Jan. 30 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Thursday night said he was decertifying all Canada-made aircraft and threatened a 50% tariff on all planes sold to the United States, further deepening the fissure in U.S.-Canada relations created under Trump’s second term in office.
Trump made the threat in a post on his Truth Social platform, stating the threat was in response to Canada’s alleged refusal to certify several Gulfstream jet series.
“We are hereby decertifying their Bombardier Global Expresses and all Aircraft made in Canada, until such time as Gulfstream, a Great American Company, is fully certified, as it should have been many years ago,” Trump said.
“Further, Canada is effectively prohibiting the sale of Gulfstream products in Canada through this very same certification process. If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50% Tariff on any and all Aircraft sold in the United States of America.”
By law, aircraft certification, which includes safety and airworthiness determinations, is governed by the Federal Aviation Administration, and it was not clear if the president has the power to decertify already approved aircraft by presidential action.
UPI contacted the FAA for clarification and was directed to speak with the White House, which has yet to respond to questions about decertification and its process.
Bombardier, the Montreal-based aerospace company, said it has “taken note” of Trump’s social media post and is in contact with the Canadian government.
“Our aircraft, facilities and technicians are fully certified to FAA standards and renowned around the world,” Bombardier said in a statement.
Bombardier said it employs more than 3,000 people across nine facilities in the United States and creates “thousands of jobs” there through its 2,800 suppliers. It said it is also “actively investing” in expanding its U.S. operations.
Relations between the United States and Canada have precipitously dropped since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
Trump’s threats to annex Canada, impose unilateral tariffs and take Greenland — territory of a NATO ally — by force if needed has prompted Ottawa to pivot toward Europe and Asia.
The announcement comes on the heels of reports stating that the Trump administration has been in talks with the Alberta Prosperity Project separatist organization.
According to The Financial Times, the first to report on the development Thursday, separatist leaders in the western Canadian province met with U.S. officials in Washington three times since spring.
The APP has said that its leadership has taken “several strategic trips” to Washington, D.C., to foster discussions on Alberta’s potential as an independent nation.
Jeffry Rath, a separatist supporter who participated in the talks, said U.S. officials are “very enthusiastic about Alberta becoming an independent country,” according to the APP.
The meetings were swiftly and widely condemned in Canada.
“I expect the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty,” Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada told reporters on Thursday.
“I’m always clear in my conversations with President Trump to that effect, and then move on to what we can do together.”
Premier David Eby of British Columbia called the meetings “treasonous activity.”
“I’m not talking about debates that we have inside the country among Canadians, about how we order ourselves, our relationships between the federal government, the provinces, referenda that might be held. I’m talking about crossing the border, soliciting the assistance of a foreign government to break up this country,” Eby said during the same press conference.
United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks as US President Donald J Trump participates in a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, January 29, 2026. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 29 (Asia Today) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Washington does not recognize any trade agreement with South Korea unless it is ratified by the South Korean National Assembly, reaffirming that higher tariffs would remain in place until legislative approval is secured.
In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said the absence of parliamentary ratification meant no valid agreement existed between the two countries.
“Because the South Korean National Assembly has not passed the trade agreement, there is no trade agreement with South Korea until they approve it,” Bessent said, repeatedly emphasizing the need for lawmakers to ratify the deal.
Asked whether South Korea would face 25% tariffs until ratification, Bessent replied, “I think that helps move the situation forward,” a comment widely interpreted as signaling tariff pressure aimed at accelerating legislative action.
His remarks clarified the backdrop to Donald Trump’s announcement Sunday that the United States planned to raise reciprocal tariffs on South Korean exports, including automobiles, timber and pharmaceuticals, from 15% to 25%.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the South Korean legislature had failed to enact what he described as a “historic trade agreement.” No executive order or formal notice has yet been issued to implement the tariff increase.
Trump later suggested negotiations could still resolve the issue, saying Monday that Washington would “work with South Korea to find a solution.”
Pressure from the Trump administration has extended beyond tariffs. The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington has raised concerns over South Korea’s regulatory treatment of U.S. technology companies. According to the report, J.D. Vance told South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok during a White House meeting last week that the administration wanted meaningful de-escalation in how U.S. tech firms are regulated.
South Korea has fully mobilized its trade channels to assess Washington’s intentions. Trade Minister Kim Jeong-kwan is scheduled to travel to Washington later Tuesday after completing meetings in Canada, where he is expected to meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trade Negotiations Commissioner Yeo Han-koo also plans consultations with the U.S. trade representative.
The opinion, written late Wednesday by Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, said Noem’s “unlawful actions have had real and significant consequences for the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and Haitians in the United States who rely on TPS.”
She said the move has hurt immigrants who came here to work.
“The record is replete with examples of hard-working, contributing members of society — who are mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, and partners of U.S. citizens, pay taxes, and have no criminal records — who have been deported or detained after losing their TPS,” Wardlaw wrote.
“The Secretary’s actions have left hundreds of thousands of people in a constant state of fear that they will be deported, detained, separated from their families, and returned to a country in which they were subjected to violence or any other number of harms,” she said.
The concurring opinion by Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. noted that Noem and President Donald Trump had made racist remarks about the people of Venezuela and Haiti, meaning that the decision to end TPS was “preordained” and not based on need.
“The record is replete with public statements by Secretary Noem and President Donald Trump that evince a hostility toward, and desire to rid the country of, TPS holders who are Venezuelan and Haitian,” Mendoza wrote. “And these were not generalized statements about immigration policy toward Venezuela and Haiti or national security concerns to which the Executive is owed deference. Instead, these statements were overtly founded on racist stereotyping based on country of origin.”
The concurring opinion cites Noem calling Venezuelans “dirtbags” and “criminals,” and Trump saying that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of Americans.
The ruling, though, won’t change the TPS removal for Venezuelans. The Supreme Court ruled in another case in October to allow Noem to end the TPS while the court battles continue.
TPS began as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. It allows the Department of Homeland Security secretary to grant legal status to those fleeing fighting, environmental disaster or “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that prevent a safe return. TPS can last six, 12 or 18 months, and if conditions stay dangerous, they can be extended. It allows TPS holders to work, but there is no path to citizenship.
Haiti was given TPS in 2010 after a magnitude 7 earthquake that killed about 160,000 people. It left more than 1 million without homes.
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One on Tuesday. Trump threw his support behind a legislative proposal that would expand sales of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline as he looked to build support for his economic record with a rally in Iowa. Photo by Kent Nishimura/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 29 (UPI) — The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration is investigating an incident in which an autonomous Waymo taxi struck and injured a child last week in Santa Monica, Calif.
The child was injured Friday after they ran into the street and was struck by an autonomous Waymo taxi about two blocks from an elementary school during its morning drop-off hours, the NHTSA’s Office of Defects said.
“The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV towards the school and was struck by the Waymo AV,” NHTSA officials said in a document on the matter.
The child stood up after being struck and walked to the sidewalk as Waymo officials contacted local authorities to report the incident. The extent of the child’s injuries was not reported.
The autonomous vehicle remained in the spot where the incident occurred and stayed there until police cleared it to leave.
The agency said its Defects Investigation unit will determine if the driverless Waymo taxi “exercised appropriate caution given, among other things, its proximity to the elementary school during drop-off hours and the presence of young pedestrians and other potential vulnerable road users.”
Waymo officials said Wednesday they were committed to improving road safety for passengers and everyone who shares the road. Transparency regarding crashes and other incidents is a component of that commitment to safety, they said.
“Following the event, we voluntarily contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that same day. NHTSA has indicated to us that they intend to open an investigation into this incident, and we will cooperate fully with them throughout the process.”
Waymo officials said the unidentified child “suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path.”.
“Our technology immediately detected the individual as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle,” Waymo officials said.
“The Waymo driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made.”
While the autonomous taxi struck the child, Waymo officials said a similar vehicle driven by a human likely would have struck the child at about 14 mph instead of less than 6 mph.
“This event demonstrates the critical value of our safety systems,” Waymo said. “We remain committed to improving road safety where we operate as we continue on our mission to be the world’s most trusted driver.”
Friday’s incident was the second for Waymo during the past week in California.
Another of its vehicles on Sunday struck several parked vehicles while traveling on a one-way street near Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
That vehicle was being operated in manual mode by a driver when the crash occurred, and no injuries were reported.
Tech firm Alphabet owns Waymo, as well as Google and other subsidiary companies.
Jan. 29 (UPI) — The Justice Department on Thursday filed charges against Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, for spraying a substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar as she conducted a town hall hearing in Minneapolis.
FBI special agent Derek Fossi, in a criminal complaint, said Kazmierczak “forcibly assaulted, opposed, impeded, intimidated and interfered with” Omar while she was conducting a town hall with her constituents Tuesday, The New York Times reported.
Omar told the audience that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should resign when Kazmierczak approached her.
