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Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Countdown' makes Los Angeles a prominent character — and it's in danger
It's just another day on location in Los Angeles for actor Jensen Ackles as he frantically weaves in and out of clusters of traffic on Wilshire's Miracle Mile to stop some villainous happenings in his new Prime Video action series 'Countdown,' which drops its first three episodes Wednesday. Locked into his valiant character, L.A. Det. Mark Meachum is the kind of person who will do anything to catch the baddies, even if that means driving up the sidewalk on Wilshire to get where he needs to be. For Ackles, an acting veteran with nearly 30 years of TV experience that has ranged from portraying teen angst on 'Days of Our Lives' to chasing demons for 15 seasons on 'Supernatural,' to his most recent turn as superhero Soldier Boy on 'The Boys,' shutting down Wilshire isn't the biggest surprise in his latest show. Instead, he's more blown away that the L.A.-set series is shooting in, of all places, Los Angeles. 'A lot of times, shows are shooting other places [as a stand-in] for other places, and it's rare when you're shooting in a place that is supposed to be that place,' he says. And in 'Countdown,' which follows a task force consisting of members from various law enforcement agencies that are brought together after the murder of a Department of Homeland Security agent, it's Los Angeles that is in serious danger. In fact, that initial crime is just the tip of the iceberg once a potential Chernobyl-like event in L.A. is uncovered. 'I would describe it as terrifying and with a potential to affect millions for years to come,' says executive producer and showrunner Derek Haas. 'I was thinking about smuggling channels into the United States and how these corridors have been used for both illegal narcotics and human trafficking. I thought it would be interesting if a bad player used these established channels to smuggle something much, much worse into the country.' That threat is the throughline for the bulk of the season, with Ackles' Meachum working alongside Drug Enforcement Administration agent Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho), FBI agent Keyonte Bell (Elliot Knight), LAPD agent Luke Finau (Uli Latukefu), FBI agent Evan Shepherd (Violett Beane) and special agent in charge Nathan Blythe ('Grey's Anatomy' and 'Euphoria's' Eric Dane). Together, Haas explains, the team attempts to 'identify the mastermind behind the threat while at the same time working to discover the delivery system for that threat. There are twists and turns and missteps and victories along the way as the plan grows into focus.' All this action makes L.A. a prominent cast member, something Haas knows a thing or two about, having created NBC's long-running 'Chicago Fire' and helping to develop spin-off series 'Chicago P.D.' and 'Chicago Med.' The Dallas-born producer has spent the last 26 years living in Los Angeles (he'd travel to Chicago during his tenure on the Windy City shows) and knew the city would lend itself well to this project at a time when L.A. isn't the first choice for filming these days. 'The fact that you can go in any direction and there's something different and interesting to see and to shoot in L.A. is appealing, but it feels like Hollywood has moved away from it,' he says. In fact, according to a report released in April by the nonprofit organization FilmLA, on-location production for film, television and commercials in the Los Angeles area was down 22% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period a year prior. Looking at just television production, the numbers dropped by 30.5% in the first quarter compared with 2024. Also, while some productions were temporarily halted during the fires in January, the report did not conclude that the fires had a lasting effect on overall production. The proposed increase of state tax incentives to be more competitive with other states could help the number of productions grow. 'I will make my pitch that we need more tax credits and rebates so we can get more production here because the 'Countdown' crew was nonstop excellent throughout,' Haas says. He also made a point of making sure the show was constantly shining a spotlight on often-overlooked parts of L.A.. 'I didn't want it to be guys in suits in mansions or walking around in Beverly Hills,' Haas says. Instead, he took the cast and crew to film in areas like Koreatown, Reseda, Huntington Park and Chinatown. 'Usually, you don't see the L.A. that I know, going as far as way up in the Deep Valley and then all the way down to Orange County, so I wanted to show that and go this way and that way,' he adds. The show's first season hit so many locations that it reminded Ackles, who lived in L.A. for 18 years earlier in his career, just how sprawling the city actually is. 'We're doing a massive shootout of the Port of Los Angeles down in Long Beach. I'm up in Palmdale at a decommissioned prison having a prison-yard brawl and a speed chase over 6th Street Bridge downtown,' he says. 