Zelenskyy embraced by British prime minister a day after White House blowout

• March 2, 2025

By Brian Melley | Associated Press

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer embraced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday and told him he had the nation’s unwavering support a day after the blowout at the White House with President Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy arrived to shouts of support from people who had gathered outside of 10 Downing St., where Starmer gave him a hug and ushered him inside.

“And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom,” Starmer told the leader of the war-torn country. “We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take.”

Zelenskyy thanked him and the people of the U.K. for their support and friendship.

The meeting comes the day after an extraordinary diplomatic meltdown when Trump and Vice President JD Vance blasted Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on live television for not being grateful enough for U.S. support.

Zelenskyy had been poised to ink a deal to give the U.S. access to mineral riches as Trump pressures Ukraine to reach a deal to end the war with Russia. But he left town without signing anything.

Zelenskyy had been scheduled to meet with Starmer on Sunday before a summit with other European leaders to discuss Ukraine and shoring up defenses across the continent.

But the timetable for their bilateral meeting was apparently sped up in the aftermath of the Washington visit.

Zelenskyy will meet with King Charles III on Sunday before the summit that is being held at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace.

​ Orange County Register 

The Pentagon is sending about 3,000 more active-duty troops to the US-Mexico border

• March 2, 2025

By Lolita C. Baldor | Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is sending about 3,000 more active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border as President Donald Trump seeks to clamp down on illegal immigration and fulfill a central promise of his campaign, U.S. officials said Saturday.

His defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has ordered elements of a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion for the mission, the Pentagon announced. The forces will arrive along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the coming weeks.

The Defense Department’s statement did not specify the size of the deployment, but it was put at about 3,000 by the officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Strykers are medium-armored wheeled personnel carriers.

Already, about 9,200 U.S. troops in total are at the southern border, including 4,200 deployed under federal orders and about 5,000 National Guard troops under the control of governors.

The new troops will “reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States,” the Pentagon said.

Trump is determined to expand the military’s role in his effort to shut down the border and send detained migrants back to their home countries.

Military personnel have been sent to the border almost continuously since the 1990s to help address migration, drug trafficking and transnational crime.

​ Orange County Register 

Sage Hill girls soccer edges La Mirada in penalty-kick shootout to win first CIF-SS title

• March 2, 2025

ORANGE — One hundred minutes of play on the field was not enough time to decide a winner between the Sage Hill and La Mirada girls soccer teams Saturday at El Modena High.

The contest would come down to penalty kicks, and even that came down to the final shot.

With the Matadores trailing 4-3 and down to the last of their five kicks, senior Kiersten Mahan’s shot hit the crossbar and Sage Hill prevailed in the shootout to win the CIF-SS Division 4 championship.

Sage Hill players and coaches began their jubilant celebration of the program’s first CIF-SS championship as soon as Mahan’s shot bounced away from the goal.

Sage Hill coach Isaac Sierra said his team was ready for the moment.

“Not just the experience in playoffs,” Sierra said, “but if I can be honest, I mean, it’s something we’ve been working on at the end of every practice from start to finish this season. It’s something that we preached about, you know, making sure we’re ready for all the little details in the game and understanding the importance of little details, because sometimes they go for granted. For us to be practicing them all season long and finally have to do it a couple times this year, it paid off.”

La Mirada (13-9-1) began the shootout by missing its first attempt as Giselle De Anda’s kick sailed over the crossbar.

Gisselle Barron, Keila Fukuda, Sydney Patel, Capri Hall all converted from the spot for Sage Hill (16-3), as did Zoey Santiago, Zoe Chang and Mia Carrillo for the Matadores.

When it came down to the last kicker for the Lightning, Jaden Rall’s shot was stopped by La Mirada goalie Mia Cook.

“She’s a special kid. She’s a freshman, but she’s special.” Sierra said of Rall. “It’s only a matter of time before we start to see her in bigger, better moments. But listen, I had all my faith in her and I still have all my faith in her. Nothing changes.”

