Month: March 2026

It was no surprise when Joe Kent showed up on Tucker Carlson’s podcast a day after quitting his counterterrorism job in President Trump’s administration. Here was a top official who resigned to protest the war with Iran turning to right-wing media’s leading critic of the conflict.

“The Israelis drove the decision to take this action,” Kent said in Wednesday’s interview.

But before long, the conversation moved in a different direction as Kent nodded to conspiracy theories that pro-Israel forces were behind the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“I’m saying there are unanswered questions,” Kent said.

The conversation encapsulated two schisms within the Republican Party and the right-wing media system, both of which have reached high into the national security establishment of the Trump administration.

There’s a foreign policy debate over the wisdom of Trump’s war with Iran and the future of the United States’ longstanding alliance with Israel.

But there also are fears that the focus on Israel is the leading edge of an antisemitic fringe that has gained ground by portraying Jews as shadowy manipulators, echoing some of history’s most hateful tropes.

Tucker Carlson is playing a central role

At the center of both issues is Carlson, a former Fox News host who remains influential among conservatives. He was previously denounced for hosting Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist and antisemite, on his podcast last year. During the interview, Fuentes complained about “organized Jewry in America.”

On Wednesday, Carlson was sharply critical about Israel, saying “its lobbying in the United States pressured the president.”

Matt Brooks, president of the Republican Jewish Coalition, described Kent’s appearance on Carlson’s podcast as “part of an ongoing problem.”

He noted that his group opposed Kent’s nomination as director of the National Counterterrorism Center because of ties to right-wing extremism. Trump ignored those concerns even though, as he said after Kent’s resignation, “I always thought he was weak on security” and “I didn’t know him well.”

Kent’s resignation letter trafficked in antisemitic conspiracy theories while raising concerns about the war with Iran.

He blamed “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media” for encouraging conflict. Indeed, Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encouraged Trump to join forces in an attack on Iran.

But Kent also went further, saying it’s “the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war.” He also said his wife, a Navy cryptologist who was killed by a suicide bomber in Syria, died “in a war manufactured by Israel.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, described the letter as “virulent antisemitism.” Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, said “scapegoating Israel isn’t just a tired antisemitic trope — it’s anti-American.”

Kent has previously rejected all forms of “racism and bigotry.”

Trump has said nothing about Kent’s remarks on Israel. He previously disputed the idea that Israel pushed him toward war, saying, “I might have forced their hand.”

Unified Republican support for Israel has fractured

Questions about Israeli influence are not unique to right-wing circles. Progressives have also faced accusations of antisemitism for their response to the war in Gaza, which began with an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

But it’s been a widening fault line within the Republican Party, which has been a bedrock of support for Israel over the years. Conservatives are still reckoning with the fallout from Carlson’s interview with Fuentes.

For example, board members and other staff members resigned from the Heritage Foundation after the think tank’s president defended Carlson.

Trump tried to sidestep the issue, declining to criticize Fuentes and praising Carlson for having “said good things about me over the years.” The president previously dined with Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., between his two terms, and Carlson has continued to visit the White House.

Mort Klein, president of the conservative Jewish group the Zionist Organization of America, said Wednesday that he supports Trump but “I’d like him to do more” about antisemitism.

“I want him to be stronger on those issues,” Klein said.

Carlson has said that he is not antisemitic. But he has said that anti-Jewish hate is less pervasive in society than bias against white people and that some Christian politicians who were fervent supporters of Israel were guilty of heresy.

The Iran war is poised to continue fracturing right-wing media.

Ben Shapiro, co-founder of The Daily Wire, called Carlson’s Fuentes interview “an act of moral imbecility” and accused the host of misleading his audience with falsehoods and conspiracy theories.

He’s also feuded with Candace Owens, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories. Dennis Prager, a conservative commentator, wrote in an open letter to Owens that “I cannot think of anyone in public life engendering as much suspicion of Jews, Zionism and Israel as you.”

Megyn Kelly, like Carlson a former Fox News Channel anchor now helming her own independent media empire, said the war was sold to the American people by “Israel firsters, like Mark Levin.” Levin, a radio and Fox personality, has been among Trump’s most fervent supporters of the war.

Levin, for his part, called Kelly an “emotionally unhinged, lewd and petulant wreck.”

It promises to continue.

Levin posted on social media an invitation to Kent to appear on his show in the coming days.

“Sure,” Kent replied. “Let’s go.”

Beaumont and Bauder write for the Associated Press.

Emery became the quickest Villa manager to 100 wins with victory in France last week.

Villa Park marked the achievement with fans holding up ‘Emery 100’ cards as the teams walked out.

He knows how to get the job done and, with Villa searching for their first trophy in three decades, the end of the drought is in sight.

Villa did what was necessary against Lille, even if the performance still lacked the style, tempo and class they have produced this season.

Those levels remain from their stumble in the Premier League, with just two wins from 10 games, which has added jeopardy, something which did not look likely at the start of the year.

Overhauled by Manchester United, Villa – who host West Ham on Sunday – are lucky to still be in the top five, mainly due to Liverpool and Chelsea’s failings.

But Emery, rightly, continues to ask to be judged after 38 games and where they will be at the end of the season.

Last month he was being asked about being in the title race and on Wednesday he pointed out being in Europe and in the top four was just a dream for the club when he took over three and a half years ago.

In his first press conference the former Arsenal and Paris St-Germain boss stated he came to Birmingham to win trophies and Villa have edged a little closer to that goal.

Emery has now reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the eighth time, no other manager has done so more than five times, while Villa have made the quarter-finals of a major European competition in three straight seasons.

“Villa [were] very professional, not outstanding, just doing enough to get to the next round,” Dublin said.

“That’s what they need, but they will have to up their performances if they want to get to the latter stages of the competition.

“I think there is more to come from them. If they do that, they can really surprise a few people.”

The United States Commission of Fine Arts, a federal agency, has approved plans for a commemorative gold coin that features one of Donald Trump’s recent presidential portraits.

The commission, made up of Trump appointees, voted unanimously in favour of minting the coin on Thursday. But the legality of such efforts has been repeatedly questioned.

Federal law prohibits the depiction of living presidents on US currency. Thursday’s coin, however, may sidestep the rule, as it is intended as a commemorative item, not for circulation as currency.

Still, the Trump administration has advanced other plans to put the president’s face on a $1 coin, in addition to the commemorative gold coin.

Critics denounced both initiatives as unlawful and inappropriate for a sitting leader.

“Monarchs and dictators put their faces on coins, not leaders of a democracy,” Senator Jeff Merkley told the news agency Reuters.

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, a bipartisan federal panel, has previously pushed back against efforts to mint Trump-themed coins.

One of its members, Donald Scarinci, said that the panel and the Commission of Fine Arts are both supposed to approve such designs.

“But we still fully expect them to plough ahead and mint both coins,” Scarinci said of the commission.

The gold coin is set to feature a bald eagle on one side, and Trump on the other, leaning with both fists on the table and staring straight ahead.

The image is a facsimile of a black-and-white image of Trump taken by photographer Daniel Torok and featured in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

“I know it’s a very strong and a very tough image of him,” said Chamberlain Harris, a Trump aide who was appointed to arts commission earlier this year.

Harris indicated that the Trump gold coin would be as large as possible. The US Mint currently produces coins as large as 7.6 centimetres, or three inches, which is what Harris said the Trump administration would aim for.

“I think the larger the better. The largest of that circulation, I think, would be his preference,” Harris said, referencing her discussions with the president.

Megan Sullivan, the acting chief at the Office of Design Management at the US Mint, also indicated that Trump had given the design his approval.

“It is my understanding that the secretary of the Treasury presented this design, as well as others, to the president, and these were his selection,” Sullivan said.

Since taking office for a second term, Trump has pushed to leave his mark on the federal government.

In addition to the gold coin and $1 coin that are slated to bear his image, he has placed his name on the US Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Both efforts are the subject of ongoing lawsuits. An act of Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, designating it as a living memorial to the late John F Kennedy, a president who was assassinated in office in 1963.

Likewise, the US Institute of Peace was established by Congress as an independent think tank dedicated to conflict resolution.

It was the subject of a standoff between its leadership and members of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last March, culminating in its employees being forcibly evicted.

Trump has also placed his face on government buildings around Washington, DC, in the form of long banners.

