Month: February 2026

In a smoothly run show peppered with sharp humor but, for the most part, a dearth of pointed political commentary — save for one unscripted expression of anti-ICE sentiment from “The White Lotus” star Natasha Rothwell — the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards celebrated its 41st edition on Sunday in Hollywood.

The ceremony has long served as a counterpoint to the Oscars: looser, more unpredictable, typically mounted in a beach tent by the Santa Monica Pier. For over three decades, it was held the Saturday afternoon right before the Academy Awards.

But this year, due to coastal planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Spirit Awards relocated to the Hollywood Palladium (where they were last held in 1994), a venue decked out in the show’s signature blue and pink signage and decor — a pivot that proved effective.

“We don’t have a permit,” cracked host Ego Nwodim, riffing on scrappy independent tactics in her monologue. Her athletic hosting duties had her doing everything from cornering attending celebs such as Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons via a “sexual tension cam” to picking up her falafel order at the main entrance on Sunset Boulevard.

Last year’s event played more like a coronation for a widely favored front-runner, Sean Baker‘s “Anora.” That film would go on to sweep at the Oscars a little over a week later. The mood today was more tenuous, the industry crowd mulling in the lobby with cocktails, discussing the tail end of awards season and the controversy coming out of the Berlin Film Festival concerning politically cautious juror statements.

The movies that would be honored here, by contrast, were bolder than the Spirits usually go, resulting in a truly independent raft of winners. Rose Byrne won the lead actor prize (the Spirits have gone gender-neutral since 2022) for her commanding, ruinous turn in “If I Legs I’d Kick You.” Accepting the award, Byrne half-joked, “This character of Linda really could only exist in an independent film — she’s fierce and she’s gracious and she’s a middle-aged woman.”

Other awardees included the subtly wrought academia drama “Sorry, Baby,” honored for director Eva Victor‘s screenplay and its supporting actor Naomi Ackie; the star-stalking thriller “Lurker,” which took both the first feature and first screenplay awards; and Brazil’s “The Secret Agent,” claiming the prize for international film.

The afternoon’s big winner was “Train Dreams,” the little movie that could, one that emerged 13 months ago at Sundance 2025 and is now proving itself to be one of Netflix’s sturdiest Oscar contenders. It took prizes for best feature, director and cinematography, the kind of haul that suggests real momentum.

A complete list of today’s Spirit winners

FILM CATEGORIES

Best Feature
“Train Dreams” (Netflix)
Producers: Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman

Director
Clint Bentley, “Train Dreams” (Netflix)

Screenplay
Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby” (A24)

First Feature
“Lurker” (Mubi)
Director: Alex Russell
Producers: Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby

First Screenplay
Alex Russell, “Lurker” (Mubi)

John Cassavetes Award
For the best feature made under $1,000,000
“Esta Isla (This Island)”
Writers/Directors/Producers: Cristian Carretero, Lorraine Jones Molina
Writer: Kisha Tikina Burgos

Breakthrough Performance
Kayo Martin, “The Plague” (Independent Film Company)

Supporting Performance
Naomi Ackie, “Sorry, Baby” (A24)

Lead Performance
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)

Robert Altman Award
For a film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
“The Long Walk” (Lionsgate)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Casting Director: Rich Delia
Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing

Cinematography
Adolpho Veloso, “Train Dreams” (Netflix)

Editing
Sofía Subercaseaux, “The Testament of Ann Lee” (Searchlight Pictures)

International Film
“The Secret Agent” (Neon)
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho

Documentary
“The Perfect Neighbor” (Netflix)
Director/Producer: Geeta Gandbhir
Producers: Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne

Someone to Watch
Given to a talented filmmaker not yet widely recognized
Tatti Ribeiro, “Valentina”

Truer Than Fiction
Given to an emerging director of nonfiction features
Rajee Samarasinghe, “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible”

Producers Award
For an emerging producer of quality independent films with limited resources
Tony Yang

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

New Scripted Series
“Adolescence” (Netflix)
Creators/Executive Producers: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham
Executive Producers: Philip Barantini, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Nina Wolarsky, Hannah Walters, Mark Herbert, Emily Feller
Co-Executive Producers: Carina Sposato, Niall Shamma, Peter Balm

New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Pee-wee as Himself” (HBO Max)
Executive Producers: Matt Wolf, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Paul Reubens, Candace Tomarken, Kyle Martin, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez

Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series
Owen Cooper, “Adolescence” (Netflix)

Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Erin Doherty, “Adolescence” (Netflix)

Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series
Stephen Graham, “Adolescence” (Netflix)

Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
“Chief of War” (Apple TV)
Ensemble Cast: Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goods, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes, Siua Ikale’o, Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, Mainei Kinimaka, Kaina Makua, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Te Kohe Tuhaka, James Udom

Several Big Tech companies have reported earnings in recent weeks and provided estimates for their spending in 2026, along with leading analysts’ projections.

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The data point that seems to have caught Wall Street’s attention the most is the estimated capital expenditure (CapEx) for this year, which collectively represents an investment of over $700bn (€590bn) in AI infrastructure.

That is more than the entire nominal GDP of Sweden for 2025, one of Europe’s largest economies, as per IMF estimates.

Global chip sales are also projected to reach $1tn (€842bn) for the first time this year, according to the US Semiconductor Industry Association.

In addition, major banks and consulting firms, such as JPMorgan Chase and McKinsey, project that total AI CapEx will surpass $5tn (€4.2tn) by 2030, driven by “astronomical demand” for compute.

CapEx refers to funds a company spends to build, improve or maintain long-term assets like property, equipment and technology. These investments are meant to boost the firm’s capacity and efficiency over several years.

The expenditure is also not fully deducted in the same year. CapEx costs are capitalised on the balance sheet and gradually expensed through depreciation, representing a key indicator of how a company is investing in its future growth and operational strength.

The leap this year confirms a definitive pivot that began in 2025, when Big Tech is estimated to have spent around $400bn (€337bn) on AI CapEx.

As Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly stated, including at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, we are witnessing “the largest infrastructure build-out in human history”.

Hyperscalers bet the house

At the top of the spending hierarchy for 2026 sits Amazon, which alone is guiding to invest a mammoth $200bn (€170bn).

To put the number into perspective, the company’s individual AI CapEx guidance for this year surpasses the combined nominal GDP of the three Baltic countries in 2025, according to IMF projections.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, follows with $185bn (€155bn), while Microsoft and Meta are set to deploy $145bn (€122bn) and $135bn (€113bn) respectively.

Oracle also raised its 2026 CapEx to $50bn (€42.1bn), nearly $15bn (€12.6bn) above earlier estimates.

Additionally, Tesla projects double the spending with almost $20bn (€16.8bn), primarily to scale its robotaxi fleet and advance the development of the Optimus humanoid robot.

Another of Elon Musk’s companies, xAI, will also spend at least $30bn (€25.2bn) in 2026.

A new $20bn (€16.8bn) data centre named MACROHARDRR will be built in Mississippi, which Governor Tate Reeves stated is “the largest private sector investment in the state’s history”.

xAI will also expand the so-called Colossus, a cluster of data centres in Tennessee that has been described by Musk as the world’s largest AI supercomputer.

Furthermore, the company was acquired by SpaceX in an all-stock transaction at the start of this month.

The merger valued SpaceX at $1tn (€842bn) and xAI at $250bn (€210bn), creating an entity worth $1.25tn (€1.05tn), reputedly the largest private company by valuation in history.

