Chef Ludo Lefebvre headlines Crypto.com Arena’s culinary lineup with two new food stands

• October 28, 2024

Celebrated French chef Ludo Lefebvre is becoming quite the regular at Crypto.com Arena. And it’s not because you can expect to see him sitting courtside watching the Lakers, but instead, he’ll likely be spotted in his chef’s coat inside some of the venue’s hottest concession stands.

“I want to be in the arena because I want to feed more people, cook for the masses,” Lefebvre said as he stood on the Crypto.com roof deck during a tasting event that included dishes from his two new concession stands.

The fine dining chef’s new spots, Ludobab and Trois Familia, are located next to each other on the arena’s Main Concourse and opened in conjunction with the arena’s 25th anniversary. They join fried chicken spot LudoBird, the chef’s other concession stand at the venue, which opened in 2013.

Lefebvre is known for his innovative cuisine that’s rooted in French culinary techniques and for being the chef behind dining hotspots that include Petit Trois le Valley and L’Original Petit Trois in Hollywood, plus for appearances on shows like “Iron Chef America.” He said the goal with his stands is to give people food that’s as good as the dishes he serves at his high-end restaurants.

New additions at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

“I want to have fresh food in an arena. It’s important for me, I want to feed good food to people,” he said. “Everything we cook is cooked fresh here. Nothing is going to be frozen so it’s very fresh vegetables, fresh meats.”

At Ludobab he focuses on Mediterranean cuisine, offering dishes like hefty pita sandwiches generously stuffed with  tomato, cucumber, red onion, herbs and hummus with a choice of chicken or beef. He also serves kebabs, falafel and lemon rice bowls.

“I grew up in Paris and I always loved kebabs. There are a lot of kebab concepts in Paris, a lot of Mediterranean food and I think it fits well in an arena because it’s very healthy,” he said.

Trois Familia is his nod to the city’s Mexican culture and cuisine, which he said has been an important influence since he moved here.

Chef Ludo Lefbevre at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The menu at the stand includes hefty barbacoa nachos with house-made queso, a corn and cheese quesadilla drizzled with a slightly spicy house-made sauce and a Tres Leches cake that’s so perfectly moist it pretty much melts into your mouth immediately. It’s topped with frosting and rainbow sprinkles.

But the star of the menu will likely be his Double Decker Potato Taco. It’s a big taco made with two crunchy tortillas, sliced carrots, mashed potatoes, Pico de Gallo, lime juice and cheese.

“This is a very good taco, it’s something you must try, trust me,” Lefebvre said.

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​ Orange County Register 

Harris tries out new ways of reaching voters, but she’s running out of time

• October 28, 2024

By COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — Inside a small community theater in suburban Detroit, Vice President Kamala Harris was asked at a recent forum to talk about her life for the benefit of voters who are still getting to know her.

It was the type of question typically asked of a new candidate. But here was Harris getting it less than two weeks before the Nov. 5 election and after millions of people already had voted. Her response underscored perhaps the defining challenge of her campaign for the White House.

“How much time do we have?” Harris quipped.

The fact is, not much.

Any candidate’s most valuable resource is time, and from the start, Harris has been historically constrained. The Democratic nominee has been running for only three months after Democratic President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and Harris still is confronting voters who say they want to learn more about who she is or how she will govern.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and former first lady Michelle Obama arrive to speak at a campaign rally at the Wings Event Center, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Kalamazoo, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Her public events have tended toward large rallies where crowds ride high on vibes and Harris delivers variations on her standard stump speech. In the past week or so, though, she has added events in more intimate settings, lower-key church services and black box theater sit-downs where the conversations can be more revealing.

“I have lived a full life,” Harris told the Michigan audience. “I am a wife, I am a mother, I am a sister, I am a godmother. I love to cook.”

Harris, 60, is a relative newcomer on the national political stage.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris walks to board Air Force Two at Kellogg Regional Airport, in Battle Creek, Mich., Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Much of her career, as she often reminds voters, was outside of Washington, in California as a prosecutor and state attorney general. That was followed by a four-year stint in the Senate and a flame-out in the 2020 race for the White House. Her time as vice president boosted her profile, but nothing like what a traditional candidate would have at this stage in the race.

