Grammy Museum expands Olivia Rodrigo exhibit with ‘Note by Note’

• September 23, 2026

The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles is inviting Olivia Rodrigo fans on a trip down memory lane.

The new “Note by Note” exhibit, opening Sept. 25 and running through Feb. 22, is the second part of “The Cure Unraveled” and expands on the singer-songwriter’s career.

The new space will showcase artifacts spanning all three of her albums, two world tours, and items pulled directly from Daisy Chain Fields festival grounds, plus some never-before-seen pieces.

Highlights include stage-worn outfits, handwritten letters to fans, and the iconic knee-high Dr. Martens worn throughout the “Sour” tour; outfits from her “Guts” world tour performances at Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome and the official “Guts” megaphone; and current items including dresses worn for the front, back, and interior cover art of “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love,” alongside the pink electric guitar featured in the “Drop Dead” music video.

A new Olivia Rodrigo exhibit at the Grammy Museum invites fans to unravel

On Sept. 2, the Grammy Museum opened “The Cure Unraveled,” featuring props from Rodrigo’s “The Cure” music video from her most recent album. Fans can view miniatures, an animatronic heart, intricate cardboard guitars and stop-motion animation. Other artifacts include behind-the-scenes photos from the music video and displays featuring the hand-drawn font by Jes Sheldon, one of Rodrigo’s graphic designers.

Both parts of the exhibit come just a few weeks after Rodrigo’s landmark Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival, a female-fronted festival at the Irvine Great Park featuring a star-studded lineup including Bikini Kill, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Garbage, Not For Radio and more. The women-led event raised $20 million for charities supporting women and girls. After its success, Irvine officials said they’ve discussed bringing the festival back next year.

Tickets for the Grammy Museum are $22.50 for adults, $18 for seniors and military, $15 for students and free for children 17 and under at grammymuseum.org.

​ Orange County Register 

Skyrocketing diesel prices rattle Republicans as midterms approach

• September 23, 2026

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and CATHY BUSSEWITZ

Diesel fuel, which powers the global economy and the American heartland, is hitting record prices as the war in the Middle East intensifies, leaving Republican candidates reeling and contemplating extreme steps that economists warn could only increase pain for consumers.

Republicans in key states like Iowa and Michigan called for ending exports of diesel refined in the United States to help boost domestic supply. President Donald Trump indicated he backs that step, though his energy secretary on Wednesday said a “blanket ban” won’t happen. The U.S. has used 4.1 million barrels of diesel per day this year, and it has exported 1.5 million per day so far, according to S&P Global Energy.

The pain is obvious to anyone who drives a diesel-fueled vehicle or relies on a diesel generator to produce power. A gallon of diesel cost $6.52 Wednesday, up 73% from $3.77 right before the beginning of the war with Iran, according to AAA.

But the problem will likely spread to every consumer, fueling Democratic efforts to retake control of Congress by harnessing anger over runaway costs and an unpopular overseas conflict.

“The price of diesel touches everything in our economy that needs to move,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist for RSM. “That includes the thing we buy the most of, groceries.”

Diesel prices become the latest campaign issue

Although regular gas prices usually get more attention, diesel has swiftly become a hot issue on the campaign trail. Adam Hamilton, a Democratic Senate candidate who has mounted a surprisingly strong challenge to Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas, told supporters in a Topeka coffee shop this week that farmers are afraid that it’s getting harder to make ends meet.

“A war has sent up the price of diesel,” Hamilton said. “These guys said, ‘We don’t know if we’re going to keep the farm.’”

Elaine Luria, a Democrat running for a southeastern Virginia House seat, cited the high price of diesel at a Virginia Beach roundtable Wednesday.

“Iran is no further from acquiring a nuclear weapon. And Iran’s proxy groups, such as the Houthis in Yemen, are now expanding the footprint,” she said in an interview, adding that the conflict is becoming “an expanding economic crisis.” Luria is a former congresswoman trying to reclaim her seat from Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans.

Republicans like Rep. Ashley Hinton, who is running for Senate in Iowa, have called for an immediate end to the war and a ban on selling diesel overseas, hoping the extra fuel would then lower prices for Americans.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” Hinton said. “We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”

The idea has split Republicans. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said he’s open to it. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is also from Iowa, has become the proposal’s strongest champion, rejecting criticism from his colleagues from fuel-producing states.

“IF U CAN EMBARGO CHIPS U CAN EMBARGO DIESEL,” Grassley posted on social media, referring to export controls on computer technology.

