The author of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s after-action report on the Palisades fire declined to endorse it because of substantial deletions that altered his findings, calling the edited version “highly unprofessional and inconsistent with our established standards.”

Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook emailed then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva and other LAFD officials with the subject line “Palisades AARR Non-Endorsement,” about an hour after the highly anticipated report was made public Oct. 8.

“Having reviewed the revised version submitted by your office, I must respectfully decline to endorse it in its current form,” Cook wrote in the email obtained by The Times. “The document has undergone substantial modifications and contains significant deletions of information that, in some instances, alter the conclusions originally presented.”

Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook complained to former interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva about deletions and revisions in the Palisades fire after-action report.

(L.A. City Mayor’s Office)

He continued, “While I fully understand the need to address potential liability concerns and to modify certain sections in consultation with the City Attorney to mitigate litigation risks, the current version appears highly unprofessional and inconsistent with our established standards. I strongly urge you to reconsider publishing the report as it stands.”

In the email, Cook also raised concerns that the LAFD’s final report would be at odds with a report on the January wildfires commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, which has yet to be released.

“I am concerned that substantial disparities may exist between the two reports,” Cook wrote.

Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement Tuesday, “The Governor commissioned an independent review by the world’s leading fire safety experts to ensure the public receives a complete, accurate, and unvarnished accounting of the events leading up to the Palisades fire and how responding agencies carried out their response.”

Cook — who emails show provided a final draft of the after-action report to Villanueva in August — has declined to comment. Attempts to reach Villanueva were unsuccessful.

The LAFD has refused to answer questions from The Times about the deletions and revisions. Mayor Karen Bass’ office said the LAFD wrote and edited the report, and that the mayor did not demand changes.

On Sunday, The Times reported that Cook was upset about the changes to the report. The previous day, The Times had disclosed the watering down of the after-action report after analyzing seven drafts obtained through a public records request. The most significant changes involved the LAFD’s failure to order firefighters to stay on duty for an additional shift and to fully pre-deploy engines in high-risk areas before the Jan. 7 fire, as the wind warnings became increasingly dire. It’s unclear who exactly directed the revisions.

Cook’s Oct. 8 email laying out his concerns in stark language adds to the growing evidence that city and LAFD officials attempted to burnish the LAFD’s image in a report that should have been an honest assessment of the department’s failings in preparing for and fighting the fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes. The goal of such a report is to prevent similar mistakes.

Cook’s email reached Bass’ office in mid-November, according to Bass spokesperson Clara Karger.

Karger said last week that “the Mayor has inquired with Chief Moore about the concerns,” referring to Jaime Moore, who became LAFD chief last month.

The Times submitted a public records request last month for all of the mayor’s emails about the after-action report, a request that the city has not yet fulfilled. Bass’ office provided Cook’s email to The Times on Tuesday.

The city had withheld Cook’s email from its response to a separate records request filed by an unknown party in October. Almost 180 of Cook’s emails were posted on the city’s records portal on Dec. 9, but the one that expressed his concerns about the report was missing. That email was only posted on the portal Tuesday, after The Times asked about it.

The LAFD did not respond to a Times query about why the email was not released with Cook’s other emails. Bass’s office also did not respond to a query about Cook’s concerns and the fact that they were withheld from the public.

Gene Cameron, who lived in the Palisades for 50 years before his home burned down in the Jan. 7 fire, was disturbed by the LAFD’s revisions, which he said amounted to a cover up.

“I appreciate his bravery to stand up against these unprofessional immoral edits,” he said of Cook, adding that the point of the report is not to assign blame, but to prevent future mistakes. “It’s just to establish a set of rules, procedures and guidelines so that this doesn’t happen again.”

City Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes the Palisades, said in a statement Tuesday that the city can’t fix systemic failures or rebuild public trust without full transparency.

“I’ve said from the beginning that LAFD should not be investigating itself. After a disaster of this magnitude, the public deserves a full, unfiltered accounting of what went wrong and why — and my independent after-action report will provide exactly that,” she said, referring to a report she requested that the City Council approved and funded earlier this year, though it hasn’t been completed.

Genethia Hudley Hayes, president of the Board of Fire Commissioners, did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment. She previously told The Times that she heard rumors that the author of the report was unhappy, but that she did not look into the matter.

A July email thread reviewed by The Times shows concern over how the after-action report would be received, with the LAFD forming a “crisis management workgroup.”

“The primary goal of this workgroup is to collaboratively manage communications for any critical public relations issue that may arise. The immediate and most pressing crisis is the Palisades After Action Report,” LAFD Asst. Chief Kairi Brown wrote in an email to eight other people.

“With significant interest from media, politicians, and the community, it is crucial that we present a unified response to anticipated questions and concerns,” Brown wrote. “By doing so, we can ensure our messaging is clear and consistent, allowing us to create our own narrative rather than reactive responses.”

Cook was not included on that email thread. It’s unclear how much of a role, if any, that group had on the revisions.

The after-action report has been widely criticized for failing to examine a New Year’s Day fire that later reignited into the Palisades fire. Bass has ordered the LAFD to commission an independent investigation into its missteps in putting out the earlier fire.

One edit to the after-action report involved language stating that the decision to not fully staff up and pre-deploy all available crews and engines ahead of the extreme wind forecast “did not align” with the department’s policy and procedures during red flag days.

The final report did not include that language, saying instead that the number of engine companies rolled out ahead of the fire “went above and beyond the standard LAFD pre-deployment matrix.”

A section on “failures” was renamed “primary challenges,” and an item saying that crews and leaders had violated national guidelines on how to avoid firefighter deaths and injuries was scratched.

Another passage that was deleted said that some crews waited more than an hour for an assignment the day of the fire.

Two drafts contain notes typed in the margins with suggestions that seemed intended to soften the report’s effect and make the Fire Department look good. One note proposed replacing the image on the cover page — which showed palm trees on fire against an orange sky — with a “positive” one, such as “firefighters on the frontline.” The final report’s cover displays the LAFD seal.

The final version listed only 42 items in the section on recommendations and lessons learned, while the first version reviewed by The Times listed 74.

Facing an overmatched opponent that allowed him to freely tinker with his lineups, UCLA coach Mick Cronin tried plenty of mixing and matching Tuesday afternoon.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway was that a three-guard lineup might be the way to go after the continued struggles of centers Xavier Booker and Steven Jamerson II.

