cut

President Trump’s budget landed with a thud this week on Capitol Hill, where even conservative Republicans pronounced it “dead on arrival” and quailed at its proposed sharp cuts to social welfare programs such as food stamps, Meals on Wheels and Medicaid.

Yet some conservatives found plenty to like in the document. Consider the reaction of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a Washington think tank heavily funded by hedge fund billionaire Pete Peterson.

“The President deserves credit for setting a fiscal goal and working to meet it,” the CRFB said in its gloss on the budget. Trump “should be commended for putting forward a number of specific and significant spending cuts to help address the debt.”

But one aspect of the budget plan really stuck in CRFB’s craw: It leaves Social Security and Medicare alone. “The President should focus on controlling the rising costs of Social Security and Medicare, two of the nation’s largest and fastest growing programs, which the budget almost completely ignores.”

Followers of CRFB’s history will recognize that caveat as classic Pete Peterson. As we reported in 2012, the 90-year-old billionaire has been on a long crusade to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits. In a 1994 essay in the New York Review of Books, for example, he laid out his view that the only way to eliminate the federal deficit was by “reforming the entire system of entitlements — the fastest-growing part of the federal budget.” Where have we heard that line before?

In the piece, Peterson called Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid a “vast and largely unearned windfall we now give to the more affluent half of all American households.” By “more affluent half,” he meant all households then earning $32,000 or more. That figure would be about $53,520 in today’s dollars, close to the median income in the U.S. (In other words, after accounting for inflation, the standard of living of the median household hasn’t noticeably progressed in 23 years.)

The CRFB describes itself as “an independent source of objective policy analysis,” but in reality it’s joined to Peterson by the pocketbook. From 2012 through March 2016, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the billionaire’s chief pipeline of grants to nonprofits, contributed $8 million to the organization. Peterson sits on its board.

That board is replete with members of what the late muckraking journalist Jack Newfield called “the permanent government” — former members of Congress, agency heads, lobbyists, well-heeled academics, etc., etc. Their board service is unpaid. CRFB President Maya MacGuineas, a frequent speaker and editorialist on the deficit, collected about $394,000 in compensation in 2015, the latest year reported.

The CRFB’s viewpoint on Social Security typically echoes Peterson’s. Its emphasis on bringing the program into fiscal balance leans heavily on benefit cuts. Last December it praised a Social Security “permanent save” offered by conservative Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, that achieved its goal entirely through benefit cuts, without a dime of new revenues such as higher payroll taxes on the wealthy.

The CRFB tends to fret about proposals to raise the payroll tax, even though removing the cap on earned income subject to the tax (currently $127,200) would deliver the single biggest improvement to Social Security’s fiscal condition of any proposal on the table. “Solvency can’t be achieved simply by making the rich pay the same as everyone else or means-testing their benefits,” the committee lectured reformers last month.

In general, the committee approaches budget matters almost entirely through the blinkers of deficit reduction, giving very little attention to the street-level consequences of budget and spending policies. That mind set bubbles through its commentary on the Trump budget, many elements of which it labels “sensible and thoughtful reforms… worthy of consideration.”

The committee doesn’t specify which policies it’s referring to. It observes that the program cuts in the budget “fall disproportionately on programs that benefit children, low-income individuals, and promote investment,” but places that caveat in the context of the “almost inevitable consequence of virtually ignoring the rapid growth of Social Security and Medicare.” The committee does acknowledge, implicitly, that the budget’s $72-billion cut in disability benefits is a Social Security cut — it specifies that it’s Social Security’s Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance program that remains “largely untouched.”

The CRFB, to its credit, doesn’t give the Trump budget a free pass on its well-documented mathematical mendacity. Like other commentators, it labels the budget’s projection of annual growth exceeding 3% in the economy “rosy,” “extremely optimistic,” even “phony.” Responsible economic analysts place the likely annual growth rate closer to 1.8% to 1.9%.

The committee concludes, “tough choices, not wishful thinking, are needed to fix the debt.” As is typical of the analyses of this billionaire’s pet think tanks, the question it leaves unanswered is “tough for whom?” The inescapable implication is: tough on the beneficiaries of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. If those choices are made, the board members and officers of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget will do just fine.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email [email protected].

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Reporting from Washington — As they wrestle with how to replace the Affordable Care Act, Senate Republicans face a critical choice between cutting taxes or preserving health coverage for millions of Americans, two competing demands that may yet derail the GOP push to roll back the 2010 healthcare law.

House Republicans, who passed their own Obamacare repeal measure this month, skirted the dilemma by cutting both taxes and coverage.

Their bill — embraced by President Trump — slashed hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes, a key goal of GOP leaders and the White House as they seek to set the stage for a larger tax overhaul later this year.

At the same time, the House legislation cut more than $1 trillion in healthcare assistance to low- and moderate-income Americans, a retrenchment the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates would nearly double the ranks of the uninsured over the next decade to more than 50 million.

In the Senate, coverage losses on that scale are worrisome to many rank-and-file Republicans whose states have seen major coverage gains under Obamacare. That makes the preservation of benefits one of the biggest challenges confronting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other GOP leaders.

“Coverage matters,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said last week on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, noting the importance of preserving Medicaid spending in the current law. “To someone [who] is lower-income, you’re going to need those dollars to cover that person.”

Yet moderating cuts to Medicaid and other government health programs without driving up budget deficits could force Republican senators to also dial back the tax cuts that many in the GOP want.

“It’s not that complicated. … If you want to use money for tax reform, you can’t have it for health coverage,” said Gail Wilensky, a veteran Republican health policy expert who ran the Medicare and Medicaid programs under President George H.W. Bush. “You can’t do both.”

