In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Arabic, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran is ready to reach a deal with the US that allows for peaceful nuclear enrichment, following talks in Oman. He rejects the notion that Washington should be able to dictate what range missiles Iran produces.

Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old Palestinian woman detained in the United States by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency since March, has been rushed to a hospital after a medical episode, according to media reports.

Kordia is being held in Texas after being detained as part of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine protests on college campuses across the country.

Her legal team said she was targeted for her protest against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza near Columbia University in New York in 2024, but the federal government said she was arrested for allegedly overstaying her student visa.

Since her hospitalisation on Friday, Kordia’s legal team and family said they have not been able to speak with her and do not know her whereabouts.

Here is everything we know about Kordia and why she continues to remain in detention:

Who is Kordia?

Kordia grew up in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah before coming to the US in 2016. She arrived on a visitor’s visa, staying with her mother, a US citizen, in Paterson, New Jersey, home to one of the largest Arab communities in the country.

She later transitioned from a tourist visa to a student visa, according to her habeas corpus petition.

After her mother applied for Kordia to remain in the US as the relative of a citizen, her green card application was approved in 2021. However, she received incorrect advice from a teacher that led to her student visa expiring in 2022, according to her lawyers.

Before her arrest, Kordia worked as a server at a Middle Eastern restaurant on Palestine Way in New Jersey and helped to care for her autistic half-brother.

Kordia was moved to protest against Israel’s war due to personal loss. Since the start of the war in October 2023, Kordia said, more than 200 of her relatives have been killed.

Israel has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 170,000 in a war that human rights groups, a United Nations commission and a growing number of scholars said amounts to genocide. Since a “ceasefire” began in October, Israel has killed more than 500 Palestinians and continues to impose curbs on the entry of aid into Gaza.

If deported, Kordia would be handed over to the Israeli government.

Why was Kordia arrested?

She was first arrested in April 2024 during a protest outside the gates of Columbia University, but the case was soon dropped.

On March 13, 2025, Kordia showed up at the ICE headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, for what she believed to be routine immigration questions. She was detained there, “thrown into an unmarked van and sent 1,500 miles [more than 2,400km] away”, Kordia wrote in the USA Today newspaper last month.

Kordia was neither a student at Columbia University nor a part of political circles.

“Though I was not a student, I felt compelled to participate. After all, Israel, with the backing of the United States, has laid waste to Gaza, forcibly displacing my family, killing nearly 200 of my relatives,” she wrote in USA Today.

Today, Kordia is the only person who remains in detention from the Columbia campus demonstrations. She has been held at Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.

A leader of the protests, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student with Algerian citizenship and a US green card, and others have been released. Khalil, however, is still in a legal battle to remain in the US with his American wife and child. Last month, an appeals court panel dismissed a lawsuit Khalil filed challenging his detention and deportation order. The judges concluded that the federal court that ordered Khalil’s release last year lacked jurisdiction over the matter.

What are the charges against Kordia?

The US government has called Kordia’s money transfers to relatives in the Middle East evidence of possible ties to “terrorists”.

Kordia’s lawyers have continuously argued for her release, saying she was targeted by federal officials for her participation in pro-Palestinian protests.

The federal government has maintained that the case against Kordia is of overstaying a student visa.

“Her arrest had nothing to do with her radical activities,” the Department of Homeland Security said in April. “Kordia was arrested for immigration violations due to having overstayed her F-1 student visa, which had been terminated on January 26, 2022, for lack of attendance.”

Writing in USA Today last month, Kordia said she does not consider herself either a leader or an activist.

“I am a devout Muslim who is deeply committed to my faith and community. I’m a Palestinian woman who enjoys playing the oud, making pottery and hiking,” Kordia wrote. “Speaking out against what rights groups and experts have called a genocide is my moral duty and – I thought – a constitutionally protected right for all in this country. Except, it seems, when that speech defends Palestinian life.”

An immigration judge has called for Kordia’s release twice. However, it has been repeatedly blocked through a series of procedural and administrative moves.

“[The] Trump administration has exploited rarely used procedural loopholes to keep me confined, a practice now being challenged in federal district courts across the country, with many finding the practice unconstitutional,” Kordia wrote.

How has Kordia lived in ICE detention?

Since Kordia was moved to the ICE detention facility in Alvarado in March, she has been facing a range of issues, from sleeping on a bare mattress on the floor to being denied religious accommodations, including halal meals.

“Inside the ICE facility where I’m being held, conditions are filthy, overcrowded and inhumane,” Kordia wrote in her piece for USA Today. “For months, I slept in a plastic shell, known as a ‘boat,’ surrounded by cockroaches and only a thin blanket. Privacy does not exist here.”

Last year, when Kordia’s cousin Hamzah Abushaban visited her a week after her arrest, he told The Associated Press news agency in an interview that he was taken aback by the dark circles under her eyes and her state of confusion.

“One of the first things she asked me was why she was there,” Abushaban said. “She cried a lot. She looked like death.”

Rights groups and some Democratic Party leaders have called her a “political prisoner”, condemning the way her case has proceeded.

State Representative Salman Bhojani said the conditions at the detention facility were “suffocating”.

Kordia’s dorm, he said, had 60 mattresses crammed into a space designed for 20 women.

“She does not even have clothing that fully covers her body. Community organizations have tried to provide more appropriate clothing and have been turned away,” Bhojani said. “Male staff enter the dorm at any time, leaving her body exposed in violation of her religious obligations.”

Calling for her release, Amnesty International noted that ICE has “repeatedly violated” Kordia’s religious rights. “She has been served almost no halal meals, forcing her to eat food that doesn’t meet her dietary requirements and causing significant weight loss,” the human rights group said in a statement.

“During Ramadan, staff refused to let her save food for when she could break her fast, forcing her either to go hungry or to break her fast early,” Amnesty said. “She has not been provided with clothing suitable for prayer or a clean prayer space.”

Why was Kordia hospitalised?

On Friday, Abushaban said he heard about Kordia’s hospitalisation in the morning from a person formerly detained with his cousin.

Kordia had fallen, hit her head and suffered a seizure in a bathroom at the Prairieland Detention Center, he told The Dallas Morning News newspaper.

In a statement on Saturday, Kordia’s attorneys and family members demanded answers from the Department of Homeland Security and Prairieland Detention Center regarding her health and whereabouts.

“[Kordia] was reportedly hospitalised yesterday morning after fainting and having a seizure at the Prairieland Detention Center,” the statement said, adding: “Neither her legal team nor family have been provided answers about where she has been hospitalised, the specifics of her health status, and whether and how ICE will ensure her health upon discharge from the undisclosed, off-site hospital.”

“We have since learned that she is expected to spend another night there, but we still have not been able to speak with her directly or have any confirmation of what brought her to the hospital in the first place,” the statement said.

The family members told US media that they called all hospitals in the vicinity but could not locate Kordia.

What were the Columbia protests about?

In 2024, pro-Palestinian student encampments at Columbia University helped ignite a global movement against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

The protest sites, however, were broken up after Columbia University allowed hundreds of New York City police officers on campus, leading to dozens of arrests.

The student protesters demanded an end to Israel’s war in Gaza and the university’s divestment from companies linked to the Israeli military.

Columbia University imposed severe punishments, including expulsion and revocation of academic degrees, on dozens of students who participated in the protests. University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, who was criticised for the handling of the student protests, stepped down.

The protests also put Columbia at odds with the Trump administration, whose officials alleged anti-Semitism on campus. Campaigners said the campus crackdown violated US free speech rights.

Trump also cancelled millions of dollars in federal funding for the university, accusing it of failing to protect Jewish students. Later, Columbia settled and agreed to pay $200m to the government over three years. In exchange, the Trump administration agreed to return parts of the $400m in grants it froze or terminated.

The “scariest” road in Britain can be a nightmare to drive up in winter, as it has steep hairpin bends, minimal barriers, and it climbs from sea level to 2,053 feet very quickly

Britain boasts some of the world’s most spectacular countryside, but reaching its more isolated spots often means braving some genuinely hair-raising roads. The Bealach na Bà pass, nestled in the Applecross peninsula of the Scottish Highlands, is widely regarded as the most terrifying road in the entire country.

The route is renowned for its absolutely stunning vistas, where mountains, glens and sea converge in a single panorama, with mist drifting across the peaks. Yet motorists are cautioned against being distracted by the scenery – the narrow single-track road features minimal safety barriers and climbs from sea level to 2,053 feet over a remarkably short stretch.

The route includes several extremely steep hairpin turns demanding exceptionally careful driving, whilst Scotland’s notoriously wet weather only heightens the peril.

During the winter months, the road regularly closes due to snow and ice. Even when conditions are milder, it’s best left to experienced and confident motorists only.

As you initially approach the road after departing Applecross village, a prominent sign warns learner drivers, large vehicles and caravans against attempting the crossing, directing them towards a safer alternative route, reports the Express.

The road appears straightforward for the opening mile before beginning to wind as you ascend the mountainside. Sheep are frequently spotted grazing alongside certain stretches of the route.

