With his million-dollar donation to the pro-Obama “super PAC,” Bill Maher has established himself among the top Democratic mega-donors, a field dotted with boldface Hollywood names.
Donors from the entertainment industry gave $2.2 million through January to Priorities USA Action, according to the Center for Responsive Politics — half of the group’s overall fundraising since it formed last spring.
Much of that came from a single donation by Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, who wrote a $2-million check to the group last May. His former producing partner, director Steven Spielberg, contributed $100,000 in July.
Director/producer J.J. Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, kicked in a combined $100,000 to the group in June.
Each new round of Federal Election Commission filings have revealed a new set of million-dollar donors, although the vast majority have given to super PACs supporting Republican candidates or the GOP as a whole.
And none of those prolific givers have made their pledges quite as public as Maher, who brandished a gigantic check onstage at his comedy special CrazyStupidPolitics.
Maher’s past political giving has been relatively modest – a total of $4,850 given since 2004, mainly to the Democratic presidential campaigns of Sen. John F. Kerry, former Sen. John Edwards and then-Sen. Barack Obama, as well as to the successful 2008 Senate run for fellow comedian Al Franken.
Tottenham eye a move for Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye, Chelsea are set to rival Spurs for Juventus striker Jonathan David, and Liverpool linked with £88m move for Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni.
Tottenham Hotspur have made Everton’s Senegalese winger Iliman Ndiaye, 25, a prime target, but Newcastle United, Juventus, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid are also keeping tabs on the player. (TeamTalk), external
Chelsea and Tottenham are weighing up a January move for Juventus and Canada striker Jonathan David, 25 (TuttoMercatoWeb), external
Everton could move for Midtjylland striker Franculino Dju, 21, in January but face competition from Bologna for the Guinea-Bissau international. (Sun), external
Liverpool are ready to offer 100m euros (£88m) to sign Italy international Alessandro Bastoni, 26, from Inter. (Il Giorno – in Italian), external
Real Madrid would be prepared to spend 250m euros (£220m) on Arsenal and England midfielderDeclan Rice, 26, and Paris St-Germain’s France winger Bradley Barcola, 23. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external
Levante striker Etta Eyong, 22, is being tracked by Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the Cameroon international says it would be “a dream” to one day play for Chelsea in the Premier League as he watched the team growing up. (Givemesport), external
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim may look to bolster his attack in January if 22-year-old Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko’s knee injury proves serious, as he already faces losing Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo, 26, and Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo, 23, on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. (Mirror), external
Canadian firm ends its sponsorship of the Israeli-owned team following multiple pro-Palestine protests at major cycling races.
The title sponsor of Israel-Premier Tech has ended its association with the cycling team with immediate effect after protests against the team’s participation in races and despite the outfit saying it would undergo a full rebrand for the 2026 season to operate under a new name.
Canadian company Premier Tech said on Friday it had broken off its sponsorship deal after the team was targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters at several races this year, with stages of the Vuelta a Espana grand tour in August and September disrupted by demonstrators before the race was abandoned by organisers.
The sponsors removed their full name from riders’ jerseys at the Vuelta.
The team, owned by Canadian-Israeli property developer Sylvan Adams, was created in 2014 by Ron Baron and Ran Margaliot and is based in Israel.
It was also subject to isolated protests during the sport’s other two main stage races: the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, and had been accused of sportswashing by pro-Palestine groups.
After the Vuelta, the Canadian multinational Premier Tech called for the team to change its name to remove “Israel” and to adopt a new identity and brand image.
The team agreed to move away from its “Israeli identity”.
However, the Canadian-based manufacturer and horticulture firm Premier Tech said it would step down as co-title sponsor of the team with immediate effect.
“Although we took notice of the team’s decision to change its name for the 2026 season, the core reason for Premier Tech to sponsor the team has been overshadowed to a point where it has become untenable for us to continue as a sponsor,” the company added.
“We want to thank the team – riders and staff – for the four unforgettable seasons by their side, and to acknowledge their incredible accomplishments and professionalism, both on and off the road.”
Canadian cyclist Derek Gee, who finished fourth overall at this year’s Giro d’Italia, also left Israel-Premier Tech shortly before the Vuelta over what he described as “personal beliefs”.
Last month, Gee said he was facing a damages claim of 30 million euros ($35m) from the team.
In September, a United Nations inquiry found that Israel’s war on Gaza was a genocide and held the Israeli government responsible for the war that has killed at least 68,875 Palestinians.
Although the team is privately-owned rather than state-run, Adams had dubbed himself an unofficial ambassador for Israel, and the outfit had been hailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for refusing to quit the Vuelta ahead, despite protests, until the race was eventually abandoned.
In October, Adams stepped back from his day-to-day involvement with the team and no longer speaks on its behalf.
The team joined the World Tour elite level of road racing before the 2020 season and in July that year recruited four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome.
Amid the pro-Palestine protests at the Vuelta, Spanish Sports Minister Pilar Alegria had called for a ban on Israeli sports teams in the same way that Russian sides broadly were banned in 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine, highlighting a “double standard”.
“It is difficult to explain and understand that there is a double standard,” Alegria told Spanish radio station Cadena SER in September.
“Given that there has been such a massacre, a genocide, such an absolutely terrible situation we are living through day-by-day, I would agree that the international federations and committees should take the same decision as in 2022,” she added.
“[The protests] are a clear representation of what the people feel, sport cannot be distanced from the world that surrounds it.”
Foreign minister says Budapest ‘obtained an indefinite exemption from the sanctions’ on Russian oil and gas shipments.
Published On 8 Nov 20258 Nov 2025
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Hungary’s foreign minister says Budapest has secured an indefinite waiver from US sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports, as a White House official reiterated that the exemption was for only a period of one year.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday to press for a reprieve after the US last month imposed sanctions on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft.
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After the meeting, Orban told Hungarian media that Budapest had “been granted a complete exemption from sanctions” affecting Russian gas delivered to Hungary from the TurkStream pipeline, and oil from the Druzhba pipeline.
But a White House official later told the Reuters news agency that Hungary had been granted a one-year exemption from sanctions connected to using Russian energy.
On Saturday, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said there would be no sanctions for “an indefinite period”.
“The prime minister was clear. He has agreed with the US President [Donald Trump] that we have obtained an indefinite exemption from the sanctions,” Szijjarto wrote on Facebook.
“There are no sanctions on oil and gas shipments to Hungary for an indefinite period.”
However, a White House official repeated in an email to the Reuters news agency on Saturday that the exemption is for one year.
Hungary expected to buy US LNG
The White House official who spoke to Reuters added that Hungary would also diversify its energy purchases and had committed to buying US liquefied natural gas with contracts valued at some $600m.
Orban has maintained close ties with both Moscow and Washington, while often bucking the rest of the EU on pressuring Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The Hungarian leader offered to host a summit in Budapest between Trump and Putin, although the US leader called it off in October and hit Moscow with sanctions for the first time in his presidency.
Budapest relies heavily on Russian energy, and Orban, 15 years in power, faces a close election next year.
