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Seventeen people were injured – four of whom remain in critical condition – in a knife attack at Hamburg's Central Station, the city's fire department told CNN Friday evening.
German police said they have arrested a 39-year-old German woman, who they believe acted alone, after a major police operation.
Six people were “badly injured,” while seven others were “lightly injured,” the fire department said. Dozens of emergency services were active on the scene.
Police previously said that several people have sustained “life-threatening injuries” in the attack, but reliable figures on the number of injured people were not immediately available.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing. Police told CNN that officers are not currently assuming any political motivation, but were looking into whether the suspect had been in a state of mental distress.
Following the attack, Germany's Friedrich Merz thanked the city's emergency responders for their assistance and said that his “thoughts are with the victims and their families,” according to federal government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius.
Hamburg's Central Station is the busiest passenger railway station in Germany, with more than 550,000 travelers per day, according to the city's website.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Su-24 bomber in international airspace over the Baltic Sea on May 22, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said during a press conference on May 23, according to the Polish news outlet RMF24.
The incident marks the latest in a series of Russian provocations near NATO territory. According to Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Russian aircraft posed a threat to regional airspace safety.
"These maneuvers performed by the Russian Su-24 show that the actions were dangerous and intentional," the minister said. He added that Polish pilots quickly detected, intercepted, and forced the bomber to withdraw from the area.
The encounter took place near the heavily militarized Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave wedged between Poland and Lithuania.
Russian aircraft often fly from Kaliningrad without using transponders, failing to file flight plans, and not establishing contact with regional air traffic control — a pattern that NATO officials have long described as high-risk behavior.
"We are resistant to provocations, but we react appropriately, individually and collectively," Kosiniak-Kamysz said, referring to NATO's air policing measures.
The intercepted aircraft, a Soviet-designed Su-24 bomber, is capable of carrying guided bombs and precision missiles and was developed for low-level penetration missions.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has scrambled fighter jets multiple times in response to missile and drone attacks near its border.
On several occasions, Russian projectiles have briefly entered Polish airspace, prompting strong protests from Warsaw and increased NATO monitoring in the region.
On Feb. 11, a Russian Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft flew into Polish airspace over the Gdansk Bay for over a minute. Moscow blamed a navigational failure, though Polish officials have dismissed similar explanations in the past as implausible.
Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine and hosts significant NATO infrastructure, has warned that Russian aerial provocations could trigger escalation if not contained.
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King Charles, centre left, and Queen Camilla leave after visiting the Canada House Trafalgar Square in London on May 20, 2025.Arthur Edwards/The Associated Press
When King Charles III ascended the throne in 2022 after the death of his popular mother, Queen Elizabeth II, support for the monarchy was fading and several Commonwealth countries were considering dropping the King as head of state.
Now, as King Charles makes his first visit to Canada as monarch next week, his popularity is soaring and the monarchy has found new relevance in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's talk of annexation.
“This is a chance for Charles to demonstrate on the world stage the active role that the monarchy plays in the constitutional democracies of Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, in a world that is frequently asking, ‘What's the point of having a royal family?'” said Justin Vovk a historian at McMaster University. “It sends a message to people in Canada and the United States about why Canada is separate, why Canada is different.”
The King's constitutional role will be on full display Tuesday when he reads the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th Parliament. It's only the second time the monarch has opened Parliament – Queen Elizabeth did it in 1957 to open the 23rd Parliament and 20 years later she read the Throne Speech to begin the third session of the 30th Parliament.
Dr. Vovk said Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to invite King Charles –officially extending the invite in March, not long after he took office – was shrewd.
“It's an ace up the sleeve for him to be able to say to Trump: ‘This person, this institution that you love and respect and admire is at the heart of our institution, the heart of our identity as Canadians, as a sovereign country.'”
Pageantry, spectacle and hockey to mark King Charles's visit to Ottawa
The two-day trip to Ottawa comes at an opportune time for King Charles, who has struggled to win over the public and form an identity separate from his mother, who reigned for 70 years.
At the time of his coronation in May, 2023, expectations of him were low and the future of the monarchy looked uncertain.
His popularity in Canada had fallen by eight points to 37 per cent in the six months after the Queen died, according to an Ipsos poll taken just before the coronation. Six in 10 of those surveyed also wanted a referendum on the role of the monarchy.
Several Commonwealth governments were also voicing discontent at having the King as head of state. Barbados became a republic in 2021 and last year the Jamaican government introduced legislation to follow suit.
During a trip to Australia last October King Charles faced awkward questions about republicanism and there have been calls from a number of Commonwealth leaders in the Caribbean for reparations to address the Crown's role in the slave trade.
His age, 76, and cancer treatments have also forced him to cut back on public events and travel, further eroding his presence on the world stage.
Mr. Trump's return to the White House has given King Charles a new purpose – a chance to show his mettle in defence of one of his realms and use Mr. Trump's fascination with the Royal Family to pursue diplomatic objectives.
While protocol dictates that the King can't comment publicly on political matters, he has managed to send some not-too-subtle signals of support for Canada in recent months.
During a recent meeting with Mr. Carney at Buckingham Palace, it was widely noted that the King wore a red tie. In March, King Charles visited a British aircraft carrier wearing a string of Canadian medals and planted a red maple tree on the palace grounds in honour of Commonwealth forests. He also celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Canadian flag in February by calling it “a symbol of a proud, resilient and compassionate country.”
“He's shown his views by various acts of what you might call soft power and he takes his role as King of Canada very seriously”, said Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at King's College London and author of The Monarchy and the Constitution.
How do you feel about King Charles's visit to Ottawa? Share your thoughts
The ties between the royals and Canada have a personal dimension, too. Mr. Carney, as governor of the Bank of England for seven years, earned wide respect for navigating the 2016 Brexit crisis. The Prime Minister's brother Sean Carney, a former investment banker, runs the household of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, as Kensington Palace's chief operating officer.
King Charles's quiet solidarity seems to be paying off. A recent poll of 1,001 people by Research Co. showed that 31 per cent wanted Canada to remain a monarchy. That was up eight points from a similar poll a year earlier. King Charles's personal approval had also climbed to 40 per cent.
The King does have a tricky balancing act when it comes to Mr. Trump, given the monarch's many roles.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has tapped into Mr. Trump's admiration of royalty to curry favour. When he met Mr. Trump in the Oval Office in February, Mr. Starmer dramatically pulled out a letter from King Charles inviting Mr. Trump for a state visit this fall. He's the first U.S. President to be given that honour twice.
The invitation has not gone down well with Mr. Carney, who bluntly told Sky News this month that Mr. Starmer's move rankled Canadians. “To be frank, they weren't impressed by that gesture, quite simply, given the circumstance,” Mr. Carney said.
Nonetheless the state visit will force Charles to carefully weigh his many responsibilities.
The King could serve as a unifying force and improve Mr. Trump's relations with Britain, Canada and other nations. There's even been speculation in The Daily Mail that during Mr. Trump's state visit King Charles will extend an invitation for the U.S. to join the Commonwealth as an associate member.
In a message posed on social media in March, Mr. Trump welcomed the idea: “I Love King Charles. Sounds good to me!”
King Charles III is making his first official visit to Canada as monarch next week, and is set to deliver the Throne Speech to open Parliament. We want to know your thoughts. Are you welcoming the visit with open arms, do you think it's an outdated custom, or are you somewhere in the middle? Let us know.
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The 76-year-old singer has canceled all concerts owing to condition, which can affect hearing, vision and balance
Billy Joel has canceled all upcoming concerts after he was diagnosed with the brain disorder normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), the singer announced on Friday.
The condition “has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance”, according to a statement posted to the 76-year-old singer's official Instagram. “Under his doctor's instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period. Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health.”
The Piano Man singer added: “I'm sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience and thank you for understanding.”
Normal pressure hydrocephalus is a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain's ventricles, leading to difficulty walking, problems with thinking and reasoning and loss of bladder control. It primarily affects people in their 60s and 70s and is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
Joel's canceled dates include 17 stops in North America and the UK. The tour comes nearly two years after he wrapped a record-breaking residency at Madison Square Garden that began in January 2014. Joel played one show every month at the Manhattan venue for nine years – 150 in total, every one of them sold out.
Next month, the world premiere of Billy Joel: And So It Goes, a two-part documentary exploring the Long Island-bred musician's life and career, will kick off the Tribeca film festival in New York. The project, directed by Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, contains footage of unreleased performances as well as archival photographs, “intimate” home movies and exclusive interviews.
Joel's team added that the 23-time Grammy winner was “thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health. He is grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage.”
The all-Republican commission abandoned a lawsuit accusing PepsiCo of providing Walmart with pricing advantages.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday dismissed a price discrimination lawsuit against the drink and food giant PepsiCo, a move that former FTC Chair Lina Khan, who served under former President Joe Biden, called “disturbing behavior.”
The lawsuit, filed only a few days before U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House, accused PepsiCo of providing a big box retailer customer, Walmart, with pricing advantages, while increasing prices for competing customers and retailers.
“This lawsuit would've protected families from paying higher prices at the grocery store and stopped conduct that squeezes small businesses and communities across America,” Khan wrote on X on Thursday. “Dismissing it is a gift to giant retailers as they gear up to hike prices.”
The three members of the FTC, all Republicans, voted 3-0 to drop the suit. Current FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, who was named chairman by Trump, cast the lawsuit as a “nakedly political effort to commit this administration to pursuing little more than a hunch that Pepsi had violated the law.” He also said that the FTC under Biden “rushed to authorize the case.” Ferguson also opposed the lawsuit when the FTC first voted to pursue it.
Antimonopoly groups were quick to criticize Thursday's move.
“This meritless dismissal is a win for monopolists and billionaires,” said Lee Hepner, senior legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, in a statement on Thursday. “Adding insult to injury, the agency dropped the case just one day before the parties were due to justify extensive redactions in the complaint, denying the public the ability to review the facts and judge the merits for themselves. This is a corporate pardon for Walmart and PepsiCo.”
Open Markets legal director Sandeep Vaheesan said the move illustrates that despite their rhetoric, the current FTC commissioners are “not willing to faithfully apply the law enacted by Congress.”
Stacy Mitchell, co-director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, which is an advocate for independent businesses, called it “effectively an endorsement of the predatory tactics Walmart uses to crush local grocery sores, create food deserts, and drive up prices.”
The agency had sued PepsiCo under the Robinson-Patman Act, a 1936 law intended to prevent price discrimination but has been little used in recent decades.
The announcement of the dropped lawsuit came the same day it was reported that the FTC is investigating the progressive watchdog group Media Matters for America over potential coordination with other groups, including the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which was a World Federation of Advertiser initiative. Media Matters president Angelo Carusone confirmed in a statement to Axios that the investigation is over claims Media Matters and other groups coordinated advertising boycotts of the social media site X.
X's owner, billionaire Elon Musk, who has played a core role in the Trump administration, has ongoing lawsuits against both the World Federation of Advertisers and Media Matters.
The Trump administration is cracking down on political dissent. Under pressure from an array of McCarthy-style tactics, academics, activists and nonprofits face significant threats for speaking out or organizing in resistance.
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Students will need to move schools to keep legal status, as US universities reel from funding cuts and Trump orders
US university scholars and international students: are you considering working or studying elsewhere?
The Trump administration's announcement on Thursday that it would revoke Harvard University's eligibility to enroll international students marked the most severe escalation yet in its weeks-long showdown with the university.
The move, which the university challenged in court on Friday, would force more than 6,000 currently enrolled students to transfer to other universities or lose their legal status, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The announcement sent shock waves through US universities already reeling from funding cuts and executive efforts to bring them in line with the administration's agenda, but it will also add yet another element of uncertainty for international students after the administration abruptly terminated the legal status of thousands in recent weeks – a move it partially walked back but that has nonetheless disrupted students' education and upended their lives.
Education advocates denounced the administration's latest attack against Harvard as a gross overreach that they warn will damage US students as well. “International students are not bargaining chips – they are scholars, researchers and contributors to our communities whose presence strengthens US higher education and society,” said Fanta Aw, CEO and executive director of Nafsa, the association of international educators. “We turn global talent away at our own expense”.
International student enrollment was already expected to decline for the upcoming academic year in light of recent policies by the Trump administration and bureaucratic hurdles that preceded it. But the latest announcement is certain to further destabilize the plans of students from abroad who were hoping to enroll at US universities this fall.
A significant drop in foreign student enrollment will have serious consequences for universities' finances at a time when many are already feeling the pinch. About 65% of international students in the US pay for tuition out of pocket – a figure that rises to 80% for undergraduate students, according to the Institute for International Education. That's far more than the number of US students who pay full tuition, as a vast majority of them receive at least some financial aid.
There were more than 1 million international students in the US during the last academic year, contributing about $43.8bn to the economy, according to an analysis by Nafsa. At Harvard, international students make up roughly 27% of the student body, a figure in line with that of other Ivy League universities. But tens of thousands of international students also attend other institutions, private and public, with New York University, Northeastern University, and Columbia University boasting the largest number of international students – with more than 20,000 each.
Beyond their tuition dollars, on which many universities have come to rely, international students make major contributions to a variety of fields. One in four US startups worth more than $1bn have at least one founder who was an international student, and international students have created or supported more than 378,000 US jobs, according to Nafsa.
The administration's attempts to retaliate against universities by targeting international students are “shortsighted” but will have “long-term consequences”, warned Aw, the group's CEO and executive director.
“The US has benefited from the brain trust of the world for decades,” she said, adding that many countries were eager to woo international students away from the US.
This spring, Harvard became a prime target for Trump's retaliation after it sued the administration over its funding cuts – the first, and so far only, university to do so. For now, it is the only university the administration has barred from hosting international students – a move it had anticipated.
Last month, the university told admitted foreign students that they could simultaneously accept offers at both Harvard and at universities abroad – something it had never allowed before. In an email, admissions officials cited “recent events here in the United States and at Harvard” and recognized that foreign students may want a “backup plan”.
But Harvard's current and prospective international students are not the only ones whose education in the US is on the line. Advocates had already warned of dropping enrollment in light of the recent visa revocations as well as the targeting of some pro-Palestinian students for detention and deportation. Those only add to pre-existing bureaucratic obstacles, including rising visa denial rates – from 15% a decade ago to 41% last year – and slow visa processing.
A full accounting of the impact of Trump's policies won't be possible until the fall, when universities are required to report their matriculation data. But a global survey of universities published earlier this month shows some early signs, including graduate student enrollment that dropped 13% this spring, while a separate analysis of student visas showed a 14% drop in the number of visas issued so far this year.
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Those trends will only be compounded by billions in funding cuts that have already destabilized research institutions and risk sending talented students elsewhere, analysts warn.
“It certainly adds to the stress of a prospective or current international student who, in addition to worrying about immigration policy, has to worry about whether they will have uninterrupted funding if they're doing a PhD,” said Julia Kent, vice-president, best practices and strategic initiatives, at the Council of Graduate Schools, a group promoting graduate education and research. She noted that some foreign students were so anxious about the administration's campaign against foreign students that they feared driving their cars.
“It's creating a climate of chaos and uncertainty.”
So far, universities have attempted to mitigate the impact of Trump's policies, discouraging foreign students from traveling abroad during breaks and offering to connect them with immigration attorneys. But that's not much in the face of an administration willing to go to unprecedented lengths in its effort to submit universities to its will.
Chris Glass, a professor of education at Boston College who researches international student trends pointed to a nationwide campaign during the first Trump administration during which universities responded to the Muslim ban by publishing videos telling international students: “You are welcome here.” None of that is happening now.
“Obviously universities see the federal government is willing to use extraordinary forms of power, without precedent,” said Glass. “We're just in a different environment.”
While the Heritage Foundation document focuses on the Palestine solidarity movement, its ultimate target is far broader.
While the Heritage Foundation document focuses on the Palestine solidarity movement, its ultimate target is far broader.
Project Esther isn't just about Palestine. Crafted by the Heritage Foundation — the same far right organization behind Project 2025 — the playbook purports to provide a “national strategy to combat antisemitism.” First published and reported on last year, the document has seen new life in recent days following a New York Times investigation into Trump administration policies that mirror the plan. But Project Esther's authors make clear that their war on the Gaza solidarity movement is just a Trojan horse for a far more ambitious project: destroying the American left.
Mainstream coverage of Project Esther has largely framed the document as an effort to crush the pro-Palestinian movement. It's important to emphasize, however, that the threat Project Esther poses to the left more broadly is not a byproduct — it's part of the plan's core design. The text lays bare the McCarthyist nature of this political moment and underscores the urgent need for the left to mount a multipronged, coalitional defense.
At the center of Project Esther's crosshairs are the people and organizations it dubs the “Hamas Support Network,” or HSN, though there's no evidence that the entities it's targeting actually support Hamas, or that they are even organized in any sort of a network. The playbook proposes a slew of recommendations for dismantling this fictional network, including deporting international students, purging pro-Palestine faculty from educational institutions, defunding organizations, increasing criminalization and promoting social ostracization of people that speak out in support of Palestinian rights. “Within the United States, the HSN receives the indispensable support of a vast network of activists and funders with a much more ambitious, insidious goal — the destruction of capitalism and democracy,” Project Esther claims.
This is, of course, pure projection. There is no “vast network” of funders behind the grassroots uprising for Palestine — unlike Project 2025, which was crafted by 100 conservative organizations and, as DeSmog reported, bankrolled by six billionaire families. By attempting to frame the Gaza solidarity movement as a well-funded and cohesive network, Project Esther clearly aims to implicate any and all organizations on the left — a target that includes, but is not limited to, people and organizations that have spoken out in defense of Palestine.
That goal is demonstrated in Project Esther's repeated claim that the so-called HSN is seeking to destroy capitalism, which carries clear echoes of Sen. Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunts of the 1950s. The project goes so far as to ludicrously equate Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto, Soviet agitprop and Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. (The Soviets, you might recall, fought against the Nazis in World War II.)
The proposals offered up by Project Esther can also be traced back to these witch hunts. One of Project Esther's suggested tools for quashing pro-Palestine activism is the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a law enacted in 1938 to combat Nazi propaganda, which requires that agents of foreign countries register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and periodically disclose their political activities, and creates criminal and civil penalties for noncompliance. Although FARA was intended to provide transparency around foreign lobbying, it was coopted for McCarthyist suppression in the ‘50s to paint left activists as agents of communist regimes. In one egregious abuse of power, the DOJ used FARA to prosecute renowned civil rights leader and historian W.E.B. Du Bois for his perceived communist sympathies. That case was dismissed, but Project Esther is now urging federal leadership to pull from the same playbook, painting leftist activists and groups as “Hamas supporters” to tee up its own weaponization of FARA.
And Republicans have already expanded their use of the “foreign agent” rhetoric beyond Hamas: Last month, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) accused The People's Forum, a New York-based community center, and CODEPINK, an antiwar group, of ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and urged the DOJ to investigate the groups for FARA violations. The Trump administration levied similar allegations against Harvard University in a May 22 post on X, claiming that the school has coordinated with the CCP and fostered antisemitism on campus. Citing a “pro-Hamas” campus environment, an accompanying letter from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the administration is barring Harvard from enrolling international students.
Many on the left have highlighted how the government's crackdown on pro-Palestine groups is itself in service of the Israeli state and its foreign lobbyists in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. But pointing out Project Esther's hypocrisy does little to undermine its mission, which hinges on equating anti-Zionism with anti-Americanism. This sleight of hand is how Project Esther widens its scope of attack. Pointing out that Zionist lobbyists are the “real” foreign agents ultimately obfuscates the deeper root of the problem — the deployment of money and imperial power, regardless of where they originate, in support of policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing — while also capitulating to Project Esther's framing of Palestinian liberation as having anything to do with being pro- or anti-American.
Even more concerning than FARA, however, is Project Esther's recommendation that the government use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to prosecute activists. By weaponizing RICO against the pro-Palestine movement, the Trump administration could ensnare people and groups across the left in a massive policing dragnet, attempting to paint everyone from anti-capitalists to Black Lives Matter activists as Hamas supporters. We have already seen RICO weaponized in Georgia against the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement, where Attorney General Chris Carr indicted 61 protesters on flimsy racketeering charges. Prosecutors claimed in legal filings that the fight to stop a massive police training center began during the nationwide protests against George Floyd's murder by police in 2020. Project Esther's authors also invoke George Floyd's name, making clear they perceive all mass mobilizations against injustice as threats: The document claims that the pro-Palestine movement is using Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel as a “George Floyd-style event to spring onto center stage and grab a giant microphone.”
Crucially, while Project Esther claims to be about combating antisemitism, no major Jewish organizations participated in its drafting, and the blueprint targets progressive Jewish groups like Jewish Voice for Peace. Only one of the four people on the project's leadership task force is Jewish, while two are evangelical Christian Zionists, and the document, notably, does not make any mention of right-wing antisemitism. Ironically, Project Esther claims that the pro-Palestine movement is “a threat to the foundations of the United States and the fabric of our society.” But the glaring lack of Jewish voices that went into crafting the document, coupled with the draconian, far-reaching tactics it proposes, should dispel any lingering doubt about the project's true aims: an assault on democracy and the overall suppression of the left.
The Trump administration is cracking down on political dissent. Under pressure from an array of McCarthy-style tactics, academics, activists and nonprofits face significant threats for speaking out or organizing in resistance.
Truthout is appealing for your support to weather this storm of censorship. We fell short of our goals in our recent fundraiser, and we must ask for your help. Will you make a one-time or monthly donation?
As independent media with no corporate backing or billionaire ownership, Truthout is uniquely able to push back against the right-wing narrative and expose the shocking extent of political repression under the new McCarthyism. We're committed to doing this work, but we're also deeply vulnerable to Trump's attacks.
Your support will help us continue our nonprofit movement journalism in the face of right-wing authoritarianism. Please make a tax-deductible donation today.
Schuyler Mitchell is a writer, editor and fact-checker from North Carolina, currently based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in The Intercept, The Baffler, Labor Notes, Los Angeles Magazine, and elsewhere. Find her on X: @schuy_ler
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The group is in temporary custody of homeland security in Djibouti following challenges in court
US politics live – latest updates
Eight men the Trump administration attempted to send to South Sudan are in temporary custody in Djibouti after a federal court ruling halted their removal, officials confirmed on Thursday.
The Trump administration had attempted to send the men, who it said had been convicted of criminal offenses, to their home countries: officials said two each were from Myanmar and Cuba and the others were from Vietnam, Laos, Mexico and South Sudan.
When the countries declined to accept them, authorities arranged to fly them to South Sudan on Tuesday, a country that remains under a US state department travel advisory due to persistent instability and threats to safety.
The removals were challenged in court. On Wednesday evening Brian Murphy, a US district judge in Boston, determined that the administration had disregarded his earlier judicial directive, issued in April, which ruled that anyone being deported to third-party countries had the right to challenge it legally. He criticized the brief window allowed for the men to object to their transfer, labeling it “clearly inadequate”.
The group is currently being held by the Department of Homeland Security in Djibouti, which also hosts a key US military installation. At a briefing on Wednesday the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed that the men would stay in Djibouti for two weeks.
Donald Trump responded to the ruling on his Truth Social platform, expressing dissatisfaction with the order. The US president wrote that the judge “has ordered that EIGHT of the most violent criminals on Earth curtail their journey to South Sudan, and instead remain in Djibouti. He would not allow these monsters to proceed to their final destination”.
The president added that the administration was “also forced to leave behind, in order to watch these hardened thugs, a large number of Ice Officers, who would otherwise be in the United States, protecting our Citizens”.
Murphy's ruling stipulated that the men must receive adequate notice and a minimum of 15 days to contest their deportation, aligning with international human rights standards. He further specified that six of the individuals had the right to assert, with legal representation, fears of torture or mistreatment in the destination country.
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Attorneys for the Vietnamese man and one of the Myanmar men said that their clients were informed only the night before or on the day of the scheduled flight, despite claims from the administration that they were given proper notification.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said in a statement on Thursday that its staff have completed a “major cleanup” of Social Security records after it was discovered that more than 12 million people aged 120 or older were in the system.
But it added that “some complex cases remain, such as individuals with 2+ different birth dates on file,” which “will be investigated in a follow-up effort.”
DOGE also provided a portion of a screenshot that showed there were about 3.3 million people aged 120 to 129, 3.9 million aged 130 to 139, 3.5 million listed as age 140 to 149, 1.3 million listed as age 150 to 159, and around 124,000 listed as age 160 to 169, all of whom were marked as deceased in the Social Security system.
“The amount of people that were not alive that did not show on the system ... was outstanding. Millions and millions. And that is a source of potential for fraud,” he told the news outlet, adding that the work that DOGE did in the agency “was 100 percent accurate” in a bid to locate anything that could lead to fraud.
That's because, according to Bisignano, an active Social Security number that is “still alive in the system” presents the “opportunity for fraud.”
Established by President Donald Trump in January, DOGE is tasked with finding what officials say are fraud, waste, and abuse. But its efforts have been blocked in several court cases, namely in the Social Security Administration.
In March, U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander, who is based in Maryland, ruled that DOGE could not access Social Security systems because such a move could run afoul of the federal Privacy Act, also alleging that the task force's mission to root out fraud, waste, and abuse is a “fishing expedition.” She also directed the DOGE team to delete any personally identifiable data that it may have in its possession.
“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion. It has launched a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack,” the judge wrote.
A month later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling to uphold Hollander's order, prompting the Trump administration to file its appeal with the Supreme Court.
“When district courts attempt to transform themselves into the human resources department for the Executive Branch, the irreparable harm to the government is clear,” he wrote.
The task force has been effectively led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, a senior adviser to Trump and a special government employee, meaning he has 130 days to complete his work. Musk said in a Tesla earnings call last month that he would be stepping back from his government duties in May to focus on his company.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said the cuts will barely boost the economy and mostly go to the rich.
An analysis released Thursday by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found that the tax cuts at the center of Republicans' massive reconciliation package would do little to boost economic growth — and would not come anywhere close to paying for themselves.
The JCT report, published hours after Republicans pushed the bill through the House, estimates that the tax cuts would boost the nation's average annual economic growth by 0.03 percentage points over the next decade — hardly the explosion of growth that GOP lawmakers and President Donald Trump have promised.
Economic activity spurred by the tax breaks — which are largely an extension of soon-to-expire provisions of the 2017 Trump-GOP tax cuts — would increase federal revenues by roughly $103 billion between 2025 and 2034, according to JCT.
That would barely put a dent in the overall projected cost of the tax cuts, bringing it down to $3.7 trillion from $3.8 trillion.
“I'm sorry, it is so funny that JCT says the GOP tax provisions pay for only 2.7% of themselves,” Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress, wrote in response to the analysis. “Republicans are out here pretending their tax bill will be the single greatest boost to the economy ever, and JCT says they only get a minuscule boost.”
A separate analysis published Thursday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that the benefits of the Republican bill's tax provisions would flow disproportionately to the wealthiest Americans.
“The $121 billion in net tax cuts going to the richest 1% next year would exceed the amount going to the entire bottom 60% of taxpayers (about $90 billion),” said ITEP, whose analysis did not factor in the impact of the legislation's unparalleled cuts to Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance, which would deliver a major blow to the household resources of lower-income Americans.
Amy Hanauer, ITEP's executive director, said Thursday that “it's not surprising that this bill was written behind closed doors and rushed through in the night before Americans had a chance to see what it contains.”
“This bill extends enormous tax cuts to those who have the most,” said Hanauer. “It will increase inequality, reduce health coverage, and take food from people's tables, all to shower the wealthiest people in this country and foreign investors with tax breaks. In the end, this reconciliation bill redistributes resources up the income scale, widening the already-huge chasm between the rich and the rest of us.”
The Trump administration is cracking down on political dissent. Under pressure from an array of McCarthy-style tactics, academics, activists and nonprofits face significant threats for speaking out or organizing in resistance.
Truthout is appealing for your support to weather this storm of censorship. We fell short of our goals in our recent fundraiser, and we must ask for your help. Will you make a one-time or monthly donation?
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Jake Johnson is a staff writer for Common Dreams. Follow him on Twitter: @johnsonjakep.
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Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson arrives for a meeting of the federal cabinet in West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 14.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Canada's new Natural Resources Minister says the country needs more oil and gas infrastructure to open trade opportunities with overseas markets and shore up energy supplies in Eastern Canada.
Tim Hodgson made the remarks at a hotel ballroom in Calgary packed with business and political leaders in the wake of a series of meetings with Western Canadian officials. That included Alberta's Energy Minister Brian Jean and its Affordability and Utilities Minister, Nathan Neudorf, as well as Saskatchewan's Deputy Premier Jim Reiter.
Calling himself a pragmatist and a businessman, Mr. Hodgson took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and broader trade friction with the country's largest export market.
“We did not ask for this trade war. But we are going to win it,” he said at the event hosted by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Friday morning.
“If we're going to sit across the table from him or anyone else, we need to hold Canada's best cards. That means being able to sell our products to the world. It means expanding our markets, modernizing our infrastructure, and creating the conditions to compete and win.”
Canada will remain a reliable global supplier of oil and gas for decades to come, Mr. Hodgson said in a nod to fears in the oil patch that the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney might double down on some policies of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.
Industry executives criticized many of those policies as being anti-oil and gas, and have given Carney's government a laundry list of ways to attract energy capital and boost energy security, from scrapping a cap on emissions to streamlining project reviews.
“The real challenge is not whether we produce, but whether we can get the best products to market before someone else does,” he said.
“It's high time to trade more with people who share our values – not just our border.”
He pledged to work quickly with the provinces and territories, industry and Indigenous partners to diversify trade, and open and expand new markets for energy as well as critical minerals and forest products.
Mr. Hodgson, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker who previously sat on boards of Alberta-based companies, stressed his first public appearance in his role was a first step in resetting the relationship between the province and Ottawa.
“No more asking, ‘Why build?' The real question is, ‘How do we get it done?' That means breaking apart barriers and ripping down red tape,” he said.
He said he would consult with industry to identify and fast-track projects of national interest which matter to the Canadian economy, the environment, and the country's sovereignty.
The government has said permitting decisions will be made within two years via a major federal projects office that will offer a single window for permits.
The goal is to create an environment for the private sector to see potential gains from investments in such projects, he said.
“I'm from the private sector. I've sat on boards. I understand when projects go forward people look at the lifetime [return on equity] of the project,” he told the audience. “They have to make an assessment of risk-return in putting capital to work. That's how the private sector gets stuff done.”
Many attendees from the business and political communities said they were encouraged by Mr. Hodgson's messaging and impressed that Calgary was his first major stop in his role. However, some stressed that the real test will be their ability to develop major projects with fewer regulatory burdens.
“There is some repair and trust-building that has to happen given the challenges of the last ten years, I would argue,” Calgary Chamber president Deborah Yedlin told reporters.
“But I think that he's definitely someone who understands how to get things done, and if you've ever been an investment banker you know there are ways to find common ground and to find a solution and to reach an agreement on some contentious challenges.”
Although Mr. Hodgson emphasized the need for more infrastructure, he did not mention pipelines during his speech. But he called on the Pathways Alliance to hasten its plans to build a massive carbon capture project in the oil sands, saying it is critical to demonstrate to Canadians and oversees customers that the industry operates responsibly.
The Pathways Alliance is a consortium of Canada's six largest oil sands companies, which together have publicly committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands production by 2050.
“Your federal government has committed to certainty, to support, and to making Canada an energy superpower, but we need a partner who is also willing to make good on their promises to Canadians,” Mr. Hodgson said.
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Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson speaks at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce in Calgary on Friday.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
Canada's new Natural Resources Minister says the country needs more oil and gas infrastructure to open trade opportunities with overseas markets and shore up energy supplies in Eastern Canada.
Tim Hodgson made the remarks at a hotel ballroom in Calgary packed with business and political leaders after a series of meetings with Western Canadian officials. That included Alberta's Energy Minister Brian Jean and its Affordability and Utilities Minister, Nathan Neudorf, as well as Saskatchewan's Deputy Premier Jim Reiter.
Calling himself a pragmatist and a businessman, Mr. Hodgson took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and broader trade friction with the country's largest export market.
“We did not ask for this trade war. But we are going to win it,” he said at the event hosted by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Friday morning.
“If we're going to sit across the table from him or anyone else, we need to hold Canada's best cards. That means being able to sell our products to the world. It means expanding our markets, modernizing our infrastructure, and creating the conditions to compete and win.”
Canada will remain a reliable global supplier of oil and gas for decades to come, Mr. Hodgson said in a nod to fears in the oil patch that the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney might double down on some policies of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.
Industry executives criticized many of those policies as being anti-oil and gas, and have given Mr. Carney's government a laundry list of ways to attract energy capital and boost energy security, from scrapping a cap on emissions to streamlining project reviews.
“The real challenge is not whether we produce, but whether we can get the best products to market before someone else does,” he said.
“It's high time to trade more with people who share our values – not just our border.”
Mr. Hodgson took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and broader trade friction with the country's largest export market at the event, saying Canada didn't ask for this trade war, but is going to win it.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
He pledged to work quickly with the provinces and territories, industry and Indigenous partners to diversify trade, and open and expand new markets for energy, as well as critical minerals and forest products.
Mr. Hodgson, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker who previously sat on the boards of Alberta-based companies, stressed his first public appearance in his role was an initial step in resetting the relationship between the province and Ottawa.
“No more asking, ‘Why build?' The real question is, ‘How do we get it done?' That means breaking apart barriers and ripping down red tape,” he said.
He said he would consult with industry to identify and fast-track projects of national interest which matter to the Canadian economy, the environment and the country's sovereignty.
The government has said permitting decisions will be made within two years via a major federal projects office that will offer a single window for permits.
The goal is to create an environment for the private sector to see potential gains from investments in such projects, he said.
“I'm from the private sector. I've sat on boards. I understand when projects go forward people look at the lifetime [return on equity] of the project,” he told the audience. “They have to make an assessment of risk-return in putting capital to work. That's how the private sector gets stuff done.”
Many attendees from the business and political communities said they were encouraged by Mr. Hodgson's messaging and impressed that Calgary was his first major stop in his role. However, some stressed that the real test will be their ability to develop major projects with fewer regulatory burdens.
“There is some repair and trust-building that has to happen given the challenges of the last 10 years, I would argue,” Calgary Chamber president Deborah Yedlin told reporters.
“But I think that he's definitely someone who understands how to get things done, and if you've ever been an investment banker you know there are ways to find common ground and to find a solution and to reach an agreement on some contentious challenges.”
Although Mr. Hodgson emphasized the need for more infrastructure, he did not mention pipelines during his speech. But he called on the Pathways Alliance to hasten its plans to build a massive carbon capture project in the oil sands, saying it is critical to demonstrate to Canadians and overseas customers that the industry operates responsibly.
The Pathways Alliance is a consortium of Canada's six largest oil sands companies, which together have publicly committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands production by 2050.
“Your federal government has committed to certainty, to support, and to making Canada an energy superpower, but we need a partner who is also willing to make good on their promises to Canadians,” Mr. Hodgson said.
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A man charged with killing two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, DC, on Wednesday could face the death penalty, US authorities have said.
Sarah Milgrim, 26, and Yaron Lischinsky, 30, were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum during a reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee on Wednesday. Israeli officials have strongly denounced the attack as a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”
Interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, announced on Thursday that the suspect in the killings of Milgrim and Lischinsky faces charges including the murder of a foreign official.
According to court documents, Lischinsky was an Israeli national and an official guest of the US government.
Pirro said “it's far too early to say” whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty. “We're going to continue,” she said, “to investigate this as an act of terrorism and as a hate crime. And as we do so, we will bring additional charges whenever those charges are warranted and provable. And I suspect as we go forward, before we get to the grand jury itself, that there will be more charges added.”
Pirro also stated that the case is “death penalty-eligible” and confirmed that the suspect, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, has been notified he could face capital punishment.
The victims, set to become engaged, were among more than 100 attendees at a “Young Diplomats Reception.” The young couple, having just left the reception, were gunned down on a quiet street in downtown Washington.
Charging documents reveal graphic details of the attack, including surveillance footage showing Milgrim attempting to crawl away after being shot. The suspect pursued her and opened fire again. As he paused to reload, Milgrim sat up, but he then reloaded and shot her once more.
An FBI affidavit released Thursday describes the attack as planned, alleging that Rodriguez flew from Chicago to Washington on Tuesday with a handgun in his checked luggage and bought a ticket for the event just three hours before it began.
Following the shooting, the suspect reportedly entered the museum and admitted responsibility, saying: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.” Federal authorities also said that he shouted “Free Palestine” as he was taken into custody.
Israel faces growing international criticism over its Gaza offensive and a prolonged aid blockade that has pushed the enclave to the brink of famine.
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces launched a major ground operation – ‘Gideon's Chariots' – advancing in both northern and southern Gaza.
Israel says it has stepped up its offensive to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages taken during the militant group's October 2023 attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and around 250 abducted. An estimated 58 hostages remain in Gaza.
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Despite growing suppression, students have achieved multiple divestment victories and are pushing for more wins.
In recent weeks, students across multiple university campuses in the United States have launched hunger strikes in solidarity with the people of Gaza enduring famine. The protesters are also calling on their school to cut ties with weapons manufacturers and other companies connected to Israel.
In addition to the hunger strikes, we have seen new encampments and even campus occupations. Despite the growing suppression of the movement, students have achieved multiple divestment victories and are pushing for more wins.
Student protestors across the country are adapting their strategies to Trump's crackdown, but it's safe to say the activism is not slowing down.
More than two dozen California students began a fast on May 5, with more schools joining in the proceeding days.
“If ever there was a moment that demands civil disobedience, it is the hour of genocide. We walk in the footsteps of earlier Stanford students who occupied this same plaza to end the Vietnam War and later to force partial divestment from apartheid South Africa. Now that baton passes to us. On October 20, 2023, Stanford students built the nation's first Gaza‑solidarity encampment,” said the Stanford University's hunger strikes in a statement published at Mondoweiss.
“For 120 days, hundreds of Stanford community members sustained this encampment to demand an end to the genocide in Palestine and to press Stanford University to act — by providing direct support for Palestinian students and, ultimately, by divesting its endowment from defense contractors and surveillance firms complicit in that genocide. Our university's leadership and administration ignored the calls from the overwhelming majority of the Stanford student body to take action and only reacted with escalated repression.”
San Francisco State University (SFSU) students recently ended their strike after obtaining several commitments from their school. The administration said it would expand the implementation of the divestment policy and work toward a partnership with Palestinian universities.
San Francisco State University (SFSU) is one of three schools that have pressured their university to some level of divestment in the past and is building upon those earlier victories.
A post shared by GUPS 🇵🇸 (@sfsugups)
At a press conference about the development, a fourth-year SFSU student said the action could inspire other schools to take action.
“How are we able to study and learn and not feel a sense of duty to the students in Palestine who are without a single standing college because of a genocide funded by our student dollars?” she said. “Here at San Francisco State, we are the example. Our school goes to show we can divest for more on occupation. Students do not and should not have to be complicit in genocide just because they want education.”
Six students at Sacramento State, which has also previously adopted a divestment policy, also recently ended their hunger strike.
Amal Dawud, a Sacramento State student, said it's a way to remind people about what hundreds of thousands of people are experiencing in Gaza.
“It's been two years and it's been two months, and they haven't had food entering the Gaza Strip,” a student told the local news, referring to Israel's ongoing blockade on humanitarian aid. “That's kind of why a hunger strike was the method that we chose.”
At UCLA, student activist Maya Abdullah was hospitalized on the 9th day of her hunger strike.
UCLA student Maya Abdallah has been hospitalised on the ninth day of her hunger strike.She announced the strike on May 10, calling for her university to divest from companies linked to Israel pic.twitter.com/Mg34GYCIGV
Students with the group Yalies4Palestine recently met with Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis amid an ongoing hunger strike at the school. The demonstrators are demanding that Yale divest from weapons manufacturers, adopt human rights-based investment strategy, end its academic partnerships with Israel, and grant amnesty for student protesters.
Lewis told the strikers that he couldn't grant students amnesty without knowing their plans. Yale President Maurie McInnis has refused to meet with the protesters so far.
“Maurire McInnis, the people are watching,” said Yalies4Palestine in a statement on social media. “Our support is overwhelming and our numbers are growing.”
“The strikers demand a response,” it continues. “McInnis, meet with us. Commencement is coming. Your starving students are still here. We are not going anywhere.”
A post shared by Yalies4Palestine (@yalies4palestine)
In addition to the hunger strikes, students have also erected Gaza solidarity encampments this semester, but most have been shut down by campus police departments.
On May 8, students at Johns Hopkins University erected an encampment on the campus's Keyser Quad, declaring it the Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya Liberated Zone, in solidarity with Palestinians.
According to the protesters, over 30 university cops (JHPD) and Baltimore police pulled the canopies down, injuring multiple students.
“Cops mangled the metal so that the legs were sticking in all directions and support beams were twisting,” said one student. “The person I was linking arms with got stuck bending over under the canopy trying to get out someone else out—their heads were getting caught between metal poles in the canopy roof, and we weren't able to get them out until JHPD stopped pulling it down for a moment.”
A post shared by HJC🇵🇸 (@hopkinsjusticecollective)
Last month, about 200 student protesters gathered at Yale University's Beinecke Plaza to protest far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to New Haven. An encampment was erected, but eventually disbanded over fear of retribution from the school.
The next day, Yale College revoked the aforementioned Yalies4Palestine's status as a registered student group, despite the fact that they did not organize the protest.
At Dartmouth College, students disbanded an encampment after the administration agreed to set up an immigration legal fund for international students and release a formal response to the protesters' divestment demands by May 20.
Palestine Solidarity Coalition member Ramsey Alsheikh told the student paper that the development was “a massive victory” and “a step forward for the student movement,” but pointed out that the activism would not be stopping.
“We will move forward,” said Alsheikh. “This is not the end.”
Last spring's encampments also continue to reverberate.
In 2024, students at the University of San Francisco pressured their school into adopting a divestment task force through their encampment protest. Their Students for Justice in Palestine chapter secured a seat on the task force, and protesters investigated the school's investments. Since discovering the university's economic connections to Palantir, L3Harris, GE Aerospace, and RTX Corporation, they have been pressuring the administration to divest from the U.S. defense companies over their contracts with the Israeli military.
Last month, the University of San Francisco agreed to sell off its direct investments in the weapons manufacturers.
An organizer who spoke with Mondoweiss said the victory was achieved through the persistence of the student movement.
“It's been exhausting for students, but they haven't faltered,” she said. “People have worked to pressure the administration, whether it's through the student government or the alumni. Our comrades disrupted graduation last year. All these different things have increased our visibility.”
The activists acknowledge that this is a major win, but they say the fight is not over. They want the school to overhaul its investment strategy entirely and sever its remaining connections to Israel.
On May 7, Columbia University students occupied the school's Butler Library to protest the genocide in Gaza.
Columbia's administration quickly called in the cops. Roughly 80 people were arrested, and the school swiftly suspended students over the action, including some who didn't even participate in the protest.
In a statement, acting Columbia president Claire Shipman said she was compelled to call in police because the students were causing “substantial chaos.” She also blamed the Trump administration's targeting of campus activists on the protesters.
“I am deeply disturbed at the idea that, at a moment when our international community feels particularly vulnerable, a small group of students would choose to make our institution a target,” said Shipman.
In the New York Times, reporter Sharon Otterman contrasted the protest with the occupation of Columbia's Hamilton Hall last year, when the only public safety officer present left the scene.
“The university's newly assertive response satisfied many of those who were harshly critical of Columbia's management of last year's protests, including the Trump administration's antisemitism task force, which has cut more than $400 million in research funding from Columbia, citing what it called the university's failure to protect Jewish students,” wrote Otterman. “Columbia is negotiating with the task force in hopes of having the federal dollars restored.”
The Trump task force praised Shipman's response to the library occupation. “She has stepped in to lead Columbia at a critical juncture and has met the moment with fortitude and conviction,” said the group in a statement.
The Trump administration is cracking down on political dissent. Under pressure from an array of McCarthy-style tactics, academics, activists and nonprofits face significant threats for speaking out or organizing in resistance.
Truthout is appealing for your support to weather this storm of censorship. We fell short of our goals in our recent fundraiser, and we must ask for your help. Will you make a one-time or monthly donation?
As independent media with no corporate backing or billionaire ownership, Truthout is uniquely able to push back against the right-wing narrative and expose the shocking extent of political repression under the new McCarthyism. We're committed to doing this work, but we're also deeply vulnerable to Trump's attacks.
Your support will help us continue our nonprofit movement journalism in the face of right-wing authoritarianism. Please make a tax-deductible donation today.
Michael Arria is the U.S. correspondent for Mondoweiss. Follow him on Twitter: @michaelarria.
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President says EU imports to US will be subject to levy from 1 June as markets slump in reaction to ‘major escalation'
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Donald Trump has said he will impose a 50% tariff on all EU imports to the US from 1 June after claiming trade talks between the two trading blocs were “going nowhere”.
In a surprise announcement, the US president posted on his Truth Social platform that his long-running battle to secure concessions from the EU had stalled.
He accused the EU of taking advantage of the US on trade, saying: “Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025.”
Stock markets slumped in response to the post, with S&P 500 down by 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 1.3% on opening. The STOXX Europe 600 index fell by 1.7%. In London the FTSE 100 closed down 0.2% after initially dropping as much as 1.5%. Germany's car makers were particularly hard hit, with BMW down 3.7%, Volkswagen off 2.6% and Mercedes-Benz down 4%.
The US imposed a 20% “reciprocal” rate on most EU goods on 2 April, but halved that rate a week later until 8 July to allow time for talks. It has retained 25% import taxes on steel, aluminium and vehicle parts and is threatening similar action on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and other goods.
“This is a major escalation of trade tensions,” said Holger Schmieding, the chief economist at Berenberg, on Friday. “With Trump you never know but this would be a major escalation. The EU would have to react and it is something that would really hurt the US and European economy.”
“I would hope that this would light a fire under the EU,” said the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. “The 90-day pause on the April 2 tariffs was based on countries or trade blocs coming to us and negotiating in good faith,” Bessent told Fox News. He said the EU's proposals “have not been of the same quality” as those from other trading partners.
EU negotiators have been locked in meetings with White House representatives since Trump's so-called “liberation day” tariffs were first announced. Dozens of countries have been holding discussions to try to bring down their own levies before the 90-day pause elapses.
The White House has relented on many of its most onerous tariffs, including lowering total tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30% after what Trump declared were constructive talks with Beijing, which lowered its retaliatory border taxes from 125% to 10% in response.
A week ago the US president appeared to acknowledge that Washington lacked the ability to negotiate deals with scores of countries at once, saying the US would instead send letters to some trading partners to unilaterally impose new tariff rates.
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Perceptions of an easing back on a hardline approach to trade brought a period of calm to stock markets, but Friday's threat of a 50% levy on EU goods, plus a separate threat made the same day of 25% tariffs on iPhones made abroad, have brought an end to the peace.
The EU presented a fresh trade proposal to the US on Thursday. The offer included phased tariff cuts on non-sensitive goods, plus cooperation on energy, AI and digital infrastructure. The bloc was readying about $108bn in retaliatory tariffs if talks failed.
To sweeten the deal, EU officials were also willing to extend a 2020 tariff-free arrangement on US lobster imports, according to the Financial Times. But it appears to have proved insufficient to persuade the US president to sign a deal allowing only his 10% universal tariff to apply to the EU, as it does the UK.
Rachel Browne is a Toronto-based investigative journalist and co-author of Let Us Play: Winning the Battle for Gender Diverse Athletes with her brother Harrison Browne.
As kids, my younger brother and I were opposites in almost every way. I loved makeup, frilly socks and figure skating; Harrison preferred short haircuts, tuxedos and gravitated to karate and ice hockey. We were family, but weren't very close.
Rachel Browne and her brother Harrison Browne are the authors of Let Us Play: Winning the Battle for Gender Diverse Athletes.
As teens, our paths diverged further. My brother moved around for hockey, his ultimate passion, eventually ending up at the University of Maine where he played NCAA Division 1 women's hockey. I stayed in Canada to pursue my journalism career. We didn't see each other that much, so our relationship remained largely a surface-level one.
That started to change in our early 20s, when one day, in the summer of 2013, my brother came out to me as a transgender man. “I've been struggling for a while,” he said. “And I really want to get this off my chest.” He told me he had changed his name to Harrison, and no longer used she/her pronouns. I no longer had a sister; Harrison was my brother.
To be honest, I didn't handle Harrison's coming out as well as I should have. I didn't fully understand then what it meant to be transgender; I suggested that Harrison delay coming out, and maybe even reconsider whether he was trans at all. But Harrison patiently explained that he realized he was a man a long time ago, and that in order to feel comfortable in his own skin, he had to live openly as his true self.
Over time, I learned that trans people, especially youth, face immense stress, including deteriorating mental health and suicidal ideation, when their gender identity is not affirmed. Access to strong, supportive relationships with family and friends can help, and make life a lot easier.
Looking back, I wish I'd been more supportive right away. I regret that I didn't immediately celebrate his coming-out and create a feeling of safety; instead, I recognize now that I responded to Harrison from a place of fear and uncertainty.
The siblings, as seen in 1996 or 1997.
Harrison went on to play professional women's hockey for the Buffalo Beauts with the NWHL, now called the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). In 2016, he came out as a trans man to the entire world in an ESPN article, becoming the first openly transgender player in American professional team sports. I was, and still am, struck by his courage. He announced that he would socially transition, but would delay his medical transition using testosterone, a banned substance in the league, so that he could continue playing.
Throughout this chaotic time, as he faced heightened attention online and offline, Harrison and I grew closer as siblings. He leaned on me, as a journalist, to help him navigate the barrage of media requests and interviews. On a more personal level, we bonded over overcoming opposition and negativity held by some family members over Harrison's gender identity.
I came to see myself as not only his sister and defender, but also as an ally for the broader community of trans and gender-diverse people. I became a fierce advocate for him when other people around us were not as accepting. I started attending his hockey games – something I rarely did when we were younger – and loved seeing how the women's hockey community fully embraced him.
When Harrison wanted to take testosterone to begin his medical transition, he had to effectively force himself into retirement from pro women's hockey. I knew this was another tough but necessary step toward him living an authentic life – and I felt better equipped to support him unequivocally.
By 2020, we were both living in Toronto, and, stuck inside during the COVID-19 pandemic, we started working on a book aimed at tackling the misinformation surrounding the topic. We were seeing that trans athletes were increasingly under attack, especially in the United States, and so we felt compelled to combine our expertise and experiences for the cause.
Sadly, that project has become even more timely. A decade after Harrison came out publicly, and nearly five years after we started writing our book, the moral panic over trans athletes has reached a fever pitch around the world. Going after trans athletes continues to be an obsession for conservatives and U.S. President Donald Trump, who spent the very first day of his second term signing an executive order banning trans athletes from women and girls' sports. That order prompted the NCAA – America's largest governing body for college athletics – to change its policy the following day.
Even some high-profile progressives have begun turning away from the trans community. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently decried the participation of trans women in sports as “deeply unfair.”
As a child, Harrison Browne, seen here circa 2002, gravitated to ice hockey.
Measures that target gender-diverse athletes, including children, are being pursued in Canada, too. Alberta's United Conservative government tabled legislation last fall that would disallow trans student athletes from participating in leagues that align with their gender identity. But true equality for trans and gender-diverse people means supporting their freedom in all aspects of life, including playing on sports leagues that align with their gender identity.
Thanks in part to my brother, I've come to realize that, as a white, cisgender, straight woman, I have immense privilege, and that comes with a duty to defend those with less of it – people whose very right to exist is under threat. If we want to push back against bigotry, that means all of us looking within. It means getting to know and build trust with the trans gender non-conforming people in your life. And if you don't know any trans people, ask yourself why that might be.
I am still learning, but my experience with my brother has taught me a few key things about how to be a good ally. Interrogate your own biases; don't be afraid to say you don't know something; if you mess up, apologize quickly and make a sincere effort not to repeat your mistake.
And above all: Listen and stay open-minded. Pushing ourselves to be curious and kind can only make our relationships, and our communities, better.
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Andrey Kondratyev, deputy general director and chief designer at the Russian defense enterprise Kurganpribor, was attacked with a hammer in the city of Kurgan on May 22, the local outlet Oblast 45 reported.
According to the Russian Telegram channel Baza, which appears to be close to Russian security forces, Kondratyev was assaulted while entering his residential building after returning from work.
He sustained serious head injuries and was hospitalized.
The attack is reportedly connected to his professional activities, though the exact motives and circumstances remain under investigation. No suspect has been detained yet.
Kurganpribor, which produces a range of equipment for Russia's defense industry, including components for rocket systems, missiles, and bombs, is under U.S. and EU sanctions in response to Moscow's full-scale war against Ukraine. It is described as one of the leading enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the reports. Ukraine has not commented on the incident.
Previously, Kyiv has targeted Russian officials who play a key role in Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukraine has not been linked to the attack on Kondratyev.
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Appointment marks extraordinary turnaround for figure who was relieved of his command and court martialled
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Lt Col Stu Scheller was thrown in the brig and then drummed out of the US Marine Corps for publicly condemning the chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Almost four years later, he is part of the team investigating the Biden administration's handling of the evacuation that led to the deaths of 13 US troops in a suicide attack at Kabul airport.
“Ironic that I will be investigating who should be held accountable for Afghanistan,” Lt Col Scheller, who was handed a senior role at the Pentagon by Donald Trump, said this week.
It shows just how much Washington has changed since Mr Trump returned to power.
And it marks an extraordinary turnaround for a figure who was relieved of his command and court martialled after posting a video criticising senior officers on the day a blast ripped through American personnel guarding the evacuation from the Afghan capital.
“I have been fighting for 17 years,” said Lt Col Scheller, then commander of the advanced infantry training battalion. “I am willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders: ‘I demand accountability.'”
His protest made him a hero to supporters of Mr Trump, as they accused Joe Biden of botching the withdrawal and leaving billions of dollars of weapons to fall to the Taliban.
Last month he announced he had taken up a post at the Pentagon as a senior adviser under Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defence.
“The military is in desperate need of change and there can be no change without disrupters,” he said at the time. “For those who criticise, wanting stability and the status quo… you are the real problem.”
He said his role was to tackle “careerism” in the armed forces and to ensure that people rose through the ranks on merit.
And on Wednesday he was named to Mr Hegseth's new investigation.
“He was the one guy fired for telling the truth about what happened in Afghanistan,” said Mr Hegseth a day earlier.
Mr Biden, the president at the time, ordered the withdrawal of the last remaining American troops from the war-torn country in April 2021.
It quickly descended into chaos. Afghan government forces melted away as their allies left, setting Taliban troops on a helter skelter race to Kabul.
They seized the city in August that year, sending thousands of foreigners and Afghan nationals flocking to the airport seeking safe passage out.
Tragedy struck when a suicide bomber detonated his deadly payload at one of the main entry points where American troops were protecting civilians.
The attack will be at the centre of the new investigation, led by Sean Parnell, a former Ranger who now serves as Pentagon spokesman. It will also include Jerry Dunleavy, a journalist who resigned from a Republican investigation last year in protest that it had not gone far enough.
On message boards used by Marines, it was Lt Col Scheller's name that attracted most attention.
Opinion divided on whether he was a wise choice.
“That guy who was popping off about an op he had no connection to and knew nothing about is now an investigator for it?,' said one user of a Reddit forum.
Another poster, who claimed to have been trained by him, said: “More than anyone else I interacted with, that man cared about the future of the corps and knew the future [lay] in our subordinates and how we treat them.
“I wish him the best and I know he will do the best for our country.”
Lt Col Scheller's actions as the withdrawal collapsed into chaos also divided opinion at the time.
He won support from some veterans who shared his concerns but angered others who felt he was wrong to make such a public protest while in uniform.
He followed up with further social media posts criticising military leaders and called for “revolution”.
He was eventually charged with six violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and struck a plea deal, resigning his commission and leaving the Marines at the end of 2021.
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The Trump administration's move to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students has ricocheted across China, with officials and commentators seeing it through one lens: the growing rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
“China has consistently opposed the politicization of educational collaboration,” a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said Friday, adding that the US move “will only tarnish its own image and reputation in the world.”
Some commentators across Chinese social media platforms took a similar tack: “It's fun to watch them destroy their own strength,” read one comment on the X-like platform Weibo that garnered hundreds of likes.
“Trump comes to the rescue again,” wrote another, commenting on a hashtag about the news, which has tens of millions of views. “Recruiting international students is … the main way to attract top talent! After this road is cut off, will Harvard still be the same Harvard?”
The announcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a clear escalation of a dispute between the oldest and the richest Ivy League institution and the White House and part of a broader drive to tighten control over international students in the US amid an immigration crackdown. The administration of US President Donald Trump has revoked hundreds of student visas in nearly every corner of the country as part of a vast immigration crackdown.
Harvard and Trump's administration have been locked in conflict for months as the administration demanded the university make changes to campus operations. The government has homed in on foreign students and staff it believes participated in contentious campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
But the revocation isn't just about a feud between a university and the US president. It's also the latest in a widening rupture between two superpowers.
For years, China sent more international students to America than any other country. Those deep educational ties are being reshaped by a growing geopolitical rivalry that has fueled an ongoing trade and tech war.
“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement Thursday.
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Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling international students
The DHS statement included claims of ties between Harvard and Chinese institutions or individuals linked to military-related research, as well as with an entity blacklisted by the Trump administration for alleged human rights violations. It links to information about a letter that bipartisan US lawmakers sent earlier this week to Harvard requesting information about the university's alleged “partnerships with foreign adversaries.”
Harvard has not replied to a CNN request for comment on the alleged partnerships. In a statement on its website, the university said it was “committed to maintaining our ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University and this nation.”
The ability of elite American universities to recruit top students from around the world, many of whom often go on to stay in the United States, has long been seen as a critical factor in America's science and tech prowess, as well as a key source of income for its universities.
The decision by the DHS both bars Harvard from enrolling international students for the coming academic year and requires current foreign students to transfer to another university to maintain their status.
International students make up more than a quarter of Harvard's student body, with those hailing from China making up the largest international group, according to a tally on Harvard's International Office website.
Among those students is Fangzhou Jiang, 30, a student at Harvard's Kennedy School, who said he couldn't believe it when he heard that his university status was in jeopardy and immediately began to worry if his visa was still valid.
“I was absolutely shocked for quite a few minutes. I just never anticipated that the administration could go this far,” said Jiang, who is also the founder of an education consulting company helping foreign students gain admission to elite American universities. “Ever since I was young, when it comes to the best universities in the world, from a young age, I learned that it's Harvard,” he said.
Ivy League schools like Harvard, Princeton and Yale are household names in middle class China, where American universities have for years been viewed as a path to a prestigious education and a leg-up in China's fiercely competitive career-ladder.
China was the top source of international students in the US for 15 straight years since 2009, before it was surpassed by India just last year, according to figures from Open Doors, a US Department of State-backed database tracking international student enrollment.
Along the way, US-China educational ties have cultivated close relationships between Chinese and American academics and institutions, while US universities and industry are widely seen to have benefited from their ability to attract top talent from China, and elsewhere, to their halls.
Harvard has educated Chinese figures like former Vice Premier Liu He, who played a key role negotiating Trump's phase one trade deal during the American president's first term.
But those ties have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years as the US began to see an increasingly assertive and powerful China as a technological rival and a threat to its own superpower status.
More than 277,000 Chinese students studied in the US during the 2023 to 2024 academic year, down from over 372,000 in the peak 2019-2020 year – a decline that coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic but also increasing friction between the two governments.
Meanwhile, rising nationalist sentiment and government emphasis on national security in China have led to a shift in perception about the value of American versus Chinese universities.
The Department of Homeland Security's claims regarding Harvard's institutional ties to entities and individuals with ties to military-related research are the latest move reflecting deep-seated concern in Washington about Chinese access to sensitive and military-applicable American technology via academia.
To crack down on the perceived threat of Chinese students conducting espionage on US soil, Trump introduced a ban during his first term that effectively prevented graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields from Chinese universities believed to be linked to the military from gaining visas to the US.
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His first administration also launched the now defunct China Initiative, a national security program intended to thwart China's intelligence activities in the US, including those aimed at stealing emerging technology from research universities.
The program, which drew comparisons to the McCarthy-era anti-Communism “red scare” of the 1950s, was cancelled by the Biden administration after facing widespread blowback for what was seen as over-reach and complaints that it fueled suspicion and bias against innocent Chinese Americans.
Trump's broader tightening of US immigration policy during his second term has now unleashed a new wave of insecurity and uncertainty for many students and schools.
While those concerns are shared by international students from many countries, the heightened tensions between the two countries have elevated pressure on Chinese students and scholars – and the impact has already been seen.
Over the past year, at least a dozen high-profile academics with roots in China who were working in the US have returned to China and taken up posts at prominent universities in the country, CNN has found.
And for some students at the start of their academic and professional careers, the latest development leaves them unsure about what to do next.
Among them is Sophie Wu, a 22-year-old from China's southern tech hub of Shenzhen, who was accepted at a graduate program at Harvard this fall, after finishing her undergraduate degree in the US. Wu said she felt “numb” after hearing the news.
“I did not expect that the administration would make such an irrational decision, and I also feel that it is more of a retaliation than a policy decision,” she told CNN. “International students are being held hostage for some political purpose.”
CNN's Helen Regan and Joyce Jiang contributed to this report.
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Ukraine cannot expect to return Russian-occupied territories as long as Moscow has the resources to continue its war, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the U.K., said on May 22.
Speaking via video at a forum in Kyiv, Zaluzhnyi said that Ukraine can only wage a "high-tech war of survival" using a minimum of human and economic resources.
"Ukraine is not capable of (fighting) another war in terms of demography and economy, and we shouldn't even entertain the thought," the ambassador added.
According to Zaluzhnyi, the only way to win the war is to destroy Russia's military and economic potential to wage it.
"I hope there is no one left in this hall still waiting for a miracle — for some white swan to bring peace to Ukraine, restore the borders of 1991 or 2022, and after that there will be great happiness in Ukraine," Zaluzhnyi said.
He believes that as long as Russia has the resources, manpower, and capability to strike Ukrainian territory and launch offensives, it will continue to do so.
Ukraine's leadership has consistently vowed to restore the country's 1991 borders, which includes the liberation of Crimea and parts of the Donbas occupied by Russia since 2014.
After the failed 2023 counteroffensive and U.S.'s foreign policy shift this year, Kyiv adjusted its rhetoric. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this February that Russia has to pull back its troops to at least the front line as it was before the 2022 invasion.
In 2022, Russia launched a full-scale war, further occupying territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as partially occupying territories in Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
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The Yomiuri Shimbun
14:07 JST, May 23, 2025
The World Forum on Japanese Culture is set to kick off at the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, on May 31.
The number of applications from people wishing to attend the inaugural day has already reached the venue's seating capacity. However, recordings from the day will be viewable on the museum's website and other places at a later date.
The Cultural Affairs Agency and other entities established the forum to convey to the world the distinctive characteristics of Japanese culture. Among those characteristics is the value that Japanese culture places on finding harmony between nature and human society, which will feature in the forum amid the divisions and conflicts currently faced by the international community.
Leading figures in traditional arts, traditional crafts, fine arts, science and other fields have been invited to speak, providing a variety of perspectives on Japanese culture. Their lectures and discussions will be open to the public and recorded, and the recordings will be made public with multilingual subtitles included.
The forum is also expected to cooperate with overseas universities and museums to enable the recordings to be used in classes at those institutions.
In the first session on the day, Princess Akiko of Mikasa will give a special lecture titled “The essence of Japanese aesthetics.” In the second session, a discussion will be held with four participants: Masatomo Kawai, a professor emeritus at Keio University; Kazumi Murose, a lacquer artist designated as a living national treasure; Harvard University Prof. Yukio Lippit; and Tokugo Uchida, director of the MOA Museum of Art. Both sessions will be recorded.
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Chancellor Friedrich Merz inaugurated a groundbreaking German brigade in Lithuania that is meant to help protect NATO's eastern flank and declared Thursday that “the security of our Baltic allies is also our security” as worries about Russian aggression persist.
He said Berlin's strengthening of its own military sends a signal to its allies to invest in security.
The stationing in Lithuania marks the first time that a German brigade is being based outside Germany on a long-term basis since World War II. “This is a historic day,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said after meeting Merz. “This is a day of trust, responsibility and action.”
Germany has had troops in Lithuania — which borders Russia's Kaliningrad exclave and Moscow-allied Belarus — since 2017, as part of efforts to secure NATO's eastern fringe, but the new brigade deepens its engagement significantly.
An advance party started work on setting it up just over a year ago and expanded into an “activation staff” of about 250 people last fall. The 45 Armored Brigade is expected to be up to its full strength of about 5,000 by the end of 2027, with troops stationed at Rukla and Rudninkai.
Dozens of military helicopters roared over the central cathedral square in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, as the inauguration wrapped up on a rainy Thursday afternoon, with hundreds of troops and spectators attending. Merz told the event that “protecting Vilnius is protecting Berlin.”
The deployment in Lithuania has been taking shape as Germany works to strengthen its military overall after years of neglect as NATO members scramble to increase defense spending, spurred by worries about further potential Russian aggression and pressure from Washington.
Merz said that, beyond the new brigade, “Germany is investing massively in its own armed forces.”
“With this, we also want to send a signal to our allies: let us now invest with determination in our own security,” he added. “Together with our partners, we are determined to defend alliance territory against every — every — aggression. The security of our Baltic allies is also our security.”
Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to increase Germany's defense spending to the current NATO target of 2% of gross domestic product and announced the creation of a 100 billion-euro ($113-billion) special fund to modernize the Bundeswehr.
Germany met that target thanks to the fund, but it will be used up in 2027. Even before it took office earlier this month, the new governing coalition pushed plans through parliament to enable higher defense spending by loosening strict rules on incurring debt.
Merz, the first chancellor to have served in the Bundeswehr himself, told parliament last week that “the government will in the future provide all the financing the Bundeswehr needs to become the strongest conventional army in Europe.”
Host Lithuania said in January that it would raise its defense spending to between 5% and 6% of GDP starting next year, from a bit over 3%. That made it the first NATO nation to vow to reach a 5% goal called for by US President Donald Trump.
A plan is in the works for all allies to aim to spend 3.5% of GDP on their defense budgets by 2032, plus an extra 1.5% on potentially defense-related things like infrastructure — roads, bridges, airports and seaports.
Merz said in Lithuania that those figures “seem sensible to us, they also seem reachable — at least in the time span until 2032 that has been stipulated.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier this week that the plan is to increase defense spending by 0.2 percentage points each year for five to seven years.
Merz has plunged into diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine since taking office earlier this month.
“We stand firmly by Ukraine, but we also stand together as Europeans as a whole — and, whenever possible, we play in a team with the US,” he said.
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GENEVA, May 23. /TASS/. At least 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed, and people in the north of the Palestinian enclave have practically lost the opportunity to receive any medical care, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report.
"Only 19 of Gaza Strip's 36 hospitals remain operational, including one hospital providing basic care for the remaining patients still inside the hospital, and are struggling under severe supply shortages, lack of health workers, persistent insecurity, and a surge of casualties, all while staff work in impossible conditions. Of the 19 hospitals, 12 provide a variety of health services, while the rest are only able to provide basic emergency care. At least 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip are damaged or destroyed," the report says.
It says that since the resumption of hostilities in the enclave on March 18, 2025, WHO has recorded 28 attacks on medical facilities, and since October 2023, there have been at least 697 such attacks.
"North Gaza has been stripped of nearly all health care. In southern Gaza hospitals are overwhelmed by a surge of injured people. Currently, across the Gaza Strip, only 2,000 hospital beds remain available, for a population of over 2 million people, grossly insufficient to meet the current needs," the report reads.
"Continued hostilities and military presence inhibit patients from accessing care, obstruct staff from providing care, and prevent WHO and partners from resupplying hospitals."
The organization called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the region, reiterating that "the UN and its partners have a clear, principled and effective plan to deliver aid with safeguards against diversion, a system that has worked and must be enabled to continue."
On March 18, Israel broke a ceasefire established in January with massive strikes on the enclave. Israel explained this by the refusal of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas from the proposals put forward by mediators and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, adding that the purpose of the operation is the release of all hostages. The radicals blamed Israel and the United States for the resumption of hostilities.
Elias Rodriguez, who allegedly killed two Israeli embassy workers, made social media posts appearing to show thirst for violence
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The terror suspect accused of killing two Israeli embassy staff flaunted his support for Hamas online and attended Black Lives Matter protests.
Elias Rodriguez, 30, was arrested after allegedly shooting Israeli embassy staff members Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left a reception for diplomats near Washington's Jewish museum on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Mr Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder. He was also charged with murder of foreign officials, causing death with a firearm, and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence.
According to an FBI affidavit, Mr Rodriguez was captured on security cameras shortly after 9pm on Wednesday walking past the two victims, before turning round and shooting at them while their backs were turned.
When they collapsed to the ground, he is said to have leant over them and continued to fire.
Mr Rodriguez seemingly reloaded his gun as Ms Milgrim attempted to crawl away and sat up, before shooting at her several times and jogging away, the affidavit continues.
Mr Rodriguez then entered the museum and was detained by security staff as witnesses rushed to help the victims, police said.
Footage of his arrest showed him chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was taken away by an officer.
Social media posts, which appear to have been made by the alleged gunman, have revealed the extent of his obsession with the terrorist group Hamas and his thirst for violence.
On New Year's Day, an account believed to belong to Mr Rodriguez posted: “Happy New Year, Death To Israel.”
In another alarming message published around a week after the assassination attempt of Donald Trump in July last year, Mr Rodriguez shared an image that read: “I agree with the public opinion that says to kill him!”
Another post suggested he supported the bombing of the New York Times newsroom.
“Progressive tweeps, as much as I love delving into the day's discourse, can we PLEASE save the idealistic and high-minded debate over the morality of sending a truck bomb into the offices of The New York Times until *AFTER* we send a truck bomb into the office,” the post read.
The account's profile picture features an avatar wearing a medical face mask.
The FBI said it was investigating social media posts made by Rodriguez.
“Make no mistake, this attack was targeted anti-Semitic violence, and it won't be tolerated,” Steven Jensen, assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office said.
“We are also executing search warrants for his electronic devices, reviewing his social media accounts and all of his internet postings. Regarding some internet postings, we are aware of some writings that are purported to have been authored by this subject. We're actively investigating to determine both the authorship and the attribution of these writings, if they belong to this subject or not.”
After the shooting, Mr Rodriguez fled into the Capital Jewish Museum and was detained.
Amid the chaos, he is said to have been allowed into the museum by security guards who assumed he was a distraught bystander.
Minutes later, when officers arrived, Mr Rodriguez allegedly admitted to carrying out the shooting.
From Chicago, the suspected gunman was once linked to the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a far-Left group that regularly posts anti-Israel rhetoric on social media and spearheaded Black Lives Matter protests.
Mr Rodriguez participated in a 2017 Black Lives Matter protest outside the home of Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago at the time, according to a now-deleted article on the group's Liberation news outlet seen by the New York Post.
Before the killing, he once worked as an oral history researcher at the History Makers, a non-profit that documents the stories of “unsung” African Americans, an online CV shows.Amichai Chikli, Israeli diaspora affairs minister, said the world must hold to account the “irresponsible leaders in the West who give backing” to hatred against Jews and Israelis, “whether through appeasement, double standards, or silence”.Mr Chikli said: “French president Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney have all, in different ways, emboldened the forces of terror through their failure to draw moral red lines. This cowardice has a price – and that price is paid in Jewish blood.”
Jeanine Pirro, interim US attorney for the District of Washington, pledged to prosecute the alleged gunman with the full force of the law.
“This is a horrific crime, and these crimes are not going to be tolerated by me and by this office. A young couple, at the beginning of their life's journey about to be engaged in another country, had their bodies removed in the cold of the night in a foreign city in a body bag,” she said.
“Let me also say that violence against anyone based on their religion is an act of cowardice. It is not an act of a hero.”
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio has promised to be helpful in any way possible to facilitate passage of legislation countering the Chinese regime's state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting.
The question came up at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where Rubio testified on May 21 about the State Department's 2026 budget proposal.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who co-led the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act (HR 1503), appealed to Rubio for help.
“You and I have worked on issues like forced organ harvesting,” Smith said to Rubio, noting that the two had co-chaired the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China to work on human rights issues in China.
“[Chinese leader] Xi Jinping is making billions by killing tens of thousands of young people, average age 28 each and every year,” Smith said. “And you know it—you're the sponsor of the bill.
While a Florida senator during the last Congress, Rubio had signed on to the Senate version of Smith's Act, which aims to sanction perpetrators of the abuse with a civil fine of up to $250,000 and criminal penalties of up to $1 million and 20 years in prison. The bill passed the House on May 7 by a near-unanimous vote, garnering 406 lawmakers' support.
Rubio, in response, called forced organ harvesting “concerning.”
“We would obviously be helpful in any way we can in helping you pass that in the Senate, certainly putting a good word for it and the like,” he said.
The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act would sanction anyone implicated in the abuse, including members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), by freezing their assets, prohibiting transactions, revoking their visas, and eliminating other immigration benefits.
Rubio was outspoken about the issue as a senator. Last July, he led the Falun Gong Protection Act, which aims to deploy sanction tools to protect the principal victim group of forced organ harvesting, practitioners of the persecuted faith group Falun Gong. The bill also passed the House in May upon reintroduction in the 119th Congress.
In May 2024, Rubio and Smith sent a letter to then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asking him to set up a reward program to seek firsthand evidence of the Chinese regime's illicit organ trade.
Smith's bill would require the United States to make an assessment on forced organ harvesting and trafficking in each foreign country.
“We will task the State Department to look at what's happening in every country,” and “determine whether or not there's a forced organ harvesting problem,” Smith told The Epoch Times on the day the House bill was passed.
“But nobody does it worse—nobody—than the People's Republic of China,” he said.
Smith noted that forced organ harvesting had been going on “far too long,” and without accountability, “it will continue to get worse.”
The act of killing for organs is “right out of Nazi Germany and Joseph Mengele ... the cruelty of what he did during the Third Reich,” he said.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice that encourages practitioners to abide by the core principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It was first introduced to the public in 1992 and grew rapidly in popularity, with official estimates indicating that at least 70 million people picked up the practice in China by 1999.
In 2019, the China Tribunal in London concluded that the Chinese regime had been forcibly harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience for years “on a substantial scale,” with Falun Gong practitioners being the “principal source” of organs.
In 2023, Texas became the first U.S. state to enact a law to combat the issue. The law bans health insurance providers from covering organ transplants involving organs sourced from China or any country linked to forced organ harvesting.
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Fox News senior strategic analyst Jack Keane joins 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the status of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and the latest on a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine as the U.S. pushes for peace.
President Donald Trump signed several executive orders (EOs) on nuclear energy proliferation and an order removing political considerations from public-sector science, as conservatives claimed the latter was scandalized in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump also signed restoring "gold standard science" as the cornerstone of federal research.
A senior White House official said on Friday there has been a decline in "disruptive research" and investments in biomedical research, along with "serious cases" of fraud and misconduct and the inability to reproduce scientific methods for the purpose of restoring public trust.
The official also blamed policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and "woke DEI initiatives" for endangering the public's trust in government scientists.
CHINESE SOLAR TECH POSES CHILLING THREAT TO US ELECTRIC GRID, LAWMAKERS WARN
President Donald Trump is set to sign executive orders regarding nuclear energy. (Getty)
Now-retired NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci was repeatedly denounced for flip-flopping and obfuscating during his time engineering the federal response to COVID-19, leading many particularly on the right to disregard and dismiss the legitimacy of federal health authorities outright.
That order cites the fact the Biden administration included political edits from teachers unions in school-reopening guidance, instead of leading with any scientific evidence.
The order will enforce "gold standard science," defined as reproducible, transparent and falsifiable – as well as being subject to peer review and making sure that scientists are not discouraged from discovering outcomes that run counter to a narrative.
In terms of nuclear energy, one order will reform nuclear R&D at the Energy Department, accelerate reactor testing at national labs and establish a pilot program for new construction.
TRUMP ADMIN HITS BULLSEYE WITH FIRST US MINE FOR KEY MINERAL
Energy Secretary Chris Wright previously told Fox News Digital that revitalizing and highlighting the work of U.S. national labs is paramount to his agenda.
In a move that appears to support Wright's push for nuclear power, Trump will sign an order aimed at advancing new reactor construction on public lands.
CHRIS WRIGHT CONFIRMED SECRETARY OF ENERGY
A senior White House official cited the importance of that type of reliable power-source for critical defense facilities and AI data centers.
Another order being signed Friday will overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to require it to rule on reactor license applications within 18 months.
Only two new nuclear reactors have begun construction and entered into commercial operation since the Carter administration.
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A typically risk-averse culture that requires, for example, nuclear facilities to emit as little radiation as possible, including below naturally-occurring levels, which critics said has hindered the NRC from licensing new reactors as technology begets safer and cheaper means of production.
The orders will also seek to raise nuclear energy capacity from 100 gigawatts (GW) to 400 GW within 25 years.
Another order will establish a vision to mine and enrich uranium within the U.S., decreasing another avenue of foreign reliance – and "reinvigorate" the nuclear fuel cycle.
"That means America will start mining and enriching uranium and expanding domestic uranium conversion and enrichment capacity," a senior White House official said.
Trump is expected to leverage the Defense Production Act – which last helped secure COVID-19 paraphernalia like masks and ventilators – to seek agreements with domestic nuclear energy companies for the procurement of enriched uranium, as well as finding ways to manage spent nuke fuel.
Nuclear energy, the White House said in the order, "is necessary to power the next generation technologies that secure our global industrial, digital, and economic dominance, achieve energy independence, and protect our national security."
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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The Republican justices draw a line in the sand – in an order that makes absolutely no sense.
by Ian Millhiser
On Thursday evening, the Supreme Court handed down a brief order, which temporarily permits President Donald Trump to fire two federal officials who, by law, are shielded from being summarily terminated. That, in itself, is not particularly significant because, on April 9, Chief Justice John Roberts acted on his own authority to temporarily permit Trump to fire the same two officials. So the practical effect of Thursday's order in Trump v. Wilcox is simply to maintain the status quo.
That said, the Thursday order does contain some important new information from the Court's Republican majority. While the Republican justices have signaled for quite some time that they are eager to give the president broad authority to fire officials that Congress intended to insulate from presidential control, the order includes a paragraph signaling that they will not allow Trump to fire members of the Federal Reserve.
Get the latest developments on the US Supreme Court from senior correspondent Ian Millhiser.
From a legal perspective, the paragraph is difficult to parse. And, as Justice Elena Kagan writes in a dissenting opinion, is not supported by the legal authority it cites. But it is likely to reassure investors that, while the Supreme Court does appear eager to expand Trump's authority over previously independent parts of the federal government, it won't permit him to disrupt the Fed's ability to make technocratic decisions about interest rates.
The immediate stakes in Wilcox involve a former member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which enforces labor laws and adjudicates union-related disputes, along with a former member of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which hears disputes claiming that a civil servant's employment protections were violated. Trump fired both shortly after taking office, despite the fact that federal law only permits them to be fired for some sort of neglect or malfeasance.
The NLRB and the MSPB, moreover, are just two of an array of “independent” agencies led by multi-member boards, whose members all enjoy similar employment protections – agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Reserve.
For at least 15 years, when the Court handed down Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Board (2010), a majority of the justices have signaled that they are eager to strip Congress of its authority to create such independent agencies, and give the president full authority to fire these agencies' leaders at will. Many economists and investors, meanwhile, have warned that it would be particularly dangerous to strip the Federal Reserve — which is supposed to set interest rates based on delicate economic calculations and not based on what will benefit the sitting president — of its independence, as doing so could throw the US economy into chaos.
Thursday's order is a clear signal that the Court has heard these concerns and does not intend to eliminate the Fed's independence. It is unlikely to satisfy many constitutional scholars, as its explanation for why Federal Reserve leaders should be treated differently than the leaders of any other independent agency is so baffling that it appears contrived.
Regardless of the underlying reasoning, however, the order does strongly suggest that this Court will not give Trump full control over the Fed.
Trump v. Wilcox is the culmination of a longstanding grudge many Republican legal elites hold against Humphrey's Executor v. United States (1935), the Supreme Court case establishing that Congress may create independent agencies whose members may only be fired for cause.
Though the leaders of these agencies are typically nominated by the president for a term of several years, and confirmed by the Senate, Humphrey's Executor explained that laws protecting them from being fired while in office are supposed to ensure that they “act with entire impartiality,” and “exercise the trained judgment of a body of experts.”
All six of the Court's Republicans, however, have made it clear they believe in a theory known as the “unitary executive,” which is incompatible with Humphrey's Executor.
The Constitution provides that “the executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” In a 1988 dissenting opinion, which many legal conservatives now treat as if it were a holy text, Justice Antonin Scalia argued that “this does not mean some of the executive power, but all of the executive power.” And thus, if a federal official is charged with executing federal laws in some way, they must be fully subject to presidential control.
If you take this unitary executive theory seriously, then there should be no doubt that Federal Reserve governors may be fired at will by the president. The Fed's authority over interest rates, after all, derives from federal statutes instructing it to pursue the dual goals of “maximum employment” and “stable prices.” So the Fed is charged with executing federal laws.
But the consequences of stripping the Fed of its independence could be catastrophic.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon pressured Fed chair Arthur Burns to lower interest rates in advance of Nixon's reelection race — the idea was to juice the economy right while voters were weighing Nixon's record — and Burns complied. In the short term, this worked out great for Nixon. The economy boomed in 1972, and Nixon won reelection by a historic landslide. But Burns's action is often blamed for years of “stagflation,” slow economic growth combined with high inflation, in the 1970s.
The Fed, in other words, has the power to effectively inject cocaine into the US economy – giving it a temporary boost that can be timed to benefit incumbent presidents, at the cost of much greater economic turmoil down the road. It's not hard to see how presidents could abuse their power if they can fire members of the Federal Reserve who refuse to give the economy such a temporary and costly high.
One might think that these risks would be enough to caution the justices against overruling Humphrey's Executor. But the Republican justices appear quite committed to the unitary executive theory, and they have been that way for quite some time. (If you want to know more about why they feel this way, I can refer you to three separate explainers I've written on this subject.)
And so those justices spend the bulk of Thursday's Wilcox order laying out the process they are likely to use to formally overrule Humphrey's Executor. The order announces that the Trump administration is “likely” to prevail in its bid to fire NLRB and MSPB officials, and it temporarily blocks lower court decisions that reinstated the two officials at issue in this case. But the Court puts off the question of whether to formally repudiate Humphrey's Executor until after the ordinary appeals process plays out and the justices receive full briefing and oral argument on whether to do so — which could happen as soon as the Court's next term.
Embedded within all this language laying out the process to challenge Humphrey's Executor is the paragraph indicating that the Fed is safe. While the two fired officials “contend that arguments in this case necessarily implicate the constitutionality of for-cause removal protections for members of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors or other members of the Federal Open Market Committee,” the order states, “we disagree.”
The justices who joined the order then offer a single sentence explaining why: “The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States.”
It's certainly possible to parse the components of this sentence. The description of the Fed as a “quasi-private entity,” for example, may refer to the fact that much of the Fed's authority is wielded through regional entities, which are themselves controlled by board members who are mostly selected by commercial banks. But it is hardly unusual for members of the private sector to be given a formal role within government — just ask Elon Musk. Indeed, the Supreme Court heard at least two cases this spring involving the role experts from the private sector may play in setting government policy.
The “First and Second Banks of the United States” are 18th- and early 19th-century predecessors to the Fed. The Supreme Court upheld Congress's power to create national banks in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), but the nation abandoned national banking under President Andrew Jackson, setting off a period of economic turmoil, including an economic depression shortly after Jackson left office.
But it's unclear what any of this has to do with the president's powers as outlined in the Constitution. If the theory of the unitary executive is correct, then no entity — regardless of whether it is “quasi-private” or is part of a “distinct historical tradition” involving banks — may execute federal laws, unless that entity is controlled by people who are themselves under presidential control. As a legal matter, the Court's explanation of why the Fed is special is nothing more than word salad.
The only legal authority that the Wilcox order cites to support its claim that the Fed is special is a footnote in its pro-unitary executive decision in Seila Law v. CFPB (2020). But nothing in that footnote provides any support for this claim.
As Kagan points out in her dissent in Wilcox, the only relevant language in that footnote is a throwaway line responding to her partial dissent in Seila Law. Kagan had argued that “federal regulators” historically have enjoyed some insulation from the president. The footnote dismisses this argument, stating that even “assuming financial institutions like the Second Bank and the Federal Reserve can claim a special historical status,” the agency at issue in Seila Law does not qualify.
The Court, in other words, waved away Kagan's argument that institutions like the Fed should be shielded from presidential control in Seila Law. Now, however, the justices in the majority appear to be signaling they believe there is some merit to Kagan's argument.
If the Court does formally overrule Humphrey's Executor in the coming months, the justices in the majority will likely elaborate on why a different rule should apply to the Fed. The best reading of the Wilcox order's one paragraph about the Fed is that a majority of the justices have already decided that they want to protect it, and they would now like some smart lawyers to file briefs coming up with an argument for that position — one that uses terms like “quasi-private” and that refers to the early history of national banking.
