Rams coach Sean McVay, wife Veronika announce birth of son

• October 26, 2023

THOUSAND OAKS — As he finished rattling through his list of practice participations, Rams head coach Sean McVay had a different kind of status update to provide.

He and his wife, Veronika Khomyn, welcomed their first child, Jordan John McVay into the world on Tuesday afternoon. Both the baby boy and Khomyn are doing well, McVay said before the Rams’ Wednesday practice.

“Everybody kind of tells you what to expect and it couldn’t even be as good as everybody says. And they certainly talked about what a special moment it was,” McVay said. “Just amazing how well my wife handled it and what a stud she was throughout that whole process. Even yesterday, and the people were amazing in terms of the nurses and the doctors and their help.”

Asked what ran through his head the first time he looked into his son’s eyes, McVay first cracked a joke before turning serious.

“Man, I feel bad, you look more like your dad than your mom,” McVay said. “It’s wild. I don’t think you can even put words to it. You guys know that have kids, it’s a special thing. He’s really alert and going through that process, but when you talk about even the changes in those couple hours, it’s amazing just how much goes on.”

McVay’s parents and cousin visited the new family of three in the hospital, and McVay said he would join them shortly after he concluded his work responsibilities for the day.

Asked if he had had any sleep in the last 24 hours, McVay answered in the negative.

“It’s a good adrenaline but at some point, it’s gonna hit me. I’d like to think I can push through but I don’t have the stamina that I used to,” said McVay, who is 37. When it was suggested that he’ll have time to sleep on the flight to this week’s road game against the Dallas Cowboys, he joked, “I’ll be out right away.”

Jordan McVay’s middle name holds a deep meaning for the McVay family. John McVay, Sean’s grandfather, was a long-time football coach and executive who was a major influence on Sean’s life.

John McVay died last year on Oct. 31, which was Jordan’s original due date.

“It’s kind of eerie how things work out,” McVay said. “If you don’t believe in a higher power, there’s certain things that occur that, man, you just realize there’s something special going on. I come from a family of faith, I’m a man of faith. The influence that you guys know my grandfather had on me, but also our family. He had a special relationship with Veronika as well, and so thought that was only appropriate to have his middle name after my grandfather and his legacy lives on. And I know he’s looking down smiling with what occurred yesterday.”

LA Rams Transactions:
• Delivered Jordan John McVay

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 25, 2023

As you’d expect entering Week 8 of the season, football topics soon took over McVay’s press conference.

He thanked former kicker Brett Maher for his contributions this season as he welcomed the newly-signed Lucas Havrisik and confirmed the Rams will work out more kickers this week.

McVay said special teams coaches Chase Blackburn and Jeremy Springer worked their network around the league to identify Havrisik. They liked the way the ball flew off his foot and his consistency with his approach, with former Rams kicker Matt Gay providing feedback after spending time with Havrisik with the Indianapolis Colts this season.

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Havrisik has yet to play in a regular-season NFL game, which explains why the Rams are still conducting workouts, but McVay said he has no hesitation over Havrisik’s lack of experience.

“You gotta start somewhere,” McVay said. “So I don’t think that can make you gun shy. I think you want to be realistic about some of those spots.”

McVay was also asked about the Cowboys’ defense and the problems presented by having to game plan for the likes of linebacker Micah Parsons and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. As he explained the nuts and bolts of the challenge, a wry smile stretched across McVay’s face before he left the podium.

“As excited as I was yesterday, then once you really dive into the tape you’re thinking, ‘Maybe I should have stayed at the hospital.’”

Sean McVay talks fatherhood pic.twitter.com/wu31D4NGUv

— Adam Grosbard (@AdamGrosbard) October 25, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

Amazon warehouse injuries more widespread than thought, study says

• October 26, 2023

By Matt Day | Bloomberg

More than two-thirds of Amazon.com’s US warehouse workers surveyed by researchers reported they took unpaid time off to recover from pain or exhaustion sustained on the job.

