SnS MAG

More than half way to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts grappled with a toilet problem

The four astronauts on theArtemis II missioncurrently hurtling through space have had a largely quiet journey so far. Very few in-flight issues have cropped up that could disrupt their peace of mind.

(April 4, 2026) - NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon. - NASA

Except, that is, for the toilet.

The Artemis II crew's 16.5-foot-wide (5-meter-wide) Orion capsule experienced a waste management-related problem that arose in the early hours of Saturday as Day 3 was winding down.

"It's an issue with dumping the waste out of the toilet," Artemis II Flight Director Judd Frieling told reporters Saturday morning. "And so it appears to me that we probably have some frozen urine in the vent line."

The astronauts— NASA's Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — were still fast asleep by midmorning nearly 200,000 miles (nearly 320,000 kilometers) from Earth as mission controllers continued to troubleshoot the issue. And by Saturday afternoon, early in Day 4 of the flight, mission controllers had a plan of attack: to warm up the frozen line by rotating the capsule to put the frozen urine into the sun.

That appeared to partially unclog the pipe, allowing the capsule to expel some of the urine from the wastebasket-size tank into the vacuum of space.

Shortly after, mission control said the toilet was "go" — but "for fecal use only."

Efforts to fix the commode continued throughout Saturday, but stubborn clogs prevented a full cleanout. Until, at last, around midnight Eastern time, mission control delivered the long-awaited update: "Breaking news," mission control's capsule communicator, Jacki Mahaffey, told the crew. "You are go for all types of use of the toilet."

"And the crew rejoices!" Koch replied. "Thank you!"

Glistening space pee

The process of venting the urine outside the capsule was a moment Koch also showed on camera earlier in the mission. The pee trickles by like glowing gems in the vacuum of space as it zooms by the Orion's windows.

But the frozen vent line was not the crew's only run-in with toilet troubles.

Shortly after launching to orbit from NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, the crew realized the toilet's pump wasn't working. Pumps are important and used for a variety of reasons, including assisting with pulling waste from the body. In space, there is no gravity to assist with such expulsions.

That problem had a relatively straightforward fix: The crewmembers simply hadn't put in enough water to prime the pump. After they topped that off, the system began functioning as intended.

The astronauts celebrated that small victory on Thursday during a virtual interview with news media.

"I'm proud to call myself the space plumber," Koch said. "We were all breathing a sigh of relief when it turned out to be just fine. We did originally think that there could have been potentially something fouling up the motor."

The Artemis II astronauts’ toilet separates urine for release into space and stores feces for disposal after their return to Earth. The crew trained on how to use the system using this mock-up at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. - Canadian Space Agency)

'The most important piece of equipment'

The onboard toilet is perhaps the spaceflight amenity held most dear to astronauts who value creature comforts.

"I like to say that it is probably the most important piece of equipment on board," Koch added during her Thursday dispatch from Orion.

With the Orion toilet malfunctioning, the astronauts had to resort to a technique employed by the deep-space explorers of the mid-20th century.

In the Apollo era, astronauts did not have a toilet. They relied solely on bags to relieve themselves.

And the process was not always error-free. During the 1969 Apollo 10 mission — the one in which Thomas Stafford, John Young and Eugene Cernan circumnavigated the moon — Stafford reported back to mission control on Day 6 of the mission that a piece of waste was floating through the cabin, according toonce-confidential government documents.

"Give me a napkin, quick," Stafford wasrecordedsaying a few minutes before Cernan spots more: "Here's another goddamn turd."

The astronauts famously hated the bagged-poop approach.

"The fecal bag system was marginally functional and was described as very 'distasteful' by the crew," anofficial NASA reportfrom 2007 later revealed. "The bags provided no odor control in the small capsule and the odor was prominent."

The Orion crew had to rely on a similar system for liquid waste while they worked to fix their toilet woes. Referred to as the the Collapsable Contingency Urinal or CCU, astronaut Don Pettit, following along with the mission from home, shared an image on his social media feed.

Orion's legacy

The Apollo 10 capsule wasn't the only one plagued with toilet issues. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which notched its first astronaut mission in 2020 and has flown more than a dozen since, also had several hiccups with its hygiene system.

During a Crew Dragon flight in 2021, for example, SpaceX found that a tube used to funnel urine into a storage tank became unglued, causing a leaky mess beneath the capsule's floor. That forced the astronauts to rely on backup undergarments — which are essentially adult diapers.

The current NASA administrator, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, also commissioned a three-day flight aboard Crew Dragon in 2022, called Inspiration4. During the spaceflight, he had to troubleshoot an onboard toilet problem. The issue, however, did not involve wayward waste floating around the cabin, Isaacman told CNN at the time.

