Meghan Markle est sur le point de s’installer pour de bon au palais de Kensington. L’actrice de Suits est coachée par le prince Harry et par le palais pour être prête à endosser le rôle de princesse. Alors que le monde attend des fiançailles officielles imminentes, le palais ne laisse rien au hasard.

Kensignton attend Meghan Markle avec impatience. L’annonce des fiançailles du prince Harry et de sa chérie est imminente. Selon le Daily Mail, l’actrice de Suits a déjà rencontré le prince Charles et son épouse Camilla Parker Bowles, elle leur aurait fait une très bonne impression. Le couple doit effectuer sa première apparition publique en couple aux Invictus Games, un peu plus tard dans le mois de septembre.

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Au palais, les tourtereaux pourraient emménager dans l’appartement 9, non loin des appartements du prince William et de Kate Middleton. Pour l’instant, Harry et Meghan Markle habitent dans le Nottingham Cottage, une petite maison accolée à la demeure royale. Le palais joue un rôle très important dans la préparation de Meghan Markle à son futur rôle. Cela passe notamment par la réduction de ses engagements professionnels pour la série Suits, en clair : s’affranchir de tout obstacle. Kensington appelle cela « l’Opération Princesse ».

Selon le Daily Mail, Meghan Markle et le prince Harry ont retardé l’annonce officielle de leurs fiançailles, de peur que cela fasse de l’ombre au vingtième anniversaire de la la mort de la princesse Diana. Maintenant que cette triste date est passée, le jeune prince est libre de confirmer cette alliance. Cela se précisera définitivement lors des Invictus Games, le 23 septembre prochain.

Meghan Markle, prête pour endosser son rôle ? L’actrice qui doit bientôt rencontrer la reine ne se plie pas encore tout à fait aux exigences de la couronne. En livrant une interview à Vanity Fair, l’actrice ne met pas toutes les chances de son côté !

Tous les amoureux ont leurs petits secrets l’un pour l’autre, et le couple présidentiel ne fait pas exception à la règle. Hors de question pour Brigitte Macron de tout dire à son mari, surtout lorsqu’il s’agit…de voter !

Il a suffi d’une petite phrase de Nicolas Sarkozy pour mettre le feu aux poudres. Invité avec son épouse Carla Bruni à l’Elysée pour un dîner avec le couple Macron en juillet dernier, l’ancien président de la République n’a pas tari d’éloge au sujet de la nouvelle Première dame. Selon des proches cités par le JDD dans son édition du 17 septembre, Nicolas Sarkozy aurait confié : « Elle est super ! », avant d’ajouté « Elle m’a dit qu’elle avait voté pour moi toute sa vie ! »

Une confidence en apparence anodine qui a pourtant fait beaucoup parler dans la presse, les relations entre Emmanuel Macron et Nicolas Sarkozy n’ayant pas toujours été au beau fixe. Selon RTL, Brigitte Macron a démenti en privé ces affirmations surprenantes : « Je n’ai jamais dit à personne pour qui je votais et je ne le dirai jamais à personne, pas même à Emmanuel ! ». Eh oui, lorsque Brigitte Macron dit « personne », cela inclut également son époux.

Très attachée aux règles de la démocratie et en dépit du couple fusionnel qu’elle forme depuis plus de 20 ans avec Emmanuel Macron, la première dame aurait tenu à rappeler que pour elle : « l’isoloir c’est l’isoloir ! » Un démenti partiel qui ravira néanmoins Nicolas Sarkozy !Brigitte Macron n’ayant finalement pas dit qu’elle n’avait jamais voté pour lui…

Crédit photo : Stéphane Lemouton/Bestimage

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Chaque semaine, la rédaction d’Allociné vous donne cinq bonnes raisons de (re)voir un film qu’elle juge incontournable à la télévision. Ce soir, sur TF1 : “The Dark Knight” de Christopher Nolan avec Christian Bale et Heath Ledger.

De quoi ça parle ?

Dans ce nouveau volet, Batman augmente les mises dans sa guerre contre le crime. Avec l’appui du lieutenant de police Jim Gordon et du procureur de Gotham, Harvey Dent, Batman vise à éradiquer le crime organisé qui pullule dans la ville. Leur association est très efficace mais elle sera bientôt bouleversée par le chaos déclenché par un criminel extraordinaire que les citoyens de Gotham connaissent sous le nom de Joker.

Ca passe quand ?

Ce dimanche 5 octobre à 20h50 sur TF1.

1/ L’épisode 2 d’une trilogie : The Dark Knight est la suite de Batman Begins, le reboot de la franchise Batman signée Christopher Nolan. Suite à l’échec de Batman & Robin, le célèbre personnage avait été mis au placard, George Clooney admettant lui-même “qu’il avait tué Batman”. Après un premier épisode introductif, ce second explore davantage la double personnalité du célèbre héros et du fardeau reposant sur ses épaules en tant que justicier masqué.