Of course, this is not how the law is supposed to work — judges are not supposed to start with the outcome that they want and then invite members of the bar to explain how to get there. But this also will hardly be the first time that the Roberts Court started with its intended outcome and reasoned backward to get there. It's just being more transparent this time around.
Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day, compiled by news editor Sean Collins.
One of the GOP justices must have defected in a case about religious schools, but the Court didn't reveal who it was.
Libby v. Fecteau is an awful case about an anti-trans lawmaker who nonetheless needed to win.
The Supreme Court sided with Trump at the expense of Venezuelan immigrants.
The Birthright Citizenship argument wasn't the only significant news out of the Supreme Court on Thursday.
It's more complicated than it should be.
Much of the hearing focused on whether Richard Nixon can save Trump's tariffs.
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Millions of low-income Americans, including families with children, could lose their food stamp benefits under House Republicans' newly passed tax and spending cuts package, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Thursday.
Others could see smaller monthly assistance.
The analysis is the latest to show the impact of the historic cuts to the nation's safety net programs contained in the package, which aims to fulfill President Donald Trump's agenda. The legislation would provide trillions of dollars in tax cuts while slashing federal support for food stamps and Medicaid to help offset the cost. The package, however, is expected to undergo multiple changes in the Senate, where some lawmakers have already expressed concerns about the safety net provisions.
As written, the bill would reduce federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, the official name for food stamps, by roughly $286 billion over the next decade, according to the CBO analysis, which was requested by Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Angie Craig, ranking members of the Senate and House agriculture committees, respectively. House Republicans have said the measures are intended to “restore integrity” to the program, which provides aid to roughly 42 million Americans.
Among the most consequential and controversial provisions are expanding the program's existing work requirements to many older Americans, and, for the first time, to many parents. Also, states would have less flexibility in waiving these requirements during tough economic times.
These measures would strip roughly 3.2 million people of their food stamp benefits in an average month over the next decade, CBO estimates. This includes 800,000 people who live with children ages 7 and older.
States would have to share in the cost of the benefits for the first time, shouldering between 5% and 25% of the cost depending on their payment error rate. State responses would vary, but some “would modify benefits or eligibility and possibly leave the program altogether because of the increased costs,” CBO projects.
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The provision would lead states to reduce or eliminate food stamp benefits for about 1.3 million people in an average month over the decade, CBO estimates. Also, subsidies for child nutrition programs would decrease for about 420,000 children during that period.
Other measures in the bill, including capping annual increases in benefits, would also reduce monthly assistance. And a provision tightening eligibility for noncitizens would leave between 120,000 and 250,000 people without aid.
CBO noted that the coverage loss projections are for each set of provisions individually and do not account for overlap in the people who could be affected. Its analysis does not provide an overall figure for how many people would lose access to food stamps.
The House bill also calls for introducing the first-ever work requirement to Medicaid, which could leave millions of low-income Americans without health coverage, according to experts.
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Fox News national correspondent Bryan Llenas provides an update on American student Sudiksha Konanki missing in the Dominican Republic as the key witness leaves the island.
A California State freshman died in an accidental drowning while vacationing with fellow fraternity members in Arizona over the weekend, according to the Sigma Pi Fraternity at Cal State Fullerton.
Simon Daniel, 18, was visiting Lake Havasu River with his fraternity on Saturday when he decided to go for a swim with friends.
The college freshman entered the water with three fraternity brothers and two sorority members when "unbeknownst to them, recent heavy rains in the Havasu Valley region had significantly increased water flow, creating hazardous conditions including strong currents, crosswinds and swells," the fraternity said in a statement on Facebook.
COLLEGE SENIOR KILLED AFTER 'ACCIDENTALLY' FALLING FROM TROPICAL ISLAND HOTEL BALCONY DAYS BEFORE GRADUATION
Boaters enjoy Lake Havasu, Arizona, on June 30, 2021. (iStock)
Sigma Pi Fraternity's national chapter and Cal State Fullerton did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Several members of the fraternity jumped in to save the six students, according to Sigma Pi's Cal State Fullerton chapter. "Tragically, Simon was swept away by a sudden wave that separated him from one of the rescuers," the fraternity said. "He disappeared beneath the water."
FAMILY OF COLLEGE STUDENT WHO DIED IN NASHVILLE FILES WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT AGAINST FRATERNITY
The entrance to California State University's Fullerton campus on Feb. 22, 2022. (iStock)
The students called 911, with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, along with additional agencies, deploying divers, remotely operated vehicles and sonar to search for Daniel.
Daniel "went under the water on Saturday and did not resurface," sheriff's deputies said, according to FOX 11.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for additional information.
FIVE ILLEGALS CHARGED IN ALLEGED MARITIME HUMAN SMUGGLING ATTEMPT THAT LEFT CHILD DEAD
Lake Havasu and the Colorado River near Lake Havasu City, Arizona. (iStock)
Daniel's body was recovered Sunday morning following an extensive search by authorities.
Daniel was studying computer science and is survived by his mother, according to the fraternity. Members of Daniel's family did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
London Bridge over Lake Havasu in Havasu City, Arizona. (iStock)
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"[Simon] was known for his love of music, boundless energy and kind spirit," Sigma Pi's Cal State Fullerton chapter said in a statement. "He was the heart of the fraternity – genuine, joyful and someone who brightened every room with his brilliant smile."
Julia Bonavita is a U.S. Writer for Fox News Digital and a Fox Flight Team drone pilot. You can follow her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and send story tips to julia.bonavita@fox.com.
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Even other right-wing populists can't count on Trump's support.
by Joshua Keating
Is President Donald Trump leading a vanguard of right-wing populist world leaders, working together to lay waste to the liberal international order while consolidating power at home?
Possibly — but based on his recent foreign policy actions, he doesn't appear to think so.
Establishment-bashing politicians around the world, from Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro to the Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte to the UK's Boris Johnson, have drawn comparisons to Trump over the years. Some, notably Hungary's Viktor Orbán and Argentina's Javier Milei, have cultivated ties to the Trump-era American right, becoming fixtures at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and making the rounds on US talk shows and podcasts. In Romania's recent presidential election, the leading right-wing candidate somewhat confusingly described himself as being on the “MAGA ticket.”
Trump himself has occasionally weighed in on other countries' political debates to endorse right-wing politicians like France's embattled far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Some of Trump's senior officials have spoken openly of wanting to build ties with the global right. In his combative speech at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, Vice President JD Vance described what he sees as the unfair marginalization of right-wing parties in countries like Romania and Germany as a greater threat to Europe's security than China or Russia. Trump ally Elon Musk has been even more active in boosting far-right parties in elections around the world.
But just because Trump and his officials like to see politicians and parties in their own mold win, that doesn't mean countries led by those politicians and parties can count on any special treatment from the Trump administration. This has been especially clear in recent weeks.
Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day, compiled by news editor Sean Collins.
Just ask Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent years cultivating close ties with the US Republican Party, and with Trump in particular, and has followed a somewhat similar path in bringing previously marginalized far-right partners into the mainstream. All that has been of little use as Trump has left his Israeli supporters aghast by carrying out direct negotiations with the likes of Hamas, the Houthis, and Iran and being feted by Gulf monarchs on a Middle East tour that pointedly did not include Israel.
India's Hindu nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, has likewise been compared to Trump in his populist appeal, majoritarian rhetoric, and dismantling of democratic norms. Trump has cultivated a massive coterie of fans among Hindu nationalist Modi supporters as well as a close working relationship with Modi himself.
But after Trump announced a ceasefire agreement in the recent flare-up of violence between India and Pakistan, Trump enraged many of his Indian supporters with remarks that appeared to take credit for pressuring India to halt its military campaign and drew equivalence between the Indian and Pakistani positions. Adding insult to injury, Trump publicly criticized Apple for plans to move the assembly of American iPhones from China to India, a move that in other administrations might have been praised as a victory for “friendshoring” — moving the production of critical goods from adversaries to allies — but doesn't advance Trump's goal of returning industrial manufacturing to the US.
Even Orbán, star of CPAC and favorite guest of Tucker Carlson, has appeared frustrated with Trump as of late. His government has described its close economic relationship with China as a “red line,” vowing not to decouple its economy from Beijing's, no matter what pressure Trump applies. Orbán's simultaneous position as the most pro-Trump and most pro-China leader in Europe is looking increasingly awkward.
Overall, there's simply little evidence that political affinity guides Trump's approach to foreign policy, a fact made abundantly clear by the “Liberation Day” tariffs the president announced in April.
Taking just Latin America, for example, Argentina — led by the floppy-haired iconoclast and Musk favorite Javier Milei — and El Salvador — led by Nayib Bukele, a crypto-loving authoritarian willing to turn his country's prisons into an American gulag — might have expected exemptions from the tariffs. But they were hit with the same tariff rates as leftist-led governments like Colombia and Brazil.
Ultimately, it's not the leaders who see eye to eye with Trump on migration, the rule of law, or wokeness who seem to have his fear. It's the big-money monarchs of the Middle East, who can deliver the big deals and quick wins he craves.
And based on the probably-at-least-partly Trump-inspired drubbing inflicted on right-wing parties in Canada and Australia in recent elections, it's not clear that being known as the “Trump of” your country really gets you all that much. Whatever his ultimate legacy for the United States and the world, he doesn't seem likely to be remembered as the man who made global far-right populism great again, and he doesn't really seem all that concerned about that.
Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day, compiled by news editor Sean Collins.
Rapid changes from AI may be coming far faster than you imagine.
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This is what happens when you put a clownfish in hot water.
by Benji Jones
During a severe heat wave in 2023, scientists scuba diving off the coast of Papua New Guinea captured clownfish to measure their bodies. Between February and August, they calculated the length of 134 of these iconic, orange and white fish once a month, taking a total of six measurements for each fish.
Those measurements revealed something peculiar: Most of the fish shrank.
This week, the researchers reported their findings in Science Advances, concluding that the fish got shorter — on the scale of a few millimeters, or a small, single-digit percent of their length — in response to the heat wave.
“We were so surprised to see shrinking in these fish that, to be sure, we measured each fish individual repeatedly over a period of five months,” said Melissa Versteeg, a doctoral researcher at Newcastle University, who led the study in collaboration with Mahonia Na Dari, an environmental organization, and Walindi Resort. “In the end, we discovered [that downsizing] was very common in this population.”
Versteeg and her colleagues don't know how, exactly, the fish are shrinking — one untested idea is that the fish might be reabsorbing some of their bone material or tissue. But getting smaller isn't a problem. In fact, the study found, it may be an adaptation to help clownfish survive hotter ocean temperatures.
Last year, the planet was about 2.65 degrees warmer than it was in the late 1800s. This level of warming impacts wild animals in a number of strange, mostly bad, ways, from fueling koala-killing wildfires to causing corals to bleach and then starve.
But rising temperatures also appear to be making many species smaller. One especially striking study, published in 2019, found that birds shrank by an average of about 2.6 percent between 1978 and 2016. More recent analyses have linked rising temperatures to a reduction in body size of small mammals in North America and marine fish. Most of these existing studies report that animals, on average, are simply not growing as large.
The new study on clownfish, however, suggests individual fish are shrinking over mere weeks in response to a heat wave, which, in the case of the Papua New Guinea event, pushed temperatures in the bay about 7 degrees (4 degrees Celsius) above average.
Being tiny has its advantages in a hot climate: Warm-blooded animals, like mammals, shed heat more easily when they're small and this helps them cool down. The benefits for cold-blooded creatures, such as clownfish, aren't as clear, though researchers think they may have an easier time meeting their bodies' energy requirements when they're small.
Regardless of the reason, being small seems to help clownfish when it's hot. The fish that shrank, the study found, had a much higher chance of surviving.
“It was a surprise to see how rapidly clownfish can adapt to a changing environment,” Versteeg said. “We witnessed how flexibly they regulated their size, as individuals and as breeding pairs, in response to heat stress as a successful technique to help them survive.”
The study adds a layer of complexity to what is otherwise a depressing tale about the world's oceans. Heat waves linked to climate change, like the one that occurred during this study, are utterly devastating coral reefs — and in severe cases, are nearly wiping out entire reef sections. These colorful ecosystems are home to countless marine animals, including those we eat, like snappers, and clownfish.
Amid that loss, animals are proving highly resilient. They're trying hard to hold on. Yet if warming continues, even the best adaptations may not be enough.
Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day, compiled by news editor Sean Collins.
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Rapid changes from AI may be coming far faster than you imagine.
by Kelsey Piper
Let's imagine for a second that the impressive pace of AI progress over the past few years continues for a few more.
In that time period, we've gone from AIs that could produce a few reasonable sentences to AIs that can produce full think tank reports of reasonable quality; from AIs that couldn't write code to AIs that can write mediocre code on a small code base; from AIs that could produce surreal, absurdist images to AIs that can produce convincing fake short video and audio clips on any topic.
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Companies are pouring billions of dollars and tons of talent into making these models better at what they do. So where might that take us?
Imagine that later this year, some company decides to double down on one of the most economically valuable uses of AI: improving AI research. The company designs a bigger, better model, which is carefully tailored for the super-expensive yet super-valuable task of training other AI models.
With this AI trainer's help, the company pulls ahead of its competitors, releasing AIs in 2026 that work reasonably well on a wide range of tasks and that essentially function as an “employee” you can “hire.” Over the next year, the stock market soars as a near-infinite number of AI employees become suitable for a wider and wider range of jobs (including mine and, quite possibly, yours).
This is the opening of AI 2027, a thoughtful and detailed near-term forecast from a group of researchers that think AI's massive changes to our world are coming fast — and for which we're woefully unprepared. The authors notably include Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher who became famous for risking millions of dollars of his equity in the company when he refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
“AI is coming fast” is something people have been saying for ages but often in a way that's hard to dispute and hard to falsify. AI 2027 is an effort to go in the exact opposite direction. Like all the best forecasts, it's built to be falsifiable — every prediction is specific and detailed enough that it will be easy to decide if it came true after the fact. (Assuming, of course, we're all still around.)
The authors describe how advances in AI will be perceived, how they'll affect the stock market, how they'll upset geopolitics — and they justify those predictions in hundreds of pages of appendices. AI 2027 might end up being completely wrong, but if so, it'll be really easy to see where it went wrong.
It also might be right.
While I'm skeptical of the group's exact timeline, which envisions most of the pivotal moments leading us to AI catastrophe or policy intervention as happening during this presidential administration, the series of events they lay out is quite convincing to me.
Any AI company would double down on an AI that improves its AI development. (And some of them may already be doing this internally.) If that happens, we'll see improvements even faster than the improvements from 2023 to now, and within a few years, there will be massive economic disruption as an “AI employee” becomes a viable alternative to a human hire for most jobs that can be done remotely.
But in this scenario, the company uses most of its new “AI employees” internally, to keep churning out new breakthroughs in AI. As a result, technological progress gets faster and faster, but our ability to apply any oversight gets weaker and weaker. We see glimpses of bizarre and troubling behavior from advanced AI systems and try to make adjustments to “fix” them. But these end up being surface-level adjustments, which just conceal the degree to which these increasingly powerful AI systems have begun pursuing their own aims — aims which we can't fathom. This, too, has already started happening to some degree. It's common to see complaints about AIs doing “annoying” things like faking passing code tests they don't pass.
Not only does this forecast seem plausible to me, but it also appears to be the default course for what will happen. Sure, you can debate the details of how fast it might unfold, and you can even commit to the stance that AI progress is sure to dead-end in the next year. But if AI progress does not dead-end, then it seems very hard to imagine how it won't eventually lead us down the broad path AI 2027 envisions, sooner or later. And the forecast makes a convincing case it will happen sooner than almost anyone expects.
Make no mistake: The path the authors of AI 2027 envision ends with plausible catastrophe.
By 2027, enormous amounts of compute power would be dedicated to AI systems doing AI research, all of it with dwindling human oversight — not because AI companies don't want to oversee it but because they no longer can, so advanced and so fast have their creations become. The US government would double down on winning the arms race with China, even as the decisions made by the AIs become increasingly impenetrable to humans.
The authors expect signs that the new, powerful AI systems being developed are pursuing their own dangerous aims — and they worry that those signs will be ignored by people in power because of geopolitical fears about the competition catching up, as an AI existential race that leaves no margin for safety heats up.
All of this, of course, sounds chillingly plausible. The question is this: Can people in power do better than the authors forecast they will?
Definitely. I'd argue it wouldn't even be that hard. But will they do better? After all, we've certainly failed at much easier tasks.
Vice President JD Vance has reportedly read AI 2027, and he has expressed his hope that the new pope — who has already named AI as a main challenge for humanity — will exercise international leadership to try to avoid the worst outcomes it hypothesizes. We'll see.
We live in interesting (and deeply alarming) times. I think it's highly worth giving AI 2027 a read to make the vague cloud of worry that permeates AI discourse specific and falsifiable, to understand what some senior people in the AI world and the government are paying attention to, and to decide what you'll want to do if you see this starting to come true.
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How to contend with an onslaught of guidance in an uncertain, lonely world.
by Eliza Brooke
Illustrations by Rozalina Burkova for Vox
As the eldest daughter in a family of six siblings, with a brain wired for strong convictions, Amy Lentz was born to give advice.
Lentz is a 36-year-old with sea green eyes and wavy brown hair worthy of a shampoo commercial. She works as the chief people officer — the head of human resources — at Toms, the Los Angeles-based footwear company. To hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, however, Lentz is known as @HackYourHR: a friendly face dispensing wisdom about career and workplace matters, from networking more effectively and receiving feedback without getting defensive to radiating “executive presence” and navigating lowball job offers. “As an older sister, I got called bossy,” she laughs, “and in real life, as an adult, I get called helpful!”
For decades, this kind of public-facing life advice was popular in syndicated newspaper columns, then on blogs and websites, and now it's everywhere on social media. While scrolling your platform of choice, it's easy to find yourself immersed in a world of bite-sized videos that, like Lentz's, dole out tips for performing better at work, optimizing your potential, and navigating relationship issues. (Exercise and diet advice are a whole other can of keto-friendly worms.)
Some advice-givers are true subject matter experts, and others are ordinary people speaking from their personal experience. In either case, the creator's confidence and the gravity of the subject matter might make you pause your scroll. Here are the two books that will supercharge your business. Here's how to get over the fear that's stopping you from living the life you want. Did you know you can just wake up and have different standards for yourself?
When Lentz started consistently posting videos in early 2023, she discovered that people were eager for professional guidance. “The positive feedback really was kind of life-changing,” she says. “For the first six months, I replied to every single DM and email that I received from people asking for my advice.” People sent screenshots of offer letters, asking her how to respond, and Lentz, locking into big sister mode, would just write the email for them. Some of the messages she received were painful and personal. After the death of a family member, one person felt they couldn't take time off, for fear of letting their team down, and wondered what to do. “I think people are desperate to understand [whether] they're doing the right thing or not,” says Lentz.
This is something of a desperate moment. Politically and economically, Americans are living through a period of tremendous uncertainty, as well as a loneliness crisis. For anyone worried about the security of their job or savings — and for anyone who feels they don't have close friends to consult on life's myriad challenges — there's an obvious appeal to video creators who seem sure of the path forward.
A willingness to hear advice is not only understandable, but smart, as it leads to better decision-making. “Research has overwhelmingly found that advice is really beneficial, and that people tend to under-utilize advice, usually causing them to make lower quality decisions,” says Lyn van Swol, a professor of communication science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies advice and information-sharing in groups. The catch, she notes, is that most of that research looks at advice from one, two, or three other people, not dozens, hundreds, or thousands of strangers on TikTok: “It's overwhelming — it's like a fire hose of advice.”
When the right piece of wisdom reaches the right ears at precisely the right time, it can hit like a bolt of lightning. But for every earth-shaking revelation delivered on social media, you can spend hours scrolling through more mundane, but nevertheless urgent, guidance from self-assured individuals with varying levels of expertise. With so many voices on your screen, it would be reasonable to start feeling disoriented or anxious, unsure about your own decision-making skills. Short of deleting your apps, how are you supposed to wade through the morass, taking what's useful and discarding what isn't, as you make your way toward the better life that so many people already seem to be living?
There are many ways of delivering advice, some more effective than others. It will shock nobody to learn that uninvited advice tends to go over very poorly. “People are very resistant to taking unsolicited advice,” says Reeshad Dalal, a professor of psychology at George Mason University with a research background in decision-making and advice. Dalal then poses this question: Does a TikTok video qualify as unsolicited advice? Well, yes, in the sense that you didn't ask for that video to cross your feed. But then again, the algorithm did serve it to you based on your interests and viewing history — so could it be called semi-solicited advice?
Van Swol categorizes advice videos as “masspersonal.” They're interpersonal, but with mass reach; directed at the viewer, but not at you specifically. If part of the problem with unsolicited advice is that it feels judgmental, masspersonal advice smoothes away some of that unwelcome scrutiny and affords the viewer the buffer of anonymity. Offline, good advisers often employ the tactic of laying out a narrative around a problem before launching into their recommendation — a framework reflected on TikTok, where creators tend to blend advice with a personal story. Add in the parasocial element of social media, wherein influencers start to feel like your friends, and you have a recipe for advice that's surprisingly palatable, even though you didn't actively ask for it.
According to social media creators, there's something else at play, too: a very real sense of loneliness and a hunger for answers. Chelsea Anderson, the self-styled “Michael Jordan of babysitting” who shares hacks for child care and adult life on TikTok and Instagram, says that she has always consulted her female friends — “a group of mirrors” — when she needs to make a big life decision. She feels that TikTok now serves as a space for people to do that external processing, not because it's better than in-person bonds but because they don't necessarily have anywhere else to turn. “Community is disappearing, and I think that's why this content hits,” says Anderson. “That room full of mirrors is harder and harder to access in real life.”
In a world of unknowns, simple and concrete statements are a comfort — and the urge to seek out other people's advice is painfully, sweetly human.
Americans are so lonely that the US Surgeon General's office released an advisory in 2023 stating that social isolation has an impact on mortality comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Although the hacks Anderson features in her videos are often lighthearted and imaginative, she has received messages from followers that seem like a true cry for help. “Some of the questions people ask me make me really sad, because they're not questions you should be asking someone on the internet. They are questions you should be asking your best friend or your mom,” Anderson says, adding that she appreciates that people feel comfortable coming to her.
Lentz has noticed a similar undercurrent of distress in the questions she receives about nailing job interviews and landing raises. “I think people feel like they're getting left behind, for a number of reasons, and they desperately do not want to become irrelevant,” she says. Some of this fear is rooted in social comparison, but much of it is tied to daily concerns about funding retirement accounts and covering child care costs. “If I were to get this promotion, I could afford more day care. So there's so much pressure on this interview,” Lentz says. “There's so much weight to people's fears, and I think it's all justified based on our economy.”
Doris Chang, an associate professor at NYU's Silver School of Social Work and a licensed clinical psychologist, understands the appeal of short-form advice videos on TikTok. “There is a human attraction towards things that are really simplified,” she says. “I can see people going, ‘I feel like crap. This video is telling me something to do, and it's only two minutes long.'” She also notes that these videos aren't a substitute for therapy; professional counseling, however, can be expensive and difficult to access.
In a world of unknowns, simple and concrete statements are a comfort — and the urge to seek out other people's advice is painfully, sweetly human. Who among us, grappling with a major conundrum, hasn't reached out to a trusted friend, family member, or counselor, hoping they'll shake a new solution loose or summon some wisdom we can't access yet? In these conversations, we lay ourselves bare, with our fears and insecurities on full display, and ask for help making sense of our mess. When we're meant to travel this life together, there's a deep loneliness in problems you don't feel that you can ask anyone about. So we do the next best thing — we go online.
Self-improvement via TikTok is complicated by the fact that time spent on the apps can be a drain on mental health. Passive use of social media — scrolling — has been shown to be associated with anxiety and depression in adolescents, says Jacqueline Sperling, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and co-program director of the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program at McLean Hospital. (Active participation through posting and commenting, however, can have a positive impact on people, helping them find community and foster connections with others.) It's not just young people who are affected by social media: Research has shown that older adults who use social media are more likely to report symptoms of depression. Any wisdom gleaned from short-form life advice videos sits on a balance with these potential downsides.
For people with anxiety in particular, looking at a lot of advice content on social media might end up exacerbating their worries. “It can actually have this harmful function of feeding the desire for reassurance,” says Chang. “There's an unlimited amount of information that can confirm or disconfirm your biggest fears and worries. For someone who's seeking certainty in the world, because that's what anxiety is really about, then being on social media a whole bunch is not going to be helpful.”
In the field of decision psychology, too, Dalal sees a vicious cycle with anxiety and advice-seeking behavior. “The finding is pretty robust: When people are anxious about a decision, they will seek out more advice. ... The reverse can be true as well,” says Dalal. “Anxiety leads to seeking out advice, but knowing that there's all this advice out there might, paradoxically, increase anxiety as well.”
Even among people who aren't particularly anxious, though, information overload can result in a feeling of overwhelm. “There's a classical idea called ‘the paradox of choice,'” says Dalal. “If you go into a grocery store, and I show you 30 varieties of jam and say you can have one for free, that might stress you out. But if I give you three varieties of jam, you would walk away happy that you made the right choice.” Advice, he says, will operate in the same way.
There is another way in which advice videos might affect viewers, and that is as a performance of confidence. In this corner of TikTok, creators are often the picture of self-assurance, speaking clearly and succinctly as they share their guidance, their eyes never straying from the camera. To a certain extent, advice videos are simply a vessel for the reality distortion that takes place across social media more broadly: People often present the most put-together versions of themselves online, leading viewers to feel badly about themselves in comparison. “The contrast is really stark,” says Chang. “You're like, my apartment doesn't look like that, and I'm not that confident, and I don't have the answers.”
The most successful TikTok advisers may well be those who are most able to express self-confidence. “A huge problem in advice research is that people are very persuaded by confidence,” says van Swol. It doesn't matter whether the advice is great or subpar: “You have a lot of very confident people out there giving advice, and people cannot tell the difference.” (Meanwhile, people with a weak sense of self are especially prone to taking advice.)
“A huge problem in advice research is that people are very persuaded by confidence.”
Some of those confident people are, no doubt, offering solid guidance and attempting to do so in good faith. Lentz is well aware of the power that she holds as someone giving advice online. “I have high self-esteem, so if the person on the other end of the phone has a lower sense of self, sense of identity, they are susceptible,” she says. “I do think there's responsibility with what you put out.”
Still, when you're watching not one or two but dozens of advice videos, it's hard not to suspect that everyone has things figured out except for you — when, in fact, you're not as underqualified to navigate life as you might think. Nor is there a secret shortcut that nobody told you about. “There is this desire for a magic formula,” says Chang, “and if people are offering it with a lot of confidence, it does silence your own intuition about what might be best for you.”
Across the board, experts say that the best way to move through the sea of life advice on social media is to spend some time interrogating a creator's credentials, background, and expertise before taking their suggestions. Sperling recommends using intriguing videos as a jumping-off point for consulting trusted sources and experts off of those platforms: “The key thing is to not act immediately and to take that as an opportunity to learn more.”
Interestingly, content creators say essentially the same thing. “I think oftentimes, especially when it comes to people who post content, we assume they know something that we don't,” says Donavan Barrett, a 28-year-old tae kwon do teacher-turned-personal branding coach. “Sometimes they do, but oftentimes they're just a regular person who decided to pick up their phone and record their opinion.”
Barrett studied psychology in college and says he has always been the “therapy friend” to those in his life. He now makes videos about mindset and motivation on TikTok, which reflect the type of work he does with private clients. In his videos, which often deal with overcoming self-doubt, he tries to show up as the person whose guidance he could have used as a young person. “I come from a background where I wasn't given the education, the resources, or the know-how to trust myself,” he explains.
Barrett knows how a green screen and a mini microphone can convey a sense of authority — he's made those kinds of videos, too. As a result, he recommends vetting creators before taking their advice and watching out for those who are overly prescriptive in their messaging, particularly when they've made it their business to issue guidance. “The coaching industry, the advice industry, is huge and seems to only be growing,” he says. “There are a lot of people who are going to project their experiences or shove you into their box.”
Chang expresses a similar idea: “Therapy is all about excavating and reflecting on your unique situation, strengths, resources, and contexts.” If advice videos don't accommodate an individual's specificity and instead offer one-size-fits-all solutions, she says, “I think it's kind of a scam.”
People are generally alike, “ashamed of their needs and afraid to voice them, afraid to honor themselves, afraid to show their vulnerable hearts.”
When figuring out which sources of advice to trust, Dalal recommends looking at trustworthiness, which encompasses both expertise and good intentions — the latter of which can be difficult to judge. As part of that due diligence, it's worth considering someone's financial incentives, which may or may not be 100 percent aligned with your best interests.
Indeed, life advice videos can be a strong marketing tool for creators, who make much of their money via brand deals and affiliate marketing, or an on-ramp to related business pursuits. “My entire business is from social media,” says Barrett; his clients find him through TikTok and similar platforms. Anderson is currently writing a book of child care and life hacks — she recently left her job at an advertising agency to become a full-time content creator — while Lentz looks at her online presence as a way of building trust and rapport with her audience. She's focused on her corporate career for the time being, but long-term, she would like to run for government office.
Despite the thorniness of navigating advice on the internet — of opening your arms wide to that digital fire hose — there is a certain beauty in the guidance of strangers. “A stranger and a friend can give the same advice, but when a friend gives it, it's easy to imagine that they have prejudices or limitations or resentments that will prevent them from being objective,” Heather Havrilesky, who has penned the advice column “Ask Polly” since 2012, writes to Vox in an email. “It's easy with a friend to think, ‘You're just saying that because you don't understand what it's like to be an artist and you never liked my husband and you think having kids is the most important thing anyone can do.' A stranger has the advantage of dropping down like a god and delivering a verdict without revealing their own prejudices and limitations.”
Havrilesky isn't familiar with TikTok advice, but writing “Ask Polly” for over a decade seems to have resulted in an approach to counseling strangers that is more complex — messier, perhaps — than what appears in some of those bite-sized videos. She used to feel that other people were usually the problem in her readers' lives: “The early days were all about encouraging people to stand up for themselves and to refuse to settle for people, places, and things that they tolerated out of guilt, perceived obligation, or compulsive people-pleasing.” Now, she understands that people are generally alike, “ashamed of their needs and afraid to voice them, afraid to honor themselves, afraid to show their vulnerable hearts.”
Here, as in real life, there are no quick tips, no shortcuts, no magic solutions. Haley Nahman, who writes an advice column for her popular Maybe Baby newsletter, says she is rarely looking to provide answers, but rather to help readers reframe their questions. “I find that you can wrestle with the wrong question for years,” she says, “and when you reframe it, it's actually much simpler to answer.”
Havrilesky doesn't attempt to offer a concrete path forward, either. Her goal is to incite catharsis or a perspective shift. She doesn't always know where an answer is going when she begins writing, but while unearthing her own feelings and facing her own fears (because people are generally alike), she ends up harnessing an energy that she hopes to impart to the reader. A bolt of lightning, passed from one hand to another.
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Why billionaires need to give more — and give faster.
by Benjamin Soskis
For the last quarter-century, Bill Gates has been the donor behind what has long been one of the nation's largest private philanthropic foundations, a behemoth that has long dwarfed nearly all other charitable institutions.
The Gates Foundation, in its commitment to a large, professionalized staff, driven by quantifiable data, and with its focus on global health, has served as a model for many other donors. And as an individual, Gates has long been the world's most recognized philanthropist, in terms of media attention, accolades, and public knowledge. As one of the co-founders of the Giving Pledge, the campaign to get the world's billionaires to donate more than half their wealth to charitable causes, he has also been the individual most closely identified with efforts to shape global philanthropic norms in an age of super-wealth. (Disclosure: I am an employee of the Urban Institute, which receives funding from the Gates Foundation.)
That, in fact, is the best context in which to understand the significance of Gates's recent announcement that he will give virtually all this wealth to the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years, and that the foundation would “close its doors permanently” by the end of 2045, after all that money has been given away. With Gates's own wealth listed at north of $100 billion, and his foundation sitting on an endowment of more than $75 billion, Gates estimates that his foundation “will spend more than $200 billion between now and 2045.” As he explained it: “I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned.”
In sheer monetary terms, this pledge, if honored, would be a very big deal. It would require the foundation to maintain an unprecedentedly high level of annual spending, likely doubling its current $9 billion per year. And it would require contemplating a world in which the Gates Foundation no longer exists.
But the extent to which Gates's announcement might encourage important shifts in broader philanthropic norms may be an even bigger deal. To put it simply: It could galvanize billionaires to give more — and perhaps more importantly, to give more faster.
“You could say this announcement is not very timely,” Gates quipped to the New York Times in an interview accompanying his announcement. He meant by this that his new pledge was fueled by an optimism about philanthropy's power to dramatically improve global health that sits oddly with a prevailing sense that progress seems to be eroding.
But looked at another way, what was most significant about Gates's announcement was not the sheer dollar figure that received so much attention, but its embrace of the importance of timeliness in philanthropy. By philanthropic timeliness, I mean that he's elevated his responsibility to the current moment, to contemporary needs, exigencies, and opportunities, as the driving motive in his giving.
In the rollout of his announcement, Gates has made clear that he is placing a premium on getting more money out the door now. He told the Times that “this is a “miraculous time,” ripe with all sorts of possibilities for astonishing advances in global health, like single-shot gene therapy for HIV/AIDS and new tools to prevent maternal and childhood mortality, like portable, AI-enabled ultrasounds. Given all these opportunities, Gates says, “It makes a big difference to take the money and spend it now versus later.”
That might seem obvious. But for many philanthropists, foundations are instruments designed as much to warehouse wealth as to give it away. Gates is now putting his celebrity brand behind the latter, pushing for present-day concerns to be met by large-scale philanthropic contributions.
But there's obviously another reason why the current moment matters. Gates's announcement acknowledged that he's committing additional funds at a time when governments around the world, especially in the US, are slashing their own funding for global aid. He has maintained his insistence that philanthropy can never adequately stand in for government funding for global health — in 2023, USAID managed more than $35 billion in appropriations, for instance — and he's situating large-scale giving less as confirmation of the superiority of private philanthropy than as an urgent argument that Elon Musk's team got it wrong in gutting aid.
“It's unclear whether the world's richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people,” he wrote in a blog post explaining his decision. “But the one thing we can guarantee is that, in all of our work, the Gates Foundation will support efforts to help people and countries pull themselves out of poverty.”
For this reason, Musk, who has bragged about “feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” has emerged as a sort of nemesis in the rollout of the announcement. “The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates commented to the Financial Times.
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It's an uncharacteristic public feud for Gates, who until recently has studiously cultivated a public persona that avoided any hint of partisanship. Still, his comments did conjure up one inconvenient fact: Musk has actually signed the Giving Pledge (in 2012). But Gates took this on directly, and in doing so, offered an implicit critique of the system of philanthropic norms that he had taken the lead in developing. “The Giving Pledge — an unusual aspect of it [is] that you can wait until you die and still fulfill it,” he said in the New York Times interview.
And it's true that from its conception, the Giving Pledge was agnostic on the question of timeliness. The metric of success for the Pledge was getting “this set of billionaires to think earlier in their life about how they're going to give money back, whether it's during their lifetime or at their death,“ as Melinda French Gates said during a 2010 interview with Charlie Rose.
Gates is now signaling a call for donors to do more than start thinking about giving — and start actually giving more now. As he has explained it, he is now pushing the wealthy to increase not just the scale of their giving, but the pace of their giving too.
It's something Gates learned from the example of Chuck Feeney, the co-founder of a duty-free shopping empire. Feeney gave significant amounts anonymously for years, only willingly embracing a public identity as a mega-donor as a means of spreading a gospel of “Giving while Living.” It's an ethic that Gates namechecked in his announcement as having “shaped how I think about philanthropy.”
There are a host of reasons why donors have generally preferred to defer giving, from not having the time to devote to philanthropy, to the compulsion to get the gift exactly right, to a desire to maintain funds to address future problems, to the simple fact that for some, it's just hard to let go of wealth. On an institutional level, one of the main challenges is the commitment to perpetuity, which imposes a certain ceiling on spending levels so that the endowment isn't drained.
For much of the final decades of the 20th century, and for the first decade of the new century, perpetuity was something of an implicit default in the philanthropic sector. In the deliberations over the Tax Reform Act of 1969, which established the regulatory regime under which foundations would operate for the next half-century, Congress considered imposing a 40-year time limit on foundations. The proposal, championed by Sen. Al Gore Sr., was ultimately rejected, and in its stead, a 6 percent (changed a few years later to 5 percent) annual payout requirement was passed, as part of a “Grand Bargain” that exchanged some commitment to “philanthropic timeliness” for the legitimation of perpetuity.
But over the last two decades, the tendency to treat perpetuity as the default mode of philanthropy has eroded. The reasons behind that shift are varied, from the urgency of the environmental crisis (several of the first wave of 21st-century spend-down foundations devoted themselves to the cause), to the propensity of young tech donors who had made their fortunes relatively quickly to look to spend their philanthropic resources quickly as well.
This might very well be a pivotal moment for the norms surrounding philanthropic timeliness.
In a 2020 global survey, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors found that nearly half of the organizations established in the 2010s were founded as time-limited vehicles, up from around 20 percent in the 1980s. A 2022 survey found that, “Of the responding philanthropies established since 2000, almost one quarter (23 percent) were established as time-limited, representing an increase of 22 percentage points.”
In fact, Bill and Melinda French Gates had never really committed their foundation to perpetuity. Seven years after creating the foundation in 2000, they had pledged to shut it down 50 years after their deaths. At an event in 2022, Gates had suggested that the foundation would last another 25 years. But the new announcement of the 2045 date is a much more definite endorsement of “time-limited philanthropy.”
So this might very well be a pivotal moment for the norms surrounding philanthropic timeliness. We're living through a period defined by cascading crises — climate, racial justice, Covid, and now those related to the Trump administration's budget cuts. In response to each, a handful of foundations have significantly increased their spending rates; some have committed to spend down their assets.
It's also been a period characterized by the proliferation of high-profile billion-dollar philanthropic pledges from individual donors. These are timely to the extent that they draw immediate public and media attention, but they have not necessarily translated into the commensurate timely disbursement of philanthropic funds. In recent years, MacKenzie Scott captured considerable attention, and for a moment rivaled Gates as the nation's most prominent public philanthropist, with the speed and urgency with which she embraced the challenge of directing her Amazon fortune to philanthropy, and with a commitment to “keep at it until the safe is empty.” She's given some $19 billion away in the last five years, though even she has struggled to keep up with the relentless pace of compounding interest and Amazon's surging stock price; her total wealth has barely budged since.
Taking it all in, then, there hasn't yet been a definitive shift toward giving now in philanthropy. Might Gates's announcement help precipitate one? If it does, Gates will cast light on a whole other assortment of debates within the philanthropic sector. One of the most important of these relates to a chief paradox of contemporary criticisms of philanthropy, which boils down to the old joke: “The food here is terrible — and the portions are too small!”
Alongside demands for more and faster giving sit concerns about the ways mega-philanthropy can warp democratic norms and institutions. Gates has not merely been one of the most recognized and celebrated philanthropists, but also one of the most criticized, on precisely those terms.
Whether the surge of giving that will be coming from the Gates Foundation is compatible with democratic demands — whether, for instance, it can help shift power to local communities and institutions — will likely be as important a question to the construction of the next generation of philanthropic norms as those related to scale and pacing.
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“Dismissing the case would dishonor the memories of 346 victims who Boeing killed through its callous lies,” said Paul Cassell, an attorney for many of the families, in a statement last Friday.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also dropped a case it had previously brought in 2023 against Coinbase, America's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC accused the company of unlawfully making billions of dollars by acting as an exchange, broker and clearing agency “without having registered any of those functions with the Commission as required by law.”
Coinbase, which had challenged the assertion and argued the SEC overreached, praised the decision to drop that case.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Capital One during the final days of the Biden administration, accusing the company of “cheating millions of consumers” by not paying more than $2 billion in interest to holders of its high-interest savings accounts. Now that case, like many others brought by the CFPB, was dropped after the agency's director was dismissed and its funding was slashed. No new director has been named.
The Department of Transportation sued Southwest Airlines in January under former President Joe Biden, seeking “maximum civil penalties” for operating two “chronically delayed flights” in 2022 that resulted in 180 flight disruptions. The Justice Department dropped that case quietly on Friday afternoon, with little comment. The Department of Transportation defended the decision in a statement.
“This was a lawsuit that should have never been brought forward,” the department said in a statement to CNN. “Southwest has remedied the underlying issues and USDOT will work with them fairly, not sue them for political gain.”
Both Capital One and Southwest said they appreciate the cases being dropped, arguing that the suits should never have been brought in the first place.
“We welcome the CFPB's decision to dismiss this action, which we strongly disputed,” said Capital One.
“We appreciate the DOT's decision to abandon its lawsuit against Southwest, which we believe is the correct result in this case,” said Southwest. “The two flights at issue occurred years ago when the industry faced unprecedented challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic and were delayed due to issues outside of Southwest's control in numerous cases.”
The most recent relief for a business came Thursday from the Federal Trade Commission. It dropped a case brought in January by the Biden administration against PepsiCo that had accused the company of “unfair pricing advantages” with a large retailer. The retailer's name was redacted in the initial statement, but a source familiar with the case told CNN at the time that it was Walmart.
FTC chair Andrew Ferguson in a statement called the Biden administration suit a “nakedly political effort to commit this administration to pursuing little more than a hunch that Pepsi had violated the law.”
PepsiCo thanked the FTC for its action.
“PepsiCo is pleased with the FTC's further consideration and withdrawal of this matter,” said the company in a statement. “PepsiCo has always and will continue to provide all customers with fair, competitive, and non-discriminatory pricing, discounts and promotional value.”
Walmart did not immediate respond to a request for comment. But Walmart at the time told CNN it did not have a comment on the lawsuit.
Trump has made clear he believes American businesses need to be freed from what he sees as unfair and undue enforcement actions.
But it's not just less enforcement – the Trump administration also wants to make it easier for companies to move ahead with mergers, particularly in financial services. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a regulator that is part of the Treasury Department, announced new rules this month to make it easier to grant approvals of deals, including Capital One's effort to buy Discover.
“Making it easier for well-managed and well-capitalized banks to merge promotes competition and facilitates economic growth and innovation,” said a statement from Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood.
Consumer advocates are bringing legal challenges to combat the Trump administration's actions. But they say there is little hope they can entirely stop the gutting of consumer protection cases over the next three and a half years of Trump's term.
“I think much of what the Trump administration has done is go after the very foundation of consumer protection,” said John Breyault, vice president of public policy for the National Consumers League. “It's not a surprise they would de-prioritize it. But they're seeking to make these agencies non-functional. That should worry all consumers.”
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Julie Chapon, co-founder of the New York-based Yuka food rating app, tells Fox News Digital how it scores different food products to help shoppers make informed decisions about what they buy.
As health-conscious Americans look for ways to eat better, there is a mobile app that shoppers can use to guide them at the grocery store, sometimes with surprising outcomes.
Yuka is a free app that proponents of the Make America Healthy Again movement are embracing – even U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"I use Yuka," Kennedy told Fox News Digital in April.
EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT MAHA
Developed in France, Yuka expanded to the U.S. in 2022.
It has been gaining ground, with about 25,000 new users each day, co-founder Julie Chapon told Fox News Digital. (See the video at the top of this article.)
"I think consumers are really being more conscious now about what they want to eat – and there is really this need to have access to more transparent information," said Chapon from New York City.
Sam Stark, a public relations consultant in New York City, said she uses the app "about every other shopping trip, mostly when I'm considering adding something new to our meals."
"My husband and I eat as [healthfully] as possible with minimal processed foods, but we also want variety," she told Fox News Digital.
The Yuka app was developed in France. (Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images)
"It's become a regular part of my shopping routine when I'm browsing unfamiliar products."
Many times, Stark said, she'll avoid a food product that has scored poorly.
"I often use it to compare similar products, such as which granola is actually the healthiest option," she said.
Some users of the Yuka app have said they use it routinely while shopping. (Yuka)
"The results can be surprising."
"I've limited and given up foods I really enjoyed as well, like this blue cheese dressing I loved, after seeing the rating. Sometimes the app tells you what you need to hear to make better choices."
"Sometimes the app tells you what you need to hear to make better choices."
Stark also introduced her friend to Yuka.
FARMERS COME FIRST AS INITIATIVE AIMS TO LOWER THEIR COSTS, GET FRESH FOOD TO AMERICANS MORE EFFICIENTLY
Cristina Cote, a New York-based real estate broker, told Fox News Digital that she uses the app every time she shops, "especially when exploring new products."
"I appreciate Yuka as a tool to be mindful and make healthy choices," Cote said.
Sam Stark (left) introduced her friend, Cristina Cote (right), to the Yuka app. (Sam Stark; Cristina Cote)
She's also cut out products that score poorly on the app.
'GOD-INTENDED FOODS' ARE KEY TO A HEALTHIER AMERICA, EXPERT SAYS
"If I find out that a product I like is not well-rated, I will stop buying it and replace it with something healthier and [purer]," she said.
"It can be disheartening when you find out something you enjoy contains harmful ingredients."
Yuka lets users scan the bar codes of food products, generating a score from one to 100 based on three criteria: nutritional quality (60% of the rating), the presence of additives (30%) and whether the product is organic (10%), Chapon said.
AMERICAN NUTRITION A TOP PRIORITY FOR MAHA AS THE 'KNOWLEDGE DOC' WEIGHS IN
The scores are then color-coded into four different categories: excellent (dark green), good (light green), poor (orange) and bad (red).
"You also have access to a detailed information sheet on each product to understand why the rating is good or bad," Chapon said.
The Yuka app is color-coded, with bright green signifying the best products and red representing the worst. (Yuka)
If an item receives a poor or bad rating, Yuka recommends similar products with a better ranking.
"The app is 100% independent," Chapon said. "We receive absolutely no money from brands or manufacturers to influence our evaluations or recommendations."
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Although Yuka isn't affiliated with MAHA, Chapon credits the increasingly popular movement for the app's ascent – and for challenging the food industry.
"I think the MAHA movement has also fueled this interest," Chapon said.
Yuka also has a feature that allows users to call out a food maker with a high-risk additive.
Since the feature launched in November, more than 600,000 callouts have been made, Chapon said.
Julie Chapon, shown above, says the Yuka app she co-founded is steadily growing since it was introduced to the U.S. in 2022. (Yuka)
"A lot of brands have received a lot of emails – and they are very mad," Chapon said. "But that's part of our mission and we know it's risky."
Among the brands that have had dialogue with Yuka are Tru drinks and Chobani, Chapon said.
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Both companies "were really interested in improving their ratings and understanding why they don't have good ratings."
Fox News Digital made multiple requests for comment to Tru drinks and Chobani about the app's rating system.
Yuka's co-founder (not pictured) hopes the app will "help people make better choices for their health" when shopping for groceries. (iStock)
Ultimately, Chapon said she hopes the app will "help people make better choices for their health" and "push manufacturers to improve what they put in their products."
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"We have many brands starting to really pay attention and trying to understand how they can do better. Sometimes they just don't realize they are using very controversial ingredients."
"We are here to help them to improve," she added.
Ashley DiMella of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
Peter Burke is a lifestyle editor with Fox News Digital.
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Charlie Hurt tours an oil rig in the Gulf of America with Energy secretary Doug Burgum on 'Fox & Friends Weekend.'
As the Secretary of Energy honored to play a role in implementing the historic agenda of President Trump's first term, it was deeply troubling to watch Joe Biden spend four years undoing that progress with a relentless war on American energy.
President Biden failed to grasp that affordable, reliable energy is the cornerstone of fighting inflation, creating jobs, and ensuring our national security. His crackdown on all forms of energy left us weaker on all three fronts.
Thankfully, the voters delivered a mandate last November, ushering President Trump back to restore America's energy dominance – and he has been putting on a clinic the last four months by ramping up homegrown energy production at an unprecedented pace.
GOP LAWMAKERS MOVE TO ROLL BACK BIDEN-ERA ENERGY PROGRAMS
By declaring a National Energy Emergency on his first day in office, the President showed that reviving our energy capabilities is a top priority. He followed this by rescinding Biden's efforts to freeze domestic oil and natural gas production. And in April, the White House issued executive orders to increase coal production, safeguard the energy industry from state overreach, and protect an energy grid that had become increasingly unreliable during the prior administration.
These actions have already led to a 12% year-over-year gas price reduction. And more relief is on the way. The reconciliation bill Republicans advanced in the House yesterday is packed with provisions championed by the president to drive a surge in domestic energy production. Some key measures include:
While this is a powerful blueprint for growth, there is one significant shortfall: the bill's approach to certain energy tax credits.
The House budget bill indiscriminately phases out or repeals nearly every major tax credit from the so-called Inflation Reduction Act—including credits for electricity generation (45Y and 48E), hydrogen production (45V), and advanced manufacturing (45X). While it may be sensible to phase out credits during a carefully planned transition period, it is not good policy to make abrupt changes that stifle investment and create uncertainty. With so much at stake right now, it is crucial that we do not eliminate the policies that support actual U.S. energy production and keep energy costs low.
In the face of soaring demand—driven by AI, data centers, industrial reshoring, and electrification—every molecule or megawatt we disincentivize contributes to market scarcity and rising costs. These are not academic choices, but critical price signals. Pulling energy production offline now—whether fossil, renewable or otherwise— makes America less secure and American consumers poorer.
As Vice President Vance noted earlier this year, the surest way to fight Biden-era inflation is to lower energy costs – that means growing, not shrinking, our domestic supply.
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It's also important to acknowledge the economic reality: these credits are lowering consumer costs, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, and supporting billions of dollars in private sector investment—much of it in Republican-led states. Gutting these incentives indiscriminately would strain the economy and risk political backlash in key districts at a time when conservative leadership has never been more necessary.
President Trump understands this. That's why he created the National Energy Dominance Council and embraced an all-of-the-above energy approach – not as a slogan, but as a strategy. America wins when we produce everything: oil, gas, coal, nuclear, and renewables. Taking any of them off the table – whether by regulation or tax policy – weakens our position.
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We should celebrate the wins this administration has already delivered. But we shouldn't offset them by slashing energy tax credits that genuinely drive production, create jobs, and enhance our national security.
The goal is dominance, not disruption. Congress should act accordingly.
Dan Brouillette is the former U.S. secretary of Energy and senior advisor to the Restoring Energy Dominance (RED) Coalition.
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Senate Republicans are vowing a major rewrite of President Donald Trump's “one big, beautiful bill” despite House leadership's pleas not to undo the carefully crafted legislation.
House and Senate leaders are broadly aligned on the tax bill and have been meeting regularly to avoid points of conflict. But Senate Republicans made clear the compromise, a product of frenzied last-minute negotiations, must be negotiated again after it passed the House by a single vote on Thursday.
Committee leaders want to make their imprint on the legislation in a series of markup hearings, while the infighting over its price tag, which nearly paralyzed the House, will now be litigated in the Senate.
“No, of course not,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the chairman of the Commerce Committee, said Thursday when asked if he supported the bill. “The Senate will change it significantly.”
In some ways, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will inherit the same headaches that plagued Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for weeks. Both have a three-seat majority, lending little margin for error despite an ideological gulf between fiscal hawks and a bloc of centrists.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), one of those hawks, suggested the Freedom Caucus had failed despite extracting $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. He promised to oppose the bill unless it committed to hundreds of billions in additional offsets.
“It's a lot easier to pressure House members than it is us; that's just a basic fact,” Johnson said.
At the same time, Senate Republicans are more averse to Medicaid reforms passed in the House. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), among others, is taking issue with changes to a provider tax that helps states finance Medicaid programs.
“If you fool around with that provider tax in my state, you really risk getting to benefit cuts there,” Hawley said.
The House speaker reached delicate compromises on those and other political flashpoints. He erred on the side of satisfying the Freedom Caucus, but centrists also got major concessions and avoided the deepest cuts.
The deal came together shortly after Trump made a final push to win over holdouts. On Tuesday, he visited the Capitol and later hosted Freedom Caucus members at the White House.
After a hard-fought win in the House, Speaker Johnson has urged the Senate “to modify this as little as possible” to avoid another showdown when the bill is sent back. But the upper chamber has other ideas.
Senate Republicans seem open to the higher cap on the state and local tax deduction, a key demand of blue-state House members who ensured the $10,000 limit was lifted to $40,000.
One of Johnson's steepest concessions to fiscal hawks, an accelerated rollback of Biden-era green energy tax credits, is also expected to face Senate scrutiny, given that many red states benefit from them.
“I think that even if we're going to revise them, we've got to make sure that businesses who believe the government was setting this as a priority don't have a lot of stranded costs,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters.
Some changes to the House bill were expected, thanks to the strict rules of reconciliation, a budget process that allows Republicans to sidestep the filibuster.
Sen. John Boozman (R-AK), the Agriculture chairman, said one of the first steps toward passage is running his committee's language by the parliamentarian, a nonpartisan arbiter of Senate rules.
“We don't know,” Boozman said of what will be permitted. “We'll be checking with the parliamentarian to see if any of the things that they've done violate the Byrd Rule. And then that doesn't necessarily mean that we'll do them all, but we'll know what's possible and what's not.”
He also noted concern from some Republican members over changes to food stamps that shift the cost burden onto states.
Other points of friction include the sale of spectrum licenses, with defense hawks warning that the House legislation does not adequately protect the Pentagon's most sensitive radio frequencies from being sold to the private sector.
“I do not believe the votes are here in the Senate unless they make that modification,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), a member of the Armed Services Committee. “I'm convinced we'll get to ‘yes' on it, but it will require fixes in the spectrum portion of it.”
Hawley separately indicated his interest in a higher child tax credit than the $2,500 currently contemplated in the bill.
“Anything higher would be good,” Hawley said.
He also revealed that Trump again lobbied for the so-called carried interest loophole to be closed in a Wednesday evening phone call, though that change is unlikely.
Senate leaders were reluctant to put a date on when they would pass their version of the megabill, but have set Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's requested date of July 4 as an aspirational goal.
“Yet to be determined,” Thune told the Washington Examiner when asked about a Senate timeline.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), the Senate's top tax writer, said the threat of default creates a hard-and-fast deadline for Congress, with Bessent predicting the Treasury will run out of money in August.
“I never do timelines or deadlines, but there is a debt ceiling in there,” Crapo said. The House-passed bill includes a $4 trillion increase to the debt limit.
Complicating that deadline is the risk that Republicans must reconcile their two bills and pass them through each chamber. There are fewer procedural hurdles in the House, whereas the Senate would be forced to undergo another marathon session on the Senate floor known as a “vote-a-rama.”
“I think our goal ought to be the Senate should make the changes we need to make, and then send it back to the House — and that'd be the end of it,” said Hawley.
BIDEN CANCER DIAGNOSIS FUELS GOP INVESTIGATIONS ON CAPITOL HILL
In the meantime, Senate Republicans will be juggling the “one big, beautiful bill” alongside other priorities such as cryptocurrency legislation and the 2026 appropriations process.
Senators departed town on Thursday for a one-week Memorial Day break, but Boozman insisted the recess was not time wasted, telling the Washington Examiner that staff will continue coordinating on the bill text.
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Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang dissects President Donald Trump's relations with China and the Chinese economy on 'Life, Liberty & Levin.'
The recent announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and China is making headline news. It's a political and economic win for President Trump and his administration and it's a clear achievement in the president's America First policy agenda. But while the news of a trade deal with China marks a new dynamic in the U.S.-China relationship, it is still important that we recognize the fact that China continues to pose a major national security threat that no trade deal will immediately fix – especially with the use of Chinese technology by government officials, at the state and federal level, as a national security risk that must be taken seriously.
Chinese-made devices collect critical information and data which, as mandated by the Chinese government, must be shared with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). That means that our most threatening adversaries, like China in this case, could have direct access to sensitive information on U.S. citizens, government communications, military planning, and even defense and critical infrastructure systems. This self-inflicted wound presents a serious threat, yet it does not heal – it persists year after year due to the absence of clear federal direction from the U.S. government.
As someone who served on the frontlines of our homeland security, I find it baffling that we continue allowing this. We permit the U.S. government to gather and store data and conduct critical communications and defense coordination on technologies with a direct line of access to a foreign adversary through their data collection laws. This should be unacceptable.
HEGSETH REVEALS PLANS TO COUNTER CHINA, STAY AHEAD IN ARMS RACE AS PENTAGON PIVOTS TO INDO-PACIFIC
Every time Chinese-made devices enter our government or connect to our networks they jeopardize our national security and the safety of Americans across this great country and in battlegrounds around the world.
What's needed now is bold action to stop this practice – something that only President Trump and today's Congress can deliver on.
As a first step, the Trump administration should immediately consider imposing a government-wide ban across all federal agencies, like the ones I previously served in, on the procurement of computers and other interoperable devices and technologies manufactured by Chinese-domiciled companies.
In turn, Congress should also consider passing federal legislation enshrining this principal, ensuring that national security takes precedent.
Such action would protect critical government infrastructure and citizen's data and prevent Chinese companies from inserting so-called "made in America" backdoor manufacturing policies into devices that compromise our security.
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Lawmakers need to understand the stakes, and the solution for our national security is quite simple.
President Trump is already proving his commitment to confronting China's growing influence in U.S. foreign affairs through bold tariffs, trade deals, and a peace through strength defense strategy. From his trade policies to his efforts to decouple certain sectors of the American economy from China, he is showing the drive and willingness to take strong action.
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We cannot afford to let foreign adversaries weaken our technological foundations. Our national defense depends on secure and trustworthy systems. Allowing Chinese technology into our government's operations undermines that security. The U.S. is far too strong a nation to be undermined by foreign-made technology designed to infiltrate and compromise our systems.
Our American future is at stake. Our way of life is at stake. And these stakes are simply far too high to do anything less. President Trump's leadership to embolden Congress will put America first. I'm confident Congress will do what is right. American lives are on the line.
Chad Wolf is the former acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and founder and CEO of Wolf Global Advisors.
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USA Fencing chair Damien Lehfeldt was grilled by the DOGE subcommittee after Stephanie Turner was punished for refusing to face a trans competitor.
Just over a year ago, I argued in Fox News that national governing bodies like USA Volleyball and USA Fencing were corruptibly operating outside of accountability. Now they are saying the quiet part out loud, admitting in Congressional testimony and written policy that they won't comply with female-safety/opportunity standards unless "required by oversight bodies." Female athletes like me have suffered the devastating consequence of the lack of NGB oversight, and it is time Congress and the White House finally call them out.
USA Fencing released a "Revised Transgender & Non-Binary Athlete Eligibility Policy" earlier this month with the added note "it will only be implemented if required by oversight bodies." This follows their humiliating spotlight when female fencer Stephanie Turner had to bow out of her own competition when the rule makers allowed a male opponent to jeopardize her safety. The USA Fencing-sanctioned event issued her a disqualifying black card as a "direct result of her decision to decline to fence an eligible opponent."
Their "inclusive" message was exposed in the light—it's nothing but discriminatory exclusion.
USA FENCING TRANSGENDER CONTROVERSY ESCALATES AT DOGE HEARING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA REGRETS, CALLS FOR RESIGNATION
The story doesn't end with Stephanie. Reduxx continues to uncover more men masquerading as women in USA Fencing competitions, some of which hold leadership positions within the organization. Their elevated platforms affirms the ideologically captured state of the board who voted against playing the national anthem at championships earlier this year and openly admits to factoring ratings from LGBTMAP.org and healthcare access (abortion laws) into fencing site selection.
Congress certifies these sports' national governing bodies (NGBs) through the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. Doing this largely yields oversight responsibilities to the USOPC, which generally allows for regulatory autonomy.
But this yielded authority is not just about general rules of sport; it directs eligibility standards, informs university rulemaking, dictates how our country is represented in the Olympics, and more.
It's hard to ignore the politically charged nature of athletics in today's climate, from covering USA jerseys in sexual pride to recognizing DEI as a core tenant of sports governance (see: USOPC "Diversity Scorecards"). It is clear; the USOPC's passivity has enabled the NGB's to operate as extended political arms with Congressional approval and very little accountability.
But their politically-charged discrimination has now made its way to the national stage.
Last month, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) penned a letter to USA Fencing requiring they "must comply with United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee rules and procedures, its statutory obligations to protect women, and President Trump's recent Executive Order (EO) on Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" to keep their NGB certification.
While the NGBs already hold a specific obligation to ensure fairness and safety, President Trump's executive order specifically clarifies the secretary of state must "use all appropriate and available measures to see that the International Olympic Committee amends the standards governing Olympic sports to promote fairness, safety, and the best interests of female athletes by ensuring that eligibility for participation in women's sporting events is determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction."
Sen. Cruz's letter brought the weight of the Upper Chamber in his demands for documentation, clarity on how many men were competing in their women's categories, answers for their compliance in accordance with the executive order, and more.
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In the House of Representatives, the DOGE subcommittee invited Stephanie Turner and USA Fencing Board Chair Damien Lehfeldt to testify in a hearing on May 7th. After refusing the invitation, the Committee required Mr. Lehfeldt's appearance by issuing a subpoena. Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said USA Fencing "should not be recognized as the National Governing Body for fencing if it continues to defy the law."
USA Fencing is facing heat from all angles. Good.
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During the hearing, Mr. Lehfeldt said he is "prepared to pivot" if the Ted Stevens Act is amended or the IOC directs them. But it begs a greater question; why must the federal government force them to protect female athletes? Why hasn't the USOPC stood up for female athletes?
Without the accountability of the people and their elected representatives, NGBs have pursued policy goals that hurt women and undermine our country's values. Congress and the White House must continue to strengthen enforcement through the USOPC and remind NGBs that our country is a place for opportunity, not politically charged discrimination.
Macy Petty is a former NCAA volleyball player, a Concerned Women for America legislative strategist and women's sports spokesperson.
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Revelations about former President Joe Biden's mental and physical decline in office have set off a credibility crisis in the Democratic Party that may take years to overcome, according to political strategists.
Biden, 82, faced public skepticism about his ability to carry out presidential duties after he decided to run for reelection. New reporting from several books, such as Original Sin, suggests that the former president's allies knew he was cognitively unable to handle reelection and purposely hid that knowledge from the public.
COMER INVESTIGATES BIDEN'S DOCTOR AND AIDES, CALLING FOR CONGRESSIONAL INTERVIEWS
Biden's surprise announcement last week of aggressive prostate cancer has reignited questions about his tenure in the White House. President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have called for investigations into Biden's aides and health team to determine who was running the White House and signing government documents.
Dave Carney, a Republican strategist based in New Hampshire, thinks the Democratic Party's credibility may be shot for a generation.
“Does anybody believe what Enron says?” he asked, referring to the Fortune 500 company that succumbed to a billion-dollar accounting scandal in 2001. “This is a catastrophic ethical line that they've crossed. Even their biggest defenders in the media have turned on them. No one believes accounting from Enron post-collapse, and no one is going to believe what Democrats say post-collapse.”
Carney said the Democratic Party will require a massive change in leadership before anyone buys what it's selling, and that regaining trust is very difficult in politics.
The decisions of Biden's inner circle have rippled out to the entire Democratic Party, which is suffering from historically low approval ratings.
The fallout for Democrats couldn't come at a worse time, as they are trying to develop a cohesive strategy to counter Trump as he upends foreign and domestic policy at a dizzying pace.
But as they go on offense, including against the GOP budget reconciliation bill as a giveaway to billionaires, Republicans counter that Democrats who defended or even downplayed Biden's health problems can't be trusted on any issue.
“The same people who have been telling you that President Biden's health was just fine are now telling you all these other things about millionaires and billionaires,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said on the House floor before final passage of the “one big, beautiful bill” legislation.
Republicans intend to keep the spotlight on Democrats with investigations into Biden's use of an autopen to conduct presidential business and whether the former president's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, lied to the public about Biden's health problems.
Biden last received a prostate-specific antigen blood test, which helps detect prostate cancer, in 2014, according to a spokeswoman. On top of the decision not to give Biden a cognitive test, the disclosure raised fresh questioning about why O'Connor would have allowed Biden to go more than a decade without the cancer screening.
“As we keep learning, the concerns over Biden's health as president were very real and deeper than most know, and questions of how we were being governed are legitimate,” said Douglas Heye, a GOP strategist and a former Republican National Committee communications director. “These questions aren't going away, and if Democrats want to move past this and try to rebuild the trust they squandered, they should want to have this resolved as soon as possible.”
Ford O'Connell, another GOP strategist, claimed the severity of Biden's problems and other members of his administration couldn't be ignored.
“You cannot let this go by. This can never happen again, regardless of party, because you're talking about national security,” said O'Connell. “And add in all the other stuff that went on during this, like Lloyd Austin just disappears for three days. There's some people that need to be legally held accountable after the dust settles.”
O'Connell was referencing the stunning revelation that Biden's former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin kept his prostate cancer diagnosis and hospitalization for treatment hidden from the public last year.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Democrats' handling of Biden's health “truly one of the worst political scandals this country has ever seen. That the previous administration covered up the decline in the former president's mental and physical ability, and it's now all coming out.”
A Democratic operative, who requested anonymity to speak freely, claimed, “Democrats will restore accountability when we produce candidates voters can trust.”
Democrats are still struggling to determine how best to counter Trump and win back voters who historically voted blue but drifted to the GOP under Trump. In addition to Biden's decline, Democrats are also in a fierce internal debate over age and elderly lawmakers blocking the next generation from leadership.
These issues, which some Democrats claim are distractions, have made it harder for the party to unite to oppose Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a boon to the GOP.
“The problems that face the Democrats are far deeper than Joe Biden's obvious infirmities,” said GOP strategist John Feehery. The bigger problem is “they have abandoned the white working class, which used to be the heart of their party.”
TRUMP RAMPS UP QUESTIONING OF BIDEN'S FITNESS AS DEMOCRATS CALL FOR A COOLDOWN
To fix it, Ohio-based GOP strategist Jai Chabria says the party will need not only its own Trump-like figure to give it new direction in 2028, but its own Joe Rogan to carry that message to the masses because the media is also wrapped up in the Biden scandal.
“The mainstream media was the Democratic Party's biggest weapon,” he said. “That was their biggest way to get a message out, and when that has been discredited, what do they do?”
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Fox News correspondent Nate Foy shares an update on the individuals arrested for allegedly assisting New Orleans' escaped prisoners on 'Special Report.'
A third alleged accomplice has been arrested in connection with the escape of one of ten inmates from the Orleans Parish Correctional Facility, according to Louisiana State Police.
Connie Weeden, 59, is believed to have assisted the fugitives and was taken into custody following an investigation that revealed she was in contact via phone with escapee Jermaine Donald – both before and after the escape. Donald remains at large.
Authorities say Weeden gave cash to Donald via a "cell phone app." She has been charged with one felony count of accessory after the fact and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center.
TWO MORE ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY AIDING NEW ORLEANS JAILBREAK FUGITIVES
Connie Weeden, 59, is believed to have assisted the fugitives and was taken into custody following an investigation that revealed she was in contact via phone before and after the escape with escapee Jermaine Donald (who remains at large). (St. Tammany Parish Jail)
"According to Louisiana law, those convicted of accessory after the fact shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or both," a statement from the LA state police said. "Law enforcement personnel from multiple local, state, and federal agencies will continue to pursue every lead until the remaining fugitives are located. Those who choose to assist or conceal these individuals are violating the law and will be held accountable. Harboring fugitives threatens the safety of our communities and will not be tolerated."
AUNT URGES CONVICTED MURDERER TO SURRENDER AS ORLEANS PARISH JAIL MANHUNT CONTINUES
10 inmates escaped from the jail, according to authorities. (Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office / WVUE)
Weeden is the third person charged for aiding the escapees since the jailbreak. Cortnie Harris and Corvanntay Baptiste were previously accused of providing support and transportation to other escapees.
Authorities say 10 inmates escaped from the jail. (WVUE)
The following fugitives are still at large:
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A U.S. district judge in California blocked the Trump administration on Thursday from revoking the legal status of international students.
District Judge Jeffrey White blocked the government until the case is resolved from arresting, imprisoning, or transporting foreign students anywhere else, with exceptions made for those who have been convicted of a violent crime carrying a prison sentence of a year or more.
The nationwide injunction was enacted after lawyers for nearly two dozen students sued following Immigration and Customs Enforcement's termination of their legal status, and the legal status of thousands of other foreign students, in April amid President Donald Trump's deportation effort.
Lawyers with the U.S. government have contended that such legal protections are unneeded, citing the reinstatement of the visas, but White countered that the rescindments, still in the students' records, hindered their ability to change or receive a new visa and “wreaked havoc” on the lives of those using such visas.
GERRY CONNOLLY'S DEATH REIGNITES DEMOCRATIC DEBATE OVER AGE
The Department of Homeland Security had canceled the visas of students after running the names of suspects who were arrested on charges of their involvement in pro-Palestinian rallies. These students may have had the charges dropped or were never charged, though the Trump administration argues it was executing its authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The news comes as the Trump administration blocked Harvard University from admitting international students on Thursday. International students attending the school must transfer to other universities to maintain their nonimmigrant status.
Robert Blankenship contributed to this story.
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The federal government may have partial answers on the purported causes of autism by this fall, but not the full picture, as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised in April.
Kennedy sat down with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Thursday shortly after a White House event to release the Make America Healthy Again Commission's first report, which argued that ultaprocessed foods, environmental toxins and overmedication are driving a rise in childhood chronic illnesses.
The commission's next report, spelling out strategies to combat chronic diseases across health, agricultural and environmental agencies, will be released this August, Kennedy said.
But his self-declared deadline to distill the drivers of autism by September — as Kennedy announced in an April Cabinet meeting — is slipping.
“We'll have some of the information [by September]. To get the most solid information, it will probably take us another six months,” Kennedy said Thursday. By the end of those additional six months, or roughly March, “I expect we will know the answers of the etiology of autism,” he said.
Autism researchers and scientists have questioned the likelihood of delivering definitive conclusions on the drivers of autism in such a short timeframe, considering the years of research that is often undertaken in this area.
That research has already identified likely factors leading to autism, including genetics and prenatal exposures.
Related article
First MAHA health report calls for reassessing medicines, processed foods, pesticides
Yet Kennedy said Thursday that HHS “will have some studies completed by September,” primarily replications of previous research. “We're also deploying new teams of scientists, 15 groups of scientists. We're going to send those grants out to bid within three weeks,” he said.
National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya has suggested that results could take longer. “Science happens at its own pace,” he told reporters in April, adding that he would like to see “preliminary results” within a year.
The ability to replicate research, or repeat studies and arrive at the same results, has been a core priority of Bhattacharya and was highlighted in the MAHA report. Kennedy seemed to suggest Thursday that scientists could draw different conclusions from that research than those working on previous studies.
Kennedy also addressed his terse exchanges in Senate hearings this month with Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who has questioned his response to an ongoing lead crisis in Milwaukee public schools.
Kennedy told senators during an appropriations hearing this week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a team on the ground in Milwaukee to help. The city said that is not true.
In his interview with CNN, Kennedy clarified Thursday that the CDC is giving Milwaukee assistance “with their lab, their analytics and advice,” but said he did not know how many CDC officials were onsite in Milwaukee.
CNN's Collins said there was one technician on the ground, before Kennedy referenced those hearings.
“You could hear my other exchanges with Tammy Baldwin,” he said. “And anyway, I'm not necessarily believing what Senator Baldwin says.”
Kennedy also addressed the pushback from major agricultural groups Thursday over the MAHA report's inclusion of studies suggesting toxic exposure from commonly used herbicides.
Organizations including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Corn Growers Association released statements saying the insinuations about pesticide risks could erode Americans' confidence in the national food supply.
Related article
Cracks emerge in MAHA-MAGA alliance as RFK Jr. builds out his team of health ‘renegades'
Asked about their criticisms, Kennedy emphasized the need for farmers and the agricultural industry to be on board with the MAHA agenda.
“If we lose the farmers, the MAHA agenda is bankrupt,” he said. “We don't want to put a single farmer out of business. What we want to do is create incentives and innovation to allow them to innovate themselves, to use less chemical intensive [methods,] but we're not a nanny state.”
Collins also asked Kennedy about the affordability of whole foods compared to less expensive ultraprocessed options.
“It's an illusion to think that processed food is cheap, because you end up paying for it with diabetes, you end up paying for it with autoimmune dysregulation, with mitochondrial dysfunction, with inflammation, and you end up paying much higher costs in the long run,” he said.
Kennedy also doubled down on comments during a budget hearing last week, when he said that Americans should not take medical advice from him.
“They probably shouldn't take medical advice from any HHS secretary,” he said Thursday. “I'm somebody who is not a physician. But they should also be skeptical about any medical advice. They need to do their own research.”
Kennedy pointed to frustrations with medical experts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I would say, be skeptical of authority. My father told me that when I was a young kid, people in authority lie,” the health secretary said.
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Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A Georgetown University scholar who was targeted for deportation by the Trump administration said he was terrified during his time in immigration jail. Badar Khan Suri was released on bond last week as his lawsuit against the U.S. government's deportation case continues.
Badar Khan Suri poses for a portrait, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Mapheze Saleh speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Badar Khan Suri hugs his wife Maphaze Saleh as he arrives at Dulles International Airport May 14, 2025, in Dulles, Va. (Phuong Tran/ACLU of Virginia via AP)
Badar Khan Suri holds hands with his wife Maphaze Saleh as he arrives at Dulles International Airport May 14, 2025, in Dulles, Va. (Phuong Tran/ACLU of Virginia via AP)
Badar Khan Suri poses for a photo with his wife Maphaze Saleh as he arrives at Dulles International Airport May 14, 2025, in Dulles, Va. (Phuong Tran/ACLU of Virginia via AP)
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — One of the lowest moments of Badar Khan Suri's two months in federal custody was being crammed onto an airplane with hundreds of other shackled prisoners.
The Trump administration was trying to deport the Georgetown University scholar over statements he made against Israel's war in Gaza. The guards wouldn't say where they were headed, but the Indian national was convinced it was out of the United States.
Then Khan Suri had to use the plane's bathroom. He said the guards refused to unshackle his wrists.
“They said, ‘No, you have to use it like this or do it in your trousers,'” Khan Suri recalled of the trip, taking him to a Louisiana detention center. “They were behaving as if we were animals.”
Khan Suri, 41, was released on bond last week as his lawsuit against the U.S.'s deportation case continues. In an interview with The Associated Press, he spoke Thursday of a cramped cell, crowded with other detainees, where he waited anxiously, fearful about what would happen next.
He also addressed the Trump administration's accusations that he spread “Hamas propaganda.” Khan Suri said he only spoke in support of Palestinians, who are going through an “unprecedented, livestreamed genocide.”
“I don't support Hamas,” he said. “I support Palestine. I support Palestinians. And it is so deceiving for some people who just publish canards ... They will just replace Palestine with Hamas.”
Yet, because of his comments, he said U.S. authorities treated him as if he had committed a high-level crime. Fellow inmates said his red uniform was reserved for the most dangerous offenders.
“I said, 'No, I'm just a university teacher. I did nothing,” Khan Suri recalled.
Still, there were rays of hope. He said more than a hundred people from the Georgetown community wrote letters on his behalf to the federal judge overseeing his case, including some who are Jewish.
A crowd also greeted him when he arrived back in the Washington, D.C., area.
“Hindus, Jews, Christians, Muslims — everyone together,” said Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow who studies religion, peace and violence. “That is the reality I want to live with. That's the reality I want to die for. Those people together.”
U.S. Immigration authorities have detained international college students from across the country — many of whom participated in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war — since the early days of Trump's second administration.
The administration has said it revoked Khan Suri's visa because he was “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” while also citing his connections to “a senior advisor to Hamas,” which court records indicate is his wife Mapheze Saleh's father.
Saleh is a Palestinian American whose father worked with the Hamas-backed Gazan government in the early 2000s, but before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Khan Suri's attorneys have said. They also said he barely knew his father-in-law, Ahmed Yousef.
Khan Suri's attorneys said he wouldn't comment on Yousef during Thursday's interview, which mostly covered his arrest and time in custody. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Khan Suri's statements.
Khan Suri said he was arrested just after he taught his weekly class on minority rights and the majority. Masked police in plain clothes pulled up in an unmarked car outside his suburban Washington home.
They showed no documents, he said. Other than saying his visa was being revoked, they refused to explain the reason for his arrest, which he described it as a “kidnapping.”
“This is not some authoritarian regime,” Khan Suri said. “I was not in Russia or North Korea. I was in the best place in the world. So, I was shocked.”
As police whisked him away, Khan Suri realized they wanted to deport him.
The “dehumanizing procedures” came next: A finger scan, a DNA cotton swab and chains binding his wrists, waist and ankles, he said. They also said he could talk to his wife at a detention center in Virginia, but “that never happened.”
He said he slept on a floor without a blanket and used a toilet monitored by a camera. The next day, he said he and other detainees were placed in a van, which soon rolled up to an airplane.
“I asked them where I am going now? Nobody would reply anything,” Khan Suri said. “They just pushed us in.”
He said the bathroom situation did not get better at a federal detention center in Louisiana, where Khan Suri was taken next. It lacked a privacy barrier and was also watched by a camera.
He was finally able to call his wife, but he said she couldn't hear him. Khan Suri said he was “extremely terrified,” thinking that someone was making his family not reply.
He was not able to speak to a lawyer, while fellow inmates said everyone there is deported within three days, Khan Suri said.
“I was crying from inside, ‘How can this be happening?” he said. “A few hours back, I was in Georgetown teaching my students, talking about peace and conflict analysis.”
Khan Suri said his first seven or eight days of captivity were the same: “Same terror. Same fear. Same uncertainty. Same mockery of rule of law. Same mockery of due process.”
“I was going more and more deeper, reaching to my abyss,” he added. “And I was discovering that the abyss also has more and more depth.”
But he was still praying five times a day, uncertain which direction Mecca was.
“I was very strong like that, that God will help me. American Constitution will help me. American people will help me,” he said.
Afterward, Khan Suri was transferred to a detention facility in Texas, where he said he slept on the floor of a crowded cell for the first two weeks. Eventually, he got his own cot.
And, finally, he was allowed to speak to his attorneys, which he said led to a change in treatment. Khan Suri, who is Muslim, soon received a Quran and then a prayer rug. As for the rug, he rolled it up like it was his young son.
“My eyes would become wet, and I would give that blanket a hug as my son so that this hug should reach him,” Khan Suri said. “And when I came back, he told me the same, that he was hugging a pillow.”
___
Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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President Donald Trump backed a partnership between United States Steel Corp. and Japan's Nippon Steel Corp., crediting his tariff policies for an investment that would keep the iconic American firm in the US.
While Trump appeared to stop short of endorsing Nippon Steel's proposed $14.1 billion takeover of US Steel, shares of the American steelmaker surged as much as 26%, on apparent optimism over the deal's prospects.
President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Friday to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and speed the deployment of new nuclear power reactors in the U.S.
The NRC is a 50-year-old, independent agency that regulates the nation's fleet of nuclear reactors. Trump's orders call for a "total and complete reform" of the agency, a senior White House official told reporters in a briefing. Under the new rules, the commission will be forced to decide on nuclear reactor licenses within 18 months.
Trump said Friday the orders focus on small, advanced reactors that are viewed by many in the industry as the future. But the president also said his administration supports building large plants.
"We're also talking about the big plants — the very, very big, the biggest," Trump said. "We're going to be doing them also."
Nuclear executives joined Trump for the signing ceremony, including Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez. Constellation is the largest operator of nuclear plants in the U.S. Nuclear stocks rallied Friday in response to the president's actions.
When asked whether NRC reform will result in staff reductions, the White House official said "there will be turnover and changes in roles."
"Total reduction in staff is undetermined at this point, but the executive orders do call for a substantial reorganization" of the agency, the official said. The orders, however, will not remove or replace any of the five commissioners who lead the body, according to the White House.
Any reduction in staff at the NRC would come at time when the commission faces a heavy workload. The agency is currently reviewing whether two mothballed nuclear plants, Palisades in Michigan and Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, should restart operations, a historic and unprecedented process.
Dominguez said the nuclear industry's biggest problem has been regulatory delay. Constellation is aiming to bring the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island back online in 2028 after it closed for economic reasons. A separate reactor, Unit 2, was the site of a partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979.
"We're wasting too much time on permitting and we're answering silly questions, not the important ones," the Constellation CEO said.
Trump's orders also create a regulatory framework for the Departments of Energy and Defense to build nuclear reactors on federal land, the administration official said.
"This allows for safe and reliable nuclear energy to power and operate critical defense facilities and AI data centers," the official told reporters. The NRC will not have a direct role, as the departments will use separate authorities under their control to authorize reactor construction for national security purposes, the official said.
The president's orders also aim to jump start the mining of uranium in the U.S. and expand domestic uranium enrichment capacity, the official said. Trump's actions also aim to speed up reactor testing at the Department of Energy's national laboratories.
Investment in nuclear power is growing in the U.S. after a long period of financial turmoil for the industry, including the shutdown of a dozen reactors in recent years as the industry struggled to compete against cheap and abundant natural gas.
Building new nuclear plants in the U.S. is notoriously slow and expensive. The two new reactors that recently came online at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, Georgia took seven years longer-than-planned to build, and came in $18 billion over budget.
But the computer technology industry is now driving the revival in nuclear as it races to meet growing electricity demand from data centers used to drive artificial intelligence. Three Mile Island is expected to return to service with financial support from Microsoft, for example, and Alphabet and Amazon are investing in small, advanced reactors.
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Trump's Higher Ed Fight:
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump is “moving forward” with efforts to revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status, ratcheting up the government's high-profile clash with one of the nation's wealthiest and most prestigious schools.
Harvard may not be complying with some of the rules that govern institutions with the federal tax benefit, Bessent told Bloomberg Television's David Westin on Friday. “We will see if they are following the rules,” he said. “It looks like there is a substantial number where perhaps they weren't.”
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US stocks fell ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, with investors reacting to the latest trade war rhetoric from President Donald Trump.
Here's where major indexes stood at 3:10 p.m. in New York on Friday:
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday morning that Apple would be subject to a 25% tariff if it did not make iPhones in the US, and "not in India, or anyplace else."
Apple shares dropped, falling as much as 4% to $193.46.
Meanwhile, the president said in a separate post that he would recommend a 50% tariff on the European Union starting on June 1.
"The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with," Trump wrote.
Going beyond stocks, the US dollar index dropped as much as 0.8% on Friday.
The fresh tariff threats have re-escalated the trade war right as investors were feeling as though the worst of the chaos may be over. Softer rhetoric and the US and China's deal to lower tariffs for 90 days have helped the S&P 500 rally almost 11% in a month, though this week's panic over the budget deficit has added a new layer of worry to the market.
Bond yields were lower on Friday, sparked by investors' fleeing to safety as stocks were rattled by tariff fears. The 10-year Treasury yield was down four basis points to 4.50%, reversing direction after being down as much as nine basis points earlier in the day. The long-dated 30-year bond yield was three basis points lower at 5.03%.
"I think as we get closer to the end of this 90-day window for these trade negotiations, the market is really going to start focusing on tariffs more and more," Paul Hickey, co-founder of Bespoke Investment Group, told Business Insider. Trump's tariff pause is due to end on July 9.
Markets were also assessing new comments from a top Federal Reserve official on the outlook for interest rates.
"If we can get the tariffs down close to the 10% and then that's all sealed, done and delivered somewhere by July, then we're in good shape for the second half of the year, and then we're in a good position to kind of move with rate cuts through the second half of the year," Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in an interview on Fox Business.
Hickey said that Waller is known to be more dovish, so his comments aren't wholly surprising. He added that bond investors may also be encouraged on Friday by a Supreme Court ruling that insulated Fed Chair Jerome Powell, even as the high court said Trump could fire other agency heads.
Jump to
Immediately after the Trump administration blocked Harvard University on Thursday from enrolling future international students and retaining currently enrolled foreign students, some members of next year's freshman class started scrambling.
"I was on the phone with a parent who was visibly shaken and completely frantic," said Christopher Rim, president and CEO of college consulting firm Command Education.
Rim, who works with a large share of international students from abroad, said a few of his clients were accepted into the Class of 2029 and committed to Harvard on May 1, also known as National College Decision Day, which was just three weeks ago.
Now, they don't know what to do.
"This is a major moment in these students' lives," Rim said. "Given the circumstances and policies and laws that we have right now, we are advising these families to look into taking a gap year — hopefully by then, the Trump administration and Harvard can come to an agreement."
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security terminated Harvard's student and exchange visitor program certification, therefore blocking foreign students from enrolling and forcing existing foreign students to transfer or lose their legal status.
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Friday temporarily halted the Trump administration's ban on international students, following a petition from Harvard earlier in the day calling for a reversal of the policy.
The legal battle puts Harvard international students in a "limbo state," said Mark Kantrowitz, a higher education expert.
International students accounted for 27% of Harvard's total enrollment in the 2024-25 academic year. That's up from 20% during 2006-07.
Kantrowitz doesn't expect the Trump administration to prevail in Harvard's lawsuit, though of course it's a possibility, he said.
More from Personal Finance:Wage garnishment for defaulted student loans to beginWhat loan forgiveness opportunities remain under TrumpIs college still worth it? It is for most, but not all
The latest move came amid an escalating standoff between the government and the Ivy League school after Harvard refused to meet a set of demands issued by the Trump administration's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.
