Month: January 2026

Rafael Tudares Bracho, who is married to Gonzalez’s daughter, was imprisoned shortly before ex-President Nicolas Maduro’s third inauguration.

The son-in-law of Venezuelan opposition leader and former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has been released from prison in the South American country.

The release of Rafael Tudares Bracho on Thursday comes as the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez gradually reduces the number of political prisoners held in Venezuela’s prisons.

The move has been widely seen as a concession to the administration of United States President Donald Trump, which has kept military assets deployed off the country’s coast and threatened Venezuelan officials if they do not comply with US demands.

Rodriguez was sworn into office shortly after Trump authorised the abduction of her predecessor, former President Nicolas Maduro, on January 3. Members of the opposition coalition expressed joy at the news of Tudares Bracho’s release.

“After 380 days of unjust and arbitrary detention — having endured more than a year of the inhumane reality of enforced disappearance — my husband Rafael Tudares Bracho returned home this morning,” Edmundo Gonzalez’s daughter, Mariana Gonzalez, wrote on the social media platform X.

“It has been a stoic and profoundly difficult struggle.”

The elder Gonzalez stood against Maduro in the 2024 presidential election after the opposition’s elected nominee, Maria Corina Machado, was barred from running. Election tallies released by the opposition and verified by independent observers showed Gonzalez winning the race, despite Maduro’s claims of victory.

Tudares Bracho was arrested in January 2025, just days before Maduro’s inauguration for a third term, following what his wife has called a “sham” 12-hour trial on charges of “conspiracy, terrorism and criminal association”.

His release comes as the families of Venezuelan prisoners hold vigils at prisons across the country, demanding the release of their loved ones.

Venezuela’s leading prisoner rights organisation, Foro Penal, has verified the release of 145 people it considers to be political prisoners, though at least 775 more remain in detention.

Edmundo Gonzalez, who has remained in exile since the 2024 election, posted a video on social media hailing his son-in-law’s freedom and calling for the release of other Venezuelans who he said remain unjustly detained.

“It would be a mistake to reduce this event to a personal story,” he said. “There are still men and women who remain deprived of their liberty for political reasons, without guarantees, without due process, and in many cases, without truth.”

The Trump administration has so far avoided backing opposition figures to lead Venezuela after Maduro’s abduction.

The US has instead emphasised working with Rodriguez and other officials from Maduro’s government to ensure stability, while it pursues extraction from Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, has walked a careful line since her boss’s abduction, initially striking a defiant tone with her domestic audience that has gradually morphed into more conciliatory messaging.

She and Trump held their first call last week, when she also met CIA director John Ratcliff. Shortly after, Rodriguez called for the government to open its state-run oil industry to more foreign development, a key Trump demand.

Roxy Wilson has spoken out after she was brutally ‘murdered’ on Thursday night’s edition of The Traitors and missed out on a place in the grand finale of the hit BBC show

The Traitors star Roxy Wilson has admitted she is “happy” to have left the show. The recruitment worker, 32, was “murdered” just ahead of the final in Thursday’s edition of Claudia Winkleman’s hit BBC show.

Despite just missing out on the chance to potentially win part of the six-figure prize pot, the reality star admitted in her first interview after leaving the castle that, whilst she would have “loved” to have gone just that extra bit further, she is still pleased with all she achieved as a contestant.

She said: “To be honest, I’m kind of happy, because it only gets so much harder. I think I’ve got as far as I could. I would have loved to have got to the final, but it was just always my aim to get as far as possible, so I’m really proud.”

READ MORE: The Traitors star backs Ashley Tisdale amidst ‘toxic mum group’ dramaREAD MORE: Alan Carr’s heartbreaking reason for wanting to live in a castle after Traitors win

Early on in the series, Roxy revealed to viewers that fellow contestant Judy was her mother, but the pair kept this all a secret, and she had to keep it that way once Judy had been murdered. She added: “Yes, to have that moment [to tell them] and see the shock on their faces would have been great, 100%. I was happy because I had managed to get one over on the Traitors, as they hadn’t established and figured out that relationship.

“No, no, no, for sure. Especially because after Mum went, she was confirmed a Faithful, so they would have definitely thought the other one has got to be a Traitor. I just decided that under no circumstances will I tell them. Even if I was a Traitor, I wouldn’t have told the other Traitors.”

In the end, Roxy has insisted she wouldn’t have changed a thing about her experience in the famous castle. She added: “No, to be honest, because I was just my full self. I feel like maybe I could have got a little bit further if I was a bit wiser to the Traitors, but I’m really happy with how I was, because I wouldn’t want to change me.

“It was just so good, the whole experience! Meeting all these people that you may never have crossed paths with in life, and just doing it with mum as well. That’s like an extra experience. The whole thing still blows my mind!”

But fans may have noticed one thing that was slightly different about Roxy’s exit compared to all the others that have come before her. Usually, Faithfuls banished or murdered are filmed finding out who the actual Traitors are on the spin-off show Uncloaked, but in Thursday night’s episode, such a scene with Roxy made it to air.

This is because the programme instead teased the dreaded Chests of Chance. Only when the programme kicks off tomorrow will fans discover whether Stephen is a lone traitor in the end-game, or whether he and Rachel have actually managed to make it through as planned. The reveal would have been filmed just after the Rountable, meaning that viewers can’t see who was banished just yet as makers strive to protect the cliffhanger.

But this did not stop some fans complaining, with one writing on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I can’t WAIT to see Roxy’s reaction on Uncloaked when she learns who the Traitors are. Truly one of the worst players ever bless her,” and another said: “Uncloaked you better get the footage of Roxy finding out Rachel and Stephen are traitors on my screen RIGHT NOW. I’ve already been robbed of seeing her face in the final!”

A third raged: “Where is the footage of Roxy finding out who the Traitors are, are you kidding me?” And a fourth said: “Why didn’t they show Roxy’s reaction to who the traitors were?? Was she utterly embarrassed finding out it was her besties? Cos she should be!”

The Traitors continues tomorrow at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer

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WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday defended his findings that President Trump “willfully broke the law” in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, telling lawmakers that Republican efforts to discredit the probe are “false and misleading.”

“No one should be above the law in our country, and the law required that [Trump] be held to account. So that is what I did,” Smith said during a frequently heated five-hour hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.

Smith appeared at the request of Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who accused him of pursuing a politically driven investigation and “muzzling a candidate for a high office.”

“It was always about politics and to get President Trump, they were willing to do just about anything,” Jordan said.

Jordan called investigations into the Jan. 6 insurrection “staged and choreographed,” and said Smith would have “blown a hole in the 1st Amendment” if his charges against Trump had been allowed to proceed.

Trump has repeatedly called for Smith to face prosecution over the probe, demanding he be disbarred and suggesting that Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi look into his conduct.

“I believe they will do everything in their power to [indict me] because they have been ordered to do so by the president,” Smith said at the hearing.

Smith’s 2023 investigation found that following Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, Trump led a months-long disinformation campaign to discredit the results, evidenced by audio from a call in which he pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”

Trump’s attempt to sow election discord culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, Smith said. The president caused and exploited rioters who attempted to halt the certification of the election results, he added.

In closed-door testimony to the committee last month, Smith said the Department of Justice had built a strong base of evidence of Trump’s criminal schemes to overturn the election.

A separate case alleged that the president unlawfully kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club after the loss.

Trump was indicted in the documents case in June 2023, and later for the alleged election conspiracy and fraud claims. Both cases were abandoned after his victory in the 2024 election on the basis of presidential immunity.

In his opening remarks, Smith reiterated his findings.

“President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the law, the very laws he took an oath to uphold,” he said. “Rather than accept his defeat, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power. “

Republicans asserted that Justice Department subpoenas of phone records were an abuse of prosecutorial power and constituted surveillance of top government officials.