2/ Le nemesis du Chevalier noir : Dans Batman Begins, Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson) et l’Epouvantail (Cillian Murphy) semaient le chaos dans les rues de Gotham City. Cette fois, c’est le Joker qui joue le rôle du grand méchant de ce deuxième épisode. Pour succéder à Jack Nicholson, inoubliable dans le Batman de Tim Burton, c’est Heath Ledger qui a eu la confiance de Christopher Nolan. Et le comédien australien n’a pas hésité à se plonger intensément dans le rôle, passant plusieurs mois à perfectionner la voix, les mimiques et même le rire du personnage. Malheureusement, cette implication sera trop pesante pour lui puisqu’il disparaîtra tragiquement en janvier 2008, à l’âge de 28 ans, d’une surdose de médicaments. Il se verra décerner à titre posthume l’Oscar du meilleur second rôle.

3/ Une B.O. d’anthologie : C’est Hans Zimmer et James Newton Howard qui se sont chargés de composer la bande-originale du film. Une association payante puisqu’elle regorge de thèmes mémorables, accompagnant avec brio le long métrage et notamment celles du Joker, qui allient humour et terreur.

4/ Pour sa scène d’ouverture : The Dark Knight s’ouvre par une scène de braquage particulièrement mémorable. Digne des plus grands polars du genre comme Heat ou Guet-Apens, elle introduit avec malice le personnage du Joker et lance le film sur des chapeaux de roue.

5/ L’apogée du film de super-héros : De l’avis général, The Dark Knight pourrait bien être le plus grand film de super-héros jamais réalisé. Il faut dire que la noirceur du film et les codes empruntés au polar le démarquent des autres films du genre. D’ailleurs, dès sa sortie, il a été plesbiscité par le public, apparaissant au sommet du classement All Time du site Imdb. N’oublions pas qu’il a également été honoré de deux Oscars, ceux du meilleur second rôle masculin et du meilleur montage sonore.

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Le boxeur français Tony Yoka a remporté samedi soir son troisième succès chez les pros. Une victoire à laquelle ont assisté de nombreuses personnalités.

Une belle soirée et la victoire au bout. Samedi soir, pour son troisième combat professionnel, Tony Yoka a corrigé le Belge Ali Baghouz en seulement deux rounds. Le champion français a facilement gagné son combat devant les yeux de certains admirateurs connus. Parmi eux Maxim Nucci rentré de St Barth où il a pu dire un dernier au revoir à son ami Johnny, Isabelle Ithurburu (la compagne du musicien), Valérie Pécresse, Cyril Hanouna, Pierre Ménès ou encore le comédien Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Les personnalités présentes n’ont pourtant pas assisté à un grand match, certains commentateurs critiquant par ailleurs le choix de son adversaire du soir qui s’est avéré un faible opposant. Cinq ou six combats sont désormais prévus pour Tony Yoka en 2018 alors que le boxeur est un papa heureux depuis l’été 2017. Nul doute que certains people fans de boxe seront une nouvelle fois présentes autour du ring. En espérant avoir droit à un combat digne de ce nom.

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Crédits photos : Zabulon Laurent/ABACA

The Trump administration announced plans on Thursday for a temporary ban on many candy- and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, retreating from a previous, stricter proposal intended to curb an epidemic of vaping among teens.

The decision means that manufacturers of certain vaping products, such as youth-friendly flavor pods, must stop selling the products within 30 days of the ban. If they want to resume sales, they will need to convince the Food and Drug Administration that the pod flavors are safe and appropriate for the public.

But the new ban does not extend to refillable, tank-based vaping systems purchased in most vape shops, which users can fill with flavored e-liquid. It also excludes menthol-flavored cartridges. Together, the two exemptions represent a major retreat from an earlier White House plan to bar all flavors other than tobacco.

The new policy will also leave Juul, the leading e-cigarette among teens, largely untouched. The company suspended nationwide sales of sweet flavors like mango and cucumber in October, then added mint to the list in November. It still sells menthol pods.

In fact, the ban on sweet-flavored pods sold by smaller manufacturers could actually benefit Juul by eliminating competition in the e-cigarette industry, anti-tobacco advocates say.

“Our action today seeks to strike the right public health balance by maintaining e-cigarettes as a potential offramp for adults using combustible tobacco while ensuring these products don’t provide an onramp to nicotine addiction for our youth,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement on Thursday.

But public health experts have warned that if menthol vaping products remain permitted, teens using other flavors will simply switch to menthol, and manufacturers will modify or rebrand other flavors to fit the mold.

About two-thirds of high school students who vape use menthol or mint flavors, making them nearly as popular as fruity flavors, according to this year’s National Youth Tobacco Survey.

Alex Azar, the secretary of Health and Human Services, announced the administration’s intent to limit vaping flavors in September. At the time, he said the flavor ban “would include mint and menthol.”