Motorists are warned of a perilous drop just off the edge, and the wind, which reportedly becomes increasingly unsettling as you ascend, only adds to the trepidation.

The challenge of manoeuvring around tight bends, avoiding wildlife, and dealing with foggy conditions makes this journey a truly daunting one – made all the more so by the fact that turning back is virtually impossible due to the numerous twists in the road.

However, upon reaching the summit, the road levels out slightly, revealing a stunning vista of the Isle of Skye, one of the most breathtaking sights the Highlands have to offer.

On Tripadriver, Bealach na Ba Road generally receives positive reviews for its scenic beauty, but almost every review cautions that it’s a terrifying drive not suited for the faint-hearted.

One reviewer, Lesley, commented: “Scariest drive in Scotland but the most scenic. This is a wonderful drive, but one which will tax even experienced drivers.”

Another woman advised: “Road probably stunning in fine weather, but my advice is that you need to be able to see the top, and it’s not likely to be covered in cloud or mist, as this was one of the scariest drives I have ever done and it was not something I will be doing again anytime soon.”

A different user added: “Should be avoided if narrow passing places, hairpin bends and steep drops worry you. However, for those who stick with it, the view from the top is absolutely breathtaking.”

Bob Dylan was honored by MusiCares, the charity organization that aids musicians in need, at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday night. After performances by artists including Tom Jones, Sheryl Crow, Neil Young, Beck, Jackson Browne and others, Dylan himself took a rare opportunity in the spotlight to deliver a 30-plus-minute acceptance speech.

Expansive, funny and insightful, Dylan didn’t pull any punches, calling out songwriters who had criticized his work while indicting Nashville and commercial country music.

He was introduced by former President Jimmy Carter, and walked out to a standing ovation. After thanking the organizers, Dylan referred to his notes and began by saying, “I’m going to read some of this.”

FULL COVERAGE: Grammy Awards 2015

Because of moments of applause, and some echoey acoustics, a few of Dylan’s words were inaudible on the recording I’ve consulted, and I’ve noted as such. Though it upsets him to hear it (see below), Dylan does sometimes mumble and slur his words.

Bob Dylan’s MusiCares person of the year acceptance speech:

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I’m glad for my songs to be honored like this. But you know, they didn’t get here by themselves. It’s been a long road and it’s taken a lot of doing. These songs of mine, they’re like mystery stories, the kind that Shakespeare saw when he was growing up. I think you could trace what I do back that far. They were on the fringes then, and I think they’re on the fringes now. And they sound like they’ve been on the hard ground.

I should mention a few people along the way who brought this about. I know I should mention John Hammond, great talent scout for Columbia Records. He signed me to that label when I was nobody. It took a lot of faith to do that, and he took a lot of ridicule, but he was his own man and he was courageous. And for that, I’m eternally grateful. The last person he discovered before me was Aretha Franklin, and before that Count Basie, Billie Holiday and a whole lot of other artists. All noncommercial artists.

Trends did not interest John, and I was very noncommercial but he stayed with me. He believed in my talent and that’s all that mattered. I can’t thank him enough for that.

Lou Levy runs Leeds Music, and they published my earliest songs, but I didn’t stay there too long. Levy himself, he went back a long ways. He signed me to that company and recorded my songs and I sang them into a tape recorder. He told me outright, there was no precedent for what I was doing, that I was either before my time or behind it. And if I brought him a song like “Stardust,” he’d turn it down because it would be too late.

He told me that if I was before my time — and he didn’t really know that for sure — but if it was happening and if it was true, the public would usually take three to five years to catch up — so be prepared. And that did happen. The trouble was, when the public did catch up I was already three to five years beyond that, so it kind of complicated it. But he was encouraging, and he didn’t judge me, and I’ll always remember him for that.

Artie Mogull at Witmark Music signed me next to his company, and he told me to just keep writing songs no matter what, that I might be on to something. Well, he too stood behind me, and he could never wait to see what I’d give him next. I didn’t even think of myself as a songwriter before then. I’ll always be grateful for him also for that attitude.

I also have to mention some of the early artists who recorded my songs very, very early, without having to be asked. Just something they felt about them that was right for them. I’ve got to say thank you to Peter, Paul and Mary, who I knew all separately before they ever became a group. I didn’t even think of myself as writing songs for others to sing but it was starting to happen and it couldn’t have happened to, or with, a better group.

They took a song of mine that had been recorded before that was buried on one of my records and turned it into a hit song. Not the way I would have done it — they straightened it out. But since then hundreds of people have recorded it and I don’t think that would have happened if it wasn’t for them. They definitely started something for me.

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The Byrds, the Turtles, Sonny & Cher — they made some of my songs Top 10 hits but I wasn’t a pop songwriter and I really didn’t want to be that, but it was good that it happened. Their versions of songs were like commercials, but I didn’t really mind that because 50 years later my songs were being used in the commercials. So that was good too. I was glad it happened, and I was glad they’d done it.

Pervis Staples and the Staple Singers — long before they were on Stax they were on Epic and they were one of my favorite groups of all time. I met them all in ’62 or ’63. They heard my songs live and Pervis wanted to record three or four of them and he did with the Staples Singers. They were the type of artists that I wanted recording my songs.

Nina Simone. I used to cross paths with her in New York City in the Village Gate nightclub. These were the artists I looked up to. She recorded some of my songs that she [inaudible] to me. She was an overwhelming artist, piano player and singer. Very strong woman, very outspoken. That she was recording my songs validated everything that I was about.

Oh, and can’t forget Jimi Hendrix. I actually saw Jimi Hendrix perform when he was in a band called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames — something like that. And Jimi didn’t even sing. He was just the guitar player. He took some small songs of mine that nobody paid any attention to and pumped them up into the outer limits of the stratosphere and turned them all into classics. I have to thank Jimi, too. I wish he was here.

Johnny Cash recorded some of my songs early on, too, up in about ‘63, when he was all skin and bones. He traveled long, he traveled hard, but he was a hero of mine. I heard many of his songs growing up. I knew them better than I knew my own. “Big River,” “I Walk the Line.”

“How high’s the water, Mama?” I wrote “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” with that song reverberating inside my head. I still ask, “How high is the water, mama?” Johnny was an intense character. And he saw that people were putting me down playing electric music, and he posted letters to magazines scolding people, telling them to shut up and let him sing.

In Johnny Cash’s world — hardcore Southern drama — that kind of thing didn’t exist. Nobody told anybody what to sing or what not to sing. They just didn’t do that kind of thing. I’m always going to thank him for that. Johnny Cash was a giant of a man, the man in black. And I’ll always cherish the friendship we had until the day there is no more days.

Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Joan Baez. She was the queen of folk music then and now. She took a liking to my songs and brought me with her to play concerts, where she had crowds of thousands of people enthralled with her beauty and voice.

People would say, “What are you doing with that ragtag scrubby little waif?” And she’d tell everybody in no uncertain terms, “Now you better be quiet and listen to the songs.” We even played a few of them together. Joan Baez is as tough-minded as they come. Love. And she’s a free, independent spirit. Nobody can tell her what to do if she doesn’t want to do it. I learned a lot of things from her. A woman with devastating honesty. And for her kind of love and devotion, I could never pay that back.

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These songs didn’t come out of thin air. I didn’t just make them up out of whole cloth. Contrary to what Lou Levy said, there was a precedent. It all came out of traditional music: traditional folk music, traditional rock ‘n’ roll and traditional big-band swing orchestra music.

I learned lyrics and how to write them from listening to folk songs. And I played them, and I met other people that played them back when nobody was doing it. Sang nothing but these folk songs, and they gave me the code for everything that’s fair game, that everything belongs to everyone.

For three or four years all I listened to were folk standards. I went to sleep singing folk songs. I sang them everywhere, clubs, parties, bars, coffeehouses, fields, festivals. And I met other singers along the way who did the same thing and we just learned songs from each other. I could learn one song and sing it next in an hour if I’d heard it just once.

If you sang “John Henry” as many times as me — “John Henry was a steel-driving man / Died with a hammer in his hand / John Henry said a man ain’t nothin’ but a man / Before I let that steam drill drive me down / I’ll die with that hammer in my hand.”

If you had sung that song as many times as I did, you’d have written “How many roads must a man walk down?” too.

Big Bill Broonzy had a song called “Key to the Highway.” “I’ve got a key to the highway / I’m booked and I’m bound to go / Gonna leave here runnin’ because walking is most too slow.” I sang that a lot. If you sing that a lot, you just might write,

Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose

Welfare Department they wouldn’t give him no clothes

He asked poor Howard where can I go

Howard said there’s only one place I know

Sam said tell me quick man I got to run

Howard just pointed with his gun

And said that way down on Highway 61

You’d have written that too if you’d sang “Key to the Highway” as much as me.

“Ain’t no use sit ‘n cry / You’ll be an angel by and by / Sail away, ladies, sail away.” “I’m sailing away my own true love.” “Boots of Spanish Leather” — Sheryl Crow just sung that.

