VISITING Lapland UK can be more expensive than flying to the Arctic Circle.

Tickets to the festive experience this Saturday are selling for as much as £180 each.

There are no discounts for children, a £24.75 booking fee and £5.95 postage and packaging.

It means a family of five would have to spend more than £930 for their day out.

But a few days in the real Lapland, in northern Finland, can cost in the region of £600.

Lapland UK has a site in Siddington, Cheshire, and another in Ascot, Berks.

LAP IT UP

Sky-high price of a soft toy at Lapland UK is revealed – as mum details TRUE cost

LAP IT UP

Mum slams ‘insane’ Lapland UK prices as she’s quoted £600 for family-of-four

One dad, who asked not to be identified, said: “When I saw the price I spat my mulled wine out.

“It’s obscene pricing, meaning only rich kids get to have the thrill.”

Danielle Halliday said: “We went to Finland last year with two adults, two children.

“Flights were £250, accommodation was £350 for the four nights and going to see Santa is free, or €10 each for a present.

“You might as well go for the real thing for a cheaper price.”

Lapland UK was asked to comment.

Former Rep. Colin Allred is ending his U.S. Senate campaign in Texas and instead will attempt a House comeback bid, potentially paving the way for Rep. Jasmine Crockett to enter the race for Democrats’ nomination in a state that is critical for the party’s long-shot hopes to reclaim a Senate majority in next year’s midterm elections.

Crockett, a high-profile House member who has sparred with President Trump, is expected to announce her decision on Monday, the final day of qualifying in Texas. Democrats expect she will enter the race for the seat now held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to wrest control from Republicans next November, and Texas, which Republicans have dominated for decades, is part of their ideal path.

Allred said in a statement Monday that he wanted to avoid “a bruising Senate primary and runoff” that could threaten Democrats’ chances in November. He said he would instead run for the House in a newly drawn district in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which he previously represented in Congress before he won the Democrats’ Senate nomination in 2024 and lost the general election to Sen. Ted Cruz.

The former congressman did not name Crockett or state Rep. James Talarico, who has launched his Senate bid already, in his explanation. But Allred’s decision aligns with Crockett’s expected entry into the race. Her campaign has scheduled a “special announcement” in Dallas at 4:30 p.m. CST.

Republicans also expect a hotly contested primary among the incumbent Cornyn, state Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.

Allred says he wants to avoid a divisive Democratic primary

An internal party battle, Allred said, “would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers.”

Kamau Marshall, a Democratic consultant who has worked for Allred before and worked other campaigns in Texas, said Allred made the right call. But he said Talarico and Crockett both face distinct challenges and added that Democrats have work to do across the nation’s second-most populous state.

He said Crockett is a “solid national figure” who has a large social media following and is a frequent presence on cable news. That could be an advantage with Democratic primary voters, Marshall said, but not necessarily afterward.

“It’s going to be a sprint from now until the primary, but in Texas you have to think about the voter base overall in November, too,” Marshall said. “Who can do the work on the ground? After the primary, who can win in the general? … It’s about building complicated coalitions in a big state.”

Talarico, meanwhile, must raise money and build name recognition to make the leap from the Texas House of Representatives to a strong statewide candidate, Marshall said.

A winning Democratic candidate in Texas, Marshall said, would have to energize Black voters, mainly in metro Houston and Dallas, win the kind of diverse suburbs and exurbs like those Allred once represented in Congress, and get enough rural votes, especially among Latinos in the Rio Grande Valley.

Texas Democrats have big gaps to make up

The closest Democrats have come recently to a top-of-the-ticket victory in Texas elections was Beto O’Rourke’s challenge of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018. O’Rourke campaigned in all 254 counties — a notable feat for Texas Democrats — and got 48.3% of the vote. But that was still a statewide deficit of 215,000 votes. Just four years later, O’Rourke was the gubernatorial nominee and lost to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott by more than 880,000 votes, a gap of nearly 11 percentage points. In 2024, Allred lost the Senate general election by nearly 960,000 votes or 8.5 points.

Allred’s new House district is part of the new congressional map that Texas’ GOP-run Legislature approved earlier this year as part of Trump’s push to redraw House boundaries to Republicans’ advantage. It includes some areas that Allred represented in Congress from 2019-25. Most of the district is currently being represented by Rep. Marc Veasey, but he has planned to run in a new, neighboring district.

A former professional football player and civil rights attorney, Allred was among Democrats’ star recruits for the 2018 midterms, when the party gained a net of 40 House seats, including multiple suburban and exurban districts in Texas, to win a House majority that redefined Trump’s first presidency.

Besides avoiding a free-for-all Senate primary, Marshall said Allred is helping Democrats’ cause by becoming a candidate for another office, and he said that’s a key for the party to have any shot at flipping the state.

“The infrastructure isn’t terrible but it clearly needs improvement,” he said. “Having strong, competitive candidates for every office is part of building that energy and operation. Texas needs strong candidates in House races, for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general — every office — so that voters are hearing from Democrats everywhere.”

Barrow writes for the Associated Press.

Almost 48 hours after Salah spoke, this was Arne Slot’s chance to say his piece.

Monday was a public holiday in Milan but the media conference room inside the San Siro was still packed. It is hard to think of a more anticipated pre-match media conference in recent times.

Slot used his humour to start off by joking with a reporter that he asked five questions in one, but minute by minute, details began to emerge and it was clear to see who was in charge.

When BBC Sport asked him whether he understood Salah’s comments when the Egyptian said he was “thrown under the bus”, Slot said: “Usually I’m calm, I’m polite but I’m not weak. If a player has these comments about so many things, then it’s up to me and the club to react. We reacted in a way you can see because he’s not here.”

This was Slot on the front foot and he was backed later by goalkeeper Alisson, who insisted that the Liverpool squad are firmly behind the manager who won the Premier League.

That backing from a senior player was crucial on a night where Slot was asked if he felt his authority was undermined by the whole saga.

Slot categorically denied he felt that way, even if he was surprised when he heard the quotes on Saturday night.

The Liverpool coach did not delve too much into the specifics, insisting that his conversation with Salah was short, but he said enough to explain the situation without inflaming it any further.

And, importantly, the door is still open for Salah even though Slot said he had “no clue” whether the 33-year-old has played his last game for the club.

The club insist this was mainly because of Salah bringing his own future into question. Their position is that Salah still has a contract and as Slot said, he is a “firm believer” in the possibility for a player to return.

After 10 minutes of questions solely focused on Salah, the Liverpool media officer, sat next to Slot, was adamant it was time to move on to questions about the game itself.

Ultimately though, regardless of how Liverpool fare tomorrow against Inter Milan, this is a story that will continue to dominate the agenda until there is a clear resolution.

Dec. 8 (UPI) — After a water leak damaged hundreds of books this morning at the Louvre in Paris, labor unions voted to strike against the iconic art museum.

Rolling walk-outs are set to begin Dec. 15. If all 2,100 employees join, it could cause closures during a peak season.

The strike notice said the unions no longer want to negotiate with museum Director Laurence des Cars.

It said “every day, museum spaces are closed well beyond the provisions of the guaranteed opening plan, due to insufficient staffing, technical failures and the building’s aging condition.”

“Staff are struggling with ever-increasing workloads, an increasingly harsh approach to human resources and contradictory directives that prevent a calm public service,” the notice said. Le Monde reported that the number of visits to the occupational psychologist rose from 37 in 2022 to 146 in 2024.

The museum suffered a water leak in its libraries that damaged hundreds of books, it announced earlier Monday.

The leak was discovered in late November and announced Sunday by Francis Steinbock, deputy administrator of the Louvre. Steinbock said up to 400 documents were damaged by the leak from one of the three library rooms in the museum’s Egyptian antiquities department. But no works of art were damaged, he said.

The pieces that were damaged were archaeology journals, mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries, that researchers consulted. Steinbock said dehumidifiers are in the room and the items are being dried one page at a time.

“No ancient works were affected,” said Hélène Guichard, director of the Egyptian antiquities department. “And the Louvre’s rapid and efficient response to the incident greatly limited the damage.”

The French Democratic Confederation of Labor, a union that represents some of the museum’s workers, posted on LinkedIn: “This new incident confirms a situation that has been deteriorating for too long, as the trade unions have been constantly alerting, including the CFDT-CULTURE.”

“Fragile infrastructure, a lack of strategic visibility on the work being carried out, and poor working conditions mean that the protection of the collections and the safety of staff and visitors remain insufficiently guaranteed,” it said. Union leaders would meet Monday morning to “decide on the next steps to be taken,” it added.