Decades of toilet development informed the system aboard Orion that the Artemis II astronauts are using. NASA put a similar system on board the International Space Station — which orbits just a couple hundred miles above Earth — to help vet the technology.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch reads on a tablet in the Orion crew capsule on Friday while astronaut Jeremy Hansen (center right) looks out of one of Orion’s windows. - NASA

Collins Aerospace holds a roughly $30 million contract,inked in 2015, to design and adapt the technology, known as the Universal Waste Management System or UWMS, for Orion.

And the system also builds on decades of the Space Shuttle program's toilet technology. On both systems, urine is vented outside the capsule while solid waste is compacted and returned home with the crew.

When it functions, the in-space toilet can have its advantages.

"One of my friends has even said he prefers the toilet in space to the one on Earth," former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino told CNN.

Massimino isn't so sure, however. "I really miss my toilet on Earth because it's very involved in space, and you have to be careful and respect your friends so that you don't leave a mess," he said. "And always clean up after yourself because you don't want people to get sick."

NASA's Artemis program is sending humans into deep space for the first time in more than five decades. Sign up forCountdown newsletterand get updates from CNN Science on out-of-this-world expeditions as they unfold.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byAdministrator

in

April 05, 2026

More than half way to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts grappled with a toilet problem

The four astronauts on theArtemis II missioncurrently hurtling through space have had a largely quiet journey so far. Ver...

At least 15 hurt after driver plows car into Louisiana parade crowd

At least 15 people were injured after a driver plowed a car into a crowd during a parade in Louisiana on Saturday, April 4, according to authorities and multiple reports.

The Iberia Parish Sheriff's Officesaid in a Facebook postthat deputies are investigating an incident involving a vehicle that struck pedestrians during a parade in New Iberia, a small Cajun town in southern Louisiana, about 30 minutes from Lafayette. As a result, "several individuals sustained injuries, some of which are believed to be serious," the sheriff's office added.

Louisiana State Police said they arrested the driver, a 57-year-old man, and charged him with driving while impaired, 18 counts of first-degree negligent injuring and careless operation, Reuters reported. Police said he is also accused of having an open container with an alcoholic beverage in the vehicle.

The incident occurred during the Louisiana Lao New Year Festival, with itsorganizers on Facebook sending well wishesand announcing that its Saturday night music programs will be canceled, including live concerts and alcohol sales, "in the interest of public safety."

The festival typically occurs on Easter weekend and celebrates the Lao New Year, according to the organizers' Facebook page.

"We are profoundly saddened by the news of the incident near the festival grounds," the organizers' post reads. "We are awaiting additional details from authorities as they become available. All security resources have been redirected to the scene, and we currently do not have security personnel available due to the circumstances."

Organizers added, "We are praying for the victims and for their families during this difficult time."

Headlights become clouded or yellowed after years of use, creating a major safety concern for motorists. AAA finds that the average 11-year-old vehicle's headlights generate 20 percent of the illumination as new headlights.

Do-it-yourself restoration greatly improved the performance of this headlight.

This headlight had become clouded after years of use.

Cloudy headlights pose huge safety risk, AAA study finds

Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office confirms 15 people were injured

At least 15 were injured as a result of the incident, according tolocal TV station KATC NewsandThe New York Times, both citing the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office.

At the time of the incident, the crowd was gathered at a nearby intersection for the parade, KATC reported.

In a post on social media Acadian Ambulance said that it transported 13 people to the hospital. Two of them were airlifted, the ambulance service wrote on X, Reuters reported.

In a statement provided to USA TODAY, a local hospital spokesperson said, "We are actively caring for patients who were transported to our facility, Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center, following the incident in New Iberia."

The hospital added, "Our teams are focused on providing the highest level of care. Due to patient privacy, we're unable to share specific details about individuals." The hospital did not say how many of the injured individuals it was treating or their conditions, calling the situation "dynamic."

USA TODAY contacted the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office on April 4 for information on the number of victims, but has not received a response.

Louisiana governor 'praying for all those affected'

In a Facebook post on Saturday,Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry saidhe and his wife, Sharon, "are praying for all those affected, and are grateful for the first responders who have responded to the scene."

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrillalso issued a statement on Facebook, saying, "I'm praying for all those injured and impacted by this terrible tragedy and will be following up with responding law enforcement agencies to offer support."

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:At least 15 injured after car is plowed into Louisiana parade crowd

byAdministrator

in

April 05, 2026

At least 15 hurt after driver plows car into Louisiana parade crowd

At least 15 people were injured after a driver plowed a car into a crowd during a parade in Louisiana on Saturday, April ...

