The cost of a standard TV Licence rose this year, with the Government increasing the price to £174.50 in April
Certain people do not have to pay for a TV Licence(Image: Dennis Fischer Photography via Getty Images)
The cost of the standard TV Licence has seen a hike for many this year, with the Government jacking up the price to £174.50 in April. This annual fee is typically mandatory for households or businesses that watch live TV or use BBCiPlayer.
However, it might come as a surprise that certain people could be eligible for a free or discounted licence under specific conditions. These reductions could also apply to those with black-and-white TVs, which usually incur a yearly cost of £58.50 under the licence scheme.
Government guidance suggests that it’s primarily people over 75 years old who receive Pension Credit who can bag a free TV Licence. The same applies if you live with a partner who receives Pension Credit, as the licence covers everyone at a particular address.
It’s crucial to make clear that Pension Credit is different from the State Pension. It refers to a means-tested benefit for people over State Pension age on a low income, topping up weekly income to £227.10 if you’re single or £346.60 with a partner.
Those claiming Pension Credit can apply for a free TV Licence when they turn 74, but will still need to cough up until the end of the month before their 75th birthday. After this point, they will be covered by the free licence, according to the Express.
Additionally, the Government states that anyone who is blind or in residential care can apply for a discounted TV Licence. To be eligible for the residential care home discount, a person must be either retired and over 60 or disabled.
For those who are eligible, the TV Licence cost plummets to just £7.50. Housing managers at residential care homes can also make applications on behalf of residents.
Furthermore, anyone who is registered blind or lives with someone who is can get a 50% reduction on their TV Licence. This slashes the price of a colour licence to £87.25.
Government guidance explains: “The licence must be in the blind person’s name – if it’s not, you can make a new application to transfer it into their name. You’ll need to provide your existing TV Licence number when you apply.”
People over 75 who receive Pension Credit can apply for a free licence online or by telephone. The Government’s official numbers for this are 0300 790 6071 (telephone) and 0300 709 6050 (minicom).
Last year, the Secretary of State announced a 2.9% price rise, coming into force from April 1 2025, in line with annual CPI inflation.
The official TV Licensing site confirms this represented an increase of slightly more than 1p daily and marks only the second licence fee rise since April 1 2021.
The change has seen the annual colour licence fee rise to £174.50, while the black and white licence fee now stands at £58.50 per annum. Future increases in the licence fee will be tied to CPI inflation for the next four years, ending in 2027.
Now, according to a fresh Mirror report, several newspapers have speculated that the annual cost could reach £182 next year. However, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport reportedly told Sky Money: “No final decision has yet been made on the exact level of next year’s licence fee. We will set this out in due course.”
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla announced Tuesday that he will not run for California governor next year, ending months of speculation about the possibility of the Democrat vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“It is with a full heart and even more commitment than ever that I am choosing to not run for governor of California next year,” Padilla told reporters outside his Senate office in Washington.
Padilla instead said he will focus on countering President Trump’s agenda in Congress, where Democrats are currently on the minority in both the House and Senate, but hope to regain some political clout after the 2026 midterm elections.
“I choose not just to stay in the Senate. I choose to stay in this fight because the constitution is worth fighting for. Our fundamental rights are worth fighting for. Our core values are worth fighting for. The American dream is worth fighting for,” he said.
Padilla said his decision was influenced by his belief that under President Trump, “these are not normal times.”
“We deserve better than this,” he said.
Many contenders, no clear favorite
Padilla’s decision to bow out of the 2026 governor’s race will leave a prominent name out of an already crowded contest with many contenders but not a clear favorite.
For much of the year, the field was essentially frozen in place as former Vice President Kamala Harris debated whether she would run, with many donors and major endorsers staying out of the game. Harris said at the end of July that she wouldn’t run. But another potential candidate — billionaire developer Rick Caruso — remains a question mark.
Caruso said Monday night that he was still considering running for either governor or Los Angeles mayor, and will decide in the next few weeks.
“It’s a really tough decision,” Caruso said. “Within a few weeks or so, or something like that, I’ll probably have a decision made. It’s a big topic of discussion in the house with my kids and my wife.”