International Monetary Fund figures show Hungary bought 74 percent of its gas and 86 percent of its oil from Russia in 2024, warning that an EU-wide cutoff of Russian natural gas alone could cost Hungary more than 4 percent of its GDP.
Orban said that, without the agreement, energy costs would have surged, hitting the wider economy, pushing up unemployment and generating “unbearable” price rises for households and firms.
LOOSE Women star Ruth Langsford has revealed she gets ‘frightened’ over having ‘senior moments’ after losing her dad to Alzheimer’s.
The 65-year-old beloved television host has opened up about her health fears after her parents were both diagnosed with dementia and her dad died from complications of the disease.
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Ruth Langsford has opened up about her health fearsCredit: ITVHer father Dennis Langsford died in 2012 from complications from Alzheimer’sCredit: Not known clear with picture deskRuth’s mother Joan has dementia at 94 years of ageCredit: instagram/ruthlangsford
Ruth’s father Dennis sadly died in 2012 from complications from dementia.
Because of the way in which Alzheimer’s is influenced by generics, Ruth has revealed her health fears after experiencing “senior moments”.
Speaking to The Mirror this weekend, Ruth got candid when she said: “All the time, literally all the time, if I ever have a senior moment where I go, ‘what’s her name again?’, somebody that I know quite well, and I have a complete and utter blank, it really frightens me.”
She added: “I’m 65 now, my dad was officially diagnosed when he was 72.
“But looking back on it, we think he was displaying signs, we just didn’t know what they were – but he was in his late 60s and I’m 65.”
Ruth continued: “Of course I worry about it with both parents having had dementia, but I just think, what will be will be.”
Back in August of this year, Ruth opened up about her mother’s diagnosis and how she and her family found it “doubly hard”.
She told Hello! Magazine: “It’s very upsetting when your loved one is given that diagnosis.
“For my family, we found that doubly hard as my dad had Alzheimer’s, so we knew what was ahead for us and my mum.”
Ruth revealed at the time: “At the moment, mum knows who I am, she always recognises me and is very happy to see me.
“I know that that could change at any time, it did with my dad, and that is heartbreaking.”
Discussing her dad’s death in 2017 in an episode of Loose Women, Ruth said: “I was grieving and losing my dad but my mum was losing the love of her life, the man she married and had children with.
“They had years and years of memories.
“You don’t often hear people talking about that side of it.
“When my dad went into care, my mum was so distraught…
“I’m sorry,” she said, getting emotional and wiping a tear from her eye at the time.
Reporting from Washington — President Trump, as he often does, had a few things to say.
After admitting that he had been lonely over the holidays, Trump took advantage of his first public appearance of the new year Wednesday to air lingering grievances, make multiple false claims and reinforce recent decisions that have rattled financial markets and his party’s leaders.
As he held forth for more than 90 minutes before a small pool of reporters and photographers, members of his Cabinet, ostensibly called to the White House for a meeting, sat quietly around a long conference table.
Trump defended his decision last month to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and sharply cut the deployment to Afghanistan, moves that disturbed Republican allies in Congress and prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary James N. Mattis. In doing so, he contradicted his own recent claim that the U.S. had achieved its objectives of total victory over Islamic State militants in Syria.
“Syria was lost long ago,” he said.
“Look, we don’t want Syria,” he continued. “We’re talking about sand and death. That’s what we’re talking about. We’re not talking about vast wealth. We’re talking about sand and death,” he said, seemingly contrasting the war-wracked country with Iraq and its vast oil reserves.
Iran “can do what they want there, frankly,” he added, a comment likely to unnerve officials in Israel, who have worried that a U.S. withdrawal from its positions in eastern Syria would allow Iran to expand its influence there.
“It’s not my fault,” he said. “I didn’t put us there.”
Trump offered little further clarity on the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, which he initially said would take place in 30 days, saying now that the pullout will “take place over a period of time.”
Later, in a long riff about Afghanistan, Trump seemed to endorse Moscow’s 1979 invasion of the country — an act that the U.S. viewed as an attempt to spread communism and waged a long, covert operation to combat during the Carter and Reagan administrations.
“The reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia,” Trump said, making a case to leave the policing of hot spots in the Mideast and Central Asia to countries in the region. “They were right to be there. The problem is it was a tough fight.”
The Soviet Union eventually was bankrupted by its Afghan war, Trump added. “Russia used to be the Soviet Union. Afghanistan made it Russia, because they went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan.”
Historians generally agree that the Russian invasion and subsequent occupation of much of Afghanistan was one of several factors that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, although the country never went bankrupt.
For years, Republicans have credited President Reagan with bringing an end to the Soviet Union by his aggressive increase in U.S. military spending.
Trump’s comments stood in stark contrast to the view Mattis espoused in the resignation letter he presented last month after failing to convince the president to hold off on withdrawing from Syria.
“We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances,” Mattis wrote.
Mattis’ comments clearly stung Trump, who responded last month with criticism of his former Pentagon chief. On Wednesday, he stepped that up, claiming that he fired Mattis.
“What’s he done for me? How had he done in Afghanistan? Not too good,” Trump said. “As you know, President Obama fired him, and essentially so did I.”
Obama did not fire Mattis, although the general did retire several months early in 2013 from his position as the head of the military’s Central Command after dissenting from Obama administration policy decisions.
Tuesday was Mattis’ final day at the Pentagon. Trump, in a fit of pique after the resignation letter became public, had moved up Mattis’ termination date
In addition to his foreign policy comments, Trump also downplayed December’s stock market losses, which erased all positive gains for the year, as “a little glitch” and asserted — wrongly — that there are “probably 30-35 million” immigrants in the U.S. illegally. The nonpartisan Pew Research Center estimates that as of 2016, there were 10.7 million unauthorized immigrants living in the country, a number that has declined in recent years.
Trump repeated his call for Democrats to agree to $5.6 billion in funding for a border wall, and expressed surprise not to have received overtures from them over the holidays to negotiate an end to the government shutdown.
“I was in the White House all by myself for six or seven days,” he said. “It was very lonely. My family was down in Florida. I said, ‘Stay there and enjoy yourself.’ I felt I should be here just in case people wanted to come and negotiate the border security.”
Trump, who met later in the day with congressional leaders away from TV cameras, has already dismissed a funding proposal from House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi that includes $1.3 billion in border security funding.
While leaving the door open to a compromise, Trump continued to argue for the importance of a wall, pointing to other examples of barriers. He incorrectly asserted that Obama’s Washington residence is surrounded by a 10-foot wall and cited the Vatican, which he said “has the biggest wall of them all.”
“When they say the wall is immoral, then you better do something about the Vatican,” he said. “Walls work.”
As Trump spoke, a “Game of Thrones”-style movie poster teasing Iran sanctions — “SANCTIONS ARE COMING,” it read — lay unfurled across the table directly in front of him. But he made no remarks on the subject.
He did, however, comment on Sen.-elect Mitt Romney of Utah, who wrote in the Washington Post on Tuesday that he was troubled by Trump’s “deep descent in December” and that his deficit in “presidential leadership in qualities of character … has been most glaring.”
“I wish Mitt could be more of a team player,” Trump said. “And if he’s not, that’s OK too.”