There are also reports that SpaceX intends to IPO sometime this year, with Morgan Stanley allegedly in talks to manage the offering that now includes exposure to xAI.

Elon Musk stated that the goal is to build an “integrated innovation engine” combining AI, rockets and satellite internet, with long-term plans that include space-based data centres powered by solar energy.

Conversely, Apple continues to lag in spending with “only” a projected $13bn (€10.9bn).

However, the company announced a multi-year partnership with Google last month to integrate Gemini AI models into the next generation of Apple Intelligence.

Specifically, the collaboration will focus on overhauling Siri and enhancing on-device AI features. Therefore, one could say that Apple is outsourcing a lot of the investment it needs to be competitive on AI development.

As for Nvidia, it will report earnings and release projections on 25 February.

The company is primarily in the business of selling AI chips, and is expected to get the lion’s share of the Big Tech’s spending. Particularly, for the build-out of data centres.

In last August’s earnings call, CEO Jensen Huang estimated a cost per gigawatt of data centre capacity between $50bn (€42.1bn) and $60bn (€50.5bn), with about $35bn (€29.5bn) of each investment going towards Nvidia hardware.

The great capital rotation

Wall Street has had mixed feelings about the enormous spending Big Tech companies have planned for 2026.

On the one hand, investors understand the necessity and urgency of developing a competitive edge in the artificial intelligence age.

On the other, the sheer scale of the spending has also spooked some shareholders. The market’s tolerance hinges on demonstrable ROI from this year onwards, as the investments are also increasingly financed with massive debt raises.

Morgan Stanley estimates that hyperscalers will borrow around $400bn (€337bn) in 2026, more than double the $165bn (€139bn) that was loaned out in 2025.

This surge could push the total issuance of high-grade US corporate bonds to a record $2.25tn (€1.9tn) this year.

Currently, projected AI revenue for 2026 is nowhere near matching the spending, and there are valid concerns. For instance, the possibility of hardware rapidly depreciating due to innovation, and other high operational costs such as energy usage.

It can be confidently stated that the numbers have a heavy reliance on future success.

As Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged this month, there are “elements of irrationality in the current spending pace”.

Back in November, Alex Haissl, an analyst at Rothschild & Co, became a dissenting voice as he downgraded ratings for Amazon and Microsoft.

In a note to clients, the analyst wrote “investors are valuing Amazon and Microsoft’s CapEx plans as if cloud-1.0 economics still applied”, referring to the low-cost structure of cloud-based services that allowed Big Tech firms to scale in the last two decades.

However, the analyst added “there are a few problems that suggest the AI boom likely won’t play out in the same way, and it is probably far more costly than investors realise”.

This view is also shared by Michael Burry, who is best known for being among the first investors to predict and profit from the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008. Burry has argued that the current AI boom is a potential bubble pointing to unsustainable CapEx.

Big Tech’s AI race is funded by a tremendous amount of leverage. Whether this strategy will pay off, and which companies will be the winners and the losers, only time will tell.

At the moment, Nvidia certainly seems to be a great beneficiary. Moreover, Apple has a distinct approach by increasing third party reliance, through a partnership with Google, instead of massively scaling their spending. It is a different trade-off.

Europe’s industrial deficit

Amid all this spending, urgent questions have also been raised about Europe’s ability to compete in a race that has become a battle of balance sheets.

For the European Union, the transatlantic contrast is sobering. While American firms are mobilising nearly €600bn in a single year, the EU’s coordinated efforts do not even match the financial firepower of the lowest spender among the US tech titans.

Brussels has attempted to rally with the AI Factories initiative, and the AI Continent Action Plan launched last April, which aim to mobilise public-private investments.

However, the numbers tell a stark story. Total European spending on sovereign cloud data infrastructure is forecast to reach just €10.6bn in 2026.

While this is a respectable 83% increase year-on-year, it remains a rounding error compared to the US AI build-out.

Last year, at the time when the initiatives mentioned were being discussed, the CEO of the French unicorn Mistral AI, Arthur Mensch, stated that “US companies are building the equivalent of a new Apollo program every year”.

Mensch also added that “Europe is building excellent regulation with the AI Act, but you cannot regulate your way to computing supremacy”.

Mistral represents one of the only flickers of European resistance in the AI race. The French company is employing the same strategy as most of Big Tech and aggressively expanding its physical footprint.

In September 2025, Mistral AI raised a €1.7bn Series C at a valuation of almost €12bn, with the Dutch semiconductor giant ASML leading the round by singly investing €1.3bn.

During the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Mistral’s CEO confirmed a €1bn CapEx plan for 2026.

Just last week, the company also announced a major €1.2bn investment to build a data centre in Borlänge, Sweden.

In a partnership with the Swedish operator, EcoDataCenter, the facility will be designed to offer “sovereign compute” compliant with the EU’s strict data standards, and leveraging Sweden’s abundant green energy.

Set to open in 2027, this data centre will provide the high-performance computing required to train and deploy Mistral’s next-generation AI models.

This is an important move for the company, as it is the first infrastructure project outside France, and it is also a core venture for European data sovereignty.

Meanwhile, US tech titans are attempting to placate European regulators by offering “sovereign-light” solutions. Several Big Tech projects have been rolled out for “localised cloud zones”, for example in Germany and Portugal, promising data residency.

However, critics argue these remain technically dependent on US parent companies, leaving the European industry vulnerable to the whims of the American economy and foreign policy.

As 2026 unfolds, the stakes are clear. The US is betting the house, and its credit rating, on AI dominance.

Europe, cautious and capital-constrained, is hoping that targeted investments and regulation will be enough to carve out a sovereign niche in a world increasingly run on American technology.

SACRAMENTO — After a collapse in state budget negotiations late last week over funding for cities and counties, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed to revive his plan Saturday to protect their revenues.

One of the last sticking points in reaching agreement on the $103-billion state budget, the local government provisions have rocked the Capitol for several days and sent city officials across California into a frenzy of last-minute opposition.

The governor is pressuring lawmakers to support a plan under which cities and counties would accept $2.6 billion in cuts over the next two years in exchange for an amendment to the state Constitution that would prohibit such cuts in the future.

His latest push for that plan comes days after he walked away from a compromise with Democrats that would give the Legislature more flexibility in how it provides assistance to local government. The governor abandoned the compromise after local leaders rebelled against it, triggering a meltdown in the Legislature. Legislative leaders threw up their hands, and lawmakers headed home for the weekend.

“We are all here today calling on the legislators, and to tell them to go back to Sacramento and to vote for our local government agreement so that the people have their budget,” Schwarzenegger said at a rally before a few dozen police and firefighters Saturday at L.A. City Fire Station 88 in Sherman Oaks, where the governor also filmed scenes for his 2002 movie “Collateral Damage.”

“We were at the home stretch, we were very close to have a deal and a budget, but suddenly the legislators shut down and left Sacramento and went back home.”

The governor demanded an immediate floor vote on the deal he and local leaders had worked out.

Senate President John Burton (D-San Francisco) downplayed Schwarzenegger’s appearances, saying the governor hammering lawmakers at public rallies “doesn’t faze me.”

“Bring it on if you want,” Burton said. “We’ll just let the cards read for themselves. I believe the negotiations with the Legislature and the governor can be done pretty quickly.” He said he had been speaking with the governor and his chief of staff by telephone and believed a budget deal could be reached soon.

The deal the city and county leaders are pushing is simple. It begins with them accepting $1.3 billion in cuts for each of the next two years.

In return, the governor and lawmakers would support a constitutional amendment that would protect their share of the state budget from ever again being cut.