“Harris, comparably, is still such a relatively unknown quantity as a candidate,” said Kevin Madden, a political strategist who worked on three presidential campaigns. “It takes years to build up the kind of national profile that can withstand the brutality of a presidential campaign.”

Biden ran several times before he won the nomination and had three decades of public service on his resume, including eight years as vice president. Democrat Barack Obama started to build his profile during John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004 and the midterm elections in 2006 before his two-year quest for what would be his first term in the White House. On the Republican side, the Bush family brand was built through multiple presidential campaigns over two decades.

“It was always going to be a major, major challenge to build and execute a presidential campaign unique to Harris in the space of 108 days,” Madden said.

Supporters listen as democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republican Donald Trump, meanwhile, is a known quantity. He had near-universal name recognition even before his 2016 campaign, owing to his time in reality television. He has been campaigning essentially ever since he lost the 2020 election to Biden — a fact he refuses to acknowledge to this day.

To Harris and her aides, the shortened campaign has offered advantages and challenges. But with no way to change the reality of that political timeline, they can only try to make the most of it.

That makes for an endless series of tough choices: where to go, what to talk about, with whom to speak. Those challenges come into focus in the final weeks of any campaign, but for Harris they have been a central feature in her sprint.

Aides have framed the campaign in different phases.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hold beers while speaking at the Trak Houz Bar & Grill after a campaign rally in Kalamazoo, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

In the opening days, Harris prioritized locking down the nomination and staving off any would-be challengers. Then she shifted to trying to introduce herself on her own terms to the public. That meant talking about her biography, but also her governing philosophy, particularly on economic issues, as potential voters complained they did not know what she was about.

Along the way, she has returned to Washington for duties associated with her office, trying to play up the government’s competence in response to natural disasters and to show her national security credentials in approaching wars overseas.

“The hill was a little steeper for her to climb because of the truncated nature of the race, but that’s why she’s doing everything she possibly can,” said Eric Schultz, who served as deputy White House press secretary under Obama.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris fist-bumps a supporter after speaking at a campaign rally at the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

In recent weeks, Harris has spoken more frankly about the summer Sunday when Biden dropped out of the race and handed her the keys to the campaign. She offered voters a new glimpse into her faith, looking to harness a profound political moment into an opportunity to connect with voters.

“It was an extraordinary day that Sunday when the president called me, and I instinctively understood the gravity of the moment, the seriousness of the moment,” she said during a CNN town hall.

So she called her pastor, she said. “I needed that spiritual kind of connection, I needed that advice, I needed a prayer.” She added she prays every day.

The event in suburban Detroit was one of three in crucial Midwestern states this past week in which Harris, joined by Liz Cheney, a prominent Republican critic of Trump who has endorsed the Democrat, answered questions from a moderator and audiences of undecided voters. It was a different version of the vice president from the one seen in her rallies, more relaxed and talkative.

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Rita Peterson, 48, said she came away impressed by Harris’ ability to connect.

“I think when you come from a place of joy and you come from a place of wanting to work together to move forward, I think there are a lot of people who want to be a part of that and want to move forward together,” she said.

The conversations with Cheney were meant to attract Republican voters, those concerned about a second Trump presidency, particularly in the wake of Trump’s failed effort to overturn the 2020 vote and after the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters beat and blooded law enforcement in an effort to stop the certification of Biden’s win.

In the closing days of her campaign, Harris is zeroing in on drawing a contrast with Trump. She will return to the site near the White House where Trump helped incite the mob on Jan. 6, hoping it will crystalize for voters the fight between defending democracy and sowing political chaos.

She will give a speech at the Ellipse on Tuesday — one week before Election Day — to urge the nation to “turn the page.”

