Donald Trump’s decision to ban Harvard from enrolling foreign students has caused irreparable damage, says one student leader. The order was the latest move in the administration’s escalating battle with the Ivy League school. A federal judge has now temporarily blocked it.
Published On 23 May 202523 May 2025
For weeks now, Americans — left, right and terminally online — have been obsessed with Joe Biden’s fitness as president. The whispers about cognitive decline, once the province of Fox News pundits and dinner table cranks, have gone mainstream. And now, with the release of a couple of high-profile books and a report confirming that Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the narrative has curdled into something that feels downright scandalous — maybe even conspiratorial. A full-blown cover-up.
Is that an understandable, if predictable, reaction? Sure. But let’s not pretend this was some shocking plot twist. Biden has been aging in public like a banana on a dashboard for a decade — a fact that became undeniable after his infamous June 2024 debate with Donald Trump.
So who’s to blame? Let’s start with Biden’s inner circle. The underlying charge is that Biden was asleep at the wheel, with someone else driving the presidential bus. We’ve seen this narrative before: The figurehead nods, the handlers handle and the country rolls on, more or less. With various degrees of verisimilitude, similar charges have been leveled at the administrations of Woodrow Wilson (hi, Edith) and Ronald Reagan (hi, Nancy).
My take on Biden is pretty much the same as it was with Reagan. Whoever was running the country wasn’t half bad. Sure, maybe, toward the end, Uncle Joe wasn’t gripping the wheel as tightly as he used to. But at least the bus stayed between the lines.
Whether it was Jill Biden, “The Politburo” (a cabal of top aides accused of running the show) or a sentient Microsoft Excel spreadsheet — the government mostly worked. Ukraine got funded, the stock market didn’t implode, and your odds of being sent to prison in El Salvador were virtually nil.
Yes, mistakes were made during Biden’s presidency. Plenty. The Afghanistan withdrawal was a disaster. Illegal border crossings soared. Biden’s COVID relief probably juiced inflation. But these weren’t deranged or asleep-at-the-wheel decisions: They were predictable policy fumbles, consistent with Biden’s worldview (sort of like an NFL coach opting to run a prevent defense in the third quarter — wrongheaded, but understandable).
The more obvious problem was Biden’s inability to communicate. Biden couldn’t explain where he wanted to drive the bus, let alone inspire confidence in his ability to get us there. And that’s not just bad political optics. It’s a real governance issue. If FDR had mumbled through the fireside chats, we might all be speaking German.
Biden insiders squinted and pretended everything was fine. Not because they’re villains, but because even proximity to power is addictive.
Other Biden enablers had more noble reasons to convince themselves the ends justified the means. If Trump is an existential threat to democracy, then keeping Grandpa Joe upright — literally, metaphorically, pharmaceutically — was a moral imperative.
Again, understandable: Trump’s lies about the 2020 election led to an armed mob chanting about hanging the vice president. The exaggerations about Biden’s fitness mostly led to awkward silences and gentle nudges offstage.
But this isn’t just about Biden’s inner circle deluding themselves. The media was complicit, too. Their main contribution wasn’t lying or even spinning (although there are examples of both). The dirty secret of modern media is this: Yes, the news industry leans liberal. But more than that, it leans toward drama, car chases and celebrity trials.
Biden, bless his heart, is boring. And thanks to Trump’s penchant for being the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral, guess who got the attention?
Think I’m making excuses or exaggerating? A mere two days after the report came out in which special counsel Robert Hur described Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” Trump went out of his way to change the subject by: 1) attacking Nikki Haley’s husband (who was on a military deployment) and 2) telling NATO allies he wouldn’t honor our treaty and defend them from Russia if they don’t pay their bills.
An old maxim says you should never interfere with your opponent when he’s committing suicide. Well, Biden was in the process of drowning, and Trump threw him a life preserver.
Again, the “media” didn’t ignore Biden’s age. Respected veteran Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote a sober plea for him to step aside. David Axelrod — Barack Obama’s own Jedi — sounded the alarm all over mainstream media. Heck, I piled on, too.
The coverage existed. But media bias isn’t just about what gets reported. It’s about what gets repeated. Loudly. Over and over. So, yes, Biden’s decline was reported and discussed. It just wasn’t amplified.
Now, we can pretend this is some devious plot. Or we can admit that real life isn’t “House of Cards” or even “Veep.” It was something much more banal: collective inertia.
