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MINNEAPOLIS — Saturday morning started frigid and quiet on Minneapolis’ “Eat Street,” a stretch of road south of downtown famous for its small coffee shops and restaurants ranging from New American to Vietnamese.

Within five hours, seemingly everything had changed. A protester was dead. Videos were circulating showing multiple federal agents on top of the man and gunshots fired. Federal and local officials again were angrily divided over who was to blame.

And Eat Street was the scene of a series of clashes, before federal officers and local and state police pulled back and protesters took over the area.

It all started around 9 a.m. when federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti there, about a mile and a half from the scene where Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot Jan. 7 by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, sparking outrage and daily protests.

And in just over an hour, anger exploded again in the city already on edge. Even before the current immigration enforcement surge, networks of thousands of residents had organized to monitor and denounce it while national, state and local leaders traded blame over the rising tensions.

Two Associated Press journalists reached the scene minutes after Saturday’s shooting. They saw dozens of protesters quickly converging and confronting the federal agents, many blowing the whistles activists use to alert to the presence of federal officers.

They had been covering protests for days, including a massive one Friday afternoon in downtown Minneapolis, but the anger and sorrow among Saturday’s crowd felt more urgent and intense.

The crowd, rapidly swelling into the hundreds, screamed insults and obscenities at the agents, some of whom shouted back mockingly. Then for several hours, the two groups clashed as tear gas billowed in the subzero air.

Over and over, officers pushed back the protesters from improvised barricades with the aid of flash-bang grenades and pepper balls, only for the protesters to regroup and regain their ground. Some five hours after the shooting, after one more big push down the street, enforcement officers left in a convoy.

By midafternoon, protesters had taken over the intersection next to the shooting scene and cordoned it off with discarded yellow tape from the police. Some stood on large metal dumpsters that blocked all traffic, banging on them, while others gave speeches at the growing impromptu memorial for Pretti, who was a 37-year-old ICU nurse at a VA hospital.

People brought tree branches to form a circle around the area, while others put flowers and candles at the memorial by a snow bank.

Many carried handwritten signs demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents leave Minnesota immediately, using expletives against ICE that have been plastered all over the Twin Cities for weeks.

The mood in the crowd was widespread anger and sadness — recalling the same outpouring of wrath and grief that shook the city after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in 2020, although without the widespread violent protests then.

Law enforcement was not visibly present in the blocks immediately around the shooting scene, although multiple agencies had mobilized and the National Guard announced it would also help provide security there.

At an afternoon news conference, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said his officers and members of the Minnesota National Guard in yellow safety traffic vests were working to keep the area around the shooting safe and avoid traffic interfering with “lawful, peaceful demonstrations.” No traffic except for residents was allowed in a 6-by-7-block area around the scene.

Stores, sports and cultural institutions closed Saturday afternoon, citing safety. Some stayed open to give a break to the protesters from the dangerous cold, providing water, coffee, snacks and hand warmer packets.

After evening fell, a somber, sorrowful crowd in the hundreds kept a vigil by the memorial.

“It feels like every day something crazier happens,” said Caleb Spike. “What comes next? I don’t know what the solution is.”

Brook and Vancleave write for the Associated Press.

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota activist who was charged for her role in an anti-immigration enforcement protest at a church released her own video of her arrest after the White House posted a manipulated image online.

The White House on Thursday posted a picture on its X page of civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong appearing to be crying with her hands behind her back as she is escorted by a person wearing a badge whose image is blurred. The photo was captioned in all caps: “Arrested far-left agitator Nekima Levy Armstrong for orchestrating church riots in Minnesota.”

A photo posted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s account showed the same image with Levy Armstrong wearing a neutral expression.

Levy Armstrong, who was arrested with at least two others Thursday for an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a church where an ICE official serves as a pastor, released her own video. Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen, a St. Paul school board member who was also arrested in connection with the protest, were both released Friday, according to a post by Levy Armstrong’s organization, the Racial Justice Network. Their attorneys declined to comment.

The video shot by Levy Armstrong’s husband, Marques Armstrong, shows several federal agents approaching to arrest her.

“I’m asking you to please treat me with dignity and respect,” she said to the agents.

“We have to put you in handcuffs,” one agent said, while another held up a phone and appeared to record a video.

“Why are you recording?” Levy Armstrong asked. “I would ask that you not record.”

“It’s not going to be on Twitter,” the agent filming said. “It’s not going to be on anything like that.”

“We don’t want to create a false narrative,” the agent said.

At no point in the more than seven-minute video — which shows Levy Armstrong being handcuffed and led into a government vehicle — did Levy Armstrong appear to cry. Instead, she talked with agents about her arrest.

