I think about Rob Reiner almost every time I put on my socks.
I am old enough to remember the famously hilarious (and largely improvised) bit from “All in the Family” in which Reiner’s Mike “Meathead” Stivic and Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker argue about the correct order of donning footwear — both socks first (Archie’s method) or sock/shoe, sock/shoe (Mike’s).
The straight-faced back and forth was, and is, a pitch-perfect exhibition of how much time and energy we waste judging, and arguing about, personal differences that are none of anyone’s business and matter not at all.
I also think about Reiner whenever my now-adult children and I sit down for a movie night. When all other suggestions fail, at least one of his films — ”Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “A Few Good Men,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Misery” — will achieve consensus, in large part, because of that same understanding.
Reiner was, above all, a compassionate filmmaker, willing to excavate all manner of conflict and tension in search of the essential humanity that connects us all.
Reiner helped shape the culture of my youth and early adulthood with such brilliant empathy that his random appearances on television — as Jess’ (Zooey Deschanel) father in “New Girl” or, more recently, Ebra’s (Edwin Lee Gibson) business mentor on “The Bear” — sparked immediate reflexive delight, as if a beloved uncle had shown up unexpectedly at a family dinner.
It helped, no doubt, that I share his political leanings. Reiner’s advocacy for gay marriage and early education were well-known, as was, in recent years, his unvarnished criticism of President Trump, who Reiner, like many others, considered a danger to democracy.
That criticism should have prepared me for the chilling invective unleashed by some, including Trump, in the wake of the news that Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their home on Sunday night, victims of a knife attack, and that their son Nick, who has a history of drug addiction, was in police custody.
Even as the millions who were touched by Reiner’s work struggled to process their shock, grief and horror, Trump responded with a post in which he claimed that the Reiners’ murders were “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.”
Even so, between the shocking news of the Reiners’ deaths, the possible involvement of their son and the unhinged and cold-hearted response of the president of the United States, it is difficult to know how to react, short of tearing out one’s hair and screaming up to an indifferent sky.
No person’s life means intrinsically more than any other — many people are killed by violence each and every weekend, often by family members; that we seem to have become inured to mass shootings is another sort of horror.
But Reiner’s work, in film, television and politics, affected millions around the world personally and culturally. In “All in the Family,” his young leftie was far from the hero of the piece — Mike’s values were more humane and progressive than the bigoted Archie’s, but he could be just as narrow-minded as his father-in-law and just as capable of change.
As a director, Reiner championed independent filmmaking, which is to say smartly written movies that told interesting stories about characters that were recognizable in their humor and humanity (which is one reason he was so successful in adapting Stephen King’s work, including the novella “Stand by Me” is based on and “Misery”).
His political activism too was grounded in the desire to make life better for those historically marginalized by policy and culture. He campaigned against tobacco use and for Proposition 10, which increased the tax on cigarettes, and funded early education. In 2009, he used his considerable influence to co-found the American Foundation for Equal Rights and successfully fought to legally challenge Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California.
As an artist and a public figure, he put his money where his mouth was and remained invariably sincere, a powerful and compelling trait that has become increasingly rare in a time of the sound-bite inanities, muddy thinking, obvious contradictions and outright falsehoods that threaten our public and political discourse.
Reiner mastered many mediums and wielded a broad palette but his signature artistic trait was empathy. No story was too small, or too brutal, to be examined with kindness and an understanding that the most grave injustice we can commit is to choose apathy or revenge when connection and transcendence are always possible.
The news cycle surrounding the Reiners’ deaths is likely to get worse, as details emerge and reactions of all kinds continue. For a long while, it will be difficult to think of Reiner and his wife as anything but victims of a brutal crime of truly tragic proportions and the regrettable heartlessness that our political divisions have created.
Ironically, and mercifully, solace for this loss, and so many others, can be found in Reiner’s work, films and performances that are impossible to watch without feeling at least a little bit better.
As Hollywood and the world mourns, I will try to think of Reiner as I always have. After all, no matter the order, we all put on our shoes and socks one at a time.
And then, as his artistic legacy teaches us, we stand and try to do the best we can with whatever happens next.
As Donald Trump threatens legal action against the Beeb, the Mirror takes a look at the broadcaster’s most recent list of top earners, which includes some surprises
Julia Banim Audience Writer, Mark Jefferies, Nicola Methven and Mia O’Hare
09:52, 16 Dec 2025Updated 09:56, 16 Dec 2025
Donald Trump has vowed to sue the BBC over an episode of Panorama(Image: Getty Images)
POTUS is here referring to an episode of Panorama which aired a week before the 2024 US election, which showed comments he made to supporters ahead of the deadly 2021 Capitol riots. The episode appears to show Trump telling crowds: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.”
However, these words were created from different segments of the 79-year-old’s speech, delivered nearly one hour apart. The BBC has since issued an apology over the edit, admitting to an “error of judgment” while clarifying there was no legal basis for Trump’s claim. As the row continues, the Mirror takes a look at the Beeb’s list of top earners.
Back in July, the BBC published the salaries of its highest-paid stars as part of its annual report, and a number of significant changes amongst the top earners. Former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who this year left the corporation was once again the top earner with a take home salary of £1.35million. This was followed by former Radio 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball, who took home £515,000 despite being replaced on the Breakfast Show by Scott Mills.
Match of the Day Host Alan Shearer emerged as the third highest paid BBC star of the year, increasing his salary from the year before after covering the Euros last year. The former Newcastle star boosted his paycheck to almost half a million pounds with his punditry at the tournament.
Radio host and political expert Nick Robinson also had a pay rise last year, while Radio 2 host Vernon Kay joined the top 10 for the first time. Perhaps surprisingly, BBC North America Editor Justin Webb also made the top 10, with a very impressive salary of £365,000.
The BBC’s top earners:
Gary Lineker £1,350,000-£1,354,999 (no change)
Zoe Ball £515,000-£519,999 (down from £950,000-£954,999)
Alan Shearer £440,000-445,000 (up from £380,000-£384,999)
Greg James £425,000-£429,999 (up from £415,000-£419,999)
Fiona Bruce £410,000-£414,999 (up from £405,000-£409,999) and Nick Robinson £410,000-£414,999 (Up from £345,000 and £349,000)
Stephen Nolan £405,000-£409,999 (up from £400,000-£404,999)
Laura Kuenssberg £395,000-£399,999 (up from £325,000-£329,999)
Vernon Kay £390,000 – £394,999 (joined Radio 2 in May 2023)
Justin Webb £365,000-£369,999 (up from £320,000-£324,999)
Naga Munchetty £355,000-£359,999 (up from £345,000-£349,999)
Scott Mills £355,000-£359,999 (up from £315,000 – £319,999)
Last year, Vernon Kay made the list for the very first time after joining BBC Radio 2. The Bolton born presenter replaced Ken Bruce and took home a whopping £320,000 from the corporation in his first year. Despite this staggering sum, his take-home pay was almost 20 per cent less than what Ken earned in the previous year in the slot.
Meanwhile, disgraced BBC News host Huw Edwards also remained on the list last year, coming in at third place with a wage of £475,000-£479,999 (up from £435,000-£439,999). Edwards, who had been off-air since July 2023, left the BBC after being named as the presenter at the centre of days of allegations and speculation regarding his private life.
US President Donald Trump has filed a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit against the BBC over an edit of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.
Trump accused the broadcaster of defamation and of violating a trade practices law, according to court documents filed in Florida.
The BBC apologised to Trump last month, but rejected his demands for compensation and disagreed there was any “basis for a defamation claim”.
Trump’s legal team accused the BBC of defaming him by “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech”. The BBC has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Trump said last month that he planned to sue the BBCfor the documentary, which aired in the UK ahead of the 2024 US election.
“I think I have to do it,” Trump told reporters of his plans. “They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”
In his speech on 6 January 2021, before a riot at the US Capitol, Trump told a crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
More than 50 minutes later in the speech, he said: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”
In the Panorama programme, a clip showed him as saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The BBC acknowledged that the edit had given “the mistaken impression” he had “made a direct call for violent action”, but disagreed that there was basis for a defamation claim.
In November, a leaked internal BBC memo criticised how the speech was edited, and led to the resignations of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, and its head of news, Deborah Turness.
Before Trump filed the lawsuit, lawyers for the BBC had given a lengthy response to the president’s claims.
They said there was no malice in the edit and that Trump was not harmed by the programme, as he was re-elected shortly after it aired.
They also said the BBC did not have the rights to, and did not, distribute the Panorama programme on its US channels. While the documentary was available on BBC iPlayer, it was restricted to viewers in the UK.
In his lawsuit, Trump cites agreements the BBC had with other distributors to show content, specifically one with a third-party media corporation that allegedly had licensing rights to the documentary outside the UK. The BBC has not yet responded to these claims, nor has the company with the alleged distribution agreement.
The suit also claims that people in Florida may have accessed the programme using a VPN or by using streaming service BritBox.