In the end, the scandal isn’t that the media and Democratic partisans conspired to keep us in the dark about Joe Biden’s fitness for office. The scandal is that the truth was hidden in plain sight (the American public knew Biden was unfit), yet a lot of elites chose not to see it.
Not because they’re evil, but because of loyalty, proximity to power, exhaustion and yes, desperation. Because they’re human.
And maybe, just maybe, because they were terrified of what (or who) would come next, when the old man finally shuffled offstage.
Matt K. Lewis is the author of “Filthy Rich Politicians” and “Too Dumb to Fail.”
I was never a fan of pleasantries because they seemed like a waste of time. Something that two people said to each other before they could say real things to each other. As years go by, more and more of our verbal interaction has taken the form of extended pleasantries. Little, it feels, that people say to each other is real. It’s about how they wish to look, how they can best position themselves, agenda.
That’s one reason I always loved the character of Norm Peterson on the sitcom “Cheers,” played by George Wendt, who has now cashed out his tab at the age of 76 and left this earthly barroom for one where I hope the kegs never run dry.
Norm was universal from the first time he entered the hostelry — as perpetual student and not-very-effective waitress Diane Chambers would have put it.
There was no more artful ingress in the history of American television than any of the many made by Norm, and they were so good, and had so much room for variability, that we got to witness one in every episode of the show.
You know the gag: Norm comes through the door, ready for a cold beer, someone asks him how he’s doing, and he answers.
But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there? I’m hesitant to even call the gag a gag, because it’s replete with a quality increasingly rare in our world: authenticity.
Norm doesn’t treat the inquiry — “How’s the world treating you, Norm?” — as perfunctory pleasantry. Which is what we almost always do.
In one episode, his response is, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.” A query of “What’s shaking?” prompts a reply of “All four cheeks and a couple of chins.”
But in real life, when someone asks us how we are, we say, “Good, and you?” The truth is, we’ve just answered automatically, without a single thought, and we’re unlikely to be listening to whatever answer the other person gives us.
But what an amazing idea it is to ask someone how they are and care about the answer. To be invested in their well-being from the start. To jettison pretense and formality. And how subversive it is to treat another’s tossed-off query as though they cared. Maybe that shifts us all toward paying attention.
Norm always answered truthfully. He gave his interlocutor — and the patrons of the bar who enjoyed his quips — a tart response peppered with wit. But he was also willing to go there. And where’s that? To a place of being humble. Of admitting to struggle.
Now, Norm’s life might not have seemed arduous. He owned a house, had a wife who stood by him although he spent his evenings with the gang at Cheers — often dodging her phone calls. He didn’t work that much when he worked at all.
In a world that’s now rammed with loneliness, it’s easy to watch Norm and think, “I wish I had what that barfly had.” Norm has people. He’s both liked and loved.
Times change. I don’t think you could have a Cheers-type setup in our current iteration of life, but maybe you never could have one without sitcom magic. Shows idealize. But there’s truth and wisdom in both “Cheers” and Norm, without whom Cheers wouldn’t have been Cheers. And we can still wish. We must.
In “Crime and Punishment,” Dostoevsky wrote that everyone needs a somewhere. A somewhere can be a someone. It’s what helps us to be ourselves. Naked and open. Emotionally. Spiritually.
Norm never felt a need to embellish. He owned his struggles — what may have been his depression. His failings. He dished out the bons mots with each entrance like he was a thirsty Pascal who paid for his drinks in pensées, which made him an inspiration.
The gag never became less efficacious. It was the sitcom analogue to Conan Doyle’s “the trick,” the term for when Sherlock Holmes would dazzle Dr. Watson by telling him everything about someone just by looking at their walking stick.
I remember watching Norm when I was 8 and even then thinking he was cool. This wasn’t a star athlete. He could have lived across the street. He blew me away — as he made me laugh — simply by being brave enough to tell the truth about where he was at.
With Norm, the quotidian was never just the quotidian. It’s like in baseball: Everyone says in May that it’s early in the season, it doesn’t matter, but all the games still count as much as any of the other games.
That’s how Norm lived, and we have George Wendt to thank for Norm’s example, because you can’t imagine anyone else in the part. As to the question of how the world was treating Norm, I think the answer lies somewhere in how Norm understood what was important in the world. That’s worth a round on the house.
Colin Fleming is the author, most recently, of “Sam Cooke: Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963.”
RYAN Thomas is set to make a comeback to Coronation Street for Sue Cleaver’s exit after almost a decade away – and now he has revealed the real reason why.
The actor-turned-reality-star played builder Jason in the ITV soap from 2000 until leaving in 2016.