​ Orange County Register 

Quarter Pounders, no onions, back on McDonald’s menu after testing rules out beef in outbreak

• October 28, 2024

By Sarah Parvini | The Associated Press

McDonald’s announced Sunday that Quarter Pounders will again be on its menu at hundreds of its restaurants after testing ruled out beef patties as the source of the outbreak of E. coli poisoning tied to the popular burgers that killed one person and sickened at least 75 others across 13 states.

The US Food and Drug Administration continues to believe that slivered onions from a single supplier are the likely source of contamination, McDonald’s said in a statement. It said it will summarize selling the Quarter Pounder at affected restaurants —- without slivered onions — in the coming week.

As of Friday, the outbreak had expanded to at least 75 people sick in 13 states, federal health officials said. A total of 22 people had been hospitalized, and two developed a dangerous kidney disease complication, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. One person has died in Colorado.

Early information analyzed by the FDA showed that uncooked slivered onions used on the burgers “are a likely source of contamination,” the agency said. McDonald’s has confirmed that Taylor Farms, a California-based produce company, was the supplier of the fresh onions used in the restaurants involved in the outbreak, and that they had come from a facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

McDonald’s pulled the Quarter Pounder burger from menus in several states — mostly in the Midwest and Mountain states — when the outbreak was announced Tuesday. McDonald’s said Friday that slivered onions from the Colorado Springs facility were distributed to approximately 900 of its restaurants, including some in transportation hubs like airports.

The company said it removed slivered onions sourced from that facility from its supply chain on Tuesday. McDonald’s said it has decided to stop sourcing onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility “indefinitely.”

The 900 McDonald’s restaurants that normally received slivered onions from Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs facility will resume sales of Quarter Pounders without slivered onions, McDonald’s said.

Testing by the Colorado Department of Agriculture ruled out beef patties as the source of the outbreak, McDonald’s said.

The department of agriculture received multiple lots of fresh and frozen beef patties collected from various Colorado McDonald’s locations associated with the E. coli investigation. All samples were found to be negative for E. coli, the department said.

Taylor Farms said Friday that it had preemptively recalled yellow onions sent to its customers from its Colorado facility and continues to work with the CDC and the FDA as they investigate.

While it remains unclear if the recalled onions were the source of the outbreak, several other fast-food restaurants — including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Burger King — pulled onions from some menus in certain areas this week.

Colorado had the most illnesses reported as of Friday, with 26 cases. At least 13 people were sickened in Montana, 11 in Nebraska, 5 each in New Mexico and Utah, 4 each in Missouri and Wyoming, two in Michigan and one each in Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Wisconsin and Washington, the CDC reported.

McDonald’s said Friday it didn’t pull the Quarter Pounder from any additional restaurants, and noted that some cases in states outside the original region were tied to travel.

The CDC said some people who got sick reported traveling to other states before their symptoms started. At least three people said they ate at McDonald’s during their trip. Illnesses were reported between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11.

The outbreak involves infections with E. coli 0157:H7, a type of bacteria that produces a dangerous toxin. It causes about 74,000 infections in the US annually, leading to more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths each year, according to the CDC.

Symptoms of E. coli poisoning can occur quickly, within a day or two of eating contaminated food. They typically include fever, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea and signs of dehydration — little or no peeing, increased thirst and dizziness. The infection is especially dangerous for children younger than 5, people who are elderly, pregnant or who have weakened immune systems.

Associated Press writer JoNel Aleccia contributed reporting from Temecula.

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​ Orange County Register 

Trump’s deportation plans worry families with relatives in US illegally

• October 28, 2024

By GABRIEL SANDOVAL

PHOENIX (AP) — Jocelyn Ruiz remembers when her fifth-grade teacher warned the class about large-scale patrols that would target immigrants in Arizona’s largest metropolitan area. She asked her mom about it — and unearthed a family secret.

Ruiz’s mother had entered the United States illegally, leaving Mexico a decade earlier in search of a better life.

Ruiz, who was born in California and raised in the Phoenix area, was overcome by worry at the time that her mother could be deported at any moment, despite having no criminal history. Ruiz, her two younger siblings and her parents quietly persevered, never discussing their mixed immigration status. They lived “as Americans,” she said.

