Nov. 6 (UPI) — President Donald Trump’s calls to ramp up nuclear weapons testing last week have put nuclear watchdogs and world leaders on alert while experts say the United States has little to gain.
In a post on Truth Social on Oct. 29, Trump said he is ordering the Department of Defense to immediately begin testing nuclear weapons “on an equal basis.” What this means remains unclear, though Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an appearance on FOX News these would not be full-scale explosive tests.
“These are not nuclear explosions,” Wright said. “These are what we call non-critical explosions.”
The comment by Wright echoes the stance Brandon Williams, under secretary of energy for Nuclear Security in the Department of Energy, shared during his Senate confirmation hearing in May. Williams said testing nuclear weapons above the criticality threshold would not be advisable.
According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor, the United States possesses more than 5,000 nuclear weapons. It has performed 1,054 explosive nuclear tests, more than any other country.
The type of testing the president is calling for is an important distinction to make, Dylan Spaulding, senior scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, told UPI. The delivery systems of nuclear weapons and the components of the weapons are commonly tested.
Subcritical tests are also performed. These are tests that do not yield a sustained nuclear reaction that would cause an explosion.
“He did mention testing on an equal basis,” Spaulding said. “If that’s the case, in fact the United States already does conduct all the kinds of tests of our nuclear delivery systems and even the components of the weapons themselves that other countries do.”
The United States and most of the rest of the world, aside from North Korea, have refrained from full-scale nuclear weapons testing for more than 30 years. In 1993, the United States signed a unilateral moratorium on explosive testing under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Breaking from the treaty is likely to open the door to escalation in the form of other countries, including adversaries like China and Russia, openly testing nuclear explosives, Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, told UPI.
“What if those countries decided that maybe this is a cue for them to test?” Sokolski said. “Would that provoke any of the larger states that signed [the treaty] but didn’t ratify to test?”
The only country to break from the agreement in this treaty is North Korea, conducting six nuclear tests concluding in 2017.
Sokolski argues that the United States has the least to gain by breaking the moratorium and setting off a precedent for open nuclear weapons testing. The United States’ research in the field is extensive, beyond that of any other country. Other countries, such as Russia, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea stand to benefit the most from more explosive research while the United States would likely gain little more knowledge.”
“I spend a lot of time talking to weapons designers about this. You don’t test for reliability testing generally,” Sokolski said. “That requires 10 to 20 datapoints. That means 10 to 20 tests of each design. That seems kind of wasteful. You don’t design to prove things you’ve already proven.”
“If you’re doing a design that is totally radical, that’s something different, but we’re not,” he continued. “We’re fiddling with yield-to-weight ratios. There are countries like Israel who have tested once, in 1979, one test. Are you telling me their stockpile is unreliable and doesn’t work? If you want to make weapons you can do it very cheaply and quickly without testing.”
Spaulding agrees that full-scale testing is not necessary, adding that scientists continue to analyze data from the repository of the United States’ nuclear weapons testing history.
“We are still learning from those underground tests,” he said. “Other countries don’t have that advantage right now but we would be essentially giving them permission to catch up by returning to testing.
The argument for more live-testing of nuclear weapons capabilities is that it can insure and assure that the stockpile of weapons is reliable.
The United States has the Stockpile Stewardship Program that already tests the reliability and safety of its nuclear weapons. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, told UPI the scientific community is “very confident” in the program.
While the United States is one of only nine countries that have not ratified the treaty, it is legally bound as a signatory to not violate the object or purpose of the agreement, Kimball said. He is doubtful that this will deter Trump.
Of the 1,054 explosive nuclear tests performed by the United States, 928 have been conducted at the Nevada Nuclear Site in south-central Nevada about 65 miles outside of Las Vegas. The site is the only candidate for hosting further nuclear testing, according to experts.
The last explosive test was conducted in 1992 before the United States began observing the international moratorium.
Past tests at the site yielded observable health and environmental impacts on residents of the region and beyond.
“Anyone born in ’63 or earlier, they were exposed to some level of strontium 90, which was showing up in the baby teeth of American children in the 50s and 60s,” Kimball said. “It accumulates in the teeth because you drink milk and it gets concentrated in the teeth.”
The United States joined the Soviet Union and United Kingdom in the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963, in part because of the baby teeth study. The treaty banned nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater.
Subjects of the baby teeth study were children in the St. Louis area, more than 1,600 miles from the Nevada nuclear test site.
With the atmospheric testing ban in place, explosive testing was moved underground in deep boreholes. This was meant to limit nuclear fallout, lessening environmental and health implications.
The vertical testing shafts are reinforced to limit geological impacts but the powerful explosions still generate fractures in the earth and the leakage of radionuclides, a hazardous radioactive material.
People who lived downwind of the Nevada test site, known as downwinders, have experienced higher than average rates of cancer.
“These downwinders, in their second generation, they’re still suffering from some of these adverse health effects,” Kimball said. “They are particularly angry. Trump’s announcement is a slap in the face to them as they see it. They want to see all forms of testing, above and below ground, concluded.”
Restarting full-scale testing would be no small task, Sokolski said. What he refers to as a “quick and dirty” test, one that provides an explosion but little in the way of research, would take months and millions of dollars to prepare.
“To get data, depending on how much data, we could be talking about one to two years and much, much more money, maybe approaching a higher order of magnitude, a billion [dollars],” Sokolski said. “Those stumbling blocks are the ones of interest.”
FORMER Sugababes star Amelle Berrabah has confirmed she’ll “reveal secrets” about the band after being ousted from the reunion.
The popstar, now 41, joined the girl group in December 2005 as a replacement for Mutya Buena and stayed with the band until they went on hiatus at the end of 2011.
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Amelle Berrebah says she’ll ‘reveal secrets’ about the Sugababes in a new BBC documentaryCredit: BBCAmelle joined the group in 2005, replacing MutyaCredit: GettyJade, Amelle and Heidi performing in the group for two years before the original three reunitedCredit: GettyThe original line-up have seen a resurgence over the past few yearsCredit: Getty
When the Sugababes came to end, Amelle was singing alongside Heidi Range, who joined the group in 2001, and last recruit Jade Ewen, who came on board in 2009.
Whilst with Heidi and Jade, Amelle released the Suagbabes seventh album Sweet 7 before the band “fizzled out”.
At the same time, the band’s original line-up, Mutya, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy began performing together again and by 2019 won a legal battle to re-gain the band name Sugababes – essentially preventing the other three from ever reuniting.
Now Amelle is getting her own back on being ousted from the band’s reunion.
In an effort to get her husband to open up she asked: “Do you feel like you are falling for me though? Do you like me?”
Married at First Sight’s best moments
Married at First sight has brought eight explosive series of drama to the small screen. These are some of the best moments
When series 8 couple Rozz Darlington and Thomas Kriaras brought secretly brought a sex toy to the couple’s dinner party. Unbeknownst to their fellow cast members who they were having dinner with, Rozz wore a vibrating egg gadget whilst husband Thomas had the controls.
Nikita’s exit in series 6. Nikita was removed from the show early on due to her behaviour, which led to her husband Ant re-entering the experiment with Alexis.
A slightly more heart warming highlight from series 6 was watching Dan and Matt’s relationship unfold. Dan and Matt were the first same-sex couple on the show, and their relationship was both ground-breaking and adorable.
Emma and James’ wedding in series 1. They were the first couple to ever get married on the UK version of the show. Emma and James, had a beautiful ceremony that set the tone for the series.
The dinner party showdowns are always a MAFs highlight with explosive arguments and unexpected alliances forming.
The question was met with an awkward silence untilReissgiggled and said: “Easy girl. It’s been two days.”
Then during a boat trip she asked: “”Do you visualise me in your future?”
An annoyed Reiss threw an epic strop and responded: “I can’t cope! You’re too much.
“I don’t need pressure yet, it’s so early.
“I don’t like it. I know you’re saying you want to see the real me you aint going to find that out over night.
“You know I’m a closed book. If you’re constantly pressuring me you’re just going to keep me closed.”