Democrats say that plan is full of problems: It would make it nearly impossible for lawmakers to borrow from cities and counties during a fiscal crisis; it would lock into the Constitution a system that forces local governments to become overly dependent on sales tax, leading too many to become overly reliant on “big box” retail stores, leading to sprawl; and it would give cities and counties priority in the state budget over education, social services and most every government program.

“It gives local government more protection than schools,” Burton said.

Burton called on the local leaders to return to the negotiating table.

He cautioned them not to take their chances on an initiative they have on the November ballot that would prohibit the state from taking any money away from cities and counties ever again.

“The polls show it is going in the dumpster,” Burton said. “If they want to come to the table, good. If they don’t, let them take their chances.”

Standing alongside the governor in Los Angeles on Saturday, however, several big-city mayors said they saw no reason to give in to any Democratic demands.

“We had a deal,” said Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn. “We want that deal to go through.”

Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown said local governments were not the Legislature’s “personal piggy bank.”

Monday’s live TV and streaming broadcasts for the Milan-Cortina Olympics unless noted (subject to change). All events stream live on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com with a streaming or cable login. All times Pacific. 🏅 — medal event for live broadcasts.

MULTIPLE SPORTS

8 p.m. — “Primetime in Milan” (delay): Figure skating, skiing, bobsled, short track speedskating and more. | NBC

ALPINE SKIING
1 a.m. — Men’s slalom, Run 1 | USA
4:20 a.m. — 🏅Men’s slalom, Run 2 | Peacock
4:30 a.m. — 🏅Men’s slalom, Run 2 (in progress) | USA
11:45 a.m. — Men’s slalom (re-air) | NBC

BOBSLED
1 a.m. — Two-man bobsled, Run 1 | Peacock
2:55 a.m. — Two-man bobsled, Run 2 | Peacock
4 a.m. — Two-man bobsled, runs 1 and 2 (delay) | USA
10 a.m. — Women’s monobob, Run 3 | NBC
12:05 p.m. — 🏅Women’s monobob, final run | Peacock
12:30 p.m. — 🏅Women’s monobob, final run (in progress) | NBC

CURLING
Women (round robin)
12:05 a.m. — China vs. Canada | Peacock
12:05 a.m. — Denmark vs. Britain | Peacock
12:05 a.m. — Sweden vs. Switzerland | Peacock
Men (round robin)
5:05 a.m. — Czechia vs. Canada | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — Britain vs. Norway | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — Italy vs. China | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — Sweden vs. Germany | Peacock
Women (round robin)
7:15 a.m. — China vs. Canada (delay) | USA
Men (round robin)
8:30 a.m. — Britain vs. Norway (delay) | USA
Women round robin
10:05 a.m. — U.S. vs. Italy | Peacock
10:05 a.m. — Japan vs. Canada | Peacock
10:05 a.m. — South Korea vs. China | Peacock
10:05 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Britain | Peacock

FIGURE SKATING
8:30 a.m. — Pairs free skate, warmup | Peacock
10:45 a.m. — Pairs free skate, Part 1 | USA
12:55 p.m. — 🏅Pairs free skate, Part 2 | NBC

FREESTYLE SKIING
10:30 a.m. — 🏅Women’s big air, final | NBC

HOCKEY
Women’s semifinals
7:40 a.m. — U.S. vs. Sweden | NBC
12:10 p.m. — Canada vs. Switzerland | Peacock
1:15 p.m. — Canada vs. Switzerland (in progress) | USA

SHORT TRACK SPEEDSKATING
2 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 1,000 meters final and more | Peacock
3:55 a.m. — Women’s 1,000 meters, final (delay) | USA
9:45 a.m. — Women’s 1,000 meters final and more (delay) | USA

SKI JUMPING
9 a.m. — 🏅Men’s super team, large hill | Peacock

SNOWBOARDING
1:30 a.m. — Women’s slopestyle, qualifying | Peacock
1:50 a.m. — Women’s slopestyle, qualifying (in progress) | USA
5 a.m. — Men’s slopestyle, qualifying | Peacock
5:30 a.m. — Men’s slopestyle, qualifying (in progress) | USA
7 a.m. — Women’s slopestyle, qualifying (delay) | NBC

Nestled in the Cheviot Hills, College Valley in Northumberland is home to wild ponies, roe deer and ancient ruins including Iron Age stone circles, hillforts and a well-preserved Romano-British settlement

Tucked away in the Northumberland hills lies the lush College Valley, teeming with stunning wildlife and ancient ruins.

Maintained by the College Valley Estate, this expanse of countryside is immaculately kept and readily accessible for both walkers and cyclists.

Wandering through the meadows, you’ll encounter wild ponies, roe deer, hares and wild goats, according to Northumberland National Park.

Hethpool

Leaving your vehicle at the Hethpool car park, you can discover remnants of an Iron Age stone circle. The area offers picnic spots along Great Hetha, with ancient fortifications perched above the Hethpool Linn Pools, where you can take a refreshing dip during summer, reports Chronicle Live.

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Come autumn, you can witness sea trout and salmon jumping upstream towards their spawning grounds.

Approximately 2,800 years ago, during the Iron Age, communities built timber roundhouses surrounded by substantial wooden palisades. Opposite Hethpool House sits a well-preserved Romano-British settlement.

History

People have lived in this area at least 7,000 years, with traces of late Stone Age farmers.

During the early Bronze Age, when temperatures were warmer than today, farming reached higher altitudes. Various terraced fields and numerous burial cairns survive from this era.

Given its closeness to Scotland, the valley suffered significant devastation during battles between English and Scottish armies throughout the 14th to 16th centuries. Border Reiver raids resulted in the land being plundered.

Hillforts

Northumberland claims Britain’s highest concentration of hillforts, and College Valley is no different. Scattered across the Cheviot Hills, these ancient Iron Age fortifications provide a glimpse into prehistoric settlements.

As an added benefit, they also offer spectacular vantage points overlooking the undulating hills.

Wildlife

Covering more than 12,000 acres, College Valley hosts an abundance of wildlife including flora, trees, birds and even Exmoor ponies to admire.

Bear in mind – mobile phone signal is virtually non-existent and only 12 vehicles are permitted entry daily. If you fancy a longer break surrounded by nature, you can reserve one of the numerous holiday cottages on offer.

Visitors can see everything from the extinct volcano Cheviot Massif to the enchanting Collingwood Oaks.

Tucked away at the valley’s head, just a mile from the Pennine Way, lies Mounthooly Bunkhouse.

Housing 24 guests across three rooms, this charming bunkhouse offers walkers, cyclists and all visitors unique accommodation in a beautifully remote part of the valley.

With beds starting from £17 per night, you may be inclined to prolong your visit and discover more of what the valley has to offer, safe in the knowledge you can return to hot showers and a log burner.

One TripAdvisor review stated: “What a wonderful valley to visit, either walk or to drive through, they only allow 12 cars a day to drive through and you need a permit £10 you can book online.

“It was so peaceful and in May the colour of the gorse it just beautiful. The memorial to the pilots that crashed during WW2 over the Cheviot Hills is so moving.”

The trail is an 8.5-mile family-friendly walk through the Peak District with stunning viaduct views, tunnels and plenty of cafes along the flat, accessible route perfect for pushchairs

Featuring views of a bridge looking like something straight out of Harry Potter, this Peak District ramble will delight youngsters without being too demanding on their small legs this half-term.

The Monsal Trail is a beloved Derbyshire spot that traces the route of the old Manchester to London Midland Railway line, which closed down in the 1960s.

