reporter

WASHINGTON — The United States plunged further into conflict with Iran on Tuesday as a new round of strikes heightened fears of an expanding war in the Middle East, sending markets reeling and oil prices soaring and drawing urgent calls from European leaders for a plan forward.

President Trump acknowledged during an Oval Office appearance that the public would feel some economic pain as fighting continues to threaten areas that are critical to the world’s oil and natural gas production.

“As soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe lower than ever before,” Trump said, though he did not provide a clear time frame for when the conflict might end.

As the war stretched into its fourth day on Tuesday, Israel struck Iranian missile launch facilities and weapon factories and Iran retaliated across the Persian Gulf region, including attacks on U.S. diplomatic sites in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Dubai.

The conflict simultaneously set off alarms in the global markets, prompting stocks in Europe and Asia to plunge and the S&P 500 to drop nearly 1% after falling as much as 2.5% in early trading.

European governments were also forced to contend with the fallout, with some countries increasing their military presence in the region as their actions are closely monitored by Trump, who publicly singled out countries that he thought had been helpful in his war efforts so far.

“Spain has been terrible,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office while threatening to “cut off all trade with Spain” after he said the country had denied American forces access to its military bases.

Trump said he was “not happy with the U.K. either” and complained about not being allowed to use a military base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands. Without access to that military base, Trump said American planes were forced to fly “many extra hours.”

“We were very surprised. This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said. Churchill served as Britain’s prime minister during World War II.

As Trump threatened European allies, he sat next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, underscoring the fraught landscape that world leaders are navigating as American and Israeli forces work to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities and nuclear program and eye a potential change in government.

During their meeting, Trump said Germany has allowed the United States to use its air bases. Beyond that help, Trump said, “we’re not asking them to put boots on the ground or anything.”

When asked by reporters how Germany intended to help in the conflict, Merz said he wanted to focus on talking to Trump about what comes “the day after” the war ends.

“We are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Iran away and we will talk about the day after, what will happen then, if they are out,” Merz said.

Trump talks about regime change options

Trump did not have much to say yet on what will come next and was unclear on who will lead the Iranian government, saying that U.S. and Israeli military operations had killed the people who he thought could have filled the leadership vacuum.

“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump said. “Now, we have another group, but they may be dead also based on reports so I guess you have a third wave coming in and pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody.”

His remarks were a startling acknowledgment in part because minutes earlier he said the worst-case scenario in his mind was that the military operation would take place and “then somebody takes over who is as bad as the previous person.”

“That could happen,” Trump said.

Asked if Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the former shah, is someone he would like to run the country, Trump said he is a “very nice person,” but did not say for sure whether he is his choice.

The president and his top aides have offered varying explanations when asked about regime change, drawing criticism from Democrats and some conservatives who are demanding to know why Americans are being dragged into a war with no clear end in sight.

On Saturday, when U.S. and Israeli forces first struck Iran, Trump said overthrowing Iran’s theocratic regime was part of his rationale. But on Monday, he emphasized that Iran’s missiles posed a threat to the United States, and therefore theattack was carried out to eradicate its missile capability and nuclear program.

After briefing lawmakers Monday afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the United States launched a “preemptive” attack on Iran because officials knew Israel was going to strike the country — a move that he said would have put U.S. forces at risk and led to even more U.S. casualties. As of Tuesday, six American troops have been killed in combat.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), after being briefed by Trump administration officials on Monday afternoon, said, “Israel was determined to act in their own defense, with or without American support.”

“If Israel fired upon Iran, and took action against Iran to take out the missiles, then they would have immediately retaliated against U.S. personnel and assets,” Johnson told reporters.

Trump disputed the suggestion that Israel’s plans to attack Iran prompted him to launch the strikes, saying it was the other way around.

“If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand,” Trump said Tuesday. “But Israel was ready, and we were ready, and we’ve had a very, very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out.”

But it was unclear how far along the U.S. military is in accomplishing its mission.

In a letter Monday, Trump told Congress that while the “United States desires a quick and enduring peace, it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) warned in a speech on the Senate floor that the administration’s murky strategy is not good for the country.

