Dodgers not letting historic ‘three-peat’ chase add pressure

• September 30, 2026

LOS ANGELES — It’s not a three-peat. It’s a series of one-peats.

As they head into the postseason trying to become the first team since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees to win three consecutive World Series championships – and the first National League franchise to ever do it – the Dodgers prefer to break the historic achievement into smaller bites.

“Obviously it’s there. But it’s not something we’re really focused on,” third baseman Max Muncy said Tuesday as the Dodgers began their bye-week workouts ahead of a best-of-five NL Division Series that will begin Saturday. “We’re trying to focus on ourselves getting ready this week, paying attention to whoever we might be playing and just trying to get ready for a postseason series the same way we’ve always gotten ready for it.

“We don’t need to be adding any extra pressure on to ourselves. We’ve been saying that for a long time. When you talk about three-peating, you’re putting that extra pressure on it that doesn’t need to be there. Winning a World Series is already hard enough as it is. So for us, we’re just trying to focus on what we have ahead of us and without the added noise to it.”

Though he has alluded to his team’s chances to do something “historic” and “special” when he addressed them during spring training and after clinching the NL West division title, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he has largely left any “three-peat” talk unmentioned.

“I don’t. I really don’t,” he said. “I think that for me, it’s a fallout of winning this year. This year is different. This team’s different, although I understand that there’s still a lot of the same players. It’s still a different season. There’s going to be different challenges.

“Our guys understand what’s at stake, and I think for me, it’s balancing the importance, the opportunity that we have versus trying to add more pressure than is there already.”

It’s not a difficult mental trick for his team to put history aside, Roberts said.

“I think that with our guys, I think that they’re pretty well trained to just focus on the here and now,” he said. “What’s done is done the last couple years. Yeah, we’re all aware that we have a chance to do something that’s never been done in the National League, and what it would mean for this franchise, this fan base. But it just makes life more difficult when you don’t focus on the job, and that’s winning this next series, right? So I think our guys are pretty focused on that.”

FREDDIE’S PLAN

First baseman Freddie Freeman ended the season trying to fight his way out of a slump (a .184 batting average in September with just two extra-base hits in his last 24 games) brought on at least, in part, by patellar tendinitis in his right knee.

The 2024 World Series MVP said he no longer has pain in that knee and wouldn’t use it to explain his poor finish to the regular season – so Roberts did it for him.

“I think that the mechanics have changed because they were compromised because of his right knee,” Roberts said Tuesday. “So now that his right knee is getting back to full health, I think he’s got to recalibrate the swing, and that’s where we’re at.”

Freeman did acknowledge that his swing got out of whack over the final month of the season.

“I’ll never blame anything physical-wise of why I didn’t play well. I just didn’t play well the last couple months of the season. That’s what I’m going to go with,” he said. “Did I have some ailments in my knees? Yes, I did. I don’t know how much that contributed to subconsciously trying to do stuff where it didn’t hurt as much because there were times during the course of the last couple months, maybe a three- or four-day span where the knee was a problem and I couldn’t get into the front side. So maybe I created bad habits. But I won’t blame it on that. I just played bad.

“My knee is in a good spot now – that’s why the bye week is huge. Personally, it’s huge for me that I got five days to really work on mechanics of my swing, and my knee’s in a good spot where I feel like I will be able to do that.”

Freeman, a 10-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger, has a very specific four-day plan to rediscover his proper swing mechanics.

“I’m going to hit on the field every day,” he said going into the bye week. “I already know how my Tuesday is going to go. There’s going to be a lot of blocked balls to left, a lot of flares into left. I’m hoping as Tuesday goes Wednesday I’ll come back and those will be put down a little more. Thursday they’ll be moved over to shortstop and by Friday I will be feeling good. That is how my head is thinking right now.”

ALMOST READY

Right-hander Edgardo Henriquez finished the season on the injured list with lower back pain but he is eligible for the NLDS roster. He has already faced hitters in live batting practice.

“He’s trending really well at this point,” General Manager Brandon Gomes said. “His last live BP went well. He’s responding positively after he throws and isn’t feeling any lingering discomfort.

“We’ve still got a few steps to go. But if that all goes well, then yeah, the expectation is he’ll be on the roster.”

Getting Henriquez back for the NLDS could have “a huge impact” on the Dodgers’ bullpen, Roberts said.