“The Panorama Documentary’s publicity, coupled with significant increases in VPN usage in Florida since its debut, establishes the immense likelihood that citizens of Florida accessed the Documentary before the BBC had it removed,” the lawsuit said.
Dec. 16 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has awarded 13 soldiers and Marines the newly established Mexican Border Defense Medal for their contributions to safeguarding the U.S. southern border.
The service members are the first to receive the commendation, created Aug. 13 in a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to honor those deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The commander-in-chief awarded the medals to the service members at the White House.
“On day one of my administration, I signed an executive order making it [the] core mission of the United States military to protect and defend the homeland. And today, we’re here to honor our military men and women for their central role in the protection of our border,” Trump said during the ceremony.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has overseen crackdowns on immigration and crime that have included the deployment of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.
More than 10,000 U.S. military service members attached to Joint Task Force Southern Border have been deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border in support of the Department of Homeland Security, with the missions to secure the border, disrupt transnational criminal organizations and respond to national security threats.
Trump said Monday that more than 25,000 service members have served in this “incredible and historic operation,” which has overseen 13,000 patrols along the border.
“They’ve spent night and day enduring scorching hot and bitter cold, and they’ve given up their holidays and their weekends, working with the offices of Customs and Border Protection,” Trump said.
“And today, we give these great warriors the recognition that they have earned — and they have really earned it.”
The medal, according to the Department of Defense, is identical to the Mexican Border Service Medal awarded for service in 1916 and 1917 in the Mexican state of Chihuahua as well as the U.S.-Mexico border regions in New Mexico and Texas.
It is bronze with a sheathed Roman sword hanging on a tablet on the front, which bears an inscription that reads: “For Service on the Mexican Border.”
Those eligible for the award must have been permanently assigned to a designated Department of Defense military operation supporting CBP within the area of eligibility for at least 30 consecutive or non-consecutive days from Jan. 20 of this year.
“We’re proud of this mission,” Hegseth said during the White House event. “We’re proud to defend the American people and pinning these medals on is an example of how important it is to us.”
The Trump administration states that its crackdown has resulted in more than 2.5 million undocumented migrants removed from the United States and the lowest level of illegal border crossings since 1970.
Lawyers for US President Donald Trump say the BBC caused him overwhelming reputational and financial harm.
Published On 16 Dec 202516 Dec 2025
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United States President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit seeking at least $10bn from the BBC over a documentary that edited his speech to supporters before the US Capitol riot in 2021.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami on Monday, seeks “damages in an amount not less than $5,000,000,000” for each of two counts against the United Kingdom broadcaster for alleged defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
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Earlier in the day, Trump confirmed his plans to file the lawsuit.
“I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally… I guess they used AI or something,” he told reporters at the White House.
“That’s called fake news .”
President Trump: “I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally…I guess they used AI or something…they actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with January 6th that I didn’t say.” pic.twitter.com/cUwXqBq3Zd
Trump has accused the UK publicly-owned broadcaster of defaming him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021, speech, including one section where he told supporters to march on the Capitol, and another where he said, “Fight like hell”.
The edited sections of his speech omitted words in which Trump also called for peaceful protest.
Trump’s lawsuit alleges that the BBC defamed him, and his lawyers say the documentary caused him overwhelming reputational and financial harm.
The BBC has already apologised to Trump, admitted an error of judgement and acknowledged that the edit gave the mistaken impression that he had made a direct call for violent action.
The broadcaster also said that there was no legal basis for the lawsuit, and that to overcome the US Constitution’s strong legal protections for free speech and the press, Trump will need to prove in court not only that the edit was false and defamatory, but also that the BBC knowingly misled viewers or acted recklessly.
The broadcaster could argue that the documentary was substantially true and its editing decisions did not create a false impression, legal experts said. It could also claim the programme did not damage Trump’s reputation.
Rioters attack the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to disrupt the certification of Electoral College votes and the election victory of President Joe Biden [File: John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Trump, in his lawsuit, said that the BBC, despite its apology, “has made no showing of actual remorse for its wrongdoing nor meaningful institutional changes to prevent future journalistic abuses”.
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team said in a statement that the BBC had “a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda”.
The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the lawsuit was filed on Monday.
The dispute over the edited speech, featured on the BBC’s Panorama documentary show shortly before the 2024 presidential election, prompted a public relations crisis for the broadcaster, leading to the resignations of its two most senior officials.
Other media organisations have settled with Trump, including CBS and ABC, when Trump sued them following his comeback win in the November 2024 election.
Trump has also filed lawsuits against The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and a newspaper in Iowa, all of which have denied wrongdoing.
Months before his slaying, Rob Reiner talked about the power of forgiveness after the “horrific” assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
“Horror. An absolute horror,” the director, actor and political activist said when asked about the shooting in a TV interview with Piers Morgan. “I unfortunately saw the video of it and it’s beyond belief what happened to him, and that should never happen to anybody. I don’t care what your political beliefs are. That’s not acceptable.”
“Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS,” Trump said in a social media post.
“He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
How is that anyone’s initial reaction to a tragic slaying, let alone an official comment from a sitting U.S. president? That’s a rhetorical question, of course. It’s just another Monday at Trump’s White House.
I’d be screaming into the void if I were to use the rest of this column to argue that the president is not only off his rocker but also has tumbled down the stairs and is in the foyer, mumbling something about speedboats, piggies and ballrooms. In his race to the bottom, he’s broken through the floor. Now we’re in the Trump Upside Down, where empathy and decency are negative attributes.
Even Republican lawmakers were compelled to speak out against their feared leader. “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” said Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in response to Trump’s post.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) wrote on X, “Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence, let alone at the hands of their own son. It’s a horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone in our country, period.”
Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said it short and sweet to CNN’s Jake Tapper: “I’d expect to hear something like this from a drunk guy at a bar, not the President of the United States. Can the President be presidential?”
No, he cannot. When given the chance on Monday to appear leader-like during a White House news conference, Trump doubled down on his dislike for Reiner, saying he “wasn’t a fan” and that the director “was a deranged person.”
Translation: Reiner was a Trump critic and the president has skin so thin it’s practically rice paper at this point. But the filmmaker’s social conscience was evident in everything he did, starting with his role as “All in the Family’s” liberal, hippie son-in law to conservative crank Archie Bunker. It was the 1970s, and Meathead (a.k.a. Michael) consistently called out Archie’s racism, bigotry and sexism on the weekly sitcom. Archie’s rants are now the ugly stuff embraced by feckless politicians and attention-seeking influencers, but back then, his tirades against “queers” and “coloreds” represented old prejudices that needed to be shed if the country were to move forward. Show creator Norman Lear made the ugliness funny by using Meathead to expose Archie’s ignorance. Even back then, Reiner was poking the bear.
Reiner was a staunch critic of Trump and other leaders and movements that sought to curtail the freedoms that were previously believed to be enshrined in the Constitution — until MAGA began shredding them one by one. The comedian was an advocate for democratic ideals, Democratic candidates, same-sex marriage, early childhood education, and government transparency, spearheading California’s Proposition 10 (First 5) to fund early development programs via tobacco taxes. He also helped overturn Proposition 8, California’s brief ban on gay marriage.
Reiner’s understanding that it takes all kinds was evident in his work. He was a director with range, as they say in the industry, helming a string of films that became cultural touchstones, starting with 1984’s groundbreaking mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap,” a satire that forever changed the language around heavy-metal decibel levels (“Crank it to 11!”). Then came 1986’s coming-of-age drama “Stand by Me,” 1989’s seminal romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally…,” and the terrifying, psychological horror-thriller, 1990’s “Misery,” about an injured novelist held captive by his biggest fan.
Some of his films directly addressed the inequity and violence that Reiner fought so hard to correct in his lifetime. “Ghosts of Mississippi” explored the 1994 trial of Byron De La Beckwith, a white supremacist accused of the 1963 assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. And Reiner’s 2017 drama “Shock and Awe” told the true story of a team of reporters who countered the Bush administration’s justification for invading Iraq in 2003 when they found evidence of falsified intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.
Though it was already acceptable to speak out against that Middle Eastern war, in the same week of the film’s release, he caught flak for signing a petition led by Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir condemning Trump’s 2017 decision formally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Reiner, who was Jewish, told the National that Trump had “no concept of geopolitical events or how things are interconnected. There was no consideration that went into this decision, no outreach to allies in the Arab world, or even the non-Arab world to see what the impact of something like this is.”
Reiner saw tragedy and sadness in the death of Kirk because he was able to empathize with the loss of life, no matter the difference of opinion.
Whether you sat across the table from him or across the aisle, Rob Reiner left no doubt about what he cared about and was willing to fight for.
I had lunch with him once at Pete’s Cafe in downtown L.A., where he was far less interested in what was on his plate than what was on his mind. He was advocating for local investments in early childhood development programs, using funds from the tobacco tax created by Proposition 10 in 1998, which he had helped spearhead.
