act

March 23 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Sunday said there will be no end to the partial government shutdown until Congress passes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.

“I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,'” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“It is far more important than anything else we are doing in the Senate, and that includes giving these same terrible people, the Dems (who are to blame for this mess!), a Five Billion Dollar cut in ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] funding, a deal which, even when disguised as something else, is unacceptable to me and the American people – UNLESS it includes their approval of Voter I.D., (with picture!), Citizenship to Vote, No Mail-In Voting (with exceptions), All Paper Ballots, No Men In Women’s Sports, and No Transgender MUTILIZATION of our precious children,” he added.

Trump also wrote that Thune should “clearly identify” the Republicans who are not supporting the bill and said they were, “Voting against AMERICA.”

“They will never be elected again! In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!! Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary,” he said.

Lawmakers have not supported abandoning the supermajority needed to end debate.

The DHS, which includes the Transportation Security Administration, shut down on Feb. 14 because Congress couldn’t agree on a funding bill for the department. Democrats don’t want to fund it until guardrails are put on the agency, and Republicans haven’t agreed to Democrats’ demands.

Because of this, TSA workers have been working without pay for more than a month. Some are quitting or taking days off work, creating long lines at airports.

Congress is scheduled to leave Washington in a few days for a recess. If there’s no deal, the partial shutdown could last two months. It would be the longest shutdown of a federal agency.

The Senate is considering staying in session to resolve the shutdown, but House Republicans say they won’t change plans, Politico reported that three anonymous sources said.

The House will likely vote again Thursday.

Trump told NewsNation Sunday that Democrats were going to fold after he said he would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to help TSA agents.

But Sen. Lisa Murkowsky, R-Alaska, doesn’t agree that plan is appropriate.

“This is not the answer for what we need to do. We need to figure out how we get DHS funded. My preference, of course, is to get all of DHS funded, get it done and behind us. But I think we all need to be looking to see if there are any [other] avenues that can gain support. We got to figure it out before [the end of] next week,” The Hill reported she said.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed into law a measure allowing Californians to break into vehicles to rescue animals if they appear to be in danger from excessive heat.

The bill by Assemblyman Marc Steinorth (R-Rancho Cucamonga), Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) and others was introduced after a series of incidents in which dogs died after being left in closed cars on hot days.

“We’re very excited about the lives this new law will save,” Steinorth said in a statement Saturday on Facebook. “Thank you to everyone who helped us raise awareness of this serious issue and showed their support.”

Under AB 797, a citizen must first call law enforcement to report a situation in which he or she believes an animal to be in peril.

But if the animal is in imminent danger, the car is locked, and law enforcement is not arriving quickly enough to save the animal’s life, the bill provides immunity from civil and criminal liability to a person causing vehicle damage for the purpose of rescuing the animal. The measure was supported by the Humane Society of the United States and the Los Angeles district attorney’s office.

Latest updates

March 16 (UPI) — Senate Republicans are trying to pass the SAVE America Act this week, as both the GOP and Democrats are gearing up to fight over the election reform bill that would require those registering to vote to show proof of citizenship with passports or birth certificates.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act already has broad public support, but Democrats are strongly against it. Republicans and President Donald Trump want a prolonged fight, forcing Democrats to defend their opposition.

Republicans say it will make elections safer, but Democrats call it a “voter suppression act.”

The bill would force people registering to vote to show proof of citizenship with a passport or certified birth certificate. People who have legally changed their name, including transgender people and most married women, would have a more difficult time.

According to State Department statistics, around half of Americans have a valid passport, and a first-time applicant would have to pay $165 to get one. The University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement said that 2.6 million Americans do not have a government-issued photo ID.

A recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll showed that 71% of voters support the SAVE Act.

House Republicans passed a version of the bill along party lines in February. But the Senate needs 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. Right now, Republicans have a 53-47 majority, and Sen. John Fetterman, I-Pa., who usually votes with the GOP, has said he’s against the bill.

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he wants to bring the bill to a vote to “put Democrats on the record.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told The Hill that Trump wants to see an epic fight, similar to the two-month battle to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

“What I want to do is try to maximize the period of time in which we debate it,” Lee said.

“They faced a 32-vote cloture deficit at the time it came over from the House in March of ’64,” Lee told The Hill. “They were able to close a 32-vote cloture deficit. It took them 60 days, but they got there.”