Major Democratic candidates include former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, current California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former state Controller Betty Yee and wealthy businessman Stephen Cloobeck. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton are the most prominent Republicans running.
Amid fire recovery aftermath, immigration raids and a high-octane redistricting battle, California voters have yet to turn their attention to next year’s gubernatorial matchup, despite the vast power Newsom’s successor will wield. California is now the world’s fourth-largest economy, and policy decisions in the Golden State often have global repercussions. Newsom is nearing the end of his second and final term.
Recent polling shows the contest as wide open, with nearly 4 in 10 voters surveyed saying they are undecided, though Porter had a slight edge as the top choice in the poll. She and Bianco were the only candidates whose support cracked the double digits.
Candidates still have months to file their paperwork before the June 2 primary to replace Newsom.
June incident brought attention
Known for soft-spoken confidence and a lack of bombast, Padilla’s public profile soared in June after he found himself cuffed by federal agents, at the center of a staggering viral moment during a news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Despite identifying himself, Padilla was tackled after trying to interrupt Noem with a question. The manhandling of California’s senior senator was filmed by a staffer and broadcast around the world, provoking searing and widespread condemnation.
Days later, Vice President JD Vance joked about the incident and referred to Padilla — his former Senate colleague — as “Jose Padilla,” a misnaming that Padilla suggested was intentional and others characterized as racist.
The event put Padilla on the national spotlight and rumors of Padilla’s interest in the gubernatorial race ignited in late August.
Padilla told reporters on Tuesday that he received an “outpouring of encouragement and offers of support for the idea” of his candidacy and that he had “taken it to heart”
Alongside his wife, Angela, the senator said he also heard from many people urging him to keep his fight going in Washington.
“Countless Californians have urged me to do everything i could to protect California and the American Dream from a vindictive president who seems hell bent on raising costs for working families, rolling back environmental protections, cutting access to healthcare, jeopardizing reproductive rights and more,” he said.
Padilla said he had listened.
“I will continue to thank them and honor their support by continuing to work together for a better future,” he said.
Ceballos reported from Washington, Wick from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Noah Goldberg, in Los Angeles, contributed to this report.
Nancy Pelosi’s plan to seek reelection extends one of San Francisco’s longest-running, most-fevered political guessing games: Who will succeed the Democrat when she finally does step aside?
The announcement Tuesday by the 81-year-old congresswoman was utterly predictable. Her decision augurs an election that will be thoroughly pro forma.
Pelosi will attract, as she always does, at least one candidate running to her left, who will insist — in true San Francisco fashion — that she is not a real Democrat. There will also be a Republican opponent or two, who may raise many millions of dollars from Pelosi haters around the country acting more out of spite than good sense.
And then, in just about nine months, she will be handily reelected to Congress for an 18th time.
Nob Hill may crumble. Alcatraz may tumble. But Pelosi, who hasn’t bothered running anything remotely resembling a campaign in decades, will not be turned out by her constituents so long as she draws a breath and stands for election.
There was speculation she might step aside and not run again. But Pelosi knows better than anyone the power and influence — not to mention prodigious fundraising capacity — that would diminish the moment she indicated the rest of the year would be spent marking time to her departure.
In an October 2018 interview, while campaigning in Florida ahead of the midterm election that returned her to the speakership, Pelosi allowed as how she didn’t envision staying in office forever. (It was a signal to those impatient Democrats in the House that their aspirations wouldn’t die aborning and helped her secure the votes she needed to retake the gavel.)
“I see myself as a transitional figure,” Pelosi said at a downtown Miami bistro. “I have things to do. Books to write; places to go; grandchildren, first and foremost, to love.”
But, she quickly added, she wasn’t imposing a limit on her tenure. “Do you think I would make myself a lame duck right here over this double espresso?” Pelosi said with a raised eyebrow and a laugh.
She won’t, of course, live forever, and so for many years there has been speculation — and some quiet jockeying — over who will eventually take Pelosi’s place.
To say her seat in Congress is coveted is like suggesting there’s a wee bit of interest in the city in a certain sporting event this weekend. (For those non-football fans, the San Francisco 49ers will be playing the Rams in the NFC championship game for a ticket to the Super Bowl.)