Fans will have to wait until tomorrow night to see if the couple can patch things up after their latest row.
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Reiss explains to the group that he felt disrespected by his wife’s actionsCredit: channel 4
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Leisha explains that it has never been a problem before
Kris Jenner was left shocked as she came face to face with her ex Caitlyn Jenner for the first time in years on the new season of Hulu series The Kardashians
Kris Jenner was left shocked as she came face-to-face with her ex-husband Caitlyn Jenner on camera for the first time(Image: Getty Images for The New York Ti)
Kris Jenner was left shocked as she came face-to-face with her ex Caitlyn Jenner on camera for the first time. The matriarch, 69, was married to former Olympian Caitlyn from 1991 until 2015, after she transitioned from living as Bruce up until that point.
Bruce starred alongside his then-wife, their daughters Kylie and Kendall Jenner on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, from 2007 until 2021. The reality show of course also brought Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian, Kris’ daughters from her marriage to the late Robert Kardashian, to international fame. Caitlyn also became stepfather to Kris’ son Rob, who was a prominent feature on the E! series as well.
The series was quickly revived as simply The Kardashians for Disney+, but Caitlyn has never been on it and is set to make her first appearance in scenes that have been teased in a new trailer.
In the trailer, Kendall says: “I think my mom’s had a hard time inviting my dad to some of our family gatherings, but my dad should be included in things..” The camera then pans round to a pair of trainers, which turn out to be Caitlyn’s.
Kris says: “Dear heavenly father, give me the patience, because I’m about to lose my s***!” Later on, she exclaims: “Oh, my God!”
Caitlyn previously revealed that the only way she and Kris communicate now is via her manager. She also revealed she was closer with some of her kids than others as there are so many of them. Caitlyn has children Kylie and Kendall with ex Kris as well as Brody, Brandon, Cassandra and Burt from previous relationships.
Speaking to ITV’s This Morning ahead of a three-part documentary House of Kardashian being broadcast on Sky at the weekend, 73-year-old Caitlyn dropped the bombshell: “Well Kris, I never really talk to anymore,” when asked by host Josie Gibson what her relationship was like with the Kardashian-Jenner clan these days.
Caitlyn explained: “When you have as many kids as I have, you’re closer to some than you are to others… I certainly see them and we do this and that. I’m much closer to the Jenner side with Brandon and Brody, Burt and my daughter Casey (from his first marriage before Kris). But Kris, I don’t really have any more contact with her. It’s kind of sad because we went through a lot.”
Sharing details of their relationship before things turned sour between them, Caitlyn said she first met Kris on a blind date back in 1991 and they “hit it off from day one”.
She confessed: “I had been single for six years, and really kind of struggling with myself and who I was and how I fit into the world. I was just turning 40 and met Kris on a blind date, we hit it off from day one..
“Was it love at first sight? Pretty close to that, yes. I was totally impressed with her and how she lived her life – she had four kids, I had four kids… and we got married five and a half months later! It was very quick.”
Although the family are worth billions now, it wasn’t always that way. At the beginning Caitlyn said her and Kris had no money, but it was Kris’ business acumen that grew their fortune.
She said: “We had no money. We started with nothing, Kris fired the manager and said ‘I’m going to take over…’ she hadn’t really done anything like that before, but she kind of knew the business game, and just started building it.”
Emmerdale’s Ryan Hawley and Danny Miller told The Mirror there’s ‘explosive’ twists to come for Robron on the ITV soap with the arrival of Robert Sugden’s secret husband Kev
20:15, 01 Oct 2025Updated 20:18, 01 Oct 2025
With a reunion confirmed for Emmerdale’s Robron, it seems there’s still the challenge of Robert Sugden’s secret husband Kev to deal with(Image: ITV)
With a reunion confirmed for Emmerdale‘s Robron, it seems there’s still the challenge of Robert Sugden’s secret husband Kev to deal with.
Wednesday night’s episode saw Robert and his soulmate Aaron Dingle finally reunite onscreen, agreeing to give their love another chance. They decided to keep it between them for now, but of course this isn’t the only secret Robert’s hiding.
We met his secret husband Kev this week, and now The Mirror can reveal the character will be back in the village soon – and fans should expect explosive twists and turns. With a new love triangle of sorts in true soap fashion, Robert is left torn over keeping things on track with Aaron, and making Kev happy in his final months following the bombshell that he is dying.
Soon enough, it becomes clear Kev will cause problems for Robert and his relationship with Aaron. Robert actor Ryan Hawley told us: “It would be boring if true love ran smoothly in a soap wouldn’t it?
“Poor Robert is going to have this huge dilemma and it’s a stressful time for him. He’s come back to the village to try to stop a marriage and now there is this other guy who is dying.
“When Aaron finds out Robert has a husband, it’s going to be explosive. But all is not what it seems and Kev is volatile, broken, damaged and he creates so many problems for Robert and Aaron.”
Aaron actor Danny Miller dubbed Kev an “endearing psychopath”, as he mocked the likeness to Aaron’s killer husband John Sugden. He told us: “It’s a new way of actually highlighting how Aaron and Robert do think the same – they have both found psychopaths separately in their lives who have both come in between them to really test their love and passion.
“Chris is brilliant as Kev and he’s a great addition.” Ryan agreed: “He has such a lot of experience. It’s great to be working with him and Danny together.”
But Ryan did share hope for Robron, with he and Danny thrilled to see the pair back together again. He shared: “All the obstacles are out the way and Robert and Aaron are free to be back together. They agree to keep it a secret because they don’t want the distraction of other people’s opinions – after all, Aaron has just found out his husband is a serial killer, he’s out of a coma and his husband is on the run.
“It’s time to move on! The fact it is so soon and he is jumping in with Robert doesn’t matter to them. They think it is best for them.” As for whether Robron will ever walk down the aisle again, the truth is something not even the actors know.
Both agree it would, however, be the perfect icing on the cake if they did. “Hopefully one day, they will be able to be out in the open and honest with everyone,” said Danny. “But we will just have to wait and see!”
A fresh batch of singles try to find their match in MAFS’ new season, promising bombshells. But Paul C Brunson vows the anticipated reunion is set to be the most explosive yet.
07:00, 20 Sep 2025Updated 07:06, 20 Sep 2025
Paul C Brunson, Melanie Schilling and Charlene Douglas are back on our screens in Married At First Sight(Image: Channel 4)
Get ready for fireworks – and maybe a few tears. Married At First Sight expert Paul C Brunson has already warned viewers to brace themselves for the show’s upcoming reunion. And the new season hasn’t even yet started.
Married At First Sight UK is back on E4 for its landmark tenth series, promising another season of whirlwind weddings, fiery dinner parties and explosive commitment ceremonies.
At the helm once again are relationship experts Melanie Schilling, Charlene Douglas and Paul C Brunson, who all return to guide the newlyweds as they gamble everything on love with a stranger.
The show feels like home for Paul. “Charlene, Mel and I have worked together for so many years, we really fit together,” Paul says. “We were very much in sync.”
The format is familiar – nine couples meet at the altar, honeymoon and then move in together before facing weekly make-or-break ceremonies.
But series 10 is upping the ante with a cast that Paul describes as “a true cross-section of the UK”. This year, contributors hail from Manchester, Liverpool, Essex, London, Edinburgh – and also New Zealand – bringing different politics and professions into the experiment.
“It’s important, especially in this day and age, where you feel like we’re in the middle of a culture war,” Paul says. “We’ve taken different parts of the UK and they live together. They’re able to work through their differences, they don’t always resolve them but they manage them.”
Paul teases plenty of twists, with the reunion episode set to be the most explosive yet. “I truly believe that our reunion for MAFS this year will be the most memorable reunion in MAFS history,” he promises.
New singletons try to find love at the end of the aisle in Married At First Sight, but Paul C Brunson has already revealed this upcoming season is set to be explosive(Image: Channel 4)
But beneath all the drama, experts face weighty challenges with this year’s brides and grooms throwing around therapeutic terms like “gaslighting”, “coercive control” and “narcissism” that need careful unpacking.
