The closing benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index is seen on a screen inside the dealing room of Hana Bank in central Seoul on Monday. Photo by Yonhap
South Korean stocks nosedived by more than 5 percent Monday, due largely to a risk-averse sentiment following the nomination of the new Federal Reserve chair, and a sharp decline in silver and gold prices. The Korean won plunged against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 274.69 points, or 5.26 percent, to close at 4,949.67, snapping a four-session winning streak.
The country’s main bourse operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX), issued a sell-side circuit breaker for 5 minutes around noon.
Trade volume was heavy at 568.8 million shares worth 32 trillion won (US$21.9 billion). Losers outnumbered winners 795 to 116.
Foreign and institutional investors offloaded a net 2.5 trillion won and 2.2 trillion won, respectively. Retail investors, on the other hand, went bargain hunting and snapped up a net 4.6 trillion won.
Local stocks came under selling pressure following the nomination of Kevin Warsh, seen widely as a hawkish figure, as Fed chair, and sharp declines in silver and gold prices, according to Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst from Daishin Securities.
“A sharp drop in precious metals triggered the liquidation and margin call of derivatives holding them. This in turn led to the forced liquidation of other assets, as investors went to preserve margins, further amplifying the stock market’s decline,” Lee said.
International gold prices have experienced a sharp decline of over 10 percent in the past few days, while sliver prices plunged over 30 percent.
The local gold market was affected, too, with gold traded on the KRX falling to its lowest permissible limit of 10 percent Monday. It marked the first time KRX gold prices fell to the floor since the market opened in March 2014, according to the bourse operator.
“There is a possibility the benchmark KOSPI could take a breather, considering its sharp gains recently, but a daily decline of 4 to 5 percent seems excessive,” Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said.
Shares closed lower across the board.
Market top-cap Samsung Electronics declined 6.29 percent to 150,400 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix tumbled 8.69 percent to 830,000 won.
Top car marker Hyundai Motor retreated 4.4 percent to 478,000 won, bio firm Celltrion lost 3.33 percent to 203,000 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace closed down 4.69 percent to 1,239,000 won.
Financial shares were among the few winners.
Hana Financial Group added 3.2 percent to 103,300 won, and Meritz Financial Group inched up 0.69 percent to 117,400 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,464.3 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 24.8 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 1.4 basis points to 3.152 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds rose 1.2 basis points to 3.448 percent.
Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.
LIKE theatre, gigs and festivals but hate the price tags that go with them?
There are plenty of little-known sites that offer heavily discounted or even FREE tickets to top-name events to fill empty seats. This even includes recordings for TV shows that have audiences.
TodayTix is a great platform for finding discounted West End ticketsCredit: Getty
With London West End shows easily setting two people back £100, heading to the theatre may seem possible only once in a blue moon.
But thanks to the following sites, you could save hundreds on tickets – we’ve tested all of them, and got incredible tickets to some huge shows for a fraction of what everyone else is paying.
TodayTix
If you don’t already have the TodayTix app, you should download it now.
It is an app for booking theatre and stage shows, including the London West End performances.
It’s especially great for anyone looking for last-minute shows.
There is a feature called ‘Rush Tickets’, which offers a chance to get discounted tickets on the day of a performance.
Shows this offer is applied to include MJ The Musical (£30), The Producers (£30), Titanique (£30), Stranger Things The First Shadow (£25), Back to the Future (£29.50), Six (£25), The Book of Mormon (£25) and Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (£25).
I recently watched The Mousetrap on a £25 Rush Ticket and managed to get the first row of the upper circle – a seat that usually costs considerably more than £25.
The app also has a ‘lottery’ feature for some shows, where you can enter a lottery for tickets from as little as £10.
Under this feature, you do have to be resilient, as the likelihood of getting lottery tickets is slim.
However, after a few months of entering the lottery every week, I managed to bag £40 tickets to both parts of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child – tickets which can usually set you back over £400 for the stalls or dress circle.
Other shows that have lottery offers include Hamilton, which, if you won, you’d only pay £10 for.
Some shows also have their own offers on the app, for example, Moulin Rouge offers Bohemian Seats, which are reduced tickets (£30) for same-day performances.
With TodayTix, I have managed to visit several shows – Rush Ticket offers include MJ The Musical tickets for £30Credit: Cyann Fielding
Applause Store
Applause Store claims to be the world’s best television audience company and gives out tickets to a range of shows.
I have been using Applause Store for about four years now, and in that time, I have seen a couple of shows, including QI.
The one major downside, though, is that you get tickets and then queue for a long time and don’t necessarily get in.
This has put me off using Applause Store as frequently, though it is great if there is a show you really want to see being filmed for TV.
For example, at the time of writing, Applause Store is booking tickets for the BAFTA Awards fan areas, something that I would love to see, and so I have applied for two tickets.
Tickets are free, but just because you get tickets doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed entry, so if you are desperate to see the show, make sure you get there early.
SRO Audiences
SRO Audiences is similar to Applause Store.
For SRO Audiences, you don’t need to sign up – simply head onto the website, look at the shows available and request tickets.
Similar to Applause Store, tickets do not guarantee entry, so it is best to get there early on the day.
Central Tickets
Central Tickets is primarily for London theatre events – and by this I don’t necessarily mean London West End shows.
You have to sign up, but it is free of charge to do this, and then you get access to heavily discounted or even free tickets to shows.
Before Christmas, I nabbed two free tickets with a £6.50 admin fee (so £13 total) to see Burlesque: Unwrapped instead of a minimum of £45 per person.
The festive-yet-saucy burlesque performance was, of course, adults only and featured performers twirling around and undressing to Christmas tunes – I’m talking Rudolph nipple tassels and lots of glitter.
It was no London West End show, but for £6.50, my friend and I had a great laugh and a fun evening out.
A lot of the events and shows will most likely be things you haven’t heard of before, but all have a description, meaning you can learn what the show is about before booking.
Sometimes there are some real gems, though; for example, at the time of writing, you could head to Phantom Peak’s immersive experience for £10 instead of £35, or you could head to Sabrage, “featuring international circus elites and theatrical misfits”, for £15 instead of a minimum of £30.
Some sites have discounted tickets to events, including comedy gigsCredit: Getty
Show Film First
Similar to Central Tickets, Show Film First offers heavily discounted tickets to shows and events.
You do have to sign up for an account, which is free, and their newsletter to get the offers.
Some of the current offers include seeing the London Lions basketball team playing against the Niners Chemnitz team, and you would only pay the access fee.
They have also had tickets to top London day festivals, featuring international popstars as headline acts – for an access fee of just £7.95 (but we won’t say who, to spare their blushes).
Other offers include travel conferences and comedy shows.
Age-bracketed tickets
When living in London, it is often easy to forget that theatres, cinemas, and so on offer age-related discounts, and it isn’t necessarily always for youngsters.
The Young Vic then offers £12 tickets for under 25s, and the Barbican and Almeida Theatre both offer £5 tickets for 25s and under.
A bit older than that? Well, if you are under 30, joining the mailing lists for the Royal Albert Hall and Donmar Warehouse allows you to grab £20 tickets.
At The Royal Albert Hall, past events have included Barbie: The Movie in Concert, Video Games in Concert and BBC Proms: The Traitors.
There is also Kids Week, which usually takes place in the summer, and allows children under the age of 18 to visit many West End shows for free with a paying adult.
In addition to offers, there are some ticket types that cost lessCredit: Cyann Fielding
Restricted view
One way to get cheaper tickets at pretty much any show is by opting for the restricted-view seats.
Sites like SeatPlan and A View From My Seat help to show what sort of view you would get, so you can always check a restricted seat’s view before actually booking it.
If you do book this kind of ticket, you can expect to save between 30 and 50 per cent compared to a seat with a non-restricted view.
Whilst this offer isn’t available at the moment, it will be in the summer again, every Friday at 11am when tickets are released for the following week.
And each ticket only costs £5.
Last summer I watched The Winter’s Tale on a standing ticket.
Half of the show was conducted inside, where I did stand but had a barrier to lean on, and then the other half was outside, and thanks to the show not being fully booked, I got a seat.
It is worth checking the length of the show and thinking whether you can stand for that long, though, before committing.