The new national study, published Wednesday by the University of Illinois Chicago’s Center for Urban Economic Development, found that 69% of workers surveyed stayed home without pay to recover, including 34% who did so three or more times.

Also see: Amazon tests humanoid robot in warehouse automation push

The data suggest “injury and pain at Amazon are far more widespread” than previously known, said Beth Gutelius, research director at the center and a leading expert on logistics and warehouse work.

The report is based on a 98-question online survey that gathered responses from 1,484 warehouse workers in 451 facilities across 42 states, the researchers said. It was conducted between April and August and measured the percentage of workers who took time off during the previous month. Amazon employs hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers in the US.

Researchers found their subjects using ads on Meta Platforms apps, targeting people who listed Amazon as their employer or lived in areas where the company operates. The project received funding from the Ford Foundation, Oxfam America and the pro-labor nonprofit National Employment Law Project.

Amazon spokesperson Maureen Lynch Vogel said the report was “not a ‘study’ — it’s a survey done on social media, by groups with an ulterior motive.” She recommended that people read the safety data Amazon submits each year to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “which shows that rates in our buildings have improved significantly, and we’re slightly above the average in some areas and slightly below the average in others.”

Lynch Vogel acknowledged there is work to be done but that worker safety is a top priority and that Amazon continues to invest in safety throughout its operations.

The report, the broadest academic survey of Amazon workers to date, adds to the growing scrutiny of the company’s sprawling logistics operation. Amazon is the second-largest private-sector employer behind Walmart Inc., and employs about 29% of the country’s warehousing workers, the researchers estimate. That gives the company outsize influence over the industry’s working conditions and compensation.

Critics say Amazon pushes employees to work too hard and too quickly, leading to avoidable injuries. Workplace safety regulators in Amazon’s home state of Washington allege a direct connection between employee monitoring and discipline and musculoskeletal disorders suffered by its workers. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, meanwhile, has cited Amazon for exposing workers to ergonomic risks at several facilities across the country.

Amazon says the regulators’ allegations are inaccurate and is challenging them, including during weeks of hearings held recently on the Washington state citations. The company says its investments in worker safety, including a push to automate repetitive and arduous tasks, are helping reduce the injury rate.

Gutelius and co-author Sanjay Pinto say 63% of workers acknowledged that Amazon has made safety a high priority. But many suffer injuries anyway, and workers who say they have trouble keeping up are more likely to be hurt on the job, according to Gutelius.

“The harder it is for a worker to maintain the pace of work, the more likely it is that they are injured,” she said.

Employees also suffered work-related mental health issues. More than half of those surveyed reported feeling burned out. The portion of workers reporting burnout increases with job tenure, the researchers say.

The researchers excluded results that didn’t take the questions seriously or appeared to feign employment with Amazon. Managers and drivers were also excluded. Responses were weighted to align demographically with Amazon’s own published statistics on the racial and gender breakdowns of its workforce.

Overall, 41% of workers reported being injured while working at an Amazon warehouse. The share rises to 51% for people who have worked at the company for more than three years.

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“They are taking some steps, but tinkering around the margins isn’t going to work,” Pinto said of Amazon’s attempts to reduce injuries within its ranks. “There’s something fundamental about the system that needs to change.”

(Updates with Amazon comment, details on project funders, starting in the fifth paragraph. A previous version of this story was corrected to remove Princeton as a study funder in penultimate paragraph.)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

​ Orange County Register 

Auto workers and Ford reach tentative labor agreement

• October 26, 2023

By Vanessa Yurkevich and Chris Isidore | CNN

Ford and the United Auto Workers union reached a tentative labor deal, according to a person familiar with the matter. It is an important first step in ending the union’s unprecedented strike against three major US automakers.

Neither Ford nor the UAW had an official announcement, but word of the deal is expected shortly.

