MINNESOTA at No. 1 OHIO STATE

When: 6:30 p.m. CT, Saturday
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus
TV: NBC
Radio: KFAN, 100.3 FM
Weather: 78 degrees, clear skies, 5 mph north wind
Betting spread: Ohio State, minus-23.5

Records: Top-ranked Ohio State (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) shutdown Washington 24-6 in Seattle on Saturday, while Minnesota (3-1, 1-0) made a 14-point comeback to beat Rutgers 31-28 in its Big Ten opener.

History: The Gophers have lost 13 straight games to the Buckeyes, with the U’s last win coming 25 years ago, a 29-17 win at the Horseshoe in 2000. Minnesota lost 37-3 in its last trip to Columbus in 2023.

Big question: Will head coach P.J. Fleck throw the kitchen sink at the Buckeyes? Minnesota is a huge underdog against the defending national champions, so an aggressive approach — trick plays, fourth-down conversions — will likely be necessary to pull off the massive upset. Against the Buckeyes in 2023, Fleck faced a few fourth-down opportunities near midfield, but opted for punts.

Key matchup: Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith vs. Gophers cornerbacks. The Bucks’ 6-foot-3, 223-pound freak is averaging nearly 100 yards and one touchdown per game, while the U’s green defensive backs are still getting acclimated to their first Big Ten action.

Stat: With a win this weekend, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day would pass Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne for the all-time best career winning percentage (.882) in major college football.

Who has the edge?

Gophers offense vs. Ohio State defense: New Ohio State coordinator Matt Patricia has his new unit dialed in; they are No. 1 in the nation, allowing 5.5 points per game. And Fleck joked how Washington went above that average with a whopping six points. … Without its top two tailbacks, the Gophers abandoned the running game against Rutgers. Backups Fame Ijeboi and Cam Davis managed 3.0 yards per carry and it’s unclear if Darius Taylor (hamstring) will be able to return this week. But A.J. Turner (knee) has been ruled out for the season. … QB Drake Lindsey won Big Ten freshman of the week after completing 76% (31 of 41) for 324 yards and three touchdowns against Rutgers’ below-average secondary. Under a former NFL coach, Ohio State’s pass defense has been top notch, giving up 132 yards to rank eighth in the nation and will challenge the U’s redshirt freshman, showing him one coverage pre-snap and switching into something entirely different post-snap. … Unanimous All-America defensive back Caleb Downs is treated like a queen on a chessboard; he has lined up at free safety, cornerback, nickel back, a box defender or linebacker and even defensive line. EDGE: Ohio State

Gophers defense vs. Ohio State offense: Here’s one way to illustrate the talent gap between the two programs: the Buckeyes had six players named to the Senior Bowl’s new Top 300 list; the Gophers had one (defensive tackle Deven Eastern).  … WR Carnell Tate and TE Max Clare, a transfer from Purdue, are on the Senior Bowl list. Tate has been Robin to Smith’s Batman with three touchdown catches, while Minnesota has had trouble with athletic tight ends in the past. … The Gophers had one takeaway against Rutgers and turned it into a touchdown, but should have had at lest two more if D-backs catch passes that hit their hands. To pull off a shocker this weekend, Minnesota will likely need to be at least plus-two in turnover margin. The Gophers are minus-1 in the take/give against FBS competition this season. … Julian Sayin, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class, has been living up to the hype, even if the Buckeyes are taking a more conservative approach with him. He leads the nation with 79% completions. … RT Phillip Daniels, a Cincinnati native, transferred from the Gophers to Ohio State last year and has stepped into a starting role this season. The U sure could use the 6-5, 315-pound force. EDGE: Buckeyes

Special teams: In its upset bid, Washington tried a fake field goal last week, but didn’t execute it properly. … PR Brandon Inniss has a 32-yard return to his name, while Minnesota’s KR Koi Perich had a season-long 56-yarder vs. Rutgers. … K Jayden Fielding is 4 for 4 on field goals, with a long of 38, while K Brady Denaburg is 5 for 7 on the season, but both misses beyond 50 yards. His career long is a 46 yarder. EDGE: Ohio State 

Prediction: Buckeyes fans will be tuned up for a rare night game at the Horseshoe and the talent gap on the field will become apparent soon after the dusk kickoff. Gophers will try some trick plays like they did against Penn State last year, but it won’t be enough against elite competition. Buckeyes dominate 30-7.

