Larson sits 12th in the driver standings entering Sunday’s Citizen Soldier 400, in need of a strong finish to ensure his advancement in the championship competition. And in Friday’s first practice, Larson showed he has the speed to be a factor. MORE: Dover Chase scenarios | Drivers in danger | Key: No mistakes UPDATE: Friday’s qualifying at Dover was canceled because of rain. Sunday’s lineup was set on owner points, with Chase drivers in the first 16 starting positions....

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan was confident entering Sunday’s game in Los Angeles, but he still sees room for improvement after a dominant defensive performance that allowed the team to leave with a 20-7 win. “I’m very happy with how we played,” Shanahan told reporters after the game. “We’re 5-0, which is a great thing, but we’re not playing our best ball. We can do a lot of things better than that....

After being traded from Cleveland to Boston last summer, Irving found success as the Celtics’ No. 1 option, averaging 24.4 points and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from 3-point range. He scored 30 or more points 18 times, getting buckets in typical “Uncle Drew” style. MORE: Irving on knee recovery: “A long, long f—ing two months” The NBA recently released a mixtape full of Irving’s best highlights from the 2017-18 campaign, and it’s safe to say these plays will bring back bad memories for a few helpless defenders....

The Brooklyn Nets star guard turned heads online with a cryptic tweet that went viral Wednesday. Some interpreted Irving’s tweet, which said “my mask is off, now take yours off. No fear,” as a metaphor for him removing pretenses and fear and inviting the public to get real. They cited another of Irving’s tweet from last week where he sent affirmation for followers to be themselves. Irving’s thoughtful and poetic nature lends itself to that argument, and pushing people to overcome their fears admirable....

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he supported the idea of changing the Senate filibuster for the purpose of codifying Roe v. Wade. The partisan split in the Senate makes a 60-vote threshold practically impossible for Democrats to do so. “I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade into law. And the way to do that is to make sure Congress votes to do that,” Biden said during a press conference at the NATO summit in Madrid....

“The vaccine is safe, effective, and the best way to keep our students protected against the virus," Los Angeles Unified School District Board President Kelly Gonez said in a tweet about the announcement. “The vaccine is safe, effective, & the best way to keep our students protected against the virus. We will work to ensure families have reliable medical information in the coming weeks.” California’s Culver City Unified School District is thought to be the first district in the country to require COVID-19 vaccines for eligible students when it announced its mandate several weeks ago....

The county’s indoor mask mandate went back into effect on Saturday by order of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH). The DPH cited rising COVID-19 case numbers as the reason for reinstating the mandate. The mandate requires all people to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. However, in a Friday statement, Villanueva bashed the order as unscientific. “Forcing the vaccinated and those who already contracted COVID-19 to wear masks indoors is not backed by science and contradicts the U....

It’s great that the All-Star Game will no longer determine who has home-field advantage in the World Series. Finally, it will go to the team with the better record. It’s great (for most people) that teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers will have to pay tens of millions of dollars more in luxury tax if they want to keep inflating their payrolls. It’s great that, based on media leaks late Wednesday, the qualifying-offer/draft-pick-compensation system for free agents will be more convoluted than ever....

But does this holiday extend to retailers? Newsweek has provided a comprehensive guide to store opening hours on Labor Day. Is Target open on Labor Day? Target, which currently has massive savings for its Labor Day weekend sale, is open nationalwide. Check the Target website to see the exact opening hours for your local store as times may be adjusted for the holiday. Is Publix open on Labor Day? Publix is open as usual, according to its website....

Brands spanning beauty, home, technology and fashion are all offering discounts on certain products. Here are 17 Labor Day deals to get your long weekend going. Dyson Ball Multi-Floor Origin High Performance Upright Vacuum This premium vacuum should be able to clean any house, and its strong suction and self-adjustment to carpets and hard floors mean that minimal effort is required. Having previously been $449.00, this item is now 33 percent cheaper in time for Labor Day....

