WASHINGTON — 

Eager to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan and end America’s longest war, the Trump administration on Friday announced a modest deal with Taliban militants to reduce violence for a week as a test of the potential for broader peace negotiations.

The Taliban agreed not to use roadside explosive devices, suicide bombs or rockets or otherwise attack for a seven-day period, the start of which was undecided but will be “very soon,” said a senior administration official attending the annual Munich Security Conference with Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

“The reduction-of-violence agreement is very specific,” said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity in keeping with administration protocol.

It was not clear how the brief respite would give the U.S. and the Afghan government, allies in fighting the Taliban, the confidence necessary to embark on a broader agreement. Asking the Taliban to reduce attacks for a week in the dead of an Afghan winter did not seem like a tall order, military experts said.

Administration officials had announced in September that they were near agreement with the Taliban, and President Trump even spoke of inviting the Taliban to Camp David, the presidential retreat — to the consternation of many congressional Republicans and military leaders. But he abruptly pulled the plug on talks, citing a car bombing in Kabul that killed 12 people, including a U.S. service member.

Several Americans have been killed since then, including two last weekend who were shot by a gunman in an Afghan army uniform.

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While Trump’s 2016 promise to end U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is one of his chief unfulfilled pledges as he seeks reelection, the official in Munich said it was too soon to announce a pullout of U.S. troops. Any withdrawal would be gradual and could take more than a year, military experts say.

There are roughly 12,000 U.S. military service members in Afghanistan, and about 4,000 troops from other NATO countries, nearly 18 years after the U.S. and its allies entered Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Afghanistan served as a haven for Al Qaeda fighters.

“We don’t want Afghanistan to ever become a platform [for terrorism] that threatens the United States and our allies,” the official said. “We’re not looking to be there just to be there.”

Earlier Friday, Pompeo met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Munich conference. The two posed for cameras but didn’t take reporters’ questions.

Although the Trump administration and the Taliban leadership have been negotiating off and on for a year, the Afghan government has not joined the talks. Reports from the region quoted Taliban officials saying that “intra-Afghan” talks would begin after the week-long period of reduced violence, as early as the first week of March.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, also attending the Munich conference, sounded cautiously optimistic.

“We are ready to adjust [NATO] force level if Taliban is able to demonstrate real will and real ability to reduce violence, and we see a path to peace,” Stoltenberg said. “The best way NATO can support the peace efforts is to continue to support the Afghan army and security forces, so Taliban understands that they will never win inthe battlefield and will have to sit down and negotiate.”

Human rights activists and aid workers have expressed alarm that the administration, in a rush to extricate American forces from Afghanistan, will make concessions to the Taliban. The group enforces a strict, conservative brand of Islam, and has in the past oppressed women and denied them education, among other draconian restrictions.

A truce of sorts had been widely anticipated, with reports of details circulating at the State Department for some time.

Trump’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilizad, met again in recent days with Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar, and was believed to be finishing details of the agreement. Khalilzad also joined Pompeo and Esper in Munich, along with Gen. Scott Miller, commander of the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan.

On Thursday, Trump had told a broadcast interviewer that a Taliban deal was “very close.”

“We’d like to bring our troops back home. They’re really, they’re law enforcement as opposed to soldiers to a large extent,” he said. “And we shouldn’t be there.”

WASHINGTON — 

President Trump slapped back Friday at one of his most loyal Cabinet secretaries, a day after Atty. Gen. William Barr took the rare step of rebuking his boss in public, complaining that the president’s tweets and public statements on criminal cases were making his job “impossible.”

In response, Trump tweeted that he had a “legal right” to ask Barr to intervene in a criminal proceeding, a provocative assertion that raised alarms over whether the Justice Department could remain an impartial law enforcement agency, free from political pressure.

The sparring added to days of anger and tumult in the Justice Department after the president slammed career prosecutors who had sought a stiff prison term for Roger Stone, a longtime Trump confidant, and Barr overruled their sentencing recommendation. The four prosecutors withdrew from the case in protest; one of them resigned.

Barr has been one of Trump’s most helpful defenders — choreographing what critics called a misleading public release last spring of the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and opening investigations into former Justice Department officials whom Trump has publicly criticized.

