of get out of having to suspend or expel the respondents," she said.

The data shows a greater portion of incidents were reported to law enforcement at Cornell than at schools overall in the state. But the reports at Cornell were also less likely to become formal cases in the school's internal judicial process or result in the most serious forms of discipline, such as expulsions and dismissals.

Experts say there isn't good national data on exactly what happens to reports that are referred to law enforcement. But

Sexual violence and related crimes reported by colleges from 2014 to 2024

Incidents of rape, stalking, fondling, domestic violence and dating violence rose in the U.S., even as full-time enrollment slightly shrank.

Includes incidents reported on campus, off-campus university buildings and adjacent public property.

nationally studies show that only a minority of sexual assaults reported to police result in arrests and convictions.

Overall, sexual violence is far more common than reflected in official crime reports, according to surveys.

A 2019 survey by the Associ-

Many Cornell University undergrad women experience sexual violence

Percent of students who reported they have experienced nonconsensual sexual contact since entering the university.

There was a sharp drop in the response rate last year. 15% of students responded in 2025, compared to 36% in 2023.

Source: Cornell University

ation of American Universities, the most recent one the group conducted, found that more than 1 in 4 undergraduate women at 33 schools nationwide had experienced rape or another kind of sexual assault — defined as non-consensual sexual contact involving physical force or inability to consent since enrolling in college. Assaults were nearly as common for students who identify as transgender, nonbinary or another gender identity other than male or female. About 7 percent of undergraduate men said they also suffered at least one attack.

"Sexual violence/assault is one of the most underreported crimes," said Sarah McMahon, director of the Center for Research on Ending Violence at Rutgers University. McMahon said there are many factors that deter people from reporting crimes to police, including feelings of shame, fear of retaliation or not being believed and a reluctance to recount traumatic experiences with strangers.

Cornell is no exception.

A Cornell survey last year found 35 percent of undergraduate women said they have experienced sexual contact without consent since entering the university. That's up from 20 percent in 2021 and 23 percent in 2023. However, the university cautioned that far fewer people responded to the 2025 survey, making it harder to "accurately estimate prevalence rates" last year, particularly among subgroups, like undergraduate women.

Many male students at Cornell also said they had been victims of sexual assault, but at lower rates than undergraduate women.

Nationally, the number of incidents of rape and other common kinds of sexual violence have risen on or around college campus es, according to federal data.

One possible reason is the #MeToo movement, which has spurred many survivors of sexual violence and other misconduct to come forward, including in academia.

"Over the past 10-plus years there has been a lot of work to increase awareness and make reporting options more accessible, so it could be reflective of this progress," McMahon said.

The national data is collected by the Education Department as required by the Clery Act, a federal law that requires colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs to collect and make available information on crime, safety and related campus policies.

Looking at the numbers over the last decade year by year, it shows an increase in many crimes reported during the height of the #MeToo movement and a temporary dip during the pandemic.

Not every incident reported to a school is included in the Clery Act statistics. For instance, some incidents could violate a college's own policies of misconduct, but not meet the federal definition of a reportable offense or occurred outside the locations covered by the law.

Most reported incidents occurred on campus. But many happened at off-campus buildings controlled by schools or student organizations, which can include fraternities or sororities.

Kevin Crowe contributed to this report.

Sexual misconduct reports at nearly 300 colleges in New York state

Reported incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking in schools' disciplinary process from 2018 to 2024.

incidents involving students, including some where the accuser or accused are employees.

Source: New York State Department of Education

---

Sexual contact without consent

Percent of students at 33 colleges who reported nonconsensual sexual contact in 2019.

Source: Association of American University

---

Sexual violence at college campuses

Most kinds of sexual violence and related crimes rose from 2014 to 2024, even as full-time enrollment fell 3 percent.

Source: US Education Department

Incidents at colleges in New York state, including Cornell University

Incidents at Cornell were more likely to be reported to law enforcement, but less likely to result in serious discipline from 2018 to 2024.

The data comes from 298 colleges in New York state. The statewide figures include Cornell.

Source: New York State Department of Education

---

Where reported crimes happened

Most of the incidents colleges reported of rape, fondling and statutory rape happened on campus from 2014 to 2024. Others occurred at off-campus buildings controlled by the schools or student organizations, including fraternities, or neighboring public property.

On campus (88%)

Off campus (8%)

Public property (3%)

The Post excluded crimes reported to local police where the location was not identified.

Source: Education Department

How Cornell University handles reports of sexual misconduct

Reports of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking in the school's disciplinary process from 2018 to 2024.

Incidents involving students, including some where the accuser or accused are employees.

Source: New York State Department of Education

Pike was unconscious and on ventilator for nearly a week before she woke up

PIKE FROM A1

Death row inmate Christa Pike appears in court in Nashville on April 12, 2012. Gov. Bill Lee (R) halted all scheduled executions in the state and ordered a third-party review.

DIPTI WUDYA-USA TODAY NETWORK/IMAGN IMAGES

vidson County Chancery Court to require the Tennessee Department of Correction to maintain logbooks, surveillance footage, equipment, medical records and other information related to the events that transpired before and after the failed execution.

"I want to ensure that you all take special care not to lose, misplace, or accidentally delete any information that may be pertinent to this litigation," Myles said in court.

She also ordered the state to claw back any information or materials that may already have been discarded.

A spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Correction declined to comment, but an attorney representing the state said in court that prison officials had already begun preserving evidence as required by a separate, federal court case related to execution protocols.

Pike, who is still receiving critical medical care at a private hospital, was not in court for the hearing. She was unconscious and on a ventilator for nearly a week before regaining consciousness.

At a news conference after the hearing, one of Pike's attorneys, Randy Spivey, said Pike is experiencing a lot of "cognitive confusion." She is aware, he said, that the state tried and failed to execute her — but he would not elaborate on the specific details of her recollections.

"I think she is angry and confused about everything right now," Spivey said, adding that Pike has asked about her team and Slemmer's family.

Spivey said Pike faces an unprecedented recovery.

“She has a blood clot in one of her arms. She has pneumonia. She is not able to swallow yet, so she has not eaten. She cannot move either of her arms. Both of her arms and hands are tremendously swollen, and we do not know what, if any, function she will regain in her arms,” Spivey said.

He described Pike's swelling as "extraordinary" and said her hands "looked like if you were to blow up a surgical glove."

During the hearing, Luke Ihnen, one of Pike's attorneys from the Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, told the judge that the Tennessee Department of Correction had limited Pike's access to her legal team.

Ihnen also said prison officials had ordered Pike be handcuffed and shackled to her hospital bed, against the wishes of her medical team and despite injuries to her arms from the failed injections.

Pike's counsel asked the judge to order state prison officials to remove the shackles and allow Pike to contact her lawyers without hurdles, including through a digital tablet similar to what she used while incarcerated at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center for women.

Myles declined to immediately rule on the requests to remove the shackles and provide a tablet, seeking additional information.

But she did order the state to respond within two hours to written requests for access to Pike from her lawyers.

"Access should be given as it would be if she were incarcerated at the women's prison," Myles said. "Just because Ms. Pike is currently in a hospital does not mean she should have any less access to an attorney than she would in the women's prison."

At the news conference afterward, Ihnen criticized the state for what he called a lack of transparency over Tennessee's execution protocols.

"Today's hearing was about transparency, about why Christa, the courts, the media and the public should not simply take the state's word about what happened last Wednesday," Ihnen said. "Because as we saw a little bit today ... their word is shrouded in secrecy, in legal jargon, in attempts to obfuscate and obscure what really happened."

Hours after the attempted execution, Gov. Bill Lee (R) halted all scheduled executions in the state and ordered a third-party review into what happened. Frank Strada, the state's prison chief, resigned over the weekend.

Tennessee prison officials had botched another execution under Strada this year. In the spring, the execution of convicted murderer Tony Carruthers was called off after personnel could not establish a backup IV line, as required by state protocol. Lee granted Carruthers a one-year reprieve.

Before her execution date, Pike's attorneys raised concerns over the incident involving Carruthers and asked the courts to grant Pike an alternative method of death, warning the woman's IV could fail because of her small veins and a blood disorder. But the request was denied.

Separately, Lee declined Pike's clemency request asking him to commute her sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Her attorneys have renewed the call for clemency since the failed execution and have asked Lee to reconsider. A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Before addressing the motion on preserving evidence filed by Pike's attorney, the judge sought to determine whether her court or the Tennessee Supreme Court had jurisdiction over ongoing matters related to Pike's case.

After hearing arguments from Ihnen and Tennessee Assistant Attorney General Will Ayers, Myles ruled that the Davidson County court is the appropriate judicial venue.

Pike and two other teenagers - her boyfriend and another girl - lured Slemmer into a wooded area in Knoxville in 1995. The teenagers knew each other through the Knoxville Job Corps, and prosecutors argued that Pike believed Slemmer was interested in her boyfriend.

Pike admitted to hitting the girl in the head with asphalt, cutting her throat and taking a piece of her skull as a souvenir, court documents say.

Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, traveled from Florida to witness the attempted execution last week and told NBC News afterward that she was furious with state officials. Martinez called the botched execution "a mess" and said prison officials failed to properly communicate with her about it.

Mettler reported from Indiana.

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THE WORLD

Mourners gather around a funeral early this month in Gaza City. Officially, a peace process is underway. On the ground, however, little headway has been made, analysts say, with Gaza in limbo.

YOUSEF AL ZANOUN/AP

Strikes in Gaza grind on 3 years later as deaths pile up

HEIDI LEVINE/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

HEIDI LEVINE/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Asma Baroud lives in Amman, Jordan, with her children. An Israeli airstrike in Gaza on May 16 killed her husband, whom the IDF says was a Hamas “commander,” an allegation Asma says is false.

Mohammad Baroud says he wants to return to Gaza. He says he misses his friends, his school, his bike and his freedom.

---

BY RACHEL CHASON

AMMAN, JORDAN — When President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in Gaza last October, Asma Baroud thought of all of the rebuilding ahead — of the house where her family had lived; of the traditions interrupted by war; of the life they had known.

She and her husband, Bahaa, and their children, were living in a tent in a crowded refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, after being displaced repeatedly during the Israeli military operation that followed the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Shortly after Trump proclaimed that the war had ended and "peace in the Middle East" had been achieved, Bahaa headed north to repair the family's home, which had been damaged by Israeli airstrikes.

But the strikes did not stop. Less than six months after they moved back into their house, Asma's world — and any illusions of peace she carried — shattered.

An Israeli airstrike on May 16 killed Bahaa in an instant. Their 10-year-old son, Mohammad, who was with him in their car, was left in a coma, half of the soft tissue on his face gone in the blast.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Bahaa Baroud, 41, had been a "commander" at Hamas headquarters who planned attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians and "posed an immediate threat."

Asma said Israel's allegations were false and that Bahaa had been a charity worker who dedicated his life to serving Gaza's poorest residents.

The IDF declined to provide evidence of the allegations against Bahaa or to address questions about injuries to Mohammad.

Asma said she had worried about going back to the house, which was close to the "yellow line," which separates the majority of Gaza still under Israeli control from the rest of the territory. But they were all tired of moving, she said.

"What were we supposed to do?" asked the soft-spoken 34-year-old. "We wanted to live normally."

In the three years since the Hamas attack on Israel left more than 1,200 people dead, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 74,245 Palestinian ians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Of those deaths, 1,462 have been tallied since last October, when Trump declared, "after years of suffering and bloodshed, the war in Gaza is over."

Officially, a peace process is underway, led by the Board of Peace that Trump established.

On the ground, however, little headway has been made, analysts say, with Gaza in limbo. Israel is quietly taking more territory while continuing its airstrikes. International attention – and diplomacy efforts – have dissipated.

"There is a ceasefire in name only," said Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations, adding that the number of killings and injuries has increased in recent months. Israel's government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, does "not want to be seen as going easy on Hamas or Gaza" ahead of a national election on Oct. 27, he said.

Lovatt said that Israel is targeting "an expanding circle of Palestinians" who it says are connected to Hamas.

In the case of Mohammad, who doctors said emerged from the coma after 21 days but lost his left eye and will need multiple reconstructive facial surgeries, the IDF said in a statement that "measures were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance."

Israel “is not violating the ceasefire agreement, but is operating in accordance with it and with the directives of the political echelon, while the Hamas terrorist organization repeatedly violates the agreement,” the statement said.

A Hamas spokesman said that Bahaa Bahoud was a humanitarian worker and not connected to the group.

Asma now lives temporarily in Amman, Jordan's capital, where her son receives medical care as part of a Jordanian program to treat sick and injured children from Gaza. She said that Israel's claims are false — that Bahaa was a good husband and father whose work focused on providing humanitarian aid. If anything, she said, that may have made him more of a target.

"They don't want life in Gaza," she said. "Everyone is a target."

Now, when Asma thinks about life before the war, she thinks of Friday afternoons grilling fish on the beach. She thinks about her Mohammad with his best friend, Nasser, and how much the two boys loved to ride bikes in the neighborhood.

She thinks about her son's love of his Arabic lessons, his dreams of becoming a scientist and his love for his little sisters.

Over the course of the war, she said, their family escaped airstrikes in Gaza's north, survived an Israeli siege at al-Shifa Hospital and lived through hunger and displacement for longer than she likes to remember.

"Often, it felt like the war was following us," she said. "I didn't have time to be scared. All I thought of was my children."

Asked about the day that Bahaa was killed and Mohammad was injured, Asma's steady stream of words faltered and her eyes filled with tears.

Mohammad, wearing a Pokémon T-shirt and a straw hat to cover his wounds sat next to her on a hospital bed, leaning into her side.

Strikes like the one that killed Bahaa and injured Mohammad are part of a "low-level violence" that has become normalized since Trump announced the ceasefire, said Amjad Iraqi, a senior analyst for Israel and Palestine at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.

"It's rare for the targets to pose an immediate threat to Israelis in a way that would reasonably justify a strike," Iraqi said. "Israel simply fires as it wishes, constantly going on the offensive."

Because the United States largely controls the Board of Peace — which is charged with Gaza's reconstruction — international scrutiny and diplomatic pressure have dwindled, he said. Palestinians control only about one-third of the territory in Gaza, he said, with Israel "inching forward and with no real pushback from the outside."

Two types of killings have been most common in Gaza over the past year: of people, including civilians, often approaching their cars or homes, who are shot after getting too close to the "yellow line," and of people targeted by Israel as militants, said Nasser Khdour, assistant Middle East research manager for Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a U.S.-based monitoring group.

Khdour said that he had seen "no evidence" that Bahaa Baroud was a Hamas commander. He said that it is important to distinguish between Hamas militants and civilians, who have governed Gaza for nearly 20 years and noted that earlier in the war, Hamas established "emergency committees" charged with getting aid to residents, which were repeatedly attacked by Israel.

Asma, who gave birth to a baby girl months before the air-strike that killed her husband, spends her days shuttling between the hospital, where her son is receiving intensive treatment, and a quiet ground-floor apartment where she cares for her four children.

She said that she is grateful to the Jordanian government for helping her son get the care he needs and to the Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association, the Australian nongovernmental organization that has funded her trip.

But she said that she and her children are constantly thinking about Gaza, even as it feels like the rest of the world moves on.

"I am here, but my mind is there," she said. "The longer this goes on, the more people forget."

For Mohammad, recovery will be a long and daunting process involving multiple surgeries, doctors said.

Asked if he would like to go back to Gaza, the shy 10-year-old was clear.

"Absolutely," he said, sitting up straighter. "That is home."

He said that he misses his friends, his bike, his school and his freedom.

Asma said she misses her mother, her sisters and the sea and that Gaza will always be home, despite the danger and uncertainty about whether this war will end in her lifetime. She said she has no doubt she will return, but also has accepted a sad truth.

"I know that every day I live there," she said, "I will be afraid."

Suzan Haldamous in Beirut contributed to this report.

Israel's Netanyahu is now fighting for his political survival in the Oct. 27 vote

ISRAEL FROM A1

An Israeli woman pays her respects at the memorial to the victims of the 2023 Hamas attacks at the Nova festival site in Reim, southern Israel, on Tuesday.

ILIA YERIMOVICH/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

hostages on Oct. 7. For many survivors and their families that day has never quite ended.

On the morning of the attack, Adina Moshe, then 72, and her husband of 54 years, Said (David) Moshe, 75, hid in the safe room of their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz, about a mile from the Gaza Strip. Her husband, a farmer, was shot in front of her, but not before he managed to blow her a kiss, she said.

Two militants on a motorcycle then took her to a tunnel in Khan Younis, Gaza, where she was held for 49 days with a group of other hostages — most of them elderly, along with 5-year-old girl.

"It's a pain that doesn't leave," Moshe said. "The moment you get into bed at night, you see what's missing. And you see how full the darkness is." She said she still feels guilty that not all the hostages came back alive. "They could have been saved," she said.

In 20 days, Israelis will head to the polls in an election widely viewed as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has led Israel for nearly 19 of the past 30 years.

Most polls show former military chief Gadi Eisenkot's party leading Netanyahu's Likud, but neither Eisenkot's bloc nor Netanyahu's seems likely to win the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Moshe, who is still waiting for a new house to be built on the ruins of her burned home in Nir Oz, is hoping for a change in leadership. "There is a fundamental lack of humanity in the government today," she said. "There is no commitment to the public."

On the day of the attack, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich delivered a stark prediction during a cabinet meeting, according to Israeli media reports: "In another 48 hours they will call for us to resign because of the failure, and they're right."

Netanyahu, however, refused to step down. "Everyone will need to provide answers, myself included, but all of this will happen only after the war," he said two weeks later.

The wars — on several fronts — are still underway. In Gaza, Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 70,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Some Israelis are calling the expanded fighting, including the U.S.-led war in Iran, the longest war in Israel's history.

Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at Hebrew University, said Netanyahu did not expect the vote's proximity to the Oct. 7 anniversary to hurt him.

Rather, Talshir said, the prime minister believed that the election would be about "the story he is trying to tell — that Oct. 7 was the failure of the generals who didn't wake him up," and that he has since waged a successful fight on all fronts.

"But that arrogance has blown up in his face," Talshir said, pointing to recent media reports suggesting Netanyahu personally received warnings before the attack that he did not act on.

Netanyahu has denied the reports. Talshir added that the prime minister's promise of "total victory" has not held up after three years of war with no end in sight.

Svirsky, whose parents and brother were killed, has watched that narrative take

shape up close.

For three years, she has appeared week after week before Knesset committees, reminding coalition lawmakers of the toll of Oct. 7 and of their ministerial responsibility.

"Not a single member of the coalition told me, 'I'm sorry, this happened on my watch,' said Svirsky, who works as a performance artist. The evasion of responsibility, she added in an interview, "creates a society lacking self-criticism that is losing its moral compass."

Einav Zangauker, whose son, Matan, was held in Gaza for 738 days until his release last October, is a former Netanyahu voter who became one of his most vocal critics.

"In a normal country, they shouldn't even have the legitimacy to offer themselves up for reelection," Zangauker said. As for her own vote, she would support anyone "who wasn't at the helm on October 7."

Matan is slowly rebuilding his life, she said. "When I look at him, deep inside, I see the suffering, what he went through in captivity that I will never fully know," she said.

Not everyone directly affected by Oct. 7 wants change. Some see Netanyahu as the wartime leader the country needs.

Rom Braslavski, 22, a released hostage, thanked Netanyahu in a call last month for bringing the hostages home and said he would vote for the right, fearing the return of a “Palestinian government” — a reference to the coalition led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid that included the Arab Ra’am party.

Tzvika Mor, a resident of the West Bank settlement of Kiryat

Arba who joined Smotrich's Religious Zionism party, also said he wants Netanyahu's bloc to stay in power. On Oct. 7, Mor's son, Eitan, was taken by Hamas while trying to rescue people at a music festival. He was released last year after more than two years.

Throughout the war, Mor called for intensifying military pressure on Hamas rather than yielding to its demands.

"When my son was in captivity, I asked the government not to jeopardize national security, so that I would be the last father whose child is abducted," he told The Washington Post. Mor is now campaigning for a seat in the Knesset, he said, "to ensure that Israel acts properly to deter our enemies."

For survivors — and for much of Israel — there is a sense that the election is a crucial turning point.

Eyal Eshel, whose 19-year-old daughter, Roni, was killed on Oct. 7, established an organization for bereaved families. Eshel has called for the country's leaders to resign and for a state commission to investigate. "The task Roni left me is to rebuild what's broken in Israel," Eshel said.

Roni, an IDF watch guard stationed on the Gaza border, was among the first to report the border breach on the morning at 6:29 a.m. on Oct. 7.

"Gunmen running toward the fence," she warned over the radio. Roni stayed at her post, reporting their advance until militants reached the outpost and set fire to the command center with the guards inside.

"I miss a girl who was fun to laugh with and spend time with," Eshel said.

So far, his efforts at achieving accountability have fallen short, with Netanyahu blocking an independent commission inquiry. Some survivors and family members call that an outrage. "I can't understand how, three years later, what happened still hasn't been investigated," Moshe said.

Eisenkot and Bennett, Netanyahu's main challengers, have promised to establish an independent commission on their first day in office.

In the absence of such a panel, Zangauker and Svirsky joined other victim's families last month in compiling the "Oct. 7 File," a record of Netanyahu's policies that they say allowed the attack. "It is a moral duty to remember how we got to where we are," Zangauker said.

For Svirsky, the vote is simply about what comes next. "This government glorifies an endless war at the expense of human life," she said. "The next leadership must be people who hold human life sacred."

Moshe, whose husband was killed, said she still believes the answer lies in peace with the Palestinians. "Everyone will think I'm a little crazy," she said, "but despite everything, I think it's the only solution."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to supporters last month at a rally in Tel Aviv.

ERIK MARMOR/GETTY IMAGES

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A B-1 bomber takes off from RAF Fairfield in England on Sept. 29. The planes secretly began leaving, fleeing what U.S. officials described as the threat of a potentially catastrophic "swarm drone" attack.

Unconventional tactics enable Iran claim series of symbolic and tactical wins

IRAN FROM A1

"I don't think anyone including the Iranians thought on Day 1 that they could stand up to the United States and Israel — two of the best militaries and air forces in the world — and fight an even fight," said Daniel Byman, a counterterrorism expert and security studies professor at Georgetown University. "That said, we are $7 \frac{1}{2}$ months into this war and Iran is still inflicting damage — and that's quite remarkable."

Iran's campaign of drone strikes on oil cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz has given it leverage over a critical shipping lane and global energy supplies that it could never achieve though conventional naval force, according to security officials and analysts.

swarm" attack.

Beyond its harassment of oil tankers and B-1 bombers, Iran has used drones to cause extensive damage to U.S. bases in the Middle East and to kill some troops. Iran also has enlisted its Houthi allies in Yemen to strike parts of Saudi Arabia that Iran probably could not reach otherwise.

Iran has done this despite the toll inflicted by U.S.-Israel airstrikes this year that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and much of his inner circle, including top officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who probably would have been tapped to oversee its asymmetric campaign.

compel us to reshape our protective architecture," Roule said.

In a measure of the alarm over the threat, U.S. officials said that the bomber evacuation began before refueling aircraft were fully in position to support their journey across the Atlantic.

The harried redeployment came amid conflicting signals about the urgency of the threat to Fairford and about Iran's ability to carry out such an elaborate plot.

U.S. officials said the bombers were moved in response to multiple streams of intelligence indicating that the aircraft could be hit in an attack similar to the one Ukraine launched against Russia in June 2025.

In that strike, called Operation Spider's Web, Ukraine destroyed more than a dozen Russian military planes using small armed drones that had been smuggled into the country in cargo trucks.

Fears that such an attack might be unfolding on British soil probably gripped British officials after police received calls shortly after midnight on Sept. 27 about three white cargo vans approaching the Fairfield base.

News photos taken after police arrived showed five men stripped of their shirts and seated on the ground in the dark under police guard. News footage the next morning showed bomb inspection robots moving among the vans.

And yet, police found no drones, explosives or weapons in the vehicles — only canisters containing gasoline. All five suspects were released the next day on bail, reflecting a determination by British police that they posed no ongoing threat.

Trump at the time said that the suspects were planning to cause "big damage." But the bombers were not evacuated until a week later. And though U.S. officials cited new streams of alarming intelligence, British officials said no new threat to the base had materialized. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The seemingly disparate responses raise questions about "how serious was this threat,"

Byman said, and whether the U.S. has seen intelligence its allies have not or has taken a step of extreme caution "over aspirational terrorism."

Britain has faced dozens of plots traced to Iran in recent years, but no details have surfaced from these cases to suggest Iran has the capacity to mount a complicated attack on a heavily guarded military base.

Instead, Iran is accused of being behind a steady stream of low-level sabotage operations and plots involving proxies recruited from criminal networks on social media platforms. Recent plots include the stabbing of a Jewish pedestrian and an arson attack on ambulances that serve the Jewish community in north London.

Tehran has escalated attacks in the strait in recent days, apparently in response to expanded U.S. operations that had brought oil flows back up to near prewar levels. Over the past week, Iranian attacks have hit more than 10 ships, according to maritime monitoring data.

The threat of an Iranian assassination plot set in motion an extraordinary sequence in July in which Trump was secretly slipped out of Air Force One via an airport catering truck — a ruse to protect him from the threat of attack by an adversary he described as “finished” in March and more recently has called “decimated.”

At the British air base, RAF Fairfield, Iran appears to have forced the U.S. to withdraw a symbol of its military firepower, a fleet of planes that has carried out punishing strikes in the war, with no indication that Iran had managed to put in place either the personnel or equipment needed to launch a "drone

Trump sought to play down the significance of bombers' departure from Britain this week. "Rather than tempting the enemy, we'll capture the enemy and beat the enemy," he said. "So we moved them around a little bit. Not very far."

If U.S. airstrikes against Iran were to resume, however, the bombers would have to travel thousands of additional miles after being relocated to bases in South Dakota and elsewhere in the U.S. from their former home 80 miles west of London.

Former security officials said the evacuation was a symbolic victory for Tehran but ultimately of limited consequence. "It does not limit our military options against Iran or change the strategic course of the conflict," said Norman Roule, a former senior CIA official and Iran expert,

Even so, Roule said the sequence shows that Iran has proved adept at taking advantage of drone technology that is forcing military officials to reevaluate the vulnerabilities of Fairford and other bases long seen as secure.

Iran "is showing how the new technology of cyber and drones

President Donald Trump on Air Force One on Monday.

LUIS M. ALVAREZ/AP

Iran's increasing reliance on criminal proxies is seen by experts as an indication of how difficult it has become for Iran's own agents to elude MI5 and other security agencies on British soil, let alone sneak in truckloads of armed drones.

