Bob Iger and Josh Kushner's $12.5bn bid to buy the Lakers shows that NBA teams are no longer family dynasties, but quick flips for private equity sharksFor years, the NBA was built on the alliance of patient money and marketing pizzazz, and no team captured that curious mixture better than the Los Angeles Lakers. Through Showtime in the 1980s and the dominance of the Shaq-Kobe years, the Lakers became the benchmark for a league and a sport intent on global conquest: charismatic, ambitious, and flashy, a sporting-cultural amalgam in which athleticism and celebrity held equal rank. Through careful front office recruitment, savvy coaching, and the harnessing of Hollywood's star power, the Lakers evolved from a team into a brand," establishing a template that virtually every other outfit in the NBA has felt compelled to mimic in the years since. But the razzle-dazzle on the court - the Laker Girls, Magic flinging no-look passes, Shaq smashing the glass, Jack Nicholson smiling his Joker smile in the front row, all eyebrows and mischief - depended on a far more staid and stable arrangement off it. Real estate investor Jerry Buss bought the Lakers for $16m in 1979, and remained the majority owner until his death in 2013, when his children assumed control of the franchise.When Jerry Buss died, the Lakers were valued at $1bn. Now, the team looks set to be sold to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared, for $12.5bn. The sale is still under negotiation and will need to be approved by the NBA's board of governors; the Buss siblings are also now bickering over whether to join the stampede and sell their minority 17.8% stake in the franchise to Iger and Kushner, which has added a subplot of Shakespearean family intrigue to proceedings. But in the likely event it goes through, the sale would make the Lakers the most valuable franchise in basketball. It would also signal an acceleration in private equity's scramble to get its claws into the world of sport. Continue reading...

As the couple plans their return to the UK, Montecito's whirlwind stint on the global stage may be coming to an endThe bucolic coastal California town of Montecito was thrust into the limelight six years ago as the backdrop for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's second act following an acrimonious split from Buckingham Palace.But as the couple plans their return to the United Kingdom, Montecito's whirlwind stint on the global stage may be coming to an end. Continue reading...

Despite previously comparing him to a mobster', Trump's former personal lawyer showers him with praise. This blog is now closed.

Fawning, deferential, oleaginous - this was the Untruth and Reconciliation Commission as Trump called in to 77 WABCOur next guest is a racist', a conman' and a cheat' - someone who behaves more like a mobster' than a president. Please welcome Donald J Trump!"That is how Michael Cohen could have introduced Trump on his New York radio show on Thursday. After all, Cohen used such terms to describe the US president in his testimony to Congress in 2019. But now Trump's former personal lawyer and self-described fixer had different words: boss" and sir". Just like old times. Continue reading...

State senator beats rival Melissa Hernandez and will replace US congressman who quit amid sexual misconduct claimsProgressive Aisha Wahab has been elected to Congress in a special election following a bitter intra-party battle over the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April after facing sexual misconduct allegations. Swalwell has denied the allegations.Wahab, a state senator, was widely considered the frontrunner in the district in California's East Bay and had the backing of the state Democratic party as well as Our Revolution, labor unions, local officials and the state's attorney general, Rob Bonta. Continue reading...

State sought to stop system off coast of Santa Barbara from resuming operations after Trump ordered its reopeningAn oil pipeline can continue to operate off the California coast after a judge gave it the green light this week, despite the opposition of state regulators and environmental groups.The system off the coast of Santa Barbara resumed operations earlier this year for the first time in more than a decade after Donald Trump ordered Sable Offshore Corporation to reopen it, citing US energy needs during the war in Iran. Continue reading...

President's one-time attack dog' became his fierce critic - but now Cohen says he has forgiven his former bossDonald Trump has given a radio interview to none other than Michael Cohen, his former longtime personal fixer turned fierce critic, after an apparent reconciliation set the stage for their first public conversation in eight years.Cohen once had such a tight relationship with the US president that he described himself back in the day as his attack dog with a law license", but later became the star witness in Trump's 2024 criminal trial over his hush-money payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in an effort to interfere with the 2016 election. Continue reading...

