March 16 (UPI) — Even before a round of mid-May blizzards started blanketing an area stretching from South Dakota to northern Michigan on Saturday, a partial government shutdown already was making air travel miserable for Americans.

Extreme winter weather snarled all manner of transportation across the Midwest, while airports in Atlanta, Charlotte and elsewhere on the East Coast were slowed by pounding rain, on top of an increasing number of TSA employees either calling out sick or quitting their jobs because they are not getting paid.

As of early evening on Monday, there were 21,549 total flights delayed in the United States and 5,159 flights that were canceled, Flight Aware reported.

The Department of Homeland Security, which is home to the Transportation Security Administration, has not been funded since Jan. 30 amid a debate in Congress over funding the Department of Homeland Security, of which TSA is a part.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress disagree on adding guardrails for DHS agencies involved with immigration amid a crackdown by the Trump administration, which has left TSA unfunded.

The nation’s air traffic controllers, customs agents and TSA agents missed their first paycheck over the weekend, which has led to hundreds of TSA employees quitting their jobs, the New York Post reported.

The partial shutdown already had affected security and other services at airports, leading to long lines and advice that travellers arrive at the airport even earlier because of how backed up they have been.

On Sunday afternoon, as airports, travellers and millions at home prepared for winter weather to roll through overnight, the trade association Airlines for America, which represents both passenger and cargo airlines, sent an open letter to Congress pleading for them to fund TSA on predictions of what is already happening.

The CEOs, which include the leaders of the biggest U.S. passenger airlines, as well as FedEx and UPS, said that without funding TSA they expect travel issues during spring break, the World Cup and other national travel dates to be as chaotic as they were last year during the longest government shutdown in history.

Making matters worse has been a wide range of extreme weather across the country, from steady showers and a tornado watch shutting down Charlotte Douglas International Airport several times this morning — with the same occurring at major airports in Atlanta, Newark, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis, the Charlotte Observer reported.

The weather is not expected to let up, either, with the National Weather Service predicting that while the Midwest will get a bit of a break, severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and some tornadoes — as of early afternoon more than 34 million people were under tornado watches between Florida and New Jersey — expected later into the evening.

‘For 40 years, we’re protecting you’: US President Donald Trump criticises allies’ reluctance to commit forces to open the key waterway for Gulf oil exports.

LEWIS Hamilton proved he’s girlfriend Kim Kardashian’s biggest fan with a very public display of affection for the US star. 

Kim, 45, took to Instagram to share a snap of her stunning look from the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty – and Lewis, 41, was quick to share his thoughts. 

In the photo, Skims founder Kim showed off her famous curves in a skintight gold dress, captioning the post: “GUCCI GIRL.”

As always her comments were filled with comments from her 353 million followers and a sweet post from Formula 1 driver Lewis. 

Keeping it to the point, he simply added a lovestruck emoji but the gesture proves he’s head over heels for Kim. 

Kim’s romance with Lewis became public knowledge after The Sun revealed she flew in from Los Angeles on her £100million private jet to spend an evening with him.

KIM-POSSIBLE CURVES

Kim reveals her ‘best look EVER’ in a golden gown at Oscars party

NO KIM-PLAINTS

Kim Kardashian spills out of low-cut spandex suit and works up a sweat

On January 31, the couple enjoyed a brief stay at the exclusive Estelle Manor in the Cotswolds, with insiders saying they had the spa to themselves, before enjoying a meal in a private room.

A source told The Sun: “It all appeared to be very romantic. Kim and Lewis made use of all the facilities on offer.

“She had two bodyguards with her and Lewis had a close protection officer but they remained in the background.

“Two of the three stood guard outside the door to their room, so no one could disturb them.”

Lewis was friends with her ­rapper ex Kanye West.

A source added: “They had a couple’s massage booked in and had full use of the facilities for just the two of them.

“It was all kept very quiet – they clearly wanted to have some time for just the two of them.”

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security will soon be under new management, an opportunity to reset President Trump’s immigration agenda or to double down on his signature campaign promise to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history.

The White House’s political director recently encouraged party lawmakers during a retreat at the Republican president’s golf club in Florida to focus on immigration enforcement against criminals, a pivot from the mass deportation agenda he ran on. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the aggressive operations have created a “hiccup” for the party, which is now embarking on a “course correction.”

Yet all indications are that Trump’s mass deportation operation is not stalling but intensifying, with billions of dollars being spent to hire Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, build warehouse detention sites and meet the administration’s goal of rounding up and removing some 1 million immigrants from the U.S. this year.

“We are at an interesting moment where it has been an inflection point — the public has finally seen what mass detention and mass deportation mean,” said Sarah Mehta, who tracks the issue at the American Civil Liberties Union.

“This is not an agency that’s slowing down,” she said. “They’re really going forward with some of the cruelest policies.”

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the president’s policies have sent immigrants out of the U.S., either through forced deportations or on their own, and sealed up the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Nobody is changing the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda,” she said.

Senators ready to grill Trump’s DHS nominee over deportations

The questions put Homeland Security at a crossroads. Secretary Kristi Noem is on her way out, and Trump’s nominee to replace her, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, appears this week for Senate confirmation hearings.

After the intense deportation sweeps in Minneapolis and other cities — and the deaths of at least three U.S. citizens at the hands of officers — Democratic lawmakers are refusing to provide routine funding unless the department changes its policies.

At the same time, those who believe Trump won the White House with his mass deportation agenda are disappointed the administration did not achieve its goals last year and insist he must do better.