The agreement will not go into effect until the 57,000 UAW rank-and-file members at Ford ratify the deal, a process that is likely to take more than a week. And it will not mean an end to the strike at rivals General Motors and Stellantis. But it will step up pressure on those two automakers to reach their own deal with the union.

The union has been on strike against all three automakers since September 15, the first time in its history that it has staged a simultaneous strike against the nation’s three unionized automakers. But it has not shut down all the operations of any of the automakers, instead staging targeted strikes against specific plants at all three.

There are currently 16,600 UAW members on strike at three Ford assembly plants, including its largest, the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville. It is possible they could all stay on strike during the ratification process, or it is possible that the union could return to work while they vote on the deal.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Wednesday, Oct. 25

• October 26, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Wednesday, Oct. 25

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

WEDNESDAY’S SCORES

FLAG FOOTBALL

ORANGE LEAGUE

Anaheim 42, Magnolia 0

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Cypress 19, Tustin 0

Crean Lutheran 38, Kennedy 14

NONLEAGUE

JSerra 6, Villa Park 0

Western 20, Savanna 14

BOYS WATER POLO

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

San Juan Hills 15, El Toro 6

SURF LEAGUE

Newport Harbor 13, Huntington Beach 7

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Pacifica 10, Valencia 7

Kennedy 25, Crean Lutheran 5

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE

Estancia 16, Orange 1

NONLEAGUE

Ocean View 11, Los Amigos 2

​ Orange County Register 

Chargers QB Justin Herbert still adjusting to fractured left middle finger

• October 26, 2023

COSTA MESA — The glove came off Wednesday. The protective padding and the athletic training tape remained on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s fractured left middle finger, but he ditched the white glove he had worn during practices and games since he was injured Oct. 1.

Herbert said it remained to be determined whether he would wear the glove in upcoming practices and/or during the Chargers’ game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium. In addition to added protection, the glove also afforded him better control of the football.

“Every day it’s getting better,” Herbert said after the Chargers returned to the practice field following their 31-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. “We’re coming up on four weeks, so just doing everything I can to limit the pain and every time I’m out here being safe.”

Herbert playing with a damaged finger hasn’t been the same effective quarterback as before he jammed it into the face mask of a Las Vegas Raiders player after throwing a third-quarter interception during the Chargers’ 24-17 victory in Week 4. In fact, the Chargers (2-4) haven’t been the same, either.

Despite the fact that Herbert returned to the game without missing a snap, the Chargers were shut out in the fourth quarter of their victory over the Raiders. He attempted only three passes in the final quarter against Las Vegas, completing two for 54 yards, and they held on to win.

Overall against the Raiders, Herbert set career lows with 13 completions and 167 yards. He was 13 for 24 for 167 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and there was plenty of postgame conversation that centered on his injured finger and the impact it might have in the weeks to come.

In the next two games, losses to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 and to the Chiefs in Week 7, Herbert wasn’t sharp. He was 22 of 37 for 227 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against Dallas and he was 17 of 30 for 259 yards with one TD and two interceptions against K.C.

Herbert’s total of 653 yards passing is his lowest for any three-game span of his career, according to ESPN’s crack statistical research team, which also unearthed a few other nuggets, including the fact that his completion percentage fell below 60% for a three-game stretch for only the second time.

He completed 52 of 91 (57.1%) against the Raiders, Cowboys and Chiefs.

Compounding matters has been the absence of veteran center Corey Linsley because of a heart ailment since Week 3. Tackles Trey Pipkins III (ankle) and Rashawn Slater (shoulder) also have been bruised and battered in recent weeks, leaving the Chargers’ offensive line at something less than full strength.

Plus, wide receiver Mike Williams, a favorite target, suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Chargers’ victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3.

“It’s definitely tough losing two guys like that,” Herbert said of Linsley and Williams. “They’re about as good as it gets. They’re veterans in this league who have had a bunch of success. Any time you lose a guy like Mike or Corey, it’s going to be tough. We’re thankful for the guys who have stepped up.”