These days, it serves a different function – guiding ramblers along the path, through tunnels and across the magnificent railway viaduct.

A recent visitor described their experience on TripAdvisor, stating: “For enthusiasts of railway walks, this route stands out as one of the finest in the UK.

It offers a captivating combination of stunning views, numerous tunnels, and impressive viaducts that showcase the area’s historical and engineering heritage.”

Along the way, there are three cafés-two conveniently located directly on the trail and one set slightly back-providing excellent opportunities to rest and refresh. “

The Route

To reach the trail’s starting point, you’ll need to begin behind Hassop Station, walking past the front of the building and proceeding beneath the bridge.

The route then continues as you pass Longstone Station, Headstone Tunnel and the Monsal Viaduct – all standout and characteristic features of this walk.

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Two shorter tunnels await before you arrive at Miller’s Dale Station. To reach the trail’s end, you’ll need to press on along the viaducts, bearing left beneath the dramatic cliffs of Chee Tor towering above – completing an 8.5-mile route.

What makes this walk so beloved and ideal for a half-term outing is how accessible it is; suitable for pushchairs, wheelchairs and young children alike.

The level terrain allows for an effortless stroll through the dales, whilst the multiple refreshment points dotted along the way make it perfect for little ones requiring a quick loo stop or energy boost.

Cafés

Before your adventure even kicks off, you can pop into Hassop Station for breakfast, all-day brunch, lunch and loads of sweet treats.

Alternatively, you can simply pause for a cuppa, getting fuelled up before a lengthy ramble through the Peak District at this handily positioned café.

It also features shops for a quick browse, stocking books, accessories, homeware and more. Plus, as it’s the trail’s starting point for many visitors, they offer bike hire to tackle the route in style.

One customer commented: “Visited the café three times in our week. By far the best place for breakfast, lunch, coffee and cake. Also the best Bakewell slice we had! The trail is stunning and such a great café to visit before and/or after was a great find we’ll be returning for!”

The refurbished Refreshment Room at Millers Dale Station provides another excellent place to pause for delicious food and refreshments during your journey.

The building stands as a stunning homage to the railway history of the trail and provides ample room to relax or shelter from the weather, complete with toilet facilities and refreshments.

One visitor said: “Stopped here for a bite to eat after a walk, absolutely wonderful café! The coffee was one of the best I’ve tried! Lovely customer service by all staff. Will 100% be going back.”

Where to stay

The Monsal Trail lies in the heart of the Peak District, with Bakewell positioned at one end and Blackwell Mill, near Buxton, at the opposite end.

This positioning makes it a favoured route for visitors exploring these major towns who fancy extending their stroll into a weekend break. Alternatively, it’s just over an hour’s drive from Derby city centre.

Bakewell is famous for the much-loved Bakewell Tart, available in practically every café and coffee shop throughout the town. The area also boasts numerous pubs offering more substantial meals following a lengthy day’s ramble.

Buxton, meanwhile, is a spa town, renowned for its natural spring water and status as Britain’s highest market town. Visitors typically choose a weekend break here for the spa facilities, tranquillity and easy access to excellent walking and cycling routes.

Feb. 16 (UPI) — Savannah Guthrie urged the person who allegedly kidnapped her mother to “do the right thing” as the search for Nancy Guthrie continues into its third week.

In a brief video posted to Instagram on Sunday, the Today show host said she wanted to say publicly that she and her family “still have hope” that their mother is still alive and that she wanted to tell whoever has the 84-year-old woman that there is still time to return her.

“I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it’s never too late,” she said. “And you’re not lost or alone and it’s never too late to do the right thing. And we are here. We believe. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it’s never too late.”

Nancy Guthrie was last seen the night of Jan. 31 and was reported missing the next day after she failed to arrive at a friend’s house to watch an online stream of a church service.

Authorities have released images of a person captured tampering with the doorbell of Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Ariz., home. They have offered a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the woman’s recovery.

Late last week, authorities said DNA that does not belong to Nancy Guthrie or anyone close to her was discovered at her home, and that investigators were working to identify who it belongs to.

The FBI said in a statement the DNA was retrieved from one of about 16 gloves collected by investigators near Nancy Guthrie’s house.

The glove that contained the unknown DNA appears to match the gloves worn by the subject seen in the doorbell footage, according to the FBI.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli forces bombed a vehicle near the border, killing at least four people.

Israeli forces have bombed a vehicle near Lebanon’s border with Syria, killing at least four people, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

The Israeli air strike took place early on Monday morning, it said in a statement.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said one of the victims was a Syrian national named Khaled Mohammad al-Ahmad.

The Israeli military confirmed the air strike, claiming in a post on X that it targeted members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Lebanon. It did not provide evidence for its claim.

The Israeli military said the raid took place in the Majdal Anjar area of Lebanon.

There was no immediate comment from the PIJ.

The PIJ is an armed group in the occupied Palestinian territory, fighting alongside Hamas in Gaza for the establishment of a Palestinian state. It is also an ally of the Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah, which launched attacks on northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians after the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in 2023.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024, but the Israeli military has continued to carry out near-daily attacks on Lebanon, in violation of the United States-brokered truce.

According to the United Nations, the Israeli military launched more than 10,000 air and ground attacks in the year since it agreed to halt hostilities.

The UN’s rights office said in November last year that it verified at least 108 civilian casualties from Israeli attacks since the ceasefire, including at least 21 women and 16 children.

At least 11 Lebanese civilians were also abducted by Israeli forces during that time period, the office said.

Lebanon filed a complaint with the UN last month about the repeated Israeli violations, urging the UN Security Council to push Israel to end its attacks and fully withdraw from the country.

The complaint said Israel violated Lebanon’s sovereignty at least 2,036 times in the last three months of 2025 alone.

Israel also continues to occupy five areas in Lebanese territory, blocking the reconstruction of destroyed border villages and preventing tens of thousands of displaced people from returning to their homes.

With yesterday’s Oscar nominees luncheon in the books, the marathon that is awards season is now entering the home stretch. But that doesn’t mean there’s no grist left for the mill, especially when it comes to those — like this week’s cover subject, 73-year-old first-time nominee Delroy Lindo — whose names weren’t necessarily on pundits’ nominations predictions lists.

Through Feb. 26 we’ll be more sharing stories like his, and many others, before Oscar voters cast their final ballots for the March 15 awards. I’ll let my friend Glenn Whipp regale you with tales from his interview with “Sinners” star Lindo when he sends his next newsletter on Friday. In the meantime, read on for more highlights from this week’s issue.

Digital cover story: Wagner Moura

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Basking in the sun outside The Times newsroom ahead of his digital cover shoot last month, Wagner Moura seemed exceptionally relaxed about spending his Tuesday afternoon in El Segundo with a bunch of journalists. But don’t let “The Secret Agent” star’s easygoing personality fool you into thinking he’s aloof in any way.

As contributor Lisa Rosen writes in her profile of the actor, he’s unafraid to draw pointed comparison’s between Kleber Mendonça Filho’s acclaimed political thriller — nominated for four Oscars, including lead actor — and contemporary politics, from disgraced Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to federal agents in American streets.

“This is also a film about infamy, because he’s being persecuted so unfairly,” he tells Rosen, comparing his character’s fate to that of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti. After their deaths, he continues, “lies were spread about them online. It’s so cruel, and so it’s killing the person twice.”