'I feel like if anybody really wants to get a sense of the city, film a television show there. That is the quickest way to learn your way around.' Camacho, a Chicago native who moved to L.A. 15 years ago, says filming the show shifted her perspective on not just the myriad locations but also L.A. residents. 'To have the viewpoint of just playing in the streets of L.A. and shooting, it was so magical,' she says. 'There's so much diversity in its people but also the landscape, the natural beauty in all the neighborhoods. It was so, so exciting.' Haas intentionally zeroed in on L.A.'s eclectic neighborhoods in the scene locators glimpsed throughout the series, which let viewers know what part of town the action is taking place. It's a device he feels is reflective of how longtime L.A. residents see their fair city. 'If you meet somebody here, you're like, 'What part of L.A. do you live in?' And they say a neighborhood like Pasadena or Echo Park, so I thought that would be an angle we hadn't seen before on these shows,' Haas says. That said, Haas knew highlighting the City of Angels with car chases and shootouts for the sake of plot works with movies but not potentially long-running TV shows. 'You have to give the audience reasons to care,' he says. In fact, storylines ranging from health issues, parenting, family relationships and sexual tension between characters are what 'gives you a second gear in every action sequence,' he says. That sexy heat can be seen between partners Meachum and Oliveros, for example, since they butt heads initially but soften toward each other over time. 'Their relationship definitely gets a little complicated, but we like complicated,' teases Camacho. And like the forceful and determined 'Countdown' task force working against nefarious threats, the same can be said about Los Angeles, which faced horrific fires earlier this year and now is battling an aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence. 'Everybody thinks of L.A. as this glamorous town when you're looking from the outside in, but it's got character and salt and grit as well as any town,' Haas says. And it may always be a city of dreamers, but Camacho says there's much more to L.A. than that. 'You see the insistence, you see the resilience and you see the love and there's so much of that here,' she says. 'It's so inspiring and really beautiful to witness.'
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Fisherman is baffled after stumbling across a huge BLACK iceberg off the coast of Canada
In the chilly waters of the North Atlantic, it's not uncommon to see icebergs floating by. During the spring and summer, bright white glacial giants of every shape and size drift past the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. But floating serenely amid the pale ice chunks was one iceberg that left a fisherman completely baffled. While its size was impressive there was one other thing that particularly made it stand out – the fact that it was completely black. Hallur Antoniussen, originally from the Faroe Islands, was aboard a fishing trawler when he spotted the strange sight last month. 'I have seen icebergs that are rolled, what they say have rolled in the beach with some rocks in it,' he told CBC Radio. 'This one here is completely different. It's not only that he is all black. He is almost…in a diamond shape.' Mr Antoniussen, 64, said it was hard to estimate the size of the iceberg since it was roughly six kilometres away when he took a photograph of it. However, he believes it was at least three times the size of a regular bungalow. Icebergs traditionally appear white because they are filled with tiny pockets of trapped air that scatter all wavelengths of light. One explanation for the rare black iceberg is that it became mixed with a lot of debris thousands of years ago when it was part of a larger glacier. As glaciers move towards the ocean they grind along the ground, stirring up debris that becomes mixed in with the ice. Glaciologist Dr Lev Tarasov, from Memorial University in Canada, said it would take a long time for this debris to become as uniformly mixed through as it appears in the image. He believes the iceberg may have rolled over at some point, and is now showing its underbelly. 'Over time, as it travels around Baffin Bay and down the coast of Labrador, it's melting away,' he said. 'So I think a lot of that ice is melted away. Maybe the part that's clean is underneath? As glaciers move towards the ocean they grind along the ground, stirring up debris that becomes mixed in with the ice. Pictured: A hanging glacier in Dickson Fjord, Northeast Greenland National Park 'Again, 90 per cent of the ice is underneath the water. So we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg on top.' He added that it's possible the dirt on the iceberg may not have seen the light of day 'for hundreds of thousands of years'. Another possibility for the dark colouration is that the ice became mixed with soot from a huge volcanic eruption, or even debris from a historic meteor strike. Dr Tarasov said he observed smaller versions of the black iceberg during his fieldwork on the Kangerlussuaq Fjord in Greenland last summer — but not as impressive. HOW CAN AN ICEBERG PROVIDE WATER FOR DROUGHT-STRICKEN AREAS? There have been several attempts at moving icebergs to end droughts. In 