An October report by France’s Cour des Comptes, a public audit agency, was critical of the museum’s excessive spending on art “to the detriment of the maintenance and renovation of buildings.”

The Louvre is in a former palace, originally built as a fortress in the 12th century. The building’s deterioration has become an ongoing issue. A show was canceled in 2023 because pipes in the walls burst. In November, weak beams caused a gallery to close.

A major renovation was announced in January by President Emmanuel Macron and the Louvre’s director Laurence des Cars. Its goal is to ease overcrowding with a new entrance and a new room specifically for the Mona Lisa. Included are infrastructure repair and the outdated security system, which recently contributed to the jewel heist.

Steinbock said in a TV interview that the ventilation and heating network, which operates with water pipes, is scheduled to be replaced in September 2026.

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Sunday hosted the Kennedy Center Honors and praised Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, Gloria Gaynor, Michael Crawford and George Strait, the slate of honorees he helped choose, as being “legendary in so many ways.”

“Billions and billions of people have watched them over the years,” Trump, the first president to command the stage, said to open the show.

The Republican president said the artists, recognized with tribute performances during the show, are “among the greatest artists and actors, performers, musicians, singers, songwriters ever to walk the face of the Earth.”

Since returning to office in January, Trump has made the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which is named after a Democratic predecessor, a touchstone in a broader attack against what he has lambasted as “woke” anti-American culture.

Trump said Saturday that he was hosting “at the request of a certain television network.” He predicted the broadcast scheduled for Dec. 23 on CBS and Paramount+ would have its best ratings ever.

Before Trump, presidents watched the show alongside the honorees. Trump skipped the honors altogether during his first term.

Asked how he got ready for the gig, Trump said as he moved along the red carpet with his wife, first lady Melania Trump, that he “didn’t really prepare very much.”

“I have a good memory, so I can remember things, which is very fortunate,” the president said. “But just, I wanted to just be myself. You have to be yourself.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, one of several Cabinet secretaries attending the ceremony, said his boss “is so relaxed in front of these cameras, as you know, and so funny, I can’t wait for tonight.” Lutnick arrived with his wife, a member of the Kennedy Center’s board.

Trump appeared on stage three times to open and close the show, and after intermission. He also talked up each artist in prerecorded videos that played before their tributes.

Trump was both gracious and critical in the comments he delivered from the stage, lavishing the honorees with effusive praise but at times showing a mean streak. After returning from intermission, he said he’d toured some of the construction projects he has launched to renovate the performing arts center. And he said it was a “fantastic” night.

“Well, we’re really having a good time tonight,” Trump said. “So many people I know in this audience. Some good. Some bad. Some I truly love and respect. Some I just hate.”

Since 1978, the honors have recognized stars for their influence on American culture and the arts. Members of this year’s class are pop-culture standouts, including Stallone for his “Rocky” and “Rambo” movies, Gaynor for her “I Will Survive” feminist anthem and Kiss for its flashy, cartoonish makeup and onstage displays of smoke and pyrotechnics.

Strait is a leader in the world of country music and Crawford, a Tony Award-winning actor, is best known for starring in “Phantom of the Opera,” the longest-running show in Broadway history.

Trump said persistence is a trait shared by the honorees, several of whom had humble beginnings.

“Some of them have had legendary setbacks, setbacks that you have to read in the papers because of their level of fame,” he said from the stage. “But in the words of Rocky Balboa, they showed us that you keep moving forward, just keep moving forward.”

He said many of the politicians, celebrities and others in the audience shared the trait, too.

“I know so many of you are persistent,” Trump said in his opening. “Many of you are miserable, horrible people. You are persistent. You never give up. Sometimes I wish you’d give up, but you don’t.”

The ceremony was expected to be emotional for the members of Kiss. The band’s original lead guitarist, Ace Frehley, died in October after he was injured during a fall. During the tribute to Kiss, a lone red guitar that emitted smoke was placed on stage in remembrance of Frehley, who was known for having a smoke bomb in his instrument.

The program closed with a rousing performance by Cheap Trick of Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite” that brought the audience to its feet.

Stallone said receiving the honor was like being in the “eye of a hurricane.”

“This is an amazing event,” he said on the red carpet. “But you’re caught up in the middle of it. It’s hard to take it in until the next day. … but I’m incredibly humbled by it.”

Crawford also said it was “humbling, especially at the end of a career.”

Gaynor said it “feels like a dream” to be honored. “To be recognized in this way is the pinnacle,” she said after arriving.

Mike Farris, an award-winning gospel singer who performed for Gaynor, called her a dear friend. “She truly did survive,” Farris said. “What an iconic song.”

Trump has taken over the Kennedy Center

Trump upended decades of bipartisan support for the center by ousting its leadership and stacking the board of trustees with Republican supporters, who elected him chair. He has criticized the center’s programming and the building’s appearance — and has said, perhaps jokingly, that he would rename it as the “Trump Kennedy Center.” He secured more than $250 million from Congress for renovations of the building.

Asked Sunday night about a possible renaming, Trump said it would be up to the board. Still, he joked at one point about the “Trump Kennedy Center.”

Presidents of each political party have at times found themselves face to face with artists of opposing political views. Republican Ronald Reagan was there for honoree Arthur Miller, a playwright who championed liberal causes. Democrat Bill Clinton, who had signed an assault weapons ban into law, marked the honors for Charlton Heston, an actor and gun rights advocate.

During Trump’s first term, multiple honorees were openly critical of the president. In 2017, Trump’s first year in office, honors recipient and film producer Norman Lear threatened to boycott his own ceremony if Trump attended. Trump stayed away during that entire term.

Trump has said he was deeply involved in choosing the 2025 honorees and turned down some recommendations because they were “too woke.” He said Sunday that about 50 names were whittled down to five. While Stallone is one of Trump’s Hollywood ”special ambassadors” and has likened Trump to George Washington, the political views of Sunday’s other guests are less clear.

Honorees’ views about Trump

Strait and Gaynor have said little about their politics, although Federal Election Commission records show that Gaynor has given money to Republican organizations in recent years.

Simmons spoke favorably of Trump when Trump ran for president in 2016. But in 2022, Simmons told Spin magazine that Trump was “out for himself” and criticized Trump for encouraging conspiracy theories and public expressions of racism.

Fellow Kiss member Paul Stanley denounced Trump’s effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, and said Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were “terrorists.” But after Trump won in 2024, Stanley urged unity.

“If your candidate lost, it’s time to learn from it, accept it and try to understand why,” Stanley wrote on X. “If your candidate won, it’s time to understand that those who don’t share your views also believe they are right and love this country as much as you do.”

Superville and Italie write for the Associated Press. Italie reported from New York.

CONCORD, N.H. — A Brazilian woman with family ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will be released from ICE custody while she fights potential deportation, an immigration judge ruled Monday.

Bruna Ferreira, 33, a longtime Massachusetts resident, was previously engaged to Leavitt’s brother, Michael. She was driving to pick up their 11-year-old son in New Hampshire when she was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Mass., on Nov. 12.

Ferreira later was moved to a detention facility in Louisiana, where an immigration judge ordered that she be released on $1,500 bond, her attorney Todd Pomerleau said.

“We argued that she wasn’t a danger or a flight risk,” he said in a text message. “The government stipulated to our argument and never once argued that she was criminal illegal alien and waived appeal.”

The Department of Homeland Security previously called Ferreira a “criminal illegal alien” and said she had been arrested for battery, an allegation her attorney denied. Neither the department nor the White House press secretary responded to requests for comment Monday.

Pomerleau said his client came to the U.S. as a toddler and later enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the Obama-era policy that shields immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. He said she was in the process of applying for a green card.

Karoline Leavitt grew up in New Hampshire, and made an unsuccessful run for Congress from the state in 2022 before becoming Trump’s spokesperson for his 2024 campaign and later joining him at the White House.

Ramer writes for the Associated Press.

Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where we’re left wondering if anyone will remember the Alamo (Bowl) after this bowl season.

USC will face Texas Christian in its first trip to the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 30, the night before the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff kick off. Throw in the fact that the Horned Frogs finished in seventh place in the Big 12, and you don’t exactly have a marquee, made-for-TV matchup.

But for USC’s coach, the Alamo Bowl should carry a certain significance — if only for the fact that it’s where his reputation as a budding offensive mastermind was born.

Sixteen years ago this December, Lincoln Riley was on his way to a team meeting ahead of Texas Tech’s bowl game, when defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill pulled him aside. Mike Leach, the Red Raiders’ head coach had been suspended for the bowl for allegations of player mistreatment — and would be fired days later. McNeill, the interim coach, wanted Riley to call plays for him.

