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As 2026 reaches its halfway point, the editors of De Los are eager to talk about Latin artists to watch — and share their hottest music takes. Over the years, award-winning music journalist Suzy Exposito and Director of Latino Initiatives Fidel Martinez have documented the rise of genres like reggaeton and música Mexicana in mainstream culture.

In her work for Vogue, The Times and Rolling Stone, Exposito has interviewed influential artists like Shakira, Cardi B and Bad Bunny (the last of which made history as the first Rolling Stone cover story written by a Latina journalist).

Martinez has an impressive roster of his own, having interviewed many stars in the Mexican and Chicano music scenes, from Fuerza Regida to Natalia Lafourcade.

Reflecting on a landmark year for Latin music

On this week’s episode of “The De Los Podcast,” they weigh in on the explosive impact of 2025 on the genre: between Bad Bunny‘s Super Bowl halftime show and Karol G‘s Coachella headlining performance, last year was nothing short of a groundbreaking for Latin music.

“Being there, you could feel barriers coming down,” Martinez, who reported live from the Super Bowl in February, said. “It wasn’t Bad Bunny trying to validate us in front of others. It was him saying, ‘This is who we are, and we are proud of who we are.’”

According to the RIAA, 2025 was the first year that Latin music sales in the U.S. reached $1 billion, in its 10th consecutive year of growth. In 2016, American Latin music sales were at just below $150 million.

“It highlights how quickly and with what speed the genre has been taking off,” Martinez said.

However, as Exposito notes, at times, it came at the cost of originality.

A Latin music trend that De Los is leaving behind this year

“Our generation is too married to the past,” Exposito said. “How can we evolve musically if we keep trying to re-create our grandparents’ music?”

Nostalgia, De Los editors note, has driven the wide-ranging popularity of last year’s most successful Latin projects. As Exposito says, the artists “mine the past in their own ways.”

In Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” and Karol G’s “Tropicoqueta,” classic genres like salsa, plena and cumbia took center stage. “DtMF” samples El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico while in Fuerza Regida samples Mexican classics like Vicente Fernández.

While comforting and educational for younger generations, Martinez argues that artists relying on nostalgia could turn that effort into becoming more experimental with their sound.

Some artists, however, are resisting the nostalgia trend, making De Los’ best albums list of 2026 … so far.

De Los’ 2026 Latin albums you need to hear

Suzy’s picks:

Alvaro Díaz, “Omakase”

“He’s experimental … and taking bold swings, with producers like Tainy,” Exposito said.

“Omakase,” which the Puerto Rican star released in May, blends Latin trap elements with electronic, R&B and in one track, cumbia, for a diverse, thoughtful album that Diaz equates in his De Los story to the Japanese dish omakase, or a platter decided by the chef.

RaiNao, “Marcría”

With a worldplay title that blends the words “malcriada” (badly raised woman) and “cria por el mar” (born in the sea), RaiNao’s project promises earthly, intimate lyricism with experimental musicianship.

“The way she melds jazz with reggaeton and folkloric elements, I really enjoy,” Exposito said. “I really appreciate people (like RaiNao) who can remix but also introduce seemingly disparate elements, like saxophone and Caribbean music.”

Other picks include Ibeyi’s “Offering” and Diles Que No Me Maten’s “Escrito en Agua.”

Fidel’s picks:

Julieta Venegas, “Norteña”

Venegas, who De Los interviewed last month, wrote a memoir alongside this album, which delves into her Tijuana heritage with Mexican collaborators like Bronco, is what Martinez calls “a chef’s kiss.”

“She’s such a fascinating character because she started as an indie rocker,” Martinez said. “This album is a love letter to Tijuana. It’s just the perfect fusion of tradition and pop.”

Hermanos Espinoza, “Linaje”

Two brothers from the Rio Grande Valley, Hermanos Espinoza performed at De Los’ SXSW showcase and blew the audience away with their live energy and accordion work.

“Their project talks about lineage. This album certainly has a point of view,” Martinez said. “With this album, they said, música Mexicana can be like rock and roll.”

Also on the list are Tito Doble P’s “Acomodo” and Trio Asesino’s self-titled.

To hear more about 2026’s emerging artists and De Los’ music hot takes, check out “The De Los Podcast.”

Until Tuesday night, only one Mexican-born player had been an NBA draft pick. Eduardo Nájera was selected 38th overall in the second round by the Houston Rockets in 2000 and enjoyed a 12-year career as a backup forward with five teams.

Karim López joined him when the Detroit Pistons snapped him up at No. 21, making him the first Mexican-born first-round draft selection.

Lopez donned the Pistons’ cap handed to him by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, then was immediately traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.

López, a 19-year-old 6-foot-9 forward, became emotional when Silver announced the pick. He sobbed beneath the cap.

“It’s just super special,” he said. “I’m blessed. I mean, I have no words.”

Born in Hermosillo in the Mexican state of Sonora, López joined the prestigious Joventut Badalona youth academy in Badalona, Spain, at age 14 to accelerate his development. The academy counts former NBA players Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernández and Raül López among its alumni.

During his post-draft television interview, he displayed a custom design inside his suit jacket: Mexico’s tricolor flag.

“I just wanted to represent my culture, represent where I’m from, represent my faith, and just represent myself, basically,” López said. “Show who I am.”

Memphis clearly targeted López while adroitly obtaining five second-round picks in the process. They received three picks from the Pistons and two from the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for moving back from the No. 16 draft position.

Whether López fulfills his potential and becomes the fifth Mexican-born player to take the court with an NBA team remains to be seen. Reviews are mixed.

Draft experts John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie of the Athletic differed in their evaluation, with Hollinger giving the pick a thumbs-up while Vecenie expressed reservations.

“I had Karim López rated quite a bit higher than [the No. 21 pick] and was surprised to see him slide this far,” Hollinger wrote, giving the pick an “A” grade partially because the Grizzlies also collected the five second-round picks.

Vecenie pointed out that López doesn’t shoot well and has defensive deficiencies, saying that his game might be better suited for European leagues than the NBA.

“I’m not sure how he gets on an NBA court early in his career,” he wrote. “I love his frame and physicality. I love that he rebounds and attacks with aggression. But I’m not sure he’s good enough without the ball to make an early impact in the NBA.”

Should López make the Grizzlies’ roster, he would join Horacio Llamas, Gustavo Ayón, Jorge Gutiérrez and Nájera as the only NBA players born in Mexico.

“It means a lot to me,” Lopez said. “It’s just a great opportunity for me and my country to have this platform and have this opportunity. So super blessed and definitely take it with a lot of pride.”

Noteworthy NBA players of Mexican descent born in the United States include former UCLA standout Jaime Jaquez Jr. and former Lakers reserve Juan Toscano-Anderson.

Jaquez averaged 15.4 points a game in 2025-2026, his third season with the Miami Heat. Toscano-Anderson played five seasons in the NBA — including winning a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2022 — and now is with Pallacanestro Trieste of the top Italian league.
López is already a veteran of international basketball, having spent the last two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in Australia’s top pro league. He averaged 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds last season.

He will join No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer with the Grizzlies, who are rebuilding after finishing 25-57 and 13th in the Western Conference last season.

“A goal of mine is to hopefully reach young people in Mexico,” Lopez told ESPN in March when he declared for the draft. “Trying to grow the sport and inspire athletes and people in general to follow their dreams. Show people that it doesn’t matter where you’re from.”

NEW YORK — With their highest draft pick since 2009, the Clippers selected Illinois guard Keaton Wagler fifth overall at the NBA draft on Tuesday at Barclays Center.

The 6-foot-6 guard was selected Big Ten freshman of the year after averaging 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. When NBA Commissioner Adam Silver read Wagler’s name aloud, he hugged everyone at his table, walked between two smoke towers and grabbed a Clippers hat with a bedazzled team logo before shaking Silver’s hand.

Wagler smiled in relief as he walked across the room, a welcome change after a nervy first 40 minutes of the draft. Wagler anxiously bounced his legs after Silver announced to the crowd that the Washington Wizards had five minutes to make the first selection. Cameras were poised at every side of AJ Dybantsa’s table, where the Brigham Young forward sat with his elbows resting on his knees and head bowed.

The No. 1 pick crossed himself when Silver read his name aloud.