Meanwhile, the exempt tank-based systems — which allow users to customize their own flavors before filling the vaping reservoir — line the shelves in thousands of vape shops.

The new decision to focus on sweet pre-filled cartridges “creates a giant loophole that benefits Juul — the company that created the youth epidemic — and irresponsible vape shops, and leaves America’s kids at risk,” said Matthew Myers, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

“The e-cigarette policy announced today by the Trump administration breaks the administration’s promise to kids and families to eliminate the flavored e-cigarettes that are driving an epidemic of youth nicotine addiction,” he added.

Despite the softened policy, vaping advocates showed frustration. As the presidential motorcade returned to Mar-a-Lago from a golf course on Thursday afternoon, dozens of demonstrators chanted, “We vape! We vote!”

Pediatricians, public health experts and even the first lady have been pushing for strong action on teen vaping, which has erased years of progress on reducing youth tobacco use. The latest Monitoring the Future report found that 14% of high school seniors had vaped in the last month, and 8% of them said they were “hooked” on vaping. Both of those figures were up sharply from the previous year.

Conservative groups, meanwhile, urged the president to soften the planned crackdown, with some explicitly warning that a flavor ban could ruin his chances of reelection.

The retreat is reminiscent of Trump’s vow to strengthen gun regulations in August after a string of mass shootings, only to back down in the face of industry opposition.

The flavor ban comes amid skyrocketing rates of e-cigarette use among teenagers across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 5.4 million middle and high school students were vaping in 2019.

Hundreds of thousands of those young people will develop a nicotine addiction and ultimately switch to smoking regular cigarettes, according to researchers. Cigarette smoking greatly increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, respiratory diseases and a variety of other chronic conditions.

The flavor ban comes amid an outbreak of more than 2,500 cases of a lung disease linked to vaping. Last month, health officials said vitamin E acetate was responsible for the “vast majority” of cases, most of which involved cartridges containing the marijuana chemical THC. At least 54 people have died in the outbreak.

The epidemic of teenage vaping has been building for years. During the Obama administration, FDA officials noticed a drastic uptick in youth e-cigarette use and attempted to implement a vaping flavor ban more than four years ago, a Times investigation found.

A draft of the proposed rule stated that any flavored e-cigarette fluid would have to be removed from the market within 90 days. Regulators cited copious evidence for the move. For instance, in a 2014 survey that asked young people who vaped why they did it, more than 80% marked the answer, “It comes in flavors I like.”

More than 100 tobacco industry lobbyists and small-business advocates mobilized to defeat the proposed flavor ban. Senior Obama administration officials ultimately sided with them and overruled the FDA, The Times reported.

“We had deep respect for the science-based agencies. In this case, the science wasn’t clear,” Cecilia Muñoz, who headed President Obama’s Domestic Policy Council at the time, told The Times. “The question was: Is it reasonable to effectively shut down all of these vape shops and businesses when the benefits and harms were still inconclusive?”

When Trump announced his intent to ban all vaping flavors in September, he said it would protect “innocent children.”

“They’re coming home and they’re saying, ‘Mom, I want to vape,’” the president said. “It’s something that, frankly, should have been looked into a few years ago in a much more advanced way.”

The first signs of a possible retreat came two days later, via Twitter.

“While I like the Vaping alternative to Cigarettes, we need to make sure this alternative is SAFE for ALL!” Trump tweeted. “Let’s get counterfeits off the market, and keep young children from Vaping!”

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago that he expected an announcement “very shortly” and that “the flavors are going to be checked. We have to protect the children. We have to protect the families.”

Times staff writer Noah Bierman contributed to this report.

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CONCORD, N.H. — 

Bestselling author and spiritual advisor Marianne Williamson has laid off her entire 2020 campaign staff but is pushing ahead with her Democratic presidential bid, two former staffers said Thursday.

Paul Hodes, a former congressman who had served as Williamson’s New Hampshire state director and senior campaign advisor, confirmed that he had been laid off and “that the others in the national campaign have been laid off.”

“My understanding is she’s continuing her campaign,” Hodes said.

A former campaign aide told the Associated Press that Williamson laid off her entire campaign staff on Dec. 31 because of financial concerns. The aide also confirmed that Williamson was still in the 2020 race. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because staff were told not to speak publicly about the layoffs.

New Hampshire news outlet WMUR first reported the news.

Williamson still has events scheduled in Iowa in the coming weeks, including a “yoga fundraiser” and a forum on faith and politics.

The self-help author has barely registered in the polls since launching her quixotic bid for president last January. She raised $3 million in the third quarter of last year, but her fourth-quarter haul has not yet been reported. She has not qualified for several of the last debates.

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SACRAMENTO — 

Black drivers in some of California’s largest cities are stopped and searched by police at higher rates than white and Latino motorists, according to a new state analysis.