“Roll the cotton down, aw, yeah, roll the cotton down / Ten dollars a day is a white man’s pay / A dollar a day is the black man’s pay / Roll the cotton down.” If you sang that song as many times as me, you’d be writing “I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more,” too.

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I sang a lot of “come all you” songs. There’s plenty of them. There’s way too many to be counted. “Come along boys and listen to my tale / Tell you of my trouble on the old Chisholm Trail.” Or, “Come all ye good people, listen while I tell / the fate of Floyd Collins a lad we all know well / The fate of Floyd Collins, a lad we all know well.”

“Come all ye fair and tender ladies / Take warning how you court your men / They’re like a star on a summer morning / They first appear and then they’re gone again.” “If you’ll gather ‘round, people / A story I will tell / ‘Bout Pretty Boy Floyd, an outlaw / Oklahoma knew him well.”

If you sung all these “come all ye” songs all the time, you’d be writing, “Come gather ‘round people where ever you roam, admit that the waters around you have grown / Accept that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone / If your time to you is worth saving / And you better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone / The times they are a-changing.”

You’d have written them too. There’s nothing secret about it. You just do it subliminally and unconsciously, because that’s all enough, and that’s all I sang. That was all that was dear to me. They were the only kinds of songs that made sense.

“When you go down to Deep Ellum keep your money in your socks / Women in Deep Ellum put you on the rocks.” Sing that song for a while and you just might come up with, “When you’re lost in the rain in Juarez and it’s Easter time too / And your gravity fails and negativity don’t pull you through / Don’t put on any airs / When you’re down on Rue Morgue Avenue / They got some hungry women there / And they really make a mess outta you.”

All these songs are connected. Don’t be fooled. I just opened up a different door in a different kind of way. It’s just different, saying the same thing. I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary.

Well you know, I just thought I was doing something natural, but right from the start, my songs were divisive for some reason. They divided people. I never knew why. Some got angered, others loved them. Didn’t know why my songs had detractors and supporters. A strange environment to have to throw your songs into, but I did it anyway.

Last thing I thought of was who cared about what song I was writing. I was just writing them. I didn’t think I was doing anything different. I thought I was just extending the line. Maybe a little bit unruly, but I was just elaborating on situations. Maybe hard to pin down, but so what? A lot of people are hard to pin down. You’ve just got to bear it. I didn’t really care what Lieber and Stoller thought of my songs.

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They didn’t like ‘em, but Doc Pomus did. That was all right that they didn’t like ‘em, because I never liked their songs either. “Yakety yak, don’t talk back.” “Charlie Brown is a clown,” “Baby I’m a hog for you.” Novelty songs. They weren’t saying anything serious. Doc’s songs, they were better. “This Magic Moment.” “Lonely Avenue.” Save the Last Dance for Me.

Those songs broke my heart. I figured I’d rather have his blessings any day than theirs.

Ahmet Ertegun didn’t think much of my songs, but Sam Phillips did. Ahmet founded Atlantic Records. He produced some great records: Ray Charles, Ray Brown, just to name a few.

There were some great records in there, no question about it. But Sam Phillips, he recorded Elvis and Jerry Lee, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. Radical eyes that shook the very essence of humanity. Revolution in style and scope. Heavy shape and color. Radical to the bone. Songs that cut you to the bone. Renegades in all degrees, doing songs that would never decay, and still resound to this day. Oh, yeah, I’d rather have Sam Phillips’ blessing any day.

Merle Haggard didn’t even think much of my songs. I know he didn’t. He didn’t say that to me, but I know [inaudible]. Buck Owens did, and he recorded some of my early songs. Merle Haggard — “Mama Tried,” “The Bottle Let Me Down,” “I’m a Lonesome Fugitive.” I can’t imagine Waylon Jennings singing “The Bottle Let Me Down.”

“Together Again”? That’s Buck Owens, and that trumps anything coming out of Bakersfield. Buck Owens and Merle Haggard? If you have to have somebody’s blessing — you figure it out.

Oh, yeah. Critics have been giving me a hard time since Day One. Critics say I can’t sing. I croak. Sound like a frog. Why don’t critics say that same thing about Tom Waits? Critics say my voice is shot. That I have no voice. What don’t they say those things about Leonard Cohen? Why do I get special treatment? Critics say I can’t carry a tune and I talk my way through a song. Really? I’ve never heard that said about Lou Reed. Why does he get to go scot-free?

What have I done to deserve this special attention? No vocal range? When’s the last time you heard Dr. John? Why don’t you say that about him? Slur my words, got no diction. Have you people ever listened to Charley Patton or Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters. Talk about slurred words and no diction. [Inaudible] doesn’t even matter.

“Why me, Lord?” I would say that to myself.

Critics say I mangle my melodies, render my songs unrecognizable. Oh, really? Let me tell you something. I was at a boxing match a few years ago seeing Floyd Mayweather fight a Puerto Rican guy. And the Puerto Rican national anthem, somebody sang it and it was beautiful. It was heartfelt and it was moving.

After that it was time for our national anthem. And a very popular soul-singing sister was chosen to sing. She sang every note — that exists, and some that don’t exist. Talk about mangling a melody. You take a one-syllable word and make it last for 15 minutes? She was doing vocal gymnastics like she was on a trapeze act. But to me it was not funny.

Where were the critics? Mangling lyrics? Mangling a melody? Mangling a treasured song? No, I get the blame. But I don’t really think I do that. I just think critics say I do.

Sam Cooke said this when told he had a beautiful voice: He said, “Well that’s very kind of you, but voices ought not to be measured by how pretty they are. Instead they matter only if they convince you that they are telling the truth.” Think about that the next time you [inaudible].

Times always change. They really do. And you have to always be ready for something that’s coming along and you never expected it. Way back when, I was in Nashville making some records and I read this article, a Tom T. Hall interview. Tom T. Hall, he was bitching about some kind of new song, and he couldn’t understand what these new kinds of songs that were coming in were about.

Now Tom, he was one of the most preeminent songwriters of the time in Nashville. A lot of people were recording his songs and he himself even did it. But he was all in a fuss about James Taylor, a song James had called “Country Road.” Tom was going off in this interview — “But James don’t say nothing about a country road. He’s just says how you can feel it on the country road. I don’t understand that.”

Now some might say Tom is a great songwriter. I’m not going to doubt that. At the time he was doing this interview I was actually listening to a song of his on the radio.

It was called “I Love.” I was listening to it in a recording studio, and he was talking about all the things he loves, an everyman kind of song, trying to connect with people. Trying to make you think that he’s just like you and you’re just like him. We all love the same things, and we’re all in this together. Tom loves little baby ducks, slow-moving trains and rain. He loves old pickup trucks and little country streams. Sleeping without dreams. Bourbon in a glass. Coffee in a cup. Tomatoes on the vine, and onions.

Now listen, I’m not ever going to disparage another songwriter. I’m not going to do that. I’m not saying it’s a bad song. I’m just saying it might be a little overcooked. But, you know, it was in the top 10 anyway. Tom and a few other writers had the whole Nashville scene sewed up in a box. If you wanted to record a song and get it in the top 10 you had to go to them, and Tom was one of the top guys. They were all very comfortable, doing their thing.

This was about the time that Willie Nelson picked up and moved to Texas. About the same time. He’s still in Texas. Everything was very copacetic. Everything was all right until — until — Kristofferson came to town. Oh, they ain’t seen anybody like him. He came into town like a wildcat, flew his helicopter into Johnny Cash’s backyard like a typical songwriter. And he went for the throat. “Sunday Morning Coming Down.”

Well, I woke up Sunday morning

With no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.

And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad

So I had one more for dessert

Then I fumbled through my closet

Found my cleanest dirty shirt

Then I washed my face and combed my hair

And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.

You can look at Nashville pre-Kris and post-Kris, because he changed everything. That one song ruined Tom T. Hall’s poker parties. It might have sent him to the crazy house. God forbid he ever heard any of my songs.

You walk into the room

With your pencil in your hand

You see somebody naked

You say, “Who is that man?”

You try so hard

But you don’t understand

Just what you’re gonna say

When you get home

You know something is happening here

But you don’t know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?

If “Sunday Morning Coming Down” rattled Tom’s cage, sent him into the looney bin, my song surely would have made him blow his brains out, right there in the minivan. Hopefully he didn’t hear it.

I just released an album of standards, all the songs usually done by Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr., maybe Brian Wilson’s done a couple, Linda Ronstadt done ‘em. But the reviews of their records are different than the reviews of my record.

In their reviews no one says anything. In my reviews, [inaudible] they’ve got to look under every stone when it comes to me. They’ve got to mention all the songwriters’ names. Well that’s OK with me. After all, they’re great songwriters and these are standards. I’ve seen the reviews come in, and they’ll mention all the songwriters in half the review, as if everybody knows them. Nobody’s heard of them, not in this time, anyway. Buddy Kaye, Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, to name a few.

But, you know, I’m glad they mention their names, and you know what? I’m glad they got their names in the press. It might have taken some time to do it, but they’re finally there. I can only wonder why it took so long. My only regret is that they’re not here to see it.