The leading scorer in college basketball last year led an NBA draft class that is regarded as one of the deepest in a generation. Dybantsa was in a heated race against Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer to be the top pick as all three are projected to make immediate impacts at the professional level.

Peterson of Kansas went second to the Utah Jazz while the Memphis Grizzlies picked Boozer third. Chicago selected North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson fourth, completing an elite quartet of players at the top of the draft.

After the top four picks, the draft was considered wide open with a logjam of talented guards. The Clippers, who added former All-Star Darius Garland last year in a midseason trade, had options for a trade at the coveted No. 5 spot.

Wagler can team immediately with Garland to make a dynamic, young backcourt for a franchise hoping to win its first playoff series since 2021. The Clippers have never picked fifth overall and Wagler is the team’s highest selection since taking Blake Griffin first overall in 2009.

The Clippers also have the sixth (36th overall) and 22nd (52nd overall) picks of the second round, which begins Wednesday at 5 p.m. PDT.

Even during an early start to their offseason, the Clippers got one major win in May.

The Clippers were the quiet winners of the NBA draft lottery, where, with coin-flip odds, they swiped the Indiana Pacers’ first-round pick in a loaded draft class. The No. 5 pick can add an immediate rotation player for the Clippers while also being a potential fulcrum for what experts consider one of the deepest draft classes ever.

The top four prospects are locked. The only question is in what order Brigham Young forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson will hear their names called Tuesday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Washington, which picks first, Utah, Memphis and Chicago have the first shots at those potential franchise-defining players.

The first round then could turn with the Clippers’ pick.

“It puts the Clippers in an interesting spot at five,” ESPN draft analyst Jeremy Woo said on a conference call with reporters. “They’ve got options, including trades.”

After the top tier of primarily wing prospects, four guards are likely to go in the next wave of picks. Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. broke former No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg’s Atlantic Coast Conference freshman record with 45 points in a game, but did not play in the NCAA tournament because of a back injury after averaging 18.2 points and 4.7 assists for the Cardinals.

Kingston Flemings (16.1 points, 5.2 assists, 1.8 turnovers) became the first freshman at Houston to earn All-America honors, named a consensus second-teamer last year while leading the Cougars to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16. But Houston’s bid for consecutive Final Fours ended against Illinois and guard Keaton Wagler.

The 6-foot-6, 180-pound guard averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 turnovers as a freshman. Coming out of high school, Wagler was the lowest-ranked prospect out of the four guards jockeying for draft position between picks five and eight, but he could be the first of the group off the board.

“He has the size, and he has this brain where you see how quickly he’s improved,” Woo said. “And that, to me, is the biggest thing. But I just think people will continue to learn more about him. He’s not someone NBA teams knew about really coming into the year. … It just happened faster than we all expected.”

Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. has the attention of scouts after averaging 23.5 points while shooting 44% from three-point range, but the 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard could create a defensively challenged pairing next to Clippers point guard Darius Garland.

Garland was acquired in a midseason move that signaled a significant pivot in the team’s plans. The Clippers sent 36-year-old James Harden, who was having his highest-scoring season in six years, to Cleveland in exchange for the 26-year-old Garland and a 2028 second-round selection.

Two days later, the Clippers got even younger by sending starting center Ivica Zubac and third-year guard Kobe Brown to Indiana for 23-year-old guard Bennedict Mathurin, backup center Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks and one second-round pick. One of the first-round picks turned into this year’s selection after the Pacers, who finished with the second-worst record, slipped out of the top four in the draft lottery.

Zubac, 29, was the Clippers’ longest-tenured player and top rebounder. He and Harden were two of their top three scorers.

Houston guard Kingston Flemings goes for a layup during an NCAA tournament game in March.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

“When we traded James and when we traded Zu, those were incredibly hard and difficult situations,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told reporters after the season.

“But it requires that you must be honest about yourself and honest about where you’re at as a team. Usually teams, when you study team building, if they’re in this contender status, they usually take this huge drop to rebuilding. We’re not going to do that.”

The Clippers have had 15 consecutive winning seasons, the longest active streak. But they have not won a playoff series since their Western Conference finals run in 2021. Last season ended with a play-in game collapse, the Clippers squandering a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead to the Golden State Warriors at home.

The midseason trades helped the Clippers start replenishing their draft capital after the blockbuster move that brought Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to L.A. in 2019 hamstrung their assets. Because of the Cavaliers trade, the Clippers also have the 52nd overall pick in Wednesday’s second round, along with the 36th pick. The moves also helped reset the roster from the oldest in league history to one with six rotation players who are an average of 25.7 years old.

Leonard, who turns 35 the week after the draft, is entering the final year of his contract. The superstar forward averaged a career-best 27.9 points while playing 65 games, just the second time with the Clippers that he appeared in 60 or more in a season.

But the franchise still is waiting for the results of a league investigation into alleged salary cap circumvention involving Leonard and former team sponsor Aspiration. The punishment levied could include multimillion-dollar fines, a loss of future draft picks or voiding Leonard’s contract with the team.

WASHINGTON — Cameron Hamilton, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, pledged to senators Wednesday to be “fair and reasonable” in assessing requests for disaster aid as he seeks to run an agency roiled by the administration’s threats to dismantle it.

Hamilton appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at a hearing where lawmakers assessed a group of 10 nominees for administration posts.

“My focus will be to ensure that FEMA is objective, is fair and reasonable, follows the law, and is consistent” in how it reviews disaster declaration requests, Hamilton told Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee. Peters had asked about partisanship in granting major disaster declarations.

Hamilton had a brief tenure as FEMA’s temporary leader early last year but was ousted after defending the agency’s existence. At a House hearing in May 2025, he said he did not “believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate” FEMA. He was fired the next day.

His nomination comes as the Republican administration has increasingly signaled it is backing away from promises to dismantle an agency that the president has heavily criticized.

If confirmed, he would be FEMA’s first permanent administrator in Trump’s second term. He will need to lead FEMA through what is expected to be a busy summer disaster season, while answering to Trump, who is likely to expect major changes after a council he appointed recommended sweeping moves at the agency that is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Hamilton distanced himself from some FEMA controversies

Nominees did not give opening statements, but Hamilton received the bulk of lawmakers’ questions while appearing with four others in the first half of the hearing.

His answers suggested a departure from some of the more aggressive policies considered and enacted during Kristi Noem’s turbulent leadership at DHS. FEMA’s workforce has been worn down by mass staff departures, policies that hamstrung operations and a protracted DHS shutdown.

Hamilton expressed faith in the FEMA staff and praised the recent opening of 350 positions to counteract some of the cuts. He said that if confirmed by the Senate, he would do what he could to speed up disaster declaration decisions and reimbursements to states, tribes and territories.

“We owe you answers, I think, much faster,” he told Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo), adding that many FEMA processes needed to be simplified.

Hamilton disavowed a recommendation he included in an April 2025 memo to quadruple the threshold of financial damages a state needed to prove to receive FEMA public assistance. He also noted the importance of resilience funding, despite halting billions in resilience grants during his previous tenure.

Republican and Democratic senators at the hearing expressed support for FEMA’s mission, despite Trump’s early threats to eliminate it. “I think what your agency does is hugely important,” Hawley told Hamilton.

But multiple Democrats echoed Peters’ concern that Trump was approving far more disaster declaration requests from Republican states than Democratic ones.

Of the state disaster declaration requests Trump answered through the end of May, he approved about 82% from states that voted for him in the last election and 44% from states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris, according to an analysis of public FEMA data by Andrew Rumbach, senior fellow at the nonpartisan think tank Urban Institute.

Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, has never worked as a state or local emergency manager and has publicly criticized FEMA in the past. He has held positions at DHS and the State Department related to emergency response.

No senator questioned Hamilton’s suitability for the position.

Federal law requires the FEMA administrator to have “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” and at least five years of “executive leadership and management experience.”

Criticism over hearing format

Peters criticized the committee chairman, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), for scheduling so many nominees at once, saying that made it more difficult for senators to properly screen them.

“The lineup today severely limits our ability to have transparency for the American public,” Peters said. He noted that Hamilton was among two nominees whose FBI background investigations were not yet complete, and that two others had not submitted their financial disclosure reports.

Others who appeared included Trump’s pick for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, Hal Duncan, and administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, David Cummins.