Herbert referred to center Will Clapp and wide receiver Quentin Johnston.

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“I think there’s a lot of things we can get better at,” Herbert said. “We’ve missed some opportunities. I’ve missed some opportunities. It starts with us getting better and understanding that we’re in this position. I think that the coaches have done a great job of putting us in positions to win and positions to succeed.

“It’s on us as players. It’s on me. We’re not going to point any fingers. We’re going to get better because of it. There’s a lot of football left. I feel really thankful and fortunate to be in this locker room with these guys. They’re professionals. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

INJURY REPORT

Wide receiver Jalen Guyton began his second week of practice with his teammates during the 21-day practice window leading up to his likely return to the active roster after beginning the season on the PUP list. Guyton suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 during the 2022 season. …

Safety JT Woods worked out on the sideline during the portion of practice open to reporters. He has been on the non-football illness reserve list. … Safety Alohi Gilman (heel) practiced in a limited fashion. … Wide receiver Joshua Palmer (knee) and tight end Gerald Everett (hip) were absent.

​ Orange County Register 

Bob Baffert enters nine horses in Breeders’ Cup

• October 26, 2023

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is as happy as a pig in slop these days. He’s as giddy as Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks fans. Raring to go in the 40th Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita.

Why shouldn’t he be? Santa Anita and Del Mar are Baffert’s home tracks. He loves it that the historic racing venue in Arcadia will host the World Thoroughbred Championships for a record 11th time at the track dubbed the Great Race Place.

“We get to show off Santa Anita. It’s the most beautiful race track,” Baffert said this week, a day before pre-entering nine horses in this year’s event. “When I go out there every morning it’s just unbelievable. The paddock and everything. We’re spoiled out here. The track is so beautiful.

“I’d love for Santa Anita to be the home base (of the Breeders’ Cup). I don’t care where they have it to be honest as long as I have good horses to run in it, but the weather here is great. The past two times they had it at Keeneland we got lucky and the weather was good.”

Mother Nature was not so kind to the sport in 2007 when Monmouth Park in New Jersey played host and the riders needed boats rather than horses because of all the rain. Needless to say, the event has not returned there.

“It was a shame because Monmouth Park is a beautiful race track,” Baffert said. “It was a shame that it rained because they didn’t get to … people would have gone back if they’d seen that on a dry day. It rained, it was sloppy, and if you don’t win, you say I’ll never come back here.”

Baffert will have horses in seven of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races, the two-day Super Bowl of racing that determines the majority of the Eclipse Award winners and offers purses and awards totaling more than $31 million. Future Stars Friday includes the 2-year-old races and Saturday’s nine-race card features the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

A total of 205 horses were pre-entered Wednesday, matching last year’s total, and 59 runners from overseas were entered  – 14 more than last year’s event at Keeneland. Four Breeders’ Cup champions are back to defend their 2022 titles  – Cody’s Wish (Dirt Mile), Elite Power (Sprint), Goodnight Olive (Filly & Mare Sprint) and Caravel (Turf Sprint).

Baffert, second behind fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas for most Breeders’ Cup victories by a trainer (20-18), will try for his fifth victory in the Classic with Arabian Knight, the 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo who edged fellow sophomore Geaux Rocket Ride by a neck in this year’s Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

“I think he’s matured,” Baffert said. “He’s moved forward off (the Pacific Classic), which he’s going to need to. A lot can happen. I don’t wanna jinx myself. Two weeks is a long time in this sport because every day we’ll hear something. Right now I feel happy in the position we’re in coming up to it. It’s exciting this time of year because the Breeders’ Cup is two days of great racing. You’re seeing the best trainers, best jockeys, best horses. Breeders’ Cup races are tough to win. They’re just tough. You gotta bring your A game, gotta get the trip because you’re up against the best.”