The plot against RAF Fairfield may have been an attempt by Iran to probe British defenses — and alarm Washington — without risking the fallout or failure of a full-scale attack, experts said.

It "may be less that Iran intended to carry out such an attack than that it wanted Western intelligence services to discover that it could," said Ali Vaez, deputy Middle East program director at the International Crisis Group.

The outcome, Vaez said, was "a carefully calibrated warning shot: a way of demonstrating that Iran can extend the battlefield onto European soil."

Steve Hendrix in London and Tara Copp and Susannah George in Washington contributed to this report.

TURKEY

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Izmir's mayor defects to Erdogan's party

The mayor of Turkey's third-largest city, Izmir, defected to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party Wednesday, giving it the mayoralty of the opposition stronghold for the first time.

Izmir had been led by the opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, for more than two decades until Mayor Cemil Tugay joined Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, or AKP, at a ceremony at its headquarters in Ankara.

In a brief speech after Erdogan pinned a party badge on his lapel, Tugay described the AKP as the "voice of the voiceless" and pledged to revitalize and rebuild Izmir as the western port city's first AKP mayor.

Tugay, who won the 2024 election with 49 percent of the vote, resigned from the CHP in June after the party was hit by a legal case that removed its leadership.

Izmir's municipal assembly remains under the control of a New Party majority.

Police set up barriers in Izmir's main square Wednesday after the opposition called for people to protest Tugay's defec-tion. They later blocked pro-testers, many calling for Tugay's resignation, from marching along a main street, the pro-op-position Halk TV news channel reported.

While critics claim the court cases are politically motivated and aimed at weakening the opposition, the government insists the country's judiciary is independent and free from political influence.

-Associated Press

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NIGERIA Troops fight off assault by militants

Nigerian troops killed more than 25 Islamic State-aligned militants as they fought off an assault on a military position in northeastern Borno state, suffering an unknown num-

ber of casualties of their own, military sources and a member of the civilian defense force said Wednesday.

In a separate, earlier incident, gunmen on motorbikes killed more than 25 soldiers and over 100 small-scale gold miners in Zamfara state, in the northwest, a military source, government official and three residents said.

The attacks underscore the persistent threat posed by Islamist insurgents in northeastern Nigeria despite years of military campaigns against Boko Haram and its offshoot, known as Islamic State West Africa Province. Meanwhile, violence is spreading in the northwest, where bandits and Islamist groups also operate.

In the incident in the north-east, troops of the 101 Special Forces Battalion came under attack Tuesday night from four directions in Kukawa, near Lake Chad, but repelled the assault with air support, according to the military.

The military sources said some soldiers were killed in the fighting but did not provide

---

DIGEST

details.

A member of the Civilian Joint Task Force, which supports military operations in the northeast, said more than three of its members were killed. The military said it would continue joint operations to prevent militants from regrouping.

-Reuters

---

CANADA Limits on euthanasia are to be proposed

Canada's Justice Minister Sean Fraser said Wednesday that the government will soon introduce legislation to exclude mental illness as the sole reason for euthanasia, months after a parliamentary committee made a similar recommendation.

Fraser said he did not anticipate further restrictions on Canada's euthanasia legislation, which has created one of the world's most permissive systems for assisted dying.

Fraser said the bill would also include provisions for advance requests from people seeking

to be euthanized if they lose capacity to make that decision in the future, such as in cases of dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

The government will amend Canada's Criminal Code to ensure that doctors who comply with the criteria set out for euthanasia are not prosecuted as criminals.

Fraser said Canada would allow euthanasia only in provinces that legislate its access to people "who are suffering from incurable illnesses and are experiencing intolerable suffering" and where there are rigorous safeguards in place.

Advocacy group Dying with Dignity has previously described Canada's exclusion of people seeking euthanasia for mental illness reasons as a violation of the country's Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is actively involved in multiple lawsuits against the government.

— Reuters

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday expressed his condolences after the reported death of María del

Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction sparked nationwide protests. Maricarmen, as she was known, had been hospitalized since she was carried out on a stretcher from the apartment where she had lived for seven decades. Her case has drawn tens of thousands of people to the streets in outrage and led the prime minister to call for early elections after failing to pass measures to address the country's housing crisis.

An African Union delegation that met Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo has called for continued engagement in the peace process, as fighting continues despite ongoing mediation efforts. The delegation, which includes three former presidents, met leaders of the AFC/M23 rebel group Monday, the African Union said in a statement Wednesday. The delegation called for respect of commitments made in Doha, adherence to the ceasefire and cooperation with verification mechanisms.

— From news services

Right-wing surge could give Flávio Bolsonaro power his father never had

Favorite to win Brazil's election pledges to free imprisoned ex-president

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BY MARINA DIAS

SÃO PAULO — A right-wing surge in Brazil's elections this week could give presidential front-runner Flávio Bolsonaro the leverage not only to free his imprisoned father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, but also to pardon supporters convicted in a Jan. 6-style assault on the capital and impeach the Supreme Court justices who have sought to hold them accountable.

After outperforming polls to finish first in Sunday's opening round, Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator, is the favorite in the runoff Oct. 25, analysts, pollsters and prediction markets say. He is challenging left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who came in second, to lead Latin America's largest democracy.

Bolsonaro has portrayed his father's 2022 defeat to Lula and conviction for attempting a military coup to stay in power as an injustice — and cast the election as an opportunity for revenge. He has promised amnesty for his father, now serving 27 years in prison, and for his supporters.

If elected, his efforts will be boosted by the unexpected success of right-wing candidates in state and congressional races on Sunday. His party will hold 28 of the 81 Senate seats, its largest caucus in more than three decades, and 121 of the 513 seats in the House of Deputies, the most since the end of Brazil's military dictatorship in 1985.

With center-right and right-wing allies also winning seats, he could build a coalition large enough to unilaterally amend the constitution and, for the first time in the country's history, impeach justices.

"Flávio has never misled voters about the agenda he intends to pursue," said political scientist Felipe Nunes, director of the Quaest polling institute. "If elected, he will have a congressional base that will allow him to take these steps. The far right will be able to implement a much more sweeping platform than before."

Bolsonaro has said as much.

“Brazil has already given me a Congress that is much further to the right than it is today,” he said Tuesday while campaigning in Goiânia. “So that we can change the constitution, so that we can redemocratize this country, so that institutions once again respect the constitution.”

Jair Bolsonaro never enjoyed anywhere near as much clout. When he took office in 2019, his party had four senators and 52 deputies. Refusing to negotiate with the center-right parties whose support is essential in the legislature, he struggled to advance his agenda.

Rodrigo Maia, who was speaker of the House at the start of Jair Bolsonaro's presidency, said Flávio Bolsonaro would enjoy more power than his father because his party will hold more seats in Congress and because he is more willing to negotiate with other parties.

"If Flávio wants to run a government of revenge, he has to accommodate those parties," Maia told The Washington Post. "Nobody is going to vote for revenge if he doesn't give them positions of significant political value."

Lula has warned voters against giving back power to the Bolsonaros. At a campaign rally on Saturday, he framed the election as a choice between “democracy and sovereignty” and “barbarism and corruption.”

The Bolsonaros continue to follow the playbook of their ally and friend, President Donald Trump.

Jair Bolsonaro, like Trump, blamed the failure of his reelection bid falsely on fraud, then watched as supporters assaulted, occupied and vandalized the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court.

Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro addresses supporters Tuesday in Goiânia.

ERALDO PERES/AP

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva speaks to journalists Tuesday in Brasília.

EVARISTO/SA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Flávio Bolsonaro, like Trump, has cast those supporters as patriots and promised to pardon them. He has declared those who prosecuted his father corrupt and pledged to use the powers of the presidency to punish them.

Bolsonaro has called repeatedly for the impeachment of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw his father's prosecution, and others.

Reshaping the Supreme Court has become one of his clearest projects, aimed at settling past scores and preventing future challenges. Bolsonaro is under investigation himself over allegations of corruption after he sought millions of dollars from a jailed banker accused in a multibillion-dollar fraud.

The right-wing candidate denies wrongdoing, and lawyers for banker Daniel Vorcaro have said they will not comment.

Jair Bolsonaro appointed two justices during his presidency. Given vacancies and retirements, his son could appoint four. One seat has been vacant for a year. The Senate rejected Lula's nominee, the first such rejection in 132 years. Three other justices reach the mandatory retirement age of 75 by 2030.

Over the next three weeks, Bolsonaro and Lula will compete for the roughly 9 million Brazilians who voted for other candidates in the first round, and the roughly 33 million who stayed home.

In a country frustrated by stubbornly high prices and growing household debt, Bolsonaro has cast himself as the candidate of change. Lula, who says he has not received proper credit for Brazil's economic growth or declining unemployment, is reminding voters of the corruption investigation. Flávio Bolsonaro, he said, has a "dark biography."

"Flávio is the favorite today," Nunes said. "But there is still room for Lula to reach out to voters who backed him for the first time in 2022, are now frustrated and chose not to vote."

Rubio's speech in Greece befits a politician trying to inherit MAGA's ranks

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a visit to Athens on Wednesday.

MILOS BICANSKI/GETTY IMAGES

BY JOHN HUDSON

ATHENS — Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Greece as America's top diplomat, but he delivered a speech befitting a politician trying to inherit the MAGA movement.

In a sweeping address Wednesday on the virtues of Western civilization, Rubio tried to place President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda in a broader Western tradition of national ambition and reinvention.

"We have much more to learn from the men of ancient Greece," Rubio said. "They knew that there was nothing selfish or wrong about loyalty to your nation, nor anything selfish or wrong about fighting to defend its interests above all else."

He urged Americans to embrace the intellectual lineage of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton, and resist the "modern" impulse to elevate "the average, the ordinary, the mediocre."

The address was a major production, with staffers operating four State Department video cameras, including one mounted on a crane for cinematic shots of the secretary on the Pnyx, the hillside where ancient Athenians gathered to debate and vote, laying the early foundations of democracy.

It comes as Vice President JD

Vance begins to define what his expected run for the presidency in 2028 might look like and as Rubio reflexively dismisses any questions about his future political ambitions.

His remarks are notable, however, as they don't merely defend the Trump administration's foreign policy but attempt to establish what America should become as it grapples with modernity and tradition.

"The next decade will write the story of the next century," Rubio said. "The course we take will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world, or resigns itself to a future of atrophy, servitude and decline."

The remarks reveled in a grab bag of figures from the Western canon including Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador whose controversial conquest of the Aztec Empire was marked by extraordinary violence.

Rubio hailed Greek civic life organized “around contest and ambition and competition.”

He appeared to criticize liberal excess for lowering standards "to ensure that no one will lose." He also criticized political Islam and the "radical mullahs of Iran, whose cult of death hails child suicide bombers as national heroes and portrays martyrdom as an end to itself."

"Our heroes may be willing to die for their cause, but our heroes do not worship death," he said.

Looking to the future, Rubio called for the United States to dominate the fields of drone warfare, critical minerals, cybersecurity and "super intelligence," Trump's newly branded catchphrase for AI.

At a news conference earlier on Wednesday, Rubio was asked whether government has a role in limiting the threat AI poses to humanity. Rubio expressed confidence in the task force set up by Trump that empowers the director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, to "mitigate against the potential downsides of super intelligence, but also the ability to benefit from the good things."

Sitting in front of Rubio was U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, who has come under fire from Senate Democrats over a recent report in the Wall Street Journal that she threatened to use the power of the U.S. government to destabilize the Greek government.

Asked if her behavior conflicted with State Department ethics rules, Rubio said he did not want to discuss the issue at the news conference. "Suffice it to say, our embassy here is doing a great job. Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here," he said.

Plague case unlikely to be bioweapon, Trump says

BY DAN DIAMOND,

LENA H. SUN

AND MARY ILYUSHINA

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that U.S. officials did not believe that a Russian lab worker's reported death, which has attracted global scrutiny, was linked to a bioweapon.

"We're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The 28-year-old worker's death last week has drawn international attention because she worked at an institute in Siberia that studies plague. Russia's elevated response – including imposing quarantines – and the lack of public information about the case have also raised questions, given that the country's measures significantly outpace the normal response to a plague-linked death.

Trump said that Russian officials had reassured their U.S. counterparts that the situation was being contained. The president acknowledged some similarities to how Chinese officials in early 2020 initially claimed they had contained the covid-19 virus before it caused a global pandemic.

“China didn’t say much, and Russia is not saying much either,” Trump said. “But they do say they have it very much under control.”

Trump also said that he expected Russian authorities to share more information about the case, after frustrations that the country had not been forthcoming.

"I just met with our people. We have brilliant experts," Trump said. "They know everything about what's going on. And, all of that information is going through them."

Officials from the World Health Organization on Wednesday said Russian authorities informed them that the lab worker had a community-acquired case of pneumonia. The agency is seeking information about unconfirmed reports that a second employee of the Siberian laboratory developed pneumonia of unknown cause, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva.

WHO officials said they still do not know what pathogen caused the first worker's fatal illness, which pathogens Russian laboratories tested for or why authorities placed roughly 200 contacts under quarantine or medical observation. Without those answers, officials said, they cannot fully assess the public health risk.

Russia's public health agency said earlier this week that a laboratory worker employed at an institute dedicated to studying plague in the Irkutsk region died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of "unknown" origin.

The agency on Wednesday issued an update that the situation was "stable" and said that plague had not been detected in follow-up tests of thousands of people in the region.

"Preventive and anti-epidemic measures have been carried out comprehensively; there are no epidemic risks to the population of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk Region," the agency said in a statement.

Pneumonic plague is almost always fatal when untreated, but many patients recover with a prompt course of antibiotics. The incubation period for this type of plague is up to six or seven days.

One Russian news report said that the technician "allegedly broke a test tube containing the pneumonic plague pathogen" on Sept. 25, that she soon fell ill and was taken to a hospital, where she died last Friday.

The Trump administration this week sent a formal diplomatic message to Russia requesting more information about the worker's death.

The “threat to the United States is extremely low,” Erica Schwartz, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday at a Wall Street Journal event.

Around 200 flights arrive in the U.S. from Siberia every year, Schwartz said, and federal agencies are monitoring for arrivals from the region.

There are no direct flights from Russia to the U.S. due to sanctions and the suspension of service following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But travelers can legally fly through Istanbul and other hubs.

Schwartz added that pneumonic plague is "highly treatable" with antibiotics if cases are identified early.

Adam Taylor and John Hudson contributed to this report.

ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES

President Donald Trump during an Oval Office event on Oct. 7.

Woman's killing stirs a long-simmering rage over U.S. military in Okinawa

A demonstrator outside the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo holds a sign at a protest Tuesday against the killing of a woman in Okinawa.

CHRISTOPHER JUE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

U.S. Marine Devin Jacob Ballard is in custody in Japan.

KOTARO UEDA/KYODO NEWS/AP

Arrest of Marine fuels protests as two countries seek to bolster security

BY CHIE TANAKA

AND JOSHUA YANG

TOKYO — Mounting anger over a U.S. Marine arrested on suspicion of killing a Japanese woman in Okinawa has once again inflamed long-simmering tensions over the U.S. military presence in the prefecture, as Tokyo seeks to enact the most sweeping change in its security strategy in Okinawa in decades.

Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was taken into custody on suspicion of killing Anna Yagi, 39, who died of suffocation in a hotel Saturday, local police said. Ballard is also suspected of stealing Yagi's wallet and other belongings.

Ballard has denied the allegations, police said.

The case was referred to the local prosecutor's office, though it remains unclear whether authorities will prosecute Ballard. Under a long-standing agreement governing U.S. troops in Japan, Ballard is subject to Japanese jurisdiction because the alleged crime occurred while he was off-duty.

The incident drew immediate backlash from Okinawan and national authorities. Both the U.S. ambassador to Japan and the commander of U.S. Forces Japan were summoned to Tokyo, and Prime Minister Sanae Takai-chi called the case "extremely brutal and heinous" in a statement on X.

About 180 people held a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday evening, and a demonstration outside the Foreign Ministry is scheduled for Thursday evening.

U.S. Forces Japan said Tuesday that all personnel stationed in Okinawa would suspend all activities for 48 hours starting Wednesday and undergo training on standards and discipline. Troops will also be subject to a curfew for a 30-day "Period of Reflection."

The incident comes amid efforts by both governments to grapple with what the Japanese Foreign Ministry has described as “the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II,” with Japan at the center of a campaign to reinforce the U.S.-led security order amid threats in the region from China, North Korea and Russia.

Takaichi, a China hawk, last year suggested that Japan could become involved in defending Taiwan, a self-governing island claimed by China, in case of Chinese invasion, breaking with decades of policy. As the prefecture closest to Taiwan, Okinawa is central to Takaichi's "southwest shift" strategy of bolstering the Japanese military presence in the region.

Okinawa already bears a disproportionate burden in hosting American forces in Japan. The prefecture contains about 70 percent of U.S. military facilities in the country, despite representing less than 1 percent of Japan's land area. Local residents have long voiced anger and resentment over crime, environmental pollution and overcrowding resulting from military bases in the region.

For over a decade, the political reality in Okinawa has been characterized by the central government in Tokyo backing — and local governors rejecting — plans for strengthening both the

American and Japanese military presence in the region.

But the newly inaugurated governor of Okinawa, Genta

Koja, ran on a more conciliatory platform, dropping his predecessor's opposition to the construction of a new U.S. Marine Corps base in Henoko and expressing willingness to work with Tokyo on the southwest shift.

Saturday's arrest is likely to complicate the governor's approach. Koja said in his first policy speech Tuesday that he would make "protecting Okinawa" a major pillar of his administration and that he would call for a reduction in U.S. military bases in Okinawa in a meeting with Takaichi on Wednesday.

Koja now faces a "very important question," said Fumiaki Nozoe, a professor of international politics at Okinawa International University. "When Japan's national security policy comes into conflict with the lives and livelihoods of Okinawa residents, which side will he stand on?"

In the past, crimes committed by U.S. forces in Okinawa have pushed the Pentagon to offer concessions to the local government. After three U.S. servicemen raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl in 1995, public outrage spurred Washington to announce plans to shutter Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, though the base remains open.

Saturday's incident is unlikely to result in concessions given the ongoing push to militarize further in Okinawa, Nozoe said.

"I would imagine that the Japanese and U.S. governments are essentially thinking that they can manage the damage, let the issue gradually fade away, and then proceed with the next Japan-U.S. joint exercises and the plans for the realignment of U.S. forces," he said. "But if they do not take some kind of fundamental measures, another incident or accident will occur, and there will again be a backlash in Okinawan society."

Yang reported from Taipei, Taiwan.

AI-powered robots are next in war tech, Ukraine's ex-defense minister says

HEIDI LEVINE/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's former defense minister, looks at an exhibition in Kyiv last week.

He says it's worth the risk with his country facing extinction from Russia

BY FRANCESCA EBEL,

ANASTACIA GALOUCHKA

AND KOSTIANTYN KHUDOV

KYIV — AI-powered robots are likely to dominate the next phase in the rapid technological transformation of warfare, and Ukraine cannot afford to debate the societal risks before pursuing such autonomous weapons, the country's former defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said in an interview.

"The main thing for Ukraine is to survive and preserve our independence," Fedorov, an architect of Ukraine's drone program, told The Washington Post. "And we need technology to defeat the Russians."

While officials worldwide worry about the potential risks of artificial intelligence, including the prospect that rogue AI agents could kill humans, Fedorov said Ukraine was already confronting its own extinction at the hands of Russia and cannot afford to slow or restrict AI on the front lines.

"Our biggest concern is that our enemy, Russia, together with its allies, will move faster toward AI robots; they will build drones without communication links, fully autonomous ones," he said. "Once the first robots are deployed, it's basically inevitable and irreversible."

"The question," Fedorov continued, "is who will be the first to start using this, who will regulate its use and how." But regulation, he said, must come afterward, and the priority for Ukraine is to "get there first, gain the advantage and dictate the rules of the game."

Formerly Ukraine's minister of digitalization, Fedorov is credited with helping to build the country's drone fleet, which has proved critical to holding back

Russia's continuing onslaught. Now, he wants to build an army of killer robots.

Fedorov was abruptly removed from his post this summer by President Volodymyr Zelensky amid a broader government reshuffle. He had been defense minister for just six months, and his ouster sparked public protests.

Thousands took to the streets to voice their frustration over a lack of government transparency and to call for Fedorov's reinstatement. Zelensky offered him other positions, but he refused.

Once a close ally of Zelensky and a veteran of his team, Fedorov is now his political rival.

“Fedorov is almost a new incarnation of Zelensky. They are both emotional, sharp and energetic. They favor quick action and want quick results,” political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said in an interview. “But Fedorov is more technological, modern, organized and focused on innovation. He is a person of the 21st century.”

At 35, Fedorov is regarded as a young, talented reformer with a keen eye for business. He has support among Ukraine's metropolitan middle class and its youths, and he is seen as the embodiment of the country's expertise at technological innovation.

He is less popular, however, outside Ukraine's big cities. In his brief tenure as defense minister, he oversaw tumultuous changes, angering many in the military's top brass, who thought he overstepped his authority.

He also frustrated Ukraine's rank-and-file after he made unpopular changes to soldiers' fixed-term contracts.

Zelensky said he sacked Fedorov because of his inability to work alongside the former commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, who was subsequently also removed. Fedorov claims that he was fired for pushing reforms, including major audits of military spending.

Recent political missteps, however — including calling for elections, which are illegal in Ukraine under martial law, and joining Italy's Defense Ministry as a freelance adviser — have alienated many of Fedorov's supporters.

"He essentially killed off his own protests," said a former senior official in Kyiv, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive politics.

Most Ukrainians are against holding elections in wartime, and experts say it would be virtually impossible to hold free or fair elections with millions of Ukrainians displaced from home, living abroad as refugees or deployed in the military.

Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a Ukrainian veteran who organized this summer's protests, described Fedorov's call for elections as "clumsy."

"His video address made me think that he currently has some major problems with his media team," Koziatynskyi said.

In his interview with The Post, Fedorov defended his decision to call for elections.

"When you and your team are, so to speak, fired, while they keep people who are looting the system, who are obstructing victory ... there needs to be some kind of renewal of democracy, a new cycle, so that new people come in," he said. "People who understand the crisis, understand the war, and bring some new ideas that can get us out of this situation."

Zelensky's inner circle has been shadowed this year by multiple corruption scandals. "If I see that the country is burning and heading toward catastrophe, how could I just stay silent when I know what is happening from the inside?" Fedorov said.

Since his departure from government, Fedorov has swapped politics for venture investment.

Last month, he announced the formation of a new defense technology company with Palantir CEO Alex Karp as its lead investor.

Just three months ago, Fedorov was battling to procure thousands of drones and streamline the Defense Ministry's day-to-day operations. Now, he is hosting Zoom calls with potential investors from the United States and the Middle East.

"Now that we're no longer in government, we have to get those resources somewhere else," he said. "We are hacking the system this way. ... In 2022, we realized that during a technological war like this, the state has to change its role. The state has to become a venture investor."

One of his central ideas is to use the new tech fund to create an "army of robots," which he said will "save lives" by replacing humans on the battlefield. It will also solve Ukraine's persistent shortage of troop reinforcements as it defends against the far larger Russian military.

Oleksandr Pivnenko, commander of Ukraine's national guard, said Saturday that in some frontline areas, Russian soldiers outnumber Ukrainian troops 6 to 1.

Robotics and semiautonomous systems are already on the battlefield but have yet to enter the front at scale. This past weekend, Kyiv installed AI-guided robotic gun turrets across the city to shoot down incoming drones and strengthen the capital's flailing air defenses.

Unmanned ground vehicles, or UGVs, "are one of the main growth areas in Ukraine's army, alleviating manned logistics at the front, performing casualty evacuation and in select cases executing combat tasks," said military analyst Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, the Washington-based think tank.

Fedorov said he aims to put the first "basic" humanoid robot on the battlefield in six months.

Already, there are ethical questions.

In the interview, Fedorov dismissed concerns about his deepening ties with Palantir's Karp, who has been accused by critics of supporting ideas about technofascism and cultural supremacy in his writings, and whose company has become embroiled in controversies over data protection and its ties to intelligence and immigration agencies.

"In reality, Ukraine is getting more from Western companies for now than Western companies are getting from us," Fedorov said, insisting that Palantir does not have access to Ukraine's battlefield data.

Fedorov said that he remains in direct contact with U.S. tech titans, including Elon Musk, and that Karp was the first person to call him after he was fired this summer.

"He said, 'Whatever you decide to do, I'd be interested in supporting your team, in doing something together," Fedorov recalled. The pair met in the United States a month later, and Karp quickly agreed to be the fund's first and principal investor.

But Fedorov said he intends to remain in charge.

"We don't plan to sell a large stake to Palantir," he said. "Despite the strong interest, we still want to retain full control of the company."

While Fedorov has railed against corruption in Zelensky's presidential administration and in the Defense Ministry, he is facing several of his own alleged conflicts of interest.

Critics point to Ukrainian anti-corruption laws that restrict transactions between former officials and private companies for one year after leaving office, if they made decisions related to those companies' activities. As defense minister, Fedorov oversaw extensive cooperation with Palantir.

There are also questions about the ethics and risks of an ex-minister who had access to classified information now advising a foreign government.

Other critics have dismissed Fedorov's vision of humanoid robotics as a distraction that does not correspond to Ukraine's urgent military needs, namely a critical shortfall in missile and drone interceptors to protect against Russia's relentless air strikes.

Fedorov has said a part of his new company will focus on the development of interceptors, but that he believes Ukraine urgently needs a “new Manhattan Project,” in partnership with Western companies, to develop cutting-edge war technologies.

"The consequences of our enemy gaining the upper hand will be impossible to predict because, essentially, new autonomous robots and drones are very similar to nuclear weapons," he said. "The only difference is that they will be more accessible and uncontrolled."

THURSDAY OPINION

John Cleese is not a terrorist

BY ANDREW DOYLE

GEORGE WILKES/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

Actor and comedian John Cleese filming "Monty Python's Flying Circus" in London in 1970.

I have recently felt a growing nostalgia for the days when words remained attached to their traditional definitions. Activists in positions of influence so habitually mangle the English language that even basic communication is often impeded. Words and phrases such as “far right,” “genocide,” “racist” and “hate” have become unmoored from their meanings, losing much of their utility.

We cannot even be secure in our use of the word "terrorist" any longer, given that so many are determined to abuse it. How else to explain the fact that comedian John Cleese, of Monty Python and "Fawlty Towers" fame, has been reported to Prevent, the British government program designed to stop people from becoming terrorists? Are dead parrots, silly walks and disgruntled hoteliers now deemed early warning signs of radicalization?