Trump on Tuesday told reporters that “I’ve called for that too,” although Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration was still exploring how it might lower diesel prices. Energy Secretary Chris Wright echoed that point Wednesday, telling a climate conference in New York that “nobody wants a full blanket ban of zero exports of diesel, that’s not what’s being discussed.”

Why diesel prices are so high compared to gasoline

Diesel prices have skyrocketed due to a collision of events.

The Middle East produces a disproportionate share of the oil used to refine diesel, leading its price to rise faster than gasoline since the conflict began in February. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the war took about 20% of the world’s oil off the market, which raised the prices of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.

Some of that supply has come back, but it’s nowhere near prewar levels, said Debnil Chowdhury, who leads the Americas and Europe fuels and refining team at S&P Global Energy. Then there were significant attacks by Ukraine on refineries in Russia, taking 800,000 to 1 million barrels per day of diesel off the market, according to S&P.

“These attacks have been pretty prominent,” Chowdhury said. “If there is a way to a peace deal or a peace agreement announcing that there will be no more attacks on Russian refineries, on Middle Eastern refineries … that would obviously make the largest impact on the underlying price.”

“The last few months eroded everyone’s cushion, but the last few weeks? Diesel went from under $6/gallon to over $6.53. Again, that was just in the last two weeks. You tell me what business, small or even large, budgeted for that,” William Stern, chief executive officer of Cardiff, a San Diego-based small business lender that’s seen requests for loans spike due to the price increase, wrote in an email.

An export ban could make an impact — in the wrong direction. The American Petroleum Institute warned that diesel prices would actually rise for most Americans if an export ban is enacted, a caution shared by several economists.

“That will result in Americans taking a one-two punch for food and fuel prices that just don’t stop,” Brusuelas said.

Export ban could ultimately end American oil industry, cause global recession, analysts warn

If U.S. refineries, which take crude oil and turn it into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, stopped exporting diesel, they would wind up with a surplus of the material. They would need places to store it. Once those storage tanks filled up, analysts warn, refiners would have to stop making diesel. But they can’t just switch off diesel production without effectively cutting the supply of those other fuels and raising their prices.

“There really is no easy way to repair the kind of damage it would be to the global diesel supply chain,” Chowdhury said. “It really will have this effect across the entire global economy.”

He added that “the chances of a global recession would increase massively as well.”

Phil Verleger, a longtime energy economist who advised the federal government during the 1970s oil shock, said he thought a diesel export ban could bring prices down but still have an extreme cost. ”In a couple decades,” he warned, “the U.S. fossil fuel industry is dead.”

That’s because the U.S. has been a reliable supplier of diesel to other countries that would likely look elsewhere if it cuts off supply. Verleger and other economists cited former President Richard Nixon’s ban on the export of soybeans in 1973, which led to the rest of the world shifting to Brazil as a more reliable supplier. Now the South American country grows more than the U.S.

But Verleger, who comes from an Iowa farming family, says he understands the visceral pain that a diesel spike causes, even though he also knows the dangers of trying to regulate it away.

“It’s terrible economics, the long-term consequences will be horrible,” Verleger said. “If I were an elected politician, I’d do it.”

Riccardi reported from Denver and Bussewitz reported from New York. John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, and Sarah Rankin in Virginia Beach, Virginia, contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

State error in Texas creates huge backlog in voter registration applications as midterm voting nears

• September 23, 2026

By ANNA WILDER

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — County election offices throughout Texas are scrambling to process a massive backlog of voter registration applications stemming from an error at the state level, a headache that is hitting just as they are preparing for voting to begin in the midterm elections.

The problem, which officials in the Republican-controlled state have not publicly defined, also could have disenfranchised people who wanted to vote in the state’s March primary but whose registration applications were never processed, local election officials said during a news conference Wednesday.

“This is really out of left field. Knowing that this one element of (state) applications didn’t come through, and we had no insight on it,” said Chris McGinn, executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials.

The size of the backlog statewide hasn’t been determined, but the association said it is in the tens of thousands for some of the state’s most populous counties. In Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, the election office received about 45,000 backlogged voter registration applications.

Some election offices will need to hire temporary workers to handle the crush, officials with the association said.

The issue started last October in the Texas Department of Public Safety, which among other things allows people to register to vote or update their voter registrations when they renew their driver’s license.

