Hegseth says he’ll meet with Musk at the Pentagon to discuss ‘efficiencies’

• March 21, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said late Thursday that he would be meeting with billionaire Elon Musk at the Pentagon Friday to discuss “innovation, efficiencies & smarter production.”

Musk, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, and his Department of Government Efficiency have played an integral role in the administration’s push to dramatically reduce the size of the government. Musk has faced intense blowback from some lawmakers and voters for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off workers and slashing programs, although Trump’s supporters have hailed it.

A senior defense official told reporters Tuesday that roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department.

In a post on Musk’s X platform, Hegseth emphasized that “this is NOT a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans,’” denying a story published by The New York Times late Thursday.

Hegseth is also scheduled to deliver remarks with Trump at the White House Friday morning.

​ Orange County Register 

Be careful when renewing your license — or you could lose the Real ID

• March 21, 2025

Q: Hi Honk, I have a weird question to ask. Some years ago I got the California Real ID.  And when my license came it had the California bear with a star in it in the upper-right corner of the license. I just noticed that my new license, which I got two years ago, has the words “Federal Limits Apply” with no bear or star. Is it considered a Real ID, or do I have to go through the whole process again?

– Jim Stedt, San Clemente

A: No, Jim, you no longer have a Real ID.

But, thanks to Geovana Herrera, a spokeswoman for the Department of Motor Vehicles, and a co-worker or two, you won’t have to provide your documents again to get that Real ID.

When people renew their licenses, they are asked if they want the Real ID.

“In California, customers have the option to add or remove the Real ID selection at the time of application or renewal,” Herrera told Honk in an email. “Customers going through renewal/application process must ensure they choose the Real ID option, if they want to use their driver’s license or ID card to enter secure federal facilities or board domestic flights.”

Jim told Honk: “Since I already had it, I didn’t check the box.”

So be careful, folks.

Those realizing they went down the same path as Jim can call the DMV at 800-777-0133.

“I got a call from your DMV contact today, and she said they will re-cut a new corrected license and send it to me so I won’t have to go in!” a happy Jim told Honk. “I was sweating it there for a while!”

Those with the Real ID on a license or a state-issued ID don’t ever have to re-submit paperwork for it; if one moves, though, proof of the new residence is required.

The Real ID — finally — kicks in on May 7. Some other IDs can be used as well, such as passports.

Q: Hey Honk: At the interchange of the 55 and 91 freeways there are three very tall light standards that have been dark for more than six months. At night, this is a dangerous area. What gives?

– Bob Wolkowicz, Anaheim Hills

A: Those three light clusters, Bob, are on poles that reach up 180 feet into the sky.

Workers can replace the lights by lowering them via a durable steel cable and then return them up top and lock them into place.

They have been victims — like so many other street and freeway lighting systems — of vandals. Many of the thieves will then hawk the wiring.

“Several months ago, our service cabinets and wiring were vandalized at this location,” Sheilah Fortenberry, a Caltrans spokesperson, told Honk via email. “All our wiring and mechanisms used to power up the lights were stolen. There is no estimated time for repairs yet, as we are waiting for the delivery of necessary supplies to complete the repairs.”

HONKIN’ FACT: One method used by California Highway Patrol officers to determine a driver’s speed is “bumper pace.” CHP officer and spokesman Duane Graham, who is out of the Westminster station, explained: “Bumper pace is simply where the officer matches the speed of the patrol vehicle to the speed of the violator. … This can be done from directly behind or … at various distances away.”

To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. To see his columns on X: @OCRegisterHonk

​ Orange County Register 

Democrats’ new internet strategy tops trending charts but also draws mockery from allies and foes

• March 21, 2025

By MATT BROWN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — For weeks, Democratic lawmakers have met with and mimicked figures they believe may offer them a path back to power in Washington: online influencers and content creators.

Hours before President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress this month, Senate Democrats huddled with a dozen online progressive personalities who have millions of followers. House Democrats were introduced, without staff, to 40 content creators who Democratic leaders said could help them grow their audience online.

