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Nicholas Cochrane played Andy McDonald in Coronation Street from 1989, but where is the actor now as the ITV soap kills off his on-screen dad Jim McDonald?

Coronation Street is poised to kill off Jim McDonald this week – but what became of the actor who portrayed his son Andy?

Andy (Nicholas Cochrane) first appeared on the ITV soap back in 1989, arriving in Weatherfield alongside mum Liz (Beverley Callard), dad Jim (Charlie Lawson) and brother Steve (Simon Gregson).

The McDonald family wasted little time in stirring up trouble on the cobbles. Andy himself became embroiled in numerous major storylines throughout his tenure.

His romantic endeavours proved catastrophic, with failed relationships involving several Coronation Street characters including Amy Nelson (Louise Duprey) and Paula Maxwell (Judy Brook). He also held a position at the Rovers and found himself caught up in Gerry Turner’s (Keith Woodason) armed siege.

Nevertheless, actor Nicholas was compelled to depart the soap alongside other prominent characters when a new producer took the helm in 1997. Andy’s exit storyline saw him relocating to Spain to take up a teaching position, reports the Daily Star.

The performer has made several return visits over the years, with guest appearances as Andy in 2000 and 2004. His most recent appearance came in 2009, when Andy came back for Steve’s wedding to Becky Granger (Katherine Kelly).

Regarding Andy’s father Jim, his last appearance was in 2018. In Monday’s episode (February 23), however, Steve learns his estranged father has been hospitalised.

Later in the week, he receives the devastating news that Jim has passed away. Following his departure from Coronation Street, Nicholas maintained a presence on television.

He featured in the ITV police drama Heartbeat, portraying golfer Barry Scripps, and in 2019 appeared in Doctors as Dean Telford, a father indebted to a local businessman.

Nicholas also ventured into theatre, joining the nationwide tour of Spring and Port Wine with The Middle Ground Theatre Company. He subsequently moved into TV presenting, appearing on Granada TV and MUTV, where he interviewed A-list footballers including Roy Keane and David Beckham.

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Beyond television, Nicholas has presented radio programmes for Talksport and BBC5 Live. Outside of his professional life, Nicholas resides in Manchester with his wife Denise and their two children. In his leisure time, he now enjoys watching and participating in various sports.

Meanwhile, in 2020, Nicholas discussed the possibility of returning to Coronation Street. He told the Distinct Nostalgia podcast: “It would be good if the boys got back in touch and Andy ends up back in Weatherfield.

“It would be good if Steve needed an organ [transplant] or there were some reason why one of us stays and one goes. That would be best for me … it would be a good storyline.”

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Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX

The nominated Oscar shorts come in three categories — and a lot of subjects, styles and temperaments. It’s further proof that an award dictated by length needn’t be bound by anything else.

In the live-action category, a mixed bag of approaches — some inspired by classic literature — are burnished by inspired performances. Lee Knight’s “A Friend of Dorothy” may be a tad on the nose about the cultural and emotional impact of a lonely London widow on a closeted teenaged boy. But leads Miriam Margolyes and Alistair Nwachukwu practically shimmer with humor and warmth. “Jane Austen’s Period Drama,” a loving tweak of the writer’s oeuvre from Steve Pinder and Julia Aks (who also stars), is essentially a one-joke calling card to make feature comedies and it should do the job. Its cast is exactly the sprightly ensemble needed to land its what-if laughs.

Two others just miss the mark in terms of bringing their tensions to powerful resolutions yet benefit from who the camera adores. Meyer Levinson-Blount’s “Butcher’s Stain,” centered on a flimsy accusation against a friendly Palestinian butcher in an Israeli market, undercuts its gripping story with lackadaisical filmmaking and an unnecessary subplot, but lead Omar Sameer is commanding. The black-and-white future shock “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” directed by Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh, is an uneven Euro-art bath of unrealized intimacy and casual violence — kissing is punishable by death, slapping is currency — but is given exquisite tautness by the elegant, unrequited swooniness of stars Zar Amir and Luana Bajrami.

A scene from “Jane Austen’s Period Drama,” nominated in the live-action short category.

(Roadside Attractions)

Then there’s my favorite, Sam A. Davis’ likely winner “The Singers,” from Ivan Turgenev’s short story, which pays off handsomely in bites of soulful warbling that briefly turn a barroom’s den of anesthesia into a temple of feeling.

Most of this year’s documentary nominees deal with the grimmest of tragedies, as in “All the Empty Rooms” and “Children No More: Were and Are Gone,” which address the remembrance of children brutally killed. The former film, from Joshua Seftel, follows CBS correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp on an essay project into the bedrooms of kids gunned down in school shootings, their private worlds heartbreakingly preserved by their families. The latter short, directed by Hilla Medalia, witnesses Tel Aviv’s silent vigils for Gaza’s children, protests marked by posters with beaming faces, and sometimes met with open scorn. These are dutiful, sobering acts of mourning — Seftel’s is the probable awardee. You may wish they were more than that, however, considering the issues (guns, war, political intransigence) that created the devastation.

Combat is what drove award-winning photojournalist Brent Renaud, killed in Ukraine in 2022. But his brother Craig’s memorializing of him, “Armed Only With a Camera,” is oddly uninvolving, more an excerpted flipbook of Brent’s far-flung assignments than a meaningful portrait of excelling at a dangerous job. A more affecting real-world dispatch (and my pick, if I could vote) is “The Devil Is Busy,” directed by Christalyn Hampton and dual nominee Geeta Gandbhir, also up for the feature “The Perfect Neighbor.” It observes a day in the operation of a carefully guarded, female-run Georgia abortion clinic as if it were a newly medieval world’s last chance healthcare outpost, getting by on grit, compassion and prayer. You certainly won’t forget security head Tracii, the clinic’s heavyhearted knight and guide.