Smith replied that obtaining such data was “common” in conspiracy investigations and that the records showed call dates and times — not content — encompassing the days around Jan. 6, 2021.

Jordan questioned the special counsel’s judgment in personnel selections, which included Department of Justice investigators who probed the Trump campaign over alleged collusion with Russia in the 2016 presidential election.

“Democrats have been going after President Trump for 10 years — a decade — and we should never forget what they’ve done,” he said.

Smith, who has since left the Justice Department to open a private firm with his former deputies, was quick to defend the integrity of his team, adding that Trump has since sought to seek revenge against career prosecutors, FBI agents and support staff for their involvement in the cases.

“Those dedicated public servants are the best of us,” he said. “My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in our country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted.”

The hearing routinely devolved into disputes between party adversaries, with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) lodging scathing accusations against Smith, butting heads with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) over procedure and yielding his time “in disgust” of the witness.

GOP committee members attempted to poke holes in Smith’s findings about the events of Jan. 6. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) accused Republicans on the committee of trying to “rewrite the history” of Jan. 6.

Midway through the hearing, Trump called Smith a “deranged animal” in a Truth Social post where he once again suggested his Department of Justice investigate the former special counsel.

“I will not be intimidated,” Smith said. “We followed the facts and we followed the law. That process resulted in proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed serious crimes. I’m not going to pretend that didn’t happen because he threatened me.”

The hearing came as Trump continues to repeat false claims that he had won in 2020.

“It was a rigged election. Everybody knows that now. And by the way, numbers are coming out that show it even more plainly,” Trump said Tuesday at a White House news briefing.

In an address to a global audience in Davos, Switzerland, the following day, he said that “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.”

Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper, one of three netminders on Canada’s upcoming Olympic hockey roster, has been cleared to return after suffering a neck injury against the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

Kuemper said after returning to practice Thursday that he lost feeling in his arm when Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski ran into him in the first period of the game. He said he tried to shake it off, but had to be replaced by Anton Forsberg.

“Yeah, kind of got hit on the side of my neck, and it pinched my neck and pinched the nerves, and my arm went dead,” Kuemper said. “So, yeah, wasn’t allowed to come back in until we did some further testing yesterday.”

Kuemper felt better when he woke up Wednesday, and additional examinations confirmed he would be available for an upcoming road trip, which starts at the St. Louis Blues on Saturday and runs six games while the Grammy Awards are hosted at Crypto.com Arena.

Kuemper was named alongside St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington and Washington’s Logan Thompson to the 25-man squad for Canada that will play in the Milan Cortina Olympics next month.

The 35-year-old is a first-time Olympian for Canada, which has won the past two goal medals with NHL players participating. Kuemper is expected to be the third keeper behind Binnington and Thompson.

Kuemper, a 14-year NHL veteran from Saskatchewan and Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, is 12-9-9 with a 2.52 goals against average and .904 save percentage in 32 games for the Kings this season. He missed six games in December because of an upper-body injury sustained Dec. 15 when Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen hit him in the head.

Jan. 22 (UPI) — Securing mineral rights in Greenland could be part of a future deal being negotiated regarding Greenland and the entire Arctic region, President Donald Trump said.

The president told a CNBC on Wednesday that he met with NATO Secretary Gen. Mark Rutte, who helped to draft the framework of a potential deal involving Greenland, while both were attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Mineral rights and a Golden Dome aerial defense system in Greenland were among issues being discussed that could become part of a future agreement, he said.

“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America and all NATO nations,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“Additional discussions are being held concerning the Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland,” the president added. “Further information will be made available as discussions progress.”

He also said he will not move forward with tariffs on European nations that oppose Trump’s proposed U.S. annexation of Greenland, which remains a territory of Denmark.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Danish officials “cannot negotiate on our sovereignty,” which Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen seconded, the BBC reported.

Trump said any deal that is made will be permanent and is focused on national security, but he did not provide additional details.

While mineral rights are a potential part of any agreement, experts told The Hill that Greenland’s icy landscape greatly complicates potential mining operations there.

Greenland’s distance from U.S. supply chains further hinders potential mining and distribution of minerals, and many U.S. firms already have secured mining agreements in Greenland.

The world’s rules-based order is ruptured, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said, in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that avoided mentioning United States President Donald Trump.

While Trump hit back at Carney, the Canadian leader’s words have been widely praised and analysed.

So, is he right?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Lionel Barber – Former editor of The Financial Times

Bessma Momani – Professor of political science at the University of Waterloo

Donnacha O Beachain – Professor of politics at Dublin City University

Dylan Efron, who was best known as the brother of High School Musical star Zac Efron before winning The Traitors in the US, has weighed in on Ashley Tisdale’s mom group drama

Dylan Efron has thrown support at Ashley Tisdale amid her “toxic mom group” drama. The reality star, 33, whose older brother Zac Efron famously starred opposite Ashley in the Disney Channel’s runaway hit High School Musical, spoke out after the actress published an essay in which she alleged that she had fallen out with a group of celebrity moms she once considered close friends.

In the essay, Ashley, who has daughters Jupiter, four, and fourth-month-old Emmerson with her husband Christopher French, wrote in The Cut that she initially thought she had “found her village” with the group before it all went wrong and she started to feel left out when she found out on Instagram that they had been meeting up without her.

She said: “Another time, at one of the mom’s dinner parties, I realized where I sat with her — which was at the end of the table, far from the rest of the women. I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me.

READ MORE: The Traitors US makes huge change to copy UK show after casting backlashREAD MORE: High School Musical cast 20 years on – devastating break-up, very different career and marriage

“At first, I tried not to take things personally. It’s not like people aren’t allowed to get together without me — and maybe there were perfectly good reasons that I hadn’t been invited.”

Now, Traitors star Dylan, who would have been in his early teens when his brother found fame, has insisted that he just tries to “stay out” of it all, but because he has known Ashley for so long, he simply cannot imagine her “doing anything malicious” to warrant this kind of fallout.

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Dylan told Andy Cohen: “I try to stay out of that, so I don’t know too much. All I know is Ashley, since I was a kid, she’s been so sweet to me. So I can’t envision her doing anything malicious to the mom group. Hopefully, it’s just a misunderstanding? I honestly don’t know what’s going on, though.”

Andy replied: “It seems, like, maybe more than a misunderstanding,” before Dylan added: ” honestly don’t know what happened. All I can say is she’s been so sweet.” In High School Musical, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary, Ashley starred as drama club queen Sharpay Evans, whilst Zac starred as basketball captain Troy Bolton.

They reprised their roles for two more films, and the format was then retooled into High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which made stars out of Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett over the course of its four-season run.

In the 2000s, Ashley was also known for starring as Maddie Fitzpatrick on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, around the same time Miley Cyrus found global success with fellow Disney sitcom Hannah Montana, and Raven-Symone headed up That’s So Raven for the network.

Meanwhile, Dylan has found fame in his own right in recent years, mostly in the field of reality television, having won the third season of the US version of The Traitors and then gone on to compete on Dancing with the Stars.

Ashley, who had previously spoken of her friendship with Lizzie McGuire star Hilary Duff and pop star Meghan Trainor, amongst others, wrote in her essay: “Here’s the thing nobody prepared me for: Mom groups can turn toxic. Not because the moms themselves are toxic people, but because the dynamic shifts into an ugly place with mean-girl behaviour. I know this from personal experience.

“I remember being left out of a couple of group hangs, and I knew about them because Instagram made sure it fed me every single photo and Instagram Story..

“Another time, at one of the mom’s dinner parties, I realised where I sat with her, which was at the end of the table, far from the rest of the women. I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me.”

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In his years-long pursuit to build a great defense at USC, Lincoln Riley first entrusted the job to a familiar face from his Oklahoma days. When that failed, Riley handed the reins of his defense — and a massive paycheck — to the crosstown rival’s rising star … who then left two years later.

