Month: January 2026

President Donald Trump has announced an executive order to allow victims of the Los Angeles wildfires to rebuild without dealing with “unnecessary, dupicative, or obstructive” permitting requirements.

The order, which is likely to be challenged by the city and state, claimed that local governments have failed to adequately process permits and were slowing down residents who are desperate to rebuild in the Palisades and Altadena.

“American families and small businesses affected by the wildfires have been forced to continue living in a nightmare of delay, uncertainty, and bureaucratic malaise as they remain displaced from their homes, often without a source of income, while state and local governments delay or prevent reconstruction by approving only a fraction of the permits needed to rebuild,” Trump wrote in the executive order, which he signed Friday.

The order called on the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to “preempt” state and local permitting authorities.

Instead of going through the usual approval process, residents using federal emergency funds to rebuild would need to self-certify to federal authorities that they have complied with local health and safety standards.

The order comes as the city and county approach 3,000 permits issued for rebuilding. A December review by The Times found that the permitting process in Altadena and Pacific Palisades was moving at a moderate rate compared to other major fires in California. As of Dec. 14, the county had issued rebuilding permits for about 16% of the homes destroyed in the Eaton fire and the city had issued just under 14% for those destroyed in the Palisades fire.

While Mayor Karen Bass did not immediately provide comment, the executive order drew intense pushback from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A spokesperson for Newsom, Tara Gallegos, called Trump a “clueless idiot” for believing the federal government could issue local rebuilding permits.

“With 1625+ home permits issued, hundreds of homes under construction, and permitting timelines at least 2x faster than before the fires, an executive order to rebuild Mars would do just as useful,” Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote in a post on X, citing the number of permits issued solely by the city of Los Angeles.

Newsom said that the federal government needed to release funding, not take over control of the permitting process. The governor said that what communities really lack is money, not permits.

“Please actually help us. We are begging you,” Newsom wrote.

Instead of descending into the permitting process, Newsom called on the president to send a recovery package to congress to help families rebuild, citing a letter from a bipartisan delegation of California legislators that called for federal funding.

“As the recovery process continues, additional federal support is needed, and our entire delegation looks forward to working cooperatively with your administration to ensure the communities of Southern California receive their fair share of federal disaster assistance,” wrote the California legislators on Jan 7.

Some in the Palisades agreed that money was a bigger issue than permitting.

“When I talk to people it seems to have more to do with their insurance payout or whether they have enough money to complete construction,” said Maryam Zar, a Palisades resident who runs the Palisades Recovery Coalition.

Zar called the executive order “interesting” and said that it was fair of the president to call the recovery pace slow and unacceptable.

CHICAGO — Luka Doncic skipped, shimmied and shot. The Lakers dunked, hollered and won.

Doncic dazzled yet again with 46 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in the Lakers’ 129-118 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday. The Lakers (28-17) notched their fourth win in five games. It was his third game in the last four with at least 10 assists — all wins.

The Lakers are less than two weeks removed from losing five of six games, a skid that prompted coach JJ Redick to challenge Doncic and LeBron James during a team meeting to look for their teammates more. The Lakers weren’t “trusting the pass” Redick said last week after the team’s loss to the Clippers.

Doncic has responded with 11 assists in back-to-back games since the loss to the Clippers and the Lakers have had 26 assists in each of their previous two wins. James, in addition to 24 points, had three assists Monday.

“They took it in a good way and that’s what they’ve been doing,” forward Rui Hachimura said of James’ and Doncic’s response to Redick’s message. “And then, we’re winning. And then everybody gets touches and everybody shares a ball. It’s fun. That’s how basketball should be.”

Hachimura was one of the main beneficiaries, scoring 23 points off the bench on nine-for-11 shooting with four three-pointers. Two weeks removed from a calf injury that kept him sidelined for six games, Hachimura has returned to his early season form, shooting 57.1% from the field in the last three games.

He hit consecutive threes to hold off a charge from the Bulls (23-23), who cut a 20-point Lakers lead to one with 6:42 left in the third quarter. Doncic played a role in both clutch shots, first whipping a one-handed pass behind his back across the court to Gabe Vincent, who shoveled the ball with one hand to Hachimura. Less than a minute later, Doncic drove into a crowd of three defenders in the paint, jumped and fired a two-handed pass to Hachimura on the wing. The Lakers were safely ahead by nine points again.

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura shoots over Chicago Bulls forward Dalen Terry during the first half Monday.

(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

Redick praised Doncic’s and James’ ability to make “simple” plays Monday, helping the team keep its turnovers to just eight. But when the Slovenian point guard is at his best, he’s also making the spectacular plays that fire up his teammates.

“He’s an engine that’s fully on,” Redick said. “And he likes to create out there, and that’s a part of what makes him a great player. … Not to say it doesn’t test your patience at times, but you have to be willing to live with some of the stuff that he tries, because more often than not, you’re going to get a great result.”

Doncic, who only took 25 shots, scored 29 points in the second half after dishing eight of his 11 assists in the first. He made six of 11 three-point attempts after halftime, growing in confidence each time he snapped another early shot-clock heat check through the net. In the third, he mimicked shooting pistols after he laced one three-pointer. After another, late in the fourth, he skipped backward on defense away from the Bulls’ bench.

Lakers star LeBron James dunks in front of Chicago Bulls guard Coby White in the first half Monday.

(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

Doncic’s energy transferred to his teammates. James threw down two one-handed tomahawk dunks in the first half. Jaxson Hayes, not to be outdone by the 41-year-old, stole the ball and drove coast-to-coast for a between-the-legs dunk with 2:55 left to put a final exclamation point on the win.

The play left Doncic holding his hands together in front of his chest and exhaling in relief. Hachimura, trailing the play to Hayes’ right, was yelling, “Go Jax! Go Jax!”

But upon further review, teammates didn’t seem particularly impressed with Hayes’ dunk. Hachimura said he’s seen Hayes perform his signature dunk much higher. Even the 7-foot center said he was scared he was going to get stuck on the rim. Sitting at his locker after the game, Doncic attested he could pull it off when he was a teenager.

Just another one of his show-stopping tricks.

Jan. 27 (UPI) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that oil shipments to Cuba have been suspended, reflecting a decision made by Petróleos Mexicanos within the framework of its contractual relationship with the island.

During her morning news conference at the National Palace, Sheinbaum was asked about press reports indicating that Pemex had canceled a crude shipment bound for Cuba scheduled for January.

The president did not deny the suspension, but stressed that it is up to the state-owned company to decide when and how shipments are carried out.

“It is a sovereign decision, and it is made at the time deemed necessary,” she said when questioned about the published information.

Sheinbaum said decisions related to energy supplies to Cuba are part of Pemex’s operational and contractual assessments. She emphasized that Mexico’s policy toward the island is neither new nor exclusive to her administration.

She noted that previous governments maintained different types of energy ties with Cuba, even amid political disagreements.

“From the first blockade of Cuba, Mexico was the only country that voted against it, and since then it has maintained communication and different types of relations with the island,” she said.

The president also framed the bilateral relationship within a historical tradition of Mexican foreign policy, which has maintained ties with Cuba since the early years of the economic embargo imposed by the United States.

“Beyond positions toward whichever Cuban government is in power, the relationship is with the peoples, and that is a fundamental principle of Mexican foreign policy,” Sheinbaum said.

In that context, Sheinbaum said the economic blockade has generated supply problems on the island and that Mexico has maintained a policy of solidarity with the Cuban people over time.

She added that any future decision on resuming shipments will be communicated in a timely manner by the relevant authorities.