Seeming to warn Romney about the fate that lies ahead for Republican lawmakers who vocally criticize him and his presidency, Trump boasted that he “got rid of” former Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee, both of whom opted not to seek new terms last year.
Accusing both men of seeking publicity in taking stands against him, Trump suggested that Flake would be seeking a job as a paid cable news contributor — or perhaps in another profession that Trump himself once plied.
“Jeff Flake is now selling real estate or whatever he’s doing,” he said dismissively.
OPEN DIVISION #1 San Pedro 23, #8 Verdugo Hills 0 #4 LA Marshall 31, #5 Wilmington Banning 20 #3 Panorama 6, #6 LA Wilson 0 #2 Eagle Rock 18, #7 Narbonne 14
DIVISION I #8 Carson 18, #16 Venice 7 #5 Franklin 20, #13 Sylmar 12 #11 El Camino Real 12, #3 Birmingham 7 #2 Bell 17, #7 Garfield 12
DIVISION II #1 Sun Valley Magnet 34, #9 South East 8 #12 Angelou 19, #13 Mendez 6 #3 San Fernando 20, #6 Lincoln 7 #7 Sherman Oaks CES 18, #2 Crenshaw 12
DIVISION III #9 Van Nuys 14, #1 South Gate 6 #13 Westchester 50, #12 Monroe 7 #6 Arleta 19, #3 LA Hamilton 6 #2 Hawkins 52, #7 Chatsworth 0
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Semifinals
OPEN DIVISION #4 LA Marshall at #1 San Pedro #3 Panorama at #2 Eagle Rock
DIVISION I #8 Carson at #5 Franklin #11 El Camino Real at #2 Bel
DIVISION II #12 Angelou at #1 Sun Valley Magnet #7 Sherman Oaks CES at #3 San Fernando
DIVISION III #13 Westchester at #9 Van Nuys #6 Arleta at #2 Hawkins
Note: Finals (all divisions) Saturday, Nov. 15 at Garfield High.
Nov. 8 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said the United States will not participate in the upcoming G20 conference in South Africa due to that nation’s alleged racial policies and killings of Afrikaners.
The G20 is scheduled Nov. 22 and 23 at the NASREC Expo Centre in Johannesburg, but the president cited the treatment of Dutch, French and German settlers and migrants as a cause for boycotting the event.
“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday.
“Afrikaners … are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated,” the president said. “No U.S. government official will attend as long as these human rights abuses continue.”
Afrikaners have experienced rising hostility from some politicians and others in South Africa, including those who encourage violence and land confiscation.
The nation’s Expropriation Act of 2024 enables the South African government to confiscate land for public use, and without paying in some instances, in order to address matters involving equity, according to Fox News.
Many view the act as a mechanism to target white South African farmers and take their land without compensation, and Trump has accused South Africa of engaging in genocide.
The South African foreign ministry denied any racial oppression had occurred in a prepared statement shared with the BBC.
“The South African government wishes to state, for the record, that the characterization of Afrikaners as an exclusively white group is ahistorical,” the foreign ministry said.
“Furthermore, the claim that this community faces persecution is not substantiated by fact.”
When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Trump at the White House in May, the president raised the matter of genocide against Caucasians in South Africa.
Ramaphosa denied any genocide has occurred and cited prior oppression of South Africans.
“We cannot equate what is alleged to be genocide to what we went through in the struggle because people were killed because of the oppression that was taking place in our country,” Ramaphosa told the president.
Trump then played a video that allegedly showed white crosses placed along a South African highway to mark where the bodies of white farmers are buried, Fox News reported.
Ramaphosa asked where the white crosses were located and said he never had seen the alleged video evidence.
Trump has granted refugee status to Afrikaners despite the South African government earlier saying claims of genocide are “widely discredited and unsupported by reliable evidence,” the BBC reported.
The G20 is a collection of 19 nations, plus the European Union, and was formed in 1999 to promote global economic stability in the wake of Asian financial troubles.
The G20 collectively represents 85% of the world’s economic output and two-thirds of its population and meets annually to discuss matters affecting member states and the world.
The United States is scheduled to host the annual event next year in Miami.
Opposition party Chadema said that its deputy secretary-general, Amani Golugwa, was arrested early on Saturday.
Published On 8 Nov 20258 Nov 2025
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Police in Tanzania have arrested a senior opposition official after more than 200 people were charged with treason over a wave of protests against last month’s general election.
Opposition party Chadema said that its deputy secretary-general, Amani Golugwa, was arrested early on Saturday. He is the third senior Chadema official in detention, after leader Tundu Lissu and deputy leader John Heche were arrested before the October 29 vote.
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The arrest comes a day after more than 200 people were charged with treason for alleged involvement in the protests triggered by the disputed election.
Lawyer Peter Kibatala told the news agency AFP that more than 250 people “were arraigned in three separate cases … and they’re all charged with two sets of offences.”
“The first set of offences is a conspiracy to commit treason. And the second set of offences is treason itself,” he said.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took office in 2021 after the death of her predecessor, won the poll with 98 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission, but Chadema has branded the election a “sham”.
It said in a statement on X that the government intended to “cripple the Party’s leadership” and “paralyse its operations”, adding that police were now targeting “lower levels”, with some being “forced to confess to organising demonstrations”.
Police confirmed the arrest of Golugwa and nine other people in connection with an investigation into the unrest, which saw security forces launch a crackdown on protesters.
“The police force, in collaboration with other defence and security agencies, is continuing a serious manhunt,” the police said in a statement, adding that Chadema’s Secretary-General John Mnyika and the party’s head of communications, Brenda Rupia, were on its wanted list.
High death toll
Protests erupted on October 29 in the cities of Dar-es-Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and Mbeya, as well as several regions across the country, police said in Saturday’s statement, laying out the extent of the unrest for the first time.
The authorities have so far declined to release the death toll.
The Catholic Church in Tanzania has said that hundreds of people were killed. Chadema has claimed that more than 1,000 people were killed and that security forces had hidden bodies to cover up the scale of the brutality.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission, a watchdog group in the neighbouring country, asserted in a statement on Friday that 3,000 people were killed, with thousands still missing.
The commission provided a link to pictorial evidence in its possession showing many victims “bore head and chest gunshot wounds, leaving no doubt these were targeted killings, not crowd-control actions”.
The African Union said this week that the election “did not comply with AU principles, normative frameworks, and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections.”
AU observers reported ballot stuffing at several polling stations, and cases where voters were issued multiple ballots.
Single-party rule has been the norm in Tanzania since the advent of multiparty politics in 1992. But Hassan is accused of ruling with an iron fist that does not tolerate opposition.
Among the nominees for the 68th Grammy Awards announced Friday morning were a slate of Latinx artists, with Bad Bunny leading the way with six and making Grammys history in the process.
The Puerto Rican singer became the first Spanish-language artist to earn nominations in several top categories for his critically acclaimed album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” including record of the year, album of the year and song of the year.
The 31-year-old is also up for música urbana album, global music performance (“EoO”) and album cover — a new category.