Jocelyn Ruiz, 26, pictured in Tempe, Ariz., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, is a U.S. citizen who discovered a family secret that her mother could be deported at any time. (AP Photo/Matt York)

More than 22 million people live in a U.S. household where at least one occupant is in the country without authorization, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of 2022 Census data. That represents nearly 5% of households across the U.S. and 5.5% in Arizona, a battleground state where the Latino vote could be key.

If Donald Trump is elected and follows through with a campaign promise to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history, it could not only upend the lives of the 11 million people who according to the U.S. Census Bureau are living in the United States without authorization — it could devastate the U.S. citizens in their families.

The issue of immigration has been a cornerstone of Trump’s platform since he promised to “build a great wall” in 2015 as he announced his first Republican campaign for president. And despite polling that shows the economy as a top concern for voters, Trump remains fixated on the issue, criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border as an existential threat to American society as Election Day nears.

Trump’s plans for a crackdown have motivated some mixed-status families to speak out. America’s success depends on the contributions of immigrants, they argue, and the people doing this work deserve a pathway to legal residency or citizenship.

Others choose to be silent, hoping to evade attention.

And there are some who support Trump, even though they themselves could become targets for deportation.

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The political divide over immigration runs deep: 88% of Trump supporters favor mass deportation, according to a recent Pew survey, compared with 27% of the voters who support Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president.

Trump was asked about the impact so many deportations would have on mixed-status families when he visited the Arizona-Mexico border in August.

“Provisions will be made, but we have to get the criminals out,” Trump responded to NBC News. He didn’t say what the provisions might include, and his campaign did not share more information when The Associated Press asked for specifics.

Living in a mixed-status family is inherently precarious, as immigration policies and political rhetoric have ripple effects for U.S. citizens and legal residents, said Heide Castañeda, a professor of anthropology at the University of South Florida.

“For most Americans, it’s not a familiar thing to navigate your daily life thinking about somebody in your family possibly being taken,” said Castañeda, author of “Borders of Belonging: Struggle and Solidarity in Mixed-Status Immigrant Families.” “But for mixed-status families, of course, that’s always on their minds.”

Politicians, she said, “think that they’re targeting a particular group, but these groups live in families and communities and households and neighborhoods.”

In Nevada, California, New Jersey and Texas, nearly one in 10 households includes people living in the U.S. without legal permission, according to Pew. Many have lived in the country for decades and have U.S. citizens depending on them.

Michael Kagan, director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said recent arrivals aren’t representative of the population in Nevada.

“The vast majority have been here more than 10 years,” Kagan said, warning that their U.S. citizen relatives could inadvertently be swept up.

Erika Andriola, 37, a longtime advocate for immigrants in Arizona, witnessed her mother and brother being detained by immigration agents in 2013. She waged a successful campaign that led to their release, but she now suffers from PTSD and separation anxiety as a result of that day.

“It was just this like constant nightmares. I would wake up crying,” Andriola said. She and her brother are now legal residents, but their 66-year-old mother has been challenging her deportation in court since 2017.

It’s an experience Andriola doesn’t wish upon anyone — and she says the emotional and economic tolls can affect entire communities.

Betzaida Robinson’s brother was deported to Mexico several years ago despite never having lived there. An integral member of the family in Phoenix, he had helped pay bills and raise her two children.

Robinson said Trump and his supporters must not be thinking about what it’s like to have a loved one taken away.

“How about if you were in that position, what would you do and how would you feel?” she said.

Still, there are people living in the country illegally who do support Trump, said Castañeda, the university professor. Even Andriola says she has family members who do.

“They’re not necessarily thinking about what can happen to people like my mom,” Andriola said, “but they’re thinking about their own lives and what they think is best for them.”

Victoria Castro-Corral is a self-described optimist from a mixed-status family in Phoenix who advises students at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. She said she has faith that a mass deportation plan will never happen — and credits her Mexican parents, who crossed the border illegally decades ago, for teaching her how to remain positive.