An earlier tutorial session in February featured online personalities like the YouTube commentator Brian Tyler Cohen.

The result has been a burst of Democratic online content, including direct-to-camera explainers in parked cars, scripted vertical videos, podcast appearances and livestreams — some topping trending charts online, others drawing mockery from liberal allies and Republicans in Congress.

But while the Democratic Party is largely divided over the path forward after last year’s election losses, party leaders agree that, no matter the message, how they connect with voters in the digital media landscape will be key to a political comeback.

Democrats are aiming to double engagement with digital content

More than a dozen Democratic senators, asked about the party’s digital strategy, pointed to Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey as the architect of their new push.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth of Democratic senators now. They’re engaging in the tools and strategies necessary to elevate their voice in a new, changing media market, where legacy media is not the place that people get their news now,” Booker said. “We’re just weeks into this, but just by making key changes … we’re seeing a massive growth in engagement with the content that our senators are creating, and we’ve only just begun.”

Booker said he’s aiming for Democratic senators to double online engagement with their content over the next year — and early metrics have been noticeable. Democratic senators racked up more than 87 million views on content they published in response to Trump’s joint address to Congress, according to Booker’s office.

But the Democrats’ digital efforts also draw Republican mockery

Not all of that online engagement is positive. After more than two dozen Democratic senators posted identical scripted videos knocking Trump’s speech, saying he should have addressed the cost of living and his support for billionaire adviser Elon Musk, conservatives mocked them as inauthentic and out of touch.

“They are all actors reading a script,” Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.

There’s no doubt that Democrats are playing catch-up. Trump and his fellow Republicans built a digital operation that fed on bombast and celebrity, and it’s a strategy they’ve taken with them to the White House. Official government accounts are new filled with right-wing memes, cinematic videos and pugnacious statements.

The Democratic embrace of influencers has also yielded mixed early results. Democrats were ridiculed online after a food and wellness influencer who attended the House Democrats’ creators event created a “Choose Your Fighter” video collage of Democratic congresswomen for Women’s History Month.

The White House posted a video in response that read “America chose its fighters last November,” and the Pentagon, normally known for being studiously non-partisan, posted a video stating “We chose our fighters a long time ago.”

But Booker and other Democratic leaders don’t consider the sneers to be a downside. Missteps are to be expected, they say, but the path to Americans’ attention will require some discomfort from lawmakers.

“I do think that the caucus as a whole is trying to figure out how we show people that we are real people,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, one of the congresswomen featured in the viral “Fighter” video. Crockett, whose posts regularly garner millions of views online, said she was used to criticism for her often frank statements and was more interested in combating perceptions that Democrats are “elitist” or “robotic.”

“I didn’t like the jumping, I’m going to be honest, though,” Crockett added about the viral “Choose Your Fighter” video.

Trump prompts a more aggressive digital posture

Democrats adopted a more combative stance online in recent weeks as Trump’s moves to slash the federal workforce drew protests from liberals and pushback at GOP town halls. Top Democratic digital operatives who worked for the 2024 presidential campaign of then-Vice President Kamala Harris have been in high demand, with many Democrats anticipating close 2026 races in which digital strategies may be key.

Some of the most prominent Democrats across the country have been engaging more in new media since the election. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has touted the party’s message on progressive podcasts over the last month, including from the comedian Jon Stewart and the progressive outlet MeidasTouch. Clips of those videos were also lampooned online but garnered millions of views.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028, has launched a podcast of his own on which he has welcomed close Trump allies like the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and former Trump aide Steve Bannon to discuss hot-button political topics.

“We want to make sure we hit the podcasters that normally don’t have Democrats on there,” said Rep. Derek Tran, a Democrat from a competitive California House district. “The ones that are more right-leaning or independent, and be able to address a crowd and an audience that’s not typical for the Democratic base.”

Democrats divide on message vs. messaging

Some House Democrats have expressed frustration that the guidance from Democratic leaders about social media is too vague, while others grumble that leaders are too prescriptive in their approach to messaging on platforms they don’t intuitively understand. Meanwhile, Democratic strategists have cautioned lawmakers that garnering attention online is secondary to the goal of using social media as a tool in specific policy fights and campaigns.