Lightning goalkeeper Finley Maynard gave her account from in front of the net.

“It’s hard to predict where players are going to go,” she said, “or even for the shooters’ side, where I’m going to go. And it’s just a very high-pressure situation, and thank God it hit the crossbar because that secured the win for us.”

“She was disciplined, she knew how to make herself as big as she could,” Sierra said. “She didn’t necessarily have to get a piece on the ball, but I feel like she had the intimidation or played her role in making that moment that much bigger and more special.”

“I’m just feeling an immense amount of gratitude and pride for my school and my teammates,” Maynard added.

Sierra reflected on his team’s historic victory.

“I’m just so proud of them,” he said, “they dug so deep all season and for them to finally be rewarded for all the hard work that they’ve given us throughout the last five months has been special.

“I wish I could say more because there’s so much emotion that I’m feeling for them right now, but the best word is really just special.”

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers getting value out of two-way roster spots

• March 2, 2025

LOS ANGELES — After leading for most of the second quarter, the Lakers relinquished their advantage to the Clippers on Friday night when Kawhi Leonard’s 3-point attempt in transition bounced off the front of the rim and hit the backboard before falling into the basket to give the Clippers a 72-69 lead in the third.

And the Lakers still trailed after Luka Doncic’s layup on the ensuing possession.

But Jordan Goodwin helped flip the momentum moments later.

After Doncic’s layup, Goodwin stole the Clippers’ inbounds pass from James Harden to Leonard – typically an innocuous play, but Goodwin’s steal helped put the Lakers back in front. The layup gave the Lakers a 73-72 lead.

Goodwin recorded another steal on the Clippers’ next possession. And even though it didn’t result in points, Goodwin’s hustle plays helped turn the game back in the Lakers’ favor, showcasing the value they have gotten out of their two-way players lately.

The Lakers led for the remainder of the game after Goodwin’s pair of steals.

“They’re bringing more toughness to our group,” LeBron James said. “They’re already a tough group; they bring more toughness. Just those dog factors.

“They make plays – hustle plays, 50/50 balls, they get after it. They have definitely given us some great minutes in the minutes they’ve been out there for us.”

Goodwin (six points, five rebounds, two assists), along with two-way contract big man Trey Jemison (five points, six rebounds), stepped up in their increased opportunities in Friday’s win over the Clippers at Crytpo.com Arena, both standing out with hustle plays.

The Lakers will have a rematch at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night.

“We’ve had a number of guys cycle through two-way contracts since the start of camp,” Redick said. “And I think Christian [Koloko] has really done well in that role, particularly with the layoff. And then to get Goodie, who we kind of foresee just being a part of the rotation – obviously we have to manage his games. And Trey as well.

“But those guys are just professional. And a lot of times with two-ways, you can err on the side of youth and development, and I think there’s a lot of merit and a lot of value in that. Trey and Goodie are older players by two-way standards. And so, to be able to have them both with experience and both having been in the league now for a couple of years – Goodie longer than that – but they know how to play and they can contribute to winning.”

Goodwin has had a significant role, especially for a player signed to a two-way contract, since signing his deal on Feb. 7.

He’s averaged 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 18.4 minutes, playing in eight of nine games since signing a two-way deal. The Lakers are 7-1 in the games Goodwin has played.

Jemison, who joined the Lakers in mid-January after being waived from his two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, praised the Lakers as an organization.

“I’m not saying this because I’m here and they pay me every 15 days: it’s elite,” Jemsion said. “From the coaching staff to the chefs, to the treatment – it’s elite.

“I’ve been with the Wizards, I’ve been with the Grizzlies, I’ve been with the Pelicans. They’re all great organizations. It’s a different level of basketball here, and they expect that from you. They give us everything we need and them some.”

CLIPPERS AT LAKERS

When: Sunday, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV/radio: Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM

​ Orange County Register 

El Rancho 7th-grader spellers her way to represent OC in national bee

• March 2, 2025

With the correct spelling of obsecration, Orange County has a top speller for 2025.