McConnell convened a group of GOP senators — quickly panned for including only white men — to develop Obamacare replacement legislation, though the panel largely excluded Republican lawmakers who are most concerned about coverage, including Cassidy. McConnell has since said that all Senate Republicans would be involved in developing an Obamacare replacement.

The trade-off between cutting taxes and preserving Americans’ health protections reflects, in part, the legislative procedure that congressional Republicans have chosen to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

That process, known as budget reconciliation, allows Senate Republicans to pass their Obamacare repeal with a simple majority, rather than the 60-vote super-majority that is usually required to pass controversial legislation. (Republicans have only a 52-48 majority in the Senate.)

But to qualify for budget reconciliation under Senate rules, the bill must reduce the federal deficit over the next decade.

Tax cuts alone typically do the opposite, driving up budget deficits.

The tax cuts in the House Republican healthcare bill total more than $600 billion over the next decade, according to independent analyses by the Congressional Budget Office and the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

They include most of the major taxes enacted in the 2010 health law to fund the law’s program for extending health insurance to more than 20 million previously uninsured Americans.

On the chopping block are taxes on medical device makers and health insurance plans, which together account for about $165 billion in tax cuts over the next decade.

Couples making more than $250,000 a year (and single taxpayers making more than $200,000) would see two tax cuts, including one on investment income, that the budget office estimated would cost the federal government nearly $300 billion over the next decade. (That estimate may be revised down as House Republicans delayed one of the tax cuts in the final version of their bill.)

Also eliminated would be a host of limits on tax-free spending accounts that many Americans use for medical expenses. Republicans argue these taxes are unnecessary and even undermine efforts to control healthcare costs.

“It’s bad for economic growth,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) told Fox News during the House debate.

The tax on health plans, for example, is widely seen as contributing to higher premiums, as insurers customarily pass the costs along to consumers.

But eliminating so many taxes isn’t cheap.

So the Republican healthcare bill — known as the American Health Care Act — slashes hundreds of billions of dollars in federal healthcare spending, including an estimated $880 billion in federal money for Medicaid, the state-run government health plan for the poor that currently covers more than 70 million Americans at any one time.

That would in effect cut federal Medicaid spending by more than a quarter over the next decade, an unprecedented reduction that independent analyses suggest would force states to sharply limit coverage for poor patients.

The House bill would also reduce insurance subsidies now available to low- and moderate-income Americans who get health plans through Obamacare marketplaces such as HealthCare.gov.

The reduction in federal aid would, in turn, dramatically increase the number of uninsured Americans. Overall, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 24 million fewer people would have health coverage by 2026 under the original version of the House bill.

By contrast, the wealthiest Americans stand to get a large tax break. By 2023, families making more than $1 million would see their taxes decrease by an average of more than $50,000, an analysis by the independent Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center suggests.

That means that in a country of more than 300 million people, nearly half of all the tax breaks in the House healthcare bill would go to only about 780,000 households.

The combination of tax breaks for wealthy Americans and historic reductions in assistance to low-income patients has fueled widespread criticism of the House GOP healthcare legislation, particularly on the left.

“The math is pretty clear,” said Edwin Park, vice president for health policy at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “They are sharply cutting Medicaid and insurance subsidies to pay for tax cuts.”

Whether GOP senators will be able to moderate the reductions in healthcare assistance remains unclear.

The early version of the House bill was projected to reduce the federal deficit by about $150 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office analysis.

That number has likely shrunk slightly, as House Republicans added more spending to the legislation before it passed last week. An updated budget analysis is expected next week.

But under the budget rules adopted by GOP lawmakers this year, Senate Republicans will not be able to add any spending into their legislation without enacting cuts elsewhere or shrinking the tax cuts further.

That is because according to those rules, their bill must reduce the deficit by as least as much as the House bill.

Obamacare vs. Trumpcare: A side-by-side comparison of the Affordable Care Act and the GOP’s replacement plan »

Obamacare 101: A primer on key issues in the debate over repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. »

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@noamlevey

Published on
24/11/2025 – 18:20 GMT+1

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that Washington can reduce duties on EU steel and aluminium but only if the Europeans agree to ease the implementation of digital rules following a meeting in Brussels on Monday.

Lutnick, who is a close ally of President Donald Trump and negotiated on his behalf a trade deal with the EU over the summer introducing 15% tariffs, said that European should reassess the way they implement their flagship policies on digital regulation if they want further tariff relief. Lutnick did not call to remove the rules but did say the way in which they are applied should be “more balanced” for American tech companies.

Brussels is desperately seeking to obtain a reduction of the 50% tariffs that the Trump administration imposed on European aluminium and steel in June under pressure from the industry.

The US does want the EU “to put these rules away, but find the balanced approach that works for us,” he told reporters in Brussels. “Then we will, together with them, handle the steel and aluminium issues.”

“The enforcement is quite aggressive at times”

Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Greer were in Brussels meeting with EU27 trade ministers and Commission boss Maroš Šefčovič for a working lunch.

The implementation of the trade deal signed over summer was at the center of the discussion, which was “open and direct,” according to an EU diplomat.

The EU and the US clinched a trade deal in July in which the US tripled tariffs on EU while Europeans agreed to cut tariffs for most US industrial goods at 0%. US tariffs on EU steel and aluminium remain stuck at a much higher rate of 50% despite the deal.

Lutnick and Greer also met EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen who stressed in a statement the importance of the Digital Market Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA), the two landmark digital regulations applied in the EU. The comments suggest the Commission is not ready to water them further for the time being.

To counter the US offensive on its digital legislation, EU Trade Commissioner Šefčovič said that the EU is working hard to explain its legislation to the US and stressed that there no discriminatory practices applied to US companies. The rules, he argued, are the same for everyone operating in the EU single market regardless of their origin.