“We’re here to stay,” she said.

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

​ Orange County Register 

Sophisticated heist crew out of West Hollywood stole millions and eluded police — but not the FBI

• October 28, 2024

For months, a group of alleged thieves traveled around California and beyond, cracking safes, pocketing cash, and always appearing to stay one step ahead of local authorities.

But now, according to the FBI, the jig is up.

Federal prosecutors in California’s Eastern District have charged 10 people with conspiring to steal millions of dollars from dozens of banks and ATMs. The criminal complaint says that the crew comprised mostly Chilean nationals, several with multiple alias and fake IDs, who rented Airbnbs near their intended targets and employed a secret stolen car rental service for vehicles used in heists.

The exact amount the group was able to allegedly steal throughout 2024 is unknown. The criminal complaint lists dozens of thefts or attempts where a total of $2,581,954 was taken, including several where the robbers got away with a quarter-million dollars in a single haul.

In nearly every single alleged heist, the modus operandi was the same, with the thieves scouting locations in advance, renting Airbnbs and vehicles, then putting their plan into action. They would typically spray-paint security cameras, then use power tools and blowtorches to access ATMs. They would often wear disguises, like posing as a construction crew, and bring with them cellphone jammers, cases of power tools, sledgehammers, and crowbars, according to the complaint.

Sometimes this required going through a wall to access a bank’s cash room, like last Sept. 18, when the group allegedly broke into the Diamond in the Ruff pet spa on East Orangeburg Avenue in Modesto, then cut a giant hole in the wall to access an ATM cash room in an adjacent Wells Fargo. That resulted in a $247,000 cash loss to the bank, the criminal complaint says.

But despite their efforts, the group was leaving a digital paper trail behind with every new crime they committed, the complaint alleges. The FBI’s first significant break in the case came when they were able to identify suspect vehicles that were consistently being used, and tracked one back to an underground rental service in West Hollywood.

FBI agents learned that the vehicle, a Chevrolet Suburban, had been rented from a club promoter who used the Instagram account @xtrackz, and who told police he rented the Chevrolet to a person named “Gordito” who had claimed he needed it to vacation with his family. The promoter also told authorities he had no idea the Chevrolet had been allegedly stolen, according to the criminal complaint.

Gordito turned out to be a man named Alex Moyano-Morales, who authorities claim had fake IDs and aliases purporting to be a citizen of both Colombia and the United States. Moyano-Morales is now the lead defendant in the case, and the alleged ringleader of the theft group.

After identifying Moyano-Morales, agents began tracking his cellphone location data for previous months, and determined that his associates had rented Airbnbs near several of the heists. One of the property owners in Turlock turned their video surveillance footage from the property over to the FBI, which showed the group loading burglary tools into the unit upon their arrival, the complaint says.

In addition to Moyano-Morales, prosecutors have charged Maite Celis-Silva, Erik Osorio-Olivarez, Pablo Valdez-Rodriguez, Rosa Bastias-Serra, Camilo Sepulveda-Guzman, Bassil Dacosta-Frias, Camilo Alarcon-Alarcon, Michelle Parada-Munoz, and a 10th defendant whose identity remains a mystery for now. He has been charged under the pseudonym John Doe 2. Court records say Bastias-Serra is also wanted for extradition to Chile in connection with a 2015 “theft resulting in death, manslaughter, or murder.”

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Authorities claim the defendants played different roles in the heists, some renting Airbnbs and vehicles, others scouting target locations, and others committing the alleged burglaries. The target locations included banks and ATM kiosks in Modesto, Citrus Heights, Fresno, Turlock, Auburn, Rocklin, Anaheim, Fall River Mills, and Merced, among other locations. They’re also under investigation for possible involvement in a string of similar larcenies in Los Angeles and San Diego, and one that occurred last January in Houston, Texas, according to the criminal complaint.