“She’s not resigning. You’re splitting Minnesotans apart,” Kazmierczak said after squirting her with the unknown liquid, as reported by NBC News.
Omar’s security staff detained Kazmierczak, who was arrested after briefly disrupting the congresswoman’s event.
A hazardous materials specialist with the Minneapolis Police Department’s North Metro Chemical Assessment Team tested the substance and identified it as a mix of water and apple cider vinegar, Fossi said.
Kazmierczak was carrying a plastic syringe when he approached Omar while she was speaking and sprayed her with an unidentified liquid that stained her clothes and might have contacted her face and right eye, Fossi wrote.
“As he sprayed her, Kazmierczak gestured at Rep. Omar and shouted at her before turning away and being brought to the floor by two security officers,” he said in the affidavit.
Minneapolis Police Department officers responded to the scene and arrested Kazmierczak and jailed him on third-degree assault charges.
While being arrested, Kazmierczak told officers that he sprayed Omar with vinegar.
Fossi said he interviewed a “close associate” of Kazmierczak on Wednesday, and that person recalled a time “several years ago” when the suspect, during a phone conversation, allegedly said, “somebody should kill that [expletive].”
U.S. District Court of Minnesota Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster confirmed receipt of the criminal complaint and supporting affidavit on Wednesday but did not say when an arraignment hearing will be held to formally charge Kazmierczak.
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One on Tuesday. Trump threw his support behind a legislative proposal that would expand sales of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline as he looked to build support for his economic record with a rally in Iowa. Photo by Kent Nishimura/UPI | License Photo
Nicki Minaj, who revealed in 2018 that she was brought to the United States as an “illegal immigrant” from Trinidad and Tobago when she was 5 years old, flashed a Trump gold card Wednesday after an event formally launching the president’s IRA-style savings accounts for children. Her citizenship paperwork, she said on social media, was being finalized.
“Residency? Residency? The cope is coping. … Finalizing that citizenship paperwork as we speak as per MY wonderful, gracious, charming President,” the “Bang Bang” rapper, 43, wrote Wednesday on X, including a photo of the Chucky character flipping his middle finger. “Thanks to the petition. … I wouldn’t have done it without you. Oh CitizenNIKA you are thee moment. Gold Trump card free of charge.”
That post mentioning the card, which delivers citizenship in the United States for those who pay $1 million, may have referred to multiple petitions arguing that the rapper — real name Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty — should be deported to Trinidad and Tobago, where she was born before being raised in Queens, N.Y. A previous post contained a photo of the gold card and the single word “Welp …”
“I came to this country as an illegal immigrant @ 5 years old,” the rapper wrote on Facebook in 2018, posting a photo from the first Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” period of immigration enforcement when migrant children were being separated from their migrant parents at the country’s southern border.
The photo showed children on padded floor mats with silver Mylar thermal blankets, walled in by chain-link fencing. “I can’t imagine the horror of being in a strange place & having my parents stripped away from me at the age of 5. This is so scary to me. Please stop this. Can you try to imagine the terror & panic these kids feel right now?”
In 2020, she said in a Rolling Stone interview that she thought Trump was “funny as hell” on “Celebrity Apprentice” but was bothered by the images of children taken from their parents.
President Trump talks with rapper Nicki Minaj in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday at an event launching the Trump Accounts savings and investment program for children.
(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)
“I was one of those immigrant children coming to America to flee poverty,” Minaj told the outlet. “And I couldn’t imagine a little child going through all of that, trying to get to another country because they didn’t have money in their country, or whether you’re fleeing from war … and then being taken away from the one person that makes you feel comfort. That is what really raised my eyebrows.”
At the time, she said she would not “jump on the Donald Trump bandwagon.”
But Minaj has since come around to support the president in his second term, even calling herself his “No. 1 fan” in remarks Wednesday. “And that’s not going to change,” she said.
“The hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more, and it’s going to motivate all of us to support him more,” Minaj said. “We’re not going to let them get away with bullying him and the smear campaigns. It’s not going to work, OK? He has a lot of force behind him, and God is protecting him.”
The president introduced her as “the greatest and most successful female rapper in history,” a title that’s accurate going by record sales and overall presence on the Billboard Hot 100. (Of course, Missy Elliott and Ms. Lauryn Hill might want to have a conversation.)
“I didn’t know Nicki, and I’ve been hearing over the years she’s a big Trump supporter, Trump fan,” POTUS continued. “And she took a little heat on occasion because her community isn’t necessarily a Trump fan.”
Trump said Minaj was among those stepping up, along with people including Dell Computers Chief Executive Michael S. Dell, and donating “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of her money to the new accounts. In addition to her generosity, POTUS was definitely a fan of Minaj’s long, painted, pointy pink manicure. He chuckled as he told the audience, “I’m going to let my nails grow, because I love those nails. I’m going to let those nails grow.”
In December, before Christmas, the rapper also appeared onstage with conservative activist Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk, who was slain in September at Utah Valley University. Minaj took the opportunity at the Phoenix conference of Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, to praise Trump and mock California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president,” Minaj said. “I don’t know if he even knows this but he has given so many people hope that there is a chance to beat the bad guys and to win and to do it with your head held high.”
She also declared onstage that there was “nothing wrong with being a boy.”
“How about that?” she continued. “How powerful is that? How profound is that? Boys will be boys, and there is nothing wrong with that.”
Then Minaj read aloud some of her social media posts mocking Newsom, calling him “Newscum” and “Gavie-poo” and criticizing his advocacy on behalf of “trans kids.”
It’s not as if the “Starships” rapper hid the ball about being harsh when she said in 2023 that she was willing to “be cussing out” certain people at certain times.
“When I hear the word mean, I think about the core of who the person is,” she told Vogue. “I always tell people that the difference between being mean and being a bitch is that bitch passes. Bitch comes and goes. Mean is who you are. I could be the biggest bitch, at the height of my bitch-ness, but if the person I may be cussing out at that time needs something from me, I’m going to give it to them. I have to be able to look in the mirror and be OK with myself.”
For children born during the second Trump administration, calendar years 2025 through 2028, the accounts will be seeded with $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury when a parent submits a form to the IRS to open the account. Additional pre-tax contributions of up to $5,000 a year are allowed but not required, and a parent is the custodian of the account until the child turns 18. Withdrawals for education, housing or business will be taxed as ordinary income.
Minaj is married to Kenneth Petty — who served four years in prison after being convicted of attempted rape in New York in 1995 — and the couple has one son. Nicknamed “Papa Bear,” the tot was born in 2020, about five years too soon to qualify for that $1,000.
Jan. 29 (UPI) — White House border czar Tom Homan says federal agents will continue so-called targeted operations in Minneapolis during a news conference on Thursday.
Homan added that the focus of these targeted operations will be “criminal aliens” and threats to public and national safety. He has also directed federal agents to prepare a drawdown plan for Minneapolis but clarified that the administration will not stop with detainments and deportations.
Homan added that decreasing the number of federal agents on Minneapolis’ streets will require the local government and law enforcement entities to cooperate with the federal government to identify and detain immigrants.
“We will conduct targeted enforcement operations. What we’ve done for decades,” Homan said. “With a prioritization on public safety threats. We are not surrendering the president’s mission on immigration enforcement. Prioritization of criminal aliens does not mean we forget about everybody else. That’s just ridiculous.”
Homan took the reins of President Donald Trump‘s Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minneapolis earlier this week. Before his arrival, federal agents had detained several children from an area school district.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellisonhave met with Homan this week.
Homan said he “did not agree with everything” the local officials have said, but they did acknowledge ICE is a congressionally approved agency.
“What we did agree on is the community’s safety is paramount,” Homan said. “What we did agree upon is not to release public safety risks back into the community when they could be lawfully transferred to ICE.”
The Minnesota Department of Corrections has been working with ICE to identify and remove immigrants with criminal records, Homan added. He went on to clarify that he was referring to people who were already detained in the Minnesota prison system.
In regards to the fatal shootings of two Minneapolis-area residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37 years old, Homan said he will not comment or share his personal opinion. He only acknowledged that the federal operation in the city has not been “perfect” and he and Trump “have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made.”
Homan referred to anti-ICE protesters as “agitators,” and asked local officials to “tone down the dangerous rhetoric” and work with federal agents who are “performing their duties in a challenging environment.”
“They’re trying to do it with professionalism,” Homan said. “If they don’t, they’ll be dealt with. Like any other federal agency, we have standards of conduct.”
Homan later blamed the increase of federal agents in Minneapolis on “rhetoric” directed towards agents and the immigration operation.
“I said in March if the rhetoric didn’t stop there was going to be bloodshed,” Homan said. “And there has been. I wish I wasn’t right.”
Frey on Thursday acknowledged participating in “good and productive meetings” with President Donald Trump and Homan, but cautioned that “I will believe it when I see it” regarding improvements in immigration enforcement tactics in Minneapolis.