In a decision likely to rankle the president, however, the Justice Department closed a politically sensitive criminal investigation on Friday into former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, one of Trump’s regular punching bags at campaign rallies and on Twitter for his role in Russia investigation.

McCabe was fired in March 2018, less than two days before he was scheduled to retire and collect his pension, over allegations that he had lied to investigators about disclosures of sensitive information to a reporter. Any prosecution would have been hampered by Trump’s harsh comments and tweets about McCabe, according to former prosecutors.

“At long last, justice has been done in this matter,” McCabe’s lawyers said in a statement Friday. “We said at the outset of the criminal investigation, almost two years ago, that if the facts and the law determined the result, no charges would be brought.”

Since taking office, Trump has lashed out even at close allies whom he deems disloyal. But since the Senate acquitted him of impeachment charges last week, he has settled scores large and small, exacting payback against a highly decorated Army officer at the White House, a U.S. diplomat in Europe, a senior Treasury Department nominee, and others, for their role in the impeachment and other investigations.

Although Stone was convicted of seven felonies, reports that prosecutors had recommended seven to nine years in prison appeared to outrage the president. After denouncing it as a “miscarriage of justice,” Trump sharply criticized the prosecutors, the federal judge and even the forewoman of the jury, suggesting she “had significant bias.”

Trump also cast off other traditional limits on his executive authority. On Thursday, shortly before New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited the White House to seek relief from new restrictions on New York residents who return from overseas travel, the president tweeted that New York “must stop all of its unnecessary lawsuits & harassment” of his businesses and taxes.

But Trump’s spat with the Justice Department has created a new crisis point in an administration that careens between them.

In an explosive interview with ABC News on Thursday, Barr expressed frustration with the president’s jarring comments on criminal cases, saying the president’s tweets and public statements were making it “impossible for me to do my job.”

“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Barr said, adding that the president had never asked him to intervene in a specific case.

While many White House aides have chafed about Trump privately, or in public after quitting or getting fired, Barr is a rare sitting Cabinet officer to push back in public, saying, “I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody.”

Barr warned that the president’s comments “about the department, about people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending here, and about judges before whom we have cases” raised questions about whether “we’re doing our work with integrity.”

Barr had privately asked Trump on a number of occasions to stop tweeting about criminal matters because the commentary was casting a shadow over the department’s work, according to a personal familiar with the matter.

Barr’s criticism also reflected anger in the broader legal community, which fears Trump’s attempts to interfere in cases involving friends, allies and himself undermines the rule of law. Barr has agreed to testify on March 31 before House Democrats, where he will have to defend his decision to overrule his line prosecutors.

Trump and White House officials were surprised by Barr’s TV broadside, an administration official said. The interview was hastily arranged to allow Barr to explain why he had overruled the initial seven- to nine-year sentencing recommendation, and had filed a second memo the next day that urged the judge to be more lenient.

Barr told ABC he decided to overrule the prosecutors on Monday night, before Trump tweeted his displeasure the next day.

On Friday, Trump fired back on Twitter, quoting Barr saying the president had not asked him to intervene in a criminal case. “This doesn’t mean,” Trump added, “that I do not have, as president, the legal right to do so. I do, but I have so far chosen not to!”

Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign advisor and former Stone associate, believes Trump’s pique at Barr is genuine but noted that he held himself back from punching Barr for longer than usual.

“You’ve had a full 14 hours at least between the interview, the news cycle, and his tweet, so that shows some restraint,” he said Friday.

Nunberg said he believes Trump is setting a marker for actions yet to come, including a potential pardon of Stone.

“He’s not going to defer any legal, constitutional authority to anyone at this point, especially having gone through impeachment,” he said.

Given the competing pressures on Barr, both critics and allies have questioned whether his critique of Trump was cleared with the White House in an orchestrated effort to give the attorney general political cover.

White House officials, who said in a statement that “the president wasn’t bothered by the comments at all,” pointed out that Barr is taking Trump’s side on investigations of the president.

Eric Bolling, a conservative television host who speaks with Trump and other White House officials regularly, said “there’s mutual respect for each other,” and that Trump’s tweets are no surprise to Barr.

“Barr’s comments to ABC were more for the American people than to influence President Trump,” he said. “I’m sure he realizes President Trump wouldn’t change his method of information delivery over Barr’s comments.”