Like at the Globe theatre, you can stand for just £5Credit: Getty
Disney discounts
If you head to the ‘Disney Tickets’ website, you can grab tickets to Disney’s West End shows for less than usual.
For example, you can grab tickets to The Lion King and Disney‘s Hercules on Mondays at noon for that week’s performances for £29.50.
Known as Magical Mondays, it means you could see The Lion King for considerably less than the usual ticket price, which sits around the £70 to £110 range.
All you need to do is create a MyDisney account, which is free to do.
Kim Kardashian’s new suitor Lewis Hamilton already has her famous family’s seal of approvalCredit: ShutterstockKris Jenner has long been a fan and supporter of LewisCredit: GettyKylie’s boyfriend Timothee ranked Lewis in his five greatest Britst just months agoCredit: Getty
Kim’s new suitor Lewis is already well-liked among her extended family and has got the seal of approval from mum Kris Jenner as well as Kylie’s boyfriend, Timothee Chalamet.
Just two months ago, actor Timothee listed Lewis among his list of the five greatest Brits.
Whilst promoting his movie Marty Supreme, Timothee revealed that Lewis was among his British idols alongside David and Victoria Beckham, Susan Boyle and hip-hop artisit, Fakemink.
Timothee has been dating Kylie since April 2023 with the pair enjoying a dinner thrown by Kim in Malibu just last month with the reality star dishing all on the pair staying for hours during her recent appearance on Khloe in Wonder Land.
Elsewhere, mum Kris has long been a fan of racing driver Lewis.
Back in October 2015, she took to Instagram to dedicate a whole post to Lewis’ F1 win.
Kris said at the time: “Congratulations @lewishamilton !!!! We are soooo proud of you!!!!!!“
Interestingly, Kris went on to add “#family,” onto her Instagram caption.
Furthermore, insiders claimed back in 2015 that Kris saw Lewis as “perfect” and a “good influence” and reportedly sang his praises as a potential partner to her daughters – 11 years before his new romance with Kim.
Kim and Lewis have known each other for a number of yearsCredit: AlamyHe has always gotten along with her familyCredit: GettyThe star jetted into the UK for their secret dateCredit: Getty
The Sun revealed the world exclusive that Kim and Lewis had spent time together this weekend after she flew into the country on her £100million private jet from LA.
She arrived with a mountain of luggage for her brief stay at the exclusive Estelle Manor in the Cotswolds, with three bodyguards protecting the couple.
Insiders said they were granted exclusive use of the posh spa at the country club in Witney, Oxfordshire, before having a meal in a private room.
A source told The Sun: “It all appeared to be very romantic. Kim and Lewis made use of all the facilities on offer.
“She had two bodyguards with her and Lewis had a close protection officer but they remained in the background.
“Two of the three stood guard outside the door to their room, so no one could disturb them.”
However the pair have never been romantically linked.
Mum-of-four Kim touched down on Saturday afternoon at Oxford Airport, where two cars — one for her luggage — were waiting to make the nine-minute journey to Estelle Manor.
An hour later, Lewis, who drives for Italian team Ferrari, arrived at the Grade II-listed property by helicopter, chartered from London’s Battersea Heliport.
Lewis spent time with Kim in a luxury Oxfordshire manor houseCredit: GettyThey are said to be in the throes of a new romanceCredit: Getty
Men: Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, Hammy McMillan, Kyle Waddell (alternate)
Women: Rebecca Morrison, Sophie Jackson, Jennifer Dodds, Sophie Sinclair, Fay Henderson (alternate)
Mixed: Mouat and Dodds
In Beijing four years ago, curling was the only sport to return to Britain with medals. Eve Muirhead’s rink took women’s gold and Mouat’s men claimed silver.
Muirhead is no longer playing – instead, she will lead the overall GB team as chef du mission – but her Bejing team-mate Dodds is.
“Jen and the kids” is how the women’s rink this time label themselves and, while their inexperience means they are not among the favourites, they could find themselves in contention for a podium place if things go their way.
Edinburgh duo Dodds and Mouat will be fancied in the mixed, though, having lost the bronze-medal match last time.
And Mouat’s rink are the team to beat in the men’s event. For them, anything less than gold would be a disappointment.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, seen speaking in a November 2024 press conference, announced on Sunday plans to send humanitarian aid to Cuba. File Photo by Isaac Esquivel/EPA-EFE
Feb. 2 (UPI) — President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico announced over the weekend plans to send humanitarian aid to Cuba amid rising tensions between Havana and Washington.
Since President Donald Trump oversaw last month’s U.S. military seizure of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, he has focused on Cuba, warning that the nation is on the precipice of failing. Last week, Trump declared a national emergency in relation to Cuba and announced a mechanism to impose sanctions against any nation that provides the island nation with oil.
In the southwestern city of Guaymas, Sonora, on Sunday, Sheinbaum said Mexico plans to send food, household goods and essential supplies to Cuba through the Secretariat of the Navy while seeking to address the shipment of oil to the Caribbean island via “diplomatic channels,” according to a readout from her office.
“We are already doing all the work necessary to send humanitarian aid that the Cuban people need — other household items and supplies,” Sheinbaum said.
“That is important.”
Commenting on whether she has addressed Trump about the issue of shipping Mexican oil to Cuba, Sheinbaum said her secretary of Foreign Affairs, Juan Ramon de la Fuente, has discussed it with his American counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“And as I’ve said, we are exploring all diplomatic avenues to be able to send fuel to the Cuban people, because this is not a matter of governments but of support to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Cuba,” she said.
“In the meantime, we will send food and other important aid to the island.”
Mexico is an important supplier of fuel to Cuba, and even more so since the Trump administration cut off oil Venezuelan oil exports.
Last week, Sheinbaum paused oil shipments to Cuba, but said it was “a sovereign decision.”
Trump and Sheinbaum spoke on the phone for about 40 minutes Thursday and had what the American president called “a very productive conversation” about border-related issues, drug trafficking and trade.
On Thursday night, Trump declared a national emergency in relation to Cuba and the threat of tariffs, heightening uncertainty over Washington’s next steps toward the socialist island nation.
Sheinbaum was reportedly taken by surprise by this announcement, telling reporters during a Friday press conference that “We did not touch on the topic of Cuba,” directing her secretary of Foreign Affairs to get more information from the U.S. State Department.
“The imposition of tariffs on countries that provide oil to Cuba could create a far-reaching humanitarian crisis.”
The United States already enforces a decades-old embargo against Cuba that restricts most industries, while secondary sanctions penalize foreign companies that do business with Havana.
Beirut, Lebanon – Before Israel’s war on Lebanon, Ali (full name withheld for safety reasons) lived in Haddatha, a village in the Bint Jbeil district in the south, about 12km (7.5 miles) from the border with Israel, surrounded by nature where agriculture was intrinsic to life.
Then came Israel’s “hellfire”.
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At least nine people were killed and some 3,000 injured, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, when thousands of pagers exploded, nearly simultaneously, overwhelming hospitals on September 17, 2024.
Six days later, Israel escalated its attacks across the south, killing nearly 600 people, in what was the country’s deadliest day since the country’s ruinous civil war ended in 1990, and displacing more than one million people.
“Our house was destroyed,” he told Al Jazeera. Ali took refuge in a town about 20km (12.5 miles) north of Haddatha, called Burj Qalaway.
But more than a year later, he is yet to return home despite a ceasefire. He is one of tens of thousands who are still displaced from their homes around Lebanon and who say that what little they have received in support from the Lebanese state or Hezbollah is not enough to rebuild their lives or homes destroyed during the war.
South ‘not safe’
On November 27, 2024, a ceasefire came into effect between Hezbollah and Israel. The agreement brought to an end more than a year of cross-border attacks and a two-month-long Israeli intensification that killed thousands in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and devastated civilian infrastructure.
Under the ceasefire, cross-border attacks were supposed to stop, Hezbollah was to withdraw north of the Litani River, which runs across south Lebanon, and Israel was to withdraw troops that had invaded south Lebanon in October.
Israel, however, never stopped attacking. Its army still occupies five points in southern Lebanon, and during the ceasefire, it razed several villages to the ground.
An estimated 1.2 million people, more than a quarter of the Lebanese population, had been displaced during the war. On the morning of November 27, hundreds of thousands of people streamed south to their villages to return home. But tens of thousands more have been left behind and are still unable to go home.