Paul said the committee would only vote on the nominees when their financial and background checks were complete.

AS a travel expert at one of the UK’s biggest travel companies, I spend a ridiculous amount of time staring at holiday prices.

Not because I have a weird fetish for spreadsheets (trust me, I don’t), because if you dig deep enough into the data, you can spot exactly when everyone is about to pile into a destination. And, more importantly, where the cheap holidays are hiding before the rest of Britain catches on.

For summer 2026, a few spots keep flashing up on my radar for one massive reason: they’re offering proper, old-school all-inclusive value.

Some are old favourites, others are probably completely off your map.

But they’re all delivering serious bang for your buck right now.

Here are the seven at the top of my list.

Cabo Blanco, Majorca, Spain

Majorca isn’t exactly a secret, but Cabo Blanco is about as close as you’ll get to an undiscovered value goldmine.

While the masses fight for sunbeds in the bigger resorts, this quieter stretch of coast serves up rugged cliffs, proper crystal-clear water, and the kind of sea views that justify doing absolutely nothing from your balcony for a week straight.

You get all the perks of Majorca in the short flight and guaranteed sun, but skip the eye-watering price tag of the flashier spots.

I found a five-night all-inclusive stay at Sun Club El Dorado for £325pp in August.

It’s perched right on the edge of the coast, has more pools than you’ll know what to do with, and is basically built for elite-level lounging.

Marrakech, Morocco

Marrakech probably isn’t the first place you think of when someone says “all-inclusive,” which is exactly why it’s a brilliant shout: it breaks the monotony of the standard fly-and-flop.

You can be haggling in a centuries-old souk in the afternoon, and back at the resort by dark, nursing a drink by the pool with the Atlas Mountains in the background. It beats swapping one European beach for another.

Case in point: a five-night all-inclusive stint at Marrakech Ryads Parc & Spa is coming in at £373pp this summer.

It’s one of my top picks because it nails the balance – you can dive headfirst into the chaos of the city by day, then retreat to a massive, quiet resort to completely switch off.

Sidari, Corfu, Greece

Corfu has quietly morphed into one of the best-value Greek islands, and Sidari is where the real bargains are hiding.

It’s a bit of an all-rounder – it handles families, couples, and groups without feeling like a chaotic free-for-all.

Plus, you’ve got the Canal d’Amour right there to give it a bit of natural character.

Looking at the peak summer hols, I found a deal for a five-night all-inclusive stay at Panorama Sidari Village from £398pp this August.

The selling point here is definitely the location: it’s perched on a hillside overlooking the coast, so you get the top-tier views without being stranded miles away from the resort centre.

Gumusluk, Bodrum, Turkey

Turkey’s reputation for budget-friendly all-inclusives is well established, but for me, Gumusluk is still criminally underrated.

Unlike the mega-resorts down the road, this place has a proper slow pace.

The waterfront is lined with seafood restaurants, the sunsets are top-tier, and the vibe here is completely relaxed.

I found five nights all-inclusive at Golden Age Crystal Bodrum for £395pp right in the school holidays.

The hotel is a cracking little base because it puts you near the side of Bodrum most tourists miss – laid-back beach clubs and evening strolls – without forcing you to pay the premium rates of the flashier hotels nearby.

Mahdia, Tunisia

If you want the absolute maximum amount of sunshine per pound spent, Tunisia should always be on your radar.

Mahdia is easily one of the country’s best-kept secrets, pairing massive white beaches with a calm, old fishing port vibe. It feels authentic, rather than a purpose-built tourist bubble.

I did some digging and found five nights all-inclusive at the Nour Palace Resort for £388pp this August.

It sits right on the sand and boasts one of the biggest pool setups on this entire list. If you just want to park yourself by the water and forget reality, this is the one.

Agadir, Morocco

Agadir has been quietly banking reliable, budget sun holidays for years.

The weather is a safe bet, the beach goes on forever, and the whole place is set up to make your life easy.

It’s one of those rare spots where you can do absolutely nothing for a week and actually feel like you’ve escaped.

The price on this one is borderline ridiculous too: a five-night all-inclusive stay at El Pueblo Tamlelt for £228pp.

It’s exactly what a budget all-inclusive should be – huge pools, loads going on, and a price tag that makes you double-check you didn’t accidentally miss a zero off the end.

Ovacik, Turkey

If you want the full package – beaches, nightlife, mountain backdrops, and change left over from a grand – Ovacik is tough to beat.

It sits just above the famous Blue Lagoon at Oludeniz, giving you easy access to Turkey’s best coastline while being a cheap taxi ride away from the bars in Hisaronu.

Because it’s up in the hills, it stays a touch cooler and greener than the coastal strip, which is a massive win in August.

I spotted a five-night stay at Sunshine Holiday Resort Hotel from £388pp this August.

It perfectly highlights why this area works so well for families: you get a waterpark, proper mountain views, and more than enough entertainment to keep kids quiet without ever needing to leave the complex. Job done.

Kane’s status as captain, talisman and main marksman is illustrated very simply by his all-time record of 79 goals in 114 England games.

And yet, at 32, he continues to add strings to his bow in a fashion that now makes him the complete player.

In Orlando, there was further evidence that Tuchel has effectively given Kane a roving commission to link, create and score – all tasks he performs superbly.

In the first half, there was even the sight of Kane picking the ball up in England’s own penalty area as they played out from the back, linking comfortably with his defenders.

And then, as half-time approached, he produced a stunning pass with the inside of his right foot from a deep position, taking out four Costa Rica defenders to find Anthony Gordon, who thought he had won a penalty only for the decision to be overturned after a video assistant referee review.

Tuchel’s willingness to allow Kane to roam freely, as he does for Bayern Munich, adds an intriguing layer to the German’s strategy.

It is clear that Kane possesses the natural game intelligence – described as “uncoachable” by former England striker Chris Sutton – to not only create but also still arrive with perfect timing in attacking positions.

Kane’s range of passing and vision enables him to find runners like Gordon or Saka, as well as Bellingham and Rogers when they make their trademark surges.

It may just give Tuchel and England an X-factor if they drive deep into the World Cup and have to unlock superior opposition.

No wonder Tuchel is reluctant to leave Kane out, even for a friendly, so central is he to his plans.

WASHINGTON — Republicans are warning the White House that a critical surveillance authority is likely to lapse this week amid bipartisan backlash over President Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s intelligence community.

Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sounded the alarm over the weekend after a failed procedural vote to extend the program.

The senators in a letter urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prepare “for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection” if the authority expires. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, set to lapse June 12, allows agencies including the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.

Efforts to secure a long-term extension of the program already faced hurdles because of bipartisan concerns that the program can incidentally collect Americans’ communications. Privacy advocates and some lawmakers have been pushing to create a new warrant requirement before those communications can be searched.

Senate leaders from both parties appeared to be nearing agreement on a long-term extension. But the effort collapsed after Trump selected federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence.

“I know how important this tool is. Why the president would throw this live hand grenade of Bill Pulte in 10 days before this is due to expire, I’m not sure,” Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Pulte pick upends bipartisan deal

Early Friday morning, after senators spent the night debating separate immigration legislation, seven Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in blocking a long-term extension of the surveillance authority.

Democrats and several Republicans registered their opposition to Trump’s selection of Pulte, arguing the federal housing finance regulator lacks the experience needed to oversee the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies.

“The naming of Pulte to that position, although the timing arguably wasn’t the best, I still don’t think it ought to derail something that’s this important,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.

Thune has expressed concern over Pulte’s pick, saying the nation’s top intelligence post should not be “weaponized” and that the job should be filled by “professionals.” Cotton, who rarely strays from supporting Trump and a leading advocate for the surveillance authority, declined to endorse Pulte, saying only that he had “no observations on the matter.”

“He’s not qualified for the long-term position,” Republican Sen. James Lankford, another member of the Intelligence Committee, told “Fox News Sunday.” “That’s been clear on this. He has no national security background.

Both Republican and Democratic senators skeptical of Pulte pointed to his record at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In the role, he’s been linked with criminal referrals over allegations of mortgage fraud by public officials Trump sought to punish, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Lisa Cook, a board member of the Federal Reserve.

Republicans will need to garner some Democratic support to pass any extension of the surveillance authority in the Senate. But a breakthrough appears difficult so long as Pulte remains in the position, which Trump said last week would only be temporary.