Riley was 26, and reeling from the news about his mentor.

“An opportunity arose out of a not-very-positive situation,” Riley said Sunday.

It turned out to be a life-changing one for the Red Raiders’ receivers coach. McNeill already knew that Riley was a savvy young coach. But right away, McNeill told me in 2022, his sense of how to lead in such an adverse situation was special.

“I just remember him very confidently taking over the duties,” McNeill said. “He was the youngest guy on the staff, and he had to galvanize the staff immediately. He was the youngest guy on staff, and he did it with no hesitation.”

Then came the game. It was the first time Riley had been on the sideline for a game, having spent most of his time for Texas Tech in the booth. But his confidence came across right away, McNeill said.

After a chaotic few weeks in which Texas Tech could have unraveled, the Red Raiders instead put up 571 yards, its second-highest output of the entire season. Trailing midway through the fourth quarter, Texas Tech mounted two touchdown drives in the final eight minutes. On the second, Riley convinced McNeill to go for it twice on fourth down to ice the game. They converted both.

Years later, McNeill was still in awe of Riley’s performance that night.

“I wish I would’ve recorded the play-calling he did that night,” McNeill said. “I’ve heard him call a lot of games. But that night was amazing to me.”

Years later, with Riley set to return to the scene of his special night, it wasn’t lost on him how every step he’s taken since as a coach started in San Antonio.

“If you’re fortunate enough to get some pretty cool opportunities in this business,” Riley said Sunday, “you have to have some nights like that where you look back and say, you know, if this didn’t happen, would we have gotten these opportunities? Would we have coached at some of these places or experienced what we have?

“That’s definitely one for me that I still remember, like it was just yesterday.”

Texas Christian … by the numbers

TCU quarterback Josh Hoover.

(Eric Christian Smith / Associated Press)

Weeks of bowl projections went out the window when the Alamo Bowl picked TCU with its Big 12 selection. So what should you know about the Horned Frogs?

242.8. The number of passing yards allowed per game by TCU this season.

3,472. The number of passing yards from TCU quarterback Josh Hoover this season, sixth-most in the nation.

This game is shaping up to be a barnburner through the air. The Horned Frogs have been even worse defending the pass down the stretch, having allowed at least 280 passing yards in four of their past six games. Of those six teams only one (Baylor) has a passing attack anywhere near as dynamic as USC.

Both quarterbacks could put up huge numbers. Jayden Maiava threw for 41 fewer yards than Hoover this season, but also five fewer interceptions.

3.93. TCU’s yards per rush attempt this season, which ranks 97th nationally. USC’s biggest vulnerability has been defending the run, but that shouldn’t be a problem in the bowl game. TCU bookended its season with two big games on the ground — 258 yards against North Carolina and 238 against Cincinnati. But during the 10 games in between, the Horned Frogs averaged just 109.5 yards rushing per game, which would rank in the bottom 15 in college football.

9. The number of rushing touchdowns allowed by TCU this season. While the Horned Frogs have struggled to defend the pass, they’ve been stout against the run. Only 10 teams in college football have allowed fewer rushing scores.

The Biletnikoff case for Lemon

Makai Lemon makes a catch while under pressure from Iowa defensive back Zach Lutmer.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

The nation’s top receiver will be named next Friday, and while I wouldn’t begrudge anyone for suggesting fellow finalist Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State is the better pro prospect — objectively, he is — I think it’s quite clear Makai Lemon has had a better overall season than any pass-catcher in college football.

Let’s start with the basic numbers, even though those only tell part of the story: Lemon had 79 catches to lead the Big Ten, seven more than Smith and 15 more than any other conference wideout before the Big Ten championship game. He had 1,156 yards — 214 more than Smith, who was third in the Big Ten, and 11 receiving touchdowns, which tied with Smith for the conference lead.

The deeper you go into the details, the more the numbers favor Lemon. No one is more dangerous with the ball in his hands as he averaged 6.4 yards after the catch per reception this season. That’s almost two full yards more than Smith.

Lemon outperformed Smith on contested catches, pulling down 66% compared to just 46% for Smith. He was also harder to bring down, forcing 20 missed tackles to Smith’s 13.

It’s no disrespect to Smith, who will be a top-10 NFL draft pick soon enough. But Lemon has been the better receiver on the field this season. And he should get the hardware to prove it.

Bishop Fitzgerald scores a touchdown after intercepting a pass against the Missouri State Bears.

(Luke Hales/Getty Images)

—Notre Dame was left out of the Playoff. So now what? Before we consider what this means for the rivalry, I should note that I think it was the wrong decision for the committee to keep the Irish out of the field after Alabama had just been trounced in the SEC title game. But now that it has happened, you can imagine the feelings of schadenfreude around USC. The snub of the Irish only proves how much they need a non-conference opponent like USC, as my colleague Bill Plaschke pointed out before the final CFP rankings. If only there was a collective of similar teams that Notre Dame could have joined to help boost its strength of schedule. Oh well.

—The Big Ten media voted five Trojans onto the all-conference team. Lemon was obviously on the first team, as was safety Bishop Fitzgerald. Tight end Lake McRee made the second team after his best season yet at USC, and wideout Ja’Kobi Lane made the third team despite dealing with injuries through a large chunk of the year. Kicker Ryon Sayeri also made the third team after coming out of nowhere as a walk-on. Any one of USC’s running backs would’ve made the top three teams, if they’d started the full season. Maybe there was a case, at one point, for Maiava; though, the top three of Julian Sayin, Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore are pretty competitive at quarterback. Otherwise, it seems like no Trojans had much of a case that they were left out.

—After the Miller brothers, King and Kaylon, were standouts of the 2025 season, USC is adding a third brother to the mix. Kayne Miller, a running back at Calabasas High, signed last week with USC as a preferred walk-on, starting from the bottom just like his brothers did. King and Kaylon should be getting scholarships come January, and Kayne will have the perfect blueprint to follow in their footsteps.

—Penn State hired Iowa State’s Matt Campbell as its head football coach after a roller coaster search process that tiptoed along the edge of disaster. But after all that, the Nittany Lions actually ended up with the guy who likely would’ve been USC’s coach, had Riley turned the job down in 2022. Now we’ll get to see how Campbell translates to the Big Ten after all.

Olympic sports spotlight

Aside from a loss to No. 1 Nebraska last month, USC women’s volleyball hadn’t lost a match since Oct. 11 — nearly two full months — when the fourth-seeded Trojans welcomed Cal Poly to Galen Center in the second round of the NCAA tournament last week.

But the Trojans immediately dropped their first two sets Friday. And despite winning the next two, the hole they’d dug proved to be too deep.

The upset defeat put a damper on what was an otherwise strong season for the Trojans, who finished 25-7 and 15-5 in the Big Ten.

Portal polling

Transfer portal season is fast approaching, and while USC is planning to be more selective in this cycle, there are still spots to fill with portal players.

With those needs in mind, I want you to tell me what you think: Which of these five options would you put at the top of USC’s transfer portal wish list?

— A No. 1 wide receiver

— A shutdown cornerback

— Reinforcements at linebacker

— A run stopper on the interior

— A standout edge rusher

Click here to take part in our survey.

In case you missed it

No. 16 USC will face surprise opponent TCU in Alamo Bowl

Plaschke: Don’t kill college football’s best tradition. Compromise to keep USC vs. Notre Dame

No. 24 USC gives up 18-point lead, falling to Washington for first loss

UCLA and USC football transfer portal tracker: Who’s in and who’s out?

USC star freshman Alijah Arenas could return to action as soon as January

USC is back. Trojans lock in national No. 1 recruiting class for first time since 2006

Here’s the advice Lane Kiffin received from former USC boss Pete Carroll before LSU move

What I’m watching this week

Sarah Snook, left, and Dakota Fanning, who star in the Peacock miniseries “All Her Fault.”

(Victoria Will / For The Times)

If you’re looking for twists and turns this holiday season, look no further than Peacock’s “All Her Fault,” a show whose plot you could not possibly have seen coming from the pilot episode. The show, which stars Sarah Snook of “Succession,” follows a wealthy family in the wake of their young son being kidnapped. But nothing, as you might imagine, is exactly as it seems.

Credit goes to my wife, who first recommended it and nudged me at every mention of the mental load mothers deal with on a daily basis, which the show points to often.

Until next time …

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Dec. 8 (UPI) — Pet retailer Petco says a massive data breach hit an unspecified number of its U.S. customer base.

Petco stated it located the problem internally and “immediately took steps to correct the issue and to remove the files from further online access.”

