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Amid outrage over the killing of Renee Good, Democratic leaders are declining to use their leverage to fight the agency.
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The killing of Renee Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis this week came as Republicans in Congress were planning to bring a homeland security spending bill to the House floor, deciding on whether the agency that's surged thousands of armed agents into communities across the country should have increased funding — and progressive lawmakers are demanding that the Democrats use the upcoming government funding deadline to hopefully reduce the department's ability to wreak further havoc.
“I just don't understand how we provide votes for a bill that funds the extent of the depravity,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told CNN Thursday. “I know we can't fix everything in the appropriations bill but we should be looking at ways we can put some commonsense limitations on their ability to bring violence to our cities.”
But the top Democratic leaders, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY) both appeared to have little interest in discussing how their party can use the appropriations process as leverage to rein in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies that have taken part in President Donald Trump's mass deportation operation.
Both Schumer and Jeffries sharply criticized Wednesday's shooting and the Trump administration's insistence that, contrary to mounting video evidence, the ICE agent who shot Good was acting in self-defense.
But Jeffries said Thursday that he was focused on passing other appropriations bills that were ultimately approved by the House.
“We'll figure out the accountability mechanisms at the appropriate time,” Jeffries told reporters.
Democrats refuse to use their power in the appropriations fight to rein in ICE. They don't care if you live or die. https://t.co/gFXhyfzA12
With Congress facing a January 30 deadline for approving government spending packages — and with public disapproval of ICE at an all-time high — several lawmakers have said this week that right now is the “appropriate time” to rein in the agency in any way the Democrats can.
“Statements and letters are not enough, and the appropriations process and the [continuing resolution] expiring January 31 is our opportunity,” Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) told Axios.
Schumer also refused to say whether the Democrats would use the appropriations process as leverage to cut funding to ICE, whose budget is set to balloon to $170 billion following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. Republicans will need Democratic support to pass a spending bill in the Senate, where 60 votes are required.
oh cool the guy responsible for failing to protect our healthcare by orchestrating a total cave-in to Republicans is also caving in on the murder of americans by gestapo death squads LOVE IT https://t.co/q0xEWNsTOX
The Senate leader said only that he has “lots of problems with ICE” when asked whether he would support abolishing the agency — a proposal whose support has gone up by 20 percentage points among voters in just one year, according to a recent survey. Both leaders also would not commit to slashing the homeland security budget should the Democrats win back majorities in Congress this year.
“It's hard to be an opposition party when you refuse to oppose the blatantly illegal and immoral things being done by the opposition,” said Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health.
Sharing a clip of Jeffries' remarks to reporters about the agency's funding, historian Moshik Temkin said that “people need to understand that at its core ICE is a bipartisan project, increasingly funded and normalized over multiple Democratic administrations and congressional majorities, and a few of them (not this guy) are starting to realize how foolish, weak, and misguided they were.”
Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are among the progressive lawmakers calling on the Democrats to demand reduced funding for ICE — even if it means another government shutdown months after the longest one in US history late last year, which began when the Democrats refused to join the GOP in passing a spending bill that would have allowed Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire. Ultimately, some Senate Democrats caved, and the subsidies lapsed.
“We can't just keep authorizing money for these illegal killers,” Jayapal told Axios. “That's what they are, this rogue force.”
Ocasio-Cortez told the Independent that Democrats should “absolutely” push to cut funding.
“This Congress, this Republican Congress, while they cut a trillion dollars to Americans' healthcare, and they exploded the ICE budget to $170 billion making it one of the largest paramilitary forces in the United States with zero accountability as they shoot US citizens in the head — absolutely,” she said.
On the podcast The Majority Report, Emma Vigeland and Sam Seder called on progressive Democrats to demand Schumer's ouster in light of his refusal to take action to rein in ICE as its violence in American communities escalates.
It's time for Democrats to oust Chuck Schumer from leadership pic.twitter.com/ByWMJ495zb
“Change the news cycle and show that you'll be an opposition party,” said Vigeland. “Call for his ouster.”
Seder added that Schumer “has the ability to wage a fight to prevent the funding of DHS. He has the ability to do that and he doesn't want it. He's running away from any leverage he has, deliberately.”
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As Trump erodes press freedoms, the resurgence of Mvskoke Media offers lessons on how to protect independent media.
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To say press freedoms in the U.S. have taken a knock during the first year of Donald Trump's second term would be a gross understatement.
Perhaps the most glaring example is the Department of Defense's new policy requiring journalists covering the Pentagon to sign a pledge promising not to use any information that hasn't been explicitly authorized. But the Trump administration's attacks on a free press have also included other tactics, like the effort to dismantle Freedom of Information Act processes across federal departments.
The administration's explicit attempts at censorship work alongside the more insidious ways in which press freedoms are eroded, like the right-wing capture of legacy media institutions and social media platforms by ideologues and billionaires.
“To be clear, all presidents and all elected officials have always objected to their coverage,” David Loy, legal director with the First Amendment Coalition, a nonpartisan nonprofit that seeks to promote and protect press freedoms, told Truthout. “But the Trump administration has mounted unprecedented attacks on freedom of the press.”
These attacks on press freedoms don't stop at the federal level, however; they are also being inflicted by local governments seeking to undermine already-embattled local media. In Northern California's Shasta County, for example, the region's registrar of voters, Clint Curtis, singled out a local media outlet for exclusion on a press release distribution list after the publication had reported on serious questions about his proposed changes to the electoral process.
It hasn't been all bad news, with the courts remaining a vital bulwark against such attacks.
In November, Marion County in Kansas agreed to offer an apology and pay a $3 million settlement to end a lawsuit stemming from police raids on the small Marion County Record newsroom and two homes in August of 2023, including that of Record vice president and associate publisher, 98-year-old Joan Meyer, who died of a heart attack the following day. The raids were precipitated by a news tip the Record had received about the driving record of a local restaurant owner who was applying for a liquor license. The police chief alleged incorrectly that the paper had illegally accessed these records.
In October, a California district court judge sided with the Los Angeles Press Club in striking down an attempt by the Los Angeles Police Department to lessen use-of-force restrictions against journalists covering protests across the city.
Against this backdrop, the small and scrappy news outlet that serves the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma — the fourth-largest federally recognized tribal nation in the U.S. — offers a stark lesson of what happens when cherished press freedoms are lost altogether, as well as a blueprint for how to restore and protect these important civic checks and balances.
Just over four years ago, Muscogee voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the nation's free and independent press, along with a stable funding source for Mvskoke Media, a tribal news agency. It's the first tribal nation to tweak their constitution to cement and secure an independent press in this manner.
The road to that moment was a long and rocky one, characterized by corruption in high office, a small newsroom hamstrung by government censorship, and a community forced to reckon with the potential loss of a key mechanism for holding their leaders accountable. The story is documented in the roller-coaster 2023 documentary Bad Press by filmmakers Joe Peeler and Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, the latter a member of the Muscogee Nation and a former editor of Mvskoke Media.
“Part of being a good journalism outlet is always advocating for press freedom and the First Amendment rights of our citizens,” said current Mvskoke Media Director Angel Ellis. “And now, we are in better shape to do that advocacy work and deliver the news as we should.”
The nation has been served by a monthly newspaper since 1970, The Mvskoke News, which is now housed at Mvskoke Media, an editorial and creative outlet. The nation's journalists had already built a reputation for holding its leaders' feet to the fire. But not everyone appreciated this public accounting, especially those in charge.
Ellis broke a major government corruption story in 2011 about the misuse of tribal gaming funds. It won her an award from the Native American Journalists Association, but Ellis's department manager fired her for insubordination shortly after this coverage went to print.
A few years later, in 2015, the Muscogee Creek Nation passed a law codifying its free press, in the process protecting the work of the journalists Ellis had left behind. At the time, it was one of just a handful of tribal nations to have enacted such a law. Even today, only about 11 of the 574 federally recognized Native American tribes are protected by some sort of press freedom, either by a law written into their books or by a court ruling defending that nation's independent news coverage, said Ellis.
As easily as a law can get passed, however, it can just as easily be rolled back.
In 2017, Mvskoke Media investigated the tribal council speaker, Lucian Tiger III, for sexual misconduct, in an explosive story that rattled the tribal nation. The newsroom received warnings from within the government that council members wanted to nuke the nation's free press law to gag reporters. The following year, they did. The council voted 7-6 to repeal the law. Tiger was the decisive tie-breaker.
The vote dissolved the paper's editorial board and gave council members the ability to edit and approve stories. Many of Mvskoke Media's reporters — whose digital communications were suddenly open for scrutiny by government leadership — resigned, appalled at being professionally handcuffed. Ellis, who had been rehired in 2018, just before the repeal of the law, was one of the few who stayed on.
In 2019, the tribal council passed another bill somewhat restoring the Mvskoke Media's press independence. But it was far from perfect. And the newsroom's ability to check power remained limited under a law that could once again be revoked.
In a democracy where governmental authority isn't properly held accountable, elections are among its most corruptible parts. After the tribal attorney general called the elections later that year “fatally flawed,” the Muscogee Creek Nation Supreme Court nullified the results and called for a redo, finding the election board's handling of ballots opened the door to tampering.
If the wheels of democracy were to spin unimpeded, an independent free press was vital. A constitutional amendment would cement it in stone. Come the elections of 2021, Muscogee citizens got their chance to weigh in.
In the lead up to the vote, the Mvskoke Media championed the amendment, with Ellis, a heavy-smoking, straight-talking force of nature, its loudest bullhorn. Part of that role required convincing community members of its necessity, some of whom believed Mvskoke Media's journalists were just scared of losing their livelihoods.
“I didn't argue with them. I'm like, ‘Yeah, we're a news organization. And news organizations are run by people who do the job and people need to be paid,'” said Ellis, describing “hundreds and hundreds of hours of outreach speaking candidly one-on-one” with the community.
“We got really transparent with the public and showed them how we operated and what those funding revenue streams looked like and how they were being administered by our department. It felt risky to expose all of our funding streams and our financials,” said Ellis. “We did that so that they understood exactly how those public funds were being spent.”
Her work paid off in September 2021, when the Muscogee Creek Nation voted for the free press constitutional amendment by a whopping 76 percent. Its passage came with immediate tangible effects, for both Mvskoke Media and the Muscogee Creek Nation as a whole. Since then, “democracy has been carried out in a very cohesive and boring manner,” said Ellis.
The constitutional amendment built a firewall between Mvskoke Media and government officials. So far, it's held firm. “There's nothing threatening coming down the pipeline, but we don't want to rest on our laurels,” said Ellis.
As part of that proactive approach, Ellis has found the publication independent legal counsel. They've also moved the newsroom's headquarters from one owned by the Creek Nation to an independent location in Tulsa.
“If they ever wanted to come and shut our doors, they could have,” said Ellis, about the impetus behind the location change.
Another vulnerability came from the fact the newsroom's IT services ran through the tribe. “Are they reading our emails? Were they able to shut us down in terms of our digital electronic functions?” said Ellis, replaying some of her fears. In response, the organization has adopted its own independent IT system.
All of this has cost money, which brings up another remarkable evolution of Mvskoke Media: funding.
Although the newsroom still receives statutory funding, about 60 percent of its money now comes from merchandizing: think sweatshirts, hoodies, and t-shirts. Mvskoke Media operates two brick-and-mortar gift shops, and while it doesn't have a commercial printing press, it has printers perfectly suited for commercial business cards, flyers, and brochures.
“In the midst of all of the upheaval we were experiencing, a lot of the citizens were really behind us and we started selling t-shirts that were culturally branded,” said Ellis, explaining the genesis of the idea. “We started out with about $10,000 worth of just t-shirts. We sold them. And everything we sold, we put right back into it. And now, we've grown that into over half a million dollars of revenue.”
It hasn't all been smooth sailing. Before the free press law was repealed in 2018, the Mvskoke Media newsroom employed 12 people. “As we sit today, I only have five,” said Ellis. “I'm desperately trying to rebuild capacity. When you lose 90 years-worth of experience in a newsroom, it's damn near impossible to replace that.”
Ellis has taken her story to newsrooms large and small around the U.S. imparting words of hard-earned wisdom. One of her pieces of advice is to embrace public criticism. For the Mvskoke Media, a frequent critique, Ellis explained, surrounds the sort of coverage the community can feel paints the tribe in a negative light.
Another is to eschew the old profit-driven funding model built around advertising. “I've trained some very prestigious newsrooms and my message is always this: ‘Indigenize your process and get away from the capitalism,'” said Ellis, who explained that while the Mvskoke Media still accepts advertising dollars, it's far from a central focus of their revenue-building efforts. “Your bottom line will improve if you live in service to your community.”
“It's always in the nature of power to resist accountability,” said Loy, offering a reminder that press freedoms need eternal vigilance. “Free speech begins at home. It's just as vitally important that free speech and a free press be defended at the grassroots.”
Ellis, meanwhile, can now start to look back on years of frustration, fear, and no small amount of hard work with the sense of a job well done. “To see progress and to be able to provide an example of a success story for our industry that doesn't have a ton of reasons to celebrate right now, it feels very, very good,” she said. “It's very gratifying work.”
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The Trump administration announced that this week it will start forcibly collecting money from student loan debtors.
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“I like debt for me,” said then-2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump. While defending himself against attacks by Hillary Clinton, Trump referred to himself as the “king of debt,” touting his classic business skills in renegotiating debts for his financial gain. Trump flipped the script on how many think about debt, which has long been held as a deep moral obligation to be paid in every account. Rather, Trump told the truth about debt: that the debtor-creditor relationship, much like the worker-boss relationship, implies financial power on both ends. Today, however, Trump finds himself not as the debtor, but as the creditor, set to use the broad powers of the federal government to push the masses even further into poverty.
For the first time since the onset of COVID-19, the Trump administration is set to garnish U.S. workers' wages for defaulted student loans. The Department of Education has announced that beginning this week it will send at least 1,000 borrowers a notice of intent to garnish wages, sending additional notices every month as it expands its efforts to forcibly collect money from millions of borrowers in default.
This is a cruel, harsh policy that the Trump administration does not have to implement — and it shouldn't.
Most Americans with student loan debt cannot afford to keep up with their payments, which average over $400 a month. With stagnant wages, record-high household debt burdens, the rising cost of college, and ballooning interest, the student debt crisis has only worsened since its inception. Student debt is often difficult to discharge in bankruptcy. Unlike mortgages and every other type of debt, student loan interest can capitalize — forcing debtors to pay interest on the interest on the principal. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, the most affordable repayment plan ever introduced in the U.S., has been effectively undermined by the Trump administration, causing expected payments to skyrocket. And of course, cancellation plans that grant debtors relief after 10 or 20 years have been bungled or thwarted.
Nearly a third of debtors have reported going without food, medicine, or other necessities to keep up with student loan payments.
Student debt garnishments can take up to 15 percent of a workers' paycheck, enough to push people who need every penny they earn off the edge. Nearly a third of debtors have reported going without food, medicine, or other necessities to keep up with student loan payments, and more than 9 in 10 debtors who have experienced wage garnishment say it caused them financial hardship.
Like much of the story with student loans, garnishment isn't cleanly administered. Employers often incorrectly take much more of a worker's paycheck than what is legally allowed or continue to garnish wages after a loan has been paid in full, leaving borrowers with zero dollars in their bank account and stealing their time by forcing them to navigate a byzantine system to correct these errors. According to public legal filings, nearly 400,000 debtors received refunds totaling more than $185 million for wages illegally garnished in 2021 — refunds that, while borrowers waited for them, caused workers to lose their homes and suffer other financial hardships.
As an organizer with the Debt Collective, the nation's first union of debtors, I know the toll that garnishment can take. For many, it results in harm to their stomachs as they skip meals, harm to their teeth as they avoid the dentist, and harm to their mental health, their kids, their dreams, and even their own lives. One of our members, Jessica Madison, died after the federal government repeatedly illegally garnished money from her account, rendering her unable to see a doctor for her cancer.
Jessica Madison died after the federal government repeatedly illegally garnished money from her account, rendering her unable to see a doctor for her cancer.
It's not just that student debtors fall behind on their payments. The borrowers in default are those who struggle the most in our economy. Nearly 1 million borrowers have loans that have been in continuous default for 20 years or more. Many of the borrowers in default attended a predatory for-profit college that preyed on their desire to get an education before defrauding them. Older borrowers, the fastest-growing population of student debtors who often are on fixed incomes, experience default at higher-than-average rates. Forty percent of student debtors have debt with no degree, often having been unable to complete their college education due to the high price or life-changing circumstances. In other words, garnishing wages for those unable to pay is like trying to draw water from stones.It's not too late for the Trump administration to reverse course on what would be an economically devastating policy for U.S. families and our economy. In June 2025, the Trump administration was set to continue a shameful policy that the Biden administration was set to implement as well: garnish older adults' Social Security checks for defaulted student loans. Instead, the administration decided to (temporarily) reverse course, noting that Social Security provides the last few dollars that many older Americans have.