“They have talked about drawing down the numbers in terms of federal agents — ICE and Border Patrol — in Minneapolis, and that is essential,” Frey told media.
“The reality is we need Operation Metro Surge to end,” he said, adding that the operation did not make the city safer or reduce chaos.
He called the federal law enforcement effort an “invasion” of the city and said that he expects the “conduct to immediately change,” but did not address the conduct of protesters.
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One on Tuesday. Trump threw his support behind a legislative proposal that would expand sales of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline as he looked to build support for his economic record with a rally in Iowa. Photo by Kent Nishimura/UPI | License Photo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday he has informed acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez that he’s going to be opening up all commercial airspace over Venezuela and Americans will soon be able to visit.
Trump said he instructed U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and U.S. military leaders to open up the airspace by the end of the day.
“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” the Republican president said.
Venezuela’s government did not immediately comment on Trump’s announcement.
Earlier this week, Trump’s administration notified Congress that it was taking the first steps to possibly reopen the shuttered U.S. Embassy in Venezuela as it explores restoring relations with the South American country following the U.S. military raid that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.
In a notice to lawmakers dated Monday and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, the State Department said it was sending in a regular and growing contingent of temporary staffers to conduct “select” diplomatic functions.
“We are writing to notify the committee of the Department of State’s intent to implement a phased approach to potentially resume Embassy Caracas operations,” the department said in separate but identical letters to 10 House and Senate committees.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries collapsed in 2019, and the U.S. State Department warned Americans shouldn’t travel to Venezuela, raising its travel advisory to the highest level.
The State Department on Thursday still listed a travel advisory for Venezuela at its highest level, “Do not travel,” warning that Americans face a high risk of wrongful detention, torture, kidnapping and more.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a message Thursday inquiring about whether it was changing its warning.
In November, as Trump was ramping up pressure on Maduro, he declared that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety.”
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which has jurisdiction generally over the U.S. and its territories, then told pilots to be cautious flying around the country because of heightened military activity.
After that FAA warning, international airlines began canceling flights to Venezuela because of heightened military activity.
American Airlines, which was the last U.S. airline flying to Venezuela when it suspended flights there in March 2019, announced Thursday that it intends to reinstate nonstop service there from the U.S. in the coming months.
“We have a more than 30-year history connecting Venezolanos to the U.S., and we are ready to renew that incredible relationship,” Nat Pieper, American’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement. “By restarting service to Venezuela, American will offer customers the opportunity to reunite with families and create new business and commerce with the United States.”
American said it would share additional details about the return to service in the coming months as it works with federal authorities on security assessments and necessary permissions.
Price writes for the Associated Press. AP reporters Matthew Lee in Washington and Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
When the exchange rate between the Uruguayan peso and the dollar falls, the margin between income and expenses shrinks, and in some cases that gap can become critical for business continuity. File Photo by Ivan Franco/EPA
BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 29 (UPI) — Uruguay has raised warning signals in its economic policy after its currency appreciated the most in the world against the dollar this week — a situation the government views as a risk to export competitiveness and the pace of economic growth.
In recent days, the Uruguayan peso strengthened more than comparable currencies and moved to the top of global foreign exchange performance. As a result, the dollar fell 3.1% in the local market, a deeper decline than those recorded in Brazil, Chile or Colombia.
The scenario set off alarms within the economic team. To counter the dollar’s weakness, the Central Bank of Uruguay announced a cut to its benchmark interest rate to 6.5% to discourage financial capital inflows and ease pressure on the local currency.
Along the same lines, the Economy Ministry confirmed forward dollar purchases and coordination with state-owned companies to increase demand for the U.S. currency. Those steps are complemented by measures aimed at reducing domestic costs and supporting economic activity, investment and employment, as concerns begin to mount in the productive sector.
Uruguayan economist Luciano Magnífico, of the Catholic University of Uruguay, said the dollar’s behavior in the country cannot be analyzed in isolation.
“The evolution of the dollar in Uruguay has closely tracked what has happened internationally, and particularly its performance against other regional currencies,” he told UPI.
According to Magnífico, the recent weakness of the U.S. currency largely reflects external factors.
“This weakening was closely linked to economic policies promoted during the first year of the Trump administration, especially on trade. That generated significant volatility in financial variables, and Uruguay was not immune to that dynamic,” he said.
The problem, he said, is that Uruguay’s economy already was expensive in terms of the dollar before this episode.
“According to the main indicators, Uruguay had been carrying an overvaluation for years, and this new drop in the dollar further aggravated that situation,” he said.
That combination hits exporters hardest because they are paid in dollars while many of their costs are in pesos. “When the exchange rate falls, the margin between income and expenses shrinks,” the economist explained. In some cases, that gap can become critical for business continuity.
Gonzalo Oleggini, a Uruguayan foreign trade consultant, focused on companies’ day-to-day operations.
“In Uruguay, as in many countries, foreign trade is conducted in dollars. An exporting industry, such as glass manufacturing, collects in dollars, but pays most of its costs in pesos,” he told UPI.
That mismatch becomes more visible when the dollar loses value.
“A year ago, each dollar brought in 40 pesos. A few days ago, it was 36. That means that for the same sale, a company receives less money to cover virtually the same costs, or even higher ones, because there is inflation and wages are rising,” he said.
Oleggini stressed that the impact is greater in labor-intensive sectors.
“Wages and social contributions weigh heavily in the cost structure. Since Uruguay does not have a highly automated industry, the blow remains strong,” he said.
As a result, much of the productive sector is affected.
“The meatpacking industry, plastics, services, logistics, tourism. The country becomes more expensive in dollar terms, making it harder to sell goods and services abroad,” he said. “Ultimately, the entire export sector, both goods and services, is the most affected.”
The concern is also explained by the weight of foreign trade in the economy.
Uruguay generates about $75 billion a year in economic output, and close to $24 billion of that comes from foreign trade in goods and services.
“It is one of the central pillars of the country’s production,” the consultant said.
One of the sectors generating the strongest concern is agriculture.
“That the dollar keeps falling and has been clearly below 40 pesos for several days is quite frustrating for us,” Rafael Ferber, president of the Rural Association of Uruguay, told local newspaper El Observador.
“We feel that macroeconomic measures continue to be taken in the wrong direction,” he said.
Ferber warned that the combination of factors pushing the exchange rate lower has made the situation “absolutely critical” for producers and exporters.
“Uruguay is basically an exporting country, something that is often poorly measured. It exports close to 70% of what it produces. Therefore, it depends on foreign currency much more than other countries,” he said.
Carmen Porteiro, president of the Uruguayan Exporters Union, said recent government decisions are moving in the right direction, although she noted the sector has been warning since last year about the impact of peso appreciation on competitiveness.
That loss of margins, she said, translates into lower investment, workforce adjustments and, in extreme cases, business closures, with direct effects on employment and future growth.
Oleggini said it is difficult to act against a global trend.
“The ability of a small economy like Uruguay’s to influence this is very limited,” he said.
“You can try to move the exchange rate a few pesos, as happened when it fell from 40 to 36 and then rose to 38, but there are no real chances of a strong peso depreciation, which is what exporters are seeking,” he said.
“From the United States, there is a positive view of a weaker dollar as part of its economic strategy. That makes it very difficult to think of a reversal,” he added.
The main tool applied in Uruguay has been the interest rate cut.
“The idea is to reduce incentives to place money and push those pesos into the market, which could generate a slight depreciation of the exchange rate,” Oleggini said. “It is the strongest tool being used and the one that may have some effect, although always limited.”
The gap with exporters’ demands remains wide.
“Many talk about a dollar at 50 pesos, and today we are at 36 or 38. Even bringing it to 40 would already be a challenge,” he said. “Reaching that level in an economy like Uruguay’s, with a weak dollar globally, is today almost a utopia.”
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
As U.S. President Donald Trump is again touting a “massive armada” of ships heading to the Middle East amid growing tensions with Iran, more assets continue to pour into the region, including an electronic intelligence collection plane, which would be critical to addressing a range on contingencies, and another destroyer. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before the Senate that U.S. forces are needed in case of a potential attack from Iran and that the administration does not know what will happen next if the government of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei falls.
You can catch up with our most recent coverage of events in the Middle East here.
“A massive Armada is heading to Iran,” Trump stated Wednesday morning in a post on his Truth Social platform, referring to the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG). “It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like with Venezuela, it is ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.”
It remains unclear what Trump meant by a larger fleet. A Navy spokesman confirmed to us Wednesday morning that the Lincoln and three Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer escorts are now in the CENTCOM region. That’s the same number of ships the Gerald R. Ford CSG deployed with to the Caribbean ahead of the Maduro capture.