On Friday, Petco filed a legally mandated report with the Texas attorney general’s office that revealed compromised data encompassed names, dates of birth, Social Security and driver’s license numbers, and other financial details, including account and credit or debit card numbers.

A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that Petco had provided “further information to individuals whose information was involved.”

It added that new digital alterations included “additional security measures and technical controls to enhance the security of our applications.”

Petco officials wrote in a notification letter filed with California’s attorney general they discovered a “setting within one of our software applications that inadvertently allowed certain files to be accessible online.”

California law requires breach disclosures when 500 or more state residents are affected, indicating Petco’s cyber incident met or exceeded that threshold.

In addition, the pet company has also informed customers in Massachusetts and Montana and has provided free credit and identity theft monitoring to those affected.

Petco has conducted business with more than 24 million customers, the company said in 2022.

Meanwhile, every year massive data breaches harm the public with bad actors targeting email service providers, retailers and government agencies that store private information on citizens.

Aisha Waba’s hands moved quickly through the rows of beans as she harvested under the midday sun at her farm in Jere Local Government Area (LGA), Borno State, North East Nigeria. She worked alongside other women, chatting lightly as they filled their sacks with bean pods. Suddenly, Aisha sensed movement behind her. Before she could react, the other women sprinted out of the field, leaving their sacks scattered on the ground.

Confused and terrified, she dropped to her knees, arms raised, pleading for her life.

Eight terrorists on four motorcycles surrounded the farm. “They positioned themselves at every corner,” she recounted. Four of the men had their faces hidden behind a balaclava; one of them spoke in a loud, muffled tone. “We don’t kidnap women here,” he said. However, they seized a male farmer and his labourer.

“It took less than five minutes,” she said, her eyes flickering as she fought back tears.

Amidst the food shortage in the region, the harvest season is meant to offer relief to Borno’s farming communities. However, this period is now marked by tension and constant fear of abduction. Across communities in Jere, Konduga, Mafa, Gwoza, Bama, Damboa and several other LGAs, farmers say abductions occur as often as they visit their fields. 

From late October through November, HumAngle received reports from farmers of at least 80 abductions. Many only spoke after their relatives were either released or found dead. 

In Bama and Konduga alone, farmers said more than 30 people were abducted in November. During the same period, at least 21 cases were reported in Damboa, Askira Uba, and Chibok LGAs. 

One of the recent incidents in Bama involved three teenagers from Old Bama Junior Secondary School, who were on a routine fishing trip along a stream near their community. A teacher at the school, who wished to remain anonymous, said the boys had gone out early in the morning, but terrorists intercepted them before they could return home. They are yet to be released. 

In some communities, farmers are experiencing sudden breaches in fragile agreements with terrorists. Onion farmers in Malari, a village in Konduga, have long maintained a tax arrangement with Boko Haram, but the pact collapsed on Nov. 30 when the terrorists, who had previously received levies from locals in exchange for access to farmlands, stormed the area despite the farmers’ compliance. 

“We felt betrayed,” Modu Konduga, an onion farmer, told HumAngle. Terrorists have continued to breach such agreements across the region and in the North West. 

Locals in Malari, who witnessed the incident, said the terrorists came on nearly 30 motorcycles. A farmer was shot and wounded in the raid, and many others were abducted; the exact number is unknown. “We never thought it was the abduction they came for,” Abba Kura, another farmer in the area, said. 

Fleeing farms 

As attacks continue to escalate, even in areas where levies are paid, fear is forcing some farmers to abandon their fields altogether. Fifty-year-old Mohammad Haruna and his 28-year-old son had barely begun harvesting on their bean farm in Jere when the terrorists stormed and kidnapped them in November. “We were pushed towards their motorcycle, and they drove off while casually firing into the air,” Mohammad told HumAngle. 

They were eventually released after Mohammad asked his family to sell his house to pay the ₦1.5 million ransom. Although they told him and his son to continue coming to the farm, he remains sceptical. 

Musa Bukar, a 42-year-old millet farmer in Mafa, has not touched his land since the morning he narrowly escaped an abduction in October. He was working on the farm when two armed men emerged from a thicket and ordered him to stop. He fled toward a nearby farm, sprinting until he could no longer hear their shouts behind him. 

That night, Musa told his family that he was done with farming. They tried to convince him otherwise, reminding him that the farm was their sole source of income, but Musa refused. He relocated to Maiduguri, where he now works as a casual labourer, earning a fraction of what he once produced on his land. 

Musa harvested 20 bags of millet last year and was expecting about 15 bags this year. Before the insurgency, he cultivated over 100 bags of millet annually. 

“If they take me, who will feed my family?” he said. “Better not to farm than to be killed or beg for ransom.” 

Mohammed and Musa are only two of several farmers who are now leaving entire fields abandoned out of fear, thereby worsening the food shortages spreading across the region. 

The danger of ungoverned spaces 

In Borno and neighbouring areas, the threat to farmers varies depending on which faction of terrorists they encounter. 

ISWAP (the Islamic State of West Africa Province), a Boko Haram breakaway, rarely attacks farmers outright. Instead, it operates like an armed tax authority in the territories it controls, demanding levies, dictating access, and allowing farming only after payment. By contrast, JAS (Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad), the older Boko Haram faction, is unpredictable. Farmers describe JAS-held areas as places where anyone can be targeted.

Local leaders also consider returning terrorist deserters a significant threat, noting that it has become difficult to track those who return to communities without going through official reintegration channels. 

In early 2023, residents of Konduga raised complaints that some surrendered Boko Haram members had begun taking part in kidnappings with informants inside the town.

“Some of those who surrendered later slipped away with the motorcycles and the gun the military gave them for support,” Modu Kura told HumAngle. “They even claimed the motorcycle and the weapon were what persuaded them to surrender in the first place.”

These concerns are heightened by the fact that abductors often possess intimate knowledge of their victims. Modu Yale, a rice farmer, explained that the abductors sometimes reference the victim’s possessions and income sources. “They tell you exactly what you have at home,” Yale said. “They will even tell you to sell a property to pay them. How can they know these things unless someone close to us is giving them information?”

Despite the attacks and breach of “peace arrangements”, farming continues to be transactional. Some rice farmers in Konduga pay levies through organised groups or informal unions that collect money on behalf of insurgents. Those unable to pay simply stay away from their fields. Along the Damboa LGA axis, terrorists often operate in small groups—typically fewer than ten people—and target farmers working far from security posts.

Security personnel assigned to guard farming areas, who spoke to HumAngle, admit that communication gaps worsen the situation. They say some farmers ignore evacuation warnings, choosing to remain on their land even when danger is imminent. Insurgents exploit these moments to seize people with little resistance.

Farmers who avoid speaking to the military noted that their caution comes from lived experiences: in 2020, Boko Haram brutally killed 43 farmers accused of passing information to soldiers in Zabarmari community, a gruesome incident still remembered across rural Borno. 

“We have to obey them or else we can’t farm, or worse, we will be killed; we just have to abide by them to survive,” Bukar Abba, a farmer in Bama, told HumAngle.

In Monguno, terrorists enforce a strict system in which farmers receive tickets after being screened, granting access to their fields. Through the system, each farmer must surrender a quarter of their harvest, with another quarter taken from labourers. Fields without such arrangements face a far higher risk of abduction.

Across the Lake Chad basin, the absence of government presence has allowed terrorists to entrench themselves as de facto authorities, imposing rules that shape daily survival rather than behaving like fugitives.

The humanitarian consequences of these attacks are severe. Nearly 35 million people across Nigeria, especially in the northern region, are at risk of severe food shortages in the 2026 lean season, due to these terrorist attacks, according to the World Food Programme. The situation is even more dire in Borno State, where tens of thousands may fall into conditions described as “catastrophic or famine-like” if current trends persist.

Names changed to protect sources from reprisal.

Angry Ginge, whose real name is Morgan Burtwistle, won I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here 2025 and was crowned King of the Jungle after beating fellow finalists Tom Read Wilson and Shona McGarty

ITV were reported to be making unprecedented changes after Angry Ginge’s I’m A Celebrity win. Bosses were said to have grown increasingly concerned for the YouTuber’s safety as eager fans tried to snap a picture with the star.

On Sunday (7 December), Angry Ginge, whose real name is Morgan Burtwistle, was crowned King of the Jungle. After his win, fans crowded the hotel where all the campmates and their families were staying after the final.

ITV bosses were said to be growing concerned for the 24-year-old’s safety, and that of all their contestants, leading to a last-minute change of venue for the champion’s post-show interviews, moving them to his hotel room.