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PARIS (AP) — Protesters took to the streets of more than 200 towns and cities across France on Thursday to denounce spending cuts and demand higher taxes on the rich.

In Paris, thousands of workers, retirees and students started marching on Thursday afternoon from Place d’Italie. The Eiffel Tower informed visitors in a statement it was closed due to the strike.

The nationwide strike, called by France’s major unions, was the latest of a series of protests that started last month amid political turmoil and heated budget talks.

Unions are urging Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to abandon draft budget measures proposed by his predecessor, which include social welfare freezes and austerity measures that many say will further erode the purchasing power of low-paid and middle-class workers. They also call for higher taxes on the wealthy.

Lecornu, appointed last month, has not yet unveiled the details of his budget plans and has yet to appoint his government ministers, which is expected in the coming days. The deeply divided parliament is to debate the budget bill by the end of the year.

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Sophie Binet, head of the CGT union, said Thursday: “It’s true, it’s the first time that there are three days of strikes and protests in a month without a government or budget. It shows the level of social anger.”

Speaking on BFM TV news broadcaster, she was asked about the timing of the latest action: “Why are we protesting now? Because we feel that it’s now that the decisions are being made, and we want to be heard.”

The French Interior Ministry said 85 000 protesters had taken to the street by midday outside Paris.

SNCF, the national rail company, said high-speed train services were running normally Thursday while some regional lines were affected by partial disruptions. In Paris, metro traffic was close to normal but many commuting trains were running at reduced capacity.

Some teachers and health care workers have also joined the strike, but overall, early figures appeared to show less people responded to the unions’ call than last month.

On Sept. 18, more than 500,000 demonstrators marched in France’s small towns and big cities, including Paris, according to figures from police and interior ministry. Unions reported more than 1 millions strikers and protesters nationwide.

The week before, a day of anti-government action across France saw streets choked with smoke, barricades in flames and volleys of tear gas amid the “Block Everything” campaign.

We meet Cillian Murphy’s titular character in “Steve” as he’s about to be interviewed on camera. He asks the crew to stop filming him for a moment as he tries to collect himself, but instead the camera pushes in closer as he becomes overtaken by emotional pain.

The moment is a microcosm of the uneven drama set in the mid-1990s at an English school for young men with serious behavioral issues that’s landing this week on Netflix not long after its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Adapted from Max Porter’s bestselling 2023 novella, “Shy,” by the author himself, the film is a kinetic and, at times, claustrophobic experience in the hands of director Tim Mielants. Despite terrific performances by Academy Award-winning “Oppenheimer” star Murphy and several supporting players, “Steve” somehow manages to keep viewers at arm’s length even while trying to pull them in so closely.

“Steve” takes place over the course of about a day in the life of Steve; his second-in-command, Amanda (Tracey Ullman); other staffers; and the troubled students, including the book’s deeply struggling namesake, Shy (Jay Lycurgo). It is an important day, as a local news crew has come to produce a feature on the Stanton Wood reform school, which Steve believes could be beneficial to its mission. After all, it costs British taxpayers about 30,000 pounds — about $47,000 in 1996 — per student annually, and drumming up more public support for the mission certainly wouldn’t hurt.

As we soon see, though, the students are, to put it politely, a handful. The fights that need to be broken up start first thing in the morning, and the lads are all too happy to put on a show for the camera, although that show may not be suitable for a general audience.

When a reporter asks her about her work, about trying to make a difference in the lives of these youths, Amanda first gives her official answer.