Still, the US insists that is not the case and American Big Tech is being punished.

“The enforcement is quite aggressive at times,” Greer said about EU tech rules, adding that the US government wants to make sure their companies do not see their global revenues “affected” by foreign rules. In his comments, Greer’s tone was severe.

Brussels recently launched investigations against Amazon and Microsoft under the DMA which prevents big platforms from abusing their dominance in the tech market. It also hit Google with a €2.95 billion over antitrust rules despite the threats from the US.

Nov. 20 (UPI) — Verizon said Thursday it will lay off thousands of jobs in a cost reduction measure.

The telecommunications giant said some 13,000 workers will be let go due to “cost structure limits” in order for Verizon to be “faster and more focused,” according to CEO Dan Schulman.

“Changes in technology and in the economy are impacting the workforce across all industries,” he said in a message. “We see it in our families and within our communities.”

The company began 2025 with a roughly 100,000 strong workforce.

Schulman told Verizon employees that “every part” of the company will experience “some level of change” as Verizon focuses on “delighting our customers.”

Last month, Schulman, who arrived from PayPal, took over the Verizon helm hoping to cultivate a “leaner” business operation.

A Verizon spokesperson reiterated that cuts do not target a specific department.

The layoffs will impact roughly 20% of Verizon’s non-union management in a pool of approximately 70,000 employees, Verizon spokesman Kevin Israel told USA Today.

Meanwhile, Verizon announced it unveiled of a $20 million career transition fund for its recently fired personnel for “reskilling.”

KELLY Brook once demanded very steamy sex scenes were cut from an erotic thriller after they “became something different” to what she’d intended.

In the early noughties, actress Kelly starred in Survival Island, also known as Three, alongside her ex Billy Zane.

The sizzling movie features Kelly and Billy in the lead roles as a wealthy couple Jennifer and Jack marooned on a desert island after their luxury yacht catches fire at sea.

Only three people survive the accident, the couple and hunky crew member Manuel, who develops an infatuation with Jennifer that drives Jack crazy.

What follows is an intense love triangle with deadly consequences.

Kelly said in 2005: “It’s a very sexy film, but there are scenes that I’ve asked to be removed.

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“You go into a film with the idea of what you want to achieve and then it gets into the hands of others and it becomes something different.”

She added that her decision was backed by Billy, whom she became romantic with while filming the flick in the Bahamas.

The film was widely-panned by critics with scathing reviews dubbing it “dull” and “appalling” despite its sex scenes.

Glamour model turned TV presenter Kelly later found love with hunky Frenchman Jeremy Parisi in 2015 after several high-profile engagements, including to Hollywood actors Jason Statham and Billy Zane, both 58, and rugby star Thom Evans, 40.

Her first engagement was to Brit actor Jason but they called it quits in 2003, with Kelly going on to meet Titanic star Billy Zane in 2005.

They dated for four years before she called it off, with a source saying at the time: “After much soul-searching, Kelly decided that Billy is not the man she wants to marry and has called off the engagement.”

Kelly’s ex Jason is now married to Victoria’s Secret star Rosie Huntington-Whiteley after they met on the set of Transformers back in 2010.

Billy – who is set to play Marlon Brando in a new biopic – later got engaged to model Candice Neil and the couple welcomed two daughters.

Kelly recently made a shock confession on Loose Women about dumping an unnamed ex just a day before they were due to tie the knot.

“I didn’t jilt him,” she explained.

“But I called it off on the day. I was in my wedding dress.”

She added: “The jet was waiting, we were going to Vegas that day, and I was just crying. It was like a movie – it was all very dramatic.

“I was in a dress, it was just horrific. It was the most horrific thing. But we stayed together, and he kind of came around to it and understood why. I’m not going to mention who it was.”

Kelly, now 45, reflected on the relationship’s significant age gap and said: “I was 25 and they were like 42, a lot older.

“They should have known better.”

She added: “I felt I was really manipulated and coerced into something that I wasn’t ready for.

“I kind of went along as a people pleaser. Sometimes you want to stay with the person, but you’re not necessarily ready for that kind of commitment.

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“And so, from my point of view, I went along with it until the very last minute and then was like, hang on a minute, I’m not ready for this now.

“So it wasn’t like I jilted them, but it was just the whole situation was wrong. It wasn’t like there was big preparations for a wedding, with family there.”

WIZZ Air is pulling back at Britain’s second-busiest airport as it races to stem rising costs in a Europe-wide shake-up.

The Budapest-based budget carrier will slash flights from Gatwick after deciding it is losing money there, boss József Váradi said.

High operating fees and badly timed departure slots have made Gatwick a drag on performance.

Mr Váradi said: “Gatwick is expensive and we have been operating an inferior set of slots there.

“We think that we can enhance financial performance by operating that capacity from Luton.”

As part of the overhaul, Wizz will start by moving one aircraft from Gatwick to Luton, giving Luton 13 jets and cutting Gatwick’s fleet to seven.

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He added: “Circumstances change and you have to take action.

“Whichever bases give you the most profitability, you should be biased toward them.

“That includes moving aircraft over from Gatwick to Luton.”

Gatwick has been near capacity for years, keeping prices high and limiting space for rivals.

A £2.2billion plan to convert an emergency strip into a second runway is expected to double passenger numbers, but not until the 2030s.

Wizz insists it isn’t quitting Gatwick entirely.

Mr Váradi said the base will be “optimised”, adding: “You have to churn your network for profit. We are simply more efficient financially in Luton.”

He dismissed any link to Jet2’s plan to position seven aircraft at Gatwick from next year.