Even the architecture of the city is changing to reflect his tastes: Last October, he tore down the White House’s East Wing in order to build a massive ballroom, and he has plans to build a triumphal arch in the capital, similar to the one in Paris, France.

Trump has pitched many of the changes as part of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations, which culminate this July.

At Thursday’s meeting to discuss the gold coin, his officials repeated the argument that celebrating Trump was a good way to mark the anniversary.

“I think it’s fitting to have a current sitting president who’s presiding over the country over the 250th year on a commemorative coin for said year,” said Harris.

Omar Oswaldo Torres, the leader of the Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa criminal network, was detained in the raid.

Mexican authorities have revealed that 11 people were killed during a raid that resulted in the capture of Omar Oswaldo Torres, the leader of a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

In a social media post on Thursday, the Mexican Navy said the raid took place in Culiacan, part of the state of Sinaloa in northern Mexico.

It alleged that its personnel were attacked at the site of the raid and returned fire, killing 11 “assailants”. Their identities have yet to be released to the public.

“High-powered weapons and tactical equipment were seized at the scene,” the navy said in a statement.

The navy added that a woman identified as Torres’s daughter was also present during the operation, but she was released to her family due to a lack of connection to criminal activities.

Torres, known by the nickname “El Patas”, is the leader of the Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

In recent years, Los Mayos have been in a fight with another faction, Los Chapitos. Each side is named for a different Sinaloa Cartel leader: Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, both of whom have been arrested and imprisoned in the United States.

Thursday’s raid comes as governments across Latin America seek to deliver US President Donald Trump tangible results in the fight against crime and drug trafficking.

Just this week, the Mexican government participated in a law enforcement operation with Ecuador and Colombia to arrest Angel Esteban Aguilar, the leader of the Los Lobos crime group.

A separate Mexican military operation in the state of Jalisco last month led to the death of Nemesio Oseguera, also known as “El Mencho”, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Criminal groups responded with a burst of violence, including the erection of roadblocks and attacks on security force outposts across Mexico.

Critics have questioned the efficacy of the more militarised methods Trump has pressured Latin American leaders to use against cartel leaders.

Capturing or killing cartel leaders is sometimes referred to as a “decapitation strategy”, and the method is designed to weaken the structure of criminal networks.

But experts warn that the “decapitation strategy” risks increasing violence over the long term, as new conflicts emerge to fill the leadership vacuum.

Many also point out that such militarised approaches fail to address the root causes of crime, among them corruption and poverty.

Still, Trump has labelled groups like the Sinaloa Cartel “foreign terrorist organisations”, and has indicated he would consider taking military action on Mexican soil against such groups, despite concerns that such actions would violate Mexican sovereignty.

Trump told a summit of Latin American leaders earlier this month that he considered Mexico to be the “epicentre” of cartel violence.

“We have to eradicate them,” Trump said of the cartels. “We have to knock the hell out of them because they’re getting worse. They’re taking over their country. The cartels are running Mexico. We can’t have that.”

Mexican officials, meanwhile, have called on the US to stem the flow of illicit weapons into Mexico, to little avail.

Last year, the Supreme Court struck down a lawsuit from the Mexican government accusing US gun manufacturers of negligence, given that their products end up arming criminal networks in the Latin American country.

“The best way I can describe it is, it’s an addiction,” says Taylor Frankie Paul.

The star of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is seated by a window in an empty Starbucks within a downtown Salt Lake City hotel, reflecting on her relationship troubles in an interview Feb. 19. Followers of Paul’s screen life are all too familiar with the drama. Now, others can’t escape knowing about it too.

Days later, a dispute with her on-again, off-again partner would lead to an investigation by police that surfaced in multiple news reports this week, and on Thursday, the release of a video recording of a separate dispute in 2023 would lead to a pause on “The Bachelorette,” her latest starring role on reality TV, three days before it was set to premiere.

Her brush with fame began with #Momtok, as the self-proclaimed founder of the Utah-based group of Mormon moms that spawned the so-called corner of TikTok where they shared choreographed dance videos and light lifestyle content. But in 2022, she rose to notoriety after revealing in a TikTok Live session details about an arrangement she had with her then-husband Tate Paul to pursue intimate relations with other consenting couples (without having extramarital sex); she confessed to violating their agreement by having an emotional affair. The salacious revelation, which became known as the “soft-swinging” scandal, lit up social media and, eventually, led to the creation of Hulu’s breakout hit “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” Much of Paul’s story across the show’s four seasons has revolved around her rocky relationship with Dakota Mortensen, the man she began dating following her divorce.

Dakota Mortensen and Taylor Frankie Paul in a scene from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” The pair share a 2-year-old son.

(Fred Hayes / Disney)

Even as the show documented the lead-up to Paul becoming the new face of “The Bachelorette,” her biggest screen opportunity yet, the pair’s on-again, off-again dynamic remained as turbulent and confusing as ever, down to the “Mormon Wives” season’s final minutes. A despondent Paul nearly upended the start of production on ABC’S dating series when she missed her flight to Los Angeles after sleeping with Mortensen, who is the father of her youngest son, Ever, the night prior. (She took a later one.)

“I was just still stuck in the cycle,” she says, noting she hasn’t watched the “Mormon Wives” finale. “That’s why I knew I had to leave [to do ‘The Bachelorette’], if that makes sense … I can’t help people understand it because my own brain doesn’t understand it. The only thing I can relate it to is, it is a drug; the toxicity is a drug. It’s always a mind game and I fall for it every time, and I cave and it’s just so dumb. I get exhausted saying it to people because I’m like, ‘I don’t blame you guys. I’m mad at me.’”

The hook of a 31-year-old mother of three trying to find love — who unapologetically wears her troubles on her sleeve — was supposed to be what made her a desirable candidate for the latest crossover experiment to hit Disney’s reality TV universe. But in the week leading up to Sunday’s Season 22 premiere of “The Bachelorette,” reports surfaced detailing allegations of domestic violence involving Paul and Mortensen. Utah’s Draper City Police Department confirmed there is an open investigation involving the pair; a spokesperson for the department declined to share more details amid the ongoing investigation. But according to a person familiar with the situation, allegations were made by both parties involving incidents on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, less than a week after our interview. No charges have been filed in the case.

Taylor Frankie Paul in a promotional still from ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” now on pause.

(Sami Drasin / Disney)

Paul was previously arrested and charged in 2023 for a separate dispute involving Mortensen, eventually pleading guilty to one count of aggravated assault; other charges were dropped. Part of that incident was documented in the first season of “Mormon Wives.” On Thursday, TMZ published a video of the incident, leading Disney Entertainment Television to hit pause on the planned premiere of “The Bachelorette.” “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” the statement from Disney read. Whether the season will be released at a later time or be re-edited remains to be seen, according to a person familiar with the matter.

“Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security,” read a portion of a statement provided by a representative for Paul. The statement went on to say Paul suffered “extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation.”

While Season 5 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” began production in January, cameras were not following Paul during the time of the recent incidents; Paul was focused on publicity commitments for “The Bachelorette.” Hulu and ABC declined to comment on the ongoing investigation. Mortensen could not be reached for comment. Production on “Mormon Wives” is currently on pause and a decision on Paul’s status as a cast member has not been made, according to a person briefed on the situation.

Paul’s chaotic reality now casts a shadow on both shows. The programming experiment aimed at expanding and blending the audiences of ABC’s veteran dating series and Hulu’s budding answer to the “Real Housewives” franchise now becomes an example of too much of a good thing — in this case, overextending a breakout hit early in its run — and how it can backfire. And it puts a spotlight on the discourse surrounding vetting failures and oversights in reality TV, as well as the compulsion or limits by viewers to rubberneck, particularly by savvy viewers of a genre that thrives on sordid personal drama.

How the ‘Mormon Wives’ crossover took shape

At a time when the traditional television landscape faces steep challenges, accelerated by a radical shift in viewing habits spurred by streaming and social media, Disney has been blurring the lines between its linear and streaming properties — ABC and Hulu — to maximize the reach of its unscripted assets. “Mormon Wives,” which has released four seasons in less than two years, has become a key player in that effort. Earlier this year, two of its cast members, Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt, competed against each other on “Dancing With the Stars.” And Paul’s casting as “The Bachelorette” makes her the first heroine who was not a contestant on a previous season of “The Bachelor.”

Prior to the reports about Paul, The Times spoke to Robert Mills, who leads Walt Disney Television Alternative, as well as show producers, about collaboration efforts within the company’s broadcasting universe as a way to expand and reward viewer curiosity.