“The south is not safe,” Ali said. “I am afraid that I might be walking somewhere and a raid will attack a car next to me.”
Israeli attacks continue across the south and the Bekaa Valley in the east on a near-daily basis, with the Lebanese government counting more than 2,000 Israeli violations of the 2024 ceasefire deal in the last three months of 2025.
Ali is not alone. The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 64,000 people are still internally displaced in Lebanon, according to figures compiled in October 2025.
Entire villages ‘razed’
Some of the 64,000 cannot return to their homes along the border region with Israel. Israeli soldiers still hold five points on Lebanese territory, managing large swaths of south Lebanon through violence and technology: using drones, air raids, shelling or gunfire. Since the ceasefire, Israel has killed more than 330 people in Lebanon, including at least 127 civilians.
Melina*, from Odaisseh, a village on the southern border, lived most of her life in Nabatieh. During the war, she was displaced to Sidon, a southern city about 44km (27 miles) south of Beirut.
“I haven’t been able to visit my village,” she told Al Jazeera. “Psychologically, I can’t bear to see our house, which was completely destroyed, and the entire village was razed to the ground.”
“The security situation remains extremely dangerous,” she said. “You could be shot at by the Israeli side at any moment, and it’s unsafe to travel without a Lebanese army escort.”
Ali runs a market in Burj Qalaway, but he says the income is not enough to rebuild his home. There are also other concerns. Israel has attacked reconstruction equipment in southern Lebanon, drawing criticism from human rights groups.
“Amid the ceasefire, Israeli forces have carried out attacks that unlawfully target reconstruction-related equipment and facilities,” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a December 2025 report. “After reducing many of Lebanon’s southern border towns to rubble, the Israeli military is now making it much more difficult for tens of thousands of residents to rebuild their destroyed homes and return to their towns.”
Some Lebanese also fear a renewed Israeli offensive similar to the one in 2024.
‘Couldn’t see 2cm in front of me’
On July 30, 2024, at about 7:40pm, Ramez* was sitting in his bedroom at home in Haret Hreik, a neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs referred to locally as Dahiyeh, an area often targeted in the past by Israel for the Hezbollah presence there.
His cats were roaming around the room, and he was busy on his phone when he heard loud explosions.
The war had been raging in the south, but attacks on Beirut and its suburbs were not yet as common. “I heard more than nine bangs,” Ramez said. He ran out of his bedroom to help his family evacuate. He left his door open, he said, so his cats could escape. While telling his mother to grab her things, he heard the loudest bang.
“The whole neighbouring building just collapsed and fell on us,” he said. Israel had just levelled the building next to his, killing Fuad Shukr, a top Hezbollah commander.
“I couldn’t see 2cm in front of me because of the fog and the dust.”
Left: The building next to RK’s home was destroyed, causing it to fall onto his building, damaging the apartment. Right: Ramez’s sister’s car was destroyed in the attack on his home in July 2024 [Courtesy of Ramez*]
Ramez’s family escaped unscathed, though their house was badly damaged and his sister’s car was destroyed. His cats also survived. He found them the next day.
“I always wondered how people just go through something like this and just move on, saying, OK, Alhamdulillah, everyone is alive,” he says, though, “at that point I kind of understood it”.
Since the end of the war, he has been able to return to his family home in Haret Hreik. But his family had to pay for most of the reconstruction themselves, with little help from the government or any group.
They registered with the government for assistance but said they received only a one-time payment of 30 million Lebanese pounds (a little more than $330).
Hezbollah also sent engineers to assess the damage. In December 2024, the Reuters news agency reported that Hezbollah would pay about $77m and rent to families affected by war. Some locals said payments from the group helped a bit, but others said it had stopped paying nonmembers or tried to undervalue their losses.
“They were very stingy with payments,” Ramez said. “They tried to make us accept low payments, but my mom stood her ground and said it is enough.”
Other people who were displaced by the war told Al Jazeera that the aid provided by the state and Hezbollah was very limited.
War is ‘most terrible’
Reports are mixed over Hezbollah’s financial capability, and it is difficult to determine how badly they have been hit financially after the group’s political and military leadership was devastated by 2024’s war and suffered several Israeli assassinations, including their longtime charismatic leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
The fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria also dealt Hezbollah a serious blow, disrupting the land route to its main benefactor, Iran – itself now reeling from deadly protests and bracing for a possible US attack. The group is under immense pressure from the Lebanese government to disarm, with the United States and Israel applying pressure.
Further compounding the crisis is the fact that Lebanon is now almost seven years into one of the worst economic crises in more than 150 years, according to the World Bank. This has hit locals hard, with many having their bank accounts frozen and the currency devaluing by more than 90 percent.
This has left many of the displaced feeling abandoned and unsure of how to continue.
There were violent Israeli air raids in the south on Saturday, which continued on Sunday. In the meantime, people like Ali have to continue figuring out ways to survive as their displacement carries on well past the one-year mark.
“We love life, but the situation is not good. Wars break your back,” Ali said. “War is the most terrible thing in the world.”
Martin McDonagh’s 2023 film The Banshees of Inisherin secured eight Academy Award nominations – including Best Picture – while collecting numerous other accolades, inspiring many to explore its stunning landscapes.
For those eager to experience the spectacular scenery firsthand, there’s welcome news: the majority was shot on a single island.
Achill Island, situated off the County Mayo coast, is accessible by car, linked to the mainland via the Michael Davitt Bridge and readily reached using the N59 from Westport to Mulranny, followed by the R319, according to Achill Tourism.
On the island’s south-eastern side, Cloughmore served as the backdrop for JJ Devine’s pub Jonjo’s. Regrettably, the structure was purpose-built for production and subsequently dismantled, meaning it’s no longer visible today.
Nevertheless, it remains a beloved birdwatching location and merits a visit for its sweeping coastal panoramas, reports the Irish Mirror.
Heading westward from Cloughmore along the shoreline, you’ll discover the spot used for the fork in the road, distinguished by a statue of the Virgin Mary in the film.
In reality, no fork exists at this location, and the production team positioned the Mary statue there specifically for filming. This site was also used for the sequence in which Colm (Brendan Gleeson) escorts Pádraic (Colin Farrell) home following a beating in the village.
The notorious opening sequence of a cheerful, contented Pádraic wandering into frame against a vividly coloured, rainbow-tinged landscape was filmed at Purteen harbour, situated between Keel and Pollagh.
The production team transformed the site into a harbourside street scene featuring the island’s post office. The shop – O’Riordan’s – was built specifically for the film, whilst the row of fishermen’s cottages was merely a front.
Keem Bay is a breathtaking beach, boasting white sands and gorgeous turquoise waters – establishing it as one of Ireland’s most beloved coastal destinations. It also serves as the location for Colm and Pádraic’s closing scene – the structure, which is privately owned, wasn’t purpose-built and remains standing, though the actual scene was filmed on a studio set.
Corrymore Lake provides the backdrop for Dominic’s (Barry Keoghan) and Siobhán’s (Kerry Condon) heartbreaking exchange and his demise.
St Thomas’s Church, located in Dugort, is a 19th-century Church of Ireland structure that functioned as the setting for the Catholic Mass sequences in the film. It remains an active church and isn’t accessible to visitors outside of service times.
A central question in the congressional investigation of the firings of eight U.S. attorneys is whether Carol C. Lam in San Diego was dismissed, and Debra Wong Yang in Los Angeles eased out, to try to derail corruption probes of prominent California Republicans.
Whatever officials in Washington might have intended, Yang and Lam’s departures had no effect on the investigations, which continue unabated, sources close to the inquiries said this week. And several present and former federal prosecutors said it would be extremely difficult — though not impossible — to quash an investigation for political reasons.
“Most criminal prosecutors are an independent sort with a strong sense of pursuing truth and justice,” said William W. Carter, a Los Angeles federal prosecutor for 14 years before moving to the firm Musick, Peeler & Garrett in November. “They would be repulsed, and rebel, against any political order. There would be an uproar.”
Although the nation’s 93 U.S. attorneys are political appointees, their offices are staffed with career prosecutors who are tasked with pursuing justice without regard for any political agenda.
