Mothercare needs to focus on further investment in digital and development of international online sales if it is to convince shoppers it is the leading global specialist for parents and young children, analysts say.

Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike is among trio of stars with Southern California ties named among the 16 finalists for the 2018 USA Basketball Women’s World Cup Team, it was announced Tuesday.

In addition to Ogwumike, Chino’s Diana Taurasi (of the Phoenix Mercury) and San Bernardino’s Layshia Clarendon (of the Connecticut Sun) made the cut.

A two-time defending World Cup gold-medal winner, the USA will compete in the 2018 FIBA World Cup, Sept. 22-30, in Tenerife, Spain.

The final 12-member 2018 USA World Cup Team will be selected by the USA Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee prior to the start of the World Cup. Sparks general manager Penny Toler is a member of that selection committee.

Before World Cup play begins, the United States will play in a four-team tournament in Antibes, France, Sept. 15-17, when it will face Canada, France and Senegal.

On Monday in an exhibition against Japan, Ogwumike — who this week also was awarded the WNBA’s season-long Community Assist Award — scored 22 points and registered 10 rebounds in the United States’ 102-87 victory.

The Sparks would like to congratulate @Nnemkadi30 on being named one of the 16 Finalists for the @usabasketball World Cup Roster. She dropped 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in last night’s 102-87 win over Japan.

PRESS RELEASE: https://t.co/PMeyPPy4ma#GoSparks #All4LA pic.twitter.com/GbDLflwibv

— Los Angeles Sparks (@LA_Sparks) September 11, 2018

NEWS: Sixteen finalists named for 2018 USA Women’s World Cup Team #USABWNThttps://t.co/fs04yJorKm

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) September 11, 2018

Steve Fryer, Dan Albano and Jonathan Khamis break down the biggest games in Week 4 of the high school football season, including the Game of the Week – Corona del Mar vs. San Clemente.  They also discuss Servite vs. Villa Park, Mission Viejo vs. Upland and answer a viewer’s question about the Freeway League.

Video by Jonathan Khamis for the Orange Count Register

LOS ANGELES — Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys won’t face any criminal charges over a woman’s allegations that he raped her in 2003.

According to a charge-evaluation worksheet dated Monday, the District Attorney’s Office noted that the statute of limitations for the alleged assault expired in 2013, therefore the case was declined.

Santa Monica police turned over their report on the allegations to the District Attorney’s Office in early August.

Singer Melissa Schuman went public last year with accusations that Carter sexually assaulted her in a bathroom and a bedroom when she was 18 years old and a member of the girl group Dream. She filed a report with Santa Monica police in February.

Carter has denied the allegations, saying he was “shocked and saddened” by the accusations and insisting that Schuman had never expressed to him “that anything we did was not consensual.”

Schuman told KNX Newsradio that she knew the statute of limitations made it unlikely charges would be filed, but is still glad she came forward.

“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done but … I’m better for it,” she said. “I’m free … I’ve gotten my voice back.”

The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is investigating allegations of financial misconduct against the Rev. Canon Michael D. Archer, rector of St. Wilfrid of York Church in Huntington Beach.

“These allegations were reviewed by both the bishop and a diocesan committee and have been deemed serious enough to warrant an investigation,” Joan Pashley-Baynes and Allison Hainlen, wardens for St. Wilfrid’s vestry, said in a Sept. 2 letter to parishioners. The allegations apparently involve Archer’s handling of expense and discretionary accounts at St. Wilfrid’s, according to a statement from the Right Rev. John Harvey Taylor, bishop of the six-county Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

“Canon Archer has promised to cooperate fully,” Taylor said Monday. “Under the Episcopal church’s canons, respondents are presumed to be innocent until the facts show otherwise.” Archer could not be reached for comment. The diocese did not release further details about the allegations or what prompted the investigation.

“We are confident that the procedures called for in the rules of our church will provide for the proper combination of accountability and reconciliation for which we strive as people of faith,” said Robert Williams, a spokesman for the diocese. “We’ll know more about what that picture looks like when we know all the facts.”

The Huntington Beach Police Department is not investigating Archer, said Officer Angela Bennett, a spokeswoman for the department.

St. Wilfrid of York opened in 1960 and has about 500 parishioners.

Archer joined St. Wilfrid in 2005 after more than 20 years at other churches in California, Oklahoma and Arizona.

He was appointed priest-in-charge at St. Wilfrid in 2008 and elected the fourth rector of the church in 2009.

After the notes of “Amazing Grace” from a lone bagpiper faded away and uniformed firefighters had filed back to their duties Tuesday morning, retired Marine Alexander Madrigal stood for several emotional moments next a memorial statue.

The bronze sculpture honoring past, present and future firefighters sits in the center of a courtyard at the Orange County Fire Authority’s Irvine headquarters, where a remembrance ceremony was held Tuesday for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as well as the police, firefighters and soldiers who served in their wake at home and abroad.

Madrigal said he’d never seen the statue before, and he needed a moment to collect himself as he recalled offering military families support by attending funerals of Southern California soldiers killed in the Iraq War.