Stone was convicted in November of lying to a House committee, obstructing Congress and witness tampering. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Feb. 20, and she has the authority to accept or reject the Justice Department’s sentencing recommendations.

Stone’s lawyers submitted court papers Friday demanding a new trial, filing the request and supporting documents under seal, according to news accounts. Jackson, who disclosed the filing in a court order, gave prosecutors until Tuesday to respond, but the legal motion could delay Stone’s sentencing.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, which prosecuted Stone, is also handling the prosecution of Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security advisor. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to FBI agents about his conversations with a Russian diplomat, but he is seeking to withdraw his plea.

The Justice Department is conducting a review of how the investigation and prosecution of Flynn was handled, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person said the probe, which was first reported by the New York Times, is being conducted jointly with the prosecutor assigned to the case, Brandon Van Grack.

Washington — 

The Democratic Party establishment — what’s left of it, anyway — is hoping someone can stop Bernie Sanders and his progressive horde from capturing the party’s presidential nomination.

“I don’t know how you win an election [at] 78 years old, screaming in a microphone about the revolution,” said James Carville, a former aide to President Clinton, in an especially pungent expression of the old guard’s anxiety. “It’s like we’re losing our damn minds.”

But Carville and other party elders have two problems as they look for a way to influence the race: They haven’t agreed on which non-Bernie candidate to favor. And even if they did, it’s not clear how many voters would listen.

Sanders has a strong shot at winning for an old-fashioned reason: Even though he’s not the first choice of most Democrats, he’s won more votes than any other candidate.

In Iowa, he essentially tied for first place with Pete Buttigieg. In New Hampshire, he narrowly defeated the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Ind.

If non-Bernie voters continue to scatter their choices, Sanders will consolidate his hold on first place, even if he only wins about a quarter of the votes, which is what he got in Iowa and New Hampshire.

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Again, most Democratic voters aren’t Sanders fans or socialists. A CBS News study found a three-way ideological divide: about one third described themselves as “very liberal,” which is Sanders’ base; another third said they were “somewhat liberal,” and the last third called themselves “moderate” or “conservative.” In other words, die-hard progressives are a minority.

So Democratic leaders who are not Sanderistas are hoping next Saturday’s Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina primary a week later will produce a clear surge for one of the candidates they consider more electable: Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar or Joe Biden.

Klobuchar, who finished a surprising third in New Hampshire, has emerged as their hope-of-the-week: more experienced than Buttigieg, a better campaigner than the flagging Biden.

“She’s smart, she has a strong track record, she’s electable,” argued Elaine Kamarck, another former Clinton aide.

But Klobuchar is still unproven. Her third-place finish in New Hampshire was her best showing so far. In a Nevada poll last week, she tied Buttigieg for fifth place with 10%.

In New Hampshire, Klobuchar was boosted by a strong performance in the final debate. A lot may hang on whether she performs as well at the next debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

That may also be the first debate to include Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York who has spent more than $200 million to elbow his way into the competition.

Bloomberg will be on ballots beginning on March 3 — Super Tuesday — when 14 states including California hold primaries that will choose more than a third of the elected delegates to the Democrats’ convention.

And that opens the way to a prospect that gives establishment Democrats nightmares: a split for the un-Bernie vote among Bloomberg, Klobuchar, Buttigieg — plus, if they manage to stay alive, Biden and Elizabeth Warren.

Berniecrats are already worried that the establishment is plotting to stop him, as they believe it did in 2016. They’ve complained that the Democratic National Committee unfairly changed the debate rules to help Bloomberg.

But it’s not clear that the establishment is capable of intervening effectively.

A generation ago, party leaders could tip the scales by endorsing a favorite candidate. If former President Obama threw his support to Biden, Buttigieg or Klobuchar, that might sway some votes — although of course, Obama’s support wasn’t enough to elect Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Endorsements don’t count as much as they once did. Voters who once relied on politicians for advice now have direct access to information — and disinformation — through the internet.

The other traditional avenue of influence was fundraising: Big donors could make one or two candidates viable, and starve others of resources.

But that’s changed, too. Sanders has raised more than $121 million almost entirely from small-dollar donors. Bloomberg isn’t asking anyone for money at all.

Besides, party leaders are reluctant to intervene in a way that would alienate Sanders supporters, since their votes will be crucial in November even if he’s not the nominee.