Now, in his third try at finding a leader for USC’s defense, Riley is working to lure a Hall of Famer to Hollywood.

USC is closing in on a deal to hire Gary Patterson, the longtime Texas Christian coach, as its defensive coordinator, a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times.

Patterson, who hasn’t been a full-time coach since 2021, would come to USC just weeks after being voted into the College Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot. Patterson spent 24 seasons at Texas Christian, where he developed his reputation as a preeminent defensive mind and masterful evaluator of talent. His 4-2-5 scheme led the Horned Frogs to finish No. 1 in total defense five times in his 21 years as coach, while he was twice named coach of the year by the Associated Press.

Patterson was the winningest coach in TCU history and the second-longest-tenured coach in Division I, behind only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, when he resigned in October 2021 after being told he wouldn’t be back the following season.

Riley, who was Oklahoma’s coach at the time, said he was “sick” when he heard the news of Patterson’s exit. The two coaches knew each other well, having crossed paths in the Big 12 for half a decade by that point.

Riley left for USC a month later, while Patterson floated around other Texas football programs in consultant roles. He worked as a defensive analyst on Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas in 2022 and was offered a chance to return in 2023 but opted to take a year off. Patterson then accepted a role as a “senior level strategic consultant” on Baylor’s staff in February 2024, only to leave six months later, on the doorstep of the season.

Riley, meanwhile, was struggling to find any sense of stability for his USC defense. Under Alex Grinch, who followed Riley from Oklahoma, the Trojans unraveled on that end. The nadir came in 2023 as the defense finished 121st in the nation in points per game, giving up 34.4, and 119th in yards per game, giving up 432.8. Grinch was fired the first week of November.

The next day Riley declared USC would build “a great defense” during his tenure.

“I have complete belief, conviction,” the coach said. “It is going to happen. There’s not a reason in the world why it can’t.”

That process has been slow in the Big Ten. In two seasons as defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn made substantial progress in building a unit that could withstand the conference’s more physical nature. After hitting rock bottom with Grinch, USC gave up 10 fewer points per game under Lynn and nearly 50 fewer yards per game on the ground.

But that progress hit some snags last season as injuries ravaged the Trojans’ depth on defense. Then, just before the bowl game, Lynn left for the same job at his alma mater, Penn State, after rejecting the school’s advances a year earlier.

Coincidentally, it was Patterson’s old program, TCU, that ended the Trojans’ season a few days later with a walk-off touchdown in the Alamo Bowl.

The search that led Riley to focus on Patterson lasted more than three weeks into the offseason, through the January transfer portal window. USC still managed to add five players on defense, including one of the top defensive backs available in Iowa State’s Jontez Williams.

Patterson would inherit a defense without many of its top contributors from a season ago, including linebacker Eric Gentry, safety Kamari Ramsey and defensive lineman Anthony Lucas. But the Trojans also welcomed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class to campus recently, a group that includes five top-100 prospects on defense, according to 247 Sports.

For Patterson, getting the best out of his defenders never proved to be a problem at TCU, where he was known for unearthing underrated prospects. But how the dynamic might look at USC with Patterson, a 21-year coach, stepping into a coordinator role remains unclear.

It’s also uncertain how Patterson’s hire would impact the Trojans’ remaining defensive staff. Secondary coach Doug Belk didn’t have his contract renewed, possibly to clear the way for Patterson to coach safeties. Mike Ekeler was hired from Nebraska to coach linebackers in addition to special teams, perhaps making linebackers coach Rob Ryan expendable.

The status of defensive line coach Shaun Nua also remains up in the air.

Traitors, agents of foreign powers, and hitmen with superior electronics and sophisticated weapons interfere with communications, murder dozens of our compatriots, kidnap the elected president, defame him, and prepare for the transition by dividing up the country behind closed doors. The spoils are not bad at all: the largest fossil fuel reserves on the planet, stolen without asking the opinion of their owner, the sovereign [Venezuelan] people.

A human avalanche interrupts the looting and reinstates the legitimate authorities. They brandish their secret weapon before the cameras: a little blue book called the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We are, of course, talking about April, 2002. That Fundamental Law is still in force. Let us consult it.

The question arises of whether a foreign leader, who does not even speak our language, can dictate policy to Venezuela and its authorities. In this regard, the Constitution states: “Article 1. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is irrevocably free and independent and founds its moral patrimony and values of liberty, equality, justice, and international peace on the doctrine of Simón Bolívar, the Liberator. Independence, liberty, sovereignty, immunity, territorial integrity, and national self-determination are inalienable rights of the Nation. Article 5. Sovereignty resides inalienably in the people, who exercise it directly in the manner provided for in this Constitution and in the law, and indirectly, through suffrage, through the organs that exercise public power. State organs emanate from popular sovereignty and are subject to it.”

The Constitution clarifies who owns the mineral wealth that a certain foreign leader considers we have “stolen” and which he will “take charge of” until he sees fit: “Article 12. Mining and hydrocarbon deposits, whatever their nature, existing in the national territory, under the territorial sea bed, in the exclusive economic zone, and on the continental shelf, belong to the Republic, are public property, and are therefore inalienable and imprescriptible. The sea coasts are public property.”

Let us ask ourselves whether the murder, without prior declaration of war, of nearly a hundred defenseless fishermen and another hundred of our brothers and sisters is sufficient grounds for the people or authorities to collaborate with the invaders in the destruction of the Republic. In this regard, our Constitution states: “Article 25. Any act carried out in the exercise of public power that violates or undermines the rights guaranteed by this Constitution and the law is null and void, and the public officials who order or execute it incur criminal, civil, and administrative liability, as the case may be, without the excuse of receiving orders from superiors.”

The foreign leader who ordered this series of mass murders declares that Venezuelan oil “belongs to him” and that he will “take charge of it,” as if the kidnapping of an official made him the owner of assets that belong only to the Republic, that is, to the Venezuelan people. In this regard, our Constitution states: “Article 156. The National Public Power has jurisdiction over: 16. The regime and administration of mines and hydrocarbons, the regime of uncultivated lands, and the conservation, promotion, and use of the country’s forests, soils, waters, and other natural resources. The National Executive may not grant mining concessions for an indefinite period (…)“. And for further clarification: ”Article 302. The State reserves, through the respective organic law and for reasons of national convenience, oil activity and other industries, exploitations, services, and assets of public interest and strategic nature. (…)”.

If foreign leaders and capitalists plunder such assets for their own personal gain, the social, economic, educational, welfare, and cultural rights of all Venezuelans recognized by the Constitution will be rendered inapplicable due to a lack of resources.

Does the bombing, massacre, and invasion of our territory grant the criminal the authority to impose measures contrary to our laws and the Constitution? In this regard, the Fundamental Law states: “Article 138. Any usurped authority is ineffective and its acts are null and void.”

Should we tolerate such usurpation? Our inviolable Fundamental Law answers us: “Article 130. Venezuelans have the duty to honor and defend their homeland, its symbols, and cultural values, and to safeguard and protect the sovereignty, nationality, territorial integrity, self-determination, and interests of the Nation. (…) Article 333. This Constitution shall not lose its validity if it ceases to be observed by an act of force or because it is repealed by any means other than those provided for therein. In such an event, every citizen, whether vested with authority or not, shall have the duty to assist in restoring its effective validity.”

We have been victims of an aggressive war. Until a peace treaty is signed, no diplomatic relations will be established, nor can any agreements of any kind be made with the aggressor.

[…] 

The only legal effect of the reprehensible and repudiated invasion, apart from the destruction of lives and property, is the illegitimate kidnapping of the Head of State, the massacre of more than two hundred compatriots, and the civil and criminal liability resulting from such crimes. Crime does not engender rights, only punishment.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Venezuelanalysis editorial staff.

Translated and slightly abridged by Venezuelanalysis.

