The decision by Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. to enter the transfer portal shocked and angered the Huskies because only days earlier the sophomore breakout star had signed a lucrative name, image and likeness deal to remain in Seattle.
Legal action by Washington would be no surprise two weeks after similar events prompted an exchange of lawsuits involving Damon Wilson II, an edge rusher who transferred from Georgia to Missouri in January 2025, days after signing an NIL contract.
With recruiting strategy reduced to shoveling stacks of NIL dollars at players who jump through the transfer portal seemingly at will, it’s no wonder loyalty and etiquette have given way to opportunity and greed.
And it should surprise no one that the implementation of rules might be done by judges, not NCAA officials or conference commissioners.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Washington is “prepared to pursue all legal avenues to enforce Williams’ signed contract,” and the quarterback’s situation has also “drawn the attention of the Big Ten.” Already, Washington has declined to enter Williams’ name into the portal, citing language in the NIL contract that states the school is not obligated to do so.
It appears Washington wants to play hardball, much the way Georgia is attempting to do with Wilson, whose countersuit against the Bulldogs claims he was one of several players pressured into signing his NIL contract on Dec. 21, 2024. Georgia is seeking $390,000 in damages, pointing to a liquidated damage fee clause in the NIL contract that may or may not hold up in court.
Washington officials suspect that another school contacted Williams after he had signed his Huskies deal, and submitted evidence of tampering to the Big Ten. Tony Petitti, the conference commissioner, happened to be in Seattle on Tuesday for a Celebration of Life service for Washington goalkeeper Mia Hamant, who died on Nov. 6 from an rare form of kidney cancer.
Many Huskies football players and coaches also were in attendance when Williams posted his official announcement about entering the transfer portal on Instagram.
“To post his decision to enter the portal during the service was, at best, the result of horrible advice from his PR team, and at worst, a stunning lack of self-awareness,” wrote Matt Calkins in the Seattle Times.
Williams’ NIL deal with Washington for 2026 was estimated at $4 million, a reasonable number for a quarterback who was among the top 15 nationally in passing efficiency, passing yards and yards per attempt. He attempted to enter the portal with a “do not contact” tag, an indication he has a destination in mind.
A chronology of top quarterback movement in recent days provides circumstantial evidence that Louisiana State and Williams have mutual interest. LSU, of course, has a new coach in Lane Kiffin, and a need at quarterback. Turns out Williams and Kiffin aren’t strangers.
Kiffin’s first target was Brendan Sorsby, who had left Cincinnati, but he committed to Texas Tech. Sam Leavitt of Arizona State is considered the best quarterback left in the portal, and he visited Baton Rouge this week before heading to Tennessee for another visit.
However, Kiffin easily could shift his attention to Williams, a dual-threat signal-caller who while in high school committed to Ole Miss when Kiffin was coach. He eventually signed with Arizona, and when coach Jedd Fisch took the job at Washington, Williams followed him.
Williams blossomed as a sophomore in 2025, passing for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns with eight interceptions while adding 611 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
In his lengthy Instagram post, Williams thanked everyone associated with Washington before revealing the news: “I have to do what is best for me and my future. After much thought and prayer, I will be entering the transfer portal.”
The Frenchman talked about building castles in the sky. He laboured under the fatal impression that he had time to deliver his vision and that he deserved patience. In his parallel universe he said that winning wasn’t everything while his masterpiece was under construction.
It was all about the “process.” He called on people to look at his past record as evidence of his ability. “Do your job,” he told journalists the day before failing to do his in a 3-1 home loss to Rangers, following on from a 2-0 defeat by Motherwell.
Nancy and Tisdale had to go. What’s also obvious is that the hapless state of the club goes way deeper than those two over-promoted characters. It goes back to who ratified their appointments and why. It goes back to Celtic not just losing their way on the field but off it. It goes to the very top.
The lack of communication from the club is remarkable. Never mind the extreme elements of the support, regular fans – the vast, vast majority – feel a profound disconnection, an alienation from what is going on.
There is a sense of entitlement among some, for sure, and it’s easy to poke fun at that given all the titles Celtic have won. But, elsewhere, there’s just an anger about a club on the drift, making lousy decisions, going backwards domestically and in Europe while sitting on close to £80m in the bank.
These fans talk of a lack of ambition, a lack of a plan under the current board, led by Michael Nicholson, the chief executive, and Dermot Desmond, the major shareholder, and the power in the shadows.
Celtic’s vision seems to amount to staying ahead of Rangers and seeing what they can get out of Europe, if anything.
His assistant manager, John Kennedy, also left at that time. Kennedy had been at Celtic for 27 years as player and coach and yet he was given barely a sentence in a statement when he departed. He deserved more. It’s a legitimate question to ask – where’s the dignity and the class?