“There has been a lot of talk in Congress and now in the White House about kind of backing away from President Trump’s, candidate Trump’s, mass deportation promise,” said Rosemary Jenks, co-founder of the Immigration Accountability Project, which argues for deportations.

“We believe that now is an opportunity,” she said. “We’ve got to get the deportation numbers up.”

A nation of immigrants no longer?

The debate is playing out as the United States, celebrating its 250th year, squares its founding as a nation of immigrants with images of masked federal agents breaking car windows and detaining people suspected of being in the U.S. without proper legal standing.

The Congress, controlled by Republicans, provided some $170 billion in last year’s tax cuts bill to fuel the effort, more than tripling the budget of ICE.

GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri, in a fiery speech, fought back against the Democrats’ proposed restraints. “This question about deporting illegal immigrants was on the ballot. President Trump was not bashful,” he said. “And the American people supported the idea that we are going to deport people.”

Yet there are signs of cracks in the Trump coalition. Some Republicans prefer what one called a more humane approach and are sharing their views with Mullin.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), considered a stalwart against illegal immigration, said in his state it’s immigrants who milk most of the dairy cows, and he’s heard from restaurant groups that rely on immigrants to fill jobs.

“Can we just turn back the clock and have … all these people who came in here illegally, just be back home?” he asked.

“In terms of actually implementing that, it’s a lot tougher — particularly, in fact, when you realize a lot of these people, most of them, came here to seek opportunity, wanting freedom,” he said. “They’re working, supporting their family, contributing to organizations and community.”

Mass deportation group wants more

The Mass Deportation Coalition, a group of conservative organizations including the Heritage Foundation and Erik Prince, founder of the security firm Blackwater, was formed recently to keep the administration on track.

It calls last year’s focus on removing violent criminal immigrants “phase one” and says “phase two” should focus this year on deporting immigrants beyond those with violent criminal histories.

Mark Morgan, who served as acting head of ICE and Customs and Border Protection during Trump’s first term and is part of the coalition, said that doesn’t mean roving patrols through Home Depot parking lots. It’s about strategic enforcement focused on immigrants at worksites and those who have overstayed visas and whom a judge has already ordered removed, he said.

But they’re facing opposition from within the Republican Party, Morgan said, particularly from those who want to narrow deportation to mainly criminals and from business groups that want to ease up on worksite enforcement.

“The Republicans that are saying that their definition of targeted enforcement is only criminal, they’re wrong. They’re on the wrong side of this,” he said.

“That’s why you see some of the base that’s really becoming apoplectic because they’re like, ‘Wait a minute. You’re talking about only removing criminals now? That’s not what you promised,’” Morgan said.

What’s coming next

The deportation advocates as well as those working to protect the rights of immigrants see that the Trump administration’s best chance at reaching its goals is creating an environment so unwelcoming for immigrants that they just leave — what’s often called self-deportation.

Mehta, at the ACLU, expects the administration will step up efforts to end temporary permissions that allow immigrants to remain in the U.S. — particularly refugees and asylum seekers — while their cases are making their way through the system. She called it a “deliberate attempt to make people undocumented — to take away lawful status — and then to be able to enforce against them.”

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said he fears that more nonviolent immigrants will be rounded up to fill the new warehouses being equipped as the Trump administration tries to reach its deportation goals.

That’s unacceptable, he said, and among “the key questions that Senator Mullin will have to answer at his confirmation hearing.”

Mascaro, Santana and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press.

The Dodgers agreed to a deal granting Uniqlo naming rights to the field at Dodger Stadium, according to the Athletic — marking the first time in the 64-year history of the stadium that a corporate sponsorship has been attached to it.

Dodger Stadium’s name remains unchanged. The organization made it a priority to keep the name of the ballpark, which has been in place since its opening in 1962.

“[The stadium’s name] will never be for sale,” Dodgers president Stan Kasten told The Times in 2017.

Though not officially announced by the Dodgers, the name likely will be Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.

With more than 1,000 stores worldwide, the Japanese-based clothing brand will hold exclusive marketing and promotional opportunities as the Dodgers’ main sponsor. The new deal will also include a new sign in center field.

Since signing Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani, the team has partnered with several different Japanese companies, earning $70 million in sponsorship revenue in 2024 alone, according to Forbes.

Bob Lynch, chief executive of research firm SponsorUnited, estimated that teams hosting the Dodgers generated roughly $15 million in cumulative revenue from the brands that have attached themselves to the team.

“ … A slew of brands essentially following him around across the country that are paying dollars either directly to the team or to Van Wagner, who’s selling the backstop signage,” Lynch told Forbes in 2025.

In 2022, the Dodgers partnered with global sports marketing agency Sportfive to secure premier sponsorships. Two years later, the organization announced a self-sponsorship with its ownership group, Guggenheim Baseball Management, which placed a patch on the team’s jerseys.

The 33-year-old Columbia University protester had been held in immigration detention centre for a year.

Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman detained in the United States after taking part in pro-Palestine demonstrations in 2024, has been released after a year in custody.

The 33-year-old, who grew up in the occupied West Bank before moving to the US in 2016, was held at a detention facility in the state of Texas since March last year.

“I don’t know what to say. I’m free! I’m free! Finally, after one year,” a smiling Kordia told reporters after leaving the detention centre on Monday.

An immigration judge had ruled Kordia was eligible to be released on bond three times. Immigration officials appealed the first two rulings but Kordia was freed on $100,000 bond after government lawyers did not challenge the third.