Ousted Army chief of staff says soldiers deserve

Ousted Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Randy George, told Pentagon officials in anoutgoing emailthat U.S. soldiers deserve "courageous leaders of character," after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked him to step down and take immediate retirement.

CBS News exclusivelyreported earlier this weekon the general's ousting, with one source saying Hegseth wants someone in the role who will implement his and President Trump's vision for the Army.

An outgoing email, attributed to George and confirmed as authentic by CBS News on Saturday, circulated online after his ousting. A U.S. official told CBS News that George sent the email to Driscoll, the undersecretary and assistant secretary of the Army, as well as to the three- and four-star generals and officers on his staff.

"It has been the greatest privilege to serve beside you and lead Soldiers in support of our country," he wrote. "I know you'll all continue to stay laser-focused on the mission, continue innovating, and relentlessly cut through the bureaucracy to get our warfighters what they need to win on the modern battlefield."

He added: "Our soldiers are truly the best in the world – they deserve tough training and courageous leaders of character. I have no doubt you will all continue to lead with courage, character, and grit."

George previously served as the senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022, during the Biden administration. He became Army chief of staff, typically a four-year post, in 2023.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnellsaidin a statement that George "will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George's decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement."

The current vice chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who was formerly Hegseth's military aide, will be acting Army chief of staff.

Hegseth has fired more than a dozen senior military officers, includingChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife and the head of theDefense Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse.

Lawmakers react to White House's massive defense spending proposal

White House reacts to F-15E fighter jet downed over Iran

Early details on F-15E fighter jet downed in Iran

byAdministrator

in

April 05, 2026

Ousted Army chief of staff says soldiers deserve "courageous leaders" in email

Ousted Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Randy George, told Pentagon officials in anoutgoing emailthat U.S. soldiers deserve ...

67 days to the World Cup: James Rodríguez and the World Cup's only Puskás Award winner

The countdown to the2026 World Cupis on! Each day ahead of the tournament's return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world's biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year's global event.

TheFIFA Puskás Awardis handed out each year to the player who scores the best goal in all levels of soccer.

Named in honor of Hungary and Real Madrid great Ferenc Puskás, FIFA created the award in 2009. In 2024, the FIFA Marta Award began to honor the best goal scored by a woman.

Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season

There are four key points that make up the criteria for the Puskás Award:

"An aesthetically beautiful goal, awarded without distinction of championship, gender or nationality, scored without the result of luck or a mistake and in support of Fair Play."

There are a number of household names that make up the 15 Puskás winners such as Zlatan Ibrahimović, Son Heung-min, Neymar, Mohamed Salah, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Lionel Messi has been nominated seven times, but has yet to win.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JUNE 28: James Rodrigues of Colombia in action during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil round of 16 match between Colombia and Uruguay at Maracana on June 28, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images)

Only four goals from the men's World Cup have finished among the top-three and only one from the quadrennial tournament has ever won the award.

James Rodríguez had a World Cup to remember in 2014 as he helped Colombia reach the Round of 16. The No. 10 forLos Cafeteroswon the tournament's Golden Boot award with six goals, scoring in all five games.

One of those six goals came during a 2-0 win over Uruguay in the Round of 16. Rodríguez bagged a brace in the victory and also earned that's year's Puskás Award with a gorgeous volley.

Two weeks before Rodríguez's wonderstrike, Robin van Persie looked to have put himself in the lead for the award. Hisdiving header against Spainduring the group stage was one of his four World Cup goals that summer.

Alas, it was not to be for the Dutch legend. Rodríguez earned 42% of the vote, while van Persie received just 11%.

Richarlison'sbicycle kick for Brazil against Serbiain 2022 is the only World Cup goal since to have been voted a Puskás Award finalist.

byAdministrator

in

April 05, 2026

67 days to the World Cup: James Rodríguez and the World Cup's only Puskás Award winner

The countdown to the2026 World Cupis on! Each day ahead of the tournament's return to North America, Yahoo Sports wil...

LA Dodgers are MLB's melting pot, with complex history to show

LOS ANGELES – It wasOpening Day at Dodger Stadiumon March 26, and a pregame ceremony paused as fans waited for the arrival of the two World Series trophies theLos Angeles Dodgershad won the past two seasons.

Finally, ablue Cadillac lowrider driven by actor Will Ferrellparted the center-field gate and pulled onto the warning track. Two of the car's occupants were the World Series trophies, and up went cheers, especially from thousands of Latinos in the Pavilion section beyond the outfield walls.

Los Angeles Dodgers fans celebrate Andy Pages' 3-run homer in the fifth on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 26, 2026,.

"That's how you got to do it in L.A.," declared Matthew Oviedo, 32, who grew up in East Los Angeles, one of the prominently Latino communities where lowriders were popularized.