“I think he’s one of those guys that getting the bye has really benefited,” Roberts said. “He’ll throw another live (BP) or sim game to some hitters … probably tomorrow. Then he should be ready to go. And given the body of work, what he’s done, the unique skill set could be huge for us, will be huge for us.”

GAME TIMES

The start time for the Dodgers’ series opener on Saturday will depend on the outcome of the Wild Card Series between the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres.

If the Cubs win that series and advance to play the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers, the Dodgers’ game against either the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves will start at 6 p.m. If the Padres win and face the Brewers, the Dodgers’ Game 1 would start at 1 p.m.

Regardless, Game 2 on Sunday will start at 5 p.m. at Dodger Stadium.

​ Orange County Register 

Powerful drill roars to life to dig Hudson River tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey

• September 30, 2026

By TED SHAFFREY and PHILIP MARCELO

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. (AP) — Powerful cutters have whirred to life on a giant drill that will begin boring a new train tunnel under the Hudson River connecting Manhattan to New Jersey.

Officials gathered in North Bergen, New Jersey, on Monday to ceremonially flip the switch on the Gateway tunnel, one of the largest U.S. mass transit projects in generations.

“Our region is the beating heart of America, generating 20% of the nation’s GDP,” declared Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill. “And this 10-mile stretch of track is its main artery.”

New York and New Jersey officials said the tunnel is vital because the existing 116-year-old passage serves about 200,000 passengers daily. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said the “whole national economy could collapse” if the new tunnel isn’t built.

“Did this matter to New York and New Jersey commuters? Yes,” the New York Democrat said. “But it mattered to all of America as well.”

The 1,680-ton tunnel-boring machine unveiled Monday is nearly the length of two football fields and armed with cutters harder than diamonds. It was custom made in Germany and sent in parts to the U.S., where it has been carefully reassembled on site in North Bergen the last few months.

Officials on Monday said the machine is still undergoing final testing but is expected to begin cutting through the Palisades Cliffs in New Jersey in the coming days.

The machine is one of two that are expected to carve a roughly 1-mile stretch through the dense, volcanic rock of the cliffs at a pace of about 30 feet a day. A second set of machines will then take over to carve the tunnel section under the Hudson River.

The $16 billion project is expected to take around a decade to complete but has already weathered years of political and financial setbacks.

President Donald Trump’s administration froze federal support last year, leading to a brief construction suspension before a federal judge ordered the payments restored while the legal fight continued.

“Nothing will stop us from digging this tunnel,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat. “When you see New York and New Jersey working together, get out of our way.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation, the federal agency involved in the litigation, responded Tuesday that its appeal “against the possible use of taxpayer dollars for unconstitutional, discriminatory contracting practices is ongoing.”

Marcelo reported from New York.

​ Orange County Register 

Carney accuses US steelmaker of betraying Canadian workers after layoffs tied to Trump tariffs

• September 30, 2026

By ROB GILLIES

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the U.S. owner of steelmaker Stelco, a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs, of betraying Canadian workers Tuesday after it announced layoffs it attributed in part to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs — tariffs Cleveland-Cliffs’ chief executive has publicly championed.

Carney singled out Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves, noting that he had applauded Trump’s steel tariffs. Goncalves has called the 50% tariffs “a necessary step” to protect U.S. steelmakers.

“Our thoughts are with the workers and the families who have been betrayed by the company,” said Carney, who noted he wanted to be blunt.

Carney also threatened legal action against Cleveland-Cliffs, saying the Ohio-based company has binding employment obligations stemming from its C$3.4 billion ($2.4 billion) takeover of Stelco in 2024.

Stelco said up to 500 workers could be affected as it indefinitely idles cold-rolled and coated operations at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant and shifts production to its Lake Erie facility in Nanticoke.

In a memo to employees, Stelco said U.S. tariffs had “significantly shrunk the market” for its cold-rolled and galvanized products. The company said demand in markets it traditionally serves fell almost 25% in the second quarter compared to the 2024 quarterly average, including a 10% decline in Canada.

The layoffs come amid an escalating Canada-U.S. trade war in which Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and other goods and Canada has retaliated with tariffs of its own. At a White House event Monday announcing a new $15 billion steel plant in Iowa, Trump credited his tariffs with reducing foreign steel imports and attracting investment to the United States, saying companies were building plants there “because they don’t want to pay tariffs.”