After her release, Kordia said she was looking forward to going home and hugging her mother “so hard.” But she also said she would keep fighting on behalf of people still being held at the detention centre

“There is a lot of injustice in this place,” she said. “There is a lot of people that shouldn’t be here the first place.”

Kordia, who lost nearly 200 members of his family during Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, was among several protesters targeted by immigration officials for taking part in pro-Palestine demonstrations at Columbia University in 2024.

Until Monday, she was the only person targeted in connection with the demonstration who was still in immigration detention after the release of others, including Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi.

Kordia, who was held at Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, was recently hospitalised for three days following a seizure after fainting and hitting her head at the privately run detention facility.

At a hearing on Friday, Kordia’s lawyers said she had a neurological condition that had worsened while in custody, putting her at an elevated risk of seizure. They reiterated that she could stay with US citizen family members and did not pose a flight risk.

The immigration judge, Tara Naslow, agreed.

“I’ve heard testimony. I’ve seen thousands of pages of evidence presented by the respondent, and very little evidence presented by the government in any of this,” Naslow said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which took place amid the escalating Israel-US war on Iran.

A prominent hotel in central Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone was struck by a drone, amid reports that Iraqi air defences intercepted an attack over the United States Embassy.

The strike on Monday evening hit the top floor of Al-Rasheed Hotel, causing damage but no casualties, according to two Iraqi security officials cited by The Associated Press (AP) news agency.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Security sources told the Reuters news agency that two Katyusha rockets had been intercepted that evening near the US Embassy in the Green Zone, which houses diplomatic missions as well as international institutions and government offices.

Earlier Monday, the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah announced that Abu Ali Al-Askari, a prominent security official with the paramilitary group, had been killed, without giving details on the circumstances.

Kataib Hezbollah is one of the largest groups in the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) operating in Iran, which was founded in 2014 to stop lightning advances by ISIL (ISIS).

On the same day, AP reported that six PMF fighters were killed in a strike on a checkpoint in western Iraq’s Anbar province, and two others were killed in a separate strike on the headquarters of a PMF brigade in the same area.

Two Iraqi security officials told AP that the Majnoon oilfield in Iraq’s southern Basra province was targeted by two drones. No casualties were reported, and it was not immediately clear if there was damage to the facilities.

Iraq’s oil industry has been severely impacted by the US and Israel’s war on Iran and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil trading corridor.

Iraqi Minister of Oil Hayan Abdul-Ghani said in a video statement on Monday that a pipeline from the northern city of Kirkuk to Turkiye would be operational within a week, allowing the country to resume its oil exports, which have been interrupted by the ongoing war.

Also on Monday, air defences intercepted and shot down a drone near Erbil airport in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, according to security sources.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr is using his bully pulpit to push back against coverage of the U.S. military action in Iran that his boss President Trump doesn’t like, marking an extraordinary escalation in his clashes with the media.

On Saturday, Carr posted a message on X suggesting TV stations could lose their government licenses to use the public airwaves if they “don’t operate in the public interest.”

Underneath his statement, Carr shared a social media post from Trump, who complained about the New York Times and Wall Street Journal stories on the five refueling tankers were hit during an Iranian missile strike on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Carr seized on Trump’s missive to issue a warning to TV outlets, which are frequently threatened by the president when he is angry at their coverage.

It’s the latest attempt by the FCC chair to apply pressure on media companies that irritate Trump with critical coverage of his administration.

Since becoming FCC chairman last year, Carr has repeatedly threatened to use the levers of power he has to punish TV and radio stations when they get in Trump’s crosshairs. His behavior has alarmed free speech advocates.

“Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” Carr wrote, without providing evidence to back up his claims. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”

Carr’s threats are based on his assertions that said he wants to enforce the FCC’s public interest obligation for broadcasters that use the airwaves. He made similar remarks in the fall, which prompted two major TV station groups to keep ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air for a week due to remarks the host made regarding slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have repeatedly attacked news organizations for any reporting that doesn’t say the war in Iran is anything but a rousing success.

On Friday, Hegseth said took aim at CNN and said “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network the better.”

Ellison, the chief executive of Paramount who, along with his father, has forged strong ties to the White House, will have control over CNN in addition to CBS if the company’s deal to acquire the news outlet’s parent Warner Bros. Discovery is completed.

Carr made the appointment of an ombudsman for CBS News a condition to approve Ellison’s Skydance Partners deal to acquire Paramount last year. Paramount also drew scrutiny over its controversial decision to pay $16 million to settle Trump’s legal salvo against “60 Minutes” over the editing of an interview with his 2024 opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Most legal analysts viewed the case as frivolous.

The FCC has no jurisdiction over CNN, which is why most of Carr’s barbs are aimed at ABC, CBS and NBC, which air on local TV stations. He once wrote on X, “More Americans trust gas station sushi than the legacy national media.”

Trump said in a social media post Sunday that he was “thrilled” with Carr’s remarks and would support his efforts to go after what he called “Highly Unpatriotic ‘News’ Organizations.”

“They get Billions of Dollars of FREE American Airwaves, and use it to perpetuate LIES, both in News and almost all of their Shows, including the Late Night Morons, who get gigantic Salaries for horrible ratings,” Trump wrote.

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, a Washington-based public interest communications attorney, believes Carr’s conduct and threats violate the 1st Amendment, adding that any serious attempt to revoke licenses would be tied up in legal challenges.

“Even if he started to try to deny a license renewal as quickly as he could, Brendan Carr would be long gone before that case would be over,” Schwartzman said. “The law intentionally sets out a very steep burden for the FCC to deny a license renewal; the process takes many years, during which time the licensee continues to operate normally under ‘continuing operating authority.’”