“I think there’s a fine line before we’re being cringe and trying too hard and seeming too thirsty. I think the most important thing in any of this is being as authentic and genuine as we can be,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif.

“When it comes to authenticity, it also means leaning into what makes each of us unique. Like many of my colleagues probably should not be doing ‘get ready with me’ videos. It would look super cringe. But I’m a 36-year-old woman, and I do my makeup all the time, and I watch a lot of makeup tutorial videos, so it makes sense for me to do it,” said Jacobs.

Some Democrats think that the party’s messaging strategy hinges as much on the messengers as the medium it’s communicated on.

“If you know how to talk to people, it doesn’t matter what medium is going to exist,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego, a freshman Democratic senator from Arizona. “You could be the best freaking spokesperson in the world, but if you don’t know how to talk to working-class people, it doesn’t matter if you have the best TikTok following, it’s just not going to translate.”

​ Orange County Register 

Constitutional convention? Why open that Pandora’s Box?

• March 21, 2025

Two of California’s last three governors have wanted to help organize and promote constitutional conventions, either on the state or federal level. They’ve both been dangerously wrong about this.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted only a state convention, aiming to take some of the clumsiness out of California’s governing documents, which changes as often as every two years if voters pass ballot initiatives.

But current Gov. Gavin Newsom is more ambitious, seeking the first national constitutional convention since 1787, even before George Washington was elected president.

Newsom thinks he can confine such a convention to one issue: gun control.

Ironically, these seemingly simple calls from a moderate Republican and a liberal Democrat put them both in the camp of the far-right Republicans of the Convention of States organization, which has been seeking a national constitutional revision meeting for years. So far, the COS effort has garnered support from more than half the 34 states needed to call a convention.

Like Newsom and Schwarzenegger, COS claims its convention could be confined to its narrow goals, which include imposition of severe spending restraints on Congress, along with term limits for senators and Congress members and a few other officials. (Presidents are already limited to two terms by the existing Constitution’s 22nd Amendment.)

And there’s the problem: Because there’s never been a second constitutional convention, no one knows if such a gathering’s activity can be confined to one or two subjects, or whether everything would become fair game. The First Amendment, guaranteeing free speech and freedom of religion, might disappear. So might the Second Amendment’s guarantees of gun rights. Or the 14^th Amendment guarantees of due process in all criminal proceedings. And on and on.

In short, a constitutional convention would be a Pandora’s Box and no one knows what institution might supervise or limit its scope. For just one example, since the Constitution sets up the Supreme Court as one of today’s major authorities, why would anyone believe that court’s justices might have jurisdiction over the doings of a constitutional revision convention that might potentially change or eliminate the court itself?

That’s why San Francisco’s ultra-leftist Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener wants the Legislature this year to revoke its approval of a resolution calling for a convention to deal with gun control. Wiener, who has been wrong about many things including reshaping California housing to make it far more dense than before, is right about this. There’s even the possibility that California’s call for a gun control confab could be added to the COS efforts for a convention dealing with vastly different issues. No one knows.

Said Wiener, “There is no way I want California to accidentally help these extremists trigger a constitutional convention where they (might) rewrite the Constitution to restrict voting rights, to eliminate reproductive health access and so forth.”

Wiener’s fears are becoming more common, as states like Illinois and New Jersey, which previously had open calls for a constitutional convention, have rescinded their prior actions. Any that are not rescinded remain valid indefinitely and could be used by COS or anyone else wanting to call a convention, whatever their motives.

No doubt a constitutional convention, whether at the state or federal level, would be a delight for people who like to tinker with or brainstorm about government structure. But it also could turn into a nightmare for those who treasure civil liberties and protection against the tyranny of the majority when it comes to things like taxation.

The fact is, no one even knows how delegates to such a convention might be chosen, or who would be eligible to serve. The current state and federal constitutions indicate only they must represent different areas and states in proportion to their population. Whether they would be elected or appointed by current officeholders is an open question. For sure, there are no guarantees of which groups would be represented and which might not.