"It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement Thursday.
In a statement on Friday, Harvard called Thursday's action "unlawful and unwarranted."
"It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams," Harvard said.
"It's a shock," said Hafeez Lakhani, founder and president of Lakhani Coaching in New York.
"At a time when international applications — and international yield — are under pressure, this sends a signal to the rest of the world that not only is Harvard closed to the international best and brightest, but that the U.S. is not a welcome place for international students," Lakhani said.
International enrollment is an important source of revenue for schools, which is why colleges tend to rely on a contingent of foreign students, who typically pay full tuition.
Altogether, international student enrollment contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023-24, according to a report by NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
During that academic year, there were more than 1.1 million international undergraduate and graduate students in the U.S., mostly from India and China, making up slightly less than 6% of the total U.S. higher education population, according to the latest Open Doors data, released by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education.
In the 2023-24 academic year, the U.S. hosted a record number of students from abroad, marking a 7% increase from the previous year.
Kantrowitz's advice to admitted or enrolled international students at Harvard: Start exploring your options but don't make any sudden moves until you hear from the university.
"Harvard is going to be scrambling to deal with this, and they will issue guidance to admitted students and the enrolled students," Kantrowitz said.
In its statement, Harvard called international students and scholars "vital members of our community."
"We will support you as we do our utmost to ensure that Harvard remains open to the world," it said.
Transferring to another U.S. school may have its own risks, Kantrowitz said.
"I've heard from [Harvard] students who are seeking to transfer," Kantrowitz said. "But that might be jumping from the frying pan into fire. These other colleges could be targeted soon enough."
It may also be difficult for Harvard's incoming freshman class to transfer to another university, Kantrowitz said. Many institutions may already be at full enrollment for the coming academic year, he said.
There are currently more than 300 U.S. schools still accepting applications for prospective first-year and transfer students for the upcoming fall term, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
Harvard students who require financial aid may have a tougher time transferring, depending on the university, compared to those who don't need assistance, Kantrowitz said.
That's because many schools use "need sensitive" or "need aware" admissions for international students, Kantrowitz said. That means they consider the student's financial need when choosing whether to accept the student.
Already, some of Lakhani's college-bound clients have started considering schools outside the U.S., fueled by fear about rapid policy changes, he said.
Indeed, some schools overseas are trying to woo Harvard's international students in light of the Trump administration's recent maneuver. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, for example, issued an "open invitation" to Harvard students on Friday to continue their education there, to "pursue their educational goals without disruption."
"This sends a clear signal for the best and brightest to look elsewhere — including other countries — to thrive intellectually," Lakhani said.
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U.S. travel to Portugal has boomed in recent years, and it's now the No. 1 country where Americans are hoping to move abroad.
That's according to a survey of 116,363 Americans who looked into leaving the U.S. throughout 2024 administered by Expatsi, a company that provides relocation tours and expat resources.
Visitors to Expatsi's website are invited to complete a 20-question assessment to see which country might suit them best, based on their lifestyle preferences (like weather and local policy), future plans (like studying or working), financial means and other factors.
Survey-takers are also asked about the countries they're most interested in learning more about. The top-requested countries include:
Portugal is also the No. 1 most recommended country to survey-takers based on the preferences they select in the assessment, followed by France, Spain, Greece and Switzerland.
The top reason people give for wanting to move out of the U.S. is for adventure, enrichment and growth, according to the survey. Some 56% of respondents say the U.S. is too conservative, while 53% feel the country is too divided. Roughly half of the expat-curious say they want to move for more or different freedoms, and to avoid the threat of gun violence; 41% say they hope to save money while living abroad.
Two-thirds of Expatsi's test-takers say they want to leave the U.S. by 2026, with 12% saying they hope to move in the next six months. Thirty percent hope to retire abroad, 18% are seeking a digital nomad visa, and 17% say they will move with a skilled worker visa.
More Americans have considered moving abroad since the 2024 presidential elections.
A CNBC analysis of U.S. Google search data showed a spike in users searching for terms related to "how to move to X country" beginning in June 2024. Site traffic to Expatsi spiked to nearly 51,000 visitors in the month of November, up from roughly 8,000 in October, following President Donald Trump's re-election.
Interest in Expatsi's resources tend to rise after contentious political events, says Jen Barnett, who co-founded the company with her husband Brett Andrews in 2022 and saw a first wave of interest after the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned that summer.
Now, their business is booming.
Expatsi's revenue is up 19,632% year-over-year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It, as the company sold a growing suite of products including relocation scouting trips, one-on-one consultations and tickets to events like a conference in San Antonio starting Friday and running through the weekend, where over 300 guests will hear from speakers to learn about the process of moving abroad: from obtaining a visa and moving your finances overseas, to choosing the right neighborhood and finding a job as a foreigner.
The company helped more than 200 people go on relocation tours in 2024, Barnett tells Make It. "About 5% are fully moved, and another 25% are in the paperwork stage, meaning they've filed visa applications or have appointments to file," she says.
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The Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation headquarters in Mclean, Virginia.
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. will cut about 7% of its almost 36,000 employees this quarter in response to the Trump administration's move to shrink government spending.
Most of the headcount reductions will take place in the civil business, Chief Financial Officer Matt Calderone said on an earnings call Friday.
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The once-solid relationship between President Donald Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook is breaking down over the idea of a U.S.-made iPhone.
Last week, Trump said he "had a little problem with Tim Cook," and on Friday, he threatened to slap a 25% tariff on iPhones in a social media post.
Trump is upset with Apple's plan to source the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. from its factory partners in India, instead of China. Cook officially confirmed this plan earlier this month during earnings.
Trump wants Apple to build iPhones for the U.S. market in the U.S. and has continued to pressure the company and Cook.
"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone's that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday.
Analysts said it would probably make more sense for Apple to eat the cost rather than move production stateside.
"In terms of profitability, it's way better for Apple to take the hit of a 25% tariff on iPhones sold in the US market than to move iPhone assembly lines back to US," wrote Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on X.
UBS analyst David Vogt said that the potential 25% tariffs were a "jarring headline," but that they would only be a "modest headwind" to Apple's earnings, dropping annual earnings by 51 cents per share, versus a prior expectation of 34 cents per share under the current tariff landscape.
Experts have long held that a U.S.-made iPhone is impossible at worst and highly expensive at best.
Analysts have said that made in U.S.A. iPhones would be much more expensive, CNBC previously reported, with some estimates ranging between $1,500 to $3,500 to buy one at retail. Labor costs would certainly rise.
But it would also be logistically complicated.
Supply chains and factories take years to build out, including installing equipment and staffing up. Parts that Apple imported to the United States for assembly might be subject to tariffs as well.
Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 but it was only in recent years that the region was capable of building Apple's latest devices.
"We believe the concept of Apple producing iPhones in the US is a fairy tale that is not feasible," wrote Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a note on Friday.
Other analysts were wary about predicting how Trump's threat ultimately plays out. Apple might be able to strike a deal with the administration — despite the eroding relationship — or challenge the tariffs in court.
For now, most of Apple's most important products are exempt from tariffs after Trump gave phones and computers a tariff waiver — even from China — in April, but Apple doesn't know how the Trump administration's tariffs will ultimately play out beyond June.
"We're skeptical," that the 25% tariff will materialize, wrote Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers.
He wrote that Apple could try to preserve its roughly 41% gross margin on iPhones by raising prices in the U.S. by between $100 or $300 per phone.
It's unclear how Trump intends to target Apple's India-made iPhones. Rakers wrote that the administration could put specific tariffs on phone imports from India.
Apple's operations in India continue to expand.
Foxconn, which assembles iPhones for Apple, is building a new $1.5 billion factory in India that could do some iPhone production, the Financial Times reported Thursday.
Apple declined to comment on Trump's post.
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Canada's economy is likely in the early stages of a recession, according to forecasters, as unemployment rises and exports fall because of a trade war with the US.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg say output will shrink 1% on an annualized basis in the second quarter and 0.1% in the third quarter, a technical recession.
A federal judge further blocked the Trump administration from sharply cutting jobs and reorganizing the structure of many major federal agencies as part of its so-called DOGE effort under billionaire Elon Musk.
The order issued late Thursday granted a preliminary injunction that pauses further reductions in force and "reorganization of the executive branch for the duration of the lawsuit."
The Trump administration on Friday morning appealed the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and is expected to ask that court to block the injunction from taking effect.
"Presidents may set policy priorities for the executive branch, and agency heads may implement them. This much is undisputed," wrote Judge Susan Illston in her order in U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California.
"But Congress creates federal agencies, funds them, and gives them duties that — by statute — they must carry out," Illston wrote.
"Agencies may not conduct large-scale reorganizations and reductions in force in blatant disregard of Congress's mandates, and a President may not initiate large-scale executive branch reorganization without partnering with Congress."
Illston's injunction was issued in response to a lawsuit challenging the effects of a Feb. 11 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which said it "commences a critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy." The order directed heads of federal agencies to prepare for large-scale reductions in force.
The suit was filed by a group of unions representing federal workers, as well as advocacy groups, and several cities, states and counties.
The Trump administration has already requested that the Supreme Court issue an emergency pause of Illston's initial temporary restraining order blocking its reorganization efforts.
"That far-reaching order bars almost the entire Executive Branch from formulating and implementing plans to reduce the size of the federal workforce, and requires disclosure of sensitive and deliberative agency documents that are presumptively protected by executive privilege," wrote U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer in the May 16 application to the high court.
"Neither Congress nor the Executive Branch has ever intended to make federal bureaucrats 'a class with lifetime employment, whether there was work for them to do or not,'" Sauer wrote. "This Court should stay the district court's order."
The mass firing of federal employees has been a pillar of Trump's domestic policy in the early months of his second term.
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It's been rare for a string of positive economic news to emerge out of the U.K. in 2025 — but this week in particular has given Britain three reasons to be optimistic.
Data on Friday signaled unexpected positive momentum in the country's economy, with retail sales rising by a much better-than-expected 1.2% in April, and GfK's consumer confidence index showing an improvement in sentiment.
Sterling gained 0.6% against the U.S. dollar after the figures were published on Friday, to trade at around $1.35.
The combination of the two positive figures on Friday bucked expectations, and logic, for some economists. Economic activity in April was widely expected to show a downtrend, in part thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war.
"Well now, that challenges the idea of a cautious consumer," said Rob Wood, chief U.K. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, adding that a number of factors, some not influenced by politicians or businesses, were at play.
"That said, official sales growth looks too good to be true, likely as the seasonal adjustment fails to adequately control for the later Easter this year," Wood added. "There's no doubt the weather helped a lot, with both March and April registering the most sunshine since records began."
Taken in isolation, Friday's retail figures and consumer confidence data perhaps point to growth in the current quarter. However, British electricity regulator Ofgem added to the positive sentiment by declaring on Friday that electricity prices are set to decline by 7% in July. That could potentially fuel spending in other sectors in the coming months.
"This is certainly an improvement for household expenses, with monthly bills likely to fall on average by around £11," said Ellie Henderson, economist at Investec.
Meanwhile, the string of positive elements could potentially bump up U.K. economic growth for the second quarter as a whole, according to Allan Monks, chief U.K. economist at JPMorgan who is forecasting a 0.6% annualised gain.
"With the household savings rate so high, a continued improvement in confidence has the potential to unlock further consumer spending gains," JP Morgan's Monks said in a note to clients on Friday. "High inflation, softer wage growth and weak employment argue against a continuation of that trend. But the rise in confidence in May was matched by a notable drop in unemployment fears, lower inflation expectations and a rise in spending intentions."
The outlook for the U.K. has seesawed over the past year. The country has grappled with setbacks like unexpected economic contraction and mounting concern about fiscal spending plans, while also seeing some more positive data and the agreement of landmark trade deals with the U.S., India and the EU.
Earlier this week, official figures showed the economy grew by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2025 — although that came as domestic inflation surged to 3.5% in April. Last week, another data print showed average earnings in the U.K. had grown by 5.9% on an annual basis.
The mix of data meant economists appeared divided on Friday about what the latest bout of data meant for the U.K.'s long term economic picture.
Alex Kerr, U.K. economist at Capital Economics, warned that "the sun won't shine on [Britain's] retail sector forever."
"Although for the first time since 2015, excluding the pandemic, retail sales volumes have risen for four months in a row, April's impressive 1.2% m/m rise was largely driven by the unusually warm weather," he said in a note sent shortly after the figures were published.
"That boost won't last. So even though consumer confidence ticked up slightly in May, we suspect retail sales growth will slow over the coming months."
While most economists viewed the small increase in consumer confidence in May as a positive signal for next quarter's economic growth, others suggested that as overall sentiment remains below pre-pandemic levels, the link between spending and sentiment may be broken instead.
"Depressed British consumers have resorted to retail therapy to cope with their economic and financial woes," said Andrew Wishart, senior UK economist at Berenberg.
Instead, Wishart said a combination of the pandemic, and the ensuing inflation and interest rate hikes led consumers to shore up their finances.
"Households have increased their saving rate (the share of household income not spent) to a level previously unseen outside of periods of mass unemployment," Wishart added.
Having stabilized their bank balances and secured pay rises, consumers are now spending in anticipation of a more stable interest rate and price environment, according to the economist.
Counter intuitively, the additional spending means the Bank of England was more likely to hold rates for the rest of the year, than cut, he added.
Janet Mui, head of market analysis at wealth manager RBC Brewin Dolphin, said in an email on Friday morning that with wage growth now outpacing inflation, U.K. households are spending more generously. However, she cautioned that the state of Britain's public finances "remain a constraint."
"With higher borrowing costs, more tax rises and departmental spending cuts may happen," she explained. "This poses some medium-term growth risks for the U.K amid ongoing uncertainty with how the global trade situation will settle."
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This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shreya Mishra Reddy, a 33-year-old Visa technical program manager completing Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development. It has been edited for length and clarity. BI has verified her enrollment in the program.
I'm an international student at Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development, and I'm reeling from the news of the Trump administration blocking Harvard from enrolling foreign students.
I moved to the US from India in 2021 to do my master's at Duke University, and then got my dream job at Visa in Austin.
After I started working at Visa, I came across this program at Harvard, which is an alternative to their executive MBA. I applied to that program, and I absolutely did not think that I would get accepted, but I did. It was one of the best moments of my life.
When I told my parents, they were so excited. I went from being a first-generation immigrant in the US to being accepted to one of the best schools in the world.
I took out a loan to fund the $50,000 tuition fee, and now I'm on the verge of completing the course. I just have one module left, from May to July.
I was at home in the middle of a meeting when I saw the news pop up on my phone that Harvard had been banned from accepting international students.
I went numb for a minute because I knew my module was supposed to start in a few days, and I was supposed to travel to Boston in July. My tickets are all booked.
When I read the news, the first thing I did was text my father back in India, saying that I don't know if I'm going to be able to graduate from Harvard. I don't know if I will be allowed back on campus or able to travel to Boston at all, and I'm really worried.
I've emailed the university to ask what was happening and if they had an update for us, but I haven't heard back yet.
I hope to hear back soon because the program starts in just a few days.
I was excited to start classes again, meet all the professors back on campus, and see my batchmates again.
Harvard's program was one of the best experiences I've had so far. The professors were extremely invested in our growth, and the candidates in my program held C-suite positions in Big Tech companies. The class discussions were excellent.
With this news, I don't plan to enroll in another school for the executive program.
Getting into Harvard was not just about a degree; it was about studying in one of my dream schools. It does not make sense for me to try to pursue the same kind of degree from any other school or country.
I'm now on an optional practical training (OPT) visa that expires in January, and I've not had any luck getting picked for an H-1B visa. So, I'm planning to leave the country in January.
But I don't know where I'll go or what I'll do. It's all up in the air now.
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Ethereum eyes a breakout past $3,000, Shiba Inu gains 20% in a month, and AI-powered Unilabs draws whale interest.
Table of Contents
While it has been an exciting week for Bitcoin after registering a new high, the same can't be said for altcoins. The Ethereum price has been underwhelming despite BTC crossing $111,000, but a bounce might be close. Meanwhile, Shiba Inu coin whales have been doubling down on Unilabs (UNIL), a new ICO.
This new player stands out for its deep AI integration and blend of TradFi and DeFi. Its unique value proposition revolves around identifying high-potential digital assets early through artificial intelligence, thereby assisting retail traders to maximize gains — an AI-backed DeFi asset manager. With the UNIL token in presale, it is on experts' lists of the best AI coins to buy now.
Unilabs, an emerging AI-DeFi coin, stands out in the ICO scene for its novelty. Early funding surpassing $810,000 highlights its upside potential and, most importantly, real-world applications. With over $30 million in Assets Under Management (AUM) as of the second quarter of 2025, the increasing demand and interest in this AI-driven DeFi asset manager is understandable.
The goal of the platform is to democratize access to alpha by equipping retail investors with AI-enhanced portfolios and transparent performance metrics for better investment decisions. Key features include a mining pool, flash loan accelerator, stablecoin savings account, self-custodial asset value and cross-chain trading hub.
Unlike conventional protocols, the UNIL protocol will operate a state-of-the-art mining pool with cutting-edge hardware. Further, its DEX aggregator will be compatible with multiple blockchains. Equally important, users will have full ownership and protection over their digital assets, self-custodial storage solutions.
Despite recording a 65% monthly gain, the Ethereum price has been underwhelming these past few days, especially with BTC reaching a new peak. It consolidated around $2,600, down from its 30-day high of $2,736.
Nevertheless, the moving averages flash “strong buy.” The 9-HMA and 20-VWMA suggest now might be a great time to stack up. Reclaiming its monthly peak might ignite a rally toward $3,000, making the current Ethereum price a good entry.
In addition, experts believe the Layer-1 altcoin is among this cycle's best DeFi tokens to buy, especially with the ETH ETFs. Washigorira, a leading expert on Crypto Twitter, expects the Ethereum price to range between $3,000 and $3,500 in the coming weeks. VECTORCP, another crypto expert, echoes this bullish Ethereum price prediction — a run toward $3,200 and $3,800.
Like the rest of the crypto market, the Shiba Inu coin performed well this month — a 20% upswing in the past 30 days. The bulls maintain the $0.000015 price level, with a breakout expected to ignite a run toward $0.00002.
BezosCrypto, with an optimistic outlook, targets $0.00017 this cycle, a bold Shiba Inu price prediction. LordOfAlts, also optimistic, believes the Shiba Inu coin rally is just starting, identifying the growing adoption of Shibarium as a bullish catalyst.
At the same time, the Awesome Oscillator, Momentum (10) and 9-HMA suggest a big leap in the Shiba Inu coin price. However, given its strong memetic appeal and growing shift towards AI, Unilabs might be a more promising alternative this year.
The UNIL presale races toward $1 million in funding, propelled by growing whale interest. Its higher upside potential as a low-cap coin makes it a more compelling alternative than the Shiba Inu coin. In addition, traders don't need to break the bank before positioning for gains, unlike the high Ethereum price.
To learn more about Unilabs, visit the official website, and Telegram.
Disclosure: This content is provided by a third party. crypto.news does not endorse any product mentioned on this page. Users must do their own research before taking any actions related to the company.
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Analysts are warning of more fiat currency debasement, which is driving a growing appetite for digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Risk appetite across traditional and cryptocurrency markets saw a sharp rise this week, helping United States cryptocurrency funds recover the capital lost to the correction of February and March, amassing over $7.5 billion worth of weekly inflows.
Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed its old all-time high on May 21, two days after President Donald Trump confirmed ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in a May 19 X post.
Meanwhile, popular analyst and Global Macro Investor CEO Raoul Pal warned of more fiat currency debasement, urging investors to gain more exposure to cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), as these assets “will never be this cheap again.”
Cryptocurrencies and NFTs can help investors protect their eroding purchasing power during an era of exponential currency debasement, according to analysts and industry leaders.
Investing in digital assets is becoming increasingly important in the “world of the exponential age and currency debasement,” according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.
“You don't own enough crypto. When you do, you don't own enough NFT's, as art is upstream of wealth. Both will never be this cheap again,” Pal said.
NFTs are “the single best long term store of wealth I know and you get to buy it before network effects kick in,” he added in another response.
“There is some validity to the statement that NFTs, and in extension art, become a vehicle for the wealthy once a certain level of wealth is reached,” wrote Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen, calling it a “natural move” for asset diversification.
“For traders and investors, further down the wealth curve, NFTs are partially about speculating on future returns,” he told Cointelegraph, adding that NFTs also benefit from the allure of strong communities, beyond just wealth creation.
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Crypto investment products in the United States have attracted over $7.5 billion worth of investment in 2025, with a fifth week of net positive inflows last week signaling growing investor demand for digital assets.
US-based crypto investment products attracted $785 million worth of investment last week, pushing the year-to-date (YTD) total to over $7.5 billion, according to a May 19 report by digital asset manager CoinShares.
The latest figure marks the fifth consecutive week of net positive flows, following nearly $7 billion in outflows during February and March.
The United States accounted for the bulk of inflows, with $681 million, followed by Germany at $86.3 million and Hong Kong at $24.4 million.
Investor demand for risk assets such as cryptocurrencies staged a significant recovery after the White House announced a 90-day pause on additional tariffs on May 12, which marked a 24% cut for import tariffs for both the US and China.
A day after the announcement, Coinbase exchange saw 9,739 Bitcoin worth more than $1 billion withdrawn from the exchange — the highest net outflow recorded in 2025, signaling that institutional appetite was “accelerating,” according to Bitwise's head of European research, André Dragosch.
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VanEck plans to launch a private digital assets fund in June targeting tokenized Web3 projects built on the Avalanche blockchain network, the asset manager said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph.
The VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund, available only to accredited investors, aims to invest in liquid tokens and venture-backed projects across Web3 sectors, including gaming, financial services, payments, and artificial intelligence.
Idle capital will be deployed into Avalanche (AVAX) real-world asset (RWA) products, including tokenized money market funds, VanEck said.
The fund will be managed by the team behind VanEck's Digital Assets Alpha Fund (DAAF), which oversees more than $100 million in net assets as of May 21.
“The next wave of value in crypto will come from real businesses, not more infrastructure,” Pranav Kanade, portfolio manager for DAAF, said in a statement.
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Yield-bearing stablecoins have soared to $11 billion in circulation, representing 4.5% of the total stablecoin market, a steep climb from just $1.5 billion and a 1% market share at the start of 2024.
One of the biggest winners is Pendle, a decentralized protocol that enables users to lock in fixed yields or speculate on variable interest rates. Pendle now accounts for 30% of all yield-bearing stablecoin total value locked (TVL), roughly $3 billion, according to a report from Pendle compiled by analysts from Spartan Group and Modular Capital shared with Cointelegraph.
The report noted that stablecoins make up 83% of its $4 billion total value locked, a sharp rise from less than 20% just a year ago. In contrast, assets such as Ether (ETH), which historically contributed 80%–90% of Pendle's TVL, have shrunk to less than 10%.
Traditional stablecoins like USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC) do not pass on interest to holders. With over $200 billion in circulation and US Federal Reserve interest rates at 4.3%, Pendle estimates that stablecoin holders are missing out on more than $9 billion in annual yield.
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Tether, the $151 billion stablecoin issuance giant, has surpassed Germany in United States Treasury bill holdings, showcasing the benefits of a diversified reserve strategy that has helped the firm navigate the volatility of the cryptocurrency market.
Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, USDT, has surpassed Germany's $111.4 billion worth of US Treasurys, data from the US Department of the Treasury shows.
Tether has surpassed $120 billion worth of Treasury bills, the firm shared in its attestation report for the first quarter of 2025. That makes Tether the 19th largest entity among all counties in terms of T-bill investments.
“This milestone not only reinforces the company's conservative reserve management strategy but also highlights Tether's growing role in distributing dollar-denominated liquidity at scale,” wrote Tether in the report.
During 2024, Tether was the seventh-largest buyer of US Treasurys across all countries, surpassing Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Norway, Hong Kong and numerous other countries, Cointelegraph reported in March 2025.
Continue reading:
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the green.
Worldcoin (WLD) rose over 32% as the week's biggest gainer in the top 100, followed by the Hyperliquid (HYPE) token, up over 30% on the weekly chart.
Thanks for reading our summary of this week's most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.
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Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs are experiencing unprecedented investment inflows: over one billion dollars in a single day. These massive inflows, unseen since January, coincide with a strong price increase. This strengthens institutional interest in cryptocurrencies!
IBIT, BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, has just recorded a net inflow record of 530.6 million dollars in a single day. For cryptocurrency experts, this is an unprecedented level since January.
This amount far exceeds the amount of newly mined BTC in the same period. It represents nearly 4,931 BTC purchased by the ETF, compared to only 450 BTC produced.
That's not all! The total flows of the 11 leading Bitcoin ETFs also reached over 600 million dollars in one day. This signals strong institutional demand! Since early April, Bitcoin ETFs have attracted nearly 6.6 billion dollars. A figure that reflects sustained enthusiasm for this revolutionary digital asset!
The Ethereum ETF is also recording significant inflows. In recent days, it has attracted approximately 65 million dollars. This strengthens the altcoin's progress!
This trend particularly highlights a broader interest beyond Bitcoin, with a rise in products linked to Ethereum. This growth is also accompanied by an increase in the price of Ethereum, which benefits from this capital inflow.
The strong activity of ETFs comes as Bitcoin reaches a new historic record. The flagship cryptocurrency's price is flirting with 110,000 $.
Experts thus note a “buying frenzy” fueled by the inflows, comparable to that observed during the January peak. According to them, the momentum could intensify if macroeconomic conditions evolve favorably. They particularly refer to the Fed's decision regarding interest rates.
Despite this institutional excitement, retail investor interest remains moderate. This could influence future volatility in the crypto market!
The rise of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs confirms the growing integration of crypto-assets into institutional portfolios. The current trend paves the way for a new phase of development and recognition for digital assets in traditional financial markets. Story to follow!
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My name is Ariela, and I am 31 years old. I have been working in the field of web writing for 7 years now. I only discovered trading and cryptocurrency a few years ago, but it is a universe that greatly interests me. The topics covered on the platform allow me to learn more. A singer in my spare time, I also cultivate a great passion for music and reading (and animals!)
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
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Crypto analyst Astronomer has provided insights into when the altcoin season will likely begin following the Bitcoin price's rally to a new all-time high (ATH). His analysis indicated that BTC's dominance is about to top, which will pave the way for altcoins to outperform the flagship crypto.
Altcoin Season To Begin Soon As Bitcoin Price Hits New ATH
In an X post, Astronomer predicted that the altcoin season is imminent, seeing as BTC's dominance (BTC.D) has hit 65% following the Bitcoin price rally to a new ATH. The analyst remarked that BTC's dominance will roll over slowly first, before dropping rather quickly after the flagship crypto loses momentum.
He is also confident that the altcoin season is coming soon because BTC.D is up seven weeks in a row and all green from the bottom, which means the Bitcoin price-led move is stretching long. From a counting perspective, Astronomer remarked that BTC is coming to the end of the transition period, and altcoins will likely make their bigger moves soon.
The analyst noted that BTC.D has also nicely retested the quarterly breaker open. For now, he believes sentiment is certainly not ready for an altcoin season, seeing as only the Bitcoin bulls are loud. Astronomer added that the ETH bulls are quiet and that only coins that are Bitcoin liquidity-driven are talked about, including HYPE, WIF, and the Bitcoin price itself.
He is confident that 65% is the top for the BTC.D despite calls for 67% and 70%. With the Bitcoin price dominance currently at almost 63%, Astronomer affirmed that he is well-positioned for the top, with altcoin season coming after. The analyst stated that soon, these altcoins will put in their big moves until they are forced to become the narrative again, where they top out.
Crypto analyst CrediBULL Crypto is also confident that the altcoin season is imminent amid the Bitcoin price's rally to a new ATH. In an X post, he stated that where the market is headed in the coming months, every lagging altcoin is an opportunity to be thankful for, not a problem to be frustrated about.
BTC Is Forming A Top At Current Price Levels
In an X post, crypto analyst CryptoVerse stated that the Bitcoin price is likely forming a top at its current levels. He admitted that the flagship crypto could still rally to between $112,000 and $118,000 but warned that it could mark the cycle peak. The analyst also stated that he is not expecting an altcoin season before the fourth quarter of this year.
CryptoVerse remarked that based on global liquidity trends, the altcoin season should begin in the fourth quarter and wrap up by the second quarter of next year. He noted that there could be short-term bounces, but a full-blown rally is unlikely to happen before then.
Select market data provided by ICE Data services. Select reference data provided by FactSet. Copyright © 2025 FactSet Research Systems Inc.© 2025 TradingView, Inc.
HeyMint is Alchemy's second acquisition this month, joining the recently announced Solana ecosystem company Dexter Lab.
Web3 developer platform Alchemy has acquired HeyMint, a California-based non-fungible token (NFT) launchpad, in a move designed to enhance the company's smart wallet infrastructure.
The undisclosed funding deal will see HeyMint's infrastructure embedded within Alchemy as it seeks to simplify user onboarding for Web3 applications, the company disclosed on May 23. HeyMint's co-founder and chief technology officer, Flor Ronsmans De Vry, joins Alchemy as part of the deal.
While not a household name in crypto, HeyMint attracted more than 1 million users over its first two years of operations. It was the launchpad behind $38 million in NFT sales and supported the Web3 efforts of major brands, including The Sandbox, Universal Music Group and Ubisoft.
In 2023, HeyMint facilitated NFT sales for the Partnership for Central America, a private sector coalition that included Mastercard.
The HeyMint acquisition is Alchemy's second funding deal this month. The company recently acquired Dexter Lab, a real-time data infrastructure provider for Solana, for an undisclosed amount.
Related: VC Roundup: 8-figure funding deals suggest crypto bull market far from over
2025 is shaping up to be a more active year for crypto mergers and acquisitions (M&As), especially in the United States, where regulatory clarity and a pro-industry administration are encouraging dealmaking.
There has been a flurry of high-profile deals in recent weeks, including Robinhood's acquisition of Canadian digital asset operator WonderFi for $179 million and Coinbase's $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said his crypto exchange is eyeing more M&A opportunities.
One of the biggest acquisitions was completed in April when Ripple purchased prime brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion — a deal the payments company said would expand its horizons within institutional finance.
Beyond M&As, crypto venture capital funding has also been on the rise. PitchBook data revealed that, while the number of deals declined last quarter, the value of investments more than doubled compared to a year earlier.
Magazine: TradFi is building Ethereum L2s to tokenize trillions in RWAs: Inside story
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Alchemy has acquired HeyMint, a user-first NFT launchpad, to accelerate and strengthen Alchemy's mission to simplify and scale user onboarding in web3 through its Smart Wallets solution, the company announced Friday.
Unveiled earlier this year, Alchemy Smart Wallets are enterprise-grade, programmable smart contract wallets that enable frictionless onboarding, gasless transactions, enhanced security, and flexible authorization methods for web3 users and developers.
Alchemy noted that HeyMint's shared emphasis on accessibility and ease of use makes it a strong complement to Smart Wallets. Alchemy and HeyMint did not disclose the deal terms.
HeyMint's products, such as its Launchpad and Allowlist tools, reflect a strong track record in reducing barriers to entry and enhancing accessibility, goals that directly support the expansion of Alchemy's Smart Wallet ecosystem.
“HeyMint's focus on creating the most accessible and user-friendly experience aligns perfectly with Alchemy's vision of onboarding the next generation of users and technology companies to web3, and we are excited to welcome their team into ours,” said Joe Lau, co-founder and President of Alchemy, in a statement. “Together, we will continue to improve and evolve Alchemy's Smart Wallets.”
Alchemy added that incorporating HeyMint's proven SDK and embeddable web3 engagement tools will empower developers to seamlessly integrate Smart Wallet functionality into a variety of platforms, including apps, games, marketplaces, and loyalty programs.
HeyMint's no-code tools have served over 1 million users and supported more than 40,000 creators in generating $38 million in NFT sales. The platform has powered web3 campaigns for global brands including MasterCard, Ubisoft, Universal Music Group, and The Sandbox.
To date, HeyMint tools have saved creators an estimated $9 million on allowlists and over $29 million in NFT launch costs, as noted in the announcement.
The acquisition also brings on HeyMint co-founder and CTO Flor Ronsmans De Vry, a veteran web3 developer and founder of blockchain automation firm Fuse Robotics.
“We built HeyMint to make web3 accessible to anyone,” said Ronsmans De Vry. “Joining Alchemy gives us the scale and reach to take that vision further — and make secure, user-first onboarding available to every developer and project.”
This is Alchemy's second strategic acquisition this month. Just last week, the company acquired DexterLab, a top Solana infrastructure provider trusted by firms like Google and the Solana Foundation.
The move is expected to enhance Alchemy's infrastructure portfolio and accelerate innovation as it expands support beyond Ethereum.
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Twin Cities Suburbs
According to an investigator's affidavit, the Twin Cities man clicked a phishing link, then quickly opened his Coinbase app “and saw his digital assets were being moved out of his wallet” with no ability to stop it.
By Paul Walsh
A Twin Cities man opened an email, realized his mistake and watched as more than $2 million was drained from his Bitcoin account in a phishing scam, according to a state investigation.
An investigator working with the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) financial crimes task force laid out the Anoka County man's reverse windfall in a search-warrant affidavit filed this week. It seeks to gather information from the prime suspect's social media account.
The filing said the task force investigator in recent weeks has been communicating with the suspected cryptocurrency thief, who possibly has ties to Nigeria.
As of Friday, there have been no arrests or charges in connection with the case, said Brooklyn Park police Inspector Matt Rabe. The suburban department's cyber unit supervisor, Sgt. Jake Tuzinski, is heading up this investigation.
Once the investigation is complete, the case will be sent to the U.S. Attorney's Office for consideration of charges, Rabe said. The Minnesota Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.
Tuzinski said Friday that everyone needs to “take a pause while reading these emails. Verify who the email is coming from. Check not just the name of the header such as ‘From: Coinbase,' but also drop it down and look at the full email domain it is coming from.”
According to the search warrant affidavit:
The man, identified only as J.S. in the filing, told Tuzinski in September 2024 that “he was on his phone when he received an email from what he thought was Coinbase support. J.S. said he kept all his digital assets, which included over 40 Bitcoin, on his Coinbase Wallet app.”
J.S. continued that “after he clicked on a link contained within the email, he realized the email was not legitimately from Coinbase and suspected it was a phishing attack. J.S. then went to his Coinbase Wallet app and saw his digital assets were being moved out of his wallet.”
The man estimated that the sum of his digital assets in various accounts totaled $2.4 million, nearly all of it in Bitcoin.
J.S. reached out to Coinbase in an effort to stem the fiscal bleeding. But Coinbase said its exchange — which helps users make transactions — and the Wallet app are “two different things, [and] they were unable to stop any transactions.”
Tuzinski unearthed each suspicious transaction and “noted the movement of the Bitcoin was consistent with money laundering and obfuscation,” the investigator wrote in the search-warrant affidavit.
The investigator said he then turned to cryptocurrency exchange giant Binance and identified the suspect “through Nigerian documents and a self portrait.”
The suspect explained in an email the Bitcoin was given to him anonymously, but “I believe [him] to be more involved than just simply receiving an anonymous donation,” Tuzinski wrote.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not tied to a bank or government and allows users to spend money anonymously. The coins are created by users who “mine” them by lending computing power to verify other users' transactions. They receive Bitcoins in exchange. The coins also can be bought and sold on exchanges with U.S. dollars and other currencies.
Bitcoins are basically lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they travel from one owner to the next. Transactions can be made anonymously, making the currency popular with libertarians as well as tech enthusiasts, speculators — and criminals.
The long-running con known as phishing is one of many scams plaguing U.S. consumers in an onslaught that can feel relentless, with criminals targeting individuals via mail, email, phone, text and social media.
Experts in protecting cryptocurrency offer numerous tips on protecting assets from theft. They include:
And likely at the top of the list of suggestions from J.S.:
For more about cryptocurrency in general from the Federal Trade Commission and how to watch out for scams, click here. It's fine, really.
This report contains material from the Associated Press.
Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.
Twin Cities Suburbs
Twin Cities Suburbs
With credit for time in jail, Courtney Parker is expected to serve slightly more than 3⅓ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Twin Cities Suburbs
Twin Cities Suburbs
One of his children said his father had been ailing recently.
Twin Cities
Twin Cities
The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District will be out all weekend with helicopters trying to suppress the numbers.
Twin Cities Suburbs
Twin Cities Suburbs
With credit for time in jail, Courtney Parker is expected to serve slightly more than 3⅓ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
© 2025 StarTribune.All rights reserved.
Twin Cities Suburbs
According to an investigator's affidavit, the Twin Cities man clicked a phishing link, then quickly opened his Coinbase app “and saw his digital assets were being moved out of his wallet” with no ability to stop it.
By Paul Walsh
A Twin Cities man opened an email, realized his mistake and watched as more than $2 million was drained from his Bitcoin account in a phishing scam, according to a state investigation.
An investigator working with the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) financial crimes task force laid out the Anoka County man's reverse windfall in a search-warrant affidavit filed this week. It seeks to gather information from the prime suspect's social media account.
The filing said the task force investigator in recent weeks has been communicating with the suspected cryptocurrency thief, who possibly has ties to Nigeria.
As of Friday, there have been no arrests or charges in connection with the case, said Brooklyn Park police Inspector Matt Rabe. The suburban department's cyber unit supervisor, Sgt. Jake Tuzinski, is heading up this investigation.
Once the investigation is complete, the case will be sent to the U.S. Attorney's Office for consideration of charges, Rabe said. The Minnesota Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.
Tuzinski said Friday that everyone needs to “take a pause while reading these emails. Verify who the email is coming from. Check not just the name of the header such as ‘From: Coinbase,' but also drop it down and look at the full email domain it is coming from.”
According to the search warrant affidavit:
The man, identified only as J.S. in the filing, told Tuzinski in September 2024 that “he was on his phone when he received an email from what he thought was Coinbase support. J.S. said he kept all his digital assets, which included over 40 Bitcoin, on his Coinbase Wallet app.”
J.S. continued that “after he clicked on a link contained within the email, he realized the email was not legitimately from Coinbase and suspected it was a phishing attack. J.S. then went to his Coinbase Wallet app and saw his digital assets were being moved out of his wallet.”
The man estimated that the sum of his digital assets in various accounts totaled $2.4 million, nearly all of it in Bitcoin.
J.S. reached out to Coinbase in an effort to stem the fiscal bleeding. But Coinbase said its exchange — which helps users make transactions — and the Wallet app are “two different things, [and] they were unable to stop any transactions.”
Tuzinski unearthed each suspicious transaction and “noted the movement of the Bitcoin was consistent with money laundering and obfuscation,” the investigator wrote in the search-warrant affidavit.
The investigator said he then turned to cryptocurrency exchange giant Binance and identified the suspect “through Nigerian documents and a self portrait.”
The suspect explained in an email the Bitcoin was given to him anonymously, but “I believe [him] to be more involved than just simply receiving an anonymous donation,” Tuzinski wrote.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not tied to a bank or government and allows users to spend money anonymously. The coins are created by users who “mine” them by lending computing power to verify other users' transactions. They receive Bitcoins in exchange. The coins also can be bought and sold on exchanges with U.S. dollars and other currencies.
Bitcoins are basically lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they travel from one owner to the next. Transactions can be made anonymously, making the currency popular with libertarians as well as tech enthusiasts, speculators — and criminals.
The long-running con known as phishing is one of many scams plaguing U.S. consumers in an onslaught that can feel relentless, with criminals targeting individuals via mail, email, phone, text and social media.
Experts in protecting cryptocurrency offer numerous tips on protecting assets from theft. They include:
And likely at the top of the list of suggestions from J.S.:
For more about cryptocurrency in general from the Federal Trade Commission and how to watch out for scams, click here. It's fine, really.
This report contains material from the Associated Press.
Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.
Twin Cities Suburbs
Twin Cities Suburbs
With credit for time in jail, Courtney Parker is expected to serve slightly more than 3⅓ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
Twin Cities Suburbs
Twin Cities Suburbs
One of his children said his father had been ailing recently.
Twin Cities
Twin Cities
The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District will be out all weekend with helicopters trying to suppress the numbers.
Twin Cities Suburbs
Twin Cities Suburbs
With credit for time in jail, Courtney Parker is expected to serve slightly more than 3⅓ years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
© 2025 StarTribune.All rights reserved.
There have been major developments this week in the crypto landscape:
These developments signal growing institutional interest and a maturing regulatory environment for digital assets. For investors, this could highlight fresh opportunities in the altcoin market.
With a ‘Greed' indicator of 76 and the market cap rising, the evidence of a ‘risk-on' sentiment is clear. This is particularly clear when you note the rise of altcoins like $MIND of Pepe, which have raised over $10M in their presale.
Let's delve into some of the best altcoins that could see an uptrend given these encouraging signs.
With MIND of Pepe ($MIND), a new era of meme coin intelligence appeared, a unique fusion of the iconic Pepe culture and cutting-edge AI.
$MIND is your gateway to AI alpha, offering a winning edge in the fast-paced crypto markets. Its sophisticated AI will scour on-chain data, social sentiment, and emerging trends to reveal key insights and signals to give you a running start in the market.
Holding $MIND unlocks your access to these exclusive, AI-generated reports and analytics, designed to sharpen your strategies.
We predict $MIND could hit $0.00535 (a 72.52% increase from the start of the presale) by the end of 2025. And this seems ever more likely with the positive regulatory shifts increasing market sentiment.
It's about democratizing alpha by combining the market-moving power of Pepe with the deep analytical skills of AI. Get ready to think smarter, not just harder.
Pudgy Penguins ($PENGU) represents much more than a popular NFT collection. It's a rapidly expanding global IP and symbol of positivity, known for its ‘Pugdy Power.'
This beloved brand has successfully bridged Web3 and the mainstream with its adorable characters appearing as actual toys in major retail stores and an expanding content universe.
The $PENGU coin invites you to join the ‘Huddle,' the passionate community at its heart, and participate in its growth.
$PENGU is central to this ecosystem, potentially offering governance, exclusive access, and rewards, allowing holders to ‘Waddle to Wealth' by sharing in the brand's expanding success.
Experience the merge between a heartfelt community and real-world branding to create value in the Web3 space.
Swivel into the CEO's chair with Hamster Kombat ($HMSTR), the record-shattering Telegram game phenomenon captivating 300M players globally.
The $HMSTR token is the lifeblood of the ecosystem, designed not just for the largest crypto game ever, but for a future that extends far beyond that.
Having already broken records like achieving the largest Telegram channel (52M+ subs) and the fastest 100M+ player onboarding (2 months), Hamster Kombat is set for potentially crypto's largest airdrop from its 100B token supply.
But $HMSTR is more than an airdrop; it's a community-driven token set to power a burgeoning game publishing platform and seamlessly onboard the next billion users into Web3.
Your in-game strategy and engagement directly translate into your stake in this ecosystem. The Hamsters could be the new whales!
It's time for a radical shift with SUBBD ($SUBBD), moving beyond simple disruption and into creator liberation. This platform is set to dismantle traditional barriers content creators face, offering real autonomy and ownership.
Picture an ecosystem where you fully control your content, your audience data, and your monetization, free from high platform fees and restrictive policies.
The $SUBBD token fuels that revolution, facilitating transparent transactions, community governance, and access to tools designed for direct creator-to-fan engagement and value exchange.
It's about empowering artists, writers, musicians, and all creators to build sustainable careers on their own terms, fostering creative and financial freedom, making it one of the best presales.
It's the dawning of the age of authentic creator empowerment with $SUBBD.
As the crypto industry matures and becomes more welcoming, it opens the space to crypto innovation and investment.
Especially with the positive regulatory signals we've seen this week, unique projects offering real value will naturally catch the eye of investors looking to navigate the space.
Coins like $SUBBD and $MIND, with their bold visions and cutting-edge approaches, are great examples of the exciting opportunities popping up in the altcoin market.
While the innovation, potentially being supported by clearer regulations, is exciting, it's still essential to do your homework. Crypto is a rollercoaster, so do your own research to see if an investment fits with your goals and finances.
For updates and exclusive offers enter your email.
Bitcoinist is the ultimate news and review site for the crypto currency community!
Bitcoin news portal providing breaking news, guides, price analysis about decentralized digital money & blockchain technology.
© 2025 Bitcoinist. All Rights Reserved.
Crypto traders betting on a steady bitcoin BTC$109,495.30 rally got a sharp reminder of headline risk from Donald Trump's latest tariff threats.
Over $300 million worth of leveraged derivatives positions were liquidated across centralized exchanges in the past four hours, according to CoinGlass data, as crypto prices plunged following the news.
Nearly all liquidations came from long positions—traders betting on higher prices. BTC longs accounted for $107 million of the total, while Ethereum's ether ETH$2,575.93 followed with close to $87 million. Other tokens, including Solana's SOL SOL$177.61, dogecoin DOGE$0.23673, and SUI SUI$3.63 saw liquidations ranging between $10 million and $18 million.
"Nice aggregate flush of long leverage and de-risk selling from spot," well-followed crypto trader Skew noted in an X post early Friday. "All driven by headlines once again."
The sell-off came after Trump proposed a 50% tariff on imports from the European Union starting next month, along with a 25% tariff on iPhones manufactured outside the U.S., reigniting fears of an escalating trade war.
As a result, BTC and major altcoins such as Ether ETH$2,575.93, XRP XRP$2.38, and Cardano ADA$0.78602 fell 3% to 4%, while smaller-cap tokens like Uniswap UNI$6.18 and SUI SUI$3.63 dropped 5% to 7% over the past 24 hours.
Crypto trader named James Wynn, who gained attention recently opening a $1.1 billion BTC long bet with 40x leverage on the Hyperliquid exchange, also slipped underwater on the massive position. Currently, the trader is sitting on $7.5 million of unrealized losses, and the position could be liquidated if BTC slips to $102,000, according to a screenshot shared on X.
Interestingly, the long liquidations came amid a recent unusual tilt toward short positions in BTC derivatives despite record prices, CoinDesk reported on Thursday.
Read more: Why Are Bitcoin Traders Aggressively Shorting as BTC Hits New Record High?
Krisztian Sandor is a U.S. markets reporter focusing on stablecoins, tokenization, real-world assets. He graduated from New York University's business and economic reporting program before joining CoinDesk. He holds BTC, SOL and ETH.
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As the US Senate advances the GENIUS Act and lawmakers reintroduce the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, Washington is finally stepping up to the plate on crypto.
In this week's episode of Byte-Sized Insight, on Decentralize with Cointelegraph, we break down a pivotal moment for US crypto legislation.
In a 66–32 procedural vote on May 19, the US Senate advanced the GENIUS Act, a landmark bill aimed at establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins. Meanwhile, across the Capitol, Representative Tom Emmer reintroduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, backed by bipartisan support.
The GENIUS Act — short for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act” — seeks to answer foundational questions around stablecoin issuance and oversight.
“It defines this idea of a payment stablecoin,” explained Rashan Colbert, director of US policy at the Crypto Council for Innovation, in this week's interview. Colbert emphasized that the bill doesn't stop at definitions.
By this, he's referring to guidelines on who can be permitted issuers like bank subsidiaries, credit unions and approved non-bank entities.
Related: Interest groups, lawmakers to protest Trump's memecoin dinner
This bipartisan momentum seen backing the GENIUS Act is both exciting and significant.
“There has been latent support within Congress, including within the Democratic caucus,” Colbert said. “They just haven't had the opportunity to take meaningful votes.”
On the House side, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, co-sponsored by Representatives Emmer and Ritchie Torres, aims to give legal clarity to developers and service providers who don't custody customer funds.
“It clarifies that they are not money transmitters,” said Colbert. “That's the clarity these builders and entrepreneurs need to continue operating successfully.”
With crypto adoption on the rise — particularly among minority communities — Colbert said the pressure is on. “Something like one in five Americans hold crypto. That number is even larger in the Black, Latino and Asian-American communities,” he noted.
Looking ahead, the push toward broader market structure reform will be more complex. Colbert's advice? Get involved. “It really is, at the end of the day, the people making their voices heard,” he said. “Crypto is a big deal — and Capitol Hill is finally starting to listen.”
Listen to the full episode of Byte-Sized Insight for the complete interview on Cointelegraph's Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don't forget to check out Cointelegraph's full lineup of other shows!
Magazine: Legal Panel: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it's becoming them in stablecoin fight
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Web3 developer Alchemy has announced the acquisition of NFT launchpad HeyMint, the startup behind the web3 initiatives employed by MasterCard, Ubisoft and many more.
According to a press release sent to crypto.news, the blockchain infrastructure designer aims to accelerate the development of its smart wallets solution through its latest acquisition.
By bringing the HeyMint and HeyMint Quest teams into the fold, the firm hopes to expand its developer support, simplify integrations and further expand on developing the project's Smart Wallet solutions. Alchemy hopes to one day turn Smart Wallets into the default way for onboarding new users into the web3 space.
According to data from analytics site BundleBear, Alchemy (ACH) is currently the number one smart wallet in the ERC-4337 ecosystem, having deployed more than 13 million smart wallets.
Through the integration of HeyMint into Alchemy's corporate structure, HeyMint's co-founder and CTO, Flor Ronsmans De Vry and other members of the HeyMint team will join the company.
De Vry is known in the crypto space as a renowned web3 developer who also established the U.K.-based blockchain automation company Fuse Robotics. The HeyMint co-founder is prepared to contribute SDK knowledge and years of experience in scaling critical blockchain applications.
“Joining Alchemy gives us the scale and reach to take that vision further — and make secure, user-first onboarding available to every developer and project,” said De Vry in his statement.
De Vry founded the NFT-focused startup alongside Mai Akiyoshi and Ben Yu. With more than 1 million users, HeyMint is known for creating various tools that require no coding experience. Over 40,000 creators have used HeyMint's tools, generating around $38 million in combined NFT sales.
Not only that, the team has also helped support a number of web3 initiatives for major companies, including Mastercard, Ubisoft, Universal Music Group, and The Sandbox.
President and co-founder of Alchemy, Joe Lau, said that the company is looking forward to onboarding the HeyMint team. He hopes the integration will help to improve and accelerate innovation for the firm's smart wallets.
“HeyMint's focus on creating the most accessible and user-friendly experience aligns perfectly with Alchemy's vision of onboarding the next generation of users and technology companies to web3, and we are excited to welcome their team into ours,” said Lau.
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What was setting up to be a somewhat sleepy session ahead of the holiday weekend is no more as President Trump woke up and chose to reignite what had been cooling trade tensions.
"The European Union ... has been very difficult to deal with," said the president in a Truth Social posting. "Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% tariff on the EU, starting on June 1."
The leader of the free world also took aim at Apple (AAPL) and its CEO Tim Cook. "I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the U.S. will be manufactured and built in the U.S., not India or anyplace else. If that's not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple."
U.S. stock index futures quickly moved from modest gains to nearly 2% declines, with Apple falling 3.6%. Above $111,000 prior to the news, the price of bitcoin BTC$109,495.30 quickly pulled back to $108,600.
Stephen is CoinDesk's managing editor for Markets. He previously served as managing editor at Seeking Alpha. A native of suburban Washington, D.C., Stephen went to the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, majoring in finance. He holds BTC above CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.
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The San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken is bringing tokenized versions of popular US-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETF) to its clients in select non-US markets.
In a statement, Kraken says it partnered with the tokenized stocks and ETF issuer Backed to launch xStocks on the Solana (SOL) blockchain.
xStocks, a tokenized equities brand developed by Backed, taps blockchain technology to offer tokenized versions of US-listed equities.
Says Kraken Global Head of Consumer Mark Greenberg,
“Access to traditional US equities remains slow, costly and restricted. With xStocks, we're using blockchain technology to deliver something better – open, instant, accessible and borderless exposure to some of America's most iconic companies. This is what the future of investing looks like.”
Kraken says xStocks assets will be issued as SPL tokens, the standard token format on the Solana blockchain, and will be available to eligible clients through its app.
“These xStocks assets can be traded both on our platform as well as onchain through compatible wallet providers, allowing users to leverage their xStocks as collateral in ways that simply is not possible through TradFi.”
Kraken says Solana is selected as the launch chain for xStocks because of the blockchain's performance, low latency and thriving global ecosystem.
The exchange says that it plans to expand the range of tokenized assets and the jurisdictions where xStocks is supported.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — On a humid Dubai night in early May, I joined guests gathered on the five-storey, 220-foot long Lotus megayacht to celebrate the culmination of TOKEN2049, a major crypto conference held in the glitzy desert emirate I call home.
The party was hosted by DogeOS, the app developer behind the blockchain for Dogecoin, the shiba inu-faced meme coin that saw a rip-roaring rally in 2021 and briefly turned a few bullish buyers into millionaires.
It's part of a long string of high-profile UAE-based industry events and feels like a prescient symbol of the ever-growing exuberance around cryptocurrencies in the Middle East — and globally — right now.
The attendees around me spanned a colorful mix; crypto investors and startup founders, programmers, influencers – and those who, after half an hour of conversation, still wouldn't really explain what they do.
"You've probably heard of me. Elon retweets me a lot," one guest said as he introduced himself. I later heard him say the exact same line to three other people.
One pair of female attendees promoted their Dubai-based startup that designs business plans for corporates and entrepreneurs "by calculating their astrology and birth chart numerology." They told me that "millionaires often look down on this science … but billionaires love it."
The guests hailed from all over the world, sharing a common passion for the future of decentralized digital currency and the revolutionizing of finance. A microcosm of Dubai itself, the boat was a melting pot of nationalities and characters.
One American passenger wearing a cowboy hat and a ninja turtle backpack hawked a meme token featuring a shiba inu in a cowboy hat called $WIT coin, standing for "what in tarnation." Between shots of tequila he discussed collaboration with crypto enthusiasts who'd flown in from China.
The guestlist also featured Olaf Carlson-Wee, the bleach-blonde original "bubble boy" of crypto, who was Coinbase's first employee and later founded Polychain Capital, one of the world's largest crypto hedge funds. Carlson-Wee, whose net worth is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions, said he is frequently flown in from Los Angeles to work with the UAE government.
The bullish energy of the yacht party — complete with open bars, teppanyaki grills and Vegas-style belly dancers wearing feather headdresses — matched the unbridled optimism currently pulsing through the global crypto community.
Posts of "WE'RE SO BACK" have abounded on social media in the months following U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House and his pledge to make America the "crypto capital of the world."
His son Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and board member of Trump-family-owned crypto platform World Liberty Financial, was a keynote speaker at Dubai's Token2049. He was joined by Zack Witkoff, World Liberty Financial's co-founder, and the son of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's Middle East envoy.
"Smart people, low taxes … and the willingness to actually look forward and realize that the modern financial system is broken" is part of what makes the UAE so attractive for cryptocurrency enthusiasts like himself, the younger Trump told CNBC during the conference.
Speaking onstage at the event on May 1, Eric Trump also announced that the Trump family's World Liberty Financial would provide the stablecoins for Abu Dhabi state-backed investment firm MGX's mammoth $2 billion investment into Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange.
"We thank MGX and Binance for their trust in us," Zack Witkoff told the audience. "It's only the beginning."
Jordan Jefferson, CEO of MyDoge, the team behind DogeOS, moved from Canada to Dubai in 2022 in search of a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment. At a time when North America was cracking down on the industry, he said the UAE was "embracing it and leading regulation."
"I came out here because it was at the forefront of the industry. And everybody was here – the energy was amazing," he told CNBC at the yacht party. Jefferson and his colleagues had donned shirts emblazoned with a picture of the Doge shiba inu wearing an Emirati headdress, the kandura, which they dubbed "Habibi Doge."
Major crypto exchanges like Binance, Crypto.com, OKX, Bybit, and Kraken have received approvals or provisional licenses to operate in the UAE, with many choosing to open offices and regional headquarters there. The Gulf country has also established a "UAE blockchain strategy," hosts several major crypto events annually and offers visas to remote workers and entrepreneurs along with streamlined procedures for starting businesses.
"They're leading the way in regulation, definitely trying to be one of the premier jurisdictions where everything is fully regulated," Jefferson said of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Dubai in 2022 established the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or VARA — the world's first independent crypto regulator — which oversees virtual asset activities in the emirate and provides licensing and supervision to crypto businesses.
Abu Dhabi Global Market in the UAE capital also updated its digital asset framework in 2023, providing a clearer licensing and regulatory environment for crypto exchanges, custodians, and other virtual asset service providers.
Despite enjoying a rally in prices in recent years, the crypto industry has faced numerous scandals and controversies over time, from the collapse of FTX to the jailing of the crypto exchange's founder Sam Bankman-Fried and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Before declaring bankruptcy in November of 2022, FTX had established its regional headquarters in Dubai and was one of the early firms issued a license by VARA in March of that year, as the emirate worked to entice crypto businesses.
Zhao, a Dubai resident, has since been released from prison after serving a four-month term on charges of money laundering. He was granted UAE citizenship, though the timing of his Emirati naturalization has not been publicly disclosed.
In February, Dubai-based digital currency exchange Bybit revealed it was the victim of a hack that saw cybercriminals make off with $1.5 billion worth of tokens — the largest-ever crypto heist in history.
The UAE has learned from its experiences, Token2049 attendees told CNBC.
"It's not easy" to implement robust regulation, Jefferson of DogeOS said. "It's easy to say, 'hey, you can do anything here'. It's harder to do a regulatory framework where other countries around the world will accept it and realize that if you're a company built here [in the UAE] and under these regulations, it's legit. So I think that's probably the most important part."
Several crypto investors described due diligence work in the UAE as having become more sophisticated, but say regulation is at a level that still makes it friendlier to the industry than the U.S. or Europe.
"People really feel much safer building crypto companies in Dubai versus in the United States — the U.S. is very over-regulated," said William Athanas, Miami-based founder of xMarkets, a new prediction market launching on DogeOS. "And that's something they're working on – Trump and Elon [Musk] suggested that they would like to remove 10 regulations for every one they add. But we just haven't really seen that yet."
On the night of the yacht party, May 1, Bitcoin was trading at $94,808. At the time of publishing, it is trading at $110,538.
Danni Liu, a Chinese national currently based in Sweden who co-founded LIFE Protocol — a platform that uses the blockchain to enable community-driven scientific research — was in Dubai for the first time to attend the crypto conference and DogeOS boat party.
"Before I got here, it felt like the market sentiment was not that high, people were less willing to take risks," Liu said. "But I came to Dubai, and I see that people are still dancing. I was surprised. The show is going on."— CNBC's Ryan Browne contributed to this report.
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Four new cryptocurrency-related bills were introduced in the Michigan legislature this week, covering public pension investments in crypto, mining, income tax exemptions, and restrictions on CBDC support.
As of May 23, four new proposed legislations, House Bills 4510, 4511, 4512, and 4513, have been introduced in the Michigan legislature, marking a coordinated push to define the state's approach to cryptocurrency.
House Bill 4510, introduced by Representative Bill Schuette, seeks to amend Michigan's Public Employee Retirement System Investment Act to allow the state treasurer to invest in cryptocurrencies.
The bill restricts eligibility to digital assets with an average market capitalization of at least $250 billion over the past calendar year. Currently, only Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) meet this threshold. These investments must be made through exchange-traded products issued by a registered investment company.
House Bill 4511, sponsored by Representative Bryan Posthumus, proposes prohibiting the state and its subdivisions from banning the holding of digital assets or imposing licensing, permitting, or discriminatory tax requirements based solely on digital asset usage.
It also bars state agencies from advocating for or supporting any federal CBDC by issuing memoranda or official endorsements.
Additionally, the bill protects blockchain participants by preventing restrictions on node operations, asset transfers, and staking, while shielding validators and node operators from civil liability.
Meanwhile, House Bill 4512, introduced by a bipartisan group led by Representative Mike McFall, outlines a Bitcoin mining partnership programme targeting abandoned oil and gas wells.
Under the proposed programme, participants would receive temporary rights to use the wells for energy generation in return for assuming responsibility for plugging, site restoration, and response activity.
The bill requires the supervisor of wells to identify eligible sites, publish detailed assessments, and manage a competitive bidding process. Selected participants must provide financial assurances, submit environmental and production data, and report annually.
Mining rights are contingent on adherence to these obligations and capped plugging costs.
McFall also led the introduction of House Bill 4513, which would amend Michigan's Income Tax Act to exempt income earned through the proposed Bitcoin mining programme from state income tax.
The amendment defines the scope of exempt income and aligns it with the programme framework established under HB 4512, providing clarity for both individual and corporate taxpayers participating in the initiative.
In addition to these four bills, Michigan is also considering the creation of a strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Introduced on Feb. 13 as House Bill 4087, this earlier proposal, backed by Representatives Posthumus and Ron Robinson, would authorize the state treasurer to allocate up to 10% of the general fund and Budget Stabilization Fund for crypto investments.
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The last time Justin Sun set foot in the U.S. he was Grenada's WTO ambassador and was navigating the rocky waters of former President Biden's crypto crackdown.
Times have changed. Now, he's dining at an event hosted by President Donald Trump for the largest holders of his TRUMP memecoin and celebrating a regulatory breakthrough, as issuers eye a potential Tron ETF, signaling a striking reversal in crypto's American fortunes.
Speaking exclusively with CoinDesk after the Presidential dinner, which was met by protestors, the Tron founder dismissed allegations that the token is a vehicle for bribery. He called skeptics short-sighted, arguing Trump's embrace of crypto could spark a new era of digital asset innovation in America.
"All the haters need to really pay attention," Sun told CoinDesk, describing Trump's support for crypto as one of the President's best decisions."There are positive things happening in the industry."
Sun's relationship with Trump's affiliated crypto ventures stretches back to just after last year's election, when he bought up to $75 million worth of World Liberty Financial tokens across multiple tranches.
Shortly after Trump took office, his Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) paused a civil fraud case against Sun, alongside crypto exchange Binance; the SEC also withdrew from or dropped a dozen other cases, though it just filed a fresh civil fraud lawsuit against Unicoin earlier this week. And earlier on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice, which pursues criminal cases, had been investigating the Tron founder since 2021.
Read more: Where All the SEC Cases Are
He described the dinner as a clear sign the U.S. is regaining its status as the crypto's global hub, marking a sharp reversal from the Biden administration's war on the industry, which had previously prompted crypto firms to consider offshore moves.
"At the Trump dinner, some supporters told me they were thinking of leaving the U.S. because of the Biden administration, moving to places like Hong Kong or Singapore," Sun said. "Even Consensus started holding events outside of the United States."
"But now they've changed their minds. It brings everybody back into the U.S.," he continued.
Criticism of Trump's decision to launch a memecoin has come fast and furious from mainstream media, including attempts to link holders of the token to white nationalism.
Sun dismissed this criticism by emphasizing that critics have every right to express their views under the First Amendment.
While protesters met the memecoin faithful who attended the TRUMP dinner, skepticism about meme coins isn't limited to outsiders.
At a fireside chat during Consensus 2025, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy described meme coins as essentially "gambling," questioning their longevity.
"I get why people like it," Portnoy said. "It's a form of gambling, it's a Ponzi scheme. I don't mean that in a negative way."
Sun disagrees. Rather than viewing meme coins as gambling or Ponzi schemes, he positions them as legitimate segments of digital asset markets.
Sun pointed to tokens like DOGE and SHIB as examples of success stories that have helped onboard users into crypto. He emphasized that Tron's goal is to support "every single piece in crypto to grow and become mainstream."
"I totally think memecoins have merit," Sun told CoinDesk. "It's just like doing business. Some succeed, some go to zero. That's entrepreneurship."
UPDATE (May 23, 06:15 UTC): Adds details on Sun's previous investigations and additional background.
Sam Reynolds is a senior reporter based in Asia. Sam was part of the CoinDesk team that won the 2023 Gerald Loeb award in the breaking news category for coverage of FTX's collapse. Prior to CoinDesk, he was a reporter with Blockworks and a semiconductor analyst with IDC.
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Bitcoin has reached a new all-time high as it breached the $110,000 cap for the first time, following the advancement of a key crypto bill in the United States Senate, which has received bipartisan support, and is expected to aid those running crypto businesses.
The bill, called the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, has advanced in the US Senate, after some Democrat members who had initially opposed it, joined their Republican colleagues in supporting the bill, which regulated primarily stablecoin.
Bitcoin has fallen last month briefly over geopolitical uncertainties following Trump's tariff-induced assault on many countries, triggering fears of a global economic turmoil. However, with some of those concerns reducing, after events like the US signing a trade deal with China, the digital currency has been gaining momentum. The GENIUS Act played a further role in its upward surge.
While the bill has received support from some Democrat members because of which it moves forward in the US Senate, there are growing concerns that US President Donald Trump — once a crypto sceptic — and some of his supporters from the crypto and tech industry could personally benefit from it. Trump and his wife Melania have issued their own meme coins and have an active interest in the crypto market going up.
At its core, the GENIUS Act focuses on regulating stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that is pegged to more predictable assets like the US dollar. Among others, it also allows big tech companies to issue stablecoins, in what is being seen as a big win for many of Trump's supporters from the industry, who threw their weight behind him in the run-up to the Presidential bid and have continued their support to him since his reelection.
The bill says that issuers must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorism regulations, as well as privacy requirements under existing banking laws. It requires that crypto issuers must fully back stablecoins with fiat currency or high-quality liquid assets at a 1:1 ratio. They would also have to maintain reserves separate from operational funds and disclose these reserves publicly, with regular third-party audits.
Mark R Wright, Democrat Senator from the state of Virginia, who has supported the bill said that while many lawmakers have concerns about the Trump family's use of crypto technologies to “evade oversight, hide shady financial dealings, and personally profit at the expense of everyday Americans”.
“But,” he said in justification of his support to the bill, “we cannot allow that corruption to blind us to the broader reality: blockchain technology is here to stay. If American lawmakers don't shape it, others will – and not in ways that serve our interests or democratic values. Innovation in this space is happening, with or without us. We have a responsibility to ensure it happens safely, transparently, and in a way that advances U.S. economic and national security interests. The GENIUS Act will help get us started”.
Even though the GENIUS Act received bipartisan support in the US Senate, some Democrat members came down heavily against it.
As per a fact sheet released by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, said, “A strong bill would ensure that consumers enjoy the same consumer protections when using stablecoins as they do when using other payment systems, close loopholes that enable the illicit use of stablecoins by cartels, terrorists, and criminals, and reduce the risk that stablecoins take down our financial system. The GENIUS Act does not meet those minimum standards”.
Warren said that while industry estimates suggest that passing the GENIUS Act could help the stablecoin market grow 10-fold over the next three years to a $2 trillion market, Scaling up the stablecoin market without adequate safeguards risks increasing the “illicit use of stablecoins, which already account for over 60% of unlawful crypto transactions”.
There are also concerns around potential conflict of interest for US President Donald and his growing cryptocurrency firm, could inappropriately benefit from crypto. “This bill provides even more opportunities to reward buyers of Trump's coins with favors like tariff exemptions, pardons and government appointments,” Warren said in a speech ahead of the vote.
Another concern in the legislation is that it allows big tech companies to issue stablecoins. Companies like Meta had previously tried to make an unsuccessful foray into the crypto industry. As per the New York Times, some changes have been made to the bill to assuage concerns around the involvement of tech companies, requiring that they seek approval from a regulatory committee before issuing their own stablecoins.
While that appeared to assuage concerns of some Democrat members, not everyone was on board. “Despite new language on this issue, the final bill fails to prohibit Big Tech companies from issuing stablecoins. By tearing down the 200-year separation between banking and commerce, this bill undermines competition, threatens financial stability, and erodes financial privacy. While the bill purports to place restrictions on some Big Tech companies' ability to issue stablecoins, those restrictions are riddled with straightforward and easily identifiable loopholes,” Warren said in her fact sheet.
Soumyarendra Barik is Special Correspondent with The Indian Express and reports on the intersection of technology, policy and society. With over five years of newsroom experience, he has reported on issues of gig workers' rights, privacy, India's prevalent digital divide and a range of other policy interventions that impact big tech companies. He once also tailed a food delivery worker for over 12 hours to quantify the amount of money they make, and the pain they go through while doing so. In his free time, he likes to nerd about watches, Formula 1 and football. ... Read More
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Published - May 23, 2025 10:32 am IST - Washington
The top 25 investors, according to an event website, will get a private session with Trump beforehand and a White House tour [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday will host a private event for hundreds of top investors in his crypto memecoin, with leaders of the Democratic opposition blasting it as "an orgy of corruption."
The unprecedented melding of U.S. presidential power and personal business will take place at Trump's golf club outside Washington, where the 220 biggest purchasers of the $TRUMP memecoin will have dinner with the president.
The top 25 investors, according to an event website, will get a private session with Trump beforehand and a White House tour.
Trump launched the memecoin three days before his January inauguration, quickly increasing his net worth by billions and raising major ethics concerns, including over possible foreign influence.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and colleagues called Thursday for Trump to disclose who is attending the dinner.
Calling the dinner "an orgy of corruption," Warren told a press conference that Trump "is using the presidency of the United States to make himself richer through crypto."
Data analytics firm Inca Digital has confirmed that many transactions occurred through international exchanges unavailable in the United States, suggesting foreign buyers.
Chinese-born crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun claims the top investor position, having committed $20 million to the memecoin as part of his $93 million total investment in Trump-linked crypto ventures.
Sun, founder of top 10 cryptocurrency TRON, was under investigation by U.S. authorities for market manipulation, but regulators, now controlled by Trump appointees, agreed in February to a 60-day pause to seek a settlement.
According to the website Popular Information, a few weeks before that decision, Sun purchased $30 million in digital assets from a venture backed by Trump and his family.
"Honored to support @POTUS and grateful for the invitation to attend President Trump's Gala Dinner as his TOP fan!" Sun wrote Tuesday on X.
Justin Unga of advocacy group End Citizens United described the crypto dinner as a blatant example of Trump profiting from the presidency while roiling the U.S. economy.
"Some say this is a back door to corruption," Unga said.
"I would argue it's the front door with valet parking, and it's got a red carpet... and a slap in the face of hard working Americans."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the allegations of impropriety Thursday, telling a briefing that Trump is attending the dinner in his "personal time" and abiding by applicable conflict of interest laws.
The dinner comes as the U.S. Senate is pushing through legislation to more clearly regulate cryptocurrencies, a long-sought request of the industry.
Senators on Monday advanced a landmark bill known as the GENIUS Act that proposes a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of crypto token seen as more predictable for investors as its value is pegged to hard currencies like the dollar.
That legislation had faced roadblocks in part because of Trump's dabbling in cryptocurrencies; a rising sector he once dismissed as a scam.
His stance reversed during the 2024 presidential campaign when crypto tycoons, frustrated by perceived unfair treatment under the Biden administration, became major contributors to his campaign.
Bitcoin's price hit a new all-time high on Thursday, climbing above $111,000 before falling slightly.
Trump's newfound enthusiasm for digital currencies has expanded into multiple ventures led primarily by his eldest sons.
Their growing portfolio includes investments in Binance, a major crypto exchange whose founder seeks a presidential pardon to re-enter the U.S. market.
This investment flows through World Liberty Financial, a Trump family-backed venture launched last September with significant Mideast deals.
The company's founding team includes Donald Jr. and Eric Trump alongside Zach Witkoff, son of Trump's diplomatic adviser.
President Trump has taken concrete steps to reduce regulatory barriers, including an executive order establishing a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve" for government holdings of the leading digital currency.
Published - May 23, 2025 10:32 am IST
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The Bank of Korea (BOK) is shifting its strategy to move central bank digital currency (CBDC) toward real-world implementation. Governor Rhee Chang-yong has begun directly meeting with top commercial bank executives to explain the importance of CBDC and gain their support in what is being described as a “hands-on marketing” approach.
According to financial industry sources on May 23, Rhee recently visited six major banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup, and IBK Industrial Bank of Korea -- holding individual meetings lasting around 30 minutes with each CEO. On May 21, he met with Shinhan Bank CEO Jung Sang-hyuk, followed by meetings with Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wanand NH Nonghyup Bank CEO Kang Tae-young. A series of one-on-one meetings, conducted outside of official events like those organized by the Korea Federation of Banks, are considered highly unusual.
All the banks visited by Rhee are participants in “Project Agora.” Led by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Project Agora is a global experiment involving central banks and international financial institutions that aims to explore improvements to cross-border payment systems by linking institutional-use CBDCs with tokenized commercial bank deposits. Rhee is said to have emphasized that if the project progresses according to the BIS's goals, participating commercial banks could significantly reduce operational costs in areas such as foreign exchange transactions and regulatory compliance.
Rhee also sought attention and collaboration for a separate domestic initiative, “Project Hangang,” which is being led independently by the BOK. This project is testing the use of tokenized commercial bank deposits linked to CBDC as a means of payment in everyday transactions. The central bank began recruiting participants from the general public last month, and about 100,000 people are currently involved in the pilot.
Building on these one-on-one meetings, Rhee is scheduled to hold a group discussion on May 26 with the CEOs of the six banks. Also attending will be Timothy Adams, president and CEO of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), who is visiting South Korea. The meeting will include updates on Project Agora and discussions on the changing landscape of global payments and financial stability issues.
A financial industry official familiar with the BOK's internal affairs stated, “Project Hangang hasn't received as much market attention or evaluation compared to its actual progress. In fact, the BOK has been preparing the necessary infrastructure steadily since 2017. Governor Rhee's recent personal involvement seems aimed at showcasing those efforts and capabilities both at home and abroad.”
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Students enter Harvard Yard, on the university's main campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Credit: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty
As the US government slashes Harvard University's funding, the damage to research at the school is becoming clearer. Nature has learnt that researchers at the university have lost nearly 1,000 grants worth more than US$2.4 billion.
Will US science survive Trump 2.0?
Will US science survive Trump 2.0?
Last week, the administration of US President Donald Trump announced the terminations in a press release, but did not specify how many would be targeted or list individual grants. Nature obtained the figures from a variety of sources, including US funding agency employees and an online volunteer tracking effort at grant-watch.us.
An e-mail to Harvard from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) lists 193 grants worth nearly $150 million as being terminated, and one from the US Department of Defense (DoD) logs 56 grants worth $105 million. Other cuts are smaller: for instance, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing and Urban Development each terminated three grants. But by far, the largest tranche comes from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest funder of biomedical science: it is cutting more than 600 grants worth about $2.2 billion over multiple years. The cuts do not include Harvard-affiliated hospitals.
Through research grants, the US government funds about 11% of Harvard's annual $6.4 billion budget, and these cancellations will be devastating, researchers say. “Harvard cannot, even with its vast resources, just make up for this loss of federal funding,” says Joseph Loparo, a biological chemist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, who lost two NIH grants for studying repair processes in DNA totalling $4.3 million.
Harvard, whose main campus is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the most prestigious universities in the world — and the wealthiest — with its $53-billion endowment. The university has been a prime target for the Trump administration as it seeks to eradicate what it calls ‘woke' ideology from US campuses. According to The New York Times, Trump posed the possibility of never paying Harvard its allotment of grant money during a private luncheon on 1 April. “Wouldn't that be cool?” he asked. On Thursday, the US Department of Homeland Security made the extraordinary announcement that it had cancelled Harvard's ability to enroll international students — a substantial revenue stream. Today, the university sued, and a US judge quickly placed a temporary freeze on the Trump administration's policy until a hearing can be held.
Although the Trump administration has terminated grants at other research institutions — such as Columbia University in New York City — the cancellations at Harvard are exceptional in scale. The vast majority of the university's NIH awards have been terminated, for example. And the cuts across multiple agencies include funding for stated priorities of the Trump administration, such as artificial intelligence and quantum physics. A $20-million grant for a quantum materials centre was axed, along with several multimillion-dollar grants for quantum computing. Many of these grants have multi-institution collaborators whose funding situation is unclear.
Alan Garber, Harvard's president, arrives for a graduation ceremony at the university.Credit: Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty
Alan Garber, Harvard's president, arrives for a graduation ceremony at the university.Credit: Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty
The Trump team has alleged that Harvard and other universities have fostered an environment of antisemitism. In e-mails it sent justifying the grant terminations, the administration said that Harvard has also engaged in “race discrimination” in admissions.
In early April, government officials contacted Harvard and presented it with a list of demands that must be met in order for the university to continue receiving federal money, some of which would give the government oversight of its admissions and hiring practices. Harvard denied the request publicly, saying that it would be a violation of academic freedom. In response, the administration froze the institution's research grants. Harvard sued on 21 April, arguing that the government was withholding federal funding “as leverage to gain control of academic decisionmaking at Harvard”.
When asked for a response to last week's terminations, a Harvard spokesperson pointed Nature to public comments made by university president Alan Garber on 14 May: “We stand behind our thousands of outstanding faculty, postdoctoral, staff, and student researchers. Together they continue to make revolutionary discoveries, cure illness, deepen our understanding of the world, and translate that understanding into impact … It is crucial for this country, the economy, and humankind that this work continue.”
The White House and the DoD did not respond to Nature's request for comment, and the NSF declined to comment. A spokesperson from the US Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH, stated that “The HHS is taking decisive action to uphold civil rights and protect taxpayer investments in higher education.”
Scientists at Harvard who have lost funding spoke to Nature about the impact of the terminations on their research.
How Trump's attack on universities is putting research in peril
How Trump's attack on universities is putting research in peril
David Charbonneau, an exoplanet researcher at Harvard, had a multi-year NSF grant worth $538,000 terminated with one year to go. The grant funded operation of the Arizona-based Tierras Observatory, which records tiny dips in light from stars — a tell-tale sign of a planet from outside the Solar System passing in front of them. Charbonneau has managed to secure funding from Harvard to pay the postdoctoral fellow who has been operating Tierras for the next year, but beyond that it's unclear what will happen. “How does cutting a research grant in astrophysics to look for planets orbiting other stars address antisemitism on campus?” Charbonneau asks.
Postdocs and students are some of the primary targets of the administration's cuts. The NSF cut a $43-million grant that included all of Harvard's funding for the agency's graduate research fellowship programme. An NSF source who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press tells Nature that the fellowships have not been terminated, but that students cannot access the funds unless they transfer to a new institution.
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If it's true, this work could have ramifications for some of the biggest mysteries of the universe, including learning where we came from.
From ancient Greek philosopher Plato to Neo, hero of the dystopian film fantasy The Matrix, humans have long pondered the true nature of reality. Can we trust what we see, taste, touch, smell, and hear, to be real—or have we not truly grasped “how deep the rabbit hole goes?”
The most modern formulation of this idea is the simulation hypothesis, the concept that what we perceive as reality is actually a hyper-realistic, uber-sophisticated simulation likely designed by beings unfathomably more advanced than our own. Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom first put this idea into words back in 2003, and since then, the hypothesis has gathered some notable adherents. However, there's a wide chasm between philosophy and proven science—and to get there, you need to build a bridge of evidence.
For the past six years, Melvin Vopson, Ph.D., a physicist at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K.— has been trying to construct this crucial piece of empirical infrastructure. His latest addition to the idea revealed a potential new role for gravity. In a paper he published in AIP Advances in April, Vopson explores the idea that gravitational attraction effectively reduces information entropy—in other words, it enforces computational order on information chaos.
Entropy is a measure of disorder in an isolated system. For example, if you have a well-ordered room, it has low entropy. But over time, the room becomes messier, without expending energy to keep it neat. Its increasing disorganization indicates a rise in entropy. This idea extends to information, Vopson says, but inversely.
“If you take an area of space with some objects in it, they will have information entropy associated with this information,” Vopson says. That information registers the properties of matter in space, such as velocity and position. Information has a really tiny mass, but it's enough to be measurable, according to the paper. But if the objects cluster together due to gravity, that information entropy is reduced, and so they will have more order, he says.
If true (and it's a pretty big “if”), Vopson's new gravitational study would shake the foundations of the currently accepted view of the universe. In his paper, he writes that this work could have ramifications for some of the biggest mysteries of the universe, including dark energy, quantum gravity, and black hole thermodynamics.
His new paper pushes science a little bit closer to possibly understanding our simulated universe—a scientific pursuit that took Vopson by complete surprise. Having a deep background in condensed matter physics and digital data storage, Vopson once worked on the full-spectrum of digital storage technologies as a senior research and development scientist at Seagate, a U.S. data storage company.
He didn't intend to study the simulated universe idea. “It was completely out of my reasoning,” Vopson says. “All of this work in condensed matter physics and data storage, it shaped up my thinking and understanding of digital technology and information…the reason I was able to do this was I was at the right time at the right place.”
That time arrived in 2019, when Vopson—inspired by the work of computer scientist Claude Shannon, the father of information theory—developed his mass-energy-information-equivalence principle. Soon he followed it with his “Second Law of Infodynamics.” It's a title he admits is a bit ambitious. While the Second Law of Thermodynamics says that the entropy—or disorder—of any system remains constant or increases over time, the concept of information turns that law on its head.
“The Second Law of Information Dynamics requires information entropy to decrease, it requires less computational power, and less data storage,” Vopson says, adding, “I was a bit too brave. I postulated with a collaborator of mine that this is a universal law, but I only gave two examples…since then, all my efforts were geared toward finding other systems where this is valid.”
That drive to find supporting evidence for his presumptuously declared “law” of the universe is what actually led Vopson into the scientific realm of the simulation hypothesis. Alongside the introduction of his second law, his exploration first bore fruit in 2022—because of the Covid-19 pandemic. After analyzing the readily available data related to the mutations of the SARS-CoV-2, the microscopic menace behind the pandemic, Vopson determined that when the virus mutated, information entropy decreased. According to Vopson, if the universe was a super-sophisticated simulation, it would require built-in optimization and compression to reduce complexity. So perhaps these genetic mutations are evidence of that optimization at work, since mutations appeared to decrease information entropy.
Vopson's concept draws on Shannon's information theory and also the German-American physicist Rolf Landauer's proposed connection between thermodynamics and information. In this new paper, Vopson applies his hypothesis to the concept of “entropic gravity,” an idea first explored in 2011 by Dutch theoretical physicist Erik Verlinde. The basic concept is that gravity isn't a fundamental force but an emergent phenomenon. Deeper processes, perhaps one like the Second Law of Infodynamics, are what give rise to gravity, Vopson argues.
Despite six years of these kinds of rapid-fire bold claims, Vopson is very aware that his ideas are far from certain. He's the first to mention that many of his studies' titles contain question marks, and that he often writes disclaimers in his conclusions that the simulation hypothesis is just that—a hypothesis. So far, he says, he has gotten surprisingly little pushback for his ideas, but he welcomes any and all criticism.
His ultimate mission is to expand humanity's knowledge in any way possible—even if that means definitively proving that our universe is the real deal.
“We have a public duty to publish results, publish ideas, bring them into the public domain so we can debate them, so we can disprove them,” Vopson says. “Otherwise we won't make any progress.”
Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.
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Hypervelocity Stars Hint at a Supermassive Black Hole Right Next Door
Some stars streaking through the Milky Way at millions of kilometers per hour probably trace back to a supermassive black hole in a neighboring galaxy
By Phil Plait edited by Lee Billings
An artist's concept of a hypervelocity star streaking through the Milky Way, surrounded by slower-moving stars.
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An astonishing fact only known for the past few decades is that every big galaxy in the universe has a supermassive black hole at its heart. This was suspected in the 1980s, and observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, which has peered deep into the cores of galaxies all across the sky, confirmed it. The “normal” kinds of black holes made when stars explode range from five to about 100 times the mass of the sun, more or less. But these central galactic monsters are millions of times more massive, and some have grown to the Brobdingnagian heft of billions of solar masses.
A lot of mysteries still remain, of course, such as how they formed early in the history of the universe, how they grew so humongous so fast and what role they played in their host galaxy's formation. But one odd question still nagging at astronomers is: What's the galaxy size cutoff where this trend stops? In other words, is there some lower limit to how massive a galaxy can be and still harbor one of these beasts?
The inklings of an answer are emerging from a surprising place: studies of rare stars moving through our own galaxy at truly ludicrous speeds.
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Orbiting our Milky Way galaxy is a menagerie of smaller “dwarf” galaxies, some so tiny and faint you need huge telescopes to see them at all. But two are so large and close that they're visible to the unaided eye from the Southern Hemisphere: the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the bigger and closer of the two, and it's not clear if it harbors a supermassive black hole (SMBH). If such an SMBH exists there, it must be quiescent, meaning it's not actively feeding on matter. As material falls toward such a black hole, it forms a swirling disk of superheated plasma that can glow so brightly it outshines all the stars in the galaxy combined. No such fierce luminescence is seen in the LMC, so we don't know if an SMBH is there and not actively feeding or if the LMC is simply SMBH-free.
But a recent study published in the Astrophysical Journal offers strong evidence that an SMBH does lie at the center of the LMC—based on measurements of stellar motions in our own Milky Way!
The study looked at hypervelocity stars, ones that are screaming through space at speeds far higher than stars around them. Some of these stars are moving so rapidly that they have reached galactic escape velocity; the Milky Way's gravity can't hold them. In the coming eons, they'll flee the galaxy entirely. And we have good reason to believe these runaway stars were launched by SMBHs—but how?
Such a situation starts with a binary system, two stars orbiting each other. These systems contain a substantial amount of orbital energy, the sum of the kinetic energy of the two stars—their energy of motion—and their gravitational potential energy, the amount of energy released if they were to move closer together.