But debtors shouldn't feel hopeless. The truth is, there are a host of options at debtors' disposal that the Department of Education does not tell borrowers about. Many borrowers who receive default notices will actually be eligible for debt cancellation, whether they know it or not.
Cancellation programs like Total and Permanent Disability, False Certification, and Borrower Defense can provide relief for millions of borrowers who deserve it because their university cheated them or closed down while they were enrolled. Another little-known option that borrowers have is to apply for a hardship exemption if wage garnishment causes them financial hardship. While temporary, and certainly not a solution to the student debt crisis, debtors can apply to pause or reduce forced collections if they are in difficult circumstances.
Forty percent of student debtors have debt with no degree, often having been unable to complete their college education due to the high price or life-changing circumstances.
There is also a solid chance that debtors are in default because of an error caused by their student loan servicer. Servicers, the middle-men of the student debt system, have gross financial incentives to steer borrowers into the wrong payment plan. As borrower balances get transferred from one servicer to another, and as payments and documents and interest accumulates, errors occur. Many borrowers are told the wrong balance, estimated for the wrong payment and told that years of payments don't exist. Though rarely granted by the Department of Education, debtors in forbearance of deferment who went into default due to a loan servicer error can challenge the default status and have it reversed.
Some borrowers — such as those who are incarcerated or facing unique circumstances — could also appeal to the Department of Education and request a “compromise” or “write-off” of student loans to prevent administrative wage garnishment.
It's not just borrowers who should be making noise about the affront that is wage garnishment for student loans. Labor unions should be fighting tooth and nail to ensure that employers protect their workers from illegal forced collections. The more extraction from student debtors, the more there is a drag on our economy — making it harder for businesses to thrive, homes to be purchased, or families to be started.
Student debtors would be wise to fight back at every opportunity, urging the federal government to negotiate student debt on different terms. The Department of Education isn't just our creditor expecting payments, it is also a democratically elected body that is susceptible to political power from below. To accept the terms and conditions of harsh debt collection is to succumb to a broken system run by unqualified billionaires. To fight back against our debts, as Trump put it, is “a smart thing, not a stupid thing.”
As Trump cracks down on political speech, independent media is increasingly necessary.
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Braxton Brewington is a community organizer and spokesperson for the Debt Collective.
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Five parties issue joint statement after US president warns he would acquire the island ‘the nice way or the more difficult way'
Greenlanders “don't want to be Americans” and must decide the future of the Arctic island themselves, politicians in the self-governing Danish territory have said, after Donald Trump warned the US would “do something whether they like it or not”.
The leaders of five political parties in the Greenlandic parliament issued a united statement on Friday night, soon after the US president reiterated his threats to acquire the mineral-rich island.
“We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders,” said the group, which included the island's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. “The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders.”
Stressing the desire of the people of Greenland, a former Danish colony, to have self-determination, they said: “No other country can meddle in this. We must decide our country's future ourselves – without pressure to make a hasty decision, without procrastination, and without interference from other countries.”
The statement was signed by Nielsen, his predecessor as prime minister, Múte B Egede, and Pele Broberg, Aleqa Hammond and Aqqalu C Jerimiassen.
At a meeting with oil and gas executives at the White House earlier on Friday, Trump had said Greenland was crucial for US national security. “We're not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland. That's what they're going to do if we don't. So we're going to be doing something with Greenland, either the nice way or the more difficult way,” he told reporters.
Trump is “actively” discussing making a potential offer to buy the island with his national security team, the White House confirmed earlier this week.
Greenlanders have repeatedly expressed their refusal to be part of the US, with 85% of the population rejecting the idea, according to a 2025 poll.
Polling also shows only 7% of Americans support the idea of a US military invasion of the territory, which the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, recently said would mean the end of “Nato and therefore post second world war security”.
She has urged Trump to stop threatening to take over the country, saying the US has “no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish kingdom [meaning Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands]”.
Trump said on Friday: “If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have a Nato right now.” When asked whether his priority was preserving the alliance or acquiring Greenland, he previously told the New York Times: “It may be a choice.”
Asked about Trump's statement, the head of Nato's forces in Europe, US Gen Alexus Grynkewich, said he did not wish to comment on whether the alliance – which includes Denmark – would survive without the US.
But he responded on Friday by saying Nato was far from being in a crisis.
“There's been no impact on my work at the military level up to this point … I would just say that we're ready to defend every inch of alliance territory still today,” he said.
“So I see us as far from being in a crisis right now,.”
The US has operated a military base on the northwestern tip of Greenland since the second world war, where more than 100 military personnel are permanently stationed. Existing agreements with Denmark would allow Trump to bring as many troops as he wanted to the island.
But Trump told reporters on Friday that a lease agreement was not enough. “Countries have to have ownership and you defend ownership, you don't defend leases,” he said. “And we'll have to defend Greenland,.”
Trump previously made an offer to buy the island in 2019, but was told it was not for sale. Since then he has claimed that Greenland, which has vast natural resources including rare-earth minerals and potentially huge oil and gas reserves, “is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place”.
In an interview with the Guardian on Friday, Jess Berthelsen, the chair of SIK, Greenland's national trade union confederation, said people in the territory did not recognise the US president's allegations that Russian and Chinese ships were scattered throughout its waters. “We can't see it, we can't recognise it and we can't understand it,” he said.
President Donald Trump continued his threats towards Greenland on Friday, as he insisted that if the United States did not act Russia or China could occupy it in the future.
Trump said that if he is unable to make a deal to acquire the territory “the easy way,” then he will have to “do it the hard way.”
“We are going to do something in Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Greenland's party leaders, including the opposition, issued a joint statement saying: “We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders. The future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”
The US president and his White House officials have been discussing a range of options on how to bring Greenland under US control amid renewed interest in the strategically significant Danish-controlled territory, and has not ruling out a military intervention. The governments of Greenland and Denmark continue to publicly and privately insist it is not for sale.
It remains unclear how other NATO members would respond if the US decided to take Greenland by force. European leaders have warned that such a move would have serious consequences for the military alliance. In a joint statement the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland and Spain said Greenland belongs to its own people.
“I would like to make a deal the easy way but if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way. And by the way, I'm a fan of Denmark too. I have to tell you, they have been very nice to me. I'm a big fan,” Trump said.
He claimed that the move was necessary to prevent Russia or China from taking Greenland at some point in the future.
Asked about a recent report that the US was weighing making payments to Greenlanders to convince them to join the US, Trump said, “I'm not talking about money for Greenland yet.”
Many Greenlanders have already rejected the idea of accepting money to become part of the US. “No thank you. It's absolutely certain that we don't want that,” one resident of the capital city of Nuuk, Simon Kjeldskov, told Reuters.
Another resident, Juno Michaelsen, said: “Any number in the world and we will say no. It belongs to us and only us.”
The top Washington-based diplomats for Greenland and Denmark met with White House officials on Thursday. Denmark's Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen and Greenland's head of representation to the US Jacob Isbosethsen met with Trump advisers, diplomats familiar with the matter told CNN.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen alongside four other party leaders once again rejected Trump's calls to acquire the semi-autonomous territory in a statement release Friday night and seen by Reuters.
The leaders said a planned meeting of Greenland's parliament, the Inatsisartut, to discuss its response to the Trump administration's threats would be brought forward. The date of the meeting has not yet been determined. Greenland's parliament last met in November and had been scheduled to meet again on February 3.
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This frame grab from video aired Friday by Iranian state television shows a man holding a device to document burning vehicles during a night of mass protests in Zanjan.Uncredited/The Associated Press
Protests sweeping across Iran neared the two-week mark Saturday, with the country's government acknowledging the ongoing demonstrations despite an intensifying crackdown and as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. But the death toll in the protests has grown to at least 72 people killed, with over 2,300 others detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Iranian state TV is reporting on security force casualties while portraying control over the nation.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has signaled a coming clampdown, despite U.S. warnings. Tehran escalated its threats Saturday, with the Iran's attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, warning that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge. The statement carried by Iranian state television said even those who “helped rioters” would face the charge.
“Prosecutors must carefully and without delay, by issuing indictments, prepare the grounds for the trial and decisive confrontation with those who, by betraying the nation and creating insecurity, seek foreign domination over the country,” the statement read. “Proceedings must be conducted without leniency, compassion or indulgence.”
Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on Saturday that safeguarding security was a 'red line' and the military vowed to protect public property, as the clerical establishment stepped up efforts to quell the most widespread protests in years.
Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump offered support for the protesters, saying on social media that “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered support for the protesters.
“The United States supports the brave people of Iran,” Rubio wrote Saturday on the social platform X. The State Department separately warned: “Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he'll do something, he means it.”
Saturday marks the start of the work week in Iran, but many schools and universities reportedly held online classes, Iranian state TV reported. Internal Iranian government websites are believed to be functioning.
State TV repeatedly played a driving, martial orchestral arrangement from the “Epic of Khorramshahr” by Iranian composer Majid Entezami, while showing pro-government demonstrations. The song, aired repeatedly during the 12-day war launched by Israel, honors Iran's 1982 liberation of the city of Khorramshahr during the Iran-Iraq war. It has been used in videos of protesting women cutting away their hair to protest the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini as well.
“Field reports indicate that peace prevailed in most cities of the country at night,” a state TV anchor reported. “After a number of armed terrorists attacked public places and set fire to people's private property last night, there was no news of any gathering or chaos in Tehran and most provinces last night.”
A timeline of the protests in Iran and how they grew
That was directly contradicted by an online video verified by The Associated Press that showed demonstrations in northern Tehran's Saadat Abad area, with what appeared to be thousands on the street.
“Death to Khamenei!” a man chanted.
The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and one of the few media outlets able to publish to the outside world, released surveillance camera footage of what it said came from demonstrations in Isfahan. In it, a protester appeared to fire a long gun, while others set fires and threw gasoline bombs at what appeared to be a government compound.
The Young Journalists' Club, associated with state TV, reported that protesters killed three members of the Guard's all-volunteer Basij force in the city of Gachsaran. It also reported a security official was stabbed to death in Hamadan province, a police officer killed in the port city of Bandar Abbas and another in Gilan, as well as one person slain in Mashhad.
State television also aired footage of a funeral service attended by hundreds in Qom, a Shiite seminary city just south of Tehran.
Iran's theocracy cut off the nation from the internet and international telephone calls on Thursday, though it allowed some state-owned and semiofficial media to publish. Qatar's state-funded Al Jazeera news network reported live from Iran, but they appeared to be the only major foreign outlet able to work.
Iran's exiled former crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who called for protests Thursday and Friday, asked in his latest message for demonstrators to take to the streets Saturday and Sunday. He urged protesters to carry Iran's old lion-and-sun flag and other national symbols used during the time of the shah to “claim public spaces as your own.”
Who is Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former Iranian crown prince calling on citizens to protest?
Pahlavi's support of and from Israel has drawn criticism in the past — particularly after the 12-day war. Demonstrators have shouted in support of the shah in some protests, but it isn't clear whether that's support for Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country's economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran's theocracy.
Airlines have cancelled some flights into Iran over the demonstrations. Austrian Airlines said Saturday it had decided to suspend its flights to Iran “as a precautionary measure” through Monday. Turkish Airlines earlier announced the cancellation of 17 flights to three cities in Iran.
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Bones and skulls visible in the back seat of a car near an abandoned cemetery on Philadelphia's outskirts led police to a basement filled with body parts, which authorities say were hoarded by a man now accused of stealing about 100 sets of human remains.
Officers say a Tuesday night arrest culminated a monthslong investigation into break-ins at Mount Moriah Cemetery, where at least 26 mausoleums and vaults had been forced open since early November.
Investigators later searched the Ephrata home and storage unit of Jonathan Christ Gerlach, 34, and reported finding more than 100 human skulls, long bones, mummified hands and feet, two decomposing torsos and other skeletal items.
“They were in various states. Some of them were hanging, as it were. Some of them were pieced together, some were just skulls on a shelf,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said.
Most were in the basement, authorities said, and they also recovered jewelry believed to be linked to the graves. In one case, a pacemaker was still attached.
Police say Gerlach targeted mausoleums and underground vaults at the 1855 cemetery. It's considered the country's largest abandoned burial ground, according to Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, which helps maintain the 160-acre landmark in Yeadon that's home to an estimated 150,000 grave sites.
Jim Morrison's stolen grave bust found after 37 years
Police had been looking into the string of burglaries when an investigator checked Gerlach's vehicle plates and found he had been near Yeadon repeatedly during the period when the burglaries occurred. Police say the break-ins centered on sealed vaults and mausoleums containing older burials, which had been smashed open or had stonework damaged to reach the remains inside.
He was arrested as he walked back toward his car with a crowbar, police said, and a burlap bag in which officers found the mummified remains of two small children, three skulls and other bones.
Gerlach told investigators he took about 30 sets of human remains and showed them the graves he stole from, police said.
“Given the enormity of what we are looking at and the sheer, utter lack of reasonable explanation, it's difficult to say right now, at this juncture, exactly what took place. We're trying to figure it out,” Rouse told reporters.
Judge accepts guilty pleas from Colorado funeral home owners who acknowledged abusing 191 corpses
Gerlach was charged with 100 counts each of abuse of a corpse and receiving stolen property, along with multiple counts of desecrating a public monument, desecrating a venerated object, desecrating a historic burial place, burglary, trespassing and theft.
He is jailed on $1 million bond. No lawyer was listed in court records. A message seeking comment was texted to a cellphone linked to him.
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Online campaign for US woman shot and killed by ICE agent in Minneapolis significantly surpasses initial $50,000 goal
An online campaign meant to financially support the family of Renee Nicole Good – the US woman shot to death Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent – raised more than $1.5m before organizers closed it Friday.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” said the page of the GoFundMe campaign benefiting Good's family, which also explained the money raised would be placed in a trust. “We are here brokenhearted and in awe of your generosity.”
The campaign's initial goal was $50,000. In a substantial show of public support, the campaign – verified by GoFundMe as legitimate – had generated more than 30 times that amount when it was closed Friday. Contributions came from roughly 38,500 donors who were asked on the fundraising platform to “support the widow and family of Renee Good as they grapple with the devastating loss of their wife and mother”.
“Renee was pure sunshine, pure love,” a message from the fundraiser's organizers said. “She will be desperately missed.”
Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot to death as she tried to drive her car away from federal agents conducting an immigration sweep in Minneapolis at the behest of the Trump administration. Video taken by the agent who shot Good showed her saying everything was “fine” and “I'm not mad at you” while he approached and she was behind the wheel of a car stopped across a street.
Then a different ICE officer demanded she open her door and grabbed its handle. Good began pulling forward to drive away and slowly brushed the first officer, who was easily able to retain his balance.
The officer at that point shot Good multiple times, fatally wounding her while a voice on video is heard saying: “Fucking bitch.”
The ICE agent who killed Good has been identified as Jonathan E Ross. In June, he had been dragged by a vehicle while participating in the arrest of an undocumented immigrant with an open ICE detainer and a criminal conviction for sexually assaulting his 16-year-old stepdaughter in 2022.
Minnesota officials and residents have sharply rebuked the Trump administration's narrative that Good was engaging in domestic terrorism when Ross killed her. Notably, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey implored ICE to “get the fuck out” of the city. Some congressional Democrats have threatened to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security that contains ICE.
Thousands have protested near the site of Good's killing, which was less than a mile from where Minneapolis police murdered George Floyd in plain view of a cellphone camera five years earlier, igniting worldwide protests.
Good's widow, Rebecca Good, who witnessed her wife's killing, published a statement on the GoFundMe saying “the kindness of strangers is the most fitting tribute” for Renee. Rebecca Good said she and her wife were supporting their neighbors amid the ICE sweep at the time of Renee's killing.
“We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness,” Rebecca Good's statement said. “Renee lived this belief every day.”
Donald Trump's maneuvers in Venezuela are creating a heightened geopolitical risk for Canadian businesses in the region
Neil Woodyer was on top of the world heading into 2026. The company he runs, Vancouver-based Aris Mining Corp., operates two gold mines in Colombia, and over the past year its share price more than quadrupled thanks to the trifecta of record gold prices, an inclusion in the S&P/TSX Composite Index, which exposed Aris to a wider range of investors, and settling a long-running arbitration case with the Colombian government. By year end, Aris was worth $4.5-billion.
But over the course of 48 hours last weekend, the geopolitical picture grew complicated. After U.S. President Donald Trump captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, asserting Mr. Trump's control over the country and its vast oil reserves, he quickly pivoted to Colombia and called its President, Gustavo Petro, “a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”
“He's not going to be doing it for very long,” Mr. Trump said, suggesting Mr. Petro was on borrowed time. He even floated the idea of a military operation against Colombia, which has yet to shed its reputation as the cocaine capital of the world.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro holds a demonstration against the Trump administration and in defence of his country's sovereignty.Andres Rot/Getty Images
The U.S. President has a history of making threats, only to get distracted by a shiny new object. (Mr. Trump and Mr. Petro have already had a phone call and both men have dialled down their rhetoric since.) Latin Americans also have thick skin after decades of coups and dictatorships, so daily life hasn't ground to a halt.