The bottom line: It’s best not to confront questions like this at all, since the lack of existing rules could mean that decisions would be made by the loudest among us, rather than the wisest. So why open this Pandora’s box at all?

Email Thomas Elias at [email protected].

​ Orange County Register 

Trump’s call to dismantle Education Department shows Republican rightward lurch and his grip on GOP

• March 21, 2025

By MORIAH BALINGIT, CHRIS MEGERIAN and BILL BARROW, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A little more than 23 years ago, Republican President George W. Bush sat at a desk at a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, and signed a law that would vastly expand the role of the Education Department and transform American schooling. On Thursday, his Republican successor, President Donald Trump, signed a very different document — this one an executive order designed to dismantle the department.

For years, as right-wing activists called for eliminating the agency, many Republicans paid lip service to the cause but still voted to fund it. Now Trump, emboldened and unapologetic in his drastic remaking of the federal government, has brushed aside concerns that deterred his predecessors.

Thursday’s announcement follows other aggressive decisions, including the enlistment of billionaire Elon Musk to downsize the federal bureaucracy at startling speed, or the review of scientific findings that are foundational for fighting climate change.

Dismantling the Education Department was always high on Trump’s list. He talked about it repeatedly during his campaign, often to cheers from his supporters, including the conservative group Moms for Liberty.

But despite telegraphing his goals, Trump’s executive order was a stunner, even for a president who thrives on audacity. Margaret Spellings, education secretary under Bush, said she was indeed surprised he was following through on his campaign vow.

For years, Spellings said, talk of about eliminating the department was a way for Republicans to signal their adherence to party orthodoxy, even as they voted to send billions of dollars to support its mission. Much of that money ended up at schools in their own districts, funding extra teachers for impoverished schools, for example. As recently as 2023, 60 House Republicans voted against a bill to close the department.

“It was always a little bit of a wink and a nod deal,” Spellings said. “Donald Trump has called the bluff.”

Trump, in remarks at the White House, said: “People have wanted to do this for many, many years, for many, many decades. And I don’t know, no president ever got around to doing it. But I’m getting around to doing it.”

He held the executive order up for photos while standing next to Education Secretary Linda McMahon. He’s joked that he’ll need to find another job for her once her department is gone.

The executive order is likely to get mired in legal challenges, and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle said closing the department can’t move forward without their approval. But Trump, through the Department of Government Efficiency, has already shrunk the department’s imprint, moving to eliminate about half of its staff.

The first talk of eliminating the department came just a year after its formation from President Ronald Reagan, who opposed its efforts to integrate schools. However, calls to get rid of the new department fell out of favor by the end of Reagan’s first term. By the time George W. Bush became president, it was seen as a vehicle to implement his policy vision of a federal government that required states to closely monitor student progress, and hold schools accountable that fell short.

Calls to eliminate the department reemerged with the Tea Party, whose adherents made it a symbol of bloated bureaucracy that usurped power that belonged to local governments.

The most recent push to close the department emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, when right-leaning parents, infuriated by what they saw as unnecessary school closures, began arguing that the government was indoctrinating their children.

Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, was in the White House audience and was recognized by Trump in his remarks. She said the department allowed teacher unions to exert undue influence over schools, a problem that became more apparent while schools were closed and students were learning over Zoom.

“The American people woke up and recognized the fact there were a lot of people that were making decisions that were not in the best interest of their children,” she said.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who as a young lawmaker voted for the 1979 bill to create the department, praised Trump’s move and argued the agency has not accomplished its original mission.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Gingrich said of backing Democratic President Jimmy Carter, his fellow Georgian, in a 215-201 vote.

Two generations later, Gingrich argued, “If you take what the scores were then and how much we were spending on education then and compare it now, it’s impossible to escape the reality that it’s been an abject failure.”

For all the talk of overreach, federal law explicitly bars the federal government from telling schools what to teach their students. Day-to-day operations of schools are largely handled by state and local authorities.