Traditional rock ‘n’ roll, we’re talking about that. It’s all about rhythm. Johnny Cash said it best: “Get rhythm. Get rhythm when you get the blues.” Very few rock ‘n’ roll bands today play with rhythm. They don’t know what it is. Rock ‘n’ roll is a combination of blues, and it’s a strange thing made up of two parts. A lot of people don’t know this, but the blues, which is an American music, is not what you think it is. It’s a combination of Arabic violins and Strauss waltzes working it out. But it’s true.

The other half of rock ‘n’ roll has got to be hillbilly. And that’s a derogatory term, but it ought not to be. That’s a term that includes the Delmore Bros., Stanley Bros., Roscoe Holcomb, Clarence Ashley … groups like that. Moonshiners gone berserk. Fast cars on dirt roads. That’s the kind of combination that makes up rock ‘n’ roll, and it can’t be cooked up in a science laboratory or a studio.

You have to have the right kind of rhythm to play this kind of music. If you can’t hardly play the blues, how do you [inaudible] those other two kinds of music in there? You can fake it, but you can’t really do it.

Critics have made a career out of accusing me of having a career of confounding expectations. Really? Because that’s all I do. That’s how I think about it. Confounding expectations.

“What do you do for a living, man?”

“Oh, I confound expectations.”

You’re going to get a job, the man says, “What do you do?” “Oh, confound expectations.: And the man says, “Well, we already have that spot filled. Call us back. Or don’t call us, we’ll call you.” Confounding expectations. What does that mean? ‘Why me, Lord? I’d confound them, but I don’t know how to do it.’

The Blackwood Bros. have been talking to me about making a record together. That might confound expectations, but it shouldn’t. Of course it would be a gospel album. I don’t think it would be anything out of the ordinary for me. Not a bit. One of the songs I’m thinking about singing is “Stand By Me” by the Blackwood Brothers. Not “Stand By Me” the pop song. No. The real “Stand By Me.”

The real one goes like this:

When the storm of life is raging / Stand by me / When the storm of life is raging / Stand by me / When the world is tossing me / Like a ship upon the sea / Thou who rulest wind and water / Stand by me

In the midst of tribulation / Stand by me / In the midst of tribulation / Stand by me / When the hosts of hell assail / And my strength begins to fail / Thou who never lost a battle / Stand by me

In the midst of faults and failures / Stand by me / In the midst of faults and failures / Stand by me / When I do the best I can / And my friends don’t understand / Thou who knowest all about me / Stand by me

That’s the song. I like it better than the pop song. If I record one by that name, that’s going to be the one. I’m also thinking of recording a song, not on that album, though: “Oh Lord, Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”

Anyway, why me, Lord. What did I do?

Anyway, I’m proud to be here tonight for MusiCares. I’m honored to have all these artists singing my songs. There’s nothing like that. Great artists. [applause, inaudible]. They’re all singing the truth, and you can hear it in their voices.

I’m proud to be here tonight for MusiCares. I think a lot of this organization. They’ve helped many people. Many musicians who have contributed a lot to our culture. I’d like to personally thank them for what they did for a friend of mine, Billy Lee Riley. A friend of mine who they helped for six years when he was down and couldn’t work. Billy was a son of rock ‘n’ roll, obviously.

He was a true original. He did it all: He played, he sang, he wrote. He would have been a bigger star but Jerry Lee came along. And you know what happens when someone like that comes along. You just don’t stand a chance.

So Billy became what is known in the industry — a condescending term, by the way — as a one-hit wonder. But sometimes, just sometimes, once in a while, a one-hit wonder can make a more powerful impact than a recording star who’s got 20 or 30 hits behind him. And Billy’s hit song was called “Red Hot,” and it was red hot. It could blast you out of your skull and make you feel happy about it. Change your life.

He did it with style and grace. You won’t find him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He’s not there. Metallica is. Abba is. Mamas and the Papas — I know they’re in there. Jefferson Airplane, Alice Cooper, Steely Dan — I’ve got nothing against them. Soft rock, hard rock, psychedelic pop. I got nothing against any of that stuff, but after all, it is called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Billy Lee Riley is not there. Yet.

I’d see him a couple times a year and we’d always spent time together and he was on a rockabilly festival nostalgia circuit, and we’d cross paths now and again. We’d always spend time together. He was a hero of mine. I’d heard “Red Hot.” I must have been only 15 or 16 when I did and it’s impressed me to this day.

I never grow tired of listening to it. Never got tired of watching Billy Lee perform, either. We spent time together just talking and playing into the night. He was a deep, truthful man. He wasn’t bitter or nostalgic. He just accepted it. He knew where he had come from and he was content with who he was.

And then one day he got sick. And like my friend John Mellencamp would sing — because John sang some truth today — one day you get sick and you don’t get better. That’s from a song of his called “Life is Short Even on Its Longest Days.” It’s one of the better songs of the last few years, actually. I ain’t lying.

And I ain’t lying when I tell you that MusiCares paid for my friend’s doctor bills, and helped him to get spending money. They were able to at least make his life comfortable, tolerable to the end. That is something that can’t be repaid. Any organization that would do that would have to have my blessing.

I’m going to get out of here now. I’m going to put an egg in my shoe and beat it. I probably left out a lot of people and said too much about some. But that’s OK. Like the spiritual song, ‘I’m still just crossing over Jordan too.’ Let’s hope we meet again. Sometime. And we will, if, like Hank Williams said, “the good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.”

FULL COVERAGE 2015 GRAMMYS:

Grammys 2015: Complete list of winners and nominees

Quiz: How much music history do you know?

Follow Randall Roberts on Twitter: @liledit

Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, started the final round two shots ahead of Jacob Skov Olesen.

The Dane shot a one-under 71 and ended in a tie for third with American Johannes Veerman.

Meanwhile, Reed carded a second consecutive two-under round of 70 to ensure victory, despite Hill hitting an impressive five-under 67 to finish second outright.

“Golf feels good at the minute,” said the 31-year-old Hill.

“I feel like I did a lot of things well and if you put me in that position again I feel like I could convert from there.”

Last month, Reed became the second high-profile American to leave LIV and return to the PGA Tour after Brooks Koepka.

American Koepka is able to play on the PGA Tour straight away after it recently introduced a new returning member programme.

It allows players who have been away from the PGA Tour for at least two years and have won The Players Championship or a major between 2022 and 2025 to play again on the series, with the avenue closing on 2 February.

However, Reed does not meet that criteria and rules dictate he will not be eligible to play on the PGA Tour again until August – a year after his last LIV appearance.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud responds to Israel’s recognition of Somaliland – a self-governing Somali territory, allegations of a possible Israeli military presence near the Red Sea and shifting power dynamics in the Horn of Africa. He addresses criticism by the United States as well as President Donald Trump’s remarks on Somalia, growing ties with regional allies and fears of wider instability as tensions rise between Israel, Iran and their rivals. At home, Mohamud faces pressing questions over security, human rights, media freedom and whether he will seek a third term ahead of crucial elections.

WHAT do giants typically wear?

Patchy trousers that would smother three average-sized humans and a coat with pockets large enough to conceal a massive umbrella and a sloppy birthday cake.

A giant would also need a colossal chair – at least that’s what the costume and set designers created for the Harry Potter movies.

Hagrid’s huge seat and other amazing memorabilia is just part of the latest instalment at Warner Bros Studio Tour London, near Watford, which gives fans an even deeper look behind the scenes of the movies.

Unlike the main tour, where guests just wander freely around the attraction, Mastering The Magic: Costume Creation is a 45-minute workshop that allows muggles to even create their own Potter-themed outfit.

“Films are short and can’t go into as much detail as books can, so costumes are a way of giving viewers a lot of information about a character in just 30 seconds,” our workshop leader tells us.

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My small group learns that a school-aged Harry, for example, is first seen by viewers in his battered shirt and threadbare trousers, which conveys how poorly treated he is by his aunt and uncle.

Chances are, you might have once owned the same shirt as Harry – although likely less scuffed – as much of his muggle gear was picked up from high street brands like Gap and Next.

The fictional Malfoy family, on the other hand, have money. So only the plushest and chicest materials were used here.

The thought that goes into every outfit is staggering. You probably wouldn’t have noticed that Voldemort’s emerald-coloured robes become paler and more faded throughout the final film. This is to indicate his loss of power.

And next time you’re watching The Order Of The Phoenix, keep your eyes peeled for Professor Umbridge’s cat broach.

It was picked up for around £1 by the costume designers from a charity shop. Today, it is insured for £1,000 . . . or thereabouts.

A giant would also need a colossal chair – at least that’s what the costume and set designers created for the Harry Potter movies

Don’t worry, I’m not giving away any proper spoilers. You’ll uncover dozens more secrets in these short sessions.

After learning tricks of the trade, we’re talked through the lengthy process of costume creation, from initial concept, taken from scripts, through to mood boards with fabric samples and right down to the final sketches.