Latinos make up about 40% of the Dodgers fanbase. But like the team, the city in which they play and America at large, Dodger fans are an ethnic melting pot – White, Asian, Black and Latino. Heritage Nights have become popular for MLB teams celebrating different cultures, and this season the Dodgers have scheduled seven – one night each for Japanese, Mexican, Filipino, Black, Guatemalan, Salvadoran and Korean cultures.

As America's 250th anniversary approaches, the Dodgers provide a powerful lens through which to view the country's history − specifically, issues of social migration, civil rights and immigration.

In the past 10 months, Dodger Stadium has been used for celebrations and protests. Celebrations of the team's success as the Dodgers seek a third straight World Series title. And protestscalling for the team to reject the Trump administration's immigration policydisproportionately impacting Latinos.

The stadium also happens to be built on land where families, mostly Mexican-American, wereuprooted from their homesin the name of progress. The estimated number of families who lived on the land range from300 to more than 1,800in the years before Dodger Stadium was built.

"We're standing in somebody's backyard," Richard Moreno, 46, a self-described superfan also known as"Mariachi Loco,"told USA TODAY inside the stadium on Opening Day. "It hurts, but what can you do?''

Protestors gathered on the corners of Sunset Blvd and Vin Scully in Los Angeles on June 21 2025 to protest against the Dodgers, ICE, and Trump. The demonstration followed an incident in which a singer was barred from performing the national anthem in Spanish and after federal agents were seen staging in the driveway of Dodger Stadium.

A star is born running from oppression

Steam billowed into the sky as trains chugged across America.The Great Migrationwas underway.

Between 1910 and 1970, an estimated 6 million Black residents left the South for other parts of the country, according to theU.S. Census Bureau. They were running from racial violence, segregation and economic oppression.

"They found the courage within themselves to break free," author Isabel Wilkerson wrote for the Smithsonian magazine.

In late spring of 1920, a Black woman boarded a train in Cairo, Georgia, and embarked on a trip of more than 2,200 miles to Pasadena, California. Her husband had left the family and she was traveling with their five children, the youngest a boy about 16 months old.

Mallie Robinson (C) poses for a family portrait with her children (L-R) Mack Robinson, Jackie Robinson, Edgar Robinson, Willa Mae Robinson and Frank Robinson circa 1925 in California.

His name wasJack Roosevelt Robinson. But America would know him as Jackie Robinson, the baseball player who broke the Major League color line in 1947 as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In 1919, the year Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia, theNAACPpublished a booklet entitled "Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States: 1889-1918." The organization reported there had been 386 lynchings in Georgia, second most only to Mississippi among U.S. states during that 30-year period.

Robinson's parents, Mallie and Jerry, were sharecroppers who lived in shack-like conditions on the Sasser plantation in southeastern Georgia. After Jerry Robinson left the family, Mallie Robinson took them to Pasadena, then an affluent city 20 miles from Los Angeles where some of her relatives lived.

"It was a fairly decent-looking community," said Okeyo Jumal, 82, a Black historian from Pasadena. "And we knew that because people who came out later on (from the South) would say, 'This is a Black community? This is a nice-looking community to be a Black community.'"

But the municipal pool in Pasadena was open to non-Whites only one day a week. Black residents watched movies from segregated balconies. Their economic opportunities were limited.

Mallie Robinson worked as a maid, saved her modest wages and bought a four-bedroom clapboard house at121 Pepper St. Jackie Robinson had a group of interracial friends called "The Pepper Street Gang'' and between 1938 and 1941 he was a four-sport star atPasadena Junior Collegeand then atUCLA.

"Even with his prodigious athletic talent, his opportunities would've been circumscribed in the South by racism," said William Deverell, a University of Southern California (USC) professor and historian who lives in Pasadena. "So coming here and going to Pasadena City College and going to UCLA, it's not perfect by any means, but it's a lot better (than Georgia). I think that opened the doors for his rise to athletic fame."

In short, the Great Migration may have carved a path for the most significant player in baseball history.

Bigger than baseball: Jackie Robinson, White allies and fan integration

Black soldiers returned home from World War II in 1945 angry about having fought oppression abroad only to encounter it again at home. They demanded equal rights.

But U.S. armed forces and public schools remained segregated. Major League Baseball clung to an unwritten rule banning Black players. Under that backdrop, Robinson broke baseball's color line on April 15, 1947, as part of an unlikely partnership.

Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers, dressed in a road uniform, crouches by the base and prepares to catch a ball, 1951. Throughout the course of his baseball career Robinson played several positions on the infield as well as serving as outfielder.

Branch Rickey, then the Dodgers' president and general manager, was largely responsible for signing Robinson. He wore bow ties, smoked cigars and was determined to win. He was 65.