All told, the Navy now has 10 warships in the CENTCOM area of responsibility (AOR). The Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black just joined that force, a Navy official told us.
A destroyer would provide picket defense against missiles and drones, as well as standoff call strike capabilities. This is something especially important in that part of the Middle East right now since the Houthi rebels of Yemen have threatened to attack U.S. and Israeli targets should Iran come under fire.
By comparison, there are 12 warships in the Caribbean, the official explained. That force, along with a number of destroyers and carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, includes the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG)/22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) made up of three amphibious assault vessels, and a Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser. In addition, the Ocean Trader, a special operations mothership, was also plying those waters. It’s also worth noting that CSGs deploy with at least one fast attack submarine that isn’t usually disclosed.
When we asked for more details about Trump’s claim, the White House referred us to the Truth Social post, and CENTCOM referred us to the White House.
The Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black joined a growing force of Navy warships in the U.S. Central Command region yesterday. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob Mattingly) Petty Officer 2nd Class Jacob Mattingly
While the Navy’s deployments are getting a lot of attention, a U.S. Air Force RC-135V Rivet Joint electronic surveillance plane has flown to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, according to online flight trackers. The aircraft, callsign Olive48, arrived at Al Udeid on Wednesday morning Eastern time, according to FlightRadar24.
The U.S. Air Force RC-135V Rivet Joint is now landing at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
I expect both the E-11A BACN and HC-130J Combat King II to leave Chania for Al Udeid later today.
The Rivet Joint departed from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and stopped at RAF Mildenhall before arriving at Al Udeid.
The RC-135 is one of America’s most capable intelligence-gathering assets. Each airliner-sized jet contains a large array of signals intelligence (SIGINT) systems that detect and intercept communications and other electronic emissions. The aircraft can also geolocate and categorize the emitters sending out those signals, from radios to radars. The RC-135s are often used to build a electronic order of battle of an adversary nation, locating their air defenses and command and control nodes, as well as intercepting communications as to how they respond to various stimuli or just during mundane operations. This information is critical to building an effective war plan and it needs to be updated just prior to launching an operation. It is also very important for defensive monitoring and understanding an enemy’s intentions and the status of its military at any given time.
Rivet Joint deployments happen around the globe regularly, including to the Middle East. In November, a U.S. official confirmed to us that one of these jets had been deployed to the U.S. Southern Command region “testing Venezuelan sensors and responses, and it is part of the pressure campaign to show U.S. capabilities in the Caribbean.” This matched our prior analysis as to their presence there. The information gathered would have played a key role in the effective capture of Maduro.
We’ve reached out to CENTCOM and the 55th Wing at Offutt, which operates the Rivet Joints, for comment.
An RC-135V/W Rivet Joint. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. William Rio Rosado) (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. William Rio Rosado)
There are also indications that other unique airborne capabilities may be headed to the Middle East.
Flight trackers are showing that an E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) jet is heading to Souda Air Base in Crete, a common route for deployments to the Middle East. While we have no confirmation of where this jet might go next, a move to the Middle East ahead of a potential conflict makes sense. E-11As are highly specialized communications gateway nodes designed to create an ‘active net’ over the battlespace and quickly transfer data sent using a variety of distinct waveforms between different aerial platforms and forces on the ground/surface. With these capabilities, the aircraft can also serve as valuable communications relay nodes. You can find out more about BACN and its history in this past War Zone feature. It’s also worth mentioning the BACNs spent many years exclusively deployed to the Middle East during the Global War on Terror.
🇺🇸 Strategic Signal
A U.S. Air Force E 11A BACN aircraft, callsign BLKWF01, was tracked over the western Mediterranean after crossing the Atlantic, reportedly heading toward Souda Air Base in Crete.
In addition, it appears six U.S. Navy E/A-18G Growlers electronic warfare jets have departed from their assignment to the Caribbean and are headed east across the Atlantic, potentially for deployment to the Middle East. Again we have no confirmation of why the jets are making this flight.
The EA-18Gs in the Middle East would be critical force multipliers. Such a deployment could be indicative of what one would see in the lead-up to a kinetic operation centered heavily on strikes on targets in inland areas, such as ones the U.S. and possibly Israel might carry out in Iran in the future. Growlers can provide electronic warfare support for standoff munitions and/or aircraft penetrating into enemy air defenses, among other battlefield effects.
#USAF United States Air Force – Middle East Activity (CORONET) 27 January 2026 – 2000z
Second update for the day. The main focus being CORONET East 037 involving E/A-18G’s, as well as HC-130’s and additional C-17 flights.
There are also signs that HC-130J Combat King II combat search and rescue (CSAR) planes are moving toward the Middle East, another indication that Trump could be considering airstrikes inside Iran. The aircraft would be needed for rapid rescues of any aircrews that are lost during military operations, specifically over contested territory. They can also support special operations aircraft with aerial refueling for non personnel recovery missions.
#USAF United States Air Force – Middle East Activity (CORONET) 27 January 2026 – 2000z
Second update for the day. The main focus being CORONET East 037 involving E/A-18G’s, as well as HC-130’s and additional C-17 flights.
As we have previously reported, at least a dozen additional F-15E Strike Eagle fighters were recently deployed to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Aerial refueling tankers have also trickled into the Middle East. Other tactical jets remain in the region, including A-10s. But despite the potential presence of the Growlers and the movements of the F-15Es, there has still been no mass influx of USAF tactical airpower into the Middle East. This is something we would likely see if the U.S. intends to execute a sustained campaign, even if limited in scope, against Iran. This points to a more limited operation, unless Israel steps in to provide its tactical fighter force in a joint operation. It’s also very possible that these assets will deploy in the coming days.
#USAF United States Air Force – Middle East Activity 26 January 2026 – 1045z
Traffic is primarily focused on bases housing air defence systems like THAAD from Fort Hood. As the weather conditions don’t appear to have improved, the level of traffic is still fairly low. I’ve… https://t.co/INuCDdgv5spic.twitter.com/PQ9fchMiMf
Amid the U.S. buildup, Rubio offered some insights about why this is happening.
“On the issue of our presence in the region, here’s the baseline I want to set for everybody,” Rubio said during his testimony to the Senate in a hearing on the situation in Venezuela. “The baseline is this: we have 30,000 to 40,000 American troops stationed across eight or nine facilities in that region. All are within the reach…of an array of thousands of Iranian one-way UAVs and Iranian short-range ballistic missiles that threaten our troop presence.”
“We have to have enough force and power in the region just on a baseline to defend against the possibility that at some point, as a result of something, the Iranian regime decides to strike at our troop presence in the region,” he added. “The president always reserves the preemptive defensive option. In essence, if we have indications that, in fact, they’re going to attack our troops in the region, to defend our personnel in the region.”
In addition, Rubio noted that “we also have security agreements, the defense of Israel plan, and others that require a force posture in the region to defend against that. And so I think it’s wise and prudent to have a force posture within the region that could respond and potentially, not necessarily what’s going to happen, but if necessary, preemptively, prevent the attack against thousands of American servicemen and other facilities in the region and our allies.”
Rubio says US forces are amassing in the region to potentially “preemptively prevent” Iran from attacking US forces already in the region. Pristine logic. Especially after Trump just announced he’s sending a “Massive Armada,” and threatened a “far worse” attack than last June pic.twitter.com/dbHMXuUhC9
The U.S. Secretary of State also noted that at least thousands of protesters have been killed by government forces during the unrest that began in Iran on Dec. 28. The uprising occurred due to rising prices and devalued currency that saw the rial crater now to basically nothing, as well as a devastating drought, and ongoing harsh treatment from the regime.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “thousands” have died in the Iran protests “for certain,” but couldn’t confirm the numbers.
“The protests may have ebbed, but they will spark up again in the future because this regime, unless they are willing to change and or leave, have no… pic.twitter.com/Tq7RIPm8WA
“That’s an open question,” Rubio responded to a question about who would lead Iran next. “No one knows what would take over. Obviously, their system is divided between the supreme leader and the IRGC that responds directly to him. And then you’ve got these quasi-elected individuals, the ones that wear the suits on television, who are part of their political branches, but ultimately have to run everything they do by the Supreme Leader. So I don’t think anyone can give you a simple answer as to what happens next in Iran if the Supreme Leader and the regime were to fall.”
In his Trump Social post on Wednesday, the president issued one of his most serious threats against Iran to date. The American leader, who began his recent round of warnings to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the wake of the regime’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters, is also pressuring Iran to end its nuclear weapons program.
“Hopefully Iran will quickly “Come to the Table” and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties,” Trump proclaimed. “Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was “Operation Midnight Hammer,” a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again…”
The American president gave no specifics about the deal he was demanding, “but U.S. and European officials say that in talks, they have put three demands in front of the Iranians: a permanent end to all enrichment of uranium, limits on the range and number of their ballistic missiles, and an end to all support for proxy groups in the Middle East, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis operating in Yemen,” The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
“Notably absent from those demands — and from Mr. Trump’s post on Truth Social on Wednesday morning — was any reference to protecting the protesters who took to the streets in Iran in December, convulsing the country and creating the latest crisis for its government. Mr. Trump had promised, in past social media posts, to come to their aid, but has barely mentioned them in recent weeks.”