Source: Rebelión

DJ Fat Tony, who played at Brooklyn Beckham’s wedding, is set to give a tell-all interview on This Morning about the now infamous ‘inappropriate’ dancing drama

The Beckhams face further embarrassment in the next 24 hours, with the DJ from Brooklyn Beckham’s wedding preparing to appear on This Morning on Friday/tomorrow to explain exactly what he saw.

DJ Fat Tony has already mocked Victoria Beckham this week on social media following Brooklyn’s bombshell statement about his family and her . And now to add insult to injury, he has been invited onto the This Morning sofa, where hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond are expected to get more details about the wedding and what really happened.

An ITV source said: “We have lined up DJ Fat Tony for Friday’s show and are hoping it will be an interview filled with bombshells after an extraordinary week. He can offer huge insight into what happened and may well add further evidence to what Brooklyn has said or provide a more independent version of events.

“It is brave of him to go on and speak out as most people are steering clear but it will be fascinating and he is not normally one to hold back. Whatever he says is only going to keep this story going so the Beckhams may not want to tune in – but millions of others will be discussing what he says on ITV afterwards.”

Brooklyn’s statement on Monday, which made it clear he had no interest in reconciling with his family, also criticised his mum. The 26-year-old alleged one of the reasons they fell out was because his mother “hijacked” his first dance with his bride Nicola, 31, at their 2022 wedding.

He wrote: “My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance to a romantic love 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 instead. She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone.

“I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life. We wanted to renew our vows so we could create new memories of our wedding day that bring us joy and happiness, not anxiety and embarrassment.”

Wedding guest, Stavros Agapiou, the husband of DJ Fat Tony, seemingly confirmed Brooklyn’s version of events. On social media he wrote: “I was there, and she did; he’s telling the truth.” He then deleted the comment and said: “Good on him for finally speaking out!”

Fat Tony, who played tunes at Brooklyn’s wedding, then backed his husband’s version of events, sharing a clip from hit BBC sitcom Motherland, of Amanda Hughes (Lucy Punch) performs an OTT dance for parents at a school event which he compared to Victoria. The DJ then added: “Actual video footage, it’s true I was there!”

Brooklyn and Nicola have been hiding out in Malibu since he posted his statement on Monday but they broke cover today to spend time on the beach.

They were seen holding hands and hugging and sources close to them say they have “no regrets” over his decision to post his strongly worded message, which has made headlines around the world.

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NEW YORK — President Trump sued banking giant JPMorgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, for $5 billion on Thursday over allegations that JPMorgan debanked him and his businesses for political reasons after he left office in January 2021.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade County court in Florida, alleges that JPMorgan abruptly closed multiple accounts in February 2021 with just 60 days’ notice and no explanation. By doing so, Trump claims JPMorgan and Dimon cut off the president and his businesses from millions of dollars, disrupted their operations and forced Trump and the businesses to urgently open bank accounts elsewhere.

“JPMC debanked [Trump and his businesses] because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so,” the lawsuit alleges.

Debanking occurs when a bank closes the accounts of a customer or refuses to do business with a customer in the form of loans or other services. Once a relatively obscure issue in finance, debanking has become a politically charged issue in recent years, with conservative politicians arguing that banks have discriminated against them and their affiliated interests.

Debanking first became a national issue when conservatives accused the Obama administration of pressuring banks to stop extending services to gun stores and payday lenders under “Operation Choke Point.”

Trump and other conservative figures have alleged that banks cut them off from their accounts under the umbrella term of “reputational risk” after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Since Trump came back into office, the president’s banking regulators have moved to stop any banks from using “reputational risk” as a reason for denying service to customers.

“JPMC’s conduct … is a key indicator of a systemic, subversive industry practice that aims to coerce the public to shift and re-align their political views,” Trumps lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.

Trump accuses the bank of trade libel and accuses Dimon himself of violating Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

In a statement, JPMorgan said that it “regrets” that Trump sued the bank but insisted it did not close the accounts for political reasons.

“We believe the suit has no merit,” a bank spokesperson said. “JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company.”

Joe Sterling, one of the best three-point shooters in the country, tried to put up a three-point attempt from long range at the outset of the third quarter on Wednesday night at Sierra Canyon. He must have forgotten who was guarding him, because Brandon McCoy came flying like Superman to block the shot, then took the deflected ball, dribbled and delivered an uncontested dunk.

“I knew he was going to shoot it,” McCoy said.

McCoy’s athleticism was on display all night as No. 1-ranked Sierra Canyon put itself in position to be the No. 1 seed for next week’s Mission League tournament with a 55-47 home victory over Harvard-Westlake.

McCoy finished with 20 points, including back-to-back threes in the second quarter when he helped Sierra Canyon (19-1, 5-0) wipe away an early deficit. He had zero points in the first quarter and 20 points the rest of the way.

“I wanted him to be more aggressive,” Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier said. “He went into attack mode.”

Not only was McCoy contributing on offense, but his defense helped the Trailblazers hold Harvard-Westlake’s leading scorer, Sterling, to a season-low five points. He made one of eight shots and got into foul trouble.

“The fact he’s playing defense at a high level is amazing,” Chevalier said. “That’s what college coaches are looking for.”

Sierra Canyon also received a strong performance from 6-foot-8 Brannon Martinsen, who had 16 points. “I found my role,” he said. “It was figuring out how to complement guys as good as me.”

Pierce Thompson led No. 3 Harvard-Westlake (21-3, 4-1) with 14 points. The Wolverines struggled against Sierra Canyon’s half-court trap and didn’t have enough offensive contributors with Sterling taken out of the game by the Trailblazers’ defense.

“They’re good,” Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo said. “I don’t think they’re invincible. They’re deep and versatile. That’s what makes them so dangerous.”

The Mission League will hold a tournament beginning Jan. 29. The first two teams in the regular-season standings are guaranteed Southern Section playoff berths. Harvard-Westlake closes with tough matchups against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Saturday and St. Francis at home next week. Sierra Canyon has a home game against Crespi and a road game against Chaminade.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 68, Crespi 56: NaVorro Bowman scored 33 points for the Knights.

Loyola 104, Bishop Alemany 70: Deuce Newt had 50 points and made 10 threes for Loyola. Austin Acy, a freshman, had 40 points for Alemany.

St. Francis 66, Chaminade 56: Cherif Millogo had 20 points and Luke Paulus 17 for St. Francis.

Santa Margarita 102, Servite 69: Drew Anderson finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles.

St. John Bosco 56, JSerra 50: Christian Collins scored 30 points and Max Ellis and Tariq Iscandari had key threes to stay unbeaten in the Trinity League.

Mater Dei 81, Orange Lutheran 79: Zain Majeed scored with 1.5 seconds left for Mater Dei. Luke Barnett had 23 points and became Mater Dei’s career three-point leader with 373 moving past Taylor King.

Corona del Mar 76, Los Alamitos 54: Ryan Mansouri scored 23 points for 23-1 Corona del Mar.

Cleveland 56, Chatsworth 55: Aaron Krueger led Chatsworth with 17 points.

Birmingham 74, Granada Hills 53: Tekeio Phillips had 16 points and Christian Graham 15 to help the Patriots set up a showdown with Cleveland on Friday to decide first place in the West Valley League.

El Camino Real 44, Taft 43: The Royals made a three at the end to win.

Narbonne 63, San Pedro 62: Branden Key had 24 points to help Narbonne pull off the Marine League upset.

Jan. 22 (UPI) — President Donald Trump held a signing ceremony for his new Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, calling it one of the “most consequential bodies” ever created.

“As everyone can see today, the first steps toward a brighter day for the Middle East and a much safer future for the world are unfolding right before your very eyes,” Trump said. “Together we are in a position to have an incredible chance — I don’t even call it a chance, I think it’s going to happen — to end decades of suffering, stop generations of hatred and bloodshed and forge a beautiful, ever-lasting and glorious peace for that region.”

