NEW DELHI — Indians lit up social media on Wednesday to celebrate Zohran Mamdani’s election win as New York City mayor after he thanked his Indian-born parents, quoted a historic speech by India’s first prime minister and turned the victory rally into a Bollywood-style street party.
“We are proud of him. He has done a great job,” Mamdani’s maternal uncle Vikram Nair told the Associated Press. He said he was flooded with requests from friends and families to throw celebratory parties.
“We will plan it soon,” he said, adding that the family would love to have Mamdani take part.
The 34-year-old, Ugandan-born Mamdani is set to be New York’s youngest mayor in more than a century — and the first Muslim one — when he takes office on Jan. 1.
At a boisterous victory rally late Tuesday, Mamdani addressed supporters with a speech inspired by Jawaharlal Nehru’s iconic “Tryst with Destiny” address, delivered on the eve of India’s independence in 1947.
“Standing before you, I think of the words of Jawaharlal Nehru: ‘A moment comes, but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance.’ Tonight, we have stepped out from the old into the new,” Mamdani said.
The title track of 2004 Bollywood blockbuster “Dhoom” played as Mamdani concluded his speech, flanked by his parents and wife Rama Duwaji.
Mamdani’s mother, Mira Nair, is an award-winning Indian filmmaker whose credits include “Monsoon Wedding,” “The Namesake” and “Mississippi Masala” and whose work has been nominated for an Academy Award. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is an anthropology professor at Columbia University.
After his victory, Nair shared Bollywood film maker Zoya Akhtar’s Instagram story that was captioned “Zohran you beauty,” with heart emojis.
Winking references to his Indian heritage figured in Mamdani’s buzzy campaign videos, with many social media posts using dialogues from classic Bollywood movies.
While there was no official Indian government reaction to Mamdani’s win, Shashi Tharoor, a senior leader of the opposition Congress party, hailed his “spectacular victory,” calling it “wonderfully apt!” in his post on social media.
Mamdani’s multi-racial outreach and embrace of his Indian and Muslim identity won him support, but his past remarks about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he publicly called a “war criminal,” had many expressing concern and anger.
Rights groups have accused Modi’s government of widespread attacks and discrimination against India’s Muslims and other minorities. As chief minister of the state of Gujarat, Modi was accused of not acting to stop communal violence during 2002 anti-Muslim riots that left more than 1,000 people dead. An investigation approved by the Indian Supreme Court later absolved him.
Not everyone in India was enthused Wednesday by Mamdani’s historic win, which made headlines.
“It’s that season again, when India’s self-proclaimed urban intelligentsia will obsess over Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral win, yet have no clue who their own city’s mayor is!,” Indian lawmaker Milind Deora wrote on social media.
Aside from last season’s glitch, where they failed to lift a major trophy, City have been a relentless winning machine themselves, with six Premier League titles in the last eight seasons, as well as a Champions League in 2023.
In Haaland, they have someone destroying defences with power, speed and clinical finishing.
The 1-0 defeat at Villa Park was City’s first in 10 games and, while they responded with wins over Swansea and Bournemouth, he has not forgotten that blip.
“I didn’t score last game,” Haaland told Sky Sports when asked if he felt unstoppable. “I try to help the team to win – that’s my goal.
“Even by scoring, helping or winning duels, it doesn’t matter as long as we are winning games. I want to help the team become a better football team, that’s my job.”
Haaland’s numbers this term are on a different level. The only other player to score 13 times in the opening 10 Premier League games was Les Ferdinand for Newcastle in the 1995-96 campaign, while Haaland himself managed 15 in 2022.
He has the highest xG (9.20) in the league without scoring a penalty, while he accounts for 65% of City’s goals in the top flight and Champions League – scoring 17 of their 26 goals across the two competitions.
“To give the chances and the passes to him, this is what we have to do,” added Guardiola. “He knows that, but we are so blessed and lucky to have, first of all, an incredible person because he is the sweetest and kindest.
“And he will improve. After that, as a player the numbers are just outstanding.”
Much has been said of City’s over-reliance on Haaland and the need for other players to ‘step up’ and score more goals.
“Of course you want other people to join in and they will eventually,” journalist Julien Laurens told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“But I don’t even know why this is a debate. When you have Haaland and the best finisher in the world right now, it would be silly to even give a chance to anyone else. You want the ball to fall in the box to Haaland 100% of the time.”
WASHINGTON — The White House pressed U.S. Navy officials to launch 2,000-pound live bombs instead of dummy explosives during an elaborate military demonstration for the service’s 250th anniversary celebration that President Trump attended, two people familiar with planning for the event told the Associated Press.
One person familiar with the planning said White House officials insisted to Navy planners that Trump “needed to see explosions” instead of just a “big splash” during the Oct. 5 demonstration.
Original planning for what the Navy dubbed the Titans of the Sea Presidential Review called for military personnel to use dummies and not live bombs, a third person familiar with the Navy’s planning said.
That person, who like the others was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, would not comment on why the Navy decided to switch to live bombs.
The White House said no switch was made. Deputy press secretary Anna Kelly in a statement said: “Organizers always planned to use live munitions, as is typical in training exercises.”
The episode is the latest example of the Trump administration turning the military toward the president’s wishes in ways large and small — from summoning generals from around the world to Washington for a day of speeches to his lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.
The Navy and other military branches typically use dummy, or inert, bombs for training and demonstrations. Dummies are cheaper than live bombs because they do not contain expensive explosives, fuses and other components. They’re also safer.
However, military officials often argue that the use of live ammunition for events like the 250th birthday celebration also fulfills a training purpose and that the ordnance would have been expended anyway at a later date. The Navy declined to comment.
The switch required Navy officials to change up detailed plans for the Norfolk military demonstration to ensure safety protocols were met, according to the three people familiar with the planning.
The White House pushed forward with the event despite a U.S. government shutdown, which has led nonessential federal workers to be sent home without pay and reduced operation of many non-critical government services.
A celebration for the Marines also used live artillery
Confirmation that the Navy decided to use live bombs instead of dummies at the Naval Base Norfolk event comes as the administration faces scrutiny over an Oct. 18 live fire demonstration at Camp Pendleton, in which a misfire of a live artillery round led to shrapnel spraying onto Interstate 5 in Southern California.
No one was injured when shrapnel struck two California Highway Patrol vehicles. That Camp Pendleton event marking the Marines 250th anniversary was attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Last week, 27 members of the California congressional delegation and the state’s two senators sent a letter to Hegseth asking whose decision it was to shoot live artillery over the busy freeway and how authorities planned for the safety risks.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who says he’ll weigh a 2028 White House run after the midterm elections next year, criticized the decision and closed a section of the roadway connecting San Diego to Los Angeles for hours during the Oct. 18 Marine showcase. The White House criticized him for closing the highway and said the Marines said there were no safety concerns.
Trump is a fan of military pomp
Trump hasn’t been shy about his fondness for pomp and pageantry that celebrates military might.
In his second term, he has pushed the U.S. services to hold big parades and demonstrations, an idea inspired by a Bastille Day parade he attended in France early in his first term. He was a guest of honor at the 2017 event, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I.
The Army included tanks in a June parade in the nation’s capital, requested by Trump, to mark its 250 years despite concerns from city officials that the heavy vehicles would damage the city’s streets. And he appeared to relish the massive military welcome he received last month during his second state visit to the United Kingdom.