Those prosecutors — assistant U.S. attorneys — often come from top-flight law schools and see the job as a noble calling. Many of them could make much more money in private practice.
Calling a prosecutor off a case — particularly if the motive were transparently political — would cause an uproar, said Loyola Law School professor and former federal prosecutor Laurie L. Levenson. “You’d have to suspend reality to think you could get away with it,” she said.
The U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego is moving forward on the expanding investigation that netted Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe), the sources said. And prosecutors in Los Angeles continue to examine Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) over various dealings with lobbyists and contractors during the time he was chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
Neither Lam nor Yang had direct involvement in the corruption investigations, the sources said. According to one source close to the Lewis inquiry, Yang never asked to be briefed by her prosecutors, nor did she give them any input. “It was just nothing … which was good.”
The sources close to the probes requested anonymity because a Justice Department policy bars public comment on ongoing investigations.
Yang emphatically denied that she was pushed out or that she or her successor was asked to stop a politically charged investigation.
“You have so many players involved, it’s ridiculous that you could make an investigation disappear, especially one that is high profile — because those are the ones all the assistants want to work on,” she said.
Levenson said there are subtle ways, however, to let a case “die a slow death.”
Supervisors could assign the prosecutors other matters to work on or divert resources away from the case. They could balk at issuing subpoenas or seeking approvals of various sorts from Washington. And when it comes time to seek an indictment, particularly if the case is not a slam-dunk, the U.S. attorney or even the Justice Department in Washington could waver and tell the prosecutors that they need to do more investigating.
Yet even this scenario is more likely to happen in a John Grisham novel than in real life, Levenson said.
Congressional investigators first focused on the possibility that Lam was fired because of the expanding Cunningham inquiry or the Lewis investigation. Although Lam’s office was not involved in the Lewis probe, those involved in the firings might not have known that because both cases involved the same prominent lobbyist, several prosecutors suggested.
Now some of the focus has shifted to Yang, with testimony indicating that the White House might have been looking to push her out.
In October 2006 — less than two months before the firings — Yang announced her resignation to take a job at the Los Angeles firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which was defending Lewis and has strong Republican ties. Her new salary is reportedly about $1.5 million a year.
Yang said at the time that, as a recently divorced mother of three, she needed to enter the private sector to support her family.
U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, was questioned Thursday about Yang’s resignation, but insisted that she left of her own accord.
But in recent testimony to congressional investigators, D. Kyle Sampson, the Justice Department aide who coordinated the firings, said the White House had inquired in September about pushing Yang out to “create a vacancy.”
“I remember [White House Counsel] Harriet Miers asking me about Debra Yang … and what her plans were, whether she might be asked to resign,” Sampson told investigators last month, according to a senior congressional aide.
An opinion piece by a New York Times editorial editor, Adam Cohen, suggested that Gibson Dunn might have lured Yang away with the rich salary offer to get her off the Lewis investigation.
Gibson Dunn lawyers took offense at the suggestion.
“It’s absurd,” said Randy Mastro, co-chairman of the firm’s crisis management group with Yang.
It was well known that Yang was looking for something new, he added, and at least three top firms were actively recruiting her.
As for her being pushed out, he said Yang notified Miers in January 2006 that she planned to leave by the end of summer.
Mastro would not comment specifically on the Lewis investigation.
Angela Dugalic scored 22 points off the bench, Kiki Rice had 17 and Lauren Betts added 16 as the UCLA women’s basketball team recorded its eighth win against a ranked opponent with a dominant 88-65 victory over No. 8 Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.
“I’m proud to be part of this team,” Dugalic said. “It’s fun to play with these girls. We’re not taking any team for granted. At the end of the day, if you’re our next opponent, that’s who we’re concentrating on.”
The No. 2 Bruins (21-1 overall, 11-0 Big Ten) won their 15th straight game and improved to 10-0 at home. They lead the conference by one game over No. 9 Michigan, which beat No. 13 Michigan State in overtime Sunday.
Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with 10 points, five assists and five rebounds. Gianna Kneepkens added 10 points, four assists and four rebounds, and Rice dished out seven assists for UCLA, which improved to 3-1 all time against Iowa and 3-0 under coach Cori Close.
“I’m thrilled for Angela getting a career high today, but what I’m happy about most is how many different people are stepping up,” Close said. “We’ve got plenty of weapons. This group couldn’t have been more happy for Angela. I love the way they celebrate each other’s growth.”
Ava Heiden netted 19 points and Hannah Stuelke added 13 for the Hawkeyes (18-4, 9-2), who were trying to rebound from Thursday night’s 81-69 loss to unranked USC at Galen Center.
It was supposed to be UCLA’s toughest game since its defeat to No. 4 Texas in December. Instead the Bruins made it look easy by getting every player involved. They racked up 29 assists and were 50% from three-point range and eight for eight at the free-throw line.
UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez drives to the basket against Iowa in the first half.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
No. 1 Connecticut routed No. 15 Tennessee by 30 to stay undefeated while Texas, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 6 Louisiana State and No. 7 Louisville also won Sunday.
Having lost to the top two teams in the country, Iowa coach Jan Jensen was asked to compare them.
“Both are outstanding at every position,” Jensen said. “Lauren [Betts] is so hard to guard. One difference is UConn’s full-court pressure. You could put your money on both of them to be there at the end. Maybe a slight edge to UConn, only because they press, but I have all the respect in the world for Cori and her staff. They do it the right way. UCLA is really good. They saw what we were trying to do and made us not play our best.”
Close said her team is not where she wants it to be quite yet.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice, right, looks for a pass in front of Iowa guard Chit-Chat Wright during the first half Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“Losing to UConn in the tournament last year taught me that you can never be satisfied,” Close said. “The edge is a really good place and I want us to live on that edge every day, not rely on our talent.”
Rice’s layup capped a 6-0 run to put the Bruins up by 13 with 4:21 left in the first half. Iowa closed within eight before Kneepkens drained a corner three at the buzzer to give UCLA a 39-28 lead at halftime. UCLA outscored Iowa 28-10 in the paint in the half.
Betts’ jumper increased the Bruins’ lead to 22 with 3:10 left in the third, but she picked up her fourth personal foul two minutes later and Iowa took advantage while scoring the final five points of the quarter. Dugalic’s third three-pointer gave UCLA its largest lead, 86-59, with a little more than three minutes left.
“The confidence we have is mainly because we know we put in the work in practice,” Betts said. “Coach never lets up in terms of playing to our standard. We try to get ball inside because we have amazing post presence. We want to do that.”
UCLA hosts Rutgers on Wednesday before its showdown with Michigan next Sunday.
“Angela earned everything she got today,” Close said. “Sure, she benefits from how dominant Lauren is, but we posted her up, we ran plays to get her three … show me a more versatile forward in the country than her.”
Feb. 2 (UPI) — A Russian drone strike in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region has killed at least 12 miners and injured eight more, according to officials who are accusing the Kremlin of attacking unarmed civilians.
DTEK Group, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said a Russian drone struck a bus transporting staff from its Dnipropetrovsk mine, resulting in at least 20 casualties.
“The bus was hit as it was taking miners home after their shift,” the company said in a statement.
The strike was part of a large-scale Russian assault on DTEK’s mining facilities in the region, the company said as it extended its condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed.
Maxim Teimchenko, CEO of DTEK, accused Russia of conducting “an unprovoked terrorist attack on a purely civilian target.”
“This attack marks the single largest loss of life of DTEK employees since russia’s full-scale invasion and is one of the darkest days in our history,” he said.
“Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Serhii Berskresnov, a Ukraine Defense Ministry adviser, identified the weapon used in the attack on Telegram as an Iran-made Shahed drone.
Using a MESH radio modem, the drone pilot deliberately attacked the bus after spotting it on the road, he said.
The drone struck near the bus, with its blast wave forcing the driver to lose control and crash into a fence, he said, adding that as the injured were exiting the vehicle, a second Shahed drone struck.
“The operators operating from the territory of Russia 100% saw and identified the target as civilian, saw they were not military and made a conscious decision to attack,” he said.
“This is yet another act of terrorism. I have no words.”
12 людей загинули на Дніпропетровщині!
російський дрон атакував службовий автобус одного із підприємств у Павлоградському районі!