Then it’s time to get stuck in – sketching our own designs and pinning scraps of fabric left over from the costumes featured in the actual films.

I choose a ruby red and black patch of fur, pairing it with a gold satin – more Malfoy territory than Potter.

And for a brief moment, I’ve played my part as a Harry Potter costume designer.

Time to celebrate with a butter beer? I’m in the right place for that.

Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner could secure as many as 366 of the 465 seats in the lower house, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s party is set to win 274 to 328 of the 465 seats in Japan’s lower house of parliament, well above the 233 needed for a majority, according to exit polls published by public broadcaster NHK.

Together with its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) could ⁠secure as many as 366 of the 465 seats in the more-powerful lower house in Sunday’s election, according to NHK.

“We have consistently stressed the importance of responsible and proactive fiscal policy,” Takaichi told reporters after media projections showed her party triumphing in the snap lower house election.

“We will prioritise the sustainability of fiscal policy. We will ensure necessary investments.”

While Takaichi is hugely popular, the ruling LDP, which has governed Japan for most of the last seven decades, has struggled due to funding and religious scandals. The PM called Sunday’s snap elections only after three months, in hopes of turning the party’s political fortunes.

However, Takaichi’s election promise to suspend the eight percent sales tax on food to help households cope with rising prices has spooked investors, who are concerned about how the nation with the heaviest debt burden among advanced economies will fund the plan.

Nevertheless, residents trudged through winter weather to cast their ballots with record snowfall in parts of the country snarling traffic and requiring some polling stations to close early.

“It feels like she’s creating a sense of direction – like the whole country pulling together and moving forward. That really resonates with me,” Kazushige Cho, 54, told Reuters news agency.

Meanwhile, Niigata resident Mineko Mori, 74, padding through the snow with her dog, said she worried that Takaichi’s tax cuts could saddle future generations with ‌an even bigger burden.

‘She can push any legislation’

Craig Mark, a lecturer at Hosei University, says Takaichi’s apparent success in early election results likely gives the LDP the ability to “override the opposition parties”.

“Essentially, she can push through any legislation she wants, whether it’s the record budget that was recently approved or defence spending,” Mark told Al Jazeera from the capital Tokyo.

It is also the “greatest chance” for Takaichi to change the country’s image as a pacifist nation, he added. Japan’s post-World War II constitution does not officially recognise the military, and limits it to nominally self-defensive capabilities.

The head of Japan’s top business lobby, Keidanren, welcomed the result as restoring political stability.

“Japan’s economy is now at a critical juncture for achieving sustainable and strong growth,” Yoshinobu Tsutsui said.

China tensions

China will also be keeping a close eye on ‌the results.

Weeks after taking office, Takaichi touched off the biggest dispute with China in over a decade by publicly outlining how Tokyo might respond to a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

A strong mandate could accelerate her plans to bolster military defence, which Beijing has cast as an attempt to revive Japan’s militaristic past.

“Beijing will not welcome Takaichi’s victory,” said David Boling, principal at the Asia Group, a firm that advises companies on geopolitical risk.

“China now faces the reality that she is firmly in place – and that its efforts to isolate her completely failed.”

STACEY Solomon has shared an insight into her daughter Belle’s third birthday celebrations.

Marking her youngest’s special day, mum-of-five Stacey, 36, pulled out all of the stops with plenty of sweet treats and decorations.

Hosting a home party for the youngster, there was a three-tiered pink castle birthday cake, a mini donut wall, a stacked fruit cake, an afternoon tea spread of fancies and smaller cakes and a selection of sweet and savoury snacks.

Belle, who Stacey shares with husband Joe Swash, also had a giant balloon in the shape of the number 3, a giant teddy bear balloon and a number of pastel decorations.

Sharing pictures from the celebrations, Stacey gushed on her Instagram page: “Birthday Belle. And just like that our littlest pickle is THREE. Time is a thief.

“Happy birthday darling girl. The most confident, hilarious, sweet, strong, happy little pickle. “

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She continued: “The smallest but definitely the most mighty! If you ever wondered who the boss of pickle cottage is, she’s right here.

“To the moon and back beautiful Belle. And here’s to 3 years of me not being pregnant”.

Following the celebrations, Stacey’s husband Joe took Belle and her sister Rose, four, on a day out to further mark the big day.

Alongside their youngest girls, Stacey and Joe are parents to six-year-old son Rex.

Their blended family of six also includes Stacey’s sons Zach and Leighton, from previous relationships, and Joe’s son Harry, whom he shares with ex Emma Sophocleous.

Stacey and Joe gave fans a much closer look into family life last year with their eponymous TV show, a fly-on-the-wall look into their family life with their five kids. 

The series followed Stacey as she battled being a mum with her busy working life.

It also highlighted the spats Joe and Stacey have, which didn’t go unnoticed with fans. 

And following its popularity, the show is set to return for a third series, which is thought to air in late 2026.

It’s not known whether filming has begun yet, or whether fans will get to see milestones such as Belle’s birthday in the upcoming episodes.

If the NBA needs a Southland representative for a three-point shooting contest during All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome, senior Dylan McCord of Thousand Oaks High would gladly raise his hand to participate.

The 6-foot-1 senior made 113 threes in the regular season for 23-4 Thousand Oaks. In the Lancers’ final regular-season game, he scored 43 points against Newbury Park, including 10 threes. He’s the school record-holder for most threes in a season and in a game.

McCord is averaging 22.5 points. He also has a game in which he made nine threes this season. As comparison, LaMelo Ball made 154 threes in 2016-17 for Chino Hills, second most in Southern Section history.

Thousand Oaks will be in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs that begin next week.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

The US president praises his newly inaugurated ‘friend’ and hails strong US-Honduras security ties.

Donald Trump has met with Honduran President Nasry Asfura in Florida, with the US president hailing what he described as a growing alliance aimed at curbing drug trafficking and irregular migration.

Trump said he met with his “friend” Asfura, a conservative businessman, at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday. Asfura took office last week after a razor-thin election victory.

“Tito and I share many of the same America First Values,” said Trump, using Asfura’s nickname. Trump had strongly backed Asfura during his campaign, even threatening to cut off aid to Honduras if he lost.

“Once I gave him my strong Endorsement, he won his Election!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Following the meeting, Trump praised what he described as a close security partnership between the US and Honduras, saying they would collaborate to “counter dangerous Cartels and Drug Traffickers, and deporting Illegal Migrants and Gang Members out of the United States”.

Asfura is expected to brief Honduran media about the meeting on Sunday, “detailing the issues discussed, the tone of the conversation, and the possible outcomes of the dialogue”, according to Honduras’s El Heraldo newspaper.

The Honduran president’s meeting with Trump comes less than a month after a January 12 meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after which the two countries announced plans for a free trade deal.

Asfura’s rise to power gives Trump another conservative ally in Latin America, following recent electoral shifts in countries including Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina, where leftist governments have been replaced.

Just before the Honduran election, Trump pardoned the country’s former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, a fellow member of Asfura’s party who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for drug trafficking.

That pardon “was widely seen as a gesture of solidarity with the new president’s [Asfura’s] party”, said Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle, reporting from Palm Beach, Florida.

The decision drew major backlash, particularly as Trump’s administration invoked the fight against drug trafficking to justify aggressive actions abroad. They include a string of bombings of alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and later the abduction of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, now facing charges including those related to drug trafficking in the US.

FOR striped houses that look like giant beach huts and beautiful stretches of coastline – head to Aveiro.

The city in Portugal sits on the west coast and is much less known than its neighbour and is considered to be the country’s ‘Venice‘.

Along with its waterways, Aveiro is known for its beautiful waterfront houses, bars and boat tours along the waterways.

The city is built around water including the Ria de Aveiro which is a shallow coastal lagoon – and throughout Aveiro are lots of canals.

The largest is Canal Central de Aveiro, right in the city centre and it’s here where tourists can hop onto a boat and take a river cruise.

Dotted along the water are the brightly coloured Moliceiro boats which were historically used to collect seaweed.

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Now, these are used for leisure tours which you can book from €13 (£11.22).

These start on the Central Canal of Ria de Aveiro before working their way through the waterworks to Canal de São Roque in the north of the city.

On the banks of the canal are lots of bars, restaurants and cafes.

Some of the most popular include Boteco Aveiro, Taberna do Canal, and Luxor Lounge.

A popular drinking spot is Neighbourhood Alavarium Bar which has deckchairs in the courtyard.

A local pint will set you back just €2.75 (£2.38).

Just a short trip from Aveiro is the Bairrada Region Proximity, which produces plenty of sparkling and red wine, so the city is also perfect for wine lovers.

It is an excellent hub for exploring vineyards on reasonably priced tours, and bars and restaurants in the city centre offer glasses from as little as €2.30 (£2).

Aveiro is known for a local delicacy called ‘ovos moles’ – these traditional Portuguese pastries are essentially a sweet, creamy egg yolk and sugar mixture inside a thin wafer shell.

You can pick these up in local cafes or bakeries for around €1.60 (£1.38) each – and if you treat yourself to a coffee, it will cost as little as €2.16 (£1.87).