And while Trump has talked about eliminating the department, he envisions a more muscular role for the federal government in schools, moving swiftly and aggressively to punish schools that do not fall in line with the administration’s interpretation of civil rights laws.

Early in his administration, he has already taken unprecedented action to sever federal grants from the University of Pennsylvania and from Columbia University over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests.

The executive order to close the department also included language to take federal funding away from schools that promote “diversity, equity and inclusion,” a term that has come to encompass everything from highlighting the achievements of Black Americans to allowing transgender athletes to compete.

Advocates and Democratic strategists have warned that Trump’s efforts could backfire with voters. According to recent polling, six out of ten registered voters oppose the closure of the department.

Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who has worked for multiple presidential campaigns, including Joe Biden’s 2020 victorious effort over Trump, said the president’s moves are a base pleaser likely to backfire for Republicans with the broader electorate.

First and foremost, he said, “education is generally popular with voters” as a priority. Anything that allows Democrats to position themselves as better reflective of those values, he said, works against Trump.

The states whose schools are most reliant on federal dollars include Mississippi, South Dakota, Montana, Alaska, Arkansas and North Carolina — all of which backed Trump. Any disruption in federal funding will hit them hardest.

Spellings said there’s long been a bipartisan consensus that “education is the route to the American dream, and it ought to be afforded to everyone, and the federal role was to level the playing field.”

“If that’s still true, we’re in the process of finding out.”

Sharon Lurye and Linley Sanders contributed.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

​ Orange County Register 

Fire shuts down London’s Heathrow Airport, disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands

• March 21, 2025

By BRIAN MELLEY, DANICA KIRKA and JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A large fire near London’s Heathrow Airport knocked out power Friday to Europe’s busiest flight hub, forcing it to shut all day and disrupting global travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

At least 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow were affected, flight tracking service FlightRadar 24 said, and the impact was likely to last several days as passengers try to reschedule their travel and airlines work to get planes and crew to the right places.

Authorities do not know what caused the fire but so far found have no evidence it was suspicious.

Residents in west London described hearing a large explosion, followed by a fireball and clouds of smoke, when the blaze ripped through the electrical substation near the airport.

Some 120 flights were in the air when the closure was announced, with some turned around and others diverted to Gatwick Airport outside London, Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris or Ireland’s Shannon Airport, tracking services showed.

Lawrence Hayes was three-quarters of the way to London from New York when Virgin Atlantic announced they were being diverted to Glasgow.

“It was a red-eye flight and I’d already had a full day, so I don’t even know how long I’ve been up for,” Hayes told the BBC as he was getting off the plane in Scotland. “Luckily I managed to get hold of my wife and she’s kindly booked me a train ticket to get back to Euston, but it’s going to be an incredibly long day.”

Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports for international travel. It had its busiest January on record earlier this year, with more than 6.3 million passengers, up more than 5% from the same period last year.

Still, the disruption Friday fell short of the one caused by the 2010 eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and created trans-Atlantic air travel chaos for months.

Fire under control but impact to last days

It was too early to determine what sparked the huge blaze about 2 miles from the airport, but there’s “no suggestion” of foul play, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said.

Still, the Metropolitan Police force said counterterrorism detectives are leading the investigation into the cause because of the location of the electrical substation fire and its impact on critical national infrastructure. The force said counterterrorism command has “specialist resources and capabilities” that can help find the cause quickly.

They are working with the London Fire Brigade.

Miliband said the fire, which took seven hours to control, also knocked out a backup power supply to the airport. Heathrow said in a statement that it had no choice but to close the airport for the day.

“We expect significant disruption over the coming days, and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” the airport said.

Heathrow was at the heart of a shorter disruption in 2023 when Britain’s air traffic control system was hit by a breakdown that slowed takeoffs and landings across the U.K. on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Anita Mendiratta, an aviation consultant, said the impact of the closure will be felt over two to four days as airlines, cargo carriers, and crews are moved into position and passengers rebooked.

“As soon as the airport opens up at midnight tonight, it’s not only about resuming with tomorrow’s flights, it’s the backlog and the implications that have taken place,” Mendiratta said. “Crew and aircraft, many are not where they’re supposed to be right now. So the recalculation of this is going to be intense.”

