Karol G brought her Tropicoqueta energy to the NFL stage in Brazil, where she headlined the halftime show on Friday night (Sept. 5) during the season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Colombian superstar’s performance was streamed live on the NFL’s YouTube channel from Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, where she opened her short-but-dazzling set singing some verses in Portuguese, before switching to Spanish for “Bandida Entrenada.”
“Hey, Brazil!” she greeted the audience with excitement. “¡Arriba mi gente latina!” (Up my Latin people!)
Dressed in a brown and yellow miniskirt with copper details and a bra with yellow pineapples for cups, Karol, with her wavy dark blond hair down, performed a medley of songs that included her Billboard Hot Latin Songs No. 1 hit “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” “Un Gatito Me Llamó” and “Papasito,” which she performed half in English, half in Spanish.
Surrounded by dozens of dancers and featuring some moves that included a bit of lambada, Karol’s performance lasted less than 10 minutes, but it was sweet and well-produced, including nice costumes, a group of female percussionists and a grand finale with golden pom poms and fireworks.
Hours before the show, Karol shared some heartfelt words in an Instagram post alongside a carousel of colorful spashots from her stay in Brazil. “Today is a very special day! After a long time, I return to one of my favorite places in the world, where, no matter what, I feel completely happy: The stage! The sacred place where I connect with you,” she wrote.
“Performing tonight has many special meanings in my life for different reasons, and there wouldn’t be enough space in this caption to explain it all… I just hope you really enjoy it, and in the name of God, I hope everything turns out incredible,” the singer continued. “You know, you think about every detail and hope that everything goes as planned… But no matter what happens, I love what we’ve prepared so much. It has all my soul and heart, and there’s a wonderful team of people by my side who worked incredibly hard as well.”
Karol G’s halftime show performance was announced in August. The news was accompanied by a photo of her dressed in Tropicoqueta flair, a nod to her latest album, while holding a football helmet. As part of the ongoing collaboration between the NFL and YouTube, the game between the Chiefs and the Chargers is the first NFL game exclusively streamed live on YouTube.
In addition to Karol’s show, Brazilian artist Ana Castela performed the country’s national anthem, “Hino Nacional Brasileiro,” and jazz saxophonist and composer Kamasi Washington played the United States national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers forThe RainmakerEpisode 4.]
Are Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan) and Sarah Plankmore (Madison Iseman) finally, fully through? It sure seems that way.
Ever since the two found themselves on opposite sides of the lawsuit between the family of Donny Ray Black and the hospital he died in, they’ve been sniping at one another in small but significant ways. There was the fancy business suit that served as a major metaphor, plus Sarah’s decision to tell her boss about Rudy’s dead brother so they could form emotional leverage against him. This time, it might’ve been the final straw … or tissue, as the case may be.
At the bar where Rudy was still part-timing, he and Sarah broke their no-work-talk rule and started arguing over the missing nurse Jackie Lemanczyk (Gemma-Leah Devereux). That’s when Sarah let it slip that Jackie was a part of the “tissue committee,” whatever that was. (In an earlier flashback, she took her concerns about Melvin Pritcher (Dan Fogler) to a company executive, but she wasn’t happy with the outcome.) That was information Sarah wasn’t supposed to share with anyone, let alone opposing counsel, and she worried it might negatively impact her career if Rudy seized on it. Rudy was torn up about whether to follow that lead, considering Sarah’s pleas for him not to, and consulted with Deck (P.J. Byrne) and Bruiser (Lana Parrilla). Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that this was substantial evidence that deserved to be subject to discovery and went after it, even if it cost him his relationship with Sarah.
Milo Callaghan told TV Insider of the decision, “I think part of him knows [it will cause them to break]. I think he makes a half-hearted attempt to cover for her at one point with Bruiser, and I think that’s his last-ditch effort to really sort of save his relationship. But I don’t know if he’s so much as betraying Sarah as fighting for what he believes to be right and true.”
Elsewhere in the episode, we got to see what happened to Jackie after she was kidnapped by Melvin. She woke up in an empty summer camp that he attended as a child and learned her neighbor was a victim of his, too. (An independent autopsy confirmed she died of an overdose.) Jackie was later kept captive in a trunk with an oxygen tank that very nearly ran out while Melvin was in court for his first hearing. Later, as Jackie tried to flee into the woods, she also found the private investigator, Jane Allen (Laura Campbell), tied to a tree and injured from a stab wound, but still alive.
Christopher Barr / USA Network
Also, Rudy decided to inform Kelly Riker (Robyn Cara) that her husband, Cliff (Fionn Ó Loingsigh), was at his house and threatened him, but she didn’t want Rudy to alert the authorities. She’d been squirreling away money as her own exit strategy, but in the final moments of the episode, she discovered he’d taken her hidden stash of cash. Now what?
Anthropic has agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement with authors in a landmark copyright case, marking one of the first and largest legal payouts of the AI era.
The AI startup agreed to pay authors around $3,000 per book for roughly 500,000 works, after it was accused of downloading millions of pirated texts from shadow libraries to train its large language model, Claude. As part of the deal, Anthropic will also destroy data it was accused of illegally acquiring.