“Gatwick is stuck. It is so set with regard to slots that no newcomer can make any significant difference. Jet2 will be very sub-scale versus the established players,” he said.

The retreat comes as Wizz battles a series of financial shocks.

The airline has been hit hard by the Ukraine war, which has disrupted some of its biggest routes, and a global recall of faulty Pratt & Whitney engines that has grounded up to 45 planes at a time.

Mr Váradi has responded with aggressive cost-cutting.

The carrier shut its Abu Dhabi offshoot in July and is axing its Vienna base because of “airport costs and taxes”.

The shake-up in Austria has already triggered fresh disruption for UK passengers.

Earlier this month Wizz said it would cease operations to Vienna next year after a “strategic review”.

The decision will end two daily Gatwick–Vienna flights, which drop to one over winter, with all services stopping by March 2026.

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“We are ceasing operations in Vienna. After a strategic review, we are gradually closing our base in Vienna,” the airline said on X.

Routes to Bilbao and London Gatwick will be pulled on 26 October 2025, with all remaining Vienna flights stopping on 15 March 2026.

Kai Trump, a high school senior playing in an LPGA Tour event for reasons beyond her ability to hit a golf ball, went from “definitely really nervous” in the first round Thursday to “very calm and peaceful” Friday in the second.

All in all, an impressive improvement.

Still, Trump, 18, didn’t make the cut, not after finishing last among 108 players with a two-round total of 18-over par, 27 shots behind leader Grace Kim and 17 away from the projected cut line. The granddaughter of President Trump improved eight strokes to a 75 in the second round of the tournament hosted by Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla.

How dramatic was the improvement? Trump had nine bogeys, two doubles and one birdie Thursday. A day later she was briefly under par when she birdied the par-three third hole, but she bogeyed the fourth and triple-bogeyed the par-four fifth hole.

Trump rebounded to birdie three of her next six holes. How relaxed was she? She literally laughed off her triple bogey.

“Things are going to happen,” she said. “Once it happens, you can’t go back in time and fix it. The best thing I could do is move on. Like, I told my caddie, Allan [Kournikova], kind of just started laughing, ‘it is what it is.’

“We got that out of the way, so let’s just move on. It was pretty easy to move on after that.”

Especially on the par-three 12th where she nearly made the first hole-in-one of her life.

“I hit like a tight little draw into it,” Trump said. “Tried not to get too high because of the wind. Yeah, it was a great shot.”

What would she tell her grandfather about the round? “That I hit a great shot on 12 two days in a row.”

“I did everything I could possibly have done for this tournament, so I think if you prepare right, the nerves can … they’re always going to be there, right?,” she said. “They can be a little softened. So I would just say that.”

Critics among and beyond her nearly 9 million social media followers were relentless in noting her obvious privilege for securing a sponsor invitation. Dan Doyle Jr., owner of Pelican Golf Club, cheerfully acknowledged that Trump’s inclusion had little to do with ability and a lot to do with public relations.

“The idea of the exemption, when you go into the history of exemptions, is to bring attention to an event,” Doyle told reporters this week. “You got to see her live, she’s lovely to speak to.

“And she’s brought a lot of viewers through Instagram, and things like that, who normally don’t watch women’s golf. That was the hope. And we’re seeing that now.”

Trump attends the Benjamin School in Palm Beach and will attend the University of Miami next year. She is ranked No. 461 by the American Junior Golf Assn.

Stepping up to the LPGA, complete with a deep gallery of onlookers and a phalanx of Secret Service agents surrounding her, could have been daunting. Trump, though, said the experience was “pretty cool.”

It was an eventful week for Trump. She played nine holes of a pro-am round Monday with tournament host Sorenstam, who empathized with the difficulty of handling an intense swirl of criticism and support.

“I just don’t know how she does it, honestly,” Sorenstam said. “To be 18 years old and hear all the comments, she must be super tough on the inside. I’m sure we can all relate what it’s like to get criticism here and there, but she gets it a thousand times.”

Sorenstam recalled her own exemption for the Bank of America Colonial in 2003 when she became the first woman to play in a men’s PGA Tour event in 58 years. She made a 14-foot putt at the 18th green to give her a 36-hole total of five-over 145. She hurled her golf ball into the grandstand, wiped away tears and was hugged by her husband, David Esch.

“That was, at the time, maybe a little bit of a controversial invite,” Sorenstam said. “In the end, I certainly appreciated it. It just brings attention to the tournament, to the sport and to women’s sports, which I think is what we want.”

Nov. 13 (UPI) — Doubts about a potential third Federal Reserve rate in December triggered an 800-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday after setting a record high a day earlier.

The Dow closed higher than 48,000 for the first time on Wednesday, but Investopedia reported a steep decline on Thursday amid concerns over the Federal Reserve rate.

The Dow reached a daily high or 48,211.83 during morning trading on Thursday but declined steadily afterward to a low of 47,431.43 and closed at 47,457.22, which is a drop of 797.60 and 1.65% for the day.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 likewise posted downturns during the day’s trading, with the Nasdaq closing at 22,870.36, which is a decline of 536.10 and 2.29%.

The S&P 500 dropped by 113.43 and 1.66% when it closed at 6,737.49.

Analysts largely attributed the declines to concerns regarding the Federal Reserve and whether it will approve a third quarter-point rate reduction before the year’s end, according to CNBC.

In October, analysts placed a 95% confidence in a December rate cut, but confidence has declined to about 49% due to a lack of data because of the record 43-day federal government shutdown ended following President Donald Trump‘s signing of a funding measure on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet for two days on Dec. 9 and 10, but committee members have grown more doubtful of another 0.25% rate cut due to the effects of the government shutdown and the president’s often-changing tariff policies.