Asked whether Mexico could play an intermediary role between Cuba and the United States in the event of bilateral tensions, the president said such initiatives can only move forward if both parties request them, and reiterated that Mexico will continue to promote dialogue and the peaceful resolution of international differences.

Mexico consolidated its position in 2025 as Cuba’s main oil supplier, covering approximately 44% of the island’s crude imports and displacing Venezuela, with an average of more than 12,000 barrels per day.

With Venezuela’s exit as a key supplier following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3 by U.S. military forces, Mexico assumed a central role in supplying the island’s energy needs.

As a result, in Cuba the decision by Mexico could have a significant impact on its already fragile energy situation, by reducing one of the external sources that had helped ease the island’s fuel deficit.

The measure could translate into increased blackouts, transportation restrictions and disruptions to key sectors such as industry and services, in a context marked by a shortage of foreign currency and difficulties accessing alternative suppliers on the international market due to the blockade that has affected the island for decades.

United States President Donald Trump’s $5bn lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase resurfaces his accusations of debanking – the act of removing a person or organisation’s access to financial services.

The complaint, filed in a Florida court on Thursday, alleges that the bank singled him out for political reasons and closed several of his accounts following the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, which was perpetrated by his supporters.

“JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company. We regret having to do so, but often rules and regulatory expectations lead us to do so,” the bank said in a statement.

While the lawsuit was filed in his personal capacity, the concept of debanking has long been in the crosshairs of the Trump White House.

Late last year, the White House launched a high-profile effort targeting the nation’s largest financial institutions, accusing them of closing accounts based on political bias. Within days, Trump signed an executive order restricting banks from denying accounts on those grounds.

Trump has long framed “debanking” as a systemic effort targeting conservatives. But evidence for this claim is limited.

A Reuters news agency review of more than 8,000 complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found only 35 related to political or religious reasons, let alone targeting Christians or conservatives specifically.

The push by banks centres on the use of “reputational risk” as a standard that allows them to weigh the social or political fallout of doing business with a client.

Critics say this practice makes banks arbiters of morality – freezing, withholding, or closing accounts based not on financial considerations but on social and geopolitical concerns. This approach has pulled financial institutions into the middle of cultural and geopolitical debates.

While often cast as a partisan issue, data show that Trump’s core base, evangelical Christians, are not the ones typically targeted by debanking efforts.

A report from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), a research organisation that looks at the experience of the US Muslim community, found that 27 percent of Muslim Americans and 14 percent of Jewish Americans have faced trouble banking, compared with negligible rates among Christian denominations, especially with Trump’s core base, evangelicals, at 8 percent.

Overall, 93 percent of Muslim Americans reported experiencing trouble with banking access. In one situation involving Citibank, the New York Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) accused the financial institution of not opening the account of a Muslim woman because of her husband, whom she wanted to nominate as a beneficiary and who is a Palestinian Muslim. CAIR did not release the name of the woman at the centre of the complaint.

“It [debanking] is a huge barrier for actually Muslims fulfilling philanthropic goals,” Erum Ikramullah, a senior research project manager at the ISPU, told Al Jazeera.

“It’s a huge barrier for the actual Muslim-based, Muslim-led organisations who are managing relief both domestically and overseas.”

Between October 2023 and May 2024, at least 30 US nonprofits providing humanitarian aid to Gaza have had accounts closed.

“Muslim Americans and Armenian Americans have faced de-banking on account of their last names,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat from Massachusetts who founded the CFPB in 2013, said in a Senate Banking Committee hearing last year.

But Trump continues to allege that groups like Christians and conservatives are the ones discriminated against.

Among them include the National Committee for Religious Freedom, led by former Republican Senator and Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. Brownback alleges that Chase closed his account on religious grounds, a claim the bank denies.

Regardless, the push to take on the problem of debanking is a rare spot of bipartisanship in Washington, with Trump and Warren both agreeing that banks should change their ways.

Industry turmoil

A US banking regulator said last month that the nine largest US banks put restrictions on industries that it deems risky, but this has been a long-term issue for several industries.

Operation Choke Point, under the administration of former Democratic President Barack Obama, targeted exploitative industries like payday lenders and arms dealers. The initiative pushed banks to consider entire categories of businesses – and the individuals who worked in them – as reputationally risky, even when that view lagged cultural sentiment.

In response, Frank Keating, the then-CEO of the American Banking Association, slammed the move in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, saying that the “Justice Department [is] telling bankers to behave like policemen and judges”.

Ultimately, that scrutiny affected people working in several industries over the last decade, most particularly in adult entertainment, cannabis, and cryptocurrency.

Within months of the new guidance from the Obama administration, hundreds of adult performers lost access to banking services from Chase Bank. The ability to keep a bank account persisted for adult performers. In 2022, adult performer Alana Evans penned an op-ed for The Daily Beast describing how Wells Fargo closed her account.

The Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry trade group, found that 63 percent of adult workers have lost access to a bank account because of their work in the legal industry, and nearly 50 percent have been rejected for a loan because of the nature of the profession.

“I think that when I talk to a lot of people about this issue, or when I’ve talked to even legislators about this, they really can’t believe it, because it’s never been anything that they’ve encountered personally. The idea that a bank could shut off your account because they disagreed with the type of work you do is sort of inconceivable to most people,” Mike Stabile, the director of public policy for the Free Speech Coalition, told Al Jazeera.

The cannabis business has faced similar problems. Over the last decade, both laws and public sentiment around marijuana use have drastically changed. Now, more people use marijuana daily than drink alcohol, and recreational use is legal in 24 states as well as Washington, DC.

Yet, legitimate businesses that cater to this growing market share and those who work for them have been subject to debanking.

Kyle Sherman, the CEO and founder of Flowhub, a cannabis payment processing company, testified in front of the Senate Banking Committee last year that his employees are routinely discriminated against in consumer banking. He alleged that one of his employees was denied a mortgage because of what he does for a living, as well as others who have had their personal accounts closed.

While state laws have shifted on marijuana’s stance, federal laws have not kept up, making it harder for banks to navigate the reputational risk.

Trump recently eased pressure on the marijuana industry by reclassifying the substance as Schedule III, which means it is less harmful, but it does not change the legality of sale and interstate commerce on the federal level.

“In some of the states that have recently gone legal with recreational and medical cannabis, the individual entrepreneurs [there] were previously considered outlaws. It is hard for a banker to get over the perception that yesterday, you were an illegal activity, and today, you’re a legal activity,” said Terry Mendez, the CEO of Safe Harbor Financial, a financial services company for the cannabis industry.

There has been a bigger about-face with regard to the cryptocurrency industry. At first, crypto was seen as a safe haven for illicit transactions because the underlying technology allowed for anonymous transfers, making it difficult for banks to determine which transactions were legitimate and legal and which ones were not.

As the industry began to move into the mainstream, the challenges were amplified. Exchanges and startups faced debanking or sudden account closures, and even major platforms like Coinbase struggled to maintain reliable banking partners.

“Historically, banks were kind of more naturally averse to crypto companies, going back to like 2018, to 2020, 2021. Crypto companies would often, when registering for accounts with banks, say that they were software development companies to try and avoid the mention of crypto because of fear of not being able to open a bank account, which, of course, then means it’s harder to make a payroll. It’s hard to take in funds from investors; you can’t pay vendors,” Sid Powell, the CEO of the asset management firm Maple Finance, told Al Jazeera.

That was not helped by the collapse of FTX, the notorious cryptocurrency exchange, pushing banks to pull back from working with the crypto industry.

Sentiment is shifting now. Under Trump, who has embraced crypto, financial regulators last year withdrew guidance that suggested that banks should be careful when working with the crypto industry. Powell says the executive order could help crypto avoid debanking in the future.