According to U.S. and European officials involved in the ongoing negotiations who spoke to the New York Times, three demands have been given to the Iranians to prevent potential military actions by the United States, these include:
Iran, for its part, said there are no direct negotiations underway.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said he had not been in contact with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days or requested negotiations, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing Iranian media.
“There was no contact between me and Witkoff in recent days and no request for negotiations was made from us,” Araqchi told state media, adding that various intermediaries were “holding consultations” and “were in contact with Tehran.”
“Our stance is clear, ” he added. “Negotiations don’t go along with threats and talks can only take place when there are no longer menaces and excessive demands.”
“Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein says Iran has announced its readiness for dialogue with the United States, but it has yet to receive any response from Washington,” according to IRNA. “Speaking with Rudaw, a Kurdish digital news network based in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the foreign minister said late on Tuesday that messages are exchanged between Iran and the US, but no meeting has been held yet.”
“The main problem is that there is no direct communication,” Hussein said, adding that messages are exchanged without holding a meeting, which complicates the situation. “If a decision is made to hold a meeting, Iraq would be able to play a role, but the U.S. has yet to decide if it would hold discussions.”
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (Iranian media)
Wary Israeli officials, who are preparing for an attack on or from Iran, are closely monitoring these unofficial talks, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“Israel is assessing reports that the United States and Iran are holding discreet contacts and that Washington has presented preconditions for possible negotiations on a new nuclear agreement,” the Post reported. “Israeli officials have expressed concern over the possibility of an agreement they view as unfavorable.”
Likely to participate in any strike against Iran, Israel was once again the target of Tehran’s wrath.
Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, threatened strikes on Israel if the U.S .attacks Iran.
“The limited strike is an illusion,” he said, according to Israel National News. “Any military action by America, from any source and at any level, will be considered the beginning of war, and the response to it will be immediate, comprehensive, and unprecedented, targeting the aggressor, the heart of Tel Aviv, and everyone who supports the aggressor.”
IRAN THREATENS ISRAEL: Khamenei adviser says US military action will trigger Iranian attack on Tel Aviv (Ynet)
Should a conflict between the U.S. and Iran break out, two key regional allies have said they won’t be involved. Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said it would not allow the U.S. to use its facilities or airspace to attack Iran. That follows a similar statement made by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
🇸🇦📞🇮🇷 | HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian. pic.twitter.com/sjcDjoHYCv
These public statements could be strictly aimed at internal audiences that might not favor involvement in an attack on another Muslim nation, especially involving Israel. They could also be to deter Iran from barraging their territory in retaliation to an attack. However, if Saudi Arabia and the UAE are serious about their reticence, it would affect U.S. basing in those countries, limiting Trump’s options to attack Iran. There are other bases in the region, like Al Udeid in Qatar, Muwaffaq Salti in Jordan, and Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, among others. Still, any reduction in facilities to store and launch aircraft makes any strike more challenging and potentially increases the risk to host countries from Iranian missiles and drones. Taking airspace over Saudi Arabia and the UAE out of the picture also reduces the vectors from which the U.S. can launch attacks from the Gulf region, limiting them to a narrower set of funnels. This is also why the carrier strike group is so important.
Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. (Google Earth)
Meanwhile, NATO ally Turkey urged Trump not to attack Iran.
“It’s wrong to attack on Iran, it’s wrong to start the war again. Iran is ready to negotiate on nuclear file again,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.”My advice to the American friends: close the files one by one with Iranians. Start with nuclear, close it, and not get it as a package. If you put them as a package, it will be very difficult for our Iranian friends to digest and to go through this. It might seem humiliating for them and difficult to explain to the leadership. If we can make things better tolerated, it would help.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan:
It’s wrong to attack on Iran, it’s wrong to start the war again. Iran is ready to negotiate on nuclear file again.
My advice to the American friends: close the files one by one with Iranians. Start with nuclear, close it, and not get it as… pic.twitter.com/TtGDV9l9uQ
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, on the other hand, said the Iranian regime’s days are numbered.
German Chancellor Merz says Iranian regime’s “days are numbered” – “It may be weeks, but this regime has no legitimacy whatsoever to govern the country” pic.twitter.com/sK4M4us73R
Despite the Iranian regime’s crackdown, the protests appear to be ongoing. A new video emerged showing a large demonstration in Tehran, calling for the end of the regime.
BREAKING: Massive protests erupt in Tehran, over 100,000 Iranians flooding the streets, demanding the fall of the Islamic Republic. pic.twitter.com/I8Z60fNab6
As the pressure mounts against Khamenei, a video emerged purporting to show an inside view of his compound, something observers say they’ve never seen before.
This is really something: this new video purportedly shows some of the security protocols leading to the Office of #Iran’s regime’s Supreme Leader. It’s an unprecedented video—never before have I seen something like this surface. A sign of the times. pic.twitter.com/PLSdYGDjw1
So far, there are just harsh words being exchanged in the Middle East, not munitions. However, the warning lights are blinking hot that a conflict could soon break out, something we will continue to monitor closely.
Update: 9:46 PM Eastern –
Trump is now considering options that “include U.S. military airstrikes aimed at Iran’s leaders and the security officials believed to be responsible for the killings, as well as strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and government institutions,” CNN reported, citing sources. “Trump has not made a final decision on how to proceed, sources said, but he believes his military options have been expanded from earlier this month now that a US carrier strike group is in the region.”
“Options he is now considering include US military airstrikes aimed at Iran’s leaders and the security officials…as well as strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and government institutions.”
Jan. 29 (UPI) — A judge has barred federal immigration officers from arresting and detaining legally present refugees in Minnesota, handing the Trump administration a legal defeat in its aggressive immigration crackdown.
U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, in Minneapolis on Wednesday, issued a temporary restraining order that bars the arrest and detention of any Minnesota resident with refugee status as litigation on the issue continues.
“They are not committing crimes on our streets, nor did they illegally cross the border,” Tunheim wrote in his order.
“Refugees have a legal right to be in the United States, a right to work, a right to live peacefully — and importantly, a right not to be subjected to the terror of being arrested and detained without warrants or cause in their homes or on their way to religious services or to buy groceries.”
The Trump administration has been conducting an aggressive immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection have arrested thousands of people since December, attracting protests, which have been met with violence.
Democrats and civil and immigration rights advocates have accused the agents of using excessive force and violating due process protections.
The order issued Wednesday comes in a lawsuit filed by the International Refugee Assistance Project against Operation PARRIS, an initiative launched Jan. 9 to re-examine the 5,600 pending refugee cases in Minnesota in a hunt for fraud and other possible crimes.
IRAP said in its complaint, filed Saturday, that since the operation began, federal immigration agents have arrested and detained more than 100 of Minnesota’s refugee population without warrants and often with violence.
Those detained have not been charged with any crime nor with any violation of immigration statutes, according to the immigration legal aid and advocacy organization, which said this policy not only goes against immigration law but also ICE’s own guidance that states there is no authority to detain refugees because they have not yet changed their status to lawful permanent residents.
The organization states that the purpose of Operation PARRIS “is to use these baseless detentions and coercive interviews as fishing expeditions to trigger a mass termination of refugee statuses and/or to render refugees vulnerable to removal.”
“For more than two weeks, refugees in Minnesota have been living in terror of being hunted down and disappeared to Texas,” Kimberly Grano, staff attorney for U.S. litigation at IRAP, said in a statement, referring to the location of detention centers where refugees detained in Minnesota are being held.
“This temporary restraining order will immediately put in place desperately needed guardrails on ICE and protect resettled refugees from being unlawfully targeted for arrest and detention.”
Tunheim’s order does not interfere with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ ability to conduct re-inspections to adjust refugees’ status to lawful permanent residents nor the Department of Homeland Security’s enforcement of immigration laws. It only prevents the arrest and detention of refugees in the state who have yet to become lawful permanent residents while litigation proceeds.
“At its best, America serves as a have of individual liberties in a world too often full of tyranny and cruelty,” Tunheim said.
“We abandon that ideal when we subject our neighbors to fear and chaos.”
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun answers lawmakers’ questions during a National Assembly committee hearing in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo by Asia Today
Jan. 28 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s opposition People Power Party and the ruling Democratic Party traded accusations Wednesday over U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks about restoring higher tariffs, with conservatives faulting the government’s diplomacy and liberals arguing Seoul must move quickly to pass pending legislation tied to a bilateral investment package.