The fast-growing AI startup announced earlier this week that it had just raised an additional $13 billion in new venture capital funding in a deal that valued the company at $183 billion. It has also said that it is currently on pace to generate at least $5 billion in revenues over the next 12 months. The settlement amounts to nearly a third of that figure or more than a tenth of the new funding Anthropic just received.
While the settlement does not establish a legal precedent, experts said it will likely serve as an anchor figure for the amount other major AI companies will need to pay if they hope to settle similar copyright infringement lawsuits. For instance, a number of authors are suing Meta for using their books without permission. As part of that lawsuit, Meta was forced to disclose internal company emails that suggest it knowingly used a library of pirated books called LibGen—which is one of the same libraries that Anthropic used. OpenAI and its partner Microsoft are also facing a number of copyright infringement cases, including one filed by the Author’s Guild.
Aparna Sridhar, deputy general counsel at Anthropic, told Fortune in a statement: “In June, the District Court issued a landmark ruling on AI development and copyright law, finding that Anthropic’s approach to training AI models constitutes fair use. Today’s settlement, if approved, will resolve the plaintiffs’ remaining legacy claims. We remain committed to developing safe AI systems that help people and organizations extend their capabilities, advance scientific discovery, and solve complex problems.”
A lawyer for the authors who sued Anthropic said the settlement would have far-reaching impacts. “This landmark settlement far surpasses any other known copyright recovery. It is the first of its kind in the AI era. It will provide meaningful compensation for each class work and sets a precedent requiring AI companies to pay copyright owners,” Justin Nelson, partner with Susman Godfrey LLP and co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel on Bartz et al. v. Anthropic PBC, said in a statement. “This settlement sends a powerful message to AI companies and creators alike that taking copyrighted works from these pirate websites is wrong.”
The case, which was originally set to go to trial in December, could have exposed Anthropic to damages of up to $1 trillion if the court found that the company willfully violated copyright law. Santa Clara law professor Ed Lee said could that if Anthropic lost the trial, it could have “at least the potential for business-ending liability.” Anthropic essentially concurred with Lee’s conclusion, writing in a court filing that it felt “inordinate pressure” to settle the case given the size of the potential damages.
The jeopardy Anthropic faced hinged on the means it had used to obtain the copyrighted books, rather than the fact that they had used the books to train AI without the explicit permission of the copyright holders. In July, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup, ruled that using copyrighted books to create an AI model constituted “fair use” for which no specific license was required.
But Alsup then focused on the allegation that Anthropic had used digital libraries of pirated books for at least some of the data it fed its AI models, rather than purchasing copies of the books legally. The judge suggested in a decision allowing the case to go to trial that he was inclined to view this as copyright infringement no matter what Anthropic did with the pirated libraries.
By settling the case, Anthropic has sidestepped an existential risk to its business. However, the settlement is significantly higher than some legal experts were predicting. The motion is now seeking preliminary approval of what’s claimed to be “the largest publicly reported copyright recovery in history.”
James Grimmelmann, a law professor at Cornell Law School and Cornell Tech, called it a “modest settlement.”
“It doesn’t try to resolve all of the copyright issues around generative AI. Instead, it’s focused on what Judge Alsup thought was the one egregiously wrongful thing that Anthropic did: download books in bulk from shadow libraries rather than buying copies and scanning them itself. The payment is substantial, but not so big as to threaten Anthropic’s viability or competitive position,” he told Fortune.
He said that the settlement helps establish that AI companies need to acquire their training data legitimately, but does not answer other copyright questions facing AI companies, such as what they need to do to prevent their generative AI models from producing outputs that infringe copyright. In several cases still pending against AI companies—including a case The New York Times has filed against OpenAI and a case that movie studio Warner Brothers filed just this week against Midjourney, a firm that makes AI that can generate images and videos—the copyright holders allege the AI models produced outputs that were identical or substantially similar to copyrighted works
“The recent Warner Bros. suit against Midjourney, for example, focuses on how Midjourney can be used to produce images of DC superheroes and other copyrighted characters,” Grimmelmann said.
While legal experts say the amount is manageable for a firm the size of Anthropic, Luke McDonagh, an associate professor of law at LSE, said the case may have a downstream impact on smaller AI companies if it does set a business precedent for similar claims.
“The figure of $1.5 billion, as the overall amount of the settlement, indicates the kind of level that could resolve some of the other AI copyright cases. It could also point the way forward for licensing of copyright works for AI training,” he told Fortune.“This kind of sum—$3,000 per work—is manageable for a firm valued as highly as Anthropic and the other large AI firms. It may be less so for smaller firms.”
A business precedent for other AI firms
Cecilia Ziniti, a lawyer and founder of legal AI company GC AI, said the settlement was a “Napster to iTunes” moment for AI.
“This settlement marks the beginning of a necessary evolution toward a legitimate, market-based licensing scheme for training data,” she said. She added the settlement could mark the “start of a more mature, sustainable ecosystem where creators are compensated, much like how the music industry adapted to digital distribution.”