The current rate is between 3.75% and 4% after the Federal Reserve committee approved a 0.25% rate reduction on Oct. 29.

Sean Combs, the disgraced music mogul convicted of prostitution-related offences, has been accepted into a drug abuse rehabilitation program that could reduce his sentence by up to a year

Disgraced hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has entered into rehab behind bars – a move that could cut up to a year from his sentence.

The I’ll Be Missing You hitmaker is currently being held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey, a low-security prison after he was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was sentenced on October 3 to 50 months in prison and received 14 months’ credit for time already served.

Now, his spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, has confirmed the Bad Boy Entertainment founder had entered the programme and is “committed to sobriety, healing and trying to set an example for others”. He added: “Mr Combs is an active participant in the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) and has taken his rehabilitation process seriously from the start.”

Engelmayer said the rapper has been accepted into the programme and is working in the prison’s church library.

“He works in the chapel library, where he describes the environment as warm, respectful, and rewarding,” he said. According to the federal inmate locator, Combs is scheduled for release in May 2028.

Successful completion of RDAP could reduce that date, though he would still be subject to five years’ supervision after release, alongside drug testing and mental health treatment conditions. He is currently appealing his sentence.

Prosecutors had sought more than 11 years, citing what they described as a sustained pattern of coercion, manipulation and violent sexual abuse.

During the trial, former girlfriend Cassie Ventura testified that Combs used violence to force her participation in so-called “freak-offs” – drug-fuelled sex sessions involving sex workers he hired. She told the court she felt “disgusted” and “humiliated” afterwards.

At sentencing, US District Judge Arun Subramanian told Combs he “abused the power and control with women you professed to love” and said: “You abused them physically, emotionally and psychologically.” Combs apologised to Ventura and another former girlfriend, calling his conduct “disgusting, shameful and sick.”

Combs’ legal team reached out to President Donald Trump for a pardon after the conviction, according to a source close to the defence.

In an interview with Newsmax on August 1, Trump said he had once been “very friendly” with Diddy, but claimed Combs “was very hostile” during his presidential campaign.

Asked whether he would pardon the artist, Trump replied, “I would say so.”

Combs is living in a nine-person room inside a larger 200-bed unit.

Engelmayer said he has restarted “Free Game with Diddy,” a class designed to help inmates build confidence, learn entrepreneurial skills, and plan for employment after release.

He previously ran the programme while held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.

Manchester City celebrated Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game in management with a statement 3-0 win over Liverpool to close to within four points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Erling Haaland shrugged off missing an early penalty on Sunday to head in his 99th Premier League goal before Nico Gonzalez’s deflected effort and a wonder strike from Jeremy Doku confirmed City’s status as Arsenal’s major title rivals.

Liverpool have now lost four of their last five league games to leave the defending champions down in eighth, eight points off the top.

Arsenal’s 10-game winning run came to an end in a 2-2 draw at Sunderland on Saturday and Guardiola’s men took full advantage in the battle of the two sides that have dominated English football’s Premier League over the past decade.

Even if decisions went against Arne Slot’s men, this was another display of how far they have fallen since cruising to a 2-0 win at the Etihad in February.

The Reds showed signs of a revival in beating Aston Villa and Real Madrid in the past eight days, but had no answer to the slickness of a rejuvenated City, who have won 11 of their last 14 games in all competitions.

Conor Bradley shut down the threat of Madrid’s Vinicius Junior on Tuesday, but was given a torrid time by the pace and trickery of Doku down City’s left.

Early in the first half, Doku made the most of Ibrahima Konate’s clearance off Bradley to round Giorgi Mamardashvili before his trailing leg was clipped by the Georgian goalkeeper.

Referee Chris Kavanagh was initially unmoved, but pointed to the spot after a VAR review.

Haaland has struck 28 times already this season for club and country, but has yet to score for City from the penalty spot in 2025-26.

Mamardashvili redeemed himself by getting down low to his left to turn the Norwegian’s penalty to safety to briefly lift the mood among the Liverpool players and travelling support.

City remained in control of the game, though, as Rayan Cherki’s effort was deflected wide before Mamardashvili turned Doku’s strike after another mazy run into the side netting.

Haaland has only failed to score in two of his 18 appearances this season, and duly delivered with a looping header to meet Matheus Nunes’s wicked delivery at 29 minutes.

Liverpool thought they were level nine minutes later, when van Dijk’s header from a corner arrowed into the far corner.

However, Andrew Robertson ducked out of the way of his captain’s effort and was deemed to have interfered with Gianluigi Donnarumma from an offside position.

Instead of going in all square, City rubbed salt in the wounds of Liverpool’s perceived injustice.

The visitors were slow to get out from a corner, and Gonzalez had time to take aim before his shot deflected off van Dijk to wrong-foot Mamardashvili.

Liverpool only had themselves to blame for not getting back in the game early in the second period as Cody Gakpo blazed over with the goal gaping at the end of a fine move involving Mohamed Salah and Bradley.

But Doku fittingly rounded off arguably his best performance in three seasons at City to seal a statement victory.

The Belgian jinked inside the leaden-footed Konate before curling into the top corner from outside the box.

Salah summed up Liverpool’s day and season so far when he dinked wide a glorious chance 10 minutes from time.

Despite the visitors’ need for goals, Slot left 125-million-pound ($165m) striker Alexander Isak on the bench for the entire match due to his lack of match fitness.

The decision to tear up the squad that coasted to the title with a near 450-million-pound ($692m) spend in the transfer window looks more misguided by the game as Liverpool find themselves in a battle just to make the top four rather than the title race.

After the game, Doku told Sky Sports that he was very happy with the team’s performance.

“It is always good for the confidence [to dominate a match], but I have great players around me. That gives me the feeling that I have to do more in every game and every day I want to improve,” he said.