Just months after the Best family welcomed puppy Scout into their home, a seemingly harmless everyday item tragically took his life. “I was in disbelief. I still am in disbelief that it happened. We thought we did everything right,” mom Holly Best told Action News 4. On New Year’s Eve, after the family had fallen asleep, Scout was suffocated by a bag of potato chips. Dad Brian Best awoke to find him motionless in the kitchen with the bag over his head....

A video shared by Bella’s owner earlier in June, on TikTok, with the username courtz_mxo, shows the dog making a cake with her mom, tasting every single ingredient she’d drop into the mix before it even reached the bowl. The clip, which has been viewed over 406,300 times, and has received over 24,800 likes, comes with a caption that reads: “Bella’s 2nd birthday, so we decided to celebrate by making a cake....

What It Is Lactose is one of the major components of milk. Structurally, it is a disaccharide— a sugar molecule that’s composed of two simple sugars. Glucose can be found in many other food substances, but lactose is the only known source of galactose. Lactose is white and odorless, and you may sometimes see or hear it referred to as “milk sugar.” Lactose is only found in milk from mammals, so plant-based milk products like almond milk and soy milk don’t contain it....

The Green Bay Packers’ powerful running back was knocked out of the second half of Thursday night’s 36-16 season opening loss to Seattle. Coach Mike McCarthy confirmed in his postgame press conference that Lacy was diagnosed with a concussion after showing the signs and being tested for it. It was a rough night for Lacy before he exited. He was held to 34 yards rushing on 12 carries, taking as many hard hits as he tried to dish out to a championship defense....

The photographs, taken by geographical monitoring satellites Landsat 7 and Landsat 8, show how far the shoreline of Lake Mead has crept inwards over the past two decades, with large portions of the lake’s northern section having completely dried up. “Bathtub rings” around the current shore are also visible, which are light-colored mineralized shore areas where the lake water has now evaporated away. Lake Mead is a reservoir of the Colorado River formed by the Hoover Dam, spanning the states of Arizona and Nevada....

According to audio of an Aug. 23 phone call obtained by TMZ Sports, Christy West was heard speaking to another person she claimed to be Cousins. “I’m gonna ask you this one more time before I take it to another level. Can I have my son here, please?” a male voice on the audio said. “Go shoot the ball,” a woman responded. “Can I have my son here, please?” the man asked....

The NBA star, whose performance helped give Los Angeles its sixth straight win, tweeted a message to his critics after the game. MORE: Who is LeBron James’ wife? James’ tweet quickly had #WashedKing trending on Twitter, with some speculating that it was directed at anyone who thinks Kawhi Leonard is the best player in the league. Twitter wasn’t the only place where James was addressing his haters. During the game in Chicago, the 34-year-old was caught on camera delivering a savage response to a Bulls fan who was heckling him from behind the Lakers’ bench....

“Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers” is set to premiere on Hulu on Monday, Aug. 15. The documentary details the rise of the Lakers as they became one of the most dominant and popular franchises in professional sports, featuring exclusive access to the Buss family, players, coaches and front office executives. The 10-part docuseries chronicles Dr. Jerry Buss’ purchase of the franchise, the “Showtime” Lakers era, the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal three-peat and more....

Los Angeles reportedly made multiple offers to the Pelicans for star forward Anthony Davis — who asked New Orleans to move him — before the deadline but ultimately no deal was reached. Hart discussed the impact the trade rumors had in the Lakers’ locker room during a recently released episode of “Inside the Green Room” with Danny Green. “It was just so bad because it was so public. I think that was the biggest thing,” Hart said....

Ahead of Monday night’s meeting between the two teams, the Clippers occupy the No. 7 seed in the West, while the Lakers sit 4.5 games behind the Spurs for eighth. MORE: Watch Lakers vs. Clippers live on fuboTV (7-day free trial) The Lakers, who have been hampered by on-court chemistry problems and abysmal defense, are in must-win mode after falling to the Suns on Saturday. LeBron James has reached the playoffs every year since 2005....