Mater Dei wins championship of Durango girls volleyball tournament top division

• September 21, 2026

Mater Dei’s girls volleyball team won the championship of the Durango Fall Classic on Saturday with a two-set sweep of Sierra Canyon.

The Monarchs defeated the Trailblazers 25-18 and 25-17 for the championship of the Gold Division, the Las Vegas tournament’s top division.

Sierra Canyon defeated Mater Dei in last season’s CIF Southern Section Division 1 final. Mater Dei defeated Sierra Canyon in last season’s CIF Southern California Regional Open Division championship.

Mater Dei senior outside hitter Westley Matavao was named tournament MVP. Monarchs seniors Emma Kingston and Kalea Lee and sophomore Sienna Cicero were named to the all-tournament team.

Newport Harbor won the tournament’s Bronze Division championship. The Sailors beat Hawaii’s Kamehameha Kapalama in the division final.

The tournament had 64 teams representing 13 states.

​ Orange County Register 

The main Kremlin party keeps control of Russian parliament after a carefully orchestrated vote

• September 21, 2026

By The Associated Press

The main Kremlin party retained its majority in Russia’s parliament, election officials said Monday, after three days of carefully orchestrated balloting that excluded most opposition candidates and helped President Vladimir Putin maintain his tight grip on power.

Preliminary results indicated that United Russia would get 355 out of 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, the Central Election Commission said, which would be a record high for the party if confirmed.

Results from over 95% of the polling stations gave United Russia just under 58% of the vote for the 225 seats apportioned by parties, according to commission chair Ella Pamfilova. Another 225 lawmakers were chosen to represent individual constituencies, and the results showed United Russia candidates leading in 208 of those races.

Winning seats alongside United Russia were several other parties that almost always vote for Kremlin initiatives. A handful of seats will go to candidates who ran without a party affiliation in single-seat races, according to preliminary results.

It was the first parliamentary election since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the first to include residents of four regions of that country that were seized and illegally annexed by Moscow later that year. At a polling station in the Russian-held part of the Donetsk region, voters dropped their ballots in a box under the gaze of an armed Russian soldier.

Voting also was held in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Kyiv denounced the voting in those regions as illegal.

The government was “able to carry out the campaign and the voting the way it wanted, with the most optimal output,” said Tatyana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, in an online commentary.

The election followed a crackdown on dissent

The Kremlin tightened its crackdown on opposition before the election, including barring Russia’s only liberal, anti-war party from the ballot and allowing it to compete only in single-constituency races.

The Kremlin has sought the parliamentary election to showcase popular support for the war, and strove to avoid political risks by stamping out any dissent.

A massive state media campaign and tight control over the election in the absence of genuine opposition left little doubt that the Kremlin will keep tight control of Russian politics as economic costs rise and Ukrainian drone attacks increase deep inside the country.

Electronic balloting was available in many regions and encouraged by authorities. Critics said it made it easier for the government to control the outcome of the vote.

Pamfilova said turnout was just over 59% — the most for a parliamentary election in over a decade. The final results will be announced Friday, she said.

Criticism of the war was silenced

The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political entity that dared to publicly criticize the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia’s Supreme Court, and only has a few dozen candidates in the single-constituency races. Additionally, some anti-war politicians were imprisoned or forced to flee abroad ahead of the campaign.

Yabloko and the Communist Party, which has criticized some aspects of government policy but carefully avoided any criticism of Putin, said many of their observers were turned away from polling stations.

Russia didn’t invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, with the Foreign Ministry accusing the group of “double standards” for its criticism of the country. OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons said the decision was a breach of Russia’s commitments as a member state of the organization.

Ukrainian attacks bring the war home

The election took place against the backdrop of incessant Ukrainian drone attacks. On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that it downed 1,110 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said hundreds of drones targeted the capital and described it as “the largest ever” attack on the city. The Moscow Oil Refinery was hit, he said, and so was another building.

Three people were killed in the wider Moscow region, Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said. A total of 38 others were injured and received medical treatment, according to the Health Ministry.

Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes over the summer pounded oil refineries, triggering a widespread fuel crisis, and set ablaze sprawling warehouses of online retailers Wildberries and Ozon, bringing the war home for millions of Russians like never before.