“History teaches us a simple lesson: Wars without a clear objective do not stay small. They get bigger, they get bloodier, they get longer, they get more expensive,” Schumer said. “This is not a defensive war. This is not a necessary war. This is a war of choice.”

The latest attacks on the region

Tuesday saw yet another expansion of the war when Israeli troops blitzed into Lebanon in a bid to dislodge the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

The ground invasion comes one day after Hezbollah lobbed rockets and drones at an Israeli military position across the border; an attack, the group said, that was vengeance for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a response to Israel’s near-daily violations of a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. in November 2024.

The attack sparked a massive Israeli assault on dozens of villages and towns in southern Lebanon, as well as on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The strikes killed 40 people, wounded 246 others and saw tens of thousands forced to leave their homes and scramble for shelter in Beirut and elsewhere, according to Lebanese authorities.

The Lebanese army said Tuesday that it was withdrawing from positions in southern Lebanon ahead of a ground incursion by Israeli troops. The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman then issued a warning to residents of some 80 towns and villages in that region to “immediately evacuate your homes” and move northward.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, maintained a defiant stance and continued rocket and drone launches into Israel.

“The era of patience has ended, and we have no option but to return to resistance,” said Mahmoud Qatari, who chairs Hezbollah’s Political Council. “If Israel wants an open war, so be it.”

The invasion comes more than a year after Israel occupied parts of southern Lebanon in 2024. After the ceasefire came into effect, Israel withdrew from most parts of the country save for five positions near the border. Yet in the 15 months since the ceasefire was signed, it has proved to be more notional for Lebanon, with Israeli warplanes and troops conducting well over 10,000 truce violations, according to the U.N.

Israel says its actions are to stop Hezbollah from reconstituting itself near the border, but the result has meant residents of border towns and villages in southern Lebanon have been unable to return home.

Israel’s military spokesman, Brigadier Gen. Effie Defrin, said in a statement that troops were “creating a buffer” inside Lebanon between residents in northern Israel “and any threat.”

As the conflict has escalated, some 1,600 Americans stranded across the region have requested assistance and the Trump administration is trying to help evacuate them, Rubio said. But the effort has faced challenges because Iranian missiles have struck many Mideast airports.

“We know we are going to be able to help them,” Rubio said. “It is going to take a little time because we do not control the airspace closures.”

Ceballos reported from Washington, Bulos from Khartoum, Sudan.

It was the look on Steven Jamerson II’s face.

That was the toughest thing to watch. That was what seared into the mind. That’s what made you want to fire Mick Cronin on the spot.

It was a look of embarrassment. It was a look of confusion. It was the look of a young man who had just been cruelly pushed around by someone with more power.

Mick Cronin is a classic bully, and the fact that UCLA continues to empower him with new contracts and no questions is misguided malfeasance.

So, he wins games. He doesn’t win enough to compensate for incidents like Tuesday night in East Lansing, Mich., where Cronin became perhaps the first college coach in history to eject his own player from the game and order him to the locker room in the middle of the game.

Yes, Cronin holds players accountable. That’s fine, as long as he also holds himself accountable, but that didn’t happen when, after his team was beaten by 23 points by Michigan State in a second consecutive humiliating loss, he publicly criticized Jamerson for the hard foul that led to the ejection incident and then wrongly assailed a reporter for allegedly raising his voice during postgame questioning.

Cronin has become a walking viral video. He has become a nightly uncomfortable wince. He has become an embarrassment to a university athletic department that prides itself on winning with class.

John Wooden would be ashamed.

Mick Cronin is light years from the aura of Coach, and if UCLA cared a whit about the legacy of its legend, it would care that his flame has been completely snuffed by this unworthy keeper.

Wooden’s home is now decorated with a pyramid of poop, and one wonders how many humiliations will be required to convince administrators to clean things up.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin extends his arms and complains while watching the Bruins lose to Michigan State Tuesday in East Lansing, Mich.

(Rey Del Rio / Getty Images)

Cronin quietly signed a new five-year contract last summer that includes a $22,5 million buyout if he is fired this spring. That figure drops to $18 million, then $13.5 million, then $9 million, then $4.5 million in coming years. No wonder the Bruins didn’t publicize the deal at the time. It was another Martin Jarmond mistake, and now the entire university is going to pay the price.