“We’ve got to find a way to play our best players and win, whoever they are, because it’s not Little League,” Cronin said after his team’s 97-65 victory over UC Riverside at Pauley Pavilion. “You’ve either got to give us some rebounding and defense or somebody else has got to play.”

The leading candidates for a larger role based on what happened against the Highlanders appear to be reserves Trent Perry, Jamar Brown and Brandon Williams.

Perry was a playmaking force with his scoring and smart passes. Brown did a little bit of everything in an energetic fashion. Williams showed plenty of toughness as the second big man in small lineups also featuring Tyler Bilodeau, who was an offensive juggernaut against a team that provided little defensive resistance.

“The biggest thing I care about is winning,” said Bilodeau, who finished with a career-high 34 points while making 12 of 19 shots to go with six rebounds. “So whatever we need to do to get that done.”

Cronin joked afterward that Bilodeau shouldn’t have missed any shots because he needlessly took fadeaway jumpers.

“They don’t double [team],” Cronin said of the Highlanders, “so I said, ‘Buddy, you’ve got one night here where they’re just going to let you keep dribbling until you shoot, so go have fun. Keep going at the rim until you score.’ ”

Guard Skyy Clark added 14 points to help UCLA (10-3) post its third consecutive victory going into an extended winter break. Forward Osiris Grady finished with 20 points for the Highlanders (6-8), who shot 42.6% to the Bruins’ 50%.

The game’s biggest revelations came off the UCLA bench. Perry might have been the biggest, running the offense at a high level while finishing with 14 points, seven assists and zero turnovers in 24 minutes. Cronin went with some lineups in the second half featuring Perry alongside starting point guard Donovan Dent (seven points and three assists in 19 minutes).

“Three-guard lineup, we’ve been pushing in transition a lot more,” Perry said. “I mean, we’re just finding the groove before Big Ten” play.

Brown contributed across the board, tallying four points, seven rebounds and four steals in 24 minutes.

UCLA guard Skyy Clark drives against UC Riverside guard De’Undrae Perteete Jr. during the Bruins’ win on Tuesday.

(Jan Lim / UCLA Athletics)

“A tremendous portal find,” Cronin said of the transfer from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. “Great toughness. He’s a winning player.”

Williams’ biggest factor was his defense during a performance in which he had three points, one rebound and one steal in 18 minutes. The big question was whether he was providing more than the player whose spot he took.

Booker finished with six points and one rebound in 13 minutes, unfurling a second consecutive subpar showing after being limited to three minutes against Cal Poly because of matchups. Jamerson played only seven choppy minutes, once being yanked after an 11-second stint because of an inability to keep the Highlanders from reaching the rim with ease.

“Got to get better,” Cronin said of his centers. “I just talked to them about that.”

UC Riverside repeatedly made the mistake of leaving Bilodeau open in the first half and the forward made the Highlanders regret their decision by making five of nine shots on the way to 13 points. After having been UCLA’s primary center last year, Bilodeau said he was happy to go back to that role if that’s what his coach needed.

“Tyler would probably tell you he gets more open shots when he’s playing the five,” Cronin said, “because the other team’s five man is guarding him.”

Cronin said the issue that arises when going small is the need to be an elite offensive team — territory the Bruins might be approaching. Their offensive efficiency is ranked No. 27 nationally by the metrics of basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy, their best since they were No. 21 during the 2022-23 season that ended in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament after season-ending injuries to Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona.

If this is the best version of the Bruins, Cronin appeared ready to roll with it.

“All that matters is who you become, not in the last game or the game previous to that, so we’re on a search,” Cronin said. “Just like every team, it’s not who you are now, it’s who you are at the end and can you get enough wins along the way?”

Dec. 23 (UPI) — An explosion Tuesday afternoon at a nursing home in eastern Pennsylvania killed at least two and left many injured and missing, local officials said.

The explosion took place at 2:15 p.m. EST at the Silver Lake Nursing Home in the borough of Bristol. It originated in the nursing home’s basement and caused a fire and part of the building to collapse, a Bucks County spokesperson told NBC News.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro traveled to the nursing home’s location and told media a gas leak is suspected of causing the deadly explosion and fire.

Shapiro commended the actions of police, firefighters and other first-responders to help others and minimize potential casualties.

The nursing home has 174 beds, most of which were occupied, and a worker told WCAU that about 50 people usually are inside the building.

The nursing home is located about 20 miles south of Philadelphia, and most of its residents are between ages 50 and 95.

The explosion shook nearby buildings and caused a response from fire departments and first responders in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia Counties, plus another from Burlington County in New Jersey.

This is a developing story.

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AUTHOR JK Rowling earned £148,767 a day from Harry Potter e-book sales, accounts show.

In the year to the end of March, her firm Pottermore Ltd turned over £54.3million — up from £48.8million.

Annual accounts for the firm, which handles sales of her Potter e-books and audiobooks, revealed more than £41million came from “the Americas” and £12million from the UK and Europe.

Its pre-tax profit was £17.2million, up from £11.4million, with £11.6million paid in dividends — adding to Rowling’s fortune of at least £945million thanks to the Potter books, films and theme parks.

Accountants revealed: “Pottermore Ltd is the global digital audiobook and eBook publisher of J.K. Rowling’s multi-million bestselling Harry Potter series and associated titles.

“Pottermore promotes accessibility, creativity, and innovation as it brings these beloved stories to life for each generation of readers and listeners to discover.

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“Pottermore continues to manage the digital publishing of the original Harry Potter series as well as that of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play script, the Fantastic Beasts screenplays and the Hogwarts Library Books.

“It also publishes digital non-fiction relating to Harry Potter. Harry Potter digital channels continue to be managed through Wizarding World Digital LLC, a joint venture between Pottermore Inc and Warner Bros. Discovery.

“Pottermore Ltd has had a new record year, continuing to benefit from making its content available through a global distribution network including online retail and library partners such as Amazon, Apple, Audible, Bookbeat, Google, Nextory, Storytel, Overdrive and Hoopla, as well as new content releases and new distribution through Yoto and Spotify.

“Pottermore Ltd expanded its title and language catalogue with the release of From the Wizarding Archive in eBook and audiobook format in 5 languages, Hogwarts Library Books in an additional 4 languages, and, through its partnership with JukeBooks, its first Harry Potter audiobook in Greek.