“I don’t see any path to convincing enough Democrats,” Warner said on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked if renewal was possible with Pulte in the position.

The current reauthorization debate is hardly the first time that lawmakers have grappled with the fate of the surveillance program, particularly after a flurry of revelations about government misuse of the vast trove of intelligence it collects.

The topic in recent years has scrambled predictable partisan alliances, with Democratic critics of the Trump administration uniting with skeptics of government power on the right in voicing concerns about Section 702’s renewal.

In 2024, for instance, those divisions nearly caused the program to lapse. The Senate barely missed its midnight deadline that year before approving by a 60-34 margin legislation to reauthorize Section 702 that was subsequently signed by then-President Joe Biden.

A spokesperson at the Justice Department did not immediately return messages seeking comment Monday about the national security concerns that would be created if the program lapses. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence referred inquiries to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“America faces real threats from foreign adversaries, terrorists, cyber actors, and hostile intelligence services,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media Sunday. “Section 702 remains one of our nation’s most effective tools for identifying and disrupting those threats before they reach our shores.”

Cotton and Grassley said they believed Democratic leaders would not support another short-term extension of the surveillance authority and urged Rubio to prepare contingency plans. They said Trump should consider an executive order to prevent a disruption in intelligence collection.

Cotton and Warner had said they were close on a bipartisan deal on a long-term extension and could still move quickly should a change occur before Friday. Still, the bill would likely need to go through the House — and the two chambers so far have disagreed on a separate issue regarding central banking digital currency.

“If we go dark next week, right before the World Cup FIFA games, and the 250th anniversary, that would be the most grossly irresponsible thing I’ve seen Congress do in my 22 years in office,” Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Cappelletti, Jalonick and Tucker write for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Wednesday night at a White House dinner that he wanted to make acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche’s leadership of the Department of Justice permanent.

The president said he thought the confirmation of his onetime personal defense attorney would go “very quickly,” according to a video posted from the dinner.

But early indications suggest that the process could be anything but.

Blanche, who assumed his current role after Trump fired former Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi in April, has been the face of some of the administration’s most unpopular actions, including the $1.8-billion “anti-weaponization fund,” the Justice Department’s release of the so-called Epstein files and a spate of prosecutions that critics have seen as politically motivated.

“He was nominated because he’ll do whatever the President demands. Todd Blanche should be under investigation — not under consideration for a promotion,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who sits on the committee, said in a statement.

Blanche was confirmed as deputy attorney general last year in a vote along party lines but now faces a changed political climate, in which Senate Republicans have felt more emboldened to question the administration’s actions.

Already, two Republicans who sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will decide Blanche’s fate, have expressed reservations about his nomination.

Republicans hold a 12-to-10 majority in the committee, so losing two votes probably would torpedo Blanche’s confirmation.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn told CNN reporter Manu Raju Thursday that he was concerned about the independence of Blanche, who served as Trump’s personal attorney in a New York case about his alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

“Being attorney general is probably one of the hardest jobs in the Cabinet, because you’re working for the president but you’re also supposed to be able to tell the president ‘no,’ ” Cornyn said. “So we need to talk about that.”

Cornyn recently lost his primary bid for reelection after Trump endorsed his opponent, Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton.

In recent weeks, Blanche has faced withering criticism for the anti-weaponization fund, which was created last month to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump, two of his sons and their business against the Internal Revenue Service.

Blanche publicly walked back the fund at a congressional hearing this week, after critics had described it as a slush fund for allies of the president who believed they had been prosecuted for political purposes, including those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters that the fund, and any support for participants in the Jan. 6 insurrection, would be a sticking point for him in Blanche’s nomination.

“The key for Todd or anyone going through the Judiciary Committee is being pretty tight on January the 6th,” Tillis said.

Tillis, who is not seeking reelection, previously held up the confirmation of another Trump appointee — Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh — over the senator’s concern about the prosecution of outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell in connection with statements Powell had made about a renovation of the Federal Reserve headquarters.

After the Powell investigation was dropped, Tillis supported Warsh’s nomination.

And Blanche will probably face questions during the confirmation process about the department’s prosecution of other perceived political enemies of the president, including former FBI Director James Comey, who is facing charges in North Carolina over a picture he posted on social media of seashells spelling out the numbers “86 47,” a reference to removing the president that prosecutors described as a death threat.

During Blanche’s first nomination hearing to be deputy attorney general, Tillis specifically asked Blanche to promise not to pursue any politically motivated prosecutions.

“I’ve got your commitment there will not even be a whiff of an investigation that appears to have a political motivation to it?” Tillis asked.

“I commit to that,” Blanche responded.

Even if he were to advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Blanche could face a tough confirmation vote in the full Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats. Two Republican senators facing tough reelection matchups, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, along with lame duck Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, could prove to be hard votes to win.

Blanche has also been criticized for his handling of the release of millions of pages of records from the Justice Department’s investigation into deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his interview with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

Last week, Blanche’s predecessor, former Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, placed the blame for the delayed release of files and improper redactions on Blanche’s shoulders.

He has also faced criticism for his decision to interview Maxwell in her Florida prison in July 2025, and for her transfer to a more comfortable prison in Texas soon after the interview was conducted. The former British socialite’s attorneys have made clear that she is seeking a pardon for her 2021 conviction and 20-year prison sentence.

This week’s Memorial will be McIlroy’s last event before this month’s US Open at Shinnecock Hills – and he revealed he undertook a scouting mission to the New York course earlier this week.

McIlroy missed the cut when Shinnecock last hosted the US Open in 2018, and while he was buoyed by what he saw before this year’s championship, he outlined the importance of tournament organisers the United States Golf Association (USGA) maintaining control of the green speeds.

In 2018, Phil Mickelson apologised for putting a moving ball on Shinnecock’s sun-baked greens, while in 2004 the par-three seventh green was called “unplayable” and had to be watered during the last round after two players putted off the green into bunkers.

“The fairways are very generous. They’re more generous than they were in 2018 but the first cut of rough is five inches long,” said McIlroy.

“The greens are rolling around 11, 11.2 [anything over 12 is considered fast and last year’s US Open at Oakmont was between 13 and 14], something like that and I really don’t think they need to get much faster.

“I think if they can keep them at that speed they can get them firm and use the hole locations that they want to use without having some of the struggles that they have had the last couple of US Opens.

“It’s all about them just maintaining the green speeds really where they are, not getting them too out of hand, and I think it will be a great week.”

SACRAMENTO — Like millions of Californians, I haven’t voted yet in the primary election. That’s because I can’t decide who should be our governor. Here’s what I’m thinking:

It’s an underwhelming field. But one of these Democratic contenders will very likely replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in January.

Based on the latest polling, a Democrat — probably Xavier Becerra — will qualify for the November general election ballot. That Democrat will face a Republican — very likely Steve Hilton.

It’s inconceivable that a Democratic gubernatorial candidate would lose to a Republican in this polarized, deep blue state. That means we’ll actually be choosing the governor in next Tuesday’s primary. You can dismiss the November face-off as essentially moot.

My mail ballot, like millions of others in California, has been sitting on the kitchen table for weeks.

As of this writing, I only know who I’m not voting for. And that’s either of the two Republicans: former Fox News host Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. That’s not because they’re Republicans. I’ve voted for plenty of Republicans — for governor, senator and president.

But Hilton won’t acknowledge that President Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020. And anyone who doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to Trump and recognize a basic fact of our democracy shouldn’t be trusted as our governor.

Bianco disqualified himself by buying into Trump’s persistent lies about election fraud and seizing 650,000 ballots from last November’s Proposition 50 voting. The sheriff wasted taxpayer resources and, moreover, doesn’t have any vote-counting expertise.

Now for the Democrats:

It has been a disappointing campaign — a missed opportunity to seriously discuss crucial issues such as the need to become more self-sufficient locally on water supply, significantly improve wildfire prevention and regulate the coming AI menace.

I’ve winced during televised debates and TV ads at ugly attacks against opponents.

For a while, I considered casting my vote for the Democrat ranking highest in the polls. I thought that in a large Democratic field, the vote could be splintered and only two Republicans would qualify for November. But that now seems inconceivable because three Democrats dropped out.

Anyway, an individual’s vote is too precious not to be used for the candidate considered best for the job.