Christine Hunsicker, former CEO of CaaStle, gave investors falsified documents that overstated profit and cash reservesA fashion tech founder was sentenced to five years in federal prison for her involvement in a $300m fraud scheme" spanning from 2019 to 2025, the Manhattan US attorney's office announced on Thursday. Christine Hunsicker, 49, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.Hunsicker, the founder and ex-CEO of CaaStle Inc, had pleaded guilty this March to one count of securities fraud in relation to a scheme that defrauded hundreds of investors", authorities said. Her attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Rahil Prakash tells the Guardian: I wanted to see if fake polls could penetrate the ecosystem that easily'A 21-year-old recent college graduate was behind an anonymous website that put out widely shared fake election polling in Wisconsin, Nevada and California, the Guardian can reveal.The website, Median Strategies, abruptly shut down and withdrew its polling earlier this week following questions from a reporter from the Los Angeles Times. In an unsigned statement, it described a short-term social experiment" to examine how fake polling could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification". Continue reading...

With one semi-final in her last seven tournaments, the coming months will define the next stage of her careerTowards the end of a messy first set tie-break late on Wednesday, Aryna Sabalenka wildly sprayed another painfully nervous backhand before slamming her racket to the ground. As the racket connected with the acrylic floor, its vibration dampener detached from the strings and rolled off in the direction of the broadcast camera pit by the side of the court.With the diminutive 20-yearold Czech player Sara Bejlek leading Sabalenka 6-5 in the tie-break, this slapstick sequence forced play to pause while the Belarusian and a couple of volunteers comically searched for the missing vibration damper underneath the cameras until she gave up and retrieved a new one. A few minutes later, Sabalenka trailed by a set. Continue reading...

Courier network carried millions of dollars in cash to Lebanon on commercial flights, treasury department saysThe US treasury department announced sanctions on Thursday against 10 people it says formed a courier network that smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah by carrying cash onboard commercial flights between Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.The office of foreign assets control (OFAC) said the network allowed Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group,to obtain foreign currency and dodge sanctions outside the formal banking system. The treasury department linked the operation to a scheme once associated with Behnam Shahriyari, a now-deceased finance official for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. Continue reading...

Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, allegedly planned to deploy explosive before fleeing to IS-controlled territory in SyriaUS authorities arrested and charged a New York woman with planning to carry out an Islamic State-inspired attack on the state's capitol building in Albany, the justice department said on Thursday.Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, was charged with planning to deploy an explosive device at the state capitol with the intention of killing public officials and destroying as much of the building as possible" before fleeing to IS-controlled territory in Syria, according to John A Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security. Continue reading...

The president's empty advice that children should receive separate jabs against measles, mumps and rubella will only lead to less take-up by parentsNobody wants to hurt a child. The howl of pain, the tears, the look of betrayed shock all make it very hard to deliver a cherished small person to the needle-wielding nurse. But that's part of being a responsible parent. It becomes a lot tougher if mum or dad is being fed mixed and erroneous messages about the benefits and harms of vaccination.Parents have to make a lot of decisions about what's right for their child, from the school they should go to and the food they should eat to the hours they should spend on the phone or watching TV. In the US, Donald Trump wants them to add another: do they choose to give their children separate jabs against measles, mumps and rubella, involving six visits to the clinic, or should they opt for the combined MMR vaccine, which does the job in two? For decades, the vast majority of families have been taking the advice of doctors, accepting their assurance that the MMR vaccine is safe and very effective. But what are they to think when a US president announces that the triple jab could be quite lethal" and signs an executive order advising states to offer separate vaccines? Continue reading...

As yields are dragged higher in the UK, Europe and Japan, the impact for consumers and businesses will be far-reaching

Kyle Spitze of Tennessee faced federal charges for targeting girls online as part of 764 network' investigated by FBIA 27-year-old Tennessee man described by the US justice department as a nihilistic violent extremist" was sentenced to 77 years in prison on Wednesday for his targeting of girls online as part of the 764 network, an online group the FBI calls a form of modern-day terrorism".Kyle Spitze of Friendsville received the federal sentence on Wednesday for production of child sexual abuse material, abetting the distribution of animal crushing videos, and possessing and accessing with the intent to view", the justice department said in a statement. Continue reading...

The enormous US debt under Trump will hobble the next Democratic administration - just as the GOP planned

Max Lederer, longtime head of the US military news outlet, says his philosophy of leadership' differs from Pentagon'sThe long-serving publisher of Stars and Stripes could face an early dismissal just days after the taxpayer-funded military news outlet's reporting revealed deteriorating conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, according to a news report.Pentagon officials have discussed firing Max Lederer ahead of his scheduled retirement next month, according to CBS News, which quoted anonymous sources. Lederer, the publisher of the military daily for 19 years, had previously cited fundamental differences with the Trump administration for his decision to retire soon. Continue reading...