Van Dijk said Liverpool struggled to recover from a difficult first half.

“Our pressing just wasn’t good enough; it should have been better. We need to find more consistency. Losing hurts, always, but 3-0 especially,” he said.

“There were some good moments in the game, but you play Man City at home, who can make it very difficult. The focus should be on reflecting on this when we come back and then fight again.”

Earlier on Sunday, Aston Villa thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 to move into seventh place in the Premier League. But Newcastle United’s poor domestic form continued as they slumped to defeat at Brentford.

Nottingham Forest ended a winless Premier League run stretching back to the first weekend of the season as they came from behind to beat Leeds United 3-1 at the City Ground.

Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion shared the spoils in a dour 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.

Nov. 7 (UPI) — A 4% reduction in flights took effect Friday after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordered the reduction to ease stress on air traffic controllers during the federal government shutdown.

About 1,000 flights across 40 airports were canceled Friday. There also are delays amid controller shortages with flight reductions at the mandated airports by the Federal Aviation Administration. A 10% reduction is planned for next Friday.

Through Friday night nationwide, there have been 1,494 cancellations and 5,543 flight delays, according to FlightAware. The most cancellations were at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport: 83 departures at 18% and 75 arrivals at 16%. This includes ones not linked to tower staffing issues, such as equipment problems or weather.

Flights were delayed an average of four hours tonight heading to Reagan, according to the FAA. There were 148 arriving delays, or 32% of flights, and 204 departure delays, or 45%.

United Airlines and American Airlines announced they have cut their flights by 4% for Saturday. This means 220 for American, which has the most flights, and 168 for United the third-biggest airline.

Delta Airlines, with the second-most flights, didn’t announce plans but canceled 170 on Friday.

And Southwest Airlines said about 100 flights will be canceled Saturday.

Control towers at several airports Friday are facing staffing shortages, including in San Francisco, Atlanta and others, CNN reported.

On Friday, there were staffing shortages at nine towers; 12 at TRACONs, which handle flights arriving or departing airports; and eight at the Air Route Traffic Control Center that handle flights at high altitudes.

USA Today reported that Duffy told Democrats who criticized his decision to cut flights, “Open the damn government.”

The federal government has been closed since Oct. 1, and the shutdown is now the longest in history at 38 days.

The staffing shortage is getting worse because air traffic controllers are quitting, said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, to CNN.

“Controllers are resigning every day now because of the prolonged nature of the shutdown,” Daniels said. “We’re also 400 controllers short – shorter than we were in the 2019 shutdown.”

Daniels told CNN that controllers have to be “perfect” at work, and financial concerns can cause issues with their concentration.

“We are always being used as a political pawn during a government shutdown,” Daniels said. “We are the rope in a tug-of-war game.”

In one city, pilots have stepped in to help. At North Las Vegas Airport, a group of pilots delivered food and supplies for controllers and their families.

“I’ve been in the situation where I’ve had an in-flight emergency, and the air traffic controllers make a difference,” pilot Jeffrey Lustick told CNN affiliate KTNV. “They help you get to the ground safely. They alert people that you need help … air traffic controllers save lives.”

The pilots have made two deliveries to the controllers.

“The relationship between air traffic controllers and pilots is one of trust … they have to be able to survive, and we want them to stay here and continue to provide support to our community,” he said.

Airlines will decide which flights to cancel based on revenue, Michael Taylor, senior travel advisor at JD Power, told USA Today.

“All these airlines have shareholders, and their job as managers is to maximize revenue and margin and profit to the airline sales and keep your airline stock up,” Taylor said. “So they’re going to start first at looking – if you want 10% reduction in number of aircraft, well then we will cut those markets out that we’re not going to make the most money.”

There are other considerations, such as crew and aircraft placement, Taylor said. But the money is the bottom line.

“It won’t seem to travelers that there’s any rhyme or reason to it at all. It’ll seem random, but what’s really driving it is someone in corporate headquarters saying, ‘OK, you want the number of aircraft lowered? Fine. I’ve got to keep my revenue high. I’m going to take out the ones I don’t make any money on. It’s as simple as that,'” Taylor added.

Some travelers are making multiple backup plans, including different days and routes.

“What I’m worried about is getting to Houston in time for a procedure that’s been scheduled for quite some time and there’s some urgency,” Neil Lyon told CNN about flying from Santa Fe, N.M. I’m dealing with this, and I’m just thinking about the tens of thousands, or millions, who are dealing with other really serious circumstances that are impacted by what the situation is.”

MORE than 800 flights across the US have already been canceled as millions of travelers brace for even more chaos. 

Airlines have frantically cut routes after federal officials ordered 40 major airports to slash capacity. 

It comes as US vice president JD Vance warned the country faces an “aviation emergency.”

“The shutdown has now passed from farce into tragedy, and the consequences of this national emergency fall on every senator and congressman who refuses to open the government,” he railed.

The total number of canceled flights now stands at more than 800, according to FlightAware.

Dozens of flights originating out of Chicago airport, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, Denver and Fort-Worth have been axed.

Forty flights departing Chicago have been axed, and 38 from Atlanta.

Southwest has canceled more than 120 flights, which is 3% of its total, while United has cut 2%.

At least 20 flights heading out of Los Angeles, Newark, and San Francisco have also been culled.

More than 1,200 flights are experiencing some form of delays.

Five percent of flights leaving JFK airport and Chicago are delayed.

Passengers arriving into Newark were met with three hour delays on Thursday night.

One airport worker told The New York Post the situation on Friday will be a nightmare.

“Tomorrow, the FAA will just shut down. Get out while you can,” they warned.