An unspecified error failed to send a large number of records to applicants’ home counties, where the applications are processed and verified. Those records could be a new voter registration application or an update to an existing registration, such as a change of address.

The association of local election officials said its members did not receive any communication from the Department of Public Safety about why the backlog occurred or why they were not informed of the issue for nearly a year.

In a statement, the Department of Public Safety said certain records submitted online “were incomplete and not fully transmitted” to the secretary of state’s office. It said the “system issue” had been resolved, without elaborating on the nature of the issue. The department did not immediately respond to a request for further explanation. County officials said the problem appeared to be with the department’s online portal.

Counties have until early in-person voting starts on Oct. 19 to finish processing the late-arriving applications.

During their news conference, county election officials said it is possible that some people might have been prevented from voting in the state’s primary earlier this year or initially turned away because there was no record of them registering to vote or updating their registration.

The unexpected backlog comes as counties are already inundated with tasks leading up to the November election in a state with a nationally watched U.S. Senate race between Democratic state Rep. James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The Texas Secretary of State’s office and county election leaders say voters don’t need to worry about their registration as long as it is submitted by Oct. 5. If a person shows up to vote and they do not appear on the voter rolls, election officials said they can cast a provisional ballot.

They also can check whether they are registered on the state’s online registration site or call their county election office.

Wilder is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

​ Orange County Register 

Rams hopeful Puka Nacua’s groin issue not long-term

• September 23, 2026

LOS ANGELES — The Rams held just a walk-through on Wednesday as they continued to turn their bodies around from their Monday night victory over the New York Giants, but wide receiver Puka Nacua (groin) was estimated to be a non-participant in the walk-through as he tries to work his back onto the field.

The Rams (1-1) aren’t sure if Nacua will play on Sunday night against the Denver Broncos (1-1), head coach Sean McVay said on Wednesday, but he kept open the possibility that the All-Pro receiver will return to practice later this week.

“These soft tissue things, I wish I had better information,” McVay lamented.

Nacua was held out of the Rams’ Week 2 game after securing five catches for 74 yards in the season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia. He also dealt with a psoas strain during training camp, but McVay has said the two injuries are not related.

The Rams are hopeful that the groin does not become a long-term issue, McVay said, but it’s also not an injury that they want to rush Nacua back from or ask him to play through.

“It’s some of those things that can kind of be pre-hernia,” McVay said, clarifying that Nacua does not in fact have a hernia. “You err on the side of caution. Usually time is the best thing that allows that thing to heal. And then once you get to a certain point then I think you feel pretty good moving forward.”

Nacua is not the only Rams receiver dealing with a leg issue as Jordan Whittington (quadriceps) was estimated to be a non-participant on Wednesday, too. McVay said Whittington’s situation is similar to Nacua’s, with some hope that the third-year receiver could return against the Broncos but not at the expense of hurrying him back before he’s ready.

“It’s our job to make sure that we’re protecting them, putting them in positions to have successful outcomes and also have a long-term vision,” McVay said.

RIVERS TO IR

The Rams placed third-string running back and special teams ace Ronnie Rivers on injured reserve on Wednesday with a calf strain.

Rivers injured the calf while jumping up in the air to loosen himself up during Monday’s game. The expectation is that he will miss 4-6 weeks, McVay said. The Rams will need to call up a third running back in Rivers’ place, and McVay said the Rams would pick between practice squad options Jordan Waters and Dean Connors with special teams contributions receiving the primary consideration.

The Rams signed safety Maximus Pulley off the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad as a corresponding move. Pulley, an undrafted free agent this spring, had five interceptions and 10 pass breakups as a senior at Wofford.

“He’s a guy that we had some like for for his college tape,” McVay said.

PRACTICE REPORT

Tight end Colby Parkinson (knee) and safety Kam Kinchens (hamstring) were estimated as non-participants in practice on Wednesday, while left tackle Alaric Jackson (knee), tight end Terrance Ferguson (ankle) and linebacker Nate Landman (shoulder) were estimated as limited participants.

Jackson injured his knee in a collision on Monday night and received some attention from the training staff during the game but ultimately did not miss a snap. McVay said he had no reason to believe Jackson would not be able to play against the Broncos.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County boys water polo: Newport Harbor rises after tournament title

• September 23, 2026

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The Orange County boys water polo rankings as of Wednesday, Sept. 23:

BOYS WATER POLO TOP 10

School, record, previous rank

1. Newport Harbor 8-1 (2): The Sailors climb one spot to No. 1 after claiming the South Coast Tournament title. Senior goalie Lian Kim and juniors Caruso Polenzani and Sean Anderson emerged as standouts for a young Newport Harbor squad. The Sailors play Loyola at El Segundo Aquatics Center on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Newport Harbor travels to The Bishop’s of La Jolla on Friday.