The state Department of Justice report, released Thursday, found that black people accounted for 15% of all stops examined in California, though they make up only about 6% of the state population, according to U.S. census figures. White and Latino drivers were stopped at rates generally proportional to population estimates. Police were most likely to stop black men they perceived as being between the ages of 25 and 34.

The findings, the first scrutiny of racial bias in police stops released under a 2015 state law, appear to largely confirm what independent researchers and black drivers have long discussed: “Driving while black” represents an elevated risk of a law enforcement encounter.

“The data released further verifies what we know to be true about racial profiling happening here in L.A. and throughout California by the police,” community activist Alberto Retana said. “People of color, especially black people, aren’t surprised.”

Los Angeles Times investigations last year found that Los Angeles police in the Metropolitan Division stopped black drivers at a rate more than five times their share of the city population, and the LAPD was more than four times as likely to search African American drivers during stops overall, compared with white motorists. The investigations prompted Mayor Eric Garcetti and community activists including Retana to call for reforms, and recently, the Metro division cut back on pulling over vehicles as its primary crime-fighting tool.

Other investigations have found similar disparities in Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose and in cities across the country.

The data included details for vehicle and pedestrian stops of 1.8 million people at the state’s eight largest law enforcement agencies for a six-month period from July 2018 through December.

The California Highway Patrol, a statewide agency charged with safeguarding highways, conducted the most stops, pulling over more than 1 million drivers. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles Police Department combined stopped more than 470,000 drivers. The San Diego Sheriff’s Department, San Diego Police Department, Riverside Sheriff’s Department, San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department and San Francisco Police Department also contributed statistics.

“The report is just the beginning of information that will allow even greater transparency for law enforcement and our communities,” said Kings County Sheriff Dave Robinson, a member of the statewide board overseeing the data collection.

The statistics were collected as part of the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown. Though it is the third annual report released under the mandate, it is the first to contain the stop data. The law will require every law enforcement agency in the state to collect and report profiling data by 2023.

Police also searched black drivers at a rate nearly three times that of white motorists, the report found. About 6% of white drivers were searched after a stop, and nearly 10% of all drivers were similarly checked. But the rate jumped to nearly 19% for black drivers, the highest percentage for any racial category examined.

Researchers have warned that stop data alone do not confirm bias in policing. Ron Lawrence, president of the California Police Chiefs Assn. and chief of Citrus Heights Police Department in Northern California, cautioned that the data might not provide a complete picture of why officers make stops. Lawrence said the report lacked details about whether stops occurred in high- or low-crime areas, and it didn’t provide enough context about whether the stops were initiated by officers or other means, such as a call for service.

“A lot of those nuances aren’t in there,” Lawrence said. “It’s hard to interpret the ‘why’ behind some of this.”

Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing officers, said in a statement that the reporting was “skewed and inaccurate” in part because it required officers to give their perception of a person’s demographics, including race or ethnicity “in portions of California where a significantly higher amount of people of color live.”

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Lally also said the report failed to examine behavior witnessed by officers that could have influenced their actions.

To analyze some of why and how officers conduct stops, the report also looked at how often officers found contraband or evidence after a search.

“Search yield” data can help ferret out bias if data show that a certain demographic is searched more often than others, but with fewer instances of contraband being found. The data released Thursday found that officers were most likely to find contraband when searching white drivers. Law enforcement searches of people of color turned up contraband at lower rates.

The report also found a disparity in consequences. While white drivers were more likely than black motorists to receive citations, they are less likely to be arrested. Black drivers were cited in about 37% of stops and arrested in about 15% of incidents. White drivers were arrested in about 11% of stops, but cited in a higher proportion.

Overall, drivers perceived as of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent were most likely to receive a ticket, with more than 60% being cited after a stop, compared with about half of white drivers.

Eva Bitran, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Southern California, pointed out that the discrepancies in stops were more pronounced when the data for the California Highway Patrol were removed, possibly in part because that agency largely does not engage in community-based policing. Examining individual data at the other seven reporting law enforcement agencies might provide a more nuanced view of urban policing in California, she said.

The report shows that of the nearly 337,000 stops reported by the Los Angeles Police Department, about 28% involved African American motorists, though African Americans account for 9% of the city’s population, according to U.S. census data. White drivers made up about 18% of LAPD stops, and account for about 28% of the city’s population.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported nearly 137,000 stops, about 17% of them involving African American drivers. African Americans make up about 8% of the county population, though the report’s authors used a weighted measure of census data for more accurate comparisons. Sheriff’s deputies stopped white drivers in about 24% of incidents. Twenty-six percent of the county population is white, according to the report.

Melina Abdullah, a Cal State L.A. professor and Black Lives Matter organizer who has been an outspoken critic of law enforcement, said the stops are “an albatross around [the] necks” of black people, leading to community mistrust, large fines, increased insurance rates and incarceration.

“The experience of driving while black has not changed,” Abdullah said. “The recognition that it is part of black life … is a constant weight.”