At the Navy celebration this month in Norfolk, the president and first lady Melania Trump watched the military demonstration from the deck of an aircraft carrier before Trump delivered a speech in which he criticized his political opponents and attacked Democratic lawmakers.
At sea, the Navy had seven Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers fire a variety of their guns, including a large 5-inch gun. Four destroyers also launched the Navy’s Standard Missile 2 (SM-2). Each missile costs approximately $2 million.
Meanwhile, aircraft from USS Truman’s air wing fired missiles and general-purpose bombs and performed a strafing run with their gatling guns. The Navy’s MH-60S Seahawk helicopters also fired hydra rockets and guns.
Trump then spoke on a pier between two towering Navy vessels, an aircraft carrier and an amphibious assault ship. The carrier displayed a Navy fighter jet that had the words “President Donald J. Trump ‘45-47’” printed on the fuselage, right under the cockpit window.
A Navy spokesperson told the AP shortly after the event that sailors put the president’s name on the aircraft for the visit and this was “customary for visits of this type.”
In addition to the live bomb demonstration, Navy destroyers launched missiles and fired shells into the Atlantic Ocean, and Navy SEALs descended from helicopters and fighter jets catapulted off vessels.
The shift to live bombs also required further spreading out of the guided missile destroyers in the waters off Norfolk for the military demonstration.
Madhani, Toropin and Mascaro write for the Associated Press.
Traffic is congested on an interstate in Los Angeles in 2017. A U.S. Marine Corps’ live-fire event at Camp Pendleton as part of its 250th birthday celebration will cause the closure of Interstate 5 for four hours on Saturday. File Photo by Mike Nelson/EPA
Oct. 18 (UPI) — The U.S. Marine Corps‘ live-fire event at Camp Pendleton as part of its 250th birthday celebration will cause the closure of Interstate 5 for four hours on Saturday.
The closure is a precaution due to the firing of explosive artillery rounds over the freeway from gunnery ranges at Camp Pendleton in Southern California, which has drawn the ire of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom accused President Donald Trump of “putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety” in a prepared statement released on Saturday morning.
“Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous,” Newsom said.
“Using our military to intimidate people you disagree with isn’t strength,” he added. “It’s reckless. It’s disrespectful, and it’s beneath the office he holds.”
Trump will not attend the celebratory event, but Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are scheduled to attend, with the live-fire scheduled at 1:30 p.m. local time.
Marine Corps officials initially said there would be no need to close the freeway and only asked that signs be posted warning drivers of the live-fire event and to expect to hear explosions.
California Highway Patrol officials instead announced the freeway would be closed while the event is in progress, according to KTLA-TV.
Due to safety concerns, a section of Interstate 5 will be closed Saturday due to a White House-directed military event at Camp Pendleton involving live ammunition being discharged over the freeway,” Caltrans officials said in a statement on Saturday morning.
“Drivers should expect delays on Interstate 5 and other state routes throughout Southern California before, during and after the event.”
The closure starts at 11 a.m. PDT for the 17-mile stretch of freeway running from Basilone Road near San Onofre in the north to Harbor Drive in Oceanside to the south and reopens at 3 p.m.
The event will include a demonstration of Navy and Marine Corps operations on land, sea and in the air.
Camp Pendleton is located about 40 miles north of San Diego and east of I-5, which runs along the Pacific Coast.
Caltrans officials advise motorists in Los Angeles County to use state routes in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties to bypass the closed section of freeway.
Several local train routes also will be closed during the live-fire event.
Max Muncy stood in the middle of what is normally an underground batting cage. But on Friday, moments after the Dodgerscompleted a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, it had been transformed into the most exclusive drinking spot in the city, the place where the players came to toast their return to the World Series.
Cheap champagne and even cheaper beer flowed freely — mostly over people’s heads — before forming deep puddles on some plastic sheeting that had hastily been laid along the floor.
“You never get tired of this. You can’t ever take this for granted,” Muncy, the Dodger third baseman said, as he clutched a lit cigar in one hand and two red Budweiser bottles in the other. “This is the whole reason that you play baseball. You want to be in this moment.
“You want to play postseason baseball. And to be able to do it for as many times as I’ve done it, it’s just truly a blessing.”
The moment Muncy referred to is the alcohol-infused postseason series victory celebration, a tradition that dates to the 1960 World Series when members of the Pittsburgh Pirates chose not to drink the champagne that had been wheeled into their victorious clubhouse, but began spraying it on one another instead.
As baseball’s postseason format expanded, so did the number of champagne celebrations; Friday’s was the Dodgers’ fifth in 29 days and 10th in less than two years. And it may not be the last since they’ll open the World Series next weekend with a chance to become the first repeat champion this century.
“It’s a grown man acting like a little kid. You look forward it,” reliever Blake Treinen, who has played for seven playoff teams in his career, said as he leaned on a giant red cooler stuffed with mostly empty bottles of champagne.
When the Dodgers qualified for the playoffs last month, they toasted that achievement at home, then toasted themselves again six days later in Arizona when they clinched the division title. This month they’ve beaten the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card series, the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series and now the Brewers in the LCS.
And with each victory, the celebrations have grown in fervor and joy.
“It gets better and better each round,” pitcher Tyler Glasnow agreed.
As soon as Caleb Durbin’s fly ball settled in Andy Pages’ glove near the right-field bullpen gate Friday night, extending the Dodgers’ season while ending the Brewers’, fireworks filled the air and Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” blared from the stadium’s sound system. As a small army of workers rushed to set up a temporary wooden stage behind second base, the players pulled on gray t-shirts with words National League Champions and the script Dodgers set against a baseball diamond outlined in yellow.
On their heads they wore black caps that read World Series 2025. But the public ceremony on the stage, in which chairman Mark Walter was presented with the league championship trophy and Shohei Ohtani was handed the series MVP trophy, was short and tame compared to raucous fiesta that started in the batting cage a few minutes later.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the clubhouse after the team’s NLCS-clinching win over the Brewers at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“These kinds of celebrations, you can never have too many,” infielder Miguel Rojas shouted in Spanish over a loud soundtrack of percussive music that played in a loop. “A moment like this is really important, really beautiful.
“Five times this year. We’ve got one to go.”
A few feet away outfielder Teoscar Hernández surrounded himself with a handful of journalists in an unsuccessful attempt to hide from the champagne sprays directed at him by teammates.
“I don’t think there’s anybody that gets tired of this. I’m not tired,” he said. “I want to get one more, and then five more next year.
“This is the only time that you can get to celebrate something, to be free, not thinking about your job, not thinking about what you got to do tomorrow.”
As the party began to wane and players left the batting cage to join their families in a quieter gathering on the field, Muncy looked down at the thick victory cigar between his fingers and turned reflective. The celebration wasn’t about champagne or beer or victory cigars. It wasn’t even about winning.
It was more about surviving the crucible of the longest schedule in pro sports and celebrating that with the people who were with you every step of the way.
“It’s amazing, is what it is,” he said. “This is one of the best parts about being in the postseason. You grind with your teammates and your brothers for seven, eight months, all the way back to spring training.
“This is just like a culmination of all your collective efforts.”
Summoned last minute by the president of the United States, the world’s most powerful leaders dropped their schedules to fly to Egypt on Monday, where they idled on a stage awaiting Donald Trump’s grand entrance.
They were there to celebrate a significant U.S. diplomatic achievement that has ended hostilities in Gaza after two brutal years of war. But really, they were there for Trump, who took a victory lap for brokering what he called the “greatest deal of them all.”