A scene from “Perfectly a Strangeness,” nominated in the documentary short category.

(Roadside Attractions)

Your chaser is Alison McAlpine’s appealing, aptly titled “Perfectly a Strangeness,” sans humans, but starring three donkeys in an unnamed desert happening upon a cluster of hilltop observatories. The whir of science meets the wonder of nature and this charming, gorgeously shot ode to discovery (both on Earth and out there) makes one hope the motion picture academy sees fit to recognize more imaginative nonfiction works going forward.

Animation, of course, thrives on the thrill of conjured worlds, like the one in Konstantin Bronzit’s wordless (but not soundless) desert island farce “The Three Sisters.” It owes nothing to Chekhov — though there are seagulls — but much to a classically Russian sense of humor and a Chaplinesque ingenuity. Elsewhere, you can watch the overly cute Christian homily “Forevergreen,” from Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears, about a nurturing tree, a restless bear and the dangerous allure of potato chips. The message gets muddled but this eco-conscious journey is charming.

It’s tough to predict a winner when the entrants are this strong, but John Kelly’s “Retirement Plan” feasts on wry relatability, as Domhnall Gleeson narrates a paunchy middle-aged man’s ambitious post-career goals, while the cascade of deadpan funny, thickly-lined and mundanely hued images stress a more poignant, finite reality. In its all-too-human view of life, this is, entertainingly, whatever the opposite of a cloying graduation speech is.

A scene from “Retirement Plan,” nominated in the animated short category.

(Roadside Attractions)

The spindly aged-doll puppetry in the stop-motion gem “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” marks a sly fable of need, greed and destiny, centered on a wealthy grandfather’s Dickensian fashioning of his poverty-stricken childhood in early 19th century Montreal. Filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski find an enchanting balance between storybook allure and adult trickery. Maybe this one steals it?

Whichever the case, the animation that moved me the most is “Butterfly,” from Florence Miailhe, imagining the last, memory-laden swim of Jewish French-Algerian athlete Alfred Nakache, who competed in the Olympics before and after the Holocaust. In the cocooning fluidity of an ocean-borne day, rendered with thick-brushed painterliness and splashes of sound, we travel across flashes of community, injustice, achievement, love and despair. The visual, thematic constant, though, is water as a haven and a poetic life force that feeds renewal.

Stephen Libby – who won The Traitors alongside Rachel Duffy – has confessed he has gone “full survival” with his winnings after quitting his job

Just last month Stephen Libby, was crowned the winner of The Traitors in a dramatic and nail-biting final watched by a staggering 9.6million viewers. Despite the hit BBC series, being filmed last year, the Scotsman, has only just received his £47,875 prize money.

The share of the total £95,750 was spilt between Stephen, 32, and his fellow co-Traitor Rachel Duffy, 42, who also made the final.

“I have the money, but I’ve not spent it,” says the former cyber security consultant. “I’ve left my job, so right now it’s going on full survival. It’s going to my London rent and things like that, so I’ve not made any plans for it just yet.”

The London-based star – who is originally from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland – confesses he is not tempted to jump onto the property ladder with his winnings.

“I don’t know what properties could be bought in London with the money that I just received. Maybe 40 years ago I might have been able to, but not anymore,” he tells The Mirror at the C abaret press night in the Kit Kat Club.

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Stephen and Rachel may have been Traitors on the gripping gameshow fronted by Claudia Winkleman, but they remained loyal to each other until the very end.

Tragically, Rachel’s mother, Anne – who suffered from Parkinson’s disease and dementia, passed away just days after the final, meaning she couldn’t create new memories with her mum, like she had planned to with the winnings.

“I speak with Rachel all the time. We are on the phone every day almost. We are really close, and I love her family,” he shares. “She’s had nothing but all the support of myself and all the cast as well.

“I’ve met her children and husband, Sean – they’re lovely. I went over to [her home city] Newry in Northern Ireland last year, and she took me for a lovely meal to Friar Tucks,” he adds.

Earlier this month, Stephen, made his This Morning debut, where he presented the fashion segment of the programme, alongside his style icon, Anneka Rice.

“It was so much fun. I was very nervous because it’s very different doing interviews and being asked questions, to then having to present something and leading it. That happened so quickly after being on The Traitors that I just didn’t know if I was ready for it, but I had so much fun,” he says.

Incredibly, TV star, Anneka, 67, is rumoured to take part in the celebrity version of The Traitors later this year, alongside actors, Danny Dyer and Richard E. Grant.

Luckily, Stephen has no regrets about his spell on the show, and is already settling into his new showbiz life.

“I’ve been to a couple of awards ceremonies, and I guess it’s just been so nice to see that everyone watches The Traitors,” he admits, “Everyone who I bump into says, ‘I loved you on the show,’ so it’s lovely. I feel very overwhelmed.”

Stephen spoke to the Mirror at the Cabaret press night in the Kit Kat Club.

One of the U.S. Air Force’s C-32A VIP aircraft has re-emerged wearing a new red, white, and blue paint scheme. The same livery has recently been appearing on other U.S. government executive jets, and is nearly identical to one President Donald Trump had previously chosen for the future VC-25B Air Force Ones. The C-32As are commonly referred to as “Air Force Twos,” a callsign used when they carry the Vice President, but they are often used to transport the President, as well as other high-level officials and diplomats.