I remember thinking that, although political activism among celebrities was nothing new, Reiner was well beyond the easier tasks of making endorsements and hosting fundraisers. He had an understanding of public policy failures and entrenched inequities, and he wanted to talk about the moral duty to address them and the financial benefits of doing so.
“He was deeply passionate,” said Ben Austin, who was at that lunch and worked as an aide to Reiner at the time. “He was not just a Hollywood star … but a highly sophisticated political actor.”
Reiner, who was found dead in his Brentwood home over the weekend along with his wife, Michele, was also co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which was instrumental in the fight to legalize same-sex marriage in California in 2008.
Michele Singer Reiner was her husband’s “intellectual partner” as an activist, Austin said, even though he was usually the one whose face we saw. But Michele made her voice heard, too, as she did when emailing me about the inexcusable crisis of veterans living on the street, including on the West L.A. veterans administration campus at a time when it was loaded with empty buildings.
I’d check on the progress and get back to her, and she’d check back again when little had changed. At one point, I told her I’d been informed that beds in a new shelter would be filled by the end of the year.
“And if you believe that,” she wrote back, “I’ve got a bridge for you.”
In choosing his causes, Austin said of Rob Reiner, the actor-director-producer “was not jumping on a train that was already moving.” Universal preschool education was barely a fringe issue at the time, Austin said, but Reiner was more interested in social change than making political points.
Reiner’s aggressive instincts, though, sometimes drew pushback. And not just from President Trump, who established a new low for himself Monday with his social media claim that Reiner’s death was a result of his disdain for Trump.
Reiner resigned in 2006 as chairman of California’s First 5 commission, an outgrowth of Prop. 10, after Times reporting raised questions about the use of tax dollars to promote Proposition 82. That Reiner-backed ballot measure would have taxed the rich to plow money into preschool for 4-year-olds.
In 2014, Reiner was at the center of a bid to limit commercial development and chain stores in Malibu, and I co-moderated a debate that seemed more like a boxing match between him and developer Steve Soboroff.
“Rob Reiner and Steve Soboroff came out with guns blazing Sunday night during a Measure R debate that’s sure to be one of the most memorable — and entertaining — Malibu showdowns in recent town history.”
Reiner threw an early jab, accusing Soboroff of a backroom deal to add an exemption to the measure. That’s a lie, Soboroff shot back, claiming he was insulted by the low blow. Reiner, who owned houses in both Brentwood and Malibu, didn’t care much for my question about whether his slow-growth viewpoint smacked of NIMBY-ism.
“I would say there’s a lot of NIMBY-ism,” Reiner snapped. “You bet. It’s 100% NIMBY-ism. Everybody who lives here is concerned about their way of life.”
But that’s the way Reiner was. He let you know, without apology, where he stood, kind of like his “Meathead” character in Norman Lear’s hit TV show “All in the Family,” in which he butted heads with the bigoted Archie Bunker.
Getting back to President Trump, he, too, unapologetically lets you know where he stands.
But most people, in my experience, work with filters — they can self-sensor when that’s what the moment calls for. It’s not a skill, it’s an innate sense of decency and human consideration that exists in the hearts and souls of normal people.
I did not know much about the history of Nick Reiner’s addiction issues and his temporary homelessness. But it became clear shortly after the bodies were found that the Reiners’ 32-year-old son might have been involved, and he was indeed booked a short time later on suspicion of murder.
What I do know is that with such an unspeakable horror, and with the family’s survivors left to sort through the madness of it all, a better response from the president would have been silence.
Anything but a grave dance.
The Reiners died, Trump said, “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME … .” The deaths occurred, Trump continued, “as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness …”
It was a reaction, Austin said, “that makes the case, better than Rob ever could have, about why Trump has no business being president of the United States.”
US President Donald Trump has said that an agreement to end Russia’s war on Ukraine is “closer than ever” after key leaders held talks in Berlin, but several officials said that significant differences remain over territorial issues.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that he had “very long and very good talks” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and NATO.
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“We’re having tremendous support from European leaders. They want to get it [the war] ended also,” he said.
“We had numerous conversations with President [Vladimir] Putin of Russia, and I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever, and we’ll see what we can do.”
Zelenskyy had earlier said that negotiations with US and European leaders were difficult but productive.
The high-level discussions, involving Zelenskyy, a US delegation led by envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and European leaders, took place in Berlin over two days amid mounting pressure from Washington for Kyiv to make concessions to Moscow to end one of Europe’s deadliest conflicts since World War II.
In a statement following the talks, European leaders said they and the US were committed to working together to provide “robust security guarantees” to Ukraine, including a European-led “multinational force Ukraine” supported by the US.
They said the force’s work would include “operating inside Ukraine” as well as assisting in rebuilding Ukraine’s forces, securing its skies and supporting safer seas. They said that Ukrainian forces should remain at a peacetime level of 800,000.
Two US officials, speaking to the Reuters news agency, described the proposed protections as “Article 5-like”, a reference to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence pledge.
Ukraine had earlier signalled it may be willing to abandon its ambition to join the NATO military alliance in exchange for firm Western security guarantees.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv needed a clear understanding of the security guarantees on offer before making any decisions on territorial control under a potential peace settlement. He added that any guarantees must include effective ceasefire monitoring.
Ukrainian officials have been cautious about what form such guarantees could take. Ukraine received security assurances backed by the US and Europe after gaining independence in 1991, but those did not prevent Russia’s invasions in 2014 and 2022.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Washington had offered “considerable” security guarantees during the Berlin talks.
“What the US has placed on the table here in Berlin, in terms of legal and material guarantees, is really considerable,” Merz said at a joint news conference with Zelenskyy.
“We now have the chance for a real peace process,” he said, adding that territorial arrangements remain a central issue. “Only Ukraine can decide about territorial concessions. No ifs or buts.”
Merz also said it was essential for the European Union to reach an agreement on using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine to demonstrate to Moscow that continuing the war is futile. He warned that EU members must share the risks involved in appropriating those assets, or risk damaging the bloc’s reputation.
Meanwhile, the EU has adopted new sanctions targeting companies and individuals accused of helping Russia circumvent Western restrictions on oil exports that help finance the war.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Putin was “open to peace and serious decisions” but opposed to what he described as “temporary respites and subterfuges”.
Reporting from Berlin, Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane said the outcome of the talks remains unclear.
“We know American emissaries were speaking to Ukrainians here in Berlin yesterday and today. Talks between those two groups have finished, according to a statement by Zelenskyy’s office,” Kane said.
“What we don’t yet know is how much of the US-led 28-point plan – parts of which were acceptable to Moscow but strongly opposed by Kyiv and EU officials – remains intact.”
Kane added that the German government has presented a separate 10-point proposal focused on military and intelligence cooperation rather than a peace settlement. European leaders are expected to continue discussions on the remaining areas of disagreement.
Fighting continues
Meanwhile, Ukraine said on Monday that Russia launched 153 drones overnight, with 17 striking their targets.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces destroyed 130 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.
Kyiv said its underwater drones struck a Russian submarine docked at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Ukraine has stepped up naval attacks in recent weeks on what it has described as Russia-linked vessels in the Black Sea.
Russian forces have continued to target the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, with two Turkish cargo ships hit in recent days. Kyiv said the strikes were aimed at Russian targets.
Zelenskyy also accused Moscow of using its attacks as leverage in peace negotiations.
He said Russia has struck every power station in Ukraine as part of its campaign against the country’s energy infrastructure.
Dec. 15 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said President Donald Trump’s executive order last week seeking national rules on artificial intelligence doesn’t prevent states from imposing laws on the use of the technology.
Speaking at an AI event at Florida Atlantic University, DeSantis said Florida will move forward on AI policies he has dubbed a “Citizen Bill of Rights for Artificial Intelligence.”
“The president issued an executive order. Some people were saying, ‘well, no, this blocks the states,'” DeSantis said, according to The Hill. “It doesn’t.”
Trump signed an executive order Thursday seeking to give the United States a “global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome national policy framework.”
“To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation,” the order says. “But excessive state regulation thwarts this imperative.”
Politico reported the Trump administration has said it’s prepared to file lawsuits and without funding to states that interfere with federal AI plans.
DeSantis said, though, that an executive order can’t block states.
“You can preempt states under Article 1 powers through congressional legislation on certain issues, but you can’t do it through executive order,” he said.
“But if you read it, they actually say a lot of the stuff we’re talking about are things that they’re encouraging states to do. So even reading very broadly, I think the stuff we’re doing is going to be very consistent. But irrespective, clearly we have the right to do this.”
Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC over the editing of his speech before the infamous riot at the Capitol in January 2021 – the corporation apologised to him in November
Hours after Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their home in what is shaping up to be a heartbreaking family tragedy, our president blamed Reiner for his own death.
“A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS,” President Trump wrote on his social media platform. “He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
Rest in peace, indeed.
It’s a message steeped in cruelty and delusion, unbelievable and despicable even by the low, buried-in-the-dirt bar by which we have collectively come to judge Trump. In a town — and a time — of selfishness and self-serving, Reiner was one of the good guys, always fighting, both through his films and his politics, to make the world kinder and closer. And yes, that meant fighting against Trump and his increasingly erratic and authoritarian rule.