If the binary star approaches a third object, some of that energy can be swapped around. One star can become bound to the third object, for example, while the other star can get a kick in its kinetic energy, flinging it away. The amount of the kick depends in part on the gravity of the third object. A massive black hole, of course, has an incredibly strong gravitational field that can fling the star away at high speed.
And I do mean high speed; such a star can be flung away from the black hole at a velocity greater than 1,000 kilometers per second. S5-HVS1, for example, was the first confirmed such hypervelocity star, and it's moving at more than 1,700 kilometers per second. Feel free to take a moment to absorb that fact: an entire star has been ejected away from a black hole at more than six million kilometers per hour. The energies involved are terrifying.
We have seen a few of these stars in our galaxy, and careful measurements suggest they're moving away from the center of the Milky Way, which is pretty convincing evidence that Sagittarius A*, our own Milky Way's SMBH, is to blame.
But not all of the high-velocity stars that have been detected appear to come from our galactic center. Fortunately, Gaia, the sadly now decommissioned European Space Agency astronomical observatory, was designed to obtain extremely accurate measurements of the positions, distances, colors and other characteristics of well more than a billion stars—including their velocity.
There are 21 known hypervelocity stars at the outskirts of the Milky Way. Using the phenomenally high-precision Gaia measurements, the astronomers behind the new research examined the stars' 3D velocities through space. They found that five of them have ambiguous origins, while two definitely come from the Milky Way center. Of the 14 still left, three clearly come from the direction of the LMC.
The trajectories of these stars effectively point back to their origin, and based on our current knowledge, that origin must be a supermassive black hole. Even better, although the remaining 11 stars have trajectories that are consistent with both Milky Way and LMC origins, the researchers found that five are more likely to have come from our home galaxy and the other six are more likely to have come from the LMC.
So there could be nine known hypervelocity stars plunging through our galaxy that were ejected by a supermassive black hole in another galaxy.
Using some sophisticated math, the team found that the most likely mass of the black hole is 600,000 or so times the mass of the sun. This isn't huge for an SMBH—it's very much on the low end of the scale, in fact—but then, the LMC is a small galaxy, only 1 percent or so the mass of the Milky Way. We know that the mass of a black hole tends to scale with its host galaxy's mass (because they form together and affect each other's growth), so this lower mass is consistent with that.
If this is true, then our satellite galaxy is shooting stars at us! And there may be more of them yet to be found, hurtling through space unseen on the other side of our galaxy, or so far out that they're difficult to spot and even harder to study. And all this helps us get a clearer—but still quite hazy!—sense of just how far down the galactic scale we can expect to find big black holes.
Black holes are funny. Most people would worry about falling into one, as well as a host of other terrors, but now you can add “having to dodge intergalactic stellar bullets” to that list.
Phil Plait is a professional astronomer and science communicator in Virginia. His column for Scientific American, The Universe, covers all things space. He writes the Bad Astronomy Newsletter. Follow him online.
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Mangroves are a carbon-dense and highly productive ecosystem but can experience massive dieback under environmental extremes. Climatic oscillations, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), are major drivers of global climate variability, yet their impact on mangrove growth at the global scale remains uncertain. Here, using long-term satellite observations from 2001 to 2020, we show that more than 50% of global mangrove areas experience significant variations during ENSO events, exhibiting a seesaw-like pattern across the Pacific Basin where mangrove leaf area decreases in the western Pacific but increases in the eastern Pacific during El Niño, with the reverse occurring during La Niña. The Indian Ocean Dipole affects mangroves across the Indian Ocean similarly but with a lower magnitude relative to ENSO. These patterns are driven by corresponding sea-level fluctuations across the Pacific and Indian ocean basins, with local contributions from lunar nodal cycles. Our study highlights the crucial role of short-term sea-level fluctuations driven by climatic oscillations in dominating the variability of coastal wetland growth and, consequently, in influencing the blue carbon sink.
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Y.L. acknowledges the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grants (grant no. 42276232). D.F. thanks M. and M. Cochran for endowing the Cochran Family Professorship in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Tulane University. We thank W. Cai at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for his feedback on an earlier version of this work.
State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Key Laboratory of Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems (Ministry of Education), College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
Zhen Zhang & Yangfan Li
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
Zhen Zhang & Daniel A. Friess
Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Xiangzhong Luo
Center for Nature-Based Climate Solutions, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Xiangzhong Luo
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Z.Z. conceptualized the study. Z.Z. and Y.L. designed the study. Z.Z. performed the analysis and drafted the paper with contributions from all other co-authors. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the results. Y.L. is the main corresponding author of the study.
Correspondence to
Zhen Zhang or Yangfan Li.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature Geoscience thanks Norman Duke, Melinda Martinez and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Xujia Jiang, in collaboration with the Nature Geoscience team.
Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This map was adopted from ref. 62.
ΔEVI (average EVI during ENSO event minus average EVI during neutral periods) in (a) Shoalwater Bay, Australia, and (b) Gulf of California, Mexico. The left panels show Landsat results at 30-m resolution. The other three-column panels show MODIS results at 250-m resolution with three different criteria to define mangrove extents. The right panels show results for pure mangrove pixels (mangrove coverage > 80%) at 250-m resolution, which is used in the main analysis. Areas with green color represent mangroves with enhanced growth, and red color indicates mangrove degradation during the ENSO event.
Changes in anomaly (z-score) of mean monthly (a) air temperature, (b) SPEI, (c) wind speed, (d) sea surface temperature, (e) sea surface salinity, and (f) sea-level anomaly are shown. Pie plots indicate the area-weighted proportion of grid cells with significantly increased LAI (green), significantly decreased LAI (purple), or no significant difference with neutral phases (grey) (P > 0.05).
Changes in anomaly (z-score) of mean monthly (a) air temperature, (b) SPEI, (c) wind speed, (d) sea surface temperature, (e) sea surface salinity, and (f) sea-level anomaly are shown. Pie plots indicate the area-weighted proportion of grid cells with significantly increased LAI (green), significantly decreased LAI (purple), or no significant difference with neutral phases (grey) (P > 0.05).
Changes in anomaly (z-score) of mean monthly (a) air temperature, (b) SPEI, (c) wind speed, (d) sea surface temperature, (e) sea surface salinity, and (f) sea-level anomaly are shown. Pie plots indicate the area-weighted proportion of grid cells with significantly increased LAI (green), significantly decreased LAI (purple), or no significant difference with neutral phases (grey) (P > 0.05).
The contribution is calculated as the product of mangrove sensitivity to (a) air temperature, (b) SPEI, (c) wind speed, (d) sea surface temperature, (e) sea surface salinity, and (f) sea-level anomaly and El Niño-induced anomaly in these factors.
The contribution is calculated as the product of mangrove sensitivity to (a) air temperature, (b) SPEI, (c) wind speed, (d) sea surface temperature, (e) sea surface salinity, and (f) sea-level anomaly and La Niña-induced anomaly in these factors.
The dominant component driving SLA during (a) 2015-2016 El Niño, (b) 2010-2012 La Niña, and (c) 2019 pIOD. In (a) and (b), the left pie charts represent results from Indo-Malesia and Australasia, while in (c), the left pie chart shows results from eastern Africa. The right pie charts in (a) and (b) depict results from western America, while in (c), the right pie chart shows results from Indo-Malesia and Australasia. The red areas in the charts denote regions where SLA is predominantly influenced by climatic oscillations, and the blue areas indicate regions where the nodal cycle is the dominant factor. Specific spatial details of SLA contributed by climatic oscillations and nodal cycle are shown in Supplementary Fig. 8.
The contribution is calculated as the product of mangrove sensitivity to (a) air temperature, (b) SPEI, (c) wind speed, (d) sea surface temperature, (e) sea surface salinity, and (f) sea-level anomaly and pIOD-induced anomaly in these factors.
Supplementary Figs. 1–11 and Tables 1–3.
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Zhang, Z., Luo, X., Friess, D.A. et al. Global mangrove growth variability driven by climatic oscillation-induced sea-level fluctuations.
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Molecular motors can act on their environment through their unique ability to generate non-reciprocal autonomous motions at the nanoscale. Although their operating principles are now understood, artificial molecular motors have yet to demonstrate their general capacity to confer novel properties on (supra)molecular systems and materials. Here we show that amphiphilic light-driven molecular motors can adsorb onto an air‒water interface and form Langmuir monolayers upon compression. By irradiation with ultraviolet light, the surface pressure isotherms of these films reveal a drastic shift toward a smaller molecular area as a consequence of motor activation. We explain this counterintuitive phenomenon by the rotation-induced supramolecular polymerization of amphiphilic motors through a non-thermal annealing process to escape a kinetically trapped amorphous state. The effect is limited by the maximum torque the molecular motor can deliver (~10 pN nm) and leads to the formation of highly organized patterns. This serendipitous discovery highlights the opportunities offered by molecular motors to control supramolecular polymerization for the design of innovative materials.
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This work was funded by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Programme as part of the MSCA-ITN project ArtMoMa under grant number 860434. This work was also supported by the Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (PHOTOMORPH and MONA_LISA grant numbers ANR-24-CE06-7386 and ANR-20-CE09-0012 and fellowships to A.C. and I.N.). The authors are deeply grateful to CEA-Saclay and A. Chenneviere for their help during the XRR experiments. The authors also thank Synchrotron SOLEIL for beamtime allocation and P. Fontaine for his help during the GIXD experiments. We thank M.-P. Krafft and P. Muller for scientific discussions. The authors acknowledge support from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the University of Strasbourg (fellowship to L.-A.A.), the University Paris Cité and the Institut Universitaire de France.
SAMS Research Group, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron UPR 22, Strasbourg, France
Philippe Schiel, Mounir Maaloum, Emilie Moulin, Damien Dattler, Lou-Ann Accou, Rémi Plamont & Nicolas Giuseppone
CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron UPR 22, Strasbourg, France
Irina Nyrkova & Alexander Semenov
Matière et Systèmes Complexes (MSC), UMR CNRS 7057, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
Anastasia Christoulaki & Eric Buhler
Université de Strasbourg, Institut de Science et d'Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (ISIS), Strasbourg, France
Jean-Marie Lehn
Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Strasbourg, France
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N.G. and J.-M.L. conceived the project. P.S., D.D. and L.-A.A. synthesized the motor amphiphiles. P.S. performed all the Langmuir layer experiments with the help of L.-A.A. and R.P. M.M. performed the AFM experiments. I.N. and A.S. developed the theoretical model. A.C. and E.B. performed and analysed the XRR and GIXD experiments (with the help of L.-A.A.). N.G. directed the research with the help of E.M., who contributed to analysing all the data. P.S. and N.G. wrote the paper with input from all the authors.
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Schiel, P., Maaloum, M., Moulin, E. et al. Supramolecular polymerization through rotation of light-driven molecular motors.
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The utilization of medicinal and psychoactive plants in the past represents a pivotal intersection of culture, health, and biodiversity. While such plants in Arabia have been known from classical and medieval textual records, this study provides material evidence of the use of one such plant for fumigation already in the Iron Age. Through metabolic profiling of organic residues recovered from archaeological artefacts at the oasis of Qurayyah, Northwest Arabia, we identified the drug plant Peganum harmala. Renowned for its antibacterial, psychoactive and multiple therapeutic properties, its presence highlights the deliberate utilization of local pharmacopeia by ancient communities. This discovery represents not only the first evidence for its use in Iron Age Arabia, but also the most ancient, radiometrically dated material evidence of Peganum harmala being used for fumigation globally. Beyond their health benefits, these plants were also valued for their sensory and affective properties. Documenting, understanding and preserving these ancient knowledge systems enriches our understanding of ancient traditions while safeguarding the region's intangible cultural heritage.
The use of medicinal and psychoactive plants by humans is a tradition with profoundly ancient origins1,2,3,4. Selecting, processing, and harnessing their bioactive properties marked significant breakthroughs in human history, which laid important foundations for modern pharmacology and traditional medicine5. Across cultures, these plants were highly valued for their ability to provide therapeutic benefits and induce altered states of consciousness, playing integral roles in medicinal, sanitary, ritualistic and recreational practices across various cultures4,6,7,8,9. Through careful observation and experimentation, ancient communities cultivated a deep understanding of their local flora10,11. This rich body of knowledge, which included the identification, harvesting, and application of medicinal and psychoactive plants, was refined over generations and passed down through centuries if not longer11,12,13,14. However, much of the ancient expertise has been lost over time, primarily because these knowledge systems were often transmitted only orally. In contrast to other regions, such as ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, Egypt, or China11,15,16, where botanical and medicinal knowledge has been extensively documented also in texts, we lack such ancient written sources from Arabia before the Classical Greek and Islamic periods. Translations of ancient Greek medical texts, such as Galen's medical works, into Syriac and Arabic occurred only in Late Antiquity17.
A promising approach for gaining more information about the use of medicinal and psychoactive plants in earlier periods of history is the analysis of preserved plant residues found in archeological artifacts7,8,18. Using techniques such as metabolic profiling, these residues can reveal direct insights into the ancient use of botanical resources, including the identification of the original plant materials, their bioactive properties, and methods of application. This approach offers a unique window into the past, shedding light on the types of plants used for purposes that are often challenging to investigate in archeological contexts, such as medicinal, therapeutic, sensorial, olfactory, sanitary, and recreational practices7,9,19. These challenges arise primarily from the limited preservation of these substances, which were often burned during fumigation, directly consumed or processed. In this context, preserved organic residues in archeological artifacts and contexts serve as important archives18, offering critical information for plant identification.
The present study investigates the use of plant-based substances in Iron Age Arabia, focusing on the archeological site Qurayyah, an ancient oasis settlement in Saudi Arabia (28° 47' 00” N and 36° 00' 27” E), which thrived as a significant ‘urban'-like center during the Bronze and Iron Ages (Fig. 1A)20,21. This site has yielded numerous censers and fumigation devices from these periods, notable for the preserved organic residues inside them. Although evidence exists for the ancient consumption of drug plants dating back to prehistory in the Americas8,22,23,24,25,26, Europe6,27, North Africa9, and Central Asia7,28,29, such practices remain unexplored in pre-classical Arabia, despite the region's rich diversity of drug plants. Today, among the ca. 2,250 identified plant species in Arabia, nearly 25% are documented for their medicinal uses13,30, suggesting that past societies in the region may already have harnessed these plants for their therapeutic and psychoactive properties.
A Drone view of Qurayyah with the localization of the excavated Areas D, N, and R, indicated by circles (Photo A. M. Abualhassan). B Iron Age residence of Area D with censer QU.D.1167.F.6 and painted vessel QU.D.1167.F.1 in situ (Photo S. McGlone), and Iron Age elite dwelling of Area N (Photo A. M. Abualhassan). C Photos of the censer from Area D: QU.D.1167.F.6 and of the two censers from Area N: QU.N.2340.F.3 and QU.N.1253.F.1 (Photos: H. Sell [Area D] and C. Jäger [Area N]). Graphics: Michelle O'Reilly, MPI-GEA.
The practice of burning substances for ritual purposes in the oasis of Qurayyah can be traced back to the 3rd millennium BCE, evidenced by a censer found in a final Early Bronze Age grave (2135-1952 cal BCE (IntCal20, 95.4% probability))31. Recent excavations have revealed additional fumigation devices from residential areas dating to the Middle Iron Age (first half of 1st millennium BCE; see Supplementary Table 1 for radiocarbon dates). Notably, one such burner (QU.D.1167.F.6) was discovered in Area D, in the courtyard of an Iron Age residence (Fig. 1B). From this object's inner surface (Fig. 1C), two residue samples (DA-QU_D-1 and DA-QU_D-2) were collected for analysis. Additional devices were discovered in Area N, an elite dwelling of the same age as the Area D residence (Fig. 1B). While one burner (QU.N.1253.F.1) was found in the food production area, another (QU.N.2340.F.3) was discovered in the cellar of the home (see Supplementary Information for additional contextual information). These devices also contained traces of burning and residues on the surface. Sample DA-QU_N-1 was taken from the object in the cooking area, a cuboid burner, which belongs to the building's latest phase, and sample DA-QU_N-2 was retrieved from the burner in the cellar corresponding to the building's earliest phase. All censers are made of fired clay.
By employing high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, we aim to identify the origins of these organic residues and explore their significance in their contexts. MRM is a targeted mass spectrometry technique that facilitates the monitoring of specific precursor and product ion pairs, significantly enhancing the specificity and sensitivity of the analysis. This proves particularly advantageous for detecting compounds present in low concentrations or contained within complex sample matrices, as often encountered in archeological contexts. Here, we present the first material evidence that the plant Peganum harmala (commonly known as Syrian Rue, Harmal, or Esfand) was used in fumigation devices. P. harmala is known for its antibacterial32, psychoactive33,34, and multiple therapeutic properties35,36, and is widely used in traditional medicine37,38. Beyond its well-documented medicinal and psychoactive applications, this discovery invites further exploration of its broader potential uses in ancient Arabian society, including its role in daily life for sanitary purposes, cleansing rituals, and other practical functions.
The HPLC–MS/MS results show the presence of two tricyclic beta-carboline alkaloids, notably harmine and harmane (Fig. 2; Supplementary Data 1–4), in samples DA-QU_D-1, DA-QU_D-2, and DA-QU_N-1, confirmed through comparison with analytical standards. Harmine and harmane were detected in the archeological sample through specific optimal transitions of precursor and product ions under MRM mode. For harmine, the precursor ion with m/z 213.0 fragmented under specific collision energies (CE), producing three product ions: 170.1 at CE: 30 eV, 198.1 at CE: 23 eV, and 169.2 at CE: 42 eV. Similarly, harmane was identified with the precursor ion m/z 183.2, which fragmented to yield the product ions 115.1 at CE: 34 eV, 119.1 at CE: 52 eV, and 168.1 at CE: 28 eV (Fig. 2). These transitions, as well as the observed chromatographic retention times, aligned with those obtained from analytical standards, confirming the presence of harmine and harmane in the archeological sample with high specificity. Sample DA-QU_N-2 differed from the other samples as it did not contain these compounds.
Archaeological samples (with DA-QU_D2 shown here as an example) were analyzed using targeted metabolomics to detect alkaloids via multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. MRM chromatograms show transitions corresponding to the β-carboline alkaloids harmine and harmane, detected in the archeological sample and compared to analytical standards. For harmine, three transitions are shown: yellow trace (m/z 213.00 → 170.10, collision energy −30 eV), red trace (m/z 213.00 → 198.10, −23 eV), and purple trace (m/z 213.00 → 160.15, −42 eV). For harmane, the following transitions were recorded: yellow trace (m/z 183.08 → 115.10, −34 eV), purple trace (m/z 183.08 → 89.10, −52 eV), and red trace (m/z 183.08 → 168.10, −28 eV). The retention times and transition patterns matched those of reference compounds, confirming the presence of harmine and harmane in the archeological residue with high specificity. The icons below summarize known psychoactive and therapeutic properties of P. harmala, including antidepressant, psychoactive, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiparasitic, and pain-relieving effects32,36,37,39,46,69,75,76. Graphics: Michelle O'Reilly, MPI-GEA.
These alkaloids occur naturally in species of the Peganum genus (Zygophyllaceae family)35. These perennial herbaceous shrubs bloom with whitish-yellow flowers and produce globular capsules as fruits, housing blackish seeds35. This genus includes four species with a wide distribution, extending from the Mediterranean to East Asia, and even reaching certain areas in America34. Specifically, P. harmala is widespread across the Mediterranean, Central Asia, North Africa, and Western Asia, including Saudi Arabia, thriving in arid and semi-arid regions39. In contrast, P. nigellastrum and P. multisectum are primarily found in northwestern China, Mongolia, and Russia, while P. mexicanum is native to North America34. Given that only P. harmala is endemic to Saudi Arabia and the other species grow at a considerable geographical distance, P. harmala is identified as the most likely and locally available source based on current vegetation. Beyond P. harmala, these alkaloids also appear in plants, such as Passiflora incarnata, Banisteriopsis caapi (also known as the ayahuasca vine), and other members of the Malpighiaceae family40. However, these species are endemic to the Neotropical Region and the Americas, making them unlikely candidates as sources used in Iron Age Arabia. Furthermore, the compound harmane has been identified in tobacco leaves (Nicotiana sp.), which are also indigenous to the Americas, as well as in coffee beans, which originated in Africa41,42. While the coffee plant (Coffea sp.) is currently cultivated in Yemen, its introduction to South Arabia from Ethiopia occurred only in the mid-fifteenth century CE43. There is no evidence of coffee cultivation, either in Arabia or Ethiopia, as early as the Iron Age. The chronological gap of more than two millennia between the Iron Age occupation at Qurayyah and the start of coffee cultivation further supports the exclusion of Coffea sp. as a potential source. Thus, due to the significant geographical distance and habitat differences of some plant sources and the chronological distance of others, we propose P. harmala as the most likely source.
Harmala alkaloids are reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A)44. This means that they temporarily inhibit the MAO-A enzyme, which is responsible for breaking down certain neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin and norepinephrine45. As a result, these neurotransmitters accumulate to higher levels, stimulating the central nervous system and contributing to the health-benefiting effects of P. harmala. Unlike irreversible inhibitors, which permanently deactivate enzymes, harmala alkaloids allow enzyme activity to recover once the compounds are metabolized. Additionally, the broad receptor affinity of harmala alkaloids contributes to their diverse psychopharmacological effects, ranging from sedation to stimulation46, as well as exhibiting antibacterial32, antiparasitic36, and anti-inflammatory activities39,47 (Fig. 2). Additionally, they possess immunomodulatory and potential cardiovascular effects, demonstrating a broad spectrum of actions on the human body48. However, the effects vary with the dose: small amounts can act as mild and therapeutic stimulants, while larger doses may induce hallucinations, and excessive consumption can even lead to poisoning49,50. This dose-dependent response exemplifies the concept of hormesis, where low doses of a substance may trigger beneficial or stimulatory effects, whereas higher doses can lead to adverse or inhibitory outcomes51.
In addition to the alkaloid content, samples DA-QU_D-1 and DA-QU_D-2 are characterized by a high abundance of sterol molecules, such as campesterol, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and sitostanol, alongside cholesterol (Supplementary Table 2 for further information about lipids). Samples DA-QU_N-1 and DA-QU_N-2 only contained low amounts of β-sitosterol and cholesterol. Phytosterols are widespread among a diverse array of plants52, and therefore, undiagnostic for specific plant identification. Common sources are plant oils, seeds, nuts, whole grains, legumes and fruits53. Given the high oil content of P. harmala seeds, it is plausible that these phytosterols originate from the harmala seeds. Research into P. harmala seed oil has revealed anti-inflammatory properties, underscoring the bioactive potential of the oil itself54. Nevertheless, the possibility of another plant oil's contribution cannot be discounted without further evidence.
An additional substance was found in the two burners from Area N. This material was the main substance preserved in sample DA-QU_N-2, which lacked harmala alkaloids. We identified the presence of pentacyclic triterpenoids, specifically α-amyrin and β-amyrin, along with their derivatives (Supplementary Data 3 and 4). These compounds are prevalent across the plant kingdom, notably in plant resins and extracts from the Burseraceae family, which includes species like Canarium, Protium, Bursera, and Commiphora55. Although these compounds alone do not allow for precise species identification, resins from the Burseraceae family are recognized for their beneficial biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, and gastroprotective effects55,56,57. In sample DA-QU_N-1, these compounds co-occurred with beta-carboline alkaloids, suggesting a possible mixture of two substances. Alternatively, the two substances might have been used sequentially within the same fumigation device. The presence of mixtures of substances is known from the oasis of Tayma, another Northwest Arabian oasis settlement 280 km south-east of Qurayyah, where censers from Iron Age graves also revealed residues containing amyrin compounds mixed with conifer and Pistacia resins19,58. Additionally, at Madaʾin Salih, a settlement part of the oasis of al-ʿUla, 300 km south of Qurayyah, amyrin compounds were recovered from textiles used in Nabataean burial practices59. They were interpreted as constituents of elemi resins (Canarium sp.). However, there is no evidence of P. harmala or other drug plant use from settlement contexts in either Tayma or in Madaʾin Salih, thus corroborating a pattern of use of P. harmala in settlement contexts and not in funerary ones. The several censers from funerary contexts in Qurayyah (Area R) have not been analyzed yet.
The metabolic analysis of the alkaloid content in the samples provides the most ancient, radiometrically dated, material evidence of P. harmala in fumigation devices. P. harmala was traditionally consumed in two main forms: by ingestion, often prepared as a tea or concoction, and through the inhalation of smoke from burning its seeds and roots1,9,60. Occasionally, it has been reported for external application, e.g., to treat skin conditions61,62. Our case study specifically highlights the practice of burning, as the residues were recovered from fumigation devices at the oasis of Qurayyah, setting it apart from ingestion-based practices and topical treatments. To our knowledge, this represents the earliest material evidence for P. harmala' use as a substance to be burnt in censers in the past. In contrast, earlier documented cases, such as seeds of P. harmala found at the Predynastic site of Maadi, Egypt, only confirm the plant's presence but provide no evidence of its specific applications63. Additionally, the archeological context at Qurayyah reveals that the fumigation devices containing harmala alkaloids were recovered exclusively from residential areas. P. harmala was used within dwellings, indicating its role at the oasis was most likely for domestic purposes connected to the household rather than for public ceremonies or funerary rituals.
While we have identified the original plant material, its bioactive properties, the method of application, and the context of use, the specific purposes for burning P. harmala at Qurayyah may have been multiple. Drawing on its historical and traditional use in other regions, one plausible hypothesis is its use for medicinal and therapeutic purposes, given its well-documented health benefits34. Today, the plant is still part of ethnomedicine in Saudi Arabia, where reliance on medicinal plants continues to be a common and valued practice13. In traditional medicine, particularly in West Asian and North African systems, P. harmala seeds have been recognized for a variety of properties, including analgesic, antithrombotic, carminative, anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, galactagogue, and emmenagogue effects35,38. The administration of P. harmala is used to manage conditions such as joint pain, chronic headache, toothache, and rheumatoid arthritis64. Other applications described in traditional medicine include its use as a sedative for alleviating nervousness, as well as its potential roles as an antidepressant and mood stabilizer44,65. Concerning women's health, it has been reported as an abortifacient, as well as for regulating menstrual flow and promoting or increasing breast milk production66,67. Also in ancient Greek texts, the plant is recognized for its medicinal value, being utilized as a vermifuge to expel tapeworms and as a treatment for fevers68.
It is plausible that, beyond human health applications, these plants may have also been used for veterinary purposes. P. harmala's known sedative effects when consumed by farm animals69,70 could suggest a dual use in managing human and animal health at the oasis settlement. However, the method of application—fumigation—argues against this, as the plant was typically ingested by animals rather than inhaled as smoke. Similarly, for some human health benefits, the substance is more commonly consumed as a beverage or applied topically. Nevertheless, there are applications in traditional medicine where the burning and inhalation of P. harmala seeds was used, for instance, to relieve toothaches and headaches, for anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory purposes, as a mood stabilizer, and generally to relieve pain38,64.
Beyond its therapeutic applications, P. harmala was documented in current traditional fumigation practices, particularly in ritualistic and spiritual contexts where its psychoactive properties were harnessed to induce altered states of consciousness60. At high doses, harmala alkaloids can produce intense hallucinations, euphoria, and other central nervous system effects46. The use of P. harmala at the oasis settlement could, therefore, suggest intentional exposure to its psychoactive effects. However, in order to have a hallucinogenic-like effect71, it must have been consumed in high concentrations, but the excessive consumption of P. harmala as a recreational psychoactive agent can be toxic, with several cases of harmala-related poisoning through overdosing already reported50. Beyond dosage, the modality of administration is crucial as well, where fumigation differs from oral intake, as inhalation delivers the active compounds through the respiratory system, potentially altering their absorption, distribution, and impact on the body. Another ritualistic and purifying purpose attested in modern-day Iran is the burning of P. harmala seeds to ward off evil.
In connection with purifying and cleansing rituals and routines, the practical applications of P. harmala must also be considered, particularly its potential use for sanitary and hygienic purposes. Due to its antibacterial and antifungal properties, the smoke produced from burning P. harmala seeds was traditionally used as a disinfectant agent to cleanse spaces and reduce the spread of illnesses72. At an oasis settlement like Qurayyah, maintaining hygienic habits in daily life would have been essential for minimizing health risks. In this context, P. harmala smoke may have played a role in air purification and disinfecting living spaces. Its practical properties further extend to its use as an insect repellent, offering protection against pests in domestic contexts—a significant concern in warm, oasis environments. In the context of air purification, the use of P. harmala primarily for its fragrance is unlikely because P. harmala smoke has a rather pungent scent, making it less suitable for olfactory purposes. Parallels from other northwest Arabian oases in the Iron Age indicate that other aromatic substances, such as Commiphora and coniferous resins, as well as Pistacia were commonly used for incense burning19,58.
Given its repeated association with households and its absence from tombs and temples in other oases (Tayma, al-ʿUla58,59), the most likely purpose of fumigating P. harmala at the oasis settlement of Qurayyah appears to be primarily medicinal or practical in nature. The plant's documented properties suggest its use for sanitary and hygienic purposes, such as air purification, disinfection, and pest control, which would have been particularly relevant in a domestic oasis environment. Additionally, traditional medicinal practices, both historical and modern, attribute P. harmala a range of therapeutic benefits, making it plausible that its smoke was used to alleviate ailments and all sorts of pains. While the plant's psychoactive potential cannot be entirely dismissed, achieving hallucinogenic effects would have required significantly higher doses, which seems unlikely in this context. Therefore, the use of P. harmala at Qurayyah may reflect a combination of practical hygienic applications and medicinal fumigation for treating health conditions within a domestic setting.
The evidence for the burning of P. harmala at Qurayyah as early as the Middle Iron Age—approximately 2700 years ago—underscores the deep historical roots of this traditional use of native plants. This discovery not only revives knowledge of ancient practices and highlights a longstanding legacy of medicinal plant use but also contributes to safeguarding the region's intangible cultural heritage. At the same time, it is equally important to protect and preserve the traditional knowledge that still exists today. In Arabia, traditional plant-based remedies remain deeply valued within their communities13. However, such practices are increasingly disappearing. This underscores the urgent need to document and preserve this rich ethnobotanical knowledge before it is lost entirely, along with its historical context. Furthermore, utilizing the information stored in ancient organic remains could enable the recovery of bioactive compounds that have been forgotten over time73, potentially leading to the development of innovative plant-based therapies.
The organic residue samples come from the archeological site Qurayyah in Saudi Arabia. The excavation permit for research in Qurayyah, as well as for analysis, was issued by the former Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (now Heritage Commission of the Ministry of Culture). Sampling of organic residues from the incense burners located in Area N was conducted at the archeological site post-excavation, while the samples from Area D were taken within the laboratories of the Max Planck Institute of Geoantropology in Jena, Germany, following established protocols19,52. Samples were exported in full accordance with relevant permits and local laws. Prior to sampling, the uppermost inner layer of each burner was meticulously abraded to eliminate potential surface contaminants. The prepared sampling spots then underwent targeted sampling, where visible incrustations were excised using a scalpel, and deeper matrix penetration was achieved by employing a Dremel 200 drill outfitted with a tungsten carbide abrasive bit to extract approximately 2 g of powder from the residual compounds absorbed into the clay matrix. Drill bits were rigorously cleansed with methanol between samplings to preclude any cross-contamination. Typically, a 1 × 1 cm section was drilled to a depth of 2–3 mm. The resultant powder was collected on sterile aluminum foil before being transferred into pre-cleaned glass vials for subsequent analysis.
HPLC grade methanol (MeOH) and Dichloromethane (DCM) were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (Munich, Germany), acetonitrile (ACN) and ultrapure water from Biosolve (Valkenswaard, Netherlands), and formic acid (FA) from VWR (Leuven, Belgium). The analytical standards α- and β-amyrin, cholesterol, campesterol, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, harmane, and harmine were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Munich, Germany), and sitostanol from Avanti (Darmstadt, Germany).
Plant secondary metabolites and lipids were isolated from ancient organic residues by pressurized solvent extraction (PSE), adhering to previously established protocols74. The extraction was facilitated by a Büchi E-916 Pressurized Speed Extractor, which utilized high temperatures and pressures to optimize the recovery of organic compounds. Prior to extraction, samples were homogenized to a uniform particle size using a mortar and pestle. These homogenized samples were then combined with quartz sand (Büchi, 0.3–0.9 mm) at an approximate ratio of 1:5 (sample to sand) and transferred to stainless steel extraction cells positioned within the PSE device's heating block. The samples were extracted using DCM and MeOH (2:1, v/v) over three extraction cycles, each comprising a 1-min heat-up phase, a 15-min hold, and a 2-min discard interval. Conditions were set at 50 °C and 100 bar. The resultant extracts were collected in glass vials capped with Teflon septa. These extracts were then concentrated to about 1 mL via rotary evaporation. Aliquots of the concentrated extracts were evaporated and resuspended in HPLC-grade methanol.
HPLC–MS/MS analyses were conducted using a Shimadzu LCMS-8050 triple-quadrupole system with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source. The HPLC setup included LC-30AD binary pumps, a DGU-20A5R solvent degasser, CTO-20AC column oven, and a SIL-30AC auto sampler. Analytes were separated on two different columns: a Shimadzu Shimpack Velox SP-C18 and a Restek Raptor Biphenyl, both 100 mm × 2.1 mm with a 2.7 µm particle size. The samples were run with a gradient mobile phase of A, H2O:0.1% FA, and B, ACN, in duplicates with blanks in between. A consistent column temperature of 25 °C was maintained throughout the gradient program, which started with 0.5% B for the first minute, increased to 80% B at 10 min, reached 100% B at 15 min with a hold until 17.5 min, and then reverted to 0.5% B, holding until 20 min. Flow rates were adjusted to 0.2 mL/min for the C18 column and 0.3 mL/min for the biphenyl column. Injection volumes of 1 or 2 µL based on sample concentration were injected onto the system and analyzed in positive and negative ESI mode.
Data collection and processing were conducted using LabSolutions software (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan), which also facilitated the optimization of MRM mode parameters for the targeted compounds. Authentic analytical standards were employed to optimize the MRM parameters, essential for screening specific compounds in archeological samples. These parameters included precursor and product m/z, dwell times, collision energy and Q1 and Q3 pre-bias voltages (refer to Supplementary Data 5 for detailed MRM parameters).
Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article.
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article and its supplementary information files. For any additional information, please contact Barbara Huber (huber@gea.mpg.de) or Marta Luciani (marta.luciani@univie.ac.at).
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The authors are grateful to the Heritage Commission of the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia for granting permission to sample the incense burners, and to the Max Planck Society for funding this research and the publication of this paper in open access form under the DEAL Project. The Qurayyah Joint Archeological Project is financed by the Heritage Commission, the Augustus Foundation, and the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies of the University of Vienna. M. Luciani is grateful to all these institutions for their financial and organizational support. B. Huber thanks the Joachim Herz Foundation for the award of an Add-on Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Life Sciences as well as the SALTO exchange program between the MPG and the CNRS for funding a research stay at the Center de Recherche et d'Enseignement des Géosciences de l'Environnement (CEREGE). Article written in the frame of the International WEAVE Project ANAPAN, funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF under project no. I6562.
Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Department of Archaeology, Jena, Germany
Barbara Huber, Daniel Giddings Vassão & Ricardo Fernandes
Centre de Recherche et d'Enseignement des Géosciences de l'Environnement, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Aix-en-Provence, France
Barbara Huber & Thibaut Devièse
University of Tübingen, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Tübingen, Germany
Barbara Huber
University of Vienna, Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology, Vienna, Austria
Marta Luciani
University of Vienna, Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), Vienna, Austria
Marta Luciani
Heritage Commission, Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed M. Abualhassan
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Biochemistry, Jena, Germany
Daniel Giddings Vassão
Department of Bioarchaeology, Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Ricardo Fernandes
Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
Ricardo Fernandes
Climate Change and History Research Initiative, Princeton University, Princeton, USA, NJ
Ricardo Fernandes
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B.H. and M.L. designed the research. B.H. and D.G.V. performed the laboratory work. B.H., D.G.V., R.F., and T.D. analyzed and interpreted the data. M.L. and A.M.A. provided access to the archeological material and the scientific information on the archeological context. B.H. prepared the original draft and wrote the paper with M.L., including input from all co-authors. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the paper.
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Research confirms that social isolation and loneliness significantly impact health and mortality, even if not listed on death certificates. BYU psychology and neuroscience professor, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, has published extensively on the topic, including a landmark 2010 meta-analysis and a 2023 framework on assessment and treatment. She also served as lead scientist on the 2023 Surgeon General Advisory and is advising the World Health Organization on an upcoming report that addresses the pressing health threat of loneliness and isolation and a global agenda on social connection.
Social connection is now a legitimate health factor, but Holt-Lunstad and doctoral student, Andrew Proctor, recently published two studies showing that most of us -- the general population and medical providers -- still don't think social connection affects physical health. And even the professionals who recognize the importance report that they don't have time or tools to help patients address social concerns.
Proctor, who authored a study recently published in Springer Nature, explained that before the study, they had been watching how the pandemic was influencing internet searches around the topics of isolation and loneliness.
"I have a marketing background, so I thought that maybe the public perception had changed since COVID. Social distancing, isolation and loneliness were huge buzzwords on the internet as seen through Google Trends and BuzzSumo (an online trend analyzer). Everything around these search terms was super viral during that time, and so we wondered if perceptions about social connection had changed," said Proctor.
With loneliness and isolation trending on the internet, the researchers set up a study. In a nationally representative sample of US adults, as well as samples from the UK and Australia, they surveyed 2,392 people about their perceptions of health risks associated with isolation and loneliness. The data showed that, despite the pandemic and other campaigns, people still underestimate the importance of social connection for physical health. And the underestimation exists equally among the lonely and the socially connected.
"The study identified blind spots in medical care," said Proctor. "Social connection is like a vital sign. What if we didn't care about high blood pressure? Or what if we never knew smoking was bad for us? Social connection is like a key vital sign. We just don't tend to recognize it."
In a closely connected study, Holt-Lunstad and Proctor, along with coauthors from top research medical centers, surveyed 681 healthcare providers (primarily doctors) about perceptions of health risks associated with poor social connection. Similar to the general population from the first study, healthcare providers underestimated social connection as a medically relevant health factor.
The researchers gleaned some unexpected insights due to an unintentional time lag in data collection in the second study.
"We completed the data collection at two different time points because we were waiting for institutional approvals. Our first cohort was healthcare providers through the University of Utah Health System. Slightly later, we had a second major cohort of University of California San Francisco (UCSF) physicians," said Holt-Lunstad. "What was interesting is that the perceived importance of social factors was a bit higher among the UCSF group."
The authors attribute the higher awareness at UCSF to the University's Social Interventions Research and Evaluation Network as well as the publication of the 2023 Surgeon General's Advisory, which came out just before the second cohort was surveyed. This suggests that social initiatives as well as institutional support make a difference in the perceived importance of social connection.
"What I hope is that these studies can spur recognition that there is a body of evidence showing social connection as medically relevant," said Holt-Lunstad. "Together these papers make a really compelling case that not only does the general public underestimate this, but so do healthcare providers who should know this information."
"Awareness can make a difference," says Holt-Lunstad. "It's the first step, but awareness isn't enough."
The research brings to light the need for education and strategies for healthcare providers as well as the need for a revised K-12 healthcare curriculum and public health campaigns. Future research includes how to address perceived barriers to integrated medical treatment and actionable strategies such as "social prescribing."
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For those U.S.-based readers out there, enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend, and if you're on the road, expect it to be crowded. AAA projects 45.1 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Memorial Day holiday period, from Thursday to Monday. About 39.4 million of those folks will use a car.
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As US president Donald Trump left the stage at his golf club near Washington D.C. on Thursday night, he pointed to the crowd, brought his index finger to his temple—as if to say: you know what's coming—then began to dance. To the beat of “Y.M.C.A” by The Village People, Trump shimmied, gyrated, and pumped his arms above his head.
Looking on were more than 200 people who had been invited to the Trump National Golf Club for a private gala dinner. They had won their seats by purchasing large quantities of Trump's own crypto coin—TRUMP—some holding millions of dollars' worth.
On the menu for the evening was pan seared halibut with a citrus reduction, a filet mignon with demi glaze—and, the attendees hoped, a chance to speak to the US president. Four of the guests agreed to tell WIRED about their experience.
By late afternoon, the dinner guests had started to filter through the gates of the golf club. By comparison to Trump's previous banquets, thronging with D.C. insiders and members of the Silicon Valley elite, the crypto dinner attracted a mismatched collection of oddballs: independent traders rubbed shoulders with crypto executives, diehard Trump fans and even professional sportspeople—former NBA player Lamar Odom towered overhead. A handful wore bowties in Bitcoin orange; others sported gold Trump sneakers.
Just after 7 pm, the dinner guests gathered at the window to watch Trump descend in Marine One, his presidential helicopter. A short while later, he appeared from behind a blue velvet curtain to whoops and applause from the crowd. Had they seen the helicopter, Trump asked. “Yeah, super cool!” somebody yelled.
From behind a lectern at one end of the dining room, backdropped by four US flags, Trump delivered a characteristically winding and digressive speech that sources say lasted around 25 minutes. At some point, he got round to crypto.
“We've got some of the smartest minds anywhere in the world right here in this room,” said Trump. “You believe in the whole crypto thing. A lot of people are starting to believe in it … This is really something that may be special—who knows, right? Who knows—but it may be special.”
When Trump first promoted his memecoin in January, three days before the inauguration, the limited amount released into circulation rose in value to $14 billion. The remaining 80 percent of the supply is controlled by CIC Digital LLC—a subsidiary of a conglomerate owned by the Trump family—and Fight Fight Fight LLC, formed by long-time Trump ally Bill Zanker. With little more than a social media post, Trump had added billions of dollars to his paper net worth. (The value of the circulating coins has since slumped to roughly $3 billion.)
The team behind the TRUMP coin announced the presidential dinner for the top 220 holders on April 23, promising the top 25 a close-quarters reception with Trump. The attendees would be selected based on who had held the most coins and kept them the longest between the announcement date and May 12, the website explained.
The dinner competition revived objections among critics who feared that the memecoin could be used as a vector for bribery. Theoretically, by making a large investment in TRUMP, driving up the price, critics worried that a politically-motivated actor could discreetly curry favor with the president. The dinner, critics argued, compounded that risk by making the unsavory arrangement explicit: a large investment in return for an encounter with Trump.
“What's happening tonight at Trump's golf course is, in effect, putting a ‘for sale' sign on the White House. It's auctioning off access,” claimed Democrat senator Richard Blumenthal on Thursday morning at a press conference hosted by non-profit Accountable.US.
After the competition deadline, a few of the dinner attendees identified themselves publicly, including the largest TRUMP holder: crypto magnate Justin Sun. The China-born entrepreneur has become increasingly entangled in the Trump family's expanding web of crypto ventures; in addition to investing in the memecoin, Sun previously disclosed a combined $75 million investment in a separate crypto coin issued by World Liberty Financial, a company affiliated with the Trump family and promoted by Eric and Donald Trump Jr. In early May, Eric Trump announced a partnership between World Liberty Financial and TRON, a crypto network developed by Sun.
Under the Biden administration, US regulators had charged Sun and several of his companies with market manipulation and offering unregistered securities. In February, after Trump had returned to the White House, a district judge granted a joint request to stay the case in order for both sides to negotiate an out-of-court resolution.
The event organizer did not respond immediately to a request for comment. In a statement to WIRED, Anna Kelly, deputy press secretary for the White House, said, “The president is working to secure GOOD deals for the American people, not for himself. President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public, which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media.”
The identities of most of the remaining attendees were concealed behind leaderboard usernames and alphanumeric crypto wallet addresses. But those who spoke to WIRED provided a sense of their motivations for seeking a place.
For some, the dinner represented a chance to network with other deep-pocketed crypto figures, and to hear directly from Trump about his plans to bring an end to the regulatory uncertainty that crimped the industry's expansion under Biden.
“You don't get to meet the president easily,” Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at trading firm
Kronos Research, told WIRED a few days before the dinner. “To be able to hear his message on crypto directly—I'm definitely looking forward to that.”
Others hoped to run into famous members of Trump's inner circle—perhaps Elon Musk or David Sacks, the venture capitalist now serving as crypto and AI czar to the White House. “If it's someone from the PayPal Mafia, I'll probably tell them that Peter Thiel's book changed my life,” said 25-year-old TikTok prankster Nicholas Pinto, who purchased around $300,000 in TRUMP to earn his seat at the dinner.
To celebrate winning a place at the dinner, Pinto had spraypainted “Hold $Trump” onto the chassis of his blue Mercedes G-Wagon. But hoping to win credit with the cryptoheads, rode his Lamborghini Urus to D.C. instead.
One independent crypto trader, who spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity, didn't really intend to win a place at the dinner at all. They bought into TRUMP with the aim of profiting by a potential uplift in price brought about by the competition, but currently faced with a loss on their trade if they were to sell, instead chose to settle for a lavish dinner.
The dining room chosen for the crypto event looks out across the golf course fairway towards the Potomac River, shrouded on Thursday evening by grey clouds.
As the guests filed in, they were greeted by a blown-up copy of the leaderboard that ranked the TRUMP coin holders throughout the competition. Some signed their respective leaderboard usernames in marker pen.
Others made their way towards circular tables, each seating 10 people, arrayed beneath a set of crystal chandeliers. Waiting on the chairs were gift bags containing Fight Fight Fight-themed hats and posters, and a collectible plastic card (some allege that they didn't receive merch at their seats.) The four largest coin holders—along with two other attendees selected by raffle, sources say—received a gem-encrusted Trump gold watch.
Between mouthfuls, the attendees discussed trading and investment strategies—and Trump's speech. “To feel his personal charisma to me was very inspiring,” says Liu. But others complained about the brevity of Trump's appearance: After his speech, Trump had departed immediately in a golf cart bound for his helicopter. “Trump could have at least given the top people their watches himself,” says Pinto. “He didn't.”
The food itself had left a bitter taste in the mouth, too. “It was the worst food I've ever had at a Trump golf course,” says Pinto, who added he left hungry. “The only good thing was bread and butter.” Another attendee described the meal as “Okay, but not top-class.”
During the dessert course, the organizers invited Sun to make a speech of his own as the largest coin holder. He toasted the other attendees—and Trump—and declared a new dawn for the crypto industry in the US. “I appreciate like everything the Trump administration done for our industry [sic],” said Sun.
As the dinner dwindled to a natural close, many of the guests took shuttle buses to an afterparty at a rooftop hotel bar in central Washington put on by one of the other large coin holders, which ran into the early hours of the morning. Others called it a night.
The presiding memory for one attendee remains the “warm welcome” that they received at the start of the evening. As they made their way through the security checkpoint at the front gate, they were greeted by a horde of protesters, brandishing signs reading “Stop Crypto Corruption” and “Don the Con” emblazoned with the orange bitcoin logo. “Shame on you,” the protesters shouted.
Additional reporting from Paige Oamek.
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[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unreasonable_Effectivene...
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It's a misconception that transformers reason in token space. Tokens don't attend to other tokens. High dimensional latents attend to other high dimensional latents. The final layer of a decoder only transformer has full access to entire latent space of all previous latents, the same latents you can project into a distribution of next tokens.
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That's essentially the core idea in Coconut[1][2], to keep the reasoning traces in a continuous space.[1]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.06769[2]: https://github.com/facebookresearch/coconut
[1]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.06769[2]: https://github.com/facebookresearch/coconut
[2]: https://github.com/facebookresearch/coconut
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But yeah, the LLM doesn't even know the sampler exists. I used the last layer as an example, but it's likely that reasoning traces exist in the latent space of every layer not just the final one, with the most complex reasoning concentrated in the middle layers.
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Reasoning is definitely not happening in the linear projection to logits if that's what you mean.
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This is the interesting part. We've probably all had the experience where the model is going off the rails during the thinking process but somehow spits out the right answer at the end. Apparently the reasoning doesn't even need to be correct during training?I guess it suggests to me that the reason CoT helps is that the model gets more compute to think internally, not that the words it produces are meaningful. I'm surprised nobody has come up with a good scheme for adaptive compute per token yet. Maybe we can skip CoT entirely.
I guess it suggests to me that the reason CoT helps is that the model gets more compute to think internally, not that the words it produces are meaningful. I'm surprised nobody has come up with a good scheme for adaptive compute per token yet. Maybe we can skip CoT entirely.
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How do we know if the reasoning was correct or not? Do we have more information about what the model was thinking besides just what it says it was thinking?
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CoT builds on existing prompt engineering techniques by adding it to reinforcement learning to force the models to build their own CoT prompt essentially. So it's not what it's thinking but all indications are that it does guide the reasoning abilities of LLMs through the output distribution.
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I have one, I just don't have the time or money to research it :(
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It's no different than how in English we can signal that a statement is related to a kind of politics or that it's about sex through particular word and phrase choice.Training for reasoning should be expected to amplify the subtext, since any random noise in the selection that by chance is correlated with the right results will get amplified.Perhaps you could try to dampen this by training two distinct models for a while, then swap their reasoning for a while before going back-- but sadly distinct models may still end up with similar subtexts due to correlations in their training data. Maybe ones with very distinct tokenization would be less likely to do so.
Training for reasoning should be expected to amplify the subtext, since any random noise in the selection that by chance is correlated with the right results will get amplified.Perhaps you could try to dampen this by training two distinct models for a while, then swap their reasoning for a while before going back-- but sadly distinct models may still end up with similar subtexts due to correlations in their training data. Maybe ones with very distinct tokenization would be less likely to do so.
Perhaps you could try to dampen this by training two distinct models for a while, then swap their reasoning for a while before going back-- but sadly distinct models may still end up with similar subtexts due to correlations in their training data. Maybe ones with very distinct tokenization would be less likely to do so.
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I hope that research into understanding LLM qualia eventually allow us to understand e.g. what it's like to [be a bat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_It_Like_to_Be_a_Bat%3F)
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We have our own personal 'culture' too-- it's just less obvious because its tied up with our own hidden state. If you go back and read old essays that you wrote you might notice some of it-- that ideas and feelings (maybe smells?) that are absolutely not explicitly in the text immediately come back to you, stuff that no one or maybe only a spouse or very close friend might think.I think it may be very hard to explore hidden subtext because the signals may be almost arbitrarily weak and context dependent. The bare model may need only a little nudge to get to the right answer and the you have this big wall of "reasoning" where each token could carry very small amounts of subtext that cumulatively add up to a lot and push things in the right direction.
I think it may be very hard to explore hidden subtext because the signals may be almost arbitrarily weak and context dependent. The bare model may need only a little nudge to get to the right answer and the you have this big wall of "reasoning" where each token could carry very small amounts of subtext that cumulatively add up to a lot and push things in the right direction.
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An example of this is toki pona, a minimalist constructed human language that is designed to only express "positive thinking". Yet it is extremely easy to insult people in toki pona: e.g. sina toki li pona pona pona pona. (you are speaking very very very very well).To be free of a potential subtext sidechannel there can be essentially no equivalent outputs.
To be free of a potential subtext sidechannel there can be essentially no equivalent outputs.
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What to make of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency at this stage of the Trump administration? Elon Musk has purportedly stepped away from his government duties. Courts are trying to strike down some of DOGE's most egregious efforts. It may seem as though the worst excesses of DOGE have passed, replaced by something closer to a stasis.
This isn't true. Not even close.
While the image of DOGE most likely burned into your retina is that of Elon Musk wielding a literal chain saw, the theatrics belie an organization that has quietly permeated all corners of the federal government. More than that, it's increasingly clear that its objectives are now indistinguishable from that of the broader Trump administration. Removing DOGE at this point would be like trying to remove a drop of food coloring from a glass of water.
And what is it doing from its perch? Not loudly, clumsily attempting to fire thousands of government employees, but working in secrecy to collect, combine, and analyze data that was never intended to comingle. Using that information to find and surveil immigrants. Giving the Justice Department an assist on alleged voter fraud indictments.
Even if Musk claims he's stepping away—though he met with House Republicans just this week—his lieutenants are still firmly in place at the agencies that control the federal workforce and regulate his companies. DOGE is reportedly using his xAI Grok chatbot to parse sensitive data, which potentially means millions of Americans' personal information is doubling as training data for the model. A 19-year-old who goes by Big Balls online is still a central figure.
Meanwhile, the victories against DOGE may be short-lived. The Trump administration used it as a battering ram to push its policies through with overwhelming force. While the courts have held firm in some cases—just this week, a judge declared DOGE's takeover of the United States Institute of Peace to be unlawful—the policies still exist, and there are other ways to achieve them. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that director of the White House Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought would pick up DOGE's cost-cutting mantle in the post-Musk era. Expect him to wield not a hammer but a finely edged blade.
This has always been the plan. Vought is the architect of Project 2025, the policy road map that DOGE has been following turn by turn. He has been explaining for months what happens after DOGE's first assault.
“We're going to use all of our executive tools to make those savings permanent,” Vought said in an interview with Fox Business anchor Larry Kudlow on March 11. “We're going to do everything we can to make sure that those are not merely something that goes on a website, but becomes permanent … We'll work with Congress to do it, but we've also been aware the extent to which Congress has had a hard time passing cuts of any magnitude, and so what we want to do is everything we can to use presidential tools to bank those savings home.”
The only part of this that hasn't gone to plan is that Congress may be more amenable than Vought gave it credit for; the House of Representatives managed to pass Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill this week, complete with provisions that cut the social safety net into ribbons.
In some ways, DOGE is even more dangerous when it's boring. It has always been a tool, not an engine unto itself. It's no longer useful to think of it as a separate entity, as a tech billionaire's personal strike force. It's a means to an end, one part of a larger project to gut the federal government and redefine the social contract. It's important to keep a close eye on DOGE, to continue shining a light on what it does in the dark. But never lose sight of that project. A fool with a chain saw is nothing compared to the full power of the state.
What do you think comes next with DOGE and Elon Musk?
Leave a comment on the site or send your thoughts to mail@wired.com.
• DOGE Used a Meta AI Model to Review Emails From Federal Workers: Materials viewed by WIRED show that DOGE affiliates within the Office of Personnel Management tested and used Meta's Llama 2 model to review responses to the infamous “Fork in the Road” email.
• FEMA Has Canceled Its 4-Year Strategic Plan Ahead of Hurricane Season: Multiple FEMA employees tell WIRED that they did not know of another time when a strategic plan was rescinded without another in place.
• What It's Like to Interview for a Job at DOGE: WIRED spoke with someone who applied for a job at Elon Musk's so-called DOGE and discussed the five-step hiring process.
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🔗 Trump Administration Says It Is Halting Harvard's Ability to Enroll International Students: This is a massive escalation in the Trump administration's assault on universities. (The New York Times)
🔗 Musk's DOGE Expanding His Grok AI in US Government, Raising Conflict Concerns: DOGE will apparently soon be using Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok to analyze federal government data. No conflict here, of course. (Reuters)
🔗 The Case of the ‘Lost' FOIA Requests: A few months ago, a number of FOIA requests at federal agencies were lost. The data was compromised or deleted by two convicted hackers. (Bloomberg)
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If you have been looking to streamline your workspace and take it to the next level with a single, powerful hub, then the Anker Prime Docking Station, 14-Port with 160W Max Output is the perfect fit for you. This all-in-one solution offers an extensive amount of connectivity options, including multiple USB-C and USB-A ports, dual HDMI outputs, and dedicated audio and Ethernet ports. It has it all. Whether you're managing multiple displays, transferring large files, or charging devices, this docking station is designed to handle it all fast and efficiently.
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California is preparing to sue the federal government to recover its right to set vehicle emissions standards, Rob Bonta, the state's attorney general, told TechCrunch in a statement.
Senate Republicans voted on Thursday 51 to 44 to overturn a waiver that allowed California to set stricter air pollution standards for vehicles. The state has received waivers more than 100 times since federal laws granted the right some 50 years ago.
“The weaponization of the Congressional Review Act to attack California's waivers is just another part of the continuous, partisan campaign against California's efforts to protect the public and the planet from harmful pollution,” Bonta said. “As we have said before, this reckless misuse of the Congressional Review Act is unlawful, and California will not stand idly by.”
Sixteen other states and the District of Columbia follow California's emissions standards, and most of them have implemented fossil fuel vehicle phase-outs. Other Senate votes Thursday repealed waivers that allowed California to set stricter emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
California's EV mandate is actually a zero-emissions standard. Beginning in 2026, the state was to begin requiring increased sales of zero-emissions cars and passenger trucks until 2035, when automakers would have to sell only zero-emissions vehicles.
Currently, two technologies qualify: hydrogen fuel cells and battery electric vehicles. Given the growing pains that fuel cells and hydrogen filling networks have experienced, EVs quickly became the de facto approach to meeting California's 2035 deadline.
Last year, 25.3% of new light-duty vehicles in California qualified as zero emissions, and nearly all of them were EVs. The state's mandate required 35% of new sales to be ZEV in 2026, something automakers have said would be “impossible.”
ZEV sales growth in California was flat in 2024, though previous years were different, with the share rising from 7.8% in 2020 to 25% in 2023.
The vote Thursday bucked precedent by going against the advice of the Senate parliamentarian and the Government Accountability Office, which both had ruled that the waiver could not be revoked under the Congressional Review Act. The CRA allows a simple majority vote on a resolution to overturn a regulation, allowing a Senate vote to proceed without threat of filibuster.
Previously, California's attorney general Rob Bonta was “prepared for” Republican efforts to repeal the emissions waiver via the CRA. “We don't think it's an appropriate use of the Congressional Review Act, and we're prepared to defend ourselves if it's wrongfully weaponized,” he told Politico in early March.
Updated 7:37 a.m. Pacific: Added news of California preparing a lawsuit against the federal government.
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In the startup world, access to cutting-edge tools isn't the biggest obstacle — it's knowing how to wield them with precision. At TechCrunch Sessions: AI, taking place on June 5 at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, we're digging into the frameworks and decisions that determine whether an AI startup can scale — or stall. We're excited to welcome one of the most tactical voices in that conversation: Iliana Quinonez, Director of North America Startups Customer Engineering at Google Cloud.
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Startups building with AI agents today face a layered set of questions. What's the right architecture for scaling intelligent behavior? How do you structure data pipelines to train agents that don't just react but reason? Where do APIs end and core IP begin? Quinonez will tackle these questions head-on in a session designed to help founders cut through noise and make defensible decisions about infrastructure, model orchestration, and collaboration.
What sets Quinonez apart is her range. With over two decades of leadership experience at Salesforce, SAP, and BEA Systems, she's helped both enterprise giants and early-stage startups map product ambition to practical execution. Her team also partners closely with accelerators, VCs, and developer ecosystems — giving her a panoramic view of what's working in AI … and what's not.
Expect a clear-eyed discussion on the risks and rewards of building with AI agents, the tools startups are relying on, and what it really takes to democratize access to advanced machine learning — without compromising on speed or security.
This is just one of many conversations happening at TC Sessions: AI — where the focus isn't just on the future of AI, but also on how to build it right now. You'll hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere, and Google Cloud, in sessions that span everything from foundational model strategy to data stack design.
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Even during a huge tech sale event like Memorial Day Weekend, this portable charger from Anker really should cost more than the mere $35 you can get it for at Best Buy. But if that's how low they're willing to go on the 20,000 mAh Anker Power Bank, which brings 30W of charge to your laptop, smartphone, or tablet, who are we to say no?
The Anker Power Bank is all about portability, down to the ingenious wrist loop that doubles as the USB-C cord you use to charge your device or recharge the Power Bank. The 6-inch length probably disqualifies it from being called pocket-sized, but it's a little under 3 inches wide and just an inch thick, and weighs in at just 1 pound. If you don't have a reliable charger in your travel bag for your summer trip plans, this is the one you want.
See at Best Buy
The Anker Power Bank has two USB-C ports, one of which does double-duty as the input port to recharge the Power Bank, and one USB-A port. All of your tech gear from your smartwatch up to your laptop can get a rapid and reliable top-off wherever and whenever you need it.
It's also a safe charge for your devices, since the Power Bank is equipped with Anker's intelligent temperature monitoring system to prevent your devices from being damaged by overheating, keeping them at least 10 percent cooler than international safety standards, and also keep the Power Bank itself from becoming overly hot to the touch.
The Anker Power Bank is also platform-agnostic — your Apple devices and MacBooks will charge just as readily as a Samsung smartphone or Galaxy Buds, Google devices, or most other leading brands.
See at Best Buy
The USB-C cord that doubles as the wrist loop to carry the Anker Power Bank is one of our favorite perks. The cord snaps securely into the innovative holder that attaches to the Power Bank so it doesn't break free from your wrist, yet the cord is also very easily removed from the holder for use. Another great perk — never losing your cord.
The regular retail price of $46 was already a great deal for a compact 30W portable charger that's made to power up devices large and small and across brands and platforms, but this Best Buy offer dropping the price to just $35 makes this one of the better Memorial Day Weekend deals to cash in on. Head to Best Buy now to buy the Anker Power Bank in person, or order it online.
See at Best Buy
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I've made no secret about my love for coffee makers from the Portland-based company Ratio, ever since it came out with the Ratio Eight model a decade ago. Two of WIRED's favorite drip coffee makers on earth are made by Ratio, in fact.
As well as anybody, the Portland company has managed to take the finicky techniques of third-wave barista pour-over and merge them with automatic drip coffee to create some of the most full-bodied and aromatic cups of coffee I've had the pleasure of trying. To taste it, all I have to do is press a single button. The machine does the work, not me. The Ratio Four (8/10, WIRED Recommends) remains my favorite single-serve drip coffeemaker made by anyone, anywhere. It's a masterclass in simplicity.
But it all began a decade ago with the Ratio Eight, which helped change the conversation around what a home drip coffeemaker could be, adopting the aesthetics and a lot of the techniques surrounding barista café pour-over but applying them to an automated home coffee machine— using locally hewn wood and the shapely curves of a Chemex-style pour-over coffeemaker.
Well, now the Ratio Eight has gotten a makeover, for the new world of drip coffee it helped inspire—informed by all the coffee makers that Ratio has developed in the meantime (and even one they haven't released). The new 8-cup Ratio Eight Series 2, slated for release in September, is now available for presale on Ratio's website.
For a limited time, preorders are discounted to $639. But by September, when the Eight Series 2 is projected to go on sale for real, that price will shoot up to $799. That's among the highest prices I'm aware of for a drip or pour-over coffee maker.
Is it worth it? I can say I got to try out the new Ratio Eight Series 2 at Ratio's offices this week, just before preorders launched. I was very impressed by what I saw, and even more impressed by what I tasted. I won't know everything until I get to play around with the device at home. But the coffee I had was full-bodied, full-flavored, and delicious. And it's a beautiful machine.
Here are the specs on the upcoming Ratio Eight Series 2—and my early thoughts based on trying the device.
Ratio
Ratio (pre-order)
If you're a fan of the original Ratio Eight, chances are you were drawn in first by the aesthetics. That includes the walnut wood accents. And that pretty hourglass shape of the blown-glass carafe, with the conical brewing filter best known from café pour-over.
The sturdy walnut trim stayed. But Ratio has learned a few things since making the original Eight, said Ratio founder and CEO Mark Hellweg, at a meeting this month that also included the Eight's designer, James Owen. One of the things Ratio learned is that using a closed, flat-bottom brewing chamber leads to much more consistent coffee than conical glass. It's easier to control both in terms of water flow and brewing temperature, and is more forgiving if you don't have a super-expensive grinder. (That said, you know, we like expensive grinders and recommend a few.)
“Once we went flat, we realized, ‘This is the way,'” said Hellweg.
I'll admit, I'll miss that pretty glass carafe, just on the visual level. Hellweg says they'll indeed keep making the Chemex-style carafe as an option. But the Series 2, by default, will look much different, though it still has its hourglass shape as a link to the past.
Instead, the new brewing basket will make use of technology that Ratio developed when making two of my favorite coffeemakers, the Ratio Four and the Ratio Six Series 2, which consistently feel like magic tricks to me when I use them at home. I often find new homes for coffee makers I test. I keep my Ratios. Few others can manage such full-bodied, consistently thick extraction on automatic drip or pour-over-style coffee, while being so simple to use.
The Ratio brewing method is somewhere between what a barista does in a third-wave café and a classic drip machine. First, there's the “bloom,” which is a poetic name for pre-infusing coffee grounds with a small amount of hot water. This releases the carbon dioxide trapped in fresh beans, which would otherwise interfere with extraction when the hot water begins flowing in earnest.
Another thing that makes café pour-over coffee express flavor so well is agitation. Basically, if you drop water onto coffee, or shake it, or spin it, the coffee will release its secrets better. It's like shaking an interrogation subject. (Actually, on second thought, don't do this.)
One of Ratio's signal technologies from the beginning has used a “Fibonacci-inspired” spiral showerhead, a shape and mathematics often touted as a means of maintaining water efficiency. On the Eight Series 2, when Hellweg brewed a batch at Ratio's Portland headquarters, this meant that water extracted evenly across the entire brew basket, with no obvious channeling. So the falling water droplets extract both faster and evenly.
Temperature control is a more interesting and complex conversation. Ratio is one of a small number of coffee-maker companies who've had their devices certified by the international Specialty Coffee Association as hewing to a very tight set of criteria, which includes holding temperatures within a tight 4-degree (Celsius) range during the entire brewing process.
But even this doesn't tell the whole story. I can attest from experience that not all SCA-certified coffee makers produce great coffee—and that great coffee definitely can come from noncertified coffee makers. Ratio does a lot of sophisticated firmware rejiggering to play around with temperature curves during brewing—what chief operating officer Bradley Walhood, in an excitable moment, called “a literal crapload” of testing and firmware updates.
In the Eight, this means that they mess around with wattage to change how the heating element works. Though the Ratio Eight Series 2 is a 1,400-watt device, they intentionally don't use all of it at all times, changing energy consumption in order to change how the heating element works over time and get the best-tasting brew.
Like Ratio's previous Four, the Eight Series 2 will have two different brew modes for small and large batches of coffee, to further refine temperature curves and keep them in optimal ranges.
One of the biggest selling points on the Eight was always minimal plastic. There's a lot of interest in plastic-free everything, in these days when new and frightening revelations about microplastics seem to come once a week.
But it's difficult, and very expensive, to make a truly plastic-free automatic coffee machine. Plastic-free brewing is a bit of a holy grail, achieved mostly by much older, lower-tech methods like French press, moka pot, and pour-over.
The Eight Series 2 comes as close as any automatic drip machine to achieving this. The cold-water reservoir is a BPA-free Tritan copolymer. The base is also made of polymer. And there's a bit of BPA-free plastic used in the heating element that doesn't come into contact with hot water, said Hellweg.
But the tubing, inside the device, is made of glass. The pipe connectors are silicone. The chassis is stainless steel, and so is the brewing basket. The thermal carafe is stainless steel, while the nonthermal option is borosilicate glass. What all this means is that heated water or coffee never touches plastic.
This also has the side effect of giving each part on the Eight a truly satisfying heft. “Check this out,” said Hellweg, with evident pride, handing me a small and weighty piece of steel that could double as a stress fidget. It was the lid to the water reservoir. It actually did feel good, the weight of this lid. Plastic makes you forget the satisfying solidity of cast metal. These more expensive materials are reflected, of course, in the price.
The preorder window offers a quite substantial discount on the anticipated retail price, but it's still not low. The $639 preorder price for the Eight Series 2, and the $799 anticipated retail price in September, are at the very highest end of drip coffee machines on the market. They're also double the price of Ratio's own Six and Four.
Will the coffee alone justify this higher price? It's hard to know based on one delicious carafe of coffee. That's the sort of thing I'll only learn over time, when testing side-by-side. Compared to the Ratio Six, the Eight Series 2 offers the same 40-ounce batch size but some new programming and new technology—including the ability to optimize its brewing program for small batches of 20 ounces or less.
But really, as with a lot of luxury goods, much of the cost is likely going into luxury: intangibles, style, loveliness, and of course, more expensive materials. In the case of the Eight Series 2, these costs will have a lot to do with the steps Ratio took to avoid plastic: the double-walled stainless steel, the borosilicate glass tubing, the American walnut wood. The new thermal carafe, with its stainless steel construction, is sturdy and lovely.
Ratio's owners and designers also cited instability surrounding tariffs, which is almost certainly a factor in announcing a price that'll first take effect six months from now. The Eight Series 2, like a large portion of products from small companies in the United States, is manufactured in China because American factories aren't set up for custom tooling on small production runs.
All I can say is that it's pretty, and it brews delicious coffee, and it feels in my hand like a thing that costs what it does—in a year when a lot of things suddenly cost a bit more. And that based on past experience with Ratio, the Eight Series 2 will probably remain the best-tasting cup of drip coffee I can get by just pressing a single button.
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More than a decade ago, researchers at antivirus company Kaspersky identified suspicious internet traffic of what they thought was a known government-backed group, based on similar targeting and its phishing techniques. Soon, the researchers realized they had found a much more advanced hacking operation that was targeting the Cuban government, among others.
Eventually the researchers were able to attribute the network activity to a mysterious — and at the time completely unknown — Spanish-speaking hacking group that they called Careto, after the Spanish slang word (“ugly face” or “mask” in English), which they found buried within the malware's code.
Careto was never publicly linked to a specific government. But TechCrunch has now learned that the researchers who first discovered the group were convinced that Spanish government hackers were behind Careto's espionage operations.
When Kaspersky first revealed the existence of Careto in 2014, its researchers called the group “one of the most advanced threats at the moment,” with its stealthy malware capable of stealing highly sensitive data, including private conversations and keystrokes from the computers it compromised, much akin to powerful government spyware today. Careto's malware was used to hack into government institutions and private companies around the world.
Kaspersky avoided publicly blaming who it thought was behind Careto. But internally, according to several people who worked at Kaspersky at the time and had knowledge of the investigation, its researchers concluded that Careto was a hacking team working for the Spanish government.
“There was no doubt of that, at least no reasonable [doubt],” one of the former employees told TechCrunch, who like other sources in this story agreed to speak on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Careto is one of only a handful of Western government hacking groups that has ever been discussed in public, along with U.S. government units such as Equation Group, widely believed to be the U.S. National Security Agency; the Lamberts, believed to be the CIA; and the French government group known as Animal Farm, which was behind the Babar and Dino malware. In a rare admission, Bernard Barbier, former head of the French intelligence service DGSE, publicly confirmed the French government was indeed behind Babar.
The Spanish government now joins this small group of Western government hacking groups.
Early in its investigation, Kaspersky discovered that the Careto hackers had targeted a particular government network and systems in Cuba, according to a second former Kaspersky employee.
It was this Cuban government victim that sparked Kaspersky's investigation into Careto, according to the people speaking with TechCrunch.
“It all started with a guy who worked for the Cuban government who got infected,” the third former Kaspersky employee, with knowledge of the Careto investigation, told TechCrunch. The person, who referred to the Cuban government victim as “patient zero,” said that it appeared the Careto hackers were interested in Cuba because during that time there were members of the Basque terrorist organization ETA in the country.
Kaspersky researchers noted in a technical report published after their discovery that Cuba had by far the most number of victims per country at the time of the investigation into Careto's activities, specifically one unnamed Cuban government institution, which the report said showed “the current interest of the attackers.”
This Cuban government victim would prove key to link Careto to Spain, according to the former Kaspersky employees.
“Internally we knew who did it,” the third former Kaspersky employee said, adding that they had “high confidence” it was the Spanish government. Two other former Kaspersky employees, who also had knowledge of the investigation, said the researchers likewise concluded Spain was behind the attacks.
The company, however, decided not to disclose it. “It wasn't broadcast because I think they didn't want to out a government like that,” a fourth former Kaspersky researcher said. “We had a strict ‘no attribution' policy at Kaspersky. Sometimes that policy was stretched but never broken.”
Apart from Cuba, other Careto targets also pointed to Spain. The espionage operation affected hundreds of victims in Brazil, Morocco, Spain itself and — perhaps tellingly — Gibraltar, the disputed British enclave on the Iberian peninsula that Spain has long claimed as its own territory.
Kaspersky declined to answer questions about its researchers' conclusions.
“We don't engage in any formal attribution,” Kaspersky spokesperson Mai Al Akkad told TechCrunch in an email.
The Spanish Ministry of Defense declined to comment. The Cuban government did not respond to emails sent to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After Kaspersky discovered the group's malware in 2014 and, as a result, learned how to identify other computers compromised by it, the researchers found evidence of Careto infections all over the world, compromising victims in 31 countries spanning several continents.
In Africa, the group's malware was found in Algeria, Morocco, and Libya; in Europe, it targeted victims in France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In Latin America, there were victims in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela.
In its technical report, Kaspersky said that Cuba had the most victims that were being targeted, with “all belonging to the same institution,” which the researchers perceived as of significance to the hackers at that point in time.
Spain had its own particular interest in Cuba in the preceding years. As an exiled Cuban government official told the Spanish daily El Pais at the end of 2013, there were around 15 members of the terror group ETA who lived in Cuba with the approval of the local government. In 2014, a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable noted that Cuba had given refuge to ETA terrorists for years. Earlier in 2010, a Spanish judge ordered the arrest of ETA members living in Cuba.
When covering the news of the discovery of Careto, the Spanish online news outlet El Diario noted that targeting countries such as Brazil and Gibraltar would favor the Spanish government's “geostrategic interests.” The Spanish government had been pushing for a consortium of government-owned and private companies to win a bid to build a high-speed railway in Brazil from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo.
Aside from targeting government institutions, embassies, and diplomatic organizations, Kaspersky said the Careto group also targeted energy companies, research institutions, and activists.
Kaspersky researchers wrote that they were able to find evidence that the Careto malware existed as far back as 2007, and found subsequent versions of Careto capable of exploiting Windows PCs, Macs, and Linux computers. The researchers said they found possible evidence of code capable of targeting Android devices and iPhones.
While Kaspersky didn't make its internal attribution public, its researchers left clear hints that pointed to Spain.
First, the company researchers noted that they found a string in the malware code that was particularly interesting: “Caguen1aMar.” That string is a contraction for the popular Spanish expletive, “me cago en la mar,” which literally means “I sh–t in the sea,” but roughly translates to “f—k,” a phrase typically used in Spain, and not in other Spanish-speaking countries.
When Kaspersky announced its discovery of Careto in 2014, the company published a map showing all the countries that the hacking group had targeted. Along with the map, Kaspersky included an illustration of a mask with bull's horns and a nose ring (the bull is a national symbol of Spain), castanets or clackers (an instrument used in Spanish folk music), and the red and yellow colors of the Spanish flag.
A detail in the map revealed how important Cuba was for Careto. For certain countries, Kaspersky added icons specifying what type of targets it was able to identify. The map showed Cuba had a single hacked victim, marked as a government institution. Gibraltar, Morocco — whose proximity and territorial disputes make it a strategic espionage target for Spain — and Switzerland were the only other territories with a government victim.
Kaspersky said in 2014 that the Careto group's malware was one of the “most advanced threats” of the time for its ability to grab highly sensitive data from a victim's computer. Kaspersky said the malware could also intercept internet traffic, Skype conversations, encryption (PGP) keys, and VPN configurations, take screenshots, and “fetch all information from Nokia devices.”
The Careto group relied in large part on spearphishing emails that contained malicious links impersonating Spanish newspapers like El País, El Mundo, and Público, and videos about political subjects and food recipes. One of the former Kaspersky employees told TechCrunch that the phishing links also included references to ETA and Basque news, which Kaspersky's report omitted.
When clicking on these malicious links, the victim would get infected using an exploit that hacked the user's specific device, then redirected to a legitimate web page so as to not raise suspicions, according to Kaspersky's report.
The Careto operators also took advantage of a since-patched vulnerability in older versions of Kaspersky's antivirus software, which the company said in its 2014 published report was how it first discovered the malware.
The ubiquity of Kaspersky's software in Cuba effectively made it possible for Careto to target almost anyone on the island with an internet connection. (By 2018, the Russian antivirus company controlled some 90% of the island's internet security market, according to Cuba Standard, an independent news website.) The antivirus is so popular across the country that the company's name has become part of the local slang.
But soon after Kaspersky published its research, the Careto hackers shut down all of its operations discovered by the Russian firm, going as far as wiping its logs, which researchers noted was “not very common” and put Careto into the “elite” section of government hacking groups.
“You can't do that if you're not prepared,” one of the former Kaspersky employees told TechCrunch. “They systematically, and in a quick manner, destroyed the whole thing, the whole infrastructure. Boom. It was just gone.”
After Careto went dark, neither Kaspersky nor any other cybersecurity company publicly reported detecting Careto again — until last year.
Kaspersky announced in May 2024 that it had found Careto's malware once again, saying it saw the group target an unnamed organization in Latin America that was “previously compromised” by the hacking group most recently in 2022, again in 2019, and on another occasion more than 10 years ago.
Careto also hacked a second unnamed organization, located in Central Africa, said Kaspersky.
In a blog post later in December 2024, Kaspersky's researchers attributed the new hacks to Careto “with medium to high confidence,” based in part on filenames that were “alarmingly similar” to filenames found in Careto's activities from a decade ago, as well as overlapping tactics, techniques, and procedures, or TTPs, a cybersecurity expression that refers to the unique behaviors of a certain hacking group.
Kaspersky researchers Georgy Kucherin and Marc Rivero López, who wrote a paper and presented their research at the Virus Bulletin security conference in October 2024, said Careto “has always conducted cyber attacks with extreme caution,” but still “managed to make small but fatal mistakes during their recent operations” that matched activity from Careto a decade earlier.
Despite that, Kucherin told TechCrunch that they don't know who, or which government, is behind the Careto hacking group.
“It's likely a nation state,” said Kucherin. “But what entity it was, who developed the malware? From a technical perspective, it's impossible to tell.”
Contact Us
Do you have more information about Careto (aka The Mask), or other government hacking groups and operations? From a non-work device and network, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email.
According to Kaspersky's most recent report, this time the Careto hackers broke into the unnamed Latin American victim's email server and then planted its malware.
In one of the hacked machines the researchers analyzed, Kaspersky found that Careto's malware could surreptitiously switch on the computer's microphone (while hiding the Windows icon that normally alerts the user that the mic is on), steal files, such as personal documents, session cookies that can allow access to accounts without needing a password, web browsing histories from several browsers, and more.
In the case of another victim, according to the report, Careto hackers used a set of implants that work as a backdoor, a keylogger, and a screenshot-taker.
Despite the fact that they got caught, and compared to what Kaspersky found more than a decade ago, Kucherin said that the Careto hackers are “still that good.”
Compared to the larger and more well-known government-backed hacking groups, like the North Korean Lazarus Group and China's APT41, Kucherin said Careto is a “very small [advanced persistent threat] that surpasses all those large ones in complexity.”
“Their attacks are a masterpiece,” said Kucherin.
Topics
Senior Reporter, Cybersecurity
© 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC.
Well, an early EVT3 sample of a Gen6 SSD.
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There are dozens of solid-state drives with a PCIe 5.0 interface over at Computex 2025, and they no longer surprise us; however, we have seen a drive that features a PCIe 6.0 x4 interface and can potentially boast a 30.25 GB/s sequential read and write speed at the trade show.
Micron's 9650 Pro SSD with a PCIe Gen6 interface will unlikely launch anytime soon, but for now, the unit is an important test vehicle for companies like Astera Labs, which plays an important role in developing next-gen AI platforms. At the show, Astera Labs used Micron's PCIe 6.0 SSD to demonstrate its Scorpio PCIe 6.0 4x16 switch, Aries Bandwidth-matching Gearbox software, and Aries 6 timers.
Although Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs feature PCIe 6.0 x16 connectivity, no CPU platforms formally support PCIe 6.0. Nonetheless, PCIe Gen6 SSDs like the Micron 9650 Pro can be quite useful when utilized with platforms featuring PCIe 6.0 switches. For example, PCIe 6.0 switches can enable peer-to-peer communications between AI GPUs and SSDs, bypassing the CPU. In addition, when paired with Astera's Gearbox software and hardware, they can reduce the number of PCIe 6.0 lanes required to work with PCIe 5.0 hosts (e.g., to achieve a PCIe 5.0 x8 performance only for PCIe 6.0 lanes are needed) and therefore enable instalation of more drives into a box, which can be critical for some AI systems.
Certification of PCIe 6.0 devices by PCI-SIG was delayed from mid-2024 to the second half of 2025, so while GPUs like Nvidia's Blackwell support the technology, they have not passed official interoperability tests. As for Micron's 9650 Pro SSD, the unit used by Astera is marked as EVT3, so this is the third revision of the Engineering Validation Test. Generally, this means that the product has undergone at least two prior engineering validation builds (EVT1 and EVT2), and the third build is undergoing further validation and testing.
While EVT3 is still considered pre-production, by the third revision, most hardware issues should be resolved, and firmware/software should be approaching maturity. Just as a reminder, EVT1 is used for initial hardware bring up, EVT2 fixes all major hardware issues, and can be used for firmware development, and EVT3 features near-final hardware and therefore can be used for performance validation, thermals, compatibility and interoperability testing, and demonstrations at trade shows.
There are two iterations to go through: DVT (Design Validation Test) to validate the design under production conditions, and PVT (Production Validation Test) for full qualifications by customers. We do not know whether Micron will wait for the PCI-SIG to initiate interoperability tests in the second half of this year or will first start qualifications of its 9650 Pro PVT drive with select customers interested in PCIe 6.0 storage, but technically, EVT3 can be used for PCI-SIG's compatibility validation.
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Evidence-based medicine: good. Taking away vaccines from people who might benefit: not so much.
This week, two new leaders at the US Food and Drug Administration announced plans to limit access to covid vaccines, arguing that there is not much evidence to support the value of annual shots in healthy people. New vaccines will be made available only to the people who are most vulnerable—namely, those over 65 and others with conditions that make them more susceptible to severe disease.
Anyone else will have to wait. Covid vaccines will soon be required to go through more rigorous trials to ensure that they really are beneficial for people who aren't at high risk.
No vaccine is perfect, but these medicines are still saving millions of lives.
The plans have been met with fear and anger in some quarters. But they weren't all that shocking to me. In the UK, where I live, covid boosters have been offered only to vulnerable groups for a while now. And the immunologists I spoke to agree: The plans make sense.
They are still controversial. Covid hasn't gone away. And while most people are thought to have some level of immunity to the virus, some of us still stand to get very sick if infected. The threat of long covid lingers, too. Given that people respond differently to both the virus and the vaccine, perhaps individuals should be able to choose whether they get a vaccine or not.
I should start by saying that covid vaccines have been a remarkable success story. The drugs were developed at record-breaking speed—they were given to people in clinical trials just 69 days after the virus had been identified. They are, on the whole, very safe. And they work remarkably well. They have saved millions of lives. And they rescued many of us from lockdowns.
But while many of us have benefited hugely from covid vaccinations in the past, there are questions over how useful continuing annual booster doses might be. That's the argument being made by FDA head Marty Makary and Vinay Prasad, director of the agency's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Both men have been critical of the FDA in the past. Makary has long been accused of downplaying the benefits of covid vaccines. He made incorrect assumptions about the coronavirus responsible for covid-19 and predicted that the disease would be “mostly gone” by April 2021. Most recently, he also testified in Congress that the theory that the virus came from a lab in China was a “no-brainer.” (The strongest evidence suggests the virus jumped from animals to humans in a market in Wuhan.)
Prasad has said “the FDA is a failure” and has called annual covid boosters “a public health disaster the likes of which we've never seen before,” because of a perceived lack of clinical evidence to support their use.
Makary and Prasad's plans, which were outlined in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday, don't include such inflammatory language or unfounded claims, thankfully. In fact, they seem pretty measured: Annual covid booster shots will continue to be approved for vulnerable people but will have to be shown to benefit others before people outside the approved groups can access them.
There are still concerns being raised, though. Let's address a few of the biggest ones.
At the moment, a lot of people in the US opt to get a covid vaccination around the time they get their annual flu jab. Each year, a flu vaccine is developed to protect against what scientists predict will be the dominant strain of virus circulating come flu season, which tends to run from October through March.
But covid doesn't seem to stick to the same seasonal patterns, says Susanna Dunachie, a clinical doctor and professor of infectious diseases at the University of Oxford in the UK. “We seem to be getting waves of covid year-round,” she says.
And an annual shot might not offer the best protection against covid anyway, says Fikadu Tafesse, an immunologist and virologist at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. His own research suggests that leaving more than a year between booster doses could enhance their effectiveness. “One year is really a random time,” he says. It might be better to wait five or 10 years between doses instead, he adds.
“If you are at risk [of a serious covid infection] you may actually need [a dose] every six months,” says Tafesse. “But for healthy individuals, it's a very different conversation.”
There are reports that pediatricians are concerned about the impact on children, some of whom can develop serious cases of covid. “If we have safe and effective vaccines that prevent illness, we think they should be available,” James Campbell, vice chair of the committee on infectious diseases at the American Academy of Pediatrics, told STAT.
Data show that older adults and people with underlying illness need the vaccine most.
This question has been on my mind for a while. My two young children, who were born in the UK, have never been eligible for a covid vaccine in this country. I found this incredibly distressing when the virus started tearing through child-care centers—especially given that at the time, the US was vaccinating babies from the age of six months.
My kids were eventually offered a vaccine in the US, when we temporarily moved there a couple of years ago. But by that point, the equation had changed. They'd both had covid by then. I had a better idea of the general risks of the virus to children. I turned it down.