“I am part prison guard; I’m part nurse; I’m part battle axe; I’m part mummy,” she says. “Unofficial answer: I (expletive) adore them.”

So does Steve, who grabs one-on-one time with those who need it and desperately tries to get his positive messages through to them. Jamie (Luke Ayres) is a prime example — he’s constantly giving Shy and others a hard time.

The head teacher at Stanton Wood reform school, Steve, portrayed by Cillian Murphy, right, talks with a student, Luke Ayres’ Jamie, who’s been causing trouble in a scene from “Steve.” (Courtesy of Netflix)

Shy, after getting a call from a family member, is having a particularly challenging day, and he lashes out at Jenny (Emily Watson), the counselor who visits Stanton Wood regularly, stopping just short of being violent with her.

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Regardless of what some may see as the high cost of trying to make a difference in the lives of these boys, some of whom are likely to land in prison eventually regardless, the staffers are surely underpaid and do not have enough help. It’s wearing on everyone, including Steve, who isn’t using the most ideal ways to cope with the strains of the job and the guilt tied to an event from his past.

Before long, you witness the development that, later in the day, will cause Steve to break down before the aforementioned interview. It’s a gut punch.

Again, this is more powerful work from Murphy, whose relatively recent credits also include “Peaky Blinders” and “A Quiet Place Part II.” As Steve, he constantly strives to put on a brave face and stay positive, but you can see that pain simmering just under the surface and, from time to time, boiling over.

Mostly known for comedic work, Ullman (“The Tracey Ullman Show,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) brings a bit of levity to the proceedings — “Today’s a real cluster-(expletive); there’s no other way around it,” her Amanda declares at the beginning of the morning staff meeting — but delivers a touching performance.

Tracey Ullman and Cillian Murphy portray colleagues working in a difficult situation in “Steve.” (Courtesy of Netflix)

Lastly, all of the young men playing the students at Stanton Wood are so convincing that it’s hard to pick a standout among them. That said, given what is going on with his character, Lycurgo (“The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself”) has to go to a deeper, darker place than the rest, most of whom are asked to do little more than act up and lash out.

Jay Lycurgo, left, portrays troubled student Shy, and Cillian Murphy is the titular teacher Steve in “Steve.” (Courtesy of Netflix)

Even as your heart breaks for Shy, Steve and the rest, you can feel frustrated that you aren’t drawn into this situation more deeply from an emotional standpoint. Mielants — who also directed Murphy in last year’s well-received “Small Things Like These” — is responsible for some nice touches in “Steve,” but, perhaps, he’s a little too worried about the visual style and not enough about character development.

Most impressively, he finds a way to end “Steve” — a bit draining even at only about 90 minutes — on a couple of optimistic notes, if not in an altogether happy place.

That helps nudge the film into the realm of the recommended, but we’ll understand if you choose to keep it a bit beyond arm’s length.

‘Steve’

Where: Netflix.

When: Oct. 3.

Rated: R for pervasive language, substance abuse and some sexual material.

Runtime: 1 hour, 32 minutes.

Stars (of four): 2.5.

By Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Since the avian flu arrived en force in California’s dairy industry in 2024, not only has it sickened cows, it has killed hundreds of domestic cats. Some pet cats that live on dairy farms were infected with the H5N1 virus by drinking raw milk. Both pets and feral barn cats got sick after eating raw pet food that harbored the virus. Still others got it by eating infected wild birds, rats or mice, or from contact with dairy workers’ contaminated clothes or boots.

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But a new published case suggests that death may be averted if infected cats are treated early with antiviral medications, such as Tamiflu, or oseltamivir. Once treated, these animals may carry antibodies to the virus that makes them resistant to reinfection, at least temporarily.

The discovery was made by Jake Gomez, a veterinarian who treats small animals, such as cats and dogs, as well as large ones, including dairy cows, from his clinic, Cross Street Small Animal Veterinary Hospital, in Tulare.