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Ryan says he wanted to pay the soap that made him famous back.
He said: “It was a mix of nostalgia and gratitude for what the show has done for me. When they told me Eileen was leaving, it felt right to be a part of that storyline for her and revisit where it all started.”
Jason has barely changed since the last time he was on the cobbles.
Actor Ryan says he’s “still that happy-go-lucky, lovable guy” – who is set for a romantic twist in his upcoming scenes.
Ryan said: “He makes it up as he goes along, has a loving heart, and is all about family,.
“He certainly hasn’t changed when it comes to women, straight away he is taking someone back home with him and getting himself into hot water with his brother.
“He’s struggling for money, his girlfriend left him, and he needs his mum.
He says he’s come back for Eileen, but he really needs a cuddle and his safety net.”
Eileen Grimhshaw is set to exit the cobbles with actress Sue Cleaver quitting the soap after an incredible 25 years.
But former I’m A Celebrity campmate Sue will not be killed off in case Sue opts to make a return in the future.
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Alyssa Lee of El Camino Real has achieved something few volleyball coaches can claim.
With El Camino Real’s boys team winning the City Section Open Division championship on Saturday after an upset over No. 1-seeded Venice, Lee has won City titles coaching El Camino Real’s boys, girls and beach volleyball teams, the Triple Crown of volleyball coaching.
“That’s very impressive,” said Granada Hills coach Tom Harp, who had Lee on his girls’ team when she graduated in 2009.
Harp, a future Hall of Fame coach in the City Section, said Lee is calm and comfortable on the bench and knows strategy well.
El Camino Real opens the state playoffs on Tuesday in Division 2 with a home game against Escondido Classical Academy.
Mira Costa is seeded No. 1 in Division 1…
The CIF Southern California tennis championships will be held Friday and Saturday at Claremont Club. Here’s the bracket…
Southern Section golf team championships are set for Monday and Tuesday. The individual championship will be Thursday. The City Section championships are Wednesday at Harding Golf Course.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir – In a quiet laser clinic in Indian-administered Kashmir’s biggest city, Srinagar, Sameer Wani sits with his arm stretched out, his eyes following the fading ink on his skin.
The word “Azadi” (freedom in Urdu), once a bold symbol of rebellion against India’s rule, slowly disappears under the sting of the laser. What was once a mark of defiance has become a burden he no longer wants to carry.
As Sameer, 28, watches the ink vanish, his mind drifts to a day he will never forget. He was riding his motorbike with a friend when Indian security forces stopped them at a checkpoint.
During the frisking, one of the officers pointed to the tattoo on his arm and asked, “What is this?”
Sameer’s heart raced. “I was lucky he couldn’t read Urdu,” he tells Al Jazeera, his voice tinged with the memory. “It was a close call. I knew right then that this tattoo could get me into serious trouble.”
When he was younger, he said, the tattoo was a “sign of strength, of standing up for something”.
“But now I see it was a mistake. It doesn’t represent who I am any more. It’s not worth carrying the risk, and it’s not worth holding on to something that could hurt my future.”
Sameer is one of many young Kashmiris choosing to erase tattoos that once reflected their political beliefs, emotional struggles or identity. Once worn with pride, the tattoos are now being removed in growing numbers across the region – quietly and without fanfare.
While a trend to remove tattoos was already under way, the urgency has deepened since India and Pakistan – who have fought three wars over Kashmir since emerging as independent nations in 1947 – came to the brink of yet another war following the killing of 26 people in the scenic resort town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of backing an armed rebellion that erupted on the Indian side in 1989. Pakistan rejects the allegation, saying it only provides moral diplomatic support to Kashmir’s separatist movement.
Two weeks after Pahalgam, India, on May 7, launched predawn drone and missile attacks on what it called “terror camps” inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir – the most extensive cross-border missile strikes since their war in 1971. For the next three days, the world held its breath as the South Asian nuclear powers exchanged fire until United States President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between them on May 10.
However, peace remains fragile in Indian-administered Kashmir, where a crackdown by Indian forces has left the region gripped by fear. Homes of suspected rebels have been destroyed, others have been raided, and more than 1,500 people have been arrested since the Pahalgam attack, many under preventive detention laws.
In such a tense atmosphere, many Kashmiri youth say they feel exposed – and more vulnerable to scrutiny over even the most personal forms of expression.
“Every time something happens between India and Pakistan, we feel it on our skin – literally,” Rayees Wani, 26, a resident of Shopian district, tells Al Jazeera.