The complaint to Prevent against Cleese was made by a member of the public, and the details passed to 5Pillars, an Islamist media outlet based in London. In its report, 5Pillars characterized the complaint as alleging that Cleese's social media jokes and comments "go beyond legitimate criticism of Islam and instead portray Muslims collectively as violent, criminal and morally depraved." The complaint, quoted by 5Pillars, said Cleese's rhetoric may contribute to "radicalisation, communal tension, and hate incidents." (If you haven't heard of "hate incidents," they are those noncrimes that the British police seem to spend so much of their time investigating.)

None of this is true, of course. Cheese rightly rejects the term "Islamophobic" and instead calls himself "Islamosceptic." How could he be otherwise? This is a man who has brilliantly skewered closed systems of thought for many decades. Many readers will remember Python members' televised debate in 1979 with writer Malcolm Muggeridge and Bishop Mervyn Stockwood, who were furious at what they perceived to be a direct attack on Christianity in "Monty Python's Life of Brian."

Just imagine the conniptions if, instead of the priggish, outraged Muggeridge and Stockwood, the offended party were a representative from 5Pillars.

Cleese has responded to the Prevent referral in the best possible way: by mocking it. "One of the proudest moments of my life," he posted on X. "I would like to thank everyone concerned." The tyrannical mindset, always humorless, cannot bear to be ridiculed.

Few will be surprised that there are those who wish to see Cleese silenced — in August, 5 Pillars said that “the Islamophobic comedian John Cleese should be de-platformed” — and that they will try to weaponize the law to that end.

But what exactly is 5Pillars? "Protecting our Democracy from Coercion," a 2024 British government report, described 5 Pillars as having "expressed support for an Islamic caliphate, Sharia (Islamic principles and law) penal codes and physical jihad" and "repeatedly abused and intimidated Muslim liberals, counter-extremists, and human rights activists."

Yet the government, whether under Conservative leadership in recent years or under Labour now, has long been inclined more toward woke orthodoxy. A 2022 report by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee lists "cultural nationalism" as one of the ideological strands associated with "extreme right-wing terrorism." This same classification has been incorporated into the Home Office's Prevent guidance. Here is the gloss the committee provides for the phrase "cultural nationalism":

"A belief that 'Western Culture' is under threat from mass migration into Europe and from a lack of integration by certain ethnic and cultural groups. The ideology tends to focus on the rejection of cultural practices such as the wearing of the burqa, or the perceived rise of the use of sharia law. In the UK this has been closely associated with anti-Islam groups."

The belief that Western society is under threat from mass migration is not so niche as the government supposes. Indeed, numerous politicians have made broadly the same point, sometimes in the House of Commons: "After years of mass immigration, we now face the enormous task of building an integrated, cohesive society. Allowing more and more immigration would make that impossible." For a fun quiz, ask a counterterrorism expert whether these words came from a jackbooted far-right zealot or from mild-mannered Conservative and former prime minister Theresa May. For it was she, speaking in 2012 as home secretary.

The reckless debasement of language explains why perfectly reasonable objections to the most egregious aspects of Islamic theocracies, such as those outlined by Cleese in his various social media posts on the subject, are suddenly deemed terroristic. For example, according to 5 Pillars, the complainant to Prevent specifically cited one Cleese post that read: "I personally prefer a culture that does not approve of FGM" — female genital mutilation — "child marriage and killing infidels." Is that really all that controversial?

Some would say it is — and it is their right to say so in a liberal-democratic society. The principle of free speech means that parties on any side of this matter should be able to express their views openly, without the government getting involved. It is almost certainly the case that Prevent will not take seriously the claim that one of Britain's greatest living comedians is a rabid extremist, but the fact that such complaints are raised at all shows that the old consensus on free speech is no longer secure.

Andrew Doyle is the author of "Free Speech and Why It Matters" and "The New Puritans." This article was adapted from his Substack.

These Massachusetts parents face an impossible choice

ILLUSTRATION BY ADRIAN ASTORGANO FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

BY DAVID HODGES AND JAMIE GASS

Most parents are familiar with the moment when their child asks an unanswerable question. For Ariella Hellman, it came when her 4-year-old son asked why he had to leave the school he loved.

The truth was difficult to explain. He had done nothing wrong. Nor had his parents. When they chose what they believed was the best school for him — a Jewish day school — they were simply exercising a right the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a century ago in Pierce v. Society of Sisters. There, the court explained that “the child is not the mere creature of the State,” and held that those who raise him “have the right, coupled with the high duty” to direct his education. The problem was that Massachusetts penalized them for doing so.

Since 1972, Massachusetts has entitled all children with disabilities — including private-school students — to special-education services. But a state regulation turns that lifeline for children into a tool of coercion against parents. The rule states that “nothing” in it restricts parents’ right to send their children to private school — and then subsequently forbids their children from receiving special-education services at school if they make that choice.

The regulation forced the Hellmans, like many parents before them, to choose between two things their child needed.

They could keep him at his school, surrounded by his friends and teachers, but only by repeatedly pulling him out of class and shuttling him to whatever location the state deemed "neutral" for him to receive services. For a child who struggles with concentration, and managing anxiety and frustration, that would be disruptive. It would also defeat the purpose of enrolling him in the school in the first place if, for example, he had to miss math class to address his reading deficiencies.

Or they could send him to a public school and receive state services there, but only by giving up the school the Constitution guarantees them the right to choose.

At first, the Hellmans withdrew their son and enrolled him in public school. He received the services he needed, but he lost his classmates, his teachers and his community. Two years later, his parents brought him back to his old school, but he lost the special-education services to which he was entitled.

Massachusetts is forcing the Hellmans to choose between receiving a benefit and exercising a right.

That is why our organizations are representing the Hellmans, along with another Massachusetts family, in a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Our question to the court: Can a state deny a child a benefit simply because of his parents' exercise of a constitutional right?

In March, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit held that it could. The court reasoned that Massachusetts may impose this kind of pressure on rights not protected by the First Amendment. It also held that the regulation was necessary to comply with Massachusetts's "anti-aid" amendment, which bars public money from "aiding" private schools.

Neither explanation holds water. First, the Supreme Court has never drawn a line between rights it protects from this type of coercion and rights it doesn't. Second, Massachusetts's actions undercut its supposed obligation: When a public school cannot provide appropriate services to children with special needs — a routine occurrence — the government often places them in private schools that can. In other words, Massachusetts allows a child to receive services at a private school when the government determines a child should be educated there, but not when the child's parents do so.

That matters because of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Pierce. In the ruling, a unanimous court invalidated an Oregon law designed to force children into public schools by outlawing private ones. The court rejected the state's attempt to "standardize its children" and recognized the right of parents to direct their children's education.

Pierce protects not only a parent's right to enroll a child in private school but also their right to make that choice without being punished for it. Yet penalizing is exactly what the regulation does. It cannot prevent the Hellmans from sending their son to the school of their choice, so it tells them that if they do, he will lose the services to which he is otherwise entitled. Massachusetts is pressuring them into not exercising a right.

Some parents respond to that pressure by keeping their children in private schools and forgoing the services they need. Others give up the school they believe is best for their children and enroll them in public school. The Hellmans still don't have a good answer for their son, but they hope that the court will provide one.

David Hodges is an attorney at the Institute for Justice. Jamie Gass is the education policy director at the Pioneer Institute. Their organizations represent the Hellman family.

How divided is America? My veteran's cap says it all.

BY JAY MATHEWS

I was lost in Fontana, California, late for the funeral of a friend's wife. I stopped at a pawn shop, hoping for help from a bearded man at the counter. But I didn't understand the first words he said to me: "Thank you for your service."

Huh? Oh, right. He was focused on my cap, the one I sometimes wear for solemn occasions. It says "U.S. ARMY VIETNAM VET," with a replica of the green, yellow and red Vietnam service ribbon. As usual, I had forgotten I had it on. That's why I am often confused by unexpected expressions of gratitude.

I thanked him back, and he gave me good directions. It occurred to me, not for the first time, that while our country may be torn by political battles, it is united in respect for long-standing institutions like the military. This realization has grown out of a decision I made when I was very young — one of the most important of my life.

It happened in 1967, just after the memorable day when I graduated from college and married my brilliant classmate Linda McVeigh. I was in a good place, ready for a big life. So I surprised even myself when, although neither I nor any of my friends supported the then-raging Vietnam War, I volunteered for the draft.

A college friend who graduated the year before had done the same thing. I assumed that his wealthy and powerful family could have found a way for him to stay out of the Army, but he chose to serve.

Coming from the middle class, I, too, had taken advantage of the four-year college deferment, and I could have done the same for graduate school. (A year later, the grad school deferment was mostly eliminated.)

But I thought about it for some time, then decided to follow my friend's example. Due largely to college deferments, three-quarters of Americans who served in Vietnam came from low-income or working-class backgrounds. And I had long been bothered by racial and other societal inequities. So it occurred to me, as a future journalist, that signing up would teach me about people with backgrounds different from mine — as well as about my country and that particular moment in its history. Linda, who was headed for a job at the Los Angeles Times, was wonderfully tolerant of my offbeat instincts.

At basic training in Fort Lewis, Washington, I shared barracks with recruits who turned out to be just as smart as I was, but had grown up in different circumstances. Talking to them was valuable. Some observations were more intense — like the fistfight between a Black soldier and a White one that resulted in some blood but no long-term damage.

The author putting on his cap.

ETHAN NOAH RUN/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Apparently the Army knew I'd spent more college hours at the student newspaper than in class, so they made me an information specialist — first at Fort Ord, California, and then at Long Binh Post, an Army base near Saigon. I eventually achieved the rank of Specialist 4, writing and editing stories for the Army Reporter, which was delivered weekly to our troops.

I was pleased to discover that the major who supervised our office had a sense of humor. For our regular Q&A column, I once got the question: "Do we gain or lose a day when we cross the International Date Line?" The major approved my reply: "The way I look at it, we lose a year."

Though I took helicopter trips to various parts of the war zone, the only serious dangers I encountered were the explosives and firebombs the Vietcong occasionally launched at our barracks. I arrived too late to see the enemy's massive Tet Offensive in early 1968, and the Communist forces' attempt to attack our base again during Tet 1969 resulted in only one U.S. death. Later that year, I did encounter a frightening charge by a mob of wives and girlfriends as our group of troops arrived in Honolulu for R&R. Linda signaled me from the back of the horde.

Today we again have huge clashes in America over foreign wars. But there is something reassuring about our country in such circumstances, measured in a weird way by the thanks I get from strangers for the service I provided long ago.

My intriguing two years as a GI left me convinced of the rewards of making a decision that seemed sudden and odd, but had the potential to expose me to people I really ought to know. And I have been pleased that my cap gives the impression in public that I am a decent person — a very old but good American, worth helping if I seem to be in need of something, as I was that day in Fontana.

Jay Mathews was a Washington Post reporter and columnist from 1971 to 2022.

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EDITORIALS

A good step to build wealth for American kids

Investor Michael Dell, who gave \$6 billion to support "Trump accounts" along with his wife, appears in the Oval Office in July.

SHAWN THEW/POOL/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST.

TENS OF MILLIONS of American children recently gained access to a promising wealth-building tool, though many of their parents probably aren't even aware of it.

The Treasury Department announced last week that it has automatically opened "Trump accounts" for more than 60 million eligible children. Just 7 million had previously enrolled for the benefit, created under the 2025 tax law. Now, nearly everyone under 18 has one.

The transformational power of these accounts has been oversold by the administration, but they offer real promise.

Government paternalistically taking steps on behalf of citizens — the kind of “nudges” that progressive behavioral economists love — often leads to unintended consequences. But given the sorry state of economic education, the nation’s dire fiscal forecast and declining confidence in the proven long-term benefits of the stock market, this is an investment that could pay off for decades.

The Trump accounts take in contributions from parents or other family members, employers or charitable programs. The money is invested in a stock index fund and becomes accessible close to a child's 18th birthday.

Those born between 2025 and the end of 2028 — almost all of Trump's second term — receive a federal seed contribution of \$1,000, envisioned as a pilot program, at an estimated cost of \$17 billion.

The idea is for the twin magic of compound interest and long-term returns to create funds for college, starting a business or a lifetime of investment and wealth building.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says this could be the best federal benefit for young people since the GI Bill. That seems overly optimistic. It's unfortunate that, like so many things the president can claim only tangential credit for, the program bears his name. That politicizes an effort that might otherwise have earned widespread buy-in and continued after President Donald Trump leaves office. Families looking to save for college or jump-start a child's retirement may find better vehicles. Many tax-advantaged options already exist.

For those with fewer options, though, the accounts could pull in philanthropic and corporate donations that kids would otherwise miss. Several billionaires have pledged contributions to lower-income recipients. Computer magnate Michael

Dell and his wife, Susan, are donating more than \$6 billion in seed money for children in lower-income areas, an extraordinary act of generosity. Such voluntary contributions are certainly preferable to the inefficient mechanisms of government redistribution.

Giving children an account they can watch grow on a phone app might also counter the beating that free markets have taken in the public imagination. If young people see themselves as players who stand to benefit from growth, rather than as victims of a modern economy, they'll be more likely to help protect the system that has created broad-based prosperity.

Why is the National Guard outside D.C. schools?

Regarding the Oct. 5 Metro article "Boots on the school-ground":

I am the parent of two young children at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School, and I am outraged by the deployment of large numbers of heavily armed National Guard troops and FBI agents during school drop-off hours.

Whoever ordered these operations kicked off a wave of nightmares for hundreds of pre-K and elementary school children, as well as parents and teachers. The public deserves to know more about this new initiative and whether it intentionally targets schools.

employees of companies that use those services. That is not true. Employees who wish to support organizations that do not appear on the eligible list remain completely free to do so but will just not have those gifts matched by their employer.

It is important to remember that gift-matching services exist to help their clients ensure that these gifts are both lawful and consistent with the corporation's values. In that regard, gift-matching services traditionally have never — and never should — limit themselves to "using IRS 501(c)(3) status as the sole eligibility standard," as DeVito suggested.

STEPHEN LAM/SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA AP

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) in San Francisco on Saturday.

Congress wants faster union contracts — except for its own staff

MANY MEMBERS of Congress say they believe that once employees vote to unionize, they "must be able to promptly se-

Michael Montgomery,

Dearborn, Michigan

cure a first contract." Unless, of course, they work for Congress.

The quote above is from the Faster Labor Contracts Act, a bill the House passed in June with 20 Republicans joining 210 Democrats. The union-backed legislation, which has stalled in the Senate, would set a deadline of 90 days after negotiations begin for an employer and union to reach an agreement. Then, federal mediators would get involved, and binding arbitration could force a contract on a business and its workers.

Staffers of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) announced on Monday that they had secured their first contract after four years of negotiations. Khanna skipped the vote on the contracts bill, but he is a co-sponsor of the PRO Act, which includes similar provisions.

Nicole Waring, the shop steward in

Khanna's office, explained why it took so long. "There's a lot of back and forth. It takes time to review each passback of the contract [and] redline everything," she told Politico. "The biggest thing was we wanted to make sure that this contract would be governable, and rather than just make things convenient and take shortcuts, make sure that it was going to be something that we knew would stand the test of time."

Other staff explained that going slowly was important because union contracts are binding and directly affect workers' lives. They noted the unique workplace circumstances of a congressional office.

Here's the thing: Every workplace is unique. Every union contract directly affects workers' lives. And that's why the government should never force a contract on people without their consent.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act would erase that basic principle from labor relations law — but only for the private sector. The bill modifies the National Labor Relations Act, which doesn't apply to government workers. They'd still be able to take as long as they want to negotiate if the bill becomes law.

The bargaining unit for Khanna's office includes just eight employees. If it can take four years to navigate the complexities in such a tiny workplace, it can certainly take longer than 90 days for businesses with 80, 800, 8,000 or 80,000 employees. Besides, how could federal mediators or arbitrators possibly know the details of each business well enough to impose a good contract?

After celebrating the contract in his office, Khanna said, "We need to be a model for the collective bargaining in our offices that we want to see across our nation." He's right. The great majority of congressional offices are not unionized, just like the great majority of American workplaces. And those desiring to take that step must be allowed to negotiate for as long as it takes to secure mutually agreeable terms of employment.

The military should have zero role in domestic policing. Period. On average each National Guard soldier costs \$607 per day compared with \$384 for a D.C. police officer, according to analysis from the Niskanen Center, and taxpayers like me are footing that bill.

Worst of all, we've seen too little action from the D.C. Council to bring transparency and accountability. Fortunately, November is coming. Elected officials who fail to demand real oversight that protects our kids and neighbors might be sent to the sidelines.

Myles Duffy, Washington

As a parent of a 9-year-old, I would like to echo the concerns voiced by neighbors, parents and local officials in the Oct. 5 Metro article about the National Guard appearing outside D.C. schools. It is indeed deeply disturbing to experience this. Soldiers have no place in our communities, including at kids' schools, recreation centers and playgrounds.

Helen Hubbard-Davis, Washington

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What I saw in D.C. in 1968

I recently came across the yellowed clipping of a story I wrote for the Evening Star in 1968, after the riots in D.C. following the assassination of the Rev Martin Luther King Jr. Large numbers of stores were looted and burned here and across the country. Federal troops and the National Guard, including my unit here in D.C., were called up to enforce a curfew and restore order.

My impression then was that residents were happy to see us and overwhelmingly friendly, greeting us on the street and offering coffee and food.

It's a different situation now. People are shocked and appalled to see troops from outside D.C. showing up unexpectedly at schools and elsewhere where there has been no trouble. The city is peaceful. I and many others want the National Guard to go home.

But please be kind to those who are here. They would rather be home with their families.

And this, too, shall pass.

Tom Oliver, Washington

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Charity ratings can't replace judgment

Dustin DeVito's Sept. 29 op-ed, "Your company's charity list may have a political screen built in," could leave readers with the impression that organizations considered ineligible for other employee gift-matching services are somehow barred from receiving donations from

Dustin DeVito's Sept. 29 op-ed is right that no advocacy group's list should decide which lawful charities employees may fund. 1792 Exchange, where DeVito is a research director, is itself an advocacy group that publishes its own ratings of companies and boards in service of a stated mission to promote particular values.

That matters because the problem he describes is bigger than one list. Inclusion is decided by a measure built by a party with a stake in the outcome. The Southern Poverty Law Center built the Hate Map; the 1792 Exchange builds bias ratings. In both cases, an organization must live with a denominator it did not choose.

DeVito's remedy is sound: use IRS 501(c)(3) status as the floor and tell employees whenever a portal filters. But the better remedy is older. Donors who visit a charity, read its Form 990 and ask how it spends their money have vetted it in the only way that cannot be outsourced. Any rating, from any side, is a substitute for that work. Neutrality does not come from choosing a better list-maker. It comes from gift-givers who know what they are funding.

James A. Lomastro,

Conway, Massachusetts

The writer is a retired nonprofit

health care administrator and a

national accreditation surveyor.

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What's the matter with Kansas? Now Republicans are the ones asking.

Democrat Adam Hamilton, left, and Republican Sen. Roger Marshall at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson on Sept. 12.

EVERT NELSON/USA TODAY NETWORK VIA REUTERS CONNECT

It's hard to overstate the shock that recent Kansas polling has delivered to the Republicans. The RealClear-Politics average has GOP Sen. Roger Marshall up by just 0.2 percentage points, and even that negligible margin was pulled in his direction by a poll from a Republican firm, co/efficient, that has him up by five. The four most recent results range from a one-point lead by Marshall to a three-point advantage for Democrat Adam Hamilton. Average those and Hamilton has an advantage.

"What's the Matter with Kansas?" be- moaned progressive journalist Thomas Frank in his 2004 bestseller focused on the working class's support for the Republican Party in the state. Now it's Republicans who are asking that question.

Hamilton's résumé is probably one reason he is polling so well in such ruby-red terrain. Hamilton is the pastor of the largest Methodist church in the United States, something that shows he appeals to quiet, non-evangelical Protestant voters. Though Republicans have criticized him for his handling of allegations of sexual abuse by staff in 2005 at a program his church ran, Hamilton doesn't have a record of endorsing strongly progressive viewpoints — unlike Democrat Senate nominee James Talarico in Texas, whose progressive leanings are being used against him.

He's a good fit for the state, and his campaign is smartly positioned to appeal to the sort of Republican and independent voters who have sometimes supported Democratic candidates for Kansas governor over the past 20 years. Hamilton's campaign website says he's "running to end the chaos and bring people together to solve real problems." His campaign motto — "Faith. Family. Kansas." — could have come straight from a Republican playbook.

In a normal election year, that wouldn't be enough. But 2026 is shaping up to be strongly Democratic, and the trend happens to be especially potent throughout the nation's agricultural areas. In ag-heavy Kansas, that's a huge problem for the GOP. It's the economy, stupid, once again.

The war in Iran has dramatically increased the cost of diesel fuel and fertilizer, which have combined with low rainfall to crimp many farmers' bottom lines. There's no escaping the fact that without the war, farmers would not be facing such dramatic increases in the costs of production. There's only so much a GOP campaign can do to spin its way out of that trap.

Then there's the constant drama from Donald Trump. The president campaigned in 2024 promising to end the chaos of inflation, immigration and global conflict that characterized Joe Biden's presidency. Instead, he's dialed things up to 11, inflaming passions even on issues where the public largely agrees with him, such as immigration enforcement. When Hamilton says he wants to "end the chaos," voters frustrated with Trump 2.0 get the message.

Republicans are right to be worried, and they are shifting resources to meet the danger. The GOP leadership's super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, is reportedly moving money away from North Carolina and plans to spend up to \$14 million to bolster Marshall. That's a huge sum in a state whose largest media market, Kansas City, ranks only 33rd nationally. It's also a sign of how seriously the party views the threat.

Still, remember those all-important cross tabulations. A look under the hood of some of the polls shows why Marshall should still be rated the favorite. The New York Times-Siena College poll that had Marshall up by one also showed Republicans leading Democrats by six percentage points on the generic congressional ballot. On top of that, the sample of respondents voted for Trump by only 11 points, a significant drop from the 16 points he actually won the state by. The possibility of a sample slightly skewed to the left and the fact that undecided voters are likelier to be Trump-voting Republicans suggest Marshall is in a stronger position than the top-line margin suggests.

That's still closer than it should be, and the cross tabs in both this poll and one taken by Emerson College shed light on that as well. Both find that independents favor Hamilton by wide margins, a result being seen in many other polls of competitive Senate races. They also find that a significant number of Republicans are either defecting from Marshall or remain undecided. Trump's chaotic missteps are clearly driving away the swing voters who made him president again.

The smart money is still on Marshall; he's a 2-1 favorite in the latest Polymarket odds. That's too close for comfort for the GOP. Republicans wish they could, like Dorothy in Oz, simply click their heels and go home to a Kansas where everything is safe. But the Trump tornado has touched down there, too, and when a tornado wreaks its havoc, nothing can escape its destructive power.

THEODORE R. JOHNSON

Right-wing pundits are raging about a new welfare queen

A still from a campaign ad for Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R).

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS CAMPRIGN/AP

An Arkansas campaign ad has managed to outrage right-wing pundits with a single casting choice: a White man as a welfare queen.

In a commercial touting the state's welfare-to-work requirements, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) recently rolled out "Brad" — an out-of-work gamer eating junk food and living off the government's dime — as the policy's poster child. MAGA commentators revolted, accusing the governor of demonizing White men. On social media, defeated Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback chastised Sanders: "I'd recommend you start with the baby-momma with a BMW who just got back from her Carnival Cruise." Far-right influencer and podcaster Matt Walsh wrote that the real villain is "Shaniqua," whom he called "an accurate portrayal of the problem at hand." The subtext is plain: The default face of welfare can only be a Black woman.

As critics argue about who should play the part, September's jobs report shows that even a stagnant labor market pushes out Black women. Their unemployment rate jumped to 6.8 percent, continuing a 2025 trend in which they suffered greater job losses than any other group. Economists cite two primary causes: corporate retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion programs and drastic cuts to the federal workforce by the U.S. DOGE Service — both of which eliminated middle-class jobs disproportionately held by Black women. In today's politics, the result is they are cast as welfare queens when they're out of work and expendable DEI hires when they're not.

These conflicting tropes demonstrate the role Black women have long played in far-right politics. They have served as convenient scapegoats in attempts to engineer support for partisan policy, mobilize conservative voters and placate the anxieties of White working-class voters. Whether these ideas are driven by political expedience or a racist worldview, the outcome is the same: Black women are used as symbols to be deployed rather than citizens to be served.

Ronald Reagan popularized the welfare queen stereotype in his 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns, and conservatives have used it ever since to justify shrinking social safety net programs and shedding regulatory burdens associated with civil rights protections. Reagan didn't explicitly identify the race of the reportedly biracial Chicago woman who inspired it, but the implication was unmistakable. Today, President Donald

Trump has pitched his anti-DEI agenda as necessary to "forge a society that is color-blind and merit-based." In practice, it's been used to stoke racial resentments and pander to receptive voters in hopes of winning elections. Though employed decades apart, both caricatures have proved effective at marshaling animus for political gain.

And they're both inaccurate. Many of those angered by Sanders's ad, like Walsh, were quick to point out Black women are overrepresented among welfare recipients — reason enough to leave White men out of it. But in the past 30 years, the share of Black women with college degrees has nearly tripled, from 14 percent in 1995 to 38 percent today. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies finds that Black women in the labor force are more likely to have advanced degrees than White, Black or Hispanic men. While Black women make up about 12 percent of adult women in the United States, they account for 26 percent of women serv ing on active duty. Compared with their share of the labor force, they are significantly overrepresented in civilian roles in the Defense Department. And they are launching small businesses more than any other group, with a growth rate almost three times that of all women-owned start-ups. Earnest believers in a color-blind meritocracy would champion these accomplishments instead of resenting the people achieving them.

While some Republicans insist that Black women remain the target of anti-welfare hostility, others in the party see the value of "Brad." House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has argued for new government assistance requirements to "return the dignity of work to young men who need to be out working instead of playing video games all day." A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), currently a candidate for the Senate, said the aid shouldn't go to male gamers on the couch but to "the single mom who needs to feed her young children."

Sanders brushed off the racial backlash, and her campaign stands by the ad. Political scientist Ange-Marie Hancock, an expert on welfare-queen politics, argues the commercial was aimed at older voters with unemployed sons, a demographic Republicans rely on. But MAGA's anti-DEI advocates can only conceive that such ads are meant to discriminate against White men. This view directs anger at Black women rather than the work requirement — a clue that the far right is less interested in reducing fraud than in judging who deserves government support.