Ziniti also noted the size of the settlement may force the rest of the industry to get more serious about licensing copyrighted works.
“The argument that it’s too difficult to track and pay for training data is a red herring because we have enough deals at this point to show it can be done,” she said, pointing to deals that news publications, including Axel Springer and Vox, have entered into with OpenAI. “This settlement will push other AI companies to the negotiating table and accelerate the creation of a true marketplace for data, likely involving API authentications and revenue-sharing models.”
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It isn’t hard to see the appeal of adividend stock like M&G (LSE: MNG), which offers one of the highest yields on the FTSE 100. Today, it gives investors a bumper trailing yield of 7.68%. Better still, that’s forecast to climb to 7.91% in 2025 and 8.19% in 2026. This dwarfs the returns from cash but as ever with stocks, the risks are higher too.
I felt those risks were worth taking and added the stock to my Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) a couple of years ago, and it’s paying off nicely. But should income seekers consider buying the wealth manager today?
Market-beating income
Wednesday’s (3 September) first-half results were solid enough. Adjusted operating profit before tax climbed just £3m to £375m, following an £8m foreign exchange loss in its asset management arm. More encouragingly, adjusted profit after tax jumped to £248m, a big improvement on the £56m loss posted previously. That was partly due to technical accounting adjustments. The group also reported strong net inflows, suggesting customers still trust active fund managers with their money.
Over the past 12 months the share price has risen 22%, and it’s up around 60% over five years. That’s not bad growth from a stock most will probably be looking at for income. Dividends are on top of that. With a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 10.25, the valuation still looks reasonable.
Shareholder payouts
If an investor put £2,000 into the stock at today’s price of 261.8p, they’d get around 763 shares after charges. In 2025, analysts expect M&G to pay a dividend per share of 20.6p. That would give them £157 in dividend income over the year.
If they reinvested that income back into the stock to pick up more shares at roughly today’s price, they’d bag another 60. That would lift their holding to 823 shares. In 2026, with the dividend per share expected to rise to 21.1p, they’d collect around £173 on top of that.
This gives investors a double income boost. The dividend per share rises, but so does the number of shares held, thanks to reinvesting. It’s a simple demonstration of the joys of compound returns from FTSE 100 income stocks.
Investment risks
No dividend is guaranteed, and M&G isn’t without its challenges. Net fund outflows hit £1.9bn last year as jittery investors pulled cash, and another market sell-off could dent assets under management. Rising market volatility is always a danger, and shareholder payouts could come under pressure if cash flows slip. Dividend growth is also expected to be modest, with dividends forecast to rise just 2% a year, which in real terms lags inflation.
Still, I think M&G is a solid income play. Its solvency ratio of 223% shows financial resilience, and management’s expectation of £2.7bn of operating capital generation over the next three years gives it scope to maintain dividends. I reckon M&G is well worth considering buying for long-term investors seeking high income and with luck, some capital growth too.
Ella Morgan, British reality television personality, did the cahoots. She’s literally the tourist in the Las Vegas, from meeting the new nephew and in and around town to mindless shopping therapy. Now, the girl’s Vegas vacay was an intoxicating cocktail: bask in the sun-sands and gush about times spent in family fun-an incredibly chic yet laid-back travelogue for her audience.
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There could not have been a better test for extremes than whatever was thrown at the Ella Morgan Las Vegas trip. “The city gave me a new nephew, an empty purse and a whole lotta chaos. Vegas 1 – Me 0.” A very colorful and cheeky admission of having sinned in Sin City went from the glam colors of Vanderpump Vegas at Caesars Palace to marring the air as Morgan has done so many times before… rushing on the Las Vegas Zipline.
Family time became almost a warm heart to the visit. The new-year-old nephew baby Koa were found in many pictures maybe to spur Morgan into saying, “I officially want my own baby!” after having loving moments with the little guy. That happiness was forever inked onto Morgan’s skin with a tattoo of the nephews’ names at Broadside Tattoo. This family post also featured her “US family,” epitomizing the competing dynamics that made the visit really special.
Touches of fashion did, of course, somehow enter the spectacle. Morgan expressed her great appreciation for her slab of L.A. wardrobe obsession and then gave special mention for: “Steve Madden shoes to die for,” and Good American that “gave cinched to the gods.” One regal mood board featured one arm of the faux portfolio clothed in all black with cow print boots against a lush green backdrop and neon glare screaming Vegas.
The post collected lots of love from the fans and places she visited. Official comments came from Caesars Palace: “Thanks for enjoying some of your Vegas visit with us! Looks like a great time!” Another user said, “This looks like the most wholesome trip,” citing the unexpected marriage of family warmth with that classic Vegas razzmatazz.
One fan fell totally in love with a photo and commented simply, “Slide 3 is everything,” referring to her zipline adventure. Morgan engaged, “Hahaha I thought I’d died,” adding a personal and humbling touch to the banter. The User brought the essence of Vegas: “Fab to see you at Lisa’s place!!!! From one Brit queen to another!!! Hope you had a pumptinni!!”