For the last few months, he was laser-focused on the upcoming midterms as the last and best chance of protecting American democracy — which clearly enraged Trump.
“Make no mistake, we have a year before this country becomes a full on autocracy,” Reiner told MSNBC host Ali Velshi in October. “People care about their pocketbook issues, the price of eggs. They care about their healthcare, and they should. Those are the things that directly affect them. But if they lose their democracy, all of these rights, the freedom of speech, the freedom to pray the way you want, the freedom to protest and not go to jail, not be sent out of the country with no due process, all these things will be taken away from them.”
The Reiners’ son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Nick Reiner has struggled with addiction, and been in and out of rehab. But Trump seems to be saying that if Nick is indeed the perpetrator, he acted for pro-Trump political reasons — which obviously is highly unlikely and, well, just a weird and unhinged thing to claim.
But also, deeply hypocritical.
It was only a few months ago, in September, that Charlie Kirk was killed and Trump and his MAGA regime went nuts over anyone who dared whisper a critical word about Kirk. Trump called it “sick” and “deranged” that anyone could celebrate Kirk’s death, and blamed the “radical left” for violence-inciting rhetoric.
Vice President JD Vance, channeling his inner Scarlett O’Hara, vowed “with God as my witness,” he would use the full power of the state to crack down on political “networks” deemed terrorist. In reality, he’s largely just using the state to target people who oppose Trump out loud.
And just in case you thought maybe, maybe our president somehow really does have the good of all Americans at heart, recall that in speaking of Kirk, Trump said that he had one point of disagreement. Kirk, he claimed, forgave him enemies.
“That’s where I disagreed with Charlie,” Trump said. “I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them.”
There’s a malevolence so deep in Trump’s post about Reiner that even Marjorie Taylor Greene objected. She was once Trump’s staunchest supporter before he called her a traitor, empowering his goon squad to terrorize her with death threats.
“This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” Greene wrote on social media. “Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder.”
But Trump has made cruelty the point. His need to dehumanize everyone who opposes him, including Reiner and even Greene, is exactly what Reiner was warning us about.
Because when you allow people to be dehumanized, you stop caring about them — and Reiner was not about to let us stop caring.
He saw the world with an artist’s eye and awarrior’s heart, a mighty combination reflected in his films. He challenged us to believe in true love, to set aside our cynicism, to be both silly and brave, knowing both were crucial to a successful life.
This clarity from a man who commanded not just our attention and our respect, but our hearts, is what drove Trump crazy — and what made Reiner such a powerful threat to him. Republican or Democrat, his movies reminded us of what we hold in common.
But it might be Michael Douglas’ speech in 1995’s “The American President” that is most relevant in this moment. Douglas’ character, President Andrew Shepherd, says that “America is advanced citizenship. You’ve got to want it bad, because it’s going to put up a fight.”
Shepard’s rival, a man pursuing power over purpose, “is interested in two things and two things only — making you afraid of ‘it’ and telling you who’s to blame for ‘it.’ ”
Sound familiar?
That our president felt the need to trash Reiner before his body is even buried would be a badge of honor to Reiner, an acknowledgment that Reiner’s warnings carried weight, and that Reiner was a messenger to be reckoned with.
Reiner knew what advanced citizenship meant, and he wanted badly for democracy to survive.
If Trump’s eulogy sickens you the way it sickens me, then here’s what you can do about it: Vote in November in Reiner’s memory.
Your ballot is the rebuke Trump fears most.
And your vote is the most powerful way to honor a man who dedicated his life to reminding us that bravery is having the audacity to care.
The incident involved JetBlue Flight 1112 from Curacao, which is just off the coast of Venezuela, en route to New York City’s JFK airport.
Published On 14 Dec 202514 Dec 2025
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A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curacao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a US Air Force refuelling tanker on Friday, with the JetBlue pilot blaming the military plane for crossing his path.
“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path… They don’t have their transponder turned on. It’s outrageous.”
“We just had traffic pass directly in front of us, within 5 miles [8km] of us – maybe 2 or 3 miles [3 or 5km] – but it was an air-to air refueller from the United States Air Force, and he was at our altitude,” the pilot said. “We had to stop our climb.”
The pilot said the US Air Force plane then headed into Venezuelan airspace.
Derek Dombrowski, a spokesman for JetBlue, said on Sunday: “We have reported this incident to federal authorities and will participate in any investigation.”
He added, “Our crew members are trained on proper procedures for various flight situations, and we appreciate our crew for promptly reporting this situation to our leadership team.”
The Pentagon referred The Associated Press agency to the Air Force for comment. The Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US Federal Aviation Administration last month issued a warning to US aircraft, urging them to “exercise caution” when in Venezuelan airspace, “due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela”.
According to the air traffic recording, the controller responded to the JetBlue pilot, “It has been outrageous with the unidentified aircraft within our air.”
The United States has fully commited to its enforcement of sanctions on Venezuela by seizing a large oil tanker off its coast. President Donald Trump publicly announced the operation on December 10th and authorities said a joint FBI/Homeland Security/Coast Guard team executed a court-ordered seizure of the vessel, which was transporting Iranian and Venezuelan crude in violation of U.S imposed sanctions.
This is reportedly the first U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil shipment since sanctions began way back in 2019. “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” says Donald Trump.
Trying to maintain the credibility of U.S. sanctions at a time when their enforcement have increasingly been challenged by other international actors such as Russia or Iran. Now, The U.S. is willing to take direct action beyond economic wars, even at the risk of diplomatic and military escalation.
Reactions from Caracas
Venezuela publicly denounced the action and accused Washington of blatant theft describing the seizure as “an act of international piracy”. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has long cast himself as the victim of a U.S. led campaign to oust him from the country in order to seize the vast oil wealth on the country’s shores. He reiterated that the U.S. military buildup, which started this summer, including carrier strike groups and bases is directly aimed at overthrowing him.
Maduro’s supporters rallied in the streets against foreign aggression even as officials prepared diplomatic protests to international bodies. For the time being, he faces limited other practical options for retaliation as Venezuela’s navy is in no position to challenge U.S. maritime dominance, and legal recourse through international courts would likely take years.
Russia’s Offers Full Support
Moscow reaffirmed its backing for Maduro, emphasising the legitimacy of Venezuela’s government and condemning what it described as unilateral U.S. actions. An ally in South America provides Russia opportunities for energy investment, and a way to challenge U.S. influence.
The tanker seizure allows Moscow to frame Washington as overreaching and destabilising, a narrative it also applies to recent U.S. actions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. While Russia is unlikely to escalate militarily, its political backing is significant.
China’s Strategic Role, A Potential Mediator?
Avoiding direct confrontation with Washington over the seizure, Beijing has reiterated its general opposition to unilateral sanctions and calling for international dialogue. However, China remains Venezuela’s most important economic partner and oil consumer, giving it substantial influence over any talks in the region.
Chinese companies have adapted to sanctions by purchasing Venezuelan crude oil at discounted prices, often through intermediaries. For Beijing, Venezuela is also part of a broader strategy to diversify energy supplies and expand its economic reach to the Americas.
Impact on Oil Markets
The announcement caused a modest spike in oil prices around the globe; for example: Brent crude briefly rose about 0.4% to around $62 a barrel, before returning to normal levels in the following few days.
The incident also highlighted Venezuela’s export challenges: under sanctions, its oil trades at a deep discount for its main trade partners, China and Russia. American oil companies with Venezuelan ties reported no immediate trouble. Chevron the U.S. firm that co-owns Venezuela’s largest oil project said its operations there continue normally, and U.S. imports of Venezuelan crude have even ticked up slightly in recent months.
Broader Consequences
Neighbouring countries such as Cuba and other Caribbean states depend on Venezuelan oil and could feel its effects. Sanctioning Venezuela was intended to pressure the regime into political concessions, yet Maduro remains firmly in power.
Enforcement actions like this tanker seizure may increase short-term pressure, but they also come with great risk for the stability of the Caribbean. Venezuela’s experience mirrors that of Iran and Russia, suggesting that sanctions alone may be insufficient to produce regime change, particularly when the targeted government is provided external backing.
Possible Future Scenarios and Implications
One scenario is a continuation of this low-level rise in tensions, with the U.S. stepping up enforcement and Venezuela responding through diplomatic protests while relying on Russian support.
Another is a negotiated de-escalation, potentially linked to limited sanctions relief in exchange for political concessions, though past efforts suggest this would be difficult to achieve with the current White House administration.
A more destabilising scenario would involve a potential confrontation at sea and broader disruption to energy markets. However, this scenario remains unlikely for the time being.
US President Donald Trump is promoting his nation’s economic record, insisting prices are falling and investment is surging – but the data, and rising cost-of-living pressures, tell a different story. Jillian Wolf checks the facts.