“Putin, of course, will interpret United Russia’s results as confirmation of the (public) support of the war, even though it is not the case: the overall demand for ending the war is growing,” said Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

“The main question is: what now? There are great concerns about mobilization, new repressions, harsher measures, and escalation,” she wrote.

“I partially agree that Putin may perceive the election results as a green light for ‘anything for the victory,’ but I think the role of the elections here is greatly exaggerated,” she added. “Everything depends much more on the military situation, the American factor (I don’t believe new negotiations will work out), and the overall picture, where everyone is escalating.”

​ Orange County Register 

War, runaway AI and climate shocks to take center stage as world leaders meet at UN

• September 21, 2026

By EDITH M. LEDERER

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Under a global cloud of wars and bitter divisions, world leaders meet at the United Nations this week facing new fears that runaway artificial intelligence could threaten humanity even as climate shocks and escalating prices are already making life much tougher for hundreds of millions of people.

The annual high-level gathering at the U.N. General Assembly will also be consumed with major wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar and a persisting question: Can the leaders do anything to end them?

And what can they do about the relentless rise of global warming threatening the future of the planet, the growing inequalities within and among nations, and shocks to the global economy as blocked shipping routes and supply chains increase the cost of living and slow growth?

The future of the United Nations will also definitely be on the agenda. At 81, its powers are still the victorious nations from World War II, not the 21st century’s major global players. The U.N.’s 193 member nations have agreed to a wide-ranging reform package that includes updating key institutions such as the powerful U.N. Security Council, where the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France hold inordinate sway because of their veto power. Reform, however, is easier said than implemented.

Behind the scenes, there will be speculation about who will lead the United Nations next. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ second five-year term ends Dec. 31 and no clear successor has emerged.

This meeting is still pivotal

There is still no question that the U.N. remains THE gathering place for its 193 member nations and their leaders. Some 130 heads of state and government are expected to speak at the General Assembly starting Tuesday along with dozens of ministers.

Among the headliners will be U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emanuel Macron. Both will speak Tuesday after Guterres’ opening “state of the world” address. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian speak Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — whom New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani wanted arrested for his treatment of Palestinians in Gaza until he learned he has no such authority — will address the assembly on Thursday. For a second year, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won’t be coming to the U.N. because the U.S. has refused to give him a visa. He will nonetheless address the assembly by video the same day.

The United States, under its agreement with the U.N. to host the organization, is required to allow diplomats from all member nations to attend meetings.

Equally telling is who else isn’t coming. China’s President Xi Jinping is meeting Trump in Washington on Wednesday, yet he is skipping — some diplomats say snubbing — the U.N. gathering and sending a vice president instead. Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t coming either, and Indian President Narendra Modi has backed out.

France’s U.N. ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, said it is “extremely critical” for world leaders this week to support the U.N. as the place where the world’s nations meet — especially at a time of such polarization.

“We believe in multilateralism,” he said, “and we believe that the high-level week is the occasion for countries in the world to reaffirm that they prefer cooperation and dialogue to confrontation.”

United Nations has not had a great year

There is no doubt it’s been a tough year for the world body. It has been pushed to the sidelines when it comes to its key responsibility of ensuring international peace and security and trying to end major conflicts in the Mideast and Ukraine. The U.S. failure to pay billions of dollars in outstanding arrears has left the organization’s finances in rocky shape.

But veteran U.N. watcher Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s global issues and institutions program director, says 2025 was even worse.

A year ago, he said, people were contemplating that Trump would use his U.N. speech to announce that the United States would leave the world organization. Trump didn’t announce a pullout last September and the U.N. muddled through the past 12 months with financial troubles that forced cutbacks to its peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid.

In recent days, the U.S. paid $725 million of its dues to the U.N.’s regular operating budget for this year, enough to keep the Trump administration from losing its vote in the General Assembly. The payment was a strong indication Trump will keep the U.S. in the United Nations.

The U.N. is no longer “in freefall,” Gowan said, but it “is stuck in an open-ended or permanent crisis.” Put more graphically, he said, “The U.N. may not be in emergency care like it was last year, but it does seem to be trapped in a trauma center for the foreseeable future.”