“You know that this is a significant abuse of power,” she said. “Because I refuse to be silent in the face of brutality from ICE.”

“I’m not in here to get in a political debate,” the agent filming said.

In an audio message that Levy Armstrong’s spokesperson shared with the Associated Press, Levy Armstrong said the video of her arrest exposes that the Trump administration had used AI to manipulate images of her arrest.

“We are being politically persecuted for speaking out against authoritarianism, fascism and the tyranny of the Trump administration,” said Levy Armstrong, who recorded the message Friday morning during a call with her husband from jail.

The Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brook and Raza write for the Associated Press. AP reporters Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Tiffany Stanley in Washington contributed to this report.

Frank “The Stag Man”, who runs a travel agency that specialises in the parties, has often been an advocate for Benidorm in Spain, but now he believes a new destination is making waves

A travel agent claims resorts in Ibiza are set to overtake Benidorm’s title as the “hen and stag do” capital for Brits.

Frank “The Stag Man” has praised the Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea for its nightlife and value for money as a holiday destination. Frank, who runs a travel agency that specialises in the parties, said for years Benidorm on mainland Spain has been the favourite for his clients but that the tide is tipping.

The travel professional, from Tottenham, north London, stressed “the King is coming” — as Ibiza, he believes, is back on the map. The 55-year-old man said: “Times change, as does the world, and for Ibiza it’s become lost over the years… Now, I can make it the number one holiday destination for stag and hen parties once again. And even give Benidorm a run for its money.

“It’s my job to stop Benidorm, as well as Ibiza, from becoming ghost towns. I’ll give the islands another year and then I’ll make my move. Watch this space — the King is coming.”

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British holidaymakers represent the biggest market for the seaside town of Benidorm, with more than 832,000 of them flocking to the renowned Costa Blanca area in 2023 alone. Tourism exploded there following the decline of the fishing trade in the 1950s.

But tourists have cited crime, such as robberies and muggings, in reasons to deter them from repeat visits, looking for new options instead. One of these is Ibiza, which welcomed more than three million tourists from all countries in 2022, in part for its booming nightlife.

And Frank believes its popularity will continue — after a relative slump prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The travel expert continued: “You can still get cheap prices there too (like Benidorm). The resorts have stopped looking at what people want, focusing only on making money. [I get that] money makes the world go round — and people will pay for quality.

“There’s an increase in robberies and muggings (in Benidorm). If it wasn’t suffering from this massive crime issue, then it’d be doing so much better.”

Frank intends to exploit the boom in Ibiza, but will continue operating his multiple bars, travel agents and restaurants in Benidorm at the same time. These are across the municipality, which is within the province of Alicante, and largely cater to the Brits who holiday there.

Ibiza is the third largest of the Balearic Islands in area, but the second-largest by population. It has historically been associated with the electronic dance music club scene, but tourism bosses there have in recent years made efforts to promote family-orientated holidays.

Wagner Moura won the Golden Globe for lead actor in a motion picture drama on Sunday night for the political thriller “The Secret Agent,” becoming the second Brazilian to take home a Globes acting prize, after Fernanda Torres’ win last year for “I’m Still Here.”

“ ‘The Secret Agent’ is a film about memory — or the lack of memory — and generational trauma,” Moura said in his acceptance speech. “I think if trauma can be passed along generations, values can too. So this is to the ones that are sticking with their values in difficult moments.”

The win marks a major milestone in a banner awards season for the 49-year-old Moura. In “The Secret Agent,” directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, he plays Armando, a former professor forced into hiding while trying to protect his young son during Brazil’s military dictatorship of the 1970s. The role earned Moura the actor prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, making him the first Brazilian performer to win that honor.

For many American viewers, Moura is best known for his star-making turn as Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s “Narcos,” which ran from 2015 to 2017 and earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 2016. He has since been involved in a range of high-profile English-language projects, including the 2020 biographical drama “Sergio,” the 2022 animated sequel “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” in which he voiced the villainous Wolf, and Alex Garland’s 2024 dystopian thriller “Civil War,” playing a Reuters war correspondent.

“The Secret Agent,” which earlier in the evening earned the Globes award for non-English language film, marked a homecoming for Moura after more than a decade of not starring in a Brazilian production, following years spent working abroad and navigating political turmoil in his home country as well as pandemic disruptions.

Though he failed to score a nomination from the Screen Actors Guild earlier this month, Moura now heads strongly into Oscar nominations, which will be announced Jan. 22. “The Secret Agent” is Brazil’s official submission for international feature and has been one of the most honored films of the season, keeping Moura firmly in the awards conversation. Last month, he became the first Latino performer to win best actor from the New York Film Critics Circle.