The many charms of Ethan Hawke

(David Urbanke / For The Times)

I had the pleasure of speaking with Hawke and his wife and producing partner Ryan Hawke at Sundance the day after the actor earned an Oscar nomination for “Blue Moon,” so by the time I read contributor Margy Rochlin’s delightful interview with him and the film’s nominated screenwriter, Robert Kaplow, I could practically hear it in Hawke’s voice: boyishly enthusiastic, slyly funny, politically and creatively engaged.

But I don’t think you need to be intimately acquainted with Hawke, who also appeared on an Envelope digital cover last fall, to find him and Kaplow high-caliber raconteurs of the joys, and occasional indignities, of making independent films. “Sometimes you get to set and it’s easy to shape the text to make it more your own. The process here was for me to get rid of Ethan,” says Hawke. “It was to try and match the screenplay. I don’t ever remember working as hard — or [director] Rick [Linklater] being as mean to me.”

As far as hooking the listener to a story goes, Lorenz Hart, the loquacious lyricist that Hawke and Kaplow pay homage to in “Blue Moon,” would be proud.

Inside the race for best editing

(Illustration by Vartika Sharma / For The Times)

Oscar voters have occasionally been accused of making this award about the most editing instead of the best editing, but from the descriptions of this year’s five nominees, I think we can safely say that whomever the winner ends up being, their achievement will have been genuinely outstanding.

As contributor Bill Desowitz discovered from his outreach to the editors of “F1,” “One Battle After Another,” “Marty Supreme,” “Sentimental Value” and “Sinners,” coping with trauma is the surprising through line among the disparate scenes the nominees themselves chose as most pivotal to their films. (Given the volume of the footage some of them waded through, they might be suffering it too.)

Read more from our Feb. 12 issue

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Monday that the predominantly white news media were “bound by their own culture” in reporting and interpreting his historic presidential campaign but added that he has seen “an evolution in the media’s consciousness and its maturity.”

Jackson, questioned during a radio news conference about whether a media racial bias has crippled his campaign, said he could not estimate its impact.

However, he took credit for “educating many members of the media. Some have made better grades than others.”

“I’ve taken the media to the low places. I’ve taken them to the ghettos, the barrios, the reservations,” Jackson said. “The media people covering my campaign know more of America than their publishers do, than their editors do, and, therefore, their job will be to educate their bosses.”

He called on news organizations to be more aggressive in hiring and promoting women and minority members.

In particular, he said, they must be advanced into decision-making positions, where they are participating in “the meetings about what story is going to be covered, what the slants are. There must be a multicultural presence in that room to have a multicultural result.”

Figures from data science firm Signify, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) show that in 2024, about 8,000 abusive, violent or threatening messages were sent publicly to 458 tennis players through their social media accounts, with many stemming from betting.

Aiava cited the “hate or death threats” and commentary on “my body, my career, or whatever they want to nitpick”.

She went on to criticise “a sport that hides behind so-called class and gentlemanly values”.

“Behind the white outfits and traditions is a culture that’s racist, misogynistic, homophobic and hostile to anyone who doesn’t fit the mould,” added Aiava.

She also said she was grateful for the opportunity to travel the world and make friends but admitted: “It also took things from me. My relationship with my body. My health. My family. My self-worth.

“Would I do it all again? I really don’t know, but one thing this sport taught me is that there is always a chance to start fresh.”

Tennis officials have not yet commented on Aiava’s post.

Israel’s decision to resume the land registration processes in the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967 will facilitate the dispossession and displacement of Palestinians in violation of international law, Israeli rights groups say.

The land registration process – also known as settlement of land title – has been reinstated after nearly six decades, following the government’s approval on Sunday of a proposal submitted by far-right Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Justice Yariv Levin, and Minister of Defence Israel Katz.

While Israel has increased the confiscation of Palestinian land through military orders, with the activity reaching record levels in 2025, the new move gives Israel a legal avenue that “systemati[ses] the dispossession of Palestinian land to further Israeli settlement expansion and cement the apartheid regime”, Bimkom, an Israeli human rights organisation that focuses on land and housing rights, said in a statement.

Michal Braier, head of research at Bimkom, told Al Jazeera that land registration will be inaccessible to large segments of the Palestinian population who never had their land formally registered, or who may fail to prove ownership.

In the occupied West Bank, land registration under the Jordanian Administration – which followed British Mandate rule and lasted from 1949 to 1967 – covered about 30 percent of the total area. As a consequence, about 70 percent of the West Bank is “completely unregistered”, Braier said, making it “very hard to determine who actually owns the land”.

Even for those whose land was registered, “the legal bar for proving land ownership is very, very high, in a way that most Palestinians won’t have the proper documents to prove it”, said Braier.

‘Full annexation’

In 1968, Israeli occupation authorities froze most land settlement procedures in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, making transfer of ownership down the family line hard to prove for Palestinians.

Additionally, legal documents could have been lost or stored in homes that are now out of reach to Palestinian refugees displaced by the Arab–Israeli war (1948-49) – when the newly-founded Israel seized control of 77 percent of Palestine – and in the Six Day War of 1967, which ended with Israel capturing the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria, while occupying the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.

The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said the newly reinstated process of land registration amounts to a “full annexation” of Palestinian land.

“This is a way for Israel to take control over the West Bank,” Hagit Ofran, a Peace Now member, told Al Jazeera. “The government is asking for papers that are dating back to the British mandate or to the Jordanian time 100 years ago.”

“This is something that, very rarely, Palestinians will be able to prove, and therefore, by default, the land will be registered under [Israel’s] name,” she added.

Israel’s Supreme Court last month rejected a petition opposing the resumption of the land registration process, filed by local human rights groups Bimkom, Yesh Din, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and HaMoked. The court deemed it “premature” to rule on the implementation of the government’s decision.

‘Totally invalid’

Israeli authorities have provided few details on how the process will unfold. Yet, a similar scenario has already played out in occupied East Jerusalem, where the settlement of land title that began in 2018 resulted in the expropriation of Palestinian land.

Research conducted by Bimkom found that only 1 percent of the East Jerusalem land registered for ownership between 2018 and 2024 was registered to Palestinians, while the rest came under the control of the Israeli state or private Israeli owners.

The move expanded Israel’s de facto annexation over East Jerusalem in breach of international law, including, most recently, an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024.

In its landmark ruling, the World Court found that Israel’s “expropriation of land and properties, transfer of populations, and legislation aimed at the incorporation of the occupied section are totally invalid and cannot change that status”.

More broadly, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s long-term occupation of Palestinian territory – comprised of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – was unlawful, and must be terminated “as rapidly as possible”.

Braier said the Israeli government’s decision was its latest move expand control over Palestinian territory in breach of international law.

“The government is not hiding its intentions. They want to expand settlements and push Palestinians into as small an area as possible.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has outlined the conditions he considers necessary for any prospective deal between the United States and Iran, including the dismantling of all of Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure.

His comments on Sunday came as Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi headed to Switzerland for a second round of nuclear talks with the US.

Speaking at the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Netanyahu said he was sceptical of a deal, but had told US President Donald Trump last week that any agreement must include several elements.

“The first is that all enriched material has to leave Iran,” he said.

“The second is that there should be no enrichment capability – not stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place”.

The third, he said, was resolving the issue of ballistic missiles.

Netanyahu also called for sustained inspections of Tehran’s nuclear programme.

“There has to be real inspection, substantive inspections, no lead-time inspections, but effective inspections for all of the above,” he said.

Iran and the US resumed nuclear negotiations in Oman on February 6, months after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last June, which started a 12-day war.

The US joined in the attacks, bombing three Iranian nuclear sites.