About 25 countries have accepted his invitation to join the board, but some of the United States’ closest allies have rejected it.

Some countries have asked whether an alternative to the United Nations is necessary.

Trump sent invitations over the weekend to more than 50 leaders around the world, U.S. officials have said. A White House official told ABC News that more than 30 countries are expected to join.

“I think the Board of Peace will be the most prestigious board ever, and it’s going to get a lot of work done that the United Nations should have done,” Trump said Wednesday. “And we’ll work with the United Nations. But the Board of Peace is going to be special. We’re going to have peace.”

Trump was asked by a reporter on Tuesday if the body would replace the United Nations, and Trump responded, “It might.”

France, Norway, Denmark, Slovenia and Sweden, have declined or expressed reservations about the board. Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy are noncommittal. There were 19 countries with him in Davos, but Hungary and Bulgaria were the only European countries by his side.

“Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” Trump said. “You know, I’ve always said the United Nations has got tremendous potential, has not used it, but there’s tremendous potential in the United Nations.”

On Jan. 7, Trump announced he would withdraw the United States from 66 international organizations, conventions and treaties deemed “contrary to the interests of the United States,” and many of them were United Nations-related agencies that focus on climate, labor, migration and other issues the administration has claimed were catering to diversity.

The initial scope of the board was to focus on peace in the Middle East, but the administration has since signaled it will have wider impact.

The White House’s list of members of the Board of Peace includes Belgium, but Maxime Prevot, deputy prime minister of Belgium, said on X Thursday that it wasn’t true.

“Belgium has NOT signed the Charter of the Board of Peace. This announcement is incorrect,” his post said. “We wish for a common and coordinated European response. As many European countries, we have reservations to the proposal.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been invited.

“Russia is our enemy. Belarus is their ally,” The Washington Post reported Zelensky said Tuesday. “It is very difficult for me to imagine how we and Russia can be together in this or that council.” Poland has expressed similar concerns.

Sunday services were halted in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo over extensive looting by fighters from the M23/AFC group. On Jan. 18, violence erupted in the Uvira town, forcing churches to shut down and disrupting the sanity of locals.

The rebels invaded several buildings across various quarters of Uvira, making off with valuables, including household belongings and shop stocks. As the looting unfolded, the rebels and their supporters fired shots into the air, instilling an atmosphere of fear and panic among the residents. 

The Catholic churches in the town suspended mass services for the day, while other denominations urged their congregations to stay home for their safety. Administrative buildings also fell victim to the chaos, with office furniture and valuables, including important documents and archives, being looted, according to local sources.

“Right now, it is difficult to know who is in control on the ground in Uvira. Youths claiming to be Wazalendo were seen in some quarters of the town, while other youths identified with M23/AFC rebels were also seen in other quarters of Uvira. While the various armed groups have been spoiling the town, the DR Congo national army, FARDC, is nowhere to be found,” a civil society activist in the area told HumAngle.

These incidents came on the heels of the recent departure of some of the M23/AFC combatants from Uvira, where around 200 heavily armed men wearing military helmets were seen leaving the town on foot, while others were in trucks. The M23 group said those sighted included members of its observation and monitoring unit, stating that this departure signified the final phase of their withdrawal from Uvira. They further declared that they would no longer assume responsibility for the town and its inhabitants’ security.

In response to a request from the United States, the mediators in the conflict, the rebel group, claimed it had decided to withdraw its foot soldiers from Uvira in December 2025 to allow peace to reign. Bertrand Bisimwa, head of the M23’s political wing, said the movement of forces from the town was imminent.

“We call upon the civilian population to remain calm,” he said, adding that the group called on mediators and other partners to ensure the town was “protected from violence, retaliation, and re-militarisation”.

The Malone family from Gogglebox have been sharing snaps with their fans as they show off their rarely seen son.

Gogglebox enthusiasts have been given an unusual peek into the Malone family’s life through a heartwarming post about their son.

The family became part of the beloved Channel 4 show in 2014, with dad Tom, mum Julie, and their sons Shaun and Tom Jr taking centre stage. Their daughter, Vanessa, has also made several appearances throughout the years.

Since joining Gogglebox, the household – complete with their beloved pack of Rottweilers – has captured viewers’ hearts with their hilarious observations, reliably bringing entertainment to living rooms across the nation.

Whilst Tom Jnr left in 2021, the rest of the family has continued gracing their iconic sofa, appearing in the programme’s 26th series, which launched in September 2025. Yet many fans might not realise the couple have another son named Lee, reports OK!.

On Wednesday (January 21), Tom and Julie posted two photographs of Lee on Instagram after he completed a demanding sporting challenge.

One image shows Lee standing shirtless with his mate before the results board, whilst another features him alongside his partner and their two youngsters.

The couple wrote: “Well done to our son Lee and his friend Craig! Great time, lads, at 01.02.33 love that Sarah, Grayson and Caelan went to cheer Daddy on!”

Supporters quickly flooded the comments with congratulatory messages for Lee, with one fan writing: “Fantastic,” whilst another responded: “Wow.”

Meanwhile, Tom and Julie have recently welcomed a fresh addition to their household after unveiling their new pooch in a Gogglebox episode that broadcast on New Year’s Day.

Having graced the programme for 11 years, the Malone clan, based in Manchester, were regularly spotted enjoying their television viewing accompanied by their beloved Rottweiler companions.

This hasn’t prevented the Malones from opening their doors to a creature requiring care, with the family revealing they’ve taken in another canine.

During the episode, which featured Tom and Julie’s son, Shaun, and their granddaughter, Saoirse, the household introduced their latest rescue puppy.

Tom enquired of Saoirse: “Who have we got here?” whilst their fresh four-legged friend bounded into the room to frolic with the youngster.

Disclosing the newest family member’s moniker, Tom questioned his grandchild: “Buddy! Is he your new doggie? Have you rescued him from the pound?” to which Saoirse responded, “Yeah,” as the pup carried on playing.

Tom jested: “We got this again have we? We got another nutcase in the house, haven’t we? All right buddy are you the nutcase of the house now?!”

Gogglebox is available to stream on Channel 4.com

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website**

In the wake of the fatal shooting of a Minnesota mother by an immigration agent this month, House Democrats have filed articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

These lawmakers are on the right track, but they need not have waited so long. Throughout her year at the Department of Homeland Security, Noem has shown disregard for judicial and congressional authority, and she has misled the American people. Her leadership is endangering the country. She should be removed from office before she can do more of the same and worse.

As secretary, Noem has displayed a troubling pattern of unethical behavior. Her infamous photo op last March, posing in front of detainees in El Salvador’s CECOT prison, was not just grotesque; it may have violated Geneva Convention provisions against the public exploitation of prisoners.

In October, Noem ordered a video blaming Democrats for the government shutdown to be played at airports nationwide. This was in direct conflict with the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity.

In November, the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica reported that a company tied to Noem got money from $220-million Homeland Security ad contracts in a secret, no-bid process.

None of these instances reflect sound judgment by the person charged with keeping our country safe.

Noem does not seem to respect the judicial branch. She defied a federal judge by not turning around deportation flights to El Salvador last March. Her agents in Chicago have used chemical sprays on protesters multiple times despite a court order forbidding them from doing so. Speaking on “Meet the Press” in November, Noem said, “We’ll continue to do the right thing, continue to work and protect Americans, no matter what radical judge comes out and tries to stop us.” These actions, coupled with her own words, reveal an unacceptable disdain for our constitutional system of checks and balances.

Under Noem, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have flouted congressional authority. Members of Congress have for months been denied their lawful right to inspect detention facilities in Minnesota, New Jersey, Florida and California. Such oversight is critical to protecting the well-being of detainees, especially because the department gutted its own watchdog agencies.