PULLMAN, Wash. — 

Onyeka Okongwu did a little bit of everything Thursday night.

The star USC freshman dominated the paint, swatted balls and jumped over defenders on the way to his sixth double-double and a 65-56 victory over Washington State in the Pac -12 opener.

“He was really good tonight,” said USC coach Andy Enfield. “They were a little under-sized at the power positions and we were big so he did what he is supposed to do.”

Okongwu finished with 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting, grabbed 12 rebounds and had two blocked shots in his first game back after suffering a mild ankle sprain. Jonah Mathews had 10 points and four assists and Elijah Weaver had eight points and four rebounds for the Trojans.

USC (12-2) dominated the game physically, controlling the paint and holding Washington State to just 28% shooting. The Trojans have now won six in a row and are 3-0 on the road this season.

Highlights from USC’s win over Washington State on Thursday.

“We played great defense and held them to 27 % from the field,” Enfield said. “We challenged a lot of shot and I thought our guards played outstanding defense. Our bigs were able to help a few times and make them take tougher shots as well.”

Isaac Bonton scored 18 points and Tony Miller had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Washington State (9-5). CJ Elleby, the Cougars leading scorer who averages 20.1 points per game, was held to seven points on 3-of-22 shooting. This was the first time this season Elleby has not scored in double figures.

Washington State was overpowered by the bigger and more physical Trojans to start Pac-12 play, posting both a season low in points and shooting percentage. Tonight’s loss comes after the Cougars notched six consecutive wins against non-conference opponents and went undefeated in December.

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The Cougars were outrebounded 46-36 and outscored 40-28 in the pain.

The Trojans jumped out to an early 22-9 lead after a 17-4 run that was sparked by a fast-break layup by Jonah Matthews.

Washington State responded with a 14-5 run over the last seven minutes to make it 31-27 at the break.

The Cougars got within three with 8:09 left in the second when Jervae Robinson stripped the ball and dished it to CJ Elleby for a monster dunk. That was the closest they got.

“We gave ourselves a chance,” said Washington State coach Kyle Smith said, “We can’t expect to win the way we shot it, we got to be more patient.”

1/10

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard tries to stay in front of Detroit Pistons guard Derrick Rose during the first half. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

2/10

Clippers center Ivica Zubac, right, battles Detroit Pistons guard Bruce Brown for a rebound during the first half. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

3/10

Detroit Pistons forward Christian Wood, left, strains to shoot over Clippers center Ivica Zubac during the first half. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

4/10

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, left, shoots over Detroit Pistons forward Sekou Doumbouya during the first half. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

5/10

Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond, right, shoots over Clippers center Ivica Zubac during the second half. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

6/10

Clippers forward JaMychal Green, top, fouls Detroit Pistons guard Bruce Brown during the first half. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

7/10

Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell, right, is fouled by Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson during the second half. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

8/10

Detroit Pistons guard Derrick Rose catches his breath during a loss to the Clippers. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

9/10

Clippers forward Paul George drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons in the first half. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Clippers forward Montrezl Harrell battles Detroit Pistons forward Christian Wood for a rebound during the second half. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Blake Griffin wore Detroit’s blue warmups Thursday night at Staples Center while sitting in the seat closest to Dwane Casey’s coaching staff. During timeouts, the forward stood near the back of the huddle. After his Pistons teammates made baskets, he clapped.

He did everything but play, his hurt left knee keeping him off the court for the fifth time in Detroit’s last nine games, but Griffin’s influence was felt nonetheless.

Not only during the Clippers’ 126-112 victory, but all season.

From his sideline seat, the six-time All-Star forward watched a Clippers roster whose assembly began two years before, when the organization that drafted Griffin first overall in 2009 and made him its face dealt him to Detroit and set in motion a whirlwind roster rebuild. The picks, players and cap space acquired by the Clippers in Griffin’s trade beget more moves, with Philadelphia, Memphis and the Lakers, eventually culminating in the late-night trade July 5 with Oklahoma City that added star forward Paul George. His inclusion in the deal helped secure Kawhi Leonard’s free-agency commitment.

Coach Doc Rivers said he believed all along that trading Griffin could transform the Clippers into Western Conference title contenders again. But, he added, “We didn’t know when.”

It has happened quickly. The possibility of an on-the-fly Clippers rebuild was plain to see a year ago, when Griffin faced his old team as a visitor for the first time since being dealt and scored 44 points in a Detroit victory. But it wasn’t until Thursday’s visit that the effects of the trade felt full-circle.

Griffin’s trade eventually helped the Clippers land players including guard Landry Shamet, who scored eight points while starting in place of the injured Patrick Beverley; center Ivica Zubac, who scored eight points and blocked four shots; JaMychal Green, who added 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench; and George, who scored 12 points in 16 minutes before leaving in the second quarter with tightness in his left hamstring.