Even as his career has been shaped by politically charged projects, Moura has been careful not to let that define him. “I don’t want to be the Che Guevara of film,” he told The Times last month. “I gravitate towards things that are political, but I like being an actor more than anything else.”

WASHINGTON — “Abolish ICE.”

Democratic lawmakers and candidates for office around the country increasingly are returning to the phrase, popularized during the first Trump administration, as they react to this administration’s forceful immigration enforcement tactics.

The fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent this month in Minneapolis sparked immediate outrage among Democratic officials, who proposed a variety of oversight demands — including abolishing the agency — to rein in tactics they view as hostile and sometimes illegal.

Resurrecting the slogan is perhaps the riskiest approach. Republicans pounced on the opportunity to paint Democrats, especially those in vulnerable seats, as extremists.

An anti-ICE activist in an inflatable costume stands next to a person with a sign during a protest near Legacy Emanuel Hospital on Jan. 10 in Portland, Ore. The demonstration follows the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis as well as the shooting of two individuals in Portland on Jan. 8 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

(Mathieu Lewis-Rolland / Getty Images)

“If their response is to dust off ‘defund ICE,’ we’re happy to take that fight any day of the week,” said Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. The group has published dozens of press statements in recent weeks accusing Democrats of wanting to abolish ICE — even those who haven’t made direct statements using the phrase.

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) amplified that message Wednesday, writing on social media that “When Democrats say they want to abolish or defund ICE, what they are really saying is they want to go back to the open borders policies of the Biden administration. The American people soundly rejected that idea in the 2024 election.”

The next day, Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) introduced the “Abolish ICE Act,” stating that Good’s killing “proved that ICE is out of control and beyond reform.” The bill would rescind the agency’s “unobligated” funding and redirect other assets to its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security.

Many Democrats calling for an outright elimination of ICE come from the party’s progressive wing. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said in a television interview the agency should be abolished because actions taken by its agents are “racist” and “rogue.” Jack Schlossberg, who is running for a House seat in New York, said that “if Trump’s ICE is shooting and kidnapping people, then abolish it.”

Other prominent progressives have stopped short of saying the agency should be dismantled.

A pair of protesters set up signs memorializing people who have been arrested by ICE, or have died in the process, at a rally in front of the Federal Building in Los Angeles on Friday.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Sen. Alex Padilla, (D-Calif.) who last year was forcefully handcuffed and removed from a news conference hosted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, joined a protest in Washington to demand justice for Good, saying “It’s time to get ICE and CBP out,” referring to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“This is a moment where all of us have to be forceful to ensure that we are pushing back on what is an agency right now that is out of control,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said on social media. “We have to be loud and clear that ICE is not welcome in our communities.”

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) said Democrats seeking to abolish ICE “want to go back to the open borders policies of the Biden administration.”

(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)

Others have eyed negotiations over the yearly Homeland Security budget as a leverage point to incorporate their demands, such as requiring federal agents to remove their masks and to turn on their body-worn cameras when on duty, as well as calling for agents who commit crimes on the job to be prosecuted. Seventy House Democrats, including at least 13 from California, backed a measure to impeach Noem.

Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Diego), who serves on the House Committee on Appropriations, said his focus is not on eliminating the agency, which he believes has an “important responsibility” but has been led astray by Noem.

He said Noem should be held to account for her actions through congressional oversight hearings, not impeachment — at least not while Republicans would be in control of the proceedings, since he believes House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) would make a “mockery” of them.

“I am going to use the appropriations process,” Levin said, adding that he would “continue to focus on the guardrails, regardless of the rhetoric.”

Chuck Rocha, a Democratic political strategist, said Republicans seized on the abolitionist rhetoric as a scare tactic to distract from the rising cost of living, which remains another top voter concern.

“They hope to distract [voters] by saying, ‘Sure, we’re going to get better on the economy — but these Democrats are still crazy,’” he said.

Dozens of Angelenos and D.C.-area organizers, along with local activists, rally in front of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. Democrats have for years struggled to put forward a unified vision on immigration — one of the top issues that won President Trump a return to the White House.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Democrats have for years struggled to put forward a unified vision on immigration — one of the top issues that won President Trump a return to the White House. Any deal to increase guardrails on Homeland Security faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Congress, leaving many proposals years away from the possibility of fruition. Even if Democrats manage to block the yearly funding bill, the agency still has tens of billions of dollars from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Still, the roving raids, violent clashes with protesters and detentions and deaths of U.S. citizens and immigrants alike increased the urgency many lawmakers feel to do something.