The C-32A with the new paint job was caught flying from Majors Airport in Greenville, Texas, yesterday by an aircraft spotter who goes by the handle @tt_33_operator on Instagram. The aircraft was using the callsign Vader 20 at the time. Online flight tracking data shows that the jet is serial number 99-0003. The Air Force’s Boeing 757-based C-32s are regular visitors to Majors Airport, home of L3Harris’ Mission Integration plant, which is a hub for conversions, upgrades, and other work related to large special mission aircraft.

The jet’s new paint scheme is white over dark blue, separated by red and gold cheat lines. The livery also includes a large American flag, depicted blowing in the wind, on the side of the tail. The flag has the same general style as the one on the tail of Trump’s personal 757, also commonly called “Trump Force One.” “United States of America” is in large lettering and a standard U.S. military ‘stars-and-bars’ insignia is also painted on the side of the fuselage of the C-32A. There is no readily visible serial number, which is in keeping with a policy that Air Mobility Command (AMC) enacted under President Joe Biden’s administration, ostensibly intended to improve operational security.

99-0003 has been at Majors Airport since at least last December, according to available tracking data. Spotters caught the aircraft arriving in Greenville on December 8, at which time it was wearing the blue, white and gold scheme typically seen on Air Force C-32s. Earlier this month, it was sighted completely stripped of paint.

The Air Force currently has some eight C-32As in its inventory. The service also operates a fleet of more secretive C-32B Gatekeeper personnel transports, which have overall white paint schemes.

TWZ has reached out to the Air Force for more information about the new livery on 99-0003 and what plans there might be now for applying it to the rest of the C-32 fleet or other aircraft.

For decades now, the Air Force’s C-32As have worn the same white-over-blue paint scheme, which is also found on Boeing 737-based C-40 Clippers. Other business jet-based executive aircraft the service operates wear similar liveries.

The typical C-32A livery shares distinct similarities with the one currently worn by the Boeing 747-based VC-25A Air Force One aircraft, but there are differences. The famed Air Force One scheme dates back to President John F. Kennedy’s administration, and was created with the help of legendary designer Raymond Loewy at the urging of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

In 2019, during his first term in office, President Trump unveiled a new red, white, and blue scheme for the forthcoming VC-25B Air Force One aircraft. As already noted, the scheme is essentially the same as the one now seen on 99-0003.

President Biden subsequently reversed that decision, with the Air Force rolling out new renders of the VC-25B wearing a version of the Kennedy-era livery in 2023. In August 2025, following Trump’s re-election, the Air Force told Inside Defense it was “implementing a new livery requirement for VC-25B,” but did not elaborate.

There are certainly growing signs that the red, white, and blue livery that has now emerged on an Air Force C-32 is becoming a standard for executive jets across the U.S. government. The first aircraft to appear with this paint scheme was a 737 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) with a luxurious interior and clear ties to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Details about that jet, which carries the civil registration number N471US, and has been flying around the United States and to destinations abroad since December, remain limited.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which falls under the purview of DHS, has now received the first of two modified Gulfstream 700 (G700) jets wearing this livery, as well. Also known as Long Range Command and Control Aircraft (LRCCA), the G700s provide VIP transport for the Secretary of Homeland Security (currently Kristi Noem), as well as other senior DHS and Coast Guard officials. The aircraft also fit into continuity of government plans in place to ensure U.S. authorities can keep functioning in the event of a host of different severe contingency scenarios, including major hostile attacks and devastating natural disasters. The Coast Guard already operates two LRCCA jets based on older, out-of-production Gulfstream models, which it says are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. Older Gulfstream types are still in widespread service elsewhere across the U.S. government, including with the Air Force.

Separate from any deliberations over paint schemes, the Air Force has similarly been exploring various options for ultimately replacing the C-32As in recent years. The very last 757 rolled off Boeing’s production line in 2004, and the type has been in declining use by airlines and other operators globally, which has impacts on residual supply chains.

The Air Force had previously considered rolling a C-32 replacement effort into work on successors for the E-4B Nightwatch and E-6B Mercury command and control aircraft, but subsequently decided against that course of action. The Boeing 747-based E-4Bs are now set to be succeeded by E-4C Survivable Airdrop Operations Centers (SAOC) converted from newer 747-8i airframes, which could also take over some of the roles now performed by the E-6B. The E-4s and E-6s are commonly referred to as ‘doomsday planes’ because of the role they could play in launching nuclear strikes.

A proposed plan to augment the C-32 fleet with additional “large commercial derivative aircraft” was also put forward in the past. Most recently, the Air Force has laid out the possibility of supplanting its C-32s, as well as at least a portion of its C-40s, with a single common platform. Doing so would offer a way to simplify executive airlift operations compared to how things stand now with the two fleets of different narrow-body airliner types.

In the meantime, the Air Force has continued to upgrade its C-32 fleet, including making critical improvements to the jets’ secure communications capabilities and installing new interiors. You can read more about the latter, specifically, here.

There has been a surge of new executive aircraft developments under the current Trump administration, in general. This has been particularly visible in the acquisition of additional 747s in relation to the much-delayed VC-25B program. This includes the purchase of second-hand 747s from German flag carrier Lufthansa to provide training support and as sources of spare parts for the future VC-25Bs. The Air Force is also repurposing a highly-modified ex-Qatari VVIP 747-8i, ostensibly gifted to the U.S. government, as what is now being called a VC-25 bridge aircraft. TWZ has previously raised significant questions about the feasibility of using that aircraft in the Air Force One role.

Time will tell what the future may hold now for the Air Force’s C-32s, but at least one of the jets is now flying with a new paint scheme that is seeing growing use across the U.S. government. By the time the VC-25Bs enter service, they will likely be surrounded by identically painted executive airlift aircraft.