In nearly 60 years, just three people have served in the seat Pelosi now holds. Two of them — Phil Burton and Pelosi — account for all but a handful of those years. Burton’s widow, Sala, served about four years before, as she lay dying, she anointed Pelosi as her chosen replacement.
So succeeding Pelosi could be the closest thing to a lifetime appointment any San Francisco politician will ever enjoy. And given all the pent-up ambition, there is no shortage of prospective candidates.
One of the strongest contenders is state Sen. Scott Wiener, 51, who has built an impressive record in Sacramento in a district that roughly approximates the current congressional boundaries.
Another prospect is Christine Pelosi, 55, the most politically visible of the speaker’s five children and a longtime activist in Democratic campaigns and causes. If she ran, to what length — if any — would the speaker go in hopes of handing off the seat to her daughter?
Republicans seem exceedingly likely to win control of the House in November. It seems exceedingly unlikely that Pelosi would happily settle into the role of minority leader, much less fall back as a workaday member of a shrunken, enfeebled Democratic caucus.
Would she time her departure to benefit her daughter by, say, requiring a snap election that would take advantage of Pelosi’s brand name? Or would she avoid choosing sides and allow the election to play out in San Francisco’s typically brutal, free-for-all fashion?
NEW YORK — Howard Stern, the popular and highly paid radio host, returned to SiriusXM’s airwaves Monday after trolling listeners into thinking he had departed his long-running show.
Stern, 71, who evolved from his shock jock origins to become a respected interviewer, enlisted a seemingly flustered Andy Cohen at the top of “The Howard Stern Show” to pretend to be his successor. “This was supposed to be a cleaner hand off. I’m kind of winging it,” said Cohen.
Stern then came on the air and thanked the Bravo personality, who has his own SiriusXM show and podcast, for agreeing to do the bit. The stunt was the culmination of weeks of promos that promised a big reveal, following swirling speculation that Stern’s show would be canceled. “The tabloids have spoken: Howard Stern fired, canceled,” one promo video said. “Is it really bye-bye Booey?” The speculation grew after Stern postponed his return from a summer break last week.
While he did return Monday, Stern did not announce that he had reached a new contract with SiriusXM. His current deal expires at the end of 2025.
“Here’s the truth: SiriusXM and my team have been talking about how we go forward in the future. They’ve approached me, they’ve sat down with me like they normally do, and they’re fantastic,” Stern said.
Stern joining what was then Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. in 2006 made him one of the highest-paid personalities in broadcasting and was a game-changer for both the company and the nascent satellite radio industry. His importance was highlighted on the SiriusXM homepage — tabs included For You, Music, Talk & Podcasts, Sports and Howard.
SiriusXM in the years after Stern joined has become home to top podcasts “Call Her Daddy,” “SmartLess,” “Freakonomics Radio,” “Last Podcast on the Left,” “99% Invisible” and “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” and features such personalities as Trevor Noah, Kevin Hart and Stephen A. Smith.
But SiriusXM’s subscriber base has been slowly contracting, with the company reporting 33 million paid subscribers in the second quarter of 2025, a net loss of 68,000 from the first quarter and 100,000 fewer than the same period in 2024. It is a battling a saturated satellite market and competition from free, ad-supported platforms like Spotify.
Stern extended his contract with SiriusXM twice before, in 2010 and again in 2020 with a five-year, $500 million deal, Forbes reported. He’s recently had newsy and intimate chats with Lady Gaga and Bruce Springsteen.
“He’s been with me and the company going on two decades, and so he’s pretty happy, but he’s also able, like many great artists, to stop whenever he wants,” SiriusXM president and chief content officer Scott Greenstein told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024. “Nobody will ever replace them. We would never try to replace them.”
Stern, who has liked to call himself the King of All Media, rose to national fame in the 1980s during his 20-year stint at the then-WXRK in New York. At its peak, “The Howard Stern Show” was syndicated in 60 markets and drew over 20 million listeners. Stern was lured to satellite radio by the lucrative payday and a lack of censorship, following bruising indecency battles with the Federal Communications Commission and skittish radio executives. His past on-air bits had included parading strippers through his New York studio and persuading the band then known as The Dixie Chicks to reveal intimate details about their sex lives.