To date, Bad Bunny has won three Grammys out of 10 nominations. He also leads the 2025 Latin Grammy Awards nominations with 12, including record of the year, album of the year and song of the year. The Latin Grammys will take place Nov. 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The not-so-new band the Marías — led by singer María Zardoya — were nominated in the ever-perplexing new artist category. This marked the long-present L.A. indie group’s first ever Grammy nomination.
Global girl group Katseye — which features Venezuelan Cuban American dancer/singer Daniela Avanzini — also picked up a nomination in the new artist category, as well as a nod in the pop duo/group performance category for the track “Gabriela.”
Colombian hitmaker Karol G’s “Tropicoqueta” received a Latin pop album nomination.
Recording Academy darling Edgar Barrera nabbed his third consecutive songwriter of the year (non-classical) nomination for his work with Karol G, Juanes, Shakira, Fuerza Regida, Grupo Frontera, Young Miko, Marco Antonio Solís, Manuel Turizo and Carlos Santana.
Kooky Argentine duo Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso received their first ever Grammy nomination under Latin rock or alternative album for their nine-track EP, “Papota.” If they win, they will be the second Argentine group to win in that category; Los Fabulosos Cadillacs won back in 1998 when the category first appeared.
The boisterous San Bernardino band Fuerza Regida are also first-time nominees, receiving a música mexicana album nomination for their joint EP with Grupo Frontera, “Mala Mía.” The Texas norteño group is also up in the same category for their album “Y Lo Que Viene.”
Sacramento alt-metal group Deftones nabbed a rock album nomination for “Private Music,” the band’s fourth overall Grammy nod and first in this category.
On Tuesday, the Recording Academy announced that voting members of the Latin Recording Academy had been invited to join the Recording Academy as part of its 2025 new member class.
“This year’s class reflects the vibrancy of today’s diverse music landscape,” said Harvey Mason Jr., chief executive of the Recording Academy. “The addition of many Latin Recording Academy voting members underscores that music has no borders and that our mission to serve music people, regardless of where they are from, is stronger than ever.”
The Grammy Awards will take place on Feb. 1 at L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena. The awards show will broadcast live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ starting at 5 p.m. PT.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge in Oregon ruled Friday that President Trump’s administration failed to meet the legal requirements for deploying the National Guard to Portland after the city and state sued in September to block the deployment.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, followed a three-day trial last week in which both sides argued over whether protests at the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building met the conditions for using the military domestically under federal law.
The administration said the troops were needed to protect federal personnel and property in a city that Trump described as “war ravaged” with “fires all over the place.”
In a 106-page opinion, Immergut found that even though the president is entitled to “great deference” in his decision on whether to call up the Guard, he did not have a legal basis for doing so because he did not establish that there was a rebellion or danger of rebellion, or that he was unable to enforce the law with regular forces.
“The trial record showed that although protests outside the Portland ICE building occurred nightly between June and October 2025, ever since a few particularly disruptive days in mid-June, protests have remained peaceful with only isolated and sporadic instances of violence,” Immergut wrote. “The occasional interference to federal officers has been minimal, and there is no evidence that these small-scale protests have significantly impeded the execution of any immigration laws.”
The Trump administration criticized the judge’s ruling.
“The facts haven’t changed. Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local leaders have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has exercised his lawful authority to protect federal officers and assets. President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities and we expect to be vindicated by a higher court,” said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman.
“The courts are holding this administration accountable to the truth and the rule of law,” Oregon Atty. Gen. Dan Rayfield said in an e-mailed statement. “From the beginning, this case has been about making sure that facts, not political whims, guide how the law is applied. Today’s decision protects that principle.”
Democratic cities targeted by Trump for military involvement — including Chicago, which has filed a separate lawsuit on the issue — have been pushing back. They argue the president has not satisfied the legal threshold for deploying troops and that doing so would violate states’ sovereignty.
Immergut issued two orders in early October that had blocked the deployment of the troops leading up to the trial. The first order blocked Trump from deploying 200 members of the Oregon National Guard; the second, issued a day later, blocked him from deploying members of any state’s National Guard to Oregon, after he tried to evade the first order by sending California troops instead.
Immergut has called Trump’s apocalyptic descriptions of Portland “simply untethered to the facts.”
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already ordered that the troops not be deployed pending further action by the appeals court. The trial Immergut held further developed the factual record in the case, which could serve as the basis for further appellate rulings.
Witnesses including local police and federal officials were questioned about the law enforcement response to the nightly protests at the city’s ICE building. The demonstrations peaked in June, when Portland police declared one a riot. The demonstrations typically drew a couple dozen people in the weeks leading up to the president’s National Guard announcement.
The Trump administration said it has had to shuffle federal agents around the country to respond to the Portland protests, which it has characterized as a “rebellion” or “danger of rebellion.”
Federal officials working in the region testified about staffing shortages and requests for more personnel that have yet to be fulfilled. Among them was an official with the Federal Protective Service, the agency within the Department of Homeland Security that provides security at federal buildings, whom the judge allowed to be sworn in as a witness under his initials, R.C., because of safety concerns.
R.C., who said he would be one of the most knowledgeable people in Homeland Security about security at Portland’s ICE building, testified that a troop deployment would alleviate the strain on staff. When cross-examined, however, he said he did not request troops and that he was not consulted on the matter by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or Trump. He also said he was “surprised” to learn about the deployment and that he did not agree with statements about Portland burning down.
Attorneys for Portland and Oregon said city police have been able to respond to the protests. After the Police Department declared a riot on June 14, it changed its strategy to direct officers to intervene when person and property crime occurs, and crowd numbers have largely diminished since the end of that month, police officials testified.
The ICE building closed for three weeks over the summer because of property damage, according to court documents and testimony. The regional field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, Cammilla Wamsley, said her employees worked from another building during that period. The plaintiffs argued that was evidence that they were able to continue their work functions.
Rush and Johnson write for the Associated Press. Johnson reported from Seattle. AP staff writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report from Palm Beach, Fla.
Manning was born in Norwich and played in their academy before switching briefly to Ipswich and then dropping into non-league football.
He began his coaching career with Belgian club Lommel and had spells in charge at MK Dons and Oxford United before joining Bristol City in November 2023.
The Norwich squad was transformed by 12 signings during the summer transfer window, but the club sold Borja Sainz, who supplied 18 goals last season, to Porto for £14.25m, and Marcelino Nunez to rivals Ipswich for £10m.
United States international Josh Sargent scored six goals in five league and cup games at the start of the campaign but has none in the past 11 – and no-one else has managed more than Mathias Kvistgaarden and Jovon Makama’s three.
Rodrigo Paz faces Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in 40 years, with high inflation and a shortage of fuel and dollars.
Published On 8 Nov 20258 Nov 2025
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Rodrigo Paz has been sworn in as Bolivia’s president, ushering in a new era for the South American nation after nearly 20 years of governance by the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party.
Paz, the 58-year-old son of a former president, and a pro-business conservative, drew applause at the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday at the Bolivian seat of congress.
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“God, family and country: yes, I take the oath of office,” said Paz, who won a run-off election last month.
In his inauguration speech, he later said Bolivia would now be open to the world after two decades of left-wing governance.