Earlier this month, authorities say the group moved to Oregon and may have committed at least two similar thefts there. Four members of the group — identified by the FBI as Valdez-Rodriguez, Alarcon-Alarcon, Parada-Munoz, and Dacosta-Frias, were arrested at an Airbnb rental in Seattle, where $20,000 and numerous burglary tools were discovered, according to the complaint. The complaint says Parada-Munoz tried to “delay and fight” the arresting agents and that the other three attempted to take off in a Ford Fiesta that was used in some of the heists.

The charges carry a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to court records.

​ Orange County Register 

Biden calls out Musk over a published report that the Tesla CEO once worked in the US illegally

• October 28, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden slammed Elon Musk for hypocrisy on immigration after a published report that the Tesla CEO once worked illegally in the United States. The South Africa-born Musk denies the allegation.

“That wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here. No, I’m serious. He was supposed to be in school when he came on a student visa. He wasn’t in school. He was violating the law. And he’s talking about all these illegals coming our way?” Biden said while campaigning on Saturday in Pittsburgh at a union hall.

The Washington Post reported that Musk worked illegally in the country while on a student visa. The newspaper, citing company documents, former business associates and court documents, said Musk arrived in Palo Alto, California in 1995 for a graduate program at Stanford University “but never enrolled in courses, working instead on his startup. ”

Musk wrote on X in reply to a video post of Biden’s comments: “I was in fact allowed to work in the US.” Musk added, “The Biden puppet is lying.”

Investors in Musk’s company, Zip2, were concerned about the possibility of their founder being deported, according to the report, and gave him a deadline for obtaining a work visa. The newspaper also cited a 2005 email from Musk to his Tesla co-founders acknowledging that he did not have authorization to be in the U.S. when he started Zip2.

According to the account, that email was submitted as evidence in a now-closed California defamation lawsuit and said that Musk had applied to Stanford so he could stay in the country legally.

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Musk is today the world’s richest man. He has committed more than $70 million to help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and other GOP candidates win on Nov. 5, and is one of the party’s biggest donors this campaign season. He has been headlining events in the White House race’s final stretch, often echoing Trump’s dark rhetoric against immigration.

Trump has pledged to give Musk a role in his administration if he wins next month.

There was no immediate response to messages left with X and Tesla seeking Musk’s comment.

​ Orange County Register 

Boeing, in need of cash, looks to raise up to $19 billion in stock offering

• October 28, 2024

By Michelle Chapman | The Associated Press

Boeing is looking to raise up to approximately $19 billion in a stock offering as the aerospace giant, which is dealing with a contentious strike, faces liquidity issues and tries to raise cash.

Boeing Co. said Monday that it will offer 90 million in common stock and $5 billion in depositary shares. The company’s stock closed at $155.01 on Friday,

The company said it plans to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, which may include repaying debt, additions to working capital, capital expenditures, and funding and investments in its subsidiaries.

Fitch Ratings said Monday that the offering supports debt repayment and increases financial flexibility, alleviating the risk of a downgrade. The agency said that it continues to evaluate Boeing’s ability to resolve its labor negotiations and regain operational momentum. It rates Boeing “BBB-,” the lowest investment-grade rating.

Last week, Boeing factory workers voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a six-week strike that has halted production of its bestselling jetliners.

Local union leaders in Seattle said 64% of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers who cast ballots voted against accepting the proposal.

The labor standoff comes during an already challenging year for Boeing, which became the focus of multiple federal investigations after a door panel blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

The strike has deprived the company of much-needed cash that it gets from delivering new planes to airlines. On Wednesday, the company reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion. Boeing hasn’t had a profitable year since 2018, and Wednesday’s numbers represented the second-worst quarter in the manufacturer’s history.

The company burned nearly $2 billion in cash, in the quarter, weakening its balance sheet, which is loaded down with $58 billion in debt. Chief Financial Officer Brian West said the company will not generate positive cash flow until the second half of next year.

Shares of Boeing declined slightly in midday trading. They have lost 40% of their value in the year to date.

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​ Orange County Register 

Football blitz: OCVarsity’s reporters share their reactions, predictions, favorites to start Week 10

• October 28, 2024

It’s the start of Week 10 of the high school football season, a good time to take a quick look back at Week 9 and start getting ready for this week’s big games.