Netanyahu’s comments mark the first time he has spoken publicly on the discussions with Trump in Washington, DC, last Wednesday. The meeting was their seventh since Trump returned to office last year.

Trump told reporters afterwards that they had reached no “definitive” agreement on how to move forward with Iran, but that he had “insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated”.

According to a report by Axios, the two leaders agreed to intensify economic strangleholds on Iran, mostly on its oil sales to China. More than 80 percent of Iranian oil exports current go to China.

The report, which cited US officials, said Netanyahu and Trump agreed in their meeting on the necessary end state: an Iran without the capability to obtain nuclear weapons. But they disagreed about how to get there.

Netanyahu told Trump it would be impossible to make a good deal, while Trump said he thought it was possible. “Let’s give it a shot”, Trump said, according to Axios.

Iran has long denied any intent to produce nuclear weapons, but has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its atomic programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. It has ruled out linking the issue to missiles, however.

The CBS broadcaster, meanwhile, reported on Sunday that Trump had told Netanyahu during a meeting in Florida in December that he would support Israeli strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile programme if the US and Iran could not reach a deal.

The network cited two sources familiar with the matter.

There was no immediate comment from the US or Israel on the CBS report.

The renewed push for diplomacy comes after Trump threatened new attacks on Iran and sent a US aircraft carrier to the region, citing a deadly crackdown on antigovernment protesters in January.

Tensions in the region remain high, meanwhile.

On Friday, Trump said he was sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, and openly discussed changing Iran’s government.

Asked if he wanted a government change in Iran, Trump responded that it “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen”.

Asked why a second aircraft carrier was headed to the Middle East, Trump said: “In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it … if we need it, we’ll have it ready.”

For its part, Iran has promised to retaliate to any attack, saying it will strike US bases in the Middle East.

The continued tensions have sparked fears of a wider regional war.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ showrunner has confessed cutting the scene feels like an error in retrospect.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms returns in just a few hours for its fifth and penultimate episode.

Ahead of episode 5 of the Game of Thrones spin-off, showrunner Ira Parker has admitted they decided to cut one scene that fans have argued is key to understanding the heart of the story.

It comes after one fan pointed out that the HBO and Sky Atlantic show hadn’t included a notable exchange between Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour) in the build-up to the fateful Trial by Seven from George RR Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas.

In the books, Dunk passes the Smallfolk on the way to the joust when he asks Pete “Why? Who am I to them?” before Pete replies: “A knight who remembers his vows.”

Posting in a Reddit AMA, the fan noted that many readers view this to be “the soul and the moral of the entire novella”, with showrunner Parker admitting he had some regret over cutting the scene from the original script.

“Honestly it was a mistake on my part,” he responded. “Not my first, not my last on this show. That scene was in the script at one point, then fell out.

“I agree that ‘a knight who remembers his vows’ is the soul of this story, but I think that is still very much at the core of the show, even if I stupidly left out this scene… it may not be said explicitly, but Dunk’s actions remain the same.”

Fans respected Parker’s refreshingly candid answer, with one observing: “It’s been so long since the last time i saw showrunner being able to admit they made a mistake.”

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This delivers live and on-demand TV without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

The Trial by Seven requires Dunk to find six other knights to battle the cruel Prince Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett) after the hedge knight attacked the royal in order to save young actress Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford) from his wrath.

HBO’s synopsis for episode 5 suggests we will get some insight into Dunk’s origins, as it reads: “Before Ser Duncan the Tall can learn the fate of his future, he must relive his past.”

The accompanying teaser also shows flashbacks to Dunk’s childhood and his friendship with a young girl, who tells him not to lose his nerve in following the path that lies ahead of them.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5 airs on Monday, February 16 on Sky Atlantic and streaming platform NOW at 3am GMT.

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

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — This state was such a lost cause for Bernie Sanders the last time he ran for president that the candidate stopped coming here in the crucial stumping days before the 2016 primary election. He got crushed, losing by 47 percentage points.

So the Rev. Al Sharpton on Wednesday morning found himself doing a double take to be here, of all places, introducing the Vermont senator at his candidate breakfast as the nationwide Democratic front-runner.

“Many never thought ‘Bernie Sanders’ and ‘front-runner’ would be in the same sentence,” said Sharpton, the civil rights activist whose blessing is eagerly sought as Democratic candidates seek inroads with black voters.

At a time when Sanders’ rivals are in a full state of panic over his momentum and have shifted from ignoring the democratic socialist to putting all their energy into trying to stop him, they are particularly alarmed by the traction he has been getting in this state, where some 60% of Democratic primary voters are African American.

It reflects the depth and durability of the Sanders coalition, which has exploded in size with his success.

“The question black folks in the South were asking before was: ‘Who is Bernie Sanders?’” said Justin Bamberg, a South Carolina lawmaker and civil rights attorney supporting Sanders. “Now, it is not ‘Who is Bernie Sanders?’ It is ‘Why not Bernie Sanders?’”

Sanders may not win here in South Carolina; the latest polls continue to show Joe Biden winning and holding the largest share of African American voters. But there’s little question that Sanders has drawn substantially more support from black voters this time around than four years ago. His message hasn’t shifted at all. His appeal to nonwhite voters has.

“We have come a long, long way” in South Carolina, Sanders told a raucous crowd at a rally here Wednesday.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders debate in January 2016 in Charleston, S.C. Sanders lost the state by 47 percentage points that year.

(Timothy A. Clary / AFP-Getty Images)

Only 53% of black voters nationwide had a favorable view of Sanders at this point in the last presidential race, according to Gallup, nearly 30 percentage points lower than for opponent Hillary Clinton. But a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found black voters this cycle just as inclined to vote for Sanders as for any other candidate — a turnabout from months ago, when the same poll had Sanders far behind.

In South Carolina, the Sanders campaign absorbed the lessons of the senator’s flop here in 2016. In the intervening years, Sanders and surrogates have returned to the state again and again, visiting its small towns and urban centers, knocking on doors, networking with local officials, just listening. In this state, politics is as much about who you know as what you know. And the Sanders operation got to know a lot of communities.

“He has learned from his mistakes,” said Antjuan Seawright, a South Carolina political consultant not aligned with any candidate in the primary. “He’s learned how to engage, how to prioritize certain communities, where to make investments. His team on the ground has figured out where votes are and who they can activate.”

The success Sanders has had in the few states that have voted already also plays big, but that momentum only goes so far. Sanders learned that in 2016, after his shellacking of Clinton in New Hampshire did nothing for him here and in other Southern states. And Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., is learning that lesson anew as he struggles to translate strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire into votes in the South.

The Sanders campaign and Our Revolution, the progressive organization launched by his backers, never stopped building infrastructure here after 2016. They doubled down on efforts to reach potential voters who weren’t politically engaged. The Sanders staff here is twice the size it was in 2016. At this point in that election cycle, Sanders had just five endorsements from state lawmakers here. Now he has racked up at least 36.

At his rally Wednesday, Sanders boasted that his campaign has knocked on 200,000 doors in South Carolina this cycle.

As rival campaigns pursue consultant-driven strategies centered on ads, news releases and press conferences designed to cast doubt on Sanders’ ability to go the distance, the senator’s grass-roots approach has been drawing in voters like Rebecca Bentley.

Bentley didn’t vote for Sanders in 2016; she didn’t vote for anyone. “I didn’t have any political views,” she said. “I was completely uninvolved.”

The 29-year-old who has been on Medicaid much of her life and has also lived in federally subsidized housing was inspired to register to vote by Sanders’ agenda on healthcare and other social programs.