I was relieved to hear that Tafesse had made the same decision for his own children. “There are always exceptions, but in general, [covid] is not severe in kids,” he says. The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunology found that the benefits of vaccination are much smaller for children than they are for adults.
“Of course there are children with health problems who should definitely have it,” says Dunachie. “But for healthy children in healthy households, the benefits probably are quite marginal.”
It's a good argument, says Tafesse. Research suggests that people who are vaccinated against covid-19 are less likely to end up transmitting the infection to the people around them. The degree of protection is not entirely clear, particularly with less-studied—and more contagious—variants of the virus and targeted vaccines. The safest approach is to encourage those at high risk to get the vaccine themselves, says Tafesse.
Tafesse doesn't buy this argument. “I know they are safe, but even if they're safe, why do I need to get one?” People should know if they are likely to benefit from a drug they are taking, he says.
Having said that, the cost-benefit calculation will differ between individuals. Even a “mild” covid infection can leave some people bed-bound for a week. For them, it might make total sense to get the vaccine.
Dunachie thinks people should be able to make their own decisions. “Giving people a top-up whether they need it or not is a safe thing to do,” she says.
It is still not entirely clear who will be able to access covid vaccinations under the new plans, and how. Makary and Prasad's piece includes a list of “medical conditions that increase a person's risk of severe covid-19,” which includes several disorders, pregnancy, and “physical inactivity.” It covers a lot of people; research suggests that around 25% of Americans are physically inactive.
But I find myself agreeing with Dunachie. Yes, we need up-to-date evidence to support the use of any drugs. But taking vaccines away from people who have experience with them and feel they could benefit from them doesn't feel like the ideal way to go about it.
This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review's weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here.
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With funding from the Spencer Foundation, a private foundation focused on funding education studies, a Wayne State University research team is examining the long-term effects of bullying and mental health on social and academic progress in adolescents.
Hannah L. Schacter, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and an affiliate faculty at the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, received the grant alongside her co-principal investigator, Adam Hoffman, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences.
The one-year grant for nearly $50,000 is funded through the Foundation's Small Research Grants on Education program and will benefit their study, "Understanding the Effects of Peer Victimization and Mental Health in High School on College Persistence."
The grant focuses on how adolescents' peer experiences during high school affect their long-term outcomes, specifically their academic persistence during college. We have quite a bit of evidence that kids who are bullied by their peers not only do worse in terms of their mental health, but they also experience negative academic effects. In middle and high school, they show worse classroom engagement, get lower grades, and feel less motivated."
Hannah L. Schacter, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Wayne State University
Schacter said that researchers know much less about how such effects linger beyond high school, particularly on young people's academic progress.
"We have an ongoing longitudinal study that we started in the fall of 2020 with a cohort of ninth graders," Schacter said. "We've been doing surveys and follow-up surveys with this group throughout their four years of high school. This grant allows us to continue to observe this cohort in college and see if their previous experiences with bullying are affecting them academically or socially after high school."
Schacter hopes to continue the study moving forward to observe a wider range of students exposed to different circumstances to see if their results are consistent.
"The current cohort started ninth grade during the COVID-19 pandemic," Schacter said. "I'd like to recruit another larger cohort in the future to compare some of what we are seeing among students who weren't in high school during COVID."
"This funding from the Spencer Foundation will allow Dr. Schacter and her research team to gain valuable insight into the long-term effect that bullying has on our younger generation," said Ezemenari M. Obasi, Ph.D., vice president for research & innovation at Wayne State University. "I look forward to seeing the impact of this important work."
Wayne State University
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Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a life-threatening complication in children with serious underlying conditions such as heart defects or cancer. Treatment or prevention of thrombosis poses an additional challenge in everyday clinical practice. A therapy using the active ingredient rivaroxaban specifically tailored to children was successfully tested for the first time in 2020. Now, long-term data confirm the benefits of this drug treatment even for extended use. The study was conducted by an international research team led by MedUni Vienna and has been published in the journal "The Lancet Haematology".
The long-term data collected by the research team led by Christoph Male from the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at MedUni Vienna provides the first reliable evidence for extended anticoagulation in children. The study assessed extended treatment in a cohort of around 500 children and adolescents from the EINSTEIN Jr study, whose data on acute phase anticoagulation was already published in 2020. Those study results, also published under the leadership of MedUni Vienna, showed that the anticoagulant rivaroxaban is at least as effective and safe as the standard anticoagulants used to date in children with venous thromboembolism, but also offers a number of advantages for young patients. The positive results paved the way for the worldwide approval of rivaroxaban for children in 2021. Until now, there has been a lack of research on extended anticoagulation in children with VTE, and with rivaroxaban in particular - a gap now closed by the recently published long-term study: The research shows that even with long-term treatment of up to one year, there is only a low risk of VTE recurrence and serious bleeding. Rivaroxaban is therefore the first scientifically proven age-appropriate alternative to the standard anticoagulation therapies available for children up to now.
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs when blood clots form in deep veins causing local vessel obstruction or embolization of the clot to the lungs - a potentially life-threatening condition. While this condition has been well researched in adults, there has long been a lack of solid data for children. Until recently, treatment with anticoagulant drugs was based on the off-label use of drugs that were originally developed for adults, such as heparin or vitamin K antagonists. These drugs have some disadvantages that are particularly problematic for children, such as administration by injection and the need for regular blood tests. Direct oral anticoagulants such as rivaroxaban, which have several advantages in practical use, were also originally developed for adults, but in recent years have been specifically adapted for children and tested in clinical trials.
Our EINSTEIN Jr. study and the long-term investigation now available show that rivaroxaban is an effective and safe option for preventing recurrent thrombosis in children, not only during for acute treatment but also extended treatment - and thus offers the first scientifically sound, age-appropriate alternative to existing standard therapies."
Christoph Male, study leader
The importance of the drug in anticoagulation in children is also highlighted in an accompanying editorial in The Lancet Haematology.
Medical University of Vienna
Male, C., et al. (2025). Extended-phase anticoagulant treatment of acute venous thromboembolism in children: a cohort study from the EINSTEIN-Jr phase 3 trial. The Lancet Haematology. doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3026(25)00067-5.
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The bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) may have an "on-off switch" that lets them pause and restart growth, according to a new study from the University of Surrey and the University of Oxford. The research helps explain why TB is so hard to treat with antibiotics and could pave the way for better drugs.
In a study published in The EMBO Journal, researchers show how Mycobacterium tuberculosis uses a reversible process called ADP-ribosylation to modify its DNA and control both replication and gene activity. It is the first time this kind of DNA modification has been shown to regulate key processes like gene expression and DNA copying in any organism.
We've found a way that Mycobacterium tuberculosis can slow down its growth and potentially allow it to hide from the immune response and resist antibiotics. By showing that ADP-ribosylation of DNA can control both replication and gene expression, we've discovered a new layer of regulation that could be key to understanding TB's persistence. If we can target this process, we could make the bacteria easier to eliminate - especially in the slow-growing or dormant states that current treatments struggle to reach."
Professor Graham Stewart, co-author of the study, University of Surrey
The study focused on two enzymes: DarT, which adds the ADP-ribose tag to DNA, and DarG, which removes it. When DarT is active, it stops the bacteria from copying their DNA and dividing. When DarG removes the tag, growth resumes. This start-and-stop control may help the bacteria survive in harsh conditions, making them more resilient during long-term infections.
To find out more about how this molecular switch works, the researchers used a CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system to selectively reduce levels of DarG. This allowed DarT to act without restraint, leading to the build-up of DNA modifications and halting bacterial growth. The team then used a technique called ADPr-Seq to map where these tags appeared across the genome, alongside live-cell imaging and RNA sequencing to track changes in DNA replication, cell division and gene expression. These tools helped reveal how ADP-ribosylation affects both the ability of the bacteria to replicate and the activity of genes needed for survival in stressful environments.
According to the World Health Organization, TB kills 1.25 million people globally every year. In 2023, around 10.8 million people fell ill with the disease.
University of Surrey
Butler, R. E., et al. (2025). Control of replication and gene expression by ADP-ribosylation of DNA in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The EMBO Journal. doi.org/10.1038/s44318-025-00451-y.
Posted in: Molecular & Structural Biology | Medical Research News | Disease/Infection News
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National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists have developed a new surgical technique for implanting multiple tissue grafts in the eye's retina. The findings in animals may help advance treatment options for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a leading cause of vision loss among older Americans. A report about the technique published today in JCI Insight.
In diseases such as AMD, the light-sensitive retina tissue at the back of the eye degenerates. Scientists are testing therapies for restoring damaged retinas with grafts of tissue grown in the lab from patient-derived stem cells. Until now, surgeons have only been able to place one graft in the retina, limiting the area that can be treated in patients, and as well as the ability to conduct side-by-side comparisons in animal models. Such comparisons are crucial for confirming that the tissue grafts are integrating with the retina and the underlying blood supply from a network of tiny blood vessels known as the choriocapillaris.
For the technique, investigators designed a new surgical clamp that maintains eye pressure during the insertion of two tissue patches in immediate succession while minimizing damage to the surrounding tissue.
In animal models, the scientists used their newly designed surgical technique to compare two different grafts placed sequentially in the same experimentally induced AMD-like lesion. One graft consisted of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells grown on a biodegradable scaffold. RPE cells support and nourish the retina's light-sensing photoreceptors. In AMD, vision loss occurs alongside the loss of RPE cells and photoreceptors. In the lab, RPE cells are grown from human blood cells after they've been converted into stem cells. The second graft consisted of just the biodegradable scaffold to serve as a control.
Post surgery, scientists used artificial intelligence to analyze retinal images and compare the effects of each graft. They observed that the RPE grafts promoted the survival of photoreceptors, while photoreceptors near scaffold-only grafts died at a much higher rate. Additionally, they were able to confirm for the first time that the RPE graft also regenerated the choriocapillaris, which supplies the retina with oxygen and nutrients.
The findings expand on the capability demonstrated in an ongoing, NIH-led first-in-human clinical trial of patient-derived RPE grafts for the dry form of AMD.
The work was supported by the National Eye Institute Intramural Research Program.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Gupta, R., et al. (2025). iPSC-RPE patch restores photoreceptors and regenerates choriocapillaris in a pig retinal degeneration model. JCI Insight. doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.179246.
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Larry Saltzman has blood cancer. He's also a retired doctor, so he knows getting covid-19 could be dangerous for him — his underlying illness puts him at high risk of serious complications and death. To avoid getting sick, he stays away from large gatherings, and he's comforted knowing healthy people who get boosters protect him by reducing his exposure to the virus.
Until now, that is.
Vaccine opponents and skeptics in charge of federal health agencies — starting at the top with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — are restricting access to covid shots that were a signature accomplishment of President Donald Trump's first term and cost taxpayers about $13 billion to develop, produce, and distribute. The agencies are narrowing vaccination recommendations, pushing drugmakers to perform costly clinical studies, and taking other steps that will result in fewer people getting protection from a virus that still kills hundreds each week in the U.S.
"There are hundreds of thousands of people who rely on these vaccines," said Saltzman, 71, of Sacramento, California. "For people who are immunocompromised, if there aren't enough people vaccinated, we lose the ring that's protecting us. We're totally vulnerable."
The Trump administration on May 20 rolled out tougher approval requirements for covid shots, described as a covid-19 "vaccination regulatory framework," that could leave millions of Americans who want boosters unable to get them.
The FDA will encourage new clinical trials on the widely used vaccines before approving them for children and healthy adults. The requirements could cost drugmakers tens of millions of dollars and are likely to leave boosters largely out of reach for hundreds of millions of Americans this fall.
Under the new guidance, vaccines will be available for high-risk individuals and seniors. But the FDA will encourage drugmakers to commit to conducting post-marketing clinical trials in healthy adults when the agency approves covid vaccines for those populations.
For the past five years, the shots have been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for everyone 6 months and older. They have been available each fall after being updated to reflect circulating strains of the virus, and the vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective in clinical trials.
Vinay Prasad, who leads the FDA's division overseeing vaccines, cited "distrust of the American public" as he announced the new guidelines at a May 20 briefing.
"We have launched down this multiyear campaign of booster after booster after booster," he said, adding that "we do not have gold-standard science to support this for average-risk, low-risk Americans."
The details were outlined in a May 20 article in The New England Journal of Medicine, written by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. He and Prasad later followed up with the briefing, which appeared the same day on YouTube.
The added limits on access aren't the result of any recent data showing there are new health risks from the covid vaccines. Instead, they reflect a different regulatory stance from Kennedy, who has a history of anti-vaccine activism, and Makary, who has questioned the safety data on covid mRNA shots.
Announcing a major regulatory change in a medical journal and YouTube video is a highly unusual approach that still leaves many questions about implementation unanswered. It remains unclear when the changes will go into effect or whether there will be any public comment period. The changes were announced by the administration before an FDA advisory committee meeting on May 22 to consider the 2026 covid vaccine formula.
It's a sharp reversal from the first Trump administration, which launched Operation Warp Speed — the effort that led to the development of the covid shots. Trump called the vaccines the "gold standard" and a "monumental national achievement."
The announcement is rattling some patient advocacy groups, doctors, nursing home leaders, and researchers who worry about the ramifications. They say higher-risk individuals will be more likely to get covid if people who aren't at risk don't get boosters that can help reduce transmission. And they say the FDA's restrictions go too far, because they don't provide exceptions for healthy individuals who work in high-risk settings, such as hospitals, who may want a covid booster for protection.
The limits will also make it harder to get insurance coverage for the vaccines. And the FDA's new stance could also increase vaccine hesitancy by undermining confidence in covid vaccines that have already been subject to rigorous safety review, said Kate Broderick, chief innovation officer at Maravai Life Sciences, which makes mRNA products for use in vaccine development.
"For the public, it raises questions," she said. "If someone has concerns, I'd like them to know that of all the vaccines, the ones with the most understood safety profile are probably covid-19 vaccines. There is an incredible body of data and over 10 billion doses given."
Some doctors and epidemiologists say it could leave healthy people especially vulnerable if more virulent strains of covid emerge and they can't access covid shots.
"It's not based on science," said Rob Davidson, an emergency room doctor in Michigan and executive director of the Committee to Protect Health Care, which works to expand health care access. "It's what we were all worried would happen. It risks peoples' lives."
Current federal regulators say there is no high-quality evidence showing that vaccinating healthy people, including health workers who are near or around immunocompromised people, provides an additional benefit.
"It is possible, actually, that such approvals and strategies provide false reassurance and lead to increased harms," Prasad said.
The covid vaccines underwent clinical trials to assess safety, and they have been subject to ongoing surveillance and monitoring since they obtained emergency use authorization from the FDA amid the pandemic. Heart issues and allergic reactions can occur but are rare, according to the CDC.
On a separate track, the FDA on May 21 posted letters sent in April to makers of the mRNA covid vaccines to add information about possible heart injury on warning labels, a move that one former agency official described as overkill. The action came after the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, a panel of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, held a hearing on alleged adverse events associated with covid vaccines.
Limiting boosters to healthy people goes against guidance from some medical groups.
"The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and the best way to protect children," Sean O'Leary, chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases at the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in an email. "Young children under 5 continue to be at the highest risk, with that risk decreasing as they get older."
The covid booster clampdown is supported by many adherents of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, which casts suspicion on traditional medicine. Some opponents of covid mRNA vaccines say without evidence that the shots cause "turbo" cancer, are genetic bioweapons, and cause more heart damage than the covid virus.
There is no evidence the shots lead to rapid and aggressive cancers. Cancer rates decreased an average of 1.7% per year for men and 1.3% for women from 2018 to 2022, according to the National Institutes of Health. The covid vaccines debuted in 2021.
Federal regulators say narrowing who can get the boosters will align the U.S. with policies of European nations. But other countries have vastly different economic structures for health care and approaches to preventive care. Many European countries, for example, don't recommend flu shots for the entire population. The U.S. does in part because of the financial drain attributed to lost productivity when people are sick.
They also want more information. "I think there's a void of data," Makary told CBS News on April 29. "And I think rather than allow that void to be filled with opinions, I'd like to see some good data."
A massive five-year study on covid vaccine safety by the Global Vaccine Data Network, involving millions of people, was underway, with about a year left before completion. The Trump administration terminated funding for the project as part of cuts directed by the president's Department of Government Efficiency, and work on the study has stopped for now.
There are a multitude of studies, however, on the vaccines' effectiveness in preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
Limiting boosters for healthy people can be risky, some doctors say, because people don't always know when they fall into higher-risk categories, such as individuals who are prediabetic or have high blood pressure. The covid vaccine restrictions could deter them from getting boosted, and they might experience worse complications from the virus as a result. For example, about 40% of people with hepatitis C are unaware of their condition, according to a study published in 2023.
The number of people getting covid vaccines has already dropped significantly since the height of the crisis. More than half of the more than 258 million adults in the U.S. had gotten a covid vaccination as of May 2021, according to the CDC. In each of the past two seasons, less than 25% of Americans received boosters, CDC data shows.
While deaths from the virus have dropped, covid remains a risk, especially when cases peak in December and January. Weekly covid deaths topped 2,580 as recently as January 2024, according to CDC data.
Some high-risk individuals are worried that the new restrictions are just the first salvo in halting all access to mRNA shots. "The HHS motivation really is hidden, and it's to dismiss all mRNA technology," said Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota.
Officials at the NIH have told scientists to remove references to mRNA in grant applications. HHS also announced plans in May to develop new vaccines without mRNA technology, which uses messenger RNA to instruct cells to make proteins that trigger an immune response.
Rose Keller, 23, is concerned about future access to covid shots. She would be eligible under the current announcement — she has cystic fibrosis, a progressive genetic condition that makes the mucus in her lungs thick and sticky, so covid could land her in the hospital. But she is concerned the Trump administration may go further and restrict access to the vaccines as part of a broader opposition to mRNA technology.
"I've had every booster that's available to me," said Keller, a government employee in Augusta, Maine. "It's a real worry if I don't have the protection of a covid booster."
This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
KFF Health News
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President Donald Trump's signature budget legislation would punish 14 states that offer health coverage to people in the U.S. without authorization.
The states, most of them Democratic-led, provide insurance to some low-income immigrants — often children — regardless of their legal status. Advocates argue the policy is both humane and ultimately cost-saving.
But the federal legislation, which Republicans have titled the "One Big Beautiful Bill," would slash federal Medicaid reimbursements to those states by billions of dollars a year in total unless they roll back the benefits.
The bill narrowly passed the House on Thursday and next moves to the Senate. While enacting much of Trump's domestic agenda, including big tax cuts largely benefiting wealthier Americans, the legislation also makes substantial spending cuts to Medicaid that congressional budget scorekeepers say will leave millions of low-income people without health insurance.
The cuts, if approved by the Senate, would pose a tricky political and economic hurdle for the states and Washington, D.C., which use their own funds to provide health insurance to some people in the U.S. without authorization.
Those states would see their federal reimbursement for people covered under the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion cut by 10 percentage points. The cuts would cost California, the state with the most to lose, as much as $3 billion a year, according to an analysis by KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.
Together, the 15 affected places cover about 1.9 million immigrants without legal status, according to KFF. The penalty might also apply to other states that cover lawfully residing immigrants, KFF says.
Two of the states — Utah and Illinois — have "trigger" laws that call for their Medicaid expansions to terminate if the feds reduce their funding match. That means unless those states either repeal their trigger laws or stop covering people without legal immigration status, many more low-income Americans could be left uninsured.
The remaining states and Washington, D.C., would have to come up with millions or billions more dollars every year, starting in the 2027 fiscal year, to make up for reductions in their federal Medicaid reimbursements, if they keep covering people in the U.S. without authorization.
Behind California, New York stands to lose the most federal funding — about $1.6 billion annually, according to KFF.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat who chairs the Senate budget committee, said Trump's legislation has sown chaos as state legislators work to pass their own budget by June 15.
“We need to stand our ground," he said. "California has made a decision that we want universal health care and that we are going to ensure that everyone has access to health care, and that we're not going to have millions of undocumented people getting their primary care in emergency rooms.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement that Trump's bill would devastate health care in his state.
“Millions will lose coverage, hospitals will close, and safety nets could collapse under the weight,” Newsom said.
In his May 14 budget proposal, Newsom called on lawmakers to cut some benefits for immigrants without legal status, citing ballooning costs in the state's Medicaid program. If Congress cuts Medicaid expansion funding, the state would be in no position to backfill, the governor said.
Newsom questioned whether Congress has the authority to penalize states for how they spend their own money and said his state would consider challenging the move in court.
Utah state Rep. Jim Dunnigan, a Republican who helped spearhead a bill to cover children in his state regardless of their immigration status, said Utah needs to maintain its Medicaid expansion that began in 2020.
"We cannot afford, monetary-wise or policy-wise, to see our federal expansion funding cut," he said. Dunnigan wouldn't say whether he thinks the state should end its immigrant coverage if the Republican penalty provision becomes law.
Utah's program covers about 2,000 children, the maximum allowed under its law. Adult immigrants without legal status are not eligible. Utah's Medicaid expansion covers about 75,000 adults, who must be citizens or lawfully present immigrants.
Matt Slonaker, executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project, a consumer advocacy organization, said the federal House bill leaves the state in a difficult position.
"There are no great alternatives, politically," he said. "It's a prisoner's dilemma — a move in either direction does not make much sense."
Slonaker said one likely scenario is that state lawmakers eliminate their trigger law then find a way to make up the loss of federal expansion funding.
Utah has funded its share of the cost of Medicaid expansion with sales and hospital taxes.
"This is a very hard political decision that Congress would put the state of Utah in," Slonaker said.
In Illinois, the GOP penalty would have even larger consequences. That's because it could lead to 770,000 adults' losing the health coverage they gained under the state's Medicaid expansion.
Stephanie Altman, director of health care justice at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, a Chicago-based advocacy group, said it's possible her Democratic-led state would end its trigger law before allowing its Medicaid expansion to terminate. She said the state might also sidestep the penalty by asking counties to fund coverage for immigrants. "It would be a hard situation, obviously," she said.
Altman said the House bill appeared written to penalize Democratic-controlled states because they more commonly provide immigrants coverage without regard for their legal status.
She said the provision shows Republicans' "hostility against immigrants" and that "they do not want them coming here and receiving public coverage."
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said this month that state programs that provide public coverage to people regardless of immigration status serve as "an open doormat," inviting more people to cross the border without authorization. He said efforts to end such programs have support in public polling.
A Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted May 16-18 found that 47% of Americans approve of Trump's immigration policies and 45% disapprove. The poll found that Trump's overall approval rating has sunk 5 percentage points since he returned to office in January, to 42%, with 52% of Americans disapproving of his performance.
The Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, enabled states to expand Medicaid to adults with incomes of up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or $21,597 for an individual this year. Forty states and Washington, D.C., expanded, helping reduce the national uninsured rate to a historic low.
The federal government now pays 90% of the costs for people added to Medicaid under the Obamacare expansion.
In states that cover health care for immigrants in the U.S. without authorization, the Republican bill would reduce the federal government's contribution from 90% to 80% of the cost of coverage for anyone added to Medicaid under the ACA expansion.
By law, federal Medicaid funds cannot be used to cover people who are in the country without authorization, except for pregnancy and emergency services.
The other states that use their own money to cover people regardless of immigration status are Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, according to KFF.
Ryan Long, director of congressional relations at Paragon Health Institute, an influential conservative policy group, said that even if they use their own money for immigrant coverage, states still depend on federal funds to "support systems that facilitate enrollment of illegal aliens."
Long said the concern that states with trigger laws could see their Medicaid expansion end is a "red herring" because states have the option to remove their triggers, as Michigan did in 2023.
The penalty for covering people in the country without authorization is one of several ways the House bill cuts federal Medicaid spending.
The legislation would shift more Medicaid costs to states by requiring them to verify whether adults covered by the program are working. States would also have to recertify Medicaid expansion enrollees' eligibility every six months, rather than once a year or less, as most states currently do.
The bill would also freeze states' practice of taxing hospitals, nursing homes, managed-care plans, and other health care companies to fund their share of Medicaid costs.
The Congressional Budget Office said in a May 11 preliminary estimate that, under the House-passed bill, about 8.6 million more people would be without health insurance in 2034. That number will rise to nearly 14 million, the CBO estimates, after the Trump administration finishes new ACA regulations and if the Republican-led Congress, as expected, declines to extend enhanced premium subsidies for commercial insurance plans sold through Obamacare marketplaces.
The enhanced subsidies, a priority of former President Joe Biden, eliminated monthly premiums altogether for some people buying Obamacare plans. They are set to expire at the end of the year.
This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
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Waters Corporation today announced that it has acquired Halo Labs™, an innovator of specialized imaging technologies to detect, identify, and count interfering materials (particles) in therapeutic products, such as cell, protein, and gene therapies.
The Aura™ platform from Halo Labs features a highly differentiated technology that performs full spectrum particle analysis and is complementary to the Waters light scattering detection solutions from its Wyatt Technology™ Portfolio. For example, its subvisible particle technology unlocks additional insights when characterizing external particles used to amplify CAR T-cells for cell therapy, detecting these translucent process impurities that are currently undetectable by standard methods. By acquiring this innovative company, Waters will be able to integrate this emerging technology into new and existing large molecule development and QA/QC, giving a key value-add to customers while accelerating the Company's growth into analytical and bioprocessing testing for large molecule therapies.
Adding the innovative low-sample-volume, high-throughput technology from Halo Labs provides analysis for a broad range of sample types and volumes, enabling earlier insights during therapy development and greater safety during manufacturing,"
Dr. Udit Batra, President and Chief Executive Officer, Waters Corporation
"With the rapid growth of treatments like CAR T-cell therapies, we are investing in the innovation our customers need. Together with our existing Wyatt Technology product lines, this acquisition enhances our leadership position in specialized analytical technologies for emerging biopharma therapies."
"We are thrilled to join forces with Waters, a company that shares our values of purposeful innovation and customer focus," said Rick Gordon, Chief Executive Officer, Halo Labs. "This combination accelerates our vision to expand our platform's reach, enhancing therapeutic development and production while maintaining our unwavering commitment to drug quality and safety. We look forward to driving more groundbreaking advancements that benefit patients worldwide."
Today's acquisition of Halo Labs is expected to have a negligible impact on the Company's income statement over the following 12 months.
Waters Corporation
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Inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) are a group of genetic disorders that lead to progressive vision loss as the light-sensing cells of the eye-the photoreceptors-die due to mutations in genes needed for their function and survival.
Gene therapy has emerged as a promising approach, replacing or supplementing defective genes to preserve or restore vision. Yet, most existing gene therapy strategies have been developed and tested in early disease stages-leaving a major gap in treating patients diagnosed after significant retinal damage has already occurred.
Now, in a study published in Molecular Therapy, researchers from the Division of Experimental Retinal Therapies at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) and their collaborators have developed a powerful new toolkit to help close that gap.
Led by Penn Vet's Raghavi Sudharsan, an assistant professor of experimental ophthalmology, and William A. Beltran, the Corinne R. Henry Bower Endowed Professor of Ophthalmology, the team developed four novel photoreceptor-specific promoters. These "short segments of DNA act as molecular 'switches' to turn on the therapeutic gene in target cells, driving strong and specific gene expression in rod and cone photoreceptors even in mid-to-late stages of disease," explains Sudharsan, the lead author on the paper.
"Most currently-used promoters have been tested only in healthy animal models, and their performance often declines when the retina degenerates," continues Sudharsan. "In contrast," she says, "the newly developed promoters were selected based on their ability to turn on gene activity in retinas that had already lost more than half of their photoreceptors-making them more relevant for the stages of disease at which patients are frequently diagnosed." In head-to-head comparisons, the new promoters outperformed the widely used GRK1 promoter in both expression strength and specificity.
This study addresses one of the biggest hurdles in IRD treatment: how to deliver effective gene therapy after a large portion of the retina has already degenerated. We were particularly excited by the performance of the GNGT2-based promoters, which showed strong expression in both rods and cones, even at advanced disease stages. And their small size-under 850 base pairs-makes them ideal for [adeno-associated virus] AAV packaging, unlike some conventional cone promoters that are significantly larger."
Raghavi Sudharsan, assistant professor of experimental ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine
The team also emphasized that the high specificity of these promoters for photoreceptors may help limit off-target effects and reduce potential immune responses-important considerations for safety and long-term efficacy.
The investigators used a combination of transcriptomic analysis, in silico modeling, and in vivo screening in large-animal models to identify a suite of novel, short promoters that remain active in degenerating photoreceptors. These include promoters derived from the GNGT2, IMPG2, and PDE6H genes, which demonstrated strong, cell-specific expression when delivered via AAVs into the retinas of canine models mimicking human IRDs.
"These findings highlight the importance of testing promoters in clinically relevant models and at appropriate disease stages, something that unfortunately cannot be established in cell cultures or retinal organoids," says senior author William A. Beltran, who directs the Division of Experimental Retinal Therapies. "They lay the foundation for a new generation of gene therapies that are more potent, precise, and responsive to the real-world clinical needs of patients with inherited retinal degenerations, whether people or animals."
A provisional patent on the promoter technology has been filed by the University of Pennsylvania.
William Beltran is the Corinne R. and Henry Bower Endowed Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Division of Experimental Retinal Therapies in the Department of Clinical Sciences & Advanced Medicine at the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
Raghavi Sudharsan is a research assistant professor of experimental ophthalmology in the Department of Clinical Sciences & Advanced Medicine at Penn Vet.
Other authors are Gustavo D. Aguirre, Aditi Ahuja, Natalia Dolgova, Valerie L. Dufour, Jennifer Kwok, Leonardo Murgiano, Yu Sato, and Svetlana Savina of Penn Vet and Leah C. Byrne and Morgan Sedorovitz of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
This work was supported by NIH grants RO1-EY006855, RO1-EY017549, RO1-EY033049, and P30-EY001583, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and the University of Pennsylvania (Beltran).
University of Pennsylvania
Sudharsan, R., et al. (2025). Novel Photoreceptor-Specific Promoters for Gene Therapy in Mid-to-Late Stage Retinal Degeneration. Molecular Therapy. doi.org/10.1016/j.ymthe.2025.05.020.
Posted in: Genomics | Medical Science News | Medical Condition News
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A sweeping new analysis reveals that the burden of female infertility has soared over the past three decades, with age-standardized rates rising and women in their late 30s facing the highest risk worldwide.
Study: Global, regional, and national burden of female infertility and trends from 1990 to 2021 with projections to 2050 based on the GBD 2021 analysis. Image Credit: Taimit / Shutterstock
In a recent article published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers assessed global trends in female infertility by analyzing changes in prevalence across sociodemographic levels, regions, and ages between 1990 and 2021 and making predictions for the coming years.
Their findings indicate that more than 110 million women were affected by female infertility in 2021, representing an increase of 84% since 1990, with women between 35 and 39 years old being most affected.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines female infertility as occurring when an individual cannot conceive after having regular and unprotected sex for 12 months. It is important to note that the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study, on which this research is based, uses a different definition: primary female infertility is characterized by the failure to conceive a child after 5 years of unprotected intercourse, and secondary infertility was identified in couples who desired a child and had been together for over 5 years without using contraception since their last live birth. This condition can be classified as primary or secondary, with varying prevalence rates.
In the U.S., between 7% and 16% (the paper states 7-15.5%) of reproductive-age women are affected. Globally, one in seven couples living in developed nations and 25% of those living in developing countries face infertility, and in countries like China, 15% of women of reproductive age are impacted.
Assisted reproductive treatments like in-vitro fertilization (IVF) incur high costs that range from over $12,000 per cycle in the U.S. to under $4,000 in Japan, based on 2006 United States dollars.
The causes of infertility are multifactorial, with fallopian tube blockages, ovulatory disorders, hormonal imbalances, genetic issues, epigenetic mechanisms potentially linked to environmental pollution, and other environmental factors all contributing. Infertility is also associated with elevated risks for gynecological cancers and chronic conditions like endometriosis, which is linked to asthma, autoimmune diseases, and cardiovascular problems.
Despite its broad health and social implications, infertility research remains limited. Prior studies show regional differences in infertility types and trends, including increases in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-related infertility and complex regional patterns in endometriosis burden.
In this study, researchers used the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) dataset to present a comprehensive, age- and region-specific analysis of female infertility prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from 1990 to 2021, with projections to 2050 to inform global health strategies and policy development.
The GBD database compiles health-related data from household surveys, demographic records, and other validated sources. For infertility, DALYs were calculated based solely on years lived with disability (YLD), as infertility is non-fatal.
The analysis included 204 countries and territories grouped into five sociodemographic index (SDI) categories. Cluster analysis was employed to identify regional patterns of change, for instance, noting significant increases in Andean Latin America and decreases in regions like Oceania.
Projections from 2022 to 2050 were made using an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, estimating future prevalence, DALYs, and age-standardized rates. Correlation analysis was used to assess relationships between socioeconomic variables, such as the Human Development Index (HDI), and infertility prevalence.
In 2021, female infertility affected approximately 110 million women worldwide, with an age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR) of 1,367.4 for every 100,000 and over 601,000 associated DALYs.
Women between 35 and 39 experienced the highest burden, with age-standardized rates about 1.2 times higher than those between 30 and 34. The burden varied by region and SDI level, with middle SDI regions reporting the highest case numbers, while high-middle SDI regions had the highest standardized rates.
Asia recorded the largest absolute burden, especially China and India. East Asia had the highest age-standardized rates, while countries like Australia and New Zealand reported the lowest.
Regarding temporal trends by SDI level, the age-standardized rates (ASR) in low and low-middle-SDI regions initially displayed a decrease, followed by a sharp increase starting around 2010, resulting in an overall upward trend. High SDI regions showed a slow increase followed by a decreasing trend in ASR.
The paper also notes that when looking at the relationship between ASR and SDI level at a point in time (rather than over time), territories with an SDI under 0.50 showed predominantly stable or slightly decreasing ASR, those with SDIs between 0.50 and 0.75 showed mild fluctuations in ASR, and regions with an SDI above 0.75 experienced a rapid decline in ASR.
Furthermore, a statistically significant positive association was found between the Estimated Annual Percent Change (EAPC) in infertility rates and the Human Development Index (HDI), indicating that in countries with high HDI, the incidence of female infertility increased in 2021 but showed a slowing trend when HDI exceeded 0.8.
Between 1990 and 2021, prevalence cases rose by 84.4%, and DALYs increased by 84.4%. Age-specific analysis showed a sharp rise in infertility among women between 30 and 34. While high-SDI regions saw eventual declines in their ASR trends over time, low- and middle-SDI areas faced sharp increases in their ASR after 2010.
Although the global number of women affected by infertility and total DALYs are projected to decline by 2050, the ASPR and DALYs standardized by age will continue to rise. This divergence is driven by population aging, increased infertility risk factors, including potential epigenetic impacts of industrial pollutants, and better diagnostics leading to higher detection rates.
Female infertility remains a substantial global health issue, affecting over 9% of women of reproductive age, with a growing prevalence and burden between 1990 and 2021. Factors like delayed childbearing, urbanization, industrial pollution, and potential epigenetic changes likely contribute to the observed trends.
Projections suggest a decreasing number of infertility cases and DALYs but an increasing ASPR, likely due to aging populations, lifestyle shifts, and greater awareness and diagnosis. Regional disparities, such as rising burdens in Andean Latin America and improvements in areas like Oceania, highlight the need for targeted interventions. Socioeconomic development, high-risk behaviors, and environmental exposures continue to shape fertility trends.
A major strength of this study is its global scope, leveraging extensive data. However, limitations include inconsistent data quality across countries and the lack of granular, patient-level details. Despite declining case numbers, female infertility remains a growing burden requiring targeted prevention, early screening, and enhanced reproductive healthcare policies.
Posted in: Medical Research News | Medical Condition News | Women's Health News
Written by
Priyanjana Pramanik is a writer based in Kolkata, India, with an academic background in Wildlife Biology and economics. She has experience in teaching, science writing, and mangrove ecology. Priyanjana holds Masters in Wildlife Biology and Conservation (National Centre of Biological Sciences, 2022) and Economics (Tufts University, 2018). In between master's degrees, she was a researcher in the field of public health policy, focusing on improving maternal and child health outcomes in South Asia. She is passionate about science communication and enabling biodiversity to thrive alongside people. The fieldwork for her second master's was in the mangrove forests of Eastern India, where she studied the complex relationships between humans, mangrove fauna, and seedling growth.
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A University of Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher received a $2.4 million National Cancer Institute grant to develop a noninvasive, confocal microscope to examine nerve endings of cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in the hopes of identifying potential biomarkers for the disease.
Peripheral neuropathy is a common side effect of certain chemotherapy drugs. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, or CIPN, can be severe and debilitating, often causing physical limitations, including numbness, weakness and pain in the hands and feet of patients, and reduced quality of life.
Patients with CIPN are known to have a reduced number of Meissner corpuscles, which are nerve endings responsible for transmitting the sensations of light touch and low vibration. Dongkyun Kang, PhD, an associate professor of optical sciences at the U of A James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences, hopes to use confocal microscopy images to find and count Meissner corpuscles, eventually leading to a potential imaging biomarker.
"CIPN symptoms can cause high levels of discomfort and present multiple challenges in the daily lives of cancer patients," said Kang, who has an additional appointment in the U of A College of Engineering's Department of Biomedical Engineering and is a member of the BIO5 Institute. "Using this approach, we may be able to identify CIPN earlier to stop symptoms from progressing and possibly prevent the condition altogether."
Kang's lab has pioneered low-cost confocal microscopy over the past seven years. His team was the first to demonstrate that noninvasive microscopy can be built at low cost, which makes it highly accessible in a wide variety of clinical settings.
This study will build the evidence that our noninvasive microscopy approach can provide quantitative imaging biomarkers for CIPN monitoring, treatment and research. This grant will also support a clinical study to evaluate the new microscope in patients with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy."
Dongkyun Kang, PhD, associate professor of optical sciences, U of A James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences
Kang said his goal is to change the diagnostic focus from subjective, qualitative markers, including patient and clinician questionnaires, to objective, quantitative biomarkers that could support personalized care for patients with CIPN.
"The work Dr. Kang has been doing exemplifies the Cancer Center's approach to precision prevention and therapy," said Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, the Nancy C. and Craig M. Berge endowed chair for the director of the Cancer Center. "I'm excited to see how his study evolves, especially given its potential for global impact."
Kang's co-investigators on the five-year grant include Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski, MD, a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Dermatology at the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson, a co-director of the U of A Skin Cancer Institute and a BIO5 Institute member; and Denise Roe, DrPH, a professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the director of the U of A Cancer Center Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource. Co-investigators from Guy's and St. Thomas' hospital are Sabrina Ramnarine, MD, PhD, and Majid Kazmi, MD. Co-investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are Milind Rajadhyaksha, PhD, and Kivanc Kose, PhD.
This research is supported by the National Cancer Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, under award no. 1R01CA301271-01.
University of Arizona Health Sciences
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Emerging evidence links regular sugary drink intake to impaired sperm quality and DNA damage. Find out why experts recommend reducing SSBs for reproductive health.
Recommendations for reducing the impact of SSBs on sperm health.
Research shows that regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is associated with adverse effects on male reproductive health, primarily through hormonal imbalances and oxidative damage.
Recently, scientists reviewed the available literature to document existing evidence on the association between SSB consumption and sperm health. This narrative review has been published in the journal Nutrients.
The current review included studies published from 2000 to 2024 and assessed all relevant research identified in a search conducted between 11 October 2024 and 14 December 2024 from multiple databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. After removing duplicates, eleven observational and cohort studies fulfilled all eligibility criteria and were considered for the present review.
SSBs are the largest source of added sugar in the diet. For instance, a standard 355ml serving of soda contains around 35.0–37.5 g of sugar and 140–150 calories. SSBs typically contain high concentrations of caloric sweeteners, such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), sucrose, or fruit juice concentrates.
An increase in global SSB consumption by almost 23% between 1990 and 2018 has been noted. SSB consumption is higher in men than in women. According to the Health Promotion Board (HPB) in Singapore, an average person consumed around 60 grams of sugar daily in 2018.
Multiple studies have documented a significant decline in sperm health, with average sperm concentrations decreasing by over 50% between 1973 and 2018. Diverse conditions may affect male reproduction, including reduced total sperm count, ejaculated semen volume, sperm motility and viability, and abnormal sperm morphology.
Previous studies have also shown that poor semen quality is associated with long-term morbidity and increases hospitalization risks, specifically for diabetic patients or those with cardiovascular conditions.
Increased SSB consumption leads to obesity, which is a known contributor to reduced sperm quality. In addition, high sugar intake triggers multiple metabolic conditions, such as insulin resistance, elevated triglycerides, and accelerated ageing. Numerous studies have established a dose-response relationship, which suggests that higher SSB intake exacerbates adverse outcomes.
High SSB intake, i.e., regular consumption of more than seven drinks per week, equivalent to 245.0–262.5 grams of sugar, is associated with a significant decline in sperm concentration and motility. Men who consumed more than seven SSBs a week exhibited a reduction in sperm concentration by 22% compared to non-consumers.
Similarly, higher SSB intake was inversely associated with semen volume; compared to non-drinkers, men who drank more than seven SSBs a week generated 6% lower semen volume. However, this reduction in semen volume was not always statistically significant. Previous studies also revealed that higher SSB consumption was negatively associated with sperm motility; however, the impact was found to be relatively modest and not statistically significant. Contradictory findings regarding the association between high SSB intake and a reduction in the percentage of morphologically normal sperm have been documented. Some studies have even reported minimal or positive associations between SSB intake and sperm morphology, indicating inconsistency in the evidence.
SSB may cause obesity, which disrupts the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, causing impaired gonadotropin responses and altered ultrastructure of ejaculated sperm.
A previous study revealed that high SSB intake reduces hormone levels, including inhibin-B, which is associated with a lower sperm count. Hormonal disruptions through reduced inhibin-B/follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) ratios could be the underlying mechanisms correlating the impact of increased oxidative stress and metabolic dysfunction on sperm health.
SSB induces oxidative stress by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage DNA and impair sperm's fertilization capacity. It also damages the sperm membrane through lipid peroxidation and promotes mitochondrial dysfunction, which reduces sperm motility and viability. These damages are typically assessed through molecular assays such as the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), the comet assay (single-cell gel electrophoresis), and TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling).
Chronic oxidative stress also causes accelerated cellular ageing. High sugar-sweetened soda consumption has been associated with shorter leukocyte telomere length in healthy adults, indicating the possible role of SSB in promoting systemic oxidative damage and premature biological aging.
Higher SSB consumption also triggers transient hyperglycemia, elevates ROS production, and affects endothelial function in both microvascular and macrovascular circulations. Antioxidant therapy with N-acetylcysteine and apocynin could alleviate vascular dysfunction. Antioxidant supplementation, such as coenzyme Q10, vitamins C and E, and glutathione, has shown positive effects in mitigating oxidative stress-induced cellular damage. However, the review notes that while supplementation may help in certain cases, excessive use could paradoxically impair sperm function, and a balanced, antioxidant-rich diet is recommended as a safer and more sustainable long-term strategy to improve male reproductive health.
Some included studies also examined artificially sweetened beverages, which generally showed minimal or no effect on sperm health, but further research is needed to clarify these findings.
Based on the current body of evidence, regular consumption of SSBs is associated with reductions in sperm count, motility, and increased DNA fragmentation, which may impair male reproductive health and fertility. However, most of the evidence is observational and does not establish direct causality.
A balanced diet rich in antioxidants can help mitigate low sperm count, motility, and volume. Lifestyle modifications and public health measures aimed at reducing SSB consumption, maintaining a healthy BMI, and improving overall metabolic health are recommended as part of a comprehensive approach to supporting male reproductive function.
To validate the current evidence pool, longitudinal studies with standardized study design and methodology for semen analysis are essential. Biomarkers of oxidative stress and detailed dietary assessments could help uncover the underlying mechanism by which SSB intake impacts sperm volume and quality. Considering the global population's diverse nutritional and genetic makeup, it is imperative to conduct similar research on Asian populations. It is also important to account for confounding factors such as BMI, physical activity, dietary antioxidant intake, and environmental exposures in future studies to clarify the true relationship between SSB intake and sperm health.
Posted in: Men's Health News | Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Medical Condition News
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Priyom holds a Ph.D. in Plant Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Madras, India. She is an active researcher and an experienced science writer. Priyom has also co-authored several original research articles that have been published in reputed peer-reviewed journals. She is also an avid reader and an amateur photographer.
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Radboudumc researchers Kirsten van Abeelen, Edwin Ardiansyah, Sofiati Dian, Vinod Kumar, Reinout van Crevel and Arjan van Laarhoven used metabolomics to study cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from tuberculous meningitis patients in Vietnam and Indonesia, with long-standing collaborators from Bandung and Jakarta (Indonesia), the Broad Institute (Boston) and the Oxford University Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).
Meningitis is the most severe form of tuberculosis. Damaging inflammation contributes to its poor prognosis. Corticosteroids reduce mortality, but nearly 50% of patients still die or are left disabled. The researchers hypothesized that metabolic pathways may influence disease outcome and help develop more effective host-directed therapy. They measured levels of 469 metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid obtained from 1,067 Vietnamese and Indonesian tuberculous meningitis patients with and without HIV before the start of treatment, and observed these patients for clinical outcome.
Mortality was strongly associated with ten metabolites, including three hydroxylated fatty acids with a maximum carbon length of eight. These metabolites predicted mortality, regardless of HIV status, disease severity and cerebrospinal fluid tryptophan levels, which they previously identified as an important prognostic metabolite.
The results suggests that dysregulated β-oxidation may be an important and potentially modifiable contributor to mortality in tuberculous meningitis. Follow-up studies are underway, including quantitative trait locus mapping and rare genetic variant analysis, in the same patient groups. Future intervention studies should examine whether interventions targeting cerebral metabolism or oxygenation can improve survival of this deadly disease.
Radboud University Medical Center
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A new study led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute highlights the significant impact of living in disadvantaged neighborhoods on the onset of menopause. The research followed 691 women from pregnancy to midlife and found that those residing in highly vulnerable neighborhoods, particularly within 10 years of perimenopause onset, experienced menopause approximately two years earlier than those in less vulnerable areas.
The study, "Neighborhood Vulnerability and Age of Natural Menopause and Menopause Symptoms Among Midlife Women" was published May 22 in JAMA Network Open.
Women experiencing more intense menopausal symptoms have demonstrated lower quality of life and cognitive performance. Additionally, women who undergo menopause at an earlier age face a higher risk of developing long-term health issues; specifically, a 1-year decrease in menopause age is linked to 2-3% higher risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, and mortality. At present, there are significant gaps in understanding how neighborhood contexts may affect reproductive aging in midlife women.
Identifying risk factors for earlier menopause is important for public health, potentially informing strategies to reduce the potential for adverse outcomes. Our research indicates that living in less vulnerable neighborhoods may be a key factor in preventing earlier menopause and reducing future disease risk."
Izzuddin Aris, Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and senior author of the study
The study included nearly 700 women from Project Viva, a prospective cohort in eastern Massachusetts, followed from April 1999 to August 2021. Researchers used geocoded residential addresses to assess neighborhood vulnerability and its effects on menopause onset and symptoms. The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was used to measure neighborhood disadvantage, considering factors such as socioeconomic status, household composition, and racial and ethnic minority status. Study findings showed women who resided in neighborhoods with very high (vs. very low) vulnerability exhibited higher risk of earlier natural menopause onset (by approximately 2 years), driven primarily by socioeconomic status and household composition. No associations with menopause symptom severity were observed.
The findings underscore the necessity of addressing neighborhood contexts to level reproductive health outcomes across populations.
"As certain characteristics of disadvantaged neighborhoods, such as limited access to social and economic resources, can be modified through community-led initiatives or policies implemented at the local and federal levels, future research is warranted to investigate whether such strategies could alleviate the association between neighborhood disadvantage and early menopause," added Aris.
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
Lin, Z., et al. (2025). Neighborhood Vulnerability and Age of Natural Menopause and Menopausal Symptoms Among Midlife Women. JAMA Network Open. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.12075.
Posted in: Medical Research News | Women's Health News
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A new review was published in Volume 12 of Oncoscience on May 8, 2025, titled "The chemopreventive effects of native Brazilian plants on stomach cancer: A review of the last 25 years."
The study led by first author Iara Lopes Lemos and corresponding author Mario Roberto Marostica Junior from the University of Campinas reviewed scientific studies published over the past 25 years that examine how native Brazilian plants may help prevent stomach cancer (SC). Their findings suggest that several plant species contain bioactive compounds with potential anticancer properties. By compiling and analyzing this research, the authors aim to highlight the underexplored value of Brazil's biodiversity in the search for new cancer prevention strategies.
Stomach cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers globally and is often diagnosed at advanced stages. The review notes that many factors contribute to the disease, including poor diet, infections, and genetics. However, evidence shows that regular consumption of fruits and vegetables rich in natural compounds like polyphenols and flavonoids may help lower the risk. The reviewed literature suggests that native Brazilian plants may offer similar protective effects.
"[…] a regular consumption of fruit and vegetables rich in bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, has demonstrated anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and chemopreventive effects on SC."
The study covers ten native species, including açaí, cacao, guava, pitanga, jambu, and physalis. Extracts from these plants showed signs of reducing cancer cell growth, triggering cell death, and slowing disease progression. Although the exact biological mechanisms remain unclear for many cases, some studies reported reduced inflammation and disruption of cancer-related signaling. These findings point to the possibility that natural plant-based substances could support efforts to prevent or manage SC.
Most of the studies included in the review were conducted on laboratory cell models, with very few using animal models and none involving clinical trials. This limited coverage means that while the early results are promising, more research is needed to understand how these plant compounds work in the human body and to evaluate their safety and effectiveness in real-world settings.
This review emphasizes the value of exploring Brazil's rich plant biodiversity for medical purposes. Many of these species remain scientifically underexplored, especially in the context of cancer prevention. By drawing attention to their potential, the authors hope to encourage more research that could lead to the development of new, natural therapies. Their work contributes to the growing recognition that traditional and natural sources can play a meaningful role in modern medicine.
Oncoscience
Lemos, I. L., et al. (2025). The chemopreventive effects of native Brazilian plants on stomach cancer: A review of the last 25 years. Oncoscience. doi.org/10.18632/oncoscience.618.
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by Martina Alcheva May 23, 2025
Christian Pulisic's decision to withdraw from the U.S. Men's National Team's (USMNT) Gold Cup roster has ignited controversy across American soccer circles. The Milan star's absence marks a significant development just one year out from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil, and it has led to both understanding and fierce criticism, especially from former national team players and analysts.
When Mauricio Pochettino announced the 27-man squad for the USMNT's upcoming friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland, Pulisic's name was conspicuously absent. These matches are key tune-ups ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which begins June 15. Alongside Pulisic, other notable absentees include Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Gio Reyna.
The omission, however, wasn't due to injury or performance issues. It was a deliberate decision made in consultation with the U.S. Soccer Federation. “Christian and his team approached the Federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played in the past two years at both the club and international level with very little break,” explained sporting director Matt Crocker.
Over the past two seasons, Pulisic has played close to 120 matches, a grueling schedule that included a successful second season at San Siro, where he has scored a team-high 17 goals. Crocker added: “After thoughtful discussions and careful consideration, we made the collective decision that this is the right moment for him to get the rest he needs. The objective is to ensure he's fully prepared to perform at the highest level next season.”
Despite these explanations, former USMNT captain and FOX Sports analyst Alexi Lalas responded with disbelief and sharp criticism. On his State of the Union podcast, Lalas said the choice sends the wrong message at a critical time for the national team.
“When it comes to Christian Pulisic, here's the problem I have. He is, when all is said and done, going to go down as the best male American soccer player in history… But I cannot relate to someone in his position, who is a national team player, opting out, not wanting to represent your team,” said Lalas.
He even compared the 26-year-old's workload and commitment to that of Lionel Messi, saying, “Yes, they play a lot of games. But you know who plays a lot of games? Messi.” He concluded: “This is a bad look for Christian Pulisic… a year out from the World Cup, the country needed him to be part of this team that changes the vibe. He's not going to be there, and that's disappointing.”
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Beppe Marotta says that Inter Milan will discuss a new contract for Simone Inzaghi after the FIFA Club World Cup this summer.
The Nerazzurri President spoke to Italian broadcaster DAZN, via FCInterNews, ahead of today's Serie A clash with Como.
Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi is currently under contract with the Nerazzurri until the end of June of next year.
The 49-year-old former Lazio coach most recently extended his contract with the club last summer.
Inter have made a policy of handing Inzaghi a one-year extension each summer. Therefore, it seems quite possible that that will once again be the case this summer.
However, there have been some reports that Inter want to tie their coach's future down more long-term.
Particularly after reports emerged that Al-Hilal want to tempt Inzaghi to come to the Saudi Pro League with a massive money offer.
Inter Milan President Beppe Marotta addressed the question of Inzaghi's future at the club.
“He's still under contract for one year,” said the Nerazzurri President. “And then there's one particularly significant thing – we have a great, symbiotic relationship with Inzaghi.”
“He's a great professional,” Marotta said of Inter's coach.
He called Inzaghi “the architect of this extraordinary cycle.”
“We have every desire to continue on with him. And I don't hear any bells ringing from any other direction.”
“Now's not the time to talk about it,” Marotta then cautioned.
“After the Champions League final and the Club World Cup we'll meet, and discuss an offer of an extension,” he added.
Then, Marotta was evasive on the recent controversy around refereeing and VAR in Serie A. “I don't want to get into that,” he said. “Particularly tonight.”
“Silence is a form of communication,” the Inter President continued. “Then, it has to be interpreted by some, and explained by others – in this case, us.”
Marotta was referring to Inter's media blackout after last Sunday's Serie A draw with Lazio.
“But we thought it was appropriate not out of disrespect. But because of the feeling of tension that was still lingering.”
“It's the right thing to do to manage those difficult moments.”
Meanwhile, Marotta responded to recent comments by Napoli coach Antonio Conte suggesting that the Serie A title is a more meaningful reflection of a team's quality than Serie A.
“The league is a competition like a marathon,” the Inter President said. “The Champions League often has circumstances that help you.”
“This season, though, the league matches were normal. But we played fifteen matches in other competitions, so our struggles in that respect are normal.”
The players called up for the summer have been asked to challenge underperforming veterans. Though Aaronson is a veteran, his return after missing the Nations League shows Pochettino values him.
Mauricio Pochettino has gotten his point across over the last few months.
Whatever the talents of the players he calls in to the U.S. men's soccer team, the manager wants them to match the intensity he brings from his native Argentina.
“If we want to be good in one year's time, we need to think that today is the important day,” he said when he unveiled his roster for this summer's Gold Cup and two friendlies before it. “Because we need to build, from today, our way. Not to say, ‘OK, I wait, I wait.' Now the World Cup is in one year, it's in six months, it's in one month, and then it's late.”
When that didn't happen at March's Concacaf Nations League final four, the outcry was swift and sharp. What might be the most talented generation in program history didn't bring it like the team's past eras, and as a result got beat by opponents who did.
“I think we learned a lot in the last few camps — for sure in March,” Pochettino said. “And I think it's about to be, maybe, a different way to approach this [summer].”
So he laid down the law, starting with the example of the usual calendar for a national team gathering.
“We only have time to come to maybe train one, two, three times; play, compete; one, two [days of] recovery, then play [again], and then go home,” he said. “And then maybe wait two months to be all together. If you arrive to the camp and you want to spend a nice time, play golf, go for a dinner, visit my family, visit my friends — that is the culture that we want to create? No, no, no, no, no.”
» READ MORE: Brenden Aaronson and Quinn Sullivan are in, but Christian Pulisic is out of the USMNT Gold Cup picture
The Nations League flop was accompanied by the knowledge that stalwarts Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Gio Reyna were guaranteed to miss the Gold Cup because they'd be at the Club World Cup at the same time.
That created an opening for the best way to create intensity in a national team: competition for roster spots.
Thursday's roster announcement was the starter's gun. Former Union midfielder Brenden Aaronson is back, as are forwards Folarin Balogun and Haji Wright.
There are also significant newcomers, including Sebastian Berhalter (coincidentally the son of Pochettino's predecessor, Gregg Berhalter) and the Union's Quinn Sullivan in midfield, and German-American Damion Downs among the forwards.
» READ MORE: For the first time in seven years, the Union are on a U.S. Open Cup run. Will it matter?
Diego Luna, Brian White, Patrick Agyemang, and Union product Jack McGlynn are MLS-based players with another chance to show they can run with the big names at European clubs.
One of those names, Johnny Cardoso of Spain's Real Betis, is in after missing March's games with an injury. Another, forward Josh Sargent, is out for having not scored for the U.S. in 5½ years.
“[With] one year to the World Cup, it's true that it's possible that, to me, [this] is an opportunity to have all the players that maybe you [will] have in your head in one year,” Pochettino said. “But I think at the same time, it's so exciting to see different players, young players, players that maybe have not played or they are going to make the debut in the national team. People that maybe can challenge different names that everyone considers as maybe going to arrive to the World Cup.”
» READ MORE: The U.S. men's soccer team will play in North Jersey in September
Those are words that a lot of people wanted to hear.
“I think it's important to create this challenge,” he continued. “I think [with] all the considerations that we were working [on] in the last few months after March, I think we created the best roster that we think can deliver what we want.”
At one point, Pochettino said, “I don't like to punish” players in his job. He'd rather use this moment to be constructive. But a screwdriver is just as good for taking things apart as it is for putting them together.
“You need to fight. You need to show [the] right attitude,” Pochettino said. “But not only that, perform and be brave, and follow the rules that we are going to set in the group. And of course, they need to know that [if] they do, and we are satisfied about the performance, they are going to compete in a fair way with different people that maybe are not involved today, in this squad.”
Aaronson's return after not making the Nations League squad is a symbol of that. Yes, he has been touted often in his hometown paper, but not just because of his roots. He has the right kind of spirit on the field, and Pochettino made that clear.
» READ MORE: FIFA president Gianni Infantino liked what he saw on his first visit to Philadelphia
“The most important [thing] is that he keeps bringing his energy, positivity, enthusiastic passion,” Pochettino said. “I think this type of player, that transmits to the rest of the team these feelings and these emotions, that is really important — and of course after [that], he needs to perform. But I think he's a player that already has the experience.”
That experience includes 47 national team games and a place on the 2022 World Cup team. Since then, he has played for Leeds United in England's Premier League and Union Berlin in Germany's Bundesliga and the Champions League, and this past season he helped Leeds gain promotion back to the top flight.
Pochettino is also aware of his own role in this, and that it isn't all positive. His approval of Christian Pulisic's request to skip the summer doesn't just deprive the team of its best player and biggest star. It sends a message that not all commitments — and Pulisic's overall commitment is unquestioned — are created equal.
It's fair to say, as U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker did, that Pulisic just had a second straight long season at Italy's AC Milan and has earned the right to rest. It's fair to say he's one of the only players whom Pochettino doesn't need to judge. And it's fair to say Pulisic's long injury history matters, as the time nears when a new one could be disastrous.
» READ MORE: Why the USMNT's Nations League flop became about who wasn't there, not just who was
As Pochettino said: “When you assess all the circumstances and the things — not only for Christian, [but] for different players — it's to take the best decision, thinking [of] the principal objective that is the World Cup.”
But it's also fair to say his absence now muddles the message. Pochettino acknowledged that.
“Everyone can have different opinions,” he said, and on social media they very much did. “Many people can say it's really important for us to be all together for the last [extended] time before the World Cup. But always, [as] a coaching staff, we always listen to the player. And then, of course, we take the decision.”
That did not quiet all the critics, including those in the media who had some tough questions for him. One was what message he'd send to an increasingly frustrated fan base.
“I think it's important for them to trust us, but it's our responsibility to send some signal to them,” Pochettino said. “Our fans need to see our team fighting, and playing, and performing — and playing well, yes, but fighting for the flag and being always in every single game [with] the aggressivity of the opponent.”
He then repeated the message in Spanish, to get the point across further.
“I think that's our responsibility to convey,” he said. “And if we do that, people will come to see us and cheer us on, and give us their energy.”
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The United States men's national team will not count on its most high-profile figure for this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup. Christian Pulisic, the forward from AC Milan, requested to be left out of the squad in order to rest after a demanding season in Europe. His absence, alongside other regular starters, forces coach Mauricio Pochettino to seek alternatives and take a bold approach ahead of the World Cup.
The U.S. Soccer Federation confirmed that Pulisic asked not to be included in the 27-player preliminary roster due to physical fatigue. According to sporting director Matt Crocker, the 26-year-old has accumulated over 3,500 minutes across club and international competitions over the past two years, leaving him with little time for recovery.
Why Christian Pulisic Abandoned the U.S. and Won't Play in The Gold Cup?
“After extensive conversations, we agreed that this was the best time for him to take a step back,” said Crocker. “The priority is to have him at 100% for the next season with his club and especially ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.”
Although the absences of Giovanni Reyna, Tim Weah, and Weston McKennie were anticipated—since their clubs will be playing in the FIFA Club World Cup at the same time—the exclusion of Antonee Robinson, one of the best left backs in the Premier League, raised eyebrows. Also missing from the list are Yunus Musah (Pulisic's teammate at Milan) and other Europe-based players.
Despite these notable omissions, the team welcomes back key names such as Sergiño Dest, returning from an ACL injury, and Folarin Balogun, who is back after recovering from a shoulder problem. The roster includes five players with no prior international experience, such as Matt Freese and Damion Downs, highlighting the coaching staff's desire to refresh the squad.
Mauricio Pochettino emphasized that this is a crucial moment to evaluate emerging talent and instill a winning culture within the team. “It's not about having a vacation or seeing friends. Whoever joins the national team must be ready to give everything,” the Argentine coach stated.
The United States will begin its Gold Cup journey on June 15 against Trinidad and Tobago in San Jose, followed by matches against Saudi Arabia on June 19 and Haiti on June 22. All eyes will be on a rejuvenated American team, determined to perform without its main star.
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After a breakout season in the Dutch top flight, U.S. Men's National Team star Richard Ledezma appears to be on the verge of a move from PSV to Liga MX side Chivas.
The 24-year-old is set to head to Mexico as a free agent following the expiration of his Eredivisie contract, bringing to an end his almost seven-year stint in Europe.
Ledezma's move was all but confirmed with the news that he had received his Mexican passport — a requirement for all Chivas players, as per GiveMeSport and CL Merlo.
Upon his return to North America, Ledezma is expected to put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the 12-time league champions, having turned down an extension offer from PSV as well as interest from Italy, England, and other Mexican teams, via ESPN.
What's more, not only will Ledezma's new passport allow him to move closer to home, but it will also allow him to accept Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre's offer to switch allegiances from the USMNT.
“I spoke with Richard Ledezma. He will have to make his decision. He has the possibility of being Mexican,” Aguirre explained in February after Mauricio Pochettino did not include Ledezma in his 60-man preliminary roster for the CONCACAF Nations League, via ESPN.
“I didn't put him on the list of 60 because at the moment, I wasn't so clear about him.
“Let's see what happens from here to the future. He is versatile, in New York he played as a striker, in Europe they play him as a winger. His versatility and competitive level make him valuable.”
To date, Ledezma's international career has been limited to a single appearance back in November 2020, when he came on as a substitute in a 6-2 friendly win against Panama, assisting two goals by Sebastian Soto.
While Ledezma has yet to file for a one-time switch of allegiances with FIFA, his latest snub by Pochettino could further sway his call. Despite being named to the Argentine's 60-man preliminary roster for their upcoming friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland ahead of the Gold Cup, Ledezma once again failed to make the final cut.
This comes after his best season with the back-to-back Dutch champions, having been deployed as an emergency right back for much of the year due in part to USMNT teammate Sergino Dest's recovery from an ACL tear.
Ledezma ultimately made 38 appearances in all competitions, providing one goal and one assist en route to his first Eredivisie title. It marked an excellent turnaround for Ledezma, whose European career to date had largely been thwarted by injuries and a lengthy battle to break into the lineup.
Should he switch his allegiance to Mexico after his move to Chivas, Ledezma would have to wait until September at the earliest to make his debut for El Tri. Having not been named among their 60-man preliminary roster, his next shot at action could come when Aguirre's side faces Japan on September 6 in Oakland before a friendly against South Korea three days later.
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Bayern Munich have reportedly given up on signing Florian Wirtz, seemingly giving Liverpool the green light to snap up the Bayer Leverkusen star.
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ATLANTA (May 22, 2025) – U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team head coach Katie Schoepfer has named 24 players to the first training camp after her team qualified 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, which starting this year, will be staged annually and has been expanded from 16 to 24 nations. The camp will take place from May 27-June 3 in Fayetteville, Ga., site of the currently under construction Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, which will host the majority of YNT camps after its completion in 2026.
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2008, are age-eligible for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Twenty-three players selected by Schoepfer were born in 2008 with Gotham FC forward Mak Whitham, who was the youngest signing in NWSL history at age 13 (she's now 14), born in 2010.
The USA is preparing for the World Cup which will be held Oct. 17-Nov. 8. The next five editions of the tournament, starting this year, will be held in Morocco. To qualify, the USA needed to win its group in the Final Round of the Concacaf Women's U-17 Championship, and did so with aplomb, outscoring its three opponents, 17-0.
This camp will also serve as a springboard to the June training camp at which the U.S. U-17s will face youth international power Japan twice in Kansas City, with the first match being a promoted game at CPKC Stadium, home to the Kansas City Current, and the first purpose-built stadium for women's soccer. That match will take place on June 28 (6:30 p.m. CT) and the teams will also play a closed-door international on July 1 at The University of Kansas Health System Training Center, which is also home to the Current. Japan has won one FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and finished runners-up twice. Tickets for the promoted match are available through the Kansas City Current here.
Just eight players on this roster participated in the qualifying tournament as Schoepfer takes a deeper dive into the player pool to evaluate players who could contribute to the World Cup Team.
The players that were in Costa Rica for the Concacaf tournament were goalkeeper Evan O'Steen, defenders Pearl Cecil, Lauren Hemann, Gacie Milam and Sydney Schmidt, midfielders Jaiden Rodriguez and Chloe Sadler and forward Ashlyn Anderson. Rodriguez scored twice in the three goals while Anderson tallied four times. Cecil, a center back, and Schmidt scored once each. O'Steen, who plays her youth club for Solar SC, also is on the books for the Dallas Trinity in the USL Super League, but she has not seen action this year.
Goalkeeper Hannah Folliard, defenders Marlee Raymond and Milam and midfielder Brooke Bunton -- all of whom are named to this camp -- were alternates on the Concacaf qualifying team. Milam was eventually moved to the full roster for Costa Rica after an injury to another player.
One professional club and 22 different youth clubs from 15 different states are represented on the roster, with four players from California, three from Florida, and two each from Georgia, Utah and Illinois.
Fourteen countries have qualified so far for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. China PR, Japan, Korea DPR and Korea Republic have qualified from Asia via nominations by the Asian Football Confederation based on results of the last three editions of AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup in Thailand in 2017 and 2019 and in Indonesia in 2024. New Zealand and Samoa have qualified from Oceania via the 2024 OFC U-16 Women's Championship. From Africa, in addition to host Morocco, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Zambia have earned berths via the 2025 African U-17 Women's World Cup qualifiers. The Concacaf teams that qualified along with the USA were Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica.
Domestic Training Camp – Fayetteville, Ga.
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The package includes the 2026 men's and 2027 women's World Cups, and 2025 and 2027 U20 World Cups.
Deutsche Telekom (DT), the German telecommunications giant, has secured a wide-ranging package of soccer rights from global governing body FIFA, encompassing multiple World Cup events across different categories.
The four-tournament package includes games from the 2026 men's FIFA World Cup, the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, and the youth-category U20 World Cups in 2025 and 2027.
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This will be the first time that DT will hold the rights for a FIFA Women's World Cup, which in 2027 will take place in Brazil.
Games will be broadcast on DT's MagentaTV OTT streaming service, on which it will also host highlights, game clips, interviews, shoulder content, and ancillary programming.
Despite the exclusive nature of the deal, Deutsche Telekom is likely to sublicense games out to public service broadcasters such as ARD and ZDF, or commercial free-to-air network RTL, to comply with German broadcasting law, which necessitates free-to-air coverage of fixtures involving the German national team in such major competitions.
A similar deal occurred with the 2024 European Championships, hosted in Germany, for which DT held exclusive rights.
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In a reciprocal deal, DT sub-licensed the rights to that tournament to ARD and ZDF, in exchange for the rights to all 64 games of the 2022 FIFA World Cup (16 of which were exclusive games).
Combined, the new DT rights package will total 272 games of coverage, a deal that DT is calling the “largest World Cup package ever”, in part thanks to the expanded men's World Cup format of 48 teams, making that tournament total 104 matches in itself.
Speaking on the burden of broadcasting the expanded men's World Cup in 2026 – one that will occur across multiple time zones with a large difference to European time – DT's head of TV Arnim Butzen said: “48 participating nations, 104 matches over six weeks – this is the biggest football tournament of all time.
“For us and our partners, this will be a sprint over a marathon distance. This is especially true due to the different time zones in the three host countries. We are happy to accept this logistical challenge and want to make the World Cup an unforgettable football experience for our customers.”
DT is a long-time partner of German soccer's DFB governing body and the German national team, a deal that was renewed in late 2024 to run through the 2026 tournament.
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Chelsea have set the deadline that they want to sign attacking target Joao Pedro from Brighton before the Club World Cup begins in mid-June.
It could be a busy summer for fans of Chelsea because there will be a lot going on at the club.
The Blues are competing in the expanded Club World Cup tournament, which takes place from mid-June to mid-July.
In addition, the summer transfer window will be open, so Enzo Maresca's side have the option to add to their squad. It's been claimed that Chelsea are planning four major new signings to help revamp the young group.
The transfer speculation linking Brighton star Joao Pedro, 23, to Chelsea has been intensifying in recent days.
It was claimed earlier in May that Chelsea are keen on signing Joao Pedro this summer, but they face competition from Arsenal and Liverpool for his signature.
Now, it looks like the Blues have pressed ahead with their attempt to sign the Seagulls centre-forward.
According to Brazilian publication Globo, Chelsea are attempting to speed up negotiations to sign Brighton's Pedro in time for him to be involved at the Club World Cup.
Apparently, Maresca's side have already started talks and signalled their willingness to offer €60m (£50m) for his signature. The report adds that conversations should intensify next week after the Premier League season is wrapped up.
Brighton's asking price for Joao Pedro is £59m ahead of the summer, so Chelsea aren't too far away with their initial interest.
Chelsea supporters have doubts about Joao Pedro because they're not convinced he's an obvious upgrade on Nicolas Jackson for the striker position. In fairness, the 23-year-old Brazilian star has proven at Brighton and Watford in recent seasons he's got the versatility to operate as a No 9, No 10 or a winger.
In the 2010s, Chelsea had a lot of Brazilian flair running through their squad with the likes of Oscar, David Luiz and Willian. Incidentally, Thiago Silva ranks first in the list of Chelsea's greatest ever Brazilian players.
It now looks like history could be repeating itself because there could be plenty of South American talents at Stamford Bridge next season.
Estevao Willian, 18, and Andrey Santos, 21, are Brazilian stars joining up with Chelsea for the 2025/26 campaign.
The suggestion above is that the Blues are pushing hard to get fellow countryman Pedro as well, so perhaps we will see some Brazilian flags in the Stamford Bridge crowd next season.
Thomas Tuchel has promised England will "take care" of their players set for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, with a third of his squad set to feature at this year's tournament.
The German named his second party as Three Lions boss on Friday, ahead of a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier with Andorra and a friendly with Senegal next month.
Several key faces in his team, including captain Harry Kane and midfielder Jude Bellingham, are expected to feature for their respective clubs in the United States only days after.
Speaking after the announcement of his team however, Tuchel hailed the revamped structure of an expanded tournament, live on DAZN, and promised to protect his stars.
"It is a massive tournament, a new one, a lot of travelling and it is very long," he said. "That is the calendar nowadays.
"I think once the players are there they will love and embrace the challenge to play against teams they have maybe never played before.
"The Club World Cup that I played in before was very different and maybe this will change perception. Let's see.
"It is not worth complaining, it is the schedule and we have to find the best solutions within the schedule for the players.
"Because I was in club football we will take care of the minutes of the players if we can. Spending time together was very important for us."
Watch all 62 matches of the 2025 Club World Cup live on DAZN. More information and to sign up for a free account here
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Christian Pulisic is among a slew of regular starters who will be missing when the United States plays in next month's CONCACAF Gold Cup, another blow for a team coming off dismal performances at the Copa America and CONCACAF Nations League.
Given the absences, coach Mauricio Pochettino wants players who will convince worried fans that a turnaround is ahead.
"It's our responsibility to send some signal to them," he said Thursday during a Zoom news conference after announcing his 27-man roster. "I think our fans need to see our team fighting and playing and performing and playing well, yes, but fighting for the flag and being always in every single game (to) match the aggressivity of the opponent."
Pulisic, the top American player, asked to be left off the roster for the last competitive matches before the 2026 World Cup to rest after playing about 120 games for club and country over two seasons.
Yunus Musah also asked out, Antonee Robinson was dropped because he has been playing with an injury, and Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Gio Reyna were blocked because FIFA gave the expanded Club World Cup priority over national teams.
Josh Sargent, Joe Scally, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Tanner Tessmann were omitted in what Pochettino called "football decisions."
U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker said Pulisic and his advisers asked for the possibility to be left off because of the number of games he has played in the last two years.
"Many people can say it's really important for us to be all together for the last time before the World Cup," Pochettino said. "We decided the best for him, the best of the team, the best for the national team is the decision that we made."
Pochettino replaced Gregg Berhalter after the team's first-round elimination at the Copa America last summer. After the Gold Cup, he will have just four brief training windows on FIFA international dates before players report ahead of the World Cup.
In the team's first significant test under Pochettino, the Americans lost to Panama and Canada in the Nations League in March. Without saying players had been complacent, Pochettino said, "we learned a lot in the last few camps, for sure in March, and it's about to be — maybe use a different way to approach these opportunities."
Sixteen of the players picked are from Major League Soccer, the most in a FIFA window since the U.S. sent a B team to the 2023 Gold Cup.
"If you arrive to the camp and you want to spend nice time, play golf, go for a dinner, visit my family, visit my friend, that is the culture that we want to create?" Pochettino asked out loud. "No, no, no, no, no. What we want do is to go to the national team, arrive and be focused and spend all my focus and energy in the national team. ... If we want be good in one year time, we need to think that today is the most important day."
Outside back Sergiño Dest returns to the national team for the first time since March 2024 after recovering from a torn ACL. Forward Folarin Balogun is with the team for the first time since last September, following his recuperation from shoulder surgery.
Pochettino's roster included Alex Freeman, a son of former NFL All-Pro receiver Antonio Freeman. The 20-year-old right back made his Major League Soccer debut for Orlando in April 2023 — his only league match that season. He had two MLS appearances last year and has become a regular this season.
Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, a 24-year-old son of the former coach, also was picked for the first time along with 20-year-old forward Damion Downs and 21-year-old defender Quinn Sullivan.
Downs has played on youth teams of Germany and the U.S., and helped Cologne gain promotion to the Bundesliga for 2025-26 after a one-season absence.
Goalkeeper Matt Freese, who has attended national team camp previously but not played in a game, was also selected.
Players will start reporting June 1 for training in Chicago, and the 26-man Gold Cup roster is due June 4. The U.S. plays Turkey on June 7 at East Hartford, Connecticut, and Switzerland three days later at Nashville, Tennessee, then meets Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti in the first round of the Gold Cup.
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Foden was left out of Thomas Tuchel's latest England squad as he battles an ankle injury, while he has also opened up about struggles with his mental health in recent weeks
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Pep Guardiola expects Phil Foden to go to the Club World Cup with Manchester City.
The midfielder was omitted by Thomas Tuchel from the England squad for the June internationals against Andorra and Senegal after saying he might want to sit games out to allow him time to recover from the ankle injury that has hampered him.
Foden has only started one of City's last eight games after being hurt in a challenge by Manchester United midfielder Casemiro in early April and Tuchel described the 24-year-old as “a little bit injured” when discussing his omission.
But whereas Foden had suggested that he might benefit from a summer off and missing the Club World Cup, Guardiola expects him to be part of the City squad. “In principle, he will come to America,” he said.
Guardiola has said that former City captain Kyle Walker will not be part of his squad in the United States. The right-back has spent the second half of the season at AC Milan but his loan spell in Italy has ended.
But he is waiting to find out if James McAtee and Rico Lewis will play for City in the Club World Cup after England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley said he wanted to call them both up for the summer's European Championships.
Guardiola joked that he did not know if City or the FA would pay their salaries in the summer months but added: “They are going to decide, the players with the club. They will talk with the sporting director and they have to decide what they want to do.”
City go to Fulham on Sunday needing a point to secure a top-five finish and Champions League football.
Rodri made his comeback after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury as a substitute in Tuesday's 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
With Mateo Kovacic suspended following his red card in midweek, Guardiola has a vacancy in midfield but he insisted it is too soon for the Ballon d'Or winner to play 90 minutes. “He's not going to start, he's not ready to start,” he said.
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Guardiola feels it will not be until next season that City see the best of Rodri and warned that even then he cannot have the same workload he used to.
“He's a long way to be what Rodri was,” he said. “I guess it will be next season when he will start to be the Rodri – and not in the way we have seen before the injury playing 70 games, playing every three days, I think it will take even longer for that.
“Because the experience in this surgery, we have always to be careful, otherwise you have muscular problems and this kind of stuff. But it is the first kind of step, for his mind, for his knee, but still is not the Rodri we know.”
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Pep Guardiola says Kyle Walker will not be involved in Manchester City's Club World Cup tilt amid reports he will leave the Etihad permanently.
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Pep Guardiola has confirmed whether Kyle Walker will be part of Manchester City's travelling group to the United States for the FIFA Club World Cup in June.
Walker has spent the second half of the season on loan at AC Milan after a difficult few months near the turn of the year that saw him commit a series of high-profile mistakes and lose his place in the starting XI.
The England international has been one of Pep Guardiola's best and most successful signings and whilst being widely regarded as the best full-back in Premier League history, Walker's time at the Etihad Stadium has come to an end.
Fabrizio Romano has reported that club bosses do not consider the 33-year-old part of their plans next season and with the Sheffield-born defender out of contract at Manchester City in 2026, this summer is an ideal time for all parties to shake hands and move on.
Manchester City have identified Juventus' Andrea Cambiaso as a potent replacement for Walker, who left the club midway through what has been a sobering, sub-standard season for the 2023 treble winners.
The former Tottenham man joined Manchester City for a then English record fee for a defender in 2017, winning six Premier League titles and a maiden UEFA Champions League title amongst a plethora of silverware at the Etihad Stadium.
Speaking ahead of Manchester City's final Premier League game of the season against Fulham on Sunday, Guardiola was asked whether Walker will be part of the group that travels to the United States for the FIFA Club World Cup in June.
“No,” said Guardiola, confirming that Manchester City will not include Walker in their squad for the tournament, which confirms that the right-back will leave the club in the next month as he looks to make a permanent move to AC Milan.
Walker featured in AC Milan's kit release for the 2025-26 campaign and whilst the Italian side are undergoing financial issues, it is believed that a permanent transfer will be the ultimate resolution that will fit all parties.
Matheus Nunes, Rico Lewis and January signing Abdukodir Khusanov have collectively shared the workload at right-back since Walker switched Manchester for Milan and it is a sad ending for the former club captain to have departed the club in the manner things turned out in the end – having been the bedrock of Manchester City's defence since 2017.
Manchester United are reportedly hoping to raise £150 million in transfer funds by selling four big-name players this summer.
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Thomas Tuchel has won 11 trophies as a manager at domestic level
England manager Thomas Tuchel will not release players early for the Club World Cup because he wants to "cherish" and "worship" every moment with his squad.
On Friday, Tuchel named his 26-man squad for a World Cup qualifer against Andorra (7 June) and a friendly against Senegal (10 June).
Eight members of the squad play for teams competing at the Club World Cup, which begins on 15 June - five days after England host Senegal at Nottingham Forest's City Ground.
The month-long Club World Cup is being held in the United States and England captain Harry Kane's Bayern Munich play Auckland City on the opening day of the tournament.
Chelsea, who have five players in the England squad, are the first Premier League club in action on 16 June.
Tuchel said no managers had been in touch with him about leaving players out of his plans.
"The discussion was very open," said the German.
"Very quickly we also understood this is a very important camp for us with one year to go until the Word Cup.
"Why send players if we want to cherish every day we have together. What signal would it send to the group to send players away?"
Tuchel, who oversaw victories against Albania and Latvia in his first two matches in March, said England will start and finish the camp with the same 26 players, adding that he will "manage their minutes".
"I was an advocate and I could see the reason for the players who go to the Club World Cup to maybe leave a little earlier, to maybe change the squad," Tuchel said.
"I can understand the argument from especially the clubs who would love to see the players get a rest but we have a strong argument for ourselves and our goals we want to reach.
"We are building a group and a togetherness. We want to develop a camaraderie and it is only possible if we take every day seriously."
Despite pressure from clubs participating in the Club World Cup, Tuchel has stuck to his guns.
Hired on a remit to win the 2026 World Cup, Tuchel stressed before his first match in charge that he only has a total of 60 days and 24 sessions with his squad before the tournament begins.
Five Chelsea players - Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah and Reece James - are included in the squad.
Before the squad was announced, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said there was a lack of care for players' welfare when asked about his players receiving a call-up.
"It is not normal, it is not correct," said Maresca.
"I know people say they have money but it is not about money, it is about the health of the players. I don't think people pay attention to that."
Kane, 31, was always going to be selected given his role as captain, while Conor Gallagher has had a good season with Atletico Madrid in Spain.
But the selection of Jude Bellingham could prove more controversial.
The midfielder has postponed surgery on his shoulder until after the Club World Cup, a decision that will see him miss at least the first six weeks of the 2025-26 season.
The former Birmingham City midfielder has made 52 appearances for Real Madrid this season and could play up to an extra seven matches at the Club World Cup should the La Liga side reach the final.
25 May: Final Premier League games
28 May: Conference League final: Chelsea v Real Betis
31 May: Champions League final: PSG v Inter Milan
4-10 June: Six-day England camp including games on 7 June and 10 June
11-28 June: U21 European Championship
15 June -13 July: Club World Cup, including Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, plus others
15 June: Bayern play first Club World Cup game
16 June: Chelsea play first game
18 June: Man City & Real Madrid play first games
Mid-July: Pre-season matches begin, including overseas tours
9 August: Community Shield
13 August: Uefa Super Cup: Tottenham v Champions League winners
16 August: Start of 2025-26 Premier League season
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The FIFA World Cup is coming back to New Jersey for the first time in more than 30 years in 2026, and a local artist is helping define how the world will see it.
Rich Tu, a visual artist raised in South Orange and now based in Brooklyn, was selected by the region's host committee to pen the official poster for the New York/New Jersey host region. Tu said his composition was meant to reflect the cultural depth of both sides of the Hudson and blend local identity with global scale. Making sure New Jersey was not lost in the shuffle was key, he said.
"What I love about New Jersey is it's so much more than what people think it is," Tu said.
FIFA revealed Tu's poster for the New York/New Jersey host region in April at Poster House in Manhattan. It was part of a rollout of official artwork for each of the 16 host stadiums across North America, as the U.S. is set to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada.
Tu's vivid, high-energy design is centered on a multicolored soccer ball engulfed in the flames of the Statue of Liberty's torch. Dominated by bold colors, the flame is rendered in fiery reds and oranges, while the torch itself is depicted in cool green and teal tones.
"I wanted to embody the voice of the fans ... the loudness of the stadiums," he said. "It's bold, like the people of this region."
In the background, Tu layered iconography from both New York and New Jersey. There are florals for the Garden State and a splash of Knicks orange. Deep blues and purples are layered with architectural outlines and symbols of the regional cultural identity. There is an apple for the big city, a pair of dice for the Jersey Shore's gambling mecca and the face of Lady Liberty, a symbol shared by both sides of the Hudson.
"This poster is a bold celebration of everything that makes the NY/NJ region so dynamic — our diversity, creativity, and unmistakable energy," said Bettina Garibaldi, the regional host committee's chief marketing and communications officer. "Rich Tu's design captures the essence of who we are: a region that stands out."
Tu said his poster draws inspiration from past World Cup visuals, including Lance Wyman's work during the 1970 Mexico campaign. Tu said he approached the project with an eye toward scale and permanence, aiming to reflect not just the sport but the energy of the region and the significance of the moment. Having a place in the history of the World Cup and its identifying art for his home region is both gratifying and deeply humbling, he said.
"The world is going to converge here at the end of the World Cup for the final, and this poster is going to sit in kids' rooms," Tu said. "Just to be a part of the history is crazy."
The poster is on display at 352 Marin Blvd., in Jersey City and set to join the permanent collection at Poster House in New York, the country's only museum dedicated to poster art. The digital version has also been on display in Times Square and at MetLife Stadium, where both the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup are scheduled to take place. MetLife is set to host nine matches in 2025 and eight in 2026, including the World Cup Final.