Two centrist groups released memos last week written by former Homeland Security officials under the Biden administration urging Democrats to avoid the polarizing language and instead channel their outrage into specific reforms.

“Every call to abolish ICE risks squandering one of the clearest opportunities in years to secure meaningful reform of immigration enforcement — while handing Republicans exactly the fight they want,” wrote the authors of one memo, from the Washington-based think tank Third Way.

“Advocating for abolishing ICE is tantamount to advocating for stopping enforcement of all of our immigration laws in the interior of the United States — a policy position that is both wrong on the merits and at odds with the American public on the issue,” wrote Blas Nuñez-Neto, a senior policy fellow at the new think tank the Searchlight Institute who previously was assistant Homeland Security secretary.

Roughly 46% of Americans said they support the idea of abolishing ICE, while 43% are opposed, according to a YouGov/Economist poll released last week.

Sarah Pierce, a former policy analyst at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services who co-wrote the Third Way memo, said future polls might show less support for abolishing the agency, particularly if the question is framed as a choice among options including reforms such as banning agents from wearing masks or requiring use of body cameras.

“There’s no doubt there will be further tragedies and with each, the effort to take an extreme position like abolishing ICE increases,” she said.

Laura Hernandez, executive director of Freedom for Immigrants, a California-based organization that advocates for the closure of detention centers, said the increase in lawmakers calling to abolish ICE is long overdue.

“We need lawmakers to use their power to stop militarized raids, to close detention centers and we need them to shut down ICE and CBP,” she said. “This violence that people are seeing on television is not new, it’s literally built into the DNA of DHS.”

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) introduced the “Abolish ICE Act.”

(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)

Cinthya Martinez, a UC Santa Cruz professor who has studied the movement to abolish ICE, noted that it stems from the movement to abolish prisons. The abolition part, she said, is watered down by mainstream politicians even as some liken immigration agents to modern-day slave patrols.

Martinez said the goal is about more than simply getting rid of one agency or redirecting its duties to another. She pointed out that alongside ICE agents have been Border Patrol, FBI and ATF agents.

“A lot of folks forget that prison abolition is to completely abolish carceral systems. It comes from a Black tradition that says prison is a continuation of slavery,” she said.

But Peter Markowitz, a law professor and co-director of the Immigration Justice Clinic at the Cardozo School of Law, said the movement to abolish ICE around 2018 among mainstream politicians was always about having effective and humane immigration enforcement, not about having none.

“But it fizzled because it didn’t have an answer to the policy question that follows: If not ICE, then what?” he said. “I hope we’re in a different position today.”

In a city where he has played for the longest stretch of his life, LeBron James should be considered one of the greatest Lakers ever.

Yet, by most accounts, he’s barely in the top 10.

James set the career scoring record here, set the career longevity record here, and won a long-awaited NBA championship here.

Yet he is generally ranked behind Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, James Worthy … and maybe even Pau Gasol?

When he likely leaves the team after this season, James should get a statue. He won’t. He should get a farewell game similar to Kobe Bryant’s final good-bye. He won’t.

For eight breathtaking seasons, LeBron James has poured his soul into pleasing a passionate fan base such that he still fills Crypto.com Arena with joy and light and tomahawk dunks at age 41.

Yet most fans can’t wait for him to leave.

They’re tired of his drama, unconvinced of his loyalty, dissatisfied with the results, and ready to embrace fresh new franchise faces. One of those belongs to Austin Reaves, who was unwittingly pitted against James this week during unfortunate speculation from James’ agent and close friend Rich Paul.

Bottom line? If forced to choose between James and Reaves, here’s guessing the majority would choose Reaves. If forced to keep either James or Reaves, almost certainly the Lakers would keep Reaves.

These sorts of questions will matter at the upcoming Feb. 5 trade deadline, when, with the team going nowhere, perhaps James should realize that his days here are numbered and consider lifting that no-trade clause.

If unanswered, the questions will surface again this summer, when Reaves becomes a free agent and can command a maximum contract of $241 million over five years. The Lakers are going to pay him, which leaves James, who would also be a free agent, and his contract demands deep on the bench.

If James leaves the Lakers for whatever reason — retirement, seeking a title elsewhere — the Lakers can sign Reaves and still have $50 million in cap space.

Think about that.

Lakers forward LeBron James hugs teammate Austin Reaves after he was fouled on a three-point shot during a game against Utah.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Fifty million in cap space on a team that’s already locked up its two best scorers? Are you kidding me?

If James gets out of the way, the Lakers can finally fully commit to a retooling around Luka Doncic and Reaves.