READ MORE: How much money does Angry Ginge make from his YouTube career?READ MORE: Helen Skelton’s go-to waterproof jacket is now 50% off in Black Friday sale

Speaking to The Sun, a source said: “Security was overwhelmed by the situation and ITV had to take action to protect Ginge and his family. He couldn’t wait to get out of the jungle after three weeks in camp. Ginge hasn’t seen anything like it, he can’t quite believe the impact he’s had.”

However, while ITV have said they did change the venue of Ginge’s press interviews, they have stressed that they have not brought in extra security, nor confined him to his room. A spokesperson told The Mirror: “All our finalists have security every year – we take the security and welfare of all our campmates seriously.

“[Ginge has] been filming Coming Out in and around the hotel, he’s not been stuck in his room. We did his press interview in his room, because otherwise all the I’m A Celeb fans would have interrupted his interview.”

Ginge broke down in tears as he was crowned King of the Jungle. He was comforted by the runner-up, Tom Read Wilson, whilst the other campmates looked on, including fellow finalist, Shona McGarty.

Following his win, Ginge sat down with The Mirror to discuss his win and everything that came with his time on the show – including his status as a sex symbol. Talking of of the new female attention: “It’s not something I would have anticipated, I must admit. But yeah, maybe me in jungle attire is quite sexy.”

He added that there was a point when he considered quitting the show. Viewers watched as the star broke down in the Bush Telegraph after being hit by a wave of homesickness. Ginge said: “I came out the Bush Telegraph, and then I went and sat by the pond by myself there.

“I asked myself ‘Do I want to go the extra two weeks. I was debating it, but then I just powered through it.’” He said he wanted to make his mum proud.

“I will never forget where I came from, and I think because I started literally from the bottom and watched everyone around me from my mates to their parents, my mum, everyone had to graft their way to get wherever it was.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

WASHINGTON — Sophia Nyazi’s husband, Milad, shook her awake at 8 a.m. “ICE is here,” he told her.

Three uniformed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were downstairs at the family’s home on Long Island, N.Y., on Tuesday, according to a video reviewed by The Times that she captured from atop the staircase.

Nyazi said the agents asked whether her husband was applying for a green card. They told her they would have to detain him because of the shooting of two National Guard members a week earlier in Washington, D.C.

“He has nothing to do with that shooting,” Nyazi, 27, recalled answering. “We don’t even know that person.”

Her protests didn’t matter. The Trump administration has put into motion a broad and unprecedented set of policy changes aimed at substantially limiting legal immigration avenues, including for immigrants long considered the most vulnerable.

Milad Nyazi, 28, was detained because, like the man charged in the shooting which left one National Guard member dead, he is from Afghanistan.

The administration has paused decisions on all applications filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, by people seeking asylum. The visa and immigration applications of Afghans, whom the U.S. had welcomed in 2021 as it pulled all troops from the country, have been halted.

Officials also froze the processing of immigration cases of people from 19 countries the administration considers “high-risk” and will conduct case-by-case reviews of green cards and other immigration benefits given to people from those countries since former President Biden took office in 2021.

Immigration lawyers say they learned that dozens of naturalization ceremonies and interviews for green cards are being canceled for immigrants from Haiti, Iran, Guinea and other countries on the list.

In a couple of cases, immigration officers told immigrants that they had been prepared to grant a green card, but were unable to do so because of the new guidance, said Gregory Chen, government relations director at American Immigration Lawyers Assn.

Although it is unclear exactly how many people could be affected by the new rules, 1.5 million immigrants have asylum cases pending with USCIS.

“These are sweeping changes that exact collective punishment on a wide swath of people who are trying to do things the right way,” said Amanda Baran, former chief of policy and strategy at USCIS under the Biden administration. “I worry about all the people who have dutifully filed applications and whose lives are now on hold.”

Administration officials called the Nov. 26 shooting a “terrorist attack” and defended the changes as necessary to protect the country. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, faces charges stemming from the shooting that killed Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounded Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24.

“The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies,” Joseph Edlow, director of USCIS, said in a message posted Nov. 27 on X. “American safety is non-negotiable.”

Lakanwal pleaded not guilty last week and his motive remains under investigation. In Afghanistan, he served in a counterterrorism unit operated by the CIA.

Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through a Biden administration program that resettled nearly 200,000 Afghans in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal, officials said. He applied for asylum in December 2024 and it was approved under the Trump administration in April, according to a statement by the nonprofit #AfghanEvac.

Afghans who worked with U.S. troops were believed to face danger if left behind under the Taliban-run government. Along with undergoing routine security screening, they submitted to additional “rigorous” vetting, which included biometric and biographic checks by counterterrorism and intelligence professionals, the Department of Homeland Security said at the time.

Two federal reports from 2024 and this year pointed to some failings of the screening, including data inaccuracies and the presence of 55 evacuees who were later identified on terrorism watch lists, though the latter report noted that the FBI had then followed all required processes to mitigate any potential threat.

It’s unclear exactly how the administration will carry out reviews of thousands of people who already live legally in the U.S. The federal government can’t easily strip people of permanent legal status. The threat of reopening cases, however, has sparked alarm in immigrant communities across the country.

About 58,600 Afghan immigrants call California home as of 2023, far more than any other state, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Interviews with a dozen local community advocates, immigration attorneys and family members of those detained paint an aggressive effort by the federal government to round up recent Afghan immigrants in the wake of the D.C. shooting.

“Unfortunately, I think the administration took this one very tragic incident and politicized it as a way to shut down even legal immigration. And it’s definitely gone much broader than the Afghan community,” said Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, the director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Assn.

Trump administration officials cited the shooting in a spate of policy changes last week.

On Friday, USCIS announced it had established a new center to strengthen screening with supplemental reviews of immigration applications, in part using artificial intelligence. The USCIS Vetting Center, based in Atlanta, will “centralize enhanced vetting of aliens and allow the agency to respond more nimbly to changes in a shifting threat landscape,” the agency said.

On Thursday, USCIS said work permits granted to immigrants would expire after 18 months, not five years. The change includes work permits for those admitted as refugees, with pending green card applications and with pending asylum applications.

In a memorandum Tuesday outlining the pause on asylum applications and the immigration cases of people from the 19 countries also subject to a travel ban, USCIS acknowledged that the changes could result in processing delays but had determined it was “necessary and appropriate” when weighed “against the agency’s obligation to protect and preserve national security.”

Immigrants already had been on high alert as the Trump administration canceled temporary humanitarian programs, cut back refugee admissions — except for a limited number of white South African Afrikaners — and increased attempts to send those with deportation orders to countries where they have no personal connection.

Before the Washington shooting, a Nov. 21 memo showed that the administration planned to review the cases of more than 200,000 refugees admitted under the Biden administration. Although asylum seekers apply after arriving in the U.S., refugees apply for admission from outside the country.

Nyazi questioned why Afghans are being singled out, noting that a white person allegedly assassinated Charlie Kirk, but “I don’t see any ICE agents going into white people’s houses.”

Asked why Milad Nyazi was detained, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant public affairs secretary for Homeland Security, called him a criminal, citing two arrests on suspicion of domestic violence.

“Under Secretary [Kristi] Noem, DHS has been going full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and criminal illegal aliens that came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs and working to get the criminals and public safety threats OUT of our country,” McLaughlin said in a statement.

Nyazi said the charges, which did not stem from incidents of physical violence, were dropped and his record was later expunged.

She and her husband got engaged in 2019 in Afghanistan and applied for a fiance visa, because Nyazi is a U.S. citizen. Their application was approved in 2021. Soon after, with the Taliban takeover in full force, the U.S. government allowed Milad Nyazi to fly to the U.S. He has a pending green card application, Nyazi said.

On Tuesday, the couple’s 3-year-old daughter screamed and cried as her father was handcuffed and taken away. He has a court hearing this week.

Zahra Billoo, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and others say Afghans in various stages of their legal immigration process — not only those with deportation orders — have been targeted. She said at least 17 Afghans in the Bay Area have been detained since Monday.

Lawyers said many of the Afghans detained last week had arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border, where they had sought asylum.

Paris Etemadi Scott, legal director of the Pars Equality Center in San José, said three of her clients, an Afghan mother and her two sons who are both in their early 20s, were detained Dec. 1 during a routine check-in with ICE. All have pending asylum applications, she said.

Rebecca Olszewski, managing attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, said her Afghan client, who also has a pending asylum case, reported for his monthly virtual check-in Friday and was told to show up in person the next day, where he was detained.