He said taking a longer time gives lawmakers clarity.

“Debating a bill that continues to get more popular even as people are trying to slow it down and stop it and obstruct it sometimes sharpens the minds of individual lawmakers and makes them more amenable in the end to negotiation,” Lee added. “That’s what we’re looking at here.”

Trump and other conservative Senators want to force Democrats to do a talking filibuster, but Thune has said there just aren’t enough votes to do so. He said the Republicans aren’t unified enough to table potential Democratic amendments.

“The votes aren’t there, one, to nuke the filibuster and the votes aren’t there for a talking filibuster. It’s just a reality,” The Hill reported Thune said last week. “I’m the person who has to deliver sometimes the not-so-good news that the math doesn’t add up but those are the facts and there’s no getting around it.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats are prepared for the battle.

“We don’t yet know what Thune is doing … but we’re prepared for every possible scenario,” Schumer told reporters Sunday.

“My caucus really feels strongly that this would be a horror … one of the worst things that’s happened in the history of this country in terms of allowing people to vote,” he said.

Trump has said he will not sign any legislation until the act passes the Senate.

Here’s a hot take: South by Southwest is a Latin music festival.

When the De Los team headed to Austin, Texas, in 2024 to cover the event for the first time, approximately 60 acts that fell under the expansive Latin music genre umbrella had been invited to perform. Two years later, that number has more than doubled, with more than 150 Latin music acts featured at the iconic festival, now in its 40th year.

“Latin music has seen incredible growth at SXSW in recent years, reflecting its rise across the global music industry,” said Evelyn Gómez Rivera, associate programmer for Latin music. “2026 is shaping up to be our biggest year for the genre in over a decade, with several major labels showcasing their newest and most exciting Latin talent here.”

Ahead of the festival, which kicks off Thursday, the De Los team has assembled a list of acts that have caught our attention. And before you blow up our inboxes asking why the big acts (Fuerza Regida and Junior H are also slated to perform) weren’t included, keep in mind that what makes SXSW unique is that it’s a chance for attendees to see the next big thing before they blow up. In that spirit of discovery, our list is made up of acts you might not have heard of.

Big Soto

“Terminé siendo rapero cuando quería ser doctor,” Gustavo Rafael Guerrero Soto, better known as Big Soto, confesses in his pandemic-era collaborative session with Argentine mega-producer Bizarrap. It’s safe to say that he made the right career move. The 29-year-old from Venezuela (he now lives in Mexico) is signed to Rimas Entertainment and has been at the forefront of the Latin trap movement. — Fidel Martinez

Mariangela

Mexican-born singer Mariangela started off as a tender pop darling when she first uploaded covers to her YouTube channel in 2019, drawing inspiration from indie-pop singers like Carla Morrison and Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval before releasing her alt-pop debut album “Sensible” under Sony Music Latin in 2024. Now the Texas-based artist is taking her musical stylings in a new direction, drawing from her Monterrey roots with the release of her latest “Cuando Una Mujer,” a cumbia norteña about fierce female empowerment. — Andrea Flores

Esty

First-generation Dominican American singer Esty doesn’t like to be boxed in. From one track to the next, she’ll shift from a mix of dembow and alternative rock to bachata and pop, as seen in her recent single “V3n3n0,” from her upcoming album, “Domi Star.” — Cat Cardenas

Marilina Bertoldi

De Los contributor Ernesto Lechner is 100% responsible for this entry — he included the avant-garde alt rocker from Buenos Aires in his 2025 list of indie artists who deserved to win a Latin Grammy, calling her “the resident hurricane of Argentine rock, blessed with a corrosive sense of the absurd, a knack for pop-punk melodies, and attitude to spare.” How could you not want to see that? — FM

Ruido Selecto

Hailing from Medellín, Colombia, Ruido Selecto drives forward the Caribbean rhythms of cumbia, salsa, electronic dub and Afro-diasporic styles that have been traditionally transmitted through Picós, hand-painted sound systems popular throughout the country’s coast. His hybrid mixes also include elements of sonideros, most audible in tracks like “Lo Que Esconde.” I’m fascinated by his attention to detail in his project “Los 14 Cañonazos Bailables,” where he created experimental and contemporary tropical mixes using archives from Discos Fuentes, a Cartagena record label largely responsible for disseminating 1960s Caribbean sound across the coast of Colombia. — AF