“The company also extended its distribution with the release of the Stephen Fry narrated audiobook editions in the US for the first time, complementing the existing Jim Dale narrated editions, which continue to sell well.”

It released e-books and audiobooks of From the Wizarding Archive in five languages.

Its first Harry Potter audiobook came out in Greek and it added four more languages to its Hogwarts Library Books.

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday he was “very disappointed” that his home state of Illinois had approved a law allowing for medically assisted suicide, and he called for greater respect for life.

Leo said he had spoken “explicitly” with Gov. JB Pritzker and urged him to not sign the bill into law. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich did the same, Leo told reporters as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

“We were very clear about the necessity to respect the sacredness of life from the very beginning to the very end, and unfortunately, for different reasons, he decided to sign that bill,” Leo said. “I am very disappointed about that.”

Pritzker signed the legislation Dec. 12. The measure is also known as “Deb’s Law,” honoring Deb Robertson, a resident of the state living with a rare terminal illness. She had pushed for the measure’s approval and testified to the suffering of people and their families wanting the chance to decide for themselves how and when their lives should end.

Pritzker, a Democrat, had said he had been moved by stories of patients suffering from terminal illnesses.

Leo, who grew up in Chicago, cited Catholic teaching, which calls for the defense and protection of life from conception until natural death, forbidding abortion and euthanasia.

“I would invite all people, especially in these Christmas days, to reflect upon the nature of human life, the goodness of human life,” Leo said. “God became human like us to show us what it means really to live human life, and I hope and pray that the respect for life will once again grow in all moments of human existence, from conception to natural death.”

The state’s six Catholic dioceses had criticized Pritzker’s signing, saying the law puts Illinois “on a dangerous and heartbreaking path.”

Eleven other states and the District of Columbia allow medically assisted suicide, according to the advocacy group, Death With Dignity. Delaware was the latest, and its provision takes effect Jan. 1, 2026. Seven other states are considering allowing it.

Santalucia writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.

Tennis legend Venus Williams wed Danish model and actor Andrea Preti over the weekend in Florida, the new bride announced in a shared post.

An Instagram post from Vogue Magazine’s Weddings section announced the nuptials, with the message garnering more than 30,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We all love each other so much,” Williams, 45, said in the Vogue post. “It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day.”

The post was scant on details other than the event took place over five days in and around the couple’s home in Palm Beach Gardens.

An email for comment to representatives for Williams and Preti, 37, was not immediately returned.

The couple met at 2024 Milan Fashion Week and began texting shortly after, according to Vogue.

The couple eventually became engaged on Jan. 31 in Tuscany, according to Vogue. That detail was confirmed in July during what was a historic month for Williams.

The Compton native defeated 23-year-old Peyton Sterns 6-3, 6-4 in the first round action of the D.C. Open after a 16-month hiatus from singles matches.

In victory, Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, trailing only fellow legend Martina Navratilova, who was 47 when she won in 2004.

“Yes, my fiance is here, and he really encouraged me to keep playing,” Williams told the Tennis Channel’s Rennae Stubbs in a post-match interview. “There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. … He encouraged me to get through this, and it’s wonderful [for him] to be here. He’s never seen me play.”

Preti has written, acted and directed in a handful of films, primarily in Italy.

The wedding was the second for the couple, who also held a ceremony in Italy in September.

Hindutva activists tried to storm the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, India as they rallied against the neighbouring nation for failing to protect its Hindu minorities. The demonstration comes after a 25-year-old Hindu man was lynched and burned publicly following allegations of blasphemy.

Borrowers to receive wage garnishment notices starting January 7, Department of Education confirms.

The administration of United States President Donald Trump says it will begin garnishing wages from some borrowers who have defaulted on their student loans, marking the first time the federal government has taken such action since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Affected borrowers will begin receiving notices on January 7, a Department of Education spokesperson told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

The policy is expected to initially impact about 1,000 borrowers, and the number is to grow over time.

“The notices will increase in scale on a month-to-month basis,” the spokesperson said.

Al Jazeera asked the department for clarification on how borrowers were selected for the first round of garnishments, how many additional people may be affected and the rationale behind those decisions.

The agency did not clarify but said collections are “conducted only after student and parent borrowers have been provided sufficient notice and opportunity to repay their loans”.

Under federal law, the government may garnish up to 15 percent of a borrower’s take-home pay as long as the individual is left with at least 30 times the federal minimum wage per week. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, a rate that has remained unchanged since July 2009.

About one in six American adults holds student loan debt, which totals about $1.6 trillion. As of April, more than 5 million borrowers had not made a payment in at least a year, according to the Education Department.

The garnishments are planned as economic pressure mounts for many Americans amid rising prices and a cooling labour market. According to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, more than 1.1 million people lost their jobs in 2025 as job growth slowed. Federal data also showed mixed employment trends in recent months with job losses reported in October followed by modest gains in November.

In the months of October and November, the unemployment rate increased to 4.6 percent, the highest since 2021, according to the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Families are being forced to choose between paying their bills and putting food on the table. The Trump administration’s decision to begin garnishing wages takes even that meagre choice away from student loan borrowers who are living on the brink,” Julie Margetta Morgan, former deputy undersecretary at the Education Department under former President Joe Biden, told Al Jazeera.

“Instead of solving the affordability crisis that’s leaving Americans unable to pay their student loans, the president is further punishing families and forcing them to forgo the very basics.”

In addition to wages, the federal government has the authority to garnish income from tax refunds, Social Security benefits and certain disability payments.

VICTORIA Beckham looks full of Christmas spirit — while son Brooklyn gets some beef from his followers.

Posh Spice, 51, had a shot of tequila with her beauty brand team as she prepared for a first Christmas without eldest child Brooklyn amid an ongoing feud.

Meanwhile, the wannabe chef, 26, shared a video of himself making a shepherd’s pie — but used beef mince instead of the traditional lamb.

One Instagram user told , who will spend the festive period with wife Nicola Peltz and her family in the US: “Please educate yourself.”

It comes after The Sun revealed the reason Nicola Peltz followed in the footsteps of Brooklyn by blocking the entire Beckham family on Instagram.

Sources confirmed to The Sun that Nicola stands by Brooklyn’s decision wholeheartedly and as such followed his lead in blocking all of the family too, including his 14-year-old little sister, Harper.

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One insider said to The Sun: “Brooklyn and Nicola have been and will always be a united front.

Another source close to the couple says: “She will always back him so that’s why she’s done the same and blocked his family.”