Federal officials have warned how the current shutdown is unprecedented.

“I’m not aware in my 35-year history in the aviation market where we’ve had a situation where we’re taking these kinds of measures,” Bryan Bedford, the FAA administrator, said.

“Then again, we’re in new territory in terms of government shutdowns.

The current shutdown is the longest in US political history.

It surpassed the 2018-19 federal government closure, which Donald Trump also presided over, in terms of length.

FAA officials ordered a slew of airports to reduce capacity.

This is part of a bid to keep the skies safe while there is a shortage of air traffic control workers.

Air traffic controllers have gone without a full months pay because of the shutdown.

Airports on the FAA’s list include major hubs such as Los Angeles International, Orlando, New York’s JFK airport, and Miami.

San Francisco and Oakland airports are also on the list of hubs ordered to cut capacity by 10%.

Earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Americans that air travel would need to be reduced to prevent any casualties.

“We will restrict the airspace when we feel it’s not safe, if we don’t have enough controllers to effectively and safely manage our skies,” he said.

Airlines have responded to the FAA’s order.

Scott Kirby, the CEO of United, revealed schedules will be updated on a rolling basis.

The airline’s international flights are not impacted by the restrictions.

He revealed travelers can apply for a refund even if their flight isn’t delayed or canceled.

He expects the carrier to still offer around 4,000 flights a day despite the restrictions.

Southwest Airlines has said it will rebook impacted customers.

And, American will liaise with travelers about new flights if they are impacted.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are working to end the shutdown.

Senate Democrats have voted 14 times not to reopen the government.

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But, Senate Republicans want to bring forward new funding bills that will see the government reopen.

One bill top GOP lawmaker John Thune is proposing would see programs funded until December or January.

THE once chart-topping boyband is said to have cut all final ties following a long-running secret divide, years of silence and bitter behind-the-scenes fallouts.

The British boy band – made up of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Nathan Sykes and the late Tom Parker – have been at loggerheads since their split in 2014.

The platinum-selling group were behind hit songs such as “Glad You Came”, “All Time Low” and “Chasing the Sun” before they disbanded.

They briefly reunited in 2021 for a charity concert in Tom’s honour, but old wounds have reopened – and some members are said to no longer be on speaking terms.

Insiders claimed friendships “never fully healed” after the band’s initial breakup, with egos, solo projects and clashing personalities driving a deeper wedge between the lads.

The break up

The Wanted announced they were to split in January 2014 to “pursue personal endeavours” after completing their upcoming ‘Word of Mouth Tour’.

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In a statement posted on their website, the band said: “The Wanted are pleased to announce the release of their new video and single ‘Glow In The Dark’ taken from their November release ‘Word of Mouth’.

“They are very excited to perform ‘Glow In The Dark’ along with their smash singles ‘I Found You’, ‘Chasing The Sun’, and ‘Glad You Came’, amongst others for their fans on their upcoming ‘Word of Mouth Tour’.

“This tour will be their last for a while as Tom, Max, Jay, Siva and Nathan have collectively decided to take time to pursue personal endeavours following the tour’s conclusion.

“The band wants to stress to their fans that they will continue on as The Wanted and look forward to many successful projects together in the future.

“They thank their fans for their continued love and support and look forward to seeing them on tour.”

‘Very difficult conversations’

Although their official statement claimed they’d “continue on as The Wanted,” Max later revealed that simmering tensions and clashing ambitions had secretly driven the group apart.

Max admitted: “Over the past year, there has been a lot of tension. Our personal lives drove us apart – things started to happen and we were drifting. We used to be such a brotherly pact, but it started to feel like it wasn’t The Wanted anymore.”

He went on to confess that he and bandmate Nathan were the ones who pushed for the split – despite protests from the others.

“We had a very difficult conversation,” Max said. “Our manager Scooter Braun asked us who would want to take a step out after and try to do their own thing. Me and Nathan both said we have other ambitions.”

Both singers went on to be represented by Braun – with Nathan briefly finding solo success (and headlines) thanks to a short-lived PR romance with Ariana Grande, while Max landed a role on Glee.

But behind the scenes, the duo’s diverging paths reportedly caused even more tension within the group.

Siva hits out at Max

Siva hit back at bandmate Max after The Wanted split, slamming his comments about “personal relationships causing issues” as “untrue and very unfair.”

Speaking out in an interview, Siva instead blamed their E! reality show The Wanted Life for sparking tension within the group.

He said: “I think from doing the TV show we all kind of knew where we stood and from that I felt like there was some sense of… I felt like it was every man for himself looking back on when the show aired.

“I’ve never been that way and I’d never actually seen it before until I looked back at the show. I think that is where we lost the team element and from there it kind of just went.”

Despite the rift, Siva said he wanted to find common ground with Max, adding: “Aside from the drama with Max, I’m going to talk to him to find a way forward and be adults about it.

“All of us boys are like brothers, it’s all I’ve ever known and we’re going on tour together.

“I think we’re just going to be professional with each other and give the fans a good show – because it’s all about the fans at the end of the day.”

Nathan cutting ties

In 2016, Nathan admitted he wasn’t talking to Siva or Max anymore.

Nathan told Yahoo: “I still class Jay [McGuiness] as a really good friend. He’s a really nice person. And Tom [Parker], I’m not so sure about where the others are at but I’m sure they are very busy and very happy.”

However, Nathan admitted that if everyone was on board with a reunion, he would be happy to have a “conversation” about it.

He said: “Obviously, I am very focused on my solo career at the moment, so I haven’t thought about the band ever getting back together, but you never know what is going to happen in the future.

“If there was an opportunity and everyone wanted to, it’s a conversation, but if everyone is still happy doing their own thing, then I think everyone will just be happy to continue as they are.”