Diverted, canceled and in limbo

At Heathrow, a family of five traveling to Dallas showed up in the hopes their flight home — still listed as delayed — would take off.

But when Andrea Sri brought her brother, sister-in-law and their three children to the airport, they were told by police that there would be no flight.

“It was a waste of time. Very confusing,” said Sri, who lives in London. “We tried to get in touch with British Airways, but they don’t open their telephone line until 8 a.m.”

Travelers who were diverted to other cities found themselves trying to book travel onward to London. Qantas airlines sent flights from Singapore and Perth, Australia, to Paris, where it said it would bus people to London, a process likely to also include a train shuttle beneath the English Channel.

Budget airline Ryanair, which doesn’t operate out of Heathrow, said it added eight “rescue flights” between Dublin and Stansted, another London airport, to transport stranded passengers Friday and Saturday.

National Rail canceled all trains to and from the airport.

Flights normally begin landing and taking off at Heathrow at 6 a.m. due to nighttime flying restrictions. But the skies were silent Friday morning.

“Living near Heathrow is noisy, there are planes every 90 seconds or so, plus the constant hum of traffic, but you get used to it, to the point of no longer noticing,” said James Henderson, who has lived next to the airport for more than 20 years. “Today is different, you can hear the birds singing.”

Blaze lit up the sky and darkened homes

Matthew Muirhead was working Thursday night near Heathrow when he stepped outside with a colleague and noticed smoke rising from an electrical substation and heard sirens crying out.

“We saw a bright flash of white, and all the lights in town went out,” he said.

The London Fire Brigade sent 10 engines and around 70 firefighters to control the blaze and about 150 people were evacuated from their homes near the power station.

“This was a very visible and significant incident, and our firefighters worked tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said in a post on X the power outage affected more than 16,300 homes.

The U.K. government earlier this year approved building a third runway at the airport to boost the economy and connectivity to the world.

Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio in Berlin and Yirmiyan Arthur in Kohima, India, contributed.

​ Orange County Register 

UCSD men see NCAA Tournament run end with first-round loss to Michigan

• March 21, 2025

DENVER – They had one player with March Madness experience, and that was 14 seconds, 46 seconds and 1:47 of garbage time (and no points) in three games with St. Mary’s.

They were playing in the largest venue in school history, seating 15,099 more than their modest home.

They had no one on the roster taller than 6-foot-8, and the other team started a pair of 7-footers.

They are in the first year of full NCAA Division I membership. Their opponent was playing its 97th NCAA Tournament game.

Cinderella didn’t slay Goliath. But she made him blink.

UC San Diego’s men’s basketball team acquitted itself well in its first NCAA Tournament appearance, fighting back from 15 down and taking one of college basketball’s most storied programs to the brink before succumbing 68-65 against Michigan in the first round Thursday night at Denver’s Ball Arena.

“They just keep coming at you, keep coming at you,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “They believe as well. They have older guys. Man, they put on a performance in the second half.”

After looking like they might never score and lose 100-0 — they trailed 10-0 after opening the game with four turnovers and four missed shots — the Tritons, yes, actually led 65-63 with 2:29 to go.

Auburn transfer Tre Donaldson responded with a deep 3 to give the Wolverines the lead back.

Both teams missed chances at the hoop with no foul whistled, then 7-foot-1 center Vlad Goldin grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and made both free throws for a three-point margin with 19 seconds left.

Both teams missed chances at the rim with no foul whistled, then 7-1 center Vlad Goldin grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and made both free throws for a three-point margin with 19 seconds left.

UCSD coach Eric Olen had a decision to make. Call timeout and diagram a play, or let them figure it out on the floor.

“The way Ty was playing,” Olen said of senior guard Tyler McGhie, “we knew we weren’t going to call timeout to say. ‘Get the ball to Ty, let him go one-on-one.’ (That) didn’t feel necessary. I try not to do that in those moments. I try not to overcoach them. I think everyone on our team knew exactly what we were trying to do.