This double standard exposes a politics more invested in policing identity than promoting self-reliance and upward mobility. The result is that the face of a policy matters more than its aim, leading to the villainization of a group that might otherwise be a story of success. Freeing policy debates from racist stereotypes would cast Black women not as welfare queens but as exemplars of the American Dream.

GEORGE F. WILL

A GOP senator challenges presidential family sleaze

John Curtis is happy, even though he is a U.S. senator. And although his demeanor is as mild as an Indian summer in October, the Republican has done something comparable to poking a puma with a short stick.

After a business career, Curtis became mayor of Provo, Utah's fourth-largest city, then served three terms in the House. He could be as unhappy as former executives often are when they find themselves waist-deep in the molasses of legislative processes.

Curtis, however, takes seriously the congressional duty to exercise oversight of the executive branch. So, in this second year of his first term, he has written a letter to Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley (R), chair of the Judiciary Committee.

In it, Curtis notes the collapse of public trust in government, and one reason for this: "members of presidential families using their names and proximity to the President to advance private business interests." The remarkable seediness of the two most recent presidential families has provided a target-rich environment.

There was Hunter Biden. Now there is Donald Trump Jr.'s "acceptance of significant gifts," including "a lavish wedding afterparty, on a private island," Curtis writes, provided by a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin. There are also Trump Jr.'s "active promotion of family-backed cryptocurrency ventures, his continued pursuit of international real estate deals involving direct meetings with foreign heads of state, and his reported investments in defense contracting" and "significant financial and advisory ties to prediction market platforms that depend on favorable federal regulatory decisions."

Curtis's letter urges Grassley to subpoena these two presidential sons to testify in order to "establish the facts, determine whether existing ethics, disclosure, or anti-corruption laws apply, and identify reforms necessary to prevent the presidency from becoming a vehicle for private enrichment by those closest to it."

Including, presumably, presidents. The current one in his second term has traded more securities than all members of Congress combined.

The poet Don Marquis (1878-1937) said: "Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo." Curtis's letter is like that.

Grassley has spent 51 of his 93 years on Capitol Hill mastering the art of dusty responses to awkward specificities. He replied to Curtis's letter not with a letter, but with comments to a reporter who posted them on X:

"I think the fact is that it takes time, and if you were going to ask me when you're going to have a hearing, there's no way I could answer that today." And Grassley made this self-refuting promise: "I'm going to take his request seriously and sit down with staff and see what we can do."

Translation: Go away. Curtis's letter is, however, a wholesome declaration of senatorial independence. It is an affirmation that politics is a team sport only up to a point — the point at which legislative responsibilities supersede party loyalties. Without this, the Madisonian equilibrium — the checks and balances between the legislative and executive branches — collapses.

It has collapsed. Those who created the constitutional architecture in 1787 neither anticipated nor desired what existed by 1800 — a party system. It took another century for party loyalties and presidentialism to eclipse Congress's institutional pride and dilute its jealous protection of its primacy.

The great issues of the 19th century — tariffs for revenue, the disposal of public lands, the confinement, or not, of slavery — were ruled on by Congress. Debates there were widely disseminated for a public of avid newspaper readers.

Curtis has taken a risk. The federal government touches everything. Its executive branch, wielded by someone gifted at nursing grudges, could torment Utah. The federal government owns 64.4 percent of Utah's land, second-most among the states (Nevada, 80.1 percent). Also, drought and development have put extraordinary pressure on declining water resources, giving fresh pertinence to an old Western axiom: "Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over." The West has booming, and thirsty, metropolises.

Curtis, who was not born yesterday, knows that all the Republican senators willing to offend the poked puma could share one bowl of the Senate restaurant's bean soup. But he also knows that a not-negligible number of them have indicated that they are glad he wrote his letter.

When he is no longer a senator — may that day be long distant — he says this will have been “one of my proudest moments.” If emulated, an accumulation of such moments could produce the rebirth of a healthily rivalrous relation between presidents and Congress.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Trump touts investment accounts for children

President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

ALEX WROBLEWSKU/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Automatic enrollment marks dramatic expansion of program

BY RILEY BEGGIN

President Donald Trump encouraged parents to claim their child's investment account Wednesday after the administration began automatic enrollment, a dramatic expansion of the program aimed at giving kids a stake in the stock market.

"Trump Accounts has turned out to be bigger than anyone ever thought even possible, and we had big, big dreams," Trump said during an event in the Oval Office, referring to the program's official name.

The U.S. Treasury announced new regulations last week that automatically would enroll children under age 18 — a long-standing goal of economists and advocates. They have said the optional nature of the investments would primarily benefit wealthier families who already have stakes in the market.

The switch to automatic enrollment boosted the numbers of children who have an account in their name from around 10 million beforehand to 70 million today, according to the White House.

Parents and guardians still need to claim their child's account through the Trump Account app or the IRS. Children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, are eligible for a \$1,000 one-time deposit in their accounts, which parents also must elect to receive.

Automatic enrollment benefits children in lower-income groups and incentivizes private donors, nonprofits and governments to contribute to the accounts, Treasury argued in the new regulations released last week.

"These decisions increase the appeal of funding contributions to classes of Trump account beneficiaries and are expected to result in billions of additional dollars per year in general funding contributions," the rules say.

Around 80 percent of Trump Accounts are linked to families earning less than \$200,000 per year, according to the White House.

The expansion was paired with another change. The new rules clarify that companies can donate individual stocks to the accounts, instead of investments into diversified index funds. Parents' and guardians' contributions would continue to be made in diversified index funds.

Those corporate stocks can't be rejected by parents or their children, and they must hold on to them for five years. Companies also can direct donations to specific cohorts of at least 5,000 children grouped by age or geography.

Treasury acknowledged in the rules that this creates some additional risk for Trump Account holders by concentrating assets in specific stock, but the agency defended the move by saying they are likely to receive more corporate contributions to the accounts than they would if companies were required to donate cash instead.

“Donors are attracted by the hope that a stock contribution with a five-year holding period may lead recipients and their families to feel that they have a stake in the fate of the corporation to a greater extent than if the child's holdings of the corporation were only through an index fund,” Treasury officials wrote.

Several companies already have made contributions to Trump Accounts, which launched in July, including philanthropists Michael and Susan Dell, who contributed \$6.25 billion to more than a million children. That donation is now expected to fund \$250 contributions for up to 25 million children under the age of 11 in lower- and middle-income Zip codes.

Caregiving can be hard. These are the hidden financial costs.

HSTOCK

BY JOHN CSISZAR

Caregiving comes in a variety of forms, including adult children taking care of aging parents and spouses taking on more daily responsibility for a partner with declining health. What might begin as casual help can often become a major commitment of both time and money.

For workers, these responsibilities can have seemingly opposite financial ramifications. While some may need to give up their job earlier than planned to provide care, others may have to stay on the job longer to replace lost wages or savings.

These impacts were highlighted in the 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey, conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research. Twenty-four percent of workers who provided care said they had moved their target retirement date later. This compared with 17 percent of workers without such responsibilities.

Among retirees, 56 percent noted that they had left work earlier than originally planned, compared with 44 percent of non-caregivers.

Here's how to recognize the hidden costs of caregiving and plan for them.

The financial burden of caregiving extends well beyond the money spent directly on care.

"You also have to think about what you as their caregiver may be giving up — salary, retirement contributions, an employer match, Social Security earnings and, potentially, years of compounding," said Mary Ware, managing partner and senior wealth adviser at Carnegie Private Wealth.

Social Security retirement benefits, for example, are calculated using a worker's highest 35 years of indexed earnings. Caregivers forced to leave the workforce before putting in 35 years may have to take zeros for some of those years, reducing lifelong Social Security benefits. Those who already have 35 working years in the bank may lose the ability to replace lower-earning years with higher ones once they leave the workforce.

Ware said caregiving also tends to become an issue in the prime of a worker's life, typically their 40s and 50s. "It's not the best time to step away, during the peak growth years of your career," Ware said.

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Planning is key

When families haven't done the early planning, financial options for caregiving can become limited. "The worst time to make a caregiving plan is in the emergency room," said Jennifer Szakaly, founder and CEO of Caregiving Corner.

Families that plan before the stress of an immediate crisis, Szakaly said, can discuss what the person receiving care wants, what the family can afford, where important documents are kept and who is realistically available to help.

Early planning also gives families time to discuss how to spread out caregiving responsibilities and prevent the burden from falling entirely on a single person, who may suffer significant damage to their career and retirement portfolios.

Because families may not know how long the caregiving will last, Ware emphasized the importance of seeing the whole picture before it's too late. "Have these conversations as early as possible to gather the true cost," she said.

Thanks to the Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible workers at covered employers may be able to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. Employers may also offer paid leave or schedule flexibility.

A family in crisis may have fewer choices than one with a plan in place. Discussing care preferences, documents, costs and responsibilities in advance can allow the family to chart out a more flexible, workable solution rather than having an emergency dictate the course of action.

Stocks take step back from highs

BY STAN CHOE

Associated Press

NEW YORK — The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent Wednesday, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 341 points, or 0.7 percent, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2 percent from its own record.

Stocks felt pressure as yields swung in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed as high as 5.36 percent in the morning, up from 5.27 percent late Tuesday and near its highest level since 2002. The 10-year yield eased back to 5.28 percent later in the day after the U.S. Treasury sold \$39 billion of 10-year Treasury notes at an auction in which the median yield was less than 5.26 percent.

Yields also swung with oil prices, which continue to yo-yo amid uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the industry to return to normal.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, topped \$102 in the morning before eventually settling at \$100.20, down 0.4 percent. That's below the nearly \$110 it cost last month, but it remains well above its \$72 price from before the war began.

The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that its members supported accelerating the release of oil from inventories that they announced earlier this year, with a particular emphasis on diesel fuel.

Also pushing up on bond yields are worries about how much debt the U.S. government and others worldwide have racked up, plus how much more they add to it by the day.

The head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that record levels of debt for governments is one of the three major crosscurrents driving where the global economy is heading, along with AI technology and high energy prices.

"Some very tough political choices stare us in the face," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech in Singapore.

On Wall Street, Worthington Steel fell 6.9 percent after the metals processing and manufacturing company reported weaker results for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

The pressure is on companies to deliver big growth in profits. Such strength would help to support stock prices when the other big lever that affects stock prices, interest rates, is pushing downward. Analysts have high expectations for this upcoming earnings reporting season. They are forecasting growth in earnings per share of nearly 30 percent, according to FactSet.

Constellation Brands added 2.4 percent after the seller of Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wine reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But its gain was restrained after it also gave a forecasted range for profit over its full fiscal year whose midpoint was below what analysts expected.

All told, the S&P 500 slipped 17.16 points to 7,801.77. The Dow dropped 341.41 to 51,179.87, and the Nasdaq composite gave back 61.20 to 27,538.69.

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Microsoft unveils coding model for PCs

Microsoft unveiled on Wednesday an AI coding model that can run directly on personal computers and new security technology to prevent AI agents from accessing data without permission, challenging Apple's push to bring more AI into personal devices.

The software company also presented at the event in San Francisco a high-powered Surface laptop called Ultra powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark chips.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft is seeking to turn Windows into a platform for AI agents to handle tasks such as writing computer code or tackling complex business projects on desktops and laptops.

As a guardrail against increasingly autonomous AI agents

that have created security risks, Microsoft said it was releasing Microsoft Execution Containers, a tool to prevent agents from accessing data and doing unauthorized tasks when running on a laptop or desktop machine.

Anthropic, OpenAI and Nvidia will use the tools, said Pavan Davuluri, executive vice president for Windows and devices.

Microsoft also unveiled AI models that previously required cloud access but can now run locally on high-powered Windows desktops and laptops, including Nvidia's open-source Nemotron model.

Davuluri said a version of Chinese AI firm DeepSeek's V4 model can run on machines with at least 60 gigabytes of memory and outperform OpenAI's GPT-5 on some coding and reasoning tasks.

Davuluri also said Meta's Muse personal assistant will come to Windows devices as a native app, using some of Microsoft's new security tools, and that OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent system, can also work with those security tools.

The new Surface Laptop Ultra will start at \$2,599 and rise to \$5,899 for a model with a 20-core processor, 128 gigabytes of memory and one terabyte of storage.

-Reuters

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LABOR Payouts for workers building consulate

Foreign workers building the vast new U.S. Consulate compound in Milan signed agreements at a Milan hotel Wednesday securing payouts averaging \$50,400 each for alleged labor abuses while working for an American construction company.

More than 60 laborers, mostly

DIGEST

from India, signed the deals Wednesday to receive their share of a nearly \$35 million settlement agreed to last month with Alabama-based Caddell Construction. The signings began Tuesday.

Prosecutors say it is the largest labor settlement ever for labor exploitation in Europe.

Each worker signed a document seen by the Associated Press agreeing not to disparage Caddell and not to disclose the individual payments.

Caddell said in the document that the settlement was not an admission of liability. Individual payments are to be made within 30 days of the signing.

The workers saw the potentially life-changing sum in black-and-white for the first time at the signings — with the highest reaching nearly \$101,000, said Francesco Brigatti, the court-appointed administrator working to return the consulate con-

struction site to legality.

The payouts combine unpaid overtime, reimbursement for housing illegally deducted from their pay and hefty damages personally sought by investigating Prosecutor Paolo Storari, Brigatti said.

Over two days, 115 workers signed the deals, with the procedure continuing next week.

The investigation against Caddell remains open, pending the payouts which are expected to be completed by February. Two managers under investigation for extortion and facilitating illegal immigration remain under house arrest.

The U.S. State Department has said it is investigating the allegations made by prosecutors and that U.S. law enforcement is working with Italian authorities.

In all, nearly 480 workers can expect payouts — some 300 still working on the site, another 100 elsewhere in Italy and the rest

in their home countries.

-Associated Press

Zealand Pharma said that its experimental drug helped people who are overweight or obese and have Type 2 diabetes lose up to 9.2 percent of their body weight in a midstage trial. The Danish company is developing it with Roche. The 220-patient trial met its main goal, with patients taking petrelintide losing between 7.4 and 9.2 percent body weight after 28 weeks, depending on the dose, versus 2 percent with placebo. About 1.9 percent of patients taking petrelintide discontinued treatment because of gastrointestinal side effects, compared with 1.7 percent of those on placebo. The companies have started late-stage testing in about 7,000 people — with and without type 2 diabetes and those with established cardiovascular disease.

— From news services

The Washington Post Style

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026

MORGAN JERGENS

David Nail plays Rudy's Jazz Room in Nashville. His producer, Frank Liddell, says Nail, who's known for singing with his eyes closed, "has got to be the greatest male singer in the history of this town."

In Paris, a flex for Chanel's iconic suit

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BY THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press

PARIS — Coco Chanel designed her postwar suit so women could move. Seven decades later, designer Matthieu Blazy has made it stretch.

Suits in a new "smocked tweed" anchored Blazy's spring-summer 2027 collection for Chanel, shown Monday night at the Grand Palais beneath a flock of illuminated birds as Nicole Kidman, Dua Lipa and Pedro Pascal watched from the front row.

The fabric gives like sportswear, but the idea is old. Chanel built its name by changing how women dressed, and a year after his debut as its designer, Blazy is applying that principle to the house's own uniform.

Louis Vuitton closed Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday evening with Zendaya in the audience and car sculptures hovering above the runway at the Louvre Museum. It was the final major show of a spring runway season that began in New York last month.

Blazy came from Bottega Veneta to succeed the longtime right hand of Karl Lagerfeld, Virginie Viard, who took over after Lagerfeld's death in 2019. Viard's tenure brought record sales. Blazy's has brought back surprise.

He loosens the house's symbols rather than replacing them. Tweed stretches. Jackets go on over bare skin. Quilted bags slouch. Longtime clients still recognize the codes; newer ones are invited to play with them.

This season, he staged Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's life as an escape: from the corsets and stiff tailoring of her Edwardian youth, through the men's clothes she borrowed, to the easy suits of her postwar comeback.

"It's about the women within a woman," Blazy said.

SEE FASHION ON B3

Singer's voice is an eye-opener

David Nail, who had a string of hits in the early 2010s, is tired of being called underrated. But his trajectory has taken him places he didn't expect.

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BY EMILY YAHR

NASHVILLE — David Nail likes to sing with his eyes closed. Early in his career as a country music artist, it helped with his nerves. These days, more than two decades after he signed his first record deal, he just relishes the feeling of getting lost in a song.

But onstage during an industry showcase this spring at Rudy's Jazz Room, an intimate, red velvet-curtained venue near Music Row, he shut his eyes for a different reason. He was trying not to cry.

"One of the things that I've hated over the years," Nail said, his voice choked with emotion, "is when people say, 'Man, you're so underrated.'"

The 47-year-old Missouri native has heard this sentiment countless times during his 20-plus years in Nashville. He has heard it from his record label. He has heard it from executives when they talk to country radio programmers, urging them to play his music. He has heard it from fans — in person and on social media — who don't know why, after he released several hit singles around the early 2010s ("Red Light," "Whatever She's Got," "Let It Rain") and was nominated for a Grammy award, he didn't go on to greater stardom.

Usually, if your music doesn't reach the kind of commercial success demanded by major labels, you don't say it out loud. But Nail's most vulnerable feelings live right on the surface, and he has never been interested in hiding them. This is a quality that has led to both critically acclaimed songs and difficulty navigating the country music genre, where singers are expected to be personable and chatty, with easily digestible sound bites that succinctly explain who you are as an artist.

"I met with someone the other day and I remember they were sort of asking me to try to explain myself," Nail told the crowd at Rudy's. "And I was like, 'Man, I've been doing this a long time, I have no clue what people like about me. I just sort of do it. I close my eyes, I sing these songs, and I've been fortunate enough to do it this long, and it's something that I certainly don't take for granted. But I can't define it."

Every time Nail has pondered that question or how much longer he can continue his career (he sometimes wonders if his local Lowe's Home Improvement store is hiring), he's reminded of what sets him apart but is SEE NAIL ON B2

"What I've learned over the course of my career," Nail says, "is that one person's greatest and another person's greatest can be different."

MATCHBOX MEDIA

STARZ

From left, Shakeel Kimotho, Iz Hesketh, Alan Cumming and Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo in "Tip Toe."

TV REVIEW

Lithely stepping between inspiring and depressing

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BY ROBERT LLOYD Los Angeles Times

"Tip Toe," a fine new drama from Russell T Davies on Starz, begins at the end, with Leo Struther (Alan Cumming, phenomenally good), a gay Manchester bar owner, hanging dead from a streetlight outside his house, as a woman screams and his neighbor Clive Goss (David Morrissey) stands breathing heavily on his porch. Then, as so many series do nowadays, it goes back in time - 10 days here - to tell the tale that got them there.

And so you are prepared from the beginning for tragedy, though not everything that happens in its five episodes will be tragic — some of what we see will be sweet and even celebratory — and one might forget for a moment where this is all heading, and even believe that what we've already seen will turn out differently.

The series sets off in a comparatively light mood. Chasing a one-night stand who's stolen his laptop, Leo finds he's locked himself out of his house, and, dressed only in his underwear, goes next door to ask if he can borrow a phone to call his friend Stephanie (Elizabeth Berrington) to bring him a spare key; here we meet the Goss family, Clive, an out-of-work electrician; his wife, Marie (Pooky Quesnel), who doesn't like Clive; 16-year-old son George (Jackson Connor), gay and closeted; and 25-year-old son Saul (Joseph Evans), an easygoing hunk who lives at home, secretly makes money on OnlyFans and accepts everyone for who they are. Leo and the Gosses have been living amicably at arm's length for 14 years, though their lives are about to become closely entwined, with disastrous results.

In an act of something like willful, somewhat disturbing friendliness, or a desire not to have to deal with Leo the next time he's locked out, Clive makes a copy of Leo's key and installs a lockbox by his door. (By the Chekhov's gun rule, a key copied in Episode 1 is bound to be turned in a lock in whatever later act Davies deems advantageous.) Then, Leo gives Clive work at his bar.

Leo's bar, Spit and Polish, sits on Canal Street in Manchester's long-established "gay village." It's a safe space for his employees and regulars, including Zee (Iz Hesketh), who's been sleeping hidden in the bar, frightened of new flatmates since coming out

SEE TV REVIEW ON B2

STAR2

When Nashville singer Nail looks at his career, he doesn't see 'underrated'

David Nail performing last month in Louisville. He recently released his independent album, "Flowers," and embarked this fall on a solo acoustic tour.

STEPHEN J. COHEN/GETTY IMAGES

NAIL FROM B1

still hard to articulate: his voice. It's a soaring, soulful instrument, layered with emotion, that even his closest collaborators have trouble describing except to say it gives them chills. His longtime producer, Frank Liddell, said that Nall "has got to be the greatest male singer in the history of this town, and that's saying something."

Nail looks visibly uncomfortable at such compliments. But he keeps going, because he believes this is what he was meant to do. He recently dropped his independent album, "Flowers," a decade after being let go by his major label, Universal's MCA Nashville. Nail has released music since then, but this was the first time that the songs — raw with feeling, about everything from his time in Nashville to his 17-year marriage and three kids — just kept spilling out.

He also decided to embark on a solo acoustic tour, which continues this fall; just him and his guitar, the way it was in the beginning. He wants to remind people that even though the music industry can be go-go-go-more-more-more, with no time to celebrate success before being pushed to achieve the next milestone, it's okay not to be Taylor Swift. (Who, incidentally, was such a fan of Nail that she invited him to open a string of dates on her 2011 arena and stadium tour.) It's okay not to have No. 1 songs and to play small venues. What matters is that listeners feel seen by, and find meaning in, your music.

This is one reason the "underrated" comments rub him the wrong way. Doesn't everyone understand that he can't even believe that he's gotten this far?

“What I've learned over the course of my career is this person's greatest and another person's greatest can be different. ... And I remember looking at my wife one night and I just said, 'You know, babe, look at our life, look at where we are, look in our house, look where we live, look at our children,'” Nail said at the show. “Like, this ain't underrated. This is the best. This is the dream.”

Nail, whose father was a band director, always knew he could sing. He was drawn to country music, but his early forays in

Nashville didn't go well. In the early 2000s, his friends introduced him to a girl whose father was a top music producer. Nail brought his guitar, and when he started singing, the girl burst into tears. She insisted that she introduce him to her father.

Her father signed Nail to a record deal, though when his first single flopped the label shelved the record. He wasn't ready to give up, but he kept waiting for someone to advise him that it was time to quit and move back home to Missouri.

"But no one would ever tell me [that] and it would drive me crazy," Nail told The Washington Post this summer during an interview. At one point, his parents visited him in Nashville, and Nail told them he had an alternative career plan: He was going to go to umpire school. His mother gently suggested that he should sleep on that idea. His father went with, "That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life."

So Nail kept writing songs and soon met Liddell, the hit producer and co-owner of publishing company Carnival Music (and husband of country star Lee Ann Womack). In their first meeting, Nail sang "Missouri," a devastating song he wrote about praying his girlfriend would leave him because he didn't have the strength to break up with her. Liddell said it's the only time in his career that all the hairs stood up on his arms when he heard someone sing.

"David has the most in-tune voice — that in and of itself doesn't make it great, but he has such command over it," Liddell told The Post. "Just his tone, and then also the way he holds his notes out ... it's very, very pure, but there's a rasp to it as well, there's just some heart and soul." He signed Nail to a publishing deal and wound up producing his next four albums.

Nail secured a recording contract with MCA Nashville and released his debut album in 2009, "I'm About To Come Alive." The song "Red Light," about watching the outside world go on as normal while a relationship is ending, became a Top 10 hit on country radio. His nostalgic ballad "Turning Home," co-written by Kenny Chesney, struck a nerve with Grammy voters. Nail landed a nomination for male country vocal performance, though he lost to Keith Urban.

The Grammy nod was a boost, buoyed by his first No. 1 a year later, "Let It Rain," a mournful tale of a doomed affair; "Whatever She's Got," a peppy love song, became his biggest hit ever as it climbed the charts in 2013. But as his career surged, Nail struggled behind the scenes.

"I was like, 'Okay, you've just gotten everything you wanted that you thought would make you happy,'" Nail said. "They answered all your prayers and you're worse than you were before you had anything."

In 2014, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with depression. He became an outspoken advocate for mental health, candid about how therapy and medication had helped him in his darkest moments.

Nail had a couple more songs that performed decently, but the traction slowed. After his 2016 album, he was released from the label. His collaborators wondered if it didn't help that Nail, naturally introspective, didn't have the "yuk it up" personality that's often encouraged for country singers; some programmers misinterpreted his quiet nature for iciness. Nail has joked that he probably broke the record for number of meetings with a media training consultant.

Now that he's an independent artist, there's less pressure to put on a show for executives. He is free to bare his soul, whether it's through stream-of-consciousness on social media, recording snippets of his daily walks for his followers, or through his songwriting.

"There's a lot of emotion that's gone in country music," Liddell said. "So to hear a guy [like David] just basically put it all out there: 'This is who I am, and I hope you like it. If you don't, sorry' — nobody has the guts to do that."

Sometimes, Nail's music led to places he never expected. The financial success of "Whatever She's Got," which went triple platinum, helped fund in vitro fertilization for him and his wife, Catherine, when they struggled with infertility. Catherine gave birth to boy-girl twins in 2015, and five years later, another daughter.

Becoming a parent changed how Nail saw the world, and he savored more time with his family. His mother died last fall, and through his grief, he realized that if he was going to get back to touring, it needed to be just himself on the road and onstage to help him heal from a challenging few years. "It's just a really good exercise for keeping grounded and just being appreciative and grateful," he said.

He also pivoted to work on "Flowers" with acclaimed Nashville singer-songwriter Anderson East, who produced the album. The two found their contrasting personalities clicked: "I'm so analytical, he's zero analytical," Nail said. The first song they wrote was "The Crown," about life not working out the way you planned; the lyrics were based on someone whom Nail knew from his hometown of Kennett, Missouri, a place that still greatly inspires him.

"Letting him have the opportunity to be himself and tell his story was the only thing that I was concerned with," East said. "Just like, let the man have some room to just be himself, and that's awesome. And that's enough — that should be enough."

Nail and East co-wrote several of the songs with Grammy-winning songwriter Lori McKenna, including "Riverbank," a tender ode to his wife that Nail said makes him the most proud of any song of his career.

"I don't think David is capable of not being honest," McKenna said. She has always been impressed by his "stunning" voice, partly because she is drawn to vocals inflected with pain that allude to something below the surface. "I've always enjoyed those voices that feel like they're telling you one story, but just by the tone of their voice, you can tell there's lots of other stories."

Nail has many layers, but after all these years, he only knows how to be open. During the show at Rudy's, filled with Nashville industry executives who have known him for many years, he grew emotional as he reflected on the triumphs, the disappointments, and marvel over the fact that, through it all, he is still singing onstage.