Update: 4:25 PM EST –

The U.S. Air Force has now confirmed that other C-32As are set to receive the new red, white, and blue paint scheme, and that this livery will also be applied to the future VC-25Bs and the ex-Qatari 747-8i.

“The Air Force is implementing a new paint scheme requirement (red, white, gold and dark blue) for VC-25B as well as the additional executive airlift fleet, which will include the new 747-8i and four C-32 aircraft,” a spokesperson for the service told TWZ. “The C-32s will be painted during regularly scheduled maintenance. The first C-32 has been painted and is expected to be delivered to the Air Force in the next few months.”

CBS News had first reported these details, citing anonymous sources, earlier today, following the publication of our initial story.

Special thanks again to @tt_33_operator for sharing the pictures of the C-32A wearing the new paint scheme.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper is walking away from his second job at “60 Minutes” in the latest sign of upheaval at the storied news magazine.

Cooper said in a statement Monday he is leaving the CBS News program because he wants to spend more time with his two young children. He joined the program in 2007 while maintaining his role as prime-time anchor at CNN.

“Being a correspondent at ’60 Minutes’ has been one of the great honors of my career,” Cooper said. “I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors and camera crews in the business. For nearly 20 years, I’ve been able to balance jobs at CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they want to spend time with me.”

Cooper’s departure could be the first of a number of changes for “60 Minutes” as Bari Weiss, who joined CBS News as editor-in-chief last October, is expected to substantially overhaul the prestigious news magazine.

Cooper, 58, was courted for the anchor role at “CBS Evening News” last year before the network parted ways with the anchor duo of Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson. Cooper signed a new deal with CNN instead, and CBS News gave the anchor job to Tony Doukopil.

This is a developing story.

Derrick Taylor won four City Section titles coaching basketball at Taft High. He won a Southern Section 3A title coaching at St. John Bosco and a Division II state championship with the Braves. So when he decided to come out of retirement and coach at Blair this season, you knew something good might happen.

On Friday night, Blair continued its run in the Southern Section Division 4 playoffs by upsetting No. 1-seeded Bonita 79-71. Jaleel Hunter had 14 points and 20 rebounds.

Blair lost its top player, Tim Anderson, who transferred to Pasadena. The team started 0-4. Now the Vikings are 21-9 and playing in the Division 4 quarterfinals on the road against Trabuco Hills on Tuesday.

Taylor lost his job at Taft in 2023 after guiding the Toreadors to an Open Division title. He briefly was going to coach at Gardena Serra, then stepped down for health reasons.

Things quickly have turned around for Blair, but it comes as no surprise to those who’ve seen what Taylor can do.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

CHICAGO — President Bush said Tuesday that he welcomed a Justice Department investigation into whether White House officials illegally disclosed the identity of a CIA agent in an effort to discredit or punish her husband, an administration critic.

Bush also dismissed calls by Democrats for the appointment of a special counsel to look into the matter. Administration critics argued that Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft is too partisan to preside over an impartial investigation.

On a campaign fund-raising trip through the Midwest, Bush said he is “absolutely confident that the Justice Department will do a very good job.”

“I want to know the truth,” Bush said. “If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated the law, the person will be taken care of.”

The remarks were the president’s first on the burgeoning scandal, which burst into view over the weekend when it was disclosed that the CIA had asked the Justice Department to investigate whether senior administration officials deliberately unmasked a CIA agent married to former diplomat Joseph C. Wilson IV, a critic of Bush’s handling of intelligence before the war in Iraq.

The Justice Department said Tuesday that it was conducting a formal investigation into who leaked the agent’s identity to conservative columnist Robert Novak, an apparent violation of a 1982 law designed to protect intelligence operatives.

The allegations are serious; exposing the identity of a CIA operative is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. And the charges have handed Democrats a juicy political opportunity, enabling them to accuse the hawkish Bush administration of playing fast and loose with national security.

In the Senate, a resolution sponsored by about two dozen Democrats was introduced Tuesday calling for a “fair, thorough and independent investigation into a national security breach.”

Democrats took to the Senate floor to liken the leak to President Richard Nixon’s enemies list and to “kneecapping” the CIA agent in retaliation for her husband’s criticism of the administration’s policies.

“This is not just a leak; this is a crime, plain and simple,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

The politically charged nature of the case was underscored Tuesday when Wilson, who has portrayed himself as defending the CIA career of his wife, Valerie Plame, confirmed on CNBC that he has been in contact with a number of Democratic campaigns, in particular that of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). Wilson said he had donated money to Kerry’s presidential campaign and is considering endorsing him, although he said he also had contributed to the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2000.

Wilson has agreed to meet today with Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Justice officials said they weren’t ruling out the possibility of acceding to the demands for a special counsel. Some former prosecutors said they believed the facts of the case were so murky that appointing a special counsel seemed premature.

For now, the politically delicate task falls to a low-profile group of Justice professionals. The team is headed up by John Dion, chief of the counterespionage section of the department’s criminal section, a 20-year spy catcher who has won department awards during Republican and Democratic administrations for his work investigating turncoats and security breaches.

“John is a very aggressive prosecutor who will call it as he sees it,” said Eric Dubelier, a Washington lawyer and former federal prosecutor who worked with Dion several years ago. “He will make a decision based on the facts and the law. Then, the question will be, ‘Who is the final arbiter?’ ”

But some members of Congress said there was already evidence that the investigation was going off-track.

They cite a heads-up the Justice Department gave the White House on Monday night that it had decided to launch a formal investigation, and that it would be sending out a letter Tuesday morning explaining which documents it wanted preserved.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House counsel’s office asked whether staff should be notified immediately; the Justice officials said it could wait until the next morning.