“It really resonated with me that someone was actually listening,” said Bentley, who described herself as Hispanic and Native American.

It is a familiar story in this state, where the Republican leadership refused to participate in the expansion of Medicaid that was offered to states by the Affordable Care Act.

“The issues Sanders is talking about are resonating here,” said Bruce Ransom, a political science professor at Clemson University. “The Trump administration is talking about how well the economy is doing, and folks here are not doing that well. They are living in a state where the Medicaid expansion did not take place. Many of them would like to make $15 an hour,” as Sanders is proposing for the minimum wage.

As rivals focus intensely on branding Sanders as unelectable in November, many voters aligning with him for the first time are seeing just the opposite.

Among them is Dawn Pemberton, who supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 and is now all in for Sanders.

“That moderate, middle box just doesn’t seem to be working for our country,” said Pemberton, 48, who recently left a job in real estate.

Gerry Elliot also supported Clinton in 2016. “My more pragmatic head took over,” he said. “I thought Hillary could win. I didn’t think Sanders could win.”

Now, the 51-year-old pastry chef is not so sure. He is wavering between Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “I’m looking for something different,” he said. “I just want change in the status quo.”

Biden’s poor showing in the states that have voted so far has some voters reconsidering their initial instinct to align with a pragmatist establishment candidate who had seemed best equipped to beat Trump.

“A former vice president, particularly one under Barack Obama, should not be getting crushed in any state,” Bamberg said. “You should not be getting blown out. People here have eyes and ears. They see it. They want someone they feel can win long term.”

So some voters in South Carolina are giving Sanders a fresh look.

The campaign officials and volunteers who in 2016 would encounter a voter already aligned with Hillary Clinton at nearly every door they knocked on tell a very different story now. Sanders is just as much a household name.

Actor Kendrick Sampson, an Angeleno and Texas native who was here campaigning for Sanders in 2016, said he understood the skepticism voters had at the time.

“You don’t come into Texas talking about nothing — I don’t care how much I agree — if we don’t know or trust you,” he said. “Especially if you are not from Texas. People [in South Carolina] just didn’t know who he was.”

Sampson is back again talking to voters at their houses, at barbershops, in restaurants, and the reception is different. “Now they know who he is, and they know his brand,” Sampson said. “And now they trust him.”

Preseason All-Star baseball team for the Southland.

PITCHER: Striker Pence, Corona Santiago, So.; Throws legitimate 101-mph fastballs for strikes.

PITCHER: Jared Grindlinger, Huntington Beach, Jr.; Whether pitching or hitting, Grindlinger stands at the top of 2027 class.

St. John Bosco pitcher Jack Champlin closed games for the Braves last season and was unstoppable in the postseason.

(Nick Koza)

UTILITY: Jack Champlin, St. John Bosco, Sr.; UC Irvine commit was phenomenal during playoffs last season as a closer.

CATCHER: Carson Scheffer, Oaks Christian, Sr.; Oklahoma State commit has electric arm and power at the plate.

Santa Margarita shortstop Brody Schumaker (left) and his father, Skip, the manager of the Texas Rangers.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

INFIELDER: Brody Schumaker, Santa Margarita, Sr.; TCU commit has speed, instincts and can bunt with the best.

INFIELDER: Dylan Seward, Norco, Jr.; Tennessee commit can hit and field with work ethic that is off the charts.

INFIELDER: Trey Ebel, Corona, Sr.; Texas A&M commit gets to move from second base to shortstop to show off his arm.

INFIELDER: James Clark, St. John Bosco, Sr.; Showed off his impressive skills for USA 18U national team.

INFIELDER: James Tronstein, Harvard-Westlake, Sr.; Vanderbilt commit moves to shortstop and hit above .500 in winter ball.

Corona’s Anthony Murphy is fired up.

(Nick Koza)

OUTFIELDER: Blake Bowen, JSerra, Sr.; Oregon State commit might be best pro prospect in Southern California.

OUTFIELDER: Jordan Ayala, Norco, So.; Throws fastballs in the 90s and also hits bombs.

OUTFIELDER: Anthony Murphy, Corona, Sr.; LSU commit is center fielder who chases down flyballs, hits home runs and can run.

Feb. 15 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties continued trading barbs over real estate policy during the Lunar New Year holiday, clashing over multi-home ownership among lawmakers and President Lee Jae-myung’s personal property.

The liberal Democratic Party of Korea stepped up criticism of lawmakers from the conservative People Power Party, saying 42 PPP legislators own multiple homes.

In a written briefing Sunday, Democratic Party floor spokesperson Kim Hyun-jung said PPP members were “keeping silent about their own multiple properties” while criticizing Lee, who owns one home.

She said PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk owns six houses and accused the party of defending what she described as “unearned real estate income.”

The PPP rejected the criticism as exaggerated and politically motivated.

Chief floor spokesperson Choi Eun-seok said the Democratic Party was “blowing out of proportion” the fact that some PPP lawmakers own multiple homes in an attempt to portray the entire party as defenders of windfall profits.

“Compete with real policies, not divisive tactics,” Choi said.

The PPP also renewed calls for Lee to sell his Bundang apartment, after the president described it as “a home to return to after retirement.” Party officials argued that Lee’s position reflects a double standard that limits citizens’ property rights while making exceptions for himself.

Senior spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon said a policy that “pressures the public while making exceptions for the president” would neither stabilize housing prices nor restore trust.

The exchange comes as Lee has posted a series of social media messages targeting multi-home ownership, keeping real estate policy at the center of political debate.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260215010005201

I was driving on the B653 – a well-used country road – when the pothole loomed. The road was too narrow to swerve, and we heard a nasty clunk. I put on the hazard lights – as did the driver in front, and the two vehicles behind. Four cars with busted tyres, thanks to a pothole.

BROOKLYN Beckham has promised to “forever protect” his wife Nicola Peltz in a gushing post amid the ongoing family feud.

It comes after Brooklyn made a bombshell statement where he accused his parents, Sir David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, of trying endlessly to ruin his relationship in a social media post in January.

Brooklyn took to Instagram and posted a black and white image which showed the couple sharing a tender kiss.

Brooklyn was seen shirtless which showed off his tattoos and Nicola was dressed in a crop top and jeans.

He captioned the sweet snap: “Happy Valentine’s Day baby, I am the luckiest person in the world to be able to call you my Valentine’s every year.

“I love you more than you know and I will forever protect and love you.”

THE BANISHER

Inside Brooklyn’s Traitors-style cull of inner circle as pal left ‘blindsided’

HARP TO HEART

Caring Harper sends heartfelt message to Brooklyn in bid to heal bitter feud

Brooklyn sent a clear message to Gordon Ramsay this weekend after the chef publicly urged him to “remember where he came from” amid his ongoing family row with his mum and dad. 

In an exclusive interview with The Sun this week, Gordon revealed that, despite being close mates with David Beckham, he had maintained contact with Brooklyn after his family fallout alongside wife, Nicola Peltz.

Gordon praised his “incredible heart” but warned that his eagerness to “forge his own path” had him in danger of forgetting “where he came from”. 

However, within hours of the interview being published, Brooklyn added his former mentor to the list of people he’s now unfollowed on Instagram. 

At the time of writing, Gordon is still following Brooklyn, meaning that he’s not been blocked by the 26-year-old. 

During our interview with Gordon, he opened up about what was going on inside the Beckham household, and his belief that things at some point will smooth over.

“It’s a very difficult situation,” he explained. “Victoria is upset, and I know 24/7, seven days a week, just how much David loves Brooklyn.