“It [the executive order] kind of signals to the FDIC and the OCC that they should act in a more balanced way when it comes to crypto companies and crypto startups, instead of taking a more hostile approach, or the approach of kind of lumping everyone in with the worst of the industry, which tended to happen post-FTX,” Powell added.

Powell was referring to the The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an independent agency created by Congress to maintain stability in the nation’s financial system, and The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent bureau of the US Department of the Treasury, which charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks.

Trump’s personal gripes

Trump has also accused banks of not doing business with him, the primary driver of his interest in the debanking issue.

Banks can generally refuse to create accounts for potential customers who could be deemed as high risk.

“The president’s companies have filed [for] bankruptcy repeatedly. There have been years of reporting about financial institutions’ concerns with suspicious financial activity, and the president was found civilly liable for inflating the value of his assets that served as collateral for loans from financial institutions,” Graham Steele, an academic fellow at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University, told Al Jazeera.

Reuters reported last year that banks gauged Trump as a financial risk due to his plethora of legal challenges after his first term, including the suit brought by E Jean Caroll, which found Trump liable for sexual abuse. He has declared bankruptcy six times.

He also defaulted on loans totalling hundreds of millions of dollars several times, including a loan to Deutsche Bank. In 2024, a New York court ruled that the president fraudulently inflated his financial worth by more than $2bn.

“Notwithstanding the fact that the president is an inherently political figure, a financial institution could reasonably rely on any of these concerns, grounded in financial and legal risks, not ‘political’ beliefs, as a basis for declining to do business with a customer,” Steele said.

That did not stop the president from pointing fingers at banking giants, including Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.

“I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives, because many conservatives complain that the banks are not allowing them to do business within the bank, and that includes a place called Bank of America,” Trump told the executive during a Q&A session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last year.

The Trump family also sued Capital One last March. The lawsuit alleged that it debanked The Trump Organisation after Trump incited an insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, after spreading misinformation alleging that he won the 2020 presidential election even though he had lost by a significant margin.

Trump debanks ‘liberal’ causes

Trump’s rhetoric on debanking is among his latest attempts to punish entities for political bias, while actively pushing actions that punish those who have viewpoints that oppose his own.

Trump has argued that debanking disproportionately targets conservatives and conservative-leaning businesses like firearms manufacturers. His pressure has moved the needle at Citibank. In June, it lifted its ban on banking services to gun sellers and manufacturers, a policy it put in place in 2018 after the shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead.

In March, his administration announced it would shut down a set of climate grants under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund – known as the “green bank” – a $20bn programme created through the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act signed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden, in 2022 to channel financing for climate projects into underinvested regions.

Environment and Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin justified the decision by citing “misconduct, conflicts of interest, and potential fraud”, allegations he offered without evidence, and forced Citibank, which was holding the fund’s money for nonprofit distribution, to return the funds to the EPA.

The decision faced legal hurdles. But earlier this month, a US court of appeals allowed the Trump administration to continue axing the programme. The 2-1 ruling was decided by two judges appointed by Trump.

Last year, the White House also pressured companies seeking federal contracts to abandon diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, which it has long portrayed, without evidence, as undermining merit-based hiring.

Citigroup, historically one of the most vocal supporters of DEI in the financial services sector, scrapped its programme. Citibank holds multiple federal contracts with agencies including the Department of Defense and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Bank of America and Wells Fargo followed suit in February, scaling back their initiatives as well, as did many other companies.

As part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns, the White House has also pressured banks to cut financial services to immigrants. The administration is doing so by trying to cancel the social security numbers of migrants who have legal status in the US, which would essentially cut them off from access to basic financial services, including bank accounts and credit cards, The New York Times reported.

At the time, Leland Dudek, then the Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner and a Trump administration appointee, said the move to cut access would end their “financial lives”.

“There’s a real telling disconnect. They are saying, on the one hand, we wanna put a thumb on the scale and ensure that conservative groups are included in the financial system, while actively working to push out liberal coded groups by either freezing them out of the bank accounts when they get government grants, or trying to investigate and potentially bring criminal charges against the payment platform that serves liberal groups,” Steele said.

Steele questioned if taking on political bias would actually help communities that do not align with the Trump administration’s stated values and conservative viewpoints.

“I think one of the other concerns here is that a lot of this depends on how the executive order is going to be enforced,” Steele said.

NICOLA Peltz Beckham allegedly struggled to call her husband’s parents by their names in an interview given just months after their Palm Beach wedding.

The model and actress sat down with journalist Polly Barton for an interview with The Times in October 2022, six months on from their star-studded nuptials.

Following on from Brooklyn Beckham’s explosive Instagram statements, Nicola’s interview was republished this week with Polly making fresh claims about Nicola’s comments and what she believes really went down during the wedding dress row.

In a new op-ed for Grazia, Barton revealed that Nicola had trouble referring to her groom’s parents by their first names.

“I was struck by Nicola’s borderline inability to speak either David or Victoria’s names,” she wrote.

“The ‘she, Victoria, uh’ in the above quote, was as direct as it got, otherwise, it was just ‘Brooklyn’s mom’ or ‘dad’.”

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Nicola referred to Victoria as she, and then corrected herself and called her by her full name when explaining the reason why she didn’t end up wearing a wedding dress by the fashion designer.

‘The truth is that I was in a text chain with my mom, Victoria and Leslie, who’s been my stylist for 10 years,” Nicola began.

“We all were on this tech chain together, and I was so excited to start the design process.

“Um, and then Victoria, um, was like… Oh! And this was in the middle of me filming [her directorial debut] Lola James!

“So I was very busy. And then she, Victoria, uh, was very busy, and then we started this text chain, and a few days went by, and I didn’t hear anything, then I think Victoria thought since I was on set, maybe she didn’t want to upset me, so she called my mom and said that she couldn’t make the dress.

“She said that her, um, atelier couldn’t make the dress in time,” she concluded.

A key revelation from Brooklyn’s social media statements saw him accuse his mum of pulling out of designing Nicola a wedding gown at the last minute.

‘My mum cancelled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress,” Brooklyn wrote.

Re-examining Nicola’s quotes from her interview now, Polly feels that Nicola was actually let down by Victoria over the wedding dress, although the full reasons remain unknown.

“That statement reads like a massaging of the rather ugly truth Brooklyn described on Instagram; his mother just not making the dress she’d promised,” Polly writes.

In the original interview, Nicola made it clear she was initially excited to wear a custom Victoria Beckham wedding gown, before later revealing how it didn’t happen.

‘I really, really wanted to wear [a Victoria Beckham dress] and I thought it was so beautiful that Brooklyn’s mom got to make that for me!” she said back in 2022.

“And I was really excited to wear it! And I didn’t end up wearing it.”

Signing off his tell-all statements, Brooklyn publicly told his parents that they can only contact him through lawyers going forward after growing increasingly frustrated by them mentioning him on social media.

On Monday, Victoria and David put on a united front in Paris in wake of the ongoing row.

The former Spice Girl received the Chevalière de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres — Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters – regarded as one of France‘s top honours.

The couple attended the event with their three other children, Romeo, Cruz and Harper, with Romeo and Cruz’s girlfriends, Kim Turnbull and Jackie Apostel also making an appearance to support Victoria.

Unsurprisingly, Brooklyn and Nicola snubbed the event and did not congratulate Posh – instead choosing to share a loved-up video to Instagram.

It contained a montage of lovey-dovey videos from Brooklyn and Nicola’s recent outings including packing on the PDA, walking her dog and dining out at a restaurant.