"There's really no other way to say it," he said, "Than I firmly in my heart of hearts believe that the good Lord put me on this Earth to do this."

'Tip Toe' is a rough watch, yet beautifully wrought and delicately performed

also stand for themselves.

TV REVIEW FROM B1

as a trans woman, and Melba (Paul Rhys, brilliant), a former drag performer who holds down the end of the bar like Norm from "Cheers" and carries a torch for Leo.

Things will go generally downhill from here, in a narrative of escalating misunderstanding — not in the sense of an innocent mistake, of simply getting the wrong end of the stick (though that's part of it), but as a contemporary habit of mind, blinkered, closed to facts but open to conspiracies. (Clive, a consumer of social media disinformation, believes that AIDS and covid are fake); he lives in fear.

Directed by Peter Hoar, it's a rough watch, yet beautifully wrought and delicately performed, inspiring and depressing, hopeless and hopeful by turns Davies has points to make hanging your protagonist is not subtle — but his dialogue carries a lot of weight lightly; long conversations ebb and flow and rise and fall like compressed playlets. If there is something schematic about the arc, the characters within it, Clive as much as Leo, are completely human. They stand for something bigger than themselves, but they

Davies brought gay life in its infinite variety to television with the 1999 series "Queer as Folk" (also set on Canal Street) and gender fluidity to "Doctor Who," the series he revived in 2005 and returned to in 2023. (The Tardis is currently in limbo.) His "Cucumber," about middle-aged gay men, and "Banana," about young LGBTQ+ people, are also set in Manchester, where Davies has lived since the late 1980s. "Tip Toe" has been crafted for an age of surging homophobia and anti-gay violence. "The president of America has given these men permission to attack us," says Melba, as he sits with Leo late one night by the canal. The series' dark prophet, he gives it its title.

"It's a storm, it's a tide, it's a great big tsunami. We're in the middle of it right now ... If you'd asked me in 1996 what do you think 2026 will be like, I'd have said 'glory days' ... But they tricked us didn't they? They let us all come out, so now we're standing in he open ready for them to shoot us down. I used to walk into a room and just go, "Tada!" Now I tip toe, just in case."

Tip Toe (five episodes) airs Fridays on Starz.

Alan Cumming, left, with co-stars Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo and Stephen Bailey, is phenomenally good in the Starz drama "Tip Toe."

the GUIDE to the Lively Arts

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Biggest display of 2nd Hand French Books, pocket to beautiful art books & collections \$2-\$25

Across Paris, Louis Vuitton and other fashion houses mix it up on runways

FASHION FROM B1

At Louis Vuitton's show at the Louvre Museum, designer Nicolas Ghesquière loosened things up with gauzy shift dresses, cardigans, short jackets and soft tailoring.

AURELIEN MORISSARD/AP

Keonho, a singer with the K-pop group Cortis, was among the celebrities at Tuesday's Chanel show.

THOMAS PADILLA/AP

THOMAS PADILLA/AP

Chanel designer Matthieu Blazy takes the stage to applause. Blazy, who came to the fashion house from Bottega Veneta, loosens the house's symbols rather than replacing them, adding tweed that stretches and presenting jackets that go over bare skin.

Kidman, who attended with her daughter Faith Margaret, also supplied recorded readings from Virginia Woolf's "Orlando," whose protagonist lives across centuries and changes sex. Kidman won an Oscar for portraying Woolf in "The Hours."

Kidman, Lipa, Pascal and Alexa Demie sang along to a-ha's "Take On Me," and the show ended with Britney Spears' "Gimme More."

---

On the Chanel runway

Edwardian dress lingered in traces of boning, peplums and ruffled collars. Men's formal wear was cut down into raw-edged vests and narrow skirt suits.

A pearl-stitched corset top worn with plain black trousers complicated the story of escape, making constraint part of the appeal.

The most beautiful pieces were dresses of layered, printed silk that tracked the sky from morning to nightfall, and 1930s-style sequined or beaded gowns that Chanel described as having the ease of a T-shirt.

Not everything landed. Pattern-on-pattern outfits and ballet tutus tipped into costume, and at 83 looks, the argument sometimes sprawled.

The birds made it more gracefully: swallows perched on buttons and jewelry, and a birdcage evening bag came with its birds already flown.

Model Dyanira Hurbuscher walked first and last, both times carrying the founder's own 2.55 handbag from the house archives — freedom, with the past firmly in hand.

---

Vuitton lightens up

Louis Vuitton offered a softer vision of the future — and another argument for giving the body room to move.

Nicolas Ghesquière, known for sculpted, futuristic silhouettes, loosened things up with gauzy shift dresses, cardigans, short jackets and soft tailoring. Delicate fabrics rippled as models walked, and slim trousers incorporated sheer mesh panels.

His taste for science fiction remained intact. An asphalt runway crossed the Louvre's Cour Carrée beneath dozens of wedge-shaped concept cars raised on poles and decorated in the house's Damier checkerboard pattern. Silver lamé gave some shift dresses a metallic flash.

Zendaya, a house ambassador, brought some informality to the front row, pairing jeans with the ruffled white lace jacket that she had worn to the Paris premiere of "The Odyssey." Emma Stone, Saoirse Ronan, Blackpink's Lisa, Sophie Turner and Catherine Deneuve also attended.

---

Paris loosens up

Across Paris, designers made similar moves: mixing formal clothes with sportswear, bringing lingerie into public view and making elaborate decoration feel lighter.

Miu Miu worked the same seam from the opposite side, dressing sportswear up. Miuccia Prada paired pleated check skirts and blazers with running shorts and track tops. Shoelaces became belts, and guests watched from gym-style bleachers. Olivia Colman modeled a black leather skirt suit, joining Jamie Bell and Emma Corrin on the runway.

Sacai's Chitose Abe, back on the women's runway after a season away, set tough clothes in motion. Biker leathers broke into swinging fringe, silk tassels crowned military jackets, and prints of beads and rhinestones under sheer layers gave the look of embellishment without the weight. She finished by running to hug Pharrell Williams.

At Valentino, plain satin bustiers and knee-length skirts offered a more intimate kind of formality. Showing at the Sainte-Geneviève Library, Alessandro Michele compared unworn clothes with unread books in his notes: both "still speak to us of the lives we could have lived." Alexander Skarsgård brought Icelandic sagas to donate.

Elie Saab took lingerie in a more nostalgic direction. Beaded slips and lace bralettes recalled the early 2000s, when Halle Berry won her Oscar in one of his gowns. Paris and Nicky Hilton sat in the front row.

Victoria Beckham's pleated dresses hung from jewelry chains, taffeta raincoats looked weightless and wedge sandals had their heels hollowed out.

As with Blazy's stretch tweed, the ambition was to make elaborate clothes feel easy to wear.

National Book Awards finalists for fiction tackle weighty issues, but there's one notable omission

in an unfriendly world.

KNOPE/AP

10 released last month.

Edwidge Danticat's "Dèy" details a mass shooting attack and its aftermath, and Valeria Luiselli's "Beginning Middle End" is a family narrative that spans generations and continents.

BY HILLEL ITALIE

Associated Press

Fiction by Edwidge Danticat, Valeria Luiselli and Karl Ove Knausgaard are among this year's finalists for the National Book Awards, with many of the books taking on such contentious issues as gender identity, criminal justice and the Middle East.

Tuesday's announcement by the National Book Foundation of five nominees in each of five competitive categories has at least one notable omission: Marlon James's "The Disappears," a Booker Prize finalist praised by the New York Times as among the century's best releases. James's novel, centered on the vicious beating of a group of gay men in Jamaica in the 1980s, had been on the National Book Awards fiction longlist of

Winners, each of whom receive \$10,000, will be revealed during a Nov. 18 dinner ceremony in Manhattan. Honorary medals will be presented to Salman Rushdie and Perri Klass.

Danticat's "Dèy" and Luiselli's "Beginning Middle End" are fiction finalists in a category of wide-ranging characters, subjects and locations. Danticat's story of a mass shooting attack and its aftermath takes place in Miami, Haiti and Brooklyn, while Hannah Lillith Assadi's "Paradiso 17" follows the worldwide journey of an exiled Palestinian. Luiselli's family narrative spans generations and continents, and Julán Delgado Lopera's "Pretend You're Dead and I Carry You" is set in Colombia. In Morgan Thomas's "Mad Eden," a transgender health care worker in Florida struggles for stability

Knaugaard, the Norwegian author with a wide international following, is a finalist in the translation category for "The School of Night," translated by Martin Aitken. Other nominees include Vicente Luis Mora's "Centroeuropa," translated from the Spanish by Rahul Berry; Intan Paramaditha's "Night of a Thousand Hellis," translated from the Indonesian by Stephen J. Epstein and Tiffany Tsao; Mohamed Mbougar Sarr's "Pure Men," translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud; and Samar Yazbek's "Your Presence Is a Danger to Your Life: Voices of Survival and Witness in Gaza," translated from the Arabic by Leri Price.

In nonfiction, Colin Asher is a finalist for "The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music," Abdelrahman ElGendy for "Huna: A Memoir of Revolution, Prison, and Becoming," Camonghne Felix for "Let the Poets Govern: A Declaration of Freedom," Sara Novic for "Mother Tongue" and Joseph Osmundson for "Spawning Season: An Experiment in Queer Parenthood."

David Levithan, a finalist for young people's literature, is among a small circle of book editors who also have accomplished careers as authors, including Jenny Jackson at Alfred A. Knopf and Jill Bialosky at W.W. Norton & Company. Levithan is an editorial director at Scholastic and a prolific writer nominated this year for "The Fight of Our Lives: AIDS in America," a collaboration with Gabriel Duckels.

The other young people's literature finalists are Elana K. Arnold's "Holloway," Tae Keller's "When Tomorrow Burns," Keala

Kendall's "That Which Feeds Us: A Hawaiian Gothic" and Julian Randall's "Shook."

In poetry, the nominees are Victoria Chang's "Tree of Knowledge," Carolina Ebeid's "Hide,"

Brenda Hillman's "Still House in the Desert: An eco-contemplation," Fady Joudah's "Exhibit G: Poems, Essays, and Photographs of Gaza" and Susan Stewart's "Bramble."

Relentless heat of Sunshine State has wife contemplating a divorce and move

Asking Eric

R. ERIC THOMAS

Dear Eric: I have been in central Florida for more than 26 years, and it has become unbearable to me. There's the brutal heat; the skin-destroying UV-rays of that miserable, scorching sun; the constant allergy/sinusitis issues that NEVER let up; the smothering humidity. The sun is here all year.

If you dare to venture out for a walk during the day, you have to wear long sleeves, long pants, a big, brimmed sun hat, a face full of sunscreen and carry a sun umbrella. This is paradise?

It's impossible to talk about it to my husband of 51 years; he is always cold, puts the AC at 80 degrees in the house, and walks around with a sweatshirt or flannel shirt on.

I have a 12-year-old rescue dog, a big black German Shepherd. I have limited income and want to move much further north, but I don't want to jeopardize the stable home I can give her here.

I am at the point that I dread waking up every morning only to see that intense Florida sun that keeps me in the house most of the day. I could leave my husband, but I CANNOT leave this vulnerable, loyal, loving creature that is by my side 24/7.

Because of my limited income, it would be rough finding a place that is safe and secure for me and my dog.

I'm basically a very friendly, outgoing person, and living here is like being under house arrest. What should I do to preserve my health and sanity until such time that I can get a car and drive out of this place?

— Too Hot

Hot: While you technically can't outrun the sun — it does have a way of finding us — and the impacts of climate change are being felt the world over, it may help to attack this issue in pieces.

First, some immediate relief: is there a friend or relative who lives in a cooler place and would let you and your dog visit for a week or more? As fall progresses, this might be the perfect time to get away for a bit to clear your head. This wouldn't require you to leave your home or your marriage but could turn the heat down on the problem for a moment.

Consider talking to your husband about whether he actually likes Florida or just likes warm weather. If it's the latter, there might be other places that suit you both better.

Last, if you do decide you need to make a permanent move, look seriously at your finances and perhaps enlist friends or relatives to help you find a suitable place to live in a cooler climate. Without knowing what your income is or what your living situation is in Florida, I can't say for sure that there are similar places in other parts of the country for you and your dog, but it's true that people of all income levels afford lives with pets in every state. So, it may take some creative thinking, but it is possible to find a new home, if you need to.

Dear Eric: I am writing in reference to the letter by "Mourning Mom," whose son said he wouldn't honor her burial wishes.

A possible solution to her problem could be a prepaid funeral. If she has a trusted funeral provider, she can set up a contract and prepay for her funeral. These contracts allow you to stipulate your preferences as to cremation or another type of service.

As to the cremation you can decide if you want a "direct to cremation." This means your remains are collected from the hospital and taken directly to the crematorium. There is no embalming or casket.

Or, you can also choose to have an open casket for visitation and viewing with cremation following the service. In this instance you can rent a casket for the viewing.

The contract also allows you to choose your urn for cremation, location of the service, location of the burial, the songs you wish sung, the person you wish to perform the service and any other items you wish to state. You can even write your own obituary for the mortuary to keep on file.

You pay up front and the money is invested by the mortuary. Depending on the length of time between when you sign the contract and pay and the time it is used, your money collects interest. If there is any money left over it is turned over to the estate. This could avoid problems with the location of a will in time so that your wishes would be carried out.

\- I'm All Set

All Set: This is very comprehensive and quite helpful. A great option for the letter writer and, I'm sure, other readers as well.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rerichthomas.com.)

© 2026 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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BIRTHDAY | OCTOBER 8: You're clever, idealistic and optimistic. You pursue your dreams with charm and logic. This is the

final year of a nine-year cycle for you. Take inventory of your life. Let go of the people, places and things from the past that held you back. Do some internal and external housecleaning.

Moon Alert: Caution! Avoid shopping (except for food and gas) and important decisions all day today. The Moon is in Virgo.

---

ARIES

---

(March 21-April 19)

Today you might have to put your own emotional considerations second to those of someone else. An element of service is a theme for you. You also might explore ways to improve your health, especially through diet. Be aware there's a Moon Alert all day.

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TAURUS

---

(April 20-May 20)

This is a wonderful, creative day! If you're involved in the arts or a creative project, you can use your artistic talents because this entire day is a Moon Alert, which means your mind is free, floating like a helium balloon released in the sky.

---

GEMINI

---

(May 21-June 20)

Focus on home and family. Relax at home among familiar surroundings. Cut yourself some slack, because it's hard to crank up ambition today. Take it easy. Enjoy the company of others, but don't agree to anything important.

---

CANCER

(June 21-July 22)

This is a great day for a short trip. Or you

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BOTH SIDES VULNERABLE

BOTH SIDES VULNERABLE

NORTH

♠ 8762

♥ AJ83

♦ 873

♣ 74

WEST EAST

♠ QJ4 ♠ 5

♥ Q10742 ♥ K95

♦ K9 ♦ AQ642

♣ J32 ♣ Q985

SOUTH (D)

♠ AK1093

♥ 6

♦ J105

♣ AK106

---

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1 ♠ Pass 2 ♣ Pass

4 ♣ All Pass

Opening lead — ♥ 4

---

HOROSCOPE

might want to relax and learn something new. Conversations with daily contacts will be a pleasant way to pass this day. Because there's a Moon Alert all day, avoid shopping except for food and gas.

---

LEO

---

(July 23-Aug. 22)

This is a tricky day because the entire day is a Moon Alert, which is a poor day for shopping or making important decisions. Nevertheless, this Moon Alert is taking place in your Money House, which means you're thinking about financial matters, negotiations and perhaps shopping. Caution!

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VIRGO

---

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Today the Moon Alert is taking place in your sign, which might make you feel more emotional. However, it can also make you feel relaxed and free-floating. Don't make important decisions. Don't go shopping. (Except for food and gas.) Relax and socialize with others.

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LIBRA

---

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

This is the perfect day to be low-key and hide somewhere (with good food and drink). Lower your ambitions when it comes to what you want to accomplish today. Shortages and a lack of focused energy might slow you down. Go gently.

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SCORPIO

---

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

This is a lovely day to schmooze with others! With Venus and Mercury in your sign, you'll enjoy talking to people. In turn, people will be attracted to you because you're charming. Think about future goals but commit to nothing important today.

---

BRIDGE

---

- Pogo.

"We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities."

Declarer's task at today's four spades seems insurmountable: He has three diamonds and a trump to lose. A diamond opening lead would let the defense prevail, but West isn't up to leading the king from K-9; he leads a low heart.

In my club's penny game, South took the ace of hearts and cashed the A-K of trumps. East discarded, so South went down one. Could he surmount his problem?

South can compress his four losers into three. He must ruff a heart at Trick Two, then cash the top trumps. When East shows out, declarer takes the A-K of clubs, ruffs a club in dummy, ruffs a heart and leads his last club.

West can't gain by ruffing with his high trump — dummy would pitch a diamond — so West discards, and dummy ruffs. South has won nine tricks. He ruffs dummy's last heart,

---

SAGITTARIUS

---

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

This entire day is a Moon Alert, which is pleasant, creative and great for schmoozing, but poor for important decisions and spending money. For your sign, the Moon Alert is taking place at the top of your chart, which means people notice you. Be aware of this.

---

CAPRICORN

---

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

You might have some feelings of escapism today because you want to do something different. You want a change of scenery. If you can explore the world around you, by all means, do so. Keep things light. Restrict spending to food and gas because there's a Moon Alert all day. Learn something new!

---

AQUARIUS

---

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Be careful because today there's a Moon Alert in effect all day, and it's taking place in one of your Money Houses. Therefore, postpone decisions about inheritances, shared property, taxes, debt and insurance issues. It's OK to do your homework in these areas, but wait until tomorrow to commit or act.

---

PISCES

---

(Feb. 19-March 20)

(16:19-March 20)

You have to be accommodating when dealing with others today. In fact, you might have to go more than halfway. Don't agree to anything important, because this entire day is a Moon Alert. Enjoy schmoozing with everyone.

— Georgia Nicols

© 2026, KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC.

winning his 10th trick when West must follow. The defenders' trump trick and diamond tricks clash on the last three tricks.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold:

♠5♥K95

♦AQ642♣Q985

The dealer, at your left, opens one spade. Two passes follow. What do you say?

ANSWER: You must not sell out to one spade; your side may have a manageable partscore or game. Double. A few players would double one spade in the direct position, but in the "balancing" position, to double is clear. Partner must realize that you may have stretched to act to prevent the opponents from buying the contract cheaply.

— Frank Stewart

©2026, TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

---

SUDOKU

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively. | 9 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 7 | DIFFICULTY RATING: ★★★★☆

DIRECTIONS: Make a 2- to 1-letter word from the letters in each row. Add points of each word, using spring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words gel 50-point bonus. "Blanks" used as any letter have no point value. All the words are in the Oficial SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 4th Edition SOLUTION TOWORROW For more information on tournaments and clubs, email NASPs - North American SCRABBLE Players Association info@scrambleplayers.org. Visit our website - www.scrambleplayers.org. For puzzle inquiries contact scgrmont@gmail.com

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PREVIOUS SCRABBLEGRAMS SOLUTION | P3 | A0 | G2 | E1 | F4 | U1 | L3 | RACK 1 = 69 | A1 | N1 | T1 | I1 | F4 | L1 | U1 | RACK 2 = 60 | V4 | O1 | L1 | T1 | A1 | G2 | E1 | RACK 3 = 72 | C0 | E1 | L1 | E1 | R1 | Y4 | RACK 4 = 11 | PAR SCORE 150-168 | TOTAL 212 | We have more than 100 card, puzzle and word games to challenge you.

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Play more games online

Just scan the QR code with your phone's camera or visit wapo.st/games

---

Game Break

Get our gaming newsletter with daily reminders and other insights, wapo.st/newsletters

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LA TIMES CROSSWORD

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PREVIOUS SUDOKU SOLUTION | 9 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 4 | ---

JUMBLE CROSSWORDS

FEMA: 10-02-17, 1986. 12-05-20, 2003. 12-05-21, 2004. 12-05-22, 2005. 12-05-23, 2006. 12-05-24, 2007. 12-05-25, 2008. 12-05-26, 2009. 12-05-27, 2010. 12-05-28, 2011. 12-05-29, 2012. 12-05-30, 2013. 12-05-31, 2014. 12-05-32, 2015. 12-05-33, 2016. 12-05-34, 2017. 12-05-35, 2018. 12-05-36, 2019. 12-05-37, 2020. 12-05-38, 2021. 12-05-39, 2022. 12-05-40, 2023. 12-05-41, 2024. 12-05-42, 2025. 12-05-43, 2026. 12-05-44, 2027. 12-05-45, 2028. 12-05-46, 2029. 12-05-47, 2030. 12-05-48, 2031. 12-05-49, 2032. 12-05-50, 2033. 12-05-51, 2034. 12-05-52, 2035. 12-05-53, 2036. 12-05-54, 2037. 12-05-55, 2038. 12-05-56, 2039. 12-05-57, 2040. 12-05-58, 2041. 12-05-59, 2042. 12-05-60, 2043. 12-05-61, 2044. 12-05-62, 2045. 12-05-63, 2046. 12-05-64, 2047. 12-05-65, 2048. 12-05-66, 2049. 12-05-67, 2050. 12-05-68, 2051. 12-05-69, 2052. 12-05-70, 2053. 12-05-71, 2054. 12-05-72, 2055. 12-05-73, 2056. 12-05-74, 2057. 12-05-75, 2058. 12-05-76, 2059. 12-05-77, 2060. 12-05-78, 2061. 12-05-79, 2062. 12-05-80, 2063. 12-05-81, 2064. 12-05-82, 2065. 12-05-83, 2066. 12-05-84, 2067. 12-05-85, 2068. 12-05-86, 2069. 12-05-87, 2070. 12-05-88, 2071. 12-05-89, 2072. 12-05-90, 2073. 12-05-91, 2074. 12-05-92, 2075. 12-05-93, 2076. 12-05-94, 2077. 12-05-95, 2078. 12-05-96, 2079. 12-05-97, | BONUS | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | How to play Complete the crossword puzzle by looking at the close and unscrambling the answer. When the puzzle is complete, unscramble the circle letters to solve the BONU.

By Rebecca Goldstein

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ACROSS

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 63 64 66 65 67 68

ACROSS

1 Hydrocortisone target

5 Glissade garb

9 "Wanna hear a secret?"

13 Animated blue tang of film

14 Heavy burden

15 Behind schedule

16 Christ the Redeemer veneer material

18 Gets lawyers involved

19 Sound heard around a crib

20 Places that are all fun and games

22 Verbal finger wag

24 Hoppy brew with a low ABV

27 Cut with an axe

28 Tree in the name of a Bay Area city

29 Paliendromic family member

30 Line of symmetry

32 Paliendromic family member

34 Part of a routine

37 "Why must you overcomplicate everything?," or what can be said about 16-, 24-, 49-, and 58-Across

41 Perceived

42 Instrument in a "Baker Street" riff

43 Body image?

44 Brain scan letters

46 Spider's spinning

48 5G predecessor

49 Contents of a cheese pull, often

53 "You know it!"

54 Surf shop?

55 "Well, whaddaya know!"

57 Whip: frozen pineapple treat

58 Genre originally known as the West Coast sound

63 College town in Iowa

64 Figs. that may be delayed by weather

© 2026 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

65 Territory "where America's day begins"

66 Lean to one side

67 Glum

68 Blows it

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DOWN

1 Cards at a casino?

2 Also

3 Act the class clown

4 Prefix with -dermic or -thermic

5 Little one

6 Spanish one

7 Bluefin, yellowfin and blackfin

8 Password preceder

9 Texting etiquette?

10 Riyadh resident

11 Pricey

12 Thompson of "Hedda"

17 Not great, not terrible

21 Take the path of least resistance, say

22 Pad see ew cuisine

23 Suggestive messages

25 Only cardinal direction not in a state name

26 Funny sketches

31 Most susceptible to collecting dust?

33 Prayer

35 Four or five, maybe

36 Ramble on

38 Lakers legend Shaquille

39 Rink leap

40 Lends color

45 Lost colour

47 22-Down currency

49 Wearable prize

10/8/26

50 Some indigenous Mexicans

51 Diamond chain

52 Muse of poetry

56 Spur to action

59 Murder-ous cry

60 Sales channel

61 Vehicle that may be self-driving

62 Tour de France distances, informally

WEDNESDAY'S LA TIMES SOLUTION

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who recently announced that his 22nd NHL season would be his last, played 14 minutes on Wednesday night but did not score.

PETER W. STEVENSON/THE WASHINGTON POST

Bringing it home

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BY DANIELLE ALLENTUCK

The crowd at Capital One Arena for the Washington Capitals' home opener Wednesday night thought they knew what was next. With the rest of the team waiting at center ice after pregame introductions, only one player remained in the tunnel: Alex Ovechkin.

The crowd started chanting for him, anticipating his arrival. Except, unlike everyone else, Ovechkin's name wasn't read over the loudspeakers. His two sons, Sergei and Ilya, instead stood at a microphone on the red carpet. For the last time, Ovechkin's name was announced for the home opener, and it was his two sons, two of the biggest reasons he's ready to step away from the National Hockey League, who helped him kick off the start of the lasts.

His kids, and wife, were nervous for the big moment. But, after some practice, they pulled it off. A collective awe from the crowd turned into more chants for the longtime Capitals captain. Then it was time to get to work. The Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3, behind a goal and two assists from Tom Wilson.

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CAPITALS 5, PENGUINS 3

---

Ovechkin's final home opener turns festive as Washington handles rival

"It was a memorable night, first game of the year at home," Ovechkin said. "Lots of fans, it was special."

Ovechkin didn't make a direct impact in the score — and he's yet to even find the back of the net this season. The Capitals forward group is more well-rounded this year, and that means they don't have to rely on Ovechkin as much. On Wednesday, that meant he wasn't on the ice during a five-on-three in the third period.

"[Ovechkin] understands what we are trying to accomplish as a team and the great players we have

Capitals at Rangers

Friday, 7 p.m., Monumental around him," Coach Spencer Carbery.

Ovechkin's contribution, though, goes far beyond his performance in the first three games of the season.

There was speculation that last season would be Ovechkin's last, but he kept everyone, including the coaching staff, in the dark until he was ready to make a decision. In July, he signed a one-year deal to return for his 22nd season. But he decided over the summer, with the help of his family, that this would be his last, which he again kept to himself.

Ovechkin dropped hints to close teammates, including Wilson, the only other player remaining from the team that won the Stanley Cup, during a team bonding trip, but otherwise kept his plans to himself until Monday. After a 1-1 road trip to start the season, Ovechkin sat his teammates down before the off-day practice. He broke the news to them, then to the rest of the world shortly after.