“We’re acquiring more language than ever before. People will talk about things like manipulation or coercive control,” he says. “For us, it’s becoming more challenging because the language is there, but the understanding isn’t.”
Paul says the biggest hurdle is emotional intelligence. “That’s fundamentally the bigger challenge because everyone assumes that they’re emotionally aware,” Paul says.
“If you can’t even tap into your feelings or emotions, how in the world can you identify that in your partner. How do you expect to emotionally connect with your partner? It’s learning to dance together.”
Then, there’s the shadow of social media. “Experts only see what happens at the dinner parties and commitment ceremonies,” Paul says.
“But I wish the audience would know that every time they comment about one of the contributors, they’re most likely seeing it. They’re human beings, they have loved ones who don’t need to see you talk about their body, their physicality or perceived intelligence.”
After years in the spotlight, Paul has found ways to protect his own wellbeing. “I used to be so immersed in it,” he says. “That’s why I go to therapy. But now, I’m entirely emotionally disconnected [from the drama]. I am constantly doing things with loved ones.”
He’s also channelled his energy into sport, becoming an investor in Sutton United FC. “As a sports fan, it’s a religion,” Paul says. “If we win or lose, that sways my mood a lot more than someone’s comment.”
Married At First Sight star Lacey Martin clashed with her co-stars during a fiery reunion episode, which she eventually stormed out of following the tense clash
Lacey Martin stormed out of the Married At First Sight reunion episode in dramatic scenes that aired on Monday night(Image: E4)
Lacey Martin stormed out of the Married At First Sight reunion episode in dramatic scenes that aired on Monday night. The reality star, 28, reunited with stars of the 2023 series and the 2024 outings of the E4 hit for a special programme, but there were fireworks when she clashed with her ex Nathan Campbell.
Fans of the show, which sees total strangers tie the knot after being put through a matchmaking process, decided to stay together after they ‘married’ on the programme, but split up quietly shortly after the series had aired.
Lacey joined her former co-stars for dinner and fumed: “I’ve said enough. The chapter’s closed, I wish you the best, I’m ready to move on with my life!”
MAFS star Lacey has endured a feud with her ex Nathan Campbell and it all came to blows during Monday night’s reunion episode (Image: E4)
But Kieran Chapman piped up: “Is that why you texted him a few days ago, asking him to do a magazine deal just to make us look better? Did you or didn’t you, a couple of days ago? You should know what I’m going to say; that’s why I’m butting in.”
Lacey then said bluntly: “Respectfully, I wish you the best. Enjoy your food,” as Kieran shot back: “You go enjoy your magazine deals!” As she left the room, Lacey said: “And on that note, I’m actually going to go tonight. No, I am. I am proud of myself, I was true. I fell in love with you, Nathan. I wish you all the best, now I have to go and put myself first. The chapter’s ended.”
She walked out in tears and was comforted by some of the girls. Once back inside, she announced to the table: “It was genuine our feelings for each other … I know you, I know you better than anyone else at this table.
Nathan told his fellow MAFS UK co-stars that after the experiment ended, Lacey’s energy changed dramatically, and she stopped making an effort to see him or to spend any quality time together(Image: E4)
“We can cherish our marriage, and it’s just a beautiful memory now. I do truly wish you the best.” After the show ended, it seemed that Lacey’s true colours came to light as Nathan claimed that she asked him to enter into a ‘showmance’ instead of continuing their love story.
Nathan told his fellow MAFS UK co-stars that after the experiment ended, Lacey’s energy changed dramatically, and she stopped making an effort to see him or to spend any quality time together.
When Nathan voiced his concerns about their relationship with Lacey, he claimed that his leading lady suggested that they should ‘just be friends’ and embark on a showmance instead in order to gain further media opportunities.
Kieran Chapman even got involved in the heated moment (Image: E4)
This led to Nathan’s heartbreak, before he ultimately decided to cut Lacey out of his life and block her number and all social media accounts.
Following the dramatic scenes, viewers flocked to X to share their support for Nathan as one gushed: “I wish I could give Nathan the biggest hug. You can see how genuinely upset he is. Bless his heart he really loved her – and she didn’t deserve him.”
Another echoed: “OMG in floods of tears watching Nathan. Lacey is crying because it’s the only way she can get out of it and deflect. She was LUCKY to have a man like him.” Someone else fumed: “Lacey girl, you need to give your head a wobble.”
There’s less than a week to go before the ‘mother of all reunions’ on EastEnders, as Kat and Zoe come face to face for the first time in two years – as they tease what’s to come
20:08, 27 Aug 2025Updated 20:08, 27 Aug 2025
With just a week to go until the ‘mother of all reunions’, Jessie Wallace and Michelle Ryan joined The One Show live from Albert Square on Wednesday night, to give EastEnders fans a teaser of what they can expect.
At the time, Alfie and Stacey were the only ones who had been in contact with her and had tried to do all that they could to keep the secret from Kat. However, the two couldn’t keep the secret for long as news got to both Tommy and Jean this week. Tonight, the guilt got too much for Alfie, as he confessed all…
Jessie and Michelle joined JB Gill live from Albert Square(Image: BBC)
Kat was left stunned as the episode came to an end, and now the secret’s out, EastEnders fans only have to wait a few days until the highly anticipated reunion next week. The BBC soap aren’t giving too much away, but JB Gill managed to get some details out of Michelle and Jessie during his trip to Albert Square…
Revealing what viewers can expect from her major return next week, Michelle said: “Zoe is at the lowest point that we’ve ever known her to be. Disappeared 20 years ago, and we’re seeing that she’s struggled a lot. So, she’s desperate, she comes back, and even despite herself, she knows that she needs her family.
The duo are set for the ‘mother of all reunions’ next week(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Jack Barnes)
“And I think that’s where Kat is such a huge part. The mother-daughter dynamic is the best thing that you can play,” Michelle continued.
“But we still play it in a way as sisters, because we grew up as sisters,” Jessie added. “Well, the characters grew up as sisters, but there are elements of, ‘I am your mother!'” she laughed. “But that’s there, that’s sort of underlying.”
Digging for even more details, the JLS star asked the duo whether the reunion would be explosive, or pain sailing – but of course, we knew the answer.
“Oh come on! It’s EastEnders, what do you think?!” Jessie laughed. “Carnage. Complete carnage,” Michelle added.
As Jessie mentioned, Kat and Zoe grew up as ‘sisters’ until October 2001, where Kat accidentally revealed the truth during an argument, creating the iconic – “You’re not my mother!” line.
The pair have had a tumultuous relationship ever since – but with Zoe now heading back to Albert Square, can Kat have the mother daughter relationship with Zoe that she’s always wanted?
It’s not the only dramatic moment happening next week in the BBC soap, as one residents life is set to hang in the balance after a shock shooting. But who is it?
Nearly 40 years into Deftones’ career, the Sacramento-bred band are anything but a legacy act. As proved by the visceral allegiance from countless fans half their age thrashing at their feet as they perform on stage, the band continues to be as explosive as they were when they conquered the Warped Tour in the late ‘90s.
The band’s late-era surge in popularity with generations of fans who missed their first (and second) go-round inspires and surprises them.
“It does freak me out when I sit back and, in retrospect, think about it,” Chino Moreno says of Deftones’ longevity. Sitting backstage in a Victoria, Canada, arena during a break from the band’s pre-tour rehearsal, kicking off in Vancouver on Friday, Moreno, 52, is relaxed as he discusses their place in the hard rock landscape.
Since roughly 2022, the singer has noticed that the crowds at some of the band’s meet and greets were younger. In some cases, fans in their teens and early 20s were introducing their parents to the band’s catalog, including their turn-of-the-century classic, “White Pony.”
That stature has only grown as elements of Deftones’ amorphously aggressive sound, which has elements of post-hardcore, trip hop and, most relevant to their revival, shoegaze, have attracted a much younger audience. They’ve broken out from being a cult and critical favorite from the nü-metal scene to being widely appreciated as one of the most important and influential bands of that era.