The dispute unfolded at a National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee hearing, where Foreign Minister Cho Hyun faced questions about what the opposition described as a sudden reversal after the government promoted a tariff outcome that did not require a formal agreement document.
People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok said the public had been led to believe tariffs would remain lower once legislation related to U.S.-bound investment was introduced and processed. He said Trump’s renewed tariff warnings felt like a betrayal to many South Koreans and criticized the government for opposing parliamentary ratification procedures, arguing major commitments should be handled through proper legislative channels.
Several People Power Party lawmakers pressed the government over the effectiveness of its communication channel with Washington, mocking earlier claims that a high-level “hotline” had been established and questioning whether Seoul had meaningful leverage if tariff threats resurfaced so quickly.
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo said the government’s claim that negotiations were so successful they did not require a joint statement was not credible. He argued that if talks had been truly successful, the two sides would have presented the outcome publicly through a joint briefing.
Ruling party lawmakers countered that Trump’s unpredictability is well known and that repeated focus on ratification could slow Seoul’s ability to respond diplomatically and economically. They urged swift deliberation and passage of a special bill tied to U.S. investment commitments, saying similar memorandums and fact sheets with partners are often handled without full treaty-style ratification.
The dispute comes as South Korea moves to implement a bilateral memorandum and related measures that had been linked to tariff levels, while Seoul says it has not received an official U.S. notice of any change.
Tesla on Wednesday reported decreased revenues and profits during the fourth quarter of 2025 despite record production levels and increased global demand for electric vehicles. File Photo by Divyakant Solanki/EPA
Jan. 28 (UPI) — Electric vehicle maker Tesla’s revenue and profits fell during the fourth quarter of 2025 despite record levels of production.
Tesla officials on Wednesday reported the Elon Musk-owned company’s adjusted income dropped by 16% during the final quarter of 2025, while net income fell 61% for the quarter and 46% for the entire year.
The quarterly and final revenue report for 2025 reflects Tesla’s largest year-to-year revenue drop as its quarterly global sales of electric vehicles declined despite an increased global demand for EVs.
Partly to blame is the end of a $7,500 federal tax credit for those who bought qualifying EVs, combined with opposition by those who opposed Musk leading the Department of Government Efficiency and his general support of the Trump administration earlier in 2025.
Tesla also is facing increased competition from other EV makers, including Chinese EV firm BYD.
Despite the decline in revenues, Tesla shares rose in value by about 3% during after-hours trading on Wednesday and peaked at $449.76 per share before declining to $437.02.
Tesla officials reported that it produced a quarterly record 434,358 EVs during the final three months of 2025 and delivered 418,227. It also produced a record 14.2 GWh of energy-storage products.
For the year, Tesla produced 1.66 million EVs, delivered 1.64 million and produced 46.7 GWh of energy-storage products.
Jan. 28 (UPI) — Deploying National Guard and other military troops in U.S. cities cost taxpayers nearly $500 million in the second half of 2025, the Congressional Budget Office reported Wednesday.
The cost breakdown includes the cost to activate, deploy and pay National Guard personnel; related operational, logistical and sustainment costs; and other direct and indirect costs of deploying National Guard and other military units, such as the U.S. Marine Corps, the CBO report shows.
Since June, the CBO said the Trump administration deployed National Guard troops and active-duty Marines to the nation’s capital, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis and Portland, Ore.
The administration also kept 200 National Guard personnel deployed in Texas after they left Chicago.
“CBO estimates that those deployments (excluding the one to New Orleans, which occurred at the end of the year) cost a total of approximately $496 million through the end of December 2025,” the CBO said in a letter to Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
“The costs of those or other deployments in the future are highly uncertain, mainly because the scale, length and location of such deployments are difficult to predict accurately,” the CBO said.
“That uncertainty is compounded by legal challenges, which have stopped deployments to some cities, and by changes in the administration’s policies.”
Merkley is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on the Budget and asked the CBO to provide a cost breakdown of National Guard deployments in U.S. cities.
“The American people deserve to know how many hundreds of millions of their hard-earned dollars have been and are being wasted on Trump’s reckless and haphazard deployment of National Guard troops to Portland and cities across the country,” Merkley said Wednesday in a prepared statement.
The CBO further estimated the cost for continuing such deployments would be $93 million per month, including between $18 million and $21 million per month per city to deploy 1,000 National Guardsmen in 2026.
The cost breakdown includes healthcare, military pay and benefits, plus lodging, food and transportation costs.
“CBO does not expect the military to incur significant costs to operate and maintain equipment during domestic deployments,” the report said.
“So far, such deployments appear to mainly involve foot patrols conducted by small units, without the extensive types of supporting forces or heavy equipment associated with operations in combat zones.”
CBO officials also do not expect the Department of Defense to incur new equipment costs for the deployments.
From Kevin Baxter: A growing number of international leaders are suggesting it’s time to reconsider the idea of playing the World Cup in the United States this summer.
Oke Gottlich, vice president of the German Football Assn., told a German newspaper last week that he wants to discuss a boycott of the tournament, much like the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
“By my reckoning,” Gottlich said, “the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”
Politicians in Britain and France had already raised the idea of a World Cup boycott. But now the whispers are growing into a chorus.
Nearly two dozen European football association heads held informal talks in Budapest last week to discuss their participation in the World Cup. A veteran coach of several African national teams urged a boycott, and a United Nations diplomat and international law expert has canceled his World Cup tickets, fearing for his safety in the U.S. amid violent federal immigration crackdowns in Minnesota and other cities throughout the United States.
“ICE may decide that I am a gang member and I’ll be locked in prison for a year with no charges, no hearing, no trial, no right to consult a lawyer, no phone call,” Mohamad Safa, the Lebanese-born executive director of the U.N. organization Patriotic Vision, wrote in a social media post.
From Ryan Kartje: Entering a particularly consequential season for coach Lincoln Riley at USC, a brutal Big Ten slate won’t cut the Trojans or their coach any slack in 2026.
That much was clear long before the Big Ten officially released its schedule for next season Tuesday. USC already knew it would face the conference’s top three teams from a season ago (Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon). But the official unveiling of the slate would further solidify just how grueling the climb could be for USC next season.
Oregon will face Portland State, an FCS team, a week before coming to USC on Sept. 26. Ohio State will have a bye week before its Halloween meeting with USC at the Coliseum, and so will the defending champ, Indiana, which USC will face in Bloomington on Nov. 14.
Aug. 29: TBA Sept. 5: vs. Fresno State Sept. 12: vs. Louisiana Sept. 19: at Rutgers Sept. 26: vs. Oregon Oct. 3: vs. Washington Oct. 10: at Penn State Oct. 17: BYE Oct. 24: at Wisconsin Oct. 31: vs. Ohio State Nov. 7: BYE Nov. 14: at Indiana Nov. 21: vs. Maryland Nov. 28: at UCLA
From Anthony Solorzano: The Big Ten Conference announced on Tuesday the opponents new head coach Bob Chesney and the Bruins will face during the 2026 season.
Whether the games will be played at the Rose Bowl or SoFi Stadium remains to be determined, but the Bruins will not be suiting up against Curt Cignetti and defending national champion Indiana.
UCLA will hard launch the Chesney era on the road against rival California on Sept. 5 at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.
Sept. 5: at California Sept. 12: vs. San Diego State Sept. 19: vs. Purdue Sept. 26: at Maryland Oct. 3: BYE Oct. 10: at Oregon Oct. 17: vs. Wisconsin Oct. 24: vs. Michigan State Oct. 31: vs. Nevada Nov. 7: at Minnesota Nov. 14: vs. Illinois Nov. 21: at Michigan Nov. 28: vs. USC
Why did Mike McDaniel choose the Chargers?
Just like his famously inventive offenses, Mike McDaniel had many options.
He interviewed for several head coaching jobs after his four-year tenure in charge of the Miami Dolphins ended this month, and he could have been an offensive coordinator pretty much anywhere he pleased.
McDaniel still wants to be a head coach again someday, but he chose to join the Chargers alongside Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert because the combination of time, place and personnel seemed perfect for this idiosyncratic coach who also happens to be one of the top offensive minds in football.
Sunday, Feb. 8 at Santa Clara Seattle vs. New England 3:30 p.m. PT, NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, KLAC AM 570 Halftime show: Bad Bunny National anthem: Charlie Puth Odds: Seahawks favored by 4.5 points Over/Under: 45.5 points
Clippers defeat the Jazz
Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points, James Harden had 16 points and 10 assists, and the Clippers beat the Utah Jazz 111-99 on Tuesday night for their ninth win in 10 games.
Leonard has scored at least 20 points in 25 consecutive games. He joins Bob McAdoo, World B. Free and Blake Griffin as the only players in franchise history with such a streak.
Kris Dunn added 14 points and a season-best five steals for the Clippers (22-24), who have the best record in the NBA since Christmas. They have won 16 of their last 19 games — immediately after going 3-16 in their previous 19.