Delilah

The Mexican American singer got her start in mariachi, eventually learning piano, guitar, violin and vihuela. At just 17 years old, her impressive vocals and ability to mix traditional and contemporary Mexican music have already gotten the attention of artists like Becky G and Iván Cornejo. — CC

Danny Felix

Among the biggest feathers in Danny Felix’s hat is being the producer behind the “Soy el Diablo (Remix),” a Natanael Cano track that also doubled as Bad Bunny’s first venture into the world of música mexicana. The Phoenix-based multihyphenate (in addition to producing, he is also a multiinstrumentalist and singer) has played a major role in shaping the current sound of corridos tumbados and will be repping the subgenre in Austin. — FM

60 Juno

Originating from Merced, Calif., this Central Valley post-punk band radiates a hazy, dreamlike sound, so much that one of their most popular tracks is titled “zzz.” While 60 Juno initially began as a solo project led by Jericho Tejeda in his bedroom during the pandemic, it has now expanded to include three additional members from Whittier, Calif. There’s a bit of everything in this band, mellowed surf-rock wading into punk territory that can be heard in songs like the upbeat “Enjoy the Sunset” and their most popular, hypnotic track to date, “J Song.” — AF

RIA

Before she stepped into the spotlight, Ria was writing songs for other artists. Now, she’s combining her knack for emotional lyricism with her soulful voice, recently opening for Tito Double P in Mexico, and breaking out with her recent single, “Pagana.” — CC

Sebaxxss

Sebaxxss is the on-tour DJ for Feid, the pop reggaeton singer and fellow Colombian. I’m interested to see how his set translates into a smaller, more intimate venue. — FM

Diles que no me maten

Diles que no me maten is an experimental, psychedelic rock band from Mexico City named after the famous short story by Mexican author Juan Rulfo about a man who pleads for his life after being captured for killing his neighbor decades earlier. If listeners didn’t know any better, they would think this band started in the late 1980s during the rise of homegrown rock, with its untouched vocals in songs like “Outro.” Tracks like “El Circo” sound like a gentle birth, while “(Radio Sonora Edit)” presents itself as a ghostly acoustic jazz ballad. — AF

Eydrey

Since competing on Netflix’s Latin music competition show, “La Firma,” in 2023, Eydrey has landed a record deal and released a steady stream of R&B, Mexican and reggaeton-infused tracks. Her borderland upbringing in El Paso has also shaped her Spanglish lyrics. — CC

Lena Dardelet

Hailing from Cabarete, Dominican Republic — the same beach resort town is home to the Bachata Academy, the only bachata school in the world — Lena Dardelet fuses pop with various Caribbean genres, including— yep, you guessed it — bachata. — FM

Mosmo

Signed with Rimas Entertainment, Hermosillo singer Mosmo is bringing his own crooning element to the corrido world. The rising singer first came into the spotlight in 2022 on Netflix’s “La Firma,” a competition looking to find the next Latin urban music star. Mosmo’s raw, drawled vocals can be heard in the romantic bélico “Modo B” and the agonizing “Terapia” that implores a past lover for their return. Mosmo also incorporates elements of trap and reggaeton in songs like “Dimensiones,” as well as pop in the bilingual track “Siempre Tú.” — AF

Selines

Inspired by artists like Natalia Lafourcade, singer-songwriter Selines’ guitar-based songs draw on the traditions of boleros, classical music and jazz, bringing a warm nostalgia and romance to her sound. — CC

For the third year in a row, De Los, the Latino-centric vertical of the Los Angeles Times, will be returning to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and things are a little different this time around. While the music portion of the festival has typically been given its own weekend to shine, in 2026, it’ll be “folded into” a week-long event alongside film, TV and interactive programming.

But despite these changes, one thing is clear: After a banner year for Latin music at SXSW in 2025, it seems like everyone’s doubled down in 2026, with the festival welcoming a historic number of Latin artists to Austin. That includes the De Los showcase.

If our 2024 event was more of an intimate kickback, 2025 was an all-out party. Thanks to energetic sets from acts like trap corrido pioneers Arsenal Efectivo and the clashing cumbia punk stylings of Sultanes del Yonke, the crowd was up on their feet dancing, twirling and even forming a mosh pit at one point — all into the early hours of the morning. We hope to bring those same vibes back to SXSW this year.