Noem has also made false or misleading statements to Congress, the press and the public. She made so many derogatory remarks about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man deported by mistake to El Salvador, that a federal judge rebuked her for inflammatory comments. Noem has often declared that ICE does not detain or deport U.S. citizens, even though it does. ProPublica has, in fact, documented more than 170 cases of Americans detained by immigration agents. And although Noem likes to repeat that ICE agents are going after “the worst of the worst,” internal agency data show that they have arrested nearly 75,000 people with no criminal records.

When summoned before a congressional committee in December, Noem struck a defiant tone. “I will consider your asking me to resign as an endorsement of my work,” she told one lawmaker. However, this was before the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. Now the public appears to have lost confidence in Noem, whose job approval recently slipped to 36%.

True, Noem was appointed by President Trump to execute his aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. Anyone else put in the role would probably also have carried out these policies.

It is how Noem has carried out her responsibilities that demonstrates unfitness for her job — not only pursuing the president’s agenda but also racking up a body count, defying the law and lying.

She is also failing at the most basic functions of her role. Consider that, under her leadership, FEMA has been widely faulted for responding too slowly to natural disasters in Texas and North Carolina. Or that Noem has allowed department social media accounts to feature white nationalist memes and questionable messaging, including recruitment posts saying, “Want to deport illegals with your absolute boys?”

Noem’s tenure has already had grave consequences. Thirty-two people died in ICE custody in 2025, making it the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades. During Trump’s second term, immigration agents have shot at people at least 16 times.

Americans need a Homeland Security secretary who will follow the law, respect Congress and tell the truth to the public. Kristi Noem is not that person. Under her, the department is harming citizens, not protecting them. Lawmakers should press her impeachment forward and remove her from office — unless she has the decency to resign first.

Raul A. Reyes is an immigration attorney and television commentator in New York City. X: @RaulAReyes Instagram: @raulareyes1

This essay is excerpted from culture writer Chuck Klosterman’s new book, “Football.”

Television defined the last half of the twentieth century, outperforming all other mass media combined.

This was already understood by the onset of the 1970s, prompting countless network executives to kill themselves in the hope of creating something impeccably suited for sitting in front of an electromagnetic box and remaining there for as long as possible. This typically entailed thoughtful consideration over the content of TV: what a program was about, how it was written, and what personalities were involved. But what’s even more critical, and far harder to manufacture, is the form of the program: the pacing, the visual construction, and the way the watcher experiences whatever they happen to be watching. How a person thinks about television is a manifestation of its content; how a person feels about television is a manifestation of its form. And there’s simply never been a TV product more formally successful than televised football. This was an accident. But it turns out you can’t design something on purpose that’s superior to the way televised football naturally occurs.

I realize I’m making an aesthetic argument many will not accept, particularly if they start from the position that football games are boring, meaningless, or both. The merits of televised football as a formal spectacle are immaterial to someone who hates the thing being televised, in the same way the harmonic simplicity of Miles Davis is immaterial to someone who hates jazz. Appreciating the TV experience of football requires some casual interest in the game itself. But what makes the TV experience of football so remarkable is how “casual interest” is more than enough to generate an illogically deep level of satisfaction. The way football is broadcast manages to obliterate any difference between an informal consumer and a face-painting fanatic. This is due to many factors, the most critical being that football is always, always, always better on television than it is in person. The televised experience is so superior to the in‑person experience that most people watching a football game live are mentally converting what they’re seeing into its TV equivalent, without even trying.

The only sport universally understood to be better when watched in person is hockey. In the same way football is always better on TV, hockey is always better live. With almost every other sport, the difference is debatable. Baseball is sometimes better in person, because it’s nice to sit outside in the summer (the weather and the park have more influence than the game). Basketball becomes more compelling if you sit close to the court and less compelling if you’re in the rafters, though the prime seats in any NBA arena tend to provide ticket holders with the same viewpoint they’d get from a TV broadcast. Live tennis and live golf offer details that can’t be captured on television, but there are rules of decorum and big potential for monotony. Soccer is exclusively about atmosphere and identity, so the experience of being in the crowd and the experience of the game itself are only nominally associated, in the same way going to see the Grateful Dead in the late 1980s was only nominally about music. Live boxing and live auto racing deliver palpable electricity with subpar sightlines. In all of these non‑football examples, the debate boils down to how effectively the televised depiction of an event can translate its in‑person actuality, which is why hockey is an outlier (the ambient feeling of bodies colliding with plexiglass is not digitally transferrable). Televised football is an outlier to an even greater extent, and for a much stranger reason: The TV experience doesn’t translate the live experience at all, in any way. The game happening in the physical world only exists to facilitate the broadcast version of the game, even if the game is not being televised. Here again, it must be reiterated: Football is a purely mediated experience, even when there is no media involved. It’s not just that you can see a game better when you watch it on television. Television is the only way you can see it at all.

Football fans attend football games for lots of different reasons. However, one of the expressed reasons can never be “A desire to see what’s really happening.” If that was someone’s true desire, they would stay home and watch it on TV. No one inside a football stadium — including the coaches on the sideline and the players on the field— can see the game with the consistent clarity of a person watching remotely. The announcers have the game happening directly in front of them and still watch the action on TV monitors, in part because they want their commentary to match what the home viewer is seeing but mostly because the camera is the perspective that matters.

And even when there is no camera, our minds insert one.

By now, it’s difficult to find any football game that isn’t being filmed by someone. When CBS broadcast Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, the network utilized 165 cameras. When Super Bowl I was broadcast in 1967 (on two competing networks at the same time), the total number of cameras was 11. This is now unthinkable. Show up at a random Pop Warner football game in rural Idaho, and you might find 22 different parents recording the action on 22 different camera phones. When I played high school football in the 1980s, not even the state championship was broadcast by any local station; today, most regular‑season high school games in every state can be streamed live, sometimes with a multi-camera professionalism on par with the broadcast of Super Bowl I. A camera‑free event has become rarer than the alternative. But the mental phenomenon I’m describing has little to do with how videography has expanded. The mentally inserted “camera” is not a machine. It is a way of seeing. It’s a type of forced perspective, invented by cameras and normalized through the omnipresence of television. In other realms of existence, such a phenomenon would be bad, since what I’m describing is a kind of psychological fascism. It is, technically, a form of mind control. Yet in this one particular instance, it benefits both the sport and the audience. With football, the psychology of fascism works.

Author Chuck Klosterman

(Joanna Ceciliani)

Visualize, for a moment, a capacity crowd at Michigan Stadium, the third‑largest sports venue on earth. Imagine the Michigan Wolverines are playing the Ohio State Buckeyes, with 107,601 people in the stands. Those 107,601 people are all seeing the event in a unique way, because every individual seat is in a unique location. All 107,601 sight lines are personal. Throughout the game, the ball moves up and down the field, and — every so often — a play will happen directly in front of a handful of fans coincidentally located in the ideal spot to see the action. Perhaps a woman’s seat is in the tenth row of section 15, located in the westerly corner of the south end zone: If an Ohio State receiver runs a fade pattern and catches the ball over his shoulder in front of the southwest pylon, that ticket holder will witness the reception with an unmatched lucidity. No one else will experience that extemporaneous moment like the woman in that particular seat. However, this solitary play is probably the only time when that will be true. There will be 179 other plays throughout the game, none of which will unequivocally cater to the singular view of this specific woman in this specific location. And what will happen during those other 179 plays is a bypassing of consciousness: The woman will see a play from her unique vantage point and automatically reframe what she saw into the way it would appear on television. She will watch the play from where she is sitting, but she will process the play from the standard TV perspective of a wide‑angle camera stationed in the press box at midfield. What she sees with her eyes will not be what she sees with her mind.

