Month: February 2026

Jones says he developed various symptoms after being regularly concussed during training and matches.

Speaking to BBC Sport from Malaysia, where he and his family now live, he said: “I noticed that if I was doing simple tasks, like making my children a bottle of water, trying to pour it and trying to steady my hand, putting a card in the card machine, putting the keys in the door, I just couldn’t stop my shaking,” he said.

“And that’s when things progressively started to get worse; headaches, brain fog, neck pain, eye pain… I’m sensitive to light and to noise, anxiety, depression.

“The scariest thing I find is being unable to regulate my emotions. That terrifies me. I cope with it by just taking myself away. It’s been at the detriment sometimes of our marriage and me being a father and to my friends… I very much isolate myself.

“I would never let my children play, and that’s a really sad thing.”

Jones’ wife Olivia told BBC Sport that the changes in her husband’s personality were “very gradual at first” but became “impossible to ignore”.

“He went from being confident, energetic, and present to being withdrawn, irritable, forgetful – and he just seemed to be constantly in pain,” she said.

“And he often complained about suffering with headaches, brain fog, and anxiety, and it became quite scary for me.”

Feb. 10 (UPI) — The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday it’s undertaking a review of the chemical preservative butylated hydroxyanisole to determine if the potentially carcinogenic substance is safe for continued use.

Health officials have aired concerns about BHA since its use was approved, and the National Institute of Health’s National Toxicology Program describes it as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” based on studies using animals, according to the FDA.

The preservative, commonly referred to as BHA, is used to preserve food and as a food contact substance to prevent contamination for food packaging materials.

“BHA has remained in the food supply for decades despite being identified by the National Toxicology Program as ‘reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen’ based on animal studies,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday.

“This reassessment marks the end of the ‘trust us’ era in food safety,” Kennedy continued.

“If BHA cannot meet today’s gold-standard science for its current uses, we will remove it from the food supply and continue cleaning up food chemicals — starting where children face the greatest exposure,” he added.

The FDA has prioritized the study of BHA while the federal agency assesses various chemicals that are contained within the nation’s food supply.

It previously recognized BHA as safe in 1958 and approved its use as a food additive in 1961 to help preserve the oils and fats that commonly are found in many food products.

Such foods include frozen meals, breakfast cereals, meat products and many types of snacks.

The use of BHA has declined in recent years, but its use continues, including in food products that are marketed to children.

“The FDA is committed to ensuring the safety of chemicals in our food supply through rigorous, science-based evaluation,” said Kyle Diamantas, deputy commissioner for the FDA’s Human Foods Program.

“This comprehensive post-market assessment of BHA reflects our proactive approach to food safety and our dedication to protecting public health by continuously reviewing the latest scientific evidence,” he said.

The review is part of Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again effort, which seeks to remove potentially harmful chemicals and other substances from the nation’s food supply.

On 15 different occasions, terrorists trailing Amiru Bala failed to capture him. They succeeded on their 16th attempt in the Tsafe area of Zamfara State, northwestern Nigeria. 

Amiru, whose locality is boiling with rural terrorists turning towns and villages into hell, is revered for providing effective, yet affordable medical care to residents of the Bakin Manya village in Tsafe and is praised for compassionately treating his patients.

In his village, criminal actors have metamorphosed into killing, kidnapping, and maiming residents at will. For more than a decade, security forces have tried but failed to rein in attacks on civilians, causing distrust between locals and state authorities. 

Life in Bakin Manya is hard, residents said. Nobody trusts anybody; many young people within the local community have joined the bandwagon of terrorists killing for fun and kidnapping for ransom. Amid this devastating development, the health system in the rural villages is debilitating, with clinics and hospitals running out of drugs, staff, and patients.

“Our life is threatened, our peace is lost, and our homes are broken,” Amiru cried, as he spoke to HumAngle after regaining his freedom. “Our neighbours turned into sworn enemies. Many among them do not understand why they were subconsciously lured into rural terrorism by their kinsmen, harrowing as their enslaved masters.” 

Amiru said he grew up in an indigent family. At 10, he was inspired to go to school after seeing a team of health workers conducting house-to-house vaccination. It took him over a year to appeal to his father to enrol him in the village primary school. He finally gained admission into the Chediya Primary School when he was 11. After completing his primary education, he proceeded to the Government Science Secondary School in Tsafe, where his interest in science and health grew rapidly.

He later secured admission into College of Health Science and Technology, Tsafe, and graduated as a Senior Community Health Extension Worker after two years of study. Amiru returned to Bakin Manya to focus on providing medical care for villagers and organising campaigns against seasonal diseases.

As medical needs grew within the community, more villagers knocked on his door. He would soon become popular within and outside his community.

Amiru said he advised the village leadership to sponsor the medical needs of some of the community members, but his hope was thwarted when terrorists took over the governance of the village. Rural terrorism has taken a toll on the people, with criminals operating without hindrance.

“Today, as I speak, there are no vehicle movements; not even a bicycle would dare or try passing through the entire northern parts of Chediya Ward, which is just 5-6 kilometres away from the Tsafe local government headquarters,” he lamented.

Life became even harder when terror groups in Tsafe decided to take total control of Chediya, including Amiru’s village. They divided the ward into two: The Chediya North and South. One terrorist leader, Kachalla Musa, first tried to subjugate 14 communities in Chediya North but failed, calling the locals “irredeemably bad people” because they refused to be submissive or negotiate with him. Kabiru Adamu, the Chediya district head, said life has been miserable for his people since they refused to adhere to the demands of the terrorists. For at least five years, they have been under incessant attacks.

“Two different gangs loyal to Ado Aleru and his kinsmen, Hassan Nabamamu and Kachalla Saidu, came together recently to launch a weeklong attack on our communities. Their mission was to displace all of us. In that attack, there were 35 people killed, 29 abducted; they ransacked houses and shops where they looted,” Kabiru recounted. 

Amid escalating chaos, the community faced a difficult predicament beyond their resilience. As state authorities failed to offer assistance against the terrorists, they were left with no choice but to negotiate. About 300 individuals were forced into manual labour on the terrorists’ farms, as part of the so-called peace deal. The community paid millions of naira to gang leader Ado through his agent, Musa Kwamanda, but locals still live in fear. 

In Chediya South, locals have totally succumbed to the antics of terrorists, allowing them to operate freely in exchange for their freedom. Since they entered into the peace deal with Ado’s gang in February 2025, they said they had not experienced any major attack or abduction.

“We eat together and spend most of the night with the terrorists at our homes. Our farmlands are free for us, travel to Gusau and Tsafe towns and safely return at any time,” said Mamman Dirmi, the village monarch of Chediya South. “Our matrimonial beds are shared with the armed terrorists, especially the young boys among them. Although we reported to Ado, asking for his intervention, nothing seems to have changed for the better.” 