The Clippers took control during a 10-2 run in the third quarter powered powered by Dunn’s two steals and layups, along with a three-pointer that made it 73-61. They led by double figures the rest of the way.
Anton Forsberg made 26 saves and the Kings beat the Red Wings 3-1 on Tuesday night as Detroit winger Patrick Kane moved into a tie with Dallas’ Mike Modano as the highest-scoring American-born players in NHL history.
Kane matched Modano by recording his 1,374th point on an assist on a goal by Alex DeBrincat late in the third period. He accomplished the feat just a couple of months after turning 37, while Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374. For his career, Kane has 500 goals and 874 assists in 1,341 NHL regular-season games. Modano retired in 2011 with 561 goals and 813 assists in 1,499 games.
Samuel Helenius, Andrei Kuzmenko and Corey Perry scored for the Kings, who won their third straight game.
1901 — The American League is founded. The league plans for a 140-game schedule, set player rosters at 14 and recognizes the Players Protective Association, the players’ union.
1943 — Max Bentley of the Chicago Blackhawks has four goals and three assists in a 10-1 rout of the New York Rangers. Bentley scored all four goals and an assist in the third period. Max’s brother, Doug, has four assists in the third period.
1949 — Monte Irvin and Ford Smith are signed by the New York Giants. They are the first Black players to sign with the club.
1984 — Wayne Gretzky’s record 51-game scoring streak is halted as the Kings post a 4-2 victory. Over the 51 games, Gretzky scored 61 goals and had 92 assists.
1990 — The San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 55-10 in the most lopsided Super Bowl. The 49ers are the first repeat NFL champion in a decade and tie the Pittsburgh Steelers with four Super Bowl wins.
1992 — Brett Hull becomes the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in 50 games more than once in a career when the St. Louis Blues tie the Kings 3-3.
2001 — Baltimore’s brazen defense backs up its bragging by beating the New York Giants 34-7 in the Super Bowl. The Ravens intercept Kerry Collins four times, the final pick returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Duane Starks.
2006 — Amelie Mauresmo wins her first Grand Slam singles title when Justine Henin-Hardenne retires in the second set of their Australian Open final because of stomach pain. Mauresmo led 6-1, 2-0.
2007 — Roger Federer captures his 10th Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set at the Australian Open, beating Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4.
2012 — Towson ends its NCAA record 41-game losing streak with a 66-61 victory over North Carolina Wilmington. The victory is the first career win at Towson for coach Pat Skerry and the Tigers’ first win since a win at La Salle on Dec. 29, 2010.
2014 — Calling the NCAA a dictatorship, Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter and the United Steelworkers announce plans to form the first labor union for college athletes. Colter details the College Athletes Players Assn. at a news conference in Chicago, flanked by leaders of Steelworkers union that agree to pay legal bills for the effort.
2017 — Serena Williams wins her record 23rd Grand Slam singles title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over her older sister Venus in the Australian Open final.
2017 — Arrogate beats California Chrome again, winning the $12 million Pegasus World Cup in his rival’s last race before retirement.
2018 — Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer beats Marin Čilic 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to win his record 20th Grand Slam title.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Jan. 28 (UPI) — A NASA research jet performed a gear-up landing at Houston’s Joint Reserve Base Ellington after suffering a “mechanical issue,” according to NASA officials.
Uncorroborated video of the Tuesday landing posted online shows the plane, a WB-57 research aircraft, coming in low toward the runway, touching down with the belly of its fuselage.
Sparks, fire and smoke spew from the back of the plane as it comes to a stop, the video shows.
NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens said in a statement that the gear-up landing was the result of an unspecified “mechanical issue.”
“Response to the incident is ongoing, and all crew are safe at this time,” she said.
“As with any incident, a thorough investigation will be conducted by NASA into the cause. NASA will transparently update the public as we gather more information.”
The incident occurred at about 11:30 a.m. CST Tuesday on Runway 17R-35L, according to Houston Airports, the Texas city’s Department of Aviation.
The WB-57 high-altitude research plane is a mid-wing, long-range aircraft based near the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.
According to NASA, three of the jets operate out of Ellington Field, and can fly in excess of 63,000 feet above sea level. It can also fly for about 6 1/2 hours with a range of about 2,500 miles.
A pilot and a sensor equipment operator generally crew the aircraft during flights.
South Carolina on Tuesday has reported the nation’s largest measles outbreak in decades, which mostly is occurring among unvaccinated children and youth. File Photo by Annie Rice/EPA-EFE
Jan. 27 (UPI) — A rapidly growing measles outbreak in South Carolina is the nation’s worst since measles was declared eradicated in 2000, with 789 reported cases.
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported 89 new measles cases since Friday, raising the state’s total to 789, the most in one state in decades, WOLO-TV reported.
The state’s Public Health Department reported 756 cases in Spartanburg County in northwestern South Carolina, followed by 28 in Greenville County, which is adjacent to and west of Spartanburg.
Fewer than five cases were reported in Anderson County, which is directly southwest of Greenville County, and Cherokee County, which is directly east of Spartanburg.
The outbreak began in October, and most of the state’s measles cases — 692 — were among those who are not vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, and another 63 have an unknown vaccination status, for a total of 755 cases and 96% of those reported.
Another 20 cases occurred among those who are fully vaccinated, and 14 are among those who are partially vaccinated. At least 18 have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
When broken down by age, young children between ages 5 and 11 accounted for 345 cases, followed by 201 among those ages 0 to 4.
Another 149 cases were reported among youth between ages 12 and 17, followed by 26 among those between ages 18 and 29, and 25 cases among those between ages 30 and 49.
Five cases have been reported among people ages 50 and over, while 28 cases are among those whose ages are unknown.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is allocating $1.4 million in aid to help South Carolina officials counteract the outbreak.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also is working with state officials to identify transmission trends and helping to coordinate the state’s response.
The 789 cases reported as of Tuesday in South Carolina exceed the 762 reported in Texas a year ago during a measles outbreak that ended in August.
The outbreaks in those states and others might result in the United States being removed from the Pan American Health Organization’s list of nations in which measles has been eliminated.
Jan. 27 (UPI) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz met with President Donald Trump‘s border czar Tuesday to discuss the situation on the ground as immigration enforcement personnel operate in the state.
“Governor Walz met with Tom Homan this morning and reiterated Minnesota’s priorities: impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota,” the governor’s office said in a statement to the media.
“The Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday. The Governor tasked the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as the primary liaison to Homan to ensure these goals are met.”
Homan was sent to the state by Trump after he recalled Immigrations and Customs Enforcement commander Greg Bovino. Trump said that Homan will manage ICE operations in the state and will report directly to him.
“He has not been involved in that area but knows and likes many of the people there,” Trump said of Homan on Monday. “Tom is tough but fair and will report directly to me.”
Since ICE began Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis in December, two people in the state were killed by federal immigration agents, causing a swell of protests throughout the state. Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were both shot by agents. Good was driving away, and Pretty was filming an agent with his cell phone.
Walz said he had a “productive call” with Trump on Monday.
“The President agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and to talk to DHS [Department of Homeland Security] about ensuring the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be the case,” Walz posted on X.
Thousands of protesters march in sub-zero temperatures during “ICE Out” day to protest the federal government’s immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Friday. Photo by Craig Lassig/UPI | License Photo
DES MOINES, Iowa — President Trump is headed to Iowa on Tuesday as part of the White House’s midterm year pivot toward affordability, even as his administration remains mired in the fallout in Minneapolis over a second fatal shooting by federal immigration officers this month.
While in Iowa, the Republican president will make a stop at a local business and then deliver a speech on affordability, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. The remarks will be at the Horizon Events Center in Clive, a suburb of Des Moines.
The trip is expected to also highlight energy policy, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said last week. It’s part of the White House’s strategy to have Trump travel out of Washington once a week ahead of the midterm elections to focus on affordability issues facing everyday Americans — an effort that keeps getting diverted by crisis.
The latest comes as the Trump administration is grappling with the weekend shooting death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse killed by federal agents in the neighboring state of Minnesota. Pretti had participated in protests following the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Even as some top administration officials moved quickly to malign Pretti, the White House said Monday that Trump was waiting until an investigation into the shooting was complete.
Trump calls Pretti killing ‘sad situation’
As Trump left the White House on Tuesday to head to Iowa, he was repeatedly questioned by reporters about Pretti’s killing. Trump disputed language used by his own deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, who on social media described Pretti as an “assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents.” Vice President JD Vance shared the post.
Trump, when asked Tuesday if he believed Pretti was an assassin, said, “No.”
When asked if he thought Pretti’s killing was justified, Trump called it “a very sad situation” and said a “big investigation” was underway.
“I’m going to be watching over it, and I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” he said.
He also said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was quick to cast Pretti as a violent instigator, would not be resigning.