Попередньо, загинули 12 людей. Ще семеро травмовані, їх госпіталізували до лікарні.
Russia has been widely accused of committing war crimes in its nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine. From indiscriminate attacks on civilians to executions, torture and forced deportations, Russia has been repeatedly denounced for alleged war crimes that it denies.
The International Criminal Court has formally opened a war crimes and crimes against humanity investigation into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has issued arrest warrants for Russian officials, including its authoritarian president, Vladimir Putin.
The strike was one of numerous Russian attacks across Ukraine on Sunday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskystating on X that people throughout the country were without heat and electricity. Railway infrastructure was hit in the Sumy region, he said.
During the month of January, Russia launched more than 6,000 attack drones, 5,550 guided aerial bombs and 158 missiles at Ukraine, Zelensky said.
“Virtually all of it targeted the energy sector, the railways and our infrastructure — everything that sustains normal life.”
On Saturday, Russia bombed a maternity hospital in Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring six people, according to Prime Minister Yulia Svydenko.
The strikes come despite U.S. President Donald Trump stating last week that Putin promised him that Russia would refrain from hitting Ukraine for a week.
“I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week, and he agreed to that,” he said during a cabinet meeting without making clear which towns, cities and regions that the Russian leader had agreed not to attack.
“We’re very happy that they did it.”
Trump has been pushing since before he returned to office to end the war, which he vowed to do during his first 24 hours back in the White House.
Zelensky confirmed Sunday that dates for the next trilateral meetings for a cease-fire between the United States and Russia have been set for Wednesday and Thursday in Abu Dhabi.
“Ukraine is ready for a substantive discussion, and we are interested in ensuring that the outcome brings us closer to a real and dignified end to the war,” he said.
Real Madrid earn a hard-fought football victory over their local rivals to move to within one point of league leaders Barcelona.
Published On 1 Feb 20261 Feb 2026
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Kylian Mbappe stayed calm to roll home a 100th-minute penalty and grab Real Madrid a 2-1 win over nine-man Rayo Vallecano in a spicy La Liga football derby on Sunday.
Los Blancos cut Barcelona’s lead back to one point at the top of the table a day after the Spanish champions beat Elche.
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Vinicius Junior scored early on for Madrid after Jude Bellingham limped off with an apparent hamstring injury.
Jorge de Frutos pulled Rayo level early in the second half as Madrid fans showed their anger at their team. But after Rayo’s Pathe Ciss was issued a red card, Mbappe netted from the spot at the death.
Pep Chavarria was also sent off for 17th-placed Rayo, who took a shaky Madrid to the wire before falling short.
After the hosts’ midweek defeat at Benfica, which forced them into the Champions League playoff round, the Santiago Bernabeu crowd was in an unforgiving mood.
Mbappe and Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa had begged fans to support the team, but, just as they did two weeks ago against Levante, they whistled at their own players.
Former Barcelona winger Ilias Akhomach fired narrowly wide early on, and the atmosphere would have been further soured had his effort crept inside Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ post.
Los Blancos suffered an early setback as England international Bellingham pulled up holding the back of his thigh, going off in agony.
Vinicius fired the hosts ahead in the 15th minute, showing tidy footwork just inside the area before firing high over Augusto Batalla and into the net.
Vinicius Junior scores the opening football goal for Real Madrid [Thomas Coex/AFP]
Arda Guler came close to getting a second, with Batalla saving his effort and Vinicius turning the rebound wide.
Los Blancos were in charge, but though they took the lead, their fans were not appeased, and whistled the team in at the break.
Four minutes into the second half, Rayo pulled level. Alvaro Garcia nodded a cross down for de Frutos, a former Madrid youth player, to reach and drill home.
The visitors should have taken the lead after an hour, when Andrei Ratiu ran through on goal with only Courtois to beat. But the Belgian stopper made a superb save to deny him.
Mbappe came centimetres away from putting Madrid in front when Batalla rushed out of his goal, with the French forward knocking the ball around him but then hitting the bar from distance.
Kylian Mbappe rounds Augusto Batalla only to miss an open goal from distance [Manu Fernandez/AP Photo]
Rayo made life harder for themselves when midfielder Ciss was sent off for an ugly foul on Madrid’s Dani Ceballos.
Eduardo Camavinga headed against the post as Arbeloa’s side turned the screw, before nine minutes of stoppage time were added on.
With the clock ticking down, Madrid were awarded a penalty when Nobel Mendy clumsily fouled Brahim Diaz, and La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe dispatched the ball to snatch three points for his side.
Rayo finished the match with nine men after Chavarria was shown a second yellow card for shoving Rodrygo Goes.
In speech after speech, this year’s Grammy-winning artists returned to one message—ICE is a menace that must be stopped.
After dramatic, violent escalations in federal raids on immigrant communities and their supporters in Minneapolis and across the country, Americans have been shocked into despair and action. Many artists up for top Grammys have been vocal about their opposition to these raids, but at Sunday’s Grammys, the topic was front and center for many winners in their speeches.
“I want to dedicate this to all the people who had to leave their home, their country, to follow their dreams,” Bad Bunny said in his mostly-Spanish acceptance speech for the Grammys top prize, Album of the Year.
Earlier in the night, he joked with host Trevor Noah about Puerto Rico not being a great place for Noah should flee to, the island still being an American territory and all. But Bad Bunny made his point clearly even before taking home his biggest prize yet. “Ice out,” he said. “If we fight, we have to do it with love.”
With a Super Bowl halftime show coming next week, he’ll take the stage as the most important musician on earth right now, an urgent message brought to the heart of the most aggressively American live event.
As musicians around the country and the globe use their platforms to organize and speak out against the ICE raids, many acts wore pins on the red carpet Sunday—from Joni Mitchell and Carole King to Olivia Rodrigo, Brandi Carlile and Justin and Hailey Bieber.
Yet it was striking just how many artists used the acceptance speeches to decry the agency’s actions under President Trump.
Billie Eilish, an upset winner with brother Finneas for song for “Wildflower,” was even more direct. “No one is illegal on stolen land,” she said. “It’s hard to know what to say and what to do, but we need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter.” Then came a long, bleeped moment on the CBS broadcast—presumably something urgently profane directed at a similar target.
That sentiment spanned genres and cultures. New artist winner, the U.K. R&B singer Olivia Dean, acknowledged the gifts of being “the granddaughter of an immigrant. I’m a product of bravery and I think these people deserve to be celebrated.”
“Immigrants built this country, literally,” said country star Shaboozey, a descendant of Nigerian immigrant parents, winning for country duo/group performance. “This is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunity to be part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity to everyone willing to work for it. Thank you for bringing your culture your music, your stories and your traditions here.”
Kehlani, a winner for R&B song and performance, said that “Together, we’re stronger in numbers to speak out against all the injustice going on in the world right now. I hope everyone is inspired to come together as a community of artists ad speak out against what’s going on.”
” F— Ice,” Kehlani added, walking off the stage.
Recording Academy chief Harvey Mason Jr. also used his speech to underscore the “uncertainty and real trauma,” of the environment in America now. “It can be easy to feel overwhelmed, even helpless in challenging times. But music never stands still,” he said. “When we’re exhausted, music restores us. When were grieving, music sits with us.”
Alongside the night’s words of warning and rage, singer SZA offered what amounted to reassurance in her speech after winning record for “Luther,” her Hot 100-dominating collaboration with Kendrick Lamar.
“Please don’t fall into despair,” she said. “I know algorithms tell us it’s so scary and all is lost. But we can go on, we need each other. We’re not governed by the government, we’re governed by God.”
Open sandwiches (smørrebrød), meatballs (frikadeller), crispy pork belly (stegt flæsk) … There are many must-eat dishes for food lovers visiting Denmark, though perhaps nothing springs to mind as readily as the Danish pastry. But how are you supposed to choose from the countless bakeries on offer? And once you have decided which to visit, which pastry to eat? As a long-term resident of Copenhagen and pastry obsessive, I took on the Guardian’s challenge to find the best Danish pastry in town.