2017, the UAE was experiencing severe water shortages and a project was set up to tow an iceberg to the region. These plans involved harvesting icebergs from Heard Island, around 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) off the coast of mainland Antarctica. The only details provided at the time, was that towing would be the most likely method. South Africa in 2018 is experiencing its worst drought for a century. A renowned marine salvage master from the country also believes towing an iceberg could be the answer. Cape Town-based Nick Sloane, director of Resolve Marine, wants to tow a rogue iceberg 1,200 miles form the Antarctic ocean to Cape Town. He intends to do this by using a material skirt, made of a specialist geotextile, which would fit around the underside of the huge chunk of ice. In order for this to be successful, the iceberg must be of specific size and shape, with steep sides. Huge tankers would guide and pull the iceberg through the water and the skirt would help reduce evaporation. A milling machine would then then cut into the ice, producing a slurry and forming a saucer structure that will speed up the natural process, he said. The removal of the salt from the water would require huge desalination plants, and a large injection of cash to build plants capable of processing several thousand tonnes.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
2025 U.S. Open: 5 Biggest Storylines from Oakmont Country Club
The post 2025 U.S. Open: 5 Biggest Storylines from Oakmont Country Club appeared first on ClutchPoints. The 125th U.S. Open is upon us, and the world's best golfers are at Oakmont Country Club just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. The golf season's third major championship is sure to deliver the drama, excitement, and glory to its prestigious winner once again. But this year, maybe more than most, has an elevated sense of importance. Advertisement It has been just over two years since the PGA Tour and LIV Golf came to an agreement. Since that time, the sides appear to have only fallen further and further apart, instead of coming together. The Saudi-backed league continues to struggle to gain traction with fans and sponsors. Many of its top players' contracts expire in either 2025 or 2026. That places the future of the sport in question. But the present, you could argue, could not be any more exciting. Many of the world's top-ranked golfers enter the U.S. Open atop their game. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is back to dominating the sport. Rory McIlroy finally got the monkey off his back at Augusta National. Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau has been incredibly consistent in majors in recent years. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. So, let's get to the five biggest storylines for the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. © Bill Streicher-Imagn Images 5 Biggest U.S. Open Storylines 5. The Course Itself Normally, all of the major storylines are derived from the players. But that is not the case for this year's U.S. Open. Oakmont Country Club already has a reputation for being one of the most challenging golf courses in the world. But the conditions the USGA has set up this week should give the pros nightmares. Advertisement The greens are incredibly wide, but that will only give players hope. If they are not accurate off the tee, they will be begging for par. That is because the rough at Oakmont is as deep as most players have ever seen. Ben Griffin, one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour, visited Oakmont for a practice round recently. The video of him dropping a ball into the rough, only to disappear, has since gone viral with over a million views. He would later go on to say that he expects the winning score to be around 5-over par. Not under, over par. This course last hosted the U.S. Open in 2016. Dustin Johnson won the event at 4-under, but that is not expected to be the winning score this time around. Advertisement Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy each played practice rounds here last week. Suffice it to say, they came away with the same impression as Griffin. 4. Bryson DeChambeau looks for 3rd U.S. Open title Last year, the content king Bryson DeChambeau bested Rory McIlroy in a dramatic finish at Pinehurst No. 2. While McIlroy crumbled down the stretch, the LIV Golf star brought his best late to capture his second U.S. Open title. DeChambeau previously won his first major at Winged Foot in 2000. In fact, he has finished in the top six in five of the last six major championships. So, the stage and bright lights are never too big for him. Advertisement His game appears to be on point entering Oakmont, too. He has seven top 20 finishes on LIV Golf this season in as many starts. That includes a victory and a recent leaderboard finish at LIV Golf Virginia this past weekend. Expect the big man to be there come Sunday. 