Mills, a veteran ABC unscripted executive, said it was a way the company can distinguish itself from its competitors, particularly as it seeks to build Hulu’s unscripted slate against streaming rivals with deeper benches. And the possibilities on how to apply it to “Mormon Wives” began the summer ahead of its launch. As “Dancing With the Stars” producers were in the final stretch of casting the show’s 33rd season, Mills says there was talk of having one of the women be a contestant on the competition that fall, to coincide with the new show’s arrival.

“I do remember saying, ‘If it’s not this season, I know we’re going to have somebody next season because you can just feel this,” he says, referring to the energy surrounding “Mormon Wives.” “When the show took off, then it became, ‘OK, now we know we’re doing it.’”

And while having a cast member compete on “Dancing With the Stars” may, on its own, create a curiosity factor for audiences of both shows, the added layer of having the journey play out on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” had the potential to heighten the story and viewing experience. And why not have two “Mormon Wives” cast members in the same season to see how their competitiveness plays out? So they did.

Dancer Jan Ravnik with partner Jennifer Affleck on “Dancing With the Stars.” (Eric McCandless/Disney)

Mark Ballas and Whitney Leavitt, who reached the semi-finals on the dancing competition series. (Eric McCandless/Disney)

The casting process for “DWTS” was documented in the third season of “Mormon Wives,” with Affleck and Leavitt pitching themselves to ABC executives. And their journey on the competition, including moving their families to Los Angeles and their eventual falling out, is featured in Season 4.

Corporate synergy within the Disney portfolio is nothing new, particularly on “Dancing With the Stars.” Disney Night is a recurring themed episode on the competition show, with contestants dancing to Disney, Pixar and Marvel tunes. And the series has featured stars from “Bachelor” nation before. But navigating the ins and outs of stories that intertwine without overstepping has required nimbleness.

“We basically carved out times where they [the ‘Mormon Wives’ crew] could film rehearsals and we always had a producer present just in case something happened that was dramatically important for our show,” says Conrad Green, the showrunner of “Dancing With the Stars.” “It’s like a gentleman’s agreement — we’re borrowing talent off another show so we have to work together and it works for everyone’s benefit.”

Stretching out a successful series typically leads to spin-offs — and yes, Mills says, those conversations are happening with “Mormon Wives” — at least at the time of the interview. In the meantime, the crossover strategy has become its key feature. Its third season featured the fallout from an explosive crossover with Hulu’s “Vanderpump Villa,” which follows Lisa Vanderpump, a former Bravo star, and her staff at various luxury European estates. MomTok stars Demi Engemann and Jessi Ngatikaura were guests on that show’s second season and got embroiled in drama with staff member Marciano Brunette, who alleges he had intimate connections with both women. The recent fourth season of “Mormon Wives” revisits the crossover, with some of the women’s spouses partaking in their own “Villa” getaway that fuels more drama.

Layla Taylor, left, Jessie Ngatikaura, Mikayla Matthews and Demi Engemann of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” at the castle in “Vanderpump Villa.”

(Andrea Miconi / Disney)

Paul’s casting in “The Bachelor” universe continues the long-running franchise’s efforts to revamp as it ages, to mixed results. In 2021, the franchise cast its first Black male lead; last year, it entered the senior citizen dating space with spin-off “Golden Bachelor.”

After Paul posted a TikTok in June 2025 jokingly announcing her “bid” as a single mother looking for love, members of the company’s publicity department took notice and, before long, discussions began. When the idea to bring on a star outside the franchise was presented to”The Bachelorette” showrunner Scott Teti, he did some homework.

“Of course, I had heard of her — it’s hard not to hear of that name,” he says. “But I had to familiarize myself with it because I hadn’t watched her show. Instantly, you realize how honest and truthful she is, almost to a fault. Although she’s unrelatable in a lot of ways, with the attention she gets from media and social media … she has a layered story that I think is very relatable to a lot of people — being a single mother and not having success in past relationships and still really wanting to find love.”

He adds that though she was a “fish out of water” the first night, she found her way. “She made herself vulnerable and she finally let her walls down and made herself open to being in a relationship, finding someone,” he says. “At the same time, because she is used to doing things her own way, and not really caring what anybody thinks, that is what made it interesting. That is why this season is so big, and there are so many pivotal points in the season that will leave you on the edge of your seat.”

At least that was the plan.

Dressed in beige lounge pants and an oversize T-shirt adorned with mushrooms when we meet, Paul is affable despite her sluggish demeanor as she navigates the schedule demands in this window between “Mormon Wives” Season 4 and her debut as “The Bachelorette.” She pulls out her phone to share a series of TikTok videos that capture what she says is her current mental state — one features a man sarcastically talking about how he’d rather be petty than regulate his emotions. No stranger to finding a wide audience with viral videos, Paul sees the crossovers as “genius marketing.” But also acknowledged their potential challenges to #MomTok.

“I think it’s really cool to see all the different opportunities you can venture off into,” she says. “I think the con of that, with #MomTok, is that with all the opportunities, it kind of spreads us apart. We’re doing our own thing. It could break friendships. You’re getting envious. You get competitive.”

As the cast’s fame and opportunities grow, whether across Disney or outside of it — Leavitt, for example, is starring as Roxie Hart in “Chicago” on Broadway — the way to keep the series interesting is to incorporate all those moments into the show rather than pretend they live outside of it.

“We have not shied away from breaking the fourth wall,” says “Mormon Wives” showrunner Andrea Metz. “We have not shied away from talking about what is really happening with them. And I think that people like that. The trajectory of their fame and their stars rising has been very quick, but it’s also been really exciting.”

And the highs and lows are in full view, as this week proves.

Was she ready for ‘The Bachelorette’?

How all this might impact #MomTok — the power of their clique to withstand the various in-fighting and drama has become a perennial concern each season — is already playing out in the headlines.

Before recent allegations against Paul threatened the outcome of “The Bachelorette,” Paul’s entanglement with Mortensen had already cast doubt for some viewers of both franchises about whether she went into the dating series with any seriousness. The break between wrapping “Mormon Wives” and starting filming on “The Bachelorette” was one day. Paul admits she isn’t sure she was ready for the experience.

“I might not have been ready, but ready is a decision — just do it,” she says. “It was like a rehab, almost. It’s full detox. I had no contact — in no world does it happen with the co-parent. Whether or not I was ready, it was what was so needed for me, at the very least to just get away from it. And I wanted to find someone and love.”

“‘The Bachelorette’ is one of the hardest things I ever did,” she continues, “but also the most amazing things I ever did. I have my kids back home. I’m not just here looking for me. The emotional exhaustion was a lot. I’m dating 20-something guys. I am putting my all into one conversation after the other, every single day, all day. Your brain is just kind of fried.”

Then she considers a question that didn’t feel as prescient then: Does she feel like it broke the cycle she’s had with Mortensen?

“Yeah, I feel like it helped,” she says. “Obviously things — [we’re] within the process of the show, I can’t speak on it yet. But you’ll see it all unravel.”

Sheriff Robert Luna has asked the National Institute of Corrections to examine conditions and practices at Los Angeles County jails, a request made after 10 inmates died in jail custody in less than three months.

The request comes amid growing concern over conditions inside county lockups. In September, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta sued the Sheriff’s Department over what he called “unsafe and unconstitutional conditions at county jails.”

Luna has also faced questions from the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission over health conditions, health access, drug use, and other factors that have led to in-custody deaths.

Now, the Sheriff’s Department is asking the National Institute of Corrections to conduct a comprehensive review of county jails in an effort to reduce the number of deaths, Luna told The Times.

“I want someone to come in and review from top to bottom,” Luna said.

Specifics on when the review would begin, and what it would entail, have not yet been set, but Luna said the aim is to get an outside, “unbiased view.”

Officials with the National Institute of Corrections referred questions to the federal Bureau of Prisons, its parent agency, which did not respond to a request for comment.

The National Institute of Corrections provides state, local and federal resources and guidance.

The agency, according to its site, provides “on site technical assistance” to jail administrators, and also helps to identify “gaps in policy and practice.”

The review, Luna said, would entail “everything we’re doing from policy, procedure, facilities, to make sure we’re not missing anything,” Luna said.

Inmate deaths have raised concerns among top sheriff officials and agencies charged with overseeing sheriff operations. The department saw 46 in-custody deaths in 2025, a steep increase from the 32 reported in 2024.