Carr’s remarks Saturday drew immediate blowback from Democrats and 1st Amendment advocates, noting the FCC’s role does not include policing the free press.

“Once again, this FCC pretends it has the power to control news coverage,” FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said Monday in a statement. “In reality, the FCC has vanishingly little power over national news networks. It licenses local broadcast stations, not networks, and no licenses are up for renewal until 2028.”

Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom weighed in as well, posting, “If Trump doesn’t like your coverage of the war, his FCC will pull your broadcast license. That is flagrantly unconstitutional.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), usually a reliable voice of support for the Trump administration, expressed his concerns over Carr’s remarks.

“I’m a big supporter of the 1st Amendment,” Johnson told Fox News on Sunday. “I do not like the heavy hand of government no matter who’s wielding it. I’d rather the federal government stay out of the private sector as much as possible.”

Gomez added that while attempts to pull licenses border on folly, Carr’s threats and attacks on the media can create a chilling effect and erode the public’s confidence in the press.

“Over the past year, this FCC has attacked the media as part of a years-long campaign by this Administration and its allies to discredit factual, independent coverage while blaming the press for growing public distrust,” Gomez said. “Meanwhile, it is the FCC’s own credibility and public trust that are rapidly eroding.”

Trump is not the first president to target TV station licenses in response to negative news coverage. At the height of the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, Richard Nixon’s allies attempted to challenge the TV licenses for three stations owned at the time by the Washington Post.

The effort didn’t get far.

The last Los Angeles outlet to lose its broadcast license was KHJ in 1987, when the station was part of RKO General, a media company owned by the General Tire and Rubber Co. The case was related to corporate malfeasance and not broadcast content on the stations.

The process to revoke the RKO licenses took seven years from the moment the FCC voted in favor of the move.

“Since then, only small mom-and-pop radio stations have been litigated,” Schwartzman said. “The cases nearly always involve lying to the government, felony convictions or failure to pay regulatory fees. In one recent case, a small owner convicted of tax evasion still kept his license.”

There would be other logistical hurdles to the FCC making good on Carr’s threats.

As Gomez noted, Carr’s FCC only has regulatory control over the TV stations that carry the network signals. If stations were drop network programming for any reason, they could violate their affiliation contracts and lose the right to carry NFL football and other content that delivers big ratings and revenue.

Sinclair Broadcast Group wanted Kimmel to apologize to Kirk‘s family and contribute to his organization Turning Point USA before putting the host’s late night show on the air.

That did not happen and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” returned to Sinclair’s stations anyway.

The 900ft Arctic Metagaz, a charred Russian ghost tanker, has drifted dangerously close to Malta, an archipelago in the central Mediterranean known for its history and culture

Malta — a popular holiday hotspot — is said to be under threat of a “major ecological disaster”.

A charred Russian ghost tanker is believed to be around 50 nautical miles southwest of the island, and is drifting crewless towards the archipelago. The vessel was blitzed two weeks ago by Ukranian drones and has since, the hole-ridden 900ft Arctic Metagaz has moved towards Malta.

And now multiple European countries have warned an ecological threat is imminent. In a letter to the European Commission, seven nations said the “precarious condition of the vessel, combined with the nature of its specialised cargo” posed a “serious risk”. These countries have described the situation as a “dual challenge” – upholding maritime safety and preventing an ecological disaster against the background of EU sanctions imposed on.

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Russia claimed that Ukraine used “uncrewed sea drones” to target the Metagaz in the Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Malta. The Security Service of Ukraine has not responded to the accusation.

According to Russia, the attack took place on March 4 and was launched from the Libyan coast. The vessel had previously been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for being part of Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet.”

Composed largely of ageing tankers, the fleet moves Russian oil and gas worldwide while bypassing Western restrictions. Authorities in Malta and Italy have been closely monitoring the wreck amid concerns about potential pollution. Rome said the vessel was carrying “significant quantities of gas, heavy oil, and diesel fuel.”

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WWF Italy warned in a statement: “A potential spill could cause fires, cryogenic clouds lethal to marine life, and widespread and long-lasting pollution of water and the atmosphere.”

It added: “The affected area is of exceptional ecological value, with fragile deep-sea ecosystems and some of the highest biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin.”

Salvage experts are already in Malta in preparation for the ship’s arrival in Maltese waters, while a specialist vessel is on its way, a maritime source told AFP on Sunday.

Initial reports indicated that the ship sank after explosions sparked a fire on board. Libyan authorities said the tanker went down about 130 nautical miles north of the port of Sirte. Around 30 Russians were on board the Arctic Metagaz, according to Russia’s transport ministry. They were all found “safe and sound in a lifeboat” by Malta’s armed forces, Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said.

However, Malta’s transport authority said last week that the wreck was still afloat. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation acknowledged that the vessel was drifting in the Mediterranean and said Russia’s further involvement in resolving the situation would depend on “concrete circumstances”. It added that efforts to address the situation — including surveillance, monitoring and other technical support — could risk “undermining the integrity, effectiveness and the deterrent value of the EU sanctions regime”.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the ship had no crew and was carrying 700 metric tons of various types of fuel along with “a substantial amount of natural gas”.

“The international legal norms applicable to the current situation imply the responsibility of coastal countries … for resolving the situation with the drifting vessel and preventing an environmental disaster,” Zakharova wrote.

“Further involvement by the shipowner and Russia as the flag state will depend on the specific circumstances.”

WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to rule on whether the Trump administration may end the temporary protection that had been extended in the past to migrants who live and work in the United States.