The Movement Toward Socialism party, founded by charismatic former President Evo Morales, had its heyday during the commodities boom of the early 2000s, but natural gas exports have sputtered, and its statist economic model of generous subsidies and a fixed exchange rate has collapsed.
Bolivian President-elect Rodrigo Paz reacts and Vice President-elect Edmand Lara raise their arms at Paz’s swearing-in ceremony at the Plurinational Legislative Assembly in La Paz, Bolivia, November 8, 2025 [Luis Gandarillas/Pool via Reuters]
Paz will have to address Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in 40 years, with year-on-year inflation at more than 20 percent and a chronic shortage of fuel and dollars.
The outgoing government of Luis Arce exhausted almost all of Bolivia’s hard currency reserves to prop up a policy of petrol and diesel subsidies.
On the campaign trail, the Christian Democrat Paz promised a “capitalism for all” approach to economic reform, with decentralisation, lower taxes and fiscal discipline mixed with continued social spending.
He also promised to maintain social programmes while stabilising the economy, but economists have said the two things are not possible at the same time.
Paz has promised to restore ties with the United States.
“Never again an isolated Bolivia, bound by failed ideologies, or a Bolivia with its back turned to the world,” Paz said during a ceremony attended by delegations from more than 70 countries and local VIPs.
Paz also announced after the election that his government will cooperate with all international organisations on security matters, including the US Drug Enforcement Administration, which Morales expelled from Bolivia at the end of 2008.
Strictly Come Dancing fans rushed to social media as they felt the judges were ‘overmarking’ the contestants during tonight’s show which they felt was not reflective of the performance
19:50, 08 Nov 2025Updated 19:50, 08 Nov 2025
Fans fume over ‘overmarking’ in tonight’s strictly(Image: BBC)
Strictly Come Dancing fans were left fuming after judge Motsi Mabuse awarded Karen Carney ten points following her performance of the Charleston, with her professional dance partner Carlos Gu.
Viewers felt that they noticed flaws in her performance, however that did not appear to be reflected in the judge’s scores. Taking to X, one fan wrote: “sure not a 10, the lifts were pretty ropey #strictly.” Another person said: “F**** OFF Motsi and Anton! #Strictly.”
A third added: “What’s with Motsi and that 10? #Strictly.” Meanwhile a fourth penned: “10?!!! did we just watch the same performance #strictly.”
And a fifth fan took to the social media platform and chimed in saying: “Oh come on Motsi – never a 10, too frenetic #Strictly.”
“10??? What??? #Strictly,” said a sixth. Another added: “#Strictly shut up motsi. Its not a 10! Its messy with lots of faults #Charleston.”
And another fumed: “Motsi giving Karen a 10 for a dance which wasn’t perfect is wild #Strictly.”‘
Stars on this year’s line-up have left viewers gripped to their TV screens as they compete to make it to the final and hold up the coveted glitterball trophy.
But for one star, it looks as though joining the BBC ballroom show was more of a tough decision than once thought.
Vicky Pattison, who made her name starring on reality TV show Geordie Shore, recently explained that joining the show pushed back her plans to start a family with new husband Ercan Ramadan.
The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in August last year.
In an interview with The Mirror, she admitted: “At the start of this year, I said to Ercan, I’m either gonna do Strictly, a second series of Honesty Box, or we’re going to have a baby. When I got the call for Strictly, he was over the moon. Kids are definitely on the cards next year. He probably thinks I’ll be at home a bit more, which he’s thrilled about.”
And while Ercan may have been left disappointed by her career decision, Vicky was adamant that he has been her biggest supporter.
Ercan has been providing Vicky with electrolytes and collagen every morning.
Last month, Tess and Claudia left die hard viewers heartbroken as they announced their departure from the BBC show.
Their announcement came with a video which they posted on social media. Claudia was the first to start speaking as she said: “Hi it’s Claud and Tess. There have been some rumblings and we want you to hear this from us…”
Tess added: “Yeah we have news. After 21 wonderfully joyful years on Strictly we have decided the time is right to step aside and pass on the baton…”
Claudia then chimed in saying: “The very sparkly baton…” Turning to Tess, she continued: “You’ve been here since the beginning…”
Tess, who is a mum of two and married to radio host Vernon Kay, kicked off her Strictly journey when she hosted the show alongside the much loved Bruce Forsyth.
Tess went on to say: “2004 with Brucey – lovely Bruce. That’s over two decades ago and a lot of that time has been with you. It’s been a huge part of our lives, hasn’t it? Since our children were literally babes in arms and now they’re young adults and I think, genuinely we have cherished every second.”
The revelers who packed Tuesday’s election night party in L.A.’s Highland Park neighborhood were roughly 2,500 miles from the concert hall where New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani celebrated his historic win.
Yet despite that sprawling distance, the crowd, heavily populated with members of the L.A. chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, had no trouble finishing the applause lines delivered by Mamdani, himself a DSA member, during his victory speech.
“New York!” Mamdani bellowed on the oversized television screens hung throughout the Greyhound Bar & Grill. “We’re going to make buses fast and — “
“Free!” the crowd inside the bar yelled back in response.
In Los Angeles, activists with the Democratic Socialists of America have already fired up their campaigns for the June election, sending out canvassing teams and scheduling postcard-writing events for their chosen candidates. But they’re also taking fresh inspiration from Mamdani’s win, pointing to his inclusive, unapologetic campaign and his relentless focus on pocketbook issues, particularly among working-class voters.
The message that propelled Mamdani to victory resonates just as much in L.A., said City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who won her seat in 2022 with logistical support from the DSA.
“What New York City is saying is that the rent is too damn high, that affordability is a huge issue not just on housing, but when it comes to grocery shopping, when it comes to daycare,” she said. “These are the things that we’re also experiencing here in Los Angeles.”
City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, appearing at a rally in Lincoln Heights last year, said New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s message will resonate in L.A.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
DSA-LA, which is a membership organization and not a political party, has elected four of its endorsed candidates to the council since 2020, ousting incumbents in each of the last three election cycles. They’ve done so in large part by knocking on doors and working to increase turnout among renters and lower-income households.
The chapter hopes to win two additional seats in June. Organizers have begun contemplating a full-on socialist City Council — possibly by the end of 2028 — with DSA members holding eight of the council’s 15 seats.
“We would like a socialist City Council majority,” said Benina Stern, co-chair of DSA’s Los Angeles chapter. “Because clearly that is the logical progression, to keep growing the bloc.”
Despite those lofty ambitions, it could take at least five years before the L.A. chapter matches this week’s breakthrough in New York City.
Mayor Karen Bass, a high-profile leader within the Democratic Party with few ties to the DSA, is now running for a second term. Her only major opponent is former schools superintendent Austin Beutner, who occupies the center of the political spectrum in L.A. Real estate developer Rick Caruso, a longtime Republican who is now a Democrat, has not disclosed his intentions but has long been at odds with DSA‘s progressive policies.