Since the shooting, administration officials and the president have used dehumanizing language to describe immigrants. In announcing the 19-country travel ban Dec. 1, Noem posted on X that she was recommending a “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”

In a Cabinet meeting the next day, Trump referred to Somali immigrants as “garbage” who “contribute nothing.” (A few days later, Noem said the administration would expand the travel ban to more than 30 countries.)

On Thanksgiving Day, Trump had said on his social media platform that he intends to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” and deport those who are “non-compatible with Western Civilization.”

In recent days, a ghostly quiet has overtaken Shafiullah Hotak’s regular haunts in North Sacramento, where the Afghan population in the city is especially dense. Hotak, 38, is an Afghan immigrant who served as a program manager at refugee resettlement organization Lao Family Community Development until layoffs due to federal cuts forced him out of work in May.

On Thursday, immigration agents banged on doors at an apartment complex on Marconi Avenue, where hundreds of Afghans have resettled. Just one employee sat in an Afghan-owned tax and bookkeeping business that was typically buzzing with clients. A nearby park, where teenagers kick around soccer balls and giggling packs of children roam after school, was empty. And the lines at a halal market known for its sesame-topped Afghan bread had disappeared.

“The situation we have in our community reminds me of when we used to go to work in Afghanistan,” Hotak said. “We had to take different routes every day because people who were against the U.S. mission in Afghanistan were targeting people. There were bombings and shootings.”

Hotak said “Kill the eyes,” is what the enemies of the U.S. in Afghanistan used to advise as to how to deal with local Afghans aiding the military, in order to blind their operations.

“But nowadays those ‘eyes’ are here in the U.S. and the U.S. government is looking to pick them up and put them in jail,” Hotak said.

Times staff writers Castillo reported from Washington and Hussain and Uranga from Los Angeles.

Hamnet, Sinners and One Battle After Another seen as top contenders, alongside films from Norway, France and South Korea.

The Hollywood award season in the United States is hitting high gear, with nominations unveiled for one of the biggest contests of 2026: the 83rd annual Golden Globes.

Often seen as a bellwether for the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes honour achievements in both television and filmmaking — a distinction that, with the advent of streaming over the last two decades, has become all the murkier.

Limping post-pandemic box office numbers and high-stakes mergers have also complicated the future of the motion picture industry, with streaming giants like Netflix making a play for the century-old studio Warner Bros.

Still, several big-name blockbusters and critical darlings topped this year’s Golden Globe nominations.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s political thriller One Battle After Another was a standout, making good on its star-studded cast to sweep five acting nods, plus nominations for Best Comedy, Best Director and Best Screenplay. It leads the field with nine nominations overall.

Anderson was not the only cinematic “auteur” to receive laurels from the Golden Globe Foundation.

Chloe Zhao’s historical tear-jerker Hamnet — based on the relationship between writer William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes — nabbed six nominations in drama categories.

And Ryan Coogler’s springtime crowd-pleaser Sinners — a vampire film and cultural commentary, wrapped in one — scored seven nods, including Best Drama, Best Director and Best Cinematic Achievement.

While the Golden Globes is often seen as a cozy, champagne-clacking affair for Hollywood titans, this year’s nominations also suggest an ever-more international scope for its honourees.

The meditative Norwegian drama Sentimental Value scooped up eight nominations, and the French nominee It Was Just an Accident, by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, earned four.

South Korea and Brazil also broke free from the Non-English Language Film category, scoring nominations in the acting, songwriting and animation competitions for films like KPop Demon Hunters, No Other Choice and The Secret Agent.

Some pieces of award bait, meanwhile, failed to deliver on their potential, including director Luca Guadagnino’s slippery, post-MeToo drama After the Hunt, which scored a single nomination for star Julia Roberts.

Likewise, the musical film Wicked: For Good — the sequel to last year’s award-season juggernaut — disappointed its expectations. While it scored nods in acting and song categories, it failed to land in contention for some of the biggest prizes, including Best Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical.

The 83rd annual Golden Globes are scheduled to air on January 11, 2026. Here is the full list of nominees:

Best Motion Picture: Drama

• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• It Was Just an Accident
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• The Secret Agent

Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy

• Blue Moon
• Bugonia
• Marty Supreme
• No Other Choice
• Nouvelle Vague
• One Battle After Another

Best Motion Picture: Animated

• Arco
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle
• Elio
• KPop Demon Hunters
• Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2

Best Motion Picture: Non-English Language

• It Was Just an Accident, France
• No Other Choice, South Korea
• Sentimental Value, Norway
• Sirat, Spain
• The Secret Agent, Brazil
• The Voice of Hind Rajab, Tunisia

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture: Drama

• Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby
• Jennifer Lawrence for Die My Love
• Jessie Buckley for Hamnet
• Julia Roberts for After the Hunt
• Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value
• Tessa Thompson for Hedda

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture: Drama

• Dwayne Johnson for The Smashing Machine
• Jeremy Allen White for Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
• Joel Edgerton for Train Dreams
• Michael B Jordan for Sinners
• Oscar Isaac for Frankenstein
• Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy

• Amanda Seyfried for The Testament of Anne Lee
• Chase Infiniti for One Battle After Another
• Cynthia Erivo for Wicked: For Good
• Emma Stone for Bugonia
• Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue
• Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy

• Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon
• George Clooney for Jay Kelly
• Jesse Plemons for Bugonia
• Lee Byung-hun for No Other Choice
• Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another
• Timothee Chalamet for Marty Supreme

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

• Amy Madigan for Weapons
• Ariana Grande for Wicked: For Good
• Elle Fanning for Sentimental Value
• Emily Blunt for The Smashing Machine
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Sentimental Value
• Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

• Adam Sandler for Jay Kelly
• Benicio del Toro for One Battle After Another
• Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein
• Paul Mescal for Hamnet
• Sean Penn for One Battle After Another
• Stellan Skarsgard for Sentimental Value

Best Director for a Motion Picture

• Chloe Zhao for Hamnet
• Guillermo del Toro for Frankenstein
• Jafar Panahi for It Was Just an Accident
• Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value
• Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another
• Ryan Coogler for Sinners

Best Screenplay for a Motion Picture

• Chloe Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell for Hamnet
• Jafar Panahi for It Was Just an Accident
• Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt for Sentimental Value
• Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another
• Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme
• Ryan Coogler for Sinners

Best Original Score for a Motion Picture

• Alexandre Desplat for Frankenstein
• Hans Zimmer for F1
• Jonny Greenwood for One Battle After Another
• Kangding Ray for Sirat
• Ludwig Goransson for Sinners
• Max Richter for Hamnet

Best Original Song for a Motion Picture

• Dream As One for Avatar: Fire and Ash
  • By Miley Cyrus, Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson and Simon Franglen
• Golden for KPop Demon Hunters
  • By Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Park Hong Jun, Kim Eun-jae (EJAE) and Mark Sonnenblick
• I Lied to You for Sinners
  • By Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson
• No Place Like Home for Wicked: For Good
• The Girl in the Bubble for Wicked: For Good
• Train Dreams for Train Dreams
  • By Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

• Avatar: Fire and Ash
• F1
• KPop Demon Hunters
• Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
• Sinners
• Weapons
• Wicked: For Good
• Zootopia 2

Best Television Series: Drama

• The Diplomat
• Pluribus
• Severance
• Slow Horses
• The Pitt
• The White Lotus

Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy

• Abbott Elementary
• The Bear
• Hacks
• Nobody Wants This
• Only Murders in the Building
• The Studio

Best Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie

• Adolescence
• All Her Fault
• Black Mirror
• Dying for Sex
• The Beast in Me
• The Girlfriend

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series: Drama

• Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us
• Britt Lower for Severance
• Helen Mirren for MobLand
• Kathy Bates for Matlock
• Keri Russell for The Diplomat
• Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series: Drama

• Adam Scott for Severance
• Diego Luna for Andor
• Gary Oldman for Slow Horses
• Mark Ruffalo for Task
• Noah Wyle for The Pitt
• Sterling K Brown for Paradise

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy

• Ayo Edebiri for The Bear
• Jean Smart for Hacks
• Jenna Ortega for Wednesday
• Kristen Bell for Nobody Wants This
• Natasha Lyonne for Poker Face
• Selena Gomez for Only Murders in the Building

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie

• Amanda Seyfried for Long Bright River
• Claire Danes for The Beast in Me
• Michelle Williams for Dying for Sex
• Rashida Jones for Black Mirror
• Robin Wright for The Girlfriend
• Sarah Snook for All Her Fault

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy

• Adam Brody for Nobody Wants This
• Glen Powell for Chad Powers
• Jeremy Allen White for The Bear
• Martin Short for Only Murders in the Building
• Seth Rogen for The Studio
• Steve Martin for Only Murders in the Building