Former U.N. deputy secretary-general Mark Malloch-Brown, a United Nations Foundation board member, said, “While the world still trusts the U.N., the global public is eager for change.”

AI is pushing toward the center of the agenda

The future of artificial intelligence has pushed to the forefront of global concerns, with its speeding advances and the dawning recognition that there are no industry controls, let alone any global guardrails for a technology that has many advantages but also many disadvantages and unknowns.

Days before the global gathering, leaders of three major AI companies warned about the technology getting out of human control and called for a pause, but Trump dismissed their concerns as “a hoax,” and urged continued advances to keep the U.S. ahead of China.

The U.N. Security Council added a high-level meeting on AI to its agenda on Wednesday afternoon, a sign of the growing apprehension and need to address the issue. It was already slated to hold a high-level meeting on Ukraine with Zelenskyy on Wednesday morning.

For the U.N. chief, this will be his last assembly meeting with global leaders. He previewed his speech last week, telling U.N. reporters that power is shifting in “an era of deep uncertainty.”

“At a time when the world faces three existential threats,” he said, “international cooperation is more necessary than ever.”

Others will be vying for the spotlight on issues from rising sea levels and funding education to the fight for gender equality. Hundreds of private meetings will also convene in U.N. cubicles, hotels, diplomatic missions and restaurants.

Esther Brimmer, a senior fellow in global governance at the Council on Foreign Relations and former U.S. assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs in the Obama administration, said in-person meetings can help countries hash out ideas that get implemented months later.

She called the situation in 2026 “much more serious and complex than in decades past.”

“With that said, I’m also not without hope as well,” Brimmer said. “Over the past decades we’ve learned a lot about international cooperation.”

Edith M. Lederer has covered international affairs for The Associated Press for more than a half century.

​ Orange County Register 

How ‘The Incomer’ cast formed an unlikely bond making the quirky comedy

• September 21, 2026

In writer-director Louis Paxton’s quirky new comedy, actor Domhnall Gleeson plays Daniel, a regional council worker sent from Scotland to an isolated isle to evict and bring its only two residents back to the mainland.

But siblings Isla and Sandy, played by Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke, have no intention of leaving, and, in fact, have been training for the very day an “incomer” like Daniel might arrive.

And so the moment Daniel sets foot on shore, Isla and Sandy spring into action, hurling rocks at his noggin, screeching like human-sized gulls, and dancing in what they assume is a fearful manner in strange costumes made of feathers and bones.

What follows is a sweet and tender tale that deftly balances the silly and sublime.

Daniel, Isla and Sandy form unlikely bonds, though the mainlander and the islanders remain mystified by much about each other. When the Northeastern Scottish Council sends some muscle to finish the job for Daniel, the trio already on the island must make life-changing choices.

At the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, “The Incomer” won the NEXT Innovator Award, the jury citing the movie as “as a boldly original comic fable that blends folklore with formal playfulness. Deadpan humor, animation, and myth collide – proof that fearless invention can be both uproarious and deeply humane.”

“The Incomer” opens in theaters on Friday, Sept. 25.

In a Zoom interview edited for length and clarity, Gleeson, Rankin and O’Rourke talked about what drew them to the project, what made them laugh out loud during filming, and the importance of stories to the characters of “The Incomer.”

Q: I’m always curious what makes people say “yes” to a project. What appealed to you, Gayle?

GAYLE RANKIN: I’d never read anything this unique and in a Scottish voice. He [Paxton] has his unique attack on storytelling, and is such a cinephile and well-read. He’s worked on this screenplay for so long; it’s really been such a labor of love. You could tell that when you turned the first page.

It was just so beautifully made. And what a character. She’s just like a kind of ballsy, ferocious, unapologetic, stubborn, insane, kind of beautiful human being, you know? And gets to kind of be a leading lady in her own way, too. I was just like, what a gift.

Q: Grant, you worked with Louis on the story, didn’t you?

GRANT O’ROURKE: Louis’s my BFF. We’ve been working together for like 20 years. I was in his grant film when he was at [university], and we’ve done short films together. We’ve written short films that got nominated for a BAFTA Scotland award. So I’ve seen every iteration of the screenplay. He let me feed into the character of Sandy, and by the end of it, we would do joke passes and things like that.