At issue are legal protections for about 6,000 Syrians and up to 350,000 Haitians.

The court’s announcement signals the justices want to resolve this issue in a written opinion rather through emergency appeals.

Twice last year, the court’s conservatives set aside decisions from judges in San Francisco who said President Trump’s Homeland Security secretary had overstepped her authority.

Those cases involved the temporary protection status extended to about 600,000 Venezuelans.

But those decisions did not set clear precedents, and in recent weeks, judges in New York and Washington, D.C., blocked the administration’s plan to end the special protections for Haitians and Syrians.

Frustrated by what he labeled “indefensible” decisions, Trump’s Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer advised the court to hear arguments and issue a written ruling on the issue.

The justices on Monday agreed to just that. Arguments will be heard in April, and a decision will be handed down by July.

Immigrant-rights advocates argued the repeal of the special protection would be cruel and unjust to migrants who have established lives and careers in this country.

In 1990, Congress authorized giving temporary shelter to non-citizens from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disaster or “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that prevent them from returning there.

In 2012, the Homeland Security secretary extended this protection to Syrians in response to a “brutal crackdown” engineered by its then-President Bashar al-Assad.

Last year, citing Assad’s fall from power, Trump’s Secretary Kristi Noem proposed to cancel the temporary protection for Syrians. Lawyers for the Syrians questioned how this could be seen as an emergency requiring an immediate ruling.

They said about 6,100 Syrians who have lived here lawfully for years.

They are “highly sought-after doctors and medical professionals, reporters, students, teachers, business owners, caretakers, and others who have been repeatedly vetted and by definition have virtually no criminal history. The government apparently needs urgent authority to send them to a country in the middle of an active war,” the lawyers said.

In 2010, the Obama administration extended the protection to Haiti after an earthquake caused death and damage in Port-au-Prince, the capital.

Judges in New York and Washington blocked those repeals and said the high court had given “no explanation” for its decision upholding the repeal for Venezuelans.

Those judges said the Supreme Court’s earlier orders orders “involved a TPS designation of a different country, with different factual circumstances, and different grounds for resolution by the district court.”

Sauer pointed to a provision in the 1990 law that says judges have no authority to second-guess the government’s decision to end it.

“There is no judicial review of any determination of the [Secretary] with respect to the designation, or termination or extension of a designation, of a foreign state under this subsection,” the law says.

In the three weeks since Trump’s attorney filed his emergency appeal, there have been two significant changes since then.

Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. And his war launched against Iran threatens countries throughout the Mideast, including Syria.

In agreeing to hear the pair of cases, the justices did not disturb the lower court rulings that blocked the repeals for now.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani expressed regret Monday for his “shortcomings” following Japan’s early exit from the World Baseball Classic.

It is unclear what those shortcomings might have been. Over four games during this year’s tournament, Ohtani led Japan with a .462 batting average, three home runs and seven RBI in 13 at-bats.

Those stats are even better than the ones he posted as the MVP of the last WBC. Over seven games in 2023, Ohtani hit .435 with one home run and eight home runs in 23 at-bats to lead Japan to its third WBC championship.

Overall, however, Japan finished with a .284 batting average, down from a .299 average three years ago. Ohtani did account for his team’s final out of the 2026 tournament — an infield popup to seal an 8-5 quarterfinal loss to Venezuela on Saturday — and took to Instagram two days later.

“Thank you to all the fans for your support. Your cheers pushed us forward every day,” Ohtani wrote in Japanese. “We didn’t achieve the results we hoped for, and I deeply regret my own shortcomings.”

The two-way superstar did not pitch in this year’s WBC, after famously striking out then-Angels teammate Mike Trout of the United States for the final out of the 2023 championship game and going 2-0 with one save and a 1.86 ERA in that tournament.

Ohtani had his second Tommy John surgery in September 2023 and did not pitch again until last June with the Dodgers. Manager Dave Roberts revealed in January that Ohtani had decided not to pitch in the WBC.

Offering another rationale for the US-Israeli war on Iran, Donald Trump claimed he ordered strikes to prevent a nuclear conflict that would have turned into World War III. He also said not even the “greatest experts” thought Iran would retaliate with attacks on Gulf states.

Emergency responders carried patients out of a government hospital in Odisha, India, after a fire killed at least 10 ICU patients, according to officials.

It’s been described as Game for a Laugh meets Saturday Night Takeaway – but Joel claims he was terrified during one particular challenge

Joel Dommett said he experienced “one of the most frightening moments of my life” after being disguised as a set of dog toys while trying to get a collar off a Great Dane in new show Celebrity Sabotage.

The Masked Singer star is joined by fellow disruptors GK Barry, Judi Love and Sam Thompson for the new Saturday night series which has been dubbed Saturday Night Takeaway meets Game for a Laugh. And at one point he was tasked with trying to grab the collar while GK tried to distract the owner from realising what was going on.

“I think it’s genuinely one of the most frightening moments of my life because we had this lady who had a Great Dane and so she was there with the dog. And so GK was there trying to distract the owner whilst I was dressed as dog toys, trying not to get caught by the owner, but trying to get the collar off the dog without being noticed.”

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The dog, at the time, was wearing a wig. “It turns out, not that safe,” he laughed. “Obviously the dog just wanted to eat me. Face to face with a dog, I can’t remember if I fell. You would bloody panic if you were on the floor. It’s called a Great Dane for a reason.”

GK admitted she was worried for him, telling him at the time. “Honestly, it’s not that deep, but I’d love you to still have a face after this episode. And he was like, ‘I’m going to go again’.”