Despite adhering to the terrorists’ rules and regulations, however, residents in the Chediya North told HumAngle that things became even tougher. The terrorists have taken over the main road to the community, extorting travellers and raping women and girls indiscriminately.

Abducted to treat terrorists

When they fall ill or are wounded by gunshots, terrorists are usually wary of visiting health facilities within the Tsafe area. The criminal gang came up with a plan to abduct a health worker to treat their injured fighters. Amiru was the prime target, being the most popular health worker in the axis.

After multiple attempts, a gang of five terrorists invaded Amiru’s house in November 2025. Among them, two were armed with guns that slung over their shoulders. They called out his name from outside the door, demanding that he come out peacefully; they threatened that if he refused, they would shoot him and his wife. Faced with the frightening threat, he reluctantly opened the door and stepped outside. 

One of the invaders locked eyes with him and declared that their mission was a simple abduction: he would be taken to their camp for a few days before ultimately being released.

Amiru quickly realised the terrorists were possibly abducting him because they needed medical treatment for either their wounded members or sick ones, or both. “They chained, placed a gun at my wife’s head and smuggled me out at gunpoint,”  he recalled. 

He was overpowered and placed on a motorcycle, leaving his wife and relatives panicking. Later, one of the motorcycles, which carried three terrorists with guns, went far ahead of Amiru and his captors. Amiru sat tightly chained in the centre of the motorcycle, his heart racing as he assessed his precarious situation. In front of him, the motorcycle’s rider leaned forward, oblivious to the tension mounting behind them. At Amiru’s back, another terrorist gripped a gun against his spine. 

Despite the daunting presence of his captor, Amiru’s resolve hardened. He realised he could shake the moving motorcycle free from their control. With iron chains cutting painfully into his skin, he felt the limited but crucial freedom offered by the loose straps across his lap. The rail track whizzed by, a blur of danger and opportunity. Amiru knew that if he could just muster his strength, he might fight back, even in chains, to reclaim his freedom and thwart the terrorists’ plans. The stakes were high, but so was his determination.

“We all fell down, the rider could not move an inch as he kissed the ground with the vehicle’s headlight cover marching his chest. The other terrorist ran away after I knocked his head with the chain and was bleeding helplessly,” Amiru said, describing how he escaped about two hours after he was abducted. “I returned home, and there was huge jubilation across the community, breaking the news of my narrow escape. My father insisted that my wife and I flee our village. The news of my abduction jittered many informants, and the terrorists will likely return again.” 

Fearing reprisal attacks on his people, Amiru said he did not inform any local or state authority about the issue. In the past, those who reported such incidents later regretted it– the terrorists often imposed severe penalties on villagers after security operatives had withdrawn.

Struggling to rebuild life

Amiru fled his home, abandoned his work, and resettled in another town. His life transformed from that of a village health worker to that of a beggar. “As an IDP, my wife and I suffered from insufficient food, hardly getting three square meals a day. I left my father in the village, and he needs my help, but we are all helpless,” he complained.

The few residents who remained in the village were nearly subdued by the relentless attacks. Silence became their daily refuge in an unsettled peace. Whenever community protection guards or soldiers arrived to secure the area, terrorists would accuse the residents of inviting them. At one point, they no longer wanted to see government security forces visiting their communities, as these visits only brought unending humiliation and infringed upon their freedom of movement.

“I am declared wanted and hunted by the terrorists loyal to Ado Aleru’s faction, led by Hassan. He orchestrated an operation with his armed men – Dankaura, Ofisa, Aljan, and Dankabiru – that resulted in the death of 36 innocent farmers. I was not present during the attack, so I escaped and fled my home,” Amiru recounted.

“There came another group of targeted attackers to my home, led by the kingpins Dan-Najeriya and Na-Bello. They ransacked many houses searching for me, but they had no idea I was hiding inside the silos they passed by. It felt like hell that day. I still feel inexplicably nervous and shattered, with the sounds of gunfire echoing in my mind like thunder. Their desperation is such that they want me to go to their camp to treat their terrorists.” 

Amiru vowed never to provide medical treatment to terrorists, insisting that he did not go to school to treat killers. 

Britney Spears scored the early 2000s with hits from “Oops!… I Did It Again” to “Toxic.”

Now, the rights to those songs will belong to music publishing company Primary Wave after Spears reportedly signed a major new deal, according to NBC News. The outlet approximated the deal was for $200 million, and details of the sale were not disclosed.

Primary Wave, which was founded 20 years ago with the acquisition of 50% interest and partnership in Kurt Cobain’s music publishing catalog, also owns songs from the catalogs of music legends Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks and Whitney Houston, among others.

Representatives for Primary Wave and Spears did not immediately respond to The Times’ requests for comment.

Music rights acquisitions have become increasingly popular investments in recent years as the recorded music industry has boomed with the advent of streaming. With access to sprawling libraries on Spotify and Apple Music, consumers are listening to albums and artist catalogs at higher rates, and older artists are more prone to popping back into the zeitgeist. Licensing for movies and TV is also booming, and with Y2K nostalgia permeating today’s media, Spears may be selling at an opportune time.

Trade publication Music Business Worldwide estimated that more than $5 billion changed hands through music rights acquisitions in 2021, The Times previously reported. Additionally, songwriting catalogs at that time were being valued at twice the average price than in the 25 years prior.

Notable sellers include Bruce Springsteen, who in 2021 made a deal with Sony Music Entertainment to relinquish his master recordings and songs for $500 million. Shortly thereafter, David Bowie‘s estate sold his songwriting catalog to Warner Chappell Music for $250 million. ZZ Top, Tina Turner and Paul Simon all made similar deals around the same time.

Spears in 2023 released her memoir, “The Woman in Me,” which recounted her rise to fame and yearslong battle to escape a conservatorship she was placed under in 2008 for alleged mental health concerns. Music writer Jeff Weiss’ 2025 book, “Waiting for Britney Spears: A True Story, Allegedly,” included details — some true, some fabricated — from that highly publicized time in the singer’s life.

Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline followed the “Gimme More” singer’s memoir with last year’s “You Thought You Knew,” in which he accused Spears of consuming cocaine while she was still breastfeeding their second son, among other alleged concerning behaviors. Spears denied the allegations on social media.

Former Times staff writer Ryan Faughnder contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — Public health experts warned Tuesday that $600 million in cuts to federal public health funding announced by the Trump administration would endanger one of California’s main early-warning systems for HIV outbreaks, leaving communities vulnerable to undetected disease spread.

The grant terminations affect funding for a number of disease control programs in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota, but the vast majority target California, according to congressional Democrats who received the full list of affected programs Monday. The move is the latest in the White House’s campaign against what it called “radical gender ideology” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“These cuts will hurt vital efforts to prevent the spread of disease,” said Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). “It’s dangerous, and it’s deliberate.”

Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC has increasingly turned away from evidence-backed HIV monitoring and prevention programs, claiming they “undermined core American values.”

The stoppage will derail $1.1 million slated for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Project, according to the president’s budget office.

The program is a “critical” tool used to detect emerging HIV trends, prevent outbreaks before they spread and reduce HIV incidence, said Dr. Paul Simon, an epidemiologist at the UCLA Fielding School and former chief science officer for the county’s public health department.

“Without this program, we’re flying blind. The first step in addressing any public health threat is understanding what’s happening on the ground,” Simon said. “With HIV in particular, people often have no symptoms for years and can unknowingly spread the virus.”

The White House gave little explanation for the move but claimed the programs it targeted “promote DEI and radical gender ideology.”

Simon pushed back on the claim, calling the move “dangerous” and “shortsighted.”

“It’s particularly dangerous to put your head in the sand and pretend there’s not a problem,” Simon said. “The success we’ve had over the past decades comes from finding cases early. … By treating people early, we can prevent transmission.”

Several local front-line service providers were targeted for cuts including the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which is set to lose $383,000 in investments for community HIV prevention programs.

The LGBT Center has not received official notice of the elimination but said the cuts would disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ communities and other underserved populations.

“These decisions are not guided by public health evidence, but by politics — and the consequences are real,” said LGBT Center spokesperson Brian De Los Santos. “Any reduction in funding directly affects our ability to provide care, prevention and lifesaving services to the people who rely on us.”

The Trump administration’s announced cuts are likely to face challenges from states and grant recipients.

The LGBT Center succeeded last year in blocking similar grant cancellations stemming from the president’s executive orders. A federal judge in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction ruling the administration could not use executive orders to “weaponize Congressionally appropriated funds” to bypass statutory funding obligations.

“We stand ready to bring more litigation against this administration if it is required in order to protect our community,” De Los Santos said.

The White House has repeatedly pushed to halt the flow of billions of dollars to California and other states led by Democrats, a strategy that has sharpened partisan tensions and expanded the scope of California’s legal fight against the administration.

In January, administration officials said they would freeze $10 billion in federal child care, welfare and social services funding for California and four other states, but a federal judge blocked the effort.

Trump later said he would begin blocking federal funds to “sanctuary” jurisdictions such as California and Los Angeles, which have long opposed cooperation with federal immigration agencies.

Last year, the administration made broad cuts to federal funding for minority-serving institutions, leaving California colleges scrambling to figure out how to replace or do without the money. Federal officials argued that such programs were racially discriminatory.

In June, California congressional Democrats demanded the release of $19.8 million in frozen HIV prevention grants to the L.A. County Department of Public Health. That freeze forced the county to terminate contracts with 39 community health providers and nearly shut down HIV testing and other services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

The administration reversed course after sustained pressure from Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) and 22 fellow House Democrats.

“These grants save lives,” Friedman said of recent terminations. “They connect homeless people to care, they support front-line organizations fighting HIV, and they build the public health infrastructure that protects my constituents. Just like I did last time the Trump Administration came after our communities, I won’t stop fighting back.”

In a letter to Kennedy last year, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) said that the Cabinet secretary has a history of peddling misinformation about the virus and disease.

Kennedy’s motivations are “grounded not in sound science, but in misinformation and disinformation you have spread previously about HIV and AIDS, including your repeated claim that HIV does not cause AIDS,” Garcia wrote.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called President Trump’s latest threats to public health funding “a familiar pattern,” and shed doubt on their long-term legal viability.

“The President publicly claims he will rip away public health funding from states that voted against him, while offering no details or formal notice,” Newsom said. “If or when the Trump administration takes action, we will respond appropriately. Until then, we will pass on participating in his attempt to chase headlines.”

MILAN — Maxim Naumov typically trembles as he waits in his opening position before the music begins. But on Tuesday, the 24-year-old U.S. figure skater stood firm at center ice with the Olympic rings beneath his feet and his right fist raised. A white gold ring with a single diamond on his ring finger glittered in the light.

It was his father’s ring.

A year after his parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were among 67 people killed in a Washingon, D.C. plane crash, Naumov carried their strength during his Olympic debut and delivered an emotional season’s best 85.65 in the men’s short program that qualified him for the free skate.

U.S. teammate Andrew Torgashev also scored a season’s best in his Olympic debut, qualifying for Thursday’s free skate with an 89.94. His coaching team, which includes Irvine-based Rafael Arutyunyan, fist-bumped after Torgashev hit the final combination jump of his program. Skating to “Maybe I Maybe You” by the Scorpions, Torgashev flashed the rock-and-roll symbol to the crowd as he saluted.

Instead of the raw emotion Naumov released after the U.S. championship that clinched his Olympic spot last month, he smiled purely and breathed deeply while the crowd at Milano Ice Skating Arena showered him with applause. He looked toward the rafters and spoke to his parents.

“Look what we just did,” Naumov said. “We did it.”

Maxim Naumov holds a photo of his parents after competing during the men’s free skate at the U.S. championships.

(Stephanie Scarbrough / Associated Press)

The elder Naumov and Shishkova were three-time world pairs skating medalists and two-time Olympians. The 1994 world champions coached at the Skating Club of Boston and remained at the 2025 U.S. championships in Wichita, Kan., after the competition to coach a development camp.

Maxim Naumov, who had finished fourth at the U.S. championships for the third time in a row, returned home immediately after the competition. In one of their last discussions as a family, Naumov’s father laid out the plan to ensure they could reach the Olympics in one year. The talk lasted about 45 minutes. After the first 30 minutes, Naumov said he was rolling his eyes the way children often do, but he understood the message: They were going to work together and revamp everything they do.

After the crash on Jan. 29, 2025, Naumov struggled to leave the house. He couldn’t bear to tie his skates. Going to the rink felt unimaginable.

At every moment, Naumov wanted to lay in bed and rot. He instead chose to find the thing that felt like the most difficult task and attack it. At first it was simply waking up. Then it was getting out of bed. Then it was going to work and coaching his parents’ former students. Now they’re his students.

“The only way out is through,” Naumov said. “Everyone has the ability to do that: to remain strong in your mind, have willpower and do things out of love instead of fear. I think if you’re able to do that, whatever it is that you’re going through, however big or small, you can have small wins every single day, and you can do things that you never thought that you could.”

Naumov earned his Olympic spot by finishing third at last month’s U.S. championships. The emotions of the national competition that would decide the family’s dream were so heavy that after he finished his free program, he found a secluded corner in the tunnel and sobbed.