Administration's plan to scrap drilling-free buffer zone around New Mexico site prompts scrutiny from UnescoThe Trump administration's push to expand oil and gas extraction across the US is set to bring drilling near cherished natural and cultural sites, raising alarm among conservationists and prompting questions from the UN's heritage body.Unesco said it has received information on the administration's plan to scrap a drilling-free buffer zone around the Chaco Culture national historical park in New Mexico, a world heritage site and one of the most important cultural areas in the US. A Unesco spokesperson said it has procedures regarding potential threats" to a world heritage property and was awaiting a response from the federal government as to its impact. Continue reading...

Tenants can be evicted for not paying utilities even if they have paid rent - tenants and their allies are fighting back

Avenal has been rocked by the council's refusal to accept the results of a recall election - and the repercussions extend far beyond the Central ValleyFrom the outside, the city of Avenal appears to embody every bit of its motto - an oasis in the sun". Approaching the community, passing through the dusty yellow hillsides of the Central Valley, Avenal emerges with a sudden burst of green on the horizon.Its small-town feel and quiet tree-lined streets offer respite from the bustling Interstate 5 some five miles away. But trouble is brewing here that has brought this lonesome city national attention. Continue reading...

By now we know that charity, generosity and compassion are virtues that the US president doesn't seem to have even in trace amountsMany years ago, in the crowded corridor of a Manhattan hotel, I was surprised to find myself standing face-to-face with Imelda Marcos, then the first lady of the Philippines. At that time, she was said to possess 3,000 pairs of shoes.I desperately longed to ask the wife of the dictatorial president Ferdinand Marcos why anyone could need all those shoes. And more importantly, why would someone spend so much of her country's wealth on stiletto heels when so many citizens were so desperately poor? But natural reticence, good manners or simply fear prevailed, and I walked away. Continue reading...

Manny Rutinel hopes price-tag politics can win key voters in Colorado House raceDuring his presidential campaign in October 2024, Donald Trump staged a photo op at a McDonald's franchise in Pennsylvania, where he was briefly taught how to work the fryer and drive-thru window at the closed restaurant, while making several unsubstantiated claims about Kamala Harris's past summer job at McDonald's.The posturing around McDonald's garnered significant publicity, as Trump and Republicans capitalized on an affordability crisis triggered by high inflation that occurred globally due to the Covid pandemic. Continue reading...

Americans are backing progressives not because they want socialism, but because they want candidates who will fight for the working classMost discussions about the Democratic party in this election cycle focus on the remarkable rise of progressive Democrats, such as the Florida state representative Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist who scored an upset win in the Democratic US Senate primary on Tuesday.But an equally big story is the remarkable decline of corporate Democrats. Continue reading...

Israeli military orders criminal investigation into deaths of Hind and six family members. Plus, FCC chair Brendan Carr's close coordination with White House revealedGood morning.The Israeli military admitted on Wednesday its troops had opened fire on a car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab and six family members in Gaza in 2024, saying it had ordered a criminal investigation into the killing.What prompted the investigation? The Israel Defense Forces repeatedly denied its troops had been in the area, but investigations by the media and others found evidence that strongly suggested nearby Israeli tanks were responsible.How significant is it? The IDF published reviews on Wednesday into five high-profile incidents in Gaza. But criminal misconduct investigations into Israeli troops over the killing of Palestinians rarely lead to convictions. A UN report published in February described a pervasive climate of impunity" by Israel in occupied Palestine.What is the wider context? In September last year, a UN commission found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, citing tens of thousands of civilian deaths and massive destruction.What did Bejar say in his testimony? That his job often included him briefing Meta's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, on product issues. He estimated that he spoke to Zuckerberg at least 100 times. One email Bejar sent to Zuckerberg in 2021 showed the engineer warning of constant reports of harmful content and damage to teenage wellbeing on Facebook and Instagram. Bejar said he emailed Zuckerberg after the chief executive publicly said the company did not prioritize profit over safety. Meta denies all allegations in the case. Continue reading...

Inflation deterring shoppers from spending, especially in the US, says high street chainThe sports fashion retailer JD has cut its profit forecasts as cost of living pressures, fuelled by the US war on Iran, weighed on sales of trainers.JD Sports, which sells brands including Nike and Adidas, said widespread inflation had hit shoppers' wallets, resulting in a drop in sales across important markets such as the US, where it struggled to shift trainers and other footwear. Continue reading...