Let’s get started with the shocking fact that Danish pastries are not actually Danish. In Denmark they’re called wienerbrød (Viennese bread) and made using a laminated dough technique that originated in Vienna. There’s also no such thing as a “Danish” in Denmark – there are so many different types of pastry that the word loses meaning. What we know as a Danish is a spandauer – a round pastry with a folded border and a circle of yellowy custard in the middle. Then there’s the tebirkes, a folded pastry often with a baked marzipan-style centre and poppy seeds on the top; a frøsnapper, a twist of pastry dusted with poppy seeds; and a snegl, which translates as “snail” but is known as a cinnamon swirl in English.
Pastries are an essential energy source for exploring Copenhagen. Photograph: Marco Bottigelli/Getty Images
I decided to compare bakeries based on their snegl – partly because they are my favourite but mainly because you can find one just about everywhere. I’m also clear on what constitutes a good one: it should have a crisp outer circle and a squidgier middle, which Danes regard as the best bit, and should taste of cinnamon and sugar.
With a steady stream of often international pastry chefs leaving the city’s high-end restaurants to open their own bakeries, new outlets are popping up nearly every day. There’s a low-key fight going on between old and new, but in this Instagram age it’s not a fair one. While the more traditional bakeries are marked out by the golden kringle, a sign like a pretzel, hanging outside their shops, the boutique-style bakeries have nearly always got better lighting and more vibrant displays.
For me, it’s a classic story of modernisation and renewal: some adaptations may go too far, but others make traditional pastry taste even better, so why not? I explored both types: the traditional bakeries imbued with hygge and historic charm, and the chic, patisserie-style places. Try them both – it’s fun!
Photograph: Mark Tanggaard
Famous for its “Wednesday snegl”, Sankt Peders is the oldest bakery in the city, dating back to 1652, and it looks the part: on a cobbled Old Town street, it has a golden kringle hanging outside, and the scent of cinnamon perfumes the air. I ask for their classic pastry and am handed a cinnamon snegl. It’s round, rather flat, and decorated with a splodge of white icing. I bite into its crisp outer edges and find a soft inner section. It’s good, but the lack of height – along with the teeth-achingly sweet icing – means it won’t be in contention for a top spot. 30 kroner (£3.50), 5/10
Photograph: Mark Tanggaard
Hipster vibes abound at Brød, a small modern bakery on Enghave Plads in the vibrant Vesterbro district. Babies are sleeping in prams outside and a man wearing a teeny-weeny beanie pulls up on a cargo bike as I arrive. The young baker serving me is very proud of Denmark’s pastry expertise and advises me to try a snegl, a spandauer and a tebirkes to get a fully rounded idea of what they do. How can I say no? The spandauer and tebirkes are good, not too sweet, but I’m a particular fan of the tall cinnamon swirl and its deliciously squidgy middle. 30 kroner, 7.5/10
Copenhagen Juno the bakery Photograph: Kathrine Preisler
This has been consistently rated one of the best bakeries in the city since it was opened by the Swedish baker and ex-Noma pastry chef Emil Glaser in the Østerbro district in 2017. I drop in to try their classic cardamom bun, but there’s nowhere to sit so I take it to work. It’s beautiful to look at, delicately plaited and dusted with sugar and black flecks of cardamom. It’s sweet, slightly chewy and very moreish. At this point I think I should be more like Prue and Paul on Bake Off and just eat a morsel of each pastry to avoid the ensuing sugar crash that will derail my day. But I find I can’t stop myself. 34 kroner, 9/10
Photograph: Ellie Hall
Before I tell you to shell out for one of the city’s more expensive pastries, I have a responsibility to make sure cheaper versions are represented here. So I visit a local supermarket, Discount 365, and buy a thin, flat and cold snegl from the bakery cabinet, topped with a circle of white icing. It’s crisply crunchy nearly all the way through and lacks a soft middle. There’s not much in the way of cinnamon taste and there’s absolutely no lingering flavour, except for maybe margarine. Pay more: you’ll thank me. 12 kroner, 1/10
Albatross and Venner served 10 types of pastry. Photograph: Laura Hall
They are still rolling up the shutters of the Torvehallerne food hall when I arrive, but a decent queue is already forming at Albatross & Venner. I count 10 different types of pastry as I wait: next to fat cinnamon swirls, there are chia swirls, feta and spinach swirls and other savoury options. I opt for a cinnamon snegl, which they make with coffee syrup. The thick, uneven rolls are a little clumsy, but it’s glazed, soft and delicious. There’s no real definition between the outside and the inside so it’s not in the elite league. But it is hearty. 35 kroner, 6.5/10
Photograph: Ellie Hall
Although I’m a big fan of independents, it would be remiss to not mention the city’s bakery chains. Lagkagehuset is a classic, with a modern concrete and marble interior, and reliable options from a counter that offers everything from great sandwiches to glossy cakes and quintessential pastries. Bakery snobs despair at their mass-produced goods but I remain a fan. I plump for a direktørsnegl, a big chocolate-topped cinnamon swirl, which is messy with an oozy centre. If you don’t love really sweet things you may find it too sickly – but that’s not how I roll. 27 kroner, 8/10
Riviera is known for its excellent tebirkes (in the foreground) Photograph: Maria Kathrine Preisler
Run by Italian chef Chiara Barla, this neighbourhood bakery near Nørreport has a chic minimalist interior and is known in Copenhagen for serving the best tebirkes in the world. I watch the bakers roll out and shape pale dough behind the counter as I try their pastries. After weeks of tasting, I can say hands down that this is the one. The plaited, sticky, orange-glazed cinnamon snegl is a feast for the eyes and a party for the mouth; the lightly lemony vanilla custard of the spandauer is exquisite; and the tebirkes is like the most delicious love child of a traditional tebirkes and a doughnut. 35 kroner, 10/10
Laura Hall is the author of Modern Scandinavian, a Substack about life in northern Europe
CHRISTOPHER S. LEHANE served as an advisor in the Clinton White House and as press secretary to Al Gore in the 2000 campaign.
IN RECENT WEEKS, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators have talked about giving California a well-deserved bigger say in the presidential campaign by moving up the state’s primary. However, if Democrats really want to put the party in the strongest possible position to succeed in presidential elections, let’s completely rethink the current primary system and replace it with a nominating process designed to pick the candidate best able to win.
In 2004, the primary season was frontloaded around a few early, relatively small and not especially diverse states in order to identify as quickly as possible the “most electable” candidate and to conserve money for the general election. Because these were small states that are historically won one voter and one constituency group at a time, candidates were rewarded for their retail campaign skills: one-on-one politics, constituency group building and a good biography. Unfortunately, these skills are about as relevant to a 21st century national presidential campaign as horseback riding is relevant to driving a car.
Modern presidential campaigns are tests of character; they’re a hunt for candidates who have broad appeal (as opposed to a biography attractive to only a limited range of voters). They’re about identifying candidates with the ability to articulate a message that speaks to all Americans, rather than those who rely on the typical 12-point plans constructed for one constituency group or another. Modern presidential races are about the ability to connect with voters over the TV in their living rooms — not about a candidate’s charm when he meets with them in person in their own living rooms. And they’re about the capacity to assemble and run a far-flung organization capable of raising well in excess of $100 million in just a few years.
With three reforms, the Democrats can put in place a nominating system that will produce the strongest and, yes, most electable candidate.
First, the Democratic primary schedule should open with a group of states that, when taken together, represents the mosaic that is America. Along with a Midwestern Iowa and a Northeastern New Hampshire, let’s have a state from the Southwest, South and West all voting on the same day.
A multi-state campaign taking place on one day and involving a diverse set of states will begin the process of identifying the candidate who can put together the winning qualities of a national campaign.
Second, the primary season needs to be spread over a longer time period — not just in theory but in practice as well, so candidates are truly tested. Beginning in early February and going until May, Democrats should schedule a series of 10 primaries, with each involving five geographically diverse states voting every two weeks. The diverse and multi-state nature of the races would make it far more likely that the campaign would be competitive for a longer period. (Under the current system, the 2008 primary could effectively be over after four early states vote in a span of a few weeks, as it was in 2004. The compressed time period and winner-take-all nature of the existing system means that whoever does well in these first states, especially the first two, is in all likelihood the presumptive nominee.)