“I have a tattoo of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s name on my arm, and after the Pahalgam attack, I started getting strange looks at checkpoints,” he said, referring to the separatist leader who passed away at the age of 91 in 2021. The Hurriyat is an alliance of pro-freedom groups in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“Even my friends ask me uncomfortable questions. The media, police, and even the neighbours start looking at you differently,” Rayees added.
“I just wish people understood that a tattoo doesn’t define someone’s loyalty or character. We are just trying to live, not explain ourselves every day. I want to erase this as soon as possible.”
Arsalan, 19, from Pulwama recently booked a tattoo removal session. He did not share his last name over fears of reprisal from the authorities.
“People with visible tattoos – especially those hinting at past political affiliations – are suddenly worried they could be profiled, questioned – or worse,” he said.
To be sure, tattoo culture itself isn’t fading in Kashmir. Tattoo studios are still busy, especially with clients aged between 22 and 40, many of whom wait for hours to get inked. But the trend has shifted; instead of political or religious tattoos, people now prefer minimalistic designs, nature-inspired patterns, names or meaningful quotes in stylish fonts.
Some Kashmiris trying to get rid of tattoos say that’s part of their personal evolution and growth.
“For me, it was about being brave,” Irfan Yaqoob from Baramulla district told Al Jazeera. Now 36, Yaqoob got a slain rebel’s name tattooed on his left arm when he was a teenager.
“Back then, it felt like a symbol of courage. But now, when I look at it, I realise how much I have changed. Life has moved on, and so have I. I have a family, a job, and different priorities. I don’t want my past to define me or create trouble in the present. That’s why I decided to get it removed. It’s not about shame. It’s about growth,” he said.
It isn’t just the security forces that are driving this move among many Kashmiris to get rid of tattoos.
For some, tattoos became painful reminders of a turbulent past. For others, they turned into obstacles, especially when they tried to move ahead professionally or wanted to align the inscription on their bodies with their personal beliefs.
Anas Mir, who also lives in Srinagar, had a tattoo of a sword with “Azadi” written over it. He got it removed a few weeks ago.
“People don’t clearly say why they are removing tattoos. I removed mine only because of pressure from my family,” the 25-year-old said.
“It’s my choice what kind of tattoo I want. No one should judge me for it. If someone had an AK-47 or a political tattoo, that was their choice. The authorities or government shouldn’t interfere. And yes, tattoo trends also change with time,” he added, referring to the Russian-made Avtomat Kalashnikova assault rifles, arguably the most popular firearm in the world.
One of the key reasons behind people removing tattoos is religion. In a Muslim-majority region, tattoos, especially those carrying religious or political messages, could often conflict with the faith’s teachings.
Faheem, 24, had a Quranic verse tattooed on his back when he was 17.
“At that time, I thought it was an act of faith,” he told Al Jazeera, without revealing his last name over security fears. “But later, I realised that tattoos – especially with holy verses – are not encouraged [in Islam]. It started to bother me deeply. I felt guilty every time I offered namaz [prayers] or went to the mosque. That regret stayed with me. Getting it removed was my way of making peace with myself and with my faith.”
Many others said they shared the feeling. Some visit religious scholars to ask whether having tattoos affects their prayers or faith. While most are advised not to dwell on past actions, they are encouraged to take steps that bring them closer to their beliefs.
“It’s not about blaming anyone,” said Ali Mohammad, a religious scholar in Srinagar. “It’s about growth and understanding. When someone realises that something they did in the past doesn’t align with their beliefs any more, and they take steps to correct it, that’s a sign of maturity, not shame.”
Another key factor driving tattoo removals is job security. In Kashmir, government jobs are seen as stable and prestigious. But having a tattoo, especially one with political references, can create problems during recruitment or background checks.
Talib, who disclosed his first name only, had a tattoo of a Quranic verse shaped like an AK-47 rifle on his forearm. When he applied for a government position, a family friend in law enforcement hinted it might be an issue.
“He didn’t say it directly, but I could tell he was worried,” said the 25-year-old. “Since then, I have been avoiding half-sleeve shirts. I got many rejections and no one ever gave a clear reason, but deep down, I knew the tattoo was a problem. It felt like a wall between me and my future.”
As the demand for tattoo removal rises, clinics in Srinagar and other parts of Indian-administered Kashmir are seeing a steady increase in clients. Laser sessions, once rare, are now booked weeks in advance.