“Brooklyn and I have messaged a little bit, our relationship is solid. I love him – his heart is incredible – but it’s hard, isn’t it, when you’re infatuated? 

“Love is blind. It’s easy to get up on that rollercoaster, and get carried away. But it will come back.” 

In his bombshell statement, Brooklyn claimed his mum danced “inappropriately” on him at his lavish wedding in 2022.

He has also blocked his parents and siblings, Romeo, 23, Cruz, 20, and Harper, 14, on social media.

The Beckham family have continued to make small gestures in a bid to reach out to Brooklyn – despite his public six-page statement cutting all ties from the family.

His little sister Harper made a post sending a “Happy Valentines to the best big brothers in the world”, sharing a throwback snap of her as a young child with Brooklyn, as well as brothers Romeo and Cruz.

Victoria later reposted the photograph on her own Instagram Stories, but Brooklyn has not publicly responded.

Earlier this week Cruz also reached out to Brooklyn, with a throwback of the three brothers as children, something he also ignored.

However, Gordon Ramsay has insisted that his good friend David will end the ongoing feud with his son Brooklyn.

Reporting from Washington — A month after tweeting that he might order FEMA to cut federal disaster funding to California fire victims, President Trump declined to renew that threat and indicated that talks with state officials were going well.

Speaking to The Times and several regional newspapers in the Oval Office, Trump said Wednesday that he and Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke by phone about two weeks ago, after his Jan. 9 tweet that he had ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency not to send more disaster funding to state officials “unless they get their act together, which is unlikely.”

Asked Wednesday if he still thinks the federal government shouldn’t give California any more money until the state changes its forest management practices, Trump refrained from directly repeating the threat, but said something has to be done to keep California from burning year after year.

“I told my people, I said we cannot continue to spend billions of dollars, billions and billions of dollars,” Trump said. “Forest fires are totally preventable. They shouldn’t happen.”

Trump said he was encouraged by his talk with Newsom.

“He was very respectful as to my point of view,” Trump said. “I think he agrees with me. I respect the fact that he called. The forests are, because of whatever reason, … extraordinarily flammable, to put it mildly.”

Newsom’s spokesman Nathan Click said the governor and president had a “respectful conversation about the critical federal-state partnership necessary for emergency preparedness and disaster relief.”

“The governor will continue doing everything in his power to help the survivors of wildfires and make sure the state is prepared for future disasters,” Click said.

Environmental experts say the primary cause of increased fires in California is climate change and drought. The Trump administration has blamed poor forest management, though critics say such claims are misleading and in many cases false.

Thousands of Californians are still recovering from two massive fires this past fall that together killed nearly 90 people and burned thousands of structures.

Trump’s tweeted threat alarmed state and local officials. For weeks the White House and FEMA have provided no clarity about whether such an order would be implemented, and when. Even the California congressional delegation struggled to get information about what might happen.

For months the president has been critical of California’s forest management process, saying state environmental laws are too stringent and keep downed timber and other detritus such as leaves and fallen limbs from being removed before they can catch fire.

“It’s called forest management. You have very poor forest management,” Trump said. “You need good forest management and you will have either no forest fires or very small forest fires that are easily put out.”

Critics accuse the administration of trying to pressure California officials to open the state’s forests to increased logging.

The bulk of California’s forest land is either federal property or private property, and outside the state’s authority to manage, but Trump said California’s strict state environmental laws keep the federal government from managing its lands in the state properly.

“In many cases because of the state environmental rules, the federal government isn’t even allowed to go in and clean them out,” Trump said.

In November, the Camp fire destroyed the town of Paradise in the Sierra Nevada foothills, killing 86 people and destroying more than 13,900 homes in the area; and the Woolsey fire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties left three dead and leveled about 1,500 structures in an unwooded area.

State politicians have implored Trump to remember what he saw when he visited Paradise in November to tour the destroyed area. He spoke at length Wednesday about his shock at the extent of the damage and how quickly the fire moved into and destroyed the town.

“That was a lot of bad luck,” Trump said. “It was dry. You had 80 mile-per-hour winds. It was a very flammable area.”

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The No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball team beat Indiana 92-48 at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday afternoon. Lauren Betts picked up a first-half double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She finished with 16 points and was one of seven players to reach double figures.

“It speaks to how talented this team is,” Betts said. “We have threats at every single position, and it makes it so much easier for me to do my job, because I know that if they’re going to double, triple, I’m going to find somebody who’s able to score.”

UCLA extended its win streak to 19 games. With another lopsided victory under their belt, the Bruins said they have focused on consistency, no matter the opponent.

“I actually did bring that up in the locker room, and I should have, because that’s really been the challenge is to enjoy, relish, lean into, that we’re playing for our standard,” said coach Cori Close. “I’ve been really honest that we haven’t been doing that consistently against opponents that maybe don’t give the scoreboard, won’t give us that exact read.”

UCLA guard Kiki Rice drives to the basket under pressure from Indiana guard Nevaeh Caffey as Hoosiers forward Maya Makalusky watches at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.

(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

UCLA’s Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 10 points in the second quarter alone and Kiki Rice, who recorded a 15-point second half after only scoring two in the first, led all Bruins in points.

“I wasn’t happy with the way I competed in the first half,” Rice said. “Regardless of the outcome offensively, I can control how hard I play. I’m proud of my defense, and in the second half I focused in on that and started to find a better rhythm.”

UCLA (25-1, 15-0 Big Ten) separated itself from Indiana (14-13, 3-12) in the second quarter with 30 points, taking a 47-20 halftime lead. In the third quarter, the Bruins outscored the Hoosiers 29-14.

Maya Makalusky scored 13 points for Indiana and Lenée Beaumont added 11. They were the only Hoosiers in double figures.

Close said Angela Dugalic led the way for the Bruins in the first half, playing at the level of aggression that the coaching staff was looking for. Close added that Dugalic’s intense effort was in response to a couple of games during which Dugalic wasn’t playing to her usual standard.

“[Yesterday] we’re talking about what was leading to that,” Close said of a conversation with Dugalic. “She was like, ‘I just start second guessing when I get that first foul.’ And I was actually thankful that she had that scenario. And I just said, ‘Hey, this is what we talked about yesterday, you got to play the same way.’”

Indiana guard Lenée Beaumont drives to the basket under pressure from UCLA guards Charlisse Leger-Walker and Kiki Rice Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

Dugalic picked up a foul in the first quarter, providing a chance to respond to adversity in a different way.

The Bruins’ four turnovers were their lowest total in a game this season after giving up the second most during a close win last week against No. 13 Michigan State. Close put the players through a special workout in between the games to reduce the giveaways.

“Not only did they have to do a bike sprint for every single turnover and every one under our passion play goal that they didn’t get, but they had to watch their lack of productivity while they did it,” Close said.

The Bruins held Indiana to 31.3% shooting from the field, below the Hoosiers’ 47.9% average on the season, fifth best in the Big Ten.

UCLA has three more games before the Big Ten tournament, with Washington up next at 7 p.m. PST on Thursday. A Bruins win or a Michigan loss would clinch the No. 1 tournament seed for UCLA.

Hasan Piker has built one of the largest online political audiences, reaching millions without newsroom oversight or traditional editorial constraints. In this episode of Talk to Al Jazeera, the influential streamer reflects on bias, accountability, wealth, bans and the blurred line between journalism and digital influence. As algorithms replace editors and engagement supplants verification, we examine who shapes political narratives in the age of streaming and what responsibilities accompany that power.