It’s all pretty simple, isn’t it? It only became complicated this week when the suddenly struggling Lakers were hit with the most damaging opinion during the most detrimental of times.

Paul popped off on his podcast about trading, of all people, Reaves.

In “Game Over With Max Kellerman and Rich Paul,” Paul cited the advantages of trading Reaves to Memphis for Jaren Jackson Jr.

“This comes with a very unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved, which he should be, he’s an underdog,” Paul said on the podcast. “There’s a world where you can do what’s best for your team, and do what’s best for Austin. Because Austin deserves to get paid. Now, I love him as a Laker, but if that was a situation where we’re getting balance — because if you put all the money into just the backcourt and then your flexibility is restricted going forward to fill out the rest of the team…”

Paul went so far as to say Memphis would be the perfect place for Reaves.

“Memphis would definitely pay Austin,” Paul said. “He would become … probably their point guard and leading scorer, for sure. … But definitely their highest-paid player.”

A similar opinion urging the Lakers to trade Reaves appeared in this column last summer, but that was written before Reaves had a breakout start this season, averaging 27 points a game on 51% shooting before being sidelined with a calf injury.

He’s hot. He’s arrived. He’s him.

The idea of trading Reaves now feels foolish. Even worse, it feels like an idea that was co-signed by James himself.

Trading Reaves would give more touches to James. Acquiring Jackson would offer more room for James. The entire speculation could be summed up in one sentence that has nothing to do with Reaves or Jackson.

The Lakers should do what’s best for LeBron James.

No, they shouldn’t. No, they absolutely shouldn’t. Yet that’s what Paul was saying, and one would be naive to think that’s not what James is thinking, even though he denied any association in an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“I think you all know by now, Rich is his own man and what Rich says is not a direct reflection of me and how I feel,” James told McMenamin. “And I hope people know that. I hope people know that and if they’re not sensible to know that, then I don’t know what to tell them.”

In the same interview, James also expressed his love for Reaves. Smart man.

“AR knows how I feel about him,” James told McMenamin. “All you got to do is look at us on the bench. Me and AR talk every single day. So, AR knows how I feel about him and I hope AR — or his camp — don’t look at me and think this is words from me are coming through Rich.”

Turns out, Reaves’ camp thought these words were exactly coming from James, witness the brief courtside meeting between Reggie Berry, one of Reaves’ agents, and Paul during a Lakers game earlier this week. According to ESPN, Berry approached Paul in search of an explanation for his comments.

Later on his podcast, Paul said he told Berry, “I want Austin to know this is not about Austin Reaves because I love the player, love the person.”

Everybody, it seems, loves Austin Reaves, and he’s not going anywhere. Meanwhile, after another tumultuous week in the passive-aggressive life of a king, it feels like LeBron James is as good as gone.

A TUI travel agent with 31 years’ experience has one destination she always recommends to customers going through relationship changes – whether newly single or couples needing to reconnect

A seasoned travel agent has revealed her top pick for a destination that’s perfect for those seeking romance.

With 31 years of experience at TUI’s Penarth branch, Hannah Sterling has become a dab hand at pairing life events with the perfect holiday destinations. When it comes to clients undergoing relationship transitions, be it a first trip as a couple or a newly single individual embarking on their maiden solo journey, there’s one place she suggests above all others.

” Thailand,” Hannah declares. “It works for everyone, but especially for people going through relationship changes. I’ve seen it work wonders for hundreds of my customers over the years.”

Recent research from TUI indicates that 64% of Brits would book a holiday to commemorate a significant life event, with relationship shifts often serving as a key motivator. Engagements and weddings were the most common reasons to book a holiday (19%), while an unexpected 8% said they’d celebrate newfound freedom by booking a ‘divorce-moon’.

“The beauty of Thailand is that it caters perfectly to both groups, just in different ways,” Hannah elaborates. “For newly singles, it’s the ideal place to dip your toes into solo travelling. For couples who’ve lost their spark, it encourages them to reflect and reconnect.”, reports the Express.

Do you have a romantic travel tale to tell? We’d. Email webtravel@reachplc.com

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TUI has seen a surge in passenger numbers to Thailand, with an increase of over 30% for this winter, making it one of the travel giant’s most popular long-haul destinations in 2025. The company is set to ramp up capacity even further for 2026.

“Thailand has this magical ability to make you slow down,” says Hannah. “The moment you arrive, you feel the pace shift. For couples stuck in the rat race – rushing to work, managing kids, staring at screens – Thailand forces you to be present. You’re sitting on a beach, sharing a meal, watching the sunset. Suddenly you’re actually talking to each other again.