3. Rory McIlroy Looks to Regain Form The Northern Irishman made history in April. McIlroy became the sixth man ever to complete the career grand slam by winning the Masters. Only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods had previously achieved that feat. His Masters mastery continued his recent run of success. McIlroy had already won twice in 2025: namely the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the PLAYERS Championship (both Signature Events). Advertisement But since the win at Augusta, McIlroy appears to have checked out. He played poorly at the PGA Championship and even caused a stir by refusing to speak to the media after each round. It later came out that his driver failed USGA standards and was deemed non-conforming. That forced the five-time major champion to switch drivers heading into the event. McIlroy then drove the ball terribly at Quail Hollow, a course he previously dominated. Things did not get any better at the RBC Canadian Open, where McIlroy posted his worst 36-hole finish of his PGA Tour career. He finished 149th of 153 golfers in the field. The question is; will he regain his form and contend? His driver is the key. 2. Phil Mickelson's U.S. Open Swan Song? Another player on LIV Golf will surely steal some headlines this week. Phil Mickelson may be playing in the final U.S. Open tournament of his career. That is because his exemption for winning the 2021 PGA Championship (at 50 years old) runs dry after this year. The Official World Golf Rankings still denies points to LIV tournaments, causing most on that tour to plummet. Advertisement While at LIV Virginia this week, Lefty acknowledged this may be his last U.S. Open. That is important because that is the one major missing from his legendary resume. He has finished second place a whopping six times at the event, but has failed to close the deal. Lefty's vintage play in Virginia over the weekend breeds some hope for the six time major champion, though. It left DeChambeau to call his impossible hole-out one of the greatest shots he had ever seen. 1. Scottie Scheffler Legacy Grows Even though Scheffler has only three major titles to his credit, most are already calling him the best player of this generation. Normally, that would cause quite a stir. Brooks Koepka has five, as does McIlroy. Jordan Spieth has won three himself. Advertisement But it is easy to see why there is such high regard for what Scheffler has done. Essentially all of the success has happened over just the last couple of years. Scheffler won the 2022 and 2024 Masters, and then ran away from the field at last month's PGA Championship. He already has 16 PGA Tour wins, but has played full-time on Tour for less than four years. His 2024 season was stuff of legend. He won nine times worldwide, including an Olympic Gold Medal and the Tour Championship. But during the Christmas break, the Ridgewood, NJ native suffered a hand injury that required surgery. The injury cost him over a month of the 2025 PGA Tour season. What he has done since returning is somehow matching what he did in 2024. Advertisement He has made all 12 cuts, with three wins, nine top 10s and his worst finish was a tie for 25th at the WM Phoenix Open. Can anyone stop this runaway train, or will Scheffler continue climbing the all-time golf rankings with another major title. With a U.S. Open win, he will be just an Open title away from the grand slam himself. Related: Rory McIlroy seeks rarified Ben Hogan air at US Open Related: PGA Tour news: Ryan Fox pulls off RBC Canadian Open feat last seen in 1968
CTV News
01-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
An iceberg resurgence reminds N.L. and its visitors of nature's beauty
An iceberg near St. John's has drawn residents of the provincial capital to take in the views. (Image courtesy Laura Chisholm White) A resurgence of icebergs near Newfoundland and Labrador has been met with plenty of celebration this month - especially after a relatively quiet year in 2024. The sightings have prompted a flood of posts, photos, and stories on social media. An iceberg near St. John's, closer to the town of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, has delighted residents of the provincial capital this week. Icebergs are more often seen in central and western parts of the province, requiring a commitment to visit. 'We live in a great part of the world where we can actually experience this on a regular basis,' said Patrick Collins, a Newfoundland ex-patriate who returns to St. John's regularly to visit family and friends. His partner, Karen Collins, has been making those visits too. But this was the first time she had seen an iceberg in person. 'It's amazing,' she concluded. 'I thought it would be just a little speck, but it's quite larger than I thought.' An iceberg near St. John's, closer to the town of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, has delighted residents of the provincial capital this week. Icebergs are more often seen in central and western parts of the province, requiring a commitment to visit. 'It looks like a crystal, a pearl on the ocean,' added Jing Wu, who moved to Newfoundland with his wife in 2018 for work but has only seen icebergs twice. The province's iceberg resurgence has prompted a flood of posts, photos and stories on social media. Iceberg in Newfoundland An iceberg sits off the shore of Newfoundland. (Image courtesy Mark Gray) There's no question there's been an uptick in visible sightings compared to last spring, but iceberg spotting experts at C-CORE, a remote sensing lab in St. John's, say it's still well below historical numbers. In 2024, vice-president Desmond Power explained, an El Nino weather pattern brought warmer-than-usual water temperatures to the North Atlantic. That has rebounded somewhat, Power says, though temperatures were still warmer than usual throughout the winter. 