Rodney McGruder started in George’s place after halftime, and finished with four points in his 14 minutes.

“Nothing happened, he just felt tightness, said it at halftime and then we just decided not to bring him back,” Rivers said. “He’s going to be evaluated, clearly. I think it’s the back more than the legs.”

Highlights from the Clippers’ win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

The injury cut short George’s best shooting performance in nearly two weeks. He made five of his 10 shots and was aggressive at the start hunting the kinds of drives he said were missing at the start of his slump.

“I liked how he came off the pick and roll and made shots,” Rivers said. “It’s still a matter of rhythm with him and I think he’s getting it.”

Clippers center Montrezl Harrell finished with a game-high 23 points and Lou Williams, playing two days after the birth of his son, added 22 to lead a bench that scored 68 points. Kawhi Leonard added 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Maurice Harkless nearly notched a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

“We’ve had games like this,” Williams said. “I thought Trez played solid, I played solid. … It shows how deep we are, we keep going.”

Nine Pistons scored in double figures but none had more than Bruce Brown’s 15. In his first NBA start, Sekou Doumbouya had an unenviable assignment — guarding Leonard. He earned three quick fouls trying to shadow the reigning NBA Finals MVP but finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Rivers credited Griffin, along with former Lob City teammates DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul as “very important into getting this thing rolling into a place where people wanted to come.” If Griffin changed the Clippers’ long-term trajectory both in his rise to stardom and the aftereffects from his stunning exit, his absence has also led to short-term struggles for his new team.

The Pistons have lost eight of their last nine games, a stretch that coincides with his injury troubles, with each defeat coming by at least 12 points. Against the Clippers, however, they didn’t start like a team careening toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference’s Central Division, leading 33-30 at the end of the first quarter behind a scrappy effort. At halftime the Pistons had scored 63 to trail by six points, turning eight sloppy Clippers turnovers into 15 points.

The bottom fell out during a third quarter in which the Clippers outscored Detroit by 19. The advantage grew so lopsided, to 31 points, that it became impossible for Detroit to recover, even after a 22-4 run in the fourth quarter cut the lead to 10 with 1:22 remaining in the final quarter.

“It’s a win, it should have been a win, they were banged up, they had guys out, they were on the road, so we took care of business,” Rivers said. “We did our jobs, basically, tonight.”

Etc.

Beverley missed his second consecutive game with a sprained right wrist, though Rivers said Beverley was “really close” to returning and could return “maybe in the next couple games.” … One week after All-Star game voting opened to fans, Leonard and George rank third and fourth among vote-getters in the Western Conference frontcourt, the NBA announced Thursday. Fans account for 50% of voting to determine the game’s 10 starters, with current NBA players and media accounting for 25% each.

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Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome to our horse racing newsletter as we see how Santa Anita navigates these critical first weeks.

We couldn’t be happier to announce that veteran racing journalist Ron Flatter is joining the newsletter as a weekly contributor. Ron works for VSiN, the Vegas Stats & Information Network, located in, obviously, Las Vegas. He spent part of his career in New York, working for SiriusXM, CBS Sports Radio, WFAN and 1010 WINS. He spent time as a broadcaster in Australia and did stints at ESPN and Fox News Radio.

At VSiN, he’s both a host and reporter on all aspects of gambling but mostly horse racing. And, he produces the weekly Ron Flatter Racing Pod, which is a wealth of information, and I have repurposed it (with credit) in this newsletter.

As for him being here, I’ve pretty much given him a clean slate when it comes to topics. So, here’s Ron’s initial contribution. Take it away, Ron.

“Whether it is called recency bias or what have you done for me lately, the freshest images are typically what drive the odds in futures betting for the Kentucky Derby.

“There may have been an exception to that rule Wednesday, when undefeated Independence Hall won at Aqueduct in the Jerome Stakes, the first 2020 points prep for the Derby.

“Maybe it was the fact that he was on his toes in the paddock or slow to get out of the gate. Or maybe it was his four-length margin of victory, down from the 12 by which he won the Grade 3 Nashua on the the same course and distance two months ago.

“More likely, though, it was probably the exposure that most futures books already have on trainer Mike Trombetta’s colt that has started three-for-three. William Hill here in Nevada left him as its 8-1 co-favorite with Champagne Stakes winner Tiz The Law in its Derby futures. That has not changed since mid-November.

“William Hill is notoriously quiet about its racing odds, which are reputedly written primarily by media-shy CEO Joe Asher. So, whether they reflect smart money on those two colts or a position taken by the house, the numbers are left to speak for themselves. Frankly, they are not particularly attractive to anyone looking for a meaty price four months before the Derby, so it is no wonder that they did not budge after the Jerome.

“At the off-shore book Bovada, Independence Hall remained 12-1, which is where he has been since early December. Dennis’ Moment, last seen spinning his wheels in the Santa Anita starting gate as the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, is still shortest priced at 11-1.