In L.A., DSA organizers have put their emphasis on identifying and campaigning for candidates in down-ballot races, not citywide contests. Part of that is due to the fact that L.A. has a weak-mayor system, particularly when compared with New York City, where the mayor has responsibility not just for city services but also public schools and even judicial appointments.
L.A. council members propose and approve legislation, rework the budgets submitted by the mayor and represent districts with more than a quarter of a million people. As a result, DSA organizers have chosen the council as their path to power at City Hall, Stern said.
“The conditions in Los Angeles and New York I think are very different,” she said.
Since 2020, DSA-LA has been highly selective about its endorsement choices. The all-volunteer organization sends applicants a lengthy questionnaire with dozens of litmus test questions: Do they support diverting funds away from law enforcement? Do they oppose L.A.’s decision to host the Olympics? Do they support a repeal of L.A.’s ban on homeless encampments near schools?
Once a candidate secures an endorsement, DSA-LA turns to its formidable pool of volunteers, sending them out to help candidates knock on doors, staff phone banks and stage fundraising events.
During Tuesday’s party, DSA-LA organizers recruited new members to assist with the reelection campaigns of Hernandez and Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, a former labor organizer. They distributed postcard-sized fliers with the message, “Hate Capitalism? So do we.”
Standing nearby was Estuardo Mazariegos, a tenant rights advocate now running to replace Councilmember Curren Price in a South L.A. district. Mazariegos, 40, said he first became interested in the DSA in the seventh grade, when his middle school civics teacher displayed a DSA flag in her classroom.
The crowd at the Greyhound in Highland Park reacts to results on Tuesday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Mazariegos hailed the results from New York and California, saying voters are “taking back America for the working people of America.” He sounded somewhat less excited about Bass, a former community organizer who has pursued some middle-of-the-road positions, such as hiring more police officers.
Asked if he supports Bass’ bid for a second term, Mazariegos responded: “If she’s up against a billionaire, yes.”
“If she’s up against another comrade, maybe not,” he added, laughing.
When Bass ran in November 2022, DSA-LA grudgingly recommended a vote for her in its popular voter guide, describing her as a “status quo politician.”
Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents a Hollywood Hills district, is far more enthusiastic. Raman has worked closely with Bass on efforts to move homeless Angelenos indoors, while also seeking fixes to the larger systems that serve L.A.’s unhoused population.
“Karen Bass is the most progressive mayor we’ve ever had in L.A,” said Raman, who co-hosted the election night party with the other three DSA-aligned council members, DSA-LA and others.
Raman was the first of the DSA-backed candidates to win a council seat in L.A., running in 2020 as a reformer who would bring stronger renter protections and a network of community access centers to assist homeless residents.
Two years later, voters elected labor organizer Soto-Martínez and Hernandez. Tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado became the fourth last year, ousting Councilmember Kevin de León.
Stern, the DSA-LA co-chair, said she believes the four council members have brought a “sea change” to City Hall, working with their progressive colleagues to expand the city’s teams of unarmed responders, who are viewed as an alternative to gun-carrying police officers.
The DSA voting bloc also shaped this year’s city budget, voting to reduce the number of new recruits at the Los Angeles Police Department and preserve other city jobs, Stern said.
To be clear, the four-member bloc has pursued those efforts by working with other progressives on the council who are not affiliated with the DSA but more moderate on other issues. Beyond that, the group has plenty of detractors.
Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., said DSA-backed council members are making the city worse, by pushing for a $30 per hour hotel minimum wage and a $32.35 minimum wage for construction workers.
“No one is ever going to build a hotel in this city again, and DSA were a part of that,” he said. “Pretty soon no one will build housing, and the DSA is a part of that too.”
The union that represents LAPD officers vowed to fight the DSA’s effort to expand its reach, saying it would work to ensure that “Angelenos are not bamboozled by the socialist bait and switch.”
“Socialists want to bait Angelenos into talking about affordability, oppression and fairness, get their candidates elected, and then switch to enact their platform that states ‘Defund the police by rejecting any expansion to police budgets … while cutting [police] budgets annually towards zero,’” the union’s board of directors said in a statement.
In New York City, Mamdani has proposed a series of measures to make the city more affordable, including free bus fares, city-run grocery stores and a four-year freeze on rent increases inside rent stabilized apartment units.
Some of those ideas have already been tried in L.A.
In 2020, weeks into the COVID-19 shutdown, Mayor Eric Garcetti placed a moratorium on rent hikes for more than 600,000 rent-stabilized apartments. The council kept that measure in place for four years.
Around the same time, L.A. County’s transit agency suspended mandatory collection of bus fares. The agency started charging bus passengers again in 2022.
City Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Eunisses Hernandez celebrate at the election night party they co-hosted with Democratic Socialists of America’s L.A. chapter and two other council members.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
In recent months, the DSA-LA has pushed for new limits on rent increases inside L.A.’s rent-stabilized apartments. Raman, who chairs the council’s housing committee, is backing a yearly cap of 3% in those buildings, most of which were built before October 1978.
Hernandez, whose district stretches from working-class Westlake to rapidly gentrifying Highland Park, is a believer in shifting the Overton Window at City Hall — moving the political debate left and “putting people over profits.”
Like others at the election party, Hernandez is hoping the council will eventually have eight DSA-aligned members in the coming years, saying such a shift would be a “game changer.” With a clear majority, she said, the council would not face a huge battle to approve new tenant protections, expand the network of unarmed response teams and place “accountability measures” on corporations that are “making money off our city.”
“There’s so many things … that we could do easier for the people of the city of Los Angeles if we had a majority,” she said.
A look at the top performers from high school football across the Southland during the first week of the playoffs.
RUSHING
• Noah Penunuri, Rio Hondo Prep: Rushed for 262 yards and three touchdowns in win over Thousand Oaks.
• Carlos Herrera, Van Nuys: Rushed for 145 yards and four touchdowns in upset of Banning.
• Kori Scott, Long Beach Wilson: Rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns in overtime loss to Paraclete.
• Aiden Williams, Vista Murrieta: Rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns in win over Damien.
• Noel Washington, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame: The sophomore ran for three touchdowns and 81 yards in win over Laguna Beach.
• Matix Frithsmith, Hart: Rushed for 146 yards and one touchdown, caught five passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns in win over Mayfair.
PASSING
• Jack Hurst, Laguna Beach: Passed for 417 yards and four touchdowns in loss to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
• Koa Regalado, Colton: Passed for 400 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for one touchdown in win over Ganesha.
• Wyatt Brown, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame: Passed for 229 yards and one touchdown, ran for 61 yards and one touchdown in defeat of Laguna Beach.
• Jaden Jefferson, Cathedral: Passed for 310 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three touchdowns in win over Western.
• Colin Creason, Los Alamitos: Completed 14 of 16 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns in win over Yorba Linda.
• Sam Thomson, Huntington Beach Edison: Passed for 227 yards and three touchdowns in win over Huntington Beach.
• Star Thomas, Orange: Passed for 299 yards and three touchdowns in loss to Troy.
• Russell Sekona, Leuzinger: Returning from hand injury, he passed for 297 yards and four touchdowns in win over Crean Lutheran.
• Joseph Mesa, Paraclete: Passed for 446 yards and seven touchdowns in an overtime win over Long Beach Wilson.