Students representing schools from around the county battled it out in several rounds Saturday morning at the Orange County Department of Education headquarters, but with the right combination of consonants and vowels, Sydney Tran secured the win and her place in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this May.

Tran, 13, is a seventh-grader at El Rancho Charter School in the Orange Unified School District.

Aden Nunez, a seventh-grader from the San Juan Capistrano campus of the Fairmont Schools, spelled his way to second place, going several rounds with Tran before going out on par excellence.

Everett Lin, from Rancho San Joaquin Middle School in the Irvine Unified School District, took third.

Tran will be representing Orange County in the 100th spelling of the national bee, which begins May 27 in Washington, D.C. Students can compete through the eighth grade.

And to save a trip to the dictionary, obsecration is “a supplicatory prayer mentioning in its appeal things or events held to be sacred.”

​ Orange County Register 

Turkey’s Kurds wary of path to peace after PKK declares ceasefire

• March 2, 2025

By Mucahit Ceylan and Adnan Ahmad | Associated Press

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — A momentous ceasefire declaration on Saturday stirred a mix of emotions in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, where people bore the brunt of the 40-year conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state.

The militants’ ceasefire announcement could mark a significant boost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm.

On the streets of Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast, some of those who had lost relatives fighting on the side of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were wary of placing their faith in the Turkish government. Turkey has yet to make a detailed response to the PKK’s ceasefire announcement.

“We do not trust them, they said the same things before, nothing has changed. Twelve years ago they said peace, peace, peace. Then there was a ceasefire and then we saw what happened,” said Turkan Duman, 56, referring to a previous peace process that broke down in 2015.

She said her son is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for PKK membership. He was jailed after crossing the Syrian border to fight with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group at Kobani in late 2014.

Duman also lost two brothers who were killed fighting Turkish security forces in the mid-2010s near Lice, a town to the north of Diyarbakir where the PKK was founded in 1978.

Kiymet Soresoglu, who like Duman is part of the Peace Mothers’ Association, also expressed doubt over the government’s intentions. “Of course we want peace to be established. We are afraid because they make plans or (could) play a trick,” she said.

Soresoglu, 55, also has a son serving a prison term for being a member of the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.

He was wounded in fighting in Diyarbakir’s downtown Sur district when the earlier ceasefire broke down 10 years ago. “There is not a single inch of land left in Kurdistan where the blood of martyrs has not been shed,” she said.

“If they tell us to lay down our weapons without expecting anything in return, we, the guerrillas and mothers of martyrs, will not accept this. We would be the ones that would take the weapons of our children and continue the struggle.”

Sitting alongside her friend, Duman added: “But we want peace. Peace so that no more blood is shed, it is a sin.”

Since the PKK launched its armed campaign against the Turkish state in 1984, tens of thousands have died. Exact casualties are difficult to calculate but the International Crisis Group says 7,152 have been killed since fighting resumed in July 2015, including 646 civilians, 1,494 members of the security forces and 4,786 PKK militants.

Saturday’s ceasefire announcement was preceeded two days earlier by imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan’s call for the group to disarm and disband.

Vahap Coskun, a law lecturer at Diyarbakir’s Dicle University, said this indicated how closely the PKK leadership based in northern Iraq was in step with Ocalan despite his 25 years behind bars.

“A very high threshold has been crossed in terms of disarmament,” he said, adding that he expected the PKK to move swiftly to hold a congress to dissolve itself.

“Unlike the last solution process, this solution process is being handled with utmost sensitivity regarding the use of time,” Coskun added.

Across the mountainous Iraqi border, which for years saw PKK insurgents slip into Turkey to stage attacks, Kurds in Sulaymaniyah welcomed the ceasefire with hopeful expectation.

Najmadin Bahaadin described it as a “historical moment” different from previous peace deals.