Republicans want to switch the subject to affordability
Trump was last in Iowa ahead of the July 4 holiday to kick off the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary, which morphed largely into a celebration of his major spending and tax cut package hours after Congress had approved it.
Republicans are hoping that Trump’s visit to the state on Tuesday draws focus back to that tax bill, which will be a key part of their pitch as they ask voters to keep them in power in November.
“I invited President Trump back to Iowa to highlight the real progress we’ve made: delivering tax relief for working families, securing the border, and growing our economy,” Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, said in a statement in advance of his trip. “Now we’ve got to keep that momentum going and pass my affordable housing bill, deliver for Iowa’s energy producers, and bring down costs for working families.”
Trump’s affordability tour has taken him to Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina as the White House tries to marshal the president’s political power to appeal to voters in key swing states.
But Trump’s penchant for going off-script has sometimes taken the focus off cost-of-living issues and his administration’s plans for how to combat it. In Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, Trump insisted that inflation was no longer a problem and that Democrats were using the term affordability as a “hoax” to hurt him. At that event, Trump also griped that immigrants arriving to the U.S. from “filthy” countries got more attention than his pledges to fight inflation.
Competitive races in Iowa
Although it was a swing state just a little more than a decade ago, Iowa in recent years has been reliably Republican in national and statewide elections. Trump won Iowa by 13 percentage points in 2024 against Democrat Kamala Harris.
Still, two of Iowa’s four congressional districts have been among the most competitive in the country and are expected to be again in this year’s midterm elections. Trump already has endorsed Republican Reps. Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Democrats, who landed three of Iowa’s four House seats in the 2018 midterm elections during Trump’s first term, see a prime opportunity to unseat Iowa incumbents.
This election will be the first since 1968 with open seats for both governor and U.S. senator at the top of the ticket after Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst opted out of reelection bids. The political shake-ups have rippled throughout the state, with Republican Reps. Randy Feenstra and Ashley Hinson seeking new offices for governor and for U.S. senator, respectively.
Democrats hope Rob Sand, the lone Democrat in statewide office who is running for governor, will make the entire state more competitive with his appeal to moderate and conservative voters and his $13 million in cash on hand.
Kim and Fingerhut write for the Associated Press. Kim reported from Washington. AP writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
ORLANDO, Fla. — President Trump’s crackdown on immigration contributed to a year-to-year drop in the nation’s growth rate as the U.S. population reached nealry 342 million people in 2025, according to population estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The 0.5% growth rate for 2025 was a sharp drop from 2024’s almost 1% growth rate, which was the highest since 2001 and was fueled by immigration. The 2024 estimates put the U.S. population at 340 million people.
Immigration increased by 1.3 million people last year, compared with 2024’s increase of 2.8 million people. The census report did not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration.
In the past 125 years, the lowest growth rate was in 2021, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when the U.S. population grew by just 0.16%, or 522,000 people, and immigration increased by just 376,000 people because of travel restrictions into the U.S. Before that, the lowest growth rate was just under 0.5% in 1919 at the height of the Spanish flu.
Tuesday’s data release comes as researchers have been trying to determine the effects of the second Trump administration’s immigration crackdown after the Republican president returned to the White House in January 2025. Trump made the surge of migrants at the southern border a central issue in his winning 2024 presidential campaign.
The numbers made public Tuesday reflect change from July 2024 to July 2025, covering the end of President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration and the first half of Trump’s first year back in office.
The figures capture a period that reflects the beginning of enforcement surges in Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., but do not capture the impact on immigration after the Trump administration’s crackdowns began in Chicago; New Orleans; Memphis, Tenn.; and Minneapolis, Minn..
The 2025 numbers were a jarring divergence from 2024, when net international migration accounted for 84% of the nation’s 3.3 million-person increase from the year before. The jump in immigration two years ago was partly because of a new method of counting that added people who were admitted for humanitarian reasons.
“They do reflect recent trends we have seen in out-migration, where the numbers of people coming in is down and the numbers going out is up,” Eric Jensen, a senior research scientist at the Census Bureau, said last week.
Unlike the once-a-decade census, which determines how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets, as well as the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual government funding, the population estimates are calculated from government records and internal Census Bureau data.
The release of the 2025 population estimates was delayed by the federal government shutdown last fall and comes at a challenging time for the Census Bureau and other U.S. statistical agencies. The bureau, which is the largest statistical agency in the U.S., lost about 15% of its workforce last year due to buyouts and layoffs that were part of cost-cutting efforts by the White House and its Department of Government Efficiency.
Other recent actions by the Trump administration, such as the firing of Erika McEntarfer as Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, have raised concerns about political meddling at U.S. statistical agencies. But Brookings demographer William Frey said the bureau’s staffers appear to have been “doing this work as usual without interference.”
“So I have no reason to doubt the numbers that come out,” Frey said.
Jan. 27 (UPI) — Minnesota’s chief federal judge has summoned the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear in a Minneapolis court on Friday or be held in contempt.
U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz said in an order on Monday that the court has run out of patience with ICE head Todd Lyons after ICE has defied the court’s orders for weeks.
“The Court acknowledges that ordering the head of a federal agency to personally appear is an extraordinary step but the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” Schiltz wrote.
Schiltz’s order is in response to the case of a man who challenged his detention by ICE in Minnesota earlier this month. The federal court ordered that the man be given a bond hearing on Jan. 14 or be released within a week of that date.
As of Jan. 23, the man had not received his hearing and was still in detention. Schiltz said in his order that this is one of dozens of orders that ICE has defied.
“The practical consequence of respondents’ failure to comply has almost always been significant hardship to aliens (many of whom have lawfully lived and worked in the United States for years and done absolutely nothing wrong),” Schiltz wrote.
“The Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result.”
Schiltz was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, has also accused the Trump administration of defying court orders, “or at least to stretch the legal process to the breaking point in an attempt to deny noncitizens their due process rights.”
Last week, the Trump administration pushed for Schiltz to assist in the arrest of former CNN anchor-turned independent journalist Don Lemon. This was after Lemon visited a Minneapolis-area church to cover a demonstration by anti-ICE protesters.
Schiltz refused the Trump administration’s bid to arrest Lemon.
Jan. 27 (UPI) — Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube will face accusers in a series of lawsuits alleging that they intentionally design their platforms to be addictive.
The trials begin in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday, filed by a group of parents, teens and school districts. Once teens are addicted to the platforms, plaintiffs allege, they suffer from depression, self-harm, eating disorders and more. There are about 1,600 plaintiffs involving 350 families and 250 school districts.
“The fact that a social media company is going to have to stand trial before a jury … is unprecedented,” Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center and an attorney in the cases, said in a press conference.
The first case involves a 19-year-old identified as KGM and her mother, Karen Glenn. They are suing TikTok, Meta and YouTube because they say the companies created addictive features that damaged her mental health and led to self-harm and suicidal ideation. Snap was also a defendant in the case, but it settled the case last week.
Her case’s outcome could help determine the outcomes of more than 1,000 injury cases against the companies. The case is expected to last several weeks.
The thousands of cases against these tech giants have been lumped together in a judicial council coordination proceeding, which allows California cases to collaborate and streamline pre-trial hearings.
The plaintiffs want financial damages as well as injunctions that would force the companies to change the design of their platforms and create industry-wide safety standards.
Top company executives are expected to testify, including Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri and more. Experts in online harm are also expected to testify.
“For parents whose children have been exploited, groomed, or died because of big tech platforms, the next six weeks are the first step toward accountability after years of being ignored by these companies,” Sarah Gardner, CEO of the Heat Initiative, which advocates for child safety online, told CNN. “These are the tobacco trials of our generation, and for the first time, families across the country will hear directly from big tech CEOs about how they intentionally designed their products to addict our kids.”
KGM alleges in court documents that on Instagram she was bullied and sextorted, which is when someone threatens to share explicit images of the victim unless they send money or more photos.
For two weeks, KGM’s friends and family had to ask other Instagram users to report the people targeting her before Meta would do something about it, court documents said.
“Defendants’ knowing and deliberate product design, marketing, distribution, programming and operational decision and conduct caused serious emotional and mental harms to K.G.M. and her family,” the suit said. “Those harms include, but are not limited to, dangerous dependency on their products, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and body dysmorphia.”
Tech companies and their CEOs reject the allegation that social media harms teens’ mental health. They argue that it offers a connection with friends and entertainment. They also lean on Section 230, a federal law that protects them from liability over content posted by users.
Picketers hold signs outside at the entrance to Mount Sinai Hospital on Monday in New York City. Nearly 15,000 nurses across New York City are now on strike after no agreement was reached ahead of the deadline for contract negotiations. It is the largest nurses’ strike in NYC’s history. The hospital locations impacted by the strike include Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore Hospital and New York Presbyterian Hospital. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