By doing so before the home opener, he knew there would be extra pageantry, even though he doesn't want extra fanfare around his farewell season.

Wednesday was just the start. As his off-the-ice al-

SEE CAPITALS ON BIO

Urgency is palpable with Giants on docket

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AT 1-3, COMMANDERS FACE MUST-WIN GAME AGAINST NEW YORK

Daniels is set to return for NFC East clash

BY TASHAN REED

The Washington Commanders' backs are against the wall. They're 1-3 — and 0-2 in the NFC East. Just four games into the season, their hopes of playing meaningful football this winter are already on the brink.

For the second straight season, they've been decimated by injuries. Quarterback Jayden Daniels and many others on both sides of the ball have missed significant time. While Daniels is set to make his return Sunday from a dislocated left elbow, the team remains shorthanded throughout the roster.

Rather than focusing on those absences, Coach Dan Quinn is emphasizing what the Commanders can control.

"We've definitely had some moving parts, for sure," Quinn said. "But this week I wanted to make sure our emphasis was on our mental discipline, our presnap penalties. We have got to get that right. ... If you walked inside the halls right now, I think you'd feel urgency, the energy to play like us, period: Fast, aggressive and playing cleaner.

"That's not opponent-driven — that's us-driven."

The Commanders will host the New York Giants (3-1, 1-0) at Northwest Stadium — a divisional matchup that should be considered a must-win for Washington. Here are some X-factors to monitor:

---

An unsettled offensive line

Losing right guard Sam Cosmi to a concussion in Week 2 created a domino effect for Washington's offensive line. Nick Allegretti, who started the first two games at center, slid over to right guard to replace Cosmi. In his place, Lucas Patrick — who only signed with the team three weeks ago — started at center. Then Allegretti was benched and replaced by Matt Gulbin at right guard.

Quinn said that wasn't a permanent decision — and highlighted that Allegretti had been nursing a hip injury — but it was performance-based, nonetheless. Cosmi returned to practice Wednesday wearing a noncontact jersey. If he plays Sunday, that still leaves the Commanders with a decision at center.

There are three options: Stick with Patrick, go back to Allegretti or give Gulbin a shot.

Given how poorly Gulbin played last week, he feels like the SEE COMMANDERS ON B9

Giants at Commanders

Sunday, 1 p.m., WTTG (Ch. 5)

Locksley unwavering in support of Washington

BY EDWARD LEE

Baltimore Sun

Despite Malik Washington's recent poor performances, Maryland Coach Michael Locksley left no room for second-guessing the sophomore quarterback's status within the football program.

"He's our quarterback, and there's no doubt," he said Tuesday afternoon during his weekly news conference at SECU Stadium.

Locksley's defense isn't surprising considering how intertwined the fates of the coach and player are. What is stunning is how precipitously Washington's play has dropped off in recent weeks as the Terps (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) prepare to visit No. 5 Ohio State (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday.

In Maryland's first two games — both wins — the Glen Burnie native and Spalding High graduate completed 53 of 72 passes (73.6 percent) for 533 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions and one sack. In the past three games — all losses — Washington has connected on 71 of 126 throws (56.3 percent) for 755 yards and four touchdowns with six interceptions and five sacks.

Three of the interceptions were returned for touchdowns, including two in a 54-3 pummeling by UCLA on Sept. 26. In Saturday's 48-23 setback at Nebraska, fifth-year senior defensive back Dwayne McDougle III stepped in front of Washington's pass intended for redshirt senior wide receiver Kaleb Webb on a slant route and returned it 81 yards for a touchdown that trimmed a nine-point deficit to two in the second quarter.

Washington's three interceptions returned for touchdowns in four quarters are the most over that span since former Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord threw three in the first two quarters SEE TERPS ON B10

Sophomore quarterback Malik Washington had three interceptions returned for touchdowns in his past two games for the Terps (2-3).

REBECCAS GRATZ/AP

---

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

With five winless teams, NFL feels bottom-heavy

season.

BY JOSH DUBOW

Associated Press

There's a race to the bottom of the NFL standings four games into the season, including some surprisingly winless teams.

A record-tying five teams are 0-4 one month in, marking just the seventh time that has happened in NFL history and the first since 2019.

Some of the winless teams aren't too surprising, with Miami floundering as part of a rebuild in a season in which the Dolphins are carrying a record \$184 million in dead money charges on the salary cap. The Tennessee Titans are winless after back-to-back three-win seasons.

The other winless teams are a bit more of a surprise: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are there after coming into the season as the favorite to win the NFC South, while the Houston Texans and the Los Angeles Chargers are 0-4 after making the playoffs last

This is just the third time in NFL history that two teams started a season 0-4 after making the playoffs the previous season. It also happened in 1999 with the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos — both defending conference champions — doing it, and in 1992 with the Los Angeles Raiders and New York Jets both starting 0-4.

The Buccaneers have lost four one-score games, with their minus-20 point differential the fifth-best ever for an 0-4 team, and the best since the Minnesota Vikings were outscored by 19 points over the first four games in 2011.

The Chargers haven't been nearly as competitive, getting outscored by 39 points for the second-worst point differential in the league so far.

The start for the Texans has been frustrating because they have led in the final two min-

SEE NFL ON B9

SPOTLIGHT: MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Oregon's Altman retires after 16 years in Eugene

BY ANNE M. PETERSON

Associated Press

Longtime Oregon Ducks men's basketball coach Dana Altman is retiring effective immediately, less than a month before the start of the new season, the school announced on Wednesday.

Altman, 68, took over ahead of the 2010-11 season and is the winningest coach in Oregon history with a 382-182 record. The Ducks made nine NCAA tournament appearances over that span, including a Final Four berth in 2017.

Oregon also won four Pac-12 regular season titles and four Pac-12 tournament titles during his tenure.

Over the course of his 37-year career as a head coach, Altman's record is 792-425. Before he came to Eugene, Altman was the coach at Creighton for 16 years.

"I have had to make two really tough decisions in my coaching career. The first was leaving Creighton, a place my family and I dearly loved, to come to Oregon. This is the second," Altman said in a statement. "I've loved every minute of coaching here, and stepping away is difficult and truly painful. I love coaching, it's what I know best and what I've been fortunate enough to do for almost five decades. I'm going to miss my coaches, my players and our incredible fans more than I can express. But I know this is the right thing to do at this time."

Oregon will begin the national search for Altman's successor after the season. Assistant coach Tony Stubblefield will coach the Ducks for the 2026-27 season. Oregon opens the new season on Nov. 2 at home against Montana,

Oregon football coach Dan Lanning was among those offering praise for Altman.

"A great mentor, sees the game, and obviously a Hall of Fame coach with what he's been able to accomplish," Lanning said. "I love his story, and how grounded he is, and he's as good as they come."

Altman's announcement came as a surprise, but the Ducks have experienced some upheaval. They struggled last season, going 12-20, and the program lost nine players to the transfer portal and three to graduation in the offseason.

Stubblefield has spent two stints as an assistant to Altman at Oregon. He left to become coach at DePaul from 2021-24 before returning to the Ducks.

"Winning 382 games over 16 years, including making nine NCAA Tournaments and a Final Four, is an incredible track record. But the record book tells only part of the story," Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullins said. "Dana and Reva have given so much of themselves to this university and to the young men who played for him, and we thank him for all his contributions to Oregon student-athletes, the game of basketball, and the University of Oregon."

CRAIG PESSMAN/AP

"I've loved every minute of coaching here, and stepping away is difficult and truly painful," Dana Altman said in a statement.

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TELEVISION AND RADIO

NFL

8:15 p.m. Tampa Bay at Dallas • Prime Video, WTEM (980 AM)

MLB PLAYOFFS - DIVISION ROUND

5 p.m. Game 4: Cleveland at Chicago White Sox • TBS

8 p.m. Game 4 (if necessary): Tampa Bay at New York Yankees • TBS

NBA PRESEASON

7:30 p.m. Washington at New York • Monumental Sports Network, W/FK (108.7 FM)

10:30 p.m. Sacramento at Los Angeles Lakers • ESPN2

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

7 p.m. Sam Houston at Liberty • ESPNU

7 p.m. Missouri State at Western Kentucky • CBS Sports Network

7:30 p.m. South Florida at UTSA • ESPN

7:30 p.m. South Alabama at Arkansas State • ESPN2

GOLF

8 a.m. DP World Tour: Open de España, first round » Golf Channel

3 p.m. Korn Ferry Tour: Tour Championship, first round » Golf Channel

11 p.m. PGA Tour: Baycurrent Championship, second round » Golf Channel

TENNIS

Noon ATP: Shanghai Masters, early rounds; WTA: China Open, quarterfinals - Tennis Channel

Midnight (Friday) ATP: Shanghai Masters, early rounds; WTA: China Open, quarterfinals - Tennis Channel

WOMEN'S COLLEGE SOCCER

7 p.m. Virginia at Notre Dame - ACC Network

7 p.m. Alabama at Florida - SEC Network

10:30 p.m. Illinois at USC - Big Ten Network

WOMEN'S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

6:30 p.m. Nebraska at Indiana - Big Ten Network

8:30 p.m. Wisconsin at Illinois - Big Ten Network

THE DAY IN SPORTS

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Explore cuisines

Search our database of tested recipes by ingredient or name. washingtonpost.com/recipes

The Washington Post

57113-2×2.5

MARDON DOSTER/IMAGN IMAGES

College hoops, anyone?

Guard Tru Washington and Xavier took on Damon Friery and Dayton in a men's college basketball outdoor exhibition on Wednesday in the CareSource Invitational at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio. The Musketeers won the matchup, 82-75.

GOLF

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Rahm won't take part in new version of LIV

Spanish star Jon Rahm won't be part of the next version of LIV Golf, dealing a setback to the beleaguered circuit as it tries to emerge from bankruptcy and forge a new path without the financial muscle of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

John Beck, the attorney Rahm hired for LIV's bankruptcy proceedings, said during a Wednesday hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey that Rahm reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0 and decided he would not be participating in 2027.

Rahm, a Masters and U.S. Open champion and the last player to be No. 1 in the world before Scottie Scheffler, was among the biggest and most stunning acquisitions by LIV Golf at the end of 2023 when he was the reigning Masters champion.

Rahm said in May he has several years left on his contract. His signing bonus, never confirmed, was reported to be in the \$300 million range.

While the hearing was confirmation he wants out of LIV — he had not answered questions directly most of the summer — the decision was not surprising.

The court earlier this week allowed Sergio Garcia to end his contract when the 46-year-old Spaniard and former Masters champion asked for clarification on his status. Garcia was among the first to defect to LIV in 2022.

PRO BASKETBALL

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EuroLeague opposes NBA's merger offer

EuroLeague basketball owners rejected a formal offer from the NBA to merge into a single European operation following a meeting in Italy, Barcelona confirmed.

The decision not to accept the NBA's proposal of a single Europe entity was made Tuesday in Cernobbio during a gathering of the EuroLeague's 13 shareholder clubs. They include Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Olympiakos, Milan, Tony Parker-owned ASVEL in France and two Istanbul-based clubs.

A statement on the EuroLeague's website said they met to "discuss and align on key strategic decisions regarding the future of their collective property," without mentioning the NBA.

Barcelona told the Associated Press in an emailed response that a formal merger offer from the NBA had been rejected. In a statement, the club confirmed that Barcelona President Joan Laporta attended the meeting and that club owners “took several decisions regarding the future of the competition.”

"Among those decisions was the rejection of the NBA's proposal as it currently stands. Should that proposal be amended in the future, the clubs and the EuroLeague will reconsider it," the statement read.

It's not clear how each club voted. The EuroLeague declined to comment and pointed to its initial statement.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

---

DIGEST

---

Ducks' Moore is out, Raiola gets the start

No. 13 Oregon ruled out starting quarterback Dante Moore for its Saturday matchup against No. 21 UCLA as he continues to recover from a concussion.

Moore was listed as out on the Ducks' initial availability report Wednesday night despite returning to practice earlier in the week.

With Moore sidelined, Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola is expected to make his first start for Oregon.

Moore suffered the concussion during the Ducks' 41-27 victory over Southern California on Sept. 26 in Los Angeles. He was hit in the head by Trojans linebacker Desman Stephens II while sliding and had to be taken from the field on a stretcher.

HOCKEY

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Penguins add Stastney in trade with the Oilers

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenseman Spencer Stastney from Edmonton in exchange for forward Filip Hallander.

The deal gives the Penguins depth on the blue line.

Hallander, 26, was off to a promising start this season for Pittsburgh, scoring a goal to go with two assists in two games for the Penguins. The former second-round draft pick has struggled to gain a foothold in the NHL during his time in Pittsburgh, appearing in just 18 games across four seasons.

The Penguins will be Stastney's third team in less than a year. He was traded from Nashville to Edmonton last December, then signed a one-year deal with the Oilers in July.

The 26-year-old Stastney has four goals and 15 assists in 117 career games for Edmonton and Nashville. ...

Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand sustained a left leg injury in the second period of their 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

Marchand was not on the bench for the third period, and Coach Paul Maurice did not have an update on his condition afterward.

"We'll get him looked at probably Thursday," Maurice said.

Marchand was hurt after taking a stick to the face from Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke with 52.6 seconds remaining, which caused him to twist around and collide with the right post before his left leg bent back in an awkward way ...

New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov has a torn ACL in his right knee and is expected to be out six-to-eight months, the team announced.

Romanov, 26, is set to have surgery after getting injured Tuesday night in a 5-2 loss at the Rangers. He got tangled up with Mika Zibanejad during the third period and did not play the final 12 minutes.

SOCCER

---

Arsenal retains Arteta with extended contract

Arsenal Manager Mikel Ar-teta signed a new contract that is set to extend his stay at the English champions beyond a decade.

Arteta penned a deal that keeps him at Arsenal until 2030, the club said. The Times of London reported that Arteta will now be earning 20 million pounds (\$26.40 million) per year.

The 44-year-old Spanish coach took charge in December 2019 and is now comfortably the longest-serving coach in England's top flight.

He led Arsenal to the English Premier League title last season, ending the club's 22-year wait to be the champions of England again, and also to the Champions League final.

"We have already built a special bond and created memories that will last a lifetime," Arteta said in a club statement, "and what is so exciting is that this is only the beginning of what we can achieve together."

Arteta also played for Arsenal, spending the last five years of his career there. ...

Southampton Coach Tonda Eckert has been handed a fine and a suspended six-week suspension for his part in the Spygate scandal that rocked English soccer last season.

Southampton was expelled from the Championship playoff final in May after admitting to spying on other teams, including semifinal opponent Middlesbrough.

Eckert was subsequently charged for his involvement in three incidents.

The English Football Association said Eckert admitted the charges and that he had been reprimanded and fined 28,000 pounds (\$37,000). His suspension was suspended until the end of next season. ...

Former Manchester City and Spain midfielder David Silva has come out of retirement after three years to join Supreme Sha Tin, the Hong Kong club announced.

The 40-year-old Silva, a member of Spain's 2010 World Cup winning squad, ended his career in the summer of 2023 after sustaining a serious knee injury while in preseason training with Real Sociedad in Spain.

TENNIS

---

Gauff falls to Mertens days after online abuse

Coco Gauff said she had "no energy" in her loss to Elise Mertens at the China Open.

The 6-3, 6-3, defeat to a player Gauff had beaten in all five of their previous matchups came days after she received what she described as an "insane" amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in the preceding round.

Later, the Wuhan Open announced that Gauff withdrew from the upcoming tournament. It quoted Gauff, the defending champion, as saying, "After a long year, my body needs some time to rest and recover."

In Monday's match against home player Sun Xinran, the fourth-ranked Gauff stopped a rally after electronic advertising boards lining the court flickered during a point late in the first set.

Sun appeared about to win the point when Gauff stopped playing. The chair umpire then ordered the point to be replayed.

"Hey everyone, you can dislike me or disagree about what happened without being racist," Gauff, who is Black, said in a reply on X. "The amount of racist comments/dms I've received in the last few hours is insane. Lastly, I'm not a cheater or a thief."

Against the 19th-ranked Mertens, Gauff dropped her serve four times.

Also, the USTA announced that Gauff will compete when the U.S. hosts Hungary in a Billie Jean King Cup playoff in her hometown of Delray Beach, Florida, Nov. 21-22.

Earlier, Iga Swiatek broke Iva Jovic's serve twice in the last four games to beat the 18-year-old American, 6-1, 6-3.

Swiatek will next play Mertens.

---

AUTO RACING Russell to be assessed a power unit penalty

George Russell will be hit with a power unit penalty at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix that could result in Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli extending his lead in the Formula One drivers' standings.

"George has the added challenge of a power unit penalty, which will mean starting from the back of the grid on Sunday, following the engine failure in Malaysia," Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff announced Wednesday.

“That is particularly frustrating given the way he drove last weekend and the result he deserved to be fighting for. Unfortunately, these things are part of the sport and our focus now is on giving him the best possible car and opportunities to fight back through the field.”

Russell's retirement in Malaysia already helped Antonelli stretch his lead over Russell from 66 to 84 points, with seven races remaining this season.

"Malaysia was obviously a very difficult weekend for us," Wolff said. "We have spent the days since then working hard to understand why our performance was not where it should have been."

— From news services

NFL NOTES

Ravens acquire lineman Jurgens in a trade with Eagles

rescinded on appeal.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BILL STREICHER/IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS CONNECT

Oct 4, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles center Cam Jurgens (51) plays against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Eagles traded offensive lineman Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday for second- and fifth-round draft picks.

Philadelphia receives a fifth-round selection in 2027 and a second-rounder in 2028. Baltimore also gets a seventh-rounder in 2027 in the deal. The 27-year-old Jurgens has played center and guard, and the Ravens can use help at both.

Baltimore's top three options at center are out with long-term injuries. The Ravens moved rookie guard Vega Ioane over to center, but now guard Andrew Vorhees is also injured.

Jurgens was a Pro Bowler the past two seasons, but 2026 has been a struggle for the Philadelphia offensive line, him included. Lane Johnson was a late scratch for Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and then he retired after 14 seasons.

Jurgens has started games at left guard and center this season after starting exclusively at center in his two Pro Bowl years. He started at right guard in 2023.

The Eagles added significant draft capital in the deal, but now they'll have to come up with a new plan on the offensive line before Sunday's game in London against Jacksonville.

VIKINGS: Minnesota signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to its practice squad, adding some skill position depth and experience for their lagging offense.

Beckham, the 2014 Associated Press offensive rookie of the year award winner, made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three NFL seasons with the New York Giants. He has 7,987 receiving yards and 59 touchdowns over 122 career regular season games.

The Vikings (4-0) rank last in the NFL in passing yards. Top wide receiver Justin Jefferson missed the previous game with a sprained ankle.

Beckham's return this year to the New York Giants at age 33 after being out of football in 2025 lasted three games, with just one target and no catches. Beckham served a six-game suspension last year for failing a performance-enhancing drug test and did not sign with a team

after that.

Traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2019, Beckham joined the Los Angeles Rams midway through their 2021 Super Bowl championship season. He played there for Vikings Coach Kevin O'Connell, who was offensive coordinator of the Rams. Beckham had 21 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns in four games in the playoffs that year.

49ERS: San Francisco full-back Kyle Juszczyk won his appeal over the fines issued by the NFL for what it deemed an "offensive" celebration when he imitated drinking a beverage, which the league said looked like he was chugging a beer.

Juszczyk was initially fined \$29,852 for two infractions of the league's sportsmanship rules after celebrating two catches in the third quarter of a Week 2 win over the Miami Dolphins by doing the celebration he has done for years while the fans at Levi's Stadium cheered "Juice!" for his nickname.

He appealed the fine and an appeals officer ruled in his favor,

the league said.

ESPN first reported that the fine had been rescinded on appeal.

The NFL has vowed to crack down on celebrations this season and initially ruled that the "imitation of chugging a beer constituted an offensive demonstration and could reasonably be construed as being in poor taste."

The NFL has issued 21 fines in the first three weeks for illegal celebrations or obscene gestures totaling more than \$300,000. It's not clear how many others were

MISC.: An investigation is underway after former Chicago Bears linebacker Otis Wilson got into an altercation with security at Soldier Field following Sunday's game against the New York Jets, according to authorities and media reports.

In a statement to the Chicago Tribune, Monterrey Security – which provides security at all stadium events, according to Soldier Field's website – said the alleged incident unfolded after "a patron who had been in a suite on the same level as the press box attempted to use the elevator designated for media following the conclusion of the game."

Per NFL policy, that elevator is held at the end of games to allow working members of the press to move quickly from the press box to the field, Monterrey Security said.

The male patron, the statement went on, "forced his way onto the elevator" after he was "politely informed by a female officer that the elevator was not available for public use and was directed to use the other public elevators directly adjacent." He was not wearing credentials and did not identify himself, Monterrey Security said. The altercation ensued shortly after.

"When the female officer directed the offender to leave the elevator, he became physically combative and attacked her," the statement read. "The offender aggressively threw the female officer into a wall using both arms."

The officer's male partner then intervened, Monterrey Security said.

"[He] separated the offender from the female officer," the company said, "and brought the violent incident to an end."

DAVID J. PHILLIP

Dan Quinn has coached the Commanders to a 1-3 start. (David J. Phillip/AP)

Commanders face must-win situation

COMMANDERS FROM B7

least likely option. Patrick, meanwhile, has outplayed Allegretti — particularly in pass protection. Allegretti has allowed a pressure rate of 7.8 percent (146th among offensive linemen with at least 50 pass blocking snaps according to the analytics platform TruMedia). In comparison, Patrick has given up a pressure rate of just 2.7 percent (36th).

Despite that, Quinn seemed to indicate that Allegretti is in play at center.

"His toughness and will are very strong," Quinn said. "I'm looking forward to him really getting into a good working rhythm at the position."

---

A chance for more takeaways

Giants quarterback Jameis Winston always has been — and always will be — a gunslinger. While his aggressive style can create a lot of big plays, he frequently puts the ball in harm's way. Case in point: He has an interception rate of 3.8 percent, which is the fourth highest in the NFL.

After failing to force any turnovers in the first two games of the season, the Commanders' defense has five takeaways in the past two (tied for the second most in the NFL during that span). There's a strong chance Winston will give them opportunities to keep that hot streak going.

---

The Giants' stingy defense

New York has eight takeaways (tied for second in the league). Its ball hawking secondary has been the catalyst with six inter-

ceptions.

Safety Jevon Holland has been the most disruptive player; he has three interceptions (tied for the league lead) and two forced fumbles. Cornerbacks Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome II are also excellent at making plays on the ball.

Daniels is adept at protecting the football and is generally risk averse, but he needs to be especially careful in this one.

---

Poor play at crunch time

Performing in "winning time" moments is one of Quinn's man-tras, but the Commanders have failed to do so this season.

On offense, Washington has scored touchdowns on just 54.5 percent of its red zone possessions (tied for 19th). They've converted just 31.6 percent of their third downs (30th) and 57.1 percent of their fourth downs (tied for 13th).

On the other side of the ball, the Commanders have allowed their opponents to score touchdowns on 80 percent of their red zone possessions (30th). They've allowed conversions on 42 percent of their third downs (21st) and 50 percent of their fourth downs (tied for 13th).

Washington also has a point differential of minus-12 in the fourth quarter (26th). It's hard to win with that kind of play in the most crucial moments.

---

Getting healthy

Wide receiver Terry McLaurin didn't practice Wednesday as he rehabs the hamstring injury that caused him to miss Sunday's loss to the Indianapolis Colts in London. He worked on the side with other injured players.

Wide receiver Stefon Diggs and safeties Tyler Owens and Percy Butler all sat out practice because of hamstring injuries. Defensive end Charles Omenihu didn't participate because of a groin injury. But safety Nick Cross (internal) and running back Rachaaad White (shoulder) did return to practice. ...

The Commanders opened the practice windows for cornerback Trey Amos (ankle), running back Jeremy McNichols (quad) and defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. (quad). Those players have 21 days to be activated off injured reserve or the physically unable to perform list. If they're not during that span, they'd be forced to miss the rest of the season. Quinn said it's too early to say when they'll be able to play.

Amos's potential return to a struggling secondary looms the largest.

"I've seen a lot of glimpses from our defense of what we can be," Amos said. "I want to be a part of that. I'm using all this time to just go out there, learn what I need to do and just be there for the guys." ...

The Commanders decided not to place quarterback Marcus Mariota on injured reserve after he re-sprained his right MCL on Sunday, but he didn't practice.

Quinn said that the Commanders are "optimistic" about Mariota's timeline. It'd be reasonable to expect him to come back after their Week 7 bye. Until then, Athan Kaliakmanis will serve as Daniels's backup.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Five winless teams is a rare NFL feat

NFL FROM B7

utes in three of their four losses, including a 34-30 loss to Dallas on Sunday when the Cowboys scored the winning touchdown with 40 seconds to play.

They are the second team since at least 1991 to lose three times in the first four games after leading in the final two minutes. The Chargers did it in 2016. The only other teams in the Super Bowl era to start the season 0-4 despite leading at any point in the fourth quarter in three of the games were the 2013 Buccaneers and 2011 Vikings.

C.J. Stroud is the first quarterback since 1950, when starts were first tracked, to lose the first four games of a season without throwing an interception.

Three teams are 4-0, with the Kansas City Chiefs and Vikings doing it after missing the playoffs in 2025. The previous time two teams started 4-0 after missing the playoffs was 2013, when the Chiefs and New Orleans Saints did it.

---

Walker thriving in K.C.

Signing away the reigning Super Bowl MVP hasn't worked so well in the past. It couldn't be going better for the Chiefs.

Kenneth Walker III has transformed Kansas City's offense since leaving the Seattle Seahawks in free agency in March. His 537 yards rushing are the most for any player through four games since Arian Foster had 539 yards in 2010.

Walker rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-27 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, making him the fourth player to have at least 175 yards from scrimmage in three of the first four games of a season. Christian McCaffrey did it in 2019, Billy Sims as a rookie for the Detroit Lions in 1980 and Jim Brown in 1963. Sims is the only other player to do it in his first four games with a franchise.

Walker already has six runs of at least 20 yards this season — doubling Kansas City's total for all of 2025.

His performance is far different from the other three Super Bowl MVPs who changed teams immediately after winning the award.

Larry Brown had one interception in 12 games over two seasons with the Raiders after winning Super Bowl MVP for Dallas following the 1995 season. Brown was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team in 1997 and then was cut.

The Raiders signed Desmond Howard in 1997 after he won the award for the Green Bay Packers. Howard caught six passes and had two punt return touchdowns in two seasons for Oakland.