“I’m not a big social media person,” Moreno says of the medium that’s enabled a new generation to discover Deftones. “There are positive sides to it, like amongst all the noise, you can share music. It is neat that everybody’s much more connected to be able to share it like that.”
Yet, he’s aware that based on the online resurgence, Deftones don’t have to release a new album. Even so, seeing this influx of a younger fan base invigorated the band. It has driven the band to push themselves not just on stage, but in the studio.
Chino Moreno of Deftones performs at the Kia Forum on March 5, 2025.
(Clementine Ruiz)
“Having this whole new generation of eyes on us and more attention now than we’ve had in decades. So why not embrace it?” he says. “I love that I met a lot of parents and children, fathers and daughters, and they’re at the show together as a bonding experience, and to talk about some type of art you both connected over … it’s really cool.”
The band also knew that if they were going to write and record, it had to be for the right reasons.
Recording “can’t be where the label needs [the album], or we need money,” Moreno explains. “We’ve made records under those circumstances before, and it sucks the fun out of the experience. We’re bratty in that way where we only want to do something if it’s something we want to do. The minute someone tells us we have to do it, then we fight it.”
With the band’s members now scattered across the U.S., Deftones couldn’t wait to get back into the studio together, just like they did as teens when they had a space that felt more like a clubhouse. As Moreno puts it, it excited them to be able to “experiment and hang out together. Locking ourselves in a room for six hours a day, five days a week, was fun. It was like going back into the clubhouse again.”
With “Private Music,” Deftones once again joined forces with Nick Raskulinecz, who produced “Diamond Eyes” and 2012’s “Koi No Yokan” (“Dude, we have to finish the trifecta!” Moreno says he told Raskulinecz whenever they’d see each other.) Throughout the last year and a half, the band and Raskulinecz worked together through a variety of sessions before deciding on the 11 songs that constitute the album. Without a definitive timetable to release their 10th studio album, it allowed for a much more relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere than before. That said, the time between 2020’s “Ohms” and “Private Music” was the longest span between Deftones albums.
“We’re in a mind frame where it’s like we don’t have to make a record,” he says. “It gave us a kick in the butt. If people are talking about us holding us to a certain standard and pushing ourselves. So the fact that we’re gonna do it, we might as well make it great.”
A band this far into its career is generally in their victory-lap era. Write, record, release an album, go on tour, play mostly the hits, sprinkle in a new song, repeat. Not Deftones. Throughout this album, which is another significant achievement, the band mixes the moody and melodic to create a genre-bending album full of fire and fury. Look no further than the equally bombastic “My Mind Is a Mountain” and “Locked Club,” the menacing “Ecdysis,” the soaring Moreno-powered “I Think About You All the Time,” and the push-and-pull of the methodical “cxz.” Throughout the sessions, which included three additional songs left in various states, Deftones wrote and recorded batches of songs in different locations, which Moreno says allowed for a respective track to have its own sonic personality as a product of its environment.
“‘I Think About You All the Time’ was written in Malibu at 8 in the morning and was pretty fast,” he says. “We put it aside then, after dinner that night, we made some coffee and went out and finished it. Whereas with ‘Ecdysis,’ it was the last song we wrote, and it was while we were in the studio. We were looking at our collection of songs that we already had and just going, like, ‘OK, where does it fit within this batch of songs?’ We wanted something jagged and also a little weird that was more experimental but with an aggressive approach.”
As their tours have gotten bigger, external factors have given the band a new appreciation for their ongoing success. During the band’s 2024 Coachella appearance, guitarist Stephen Carpenter felt his performance wasn’t up to his standard, telling Zane Lowe of Apple Radio that he was “completely out of it for both shows. I barely had enough energy to stand up. All I could think about during those shows was, ‘Please, just don’t fall over on stage.’” Later, he’d find out that he has Type II diabetes.
A few years before Carpenter learned of his health issues, Moreno got sober. Those changes enabled the bandmates, friends since they were teens, to become even closer, despite any misconceived notion that they’ve been at odds. Though Carpenter doesn’t travel internationally with Deftones due to his condition, when the band was on the road in the States earlier this year, he and Moreno were busmates. They pushed each other to remain on their respective lifestyle-changing tracks.
“I think we’re both very proud of each other,” Moreno says of their changes. “He is so on it. He’s an obsessive person about a lot of things, and now he’s obsessed about his blood sugar and about his health. It’s parallel to my sobriety. So we get on the bus after a show, and we’re all into our diet. With my sobriety, I think he sees me being a better version of myself.”
Deftones perform at Kia Forum.
(Clementine Ruiz)
“Private Music” stands not just as a wonderfully cohesive riff-heavy body of work with a relentless energy that is the next shapeshifting step in the Deftones catalog, but is also a well-balanced album. It’s a logical sonic step for the Deftones universe. The band has also been building its annual Dia de Los Deftones festival. The lineup for the sixth edition, taking place in November in San Diego, includes Virginia Beach, Va., hip-hop heroes Clipse, beloved metal band Deafheaven, Rico Nasty, 2hollis and more. Comparing curating the festival to compiling a mixtape, Deftones is the common thread that ties these diverse artists together, which Moreno calls “a fun experiment.”
Decades later, it’s Deftones’ music and adventurous sonic spirit that keep the crowds coming back, anticipating the group’s next move. It’s allowed them to gradually build on successes without being weighed down by the past. Now, it’s moved so quickly and exponentially that they’ve barely had time to catch their collective breath — with another stretch of arena dates and a pair of co-headlining stadium shows with System of a Down on the docket.
“I’m excited to be busy,” Moreno says. “I’m the type of person who has been lucky enough to have done this for pretty much all of my adult life. We didn’t get to go out and tour ‘Ohms’ after it was released, and this is such a different time. I really love this batch of songs, so I’m eager to go play them and stay busy for the next couple of years.”
Stars from two of the biggest shows of the century are going head-to-head in an upcoming thriller on Sky
Sky has just released a brand new trailer for its upcoming thriller series, Atomic, starring some very recognisable names from the world of TV.
The gripping new footage released this Thursday (14th August) promises plenty of action and jaw-dropping twists and turns throughout this high-stakes chase across North Africa and the Middle East.
Game of Thrones icon Alfie Allen leads the series as a drug smuggler who gets mixed up with wanderer JJ, played by Star Trek: Discovery’s Shazad Latif.
When they find themselves inadvertently trafficking some valuable and volatile cargo, their mission catches the attention of worldwide enforcers who will stop at nothing to take them down.
The Handmaid’s Tale star Samira Wiley heads up their opposition as Cassie Elliott, who’s determined to bring them in after falsely connecting them to dangerous elements.
Two unlikely friends get swept up in a high-stakes mission(Image: SKY)
An official synopsis reads: “When the path of free-spirited drug smuggler Max (Allen) collides with JJ (Latif), an enigmatic outsider on the run, an unlikely friendship is formed.
“They’re swept into a chaotic, high-stakes mission they never signed up for— trafficking highly enriched uranium across North Africa and the Middle East, with the CIA, MI6, and a global web of opposing forces closing in fast.
“Leading the charge for the CIA is highly skilled scientist and a Non-Official Cover (NOC) officer Cassie Elliott (Wiley).
The Handmaid’s Tale star Samira Wiley has got them on the run(Image: SKY)
“Convinced Max and JJ are in league with violent extremists, her relentless pursuit puts them all on a collision course revealing that nothing is what it seems, and everyone has an ulterior motive.
“The pair find themselves on a wild road trip, confronting covert operatives, an internationally funded cartel, and ultimately their own pasts.
“What starts as a bid for survival slowly becomes something more: a reluctant partnership, a shot at redemption, and one hell of a ride.”
Atomic is shaping up to be one of Sky’s biggest shows of the year and is set to cap off the summer with a bang.
The must-watch thriller is hitting Sky at the end of the summer(Image: SKY)
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Rochelle and her JLS pop star husband Marvin were also pictured with Graham in Ibiza.