Who stood out last week? Who will win this week’s big game? Who is on the rise in the rankings?

The OCVarsity Blitz chased down reporters Steve Fryer, Dan Albano and Michael Huntley, who are the three voters in the weekly Orange County Top 25, and asked them to answer a rapid-fire series of questions Monday morning.

Here comes the Week 10 blitz …

Aaryn Washington #21 of Mater Dei celebrates with Nasir Wyatt #31 after he intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown while playing St. John Bosco in the first half on Oct. 25, 2024 in Santa Anna CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer) note: Stadium lights flashed on and off making the photo low quality in the dark.

What’s your reaction to Mater Dei’s rout of St. John Bosco in Week 9?

Steve Fryer: The word I have used to describe Mater Dei and will continue to use is: inevitable. The score was 59-14 and it accurately described the gap between what some had as the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the nation. That’s no knock on Bosco, which as usual played with spirit even when the score was very one-sided. Maybe there is some team in Florida or Texas that would give Mater Dei a better challenge? Mater Dei looks untouchable.

Dan Albano: Jolted. I was stunned to see the Monarchs leading 45-0 at halftime and invoke a running clock for the entire fourth quarter. I predicted Mater Dei would win big but didn’t see the score turning that lopsided. St. John Bosco is so well-coached, has plenty of athletes and a winning culture. But the experienced Monarchs played an A-level game and the inexperienced Braves struggled from the opening series.

Michael Huntley: I expected Mater Dei to be the better team but, seeing the score was jarring. Mater Dei’s defense is up there amongst the best I’ve ever seen at the high school level. Quarterback Dash Beierly has gotten better each week and is a candidate for Trinity League Offensive Player of the Year. St. John Bosco is still a great team, but very young and when something goes wrong in a game for young teams, things tend to spiral. This may be a rare year that we don’t see a Mater Dei vs. St. John Bosco CIF championship game.

Is there any advice you’d give a team that has to face Mater Dei in the playoffs?

Fryer: Remember that every team is beatable. Upsets will occur, which makes sports such high drama. That’s the philosophy part. The Xs and Os part? Rush the quarterback with all of your might. Mater Dei quarterback Dash Beierly has yet to throw an interception. That is so because he is very good and also because he is getting excellent pass protection and those receivers are supreme at getting open. Try to block punts. Big plays on special teams are not as pursued as much as they should be in high school football. Block a punt, get good field position off of that and get on the attack right away – a long pass after a turnover of any sort often works because the other team still is shook up and not yet focused.

Albano: Don’t judge yourself against the Monarchs, and try to protect your QB. Mater Dei looks untouchable right now, so opponents need to maintain their perspective about their success and keep their quarterback upright.

Huntley: Don’t make plans for the following Saturday morning because it will be time to turn in your pads. In all seriousness, try to drain the play clock down to zero between plays and keep Mater Dei’s offense off the field. You can’t turn the ball over and you have to play good red zone defense to hold Mater Dei to three points on a possession instead of seven.

Was there a winner in Week 9 that surprised or impressed you?

Fryer: Laguna Beach’s 35-32 win over Dana Hills. Laguna Beach lost by 20 points the week before to Aliso Niguel. That’s quite the rebound, coming back the next week to give Dana Hills its first loss.

Laguna Beach quarterback Jackson Kollock passed for three touchdowns and ran for a TD in a 35-32 victory over Dana Hills on Friday, Oct. 25. The Breakers earned a share of first place in the Foxtrot League. (Photo by Martin Henderson)

Albano: Los Alamitos definitely impressed. The Griffins snapped a three-game slide to edge an excellent San Clemente team in a critical spot. Los Alamitos was humbled by Gardena Serra a few weeks ago but got off the mat in Week 9. That’s not easy to do when the schedule has been tough each week.