These are my thoughts on who that might be:

Becerra, 68. He’s the Democratic front-runner and seemingly the safe choice. Not a huge risk taker. He probably wouldn’t screw up and make things worse. He might even marginally improve some stuff.

Calm and understated. Decent. Likable. He brings an impressive resume with the experience and knowledge to handle the job: a former U.S. health secretary, California attorney general, longtime congressman from Los Angeles and a state assemblyman.

Unfortunately, he has often been too vague about what he’d do as governor. That’s largely because he’s not the sort who rushes into things. He wants to first “scrub” the matter. Not a bad trait.

He should have better answers, however, for accusations that he was derelict in Washington for releasing thousands of undocumented immigrant children to sponsors who exploited them as laborers — and also for a scandal involving his top aide who pilfered Becerra’s campaign account. Becerra said he didn’t know about it. But he should have.

Becerra would be California’s first elected Latino governor. Like many California Latinos, he’s the son of hardworking Mexican immigrants who took advantage of their opportunity to seek the California Dream.

Tom Steyer, 68. Here’s the liberal firebrand who wants to shake up Sacramento.

The question is whether he has the ability and knowledge to pull it off. Steyer wants to split up the private utility monopolies and lower consumers’ electricity bills. And how’s he going to do that? We really haven’t heard.

He’s a billionaire who has never held public office and is trying to start at the top by spending $200 million of his own money to buy into the governor’s suite. California voters have always rejected such candidates.

I’ve got nothing against billionaires. In fact, I think it’s a noble use of their money to participate in democracy and try to fix the state.

But in Steyer’s case, his recent unrelenting attack ads against surging Becerra — now his chief campaign rival — are disturbing and seem like overkill. He’d be better off telling us how he plans to improve our daily lives.

Katie Porter, 52. I find her refreshing, despite a feisty personality that grates on many voters.

She’s a former Orange County congresswoman and longtime professor of consumer law who’s plenty smart.

What I like is she has done her homework, is very conversant on most issues and is specific about what she’d do as governor.

OK, some of her goals are probably beyond financial reach: single-payer healthcare, free college tuition and free child care.

But she’d shake up Sacramento and that’s needed. She’d stand up to special interests. And she’d be California’s first female governor.

Could she work well with the Legislature? Probably well enough, given a governor’s immense power to reward and punish.

Matt Mahan, 43. The centrist San José mayor hasn’t spent enough time in his current job to prove himself to voters beyond the San Francisco Peninsula. And he entered the race too late.

He’s not quite ready. Knock again in a few years.

Antonio Villaraigosa, 73. He might be the best potential governor of the lot.

He understands Sacramento as a former Assembly speaker and urban problems as an ex-Los Angeles mayor. He’s a no-nonsense guy who has been leveling with voters..

But age discrimination is a problem, although he’s only five years older than Becerra and Steyer. And he hasn’t held office in many years. His time is past.

For me, it’s time to pick up my ballot and decide who should be California’s next governor.

What else you should be reading

The must-read: Voter guide to the 2026 California primary election
Money, it’s a gas: Billionaire Tom Steyer’s $192.4-million self-funded California gubernatorial bid shatters records
The L.A. Times Special: Steve Hilton and Spencer Pratt need Latinos, not Trump

Until next week,
George Skelton

—
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NEW YORK — The NHL docked the Vegas Golden Knights a second-round pick in next month’s draft and fined coach John Tortorella $100,000 on Friday for violating media access rules after their series-clinching Game 6 victory over the Ducks on Thursday night.

Tortorella refused to speak to reporters after Vegas routed the Ducks 5-1 to move on to face Colorado in the Western Conference final. The Golden Knights also did not open their locker room in accordance with league and NHL Players’ Assn.-negotiated regulations.

The NHL in a statement announcing the punishment said the penalties for these “flagrant violations” come after previous warnings were issued to the Golden Knights. The team has been offered the opportunity to appeal to Commissioner Gary Bettman’s office in person at the league’s New York headquarters next week.

“The Golden Knights are aware of today’s announcement from the NHL regarding the postgame media availability following Game 6 in Anaheim,” the team said in a statement posted to social media. “The organization will have no further comment.”

Caoimhin Kelleher, Brentford, keeper, £4.8m – Crystal Palace (h)

Since week 29, Kelleher has returned a clean sheet every other week.

Arsenal aside, there aren’t many strong clean sheet picks this week but this Crystal Palace side is unlikely to be at full strength for the trip to the Gtech Community Stadium.

They will have their minds firmly on their Europa Conference League final and manager Oliver Glasner is likely to continue his rotation and protection of star players.

Gabriel, Arsenal, £7.3m – Burnley (h)

If you’re not picking the best defender in the game at home to a relegated team then something has gone wrong!

Gabriel got 11 points last week including defensive contribution points (defcon) making it just once in the past eight weeks that he has failed to return – and that was away at Manchester City.

Myles Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal, £5m – Burnley (h)

Double Arsenal defence again only this time I’m going with Lewis-Skelly, who might end up playing in midfield for the Gunners.

Burnley at home feels like a stonewall cleansheet for Arsenal and Lewis-Skelly could earn more defcon and pose a bigger attacking threat from a central midfield slot.

James Tarkowski, Everton, £5.7m – Sunderland (h)

Another 15-point return would be nice from Tarkowski, after his haul at Crystal Palace last time.

The fourth-highest scoring defender, he has returned defcon in 20 of 35 games to go with the attacking threat he demonstrated last week.

And Sunderland have scored just once in three games.

Malick Thiaw, Newcastle United, £4.9m – West Ham (h)

Another defcon monster who has been on the verge of a haul several times recently with no luck.

Thiaw’s xG over his past four games is 1.06 with nothing to show for it.

West Ham have only scored in one of their past four games so there are chances for points at both ends for Thiaw.

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed President Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, bringing new leadership to the world’s most powerful central bank at a fraught moment for the global economy.

Warsh was confirmed Wednesday in a largely party-line vote. His nomination had been thrown into doubt in recent months after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he would block the nomination while the Justice Department investigated Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell. The Powell inquiry was dropped in April, clearing the way for the Senate to confirm Warsh.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) urged colleagues to support Warsh during a floor speech Wednesday morning, saying it’s crucial that a Fed chair “understand not only the macro” but also “appreciate the microeconomy: and that’s the hardworking Americans, their jobs and their livelihoods.”

“Kevin Warsh is just such a person,” Thune said.

Warsh, 56, a former top Fed official, will become chair at an unusually difficult time for the independent agency.

Inflation has topped the Fed’s 2% target for five years and is now rising faster because of surging gas prices. The Fed’s interest rate-setting committee is divided and saw the most dissenting votes in more than three decades last month. And Powell, after years of personal attacks from the Republican president and an unprecedented legal investigation by the Justice Department, plans to stay on the Fed’s board even after his term as chair ends, potentially creating a competing power center.

Trump has demanded change at the Federal Reserve

The Fed has faced numerous threats to its independence from Trump, who has repeatedly attacked Powell for not cutting interest rates. Trump also sought to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook and launched an investigation into brief Senate testimony by Powell on a building renovation.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said in a Fox News interview on Sunday that he believes the markets are relieved that Warsh “is going to help lower interest rates over time.”

“Obviously, data driven,” said Hassett. “I’m not putting any pressure on Kevin Warsh.”

In December, Trump said on his social media platform that he wanted a Fed chair who would cut interest rates when the stock market rose — the opposite of what traditional economics would prescribe — and added, “Anyone that disagrees with me will never be the Fed chairman!”

Trump’s comments have fueled concerns over whether Warsh will set rates based on economic conditions or seek to cut rates to appease Trump, even if doing so could worsen inflation. At Warsh’s confirmation hearing last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, derided him as a “sock puppet” for Trump. Warsh declined to say that Democrat Joe Biden had won the 2020 election against Trump, who has falsely claimed that voter fraud cost him reelection.

Still, Warsh denied at the hearing that Trump had pressured him to reduce the Fed’s key rate.

“The president never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, period,” Warsh said then. “Nor would I ever agree to do so if he had. … I will be an independent actor if confirmed as chair of the Federal Reserve.”

A critic of the Fed’s leadership in the past

Warsh has been highly critical of the Fed’s recent track record, particularly the inflation spike in 2021-22, the worst in four decades, and has called for “regime change.” Yet he has provided only broad outlines of what that change would involve.