His 1997 film “Private Parts” became a box office hit and offered a raw, humorous look at his rise to fame. He has also authored several bestselling books and served as a judge on “America’s Got Talent” from 2012 to 2015.
TOKYO — Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday vowed to remain in power to oversee the implementation of a new Japan-U.S. tariff agreement, despite media speculation and growing calls for him to resign after a historic defeat of his governing party.
Ishiba met with heavyweights from his Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, and former Prime Ministers Taro Aso, Fumio Kishida and Yoshihide Suga at party headquarters.
He told reporters afterward that they didn’t discuss his resignation or a new party leadership contest, but only the election results, voters’ dissatisfaction and the urgent need to avoid party discord.
Despite his business-as-usual demeanor, Ishiba is under increasing pressure to bow out after the LDP and junior coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in Sunday’s election in the 248-member upper house, the smaller and less powerful of Japan’s two-chamber parliament, shaking his grip on power.
It came after a loss in the more powerful lower house in October, and so his coalition now lacks a majority in both houses of parliament, making it even more difficult for his government to pass policies and worsening Japan’s political instability.
Ishiba says he intends to stay on to tackle pressing challenges, including tariff talks with the U.S., so as not to create a political vacuum despite calls from inside and outside his party for a quick resignation.
Ishiba “keeps saying he is staying on. What was the public’s verdict in the election all about?” said Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the surging Democratic Party for the People, or DPP.
At the LDP, a group of younger lawmakers led by Yasutaka Nakasone started a petition drive seeking Ishiba’s early resignation and renewal of party leadership.
“We all have a sense of crisis and think the election results were ultimatum from the voters,” he said.
Japanese media reported that Ishiba is expected to soon announce plans to step down in August.
The conservative Yomiuri newspaper said in an extra edition on Wednesday that Ishiba had decided to announce his resignation by the end of July after receiving a detailed report from his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, on the impact of the U.S. tariffs on the Japanese economy, paving the way for a new party leader.
Ishiba denied the report and said that he wants to focus on the U.S. trade deal, which covers more than 4,000 goods affecting many Japanese producers and industries. He welcomed the new agreement, which places tariffs at 15% on Japanese cars and other goods imported into the U.S. from Japan, down from the initial 25%.
Still, local media are already speculating about possible successors. Among them are ultraconservative former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who lost to Ishiba in September. Another conservative ex-minister, Takayuki Kobayashi, and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former popular Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, are also seen as potential challengers.
In Sunday’s election, voters frustrated with price increases exceeding the pace of wage hikes, especially younger people who have long felt ignored by the ruling government’s focus on senior voters, rapidly turned to the emerging conservative DPP and right-wing populist Sanseito party.
None of the opposition parties have shown interest in forming a full-fledged alliance with the governing coalition, but they have said they are open to cooperating on policy.
People expressed mixed reaction to Ishiba, as his days seem to be numbered.
Kentaro Nakamura, 53, said that he thought it’s time for Ishiba to go, because he lacked consistency and did poorly in the election.
“The (election) result was so bad and I thought it would not be appropriate for him to stay on,” Nakamura said. “I thought it was just a matter of time.”
But Isamu Kawana, a Tokyo resident in his 70s, was more sympathetic and said if it wasn’t Ishiba who was elected prime minister last year, the result would have been the same.
“I think he got the short end of the stick,” Kawana said.
Yamaguchi writes for the Associated Press. Reeno Hashimoto contributed to this report.
Chargers running back Najee Harris sustained a minor eye injury during a holiday weekend fireworks accident, but the prized free-agent signing will be ready for the upcoming season, his agent confirmed to The Times on Thursday after reports and online rumors prompted speculation of a more severe injury.
“Najee Harris was present at a 4th of July event where a fireworks mishap resulted in injuries to several attendees,” Harris’ agent Doug Hendrickson said in a statement. “Najee sustained a superficial eye injury during the incident, but is fully expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season.”
With four 1,000-yard rushing seasons in Pittsburgh, Harris is expected to bring an immediate boost to a Chargers running game that sputtered last season in offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s first year. Harris, who signed a one-year deal worth up to $9.25 million, will pair with first-round pick Omarion Hampton in the backfield as the Chargers hope to make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2008 and 2009.