This sort of diverse process over an extended time period worked in 1992 — the only time in the last 25 years that the Democrats nominated a candidate, Bill Clinton, who went on to be sworn in as president. That year, because Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin was running in the Iowa caucuses and because New Hampshire voters chose former Sen. Paul Tsongas of neighboring Massachusetts, neither Iowa nor New Hampshire played their historically determinative roles. In fact, the 1992 election was the first time in history that a candidate became president who did not win the New Hampshire primary. Instead, Democrats had to compete vigorously over the course of several months in such places as South Dakota, and then in Georgia (where Clinton got his first win), Maryland, Colorado, South Carolina, Arizona, Super Tuesday, and then on to Connecticut, New York and eventually California, where Clinton wrapped up the nomination in early June.
If Democrats had been using the 2004 primary system in 1992, their nominee could well have been Tsongas. The longer, diversified schedule, however, allowed Clinton to prove himself to voters, exposed the candidates’ relative strengths and weaknesses and allowed the Democrats to stay on the offensive and define the terms of the general election. Democrats ended up with a candidate who actually won a number of states in the South and all the states in the upper Midwest — and who had the message, the battle-hardened ability and the proven campaign operation needed to beat the Republicans.
The third reform, in order to encourage more voter participation and loosen the grip of the Washington establishment on the Democratic Party’s nomination process, is a three-part proposal: Eliminate the “super delegate” system. Super delegates are a significant pool of at-large, free-agent delegates representing the Democratic apparatus (including both party and elected officials) in the nominating process. In addition, the party should establish a system that more closely resembles the system that states such as Maine and Nebraska use in the general election, in which they divide nominating delegates by congressional districts, with votes for each district and additional points for whichever candidate wins the majority of the state’s total vote. Finally, as in New Hampshire, independents should be allowed to vote in Democratic primaries.
These changes would force candidates to compete for an ideologically broader range of voters throughout all regions of a state, including in urban, suburban, exurban and rural districts.
Even a cursory glance at a red-and-blue color-coded map that divides the country’s counties up shows that Democrats need to compete in more than just the major cities and coastal regions. Not only will this be of enormous help to producing a candidate who can compete nationally — it will help the party’s candidates lower down on the ballot, where Democrats face challenges in traditional swing communities.
The winning coalition for Democrats will in all likelihood not be the old Democratic coalition of labor, minorities, women and coastal progressives. As the 2006 midterms demonstrated, for the Democratic Party to regain a permanent majority status, our candidates must win by talking to all Americans.
NEW YORK — Lakers star LeBron James made the NBA All-Star team for a record 22nd time Sunday after being selected as a Western Conference reserve by NBA coaches.
James had been selected as an All-Star starter 21 consecutive times, an NBA record, but fans didn’t choose him this season. The 41-year-old James is just the second player to earn multiple All-Star selections after the age of 40, joining Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Denver’s Jamal Murray, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, Houston’s Kevin Durant, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Portland’s Deni Avdija also were named Western Conference reserves.
The Eastern Conference reserves are Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Miami’s Norman Powell, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes and Detroit’s Jalen Duren.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, seventh in scoring at 28.7 points per game and first in steals (2.1), could be chosen by commissioner Adam Silver to replace Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s a starter but is injured.
James was averaging 21.9 points, 6.6 assists and 5.8 rebounds over 33.1 minutes per game. He was shooting 50.2% from the field and 34.9% from three-point range through 30 games.
James missed the first 14 games because of sciatica and started slowly when he returned, but has been playing at a higher level recently.
In January, James scored 109 fourth-quarter points, tied with Durant for the most in the NBA. James helped the Lakers post a league-best 14-2 record in clutch games entering Sunday’s game at New York.
James will join Lakers teammate Luka Doncic, who had the most All-Star votes, in the Feb. 15 game at the Clippers’ home arena, Intuit Dome.
The new All-Star format will be a three-team tournament that features two U.S. teams and one world team. The U.S. teams will have 16 players and the world will have eight. Doncic, who is from Slovenia, will play for the world team.
The teams play a round-robin of 12-minute games, with the top teams advancing to the final 12-minute championship.
These are the key developments from day 1,439 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Published On 2 Feb 20262 Feb 2026
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Here is where things stand on Monday, February 1:
Fighting
A Russian drone strike on a bus carrying miners in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region killed at least 12 people, according to officials.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal denounced the strike as a “cynical and targeted” attack on energy workers. Their employer, DTEK, said the victims were finishing a shift.
Another Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro killed a man and a woman, while nine people were wounded in Russian attacks on a maternity ward and a residential neighbourhood in Zaporizhzhia, officials said. Among those injured were two women undergoing medical examination.
In a post on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of attempting to disrupt logistics and connectivity between Ukrainian cities and communities through its drone, bomb and missile attacks. He said Russia used more than 980 attack drones, nearly 1,100 guided aerial bombs, and two missiles against Ukraine.
Nearly 700 apartment buildings remain without heating in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, due to previous Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said, as a new wave of bitter cold swept across much of the country.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces gained control over the village of Zelene in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, and the settlement of Sukhetske in the Donetsk region, according to the TASS news agency. The ministry added that Russian forces hit facilities of transport infrastructure used in the interests of the Ukrainian army.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk said moves by his SpaceX company to stop Russia’s “unauthorised” use of its internet system Starlink seem to have worked, after Ukrainian officials reported finding Starlink terminals on long-range drones used in Russian attacks.
Ukrainian Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov said Kyiv was developing a system that would allow only authorised Starlink terminals to work on Ukrainian territory.
Politics and diplomacy
Zelenskyy said a new round of trilateral talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials on a Washington-drafted plan to end the nearly four-year war has been postponed to February 4 and 5 in the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, praised US President Donald Trump’s “brash” style as “effective” in seeking peace, but added that Moscow had seen no trace of nuclear submarines that Trump claimed he had moved to Russian shores.
Medvedev added in his interview with the Reuters and TASS news agencies that Trump “wants to go down in history as a peacemaker – and he is really trying”, which explains “why contacts with Americans have become much more productive”.
Medvedev also said that European powers had failed to defeat Russia in Ukraine, but had inflicted severe economic harm on themselves by trying to do so.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu held talks with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Beijing, with China’s top diplomat saying that bilateral relations between the two countries could “break new ground” this year.
Wang also told Shoigu that China and Russia must work together to uphold multilateralism in a time of “turmoil”, and “advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world”.
The US and Russia’s New START pact, the final treaty in the world that restricted nuclear weapon deployment, is set to expire on Thursday, and with it, restrictions on the two top nuclear powers. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in September a one-year extension of New START, but little has been heard from Trump since he indicated last year that an extension “sounds like a good idea”.
Russian emergency members work on the ruins of a house, which was destroyed during what Russian-installed authorities called a recent Ukrainian drone attack, in the settlement of Sartana in the Russian-occupied area of Ukraine’s Donetsk region [Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]
One of last year’s best action films is now ready for home viewing on Paramount+
Has Tom Cruise truly said farewell to action hero Ethan Hunt?(Image: PARAMOUNT PICTURES)
A spectacular action movie sequel featuring an A-list Hollywood star has finally landed on Paramount+ at no additional cost to subscribers.
Potentially the final instalment in one of cinema’s most legendary franchises, the highly anticipated sequel left audiences stunned when it hit cinemas last year.
Following nearly 12 months of anticipation, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, marking Tom Cruise’s concluding performance as daring IMF agent Ethan Hunt, was added to Paramount+ on Sunday, 1st February.
Serving as a direct continuation of the seventh film in the franchise, Dead Reckoning, this thrilling spy adventure sees Ethan reuniting with Grace (played by Hayley Atwell), Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames) and various others to prevent Gabriel Martinelli (Esai Morales) from executing his plan to dominate the world’s population using a sinister AI called ‘the Entity’.
Anticipate plenty more gravity-defying stunts, intense espionage and a spectacular final confrontation in this essential action film that concludes an era with a monumental flourish, reports the Express.
Enthusiasts of the film have been singing its praises since its theatrical debut, so ensure Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning goes straight to the top of your streaming queue this week.
One IMDb user’s 10/10 review confessed: “There are no words which can describe this masterpiece.
“It has one of the most incredibly dynamic underwater and aerial stunts, edge of the seat moments. It was a sad, beautiful but hopeful goodbye to Tom as Hunt.
“One of the most powerful finale movies in the world. Cried throughout the movie. Real fans will love it.”