2. JSerra 7-1 (1): The Lions beat Harvard-Westlake and Santa Margarita to take fifth place at the South Coast Tournament. No. 2-seeded JSerra was upset by eventual runner-up Miramonte 12-8 in the quarterfinals.

3. Santa Margarita 9-3 (3): The Eagles played without USC commit Logan McGann in their loss against JSerra at the South Coast Tournament, Santa Margarita coach Ivan Buich confirmed.

4. Laguna Beach 11-6 (4): Laguna Beach edged Loyola 12-11 in overtime to finish 15th at the South Coast Tournament.

5. Corona del Mar 10-4 (5): The Sea Kings lost to Sacred Heart Prep 13-12 in overtime in the ninth-place match at the South Coast Tournament. Corona del Mar reached the consolation final by avenging an earlier loss to Long Beach Wilson. The Sea Kings beat the Bruins 13-8.

6. San Clemente 7-8 (9): The Tritons defeated higher-ranked Mater Dei 19-10 and Foothill 14-6 on their way to taking 23rd at the South Coast Tournament.

7. Huntington Beach 7-7 (not ranked): The Oilers won four consecutive matches after dropping their opener to Long Beach Wilson at the South Coast Tournament. The run included an 8-7 win against Beckman in overtime. The Oilers play in the S & R Sport Cup/Foothill Invite on Friday and Saturday.

8. Beckman 6-6 (6): The Patriots had an up-and-down run at the South Coast Tournament. They posted a 3-2 record but were upset by Loyola and Huntington Beach in overtime. Beckman was ranked above both teams in their group.

9. Mater Dei 5-11 (7): The Monarchs finished 1-4 at the South Coast Tournament. They play at Santa Margarita in the Trinity League on Wednesday.

10. Foothill 7-4 (8): The Knights won their final two matches at the South Coast Tournament after an 0-3 start. They play host to the S & R Sport Cup/Foothill Invite on Friday and Saturday. Foothill’s group features top-seeded Foothill, Bellarmine and Crean Lutheran.

Also considered (listed alphabetically): Los Alamitos 7-9; Sage Hill 7-1.

​ Orange County Register 

Iowa judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit against Des Moines Register and pollster

• September 23, 2026

By HANNAH FINGERHUT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge on Wednesday dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit accusing The Des Moines Register and its former pollster of misrepresenting the state of the 2024 presidential race, rejecting the president’s claim that the newspaper’s poll coverage violated Iowa’s consumer fraud law.

Iowa District Judge Scott J. Beattie sided with pollster J. Ann Selzer and the Register, who described the lawsuit as a conspiracy theory and an affront to free speech protections.

The judge wrote that Trump’s suit sought to “stretch both Iowa statutory and common law beyond their current bounds, turning speech that enjoys the highest category of First Amendment protection into a liability.” After hearing the arguments, the judge concluded the constitutional protection “is too great and the reach is too far. The case must therefore be dismissed.”

Trump and his team have filed several lawsuits against media organizations accusing them of bias, calling into question the boundaries of First Amendment protections for speech and press. Some of those lawsuits have ended in settlements.

Trump filed the lawsuit against Selzer, The Des Moines Register and the newspaper’s parent company in December 2024, accusing them of fraudulently publishing inaccurate poll results to damage him and help Democrats, saying coverage of polls is not protected speech.

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and former Iowa state Sen. Brad Zaun, both Republicans, joined the lawsuit. Selzer and her co-defendants wanted the case moved to federal court but, after a year of legal proceedings, the first hearing took place this year in state court.

The poll, conducted by Selzer’s company in the final days of October and released just days before Election Day 2024, showed then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ presidential nominee, capturing 47% of Iowa likely voters, to Trump’s 44%.

Trump ultimately won the support of 56% of the nearly 2 million Iowans who voted.

Trump, Miller-Meeks and Zaun alleged the misleading coverage diminished their reputations, valuable time in the final days of the campaign, and campaign funds and resources.

Selzer’s case was taken up by the free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. In separate filings, the Iowa pollster and The Register, with its parent company, Gannett Co., argued that courts have never considered polls or newspapers covering them to be commercial speech even though they may be sold for a profit.