There’s not a big picture view at Celtic, or not one that’s apparent. Celtic could finish off their stadium and make it a near 80,000 citadel, one of the continent’s best, but they haven’t done it.
They could build one of football’s greatest museums – lord knows they have enough icons and great moments to fill it – but there’s no sign of it.
They could have deployed a modern and razor-sharp scouting system, but they haven’t done that either.
They bob along, cash-rich and content with bossing it parochially, but even that is now at risk. The emergence of Hearts and the support they’re getting from Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics is threatening to change the game in a very significant way.
Celtic thought they could take a gamble on Nancy because they couldn’t imagine a world where any other side could rival their hold over the league title, their bread and butter.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Evidence that the United States employed AGM-114 Hellfire or AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM) in a covert strike on a target in Venezuela has now emerged. The U.S. military also recently disclosed an attack on what it says was a trio of drug-smuggling boats sailing in a convoy. Just earlier this week, TWZ highlighted exactly these potential scenarios in the broader context of recent sightings of U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones flying over the Caribbean with unusually heavy weapons loads.
Spanish-language television network Telemundo, headquartered in Miami, Florida, first broadcast imagery of U.S. missile fragments, which we will come back to in a moment, that it said were recovered in Venezuela’s far northwestern Alta Guajira region. What looks to be the full video clip that those images were taken from is also now circulating online. NBC News had previously reported that members of Venezuela’s Wayuu indigenous community had witnessed a mysterious explosion in Alta Guajira on December 18. U.S. President Donald Trump had first disclosed that the U.S. government had carried out a covert U.S. strike on Venezuelan soil on December 26, but it remains unconfirmed exactly where or when that occurred. Other details, including that the operation targeted a “port facility” or “dock” and that it was carried out by a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) drone, have been reported since then, as you can read more about here.
Sería el 1er ataque estadounidense, directo, en suelo de #AméricadelSur. Se ven restos de rocket de motor de 52 kilogramos encontrado en la Alta Guajira. Esto es un fragmento del video original donde se infiere inicio de ataques de 🇺🇸 a objetivos terrestres en 🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/U7uw3SVkgg
— Plácido Daniel Garrido D. (@DanielGarrido) January 1, 2026
Imágenes obtenidas por Telemundo desde la Alta Guajira muestran fragmentos destruidos cuyas características coinciden ampliamente con las de un Hellfire. Este nuevo indicador sugiere que un ataque encubierto de Estados Unidos tuvo lugar al noroeste de Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/wARjIy6mFG
A map highlighting the location of Venezuela’s Alta Guajira region in relation to the rest of the country. Google Maps
Returning to the missile fragments reportedly found in Alta Guajira, they are relatively small, but have distinctive “WARNING” and “52.0” markings that are clearly visible. This is fully consistent with the markings seen on AGM-179A Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM), as well as some variants of the AGM-114 Hellfire. Similar fragments have been seen on many occasions following confirmed and reported U.S. drone strikes around the world, including ones tied to the CIA and the U.S. military’s secretive Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).
A missile fragment reportedly recovered in Venezuela’s Alta Guajira region with “WARNING” visible in lettering. capture via Telemundo/XAnother missile fragment with “52.0” in white letting still legible. capture via XAn example of a similar missile fragment. This one was recovered following the U.S. strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq in January 2020. via X
The AGM-179A is derived directly from the AGM-114R variant, and both missiles share an identical rear body. JAGM’s main area of improvement over its predecessor is its new dual-mode seeker, with laser and millimeter-wave radar guidance modes, which gives it more flexibility to engage targets, as you can read more about here. Every JAGM and Hellfire has a label at the tail end that says “WARNING” and “2-MAN LIFT,” and lists their weight in kilograms and pounds. Each JAGM is roughly 115 pounds (52 kilograms). The stated weight of the baseline R model Hellfire is approximately 110 pounds (49 kilograms). However, there are many subvariants of the AGM-114R, some of which have very different configurations from the standard type. This includes the R9X version, which features an array of pop-out sword-like blades instead of a traditional high-explosive warhead.
A briefing slide showing a general breakdown of the components of the AGM-179A JAGM, including portions directly carried over from the AGM-114R Hellfire. US ArmyAn official Army infographic that provides details on various Hellfire variants, including their weights. US Army
MQ-9s armed with AGM-114s have been flying from Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla in Puerto Rico since September 2025, ostensibly in support of expanded counter-drug operations in the Caribbean. Starting last month, local spotters noticed Reapers operating from the airport carrying steadily larger loads of Hellfires, up to as many as 10 at a time. The drones have not been seen with JAGMs, or any other munitions, under their wings. The U.S. military still does not appear to have officially confirmed the integration of JAGM onto the MQ-9, but adding the missiles to the Reaper’s arsenal is at least planned, and there has been evidence in the past that it has already occurred.