Yet Mr. Trump also can't be ignored, considering he is creating uncertainty for the more than 650 million people who live in Latin America and the Caribbean. It's a puzzle for Canadian resource companies that have poured tens of billions of dollars into the region over the past three decades. Miners, in particular, have significant skin in the game. Teck Resources Ltd., First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., Sherritt International Corp., Pan American Silver Corp. and Aris are all heavily invested across the region.
As foreign companies put money in Latin America over those decades, the hope was that the erratic policies and nationalist campaigns that had plagued the region were a thing of the past. Thanks to sudden new aggression from Mr. Trump, that instability is now roaring back.
Canadian miners' heavy exposure to Latin America
Uncertainty rises as Trump threatens stability of region
Pinos Altos
Moa
Pueblo Viejo
Cobre Panama
Segovia
Shahuindo
Chapada
Antamina
Jacobina
Costancia
Paracatu
Quebrada Blanca
Caserones
Candelaria
Veladero
Carmen de
Andacollo
Cerro Moro
2000 km
Company
Key Latin American assets
Primary commodities
Barrick Gold
Veladero (Argentina),
Gold, Copper
Pueblo Viejo (Dominican
Republic)
Teck Resources
Quebrada Blanca (Chile),
Copper, Zinc
Carmen de Andacollo (Chile),
Antamina (Peru)
Lundin Mining
Candelaria (Chile),
Copper, Gold, Nickel
Caserones (Chile),
Chapada (Brazil)
Jacobina (Brazil)
Kinross Gold
Paracatu (Brazil)
Gold
Pan American
Silver
Cerro Moro (Argentina),
Silver, Gold
Shahuindo (Peru),
Hudbay Minerals
Constancia (Peru)
Copper, Molybdenum
First Quantum
Cobre Panama (Panama)
Copper
Aris Mining
Segovia (Colombia)
Gold
Sherritt Int'l
Moa (Cuba)
Nickel, Cobalt
Agnico Eagle
Mines
Pinos Altos (Mexico)
Gold, Silver
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: the companies
Canadian miners' heavy exposure to Latin America
Uncertainty rises as Trump threatens stability of region
Pinos Altos
Moa
Pueblo Viejo
Cobre Panama
Segovia
Shahuindo
Chapada
Antamina
Jacobina
Costancia
Paracatu
Quebrada Blanca
Caserones
Candelaria
Veladero
Carmen de
Andacollo
Cerro Moro
2000 km
Company
Key Latin American assets
Primary commodities
Barrick Gold
Veladero (Argentina),
Gold, Copper
Pueblo Viejo (Dominican
Republic)
Teck Resources
Quebrada Blanca (Chile),
Copper, Zinc
Carmen de Andacollo (Chile),
Antamina (Peru)
Lundin Mining
Candelaria (Chile),
Copper, Gold, Nickel
Caserones (Chile),
Chapada (Brazil)
Jacobina (Brazil)
Kinross Gold
Paracatu (Brazil)
Gold
Pan American
Silver
Cerro Moro (Argentina),
Silver, Gold
Shahuindo (Peru),
Hudbay Minerals
Constancia (Peru)
Copper, Molybdenum
First Quantum
Cobre Panama (Panama)
Copper
Aris Mining
Segovia (Colombia)
Gold
Sherritt Int'l
Moa (Cuba)
Nickel, Cobalt
Agnico Eagle
Mines
Pinos Altos (Mexico)
Gold, Silver
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: the companies
Canadian miners' heavy exposure to Latin America
Uncertainty rises as Trump threatens stability of region
Pinos Altos
Moa
Pueblo Viejo
Cobre Panama
Segovia
Shahuindo
Chapada
Antamina
Jacobina
Costancia
Paracatu
Quebrada Blanca
Caserones
Candelaria
Veladero
Carmen de
Andacollo
Cerro Moro
2000 km
Company
Key Latin American assets
Primary commodities
Barrick Gold
Veladero (Argentina),
Gold, Copper
Pueblo Viejo (Dominican
Republic)
Teck Resources
Quebrada Blanca (Chile),
Copper, Zinc
Carmen de Andacollo (Chile),
Antamina (Peru)
Lundin Mining
Candelaria (Chile),
Copper, Gold, Nickel
Caserones (Chile),
Chapada (Brazil)
Jacobina (Brazil),
Kinross Gold
Paracatu (Brazil)
Gold
Pan American
Silver
Cerro Moro (Argentina),
Silver, Gold
Shahuindo (Peru)
Hudbay Minerals
Constancia (Peru)
Copper, Molybdenum
First Quantum
Cobre Panama (Panama)
Copper
Aris Mining
Segovia (Colombia)
Gold
Sherritt Int'l
Moa (Cuba)
Nickel, Cobalt
Agnico Eagle
Mines
Pinos Altos (Mexico)
Gold, Silver
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: the companies
There isn't any evidence yet of panic. If anything, some chief executive officers and investors see opportunity. “There are some countries that are too excessively involved in narcotics. People are very suspicious of them when it comes to investment,” Mr. Woodyer said. “If that could be removed, then I think investment would be much easier.”
He also doubts that the U.S. will force a regime change in Colombia. “Trump plays an unusual game. I think people understand that,” he said. “They also understand that there is actually an elected government in the country.”
Bank of Nova Scotia chief executive officer Scott Thomson echoed that sentiment at an investor conference this week. “Longer-term, this is a good thing for the Western Hemisphere. It's a good thing for the U.S. It's a good thing for the Bank of Nova Scotia,” he said, referring to the U.S. reasserting its influence. Scotiabank is a major lender in Latin America, with sizable operations and investments in Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia. The bank has also seen the region's nasty side and was forced to cut and run from Argentina in the early 2000s, booking a big loss along the way.
But it's still early days and sustained U.S. pressure for regime change across multiple countries could destabilize the region for years, rather than produce calm.
The Trump administration's new National Security Strategy lays out the president's desire for much more influence in Latin America.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
In a sense, nobody should be surprised that Mr. Trump is suddenly acting with wanton aggression. In fact, it was hiding in plain sight for months. In November, the U.S. released a new National Security Strategy, and it lays out the President's desire for much more influence in Latin America.
“After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region,” the strategy states. The doctrine was then-president James Monroe's vision in 1823 to keep Europe out of Latin America, while agreeing to stay out of European affairs across the Atlantic Ocean.
Mr. Trump has essentially reworked that ethos for the present day, and it is being dubbed the “Donroe Doctrine.” But this time, the focus isn't so much about keeping Europe at bay as it is about China. Restoring American pre-eminence in Latin America puts Mr. Trump on a collision course with the U.S.'s rival superpower, which has invested around US$240-billion in Latin America in energy, mining, manufacturing and technology. China has built and acquired critical infrastructure assets, including a brand new billion-dollar megaport in Peru.
It's possible the two countries will fight for control by using cheques as carrots, but lately Mr. Trump and his homeland security adviser, Stephen Miller, have shown a proclivity for aggressive tactics.
The U.S. may demand, for instance, that more Latin American infrastructure assets fall out of China's hands, in the same way it already forced a sale of port facilities in the Panama Canal. But the rival superpower isn't going to roll over. “Ousting China won't be easy for the U.S.,” said Rafael Ch, a senior analyst for Latin America at Signum Global Advisors, a geopolitical consultancy.
Mr. Trump also wants to diminish the influence of other hostile foreign actors such as Hezbollah and Russia, which exert influence in Venezuela and Cuba. And he views Mexican drug cartels as direct threats to the U.S., and his security strategy involves flexing military might to defeat them, “including where necessary the use of lethal force.”
Because Latin America is so vast, spanning Central America, the Caribbean and South America, it is impossible to paint the entire region with the same level of risk. Venezuela, for instance, was unique before Mr. Maduro was captured, and the potential for civil instability in his wake makes it even more of an outlier.
In the wake of Maduro's capture, Venezuelans have reported an increase in the number of security forces on the streets, including a militia of armed civilians known as 'Colectivos.'THE NEW YORK TIMES/The New York Times
“I don't think you can overestimate how much of a ticking time bomb the situation is right now,” said Rebecca Hanson, a professor with the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, who has spent years studying Venezuela's rival gangs, armed groups and military leaders, who are all now vying for power.
There is also an open question of whether Mr. Trump will want anything in return for his influence, and how open he is to sharing Latin America's riches with the region's own people. In Ukraine, he tried to force President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign away rights to the country's critical minerals in return for a security guarantee. In Venezuela, he's already taking oil to the U.S. that was trapped by a naval blockade.
Oddly enough, the newfound uncertainty is a reminder of why many Latin American countries opened their borders to foreign investment in the first place. Until the 1990s, the region was full of strongmen who favoured nationalist policies. But after some brutal economic downturns, countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Chile started privatizing state assets and opened their borders to outside investment, giving foreigners the same investment protections as locals.
It hasn't always been a smooth transition. During Venezuela's Apertura Petrolera, or oil opening, in the 1990s, foreign producers such as Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp. poured money in, but then Hugo Chávez was elected president in 1999 and he eventually seized control over most of those operations. ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil ultimately fled, among others. Mr. Chávez also implemented “21st-century socialism,” which emphasized state-run companies. The country's downfall continued under Mr. Maduro, who narrowly won election in 2013, and shored up his support over time by using state assets to enrich military generals and political allies.
But there has been real progress elsewhere, and Canadian companies are in on it. Beyond the miners, Saputo Inc. bought one of Argentina's major dairy processors in 2003 and is now a major dairy products exporter in the region; Brookfield Corp. owns power generation and transmission assets in Brazil and Colombia; and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has owned a major natural gas pipeline in Peru.
Aris Mining's Segovia Operations in Antioquia, Colombia, one of two gold mines it operates in the country.Aris Mining/Supplied
As Latin American countries developed, their standards of living soared. Since 1990, poverty rates have slumped in many countries, and life expectancy has jumped – in Chile it is now 81 years, just shy of 82 years in Canada.
Despite this progress, foreign investors have been realistic. Miners know, for instance, that Peru, which has had six different presidents since 2020, it isn't the same as Canada or Australia. Assets in less stable jurisdictions “typically trade at lower valuations because of the risks associated with the change of government,” said Onno Rutten, a resource portfolio manager with Mackenzie Investments.
A similar logic applies to Cuba, another country on Mr. Trump's hit list. (On Sunday, the President said the communist island “looks like it's ready to fall.”) Sherritt has mined nickel and cobalt there for decades, and the political uncertainty and U.S. sanctions have clouded its fortunes the entire time.
An oil tanker leaves Havana on Thursday. Cubans are bracing for worsening fuel shortages after the U.S, seized Venezuela-linked tankers, cutting a vital energy lifeline to the island.Ramon Espinosa/The Associated Press
For Mr. Rutten, the Trump factor is simply another ingredient to be added to the risk soup of international investment. “It's not as if we today decide that Mexico is not investable,” he said.
But even in a positive long-term scenario, the transition period could be messy. In Venezuela, there is the risk of lawlessness in the void Mr. Maduro left behind. For all his power, he didn't run the whole country, said Prof. Hanson at the University of Florida. “There are lots of territories the government did not have a handle on,” she said, and there's no telling what the armed groups who run them are going to do now.
Mr. Maduro, she added, also shored up his support by giving military heads and political allies private contracts. They're not going to simply give these up and lose out on their riches without a fight.
And even though the U.S. is a superpower, any intervention won't be taken lying down. Christopher Ecclestone is a mining strategist at Hallgarten & Co. in London, but he previously lived in Buenos Aires and is extremely skeptical of the idea that Mr. Trump could effectively use military force in Mexico to solve the drug problem.
“If Trump thinks he's going to do anything about cartels, there will be rows of American heads on flyovers over freeways in Mexico,” he said.
If there is more chaos in Latin America, the private sector support Mr. Trump boasts of may not materialize. “Oil companies are going to be very wary,” Mr. Ecclestone said. “They operate at the international level in all sorts of places that are dodgy, but they're used to doing it on a low-profile basis.”
“Trump is pushing them out into the middle of the stage and saying, ‘Okay, you guys are going to be our representatives on the ground,'” he added. “But these big companies are just looking around saying, ‘No, that's not how we operate. … We're not going to be the battering ram.'”
Democratic senators hold a news conference on the Venezuela War Powers on Jan. 8. The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan resolution 52-47 which will block President Trump's further use of U.S. military force Venezuela without Congressional authorization.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Like everything with Mr. Trump, plans could change. The U.S. Senate has already advanced a motion that would block the President from more military action in Venezuela without congressional approval, and without some sort of military force on the ground, his dream of controlling Venezuelan oil may never come true.
But one thing is very clear: The uncertainty he sows is now spreading across Latin America, and anyone with business ties to the region has to add a new risk premium and more flexibility to their financial models. It's the cost of doing business under the Donroe Doctrine.
“If you can find the right way to operate in the country, as we did in some of the West African countries, then you could go a long way,” Mr. Woodyer said, referencing his past experiences managing operations in Mali and Burkina Faso. ”But you have to adapt to the country, that's the important thing.”
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President Donald Trump said on Jan. 9 that he would call for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates of 10 percent, potentially starting later this month, though its enforcement may depend on Congress.
Iraq is setting up a special government commission to investigate and prevent the recruitment of Iraqi youth to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine, the "I Want to Live" project reported.
Launched in September 2022 by Ukraine's Military Intelligence, the 24-hour "I Want to Live" hotline helps Russian soldiers willingly surrender themselves or their units to the Ukrainian army.
Iraq's Charge d'Affaires in Ukraine, Tarek Kazem, told Ukrainian officials that Baghdad is concerned about young Iraqis being drawn into the ranks of the Russian military.
The commission will work in coordination with Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council and is intended to curb recruitment efforts and address related legal violations.
“The Iraqi side also noted that under the country's Criminal Code, mercenarism carries severe liability up to life imprisonment,” Kazem said.
Iraqi officials also framed the decision within the country's broader foreign policy stance.
“Iraqi diplomats confirmed the state's firm position on neutrality and non-interference in the internal affairs of any other country, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq," the statement read.
In December alone, more than 150 foreign nationals from 25 countries were identified as having been recruited into the Russian army, with about 200 more preparing to join, said Oleh Ivashchenko, the former head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service.
Financial incentives, simplified access to Russian citizenship, and amnesty for convicted criminals are among the main motivations for foreigners joining Russia's military, Ivashchenko said.
North American news editor
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master's degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor's degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Jan. 10 condemned Iran's crackdown on anti-government protests and called on the international community to increase pressure on Tehran, drawing parallels between its domestic repression and its conduct on the global stage.
Russia, Iran, China and South Africa are participating in the drills, called "Will for Peace 2026," with Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia joining as observers.
Russia's takeover of Crimea did not begin in 2014. In the first part of a new documentary, The Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigation Unit looks at how Russia began moving to seize the peninsula immediately after Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
"We are surging investment into our preparations (...) ensuring that Britain's Armed Forces are ready to deploy, and lead, the multinational force (in) Ukraine, because a secure Ukraine means a secure U.K.," U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump plan to finalize the deal at the World Economic Forum's flagship annual summit, held in Switzerland on January 19–23, the Telegraph reported on Jan 9.
Ukraine's Air Force reported intercepting 94 of the 121 drones launched by Russia overnight. Russia also launched one ballistic missile from its Kursk region.
Iraq is setting up a special government commission to investigate and prevent the recruitment of Iraqi youth to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine, the "I Want to Live" project reported.
Russian authorities in Volgograd Oblast reported a drone attack overnight on Jan. 10, that sparked a fire at an oil facility in the region's Oktyabrsky district.
"We are going to do something with Greenland, whether they like it or not," Trump told reporters. "Because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor."
The Olina, the fifth tanker seized by the U.S. in recent weeks, has previously been sanctioned for transporting Russian oil in violation of earlier restrictions.
"This is a man who must be stopped," John Healey told the Kyiv Independent.
Four people were killed and 25 others injured in Kyiv after Russia launched a mass attack across Ukraine overnight on Jan. 8-9. Rescue workers were among the victims of Russia's double-tap strike.
The Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile was said to be used in the attack on Lviv, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Polish border. Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported that a critical infrastructure facility in the region was hit.
GENEVA, January 10. /TASS/. Today's European leaders have not lived through world wars and therefore lack the historical perspective needed to properly assess the situation around Ukraine, Swiss politician, journalist, writer, and member of the Geneva cantonal parliament Guy Mettan told TASS in an interview.
"With the exception of [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban, [Slovak Prime Minister] Robert Fico, and [Belarusian President] Alexander Lukashenko, none of the current European leaders are capable of conducting a rational analysis of the situation," he said.
According to Mettan, today's European leaders "did not experience World War II and came of age only at the end of the Cold War." As a result, "they possess neither the historical background nor the geopolitical competence required to manage complex situations," he explained.
In his view, true courage on the part of Europeans under the current circumstances "would be to acknowledge that they have chosen the wrong path and to do everything possible to bring the war" in Ukraine to an end. Mettan stressed that the conflict is devastating Europe and Ukraine "far more than it is affecting Russia.".