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television

• Aimee Lou Wood for The White Lotus
• Carrie Coon for The White Lotus
• Catherine O’Hara for The Studio
• Erin Doherty for Adolescence
• Hannah Einbinder for Hacks
• Parker Posey for The White Lotus

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie

• Charlie Hunnam for Monster: The Ed Gein Story
• Jacob Elordi for The Narrow Road to the Deep North
• Jude Law for Black Rabbit
• Matthew Rhys for The Beast in Me
• Paul Giamatti for Black Mirror
• Stephen Graham for Adolescence

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television

• Ashley Walters for Adolescence
• Billy Crudup for The Morning Show
• Jason Isaacs for The White Lotus
• Owen Cooper for Adolescence
• Tramell Tillman for Severance
• Walton Goggins for The White Lotus

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television

• Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?
• Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life
• Kevin Hart: Acting My Age
• Kumail Ali Nanjiani: Night Thoughts
• Ricky Gervais: Mortality
• Sarah Silverman: Postmortem

Best Podcast

• Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
• Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper
• Good Hang with Amy Poehler
• Smartless with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett
• The Mel Robbins Podcast
• Up First

Fighting has re erupted between Thailand and Cambodia along their disputed border, with both nations blaming each other. Thailand has conducted air strikes on Cambodian military sites, marking a significant challenge to a ceasefire arranged by U. S. President Donald Trump in July. The conflict began early on a Monday, with clashes reported in five locations. Thailand’s army claimed it was attacked and accused Cambodia of using heavy weaponry against civilian areas. Meanwhile, Cambodia’s defense ministry stated they had not retaliated and were adhering to the ceasefire despite provocations.

The Thai air force launched strikes to deter further escalation and reduce Cambodia’s military strength. In response to the renewed conflict, both countries are relocating thousands of people to shelters. Malaysia’s Prime Minister, who helped negotiate the ceasefire, has called for restraint to maintain peace.

This recent fighting follows serious conflict in July that resulted in significant casualties and displacement before Trump’s intervention. While it’s unclear what triggered the latest violence, tensions have been high since a Thai soldier was injured by a landmine, which Thailand alleges was planted by Cambodia. Thailand has stated that it will not return to de-escalation measures until Cambodia issues an apology, a claim Cambodia disputes.

Militarily, Thailand possesses a much larger and better-funded armed force compared to Cambodia. Thailand has about 245,000 soldiers and a defense budget that is four times greater than Cambodia’s, which has around 75,000 troops. Thailand’s air force is also significantly stronger.

The long-standing border dispute can be traced back over a century. The border, initially mapped during French colonial rule in 1907, has been contested, especially regarding ownership of historical sites like the Preah Vihear temple. The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but disputes over surrounding land continue. Nationalist sentiments have added to the tensions, particularly regarding a proposed joint exploration of energy resources, which conservative factions in Thailand warn could lead to territorial losses.

In recent months, skirmishes at the border and diplomatic mishaps have contributed to escalating hostilities, including the ousting of Thailand’s Prime Minister following a failed attempt to ease tensions after a leaked private conversation with a former Cambodian leader.

With information from Reuters

THE Kardashians have been accused of ‘using AI’ on their reality show after a telltale sign.

When fans saw Khloe’s face ‘abruptly change’ in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, they went wild and were quick to accuse her and her family of using artificial intelligence.

In the clip, Khloe can be seen on The Kardashians FaceTiming her sister Kim.

Chatting to Kim, Khloe was sitting with Kourtney as they filmed and recorded the Khloe In Wonderland podcast.

At one point, Khloe’s face blurred and her necklace seemingly warped.

Someone shared the video of the moment where Khloe’s face changed and her necklace seemingly shapeshifted.

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WOAH KHLO

Khloe Kardashian rocks just a high-cut nude bodysuit as she reveals new fragrance

“Omg you can see her pendant changing shape in real time,” commented one person.

A second wrote, “They’ve always used filters but THIS is different.. definitely AI.”

“Necklace literally morphed from a cross to an oval to a candy cane,” said a third.

“Face AND necklace changed,” added a fourth.

A fifth person then wrote, “Filter made her look like Hailee steinfeld there omg.”

And a sixth echoed, “I thought she was morphing into Hailee Steinfeld.”

Meanwhile, on Reddit, one fan shared the video from TikTok and penned, “The Kardashians used AI to add extra onto a scene with Khloe and it is terrifying.”

Someone then replied, “That wild…

“I wouldn’t have noticed it right away if it wasn’t for the necklace morphing.”

“Is it AI or did the filter just come off? LOL JK,” said a second.

A third penned, “This is f**king WILD omg it’s so badly done eta I’d give anything to see the prompt.”

“I just don’t understand how this gets approved. So many questions,” said a fourth.

While a fifth penned, “ok im scared.”

And a fifth said, “Would you expect anything different ? They are ….all of them filtered to oblivion.”

Brookfield, a New York-based investment firm, has agreed to invest $12 billion in green energy projects in Andhra Pradesh (AP), India, over the next three years, including a clean energy-powered 3-gigawatt (GW) data center.

Brookfield’s investment, announced at the 2025 Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit held in AP, is the biggest foreign investment in India’s green energy sector. It surpasses commitment from ReNew Energy Global ($6.7 billion).

This is among the largest recent investments in AP, second only to Google’s $15 billion plan to build an AI hub and India’s largest data center with Adani Group from 2026 to 2030—the biggest such project outside the US.

As a part of Brookfield’s investment commitment, in November, Evren, a clean energy platform in India, a joint venture between Brookfield and Axis Energy, launched a hybrid project. The initiative combines 640 megawatts of wind and 400 megawatts of solar capacity to form a 1.04-GW project worth $1.12 billion at Kurnool in AP.

Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC), a public-sector and non-banking finance company, sanctioned $846 million in funding for the project. It was the single largest sanction by REC for a private project.

Brookfield is focusing on investments across the value chain in the green energy sector. It is likely to invest in the integrated manufacturing facility of Indian solar manufacturer Indosol, India’s Navayuga renewable energy portfolio, and green hydrogen projects.

Brookfield is also planning to invest in other sectors in the state, like a satellite township and hotels under its Leela brand, and aims to expand its Indian portfolio from $30 billion to $100 billion by 2030. The company will increase investments beyond the $12 billion pledged to invest in the real estate and hospitality sectors.

The summit attracted a total of $149.83 billion in investments. AP has become the best business destination for foreign investors and multinational corporations among the southern Indian states, due to its investor-friendly government policies, including escrow account facilities and sovereign guarantees, real-time land and clearance processing, sector-specific incentives for data centers and green energy, and single window clearance.

WASHINGTON — President Trump is planning a $12 billion farm aid package, according to a White House official — a boost to farmers who have struggled to sell their crops while getting hit by rising costs after the president raised tariffs on China as part of a broader trade war.

According to the official, who was granted anonymity to speak ahead of a planned announcement, Trump will unveil the plan Monday afternoon at a White House roundtable with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, lawmakers and farmers who grow corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, rice, cattle, wheat, and potatoes.

Farmers have backed Trump politically, but his aggressive trade policies and frequently changing tariff rates have come under increasing scrutiny because of the impact on the agricultural sector and because of broader consumer worries.

The aid is the administration’s latest effort to defend Trump’s economic stewardship and answer voter angst about rising costs — even as the president has dismissed concerns about affordability as a Democratic “hoax.”

Upwards of $11 billion is set aside for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmer Bridge Assistance program, which the White House says will offer one-time payments to farmers for row crops.

Soybeans and sorghum were hit the hardest by the trade dispute with China because more than half of those crops are exported each year with most of the harvest going to China.

The White House says the aid is meant to help farmers who have suffered from trade wars with other nations, inflation, and other “market disruptions.”

The rest of the money will be for farmers who grow crops not covered under the bridge assistance program, according to the White House official. The money is intended to offer certainty to farmers as they market the current harvest, as well as plan for next year’s harvest.

China purchases have been slow

In October, after Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, the White House said Beijing had promised to buy at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans by the end of the calendar year, plus 25 million metric tons a year in each of the next three years. Soybean farmers have been hit especially hard by Trump’s trade war with China, which is the world’s largest buyer of soybeans.

China has purchased more than 2.8 million metric tons of soybeans since Trump announced the agreement at the end of October. That’s only about one quarter of what administration officials said China had promised, but Bessent has said China is on track to meet its goal by the end of February.