Finally on the Olympic stage, Naumov felt nothing but stillness. Naumov said he felt his parents’ presence and the support of the entire figure skating community “like a hand on my back pushing me forward.”

Looking at old videos can still be painful for Naumov. But he mustered the strength to look through the family’s large photo album ahead of the U.S. championships and pick out several photos he brought to the competition. His parents had always been in the kiss-and-cry with him. With his spot on the Olympic team at stake, he wanted them there again.

Waiting for his score in Milan, Naumov flashed a photo he picked. He is flanked by his parents standing on the ice for the first time at about 3 years old.

Two decades later, he was stepping off Olympic ice.

“To be able to just have 2 minutes and 50 seconds to show what you’ve been working on for 19 years, and to be able to make it happen when it matters and when it counts, there’s no feeling like it at all ever,” Naumov said, still breathless from the emotional performance more than 30 minutes after he nailed the final note. “I just hope that I made everyone proud.”

U.S. flags waved on every side of the rink as he saluted the crowd. He knows his mother would have not been there watching in person because she was too nervous to attend. Refreshing the online score tracker to keep up with Naumov’s program, she would always find a way to send a message of support to her son.

Before his program, Naumov sent a message of his own.

“Mom and dad,” the videoboard in the arena read, “this is for you.”

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (UPI) — Some seven months after a Supreme Court Case gave parents sweeping rights to remove their children from lessons that violate religious beliefs, Republicans expresses concern Tuesday about school districts ignoring the ruling, while Democrats voiced fears that the ruling condoned discrimination.

​”In a world where new and controversial types of content are finding their way into classrooms, it is essential that parents maintain control over their child’s education,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., said in a congressional hearing of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, which he chairs.

​In Mahmoud vs. Taylor, the high court ruled in June that Maryland parents had a First Amendment right to opt out their children from public school lessons involving LGBTQ+ themed storybooks that conflict with their religion. Tuesday’s hearing provided a venue for House members to reflect on how the ruling has changed classrooms.

Democrats, for example, voiced worries about the dangerous precedent it sets for censorship and exclusion.

​”Inclusion is not indoctrination,” said the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore. “Differences exist in the world around us. and part of a good education includes teaching students about tolerance and understanding.”

Bonamici said Republicans are using parental rights as another means to undermine public education.

One witness, Yeshiva University Assistant Professor of Law Zalman Rothschild, said he fears the decision could have broad implications and could be disruptive for education.

​”I have no idea how in any sense this can be bounded,” Rothschild said.

“For example, say a teacher tries to teach the value of nondiscrimination against religion and specifies its wrong to discriminate against Jews or against Muslims, and some parents have a problem with that because of their sincerely held religious beliefs, because Chapter 16 of Mark says that those who are not baptized are condemned,” he said.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., urged her Republican colleagues not take the ruling as permission to turn public schools into the “latest front in a culture war.”​

Grijalva said Republicans were hypocritical to encourage federal involvement in education when they call themselves “the party that wants things to go back to the local level.”​

“I want us to continue to support our duly locally elected school districts to make decisions about school curriculum,” Grijalva said.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., held up a children’s picture book from the Montgomery Area School District curriculum, “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” while she questioned witnesses. The story follows a young girl as she learns that her favorite uncle is getting married to his male partner, Jamie.

Lee said providing holistic education to American children became harder after the ruling.

“It’s about exploiting religious exemptions to shield children from the reality of queer people existing,” he said.

​Conservative education groups, however, applauded the power shift in schools after the ruling.

“Two of the story books, not only “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” but “Pride Puppy!” addressed non-binary individuals, drag queens and pride parades. These are individuals who don’t have a clear sense of their identity regarding whether they want to be a firefighter or a fairy when they grow up. What we’re dealing with is a designed attempt to change minds on perspectives,” said Sarah Perry, vice president of Defending Education, a national advocacy group that supports more parental involvement in schools.

​Throughout the hearing, Bonamici tried to steer the conversation to “hearing topics that actually matter,” including ICE allegedly inflicting trauma in schools and the effects of the dismantling of the Department of Education.

She pointed out that the committee had yet to hold a hearing on gun violence in schools and that just Monday, a 16-year-old was shot at a Montgomery County Public School.

​”No one is arguing that parents should not be involved in their children’s education. We all agree on that,” Bonamici said. “Banning books or preventing students from learning about differences only serves to perpetuate a culture of hatred and fear.”

One man and a much-anticipated trim.

But it started to feel, for Manchester United, Ilett’s long wait for the club to win five games in a row had become an unwanted irritation.

There was a time when it seemed as though United were prepared to play along with the gag. They did, after all, include a barbers’ room in their £50m training ground upgrade at Carrington. What better way to have a bit of fun?

Now though, in public and private, they are having nothing to do with it.

Skipper Bruno Fernandes and manager Michael Carrick were dismissive when asked about it after victory number four, against Tottenham – although Carrick’s admission he had been told of the saga by his kids hints at the wider attraction.

Ilett’s daily social media updates and the before and now pictures scattered across the digital sphere were initially quite amusing but serve as a reminder of how bad the team’s form has been.

Ilett plans to donate his hair to the Little Princess Trust and set up a JustGiving page for the children’s cancer charity, for those who wanted to offer financial support.

His initial fundraising target of £500 for the the Little Princess Trust has been exceeded significantly and by Tuesday afternoon stood at £6,132.

As attention-grabbing initiatives go, his pledge didn’t seem especially outrageous when he made it.

United had completed five-in-a-row eight months earlier, the 11th time it had happened – including the end of the 2015-16 season and start of 2016-17 – in just under 11 years following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

The longest gap was from 25 January 2019, when United won the last of their eight successive wins following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival and the end of five victories in a row under the Norwegian in April 2021.

It says a lot for United’s chronic form since Ilett made his vow that they had only won three in a row twice until Carrick arrived, changed the formation and turned his old club into winners once more.

To put that into context, United’s fellow ‘big six’ clubs have all won five times on the bounce in recent memory. Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool have done it this season – Chelsea have done it already this year.

Even Tottenham, whose form has been atrocious for 18 months now, managed it early last season, when United were one of the teams they beat.

Some fans have come to the conclusion they do not appreciate Illet’s humour.

One supporter was given an indefinite ban from Old Trafford by United for attacking Ilett on a concourse at the home game with Chelsea in September 2025.

Others have taken exception to him taking part in an advert for a major gambling company and monetising what was meant to be a charitable gesture. Ilett has denied making the kinds of sums being mentioned.

However, many have defended Ilett and most responses to his appearance on the leading Stretford Paddock podcast were positive.

The vast majority though, for and against, just want to see an end to it.

SHE once had a love affair with Britain – and now it seems Madonna is back in Blighty with a vengeance.