In-custody deaths are reviewed by the Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bonta’s lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Department, filed in September 2025, alleged inmates were being “forced to live in filthy cells with broken and overflowing toilets, infestations of rats and roaches, and no clean water for drinking or bathing.”

In a statement, Bonta’s office alleged that a lack of access to healthcare in the jails, and conditions inside, contributed to a “shocking rate of preventable in-custody deaths, such as suicides.”

In a previous interview, Luna referred to the spate of death at the start of the year as a “kick in the groin.”

Efforts to reduce deaths are challenging partly because the inmate population inside the jails has been increasingly older, and ill, Luna said, with many of them suffering from drug addiction or long-term conditions.

About 82% of those in custody disclosed at least one medical or mental health issue when booked, officials said.

According to department data, half of the 46 inmate deaths recorded in 2025 were listed as natural. Autopsy results to determine the causes of death are still pending in this year’s cases.

Luna has pointed to changes that have already been made as efforts to improve conditions, including deploying body-worn cameras at the Inmate Reception Center, Men’s Central Jail and Twin Towers Correctional Facility.

The department has also opened a remodeled mental health assessment area at the Inmate Reception Center, the primary intake and release point for county inmates near Men’s Central Jail.

Bruno Guimaraes is wanted by some big-name teams, Manchester United are set to rebuff another season’s loan for Marcus Rashford, and Tottenham captain Cristian Romero downplays talk of a move.

Manchester United are in advanced negotiations to sign Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes for about £69m, but renewed interest ​from Real Madrid threatens to complicate the move for the 28-year-old Brazil midfielder. (Reuters), external

However, the Magpies are keen to keep Guimaraes and are lining up talks over a record new contract. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester United will reject Barcelona’s efforts to extend the loan of England international Marcus Rashford, 28, for another season, telling the Spanish club to pay the previously agreed £26m or send the forward back to Old Trafford. (Mirror), external

Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero has dismissed speculation linking him with a summer transfer, with the Argentine, 27, stating his commitment is to helping the club avoid relegation. (Independent), external

Meanwhile, striker Randal Kolo Muani, who is on loan at Tottenham from Paris St Germain, is being lined up for a permanent move to Juventus where the 27-year-old spent time last season. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, 33, has yet to make a decision about his future amid interest from Saudi Arabia, while Al-Hilal are confident they can tempt Reds sporting director Richard Hughes to join them. (Mail – subscription required), external

Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans, 28, is ready to reject any offers to leave Aston Villa having been on the radar of several clubs in Saudi Arabia. (Football Insider), external

Real Madrid are in discussions with their 33-year-old Germany defender Antonio Rudiger over a new deal. (Marca), external

Borussia Dortmund are interested in re-signing English forward Jadon Sancho. The 25-year-old, on loan at Aston Villa, will be out of contract at parent club Manchester United in June. (Athletic – subscription required), external

Manchester City are increasingly resigned to manager Pep Guardiola leaving at the end of the season, with potential replacements being assessed. (Football Insider), external

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is a target for Inter Milan and the 29-year-old Italy international is believed to be open to a move to the Serie A club. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external

Brighton keeper Carl Rushworth, on loan at Coventry City, is attracting interest from as many as six Premier League clubs with the 24-year-old Englishman expected to command a fee of about £20m. (Talksport), external

March 19 (UPI) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation took down two websites that belong to an Iran-linked hacker group after it staged a global cyberattack on an American medical equipment company last week.

Two websites used by the group Handala — one that contained information about its hacks and the other used to dox people it alleges work with the Israeli military and related companies — were pulled down by the FBI on Thursday, NBC News and Techcrunch reported.

Handala was behind a “wiper attack” on the medical device maker Stryker’s computer system on March 11, which it said was in retaliation for a deadly strike on the Shajareh Tayyiba girls school in Minab, Iran.

“Law enforcement authorities determined this domain was used to conduct, facilitate, or support malicious cyber activities on behalf of, or in coordination with, a foreign state actor,” a message left on both websites by the FBI said.

Portage, Mich.-based Stryker, which employs 50,000 people worldwide and manufactures a variety of medical devices, including orthopedic implants, surgical instruments and imaging systems, was forced to shut down for the day because of the global attack.

The attack affected the company’s internal Microsoft corporate environment and was not a ransomware attack, it said four days after the attack, after determining that no malware had been installed and the system was able to be restored.

Handala, which has been active since Oct. 7, 2023, is believed to be linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, American and Israeli cyber security experts have said.

The group is thought to have attacked Stryker because it was awarded a $450 million contract by the Department of Defense last year, and said at the time that the attack specifically was in response to the U.S. bombing of the school.

Handala acknowledged on Telegram that its websites were no longer under its control, and said that the “aggressive action reveals the extent to which the enemies of truth will go to silence voices that unveil their atrocities.”

“To all truth-seekers and defenders of justice, we inform you that the Handala RedWanted website, which was dedicated to exposing Zionist crimes and raising global awareness, has also been seized and taken offline by order of the FBI,” Handala said, noting that a new website is under construction.

In the wake of the attack, experts have told UPI it should be a wake-up call for a wide swatch of U.S. companies that may have similar gaps in security, especially because rather than demanding ransom, the purpose of this attack was to destroy information and wreak havoc.

When governing body offficials the Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco, overturning Senegal’s victory two months after the chaotic final, football fans were stunned.

The impact of the decision could spread beyond sport and weaken the bond between the nations.

While Moroccan fans took to the streets to celebrate their team’s belated success, the decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was met with disbelief in Senegal, with fans and authorities calling the decision “unjust”.

Senegal’s government on Wednesday said it will pursue “all appropriate legal avenues” to overturn the decision and called for an international investigation into “suspected corruption” within African football’s governing body.

The Senegal Football Federation (FSF) then announced on Thursday that it had instructed lawyers, apparently carrying through its threat to take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Such a move could lead to a yearlong legal battle before a ruling.

CAF’s appeals board on Tuesday ruled that Senegal forfeited the final by leaving the field of play without the referee’s authorisation, and it awarded Morocco a default 3-0 win.

The game was delayed for 14 minutes as most of the Senegalese players and staff returned to their dressing room, while Senegal fans battled stewards behind one of the goals in protest against a controversial penalty call for Morocco after Senegal had a goal ruled out.

The players returned, Morocco missed the penalty, and Senegal won the match 1-0 in extra time.

What are the bonds that tie Morocco and Senegal?

Morocco and Senegal have long shared close ties built on religion, trade and culture. Tijaniyyah, a Sufi Muslim order, is widely followed in both countries. Moroccan banks and companies heavily invest in Senegal’s finance and agriculture sectors. Cultural exchanges include student programs, migration and joint festivals.

But the tensions surrounding the final and CAF’s appeals court decision to overturn Senegal’s victory have put a strain on the relationship between the two countries.

Last month, 18 Senegal fans who were arrested on charges of hooliganism at the final were given prison terms of up to a year by a Moroccan court. The Senegalese government has expressed solidarity with the Senegalese supporters.

Seydina Issa Laye Diop, president of the Senegalese national team’s fan group called “12th Gainde”, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the incidents should not damage the relationship between Senegal and Morocco.

“However, there are limits: if this continues, it could somewhat affect the pride of the Senegalese people,” Diop said. “If the goal is to preserve friendship, then it must be nurtured. Small gestures can have a big impact. These are things we can move past, especially since, during the trial, no solid argument has justified the continued detention of these supporters.”

Mariama Ndeye, a student in Senegal’s capital Dakar, said the decision has negatively affected her view of Moroccans.

“When everything goes well, they call us their brothers. But when things don’t go their way, they start being nasty,” Ndeye said.

Politics and sport are rarely separated as Senegal and Morocco find out

On Wednesday, Morocco’s embassy in Dakar called on Moroccans in Senegal to “demonstrate restraint, vigilance, and a sense of responsibility.”

“It is important to recall that, in all circumstances, it is only a match, the outcome of which should never justify any form of escalation or excessive remarks between brotherly peoples,” the embassy said.

While the dispute has remained centred around the football match, bad feelings have spread more generally.

In Casablanca, home appliances business owner Ismail Fnani said he felt like other African countries were rooting against Morocco during the final.