He has called for limiting the Fed’s communications, which would be a sharp shift after decades of increasing transparency. He has argued that some of its communications tools, such as quarterly forecasts of where its key rate may head, have made it harder for officials to switch gears.

Senate Democrats also have condemned Warsh for not fully divulging the details of his extensive wealth, which disclosures show amounts to at least $100 million. His investments include stakes in Polymarket and SpaceX, but he hasn’t revealed how large those holdings are. He promised to sell all such assets within 90 days of being sworn in.

“He will be the wealthiest Fed chair in history, but he refuses to provide transparency to the American people about who he is entangled with,” Warren said.

Warsh faces difficult economic conditions

The Fed is still grappling with how to respond to the 50% jump in gas prices from the Iran war. The increase has boosted inflation, which reached 3.8% in April.

The Fed is tasked by Congress with keeping prices stable, which it seeks to do by raising its short-term rate to make borrowing and spending more expensive, cooling growth and inflation.

The Fed typically looks past temporary price increases that stem from supply disruptions, such as the war’s cutoff of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, because those prices typically level off — or even fall back down — once the supply is restored.

But the Fed also followed that approach after the COVID-19 pandemic snarled global supply chains for goods, lifting prices for things such as cars, furniture and electronics. Inflation turned out to last longer than expected, and Powell and other Fed officials have acknowledged they waited too long to raise rates. Inflation surged to 9.1% by June 2022.

The Fed’s rate-setting committee has kept rates unchanged for three straight meetings as it evaluates the effect of the gas price spike. At its most recent meeting last month, three members of the committee objected to language that suggested its next move would be a rate cut. They preferred more neutral language that would allow for a hike. Many Fed watchers saw those dissents as a warning shot to Warsh that he won’t be able to easily engineer rate reductions.

A fourth member of the 12-member committee, Stephen Miran, dissented in favor of a rate cut, as he has at every meeting since Trump appointed him to the Fed’s board last September. Miran is serving until a replacement is named, and Warsh will take his spot.

Powell, meanwhile, said at a news conference April 29 that he would remain as a Fed governor until the Justice Department closes its investigation into the Fed’s building project, the first time a chair may stay on the board for an extended period since 1948. His term as a governor lasts until January 2028.

U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro has dropped the government’s investigation, but she has said it could be reopened if the Fed’s inspector general office, which has looked into the renovation project since last July, finds evidence of criminal activity.

Rugaber and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press.

Russian ⁠President Vladimir ⁠Putin has suggested that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder could coordinate talks with the European Union to secure a ⁠peace deal in Ukraine – a proposal met with scepticism by EU officials.

European Council President Antonio Costa said recently he believed there was “potential” for ⁠the EU to negotiate with Russia and to discuss the future of Europe’s security architecture.

Asked on Saturday whom he would like to see restarting talks with Europe, Putin said he would “personally” prefer Schroeder, who led Germany from 1998 to 2005 and has remained close to the Kremlin leader since leaving office.

A day later, the Russian leader said the ⁠four-year-old war may be “coming to an end”, adding that he was ready to hold direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Moscow or a neutral country.

Speaking after Saturday’s celebrations for Victory Day, which marks Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 at the end of World War II, Putin added he would be willing to meet Zelenskyy only once the terms of a peace agreement had already been settled.

Russia had announced a unilateral two-day ceasefire on May 8-9 to mark Victory Day, while Zelenskyy countered it with his own proposed pause in fighting starting earlier, on the night of May 5-6.

As part of a broader Washington-led push for ⁠peace, United States President Donald Trump on Friday announced a three-day pause in the conflict, but both sides have since accused the other of breaking it.

As US-backed peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow stall, here is a look at who Schroeder is and whether he could be a trustworthy mediator.

Who is Gerhard Schroeder?

The 82-year-old leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) served as Germany’s chancellor from 1998 to 2005, focusing his political goals on European integration, reducing unemployment, liberalising German citizenship laws, curbing nuclear power and rebuilding the economy.

Disagreements over the Iraq war caused a serious rift in German-US relations in 2003, when Germany sided with France and Russia in opposing military intervention in the country over claims that the then-Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, was producing weapons of mass destruction.

After leaving office in 2005, Schroeder ⁠almost immediately took a job as chairman of a controversial German-Russian ⁠consortium building a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea. He held key roles in Russian energy projects, including work on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and a seat on the board of Russian oil firm Rosneft, which he gave up in 2022.

While he quit that role, the former chancellor has remained close to Putin, standing apart from most Western leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and facing heavy ⁠criticism in Germany.

His failure to publicly condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has cost him several privileges normally granted to former chancellors, including receiving a state-funded office, making him a controversial figure at home.

What is his relationship with Putin?

Schroeder referred to Putin as “a flawless democrat” in 2004, declaring himself “thoroughly convinced that the Russian president wants to transform Russia into a democracy and that he is doing so out of a deeply held conviction”.

The then-German chancellor had little to say about Russian attempts to influence the elections in Ukraine during those years or about the Kremlin’s attacks on press freedom. On the contrary, under his leadership, Germany deepened its economic ties with Russia, grew trade and increased its dependency on Russian oil and natural gas.

In his book Klare Woerter (Straight Talk), Schroeder spoke about his relationship with the Russian leader, who worked as a KGB spy in the then-East Germany in the 1980s and is fluent in German.

“The most important thing for a friendship is a common language,” Schroeder, who has two adopted children from Russia – Viktoria and Gregor – said. “It makes everything easier.”

Their friendship reportedly continued to blossom over the years. Schroeder criticised moves to impose sanctions and eject Russia from the Group of Eight and even backed a Kremlin argument comparing the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region with NATO’s intervention in Serbia’s Kosovo province in 1999, which he himself helped lead as the German chancellor.

How are the Russia-Ukraine negotiations going?

The US-backed talks have faltered over the latest Russian offensive to seize the remaining parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk ⁠region, which Moscow has demanded Kyiv cede before it considers ending its war. Meanwhile, the two sides continue to carry out strikes against each other, with Ukraine making significant inroads in destroying Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks had killed at least three people, and that close to 150 combat engagements had occurred on the front lines in the previous 24 hours, despite the three-day pause in fighting.

“In other words, the Russian army is not observing any silence on the front and is not even particularly trying to,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address, adding that Ukrainian troops were responding and defending their positions.

On Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defence accused Ukraine of violating the pause, saying it had ‌downed 57 Ukrainian drones over the past day and “responded in kind” on the battlefield.

Control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, has also been a point of contention.

While Putin suggested the war was “coming to an end” on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said peace in Ukraine was a “very long way” away.

On Sunday, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov saying that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would visit Moscow “soon enough” to continue talks with Russia.

Are Ukraine and the West likely to trust Schroeder?

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas reacted with scepticism to Putin’s proposal. “If we give the right to Russia to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, you know, that would not be very wise,” she told reporters on Monday in advance of foreign ministers’ talks in Brussels.

“Gerhard Schroeder has been a high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies. So it’s clear why Putin wants him to be the person so that actually, you know, he would be sitting on both sides of the table,” she added.

Germany dismissed Putin’s suggestion on Sunday. The Reuters news agency quoted a German official as saying the offer was not credible because Russia had not changed any of its conditions, stressing that any talks with the EU would need to be closely ‌coordinated ‌with member states and Ukraine.

The official, who ⁠spoke on condition ⁠of anonymity, said Putin had made a series of bogus offers aimed at dividing the Western alliance.

The league’s worst team this season is getting the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The Washington Wizards won the draft lottery on Sunday and are poised to pick first overall for the first time since choosing John Wall in that spot in 2010. Wall was the Wizards’ on-stage representative for the lottery.

Washington had a 14% chance of winning No. 1, tied with Brooklyn and Indiana for the best odds. The Wizards had basically a 50-50 chance of getting either a top-four pick or the No. 5 spot.

But three consecutive years of losing — the three worst seasons in the franchise’s 65-year history — finally paid off Sunday for the Wizards, who went 17-65 this season and even allowed Miami’s Bam Adebayo to score 83 points for the league’s second-highest single-game total ever.

The Wizards swung deals to land Trae Young and Anthony Davis last season, and now they have a chance to add an immediate impact player with the No. 1 pick.