One of these spots along Central Canal is Café a Barrica.

One visitor even wrote on Tripadvisor: “This is the very place to try the typical local sweet, Ovos Moles. It is a small place, but I recommend a visitor to try.”

A holidaymaker who treated their fiancee to a romantic holiday to the city, told The Guardian: I told my fiancée we were going somewhere where we would drink wine on a gondola so she was a bit surprised when we got on a plane to Portugal and not Italy.

“I had to explain that I meant the Venice south of Porto – the pretty canal town of Aveiro (half the cost of the real Venice and just as nice).

“I risked being dubbed a cheapskate but we both loved it – a great romantic choice for a Valentine break on a budget.”

Around 10-minutes outside of the city centre is the coastal village of Costa Nova.

The picture-perfect spot has been described by visitors as having “the most adorable houses”.

The waterfront buildings are famous for their brightly coloured stripes.

These were originally called ‘palheiros’ and were used by fishermen and were brightly coloured so that they could see them through the mist.

Its beach, called Praia da Costa Nova, is also considered one of the prettiest in the area, although it does have strong waves thanks to its location on the Atlantic.

It runs for just under one mile and is the perfect sunbathing spot thanks to its fine, white sand.

Costa Nova is also home to Farol da Barra which is the tallest lighthouse in Portugal.

Visitors can climb up the 288 steps for incredible views across the coast.

Aveiro doesn’t have an international airport – the nearest is Porto which is just a 34-minute train ride away.

One-way tickets start from £6 and in February, flights to Porto from Birmingham start from £13 with Ryanair.

And once you get to the station, make sure to check out the former station building.

It’s one of the prettiest in Aveiro covered in beautiful blue and white tiles.

Plus, here’s the secret side to Portugal crowned one of the best places in Europe to visit last year.

And these are the five lesser-known places where the Portuguese always go on holiday and where they avoid.

Lokesh Bam’s late heroics with the bat are not enough as Nepal are beaten by two-time champions in their Group C match in Mumbai.

Nepal were left heartbroken after they came agonisingly close to pulling off a massive T20 World Cup upset against England but fell short by four runs as the two-time champions won the Group C match in Mumbai.

Lokesh Bam’s heroics with the bat – 39 runs off 20 balls – were not enough to see Nepal over the line at the Wankhede Stadium, which was packed with Nepalese fans on Sunday.

Nepal finished on 180-6, handing England a nervy win to kick off their campaign in the controversy-hit cricket tournament.

When England’s captain Harry Brook (53) and teammate Jacob Bethell (55) hit fifties to power England to 184-7, they seemingly did enough to take the match out of Nepal’s reach.

But Rohit Paudel produced a captain’s innings of his own as he, alongside star all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee, put Nepal on course for a shock win.

The pair’s departure slowed down Nepal’s progress, but Lokesh resumed the big hitting against some wayward bowling by England’s seamers.

Needing 10 off the last over, the Rhinos were unable to get Sam Curran’s accurate bowling over the boundary and could only score six runs.

The Rhinos’ fans, hundreds of whom had travelled from across the border, were left disheartened.

Earlier, electing to bat at the Wankhede Stadium, England slumped to 57-3 in the seventh over to find themselves in a spot of bother.

Sher Malla struck with the first ball on his World Cup debut, dismissing Phil Salt for one, and the pressure mounted on England after Jos Buttler and Tom Banton fell in quick succession.

Bethell had no problem adjusting to the nature of the track, where other batters found shot-making difficult. He and Brook combined in a 71-run partnership during their 45-ball collaboration to rebuild their innings.

Airee (44) and skipper Paudel (39) kept Nepal in the hunt with a stand of 82 from 54 balls.

Curran brought relief to the English camp when he had Airee caught in the deep and Paudel also departed soon afterwards.

Bam hit Jofra Archer for back-to-back sixes to turn the match on its head.

With Nepal needing 10 runs off the last over from Curran, Bam needed to hit the last ball for a six, but he managed only one as England heaved a huge sigh of relief.

A heartbroken Coronation Street star Cait Fitton has shared a sad update online with her fans

Coronation Street’s Lauren Bolton star Cait Fitton has shared a heartbreaking announcement online.

Cait shot to fame playing Lauren Bolton on the ITV soap – making her debut in 2022. As the feisty and loyal teenager, Lauren’s been involved in several big moments on the cobbles.

From growing up with her racist far-right extremist dad Reece Bolton (Scott Anson), to killing her abuser Joel Deering (Calum Lill), Lauren’s time in Weatherfield has not been short of drama.

Away from the ITV soap, Cait is no stranger to keeping her 62k Instagram followers updated on her day-to-day life – from BTS snaps at Corrie to sun-soaked holiday photos.

Last week though, Cait paid an emotional tribute to her grandfather after his funeral. Taking to her Instagram Story Cait uploaded a photo from his funeral, which showed a football T-shirt and ‘Greatest grandad’ cushion.

A heartbroken Cait captioned the emotional post: “Said goodbye to my hero today. My best mate till the day I die, always and forever your little dancing queen RIP GDAD.”

Cait announced last month that her grandad died just days before his birthday. Posting a series of black and white photos with him on her Instagram stories, the young star penned: “Happy heavenly birthday to my best buddy.

“It’s been just over a week since you left us… and I’m still trying to navigate how to get through this without you. Hope you are dancing up there with gran.”

Meanwhile, Cait recently celebrated three years on the cobbles, and wrote on Instagram: “3 years playing the pocket rocket that is Lozza Bolton. Time flies when you really are having fun. Let’s look back on some of my favourite moments so far…”

She added: “Thank you everyone who has shown nothing but love towards Lauren over the past 3 years . I love playing a character that is so complex to play . I love her!

“I feel so proud and privileged to have been given the honour to play out such inspiring stories and raise such important issues throughout my time on the cobbles so far.

“Thank you @coronationstreet and to @brookekinsella my amazing agent for always believing and trusting me within this process. I will forever be grateful to call this my job.”

Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO — CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The mountainside packed with fans and competitors was eerily silent after disaster struck.

Lindsey Vonn, attempting to win a gold medal despite sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her final race before the Games, clipped her pole on a gate early in her first Olympic downhill skiing run and crashed Sunday.

Vonn, 41, could be heard screaming after the crash. She received medical attention on the snow and was airlifted off the mountain.

The race was halted while Vonn was treated. Her teammate, Breezy Johnson, held the early lead and went on to win the race after the competition resumed. Johnson won the Americans’ first gold medal of the Games.

The U.S. downhill team celebrated with Johnson but continued to think of Vonn.

American Lindsey Vonn crashes into a gate during an alpine ski downhill race at the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday.

(Handout / Getty Images)

“It’s heartbreaking,” said American Isabella Wright, who finished 22nd in the competition. “Jackie [Wiles] and myself, we were up there. We watched it live and things just happen so quick in this sport. It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn and she hooked her arm [on a gate on the course] and it’s just over. Just like that. After all the preparation, after years of hard work and rehabilitation and all the things, it’s the last thing you want to see somebody go through.”

Vonn retired after a series of injuries seemed to be too much to overcome. Nearly six years later, she announced she missed racing and was confident she had fully recovered her form after a right knee replacement.

She shocked many by immediately winning races needed to qualify for the Games and entered the Olympics as the leader in the World Cup downhill standings. Nine days ago, she suffered a torn ACL, a bone bruise and meniscus damage.

Amid great scrutiny, Vonn was determined to keep racing with the support of her medical team and a large knee brace. She was optimistic about her ability to compete after practice runs and pushed back at critics on the social media platform X.

Fans react after watching American Lindsey Vonn crash during the women’s downhill skiing race at the Winter Olympics Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

“It’s the last thing you want to see for Lindsey, but she should be really proud of everything she has gone through to get back here,” Wright said. “And regardless, if got last today, if she won — she obviously crashed. Whatever happened today, she’s an inspiration to all of us and she should be really proud. I know it probably doesn’t feel like that right now, but I hope one day she can recognize that.”

‘This is not law enforcement, this is animal cruelty.’

A Tennessee woman says her dog suffered a broken rib after being kicked by a federal officer while agents arrested her boyfriend. The US Marshals Service said the kick was ‘unfortunate’ but done to ‘mitigate a dangerous situation’.

Follow the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the football match as Liverpool host City for a crunch game at Anfield.

NANCY Guthrie’s abductors have allegedly demanded $6 million in exchange for her safe return.

It comes as FBI agents have decoded hidden messages in the latest video released by Savannah and her siblings begging for her release and saying “we will pay”.

Local TV station KGUN 9 in Tucson, Arizona, where the 84-year-old was snatched from her bed last weekend, reported that her alleged kidnappers asked for $6 million in exchange for her life.

The alleged ransom note received by the news station requested payment by 5pm on Monday and threatened Nancy’s life if the deadline goes unmet.

The outlet highlighted that it is one of several ransom notes that have been issued to the family and to local news stations.