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Baffert is scheduled to saddle Prince of Monaco, Muth and Wine Me Up in the Juvenile on Nov. 3 and he’ll be a busy man the following day when he sends out Arabian Knight, Eda (Filly & Mare Sprint), Adare Manor (Distaff), Speed Boat Beach (Sprint), National Treasure (Dirt Mile) and Dujour (Mile).

He decided to run Preakness winner National Treasure in the Dirt Mile rather than the Classic after a fourth-place finish in the Awesome Again.

“He didn’t break well and then he made a move like he was going to do something and flattened out,” Baffert said. “Since then, he’s really come forward. His last work, he really earned his way (into the race). I was really happy with it. He showed me a good spark. You can really tell when a horse is telling you they’re coming around. It’s a tough race, but he’s the Preakness winner and he just needs to run his race and he’ll be right there.”

BREEDERS’ CUP

Facts and figures for this year’s 40th running:

When: Nov. 3-4.

Where: Santa Anita.

Biggest race: $6 million Classic, including 3-year-old standouts Arcangelo, Arabian Knight, Geaux Rocket Ride and Mage.

Post-position draw: Monday, 4:45 p.m.

TV: NBC, USA Network, Peacock and FanDuel TV.

​ Orange County Register 

1st major snow storm of season drops 1 foot on Montana

• October 25, 2023

By Amy Beth Hanson | Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. — The first major snowstorm of the season dropped up to a foot (30 centimeters) of snow in the Helena, Montana, area by Wednesday, sending an army of snowplows and sand trucks out on the roads.

Residents woke up to swirling snow and the sound of shovels on sidewalks just days after temperatures rose into the lower 80s. Trees decked out in fall colors and some Halloween decorations were weighed down with snow. Helena Public Schools canceled six school bus routes Wednesday morning, but no schools were closed.

The National Weather Service warned of hazardous travel on snowy mountain passes and ice on some highways when snow initially melts and then freezes as road temperatures drop.

Plows scraped snow off the highways, streets and parking lots and sand was scattered on roads to increase traction as the Montana Highway Patrol responded to dozens of crashes and slide-offs, including jackknifed semi-tractor trailers, according to the patrol’s incident website.

The first snowfall of the season “is always the most dangerous because people just aren’t used to it yet” after driving for months on mostly dry pavement, said Matt Ludwig, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls. Drivers aren’t used to dealing with less traction, slower speeds and longer stopping distances, he said.

Cold air moving down from northwestern Canada has combined with a moist Pacific weather system, leading to freezing temperatures and expected snowfall amounts up 14 inches (36 centimeters) in Washington’s northern Cascade Mountains and 18 inches (46 centimeters) in the mountains of Montana, the National Weather Service forecasts. Some higher elevations in the northern Rockies could see snow totals of 2 feet (61 centimeters) or more.

After the first wave of snow, it was Helena that saw the most accumulation, with a couple spots reporting 13 inches (33 centimeters) of snow. However, the official site at the airport had half that amount, said Cody Molvan, chief meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Great Falls said Wednesday.

Some towns in central Montana reported 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow, while other areas along the Rocky Mountain Front had 6 to 8 inches (16 to 20 centimeters) of snow as the storm moved east.

The first wave of snow ended at midday Wednesday and a second round — less widespread and with much less accumulation — was forecast from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the weather service said.

The storm brought a sharp change in weather.

Helena tied record temperatures in the lower 80s (high 20s Celsius) late last week, which is about 25 degrees above average for this time of year, Ludwig said. Great Falls also had a day in the low 80s late last week, before being covered in snow on Wednesday.

Temperatures could fall into the low single digits with wind chill values below zero Wednesday night into Thursday morning in Great Falls, the forecast says.

“If that’s not a shock to your system, I don’t know what is,” Ludwig said.

Helena’s Walmart store still had a display of kayaks outside on Wednesday, their prices nearly covered in snow.

The snow had also moved across northwestern and north-central North Dakota by early Wednesday, creating difficult travel conditions in some areas.