“Honestly, my views toward Senegalese and sub-Saharan Africans changed after this,” he said. “We used to feel sympathy and help them because they were migrants who had struggled to get here. Where there was once sympathy and compassion, now I will treat them as they have treated us.”

Mohamed el-Arabi, who works in a grocery shop in Casablanca, said he did not celebrate the decision awarding Morocco the title.

“We would have preferred it to stay with Senegal because it doesn’t feel right otherwise,” El Arabi said.

“People here have started hating Senegalese. They no longer provide them with help. We used to be like brothers, especially since they are Muslims like us, but that is no longer the case,” he added.

The Senegalese government’s allegation of “suspected corruption” at CAF followed anger at perceived favouritism towards Morocco, which is a 2030 World Cup co-host and has invested heavily to become a football superpower.

On Wednesday, CAF President Patrice Motsepe defended the body against perceptions of favouritism towards Morocco.

“Not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner that is more preferential, or more advantageous, or more favourable than any other country on the African continent,” Motsepe said in a video published on the CAF website.

Argentina’s spunkiest duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso have checked themselves into a wellness center for their latest album, “Free Spirits.”

Out Thursday, the LP pushes the limits of the duo’s experimentation, combining unpredictable blends of trap, rock and pop while still maintaining their raunchy sense of humor and musicianship. The 12-track project features collaborations with British musicians Sting and Fred Again, as well as California’s very own Anderson .Paak and Jack Black.

It’s been a busy year for the avant-garde pair, who won their first Grammy in February for their nine-track EP, “Papota.”

At the ceremony, they hinted at a rebrand for the upcoming album; both appearing on the red carpet wearing matching tan robes — a look far less flashy than the custom Versace outfits they wore at the Latin Grammys in November.

“We are trying to heal that velocity that we had in the past year. If you go so fast, you’re going to crash,” Paco Amoroso told Billboard in February. “We are healing ourselves now.”

Following their Tiny Desk performance in Oct. 2024 — which has reached over 27 million views to date — the Buenos Aires singers have etched an unpredictable, kooky path in the crazed music industry, often by criticizing it.

First, their 2025 EP “Papota” humorized their rapid ascent to stardom and poked fun at how artists must dilute their image to fit the mainstream.

Now through their LP “Free Spirits,” they continue to comment on the trope of the burned-out, exhausted artist who through a soul-stripping retreat can find renewal once again.

That purported healing is taking place at “Free Spirits Wellness Center,” a mock-up clinic led by Sting dedicated to advance physiological and cognitive expansion for people working under intense pressure.

In a music video released Wednesday, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso checked themselves in after taking home five gramophone trophies at the 26th Latin Grammys.

Among the 12-step treatments are skin-changing artotherapy, where patients endure a painful micro-needling session combined with a non-goal-oriented painting session; cryo cerebral rebirth, where the brain regresses to its early developmental stages; and temperature contrast celibation, where they receive an ice bath combined with sexual arousal restrain.

None of these treatments make clear sense — mainly because they aren’t real — but that’s exactly Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso’s point: Fame is all make-believe pandemonium and there is no real recovery from it.

The photos currently flooding my social media stream are like a highlight reel of the life of Chicana civil rights icon Dolores Huerta.

The famous 1960s-era black-and-white shot of her looking like a bohemian in sweatshirt and black paints while she holds up a sign proclaiming “HUELGA” in the grape fields of California’s Central Valley.

Chanting at the front of picket lines, strands of gray in her hair, in the 1980s.

Beaming as President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 for a lifetime of good work that expanded beyond the United Farm Workers union she co-founded.

What’s especially popular is admirers posting pictures of themselves with her — at protests, during art gallery openings, in classrooms, even dancing. It’s the type of public outpouring one usually sees when a celebrity dies. Sadly, there is grief involved in people sharing their encounters with her right now.

Someone didn’t die. But something did.

Earlier this week, Huerta’s disclosed to the New York Times that fellow Chicano civil rights icon Cesar Chavez raped her during the 1960s. It was part of a story that also interviewed two women who claimed the United Farm Workers co-founder sexually abused them when they were young teens in the 1970s.

One of the posts I saw soon after the story’s publication was an Instagram portrait Maricela Cueva took when the two met a few years ago during a conference in Burbank.

“Standing with Dolores Huerta,” said Cueva, president of the public relations firm VPE Communications, “means honoring her legacy in the farmworker movement as well as the victims who had the courage to come forward and acknowledging the personal sacrifices behind it.”

Former West Covina Mayor Brian Calderón Tabatabei shared on the platform formally known as Twitter a photo of him shaking hands with Huerta in Berkeley at a Working Families Party gathering for elected leaders in 2024, where she joined breakout sessions and listened to the next generation of leaders.

“I look at the folks who posted pictures and we are all children of the movement,” said Tabatabei, who’s also an El Monte High ethnic studies teacher. He kicks off each school year with a shout-out to Huerta. “She lived with that pain so we could be in these spaces. So we don’t have to be quiet.”

Together, the photos stand as a communal family album. It’s a show of love and solidarity to Huerta — but also a challenge to ourselves. Many of us immediately believed the longtime activist not just because of her stature, but because we’re sadly too familiar with the script playing out in real time.

A Latina abused by a trusted, powerful man. A terrible secret kept to not make him look bad and ruin his life. A need for the victim to consistently praise the abuser to others no matter what. A life of service in the form of sacrifice. Eternal grace masking an unimaginable pain.

Her story is the story of too many women I know and you know — and maybe the story of you.

Steely resolve in the face of suffering is not new in the Huerta story. For decades, reporters, activists, historians and others who formed the narrative of Chicano civil rights treated her as a modern-day Mary Magdalene — a woman who found purpose by following a man. Chavez was positioned as the Christlike figure who toiled for all of us at great personal cost and thus anointed the face of the farmworkers movement. Meanwhile, he and others relegated Huerta to sidekick status, both in the trenches and in the public — and the image makers followed his lead.

She found more prominence after his death in 1993, but Chavez’s shadow loomed over her for too long. Huerta became one of Chavez’s fiercest defenders even after revelations about his autocratic ways became public — but what else was she supposed to do when people tied so much of her identity to him?

Through it all, Huerta showed up not just for la causa but for those of others. People in Bakersfield, where Huerta lives, know she’s a supporter of arts and live music — she was seen dancing with family members at a Mardis Gras party just last month, gladly taking photos with well-wishers. I have run into her at my wife’s restaurant in Santa Ana, at movie theaters in Los Angeles, during online fundraisers for museums. My favorite memory is the time we both spoke to students at a high school summer conference. Afterward, the organizers told me her speaking fee was a pittance compared to that of a famous Latina author who demanded $25,000 for an hour-long chat.

That’s why Huerta’s recent revelations hit particularly hard — unlike the long-sainted Chavez, she always seemed more like one of us. Huerta has cycled through the stages of life in the public eye in a way that has seen Latinos relate to her over the decades as our daughter, our sister, our aunt. Our mother, grandmother and now great-grandmother in the winter of her years.

We all know women in one of those roles who suffered the same violations Huerta did. The same dismissals and insults. Who never spoke about their ignominies because they were afraid we wouldn’t be there for them.

Huerta was once one of them.

“I believed that exposing the truth,” Huerta wrote in a short essay, “would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.”

By coming forward now, she’s speaking up for every woman who has kept their abuse private, every woman overlooked in favor of a man, every relative told to keep secrets lest they embarrass the family, every woman attacked for finally speaking up. By posting all those photos of Huerta — by herself, in a crowd, with others — people are publicly and unconsciously saying:

We can do better for the girls and women in our lives. We must do better.

“I have kept this secret long enough,” she concluded in her essay. “My silence ends here.”

May we all hear the Dolores Huertas in our lives. May we finally stand by them.

Driver Daniel Dye has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for “insensitive comments made during a recent livestream,” the organization announced Tuesday.

The full-time driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was also suspended indefinitely by his team, Kaulig Racing.

In the video, Dye imitated IndyCar driver David Malukas. At one point during the livestream, Dye referred to the voice he had used as a “David Malukas gay voice.”

According to a NASCAR news release, Dye was punished for violating a rule that states members should not make “a public statement or communication that criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages another person based upon that person’s race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, or handicapping condition.”

“Dye used language that officials deemed unacceptable, resulting in Tuesday’s suspension,” NASCAR stated. “Dye must complete sensitivity training before he may return to competition.”

On Tuesday, Dye posted a statement on social media, in which he apologized to Malukas and others for his “careless comments.”