Russian authorities in Volgograd Oblast reported a drone attack overnight on Jan. 10, that sparked a fire at an oil facility in the region's Oktyabrsky district.
Debris from a downed drone reportedly fell on the territory of an oil depot, igniting a fire at the site.
Volgograd Oblast Governor Andrey Bocharov said Russian air defense units were responding to what he described as a drone attack targeting the oblast.
Emergency services, firefighters, and municipal officials were deployed to the scene to contain the blaze.
Local authorities said a temporary evacuation center was prepared at a nearby school in case residents needed to be evacuated.
According to preliminary information, there were no casualties.
Ukraine routinely launches deep strikes against military and industrial facilities in Russia, primarily relying on domestically developed drones.
Russia's oil and gas production has continued to come under attack as Kyiv attempts to cripple Moscow's primary source of funding for its war in Ukraine.
Volgograd is located about 354 kilometers (220 miles) from Ukraine's eastern border with Russia and approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory near Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast.
North American news editor
Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC.
Sonya has a Master's degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor's degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Jan. 10 condemned Iran's crackdown on anti-government protests and called on the international community to increase pressure on Tehran, drawing parallels between its domestic repression and its conduct on the global stage.
Russia, Iran, China and South Africa are participating in the drills, called "Will for Peace 2026," with Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia joining as observers.
Russia's takeover of Crimea did not begin in 2014. In the first part of a new documentary, The Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigation Unit looks at how Russia began moving to seize the peninsula immediately after Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
"We are surging investment into our preparations (...) ensuring that Britain's Armed Forces are ready to deploy, and lead, the multinational force (in) Ukraine, because a secure Ukraine means a secure U.K.," U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump plan to finalize the deal at the World Economic Forum's flagship annual summit, held in Switzerland on January 19–23, the Telegraph reported on Jan 9.
Ukraine's Air Force reported intercepting 94 of the 121 drones launched by Russia overnight. Russia also launched one ballistic missile from its Kursk region.
Iraq is setting up a special government commission to investigate and prevent the recruitment of Iraqi youth to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine, the "I Want to Live" project reported.
Russian authorities in Volgograd Oblast reported a drone attack overnight on Jan. 10, that sparked a fire at an oil facility in the region's Oktyabrsky district.
"We are going to do something with Greenland, whether they like it or not," Trump told reporters. "Because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor."
The Olina, the fifth tanker seized by the U.S. in recent weeks, has previously been sanctioned for transporting Russian oil in violation of earlier restrictions.
"This is a man who must be stopped," John Healey told the Kyiv Independent.
Four people were killed and 25 others injured in Kyiv after Russia launched a mass attack across Ukraine overnight on Jan. 8-9. Rescue workers were among the victims of Russia's double-tap strike.
The Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile was said to be used in the attack on Lviv, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Polish border. Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported that a critical infrastructure facility in the region was hit.
ExxonMobil is exploring a return to Venezuela almost two decades after its assets were seized and nationalized, CEO Darren Woods said on Jan. 9.
“It's absolutely critical in the short term that we get a technical team in place to assess the current state of the industry and the assets, understand what will be involved to help the people of Venezuela get production back on the market,” Woods said.
The UK will spend nearly $270 million on equipping troops it plans to deploy in Ukraine after a ceasefire is reached, British Defense Secretary John Healey announced during a trip to Kiev on Friday.
Russia has repeatedly said it would not allow Western soldiers to be stationed in Ukraine and has warned that it would treat foreign troops as legitimate targets.
Nevertheless, Healey said the funds would be invested in units intended to form part of a multinational force aimed at providing “long-term security guarantees” to Ukraine.
“We are surging investment into our preparations following the prime minister's announcement this week, ensuring that Britain's Armed Forces are ready to deploy and lead the Multinational Force Ukraine, because a secure Ukraine means a secure UK,” Healey said.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Denis Shmigal said after the meeting that the UK would begin producing 1,000 Octopus interceptor drones per month in February and deliver them to Ukraine.
Despite their continued support for military aid, some European countries, including Germany and Italy, have refused to commit to sending troops to the country.
NATO members Hungary and Slovakia have declined to send weapons to Kiev, urging the West to focus on diplomacy instead. The US, which has been attempting to mediate a truce between Russia and Ukraine, has also ruled out sending American soldiers to the country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated on Thursday that Moscow would treat “the stationing of military units, sites, depots and other Western infrastructure in Ukraine as a foreign intervention posing a direct threat to Russia's security.”
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President Donald Trump discusses how companies can help rebuild Venezuela following the capture of dictator Nicolas Maduro.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order blocking U.S. courts from seizing Venezuelan oil revenues held in American Treasury accounts.
The order states that court action against the funds would undermine U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives.
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President Donald Trump is pictured signing two executive orders on Sept. 19, 2025, establishing the "Trump Gold Card" and introducing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. He signed another executive order recently protecting oil revenue. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Trump signed the order on Friday, the same day that he met with nearly two dozen top oil and gas executives at the White House.
The president said American energy companies will invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela's "rotting" oil infrastructure and push production to record levels following the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The U.S. has moved aggressively to take control of Venezuela's oil future following the collapse of the Maduro regime.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
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New video shows hooded figure walking near Ohio home where Spencer and Monique Tepe were killed in December. (columbus_police_ via Instagram)
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant is speaking out about the murder of an Ohio dentist and his wife, calling the case "disturbing."
Spencer Tepe, 37, and his 39-year-old wife, Monique, were found shot to death inside their Weinland Park home in Columbus on Dec. 30. Investigators have ruled out a murder-suicide and released surveillance video of a person of interest seen walking through a nearby alley near the couple's home in the lead-up to the murders.
"This case is definitely disturbing. It's definitely something that we want to make sure that we pour a lot of energy into, to try to address and solve. We want to bring some justice to the family," Bryant told WSYX in an interview.
"We know that there are a lot of concerns and a lot of questions surrounding this case. And we want to be able to be as transparent and answer as many of them as we can. Unfortunately, there are some things that we can't talk about for the integrity of the investigation," she continued.
WATCH: BODYCAM FOR OHIO DENTIST MURDERS SHOWS POLICE WENT TO WRONG HOME BEFORE COUPLE WAS FOUND DEAD
Spencer and Monique Tepe were preparing to celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary. (Rob Misleh)
"It puts a lot of stress on us, but I just want to reiterate, while this case is getting a lot of national attention, we look at all of our homicides in that manner," she also told the station. "They all bring us stress because someone lost their lives."
Investigators believe the killings occurred between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Dec. 30, and authorities are urging anyone with video, photos or other digital evidence from that timeframe to contact police.
SLAIN OHIO DENTIST'S BROTHER-IN-LAW SAYS 'DOMESTIC DISPUTE' 911 CALL CAME FROM PARTY GUEST, NOT WIFE
Spencer and Monique Tepe are pictured on their wedding day. (Rob Misleh)
Newly released body camera video this week also showed a Columbus police officer going to the wrong address during an initial welfare check.
Bryant said the officer believed he was at the correct location and followed protocol, but the couple was not discovered until co-workers went to the couple's home about 40 minutes later, according to WBNS-10TV.
Ohio dentist Dr. Spencer Tepe and his wife, Monique Tepe, were found shot to death inside their home in Columbus, Ohio. While their two children were discovered unharmed, authorities reportedly believe their deaths were not the result of a murder-suicide. (Athens Dental Depot)
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"The officer did everything that he was supposed to do," Bryant said, adding the response was later determined to be at the wrong address.
Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.
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After the Pittsburgh Steelers clinched the AFC North, NFL Films cameras caught Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin thanking one another for the quarterback joining the Steelers in his 21st season.
It is clear that Rodgers has enjoyed his time in Pittsburgh — after making the playoffs himself for the first time in four years, how could he not?
Rodgers was asked about what he likes about the Steelers organization, and he took a not-so-subtle shot at his last team, the New York Jets.
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Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates following an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium on Jan. 4, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
"One thing I really love, and it's kind of the antithesis of where I was — there's not really any leaks in the boat," Rodgers told reporters this week. "Every year, you have difficulties and adversity, both on the field and off, and to go through a season like this and be able to focus on football and not have a lot of other little bulls--- out there has been really nice."
During his time with the Jets, Rodgers was adamant that media leaks were a "problem with the organization."
"There's no place in a winning culture (for this)," Rodgers said on a December 2023 edition of "The Pat McAfee Show."
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) passes in the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (Matt Freed/AP Photo)
BROCK PURDY SAYS 49ERS HAVE A ‘CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER' ENTERING PLAYOFFS AFTER MISSING LAST SEASON
"They're not your friends. And even if they are, is that really what you want to be about? You want to be about using someone in the media to leak stuff to in order, for what, to get them to put your name out there for a job, or if you're a player to get you a write-up? I think it's chicken s--- at its core, and I think it has no place in a winning organization… Put your name on something and stand behind it."
After the 2023 season, almost all of which Rodgers missed with a torn Achilles suffered on the Jets' fourth offensive play of the year, Rodgers said the team needed to get "the bulls--- that has nothing to do with winning... out of the building."
"If you want to be a winning organization and put yourself in a position to win championships and be competitive, everything that you do matters," Rodgers told reporters in January 2024.
The Jets decided to move on from Rodgers while hiring first-year head coach Aaron Glenn, and it seems Rodgers has the last laugh.
Pittsburgh Steelers' Aaron Rodgers reacts after a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan, on Dec. 21, 2025. (Rey Del Rio/AP Photo)
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Rodgers is in the playoffs, while the Jets lost 14 games for the third time in franchise history. Gang Green also became the first team in NFL history to go an entire season without recording an interception. They ended the year losing each of their last five games by 23 or more points — a feat never before seen.
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A Biden-appointed federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump‘s funding threat regarding changes to states' voting systems and voter registration forms.
The judge, U.S. District Judge John Chun, ruled that Trump's threat to pull funds from the Election Assistance Commission puts unconstitutional pressure on states.
TRUMP FIRST YEAR REPORT CARD: A- PROMISE KEEPER OR ‘NIGHTMARE' FAILURE
“The President has no authority to unilaterally impose new conditions on federal funds,” Chun wrote in a 75-page ruling. He also wrote that the court determined Trump's executive orders constitute a violation of the separation of powers.
Chun argued that the president's powers are aimed at overseeing laws, not to be a lawmaker.
“The Court concludes that Plaintiffs have plausibly alleged, and for some provisions proved, that the EO violates separation of powers,” he wrote. “As stated by the Supreme Court, although the Constitution vests the executive power in the President, ‘[i]n the framework of our Constitution, the President's power to see that the laws are faithfully executed refutes the idea that he is to be a lawmaker.'”
Chun is the third federal judge to block Trump's March 25 executive order, “PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS.” The order set new standards for election integrity, including on mail-in ballots.
TRUMP WARNS OF JANUARY GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN OVER OBAMACARE
A White House spokesperson told Politico that Trump “cares deeply about the integrity of our elections and his executive order takes lawful actions to ensure election security.”
“This is not the final say on the matter and the Administration expects ultimate victory on the issue,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
The administration is expected to appeal the latest ruling and has also appealed rulings by Washington, D.C. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, an Obama appointee, and Massachusetts U.S. District Judge Denise Casper, also an Obama appointee.
DEMOCRATS CALL FOR RELEASE OF DNC'S 2024 ELECTION AUTOPSY
Chun later wrote, “The Constitution assigns no authority to the President over federal election administration.”
Trump has made claims that the 2020 election was rigged and that former President Joe Biden was an illegitimate president.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A residential building is damaged after a Russian air strike during a heavy snow storm in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian drone strike sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia's southern Volgograd region, officials said Saturday, after Russia launched a powerful hypersonic missile along with drones and other weapons that disrupted Kyiv's power supply and heating.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, Volgograd Gov. Andrei Bocharov was quoted as saying in a Telegram post published on the channel of the local administration. The post did not specify the damage, but said that people living near the depot may have to be evacuated.
Ukraine's General Staff said Saturday it had struck the Zhutovskaya oil depot overnight. In a statement on Telegram, it said the depot is supplying fuel to Russian forces, adding that damage was being assessed.
Ukraine's long-range drone strikes on Russian energy sites aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”
Saturday's attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, according to Ukrainian officials, killing at least four people in the capital. For only the second time in the nearly 4-year-old war, it used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv's NATO allies.
The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further Moscow aggression if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, said Friday's attacks “have resulted in significant civilian casualties and deprived millions of Ukrainians of essential services, including electricity, heating and water at a time of acute humanitarian need.”
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said heat supply would be fully restored in Kyiv by the end of Saturday.
She said areas on the right bank of the Dnieper River would gradually lift emergency blackouts and return to scheduled outages. But resuming power supply on the left bank, where Russian attacks were concentrated, is more complicated due to significant damage to the power grid, she added.
Russia's Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces used aviation, drones, missiles and artillery to strike Ukrainian energy facilities and fuel-storage depots.
Russia struck Ukraine with 121 drones and one Iskander-M ballistic missile, according to the Ukrainian air force. It said 94 drones were shot down.
Separately, the Russian Defense Ministry said 59 Ukrainian drones were neutralized overnight over Russia and occupied Crimea.
Ukraine's military said that besides the oil depot in Volgograd, it had struck a drone storage facility belonging to a unit of Russia's 19th Motor Rifle Division in Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine, as well as a drone command and control point near the eastern city of Pokrovsk.
___
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An ‘All-Star' panel debates what comes next for the future of Venezuela after the capture of leader Nicolás Maduro on ‘Special Report.'
For years, the people of Venezuela have endured a nightmare imposed by socialist tyranny. Under President Nicolás Maduro, a once-prosperous nation was reduced to deprivation, violence and despair. Families went hungry. Hospitals ran out of medicine. Millions fled their homes. Venezuela became a case study in how socialism destroys everything it touches.
That dark chapter has come to an end.
I have always believed that Maduro must go, and will always be proud of the Trump-Pence administration's work on Venezuela. Together, we led the charge against Maduro, building an unprecedented coalition of over 60 nations and forging bipartisan consensus in Congress to recognize the illegitimacy of the dictator's power.
We froze regime assets so they could not use the funds to empower their human rights abuses, while providing nearly $1 billion in aid for the Venezuelan people. For the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, we invoked the Western Hemisphere's version of a mutual defense pact to show our commitment to Venezuelan security and freedom.
HE FLED THE ‘HUNGER GAMES' OF CUBA ONLY TO WATCH FREE AMERICANS CHEER COMMUNISM
Venezuelans celebrate in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after President Donald Trump announced that President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of Venezuela. (Esteban Felix/AP Photo)
While we ultimately fell short of our goal to free the people of Venezuela, I was heartened when the president ordered the military raid that captured Maduro and brought him to face justice in the United States.
Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump and the professionalism of the United States armed forces, Maduro is gone. His grip on Venezuela has been broken, and a long-suffering people now have a historic opportunity to reclaim their freedom and rebuild their nation.
For years, the United States rightly recognized that Maduro was a dictator with no legitimate claim to rule. He stole elections, jailed political opponents, silenced the free press and turned the machinery of government into a criminal enterprise. Trump deserves the gratitude of all who cherish freedom for taking bold and historic action to end this socialist catastrophe.
JAMES CARVILLE SAYS US WOULD BE 'RIPE FOR INVASION' IF TARGETING 'CORRUPT' REGIMES WAS LEGITIMATE
No free people knowingly trades prosperity for poverty. Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, forced that decision on Venezuela — replacing free markets with centralized control, seizing the oil industry, commandeering electricity and telecommunications, and crushing private enterprise. The results were as predictable as they were devastating: food shortages, rolling blackouts, massive inflation and the collapse of civil society.
I witnessed the toll of this tyranny firsthand during a visit to the Venezuelan border in 2019. I met displaced families who had fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Their heartbreaking stories left no doubt that Maduro's regime was not merely incompetent, but profoundly cruel.
That cruelty spilled across Venezuela's borders and spread misery throughout the Western Hemisphere. Millions fled the country, triggering one of the largest refugee crises in modern history. Many eventually made their way to the United States, some illegally and others by exploiting a broken asylum system.
MADURO ARREST SENDS 'CLEAR MESSAGE' TO DRUG CARTELS, ALLIES AND US RIVALS, RETIRED ADMIRAL SAYS
At the same time, Maduro's regime became deeply entangled in international drug trafficking, flooding American communities with poison and destroying countless lives. Even the Biden administration acknowledged the criminal nature of Maduro's rule, placing a multimillion-dollar bounty on his capture for narco-terrorism and corruption.
Maduro also invited America's adversaries into our own hemisphere. Russia, Iran, Cuba and communist China expanded their influence under his protection, turning Venezuela into a platform for hostile powers operating dangerously close to our shores — a clear and present national security threat to the United States.
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Trump deserves the gratitude of all who cherish freedom for taking bold and historic action to end this socialist catastrophe.