Over the past week, the 67-year-old superstar has taken to the stands at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London for two days running.

Before that, she was visiting — and waxing lyrical — about the seaside town of Margate in Kent.

So is the Queen of Pop, who has changed her image more in the last four decades than most of us change our bed sheets, back to rule Britannia and play the English lady again?

On Saturday, the self-declared “soccer mom” was at the Spurs ground to cheer on her 13-year-old twins Stella and Estere, who were playing in a Tottenham under-14s academy match.

Taking to Instagram, she told her 20.3million followers: “I will pay G*D for some sunshine! Go Estella and Estere, Hotspurs win!!! 5-0.”

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Complaining about the weather and yelling about footie . . . what could be more British than that?

The following day, she was back for more, telling fans she was taking her “second Uber ever” to watch the Tottenham Hotspur women’s team play Chelsea in the Women’s Super League.

Her boyfriend, Akeem Morris, 29, is also throwing himself into the UK way of life, VIP style, of course.

The Chelsea fan is regularly spotted at men’s home games with Madge in the directors’ box.

The couple turn up together with no security in tow.

Madonna last month visited close pal Tracey Emin and the artist’s latest exhibition in her hometown of Margate.

I will pay G*D for some sunshine! Go Estella and Estere, Hotspurs win!!! 5-0

Madonna

While there, she wrote on Instagram: “Tracey Emin is a Pearl.

“A precious necklace that has been draped around a seaside town in England called Margate.”

She added: “Whenever I go there, I feel like I’ve entered a dream.

“On top of all that, I get to eat at my favourite Italian restaurant which I’m not giving anyone the name of because then everyone’s going to go there and it only has one table!”

Margate might be a long way from the singer’s own hometown of Michigan, but she clearly felt very at home there.

And presumably the locals were delighted to have her.

Meanwhile, it is not just the singer’s social calendar that is packed with British outings.

She also seems to be making professional moves here, too.

Tracey Emin is a Pearl. A precious necklace that has been draped around a seaside town in England called Margate

Madonna

It was revealed last year that she had been secretly working with British music producer Stuart Price, who she collaborated with for 2005 album Confessions On A Dance Floor.

It is believed the pair are working on a new album, following Stuart’s role as musical director on her 2023 Celebration Tour.

Confessions On A Dance Floor might have been all disco glitter and electro pop, but it was a time when Madonna was at her most British.

Having married director Guy Ritchie in 2000 at Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands, the Material Girl had fully clothed herself in the trappings of a plummy country life.

Gone were the risqué red carpet outfits, replaced with a Home Counties wardrobe of tweed, riding jackets and tea dresses.

Fully embodying her Mrs Ritchie persona, Madonna went riding, took walks in the rolling fields of Wiltshire and hobnobbed around Marylebone.

She then doubled down on the act with her 2003 children’s book The English Roses.

And then, of course, there was the accent.

Having seemingly forgotten she was an Italian-American who had her first taste of adult life on the mean streets of New York City, the singer hit the headlines when she started speaking with the lilt of a posh (but slightly inebriated) Englishwoman.

It was Michigan meets Mayfair, with the added confusion of someone who thought Austin Powers was a real person.

Fans scratched their heads, but also could not help but love the campy creation of a world-class chameleon.

The singer had gone full method acting with her transatlantic marriage, becoming Madonn-rah in the process.

Whenever I go there, I feel like I’ve entered a dream. On top of all that, I get to eat at my favourite Italian restaurant which I’m not giving anyone the name of because then everyone’s going to go there and it only has one table

Madonna

Madonna kept the pretence up until she and Guy split in 2008 and she moved back to the US.

Years later, in 2020, she demonstrated some very British self-mockery when she joked about her adopted accent — and the reaction to it — while performing on her Madame X tour in London.

“I didn’t know what anyone was talking about until I heard old interviews of myself,” she told the crowd.

‘Lucky to be alive’

“And then I was horrified and flabbergasted. Why did you let me do that to myself? I’m from Michigan!”

She added: “It’s all Guy Ritchie’s fault. He made me do it.”

Meanwhile, having continued to grow her property portfolio across the world, Madonna relocated to Portugal in 2017.

That year she adopted twins Estere and Stella from Malawi (she was already mum to Lourdes, now 29, Rocco, 25, David Banda, 20, and Mercy James, 20).

The move to a £6million 18th-century mansion just outside Portuguese capital Lisbon was to help David pursue a career in football after he joined Benfica’s youth team.

Once again, the queen of reinvention did what she does best and embraced the local culture, soon debuting her Madame X persona to the world.

Her new image — and accompanying album — were heavily influenced by Portuguese life.

She later said she had been inspired by the local Fado and samba music.

The family moved back to the US in 2020, but since then Madonna has continued to prove herself a citizen of the world.

Lucky to be alive

Madonna

She splits her time between her palatial pads in New York, Los Angeles, Portugal and London, where she kept her Georgian townhouse in Marylebone after splitting from Guy.

She has also had several more reinventions along the way — which gave her plenty of material for her Celebration Tour three years ago, which took fans on a nostalgic trip over her 40-year pop career.

It was a poignant time for the singer, who had been forced to re­schedule early dates after a bacterial infection in June 2023 left her in intensive care.

She later said she felt “lucky to be alive”.

When she did finally take to the stage, she clearly relished the chance to time-hop through the years to resurrect some of her biggest songs and look back at her former personas.

After so much self-reflection, why does she now seem to be laying her hat down once again in the UK? The answer, first and foremost, seems to be her kids.

So the fact that Stella and Estere seem to be following in older brother David’s footsteps as football prodigies might just keep their proud mum back on British turf for a while.

Aga-loving lady

Added to that, eldest son Rocco is permanently based in London, where he owns his own art studio in Chelsea.

In December, Madonna played proud mum again as she attended one of his art shows in the capital.

She even posed alongside her ex-husband and Rocco’s dad Guy, suggesting the pair’s many years of animosity are now water under the bridge.

Posting the family picture, Rocco wrote: “It’s obvious why some people might hold judgment against me. I don’t blame them.

“However, I am proud to be who I am, but I’m even prouder to have both of my parents together in one room supporting me.”

She might not be sitting down for a Sunday roast with Guy and his new wife Jacqui any time soon, but the family snap was a pivotal moment.

It suggests Madonna is not fully ready to wash her hands of the years she spent winking at the world as Mrs Ritchie.

As she recently said, family means everything, describing her role as a mum of six as her­ ­“biggest medal”.

So, what is next for the woman who never stands still?

With new music in store — which is believed to be a follow-up to her British era Confessions On A Dance Floor output — there is every possibility we will see the Queen of Pop reclaim her crown as a cosplaying Brit.

Whether that will come with the lilt and wardrobe of an Aga-loving country lady remains to be seen, but one thing we do know is that she does not do things by halves.