The Chargers begin training camp on July 17 as one of the first teams to begin preparations for the upcoming season. The Chargers will play the Detroit Lions in the Hall of Fame Game on July 31 and open the regular season in Brazil on Sept. 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cardi B, who wonders “Am I the Drama?” on her upcoming album, now faces a different question from curious fans: Did she split with Stefon Diggs?
The Grammy-winning “Bodak Yellow” rapper sparked breakup chatter this week after eagle-eyed followers noticed she had taken down photos featuring NFL star Diggs from her Instagram page. Cardi B, 32, and Diggs, 31, hard-launched their relationship during the NBA Playoffs in May and made things Instagram official in June.
Representatives for Cardi B and Diggs did not immediately respond to The Times on Tuesday.
In June, Cardi B flaunted her relationship with the New England Patriots wide receiver, sharing very intimate photos from a steamy boating trip in a since-removed Instagram carousel. “Chapter 5 ……Hello Chapter six,” Cardi B captioned the collection of photos, which is no longer publicly visible on her profile.
Cardi B and Diggs first sparked dating rumors in February, when TMZ published video of the pair arriving at a Miami hotel during Valentine’s Day weekend. In April, they were spotted together again partying it up at a Manhattan nightclub. Photos of the rapper dancing on the athlete’s lap spread online and even got a thumbs-up from the musician’s estranged husband, Migos rapper Offset.
While Cardi B’s Instagram does not currently feature any photos of Diggs, it’s worth noting that they still follow each other on the app. Cardi B and Offset, on the other hand, are no longer Instagram mutuals.
Speculation about the status of Cardi B’s romantic life surfaced as she arrived at Paris Fashion Week sans Diggs. She appeared at the Schiaparelli showcase at Petit Palais wearing a body-hugging gown with a dramatic neckline and fringe. A live crow was perched on the “W.A.P.” artist‘s right hand, evoking imagery from her forthcoming album.
Cardi B revealed in late June that her long-anticipated sophomore album, “Am I the Drama?,” is set to drop Sept. 19, seven years after her debut, “Invasion of Privacy.” Her social media announcement included a look at the theatrical album cover: She wears an abstract red body suit and matching fishnet stockings, grabbing one heel as a dark bird rests on her shoe and more of them swarm around her.
Before the announcement, Cardi B reflected in a teaser on “seven years of love, life and loss” and trading in grace for hell.
“I learned power’s not given. It’s taken,” the Bronx native says in the video. “I’m shedding feathers and no more tears. I’m not back. I’m beyond.”
The Whoniverse is set to expand with an animated Doctor Who series on CBeebies in the future and Loose Women’s Denise Welch has addressed speculation that she could be involved
20:06, 22 Jun 2025Updated 20:07, 22 Jun 2025
The Doctor Who franchise, most recently led by Ncuti Gatwa, is set to expand with a new animated show for CBeebies(Image: BBC Studios/Lara Cornell)
A former soap star has addressed speculation that she’s being considered to voice the title role in a Doctor Who spin-off. The upcoming project is in development at the moment but no casting has been unveiled for it yet.
It was announced recently that there are plans to launch a pre-school animation series about the Doctor on CBeebies. The BBC said that the Doctor Who spin-off for a younger audience will “run independently” from the main show.
There’s been speculation about the project, with a thread on Reddit last week naming actors who could voice the Doctor. It claimed that the broadcaster’s shortlist includes Justin Fletcher, Richard E. Grant and Denise Welch.
Denise, 67 – whose acting career has included roles on shows like Coronation Street and Waterloo Road – has since addressed the speculation. She reacted to being named in the thread in a post on Instagram this afternoon.
Denise Welch has addressed speculation that she’s being considered to voice the Doctor in a Doctor Who spin-off series(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Alongside a photo showing part of the thread, she wrote in the post: “I definitely think this job should be mine.” Denise, who tagged Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies, 62, then used two thumbs up and the ‘flushed face’ emoji.
Although they don’t appear to have previously worked together, Denise and Russell are both patrons of the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. They both took on the role in 2019, joining Tracie Bennett, who became a patron in 2016.