New publicly available images show that nine USAF MQ-9As have flown/are flying out of Aguadilla (BQN/TJBQ) 🇵🇷 in support of ongoing counternarcotics ops in the Caribbean.
The U.S. military does have other aircraft, fixed-wing and rotary, that can employ Hellfires and/or JAGMs. However, the MQ-9 would still be particularly well-suited for a covert strike on Venezuela, given the ranges and other likely operational parameters involved.
“The aforementioned descriptions of the target [of the covert strike] in Venezuela as being a ‘port facility’ and a ‘dock’ would seem to point to something of substantial size. This, in turn, could well have necessitated the employment of a relatively large amount of ordnance, such as what we’ve recently been seeing on Puerto Rico-based MQ-9s, to ensure adequate destruction.”
“More clandestine assets could still have been used instead, but there also would have been no real need to do so if something like a Reaper could have accomplished the job with a reasonable level of survivability. The strike on the target in Venezuela, which did not prompt any kind of immediate response on the part of Venezuelan authorities, at least that we know of, raises additional questions about the effectiveness of the country’s air defenses. Whether or not any standoff electronic warfare support, of which there is plenty in the region currently in the form of Navy EA-18 Growler jets and at least one Air Force EC-130H Compass Call plane, was utilized during the operation is unknown, but this seems likely to have been the case. As TWZ has explored in detail in the past, Venezuela’s air defense capabilities are limited, but could certainly present real threats.”
It is also worth noting here that Colombian President Gustavo Petro separately claimed this week that the United States had struck a target in or around Venezuela’s port city of Maracaibo, which lies to the immediate south of Alta Guajira. Petro described it as a “factory” tied to Colombian leftist guerrilla group Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN; National Liberation Army), where “we fear they mix coca paste there to make it cocaine,” according to a machine translation of a post from his official account on X. At the time of writing, this all remains unconfirmed. The ELN is understood to regularly operate in Alta Guajira, which is in close proximity to the Colombian border.
Resulta que muchas lanchas atacadas con misiles, como está pasando en las incautaciones.que hacemos en Colombia o, con ayuda nuestra fuera de Colombia, no llevaban cocaína sino cannabis.
Problema paradójico: en EEUU, en muchísimas partes es legal. Y el Congreso de Colombia no… https://t.co/EJb6yxZKat
In addition, Venezuela’s dictatorial president Nicolas Maduro said that he “might discuss” the U.S. government’s direct action against his country “in a few days,” in a recent interview with the Telesur television network. Telesur is jointly sponsored by the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua. Maduro also took that opportunity to focus blame for drug-trafficking in the region onto Colombian groups, and claim his willingness to work with American authorities on a variety of issues. Maduro is currently under indictment in the United States on charges related to illicit narcotics, including his alleged leadership of a cartel now officially designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
Asked about a reported CIA drone strike in Venezuela, Maduro declined to comment, saying it “could be something we talk about in a few days.” pic.twitter.com/qC0wlYe3GJ
InTWZ‘s recent detailed look into U.S. MQ-9s flying over the Caribbean with ever-larger loads of AGM-114 Hellfires, we also wrote:
“As already noted, it is not otherwise clear what new mission requirements and/or intelligence streams may have fueled the decision to begin arming MQ-9s flying from Puerto Rico with the significantly larger loads of Hellfires. The need to respond to drug cartels sending out larger waves of boats in order to survive, or to provide armed overwatch due to concerns about surface threats from small boats, are possibilities, but there are no indications so far of either of these being the case.”
On New Year’s Eve, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) shared videos of “kinetic strikes against three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy,” which it said had occurred the day before.
The released footage does include clips that show impacts consistent with aerial gunfire, pointing to the involvement, at least in part, of an Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunship. MQ-9s and AC-130Js are among the platforms understood to be involved in this controversial campaign of strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats, which has been ongoing since September 2025.
On Dec. 30, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted kinetic strikes against three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy. These vessels were operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence… pic.twitter.com/NHRNIzcrFS
SOUTHCOM said the strikes on the trio of boats on December 30 killed “three narco-terrorists,” but that other individuals survived, and that it had contacted the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct a search for survivors. The Coast Guard subsequently confirmed that request, and, by extension, that the strikes had occurred somewhere in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, rather than the Caribbean. At the time of writing, that effort is still ongoing, but there have been no reports of anyone being recovered. Colombian President Petro has also offered his country’s assistance and shared a map showing what he says is the approximate location where the boats were struck.