They said the poll coverage, whether right or wrong in capturing the state of the race, was constitutionally protected political speech.

They also disputed the consumer fraud claim, emphasizing the poll and coverage of it were not connected to transactions between the companies and Trump, Miller-Meeks or Zaun.

​ Orange County Register 

US diplomats told to use term ‘super intelligence’ not ‘artificial intelligence’ after Trump’s call

• September 23, 2026

By MATTHEW LEE

NEW YORK (AP) — The State Department is ordering diplomats in its international organizations bureau to use the term “super intelligence” instead of “artificial intelligence” in all communications following President Donald Trump’s attempt to rebrand the technology in his address to the U.N. General Assembly this week.

“Following the president’s remarks at the GA today, please change all references of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ to ‘Super Intelligence’ in our documents and positions. We will be using ‘SI’ in all remarks, positions and press elements moving forward,” said an email sent Tuesday to employees by Michael Drager, deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

That bureau is in charge of U.S. diplomatic missions to all U.N. and multilateral agencies around the world. The email, titled “Change in Nomenclature AI to SI,” was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if other State Department bureaus had or would follow suit.

On Tuesday, Trump told the U.N. General Assembly that he would “officially” change the name of AI, saying the existing name makes the technology seem “fake” and that U.S. government documents would from that point forward use “super intelligence.”

“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake, it makes it sound fake and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing,” Trump said.

The president said at the U.N. that “from the point forward” U.S. government documents “will be changed to use the much more accurate term super as opposed to artificial. So it’s super intelligence.”

Drager’s email was sent shortly after Trump’s speech, but it wasn’t clear on Wednesday whether similar orders had been sent at other agencies. Such an order would likely mean adjusting the name of the “AI Force” that Trump announced this weekend to the “SI Force.”

On Wednesday, U.S. representatives used the SI term at a U.N. Security Council meeting about AI, where tech executives urged the United Nations’ most powerful body to rein in the developing technology.

AI’s rapid ascent has spurred dire warnings from AI company CEOs, lawmakers and others about the technology outpacing humans’ ability to control it and calls for global guardrails.

Trump has rejected efforts to slow the AI development race through greater government oversight, saying he does not want to hinder industry and that the U.S. needs to ensure an edge over China.

Trump claimed on social media Monday that the U.S. is leading over China on AI and that he was “not going to stifle Growth, of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution, or the Internet, itself.”

AI is expected to be a key topic when Trump welcomes Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Washington for a visit starting Wednesday.

Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Washington and Farnoush Amiri and Seth Borenstein at the United Nations contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

ICE detained Kentucky State basketball player from Senegal as she prepared to travel to tournament

• September 23, 2026

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky State University women’s basketball player from Senegal was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last month when she arrived at the airport in Louisville to fly to New York for a tournament.

Aminata Seck, 26, is from Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and her attorney said on social media that she is in the United States on a student visa.

Her attorney, Sadiqa Reynolds, wrote that Seck was detained on Aug. 7 at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport, as she was planning to travel with her team to an HBCU tournament.

The Louisville Courier Journal, which first reported Seck’s arrest, wrote that Reynolds said Seck may have missed a student visa deadline because she was having back surgery, and that she also has an ACL injury.

Reynolds wrote that she spoke to Seck last week, and the player remained in a lot of pain. Reynolds said she was transferred to multiple detention facilities, then to a hospital.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the reason for her detention or the conditions of her confinement.

Seck is listed on the Grayson County, Kentucky, Detention Center’s online inmate roster. The offense description says: “US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY / ICE.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, who represents a district including Louisville, said he is monitoring Seck’s situation, and that of others who have been arrested and detained in Kentucky.

“Aminata is a student-athlete who was arrested by ICE at the airport while traveling with her teammates,” he wrote in a statement. “The Trump administration’s cruelty knows no bounds, but we will never let this become normal and we won’t stop fighting for her.”

Seck was named to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference Third Team last season after she led the team with 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. Seck, a 6-foot-4 center, had five double-doubles last season and scored a season-high 30 points vs. Lane College on Jan. 14.

Seck also was named the SIAC Women’s Basketball Elite 16 award winner. The Elite 16 award is the SIAC’s highest academic achievement honor and is presented to student-athletes who demonstrate exemplary performance in athletics and the classroom.

The school declined to comment: “Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, Kentucky State University does not have information to share.”

​ Orange County Register