McClellan rebuffed a question asking whether the evening phone call could be seen as advance warning, calling it a “silly suggestion.”

Schumer said the notice created an opportunity for mischief, essentially giving White House staff an opportunity overnight to destroy evidence.

“If there were a special counsel, it is extremely doubtful that the White House would have been allowed to delay the request to preserve documents and other evidence,” Schumer said. “After all, every good prosecutor knows that any delay could give a culprit time to destroy the evidence.”

Legal experts said the White House probably was already obliged under the law to preserve documents, given the widespread publicity the case had generated over the weekend. Others said they thought the White House should have acted more aggressively in ensuring that the documents be preserved.

“I think a conscientious lawyer would have done it immediately. We are not dealing with a rural D.A.’s office,” said Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics specialist at New York University law school. Gillers said he thought that White House counsel Alberto Gonzales’ own preservation order was “incredibly vague” and might have confused some employees.

Later Tuesday, Gonzalez expanded his notification to White House staff members by specifying that they preserve records of any contacts with members of the news media, including columnist Novak and Newsday reporters Tim Phelps and Knut Royce.

Phelps and Royce were apparently named because a story they wrote about Novak’s column in July disclosed that Plame was an undercover operative, which Novak’s column didn’t say.

Their story also quoted Novak as saying that an administration official had sought him out with the information about Plame. Novak now tells it differently, saying that the information emerged in an interview that he requested with the administration official. The Newsday account suggests a more aggressive role by the unidentified leaker.

Under Justice Department regulations, Ashcroft has full discretion in whether to appoint a special counsel, unlike the post-Watergate independent counsel statute, which ascribed that authority to a panel of judges. Congress allowed the counsel statute to expire in 1999 amid recriminations over the expense and scope of the Whitewater investigations.

In its place, then-Atty. Gen. Janet Reno enacted guidelines for when the department should veer from its normal rules in cases where officials have conflicts of interest. Those rules remain in effect.

“The attorney general is absolutely free to structure any special investigative appointment within the Department of Justice that he wishes. That has been done repeatedly as needed throughout history,” said John Barrett, a law professor at St. John’s University law school in New York, and a former member of the independent counsel team that investigated the Iran-Contra affair during the Reagan administration.

Ashcroft himself has exercised the prerogative, setting up a special task force to scrutinize Enron after recusing himself from the investigation because he had once taken campaign contributions from the fallen energy trader.

Barrett said even if the independent counsel law were still in effect, the investigation would be going through a sorting-out process, trying to zero in on suspects, before deciding whether a conflict existed warranting an outside prosecutor.

“Even in the independent counsel model, the preliminary work was to be done by the Department of Justice. Someone has to do the initial spade work,” he said.

On Capitol Hill, such legal distinctions were buried under political rhetoric from both sides.

“If we need an independent counsel to investigate a private real estate deal,” said Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), referring to the independent counsel investigation into President Bill Clinton’s and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Whitewater land venture, “certainly a breach of national security deserves the same level of scrutiny.”

California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both Democrats, were among those supporting calls for an outside counsel. Feinstein, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement: “Clearly, a well-respected special counsel from the outside — Democrat or Republican — is the only option to ensure a fair and thorough investigation that will have the confidence of the American people.”

But House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) said of the Democrats’ call for a special counsel: “Surprise, surprise.”

DeLay said the appointment of a special counsel “makes no sense.”

“You have special counsels if you think the administration is trying to cover up or obstruct justice,” he said. “The White House is very upset about this … They’re trying to get to the bottom of this.”

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) ridiculed Democrats’ call for an outside counsel, noting they were among critics of the independent counsel statute in the past.

“We killed the independent counsel because it was used for politics by both sides of the aisle,” Santorum said.

Times staff writer Richard Simon in Washington contributed to this report. Reynolds reported from Chicago and Schmitt from Washington.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom is heading to a conference of world leaders in Germany later this week as part of his ongoing effort to use the global stage to urge investment in California’s climate-related initiatives and challenge President Trump’s isolationist policies.

Newsom will appear at the Munich Security Conference to talk about trade and jobs and tell foreign leaders that “California is a stable and reliable partner,” he said Tuesday during an unrelated event.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the official U.S. delegation to the conference, while Democratic leaders Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York are also expected, according to news reports.

The three-day event focuses on the intersections of trade, economics, security and foreign policy, and is expected to draw business leaders and heads of state.

Vice President JD Vance’s appearance at last year’s gathering caused a stir after he argued that European’s immigration policies are too relaxed and European nations are too reliant on the United States.

Ahead of the gathering, conference organizers released a report Monday that found that the “world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics. Sweeping destruction — rather than careful reforms and policy corrections — is the order of the day.”

Newsom told reporters that he will appear on several panels, and suggested he will focus in part on staying competitive with China when it comes to new technologies and job growth.

“China is cleaning our clock as it relates to low-carbon green growth. They are cleaning our clock in terms of not just electric vehicles, because it’s not about electric power, it’s about economic power,” he said.

“It’s about exports, manufacturing, jobs — and this country is walking away,” he continued. “We are walking away from science and we are walking away from common sense.”

“Gavin Newscum is traveling to another international conference to whine about climate policies instead of doing his job as the governor of California?” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers, using President Trump’s derogatory nickname for the governor. “Nothing new to see here.”

Newsom is in his last year as California governor and is considering running for president in 2028. He last month traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he criticized world leaders for not challenging Trump’s aggressive posture when it comes to his threats to acquire Greenland, as well as his tariffs.

Newsom also attended the U.N. climate policy summit in Belém, Brazil, in November.