The progressive left and some on the populist right have criticized Trump's decision to move forward with absolute resolve in bringing Maduro to justice. The Constitution, however, vests the president with broad authority as commander-in-chief to take limited but decisive action to protect our nation, and he has an obligation to faithfully execute our nation's laws, including the criminal laws that Maduro stands accused of breaking. Presidents of both parties have exercised these authorities for generations. To deny them now would dangerously weaken future presidents and place America at greater risk.
Nicolás Maduro must answer for his crimes. He must answer for the corruption that hollowed out a nation, for the violence that muzzled dissent, and for the drug trade that took the lives of countless American citizens. Justice long delayed will finally be served.
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The Venezuelan people now stand at the threshold of a remarkable opportunity. They deserve a rebirth of freedom — a new Venezuela governed by Venezuelans, rooted in the recognition of God-given liberties, committed to free markets and sustained by free and fair elections. They deserve a future defined not by fear, but by hope.
Today, thanks to President Trump and the brave men and women of our armed forces, that future is within reach. Libertad can finally be restored. And as freedom takes root again in Venezuela, it will strengthen security and prosperity across our entire hemisphere — just as America has always stood ready to do.
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Mike Pence is the former vice president of the United States and founder of Advancing American Freedom.
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Minnesota Private Business Council President Jim Shultz blasts the decline of the state as anti-ICE protests rage and fraud investigations ramp up.
"I hereby plead incompetence and stupidity."
That's probably the best defense that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz can offer if he is criminally charged in the shocking multi-billion-dollar taxpayer ripoffs that grow larger by the day.
Given his earned reputation, his excuse of incompetence would be credible.
Nearly every social service program receiving federal dollars was fleeced by fraudsters right under Walz's nose, including child nutrition, daycare, healthcare, housing, and autism aid. Most of the perpetrators were Somalians who comprise a powerful voting block that the governor treasures like gold.
EMMER WARNS WALZ COULD END UP 'IN CUFFS' AMID MINNESOTA FRAUD CLAIMS
Walz was repeatedly warned of the swindles as far back as 2019 when he first took office. Instead of stopping the scams and prosecuting the grifters, he indulged them by establishing a culture of permissible fraud.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has said "Minnesota is a prosperous state, a well-run state." (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
The scandal has already claimed Walz's political career, forcing him to abandon his bid for re-election. But if he reckoned that quitting would somehow shield him from legal culpability, he is mistaken. There is mounting evidence that Walz was willfully complicit, deliberately refusing to expose or pursue the monumental thefts and, instead, launching aggressive measures to scuttle any legal scrutiny and criminal consequence.
The governor's own state workers at the Department of Human Services issued a blistering statement blaming him as 100% responsible. Witnesses say he retaliated against whistleblowers and schemed to discredit the well-documented fraud reports.
WALZ'S LONG-RUNNING FRAUD SCANDAL PUTS HARRIS CAMPAIGN JUDGMENT UNDER SCRUTINY
If true, Walz's aberrant actions run dangerously close to criminal behavior involving cover-ups and obstruction.
Nine federal agencies, including the FBI, are now working to unravel the full breadth and depth of the colossal cons. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent scores of investigators and lawyers to Minnesota to prosecute the web of fraud and deceit.
They will inevitably weigh whether Walz should face criminal charges himself.
MINNESOTA AG BLASTS HOUSE HEARING ON FRAUD SCANDAL IN HIS STATE : 'A LOT OF BULLS--- FROM REPUBLICANS'
There are several federal statutes to consider. 18 USC 371 makes it a crime to conspire with others to defraud the government. At present, there is no known evidence that Walz directly participated in the scams themselves or accepted money.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 21: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic Party supporters are in Chicago for the convention, concluding with current Vice President Kamala Harris accepting her party's presidential nomination. The DNC takes place from August 19-22. (Getty)
However, if he plotted to cover up the fraud by impairing, obstructing or defeating efforts to bring the fraudsters to justice, the conspiracy statute is applicable. So, too, are the various obstruction of justice laws.
JASON CHAFFETZ: DEMOCRATS TURNED OUR TREASURY INTO A ‘PIGGY BANK FOR FRAUDSTERS'
There is also 18 USC 2, the aiding and abetting statute where accomplices are treated the same as the main perpetrators. That law gave rise to the "willful blindness doctrine" recognized by our courts.
An example is a businessman who intentionally ignores or turns a blind eye to his partner's money laundering, resulting in charges against both. Similarly, a public official such as Walz can be indicted for deliberate inaction where he has a clear duty to act.
Finally, 18 USC 3 is relevant whenever concealment occurs. Whoever knows that a crime has been committed but "hinders apprehension, trial or punishment," is guilty of accessory after the fact. That bears a striking resemblance to what Walz is accused of doing.
FROM CONGRESS, TO VP NOMINEE TO DISGRACED FORMER GOVERNOR: A LOOK AT THE RISE AND FALL OF TIM WALZ
All of this invites the question of the governor's motive. If not money, how did he stand to benefit by suppressing the avalanche of fraud? That's the easy part. Votes.
Walz, together with liberal elites and their media handmaidens, have long dismissed the rumors and reports of Somali-engineered fraud as "racist." Apparently, in Minnesota it is politically incorrect to enforce the law against immigrants from that particular East African country. It's just not fashionable.
God forbid that putting criminals behind bars might lose electoral support. It's chic to turn the other cheek.
REP TOM EMMER: WALZ OVERSAW BILLIONS IN STOLEN TAXPAYER MONEY — NOW COMES ACCOUNTABILITY
So, the Somalian fraudsters were gifted a "get-out-of-jail" free card, courtesy of the governor and his cronies. Walz, in turn, secured their votes. It was a nifty quid pro quo, but with an alternate currency —votes. As protection rackets go, it was slick.
That cozy arrangement is manifested in a recently uncovered audio recording of a 2021 conversation between Walz's Attorney General Keith Ellison and Somali hustlers who were soon after convicted of scamming millions of dollars. They were heard leaning hard on the AG to "protect" them in exchange for support and campaign donations.
Ellison eagerly capitulated but now denies any wrongdoing. He returned the cash.
It is too early to know whether a criminal case will be filed against Minnesota's beleaguered governor. The U.S. Attorney and DOJ lawyers are still digging through the mountains of evidence.
However, as noted above, the only tenable defense Walz may be able to conjure up is incompetence and stupidity. It is something that jurors might readily accept.
SCATHING AUDIT REVEALS MORE FRAUD CONCERNS INSIDE TOP MINNESOTA AGENCY WITH FABRICATED DOCUMENTS, 'MISCONDUCT'
After all, ineptitude became the governor's calling card. He infamously conceded his own buffoonery in the 2024 Vice Presidential debate when he called himself a "knucklehead." He was such a gaffe factory that the Kamala Harris campaign squirreled him away from the media.
Walz achieved the impossible. He made his running mate look like a genius. His bizarre on-stage antics were constant fodder for mockery. Baffling verbal goofs, such as boasting that he had "become friends with school shooters," left voters scratching their heads or snickering.
A series of demonstrable lies about his military service and his peculiar treks to China only compounded the impression of a man who is either a serial fabricator or not right in the head. Maybe both are true.
And who can forget his epic bungling of the George Floyd riots in 2020. He radicalized the tragic death, thereby ginning up the ensuing violence. As Minneapolis burned, Walz dithered. Afterwards, he blamed the looting and torched buildings on systemic racism.
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So, it's not a stretch to imagine that an indictment alleging Walz was wittingly complicit in his state's massive welfare fraud scandal might be met with a defense of "misfeasance" (careless or incompetent execution of a lawful duty) to combat the incriminating evidence of "malfeasance" (a deliberate, unlawful act).
It's a distinction that can mean the difference between conviction and acquittal.
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Should Walz find himself in the dock sometime soon… don't be surprised if he portrays himself as a blockhead who was intellectually incapable of grasping the obvious.
Minnesota jurors who know the governor would understand completely.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM GREGG JARRETT
Gregg Jarrett is a Fox News legal analyst and commentator, and formerly worked as a defense attorney and adjunct law professor. His recent book, "The Trial of the Century," about the famous "Scopes Monkey Trial" is available in bookstores nationwide or can be ordered online at the Simon & Schuster website. Jarrett's latest book, "The Constitution of the United States and Other Patriotic Documents," was published by Broadside Books, a division of HarperCollins on November 14, 2023. Gregg is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book "The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump." His follow-up book was also a New York Times bestseller, "Witch Hunt: The Story of the Greatest Mass Delusion in American Political History."
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Elon Musk claims tech needs a “spicy mode” to dominate. Is he right?
For the past few weeks, Elon Musk's Grok AI bot has been generating pornographic images of women and underage girls, without their consent, at an astounding rate. A recent Bloomberg analysis found that Grok creates 6,700 such images per hour, or more than one per minute. On Friday, X at last put some minor guardrails on the tool, with a new policy that only paying subscribers can use Grok to generate or alter images. On the standalone Grok app, however, anyone can prompt Grok to generate new images, meaning the deepfaked porn continues.
Grok has long been one of the more suggestive of the major AI models, with “spicy” and “sexy” settings that can be toggled on and off. While employees have warned that the bot is being used to generate child sex abuse materials, Musk has remained committed to the idea that Grok would be the sexiest AI model. On X, Musk has defended the choice on business grounds, citing the famous tale of how VHS beat Betamax in the 1980s after the porn industry put its weight behind VHS, with its larger storage capacity. “VHS won in the end,” Musk posted, “in part because they allowed spicy mode 😉.”
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There is a certain amount of truth to Musk's take. The porn industry tends to reward early adopters, and the money to be made in porn means that it has impressive leverage when it comes to choosing between two competing and incompatible forms of technology.
Yet the idea that porn as an industry, neutral and amorphous, settles tech wars doesn't show us the whole truth. It would be more accurate to say that the technologies we use to generate and share images are, more often than not, shaped by people distributing images of women's bodies — often with dubious consent from the women themselves. In that sense, Grok's abilities are par for the course.
Porn didn't only help VHS win over Betamax. The industry has also been linked to the mainstreaming of Super 8 film (easy and convenient for amateur filmmakers), the development of streaming video (private and easily accessible), the development of web payments (comes with paywalled streaming video), the development of web analytics (good for the complex business transactions of adult streaming), and the victory of Blu-ray over HD DVD. (Like VHS, Blu-rays held a lot more data than its competitors, which is especially attractive in the porn market.)
Then there were the systems of image distribution that developed outside of porn as an industry. A surprising amount of them revolved around people trying to share sexualized images of women's bodies as quickly as possible — only in these cases, the people whose images getting distributed weren't necessarily consenting adults who were getting paid for their trouble.
Sometimes the innovation was more or less harmless. Google Images was developed because so many people went searching for pictures of Jennifer Lopez in her famously low-cut Versace gown in 2000, a distinction Lopez has treated as a feather in her cap. In this case, Lopez wore the dress to a high-profile event and wanted to be seen and talked about, so it's reasonable to assume consent.
Other times it got cloudier. The impetus for YouTube came when developers wanted to watch Janet Jackson's 2004 wardrobe malfunction and were frustrated that it took so long to find video of it on the internet. Jackson has always maintained that she did not intend for her breast to be seen on national TV, so here, we're dealing with nonconsensual nudity.
Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg's progenitor for Facebook was Facesmash, a Hot or Not rip-off developed to compare the women of Harvard University's student body to farm animals. The intent here was less to create nonconsensual pornography than it was to perform a sexualized humiliation of nonconsenting women — an act that turned out to be so popular that it overwhelmed Harvard's servers the night it launched.
So Musk is not entirely wrong when he says that technologies with what he euphemistically refers to as “spicy mode” tend to do well. A more accurate phrasing, however, might be to say that in our misogynistic society, objectifying and humiliating the bodies of unconsenting women is so valuable that the fate of world-altering technologies depends on how good they are at facilitating it.
AI was always going to be used for this, one way or the other. But only someone as brutally uncaring and willing to cut corners as Elon Musk would allow it to go this wrong.
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Robots took over the floor at the biggest technology show of the year: I watched a towering humanoid robot march forward, spin its head and wave at an excited crowd. Then I almost bumped into a four-legged doglike robot behind me.
They're just a couple of the many robots I encountered this week designed for a range of purposes, from playing chess to performing spinal surgery. These are common occurrences on the Las Vegas Convention Center's show floor during CES, which wrapped on Friday. Every January, companies from around the world gather to flaunt new technologies, products and services.
The show is just as much spectacle as it is substance; many of the most eye-catching wares either haven't come to fruition (like flying cars) or are wildly expensive and impractical (think TVs that cost tens of thousands of dollars). But CES provides a glimpse into the bets being made by industry giants like Nvidia, Intel, Amazon and Samsung.
AI once again dominated the conference. Companies showed off everything from humanoid robots they claim will staff factories to refrigerators you can open with your voice to the next-generation chips that will power it all. CES, in some ways, turned the Strip into a bubble of its own, shielded from AI skepticism.
CNN asked a handful of tech executives at CES about an AI bubble and how it might impact their businesses. Some said their businesses aren't relevant to the bubble concerns, while others expressed optimism about AI's potential and said they are focused on building products that show it.
“We're in the earliest stage of what's possible. So when I hear we're in a bubble, I'm like… This isn't a fad,” said Panos Panay, Amazon's devices and services chief. “It's not going to pass.”
Tech companies poured more than $61 billion into data center investments in 2025, according to S&P Global, fueling concerns that investments may be far outpacing demand.
And investments are only expected to grow, with Goldman Sachs reporting that AI companies are estimated to invest more than $500 billion in capital expenditures this year. Julien Garran, researcher and partner for research firm MacroStrategy Partnership, said in a report last year that the AI bubble is 17 times bigger than the dot com bubble.
Most of the concerns around an AI bubble have centered on investments in data centers built for AI tasks that are too power-hungry for devices like laptops and smartphones to handle alone. Nvidia, the poster child of the AI boom and the company at the center of the bubble debate, announced at CES that the next version of its computing platform that powers those data centers is arriving in the second half of this year.
When asked about the AI bubble, executives from chipmakers Intel and Qualcomm pointed to their respective companies' efforts to improve how computers process AI tasks locally rather than in the cloud.
Qualcomm, which makes chips for smartphones and other products, announced last year that it's expanding into data centers. But that represents a very small part of its business.
“As far as we're concerned, where we operate is not where the bubble conversation exists,” Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm's chief financial officer and chief operating officer, told CNN.
Intel is focused on products that are important to its consumers, like chips that boost laptop performance, rather than making a big bet “that takes a lot of investment that may or may not make it,” said its client computing group head, Jim Johnson.
CK Kim, executive vice president and head of Samsung's digital appliances business, said in an interview through an interpreter that it's not for him to say whether the industry is in an AI bubble. He added that the company is more focused on whether AI is bringing value to consumers.
What that “value” looks like is exactly what the thousands of exhibitors at CES tried to demonstrate this week. Humanoid robots were a big part of that equation for companies like Nvidia, Intel, Hyundai and Qualcomm, all of which announced new tech to power human-shaped robots.
Boston Dynamics and Hyundai debuted Atlas, a humanoid robot developed in partnership with Google's DeepMind AI division designed for industrial work like order fulfillment. It'll be deployed to Google DeepMind and Hyundai's Robotics Metaplant Applications center in the coming months, and additional customers will adopt it in early 2027.
“With one investment, we can explore any application in the world, from industrial use cases to retail use cases to home use cases,” Aya Durbin, who leads Boston Dynamics' humanoid application product strategy, said in an interview at Hyundai's booth when asked what's driving the interest in humanoid robots. (Hyundai owns a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics.)
Tech companies have also been chasing the next big product following the smartphone and think AI could be key to finding it. At CES, a wave of companies introduced discrete listening devices that can record conversations or voice notes. These products included AI jewelry from a startup called Nirva, the Index 01 ring from smartwatch maker Pebble and the now Amazon-owned wristband from Bee.
Speaking to gadgets is often faster than typing, but Amazon and Nirva also see their devices as another means to gather data that can provide insights about a user's life, though doing so will surely raise privacy concerns.
Business leaders seem to agree that AI is here to stay — even for those like Pete Erickson, CEO of tech events and education company Modev, who said the industry is indeed in a bubble.
But Erickson also believes AI is “just a part of our lives” now.
“I don't think it's going anywhere,” he said.
CNN International's Leif Coorlim contributed to this report.
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They stood a few yards apart on the confetti-strewn field, one a redshirt senior offensive lineman who serves as the anchor of his team, the other a sophomore defensive lineman who has yet to log his first career start.
They were discussing the same big thing – the machine that is now the Indiana Hoosiers – but from entirely different perspectives. Yet both said the same word over and over again.
“We're afraid to death of complacency,'' said Pat Coogan, the lineman.
“We never want to be complacent,'' said Daniel Ndukwe, the defensive lineman.
It sounds simple. It is not, of course. No one wants to settle at anything but the human spirit being what it is, invariably it happens. A slight ease off the gas pedal, a millisecond taking the eye off the prize, the need to catch one's breath.
Except, apparently, among the Hoosiers who play football as if not playing football hard would be an unforgivable sin. It is the only way to explain what Indiana is doing right now because otherwise it is too absurd.