So keep your eyes peeled, because you never know if a certain international megastar is sitting beside you at that football match, or walking just behind you on your weekend break at the seaside.

Then again, considering her former plummy accent, you will be sure to know when you hear her.

MILAN — The U.S. won its group and will advance to the quarterfinals of the Milan-Cortina Winter Games as the top seed after routing Canada 5-0 on Tuesday at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

Two of the goals came Hannah Bilka with Carolina Harvey, Kirsten Simms and Laila Edwards scoring one apiece.

The win was the seventh in a row for the U.S. over Canada, dating to last April’s world championships. And the Americans dominated from the start, taking its earliest lead of the tournament on Harvey’s goal 3:45 into the first period.

The score came following a faceoff, with Haley Winn working the puck to the high slot for Harvey, who fired a neat wrister by Canadian goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens for her second goal in Olympic competition and her second in as many nights.

Abbey Murphy set up the next one, sending a behind-the-back pass from the end boards to the front of the goal for a wide-open Bilka, who made it 2-0 with a right-handed finish with less than three minutes left in the first period.

The U.S. made it 3-0 on a disputed goal 81 seconds into the second period with the referees, after a long review, ruling that Simms had pushed the puck through a mass of bodies in the crease and across the goal line. Canadian coach Troy Ryan challenged the goal but lost, earning a bench minor for delay of game.

The next U.S. goal was indisputable with Bilka blasting a short one-timer by Desbiens seven minutes before the second intermission. Abbey got her third assist and Harvey her second on the play. With eight minutes left, Edwards closed out the scoring from the high slot — almost the exact same place from where Harvey got the opening goal — driving Desbiens from the game with Ryan bringing on Emerance Maschmeyer to close things out.

The U.S. has scored exactly five goals in each of its four games, scoring in all 12 periods it has played in the Olympic tournament.

Aerin Frankel turned away 20 shots in goal, posting the third shutout in as many games for the U.S., which ran it scoreless streak to 151 minutes.

Canada was playng without its captain, Marie Phillip-Poulin, who left Monday’s win over Czechia after taking a heavy hit along the boards from Kristyna Kaltounkova that left her unable to put weight on her right leg.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion was listed as day-to-day.

What do we know about Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Israel? We talk with Craig Mokhiber, who spent decades inside the UN system, about what millions of newly released files reveal about Epstein’s effort to reshape the Middle East in Israel’s favor, why this story remains underreported, and what it means for how power operates globally.

In this episode: 

• Craig Mokhiber (@craigmokhiber), Human Rights Lawyer and Former UN Official

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Chloe K. Li, and Tamara Khandaker, with Melanie Marich, Maya Hamadeh, Tuleen Barakat, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. 

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

United States President Donald Trump has continued to threaten Iran with possible military attacks if Tehran does not accede to his demands on issues ranging from nuclear enrichment to ballistic missiles.

In comments to the Israeli outlet Channel 12, published on Tuesday, Trump hinted at aggressive actions if no deal comes together with Iran.

“Either we reach a deal, or we’ll have to do something very tough,” Trump told the news outlet.

The remarks come as Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani meets with the sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, to discuss the results of talks between US and Iranian officials last week.

In recent weeks, Trump has touted an increase in US military forces in the region, having sent a “massive armada” to nearby waters. That deployment includes the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier.

Channel 12 and the news outlet Axios reported on Tuesday that Trump is also thinking about sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East.

That military build-up has spurred fears of an impending US strike against Iran. Critics fear such an attack could destabilise the region.

Already, on Monday, the US has issued guidelines to US-flagged commercial ships, warning them to stay “as far as possible” from Iranian territorial waters.

‘With speed and violence’

Since January, Trump has heightened US pressure on Iran, warning that his country’s military is “locked and loaded and ready to go”.

Trump has also compared Iran’s situation to that of Venezuela, where a US military operation on January 3 resulted in the abduction and removal of deposed President Nicolas Maduro.

“Like with Venezuela, [the US military] is ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal,” Trump wrote on social media on January 28.

Late last month, his administration issued three overarching demands. They include an end to Iran’s uranium enrichment, a requirement to sever ties with regional proxies, and limits on the country’s ballistic missile stockpiles, a goal long sought by Israel.

During his first term, Trump pulled the US out of a 2015 deal that placed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities, in exchange for sanctions relief.

Now, Trump has resumed his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran since taking office for a second term in January 2025.

That campaign has included severe sanctions and pressure to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is for civilian energy purposes only.

Already, last June, Trump authorised a military strike on three Iranian nuclear facilities, as part of a 12-day war between Iran and Israel.

Focus on anti-government protests

Trump’s renewed threats in January have coincided with a recent wave of anti-government protests in Iran.

The government in Tehran reacted to those demonstrations with a violent crackdown that reportedly killed thousands of people, drawing widespread condemnation from rights groups.

Reports have found that state security forces opened fire on crowds of protesters as the country was under an internet blackout.

On January 2 — one day before his military operation in Venezuela — Trump threatened to intervene on behalf of the protesters and “come to their rescue“, although he ultimately declined to do so.

Some analysts have pointed out that the proposed strikes on Iran would do little to aid the protesters, but would align with longstanding US and Israeli goals of reducing Iran’s military capacity.

The Iranian government has argued that the protests included the violent targeting of security forces by armed groups, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of officers. It has also accused outside powers like the US and Israel of backing the anti-government demonstrations.

Details around the protests and their crackdown remain difficult to verify, but Iranian officials have conceded that the government’s response killed thousands of people.

In a historic gain, Spotify saw a record increase of 38 million monthly active users at the end of 2025.

According to the streamer’s fourth-quarter earnings report released Tuesday, the Sweden-based company reported an 11% increase in monthly active users, bringing the total to 751 million. It’s the biggest net add in the company’s history. There was similarly a 10% increase in paid subscribers, rising to 290 million. Spotify’s total revenue also topped $5.3 billion, up 7%.

The company credits much of last quarter’s success to what it says was its biggest Wrapped campaign yet, which engaged 300 million users globally and had 630 million shares in 56 different languages. Spotify also expanded and enhanced tech features globally, like adding music videos and more access to audiobooks, for both premium and free subscribers.

“Today, what we’ve really built is a technology platform for audio — and increasingly, for all the ways creators connect with audiences. And this identity will matter even more going forward,” said Daniel Ek, Spotify’s founder and executive chairman, in a press release.

“The next wave of technology shifts — AI, new interfaces, wearables, new ways of interacting with content — these will reshape how people discover and experience audio and media. The hard problems ahead — in music, in podcasts, in books, in video, in live, and in things we haven’t built yet — we’re going to keep building the technology to solve them.”