On one side, you face the domination of the Islamic Republic; on the other, the imperialist forces that Republic claims to stand againstAugust marks the anniversary of the 1988 mass executions in Iran, a horror that echoes in the country's current surge in death sentences. It also marks the 19 August anniversary of the UK- and US-orchestrated coup against the prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. Amid the current, indiscriminate waves of US-Israeli military assaults against Iran, this letter of solidarity denounces the repression of the Iranian people and their political prisoners by forces both at home and abroad.*** Continue reading...

The former Sunday Night Football stalwart is now one step from a seat in the US Senate. And she could cause a shock in liberal MinnesotaAs the third leg of NBC's Sunday Night Football crew alongside play-by-play man Al Michaels and the tart-tongued analyst Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya was a paragon of deference and neutrality for 11 years as an NFL sideline reporter, dutifully relating boilerplate tactics, talking points and injury updates when she wasn't nodding along to softball interviews or fumbling through hammy production gimmicks for viewers who might have been too offline to get the bit. She was almost pathologically committed to not doing anything to draw attention to herself or her gender in an era when sideline reporting was a fast track to national celebrity. Even her football takes hewed to the middle. (New Orleans doesn't want to lose to Atlanta twice in a season ...") Anyone who says they saw the 61-year-old emerging as a rightwing firebrand was watching a different game.And yet here we are. Last week, Tafoya was the decisive winner of Minnesota's US Senate Republican primary, earning the party's nomination for November's general election. Even more striking: she beat back eight challengers, not least Adam Schwarze, the party-endorsed pro-gun, pro-military ex-Navy SEAL, and Royce White, the anti-leftist, anti-trans NBA flameout currently testing WNBA gender norms. Continue reading...

The Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator says Dershowitz, who also defended Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, only has himself to blame' for being ostracisedLarry David has opened up about the collapse of his friendship with Alan Dershowitz, saying that Dershowitz made a deal with the devil" when he became Donald Trump's lawyer.Dershowitz, a former Harvard University law professor, has been a member of legal teams for Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, OJ Simpson and Harvey Weinstein at various points in his career, and served on Trump's defense team during the president's first impeachment trial in 2020. Continue reading...

The US president waxed lyrical about grass being added around the new White House helipad in front of the media. 'You know, grass has a life like humans have a life,' Trump said Continue reading...

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Former real estate developer leads press corps on tour of grounds and says one thing I know how to do is build'As the US national debt climbed past $40tn for the first time on Wednesday, and the war with Iran he started nearly six months ago dragged on, forcing Americans already struggling to pay the bills to spend more on fuel, Donald Trump led the press corps on a tour of the extensive remodeling of the White House grounds he is personally overseeing in his role as the self-styled builder-in-chief".The tour, during which Trump showed off upgrades such as a new granite driveway and refurbished columns, and expounded at length on newly laid grass, culminated in Trump autographing the back of a stone, inscribed with his name, to go in the center of the ornate new helipad he insists he needs. Continue reading...

Officers reportedly believed invitees were trying to make unauthorized entry on to Vandenberg base in CaliforniaFive news reporters and two members of the military who were invited to an event at Vandenberg space force base in California were briefly detained at gunpoint by security officers who thought they were gatecrashers, according to local news reports.The incident happened Monday ahead of an invitation-only groundbreaking for a new training facility for missile operators at the federal airfield near Santa Barbara, California. Reporters from Noozhawk and KEYT were among those detained, and both outlets published articles detailing the detainment. Continue reading...

Regulations that would block sale of older tires praised by environmental groups amid rightwing backlashCalifornia has become the first state in the nation to mandate that replacement tires be energy efficient, a major auto industry regulation set to block the sale of older tires and make vehicles on the road greener.State regulators have said the new rules will reduce emissions and drivers' fuel costs. But the rules - which come as the Trump administrations fights to block other California restrictions to promote greener cars - have already sparked a rightwing backlash, with one conservative news outlet calling the policies a massive overreach". Continue reading...

MyPillow founder and Trump ally lost primary to Lisa Demuth by 11 points, but still refuses to concede defeat

Milestone marks years of government spending that grew under both Donald Trump and Joe BidenUS debt reached $40tn for the first time on Wednesday, the US treasury department said, after the government deficit doubled over the last decade.The treasury's latest debt balance showed $40.047tn on Tuesday afternoon, the highest in US history. Continue reading...