MINNEAPOLIS — The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt.

In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” the judge wrote.

The order comes a day after President Trump ordered border advisor Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota following the second death this month of a person at the hands of an immigration law enforcement officer.

Trump said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that he had “great calls” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Monday, mirroring comments he made immediately after the calls.

The White House had tried to blame Democratic leaders for the protests of federal officers conducting immigration raids. But after the killing of Alex Pretti on Saturday and videos suggesting he was not an active threat, the administration tapped Homan to take charge of the Minnesota operation from Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.

Schiltz’s order also follows a federal court hearing Monday on a request by the state and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for a judge to order a halt to the immigration law enforcement surge. The judge said she would prioritize the ruling but did not give a timeline for a decision.

Schiltz wrote that he recognizes ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is extraordinary. “But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” he said.

“Respondents have continually assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with Court orders, and that they have taken steps to ensure that those orders will be honored going forward,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, though, the violations continue.”

The Associated Press left messages Tuesday with ICE and a DHS Department of Homeland Security spokesperson seeking a response.

The order lists the petitioner by first name and last initials: Juan T.R. It says the court granted a petition on Jan. 14 to provide him with a bond hearing within seven days. On Jan. 23, his lawyers told the court the petitioner was still detained. Court documents show the petitioner is a citizen of Ecuador who came to the United States around 1999.

The order says Schiltz will cancel Lyons’ appearance if the petitioner is released from custody.

Catalini and Karnowski write for the Associated Press. Catalini reported from Trenton, N.J.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and a reporter share a heated exchange over comments he made about new Premier League referee Farai Hallam following Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Wolves.

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Thousands gathered in Tokyo to bid farewell to Japan’s last two pandas, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, as they began their return to China amid strained ties between the two countries. Their departure leaves Japan panda-less for the first time in over half a century.

Four decommissioned U.S. Navy Avenger class mine countermeasures ships have left Bahrain on what may be their final voyage aboard a larger heavy lift vessel. Avengers had been forward-deployed to the Middle Eastern nation for years, where critical mine countermeasures duties have now passed to Independence class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).

The public affairs office for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. 5th Fleet first released pictures of the M/V Seaway Hawk, a contracted semi-submersible heavy lift vessel, carrying the former Avenger class ships USS Devastator, USS Dextrous, USS Gladiator, and USS Sentry last Friday. The Navy released more images and a brief statement yesterday. The date stamps on the pictures show the Avengers were physically loaded onto the Seaway Hawk in Bahrain on January 9.

The Navy acquired 14 Avenger class ships between 1987 and 1994. Four of them are still in service, all of which are forward-deployed in Japan, but are also slated for decommissioning in the coming years.

“Decommissioned Avenger class Mine Countermeasures ships were safely moved as part of ongoing U.S. Navy force transition efforts in the region,” per the statement from NAVCENT. “The movement evolution required detailed planning, coordination, and disciplined execution to ensure the safe transport of the decommissioned MCM’s.”

“Mission partners worked together to maintain operational standards, prioritize safety, and ensure accountability throughout each phase of the evolution,” the statement adds. “These efforts support continued fleet readiness and responsible transition of legacy platforms, while sustaining operational momentum and mission effectiveness across the maritime domain.”

A Navy contracting notice last year said the four decommissioned Avengers would head from Bahrain to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sealift, Inc. subsequently received a contract valued at approximately $7 million for work through February of this year, according to USNI News. In addition, the Navy had said it previously intended to scrap the USS Devastator, USS Dextrous, USS Gladiator, and USS Sentry following their decommissioning. If the ships are due to be broken down, why the decision was made to return them to the United States first is unclear.

The USS Devastator was the last of the Avenger class ships in Bahrain to be decommissioned, which was marked by a ceremony last September.

“For more than three decades, USS Devastator, USS Dextrous, USS Gladiator and USS Sentry have been critical to maritime missions around the globe – defending the freedom of navigation, promoting stability and deterring and defeating efforts by adversaries to harm the innocent,” Navy Vice Adm. George Wikoff, then commander of NAVCENT and 5th Fleet, said at that time. “To all, past and present, who have served on [these ships], thank you for standing the watch, being true trailblazers in the fleet and maintaining a constant presence in our area of operations… what a proud legacy you leave in your wake.”

The 224-foot-long and 1,312-ton-displacement Avengers are designed to both hunt for and neutralize moored naval mines, as well as those sitting on the sea floor.

Each of the ships is equipped with a mine-hunting sonar and surface search radar. Each Avenger can deploy towed minesweeping gear that can mimic the acoustic and magnetic signatures of warships, causing certain types of mines to detonate prematurely. They also have remotely-operated underwater vehicles capable of cutting mooring lines and otherwise interacting with underwater objects to help with rendering mines safe, as well as finding and categorizing them in the first place.

The ships themselves have fiberglass-coated wooden hulls to reduce their own vulnerability, particularly to mines that detect targets by their magnetic signature.

The Navy has long intended to replace the Avenger class ships with LCSs configured for the mine countermeasures duties. However, delays with the LCS mine countermeasures and other mission packages, or “modules,” as well as other persistent issues with both subclasses of those ships, repeatedly delayed those plans. The LCS program had also originally envisioned it being possible to readily reconfigure the ships for different mission sets by swapping out modules. However, the Navy is now deploying LCSs in largely fixed configurations. As it stands now, the LCS mine countermeasures configuration includes towed mine-hunting sonar for the ships, Common Unmanned Surface Vehicles (CUSV) with mine-sweeping gear, and mine detection and neutralization systems carried by embarked MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters.

CUSV®

Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) Video

The Navy only fielded its first two operational mine countermeasures modules, installed on the Independence class LCSs USS Santa Barbara and USS Canberra, last year. Canberra arrived in Bahrain in May 2025. At that time, Santa Barbara, as well as the Independence class USS Tulsa and another ship to be named, were slated to comprise the inaugural rotational deployment of mine countermeasures-configured LCSs in the region. The USS Canberra notably sailed together with the M/V Seaway Hawk for a time after it departed Bahrain with the decommissioned Avengers.

Questions and criticism about the suitability of metal-hulled LCSs to take on the mine countermeasures mission have come up in the past. Both subclasses of LCS are also much larger than the Avenger class design, which could impose limits on how close they can get to mined or potentially mined areas. LCSs are better able to defend themselves against other threats than the Avengers, but they still have relatively limited firepower, which has been a separate source of criticism for years now. There would still be a significant need for tertiary support to protect LCSs during mine-clearing operations, which are slow and complex, and carry significant risks, even in benign environments.

The continued critical importance of naval mine-clearing capacity in the Middle East is underscored now by a new surge in geopolitical friction between the United States and Iran. The regime in Iran regularly threatens to blockade the highly strategic Strait of Hormuz in response to foreign attacks, especially ones that could present an existential danger to the regime in Tehran. The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, and is a huge chokepoint for oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East to other countries globally. Naval mining would be central to any blockade, but Iran’s capacity and willingness to launch such an operation, which would have worldwide ramifications, is an open question. TWZ previously explored this issue in depth following the start of the 12 Day War between Iran and Israel last year.

If the Navy has to launch its own mine-clearing operations in and around the Persian Gulf for any reason going forward, LCSs will be front and center now that the Avenger class ships have left the region.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Paul Thomas Anderson’s dazzling thriller “One Battle After Another” and Ryan Coogler’s resonant horror movie “Sinners” found as much love overseas as they did with Oscar voters, topping nominations at the British Film Academy Awards on Tuesday.

The two films flipped positions with the Brits, with “One Battle” leading with the way with 14 nominations, including five for its cast, and “Sinners” following with 13 nods. Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” and Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme” scored big too, each picking up 11 nominations.