It’s hard to see UCLA canning Cronin in the next couple of years because of those buyouts, which means this mess of a program is going to be increasingly hard to watch.

What happened Tuesday should scare away any of the remaining top prospects who would want to play for this berating blowhard. His usual postgame rants don’t compare to what happened on that Michigan State court, where he picked on the wrong kid in the worst possible fashion.

By all accounts, Jamerson is a dream player, one filled with resilience and gratitude. The former Crespi High star initially wanted to play for Michigan State, but he couldn’t make the team, even as a walk-on, so he tried to become a student manager, and failed at that, too. After spending a year there as a student, he transferred to University of San Diego, where he spent three seasons strengthening his game before eventually transferring to UCLA. This season he has spent most of his time on the bench, playing about 11 minutes per game for the Bruins while supplying rebounding and defense and energy.

It was this fire that led him to give chase to Michigan State’s Carson Cooper in the final five minutes of a game that UCLA currently trailed by 27. Cooper went up for a fast break dunk and Jamerson knocked him to the floor. It was ruled a Flagrant 1 excessive foul, but not a dangerous Flagrant 2 foul, so Jamerson was not ejected from the game.

At least, that’s what he thought.

Moments later Cronin was grabbing the kid’s shirt and leading him to the baseline, where he ordered an assistant coach to remove him from the court area and banish him to the locker room.

Jamerson’s dreams of a solid return to a school that snubbed him were shattered. His night ended amid a storm of laughing students and obscene gestures.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin shouts toward the bench while sending Steven Jamerson II to the locker room after the player was called for a foul Tuesday at Michigan State.

(Rey Del Rio / Getty Images)

It was just awful, and so avoidable. Why couldn’t Cronin have just sent Jamerson to the end of the bench? Considering it wasn’t a Flagrant 2, why did he even have to take him out of the game? Why did he have to make an example of a player who was understandably overeager on what could have been one of the triumphant nights of his life?

“Steve’s a good kid. He made a bad decision. But if you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game, for a blockout, for a rebound,” said Cronin afterward.

“So, I was thoroughly disappointed; the guy was defenseless in the air. I know Steve was trying to block the shot, but the game’s a 25-point game. You don’t do that.”

That point could have been made without humiliation. But Cronin wasn’t done, later admonishing a reporter for what he considered a dumb question, then scolding the reporter for allegedly raising his voice at him.

The question was about the student section’s harassment of former Spartan Xavier Booker, which seemed like a legitimate query considering Booker had a terrible game. But what was really baffling was Cronin’s claim that the questioner was raising his voice.

Listen to the video. No voices were raised. It was just Cronin once again being a bully. You want a raised voice? Here, I’ll raise my voice in words that Cronin will hopefully understand.

CHILL OUT! SHOW RESPECT! HONOR WOODEN!

If the coach doesn’t grow up and the program doesn’t rapidly improve — for a third straight year they’re barely a tournament team — there needs to be another ejection.

It would be the most expensive firing in UCLA history. It would be worth every penny.

Tiger Woods turned 50 in December.

He’s four months removed from disk replacement surgery in his lower back — the same back that has endured six other operations, including spinal fusion in 2017.

Woods won’t be taking part in this week’s Genesis Invitational, a tournament he has hosted since 2020, as he continues to recover from that procedure. The 15-time major championship winner told reporters at Riviera Country Club on Tuesday that he has been able to start taking full golf shots during his training.

Still, the 2026 Masters tournament is less than two months away. So considering everything mentioned above, it would seem pretty unlikely that Woods would be ready to compete in the first major championship of the year.

Right?

Well, a reporter asked Woods quite simply, “Is the Masters off the table for you?”

Woods gave an even simpler answer.

“No,” he said without hesitation or further elaboration. He did give a slight smile after a brief pause, for what that’s worth.

It should come as no surprise that Woods would be doing everything he can to be able to play April 9-12 at Augusta National. He has won the event five times, most recently in 2019.

Woods famously played in the 2022 Masters just 14 months after a catastrophic rollover car accident — and actually made the cut before finishing at 13-over par. He last played the Masters in 2024, making the cut for a record 24th time but finished with a 16-over 304, his highest 72-hole score.