California lawmakers are expressing concern about how the future of Warner Bros. Discovery could affect Hollywood’s workforce.

In an open letter addressed to Netflix Chief Executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and Paramount Skydance Corporation CEO David Ellison, U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) call for the industry giants to make “concrete commitments to Californian and American workers.”

Late last year, Netflix won the highly anticipated bidding war for Warner Bros, which would give the streamer control over Warner Bros.’ storied Burbank film and TV studios, HBO and HBO Max. The pending $72-billion deal would greatly reshape the Hollywood landscape. Separately, Paramount has continually thrown in counter-bids and has been consistently rejected.

With all of these moving pieces, there’s a bipartisan fear among the nation’s lawmakers about how the acquisition could affect jobs in the U.S. entertainment industry . As stated in the letter, the industry “supports more than 680,000 jobs and contributes over $115 billion annually to the regional economy.”

Given the slowdown the industry has seen post-COVID and the growing number of international productions, Los Angeles film activity was down 13.2% from July through September 2025 when compared with the same period last year. This downward trend continues to build on the loss of 42,000 jobs in L.A. between 2022 and 2024.

Ellison and Sarandos have made arguments for why they believe their respective companies are best positioned to take over Warner Bros.

But each deal comes with major cuts. Paramount is projected to slash $6 billion in expenses over three years, and Netflix is projecting to cut $2 billion to $3 billion. Some analysts believe these cuts will have a significant effect on the workforce.

Previously, Ellison said, “We believe that what we are offering is better for Hollywood. It’s better for the customers and it’s pro-competitive.”

Sarandos is also quoted in the letter saying: “We think it’s great for consumers. We think it’s a great way to create and protect jobs in the entertainment industry.”

Earlier this week during a Senate subcommittee hearing, Sarandos said Netflix plans to increase its film and television production spending to $26 billion this year, with a majority of that happening in the U.S.

The lawmakers’ letter raises a series of questions surrounding the livelihood of creators, the use of AI and “concrete steps” about preserving jobs in L.A. Schiff and Friedman also offer the CEOs an opportunity to meet with them to discuss their answers.

In an effort to ensure “America continues to lead the world in the creative economy,” the letter said that Congress is currently working on bipartisan legislation that would establish a federal film tax incentive. It will be modeled after state programs in California, Louisiana and Georgia.

“We view this as a tool to not just protect but encourage more domestic filming and sustainable job creation on American soil,” wrote the lawmakers.

WALKING back from her daily shop Beth Maitland, 32, isn’t worried about traffic jams, beeping horns or the cost-of-living crisis.

She’s more concerned about a local elephant trying to steal her bag of fruit.

It’s Beth’s ‘new normal’ since fleeing Britain over twelve months ago to begin her new life in Thailand, where rent is a fifth of the price, a dinner out costs just two quid, her front garden is a beach and her backyard rice paddies overlooked by a mountain range.

Thailand is routinely voted one of the top twelve destinations for Brit tourists where the pound goes a long way.

It’s estimated 55,000 Brits, from backpackers to retirees, have chosen to bail out of Britain, trading cold, gloomy weather for the tropical paradise and beaches known as the Land of Smiles.

Relocations have soared by a staggering 255 per cent since 2018, driven by Thailand’s Long-Term Residence or LTR visa which offers 10-year residency with tax exemption.

Beth, a former NHS maternity support staffer moved from Plymouth, Devon to the island oasis of Koh Samui in southern Thailand in March last year.

Talking exclusively to The Sun, Beth revealed: “I rent a two-bedroom cottage in the jungle, there are rice fields on one side, jungle on the other and it’s 15 minutes to the beach. From the roof I can check out the surf or plan a mountain hike in the other direction.

“If I paid the price I was paying in the UK, which was £700 for a studio flat in Plymouth, I could get a four-bedroom house with five bathrooms, a pool and a garden on the island’s outskirts with elephants as neighbours.

“The first month converting pounds to Thai currency – the Baht – was a nightmare and so was finding the perfect place to live. 

“Now it’s like I have lived here all my life. I am always shocked at how cheap food, accommodation and transport is compared to Britain. 

“The cost of living is so cheap I eat out for lunch and dinner every day. I haven’t had a ready meal since I moved here.

“Everything except British food is cheaper. For the first time in a decade, I feel I have a positive future, can buy a home, and achieve my career goals.”

Millennial Beth grew up in Plymouth and loved surfing in the summer months when the weather was good enough. 

She spent the next seven years working twelve-hour shifts as a nursing home assistant in Exeter before spending six months backpacking in Australia and Asia.

“I felt inspired by the Asian culture but thought I’d never be able to work or move there.

“I came back home in December 2019 to miserable winter weather and started work as an NHS maternity support staffer.”

Brighter future

When Covid hit, Beth says she found herself re-examining her life.

“Working during lockdown for the NHS was a privilege but it took its toll. I lost friends and patients.”

When the cost-of-living crisis hit Beth felt overwhelmed by work and a feeling her future wouldn’t be the one she wanted if she stayed in Britain.

“After rent and bills were paid, I was saving no money at all. When I hit 30, I knew if I didn’t act, I’d been in the same place with no savings when I hit 40. I couldn’t let history repeat.

“The government wasn’t offering young people like me hope. My friends could only buy a house if their parents helped.

“Other friends were marrying and having children admitting that they felt the goals they wanted for their twenties were no longer possible.”

It was when two of her close friends left to become digital nomads in Thailand and Bali in January 2024 Beth was inspired to act, realising she had a choice – commit to miserable weather, rising prices and a job in the NHS which wasn’t offering career development, or take a gamble, pursue a new career and move to Asia herself.