Dexter Jackson fared better after leaving Tampa Bay for the Arizona Cardinals, finishing with six interceptions in 2003, but he was cut the following year.

Penalties on the rise

The NFL came close to setting a record for penalties last week, with the 271 accepted infractions the second most in any week in league history. The highest was 298 in Week 2 of the 2015 season.

There were an average of 16.9 penalties per game in Week 4 for the second-highest mark since 2000.

The biggest culprit was the game Sunday between the Chargers and Seahawks when there were 30 accepted penalties for 280 yards, including seven personal fouls against the Seahawks. Three other games had at least 20 accepted penalties last week.

In all, the average of 15 penalties per game ranks fourth-highest since 2000 through four weeks and the highest since it was at 15.3 in 2015.

There have been noticeable increases this season in offensive holding, false starts and defensive holding compared with last season.

There is a large disparity between teams. Green Bay and Cleveland are averaging more than 10 accepted penalties a game, while San Francisco and Indianapolis are averaging fewer than five.

The Miami Dolphins offense huddles up on the field during an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

STACY BENG5/WP PHOTO/STACY BENG5

Nittany Lions in desperate need of crafting an identity

"As we continue to build this, adversity was going to be a part of this, and we are in it," first-year Penn State coach Matt Campbell said.

BARRY REEGER/AP

BY TRAVIS JOHNSON

Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, PA. — Coach Matt Campbell knew his first season at Penn State wouldn't be easy, but he also wouldn't have guessed the Nittany Lions would make it this much harder on themselves.

After cruising through non-conference play, the Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) stumbled mightily in their first two conference games. They let Wisconsin claw a win away from them and were booed off their home field in the conference opener. Last week, they were bullied by Northwestern nearly a year after the same Wildcats handed former coach James Franklin a third-straight conference loss that led to his firing.

The poor start coupled with conservative coaching calls in both losses have riled a loyal fan base. Patience is wearing thin in Happy Valley, where plenty of tickets are still available for the usually sold out White Out game against No. 19 USC on Saturday.

"To be quite honest with you, the frustration from my end is you want to give our players, our coaches, and this community something to be really proud of and what it represents and we're not there yet," Campbell said. "The reality of it is I'm not surprised."

And Campbell isn't sure how long it'll take to get to where they want to be.

First, the Nittany Lions have to establish some semblance of a rhythm and find an identity. Scoring just four touchdowns while allowing 58 points and giving up 533 rushing yards to two middling Big Ten teams isn't it.

"The reality is we're five games into building standards and expectations," Campbell said. "As we continue to build this, adversity was going to be a part of this, and we are in it and we needed to be in it to be able to grow forward to be the team we want to become."

Another reality is the piece-meal roster.

Campbell was hired Dec. 5, 18 days after his predecessor became Virginia Tech's coach and just six days before former Penn State defensive coordinator Jim

Knowles took the same job at Tennessee. Twelve players, including starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and tight end Luke Reynolds, followed Franklin to Virginia Tech while three defensive starters stuck with Knowles.

Fifty players remained when

Campbell arrived. He filled out the roster with players from 16 programs, including 24 who followed him from Iowa State. So far, Penn State starts 12 former Cyclones combined on offense and defense.

"I think the uniqueness of last offseason, when timing, all that stuff, I think you always are learning and growing. But at the end of the day I think we did everything in our power to get the right team and the right humans in this building for the situation at hand," Campbell said. "I certainly wouldn't second-guess what we did there."

He knew it would take time to build chemistry.

There's also the fact that few of them have experience in the rough and tumble Big Ten. Iowa State played Iowa every year during Campbell's tenure. The Cyclones went 3-6 against the rival Hawkeyes, though they beat their only Big Ten opponent each of the last two seasons.

"At the end of the day it's football and we're playing football at a really high level," linebacker Cael Brezina said. "The Big Ten is an elite conference and I would say the Big 12 brings a lot of really good stuff to the table, too. So you felt a little bit of a difference, but at the end of the day, we're playing football."

The Trojans (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) will try to extend Penn State's skid Saturday.

Former USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn now runs Penn State's defense. He knows better than most what Penn State's standard on his side of the ball has always been having played for Joe Paterno.

When he watched the film from the Northwestern game, Lynn saw where the Nittany Lions might be able to develop the identity they need in the trenches.

"I don't know if we won the line of scrimmage once," Lynn said. "We didn't lose every time, but we didn't win at all."

Terps' Locksley backs Washington despite second year quarterback's struggles

TERPS FROM B7

against Pittsburgh on Oct. 24, 2024, according to Sportradar. Locksley acknowledged that "the energy went out of our team" after McDougle's score.

On Tuesday, Locksley briefly dissected both turnovers. On Washington's first interception, Locksley said the Cornhuskers put seven players at the line of scrimmage, but dropped back sophomore defensive lineman Kade Pietrzak, who corralled the pass. On the second gaffe, Locksley said the defense showed a man-to-man alignment before switching to bracket coverage.

"I call them 400-level reads," he said. "Those are 400-level things that people are doing because of the talent he has at quarterback. ... He's seeing a little more complicated coverages than what he maybe has seen before, and it's because of what he's shown he's able to do throwing a football."

After leading all freshmen in the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing yards (2,963) a year ago, Washington hasn't made the gains many anticipated this fall. In fact, an argument could be made he is regressing.

Last season, Washington completed 31.1 percent of his passes (19 for 61) that traveled 20 yards or more through the air, but that rate has dropped to 21.7 percent (5 of 23) this season, according to Pro Football Focus. While his efficiency on throws between 10 and 19 yards has increased from 45.7 percent (43 for 94) in 2025 to 61.5 percent (24 for 39) in 2026, Washington has seen a downturn in passes between zero and nine yards from 67.6 percent (138 for 204) a year ago to 61.3 percent (49 for 80) this fall.

Washington's struggles appear similar to those afflicting fellow sophomore and Michigan starter Bryce Underwood, whose troubles have raised questions about whether he should be benched. Locksley declined to compare Washington's situation to Underwood's and instead said the return of healthy running backs such as redshirt sophomore DeJuan Williams and redshirt freshman Harry Dalton III should relieve some of the offensive burden on the quarterback.

REBECCA S. GRATZ/AP

"He's our quarterback, and there's no doubt," Maryland Coach Michael Locksley said of his regressing second-year signal caller.

"I think the best thing that will happen, [that] will help Malik is to have an efficient DeJuan Williams back, have [sophomore Iverson Howard] back healthier than he's been the last couple of weeks," Locksley said. "No doubt that Malik hasn't played his best football the last two weeks, but as I said, he's 16 games in as a starter. He's pretty much a sophomore in the halfway, almost near the halfway point of his college career, and seeing and learning and building his toolbox, which I think most quarterbacks tend to do and when they play young and early like he has."

Like Locksley, Washington's teammates publicly back their quarterback. A week ago, Webb said his faith in Washington is unwavering.

"I didn't play well against Hampton, and nobody lost belief in me," he said. "I still have the utmost belief and confidence in him, and I know he'll bounce back. I know he'll lean into his faith, and he's been doing this his whole life."

On Tuesday, junior wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. said there was no need to try to counsel or advise Washington. He said the best thing he and his teammates could do was make plays for him.

"Just keep being there for him, keep being supportive, always just keeping a positive aspect." Durr said. "Just all the stuff that we're doing good and right and not just saying about the interceptions because it's not all his fault. Put the blame on some of us sometimes. So yeah, just being that for him and just making plays continuously like we have been."

Ovechkin, Capitals handle Penguins

CAPITALS FROM B7

legiance with Russian President Vladimir Putin has drawn criticism — and a small group of protesters even gathered pre-game outside of the arena — there were only signs of support for Ovechkin inside the arena. There was added anticipation, too, with the opponent being the Penguins and Sidney Crosby, beginning the closing chapter of the storied rivalry between two of the greatest hockey players of all time.

"We respect each other," Ovechkin said about Crosby. "He still does lots of great things out there."

This one, the first of four final meetings between the two stars, belonged to the Capitals. Carbery said Wednesday morning that his team doesn't feel extra pressure, but rather a sense of urgency to make this season count for Ovechkin. That was evident from the start, when Anthony Beauvillier scored 23 seconds into the game to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead.

The Penguins kept it tight, responding less than a minute later on a goal by Bryan Rust, before the Capitals jumped out to a 4-1 lead with goals from Wilson and Pierre-Luc Dubois, each notching their first of the season and Alex Tuch, his third of the season. The Penguins inched back a little bit at the end of the second period, getting within one after goals from Tommy Novak and Nick Roberston, but scored in the third period to secure the 5-3 win.

In April, the Capitals will again host the Penguins for another milestone game, this one being Ovechkin's last at home. Until then, he, and his teammates, will continue to soak up all the moments they can.

"It's been such an incredible journey," Wilson said. "Cool to see his kids down there and see them come out on the ice. He's a legend in this city. I think everyone had big smiles, you had chills watching him come out. You just have to try to soak it all in."

Notes: Matt Roy, who suffered a lower-body injury in Saturday's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, was scratched. He is considered day-to-day but has not skated yet. ... Dylan McIlrath was called up, starting on the third line with Cole Hudson.

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"It was a memorable night, first game of the year at home ... it was special," Alex Ovechkin said.

Los Angeles eliminates Atlanta and punches ticket to its third straight NLCS

Sept. 23.

Andy Pages' two-RBI, bases-loaded single in the seventh gave the Dodgers the lead that sent them to the NLCS for the third straight year.

DAVID BANKS/IMAGN IMAGES

DODGERS 4, BRAVES 1

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Andy Pages drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to give Los Angeles the lead, and the Dodgers beat the host Atlanta Braves, 4-1, on Wednesday night to clinch their National League Division Series.

The Dodgers won back-to-back games in Atlanta to take the best-of-five matchup 3-1 and advance to the NL Championship Series as they seek to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series.

Pages lined a 3-2 pitch from Robert Suarez up the middle to drive in Teoscar Hernández, who singled off starter Tyler Mahle, and pinch-runner Tommy Edman for a 3-1 lead. Didier Fuentes walked pinch hitter Josue De Paula and Kyle Tucker to load the bases. Edman ran for De Paula.

Max Muncy's solo shot off Raisel Iglesias in the ninth padded the lead and gave the slugger 19 postseason homers with the Dodgers, extending his franchise record.

Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow, making his first start since Sept. 24, allowed only one hit but walked five batters in 4 2/3 innings. After he issued two walks in the fifth, left-hander Alex Vesia ended the inning on Matt Olson's groundout to second base.

The missed opportunity left the Braves with 18 walks in the series, and none scored.

Glasnow and four relievers combined to give up just three hits. Tanner Scott pitched a perfect eighth before Edwin Díaz got three quick outs for the save.

Mahle, a native of Newport Beach, California, who grew up a Dodgers fan, allowed two runs — one earned — in 6 1/3 innings.

Michael Harris II hit Glasnow's first pitch for a single before stealing second and eventually scoring from third on a wild pitch that bounced off catcher Will Smith's chest protector.

The Dodgers pulled even in the second with the help of two Atlanta errors. Shohei Ohtani walked, stole second and advanced to third on catcher Sean Murphy's errant throw into center field. Muncy's pop fly into shallow left field was dropped by shortstop Mauricio Dubón for another error, allowing Ohtani to score.

Hernández crashed into the wall while attempting to catch Ozzie Albies' double off Vesia leading off the sixth. Hernández pointed to his head and neck when talking to an athletic trainer but remained in the game.

Edgardo Henriquez stranded Albies at second. Henriquez allowed one hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win.

GUARDIANS 9, WHITE SOX 3: Jo Adell and José Ramírez powered Cleveland with a pair of two-out triples, and the Guardians avoided an American League Division Series sweep by cooling off host Chicago with a victory in Game 3.

Adell's three-run triple gave Cleveland a 4-1 lead in the third inning. Ramírez's three-bagger drove in Travis Bazzana and Patrick Bailey for a 7-3 advantage in the eighth.

"We continued to pile on," Cleveland Manager Stephen Vogt said. "I think that's been the difference of the first couple games to today was Game 2, we were able to get a couple runs but weren't able to add on. But really good job by our guys today."

The Guardians hit two triples in a postseason game for the first time in franchise history. They became the first major league team to accomplish the feat since the Dodgers in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees.

Adell, Ramírez, Bailey and Brayan Rocchio each had two of the team's 11 hits — a complete turnaround for the AL Central champions after they managed just three runs and seven hits in the first two games of the series combined.

Game 4 is Thursday in Chicago, with the White Sox leading 2-1 in the best-of-five matchup. Once again, they'll try to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series against the Chicago Cubs.

"Today has nothing to do with tomorrow. Nothing," White Sox catcher Kyle Teel said. "We come ready to go like we always do tomorrow."

Chicago won its first four games in a surprising postseason appearance after going 60-102 last year. It was backed by a frenzied crowd of 40,590 for the franchise's first home play-off game since 2021, but there wasn't much for the fans to cheer in the final innings.

The White Sox struck out 19 times and went 2 for 11 with runners in position. Their bullpen faltered after coming up big during their fast postseason start.

"I think there was some stuff we could have played better, but they played good, too," lefthander Hagen Smith said. "It's a good team, and we'll come back tomorrow and fight."

Chicago jumped in front on Teel's RBI double off Daniel Espino with one out in the first. But then Espino fanned Chase Meidroth before Foster Griffin struck out Tristan Peters looking, stranding runners on second and third.

Griffin set a franchise record for a reliever with seven strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. The left-hander allowed one run and two hits in his first appearance since

“Once we got the momentum going on our side, it was tough to stop it,” said Griffin, who came over in a trade with the Washington Nationals in August.

Cleveland rallied in the third against Bryan Hudson, who entered after Sean Newcomb pitched two scoreless innings.

---

Miller returns for Padres

All-star closer Mason Miller returned to the San Diego Padres' bullpen after missing one playoff game on the paternity list.

Miller was put back on the Padres' roster for Game 4 of the NLDS against Milwaukee, and he joined his teammates for warm-ups on the field three hours before the first pitch. Miller said his wife, Jordan, gave birth to their son Tuesday night during the Padres' Game 3 victory over Milwaukee.

"I was just so happy to be there," Miller said.

The Padres were also hopeful that top setup man Adrian Morejon would be available for Game 4 after he was ruled out of Game 3 with shoulder discomfort, Manager Craig Stammen said.

San Diego is facing elimination for the second straight night at Petco Park against the Brewers, who lead the best-of-five series 2-1. Walker Buehler started Game 4 for the Padres after missing the first two games of this series on the paternity list.

The Padres ruled out Miller about 45 minutes before the first pitch of Game 3, but San Diego eked out a 4-3 victory with 4 2/3 gritty innings of one-run relief from four pitchers behind starter Nick Pivetta. Game 2 starter Michael King stepped up to pitch the final two innings on one day of rest, earning his first save since 2023.

Rather than worrying about the Padres, Miller was so locked in at the hospital that he declined an offer to turn on the television in the delivery room.

"I said, 'No, I can't do that,' Miller said with a smile. "Adrenaline was going pretty hard. Everything went really well, and then right when we got everybody settled, got Jordan in bed with the baby, they said, 'The Padres won.' It was pretty amazing."

We can only offer these special savings until 10/31/2026, so call today 301.596.2233

\* This offer is valid for homeowners over 10 years of age. The following persons are not eligible for this offer: employees of Leafguard or affiliated companies or entities, their immediate family members, previous participants in a Company in-home consultation within the past 12 months and all current and former Company customers. Previous/future purchases are not eligible for a discount or sale price adjustment. Sales tax does not qualify for discount. This offer cannot be combined with and other sole, promotion, discount, code, coupon or offer. This promotion has no cash value. Leafguard reserves the right to end any promotion at any time without notice. Expires 10/31/26.

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\*\*\*All participants who attend an estimated 60-90-minute in-home product consultation will receive a \$25 Visa card. Retail value is \$25. Offer sponsored by Leafguard Holdings Inc. Limit one per household, Company procures, sells, and installs seamless gutter protection. This offer is valid for homeowners over 18 years of age. If married or involved with a life partner, both cohabitating persons must attend and complete presentation together. Participants must have a photo ID and be legally able to enter into a contract. The following persons are not eligible for this offer: employees of Company or affiliated companies or entities, their immediate family members, previous participants in a Company in-home consultation within the past 12 months and all current and former Company customers. Card may not be extended, transferred, or substituted except that Company may substitute a gift of equal or greater value if it deems it necessary. Card will be offered to the participant via first class United States Mail within 10 days of receipt of the promotion form. Not valid in conjunction with any other promotion or discount of any kind. Offer not sponsored and is subject to change without notice prior to reservation. Offer not available in the states of CA, IN, PA and MI. Expires 10/31/26

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SCOREBOARD

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PRO FOOTBALL

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NFL | EAST | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | N.Y. Giants | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 82 | 79 | Philadelphia | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 75 | 93 | Dallas | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 122 | 112 | Washington | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 88 | 122 | NORTH | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Minnesota | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 86 | 51 | Chicago | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 112 | 65 | Detroit | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 119 | 127 | Green Bay | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 73 | 105 | WEST | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | San Francisco | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 122 | 64 | Seattle | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 105 | 73 | LA Rams | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 85 | 83 | Arizona | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 87 | 117 | EAST | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Buffalo | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 127 | 107 | New England | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 65 | 77 | N.Y. Jets | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 76 | 84 | Miami | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 46 | 101 | SOUTH | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Jacksonville.... | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 104 | 53 | Indianapolis.... | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 102 | 104 | Tennessee.... | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 55 | 83 | Houston.... | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 84 | 109 | ---

WEEK 5

THURSDAY'S GAME

Tampe Boy at Dallas, 8:15

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SUNDAY'S GAMES

N.Y. Giants at Washington, 1

Baltimore at Atlanta, 8:20

Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville in London, 9:30 a.m.

Chicago at Green Bay, 1

Cincinnati at Miami, 1

Cleveland at N.Y. Jets, 1

Houston at Tennessee, 1

Indianapolis at Pittsburgh, 1

Las Vegas at New England, 1

Minnesota at New Orleans, 1

Denver at L.A. Chargers, 4:05

Detroit at Arizona, 4:25

San Francisco at Seattle, 4:25

BYES: Kansas City, Carolina

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MONDAY'S GAME

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WEEK 6

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SUNDAY, OCT. 18

Baltimore at Cleveland, 1

Houston vs. Jacksonville in London, 9:30 a.m.

Carolina at Philadelphia, 1

Chicago at Atlanta, 1

N.Y. Jets at New England, 1

New Orleans at N.Y. Giants, 1

Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, 1

Tennessee at Indianapolis, 1

Arizona at L.A. Rams, 4:05

Buffalo at Las Vegas, 4:25

L.A. Chargers at Kansas City, 4:25

Dallas at Green Bay, 8:20

BYES: Cincinnati, Miami, Detroit, Minnesota

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MONDAY, OCT. 19

Washington at San Francisco, 8:15

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HIGH SCHOOLS

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WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS FIELD HOCKEY MARYLAND

Broadneck 5, Southern 0

Longardtown 14, La Plata 0

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VIRGINIA

Liberty 6, Osbaum Park 0

Monticello 1, Brentsville 0

Washington-Liberty 3, Herndon 1

West Potomac 2, C.G. Woodson 1

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BOYS' SOCCER

Banneker 3, School Without Walls 1

Coolidge 4, Ron Brown 0

Jackson-Rood 1, Bell 0

John R. Thompson Jr. 5, Theodore Roosevelt 3

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MARYLAND

Richard Montgomery 7, Pooiesville 2

Walter Johnson 1, Geithersbury 0

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PRIVATE

Edmund Burke 3, Don Bosco Cristo Roy 2

Jackson-Road 10, Ball D

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MARYLAND

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PRIVATE

Archbishop Spalding 3, John Carroll 0

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GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL

School Without Walls def. Washington International, 3-0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-11)

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MARYLAND

Elaanor Roosevelt def. Bladensburg, 3-0 (25-5, 25-15, 25-10)

Richard Montgomery def. Einkommen, 3-0

Richard Montgomery def. Springbrook, 3-0

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PRIVATE

Holy Cross def. Jackson-Reed, 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-17)

Riverdale Baptist def. Lanham Christian, 3-1 (20-25, 25-6, 25-15, 25-13)

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VIRGINIA

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AUTO RACING

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NASCAR Cup Series

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POINTS LEADERS

1. Taylor Gordon, 2208.

2. Paula Lanson, 2318.

3. Denny Namlin, 2278.

4. Christopher Dell, 2263.

5. Joey Lozano, 2207.

6. Ryan Blaney, 2238.

7. Chaso Brillo, 2233.

8. Tyler Reddick, 2212.

9. Ty Gibbs, 2208.

10. Austin Cindric, 2190.

11. Bubba Wallace, 2181.

12. Carion Hovear, 2160.

13. William Fitch, 2158.

14. Chaso Elliott, 2155.

15. Daniel Suárez, 2123.

16. Chris Bueschen, 2122.

17. Ryan Preece, 2118.

18. Diane Vargas, 2099.

19. Brad Kaselowski, 654.

20. Russ Chastalin, 621.

21. Michael McDowell, 597.

22. Erik Jones, 582.

23. AJ Allmendinger, 551.

24. Todd Gillie, 542.

25. Austin Dillon, 528.

26. Josh Barry, 514.

27. Alex Bowman, 503.

28. John H. Nemechek, 497.

29. Steve Smith, 487.

30. Ricky Strengner Jr., 400.

31. Riley Herbst, 446.

32. Noah Grapson, 394.

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Forumula One

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POINTS LEADERS

Through Sunday.

1. Andrea Kim Antonelli, 320.

2. George Russell, 236.

3. Lewis Hamilton, 214.

4. Charles Leclerc, 191.

5. Lando Norris, 188.

6. Max Vorstappen, 188.

7. Oscar Piastri, 128.

8. Isack Haigar, 96.

9. Liam Lawson, 65.

10. Pierre Gesly, 41.

11. Arvid Lindfried, 34.

12. Franco Celapinto, 27.

13. Oliver Bearman, 20.

14. Gabriel Bortolito, 10.

15. Nico Hulkenberg, 7.

16. Esteben Ocon, 7.

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MLB playoffs

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BRAVES ELIMINATED PHILLIES, 2-1

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DIVISION SERIES

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NATIONAL LEAGUE BREWERS LEAD PADRES, 2-1

Game 1: at Milwaukee 3, San Diego 2

Game 2: at Milwaukee 4, San Diego 3

Game 3: at San Diego 4, Milwaukee 3

Game 4: Milwaukee at San Diego, late x-Friday's game: San Diego at Milwaukee, 4:30

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DODGERS ELIMINATED BRAVES, 3-1

Game 1: at L.A. Dodgers 5, Atlanta 3

Game 2: Atlanta 3, at L.A. Dodgers 2

Game 3: L.A. Dodgers 3, at Atlanta 1

Game 4: L.A. Dodgers 4, at Atlanta 1

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AMERICAN LEAGUE RAYS LEAD YANKEES, 2-0

Game 1: at Tampa Bay 1, N.Y. Yankees 0

Game 2: Tampa Bay 5, N.Y. Yankees 2

Game 3: Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees, late

x-Thursday's game: Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees, 8

x-Saturday's game: N.Y. Yankees at Tampa Bay, 6

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WHITE SOX LEAD GUARDIANS, 2-1

Game 1: Chi. White Sox 3, at Cleveland 0

Game 2: Chi. White Sox 4, at Cleveland 3

Game 3: Cleveland 9, at Chi. White Sox 3

Thursday's game: Cleveland at Chi. White Sox, 5

x-Saturday's game: Chi. White Sox at Cleveland, 5

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CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES NATIONAL LEAGUE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Best of seven: starts Oct. 11

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

AMERICAN LEAVES

Best of seven; starts Oct. 12

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WORLD SERIES

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AL games

Handley def. Manassas Park, 3-0

Dalton def. South Lakes, 3-0 (25-11, 27-15, 25-18) | W-L | ERA | TEAM | Massick (L) | 0-1 | 4.15 | 0-1 | TBD | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-0 | Guardians 9, White Sox 3 | GUARDIANS | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | AVG | Kwan cf-lf | .6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .154 | Ramírez 3b | .4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .200 | DeLautor rf | .4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .250 | Adell dh | .4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .273 | Lawo 1b | .2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .125 | Martínez lf | .4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | Habin cf | .6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | Bozzona 2b | .2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .111 | Gensao 2b | .1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | Bailey c | .4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .333 | Rocchio ss | .4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .222 | TOTALS | 35 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 6 | — | WHITE SOX | AB | R | H | BB | BB | SO | AVG | Antonacci dh.... | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .143 | Vargas 3b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .375 | Murakami 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .250 | Tool c | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .182 | Meidroth 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .250 | Peters cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .250 | B.Montgomery rf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .100 | Grichuk lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .143 | C.Montgomery ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .222 | TOTALS | 32 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 19 | — | GUARDIANS....004 | 010 | 022 | — | 9 | 11 | 0 | WHITE SOX....100 | 101 | 000 | — | 3 | 6 | 0 | LOB: Guardano 10, White Sox 8. 2B: Ramirez (1), Genao (1), Teel (1), Meidroth (1), Peters (1). RB: Adell (2), Ramirez (1). RBIs: Kwan (1), Adell 3 (4), DeLauter (1), Ramirez 2 (2), Genao (1), Rocchio (1), Teel (1), Peters (1), Antonacci (1). SB: Ramirez (1), Rocchio (1). S: Rocchio.

Runners left in scoring position: Guardians 5 (Martinez 3, Adell, Kwan); White Sox 5 (Vargas 2, Petors 2, C.Montgomery). RISP: Guardians 5 for 17; White Sox 2 for 11. Runners moved up: Murakami. UDP: Lowe, Kwan, Teel. GIDP: Rocchio.

DP: Guardians 1 (Bazzana, Rocchio, Bazzana); White Sox 3 (Vargas, Murakami, Vargas; Meidroth, C.Montgomery, Murakami; Vargas). | GUARDIANS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Espino....% | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6.75 | Griffin....2% | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3.38 | Armstrong....% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | Cantillo....1% | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5.40 | Godds....% | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | Herrin....1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 | C.Smith....2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00 | WHITE SOX | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Newcomb.... | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | Hudson.... | $\frac{1}{4}$ | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 40.50 | H.Smith.... | $\frac{1}{3}$ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2.70 | Schultz.... | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.00 | Davis.... | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | Sendin.... | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 18.00 | Martin.... | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 18.00 | WP: Griffin (1-0); LP: Hobson (1-1). Inherited runners-scored: Griffin 2-0, Armstrong 1-0, Gaddis 1-1, H.Smith 2-2. IBB: off Sandin (Dotautor). HBP: Griffin 2 (Antonacci,Peters), Gaddis 2 (C.Montgomery,Antonacci). WP: Schultz. Pitch timer violations: Sandin (pitcher). T: 3:16. A: 40,590 (40,241).