“They seem to know they don’t want Sanders, but they can’t do much about it,” said Hans Noel, a political scientist at Georgetown University who studies the role of parties in the nominating process.

Still, there’s one last, unusual scenario under which party leaders could exert some influence: delegate-swapping.

If no one amasses a majority of delegates during the primaries, several candidates could try to cut bargains before the Democratic convention in Milwaukee in mid-July.

For example, a candidate in third or fourth place could drop out and release his or her delegates, which would free them to vote for anyone else.

If there’s no winner on the first ballot, the party’s “superdelegates” — mostly elected officials and party activists — get to join in later voting. The DNC adopted those rules in 2018 in a compromise that Sanders approved.

So the establishment might make its voice heard after all.

But those hypothetical plot twists are months away. Until then, the choice is out of the establishment’s control and up to the voters. Like it or not, the Democrats are going to have to solve their problem through democracy.

SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS’ SOCCER

DIVISION 1

Second round, Saturday

Upland 3, Cypress 0

Harvard-Westlake 4, Corona Centennial 0

Edison 1, Santa Margarita 1 (Edison advances on penalties, 5-3)

Long Beach Poly 1, Los Osos 0

Corona Santiago 4, Corona del Mar 0

Villa Park 3, Garden Grove Pacifica 2 (OT)

JSerra 4, Troy 2

Los Alamitos 2, San Juan Hills 0

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 3 or 5 p.m.

Harvard-Westlake at #1 Upland

Edison at Long Beach Poly

Corona Santiago at Villa Park

#2 Los Alamitos at JSerra

DIVISION 2

Second round, Saturday

Mira Costa 1, Culver City 1 (Mira Costa advances on penalties, 4-2)

Woodbridge 2, Paloma Valley 1

La Mirada 3. South Hills 2 (OT)

Yorba Linda 2, Rancho Cucamonga 0

Claremont 4, Warren 0

Oak Hills 2, Redondo 2 (Oak Hills advances on penalties, 5-4)

Marina 2, Brea Olinda 1

Capistrano Valley 1, Flintridge Sacred Heart 0

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 3 or 5 p.m.

Woodbridge at #1 Mira Costa

La Mirada at Yorba Linda

#3 Claremont at Oak Hills

Capistrano Valley at Marina

DIVISION 3

Second round, Saturday

Flintridge Prep 4, Quartz Hill 0

South Torrance 3, Alta Loma 0

La Serna 3, Buena 1

Palos Verdes 2, Laguna Beach 0

Oxnard 3, Apple Valley 1

Etiwanda 2, Santa Monica 0

Diamond Bar 2, Oak Park 0

Chaminade 2, Chaparral 1

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 3 or 5 p.m.

#1 Flintridge Prep at South Torrance

La Serna at #4 Palos Verdes

Etiwanda at #3 Oxnard

Diamond Bar at Chaminade

DIVISION 4

Second round, Saturday

Hemet 2, Estancia 1

Torrance 3, Granite Hills 2

Santa Paula 1, Westminster 0

Patriot 1, Foothill Tech 0

Bloomington 3, Lompoc 0

Arcadia 3, North Torrance 2

Hacienda Heights Wilson 5, Costa Mesa 3

Sierra Canyon 2, Ocean View 0

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 3 or 5 p.m.

#1 Hemet at Torrance

Santa Paula at Patriot

Arcadia at #3 Bloomington

#2 Sierra Canyon at Hacienda Heights Wilson

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DIVISION 5

Second round, Saturday

Beaumont 1, South El Monte 1 (Beaumont advances on penalties, 5-3)

San Dimas 0, Gahr 0 (San Dimas advances on penalties, 4-3)

Rowland 4, Western Christian 1

Archer 3, Tahquitz 2

Cerritos Valley Christian 1, Brentwood 0

Temple City 2, Rialto 1

Charter Oak 1, Cathedral City 0

California 2, Garden Grove Santiago 0

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 3 or 5 p.m.

San Dimas at Beaumont

#4 Archer at Rowland

Temple City at #3 Cerritos Valley Christian

#2 California at Charter Oak

DIVISION 6

Second round, Saturday

Gabrielino 5, Webb 1

Rancho Verde 2, Indian Springs 1

Riverside North 1, El Rancho 0

Arroyo Valley 3, Santa Rosa Academy 0

Pasadena Marshall 5, Malibu 2

Ontario Christian 3, Palmdale Aerospace 0

Coachella Valley 1, Bell Gardens 0

Shadow Hills 5, St. Bonaventure 0

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 3 or 5 p.m.