“Many of my work colleagues were shocked,” she says. “They couldn’t comprehend moving overseas, let alone to Thailand.

“It was terrifying and exciting for me but having friends living and working there already kept me going.” 

Beth isn’t the only millennial making the life-changing decision to flee to a new country instead of settling down and concentrating on their career here.

I sometimes think I have a career and life whiplash at the speed and dramatic change which occurred

Beth

The Currencies Direct’s British Expat Report 2024 revealed nearly 40 per cent of Brits are considering moving overseas due to the cost of living while a fifth, like Beth, feel a fresh start in another culture would be beneficial for their wellbeing and mental health.

And it’s the young who are leading the great British brain drain, and more than a third of people under 24 are planning to leave Britain in the next five years. 

Dramatic change

After a tip from a friend based in Thailand, Beth applied online as a full-time travel manager running group tours.

Just two Zoom interviews later and she was offered the job and within two months was living and working in Thailand.

Beth says even she was shocked by how quickly her life changed.

“I sometimes think I have a career and life whiplash at the speed and dramatic change which occurred.”

She explains: “I used to work part-time at holiday camps during my teenage years. As a maternity support worker, I was good at helping people before, during and after labour with all ranges of problems. 

Now two weeks of every month Beth travels with 30 holiday makers, overseeing their organised tour of Thailand’s islands and regional areas.

“Imagine running a creche on wheels for people of all ages and from all different countries on their first overseas holiday. I love it,” she says. 

“There is never a dull moment. People want to know if we are there yet, where the meet up point is, what the Wi-Fi code is, if they need sunblock, can they borrow a charger and when we are stopping for food. Or the loo.

“I must be a mother, nurse and organiser. I tell people making kittens and squirrels walk in a straight line is often easier.”

Beth then gets two weeks off and either spends time at her rented cottage or using it as a base to travel to other Asian countries.

She pays £150 a month rent for the two-bedroom countryside cottage which includes her water, electricity and air conditioning, as well as use of communal pool and gym.

“There are ten cottages and it’s full of long-term Brits based here. My phone bill is £20 a month and I share it with a friend.”

Beth says she now rarely cooks because the price of food at local restaurants and roadside food carts is so cheap.

My diet has improved dramatically. I haven’t had a microwave meal since I moved here. It’s fresh fruit and vegetables every day

Beth

“I have fruit or cereal for breakfast. I eat lunch and dinner out. It costs £2 for lunch or £3 for dinner. I usually grab stir fry, curry, Thai soup or rice dishes as well as a dessert, usually a sorbet, fruit platter or ice-cream.

“My diet has improved dramatically. I haven’t had a microwave meal since I moved here. It’s fresh fruit and vegetables every day.”

Cheap living

Grocery shopping isn’t the weekly trek to the supermarket like it is in Britain.

“I go to the local markets and buy bags of fruit and fresh meat if I plan to cook, which isn’t often.

“A pint of milk costs the equivalent of 56p, a large loaf of white bread is around 90p, a dozen eggs are 90p, a half a kilo of red meat is £7, chicken is just £1.85 a kilo. Cheese is the most expensive item costing £7 to £8 for half a kilo.”

Beth admits she does miss her British staples and those that are available come at a price.

“HP sauce costs £6 a bottle, Heinz Baked Beans are an eye watering £4.50 while a Lindt chocolate bar sets you back a fiver,” she says.

“I usually grab bread, milk, some cheese and a huge bag of vegetables and fruit for a fiver. Fortunately, good quality tea bags only cost £1 for a box here.”

Beth says wine is expensive costing £12 to £15 a bottle but local beers cost £1-£1.20 for a half litre bottle and cocktails are between £2 and £3.50, depending on the spirits you choose.

“If you go to a five-star hotel you will pay more. 

“Gym membership is £22 a month and a trip to a foreign cinema is £5.60 if you are missing home.

“I had to hunt down a good cafe for a cappuccino and it costs £1.70 for a catch up with my mates. I was paying £5.60 for a posh coffee at Starbucks in the UK, I can’t believe it.”

Beth says she doesn’t need a car and uses the local car or bike service called ‘Grab’, which is similar to Uber, to book travel online.

“A bike, which means I am a pillion passenger, is 50p and a taxi is around 78p a mile.

The standard of health care is better than Britain

Beth

“When I first moved here, I refused to use the motorbike ‘cab’ – now it’s second nature.

“If you do own or rent a car it costs 96p a litre to fill up the tank. A new Toyota Corolla sedan costs on average £19k new.”

Beth says if you have children private preschool starts at £275 a month per child and the private international primary school begins at £4,500 a year.

“I was stunned by the brilliant quality of healthcare available here in Thailand. When there was no delay to see a dentist or doctor I was gobsmacked. 

“The standard of health care is better than Britain.” 

Beth recently paid £50 to see a dental hygienist and £150 for a tooth extraction and filling. Back home I’d either be forced to wait one or two years to get an NHS dentist or pay more than £500 plus for the dental work.

Dinner splurges

According to financial website livingcost.org, Britain is ranked as the 11th most expensive country in the world while Thailand is the 114th most expensive.

Beth told us: “The cost of living is a lot cheaper – from shopping, to petrol, accommodation to food.

“If my friends and I went out for a splurge dinner, that costs us around a tenner for food and drinks all night plus the cab home.”

Beth usually buys her clothes at the local market but if she wants a retail hit H&M have stores in Thailand.

“If it gets hot, I peel off a layer. It can get cold during the equivalent of the winter months, and I pop on a sweater.

“It’s the wet season that causes problems but you learn to keep umbrellas handy.”