KGUN 9 previously said it, along with other outlets, had received a ransom note demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin.

read more on nancy guthrie

KIDNAP MYSTERY

Police seize car and remove CCTV camera from home of TV star’s missing mum

Their report came hours after the Today Show host released a video on her Instagram on Saturday afternoon.

Nancy’s three children held hands as Savannah made the announcement alongside sister Annie and brother Camron.

She said in the short video: “We received your message, and we understand.

“We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her.

“This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

It is unclear which ransom note the Guthries were responding to.

More to follow…

MINNEAPOLIS — Alberto Castañeda Mondragón says his memory was so jumbled after a beating by immigration officers that he initially could not remember he had a daughter and still struggles to recall treasured moments like the night he taught her to dance.

But the violence he endured last month in Minnesota while being detained is seared into his battered brain.

He remembers Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulling him from a friend’s car on Jan. 8 outside a St. Paul shopping center and throwing him to the ground, handcuffing him, then punching him and striking his head with a steel baton. He remembers being dragged into an SUV and taken to a detention facility, where he said he was beaten again.

He also remembers the emergency room and the intense pain from eight skull fractures and five life-threatening brain hemorrhages.

“They started beating me right away when they arrested me,” the Mexican immigrant recounted last week to the Associated Press, which recently reported on how his case contributed to mounting friction between federal immigration agents and a Minneapolis hospital.

Castañeda Mondragón, 31, is one of an unknown number of immigration detainees who, despite avoiding deportation during the Trump administration’s enforcement crackdown, have been left with lasting injuries following violent encounters with ICE officers. His case is one of the excessive-force claims the federal government has thus far declined to investigate.

He was hurt so badly he was disoriented for days at Hennepin County Medical Center, where ICE officers constantly watched over him.

A dubious claim

The officers told nurses Castañeda Mondragón “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall,” an account his caregivers immediately doubted. A CT scan showed fractures to the front, back and both sides of his skull — injuries a doctor told AP were inconsistent with a fall.

“There was never a wall,” Castañeda Mondragón said in Spanish, recalling ICE officers striking him with the same metal rod used to break the windows of the vehicle he was in. He later identified it as an ASP, a telescoping baton routinely carried by law enforcement.

Training materials and police use-of-force policies across the U.S. say such a baton can be used to hit the arms, legs and body. But striking the head, neck or spine is considered potentially deadly force.

“The only time a person can be struck in the head with any baton is when the person presents the same threat that would permit the use of a firearm — a lethal threat to the officer or others,” said Joe Key, a former Baltimore police lieutenant and use-of-force expert who testifies in defense of police.

Once he was taken to an ICE holding facility at Ft. Snelling in suburban Minneapolis, Castañeda Mondragón said officers resumed beating him. Recognizing that he was seriously hurt, he said, he pleaded with them to stop, but they just “laughed at me and hit me again.”

“They were very racist people,” he said. “No one insulted them, neither me nor the other person they detained me with. It was their character, their racism toward us, for being immigrants.”

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, did not respond to repeated requests for comment over the last two weeks on Castañeda Mondragón’s injuries.

It is unclear whether his arrest was captured on body-camera video or if there might be additional recordings from security cameras at the detention center.

In a recent bid to boost transparency, Homeland Security announced a broad rollout of body cameras for immigration officers in Minneapolis as the government draws down ICE’s presence there.

ICE deportation officer William J. Robinson did not say how Castañeda Mondragón’s skull was smashed in a Jan. 20 declaration filed in federal court. During the intake process, it was determined he “had a head injury that required emergency medical treatment,” he wrote in the filing.

The declaration also stated that Castañeda Mondragón entered the U.S. legally in March 2022, and that the agency determined only after his arrest that he had overstayed his visa. A federal judge later ruled his arrest had been unlawful and ordered him released from ICE custody.

‘Hope they don’t kill you’

A video posted to social media captured the moments immediately after Castañeda Mondragón’s arrest as four masked men walk him handcuffed through a parking lot. The video shows him unsteady and stumbling, held up by ICE officers.

“Don’t resist!” shouts the woman who is recording. “‘Cause they ain’t gonna do nothing but bang you up some more.

“Hope they don’t kill you,” she adds.

“And y’all gave the man a concussion,” a male bystander shouts.

The witness who posted the video declined to speak with AP or provide consent for the video’s publication, but Castañeda Mondragón confirmed he is the handcuffed man seen in the recording.

At least one ICE officer later told staff at the medical center that Castañeda Mondragón “got his [expletive] rocked,” according to court documents filed by a lawyer seeking his release and nurses who spoke with AP.

AP interviewed a doctor and five nurses about Castañeda Mondragón’s treatment at Hennepin County Medical Center and the presence of ICE officers inside the hospital. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss patient care and feared retaliation. AP also consulted an outside physician, who affirmed the injuries were inconsistent with an accidental fall or running into a wall.

Minnesota state law requires health professionals to report to law enforcement any wounds that could have been perpetrated as part of a crime.

A hospital spokeswoman declined to say last week whether anyone at the facility had done so. However, after the Jan. 31 publication of AP’s initial story about Castañeda Mondragón’s beating and arrest, hospital administrators opened an internal inquiry seeking to determine which staff members have spoken to the media, according to internal communications viewed by AP.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz posted a link to AP’s prior story about Castañeda Mondragón, but his office has not said whether state authorities would pursue answers.

“Law enforcement cannot be lawless,” Walz wrote in the post on X. “Thousands of aggressive, untrained agents of the federal government continue to injure and terrorize Minnesotans. This must end.”

Castañeda Mondragón’s arrest came a day after the slaying of Renee Good, the first  of  two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by immigration officers, triggering widespread public protests.

Calls for accountability

Minnesota congressional leaders and other elected officials, including St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, called last week for an investigation of Castañeda Mondragón’s injuries.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office, which oversees St. Paul, urged Castañeda Mondragón to file a police report to prompt an investigation. He said he plans to file a complaint. A St. Paul police spokesperson said the department would investigate “all alleged crimes that are reported to us.”

While the Trump administration insists ICE limits its operations to immigrants with violent rap sheets, Castañeda Mondragón has no criminal record.

“We are seeing a repeated pattern of Trump Administration officials attempting to lie and gaslight the American people when it comes to the cruelty of this ICE operation in Minnesota,” U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a statement.

Rep. Kelly Morrison, another Democrat and a doctor, recently toured the Whipple Building, the ICE facility at Ft. Snelling. She said she saw severe overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and an almost complete lack of medical care.

“If any one of our police officers did this, you know what just happened in Minnesota with George Floyd, we hold them accountable,” said Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum, whose district includes St. Paul.

A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Castañeda Mondragón came to Minnesota nearly four years ago on a temporary work visa and found jobs as a driver and roofer. He uses his earnings to support his elderly father, who is disabled and diabetic, and his 10-year-old daughter.

On the day of his arrest, he was running errands with a friend when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by ICE agents. The agents began breaking the windows and opening the doors of the vehicle. He said the first person who hit him “got ugly with me for being Mexican” and not having documents showing his immigration status.

About four hours after his arrest, court records show, Castañeda Mondragón was taken to an emergency room in the suburb of Edina with swelling and bruising around his right eye and bleeding. He was then transferred to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, where he told staff he had been “dragged and mistreated by federal agents,” before his condition deteriorated, court records show.

A week into his hospitalization, caregivers described him as minimally responsive. As his condition slowly improved, hospital staff handed him his cellphone, and he spoke with his child in Mexico, whom he could not remember.

“I am your daughter,” she told him. “You left when I was 6 years old.”

His head injuries erased past experiences that for his daughter are unforgettable, including birthday parties and the day he left for the United States. She’s been trying to revive his memory in daily calls.

“When I turned 5, you taught me how to dance for the first time,” she reminded him recently.

“All these moments, really, for me, have been forgotten,″ he said.

He showed gradual improvement and, to the surprise of some who treated him, was released from the hospital on Jan. 27.

Long recovery lies ahead

He faces a long recovery and an uncertain future. Questions loom about whether he will be able to continue to support his family back in Mexico. “My family depends on me,” he said.

Though his bruises have faded, the effects of his traumatic brain injuries linger. In addition to the problems with his memory, he also has issues with balance and coordination that could prove debilitating for a man whose work requires going up and down ladders. He said he is unable to bathe himself without help.

“I can’t get on a roof now,” he said.

Castañeda Mondragón, who does not have health insurance, said doctors have told him he needs ongoing care. Unable to earn a living, he is relying on support from co-workers and members of the Minneapolis-St. Paul community who are raising money to help provide food, housing and medical care. He has launched a GoFundMe.

Still, he hopes to stay in the U.S. and to provide again someday for his loved ones. He differentiates between people in Minnesota, where he said he has felt welcome, and the federal officers who beat him.

“It’s immense luck to have survived, to be able to be in this country again, to be able to heal, and to try to move forward,” he said. “For me, it’s the best luck in the world.”

But when he closes his eyes at night, the fear that ICE officers will come for him dominates his dreams. He is now terrified to leave his apartment, he said.