“In Europe, the choices for the Derby are much leaner, but the value is generally better for the 3-year-olds carrying shorter odds. According to Oddschecker.com, which monitors bookmakers based in England and Ireland, there are 43 horses listed vs. 132 at William Hill and 117 at Bovada. But the six favorites – Independence Hall, Tiz The Law, Dennis’ Moment, Breeders’ Futurity winner Maxfield, Los Alamitos Futurity winner Thousand Words and, for some reason, two-time Grade 1 loser By Your Side – are all best-priced at 20-1. Independence Hall actually shortened from 25-1 just before the Jerome.

“Bovada did move Jerome runner-up Prince Of Pharoahs, trainer Linda Rice’s colt by American Pharoah, from 80-1 to 66-1. William Hill kept him at 75-1. But otherwise, the Jerome did not create a ripple.

“It could be very different at Santa Anita with Saturday’s Grade 3 Sham Stakes, which includes three colts that are in the William Hill futures – Authentic (50-1), Azul Coast (75-1) and Scoring (125-1). An impressive performance by any of them promises to shorten the odds. For those not yet listed, an in-the-money finish would vault them into the future books, but not necessarily at the most attractive prices.

“Johnny Avello authored the pre-eminent Derby odds at the Wynn Las Vegas before his move 15 months ago to the DraftKings Sportsbook, which is not yet allowed to post racing futures. By now he would have had longer, more attractive odds for more than 400 horses on his sheets, including some that have yet to see their first races.

“What made Avello different was that he was not afraid to post long odds, and he used to pay for it. Two years ago he absorbed a $150,000 hit, taking a $500 bet in exchange for writing a 300-1 Derby for a horse that had yet to debut. Yes, that horse was Justify.

“Maybe that is why between William Hill, Bovada and the Europeans, no one is offering odds longer than 200-1 on any Derby hopeful.

“Then again, no one said that getting rich by picking the winner of a May 2 horse race was supposed to be easy on Jan. 3.”

Ron Flatter is a host and reporter who covers horse racing for the Vegas Stats & Information Network, which is available at SiriusXM 201 and to subscribers at VSiN.com. His Ron Flatter Racing Pod is available Friday mornings via Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher and at VSiN.com/podcasts.

Santa Anita preview

Remember a few days ago when I was touting Santa Anita’s big fields. Ahhh, hold on as we see just a little bit of shrinking. Friday’s nine-race card begins at noon. There are four races on the turf.

I couldn’t really find a feature but there are two $57,000 purse races, but we’re going to pick the sixth as the feature because the third is Cal-breds, which generally have slightly inflated purses. Plus, the sixth race has five horses, the sure sign of a feature race (except last week.)

It’s a one mile allowance/optional claimer on the turf for 3-year-old fillies, which really means 2-year-olds who are three days into their new age.

The favorite, at 9-5, is Savvy Gal for trainer Richard Baltas and jockey Joel Rosario. She has won one of three and was second last out in an allowance. She was fourth in the Surfer Girl at Santa Anita. The second favorite, at 2-1, is Gingham for Bob Baffert and Drayden Van Dyke. She needed four shots to break her maiden and followed that up with a fourth in the Grade 1 Starlet at Los Alamitos. Post time is 2:38 p.m.

Here are the field sizes in order: 6, 5, 7, 6, 9, 5, 9, 9, 10.

Ciaran Thornton’s SA pick of the day

RACE THREE: No. 3 Avalon Ride (6-1)

Avalon Ride is one for one here at Santa Anita and last out at a mile ran a closing fourth, missing by less than two lengths. On the gallop out the horse moved to the front with ease. Friday she gets a little more real estate to work with. The 6-1 morning line is great value for us. The favorite in this race, Rose Dunn, ran second in the same race. I prefer this price though as well as the five-pound weight break under apprentice jockey J.C. Diaz.

Sunday’s result: Mr Unusual broke alertly and was right in the mix and looked ready to win into the stretch but something happened and the horse was eased to last.

Ciaran Thornton is the handicapper for Californiapick4.com, which offers daily full card picks, longshots of the day, best bets of the day.

Los Alamitos weekend preview

It’s time to turn things over to marketing and meda guru Orlando Gutierrez, who will tell us about the upcoming weekend at Los Alamitos. Orlando, the floor is yours.

“Cesar Franco had an excellent opening week at Los Alamitos Race Course, winning with three of his first seven quarter-horse mounts. His red-hot start landed him at the top of the standings plus his two third-place finishes propelled him to an in-the-money ratio of 71.4%. Franco will look to keep the momentum going when he pilots a pair of talented quarter horses on Friday night.

“His first mount on will be Messanger, an Oregon-bred gelding by Favorite Cartel, looking for his first win in five starts. The Luke Lindsey-trainee will be in the sixth race against a group that includes Vegas Corona, who finished fifth in a trial to the Texas Classic Futurity at Lone Star Park on Oct. 19.