According to Beth, Thailand is now extra popular on the backpacking must-visit list with marijuana being legalised.

I feel calmer, more centred, and less stressed living here than I did in Britain

Beth

“Holiday makers are often shocked that pot cafes exist and pot is legally sold here,” she said.

Many of my thirty-something friends are moving here because Thailand is well known for its amazing spiritual and mental health clinics and holidays.

“It’s a very spiritual country. For people in their thirties moving here often means setting up wellbeing businesses or mediation and other fitness styled retreats.

“I feel calmer, more centred, and less stressed living here than I did in Britain,” she said.

“Everyone is meditating or trying a new yoga or healthy living trend.

“It’s a way many Brits not only embrace a new way of living, but a new career counselling or operating healing centres others move here to set up online businesses.”

Beth loves her new career path and says she is saving to buy a property on Koh Samui. 

“You can spend £70k for a basic three-bedroom apartment with four bathrooms, a communal pool and a countryside view. 

“When you consider that wouldn’t get me a static caravan in Britain it’s a brilliant option.”

Beth admits she misses her family and friends.

“I was homesick for the first six weeks. I try to come back to Britain once or twice a year.

“Once you make a few friends, join the various social media groups for expats and get yourself into a routine it becomes a new normal.

“I have hope again. I thought I would never feel this way. It turns out sun, surf and wrangling tourists is the perfect tonic.”

Feb. 5 (UPI) — The number of U.S. non-farm job openings trended downward to 6.5 million in December, while hiring and job separations remained steady, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.

The number of job openings in December was down by 386,000 in December and 966,000 for the year, while hiring and job separations remained steady at 5.3 million each in December, the bureau reported.

While the number of job openings was down in December, the rate remained steady at 3.9%.

Openings among the professional and business services sector decreased by 257,000, while retail trade jobs decreased by 195,000 and finance and insurance by 120,000.

The rate for new-hires stayed steady in December at 3.3%, as hiring rose by 28,000 in the real estate and rental and leasing sector and by 36,000 in state and local government — but not including education — and decreased by 11,000 in the federal government.

December’s rate of job separations, which the bureau defines as those quits, layoffs, discharges and other separations, also remained steady at 3.3%, while the number and rate of quits were steady at 3.2 million and 2%, respectively.

Within the professional and business services sector, the number of quits decreased by 151,000, while those in the education services sector declined by 19,000.

The number of quits in the retail trade sector rose by 87,000, while information-sector quits increased by 28,000.

Layoffs and discharges in December changed little, at 1.8 million and a rate of 1.1%, while transportation, warehousing and utilities sectors recorded 103,000 layoffs and discharges in December.

Finance and insurance reported 20,000 fewer layoffs and discharges for the month, and other separations stayed unchanged at 285,000.

Among the size of respective job providers, those with between one and nine employees and those with 5,000 or more reported virtually no change in numbers and rates of job openings, hirings and separations, according to the bureau.

The federal agency also adjusted November’s reported job openings down by 218,000 to 6.9 million, while the number of hirings was revised up by 6,000 to 5.1 million.

Total separations in November also were revised, with 64,000 more than initially reported for a total of 5.1 million, including 32,000 more quits, 14,000 more layoffs and discharges, and 17,000 more other separations reported.

The November changes for quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations increased the month’s totals to 3.2 million, 1.7 million and 249,000, respectively.

The bureau’s report comes a day after the ADP National Employment Report indicated private sector employment reportedly rose by 22,000 in January, which was about half the anticipated number.

WASHINGTON — A government lawyer who told a judge that her job “sucks” during a court hearing stemming from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota has been removed from her Justice Department post, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Julie Le had been working for the Justice Department on a detail, but the U.S. attorney in Minnesota ended her assignment after her comments in court on Tuesday, the person said. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. She had been working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement before the temporary assignment.

At a hearing Tuesday in St. Paul, Minn., for several immigration cases, Le told U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell that she wishes he could hold her in contempt of court “so that I can have a full 24 hours of sleep.”

“What do you want me to do? The system sucks. This job sucks. And I am trying every breath that I have so that I can get you what you need,” Le said, according to a transcript.

Le’s extraordinary remarks reflect the intense strain that has been placed on the federal court system since President Trump returned to the White House a year ago with a promise to carry out mass deportations. ICE officials have said the surge in Minnesota has become its largest-ever immigration operation since ramping up in early January.

Several prosecutors have left the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota amid frustration with the immigration enforcement surge and the Justice Department’s response to fatal shootings of two civilians by federal agents. Le was assigned at least 88 cases in less than a month, according to online court records.

Blackwell told Le that the volume of cases isn’t an excuse for disregarding court orders. He expressed concern that people arrested in immigration enforcement operations are routinely jailed for days after judges have ordered their release from custody.

“And I hear the concerns about all the energy that this is causing the DOJ to expend, but, with respect, some of it is of your own making by not complying with orders,” the judge told Le.

Le said she was working for the Department of Homeland Security as an ICE attorney in immigration court before she “stupidly” volunteered to work the detail in Minnesota. Le told the judge that she wasn’t properly trained for the assignment. She said she wanted to resign from the job but couldn’t get a replacement.

“Fixing a system, a broken system, I don’t have a magic button to do it. I don’t have the power or the voice to do it,” she said.

Le and spokespeople for DHS, ICE and the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Kira Kelley, an attorney who represented two petitioners at the hearing, said the flood of immigration petitions is necessary because of “so many people being detained without any semblance of a lawful basis.”

“And there’s no indication here that any new systems or bolded e-mails or any instructions to ICE are going to fix any of this,” she added.

Kunzelman and Richer write for the Associated Press.