“It is not like the previous experiments where the PKK stopped the war several times and demanded peace but (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan and Turkish policy were not convinced,” he said. “It seems they both reached to this conviction now.”

Sulaymaniyah, in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, is the city closest to the PKK’s headquarters in the Qandil mountains and many locals support the group.

Awat Rashid questioned whether Ocalan had been pressured by his captors to make the peace bid.

“If Mr. Ocalan was in the Qandil mountains, on top of his leadership council, would he make this peace decision? This is the question that should be asked,” he said. “To what extent you think this is reliable and it can be trusted?”

Ahmad contributed from Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

​ Orange County Register 

Angels’ Jo Adell putting the ‘step’ back in his swing

• March 1, 2025

TEMPE, Ariz. — After finishing the 2024 season with a mechanical change that led to an encouraging performance, Jo Adell is experimenting again.

A day after Adell hit a grand slam using the leg kick that he abandoned for the final two months of last season, he said he’s bringing it back. At least, some of the time.

Adell said he’s made the change with the blessing of hitting coaches Johnny Washington and Tim Laker.

“Part of hitting is decision making, but the other part is how athletic you’re going to be in the box,” Adell said Saturday. “Johnny Washington and Tim Laker have been huge about, whatever you’ve got to do to bring out the athlete when you’re playing, when you’re in the box, that’s what’s going to give you your best chance.”

Adell went on to say “nothing is set in stone,” and he may revert to the toe tap occasionally, perhaps because of the way he sees a certain pitcher or when he gets behind in the count.

Adell referred to Zach Neto, who has a much larger leg kick at times, but switches to a toe tap on a case-by-case basis.

Manager Ron Washington said he also approved of Adell’s change.

“That’s called an adjustment,” Washington said. “Sometimes you make adjustments and it works for a few minutes, and then you’ve got to make another adjustment. That’s an adjustment he made yesterday on his own, and hopefully it will continue to work for a little bit. When it doesn’t work any more, you’ve got to make another adjustment.”

Adell, 25, was once considered one of the top prospects in the sport, but was unable to find consistent success his first few years in the majors. There were flashes of power, along with plenty of strikeouts and a low batting average.

Adell was hitting .192 with a .648 OPS in late July last season, using a swing in which he lifted his front foot a few inches as he prepared to swing.

“I wouldn’t really call it a kick,” Adell said. “It’s more of a lift, or something like a step.”

Whatever the label, Adell stopped doing it July 30, instead keeping his toe on the ground and lifting his heel. He hit a homer that night. He kept the toe tap for the rest of the season. Over the final 34 games, Adell hit .248 with five homers and a .771 OPS. An oblique injury in early September ended the trial.

Now, Adell is fighting for playing time with Mickey Moniak. It’s a question of whether he can play center field – with Mike Trout moving to right – but also of whether he can be the offensive player he was at the end of the season, and not the beginning.

Washington said Adell came into camp looking too passive and mechanical. He was too focused on swing decisions, so he was taking pitches he should hit.

Washington had a chat with Adell after he started the spring 0 for 9, and told Adell to “let it fly.”

“He’s never going to be a hitter that’s going to control the strike zone,” Washington said “He’s not one of those hitters. He’s a guy to see the ball and swing, and he has to rely on his eyes to know what not to swing at. That’s what I was trying to get him to do.”

SILSETH’S SPLITTER

Right-hander Chase Silseth had his splitter working exceptionally well in Friday night’s outing against the Dodgers. He struck out six in 2⅔ innings, five of them with the splitter.

“It’s one of those pitches that it’s lethal when I get ahead,” Silseth said. “But when I’m behind in counts, like you saw on the first inning (of the previous game), we couldn’t get to it. Just one of those things that when you’re not getting ahead of guys, it tends to not go well.”

Silseth also was able to land a couple of splitters for called strikes against the Dodgers, which is an encouraging sign.

“Normally it’s a chase pitch, and I’m trying to get a swing and miss,” Silseth said. “But being able to get it in the zone, and get some people looking at it, that just makes it more dangerous.”