“Franco will then ride Randy Dickerson and CM Whatta About Me, the fourth-place finisher in last year’s Wild West Futurity, in the $11,825 eighth race at 330 yards. The Lindsey-trained gelding made only one start in 2019 and enters after a decent 18.30 second work at 350 yards on Nov. 5. He’ll be facing some solid opponents on Friday including Grade 2 Golden State Derby finalist Jess Motions and the allowance-placed runners El Soverign, The Divas Dynasty, Stel Chancey and Blaze Thru Fire.

“There are three allowance races on Saturday’s racing program beginning with the fifth race, a $12,000 race for quarter horses and thoroughbreds at 870 yards. The field will be led by Goldie’s Hills, who has finished second or better in his last three races at Los Alamitos. Brave Court, a four-length winner on Dec. 7, and local winner Royal Blue Grass will also compete in this event.

“De Capitator Bar, winner of the $75,000 Cherry Creek Futurity at Arapahoe Park, will make his Los Alamitos debut when he headlines the 300-yard allowance in the seventh race. The Colorado-bred colt by Capo De Capi has shown nice quickness in all three of his outings at Arapahoe Park and has two wins in three career starts. He’ll face a solid field featuring Golden State Million Futurity trial winner Royally Significant and Ed Burke Million Futurity finalist Ventura Jess JQM.

“The final allowance is the eighth race and will be headed by Favorite Mongoose, who finished second to Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity fastest qualifier Nomadic in the $30,000 Ed Burke Memorial Juvenile Stakes on June 23. Shez Divine, third in the John Deere California Juvenile Stakes, is among the other top contenders in this race.

“Los Alamitos will host the first open Grade 1 quarter-horse stakes race of 2020 on Sunday night when 10 fillies and mares face off in the $100,000 Charger Bar Handicap. The field will be led by Thermonuclear Energy, who won this race last year, and Tequila Sangria, who defeated older mares when winning the Grade 1 Mildred Vessels Memorial Handicap as a 3-year-old last year. As And Js, who finished second in the Mildred Vessels, and multiple stakes winner Tough To Figure are among the other top contenders in the Charger Bar, which is named in honor of the 1973 Champion of Champions winner and this track’s all-time leading mare in stakes wins with 18.”

“Mark Jasso, an up-and-coming jockey who had been riding mostly at Turf Paradise, enjoyed his first ever victory at Los Alamitos when he guided Running Springs to victory last Saturday night. For his career, Jasso has won 49 quarter-horse races from 314 starts with his biggest wins coming with First Lady Perry in the $48,735 Turf Paradise Futurity and with One Famous Icon in the $33,440 AQRA Derby.

“A celebration of life in honor of Barbara Pica, wife of longtime horse owner Bernie Pica, will be held on Saturday at Tustin Ranch Golf Course from noon to 3 p.m. Barbara was an ever present figure in the Vessels Club at Los Alamitos and rarely missed a night of racing. Bernie and Barbara Pica enjoyed their biggest win 1998 when their quarter horse Two Steppin Alibi won the Grade 1 Marathon Handicap at 870 yards.”

Chris Wade’s LA pick of the day

RACE SEVEN: No. 1 Wrong Impression (8-1)

Perennial leading quarter-horse trainer Paul Jones will send out this big-bodied gelding for his first start in 35 nights. In his most recent outing, Wrong Impression became fractious in the gate prior to breaking slow and then losing his racing path to quicker rivals. After the tough start, this entrant finished fairly well while under a hold for a much-better-than-looked fifth-place finish versus slightly tougher rivals. Worth a look at this price and could enjoy a clear path from the rail tonight.

Final thought

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Now, the star of the show, Friday’s entries.

Santa Anita Entries for Friday, January 3.

Santa Anita, Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California. 4th day of a 60-day meet.

FIRST RACE.

1 Mile. Purse: $18,000. Claiming. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $12,500.

SECOND RACE.

6 Furlongs. Purse: $22,000. Claiming. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $16,000.

THIRD RACE.

1 1/8 Mile Turf. Purse: $57,000. Allowance Optional Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $20,000. State bred.

FOURTH RACE.

6½ Furlongs. Purse: $18,000. Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $12,500.

FIFTH RACE.

1 Mile Turf. Purse: $25,000. Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $25,000.

SIXTH RACE.

1 Mile. Purse: $57,000. Allowance Optional Claiming. Fillies. 3 year olds. Claiming Price $80,000.

SEVENTH RACE.

5½ Furlongs Turf. Purse: $55,000. Maiden Special Weight. 3 year olds. State bred.

EIGHTH RACE.

6½ Furlongs. Purse: $20,000. Maiden Claiming. Fillies and Mares. 4 year olds and up. Claiming Price $20,000.

NINTH RACE.

1 Mile Turf. Purse: $33,000. Starter Allowance. Fillies and Mares. 4 year olds and up.

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