The couple’s reps had no comment when contacted by The Sun.

It was first reported that David and Victoria had unfollowed their eldest son on Instagram amid a growing divide that has seen Brooklyn distance himself from his parents.

However, youngest son Cruz went on record to publicly confirm that Brooklyn had blocked all the members of the family and that David and Victoria would never unfollow their son.

The University of Oklahoma has fired an instructor who was accused by a student of religious discrimination over a failing grade on a psychology paper in which she cited the Bible and argued that promoting a “belief in multiple genders” was “demonic.”

The university said in a statement posted Monday on X that its investigation found the graduate teaching assistant had been “arbitrary” in giving 20-year-old junior Samantha Fulnecky zero points on the assignment. The university declined to comment beyond its statement, which said the instructor had been removed from teaching.

Through her attorney, the instructor, Mel Curth, denied Tuesday that she had “engaged in any arbitrary behavior regarding the student’s work.” The attorney, Brittany Stewart, said in a statement emailed to the Associated Press that Curth is “considering all of her legal remedies.”

Conservative groups, commentators and others quickly made Fulnecky’s failing grade an online cause, highlighting her argument that she’d been punished for expressing conservative Christian views. Her case became a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over academic freedom on college campuses as President Trump pushes to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and restrict how campuses discuss race, gender and sexuality.

Fulnecky appealed her grade on the assignment, which was worth 3% of the final grade in the class, and the university said the assignment would not count. It also placed Curth on leave, and Oklahoma’s conservative Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, declared the situation “deeply concerning.”

“The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in both its faculty’s rights to teach with academic freedom and integrity and its students’ right to receive an education that is free from a lecturer’s impermissible evaluative standards,” the university’s statement said. “We are committed to teaching students how to think, not what to think.”

A law approved this year by Oklahoma’s Republican-dominated Legislature and signed by Stitt prohibits state universities from using public funds to finance DEI programs or positions or mandating DEI training. However, the law says it does not apply to scholarly research or “the academic freedom of any individual faculty member.”

Home telephone listings for Fulnecky in the Springfield, Mo., area had been disconnected, and her mother — an attorney, podcaster and radio host — did not immediately respond Tuesday to a Facebook message seeking comment about the university’s action.

Fulnecky’s failing grade came in an assignment for a psychology class on lifespan development. Curth directed students to write a 650-word response to an academic study that examined whether conformity with gender norms was associated with popularity or bullying among middle school students.

Fulnecky wrote that she was frustrated by the premise of the assignment because she does not believe that there are more than two genders based on her understanding of the Bible, according to a copy of her essay provided to The Oklahoman.

“Society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth,” she wrote, adding that it would lead society “farther from God’s original plan for humans.”

In feedback obtained by the newspaper, Curth said the paper did “not answer the questions for the assignment,” contradicted itself, relied on “personal ideology” over evidence and “is at times offensive.”

“Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs,” Curth wrote.

Hanna writes for the Associated Press.

Florida-born Koepka, who is married and has a young son, turned professional in 2012 and won nine PGA Tour events during his nine seasons on North America’s elite professional circuit.

The PGA Tour also wished Koepka and “his family continued success” in a statement, before adding they “continue to offer the best professional golfers the most competitive, challenging and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness”.

A three-time US PGA champion, Koepka, has also twice triumphed at the US Open.

His defection from the PGA Tour, along with big names such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, was seen as a major coup for LIV during a period when the sport appeared to be at civil war.

Koepka’s captaincy of the LIV Golf team, Smash, will now pass to Talor Gooch, with the side having an opening to fill for the start of the 2026 season in February.

Koepka becomes the first star player to leave LIV Golf, however, there has been speculation over his future for months and a possible return to the PGA Tour.

The Tour has suspended players who competed in LIV Golf events after categorising them as unauthorised. Non-members have been subject to a year ban following their previous LIV event.

Koepka will also be eligible to join the DP World Tour and have exemptions to compete in golf’s four major championships.

Earlier this week, Chilean Mito Pereira announced his retirement from golf aged 30 after three seasons with LIV.

Dec. 23 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Education has signaled that next year it will resume garnishing wages of people who’ve defaulted on their student loans.

The change, reported by multiple news outlets, comes after a years-long respite on garnishment that began as a pandemic-era economic relief measure. The resumption follows other Trump administration efforts to recoup past-due student loan debt.

The department intends to notify about 1,000 borrowers who have defaulted on their debt that it will begin seizing parts of their paychecks, The Washington Post reported Monday. The initial notices will go out the week of Jan. 7, with more going out to borrowers each month, according to the paper.

Roughly 5.3 million borrowers have not made student loan payments, with many having fallen behind before the federal government stopped collecting on defaulted loans nearly six years ago, the Post reported.

A borrower is considered to be in default on their loan when they have not made a payment for more than 270 days. Up to 15% of their pay can be garnished as a result.

After returning to power earlier this year, the Trump administration has sought to undo Biden-era policies meant to ease the burden of student loans on borrowers. The department announced in April that it would again require defaulted borrowers to make payments on their loans and has sought to tighten rules for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

The Trump administration has defended its approach, saying it’s holding irresponsible borrowers accountable for loans that have cost taxpayers billions.

However, the Student Borrower Protection Center criticized the department for resuming garnishments, saying the measure is used without oversight and has been used to unjustifiably seize wages from hundreds of millions during the pandemic.

“At a time when families across the country are struggling with stagnant wages and an affordability crisis, this administration’s decision to garnish wages from defaulted student loan borrowers is cruel, unnecessary, and irresponsible,” Persis Yu, the group’s deputy executive director and managing counsel, said in a statement. “As millions of borrowers sit on the precipice of default, this administration is using its self-inflicted limited resources to seize borrowers’ wages instead of defending borrowers’ right to affordable payments.”

Venezuela’s National Assembly has passed a law enacting harsh penalties for those who support or help finance blockades and acts of piracy, including up to 20 years in prison.

The legislation was passed on Tuesday after the United States seized oil tankers linked to Venezuela, acts that the government of President Nicolas Maduro has denounced as lawless acts of piracy.

“This law seeks to protect the national economy and avoid the erosion of living standards for the population,” lawmaker Giuseppe Alessandrello said, while presenting the law before the National Assembly, controlled by Maduro’s governing party.