If you’re in Austin for the festival, join us at Mala Fama, located at 422 E. 6th St., Austin, on Sunday, March 15 starting at 8 p.m. As always, the festival is a great opportunity to discover new artists and exciting new sounds, so whether or not you’ll be joining us in Texas, we hope this lineup might inspire you to find a new favorite artist, song or band.

Here’s who’s playing at the 2026 De Los showcase.

Hermanos Espinoza

With their South Texas upbringing (Puro 956!), it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this duo’s Norteño sound has plenty of Tejano flair too. Hailing from Edinburg, brothers Joel and Leonel Espinoza broke out not long after making their debut in 2022, when their song “Prueba de Fuego” hit more than 100 million streams. Their lively, accordion-rich music feels classic enough to be right at home on the playlist for your next carne asada.

Noteworthy track: “Dios por Delante”

Vanita Leo

Music is in Vanita Leo’s DNA. Born and raised in San Antonio, the singer’s father and aunt are both Tejano musicians who inspired Leo to take up the family mantle and put her own spin on the genre. With a love for the old-school sound of the 1990s, Leo manages to weave together her flirty, unserious humor with vintage romance, writing songs that’ll either validate your heartbreak over a bad ex or have you ready to dance it off and forget they ever existed.

Noteworthy track: “Caballito”

Tropa Magica

The second sibling duo on our lineup, Tropa Magica is the brainchild of brothers David and Rene Pacheco. Their signature sound, much like the East L.A. neighborhood they grew up in, is a melting pot of influences, combining old-school cumbias, ’90s grunge, and psychedelic rock into something completely unique to them. Since coming onto the scene in 2018, the band has gotten the stamp of approval from established acts like Bomba Estéreo, Los Tigres Del Norte and Chicano Batman.

Noteworthy track: “Ojos de Lágrimas”

Eddy

This is set to be Eddy’s year. Born Eduardo Hernández Payán, Eddy first made waves when he was discovered by corridos singer-songwriter Diego Millán (Calle 24) and signed to his Ondeados Mafia label. Last year, he built up a reputation for being an artist to watch in the Regional Mexican space thanks to collaborations with Gabito Ballesteros and Ed Maverick. Now, Eddy is prepping for the release of his debut album, “Náufrago,” later this month.

Noteworthy track: “Ultimo Cigarro”

Nezza

Many of you might know Nezza from her viral moment last summer, when she went viral for singing the national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium — her form of protest against the immigration raids that had been taking place all over L.A. But just take a listen to the Dominican-Colombian singer’s original music, and you’ll see that she’s much more than a viral moment. With her Spanglish lyrics, soulful vocals and glittery production, Nezza has her sights set on international pop stardom.

Noteworthy track: “Tasty”

SELMA, Ala. — Sixty-one years after state troopers attacked civil rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, thousands gathered in the Alabama city this weekend amid new concerns about the future of the Voting Rights Act.

The March 7, 1965, violence that became known as “Bloody Sunday” shocked the nation and helped spur passage of the landmark legislation that dismantled barriers to voting for Black Americans in the Jim Crow South.

But this year’s anniversary celebrations — events ran all weekend, including a commemorative march across the bridge Sunday — come as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could limit a provision of the Voting Rights Act that has helped ensure some congressional and local districts are drawn so minority voters have a chance to elect their candidate of choice.

“I’m concerned that all of the advances that we made for the last 61 years are going to be eradicated,” said Charles Mauldin, 78, one of the marchers who was beaten that day alongside civil rights icon John Lewis and others.

Justices are expected to rule soon on a Louisiana case regarding the role of race in drawing congressional districts. A ruling prohibiting or limiting that role could have sweeping consequences, potentially opening the door for Republican-controlled states to redistrict and roll back majority Black and Latino districts that tend to favor Democrats.

Democratic officeholders, civil rights leaders and others have descended on the Southern city to pay homage to the pivotal moment of the civil rights movement and to issue calls to action. Like the marchers 61 years ago, they must keep pressing forward, organizers said.

Former Alabama state Sen. Hank Sanders, who helped start the annual commemoration, said the 1965 events in Selma marked a turning point in the nation and helped push the United States closer to becoming a true democracy.