Tu, who earned degrees from Rutgers University and New York City's School of Visual Arts art college, is a partner at the studio Sunday Afternoon. He teaches at the art college and co-founded the COLORFUL Awards, a program supporting early-career artists from underrepresented backgrounds. He has also led creative efforts for MTV and Nike and worked with brands including Budweiser, G-Shock and The New York Times and been nominated for a Webby Award.
Christian Pulisic is among a slew of regular starters who will be missing when the United States plays in next month's CONCACAF Gold Cup, another blow for a team coming off dismal performances at the Copa America and CONCACAF Nations League.
Given the absences, coach Mauricio Pochettino wants players who will convince worried fans a turnaround is ahead.
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“It's our responsibility to send some signal to them,” he said Thursday during a Zoom news conference after announcing his 27-man roster. “I think our fans need to see our team fighting and playing and performing and playing well, yes, but fighting for the flag and being always in every single game (to) match the aggressivity of the opponent."
Pulisic, the top American player, asked to be left off the roster for the last competitive matches before the 2026 World Cup in order to rest after playing about 120 games for club and country over two seasons.
Yunus Musah also asked out, Antonee Robinson was dropped because he has been playing with an injury, and Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Gio Reyna were blocked because FIFA gave the expanded Club World Cup priority over national teams.
Josh Sargent, Joe Scally, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Tanner Tessmann were omitted in what Pochettino called "football decisions."
U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker said Pulisic and his advisers asked for the possibility to be left off because of the amount of games he has played in the last two years.
“Many people can say it's really important for us to be all together for the last time before the World Cup,” Pochettino said. “We decided the best for him, the best of the team, the best for the national team is the decision that we made.”
Pochettino replaced Gregg Berhalter after the team's first-round elimination at the Copa America last summer. After the Gold Cup, he will have just four brief training windows on FIFA international dates before players report ahead of the World Cup.
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In the team's first significant test under Pochettino, the Americans lost to Panama and Canada in the Nations League in March. Without saying players had been complacent, Pochettino said “we learned a lot in the last few camps, for sure in March, and it's about to be — maybe use a different way to approach these opportunities."
Sixteen of the players picked are from Major League Soccer, the most in a FIFA window since the U.S. sent a B team to the 2023 Gold Cup.
“If you arrive to the camp and you want to spend nice time, play golf, go for a dinner, visit my family, visit my friend, that is the culture that we want to create?" Pochettino asked out loud. "No, no, no, no, no. What we want do is to go to the national team, arrive and be focused and spend all my focus and energy in the national team. ... If we want be good in one year time, we need to think that today is the most important day."
Outside back Sergiño Dest returns to the national team for the first time since March 2024 after recovering from a torn ACL. Forward Folarin Balogun is with the team for the first time since last September following his recuperation from shoulder surgery.
Pochettino's roster included Alex Freeman, a son of former NFL All-Pro receiver Antonio Freeman. The 20-year-old right back made his Major League Soccer debut for Orlando in April 2023 — his only league match that season. He had two MLS appearances last year and has become a regular this season.
Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, a 24-year-old son of the former coach, also was picked for the first time along with 20-year-old forward Damion Downs and 21-year-old defender Quinn Sullivan.
Downs has played on youth teams of Germany and the U.S., and helped Cologne gain promotion to the Bundesliga for 2025-26 after a one-season absence.
Goalkeeper Matt Freese, who has attended national team camp previously but not played in a game, also was selected.
Players will start reporting June 1 for training in Chicago, and the 26-man Gold Cup roster is due June 4. The U.S. plays Turkey on June 7 at East Hartford, Connecticut, and Switzerland three days later at Nashville, Tennessee, then meets Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti in the first round of the Gold Cup.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Matt Freese (New York City), Patrick Schulte (Columbus), Zack Steffen (Colorado), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)
Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Orlando), DeJuan Jones (San Jose), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati)
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds), Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (San Diego), Diego Luna (Salt Lake), Jack McGlynn (Houston), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus)
Forwards: Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte), Folarin Balogun (Monaco). Damion Downs (Cologne), Brian White (Vancouver), Haji Wright (Coventry)
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Sabalenka has had success on clay, but Swiatek can be dominant.
By Cindy Shmerler
When Aryna Sabalenka was a teenager in Minsk, Belarus, she would have long conversations with her father, Sergey, a former Belarusian hockey player who introduced her to tennis when they drove by some empty local courts. They did not discuss specific results or rankings so much as aspirations. Sergey, Sabalenka has said, was anxious for her to win at least one major title before she turned 25.
“We were just talking about goals and what I want and how big I want to go in the sport,” Sabalenka, 27, said in an interview during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March. “We were having our chats, and it was, of course, his dream because he was the one pushing himself really hard to make sure that I stay there because it wasn't something cheap back then in Belarus.”
Sergey died suddenly in November 2019, more than three years before Sabalenka captured the first of her back-to-back Australian Open titles. In 2023, she defeated Elena Rybakina in the final and in 2024 she ousted Zheng Qinwen. She also won last year's U.S. Open by beating Jessica Pegula.
But Sabalenka, world ranked No. 1, has never won the French Open, which begins on Sunday, or Wimbledon, titles she covets most. The closest she has come at Roland Garros was a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5 semifinal loss to Karolina Muchova in 2023. Last year, while suffering from a stomach illness, she lost in the quarterfinals to Mirra Andreeva.
Sabalenka has also missed two of the last three Wimbledons — she withdrew with a shoulder injury last year and was barred from playing in 2022 when Russians and Belarusians were prohibited because of Russia's attack on Ukraine. Two years ago she lost to Ons Jabeur in the semifinals.
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Djokovic claimed his 99th title by winning Olympic gold at Paris 2024
Novak Djokovic moved one win away from his 100th ATP Tour-level singles title with a hard-fought victory against Britain's Cameron Norrie in the semi-finals at the Geneva Open.
Djokovic is bidding to become just the third man in the Open era - after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer - to win 100 ATP titles.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion took a step closer to that milestone with a resilient 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 win over Norrie.
Djokovic, who has not won a title since claiming Olympic gold in Paris last summer, will face Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in Saturday's final.
"It was the toughest match of tournament for me so far, for sure," Djokovic, who turned 38 on Thursday, said.
It has been a disappointing clay season for Djokovic, who suffered immediate exits in Madrid and Monte Carlo.
However, an ATP 250 title in Geneva could be the perfect confidence booster before the French Open, where he will be chasing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic will face American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round at Roland Garros, which starts on Sunday.
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Playing in his first semi-final of the season, Norrie won just two points on Djokovic's serve in the first set as the Serb raced through the opener.
It was the Briton, however, who took control in the second set, challenging Djokovic's serve for the first time to move 4-1 in front.
A double fault by Djokovic at 5-2 brought up a set point for Norrie, but he missed his chance and allowed Djokovic to break back and level at 5-5.
The world number 90 redeemed himself in a cagey tie-break, saving a match point before an unforced error from Djokovic took the last-four tie to a deciding set.
World number six Djokovic reasserted his dominance by grabbing the first three games of the third set - a gap that Norrie was unable to close as he was broken again to allow Djokovic to serve out victory after two hours and 15 minutes.
"I'm really glad how I regrouped in the third and played the best set of the tournament," added Djokovic, who is playing in his first event since splitting from coach Andy Murray.
"It means a lot [to reach the final]. So let's go for a title."
It will be Djokovic's second final of the season after the Miami Open in March, where he lost to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.
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Daria Saville, Victoria Mboko and Sara Bejlek were among the players to successfully qualify for the Roland Garros main draw.
Five players had already booked their places in the Roland Garros main draw on Day 4 of qualifying: Nina Stojanovic, Nao Hibino, Tamara Korpatsch, Oksana Selekhmeteva and Carole Monnet.
On Friday, the 11 remaining qualifiers were decided.
[Q] Lucrezia Stefanini vs. Jil Teichmann[Q] Nina Stojanovic vs. [16] Amanda Anisimova[11] Diana Shnaider vs. [Q] Anastasiia Sobolieva[Q] Leyre Romero Gormaz vs. [WC] Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah[Q] Victoria Mboko vs. Lulu Sun[Q] Tamara Korpatsch vs. [SR] Sorana Cirstea[12] Elena Rybakina vs. [Q] Julia Riera[16] Marta Kostyuk vs. [Q] Sara BejlekKatie Volynets vs. [Q] Joanna Garland[Q] Solana Sierra vs. [32] Yulia Putintseva[Q] Oksana Selekhmeteva vs. Marketa Vondrousova[Q] Maria Lourdes Carle vs. Ann Li[7] Madison Keys vs. [Q] Daria Saville[Q] Carole Monnet vs. Katie Boulter[Q] Nao Hibino vs. Moyuka Uchijima[LL] Taylor Townsend vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto[WC] Chloe Paquet vs. [Q] Tereza Valentova
Daria Saville, Victoria Mboko and Sara Bejlek were among the players to successfully qualify for the Roland Garros main draw.
Tennis
Novak Djokovic into Geneva Open final following semi-final victory over Britain's Cam Norrie; Djokovic to face Hubert Hurkacz in Saturday's final; watch all the action from the ATP and WTA Tours on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, NOW and the Sky Sports app
Friday 23 May 2025 18:16, UK
Novak Djokovic is through to the Geneva Open final after dominating Britain's Cam Norrie in a third-set decider on Friday, winning 6-4 6-7 6-1.
Having secured the opening set via a solitary break of serve, Djokovic - as he did in his quarter-final against Italian Matteo Arnaldi - fell a break down in the second, only to break back and get on level terms.
Unlike in Djokovic's quarter, though, Norrie forced a tiebreak as he put the fact he was 5-3 ahead out of his mind, and at the second attempt clinched the set to force a decider - saving match point before doing so.
The third set saw Djokovic race out to a 3-0 advantage, however, and the Serbian never looked back, kicking on to seal a comfortable final-set win 6-1.
Djokovic will face Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in Saturday's final, after the latter defeated Sebastian Ofner of Austria 6-3 6-4 earlier on Friday.
The 24-time grand slam champion has been stuck on 99 ATP titles since winning an emotional Olympic gold medal last summer, losing finals in Shanghai last year and in Miami in the spring.
It has been a tough season so far for former British No 1 Norrie but he has found some form on the clay and came through qualifying in Switzerland before making it to the last four.
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He had won only one set in four previous meetings against Djokovic and managed another here before his challenge faded in the decider.
In his on-court interview, Djokovic said: "It was the toughest match of the tournament for me so far for sure. Second set he was a break up and I managed to come back, tie-break, match point, I got a bit tight there, missed a couple of mid-court shots.
"That's what happens but I'm really glad how I regrouped in the third and played really the best set of the tournament. It means a lot so let's go for a title."
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
© 2025 Sky UK
The 24-time Grand Slam champ knocked out Cameron Norrie to reach his 143rd career final.ByDavid KanePublished May 23, 2025 copy_link
Published May 23, 2025
Novak Djokovic is a win away from a milestone 100th ATP title at the Gonet Geneva Open after outlasting Cameron Norrie, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-1 in the semifinals on Friday.The 24-time Grand Slam champion celebrated his 38th birthday on Thursday, and looks to be rounding into form just in time for Roland Garros after defeating the former world No. 8 in two hours and 13 minutes on Center Court. Awaiting him in the final will be No. 6 seed Hubert Hurkacz, who scored a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sebastian Ofner in the first semifinal.>>> WATCH LIVE, 9 A.M. ET SATURDAY: Novak Djokovic vs. Hubert HurkaczDjokovic began the 2025 season with 99 titles but has struggled for consistency since standing atop the podium at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The former world No. 1 took opening-round losses in both Monte Carlo and Madrid before announcing his withdrawal from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.Announcing plans to play Geneva for a second year in a row, Djokovic also revealed he had split from rival-turned-coach Andy Murray, a fellow former No. 1 who had been part of Djokovic's team since the end of last season.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion celebrated his 38th birthday on Thursday, and looks to be rounding into form just in time for Roland Garros after defeating the former world No. 8 in two hours and 13 minutes on Center Court. Awaiting him in the final will be No. 6 seed Hubert Hurkacz, who scored a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sebastian Ofner in the first semifinal.>>> WATCH LIVE, 9 A.M. ET SATURDAY: Novak Djokovic vs. Hubert HurkaczDjokovic began the 2025 season with 99 titles but has struggled for consistency since standing atop the podium at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The former world No. 1 took opening-round losses in both Monte Carlo and Madrid before announcing his withdrawal from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.Announcing plans to play Geneva for a second year in a row, Djokovic also revealed he had split from rival-turned-coach Andy Murray, a fellow former No. 1 who had been part of Djokovic's team since the end of last season.
>>> WATCH LIVE, 9 A.M. ET SATURDAY: Novak Djokovic vs. Hubert HurkaczDjokovic began the 2025 season with 99 titles but has struggled for consistency since standing atop the podium at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The former world No. 1 took opening-round losses in both Monte Carlo and Madrid before announcing his withdrawal from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.Announcing plans to play Geneva for a second year in a row, Djokovic also revealed he had split from rival-turned-coach Andy Murray, a fellow former No. 1 who had been part of Djokovic's team since the end of last season.
Djokovic began the 2025 season with 99 titles but has struggled for consistency since standing atop the podium at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. The former world No. 1 took opening-round losses in both Monte Carlo and Madrid before announcing his withdrawal from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.Announcing plans to play Geneva for a second year in a row, Djokovic also revealed he had split from rival-turned-coach Andy Murray, a fellow former No. 1 who had been part of Djokovic's team since the end of last season.
Announcing plans to play Geneva for a second year in a row, Djokovic also revealed he had split from rival-turned-coach Andy Murray, a fellow former No. 1 who had been part of Djokovic's team since the end of last season.
Djokovic recovered from a second-set wobble to roar into his first final of the season.
Djokovic, who confirmed he is working with Dusan Vemic and assistant coach Boris Bosnjakovic, made a strong start to his Geneva campaign with back-to-back straight-sets wins over Marton Fucsovics and No. 8 seed Matteo Arnaldi, who won their match at the Mutua Madrid Open last month.Standing between the Serb and a 143rd career ATP final was Norrie, a former BNP Paribas Open champion and Wimbledon semifinalist. The left-handed Brit is coming off a disappointing 2024 season that saw him drop out of the Top 20 for the first time since 2021, but has enjoyed a solid run through the clay swing, racking up qualifying wins to make main draws in Barcelona and Rome. In Madrid, he pulled off a three-set win over No. 26 seed Jiri Lehecka to reach the third round.Djokovic led their head-to-head 4-0 coming into Friday's match, winning their lone clay-court encounter in Rome in 2023, and made a similarly strong start in their semifinal, claiming the lone break of the opening set and serving it out to love.
Standing between the Serb and a 143rd career ATP final was Norrie, a former BNP Paribas Open champion and Wimbledon semifinalist. The left-handed Brit is coming off a disappointing 2024 season that saw him drop out of the Top 20 for the first time since 2021, but has enjoyed a solid run through the clay swing, racking up qualifying wins to make main draws in Barcelona and Rome. In Madrid, he pulled off a three-set win over No. 26 seed Jiri Lehecka to reach the third round.Djokovic led their head-to-head 4-0 coming into Friday's match, winning their lone clay-court encounter in Rome in 2023, and made a similarly strong start in their semifinal, claiming the lone break of the opening set and serving it out to love.
Djokovic led their head-to-head 4-0 coming into Friday's match, winning their lone clay-court encounter in Rome in 2023, and made a similarly strong start in their semifinal, claiming the lone break of the opening set and serving it out to love.
Norrie turned the tables on Djokovic in the second, racing out to a 5-2 lead and holding set point on Djokovic's serve. Djokovic dug out of the deficit and broke Norrie to get back on serve, leveling the set at five games apiece.With little to separate the pair as the set headed into a tiebreaker, Norrie saved a match point at 5-6 in the Sudden Death with a serve out wide and claimed the set after back-to-back errors from Djokovic.Djokovic made a blistering start to the decider, winning 12 of the first 13 points en route to a 4-1 lead. Norrie sought to battle back but was undone by Djokovic's consistency. Taking full advantage, Djokovic claimed a double-break advantage to find himself serving for a spot in the final.An approach to net earned Djokovic a pair of match points; one last strong serve put him over the finish line and into the championship match against Hurkacz.
With little to separate the pair as the set headed into a tiebreaker, Norrie saved a match point at 5-6 in the Sudden Death with a serve out wide and claimed the set after back-to-back errors from Djokovic.Djokovic made a blistering start to the decider, winning 12 of the first 13 points en route to a 4-1 lead. Norrie sought to battle back but was undone by Djokovic's consistency. Taking full advantage, Djokovic claimed a double-break advantage to find himself serving for a spot in the final.An approach to net earned Djokovic a pair of match points; one last strong serve put him over the finish line and into the championship match against Hurkacz.
Djokovic made a blistering start to the decider, winning 12 of the first 13 points en route to a 4-1 lead. Norrie sought to battle back but was undone by Djokovic's consistency. Taking full advantage, Djokovic claimed a double-break advantage to find himself serving for a spot in the final.An approach to net earned Djokovic a pair of match points; one last strong serve put him over the finish line and into the championship match against Hurkacz.
An approach to net earned Djokovic a pair of match points; one last strong serve put him over the finish line and into the championship match against Hurkacz.
Hubert Hurkacz stands in the way of the all-time great's 100th career title.
After battling injury and illness throughout the clay-court season, the 22-year-old is eager to shift his focus back to the court.ByStephanie LivaudaisPublished May 23, 2025 copy_link
Published May 23, 2025
© 2025 Franco Arland
PARIS — To be the best, you have to learn from the best. For Holger Rune, that means getting direct advice from none other than Novak Djokovic.The 22-year-old Dane heads into Roland Garros hoping to end a turbulent clay-court season on a high. Despite capturing the title in Barcelona, Rune's momentum stalled—first due to illness in Monte Carlo, then a knee injury in Madrid. He was later edged out in a tight third-round match in Rome by Corentin Moutet, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4).Rune later revealed on social media that he was still battling the throat infection that began during Indian Wells and lingered through Monte Carlo. He withdrew from Hamburg to rest and recover in time for Paris.Read More: Will the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry culminate in a first Grand Slam final? | 2025 Roland Garros men's previewNow, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
The 22-year-old Dane heads into Roland Garros hoping to end a turbulent clay-court season on a high. Despite capturing the title in Barcelona, Rune's momentum stalled—first due to illness in Monte Carlo, then a knee injury in Madrid. He was later edged out in a tight third-round match in Rome by Corentin Moutet, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4).Rune later revealed on social media that he was still battling the throat infection that began during Indian Wells and lingered through Monte Carlo. He withdrew from Hamburg to rest and recover in time for Paris.Read More: Will the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry culminate in a first Grand Slam final? | 2025 Roland Garros men's previewNow, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
Rune later revealed on social media that he was still battling the throat infection that began during Indian Wells and lingered through Monte Carlo. He withdrew from Hamburg to rest and recover in time for Paris.Read More: Will the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry culminate in a first Grand Slam final? | 2025 Roland Garros men's previewNow, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
Read More: Will the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry culminate in a first Grand Slam final? | 2025 Roland Garros men's previewNow, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
Now, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
Rune also spoke about his strong rapport with Novak Djokovic, at the 24-time Grand Slam champ is currently playing in Geneva as part of his own Roland Garros preparations.“Definitely Novak has been really, really nice to me all my career,” Rune said.He recalled their earliest interactions—especially as a 16-year-old hitting partner at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, where he helped warm up greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic.But it was his time with the Serbian champion that made the most lasting impression—not just because of Djokovic's friendly nature, but for the invaluable advice he freely shared.“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
“Definitely Novak has been really, really nice to me all my career,” Rune said.He recalled their earliest interactions—especially as a 16-year-old hitting partner at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, where he helped warm up greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic.But it was his time with the Serbian champion that made the most lasting impression—not just because of Djokovic's friendly nature, but for the invaluable advice he freely shared.“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
He recalled their earliest interactions—especially as a 16-year-old hitting partner at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, where he helped warm up greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic.But it was his time with the Serbian champion that made the most lasting impression—not just because of Djokovic's friendly nature, but for the invaluable advice he freely shared.“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
But it was his time with the Serbian champion that made the most lasting impression—not just because of Djokovic's friendly nature, but for the invaluable advice he freely shared.“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
A post shared by Holger Vitus Nødskov Rune (@holgerrune)
So what was the most impactful advice from Djokovic? Rune recalled a practice session where they were trading crosscourt forehands when Djokovic offered this insight:“One specific thing he told me... I think in general young players as they grow up, they get more power and they're more excited about their power,” Rune explained. “I feel like sometimes you go for all or nothing…“He said him, personally, he would suggest to me never to go more than 70, 80 percent on every shot, to make sure it's safe enough, but still with good quality.”“I think his game shows pretty good that he's not risking much, but at the same time he has tremendous quality on his shots,” Rune added. “That's one thing he told me.”Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
“One specific thing he told me... I think in general young players as they grow up, they get more power and they're more excited about their power,” Rune explained. “I feel like sometimes you go for all or nothing…“He said him, personally, he would suggest to me never to go more than 70, 80 percent on every shot, to make sure it's safe enough, but still with good quality.”“I think his game shows pretty good that he's not risking much, but at the same time he has tremendous quality on his shots,” Rune added. “That's one thing he told me.”Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
“He said him, personally, he would suggest to me never to go more than 70, 80 percent on every shot, to make sure it's safe enough, but still with good quality.”“I think his game shows pretty good that he's not risking much, but at the same time he has tremendous quality on his shots,” Rune added. “That's one thing he told me.”Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
“I think his game shows pretty good that he's not risking much, but at the same time he has tremendous quality on his shots,” Rune added. “That's one thing he told me.”Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
After battling injury and illness throughout the clay-court season, the 22-year-old is eager to shift his focus back to the court.ByStephanie LivaudaisPublished May 23, 2025 copy_link
Published May 23, 2025
© 2025 Franco Arland
PARIS — To be the best, you have to learn from the best. For Holger Rune, that means getting direct advice from none other than Novak Djokovic.The 22-year-old Dane heads into Roland Garros hoping to end a turbulent clay-court season on a high. Despite capturing the title in Barcelona, Rune's momentum stalled—first due to illness in Monte Carlo, then a knee injury in Madrid. He was later edged out in a tight third-round match in Rome by Corentin Moutet, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4).Rune later revealed on social media that he was still battling the throat infection that began during Indian Wells and lingered through Monte Carlo. He withdrew from Hamburg to rest and recover in time for Paris.Read More: Will the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry culminate in a first Grand Slam final? | 2025 Roland Garros men's previewNow, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
The 22-year-old Dane heads into Roland Garros hoping to end a turbulent clay-court season on a high. Despite capturing the title in Barcelona, Rune's momentum stalled—first due to illness in Monte Carlo, then a knee injury in Madrid. He was later edged out in a tight third-round match in Rome by Corentin Moutet, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4).Rune later revealed on social media that he was still battling the throat infection that began during Indian Wells and lingered through Monte Carlo. He withdrew from Hamburg to rest and recover in time for Paris.Read More: Will the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry culminate in a first Grand Slam final? | 2025 Roland Garros men's previewNow, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
Rune later revealed on social media that he was still battling the throat infection that began during Indian Wells and lingered through Monte Carlo. He withdrew from Hamburg to rest and recover in time for Paris.Read More: Will the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry culminate in a first Grand Slam final? | 2025 Roland Garros men's previewNow, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
Read More: Will the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry culminate in a first Grand Slam final? | 2025 Roland Garros men's previewNow, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
Now, the No. 11 seed is just eager to put the whole ordeal behind him and focus on the tennis.“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
“Feeling good again,” Rune said in a pre-tournament press conference. “It's been not ideal clay preparation for me, but I'm happy to be here in Paris. It's a tournament that I love so much… Had a good practice week so far, so I'm just looking forward to start.”
Rune also spoke about his strong rapport with Novak Djokovic, at the 24-time Grand Slam champ is currently playing in Geneva as part of his own Roland Garros preparations.“Definitely Novak has been really, really nice to me all my career,” Rune said.He recalled their earliest interactions—especially as a 16-year-old hitting partner at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, where he helped warm up greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic.But it was his time with the Serbian champion that made the most lasting impression—not just because of Djokovic's friendly nature, but for the invaluable advice he freely shared.“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
“Definitely Novak has been really, really nice to me all my career,” Rune said.He recalled their earliest interactions—especially as a 16-year-old hitting partner at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, where he helped warm up greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic.But it was his time with the Serbian champion that made the most lasting impression—not just because of Djokovic's friendly nature, but for the invaluable advice he freely shared.“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
He recalled their earliest interactions—especially as a 16-year-old hitting partner at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, where he helped warm up greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic.But it was his time with the Serbian champion that made the most lasting impression—not just because of Djokovic's friendly nature, but for the invaluable advice he freely shared.“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
But it was his time with the Serbian champion that made the most lasting impression—not just because of Djokovic's friendly nature, but for the invaluable advice he freely shared.“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
“He was always really nice,” Rune said. “He was really kind to me. He was giving me advice and stuff like that. I really appreciated that.“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
“He's obviously one of the best that we've had. It feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice.”
A post shared by Holger Vitus Nødskov Rune (@holgerrune)
So what was the most impactful advice from Djokovic? Rune recalled a practice session where they were trading crosscourt forehands when Djokovic offered this insight:“One specific thing he told me... I think in general young players as they grow up, they get more power and they're more excited about their power,” Rune explained. “I feel like sometimes you go for all or nothing…“He said him, personally, he would suggest to me never to go more than 70, 80 percent on every shot, to make sure it's safe enough, but still with good quality.”“I think his game shows pretty good that he's not risking much, but at the same time he has tremendous quality on his shots,” Rune added. “That's one thing he told me.”Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
“One specific thing he told me... I think in general young players as they grow up, they get more power and they're more excited about their power,” Rune explained. “I feel like sometimes you go for all or nothing…“He said him, personally, he would suggest to me never to go more than 70, 80 percent on every shot, to make sure it's safe enough, but still with good quality.”“I think his game shows pretty good that he's not risking much, but at the same time he has tremendous quality on his shots,” Rune added. “That's one thing he told me.”Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
“He said him, personally, he would suggest to me never to go more than 70, 80 percent on every shot, to make sure it's safe enough, but still with good quality.”“I think his game shows pretty good that he's not risking much, but at the same time he has tremendous quality on his shots,” Rune added. “That's one thing he told me.”Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
“I think his game shows pretty good that he's not risking much, but at the same time he has tremendous quality on his shots,” Rune added. “That's one thing he told me.”Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
Seeded 10th at Roland Garros, Rune will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round on Sunday.Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
Read More: Osaka-Badosa, Alcaraz-Nishikori and more: The top first-round matches at Roland Garros
World Tennis Magazine
May 23, 2025 by Admin Leave a Comment
As we move into the heart of the tennis calendar, with Roland Garros in full swing and the grass courts of Wimbledon just around the corner, a handful of stars have already made 2025 their own.
The men's game is thriving with depth, rivalry, and youthful brilliance—and the following players are setting the standard.
Jannik Sinner – The relentless World No.1
Where better to start than with Jannik Sinner? The current World No.1 has continued his rapid ascent with ruthless precision.
After a breakout 2024 season, where he finally got over the Grand Slam hump with wins in the Australian Open and US Open, the 23-year-old Italian began 2025 in style—defending his Melbourne Park crown with a clinical straight-sets win over Alexander Zverev.
A suspension for a banned substance saw him sidelined for over 100 days early in the year, but Sinner wasted no time in regaining his rhythm.
His return to form was showcased in Rome, where he stormed to the Italian Open final. Along the way, he produced stirring comeback wins against tough opponents like Casper Ruud, and Tommy Paul, showing the mental steel that now defines his game.
With three Slams already under his belt and having proven he can bounce back from adversity, Sinner looks poised for another deep run at the remaining majors—and he's one of the favourites in the Wimbledon odds.
Carlos Alcaraz – Still the man to beat
Although the Australian Open remains the missing piece in his Grand Slam puzzle, Carlos Alcaraz has been a consistent menace on the ATP Tour this season.
The 22-year-old Spaniard has already collected three titles in 2025—Rotterdam, Monte-Carlo, and the Italian Open—adding more silverware to an already sparkling collection.
He fell just short in Barcelona, losing a high-octane final to Holger Rune, and was outgunned by Jack Draper in the Indian Wells semi-finals. But Alcaraz, as ever, continues to thrill with his aggressive shot-making and never-say-die attitude.
As the reigning champion at both the French Open and Wimbledon, the summer presents a golden opportunity for Alcaraz to extend his dominance and reassert himself as the sport's top draw.
Jack Draper – The breakout Brit
It's been a breakthrough year for Jack Draper. The 23-year-old Brit has firmly established himself among the world's elite, reaching a career-high World No.5 thanks to a string of standout performances.
The highlight came in March, when Draper captured his first ATP 1000 title at Indian Wells—taking out Carlos Alcaraz in the semis before a commanding win over Holger Rune in the final.
He's also finished runner-up twice already this season: in Doha, where he pushed Andrey Rublev to the limit, and in Madrid, where he fell short against Ruud.
With a strong serve, powerful groundstrokes, and growing confidence, Draper is beginning to look like a legitimate Grand Slam contender—but he remains 8/1 in the tennis odds for Wimbledon.
Alexander Zverev – Struggling Since His Third Major Final But Still In The Hunt
Few players have come closer to Grand Slam glory without sealing the deal than Alexander Zverev. But the 28-year-old German continues to knock on the door in 2025. He started the season with a runner-up finish in Melbourne and but has struggled a bit since. Returning to where he reached the final last year in Paris could kick start his game.
Currently third in the Race to Turin, Zverev picked up title No.24 in Munich last month, delighting his home fans by defeating Ben Shelton in the final.
That win followed a strong showing in the Australian Open and a solid clay-court campaign, where he again proved tough to beat.
Having reached the French Open final in 2024, Zverev will be hoping to finally go one better on the Parisian clay this time around. With his all-court game and vast experience, a maiden Slam feels increasingly inevitable.
Filed Under: Featured, HEADLINES AND FEATURES, Lead, Top Stories Tagged With: Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper, Jannik Sinner, roland garros, Wimbledon
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May 23 (UPI) -- Carolina Garcia, the former No. 4 women's tennis player in the world, will play in her final French Open and soon retire, she announced Friday on social media.
"Dear tennis, it's time to say goodbye," Garcia wrote on Instagram and X.
Garcia, 31, previously dealt with a lingering foot injury and a bout with bulimia, which she revealed in 2023. She achieved her career-high ranking (No. 4) in 2018. Garcia sits at No. 145 in the latest WTA Tour singles rankings.
"After 15 years competing at the highest level, and over 25 years devoting almost every second of my life to this sport, I feel ready to turn the page and open a new chapter," Garcia wrote on social media.
"My tennis journey hasn't always been easy. Since my early days, tennis has been much more than just wining or losing. It's been love or hate. Happiness or anger. Still, I'm deeply grateful for this journey -- for everything tennis has given me, and for how much it's helped me become a strong, passionate, hard-working woman.
"But now it's time for something else. My body and personal goals need it."
Garcia, of France, will face No. 90 Bernarda Pera of the United States in the first round of the 2025 French Open on Sunday in Paris. The winner will meet No. 65 Anna Blinkova of Russia or No. 18 Donna Vekic of Croatia in the second round.
Garcia said she still has "some tournaments left," but did not say the events she plans to enter this season. She is to make her 14th appearance at the French Open. Garcia's best finish at Roland-Garros was a 2017 run to the quarterfinals. She reached the 2022 U.S. Open semifinals for her best run at a Grand Slam.
The 2022 WTA Finals champion achieved a career-high No. 2 rankings in the doubles circuit in 2016. She won French Open doubles titles alongside countrywoman Kristina Mladenovic in 2016 and 2022.
"In the coming days, there will be more time to share what's next for me," Garcia wrote. "But for now, I just want to focus on living these last few weeks as a tennis pro to the fullest. Thank you all for your support. See you on the court in just a few days."
First-round coverage of the 2025 French Open will start at 5 a.m. EDT Sunday on TNT and Max.
Richard Gasquet is feeling very good about the state of French tennis.
The 38-year-old has been representing France on the ATP Tour to the best of his ability for over two decades.
Now Gasquet is set to bring his career to an end on home soil at the French Open and bid what will be an emotional farewell to his home fans.
As Gasquet prepares to hang up his racket, he is very confident that he is leaving French tennis on the men's circuit in good hands.
Richard Gasquet has seen plenty of French players come and go during his time on the ATP Tour.
The likes of Gael Monfils, 38, are still going strong, while former top 10 players Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon are no longer active.
Gasquet will soon join them, and he has every faith that the Frenchmen who are at the start of their careers, can be very successful, such as World number 14 Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who possesses arguably the game's fastest serve.
“The ones I enjoy watching the most are the up-and-coming French players,” Gasquet told the French Open website.
“Arthur Fils, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, they can win some big tournaments. I believe. They have the potential to do so.”
Gasquet is preparing for the final tournament of his career which will be the French Open.
He will take on fellow Frenchman Terence Atmane in what will likely be a raucous atmosphere inside whichever arena is chosen to stage it.
This will be the first and only encounter between these two players and fans will be keen to see if Gasquet can continue his career for at least one more match.
When asked why he wanted to end his career at the French Open, Gasquet said: “As a French player, it's simply the greatest tournament in the world.
“It's a Grand Slam, of course, but I feel like this tournament is above all the others, ten times above, light years above all the others.
“It just seems right to end my career here at Roland. When I made the decision to call it a day in October 2024, when I felt as if the time had come, I straight away thought of Roland-Garros.”
Alcaraz and Sinner will be on opposite sides of the draw as the Spaniard returned to the second in the world this week following his Italian Open triumph, potentially setting the stage for another blockbuster final between the game's two rising superstars.
The 22-year-old Alcaraz has won 15 of 16 matches on clay this season, triumphing at Monte Carlo and reaching the Barcelona final before going all the way in Rome after missing the Madrid Open with a thigh injury.
He has also had Sinner's number of late, winning their last four meetings to take a 7-4 head-to-head advantage, a record that includes Alcaraz's five-set win in last year's French Open semi-final. His success on Sunday ended Sinner's run of 26 successive victories.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz believes the challenge of playing Sinner brings the best out of him.
"He's the best player in the world. It doesn't matter that he was out of the tour for three months. Every tournament he's playing, he plays great. The numbers are there. He wins almost every match he plays," said Alcaraz.
"If I don't play at my best, 10 out of 10, it's going to be impossible to beat him. That's why I'm more focused when I'm playing against him, or I feel a little bit different when I'm going to face him than other players.
"He has that aura. When you're seeing him on the other side of the net, it's different.
"I'm not going to say I'm feeling like when Rafa (Nadal) and Roger (Federer) are playing, but I'm feeling like it's a different energy when we are facing each other."
Sinner suffered his first straight-sets loss in 18 months in Rome, underlining his dominance in that time. Equally as impressive, though, was his run to the final in his first tournament since he retained the Australian Open title in January.
"I am closer than expected in a way of everything," said Sinner, who served a three-month ban after twice testing positive for traces of the banned anabolic steroid clostebol.
Sinner has always maintained that the product entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing it to treat a cut.
He eventually reached a settlement after authorities accepted the contamination was accidental and that a longer ban would be an "unduly harsh sanction".
"After three months coming here, making this result means a lot to me," Sinner said after his runners-up finish in Rome.
"It gives me hopefully confidence to play some good tennis also in Paris."
Sinner called Alcaraz "the man to beat," but Alexander Zverev is among the title pretenders too after falling just short in last year's final. Zverev then lost to Sinner in the Australian Open final, but does have a clay trophy under his belt this season after winning in Munich.
He made a late decision to enter the Hamburg event this week after losing in the quarter-finals in Rome, searching for a boost after a "very negative" loss to Lorenzo Musetti.
"This can't be the last match before the French Open... I need positivity before it starts," said Zverev.
Novak Djokovic will touch down in Paris with limited expectations for a man with a record 24 Grand Slam titles, three of them coming at Roland Garros.
The long-time former world number one has slipped to sixth in the rankings, leaving him vulnerable to the possibility of a quarter-final against Alcaraz or Sinner, as his wait for a tour-level 100th title goes on. His last one came at the Olympics, where he beat Alcaraz on Court Philippe Chatrier to land an elusive gold medal.
Djokovic skipped Rome after early exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid and is looking to rediscover some form by playing in Geneva.
Madrid champion Casper Ruud is a two-time Roland Garros runner-up, while Britain's Jack Draper ranks a career-best fifth after winning at Indian Wells and reaching the Madrid final.
Musetti has also performed well during the clay swing. The Italian lost the Monte Carlo final to Alcaraz and made the last four as well in Madrid and Rome.
Holger Rune is the only player to beat Alcaraz so far on clay this season, but he has struggled for fitness on either side of his Barcelona triumph.
Follow the men's side of the French Open with Flashscore.
With all of the Top 75 players entered and the full draw revealed, the 2025 French Open promises big-name battles, comeback arcs and an open race to the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen.
The 2025 Roland Garros draw is out, and defending champion Iga Swiatek faces a difficult path in her quest for a fifth Coupe Suzanne Lenglen trophy.
Seeded No. 5, her lowest at a Slam since the 2022 Australian Open, Swiatek hasn't reached a final since winning the trophy in Paris last year. She opens against Rebecca Sramkova, with a possible second-round match against either Emma Raducanu or Wang Xinyu. No. 26 seed Marta Kostyuk looms in the third round, while potential fourth-round opponents include No. 12 Elena Rybakina and No. 21 Jelena Ostapenko -- who holds a 6-0 record against Swiatek.
Swiatek is in the same quarter of the draw as No. 4 seed and last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini, fresh off her second WTA 1000 title in Rome. They are in the same half of the draw as No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who opens against Kamilla Rakhimova. Sabalenka has also landed in a section full of landmines: No. 27 seed Leylah Fernandez, Danielle Collins or Olga Danilovic could be third-round opponents, while either No. 16 seed Amanda Anisimova or No. 22 seed Clara Tauson could await in the last 16. Sabalenka is projected to face No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen, her conqueror in Rome last week, in the quarterfinals.
No. 2 seed Coco Gauff opens against Olivia Gadecki and is projected to face Australian Open champion and No. 7 seed Madison Keys in the quarterfinals. No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva head the third quarter, which contains another popcorn first round between No. 10 seed Paula Badosa and former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka.
Click here to view the full draw.
For the first time in her career, Sabalenka arrives in Paris as the best player in the world -- by some distance. She has won a tour-leading three titles this season so far, including a third trophy in Madrid three weeks ago. She's the reigning US Open champion, and was also a finalist at the Australian Open in January. Can she convert that dominance into a first Roland Garros title?
Her quarter contains a number of dangerous players with a variety of records against Sabalenka. She's dominated the head-to-head against Collins 7-0, but trails Anisimova 5-2. A potential third round against Fernandez would be their first meeting since the Canadian memorably upset Sabalenka in the 2021 US Open semifinals. Tauson and Zheng both defeated her in their most recent encounters this year, in Dubai and Rome respectively.
Zheng will have to navigate a few players of note to make her potential quarterfinal date with Sabalenka. She takes on 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round; next could be Miami semifinalist Alexandra Eala, who will make her Grand Slam main-draw debut against Emiliana Arango. Rome semifinalist Peyton Stearns, seeded for the first time at a major at No. 28, is slated to meet Zheng in the third round; No. 11 seed Diana Shnaider is projected in the last 16.
Meanwhile, Petra Kvitova will return to the Grand Slam stage for the first time since returning from maternity leave against Viktorija Golubic, with the winner to face either Anisimova or a qualifier.
First-round matches to watch: [1] Aryna Sabalenka vs. Kamilla Rakhimova, Olga Danilovic vs. [27] Leylah Fernandez, [22] Clara Tauson vs. Magda Linette, [SR] Petra Kvitova vs. Viktorija Golubic, [28] Peyton Stearns vs. Eva Lys, Alexandra Eala vs. Emiliana Arango, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. [8] Zheng Qinwen
Despite the big names in Swiatek's section, the former World No.1 holds the head-to-head edge over most. She's yet to drop a set to either Raducanu or Kostyuk in seven combined meetings, and though she trails Rybakina 4-3 overall, Swiatek has won both of their matches this season. The exception remains 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko, who owns a 6-0 record against her.
With Rybakina and Ostapenko potentially looming in the fourth round, Swiatek's path isn't easy, but the draw may have lightened slightly with the withdrawal of Belinda Bencic, who had originally been scheduled to face Rybakina in the first round.
Paolini, fresh off a confidence-boosting title on home soil in Rome, could face hard-hitting Australian teenager Maya Joint in the second round, No. 29 seed Linda Noskova in the third and No. 13 seed Elina Svitolina in the fourth. Svitolina, a four-time quarterfinalist in Paris, defeated Paolini at the Australian Open in January in their only previous meeting.
First-round matches to watch: Anastasia Potapova vs. [29] Linda Noskova, Zeynep Sonmez vs. [13] Elina Svitolina, [WC] Iva Jovic vs. Renata Zarazua, Emma Raducanu vs. Wang Xinyu
Between Pegula and Andreeva in the third quarter lies several accomplished players on the comeback trail from injury. Pegula's projected fourth-round opponent, No. 14 seed and 2023 finalist Karolina Muchova, has not played since Miami due to a left wrist problem. Their section also contains three unseeded former Top 5 players who have all suffered shoulder injuries of late.
Marketa Vondrousova, the 2019 finalist, underwent shoulder surgery last year, and has not competed since February because of the same issue. Ons Jabeur and Maria Sakkari both ended their 2024 seasons early due to shoulder problems, and have struggled to regain peak form on their return; they are down at No. 35 and No. 92 in the PIF WTA Rankings respectively. Jabeur also suffered a leg injury in Miami, and has not won a match since -- though a fourth-round run in Madrid showed some promise for Sakkari.
Jabeur opens against No. 25 seed Magdalena Frech, with Vondrousova potentially awaiting in the second round in what would be a rematch of the 2023 Wimbledon final. Whoever emerges from that could face Pegula in the third round. Meanwhile, Muchova and Sakkari could meet in the second round if they defeat Alycia Parks and Elsa Jacquemot respectively.
Andreeva, the winner of two WTA 1000 titles already this year, opens against Cristina Bucsa and is projected to face another player on the comeback trail, No. 10 seed Paula Badosa, in the last 16. Badosa has been sidelined for two months due to a recurrence of her back injury, only returning this week in Strasbourg. Indeed, her first round against Osaka marks unfinished business between the two. They were scheduled to meet in the second round of Rome two weeks ago before Badosa withdrew just half an hour ahead of the match.
First-round matches to watch: [17] Daria Kasatkina vs. Katerina Siniakova, Naomi Osaka vs. [10] Paula Badosa, [14] Karolina Muchova vs. Alycia Parks, [WC] Lois Boisson vs. [24] Elise Mertens, [25] Magdalena Frech vs. Ons Jabeur
It's possible to draw both positives and negatives from Gauff's clay season so far. From the glass-half-full perspective, there's no arguing with back-to-back WTA 1000 finals in Madrid and Rome, particularly given that the former US Open champion had failed to make the semifinals in her six prior tournaments. On the other hand, back-to-back losses in finals would have been unwelcome for a player who had previously won nine of her 10 tour-level title matches.
Gauff, the 2022 finalist in Paris, has a manageable draw to build on her recent form. She is slated to face No. 15 seed Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round; the Wimbledon champion has only just returned from a six-month hiatus with a back injury this week in Strasbourg. The other Top 20 seed in Gauff's section, No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova, started 2025 in hot form but withdrew from Rome and Strasbourg due to a shoulder injury.
Keys, a semifinalist here in 2018, has yet to reach a final following her Australian Open title run -- though the American's power game, bolstered by the confidence of a Grand Slam trophy, could well click on the major stage again. Another potential threat to Gauff is another compatriot, No. 9 seed Emma Navarro, who defeated her at two Grand Slams last year.
First-round matches to watch: Varvara Gracheva vs. [31] Sofia Kenin, [23] Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Hailey Baptiste, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro vs. [9] Emma Navarro, [15] Barbora Krejcikova vs. Tatjana Maria, [30] Anna Kalinskaya vs. Marie Bouzkova
With all of the Top 75 players entered and the full draw revealed, the 2025 French Open promises big-name battles, comeback arcs and an open race to the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen.
A former WTA Finals champion and Top 5 player, Caroline Garcia leaves behind a legacy of power, perseverance and a plan for what comes next.
Caroline Garcia, one of the most athletic and aggressive players ever produced by France, announced her imminent retirement Friday.
She'll play Bernarda Pera in a first-round match that could be her last at Roland Garros, though she will also compete in "a few" more tournaments this year.
"It's time to say goodbye," the 31-year-old wrote. "After 15 years competing at the highest level, and more than 25 years putting pretty much every second of my life into it, I feel ready to start a new chapter.
"My tennis journey hasn't always been easy. Since my early days, tennis has been much more than just winning or losing. It's been love or hate. Happiness or anger. Still, I'm deeply grateful for this journey -- for everything tennis has given me, and for how much it's helped me become a strong, passionate, hard-working woman. But now, it's time for something else. My body and my personal goals need it.
"Still, this is not over -- not just yet. I have a few tournaments left. The first one is at home, at Roland Garros. My 14th consecutive time being part of it. And my last. So to all my tennis family who'll be around: let's meet one more time, to dream, and fight together. In the coming days, there will be more time to share what's next for me. But for now, I just want to focus on living these last weeks as a tennis pro to the fullest."
A post shared by Caroline Garcia (@carogarcia)
Garcia took home 11 titles across every surface, along with 471 match-wins and more than $18 million in prize money. In 2023, she led all players with 462 aces.
She captured her first Hologic WTA Tour title in Bogotá in 2014 and quickly found her footing on home soil. In 2016, she added a second singles trophy in Strasbourg, then teamed up with Kristina Mladenovic to win the Roland Garros doubles crown just two weeks later -- a moment she still counts among her most cherished. Six years on, the pair reunited to capture the title again. The following year, Garcia broke new ground in singles as well, reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at her home major.
In 2017, Garcia won titles in Wuhan and Beijing and vaulted into the Top 10 at year's end.
Five years later, at the age of 29, Garcia staged a startling career renaissance.
The 2022 season began with a title on the grass in Bad Homburg, followed by a victory on clay in Warsaw and a hard-court win in Cincinnati. She advanced to the semifinals at the US Open and qualified for the WTA Finals in Fort Worth. In a statistic that underlined her versatility, Garcia was the only woman that year to win titles on three different surfaces.
Garcia defeated Daria Kasatkina and Coco Gauff in the group stage, then Maria Sakkari in the semifinals. In a rousing final that captured her power and style, Garcia bested Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(4), 6-4 for the most important title of her career.
Playing an abbreviated schedule, Garcia comes into Roland Garros with a 3-6 record and sits at No. 145 in the PIF WTA Rankings. Her most recent match came in March, a 7-5, 6-2 loss to Iga Swiatek in the second round at the Miami Open.
Professional athletes can sometimes find themselves adrift on retiring, but Garcia has built herself a solid foundation for life after tennis.
She was one of five WTA Tour players enrolled in the Harvard Business School's 2024-25 Crossover Intro Business program. In a very real sense, professional tennis players are independent contractors. They are essentially the CEOs of their personal brand, employing a support team, navigating a global schedule. The Harvard program is a finishing school of sorts for young future entrepreneurs.
Garcia and fiancée Borja Durán launched a podcast last year, “Tennis Insider Club,” which features their exclusive interviews with people involved in the sport. As a result, Garcia became more involved and interested in the business side.
“I always believed I was too busy with tennis to go to university,” Garcia said. “I'm discovering a new environment, seeing different perspectives. Obviously, when you arrive at the end of your career, you want to start building your future.”
“Investing prize money, how to spend reasonably -- because it's a career that ends quite early,” Garcia said. “There are some things I wished I learned earlier, like finance and how to manage money for the future.
“But I think it's also important to go outside of your bubble, because tennis is a very small bubble.”
Post tennis, Garcia's bubble is about to get much larger.
A former WTA Finals champion and Top 5 player, Caroline Garcia leaves behind a legacy of power, perseverance and a plan for what comes next.
Former British tennis player Andy Murray recently shared his thoughts on ending his short coaching partnership with 24-time Grand Slam winner
Novak Djokovic
. Murray coached Djokovic for a few months starting with the 2025 Australian Open but the duo parted ways in the lead up to the French Open.
Murray recently took the opportunity to joke about his split with Djokovic despite the decision causing shock among fans and experts alike. Speaking in an interview with UbiTennis, Murray said that even though their partnership didn't last long, he was thankful for the time they spent working together.
Andy Murray further revealed the thing he definitely won't miss about Novak Djokovic, saying something that would make fans laugh.
“It's been a great ride. We both decided it was time to part ways. One thing I won't miss is the food. He was always trying to get me to eat vegan. Man, I don't want air sandwiches and chickpeas for every meal,” Murray said.
Talking about his partnership with Murray, Djokovic said that they decided to call it quits after mutually agreeing that they couldn't get more out of it. Djokovic said that he has nothing but respect for Murray, adding that the British star has a brilliant knowledge of the game and has a mind of a champion.
“We felt like we couldn't get more out of that partnership on the court, and that's all there is to it. My respect towards Andy remains the same, even more actually, I got to know him as a person. I think he has a brilliant tennis IQ, he has a very rare mind of a champion that obviously has achieved what he has achieved, and he sees the game incredibly well,” Djokovic told BBC.
Djokovic has had a dismal year as he is still searching for his 100th title win. He is just two matches away from the landmark after having reached the semifinal of the Geneva Open. Prior to this, Djokovic suffered consecutive early losses in Monte-Carlo and Madrid. Geneva Open will be his final tournament before leaving for Roland Garros.
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From the back gardens of his childhood to the grand stages of professional tennis, Jacob Fearnley's journey is one to follow.
Turning pro in 2022 after a triumphant stint at TCU, this 23-year-old Brit has quickly emerged as a force on the ATP Tour.
2024 marked a significant milestone with his Davis Cup debut for Great Britain, and now, the world No. 54 is set to tackle the Roland Garros qualifying rounds, facing a tough opening challenge against former champion Stan Wawrinka.
He is truly one to keep an eye on with his journey just beginning.
Fearnley's ascent in the ATP world rankings has been a rapid climb. Going into 2024 outside the top 600 at No. 646, his breakthrough came during the grass-court season with a maiden ATP Challenger title in Nottingham.
A wildcard entry into Wimbledon saw him reach the second round, propelling him into the top 225. Following this, a strong run on the Challenger Tour yielded three more titles, culminating in his entry into the top 100 in September 2024.
By the end of the year, he stood at No. 99, a surprising rise of over 500 places. This run continued into 2025, reaching the third round of the Australian Open and achieving a career-high ranking of No. 54 by May 2025, marking an extraordinary surge into the upper levels of professional tennis.
According to the ATP Tour, Jacob Fearnley has earned $707,762 in career prize money. This total reflects his earnings from both singles and doubles competitions across all professional levels.
A significant portion of these earnings has come during his rapid rise in the rankings, boosted by his four ATP Challenger singles titles in 2024 and his second-round appearance at Wimbledon in the same year, as well as reaching the third round of the Australian Open in 2025.
Fearnley has not yet won any major singles titles. His best results in Grand Slam singles events are:
He qualified for the main draw and reached the third round. His run included a notable straight-sets victory over home favourite Nick Kyrgios in the first round, followed by a four-set win against Frenchman Arthur Cazaux. His journey ended against the No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev in the third round, marking his best Grand Slam singles result to date.
The 23-year-old's Wimbledon second round in 2024 was a significant Centre Court debut against the legendary Novak Djokovic. Despite losing in four sets (6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5), he put up a decent fight, even taking a set off the eventual champion. This performance marked his first Grand Slam second round appearance and boosted his ranking.
Jacob Fearnley is currently preparing for his French Open main draw debut in 2025. The tournament is ongoing, starting on Sunday, May 25th. Fearnley is drawn against former champion Stan Wawrinka in a highly anticipated first-round match on the Parisian clay. The 23-year-old Brit, currently ranked No. 54, will be aiming to make a strong start in his first appearance in the singles main draw at Roland Garros.
Fearnley took part in the US Open qualifying rounds in 2024. In the first round of qualifying, he faced fellow Briton Paul Jubb. Fearnley won the match in three sets, 6-2, 6-7(7), 7-6(6). However, he did not advance further in the qualifying tournament and did not reach the main draw of the 2024 US Open.
Fearnley is 23 years old and was born on July 15, 2001. His height is 1.83 meters (6 feet 0 inches). Currently, he is in a relationship with Keagan Polk. She is a former athlete from Texas Christian University (TCU), where Fearnley also played college tennis.
A post shared by Keagan Polk (@keagan.polk)
Fearnley balanced his studies in kinesiology at Texas Christian University (TCU) with a stellar five-year college tennis career.
On the court, Fearnley earned All-Big 12 and All-America honours all four years, playing a crucial role in TCU's back-to-back ITA Indoor National Championships (2022, 2023) and their first NCAA Division I men's tennis championship in 2024.
A four-time ITA All-American and a three-time NCAA Individual Championships qualifier, he also achieved the No. 1 ITA doubles ranking and a top 10 ITA singles ranking. He was a two-time qualifier for the ATP Next Gen Accelerator, gaining valuable experience on the professional circuit while still studying.
His mother is Samantha, who was a human resources manager in the National Health Service. His father is Craig, who worked for Johnson Controls. Both of his parents are now retired. He started playing tennis at the age of three. His grandparents introduced him to the sport, and he first picked up a racket in their back garden.
Fearnley is coached by Toby Smith, Tennis Scotland's National Manager, and Juan Martin, his former college teammate. Smith brings years of experience, while Martin offers useful insight from his playing journey, all focused on driving the world number 54 further in his career.
Emma Raducanu shocked the tennis world when she won the 2021 US Open, and the Brit is capable of winning another Grand Slam title, according to former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki.
As an 18-year-old qualifier ranked 150th, Raducanu stormed to the US Open title without dropping a set in one of the most remarkable major runs in tennis history. Raducanu is the only player to win a Grand Slam title as a qualifier.
Since her stunning breakthrough in New York — which remains her only WTA title — Raducanu has endured a challenging time on tour, with injuries frequently hampering her progress.
The 22-year-old hired renowned physical trainer Yutaka Nakamura, who previously worked with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka, at the end of the 2024 season.
After a difficult start to 2025, Raducanu kickstarted her campaign at the Miami Open, where she started working with coach Mark Petchey. She reached the quarter-finals in Miami — her best WTA 1000 result and most impressive performance since her US Open triumph.
The Brit has since built on her Miami run with some encouraging results on clay, including a last 16 showing at the Italian Open, and she holds a 9-4 record since linking up with Petchey.
Raducanu is currently the world No 43, which is her highest ranking position since August 2022 — just before she dropped the points from her US Open title.
Ahead of the 2025 French Open, Tennis365 asked Wozniacki about Raducanu's prospects at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year — and the ceiling she could reach.
“I mean, it's hard to say. Can she stay healthy – is I think the main thing,” the 2018 Australian Open winner said at a TNT Sports event.
“I think she's really going in the right direction, I think she's moving her way up, I think… it's not easy, who's she gonna play? What's the draw gonna be like?
“She's proven she can beat great players, but it's not easy if you get a really tough draw and have to beat seeded after seeded player to reach far. Obviously when you're a higher seed, usually you get somewhat softer draws to start with and it kind of gets easier.
Emma Raducanu told to hold ‘moderate' French Open expectations by former world No 2
Emma Raducanu makes worrying injury confession ahead of Roland Garros
“You know, you have to give her time. She's young, she doesn't have as much experience as many of the others do, but I think with [Mark] Petchey there in her corner… I think he's great, he knows the game so well, he has all the ins and outs of all the stats, et cetera, and I think that's gonna help her a lot.
“And you know, it's not easy being British and playing Wimbledon. I love Wimbledon, I'm sure she loves Wimbledon and can't wait to play, but at the same time, there's a lot of pressure and I hope that she's able to enjoy that and enjoy the crowd and having that be behind her.
“And what her ceiling is, I think time will tell, but she's proven that she can win the US Open, and if you can do it once, you can do it again. It's just a matter of putting it together for seven straight matches.
“I guess we'll just have to wait and see if that's gonna happen and when that's gonna happen. But either way, being as young as she is and already having a Grand Slam under her belt is a great feat.”
Raducanu will face world No 42 Wang Xinyu in her opening match at the French Open and could face reigning champion and five-time major winner Iga Swiatek in the second round.
Watch every moment of the French Open live and exclusive on discovery+
READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu's ‘priorities in right place' as former world No 1 reveals what she needs to add to her game
A scouting report on Emma Raducanu's first opponent at Roland Garros.
The former world No 1 has warned to write Novak Djokovic off "at your own risk."
Raducanu gives update about injury and says Collins' behaviour "doesn't get to my head, which is a good thing".
Swiatek has definitely been given a tough draw.
© Planet Sport Limited 2025 • All Rights Reserved
Tennis
French Open
French tennis player Caroline Garcia, the 2022 WTA Tour Finals champion and former world No. 4, has confirmed that the 2025 French Open will be her last as she “says goodbye” to the sport.
“After 15 years competing at the highest level, and more than 25 years putting pretty much every second of my life into it, I feel ready to start a new chapter,” Garcia, 31, wrote on social media.
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“I have a few tournaments left. The first one is at home, at Roland Garros. My 14th consecutive time being part of it. And my last,” she wrote.
Garcia is a French Open champion, having won the women's doubles with compatriot Kristina Mladenovic in 2016. In lifting the trophy, Garcia and Mladenovic became the first French pair to win the event in 45 years.
A post shared by Caroline Garcia (@carogarcia)
Garcia, whose best singles run in Paris took her to the quarterfinals in 2017, won 11 WTA Tour singles titles in her career, three of them at the 1,000 level, one rung below a Grand Slam.
In 2022, she entered the season-ending Tour Finals as the No. 6 seed, but qualified from a group containing then-world No. 1 Iga Świątek. She then beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final to take the title, despite Sabalenka having beaten the world No. 1, No. 2 (Ons Jabeur) and No. 3 (Jessica Pegula) in previous rounds.
Garcia also achieved her best singles Grand Slam result in the same year, reaching the U.S. Open semifinals, where she lost to Jabeur. Her success that year came after a period of more difficult results, after which she took a break from the sport to recover from a foot injury. Garcia later said that she developed an eating disorder in that period, which she later described as one of “many tears, many sleepless nights” in an interview with L'Equipe.
Garcia has been one of the most open players about the pressure of being an elite athlete and its impact on everyday life. She has posted publicly about the abuse players receive online after losing matches, as well as being open about the connection between results and mental health.
After a challenging 2024 season, she ended her campaign in September after experiencing panic attacks and anxiety over her form.
“I'm tired of living in a world where my worth is measured by last week's results, my ranking, or my unforced errors,” Garcia wrote in a post on X.
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“I'm 30 now, and I've had an incredible career—winning 1000-level titles, the WTA Finals, doubles Slams, reaching No. 4 in the world.
“But in my mind, I've been stuck on what I haven't achieved. I never made it to No. 1, never won a Slam, never reached an Olympic podium. I've been inconsistent, unable to stay in the top 10 for a full year,” she wrote.
In announcing her last French Open, Garcia said that it will not be her final tournament as it stands. The main draw begins May 25, with Garcia facing American player Bernarda Pera.
As well as a hugely impressive career, Garcia will always be remembered for her openness in talking about the mental challenges of being a professional tennis player.
Her social media post last year about the abuse she so regularly received after matches struck a chord with pretty much everyone involved in the sport, because of how relatable and universal it was. A candid conversation with Naomi Osaka on Garcia's podcast, “Tennis Insider Club”, was similarly illuminating about the challenges tennis players face.
A popular, thoughtful figure on the tour, Garcia will be missed — both for her exciting, aggressive way of playing and for willingness to put her head above the parapet to talk about subjects that are too often considered taboo.
That, coupled with a career-high ranking of No. 4 (plus No. 2 in doubles) and a WTA Tour Finals title, are a fine legacy for a hugely talented player once tipped by Andy Murray as a future world No. 1.
(Photo: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
James Hansen is a Senior Editor for The Athletic covering tennis. Prior to joining The Athletic in 2024, he spent just under five years as an editor at Vox Media in London. He attended Cambridge University, where he played college tennis (no relation to the American circuit), and is now a team captain at Ealing Tennis Club in west London. Follow James on Twitter @jameskhansen
A good deal of sunshine. High 87F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy skies. Low near 50F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: May 23, 2025 @ 11:44 am
FILE -Caroline Garcia, of France, hits a return to Iga Swiatek, of Poland, during the Miami Open tennis tournament, March 21, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla.
PARIS (AP) — Caroline Garcia, a former U.S. Open semifinalist who has been ranked as high as No. 4, says she will retire from tennis.
As she prepares to play at the French Open for a 14th consecutive appearance, the Frenchwoman said on social media that “it's time to say goodbye.”
“After 15 years competing at the highest level, and over 25 years devoting almost every second of my life to this sport, I feel ready to turn the page and open a new chapter,” Garcia said. “That said, it's not quite over yet. I still have a few tournaments to play. The first one, at home, at Roland-Garros.”
Garcia, who has won 11 titles but is now ranked No. 145, will play against Bernarda Pera in the first round.
The 31-year-old Garcia first reached the No. 4 spot in September 2018. After several inconsistent years marred by doubts and injuries, Garcia took a break from tennis in March 2022 to nurse an injured foot. The pause brought dividends as she enjoyed a tremendous second half of that season with several titles, including at the WTA Finals, to go with her semifinal appearance at the U.S. Open.
Two years ago, she revealed in an interview with L'Equipe newspaper that she had to deal with bulimia for a spell, triggered by losses and pain from the lingering foot injury that affected her daily life.
“My journey hasn't always been easy,” Garcia said on Friday. “Since the beginning, tennis has meant so much more than wins and losses. It was love or hate. Joy or frustration. And despite everything, I'm deeply grateful for all that this adventure has brought me. For everything tennis has given me. For the strong, passionate, and determined woman it helped me become. But now, it's time to move on. My body — and my personal aspirations — are telling me so.”
Several French players paid tribute to Garcia.
“She's had a great career,” said Varvara Gracheva, ranked No. 66. “I wish her all the best. I hope she does well at her last Roland-Garros.”
Léolia Jeanjean, ranked 103rd, said Garcia made a lasting impact.
“She's going to leave a great mark on women's tennis," Jeanjean said. "She won a Masters, Roland-Garros in doubles, she was in the top five. A lot of French women tennis player dream of having a career like that.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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The clay season is approaching its final tournament, as Roland Garros is set to get underway on the 25th of May in Paris.
The draw for the French Open has been announced, with favourable paths to the final for the likes of Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff.
It will be the first time the event has taken place since 14-time champion Rafael Nadal retired, marking the start of a new era in the French capital.
On the women's side, however, an era is coming to an end for a former Roland Garros quarter-finalist.
Former world number four Caroline Garcia took to social media to announce: “Dear tennis, it's time to say goodbye. After 15 years competing at the highest level, and more than 25 years putting pretty much every second of my life into it, I feel ready to start a new chapter.”
“My tennis journey hasn't always been easy. Since my early days, tennis has been much more than just winning or losing. It's been love or hate. Happiness or anger.”
“Still, I'm deeply grateful for this journey—for everything tennis has given me, and for how much it's helped me become a strong, passionate, hard-working woman. But now, it's time for something else.”
Dear tennis,It's time to say goodbye.After 15 years competing at the highest level, and more than 25 years putting pretty much every second of my life into it, I feel ready to start a new chapter.My tennis journey hasn't always been easy. Since my early days, tennis has been… pic.twitter.com/6OLuSU4Se3
“My body and my personal goals need it. Still, this is not over—not just yet. I have a few tournaments left. The first one is at home, at Roland Garros. My 14th consecutive time being part of it. And my last. So to all my tennis family who'll be around: let's meet one more time, to dream, and fight together.”
“In the coming days, there will be more time to share what's next for me. But for now, I just want to focus on living these last weeks as a tennis pro to the fullest. Thank you so much for your support. See you soon on court.”
Garcia has never won a Grand Slam singles title in her career, but has come close on several occasions.
Her best attempt came at the US Open in 2022, when she made it to the semi-final before bowing out to Ons Jabeur in straight sets.
At Roland Garros, Garcia's best campaign was a quarter-final finish in 2017, where she was defeated by second seed Karolina Pliskova.
She has never made it past the Round of 16 at either the Australian Open or Wimbledon.
Despite her lack of major titles in singles, Garcia is a two-time French Open champion in doubles, with victories in 2016 and 2022 partnering Kristina Mladenovic.
The clay season is approaching its final tournament, as Roland Garros is set to get underway on the 25th of May in Paris.
The draw for the French Open has been announced, with favourable paths to the final for the likes of Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff.
It will be the first time the event has taken place since 14-time champion Rafael Nadal retired, marking the start of a new era in the French capital.
On the women's side, however, an era is coming to an end for a former Roland Garros quarter-finalist.
Former world number four Caroline Garcia took to social media to announce: “Dear tennis, it's time to say goodbye. After 15 years competing at the highest level, and more than 25 years putting pretty much every second of my life into it, I feel ready to start a new chapter.”
“My tennis journey hasn't always been easy. Since my early days, tennis has been much more than just winning or losing. It's been love or hate. Happiness or anger.”
“Still, I'm deeply grateful for this journey—for everything tennis has given me, and for how much it's helped me become a strong, passionate, hard-working woman. But now, it's time for something else.”
Dear tennis,It's time to say goodbye.After 15 years competing at the highest level, and more than 25 years putting pretty much every second of my life into it, I feel ready to start a new chapter.My tennis journey hasn't always been easy. Since my early days, tennis has been… pic.twitter.com/6OLuSU4Se3
“My body and my personal goals need it. Still, this is not over—not just yet. I have a few tournaments left. The first one is at home, at Roland Garros. My 14th consecutive time being part of it. And my last. So to all my tennis family who'll be around: let's meet one more time, to dream, and fight together.”
“In the coming days, there will be more time to share what's next for me. But for now, I just want to focus on living these last weeks as a tennis pro to the fullest. Thank you so much for your support. See you soon on court.”
Garcia has never won a Grand Slam singles title in her career, but has come close on several occasions.
Her best attempt came at the US Open in 2022, when she made it to the semi-final before bowing out to Ons Jabeur in straight sets.
At Roland Garros, Garcia's best campaign was a quarter-final finish in 2017, where she was defeated by second seed Karolina Pliskova.
She has never made it past the Round of 16 at either the Australian Open or Wimbledon.
Despite her lack of major titles in singles, Garcia is a two-time French Open champion in doubles, with victories in 2016 and 2022 partnering Kristina Mladenovic.
FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 14, 2025 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in action during her quarter final match against China's Zheng Qinwen REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
The highly anticipated 2025 Wimbledon Championships are just around the corner, and the women's entry list has been unveiled, setting the stage for an epic showdown on the grass courts of the prestigious tournament. With big names like Gauff, Sabalenka, Rybakina, and more gracing the list, tennis fans are in for a thrilling competition.
As the countdown to the main draw on June 30th begins, all eyes are on the powerhouse players who will be vying for glory at this year's Wimbledon. The women's singles event promises to be a spectacle of skill, determination, and fierce competition, with top WTA stars gearing up to battle it out for the championship title.
The release of the entry list has already sparked excitement and speculation among fans and experts alike, as they analyze the potential matchups and rivalries that could unfold during the tournament. With rising stars and seasoned veterans set to take to the court, the stage is set for a display of tennis prowess like never before.
Gauff, Sabalenka, Rybakina, and a host of other talented players are poised to showcase their talent and compete for victory on one of the most hallowed grounds in tennis. The Wimbledon Championships have always been a stage for legends to be born and records to be shattered, and this year is shaping up to be no different.
As the anticipation builds and the players prepare to descend on Wimbledon, tennis enthusiasts can look forward to an electrifying display of skill, athleticism, and sportsmanship. Stay tuned as the drama unfolds on the grass courts of Wimbledon, where history will be made, and champions will rise to the occasion in the quest for glory.
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Australia's Alex de Minaur is yet again on a collision course with world No.1 Jannik Sinner at a grand slam, but he must first navigate a tricky path through the field at Roland Garros when the French Open starts on Sunday night Australian time.
De Minaur's draw lines up for a potential quarter-final rematch with Sinner after the Australian Open champion thrashed the local hope in straight sets at Melbourne Park.
The ninth seed de Minaur, who has made the final eight at the last four grand slams, will meet Serbian Laslo Djere, who has beaten in all three of their previous meetings, in the first round.
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A possible second round date with fellow Australian James Duckworth, after they met in the first round at Wimbledon last year, awaits if Duckworth can get past the hot-and-cold Kazakh Alexander Bublik.
De Minaur's potential third round match with 19-year-old 19th seed Jakub Menšík of Czechia shapes as a difficult test before a likely Round of 16 meeting with fifth seed Jack Draper.
The Brit has been in excellent form, making the final in Madrid and the quarter-finals in Rome, while de Minaur made the Round of 16 in Rome and Madrid after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in a quarter-final in Barcelona, and making a semi-final in Monte Carlo.
Sinner is likely to await in the quarter-finals before potential meetings with Novak Djokovic or defending champion Alcaraz if de Minaur could prevail against the Italian for the first time.
The 26-year-old Sydneysider headlines the 15 Australians across the men's and women's fields.
Australia is guaranteed a female in the second round with 19-year-old Maya Joint to face Ajla Tomljanović in her main draw debut in Paris.
The pair will be familiar with one another as they first meet in the semi-final of the Morocco Open on Friday night Australian time.
Australia's other seeded male, world No. 25 Alexei Popyrin, faces a difficult clash with Japanese world no. 75 Yoshihito Nishioka, who made the fourth round at Roland Garros two years ago.
Meanwhile, Chris O'Connell and Aleksandar Vukic will take on underdog status in their respective clashes with 22nd seed Ugo Humbert and 24th seed Karen Khachanov.
But 23-year-old Olivia Gadecki has the hardest first round match up of all the Australians, a likely centre court clash with world No.2 Coco Gauff.
Daria Kasatkina, the 17th seed in her first grand slam with the Australian flag next to her name, will face Kateřina Siniaková, the Czech doubles world No.1.
- First round draw for Australian players -
Men's singles
(9) Alex de Minaur v Laslo Djere (SRB)
(25) Alexei Popyrin v Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN)
Jordan Thompson v Jiří Lehečka (CZE)
Aleksandar Vukic v (24) Karen Khachanov (RUS)
Rinky Hijikata v Reilly Opelka (USA)
Adam Walton v Qualifier
Christopher O'Connell v (22) Ugo Humbert (FRA)
James Duckworth v Alexander Bublik (KAZ)
Tristan Schoolkate v Márton Fucsovics (HUN)
Women's singles
(17) Daria Kasatkina v Kateřina Siniaková (CZE)
Kim Birrell v Jaqueline Cristian (ROM)
Ajla Tomljanović v Maya Joint
Olivia Gadecki v (2) Coco Gauff (USA)
Destanee Aiava v Dayana Yastremska (UKR)
- Alcaraz handed tough opener -
Carlos Alcaraz will begin his French Open title defence against Japan's Kei Nishikori as Iga Swiatek faces a difficult route to a fourth successive Roland Garros title after a year-long trophy drought.
Jannik Sinner takes on home hope Arthur Rinderknech in the world no.1's first Grand Slam match since serving a three-month doping ban.
Alcaraz and Sinner have combined to win each of the last five men's Grand Slam titles and are the two chief contenders again in Paris.
Novak Djokovic, who had not won a clay-court match this season before this week, starts his latest quest for a record-setting 25th major against American Mackenzie McDonald.
Seeded sixth, Djokovic could have been drawn to meet either Alcaraz or Sinner in the quarter-finals, but Thursday's draw spared him from that prospect.
Instead, he could run into 2024 runner-up Alexander Zverev in the last eight before a potential semi-final against Sinner. Alcaraz is in the other half of the draw.
Zverev opens against US teenager Learner Tien.
Alcaraz could play Fabian Marozsan or Luca Nardi in the second round, with towering Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard a possible third round-opponent.
The Spaniard is on course to meet 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas or Ben Shelton in the last 16. Two-time finalist Casper Ruud is seeded to face him in the quarter-finals.
In-form Lorenzo Musetti and fourth seed Taylor Fritz are also in that half of the field.
“The confidence is really high right now. I've been playing great matches, I've got great wins in this clay season. I'm excited,” Alcaraz said on Thursday.
The 22-year-old has won in Monte Carlo and Rome this season. He also reached the final in Barcelona.
Should Sinner get past the 72nd-ranked Rinderknech, he could go up against Richard Gasquet in what is the 38-year-old Frenchman's final tournament before retirement.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina potentially lurks in the third round with Andrey Rublev and Arthur Fils possible rivals in the last 16.
Sinner could meet fifth seed Jack Draper or Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals ahead of what would be a blockbuster clash with Djokovic.
Three-time French Open titlist Djokovic would likely have to get beyond the likes of Denis Shapovalov and Daniil Medvedev to make another deep run.
The 38-year-old Djokovic is appearing at Roland Garros for the 20th time. He has reached the quarter-finals or better at every edition of Roland Garros since 2010.
- Struggling Swiatek handed tricky draw -
Swiatek will need to rediscover her best form to retain the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen following a troubled past 12 months.
The Pole, who has dropped to fifth in the world, is in the same quarter as last year's finalist Jasmine Paolini, former champion Jelena Ostapenko and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.
Swiatek plays Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova in the first round before a possible meeting with Britain's Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open winner making just her second visit to Paris.
Elina Svitolina, Belinda Bencic, Donna Vekic and Marta Kostyuk also feature alongside Swiatek in a loaded section.
“Every year is different,” said Swiatek, who has not won a title since last year's French Open.
“This season has had more ups and downs than the years before but I know my game is there. I just need to figure out how to use it in the most important moments.”
Four-time French Open champion Swiatek is in the same half of the draw as top seed Aryna Sabalenka, who gets under way against Kamilla Rakhimova from Russia.
Zheng Qinwen, the winner of Olympic gold on Court Philippe Chatrier last August, could await Sabalenka in the last eight.
Second-ranked Coco Gauff plays Australian Olivia Gadecki in round one and is one of four seeded Americans in the bottom quarter of the women's draw.
The 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, attempting to become the youngest Grand Slam singles champion since compatriot Maria Sharapova in 2004, starts against Cristina Bucsa of Spain.
Naomi Osaka plays 10th seed Paula Badosa in an eye-catching first round tie, while eighth seed Zheng takes on former finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Report
PRACTICE DEBRIEF: Is Ferrari's pace in Monaco real – or are McLaren and Red Bull still the teams to beat?
What the teams said – Friday in Monaco
Racing Bulls drivers impress with P5 and P6 showing in Monaco practice despite ‘scary' moments for Hadjar
WATCH: Ride onboard with Leclerc for the fastest lap of Friday practice in Monaco
Leclerc 'not convinced' Friday Monaco pace will last despite 'very positive' day for Ferrari
Charles Leclerc completed a perfect Friday for Ferrari after topping the second practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, which was disrupted by two red flags including one caused by Drivers' Championship leader Oscar Piastri.
The home hero followed up on his P1 in the opening session with the fastest time on Friday afternoon, while team mate Lewis Hamilton in third signified a remarkable turnaround for the Scuderia from a week ago at Imola.
HIGHLIGHTS: Relive FP1 in Monaco as Leclerc finishes fastest despite Stroll collision
Drivers and teams continued to push the limits on the streets of the Principality, with Isack Hadjar and Piastri going beyond it during the one-hour session.
After the first set of runs, reigning World Champion Max Verstappen sat top of the order on a 1m 12.922s despite complaining over the radio for his team to "please fix the upshifts" and about the poor quality of his tear-off visors.
Practice 2 results
It took less than eight minutes for the first red flag of the session to be deployed, Hadjar having clipped the inside barrier on the entry to the Nouvelle Chicane which ripped the left-rear tyre off its rim.
Having initially come to a stop on the far side of the chicane as the red flags flew, the Frenchman slowly made his way back to the pits having asked his Racing Bulls team on the best course of action.
Once running resumed, Piastri lowered the benchmark to a 1m 12.548s on a set of medium tyres, but the McLaren driver brought out the red flags again shortly after having hit the barrier head-on at Sainte Devote.
WATCH: Piastri brings out the red flags during FP2 in Monaco after finding the wall at Sainte Devote
After reversing, the Australian was able to recover back to the pits for a new front wing as the session resumed with 35 minutes remaining.
Prior to the second stoppage, Leclerc had moved to the top of the times with a 1m 12.103s, but multiple Monaco Grand Prix winners Fernando Alonso, on the softs, and Hamilton on the hard rubber both jumped him.
Alonso then became the first driver to dip below the 1m 12s mark with a 1m 11.890s, faster than Leclerc's best from FP1, as the session entered its second half.
2025 Monaco GP FP2: Piastri rips off front wing after hitting the wall at Sainte Devote
Leclerc's first effort on a soft moved the benchmark down to a 1m 11.414s, while his second attempt with 20 minutes remaining improved that to a 1m 11.355s, which would finish as the fastest time on Friday.
Piastri recovered from his incident to finish second, just 0.038s behind Leclerc, with Hamilton one-tenth behind Leclerc as Lando Norris completed the top four.
READ MORE: Stroll hit with grid penalty after Leclerc clash in opening Monaco GP practice
Liam Lawson finished an impressive fifth just ahead of team mate Hadjar, who found the barriers again, this time at Sainte Devote on a cooldown lap inside the final 10 minutes, which left the Racing Bulls machine with damage as he crabbed back to the pits.
Alonso, Alex Albon's Williams and Kimi Antonelli for Mercedes finished ahead of Verstappen in P10, who remained unhappy with his Red Bull having gone into the run-off area at one point.
The Dutchman was only 0.004s ahead of team mate Yuki Tsunoda, who in turn headed the second Mercedes and Williams of George Russell and Carlos Sainz respectively.
Gabriel Bortoleto, who Verstappen had complained about for blocking through the Swimming Pool section, put his Kick Sauber in 14th with team mate Nico Hulkenberg 16th, as Ollie Bearman's Haas sat between them – though the Briton was later hit with a 10-place grid penalty for the race for overtaking under the red flag.
Pierre Gasly was the top Alpine in P17 as team mate Franco Colapinto ended last of the 20 runners. Lance Stroll, who was handed a one-place penalty for his collision with Leclerc in FP1, was 18th ahead of Esteban Ocon for Haas.
Drivers and teams will debrief overnight ahead of Saturday's crucial Qualifying session.
Don't miss your chance to experience the world's most famous street circuit...
Driving test nerves, forming a Ferrari band and Harry Potter's magic – Getting to know the real Charles Leclerc
EXPLAINED: What is the new two-stop rule for the Monaco Grand Prix – and how will it work?
GALLERY: Check out the best photos as drivers and team bosses enjoy a screening of the new ‘F1' movie in Monaco
‘It's very, very special' – Drivers share their reactions after getting exclusive first look at the upcoming ‘F1' film
WATCH: Drivers and team bosses react after getting their own ‘F1' movie screening in Monaco
Mercedes suffer 'slowest Friday' in Monaco but Russell optimistic two-stop race offers 'a chance'
FIA Team Principals press conference – Monaco
WEEKEND WARM-UP: McLaren and Red Bull to resume their rivalry while Leclerc looks to impress at home as F1 arrives in Monaco
What the teams said – Friday in Monaco
Hamilton hails ‘really positive' driver response to ‘F1' movie screening as he promises ‘edge of your seat' experience for fans
© 2003-2025 Formula One World Championship Limited
Video
Bearman handed 10-place Monaco GP grid penalty after red flag violation in practice
Verstappen impressed by ‘very, very fast' Ferrari as he admits Red Bull ‘overdid' set-up changes in Monaco practice
FIA Team Principals press conference – Monaco
F2: Dunne takes maiden pole in Monte Carlo by 0.003s
FP2: Leclerc fastest again during second practice in Monaco as Hadjar and Piastri each cause red flags
Charles Leclerc finished fastest in the opening practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, despite having brought out an early red flag for a collision with Lance Stroll.
The Ferrari driver, who won his home race 12 months ago, collided with the back of the Aston Martin driver into the Loewes Hairpin after the Canadian moved back onto the racing line, with red flags deployed for several minutes to remove debris.
FP1: Leclerc leads Verstappen and Norris in first Monaco GP practice after early collision with Stroll
With a new nosecone fitted, Leclerc posted a 1m 11.964s around the midway point of the one-hour session, and despite complaining of issues with his car, it left him 0.163s clear of reigning World Champion Max Verstappen.
McLaren's Lando Norris finished third having run deep at both Sainte Devote and the Nouvelle Chicane, with team mate and Drivers' Championship leader Oscar Piastri in fifth having believed he clipped the wall at one stage.
Catch up on the highlights from FP1 in Monaco by hitting go on the video player above.
FP1: Leclerc leads Verstappen and Norris in first Monaco GP practice after early collision with Stroll
Verstappen impressed by ‘very, very fast' Ferrari as he admits Red Bull ‘overdid' set-up changes in Monaco practice
FP2: Leclerc fastest again during second practice in Monaco as Hadjar and Piastri each cause red flags
WATCH: Piastri brings out the red flags during FP2 in Monaco after finding the wall at Sainte Devote
Sainz believes Williams have ‘surprised me in some very good ways' amid team's solid 2025 form
© 2003-2025 Formula One World Championship Limited
Report
Bearman handed 10-place Monaco GP grid penalty after red flag violation in practice
Verstappen impressed by ‘very, very fast' Ferrari as he admits Red Bull ‘overdid' set-up changes in Monaco practice
FIA Team Principals press conference – Monaco
F2: Dunne takes maiden pole in Monte Carlo by 0.003s
FP2: Leclerc fastest again during second practice in Monaco as Hadjar and Piastri each cause red flags
Nikola Tsolov took his first-ever FIA Formula 3 pole position around the streets of Monte Carlo, coming out on top in Friday's dramatic split Qualifying.
The Red Bull Junior posted a 1m 24.882s with his final lap of the session to go to the top of the timesheets in Group A, leading his Campos Racing team mate Mari Boya by 0.127s.
F3: Tramnitz leads MP Motorsport 1-2 in Imola Sprint Race
Rodin Motorsport then locked out the top two spots in Group B, with Roman Bilinski leading the way in the red flag-affected running thanks to a 1m 25.332s, while his team mate Callum Voisin wound up 0.027s off in P2.
This meant Tsolov – who had been watching from the pit wall with his Campos team – had done enough to seal the Aramco Pole Position Award, with Bilinski set to join him on the front row for Sunday, ahead of Boya and Voisin.
PREMA Racing's Brando Badoer brought out the lone red flag in the session after crashing into the barrier at Turn 1 late in Group B's running.
Once the action resumed with three minutes and 21 seconds left, only Tim Tramnitz could complete two flying laps. The MP Motorsport driver's lap was good enough for P3, putting him in sixth for the Feature Race behind PREMA Racing's Noel León – who was third-fastest in Group A.
F3: Ramos outduels Camara to claim victory in Imola Feature Race
TRIDENT's Charlie Wurz and ART Grand Prix driver Tuukka Taponen were fourth and fifth in Group A, while Rafael Câmara and Laurens van Hoepen sealed the same positions in Group B.
Next up is a Sprint Race around the Principality, where the grid will be reversed, with this taking place at 1045 local time on Saturday. Alessandro Giusti and Martinius Stenshorne are set to line up on the front row after finishing sixth-fastest in their groups, with the former on pole.
Until then, you can read a full and in-depth report of the FIA Formula 3 Qualifying session in Monaco on the official website here.
Stroll hit with grid penalty after Leclerc clash in opening Monaco GP practice
FP1: Leclerc leads Verstappen and Norris in first Monaco GP practice after early collision with Stroll
FIA Thursday press conference – Monaco
BETTING GUIDE: Who are the favourites as F1 hits the streets of Monaco?
WATCH: Drivers and team bosses react after getting their own ‘F1' movie screening in Monaco
© 2003-2025 Formula One World Championship Limited
Report
Bearman handed 10-place Monaco GP grid penalty after red flag violation in practice
Verstappen impressed by ‘very, very fast' Ferrari as he admits Red Bull ‘overdid' set-up changes in Monaco practice
FIA Team Principals press conference – Monaco
F2: Dunne takes maiden pole in Monte Carlo by 0.003s
FP2: Leclerc fastest again during second practice in Monaco as Hadjar and Piastri each cause red flags
Home favourite Charles Leclerc set the pace during Friday's opening practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, bouncing back from an early clash with Lance Stroll to lead the way over Red Bull rival Max Verstappen and McLaren racer Lando Norris.
With the sun shining down and yachts filling the harbour, the Principality looked resplendent as Formula 1's 10 teams and 20 drivers gathered for an initial hour-long hit of running around some of the most famous streets in motorsport.
AS IT HAPPENED: All the action from first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix
Unsurprisingly, plenty of cars were quick to head out at 1330 local time to get a feel for the track conditions – a combination of Pirelli's soft C6, medium C5 and hard C4 tyres being used across the early installation laps and short runs.
There was some drama only a couple of minutes in when Leclerc locked up and went deep at Mirabeau Haute, but he managed to avoid any damage, reverse his Ferrari out of the run-off area and continue on his way.