So I’ve been living with this play as long as Louis has. I haven’t done as much work as he has, but I certainly wanted to do it as much as he did. It was a real dream come true that we got to make it at all, to be honest.

DOMHNALL GLEESON: It was just a great script. It was as Gayle said, from the first page, it knew itself. It knew its own tone perfectly. And it was a chance to be in something that I thought would make people feel really good if we made it really well, and I think we did that.

Q: Each of your characters has little quirks and moments that are very funny. Give me an example of something your castmates did that cracked you up.

GLEESON: I sort of fast-forward through the bits I’m not in. [Rankin and O’Rourke laugh] So I’m just trying to think about bits that have the two of them. I can’t think of any.

No, anytime they’re fighting, anytime there’s big fighting and that stuff. They’re so ferocious, and I think it sums up their attitude towards the characters. Their willingness to go there for the characters in those fight scenes, when they [bleepin’] go. I love that. And then the small moments between them afterwards. The full-on and the small, right next to each other.

O’ROURKE: Because obviously I saw everything that everyone was doing on the day I was unsurprised by how funny they were when I watched the film, because they were already cracking me up on set. The one thing that did take me by surprise was the animated sequences when I was telling the story – .

RANKIN:  – nothing to do with us. [She and Gleeson laugh]

Q: OK, Gayle?

RANKIN: I still think of these moments a lot, Domhnall on the beach when he’s doing “Lord of the Local Authority” [Daniel mashes up his boring office life with “Lord of the Rings” for Sandy and Isla’s entertainment] when he was doing the paper jam. [A printer malfunction is acted out with all the thrills of an Orc attack] It’s [bleepin’] outrageous.

And Grant, I mean the scene with the milking of the seal with a toothbrush and the toothpaste. It was very difficult for me to manage to get through.

Q: I bet.

O’ROURKE: And Domhnall’s dancing, by the way, is absolutely worth checking out.

Q: Storytelling, whether it’s Isla telling Sandy the folklore of the island, or Daniel trying to make his life more exciting by morphing it into “Lord of the Rings,” is a big part of the movie. How did you understand the importance of their stories?

GLEESON: Well, I mean stories are what makes like worth living. But when we meet these people, the stories they’ve told themselves, or have been told, are actually stopping them from growing. They’ve all retreated into their stories and have started to be defined by their own stories.

So I think it’s nice, because it shows you the mythic, beautiful aspect of storytelling, which we rely on all the time, and how it can be become dangerous to definite yourself by a story. That’s one of the themes of the film that I find incredibly interesting, and then the film wears it very lightly, which I think is one of the most important things to do. It’s not a message movie.

O’ROURKE: Just as Domhnall was saying, perhaps the thing that’s maybe timely about it is that there’s a great power in the stories that we tell ourselves, and the stories that we tell each other. As you [Domhnall] pointed out, it sometimes gets in the way of you growing.

So if people can take anything from this, it’s that we don’t need to fall back on those stories we tell ourselves all the time. Sometimes it’s just as important to write new ones.

RANKIN: I just feel that a lot of the time their stories also kept them alive. But at the same time they kept them where they were, absolutely. And I think the dichotomy of that, and the kind of friction of that, is something that Louis has woven so beautifully into the story. It’s really kind of subtle and beautiful because it’s always both.

And there’s not a kind of tied-up happy ending at the end of the film. I think it’s a beautiful ending. It’s not uncomplicated.

Q: My last thing, I have to ask about the kissing scenes with Isla and Daniel – 

RANKIN: – I knew you were going to say that. [She laughs]

Q: – and how she reacts each time.

RANKIN: I loved it. I mean, it’s very kind of childlike and beautiful, and kind of gives you all the kind of funny, butterfly, crazy feelings about re-imagining what it’s like to have those impulses for the first time. Like, this is a person who doesn’t know what this is. How lucky and cool that we get to explore that as actors, and so it was just truly fun and pleasurable to get to figure all that out. And it’s also very tender.

GLEESON: Exactly the same. I was conscious of the fact there was a power dynamic where Daniel had experience in the mainland, and that he had to be careful with this person who didn’t. So I was conscious of that.