Utah will pick No. 2, Memphis will pick No. 3 and Chicago will pick No. 4.

The Clippers got the fifth pick — via a trade with the Pacers — followed by No. 6 Brooklyn, No. 7 Sacramento, No. 8 Atlanta, No. 9 Dallas, No. 10 Milwaukee, No. 11 Golden State, No. 12 Oklahoma City, No. 13 Miami and No. 14 Charlotte.

The draft begins June 23 in New York. The draft combine in Chicago starts on Monday.

No. 1 pick possibilities

There are four candidates that generally are considered front-runners to be the No. 1 pick, all of them entering the draft after their freshman years of college. They are:

— BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, who led the nation in scoring at 25.5 points per game in his lone college season.

— Duke’s Cameron Boozer, the AP player of the year who averaged 22.5 points and 10.1 rebounds.

— Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, who averaged 20.2 points in 24 games for the Jayhawks.

— North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, who averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds on 58% shooting.

All four of those players, and a few other likely first-round selections, were all among those in the studio for the announcement of the lottery results Sunday at Chicago’s Navy Pier.

“Standing here is kind of crazy,” Dybantsa said. “One of these teams is going to be home.”

Last of this format (probably)

This was the eighth, and likely final, year of this version of an NBA draft lottery, with the worst teams having a 14% chance of winning.

Framework fell into place last month on changes meant to further discourage tanking, and the league’s Board of Governors is expected to ratify that plan in the next few weeks — with general managers meeting in Chicago on Tuesday to discuss them presumably for one last time.

The three worst teams, starting next season, would have a 5.4% chance of winning — with the next seven teams all having an 8.1% chance of winning. The lottery would grow from 14 to 16 teams if the plan, as expected, is approved.

Reynolds writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — The Senate Banking Committee voted on party lines Wednesday to approve Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve to replace Jerome Powell, a longtime target of President Trump’s insults for not cutting borrowing costs as far as the president wanted.

The vote was 13-11, with all Republican senators voting in favor and Democrats opposed.

Warsh is a former top Fed official but has also been a sharp critic of the institution and Powell’s leadership. He has called the inflation spike to 9.1% in 2022 the central bank’s biggest policy mistake in four decades. A vote on his nomination probably won’t take place until next month, but he could be confirmed by the time Powell’s term as chair ends May 15.

The Senate Banking vote is the first of two key events surrounding the future of the Fed’s leadership. Also Wednesday, Powell is presiding over what will probably be his last meeting of the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee. At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Powell may indicate whether he will remain as a member of the central bank’s board of governors after his term as chair ends.

It would be unusual for Powell to stay, but doing so would deprive the Trump administration of an opportunity to appoint a new member to the board. Powell may choose to stay if he sees it as necessary to protect the Fed’s independence, which has become part of his legacy as its leader.

Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican and chair of the committee, said Warsh is “battle tested” and added that, “It is incredibly important that we break the bind of Bidenomics on households across this nation.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, criticized the banking panel for voting on Warsh’s nomination. Doing so “will bring the president one step closer to completing his illegal attempt to seize control of the Fed and artificially juice the economy,” she said, citing Trump’s effort to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook and investigate Powell.

The Fed on Wednesday is widely expected to leave its key rate unchanged at about 3.6% for its third straight meeting, defying Trump’s calls for lower rates.

Warsh has called for “regime change” at the Fed and could alter many of its practices, including the economics models it focuses on, how it communicates with the public, and how large its bondholdings will be in the long run.

Those changes could affect financial markets, but otherwise won’t necessarily be visible to the general public. But Warsh has also advocated for additional interest rate cuts, which could potentially lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and business loans. He will face barriers to implementing those cuts anytime soon, however, largely because the Iran war has caused a spike in gas prices, pushing inflation to a two-year high of 3.3%.

The Fed typically keeps rates elevated, or even raises them, to combat worsening inflation.

Most of the other 11 members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee have indicated they would prefer to wait and evaluate where inflation and the economy are headed before making any changes to rates. It could take time for Warsh to build up enough influence to push for rapid rate cuts. He will also replace Stephen Miran, a member of the Fed’s rate-setting committee who was appointed by Trump last September and is the most consistent advocate for rate reductions at the central bank.

Warsh also faces questions about his independence from the White House, a key issue that dogged him during a Senate Banking hearing last week. On Wednesday, Warren said, “Mr. Warsh is a Trump sock puppet who is so cowed by the president that he could not even say that Trump lost the 2020 election.”

Last December, Trump called for much lower interest rates in a social media post, and added that “anyone who does not agree with me will never be Fed chair!” And just last week he told Fox Business that he expects rates to head lower, “when Kevin gets in.”

Warsh denied at his hearing, however, that Trump had ever pressured him directly to cut rates.

Rugaber writes for the Associated Press.

If Ty Simpson develops into a top NFL quarterback who leads the Rams to a Super Bowl title, the club will look back at the 2026 draft as one of the best and shrewdest in its history.

Until then, it will be remembered for a news conference.

Yeah, that one.

The post-Day 1 session on Thursday night when coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead — the personable and ebullient duo that playfully channeled Top Gun’s “Maverick” and “Goose” in 2025 — appeared dour and subdued after selecting Simpson with the 13th overall pick.

The choice brought a collective groan from much of the fan base. And who could blame it?

They were eager to see their favorite team add a final piece — hello, USC receiver Makai Lemon? — to a roster perhaps one playmaker away from making the Rams the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium next February.

That’s no knock on Simpson, a charming and mature Tennessee native who started 15 games for Alabama before the Rams made him the heir apparent to Matthew Stafford.

The next day, Snead and McVay gave Simpson his flowers and repeated the same talking point: They are in “lockstep” as decision-makers. And McVay explained that his “grumpy” demeanor the night before was related to personal issues and his desire to delicately handle Stafford’s reaction to the pick.

On Saturday, the Rams did not make Snead or McVay available to reporters to summarize their draft, which included Simpson, Ohio State tight end Max Klare, Missouri offensive lineman Keagen Trost, Miami receiver CJ Daniels and Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III. It is the smallest draft class in Rams history, which befits a team with no glaring roster holes.

Ostensibly, Snead and McVay stepped aside to give assistant general manager John McKay and Nicole Blake, the director of scouting, strategy and analytics, experience dealing with questions from reporters, which they handled with aplomb.

But the braintrust’s absence only magnified that this draft was unlike any other it has overseen during 10 years of working as a team.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson laughs while standing on the draft stage with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday.

(Vera Nieuwenhuis / Associated Press)

It would have been difficult to top 2025.

The Rams won last year’s draft when they traded out of the first round in exchange for the Atlanta Falcons’ first-round pick this year. That gave the Rams the Falcons’ pick at No. 13 and their own at No. 29.

In March, the Rams traded the No. 29 pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in a package for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. The masterful move addressed the Rams’ most pressing need and gave them a Super Bowl-ready roster. Classic Snead.

The Rams, set up for a boom-or-bust season akin to 2021, were primed for another typical big swing with the 13th pick. But instead of giving Stafford another weapon, they gave him… his eventual replacement.

Choosing Simpson might prove a savvy move. Especially if Stafford is injured this season or retires in the next year or two. But the pick stunned many. And gauging his public reaction afterward, it appeared to unnerve McVay.

During their time together, Snead and McVay built teams that have played in two Super Bowls, winning one, and made eight playoff appearances. Some interpreted McVay’s demeanor on Thursday night as evidence of a splinter in one of the league’s most successful partnerships.

But that does not appear to be the case.

Recall that after the Rams lost in the NFC championship last January, team president Kevin Demoff’s first order of business was signing Snead and McVay to extensions that had been on the table all season.

Several days before the draft, McVay and Snead described their connection. And they did it with heartfelt comments.

“I truly love Les and I have such respect for the job that he does,” McVay said, adding, “There is nobody I’d rather be partnered up with.”

Said Snead: “From a life perspective, you hear it when players retire, they miss the locker room. Whenever that time comes for me, I’ll miss showing up and doing hard things with Sean just because that’s a relationship that probably makes life worth a living.’”

McVay probably feels that way about Stafford. During the 2021 season, Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl title. At 38, he is the reigning NFL most valuable player. He also is in negotiations for a contract adjustment.