“We got the (defensive) switch we wanted, the matchup we wanted, the guy we wanted with the ball.”

McGhie dribbled off a ball screen and drew 7-0 Danny Wolf as his teammates cleared out to give him space to operate. It was one-on-one now.

On the opposite bench, May also had a decision to make: foul intentionally, as the Wolverines usually do when they’re up three inside 10 seconds to go, or play it out.

“I was trying to get Danny to (foul),” May said. “I don’t have my voice. He couldn’t see me. He was locked into playing defense. He actually forced him inside the line, popped back out. I thought Danny stayed in the space fairly well.”

McGhie stepped inside the 3-point line, then stepped back moving to his left – his preferred motion – and fired.

“I got the shot I wanted,” McGhie said. “I thought it was in. Hit the back rim. I still can’t believe it. Hit the back rim.”

An inch shorter, and they’re going to overtime.

“We had a shot, man,” senior guard Hayden Gray said. “We had a shot at the end. Put it in our best player’s hands. Hit the back rim. It is what it is.”

No good.

Buzzer.

Game over.

Fifteen-game win streak over.

Season over.

Magical journey over.

“Seasons are hard when they finish,” said Olen, in his 21st season at UCSD and 12th as head coach. “Everyone is emotional in the locker room. I don’t think I have a full appreciation for what the last six months have done. It’s a special group. I told those guys it’s been the best basketball experience of my life.”

McGhie finished with 25 points despite shooting 3 of 15 behind the arc. Nordin Kapic added 15, and Hayden Gray had 10. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, their leading scoring and the Big West Player of the Year, had just seven before fouling out with 6:57 to go.

Michigan (25-9) struggled against UCSD’s matchup zone and switching man-to-man defenses, shooting just 42.1% — 28% in the second half — and turning it over 14 times.

The Tritons (30-5) trailed 41-27 at the half, but in a way that was somewhat OK considering what it could have been after the opening five minutes.

Olen took the unusual step of calling timeout just 2:49 into the game to settle down a team that starts two juniors and three fifth-year seniors. It took until 14:53 left in the first half – and seven misses and four turnovers – before they finally made a basket, a jumper in the lane by McGhie.

“I did think the nerves maybe affected us early in the game,” Olen said. “I just thought we found our rhythm, and we played more of the way that honestly we’ve been playing all year. I was glad that we found that and gave ourselves an opportunity.”

The crazy part was, it came with Tait-Jones on the bench in foul trouble for most of it. The Tritons outscored the Wolverines by 16 points in the 15 minutes he wasn’t on the floor.

A 12-0 run got them within three and won over the sellout crowd in Ball Arena, each cheer for a Tritons basket louder than the last, each boo for a questionable call louder than the last.

The Tritons got within a point at 45-44 … only for an 11-2 Michigan run to push the margin back to double figures … only for the Tritons to battle back and take a 65-63 lead.

It was their first and, it turned out, only lead of the game.

Win or lose, though, simply being here, in an NBA arena, rubbing shoulders with college basketball royalty, amounts to a major victory for a still young university known for nerdy students and not for school spirit generated through athletics.

That changed in the four days since Selection Sunday, when the Tritons heard their name called for the first time.

The athletic department received 1,500 requests for their NCAA allotment of 350 tickets at Ball Arena. Those fortunate enough to get them jammed into a bar near the arena Thursday afternoon, with signs like: “Nobel Laureates: UCSD 16, Michigan 10.”

Chancellor Pradeep Khosla posed for a photo with this one: “Flight: $500. Train $10. 30-year wait for March Madness: Priceless.”

Back home, students took notice as well.

Borrowing a tradition from Ohio State before its annual rivalry game in football against Michigan, they crossed out capital Ms on signs across campus. Thurgood Marshall College had an X through the M. So did Muir College. So did Mandeville Center.

A university, transformed.

Said Gray: “It’s been real cool just to see the culture kind of shifting around campus.”

​ Orange County Register 

With stars out, Bronny James scores 17 in Lakers’ blowout loss to Bucks

• March 21, 2025

LOS ANGELES — A rare sixth game in eight nights for the Lakers meant Thursday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks would feature opportunities for players who don’t usually get them.

