After spending a couple weeks behind the wheel of the Ford F-150 Lightning, I’m not convinced it’s an improvement on its gas-powered sibling.

Jack Beckman doesn’t find much interest in his cancer recovery defining his identity, much like his military service. It goes back to his almost defiant self-awareness — he’s self-assured enough to choose to create his own self-identity rather than allow others to do it for him.

Reading is a small town to the west of London. It’s not a particularly special or interesting place, although that’s based only on what I’ve been told about it. I’ve never been there myself, and my mother, who was born there, emigrated to California with her family when she was five years old, and so can’t tell you much about it, either. While they were alive I never heard my grandparents mention football of any kind, let alone Reading Football Club.

The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland reopened after what amounts to a year-long refurbishment. A brand-new queue and gift shop are part of the major changes. And it is the latter that has drawn the ire of theme park fans and, frankly, people with eyeballs, since it was first erected.

Something I often wonder about driving a brand new vehicle is whether or not the designers actually, you know, drive them on a regular basis. Between features hidden behind a touchscreen, buttons that aren't really buttons, and a dearth of cupholders, many modern vehicle interiors feel more interested in showing off the latest tech rather than providing a useful home base for the driver. 

The Honda Passport is not one of those vehicles. Honda redesigned its two-row midsize SUV for 2026 and we quickly added one to our One-Year Road Test fleet. I spent two weeks behind the wheel of the Passport over the Thanksgiving holiday and was blown away by how much I enjoyed it. 

For the first time since 1997 and for the final time, the High Desert Mavericks are California League champions. The Texas Rangers affiliate dispatched the Visalia Rawhide 7-4 on Saturday night to complete a three-game sweep and send the players storming out of the dugout and onto the field as pandemonium ensued.