The company’s operating income rose 47% to $834 million. At the end of the fourth quarter, there were 7,323 full-time employees globally.

Spotify’s ad-supported revenue was down 4%, with the company looking at a partial “offset by softness in pricing” for its music advertising. Its podcasts’ expansion was led mostly by sponsorships. But the revenue was similarly “offset by optimization of our podcasting inventory.”

Just in the last few months, Spotify has focused heavily on its podcasting services — in part by opening a new Hollywood studio, expanding creator monetization programs and premiering select video podcasts on Netflix in a new partnership.

On the music side, the streaming platform previously reported that it paid out more than $11 billion to the music industry last year. That sum was the “largest annual payment to music from any retailer in history,” according to Spotify.

When the music streaming business model was first introduced, there was controversy about how much artists would earn from streams. But the company said independent artists and labels accounted for half of all royalties.

Founded in 2006, the company maintains a large presence in L.A.’s Arts District. Over the last two decades, it has become the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service. Beyond its music library, it now reports having more than 530,000 video podcasts and over 500,000 audiobooks in English-language markets.

Starting this month, Spotify also raised its prices for premium users to $12.99. For the first quarter of 2026, the company expects an increase of 8 million monthly active users, bringing its total closer to 759 million users and a smaller, 3-million bump in paying users. The company projects total revenue to stay consistent at around $5.3 billion.

Atlanta Falcons rookie James Pearce Jr. is “maintaining his innocence” after being arrested Saturday near Miami. Pearce is facing five felony charges after allegedly intentionally crashing his SUV into a vehicle being driven by Los Angeles Sparks player Rickea Jackson multiple times.

The 22 year-old linebacker was arrested after crashing his vehicle while trying to flee the scene of what the Doral Police Department described as a domestic dispute with the WNBA star, the Associated Press reported. He also allegedly “intentionally” hit a police officer’s knee with his SUV while trying to get away.

“We look forward to working with the State Attorney’s office in fully investigating this case and uncovering the truth,” Pearce’s attorney, Jacob Nunez, said Monday in a statement to the AP.

“Mr. Pearce maintains his innocence and urges the public to understand that while allegations have the power to shape a narrative, that it is hardly the full, complete story. We look forward to vigorously defending our client and remain confident that he will continue contributing positively to both his team and the community he serves so well.”

Pearce’s charges include two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, one count of aggravated stalking, fleeing or eluding police with lights or siren, and aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer. He was released Sunday after posting a $20,500 bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. A judge also issued Pearce a pre-trial order to stay away from Jackson.

WPLG-TV reported that Pearce had been stalking Jackson after she had recently ended their three-year relationship. The NFL player had continued to try to contact Jackson despite her blocking his phone number and telling him to leave her alone and that she wanted nothing to do with him, WPLG said. “Fearing for her safety,” the Sparks forward had called 911 and was trying to get to the police station when Pearce purposefully crashed his vehicle into hers multiple times, according to the outlet.

“We are aware of an incident involving James Pearce Jr. in Miami,” the Falcons said in a statement to the AP. “We are in the process of gathering more information and will not have any further comment on an open legal matter at this time.”

“Swept under the rug with no consequences.” Despite condemnation of Israeli moves tightening its grip on the occupied West Bank, observers like Fathi Nimer say they don’t expect the countries stating their opposition to actually do anything.

Joined by survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuses, US Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer introduced legislation to end the federal statute of limitations that has shielded sex traffickers. It’s named for Virginia Giuffre, one of the late sex offender’s most prominent accusers.

BILLIONAIRE socialite Petra Ecclestone has been blasted for posting footage of her family’s visit to a controversial Dubai animal ‘sanctuary’.

The 37-year-old faced backlash for sharing clips of her children bottle-feeding a captive tiger and holding hands with an orangutan forced into human clothing.

The poor ape can be seen dressed up in a short-sleeved T-shirt and denim shorts as he was paraded around for amusement.

The family can be seen petting tigers on leads and holding hands with a fully-dressed orangutan while visiting Animalia.

Petra captioned the montage: “When in Dubai.”

Animal rights advocates have slammed the cruel display, labelling the exploitation of the animals as ‘anything but ethical’.

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PETA‘s Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen said in a damning statement: “Putting cheetahs on leashes, bottle-feeding tigers or dressing orangutans in clothes pushes the shameful and dangerous idea that wild animals exist for human amusement. 

“These animals are not docile props. Without heavy tranquillisation, they are fully capable of maiming or killing a child – ask the survivors of big-cat attacks or the families of those who didn’t survive. 

“Social media posts like this normalise reckless, inappropriate human-wildlife interactions and fuel demand for exploitative attractions that treat animals as living playthings.”

She concluded: “We will be writing to Petra to urge her to delete this post and instead support genuine rehabilitation programmes that protect wild animals in their natural habitats, where they belong.”

Angry followers vented: “How can you think this is right if you are an animal lover/supporter?”

A second berated: “Can’t believe you would encourage your children to call this fun. What an example.”

A third begged: “Please do not support these places. I can’t believe these places still exist.”

“Those tigers must be drugged.. you’re lucky enough to be able to take your children anywhere in the world and you do this,” noted a fourth.

The ‘beachside sanctuary’ in the United Arab Emirates claims to ensure all the animals and creatures ‘enjoy the best possible’ life.

Petra is the daughter of Formula 1 billionaire Bernie Ecclestone.

She is married to top broker Sam Palmer who she shares a daughter, Minnie, 5, with.

Petra also has 10-year-old twin boys – James and Andrew – and a 12-year-old daughter – Lavinia – with her ex-husband James Stunt, who she split with in 2017.

The billionaire relocated to Dubai from Los Angeles last year after claiming the ‘quality of life’ in California had ‘gone downhill’.

She said previously: “The crime in America is awful and we want a safe environment for our kids.”

The mother-of-four explained: “It’s the gun crime and the shootings.

“We ice-skated with our kids just before Christmas and a homeless person dropped dead next to us. And seeing people smoke crack is not an environment we want to be in.”

Her famous sister once had her own show – Tamara Ecclestone: Billion $$ Girl on Channel 5 and is worth an estimated £232million.

Last year she was left devastated when £50million worth of gems were stolen from her 57-room London home just hours after she left for a Christmas break.

Their father Bernie and his Brazilian wife Fabiana live a life of luxury which includes a £30million yacht and a total fortune worth £3billion.

Major League Baseball is making streaming options available for fans to watch in-market games of 20 teams, including the Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres — a significant shift to respond to the fast-changing TV landscape.

The Angels on Tuesday announced its arrangement with the league to make its games more widely available. The club said the option — Angels.TV — would be available for purchase for $99.99 for the full season or $19.99 per month through the MLB app.