The US has carried out a series of increasingly aggressive measures over the past several months, deploying sizeable military forces to Latin America, seizing oil tankers, killing dozens of people in military strikes on what it says are drug-trafficking boats, and threatening land strikes on Venezuela itself.

The legality of some of those acts, such as the seizure of oil tankers in international waters, is contested. Others, such as the strikes against alleged drug traffickers, are widely considered illegal.

“We are in the presence of a power that acts outside of international law, demanding that Venezuelans vacate our country and hand it over,” Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s representative at the United Nations, told the Security Council (UNSC) during a meeting on Tuesday.

“The threat is not Venezuela,” he added. “The threat is the US government.”

China and Russia also criticised US actions. Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said that the Trump administration was creating a “template” for the use of force that could be used against other Latin American countries in the future.

“We saw clear support for Venezuela from Russia and China, but also from Colombia, and even from some other member states, talking about how the US needs to abide by international law and calling for de-escalation,” Al Jazeera correspondent Gabriel Elizondo said from the UN.

He added that several Latin American countries with right-wing governments, such as Argentina, Panama and Chile, appeared to side with the US.

“The bottom line here is that we have not gotten any better sense from the United States on what their endgame is here, where they plan to take this,” he added.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the US military had moved special operations aircraft and cargo planes with troops into the Caribbean this week.

“We have a massive armada formed, the biggest we’ve ever had, and by far the biggest we’ve ever had in South America,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

Maduro has said the US is seeking to topple his government and seize control of Venezuela’s large oil reserves, which members of the Trump administration have falsely claimed rightfully belong to the US. Trump said on Monday that the US would retain the oil seized from the tankers as well as the tankers themselves.

Addressing the UNSC, the US ambassador, Mike Waltz, said that oil sales were a “primary economic lifeline for Maduro and his illegitimate regime”, repeating an unsubstantiated claim that Maduro oversees a vast criminal enterprise that traffics drugs to the US.

“The single most serious threat to this hemisphere, our very own neighbourhood and the United States, is from transnational terrorist and criminal groups,” Waltz said.

The US pressure campaign has become a useful pretext for the Venezuelan government’s efforts to crack down on internal dissent.

Rights groups have said that Maduro’s government has become more repressive since the presidential election in July 2024, in which Maduro claimed victory despite the widespread doubts about the credibility of the results. The opposition has maintained it was the true winner, and few countries have recognised Maduro’s victory.

Former EastEnders star Liam Hatch has addressed the backlash he faced when he was cast as a schoolboy in the legendary BBC soap opera, despite nearing the age of 30

An EastEnders star has opened up about the backlash they faced over their controversial casting. Liam Hatch, 29, was cast as school bully Logan in the BBC soap opera last year, and fans were left quite bewildered.

Despite playing a Year 12 schoolboy, who intimidated Amy Mitchel and Denzel Danes, Liam’s character was ten years older than the typical Year 12 students in England, who are between 16 and 17 in the UK. Introduced by Kate Oates and Chris Clenshaw, Liam’s character appeared in just one episode and attracted a fair amount of criticism on social media.

Many viewers were shocked to discover his Instagram page, which boasts topless gym snaps and his annual birthday snap, which sees him posing nude as the camera takes a picture from behind. Now, the actor has spoken in depth about the backlash he faced.

“The grief I had from it, from Twitter – I sell mortgages, I’m 41, the oldest man alive,” he said. Liam joked: “I don’t look that old!” He went on to explain that he wasn’t 16 when he took on the role, saying: “I was 26.”

Speaking about the response he received from friends and family, the athlete and actor added on the Rokman Podcast: “All my friends and family were like ‘Are you okay? People are taking the p**s out of you. Your age, looks.’ I was like ‘Oh God, I’m not that bad. I’m sure I SPF every day. I look good.

“My dad was loving it, he was like ‘He’s on The Sun!’ I think I’m the only man to be on Page 3 of The Sun topless!” He continued: “I always say to everyone, if your name is coming out of other people’s mouths, you’ve done something, and it doesn’t matter how good or bad it is, it’s happening.”

At the time of Liam’s episode airing, fans were quick to share their thoughts on social media. One said: “Why is this 44-year-old man walking around in a school uniform and picking fights with the local kids?” A second penned: “Almost certain that this schoolboy sold me my mortgage.”

Shortly after the criticism, Liam explained that the comment about being 44 had stuck with him. Speaking to The Guardian, Liam said: “I was looking in the mirror, thinking ‘surely I can’t be looking 44 – that’s five years younger than my dad!'”

Liam, who works as a personal trainer when he’s not preparing for his latest HYROX challenge, said that some of his clients believed he was around the age of 23.

He added to the outlet: “A few of my friends asked if I was OK. But I’m in the performance and fitness industries, I know you’re going to get critics. As long as the performance is showing you are that character, that’s what’s important to an actor. You’re not looking at the appearance but the emotion.”

Liam also explained that while he played a younger character, times had completely changed since he was around the same age as a Year 12 student. He explained that he tried to modernise himself, including his posture and body language as the current generation of teens “have more suave” when they walk and talk.

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The oldest baby boomers — once the vanguard of an American youth that revolutionized U.S. culture and politics — turn 80 in 2026.

The generation that twirled the first plastic hula hoops and dressed up the first Barbie dolls, embraced the TV age, blissed out at Woodstock and protested and fought in the Vietnam War — the cohort that didn’t trust anyone over age 30 — now is contributing to the overall aging of America.

Boomers becoming octogenarians in 2026 include actor Henry Winkler and baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, singers Cher and Dolly Parton and presidents Donald Trump, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

The aging and shrinking youth of America

America’s population swelled with around 76 million births from 1946 to 1964, a spike magnified by couples reuniting after World War II and enjoying postwar prosperity.

Boomers were better educated and richer than previous generations, and they helped grow a consumer-driven economy. In their youth, they pushed for social change through the Civil Rights Movement, the women’s rights movement and efforts to end the Vietnam War.

“We had rock ‘n’ roll. We were the first generation to get out and demonstrate in the streets. We were the first generation, that was, you know, a socially conscious generation,” said Diane West, a metro Atlanta resident who turns 80 in January. “Our parents played by the rules. We didn’t necessarily play by the rules, and there were lots of us.”

As they got older they became known as the “me” generation, a pejorative term coined by writer Tom Wolfe to reflect what some regarded as their self-absorption and consumerism.

“The thing about baby boomers is they’ve always had a spotlight on them, no matter what age they were,” Brookings demographer William Frey said. “They were a big generation, but they also did important things.”