In the acting races, BAFTA voters restored Actors Awards nominees Chase Infiniti (“One Battle After Another”), Jesse Plemons (“Bugonia”), Paul Mescal (“Hamnet”) and Odessa A’zion (“Marty Supreme”) to the fold, an easy task considering that the show has six slots per category, one more than the Oscars.

That surplus did not help “Wicked: For Good,” though. Shut out by motion picture academy voters, the musical sequel could only manage two nominations — costume design and hair and makeup — with BAFTA.

There’s no definitive count on the overlap of voters for the Oscars and the BAFTAs, but most publicists figure at least 1,000 of the 8,300 BAFTA film voters also belong to the motion picture academy. That overlap, along with the timing of its ceremony — this year it takes place Feb. 22, four days before final Oscar voting begins — makes the BAFTAs a precursor to watch with at least a passing interest.

In terms of taste, the group has a soft spot for British and European filmmakers and really loves the work of Edward Berger, diverging from the Oscars recently by giving best picture to two of his movies, “All Quiet on the Western Front” over “Everything Everywhere All at Once” in 2023 and, last year, “Conclave” instead of “Anora.”

If there’s a place where “Hamnet,” Zhao’s tender portrait of love and loss centered on the family of William Shakespeare, could pull off a best picture upset, it would be with this group.

Best film

“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”

Leading actress

Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”
Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another”
Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”
Emma Stone, “Bugonia”

Leading actor

Robert Aramayo, “I Swear”
Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
Michael B Jordan, “Sinners”
Jesse Plemons, “Bugonia”

Supporting actress

Odessa A’zion, “Marty Supreme”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”
Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”
Carey Mulligan, “The Ballad of Wallis Island”
Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”
Emily Watson, “Hamnet”

Supporting actor

Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”
Paul Mescal, “Hamnet”
Peter Mullan, “I Swear”
Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”

Director

Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “Bugonia”
Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”

Film not in the English language

“It Was Just An Accident”
“The Secret Agent”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sirât”
“The Voice of Hind Rajab”

Documentary

“2000 Meters to Andriivka”
“Apocalypse in the Tropics”
“Cover-Up”
“Mr. Nobody Against Putin”
“The Perfect Neighbor”

Animated film

“Elio”
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
“Zootopia 2”

Children’s and family film

“Arco”
“Boong”
“Lilo & Stitch”
“Zootopia 2”

Original screenplay

“I Swear”
“Marty Supreme”
“The Secret Agent”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”

Adapted screenplay

“The Ballad of Wallis Island”
“Bugonia”
“Hamnet”
“One Battle After Another”
“Pillion”

Original score

“Bugonia”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”

Casting

“I Swear”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”

Cinematography

“Frankenstein”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”
“Train Dreams”

Costume design

“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“Sinners”
“Wicked: For Good”

Editing

“F1”
“A House of Dynamite”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”

Production design

“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”

Make-up and hair

“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“Sinners”
“Wicked: For Good”

Sound

“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“One Battle After Another”
“Sinners”
“Warfare”

Special visual effects

“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“How to Train Your Dragon”
“The Lost Bus”

Outstanding British film

“28 Years Later”

“The Ballad of Wallis Island”

“Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy”

“Die My Love”

“H Is for Hawk”

“Hamnet”

“I Swear”

“Mr. Burton”

“Pillion”

“Steve”

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

“The Ceremony”

“My Father’s Shadow”

“Pillion”

“A Want in Her”

“Wasteman”

British short film

“Magid / Zafar”
“Nostalgie”
“Terence”
“This Is Endometriosis”
“Welcome Home Freckles”

British short animation

“Cardboard”
“Solstice”
“Two Black Boys in Paradise”

EE Bafta rising star award (voted for by the public)

Robert Aramayo

Miles Caton

Chase Infiniti

Archie Madekwe

Posy Sterling

THERE’S nothing worse than seeing the word ‘cancelled’ appear whilst waiting for a flight.

If you live in fear of a flight being cancelled last minute these UK airports saw the highest cancellation rate of 2025 – and Southampton Airport was at the very top.

The regional airport in the south of England recorded the highest cancellation rate of all major UK airports last year, according to AirAdvisor.

AirAdvisor analysed Civil Aviation Authrity (AA) data across 20 of the busiest UK airports to figure out which is the least reliable.

For the second year in a row, Southampton Airport experienced the highest amount of flight cancellations.

The report found that three per cent of its flights were cancelled in 2025.

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Although, this is an improvement on 2024 when 3.3 per cent of services were grounded.

Data revealed that Southampton Airport had almost three times as many flight cancellations as the national average – which is 1.09 per cent.

A spokesperson for Southampton Airport told Sun Travel: “An airline’s decision to reluctantly cancel a flight can be due to a number of factors including weather issues, air traffic congestion, delayed arrivals or technical issues with aircraft.

“We will continue to work with our airline partners and their handling agents to support them in their operations.”

Airlines that operate out of Southampton Airport include Loganair, easyJet, KLM, Blue Islands and Aer Lingus.

These airlines fly to the likes of the Channel Islands, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, France and other UK cities like Manchester and Glasgow.

Just below Southampton Airport was Aberdeen Airport which had 1.6 per cent of its flights cancelled last year.

The UK’s busiest airport, London Heathrow also “exceeded the national average for cancellations” according to AirAdvisor.

Between January and November 2025, 1.4 per cent of flights at Heathrow were cancelled.

At the other end, Bournemouth Airport recorded the lowest cancellation rate of any major UK airport.

Between January and October 2026, it saw just 0.17 per cent of its scheduled services cancelled.

Other airports that performed well last year included Luton, Stansted, East Midlands International, Bristol and Belfast International, where cancellations were less than half the national average.

Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, said: “Air passengers in the UK can breathe a sigh of relief as we head into 2026, with most trend data suggesting that flight cancellation rates at British airports are decreasing.” 

For more on airports, this mega £27billion airport is set to open in 2032.

And a major UK airport introduces new liquid rules after £1billion upgrade.

The list of airports that reported the most and the least cancellations and delays…

These airports had the highest cancellation rates…

1. Southampton Airport
2. Aberdeen Airport
3. Glasgow Airport
4. London City Airport
5. Heathrow Airport

These airport had the fewest cancellations…

1. Bournemouth Airport
2. Luton Airport
3. Stansted Airport
4. Belfast International Airport
5. Bristol Airport

ORLANDO, Fla. — President Trump’s crackdown on immigration contributed to a year-to-year drop in the nation’s growth rate as the U.S. population reached nealry 342 million people in 2025, according to population estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The 0.5% growth rate for 2025 was a sharp drop from 2024’s almost 1% growth rate, which was the highest since 2001 and was fueled by immigration. The 2024 estimates put the U.S. population at 340 million people.

Immigration increased by 1.3 million people last year, compared with 2024’s increase of 2.8 million people. The census report did not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration.

In the past 125 years, the lowest growth rate was in 2021, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when the U.S. population grew by just 0.16%, or 522,000 people, and immigration increased by just 376,000 people because of travel restrictions into the U.S. Before that, the lowest growth rate was just under 0.5% in 1919 at the height of the Spanish flu.

Tuesday’s data release comes as researchers have been trying to determine the effects of the second Trump administration’s immigration crackdown after the Republican president returned to the White House in January 2025. Trump made the surge of migrants at the southern border a central issue in his winning 2024 presidential campaign.

The numbers made public Tuesday reflect change from July 2024 to July 2025, covering the end of President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration and the first half of Trump’s first year back in office.