“We are excited to partner with Major League Baseball to bring Angels games to their streaming platform,” Angels President John Carpino said in a statement. “Our priority is making it as easy as possible for fans to watch Angels Baseball and MLB’s industry-leading app provides another great option to stay connected to the team.”

The league separately announced the move, which provides options for fans of other teams, through its MLB app. In-market games for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals will be provided through the app.

Games will still be available to traditional pay-TV subscribers.

Spectrum, owned by cable giant Charter Communications, which distributes the Dodgers’ SportsNet LA had previously made available Dodger games as a streaming option through a separate app.

On Tuesday, ESPN announced that it would become the new streaming home of MLB.TV, bringing out-of-market live games to the ESPN App and ESPN.com.

“With MLB.TV now available through ESPN, we’re taking a significant step forward in reinforcing ESPN as the home of the MLB regular season while deepening the value proposition of the ESPN Unlimited plan – giving fans even more flexibility in how and where they watch all season long,” Rosalyn Durant, Executive Vice President, ESPN Programming & Acquisitions, said in a statement.

The move comes as traditional regional sports networks struggle amid the exodus of pay-TV customers. Regional sports networks once were viewed as cash cows for teams and TV programming companies that owned them but, in recent years, at least one regional sports network owner has filed for bankruptcy. That pompted the MLB to step in to fill the gap.

The league said it also was taking over the television production of games for 14 teams, including the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Feb. 10 (UPI) — FBI Director Kash Patel posted doorbell camera photos of a suspect in the Arizona search for Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie.

The post said the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department have been working to recover images from a disabled security camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home. It said that a video was recovered from residual data in backend systems.

“Working with our partners — as of this morning, law enforcement has uncovered these previously inaccessible new images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” the post said.

The post asks anyone with information to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Savannah Guthrie released a new video late Monday pleading for the public’s help in finding her kidnapped mother.

“I’m coming on just to ask you, not just for your prayers, but no matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, you hear anything, if there’s anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement,” Savannah Guthrie said in a post on Instagram. “We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help.”

Nancy Guthrie, 84, has been missing since Jan. 31, and police believe she was taken from her Tucson, Ariz., home. The Guthrie family, including Savannah Guthrie and her brother, Camron Guthrie, and sister, Annie Guthrie, have made three other videos pleading for their mother’s safe return.

Monday at 5 p.m. MST was a ransom deadline that was given in a note, but the time passed with no contact from the kidnappers. Police haven’t verified that the ransom note is authentic. It was sent to several news outlets and demanded $6 million in Bitcoin.

The FBI said there is no ongoing contact between the family and the believed kidnappers. It said in a statement that the FBI is “not aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and suspected kidnappers, nor have we identified a suspect or person of interest in this case at this time.”

The agency is sending staff to Tucson from other field offices.

“We are currently operating a 24-hour command post that includes crisis management experts, analytic support, and investigative teams. But we still need the public’s help.

“Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home. We need that person to share what they know. Please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

A source close to the family told NBC News that Nancy Guthrie had planned to go to a friend’s house the morning she went missing to watch a church service online. When she didn’t arrive on Feb. 1, friends called Annie Guthrie.

Michael Rudzena, pastor of Good Shepherd New York, told NBC’s Today show that Nancy Guthrie would visit the church before the pandemic. But during the lockdown, the church started streaming online services.

Nancy Guthrie is a “strong woman, and she is fiercely loving,” Rudzena said. “Over the years, we’ve gotten to know what makes her tick.”

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said Nancy Guthrie does not have cognitive issues, calling her “sharp as a tack.” But she has limited mobility and needs to take medication daily, or “it could be fatal,” NBC News reported.

She has a pacemaker, but it disconnected from its monitoring app on her phone early Feb. 1.

Lance Leising, former FBI agent, told USA Today he noticed that in the video Savannah Guthrie shared on Monday that it focused on the plea for public help.

“That could indicate a transition away from the ransom note lead and back to traditional-lead investigation. I get a sense that investigators worry that the public is too focused on the ransom lead and if that is fraudulent, then the public is not providing tips,” he said.

Paramount Skydance has sweetened its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, adding a $2.8 billion “break fee” for Netflix and a payment to shareholders set to increase for every quarter after January 1, 2027 that the transaction does not close.

However, it’s not clear the latest move will do much to sway Warner Bros. Discovery’s board, which has endorsed a rival bid from Netflix.

The David Ellison-led company sent notice Tuesday of its revised offer to the Warner Bros. Discovery board, adding that it was open to further negotiation.

“While we have tried to be as constructive as possible in formulating these solutions, several of these items would benefit from collaborative discussion to finalize,” the letter states. “If granted a short window of engagement, we will work with you to refine these solutions to ensure they address any and all of your concerns.”

Paramount’s all-cash offer still stands at $30 a share. In addition to the termination payment and so-called “ticking fee” for shareholders of 25 cents per share — which the company said would total about $650 million in cash value each quarter — Paramount also said it would “eliminate” Warner’s $1.5 billion financing cost associated with its debt exchange offer.

The company also said it would “provide flexibility” for Warner to refinance its existing $15 billion bridge loan.

Ellison said the new additions to Paramount’s bid “underscore our strong and unwavering commitment to delivering the full value [Warner Bros. Discovery] shareholders deserve for their investment.”

“We are making meaningful enhancements — backing this offer with billions of dollars, providing shareholders with certainty in value, a clear regulatory path, and protection against market volatility,” he said in a statement.

Warner confirmed it received Paramount’s new offer and said in a statement Tuesday that it would “carefully review and consider” the revised bid.

However, the Warner board is “not modifying its recommendation” on its agreement to sell its studios, HBO and HBO Max to Netflix, and advised shareholders not to take “any action at this time” on Paramount’s tender offer to shareholders.

MILAN — Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse became the first U.S. curlers to medal in Olympic mixed doubles competition Tuesday, but the medal wasn’t the one they were trying to achieve.

The American pair lost in a dramatic final, 6-5, to the Swedish brother-sister combo of Isabella and Rasmus Wrana at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Dropkin and Thiesse led going into the final throw of the match.

A team skipped by John Shuster won gold in 2018, the last time the U.S. reached the medal podium in the sport. Shuster was also part of the only other U.S. medal-winning team, in 2006. That team was skipped by Peter Fenson.

Dropkin and Thiesse are the first Americans to win a medal in mixed doubles, which joined the Olympic calendar in 2018, while Thiesse is the first American woman to win a curling medal.

The U.S. reached the final when an incredible shot by Thiesse on the final delivery of Monday’s semifinal scored two points, turning a deficit into a 9-8 upset of Italy, a team that had beat the Americans in round-robin play. Sweden routed Britain 9-3 in its semifinal. Italy defeated Britain 5-3 for the bronze medal.