The reckoning in college football is not coming via financial windfall, as everyone thought that it might in the NIL era. It is coming via old-school values that tend to seep into the soil in the Midwest. Work hard. Take nothing for granted. Don't settle. Never get complacent.
Indiana is not the “Hoosiers” of film fame. They are not, in fact, the plucky little upstarts going against the big city bad guys. Do not let Fernando Mendoza's earnestness fool you. The Hoosiers are the bad guys, the bullies come to take your pride and your lunch money, albeit politely. As Carter Smith made his way to the celebratory post Peach Bowl stage he yelled, “Excuse me,'”over and over again as he zigged and zagged his way through the media.
With a 56-22 dismantling of Oregon, Indiana has romped through this College Football Playoff like nothing the sport has seen in years, if ever. In the last three games, the Hoosiers have held Ohio State to 10 points, Alabama to three and Oregon to 21, though that should come with an asterisk. The Ducks scored their last touchdown with 34 seconds left in the game.
That is, to underscore, Ohio State, Alabama and Oregon. The first two have won 25 national titles between them. Indiana has lost more than 700 games in its history and now is one game away from a national title.
Next up is none other than The U, yet another member of the college football hoi polloi, in a championship game that might require organ donation to get a ticket. The Miami Hurricanes are at home, while the entire state of Indiana – save for some in West Lafayette – is content to abandon their homes to enjoy this unexpectedly stupefying playoff march.
College football's calendar chaos runs square into the biggest games of the season
Lest anyone try to bill this as some sort of morality play, the good boys from Indiana versus the meanies from Miami, it is best to remember that Indiana is the top seed; it's Miami that had to fight its way into the bracket.
“They're complete,'' Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “There's not a weakness in their game. They run the ball well. They stop the run well. They throw the ball well. They defend the pass well. They're great on special teams. So you see a really complete, well-coached team. They obviously have a ton of belief and deservedly so.''
That is the crux of it; Indiana is good at everything. It's almost like a bait and switch. Worry about the offense and the defense gets you. Fret about finding ways to score and the offense punishes you. And then special teams piles on.
If the offensive line deserved the MVP trophy in the Rose Bowl, the spoils should have gone to the defense here. On the first play from scrimmage in the game, D'Angelo Ponds expected an RPO play from Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. Ponds read Moore's eyes the whole way and when Moore threw the ball to the left side, Ponds jumped the route and sauntered 25 yards into the end zone.
If you want to know what it sounds like when an entire state erupts, listen to the replay. All of Indiana cheered.
The defense then proceeded to gift wrap 14 more points to the offense. It set up first-and-goal from the three after Mario Landino jumped on a Dante Moore fumble in the second quarter, and gave the Hoosiers the ball on the 21 when Ndukwe pancaked Moore to force another fumble. In the fourth quarter and the game well in hand, Ndukwe blocked James Ferguson-Reynolds' punt, handing IU the ball on the seven.
The Hoosiers' defensive stalwartness has not exactly been lost; they are ranked No. 2 in the country but the surgical precision and disarming charm that Mendoza brings to the offense does tend to suck up a lot of the spotlight.
It should not. Indiana's defense is masterful, a plug-and-play roster that is annihilating opponents without its leading tackler. Stephen Daley suffered a freak injury celebrating the Big Ten championship and hasn't played in the playoff.
No matter. The Hoosiers simply find other guys. Ndukwe had all of eight tackles in his first 14 games; he had three against Oregon, including two sacks, the forced fumble and then the blocked punt cherry on top.
“When you have good people and they buy in and they prepare the right way, we have a lot of those guys,'' head coach Curt Cignetti said “They're high character, smart guys.''
Like Cignetti, defensive coordinator Bryant Haines came up the old-fashioned way, starting at schools most folks don't know exist – Manchester, a Division 3 school in Fort Wayne; Adrian, another D-3 outpost in Michigan. He's now one of the highest paid coordinators in college football, courtesy of a mad scientist approach to defense.
The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse. He says he's toned things down as he's gotten older, learned when to take risks and how to better mix up his coverages.
“That's what I call him, a mad scientist,'' said Ndukwe, who grew up in Lithonia, Georgia, and relished the home game. “I'm doing things that I've never done before and you can just see other teams, they get confused. You can feel how it affects them.”'
Moore looked at times overwhelmed, either dancing in the pocket anxiously trying to find an open receiver or swarmed as the pocket collapsed. He is in good company. Ohio State's Justin Sayin threw a pick and was sacked five times, and Alabama's Ty Simpson threw for only 67 yards before leaving with a cracked rib.
“They show you one thing,” Lanning said earlier this week, “and take something else away. They're really good at post-snap movement, which makes it difficult for the quarterback. Their defensive line plays with relentless effort. They're tough to block up front. And then the technique continues to show up.”
Everything at Indiana continues to show up again and again like a metronome of consistency, their mantra so ingrained even the university president sings the same tune.
While booster Mark Cuban barked “Hoo hoo Hoosiers!” outside the locker room with fans, Pamela Whitten unassumedly walked past the locker room before stopping to chat with a pair of reporters.
“This is great, isn't it?” she said. “But we still have one more game.''
No time for complacency.
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Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) reacts during the second half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal against Oregon, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) passes during the second half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal against Oregon, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) throws a touchdown pass against Oregon during the first half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)
ATLANTA (AP) — Indiana is headed to the national championship game for the first time in program history. For Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza, that means a chance to end a fairytale season in the place where his story first began.
It's been a historic season for Indiana, and Mendoza is largely to credit. Indiana won its first Big Ten title since 1967, beat Ohio State for the first time since 1988, earned the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, won its first Rose Bowl, and in December, Mendoza became the program's first Heisman Trophy winner.
After a five touchdown performance and 56-22 rout of Oregon in the Peach Bowl, there's now just one item left on the checklist for Mendoza and the Hoosiers — and that's beating Miami on its home turf in the championship game.
It will be a homecoming for the quarterback, who grew up in Miami and attended Christopher Columbus High School, roughly 30 minutes south of Hard Rock Stadium.
“I've actually not played in Hard Rock before, but I've been to a lot of games there,” Mendoza said. “It's a very full circle moment. If you open Google Maps and put my address to the University of Miami campus, it's under a mile away.”
Mendoza said he often biked and walked over, played rec basketball and spent the offseason training on campus, but the Miami and Mendoza connections don't end there. Mendoza's dad was a high school teammate of with Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal.
The Heisman winner is familiar with the Hurricanes. He played for two years at California, including the program's inaugural season in the ACC in 2024, before transferring to Indiana in 2025. He faced his hometown team once, in October 2024, and threw for 285 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 39-38 loss.
He's looking forward to a rematch.
“They did switch defensive coordinators and last year was a very different offensive scheme as well,” Mendoza said. “It was a tight game. Cam Ward, who ended up being the No. 1 overall pick. That game came down to the wire... We lost that one by one point. It was heartbreaking, so just looking for the opportunity to play them again.”
Mendoza has performed well under bright lights, and the Peach Bowl was no exception. He finished the game completing 17 of 20 passes for 177 yards and five touchdowns. He added 28 rushing yards on six carries and had a passer rating of 241.8.
___
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The Washington National Opera on Friday announced it is parting ways with the Kennedy Center after more than a decade with the arts institution.
“Today, the Washington National Opera announced its decision to seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity,” the opera said in a statement.
The decoupling marks another high-profile withdrawal since President Donald Trump and his newly installed board of trustees instituted broad thematic and cosmetic changes to the building, including renaming the facility “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
The opera said it plans to “reduce its spring season and relocate performances to new venues.”
A source familiar with the dynamic told CNN the decision to part ways was made by the opera's board and its leadership, and that the decision was not mutual.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center said in a statement, “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with the WNO due to a financially challenging relationship. We believe this represents the best path forward for both organizations and enables us to make responsible choices that support the financial stability and long-term future of the Trump Kennedy Center.”
Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell, who was appointed by Trump's hand-picked board, said on X, “Having an exclusive relationship has been extremely expensive and limiting in choice and variety.”
Grenell added, “Having an exclusive Opera was just not financially smart. And our patrons clearly wanted a refresh.”
Inside Trump's transformation of the Kennedy Center
Since taking the reins at the center, Grenell has cut existing staff, hired political allies and mandated a “break-even policy” for every performance.
The opera said the new policy was a factor in its decision to leave the center.
“The Center's new business model requires productions to be fully funded in advance—a requirement incompatible with opera operations,” the opera said.
Francesca Zambello, the opera's artistic director, said she is “deeply saddened to leave The Kennedy Center.”
“In the coming years, as we explore new venues and new ways of performing, WNO remains committed to its mission and artistic vision,” she said.
The New York Times first reported the opera's departure.
Founded in 1956 as the “Opera Society of Washington,” the group has performed across the district, taking permanent residency in the Kennedy Center in 2011.
The performing arts center has been hit with a string of abrupt cancellations from artists in recent weeks including the jazz group The Cookers and New York City-based dance company Doug Varone and Dancers who canceled their performances after Trump's name was added to the center - a living memorial for assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
The American College Theater Festival voted to suspend its relationship with the Kennedy Center, calling the affiliation “no longer viable” and citing concerns over a misalignment of the group's values.
American banjo player Béla Fleck withdrew his upcoming performance with the National Symphony Orchestra, saying that performing at the center has become “charged and political.”
The Brentano String Quartet, who canceled their February 1 performance at the Kennedy Center, said they will “regretfully forego performing there.”
CNN has reached out to the Kennedy Center on the additional cancellations.
The opera said, “The Board and management of the company wish the Center well in its own future endeavors.”
CNN's Betsy Klein and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.
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Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, left, greets Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti after the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Indiana defensive lineman Daniel Ndukwe (17) pressures Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (5) during the first half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (5) is sacked by Indiana defensive lineman Dominique Ratcliff (91) during the first half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)
Oregon running back Jay Harris (22) carries for a touchdown against Indiana linebacker Rolijah Hardy (21) during the second half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (5) passes against Indiana during the second half of the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
ATLANTA (AP) — The very first snap of the Peach Bowl pretty much summed up what kind of night it would be for Oregon.
A pick-6 put Dante Moore and the Ducks in an immediate hole.
That was only the beginning of their misery.
If this had been a heavyweight fight, the refs would've stepped in before the halftime show.
No. 1 Indiana romped into the national championship game with a 56-22 blowout of fifth-seeded Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal on Friday, a one-sided affair that was essentially over by the time the Ducks dragged themselves to the locker room — presumably to discuss seating arrangements for the long flight home even with another half still to go.
Needing a near-perfect game, Oregon (13-2) instead gifted the mighty Hoosiers 21 points off three turnovers by Moore, resulting in a 35-7 deficit at the break.
Game over.
“First things first: The quarterback has to protect the football,” said Moore, who fumbled twice in addition to the interception. “You can't win football games if you're causing turnovers.”
It was a bitter blow for the Ducks, who had hoped to capture the school's first national championship in football.
Instead, it's the Hoosiers (15-0) moving on to South Florida to face No. 10 seed Miami, dismantling their Big Ten rivals after a much more competitive contest in Eugene during the regular season.
“It was a great Indiana defense,” said Moore, who hasn't decided if we will enter the NFL draft or return to Oregon for another season. “But at the end of the day, we beat ourselves.”
Back on the second Saturday of October, Indiana prevailed over Oregon 30-20 in a game that was tied in the final quarter.
On the second Friday of January, the Hoosiers followed up a 38-3 destruction of Alabama in the Rose Bowl with another postseason rout in the A-T-L, getting a big helping hand from the team in green.
It didn't take long to see how this one would go.
Comping off CFP wins over James Madison and Texas Tech, the Ducks returned the opening kickoff out to the 20. Moore went for a seemingly safe throw on first down, a quick toss in the left flats. But D'Angelo Ponds read the QB's eyes all the way, jumping in front of the intended receiver to make the interception.
He didn't stop running until he was in the end zone, 25 yards later.
Eleven seconds into the game, it was Indiana 7, Oregon 0.
“You start off with a pick-6, you get in a little bit of a hole, you start to press a little bit,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “That's a damn good Indiana team. You've got to give credit to them, too. It's not just what we need to do. it's what they did do.”
For the second year in a row, Oregon's season ended with a blowout loss in the CFP. A season ago, it was a 41-21 setback to eventual national champion Ohio State in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal.
“It (stinks) right now, I'm not gonna lie,” senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher said. “This is not how I envisioned it whatsoever.”
To their credit, the Ducks bounced back from that shocking start, driving 75 yards in 14 plays — converting three times on third down — to even the score on Moore's 19-yard scoring strike to Jamari Johnson.
That would be their final highlight in a debacle of a first half. Especially for Moore, who had played such a key role after taking over this season for Dillon Gabriel.
First, it was Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza reclaiming the lead for good for the Hoosiers with a 75-yard drive of his own.
Then, all Indiana had to do was sit back as Moore and the Ducks self-destructed.
Backed up deep in his own territory, Moore set for another short throw but struck running back Dierre Hill Jr. in the elbow as he cocked his arm. The ball popped out before the quarterback's arm went forward, with the Hoosiers recovering at the Oregon 3 to set up an easy TD that stretched the lead to 21-7.
A 36-yard touchdown pass from Mendoza to Charlie Becker made it 28-7 late in the second quarter, essentially putting the Ducks in a must-score position before halftime.
Instead, Moore turned it over yet again.
This time, the pigskin popped free on a crushing sack by Daniel Ndukwe. Mario Landino fell on it for the Hoosiers at the Oregon 21. Naturally, they punched it in for another score.
In a final slap in the face, the Ducks came up far short with a 56-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
It never had a chance.
Just like the Ducks.
___
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Indiana beat Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl, and advanced to their first CFP Semifinal. Colin Cowherd asks if Indiana is the new powerhouse in CFB, and if the team can win it all.
The 2025 Indiana Hoosiers became the fifth team in modern college football history to go 15-0. Now they can become the first team of the modern era to ever go 16-0, and only the second of all-time, joining an 1894 Yale team that played with leather helmets.
With a merciless 56-22 thumping of Oregon in the Peach Bowl, the Hoosiers punched their ticket to their first national championship game appearance in program history.
Head coach Curt Cignetti has left the college football world breathless with a dramatic turnaround of the Hoosiers program, going from one of the losingest teams in the Big 10 to potentially the most dominant single-season of all time.
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Elijah Sarratt, #13 of the Indiana Hoosiers, is tackled by Ify Obidegwu, #7 of the Oregon Ducks, during the first quarter in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 9, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Many prominent sports figures took to social media to express their amazement over Indiana's unprecedented dominance during and after their win over Oregon. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun also chimed in.
Indiana's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw five touchdown passes, improving his case to be the top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Kaelon Black ran for two touchdowns to lead the Indiana running game.
INDIANA WINS FIRST OUTRIGHT BIG 10 FOOTBALL TITLE SINCE 1945 AFTER OHIO STATE FLUBS SHORT FIELD GOAL TRY
Fernando Mendoza, #15 of the Indiana Hoosiers, is tackled by Aaron Flowers #21 of the Oregon Ducks during the second quarter in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 9, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Oregon (13-2, No. 5 CFP) was doomed by the three first-half turnovers while also being short-handed by the absence of two of their top running backs.
Indiana's defense didn't wait long to make an impact. On Oregon's first snap, cornerback D'Angelo Ponds intercepted Moore's pass intended for Malik Benson and returned the pick 25 yards for a touchdown. Only 11 seconds into the game, the Hoosiers and their defense had already made a statement this would be a long night for Moore and the Oregon offense.
Moore's 19-yard scoring pass to tight end Jamari Johnson tied the game. The remainder of the half belonged to Indiana and its big-play defense.
After Mendoza's 8-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. gave the Hoosiers the lead for good at 14-7, Indiana's defense forced a turnover when Moore fumbled and Indiana recovered at the Oregon 3, setting up Black's scoring run.
Moore lost a second fumble later in the second quarter when hit by Daniel Ndukwe and Mario Landino recovered at the Oregon 21. Mendoza's first scoring pass to Sarratt gave the Hoosiers' the 35-7 lead.
Indiana extended its lead to 42-7 on Mendoza's 13-yard scoring pass to E.J. Williams Jr.
Oregon finally answered. A 70-yard run by Hill set up a 2-yard scoring run by Harris.
The Hoosiers led 35-7 at halftime as the Ducks were held to nine rushing yards on 17 carries. Noah Whittington, who leads Oregon with 829 rushing yards, was held out with an undisclosed injury after Jordon Davison, who had rushed for 667 yards and 15 touchdowns, already was listed as out with a collarbone injury.
Backup running backs, including Jay Harris and Dierre Hill Jr, provided too little help for quarterback Dante Moore. Moore's task against Indiana's stifling defense would have been daunting even with all his weapons.
Following their undefeated regular season, the Hoosiers have only gained momentum in the CFP. Indiana overwhelmed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal as Mendoza passed for 192 yards and three touchdowns.
Now, the Hoosiers will prepare to face Miami on Jan. 19 in the national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Miami beat Mississippi 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Thursday night.