Meanwhile, Siva was living in Los Angeles, attempting to crack Hollywood.

Tom’s cancer diagnosis

The band eventually put their differences aside when tragedy struck, after Tom was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer in 2021.

His illness brought the group back together, reuniting them publicly in October that year.

Reflecting on the reunion, Max said: “I think I speak on behalf of everyone, in the time away from it, it gave me time to reflect and appreciate what we’d achieved and how good our music actually was.

“Because at the time we were doing it, it was so packed in that we didn’t get to really appreciate how much we enjoyed each other’s company or how good our music was because… like, every day, it was all a bit mad.”

Jay added: “Even when we were under so much pressure and we’d be squabbling and whatever was going on, we always had fun, we were always very down to earth. But really,” he continued on a more serious note, “time helps a lot. And all of our perspective has changed.

“We are grateful, we’re the boy band that walk into the room and are, like, ‘I’m just happy to be here.’ Back in the day, Max has said this a few times, we wanted a number-one after number-one because we’d had that, and we felt terrible when we didn’t get that. And when five young men have that sort of ambition, it can get really tense.”

Jay said he believes the group reunion proved they could finally let bygones be bygones and simply enjoy being together again.

The Wanted made an emotional return to the stage at the Stand Up To Cancer concert organised by Tom at London’s Royal Albert Hall, an event later featured in the Channel 4 documentary Inside My Head.

“There was a moment where I thought I was going to break down and have a meltdown,” Tom admitted.

“But the boys just comforted me… It was just an emotional night all around, even for the whole day and stuff. And just walking into the venue – we had never played the Royal Albert Hall before, when we played all around the world.”

He added: “There’s just something beautifully special about it.”

Max and Siva tour

The Wanted fans were left baffled in May 2024 after Max announced he was heading on tour with just one of his bandmates.

The Strictly Come Dancing star revealed he would be touring alongside Siva – but without Jay or Nathan.

The duo performed in America for a number of dates and finished up in India.

Before the tour, Max told fans: “Myself and Siva can’t wait for this! Our first time in India… dream come true!”

Fans were quick to question the absence of Jay and Nathan – sparking fears the original line-up had officially fallen apart.

It later emerged that Jay would be performing in 2:22 A Ghost Story in Dublin, while Nathan is thought to be focusing on new music.

The shows marked the first time members of the group have performed since the tragic death of bandmate Tom.

The divide

The band have openly admitted there was a clear divide during their heyday – with Max and Tom on one side, and the others forming their own group.

Max and Siva even confessed they never imagined they’d end up touring as a duo when The Wanted went on hiatus in 2014, admitting they “weren’t the closest” and barely spent time together off stage.

Max said: “I’m not going to lie, if you’d said to us 10 years ago that it’d be me and Siva doing this together we’d be like no, never.

Siva agreed: “Max was with Tom, I was with Nathan and Jay.”

Max continued: “Apart from working, we didn’t spend any time together, so I feel like I’ve got to know Siva more in the last year than in the whole 10 before it.

Reflecting on Jay and Nathan’s decision not to rejoin the group, Max added: “We had lots of conversations with the other boys and each other.

“The other boys are so happy doing what they’re doing and they’re really focused on their lives and their careers.

Siva added: “We missed being in the band… we really wanted to get back on stage.”

Future reunion?

Earlier this year, Nathan told The Sun they would never get back together – as the band “will only ever be a five-piece.”

Nathan, Tom, Max, Siva and Jay reunited for a greatest hits album and one-off show in 2021, which was followed by a tour in early 2022, ending just two weeks before Tom’s passing.

Speaking about the emotional concerts, Nathan said: “Obviously, you’d give anything for it not to have happened.

“But, equally, I’m so grateful that we were able to have that time, given that it did happen.

“It was just such a special time and the reception that he got every night, he really felt it. And it meant so much to him that he could do that.

“He was desperate to do that tour. There were tough moments, but we were having some of our fondest memories with Tom over that time.

While Max and Siva toured as The Wanted 2.0 – a four-piece reunion with Nathan and Jay seems out of the question.

Nathan said: “I’m really happy for them. They get a lot of enjoyment in performing the music and they see it as a tribute to Tom.

“Whereas Jay and I’s approach to it is that there’s a lot of emotion attached to that still. And I think we would find that really difficult.

“It’s just two different approaches and neither one is wrong. I think it’s really difficult imagining The Wanted as a four-piece because The Wanted has been and will only ever be a five-piece.

“It’s difficult imagining not performing with Tom.”

Nathan’s wedding

Nathan tied the knot with his girlfriend of six years Charlotte Burke in October 2025.

Nathan opted for an intimate celebration, inviting just 61 of their closest friends and family, among them was his bandmate Jay.

But Max and Siva were noticeably absent from Nathan’s wedding.

Speaking to OK! Nathan said: “We haven’t touched base recently, so I’m not sure they would have known the wedding date.

“With them being out in America at the time, we’ve not had the chance to [catch up], but I’m sure we will soon.”

He added: “We had a room full of people we’re comfortable with, so it was a really safe space and allowed us to relax.”

However, it now seems that Max and Nathan might not be talking at all.

Unfollow

Fans on Reddit noticed that the pair unfollowed each other on Instagram, cutting off social media communication.

One said: “Couldn’t help but notice Max and Nathan unfollowed each other? I wonder if there’s any beef between them lol.”

Another added: “I’ve always suspected Max and Nathan had a falling out before they broke up the first time.”

A third penned: “It’s a real shame because teenage me loved Nathan and Max’s interactions.

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“I remember when Nathan used to comment on Max’s ig posts around 2 years ago.

“They haven’t followed each other in a very long time.”