But McVay’s desire to not hurt Stafford’s feelings by not publicly giving Simpson a trademark, positive-infused welcome-to-L.A. moment seemed misguided. Stafford is one of the toughest and most resilient players in the NFL. He is bound for the Hall of Fame. The guy seems pretty secure in who he is and where he stands with the team and in NFL history.

So the Rams broke from script. They abandoned an all-in pick for an investment in the future.

“You’re never one player away,” McVay said Saturday during a television interview with NFL Network. “We know that we have a chance to be a good football team but you earn it every single year.

“And if you could tell me that taking somebody would ensure us, I think we would do that. But it doesn’t quite work like that.”

No, it doesn’t.

And if Simpson lives up to the potential that the Rams see in him, it will be another in a string of genius decisions by Snead and McVay.

But if Lemon makes a big catch for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Rams in the NFC playoffs, the Rams might look back at it as the swing they should have taken.

Arsenal would move six points clear of second-placed Manchester City if they beat Fulham in their home game next week, though City, who were in FA Cup semi-final action this weekend, would have two games in hand.

That is because Manchester City were playing in the FA Cup semi-final earlier on Saturday against Southampton and are not back in league action until Monday, 4 May when they play Everton.

Having that buffer of points built up by the time of City’s next game at Everton on Monday 4 May would be a huge boost for Arteta’s side given they went into this weekend off the top for the first time since October.

According to Opta, Arsenal have a 72.44% chance of lifting the Premier League trophy at the end of the season compared to the 27.56% chance of Manchester City.

“You can’t question their fight. Arsenal have given absolutely everything on that pitch today,” former Crystal Palace and Brighton striker Glenn Murray said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Another huge three points for Arsenal to keep them top of the league.”

Arsenal are without a major trophy since the FA Cup triumph of 2020 which came in Arteta’s first season in charge.

And captain Martin Odegaard said that the effort the players put in is because every member of the team is doing what they can to get over the line.

“It was tough, very intense, very physical,” he told Sky Sports. “We did everything we could and we got the win, the most important thing was to bounce back with a win and get over the line with the three points.”

But for Odegaard, who played the full 90 minutes, and the rest of the squad attention quickly switches to the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

“This schedule is crazy,” Odegaard added. “We just have to keep going. It is the end of the season, just leave everything out that we have inside, fight every single game and we just have to keep going.

“That’s where we want to be but it is going to go all the way to the end. We are ready for it and we will fight every single day.”

Ohio State tight end Max Klare speaks during a new conference at the NFL scouting combine in February.

(Eric Gay / Associated Press)

6 feet 4, 246 pounds | Ohio State | Round 2, Pick 61

Notable: Klare began his career at Purdue and played three seasons for the Boilermakers before transferring to Ohio State.

Last season: Klare caught 43 passes for 448 yards and two touchdowns for the Buckeyes, who finished 12-2.

Why the Rams drafted him: McVay at times used a tight-end heavy offense during the latter part of last season, so the Rams need reinforcements for a position group that includes veteran Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and Terrance Ferguson. Higbee is at the far end of his career and Parkinson is in the final year of his contract, and none of his salary is guaranteed, according to Overthecap.com.

Florida center Jake Slaughter gets set during a game against Kentucky in 2024.

(Gary McCullough / Associated Press)

6-4, 303 pounds | Florida | Round 2, Pick 63

Notable: Slaughter was a finalist for the 2025 Rimington Trophy, awarded to the top center in college football. He was a two-time All-American and three-year starter at Florida.

Last season: Slaughter, 23, ranked 18th among FBS centers in pass block grade (84.1) and third in run block grade (80.2) in 2025, per Pro Football Focus. Over 748 snaps last season, he allowed four total pressures, one sack and one hit on his way to earning All-Southeastern conference honors.

Why the Chargers drafted him: Despite Slaughter playing as a center in college, the Chargers are confident he can compete with Trevor Penning for a starting job at left guard. The Chargers like his versatility at both guard positions and center, offering them a potential starter at either position and much-needed depth. After last season’s struggles to protect quarterback Justin Herbert in the wake of injuries to Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, it makes perfect sense Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz would use a Day 2 pick to extend their flexibility on the offensive line.

Quarterback Ty Simpson arrived in Los Angeles on Friday — and the Rams’ first-round draft pick sounded as if he couldn’t wait to start learning from coach Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford.

“The best head coach in the league, the best quarterback in the league, the best … franchise in the league — it’s a perfect situation,” Simpson said during a news conference at the Rams’ draft headquarters in Inglewood.

How the situation plays out — short and long term — remains to be seen.

Stafford, 38, will enter his 18th NFL season as the reigning NFL most valuable player.

With free agent Jimmy Garoppolo mulling retirement, McVay said Thursday night that Simpson would compete with Stetson Bennett to be Stafford’s backup.

The Rams used the 13th pick to select Simpson, 23, who started 15 games for Alabama.

McVay said that he had informed Stafford that the Rams would select Simpson.

“He was great,” McVay said of Stafford’s reaction. “He’s a stud. He’s always first class in every sense of the word.”

But McVay and general manager Les Snead were not their typically ebullient selves when discussing Simpson during their Thursday night news conference. Some observers perceived that as a break in what is regarded as one of the NFL’s best coach-general manager partnerships.

On Friday, Snead said in an interview with ESPN radio that he and McVay work “in lockstep.”

So their muted reactions Thursday might have been out of sensitivity, warranted or not, to not upset Stafford after drafting his heir apparent in the first round. McVay took pains to remind that the Rams are Stafford’s team, seemingly to not offend the Rams’ most important player.

After last year’s draft-day trade with the Atlanta Falcons, the Rams went into the offseason with two first-round picks — their own at No. 29 and the one acquired from the Falcons at 13.

Ty Simpson poses for a photo with his family during a news conference in Inglewood on Friday.

(Caroline Brehman / Associated Press)

In March, the Rams used the 29th pick in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, so perhaps the 13th pick was regarded as a luxury.

They spent it on a player who was at Alabama for four seasons, but started only one.

Snead acknowledged that as Simpson pondered whether to remain at Alabama or make himself available for the draft, Snead spoke with Simpson’s father, Jason, who like Snead played college football in the Southeastern Conference and is now the coach at Tennessee Martin. Snead said it was in the role similar to the NFL’s College Advisory Committee, which evaluates prospects and lets them know in what round, if any, that they might be selected. Snead reportedly told Jason Simpson his son was first-round caliber.

“You try to get across it’s not about where you get drafted,” Snead said Thursday night. “It’s more about where you go and what situation you go and what you do with that opportunity after.”

A few months later, the Rams drafted Simpson, who was upbeat as he met with reporters, while his parents and his brother and sister sat nearby.

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The Rams drafted Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft in Pittsburgh.

Simpson, who passed for 28 touchdowns, with five interceptions last season, was in Southern California last January when Alabama lost to Indiana in the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide did a walkthrough at SoFi Stadium.

Now he will begin his NFL career there.

“I’m, I guess, like a redneck in Southern California,” he joked. “So we’ll see how that goes. But I’m super excited to be here. This is a great place, with great people and I can’t wait to get started.”

Simpson said that Rams safety Quentin Lake had texted him. He also received a social media message from Stafford’s wife, Kelly, inviting him and his family to reach out if they need anything.

“Can’t wait to talk to Matthew,” said Simpson, who characterized the veteran as “an assassin” on the field. “I’m super excited because I just want to pick his brain about everything.”

Simpson met with McVay on Friday.

“He’s got the juice, man,” Simpson said, “like that dude … he’s a fireball.”

Simpson said he benefited from the years he spent at Alabama before he got his opportunity to play last season.

“The years that I sat were … probably more important,” he said, “because I had to learn how to practice. I had to learn how to study when I wasn’t playing because I didn’t know when that time was going to come.

“And so whenever that time did come — it was this year — I made the most of it.”

Now he is ready for the next phase of his career.

He said his faith was his foundation, and that he aspires to be “not only be the best football player I can be,” but also a better teammate and person.

“I want people to come into the locker room and smile, knowing that ‘Hey, Ty’s here,’” he said. “I want to lead, influence people and I think at the quarterback position that’s what you need to do.”

His immediate goal is modest.

“My plan is just to get better each and every day,” he said, “so, eventually, I have a long career like Matthew.”