The actress was buzzing about in fashion. One commenter asked, “Can I have those boots as my something borrowed?,” while another went on a general, effusive appraisal of her body and style. Even a tattoo artist from the trip was commenting over “So lucky to have been part of your trip! Great meeting you.”
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Ella Morgan’s Las Vegas recap melded an opposite of all high-energy street circus and flood-lit extravaganza with heart-touching moments of memory personal enough to place greater emphasis on good times being made-from going to shows to babysitting her nephew. The post is a very posh yet well-balanced trip that suited her audience, also proving that it’s those moments that are wholesome even in Sin City.
Guitar ace Slash rose to prominence with an unmistakable look as the anchor of Guns N’ Roses. A true rock ’n’ roll persona, the artist was once rarely seen without a drooping cigarette and a top hat, the latter of which could barely contain his face-engulfing curly hair.
Now, as of this week, he’s a theme park character at Universal Studios Hollywood.
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Slash, or, rather, a skeletal facsimile of him played by an actor, will be available for photo opportunities and meet and greets at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, which runs most evenings through Nov. 2. For the musician, born Saul Hudson, it’s a dream fulfilled. A lifelong devotee of theme parks and coasters, Slash has been closely aligned with Halloween Horror Nights since 2014, when he first began scoring music for its haunted houses.
And the character, he says, was partly his idea.
“I went to them and said, ‘Hey, can we have one of those stilt walkers?’” says Slash, referring to the larger-than-life lurkers who haunt guests during the festivities. “That would be really cool. So they came up with one and he looks pretty menacing.”
Slash enjoys the idea of being a towering, sometimes intimidating presence. That’s clear when he’s on stage as the attention-demanding cornerstone of numerous bands. And he likes to scare, as evidenced by his own horror-focused film production company, BerserkerGang. But get Slash one-on-one, and he really just wants to geek out on his favorite theme park rides.
Universal Studios has released a second vinyl compilation of music Slash has composed for Halloween Horror Nights over the years.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
We talked to Slash about a week before Halloween Horror Nights opened from Orlando, Fla., where he was holed up recording an album with his band the Conspirators. That work, he says, will be released in 2027 due to planned 2026 touring obligations with Guns N’ Roses. He lamented that he wouldn’t have time to visit Walt Disney World and Universal’s new Epic Universe. The latter Florida park is home to a monsters-themed land that Slash said he was eager to see.
His love of theme parks runs deep, and is, of course, nonpartisan.
“I’m a real Disney head,” he says, joking that such a declaration may not make his Universal partners happy. He says he first visited Disneyland in the early 1970s. “I really can’t put into words what makes it so magical, but there is a definite thing there that you feel when you’re actually there. I’ve loved it since I was a little kid.”
“But I love theme parks in general,” he continues. “I love roller coasters. I love that carnival energy going on. I love arcades. I love everything about that festive outdoor thing, and I’ve never grown out of it.”
Arguably, he’s grown into it.
Halloween season means it’s time for Universa’s Halloween Horror Nights, which runs through early November at the theme park.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
Slash has a deep fascination with Universal Studios, made clear by his knowledge of how the park’s backlot tram trek — officially designated as the World-Famous Studio Tour — has shifted over the years. And as a lifelong horror fan who speaks nostalgically of watching 1970s films such as “The Wicker Man,” “The Omen” and “The Exorcist” with his parents, Halloween Horror Nights is especially dear to Slash’s heart.
Slash was first drawn to the event in 2013 due to a haunted house themed around the music and images of Black Sabbath. The artist was given a tour of Horror Nights by John Murdy, who has long overseen the West Coast edition of the festivities.
“I was so blown away,” Slash says. “I was elated. I remember physically making giddy sounds. The whole thing, from the stilt walkers to the invisible bush figures who would hide in the bushes and were camouflaged, it was unbelievable. I wanted to be involved.”
Murdy was open to the idea. “The first time I walked into his personal recording studio, the first thing I noticed was a huge print of ‘Bride of Frankenstein,’ our 1935 classic, hanging on the wall. And I was like, ‘Oh, we have something in common.’”
Halloween Horror Nights is filled with haunted houses and scare actors.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
Slash would go on to write the music for six Halloween Horror Nights houses centered around Universal’s classic monster characters. This year, he’s returned to Horror Nights with a score set to a relaunch of an original, Depression-era set maze, “Scarecrow.” Musically, it’s a departure for the artist. “Scarecrow” includes a Slash-composed cover of traditional folk number “O Death.”
“We started talking ‘Scarecrow,’ and as pure coincidence, he said, ‘Oh, I just learned the banjo and the dobro,’” Murdy says. “He was learning all these traditional Appalachian instruments, and I said, ‘That’s awesome because my house is set in the Dust Bowl.’”
That Slash has been dipping into more Americana-influenced music isn’t a complete surprise. His 2024 solo effort, “Orgy of the Damned,” leans blues for instance, including a blistering, rootsy take on early Fleetwood Mac rocker “Oh Well” with country star Chris Stapleton. Selections from Slash’s Halloween Horror Nights work, minus the new “Scarecrow” music, will again be available on a limited-run vinyl sold at Universal Studios during Halloween Horror Nights.