Loose Women panelist Denise has appeared in numerous TV shows over the course of her career, including having played Natalie Barnes on Corrie. Her other credits include Waterloo Road, Benidorm and more recently Hollyoaks.
The BBC announced the CBeebies spin-off of Doctor Who on June 12. It shared that the animated show will see the Doctor travelling through time and space, solving mysteries and problems alongside companions and other friends.
She reacted to being named amid the speculation for the upcoming CBeebies animated show in a post on Instagram earlier today(Image: Instagram/denise_welch)
In a statement issued at the time, Patricia Hidalgo, Director of Children’s and Education, said: “Everyone is welcome at CBeebies, including the Doctor!” Patricia went on to describe the upcoming series as an “exciting opportunity”.
Patricia said: “This much-loved franchise entertains millions around the world, so it is only right that our younger audience get to experience the wonder and the magic of the Doctor in a brand new format. This is an extremely exciting opportunity, and we are looking forward to welcoming companies to pitch for this new project, as we continue our commitment and investment in the UK’s animation industry.”
The news comes just weeks after the latest series of Doctor Who concluded last month. The season finale, the Reality War, which aired on May 31, marked the departure of lead Ncuti Gatwa, who had played the Doctor since 2023.
At the end of the episode, viewers saw Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor regenerate – with Billie Piper then shown in his place – in a bid to save Poppy (played by Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps). In one reality, Poppy was the child of the Doctor and his companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu).
UFC president Dana White says he cannot stop Jon Jones from retiring, despite the American having “agreed” to fight Tom Aspinall.
White was responding to the social media activity of the UFC heavyweight champion, who suggested he was retired before calling out ex-UFC fighter Francis Ngannou.
Speaking at the UFC 316 post-fight news conference, White said 37-year-old Jones had said nothing about retiring to him and that he was only interested in matching him with Aspinall.
“Tom Aspinall is the guy. If the guy wants to retire and doesn’t want to fight, there’s nothing you can do,” White said.
“I didn’t want Khabib [Nurmagomedov] to retire, I thought [Daniel Cormier] should’ve stayed in it longer, so it’s none of my business.
“I’ll do what I can to make the fight, if we can, if he’s talking that crazy, I didn’t realise that.”
With Ngannou fuelling speculation he might be open to a return to the UFC, White played down the chances even if it was to fight Jones.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often tried to paint himself as a close friend of United States President Donald Trump, but the relationship has rarely been as straightforward as the Israeli premier has portrayed it.
And recently, speculation across the Israeli media that the relationship between the two leaders, and by extension, their countries, has begun to unravel is becoming unavoidable.
Some idea of the gap was apparent in Trump’s recent Middle East trip, which saw him visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates but not Israel, the state that has typically been the US’s closest ally within the region.
Likewise, US negotiations with two of Israel’s fiercest regional opponents, Iran and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, have been taking place without any apparent input from Israel, a country that has always regarded itself as central to such matters. Lastly, against a growing chorus of international condemnation over Israel’s actions in Gaza, there was the decision of US Vice President JD Vance to cancel a planned visit to Israel for apparently “logistical” reasons.
Appearing on national television earlier this month, Israeli commentator Dana Fahn Luzon put it succinctly: “Trump is signalling to Netanyahu, ‘Honey, I’ve had enough of you.’”
United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference in Washington, DC, the US on February 4, 2025 [Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency]
“We’re seeing a total breakdown of everything that might be of benefit to Israel,” Mitchell Barak, an Israeli pollster and former political aide to several senior Israeli political figures, including Netanyahu, told Al Jazeera. “America was once our closest ally; now we don’t seem to have a seat at the table. This should be of concern to every single Israeli.”
‘Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for this,” Barak continued. “He always presented Trump as somehow being in his pocket, and it’s pretty clear Trump didn’t like that. Netanyahu crossed a line.”
‘No better friend’
While concern over a potential rift may be growing within Israel, prominent voices in the US administration are stressing the strength of their alliance.
Last Sunday, President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said that, while the US was keen to avert what he called a “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, he didn’t think there was “any daylight between President Trump’s position and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s position”.