“Together we’ve achieved what everyone said was impossible, but at long last, we have peace in the Middle East,” Trump told gathered presidents, sheikhs, prime ministers and emirs, arriving in Egypt after addressing the Knesset in Israel. “Nobody thought it could ever get there, and now we’re there.”
“Now, the rebuilding begins — the rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part,” Trump said. “I think we’ve done a lot of the hardest part, because the rest comes together. We all know how to rebuild, and we know how to build better than anybody in the world.”
The achievement of a ceasefire in Gaza has earned Trump praise from across the political aisle and from U.S. friends and foes around the world, securing an elusive peace that officials hope will endure long enough to provide space for a wider settlement of Mideast tensions.
Trump’s negotiation of the Abraham Accords in his first term, which saw his administration secure diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, were a nonpartisan success embraced by the succeeding Biden administration. But it was the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and the overwhelming response from Israel that followed, that interrupted efforts by President Biden and his team to build on their success.
The Trump administration now hopes to get talks of expanding the Abraham Accords back on track, eyeing new deals between Israel and Lebanon, Syria, and most of all, Saudi Arabia, effectively ending Israel’s isolation from the Arab world.
Yet, while the current Gaza war appears to be over, the greater Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains.
Trump’s diplomatic success halted the deadliest and most destructive war between Israelis and Palestinians in history, making the achievement all the more notable. Yet the record of the conflict shows a pattern of cyclical violence that flares when similar ceasefires are followed by periods of global neglect.
The first phase of Trump’s peace plan saw Israeli defense forces withdraw from half of Gazan territory, followed by the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas since Oct. 7 in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.
The next phase — Hamas’ disarmament and Gaza’s reconstruction — may not in fact be “the easiest part,” experts say.
“Phase two depends on Trump keeping everyone’s feet to the fire,” said Dennis Ross, a veteran diplomat on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who served in the George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations.
“Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction are tied together,” he added. “The Saudis and Emiratis won’t invest the big sums Trump talked about without it. Otherwise they know this will happen again.”
While the Israeli government voted to approve the conditions of the hostage release, neither side has agreed to later stages of Trump’s plan, which would see Hamas militants granted amnesty for disarming and vowing to remain outside of Palestinian governance going forward.
An apolitical, technocratic council would assume governing responsibilities for an interim period, with an international body, chaired by Trump, overseeing reconstruction of a territory that has seen 90% of its structures destroyed.
President Trump speaks during a summit of world leaders Monday in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
(Amr Nabil / Associated Press)
The document, in other words, is not just a concession of defeat by Hamas, but a full and complete surrender that few in the Middle East believe the group will ultimately accept. While Hamas could technically cease to exist, the Muslim Brotherhood — a sprawling political movement throughout the region from which Hamas was born — could end up reviving the group in another form.
In Israel, the success of the next stage — as well as a long-delayed internal investigation into the government failures that led to Oct. 7 — will likely dominate the next election, which could be called for any time next year.
Netanyahu’s domestic polling fluctuated dramatically over the course of the war, and both flanks of Israeli society, from the moderate left to the far right, are expected to exploit the country’s growing war fatigue under his leadership for their own political gain.
Netanyahu’s instinct has been to run to the right in every Israeli election this past decade. But catering to a voting bloc fueling Israel’s settler enterprise in the West Bank — long the more peaceful Palestinian territory, governed by an historically weak Palestinian Authority — runs the risk of spawning another crisis that could quickly upend Trump’s peace effort.
And crises in the West Bank have prompted the resumption of war in Gaza before.
“Israelis will fear Hamas would dominate a Palestinian state, and that is why disarmament of Hamas and reform of the PA are so important. Having Saudi leaders reach out to Israeli public would help,” Ross said.
“The creeping annexation in the West Bank must stop,” Ross added. “The expansion of settlements must stop, and the violence of extremist settlers must stop.”
In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, Netanyahu faced broad criticism for a yearslong strategy of disempowering the Palestinian Authority to Hamas’ benefit, preferring a conflict he knew Israel could win over a peace Israel could not control.
So the true fate of Trump’s peace plan may ultimately come down to the type of peace Netanyahu chooses to pursue in the heat of an election year.
“You are committed to this peace,” Netanyahu said Monday, standing alongside Trump in the Knesset. The Israeli prime minister added: “I am committed to this peace.”
The Chelsea star has officially won the rights to his nickname and trade mark celebrationCredit: Getty
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Palmer is renowned for his iconic shivering goal celebrationCredit: Getty
It comes after Chateau Palmer, which sells bottles of wine for as much as £750, opposed his bid to flog plonk — and won their case in August.
But, on Friday, the 23-year-old won the right to brand an array of other products, including snacks, mobile phone covers, toys, Christmas crackers and even teddy bears.
This essentially means nobody can use Palmer’s “Cold” nickname for commercial use without his permission.
He has also successfully trademarked his autograph.
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An article in The Athletic detailed how the Intellectual Property Office approved the application made by the footballer’s private company, Palmer Management Limited.
In August, winemaker Chateau Palmer, based near Bordeaux, opposed the initial application.
It still covers a range of other alcoholic beverages, such as spirits, liqueurs and alcoholic energy drinks.
The winery was founded in 1814 when Army officer Charles Palmer bought the estate.
Royal wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd says: “At their best, the wines of Ch. Palmer are among the greatest anywhere in Bordeaux.”
Chelsea ace Cole Palmer LOSES battle against £750-a-bottle winery to trademark nickname & goal celebration
A bottle of its Cru Classé Margaux from 1970 is priced at £750.
Speaking to The Athletic, Karen Lee, an intellectual property lawyer at Edwin Coe, said: “Once you have a registered trademark in place, it is much easier to enforce your rights against third parties.
“Anyone using something that’s the same or similar can amount to an infringement. And that’s when it can lead to High Court litigation, which can be very expensive.”
Palmer has made no secret about the celebration not being his own original work.
He previously admitted how, following his time in the Manchester City academy, he was inspired to perform the celebration by then team-mate Morgan Rogers.
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The vineyard is in France’s Margaux region
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One bottle of the firm’s Cru Classé Margaux from 1970 was listed at £750
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The 23-year-old has now also won the rights to brand an array of other productsCredit: Getty
Aston Villa star Rogers, was accused of copying the celebration when he scored against Chelsea in April 2024, before he clarified: “It’s the opposite, I did it first, he copied me.”
Speaking of his celebration in a previous interview with The Telegraph, Cole said: “It symbolises joy, passion and hard determination for the game, plus it’s funny as it works well with my name.
“Everyone knows it’s my celebration. Lots of people might have done it (before me), but everybody knows it is my celebration.”
However, this could mean that Chelsea has to register for a licence if the London club wants to use his nickname in promotional material.
EA, the company behind the EA Sports FC series of video games, might also have to ask permission to use his celebration in future games.
Other footballers who have trademarked their names and celebrations include David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, who trademarked his name, CR7 initials and “Siuuu” celebration.
Lionel Messi also trademarked his surname after a legal challenge from the cycling brand Massi.
Some other stars have managed to have their brand made exclusive in specific countries, including Marcus Rashford with his name in the United States, Erling Haaland with his signature and goal celebration in his native Norway.
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The footballer has claimed that everyone knows its his celebrationCredit: Getty
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Other players like Beckham and Ronaldo have also trademarked their namesCredit: Getty
NORFOLK, Va. — President Trump did not let the government shutdown interfere with a stop in Virginia on Sunday to salute the Navy as it celebrates its 250th anniversary.