“It gives you time to think, to process, to just be with yourself without the chaos of daily life. I’ve had customers tell me that sitting on a Thai beach was the first time they’d felt calm since their break-up.

“Thailand offers the perfect combination of comfort and adventure. It’s safe, it’s welcoming, but it’s also completely different from daily life in the UK. Whether it’s a couple reconnecting or a newly single person rediscovering themselves, Thailand gives you the space to do it.”

TUI provides the following trips to Thailand:

Seven-night trips to Khao Lak, Thailand staying at the 4T TUI BLUE Mai Khao Lak on a bed and breakfast basis from £1515 per person. Price is based on one adult staying in a Premium Double Room with Pool View and Balcony, with direct TUI Airways flights departing from London Gatwick Airport on 3rd February 2026. Includes transfers and 25kg luggage per person. For more details or to book, visit tui.co.uk, stop by your local TUI holiday store, or download our app.

Seven-night trips to Phuket, Thailand staying at the 4T+ Cape Sienna Phuket Gourmet Hotel & Villas on a bed and breakfast basis from £1210 per person. Price is based on two adults sharing a Deluxe Double Room with Sea View and Balcony with direct TUI Airways flights departing from London Gatwick Airport on 3rd February 2026. Includes transfers and 20kg luggage per person. For more details or to book, visit tui.co.uk, stop by your local TUI holiday store, or download our app.

Seven-night trips to Phuket, Thailand staying at the 4T The Marina Phuket Hotel on a room only basis from £1017 per person. Price is based on two adults sharing a Deluxe Double Room with direct TUI Airways flights departing from Manchester Airport on 5th February 2026. Includes transfers and 20kg luggage per person. For more details or to book, visit tui.co.uk, stop by your local TUI holiday store, or download our app.

Seven-night trips to Phuket, Thailand staying at the 4T Nipa Resort on a room only basis from £1326 per person. Price is based on two adults sharing a Deluxe Double or Twin Room with indirect Turkish Airlines flights departing from Edinburgh Airport on 9th February 2026. Includes transfers and 20kg luggage per person. For more details or to book, visit tui.co.uk, stop by your local TUI holiday store, or download our app.

WHEN it comes to holiday heartbreak, there’s only one place to get back on track, and it has white sand beaches and clear waters.

One TUI agent who has worked at the Penarth store for 31 years reveals there’s only one place to heal a broken heart.

TUI agent Hannah Sterling said: “Thailand. It works for everyone, but especially for people going through relationship changes. I’ve seen it work magic for hundreds of my customers over the years.”

“The beauty of Thailand is that it offers exactly what both groups need, just in different ways. For newly singles, it’s the perfect solo travel training ground.”

Hannah continued: “Don’t underestimate the power of Thailand for relationship transitions. It’s not just a beach destination – it’s a place that genuinely changes people.”

She carried on to say one of the biggest draws is “stunning beaches” and “incredible food”.

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For solo travellers, Hannah suggests starting with beaches that will be slightly busier like Railay Beach near Krabi.

Another spot is the popular island of Phuket where Hannah said there’s a good mix of solo travellers and couples.

Hannah’s advice for newly single travellers is to learn a few Thai phrases so you can order dinner, or try some bold activities like taking on a “surf lesson”

You get everything with Thailand from big and bustling cities like Bangkok to the beautiful island of Phuket.

One Travel Writer, Hope Brotherton, visited Phuket and here’s what she found: “When I touched down in Phuket, I was immediately greeted by the vibrancy of the island and my senses were somewhat overwhelmed by the sounds and sights.

“The mountainous island is framed by magnificent beaches like Rawai Beach, Patong Beach, Karon Beach, Kamala Beach, Kata Yai Beach, Kata Noi Beach and Mai Khao Beach. There’s also Bangtao Beach, which stretches for 8km and is home to soft white sand and crystal clear water.”

She added: “All the major beaches in Phuket like Patong Beach, Kata Beach, Karon Beach and Nai Han Beach offer instruction and equipment for diving, snorkelling, windsurfing and sailing.”

Another option is Koh Samui, an island which Travel Reporter Alice Penwill visited last year.

The island not only has incredible beaches and hotels, but lots of nightlife – Chaweng Beach has lively beach clubs with fire shows and music.

The best time to visit Thailand is between November and early April – so you can set off as soon as tomorrow.

During this time of year, temperatures average between 32 and 36C, and there are up to nine hours of sunshine every day.

One-way flights from London Heathrow to Phuket in January, start from £275 with a stopover in Shanghai.

TUI offers package holidays to Phuket, the cheapest being in Maikhao Palm Beach Resort which starts from £1369pp in January – which works out as £195 per night.