The figures capture a period that reflects the beginning of enforcement surges in Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., but do not capture the impact on immigration after the Trump administration’s crackdowns began in Chicago; New Orleans; Memphis, Tenn.; and Minneapolis, Minn..

The 2025 numbers were a jarring divergence from 2024, when net international migration accounted for 84% of the nation’s 3.3 million-person increase from the year before. The jump in immigration two years ago was partly because of a new method of counting that added people who were admitted for humanitarian reasons.

“They do reflect recent trends we have seen in out-migration, where the numbers of people coming in is down and the numbers going out is up,” Eric Jensen, a senior research scientist at the Census Bureau, said last week.

Unlike the once-a-decade census, which determines how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets, as well as the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual government funding, the population estimates are calculated from government records and internal Census Bureau data.

The release of the 2025 population estimates was delayed by the federal government shutdown last fall and comes at a challenging time for the Census Bureau and other U.S. statistical agencies. The bureau, which is the largest statistical agency in the U.S., lost about 15% of its workforce last year due to buyouts and layoffs that were part of cost-cutting efforts by the White House and its Department of Government Efficiency.

Other recent actions by the Trump administration, such as the firing of Erika McEntarfer as Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, have raised concerns about political meddling at U.S. statistical agencies. But Brookings demographer William Frey said the bureau’s staffers appear to have been “doing this work as usual without interference.”

“So I have no reason to doubt the numbers that come out,” Frey said.

Schneider writes for the Associated Press.

The London Marathon became the first marathon to award equal prize money to wheelchair and non-disabled elite athletes in 2024.

Hug, the course record holder in London, said: “For me, it is more than a race. It is an organisation that has done so much to put wheelchair racing and us, as athletes, at the very heart of the event.

“It is for this reason that I am proud to have enjoyed the success I have here, and to be one win away from a legend like David Weir is incredible.”

The 40-year-old and Weir are long-time rivals, and the Briton finished runner-up to Switzerland’s Hug in their most recent head-to-head at last year’s New York City Marathon.

Weir’s eight London victories span 16 years, with his first coming in 2002. He finished sixth last year.

Rainbow-Cooper, the 2024 Boston Marathon champion, finished fourth last year and has further competition from previous champions Manuela Schar and Tatyana McFadden as she aims for the podium.

Jan. 27 (UPI) — Minnesota’s chief federal judge has summoned the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear in a Minneapolis court on Friday or be held in contempt.

U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz said in an order on Monday that the court has run out of patience with ICE head Todd Lyons after ICE has defied the court’s orders for weeks.

“The Court acknowledges that ordering the head of a federal agency to personally appear is an extraordinary step but the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” Schiltz wrote.

Schiltz’s order is in response to the case of a man who challenged his detention by ICE in Minnesota earlier this month. The federal court ordered that the man be given a bond hearing on Jan. 14 or be released within a week of that date.

As of Jan. 23, the man had not received his hearing and was still in detention. Schiltz said in his order that this is one of dozens of orders that ICE has defied.

“The practical consequence of respondents’ failure to comply has almost always been significant hardship to aliens (many of whom have lawfully lived and worked in the United States for years and done absolutely nothing wrong),” Schiltz wrote.

“The Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result.”

Schiltz was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, has also accused the Trump administration of defying court orders, “or at least to stretch the legal process to the breaking point in an attempt to deny noncitizens their due process rights.”

Last week, the Trump administration pushed for Schiltz to assist in the arrest of former CNN anchor-turned independent journalist Don Lemon. This was after Lemon visited a Minneapolis-area church to cover a demonstration by anti-ICE protesters.

Schiltz refused the Trump administration’s bid to arrest Lemon.

Coco Gauff, who lost to Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was filmed smashing her racket.

Coco Gauff looked for a place without cameras to channel her frustration after a straight-sets loss to Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open quarterfinals, but was unhappy to find out that a video of her smashing her tennis racket ⁠on the floor was broadcast to viewers worldwide.

Twice Grand Slam winner Gauff was visibly upset ​with her performance on Tuesday, as she committed 26 unforced errors and ‍lost the match 6-1 6-2 in 59 minutes.

The American third seed went behind a wall near the match call area inside the venue, where a camera caught her hitting the racket repeatedly against the floor.

“I ‍tried to go ⁠somewhere where there were no cameras,” the 21-year-old told reporters.

“I kind of have a thing with the broadcast. I feel like certain moments – the same thing happened to Aryna [Sabalenka] after I played her in the final of the US Open – I feel like they don’t need to broadcast.”

World number one Sabalenka, who will take on Svitolina in the semifinals, had smashed her racket in a training area after ​losing to Gauff in the 2023 US Open final, and video ‌of the incident was also made public.

“I tried to go somewhere where they wouldn’t broadcast it, but obviously they did. Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like at this tournament the only private ‌place we have is the locker room,” Gauff added.

“I think for me, I know myself, and I don’t want to lash out ‌on my team. They’re good people. They don’t deserve ⁠that, and I know I’m emotional,” Gauff said.

“I just took the minute to go and do that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Like I said, I don’t try to do it on court in front of ‌kids and things like that, but I do know I need to let out that emotion.

“Otherwise, I’m just going to be snappy with the people around me, and I don’t want ‍to do that, because like I said, they don’t deserve it. They did their best. I did mine. Just need to let the frustration out.”

Not even a month in since the Trump administration captured Nicolás Maduro and the left-wing, Bolivarian regime led by Delcy Rodríguez has been “extremely cooperative.” “Thus far,” the White House said, she has “met all of the demands and requests of the United States”— around favoring American oil companies and investment, stopping narco-trafficking, and severing subordinance to extra-hemispheric rivals.

“Thus far” being the operative word. While in the immediate aftermath she appears to have stabilized the regime while cooperating with Trump, over the medium to long-term, Rodríguez’s attempt to satisfy US demands will likely require her to modify the very structures and processes—i.e., the mechanisms—that have underpinned the regime’s internal cohesion and stability for over two decades. 

Delcy, indeed, is in a quagmire.

Alas, that Delcy’s regime has remained stable is unsurprising. The Venezuelan regime has historically turned threatening crises—from mass protests, an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, and economic sanctions to a parallel government recognized by over 50 nations—into recurrent opportunities for consolidation. These survival mechanisms rely on loyalty coerced from civilians and engineered among military and political elites by weaponizing access to dwindling economic rents—from oil, as well as agriculture and minerals, illicit networks, and dependence on China, Russia, and Iran. The scale of this systemic pillaging is vast: since the Chávez era only, at least $300 billion have been diverted to fuel these survival mechanisms.

On the other hand, these are the mechanisms that the Trump administration expects to be overhauled or abolished. While these structures and processes were originally established by the regime, for the regime, the post-Maduro reality is that Rodríguez must now modify them with the US, for the US.

Rodríguez must also redirect scarce resources from pillaging into investments in ruined public infrastructure (especially roads, highways, freeways) and even in basic services like water or domestic gas.

Hence, Delcy’s quagmire. Reforming these mechanisms enough to satisfy the economic and security interests of a forceful (and eager) US administration risks, for regime elites, severing their access to rents that engineer their loyalty. Yet, mere superficial reforms risk Delcy’s fate with her new patron. Trump himself made it clear: “All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them, and it will happen to them if they aren’t just, fair, even to their people.” 