“I believe, ‘THE SHOW MUST GO ON!’” Trump posted Friday night on his social media site. And he wrote before leaving the White House for Naval Station Norfolk, “This will be a show of Naval aptitude and strength.”
The government shutdown that began Wednesday has triggered partisan blame in both directions as military personnel are working without pay, several thousand federal employees are furloughed and Trump has put on hold energy projects in Democratic-run areas such as New York and Chicago.
There is the possibility that an event designed to honor the Navy could be dragged into the bitter politics.
Trump accused Democrats in his post of enabling the shutdown and trying “to destroy this wonderful celebration of the U.S. Navy’s Birthday.”
Senate Democrats rejected efforts to preserve a continuation of government operations when the new budget year started Wednesday. They cited the lapse in subsidies that could cause health insurance costs to climb rapidly for people who get coverage through the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Democratic lawmakers also have sought to reverse cuts to Medicaid that Trump signed into law.
On top of that, both sides cite a mutual sense of distrust.
Democrats oppose Trump’s move to have his administration decline to spend congressionally approved funds, saying it undermines the budgeting process, among other concerns. Meanwhile, Trump has threatened to lay off federal workers at what he called “Democrat Agencies.”
Among those joining Trump for the festivities were First Lady Melania Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a former Navy rear admiral who was a White House doctor during Trump’s first term.
After his arrival in Norfolk, Trump went to the USS George H.W. Bush and spoke to the sailors and handed out challenge coins.
The Trumps watched a military demonstration while standing on the deck of the aircraft carrier. Navy destroyers launched missiles and fired shells into the Atlantic, Navy SEALs descended from helicopters and fighter jets catapulted off.
Awaiting Trump’s speech was a large crowd on a pier, mostly sailors in their dress white uniforms and some families.
Trump on Tuesday addressed a gathering of military leaders abruptly summoned by Hegseth from across the globe to Virginia. The Republican president proposed using U.S. cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of needing military might to combat what he called the “invasion from within.” Hegseth declared an end to “woke” culture and announced new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness.
The administration is seeking to reshape Pentagon culture and use military resources for the president’s priorities, including quelling domestic unrest and fighting what he calls a surge in violent crime, despite statistics to the contrary.
Trump has also engaged the U.S. military in an armed conflict he says is targeting foreign drug cartels, leading to four deadly strikes on boats in the Caribbean that Washington says were involved in trafficking. Critics have called the attacks extrajudicial killings in violation of international law.
Boak and Finley write for the Associated Press and reported from Washington and Norfolk, respectively.
Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile as he arrives for the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, in Vatican City, in May. The pontiff acknowledged a “huge learning curve” in remarks released Sunday, his 70th birthday. EPA-EFE/ANGELO CARCONI
Sept. 14 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV said there has been a “huge learning curve” in his first several months as the new pontiff, and declared that about some aspects of his role are akin to jumping “in on the deep end of the pool very quickly,” in remarks to released to coincide Sunday with his 70th birthday.
He also lamented the growing income gaps between the world’s working class and company CEOs, pointing out that Elon Musk could soon become the globe’s first trillionaire.
“If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble,” the first American pope said in his comments released by the Vatican.
The interview was conducted over the summer of Elise Ann Allen, a correspondent for the Vatican news service, and the author of an upcoming biography on the pontiff. The remarks were published on Allen’s website, the Crux, and in the Peruvian daily El Comerico.
Leo said he felt both American and Peruvian, noting his dual citizenship, and his 20 years of missionary work in Peru. He said his time there gave him a great appreciation of the church in Latin America and for Pope France’s ministry, the first pope from South America.
Francis promoted Leo to the Vatican’s top job in 2023, raising speculation that the then pope views Leo as a successor, though Leo said he felt unprepared for the responsibilities of the role.
“There’s still a huge learning curve ahead of me,” he said, adding that he felt confident as a pastor, but noted that the job of pontiff was that of a world leader, which was a challenge.
The excerpts of the interview were released Sunday as Leo celebrated his 70th birthday during the traditional noon blessing at the Vatican.
There were multiple, giant “Happy birthday” banners in multiple languages displayed by believers throughout St. Peter’s Square. Groups of Peruvian believers, some donning traditional dance attire, celebrated.
“Dear friends, it seems you know today I have turned 70,” Leo said amid choruses of cheers from onlookers. “I thank the Lord, my parents and all those who remembered me in their prayers.”
For the 79th year, mariachi musicians, waving Mexican flags and shouts of “Viva Mexico,” flooded Cesar Chavez Avenue in East Los Angeles on Sunday for the annual Mexican Independence Day parade and celebration.
But this year, in the face of the Trump administration’s relentless immigration crackdown — recently bolstered by the Supreme Court decision that allows federal agents to restart their controversial “roving patrols” across Southern California — there was a renewed sense of defiance, and of pride.
For many, it was even more important to show up. To stand tall.
“We’re here and we’re going to continue fighting for our rights and for others who cannot fight for themselves,” Samantha Robles, 21, said as she watched the parade roll by. “I’m happy that many people are here so they can raise their flags — just not the Mexican flag, but also the American flag, because we’re both Mexican American.”
Members of the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles hold a Mexican flag at the East L.A. Mexican Independence Day Parade & Festival on Cesar Chavez Avenue on Sunday in Los Angeles.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
But the parade was also a bittersweet moment for Robles. This year, her grandmother opted to stay home, given ongoing sweeping immigration raids across the region. A new Supreme Court ruling authorized U.S. immigration agents to stop and detain anyone they might suspect is in the U.S. illegally, even if based on little more than their job at a car wash, speaking Spanish or having brown skin. Immigration rights attorneys and local leaders have denounced that as discriminatory and dangerous, and it has stoked fears in Robles, who describes herself as an East L.A. native.
“I have my brown skin, I have my Indigenous features,” Robles said. “I’m afraid not just for myself, [but] for my friends who are also from Mexico and they came here for more opportunities, for a higher education. … I’m afraid for those who are getting taken away from their families.”
The Comité Mexicano Civico Patriotico Inc., which organized Sunday’s parade and celebration, addressed those fears in a press conference on Friday, but decided to move ahead with its celebration of Mexican independence from Spain, as it has done so in September for decades.
That decision seemed to drive a sense of proud resistance on Sunday.
“Aqui estamos y no nos vamos!” (“We are here and we are not leaving!”) yelled Rosario Marín, the former mayor of Huntington Park and the parade’s madrina, or godmother.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass holds TJ’s parrot Pepe Hermon at the East L.A. Mexican Independence Day Parade & Festival on Sunday in Los Angeles.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
When Mayor Karen Bass rode by the crowd, she read aloud a sign from the sidewalk that said: “Trump Must Go!”
The crowd cheered.
“I was just reading the sign,” she said, with a smile on her face. But Bass reiterated her support for her Latino constituents, and her opposition to the ongoing immigration raids, calling them horrible.
“Our city stands united,” Bass told the crowd. “We are a city of immigrants. We understand that 50% of our city is Latino, and the idea that Latinos would be targeted is abhorrent.”
The Trump administration has insisted its immigration actions are merely an attempt to enforce the law, and has blasted Bass and other city leaders for stoking resistance. But many Latino leaders say the administration’s use of force is an abuse of power, stoking fears that have hurt people and the region’s economy.