“The feeling is a profound fear that we will be taken back — a greater fear than at any time since 1965,” Sanders said.

U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures won election in 2024 to an Alabama district that was redrawn by the federal court. He said what happened in Selma and the subsequent passage of the Voting Rights Act were “monumental in shaping what America looks like and how America is represented in Congress.”

“I think coming to Selma is a refreshing reminder every single year that the progress that we got from the civil rights movement is not perpetual. It’s been under consistent attacks almost since we’ve gotten those rights,” said Figures, a Democrat.

In 1965, the Bloody Sunday marchers led by Lewis and Hosea Williams walked in pairs across the Selma bridge headed toward Montgomery. Mauldin, then 17, was part of the third pair behind Williams and Lewis.

At the apex of the bridge, they could see a sea of law enforcement officers, some on horseback, waiting for them. But they kept going. “Being fearful was not an option. And it wasn’t that we didn’t have fear, it’s that we chose courage over fear,” Mauldin recalled in a telephone interview.

“We were all hit. We were trampled. We were tear-gassed. And we were brutalized by the state of Alabama,” Mauldin said.

Former US defense official Michael Mulroy breaks down the US justification for striking Iran, while some US officials say there were no immediate threats.

Simon Cowell, who was known for his brutal takedowns of fame-hungry hopefuls, is ‘back’ according to Britain’s Got Talent co-star Amanda Holden, who says his toned-down persona is gone

Amanda Holden believes her Britain’s Got Talent co-star Simon Cowell is back to his former, more straight-talking self, having ditched his “Mr Soft” act. As the ITV talent hunt gets underway, Amanda is glad to see the return of Simon’s infamous “one liners”, on the “chaotic” new series.

The new series, which began on 21st February, has already frustrated viewers at home. During the first episode fans were getting worked up over the ‘overuse’ of the infamous golden buzzer. As Ant and Dec reminded viewers at the start of the show, the golden buzzer is used when one of the judges deemed a contestant good enough to bypass the rest of the auditions and go straight through to the semi-final.

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But while fans were already complaining, Amanda Holden has promised this series will be full of drama. As reported by the Mail, she explained: “Simon is back. He’s been Mr Soft in recent years, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that KSI is so honest on the other end of the panel.”

Explaining he is done with ‘sugar coating’ his comments, she added: “I’m glad to see that Simon is no longer being soft serve ice-cream, although it was nice for a year or so!”

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Amanda says the new series “feels very loose and very chaotic”, with KSI helping the show thanks to his “succint” answers. Meanwhile “the old Simon” is back, with the Heart Radio host saying she is “loving” that Simon’s “one liners are better than ever”.

Simon has assured fans there will be “lots of surprises”, with more behind-the-scenes filming, letting the audience at home “behind the Wizard of Oz’s curtain”. But Amanda has recently admitted he “hated” one aspect of filming the new series.

The star was forced to step into head judge Simon’s role, after he had to miss filming after falling down some steps and hitting his head. The brief shake up saw Amanda thrust into head judge duties, with X Factor runner up Stacey Solomon joining the panel as a guest.

As reported by the Daily Star, Amanda explained: “I must admit I hated sitting in that seat! I’ve been on the show the longest, so I understand why I probably need to sit in that seat, but when I was there, I felt very outcast on the end.

“It’s okay if your team are sat to the left of you, Simon’s got dozens of staff and family watching from the side and communicating with him. Mine all decided to eat my snacks and sit in the dressing room paying no attention to the show or me whatsoever!

“Simon said to me, ‘You must have loved it. Did you feel powerful?’ I said I hated it because I had to keep leaning in to be part of the conversation. I never want to sit in that seat again! I’m juicy in the middle, it’s such a good spot.”

Elsewhere, talking about Stacey joining the judging panel, Amanda said: “She’s so lovely and I think we’ve got quite a similar style of judging.

“She’s warm, she’s super funny, she has a great understanding of what it’s like to be on the other side, because she obviously auditioned for The X Factor all those years ago.

“Even though she’s smashing it in the real world now, she’s very down to earth and doesn’t have an ego, so I think that worked really nicely for the day that she was pulled in. We’re all fans of her and her crafting is through the roof. If only I could be that type of mother!”

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