But then there’s a moment that’s just connecting, and I love those moments. I feel like those moments, when they’re happening, make you feel good. And it’s a nice thing. It’s really not too sappy because Louis is clever enough to break it up. He gives us that beautiful moment of everyone’s first kiss is like a special, well, hopefully special, thing.

​ Orange County Register 

Status Update: 7 Leaves coming to Orange; Navy Federal Credit Union opens in Fullerton

• September 21, 2026

7 Leaves, a coffee, tea and matcha shop founded in Westminster in 2011, is coming to Orange.

The store is replacing a shuttered Walgreens pharmacy at the corner of Prospect Street and Chapman Avenue. (We can already envision the line of students from nearby El Modena High and McPherson Magnet when it opens.)

News of the incoming cafe, confirmed via city planning documents, was first reported by There’s No Place Like Orange, a digital brand created by Brandy Romero, who’s running for a seat in November’s Orange City Council election.

City documents indicate 7 Leaves was issued a permit this summer to make tenant improvement for a 1,976-square-foot cafe. Work has already begun to reimagine the space.

7 Leaves sells a variety of cold drinks — from coffee and tea to matcha. It also sells baked goods made locally. The concept was inspired by co-founder Quang Nguyen, who sampled Thai tea and other cold coffees made by street vendors during a visit to Vietnam.

In 2023, 7 Leaves expanded to the Atlanta area (Duluth) and Phoenix, with eyes on further expansion in those regions. It also has shops in Las Vegas and Texas. Last year, it opened a cafe in La Habra. Its website says it operates 43 stores.

Address: 3237 E Chapman Ave.

NFCU opens today in Fullerton

Navy Federal Credit Union opened a new branch Monday, Sept. 21 in Fullerton.

The branch in the Fullerton Metrocenter shopping center offers the usual banking services plus mortgage application, notary and IRA services.

The branch manager is Ferris Robbins.

This newest branch is the ninth in Southern California for the credit union, the largest in the United States. NFCU says it has more than 44,000 local members. Nationwide, the credit union based in Vienna, Va., counts more than 15.3 million members and $203 billion in total assets.

The credit union to celebrate its Fullerton debut donated $5,000 to Support the Enlisted Project (STEP), a nonprofit that provides financial counseling and assistance to active-duty enlisted members, recently discharged enlisted veterans and their families.

Membership to NFCU is open to active, retired military, their dependents and Department of Defense personnel and their families.

Address: 1375 S. Harbor Blvd.

Dragon Kim project finalists compete Saturday

The Dragon Kim Foundation has announced annual project finalists who are advancing to the Dragon Challenge on Sept. 26.

The six teams of finalists were chosen from 37 overall projects created by students at 77 California high schools this summer.

The finalist projects include:

— Healing Hoops, Maranatha High School in Pasadena

— Green Steps, University High School in Irvine

— Loops of Love, Portola High in Irvine

— MindcraftHers, La Canada High

— Talking Points, University High School in Irvine

— Untold Pages, Yorba Linda High School

The teams will present their projects to judges on Saturday at the Margaret A. Webb Theatre at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana.

This year also marks the foundation’s 10th anniversary. Its Fellowship program works with high school students, guiding them on how they can help them make a difference in the lives of others, especially those who are disadvantaged.

To help them do so, Dragon Kim awards service grants of up to $5,000 to teams who create and manage a service project. The winner of the Dragon Challenge will receive another $5,000 to continue their project.

For more information and tickets, go to dragonkimfoundation.org.

Save the date: Apostille popup returns

The county is hosting an apostille popup event on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at the county’s administration south building at 601 N. Ross St. in Santa Ana.

The event, held with the California Secretary of State, enables customers to get state certification on documents intended for use by foreign nations. Apostille services are typically only available in Los Angeles and Sacramento.

We’ll have more details on the one-day event as we get closer to it. Mark your calendars now, so you don’t forget.

On the move

Moon Doh is the new assistant conductor with Pacific Symphony for the 2026-27 season. The conductor, educator and community advocate, will lead several of the Symphony’s education and family programs and serve as music director of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra. In addition to conducting several series youth concerts, he will continue in his role as music director of the Butler County Symphony Orchestra in Western Pennsylvania.