• Taylor Lee, Oxnard Pacifica: Passed for 280 yards and four touchdowns in win over Oak Hills.
• Jacob Paisano, Hart: Passed for 178 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns vs. Mayfair.
RECEIVING
• Glenn Carrera III, Cathedral: Made seven catches for 135 yards in defeat of Western.
• Troy Foster, Huntington Beach: Had 14 catches for 120 yards and one touchdown in loss to Edison.
• Anthony Jacobs, Oxnard Pacifica: Caught five passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns in win over Oak Hills.
• Mason Miller, Leuzinger: Caught seven passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns in defeat of Crean Lutheran.
• Degan Grant, Saugus: Had nine catches for 118 yards and one touchdown in win over Schurr.
DEFENSE
• Jonathan Moreno, Contreras: Had a game-saving interception in the end zone to help Contreras win its first ever City playoff game with win over Sun Valley Poly.
• Lenny Ibarra, Los Alamitos: Ran for two touchdowns and made interception in the end zone with nine seconds to preserve comeback win over Yorba Linda.
• Ethan Mundt, Troy: Returned a fumble 82 yards for a touchdown in win over Orange.
• Kentrell Holley, Dorsey: Had a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown in win over El Camino Real.
• Damian Huff, Charter Oak: Made interception in overtime to clinch win over Muir.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• DJ Parker, Gardena: Returned punt 50 yards for a touchdown in win over Hamilton.
• Jacob Kreinberg, Loyola: Averaged 58.3 yards on three punts and made 33-yard field goal in win over Newbury Park.
• Crue Bradshaw, Edison: Made 42-yard field goal vs. Huntington Beach.
Nov. 8 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump has exempted Hungary from sanctions over the nation’s purchase of Russian gas and oil for one year after meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Trump is a close ally of the far-right populist and authoritarian, who came into power in 1998 but was out of office from 2002 to 2010.
On Friday at the White House, Trump said he was considering the exemption because “it’s very difficult for him to get the oil and gas from other areas.”
After the meeting, Orban posted on X with a video: “Decision reached: President Donald Trump has guaranteed full sanction exemptions for the TurkStream and Friendship pipelines, allowing Hungary to continue providing families with the lowest energy prices in Europe. Thank you, Mr. President!”
✅ Decision reached: President @realDonaldTrump has guaranteed full sanction exemptions for the TurkStream and Friendship pipelines, allowing Hungary to continue providing families with the lowest energy prices in Europe. Thank you, Mr. President! pic.twitter.com/ueqsyHyoi0— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) November 7, 2025
The BBC confirmed the exemption was for one year.
Hungary’s dependence on Russian crude oil was 61% before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, then rose to 86% in 2024 and 92% this year.
On Oct. 22, the U.S. added sanctions against Russia, including blacklisting two of Russia’s largest oil companies: Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil OAO.
Russia has been the world’s third-largest oil exporter, generating $120 billion in 2024 behind No. 1 Saudi Arabia at $225 billion and No. 2 Canada. $121billion. The United States is No. 4 at $117 billion.
Extensive sanctions were imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. Initially, they were imposed in March 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea.
The Trump administration is attempting to use tariffs to halt third-country access, including by India.
But Trump said he understands Hungary’s situation of being a landlocked nation with limited access to gas and oil.
The U.S. State Department said Hungary has agreed to purchase U.S. liquefied gas worth about $600 million, NBC News reported.
Also, Hungary agreed to purchase American nuclear fuel, which it currently buys from Russia.
Despite similar policies as Trump, Orban said the pipelines are not “ideological” or “political” and instead a “physical reality.”
“Now we are quite a good position to open up a new chapter – let’s say a golden age – between the United States and Hungary,” Orban said.
Trump has used the term “golden age of America,” declaring it began with his second inauguration on Jan. 20.
The exemption was criticized by an analyst.
“The U.S. decision is a terrible and unnecessary mistake that will allow over 1 billion euros [$1.2 billion] to flow into the Kremlin’s war chest,” Isaac Levi, with the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, told CNN. “By carving out special treatment for Hungary, Washington is telling other buyers that they can keep handling Russian oil and still expect to be let off the hook.”
Levi noted the Czech Republic is another country with a port that manages without Russian crude oil and has lower fuel prices at the pump than Hungary.
“This clearly shows that the oil flows that continue to finance Putin’s war in Ukraine are entirely unnecessary,” he said.
Trump said he is “very disturbed” by other European countries that still buy Russian commodities despite not being landlocked.
Hungary and neighboring Slovakia are the only EU countries still getting Russian oil from the Druzhba pipeline.
EU countries’ gas comes via Turkey through the TurkStream pipeline. Russia’s share of EU gas imports fell from 40% pre-invasion to 11% in 2024.
But Slovakia is “almost 100% dependent” on Russian crude oil, according to a report from the Center for Research and Energy and Clean Air and the Center for the Study of Democracy.
The European Commission granted an exemption to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – three countries heavily reliant on Russian imports – for time to reduce reliance.
Other nations don’t have close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
For other products, Trump has imposed a baseline 15% tariff as part of a trade agreement with the European Union.
That includes Hungary’s car industry.
On Oct. 21, Trump canceled his planned summit with Putin in Budapest, Hungary, after Putin’s demands on ending the war in Ukraine remained.
The status of these weapons programs and how many are real or merely meant to confuse and overwhelm foreign intelligence isn’t clear, but based on historic precedent, the notion that many are decoys isn’t supported. With so much development emerging publicly, and so much more going on clandestinely, along with other developments around an increasingly troubled globe, including from an active war in Ukraine, a critical question must be raised: Is the American intelligence apparatus able to deal with so much foreign technological change at one time?
Not since the height of the Cold War have so many military advancements and individual adversary weapons programs flooded the space. Does the U.S. intelligence community have the raw capacity to adequately deal with this now and sustain it for the foreseeable future?
Shenyang Aircraft Corporation’s (SAC) J-XDS, also referred to unofficially as the J-50. (Via X)
With the Defense Intelligence Agency declining to comment and the CIA not responding to our queries, we reached out to a number of experts in the field to get their sense of how the U.S. intelligence community (USIC) is able to process and track this growing wave of weapons programs and provide adequate analysis for the White House, Pentagon and Congress. The responses we received vary quite dramatically. This is step one in trying to get a clear answer to this glaring question. We will be following up with more on the topic in the future.
The answers to our question from our experts have been lightly edited for clarity.
“China’s largest and growing inventory of modern weapons does pose a challenge to U.S. intelligence collection efforts. U.S. intelligence capabilities are quite sophisticated and can collect considerable data on systems once they are deployed. However, it is more useful to anticipate future weapons or programs in development and this is probably much more difficult for U.S. intelligence to accurately determine due to the secretive nature of Chinese weapons programs. Thus, U.S. intelligence is at some risk of being surprised by the emergence of new weapons systems.
Some types or programs are easier to monitor and predict than others. Warships, for example, are hard to hide and only built in a few locations. This makes it easier for U.S. intelligence to monitor. Missiles, directed energy, and hi-tech systems are smaller and easier to hide, which makes it harder for U.S. intelligence to collect.