Take for instance Trump’s demand that Venezuela grants privileged access to US oil companies and allows the US to have control over allocation from the financial proceedings. For Rodríguez to fully meet this, it will likely require much more than a mere reform of the Hydrocarbons Law. It necessitates the regulation, hiring, mobilization, and investment of resources to rebuild a decades-neglected, decimated national electricity grid, with 75% of Venezuelans suffering daily outages. Furthermore, Rodríguez must also redirect scarce resources from pillaging into investments in ruined public infrastructure (especially roads, highways, freeways) and even in basic services like water—to which only 36% of Venezuelans have daily access—or domestic gas, where over 70% receive it once every three months! And, on top of this, there is a Frankenstein-type financial system that has also presented opportunities for graft and provides all but predictability.

Washington’s expectation that scarce resources be directed toward restoring infrastructure and basic services while overhauling structural financial distortions to ensure US firms operate safely and profitably will strongly constrain Rodríguez’s ability to allow her inner circle to siphon these limited rents. Rodríguez will likely have to interfere with the very mechanisms of survival that have kept the elite unified: to satisfy Trump jeopardizes internal unity; to preserve internal unity risks facing the fate of Maduro.

During a recent visit to Caracas, CIA Director John Ratcliffe demanded Rodríguez to ensure Venezuela is no longer a “safe haven for America’s adversaries, especially narco-traffickers.” But this requires eliminating the shadow economies that have largely sustained the regime. As oil output collapsed by about 90%, it has been demonstrated that the regime has pivoted to illicit enterprises—along with the regime’s acquiescence to criminal groups in their territory. Illegal mining and drug trafficking, for instance, have reportedly accounted for over a quarter of Venezuela’s economy.

The Trump administration’s eagerness (or impatience) over reforms in Venezuela, plus its immense leverage and willingness to exercise it, may eventually make it realize the need for a swift and credible timeline for re-institutionalization and electoral reform.

Furthermore, China has become the regime’s primary economic patron, absorbing sanctioned crude. With the US interdicting shadow-fleet vessels in the Caribbean and demanding a severance of ties with Beijing, regime insiders—particularly the military, which controls critical pillars of domestic oil production and gasoline distribution—now face unprecedented structural strain. The security apparatus is similarly entangled with Russia, a partner that occupied key strategic voids left by the US and provided the military with hardware and gray market financial networks. These networks will not disappear overnight. Trump’s demand for a strong severance from illicit and foreign ties will likely be a turbulent process.

Complying too strongly with Trump will likely require Rodríguez to cut off many of the elites—and their related structures—that, by enriching the regime, have averted threatening crises for over 20 years. Complying too little with Trump to avoid overhauling internal-regime mechanisms, however, risks the ire of a Trump administration that has staked significant political capital on Venezuela’s transformation, especially in a critical election year.

Will the regime, as María Corina Machado suggested, “be forced to dismantle itself”? While not ensuring democratization, altering survival mechanisms to avoid the fate of Maduro could open junctures towards political liberalization. Conversely, prioritizing elite loyalty and existing mechanisms of enrichment over US expectations of reform and improvement risks unilateral dislodgment. While neither path guarantees democracy in the short term, the Trump administration’s eagerness (or impatience) over reforms in Venezuela, plus its immense leverage and willingness to exercise it, may eventually make it realize the need for a swifter and credible timeline for re-institutionalization and electoral reform.

Amidst this uncertainty, rather than a narrative of Delcy’s uncontested longevity, the politics of post-Maduro Venezuela suggests that the possibility of critical junctures favoring a transition toward democracy remains, today, more resonant than ever.

How good is senior Nathan Castrejon scoring goals for South East’s soccer team?

Coach Felipe Bernal said, “His strength and speed gets him through like Mbappe of Real Madrid. That’s the way I see him at this level.”

Castrejon, 5 feet 10, 160 pounds, entered this week with 38 of South East’s 90 goals. South East has its best chance to win a City Section title since it won in a big upset in 2022. This season would be no upset, since the Jaquars are 16-1-3.

Bernal has so many players with the first name of Nathan that he has to call them by their last name. Besides Castrejon, there’s Nathan Medina, who has eight goals, and Nathan Vargas, a backup goalie who has filled in well while the starter was sick.

“We’re a complete team this year,” Bernal said.

One of the most interesting players is 5-4 David Velasco. “The kid gets the job done,” Bernal said. “He’s amazing.”

Velasco has 11 assists.

South East is 6-0-1 in the competitive Eastern League that includes longtime power Bell.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Jan. 27 (UPI) — Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube will face accusers in a series of lawsuits alleging that they intentionally design their platforms to be addictive.

The trials begin in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday, filed by a group of parents, teens and school districts. Once teens are addicted to the platforms, plaintiffs allege, they suffer from depression, self-harm, eating disorders and more. There are about 1,600 plaintiffs involving 350 families and 250 school districts.

“The fact that a social media company is going to have to stand trial before a jury … is unprecedented,” Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center and an attorney in the cases, said in a press conference.

The first case involves a 19-year-old identified as KGM and her mother, Karen Glenn. They are suing TikTok, Meta and YouTube because they say the companies created addictive features that damaged her mental health and led to self-harm and suicidal ideation. Snap was also a defendant in the case, but it settled the case last week.

Her case’s outcome could help determine the outcomes of more than 1,000 injury cases against the companies. The case is expected to last several weeks.

The thousands of cases against these tech giants have been lumped together in a judicial council coordination proceeding, which allows California cases to collaborate and streamline pre-trial hearings.

The plaintiffs want financial damages as well as injunctions that would force the companies to change the design of their platforms and create industry-wide safety standards.

Top company executives are expected to testify, including Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri and more. Experts in online harm are also expected to testify.

“For parents whose children have been exploited, groomed, or died because of big tech platforms, the next six weeks are the first step toward accountability after years of being ignored by these companies,” Sarah Gardner, CEO of the Heat Initiative, which advocates for child safety online, told CNN. “These are the tobacco trials of our generation, and for the first time, families across the country will hear directly from big tech CEOs about how they intentionally designed their products to addict our kids.”

KGM alleges in court documents that on Instagram she was bullied and sextorted, which is when someone threatens to share explicit images of the victim unless they send money or more photos.

For two weeks, KGM’s friends and family had to ask other Instagram users to report the people targeting her before Meta would do something about it, court documents said.

“Defendants’ knowing and deliberate product design, marketing, distribution, programming and operational decision and conduct caused serious emotional and mental harms to K.G.M. and her family,” the suit said. “Those harms include, but are not limited to, dangerous dependency on their products, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and body dysmorphia.”

Tech companies and their CEOs reject the allegation that social media harms teens’ mental health. They argue that it offers a connection with friends and entertainment. They also lean on Section 230, a federal law that protects them from liability over content posted by users.

Whoever is nominated from the two Kurdish parties still needs the approval from the Shia and Sunni blocs in the parliament.

Iraq’s parliament has postponed the election for the country’s next president to allow for more consultations between the two Kurdish parties to agree on a candidate.

The Iraqi News Agency (INA) said the parliamentary vote scheduled for Tuesday was delayed at the request of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Iraq follows a sectarian quota system, according to which the post of the prime minister goes to a Shia, the parliament’s speaker is a Sunni, and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.

Usually, in an agreement between the two main Kurdish parties, a PUK member holds the presidency. In contrast, the president and regional leader of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region are selected from the KDP.

However, in this instance, the KDP announced its own candidate, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, for the election.

Reporting from the capital, Baghdad, Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed said whoever is nominated from the two Kurdish parties still needs the approval from the Shia and Sunni blocs in the parliament.

After the election, the new president will have 15 days to appoint a prime minister, who is widely expected to be the former leader, Nouri al-Maliki.

Al-Maliki, 75, has already served as Iraq’s prime minister for two terms from 2006 to 2014 before he quit under pressure from the United States. He is seen as being close to Iran.