Grants

Tiyya Foundation in Santa Ana is a 2026 recipient of a $25,000 community grant from the Taco Bell Foundation. It’s the second year in a row that the nonprofit has received this grant. The money will go toward the organization’s Economic Advancement program, which provides career counseling, mock interviews, employer partnerships and job placement support for youth. Taco Bell Foundation this year is awarding $32 million to more than 700 youth-serving nonprofits in local communities.

Pretend City Children’s Museum is the recipient of $30,000 from U.S. Bank. The contribution includes $20,000 to support Pretend City’s annual Start Smart Luncheon and $10,000 for the museum’s participation in Museums for All, a program that helps families who can’t afford tickets to the museum. “This support helps us welcome more families through our doors while strengthening the programs and resources that give young children a strong start during their most important years of development,” said Ellen Pais, CEO of Pretend City, in a statement.

Status Update is compiled and written by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items and high-resolution photos to sgowen@scng.com. Allow at least one week for publication. Items are edited for length and clarity.

​ Orange County Register 

What to stream: ‘A Different World,’ ‘Toy Story 5’ and Kenny Chesney

• September 21, 2026

The Disney+ debut of “Toy Story 5” and a new album from Kenny Chesney are some of the new television shows, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: the “A Different World” sequel, “Backrooms” and “Silent Hill: Townfall.”

New movies to stream from Sept. 21-Sept. 27

— It might be great or terrible news for parents, depending on their views about screen time and whether movies are an exception, but “Toy Story 5” is finally making its way to Disney+ starting Sept. 23. Appropriately, the film, co-written and directed by Andrew Stanton, pits toys against tech in the battle for Bonnie’s attention. In his review for The Associated Press, film writer Jake Coyle said: “It may fall shy of the first three and probably ranks as the fifth best of these movies. But ‘Toy Story’ has a high bar and the quality and thoughtfulness that have long distinguished Pixar is very much present here in the film.”

— Even if you didn’t catch “Backrooms” in theaters this summer, you probably heard something about its box-office success and the then-20-year-old YouTuber-turned-filmmaker Kane Parsons behind it. Coyle, in his review, wrote that “where ‘Backrooms’ came from is more interesting — and potentially meaningful — than the result,” calling it “a fitfully unsettling nightmare that never convincingly builds beyond its creepy, dated-decor premise.” It’ll be on HBO Max starting Sept. 25.

— Leo Woodall plays a piano tuner who gets caught up in the criminal underworld, using his unique ears to crack safes in “Tuner,” a whip-smart, original thriller from Daniel Roher, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “Navalny.” I called it one of the best of the year so far, and a spiritual descendant of a “Good Will Hunting.” It’ll be streaming on Paramount+ starting on Sept. 21.

— And finally, Jacob Tremblay plays Ted Kaczynski in “UNABOMBER,” which debuts on Netflix on Sept. 25. The stacked cast includes Russell Crowe as a psychologist and Shailene Woodley as the FBI agent on the case.

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

New music to stream from Sept. 21-Sept. 27

— He’s one of the most consistent giants in country music for a reason. Kenny Chesney will release his 21st studio album — you read that correctly — on Friday, titled “Silver Sands Marina.” It’s full-throated stadium country, with big hooks and bigger heart. You know, like all the great Chesney records.

— Introducing the new Tinashe, unlike the old Tinashe except for the swagger. Her last album, 2024’s “Quantum Baby,” was defined by its viral hit “Nasty.” But she’s not interested in flash-in-the-pan moments. Her latest, “Popstar,” can be described in one word: unexpected. From the sped-up “Melatonin” to the falsetto and Kesha-esque talk-sung chorus of “Too Easy” there is no pop experiment too off-kilter for Tinashe. And the courage pays off. Just don’t call it a complete 180: “Crash Out” is Tinashe at her R&B-pop best, but a love song it is not. “Think I’m ’bout to lose it, I don’t even care no more,” she sings in the song’s chorus. “I’m ’bout to lose control.”