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Roman Hemby, #1 of the Indiana Hoosiers, runs out of bounds before the endzone against the Oregon Ducks during the second quarter in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 9, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Indiana will try to give the Big Ten its third straight national title, following Ohio State and Michigan the last two seasons. Few teams from any conference can compare with the Hoosiers' season-long demonstration of balanced strong play.
The country will be watching to see if this unprecedented team can finish the job and really punch their ticket into the history books.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson's reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
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FILE -Olive, 4, deposits an election ballot into a drop box in Seattle, Wash. under the supervision of her mother, on Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio, File)
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from enforcing most of his executive order on elections against the vote-by-mail states Washington and Oregon, in the latest blow to Trump's efforts to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote and to require that all ballots be received by Election Day.
U.S. District Judge John H. Chun in Seattle found that those requirements exceeded the president's authority, following similar rulings in a Massachusetts case brought by 19 states and in a Washington, D.C., case by Democratic and civil rights groups.
“Today's ruling is a huge victory for voters in Washington and Oregon, and for the rule of law,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said. “The court enforced the long-standing constitutional rule that only States and Congress can regulate elections, not the Election Denier-in-Chief.”
The executive order, issued in March, included new requirements that people provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a demand that all mail ballots be received by Election Day. It also put states' federal funding at risk if election officials didn't comply.
Officials in Oregon and Washington, which accept ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day, said that could disenfranchise thousands of voters. During the 2024 general election, officials in Washington counted nearly 120,000 ballots that were received after election day but postmarked by it. Oregon officials received nearly 14,000 such ballots.
The judge found that Trump's efforts violated the separation of powers. The Constitution grants Congress and the states the authority to regulate federal elections, he noted.
Oregon and Washington said they sued separately from other states because, as exclusively vote-by-mail states, they faced particular harms from the executive order.
Trump and other Republicans have promoted the idea that large numbers of people who were not U.S. citizens might be voting. However, voting by noncitizens is rare and, when they are caught, they can face felony charges and deportation.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Longtime FBI insider Christopher Raia has been tapped to replace Dan Bongino as the agency's deputy director.
FBI Director Kash Patel has selected Raia to succeed Bongino after the incumbent deputy director announced last month he would leave the bureau in January, the agency confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Friday evening.
Bongino's nomination was met with skepticism in Washington, as he had no direct experience working at the FBI. He held years of experience in the Secret Service and was known in conservative circles as the host of a popular political podcast.
Bongino's replacement, Raia, fits the more typical mold of having a career agent in the FBI's No. 2 role, as he holds over two decades of experience at the bureau. Raia is expected to start the job as early as next week, according to the New York Times.
Raia was most recently appointed assistant director of the New York field office, one of the bureau's most coveted roles, in April. He also served as deputy assistant director in the Counterterrorism Division at Headquarters in 2024, overseeing all international counterterrorism program management for the FBI. Previous roles included long stints in Texas, where Raia “spent 10 years investigating violent crime, gangs, drugs, and white-collar crime.”
FBI'S HANDLING OF BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING INVESTIGATION RENEWS SCRUTINY OF KASH PATEL
Bongino hasn't disclosed details regarding his resignation less than a year after he started as deputy director. President Donald Trump suggested last month he missed hosting his podcast, saying Bongino “wants to go back to his show.”
“It was a busy last day on the job,” Bongino said in a statement posted to X last week. “Tomorrow I return to civilian life. It's been an incredible year thanks to the leadership and decisiveness of President Trump. It was the honor of a lifetime to work with Director Patel, and to serve you, the American people.”
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The Indianapolis Colts are mourning the loss of former standout player Randy McMillan, who died at age 67.
The late running back was selected by the Baltimore Colts in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft. McMillan quickly captured the hearts of Colts fans with a historic performance in his NFL debut.
In his first pro game against the New England Patriots, McMillan ran for 146 yards, scoring two touchdowns to help lift Baltimore to a 29-28 victory in September 1981. The performance earned Millan his first NFL Offensive Player of the Week honor.
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Randy McMillan (32) of the Baltimore Colts looks to avoid a tackle by Bryan Hinkle (53) of the Pittsburgh Steelers Nov. 13, 1983, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. McMillan played for the Colts from 1981-86. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk is the only player in franchise history to rush for more touchdowns in his NFL debut. Faulk finished his first games in a Colts uniform with three rushing scores.
EX-NFL LINEBACKER KEITH BROWNER DEAD AT 63
McMillan did not surpass the 100-yard rushing mark in any of the remaining games in his rookie season. He ended the season with 597 rushing yards, racking up another 466 receiving yards. He was with the Colts when the franchise moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984.
Baltimore Colts running back Randy McMillan (32) looks up after being tackled during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Memorial Stadium Oct. 23, 1983 in Baltimore. (George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
McMillan played for the Colts from 1981-86.
He retired at 28 after he was hit by a car, which resulted in a leg injury. McMillan rushed for 3,876 yards in his NFL career.
Indianapolis Colts running back Randy McMillan in action against the New England Patriots at Foxboro Stadium Dec. 16, 1984, in Foxboro, Mass. (Dick Raphael/USA Today Sports)
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McMillan's college football career started at Harford (Maryland) College. He later transferred to Pittsburgh, where he spent two years playing alongside quarterback Dan Marino.
McMillan was the nation's leading scorer and top rusher in 1978. He is a member of the Harford Sports Hall of Fame.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
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Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. (2) applies stiff arm to Boise State defensive back Jeremiah Earby (6) during the second half of the LA Bowl NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. (2) throws a pass during the LA Bowl NCAA college football game against Boise State Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks on the field before the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal against Indiana, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
A transfer portal spiraling out of control prompted the new regulatory body for college sports to issue a memo to athletic directors Friday night saying it has “serious concerns” about some of the multimillion-dollar contracts being offered to players.
The “reminder” from the College Sports Commission came out about an hour before kickoff of the semifinal between Indiana and Oregon in a College Football Playoff that has shared headlines with news of players signing seven-figure deals to move or, in some cases, stay where they are.
The CSC reminded the ADs that, according to the rules, third-party deals to use players' name, image and likeness “are evaluated at the time of entry in NIL Go, not before, and each deal is evaluated on its own merits.”
“Without prejudging any particular deal, the CSC has serious concerns about some of the deal terms being contemplated and the consequences of those deals for the parties involved,” the memo said.
Under terms of the House settlement that dictated the rules for NIL payments, schools can share revenue with their players directly from a pool of $20.5 million. Third-party deals, often arranged by businesses created to back the schools, are being used as workarounds this so-called salary cap.
The CSC, through its NIL Go portal, is supposed to evaluate those deals to make sure they are for a valid business purpose and fall within a fair range of compensation for the services being provided.
The CSC did not list examples of unapproved contracts, but college football has seen its share of seven-figure deals luring players to new schools since the transfer portal opened on Jan. 2.
One high-profile case involved Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who initially sought to enter the transfer portal and turn his back on a reported deal worth $4 million with the Huskies. Legal threats ensued and Williams changed course and stayed at Washington.
“Making promises of third-party NIL money now and figuring out how to honor those promises later leaves student-athletes vulnerable to deals not being cleared, promises not being able to be kept, and eligibility being placed at risk,” the CSC letter said.
The commission listed two rules about contracts it evaluates, some of which have been termed “agency agreement” or “services agreement” in what look like attempts to bypass the rules.
—"The label on the contract does not change the analysis; if an entity is agreeing to pay a student-athlete for their NIL, the agreement must be reported to NIL Go within the reporting deadline.”
—"An NIL agreement or payment with an associated entity or individual ... must include direct activation of the student-athlete's NIL rights.” This is a reference to the practice of “warehousing” NIL rights by paying first, then deciding how to use them later.
___
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As he approached Renee Good's vehicle on a Minneapolis street on Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross held up his phone camera and recorded video.
Less than a minute later, he was still recording when he drew his weapon and fatally shot Good as she accelerated.
That extraordinary footage, along with video shot by bystanders and a 3D model created by CNN of the confrontation, shows Good and her wife challenging ICE officers – but also raises new questions about Ross's tactics and decision to use deadly force.
The video evidence also appears to undermine elements of the government's narrative of what happened.
CNN's analysis found that while the Department of Homeland Security claims that Good was “blocking” ICE agents, multiple cars – including one driven by Ross – were able to drive around Good's vehicle before the shooting.
Some experts said Ross's decision to use a cell phone to record the encounter, including as he fired the fatal shots, could have hampered his ability to respond effectively in the moment.
“If you're an agent … then you should not be encumbered by anything in your hands,” said Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN law enforcement analyst. “That's what body worn cameras are for. But they're not wearing body-worn cameras.”
Trump administration officials have defended Ross and said he acted out of self-defense, arguing that the video he recorded makes it clear he had no choice but to shoot. In the wake of the shooting, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem described the incident as “an act of domestic terrorism.”
“This footage corroborates what DHS has stated all along — that this individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. “The officer was in fear of his own life, the lives of his fellow officers and acted in self-defense.”
But a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of DHS found Ross's actions deeply concerning.
“I would have been livid if one of my folks were doing that,” the former official, who requested to speak anonymously, told CNN. “If you're so concerned about your safety … then why are you tying up your hands and attention on your cell phone? Clearly they didn't feel threatened.”
Despite recording throughout the incident, Ross's cell phone is not trained on Good as the shooting occurs.
Several experts who reviewed the incident remarked how quickly it escalated and how Ross limited his tactical response by positioning himself so close to the front of the vehicle during the confrontation.
Seconds before the shooting, Good and her wife are seen talking to Ross. Their verbal exchanges are not heated. Good can be seen saying to Ross she's “not mad” at him.
“I think the part of it that's the most telling is when he walks by her and she's smiling,” said former Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey, who is a CNN contributor. “She doesn't look anything like a domestic terrorist. That's for sure … although you don't know what's in her mind.”
ICE doesn't have a definitive policy on recording interactions or incidents on cell phone devices, either personal or government, according to a federal law enforcement source. However, the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility can review a government device upon request. A warrant or subpoena is generally required to access the officers' personal phone.
Ross, a law enforcement veteran with nearly two decades experience in the Border Patrol and ICE, was among a group of agents working in south Minneapolis on Wednesday when they encountered Good, who had stopped her burgundy SUV perpendicular in the road.
Renee Good's wife, Becca Good, said in a statement to MPR News that they had “stopped to support our neighbors.”
“We had whistles. They had guns,” she wrote, an apparent reference to activists who warn of ICE activity by blowing whistles.
Noem and others have described Good as “impeding” ICE activities on Wednesday.
“ICE officers and agents approached the vehicle of the individual in question, who was blocking the officers in with her vehicle. And she had been stalking and impeding their work all throughout the day,” Noem said.
Videos viewed by CNN don't shed light on any potential earlier encounters between Good and ICE agents.
However, while her vehicle was perpendicular to the roadway, the footage does show that several vehicles – including large SUVs – were able to drive around her as she moved back and forth on the street.
That includes a light-colored SUV driven by Ross.
Bystander footage shows that shortly after he got out of his SUV and approached Renee Good's vehicle, Ross pulled out his cell phone and recorded.
His video footage shows him recording Good in the driver's seat. Good appeared calm and had both of her hands visible as she said, “That's fine dude. I'm not mad at you.”
Becca Good, who had been a passenger but got out of the SUV, held her own phone toward Ross and said, “You wanna come at us? You wanna come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy.”
Another officer in the footage can be heard telling Good, the driver, to “get out of the f****** car.”
Ross was still filming as he walked in front of Good's vehicle. Good first put her vehicle in reverse, and then accelerated forward. “Drive, baby, drive!” Becca Good can be heard yelling from outside the vehicle.
Renee Good appeared to turn the steering wheel away from Ross as she pulled forward. The angle of Ross's phone does not capture any contact between him and the car.
With his cell phone still gripped in one hand and recording, Ross yelled “Woah,” pulled his gun with the other hand and fired into the car – killing Good, whose vehicle continued accelerating down the street before crashing.
Footage shows that as Ross walked down the street in the moments after the shooting, he still had his phone out and his camera app open.
Trump administration officials have shared the footage captured by Ross, arguing that it vindicates his decision to use deadly force.
“Watch this, as hard as it is,” Vice President JD Vance tweeted, with a link to Ross's video. “Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn't hit by a car, wasn't being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman. The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self defense.”
Wackrow said there are occasions where it's appropriate for law enforcement officials to use cell phones to document incidents, particularly if they are designated with that job from the outset.
But he said Ross's cell phone activity throughout could be troubling.
“You should not have anything in your hands. You should be ready to address any type of threat or issue that presents itself,” said Wackrow.
The deadly shooting shows why it's important for all agencies to equip their officers with body-worn cameras, Ramsey said.
“In my view, officers, federal, local, state should be wearing body-worn cameras,” he said. “The majority of the time, it actually shows that the officer's actions were justified, as opposed to the other way around.”
CNN's Jamie Gangel and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this story.
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President Donald Trump's attack on Venezuela and threats to other countries, as well as concerns about affordability, exposed fractures within the congressional GOP this week at the start of a challenging midterm election year.
Trump avoided defeat when most House Republicans declined to override the first of two vetoes of his presidency, which spiked a pair of nonpartisan infrastructure bills that would've benefited Colorado and Florida.
But it was otherwise a less-than-stellar week for Trump on Capitol Hill, though Republicans are projecting confidence.
"This isn't an unusual situation, particularly coming into midterm elections, where you have senators that are in tough situations," Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said Friday on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
A senior White House official said the defectors represent just a "tiny fraction" of congressional Republicans.
"Republicans aren't always going to have the same views as the president," the White House official said.
Still, cracks in GOP unity emerged on multiple fronts.
On Thursday, 17 House Republicans broke ranks and voted with Democrats on legislation to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years, despite opposition from House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and the widespread unpopularity of the Obamacare subsidies within the Republican party.
The White House official said Trump opposes a three-year extension, but the vote was not viewed internally as a defeat.
The enhanced tax credits were first enacted under President Joe Biden in 2021 and have been a focal point of Democratic messaging on health care and affordability. The credits expired at the end of 2025, resulting in sharply higher premiums for millions of Americans who get their health insurance on ACA marketplaces.
Many of those who supported the bill to extend the tax credits were among the most vulnerable Republicans in the 2026 midterms.
"I have long opposed the damage the Unaffordable Care Act has done to our country, but I will not watch Wisconsinites lose health care because Democrats let their own law collapse," Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., who voted for their extension, posted on X. Van Orden is running for reelection in a toss up district, according to Cook Political Report.
Earlier on Thursday, five Senate Republicans bucked the president and joined Democrats on a procedural vote that could rein in his ability to take military action in Venezuela. Trump responded in a Truth Social post that "Republicans should be ashamed" of the senators who supported the preliminary vote and said they "should never be elected to office again."
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., one of the members called out by Trump, declined to comment on the president's comments on Thursday. When asked if he was open to changing his stance on subsequent War Powers votes, Young told reporters, "Why would I?"
The White House, however, said there is a "significant" chance future votes on the resolution might go the president's way.
"A number of these members have left the door open to additional conversations," the senior official said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring at the end of his term in January 2027, has found himself at odds with the administration on several fronts.
On Wednesday, Tillis took aim at White House senior adviser Stephen Miller from the Senate floor, calling Miller's comments about the U.S. taking over Greenland "amateurish" and "stupid."
The White House official called those remarks "disappointing."
A day after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents killed a civilian in Minnesota, Tillis also announced he was blocking all Department of Homeland Security nominees. Tillis, however, said the hold was not related to the shooting, and instead had to do with Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem so far refusing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"All I'm saying is, you need to show respect to a committee of jurisdiction," Tillis told reporters this week.
And on Thursday, Tillis and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., secured passage of a resolution to place a plaque honoring police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 in the Senate.
Language authorizing the plaque was passed into law as part of a larger appropriations bill in 2022. The monument was supposed to be displayed on the West front of the Capitol by March 2023, but had been blocked by House Republicans.
Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have sought to shift the narrative on Jan. 6. On the five-year anniversary this week, the White House launched a web page casting blame on Democrats, then-Vice President Mike Pence, and Capitol Police for the violence that transpired that day.
Officers "risked their lives to defend the United States Capitol and protect members of Congress. Their brave actions upheld the rule of law and ensured that our democratic institutions could continue to function as intended," Tillis said in a statement.
When asked about the plaque, the White House official said, "The administration doesn't have a position on the decorations of the Capitol."
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A cooling labor market, characterized by sluggish hiring and anemic job creation, made it hard for job seekers to find work in 2025, according to economists.
"It's fair to say that 2025 was a hiring recession in the United States," Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in a note Friday. That recession affects both blue- and white-collar workers, she wrote.
U.S. employers added 584,000 jobs last year, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report issued Friday. That marks the worst year for total job gains outside of a recession since 2003, according to Long. There has been little job creation since April, meaning most gains took place early in the year, she wrote.
Most hiring has also been concentrated in the health-care sector, making it difficult for workers to participate across the broad labor market, economists said.