“These prices haven’t come in, because the Chinese actually used our soybean farmers as pawns in the trade negotiations,” Bessent said on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” explaining why a “bridge payment” to farmers was needed.

During his first presidency, Trump also provided aid to farmers amid his trade wars. He gave them more than $22 billion in 2019 and nearly $46 billion in 2020, though that year also included aid related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump has also been under pressure to address soaring beef prices, which have hit records for a number of reasons. Demand for beef has been strong at a time when drought has cut U.S. herds and imports from Mexico are down due to a resurgence in a parasite. Trump has said he would allow for more imports of Argentine beef.

He also had asked the Department of Justice to investigate foreign-owned meat packers he accused of driving up the price of beef, although he has not provided evidence to back his claims.

On Saturday, Trump signed an executive order directing the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to look at “anti-competitive behavior” in food supply chains — including seed, fertilizer and equipment — and consider taking enforcement actions or developing new regulations.

Kim, Funk and Tang write for the Associated Press. AP writers Michelle L. Price in Washington, Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Jack Dura in Bismarck, N.D., contributed to this report.

ORLANDO, Fla. — At the start of this offseason, the Dodgers signaled a willingness to be patient and methodical in building their roster for 2026.

At the start of this week’s MLB Winter Meetings, at least, the team arrives in Orlando having thus far remained true to form.

Compared to their whirlwind offseasons the past two winters, the Dodgers have been conspicuously quiet in the wake of their second consecutive World Series championship. Their only free-agent deal has been the re-signing of veteran infielder Miguel Rojas. Their only trade was a swap of minor-league pitchers with the Seattle Mariners. The biggest news, to this point, was their decision to non-tender reliever Evan Phillips (and they could very well wind up bringing him back).

Behind the scenes, there have been efforts for more, of course. The team came up short in pursuit of free-agent relievers Raisel Iglesias and Devin Williams. They have canvassed the trade market and laid potential groundwork for possible future moves.

But for now, exactly what their winter will hold remains a largely unanswered question.

And, in all likelihood, it could ultimately be dictated by whom they’re willing to part with as they go about re-shaping their roster.

All offseason, the trade market has looked like the Dodgers’ most logical path to upgrading their roster — the place they could most easily shore up their needs in the bullpen and outfield, while still avoiding having to add another long-term contract to their expensive and aging core.

There are targets galore to go after, too, from Brendan Donovan or Lars Nootbaar of the St. Louis Cardinals, to Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Red Sox, to potentially even bigger names like Cleveland’s Steven Kwan or Minnesota’s Byron Buxton (though the latter is reportedly unlikely to be dealt this offseason).

Oh, and as long as there remains even a slim chance of two-time Cy Young-winning pitching Tarik Skubal getting traded by the Detroit Tigers, you can bet the Dodgers will be monitoring that situation, too.

For president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Co., the task will be trying to line up a trade package to pull off on any of those moves.

The Dodgers have plenty of chips to bring to the bargaining table, with ample young pitching depth and a minor-league farm system considered perhaps best in the sport. But balancing it all while finding value is still a challenge. Which is why, as trade rumors fly, don’t be surprised to see a potentially wide range of familiar names bandied about in such speculation.

The team’s most obvious trade bait, of course, remains their collection of young talent. They have a crop of highly-touted outfielder prospects they could potentially deal from, including Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, Eduardo Quintero and several others. They have a former top prospect in Dalton Rushing, who struggled through his rookie year but still possesses promising raw tools.

Most of all, they have plenty of young pitchers who could also help fetch a nice return, from ascendant minor-league prospect Jackson Ferris, to returning 2024 breakout rookies River Ryan and Gavin Stone, to potentially even more established big-league names like Justin Wrobleski (a natural starting pitcher who was stuck in more of a swingman role in the bullpen last year) and Emmet Sheehan (who is about at the same stage of his career that former top Dodgers prospect Ryan Pepiot was when he was dealt two winters ago).

The Dodgers, however, are still prioritizing the future. They want to go for a historic three-peat next season. But they also know, at some point in the coming years, they will need to cycle in a new generation of talent to maintain their championship window.

Thus, any young player traded now will come with a potential future cost.

Which could help explain why, in recent weeks, young players have not been the only ones caught up in trade rumors around the team.

Last month, ESPN cited one anonymous MLB executive who described Tyler Glasnow as a potential “sleeper name” on this year’s trade market. Last week, The Athletic reported that Teoscar Hernández’s name has come up in trade discussions, too.

Granted, the odds of either getting dealt appear low. And for now, they figure to remain key cogs in next year’s pursuit of another World Series title.

At the same time, however, they are also veterans approaching their mid-30s, with significant salaries due over the next several seasons. And if the Dodgers were to find deals to move them — either as a way to shore up other spots of the roster, or to offload money for a potential free-agent signing — it’s far from unfeasible that the club could pull the trigger.

After all, for a front office that is conscious of its roster’s advancing age, and trying to juggle both short- and long-term goals, such considerations reflect the wide net the Dodgers are believed to be casting this offseason; the kind of deliberate, exploratory mode they’ve been in while evaluating potential paths through this winter.

Perhaps this week, the team’s most serious pursuits will become clearer, as they meet with rival clubs during the league’s annual Winter Meetings at the Signia by Hilton here in Orlando.

But to this point, they are seemingly keeping their options open, content to engage in a slower winter pace as they continue to let both the free-agent and trade market develop around them.

Dec. 8 (UPI) — Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred announced Monday he’s dropping his U.S. Senate campaign and will instead run for a newly redrawn district on the U.S. House of Representatives.

In a statement posted to X, Allred said he wants to avoid a “bruising” Democratic primary for the Senate.

“In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by [President] Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers,” he said, referring to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.

“That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the U.S. Senate.”

Allred is instead running for the 33rd Congressional District, which is currently represented in the House by Rep. Marc Veasey, a Democrat. But after Texas redrew its congressional map this year, Veasey’s base was no longer in the 33rd District; he plans to run for the 30th District next year, an unnamed source told The Texas Tribune.

Both the old and new boundaries of the 33rd District is a meandering region including parts of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, and the eastern half of Fort Worth. The new map, reaches farther north and changes some of the boundaries in western Dallas County.

Allred was elected in 2018 to the U.S. House to represent the 32nd District, which encompassed a swath of eastern Dallas County. He flipped the district from red to blue.

“The 33rd District was racially gerrymandered by Trump in an effort to further rig our democracy, but it’s also the community where I grew up attending public schools and watching my mom struggle to pay for our groceries,” Allred said in his Monday statement.

Voting rights advocates and Democrats took the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature to the Supreme Court over the redrawn congressional map, accusing the Republicans of gerrymandering based on racial population. The high court last week gave Texas permission to use the new map in the next midterm elections.

“On January 6th, I was prepared to physically fight to defend our democracy,” Allred said. “Today, the danger we face from Donald Trump is even greater and has added a level of corruption and rigging of our economy that has made it harder than ever for Texans.”

Firefighters evacuated residents and their pets from a nine-storey apartment building in Ukraine’s Sumy region after a Russian drone strike. The strikes come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with leaders of the UK, France and Germany in London to discuss the US peace plan.

Coming off of the massive box office success of “Wicked: For Good,” Cynthia Erivo is also making history.

Erivo was nominated for a Golden Globe for lead actress in a musical or comedy on Monday morning, marking her second nod. She received her first nomination just a year ago for “Wicked.”

With the two nominations, Erivo became the first Black woman to be recognized twice in the female actor in a musical or comedy category. The award has been given out for several decades since the Golden Globes split the acting categories by genre in 1951.

A handful of Black women have had repeat nominations in the category‘s drama counterpart, including Halle Berry and Viola Davis.

Erivo is nominated alongside Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), Kate Hudson (“Song Sung Blue”), Chase Infiniti (“One Battle After Another”), Amanda Seyfried (“The Testament of Ann Lee”) and Emma Stone (“Bugonia”).

The performer has a host of nods, awards and accolades under her belt, including Daytime Emmy, Grammy and Tony wins. She’s an Oscar away from coveted “EGOT” status and is expected to earn her fourth Academy Award nomination later this year for “Wicked: For Good.”

“Wicked: For Good” received five nominations, including one for Erivo’s co-star Ariana Grande, who is in the running in the supporting category.

Two original songs written for the film — “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl in the Bubble” — are nominated, and the film is up for the recently created cinematic and box office achievement category, but it is snubbed for best musical or comedy. Director Jon M. Chu was also left out in the directing category.

The Golden Globe Awards return to the Beverly Hilton on Jan. 11. The ceremony starts at 5 p.m. PT. Viewers can watch live on CBS or stream live on Paramount+.