Huntley: Capistrano Valley really impressed me with its win over El Modena. I knew Capo Valley would keep the game close because quarterback Tommy Acosta does not turn the ball over. Much of the credit should go to Capo Valley’s offensive line for leading the Cougars to 151 yards rushing with two touchdowns and giving Acosta time to let passing plays develop. I also was impressed with Foothill’s comeback win over El Dorado when the Knights were missing their starting quarterback.

Was there a player who stood out in Week 9?

Fryer: Maxwell Mapstone, junior linebacker at Portola. He was credited for 29 tackles in the Bulldogs’ 28-26 win over Buena Park in an Omicron League game. Was he the only Portola player on the field when the Bulldogs were on defense? Because 29 is a lot of tackles.

Albano: Dash Beierly. The Mater Dei QB continues to improve each week and is playing at an elite level. Yes, the senior has his pick of weapons but it’s first season playing a national schedule. It’s clear that Beierly has been working hard to raise his level of play.

Dash Beierly #9 of Mater Dei passes the ball while playing St. John Bosco in the second half on Oct. 25, 2024 in Santa Anna CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)

Huntley: Alex Kiernan of Trabuco Hills. Kiernan had 220 yards receiving with three touchdowns on offense and added three interceptions on defense in the Mustangs’ win over Cypress. Former All-County receiver Ryan Luce has battled injuries all season and Kiernan has taken the reins as the team’s top receiver.

This is the last week of the regular season. What are your favorite matchups this week?

Fryer: The Alpha League has two beauties on Friday. Los Alamitos, coming off of a tight win over San Clemente, plays at Mission Viejo. Edison is at San Clemente. Over in the Delta League, Capistrano Valley and Tustin are tied for first place with their 4-0 league records. Both are 8-1 overall. They play each other Friday at Tustin High. Brea Olinda is 9-0 overall and 4-0 in the Kappa League. Esperanza is 6-3 overall and 3-1 in league, and might have the goods required to beat Brea. I’ve seen Esperanza play. That offense is very good, with Travis Frazier at quarterback and Coen Ali and Edward Khutshivili at receiver. In the Omicron League on Thursday it’s Pacifica at Portola. Both are 4-0 in league.

Albano: Capistrano Valley-Tustin. The winner claims the outright Delta League title.

Huntley: The two games that will decide outright league champions are my favorite matchups this week. Capo Valley and Tustin play for the Delta League title Friday and Pacifica and Portola play for the Omicron League title Thursday. Beckman will play Marina and if Marina wins we could have a three-way tie for the Lambda League title. There is also an outside chance of a five-way tie for a league title in the Foxtrot League. Northwood vs. Dana Hills is the best matchup in that league this week.

Pacifica’s Jakob Davis (6) catches a pass in the second quarter but fumbles the ball with Northwood recovering it during a football game at Irvine High School in Irvine on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Playoff pairings come out Sunday. What’s the best thing about pairings day? And the worst thing?

Fryer: Because the composition of brackets is dictated by Calpreps.com ratings, there will not be as many matchup surprises as there used to be. But it’s still going to be fun to see who plays who in the first round. The worst thing is knowing that a very good team is not going to make the playoffs. A team that is a very good at-large candidate, a team that is deserving of a playoffs opportunity, might not get in. And that would be rough for those seniors, who worked so hard through spring and summer and fall, who have to accept that their final high school football season has come to an end.

Albano: It’s always exciting to see the matchups and how the county represents itself throughout so many divisions. It’s a challenge not knowing in advance how many teams will be in Division 1 but I understand why the section follows this plan. It’s always good to have options.

Huntley: The best thing is seeing teams that haven’t been to the playoffs in a long time posting videos to social media of the players being excited to see the brackets. This new league system in Orange County allows programs that have struggled recently in tough leagues to play teams of a similar caliber and have a chance to reach the playoffs.

The worst thing is when I look at the pairings and see a traditional power program that had an awful season get rewarded with playing in a lower playoff division. In recent years, there has always been a team that went 2-8 and sneaks into the playoffs in a much lower playoff division. That team ends up running the table to the championship game while beating up on much smaller schools. I enjoy the current playoff format, but that trend is something I would like to see change.

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