Carney said the federal government had offered financial assistance to preserve jobs but did not disclose the amount or terms.

“There’s money on the table from the federal government,” Carney said. “The company made representations and has legal obligations for employment. We intend to use all powers that we have and pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.”

The Canadian government approved Cleveland-Cliffs’ takeover of Stelco in October 2024 on the condition that it meet legally binding five-year employment commitments, including maintaining at least the same number of unionized workers and the vast majority of nonunion employees.

Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Carney’s remarks.

​ Orange County Register 

650,000-plus ballots seized by Riverside County sheriff returned to registrar

• September 30, 2026

More than 650,000 ballots, seized as part of a criminal probe that made national headlines, are back into the custody of the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 29.

The ballots and related materials, held by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department pending the outcome of a legal battle, were returned Tuesday morning, registrar’s spokesperson Elizabeth Florer said.

RELATED: California Supreme Court rules against Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in ballot seizure fight

An inspection of the returned materials is continuing, Florer added.

California’s Supreme Court on Thursday, Sept. 24, ordered Sheriff Chad Bianco to return the ballots, which county voters cast during the November 2025 statewide special election that redrew the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats as part of a nationwide fight over partisan redistricting.

In an unprecedented move, Bianco’s department obtained search warrants to seize the ballots from the registrar in spring. Sheriff’s investigators were looking into a citizen group’s allegation of a 45,000-vote gap between the number of ballots cast by voters last November and the number of ballots received by elections officials.

Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco said the 45,000 gap didn’t exist and was based on a misunderstanding of election data. The actual gap, he said, was just 103 votes — well within the margin of error set by the California secretary of state.

The ballots’ seizure sparked a showdown between Bianco, a one-time Republican candidate for governor, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat who said Bianco unlawfully refused his directive to pause the investigation and explain its underpinnings.

Bianco said he was obligated to investigate possible crimes in Riverside County and wanted to count all the ballots to see if the 45,000-vote gap existed and if so, what caused it.

Bonta sued and got the supreme court to pause the investigation pending further legal review. The UCLA Voting Rights Project also sued, arguing that Bianco had no right to take ballots from the registrar.

The supreme court unanimously ruled against Bianco, saying he illegally took the ballots and that Bonta had a constitutional right to order the sheriff to pause his investigation. Bianco decried the ruling in Bonta v. Bianco, saying it gives the attorney general unchecked power.

A law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in May makes it a felony to take ballots from county registrars.

Riverside County Supervisor Jose Medina — a Bianco critic — praised the ballots’ return.

“The unlawful seizure of ballots by armed officers was outside the Sheriff’s authority and should never have occurred,” Medina said in an emailed statement.

​ Orange County Register 

White Sox strike first, beat Astros in AL Wild Card Series opener

• September 30, 2026

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON — Colson Montgomery hit a solo home run and Sam Antonacci drove in two runs to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Houston Astros, 6-3, in Game 1 of an American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday.

The White Sox, in the postseason for the first time since 2021, made a remarkable turnaround this year to become the only team in major league history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth. They had lost 100 games three straight seasons, including 121 defeats in 2024, setting the record for most losses since 1899.

The White Sox got a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, prior to the game and got to work immediately to show off for the pontiff.

They led 3-0 after two innings and held on for their first playoff win since Oct. 10, 2021 in an AL Division Series against Houston.

The AL West-winning Astros eked into the playoffs with an 81-81 record to become the first team to reach the postseason without a winning record. Houston lost its eighth straight home playoff game in its ninth trip to the postseason in the last 10 years.

Game 2 in the best-of-three series is Wednesday at 2 p.m. PT in Houston. The winner advances to face the Cleveland Guardians in a best-of-five ALDS that would begin Saturday in Ohio.

Houston had runners on first and third with two outs in the eighth after singles by Jeremy Peña and MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez when Jose Altuve reached and Peña scored on an error by third baseman Miguel Vargas to cut the lead to 6-3.

The Astros’ tough day came in front of a surprisingly thin crowd. The announced attendance was 34,011 in a park with a capacity of 40,963. The home fans peppered the team with some boos when it fell behind early.

Both teams went with a bullpen game and combined to use 13 pitchers. Chicago opened with rookie left-hander Hagen Smith, and he allowed two hits in three scoreless innings.