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

New series to stream from Sept. 21-Sept. 27

— Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson play exaggerated versions of themselves in “Brothers,” an eight-episode comedy from “The Office” alum Lee Eisenberg. After Harrelson’s daughter’s wedding falls apart, he moves his family to McConaughey’s Austin ranch — only for McConaughey’s mother (played by Holland Taylor) to reveal a secret suggesting the lifelong buddies might be brothers. The series marks a rare return to comedy for Harrelson, whose work on the small screen since “Cheers” ended in 1993 has largely been drama, including “True Detectives” and “White House Plumbers.” The first two episodes drop on Apple TV on Wednesday.

— Nearly 40 years after the original premiered, Netflix revives the beloved HBCU sitcom “A Different World” on Thursday, Sept. 24. Maleah Joi Moon plays Deborah Wayne, the daughter of Whitley (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison), who is starting her freshman year at their alma mater, Hillman College. Guy, Hardison, Jada Pinkett Smith and other original cast members return for the first season.

— In “S.W.A.T.: Exiles,”Shemar Moore returns as Sgt. Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson in a spinoff of the CBS procedural, which ended its eight-season run in 2025. Pulled from forced retirement after a mission goes wrong, Hondo takes charge of an experimental S.W.A.T. unit made up of young recruits. Starz has already renewed it for a second season. It premieres Friday, Sept. 25.

— AP Writer Alicia Rancilio

New video games to play from Sept. 21-Sept. 27

— In 2019’s “Control,” a government agent explored the inside of a Manhattan skyscraper that had been warped by paranormal forces. Bad news, New Yorkers: In “Control Resonant,” the hostile entities have left the building and are running rampant across the borough. Good news: The agent now on the case has supernatural powers of his own, including the ability to wield a giant Thor-style hammer that shapeshifts into other weapons. Finland’s Remedy Entertainment is best known for its small-town “Alan Wake” thrillers; we’ll see how well the studio can translate that eeriness to the big city. Start spreading the news Thursday, Sept. 24, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.

— One of the all-time great horror series made a spectacular return in 2025 with “Silent Hill f,” which moved the terror from its American roots to 1960s Japan. One year later, the nightmare is spreading to 1990s Scotland in “Silent Hill: Townfall.” This time, a guy named Simon finds himself in a foggy seaside village with no memory of how he got there — though he knows he has been summoned to “put things right.” As usual, you have just a few simple weapons to defend yourself against the zombies and other monsters roaming the streets. The miasma descends Thursday, Sept. 24, on PlayStation 5 and PC.

— Lou Kesten

​ Orange County Register 

ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Austin, Texas, officials say

• September 21, 2026

By JESSE BEDAYN, CHRISTOPHER WEBER and REBECCA BOONE

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man Sunday afternoon in Austin, Texas, local authorities said, and anti-ICE protesters quickly gathered at the scene.

The man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on the capital city’s north side, Austin officials said at a news conference.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, confirmed the man was in stable condition and “in federal custody pending removal.”

Homeland Security Investigations, with FBI assistance, is investigating “the officer involved shooting of an illegal alien from Venezuela, who illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal,” the department said in a statement.

City police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, which occurred after a traffic stop, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said while briefing reporters along with the city’s mayor and other officials.

Mayor says he wants city’s police involved in investigation

Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said he wants the city’s police department to have a role in the investigation so it can provide “clear, third-party eyes” in the process. Watson said he does not think it would be appropriate for ICE to conduct an investigation on its own.

Austin residents have “a right to feel safe in their city,” Watson said. A proper investigation will only enhance credibility, he added.

The chief said there were not many facts she could provide so soon after the incident but added that her department’s special investigation unit was at the scene.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said it received a request from ICE for assistance in a vehicle pursuit around 12:50 p.m. By the time DPS troopers arrived, the shooting had already taken place, the department said in a statement Sunday evening.

Attorney says man shot is from Venezuela

An immigration attorney representing the man’s family identified him as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man.

Attorney Kate Lincoln Goldfinch said in a video posted to her Instagram account that she believed he had no criminal history and no final order of removal from the U.S., but she later told The Associated Press that she did not know his current immigration status.

The man’s family has struggled to get any information from the hospital about his status or location, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.

Just before 7 p.m., the man’s wife was informed by the hospital’s attorney that the man had been released into ICE custody a few hours earlier, Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote in a text to AP.