Mubashir Bashir, a well-known tattoo artist in Srinagar who also runs a tattoo removal service, said: “After a popular singer’s death in 2022, the trend of AK-47 tattoos exploded,” Bashir said. Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, whose music often glorified guns, was killed in May 2022. Police blamed his death on an inter-gang rivalry.
“But now, especially after the Pahalgam attack, we are seeing more people coming in to erase those tattoos. The fear is real,” Mubashir said.
He estimated that tens of thousands of tattoos have been removed in the region over the past seven years, since 2019, when India abrogated Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and launched a major crackdown, arresting thousands of civilians. “Some say the tattoo no longer represents them. Others mention problems at work or while travelling,” Mubashir said.
Laser tattoo removal isn’t easy. It requires multiple sessions, costs thousands of rupees and can be painful. Even after successful removal, faint scars or marks often remain. But for many Kashmiris, the pain is worth it.
Sameer, whose “Azadi” tattoo is almost gone, remembers the emotional weight of the process. “I didn’t cry when I got the tattoo,” he says. “But I cried when I started removing it. It felt like I was letting go of a part of myself.”
Still, Sameer believes it was the right choice. “It’s not about shame,” he says. “I respect who I was. But I want to grow. I want to live without looking over my shoulder.”
As he finishes another laser session, a faint scar is all that is left of the word that is Kashmir’s war-cry for freedom.
“I will never forget what that tattoo meant to me when I was 18,” Sameer says as he rolls down his sleeve. “But now, I want to be someone new. I want a life where I don’t carry old shadows.”
Defending champions Real Madrid come from behind to beat Mallorca and keep La Liga title defence alive.
Jacobo Ramon scored deep into stoppage time as Real Madrid rallied to beat Mallorca 2-1 and delay Barcelona’s title celebration.
Madrid needed the victory on Wednesday to keep Barcelona from clinching its 28th league title without winning another match. The Catalan club remains four points ahead and can still lift the trophy with a win at city rival Espanyol on Thursday.
Mallorca took the lead with a goal by Martin Valjent in the 11th minute and stayed ahead until Kylian Mbappe beat a couple of defenders to equalise in the 68th.
Ramon netted the go-ahead goal from inside the area five minutes into injury time, preventing Barcelona from winning the title, for now.
Mbappe is still in the race to be the league’s leading scorer, arriving for Wednesday’s match with 27 goals, two more than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski. Mbappe had a hat-trick in the loss to Barcelona on Sunday.
Barcelona virtually secured the title by coming from behind to beat Madrid 4-3 in Barcelona in the last “Clasico” of the season on Sunday. Madrid lost all four matches against Barcelona this season, being outscored 16-7. It was the first time Barcelona won every “Clasico” in a season that had at least three matches between the rivals.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti received a mostly indifferent reaction from the fans at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday after taking over the Brazil job.
The Italian was announced as Brazil’s new coach on Monday, and some Madrid fans criticised the coach for negotiating with the five-time champions with the La Liga season still under way.
There were no significant jeers or cheers when Ancelotti’s name was announced by the loudspeakers at the Bernabeu before the match, with most fans applauding and saying his name along with the announcer, following the tradition at the stadium.
Many people across the United States are rushing to replace their driver’s licenses and state IDs with federally compliant licences, known as Real ID cards, now required to board domestic flights.
As of May 7, all US citizens more than 18 years of age must show proof of identification that meets the 2005 Real ID Act’s rules, which set higher federal security standards. But this change in federal travel requirements is creating some confusion about what it means for noncitizens.
Passed two decades ago by Congress in response to the bipartisan 9/11 Commission’s recommendations following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC, the aim of the programme was to raise security standards for domestic travel and federal and nuclear facility access.
But immigration experts say the law’s enactment during the second Trump administration has left noncitizens – including some of the 13.5 million people legally in the US on green cards, work and student visas and humanitarian parole – uncertain about what the rule change could mean for their travel.
US President Donald Trump has promised and prioritised mass deportations of criminals and undocumented people in the US. But in practice, his policies have swept up US citizens and people with a legal immigration status. He has also tried to end legal pathways that allowed people to temporarily live and work in the US. Many of these actions are being challenged in court.
Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about Real ID and its effect on citizen versus noncitizen travel.
The Department of Homeland Security says the aim of the Real ID requirements was to bring consistency to the minimum documentation requirements needed for state-issued IDs – driver’s license, learner’s permits and nondriver IDs.
Now, all states issuing Real ID-compliant cards require people applying for those cards to present certain documentation. The exact requirements vary by state, but in most cases, the minimum documents needed include:
A Real ID card bears a black or gold star or a US flag in its upper right corner. State-issued ID cards that don’t have these markers will not be accepted as proof of identity to board domestic flights or enter federal facilities.