It’s a 7-night stay from January 26, 2026 with flights Manchester Airport staying in a Deluxe Double Room with bed and breakfast.

The resort has 225 elegant rooms, gardens, traditional Thai-Lanna architecture and a pool.

For more, here are 10 top solo holiday trips from Moroccan retreats and exotic islands to UK walking tours and no-fly cruising.

Plus, here are five winter sun holiday destinations where you can get more for your money – and the expert guide to each.

WASHINGTON — The woman shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday was Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who had recently moved to Minnesota.

She was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado and appears to never have been charged with anything involving law enforcement beyond a traffic ticket.

In social media accounts, Macklin Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” She said she was currently “experiencing Minneapolis,” displaying a pride flag emoji on her Instagram account. A profile picture posted to Pinterest shows her smiling and holding a young child against her cheek, along with posts about tattoos, hairstyles and home decorating.

Her ex-husband, who asked not to be named out of concern for the safety of their children, said Macklin Good had just dropped off her 6-year-old son at school Wednesday and was driving home with her current partner when they encountered a group of ICE agents on a snowy street in Minneapolis, where they had moved last year from Kansas City, Missouri.

Video taken by bystanders posted to social media shows an officer approaching her car, demanding she open the door and grabbing the handle. When she begins to pull forward, a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range.

In another video taken after the shooting, a distraught woman is seen sitting near the vehicle, wailing, “That’s my wife, I don’t know what to do!”

Calls and messages to Macklin Good’s current partner received no response.

Trump administration officials painted Macklin Good as a domestic terrorist who had attempted to ram federal agents with her car. Her ex-husband said she was no activist and that he had never known her to participate in a protest of any kind.

He described her as a devoted Christian who took part in youth mission trips to Northern Ireland when she was younger. She loved to sing, participating in a chorus in high school and studying vocal performance in college.

She studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Virginia and won a prize in 2020 for one of her works, according to a post on the school’s English department Facebook page. She also hosted a podcast with her second husband, who died in 2023.

Macklin Good had a daughter and her son from her first marriage, who are now ages 15 and 12. Her 6-year-old son was from her second marriage.

Her ex-husband said she had primarily been a stay-at-home mom in recent years but had previously worked as a dental assistant and at a credit union.

Donna Ganger, her mother, told the Minnesota Star Tribune the family was notified of the death late Wednesday morning.

“Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” Ganger told the newspaper. “She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”

Ganger did not respond to calls or messages from the AP.

Biesecker and Mustian write for the Associated Press. Mustian reported from New York.

Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, has said that “no foreign agent” is running Venezuela in the wake of Nicolas Maduro’s abduction by United States military forces.

Rodriguez, who had been Maduro’s vice president before his abduction, spoke during a televised event on Tuesday, a day after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to drug-trafficking conspiracy charges.

“The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no one else. There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela,” Rodriguez said.

Venezuela’s prosecutor general, meanwhile, called for the immediate release of Maduro and his wife.

“The military operation, without a declaration of war or a UN Security Council resolution, represents an illegal act of armed aggression of a terrorist nature,” Tarek William Saab said.

The statements come amid the continuing fallout from Saturday’s military operation, which left dozens of people in Venezuela dead. The offensive has been broadly condemned as a violation of international law.

Venezuela on Tuesday released a list of the 24 soldiers killed in the predawn assault. Cuba also announced that 32 members of its military had died. Rodriguez declared a seven-day period of mourning to commemorate the fallen military members.

Since seizing Maduro from his residence, the administration of US President Donald Trump has offered little clarity about its plans for Venezuela.

Trump said on Saturday that the US would “run” Venezuela, a statement US Secretary of State Marco Rubio walked back the next day.

The top diplomat instead said that US officials would guide the “direction” of how the country is run and use sanctions and an ongoing embargo to force more access to Venezuela’s oil industry.

Rubio, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine briefed a bipartisan group of Congress members on Monday about the Venezuela operation.

But several lawmakers said that the administration had offered scarce insight into its justification for conducting the strike without first seeking approval from Congress, much less its plans for Venezuela’s future.

“This briefing, while very extensive and long, posed far more questions than it ever answered,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said afterwards.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Trump ally in the Republican Party, said the next few days would show Venezuela’s “government structure and how willing they are to work with the US”.

In a social media post, Thune called Rodriguez a “practical person, pragmatic person” who “will understand the importance of figuring out a path forward to where America’s national security priorities can be prioritized by Venezuela”.

Trump, meanwhile, offered few new details on the operation during a retreat with Republicans on Tuesday, beyond praising the abduction as an “amazing military feat” and “brilliant tactically”.