Another time comedian Joel was made to hide inside a chair. “I dressed as that chair and I was just hidden in a room and we were all there. The entire time I was just thinking, ‘Please, nobody sit on me.’ That was all I was thinking.”

For the series, producers took over a manor house where they staged six fake reality shows, each with its own celebrity host, who were all in on the joke. Once the unsuspecting contestants arrived to take part, the four saboteurs set about carrying out missions being set for them by producers, with each set of players genuinely believing they were taking part in a brand new show for ITV. They were – but not the one they thought.

The good news for all of them, however, is that every time the saboteurs were successful, they were winning money for the unwitting contestants worth up to £30,000. Joel, 40, said that when they finally worked out what was going on, it made for great TV. “The reveal at the end when they realise that they’re winning money. It’s just like so heartwarming.” And he added “We just cause absolute chaos, carnage. I don’t know about you guys, but it’s the most fun I’ve had working on a show in a really long time.”

One of the challenges sees the team tasked with ruining the face masks being applied to people who were in on the joke in a fake spa – by lacing it with green dye, which stained their faces and left them filled with fake fury.

Judi said that one of the saboteurs spent a lot of time using one particular disguise. “We dress up as mad stuff. Basically every single episode GK is dressed as a bush,” she laughed. For herself, she said: “I think the skill I learned is that I can roll quite well. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Over the weeks the team are joined by guest saboteurs, one of whom was Jo Brand. ‘She was so funny. She just did not care about what we were saying,” they laughed. “There was one bit we were like, ‘Don’t get caught.’ She was just wandering around the corridors.

-Celebrity Sabotage starts on Saturday March 21 at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked federal health officials from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every child, and said U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely violated federal procedures in revamping a key vaccine advisory committee.

The decision halts an order by Kennedy — announced in January — to end broad recommendations for all children to be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV.

A number of leading medical groups raised alarms that the vaccine recommendation changes made under Kennedy would undermine protections against a half-dozen diseases. And the American Academy of Pediatrics and some other groups amended a lawsuit they had filed in July, asking the judge to stop the scaling back of the nation’s childhood vaccination schedule.

The original lawsuit, in federal court in Boston, focused on Kennedy’s decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for most children and pregnant women.

The suit was updated as Kennedy took more steps that alarmed medical societies, causing the plaintiffs to ask Judge Brian E. Murphy to take steps to address those policy changes too. For example, the amended complaint asked the court to look at Kennedy’s actions concerning the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises public health officials on what vaccines to recommend to doctors and patients.

Kennedy, a leading anti-vaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official, fired the entire 17-member panel last year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices.

Murphy, who was nominated to the bench by President Biden, said Kennedy’s reconstitution of ACIP likely violated federal law. He ordered the appointments — and all decisions made by the reformed committee — put on hold.

Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said: “HHS looks forward to this judge’s decision being overturned just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing.”

ACIP was scheduled to meet this week to discuss COVID-19 vaccines, among other issues, but that gathering was being postponed.

“ACIP as currently constituted cannot meet,” said Richard Hughes IV, an attorney representing the AAP. “How can a committee meet without nearly the entirety of its membership?”

Stobbe writes for the Associated Press.

PHOENIX — It’s only fitting that the pitcher who recorded the Dodgers’ final eight outs of the World Series will take the mound on opening day, as the club tries to pick up where it left off in 2025 and chase a third straight championship in 2026.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday that World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto will toe the rubber for the March 26 opener at Dodger Stadium against the Arizona Diamondbacks — the second straight year he’s had the honor and the first time at home, after pitching last season’s opener in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs.

Roberts added Yamamoto is expected to return to Camelback Ranch soon, after participating in the World Baseball Classic with Team Japan. The Samurai Warriors, seeking a second straight WBC title, were eliminated by Team Venezuela Saturday night in the quarterfinals.

Yamamoto is expected to make one more start in the Cactus League before opening day, although the date has yet to be scheduled, according to Roberts.

Shohei Ohtani returned to Dodgers camp Monday morning, and Roberts plans to have a conversation with him soon about configuring his throwing plan leading up to regular season play. Per Roberts, Ohtani threw four innings in a simulated game while with Team Japan last Thursday.

“He’s going to get here and throw a bullpen,” Roberts said, adding: “I’m trying to figure out when we can get him into a game, but it should be here in the next day or two, to take some at bats. But as far as his progression, there’s going to be a bullpen soon, and [we’re] trying to figure out what day he’s going to pitch this week. It should be this week, but I’m not sure which day yet.”

Ohtani has not pitched in a Cactus League game and did not pitch in the WBC. Roberts does not expect the four-time MVP to be fully stretched out by the start of the regular season. Still, as Roberts notes, he’s further along than he was at this time a year ago, when he was working his way back from Tommy John surgery.

“I think this year we’re certainly north of that, I don’t see how we won’t be able to get to three or four innings in a major league game, so that’s certainly a better jumping-off point than last year, so we’ll see how it goes,” Roberts said.

Beyond Yamamoto, Ohtani and trusty veteran Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers’ back end of the rotation is still taking shape. Though Roberts had considered a six-man rotation to begin regular season play, he indicated Monday that he expects the club to use a five-man rotation, noting that things are still “fluid.”

Last week, Roberts said he “didn’t see a world in which Roki Sasaki doesn’t break [camp] as a starter.” That would leave one rotation spot up for the taking, with 25-year-old Justin Wrobleski, 26-year-old Emmet Sheehan and 27-year-old River Ryan among those in the running.

IF there’s ever a time to sink a pint of Guinness, it’s got to be today, which is St Patrick’s Day.