Here are some examples of what Real IDs look like:
Examples of Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses posted on the Department of Homeland Security’s website.
No, you can still travel domestically provided you have another form of identification that is Real ID-compliant.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lists many other forms of acceptable IDs, including options for people who are not US citizens. Among them:
There’s one big caveat: TSA says the list of acceptable IDs is subject to change without notice and advises travellers to check the list before travelling.
Although numerous forms of IDs are accepted for noncitizens, the Real ID policy could have a chilling effect on travelers whose documentation differentiates them from citizens, immigration experts told us.
As one example, immigration attorney Prerna Lal said that, in any interaction with federal authorities, carrying a foreign passport could lead to scrutiny of that person’s identity if they lack legal immigration status.
“Even with valid foreign passports, undocumented individuals and mixed-status families may avoid travelling due to concerns about interactions with TSA or law enforcement, despite passports remaining acceptable documentation,” Lal said. “This fear of enforcement, rather than access to IDs, is the primary chilling effect on the immigrant community.”
A TSA officer may ask a person to complete an identity verification process. If the identity is confirmed, that person will be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint.
Yes, the Real ID regulations define an individual in a “temporary lawful status” as a person who has a pending application for asylum; has a pending or approved application for temporary protected status; has approved deferred action; or has a pending application for lawful permanent resident or conditional permanent resident status.
The Real ID Act lets states issue temporary, Real ID driver licenses and ID cards to people with temporary status. People with a temporary immigration status are usually granted temporary valid employment authorisation and Social Security numbers, which they can use to apply for Real IDs. Their temporary Real ID will remain valid until their lawful status expires. Florida is one exception: The Sunshine State requires almost all immigrants with lawful status to renew their IDs annually. Green card holders in Florida don’t have to renew a REAL ID every year; their Real ID is valid until their green card expires. Most green cards are valid for 10 years, but people can apply for a renewal.
Also, people with valid student or work visas can present their unexpired passports, visas and I-94 forms – documents that show a person’s authorised period of stay in the US – for proof of identity and legal status and get a Real ID.
States that provide non-Real ID compliant ID cards to people without legal immigration status can still do so, according to DHS, but the cards must clearly state that they are not acceptable for Real ID purposes and must have a unique design or colour to differentiate them from compliant cards. These non-Real ID-compliant ID cards cannot be used as a form of identification for domestic travel.
Lal told PolitiFact that a Real ID alone does not prevent a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s arrest or confirm a lawful immigration status. Although Real ID-compliant identification requires proof of lawful presence for issuance, it is not proof of current immigration status.
“ICE conducts its own verification, and possessing a Real ID does not grant immunity from enforcement actions,” Prerna said.
Prerna said that people should present to ICE valid, government-issued documentation that shows their current immigration status, such as a green card, employment authorisation card or visa.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso poised to replace departing Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, according to media reports.
Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso is set to become the club’s next manager on a three-year deal when he leaves Bayer Leverkusen after this season, Spanish media report.
Alonso, 43, is expected to replace Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who – despite having a year remaining on his Madrid contract – has just been confirmed as the new manager of Brazil in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup, the Brazilian FA (CBF) said on Monday.
Alonso, who said earlier this month that he was leaving Leverkusen after guiding them to the double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 15 to July 13, multiple media reports said.
Alonso, who also played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich, last season steered Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, ending the Bavarians’ 11-year domination, and they also won the German Cup and German Super Cup.
Ancelotti’s departure from the club come as no surprise after Real’s 4-3 defeat at Barcelona in a thrilling El Clasico on Sunday left his side on the brink of a trophy-less season.
The 65-year-old Italian, who returned for a second stint at Real in June 2021, led the Spanish giants to two Champions League and La Liga doubles, the latest of which came last season.
He exits Real Madrid as the most successful manager in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies and the first coach to claim titles in Europe’s top five leagues.
However, this season Real were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarterfinals by Arsenal, and allowed Barca to fight back and win 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final.
Second-placed Real are seven points adrift of Barcelona, who could secure the league title on Wednesday without kicking a ball if Real fail to win at home to Mallorca.
Regardless of Real’s result, a Barca victory in the city derby away to Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the title.
An official announcement regarding a managerial change is expected before Real’s last game of the season at home to Real Sociedad on May 25.
Ancelotti is expected to receive a fitting farewell, recognising his four highly successful years with the club.