Speaking from exile in Miami, Florida, former Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said the country had a “wonderful and incredible opportunity”.

Guaido, who fled Venezuela in 2023, said that rebuilding the country’s democracy would allow millions of Venezuelans to return, and help “bring back to life the oil fields” and restore prosperity.

He condemned Rodriguez as “an acting dictator”, describing the current period as “a phase of transition” that will only be complete “once the rule of law has been reinstalled”.

Unease in Caracas

In Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, crowds gathered on Tuesday for a state-organised display of support for the government.

Some marchers flashed “V” victory signs. Hardline Minister of Interior Diosdado Cabello – who, like Maduro, has been indicted by the US Department of Justice – was seen wading through the gathering. He wore a blue cap emblazoned with the slogan, “To doubt is to betray.”

But Noris Argotte Soto, a Venezuelan reporter in Caracas, told Al Jazeera that the situation in the capital continues to be tense, with most residents staying inside their homes.

“In the peripheral areas of the city, everybody remains at home. The tension is rising; people are on edge. And people are very much afraid of going out into the streets, mostly because [of] the security forces that we see at the main points of the city,” she said.

Soto added that government-aligned paramilitaries have been working alongside the military in recent days to maintain security and crack down on potential dissent.

“They were working yesterday with the security forces,” she said.

“They were basically bullying people, intimidating people, searching their cars, even demanding their cell phones to check their messages, check their social media.”

Regional uncertainty

Anxiety was also felt across the region, as the Trump administration has upped its threats against Venezuela’s neighbour, Colombia, as well as the island of Greenland in the northern Atlantic.

In the aftermath of Saturday’s attack, Trump said he had not ruled out an attack on Colombia for allegedly failing to tamp down on the illegal drug trade.

He described the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, who has been a vocal critic of US operations in Venezuela, as a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States”.

On Tuesday, Colombia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio announced she will meet with the US Embassy’s charge d’affaires in Bogota to present a formal complaint over the recent US “threats”.

Villavicencio said she hopes to reassure the Trump administration “about all that we are doing in the fight against drug trafficking”.

Greenland and Denmark also called for an expedited meeting with Rubio on Tuesday to “discuss the significant statement made by the United States”, Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, wrote on social media.

In the wake of Maduro’s abduction, Trump again floated taking control of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

Trump aide Stephen Miller later said that Washington has a right to seize sovereign territories if it deems such moves to be in its national interest.

The statement was in line with a White House national security strategy released in December, which pledged to re-establish US “pre-eminence” in the Western Hemisphere.

The White House on Tuesday again said it was exploring options to seize Greenland, adding that “utilizing the US military is always an option”.

An array of European countries, as well as Canada, have rushed to support Greenland, noting that Denmark is a NATO member. Therefore, an attack on the island would constitute an attack on the entire bloc.

On Tuesday, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom joined with Denmark to issue a joint statement denouncing Trump’s remarks.

“Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” the statement said.

Embattled Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of obstruction last month for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, has sent her resignation letter to the governor.

The letter was sent Saturday. Republicans had been making plans to impeach her since her Dec. 19 conviction. A spokesperson for Gov. Tony Evers said his office received Dugan’s letter, and he would work to fill the vacancy without delay.

Dugan wrote that over the last decade she handled thousands of cases with “a commitment to treat all persons with dignity and respect, to act justly, deliberately and consistently, and to maintain a courtroom with the decorum and safety the public deserves.”

But she said the case against her is too big of a distraction.

“As you know, I am the subject of unprecedented federal legal proceedings, which are far from concluded but which present immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary. I am pursuing this fight for myself and for our independent judiciary,” Dugan said in her letter.

Last April, federal prosecutors accused Dugan of distracting federal officers trying to arrest a Mexican immigrant outside her courtroom and leading the man out through a private door. A federal jury convicted her of felony obstruction.

The case against Dugan was highlighted by President Trump as he pressed ahead with his sweeping immigration crackdown. Democrats insisted the administration was trying to make an example of Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to the operation.

Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos praised Dugan’s decision.

“I’m glad Dugan did the right thing by resigning and followed the clear direction from the Wisconsin Constitution,” Vos said.

Democrat Ann Jacobs, who is chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission board, said she agreed with Dugan that Milwaukee should have a permanent judge in place while this fight plays out.

“Despite her situation, she is ever the champion of justice, wanting to remove the judiciary from a political battle over her fate. I’m sure this is terribly hard for her but she is true to her faith and her principles,” Jacobs said in a post on X.

On April 18, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.

Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the office of her boss, Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, because she told them their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient grounds to arrest Flores-Ruiz.

After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November he had been deported.

Funk writes for the Associated Press.