READ MORE ON MYLEENE KLASS
A source last night told The Sun: “Rochelle was doing what she saw as looking out for a friend in a time of need.
“Rochelle and Marvin are still clearly very much friends with Graham.
“Myleene is of the view that Rochelle took sides from the beginning of her marriage breakdown.
“The fact Rochelle and Graham’s friendship is still there after all these years has put an everlasting rift between Myleene and Rochelle.
“They both do everything in their power to avoid each other.”
Rochelle and Frankie, 36, previously enjoyed a close friendship with Classic FM host Myleene.
Watch the awkward moment feuding stars Myleene Klass and Frankie Bridge come face to face on live TV
In 2012, Myleene and Frankie, both hosts on Loose Women, attended Rochelle’s hen do.
But they have not appeared together on the ITV show since an awkward episode last year.
The alleged unzipping incident is said to have happened before Myleene and Graham married.
The couple — who share daughters Ava, 17, and 13-year-old Hero — wed in 2011 and divorced two years later, with Myleene citing “unreasonable behaviour”.
Cape Town, South Africa – When Patricia Blows heard a senior police official’s explosive allegations against South Africa’s political and law enforcement elite last week, her thoughts went straight to the stalled investigation into her son’s killing nine years ago.
Angelo, an apprentice boilermaker, was about to turn 28 when he was shot in an apparent robbery on a Sunday afternoon in March 2016 while walking home from work in Langlaagte, Johannesburg.
To this day, the investigation has gone nowhere despite Blows providing the police with evidence they said they lacked, including witness statements she collected herself.
The lack of progress in the case began to make sense last week when the police commissioner in coastal KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, claimed he had uncovered a crime syndicate involving politicians, senior police officers, correctional services officials, prosecutors, the judiciary and businesspeople in his province.
According to Mkhwanazi, speaking at a news conference on July 6, the systemic corruption rises all the way to the country’s police minister, Senzo Mchunu, whom he accused of disbanding a task force set up to investigate political killings in KZN to protect his shady associates.
Like millions of South Africans, Blows was outraged by Mkhwanazi’s allegations – but not entirely surprised.
“I immediately thought of our battle for justice. I just couldn’t find an open door. It still hurts like hell,” said Blows, a community activist from Blackheath on the Cape Flats, a part of Cape Town plagued by violent drug-trafficking gangs.
“I had fresh hope in Mchunu. Now this? Then doubt drifted in, and I had an overwhelming fear for [Mkhwanazi’s] safety,” Blows said from her suburb on the outskirts of the Cape Flats, where a police station came under attack about a month ago, presumably in retaliation for the arrest of a local crime boss.
‘Hands off Mkhwanazi’
Mkhwanazi’s revelations triggered an outpouring of support from crime-weary South Africans and politicians alike, who almost universally admire his no-nonsense approach to crime. Last month, after a series of police shootouts with criminals, he was quoted as saying he cared more about impact than strategy.
His popularity reflects a national malaise as well as a regional one that is particular to volatile KZN. The province regularly features among the country’s crime hotspots and is notorious for its history of political violence that dates back to the 1980s when the apartheid regime fomented tensions among the Black supporters of the African National Congress (ANC) and its rival Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in an attempt to undermine the planned transition to democracy.
National quarterly statistics for January to March indicated a decrease in violent crime compared with the same quarter in 2024. Murders decreased by 12.4 percent to 5,727, or an average of 64 per day, according to the Institute for Security Studies.
Still, violent crime is a major problem. According to the World Population Review, South Africa has the fifth highest crime index in the world, following Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan and Haiti.
South Africa also ranks 82nd in the world on the corruption perception index compiled by the NGO Transparency International.
In this context, Mkhwanazi has become a hero to many South Africans who are fed up with the government’s failure to address chronic social ills.
Not even an investigation into his conduct in March could dampen the support for Mkhwanazi. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate dropped the case after a “Hands off Mkhwanazi” campaign, which was revived on social media after his July 6 news conference.
Dressed in special operations fatigues and surrounded by armed guards, Mkhwanazi told journalists: “I am combat ready. I will die for this badge. I will not back down.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa [Reuters]
Ramaphosa’s legacy at risk
Much to the frustration of many South Africans, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to the unfolding crisis has been in sharp contrast to Mkhwanazi’s gung-ho attitude.
In a brief and carefully crafted televised address on Sunday, Ramaphosa announced that Mchunu had been placed on special leave and he would establish a judicial commission of inquiry to look into the allegations raised by Mkhwanazi.
Kagiso Pooe, a senior lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Governance in Johannesburg, was hoping for Mchunu to be suspended or fired and the country’s seemingly compromised security structure to be overhauled, especially after the recent arrest of a senior crime intelligence official and several officers for fraud.
Pooe believes Ramaphosa played it safe to preserve himself and his ANC party, which was forced to form a coalition government with rivals after it failed to secure an outright majority in last year’s general election. It was a historic defeat for Nelson Mandela’s party, which has dominated domestic politics since the democratic era began in 1994.
Before local government elections next year, Pooe believes the last thing Ramaphosa wants is to alienate an ally like Mchunu, who has a strong support base in the highly contested KZN and helped secure Ramaphosa’s presidency in 2017.
“He doesn’t rock the boat. It’s not in his nature,” Pooe said, pointing out that Ramaphosa is determined to accomplish what no president has managed to do since 1994 – complete a second term in office.
“I give the president 33 percent, which is the average score for everything he does,” he said.
Pooe bemoaned the idea of yet another commission of inquiry under Ramaphosa. In May, the president even appointed a commission to investigate the by-product of a previous commission set up in 1996 that failed to deal with apartheid-era crimes. Decades on, more than 100 cases that arose from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have yet to be prosecuted.
The most high-profile commission under Ramaphosa was established shortly after he took office in 2017. The Zondo Commission was meant to investigate corruption that was so deeply entrenched under Ramaphosa’s predecessor Jacob Zuma that it became known as “state capture”.
After millions of dollars and years of highly publicised testimony, the findings of the commission have yet to deliver a major prosecution.
Toyin Adetiba, a professor at the University of Zululand’s Department of Political and International Studies, said Ramaphosa could pay a dear price for failing to act decisively, especially at a time when he is trying to burnish South Africa’s international reputation and fend off the threat of potentially damaging tariffs from the United States.
“Remember, he will soon be out as the president of the country and that of the ANC. The respect that he commands among political leaders across the continent will suffer a setback, and for him to play the role of elder statesperson after leaving office will be a Herculean task as no one will respect his opinion, no matter how important and genuine it might be,” Adetiba said.
In a strange twist of timing, this crisis comes as the country marks the anniversary of the July 2021 unrest when riots broke out in two of the country’s most populous provinces – KZN and Gauteng – after Zuma’s imprisonment for contempt of court following his refusal to testify before the Zondo Commission.
The leader of the minority party Freedom Front Plus, Pieter Groenewald, blamed the unrest on a failure of the intelligence services. Pooe said Mkhwanazi’s allegations supported the view that the country’s intelligence has been compromised.
“South Africa is literally naked intelligence-wise. Think about it from the perspective of foreign entities and criminals,” Pooe said. “If this [the allegations of corruption] is happening, don’t you think criminals also know that you can take advantage of a country like South Africa?”
As the country processes Ramaphosa’s much-awaited speech in response to Mkhwanazi’s allegations and wonders what is to come, Blows is recovering from the shock of another shooting in her neighbourhood, reported on a community WhatsApp group. This time, it sounded like an automatic weapon was used.
“I seriously pray daily against the high crime. Many parents suffer as I do,” Blows said. “Our lives are controlled by crime.”
Loose Women is among ITV’s daytime shows that are facing budget cuts in the coming months as insiders warn the show will be completely stripped back from its usual setup
Loose Women is facing major changes as ITV scramble to recoup costs
Loose Women is facing its biggest shake-up in decades, with dramatic changes that have left fans and cast members reeling as insiders fear the ITV favourite could be axed altogether within the next year.