Last fall, Gomez worked with a team of scientists from the University of Maryland and University of Texas who were in the Central Valley collecting blood samples from outdoor cats at dairy farms, looking to see if they could find antibodies to the H5N1 flu.

Cats are exquisitely sensitive to H5N1; one of the telltale signs that a dairy herd is infected is the presence of dead barn cats.

On Oct. 31, a cat owner brought in an indoor/outdoor cat to Gomez’ clinic that was ADR — a technical veterinarian acronym that stands for “ain’t doing right.”

The cat was up-to-date on all its vaccinations and the owner reported no known exposure to toxic chemicals.

Gomez offered to do blood work and urinalysis to probe more deeply what was going on, but the owner declined. So, Gomez sent them home with an antibiotic and an appetite stimulant. Two days later, the cat died.

It turned out the family had had another cat die just a few days earlier, Gomez said, recalling the visit.

Also during that time, Gomez was treating infected dairy herds around Tulare. Thousands of cows were falling sick from the virus. The family with the sick cats, he learned, lived less than a mile from an infected dairy, and the cat owner worked delivering hay to local dairies, spending time on infected farms.

“Considering how quickly it moved from one cat to the next, it occurred to me it might be H5N1,” he said.

Gomez said he reached out to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture to see if they would test the dead animals for the virus. The agencies, he said, gave him the runaround and he couldn’t get anyone to answer his calls — which he said was perplexing, considering the rapid response when he alerted them to infected cattle.

“If I called to tell them a dairy herd had it, within 24 hours a SWAT team from the USDA and state would be swarming the farm,” he said. But for a cat? Crickets.

On Nov. 6 and 7, the family returned with two more sick cats.

Gomez said he still didn’t know what they had, but had a suspicion they could be infected with H5N1. So, he treated them with the antiviral oseltamivir, known also as Tamiflu, and they recovered.

In March this year, blood samples collected from the two cats showed high levels of antibodies to H5N1 — suggesting the cats had been exposed.

The case was published in the journal One Health.

Kristen Coleman, an airborne infectious disease researcher at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, and an author on the paper, said the findings suggest that cats may be effectively treated and that antiviral medications could help prevent further spread of the virus among cats living in the same home and the humans who care for them.

She said there have been no known transmissions from cats to humans in this outbreak, but there have in the past — in 2005, Thai zookeepers were infected by tigers that had the virus, and in 2016, New York veterinarians at an animal shelter got it from tending to sick cats.

But Jane Sykes, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said she’s not convinced the cats in this case actually had H5N1 — and urged people to read the study with care and caution.

“It’s possible that the positive antibody test results were unrelated to the reasons why those two cats died,” she said. “The virus wasn’t detected in any of the four cats, so infection was not proven.”

And whether the cats recovered because they were treated with Tamiflu, or whether the medication was incidental and they’d have recovered on their own — from another virus, infection or ailment — isn’t clear.

In addition, she said, no one has researched the effects of Tamiflu on cats. And while these two cats appeared to tolerate the drug, that doesn’t mean other cats will.

“Cats metabolize some of the anti-infective compounds very differently than other animals, including people, and they’re quite susceptible to bad side effects of many of these drugs,” she said. “We have to be really careful when we start just using random antiviral drugs that haven’t been studied for safety in cats, because they are so likely to get bad side effects.”

Having said that, she said if she were faced with a similar situation, a high certainty that a cat had been exposed, whether from drinking raw milk or eating raw food that had been infected, she would consider prescribing the medication. But she’d caution her client that it was experimental, and the animal could die from the drug.

She said there are numerous labs across the country that will test blood and urine for the virus.

Sykes urged people not to feed raw food or milk to their pets.

She said she’s seeing more raw food products for pets “and people want them, and they don’t understand the harms and the fact that some of these are contaminated for a long period of time with influenza viruses, like H5N1.”

Neither freezing nor smoking meat kills the virus.

“It’s astonishing how big this industry is getting,” Sykes said. “It’s crazy.”

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.