Alfonso Fox Orozco wears traditional Mexican dress at the East L.A. Parade & Festival on Sunday in Los Angeles.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Such concerns may have affected Sunday’s parade, which seemed less attended than prior years. Anti-Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE signs, lined the street. Organizations such as the United Teachers Los Angeles yelled out “La migra no, la escuela si.” (“No immigration enforcement, yes schools!”)
Jenny Hernandez, a fifth-generation East L.A. resident, held up a homemade sign that read “Crush ICE.” The 51-year-old has been disturbed by the recent raids, many of which have targeted individuals in the workplace.
“What they’re doing is wrong,” she said. “We are not criminals. We’re Mexican, Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, whatever you want to call it…. We do not deserve this treatment.… There needs to be a change.”
La Catrina Andante sits atop a car in traditional face paint at the parade Sunday in Los Angeles.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
But mostly, the day emanated Latino joy, unseen in recent months. Burnt sage filled the air at one intersection, courtesy of a Danza Azteca group, while attendees — some in traditional embroidered dresses and shirts — relished the cumbia song blasting from a nearby radio.
A young girl, no more than 5 years old, belted out a call for “fresas” alongside her mother, a street vendor. A grandmother sat with her lap covered in a blanket, knitted with the colors of the Mexican flag. Politicians, teenagers, dancers and charros, or men riding dancing horses, shouted, “Viva Mexico!”
Girls dressed as vendors from Patzcuaro, Michoacan, balance on pots at the East L.A. Parade & Festival Sunday in Los Angeles.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Other ethnic groups joined the popular celebration, including waves of Puerto Ricans, Bolivians and Salvadorans. Notable faces included Snow Tha Product and Real 92.3 FM radio host Big Boy, who at one point took the reins as an elotero vendor. Space shuttle astronaut José M. Hernández led the parade as grand marshal. , His journey from migrant farmworker to NASA astronaut was detailed in the Amazon Prime film “A Million Miles Away.”
Giselle Salgado, also an East L.A. native, said it was important to see a good turnout from her community, as well as from public officials, though she noticed a smaller crowd this year.
“We’re not afraid,” she said. “This is our tradition, we’ve always come out here. … I’m sure a lot of people are scared, but they’re still here. We’re not going to let fear and intimidation work against us.”
CHICAGO — President Trump’s plan to dispatch National Guard troops and immigration agents into Chicago has put many Latino residents on edge, prompting some to carry their U.S. passports and giving others pause about openly celebrating the upcoming Mexican Independence Day.
Though the holiday falls on Sept. 16, celebrations in Chicago span more than a week and draw hundreds of thousands of participants. Festivities kicked off with a Saturday parade through the heavily Mexican Pilsen neighborhood and will continue with car caravans and lively street parties.
But this year, the typically joyful period coincides with Trump’s threats to add Chicago to the list of Democratic-led cities he has targeted for expanded federal enforcement.
His administration has said it will step up immigration enforcement in Chicago, as it did in Los Angeles, and would deploy National Guard troops. In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles in June, Trump deployed them last month in Washington, D.C., as part of his unprecedented law enforcement takeover of the nation’s capital.
Trump posted an illustration of himself on his social media site Saturday as the Robert Duvall character in “Apocalypse Now” — the war-loving Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore — against a Chicago-skyline ablaze with flames and helicopters.
“Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” he posted, along with “I love the smell of deportations in the morning,” referencing a famous Kilgore line from the 1979 Vietnam War film. Trump has ordered the Defense Department to be renamed the Department of War.
“The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote on the social platform X. “Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”
Although details about the promised Chicago operation have been sparse, there’s already widespread opposition as protesters marched through downtown Saturday evening. State and city leaders have said they plan to sue the Trump administration.
Debate over postponing festivities
The extended Mexican Independence Day celebrations reflect the size and vitality of Chicago’s Mexican American community. Mexicans make up more than one-fifth of the city’s population and about 74% of its Latino residents, according to 2022 U.S. census estimates.
Parade and festival organizers have been divided over whether to move forward with precautions or postpone, in hopes that it will feel safer for many participants to have a true celebration in several months’ time. El Grito Chicago, a downtown Mexican Independence Day festival set for next weekend, was postponed this week by organizers to protect people.
“But also we just refuse to let our festival be a pawn in this political game,” said Germán González, an organizer of El Grito Chicago.
In Pilsen and Little Village, two of the city’s best-known neighborhoods, with restaurants, businesses and cultural ties to Mexican culture, residents expressed disappointment that the potential federal intervention instilled such fear and anxiety in the community at a time usually characterized by joy, togetherness and celebration of Mexican American heritage.
Celebrating, with precautions
Saturday morning, some parade-goers grabbed free, bright-orange whistles and fliers from volunteers standing outside the Lozano branch of the Chicago Public Library. “Blow the whistle on ICE!” the fliers read, encouraging a nonviolent tactic to raise alarm if they saw agents.
Marchers held up cardboard signs painted with monarch butterflies, the migratory species that travels between the U.S. and Mexico. Many cheered, “Viva Mexico!”
Drivers of vintage cars honked their horns and a drummer kept time for a group of dancers bedecked in feathers. Horseback riders clip-clopped down the street, and one lifted up a large Mexican flag.
Claudia Alvarez, whose 10-year-old daughter was nearby riding a pony, said it’s important that politicians see people out celebrating, though the crowd seemed smaller this year.
“At these hours you should be able to see plenty of people in the streets enjoying themselves, but now there’s not really a lot of people,” she said.
Fabio Fernandez, 39, owner of an art and T-shirt company with a residency at a Pilsen streetwear shop, called it “troubling” and “disheartening” that the possibility of federal intervention has dampened celebrations.
He said there’s a mood of anxiety in the neighborhood, which has translated to lower sales and reduced foot traffic for local businesses like his.
“Come back to 18th Street. Support small businesses here. They’re still working hard as hell to keep their businesses alive,” he said.
Alejandro Vences, 30, became a U.S. citizen this year, “which gives me some comfort during this time,” he said while eating pozole verde at a Mexican restaurant. Still, he said, the anxiety is palpable.
“For us, our Independence Day has always been a celebration of our culture,” he said. “It’s always been a celebration of who we are. It feels like we don’t get to celebrate our culture in the same way.”
Protest against ICE
A few miles away in downtown, more than a thousand protesters marched through the streets Saturday evening with signs bearing slogans such as “I.C.E. out of Illinois, I.C.E. out of everywhere.”
Speakers offered the crowd instructions on what to do if encountering Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. They also drew comparisons between the proposed ICE crackdown on Chicago and Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip.
“We are inspired by the steadfastness of Palestinians in Gaza, and it is why we refuse to cower to Trump and his threats,” Nazek Sankari, co-chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, said to the crowd as many waved Palestinian flags and donned kaffiyehs.
Viviana Barajas, a leader with the community organization Palenque LSNA, promised that Chicagoans would “stand up” as Los Angeles had if Trump deploys the National Guard in their city.
“If he thinks these frivolous theatrics to undermine our sovereignty will shut out the passion we have for protecting our people — this is Chicago, and he is sorely mistaken,” Barajas said. “We have been studying L.A.. and D.C., and they have stood up for their cities.”
Fernando, Finley, Walling and Raza write for the Associated Press. Fernando and Walling reported from Chicago, Finley from Norfolk, Va., and Raza from Sioux Falls, S.D. AP writers Morgan Lee in Santa Fe and Cal Woodward in Washington contributed to this report.