By the end of this decade, all baby boomers will be 65 and older, and the number of people 80 and over will double in 20 years, Frey said.

The share of senior citizens in the U.S. population is projected to grow from 18.7% in 2025 to nearly 23% by 2050, while children under 18 decline from almost 21% to a projected 18.4%.

Without any immigration, the U.S. population will start shrinking in five years. That’s when deaths will surpass births, according to projections from the Congressional Budget Office that were revised in September to account for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Population growth comes from immigration as well as births outpacing deaths.

The aging of America is being compounded by longer lives due to better healthcare and lower birth rates.

The projected average U.S. life expectancy at birth rises from 78.9 years in 2025 to 82.2 years in 2055, according to the CBO. And since the Great Recession in 2008, when the fertility rate was 2.08, around the 2.1 rate needed for children to numerically replace their parents, it has been on a steady decline, hitting 1.6 in 2025.

Younger generations miss boomer milestones

Women are having fewer children because they are better educated, they’re delaying marriage to focus on careers and they’re having their first child at a later age. Unaffordable housing, poor access to child care and the growing expenses of child-rearing also add up to fewer kids.

University of New Hampshire senior demographer Kenneth Johnson estimates that the result has been 11.8 million fewer births, compared to what might have been had the fertility rate stayed at Great Recession levels.

“I was young when I had kids. I mean that’s what we did — we got out of college, we got married and we had babies,” said West, who has two daughters, a stepdaughter and six grandchildren. “My kids got married in their 30s, so it’s very different.”

A recent Census Bureau study showed that 21st-century young adults in the U.S. haven’t been adulting like baby boomers did. In 1975, almost half of 25-to-34-year-olds had moved out of their parents’ home, landed jobs, gotten married and had kids. By the early 2020s, less than a quarter of U.S. adults had hit these milestones.

West, whose 21-year-old grandson lives with her, understands why: They lack the prospects her generation enjoyed. Her grandson, Paul Quirk, said it comes down to financial instability.

“They were able to buy a lot of things, a lot cheaper,” Quirk said.

All of her grandchildren are frustrated by the economy, West added.

“You have to get three roommates in order to afford a place,” she said. “When we got out of college, we had a job waiting for us. And now, people who have master’s degrees are going to work fast food while they look for a real job.”

Implications for the economy

The aging of America could constrain economic growth. With fewer workers paying taxes, Social Security and Medicare will be under more pressure. About 34 seniors have been supported by every 100 workers in 2025, but that ratio grows to 50 seniors per 100 working-age people in about 30 years, according to estimates released last year by the White House.

When West launched her career in employee benefits and retirement planning in 1973, each 100 workers supported 20 or fewer retirees, by some calculations.

Vice President JD Vance and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk are among those pushing for an increase in fertility. Vance has suggested giving parents more voting power, according to their numbers of children, or following the example of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán in giving low-interest loans to married parents and tax exemptions to women who have four children or more.

Frey said programs that incentivize fertility among U.S. women hardly ever work, so funding should support pre-kindergarten and paid family leave.

“I think the best you can do for people who do want to have kids is to make it easier and less expensive to have them and raise them,” he said. “Those things may not bring up the fertility rate as much as people would like, but at least the kids who are being born will have a better chance of succeeding.”

Schneider writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Emilie Megnien in Atlanta contributed to this report.

MONDAY’S RESULTS

BOYS

CITY SECTION

San Pedro 92, South East 40

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 65, Palmdale 41
Aliso Niguel 77, San Clemente 74
Baldwin Pak 49, Glenn 46
Bishop Amat 81, Chadwick 59
Blair 59, Grace 46
Calabasas 66, Santa Monica 61
Chaminade 67, Oxnard 38
Covina 49, Sultana 44
Dos Pueblos 67, Pasadena Poly 56
Duarte 79, El Monte 25
Edison 67, Northwood 55
Edgewood 68, Southlands Christian 40
Eisenhower 74, Montebello 49
El Modena 65, Rim of the World 45
Elsinore 72, Vista Murrieta 60
Gabrielino 69, Bell Gardens 56
Gardena Serra 63, Downey 48
Golden Valley 60, Moorpark 52
Irvine University 75, Tarbut V’ Torah 52
La Mirada 66, San Gabriel Academy 53
Lawndale 48, Riverside North 42
Oak Park 77, Newbury Park 58
Paramount 69, Saddleback 68
Pioneer 58, Valley View 45
Portola 79, California 69
Rancho Buena Vista 53, Linfield Christian 42
Ramona 80, Indio 42
Redlands East Valley 75, Norco 56
Redondo Union 78, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 68
San Berardino 82, Westminster 35
San Jacinto Leadership 49, United Christian Academy 46
San Marcos 62, Mission College Prep 54
San Marino 44, Rowland 29
Santa Maria St. Joseph 77, Bishop Montgomery 42
Santa Ynez 74, Foothill Tech 60
Shalhevet 49, Littlerock 28
South Hills 35, Northview 32
South Torrance 74, CAMS 24
Thousand Oaks 59, Alemany 54
Torrance 69, St. Genevieve 59
Victor Valley 77, Perris 74
Westminster La Quinta 54, Bolsa Grande 33

INTERSECTIONAL

Agoura 69, Stockdale 56
Aurora (CO) Cherokee Trail 60, West Torrance 49
Birmingham 55, Canyon Springs 35
Centennial (CO) Eaglecrest 53, Leuzinger 51
Chino 77, North Las Vegas (NV) CIVICA 45
Burbank 57, Marquez 46
Corona Centennial 71, Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman 59
Corona Santiago 66, lano (TX) Prestonwood Christian 32
Eastvale Roosevelt 81, Miami (FL) Mater Lakes Academy 71
Fresno San Joaquin Memorial 76, Mater Dei 53
Granada Hills 64, YULA 39
JSerra 60, Orlando (FL) Edgewater 57
Knight 65, Magna (UT) Cyprus 62
Lake Oswego (OR) Lakeridge 76, Chino Hills 75
Lehi (UT) Skyridge 72, West Ranch 32
Maranatha 61, Bullard 57
Marrieta (GA) Osborne 67, Buckley 62
Merced 52, Dominguez 32
Oaks Christian 72, Aurora (CO) Smoky Hill 46
Orlando Christian (FL) 61, LA Jordan 43
Pasadena 61, Gilbert (AZ) Perry 42
Peninsula 53, Carson 30
Provo (UT) Timpview 61, Santa Margarita 59
San Fernando Valley 72, Northridge Academy 68
Saugus 51, El Camino Real 49
St. Paul 68, Henderson (NV) Basic 65
Viewpoint 73, Granada Hills Kennedy 30
Village Christian 66, Tacoma (WA) Lincoln 59
Warren 58, Las Vegas (NV) Durango 56
Washington Prep 68, Las Vegas (NV) Meadows School 38