“But that’s not true,” you say. “That’s not how it is for me.” And maybe it’s not. There are exceptions to everything. Maybe your mind doesn’t work like this. Maybe you’ve attended three football games a week for twenty years without ever owning a television. Maybe your visual relationship with the world is completely authentic and unchanged by technology. I can’t crawl inside your skull and prove you wrong. But this is how it works for most people, including most who insist it does not. The visual imprinting of television is more overpowering than the visual imprinting of life; a TV screen presents an enclosed reality inside the preexisting reality of your house, and that manufactured reality overwrites both your memory and your imagination. Think of the primary setting from an old multi-camera sitcom (Jerry’s apartment on “Seinfeld,” the living room on “The Big Bang Theory,” the bar from “Cheers”). The standard shot of the set is ingrained in your memory and can be instantly recalled, but try to imagine physically entering that set through a different door and meandering around, without referencing the original image and triangulating where everything is supposed to be. Think of a real place or a historical event you’ve only experienced through film (the streets of 1950s San Francisco in “Vertigo,” West Baltimore as depicted on “The Wire,” the invasion of Normandy as seen in “Saving Private Ryan”). How difficult is it to now reimagine these places or events in a manner unlike the fake images you’ve seen only a few times? If you’re still skeptical, try this test: Host a party in your home and prop up your smartphone in an inconspicuous corner. Film 20 minutes of the party while you mingle with various guests. Rewatch that footage once a week for a month. At the end of the month, try to mentally reconstruct interactions from the party that aren’t anywhere on the recording. Try to visualize how the party looked, but from a different angle. You may be alarmed to realize your own unrecorded memories are locked into the perspective of wherever you placed your phone.

“But that’s not how football on TV works at all,” you say in response. “Football is seen from multiple angles that constantly shift. A few paragraphs ago, you noted that CBS used 165 different cameras for the Super Bowl. Football is better on TV, but not for the reason you claim. It’s better on television because there isn’t one static view.”

That’s a valid response, and it might feel true on a moment‑to‑moment basis. A controversial play might be replayed from seven different angles in the span of thirty seconds. It can even be argued that the standard camera view of a TV football game is the worst camera angle available. During the college football playoffs, ESPN’s family of networks will sometimes show the same game on multiple channels, with one channel broadcasting the whole affair from the Skycam camera. This is a remote camera hovering above and behind the line of scrimmage, replicating the perspective one sees in a video game. Coaches call this the “All‑22” view, because all 22 players on the field are simultaneously observable. It’s the camera angle coordinators use for film study, and — when it’s available — it’s the way I prefer to watch football. The Skycam allows the viewer to see how the defense is aligned, to follow pass patterns as they develop, and to (almost) see the game the way it’s seen by the quarterback. In terms of absorbing what’s transpiring, it’s vastly superior to the traditional mid‑ field perspective from the press box. Yet even as I’m watching the Skycam view, I can sense what’s happening inside my brain: I’m unconsciously converting what I see into the classic sideline sight line, even though that’s an inferior shot. I prefer the Skycam, but I understand what I’m seeing through the limited perspective of the most traditional camera angle: a master shot that (a) exclusively fixates on the location of the ball, (b) doesn’t include every involved player, and (c) provides no sense of depth or spacing. It’s an inadequacy that should be a death blow.

But like I keep saying: Football is different. These are the flaws that make the magic.

Copyright © 2026 by Charles Klosterman. Published by Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

Klosterman is the bestselling author of nine nonfiction books (including “The Nineties” and “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs”), two novels (“Downtown Owl” and “The Visible Man”) and the short story collection “Raised in Captivity.” He was raised in rural North Dakota and now lives in Portland, Ore.

Whenever I travel back to Oklahoma to see family, one question I almost certainly get is: How’s the drought?

Hikers are arguably more aware than most Angelenos of how the drought is. How many of us have wanted to take a fun adventure in the mountains only to discover stagnant puddles and a rock wall of moss where a waterfall once flowed?

That is not today’s reality though. For the first time in 25 years, California is free of drought!

This news comes with multiple caveats, namely how human-caused climate change is continuing to shift California’s weather cycles in concerning ways. But two things can be true at once, and the rain that Mother Nature offers is still its own kind of blessing.

“This is certainly a less destructive weather winter than last year was and than many of the drought years were, so it’s OK to take that breather and to acknowledge that, right now, things are doing OK,” UC climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a recent story on drought.

Around L.A., we are blessed with a multitude of hikes that feature rivers and waterfalls. I chose the three hikes below because they’re in different regions of L.A. County and because they’re less-crowded water-themed hikes when compared to spots like Trail Canyon, Sturtevant or Escondido Falls.

The sun sets on the hillsides surrounding Zuma and Trancas Canyons in the Santa Monica Mountains.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

A few tips before we dive in:

• Wear hiking shoes or boots that are water-resistant or waterproof; not only will it add to your safety but also ensure you don’t clog up the trail for others behind you.
• Bring trekking poles for better balance at water crossings.
• At a water crossing, test a rock or log with your trekking pole before stepping on it; water crossings are often created by other hikers, so there’s no reason to assume the path through the river is safe.
• Before crossing a river or stream, assess whether the trail is taking you to the best place to cross; although we want to stay on trail, sometimes off trail is a better, safer option to cross.
• Do not cross a swift river or creek if you feel unsafe; we’ve lost hikers to drownings in the San Gabriel River in recent seasons.

I hope you have a beautiful time in our local mountains. With California free of drought conditions, we might just break Instagram with the number of waterfall selfies flowing out of our state.

Zuma Creek flows alongside part of the Backbone Trail, west of the Kanan Road trailhead.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

1. Upper Zuma Falls via Backbone Trail
Distance: 6.2 miles
Elevation gained: About 900 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Dogs allowed? Yes
Accessible alternative: Solstice Canyon Road

The Upper Zuma Falls via Backbone Trail is a 4.4- to 6.4-mile journey, depending on your route, where you’ll cross Zuma Creek via a well-maintained bridge and experience Upper Zuma Falls, a seasonal waterfall that features a varying number of cascades depending on rainfall.

To begin, you’ll park at a paved lot just north of a tunnel on Kanan Dume Road. (Fun fact: The Backbone Trail, a 67-mile trek through the Santa Monica Mountains, crosses over this tunnel!) The trailhead is on the west side of the lot. This is part of the aforementioned Backbone Trail.

The first .7 miles of the trail runs parallel to the road before taking hikers northwest through the canyon.

This trail will likely only get more beautiful, as it already has several blooming ceanothus shrubs and trees with white and purple-blue blooms, along with hummingbird sage, chaparral currant and lupine, which isn’t yet blooming.

If you notice a shrub with clusters of bright yellow flowers, you might have spotted a California barberry. “We are not likely to see barberry plants anywhere else in the Santa Monica Mountains,” hiking guru Milt McAuley wrote in one of his trail books.

Upper Zuma Falls, a seasonal waterfall in the Santa Monica Mountains.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Just under two miles in, you should spot the falls to the north. The official trail does not take you to the falls. Instead, you will, about 2.1 miles in, take a short, steep user-generated path north off the Backbone Trail. It’s OK to skip this part if you’d like to just admire the falls from a distance.

I found the unofficial path to the waterfall fairly well-maintained until I got closest to the waterfall, and the brush was much thicker. If you choose to take this excursion, I’d recommend wearing hiking pants. On my walk back from the waterfall, I was greeted by a cacophony of frogs ribbiting at dusk. That remains one of my favorite sounds of our natural world.

From the turnoff to the waterfall, you could either turn around or continue onward. Many users will turn at just under three miles in and take the Zuma Ridge Motorway about a third of a mile up to Encinal Canyon Road. You could also, if you’ve downloaded the map or have a paper copy, continue on the Backbone Trail. Regardless, you will be treated to lush flora and fauna and, given the rainfall, probably some mushrooms.

