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LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani took his customary spot atop the Dodgers’ batting order for their game Sunday afternoon against the Washington Nationals. But it might not be long before he drops in the order on the days or nights he assumes his additional role as one of their starting pitchers. Manager Dave Roberts said he approached Ohtani after his first start after a two-year layoff following elbow surgery if he wished to remain as a leadoff hitter, and Ohtani told him “he was completely fine with it.” It wasn’t a fatigue thing or anything like that, but it was…

ANAHEIM – Jack Kochanowicz will start Monday night’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox, giving the Angels right-hander another chance to try out his new toy, a one-seam changeup that he leaned heavily on in last Wednesday’s 5 ⅓-inning, two-hit, two-run, eight-strikeout effort in a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees. “I was definitely happy with the way it was coming out,” said Kochanowicz, who induced seven of his 12 swinging strikes in Yankee Stadium with his changeup. “When you’re getting swings like that, you know it’s working.” Pitching coach Barry Enright suggested the grip change–one that helps…

A video posted to social media of a gardener being detained and repeatedly hit by a federal agent in Santa Ana sparked a demonstration with dozens of protesters and an online fundraiser this weekend. A GoFundMe identifies the man as Narciso Barranco, who it says has three sons who are U.S. Marines. Barranco was picked up by immigration agents on Saturday, June 21, while he was doing his landscaping job at the IHOP on Edinger Avenue and Ritchey Street, according to the GoFundMe, which raised more than $24,000 for legal expenses as of Sunday morning. He was pepper-sprayed and punched…

The Houston Rockets are acquiring 15-time All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in a blockbuster deal struck Sunday, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. The Rockets are giving up Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and six future picks — including the No. 10 selection in Wednesday’s opening round of this year’s draft — according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was still pending NBA approval. It ends weeks of speculation about where Durant would end up. Many teams were involved at…

Tomorrow marks 20 years to the day since the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous 5-4 Kelo v. City of New London decision, which the Institute for Justice, the libertarian public interest law firm which represented homeowner Susette Kelo, recently described as the court’s “most universally despised opinion in modern memory.” In ruling that “economic development” constitutes a legitimate “public use” for the purposes of government eminent domain power, the court sanctioned the practice of governments forcibly taking private property and handing it over to another private party with more political pull, thereby striking at the heart of property rights which were…

Unable to stomach even the modest cuts proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic-controlled Legislature instead passed — in time for the June 15 deadline — a $325-billion budget that relies on borrowing to close a $12-billion budget deficit. The budget was a dereliction of duty, as progressive lawmakers seem incapable of breaking their addiction to spending. As CalMatters reported, lawmakers passed it based on “hope” and expectation of a coming economic “miracle”—even though most prognosticators see a rocky economic road ahead. Speaking to the publication, Assembly member Jesse Gabriel, D-Encino, encapsulated the predominant view: “The worst outcome here ……

By Madyson Fitzgerald, Stateline.org While on her way home from a co-working space in Denver last year, Colorado state Rep. Jenny Willford says she was sexually assaulted by her Lyft driver. In her lawsuit filed against Lyft in January, Willford alleges she was “subjected to unwelcome, nonconsensual sexual contact, touching” and lewd comments during the ride. Willford was picked up by a different driver than the person identified in the Lyft app, according to the suit. Her experience — and those that other survivors shared with her after hearing her story — prompted Willford, a Democrat, to introduce legislation this…

I’m 67. I have a mortgage and a 401k. I drive a 2014 Chevy Impala and never heard of any of the musical guests on SNL. I have pasty skin and need SPF 50 to fetch the paper out of the driveway. Standing in the sun for hours with a placard is not my natural habitat. Until January 6, 2021, I was a Republican.  Clearly, I do not fit the profile of a radical leftist. Yet, I found myself last Saturday marching alongside people who do. Scattered among the multitudes gathered at Topanga Canyon and Victory Boulevards at the “No…

We often believe we’re teaching our children about money when we hand them an allowance, open a savings account in their name or help them plan a budget. And while these are important steps, the most powerful financial lessons our children receive are the ones we don’t realize we’re giving. Every day, our children are observing how we handle money. They’re listening to how we talk — or don’t talk — about finances. They’re noticing whether money is treated with stress or with confidence, secrecy or openness. Long before they ever balance a checkbook or apply for a loan, they’ve…

LOS ANGELES — Like a dieter minding their calories, the Dodgers have to curb their appetite. “It always feels good to write his name in the lineup,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of catcher Will Smith. On his way to a third consecutive All-Star selection, Smith is batting .325 with a National League-high .424 on-base percentage to go with a .949 OPS. No one in baseball has been better with runners in scoring position than Smith, who is 26 for 60 (.433) with 36 RBIs in those situations. But at least twice a week, Roberts has to deny the urge…