Leclerc would not be so fortunate a few moments later, though, when he ran into the back of Lance Stroll's Aston Martin – which had moved aside for another car before coming back onto the racing line – under braking for the hairpin.
Practice 1 results
“Come on… I don't think he was aware about the blue flags,” Leclerc sighed over the radio. Stroll confirmed that when he told his engineer “I didn't hear you” ahead of the impact. Given Leclerc's front wing damage, the red flag was thrown to clear the debris.
When the session resumed, with Stroll sidelined due to his broken rear suspension and a gearbox change, drivers picked up where they left off and began to push a little harder – Norris holding the P1 time of 1m 12.290s (on softs) at the halfway mark over Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri.
EXPLAINED: What is the new two-stop rule for the Monaco Grand Prix – and how will it work?
There was also a sign of things to come in Qualifying – particularly Q1 – as drivers squabbled for track position, leaving Pierre Gasly frustrated by some slow-moving cars at the Nouvelle Chicane and Verstappen fuming after he was forced to bail out of a lap.
While Leclerc improved again to eclipse Norris' benchmark and move into the 1m11s bracket, an exasperated radio message – claiming “we are nowhere” in terms of car balance – implied that there is still plenty of work to do at Ferrari.
Several lock-ups, barrier scrapes and close calls followed over the final third of the session, with Hamilton narrowly avoiding traffic at Massenet and then flying over the kerbs at Turn 15/16, and Piastri returning to the pits for inspections after an apparent brush of the wall.
2025 Monaco GP FP1: Leclerc runs into the back of Stroll's Aston Martin in first practice
Leclerc remained quickest with his 1m 11.964s effort when the chequered flag dropped, a tenth clear of nearest rival Verstappen, as Norris, the high-flying Williams of Alex Albon, championship leader Piastri and Mercedes' George Russell completed the top six.
Carlos Sainz backed up team mate Albon in seventh position, followed by the lead Alpine of Gasly, Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who was Aston Martin's sole driver for the majority of the session following Stroll's early clash with Leclerc.
READ MORE: Driving test nerves, forming a Ferrari band and Harry Potter's magic – Getting to know the real Charles Leclerc
Kimi Antonelli was the fastest rookie of FP1 in 11th, putting his Mercedes just ahead of Kick Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, Racing Bull's Isack Hadjar and the other Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda, who lamented traffic during his final runs.
Haas duo Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon were next up in P15 and P16 respectively, as Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber), F1 returnee Franco Colapinto (Alpine) and the aforementioned Stroll rounded out the order.
Drivers and teams will now regroup in the Monte Carlo paddock, dig through the data and ponder set-up changes before returning to action in Free Practice 2, which is scheduled to begin at 1700 local time and again run for an hour.
Don't miss your chance to experience the world's most famous street circuit...
Driving test nerves, forming a Ferrari band and Harry Potter's magic – Getting to know the real Charles Leclerc
EXPLAINED: What is the new two-stop rule for the Monaco Grand Prix – and how will it work?
GALLERY: Check out the best photos as drivers and team bosses enjoy a screening of the new ‘F1' movie in Monaco
‘It's very, very special' – Drivers share their reactions after getting exclusive first look at the upcoming ‘F1' film
WATCH: Drivers and team bosses react after getting their own ‘F1' movie screening in Monaco
Stroll hit with grid penalty after Leclerc clash in opening Monaco GP practice
F2: Dunne takes maiden pole in Monte Carlo by 0.003s
FIA Thursday press conference – Monaco
Hamilton hails ‘really positive' driver response to ‘F1' movie screening as he promises ‘edge of your seat' experience for fans
Bearman handed 10-place Monaco GP grid penalty after red flag violation in practice
© 2003-2025 Formula One World Championship Limited
VideoF1 Unlocked
PRACTICE DEBRIEF: Is Ferrari's pace in Monaco real – or are McLaren and Red Bull still the teams to beat?
What the teams said – Friday in Monaco
Racing Bulls drivers impress with P5 and P6 showing in Monaco practice despite ‘scary' moments for Hadjar
WATCH: Ride onboard with Leclerc for the fastest lap of Friday practice in Monaco
Leclerc 'not convinced' Friday Monaco pace will last despite 'very positive' day for Ferrari
While fans will have to wait a little bit longer, Formula 1 drivers and team bosses got an exclusive first look at the new F1 film with their very own screening event in Monaco.
Indeed, fresh from the third and final trailer being released, the 2025 F1 grid got together on Wednesday evening for a movie night like no other.
F2: Dunne takes maiden pole in Monte Carlo by 0.003s
Racing Bulls drivers impress with P5 and P6 showing in Monaco practice despite ‘scary' moments for Hadjar
Leclerc 'not convinced' Friday Monaco pace will last despite 'very positive' day for Ferrari
Mercedes suffer 'slowest Friday' in Monaco but Russell optimistic two-stop race offers 'a chance'
Driving test nerves, forming a Ferrari band and Harry Potter's magic – Getting to know the real Charles Leclerc
© 2003-2025 Formula One World Championship Limited
By
Jon Blistein
Billy Joel has canceled all 17 shows he had scheduled for 2025 after announcing a recent diagnosis of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH).
This brain disorder is caused by the accumulation of too much cerebrospinal fluid in the brain's ventricles, leading to a host of cognitive and physical problems, especially gait, coordination, and bladder control issues. In a statement, Joel's team said the musician had been having problems with his “hearing, vision, and balance,” and that he's “undergoing specific physical therapy” as he recovers.
“I'm sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience,” Joel himself said, “and thank you for understanding.”
NPH affects adults aged 65 and over, and best estimates put the number of people battling the condition at about 700,000. But Dr. Charles Matouk, a neurosurgeon and professor at the Yale School of Medicine, tells Rolling Stone that NPH is probably “much more common than we think. It's just profoundly underdiagnosed in this country.”
The cognitive and physical impairments caused by NPH often lead it to be confused with other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But unlike those diseases, there's a fairly straightforward way to detect NPH and address some of its most debilitating symptoms.
“NPH, in and of itself, is not going to kill you like cancer or a heart attack, but it is going to decrease your quality of life,” Matouk says. But if detected and treated early, he adds, “You can significantly improve people.”
The exact cause of NPH — what prompts that build-up of excess fluid — remains a mystery. There's ongoing research into whether there's a genetic predisposition to the condition, Matouk says, but at the moment, doctors don't have a solid genetic marker for it. What is known is that NPH is often triggered by physical trauma, whether major or minor. For instance, an older person may be showing signs of slowing down, only for a fall to prompt a “precipitous decline” in their condition.
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(It's unclear exactly when Joel received his diagnosis, but near the end of his last concert on Feb. 22, he fell flat on his back after throwing his microphone stand to a crew member. Joel was able to get back on his feet and finish his set, but a month later, he announced that he was postponing future shows after undergoing surgery for a “medical condition” that required physical therapy.)
Because catching NPH early can often be key to treating it, Matouk notes two very common early signs. One is an inability to get out of a deep couch or chair, especially one that doesn't have arms to push off of; the other is a sharp decline in handwriting quality. Interestingly, the inability to get out of the chair is not a strength issue, and tremors do not cause the decline in handwriting. In both instances, Matouk says, it's a coordination issue caused by the NPH.
As for the kind of cognitive decline caused by NPH, it's “much more mild” than Alzheimer's or dementia, Matouk says. But it's still capable of disrupting a person's life. “It's more that [NPH patients] are apathetic, they're more detached, less engaged in life,” Matouk says.
With no single diagnostic test available to detect NPH, doctors rely on these pieces of clinical evidence, along with CAT scans or MRIs of the brain, to show where fluid has built up. But the final diagnosis doesn't come until after doctors perform a spinal tap — drawing fluid from a person's back and then seeing if they get better.
“And patients can often get better in like an hour,” Matouk says.
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If a spinal tap leads to a NPH diagnosis, a patient then becomes a candidate for a surgery called ventricular shunting, which effectively makes the tap permanent. It involves drilling a hole in a person's head, affixing a tube, and then threading that tube under a person's skin to a part of the body that can naturally absorb that excess fluid. Clinical trials are also underway for a far less invasive, more accessible treatment that would achieve the same thing by tapping into blood vessels via a small puncture in the thigh or groin.
These procedures can lead to significant improvements for patients, especially when it comes to addressing the physical symptoms of NPH. But they're not an outright cure, and Matouk pushes back against the perception of NPH as a kind of reversible dementia, saying, “Even with treatment, the memory problems are not improved to nearly as great an extent as gait and bladder control.”
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Whether this means someone like Joel could reach a place where he's able to perform again is an open question. Matouk, for his part, says he once treated a guitarist patient who was temporarily sidelined from playing in a local jazz band with friends.
Eventually, Matouk says, “He was able to get back. I wouldn't say he was able to play as he [once] did, but he was certainly able to play well enough that he could rejoin the band. And that had a lot of meaning for him.”
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In collaboration with Los Angeles' American Cinematheque, New York's Paris Theater will be presenting the second annual “Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair” from June 8 to June 14. This beloved film series embraces the darker side of cinema with empathy, introspection, and unflinching honesty.
The series features a stellar lineup of special guests for post-screening conversations:
Festival highlights also include 4K restorations of Uli Edel's “Christiane F.” (1981) and Atom Egoyan's The “Sweet Hereafter” (1997), both landmark films of emotional intensity and striking vision.
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“Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair” originated in Los Angeles four years ago. In the time since, it has continued to showcase powerful films that — through stark imagery, existential dread, and shocking sincerity — explore the harshest realities of the human experience. This year's New York edition continues the tradition with 17 bold selections spanning genres and decades, each confronting despair in pursuit of raw authenticity.
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Audiences can also look forward to rare presentations of:
Tickets are now on sale. Stay tuned for more screenings at The Paris Theater and guest announcements in the coming days. The Los Angeles installment of “Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair” runs from June 1 to June 7 and features 55 films from 16 countries, with over 20 special guests in attendance.
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By Dominic Patten
Executive Editor, Legal, Labor & Politics
(Updated with more details, Halle Berry correction) A Will Smith music video shoot in West Hollywood is facing union picket lines today after producers pink slipped the entire crew last night.
IATSE is on the street outside Quixote West Hollywood Studios right now after Breathe Entertainment fired the 35-person crew on Thursday over contract dispute. Already on site this morning were replacement workers a.k.a. scabs, who were brought. Now, it seems the replacement crew has walked off the set.
Oscar winner Smith is in the building. However, technically he didn't cross a picket line as union members were not yet in formation when the King Richard star showed up in his white Lamborghini early Friday, I'm told.
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The DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince vet released his first new album in 20 years on March 28. The shoot at Quixote is for a track from that Based On A True Story album distributed by indie label Slang Records, sources say.
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Though video shoots do not fall under union regulations, crews can seek guild mandated benefits and recognition – which is what occurred here. Which is why the initial crew was canned.
Fellow Oscar winner Halle Berry was said to be scheduled to show up later today, as we previously reported from multiple sources. However, even with some ex-crew insisting Berry was expected, reps for the Oscar winner got back to Deadline and vehemently denied their client has anything to do with this L.A. shoot. That lack of involvement has now been clarified to be for no other reason than The Union star is in France today at the Cannes Film Festival, where she is a member of the jury.
Spokespeople and agents for the CAA-repped Smith did not respond to requests for comment on the fluid situation when contacted by Deadline. IATSE said that all it would be saying officially right now is what it recently posted on social media.
STRIKE ALERT: The IATSE is on strike against a Will Smith music video produced by Breathe Entertainment and will be picketing at Quixote West Hollywood Studios today unless a fair contract is offered to the crew.
Breathe Entertainment also did not respond to Deadline's request for comment on what went down. A spokesperson for Quixote this morning confirmed the union activity outside. However, the much respected and utilized facility also said that it had “no comment” on the Smith video SNAFU as they “are not involved in the production, we're just renting out the space.”
Alas, sometimes labor laws just don't understand.
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If there's a silver lining to be found in hard times, longtime Hallmark star Nikki DeLoach is bound to find it. The actress is notorious for finding the good while facing her fair share of tough stuff, including seeing son Bennett, her second child with husband Ryan Goodell, through three life-saving surgeries.
Now seven, Bennett was born in 2017 with multiple life-threatening congenital heart defects (CHDs), requiring three heart surgeries — the first at just five days old — at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA). The unknowns surrounding his health were terrifying for DeLoach's family, but on May 21, 2025, she told Us Weekly that one silver lining of the experience was that it forced her to find her voice and speak up for what matters.
A post shared by Nikki DeLoach (@nikdeloach)
Raised in Georgia, DeLoach said she was taught “to be seen and not heard.” But that way of being didn't fly when her child was in crisis, needing someone to advocate for him.
“Your job is to advocate for your child throughout the entire process,” she told Us Weekly, “to ask for what you need, to speak up whenever you don't understand something, and to protect your child at all costs. You have to learn how to become empowered in your own body and in your own mind and in your own heart and be your voice for that child.”
Speaking up for Bennett, gave DeLoach the confidence to speak up for herself, her family (including Bennett's older brother Hudson, 11), as well as other people and initiatives she cares deeply about.
“What you'll realize is if you could do it for your child, you can begin doing it for your community, for your country, for whatever is right,” she said. “And we can do it with kindness and compassion.”
DeLoach continues to advocate for Bennett, who is thriving but still requires monitoring, and she also uses her voice to speak up raise awareness and money for causes that matter to her, including children's heart health.
“I see (Bennett) on a playground, and I know for most parents that's a given, but that's not a given for parents of children with congenital heart defects,” she told Us Weekly. “Get your child's heart checked. … I hope by the time I take my last breath in this world that it will just be a part of the screening of every newborn.”
DeLoach's advocacy work includes serving as president of the CHLA Foundation's Board of Trustees, fundraising for the Alzheimer's Association, and sitting on the board of Mind What Matters, a nonprofit devoting to supporting caregivers.
A post shared by Mind What Matters (@mindwhatmattersnonprofit)
DeLoach also learned through her son's health crisis how much support caregivers need but rarely receive.
“My husband went to work every day, and it was just me (at home),” she told EntertainmentNow in December, noting that many parents struggle to juggle being caregivers to chronically ill children while also bringing in an income. “You know, some people have to quit their jobs. Some people have to go part time. They struggle with being able to get to their own doctor's appointments, which is why we hear that sometimes caregivers go down before the actual person who is sick.”
That awareness, combined with witnessing her mom be a caregiver to her dad after being diagnosed with a form of Alzheimer's, inspired DeLoach's work with Mind What Matters, including co-hosting the nonprofit's podcast with executive director Elizabeth Humphreys.
She told EntertainmentNow that it's one of the reasons she's so happy to be part of the Hallmark family, because she's heard time and time again that the movies she's in provide respite for caregivers.
“The load that they carry is so big and so heavy,” DeLoach said, “and so I understand why so many caregivers and first responders, nurses and firefighters … love Hallmark because, for 90 minutes, you get to disappear into a world where everything is going to be okay, where there is a happy ending. In real life, we don't always feel that, and also we don't always get that.”
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By Dominic Patten
Executive Editor, Legal, Labor & Politics
Years and years after Jussie Smollett claimed to be the victim of a MAGA hate crime on the cold streets of Chicago, the whole matter, lawsuits and all, is over — after the ex-Empire star wrote a check.
Actually, two checks.
A day after officials for the Windy City announced they had reached a settlement with Smollett, the performer says he's giving $50,000 to one local organization, and an additional $10,000 to another. “The decision to settle the civil lawsuit was not the most difficult one to make,” Smollett said today to Deadline. “After repeatedly refusing to pay the City, I was presented with an opportunity to make a charitable donation in exchange for the case being dismissed,” he went on to say (see Smollett's full statement below).
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Back in November last year, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously overturned the legal consequences Smollett suffered due to the high profile incident.In the court's opinion, special prosecutor Dan Webb's decision to retry Smollett had violated the performer's rights. That turn of events followed a Chicago jury delivering a guilty verdict against Smollett in December 2021 on five felony charges, including lying to the police about the alleged 2019 hate crime attack in the early hours of January 29, 2019 — an attack that at the time even garnered the short-lived sympathy of then first term president Donald Trump.
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Soon afterwards Smollett's story started to fall apart at the seems and, dumped from the one-time blockbuster Danny Strong and Lee Daniels-created hip hop drama, the actor found himself in and out of court, jail and more in quick succession. At one point, local prosecutors had agreed to drop the charges against the actor as part of an agreement that he would forfeit his $10,000 bond and perform community service. Stirring up some of the local Chicago politic mix, with the cops and more, Smollett then was put under the spotlight of a special prosecutor and hauled before the courts for allegedly playing fast and loose with the truth and his own agenda.
Today, Smollett closed that chapter in his life.
“Over six years ago, after it was reported I had been jumped, City officials in Chicago set out to convince the public that I willfully set an assault against myself,” he said Friday. “This false narrative has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear. These officials wanted my money and wanted my confession for something I did not do. Today, it should be clear….They have received neither.”
He added: “However, despite arduous and expensive attempts to punish me, I am innocent both in the eyes of God and of our criminal justice system. What I have to do now is move forward. I will continue creating my art, fighting passionately for causes I hold dear and defending my integrity and family name with the truth.”
While no longer a regular on network TV like he was in the heyday of Empire, Smollett has tried to pick up the reigns of his career in recent years. The Lost Holiday, a Vivica A. Fox co-staring film Smollett directed, wrote and stars in, debuted on Amazon Prime Video on May 9.
Read Jussie Smollett's full statement on the settling of the Chicago suit here:
Over six years ago, after it was reported I had been jumped, City officials in Chicago set out to convince the public that I willfully set an assault against myself. This false narrative has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear. These officials wanted my money and wanted my confession for something I did not do. Today, it should be clear….They have received neither.
The decision to settle the civil lawsuit was not the most difficult one to make. After repeatedly refusing to pay the City, I was presented with an opportunity to make a charitable donation in exchange for the case being dismissed. Despite what happened there politically, Chicago was my home for over 5 years and the people became my family. Therefore, making a donation to benefit Chicago communities that are too often neglected by those in power will always be something I support. I've made a $50,000.00 donation to Building Brighter Futures (BBF) Center for the Arts, a local nonprofit doing incredible work nurturing self-expression, creativity and exploration of the arts for Chicago youth. This organization was of my choosing and I'm comforted that there will be at least one winner from this experience.
Though I was exonerated by the Illinois Supreme Court in a unanimous decision and the civil case is now dismissed, I'm aware that it will not change everyone's mind about me or the attack I experienced. However, despite arduous and expensive attempts to punish me, I am innocent both in the eyes of God and of our criminal justice system. What I have to do now is move forward. I will continue creating my art, fighting passionately for causes I hold dear and defending my integrity and family name with the truth.
Lastly, I'm grateful to have had the resources to defend myself. So many do not. They are backed into corners to take deals or confess to crimes they did not actually commit. In their honor, I am donating an additional $10,000.00 to the Chicago Torture Justice Center who provides resources to communities healing from the violence of the Chicago Police Department. To anyone who has had to prove they have in fact been violated, you know how difficult this can be to navigate. I stand with and for you. To everyone who has supported me, thank you. Your prayers and belief in me mean more than words can properly express. I will never take it lightly and will never forget. Onward.
With Love & Respect,
Jussie Smollett
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If there's such a thing as a “Sundance movie,” it's typically about a dysfunctional family, demonstrably quirky, rigidly adhering to a three-act structure, possessing clever-clever needle drops. Is there a Cannes equivalent to the “Sundance movie”?
It's certainly not as discussed as an archetype, but it appears there is: The “Cannes movie” is a French drama with light comedic notes, attuned to small moments, often related to a coming-of-age theme (at any age), a certain literary open-endedness, minimal camera movements, and no or little score. Not all of these attributes need to be present, but usually some combination is. This can be anything from “The 400 Blows” to 2024's Directors' Fortnight opener “This Life of Mine” to even something as visually extravagant as 2025's animated film “Arco.”
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Joséphine Japy's debut feature “The Wonderers” is a perfect example of the form. Cinematic autofiction, it's her reflective account of her own experience growing up with a disabled sister whose actual diagnosis remained elusive for years. Bertille (the name of the character in the film and of Japy's real-life sister) developed an affliction where she would no longer speak or appear to understand the speech of others, and instead goes through life as if in deep thought all the time. Sometimes, she smiles and laughs to herself. Sometimes, she erupts in screams of agonizing pain. In one humorous moment in Japy's film, Bertille, played by the non-disabled actress Sarah Pachoud, wanders off while having lunch with her family at an outdoor restaurant, sits on a random male patron's lap, and steals some of his food, which she brings back to her own family's table.
That moment captures the triumph of Japy's film: Living with someone dealing with a severe disability is not always sturm und drang every moment. And “The Wonderers” is not out to make some statement about disability or living in a family with a disabled person — it's simply trying to capture the emotion of Japy's own experience, the highs and the lows. It's obviously difficult, and in many ways defining, but it doesn't have to be solely defining. Even as much as her sister's experience has affected the life of Marion (Angelina Woreth), the stand-in for Japy herself.
Some details of Japy's story are changed: She was already working as an actress and in her 20s when she finally found out Bertille's diagnosis. In “The Wonderers,” her stand-in, Marion, is a senior in high school. But the emotional truth of what living with that uncertainty is like is something Japy powerfully captures. For years, Bertille's family didn't know for sure what her condition was. Which meant that treatment was impossible, and that the eventual outcome of her condition was uncertain, too. Could it be that she had a condition that could result in her dropping dead at any moment? We think we live in a time of such advanced medicine that ascertaining the cause of any condition is possible, but some diagnoses do remain out of reach.
Not knowing whether her sister or their daughter will live or not, or what to expect from any moment of being around her, has put Marion and her parents in a kind of ongoing limbo. Marion doesn't really know how to live her own life. So much of her attention has been directed toward her sister that Marion decides to “embrace life” by embarking on a misguided romance with a man twice her age. Their parents, played by Pierre-Yves Cardinal and Mélanie Laurent, who gave Japy a role in her own directorial effort “Breathe,” have been affected similarly: Laurent's character doesn't allow herself to feel too much just in case she has to deal with a sudden loss at any moment, and Cardinal's character hasn't ever even told his work colleagues that he has a second daughter, thinking that knowledge of her disability might harm his career.
The first half of “The Wonderers” does feel a bit slack, like a sequence of scenes simply placed together rather than a narrative that flows. But by the end, this has become an affecting family drama, and one that taps powerfully into uncertainty as a way of life. It's very much a first film, and the execution behind a number of moments — including one when Bertille brings food back to the table at the restaurant, which is told through dialogue more than captured in the camera — doesn't match the strength of the ideas at hand. But if this is a “Cannes movie,” it is a Cannes movie par excellence, and hopefully one that's just the springboard for a rich career behind the camera for Japy.
“The Wonderers” world premiered in Special Screenings at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
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By Andreas Wiseman
Executive Editor, International & Strategy
EXCLUSIVE: During the Cannes Film Festival and market, where JA Bayona presented a preview of Vieja Loca, the film he is producing with Belén Atienza, Ramon Campos and Gabriela Carcova, Shudder acquired rights in North America, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
DeAPlaneta will distribute in Spain with sales handled by Studiocanal.
Vieja loca is the feature debut of Argentine screenwriter and director Martín Mauregui, starring Spanish screen legend Carmen Maura alongside Argentine actor Daniel Hendler.
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The Spanish-language film narrates the nightmare a man (Hendler) suffers after receiving a desperate call from his ex-girlfriend to take care of her senile mother (Maura).
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In Cannes, JA Bayona received the ‘Golden Key to the Fantastic Pavilion' for his contribution to genre cinema.
After his worldwide success with Society of the Snow, The Impossible filmmaker Bayona has turned his attention to his work as a producer. In a talk held at the Fantastic Pavilion of the Cannes Film Festival with Ángel Sala, director of the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival, Bayona commented: “When I began my career with The Orphanage, Guillermo del Toro produced it on one condition: that I would sponsor another director in the future. I loved Mauregui's script and it's an opportunity to return to genre cinema, which I love. I approached the project to lend a hand, but I ended up producing. It was the first film to be shot in Argentina after Javier Milei's victory and we are very happy to have been able to make this film a reality at such a complicated time for cinema in Argentina.”
Vieja loca is a Spanish-Argentine co-production between the production companies Películas La Trini, Primo Content, Mr Field and Friends, Bambu Producciones and La Unión De Los Ríos, with the participation of Amazon España.
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"I'm sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience," the rock star wrote in a statement.
By
Hannah Dailey
Billy Joel is canceling all of his upcoming shows due to a health issue affecting his ability to perform, the musician announced Friday (May 23).
In a statement shared to his social media accounts, he shared that the decision comes following a “recent diagnosis” of normal pressure hydrocephalus. “This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance,” his statement reads. “Under his doctor's instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period. Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health.”
“He is grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage,” the announcement continues, concluding with a message directly from Joel: “I'm sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding.”
Fans with tickets to any of the “Piano Man” singer's scheduled shows will receive automatic refunds to their original payment method.
Trending on Billboard
According to Cleveland Clinic, normal pressure hydrocephalus is a condition that occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull, pressing on the brain. It can affect “several brain-related abilities, including thinking and concentrating, memory, movement and more,” with treatment involving implanting a shunt to drain the excess fluid.
Joel had several shows planned throughout the summer and fall of this year, as well as a few performances scheduled for the first half of 2026. His canceled appearances include his joint dates with Sting, Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks, as well as his solo gigs.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer previously delayed several of those tour dates by four months after revealing that he had recently undergone surgery. Joel did not disclose his medical condition at that time.
“While I regret postponing any shows, my health must come first,” he said in a statement in March. “I look forward to getting back on stage and sharing the joy of live music with our amazing fans. Thank you for your understanding.”
The five-time Grammy winner had been poised to make history on his trek, as his now-canceled shows at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y.; Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; and Citi Field in Queens, N.Y., would have made him the first artist to play all three NYC-area stadiums in one summer. “Each [venue] holds personal significance to me,” Joel had told Billboard of the feat in early February. “There's nothing like the energy of the crowds in New York.”
Joel's health update comes shortly after it was announced that his upcoming two-part documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June. Later in the summer, the project will air on HBO.
See Joel's post below.
A post shared by Billy Joel (@billyjoel)
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By
Nikki McCann Ramirez
Harvard University has sued the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and the Department of Justice in response to the Trump administration's attempt to block the Ivy League school from enrolling international students.
“This revocation is a blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act. It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government's demands to control Harvard's governance, curriculum, and the ‘ideology' of its faculty and students,” the university wrote in a lawsuit filed Friday morning.
The university requested that the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts declare the Trump administration's actions unconstitutional and unlawful, that the court enjoin the administration from enforcing the expulsion of international students, and compensate the university for fees and legal bills related to the litigation. Hours after filing the suit, the court granted a temporary restraining order blocking the administration from enforcing the directive.
The Trump administration's move to block Harvard from accepting foreign applicants on student visas is the latest escalation in an ongoing feud between MAGA Republicans and America's most prestigious educational institutions.
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“I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a letter to the university on Thursday. “It is a privilege to enroll foreign students, and it is also a privilege to employ aliens on campus […] Harvard is prohibited from having any aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status for the 2025-2026 academic school year. This decertification also means that existing aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status must transfer to another university in order to maintain their nonimmigrant status.”
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In an open letter to students, faculty, and staff, Harvard President Alan M. Garber wrote that Noem's letter “continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government's illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body.”
Harvard and the Trump administration have been locked in a back and forth for months now. The Trump administration has been attacking Harvard for allowing pro-Palestinian activism on campus, and last month the Department of Education demanded that the school allow government oversight over its hiring practices, curriculum, and admissions practices in order to align them with the political priorities of the Trump government. The university refused. Earlier this month, the Department of Education froze all federal grant funding to the university over their refusal to bend to their demands.
Friday's lawsuit states that “there is no lawful justification for the government's unprecedented revocation of Harvard's [Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)] certification, and the government has not offered any.”
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The university has requested that the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts declare the Trump administration's actions unconstitutional and unlawful, that the court enjoin the administration from enforcing the expulsion of international students, and compensate the university for fees and legal bills related to the litigation.
On Thursday, Noem was asked on Fox News about the prospect of a lawsuit challenging the administration's push to revoke student visas. “ring it,” she said. “I am on the side of America and they need to be too.”
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Disney's live-action redo 'Lilo & Stitch' boasts the biggest preview of the year so far and seventh-biggest ever for a PG title, while Tom Cruise's final 'M:I' movie hit a franchise high.
By
Pamela McClintock
Senior Film Writer
The Memorial Day box office is already delivering in a major way and the long holiday weekend hasn't even begun.
Disney's live-action redo Lilo & Stitch and Tom Cruise‘s final Mission: Impossible movie, from Paramount and Skydance, both did sizeable business in Thursday previews.
Lilo & Stitch grossed a huge $14.5 million in previews, the largest preview gross of the year to date and a Memorial Day record for Disney's live-action studio after besting The Little Mermaid ($10.3 million) and Aladdin ($7 million), not adjusted for inflation. In terms of Disney's larger film empire, it also beat Memorial Day entry Solo: A Star Wars Story ($14.1 million). And overall, it is the seventh-biggest preview gross of any PG title, including Disney's recent animated blockbuster Moana 2 ($13.8 million).
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Three weeks ago, Lilo & Stitch was tracking to open to $120 million. Now, it's $165 million, a jaw-dropping gross that would, in an ironic twist, see Lilo & Stitch supplant Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick ($160 million) as the biggest Memorial Day opener of all time, not adjusted for inflation. That's not the only irony: Cruise-starrer Minority Report barely beat the original animated Lilo & Stitch when they opened opposite each other in June 2022.
Stitch isn't just drawing interest from families; it's popping big time among teenage girls and younger women — i.e., Gen Z and younger Millennials — who grew up on the first movie and resulting TV show about a Hawaiian girl with a fraught family life who adopts an adorable, albeit trouble-making, dog-like alien. Box office pundits say the nostalgic factor is running high, just as it did among Millennials and Gen Z'ers for Disney's live-action Aladdin, which made $1.1 billion in global ticket sales after getting families, teens and younger adults. Rideback produced both Lilo and 2019's Aladdin.
The live-action Lilo & Stitch was originally intended to to go straight to Disney+, helping to explain its modest $100 million production budget. It has a current Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 72 percent. (Both Lilo and M:I presently have a RT audience score of 93 percent.)
Final Reckoning set its own preview record in earning a franchise-best $8.3 million, ahead of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One ($7 million) and Mission: Impossible — Fallout ($6 million.)
The film, with a current RT critics score of 80 percent, is expected to more than make up for the lackluster $54.7 million bow of Dead Reckoning, as well as supplant the $61.2 million three-day launch of Fallout to set a new franchise opening record by a mile.
A major challenge in terms of Final Reckoning‘s financial success is its $400 million net budget before marketing — making it one of the most expensive films ever made — although Paramount insiders note that each new installment increases the value of the entire library, including a spike in home entertainment sales and rentals of previous titles.
The two movies are expected to fuel the biggest Memorial Day of all time in terms of ticket sales. While the mash-up isn't expected to be quite the same cultural phenomenon that Barbenheimer was in July 2023, the potent combo of the two movies can't be ignored (as for a moniker, how about “Stitchin: Impossible”?)
Overseas, Lilo & Stitch is likewise going up against Final Reckoning.
Lilo has earned $26.7 million in its initial two days from its first 41 markets. In a number of territories, it has scored the highest opening day of the year so far, including in China, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France and Italy. Paramount hasn't yet reported international numbers for Final Reckoning.
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By Jake Kanter
International Investigations Editor
If you spend any time reading TV news in the British tabloid press, you will know that there is so much speculation swirling around Doctor Who, it's like a meteor shower has engulfed the Tardis.
Rupert Murdoch-owned The Sun newspaper sparked the latest flurry of rumors, reporting that Ncuti Gatwa had been “exterminated” from the BBC series amid a ratings “nosedive.” The BBC said it was “pure fiction” that Gatwa had been fired.
The Sun‘s front-page story also gives credence to speculation that Doctor Who will be “rested” after Season 15 has finished screening on the BBC and Disney+.
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Tomorrow's front page: Doctor Who exterminated – BBC bin star Ncuti after Eurovision row Read more: https://t.co/LujJz1bGPJ pic.twitter.com/xDAQThGbS5
The BBC, along with producers at Bad Wolf and BBC Studios, have long veiled Doctor Who in secrecy, meaning that speculative reporting can quickly take root.
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So what can we say with certainty about the destiny of the Time Lord?
Firstly, the show's UK ratings have dropped considerably. Detractors have pinned this on so-called “woke” storylines, though it is not clear if this is the only reason people are switching off.
Deadline has analyzed official seven-day viewing figures for the first half of Season 15, and it does not make easy reading for those involved in Doctor Who.
The first four episodes have averaged 3.1M viewers, which was 800,000 viewers down from last year's season, which was Gatwa's first as the Doctor.
Compare the first half of Season 15 to Jodie Whittaker's last outing as the Doctor, and things get uglier. Season 13 was watched by 5M people over its first four episodes in 2021, two million more viewers than the show is currently managing.
Deadline has used viewing figures from Barb, the UK's official ratings body. They include on-demand and streaming viewing on televisions, but are not the full picture.
Broadcasters and streamers prefer to use 28-day figures, which provide a more conclusive picture. Nonetheless, seven-day viewing is usually directional and the pattern of decline will likely be reflected in Doctor Who's final ratings.
The second important thing to say about the speculation around Doctor Who is that the drama's key figures — including Gatwa himself — have done little to dispel the sense of unease.
On Friday, the BBC repeated the line it has held for many months: no decisions will be made about a renewal until Season 15 has finished screening.
In a small development today, the BBC was prepared to say that Gatwa had not been fired from the show, but refused to deny that he had quit. Gatwa's rep has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, Disney+ has also not commented on whether it intends to remain a co-production partner on Doctor Who outside of the UK.
As for showrunner Russell T Davies, he has actively blown wind in the sails of reporting about Doctor Who being rested beyond its current season.
Speaking to BBC Newsround last month, Davies said that Doctor Who is like Robin Hood, meaning “there might be a pause” in the story, but “no good idea ever dies.”
At the same time, Davies has also said that scripts have been written for Season 16. “Three of them [are] sitting there, three different writers. One script [is] already on draft six,” he told Dr Who Magazine.
Furthermore, The Daily Mirror's Doctor Who authority Nicola Methven has reported that stories for two seasons are planned out, even if there is a pause.
A BBC spokesperson said: “As we have previously stated, the decision on Season [16] will be made after Season [15] airs and any other claims are just pure speculation. The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes – and we still have an entire spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, to air. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines.”
It's going to take time for the space dust to settle around Doctor Who's future.
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By Greg Evans
NY & Broadway Editor
There are so many startling, perspective-shifting scenes in Kimberly Belflower's Tony Award-nominated play John Proctor Is The Villain that two people discussing the plot can easily make incorrect assumptions about exactly which shocking scene they're addressing. Read on for a perfect example in this conversation with star Sadie Sink.
For her unsettling and remarkably affecting performance in John Proctor, Sink, who shot to fame in 2016 when she joined the second season of Netflix's hit series Stranger Things as Maxine “Max” Mayfield, has been Tony-nominated for Best Leading Actress In A Play.
To say Sink is on a career roll is an understatement. In addition to starring in one of the Broadway season's most acclaimed productions, she'll be back in Hawkins, Indiana, when Stranger Things returns for its fifth and final season later this year. And she recently joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her casting in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day opposite Tom Holland and Zendaya. Online rumors abound about which character she'll be playing – best money is on Mayday Parker, daughter of Holland's Peter Parker.
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But Sink launched her career on stage. In 2012, at age 10, she joined the cast of Broadway's Annie, and three years later returned in The Audience opposite Helen Mirren.
But her role as Shelby Holcomb must surely be among her most challenging. Belflower's play, directed on Broadway by Danya Taymor (another Tony nominee, and a winner for last year's The Outsiders) is set in a small-town Georgia high school in 2018, the height of the MeToo movement. Sink's Shelby returns to the school, her former friend group and the group's beloved literature teacher (played by the Tony-nominated Gabriel Ebert), after a mysterious, extended absence following the disclosure that she had slept with the boyfriend of her best friend.
SPOILER ALERT in case you somehow haven't already heard.
The teacher, who leads his select honors students through a study of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, is a sexual predator, and the play includes a truly unnerving scene in which Shelby finally names names. Like Abigail in The Crucible, young Shelby has been misused and abandoned by an older man – whether Miller knew it or not, John Proctor really is the villain – and Belflower draws an unmistakeable line from that classic depiction of the Salem witch trials (and McCarthy-era allegory) to this “one-stoplight town” in 2018. But unlike Miller's teenage “witches” in those long ago woods, when Belflower's girls finally dance, it's not about summoning the devil, but driving him out.
In this conversation, Sink talks about those two scenes, Stranger Things and possible Easter eggs in Broadway's Stranger Things: The First Shadow, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
John Proctor Is The Villain is playing at Broadway's Booth Theatre through July 6. Nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Play, it stars Sink, Nihar Duvvuri, Tony-nominated Gabriel Ebert, Molly Griggs, Maggie Kuntz, Hagan Oliveras, Morgan Scott, Tony-nominated Fina Strazza and Amalia Yoo.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
DEADLINE: So Broadway at 10, Broadway again three years later, and now your third time gets you a Tony nomination. What keeps you coming back to Broadway?
SADIE SINK: Broadway actors, I think, are some of the most amazing athletes in this craft. I've always just had the highest respect for theater, and obviously it raised me as well, and then I kind of got swept away by the film and TV of it all, but going back to it was really important to me. One, to see if I could still do it and also I just knew it would be a huge learning curve to return to it as an adult. Just to kind of touch back on what brought me into acting in the first place. I couldn't be luckier to have found Kimberly's play, this incredible ensemble piece that's extraordinarily well written and just felt really important.
DEADLINE: How did you find the play? How did it come to you?
SINK: Kimberly's agent sent it to my agent and then I read it and just couldn't put it down, and immediately after I was like, We need to do some kind of workshop of this, not really with the intent of oh this is going to make it to Broadway but because it is an awesome play. We met with Danya and she was really excited to do it. This was before she got her Tony for The Outsiders too. So, she was on board and stayed on board even after the Tony win, which just proves how dedicated she was to this play.
So we did a three day workshop of it. Fina Strazza, who plays Beth and is a Tony nominee as well, did the workshop too and it was just kind of super magical. Some great producers and theater owners got to see that workshop and then it took off from there. You know, being a Broadway kid, I would spend so much time doing random workshops and readings of different musicals that never actually went anywhere.
DEADLINE: When you first read it, did you have a character in mind that you wanted to do, or was it specifically pitched to you with a character?
SINK: It was presented to me like, have her look at Shelby or Raelynn and see who she responds to. Immediately I was, okay I think I'm a Shelby. Every character is so well-rounded which is why this play works so well, but something about Shelby, like she really is the Abigail track of this play in terms of its parallels to The Crucible. I just thought she was incredibly complex for obvious reasons that you come to learn in the show but I was really driven to her humor as well. She's so witty and quick and has a lot of good in her but also is carrying so much fire within her as well.
DEADLINE: You said at the beginning of this conversation that Broadway actors have to be so athletic. What did you do to prepare for this role both physically and emotionally, because there's a scene at the end that requires a lot of physical stamina, and emotionally because of the revelations your character makes?
SINK: In terms of the physical aspects of it, I love when a role requires a lot of physicality, whether it's like stunt work in film and TV. I just think it's such a tool when you're going all out physically. I've been training a lot and just keeping up my physical strength, just making sure my body is strong and nourished. I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life right now because of it.
In terms of the emotional stamina, that takes the cake for the biggest challenge. I think I grew so accustomed in film and TV to just kind of, you know, getting one or two or three good takes of really giving it your all and then it's like, okay, moving on. You never have to do that scene again. So I really was kind of concerned going into this show of is the emotional weight of the text going to lose its potency through repetition in any way, but what I found is that the more you do it it not only becomes a muscle memory but you just get so tied to your character through it.
I have noticed there are performances where afterwards it doesn't feel very good or certain scenes do feel a little bit icky. The gas station scene with Raelynn. [The scene features Sink's Shelby and Amalia Yoo's Raelynn emotionally reconnecting after an estrangement, and Shelby speaking for the first time about her sexual grooming by their favorite teacher.] When you're in the intimacy of the film and TV world it's easier to kind of let that guard down, but on stage you're so vulnerable and your guards want to go up in front of a live audience. But something Danya told me would just kind of unleash something: She was just like, Use Shelby as a shield, in a way, protecting you from the audience who maybe is coming in to see Max from Stranger Things or coming to see Sadie Sink or whatever. Just use the character to become a vessel for Shelby, so any vulnerability isn't coming from you yourself. It's to honor her. That shifted my mentality.
DEADLINE: And, I would imagine, to honor all the girls out there who have experienced the same things as Shelby. What kind of feedback are you getting from girls and women who have experienced what your character experiences?
SINK: I get that a lot at the stage door, which is a huge responsibility and a huge honor too when I hear someone has experienced something like that, or maybe not exactly like Shelby's case but something along those lines. So many women have gone through it. So whether you're a young girl who's gone through it recently or currently, or you're a grown-up who's revisiting those moments, the play really opens that up for people. It's something that's never lost on me. Even if I'm having a really hard week where I'm exhausted and it's like god I don't want to do this exorcism on stage again tonight, like I really don't, but then you have those moments at the stage door where it's, like, no we're really reaching people. To have that immediate feedback, there's nothing like it. It's the beauty of live theater.
DEADLINE: The ‘exorcism' scene you mentioned, when I was there the entire audience just kind of gasped. Are you aware of the reaction as it's happening?
SINK: Yeah, I mean it's so loud. When it's happening I can't really see anything because there's these big strobe lights on us, and you kind of lose awareness of anything around you. I remember after the first couple of previews, I'm like I just made an absolute fool of myself. Like, I don't really know what I'm doing right now and if this is even working, but okay. Whatever. Let's just go for it.
DEADLINE: It occurs to me that maybe we have different exorcism scenes in mind. What's your exorcism scene?
SINK: Oh, my exorcism is the big dance at the end, the final 30 seconds of it. You're thinking Scene 10?
DEADLINE: I don't know the number but I'm guessing…
SINK: Yeah, that's the blackout scene. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I mean that's a whole other beast.
DEADLINE: That's when I heard the gasps, when the audience found out what this man – the teacher – really is.
SINK: That scene is so tricky but I always love doing it because it feels like a huge exhale once the truth is out there because during the first half of the show, especially during rehearsals and previews, I just felt so awkward the whole time because most of the work that I'm doing is not something that people are aware of. We rely on the audience's prejudices against Shelby at first, but being Shelby then is super awkward.
You know eventually the people will understand you but you just kind of have to embrace the fact that you are being judged and that you are being misunderstood. So when that scene kind of happens and we learn more about Shelby's history and what she's coping with, you feel the audience kind of come to your side, and that's been a really soft place to land for me every night.
DEADLINE: Have any of your Stranger Things cast mates been to see the show?
SINK: Yeah. A lot of them came opening night, which was really nice. Gaten [Matarazzo, who has appeared in Broadway productions multiple times, most recently in 2023's Sweeney Todd] has been a huge supporter so he was super proud…I know how much he loves Broadway, and the fact that he was willing to go back so many times, that's just pure theater kid joy and passion right there. It's something we've always had in common, so when he heard I was doing this play he was just so excited.
DEADLINE: Have you seen the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow?
SINK: I saw it in London and I also saw it in New York.
DEADLINE: I know you can't give out clues about what's going to happen on the upcoming season of Stranger Things, but I'm wondering if anything that happens in the play has any correlation to what happens on Season Five of the TV series?
SINK: It might. There are definitely some easter eggs I spotted for sure.
DEADLINE: And you're finished filming Season Five, right?
SINK: Yes, we're done.
DEADLINE: Do you know when it's coming back?
SINK: I don't know if it's been announced yet. I'm kind of out of the loop on that.
DEADLINE: And I have to ask about SpiderMan: Brand New Day. There are lots of rumors online about what character you'll be playing. Are you ready to say anything yet?
SINK: No. I see a lot of rumors too. They've been really cool to read. I love the Marvel Universe. I mean they're awesome rumors.
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By Nellie Andreeva
Co-Editor-in-Chief, TV
EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of its May 7 separation from Lionsgate, Starz is quickly starting to build its own library of IP with four series in priority development, all fully owned by the premium network.
Starz has opened writers rooms for Kingmaker, set in the world of the DC Black political elite, from Al Letson and Theo Travers; Masquerade, a female-driven thriller set in Venice, from Dave Holstein; and British boxing drama Fightland, from Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson's G-Unit Film & Television, which had been in development at the network since 2022.
Additionally, Plan B has come on board to produce All Fours, a series in development based on Miranda July's buzzy novel about a woman's journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening, which Starz acquired earlier this year.
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Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch had signaled to Wall Street that standalone Starz plans to own a lot of its programming, outright or through co-productions with other studios. It is a strategy other networks, like Fox Entertainment, have employed after splitting from their vertically integrated studio.
For Starz, this is not new. The network used to produce and own its original series pre-Lionsgate merger, including hits like Spartacus and Power. Lionsgate Television took over production of the Power franchise post-acquisition and will continue to serve as studio on the existing series after the companies became separate again.
“This new chapter positions Starz to take greater control of our future – creatively and financially,” said Alison Hoffman, President of Starz Networks. “By owning our IP, we're building long-term value for the business while delivering even more boundary breaking, premium content for our audience.”
Going forward, Starz is keeping its longtime focus on adult programming for women and underrepresented audiences as exemplified by the network's tentpoles, the Outlander and Power franchises. On the network's priority development slate, the two target demos are represented by Masquerade/All Fours and Kingmaker/Fightland, respectively.
“As Starz moves into this next chapter, I'm energized by the opportunity to deepen our investment in bold, character-driven storytelling that reflects our audience,” said Kathryn Busby, Starz's President of Original Programming. “We're growing a robust development pipeline with creators who bring fresh, authentic perspectives and doubling down on programming that defines Starz: provocative, premium and inclusive.”
Hirsch in December laid out Starz's programming strategy for putting out eight to ten original series a year, “four of them for each of the demos we have today.”
The network will also continue to build universes, using characters — and actors — from hit shows to spawn new ones which have better economics since older series get more expensive, something Hirsch has been leaning heavily into.
Referencing Fightland, from Power franchise executive producer 50 Cent, Hirsch said in December that the drama “has the same feel of the Power universe,” adding, “We probably will take some actors from the original Power and put them in it so that we know we can bring the fan base over.”
Here are more details on Kingmaker, Masquerade as well as previously announced All Fours and Fightland.
KINGMAKER (writers room)Set against the glittering backdrop of Washington D.C., “Kingmaker” explores the ruthless, high-stakes world of the Black political elite as they struggle for power, position, and prestige at the highest levels of American government. The series follows the cunning machinations of a legendary power broker as he works in the shadows to reclaim his throne as the undisputed “Kingmaker” on the national political scene. Secrets, betrayals, illicit affairs, and shocking scandals collide as he stops at nothing to outmaneuver his rivals and seize supreme control.
Al Letson (Monarch) will executive produce and co-showrun, alongside executive producer and co-showrunner Theo Travers (Billions). Beau Willimon (House of Cards) and Jordan Tappis (Severance) will executive produce for Westward. Former top HBO and eOne executive Michael Lombardo also serves as EP.
MASQURADE (writers room)Set in Venice, Masquerade is the story of an American woman who takes on a new identity at a European wedding, using the art of seduction in a murderous con to escape her past and regain her fortune.
Dave Holstein (Inside Out 2, Kidding) is executive producer, showrunner and writer and Stacey Sher (Heretic, Mrs. America) will also executive produce.
ALL FOURS Starz has acquired the rights to Miranda July's propulsive, sexy and irreverent novel about a woman at a turning point in her life who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening. Featured prominently on many critics' best-of-year lists, the book has captivated readers around the world, sparking a cultural dialogue around female desire, aging and unconventional relationships.
Plan B will produce.
FIGHTLAND (writers room)The drama series is set within the high stakes, cash rich, dangerous world of British boxing and follows a disgraced, formerly incarcerated boxing champion who returns to London to seek vengeance against the crime family he thinks betrayed him. With edge-of-seat action both in and out of the boxing ring and populated by dangerous characters, this is a world of money and power never seen before.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson will executive produce through his G-Unit Film & Television along with Francis Hopkinson (Wallander, Bancroft) and Kate Leadbetter (Woman in White, Catherine the Great) of Expanded Media who will also produce. Damione Macedon (Power, BMF) and Raphael Jackson Jr. (Power, BMF) will serve as showrunners, executive producers and writers. Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith will serve as executive producers and writers.
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In the summer of 2021, a man identified as John Doe sued Afrika Bambaataa, accusing the hip-hop pioneer of sexually abusing him and sex trafficking him between 1991 and 1995. The alleged abuse began when Doe was 12 years old, while Bambaataa would have been 33 or 34 years old.
Bambaataa, whose legal name is Lance Taylor, never entered a legal response to Doe's lawsuit, so Judge Alexander M. Tisch has now granted a default judgment against him “without opposition,” online New York court records show. As a result, Bambaataa has effectively lost the lawsuit, and “an assessment of damages against defendant Lance Taylor shall be referred to a Special Referee for inquest.”
Pitchfork was unable to reach Bambaataa in 2021, and contacts for the musician have not responded to new requests for comment. Pitchfork has also reached out to Doe's attorneys, Hugo G. Ortega and Rehan Nazrali, for comment on the judgment.
John Doe filed his lawsuit some five years after Ronald Savage came forward to say that Afrika Bambaataa sexually abused him, in the 1980s, when he was a minor. Bambaataa denied Savage's claims, calling them “baseless” and “false,” but, shortly after, more men alleged that they were also sexually abused as children by the musician. Bambaataa denied those claims, too, and he has since largely stayed out of the public eye.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotlinehttps://www.rainn.org1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text LineSMS: Text “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741
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Ask anyone — it's easy to get lost in the Tokyo subway. The city's underground boasts ample signposting to guide commuters and tourists — but there's so much of it, the passageways and stairways all look alike, and oh, we're right back where we started.
Genki Kawamura's delightful blockbuster provocation “Exit 8” understands and exploits these frustrations, transforming these claustrophobic corridors into a site of psychological exploration, personal choice, and national anxieties.
Quite possibly the first video game adaptation to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, “Exit 8” is adapted from the virally successful 2023 independent game of the same name, which has now hit over 1.5 million downloads worldwide and has further internet cache on YouTube and Twitch (the most popular video has 6.2 million views at the time of writing). Ostensibly a first-person walking simulator, “Exit 8” the game is “Spot the Difference” by way of “The Stanley Parable,” a compelling little experience that can be completed in under an hour, in standard flatscreen or VR.
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The objective is simple: Look for anomalies in a single underground passageway that weren't there on your previous walkthrough. If you spy any, turn around and go back the way you came. If you think there are none, proceed down the hallway and around the next corner. Get it right, and you advance from Exit 0 to Exit 1, and so on. Get it wrong, and you're returned to the preceding exit. The goal is to reach Exit 8, which will bring you back above ground. Toho's blockbuster film adaptation is a remarkably faithful translation, one-to-one in its central environment and signage, to the point that the film at first feels like an FMV transmedia advertisement for its source material. But the core concept has been expanded in smart and surprisingly thrilling ways.
The directing and co-writing credit of Genki Kawamura would appear an odd choice. As a prominent film producer (“Your Name,” “Monster”) and best-selling novelist (“If Cats Disappeared from the World”), Kawamura's debut directorial effort was 2022's “A Hundred Flowers,” a subdued, melancholy dementia drama. His work focuses on interpersonal struggles, not J-horror jump scares. But take another look, and it starts to make sense.
Arashi superstar Kazunari Ninomiya is The Lost Man, a backpack-clad commuter seeking a way out of the underground and back to the light of day — where his once-girlfriend is waiting to hear his decision on whether he wants to keep the baby that she's carrying. Initially distracted by his playlist and a phone call, he soon realizes that the passageways are looping, a situation that he quickly and pragmatically adapts to. As he scans the advertisements on the walls and itemizes his environment out loud, Ninomiya and the glossy production design bring a “Squid Game” dopamine to proceedings. Your interest and attention is maintained because you want to see what's around the next corner. Did The Lost Man fail to notice something? What will the subsequent exit bring? Wait, did the eyes on that poster just move?
Ninomiya's megastar popularity takes on a new shape when placed within these hyper-reflective, Unreal Engine-esque walls. A film that speaks in video game grammar, “Exit 8” feels like a live-action “Let's Play'” a logical modern evolution of cinema where your experience is akin to watching am influencer livestream their findings — solidified by your fellow spectators, who lean in as you do when new developments arise and confusion continues.
“Exit 8” contains no jump scares. It instead succeeds through a cumulative anxiety, where we could be stuck here forever (the feature-length running time is weaponized rather than wasted), and that something genuinely horrific could eventually appear within this cyclical space. Something genuinely horrific does eventually make its entrance, but it's the little fears that leave a lasting impression. Disembodied wails of coin-locker babies echo off the tiled walls. Poster advertisements promise better pay, remind us of appropriate etiquette, and uphold beauty standards. These are distinctly Japanese anxieties — as is getting trapped in a liminal space that scuppers your punctuality.
A brain-warping shift of perspective reveals the path to be less linear than first thought, allowing Kawamura and co-writer Kentaro Hirase to introduce extra dimension to its inhabitants. There are multiple players in this loop, and they all want out for different reasons. The twists in store are gratifying and worth experiencing blind. Kawamura's literary verve has elevated and transformed a dialogue-free indie game into a mystery box more reminiscent of complex ADV adventures such as “Zero Escape” and “Danganronpa,” and the cult film classic “Cube.”
It's a devilishly entertaining time at the movies, building to an exhilarating finale that centers why The Lost Man, or indeed the viewer, should want to leave this recursive labyrinth. If you've spied a commercial for “Exit 8,” you may be wondering how a Japanese feature in 2025 can possibly use Ravel's iconic “Bolero” in a way that feels wholly its own — the track became synonymous with Sion Sono's “Love Exposure” back in 2008 — but rest assured that this is the sharpest needledrop of the year.
The Lost Man's struggle with impending fatherhood may seem slight, but it ultimately proves resonant. “Exit 8” is a cinematic captcha, tasking us with finding the difference between one image and the next to prove our humanity.
“Exit 8” premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
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Saint Etienne have announced announced a new album, and they're saying it's their final one. International, the British indie-pop trio's follow-up to The Night, is out September 5 via Heavenly. The new album is led by the single “Glad,” which was co-written and co-produced with the Chemical Brothers' Tom Rowlands and features Doves' Jez Williams on guitar. Watch the accompanying video, directed by Scrub, below.
“We asked Tom if he had any songs in progress that might suit Saint Etienne, and he sent a backing track that he'd been working on with Jez from Doves,” Saint Etienne vocalist Sarah Cracknell said in a statement. “We fell in love with it straight away, and the top line melody and words for ‘Glad' came easy.”
Pete Wiggs added, “The song is about taking pleasure in everyday things like nature and the outdoors when life is otherwise getting you down.”
Along with Tom Rowlands and Jez Williams, International has contributions from Confidence Man, Erol Alkan, Vince Clarke, Nick Heyward, Orbital's Paul Hartnoll, and Xenomania's Tim Powell.
Formed in London in 1990, by childhood friends Wiggs and Bob Stanley, Saint Etienne put out two singles that same year—“Kiss and Make Up” and their cover of Neil Young's “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”—before they added Cracknell for “Nothing Can Stop Us.” All three songs appeared on the band's 1991 debut, Foxbase Alpha, which kicked off a decade-defining run of albums, most notable among them 1993's sophomore effort So Tough, 1994's Tiger Bay, and 1998's Good Humor.
Wiggs, Stanley, and Cracknell became beloved for their blend of twee indie-pop and contemporary club sound, which balanced an alluringly cosmopolitan sheen with charm, wit, and approachability. After 2005's Tales From Turnpike House, Saint Etienne took an extended break from recording. Since their return, in 2012, with Words and Music by Saint Etienne, however, the band has consistently put out new records, among them Home Counties (2017) and I've Been Trying to Tell You (2021).
According to a press release, “The group aren't splitting up as such—they still remain the best of friends after 35 years recording together—but they don't feel like they want to go on forever and wanted to go out with a bang.”
Read about Saint Etienne's Foxbase Alpha in “The 25 Best Indie-Pop Albums of the 1990s.”
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01 Glad02 Dancing Heart03 The Go Betweens [ft. Nick Heyward]04 Sweet Melodies05 Save It for a Rainy Day06 Fade07 Brand New Me [ft. Confidence Man]08 Take Me to the Pilot09 Two Lovers10 Why Are You Calling11 He's Gone12 The Last Time
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On a shaded rooftop above the Croisette, Stellan Skarsgård deflected praise for his performance in Joachim Trier's “Sentimental Value,” a rare Cannes consensus pick.
“Proud?” he told IndieWire quietly, rolling the word with audible distaste. “I'm not usually proud of things. I don't know about that. Joachim's way of working is very special, very beautiful, and quite brave. And it fucking works. That's good.”
In the film, Skarsgård plays Gustav Borg, a once-lauded arthouse director who abandoned his wife and daughters in pursuit of his career. Fifteen years have passed since his last film, and longer still since his last success. Now, he's written a screenplay exploring his emotional distance from his family and his mother's suicide, centred on a role he wants his estranged daughter Nora, played by “The Worst Person in the World” star Renate Reinsve, to take on.
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Cinephiles may recognise Gustav Borg's type, the faded auteur with a loyal cinematographer and a career documentary about which he is quietly proud. But Skarsgård insists there was no single point of inspiration. “I've made about 150 films and worked with a lot of directors,” said Skarsgård. “There's no particular one I based him on. He could be a composer, conductor, even a banker. It's about a man whose work is his life. And that's the problem: it competes with his family life.”
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“He is conservative in a way and doesn't have the tools to break the scar tissue that comes from not being present. As a father, he's more traditional than me because I have no hierarchy with my kids,” he said, referring to his seven sons and one daughter, offspring that include three employees of the film and television industry, a doctor and the acting fraternity of Alexander, Gustaf, Bill and Valter. “I was very pleased when they became actors because we had at least found something in common that we could talk about,” he said with a smile. “But I don't have a weaker relationship with my doctor son than with the others.”
“They're doing different things and they're very different kinds of actors. The important thing that they have understood is, ‘fuck the world'. It's what you experience on the set that is important, and you can have a good experience on a small budget film or in a big budget film and you can become famous from it or be unknown after it.”
His son Alexander is also at Cannes, starring in Harry Lighton's poignant and explicit BDSM romance “Pillion”, which the elder Skarsgård admits he is “dying to see”. Critics have called the performance revealing and brave, descriptors that make Skarsgård smile.
“Oh good,” he said. “I want him to be like that.”
The character of Gustav Borg is already being discussed as a possible first Oscar nomination for Skarsgård, who already has an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe award for his performance in the HBO miniseries “Chernobyl.” Described by Trier as “one of the great Nordic actors of all time,” the role of Borg gives Skarsgård the rare opportunity to show the depth of his talent, creating a warm, complex, funny and deeply melancholy character.
“I like getting awards because I like,” he said, miming receiving a statue, “‘I liked what you did. Here, have an award.' That's fun.” He sips on a glass of water and looks over the bustle of the Croisette below. “I used to party all night at festivals and do press all day. I had an enormous appetite for that because I'm a very social being. But with age, you can't go on like that. I have to go to bed early, and I've got to get up and produce something.”
Skarsgård has been acting since 1968, and in that time has seen the industry reshape itself around streaming, franchises, and finance. Over the last decade, he has been involved in some of the most financially successful film franchises, including “Dune,” the Marvel universe, and “Mamma Mia,” as well as series like “Andor” and “Chernobyl.” While his methods have changed little, the industry around him has transformed. When he considers how the industry has changed over his long career, Skarsgård singles out money as the root of all change.
“Everything is owned by investment companies now, and they need 15% return on their invested capital to be happy. Before, you could have a film studio and have 5% return of the capital, and they were happy too, but that doesn't work anymore. So, you get those fucking big machines — like Netflix,” he said, citing the company that his “Sentimental Value” character makes his deeply personal film for.
“Since Netflix won the competition about streaming services, they don't throw away money anymore,” he said. “They fired their head of film because he wanted to support artists, so now they're starting to do reality shows instead,” he shrugged. “AT&T owns Time Warner, you know? What have they got to do with it? But I suppose I am good for business.”
Skarsgård reserves a special place for anyone who loves and cares about film, such as director Joachim Trier. In the past, Skarsgård has cited his favorite performances as those devoid of the process of acting. Trier, he said, is a director whose methods are “exemplary” when it comes to creating performances like these.
“What I want is the absolute truth in expression, and that cannot be planned,” said Skarsgård. “You can plan the surface of it, you can make a very beautiful performance of it, but it will be like a beautiful diamond; totally cold. It doesn't have the irrationality of life,” he paused.
“But Joachim sees what you're doing, even if you're not doing it. He does a lot of takes, but he doesn't push you in any direction. He lures out the experience, the reflection of the experience and the different kinds of emotions that are created in the moment, so you don't know what's going to come, and sometimes you surprise yourself. I used to say, ‘I'm very technical, but I want to be as good as an amateur when I act'. Like Björk, she's an amateur, but [in Lars von Trier's ‘Dancer in the Dark'], she's got a rich inner life that pours out of her when she's acting.”
It is this sense of on-set spontaneity and surprise that Skarsgård credits with keeping him excited and engaged with acting. This can come on any size of set, he said, it depends on the people with whom he's working, and there are few people he's worked with more often than the director of “Dancer in the Dark.”
“It's the same with the other Trier, Lars von Trier,” he continued. “He doesn't even block the scene. He says, ‘Good?,' he starts, and things come. He's not working in detail as much as Joachim, so they're different in that way. Joachim has a much more solid script.”
A few days earlier at Cannes, on IndieWire's Screen Talk podcast, Neon head and “Sentimental Value” producer Tom Quinn recalled a moment of Cannes infamy. Back in 2011, when he was working on Lars von Trier's film “Melancholia,” which starred Skarsgård, his son Alexander, Kiefer Sutherland, Brady Corbet, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Kirsten Dunst, Quinn believed it would be a breakout hit in the U.S. Then, came the infamous press conference, where von Trier declared, “I understand Hitler.” The comment, later apologized for and taken out of context, irreversibly damaged his reputation. “You can see the moment he says it,” Quinn recalled. “The actresses' faces just fall. That was the moment it was all over.”
Since his debut in the late 1980s, von Trier has built one of cinema's most viscerally powerful and galvanizing filmographies and built a partnership with Skarsgård that has included films such as “Breaking the Waves”, “Nymphomaniacs I and II,” and “Dogville.” In 2022, the director was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and it seems unlikely he'll direct again. These days, von Trier doesn't pick up the phone, but the two still text.
“I mean, when Lars calls, I don't even read the script,” said Skarsgård. “I know the staff that he's going to work with, and I know what he makes will be good or it will be a totally unseen film,” he laughs. “Before he said to me, ‘Stellan, I know what kind of films I'm making, they're the films that haven't been made.'”
When it comes to the question of his own forthcoming projects, Skarsgård replies with a firm “no, nothing.” For someone who works as much as you, does that seem a little scary?
“Not as scary as some of the projects that I'm offered,” he replied with a smile.
“Sentimental Value” premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Neon releases the film later this year.
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By Ted Johnson
Political Editor
Uche Ojeh, the husband of Today co-host Sheinelle Jones, has died, the show announced on Friday.
The cause was a form of brain cancer, glioblastoma, Today host Savannah Guthrie told viewers. He was 45.
“There are no words for the pain that we feel for Sheinelle and their three young children,” Guthrie said. “Uche was an incredible person. We all loved him.”
Jones has been with the network since 2014. She became co-host of the third hour of the show in 2019.
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Ojeh, a consultant, and Jones had been married for 17 years, having met in the late 1990s, when Jones was a freshman at Northwestern University and Ojeh, then a high school senior, offered to give him a tour of campus, Guthrie said. Ojeh proposed to Jones eight years later during a visit to the campus. They married in 2007.
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Ojeh, a consultant, is survived by a son, Kayin, born in 2009, and twins, a son Uche, and daughter Clara, born in 2012.
Jones has been absent from the show, announcing in January that she was taking time off for a family health matter.
She posted on Instagram then, “Hi everybody…I sincerely appreciate all of you who have reached out while I've been absent from the show. I want to share with you that I'm taking time to deal with a family health matter. It's not lost on me how lucky I am to have not only the support of my Today show family, but also to all of you. Your kindness means so much to me. I'll see you soon. Love, Sheinelle.”
Guthrie told viewers, “Two years ago, when Sheinelle completed her first marathon, Uche was there at the finish line, his pride evident in his beaming smile, just as she cheered him on when he completed a triathlon, little moments that captured the essence of their partnership.”
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Chesney brought No Shoes Nation to the Las Vegas Strip in an immensely enjoyable show.
By
Melinda Newman
Las Vegas may be landlocked, but Kenny Chesney took fans to the beach Thursday night (May 22) in the opening night of his 15-date Sphere run.
The four-time Country Music Association Awards entertainer of the year, the first country artist to play the immersive venue, is one of the most celebrated live performers in any genre and he showed once again why during the two-hour and 15-minute concert. During the fun and breezy 27-song set, many songs celebrated the island lifestyle that embodies the spirit of Chesney's No Shoes Nation.
According to Billboard Boxscore, Chesney is the only country artist to reach $1 billion in concert grosses reported to Billboard. His passionate No Shoes Nation fanbase has followed him into stadiums, which he has filled for 20 years, so to see him in the 18,000-seat Sphere is a chance to view him relatively close up (despite the crazy steep pitch of the four levels).
Throughout the show, Chesney exhibited a welcome spirit of gratitude for his fans, excitement over his first Las Vegas residency (no starting small for him), and elation at being back on stage, noting this was his first show of 2025. As anyone who's seen one of his stadium shows knows, Chesney thrives on contact with prosceniums that extend far out into audience. The Sphere doesn't allow that, so he had to make do with occasionally palm slapping with fans standing in the front section, dubbed The Sandbar, but he still managed to fully connect with the crowd.
Chesney, a 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, has logged 33 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, which is more than any other artist since the chart launched in 1990. He landed his first No. 1 in 1997 with “She's Got It All,” and most recently topped the chart last year with “Take Her Home.” In between have been such hits as “The Good Stuff,” “Living in Fast Forward,” “Don't Blink,” “American Kids,” “Better as a Memory” and “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem.”
So, it's no surprise that the show relied heavily on hits (heck, he could have played nothing but his No. 1s and still had the show go longer than two hours), but he also trotted out deeper cuts and lesser performed tunes to create a one-of-a-kind show.
Chesney's residency lasts through June 21 and tallies 15 dates.
Billboard was at Sphere for opening night, and we've rounded up the best moments of the evening.
It feels like each act who plays Sphere builds on the amazing special effects and visuals from the acts who came before them and betters them, but Chesney's opening sequence was truly spectacular and honestly felt like a theme-park dark ride attraction. Sphere's 270-degree wraparound screen (which covers 160,000 square feet) took us deep-sea diving through a shipwreck and further into the abyss, surrounded by sharks and schools of fish before coming to the surface where multi-masted pirate ships sailed with No Shoes Nation flags flying. At the same time the haptic seats are vibrating and moving as the sea turns into a see-through Sphere, filled to the brim, and it literally feels like the venue does a 360-degree turn in a move that's breathtaking (and a little nauseating if you're prone to motion sickness) and utterly astounding. So, in other words, make sure you're in your seat when the show starts because you really don't want to miss this thrill ride.
Without pandering, Chesney played tribute to Las Vegas in ways both big and small. During “Living in Fast Forward,” one of Chesney's most enjoyable, upbeat songs 20 years after its release, he incorporated footage of a NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Then in a much more obvious way, for his last number before the encore, “Out Last Night,” the scenery switched to the Las Vegas Strip with Sphere with his No Shoes Nation logo and the surrounding hotels including the Venetian and a neon Las Vegas sign (Chesney, embracing the “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” motto, figured the audience would continue the party after they left the venue, noting, “It's really possible you're going to wake up tomorrow next to someone you know or someone you don't know.” Not to be outdone, Chesney's bass player, Harmoni Kelley rocked a white, sequined jumpsuit in an homage to Elvis's Vegas era.
In a show full of dazzling visuals, “Big Star,” his 2002 song about a woman who ends up a superstar despite all those who doubted her, was a standout. “Big Star” became a pinball machine drawing the audience in as if part of the game as balls careened around the Sphere and lights flashed. Other than the opening sequence, it was the most immersive, impressive spectacle of the night. But the nicest part was he used the song to pay tribute to some of the women who came before and after him, showing photos of him with Loretta Lynn and Reba McEntire and then Kelsea Ballerini and Megan Moroney, both of whom he has mentored and taken on tour.
A little more than half-way through, Chesney huddled with band and crew. They poured a few drinks (made with Blue Chair Rum, no doubt), some of which Chesney and band handed out to audience members. Chesney then said they were deciding what to do next (that's a nice twist to do every show and add in songs not on the setlist) before launching into 1999's “She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy.” Shortly into the song, Kelsea Ballerini, in a sparkly silver dress, appeared on stage. Chesney seemed genuinely surprised and mightily delighted to be reunited with his fellow Knoxville native and former touring partner, grabbing her in a sweet bear hug, and expressed his surprise again after they finished the song. They then launched into “Half of My Hometown,” their 2021 duet that went straight to No. 1, with Ballerini telling him, “I love you,” at the end, and his answering, “I love you, too.” They then finished with “You & Tequila,” his bittersweet 2011 duet with Grace Potter (as the song's video played in the background). Their friendship and affection for each other was sweetly palpable. He noted that she wasn't the only friend in attendance, namechecking Van Halen's Michael Anthony and football great Peyton Manning.
If there's one song that sums up Chesney's ethos, it's 2018's “Get Along,” which Chesney introduced by adding, “It's what we're about.” It's the only song of the night where the lyrics appeared on the screen, leading to a singalong. And in a world divided, words like “Always give love the upper hand” and “Make a friend, can't we all get along?” feel like so much more than just platitudes; they feel like Chesney's Commandments and necessary. Throughout the evening, Chesney's good vibes prevailed, turning Sphere into a big love-in.
Fans don't usually look to Chesney for statement songs or tunes that address social issues, but “Welcome to the Fishbowl,” the title track to his 2012 album, was downright prophetic, looking at the way social media and technology were going to change our world—in many ways for the worse. “I wrote this song 15 years ago. Little did I know it was a glimpse into the future,” Chesney said. The visuals were especially strong, with Chesney appearing from inside a mobile phone. Coincidentally, sitting inside Sphere definitely feels like sitting inside a fishbowl.
Prior to starting his residency, Chesney said he would be digging deep into the catalog, as well as bringing the hits, and did he ever. Right after “Fishbowl,” he launched into “One Lonely Island,” from his most recent album, Born. It was the first time he'd done the ballad about two lost souls drifting toward each other for a little comfort or “a night of healin',” as Chesney sings. He followed that a few songs later with “Seven Days,” from 2010's Hemingway's Whiskey, another tune that he said he had never performed live before. “Thanks for letting us do that,” Chesney said afterwards, but the pleasure was all ours.
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Unveiling a deal with an enterprise valuation of $673 million, it outlines a strategy including "investment in the group's digital operations to continue driving subscriptions" and "top journalistic talent."
By
Georg Szalai
Global Business Editor
U.S. private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners said Friday that it has reached an in-principle agreement to acquire The Telegraph Media Group at a total enterprise valuation of £500 million ($673 million) to become the U.K. media company's sole controlling owner. “It is the largest investment in U.K. print media in a decade and unlocks a new era of growth for the 170-year-old title,” the companies said.
The ownership of the conservative newspaper and its related offerings has been in question after the Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI agreed to buy The Telegraph and the Spectator magazine in 2023, with the U.K. government then cracking down on foreign state investment in British newspapers, forcing a sale.
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The Telegraph wrote that RedBird Capital, which provided part of RedBird IMI's funding for the original deal, was expected to be joined in the new ownership consortium by British media investors.
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“RedBird is in discussions with select U.K.-based minority investors with print media expertise and strong commitment to upholding the editorial values of The Telegraph,” the deal announcement noted. Abu Dhabi's International Media Investments (IMI) “will also participate in the acquisition as a minority investor, subject to the passage of secondary legislation regarding foreign ownership thresholds,” it highlighted. RedBird said its growth strategy includes “capital investment in the group's digital operations to continue driving subscriptions, using best-in-class data analytics and artificial intelligence tools to expand the value proposition to its core subscriber base and potential new subscribers.”
RedBird also said it has “ambitious growth plans that focus on investing in top journalistic talent, from award-winning reporters to opinion-leading commentators.” A key part of RedBird's strategy is expanding The Telegraph's global reach, particularly in the United States, “leveraging the title's iconic brand and authoritative reporting to drive new audiences seeking world-class independent journalism. Collaboration across RedBird's portfolio will create unique partnership opportunities, blending tradition with innovation to expand The Telegraph's position as a global leader in quality journalism.”
RedBird also said it would “build on the strong financial foundations established by the current management team” and work with it to grow the brand internationally, with a focus on the U.S. where RedBird has a strong strategic presence across news, media and sports.
“Together, RedBird and TMG senior leadership will work to develop new content verticals in areas such as travel and events to maximize the commercial opportunities from a growing international and mass affluent subscriber base,” the companies said. With this latest transaction, RedBird said it “has emerged as one of the largest investors in U.K. media, sports and entertainment, with a portfolio including Premier League Champion Liverpool FC; All3Media, the U.K.'s largest independent television, film and digital production and distribution company; Fulwell Entertainment, one of the U.K.'s leading television, film and music production companies; Build a Rocket Boy, one of the U.K.'s largest independent video gaming and entertainment studios; and the pending acquisition of the U.K.'s Channel 5 as a result of Skydance Entertainment's merger with Paramount Global.”Said Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird: “This transaction marks the start of a new era for The Telegraph as we look to grow the brand in the U.K. and internationally, invest in its technology, and expand its subscriber base. We believe that the U.K. is a great place to invest, and this acquisition is an important part of RedBird's growing portfolio of media and entertainment companies in the U.K.” Added Anna Jones, CEO of Telegraph Media Group: “Telegraph Media Group is an award-winning news media organization, with exceptional journalism at its heart, supported by leading commercial expertise, a commitment to innovation and a laser focus on data to drive strategy.” She added that RedBird Capital Partners has “exciting growth plans that build on our success – and will unlock our full potential across the breadth of our business.”
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By
Emily Zemler
Bono called for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas at 2025 Ivor Novello Awards last night.
During the awards ceremony, held at London's Grosvenor House, U2 became the first Irish act to receive Fellowship of the Ivors Academy. Bono took the opportunity to criticize Hamas and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and to encourage peace.
The rock band performed their 1983 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” which is about the 1972 massacre during which the British army shot at unarmed protestors and ultimately killed 14 people. “I used to introduce this next song by saying it was not a rebel song,” Bono noted, via NME. “It was because believing in the possibilities of peace was then, and is now, a rebellious act; and some would say a ridiculous one.”
“To believe peace was attainable between your country and ours, between our country and itself was a ridiculous idea because peace creates possibilities in the most intractable situations, and Lord knows there's a few of them out there right now,” he said. “Hamas release the hostages. Stop the war. Israel be released from Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right fundamentalists that twist your sacred texts. All of you protect our aid workers, they are the best of us.”
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U2 plays Sunday Bloody Sunday at #theIvors @Grosvenor_House in London @u2 #u2 #bono #ivornovelloawards2025 (video by m_oliveira) pic.twitter.com/3rmxBquiDt
This is the first time that Bono, a known activist, has voiced his opinion about the ongoing conflict. He conclude his short acceptance speech by saying, “God, you must be so tired of us, children of Abraham, in the rubble of our certainties. Children in the rubble of our revenge. God forgive us.”
The Ivor Novello Awards are the U.K.'s longest-running music awards ceremony. This year, the 70th edition of the awards, honored U2, Charli XCX, Lola Young, and the Killers' Brandon Flowers. Ed Sheeran was on hand to present U2 with their award, telling the audience that he discovered the band when he heard “The Sweetest Thing” as a child. He added that he has “a deep, deep respect for [the band], not just as artists, but also as humans.”
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By
Charisma Madarang
Miley Cyrus delivered a rush of emotion to Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday night, performing her potent single “More to Lose.”
Appearing with a live band elevated by violins, the Grammy winner was illuminated by spotlights as she took the stage in a dark, hooded coat, echoing the visuals of the track's music video released earlier this month. The live rendition on the late night stage saw Cyrus bring the full force of the track's poignant chorus as she sang, “And you say it, but I wish it wasn't true/I knew someday that one would have to choose/I just thought we had more to lose.”
A post shared by Jimmy Kimmel Live (@jimmykimmellive)
“On a song like ‘More to Lose,' I try to keep it a singular take. I add my harmonies, ad-libs at the end, but it's really a song that's more of a story and I never want that to be interrupted or overthought or chasing perfection,” Cyrus previously said in an interview posted to her Instagram. “I never wanted ‘More to Lose' to feel perfect, I wanted it to sound meaningful and emotional.”
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The singer dropped “More to Lose” this month, following April's lead single “End of the World.” Cyrus unveiled the 13-song track list for Something Beautiful on Monday, featuring collaborations with Naomi Campbell and Brittany Howard. The upcoming album is slated to arrive May 30.
Something Beautiful will be accompanied by a visual album, which is set to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 6. A synopsis of the project, directed by Cyrus with Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter, details it as “a unique visual experience… including 13 original songs from the upcoming album. A one-of-a-kind pop opera from the mind of Miley Cyrus.”
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Can an even meaner “Carrie” actually end well for the prom queen? In Netflix's new “Fear Street” adaptation, Matt Palmer argues yes and no with a whip-smart teen horror movie co-written by the director and Donald McLeary. An even gorier “Heathers” crowned in the pitch-black comedy era of “Bottoms,” “Fear Street: Prom Queen” is anchored in the same vicious and girly roots as the original film trilogy from 2021 — albeit missing some of the scope and style inherent to Leigh Janiak's three-part slasher epic. Still, Palmer and McLeary's take is giddy and gruesome, a clever next chapter with a fresh killer whose bloody raincoat isn't the only detail to scream “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”
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References don't make a good movie any more than they make a good movie review, but “Fear Street: Prom Queen” successfully uses genre homage to carbonate R.L. Stine's simple recipe for more fizzy-minded audiences. The punch(line) is intoxicating and pridefully chunky, funneled through a messy spiral of a script that's chockfull of exposition dumps you'll expect… and several amputations you won't. From a woman muttering her way through a lethal head-wound to cinema's cruelest use of a slippery doorknob, “Prom Queen” blitzes through familiar pop-comic vignettes, only pausing to make its loathsome characters' adolescent nightmares just a little bit freakier.
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Flecks of Jamie Lee Curtis' “Prom Night,” Rose McGowan's “Jawbreaker,” and even Clea DuVall's “But I'm a Cheerleader” rain down on this snappy ensemble effort like confetti. It's 1988 in Shadyside, where it's about to be prom night for the same cursed town explored in the earlier installments. Miracles are rare here, but outcast Lori Granger (India Fowler) isn't going down without a fight when it comes to her school's race for prom queen. She's one of a half-dozen contestants in a heavily symbolic race that all six girls say they're determined to win. The odds are the most stacked against Lori, who in addition to sharing the same name as Michael Meyers' favorite victim (yeah, yeah, different spelling) suffers each day as Rosemary's baby — literally.
Crossing off cliched character traits like orders on her waitressing pad, Lori is the daughter of a disgraced widow cop. Rosemary Granger (Joanne Boland) stands accused of murdering her husband years before. Now, narrating over a moody synth score (which, for good or bad, sounds a lot like “Stranger Things”), Lori explains that being named queen is the fastest and surest way to restore her mother's reputation. Even tossing in some lore about a ruined prom decades earlier, our final girl's motivation makes next to no sense. And yet, Palmer proves a worthy protector of the “Fear Street” legacy, embracing any limitations in his comparatively quick worldbuilding through the shrugging comfort of camp.
Meet the Wolf Pack. Yes, the Wolf Pack. More Joan Crawford than Regina George, queen bee Tiffany (Fina Strazza) is as good at crafting insults as she is milking their every syllable upon delivery. Even straight-A student Linda (Ilan O'Driscoll) gets lines like, “I'm gonna cut the bitch who did this!” in a clique as bone-deep cruel as it is prone to passive-aggressive infighting. One-note stoner Christy (Ariana Greenblatt), loyal “lap dog” Melissa (Ella Rubin), and yappy gossip Debbie (Rebecca Ablack) complete Tiffany's cast of henchmen, opposite their leader's tough-to-read boyfriend Tyler (David Iacono, giving a solid nod to John Travolta's Billy Nolan). They've all got plus-ones and parents they're bringing to the “Prom Queen” potluck, but without a weapon of choice, the killer gets especially creative, turning a varied and cheeky collection of deaths into a single murderous meal.
Sometimes one by one, but just as often two by two, Shadyside's worst bullies become meat bags — satisfyingly swallowed up by action scenes, set pieces, and gross-out gags, some even on par with the newly revitalized “Final Destination.” Megan (Suzanna Son), Lori's horror-loving best friend, does wonders for the comedic tone, emerging at the center of the first scare and pleasantly pulling focus the whole way through. A queer-coded class clown with the SFX talent of genre wizard Rick Baker, she handily earns Most Likely Fan Favorite through a slew of deranged pranks. Suffice to say, not since Squidward Tentacles celebrated April Fool's Day has a practical joke gone so outrageously far.
To say nothing of her fate, peppy student reporter Harmony LaFay (Cecilia Lee) sticks out as another character “Fear Street” might consider bringing back, if the standalone didn't work so well. Giving their teen co-stars a strong backboard, the adult cast boasts Emmy winner Lili Taylor as Vice President Dolores Brekenridge alongside eclectic film presence Katherine Waterston (“Babylon,” “Alien: Covenant”) as Tiffany's mom, Nancy. Rife with red herrings but not especially complex, “Prom Queen” makes it mark by acting with intention. It's territory you've seen countless Sissy Spacek-types sprint through before, and you'll wish parts of Shadyside's science curriculum came with a chemistry read. But when total commitment collides with enough gore and guts, this wonderfully energetic soiree sidesteps tired tropes to reach a royally dark place. Shout out to editor Christopher Donaldson, who manages that enthusiasm like a weed-smoking chaperone.
Flirty and fiendish, “Prom Queen” is the pick if you want to laugh, gag, and chant “KISS!” (in a homoerotic manner) without leaving the house this weekend. One dance sequence seems to recall “Sugar & Spice” on purpose, while another channels the “Wicked” hat dance by mistake. There's a meat cleaver/skull gag that looks great until it gets overused. And the same could be said of goofy Principal Wayland (Darrin Baker), who repeatedly drops the word “wowzers.” (Was that popular in the '80s? Or ever?) Those tiny flaws play more like charming imperfections on “Fear Street,” where Palmer's contribution rules as definitive proof there is more fun to be had adapting this spooky book series. Brought back at just the right time, Netflix should make these movies an annual affair — even if Lori doesn't live to be prom queen.
“Fear Street: Prom Queen” is now streaming on Netflix.
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Charisma Madarang
This morning, the House of Representatives passed Donald Trump's “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which takes a sledgehammer to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a law that created hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs and over billions in green energy investments across the nation.
The reconciliation bill enshrines Trump's 2017 tax cuts into law and pays for those same cuts by gutting programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), along with clean energy tax credits while ramping up oil and gas leasing. While the House voted 215-214 to pass the bill, the measure will face another legislative showdown at the Senate.
Biden signed the IRA in 2022, a landmark bill that provided nearly $400 billion towards climate action, the largest environmental investment in American history. In less than two and a half years since the bill's passage, more than 400,000 new clean energy jobs were created and over $422 billion in investments across 48 states and Puerto Rico were made, Climate Power reported in January.
In August 2024, 18 Republican House members asked Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to protect the IRA's clean energy tax credits, which delivered major economic benefits — especially to red states — according to a Yale Climate Connections analysis. By Thursday, however, it appeared that the House Republicans caved under pressure to President Trump's agenda to “drill, baby, drill” and embrace Big Oil amid the climate crisis.
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“Now, it's time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president's “Big Beautiful Bill Act” would be a massive hit to both companies and everyday Americans, according to think tank Energy Innovation, leading to the loss of 830,000 jobs by 2030 and spiking consumer energy costs by $16 billion in 2030.
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As a child, Robert Irwin watched his older sister Bindi Irwin compete on “Dancing With the Stars” Season 21. She was partnered with professional dancer Derek Hough, and the pair won that season. Bindi has since spoken about what an incredible experience being on the show was, and Robert is also hoping to have a positive journey. Still, he's nervous, having never done anything like this before.
“I'm just going to get real for a second, I'm so nervous,” the wildlife conservationist told Us Weekly in an interview published on May 18. “I'm really nervous.”
A post shared by Robert Irwin (@robertirwinphotography)
Some fans may find it surprising to learn that Robert is nervous because of the adventurous life he lives. He deals with venemous creatures and large reptiles almost daily, but he jokingly told Us Weekly that showing off his dancing skills makes him more nervous than “jumping on a crocodile.”