The Rhode Island town of Narragansett was left with a very smelly cleanup over the weekend after thousands of squid spilled over the highway. The incident happened on Sunday morning when the driver of a tractor-trailer transporting the squid failed to make a turn and the vehicle fell on to its side, the town's police department said in a statement. It created hours of delays for motorists and a foul stench

They call us extreme, they call us radical,' the progressive Senate candidate said. But I think people see through that'

The Trump administration's America first' approach has contributed to the scale of the crisis now unfolding in one of the world's poorest countriesFor months health experts have warned that the scale of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could surpass the one that swept west Africa in 2014-16. This week, the authorities in the DRC announced that a grim milestone has already been passed: at least 2,325 people have died from the virus, making it the deadliest of the country's 17outbreaks and the fastest-growing in history.There is no effective vaccine against Bundibugyo - a rare strain of the virus that spread fatally undetected during the spring, often being misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid. In contrast to neighbouring Uganda, which succeeded in eliminating an outbreak, multiple factors are combining to let the disease rip through the DRC. The worst-affected region is contested by armed groups, and a context of population displacement and chronic insecurity has made monitoring and surveillance more difficult. Ebola treatment centres have been attacked as a result of misinformation and community distrust. Continue reading...

Result tees up marquee race in US midterm elections, which could decide if Republicans or Democrats control Senate

Discovery marks latest grim finding in lake as water levels in crucial reservoir outside Las Vegas continue to declineHuman remains have once again been discovered at Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, Nevada, marking the latest in a line of gruesome discoveries as water levels in the crucial reservoir continue to drop, authorities said.These remains were discovered on 16 August, USA Today reported. The National Park Service (NPS) told the outlet there did not appear to be anything suspicious about the body. Continue reading...

Image captured in early June shows animal foraging in the waterway in first since early 1900s, signaling its recoveryAn otter has been spotted in the Bronx River for the first time in more than 100 years, in a further sign that New York's previously befouled waterways are recovering some of their ecological health.The North American river otter was photographed by a motion-activated camera foraging near some vegetation in the Bronx River, a waterway that flows through New York's Bronx and empties into the East River. Continue reading...

A weak yuan guarantees Beijing massive trade surplus even as the White House tries tamp down on Chinese importsSince China offered a truce in the trade war last October following its threat to deprive the United States of rare-earth magnets, the Trump administration has been happy to stop escalating. After all, imports from China have been falling, down by 40% in the year to June, compared with the same period in 2024. Best to declare victory and call it a day.But the US hasn't won this battle - and there's strong evidence to show it's too chicken to really try. Continue reading...

Overton has said that Congress should strictly regulate abortion drug mifepristone to protect women and children'Donald Trump nominated Dr Heidi Overton - an abortion opponent who stood next to the president as he made false claims about vaccines - to be commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Today I am honored to nominate the wonderful Dr. Heidi Overton, MD, PhD, as our next FDA Commissioner. Dr. Heidi has been a ROCKSTAR in my Administration, where she has worked directly with Secretary Kennedy, Dr. Oz, and team, to deliver on the MOST TRANSFORMATIVE Health Agenda in History. She is known to take on the HARDEST issues, and bring me solutions that work best for the Country," the president wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Republican James Comer writes to private equity investor demanding full cooperation with investigationThe Republican chairman of the House oversight committee has threatened to hold the private equity investor Leon Black in contempt if he does not fully cooperate with the panel's ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, amid accusations that the billionaire is purposely delaying and disrupting the panel's inquiry.A letter released by Representative James Comer's office on Tuesday, which was addressed to Black's lawyer, revealed new details about the high-stakes clash between the powerful Kentucky congressman and Black, the co-founder of Apollo Asset Management who was Epstein's friend and former client and paid Epstein tens of millions of dollars in fees. Continue reading...

Yields, at recent highs this week, dropped after treasury's vow to provide greater liquidity support' to bond marketThe US treasury is doubling its buyback of government debt in an effort to balance out the bond market and counterbalance investor concern over high inflation.The yield rate on 10-year, 20-year and 30-year treasury notes all hit 20-year highs this week, with the 30-year treasury yield rising to its highest rate since 2007. The rapid rise was concerning news for borrowers as major loans, including mortgages, are backed by treasuries. Continue reading...

She made the statement during a debate when asked about potential threats to US national security in South China Sea

Justice department claims there's no dispute' over whether ex-FBI head's post could be read as a threat against TrumpThe US Department of Justice has defended its prosecution of former FBI director James Comey, claiming in new court documents there is no serious dispute" that his social media post last year featuring a photo of seashells arranged to read 8647" could be interpreted as a threat against Donald Trump.There is no serious dispute that an objective viewer of Comey's post could read it to mean Kill President Trump'," prosecutors wrote in a document filed on Tuesday in response to efforts by Comey's efforts to have the case dismissed. Continue reading...