'We had expected the Iceberg situation to be pretty light this season, and in fact, we are pretty light this season,' he explained. 'Just not as light as last year.' There are regional variations too, Power said. Communities further west and north are seeing relatively more icebergs, and south and east relatively fewer. 'I look at this as, hey, you know what, this might be actually a new normal year.' Power's C-CORE lab has been hired to track icebergs for offshore oil and gas vessels — who can find them rather troublesome — and for the provincial government, who advertises their positions for tourists trying to take a peek. It's a big driver for visitors from out of province. But after a little bit of time away, many locals find they're drawn to the spectacle for themselves just as much. As 81-year-old Roy Chaytor observed, it brings to mind a conflict between stillness and motion — how is it, he asked, the icebergs could appear so stationary while the cold Atlantic Ocean whips so quickly around them? 'You can come and drink a cup of tea, and look at the Iceberg and try to figure out: Is it on the bottom?' Chaytor said. 'It must be because it's staying there. If it were not on the bottom, it'd be moving inward and coming in, coming in, coming in.'
CTV News
01-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
An iceberg resurgence reminds N.L. and its visitors of nature's beauty
An iceberg near St. John's has drawn residents of the provincial capital to take in the views. (Image courtesy Laura Chisholm White) A resurgence of icebergs near Newfoundland and Labrador has been met with plenty of celebration this month - especially after a relatively quiet year in 2024. The sightings have prompted a flood of posts, photos, and stories on social media. An iceberg near St. John's, closer to the town of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, has delighted residents of the provincial capital this week. Icebergs are more often seen in central and western parts of the province, requiring a commitment to visit. 'We live in a great part of the world where we can actually experience this on a regular basis,' said Patrick Collins, a Newfoundland ex-patriate who returns to St. John's regularly to visit family and friends. His partner, Karen Collins, has been making those visits too. But this was the first time she had seen an iceberg in person. 'It's amazing,' she concluded. 'I thought it would be just a little speck, but it's quite larger than I thought.' An iceberg near St. John's, closer to the town of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, has delighted residents of the provincial capital this week. Icebergs are more often seen in central and western parts of the province, requiring a commitment to visit. 'It looks like a crystal, a pearl on the ocean,' added Jing Wu, who moved to Newfoundland with his wife in 2018 for work but has only seen icebergs twice. The province's iceberg resurgence has prompted a flood of posts, photos and stories on social media. Iceberg in Newfoundland An iceberg sits off the shore of Newfoundland. (Image courtesy Mark Gray) There's no question there's been an uptick in visible sightings compared to last spring, but iceberg spotting experts at C-CORE, a remote sensing lab in St. John's, say it's still well below historical numbers. In 2024, vice-president Desmond Power explained, an El Nino weather pattern brought warmer-than-usual water temperatures to the North Atlantic. That has rebounded somewhat, Power says, though temperatures were still warmer than usual throughout the winter. 'We had expected the Iceberg situation to be pretty light this season, and in fact, we are pretty light this season,' he explained. 'Just not as light as last year.' There are regional variations too, Power said. Communities further west and north are seeing relatively more icebergs, and south and east relatively fewer. 'I look at this as, hey, you know what, this might be actually a new normal year.' Power's C-CORE lab has been hired to track icebergs for offshore oil and gas vessels — who can find them rather troublesome — and for the provincial government, who advertises their positions for tourists trying to take a peek. It's a big driver for visitors from out of province. But after a little bit of time away, many locals find they're drawn to the spectacle for themselves just as much. As 81-year-old Roy Chaytor observed, it brings to mind a conflict between stillness and motion — how is it, he asked, the icebergs could appear so stationary while the cold Atlantic Ocean whips so quickly around them? 'You can come and drink a cup of tea, and look at the Iceberg and try to figure out: Is it on the bottom?' Chaytor said. 'It must be because it's staying there. If it were not on the bottom, it'd be moving inward and coming in, coming in, coming in.'