Jake Paul appeared to be taking the biggest risk of his unique boxing career by stepping in the ring with Julio César Chávez Jr., a former middleweight champion and his most accomplished opponent by far.
At least it seemed like a risk — until a lifeless Chávez meekly waited until the ninth round to mount any offense, dismaying a crowd desperate for him to hurt the famous YouTuber-turned-pugilist.
Paul shrugged it all off and rolled to another victory. After all, he’s the star of every show.
Paul beat Chávez by unanimous decision Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, dominating the early rounds before weathering Chávez’s late rally for his sixth consecutive win.
Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) had little trouble from the 39-year-old Chávez (54-7-2), controlling the majority of the bout in front of an ardently pro-Chávez crowd in Southern California.
“I love that he brought a good fight at the end, and I think the fans got a good fight to see him come out, put some punches on me,” Paul said. “It makes me better. I had to elevate tonight and rise to a different level. I’m glad the fans got to see me get punched in the face a little bit.”
Even with his famous father shouting furiously at ringside, Chávez fought tentatively and tepidly against Paul, who patiently controlled the ring and landed just enough to win rounds. Chávez looked lifeless at the start, barely throwing a punch until late in the fourth round of their cruiserweight bout at Honda Center.
Chávez first mounted a discernible attack in the sixth, and he delivered several exciting shots in the ninth, finally exhibiting the skills of a long boxing career.
But he couldn’t seriously damage Paul, who jumped on the ropes in celebration after absorbing several flurries in the 10th and final round. The crowd booed Paul after the bell, and he cursed at them.
“All the boos are awards,” Paul said. “It was flawless. I think I only got hit about 10 times.”
Julio César Chávez Jr., right, punches Jake Paul during their cruiserweight boxing match on Saturday at the Honda Center.
(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)
The judges scored it 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Paul. The Associated Press also favored Paul 97-93.
Chávez, who had fought just once since 2021, is best known for failing to maximize the potential in his father’s genetics. He is still the most credible boxer to share the ring with Paul, who is now 5 1/2 years and 13 bouts into his lucrative fight career.
“I thought I lost the first five rounds, so I tried to win the last rounds,” Chávez said. “He’s strong, a good boxer (for) the first three, four rounds. After that, I felt he was tired. I don’t think he’s ready for the champions, but he’s a good fighter.”
Paul has successfully leveraged his Internet ubiquity and his own hard work to become a force in the business of boxing, if not in traditionally important bouts. He has founded a busy promotional company and flirted with mixed martial arts while becoming arguably the most prominent combat sports athlete in the world.
But Paul had mostly fought mixed martial artists and fellow online celebrities, and he took his only loss in February 2023 when he stepped in against actual boxer Tommy Fury, whose fame also exceeds his ring skills.
“I don’t really care what people say at the end of the day, because every single time I just prove myself more and more,” Paul said. “And that’s slowly turning the tide.”
Paul hadn’t fought since last November, when he beat Mike Tyson in a much-hyped bout that couldn’t live up to improbable expectations from fans who didn’t understand the simple realities of Tyson being 58 years old.
Chávez was away from the ring for three years before his return late last year, but Paul’s invitation brought him back again — along with the thousands of fans who eagerly bought tickets in perpetual support of their champion.
Chávez has fallen to innumerable lows during a lengthy boxing career conducted in the shadow of his father, one of the most beloved athletes in Mexican history. The son has failed drug tests, served suspensions and egregiously missed weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport.
He still rose to its heights, winning the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defending it three times. Chávez shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both.
Chávez even lost in 2021 to Anderson Silva, the former UFC champion and rudimentary boxer who lost a one-sided ring decision to Paul one year later.
Jake Paul, left, punches Julio César Chávez Jr. during their cruiserweight boxing match on Saturday at the Honda Center.
(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)
Paul’s career as the world’s most popular pugilistic sideshow could change soon: His financial potency makes it almost inevitable that he will be invited to fight under a sanctioning body’s aegis, which means he could likely book a bout against an elite boxer whenever he chooses.
“We’ll see,” Paul said when asked to name his next opponent. “There’s a long line, so they’ve got to wait in line. Take a ticket.”
Paul then said he would have no problem beating Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, who retained his two cruiserweight title belts with a close unanimous decision over Cuba’s Yuniel Dorticos in the final undercard bout.
Earlier, 43-year-old former UFC star Holly Holm returned from a 12-year absence from the boxing ring to dominate previously unbeaten Yolanda Guadalupe Vega Ochoa.
New Jersey welterweight Julian Rodriguez earned a thrilling victory in the waning moments of the 10th and final round, staggering Avious Griffin with a sneaky left hand and eventually knocking the previously unbeaten Griffin sideways into the ropes for a stoppage with 5 seconds left.
Washington, DC – It was the 250th birthday of the United States Army, and Trump’s 79th.
Tanks and other armoured military vehicles rumbled down the streets of Washington, DC, on Saturday, in what Trump had teased as an “unforgettable” event and critics had called a pricey tribute to the “egoist-in-chief”.
Speaking after the hour-long procession, which cut through a balmy evening dotted with raindrops, Trump framed the spectacle as a long time coming.
“Every other country celebrates their victories. It’s about time America did, too,” he told the crowd, which sprawled sparsely across the National Mall.
“That’s what we’re doing tonight,” he said.
Vice President JD Vance, who introduced the president at the end of the parade, was the only official to acknowledge the dual birthdays.
“June 14th is, of course, the birthday of the army. It is, of course, the birthday of the president of the United States,” he said. “Happy birthday, Mr President.”
For critics, the overlapping dates sent a disconcerting message.
Away from the celebrations, among about 100 protesters at Logan Circle in Washington, DC, Terry Mahoney, a 55-year-old Marine veteran, described the parade as “dictator behaviour”.
“If you take everything else he’s done, stomping on the US Constitution, this parade may just be window dressing,” he told Al Jazeera.
Soldiers march during a military parade to commemorate the US Army’s 250th Birthday in Washington, DC [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
“But it’s the worst kind of window dressing,” said Mahoney, who was among the tens of thousands of protests who took to the streets nationally to oppose Trump’s leadership on Saturday. “So I wanted to make sure that my voice was represented today.”
But blocks away, near the entrance to the heavily fortified parade route, Taras Voronyy, who travelled from South Carolina, was less concerned about the blurred lines of the parade than the soldiers it was honouring.
“It’s a chance to celebrate the military, and also, Trump will be here,” he told Al Jazeera.
“I was actually a little confused if it was supposed to be for the Army’s 250th anniversary or for Trump’s birthday,” he said. “So I guess it’s a twofer.”
A birthday celebration
Trump had sought a massive military parade ever since attending a Bastille Day celebration in Paris in 2017, but faced pushback from defence officials during his first term.
This time around, he sent 28 Abrams tanks, a horde of armoured vehicles, cavalry, military planes and helicopters, both modern and antique, to the US capital, in a show of military hardware without comparison since 1991, when the US marked the end of the Gulf War.
Spectators gathered along Constitution Avenue – a thoroughfare that connects the White House to the US Capitol – for a pageant that stretched from the Army’s 1775 birth, through World War II, the Vietnam War, and the so-called “war on terror”.
Trump’s arrival prompted cheers, and a handful of jeers, from the crowd, which was dotted with red Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats. Attendance appeared to be less than the military’s prediction of about 200,000 people.
For Freddie Delacruz, a 63-year-old US Army veteran who travelled from North Carolina for the parade, Trump’s birthday and the Army celebration were distinct phenomena.