#1 Gabrielino at Rancho Verde

Riverside North at Arroyo Valley

#3 Pasadena Marshall at Ontario Christian

Coachella Valley at #2 Shadow Hills

DIVISION 7

Second round, Saturday

Santa Clara 5, Mary Star 0

Garey 4, Buckley 1

Fairmont Prep 4, Temecula Prep 1

Linfield Christian 1, CAMS 0

Thacher 0, Cobalt 0 (Thacher advances on penalties, 4-2)

Ganesha 2, Vistamar 0

Loara 4, Dunn 2

Second round, Monday, 3 p.m.

Milken vs. Santa Clarita Christian at Central Park (Santa Clarita)

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 3 or 5 p.m.

Santa Clarita Christian/Milken winner at #1 Santa Clara

Garey at #4 Fairmont Prep

#3 Linfield Christian at Thacher

Ganesha at #2 Loara

Notes: Semifinals, Feb. 22, 3 or 5 p.m. Championships, Feb. 28-29.

Before Jairo Rivera of Birmingham walked onto the mat for the 182-pound division at Saturday’s City Section wrestling championships, he was informed by his coach that he needed to pin his opponent for the Patriots to win the boys’ team title.

“There was a lot of pressure,” he said.

Rivera came through with the pin to provide the decisive six points to give the Patriots a one-point win over Sylmar for their third consecutive City wrestling championship.

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It was quite a night for San Fernando’s dominant girls’ wrestling team. The Tigers ran away with the girls’ team title and will be one of the favorites to win a state championship.

San Fernando won its fourth consecutive City title. Among the Tigers’ City champions were Evelyn Vazquez (106), Sam Larios (131), Natalie Castenda (137), Desiree Fuentes (150), Alyssa Arana (160), Viviana Romo (170) and Adelina Parra (189).

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Bam Adebayo, Buddy Hield and Derrick Jones Jr. discuss their careers.

CHICAGO — 

Anthony Davis drove by the church down the street from his old high school Saturday night. That’s where his team sometimes worked out because they didn’t have a gym.

Earlier in the week he’d made a visit to Perspectives Charter School, and participated in several community events around the city, celebrating the All-Star game in his hometown.

“Glad to be back home, spend time with my family, my friends,” the Lakers’ forward said. “It’s going to be a great weekend. Trying to stay warm. But to get back here and play in front of the fans in a place where I grew up, in a place where I had my first like big-time game, the McDonald’s game at UC. So it’s been very exciting to be back and get a chance to relive some of them high school memories that I had here in Chicago.”

Clippers guard Patrick Beverley also got a chance to stop by his old haunts. He said he was excited to see his old friends, his high school (Marshall Metropolitan) and to smell the Chicago air.

“I pinch myself sometimes,” said Beverley, who participated in the skills contest and lost in the first round. “I think the last All-Star game was 32 years ago, I wasn’t even born yet. I represent Chicago, the grit of Chicago.

“I’m just fortunate to represent the city today.”

Contest winners

Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield won the three-point contest, narrowly defeating Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker in the final round. Booker scored 26 points in the final. Hield caught him by making three of four shots, to reach 25 points, and releasing the final one, a ball worth two points, at the buzzer.

“I was talking to Book, and Book said he’s been in it before, and he was talking about it and said he already got one, and that gave me motivation to get one,” Hield said. “He said coming every time brings more pressure. As a shooter, you want to win one. Every shooter wants to win one, and I feel like that.”

Will Booker be back?

“I’m getting up there,” the 23-year-old Booker said. “I can’t go too many times. I think this is my fourth time doing this. I can’t do too many.”

Two Miami Heat players won the other Saturday night competitions. Derrick Jones Jr. won the dunk contest and Bam Adebayo won the skills competition and planned to give the trophy to his mom.

“I’m supposed to be finding her,” Adebayo said. “She might cry because it’s a big deal. This isn’t something that you just pass along. I know it’s All-Star weekend and we’re all having fun, but it’s competition at the end of the day. I came out and won this one, and it’s just another accolade to me.”