“I chose my words poorly, and I understand why it upset people,” Dye wrote. “I’m sorry to anyone who was offended. That’s not how I want to represent myself.

“I have some close friends in the LGBTQ+ community who I would never want to feel less of themselves because of what I said, and that’s exactly why I should hold myself to a higher standard. In talking with them, I realize that a true friend would know better than to act the way I did and for that I need to be a better friend. What I said doesn’t reflect how I feel about them or anyone else.

“I didn’t think enough before I spoke, and I in no way meant any harm. I know that intention does not erase impact and I need to do better.”

Malukas and his team, Team Penske, did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment.

Dye, 22, was also suspended four years ago as a driver in the ARCA series, which NASCAR owns. He had been arrested and charged with felony battery for allegedly punching a high school classmate in the groin area. He was reinstated when the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor.

In 49 Truck Series starts, Dye has two finishes in the Top 5 and 10 finishes in the Top 10, earning one pole position. He is in 13th place through three races this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

March 19 (UPI) — A 20-year-old student from University of Alabama reported missing in Barcelona, Spain, after an evening at a nightclub was found dead Thursday, authorities announced.

Barcelona police said the body of James “Jimmy” Gracey of Elmhurst, Ill., was found on Somorrostro beach near the Shoko Barcelona nightclub where he was last seen, a representative from the Barcelona police said in a statement to CNN.

“Everything points to it being an accident, not a criminal act,” the statement said.

CBS News reported slightly different details about where Gracey’s body was found, saying authorities recovered his body after sending out boats, divers and drones to search the sea.

The El Periódico newspaper in Spain reported that sources told them Gracey’s wallet was found floating in the sea, but officials have not confirmed it.

Gracey traveled to Spain for spring break to visit friends studying abroad. His family said he visited Shoko Barcelona, a nightclub near the Villa Olimpica area, Monday and disappeared early Tuesday morning after being separated from his friends at the club.

The family said he was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, dark pants that were likely joggers and a gold chain with a rhinestone cross. He is 6 feet 1 inches tall and about 175 pounds.

Gracey’s family released a statement after news of his discovery was released.

“We are so grateful for the kindness and concern that has been shown for our family during this incredibly difficult time,” the statement read. “We have made the decision to pause media interviews at this time to focus on being together and caring for one another. Thank you for respecting our privacy and holding our family in your thoughts.

Before his body was found, Gracey’s aunt, Beth Marren O’Reilly, told NBC News that his “parents got a phone call that his phone was picked up, and that’s what drove them to be worried.”

Shoko Nightclub told CBS News Chicago that it has given the security video of that night to local police.

Cavin McLay, junior and president of the university’s Theta Chi fraternity, said he learned from a friend that Gracey was missing, NBC reported. He said he was told that a group at the club got separated, “and that was the last time they saw him.”

“My heart sank to my stomach. It’s definitely not a good text to wake up to,” he said.

The group that Gracey was out with said they didn’t have any encounters that made them worried for their safety before Gracey disappeared, McLay told NBC.

McLay said he was not staying with the same group of friends as Gracey and that there are about 10 friends visiting for spring break.

“Jimmy is a kind, responsible and devoted son and brother,” his parents, Taras and Therese Gracey, said in a statement. “It is completely out of character for him not to check in with family and friends.”

“He’s a great big brother, he’s a great son, he’s a great nephew, he’s just very beloved,” O’Reilly said. “He’s a very responsible kid, which is why we’re very worried. This is pretty out of character for him not to be in touch with friends and family.”

The U.S. Department of State is helping the family, and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he has been in touch with the family.

“UA staff are in touch with the family and those associated with them to offer support and assistance in any way possible,” a spokesperson from the university said.

Caracas, March 19, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez tapped Gustavo González López as the country’s new defense minister on Wednesday, replacing Vladimir Padrino López after more than a decade in the post.

“We thank General Vladimir Padrino López for his loyalty and for having been the first soldier in the defense of our country for so many years,” Rodríguez wrote on social media. In response, Padrino thanked the acting president and stated that “serving the Homeland” had been his “highest honor.”

Padrino had served as defense minister since October 2014. The four-star general staved off a number of US-backed coup attempts, including the May 2020 “Operation Gideon” failed mercenary invasion. 

In 2025, the Biden administration announced a $15 million bounty for information leading to Padrino’s capture as part of a “narcoterrorism” indictment against several Venezuelan leaders, including President Nicolás Maduro. However, US officials have not presented evidence tying Venezuelan high-ranking officials to narcotics activities. 

Padrino’s removal follows the January 3 US military strikes against Venezuela that saw special forces kidnap Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. Despite months of defense exercises in the face of escalating US threats, Venezuelan forces, particularly air defenses, were quickly neutralized by US bombing and electromagnetic warfare on January 3.

The Venezuelan armed forces have yet to offer a complete account of the operation, including a definitive list of casualties that are said to surpass 100. Padrino condemned the US attacks and pointed to Washington’s military superiority, arguing that it would have been “suicidal” for Venezuelan air force jets to take off and engage with the enemy.

The 60-year-old Gustavo González López previously held posts as interior minister and director of intelligence services and has been under US sanctions since 2015. A career military officer, he briefly studied at the School of the Americas in the early 1990s. 

Following the January 3 attacks, González was chosen by Rodríguez to lead the presidential guard. He was pictured alongside the acting president during a visit to Caracas from CIA Director John Ratcliffe on January 16. General Henry Navas will replace González as Commander of the Presidential Guard of Honor.

Rodríguez announced several other cabinet changes on Wednesday. She had previously replaced the industry, oil, tourism, healthcare, communications, and eco-socialism ministers as well.

Jorge Márquez and Rolando Alcalá will take over the housing and electricity portfolios, respectively. Furthermore, Supreme Court magistrate Carlos Alexis Castillo will serve as labor minister amid rising demands for minimum wage increases and labor rights, replacing veteran official Eduardo Piñate.

Former Caracas mayor Jacqueline Faría was likewise appointed as the new transport minister, replacing Aníbal Coronado after two months in the post. Faría’s appointment followed a public transportation strike in Caracas as private bus operators push to increase single-ride fares to 120 bolívars, roughly US $0.25 at the present exchange rate.

Wednesday’s cabinet changes also included Raúl Cazal becoming culture minister, replacing Ernesto Villegas, who had held the post since 2017. Villegas is one of the candidates shortlisted by the Venezuelan National Assembly for the vacant ombudsman post.

Finally, Rodríguez picked academic Ana María Sanjuan as minister of higher education, replacing Ricardo Sánchez. A trained psychologist and professor at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), Sanjuan had participated in political dialogue initiatives as a representative of moderate opposition sectors.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Fusagasugá, Colombia.

SCREEN star Sydney Sweeney is rolling in dollar frills — after her new lingerie line helped to quadruple her fortune. 

The American actress is now worth $40million, up from $10million just two years ago. 

The news came as Sydney, 28, showed off a range of sexy pink and white underwear from her Syrn brand. 

The Seductress line launches next week after her original designs sold out in the US. 

Sydney launched the business on the back of becoming one of Hollywood’s most in-demand stars. 

She was worth some $10million in 2024 thanks to roles in black comedy The White Lotus, teen drama Euphoria and the rom-com movie Anyone But You. 

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Lucrative deals with Armani Beauty, Ford and Samsung followed — while controversial adverts for clothing brand American Eagle saw sales shoot up, along with Sydney’s profile and potential earnings. 

Last year she raked in $7.5millon for her role in hit psychological thriller The Housemaid. 

Sydney launched Syrn in January in a bid to take on fellow celebs Rihanna and Kim Kardashian — who have become billionaires through their clothing brands Savage x Fenty and Skims. 

The star’s racy photo shoots have seen her criticised for not being a “girl’s girl”. But hitting back, Sydney said: “People will say, ‘Oh, she’s doing this for guys’. 

“I’m like, ‘What’s more ‘girl’s girl’ than owning your body and doing it for yourself?’.” 

WASHINGTON — Before Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi departed for Washington, she told her nation’s lawmakers that her Oval Office meeting with President Trump on Thursday would be “very difficult.”

Actually, it was awkward.

After a reporter questioned Trump about not warning Japan before launching his “surprise” offensive in Iran, Trump said that surprise was the point.

“Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” Trump said, turning toward a visibly tense Takaichi, seated next to him. “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?”