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US President Donald Trump has vowed retaliation against ISIL after an ambush near Palmyra in central Syria killed three US citizens. Trump blamed ISIL for the attack, though investigators are assessing the possibility it may have been an insider attack by a member of an allied force.
The track record for California Democrats and the presidency is not a good one. In the nearly 250 years of these United States, not one Left Coast Democrat has ever been elected president. Kamala Harris is just the latest to fail. (Twice.)
Faithful readers of this column — both of you — certainly know how I feel.
Garry South disagrees.
The veteran Democratic campaign strategist, who has been described as possessing “a pile-driving personality and blast furnace of a mouth” — by me, actually — has never lacked for strong and colorful opinions. Here, in an email exchange, we hash out our differences.
Barabak: You once worked for Newsom, did you not?
South: Indeed I did. I was a senior strategist in his first campaign for governor. It lasted 15 months in 2008 and 2009. He exited the race when we couldn’t figure out how to beat Jerry Brown in a closed Democratic primary.
I happen to be the one who wrote the catchy punch line for Newsom’s speech to the state Democratic convention in 2009, that the race was a choice between “a stroll down memory lane vs. a sprint into the future.”
We ended up on memory lane.
Barabak: Do you still advise Newsom, or members of his political team?
South: No, though he and I are in regular contact and have been since his days as lieutenant governor. I know many of his staff and consultants, but don’t work with them in any paid capacity. Also, the governor’s sister and I are friends.
Barabak: You observed Newsom up close in that 2010 race. What are his strengths as a campaigner?
South: Newsom is a masterful communicator, has great stage presence, cuts a commanding figure and can hold an audience in the palm of his hand when he’s really on. He has a mind like a steel trap and never forgets anything he is told or reads.
I’ve always attributed his amazing recall to the struggle he has reading, due to his lifelong struggle with severe dyslexia. Because it’s such an arduous effort for Newsom to read, what he does read is emblazoned on his mind in seeming perpetuity.
Barabak: Demerits, or weaknesses?
South: Given his remarkable command of facts and data and mastery of the English language, he can sometimes run on too long. During that first gubernatorial campaign, when he was still mayor of San Francisco, he once gave a seven-hour State of the City address.
South: It wasn’t as bad as sounds: It was broken into 10 “Webisodes” on his YouTube channel. But still …
Barabak: So let’s get to it. I think Newsom’s chances of being elected president are somewhere between slim and none — and slim was last seen alongside I-5, in San Ysidro, thumbing a ride to Mexico.
You don’t agree.
South: I don’t agree at all. I think you’re underestimating the Trumpian changes wrought (rot?) upon our political system over the past 10 years.
The election of Trump, a convicted felon, not once but twice, has really blown to hell the conventional paradigms we’ve had for decades in terms of how we assess the viability of presidential candidates — what state they’re from, their age, if they have glitches in their personal or professional life.
Not to mention, oh, their criminal record, if they have one.
The American people actually elected for a second term a guy who fomented a rebellion against his own country when he was president the first time, including an armed assault on our own national capitol in which a woman was killed and for which he was rightly impeached. It’s foolish not to conclude that the old rules, the old conventional wisdom about what voters will accept and what they will not, are out the window for good.
It also doesn’t surprise me that you pooh-pooh Newsom’s prospects. It’s typical of the home-state reporting corps to guffaw when their own governor is touted as a presidential candidate.
One, familiarity breeds contempt. Two, a prophet is without honor in his own country.
I also remember those old Clairol hair-color ads: “The closer he gets … the better you look!” (Google it, kids). It’s precisely the opposite when it comes to presidential hopefuls and the reporters who cover them day-in, day-out.
And you’re certainly correct, the nature of what constitutes scandal, or disqualifies a presidential candidate, has drastically changed in the Trump era.
All of that said, certain fundamentals remain the same. Harking back to that 1992 Clinton campaign, it’s still the economy, stupid. Or, put another way, it’s about folks’ lived experience, their economic security, or lack thereof, and personal well-being.
Newsom is, for the moment, a favorite among the chattering political class and online activists because a) those are the folks who are already engaged in the 2028 race and b) many of them thrill to his Trumpian takedowns of the president on social media.
When the focus turns to matters affecting voters’ ability to pay for housing, healthcare, groceries, utility bills and to just get by, Newsom’s opponents will have a heyday trashing him and California’s steep prices, homelessness and shrinking middle class.
Kamala Harris twice bid unsuccessfully for the White House. Her losses kept alive an unbroken string of losses by Left Coast Democrats.
(Kent Nishimura / Getty Images)
South: It’s not just the chattering class.
Newsom’s now the leading candidate among rank-and-file Democrats. They had been pleading — begging — for years that some Democratic leader step out of the box, step up to the plate, and fight back, giving Trump a dose of his own medicine. Newsom has been meeting that demand with wit, skill and doggedness — not just on social media, but through passage of Proposition 50, the Democratic gerrymandering measure.
And Democrats recognize and appreciate it
Barabak: Hmmm. Perhaps I’m somewhat lacking in imagination, but I just can’t picture a world where Democrats say, “Hey, the solution to our soul-crushing defeat in 2024 is to nominate another well-coiffed, left-leaning product of that bastion of homespun Americana, San Francisco.”
South: Uh, Americans twice now have elected a president not just from New York City, but who lived in an ivory tower in Manhattan, in a penthouse with a 24-carat-gold front door (and, allegedly, gold-plated toilet seats). You think Manhattan is a soupçon more representative of middle America than San Francisco?
Like I said, state of origin is less important now after the Trump precedent.
Barabak: Trump was a larger-than-life — or at least larger-than-Manhattan — celebrity. Geography wasn’t an impediment because he had — and has — a remarkable ability, far beyond my reckoning, to present himself as a tribune of the working class, the downtrodden and economically struggling Americans, even as he spreads gold leaf around himself like a kid with a can of Silly String.
Speaking of Kamala Harris, she hasn’t ruled out a third try at the White House in 2028. Where would you place your money in a Newsom-Harris throwdown for the Democratic nomination? How about Harris in the general election, against whomever Republicans choose?
South: Harris running again in 2028 would be like Michael Dukakis making a second try for president in 1992. My God, she not only lost every swing state, and the electoral college by nearly 100 votes, Harris also lost the popular vote — the first Democrat to do so in 20 years.
If she doesn’t want to embarrass herself, she should listen to her home-state voters, who in the latest CBS News/YouGov poll said she shouldn’t run again — by a margin of 69-31. (Even 52% of Democrats said no). She’s yesterday’s news.
Barabak: Seems as though you feel one walk down memory lane was quite enough. We’ll see if Harris — and, more pertinently, Democratic primary voters — agree.
California’s potential to lead a national Democratic comeback was on full display as party leaders from across the country recently gathered in downtown Los Angeles.
But is the party ready to bet on the Golden State?
Appearances at the Democratic National Committee meeting by the state’s most prominent Democrats, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom, crystallized the peril and promise of California’s appeal. Harris failed to beat a politically wounded Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race and Newsom, now among President Trump’s most celebrated critics, is considered a top Democratic contender to replace the Republican president in the White House in 2028.
California policies on divisive issues such as providing expanded access to government-sponsored healthcare, aiding undocumented immigrants and supporting LGBTQ+ rights continually serve as a Rorschach test for the nation’s polarized electorate, providing comfort to progressives and ammunition for Republican attack ads.
“California is like your cool cousin that comes for the holidays who is intriguing and glamorous, but who might not fit in with the family year-round,” said Elizabeth Ashford, a veteran Democratic strategist who worked for former Govs. Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harris when she was the state’s attorney general.
Newsom, in particular, is quick to boast about California being home to the world’s fourth-largest economy, a billion-dollar agricultural industry and economic and cultural powerhouses in Hollywood and the Silicon Valley. Critics, Trump chief among them, paint the state as a dystopian hellhole — littered with homeless encampments and lawlessness, and plagued by high taxes and an even higher cost of living.
Only two Californians have been elected president, Republicans Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. But that was generations ago, and Harris and Newsom are considering bids to end the decades-long drought in 2028. Both seized the moment by courting party leaders and activists during the three-day winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee that ended Saturday.
Harris, speaking to committee members and guests Friday, said the party’s victories in state elections across the nation in November reflect voters’ agitation about the impacts of Trump’s policies, notably affordability and healthcare costs. But she argued that “both parties have failed to hold the public’s trust.”
“So as we plan for what comes after this administration, we cannot afford to be nostalgic for what was, in fact, a flawed status quo, and a system that failed so many of you,” said Harris, who was criticized after her presidential campaign for not focusing enough on kitchen table issues, including the increasing financial strains faced by Americans.
While Harris, who ruled out running for governor earlier this year, did not address whether she would make another bid for the White House in 2028, she argued that the party needed to be introspective about its future.
“We need to answer the question, what comes next for our party and our democracy, and in so doing, we must be honest that for so many, the American dream has become more of a myth than a reality,” she said.