GIRLS

CITY SECTION

Bernstein 52, Rancho Dominguez 28
Bravo 45, Port of Los Angeles 22
East College Prep 28, EAMCP 10
San Pedro 53, Gardena 31
South East 68, South Gate 10

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 45, Victor Valley 29
Alemany 56, Hart 34
Apple Valley 40, Lakeside 33
Beaumont 62, Riverside Notre Dame 27
Buena Park 69, Bloomington 12
Burbank 75, Muir 36
Burbank Burroughs 51, Santa Monica 27
Camarillo 56, Rio Mesa 37
Capistrano Valley 53, Garden Grove 42
Chaffey 53, Colton 31
Corona 65, Patriot 19
Costa Mesa 41, Westminster La Quinta 21
Edgewood 43, Southland Christian 31
Edison 61, Northwood 30
El Modena 63, Rim of the World 23
Hacienda Heights Wilson 59, Sunny Hills 55
Hesperia 55, Citrus Valley 15
Hillcrest 39, Western 31
La Habra 42, Tustin 36
Lakewood 30, Gahr 26
Lakewood St. Joseph 59, Santa Margarita 46
Lompoc 47, Foothill Tech 21
Los Altos 58, Temecula Valley 50
Ocean View 34, Saddleback 32
Pasadena Poly 73, San Gabriel Academy 20
Portola 60, Lawndale 37
Ramona 55, Vista del Lago 14
Rancho Christian 102, Chaparral 67
Rancho Verde 49, Colony 39
Rialto 95, Riverside Prep 25
Riverside Poly 81, Grand Terrace 25
Riverside King 57, Heritage 49
San Marino 49, Royal 41
Silverado 40, Fontana 34
Valley View 48, Elsinore 37
Walnut 35, Santa Ana Foothill 27
West Torrance 73, Marina 47
Whittier Christian 54, Savanna 46
Woodbridge 37, Loara 33

INTERSECTIONAL

Birmingham 72, Palo Verde 30
Cardinal Newman 54, Lynwood 49
Coeur d’Alene (ID) 60, Villa Park 44
Denver South (CO) 54, St. Monica 48
Dublin 63, Westchester 57
Etiwanda 64, Clayton Valley Charter 32
Gardena Serra 61, Carson 29
Gilbert (AZ) 64, Marlborough 24
Gunderson 63, Granada Islamic 18
Las Vegas (NV) 47, Narbonne 45
Laurel (MD) Pallotti 53, San Clemente 49
Mary Star of the Sea 51, LA Marshall 30
Montgomery 61, Dominguez 15
Newcastle (OK) 61, Mater Dei 35
North County San Marcos 57, Vista Murrieta 33
Quartz Hill 61, Justin Garza 53
Reno (NV) 52, South Torrance 46
Sage Hill 57, Francis Parker 55
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 67, Aurora (CO) Overland 44
Sierra Vista 49, Palisades 33
Spokane (WA) Gonzaga Prep 70, Xavier Prep 28
St. Anthony 68, Inderkum 40
Washington Prep 56, Arcadia 41

Dec. 23 (UPI) — A Delaware state trooper and a shooting suspect are dead after an incident occurred before 2 p.m. EST at a Division of Motor Vehicles office in New Castle, Del.

Neither the deceased officer’s name nor the suspect’s name were released as law enforcement investigated the matter, USA Today reported.

No information has been provided about potential injuries to others, but local police are assessing them.

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer confirmed the shooting and said there was no active threat against the public in a post on X.

“Law enforcement acted swiftly to secure the scene, and the shooter has been confirmed deceased,” Meyer said. “State and local law enforcement are on the scene and coordinating response efforts.”

He asked the public to avoid the area and said updates would be released when available.

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings sent “senior prosecutors” to the scene to help with the investigation, WDEL reported.

No information was initially provided regarding the shooting’s circumstances, and all Delaware DMV offices were closed for the day as of 3 p.m.

Hessler Boulevard and Route 13 were closed in the area near the New Castle DMV location.

New Castle is about 6 miles south of Wilmington, Del.

Across a large conference room table somewhere inside the bowels of the Wynn Las Vegas, the members of Grupo Frontera appeared tired.

The Tex-Mex quintet had been shuffling up and down the Las Vegas strip for eight straight hours doing media interviews in the lead-up to the Latin Grammys, held on Nov. 13 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. They were nominated twice in the regional Mexican song category for their cumbia norteña tracks “Me Jalo,” a collaboration with the clamorous Mexican American band Fuerza Regida, and “Hecha Pa’ Mí,” but would lose out to Los Tigres del Norte’s “La Lotería.”

Despite the exhaustion, Grupo Frontera was happy to be back in Sin City once again — a testament to how far they’ve come in such a brief period of time.

In 2022, shortly after forming, the South Texas band showed up during the last Latin Grammys week held in Las Vegas, uninvited to any legitimate ceremony; it’s a common move by growing artists to get their name out there and possibly rub elbows with some of the biggest stars and producers in the Latin music world.

“We were just doing everything around it but not the [Latin] Grammys,” says lead vocalist Adelaido “Payo” Solís III. “I always think of that time that we came with nothing under our belt.”

Grupo Frontera had already generated buzz thanks to their cover of “No Se Va,” a 2018 hit by Colombian pop band Morat. Their norteño take cracked the Billboard Hot 100 despite the group having no major label deal or studio album of their own. Fame came quickly for them after linking up with fellow border kid Edgar Barrera. The award-winning songwriter-producer (Madonna, Shakira, Karol G and The Weeknd) took the band under his wing after watching them perform at the grand opening of a tire shop in McAllen, Texas.

In early 2023, Barrera paired them up with Bad Bunny for “Un x100to.” Backed by the accordion — a staple of borderland music for more than a century — the modern lovelorn cumbia about stalking an ex on Instagram and using the last remaining bit of phone battery to apologize broke containment, propelling Grupo Frontera into the mainstream. A week after its release, Bad Bunny brought Solís on stage to perform the track at Coachella.