Slash is featured this year as a “character” at Halloween Horror Nights, a skeletal, stilt-walking interpretation of the artist.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
“As soon as they gave me the concept, my brain went into that realm — I could pull out my pedal steel, and do an Americana-type approach, as opposed to the goth, kind of pseudo-metal thing I was doing for all the Universal Monsters,” Slash says.
Slash has become such a Halloween Horror Nights fixture that this year will feature a bar centered around the artist, one complete with a mini top hat as a dessert. When asked how he feels to be immortalized as a sculpted sponge cake with coconut lime mousse, he doesn’t flinch.
“I wish I could explain in words how much I love that kind of stuff,” Slash says.
He is, after all, a theme park regular, although his favorite rides are found a few miles from Universal Studios in Anaheim. “I love the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. That and Pirates of the Caribbean will always be my two favorite rides,” he says. “The attention to detail and the creative element and everything that is going on with those old Disney rides is still, to this day, second to none.”
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios
The mark of any true theme park aficionado is an appreciation of slow-moving, old-school dark rides, attractions that are set in darkened show buildings and often filled with an assortment of vignettes. Slash singles out Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash” as another highlight.
“I went with my stepdaughter and we went on that ride and it’s great,” Slash says. “The ‘Pets’ one is really sweet. I’m a big animal guy. We love our cats, so that was a lot of fun.”
Crowds lined up to enter “Scarecrow,” a haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights featuing music by Slash.
(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)
And before Slash can finish his next thought, he starts gushing about a recent trip to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he visited Ferrari World, home to a number of celebrated roller coasters.
Income stocks or growth stocks? Cash now or cash later? A bird in the hand or two in the bush? This is the essence of a burning question that anyone looking to maximise their passive income through the stock market must answer.
On the one hand, we have income stocks that use earnings for ‘cash in your pocket’ dividends. These are paid out once, twice, or sometimes four times each year. On the other, we have growth stocks where an investor expects a growing share price so that the shares can be sold to make their money.
In this article, and with the help of a favourite income stock of mine, Legal & General (LSE: LGEN), I’ll outline three situations where I think income stocks win the battle.
Reason: psychological benefit
Seeing cash enter your account is a psychological benefit for many. The money is there and there’s no escaping it. Some investors will thrive seeing a tangible return on their investments. This can lead to more savings and better investment decisions in general.
Those who opt for growth instead may go decades without a capital gain. This effect can be particularly pronounced during down periods such as between 2000 and 2015, when the FTSE 100 didn’t surpass its high for 15 years.
If another long run of underperformance is on the horizon, then I’ll be thankful for the rising dividend of Legal & General, expected to be a 8.6% yield over the next 12 months. The income received will feel like progress even if the stock market as a whole is having a wobble. Of course, dividends are never guaranteed and tend to be lower or even cancelled when times really get tough.
Reason: fewer ups and downs
Dividend stocks tend to be older businesses, in more mature and more saturated markets. And importantly, with more predictable income streams. Combine steady earnings with a regular payout from the dividend? You’ve got a stock that rises and falls more gently over time.
For anyone who just about has a heart attack when seeing one of their stocks nosedive (goodness knows I’ve had a few), then a lack of erratic zigzagging might be good for the soul.
The share price chart of Legal & General shows a steady 10 years or so. Even the larger shocks like the 2020 crash from that pesky little coronavirus did not affect the FTSE 100 insurer as much as others.
Reason: defensive
Dividend stocks tend to be more defensive, which means they perform better in hard economic conditions. The passive income from dividends is a part of this resilience. But the nature of dividend stocks tends to be in sectors like banks, energy, or alcohol.
Such products and services are needed (or wanted!) in all types of economic conditions, good or bad. With a catalogue of insurance, investment, and retirement products and services, Legal & General is in a good place to weather economic storms. No one knows yet whether the times ahead are rainclouds or sunny skies. But defensive dividend-payers like Britain’s largest insurer by assets are ones to consider in the event of overcast conditions.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge known to make inappropriate remarks, including threatening to shoot people in his courtroom and suggesting one woman would raise a “meth baby,” has been publicly admonished by a state watchdog panel for judges.
The Commission on Judicial Performance, the state agency responsible for probing complaints of judicial misconduct and incapacity as well as disciplining judges, issued its findings in August. A public admonishment is typically issued for serious misconduct.
The commission found that while presiding over criminal matters at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, Superior Court Judge Enrique Monguia made public remarks threatening to “shoot” people or have people “shot” by his bailiff, including attorneys and a retired judge.
The panel said he also engaged in a pattern of improper remarks that “were discourteous and gave the appearance of bias to a crime victim, prospective jurors, defendants, attorneys and others.”
Each of Monguia’s remarks “constituted an abuse of authority” and violated the judicial rules of conduct, according to the commission’s statement on the findings.
Monguia could not immediately be reached for comment. However, the panel said he did not contest the issuance of the public admonishment.
Monguia served as a public defender from 1986 to 2014, when then-Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him to the Superior Court. His current term began in January 2023.