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Another viewer raved: “Honestly, this is one of the best films I’ve watched in a long time. From start to finish, it had me completely hooked – I was on the edge of my seat, heart pounding, palms sweating during the intense action sequences, and at other times, completely overwhelmed with emotion.
“The storyline was gripping and well-paced, with just the right balance of suspense, drama, and character development. The cinematography was stunning, capturing both the beauty of the locations and the intensity of the action in a way that pulled me deeper into the experience.”
The praise continued flowing on Letterboxd, where one user proclaimed: “The last fifty minutes of this and easily the best content of Mission: Impossible I have ever seen and it’s not even a debate.”
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“The plane sequence is not only the best stunt Tom Cruise has ever done, but it’s definitely the best in the series!!!! I was truly on the edge of my seat and my heart kept racing really hard.”
A final admirer concluded: “A truly awesome and epic finale to the franchise. Tom Cruise was born to be Ethan Hunt.
“I love everything about this final chapter in the Mission Impossible series. The stakes are higher, more developed characters, and more awesome action! The Final Reckoning has two of the most intense scenes in the whole franchise.”
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is now streaming on Paramount+.
As the Trump administration ploughs forward with its incendiary policies, European trust in the US government is fading.
Amid tariff threats and pledges to conquer Greenland, citizens and politicians in Europe are unsettled — questioning a long-standing alliance.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), chair of the Defence Committee in the EU Parliament, claims to have an answer that is “worth its weight in gold”. In this case, the expression is more literal than figurative.
Around 1,236 tonnes of German gold, worth more than €100bn, are sitting in vaults in the US. Strack-Zimmermann has now announced that, in view of Trump’s recent political manoeuvres, it’s no longer justifiable to leave them be. This has reignited a fierce debate: to retrieve or not to retrieve?
The demand to bring gold back to Germany has been around for a long time, with some surveys suggesting that many citizens are in favour of the move. Similar debates are happening in Italy, which has the third-largest gold reserves in the world after the US and Germany.
Why does Germany hold gold in the US?
Germany’s gold reserves amount to around 3,350 tonnes. About 36.6% of this is in the US, a legacy of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates after World War II.
“At the time, all exchange rates were tied to the dollar, and the dollar was tied to gold,” Dr. Demary, senior economist for Monetary Policy and Financial Markets at the German Economic Institute (IW), told Euronews.
“Germany had large export surpluses with the US, so we accumulated a lot of dollars. To keep exchange rates stable, we exchanged those dollars for gold. That’s how these reserves were built up.”
During the Cold War, it was also practical to store gold abroad, as the US was considered a safe place in case of conflict with the Soviet Union. Over the years, some gold has been repatriated. By 2017, 300 tonnes were brought back from New York, 380 tonnes from Paris, and 900 tonnes from London.
This was part of a Bundesbank plan, unveiled in 2013, to store half of Germany’s gold reserves in Germany from 2020 onwards.
Bringing in the gold treasure: What are the risks?
Strack-Zimmermann and other politicians and economists cite Trump’s unpredictable trade and foreign policy as the reason for moving the gold out of the US.
“Of course, there is always some risk when you keep assets abroad,” said Demary. For example, there is a storage risk if a break-in occurs. But this risk exists whether the gold is stored abroad or in Germany.
“Another possible scenario is that the US government, due to tight currency reserves, could prevent the gold from being transferred,” he explained.
To ensure the safety of gold holdings, the Bundesbank has had to make frequent trips to New York in the past to take an inventory.
“It makes sense to leave this gold in the US in case we have a banking crisis here and need to obtain dollars,” said Demary.
Retrieving the gold could not only be logistically complex, but also risky.
“The gold would have to be transported in armoured vehicles onto a ship, which would also need to be guarded, and then brought back to Frankfurt under security,” added Demary. “There could be robberies, the ship could sink, or the cargo could be seized.”
Is Strack-Zimmermann’s demand pure populism?
Is Strack-Zimmermann’s demand pure symbolic politics? “I think so,” said the economist. “Perhaps it was a political move in response to the tariff threats, saying, ‘We’re bringing our gold back now.’”
According to the economist, it is also possible that Strack-Zimmermann estimated the magnitude of this gold value to be somewhat greater than it really is. In any case, the gold is currently safe in New York, even if Trump wanted to use it to exert pressure on Germany.
“The Federal Reserve is actually independent in its monetary policy. The US government cannot simply intervene. They would have to change laws first,” explained Dr Demary.
Even in the absolute worst case, if the US refused to release the gold, there would still be the option to go to court and enforce its return or receive compensation in dollars, said Demary.
“You have to weigh up the pros and cons and I would say the advantages of leaving the gold in the US outweigh the disadvantages,” he told Euronews.
Reporting from Washington — The FBI office that handles employee discipline has recommended firing the bureau’s former deputy director over allegations that he authorized the disclosure of sensitive information to a reporter and misled investigators when asked about it — though Justice Department officials are still reviewing the matter and have not come to a final decision, a person familiar with the case said.
The recommendation from the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility is likely to add fuel to the political fire surrounding former deputy director Andrew McCabe, who abruptly stepped down from his post earlier this year but technically remained an FBI employee.
McCabe was hoping to retire in days, when he becomes eligible for his full benefits. If he is fired, he could lose his retirement benefits. President Trump has long made McCabe a particular target of his ire, and the recommendation to fire the former No. 2 FBI official could give him new ammunition.
Through a representative, McCabe declined to comment. A Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement: “The Department follows a prescribed process by which an employee may be terminated. That process includes recommendations from career employees, and no termination decision is final until the conclusion of that process. We have no personnel announcements at this time.”
An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has for some time been working on a report that blasts McCabe for allowing two high-ranking bureau officials to sit down with the Wall Street Journal as the news outlet prepared a story in 2016 on an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s family foundation, then misleading the inspector general’s team about his actions. A person familiar with the matter said Horowitz’s findings are what sparked the Office of Professional Responsibility’s recommendation, which was first reported by The New York Times. Horowitz’s report has not yet been released.
McCabe, 49, had long been expected to retire March 18, though he abruptly left his post earlier this year after his boss, FBI Director Christopher Wray, was told of what the inspector general had found.
The situation now seems fraught for all involved. If the Justice Department does not move on the recommendation, conservatives might view officials there as unfairly protecting McCabe. Trump — who already has a strained relationship with Justice Department leaders — might be particularly displeased.
But if the FBI fires McCabe with just days to go before his retirement, it could be viewed as bending to the will of a vindictive president. Trump has previously suggested McCabe was biased in favor of Clinton, pointing out that McCabe’s wife, who ran as a Democrat for a seat in the Virginia Legislature, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from the political action committee of Terry McAuliffe, the former governor of Virginia and a noted Clinton ally. The president remarked in December that McCabe was “racing the clock to retire with full benefits.”
The inspector general has since last January been investigating the FBI and Justice Department’s handling of the politically charged probe into Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of State, which is separate from the foundation inquiry. McCabe represents but a piece of that work.
Horowitz is also examining broad allegations of misconduct involving former FBI Director James Comey, including the public statement he made recommending that the Clinton email case be closed without charges and his decision 11 days before the election to reveal to Congress that the FBI had resumed its work. McCabe briefly took over as the FBI’s acting director after Trump fired Comey in May.
The story for which McCabe authorized FBI officials to discuss came just as the bureau announced it was resuming its look at Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of State, though it focused more on a different case involving her family’s foundation.
The story presented McCabe as a complicated figure — one who lower-level officials felt was stymieing their work, even though it detailed McCabe pushing back against Justice Department officials so the case could move forward.
The inspector general was interested in McCabe’s role in authorizing officials to talk about the matter, people familiar with the case said, because the story detailed ongoing criminal investigative work, which law enforcement officials are not normally allowed to discuss.
The Wall Street Journal story was written by Devlin Barrett, who is now a reporter at the Washington Post. Recently released text messages show that Barrett had talked with the FBI’s top spokesman, Michael Kortan, and FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who worked for McCabe, two days before it was published.
Background briefings with reporters are common in Washington, particularly when reporters have information that officials feel compelled to respond to or add context. In this instance, though, it might have been viewed as inappropriate because the discussion was focused on an ongoing criminal investigation.