Robert is thankful to have the support of his sister. Bindi publicly supported her brother on Instagram after his casting on the show was announced in April. She shared several photos of herself and Robert and reflected on her time on the show in 2015. In the caption, she encouraged him and expressed her excitement about his casting.
Some may feel that Robert has a unique advantage because he can ask Bindi for advice on handling the experience, possibly dealing with the nerves, and offering more information on what to expect (although we would imagine every dancer's journey is unique to them). Robert spoke about his sister and how “grateful” he was to have her. He continued, “Not only did she do ‘Dancing With the Stars,' I mean, she won ‘Dancing With the Stars,' and just was such an incredible shining light. I remember watching [her] on that show just thinking, ‘This is the coolest thing ever.'”
A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin)
We know Bindi can dance, but can Robert? Audiences will soon discover this when Season 34 airs in fall 2025, likely in September. But Bindi believes it will not be her brother's dancing skills that will over audiences, but his attitude to the whole process.
“You can learn to dance, but the genuine passion, dedication, determination that comes from within, and that's what I think will set you apart, because you genuinely are a really good human,” she told Us Weekly. She also praised her brother for his rhythm and for the “wonderful” person he is. “He has nothing to be worried about,” she added.
The way these siblings speak about each other with kindness and respect highlights their close bond.
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One of the biggest action franchises in movie history is set to come to a (possible) conclusion.
While star Tom Cruise hasn't explicitly stated whether or not the series is kaput, “Mission: Impossible's” latest effort is bound to be as exhilarating as ever. Over the course of eight movies, Cruise's Ethan Hunt has been disavowed at least six separate times, lost a couple of loves and teammates, and has even gone rogue.
But what exactly led us to the “Final Reckoning?”
Below, you can find a refresher of every “Mission: Impossible” movie. Who joined in what outings, their fates, what stunts made up the set pieces of the movie, and more.
Director Brian De Palma helmed the first movie. The initial outing involved Hunt taking charge of an IMF team (Impossible Mission Force) after their original leader Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) is seemingly killed. The rest of the team is also picked off one after another. Hunt is tasked by IMF boss Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) to find the mole that leaked a list containing the agents' names. Hunt teams with Franz Krieger (Jean Reno) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) as well as his previous team leader's wife, Claire Phelps (Emmanuelle Beart), in order to get the list from the CIA. An intensely quiet wire heist leads to the team scoring the list.
Using cryptic Biblical messages, the mole is revealed to be the not-so-dead Phelps. Krieger tries to betray Hunt; he fails. A showdown on a train leads to Claire Phelps being revealed to have been working with her husband the entire time. Both are killed during an action sequence. Hunt and Luther are reinstated in the IMF.
Team: Claire Phelps, Franz Krieger, and Luther StickellMask Reveals: FourStunt: Hunt hangs by a wire.
John Woo took on directorial duties for a movie that doesn't adhere to the traditional “Mission: Impossible” look. Hunt is tasked with taking down rogue IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) who is the sole owner of the cure to a bioweapon and the bioweapon itself that he'll try to sell back to the pharmaceutical company that created them.
Luther and helicopter pilot Billy Baird (John Polson) join Hunt and professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandiwe Newton) as they try to recover the viruses. Through a very messy honeypot situation – complete with betrayals, mask removals, and Woo's slick yet adept 90's action directing – Nyah injects herself with the bioweapon. Hunt fights Ambrose on a beach, almost takes a knife to the eye, and is able to save Nyah by giving her the cure. Hunt gets the IMF to clear Nyah's past and the two enjoy a vacation together.
Team: Billy Baird, Nyah Nordoff-Hall and Luther StickellMask Reveals: ThreeStunt: Hunt free climbs.
J.J. Abrams takes charge of this effort, turning the franchise in a more approachable action direction. A retired Hunt is now engaged to Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan), a nurse who doesn't know Hunt's true past.. IMF director of operations John Musgrave (Billy Crudup) tasks Hunt to go on a rescue mission in order to save Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell) after she is captured by arms dealer Owen Davian (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who is looking for an item call the “Rabbit's Foot.” Musgrave has already pulled a team together for Hunt including Declan Gormley (Johnathan Rhys Meyers), Zhen Lei (Maggie Q), and Luther.0
The team is unable to save Farris after Hunt delivers what he believes to be the real “Rabbit's Foot” to the arms dealer. Davian then kidnaps Meade, who finds out Hunt is an IMF agent. Davian seemingly shoots Meade and leaves her for dead. Musgrave arrives to reveal he has been working with Davian in order to preemptively use the “Rabbit's Foot” against terrorists. Hunt finds out Meade wasn't actually shot. He escapes from Musgrave and tasks IMF technician Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) to help find Meade. After a fight that leaves Davian dead, Hunt free's Meade before dying himself. She kills a henchman then Musgrave before bringing Hunt back to life with a defibrillator. The two get healed up at the IMF offices before heading off on their honeymoon.
Team: Declan Gormley, Zhen Lei, Benji Dunn and StickellMask Reveals: TwoStunt: Hunt slides down the side of a building.
After a fellow IMF agent with newly acquired nuclear codes is killed in action by assassin Sabine Moreau (Lea Seydoux), Hunt is extracted from his current mission in order to find out what happened. Joining him this go are William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), Jane Carter (Paula Patton), Dunn and Stickell. Hunt is framed for blowing up the Kremlin by Russian nuclear strategist Kurt “Cobalt” Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist). The team then has to initiate “Ghost Protocol” in order to find out why Cobalt is setting the IMF up to fail. They infiltrate the meeting where Cobalt's henchmen and the assassin are set to exchange the codes for diamonds. But the machine that makes masks breaks, which leads to a teeth-gritting set of meetings in two different rooms. Hunt climbs the side of the Burj Khalifa before chasing a henchman who is revealed to be Cobalt in a mask into a sandstorm, and Carter kills the assassin.
Cobalt wants to start nuclear warfare by destroying San Francisco with a missile from a Russian submarine. The team is able to get the mission accomplished. Sticketll, who was on assignment, gets the lowdown of the entire ordeal before it's revealed that Hunt and Meade are separated. He watches from afar as she enjoys a night out with friends.
Team: William Brandt, Jane Carter, Benji Dunn and StickellMask Reveals: TwoStunt: Hunt climbs the Burj Khalifa.
Writer Christopher McQuarrie – who is credited with rewrites of “Ghost Protocol” – takes over the series from this point forward, giving the movies a singular voice and story that reverberate for the remainder of the series. Hunt and his team along with disavowed MI-6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) must take down The Syndicate, a secret team of rogue operatives from different agencies while working under the thumb of Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin).
They're led by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) who wants to kill millions in order to create a more peaceful Earth. Hunt is captured by Lane's men but Faust, working undercover, helps him escape. She's trying to rob an underwater vault where Lane is keeping the names of all the operatives for The Syndicate. With the help of Hunt, she's able to do it but she betrays Hunt in order to turn the list into MI-6 so she can have her life back. The plan doesn't work but Benji was able to copy the data before Faust stole it. The file is revealed to actually by a monetary account with billions of dollars that Hunt believes Lane will use to fund The Syndicate. Lane chases Hunt through London before being trapped by the IMF and carted away to jail.
Team: Ilsa Faust, Brandt, Dunn and StickellMask Reveals: TwoStunt: Hunt hangs from a plane.
The Syndicate is now called The Apostles and they do terrorist work. Hunt fails to obtain three plutonium cores while managing to save Luther's life. The CIA, led by Erika Sloane (Anglea Bassett), wants to keep an eye on the IMF disbanded against Hunley's wishes. Hunt and CIA operative August Walker (Henry Cavill) must go to Paris in order to intercept the exchange of the plutonium. After a brawl in a nightclub leaves the buyer dead and Faust is revealed to be working on the same mission for MI-6, the three infiltrate a backroom where broker Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby) is set to purchase the nuclear items.
Hunt assumes the identity of the buyer as Mitsopolis tells him that he will only receive the entire set if he's able to rescue the Apostle's leader, Lane, while he's being transported by police escort. Hunt begrudgingly accepts but plans to betray the Apostles and Mitsopolis by kidnapping Lane with the help of Beji and Luther. The team brings Lane to London but are stopped by the CIA after Walker gives Sloane fake evidence saying Hunt really is the buyer for the plutonium and plans to use it. Waker goes on the run after betraying the CIA and IMF and runs off with the plutonium in order to use it for the Apostles.
He and Lane plan to use the two bombs at a medical camp in Kasmir that happens to be where Julia Meade and her new husband, Erik (Wes Bently), are stationed. Luther, Benji and Faust must disable the bombs while Hunt goes after the detonator. With the help of Meade, Luther starts dismantling the first bomb. Lane tries to kill Benji and Faust but fails. The two then start working on the second bomb. Hunt fights Walker on the side of a cliff, gets the detonator, and saves the world.
Team: August Walker, Faust, Dunn and StickellMask Reveals: TwoStunt: Hunt performs a Halo jump.
An artificial intelligence named The Entity becomes sentient after coming online. Hunt goes to find the two keys that were used to turn it on as they are the only way to get to AI's source code. While in the Arabian Desert, he finds one key and pretends to kill Faust, who is still disavowed and now has a bounty on her head. Later, Hunt infiltrates a U.S. Intelligence Community meeting where he gets former IMF and current CIA director Eugene Kittridge to admit he put the bounty on Faust's head. Benji and Luther help Hunt track down the second key at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. The key is revealed to be a fake as thief Grace (Hayley Atwell), steals the first key from Hunt while Benji and Luther disarm a fake nuclear bomb. A ghost from Hunt's past named Gabriel (Esai Morales) who works for The Entity causes the team to abort their mission.
The CIA – led by Jasper Briggs (Shea Whigham) and Theo Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) – chases Hunt and Grace before Hunt reconnects with his team as Grace escapes on her own. Faust returns and she and Hunt go to confront Mitsopolis who hired Grace to steal the keys in order to sell them. Failing to get Mitsopolis to not go through with the sale to Gabriel, everyone escapes the tense situation. The Entity tricks Hunt, leading Faust to her death at the hand of Gabriel. Hunt is pursued by assassin Paris (Pom Klementieff), who is Gabriel's hired muscle. Hunt spares her in a fight.
While on The Orient Express, Mitsopolis is set to sell the keys but she is taken out by Grace who impersonates her. The disguised Grace negotiates the sale to none other than Kittridge before pickpocketing the keys and running away with the money. The train goes off the rails as Hunt boards using a parachute. Hunt is informed by a dying Paris what the keys do. He and Grace escape the train as the CIA closes in on the two. Gabriel is then pickpocketed by Hunt during a fight and the IMF operative sets off to destroy The Entity.
Team: Grace, Faust, Dunn and StickellMask Reveals: ThreeStunt: Hunt takes a leap of faith off of a cliff and onto a moving train.
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Dave Shapiro, a co-founder of Sound Talent Group, has died. He was among those killed when a Cessna 550 private plane crashed into a San Diego's Tierrasanta neighborhood in the early morning hours of Thursday, May 22. Shapiro and all of the plane's passengers died in the crash, among them believed to be Daniel Williams, founding drummer of the metalcore band the Devil Wears Prada. About 10 homes suffered damage from the crash, Dan Eddy, San Diego's assistant fire chief, said at a news conference, according to The Associated Press. Officials are investigating the cause of the crash, The New York Times reports. Shapiro was 42.
“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” a Sound Talent Group representative said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today's tragedy. Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time.”
Dave Shapiro formerly worked as an agent at United Talent Agency. He co-founded Sound Talent Group, with Tim Borror and Matt Andersen, in 2019. The agency's roster includes hard rock acts like Pierce the Veil, Sum 41, Lamb of God, Ice Nine Kills, and others, along with pop artists like Vanessa Carlton and Hanson. In 2020, Shapiro formed the National Independent Talent Organization with the goal of protecting independent artists, booking agents, and talent representatives.
Beyond his work as an agent, Shapiro founded the label Velocity Records. He also founded Velocity Aviation. According to the company's website, Shapiro began flying in 2005.
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Underneath all the monsters and the scares, Supernatural is a story about two brothers. The long-running fantasy horror series had its ups and downs, with fans coming and going (and coming back) over its fifteen seasons. Supernatural delivered a mini-horror movie every week, but with over 300 episodes, they couldn't all be winners.
Many storylines left viewers feeling unengaged, and they would take a break from the show and come back later. Other plot points were so upsetting that fans quit watching and never looked back. From pointless character deaths to uninspired writing, some scenes pushed their audience too far.
Season seven is often considered one of the worst seasons of Supernatural. Having the big bad of the season be a special breed of monster felt like taking the monster-of-the-week format of the show and expanding it into an entire season. Even Jensen Ackles felt that the Leviathans had overstayed their welcome by season's end. To make a mediocre season worse, the writers decided to kill the Winchesters' surrogate father, Bobby Singer.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
7x10
“Death's Door”
December 2, 2011
9.2/10
In its 15-season run, Supernatural introduced some very bizarre concepts and storylines some of which didn't work for the fans.
Fourteen years later, fans are still upset about Bobby's death at the hands of Dick Roman. While “Death's Door” is a generally well-liked episode, because it takes a tour through Bobby's memories as he fights to deliver one last message to Sam and Dean, killing Bobby devastated the audience and the Winchesters. Bobby deserved better than turning into a vengeful ghost, and some fans found it unforgivable after the mixed bag that was seasons six and seven.
Sam's decision to give up hunting and move on with his life isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the way he did it upset fans. Amelia doesn't make a good first impression when audiences meet her in the season eight premiere. It only went from bad to worse the more screen time she had, but the tipping point for fans was in “Blood Brother,” when she was downright unbearable and the romance between Amelia and Sam felt incredibly forced. It's no wonder Jared Padalecki has said it's one of his least favorite storylines for Sam.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
8x05
“Blood Brother”
October 31, 2012
8.0/10
Amelia was not the most well-written character on Supernatural, but it didn't help that the actress's performance fell flat. In “Blood Brother,” she calls Sam creepy and accuses him of stalking her, which weirdly turns into a sort of bonding moment that leads to romance. Another nail in Amelia's coffin, cementing her as one of the more hated characters, was that Dean's new relationship was with Benny, a loyal and lovable Southern vampirate.
Season nine of Supernatural focused heavily on the politics of Heaven and Hell. The reluctant prophet Kevin Tran was put through the wringer in seasons seven and eight, and thought he was finally safe when he joined Sam and Dean in the Men of Letters bunkers. Kevin started to serve as their support at home the way Bobby used to, but it was all cut short when Gadreel killed him.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
9x09
“Holy Terror”
December 3, 2013
8.7/10
Part of Supernatural's success comes from its many great characters, and some standouts unfortunately only appeared for one episode.
Kevin could never catch a break. It was a bummer when, after everything, he gets ruthlessly murdered by an angel, but worse than that, it confirmed a trend of killing everyone who dares to befriend a Winchester (unless they happen to be a Sheriff). Sadly, death wouldn't be the end of his troubles. Every subsequent episode with Kevin only made his death in season nine worse.
Felicia Day's Charlie was a beloved and fan-favorite character. The hacker-turned-hunter was like the Winchesters' little sister. So when Sam needed help researching how to free Dean from the Mark of Cain, Charlie was eager to do what she could. Charlie finds and steals the Book of the Damned from a powerful and old family: the Steins—as in Frankenstein. The Steins could track the book, so it had to be kept in a warded box to protect it.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
10x21
“Dark Dynasty”
May 6, 2015
7.6/10
When it came time to translate the book, so Rowena could cast the spell that would remove the Mark of Cain, Castiel used his angelic powers to create a safe space for them to work. Charlie decided it was a good idea to leave said safe space and get to a motel to work. Charlie was brutally murdered by the Steins. The death relied heavily on Charlie making bad decisions and served largely as a plot device to push Dean over the edge, upsetting many fans and causing them to accuse the show of “fridging” Charlie.
Sam and Dean finally catch a break when Amara resurrects Mary Winchester for Dean in the finale of season eleven. The boys had their mom back, and Sam could finally develop a relationship with her. The joy of the family reunion is short-lived when, by the third episode of season twelve, Mary needs time away from her children.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
12x03
“The Foundry”
October 27, 2016
7.8/10
While it is completely understandable that there would be some adjustment period coming back from the dead after thirty years, Mary didn't need to break Sam and Dean's hearts in the process. The devastating look on their faces when she says she needs space from the Winchester brothers was enough to make fans turn on her pretty quickly.
After one of the more convoluted seasons of Supernatural, the finale of season twelve sees the deaths of Crowley, Castiel, and Rowena, with Mary getting trapped in an alternate reality. With so many fan-favorite characters getting ganked after one of the worst seasons of the show, it was a few steps too far for some viewers.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
12x23
“All Along the Watchtower”
May 18, 2017
8.8/10
Dean Winchester is one of Supernatural's most beloved characters, and there are more than a few reasons that prove why.
The manner of the deaths added insult to injury. Rowena was viciously murdered by Lucifer off-screen. Crowley dies to seal the door to the Apocalypse World and trap Lucifer, but it ends up completely pointless since Lucifer is able to escape long enough to stab Castiel in the back before getting shoved back through with Mary. They also cut out Crowley's iconic line, “Even when I lose, I win.”
After bringing a traumatized Gabriel back, the Winchesters had an ally and a way to get to Apocalypse World. Fans also got the answer to how the archangel passed for the Norse god this whole time. Gabriel was done sitting on the sidelines and ready to help Sam and Dean take on Lucifer, or was it Michael?
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
13x22
“Exodus”
May 10, 2018
8.3/10
In the penultimate episode of season thirteen, Gabriel bravely sacrificed himself to cover the escape of Sam, Dean, and the Apocalypse World refugees. Michael killed Gabriel, and this time it was for real. With his return only a few episodes earlier—right when they were fresh out of Archangel's grace—followed by such an abrupt and ultimately pointless death, fans couldn't help but feel they brought him back for his grace and killed him when they didn't need him anymore. It was a utilitarian and wasteful use of a great character.
The Supernatural Season 13 finale had the opposite of a climax when Michael and Lucifer took to the skies for their prize fight. Well, at least as high as they could inside the church. It was laughably bad, but it's worth mentioning that Jensen Ackles and Mark Pellegrino committed and did their best to save the scene. The season was all over the place, not really settling on any one bad guy until the very end.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
13x23
“Let the Good Times Roll”
May 17, 2018
8.5/10
Lucifer was the one to watch out for, then it was Michael, then it was Lucifer again, and in the last moments of the finale, Michael again. If that wasn't enough to make the viewers' heads spin, Michael and Lucifer grappling while twirling around in circles will finish the job. Michael spiriting away with Dean's body after such a disaster of a scene was the last straw for some fans.
Jack accidentally disintegrated Mary Winchester in “Game Night.” It was a move that would put Jack and the Winchesters at odds, with Dean trying to kill Jack in the season finale. It also turned Jack into the inadvertent bad guy of the last few episodes.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
14x17
“Game Night”
April 4, 2019
7.7/10
There are some other great fantasy shows, old and new, that fans can watch to scratch the Supernatural itch.
While Mary was always going to leave the show since the actress needed to step away from work, the way the series handled it could've been better. Mary Winchester may not have been perfect, but she deserved better than an off-screen death to force Jack into the role of a villain. It's another example of the characters not being active agents of their story in the later seasons, but rather, acting in service to the plot.
The season fourteen finale was chock-full of drama. Jack was soulless, and Dean wanted to kill him. As Jack knelt in front of Dean, giving him permission to kill him with the special “equalizer” gun, Dean had a change of heart. He couldn't kill Jack and Chuck was pissed. Chuck revealed that he manipulated the lives of the Winchesters for his own entertainment.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
14x20
“Moriah”
April 25, 2019
9.2/10
“Moriah” introduced the next season's villain: Chuck. Not everyone was happy with the dramatic character shift. Chuck being God was a fun twist in season eleven, paying off a six-year-old tease from season five. Many viewers didn't like it when Chuck became the bad guy, mercilessly smiting Jack and bringing forth the end of days out of petty frustration. The motivation was a little beneath an ancient and primordial being.
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Supernatural's most traditional monsters also have a fair bit of lore that benefits the series and the fans once they learn it.
Josh Hartnett is now in high demand.
SWAT has come to an end at CBS, but Shemar Moore will return in a newly announced spinoff, which makes very little sense.
ABC's TGIF lineup debuted several timeless '90s TV show classics filled with humor, life lessons, nostalgia, and family-friendly entertainment.
Andor may be the best Star Wars addition in recent memory, but fans are letting it get to their heads.
Universal praise from critics has led to a renewal for the series.
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Jamie Foxx attended the 2025 Golden Globe Awards as a nominee for his Netflix comedy special, "Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was . . . "
Jamie Foxx is addressing conspiracy theories that Sean "Diddy" Combs played a role in his 2023 hospitalization.
In a roundtable discussion with several other comedy stars for The Hollywood Reporter, Foxx spoke about recovering after his nearly fatal stroke. He recalled that while he was in the hospital, he was "heavily sedated" and on multiple painkillers, and in his altered state he got on his phone to see what people were saying about his then-mysterious condition.
"So, they ‘Men in Black'-ed me, and I'm f---ed up, and this isn't funny, but I snuck in my phone because I didn't know what the outside world was saying, and I couldn't get my mind around the fact that I had a stroke," Foxx said. "I'm in f---ing perfect shape. [I see things like,] ‘Puffy tried to kill me.' No, Puffy didn't try to kill me."
JAMIE FOXX THINKS ‘GOD SOMETIMES SLIPS AWAY' IN HOLLYWOOD
Jamie Foxx said that despite conspiracy theories, Sean "Diddy" Combs did not try to kill him in 2023. (Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images; Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
At the time, an unfounded rumor was that Combs had attempted to silence Foxx from sharing any details he might have about the alleged crimes he would go on to be charged with – in September 2024, Combs was arrested on racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges. He's currently on trial.
Foxx and Combs had been friends ahead of Combs' legal troubles. Foxx also joked about rumors that he'd tried to hurt him in his December comedy special. There, he said, "The Internet said Puffy was trying to kill me, that's what the Internet was saying. I know what you thinking, ‘Diddy?' Hell no, I left them parties early. I was out by 9, something don't look right. It's slippery in here."
Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jamie Foxx, pictured in 2017, were friends for years. (Earl Gibson III)
While Foxx told The Hollywood Reporter that the rumors about Combs weren't true, he did share another rumor that had upset him while he was in the hospital.
"When they said I was a clone, that made me flip. I'm sitting in the hospital bed, like, ‘These b-----a-- motherf---ers are trying to clone me,'" he said. "And then I saw me walk into my room, but I'm white, so I see the white me. The next morning, I said, ‘I know what's up, you're trying to clone me and make me white so I'll sell better overseas.' The psychiatrist says, ‘Are you all right?' And I say, ‘Am I all right or am I all white? I saw you trying to get the white motherf---ing Jamie Foxx and it ain't going to happen.' He just calmly goes, ‘I think we're going to lower your dosage.'"
JAMIE FOXX ADDRESSES RUMORS THAT DIDDY ‘WAS TRYING TO KILL' HIM
Jamie Foxx also joked about Diddy in his Netflix special, "What Had Happened Was . . ." (Netflix)
In another part of the conversation, Foxx revealed that a stand-up joke about Oprah Winfrey was one of her best friend Gayle King's favorite things.
The "Django Unchained" star explained "I did an Oprah joke" when asked by the outlet about a "combative or hilarious post-joke encounter."
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"That didn't go well?" fellow comedian Chelsea Handler asked.
"No, it went great," Foxx replied.
Jamie Foxx once made a joke about dating Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
He said after he won the Oscar for portraying Ray Charles in "Ray," there was a rumor he was dating the media mogul.
"When we did ‘Ray,' my management, they're from Oakland, but those mother-----s started talking in English accents, like, 'Well, we've won the Oscar now …'" the 57-year-old joked.
He continued, "But I wanted to go back to doing stand-up, and there was this rumor that me and Oprah were dating, and I thought, ‘Well, that's a perfect joke.'"
Foxx said a woman who worked on his management team told him: "Don't do a joke.' I said, ‘I have to.'"
Gayle King thought the Oprah Winfrey joke was hilarious, Foxx said. (Elyse Jankowski/Variety via Getty Images)
The comedian said he went in front of the crowd at Madison Square Garden and told them: "Since I won the Oscar, everybody's saying I'm dating everybody."
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"So, I'm laying in bed with Oprah," he deadpanned, pantomiming the crowd hissing. "And I lean over to Gayle and say, ‘Ain't this s--- crazy? Stedman, get us some juice!'"
Jamie Foxx with Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King in 2007. (Billy Farrell/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
"And Gayle is in the audience!" he revealed to the outlet.
Comedian Sarah Silverman wondered, "She didn't like it?"
"She loved it," he replied. "‘That was so funny, Jamie,'" Foxx imitated the "CBS Mornings" co-host telling him.
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Astronomers have calculated that the gas giant Jupiter used to be twice as big as it is now, based on the odd orbits of two of its many moons.
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Jupiter, the solar system's largest planet, used to be even bigger, according to a new study.
The cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and planets formed dissipated around 4.5 billion years ago. At that time, Jupiter was at least twice its current size, and its magnetic field was about 50 times stronger, researchers found. The findings, which the team described in a study published May 20 in the journal Nature Astronomy, could help scientists develop a clearer picture of the early solar system.
"Our ultimate goal is to understand where we come from, and pinning down the early phases of planet formation is essential to solving the puzzle," study co-author Konstantin Batygin, a planetary scientist at Caltech, said in a statement. "This brings us closer to understanding how not only Jupiter but the entire solar system took shape."
Jupiter's immense gravity — along with the sun's — helped fashion the solar system, shaping the orbits of other planets and rocky bodies. But how the giant planet itself formed remains opaque.
To gain a better picture of Jupiter's early days, the researchers studied the present-day, slightly tilted orbits of two of Jupiter's moons, Amalthea and Thebe. The paths these moons chart are similar to what they were when they first formed, but the moons have been pulled slightly over time by their larger, volcanically active neighbor Io. By analyzing the discrepancies between the actual changes and those expected from Io's nudges, the researchers could work out Jupiter's original size.
Related: 'This has left us scratching our heads': Astronomers stumped by James Webb telescope's latest views of Jupiter
When the solar nebula dissipated, marking the end of planet formation, Jupiter's radius would have been between two and 2.5 times its current size to give Amalthea and Thebe their current orbits, the scientists calculated. Over time, the planet has shrunk to its current size as its surface cools. Then, the team used the radius to calculate the strength of the planet's magnetic field, which would have been around 21 milliteslas — about 50 times stronger than its current value and 400 times stronger than Earth's.
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"It's astonishing that even after 4.5 billion years, enough clues remain to let us reconstruct Jupiter's physical state at the dawn of its existence," study co-author Fred Adams, an astrophysicist at the University of Michigan, said in the statement.
—Cloudy with a chance of mushballs: Jupiter's monster storms include softball size hailstones made of ammonia
—'This has left us scratching our heads': Astronomers stumped by James Webb telescope's latest views of Jupiter
—Is Jupiter's Great Red Spot an impostor? Giant storm may not be the original one discovered 350 years ago
The findings sharpen researchers' view of the solar system at a critical transition point in its history. The calculations also don't depend on how Jupiter formed — a process that's still not understood in detail — relying instead on directly observable quantities.
"What we've established here is a valuable benchmark," Batygin said in the statement. "A point from which we can more confidently reconstruct the evolution of our solar system."
Jupiter is currently shrinking by about 2 centimeters per year, according to Caltech. This is due to the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism — a process by which planets grow smaller as they cool. As Jupiter slowly cools, its internal pressure drops, causing the planet to steadily shrink. It's unclear when this process began.
Skyler Ware is a freelance science journalist covering chemistry, biology, paleontology and Earth science. She was a 2023 AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow at Science News. Her work has also appeared in Science News Explores, ZME Science and Chembites, among others. Skyler has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech.
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"Dire wolves" created by Colossal Biosciences were pegged as "the first animals in history to be brought back from extinction." But that all depends on your definition of de-extinction — and Colossal's definition isn't the same as everyone else's.
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The idea of resurrecting extinct organisms is alluring; I would love to see one of the strange Cambrian animals like Hallucigenia and Opabinia, feathered dinosaurs, the giant hornless rhino "Walter" and giant sloths.
The "de-extinction" company Colossal Biosciences promises to fulfill that dream, at least for extinct animals like woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius), dodos (Raphus cucullatus), and Tasmanian tigers (Thylacinus cynocephalus). It has recently been making waves in its quest to de-extinct charismatic fauna. First, it claimed to have developed elephant induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), from which they could "de-extinct" woolly mammoths, then for creating Colossal Woolly Mouse, or the Mammouse, a proof of concept that mammoth-like traits can be engineered into other animals.
Most recently, in a choreographed, but botched, reveal, Colossal made an astonishing claim: they had brought back the dire wolf from extinction. "De-extinction is now a reality," it posted to X. On LinkedIn, representatives wrote the wolves were "the first animals in history to be brought back from extinction."
News headlines boldly claimed that "The dire wolf is back," and the "Return of the Dire Wolf." But the photogenic, clickbaitable animals in their public relations campaign are not dire wolves; they are genetically engineered grey wolves that might resemble dire wolves. To me, this feels like an assault on objective truth in pursuit of profit.
Colossal's years-long de-extinction campaign is built on a semantic house of cards and the "illusory truth effect" — where if you repeat something enough times, people will believe it. The common-sense definition of de-extinction is reversing extinction — bringing a species that no longer exists back to life. But that's not Colossal's definition.
The company has rebranded it as "deëxtinction" or "functional de-extinction" — describing it as "the process of generating an organism that both resembles and is genetically similar to an extinct species [emphasis added]."
It ignores that "similar" is relative given all organisms descend from a common ancestor that lived 4.2 billion years ago; humans are more genetically similar to sponges than bacteria, but swapping genes between humans and sponges doesn't transmutate one into the other. A hairy elephant is not a woolly mammoth and a grey wolf with a few genetic alterations isn't a dire wolf. Saying they are with a tweaked definition of de-extinction doesn't make it true.
In a subsequent interview with New Scientist, chief scientist at Colossal Beth Shapiro acknowledged that dire wolves haven't been de-extincted, while seemingly claiming Colossal never said they were. "It's not possible to bring something back that is identical to a species that used to be alive," she told the publication. "Our animals are grey wolves with 20 edits that are cloned. And we've said that from the very beginning. Colloquially, they're calling them dire wolves and that makes people angry."
They further mislead by simplifying and exploiting a nuanced scientific debate over species concepts; because there is no universally agreed-upon species definition, it gives them license to use an alternative, more convenient one.
While evolutionary biologists debate whether species are real biological entities or conceptual abstractions, no definition is based on overall similarity.
Colossal calls them dire wolves because if they look like this animal, then they are the animal.
Much like the meaning of de-extinction, Colossal redefines what it means to be a species. In a remarkable bit of lawfare, Colossal has filed patents that, if accepted as written by the Patent and Trademark Office, would legitimize their definition of de-extinction as a single gene from an extinct species introduced into an extant one. They have also filed for a type of trademark that secures their rights to use the names of the de-extinct "dire wolves," Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi, in board games, toys, video games, trading cards, etc., to protect their "brand identity."
Thus, if transgenic grey wolf clones are transmutated into dire wolves because Colossal says they are, and if the government agrees with Colossal's definition, then one mutation could turn living species into monetizable and lucrative extinct ones.
Related: 'Closer than people think': Woolly mammoth 'de-extinction' is nearing reality — and we have no idea what happens next
The foundations of their house of cards are shoddy and built on disinformation, or, as the philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt might say, bulls**t.
Who benefits from this colossal bulls**t campaign? Colossal's investors, who I can't imagine care about quiet academic debates over species concepts. Colossal aims to monetize the development and commercialization of cutting-edge biotech, including methods to edit the genome at multiple locations simultaneously, differentiate cells into sperm and eggs, and invent artificial wombs, among others. These techniques are legitimately promising. Developing these methods will have profound implications for human health and disease when successful.
When, and I do believe it is when, not if, they succeed, infertility and genetic disease will be a thing of the past. But instead of applying these methods to real problems, the company is focused on selling de-extinction to the public.
Colossal's deception is already having real-world consequences.
The Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum wrote on on X that the arrival of the dire wolf is a "time to fundamentally change how we think about species conservation," that "the marvel of de-extinction technology can help forge a future where populations are never at risk," and that "The Endangered Species List has become like the Hotel California: once a species enters, they never leave. In fact, 97 percent of species that are added to the endangered list remain there."
Burgum declines to note in his post that those 97% of species remain on the list because we have failed to protect their habitats from human encroachment; their populations have not rebounded, therefore, they stay on the list. The Trump administration has announced it will remove protections from many endangered species, citing Colossal's de-extinction of the dire wolf. Who needs to protect endangered species like the red wolves from extinction when we can just introduce one of their extinct genes into a coyote and deëxtinct them?
—Colossal's de-extincted 'dire wolf' isn't a dire wolf and it has not been de-extincted, experts say
—How related are dire wolves and gray wolves? The answer might surprise you.
—Most complete Tasmanian tiger genome yet pieced together from 110-year-old pickled head
In an era where "alternative facts" reign, Colossal's claim to de-extinction is more than just semantics and nonsensical differences in definitions. It is about market capitalization, at the expense of the foundations of scientific integrity and public trust in science and scientists.
Their scripted narrative has polluted the information ecosystem, and like a forever chemical, now that it has been introduced, it will linger on. Almost no one who read the fawning and remarkably gullible headlines or saw the TV coverage will read the critical commentary that followed, the news cycle has passed.
It's hard to dismantle a multi-year disinformation campaign wielded by a $10 billion biotech Goliath and work toward the de-extinction of truth. But we can speak truth to power and help the public discern science from science fiction, information from misinformation, and breakthroughs from flashy marketing ploys. What Colossal Biosciences offers us is bulls**t in exchange for objective truth.
Opinion on Live Science gives you insight on the most important issues in science that affect you and the world around you today, written by experts and leading scientists in their field.
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Vincent J. Lynch is a first-generation college student who received his BS in Biological Science and Anthropology from the University at Albany - State University of New York (SUNY). He earned his PhD in evolutionary biology from Yale University, studying the development and evolution of mammalian pregnancy. He is currently a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at University at Buffalo, SUNY. He studies the development and evolution of pregnancy, comparative oncology, and the molecular basis of woolly mammoth adaptations to the cold.
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Is your knowledge of the ancient Maya as extraordinary as their pyramids?
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The ancient Maya civilization stretched throughout Central America and lasted for nearly three millennia. Although never unified into one massive empire, the Maya controlled dozens of city-states, also known as "polities," which arose when people settled in permanent villages and began to cultivate maize. The ancient Maya are well known for their pyramids and for their series of calendars — one of which convinced many people that the world would end in an apocalypse on Dec. 21, 2012. While the ancient political system collapsed between A.D. 800 and 1000, the society did not. Today, more than 7 million Maya live in their original homelands and beyond.
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Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology and classical archaeology and was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.
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When $220,000 worth of platinum went missing from a Pennsylvania glass factory, authorities were stumped. Then, they reviewed the security footage.
PENNY CHLEBOWY WAS living in the Washington, D.C., area in 1987 when she received the first phone call. A traveling saleswoman for AT&T, Penny loved her work. “It was blast,” she recalls. “I mean, I was young and thin and beautiful. [I] had a really good job, drove a really nice car… Life was good.” She had made it out of Bradford, Pennsylvania, a once-booming oil town that had become a blue-collar factory town where everyone knew everyone else's business. Her older sister, Cindy, had stayed in Bradford, though. So had their younger teenage brother, Al, along with their father, Dale.
But now, it seemed, Dale had vanished.
Dale Kerstetter, 50, had reported for his shift as a security guard at Corning Glass Works on Saturday, September 12, at 10:30 p.m. After he got off at 7 a.m. the next day, he was supposed to visit his girlfriend, Pamela Mays. When he didn't show up at her house, Mays called Al, who called Cindy, who called Penny. The second oldest of Kerstetter's six children, Penny was the one most like him: slight of stature but strong in personality.
“What do you mean they can't find him?” Penny asked her sister.
Then she got in her car and drove to Bradford.
The day before, when Kerstetter had arrived for work at Corning, he had talked with the guard he was replacing, Art Peterson. Peterson left a few minutes later without punching his time card. The next shift worker often punched the previous worker's time card, but Kerstetter did not do so that night. After midnight, he also did not check in every hour as was customary. (The record is unclear about how the check-in process worked at Corning, but Penny maintains someone should have known something was wrong if a guard didn't check in during his shift.)
When John Lindquist arrived Sunday morning to replace Kerstetter, he found Kerstetter's uneaten lunch, plant keys, and a newspaper in the cafeteria. Kerstetter's Jeep pickup was in the parking lot with the keys in the ignition. A carton of cigarettes and the holster of his .22 caliber gun, but not the gun, were inside, along with a daypack.
Lindquist searched the 112,000-square-foot facility, first on his own and then with his supervisor, looking for Kerstetter. It was not until Sunday evening that the township police were called. By then the theories were as unlikely as they were varied. Kerstetter had a heart attack. Kerstetter killed himself. Kerstetter went on a bender.
A search dog was brought in, alerting at the expected places: in the cafeteria, the storage areas, the bathroom, the mechanical-equipment room, the electric-switchgear room—all locations Kerstetter would have normally visited on his shift.
But the dog also alerted in a place Kerstetter would not have usually been, the kiln area where sand and other raw materials were melted at over 1,400°C to make glass rods. From the kiln the glass passed into platinum pipes. As the investigation continued, Corning staff discovered that some of the platinum, one of the most expensive commodities in the world, was also missing. The company initially estimated 23,000 grams worth about $460,000 was gone, then later revised those figures to 11,000 grams and $220,000.
The value of the theft (more than $600,000 in today's money), the unusual nature of the crime, and the lack of clues sparked a nearly four-decade search into what happened that September night.
While new methods of examining forensic evidence—DNA testing, for example—can be useful for solving cold cases today, Kerstetter's case is different. There is no forensic evidence to reexamine. Instead, there are people. And the time to get answers from them is running out.
AT CORNING, KERSTETTER worked as a journeyman, which means he did whatever was needed: painting offices, operating the machines, performing maintenance jobs. Penny remembers him helping install a new tile floor and washing the windows. “He came in and did his job and he left, just like everybody else,” says Penny. “It was a factory job.”
And Bradford was a factory town. Corning Glass Works opened in Bradford in 1958. They made glass resistors and insulators that control the flow of current between wires in television and radio sets. Kerstetter began working at the company the following year.
That was also the year he married his first wife, Nancy. They knew each other from the school bus. Kerstetter left high school early to join the Air Force. Nancy, who was three years younger, had gotten a job at the phone company after she graduated. Not long after she started work, she ran into Dale at a carnival. He was fun to be around, a joker, a local she could trust. They dated for six months and then married. Cindy was born and then Penny, whom Kerstetter named after a beloved childhood dog. Kerstetter had been so close to the animal that he refused to leave his room for two days after it died. Penny was followed by two more girls, Bonnie and Wendy, and then the twins, Susan and Al.
Nancy stayed home with the children while Kerstetter worked at Corning. At work Kerstetter was known as something of a survivalist, having once sewn up a cut on his own finger. Kerstetter's grit came in handy when a forklift that held a propane tank rolled underneath a stream of molten glass. Kerstetter jumped onto the forklift and drove it out of the way before the hot glass could cause the propane tank to explode. His actions saved lives as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of equipment.
He also had a reputation as a bit of a mischief-maker. Roland “Skeet” Stoughton used to work nights with Kerstetter. “If he could make you laugh or he could scare somebody, that's what he did,” Stoughton says.
In 1987, when Corning was downsizing and Kerstetter's pay was cut, he added overnight and weekend security shifts. Art Peterson Jr., the son of the guard Kerstetter replaced the night he went missing, does not believe his late father or any of the other guards had special security training. They usually didn't carry weapons. Kerstetter brought his own gun, which fits with the “tough, scrappy little guy” image Peterson Jr. has of Kerstetter from when their families used to go camping together. Nevertheless, Kerstetter, who was 5'4" and 130 pounds, “wasn't a very big guy,” he adds. “He wouldn't have been difficult to have been overpowered.” The plant did not have much of a security system. Penny remembers the door being unlocked when she visited her father during his shift.
After her father's disappearance, Cindy thinks people got the idea that Bradford “was a perfect town to commit a crime in because nobody was going to do anything.”
At one time Bradford was the perfect place for nefarious activities. Located about 90 miles south of Buffalo, New York, and the Canadian border, Bradford was well-positioned during Prohibition. Local bootleggers sold moonshine, beer, and wine to the city's wealthier residents who were happy to turn a blind eye, explains Sally Ryan Costik, curator of the Bradford Landmark Society and author of the 2011 book on Bradford during that era, Bootleggers, Bullets and Blood. Fights with neighboring bootleggers resulted in around 50 murders in Bradford and two neighboring communities during the Prohibition years from 1920 to 1933. Before moonshine there was oil. Before oil there was lumber.
Surrounded by the Allegheny National Forest, Bradford began as a lumber town. After oil was discovered in the late 1800s, Bradford got big, producing more than 630 million barrels of oil from 1871 to 1967. After the oil boom petered out, there were the big factories: Zippo lighters, Case Knives, Dresser Industries, Corning Glass Works.
Bradford's population peaked in the 1930s at around 33,000. The 1930s are also when Bradford became known for another disappearance. It happened on Mother's Day. While on a family picnic, two young girls left their parents briefly to pick flowers. Only one girl returned. A massive manhunt was launched for 4-year-old Marjorie West. Bloodhounds and soldiers searched a three-mile radius. Native American trackers were called in. “They never found anything,” says Costik. “Nothing… She just literally vanished.”
Half a century later, Kerstetter vanished. Bradford had a new mystery.
Cindy was in her mid-20s at the time and working at Zippo. Aside from her grandmother, Cindy was the only family member who remained in town following Kerstetter's disappearance. (Al had gone to see his mother in Texas after the incident, and Penny had returned to the D.C. area.) In the days and weeks after Kerstetter went missing, everyone's questions were directed at Cindy. “I felt like all eyes were on me,” she says.
“Imagine someone you know that doesn't come home,” she says. “What are you supposed to think? And how am I supposed to feel? I didn't know.”
At 63, she still doesn't. Cindy believes it is easier to get away with things in a place where everyone knows you. In Bradford, she says, “there's all kinds of things people hide.”
Their mother Nancy is living in Pennsylvania again, but not in Bradford—none of the family lives there anymore. Nancy has returned to her maiden name, which she does not want used. She is gentle, caring—and slightly wary.
Aside from Penny, and sometimes Cindy, her children “really don't want to talk about it—especially Al.” In an early media interview, Al suggests, in the wishful way a young man might, that his father could be in Canada or Australia. It was enough to make people suspect Al knew where his father was. Al has kept silent ever since. Private and protective, Cindy doesn't want to discuss her personal life or her life growing up, but she's willing to discuss the incident. She asked that we not use her last name.
Yet as much as the family wants to put it behind them, they can't fully. There are too many unanswered questions. Nancy entertains the possibility that Dale was killed and buried in the woods. “Every winter during hunting season, I always hoped that somebody would find something, and they could go back and identify him,” she says.
THE MONDAY AFTER Kerstetter disappeared, Patrick Foley sat down at his desk to watch the grainy security footage, a compilation of still images taken every few seconds by three cameras placed at three different angles. A personnel manager at Corning, Foley was a middle-aged man with thinning hair and had only been with the company a few years. He was shocked by what he saw when he turned on the small television screen. In the footage, a masked man comes into view. “Then Dale Kerstetter came back and met this masked person,” he said in an interview with Unsolved Mysteries, which recreated the footage for a 1989 episode. It is 10:45 on Saturday night. The camera captures Kerstetter looking directly at the camera. It is the last time Kerstetter is seen.
At 11:19 p.m., the masked man enters the kiln area where the platinum is located.
Platinum is a critical material used in glassmaking equipment because of its resistance to high temperatures and corrosion. Typically, raw materials like sand, limestone, and soda ash are melted in a large tank called a kiln. The molten mixture is then poured into a cooling tank that feeds into a platinum cylinder that branches in two, forming a Y shape. The two cylinders are connected to “down draws,” which make canes, or long, thin rods, which are then cut to make resistors.
For 35 minutes, the masked man toils away, removing the precious metal from the kiln's complicated machinery.
This was no snatch and grab. The part of the kiln that held the platinum cylinders was covered by mesh wire and gated. The cylinders themselves were covered with insulating fire brick. The thief would have had to use a tool of some kind to carve out the U-shaped fire bricks, then a saw to cut away the platinum.
The footage shows the masked man returning to the kiln multiple times, spending roughly two hours at the facility. He removes 11,000 grams' worth of platinum but leaves behind much more, three times more according to a former employee, hundreds of thousands of dollars more.
When Corning employees were interviewed for Unsolved Mysteries, they suggested the company thought it possible Kerstetter was an accomplice. C. Dale Parry, another personnel manager at the company, told the show that Kerstetter was a “marginal employee” and a “slow worker.” His colleague Foley said, “I think the fact that he did everything in front of the camera was once again just Dale Kerstetter just saying to us ‘Hey, here I am. I'm taking your platinum and there isn't a thing you can do about it.'”
Penny, who says she first saw the video during the initial investigation in 1987, sees something else. “I think he's looking at the camera saying, ‘Do you guys see this? Is somebody going to come and help me?'”
Prior to the platinum theft, there had only been minor thefts at Corning, explains Bradford Township Police Lieutenant Tim Gigliotti. Employees would take pieces of flooring or a shelf they could use in their homes. This was a much more brazen crime.
At 12:51 a.m., the masked man uses a hand truck to drag what looks like a plastic-covered load out of the plant. The footage finally ends at 12:53 a.m., when camera three shows the man reentering the plant. He is not seen on film again. Some speculate the load is the platinum.
Others believe it is Kerstetter's body.
DALE KERSTETTER WAS known to enjoy fine food, to read Forbes magazine, and to study and invest in the stock market. Although he left high school early, Kerstetter was a lifelong learner, obtaining his GED and taking several college courses. “He wasn't the country bumpkin,” says Penny. Both Penny and her mother mention Kerstetter being ahead of his time. Even though men were not expected to play a large role in child rearing in the 1960s, Nancy remembers her husband questioning why he couldn't get paternity leave when she was pregnant.
They also remember family excursions: picking berries, fishing, cooking out. In winter they would drive to a country road where they would cook hamburgers over a fire, drink hot chocolate, and go sledding. Kerstetter loved the outdoors—and adventure. He hunted, fished, trapped, and went skydiving (once shattering his ankle so badly, his surgeon used pins to repair it). Penny joined him in many of these pursuits, going trapping with him as a child and skydiving with him as an adult.
Nancy says out of all her children, Penny most reminds her of Dale. There are the obvious similarities: They both smoked and liked a bit of excitement. And then there is the part she can't explain. “Just sometimes she might do something that would remind me of something he might do,” Nancy says.
After 22 years of marriage, Nancy and Dale divorced and Dale remarried. Despite the divorce, Nancy and Dale remained close. In the 1980s, Nancy moved to Texas, and was there when she found out Dale had disappeared.
“I could see it both ways,” she says. “But the more I think about it, I really think somebody did go in there and do something to him.”
From the start, Corning management viewed Kerstetter with suspicion. Patrick Foley, following a tip, told the police to check Kerstetter's discharge papers from the Air Force, implying Kerstetter had been accused of stealing platinum while in the service. (United States Air Force records show Kerstetter was honorably discharged.) Corning did not respond to multiple phone and email requests for comment.
Cindy remembers going to Corning with her boyfriend and listening to a company supervisor who seemed to assume her father was guilty. Law enforcement agents repeatedly asked her if her father had contacted her. She kept telling them no. “I think they sat outside my apartment a couple times,” she says.
When the family first tried to have Kerstetter declared legally dead so they could collect life insurance, Corning objected. A 1990 appeal from an order dismissing the family's petition explains that the company was permitted to intervene to “assert its contention that Kerstetter had been a participant in the theft of the platinum.” According to Corning, there was evidence Kerstetter was experiencing financial difficulties.
Kerstetter was in debt. A September 9, 1987, letter from Mastercard declared his balance of $3,882.88 to be in default. According to his family, he had more than enough in his bank account to pay this off, as well as investments and people he could count on to help him out financially if he needed. Kerstetter was also very close to retirement and collecting his pension. If he helped with the heist, he wouldn't have done it for the money, says Penny.
It would have been for the thrill.
FENCING THE PLATINUM would have been more than just exciting—it would have required prior planning and connections to a facility that could melt the metal down, making it easier to sell. The platinum was of such high grade that melting it down would have entailed a special machine, says retired Pennsylvania state trooper Max Bizzak. “All the places I contacted had no means or facility to melt that down.”
Bizzak, a tall, slim father of three, was called to assist the township police three days after Kerstetter went missing. He remembers being shown the video footage. “It was really, really hazy,” he says. “You can hardly see anything.”
Aside from the footage, he didn't have a lot to work with. By the time he arrived on the scene, any evidence had been compromised. He doesn't remember seeing the daypack or gun holster; the family says they never got an accounting of what happened to those. They also found it strange that there was a daypack at all because Kerstetter never used one. The family wonders if the pack might have belonged to the masked man or someone else and are concerned by its disappearance. There had been no leads on the masked man.
At first Bizzak and the township police, under the leadership of Chief Dave Doyle, worked together chasing down leads. Because the state police had more resources, they eventually took it over. It was Bizzak who contacted Unsolved Mysteries, hoping they might discover something the police had missed.
While Bizzak worked the case, his wife, Barb, handled the home front. She also became his de facto coordinator during long assignments. In the 1980s, Max and his partner had a three-year assignment with the U.S. Marshals to help investigate the Pagan's Motorcycle Club. At a time before pagers and cell phones, Barb was the one they primarily checked in with. The undercover operation may have been Bizzak's most exciting assignment, but it doesn't haunt him the way Kerstetter's case does.
Bizzak was five years away from retirement when he began work on the Kerstetter case. By mid-September, the FBI had been called in to assist. Local law enforcement offices often called the bureau if they needed help with laboratory services or forensic metallurgy services, or in the apprehension of a fugitive. Chief Doyle hoped the bureau's labs would be able to improve the poor quality of the tapes. Instead they made them worse. “I had watched it on their machine at Corning, and when I got it back from the FBI, I didn't even recognize it,” he adds. “That was a big blunder.”
At the time, the FBI was not involved directly in investigating platinum thefts, says FBI Supervisory Special Agent Michael Howard. But among the FBI files on the Kerstetter case is information about a 1960 theft of $152,000 worth of platinum from a Corning plant in Rhode Island. There were at least three more platinum thefts at Corning in the 1970s, two in New York and one in Virginia, and quite a few others at plants owned by different companies.
Kerstetter was not the first guard to go missing.
A month before the Bradford heist, in Solon, Ohio, a night watchman vanished along with $85,000 worth of platinum. In a newspaper account at the time, private investigator Lee Feathers said he suspected the theft involved insider knowledge. The night watchman had been employed by Brinks Security System. Feathers contacted the Pennsylvania State Police to see if Kerstetter was also employed by Brinks. He was not. Whether that is the reason the Pennsylvania police did not investigate further is not in their report, only that despite the similarities in the cases, the trooper who responded did not feel the cases were related.
When Feathers was asked by a reporter where the platinum would be sold, he said it depended on the thieves' contacts, but that it was obvious they would have already had a contact or buyer for it. The FBI attempted to figure out who that buyer might be in the Bradford case, interviewing several scrap-metal dealers, all of whom reported that the only platinum they dealt with was through collecting catalytic converters.
Platinum group metals—which include iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium—occur together in nature. However, substantial deposits that can be mined in large quantities are rare, which is one of the reasons platinum is so valuable, explains Ruth Schulte, a mineral commodity specialist for the National Minerals Information Center. This rarity, combined with resistance to wear and tarnish, make platinum well suited for making jewelry as well as investments in the form of coin and bullion.
But its ability to withstand chemical and temperature assault, to deform without breaking under different types of stress, and to enable catalytic reactions make it useful in industrial applications, like at Corning. Platinum group metals are also used in the chemical industry to produce fertilizer, explosives, and silicone. In addition, platinum-supported catalysts are used in gas production and crude oil refinery. In the last 40 years, platinum has primarily been used by the automotive industry in catalytic converters to capture harmful exhaust emissions.
Platinum's value also makes it desirable for thieves. Special Agent Howard, who manages the FBI's major theft program, says the trend today is to steal platinum group metals that are already in finished products and not in their raw form. Because thieves now tend to target distributors—which involve interstate shipments—and not refineries, the FBI has taken a more active role in these investigations. Howard believes the pivot from targeting raw materials to finished products—for platinum, mainly catalytic converters—is likely because there is less raw material in circulation. Laundering the stolen items is not difficult. “There are very active laundering markets for precious metals virtually everywhere in the world,” says Howard.
Chief Doyle has his own theory. He thinks Kerstetter could have participated as part of a theft ring with ties to Mexico, and that perhaps he was killed by accomplices in a hotel in Florida. Doyle has nothing to base this on. At the same time, he is puzzled by the fact that some valuable platinum in the Bradford plant, something Kerstetter would have known about, was left untouched.
“I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of platinum was inside the furnace, but they didn't go do that,” he says.
THE SECOND PHONE call Penny Chlebowy received after her father went missing came in March 1992.
Penny was pregnant and living in Buffalo, New York. She was at work and took the call in her boss's office. A Pennsylvania state trooper was on the line. A headless, handless body had been found in Florida. One of the feet was damaged. The trooper wanted Penny's permission to review Kerstetter's medical records and see if the damage matched her father's ankle injury.
When her boss heard the conversation, he was shocked. Penny remained composed. She was tough because she had to be, but that didn't mean it didn't bother her. “There's not too much more that I could find unsettling than to get a phone call like that,” says Penny.
Penny gave the trooper permission to access her father's records. The x-rays were gone, but the medical files were still there. And when the surgeon who had repaired her father's ankle saw imaging of the John Doe, Penny recalls the doctor saying it wasn't his work. And that was the end of that.
There were other leads over the years. On September 23, just 10 days after Kerstetter was declared missing, a man reported seeing him on West Washington Street in Bradford. He was sure it was Kerstetter because he had met Kerstetter before. A day later, a woman reported seeing a man she believed to be Kerstetter near the railroad tracks. As recently as 2020, a woman in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contacted authorities after viewing the Unsolved Mysteries episode because she was convinced Kerstetter was her neighbor.
A month after the heist, the Bradford Township police department received a note naming the president of a smelting company in New York. In police interviews, the executive theorized his name was on the note because a Bradford company with which he formerly did business had a grudge against him. He did deal in platinum, but only catalytic converters. He didn't know Kerstetter.
Tim Gigliotti, with the township police, describes Kerstetter as having hung around with “less than savory” people. The stories are colorful: a doctor who was suspected of trying to kill his wife; an accused killer who was one of three men tried for shooting a man and pushing his truck, with his body inside it, into a large body of water. The accused killer was found innocent and is now deceased, but he used to meet with Kerstetter on Saturday mornings at a local restaurant, according to Doyle. These and other acquaintances of Kerstetter's were interviewed by police and the FBI, then dropped for one reason or another.
“It was all speculation,” says Bizzak.
A few years ago, Penny met with one of her father's friends who was living in Florida at the time Kerstetter went missing. He had come under suspicion when Kerstetter's young son Al told police that his father had seen the man with a suitcase containing a large amount of cash after he had declared bankruptcy. The man was interviewed. Penny knew about his background and knew her father was a loyal friend; yet after talking to him she decided the police were right to not pursue him.
“That's a dead end,” she says.
TODAY BRADFORD HAS plenty of churches and brick buildings. Hometown Hero signs hang from lamp posts, American-made Ram trucks cruise the streets, and the occasional Amish or Mennonite woman can be found among the pedestrians. The vanishing now is done by the younger generation leaving for bigger cities and better jobs.
The Corning grounds are still there, nearly 10 acres surrounded by forest on the outskirts of town just around the corner from the township police. The facilities have been split up and are occupied by different enterprises, explains Bob Cummins, the local construction company owner who bought the property. The section where the platinum theft occurred was torn down during remodeling.
Grass grows through cracks in the visitors' parking lot. The office space remains intact, but in serious need of upkeep. The long, carpeted main hallway is dark. Floors inside offices are pocked with puddles below where the ceiling has collapsed and leaked. A sign on the wall thanks people for not smoking. At the far end of the hallway is a makeshift storage area. An old life-size cutout Santa grins eerily from one corner, a snowman from another.
Penny toured the facility a few years ago. She has never really stopped searching. She posts on an Unsolved Mysteries message board dedicated to her father's case. That is how she met Heather Graupmann, an Illinois woman who's also behind Lostnfoundblogs.com. Together the two began digging. Penny returned to the state police to examine their files.
Graupmann found files of her own, accounts of other platinum thefts. Graupmann felt more could be learned from these thefts and listed some of them in the two blogs she wrote about Kerstetter in 2018 and 2019.
It was the video footage she mentioned, though, that caught readers' attention. After the publication of her first story, an amateur investigator requested and received the Corning security footage from the police through the nonprofit news site MuckRock. The video was so corrupted it was almost impossible to decipher. Graupmann asked a film hobbyist named Mike West to clean it up. During the process West discovered what he believes could be a third person, bringing up the possibility there were two intruders.
In 2022, the case was returned to the township police after decades spent with the state police. Chief Doyle had retired in 2012, and Gigliotti was then handling the case. Gigliotti is aware of West's work and said the video breakdown was slightly helpful but that West's work doesn't “really clarify anything.”
Gigliotti, whose age and relaxed attire—a blue polo shirt—signal the tail end of a career, was not working for the township when the theft happened. But he worked for them before and after, and interacted with Corning through his father's trucking company, which picked things up at the facility. The renewed attention gave him hope. Gigliotti felt with Kerstetter's friends in “their golden years, somebody might come forward.”
There was talk. An old friend of Kerstetter's told Penny he thought her father might be in one of the hundreds of old oil wells that dot the region. The wells, some as deep as 1,500 feet, are in various states of disrepair: fully filled in, partially filled in, and hollow. A local driller offered the police a map of the wells and help utilizing a camera system to search for a body in a well. The problem is that checking every well is not possible, says Gigliotti. “It would take years.” Time is something they don't have.
As time passes, says Gigliotti, it becomes “progressively less and less probable we're going to find any body.” A lot of the people who'd remember anything are gone now.
PENNY IS NOW a 61-year-old grandmother. Her mother, Nancy, 85, is a great-grandmother. Seated in Penny's backyard in a rural neighborhood in Pennsylvania, the women reminisce about the man at the center of the mystery. Penny tells me how Kerstetter would bring home fresh doughnuts when he got off the night shift. Once, the neighbor's dog jumped on Penny's sister and knocked her over. Kerstetter opened the window and shot the dog off his daughter. Both Penny and Nancy remember Kerstetter being a crack shot. Nancy remembers that the owner of the dog was a cook at the school the children attended. Lunchtime was complicated after that.
Nancy has short gray hair and a gentle manner. Penny is wearing a T-shirt dress, dangling earrings, and a stone bracelet. On the table in front of Penny is a pack of American Spirit cigarettes and a can of diet tonic water. The women have long since given up hope Kerstetter is alive.
What is left is Kerstetter's reputation. Penny wants it cleared. “Anybody that really knew him would tell you that he would never [leave his family],” she says.
Kerstetter's former colleague, Skeet Stoughton, is now 87 and battling lymphoma. He has his reasons for thinking his friend is innocent. Kerstetter would have known about the additional platinum right next to where the platinum was stolen. He would have known about the security camera and would have covered it up instead of looking at it. And finally, Kerstetter wouldn't have left a carton of cigarettes in his truck. “In my opinion, and I'll go to my grave saying that, and I'm getting closer to that, Dale Kerstetter never had one thing to do with stealing that platinum,” says Stoughton.
Patrick Foley, formerly of the Corning personnel office, is still suspicious of Kerstetter's involvement. When I reach him by phone, he refers me to his Unsolved Mysteries interview. “I fully believe what I said then, and there's been no reason for me to change my mind since then,” says Foley.
That Kerstetter is most likely dead is the one thing most everyone can agree on.
Initially Max Bizzak had hoped Graupmann, the blogger, might find something the police had missed. A summer rainstorm beats down outside as Bizzak sips coffee on his covered porch, his long legs stretching out in front of him. A week before his 84th birthday, he is neither hunched nor hesitant. Tall and lean, with a head full of white hair, Bizzak is dressed in shorts and a trim athletic shirt. He and Barb live about 30 miles southeast of Bradford in the town where he grew up. They have been married almost 60 years.
Barb, who is small and quick with a wink, sits against the wall. She says she is there to smoke, and she does, but really, she is there to make sure her husband remembers everything correctly. He does, mostly.
What has faded is his hope. He's still hung up on Penny.
“She wanted to find out what happened to her father, and I couldn't give her an answer,” he says. “I couldn't even tell her if her father was involved in the theft, or he was a victim. And today, I still can't tell you.”
When her husband steps out for a minute, Barb approaches, a large manila envelope in her hand. Inside are printouts of the two articles Graupmann wrote on the case as well as the letter Penny included when she mailed them to Bizzak. Barb offers them to me. I refuse them politely, telling her I already have a copy.
The envelope stays in the air between us.
The mysteries, the homicides, the late nights, the worry, all that was supposed to have ended when Max retired at age 52, after almost 30 years of service.
Now Max's memory is failing.
Barb extends the envelope toward me again, telling me to take it.
When I accept, she smiles.
“Now he can be done,” she says.
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When most fans think of the scariest Supernatural episode, they probably picture terrifying demons, shape-shifting wendigos, or vengeful spirits lurking in the shadows. After all, the long-running CW series built its legacy on gory creature effects and nightmarish folklore. But for Jensen Ackles, who played Dean Winchester across all 15 seasons, the most disturbing episode had nothing to do with monsters at all. It's not the creatures that haunted him - it's the humans. And that might just make it even scarier.
Ackles' choice for the scariest Supernatural episode is a chilling detour from the series' usual supernatural formula. Found in season 1, episode 15, “The Benders” marks a rare moment when the horror didn't come from beyond the grave or another dimension. Instead, it came from people. Real, flesh-and-blood people doing horrifying things. The episode left a lasting impression on Ackles, and it still sticks out in the minds of fans who remember just how grounded - and unsettling - it was. Digging into why this episode freaked him out so much reveals what made “The Benders” so unique, and how it's part of a much larger pattern across the show's history.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly (available via YouTube), Jensen Ackles opened up about the episode of Supernatural that scared him the most - and surprisingly, it wasn't about ghosts, demons, or anything supernatural at all. Ackles singled out “The Benders” as the scariest Supernatural episode, explaining that it's the realism that truly got under his skin. “The reason that always kind of stuck with me is…because it wasn't a monster,” he said, “it was real people as humans doing very bad things.”
There's no creature to blame, just cruelty and depravity in its purest human form.
“The Benders,” which aired during Supernatural season 1, follows Sam and Dean as they investigate a case in Minnesota involving mysterious disappearances. However, instead of finding a supernatural creature behind it all, they uncover a horrifying truth: a backwoods family abducting people for sport. These villains - the Benders- are deeply unsettling because they operate without magic or monsters. They're a twisted, murderous family who trap, hunt, and kill strangers for fun, in scenes that evoke movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Deliverance. There's no creature to blame, just cruelty and depravity in its purest human form.
Dean ends up captured, held in a cage like the Benders' other victims. Meanwhile, Sam teams up with a local sheriff's deputy, Kathleen, whose brother was one of the Benders' earlier victims. What follows is a tense, gripping rescue mission, with minimal reliance on the supernatural. It's horror stripped to its rawest: humans preying on humans. There are no spells to reverse the situation, no demon blades to drive into evil entities - just survival instincts, grit, and the terrifying unpredictability of human nature.
Jensen Ackles' pick for the scariest Supernatural episode is revealing. It underscores how even in a show dominated by the paranormal, some of its most unforgettable moments came from very real threats. “The Benders” stands out because it hits differently - it's not fantasy horror, it's something that could, in theory, actually happen. And that, as Ackles points out, is exactly what makes it so disturbing.
While Supernatural is filled with all kinds of otherworldly nightmares, “The Benders” wasn't the only time the show dipped into horror grounded in humanity. In fact, some of the scariest Supernatural episodes over the years featured villains with no powers, no spells, and no demonic affiliations - just regular people capable of terrifying acts. These human antagonists reminded viewers that evil doesn't always wear a monstrous face.
Take, for instance, the chilling doctor in “Time Is On My Side” from season 3. In this episode, Dean and Sam investigate a case at a medical facility where a doctor is secretly performing illegal surgeries and keeping body parts from victims. There's a scientific edge to the horror, but the core of it is a human being playing god with people's lives. It's not ghosts that keep you up after this one - it's the cold calculation of someone who believes their twisted experiments are justified.
Another unnerving example comes from “Malleus Maleficarum” in season 3, which introduces a coven of witches. While the witches technically use magic, the real horror isn't their spells - it's how casually they turn on one another and sacrifice innocent lives for petty revenge and social climbing. Their magic amplifies their dark intentions, but the root of the terror is very human: jealousy, betrayal, and a complete lack of empathy.
Then there's “Family Remains” from season 4, a deeply uncomfortable episode that, like “The Benders,” seems to be going the classic ghost route - until it isn't. Dean and Sam investigate a haunting in a creepy old house, but by the end, it's revealed that the real threat is a feral, inbred human girl living in the walls. The reveal is stomach-churning and drives home the point once again: the scariest Supernatural episode isn't necessarily the one with the biggest monster, it's the one with the most horrifying humanity.
Even the Men of Letters storyline, while full of supernatural elements, has its roots in human villainy. The secretive organization made morally gray decisions that often blurred the line between good and evil. From memory wipes to brutal experiments, the Men of Letters were a reminder that even those fighting on the side of "order" can be deeply unethical.
Throughout Supernatural, creators returned again and again to the idea that evil isn't limited to the paranormal. Sometimes, it's born out of trauma, power, obsession, or sheer psychopathy. And while monster-of-the-week episodes brought plenty of fun, it's the human villains - like the Benders - that linger in the background long after the credits roll. For many fans, and clearly for Ackles too, the scariest Supernatural episode is the one that doesn't let them hide behind the safety net of fantasy.
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It's Sam who gets kidnapped, and Dean who teams up with the sheriff.
Star Trek: Picard season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas recalls what it was like losing season 1 and 2's actors ot make way for the Next Generation cast.
If you liked The Witcher, there's an even better fantasy adaptation that can be found on Netflix, and it's much more aligned with its source material.
Timothy Olyphant was a part of an excellent Netflix horror-comedy TV show that ended after three seasons, though it deserved much more time.
Two of the best Sopranos represented a major event in the lead-up to the finale, and it allowed James Gandolfini to take on another role.
Charlie Hunnam has a favorite Sons of Anarchy episode, and it's not only a key episode in Jax's story but also a very heartbreaking one.
Game of Thrones season 8's King Bran twist is among its most controversial developments, but the series set the stage for it years earlier.
AMC didn't always hit the mark when expanding the Breaking Bad universe, and this forgotten prequel set before Better Call Saul proves it.
During these military exercises in 1952, various UFO sightings were recorded... but what did those at sea really see?
In 1952, just seven years after Victory in Europe Day, NATO forces, comprised of the twelve founding members along with Greece and Turkey, which joined that year, reported observing a series of mysterious flying objects during peacetime military exercises.
These UFO sightings were becoming increasingly common in the United States, with newspaper headlines featuring stories from individuals who claimed to have spotted an alien vessel flying above their backyards.
Exercise Mainbrace was the name given to the first set of peacetime military preparations to take place by NATO members since the founding of the organization. The exercises included over 80,000 men and 200 ships, and lasted from September 14 to September 25. More than four sightings were recorded by the US non-profit research organization into UFO sightings, the National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), during Exercise Membrance, with news stories from the time detailing that many of the witnesses assumed the objects to be weather balloons.
On one occasion, an object that a Danish crew described later to investigators as triangular was spotted flying overhead at incredible speed. This first sighting occurred on September 13, just as the men involved were getting into position to begin the 12 days of military exercises.
Reports later published by NICAP from the time also indicate that “the object emitted a bluish glow.” According to Live Science, the sighting was made from the Danish destroyer ship, Willemoes, one of 200 ships that formed part of the military exercises. The Lieutenant of the Willemoes estimated that the object was flying around 900 miles per hour.
Another sighting came on September 19 after a British fighter pilot had carried out their planned operation over the North Sea and was on the return to the Topcliffe airfield, in Yorkshire. Whether it was an optical illusion caused by the sun's reflections, soldiers in the group reported seeing a silver flying object above the Meteor jet piloted by one of their own. Though the flying heights were different, the trajectories matched up.
The report detailing the event said it occurred around 11:00 A.M, and that as the jet was set to make its landing, the object was “swaying back and forth like a pendulum."
“Lieutenant John W. Kilburn and other observers on the ground said that when the Meteor began circling, the UFO stopped,” wrote Richard Hall, a self-proclaimed Ufologist, and researchers for NICAP when the sightings took place. Witnesses described the object as “disk-shapped,” a more traditional form for UFO sightings than the triangular object reported by the Danish crew. The crew could not track the object, with Hall writing that after mirroring the pilot's movements, “the disk suddenly took off westward at high speed, changed course, and disappeared to the southeast."
The next day, a sighting was reported by US military members onboard the USS Franklin D. Rosevelet aircraft carrier. These members captured an image of the UFO, they say, which was described as “silvery” and “spherical.” However, these photos were not made public, writes Hall, while adding that those who did see them described them as “excellent” and that "judging by the size of the object in each successive photo, one could see that it was moving rapidly.” The crew and other military leaders ruled out the possibility of the object being a weather balloon.
At least three more sightings would be made during the remainder of Exercise Mainbrace. In the years that followed, what was seen was attributed to the hype of UFO sightings that had just begun to take off.
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By Tomas Weber
Graham Hancock was peeved. He had been hoping to film at the Great Serpent Mound in southern Ohio for his Netflix documentary series, “Ancient Apocalypse”, the latest adventure in his 30-year campaign to uncover evidence of a lost Ice Age civilisation. Although most scholars think the snake-shaped earthworks were constructed by Native Americans either 900 or 2,300 years ago, Hancock believes they are around 13,000 years old. But he would not be able to take viewers on a tour because he was stuck outside the car park.
Lebanon has spent years under the militant group's dominance. Could it be coming to an end?
Having breast cancer in your 20s or 30s brings a unique set of considerations – and agonies
Researchers have unearthed the surveillance records of Taiwan's former dictatorship. But the revelations inside could tear society apart
Ousting Assad may turn out to have been easier than rebuilding the country
A lawyer struggles with their conscience. New colleagues are watching
In the Central African Republic locals are learning Russian while mercenaries knock back lager
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Goatboy here with an armylist from the new Thousand Sons codex, that's all vehicles, no Battleline!.
I think there is a very strong vehicle build in here using the new Robots, some Daemon Engines, a mixture of Thousand Sons Monsters, and good ole Psychic Leaders. This might be a good list for any kind of Team event where having an option that can floor things on an open field would be a powerful thing to have. Plus you wouldn't have to paint a ton of Rubricae.
The armylist will be using the Warpforged Cabal Detachment which is the vehicle-focused option for the Thousand Sons. The rule for the detachment gives the ability to reroll either a hit, wound, or damage roll. If you happen to be within 6” of a Thousand Sons Psyker you get to reroll all of those per vehicle within range of their Psychic Daddy.
Also, your Deadly Demises are on a 5+ if you are within 6” of the Psyker so be ready to lose your Sorcerer if too many tanks explode. You also get some sweet Enhancements that do things like give your infantry-based Psychic Characters Lone Operative if they are within 3” of a Vehicle and even better bonuses to your rituals.
As you can tell from the right up above will most likely see a ton of robots, some characters, a few tanks, and maybe a Mutalith or two. Let's get to brewing based off of the points given to use early by GW. Now these might change again before they become official and bonafide.
Thousand Sons
Detachment – Warpforged Cabal
-Characters-
Exalted Sorcerer on Disc w/Perplexing Cloak
Sorcerer in Terminator Armor
Daemon Prince of Tzeentch w/Biomechanical Mutation
Tzaangor Shaman
-Non Battleline-
Forgefiend – Hades Autocannons
Forgefiend – Hades Autocannons
Forgefiend – Hades Autocannons
Sekhetar Robots X 2
Sekhetar Robots X 2
Sekhetar Robots X 2
Tzaangors X 10
Tzaangors X 10
Chaos Predator Destructor
Chaos Predator Destructor
Defiler
Defiler
Tzaango Enlightened with Fatecaster Greatbows X 6
PTS: 2000
Yup there is no Battleline for the army. The Sorcerer in Terminator armor is there to Deep Strike in and throw a Psychic hit on something if needed to activate some of the armies powers. Right now it will have a ton of attacks, get a good deal of rerolls, and just be a brutal thing to try and get too.
The three smaller units of Robots is there to get in the way and hopefully let your army do the good work of creating a Castle of crap that is murdering you downfield. The Tzaangor parts are to cover objectives, help give the Daemon Prince Lone Operative, and just give you some action play as needed. Happy Gaming!
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Jamie Foxx has broken his silence on the conspiracy theory alleging Sean “Diddy” Combs orchestrated the 2023 medical emergency that had him “within an inch of his life.”
The “Ray” actor said that while in the hospital, sedated on a cocktail of pain medications, he was able to sneak his phone and find out what the world was saying about him, he told a Hollywood Reporter roundtable Thursday.
“I didn't know what the outside world was saying and I couldn't get my mind around the fact that I had a stroke. I'm in f–king perfect shape. [I see things like,] ‘Puffy tried to kill me,'” Foxx, 57, recalled.
“No, Puffy didn't try to kill me.”
However, what caused him to “flip” out was when he read the conspiracy theory that he was cloned.
“When they said I was a clone, that made me flip. I'm sitting in the hospital bed, like, ‘These bitch-ass motherf–kers are trying to clone me,'” the comic joked.
Even while heavily medicated and still trying to figure out what caused his medical emergency, the Oscar-winning actor didn't miss a beat, using his comedic chops to lighten up the situation.
“The next morning, I said, ‘I know what's up, you're trying to clone me and make me white so I'll sell better overseas.' The psychiatrist says, ‘Are you all right?' And I say, ‘Am I all right or am I all white? I saw you trying to get the white motherf–king Jamie Foxx and it ain't going to happen.' He just calmly goes, ‘I think we're going to lower your dosage,'” Foxx quipped.
While the “Django Unchained” star has shot down any conspiracy theory about Combs causing his medical emergency, it's not the first time he's brought it up publicly.
Foxx previously addressed the rumors that the disgraced Bad Boy Records founder tried to kill him in his 2024 Netflix stand-up special, “What Had Happened Was.”
“The internet said Puffy was trying to kill me, that's what the internet was saying. I know what you thinking, ‘Diddy?'” Foxx joked on stage.
“Hell no, I left them parties early.”
The beloved comic told the audience that he always was “out by 9” whenever Combs threw a party — sharing that “something [didn't] look right” as the evenings would get later.
Foxx quipped, “It's slippery in here.”
Combs, who was arrested in September 2024 and is currently on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering, is alleged to have had wild sex performances dubbed “Freak-Offs” at his parties over the years.
He faces life in prison if convicted.
In his comedy special, Foxx said a brain bleed caused him to have a stroke, which led to his April 2023 hospitalization.
He detailed the “medical complication” that nearly killed him and caused him to lose 20 days of memory after a “bad headache,” before waking up in a wheelchair in the hospital, where doctors told him he was “within an inch of his life” when he first arrived.
The Grammy winner credited his sister Deidra Dixon with getting him the help he needed, as well as his daughter Anelise for saving his life by keeping him calm as a “spiritual defibrillator.”
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Nicole Lincoln, photos by Mark Oliver | May 23, 2025
Come one, come all! The Paranormal Cirque is comin' back to town. This is an experience unlike any other, where horror and gymnastic and circus artistry collide in a supernatural spectacle!
Brought to life by Cirque Italia, The Paranormal Cirque previously visited the Chippewa Valley back in the fall of 2023, where hundreds of attendees marveled at the theatrics and stunts performed under the 'Clown Castle' circus tent at the Oakwood Mall lot.
The troupe is home to around 40 performers and crew members from across the country, each with their own unique skillset, contributing to the magic of the traveling production.
“I'd describe it as a thrilling blend of circus artistry, horror, and live entertainment,” says Yury Belaus, a gymnast and key performer with the Paranormal Cirque crew. “It's an immersive journey filled with spine-chilling acts, captivating performances, and an eerie atmosphere that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”
This season will introduce new acts, such as a daring performance atop the "tallest unicycle anyone has ever seen," Yury said. “This show is filled with spooky and surprising moments,” they continued. “From unexpected scares that leap out from the shadows to illusions that defy explanation, each act is designed to keep the viewers on their toes.”
Paranormal Cirque will roll back into town for several shows:
Due to the nature of the Paranormal Cirque performance, the show is intended for 18-plus audiences only. Anyone ages 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult or parent. Tickets cost $15-$65, depending on age and proximity to stage.
Tickets and more event details on the Eau Claire show dates are available online at paranormalcirque.com.
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Supernatural follows Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers with plenty of unresolved trauma, traveling around the country, saving people, and hunting things. Over fifteen years, the Winchesters overcame numerous obstacles, evolving and growing. Audiences saw many sides to the characters, and the actors delivered numerous excellent performances.
Jared Padalecki stars as Sam Winchester, the younger and more learned of the brothers. Padalecki gave great depth to Sam and showed off his versatility, playing beautiful, tragic scenes as brilliantly as Sam's more comedic ones. Several moments are absolutely flawless in execution.
Supernatural has always balanced the dark and violent nature of monster hunting with humor. "Tall Tales" is often cited as one of the funniest episodes of the series. When the Winchester boys are investigating a series of strange occurrences, things get personal. The brothers are at each other's throats, and they call Bobby Singer to help them with the case.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
2x15
"Tall Tales"
February 15, 2007
9.1/10
When Crowley died in Supernatural Season 12, Mark Sheppard left the series on not-so-great terms with one or more of the executives.
Sam and Dean recount the events leading up to the present, and they both have their own version of what happened. One of the best Sam moments comes in Dean's version. When Sam interrupts Dean's flirting with a grad student, Dean describes Sam snootily, saying, "We don't have any time for any of your blah blah blah blah." The laughs don't stop there, either, like when Dean depicts Sam hugging a student and telling him that he's "too precious for this world."
Sam and Dean head to the movies, where they check out the haunting of a film set. In Supernatural's first meta-episode, the Winchester brothers join a studio tour to get on the lot. The boys ride a trolley as their guide narrates the sights.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
2x1
"Hollywood Babylon"
April 19, 2007
8.4/10
When they approach the set of Stars Hollow, Sam becomes visibly uncomfortable. The tour guide mentions it's the set for Gilmore Girls, and at the notion of maybe getting to see one of the show's stars, Sam immediately jumps off the trolley and heads in the opposite direction. The brief, awkward moment was played perfectly by Jared Padalecki, creating yet another fantastic moment for Sam.
"Bad Day at Black Rock" is about a cursed object. A rare and magical rabbit's foot gives its possessor fantastic luck, but once someone loses the foot, their luck turns deadly. Initially, Sam has great luck, winning $15,000 in lotto scratchers and free meals for a year, but when Bela picks his pocket, Sam becomes a clumsy safety hazard.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
3x03
"Bad Day at Black Rock"
October 18, 2007
9.2/10
Supernatural introduced several characters in memorable ways that revealed to the audience who they truly are in a single scene.
Some of Sam's most hilarious and iconic moments from Supernatural are in "Bad Day at Black Rock." As Dean talks to Bobby about Bela, Sam steps in gum. In an effort to get the gum off his shoe, he began scraping it against an open drain in the street. His shoe comes off and falls into the sewer. When Dean turns around, Sam is hunched over, defeated, and pouting. Jared Paddalecki delivers comedy gold when he says, "I lost my shoe."
After Gordon is locked up for killing a few psychics and trying to kill Sam, he breaks out of prison. A man on a mission, he tracks down Sam and Dean with Kubrick, landing himself smack-dab in the middle of a vampire hunt. Gordon gets turned into a bloodsucker, but insists on killing Sam before Kubrick can put Gordon down.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
3x07
"Fresh Blood"
November 15, 2007
8.4/10
Sam and Dean knowingly walk into Gordon's trap to save an innocent woman, and Sam gets separated from Dean and the hostage. Gordon tries to kill Sam, but Sam, being the skilled hunter he is, manages to get the upper hand on Gordon, wrapping razor wire around his neck. Sam brutally and justifiably decapitates Gordon in an impressive show of strength.
Audiences get to see a darker side of Sam in season three's "Mystery Spot." Sam gets stuck in a time loop where, every day, he has to watch Dean die. After one of the days, Sam thinks he's broken the loop, but he is still unable to prevent Dean's inevitable demise. Sam becomes a badass hunter in the weeks and months that follow, hunting down the trickster with a steely resolve.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
3x11
"Mystery Spot"
February 14, 2008
9.5/10
The episode featured plenty of comedic moments with Dean dying in every way imaginable, but seeing the dark and relentless hunter that Sam became was new for the character. He didn't even flinch when sewing up his wounds. In the montage, through a series of voicemails from Bobby, it becomes clear that Sam was an incredibly efficient solo hunter. Fueled by anger and determination, viewers got a glimpse at the scary side of Sam.
In the epic season five finale, Sam accepts Lucifer, kicking off the apocalypse. The plan was for Sam to overpower Lucifer and jump back into the cage from which he came, but things didn't go to plan. In one last-ditch effort to save the world, Dean crashes Lucifer and Michael's fight. Castiel shows up and sets Michael on fire, buying Dean a little time to try to reach Sam.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
5x22
"Swan Song"
May 13, 2010
9.7/10
In its 15-season run, Supernatural introduced some very bizarre concepts and storylines some of which didn't work for the fans.
As Lucifer beat the daylight out of Dean against the Impala, he caught a glimpse of the toy soldier he'd shoved in the ashtray. At that moment, Sam was flooded with memories of his family, of Dean, and was able to take control of his body long enough to throw Michael and himself into the cage, averting the end of the world. It was a perfect episode of Supernatural, with some of Sam's best scenes.
Sam and Dean head to Indiana to investigate an alien abduction. Per Dean's request, Sam is no longer concealing his apathy, which leads to some hysterically inappropriate reactions from Sam. When Dean looks at the abduction site, a bright white light starts to follow him. Dean starts shouting into the phone as he's chased by the "aliens."
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
6x09
"Clap Your Hands If You Believe"
November 19, 2010
8.3/10
Sam humorously remains indifferent to his brother's peril, making jokes about "close encounters" and ordering another beer while Dean runs for his life. After Dean is taken, Sam continues the case, but takes a break to have sex with a hippie chick. "Clap Your Hands If You Believe" is peak Soulless Sam, and Jared Padalecki's comedy timing is first-rate.
One of Supernatural's best episodes is, without a doubt, "The French Mistake." Sam and Dean are sent to an alternate reality where they're actors who only play monster hunters on TV. The meta-episode is pretty perfect from start to finish, but the highlight is Sam and Dean trying to act on camera.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
6x15
"The French Mistake"
February 25, 2011
9.6/10
From body language to facial expressions to line readings, Jared Padalecki delivered a comedically genius performance, creating one of the best moments for Sam Winchester. During Dean's lines, Sam stands behind his brother, having forgotten how to stand casually. When it's his turn to speak, he says his line directly to the ceiling. Then, Sam uses his arms, awkwardly outstretched, to visualize the concept of a lock having a key. It's pure gold.
In season eight of Supernatural, Sam performs a series of trials to close the gates of Hell. The last task is to cure a demon. Sam and Dean kidnap Crowley to perform a special exorcism that involves injecting the demon with purified blood. Sam confesses his sins so his blood will be pure for the ritual.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
8x23
"Sacrifice"
May 15, 2013
9.3/10
Supernatural is a beloved and long-running series that, unfortunately, still has more than a few problematic episodes that aren't easy to rewatch.
The entire sequence of Sam and Crowley is incredible, but the moment Sam tells Dean what he has confessed is heartbreaking and flawless. Sam's greatest regret is letting down his big brother. With tears in his eyes, the audience can hear the pain and guilt in his voice when he tells Dean what it feels like that Dean turned to Castiel and Benny, because Dean felt he couldn't count on Sam.
Since the "Pilot" episode of Supernatural, Sam and his father have had a contentious relationship. Their final moments before John Winchester died in the season three premiere were no different. Sam challenged John and didn't play the dutiful son, like his brother. John only had a few moments to say goodbye to his sons before Azazel collected his soul, and Sam never got to say goodbye.
Episode
Title
Air Date
IMDb Rating
14x13
"Lebanon"
February 7, 2019
9.3/10
In the 300th episode, Dean uses a wish-granting pearl to give him his heart's desire. Dean and Sam think it will lock Michael away, but instead, it pulls John from the past. John gets to tell his boys how much he loved them, and Sam finally gets closure and can let go of the guilt he'd carried around for years. It was a beautiful and perfect moment for the Winchester clan.
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Dean Winchester is one of Supernatural's most beloved characters, and there are more than a few reasons that prove why.
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