Robinson impressed reporters with his intelligence and remained calm in the face of racist taunts and threats. He was 28.

"Those two men took it to another level," Della Britton, president and CEO of theJackie Robinson Foundation, told USA TODAY Sports. "It worked because Branch Rickey had the gumption to do it and it worked because Jackie followed up."

Of Rickey, Britton added, "It took White allies to create progress and to agitate and move the country forward."

The Dodgers, at risk of alienating their fans and fellow teams, gave Robinson a chance. He turned it into something bigger.

Yes, he won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award in 1947, was named National League MVP in 1949 and in 1955 helped lead the Dodgers to their first World Series title. By then, however, he also had emerged as a national figure speaking out about equal rights.

"Robinson is not just a symbol of integration in America," Johnny Smith, a professor and sports historian at Georgia Tech University, told USA TODAY. "He is a crucial actor, an agent of change, a crucial voice."

Pete Hamill, the late journalist who grew up in Brooklyn, said the Dodgers integrated not only their team but also their fans.

"You could be an Irishman, an Italian, and a Jew, and you could all be in Ebbets Field, sitting together, rooting for the Dodgers." Hamill told Brian Purnell, author of "Fighting Jim Crow in the County of Kings."

"…we became the most American place in the country," Hamill told Time magazine.

During Robinson's rookie year, the Dodgers drew 1.8 million, their highest season attendance at that point.

'The boom is thrilling': Dodgers look to baseball's western frontier

As if fueled by another gold rush, California's population grew by almost 50% between 1950 and 1960.

"We're in the Cold War and the federal government begins to start to pour money into defense and aeronautics and aerospace, and Southern California is the chief site of that," said Deverell, the USC professor. "Even with the trepidations of the Cold War, the economic boom and the technological boom is thrilling."

Amid those dynamics, Los Angeles officials courted a potential resident: Walter O'Malley, then owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

O'Malley rebuffed the initial overtures. But his efforts to find a site in New York on which to build a newer and bigger stadium than Ebbets Field in Brooklyn failed. And his interest in Los Angeles and a roughly 300-acre site for a new stadium climbed.

Because there were no major league teams in California, O'Malley's son and former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley said he researched attendance figures of minor-league teams in the L.A.-area and was concerned.

"I remember saying, 'Dad, I've looked at these Coast League attendance figures for the Hollywood Stars and the L.A. Angels,'" Peter O'Malley told USA TODAY. "'Are you sure MLB is going to be embraced?'"

Picher Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers winds up to throw a pitch against the Minnesota Twin in game 7 of the 1965 World Series, Oct.14, 1965 at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The Dodgers won the series 4 games to 3. Koufax was the series MVP and played for the Dodgers from 1955-66.

Starting pitcher Orel Hersheiser leaps into the arms of catcher Rick Dempsey and at right is first baseman Franklin Stubbs of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate after beating the Oakland As in game 6 to win the World Series on Oct. 20, 1988 in Oakland, California.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Kirk Gibson celebrates his game-winning two run homer against the Oakland Athletics as he rounds the bases at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles during the first game of the World Series, in this Oct. 15, 1988 photo.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre (L) greets former manager Tommy Lasorda during pre-game activities at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before the MLB interleague exhibition baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox in Los Angeles March 29, 2008. Almost 115,000 people bought tickets to watch the Dodgers celebrate the 50th anniversary of their move to Los Angeles, setting a U.S. baseball crowd record.

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner celebrates with the Commissioner's Trophy after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays to win the World Series in game six of the 2020 World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on Oct 27, 2020.

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning of game four of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium on Oct 17, 2025. Ohtani hit three home runs and pitched six scoreless innings in the Los Angeles DodgersÕ 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS in a historic achievement.

From Trolleys to Tinseltown: Follow the Dodgers' baseball run through the ages

On April 18, 1958, the Dodgers made their home debut in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the team's temporary home. They drew a crowd of 78,672, then a record for a regular-season game, and beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5.

The Giants had also relocated from New York between the 1957 and 1958 seasons.

In Brooklyn, the Dodgers never drew more than 1.8 million fans in a season. In Los Angeles, they drew more than 2 million fans seven times in their first nine seasons. The Dodgers seemed to be riding one wave while creating one of their own.

By 1969, California had five MLB teams – the Giants, Oakland A's, California Angels, San Diego Padres and the Dodgers, who have remained among the MLB leaders in attendance.

'They'll be mad forever': Chavez Ravine's displaced communities

Based on the U.S. Census, the number of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. tripled between 1910 to 1930 to 600,000. For these families, finding affordable housing in Los Angeles involved resourcefulness.