A vet’s advice

LeBron James arrived in Chicago on Saturday just before he took the podium for All-Star media day. In his 18th All-Star game, he has his routine set. Because the break lasts a week, he’ll be able to enjoy a bit of a break starting Monday.

The Lakers forward was asked what advice he would give to first-time All Stars.

“Just embrace it,” James said. “If he has his family with him, let them enjoy it. Let them go around and see pretty much everything. It’s not promised that you’ll be here next year. But the way he’s playing, he’ll probably be here a lot. But embrace it.

“I’m a guy who always lives in the moment. I don’t think about tomorrow because it’s not promised. The only thing I can worry about is today and how much I can make an impact today. So embrace it, have fun. It’s a great weekend. There are a lot of things to do not only for yourself but also for your family. Enjoy it.”

SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS’ BASKETBALL

DIVISION 2AA

Second round, Saturday

St. Francis 46, San Gabriel Academy 38

DIVISION 3AA

Second round, Saturday

Westlake 83, Shalhevet 49

DIVISION 4A

Second round, Saturday

Loma Linda Academy 49, Lancaster 47

DIVISION 5AA

Second round, Saturday

Bishop Diego 65, de Toledo 58

SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

OPEN DIVISION

Pool play, Saturday

Pool A

Sierra Canyon 60, Lynwood 53

Mater Dei 54, Etiwanda 50

Pool B

Windward 67, Corona Centennial 65

Long Beach Poly 56, Rosary 42

Pool play, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Pool A

#5 Etiwanda (0-1) at #1 Sierra Canyon (1-0)

#8 Lynwood (0-1) at #4 Mater Dei (1-0)

Pool B

#6 Rosary (0-1) at #2 Windward (1-0)

#7 Corona Centennial (0-1) at #3 Long Beach Poly (1-0)

Pool play, Feb. 22, 7 p.m.

Pool A

#4 Mater Dei at #1 Sierra Canyon

#8 Lynwood at #5 Etiwanda

Pool B

#3 Long Beach Poly at #2 Windward

#7 Corona Centennial at #6 Rosary

Note: Championship, Feb. 28 at Cal State Long Beach.

DIVISION 1

Second round, Saturday

Harvard-Westlake 67, Huntington Beach 37

Rolling Hills Prep 65, Esperanza 53

West Torrance 63, Brentwood 22

Bishop Montgomery 54, Glendora 43

King 67, JSerra 41

Chaminade 103, Redondo 100 (2OT)

Eastvale Roosevelt 63, Camarillo 49

Troy 68, Keppel 39

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

#1 Harvard-Westlake at Rolling Hills Prep

West Torrance at #4 Bishop Montgomery

Chaminade at #3 King

#2 Troy at Eastvale Roosevelt

DIVISION 2AA

Second round, Saturday

Orangewood Academy 57, Valencia 35

Flintridge Prep 61, Los Altos 42

North Torrance 50, St. Paul 45

Pasadena 68, Millikan 63

Saugus 70, St. Anthony 65

Fairmont Prep 41, Ventura 38

Valley View 60, Bonita 44

Marlborough 66, Village Christian 49

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Flintridge Prep at #1 Orangewood Academy