With a co-sign from the biggest artist on the planet and under the tutelage of Barrera, Grupo Frontera quickly cemented itself as the Texas representative of the new wave of música Mexicana, becoming one of the biggest players in a genre on the cusp of dominating the global streaming charts.

“The first year was a hundred percent the songs, lyrics and what [Barrera] told us to do,” said Solis. “We didn’t really know anything about the music industry so in the beginning we just let him guide us and develop the sound he wanted for us.”

The band called Barrera their Rick Rubin, referencing the Def Jam Records co-founder who produced albums for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer, Run-D.M.C., Lady Gaga and plenty more seminal acts.

Since then, Grupo Frontera has put out three full-length albums and four EPs, collecting three Latin Grammys in the process — they won for Regional Mexican song in 2023 (“Un x100to”) and 2024 (“El Amor de su Vida” a collab with Grupo Firme), and Norteño album in 2023 for their debut studio album, “El Comienzo,” which peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard 200.

Their most recent LP, “Lo Que Me Falta Por Llorar” (released Oct. 23), is a blend of classic cumbias norteñas (the bouncy, heart-torn “Que Bueno Que Te Fuiste”), swaying Tejano songs (“Si me Quiere”) and a hip-churning huapango (“Quien la Manda”). It also leans into other popular Latin genres, with strands of reggaetón in “No Lo Ves” (featuring Ozuna) and trap flare in “Triste Pero Bien C—,” (featuring rapper Myke Towers).

“It’s like ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears,’ fame,” said Solís. “The first [album] was too small, the second one was too big, and this one was just right.”

In November, Grupo Frontera received their first two Grammy nominations for their joint EP “Mala Mia” with Fuerza Regida, and a solo EP titled “Y Lo Que Viene.” The band was notified before performing at the Grand Ole Opry, marking yet another milestone as it became the first regional Mexican group to play at the iconic Nashville venue.

There’s an ongoing bet within the group: If Grupo Frontera wins an American Grammy, Juan Javier Cantu, the group’s accordion player and secondary vocalist, will tattoo a gramophone somewhere on his person. It’s a big deal given his apprehension toward body art.

All other band members, which also include congas player Julian Peña Jr., bajo quinto player Alberto “Beto” Acosta and drummer Carlos Guerrero, already have a gramophone tattoo to represent their Latin Grammy victories to date. They’re an expensive habit, Solís noted, pointing to Acosta, whose neck and arms are covered in ink, as evidence.

“ I think Beto’s body is worth more than his watches,” he said.

“He’s worthless,” Cantu chimed in. Confused, I asked if he instead meant “priceless.”

“No, he meant worthless,” Guerrero jokingly interjects, causing the group to jolt in roaring laughter. Teasing aside, there is an unequivocal sense of respect and appreciation for one another. Throughout the interview, the band members busted each other’s chops, throwing in the occasional “Te amo, compadre!”

“We want to always be the five of us, however long the group lasts,” said Cantu, who admits he’s the most sentimental of the bunch. “We’ve had our differences but there’s never been a moment where someone wants to leave [the band].”

The latest album comes at a pivotal time for the Texas band, which will embark on its international “Triste Pero Bien C—” tour next year. Not everything about their meteoric rise has been rosy.

Earlier this year in a now-deleted TikTok video, Grupo Frontera appeared to be dancing to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.,” a song associated with Donald Trump’s rallies since at least 2020. Other videos of Solis’ grandparents dancing to the song while holding voting stickers circulated online, prompting many spectators to wonder if the members were Trump supporters.

“No way, I don’t think people will believe that! It didn’t happen,” Solis first told himself when he saw the rumors begin to spread online.

“It’s like when you are a little kid and your mom asks you, ‘Who did this?’ You know you didn’t do anything but they blame you for it, but your mom knows you didn’t do it,” added Solis. “That’s a bit of how we were feeling at the moment.”

Shortly after the social media frenzy, Grupo Frontera was named as a headliner for the Sueños music festival in Chicago, inciting backlash among many attendees. One person online created a petition for its removal from the lineup on Change.org.

The growing onslaught of criticism prompted the band to respond, posting a message on its social media platforms on Feb. 7 and again on Feb. 22 stating that Grupo Frontera had “no affiliation, nor any alliance, with any political party that’s against immigrants and the Latino community.”

The statements came at a fraught political moment for many in the Latino community. Trump, who has vehemently targeted immigrant groups, had just been sworn into office for his second term and was promising to conduct “the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.” Many political experts also pointed to the Latino vote swaying toward Trump.

“Our music is to make love, connect people by the border, not the opposite,” Cantu said. “Why would we get involved in something that is seriously damaging families?”

Solis hoped to clear the air on the topic once and for all, and move forward from the social media rumors.

“Any person who is against our people and who is harming our people, not just our Mexican community but all Latinos, we do not support that,” he said. “Not just the president, but anybody.”

The band members say they’ve learned several key lessons from this experience. For one, they’ve continued to show up where they believe counts the most, in the communities they hold dear to their heart. In March, when flash floods impacted Reynosa, Mexico, the border city across from the river from the Rio Grande Valley, the group delivered aid to support impacted individuals. The band also donated a portion of all proceeds from its surprise EP “Y Lo Que Viene” to frontline organizations in the wake of the ongoing immigration raids targeting Los Angeles since June.

“When it comes from the heart, people feel it and know it,” Cantu said.

“That’s how this dream began with us five, we wanted to make music that was different from what people were hearing, [music] that made sense and that everyone who is in their homes can unite over a song,” said Cantu. “[We want to hear ] a kid say, ‘I want to listen to ‘No Capea’’ and his grandfather too!”

One could assume that such online rumors would weigh on the mental health of each member, perhaps frustrate them to no avail, but the group has made peace with the idea that some individuals will continue to question the group’s intentions.

“But we understand people that are frustrated and want to take out their anger towards someone, no one wants to see [their favorite artist] supporting someone who is against the community,” said Cantu. “But we are with you.”

While mostly quiet during the entire interview, Peña, who often delivers the group’s tagline at the end of every song (“Y esto es Grupo Frontera!”), lifted up his sleepy gaze from the table to deliver one final statement of the afternoon: “There’s a saying, that what one does not owe, one does not fear.”