The joke hung in the air. There was brief and muted laughter.

Takaichi’s eyes appeared to widen, but she kept her expression neutral as the the cameras rolled. She did not comment on the president’s remark. (She smiled at other times during their meeting.)

When leaders of the United States and Japan have raised the events of Dec. 7, 1941 — the day of “infamy” that plunged the U.S. into World War II — the circumstances have previously been far more solemn.

In 2016, President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scattered petals together on the waters of Pearl Harbor to honor the more than 2,400 killed in the attack. Abe laid a wreath in honor of the dead.

“Ours is an alliance of hope that will lead us to the future,” Abe said, speaking to World War II veterans after paying tribute at the Pearl Harbor memorial. “What has bonded us together is the power of reconciliation, made possible through the spirit of tolerance.”

Japan, long constrained by its pacifist constitution, is now under intense pressure from the White House to support the U.S.-led war in Iran.

“Look, I expect Japan to step up, because, you know, we have that kind of relationship, and we step up in Japan. We have 45,000 soldiers in Japan,” Trump said. “We spend a lot of money on Japan, and we’ve had that kind of relationship.”

Trump has made a habit of going off script during televised Oval Office encounters with foreign leaders.

A meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky devolved into an on-camera shouting match with Trump and Vice President JD Vance repeatedly berating Zelensky for “gambling with World War III” and not showing enough gratitude for U.S. support.

And when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House, he said he was “ambushed” when Trump dimmed the lights and played a video promoting widely debunked claims of white genocide in South Africa.

By comparison, the Japanese prime minister’s summit in Washington was mild. For her part, Takaichi focused her statements on a new $550-billion trade pact involving Alaskan oil.

As for Iran, along with America’s European allies, Takaichi had already signaled she would not send warships to the embattled Persian Gulf to protect oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. But Takaichi promised cooperation in other areas, perhaps in a logistical support role.

“I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world,” she told Trump.

Belfast’s IBF world welterweight champion Lewis Crocker says he hopes that a victory over Australian Liam Paro in his next fight can open the door to a unification bout with another belt holder in the division.

Crocker is set to defend his title in Australia, with May the likely month for the contest and the Queensland city of Townsville seeming like the probable venue.

The 29-year-old won the title with a split decision verdict over Paddy Donovan at Belfast’s Windsor Park in September and his team had hoped to stage the defence against mandatory challenger Paro back in his home city.

However, with no agreement reached between both parties, the matter was resolved by a purse bid with No Limit outbidding Crocker’s promoter Matchroom by $27,000 (£20,000).

When asked by BBC Sport NI’s Thomas Kane where he hoped a potential win over Paro could lead, Crocker replied: “The biggest fight possible. Unification, which is something I feel I deserve if I get through Paro.

“You look at the names in the division as well, everything’s massive. You have Garcia [Ryan, WBC champion], Haney [Devin, WBO holder], Rolly [Rolando Romero, WBA champion] and Benn [currently ranked number one challenger by the WBC] there so there’s so much to gain from this fight for the winner.

“Any of the big boys because it will be easy to make. We all want a unification in the division, we all want to become undisputed.”

March 19 (UPI) — Law enforcement officials arrested Joseph Duggar, one of the stars of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting on sex abuse charges involving a 9-year-old girl, Florida authorities said.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office said Duggar, 31, was arrested Wednesday by authorities in Arkansas and was awaiting extradition to Florida.

He faces charges of lewd and lascivious behavior by a person 18 years or older, and lewd and lascivious behavior involving a victim less than 12 years old.

Duggar’s arrest came after a 14-year-old girl told the Tontitown Police Department in Arkansas about sexual abuse that took place when she was 9 years old. She said there were several incidents during a family vacation to Panama City Beach, Fla., in 2020.

“The victim reported Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap,” a news release from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.

“As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket.”

The release said that during this time, Duggar inappropriately touched the girl. The girl told police that Duggar later apologized and stopped the alleged actions.

The sheriff’s office did not specify how Duggar and the girl knew each other. The release said the girl told her father about the alleged incidents, and her father confronted Duggar on Tuesday.

“Duggar admitted his actions to the victim’s father and to Tontitown detectives,” the release said.

Joseph Duggar’s eldest brother, Josh Duggar, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison in 2022 on a child pornography conviction. The family’s reality show on TLC was canceled in 2015 after a police report revealed that Josh Duggar molested younger girls.

As part of its seemingly never-ending search for new fighters, the Indian Ministry of Defense says it wants to team up with one of the two rival European next-generation combat aircraft programs. Faced by the twin challenges of China and Pakistan’s modernizing air arms, Indian defense officials are now looking at sixth-generation fighters, although buying into either of these programs would be fraught with difficulties.

The development was revealed in a report on 2026 defense budget plans tabled in India’s parliament yesterday. Such a move would provide an alternative to India’s domestically developed next-generation fighter, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which looks entirely unlikely to meet its timeline.

The two European efforts identified by the IAF are the British-led Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), the centerpiece of which is the Tempest next-generation stealth fighter, and the pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, at the heart of which will be the crewed New Generation Fighter (NGF). Both are expected to be in service by 2035, although that target is questionable in both cases.

As well as the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan have joined the GCAP program, and other potential partners have been mentioned. Meanwhile, the pan-European FCAS program is led by France and Germany, with Belgium and Spain on board as junior partners. This may well change, however, with the program riddled by infighting.

The budget report states that the Indian Ministry of Defense has told the parliament’s Standing Committee on Defense that the Indian Air Force (IAF) wants to join one of these programs “right away.”

The result of such a partnership, the defense ministry contends, would help the IAF “ensure that they do not lag behind in achieving the target for advanced aircraft.”

First of all, it’s worth noting that the IAF badly needs new fighter equipment and has for some time. Multiple efforts to procure interim combat aircraft have either collapsed entirely or failed to deliver in terms of the required numbers.

As we described at the end of last year, the Indian government has said that the IAF needs at least 42 squadrons of combat aircraft. Currently, it has just 29, meaning the service is operating its smallest combat force since it went to war with China in 1962. This problem has been exacerbated by the retirement of the veteran MiG-21 Fishbed.

Meanwhile, the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft program, which should have provided a successor to the MiG-21, has been mired by delays.

In the background, India faces the dual threats of China and Pakistan.

On the one hand, China is ramping up its military development programs to a breathtaking degree, with combat aircraft at the forefront. Most spectacular has been the emergence of the tailless J-XDS and J-36 tactical jets, and ever sub-variations of them, as well as a navalized stealth fighter for its new carrier. Already well established are the J-20 stealth fighter, while development of the land-based J-35A continues.

The question of how the IAF shapes up against the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has long underpinned its status and planning. After the brief conflict last year, both services claimed success with contradictory reports from official channels and rampant speculation across social media.

More importantly, the PAF continues to develop its homegrown JF-17 Thunder fighter and appears to be lining up more advanced Chinese-made combat aircraft, specifically the stealthy FC-31, alongside acquiring highly capable air-launched weapons from the same source.

All of this piles on the pressure to modernize the IAF’s aging combat fleet.

At one point, the IAF appeared set on a fifth-generation fighter.

The twin-engine AMCA is planned to feature low-observable characteristics and — in later versions — a supercruise capability, among other advanced features. Bearing in mind that construction is yet to begin, the possibility of putting this aircraft production by 2035, as has been suggested, seems entirely far-fetched. The saga of the Tejas program, in particular, must cast doubt on the future of the AMCA, at least in terms of meeting schedules.

In the meantime, both the United States and Russia have pitched alternative fifth-generation fighters to India.

Last year, in something of a surprise announcement, U.S. President Donald Trump offered the F-35 to India, while Russia has long sought India as a customer for its Su-57 Felon. As long ago as 2003, the Prospective Multirole Fighter (PMF) was planned as an India-specific version of the Su-57, before New Delhi exited the program, as you can read about here.

The budget report indicates that the Indian Ministry of Defense would like to at least have the option of leapfrogging fifth-generation fighters like the AMCA, F-35, and Su-57, and move directly to the sixth generation.

In terms of keeping pace with China and Pakistan, that is an understandable aspiration.

On the other hand, joining either GCAP or the FCAS program would bring challenges of its own.

At this point, GCAP — involving the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan — might look more promising. Compared to FCAS, the relationship between the three partners is relatively peaceful. There has been talk of Saudi Arabia possibly joining in some capacity, and, more recently, Poland has been reported as being interested in buying the aircraft, too.