Among the examples of Monguia’s misconduct reviewed by the panel included a November 2022 preliminary hearing of a man accused of assaulting a security guard. The man’s attorney presented surveillance footage of the attack to show his client was in fact defending himself, and later requested that the charges be reduced to a misdemeanor.
“While announcing his ruling holding the defendant to answer, Judge Monguia expressed his opinion that the video did not show self-defense,” the panel wrote. “He stated, ‘If it were me, I would have shot him [the defendant], but that’s me.’”
In September 2023, Monguia threatened two attorneys who were discussing a case too loudly in his court that if they didn’t lower their voices, “he would authorize his bailiff to use physical force, not for the bailiff to shoot counsel, but so Judge Monguia could shoot counsel himself.”
The following month, retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephen Marcus, who was presiding in another courtroom but not wearing a judicial robe, entered Monguia’s courtroom and requested to use the private entrance reserved for court staff, but was denied.
“From the bench, Judge Monguia stated that Judge Marcus was lucky the bailiff was not there, otherwise he would have ordered her to ‘shoot’ Judge Marcus or words to that effect.”
The commission said Monguia’s shooting remarks “fostered an atmosphere of intimidation in the courtroom and, even if made in jest, were undignified and discourteous.”
The panel said Monguia also engaged in a pattern of making improper remarks to attorneys, defendants, prospective jurors and crime victims.
In one case, he told a defendant who was overweight and having trouble paying fines that he did not appear to be starving. Monguia did acknowledge his comment was “demeaning and wrong.”
In another case, he told a prosecutor that a pregnant woman with past criminal drug charges in his courtroom was going to have a “meth baby” who would be “supported by [his] taxes.”
The panel said Monguia also made improper remarks to prospective jurors including one woman whom he referred to as a “hot mess” after she disclosed her son’s criminal history during jury selection in September 2022.
The remarks also extended to victims of crime, the panel found, including a woman who in March 2023 sought to modify a no-contact restraining order to allow peaceful contact so that she could be present for visits between her son and his father.
Monguia’s remarks that day implied that the woman was putting herself in a dangerous situation and creating a burden for her community — including police officers who may have to respond to help her, according to the statement.
The panel said Monguia abused his authority in some cases — including in September 2023, when a woman voluntarily showed up for a bench warrant with her child. The woman’s attorney was not present in court, prompting Meredith Gallen, a deputy public defender, to request that she step in and represent the woman.
But Monguia instead ordered that the woman be taken into custody, prompting Gallen to object as there was no one to take the woman’s child. The panel provided portions of the conversation between Monguia and Gallen, who objected to the court’s position on the matter.
“…I need a second call to speak to my administration because never once in my career have I had a child ripped away from his mother’s arm in court,” Gallen said, according to the transcript.
“The Court: Well , you haven’t been in the office very long then, counsel. I’ve been here for 30 years…”
The woman was taken into custody but later released and reunited with her child, but not without intervention from the public defender’s office.
The commission found that Monguia “failed in a number of ways, to treat the defendant and attorneys with courtesy and respect during this hearing.”
Monguia, according to the panel’s statement, acknowledged wrongdoing in that case and that his conduct in other cases was improper.
“Judge Monguia expressed regret and remorse for his actions, and said that he had taken steps to address unconscious bias and other matters that contributed to his misconduct.”
More details are emerging about a company that allegedly paid Clippers star Kawhi Leonard millions including that the team came close in 2021 to granting naming rights for its Inglewood arena to Aspiration Partners.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer nearly granted naming rights to the company, but ended up choosing financial services firm Intuit to grace the $2-billion venue, a source familiar with the matter said. Intuit, which has a $186-billion net worth and developed TurboTax, Credit Karma and QuickBooks, ended up paying a reported $500 million over 23 years for the naming rights. The source requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Four years later, Aspiration, a sustainability firm that also generated and sold carbon credits, is out of business. Co-founder Joseph Sanberg has agreed to plead guilty to defrauding multiple investors and lenders. Listed among creditors in Aspiration’s bankruptcy documents is Leonard, raising questions about whether his $28-million endorsement deal with the company skirted NBA salary cap rules.
One of the investors Sanberg defrauded was Ballmer, listed by Fortune magazine as the sixth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $157 billion. The Clippers owner invested $50 million in Aspiration, which in turn entered into a $330-million sponsorship agreement with the team.
This week, the Athletic reported allegations that Aspiration agreed to pay Leonard $28 million for a job with no responsibilities. Anonymous sources quoted by the outlet said the payment was an effort to circumvent the NBA salary cap.
Ballmer was interviewed Thursday night by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and denied involvement in Leonard’s deal with Aspiration, but the NBA has launched an investigation.
Ballmer said he was “conned” by the company and that the Clippers did not circumvent NBA salary cap rules, which the team was accused of doing in a podcast report by Pablo Torre of the Athletic.
A plane flies over the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Ballmer told Shelburne that Aspiration offered more than Intuit for dome naming rights, and a Clippers spokesman confirmed that account. However, Ballmer insisted that the Clippers did not violate NBA rules against skirting the salary cap, and the team had agreed to a contract extension with Leonard and the sponsorship deal with Aspiration before the player and the company met.