Many of the party leaders who spoke at the gathering focused on California’s possible role in determining control of Congress after voters in November approved Proposition 50, a rare mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts in an effort to boost the number of Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation in the 2026 election.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass rallied the crowd by reminding them that Democrats took back the U.S. House of Representatives during Trump’s first term and predicted the state would be critical in next year’s midterm elections.
Mayor Karen Bass speaks at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Newsom, who championed Proposition 50, basked in that victory when he strode through the hotel’s corridors at the DNC meeting the day before, stopping every few feet to talk to committee members, shake their hands and take selfies.
“There’s just a sense of optimism here,” Newsom said.
Democratic candidates in New Jersey and Virginia also won races by a significant margin last month which, party leaders say, were all telltale signs of growing voter dissatisfaction with Trump and Washington’s Republican leadership.
“The party, more broadly, got their sea legs back, and they’re winning,” Newsom said. “And winning solves a lot of problems.”
Louisiana committee member Katie Darling teared up as she watched fellow Democrats flock to Newsom.
“He really is trying to bring people together during a very difficult time,” said Darling, who grew up in Sacramento in a Republican household. “He gets a lot of pushback for talking to and working with Republicans, but when he does that, I see him talking to my mom and dad who I love, who I vehemently disagree with politically. … I do think that we need to talk to each other to move the country forward.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks as his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom looks on during an election night gathering at the California Democratic Party headquarters on November 04, 2025 in Sacramento.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
Darling said she listens to Newsom’s podcast, where his choice of guests, including the late Charlie Kirk, and his comments on the show that transgender athletes taking part in women’s sports is “deeply unfair” have drawn outrage from some on the left.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, another potential 2028 presidential candidate whose family has historically supported Newsom, was also reportedly on site Thursday, holding closed-door meetings. And former Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, also a possible White House contender, was in Los Angeles on Thursday, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show and holding meetings.
Corrin Rankin, chair of the California Republican Party, cast the DNC meetings in L.A. as “anti-Trump sessions” and pointed to the homeless encampments on Skid Row, just blocks from where committee members gathered.
“We need accountability and solutions that actually get people off the streets, make communities safer and life more affordable,” Rankin said.
Elected officials from across the nation are drawn to California because of its wellspring of wealthy political donors. The state was the largest source of contributions to the campaign committees of Trump and Harris during the 2024 presidential contest, contributing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, according to the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization Open Secrets, which tracks electoral finances.
While the DNC gathering focused mostly on mundane internal business, the gathering of party leaders attracted liberal groups seeking to raise money and draw attention to their causes.
Actor Jane Fonda and comedian Nikki Glaser headlined an event aimed at increasing the minimum wage at the Three Clubs cocktail bar in Hollywood. California already has among the highest minimum wages in the nation; one of the organizers of the event is campaigning to increase the rate to $30 per hour in some California counties.
“The affordability crisis is pushing millions of Americans to the edge, and no democracy can survive when people who work full time cannot afford basic necessities,” Fonda said prior to the event. “Raising wages is one of the most powerful ways to give families stability and hope.”
But California’s liberal policies have been viewed as a liability for Democrats elsewhere, where issues such as transgender rights and providing healthcare for undocumented immigrants have not been warmly received by some blue-collar workers who once formed the party’s base.
Trump capitalized on that disconnect in the closing months of the 2024 presidential contest, when his campaign aired ads that highlighted Harris’ support of transgender rights, including taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgery for inmates.
“Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you,” the commercial stated. The ad aired more than 30,000 times in swing states in the fall, notably during football games and NASCAR races.
“Kamala had 99 problems. California wasn’t one of them,” said John Podesta, a veteran Democratic strategist who served a senior advisor to former President Biden, counselor to former President Obama and White House chief of staff for former President Clinton.
He disputed the argument that California, whether through its policies or candidates, will impact Democrats’ chances, arguing there’s a broader disconnect between the party and its voters.
“This sense that Democrats lost touch with the middle class and the poor in favor of the cultural elite is a real problem,” said Podesta. “My shorthand is, we used to be the party of the factory floor, and now we’re the party of the faculty lounge. That’s not a California problem. It’s an elitist problem.”
While Podesta isn’t backing anyone yet in the 2028 presidential contest, he praised Newsom for his efforts to not only buck Trump but the “leftist extremists” in the Democratic party.
The narrative of Californians being out of touch with many Americans has been exacerbated this year during the state’s battles with the Trump administration over immigration, climate change, water and artificial intelligence policy. But Newsom and committee members argued that the state has been at the vanguard of where the nation will eventually head.
“I am very proud of California. It’s a state that’s not just about growth, it’s about inclusion,” the governor said, before ticking off a list of California initiatives, including low-priced insulin and higher minimum wages. “So much of the policy that’s coming out of the state of California promotes not just promise, but policy direction that I think is really important for the party.”
The United States has ended temporary legal protections for thousands of Ethiopian nationals, ordering them to leave the country within 60 days or face arrest and deportation.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision on Friday, determining that conditions in Ethiopia “no longer pose a serious threat” to returning nationals despite ongoing violence in parts of the country.
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The move affects approximately 5,000 refugees who fled armed conflict and is the latest action in the administration’s hardline crackdown to remove legal protections from at least one million people across multiple countries.
The termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopia takes effect in early February 2026, giving current beneficiaries two months to either leave voluntarily or find another legal basis to remain in the United States. Those who force authorities to arrest them “may never be allowed to return,” according to a Department of Homeland Security statement.
The decision comes despite the State Department’s own travel advisory for Ethiopia, which urges Americans to “reconsider” travel to the country due to “sporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, crime, communications disruptions, terrorism and kidnapping”.
The advisory, still in effect, warns that multiple regions remain off-limits and that the US embassy is “unlikely to be able to assist with departure from the country if the security situation deteriorates”.
Federal authorities justified the termination by citing peace agreements signed in recent years, including a 2022 ceasefire in Tigray and a December 2024 deal in Oromia. Analysts have also warned of the risk of renewed fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The Federal Register notice acknowledged that “some sporadic and episodic violence occurs” but claimed improvements in healthcare, food security and internal displacement figures demonstrated the country’s recovery.
However, the notice also cited national interest concerns, including Ethiopian visa overstay rates that exceed the global average by more than 250 percent and unspecified national security investigations involving some TPS holders.
The Ethiopian termination is part of a broader pattern under President Donald Trump, whose administration has moved to end protections for nationals from Haiti, Venezuela, Somalia, South Sudan and other countries since returning to office.
His administration has dismissed many nations as “Third World” countries, a term largely no longer used given its pejorative impetus for developing nations.
Over the past two weeks, Trump has escalated inflammatory racist attacks on Minnesota’s large Somali community in particular, including calling Somali immigrants “garbage” and directing a surge of ICE agents into the state, alarming residents and drawing criticism.
As of March 2025, approximately 1.3 million people held TPS in the United States, according to the American Immigration Council, a Washington-based research and advocacy organisation.
Trump has identified immigration control as central to his national security strategy, with the document published this month describing migration policies in Europe and elsewhere as contributing to what they term “civilizational erasure,” a far-right theory which is has been comprehensively debunked.
The approach has drawn sharp criticism for its racial selectivity. While terminating protections for Ethiopians who fled documented armed conflict, the administration simultaneously opened a refugee resettlement programme for white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity, claiming “race-based discrimination”. That discrimination has been rejected by the South African government and by numbers of Afrikaners themselves.
Scott Lucas, a professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin’s Clinton Institute, told Al Jazeera the contrast revealed a “perverse honesty” about the administration’s priorities.
“If you’re white and you’ve got connections you get in,” he said. “If you’re not white, forget about it.”
Legal challenges have mounted against several TPS terminations, with courts temporarily blocking some decisions.
Ethiopian TPS beneficiaries can continue working during the 60-day transition period, but after the deadline, anyone without an alternative legal status becomes subject to immediate arrest and removal.
The administration has offered what it calls a “complimentary plane ticket” and “$1,000 exit bonus” to those who depart voluntarily using a mobile app to report their departure.
United States President Donald Trump has pledged to pursue “serious retaliation” against the armed group ISIL (ISIS) after an ambush in central Syria killed two US service members and one civilian interpreter, also from the US.
The attack on US forces on Saturday was the first to inflict casualties since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a year ago.
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Three additional US military members were injured in the attack, as well as at least two Syrian troops, according to government and media reports.
In a social media post, Trump said he had received confirmation that the injured US soldiers were “doing well”.
He, however, warned that there would be serious consequences for what he described as an ISIL (ISIS) attack.
“This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them,” Trump wrote. “The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be very serious retaliation.”
His remarks echoed those of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who likewise promised to take severe action against anyone who attacked US service members.
“Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you,” Hegseth wrote on social media.
Conducting ‘counter-terrorism operations’
Saturday’s attack was first announced by US Central Command, also known as CENTCOM.
It characterised the attack as an “ambush” carried out by a lone ISIL gunman, who was subsequently “engaged and killed”. Hegseth later confirmed that the perpetrator “was killed by partner forces”.