The iconic lunchtime chat show, known for its bold debates and A-list guests, is expected to cut celebrity interviews completely from January as part of sweeping budget cuts across ITV Daytime. The move comes just months after bosses announced the show would only air for 30 weeks of the year rather than its usual 52, slashing production time nearly in half.
Now, with viewing figures predicted to tumble even further, sources claim Loose Women is “on borrowed time” as ITV pivots its focus to sister shows Lorraine and This Morning.
“It’s a real shame. In January, the programme will become a shell of its former self before it is inevitably cancelled altogether,” one TV insider told Mail Online.
No more celebrity guests
Over its 25 year history, Loose Women has welcomed some of the world’s biggest stars to the panel – from Naomi Campbell and Janet Jackson to Dame Joan Collins and even former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
But sources claim the show will no longer feature famous faces promoting their projects because there won’t be enough staff to manage guests behind the scenes.
Instead, those high-profile bookings will now reportedly be prioritised for Lorraine and This Morning, leaving Loose Women to rely solely on its panel discussions of the day’s news and lifestyle topics.
“Not having guests is a big blow for both the presenters and viewers at home,” an insider revealed.
“The celebrity interviews are often one of the highlights of the show and bring a unique energy you don’t get on other programmes. It feels like a strange decision to cut them altogether.”
Behind the scenes, the panel – including long-serving stars like Nadia Sawalha, Ruth Langsford and Coleen Nolan – are said to be “deeply upset” by the changes.
Studio audience scrapped
The cuts don’t stop there. Loose Women has already axed its live studio audience, a move that has left both the panel and crew heartbroken.
Nadia Sawalha admitted she was “totally devastated” at the loss of the audience and spoke out in support of her close friend and warm-up artist Lee Peart, who lost his job as a result.
“The audience is so important for the show,” Nadia said. “What a lot of people don’t realise is that we’re self-employed. Every contract is a new contract – I could be let go tomorrow or in five years. It’s brutal.”
She added: “Hundreds of people are going to be made redundant out of the blue. A lot of my friends and colleagues on this show and at ITV have been there for decades, and I can’t tell you how upsetting it was to see people walking around numb with shock and fear about what they were going to do.”
Reason behind changes
ITV bosses have blamed “insane inflation” and rising costs for the daytime cuts, which have also seen Lorraine halved to 30 minutes and reduced to term-time broadcasts.
In May, ITV confirmed that production of Good Morning Britain will shift to a dedicated team at ITV News, while Loose Women, Lorraine, and This Morning will merge behind-the-scenes teams to save costs.
But industry insiders warn that these measures will likely spell the end for Loose Women.
An ITV spokesperson said: “The Loose Women team is still working on the show and its content for next year.”
Corrie villain Mick Michaelis was previously jailed for brutally killing policeman Craig who was trying to arrest him for drink driving. Now he is getting ready to break out of lockup
21:00, 07 Jul 2025Updated 21:15, 07 Jul 2025
Mick Michaelis was jailed for murder on Coronation Street
Things are about to get very intense on Coronation Street, as a brand new trailer teases a dramatic prison break when killer Mick Michaelis makes a desperate bid to flee Weatherfield with his children.
Fans will see Mick (Joe Layton) go on the run in an episode set to air on Monday, July 14, after orchestrating a daring escape from prison. With nothing left to lose, the desperate character is on a mission to reunite his fractured family – but his plan could leave even more destruction in its wake.
Mick is spurred into action after hearing that his family is falling apart without him. Convinced that they belong together, he makes a bold and risky move to take Brody, Joanie and Shanice away from everything and start a new life elsewhere.
Now the man is set to make a comeback as he preps for a jailbreak
But with police in hot pursuit and his violent past catching up with him, the fugitive poses a serious threat to anyone who gets in his way.
His first stop is Weatherfield High, where he is determined to track down his daughter Joanie. But when he realises she’s already been taken home by Sally ( Sally Dynevor ), Mick heads straight for the cobbles – with DC Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) not far behind.
Completely unaware of the danger that’s coming, Sally takes Joanie to Underworld to give her a quick tour while the factory girls are at the pub. But things quickly take a sinister turn when Mick arrives on the street, ready to do whatever it takes to get to his daughter.
With Kit in pursuit, it’s only a matter of time before the situation explodes. What exactly does Mick have planned – and will Kit manage to stop him before it’s too late?
Actor Joe Layton has spoken about the dramatic scenes coming up, explaining: “He isn’t after revenge, this is about him wanting to get his family together and start a new life with them. The anger that we saw when he killed Craig has been replaced by desperation and love for his family, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. Kit is potentially putting his life on the line once more in his attempts to stop Mick.”
Viewers will remember that Mick arrived in Weatherfield earlier this year with wife Lou (Farrel Hegarty), and quickly became the street’s nightmare neighbour.
Things turned deadly when Mick brutally murdered police officer Craig Tinker by bludgeoning him to death with a bat after a tense confrontation.
Craig had been trying to arrest Mick following a suspected drink-driving incident, but it ended in tragedy. Mick has been behind bars ever since – but that is soon set to change.
Will Mick escape with his kids? Or will his twisted quest to reunite his family end in disaster?
Mick’s escape episode airs on ITVX and YouTube at 7am on Monday July 14th and on ITV at 8pm
United States immigration agents have detained prominent Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. and are working to deport him, with officials saying he has “an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested Chávez, 39, in Studio City on Wednesday and are processing him for expedited removal from the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.
A Homeland Security news release said Chávez had been flagged as a public safety threat, but “the Biden administration indicated in internal records he was not an immigration enforcement priority.”
Last year in January, officials said, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Chávez and he was charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacture or import of a short barreled rifle. He was later convicted of the charges.
Chávez’s manager, Sean Gibbons, told The Times they are currently “working on a few issues” following the boxer’s arrest but had no further comment.
Michael A. Goldstein, a lawyer who has worked with Chávez in previous cases, said his client “was detained outside of his residence by 25 or more ICE and other law enforcement agents.”
“They blocked off his street and took him into custody leaving his family without any knowledge of his whereabouts,” Goldstein said. “The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community. Mr. Chavez is not a threat to the community.”
The son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez, widely regarded as the greatest boxer in his country’s history, Chávez Jr. faced off on Saturday against influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul and lost.
Two weeks before the Anaheim bout against Paul, Chávez held a public workout in Maywood, where he spoke to The Times. He revealed that one of his trainers had skipped the training session out of fear of immigration enforcement.
“I was even scared, to tell you the truth. It’s very ugly,” Chávez said. “I don’t understand the situation — why so much violence? There are a lot of good people, and you’re giving the community an example of violence. I’m from Sinaloa, where things are really ugly, and to come here, to such a beautiful country with everything… and see Trump attacking immigrants, Latinos, for no reason. Not being with God makes you think you know everything. Trump made a bad decision.”
He added: “After everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t want to be deported.”
When U.S. officials announced the arrest Thursday, they referred to Chávez as an “affiliate of the Sinaloa cartel.” The Trump administration has designated the Mexican drug trafficking group as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
“Under President Trump, no one is above the law — including world-famous athletes,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
According to the Homeland Security news release, Chávez entered the country legally in August 2023, with a B2 tourist visa that was valid until February 2024. He had filed an application for lawful permanent resident status last year in April, officials said, based on his marriage to Frida Muñoz, a U.S. citizen, who U.S. officials said “is connected to the Sinaloa cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.”
El Chapo, a known fan of Chávez Sr. during his fighting days, is now serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison after a 2019 conviction for his leadership role in the Sinaloa cartel.
Muñoz was previously in a relationship with Edgar Guzmán Loera, El Chapo’s eldest son, who was killed in Sinaloa in 2008.
The couple had a daughter, Frida Sofía Guzmán Muñoz. Following Edgar’s death, Muñoz distanced herself from the family and moved to the United States, eventually beginning a relationship with Chávez. Their daughter, Frida Sofía, has recently launched a music career and frequently attends her stepfather’s fights, including the most recent fight in Anaheim.