On Saturday, the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shia parties which holds a parliamentary majority, endorsed Maliki. The next day, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned against a pro-Iranian government in Iraq.

An Iraqi source close to the Coordination Framework told the AFP news agency that Washington had conveyed to it that it “holds a negative view of previous governments led by former Prime Minister Maliki”.

In a letter, US representatives said that while the selection of the prime minister is an Iraqi decision, “the United States will make its own sovereign decisions regarding the next government in line with American interests”.

Another Iraqi source confirmed the letter, adding that the Shia alliance had still moved forward with its choice, confident that Maliki could allay Washington’s concerns.

Iraq has long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, with successive governments negotiating a delicate balance between the two foes.

KATHERINE Ryan has revealed there’s already a documentary in the works about Brooklyn Beckham’s explosive attack on parents David and Victoria – and she’s been asked to take part. 

Following 26-year-old Brooklyn’s sensational statement on Instagram, Katherine, 42, branded him an “ungrateful nepo-baby” while discussing the situation on her Telling Everybody Everything podcast. 

In the latest episode she discussed Brooklyn and wife Nicola’s wedding DJ Fat Tony appearing on This Morning to spill the beans on the eldest Beckham child’s claims Victoria “danced inappropriately” during the ceremony. 

Katherine said: “Do you know what I love about this is that? He’s like, ‘yeah, I do a lot of parties for the Beckhams’. Well, that was your last one. Like, what are you doing?

‘You can’t go on This Morning and spill the tea on the nation’s hottest goss. I can tell you firsthand that somebody somewhere is already making a documentary about this because I was invited to go on it. And I was like, me?

What do I know? I had an opinion. And, by the way, a lot of people feel passionately about this one way or another. I gave my opinion, which was very much team Beckham’s… well, team Victoria anyway because David, you know how they love an evil woman.

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Katherine continued: “David is hardly mentioned. It’s all like mommy dearest kind of narcissist stuff, which I think is really unfair. Like I said, last week, they made the best choice that they could with the information they had at the time.

“And that’s just what every parent does. We’re not perfect. We’re fallible.”

In his six-slide rant, Brooklyn accused Victoria of ruining his wedding and “humiliating” him.

He wrote: “My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance to a romantic song.

“In front of our 500 wedding guests, Marc Anthony called me to the stage, where in the schedule was planned to be my romantic dance with my wife, but instead my mum was waiting to dance with me.

“She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life.”

Last night the Beckham family put on a united front in Paris as Victoria was honoured with a prestigious award.

Meanwhile Brooklyn and Nicola – who were not in attendance – raised eyebrows when they posted a loved-up TikTok at the same time as Posh’s big moment.

WATCHING sport in the pub, like queuing and putting the kettle on, is one of Britain’s great national pastimes.

And unless you’re going to the stadium, there’s no better place to catch the big match than down your local.

While loads of locals simply put the telly on in the corner, there are those venues who go that extra yard to make the big match experience a truly memorable one.

As The Thinking Drinkers – professional pub-goers and huge sports fans – we’ve picked the best sports pubs and bars across Britain.

Ranging from sizeable city centre sports outfits to historic pubs, quirky boozers and lovely locals – here’s where to go that even if you don’t like sport, you’ll have a good time.

Let’s find out who made the starting line-up in the Thinking Drinkers Sports Pub XI.

LAST ORDERS

Famous UK pub that’s served football fans for 140 years is shutting in HOURS

PINT SIZED

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The Famous Three Kings, West London

This London pub is rightly famous among fans of everything from football and rugby to ice hockey, Gridiron and even handball. 

Boasting 39 HD TV’s, access to hundreds of sports channels and an awesome audio setup with the ability to ‘zone’ sound and commentary of up to 6 games at once, it’s no surprise that it has won numerous industry awards. 

The King Street Brew House, Cambridge

This recently refurbished brewpub serves up loads of live sport alongside some decent drinks, including its own freshly brewed beers, and a cracking menu (including a curried lamb croissant).

If you’re in Cambridge, it’s certainly worth a punt.

Ye Olde King & Queen, Brighton

Situated a short stroll from the seafront, this vast grade-II listed Mock Tudor castle of sport is like being in the Traitors.

A huge protector screen dominates the main bar with TVs scattered everywhere showing all domestic and European footy action.

It even has its own bar dedicated to F1. 

The Royal Dyche, Burnley

Close to Turf Moor, home of Burnley FC, this now legendary local has become a football institution since renaming itself after ex-manager Sean Dyche who, back in 2018, secured European qualification.

It’s got stadium-seating in the garden, plenty of screens and there’s ‘claret’ everywhere (not blood or Bordeaux but Burnley FC memorabilia).

They also serve Benedictine – a French herbal liqueur loved by locals since it was famously drunk by soldiers of the East Lancashire Regiment during World War One. 

Perhaps not the best pub for Preston fans.

Brotherhood of Pursuits and Pastimes, Leeds

Like Dominic Calvert-Lewin, this illustrious Leeds city centre sports bar is a stylish looking fellow. 

Quality cocktails, fantastic food and a great 4K screen set-up and surround sound audio.

There’s not a single spot where you can’t clearly see and hear the action and, in the event of a sporting clash, they’ll dedicate areas of the bar to the different events. 

The Murderers, Norwich

One of Norwich’s oldest locals, and named after notorious murder of a former landlord’s daughter back in 1895, this makes for a great cosy pub to watch the game.

But thankfully, when there’s a big game on, that doesn’t dampen the lively match day atmosphere – enhanced by a well-kept range of real ales and numerous screens skilfully snuck into all the pub’s snugs, nooks and crannies. 

The Box, Manchester

With 35 top-of-the-range tellies this Deansgate venue doesn’t just have football but cricket, Gridiron, rugby, boxing and F1. 

Fairweather fans can occupy themselves with some shuffleboardor some ‘bandeoke’ – karaoke with a live backing band on stage.

The food’s good, there’s brewery fresh Budweiser Budvar on tap and two-pint Steins to swig.

Bloodsports, Central London

This down-to-earth dark, dimly lit dive bar and late-night hang-out has 30 screens showing a combination of live sports and horror flicks.

Open till 2am every night, it boasts Britain’s best ‘Bloody’ Mary menu, proper burgers and there’s even an Alfred Hitchcock’s Pyscho photo booth. 

Golaccio, Huddersfield

If Luciano Pavarotti belting out ‘Nessun Dorma’ brings a tear to your eye or you spent much of the 1990s watching Serie A on Channel Four, then get yourself down to this retro love letter to the golden age of Italian footy. 

Draped in old-school football shirts, scarves and posters from iconic Italian clubs, there are four large screens and a pull-down projector, banging Italian-inspired burgers and regular football quizzes. 

Ye Olde Golf Tavern, Edinburgh

This awesome Edinburgh boozer is perched on the edge of one of the oldest golf courses in the world, dating back to 1456.

So, when the final whistle blows on one of the bar’s many screens, you can hire a couple of clubs for a few quid and tackle 18-holes of pitch’n’putt.

Ludo Bar, Cardiff

This ‘tidy’ temple of televised sport only opened last October but it has already established a strong following among sports fans of all persuasions.

Grab a beer from a very respectable range of local breweries before sliding into a booth to watch your chosen match on request.

Or, alternatively, bask in the glow of the UK’s largest ultra high definition screen in the garden – complete with a retractable roof. 

There are even TVs in the toilets, which you won’t miss a moment of the game.

Ben McFarland & Tom Sandham, The Thinking Drinkers, recently rode a tandem bike from Land’s End to John O’Groats to ‘help save the British pub’. Watch the “Great British Pub Ride” on their YouTube Channel here.