North Dakota state Rep. Jeremy Olson was headed home from the Legislature’s adjourned special session in Bismarck to his farm near Arnegard, in the area where the heaviest snowfall amounts are expected. He said he bought 400 pounds (181 kilograms) of rock salt to put over his pickup truck’s back axle for extra weight and greater traction on snow and ice.

In the days before the storm, his wife and daughters went shopping for the next week, got shovels ready and prepared a generator in case their power goes out.

“Things we’ve learned over the past years, a few lessons learned over past experiences gave us a good chance to get prepared for this thing,” Olson told The Associated Press.

The area of Williston, Watford City and Minot, in North Dakota’s oil field, could receive the heaviest snowfall, potentially 8 inches to a foot (20 to 30 centimeters), said Nathan Heinert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck. Bismarck could see 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of snow late Thursday after rain on Wednesday, he said.

The snow closed U.S. Highway 14-16-20 outside the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation. There was no word on when the gate 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Cody, Wyoming, would reopen. The park’s east, south and west entrances and nearly all roads in the park are scheduled to close to car and truck traffic for the season next Wednesday.

Associated Press reporters Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota and Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming, contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Driver charged in killing of 4 Pepperdine students was being chased, said his attorney

• October 25, 2023

VAN NUYS — The driver who crashed his car into a multiple parked vehicles on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, killing four Pepperdine University students, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and other charges, and his attorney claimed his client was being chased at the time following a road rage incident.

Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, of Malibu, was re-arrested Tuesday, with bail set at $8 million, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. According to court records, he was charged Tuesday with four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter.

Bohm pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment hearing in Van Nuys, and his bail was reduced to $4 million.

Bohm’s attorney, Michael Kraut, told reporters outside court that his client was being chased following a road rage incident at the time.

“This is exceptionally tragic,” he said. “The family grieves equally with each other over what’s going on. I mean, they feel horrible that this has happened. The issue here is whether it’s murder or manslaughter or not a crime. That’s really what we’re here to look at. We have evidence that the sheriff’s department did not want to take that clearly shows that there was a road rage incident.”

District Attorney George Gascón said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference that Bohm was driving at more than 100 mph when the crash occurred.

Bohm was initially taken into custody following the 8:30 p.m. Oct. 17 crash on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Jail records show he was released from custody around 7:20 a.m. last Wednesday while sheriff’s officials continued their investigation into the cause of the crash, including the driver’s possible impairment.

Sheriff’s officials said Bohm was driving west at a high rate of speed in the 21600 block of Pacific Coast Highway when he lost control of his sedan and slammed into at least three vehicles parked on the north side of the roadway. Those parked vehicles struck the four Pepperdine students who were standing or walking nearby, leaving them dead at the scene.

The crash killed Niamh Rolston, 20, Peyton Stewart, 21, Asha Weir, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21, all seniors at Pepperdine’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts.

Bohm suffered minor scratches and bruises.

Although he was arrested at the scene, he was later released “to allow detectives time to gather the evidence needed to secure the strongest criminal filing and conviction,” according to a Tuesday night statement from the sheriff’s department announcing his re-arrest.

“When a case is presented to the District Attorney’s Office, you need to present supporting evidence for the specific charges being requested for filing within 48 hours,” the statement said. “In this specific case, the evidence including toxicology, speed analysis, execution of search warrants, etc. was still pending and took additional time to collect.”

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Investigators presented their case to the District Attorney’s Office on Monday, which filed the charges against Bohm Tuesday. He was arrested Tuesday afternoon.

The crash has renewed calls for safety improvements on PCH, particularly in the area of the crash, which some call “Dead Man’s Curve.” The Malibu City Council on Monday heard from dozens of residents calling for action to improve safety and force drivers to slow down on the stretch.

The council called on its staff to prepare a report on conditions on PCH and a possible declaration of a local emergency, which would allow the use of local resources to implement safety measures.

​ Orange County Register