“It’s a coincidence,” he said. “I got married on June 6, which is the anniversary of D-day [the landing of allied forces on the beaches of Normandy, France].”
“So these things happen,” he said. “But we’re here to support the army. I spent 32 years in the army – I want to see the tanks, the planes, the helicopters flying around.”
A person holds up a ‘No Kings’ sign in protest against US President Donald Trump’s policies and federal immigration sweeps, during the US Army’s 250th birthday festival in Washington, DC, US, June 14, 2025 [Carlos Barria/Reuters]
Delacruz also did not see much significance in Trump’s deployment earlier this week of the US National Guard to California to respond to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles and other cities.
Local officials and rights advocates have said the deployment, which was soon followed by Trump sending Marines to protect federal property and personnel, represented a major escalation and overreach of presidential power.
A judge on Thursday sided with a lawsuit filed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, ruling that Trump’s deployment without the governor’s approval was unlawful. However, an appeals court paused the ruling just hours later, allowing the deployment to temporarily continue.
Delacruz acknowledged that Trump has “got a lot of power… I mean, he’s got the Department of Defense, he’s got the Department of Department of State and now, all the Cabinet members are supporting him 100 percent”.
“But he’s still just the president, and he can’t control Congress,” he added. “This is what the people voted for.”
Freddie Delacruz attends the US Army parade in Washington, DC [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]
Aaron M, a 57-year-old Army veteran from Miami, Florida, also said he did not see an issue with how Trump has used federal forces in local law enforcement.
Trump’s decision was the first time since 1965 that a president had activated the National Guard without a governor’s consent. Both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have indicated that the approach could be replicated across the country.
In recent days, Trump has also floated invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, which would allow US troops to take part in domestic law enforcement, in what critics call a step towards martial law, but has not yet done so.
“If governors can’t get their states under control, then Trump should send [the National Guard] in,” said Aaron, who declined to give his last name.
“Look, I was born in Nicaragua. I came here when I was 12,” Aaron added.
“I know what a dictator is. This is not a dictator,” he said, motioning to the grandstand from where Trump watched the parade.
Armoured vehicles take part in a military parade to commemorate the US Army’s 250th birthday in Washington, DC [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
‘Protesting is patriotic’
For Anahi Rivas-Rodriguez, a 24-year-old from McAllen, Texas, the military pageantry underscored a more troubling turn, which she said included Trump’s hardline immigration policies melding with the country’s military might.
“I have a lot of people in my life who are scared. We do not belong in a fear in America,” said Rivas-Rodriguez, who joined a group of protesters marching in front of the White House.
“I do not stand by an America that tears families apart and targets people because they look brown and they look Mexican,” she said, her eyes welling up, “because they look like me”.
Trump earlier this week described the protesters as “people who hate the country”, adding that those who came out on Saturday would be “met with very big force”.
Rivas-Rodriguez bristled.
“Protesting is patriotic, and I am here for my country because I care about America,” she said. “Maybe I’m a little intimidated [by Trump], but I am not scared because I am still here.”
Anahi Rivas-Rodriguez attends a protest in Washington, DC [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]
About 60 arrests were made in a protest at the US Capitol late on Friday, but no major incidents were reported in the US capital on Saturday, with many groups choosing to hold protests elsewhere.
The organisers of the national “No Kings” protests held no official event in DC, despite hosting demonstrations in about 2,000 cities across the country.
In a statement, the group said they did so to avoid “allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity”.
Still, Roland Roebuck, a 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran from Puerto Rico, said he wanted to attend the parade in protest to send a message.
“Trump has been allergic to military service and deeply disrespectful of the military,” he said, pointing to Trump’s medical exemption from serving in Vietnam due to “bone spurs”, in what critics have said amounted to draft dodging.
Roebuck said the parade – with a price tag of between $25m and $45m – rings tone deaf at a time when Trump has been rolling back federal services, including those that affect veterans.
He also accused Trump of “erasing” the contributions of Black soldiers like himself through his administration’s anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) campaign at the Pentagon.
“Many of the people that are here are very confused with respect to what this parade represents,” Roebuck said.
“This represents a farce.”
President Donald Trump speaks during a celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday at the National Mall in Washington, DC [Doug Mills/Reuters]
She crossed the finish line .28 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.
But Adams is not the state champion. She was stripped of that title after she used a fire extinguisher to spray her cleats while on the field inside the track moments after the race.
“I was robbed,” Adams, 16, told The Times shortly after being disqualified from that event as well the 200 finals, which took place later in the meet.
Adams said CIF officials told her that she was being disqualified because she had been “unsportsmanlike,” but that’s not how she saw it at all.
“I was having fun,” Adams said, noting her win in the 400 marked her first state title. “I’d never won something like that before, and they took it away from me. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
She added: “I worked really hard for it and they took it from me, and I don’t know what to do.”
Days later, David Adams, who said he is the sprint coach at North Salinas, told The Times his daughter was “doing better” but still trying to cope with everything that unfolded Saturday afternoon at Buchanan High in Clovis.
“Clara’s hurt. She’s hurt right now,” David Adams said Wednesday. “She’s better today than Saturday. Saturday was fresh. It just happened. It was a shock. She felt numb. They made her sit there and watch while they put those other girls on the podium, knowing Clara’s the fastest 400-meter runner in the state of California.”
Clara Adams has been running competitively since age 6, her father said. She finished fourth in the 400 at last year’s state meet and won the event with a state-best time of 53.23 at the Central Coast Section championships last month. After posting the top qualifying time in Friday’s preliminaries, Adams surged ahead of Madison Mosby of St. Mary’s Academy in Inglewood to win the race with a time of 53.24.
Immediately afterward, Adams walked over to the wall in front of the stands and found her father, who reached down and handed her what he described as a “small” fire extinguisher. She then walked back across the track into the grass, where she sprayed her cleats as if she was putting out a fire — a move her father said was a tribute to former U.S. sprinter Maurice Greene, who similarly celebrated his win in the 100 at the 2004 Home Depot Invitational in Carson.
CIF officials apparently were not amused and disqualified Adams on the spot, awarding first place to Mosby. According to rules established by the National Federation of State High School Assns., “unsporting conduct” is defined as behavior that includes but is not limited to “disrespectfully addressing an official, any flagrant behavior, intentional contact, taunting, criticizing or using profanity directed toward someone.” The penalty is disqualification from the event in which the behavior took place and further competition in the meet.
The CIF did not respond to a request for comment from The Times.
According to David Adams, the officials “were really nasty” toward his daughter. They “tugged on her arm,” he said, “they were screaming in her face. I could hear it from where I was at. I could see it — I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, but they were just really nasty.”
Clara Adams said she specifically asked the officials to speak with her father about the disqualification, but they refused.
“They kept telling me, ‘It’s OK,’ and I was telling them, ‘It’s not OK,’ and they didn’t care,” she said. “They were trying to smile in my face, like them telling me ‘no’ amused them or something.”
David Adams said the officials would only speak to North Salinas head coach Alan Green, who declined to speak to The Times for this story.
“They told him that it was unsportsmanlike conduct,” David Adams said of the officials’ discussion with Green. “We were asking for the rule, the specific rule of what she did, and they didn’t really give anything. It was more of a gray area that gives them discretion to pick and choose what they feel is unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Adams disputes that his daughter behaved in a manner that could be considered unsportsmanlike.