“You’re left with the nightmare of going to work and being stopped,” Castañeda Mondragón said, “or that you’re buying your food somewhere, your lunch, and they show up and stop you again. They hit you.”

Brook, Biesecker, Mustian and Attanasio write for the Associated Press and reported from Minneapolis, Washington, New York and Seattle, respectively.

Get ready for the return of bow ties for Redondo Union basketball coach Reggie Morris Jr. It’s his signature wardrobe item added whenever the playoffs begin, and the Sea Hawks (25-3) are capable of extending their season for more than a month the way they are playing.

“It means time to dress the part, time to win,” Morris said.

Few coaches in the postseason have achieved what Morris has. The son of City Section Hall of Fame coach Reggie Morris Sr., Morris Jr. has won Southern Section titles at Redondo, Leuzinger and St. Bernard along with winning a City Section title at Fairfax. He has one state title at Redondo.

Reggie Morris Jr., in 2013. He has a collection of bow ties he brings out for the playoffs.

(Nick Koza)

The Sea Hawks are seeded No. 3 in the Southern Section Open Division playoffs behind top-seeded Sierra Canyon (22-1). Both teams are similar, relying on pressure defense, athleticism and talent. If they ever get to meet, the game should be a good one.

“They have great personnel, a great coach,” Morris said. “There’s a lot of respect for what they do.”

Morris is familiar with many of the Sierra Canyon players, having coached them in travel ball, from Maxi Adams to Brannon Martinsen. And he knows Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier, who’s a fellow City Sectiongrad.

Last year in the playoffs, Redondo gave Sierra Canyon two of its toughest games, losing in overtime 69-66 during the Southern Section playoffs and losing 74-68 in the regional semifinals.

“Last year’s experience has helped us tremendously,” Morris said. “The level of intensity, the talent, the attention to detail — they’ve applied that all season long. We have a lot of lessons to pull from.”

Redondo’s big three are SJ Madison, Devin Wright and Chace Holley, all seniors. Playing in the Open Division requires extreme focus on taking it one game at a time and never looking ahead because every game can be won or lost by the slimmest of margins. Redondo opens pool play on Wednesday at home against Etiwanda.

“This year I feel anybody can be beaten,” Morris said. “We can beat anyone and they can beat us.”

Even though the Sea Hawks cruised to their Bay League championship with few challenges, they played a competitive nonleague schedule with two wins over Crestview League champion Crean Lutheran, the No. 1 seed in Division 1, and wins over Arizona power Phoenix Sunnyslope, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Crespi and Damien.

“We’ve played the most teams in the top 15 in Southern California,” Morris said. “We’re confident we can play with anybody. We’re battled tested. We feel we can make noise.”

Sierra Canyon and Redondo have been considered the top two teams in Southern California for months, but the computer rankings put Santa Margarita as the No. 2 seed.

The real surprise would be if either Redondo or Sierra Canyon fails to reach the Open Division championship game the final weekend in February at the Toyota Arena in Ontario.

Just keep track of Morris wearing bow ties in February for clues as to how the Sea Hawks are doing. He has plenty.

Asked what color of red he wears, Morris said, “Game time decision.”

A US oil blockade is causing a severe energy crisis in Cuba, as the government has been forced to ration fuel and cut electricity for many hours a day, paralysing life in the communist-ruled island nation of 11 million.

Bus stops are empty, and families are turning to wood and coal for cooking, living through near-constant power outages amid an economic crisis worsened by the Trump administration’s steps in recent weeks.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel has imposed harsh emergency restrictions – from reduced office hours to fuel sales – in the backdrop of looming threats of regime change from the White House.

The Caribbean region has been on edge since the US forces abducted Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro last month and upped the pressure to isolate Havana and strangle its economy. Venezuela, Cuba’s closest ally in the region, provided the country with the much-needed fuel.

So, how dire is the situation in Cuba? What does United States President Donald Trump want from Havana? And how long can Cuba sustain?

What are Cuba’s emergency measures?

Blaming the US for the crisis, Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez‑Oliva Fraga appeared on state television on Friday to inform the millions of the emergency steps “to preserve the country’s essential functions and basic services while managing limited fuel resources”.

Now, the Cuban state companies will shift to a four‑day workweek, with transport between provinces dialled down, main tourism facilities closed, shorter schooldays and reduced in‑person attendance requirements at universities.

“Fuel will be used to protect essential services for the population and indispensable economic activities,” said Perez-Oliva. “This is an opportunity and a challenge that we have no doubt we will overcome. We are not going to collapse.”

The government says it will prioritise available fuel for essential services – public health, food production and defence – and push the installation of solar-based renewable energy sector and incentives therein. It will prioritise shifting energy to selected food production regions and accelerate the use of renewable energy sources, while cutting down on culture and sport activities and diverting resources towards the country’s early warning systems.

Why has the US blocked oil to Cuba?

Decades of strict US economic sanctions against Cuba, the largest island nation in the Caribbean, have destroyed its economy and isolated it from international trade. Cuba relied on foreign allies for oil shipments, such as Mexico, Russia, and Venezuela.

However, after the US forces abducted Venezuelan President Maduro, Washington blocked any Venezuelan oil from going to Cuba. Trump now says the Cuban government is ready to fall.

Under Trump, Washington has pivoted to the Western Hemisphere, which it wants to dominate. The military actions in Venezuela, the pledge to take over Greenland and changing the government in Cuba are part of the new policy.

Last month, Trump signed an executive order – labelling Cuba a threat to national security – imposing tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island nation. Further pressure on the Mexican government reportedly led to oil stocks reaching a record low in Cuba.

“It looks like it’s something that’s just not going to be able to survive,” Trump told reporters last month, when questioned about the Cuban economy. “It is a failed nation.”

Havana has rejected accusations that it poses a threat to US security. Last week, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement calling for dialogue.

“The Cuban people and the American people benefit from constructive engagement, lawful cooperation, and peaceful coexistence. Cuba reaffirms its willingness to maintain a respectful and reciprocal dialogue, oriented toward tangible results, with the United States government, based on mutual interest and international law,” a statement from the ministry said on February 2.

Trump’s goals in Cuba remain unclear; however, US officials have noted on multiple occasions that they would like to see the government change.

Responding to a question during a US Senate hearing on Venezuela, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “We would like to see the regime there change. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make a change, but we would love to see a change.”

Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, is one of the most powerful figures in Trump’s administration.

“The Cuban-American lobby, which Rubio represents, is one of the most powerful foreign policy lobbies in the United States today,” Ed Augustin, an independent journalist in Havana, told Al Jazeera’s The Take.

“In the new Trump administration, [with] an unprecedented number of Cuban Americans, the lobbyists have become the policymakers,” he said, adding that Rubio has built firm control over the lobby.

On January 31, Trump told reporters, “It doesn’t have to be a humanitarian crisis. I think they probably would come to us and want to make a deal. So Cuba would be free again.”

He said Washington would make a deal with Cuba, but offered no clarity on what that means.

History of US-Cuba relations

Since Fidel Castro overthrew the pro-US regime in the Cuban revolution in 1959, the country has been under US embargo. Decades of sanctions have denied Cuba access to global markets, making even supply medicines difficult.

Castro nationalised US-owned properties, mainly the oil sector, and Washington responded with trade restrictions that soon became a full economic embargo that continues to this day, undermining Cuba’s economy.

The US also cut diplomatic ties with Havana, and three years later, a missile crisis almost brought Washington and the erstwhile USSR, an ally of Cuba, to the brink of nuclear war.

In 2014, Washington and Havana restored ties after 50 years. Two years later, US President Barack Obama travelled to Havana to meet Raul Castro.

However, during his first term as president, Trump reversed the historic move in 2017. Since then, the US has reimposed a raft of sanctions against Cuba, especially economic restrictions, leading to one of the worst economic crises in the island nation’s history. Within hours of his inauguration in January 2025, Trump reversed the previous administration’s policy of engagement with Havana.

How long can Cuba sustain?

Until last month, Mexico reportedly remained Cuba’s major oil supplier, sending nearly 44 percent of total oil imports, followed by Venezuela at 33 percent, while nearly 10 percent was sourced from Russia and a smaller amount from Algeria.

According to Kpler, a data company, by January 30, Cuba was left with oil enough to last only 15 to 20 days at current levels of demand.

Cuba currently needs an estimated 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

What has the UN said about the Cuban crisis?

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Wednesday that “the secretary-general is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen, and if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet”.

Dujarric said, for more than three decades, the UN General Assembly has consistently called for an end to the embargo imposed by the US on Cuba, adding that the UN urges “all parties to pursue dialogue and respect for international law”.

Francisco Pichon, the senior-most UN official in Cuba, described “a combination of emotions” in the country – “a mix of resilience, but also grief, sorrow and indignation, and some concern about the regional developments”.

The UN team in Havana says the vast majority of Cubans are hit by rolling blackouts, with the number of people in vulnerable situations increasing significantly.

“The last two years have been quite tough,” Pichon said, adding that urgent changes are needed to sustain Cuba “in the midst of the severe economic, financial and trade sanctions”.