Pasadena at North Torrance

Fairmont Prep at #3 Saugus

Valley View at #2 Marlborough

DIVISION 2A

Second round, Saturday

San Clemente 80, Culver City 47

Summit 76, Cantwell-Sacred Heart 71

Whittier Christian 38, Tustin 34

Burbank Burroughs 67, Arroyo Valley 50

Peninsula 56, Tesoro 46

Yucaipa 61, Mayfair 46

Bishop Amat 54, El Rancho 47

Oaks Christian 61, Oak Hills 30

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

#1 San Clemente at Summit

#4 Burbank Burroughs at Whittier Christian

Yucaipa at #3 Peninsula

#2 Oaks Christian at Bishop Amat

DIVISION 3AA

Second round, Saturday

Santa Monica 44, Ridgecrest Burroughs 18

Villa Park 37, Twentynine Palms 33

Lancaster 43, San Juan Hills 36

Corona del Mar 48, South Torrance 42

Crean Lutheran 70, Covina 52

Laguna Hills 49, El Segundo 47

Santa Fe 46, Murrieta Mesa 44

Mira Costa 44, Sage Hill 42

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

#1 Santa Monica at Villa Park

Lancaster at Corona del Mar

Laguna Hills at #3 Crean Lutheran

Santa Fe at #2 Mira Costa

DIVISION 3A

Second round, Saturday

Long Beach Wilson 70, Bell Gardens 30

La Quinta 61, Royal 49

West Covina 56, Pioneer 50

Yucca Valley 59, Torrance 54

Viewpoint 53, Riverside Poly 26

Anaheim 63, Grace Brethren 55

Hemet 55, Chino 41

Eisenhower 52, Hesperia 48

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

La Quinta at #1 Long Beach Wilson

West Covina at #4 Yucca Valley

Anaheim at #3 Viewpoint

Hemet at #2 Eisenhower

DIVISION 4AA

Second round, Saturday

Paloma Valley 68, Citrus Valley 27

Whitney 43, Highland 31

Westlake 49, Barstow 41

La Salle 53, Santa Clara 38

Xavier Prep 48, Portola 41

Orange Vista 43, Holy Martyrs 34

Riverside Notre Dame 49, Montclair 37

Ontario Christian 57, Pasadena Poly 43

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

#1 Paloma Valley at Whitney

Westlake at #4 La Salle

#3 Xavier Prep at Orange Vista

#2 Ontario Christian at Riverside Notre Dame

DIVISION 4A

Second round, Saturday

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 63, Western Christian 34

Silverado 53, Shadow Hills 52

Campbell Hall 52, Jurupa Hills 42

Paramount 64, Quartz Hill 54

Immaculate Heart 50, Aquinas 32

Cate 41, Capistrano Valley 38

Pasadena Marshall 65, Milken 27

Second round, Monday, 7 p.m.

Mary Star at Shalhevet

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

#1 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Silverado

Shalhevet at #4 Campbell Hall OR #4 Campbell Hall at Mary Star

Immaculate Heart at #3 Paramount

#2 Pasadena Marshall at Cate

DIVISION 5AA

Second round, Saturday

San Jacinto Valley Academy 58, La Puente 45

Santa Paula 52, Webb 44

Faith Baptist 45, CSDR 36

Rubidoux 52, Fillmore 31

Artesia 67, Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 31

Academy of Careers & Exploration 46, Hesperia Christian 28

Trinity Classical 60, Moreno Valley Riverside County Education Academy 33

San Bernardino 50, Wildwood 35

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Santa Paula at #1 San Jacinto Valley Academy

Faith Baptist at #4 Rubidoux

#3 Artesia at Academy of Careers & Exploration

San Bernardino at Trinity Classical

DIVISION 5A

Second round, Saturday

Ganesha 71, Da Vinci 27

La Reina 45, Century 33

Lucerne Valley 32, Coastal Christian 30

Vista del Lago 45, Santa Clarita Christian 43

Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 63, Connelly 23

Magnolia 64, University Prep 47

Woodcrest Christian 53, Redlands Adventist 26

Bishop Diego 72, Downey Calvary Chapel 26

Quarterfinals, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

La Reina at #1 Ganesha

Lucerne Valley at Vista del Lago

#3 Santa Ana Calvary Chapel at Magnolia

#2 Bishop Diego at Woodcrest Christian

Notes: Semifinals, Feb. 22, 7 p.m. Championships, Feb. 29 at Azusa Pacific U., Colony, and Godinez.

An attorney for three accusers of a Newport Beach doctor and his girlfriend, who have been charged with drugging and raping multiple women, filed a motion Friday suggesting the case be turned over to a special prosecutor or the state attorney general’s office instead of being dismissed.

Matthew Murphy, a retired prosecutor in the district attorney’s office, now represents three women who say they were victimized by Dr. Grant Robicheaux and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley. Murphy represented another woman in the case but withdrew as her attorney in November.

Murphy argued there are “at least eight and as many as 18 women who have provided substantially similar accounts of being sexually assaulted” by the defendants. “None of these women know each other,” he added.

Robicheaux and Riley were charged in September 2018 with drugging and sexually assaulting multiple victims they met at social gatherings. Robicheaux is accused of 17 charges, including five counts of rape, and Riley faces 13 charges, including three counts of rape. Both have pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex.

Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer argued in court Feb. 7 that the charges against Robicheaux and Riley should be dismissed because prosecutors cannot prove the case. Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones delayed a decision on dismissing the charges and said he would return with a ruling April 3.