About five decades before the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles, impoverished Mexican families began moving onto land with modest homes and dirt roads. The property became known as Chavez Ravine, and the population grew to at least hundreds of families.

There was a grocery store, churches and an elementary school. But with the promise of federal funds to build public housing, the city of Los Angeles used eminent domain to force out residents. The city of Los Angeles paid each family approximately $6,500 to $10,500 for their properties, with the fairness of the compensation left in dispute.

Frank Wilkinson, a key figure in the project, said he promised residents they would have the first right to return when new high-rise buildings were completed. But politicians who branded the project socialistic killed the deal, and Los Angeles later used the land to help lure the Dodgers.

While most of the residents accepted compensation for their homes and left, a few families refused to go.

On May 8, 1959, a local TV crew captured footage of Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies forcibly removing people from their homes as groundbreaking for Dodger Stadium approached.

"The old lady throwing the rocks at the officers is my great-grandmother, Abrana Arechiga," said Melissa Arechiga, president and founder ofBuried Under the Blue, a nonprofit seeking reparations for the displaced communities of Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop.

Dodger Stadium, with a seating capacity of 56,000, opened in time for the 1962 season.

Reflecting on the controversy, Peter O'Malley, 88, said it was "a tough time."

"The grandchildren of some of those people are still mad, they'll be mad forever," he said. "Some of the grandchildren of those few families have learned the history and they're fine with it. They get it and they've moved on."

The Mexican Sandy Koufax: Fernando Valenzuela 'a gift from the heavens'

The Dodgers became the first MLB team to have a Spanish-language radio broadcast in 1958.Jaime Jarrin, who joined the broadcast crew the following year, said Walter O'Malley used to say the Dodgers needed to find a Mexican Sandy Koufax.

O'Malley understood demographics.

In 1960, Hispanics represented 6.4% of the Los Angeles population. The figure quadrupled by 1980, with 816,000 Hispanics in the city.

Los Angeles Dodgers fan Mercedes Alvarez honors both the Dodgers and Mexican heritage in her outfit for Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 26, 2026.

"You have the rise of the Latino consumer market in the 1980s," saidJose Alamillo, professor and chairperson of the Chicano/a Studies Department at California State University Channel Islands. "I think that becomes really important because now there's a kind of a recognition by a lot of companies that this is a market that hasn't been fully tapped.

"You have Anheuser Busch, you have Pizza Hut, you have all kinds of McDonald's going after the Hispanic market in the early 1980s. So that's what's happening as well, is this recognition of a young Latino consumer market that has yet to be tapped into."

In 1979, the Dodgers discovered their Mexican Sandy Koufax. Two years later, he electrified the baseball world.

His name wasFernando Valenzuela.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela winds up for a pitch during a 1985 MLB season game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

The portly 20-year-old pitcher from Etchohuaquila, a small village in Mexico, started the 1981 season 8-0. Latinos flocked to Dodger Stadium and"Fernandomania"was born.

Valenzuela finished the season as the National League Rookie of the Year and the NL Cy Young Award winner. He also helped repair the schism between the Dodgers and Latinos resentful about the families forcibly removed from Chavez Ravine.

"Fernando was a gift from the heavens," Jarrin said.

The Latino fan base swelled.

'A history of being the first,' a present in first place

In 1987, the Dodgers became the first team to establish a year-round baseball academy in the Dominican Republic and later signedAdrian Beltre, a third baseman and future Hall of Famer;Pedro Martinez, a pitcher and future Hall of Famer; andRaul Mondesi, an outfielder who was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1994.

In 1994, the team signed pitcherChan Ho Park, the first Korean major leaguer. Then pitcherHideo Nomoin 1995, Nomo becoming the first Japanese major leaguer in 30 years.

(Left) Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park | (Right) Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo

"The Dodgers long have had a history of being the first," said Marissa Kiss, the assistant director of George Mason University's Institute for Immigration Research who has examined immigrant MLB players and immigration policy. "(The) Jackie Robinson signing, being accepting of non-White players and Latino players. But at the same time, what was really the motive of it, too? They were looking for players to fill their rosters, cheap source labor."

The current Dodgers roster includes a half-dozen Latino players and, from lowrider cars to mariachi music, the Dodgers cater to their Latino fans. They have only one Black player,Mookie Betts, two fewer than in 1948.

But they also have haveDave Roberts, one of only two Black managers in baseball.

With the Dodgers, Roberts, the son of a Black father and Japanese mother, has become the second Black manager and the first of Asian descent to win a World Series, most recently doing so with the ascendant play of two Japanese superstars, pitcher/designated hitterShohei Ohtaniand pitcherYoshinobu Yamamoto.