NOTES

Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz came through Friday’s simulated game well, Washington said. Kochanowicz had missed time with an illness. He’s now scheduled to start Tuesday. “You could see he was weak, but at least he got a chance to find out where his stamina is and know that he’s OK,” Washington said. “Now he can get back to doing what he’s doing to get his stamina back.” …

Washington said he’s been impressed so far with Niko Kavadas’ work on the defensive side, but they’d like him to be more aggressive at the plate. “He has a good eye, but he doesn’t allow his power to surface because he’s too busy worried about having a good eye,” Washington said. “This is spring training, so let it fly. Once we get into the season and you’ve got 30, 40, 50 at-bats, you can start locking in to your strike zone. But down here, man, you’ve got to swing the bat. We’re starting to get him to start swinging the bat.”

​ Orange County Register 

Galaxy start ‘tricky’ 7-game month at Vancouver

• March 1, 2025

The calendar has turned to March and it’s going to be a busy one for the Galaxy.

Starting Sunday in Vancouver, the Galaxy’s March schedule holds seven games, including a trip to Costa Rica for the start of CONCACAF Champions Cup on Wednesday against Herediano

First is a chance to rally from their MLS season-opening loss against San Diego FC.

“This is an opportunity to respond and bounce back,” midfielder Edwin Cerrillo said of Sunday’s meeting with Vancouver. “We have an opportunity to go out there and really fight and compete and give it 110 percent. I felt disappointed the last game. I’m a person that gives it my all, which I did, but ultimately we play soccer to win games and to have that feeling after not losing at home for so long, still stings to this day, really, and I’m looking forward to getting out there on the field and to show our fans that we’re here to compete again this year.”

As for the busy schedule, players always say they like to play, rather than train. Here are the playing dates this month: Sunday in Vancouver, Wednesday in Costa Rica, March 9 and 12 at home, March 16 in Portland, March 22 in Minnesota, and back home March 29.

“Rest and recovery,” Cerrillo said. “We have to depend on everybody, who’s in and around this team.

“That’s why you play soccer, you want to play in as many games as you can and we want play in these competitions, which is a good thing. We’re coming off of a good year, which puts us in Champions League where it was a goal for us. Now we have to deal with the travel, just means we have to rest and recover and communicate a lot with our training staff and find the best way to mentally and physically prepare for the next game.”

The Whitecaps are also coming off a busy start, having won their Champions Cup opening series against Saprissa and kicking off the MLS season with a 4-1 rout last week against the Portland Timbers.

“We didn’t meet the occasion,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said of last week’s defeat. “It doesn’t define us, it just shows us the things we need to work on. This is going to be a little bit of a work in progress as we settle some guys in and make up for some of attacking pieces we have to get settled into our group to become ultimately dangerous in the final action.

“I was a little surprised because some of the things that we saw on Sunday in the game weren’t things that were showing themselves in preseason. I thought they came out a little bit inside of the game, so maybe that’s the pressure of the moment, I don’t know, but it’s something that we certainly need to settle in on and improve. We will build. You don’t repeat as champions on Game One, though you want to have a good showing. You repeat as champions by building through the course of the season and being in your best form.”

Vanney had to balance league and CONCACAF competitions back when he with Toronto FC.

The Galaxy will head straight to Costa Rica following Sunday’s game in Vancouver.

“It’s busy, but this is what we’re here for,” Vanney said. “We have to be solution-oriented. Try to find the right ways that we can balance our roster out for the two games, approach each game one at a time, see how the guys are recovering, see what the repercussions for being on a play for 9-10 hours going down (to Costa Rica) are going to be and just try to approach it one at a time. We have a larger plan for the two weeks, but we will also have to reassess after each game and make sure we’re moving where we want to be moving. It’s tricky.”

Galaxy at Vancouver Whitecaps

When: 11 a.m. Sunday

Where: BC Place, Vanouver, British Columbia

How to watch: Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass)

​ Orange County Register