But the possibility of India participating more directly in GCAP/Tempest is somewhat remote, since workshare arrangements have already been agreed between the three partners. The IAF would likely be forced to buy the aircraft off the shelf.

And that is if the British-led program survives the considerable challenges, both technical and political, that lie ahead.

After all, the process of creating an all-new fighter, especially one incorporating stealth technologies, brings very lengthy development times and high costs. The prospect of the Tempest entering service long after 2035 is likely, and the IAF needs new fighters sooner rather than later.

The same goes for the FCAS program, of course.

With FCAS, however, the chances of the program actually making it as far as operational hardware currently seem much slimmer.

For months now, there have been reports of significant rifts between France and Germany on the course that FCAS should take, especially when it comes to workshare, which has yet to be resolved.

French and German officials have repeatedly tried to get the program back on track, in the face of a bitter standoff between the two primes, France’s Dassault Aviation and Germany’s Airbus Defense and Space.

Most recently, it has been reported that France and Germany will have one more go at finding common ground on the program in April.

In the meantime, Germany has raised the possibility of taking its own path to developing a future combat aircraft, something it hasn’t done for decades, and which France has campaigned against.

Whatever happens next month, India’s joining FCAS would be a big risk. Some Indian media reports have suggested that, as a Dassault customer (for the Rafale multirole fighter), India might be able to take Germany’s place in the FCAS program, although it’s equally unclear whether it would be able to negotiate the kind of workshare deal it might want.

In the best-case scenario, it might be able to buy a much-delayed aircraft that is not necessarily tailored to its own requirements. In the worst case, the program may fall apart entirely and force the various partners to start again from scratch or look for alternatives.

If there is a way for India to enter GCAP or FCAS, that could bring a huge financial windfall for either program. This is what each program needs more than anything else, while increased production rates would mean lower unit costs, preventing the program from entering a death spiral should it mature.

Then there is the future of the AMCA to consider. If India genuinely wants to push ahead with a fifth-generation fighter, which can be developed according to its own particular needs, and over which it retains sovereignty, this program will need to be urgently kick-started. It seems unlikely that it would be possible if India had one foot in either the GCAP or FCAS camps.

There is also the wild card of how an advanced uncrewed aircraft could affect these developments. India is already starting to work on such programs, and drones could make up some of the Indian fighter shortfall. This is especially the case for high-end Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) and uncrewed combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), to achieve a higher combat mass.

Finally, it needs to be acknowledged that it is the Indian Ministry of Defense — acting upon the IAF’s wishes — that wants to join GCAP or FCAS, not necessarily a reflection of what the government wants. As one long-standing Indian defense observer told TWZ, “the standing committee has no teeth.” Until the government signs off on it, the Indian Air Force joining an existing sixth-generation fighter program remains just an aspiration.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Coronation Street’s Megan Walsh was interviewed by police on Thursday’s episode of the world’s longest-running TV soap and things are not looking good for the predatory teacher

Coronation Street aired a series of dark scenes on Thursday night as various truths about Megan Walsh began to emerge.

For months, the teacher, played by Beth Nixon, has been at the heart of a controversial storyline in which she has been carrying out an illicit relationship with her student Will Driscoll.

While all this has been going on, Megan, who was introduced as the teenager’s private athletics coach, has started up a fake relationship with Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) although she is pregnant with Will’s baby. Will’s schoolmate Sam, who is in the year below, was the only one to have worked it out but when Megan started threatening him about, he turned to pills to cope and then experienced an overdose. Things were only made worse when Megan became a flatmate of Sam’s stepmum Leanne, worming her way into their lives further.

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Once Sam confessed all to Leanne (Jane Danson) the whole situation sent shockwaves around the entire family and Will’s dad Ben (Aaron McCusker) as well as his own stepmum Eva, Leanne’s sister, have tried to take action. The furious family informed the police immediately and as the world’s longest-running TV soap continued, Megan was in a police interview, once again pleading her innocence.

Coming out with the same old story, she said: “He is a teenage boy who has a crush on me. Probably not the first, probably not the last. Believe me, I haven’t done anything wrong. This is every teacher’s worst nightmare. I’m in complete shock, to be honest. Maybe I overstepped by getting too close to them.

“But that doesn’t mean that I’m grooming their son. I… I became a teacher to give something back, not to… I can’t even say it. It makes me feel sick….” Megan and her lawyer Adam Barlow pointed out that there was no evidence as yet, but DC Kit Green revealed that they had some footage of her and Will together in her flat. This was all a result of Sam’s ill-fated attempt to catch them on camera, only for Megan to realise and stage a performance to cover things up.

Kit warned: ” It’s not looking good, is it, Megan? I think the CPS will agree!” Later on, it became apparent that Megan had been released and she returned home only to find Leanne throwing her possessions out of the upstairs window. A furious Leanne yelled: “I’m putting the rubbish out!” But Megan pleaded: “Oh, Leanne, please, I don’t need this after the day I’ve just had. I’ve already been suspended from work.”

Leanne shot back: “Well, if it was to me, I’d suspend you from that lamppost!” She launched a suitcase out the window and Megan was left with no choice but to pack up her belongings after it bust open and its contents spilled out across the cobbles and Leanne slammed the window shut, effectively making her homeless.

That afternoon, Eva (Catherine Tyldesley) and Ben, who had worked out that Megan and Will had spent his sixteenth birthday together in bed at the Chariot Square, raced to the hotel to see if they could get CCTV footage of that date but, conveniently, the footage had been wiped at midnight, owing to an automatic 90-day setting.

It was then that Eva brought up she something she had been holding back – that Megan had supposedly had an abortion some months ago.

But Megan herself never confirmed this, and Leanne had just happened to come across some pregnancy vitamins in a bedside drawer, prompting the distraught family to realise that she could still be expecting. Realising they could be onto something, Eva said: “If she has lied, then all the evidence we need is growing right there in her belly.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

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The Trump administration said Thursday that it has launched investigations into 13 states that require state-regulated health insurance plans to cover abortion.

The inquiries are the latest in a long-running dispute between the political parties on how to interpret a provision, known as the Weldon Amendment, that’s included in federal spending laws each year. It bars states from discriminating against health entities that don’t provide, cover or refer for abortion.

When Democrat Joe Biden was president, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ civil rights office said the provision didn’t pertain to employers or other healthcare sponsors. The Trump administration said this year that it does.

The administration says that potentially puts states with abortion coverage requirements in violation of the law, because they may not allow employers or other healthcare issuers to opt out. It said it was sending out letters to gather more information from those states.

The Health and Human Services civil rights office launched the investigations “to address certain states’ alleged disregard of, or confusion about, compliance with the Weldon Amendment,” office Director Paula M. Stannard said in a statement.

“Under the Weldon Amendment, health care entities, such as health insurance issuers and health plans, are protected from state discrimination for not paying for, or providing coverage of, abortion contrary to conscience. Period,” Stannard said.

The states with the coverage requirements are California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. All except Vermont have Democratic governors.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in a statement Thursday that she’ll defend her state’s policies.

“New Jersey requires health insurance plans to follow all applicable laws, including protecting women’s reproductive freedom. So Donald Trump’s latest ‘investigation’ is nothing but a fishing expedition wasting taxpayers’ money,” she said.

The Weldon Amendment is one of a series of provisions known as conscience laws, which provide legal protections for individuals and healthcare entities that choose to not provide abortions or other types of care because of religious or moral objections.

In the years since it was enacted in 2005, there’s been a “partisan swing” in how broadly or narrowly it is interpreted depending on which party is in office, according to Mary Ziegler, a law professor at UC Davis.

Ziegler said the fact that employers and plan sponsors are not mentioned among healthcare entities in the text of the Weldon Amendment could give Democrats an edge with their interpretation, but the question has yet to be resolved in court.

Elizabeth Sepper, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said the Heritage Foundation’s massive policy proposal known as Project 2025 called for an incoming Trump administration to withhold Medicaid funding for states found to violate the Weldon Amendment.

“What we’re seeing here is the fulfillment of a promise to the religious right,” she said.

President Trump’s first administration in 2020 moved to withhold federal healthcare funding from California over what it interpreted as a Weldon Amendment violation, but the Biden administration entered office the next year and reversed the decision.

Mulvihill and Swenson write for the Associated Press.