“No one bothered to update her,” she wrote.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the man remained hospitalized while in ICE custody or if he had been transferred elsewhere.

Protesters turn out at the scene

A dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes. The car was towed away in the early evening and traffic began moving again.

A large law enforcement presence was present along with a crowd of about a hundred protesters. Some demonstrators cursed at police officers holding riot shields, while others yelled out as passing cars honked in support of the protest. One man held a sign saying, “Nobody is safe” and, on the other side, “ICE Nazi.”

Asked if Austin authorities knew where the involved federal agent is, given that agents have left states after previous shootings nationwide, the mayor said: “We do not know that. But my hope would be that, an agent that’s involved in an officer-involved shooting would not leave the city. Certainly not leave the state.”

The office of Travis County District Attorney José Pompa Garza asked that local police and prosecutors be included in the investigation.

“We further request cooperation from the federal government in giving us access to the evidence,” the DA’s office said in a statement Sunday evening.

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, called for transparency as the shooting is investigated.

“It is awful that this horror has come to our doorstep,” Casar told reporters. “For Austin to be safe, ICE should end its surge here.”

ICE enforcement surged around the nation over the summer

The shooting comes as ICE surges enforcement across the country this summer, producing more than 50,000 arrests a month for the first time in its history in July and August.

In July, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after federal agents driving unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

Also in July, 25-year-old Johan Sebastián, a Colombian man, was shot by an ICE officer in Maine. The officer is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood and never should have been given a badge and gun to patrol American streets, several of his close relatives told AP.

The administration’s enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

Weber reported from Los Angeles and Boone from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press journalists Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island, and Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

CNN, MS NOW, Politico say they’ve notified Trump they’re suing over denied White House access

• September 21, 2026

By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN, MS NOW and Politico said Monday they’ve notified President Donald Trump’s administration they’re filing a lawsuit over being denied White House access, saying their First Amendment rights have been violated.

The administration’s announcement of the bans Friday and the White House’s subsequent actions over the weekend represented a clear escalation of Trump’s long-running efforts — in the courts and through administrative action — to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable. They were the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States.

The three outlets made the announcement in a joint statement posted on X, two days after their reporters were blocked from the White House and prevented from doing their jobs. The reporters’ entry badges were disabled on Saturday, a day after Trump had suddenly announced he was barring the outlets because of reporting he found to be “fake news.” On Monday morning, CNN was removed from its pool duties, which are shared by the major networks.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Monday over the lawsuit, which was expected to be filed later in the morning. The Associated Press saw a copy of it ahead of the filing.

Trump has been more aggressive toward the media in his second term

In his second term, Trump and his Republican administration have upped the ante and punished certain media outlets. Trump has also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media, sometimes in strikingly personal terms — insulting them in briefings or in his recent speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the outlets said in a joint statement posted early Monday on X.

“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” they said. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

In the joint complaint, which was released by the news organizations before being filed later Monday, the outlets say: “This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles.”

They say they’re being banned from doing their jobs at the White House “for one simple reason: (Trump) dislikes the content of the coverage of him and his administration.”

“President Trump has said in no uncertain terms that he would prefer only to be covered by news organizations and reporters who praise his administration,” says the complaint, filed in the name of the three outlets and three correspondents who were denied access Saturday.

It went on: “But the Constitution does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty and property interests with no notice or process based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting.”

In legal terms, that’s known as “viewpoint discrimination” — the government singling out specific media outlets for the content of what they say or publish. That legal principle is at issue in many of the court cases around Trump’s treatment of the media and would likely be at play this time around.

Reporters were barred Saturday

On Saturday, White House reporters from the two cable networks — Betsy Klein of CNN and Akayla Gardner of MS NOW — went live to report they’d been turned away, their press badges deactivated, when arriving for their jobs at the White House. Soon after, Politico said its White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also denied entry and had her badge confiscated.

All three organizations that were banned covered the White House’s actions extensively during the weekend.

The WHCA’s president, Jacqui Heinrich, called on the Trump administration to immediately restore the three outlets’ access.

“The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future,” Heinrich said. “The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably.”

​ Orange County Register