Perhaps even more challenging than intelligence collection is the problem of how to counter the weapons. Chinese technology has improved considerably and many of their weapons and equipment systems lag only that of the United States. These are sophisticated and deadly systems and could pose a serious challenge to U.S. military forces on the battlefield. Developing counters to weapons such as hypersonic anti-ship missiles, advanced surface-to-air missiles, and stealth aircraft all require enormous sums of money and new technology. Even still, it is unclear if the U.S. can effectively counter some of these new systems, which raise questions about the ability of U.S. military forces to survive and fight in a conflict near China’s coast.”
A possible first sighting of China’s next-generation aircraft carrier, generally referred to as the Type 004. Construction work at a shipyard in Dalian, in China’s Liaoning province, reveals a module that is consistent with an aircraft carrier — which would be China’s fourth — although there remain many questions about the precise nature of the object. (Google Earth) Google Earth
Brad Bowman, senior director at Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Center on Military & Political Power:
“Beijing revealed a remarkable quantity of weapons in the parade back in September. It is vital that the United States Intelligence Community and the Pentagon understand the capabilities of the systems displayed, distinguishing between systems that are hyped versus those that represent real advancements in capability. That is easier said than done and takes time and serious expertise to accomplish accurately. The importance and difficulty of this task is another reason why we need a large, effective, and well-funded intelligence community to understand our adversaries, their intentions, and their military capabilities – so decision makers can make informed decisions on how to respond.
A CS-5000T drone is reviewed during the V-Day military at Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025, in Beijing, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images) VCG
I am all for efficiency in government, but the effectiveness of our intelligence community is a higher priority than efficiency, particularly in this dangerous geo-strategic moment for Americans.
It is possible that Beijing is happy to inundate the U.S. intelligence community with an enormous quantity of systems and munitions to scrutinize. But a more prudent approach in Washington is to assume that Beijing actually means what it says and is sprinting to develop and field military capabilities that it hopes could conquer Taiwan and defeat the U.S. military in the Pacific.
If Beijing is trying to portray more advanced military capabilities than it actually possesses, it would not be the first country to do so. Then again, we have also seen examples in which Americans were unwisely dismissive of adversary capabilities. We should neither exaggerate nor dismiss what we are seeing from China. We should try to understand the actual capabilities of each system, and then realize that those capabilities can change quickly.
When it comes to adversary parades and static displays, there is always more than one intended audience. Washington is no doubt on the short list of intended audiences, but Beijing is also sending messages to America’s partners, to the Chinese people, and to the PRC’s partners, including the other members of the axis of aggressors – Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
Regardless, the split screen between a historic expansion in military capabilities in China and a government shutdown in America could not be more jarring and troubling.”
Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies U.S. strategy in Asia, including alliance dynamics and U.S.-China competition:
“I think the United States is certainly concerned about some of the new systems shown by Beijing, but many experts have expected China to continue developing more advanced uncrewed systems and long-range missiles, so I wouldn’t say that those are huge surprises.
The United States has a number of intelligence agencies with deep expertise on weapons systems, so although I’m sure they are busy watching these new developments, I doubt that they are overwhelmed. At the end of the day, we’re really only talking about a handful of truly new systems, so the magnitude of the challenge is probably workable, even if it does require a substantial amount of time and attention at DIA and elsewhere.
Chinese DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile systems pass through Tiananmen Square during a military parade in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2025. (Photo by Yan Linyun/Xinhua via Getty Images) Xinhua News Agency
Christopher Miller, former acting defense secretary from November 2020 to January 2021 during the first Trump administration:
“I don’t think there was concern about the ability to track and analyze Chinese weapons programs. It was a pretty standard collection requirement. Now, how effective they were ……I don’t know how effective they were. I am out of the business now.
The large number of programs was not a concern. It was a pretty standard collection requirement. The challenge was prioritization because of so many different constituencies pushing their ‘pet rocks.’ But that is simply part of the churn. It was never a crisis issue — just typical process.
Questions about being adequately resourced was the standard pathology of the IC — ‘they NEVER have enough resources’; the political masters don’t understand the National Intelligence Priorities Framework (NIPF)!! ‘Woe is us; etc.’ It was/is their SOP.”
Robert Peters, senior research fellow for strategic deterrence in the Allison Center for National Security:
“How overwhelming, or not, for the USIC are Chinese new weaponry like those seen so far in parade preps and programs, like the long-range bombers, UAVs etc? They are a problem, both the quantity and diversity of systems displayed, but we should not make the Chinese out to be 10 feet tall. It is unclear how many of these systems are real vs. how many are mockups. And even if they are all real, it is unclear how effective these systems are.
As an example, the U.S. Air Force recently said that the Chinese ‘stealth bomber’ — which looks for all the world like a B-2 Stealth bomber— has no stealth characteristics at all, it simply looks like a stealth bomber.
The future Chinese H-20 stealth bomber. (PLAAF/YouTube Screencap)
Further, even if these systems are highly capable, it is unclear how or how well the PLA would employ them. The PLA has not fought in a kinetic conflict since 1979, so they have no real-world experience in combat operations. While they certainly exercise jointly, exercises are far different than battlefield effectiveness. So we should look at what the Chinese are producing with seriousness, but we should not be fatalistic about them.
Is this affecting the USIC and the military’s ability to get a handle on this? The Chinese military buildup — particularly is numbers of fifth-generation fighters, naval surface combatants, missiles, and nuclear warheads — presents a real challenge for the United States, yes.
The quantity they are able to produce, coupled with their ability to focus their combat power on a specific theater close to home, is the challenge for us. Even if you believe that U.S. military capabilities are qualitatively superior to Chinese capabilities (which, I do believe), the U.S. is a global power. It has aircraft carrier strike groups operating in the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Sea, and the Pacific. It has ground and air forces deployed on six continents. This is because the United States has global commitments. China is able to field an enormous quantity of combat power on the Western Pacific, focus it, and achieve results, even with a qualitatively inferior force, while the U.S. would be pulling forces from around the world during a contingency.
It will require a significant amount of analysts to track and analyze these forces, but I think we have the manpower to make it happen.”
Once again, this is our first look into this unique facet of the growing military technology race between the U.S. and China. Stay tuned for follow-ups.
Adam, who won a medal at the Paris Olympics last summer, first met Holly when her younger sister Tilly was competing alongside on Strictly in 2021.
The happy couple then went Instagram official in June 2023, and the following year they revealed they were getting married.
In a chat with OK! Magazine that came out in July 2024, Holly was asked about whether she’s keen to have a child after her one-year-old brother Jesse was welcomed into the world.
Holly responded with: “Oh my goodness – I’ve only just got a boyfriend!”
When asked whether her famous dad ever gives her boyfriend pep talks, Holly told the magazine: “Totally different areas. One’s a chef, one’s in a pool.
“Obviously, they’re both high performance (men) – they both bond over that, but they prefer to talk about cars, to be honest.”
Holly has been enjoying a lavish hen-do celebrationCredit: Instagram/Hollyramsayy