“We were done with Kawhi, we were done with Aspiration,” Ballmer said. “The deals were all locked and loaded. Then, they did request to be introduced to Kawhi, and under the rules, we can introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We just can’t be involved.”
The Clippers signed Leonard to a four-year, $176-million contract in August 2021 even though he was recovering from a partially torn ACL in his right knee that kept him sidelined the entire 2021-22 season. Ballmer said the sponsorship deal with Aspiration was completed in September 2021 and that the Clippers introduced Leonard to Aspiration two months later.
“As part of our cooperation with the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, we produced texts and emails,” Ballmer said. “It was part of the document production in their investigation. We even found the email that made the first introduction [between Aspiration and Leonard]. It was early in November.
“Where could any of this circumvention happened? It couldn’t have, it didn’t. The introduction got made and they were off to the races on their own. We weren’t involved.”
The Boston Sports Journal reported that Leonard did not appear in promotional material as other endorsers did because Aspiration executives “saw no brand synergy with Leonard and chose not to use his services. They instead preferred to partner with climate-focused influencers.”
Ballmer couldn’t explain why Leonard did no marketing or endorsement work for Aspiration, telling Shelburne that he never spoke with the player about his deal with the company.
“I don’t know why they did what they did and I don’t know how different it is, I really don’t,” he said. “And, frankly, any speculation would be crazy. These were guys who committed fraud. Look, they conned me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up and they conned me. At this stage, I have no ability to predict why they did anything they did.”
The salary cap is a dollar amount that limits what teams can spend on player payroll. The purpose of the cap is to ensure parity, preventing the wealthiest teams from outspending smaller markets to acquire the best players.
Circumventing the cap by paying a player outside of his contract is strictly prohibited. Teams that exceed the cap must pay luxury tax penalties that grow increasingly severe. Revenues from the tax penalties are then distributed in part to smaller-market teams and in part to teams that do not exceed the salary cap.
The NBA said it will investigate the allegations laid out by Torre. Ballmer said he welcomes the probe. If allegations were made against a team other than the Clippers, “I’d want the league to investigate, to take it seriously,” he said.
“We know the rules, and if anything is not clear, we remind ourselves what the rules are. And we make it absolutely clear we will abide by those rules.”
The cap was implemented before the 1984-85 season at a mere $3.6 million. Ten years later, it was $15.9 million, and 10 years after that it had risen to $43.9 million. By the 2014-15 season it was $63.1 million.
The biggest spike came before the 2016-2017 season when it jumped to $94 million because of an influx of revenue from a new nine-year, $24-billion media rights deal with ESPN and TNT.
Salary cap rules negotiated between the NBA and the players’ union are spelled out in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Proven incidents of teams circumventing the cap are few, with a violation by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000 serving as the most egregious.
The Timberwolves made a secret agreement with free agent and former No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Smith, signing him to a succession of below-market one-year deals in order to enable the team to go over the cap with a huge contract ahead of the 2001-02 season.
The NBA voided his contract, fined the Timberwolves $3.5 million, and stripped them of five first-round draft picks — two of which were later returned. Also, owner Glen Taylor and general manager Kevin McHale were suspended.
Then-NBA commissioner David Stern told the Minnesota Star Tribune at the time: “What was done here was a fraud of major proportions. There were no fewer than five undisclosed contracts tightly tucked away, in the hope that they would never see the light of day. … The magnitude of this offense was shocking.”
According to Article 13 of the CBA, if the Clippers were found to have circumvented the cap, it would be a first offense punishable by a $4.5-million fine, the loss of one first-round draft pick, and voiding of Leonard’s contract. However, the Clippers don’t have a first-round pick until 2027.
Beach days are all fun and sunshine. That is, until your summer makeup starts melting faster than your ice cream. Between the blazing sun, extreme heat, and nonstop sweat, keeping your look intact can feel like a losing battle. Smudged eyeliner, faded lips, and patchy foundation? No sweat, most of us know the struggle.
But summer glam doesn’t have to be a lost cause. With the right heat-proof beauty products and a few strategic tips, you can enjoy full days at the beach while still looking fresh-faced and polished.
Ahead, we’re breaking down the ultimate lineup of sweat-proof makeup essentials designed to withstand the swelter so that you can splash, sun, and selfie with total confidence.
What Is Sweat-Proof Makeup?
Photo: Deposit Photos
Sweat-proof makeup is designed to withstand hot, humid, and high-intensity conditions without slipping, smearing, or dissolving into a shiny mess.
These formulas are typically lightweight, breathable, and resistant to both water and oil, making them ideal for summer days or any situation involving heat.
It’s worth noting that “sweat-resistant” and “waterproof” aren’t quite the same. Sweat-resistant products hold up well under mild to moderate perspiration, while waterproof versions are formulated to endure everything from pool dives to full-on face splashes. For long beach days, you’ll want a combo of both.
10 Heat-Proof Products For Beach Days
If you want your makeup to last from sunrise to sunset by the shore, it starts with the correct formulas. These beach-ready essentials withstand heat, humidity, and a splash or two, so you can focus on fun, not fading.