The attack took place near Palmyra in Syria’s central Homs region, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.
“The attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement,” he wrote in a statement. “Their mission was in support of on-going counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region.”
Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye, meanwhile, described the incident as a “cowardly terrorist ambush targeting a joint U.S.–Syrian government patrol”. He noted there were “Syrian troops wounded in the attack” and wished them a “speedy recovery”.
But the details about the attack and the individuals involved remain unclear.
CENTCOM indicated the US government would withhold identifying information about the late US soldiers and their units “until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified”.
The incident remains under “active investigation”, according to the US Department of Defense.
Who was the suspect?
The identity of the suspect has also not been released to the public.
But three local officials told the Reuters news agency that the assailant was a member of the Syrian security forces.
A spokesperson for the Syrian Interior Ministry also told the television channel Al-Ikhbariah TV that the attacker did not have a leadership role in the country’s security forces. He did not say whether the man was a junior member.
“On December 10, an evaluation was issued indicating that this attacker might hold extremist ideas, and a decision regarding him was due to be issued tomorrow, on Sunday,” the spokesperson, Noureddine el-Baba, said.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) state news agency reported earlier that Syrian security forces and US troops came under fire during a joint patrol.
The news agency AFP, meanwhile, cited an anonymous Syrian military official as saying shots were fired “during a meeting between Syrian and American officers” at a Syrian base in Palmyra.
A witness in the city, who also asked to remain anonymous, told the agency that he heard the shots coming from inside the base.
Traffic on the Deir Az Zor–Damascus highway was temporarily halted as military aircraft conducted overflights in the area, the agency said.
A security source told SANA that US helicopters evacuated those who were wounded to the al-Tanf base near the Iraqi border.
A long-term US presence
In the aftermath of the attack, US officials pledged to double down on their efforts to combat ISIL (ISIS) in Syria.
“We will not waver in this mission until ISIS is utterly destroyed, and any attack on Americans will be met with swift and unrelenting justice,” Ambassador Barrack wrote on social media.
“Alongside the Syrian Government, we will relentlessly pursue every individual, facilitator, financier, and enabler involved in this heinous act. They will be identified and held accountable swiftly and decisively.”
The US has troops stationed in northeastern Syria as part of a decade-long effort to help a Kurdish-led force there combat ISIL (ISIS).
ISIL captured Palmyra in 2015, at the height of its military ascendancy in Syria, before losing the city 10 months later. During that time, it destroyed several ancient sites and artefacts while using others to stage mass executions.
ISIL (ISIS) was vanquished in Syria in 2018 but still carries out sporadic attacks without controlling any territory inside Syria.
As of December 2024, there were approximately 2,000 US troops stationed in Syria to continue the fight against ISIL (ISIS).
In late November, CENTCOM announced the destruction of “more than 15 sites containing ISIS weapons caches”, as the US continues its campaign against the armed group.
This month, Syria marked one year since the ouster of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, but the war-ravaged nation continues to face stiff security and economic challenges as it seeks to rebuild and recover after 14 years of ruinous civil war.
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Noah Goldberg, with an assist from David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government.
With the 2028 Summer Olympics creeping closer, the Los Angeles City Council still has not come to an agreement with the private committee overseeing the Games over who will pay for the additional city services required to host athletes and spectators from around the world.
With hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars at stake, the city has blown past its own Oct. 1 deadline for hammering out an “Enhanced City Resources Master Agreement” contract with LA28 and is now considering filing suit.
City officials indicated the potential for a lawsuit against LA28 Monday during a meeting of the council’s ad hoc Olympics committee. In closed session, the committee conferred “with its legal counsel relative to possible initiation of litigation,” according to the meeting agenda.
But after a lengthy closed-door meeting, the committee broke without moving any closer to suing LA28.
“There was no recommendation to move forward on litigation,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who sits on the Olympic committee, in a brief interview with The Times after the closed session.
Although it remains unclear exactly why the city might sue LA28, the stakes of the negotiations between the two parties are high.
The Olympics have repeatedly been billed as a “zero cost” event for Los Angeles, with the city’s costs reimbursed by LA28 and the federal government. But depending on how “enhanced services” are defined, the city, which is facing financial headwinds, could end up bearing significant costs for services, including security, trash removal, traffic control and paramedics, that will go well beyond what it provides on typical days.
One of the biggest expenses will be security, with the LAPD, as well as a host of other local, state and federal agencies, working to keep athletes and spectators safe during the 17-day Olympics and the two-week Paralympics.
During a presentation before the council committee on Monday, City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo used the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series victory parade as an example of a similar, albeit much smaller scale, situation.
The baseball team reimbursed the city nearly $2 million for police, fire department, transportation and other services to pull off the parade safely.
Monday’s developments provided a small glimpse into the secretive negotiations between the two sides. Coupled with the missed October deadline to finalize an agreement, it was apparent that the negotiations were not going completely smoothly.
A senior city official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, said the city is not at an “irresolvable impasse” with LA28 but that litigation is very much on the table in an effort to make sure the city is fully reimbursed.
The city and LA28 are meeting daily to try to hash out an agreement, the source said, characterizing the negotiations as “intense and focused.”
“All parties are working actively at the table to finalize the [ECRMA] that will ensure reimbursement of the city’s costs required by the 2028 Games,” the city and LA28 said in a joint statement to The Times.
Szabo told the council committee that it’s more important to get a good deal than an on-time deal.
“This needs to be the right agreement for the city,” Szabo said.
The city also hopes to recoup some costs from the federal government. PresidentTrump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” included $1 billion to reimburse state and local governments for security, planning and other Olympics-related costs. But exactly what the money can be used for won’t be known until next year, Szabo said.
But the unpredictability of the Trump administration has left the city and LA28 wary about whether all the security costs will be reimbursed, said Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
“With this administration, you don’t know what the hell is going to happen, right?” Harris-Dawson said during the Los Angeles Current Affairs Forum Luncheon on Thursday. “So both of us [the city and LA28] are looking at a $1.5-billion bill, and we’re like, ‘Yeah, I’m not paying it. You’re gonna pay it.’”
So far, Harris-Dawson said, the federal government has been “good” about putting money aside for the Games. But that could change, Harris-Dawson said.
“I could show up here 10 days from now and the world could have turned on its head, because you just never know how the guy’s gonna wake up in the morning, or what he’s gonna see on TV to make him react,” he said of Trump. “So … it’s day to day, but on this particular issue, so far so good.”
Outside of security, LA28 should cover costs like staffing, expenses and equipment related to the Games, Szabo said.
Some don’t have high expectations that the costs will be completely footed by others. In a July letter to the city, retired civil rights attorney Connie Rice said she had heard from city employees worried that L.A. would be left with a massive bill.
What if LA28 dissolves after the Olympics — how would the city force it to provide reimbursement? Security and other city services typically extend beyond the Olympic venue itself — how large of a radius around the venue would be included in the reimbursement?
These are questions Rice feels the city has not yet answered.
“I have seen 10th-graders plan their prom better than the city is planning these Olympics,” Rice said in an interview.
You’re reading the L.A. on the Record newsletter
State of play
— RECRUIT-GATE: Months of tension between Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and members of the City Council burst into public view Friday when the council rebuffed the mayor’s request to significantly increase police hiring. The council instead agreed to a more modest increase, which could ramp up if the city finds money for more police recruits.
— JUST A COUPLE HUNDRED MILLION OFF: L.A. County officials justified their $200-million purchase of the Gas Company Tower by claiming that seismic retrofits of their old 1960s headquarters would cost $700 million. But experts hoping to save the building now say the retrofits could cost under $150 million, using standard techniques applied to other historic L.A. buildings.
— STEP DOWN: The chief executive of Weingart Center, Kevin Murray, resigned from the L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency board amid a federal real estate investigation. Federal prosecutors say a Cheviot Hills property was purchased for $11.2 million, then flipped to Weingart for $27.3 million. Weingart used public money to finance the purchase and conversion of the site into homeless housing.
— ED1 FOREVER: The L.A. City Council approved an ordinance on Tuesday formalizing Mayor Karen Bass’ Executive Directive 1, which fast-tracks planning department approval of 100% affordable housing projects. That initiative, which began as an emergency order issued by Bass in 2022, will now be a permanent part of city law.
— CROSSWALK VIGILANTE: An activist with People’s Vision Zero was arrested and cited while painting a crosswalk at an intersection in Westwood on Sunday. The arrest marks the latest clash between the city of Los Angeles and traffic safety advocates who are frustrated by delays in marking pedestrian crossings and are taking it upon themselves to do the work they say can’t wait.
— END OF WATCH(DOG): L.A. County Inspector General Max Huntsman, who served as chief watchdog over the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department for 12 years, is retiring. In a farewell letter, he laid into county leaders, saying they ignored his office’s efforts at oversight.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to combat homelessness went to Downtown L.A., South L.A., Exposition Park, Hollywood, Silver Lake, North Hills, Pacoima, Woodland Hills, Shadow Hills and Van Nuys this week, bringing more than 70 people inside.