On Dec. 30th, the @uscg was notified by the @DeptofWar of mariners in distress in the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting search and rescue operations. Updates will be provided when available.
The Coast Guard is continuing the search for survivors from a U.S. military strike against suspected drug vessels that took place earlier this week. We now know roughly where those strikes took place: Approximately 400 nautical miles southwest of the Mexico/ Guatemala border.
Aviso a todos los gobiernos de la zona. Está parece ser la zona exacta donde cayeron los lancheros que se arrojaron de embarcaciones que fueron bombardeadas.
Se sabe que tres personas murieron, el resto quedó viva porque se arrojaron al mar.
SOUTHCOM later announced strikes on two more alleged drug smuggling boats on New Year’s Eve, but did not explicitly say whether they had been sailing together or separately. Where those vessels were targeted is not clear.
On Dec. 31, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and… pic.twitter.com/4AE5u4cEff
There is certainly a visible trend now toward the targeting of multiple boats in a single day, which would mark a notable uptick in tempo in these operations. As TWZ has previously noted, between September 2 and December 29, the U.S. military is known to have attacked 31 vessels in the Caribbean Sea, as well as the Eastern Pacific Ocean, an average of one strike on a single boat every four days.
This all follows a major, months-long build-up of U.S. air, naval, and ground forces in the region, which is still ongoing. There has also been a steady ratcheting up of the U.S. government’s pressure campaign against Maduro, specifically, now punctuated by at least one covert strike. Whether that may evolve into overt action against the regime in Caracas still remains to be seen.
In the meantime, there is still-growing evidence that the role of U.S. MQ-9 drones in the region is expanding in scale and scope. Altogether, U.S. operations in and around the Caribbean have already taken an increasingly kinetic turn in recent weeks.
Philippine official said ‘a mere visit’ to the country does not support claims the men underwent ‘terrorist training’.
There is no evidence the suspected gunmen in the deadly Bondi Beach attack received military training in the southern Philippines, Manila’s national security adviser has said, as Australia announced plans to introduce measures to tighten the country’s hate speech laws.
In a Wednesday statement, Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano confirmed the two suspects in Sunday’s attack in Sydney, Australia – which saw 15 people killed after gunmen opened fire at a Jewish event – were in the country from November 1 to 28 this year.
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Ano said immigration records showed that 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram travelled via the Philippine capital Manila to Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao. He added that Sajid had entered the country on an Indian passport, while Naveed entered on an Australian one.
Ano added that there was “no evidence” that the men had received “any form of military training” while in the country.
“A mere visit does not support allegations of terrorist training, and the duration of their stay would not have allowed for any meaningful or structured training,” he said.
The men mostly stayed in their hotel rooms when in Davao, according to a report by local news outlet MindaNews. Staff at the hotel said the pair checked in on November 1 and rarely went out for more than an hour at a time during their almost monthlong stay.
Australian authorities announced on Wednesday that Naveed Akram had been charged with 59 offences for his role in the attack, including murder and terror charges, when he woke from his coma. Sajid Akram, his father, was shot dead by police at the scene.
Ano also suggested that reports describing Mindanao – a Muslim-majority region in the Catholic-majority country, plagued by a decades-long secessionist conflict – as a “hotspot for violent extremism or Islamic State ideology” were “outdated and misleading”.
“Since the 2017 Marawi Siege, Philippine security forces have significantly degraded ISIS-affiliated groups in the country,” he said, referring to a five-month battle in which the ISIL-inspired Maute group seized the southern city and fought government forces.
“The remnants of these groups have been fragmented, deprived of leadership, and operationally degraded,” Ano added.
A 2014 peace agreement, which saw rebels drop their secessionist aspirations in exchange for a more powerful and better-funded Muslim autonomous region called Bangsamoro, has also brought a degree of calm to Mindanao.
‘Also an attack on the Australian way of life’: Anthony Albanese
On Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to introduce new legislation cracking down on hate speech in response to the Bondi Beach attack, as he acknowledged that Australia had witnessed an increase in anti-Semitism since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, and Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Announcing the new measures at a news conference, Albanese said his government will seek to introduce legislation making it easier to charge people promoting hate speech and violence – including religious preachers – while new powers will be created to cancel or reject visas of people who spread “hate and division”.
The legislation would also develop a regime to target organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech, Albanese added.
Albanese said rising anti-Semitism “culminated on Sunday in one of the worst acts of mass murder that this country has ever seen”.
“It was an attack on our Jewish community – but it was also an attack on the Australian way of life. Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge, much more,” he said.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said on Wednesday he would recall the state parliament next week in order to pass urgent reforms on gun laws.