You’ll likely find the best pour in its birthplace of Ireland, but there are plenty of bars all over the world pulling stouts for punters.

Sophie Swietochowski shares her pick of unlikely destinations to pick up a Guinness, along with some holiday deals for those who are tempted.

NEPAL

THE aptly named Irish Pub is not only in one of the most off-grid locations in this list — being in the small town of Namche Bazaar — it’s also one of the highest boozers in the world.

Many claim it’s the most difficult pub to reach because of its position in the gateway to Mount Everest.

OK, it may be a two-day hike to get there but it’s well worth it for the views — and at least you can reward yourself with a well-deserved pint at the end.

CHEERS TO THAT

Inside London’s new Guinness brewery with selfies on pints & VIP rooms

CHEERS!

Brewery giant launches Guinness DUPE as Irish favourite could soar to £10 a pint

NORWAY

ON Paddy’s Day, punters sink Guinness like its medicine, so what could be a more fitting setting than a 19th-century pharmacy?

Svanen, in the Norwegian capital Oslo, ranks 32 in the 50 Best Bars in the world list, with its traditional glass medicine cabinets, marble columns and black and white tiled floors still intact.

You’d be hard pushed to find a quirkier joint for sipping the dark stuff.

JAMAICA

RICK’S Cafe has to be one of the most spectacular spots to enjoy a pint, with sweeping views of the Caribbean Sea that are best enjoyed at sunset.

The bar-cum-restaurant in the town of Negril has become a popular spot for cliff jumpers thanks to its hilltop perch, 35ft above a clear and perfectly blue ocean.

A pint of Guinness will set you back a fiver.

THE FAROE ISLANDS

THIS collection of volcanic islands, floating in the sea between the UK, Norway and Iceland, are so unspoilt that it’s hard to picture a bar here being anything more than a few tables and a weathered gent serving only the local poison.

But the Irish Pub (again) is a little more than that.

Located in the capital Torshavn, this charming spot offers lovely views of the harbour.

You may even spot seals, whales and dolphins, too.

ICELAND

IT may be better known for attracting geography enthusiasts than stout-loving stags, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t places serving the black stuff in the Land of Fire and Ice.

Den Danske Kro is a lively spot in capital Reykjavik with Danish-style furnishings and a wide selection of beers on tap — including the Irish favourite for £9.

CZECH REPUBLIC

IN capital Prague, pints are poured with a side serving of history.

Its Old Town dates back more than 1,000 years and is dominated by the Baroque Church of St Nicholas and the dramatic Kinsky Palace.

And just off the square you’ll find Waxy Malone’s.

A pour of Guinness here will set you back around a fiver.

March 16 (UPI) — Kenya and Russia announced on Monday that Kenyans will no longer be recruited by the Russian military and sent to fight in Ukraine.

The move follows a Kenyan intelligence report indicating that more than 1,000 people from Kenya and other African nations in recent months have been recruited into deployment on the front lines of the war between Russia and Ukraine by “rogue” agencies participating in human trafficking.

The report, released in February, alleged that of Kenyans recruited for the war, 10 died, 28 were missing, 39 were hospitalized and others were fighting for Russia in Ukraine, The Kenyan Daily Post reported.

“We have agreed that Kenyans will no longer be enlisted for special operations through the defense ministry,” Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said during a news conference. “They will no longer be eligible to be enlisted.”

The nations also were expected to sign a labor agreement aimed at protecting Kenyans working in Russia — specifically in drone manufacturing — which will cover people working specifically for the military or for other related industries, he said.

Mudavadi told The BBC that Kenya has shut down more than 600 agencies that were lying to Kenyans about a range of possible jobs in Russia and other countries, with many ending up in Ukraine.

Russia has not given answers to relatives at its embassy in Kenya, nor has it commented on reports that human traffickers were fooling people into being enlisted in the war with lies about well-paid jobs.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Lavrov said during the news conference that all foreign fighters, including those from Kenya, had not been coerced or lied to and their voluntary service complied with Russian law.

“Once a contract is terminated, the individual is no longer bound and is free to make their own decisions,” Lavov said, although Kenyans who have volunteered to join the war have to find and pay for their own travel home.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, alleged in November that at least 1,400 people from Africa from 36 countries have been sent to Ukraine by Russia, many of whom have been captured as prisoners of war.

Speaking at the Oval office, US President Donald Trump stated that Somalia is a “fourth world nation” while repeating claims without evidence that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar had illegally entered the country by marrying her brother. Omar has consistently denied the “sick” allegations.

Walt Disney Co.’s incoming president and chief creative officer, Dana Walden, has unveiled her leadership team, which includes several familiar faces from the company’s film, television and marketing units.

Walden will become Disney’s first woman president on Wednesday. She will report to Josh D’Amaro, who will succeed Bob Iger as Disney’s chief executive, following the company’s annual meeting with shareholders and its high-profile leadership handoff.

Walden’s senior team includes her longtime creative partner, Alan Bergman. As chairman of Disney Entertainment and Studios, Bergman will continue to oversee Disney’s film studios, including production, marketing and distribution.

Bergman also will retain oversight of Disney’s streaming programming in concert with Walden.

Disney executives Joe Earley and Adam Smith were named co-presidents of Disney’s entertainment direct to consumer offerings — Disney+ and Hulu. Both executives will be responsible for strategy and financial performance and report to Walden and Bergman.

Earley and Walden worked together when they were Fox executives; Earley will also serve as head of content strategy.