Murphy said there is enough evidence to pursue the case.

“We respectfully submit there is substantial evidence of a concerted conspiracy between the defendants to meet, drug and rape vulnerable women,” Murphy said, adding that investigators recovered 119 grams of GHB, commonly known as a date rape drug, from Robicheaux’s home.

Spitzer outlined in a news conference Feb. 4 how his office, after an exhaustive review of the evidence, couldn’t find any videos showing the defendants attacking the women. That was a stark contrast from his predecessor, Tony Rackauckas, who had said investigators had “thousands of videos” in evidence that showed there could be “hundreds” or “more than a thousand” victims.

Spitzer earlier asked the attorney general’s office to review whether the Orange County DA’s office had a conflict due to a political battle he had with Rackauckas, who brought the charges. Spitzer said Rackauckas was motivated to embellish the case in his unsuccessful reelection campaign against Spitzer in 2018. The attorney general’s office declined to take the case.

The alleged victims “have found themselves pawns in a political battle between two district attorneys they have never met,” Murphy said in his motion.

Murphy also accused defense attorneys of using a civil suit filed by one of the women to harass the others.

Murphy noted that one of the attorneys involved in the lawsuit served a subpoena on a friend of one of the alleged victims, demanding any correspondence between the two.

In a motion filed Feb. 7, the attorneys mistakenly argued there were no more victims in the case because charges had been dropped.

The attorneys in the civil suit argued that the plaintiff is an “opportunist seeking to cash in on the notoriety of the criminal prosecution” and that she would use the claims from the other women to amplify her argument for damages.

Murphy’s motion called the claim of no more victims a “stunning display of procedural hubris” and said it indicated that the defense attorneys would “continue harassing the victims if the case is dismissed.”

Attorneys representing the defendants did not respond to a request for comment.

Murphy argued there is enough evidence to proceed with the criminal case and said Jones has the latitude to assign a special prosecutor or turn over the case to the attorney general’s office. He also could direct the district attorney’s office to continue with the case, Murphy said.

Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the DA’s office, said: “Mr. Murphy did not give us the courtesy of providing … a copy of his motion before he leaked it to the press. As such, we are unable to comment on his argument at this time. The court made it clear that he wanted any motions on this case filed under seal because it is presently under submission with the court. Mr. Murphy was present in court when that order was made by the judge.”

Murphy said his motion was not ordered sealed and noted that Spitzer gave him only a few minutes’ notice before his news conference explaining why he wanted to drop the charges.

“I simply extended them the same courtesy they extended my client,” Murphy said.

The Daily Pilot staff contributed to this report.

A teenager was killed and two other people were hurt when someone opened fire at a house party in Arleta on Friday night, police said.

Officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 13400 block of Rangoon Street about 10:45 p.m. and found the male teen lying in the rear driveway area, Los Angeles police said in statement. He had been shot multiple times in his upper torso. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, police said.

Two other people were struck by gunfire and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to investigators. Both had been released from the hospital by Saturday afternoon.

Witnesses said the teen who died was attending a party at the home when he became involved in an argument with a man, who pulled out a gun and shot him multiple times, according to police. The suspect fled in a dark-colored vehicle with two other people, one female and one male, police said.

Authorities said the victim was a resident of Sun Valley. His name was not released pending notification of family members.

Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to contact Valley Bureau Homicide Det. Steve Castro at (818) 374-1925, or to call (877) 527-3247.

The search continued Saturday for a 53-year-old Malibu woman who vanished a week ago.

Julia Christine Snyder, who suffers from bipolar disorder and does not have her medications, was last seen near her home in the 4300 block of Ocean View Drive on the evening of Feb. 8, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Snyder is described as 5 feet and 7 inches tall, 140 pounds with long straight blond hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a white shirt and flannel pajamas.

“Her loved ones have not see or heard from her,” authorities said. “They are very concerned and asking the public’s help in locating her.”

On Saturday, a search and rescue crew combed the Malibu hillside by her home from 7 a.m. to sundown, authorities said. Dozens of people joined in the search with rescuers employing canines and drones.

Authorities worry about the rugged mountain conditions. The temperature in the area can drop as low as the 40s at night.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Missing Persons Unit at (323) 890-5500.