Police guard the entrance to Columbia University as protesters rally in support of detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, March 14, 2025, in New York City, the US [File: Jason DeCrow/AP]
Also doubling down on the US’s commitment to Israel was White House National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt, who dismissed reports that the Trump administration was preparing to “abandon” Israel if it continues with its war on Gaza, telling Israeli media that “Israel has had no better friend in its history than President Trump”.
The Trump administration has also been active in shutting down criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza in public spheres and specifically on US college campuses.
Several international students have also been arrested and deported for their support of Palestine, including Rumeysa Ozturk, whose arrest as she was walking on a street in a Boston suburb for an opinion piece co-authored in a student newspaper was described by Human Rights Watch as “chilling”.
Protesters gather outside a federal court during a hearing with lawyers for Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student from Turkiye who was detained by US immigration authorities, April 3, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts, the US [File: Rodrique Ngowi/AP]
Spatting
Those policies have made it clear that the Trump administration sits firmly in Israel’s corner. And looking back at Trump’s policies in his first presidential term, that is not surprising.
Trump fulfilled many of the Israeli right’s dreams in that term, between 2017 and 2021, including recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite its eastern half being occupied Palestinian territory, recognising the annexation of the Golan Heights, despite it being occupied Syrian territory, and pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
But those actions are partly to blame for the bumpy relationship between Trump and Netanyahu, with the US president reportedly resentful of what he saw as a lack of gratitude for those pro-Israel policies.
Trump was also furious after Netanyahu congratulated former US President Joe Biden following his 2020 election victory over Trump, which the current president still disputes.
“The first person that congratulated [Biden] was Bibi [Benjamin] Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with. … Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake,” Trump said in an interview in 2021.
Nevertheless, in the build-up to the 2024 US election, Netanyahu and his allies actively courted candidate Trump, believing him to be the best means of fulfilling their agenda and continuing their war on Gaza, analysts said.
“Netanyahu had really campaigned for Trump before the election, emphasising how bad Biden was,” Yossi Mekelberg, an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, said.
“Now they don’t know which way Trump’s going to go because he’s so contractual. He’s all about the win,” Mekelberg added, referring to the series of victories the president claimed during his recent Gulf tour, adding, “but there’s no win in Palestine”.
A protester holds a placard ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, outside the US Consulate in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 3, 2025 [File: Antonio Denti/Reuters]
Across the Israeli press and media, a consensus is taking hold that Trump has simply tired of trying to secure a “win” or an end to the war on Gaza that Netanyahu and his allies on the Israeli hard right have no interest in pursuing.
Israeli Army Radio has even carried reports that Trump has blocked direct contact from Netanyahu over concerns that the Israeli prime minister may be trying to manipulate him.
Quoting an unnamed Israeli official, Yanir Cozin, a reporter with Israeli Army Radio, wrote on X: “There’s nothing Trump hates more than being portrayed as a sucker and someone being played, so he decided to cut off contact.”
“There’s a sense in Israel that Trump’s turned on Netanyahu,” political analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg said from Tel Aviv. “Supporters of Netanyahu are panicking, as they all previously thought that Trump’s backing was unlimited.”
What now?
A break in relations between Netanyahu and Trump might not mean an automatic break between Israel and the US, Flaschenberg cautioned, with all factions across the Israeli political spectrum speculating on what the future may hold under a realigned relationship with the US.
US financial, military and diplomatic support for Israel has been a bedrock of both countries’ foreign policy for decades, Mekelberg said. Moreover, whatever Trump’s current misgivings about his relationship with Netanyahu, support for Israel, while diminishing, remains hardwired into much of his Republican base, analysts and polls have noted, and particularly among Republican – and Democratic – donors.
US President Donald Trump has long been a strong supporter of Israel [File: Jim Watson/AFP]
“Those opposed to Netanyahu and the war are hoping that the US may now apply a lasting ceasefire,” Flaschenberg said, with reference to Israeli reliance upon US patronage. “That’s not because of any great faith in Trump, but more the extent of their dismay in the current government.”
However, equally present are those on the hard right, such as Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who Mekelberg speculated may also hope to take advantage of whatever direction US policy towards Israel heads in.
“Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and their backers could take advantage of American disinterest, depending upon what shape it takes,” Mekelberg told Al Jazeera. “If the US continues to provide weapons and diplomatic cover in the UN while letting [Israel] get on with it, then that’s their dream,” he said of Smotrich, who has reassured his backers that allowing minimal aid into the besieged enclave did not mean that Israel would stop “destroying everything that’s left of the Gaza Strip”.
However, where Netanyahu may figure in this is uncertain.
Accusations that the Israeli prime minister has become reliant upon the war to sustain the political coalition he needs to remain in office and avoid both a legal reckoning in his corruption trial, as well as a political reckoning over his government’s failures ahead of the October 7, 2023 attack, are both widespread and longstanding.
“I don’t know if Netanyahu can come back from this,” Barak said, still uncertain about whether the prime minister can demonstrate his survival skills once again. “There’s a lot of talk about Netanyahu being at the end of his line. I don’t know. They’ve been saying that for years, and he’s still here. They were saying that when I was his aide, but I can’t see any more magic tricks that are available to him.”
Despite persistent speculation as footage of the two together has surfaced, Team Bieber said Thursday that nothing happened. Move along, nothing to see here.
The new dad’s marriage is rumored to be in trouble as well, though on Friday the Biebs tagged wife Hailey in an Instagram story showing a male lion lovingly caressing a female lion with its nose and teeth.
Combs, of course, is on trial on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and more. This week in court has seen dramatic testimony from Combs’ former girlfriend Cassie.
But back to Bieber, who was discovered by Scooter Braun in 2008 and quickly signed to a label run by Braun and Usher. Usher was a Combs protégé who was sent by record executive and producer L.A. Reid to live with the mogul in the ’90s and maybe learn a few things. The “Yeah” singer was 15 when he moved to New York. Combs became Usher’s legal guardian.
Reid wrote in his 2016 tell-all memoir “Sing to Me,” via Rolling Stone, “‘Will you take this kid and teach him your swagger?’ I said. ‘Can you just give him some of your flavor?’ And so I sent Usher to New York for what I called the ‘Puffy Flavor Camp.’”
He added, “I was turning him over to the wildest party guy in the country at an age when I still needed to get his mother’s permission, but he went to New York for almost a year. I didn’t know whether I was being irresponsible or having an epiphany.”
Usher would tell Howard Stern in 2016 that he “got a chance to see some things” while living with Combs.
“I went there to see the lifestyle, and I saw it. I don’t know if I could indulge and understand what I was even looking at,” he said on Stern’s show. “I had curiosity of my own. I just didn’t understand it. It was pretty wild. It was crazy.”
Usher said he was mostly focused on making music at the time, no matter what “curious” things might have gone on around him.
So when Bieber and Usher connected, could a Combs meet be far behind?
Sean “Diddy” Combs, from left, Justin Bieber and Rick Ross at a Ciroc vodka party in Atlanta in early 2014, when Bieber was 19.
(Prince Williams / FilmMagic via Getty Images)
Combs and the “Baby” singer made news with an interview on Jimmy Kimmel’s show after the “Justin Bieber’s 48 Hrs with Diddy” video was posted on YouTube in November 2009.
In the video, Combs showed Bieber a silver Lamborghini and told him, “The keys is yours, you know, when you hit 16.” That was after Bieber pitched driving it right away with Combs in the passenger seat, because he had his permit. After staring at the kid for a moment, Combs simply said, “No.” Then he promised him the mansion when he turned 18. Combs didn’t have legal guardianship of Bieber like he did with Usher, he said, but they would be together for the next 48 hours.
“He knows better than to talk about the things that he’s done with big brother Puff on national television,” Combs said later in the Kimmel interview, adding, “Everything ain’t for everybody.” That was after he described Bieber as “a little brother” and “one of the greatest kids you could ever know” who could always call up and ask him for industry advice.
The two would continue to cross paths, including at parties for Combs’ vodka Ciroc, a brand the embattled mogul cut ties with in January 2024.
Bieber’s camp released a statement Thursday asserting that nothing untoward ever happened between the two.
“Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him,” a spokesperson for Bieber told TMZ. “Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve.”
The Times was unable to reach a Bieber representative Friday.