“Looking at the film, Clara is nowhere near any opponent,” he said. “She’s off the track, on the grass. Her opponents are long gone off the track already, so she wasn’t in their face. It was a father-daughter moment. … She did it off the track because she didn’t want to seem disrespectful toward nobody. And they still found a reason to take her title away. They didn’t give her a warning or anything.”
He added that his daughter is a “very humble, really sweet kid.”
“I take responsibility for the situation. I’m taking full responsibility,” he said. “Clara has run several championship races and won and walked off the track. It’s just weird that she celebrates one time and now people, these strangers, these middle-aged people want to chase after her character?”
Greene, the four-time Olympic medalist who inspired Clara’s celebration, told KSBW-TV in Salinas that the CIF should reconsider its decision.
“If [the celebration] was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her,” Greene said.
David Adams said he is trying to make that happen but so far the CIF won’t return his calls .
“We have an attorney on standby right now,” he said. “I don’t want to take it there, but I will fight this all the way. As long as I’m breathing I’m gonna fight it. But we’re trying to go through proper channels to give the CIF an opportunity to do the right thing. Having an attorney involved is our last resort, that means we tried everything.”
Authorities quickly released information about the driver of a car that careened through a street crammed with pedestrians celebrating Liverpool soccer club’s Premier League championship with a parade Monday.
At least 50 people were hospitalized after the Ford Galaxy, shown on a social media video, drove directly into a tight cluster of fans lining a street. Angry fans smashed the vehicle’s windows, and police quickly surrounded the car and arrested the driver.
Besides confirming the number of people injured — at least two seriously — the Merseyside Police answered a growing cacophony on social media questioning whether the driver was a terrorist.
“We would ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding tonight’s incident on Water Street in Liverpool city centre,” the police said in a statement Monday. “We can confirm the man arrested is a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area.”
In a news conference Monday, Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said authorities believe the man arrested was the driver of the car and that he acted alone.
“This had been a joyous day in Liverpool with hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets to celebrate Liverpool Football Club’s victory parade,” Sims said. “Sadly, at just after 6 o’clock [Monday], as the parade was drawing to a close, we received reports that a car had been in collision with a number of pedestrians on Water Street in Liverpool city center.
“Extensive inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision, and it is vital that people do not speculate or spread misinformation on social media.
“I know that people will understandably be concerned by what has happened. What I can tell you is that we believe this to be an isolated incident and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it.
“The incident is not currently being treated as terrorism.”
The police said at a news conference Tuesday that the driver was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and driving under the influence of drugs. They also said the driver is believed to have followed an ambulance onto Water Street, which had previously been blocked. Access was given to the emergency vehicle to allow first responders to attend to a person suffering from an apparent heart attack.
Police in England typically confine information released about suspects to the person’s age and the location of the arrest. The Merseyside Police’s swift release of details about the alleged driver are in contrast to the dearth of information released last summer about a 17-year-old in custody for a mass stabbing targeting young girls at a dance studio in Southport, England.
Axel Rudakubana killed three children and injured 10 others at the Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop. Soon after the attack, anti-immigration protests spread across England. A Southport mosque was damaged, and more than 20 police officers were injured during a melee with far-right activists after misinformation about the attacker’s identity was spread online.
Police later said Rudakubana was born in the Welsh city of Cardiff and lived near Southport. He was sentenced in January to 52 years in prison for the killings of Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6.
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram told the BBC on Monday that Merseyside Police acted “very, very quickly” in disclosing that the suspect in the car crash was white and a Liverpool resident to counter speculation on social media that had caused “real consternation.”
The incident prompted a statement from Buckingham Palace saying King Charles and Queen Camilla were “deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the terrible events that took place in Liverpool on Monday. It is truly devastating to see that what should have been a joyous celebration for so many could end in such distressing circumstances.”
Liverpool clinched the Premier League title with a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Sunday, the last day of the season.
LICK is currently the biggest club event in London for WLW, hosting nights “for women, by women”. With regular events in the capital, they have decided to take their sapphic army global for the second consecutive year.
The LICK Weekender brought partygoers to the Greek island of Crete for a weekend of new friendships, blossoming relationships and unforgettable memories. With 500 attendees from around the world – from the UK to Japan, Kenya to Australia – guests brought some (much-needed) POC queer joy to the island.
As hosts of the event tell Gay Times, “LICK is for all queer women, but running a truly diverse event requires intention.” With a focus on de-centring whiteness in queer culture, LICK is committed to putting diversity at the forefront.
Below, founder Teddy Edwardes reflects on the landmark event and shares her thoughts on the importance of intentional diversity in the queer nightlife space.
Firstly, how was the event? Tell us about any standout moments or highlights from the weekend?
The entire weekend was a 10/10 from start to finish. Everyone was glowing with joy! So many new friendships, relationships and lifelong memories were made. It felt really special.
Do you know how many people were in attendance?
500 people attended! And there were women from all over the world. The top ten list of countries included the United Kingdom, United States, Tunisia, Kenya and Australia, but there were also women from The Caribbean, Egypt, Canada and Japan!
A “RARE” 50p coin has hit eBay with a whopping £10,000 price tag – and now collectors are scrambling to check their change.
The coin, is said to mark a significant national celebration and has drawn attention for its sky-high listing.
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The coin was part of a special release to honour those who have shown outstanding courage in battleCredit: EBay
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One seller in Great Yarmouth has listed their version of the coin on eBay for a staggering £10,086.72Credit: Getty
Released by the Royal Mint in 2006, the coin commemorates 150 years since the creation of the Victoria Cross medal, Britain’s highest honour for military bravery.
Two designs were issued: one featuring the medal itself, and the other showing a soldier carrying a wounded comrade to safety.
The Victoria Cross was first awarded during the Crimean War and has remained a powerful symbol of heroism.
The coin was part of a special release to honour those who have shown outstanding courage in battle.
While collectors often believe these coins are rare, the Royal Mint says a combined 22,087,500 of them were put into circulation, meaning there’s still a decent chance of finding one in your spare change.
According to a report by the Eastern Daily Press, the seller has listed the 2006 Victoria Cross Coin- which honours Britain’s highest military bravery medal – for £10,086.72 on the auction site.
In their description, the seller wrote: “Add this circulated 50p coin to your collection to celebrate the bravery of Victoria Cross recipients.
“This coin is a great addition to any collection and is perfect for those interested in British history and military honours.”
The coin is marked as “ungraded and uncertified”, meaning it hasn’t been professionally appraised.
Collectors usually pay top prices for coins in mint condition or with an official grading, so the value of this listing may come down to personal interest or sentiment.
Some sellers on eBay list coins for high prices in hopes that a keen buyer will pay a premium, but it doesn’t always mean the coin is worth that amount.
It’s important to compare with similar listings and see what items have actually sold for.
The Royal Mint has released dozens of 50p designs over the years, many of which have become popular with hobbyists and seasoned collectors alike.
Coins linked to key moments in British history or iconic figures tend to attract the most attention.
The Kew Gardens 50p, issued in 2009, is widely considered the “holy grail” of coin collecting due to its limited run of just 210,000 coins.
Because of its scarcity, it regularly sells for over £140 and has even reached prices of £700.
Another standout is the Blue Peter 50p, designed by nine-year-old Florence Jackson.
Released ahead of the 2012 Olympics, it features a childlike drawing of a high jumper and has gone for over £200 at auction.
Olympic-themed coins remain especially collectible. The 2012 Football 50p, known for its diagram explaining the offside rule, has a strong following and has sold for up to £24.