(Left) Yoshinobu Yamamoto | (Right) Shohei Ohtani

Latinos – or Hispanics, as designated in census figures – now represent almost 50% of the 3.9 million people who live in Los Angeles and almost 50%, of the 10 million people who live in Los Angeles County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau – and roughly 40% of the Dodgers fan base. Understanding that, Yamamoto, who was voted 2025 World Series MVP, delivered once more during the ensuing World Series celebration at Dodger Stadium.

"Buenas tardes," he said, opening his speech with "good afternoon" in Spanish.

The crowd cheered with gusto.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Dodgers history tells American story of race, immigration, capitalism

byAdministrator

in

April 05, 2026

LA Dodgers are MLB's melting pot, with complex history to show

LOS ANGELES – It wasOpening Day at Dodger Stadiumon March 26, and a pregame ceremony paused as fans waited for the arriva...

Kevin McGonigle can't find Tigers' parking lot – but phenom has Detroit dreaming title

PHOENIX — He still has trouble believing he's here, but then again,Detroit TigersrookieKevin McGoniglealways knew this is where he belonged.

He was born and bred a baseball rat, convinced that one day he'd be a major league ballplayer.

And now that he's arrived as theyoungest Tiger to make his debutsince George Burns in 1914, it already feels as if he's been around for 20 years.

The dude may be 21, but he's going on 41 in maturity.

"I think he's a lot more polished and more mature as a ballplayer than when I came up," said Tigers infielder Colt Keith, who made his major-league debut at 22. "I mean, he's handling it really well. I don't see any panic in his eyes. I mean, he's out there just playing loose, having fun, just trying to help us win.

"It's really awesome to see. He's going to be a great player for us."

McGonigle was the 37th overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft.

McGonigle, who never played above Class AA Erie, has spent one week in the major leagues and already is establishing himself as one of the finest young players in the game and certainly a future face of the Tigers. The Tigers would love to keep him around as long as possible and have engaged in talks with him and his agent about a long-term deal of at least eight years.

"We don't need him to be the savior," Scott Harris, Tigers president of baseball operations, said after announcing McGonigle's promotion, with McGonigle producing an .888 OPS with two homers and six RBIs, drawing as many walks as hits this spring. "We don't need him to carry us. We just need him to help us.

"This roster is pretty darn good with or without Kevin. We just think it's better with him on it. That's why he's here."

McGonigle, the second-ranked prospect entering the year, has been nothing short of dazzling in his first week in The Show. He produced four hits in his major-league debut – the sixth to achieve the feat on opening day since 1900 – and was rewarded with the lineup card along with baseballs from his debut.

He spent the first seven games hitting .346 with a .952 OPS, and perhaps even more surprisingly, playing dazzling defense at third base. He's a natural shortstop, and his best defensive position may be second base, but he's been smooth at third, making the throws that need to be made while showing strong range.

"He never quits on the play, which is a great characteristic to have," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch says. "He can get on the ground. He comes up and throws accurate. When the speed of the game is speeding up, he stays with the same rhythm and cadence to complete the play."

Cleveland Guardians players warm up as the launch of NASA's Artemis II is shown on the center-field video board at Dodger Stadium on April 1, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez (6) and center fielder Jakob Marsee celebrate a victory against the Chicago White Sox at loanDepot Park on April 1, 2026.

Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez (6) and center fielder Jakob Marsee celebrate a victory against the Chicago White Sox at loanDepot Park on April 1, 2026.

The Toronto Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto gets doused with ice water by teammates after a win over the Athletics at Rogers Centre on March 29, 2026.

The Cincinnati Reds' Eugenio Suárez blows a bubble as he waits to bat against the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park on March 28, 2026.

The St. Louis Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt is doused with water by teammates after hitting a walk-off two-run single against the Tampa Bay Rays during the 10th inning at Busch Stadium on March 28, 2026.

Two F-35C planes from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron NINE Detachment Edwards Air Force Base perform a flyover before the Opening Day game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on March 26, 2026.

Ballpark vibes and wild celebrations a during 2026 MLB season

Cleveland Guardians players warm up asthe launch of NASA's Artemis IIis shown on the center-field video board at Dodger Stadium on April 1, 2026.

He's the reason why the Tigers didn't bother pursuing free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman this winter.

He received a thunderous ovation from the sellout crowd at Comerica Park at the Tigers' home opener Friday, which included about 15 members of his family.

"Are you surprised?" Hinch said after the game. "This city is going to fall in love with this kid because of how he plays and how he represents himself. We just got to let him play, got to let him learn, and we got to let him fail a little bit."

It still seems all surreal for the kid from Aldan, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, who started swinging a bat with his dad at the age of 2, grew up a huge Chase Utley fan, and studied hitting tapes from eight-time batting champion Tony Gwynn.