Chávez has faced criticism over alleged associations with figures linked to drug trafficking. In lengthy social media videos, he has claimed friendship with Ovidio Guzmán, another son of El Chapo who court records show has agreed to plead guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago.
Last year, on Dec. 17, according to the Homeland Security news release, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chávez was “an egregious public safety threat.”
“However, an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chávez was not an immigration enforcement priority,” the release stated.
According to the release, Chávez was allowed to reenter the country on Jan. 4 at the San Ysidro port of entry.
“Following multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, he was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on June 27,” the Homeland Security release stated.
Chávez has been in the boxing spotlight since childhood, often walking to the ring alongside his father. He began his professional career in 2003 and reached the pinnacle in 2011 when he won the WBC middleweight title against Sebastian Zbik. He defended the belt three times before losing it to Sergio Martínez in 2012.
However, his career has been plagued by discipline issues, substance abuse, and struggles with making weight. In 2017, he faced fellow Mexican star Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, suffering a lopsided unanimous decision loss that marked a turning point in his career’s decline.
Nicknamed “El Hijo de la Leyenda” (“Son of the Legend”) or simply “JR,” Chávez Jr. has had legal and personal troubles in recent years. He was arrested on suspicion of weapons possession and later entered a residential rehab facility. His battle with addiction has frequently played out in the public eye, including viral social media disputes with his father, one of his most vocal critics, yet also his most steadfast supporter.
According to Homeland Security, Chávez was convicted in 2012 of driving under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to 13 days in jail and 36 months of probation.
Goldstein, Chávez’s lawyer, noted that his client is a public figure who has been living and working in the U.S. without issue in recent weeks. Goldstein pointed to his recent fight, saying, “His workouts were open to the public and afforded law enforcement countless opportunities to contact him if he was indeed a public threat.”
“He has been focused on his own personal growth and mental health,” Goldstein said. “He is in full compliance with his mental health diversion and all court obligations. For this reason, we fully expect his only pending case to be dismissed as required by statute.”
In 2023, according to Homeland Security, a judge in Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Chávez “for the offense of organized crime for the purpose of committing crimes of weapons trafficking and manufacturing crimes.”
The release said the warrant was for “those who participate in clandestinely bringing weapons, ammunition, cartridges, explosives into the country; and those who manufacture weapons, ammunition, cartridges, and explosives without the corresponding permit.”
Mexican authorities, who typically do not reveal the full names of suspects in criminal cases, said Thursday that federal prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for Julio “C” in March 2023 for organized crime and arms trafficking. A news release from Mexico’s equivalent of the attorney general’s office said U.S. officials had started the process of turning him over to face justice.
Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell contributed to this report.
Washington, DC – The United States Supreme Court has dealt a major blow to those challenging Donald Trump’s use of presidential power, in what the president and his allies have hailed as a major victory.
In its decision on Friday, the nine-member panel weighed whether courts could block an executive order on birthright citizenship.
The court did not rule directly on the president’s order, which would limit citizenship for US-born children based on their parents’ immigration status.
But in a six-to-three ruling, the court’s conservative supermajority did severely curtail the ability of judges to issue so-called universal injunctions: blanket bans on presidential actions stemming from legal challenges.
The court’s move, according to Allen Orr, the former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), is nothing short of “explosive”.
“For lawyers and people who practice law, this is a drastic change from the way we’ve had courts run in the past,” he told Al Jazeera. “It’s weakening the judiciary yet again, as a balancing act [against the executive branch].”
Friday’s ruling lifts the nationwide block on Trump’s executive order that seeks to redefine birthright citizenship, which generally allows those born on US soil to be recognised as American citizens.
However, Trump’s order, signed just hours after he took office for a second term on January 20, would restrict citizenship for individuals born to undocumented parents in the US.
That “opens the door to partial enforcement” of Trump’s order, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), one of several groups that have challenged the attempted policy.
That is, at least until the Supreme Court makes a determination on whether birthright citizenship is indeed protected by the US Constitution, as proponents – and the court’s own precedents – have long maintained.
If no further action is taken, in theory, the order could be blocked in the handful of states where judges have already issued injunctions related to at least 10 individual lawsuits. But it could go into effect in dozens of other states where judges have issued no such injunction.
The Supreme Court’s ruling says Trump’s order will not be enforceable for at least 30 days.
But Leon Fresco – a former deputy assistant attorney general who oversaw immigration at the Justice Department under President Barack Obama – warned that, after that 30-day period, there could be grave consequences for the newborn children of immigrants.
“If there isn’t an injunction in your jurisdiction that prevents the executive order from being implemented and you’re born to a parent without a status that confers you citizenship, then the government could deny you either a passport, if you apply for a passport, or a Social Security number,” he told Al Jazeera.
Class action challenge
The decision on Friday does not completely remove the possibility of a judge issuing a nationwide injunction to an executive order. Legal experts say it just severely restricts the avenues.
Prior to the decision, groups and individuals could launch a panoply of legal challenges in federal courts across the country, any of which could result in nationwide injunctions.
Now, a judge can only issue a blanket pause in response to a class action lawsuit, which is a complaint brought on behalf of an entire “class” of people. The process is typically more complex, time-consuming and costly.
The Supreme Court’s majority opinion, Fresco explained, also clarified that only one nationwide class action lawsuit can represent a specific challenge.
“There wouldn’t be this ability, which happens now, where plaintiffs can file cases in five or six different courts, in hopes of getting one judge in any of those courts to issue a nationwide injunction,” he said.
“With the class action, you’ll only have the one time to win,” he added. “If you lost, you’d have to hope that the appellate court changed it, or that the Supreme Court changed it.”
Class action lawsuits also have stringent requirements for who can participate. A judge must agree that all plaintiffs are pursuing the same case and that there are no substantial differences in their claims.
Shortly after Friday’s ruling, the plaintiff, CASA Inc, an immigration advocacy group, swiftly refiled its legal challenge against Trump’s birthright citizenship order. Now, it is pursuing the case as a class action lawsuit.
Critics, meanwhile, took aim at the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority. Even Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a liberal judge on the nine-member panel, criticised her colleagues for ruling on national injunctions but not on Trump’s executive order, which she called blatantly unconstitutional.
“The majority ignores entirely whether the President’s Executive Order is constitutional, instead focusing only on the question whether federal courts have the equitable authority to issue universal injunctions,” Sotomayor wrote.
“Yet the Order’s patent unlawfulness reveals the gravity of the majority’s error.”
Absent a class action lawsuit, individuals and groups will be forced to launch their own lawsuits to get individual reprieves from potentially illegal presidential orders.
That’s because the conservative supermajority ruled that court injunctions in most cases should only apply to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit at hand.
In a post on the social media platform X, Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz wrote that the Supreme Court’s decision allows Trump to “rip away birthright citizenship, forcing individuals to file burdensome lawsuits to get it back”.
Wider implications
But Friday’s decision not only restricts who is protected by a given court injunction, it also has sway over how much the judicial branch of government can continue to serve as a bulwark against the executive branch.
Critics of universal injunctions have long accused federal judges of overstepping their authority by blocking presidential action.
Among those celebrating Friday’s decision was Senator Chuck Grassley, who has spearheaded legislation on the issue.
In a statement, he called such injunctions an “unconstitutional affront to our nation’s system of checks and balances” that “ought to be stopped for good”.
Proponents, however, say the ability for judges to issue swift, wide-reaching pauses on controversial policies is needed to safeguard against presidential overreach.
Many see Trump as taking the expansion of presidential powers to a new level during his second term.
Since returning to office for a second term, Trump has issued 164 executive orders, surpassing the 162 issued by former President Joe Biden during his entire presidency. That number – for a span of about five months – is rapidly approaching the total for Trump’s entire first term: 220.
Meanwhile, federal judges issued at least 25 national injunctions to Trump’s orders during his first 100 days in office, some of which paused cuts to federal funding, attacks on diversity initiatives and overhauls to the US immigration systems.