On the docket next week: The city’s Ethics Commission will meet Wednesday. The City Council is on recess until Jan. 7.
Stay in touch
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
President Trump wants a very different kind of CNN if the cable news channel’s parent Warner Bros. Discovery changes hands.
As details emerge on the battle between Netflix and Paramount over control of the historic movie studio and its streaming and TV assets, Trump acknowledged he’s made it clear he wants new ownership and leadership at the network that has been the prime target in his attacks on the mainstream media over the last decade.
“I think the people that have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “I don’t think they should be entrusted with running CNN any longer. So I think any deal should — it should be guaranteed and certain that CNN is part of it or sold separately.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed Trump’s sentiment Thursday from her lectern after a testy exchange with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins. “Their ratings have declined, and I think the president rightfully believes that network would benefit from new ownership with respect to this deal,” Leavitt said.
Trump has said he will be “involved” in the government‘s regulatory review of a WBD deal. Injecting the president’s animus toward CNN — which goes back to his presidential campaign in 2016 — into the process has insiders at the network worried that journalistic independence will be sacrificed for the sake of a Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
CNN declined to comment.
A Wall Street Journal report said Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison has signaled to Trump administration officials he would make “sweeping changes” to CNN if his company took control. (A representative for Ellison declined comment.)
Ellison has said he would combine CNN’s newsgathering operations with Paramount’s CBS News, where conservative-friendly Bari Weiss has been installed as editor in chief. Such a move would follow the $16-million settlement Paramount reached with Trump earlier this year resolving a dispute over a “60 Minutes” interview featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
But Trump said he wants to see a new CNN owner even if Netflix prevails. Netflix’s $72 billion offer does not include CNN or WBD’s other basic cable properties. Paramount has countered with a $78 billion offer.
What Trump desires is more favorable news coverage. But pandering to the White House could have a dubious outcome from a business standpoint for the next CNN owner.
The cable news landscape has evolved over the last decade as the country’s politics have become more polarized and tribal.
The trend helped the conservative-leaning Fox News and progressive MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), both of which have seen their audiences grow over that time even as the number of pay-TV homes has declined dramatically.
CNN has tried to stake out the middle ground, although its aggressive coverage of Trump’s first term created a perception it had moved left, especially as more commentary was added to its prime time programs.
CNN already saw the impact of attempting to bring more right-leaning voices to its program under Chris Licht, the executive brought in to run the network in 2022. He was under a mandate from Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav, who publicly said the network needed to appeal more to conservative audiences.
The network experienced an immediate exodus of viewers, putting it in third place behind MS NOW. CNN was generating $1.2 billion in profit earlier in the decade. This year, the figure is expected to be in the range of $675 million.
Jon Klein, a digital entrepreneur and former CNN president, said it would be folly for his former network to blatantly court conservatives again.
“You’re not going to convince all those Fox News viewers that suddenly CNN is friendly to them and their way of life,” he said. “These are much older viewers who don’t change their habits so easily. There has been mistrust that has been fostered over many years.”
Klein noted that even upstart right-wing networks that provide unwavering support of Trump — Newsmax and OAN — haven’t made a dent in Fox News’ dominance. MS NOW would be the beneficiary of any rightward shift by CNN, he added.
“It would accelerate the ratings slide and they become completely irrelevant,” said another former CNN executive who did not want to comment publicly.
Fox News does more than provide largely sympathetic coverage and commentary for Trump. Rupert Murdoch’s network has worked at forging a deep connection with viewers, which has made it the ratings leader since 2002.
The lineup of highly paid Fox News personalities is reliably in sync with the audience’s values and the hot-button issues that keep them tuned in. Viewer loyalty has helped the network attract hundreds of new advertisers in recent years, with some integrating patriotic messages into their marketing efforts.
“Fox is an incredibly well-oiled machine,” Klein said.
Klein said CNN and other legacy news organizations are better off focusing on developing an effective digital strategy to insure their future as traditional TV viewing declines, instead of chasing ideological balance.
Attempting to satisfy Trump’s desire for more positive coverage is a slippery slope. While Paramount appointed an ombudsman to CBS News and brought in Weiss — moves aimed at clearing the regulatory path for its merger with Skydance Media — Trump is still lashing out at coverage he doesn’t like.
After a “60 Minutes” interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) aired Dec. 7, in which she was highly critical of Trump, the president said the program is “worse” under new ownership.
The only significant move to attract conservative viewers under Weiss is her prime time interview with the widow of slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk that airs Saturday.
“I think the prevailing wisdom over there is this notion that at least if they stay out of the clutches of Paramount, some rich philanthropist will buy them and they’ll be fine,” said the former CNN executive.
But if Netflix gets WBD without CNN, there is no guarantee it would not end up with a Trump-friendly owner if the network were spun off separately. The rank and file may wish for Laurene Powell Jobs, chair of the Atlantic, but could end up with a deep-pocketed right winger.
CNN Chairman Mark Thompson’s message to the troops is keep calm and carry on. “I know this strategic review has been a period of inevitable uncertainty across CNN and indeed the whole of WBD,” Thompson told staff in a recent memo. “Of course, I can’t promise you that the media attention and noise around the sale of our parent will die down overnight. But I do think the path to the successful transformation of this great news enterprise remains open.”
Trump’s anger toward CNN has become more personal as time has gone on. He has insulted reporters during press briefings and reportedly has told people he wants to see the firing of anchors Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar.
Oddly enough, it was Burnett’s journalism that provided Trump with video for his most effective commercial of his 2024 campaign.
Burnett conducted the 2020 interview with Kamala Harris where the former vice president expressed her support for providing medical care to prisoners undergoing gender-affirming care. A clip of the segment was used in the commercial that said “Kamala’s for they/them, President Trump is for you.”
ELN conducts military drills, orders civilians indoors, as Trump warns drug-producing nations face potential attack.
Colombia’s largest remaining rebel force has told civilians living under its authority to stay at home for three days while it stages military drills in response to burgeoning United States threats.
The National Liberation Army (ELN), a left-wing rebel group, ordered the lockdown on Friday, instructing residents to keep off major routes and rivers from Sunday morning as fighters conduct what the group describes as preparations to defend the country against “imperialist intervention”.
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The announcement follows warnings from President Donald Trump that nations manufacturing and exporting cocaine to the US could face military strikes or even land attacks.
“It is necessary for civilians not to mix with fighters to avoid accidents,” the ELN said.
Colombia’s Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez rejected the rebel directive as “nothing more than criminal coercion”, pledging that government troops would maintain presence “in every mountain, every jungle, every river”.
The move underscores a deepening confrontation between Washington and Bogota as Trump escalates rhetoric against Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
Earlier this week, Trump told business executives that Petro had “better wise up, or he’ll be next”, citing cocaine production as justification for potential action, and alluding to the US military build-up near Venezuela amid threats to remove its President Nicolas Maduro.
In recent days, the Trump administration has imposed new sanctions on Venezuela, targeting three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington steps up pressure on Caracas, following the US seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker.
Petro has responded to Trump’s actions, including sanctioning the Colombian president, with equal defiance, warning Trump earlier this month against “waking the jaguar” and insisting any assault on Colombian territory would amount to a declaration of war.
The left-wing president has invited his US counterpart to witness laboratory demolitions firsthand, claiming his administration destroys drug facilities every 40 minutes. In late November, the government hailed what it said was its largest cocaine bust in a decade.
The rebel group, ELN, which fields roughly 5,800 fighters, maintains control over significant drug-producing areas, including the Catatumbo region along the Venezuelan frontier.
Al Jazeera correspondent Teresa Bo, who visited ELN-held territory in November, found the group exercising unchallenged authority, with fighters openly displaying banners declaring “Total peace is a failure” and no government soldiers visible.
Commander Ricardo, a senior figure interviewed during that visit, suggested the rebels might join wider resistance should Trump attack Venezuela. Such an intervention could provoke an armed response across Latin America, he warned, describing US actions as violations of regional self-determination.
The organisation has attempted peace negotiations with Colombia’s last five governments without success.
Discussions with Petro’s administration collapsed after the ELN launched a January assault in Catatumbo that killed more than 100 people and forced thousands from their homes.
Despite claiming ideological motivation, the group derives substantial income from narcotics trafficking, competing with former FARC fighters who refused to disarm under a 2016 peace settlement for control of coca cultivation zones and smuggling corridors.
Relations between Colombia and the US have deteriorated sharply since Trump returned to office.
Washington has imposed personal sanctions on Petro, cancelled his visa after he joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York, and removed Colombia from its list of reliable counter-narcotics partners.
Meanwhile, Trump has deployed the nation’s largest aircraft carrier and nearly 15,000 troops to the Caribbean and has ordered more than 20 military strikes in recent months against alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and off Latin America’s Pacific coast, killing more than 80 people.
Human rights groups, some US Democrats, and several Latin American countries have condemned the attacks as unlawful extrajudicial killings of civilians.