"I just love the way [Utley] played," McGonigle, the 5-foot-10 left-handed hitter, tells USA TODAY Sports. "He played the game hard. And I feel like he played it the right way, as well. That's the way I want to play."

And, yes, he would love to hit like Gwynn, the 15-time All-Star who not only had a career .338 batting average, but who never struck out more than 40 times in a single season, and never more than 30 times in his last 13 seasons. He was thrilled just to meet and speak to Gwynn's son in San Diego, Tony Gwynn Jr., the Padres' radio analyst.

"Growing up, my dad would show me film on him and Chase Utley," McGonigle says. "They're two guys that he would show their swings and says to kind of try to copy the way they swung, especially Tony, it's unbelievable how few times he struck out."

Rookie Kevin McGonigle is introduced prior to playing the St. Louis Cardinals in the Detroit Tigers home opener at Comerica Park on Friday, April 3, 2026 in Detroit.

These days, at least in the infancy of his career, McGonigle reminds Hinch and starters Justin Verlander and Tarik Skubal of Bregman, now with the Chicago Cubs, who eats, sleeps and dreams baseball.

"That's an ultimate compliment," McGonigle says. "I'm a big fan of Bregman as well. He plays the game really, really hard. And obviously, he's super, super good."

Then again, as Skubal, the Tigers' two-time Cy Young winner says, there will come a time when McGonigle is the one everyone wants to be compared to.

"They're both obsessed with the game of baseball," says Skubal, who got to know Bregman during the winter working out in Phoenix and were teammates in the WBC. "I don't really like comparing though. I want Kevin to be Kevin. In five or six years, they should be comparing someone else to Kevin. That's kind of how I want it to be.

"But they're both obsessed about the game, and they both grind in the box. They both grind in the weight room, the training room, everything. And they take this game pretty seriously and want to win really badly.

"Those are all really positive things, but as Kev gets more comfortable here, and just more time on his side, he's going to blossom into an even better baseball player. That's what I'm excited about. He's doing to experience all of the growing pains this year, success, failure, all of that stuff, but he's going to be a really good baseball player."

Really, McGonigle's toughest task in his first week was simply finding the players' parking lot at Comerica Park, circling the stadium several times before finding it.

"I did laps around the park because I didn't know where to go," McGonigle told reporters Friday morning. "But I ended up finding the parking lot. This place is unreal."

If he has the career everyone in the Tigers' organization anticipates, he'll have a nameplate reserved for the closest spot near the ballpark entrance of his choice.

"There's just something different about him," Tigers outfielder Riley Greene says. "The best way to describe him is that he's a ball of fire. He's finding barrels all of the time. He's making plays. His energy is up. He's doing stuff like guys with five or six years in the big leagues.

"It's pretty impressive to watch."

And once McGonigle learned he made the team, well, that fiery emotion became even more intense.

"I feel like he was even more motivated," Greene says. "He was like, 'We're here to work. We got a long year. Let's win some baseball games. Let's go.'"

That's McGonigle. He doesn't care where he plays in the field. Where he hits in the lineup. Just give him a uniform, and even without playing a day at Triple-A, he wants to do everything possible to lead the Tigers to where they haven't gone since 1984: A World Series championship.

"We're trying to win the World Series," Hinch says, "and Kevin McGonigle helps us get there."

Says McGonigle: "I'm just taking it all in, trying to get prepared, and doing everything possible to help this team win. I've always been good telling myself it's the same game, no matter what level I'm at.

"I feel like I've handled that well so far, and I'm looking forward to keep doing it."

Welcome to the big leagues, kid.

Now find the parking lot.

Around the basepaths

– MLB and the players union have yet to engage in preliminary negotiations on the next collective bargaining agreement, but their first meeting is expected to be in the next few weeks.

The owners have a $2 billion war chest while the players union has about $520 million stashed away in case of a lockout after Dec. 1.

– The Miami Marlins, off to a surprising 5-2 start, could have one of the most difficult dilemmas at the trade deadline if they are still hanging around.

They must decide whether to trade ace Sandy Alcantara, who is showing signs of his 2022 Cy Young form by starting the season with a 2-0 record and 0.00 ERA, striking out 16 in 12 ⅔ innings, including a three-hit, complete-game shutout in his last start against the Marlins.

Alcantara's five-year, $56 million contract expires after this season, but he has a $21 million club option or a $2 million buyout in 2027. Rival executives still fully expect the Marlins to trade Alcantara, knowing they should have perhaps baseball's most lucrative trade chip at the July 31 deadline.

(Salaries in present-day value calculated by MLB Labor Relations Department, impacted by deferrals and signing bonuses)

1. Juan Soto, Mets - $61,875,000