Houston’s rookie opener AJ Blubaugh gave up two walks, and an error by Christian Walker left runners on first and third with one out in the first. The White Sox took an early lead on a sacrifice fly by Murakami.

Bryan King plunked Montgomery to load the bases with no outs in the second before Antonacci’s single pushed the lead to 3-0.

Montgomery, who White Sox manager Will Venable dropped to ninth in the order Tuesday, opened the fourth with a 432-foot homer to straightaway center field to make it 4-0. He hit 31 home runs in the regular season but also set the single-season record with 227 strikeouts.

Chicago made it 5-0 on a bases-loaded RBI single by Chase Meidroth with one out in the fifth.

Pinch-hitter Nelson Velázquez hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 5-2 with two outs in the fifth.

The White Sox tacked on another run on a wild pitch by Bennett Sousa in the seventh.

UP NEXT

Houston right-hander Hunter Brown (6-4, 3.19 ERA) will start Game 2. The White Sox hadn’t named a starter as of Tuesday evening PT.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

A Perfect Circle will headline the Hollywood Bowl in June

• September 30, 2026

A Perfect Circle is heading to the Hollywood Bowl next summer as part of their Spring 2027 North American tour.

The band, featuring Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan, will headline the iconic venue on Sunday, June 6, alongside The Cult and stop at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista on June 8.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, with a local pre-sale beginning Thursday, Oct. 1, running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. via Ticketmaster.com.

“It’s exciting to finally get some new music out into the world, and seeing ‘Starless’ reach #1 at rock radio this week has made it even sweeter,” said Howerdel in a news release. “The outpouring of support is so very much appreciated. ‘To Whom It May Concern’ is next up! More to come.”

“It’s been way, way too long,” Keenan added in the statement. “New tunes, new dance moves, new hair hats. Figure it out. #figureitout.”

In an interview with Southern California News Group last year, Howerdel hinted that A Perfect Circle had new music coming. The result has peeked its head out with the recent releases of “Starless” and “To Whom It May Concern.”

A Perfect Circle released “To Whom It May Concern” on Sept. 29, their second new single this year and the follow-up to “Starless.”

In April 2025, the band celebrated its 25th anniversary with the Sessanta Tour, where Primus, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle joined forces. All three acts played on the same stage at the same time, each performing its distinctive set while the musicians rotated throughout the night.

A Perfect Circle released their debut album, “Mer de Noms,” in 2000. The collection debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200, became the highest-charting debut rock album of its time, and featured fan favorites such as “Judith,” “3 Libras,” and “The Hollow.” The platinum-selling release remains a defining album for the group, alongside releases such as “Thirteenth Step,” “eMOTIVe,” and “Eat the Elephant.”

​ Orange County Register 

Would closing California’s corporate tax loopholes actually generate new revenue?

• September 29, 2026

California unions whose members depend on the state budget for their salaries celebrated last week when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation aimed at plugging corporate tax loopholes.

“Giant, highly profitable, global corporations often pay less in California taxes than a social worker or a teacher,” Arnulfo De La Cruz, president of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement. “That makes no sense at all, and we’re going to change that. Accountability for corporate tax credits is long overdue.

“Every year, caregivers, social workers, child care providers and state workers have to fight to justify funding for the vital work we do; yet, corporations walk away with billions in tax dollars and never have to justify a penny of it.”

Senate Bill 1349, sponsored by SEIU and other unions and carried by state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Long Beach Democrat, orders the Legislative Analyst’s Office to study major “tax expenditures,” the official name for tax laws that favor certain classes of taxpayers. The LAO would recommend changes or repeals of those that it deems to be cost-ineffective.

It’s the latest wrinkle in a yearslong political debate over whether tax laws should be used to subsidize specific economic sectors, thereby reducing revenue that could have been used for public services. But it’s tinged in irony.

The Department of Finance already publishes an annual report on tax expenditures, the latest of which indicates that they cost the state budget about $100 billion a year, with $76 billion of that from personal income taxes.

Corporate tax expenditures, the obvious target of SB 1349, are a relatively small $8.2 billion, including a series of tax credits for Southern California’s film and TV production industry. In fact, the Democratic legislators who sent SB 1349 to Newsom’s desk also voted for two bills that expand the credits the industry says are needed to prevent production from fleeing to other states.