Dodgers 4, Braves 1 | DODGERS | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | AVG | Batts ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .214 | Fraeman 3b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .267 | Smith c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .063 | Orient dh | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .154 | T.Hernández lf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .180 | Hy.Kim 2b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | Mancy 3b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 | E.Hernández 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | De Paula ph | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | Edman pr-2b-H | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | Tucker rf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | Pages cf | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .286 | TOTALS | 32 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | — | BRAVES | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | AVG | Harris cf.... | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .375 | Aurora rf.... | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .133 | Olson 1b.... | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .125 | Abies 2b.... | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | Baldwin dh.... | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .071 | Yastrzemski lf.... | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | Thomas ph-lf.... | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | Tellez ph.... | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Dubon ss.... | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .154 | Riley 3b.... | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | Murphy c.... | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | TOTALS | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 8 | — | DODGERS....010 | 000 | 201 | — | 4 | 5 | 0 | BRAVES....100 | 000 | 000 | — | 1 | 3 | 2 | Runners left in scoring position: Dodgers 1 (Butts); Braves 3 (Dubón, Olson, Acuña). RISP: Dodgers 1 for 3; Braves 0 for 7. Runners moved up: Muncy, Olson, GIDP; E.Hernández. | DODGERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Glesnow....4 $\frac{1}{2}$ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1.93 | Vesla.... $\frac{1}{2}$ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | Henriquez....1 $\frac{1}{2}$ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | Scott....1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6.75 | Deer....1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | BRAVES | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Mahe | $4 \frac{1}{2}$ | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1.42 | Fuentes | $4 \frac{1}{2}$ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.50 | Suerrer | $4 \frac{1}{2}$ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | Loo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | Iglesias | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | WP: Henriquez (1-0); LP: Mohle (0-1); S: Diaz (2); Inherited runners-scored: Yesia 2-0, Henriquez 1-0, Fuentes 1-0, Suarez 3-2. WP: Glasnom. T: 2:54, At 41,173 (41,149).

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GOLF

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BASEBALL | Through Monday. | 1. Scottie Scheffler | 17.21 | 2. Rory McIlroy | 8.84 | 3. Matt Fitzpatrick | 7.29 | ---

Padres 4, Brewers 3

Late Tuesday | BREWERS | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | AVG | Cheurio lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .167 | Bauers 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .182 | Cenbras c | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .364 | Lara pr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | Turens 2b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .091 | Yelich dh | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .400 | Mitchell cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .182 | Prett ss | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .273 | Frutick rf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | Ortiz 3b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | Hamilton ph-3b | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | TOTALS | 35 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 9 | — | PADRES | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | AVG | Tatis rf.... | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .071 | Merrill cf.... | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .154 | Nachado 3b.... | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .333 | France 3b.... | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .273 | Sales c.... | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .167 | Bosports ss.... | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .222 | Harris lf.... | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .182 | Andigar ph.... | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | Bowen pr-ir.... | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ... | Taylor dh.... | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | Crenenworth 2b.... | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .222 | TOTALS | 29 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | — | BREWERS | 000 | 110 | 100 | — | 3 | 11 | 1 | PADRES | 002 | 011 | 00X | — | 4 | 8 | 0 | Runners left in scoring position: Brewers 5 (Mitchell, Turang 2, Ortiz 2); Padres 0. RISP: Brewers 2 for 7; Padres 1 for 3. | BREWERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | May....3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6.00 | Romero....1 $\frac{1}{4}$ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3.86 | Senzatela....1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | Hall....1 $\frac{1}{4}$ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | Lighe....1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | PADRES | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pivotta....4 $\frac{1}{2}$ | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4.15 | Adam.... $\frac{1}{2}$ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | Matsul....1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | Rodriguez....1 $\frac{1}{2}$ | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2.70 | King....2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1.29 | WP: Matsui (1-0); LP: Romero (0-1); S: King (1). Inherited runners-scored: Romero 1-0, Hall 1-1, Adam 2-1, Matsui 3-0, Rodriguez 2-0. WP: Hall. T: 3:22. A: 47,708 (40,222).

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SOCCER

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MLS | EAST | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Nashville | 18 | 3 | 6 | 60 | 55 | 21 | New England | 14 | 9 | 4 | 46 | 45 | 36 | Inter Miami CF | 12 | 5 | 10 | 46 | 64 | 50 | Chicago | 13 | 8 | 6 | 45 | 49 | 39 | Charlotte FC | 12 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 47 | 38 | Philadelphia | 11 | 11 | 6 | 39 | 54 | 44 | Orlando City | 10 | 13 | 4 | 34 | 48 | 64 | New York | 9 | 12 | 6 | 33 | 34 | 51 | New York City FC | 8 | 10 | 9 | 33 | 41 | 36 | Cincinnati | 8 | 9 | 9 | 33 | 55 | 64 | D.C. United | 6 | 8 | 12 | 30 | 34 | 42 | Columbus | 8 | 14 | 11 | 29 | 39 | 50 | Toronto FC | 6 | 10 | 11 | 29 | 39 | 51 | Atlanta | 7 | 14 | 6 | 27 | 32 | 45 | CF Montreal | 6 | 15 | 8 | 24 | 34 | 54 | WEST | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Vancouver | 15 | 7 | 5 | 50 | 60 | 29 | St. Louis City SC | 13 | 6 | 8 | 47 | 48 | 36 | FC Dallas | 13 | 6 | 8 | 47 | 50 | 42 | San Jose | 13 | 8 | 6 | 45 | 49 | 39 | Houston | 15 | 9 | 5 | 44 | 34 | 32 | Los Angeles FC | 11 | 8 | 8 | 41 | 38 | 35 | Seattle | 10 | 9 | 8 | 38 | 25 | 35 | Colorado | 11 | 13 | 3 | 36 | 38 | 38 | LA Galaxy | 9 | 10 | 9 | 36 | 37 | 44 | Portland | 9 | 13 | 5 | 32 | 48 | 51 | Real Salt Lake | 9 | 13 | 5 | 32 | 40 | 44 | San Diego FC | 8 | 11 | 8 | 32 | 47 | 47 | Louisville FC | 7 | 10 | 10 | 31 | 35 | 47 | Minnesota United | 7 | 12 | 8 | 29 | 40 | 49 | Sporting KC | 6 | 10 | 8 | 21 | 32 | 65 | ---

TUESDAY'S RESULT

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SATURDAY'S MATCHES

D.C. United at Miami, 7:30

CF Montreal at Toronto FC, 1

New York City FC at Chicago, 2:30

Cincinnati at Atlanta, 7:30

FC Dallas at Charlotte FC, 7:30

Seattle at New England, 7:30

San Diego FC at New York, 7:30

Columbus at Orlando City, 7:30

Real Salt Lake at Philadelphia, 7:30

Nashville at Austin FC, 8:30

Portland at Sporting KC, 8:30

Houston at Minnesota, 8:30

San Jose at Colorado, 9:30

Vancouver at Los Angeles FC, 10:30

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SUNDAY'S MATCH

---

WEDNESDAY'S MATCHES

New York at D.C. United, 7:30

New England at Cincinnati, 7:30

Charlotte FC at Columbus, 7:30

New York City FC at Miami, 7:30

Atlanta at CF Montréal, 7:30

Orlando City at Toronto FC, 7:30

Philadelphia at Chicago, 8:30

Seattle at FC Dallas, 8:30

Sporting KC at Nashville, 8:30

Vancouver at St. Louis City SC, 8:30

Minnesota at Colorado, 9:30

San Jose at Roal Salt Lake, 9:30

Portland at LA Galaxy, 10:30

Austin FC at Los Angeles FC, 10:30

Houston at San Diego FC, 10:30

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SATURDAY, OCT. 17

D.C. United at Orlando City, 7:30

Charlotte FC at Philadelphia, 2:30

St. Louis City SC at Minnesota, 4:30

Miami at Atlanta, 7:30

Chicago at New England, 7:30

Toronto FC at New York, 7:30

Los Angeles FC at New York City FC, 7:30

Vancouver at Austin FC, 8:30

FC Dallas at Houston, 8:30

Red Salt Lake at Sporting KC, 8:30

San Diego FC at LA Galaxy, 10:30

Colorado at Portland, 10:30

Nashville at San Jose, 10:30

CF Montreal at Seattle, 10:30

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Fire 3, Whitecaps 1

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Late Tuesday | VANCOUVER | 0 | 1 | 1 | CHICAGO | 1 | 2 | 3 | First Half: 1, Chicago, Bambe, 3 (Salefros), 9th minute. Second Half: 2, Chicago, Zinchernagel, 6 (Halle-Selassie), 50th; 3, Vancouver, Labonda, 4 (Lamaz), 75rd; 4, Chicago, Halle-Selassie, 9 (Lowandowski), 88th.

Goalies: Vancouver, Yohai Takanka, Isaac Boehmer; Chicago, Josh Cohen, Joff Gal.

Yellow Cards: Zinckernagel, Chicago, 19th; Dean, Chicago, 55th; Johnson, Vancouver, 61st.

Referees: Serthi Bolko. Assistant Referees: Jeremy Kieso, Jaffray Groeson, Ismir Polmic. 4th Official: Lakasz Szpala.

Vancouver: Yehei Takaoka; Tristan Blackmon, Tato Johnson (Sam Adekugbe, 73rd), Mathias Laborda, Rai Modesto; Aleksa Cvetikovic (Thomas Muller, 60th); Ryan Gould, Oliver Larraz (Rayan Eloumi, 90th), Emmanuel Sabbi (Bruno Caicado, 58th); Choleh Sabaly (Yadaly Di-aly, 58th). Brian White

Chicago: Josh Cohen; Leonardo Barroso, Dja D'Avilla, Jack Elliott, Mbelczeli Mbokazi Jonathan Dean, Maren Hale-Selassie, Anton Saletras (Mauricio Pineda, 46th); Jonathan Bomba (Robert Lewandowski, 76th), Johan Gomez (David Ponba, 90th+3), Philip Zinckarnagal (Puso Dilhejane, 76th)

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NWSL | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Gotham FC | 16 | 4 | 7 | 55 | 35 | 21 | San Diego | 16 | 8 | 3 | 51 | 40 | 28 | Washington | 15 | 8 | 4 | 49 | 39 | 26 | Utah | 14 | 9 | 4 | 46 | 44 | 35 | Kansas City | 13 | 9 | 5 | 44 | 48 | 38 | Angel City | 12 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 45 | 29 | Portland | 12 | 8 | 7 | 43 | 45 | 39 | North Carolina | 13 | 11 | 3 | 42 | 50 | 39 | Seattle | 12 | 11 | 4 | 40 | 33 | 32 | Denver | 10 | 9 | 8 | 38 | 45 | 37 | Orlando | 10 | 4 | 3 | 33 | 36 | 42 | Houston | 8 | 13 | 6 | 30 | 24 | 39 | Boston | 8 | 14 | 5 | 29 | 36 | 46 | Bay FC | 7 | 15 | 5 | 26 | 28 | 42 | Louisville | 7 | 17 | 3 | 24 | 36 | 52 | Chicago | 5 | 20 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 63 | ---

FRIDAY, OCT. 16

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Louisville at Boston, 8 SATURDAY OCT. 17

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SATURDAY, OCT. 17

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SUNDAY, OCT.18

Gotham FC at Washington, 12:30

Kansas City at Utah, 6:30

San Diego at North Carolina, 7

Angel City at Denver, 8:45

Orlando at Houston, 1

Portland at Bay FC, 5

Seattle at Chicago, 7

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NHL | ATLANTIC | GP | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Florida | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | Ottawa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 8 | Tampa Bay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 7 | Buffalo | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 11 | Toronto | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 11 | Boston | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 11 | Montreal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 14 | Detroit | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | NETROPOLITAN | GP | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | N.Y. Rangers | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 8 | Caroline | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 12 | Washington | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 8 | Pittsburgh | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 13 | Columbus | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | N.Y. Islanders | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | New Jersey | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 13 | Philadelphia | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 17 | CENTRAL | GP | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Winnipeg | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 10 | Utah | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 8 | Minnesota | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 5 | Colorado | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 8 | Nashville | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | Dallas | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | St. Louis | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | Chicago | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 17 | PACIFIC | GP | W | L | OT | Pts | GF | GA | Vegas.... | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 10 | x-Edmonton.... | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 14 | x-Anahaim.... | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 5 | San Jose.... | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 12 | Seattle.... | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 11 | Vancouver.... | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 18 | Los Angeles.... | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 15 | Calgary.... | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 | ---

TUESDAY'S RESULTS

at Decrot 5, October 3

at Buffalo 3, Minnesota 2 (OT)

at Toronto 5, Nashville 4 (OT)

Utah 5, at New Jersey 3

Carolina 6, at Montreal 4

at N.Y. Rangers 5, N.Y. Islanders 2

at Chicago 4, St. Louis 2

Vegas 6, at Seattle 2

Florida 2, at Los Angeles 1

at Washington 5, Pittsburgh 3 at Winnipeg 3, Colorado 2 Edmonton at Anaheim, late

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THURSDAY'S GAMES

Dallas at Buffalo, 7

Minnesota at Tampa Bay, 7

Nashville at Montreal, 7

Philadelphia at Ottawa, 7

Utah at Boston, 7

Vancouver at Carolina, 7

Chicago at N.Y. Islanders, 7:30

San Jose at St. Louis, 8

Colorado at Calgary, 9

Toronto at Vegas, 10

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FRIDAY'S GAMES

N.Y. Rangers at Washington, 7

Pittsburgh at Columbus, 7

Seattle at Detroit, 7

Anaheim at Winnipeg, 8

Philadelphia at Boston, 1

Vancouver at New Jersey, 3:30

Edmonton at San Jose, 4

Minnesota at Florida, 6

Carolina at Chicago, 7

Columbus at St. Louis, 7

Dallas at Pittsburgh, 7

Detroit at Montreal, 7

Nashville at Ottawa, 7

Toronto at Colorado, 7

Utah at Buffalo, 7

Tampa Bay at N.Y. Islanders, 7:30

Anaheim at Calgary, 10

Los Angeles at Vegas, 10

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CAPITALS' NEXT THREE

Friday 7 Monumental

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vs. Seattle Kraken

Sunday 5 Monumental

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at Carolina Hurricanes

Capitals 5, Penguins 3 | PITTSBURGH | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | 3 | WASHINGTON | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 5 | ---

SECOND PERIOD

Scoring: 4, Washington, Dubois 1 (Wilson), 4:42–5, Washington, Tuch 3 (Wilson), 13:14, 6, Pittsburgh, Novak 3, 14:05, 7, Pittsburgh, Robertson 3 (Kerczak, Lizotte), 18:01. | PITTSBURGH | 4 | 13 | 13 | -30 | WASHINGTON | 14 | 5 | 8 | -27 | Power-play opportunities: Pittsburgh 0 of 3: Washington 1 of 4. Goalies: Pittsburgh, Silvers 2-1-0 (27 shots-22 saves). Washington, Thompson 2-0-0 (30-27). A: 18,347 (18,277). T: 2:28. | COLORADO | 0 | 1 | 1 - 2 | WINNPEG | 0 | 2 | 1 - 3 | ---

SECOND PERIOD

Scoring: 1, Colorado, Schwartz 1 (Burns, Svechkov), 2:51. 2, Winnipeg, Connoor 4 (Samberg, Pionk), 4:01. 3, Winnipeg, Perfotti 3 (Schelfele, Samberg), 18:16.

SHOTS ON GOAL | COLORADO | 17 | 10 | 7 | -34 | WINNPEG | 6 | 11 | 2 | -19 | ---

Blackhawks 4, Blues 2 | ST. LOUIS | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | 2 | CHICAGO | 0 | 2 | 2 | - | 4 | ---

FIRST PERIOD

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SECOND PERIOD

Scoring: 2, Chicago, Rinzel 1 (Lardis, Nazar), 5:40 (pp). 3, Chicago, Frondell 1 (Levshunov, Teravainen), 7:40.

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THIRD PERIOD

Scoring: 4, Chicago, Smith 1, 18:51 (on). 5, St. Louis, McMichael 1 (Buchrovich, Broborg), 19:22. 6, Chicago, Nazar 1 (Frondell, Bertuzzi), 19:50 (en).

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SHOTS ON GOAL | St. Louis | 6 | 8 | 13 | -27 | CHICAGO | 7 | 10 | 4 | -21 | Power-play opportunities: St. Louis 1 of 2; Chicago 1 of 2. Goalies: St. Louis, Hofer 1-0-0 (19 shots-17 saves). Chicago, Knight 0-2-0 (27-25). A: 20,270 (19,717). B: 2:19. | ---

Rangers 5, Islanders 2 | N.Y. ISLANDERS....0 | 2 | 0 - 2 | N.Y. RANGERS....1 | 2 | 2 - 5 | ---

FIRST PERIOD

Scoring: 1, N.Y. Rangers, Bjorkstrand 1 (Lafreniere), £40.

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SECOND PERIOD

Scoring: 2, N.Y. Rangers, Lafruniara 1 (Gavelkov, Zihanojad), 0:25. 3, N.Y. Islanders, Horvat 2 (Maccelli, Schenn), 2:56 (pp). 4, N.Y. Islanders, Ritchie 1 (Schenn), 4:52. 5, N.Y. Rangers, Bjorkstrand 2 (Cayle, Perneault), 17:07 (pp).

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THIRD PERIOD

Scoring: 6, N.Y. Rangers, Lafroniero 2 (Zibanojad; Miller), 18:22 (en). 7, N.Y. Rangers, Lafreniere 3 (Fox, Zibanejad), 18:54 (en).

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SHOTS ON GOAL | ISLANDERS | 9 | 5 | 5 | -19 | RANGERS | 5 | 7 | 12 | -24 | ---

HOCKEY

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Golden Knights 6, Kraken 2 | VEGAS | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 6 | SEATTLE | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | 2 | ---

FIRST PERIOD

Scoring: 1. Vegas, Olofsson 3 (Andersson, Hertl), 13:02.

2. Vegas, Hertl 2 (Eichel, Stone), 15:58 (pp).

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SECOND PERIOD

Scoring: 3, Vegas, Stone 2 (Eichel), 1:43 (sh): 4, Vegas, Olafsson 4 (Hertl, Connolly), 13:07. 5, Vegas, Eichel 2, 19:29.

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THIRD PERIOD

Scoring: 6, Seattle, Wright 2 (Kakko, Fleury), 4:52. 7, Vegas, Hertl 3 (Barbeshev, Eichel), 9:43 (pp). 8, Seattle, McCann 1 (Kakko, Eberlo), 15:00 (pp).

SHOTS ON GOAL | VIGAS | 9 | 12 | 7 | -26 | SEATTLE | 11 | 8 | 8 | -27 | Power-play opportunities: Vegas 2 of 5; Seattle 1 of 5. Goalies: Vegas, Hart 2-1-0 (27 shots-25 saws). Seattle, Dacord 2-1-0 (21-16), Seattle, Grubauer 0-1-0 (7-6). At 17,151 (17,100). T: 2:47. | LIFE TURSDAY | FLORIDA | 0 | 1 | 1 - 2 | LOS ANGELES | 1 | 0 | 0 - 1 | ---

FIRST PERIOD

Scoring: 1, Los Angeles, Lafamiere 1 (Haula), 19:00.

Scoring: 2, Florida, Jones 1 (Eller), 3:49. | FLORIDA | 7 | 12 | 9 | -28 | LOS ANGELES | 6 | 10 | 4 | -20 | Power-play opportunities: Florida 0 of 6; Los Angeles 0 of 5. Goalies: Florida, Schmid 0-0-1 (0 shots-0 saves), Florida, Markstrom 2-0-1 (20-19). Los Angeles, Kuemper 0-2-0 (28-26). At 18,145 (18,230). T: 2:41.

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PRO BASKETBALL

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WNBA playoffs

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DREAM ELIMINATED MYSTICS, 2-0

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LIBERTY ELIMINATED LYNX, 2-0

Game 1: New York 91, at Minnesota 75

Game 2: at New York 87, Minnesota 71

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VALKYRIES ELIMINATED WINGS, 2-1

Game 1: at Golden State 104, Dallas 80

Game 2: at Dallas 108, Golden State 100 (DT)

Game 3: at Golden State 77, Dallas 73

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ACES ELIMINATED FEVER, 2-1

Game 1: at Las Vegas 102, Indiana 85

Game 2: at Indiana 99, Las Vegas 89

Game 3: at Las Vegas 94, Indiana 83

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SEMIFINALS

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VALKYRIES LEAD ACES, 1-0

Game 1: at Golden State 71, Las Vegas 60

Game 2: Las Vegas at Golden State, late Friday's game: Golden State at Las Vegas, 9:30

n-Sunday's game: Golden State at Las Vegas, TBA

n-Wednesday's game: Golden State at Las Vegas, TBA

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DREAM LEAD LIBERTY, 2-0

Game 1: at Atlanta 92, New York 82

Game 2: at Atlanta 101, New York 98 (OT)

Friday's game: Atlanta at New York, 7:30

a-Sunday's game: Atlanta at New York, TBA

b-Wednesday's game: New York at Atlanta, TBA

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FINALS

Best of seven; x-if necessary

Saturday, Oct. 17: TBD, 3:30

Monday, Oct. 19: TBD, 8

Thursday, Oct. 22: TBD, 8

Saturday, Oct. 26: TBD, 3:30

x-Monday, Oct. 26: TBD, 8

x-Thursday, Oct. 29: TBD, 8

x-Saturday, Oct. 31: TBD, 8

Dream 101, Liberty 98 (OT) | New York | 26 | 28 | 20 | 14 | 10 | — | 98 | Atlanta | 26 | 30 | 19 | 13 | 13 | — | 101 | NEW YORK | MIN | FG | FT | O-T | A | PF | PTS | Fleetech | 42:47 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | Stewart | 43:01 | 11-21 | 11-13 | 1-11 | 6 | 3 | 35 | J.Jones | 38:00 | 8-11 | 3-4 | 3-8 | 0 | 5 | 21 | Astler | 14:07 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | J.Prescu | 30:20 | 1-8 | 2-6 | 0-4 | 7 | 3 | 10 | Fastwood | 30:49 | 8-10 | 0-0 | 1-6 | 4 | 6 | 20 | Xu | 6:56 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Gardner | 5:49 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Johannes | 3:13 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Allen | 2:00 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | TOTALS | 225:00 | 35-64 | 16-23 | 5-26 | 23 | 25 | 98 | Porcentages: FG .547, FT .696. 3-Point Goals: 12/25, .480 (Fauthoux 4-6, Ionescu 2-4, J.Jones 2-4, Stewart 2-4, Gardner 1-1, Astior 1-2, Johannes 0-1, Fibich 0-3). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 7 (J.Jones 4, Stewart 2, Xu). Turnovers: 16 (J.Jones 6, Fauthoux 3, Fibich 2, Ionescu 2, Astier, Stewart, Xu). Steals: 6 (Fauthoux 2, Fibich, Ionescu, J.Jones, Stewart). Technical Fouls: None. | ATLANTA | MIN | FG | FT | O-T | A | PF | PTS | Bonner | 34:27 | 2-11 | 5-6 | 1-4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | Hillmon | 43:30 | 5-11 | 1-1 | 2-8 | 5 | 1 | 12 | Roose | 39:06 | 8-16 | 6-6 | 5-7 | 2 | 5 | 23 | Canada | 39:20 | 9-15 | 2-2 | 0-5 | 8 | 2 | 23 | Howard | 43:39 | 5-20 | 6-6 | 1-7 | 4 | 4 | 18 | Borlase | 13:38 | 4-9 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 0 | 3 | 11 | Peppao | 10:24 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Dist | 0:57 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | TOTALS | 225:00 | 34-84 | 21-23 | 11-35 | 22 | 18 | 101 | Percentages: FG .405, FT .913. 3-Point Goals: 12-30.

.400 (Borlase 3-5, Canada 3-6, Howard 2-6, Paopao 1-1, Roose 1-2, Bonner 1-4, Hillmon 1-6). Team Robounds:

10. Team Turnovers: 2. Blocked Shots: 2 (Roose 2).

Turnovers: 7 (Canada 4, Roose 2, Paopao). Steals: 7 (Howard 2, Bonner, Borlase, Canada, Hillmon, Reese).

A: 9,574 (18.118). T: 2:26.

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NBA preseason

EASTERN CONFERENCE | Atlantic | W | L | Pct | GB | Philadelphia | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | Brooklyn | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | New York | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | Toronto | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | Boston | 0 | 0 | .000 | 5 | Southeast | W | L | Pct | GB | Miami | 1 | 0 | 1,000 | — | Orlando | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | Washington | 0 | 0 | .000 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Charlotte | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | Atlanta | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | Central | W | L | Pct | GB | Detroit | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | Indiana | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | x-Milwaukee | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | x-Chicago | 0 | 0 | .000 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Cleveland | 0 | 0 | .000 | 46 | WESTERN CONFERENCE | Southwest | W | L | Pct | GB | New Orleans | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | Memphis | 1 | 1 | .500 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Dallas | 0 | 0 | .000 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Houston | 0 | 0 | .000 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | San Antonio | 0 | 0 | .000 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Northwest | W | L | Pct | GB | Minnesota | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | Utah | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | Denver | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | s-Portland | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | s-Oklahoma City | 0 | 1 | .000 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Pacific | W | L | Pct | GB | L.A. Clippers | 1 | 0 | 1,000 | — | x-Golden State | 1 | 1 | .500 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | L.A. Lakers | 1 | 1 | .500 | $\frac{1}{2}$ | Sacramento | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | x Phoenix | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | ---

TUESDAY'S RESULTS

Brooklyn 124, at Charlotte 90

New Orleans 116, at Oklahoma City 110

at Golden State 124, L.A. Lakers 98

Denver 117, at Utah 106

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WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS

Indiana 123, Minnesota 112 in Ames, Iowa

Orlando 122, at Memphis 118

Milwaukee at Oklahoma City, late

Phoenix at Chicago, late

Golden State at Portland, late

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THURSDAY'S GAMES

Washington at New York, 7:30

Boston at Cleveland, 7

New Orleans at Miami, 7:30

Philadelphia at Brooklyn, 7:30

Atlanta at San Antonio, 8

Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, 10:30

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FRIDAY'S GAMES

Dallas vs. Houston, in Macao, China, 8 a.m.

Memphis at Chicago, 8

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

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NCAA

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WEEK 6

TUESDAY'S RESULT