He can still recite the soldiers’ names. The first service he attended was for Marine Cpl. Jose Angel Garibay, Orange County’s first casualty of that war, which started in 2003.

“That’s why I had to come out here today,” said Madrigal, who said he served in the first Gulf War. “I can’t look at this (statue) without thinking of the fallen.”

Tuesday’s memorial service included remarks from OCFA Chief Brian Fennessy and board members Joseph Muller and Ed Sachs, and the ceremonial bell ringing that signifies the end of duty for firefighters.

On Sept. 11, 2001, more than 2,600 people died in the World Trade Center, more than 380 were killed on planes and at the Pentagon, and 411 safety personnel died in “the largest rescue operation in history,” Fennessy said. “On a day when buildings fell, heroes rose.”

In addition to those lost in the attacks, Sachs said, the ceremony honored more than 6,000 service members who died in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan that followed. Though most recent fire academy graduates were quite young in 2001, he said, the “kindling flame” that urges them to serve still burns.

Fire Authority Capt. Tony Bommarito said before the ceremony that his daughter was born after 2001 and has never known war, aside from the fight against terrorism, but he has explained the significance of Sept. 11 to her.

“I think the main thing is we have to keep talking about it, so the memory will never fade,” he said.

Next stop: Santa Fe. Stuart Vevers may only have spent 24 hours in the New Mexican capital last summer, but the experience made a big impact.
The impressive Turquoise Trail, the stunning desert landscape, the strong Western influences mixed with the punk-rock vibe of local popular dive bar The Matador — it all merged in the young and free-spirited Coach spring women’s and men’s collection, which was injected with a contemporary interpretation of an Eighties’ New Romantic vibe. This was highlighted by the postapocalyptic set, dominated by an oxidized giant metallic sculpture of a dinosaur.
Inspired by the hues of the desert landscape, Vevers offered a light and soft take on the season — a dramatic juxtaposition to the dark side that defined the fall collection. “This is a counterpoint to fall,” he said. “There are faded colors, nostalgic prairie prints — it’s very heirloom-y.”
Maxidresses with asymmetric hems were embellished with flamboyant ruffles. They were paired with chunky sweaters that had an artisanal feel; leather fringed jackets punctuated with patches, and washed napa vests with a charming lived-in effect. Artsy patchwork defined the denim pieces, which had an intentionally imperfect touch, while an elevated version of an outdoor fleece jacket was rendered

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Although Japanese designer Kozaburo Akasaka already presented his men’s spring collection in July, he wanted to put on an event that brought the clothes to life. Akasaka is only two seasons in, but he’s already racked up some impressive credentials, having attended Central Saint Martins before receiving his master of fine arts from The New School’s Parsons School of Design, which is where Dover Street Market purchased his graduate collection. He then spent two years working for Thom Browne and made the LVMH Prize shortlist in fall 2017 and won the special prize in 2018.
Now he’s presenting his first spring collection, which he described as “transcendent.” The feeling he had while designing the collection is the same feeling he has while listening to Föllakzoid, a Chilean psychedelic rock band that performed a 20-minute set as his friends, men and women who were dressed in his fall and spring collections, watched from the audience.
The spring line builds on the Western references and tailoring established in his first collection, but merges them with unexpected details like kimono sleeves, Japanese indigo dyes and madras. He worked with hemp and loose weave cotton to construct oversized blazers and high-waisted, cropped trousers that had a

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Vasilis Loizides was thinking of his homeland of Cyprus for his spring collection, his third to date. He used the Mediterranean island to inform his work in quite literal ways.
“I used a lot of pre-historic figurines that symbolize the passing of time,” the designer said during a presentation. They showed up on dresses and as an embroidery on a white satin long-sleeve top.
The poppy flower, which symbolizes eternal sleep in Cyprus, was a recurring motif, with bronze copper flowers splashed on the front of white pants and dotted on a low-cut white tank bodysuit. Bronze metallic fabric appeared throughout the line, done best in a fitted pant with a sheer panel down the leg that had a sexy cowboy feeling.
“My collections are a constant dialogue about gender dynamics and queer visibility,” he noted; he cast models in a mix of races and gender expressions for his presentation.
The collection was presented in a downtown art gallery, and his work definitely had a bit of an art school vibe, yet he clearly has room to grow.

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“I’ve been obsessed with tailoring since I was young, because every morning my father, a businessman, wore suits. He said to me, ‘Clothing represents a person’s personality so it’s important to express [that],” explained Seoul-born, New York-based designer Moon Choi, whose namesake label launched a year ago. Choi’s core methodology and strength lies in tailoring, but spring proved her capabilities in fluidity as well. 
Her designs blurred the line between the feminine and masculine. Gorgeous coats with long sash belts pulled through grommets, suiting with raised belts and silky waist-wrapped shirts were worn by both male and female models, a reflection of her belief that clothing is not defined by gender. Choi’s newest silhouette, a flowing, long-sleeve lilac silk dress with a high slit made for the strongest look. The palette was mostly earthy and neutral, fitting her museum-like presentation, where models, podiums of random sculptures and blown-up paintings of belt buckles and buttons were roped off for observation, like specimens on display.

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