Moreover, the vast majority of the loopholes in the finance department report were enacted during the last 60 years when Democrats dominated the Capitol. If SEIU and other advocates of closing them are looking for villains, they needn’t go far.

The history of one relatively tiny tax expenditure, enacted nearly 40 years ago, illustrates the irrational nature of tax policy.

While purchasers of off-the-shelf computer software on optical discs, such as the Quicken personal finance program, must pay sales taxes, custom software purchased by corporations is tax-free, thanks to a bill passed nearly 40 years ago.

The measure was sponsored by custom software makers and carried by a legislator from Silicon Valley. The finance department says it costs state and local governments $56 million a year.

Software delivered or accessed electronically, rather than physically, also has been tax-free, regardless of who is buying it. This year, the Legislature erased that loophole for “prewritten” software that individuals download, but didn’t touch the loophole for custom software. It also continued to exempt downloaded music, movies and games.

Taxing downloaded software is estimated to increase state revenue — and cost consumers — about $1 billion a year.

Unwarranted loopholes, such as the custom software tax exemption or the film industry tax credits, are welfare for the wealthy and should be closed as a matter of equity.

However, the tax expenditures with the largest price tags, such as the sales tax exemptions for food and drugs, the exclusion of employers’ healthcare and pension contributions from income taxes, or the deduction of mortgage interest are also those with the broadest popular support.

It’s highly doubtful that SB 1349 will produce the cornucopia of revenues its sponsors seek.

Dan Walters is a CalMatters columnist

​ Orange County Register 

Huntington Beach’s Kanoa Igarashi earns early surfing spot in LA28 Olympics

• September 29, 2026

Huntington Beach native Kanoa Igarashi has secured his provisional spot in the LA28 Olympics, among the first crop of surfers to nab their qualification into the international event that will be held at Lower Trestles south of San Clemente.

Igarashi, who surfs for Japan, would be competing in his third Olympics. He has a silver medal from the 2021 Tokyo Games, when surfing made its Olympic debut.

Along with fellow Japanese surfer Mirai Ikeda, Igarashi earned his spot by winning gold at the Asian Games this week, where surfing was included for the first time.

The event this week was held at Pacific Long Beach in Tahara, Japan. Igarashi lost to Connor O’Leary, also of Japan, in the early non-elimination round, but then pulled out a narrow victory against O’Leary in the third round.

Igarashi, 28, surfed an excellent 18.33 two-wave heat in the semifinals, which featured the event’s only perfect 10.

In the finals, he went up against Indonesia’s I Made Pajar Ariyana, who ultimately walked away with the silver medal.

The Asian Games were held on the heels of a World Surf League’s World Tour event at the same location, where Igarashi took home runner-up to Brazil’s Miguel Pupo. 

Igarashi said he was “speechless,” calling this a special moment in his career.

“The Asian Games is such a big event, to be able to add one more medal to the tally for Japan is so special. Winning a gold for the team, and going into this next chapter, this next mission as a surfer, this was a huge step forward in that direction,” he said in a statement. “Being confirmed for three Olympics back to back is a really special feeling. Each one has its own weight, its own meaning, and each time I’ve qualified, I’ll never forget that day, and this will be another one I never forget.”

He said of all the Olympics, the upcoming one is the one he wanted to be a part of the most.

“I know the wave at Trestles so well, I’ve had such great success there the last couple of years, and it’s a wave I grew up surfing,” Igarashi said. “I’d built up more pressure around this one than the others, but there’s a huge weight off my shoulders now. There’s one mission to focus on.”

For Ikeda, 18, it will be her first time at the Olympics.

“It’s the best moment of my life,” Ikeda said. “But I want to get the Olympic Games gold medal. I’m going to practice a lot, a lot, a lot.”

International Surfing Association President Fernando Aguerre, largely credited as the driving force behind the sport being included in the Olympics, called it a historic day for surfing and the Olympic movement. The ISA is the governing body for surfing in the Olympics.

“To see the first two athletes qualify for the LA28 Olympic Games, right here in surfing’s Asian Games debut, is a truly beautiful moment. The road to Los Angeles has officially begun,” Aguerre said. “As we enter surfing’s third Olympic cycle, moments like these remind us of the incredible journey our sport continues to take. We are so excited for what lies ahead.”

​ Orange County Register