Smith continues in his role as Disney Entertainment chief product and technology officer. He also will continue to collaborate with ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro on matters related to ESPN and ESPN+.

Debra OConnell will step into a newly-formed role as chairman of Disney Entertainment Television.

She will have a broad TV portfolio that includes ABC Entertainment, Disney-branded cable channels, Hulu Originals as well as programming from National Geographic, 20th Television and 20th Television Animation.

OConnell will continue to oversee ABC News and the ABC-owned television stations, including KABC-TV Channel 7 in Los Angeles.

Disney’s incoming president Dana Walden has established her senior leadership team.

(Richard Shotwell/Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Sean Shoptaw, who serves as executive vice president for games and digital entertainment, and his organization, will shift from Disney Experiences and into Walden’s division.

Shoptaw oversees Disney’s games business and its collaboration with Epic Games to develop a Disney universe connected to Fortnite.

John Landgraf remains chairman of FX and will continue to report directly to Walden.

Asad Ayaz, who is chief marketing and brand officer, has an influential remit across Disney’s various business segments. He will report to D’Amaro and Walden.

“The strength of Disney has always been the emotional connection between our stories and the people who love them,” Walden said in a statement. “As fans engage with Disney across more formats and platforms than ever before, we are bringing together the full power of our creative businesses to build an even more connected experience for audiences.”

California and a coalition of other states sued the Trump administration Monday over its efforts to roll back fair housing rules that bar certain types of discrimination by landlords, including against LGBTQ+ people.

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rule change threatening funding for states that offer housing protections for LGBTQ+ and other marginalized individuals who are not explicitly covered by federal law is illegal, undermines state efforts to combat discrimination and would push vulnerable people onto the streets.

“In effect, the Trump administration is attempting to roll back civil rights enforcement in housing at the federal level, and pressure states to weaken their own protections as well,” Bonta said during a news conference Monday. “That’s not just bad policy, it’s unlawful.”

Representatives from HUD and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The federal Fair Housing Act explicitly bans discrimination based on seven traits: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. Under rules set forth during the Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has for years interpreted the law as banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many states, including California, also have adopted laws explicitly banning discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups not mentioned in the federal law, with California also banning discrimination based on marital status, ancestry, source of income and veteran or military status.

In September, HUD issued new guidance threatening to decertify state housing agencies — stripping their federal funding and ability to investigate discrimination claims — if they provide anti-discrimination protections other than those spelled out in the Fair Housing Act. The guidance also barred state agencies from using federal funds to “promote gender ideology,” “fund or promote elective abortions” or promote illegal immigration, according to the lawsuit.

The guidance followed that of HUD Secretary Scott Turner, a former NFL player and Trump loyalist, who announced last year that HUD would no longer adhere to a 2016 Obama-era rule protecting transgender people from housing discrimination, which Turner said “tied housing programs, shelters and other facilities funded by HUD to far-left gender ideology.”

“We, at this agency, are carrying out the mission laid out by President Trump on January 20th [2025] when he signed an executive order to restore biological truth to the federal government,” Turner said in a statement, referring to Trump’s order calling on federal agencies across the government to rescind protections for transgender Americans.

“This means recognizing there are only two sexes: male and female,” Turner said. “It means getting government out of the way of what the Lord established from the beginning when he created man in His own image.”

Among other things, the administration said rules barring discrimination against transgender people allowed “biological men to enter shelters intended for women impacted by trauma, domestic abuse and violence.”

LGBTQ+ advocacy groups condemned the move, noting that transgender Americans face heightened discrimination in a slate of areas — including housing — and need protections. They also contended that HUD’s new policies violate a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision barring employment discrimination based on gender or gender identity.

Bonta said the Fair Housing Act “set a floor, not a ceiling, for protections against discrimination,” which means that states “have the authority to go further and protect more people,” as California has endeavored to do.

He said HUD has supported the state’s anti-discrimination work for decades through the Fair Housing Assistance Program, which provides funding to state and local agencies to investigate and enforce laws against housing discrimination. HUD’s new guidance “threatens to undermine that system” by demanding an end to state protections not just for LGBTQ+ people, but for military veterans, immigrants as well as women receiving abortions and other reproductive healthcare, he said.

“Families across California are already struggling to find homes they can afford, and the last thing they need is for the federal government to make it harder,” Bonta said. “At its core, this lawsuit is about protecting a fundamental civil right: the right to rent, buy, or live in housing without discrimination.”

Bonta said California interprets the Fair Housing Act’s ban on sex discrimination as protecting LGBTQ+ people, but the Trump administration doesn’t agree — making the state’s more explicit protections important.

He said about $3 million in federal funding is currently at stake for California, with millions more at stake in other states.

Illinois Atty. Gen. Kwame Raoul, who is helping lead the lawsuit and spoke alongside Bonta Monday, said states with robust antidiscrimination laws “will not go backwards and we will not give in to threats” from the Trump administration.

“These actions are part of a broader, ongoing pattern by this administration to subvert the legal protections our country has put in place to combat discrimination, and to tear down the hard fought progress we have made for civil rights,” Raoul said. “It is also just the latest page in the president’s illegal playbook to use funding and programs created by Congress to try to strong arm states into adopting Trump’s preferred policies.”

The states allege that HUD’s targeting of state antidiscrimination policies comes after it downsized its own workforce and significantly reduced its ability to investigate housing discrimination complaints and enforce fair housing laws. They say the new guidance violates multiple federal laws, including laws that govern federal spending and rule changes, and are asking the federal court to immediately invalidate the guidance as unlawful.

Bonta and Raoul are joined in the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.