The waterfall in Placerita Canyon as seen on April 1, 2025.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

2. Placerita Canyon and Waterfall Trail

Distance: 4.7 miles out and back
Elevation gained: 650 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Dogs allowed? Yes
Accessible alternative: Placerita Nature Center Loop

The Placerita Canyon and Waterfall Trail is a 4.7-mile out-and-back adventure that combines two trails in Placerita Canyon State Park. You’ll travel through an east/west-running canyon, shaded by oak woodlands as you listen to the water run along Placerita Creek. If you’re a history buff, consider taking the paved path near the parking lot to check out the Oak of the Golden Dream, the first authenticated gold discovery in California by colonizers.

To start your hike, you’ll take the trailhead just south of the Placerita Canyon Nature Center. The trail will follow the creek as it takes you past large coast live oaks and healthy thickets of California sagebrush (one of my favorite smells of our local mountains).

Savor that. Because just before the 1.5-mile marker, you’ll catch a whiff of a putrid odor that’ll make you wonder whether you’ve stumbled upon a gas leak. Kind of! Ahead, you’ll discover two small pools of bubbling goop next to the trail.

“This very rare geologic feature of translucent petroleum has been filtered by nature,” the sign reads. Scientists think this white oil originated deep within the earth, traveled along the San Gabriel fault zone and was filtered through several layers of sediment. Decades ago, residents would pour it into their Ford Model Ts for fuel, according to the sign.

Less than a mile from here, you’ll reach the end of Canyon Trail. You’ll find several picnic tables and usually a few portable toilets. This is a great place to take a break and also do some birding. When I visited a few weeks ago, a small bird flitted around me, hoping I’d drop some bread. (Don’t feed them, no matter how cute they are.)

Coast live oaks along the Canyon Trail in Placerita Canyon State Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

If you have kids younger than 7, I’d advise sticking to the Canyon Trail. The Waterfall Trail includes a few challenging technical features, including a spot where you must hike up a rocky, root-covered segment.

If continuing on, you’ll take the Waterfall Trail south just over half a mile. You will gain about 250 feet in elevation. The closer you get to the waterfall, the easier it is to lose the trail. Consider downloading the map beforehand so you don’t end up like me, cussing alone in the woods. (It’s a great visual though.)

The waterfall is an estimated 25 feet, the average height of a two-story building. Another one of nature’s stunners!

The West Fork of the San Gabriel River.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

3. West Fork National Scenic Bikeway

Distance: 14 miles out and back
Elevation gained: About 900 feet
Difficulty: On the easier end of moderate
Dogs allowed? Yes
Accessible alternative: N/A, as this is accessible

The West Fork National Scenic Bikeway is a seven-mile paved path that runs alongside the West Fork of the San Gabriel River. This crystal-clear waterway is home to multiple species of fish, including rainbow trout and the (adorable) arroyo chub. The first time I visited the West Fork National Scenic Bikeway, I was gobsmacked to find a well-paved pathway in the middle of the forest.

To start your hike, you’ll park at the West Fork day-use parking lot off State Highway 39. This lot can fill up on the weekends. The U.S. Forest Service recommends you arrive early or later in the afternoon to avoid crowds.

If using a wheelchair to hike, I’d recommend parking just before the day-use lot at a smaller parking area. The gate for the trail is here, and you can avoid stairs and other obstacles by parking here instead.

A seasonal waterfall next to the West Fork National Scenic Bikeway.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

From the lot, the trail meanders seven miles alongside the river, shaded by sycamore, white alder and willow trees, and it will take you as far west as the Cogswell Dam. Seasonal waterfalls flow alongside the trail, sometimes off the sides of the mountain. I’d recommend traveling as far down the path as you feel up to. There’s no reason to finish all seven miles if you’d prefer to hike a bit before relaxing along the river, listening to its gentle whoosh as you enjoy a moment without cellphone reception.

Keep an eye out for California newts along the trail, as they’re popular here. If you spot this large salamander, though, don’t pick it up! Not only is it rude, as that little guy probably had its own plans for the day, but also its skin secretes a neurotoxin that can cause illness, and in extreme cases, paralysis and death.

The Glenn Camp Campground is near the end of the trail and provides a great spot to eat snacks, relax and maybe even take a nap. It also makes for an easy bikepacking trip.

🦎💦⛰️

Regardless of where you go, I hope you have a fun, safe trip. Feel free to reply to this newsletter if you’re reading The Wild in your inbox with your thoughts about your favorite water-themed hikes!

3 things to do

Environmental educator Jason Wise, right, and his students present their invasive plant salad, foraged on a hike through L.A.

(Jason Wise)

1. Channel your inner goat in Elysian Park
Environmental educator Jason Wise will host an Eat the Weeds! workshop from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Elysian Park. Participants will take an easy hike where they’ll learn about edible native and invasive plants growing in the park. Along the way, students will gather invasive edible plants and then prepare and eat a wild, foraged, hyper-locally sourced salad. There is a suggested donation to join the class. Register at eventbrite.com.

2. Have ‘Sew’ much fun hiking in L.A.
Clothing designer Angel Gentle will host a Hike + Sew event at 8 a.m. Friday at Elysian Park. Guests are encouraged to bring their sewing machine or supplies for hand sewing. The group will leave the parking lot at 8:15 a.m. Participants should bring their own water, food and supplies. $10 suggested donation. Register at partiful.com.

3. Learn about planting native trees near Agoura Hills
The National Park Service and Santa Monica Mountains Fund need volunteers from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday to help restore a portion of Cheeseboro Canyon with native plants. The canyon burned in the 2018 Woolsey fire, and staff and volunteers have worked since to replant oaks and other native plants in the area. Sign up at eventbrite.com.

The must-read

A foggy view from the scenic trail in Sycamore Canyon.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

If you’re dreaming of a summer camping trip near one of California’s beaches, now’s the time to start planning. As Times staff writer Christopher Reynolds points out in his recent piece, “Statewide, California’s campground system continues to open most campsites for online reservations at 8 a.m., six months ahead of the stay, on a rolling basis.” That means if you’d like to take a mid-July trip to Point Mugu State Park, you’ll want to make reservations ASAP to camp at Sycamore Canyon and Thornhill Broome Campground, the latter of which allows you to camp on the beach. It is one of the most popular state park campgrounds, which Reynolds lays out in his piece.

Happy adventuring,

P.S.

Did you know there are plans to build a forest in downtown L.A.? Using the Miyawaki method, Gloria Molina Grand Park staff and volunteers will start installing a forest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 31. According to this article, “The Miyawaki method, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, is an innovative approach to afforestation that mimics natural forest ecosystems. This technique involves planting a diverse mix of native species very closely together, which accelerates growth and enhances biodiversity.” The plan is to transform 650 feet into a native ecosystem. To learn more, visit the park’s Instagram page. I might see you there!

For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.

Hill 350, a strategic high point on the Thailand-Cambodia border, was fiercely contested in fighting last year. Thai forces say they secured it weeks ago, unlocking a ceasefire that is now holding — though tensions remain high and the area stays heavily fortified.

Donald Trump officially launched his “Board of Peace,” offering a vision of Gaza that sees Hamas disarmed and real estate developments based on “free market economy principles.”

Brad Pitt in the movie “F1.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Nominating this popcorn trifle for best picture is silly, but at least it didn’t get a screenplay nod for a script that’s simply: See Brad Pitt go, go, go. Still, I’ll admit that I recommended this rumbler to everyone who wanted an excuse to speed to the multiplex. (I elbowed my uncle, a hobbyist racer, to go see it a half-dozen times.) Not once in ‘F1’ does it feel like we’re invested in Pitt’s bizarrely constructed character, a throwback fossil with jokey Gen-Z tattoos. The movie is fueled by pure star power and you can’t fault Oscar voters for huffing its fumes.