Woods missed all of the 2025 season as he recovered from a back surgery the previous year and surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon in March. He spoke Tuesday on the multiple challenges he faces in attempting to return to the PGA Tour and also brought up the possibility of playing on the PGA Champions circuit.

“The disc replacement has been one thing. It’s been a challenge to have had a fused back and now a disc replacement. So it’s challenging,” said Woods, who added that his back is still sore following the most recent procedure.

“And I entered a new decade. So that number is starting to sink in and has [me] thinking about the opportunity to be able to play in a cart. That’s something that, as I’ve said, I won’t do out here on this tour, because I don’t believe in it. But you know, on the Champions tour, that’s certainly an opportunity.”

New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs has pleaded not guilty to felony strangulation and other criminal charges in connection with an alleged dispute with his private chef over money she said he owed her for her services.

Five days after playing in Super Bowl LX, Diggs appeared for his arraignment Friday morning at Massachusetts’s Dedham District Court. The four-time Pro Bowl player stood and was attentive but did not speak during the hearing, which lasted less than two minutes.

After attorney Michael Schuster entered the not-guilty plea on behalf of his client, Diggs was released on his own recognizance and ordered to have no contact with his accuser. A pretrial hearing was set for April 1.

“He is completely innocent of these false allegations that have been alleged against him,” Schuster told reporters outside the courthouse after the hearing. “We are confident that after the facts and evidence are reviewed in this case, he will be completely exonerated. … When they are presented it will paint a very different picture and we’re very confident that he will be exonerated.”

Diggs did not speak to reporters.

The alleged incident is said to have occurred at Diggs’ house Dec. 2. His accuser reported it to Dedham police two weeks later, according to court records, stating that Diggs had “smacked her across the face”and “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck.”

Diggs was charged with felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery at a court hearing Dec. 30.

The arraignment hearing was originally scheduled for Jan. 23 but was postponed until after the Super Bowl. Diggs had three catches for 37 yards in the Patriots’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Feb. 6 (Asia Today) — President Lee Jae-myung reaffirmed a zero-tolerance stance on stock manipulation Thursday, warning that those who undermine market order face severe consequences, as authorities intensify an investigation into alleged front-running by journalists.

Lee posted the message on X after sharing a report that investigators searched the headquarters of Korea Economic Daily, writing that stock manipulation leads to “total ruin.” His remark was widely interpreted as a warning against unfair trading practices as the government’s joint crackdown gains momentum.

Financial authorities said the joint task force raided the newspaper’s Seoul office Wednesday. Five reporters are suspected of front-running – allegedly obtaining market-moving information in advance, purchasing shares, publishing related articles and then selling the stock after prices rose to secure profits.

Front-running is prohibited under South Korea’s Capital Markets Act and is classified as a fraudulent trading practice when information obtained through reporting or other nonpublic means is used for personal gain. Authorities said they are reviewing seized materials to determine whether criminal charges apply.

Lee’s comments align with his repeated warnings in recent weeks. Last month, after the KOSPI index surpassed the 4,700 level for the first time, he cautioned that stock manipulation would bring irreversible consequences, pledging to foster a “healthy capital market.”

At the time, Lee also shared news that the joint task force would expand from one team to two and urged investors to “invest properly.” The move followed his directive to strengthen enforcement by introducing multiple response teams. The Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Exchange later agreed to reorganize and expand their market surveillance units.

In a policy briefing last December, Lee cited distrust in market transparency as a key factor behind the chronic undervaluation of South Korean equities and called for tougher enforcement to ensure that illegal trading is met with decisive punishment. He also ordered an expansion of enforcement personnel after learning that fewer than 40 staff members were handling stock manipulation cases at the time.

Thursday’s message was seen as reinforcing the administration’s principle that market abuses will be dealt with strictly and without exception, regardless of the individuals or institutions involved, signaling heightened scrutiny as stock prices continue to rise.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260206010002371

US President Donald Trump lashed out at a journalist, calling her the ‘worst reporter’, after she questioned him about survivors of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump’s name appears in the Epstein files. He has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein’s victims and has denied any wrongdoing.