1. Waterproof Eyeliner
No one wants raccoon eyes by lunchtime. A long-wearing, waterproof eyeliner stays crisp and smudge-free, even after a dip in the ocean or a midday sweat session. Look for gel or pencil formulas that glide on easily and lock in place once set.
Bonus points for those with hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and ceramides to keep delicate lash lines from drying out.
2. Waterproof Eyebrow Gel
Brows have a way of disappearing in the heat, which is why a waterproof eyebrow gel comes in handy. These long-wear formulas keep arches lifted and filled, resisting smudges from sweat, sunscreen, and sea spray. Choose one with a hint of tint for an effortless, put-together look.
3. Eyeshadow Stick
An eyeshadow stick is a summer makeup bag must-have. These creamy formulas glide on effortlessly and resist creasing, fading, or smudging, even in high heat and humidity. Seriously, it’s no wonder search interest in eyeshadow sticks grew 25% over the past year!
Look for sticks with light-reflecting pigments that deliver a flattering, radiant sheen while blurring fine lines. Many are dermatologist and ophthalmologist-tested, making them safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers. Swipe, blend, and go. No brushes or touch-ups needed.
Photo: ThriveCausemetics.com
4. SPF Mineral Sunscreen
Sun exposure is linked to nearly 90% of visible skin aging. That includes wrinkles, fine lines, and dark spots. This makes daily SPF a non-negotiable necessity, especially in the summer.
A non-comedogenic, broad-spectrum SPF mineral sunscreen defends against UVA and UVB rays without clogging pores or disrupting your makeup. For all-day comfort, choose a lightweight, 100% mineral formula that also helps protect against blue light and environmental stressors.
5. Tinted Moisturizer with SPF
Ditch the heavy foundation and opt for a breathable, tinted moisturizer. These multitaskers even skin tone, hydrate, and protect, all without sliding off your face by noon. Choose oil-free formulas with SPF for extra staying power.
6. Matte Liquid Lipstick
Beach-friendly lip color? Yes, please. A matte liquid lipstick delivers bold, budge-proof color that withstands heat, humidity, and long days in the sun.
The best formulas won’t melt, smear, or fade, so your lip look stays fresh, no matter how high the temps climb. Go for hydrating, vegan formulas to avoid that dry, cracked look.
7. Lip Liners to Prevent Lipstick Bleeding
Hot weather can cause lipsticks to smudge, especially creamy or glossy formulas. A good liner helps prevent lipstick bleeding, creating a defined barrier that keeps your color crisp and exactly where it belongs.
Use it to outline or fill in your lips for extra grip, longer wear, and a polished finish that holds up through heat, humidity, and whatever’s in your glass.
8. Waterproof Mascara
No clumps, flakes, or streaks. Just lifted, defined lashes that survive swims and sunbathing. A good waterproof mascara holds your curl without weighing down your lashes and is often infused with conditioning ingredients to keep them soft and healthy.
9. Setting Spray with Sweat-Proof Technology
Seal in your look with a makeup setting spray that’s specifically made for hot, humid days. Sweat-proof formulas form a breathable barrier that locks in pigment and prevents breakdown, keeping your makeup in place.
Look for a spray formulated with skin-friendly ingredients like ferulic acid and hyaluronic acid to hydrate and protect, helping skin feel plump while perfecting makeup.
10. Blotting Papers or Mattifying Powders
Shine happens, especially under the summer sun. Keep blotting papers or a lightweight mattifying powder in your beach bag for quick touch-ups. They absorb excess oil without caking or disturbing your base.
If you opt for the powder route, choose a translucent formula that contains ingredients like chamomile and cucumber to soothe and hydrate your skin. This ensures your makeup never looks cakey.
Pro Tips For Heat-Proof Makeup Application
Photo: Deposit Photos
Want to know how to make makeup sweat-proof, not just the products, but the process? It’s all in the prep and layering:
Start with skincare: Use lightweight, oil-free moisturizers and always apply an SPF mineral sunscreen as your final step before makeup.
Prime smart: Mattifying or gripping primers help your base stay in place while minimizing shine.
Use thin layers: Applying makeup in sheer, buildable layers allows each product to set properly and prevents slippage.
Layer cream and powder: Cream blush, bronzer, or highlighter can be topped with a matching powder to extend wear time.
Let each step set: Give foundation, concealer, and eye makeup a few moments to dry before moving to the next step.
Lock it in: Finish your routine with a long-lasting setting spray designed to combat sweat and humidity.
Keep your kit minimal: Toss blotting papers, SPF for reapplication, and a lip product into your beach bag for low-maintenance touch-ups.
Let Your Makeup Outlast the Sun
Photo: Ben Scott / Unsplash
Flawless beach-day makeup starts with intentional layering and smart, sweat-proof choices, not excess product. From budge-proof brows to long-wear lip color and waterproof everything, sweat-proof makeup is your go-to survival kit for sunny days ahead.
Swap in a few of these summer MVPs and you’ll spend less time worrying about smudges and more time soaking up those not-so-endless days.