And with six rotation players unavailable because of injuries, including starters Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the chances for players to step up expanded.

Enter rookie Bronny James, who seized his opportunity in the Lakers’ 118-89 blowout loss to the Bucks in his best NBA game since being selected in the second round of the NBA draft last June.

“I’ve gained my confidence and gave my comfortability over just reps and getting out there and taking advantage of my opportunity if it’s given,” Bronny said. “So just being ready at all times. That’s the biggest thing for me … staying in the stay-ready games and practice and stuff like that and taking advantage like I did [on Thursday].”

The son of Lakers star LeBron James, Bronny had career highs of 17 points and five assists to go with three rebounds and a blocked shot in 30 minutes – nearly double the amount of playing time he had in any previous NBA game and the the first time he scored in double figures (22 games).

“We’ve monitored him in the G [League] and feel like in those sort of end-game situations, when he’s gotten a chance to play with us, he’s been really good,” Coach JJ Redick said. “So not surprised by [Thursday]. His confidence is growing. You mentioned the word comfort, that’s certainly there for him.”

Bronny shot 7 for 10 from the field, including 2 for 4 from behind the arc.

“The next step is just becoming an elite-conditioned athlete,” Redick said. “Because when he does that with his physical tools and just his burst and his handle, we think he’s gonna be an above-average to really good NBA shooter. He’s gonna have a chance to really make an impact.”

Fellow rookie Dalton Knecht also scored 17 points against the Bucks.

Veteran center Alex Len was the only other Laker to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks, who were without Damian Lillard, with 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

Gary Trent Jr. had 23 points off the bench for Milwaukee and former Laker Kyle Kuzma added 20 points.

Most of Bronny’s playing time since being drafted has come with the Lakers’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. He’s averaged 17.4 points, 4.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 16 games with South Bay.

“Since day one, I’ve just been impressed with the person that he is,” Redick said. “And to deal with … frankly, [expletive] because of who his dad is and just keep a level head about it and be a class act says a lot about him, says a lot about that family and the way LeBron and Savannah have raised him.

“Was obvious to me from the moment I started spending time with him on the court this summer that he was certainly going to be an NBA player and I still believe that he’ll be an NBA player.”

Bronny said he’s been able to block out the noise surrounding him by “just putting my head down and working.”

“I feel like that’s the only thing that I can control right now is going in every day and staying ready to play, staying ready to learn, getting the work in after hours, early mornings, stuff like that,” he added. “Just all the controllables that I can do myself. There’s not really much I can do [about] people, random people, talking about me every day. Can’t really do much about that, so I just go in the gym and work, put my head down and try to get better.”

The Lakers’ loss was their first at Crypto.com Arena since falling to the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 19, ending a nine-game home winning streak.

The defeat also ended the three-game win streak they were on since returning from a winless four-game road trip.

But the Lakers went 3-3 in the stretch of three consecutive back-to-backs that started with road losses to the Bucks and Denver Nuggets last Thursday and Friday, respectively.

“Big picture … feel good that you go 3-3 in this stretch,” Redick said. “It was going to be tough no matter what. The added game made it harder. I don’t think the game that exists today in the NBA and the modern NBA player is like [built to do this]. I wouldn’t be either if this was what I came up in and this was the game that I had to play every night. It’s different than when I first started. You’re not built to play six games in eight nights. The game doesn’t allow you to play six games in eight nights. It’s just impossible. That’s why we, I don’t think, have four in five anymore.

Redick added: “What our guys just went through, it’s difficult. And the old-heads are gonna talk about how physical it was in the [1980s] and [1990s] and that’s fine. But the level of physicality in our game and the way that the court has to be covered and all the movement, it’s tough. And I’m just glad to be on the other side of it and hopefully going forward we are healthy and can make a push here.”

The Lakers (43-26) are in fourth place in the Western Conference standings, a half-game ahead of the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies (43-27).

The Lakers close their five-game homestand on Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls.

​ Orange County Register