Some of those court cases will likely be re-challenged in light of the latest ruling, experts said.
In a post on X, Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat, warned the courts ruling “will only embolden Trump and his dismantling of our federal government”.
“It will create an unworkable patchwork of laws that shift depending on who you are or what state you’re in.”
Orr, the former law association president, agreed with that assessment.
“This decision does not build consistency across the United States at a time when people need these standards,” he said. “People do not have time or money to wait to have these issues resolved.”
While new shows are set to air this week, Soccer Aid also makes comeback to ITV with a multitude of familiar faces – from Tyson Fury to Jill Scott – taking part in the challenge.
Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell will host the newest series of Long Lost Family(Image: ITV)
Another week of TV lies ahead, with plenty of shows to keep everybody happy – from nail-biting dramas and hard-hitting documentaries to long-awaited favourites.
For Channel 4, on the other hand, Silent Witness actress Emilia Fox leaves no stone unturned as she explores some of Britain’s unresolved cases alongside Professor David Wilson in the third series of true crime show, In The Footsteps of Killers.
Ryan Reynolds narrates a light-hearted documentary about nature’s benchwarmers – from insects to amphibians(Image: National Geographic)
Underdogs
Monday, Disney+
Ryan Reynolds flips the script and pays tribute to the bottom of the food chain in this light-hearted documentary. Teaming up with National Geographic, the Deadpool star lifts the lid on the secret lives of nature’s benchwarmers, from slugs and insects to amphibians and fish.
Featuring a range of never-before-filmed scenes, each episode of this five-part series shines alight on their bizarre mating strategies, dubious parenting skills and even their most nauseating behaviours as it finally gives these overlooked superstars their well-deserved glory.
Old Trafford plays host to the world’s biggest celebrity charity match with Tyson Fury and Wayne Rooney set to co-manage England(Image: PA)
Soccer Aid for UNICEF
Sunday, ITV1
Old Trafford plays host to the world’s biggest celebrity charity match once again, as Soccer Aid for UNICEF returns for its 2025 showdown.
This year’s star-studded line-up sees the England team face off against the Soccer Aid XI FC in a match that’s as much about heart as it is about goals.
This chilling new crime thriller plunges us into Bolzano, Southern Tyrol, where Italian detective Paolo (played by Matteo Martari) is forced to face his past when a serial killer he once hunted – costing him a leg and his girlfriend – resurfaces after years in hiding, targeting German-speaking victims.
Caught up in a cold case that turns into an obsession, Paolo teams up with the sharp and ambitious assistant DA Eva Kofler (Elena Radonicich) as the pair navigate cultural divides, buried trauma and grisly secrets in this stylish, slow-burn nail-biter.
My Life is Murder
Tuesday, 9pm, U&Alibi
Lucy Lawless reprises her role as PI Alexa Crowe in the fourth season of this loveable crime drama from Down Under. When a wealthy socialite dies in suspicious circumstances, leaving her entire fortune to her cat, Alexa investigates a heady world of high society gossip.
Aided by tech guru Madison (Ebony Vagulans), cafe owner Reuben (Joe Naufahu), brother Will (Martin Henderson) and detective Harry (Rawiri Jobe), Alexa also comes face to face with new potential enemies with Bill Bailey and Rodger Corser making guest appearances.
Professor David Wilson and Emilia Fox return to screens to front the third season of In the Footsteps of Killers(Image: Channel 4)
In the Footsteps of Killers
Tuesday, C4
Emilia Fox (Silent Witness) returns alongside leading criminologist Professor David Wilson for the gripping third season of In the Footsteps of Killers. Each episode sees the pair reopen Britain’s most baffling unsolved murders – cold cases left gathering dust for decades.
Armed with cutting-edge forensic science and razor-sharp criminological insight, they retrace the victim’s final moments, challenge old assumptions, and uncover fresh leads the original investigations missed. It’s real-time justice in motion.
The Buccaneers return for a second season on Apple TV+(Image: Copyrighted)
The Buccaneers
Wednesday, Apple TV+
After invading the tightly corseted London of the 1870s, the American Buccaneers are fully settled in the second season of the eponymous show – in fact, they’re practically running the place.
Kristine Froseth, Josie Totah, Alisha Boe, Aubri Ibrag and Imogen Waterhouse all reprise their roles as the fun-loving American girls alongside Matthew Broome, Christina Hendricks and Guy Remmers.
Nan now has to navigate influence and power, while Jinny is thrown into the spotlight when she’s wanted for the kidnap of her unborn child. The girls wrestle everything from romance, jealousy and even death as they fight to be heard.
Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell meet new people to help them reconnect with their Long Lost Family(Image: ITV)
Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace
Wednesday, ITV
Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell return for the deeply moving seventh series of Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace. Across three captivating episodes, the team helps individuals who were abandoned as babies discover their biological roots using advanced DNA testing and archival detective work.
With the steady hand of social worker Ariel Bruce, stories unfold that span continents and decades. Heartbreaking yet hopeful, this series remains a tribute to resilience, identity and the enduring human need to belong.
Outrageous is a thrilling look at the lives of the Mitford sisters(Image: KEVIN BAKER)
Outrageous
Thursday, 9pm, U&Drama
Scandal and ideology explode in Outrageous, a darkly-elegant period drama based on the real-life Mitford sisters. At the centre is Susan (Bessie Carter), a whip-smart journalist whose literary voice clashes with the rising fascism of 1930s Britain.
Meanwhile, her sisters fall under the spell of dangerous men: Diana (Joanna Vanderham) is seduced by Oswald Mosley while Unity (Shannon Watson) becomes shockingly smitten with Adolf Hitler. As the world teeters on war, family bonds are pushed to their limits in this gripping tale of loyalty, betrayal and legacy.
Prost
Thursday, BBC4
Four-time World Champion, winner of 51 Grands Prix and F1 legend Alain Prost looks back on his lifelong career, spanning throughout more than four decades in this enlightening six-part series.
From his childhood passion for karting and the ranks to Formula 3 to his triumphs and losses, this show also delves deep into Alain’s iconic rivalry with teammate Ayrton Senna – who eventually became an unexpected friend.
Phyllis Logan stars as Cora Felton in Murder Most Puzzling
Murder Most Puzzling
Thursday, C5
Downton Abbey’s Phyllis Logan swaps stately homes for sleuthing in this charming new six-part crime drama. As Cora Felton, a sassy, wine-loving crossword columnist with a sharp tongue and even sharper mind, she’s unexpectedly drawn into a murder investigation when a teenage girl is found dead – and a bizarre crossword clue is left by the body.
Teaming up with the reluctant DCI Hooper (Adam Best), Cora becomes the police’s wildcard, solving puzzles and crossing lines in equal measure. Think Miss Marple and Ludwig – but with extra sass.
Corsica: Jewel of the Med
Friday, 5
With 600 miles of stunning coastline, Corsica is known as the island of beauty. Now, for 5, this show delves deep into the nation’s lush green forests and majestic mountains and its rich history blending both Italian and French heritage.
The journey takes viewers from Bastia, a foodie paradise on the northeast coast of the island, to its capital, Ajaccio, among the west coast’s thriving hillsides – the birthplace of one of the world’s most famous military leaders, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Isle of Wight Festival
Friday, Sky
The party kicks off at Seaclose Park with an access-all-areas backstage pass to the summer’s hottest ticket, The Isle of Wight festival 2025.
From the incomparable Sting to the legendary Stereophonics, household names take to the main stage – but that’s not all viewers can expect.
From Deal or No Deal to rural New Zealand, Noel Edmonds has made the ultimate career pivot – and now, he’s inviting viewers along for the ride.
Having ditched UK fame for a new life in the remote village of Ngatimoti, Noel’s now embarking on a bold eco-project: creating the country’s first ever energy garden.
But with unrelenting weather, cultural clashes and a community slow to warm up, it’s no easy ride. Can he make his Kiwi dream grow – or will it wilt?
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