"Healthcare alone accounted for roughly 69% of all job growth across 2025," Nicole Bachaud, a labor economist at career site ZipRecruiter, wrote in a note Friday. "The reliance on a single industry to keep job growth positive uncovers the unstable foundation in play going into 2026."
Long-term unemployment has also climbed. In December, 26% of all unemployed workers had been out of work for at least six months, the highest share since February 2022, according to the BLS.
That suggests "unemployment is increasingly becoming a permanent state rather than a temporary transition," Bachaud said.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the hiring rate had fallen to 3.2% in November. That's one of the lowest rates since 2013, according to Long.
Overall, the current state of the labor market shows a stark turnaround from the scorching market of 2021 and 2022.
At that time, the so-called "great resignation" was in full swing, with job openings at record highs, pay growth at its highest in decades and workers able to leave their jobs in droves for better positions.
Economists called that labor market, in which workers enjoyed considerable leverage, unsustainable over the long run.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to help cool the labor market and rein in inflation, which in 2022 hit its highest level in about four decades.
Additionally, several factors coalesced into an anemic hiring environment, Long wrote: economic policy such as tariffs, business uncertainty, over-hiring in recent years, and a reluctance to hire more workers until the use cases for artificial intelligence become clearer.
While the hiring recession will likely continue in the first half of 2026, the second half should be better for job seekers, due to tax cuts, lower interest rates and a clearer tariff picture, Long wrote.
There are ways for job seekers to improve their chances at landing a new position, even in a lackluster hiring environment, according to job experts.
Employers and recruiters have gradually shifted to so-called "skills-based hiring," meaning they prioritize a candidate's skills and experience rather than educational attainment, said Sam DeMase, a career expert at ZipRecruiter.
ZipRecruiter data shows 88% of entry-level jobs omit degree requirements in the job description, and about 70% of recently hired workers have less than a bachelor's degree, said DeMase.
"Many employers want to hire folks who can hit the ground running immediately," she said.
Job seekers should ensure there's "strong" alignment between the job description and the experience and skill sets they outline on their resumes and cover letters, DeMase said.
This helps candidates stand out with recruiters and make it through the automated applicant tracking systems on which employers increasingly rely to sort applications, she said.
DeMase gave an example of what candidates can write to highlight value proposition: "Using my background in X, I helped companies achieve Y." For example: "Using my background in digital marketing and extensive background in data analysis and content planning, I helped companies craft innovative campaigns that attract and delight the ideal audience and drive revenue."
Generic skills statements like "I have good people skills and attention to detail" won't work well in 2026, she said.
Priya Rathod, a career expert at job site Indeed, recommends that applicants use artificial intelligence to match keywords in job descriptions with those in their resume. This helps applicants get through the first round of resume screening, she said.
It's important for job seekers to follow employer demand, said Rathod.
Workers should target certain areas of the job market that are growing, including health care, skilled trades, infrastructure and revenue-critical jobs, especially within technology, she said.
"Getting hired in 2026 isn't necessarily about applying everywhere," Rathod said. "It's really about aligning your skills and where employers are actually investing."
For example, a worker with a sales background may not have specific experience in health-care sales, but they can play up their sales skills in an application, Rathod said.
Think about transferable skills, and work to upskill via additional credentials, licenses or certifications to fill in any gaps, she said.
Don't ignore the value of networking, Rathod said.
Whether a person has a job, is unemployed, or has a part-time role and is looking for full-time work, "networking is always going to be one of your best friends," she said.
This can take several forms: Engaging with industry and community organizations, and talking to friends and colleagues, either in person or online, she said.
DeMase recommends certain nuts-and-bolts resume formatting guidelines to further help make it through applicant tracking system firewalls.
For instance, resumes should be in a single-column format with clearly labeled sections, including a headline, about me, achievements, work experience, areas of expertise and education, if applicable, she said.
Resumes don't need to be limited to one page.
"There's a myth about the one-page resume," she said. "Don't sacrifice experience to shorten your resume."
A resume can be two pages for people with five to 10 years of experience, and three pages for those with more than 10 years of experience, DeMase said. These aren't hard and fast rules, however, and may differ based on industry.
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Bill Gates is as optimistic about the world's future as ever, despite the fact that we're living through "an era with so many challenges and so much polarization," the billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder wrote in a blog post on Friday.
The world faces plenty of causes for concern over issues like climate change, global health and poverty, and disruptions caused by artificial intelligence, Gates wrote. However, "we are far better off than when I was born 70 years ago," wrote Gates, due particularly to innovations in technology and global health.
Gates also believes that conditions will keep improving over the next two decades, especially as AI spurs new advances, he wrote: "I am still an optimist because I see what innovation accelerated by artificial intelligence will bring."
But there are a few caveats. "These days, my optimism comes with footnotes," wrote Gates.
Specifically, Gates is concerned about three questions that could determine "the trajectory of [the world's] progress," he wrote:
The number of worldwide deaths of children under 5 years old was projected to increase by roughly 200,000 in 2025, rising for the first time in 25 years, according to a report released by the Gates Foundation in December.
The projected stat is "the thing I am most upset about" regarding the world's progress, Gates wrote on Friday. He linked it to significant cuts to global aid spending by leading world governments, including the U.S.
"Over the last 25 years, those deaths went down faster than at any other point in history. But in 2025, they went up for the first time this century..." wrote Gates. "This trend will continue unless we make progress in restoring aid budgets."
The global standard of living's continued improvement depends, in part, on wealthy countries and individuals — like himself — re-committing to contribute some of their abundant resources to help those in need and reduce inequality around the world, Gates wrote. The billionaire announced plans in May 2025 to step up his own charitable giving as part of a pledge to give away "virtually all" of his wealth — which is currently estimated at $118 billion by Bloomberg — by 2045.
"This idea of treating others as you wish to be treated does not just apply to rich countries giving aid. It must also include philanthropy from the wealthy to help those in need — both domestically and globally — which should grow rapidly in a world with a record number of billionaires and even centibillionaires," he wrote on Friday.
Gates' optimism is bolstered by his belief in the power of technology, particularly AI, to create new breakthroughs in medical treatments, he wrote. Gates pointed to AI-powered advances in Alzheimer's research, as well as cancer and health crises still faced by developing countries, from malaria to malnutrition.
The Microsoft co-founder has also long been a proponent of using AI to improve education in the U.S. and abroad. AI tutors could eventually "be like a great high school teacher," providing personalized instruction to students across all income levels and geographies, Gates said on his "Unconfuse Me" podcast in August 2023.
DON'T MISS: How to build custom GPTs and use AI agents
In his blog post, Gates also linked environmental issues to global equality, writing that climate change could "join poverty and infectious disease in causing enormous suffering, especially for the world's poorest people."
After previously arguing for some climate research funding to be redirected to issues like poverty and health care, Gates wrote on Friday that he still plans on "investing and giving more than ever to climate work in the years ahead."
AI's agricultural applications could help provide farmers in developing countries with better advice, and more adaptive crops, to help them survive the challenges of growing food in warming environments, he wrote.
Clearly, Gates is an AI optimist. He also wrote about the technology's risks, and the need to work proactively to avoid worst-case scenarios, citing two specific challenges for the next two decades: the potential use of AI by bad actors and disruptions to the job market.
"Both are real risks that we need to do a better job managing," wrote Gates. World governments and the tech industry will have to be "deliberate about how this technology is developed, governed, and deployed," he added.
Gates didn't offer any specific suggestions, but did push back against the idea that AI might significantly damage the prospects of human workers, writing that "we should be able to allocate these new capabilities in ways that benefit everyone," including the potential for shorter work weeks for some people. Such optimism stems from his belief in "two core human capabilities," he noted.
"The first is our ability to anticipate problems and prepare for them, and therefore ensure that our new discoveries make all of us better off. The second is our capacity to care about each other," Gates wrote, adding that history is filled with examples of people who put "the greater good" ahead of their own personal interests.
"Those two qualities — foresight and care — are what give me hope as the year begins," Gates wrote. "As long as we keep exercising those abilities, I believe the years ahead can be ones of real progress."
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Business: Lululemon Athletica is a technical athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories company. The company organizes its operations into four regional markets: the Americas, China Mainland, Asia Pacific (APAC), and Europe and the Middle East (EMEA). It conducts its business through different channels in each market, including the company-operated stores, e-commerce, temporary locations, wholesale, outlets, a re-commerce program, as well as license and supply arrangements. The company offers a comprehensive line of technical athletic apparel, footwear and accessories marketed under the lululemon brand. Its apparel assortment includes items such as shorts, tops and jackets designed for a healthy lifestyle, including athletic activities such as yoga, running, training and most other activities. It also offers apparel designed for being on the move and fitness-inspired accessories. It operates stores in the United States, Canada, China Mainland, Australia, South Korea and others.
Stock Market Value: $23.92B ($203.90 per share)
Ownership: n/a
Average Cost: n/a
Activist Commentary: Elliott is a multi-strategy investment firm that manages approximately $76.1 billion in assets (as of June 30) and is one of the oldest firms of its type under continuous management. Known for its extensive due diligence and resources, Elliott regularly follows companies for years before making an investment. Elliott is the most active of activist investors, engaging with companies across industries and multiple geographies.
On Dec. 18, it was reported that Elliott has taken a more than $1 billion position in Lululemon and is bringing in Jane Nielsen, former CFO and COO of Ralph Lauren, as a potential CEO candidate at the company.
Lululemon is a global athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories company, offering pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for activities such as yoga, running and training. While the company remains anchored in its core North America market (~70% of revenue), it has built a significant presence in APAC (~25%), and China specifically (18%), as well as Europe (~5%). In fact, these ancillary markets have grown quite rapidly, with APAC and Europe delivering average compound annual growth rates of 33% and 22% respectively, over the past year. This international expansion has helped drive strong overall topline growth, with sales growing from $8 billion in 2023 to $11.9 billion today. However, in that same period, the company's share price has gone down from over $500 to now below $220 per share. The problem here lies in North America. Growth in this core market has slowed to low single digits, and now has turned negative, with comparable sales down 5% in the most recent quarter. Further, while the China growth story resonated with investors when North America was showing continued expansion, this narrative on its own in the face of North American core uncertainty is not something that is very appetizing to public market investors.
The root challenges in the North America business can be traced back to 2018, when Calvin McDonald became Lululemon CEO. From the beginning of his tenure, and through the post-Covid period, the company operated in a golden era for athleisure, benefiting from the broad casualization of apparel and enjoying years of outsized growth as the only real large-scale player. While this environment delivered years of share price appreciation, it also masked a series of strategic missteps that would later come back to bite them. First, Lululemon used much of these earnings to pursue new business lines, including its $500 million acquisition of Mirror, as well as the launches of footwear and skincare lines, none of which have generated meaningful shareholder value. Moreover, while these initiatives may have been tolerable on their own during a period of rapid growth, they ultimately distracted management from the core North America business that was key to revenue growth. This loss of focus became especially pronounced in May 2024, when the company's chief product officer resigned. Since then, product direction and design have widely been perceived to be largely centralized under McDonald. Lululemon has shifted from its historically sleek and highly functional aesthetic toward louder branding and collaborations, such as with Disney, that are not aligned with the core customer. As a result, the company's brand perception has shifted, allowing competitors like Alo and Vuori to gain momentum and begin taking share, particular among Lululemon's core customer base of young women. This is a dynamic that is evident to anybody who shops in the category. While store traffic and brand awareness remain high, conversion has deteriorated. These product missteps have been further compounded by broader operational issues in the areas of marketing, supply chain and corporate cost controls. Together, these issues have driven margin pressure, eroded brand momentum in North America, and ultimately contributed to the sharp decline in the company's stock price. On Dec. 11, 2025, Lululemon announced that McDonald would step down as CEO effective Jan. 31, 2026.
This impending leadership transition is what set the stage for Elliott to disclose a more than $1 billion position in Lululemon and bring in Jane Nielsen, former CFO and COO of Ralph Lauren, as a potential CEO candidate at the company. Lululemon is still a quality product and brand that has somewhat lost its way and needs to be invigorated. It does not need a CEO who knows all the answers (if that exists) but one who will hire the best talent and institute the right processes so management can work as a team of marketers, merchandisers and product developers to come up with the solutions. At the same time by delegating these duties to competent senior executives, Nielsen will be able to also oversee the company's supply chain and corporate structure to solve the problems there and institute a cost discipline that has been absent. This is what Nielsen has experience doing at both Ralph Lauren and Coach. In 2014, when Nielsen was at Coach, the manufacturer of luxury handbags was losing out to rivals and announced that it expected same-store sales in North America to be down by a high-teens percentage in the coming year. Nielsen told investors that Coach would be back to profitability within two years. Nielsen helped Coach close underperforming stores and get inventory under control and by March 2016, the Coach brand posted its first quarterly sales increase in North America in nearly three years. When Nielsen joined Ralph Lauren in September 2016, sales had stalled and net income had fallen approximately 50% since 2014. In a 2024 article in The Wall Street Journal, Nielsen was quoted as saying, "The brand was bigger and better than the business was showing" — which is similar to Lululemon today. Nielsen and the leadership team targeted millennial and Gen Z shoppers and overhauled the website and closed stores, leading to an increase of 20% in adjusted operating income.
When an activist comes to a company with an idea or recommendation, they are just as happy if the company takes that recommendation or comes up with a better one. Elliott is not saying that Jane Nielsen is the best person for the job. The firm is saying that she is the best person it knows of for the job, and the firm does extensive and comprehensive diligence and analysis before making a recommendation like this. Elliott cannot name the next CEO. The board does that. And while Elliott would like to see Nielsen as the next CEO, if the board decides on someone else who is equally qualified, Elliott will support that decision. In practicality, whoever the next CEO is will be pseudo-approved by Elliott because we have never seen a qualified CEO with options take a job like this if they knew an activist like Elliott opposed his or her appointment. But Elliott's presence alone adds a lot of value to the situation which the board should recognize. First, it justifies a sense of urgency, which is needed here. Second, the firm brings to the table a more than qualified CEO candidate who is ready and willing to take on this role. Third, an activist of Elliott's stature and reputation can give the board cover in whatever decision they make. This third point is particularly important when there is an outspoken founder in the wings like Chip Wilson who has been publicly criticizing board decisions. Without the activist, even a competent and experienced board could compromise on the CEO selection to appease the vocal founder.
This is very similar to Elliott's recent campaign at Starbucks, another iconic brand facing popularity, competition and image challenges with an outspoken founder not afraid to give his opinion. At Starbucks, Elliott's efforts quickly culminated in the appointment of Brian Niccol as CEO, now working to reset the company's strategy and restore investor confidence. Elliott's presence justified the urgency required and its endorsement of Niccol gave the board the external credibility to act quickly.
Since Elliott engaged Lululemon, on Dec. 29, Chip Wilson has nominated three directors – Marc Maurer, the former co-CEO of On Holding AG; Laura Gentile, former chief marketing officer of ESPN; and Eric Hirshberg, former CEO of Activision, the largest segment of Activision Blizzard – for election to the board at the 2026 annual meeting.
Ken Squire is the founder and president of 13D Monitor, an institutional research service on shareholder activism, and the founder and portfolio manager of the 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund that invests in a portfolio of activist investments.
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It often starts small.
A dab of concealer. A tinted moisturizer. Maybe a brow gel that goes from borrowed to bought. For many men, like Daniel Rankin, makeup has transformed from something taboo into a tool to make them look less tired and more put together.
"I remember thinking, 'Am I really doing this?'" Rankin, a 24-year-old advertising agent from New York who likes to shop at Sephora, told CNBC. "But once I tried it, it just became normal."
In front of bathroom mirrors and in gym locker rooms, more men are now adding cosmetics to their routines, industry experts told CNBC. The men's makeup market is now one of the most lucrative — and largely untapped — growth opportunities left in beauty, and specialty retailers like Ulta Beauty and Sephora along with big-box companies like Target and Walmart all see opportunity.
"Men's beauty is one of the last categories left where brands can likely still see easy double-digit growth potential simply by showing up," said Delphine Horvath, professor of cosmetics and fragrance marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Men's grooming sales in the United States topped $7.1 billion in 2025, up 6.9% year over year, according to market research firm NielsenIQ. The global market was valued at $61.6 billion in 2024 and projected to surpass $85 billion by 2032, with the biggest growth driven by the skin-care sector, according to Fortune Business Insights.
Much of the momentum is coming from Gen Z.
In the U.S., 68% of Gen Z men ages 18 to 27 used facial skin-care products in 2024, a sharp jump from 42% just two years earlier, according to data from market intelligence firm Mintel.
"This is no longer niche," said Linda Dang, CEO of Canada-based Asian beauty retailer Sukoshi. "Men are forming routines, that usually starts at skin care and then expands further, they are no longer just buying random products. That's what makes this market so valuable."
Unlike one-off grooming purchases, makeup encourages repeat use and experimentation. A man who starts with concealer often adds primer, setting powder or tinted SPF over time, said Farah Jemai, global marketing associate lead at beauty brand Unleashia.
"When men discover makeup that works, they don't use once and never again," Jemai told CNBC. "They restock."
Market researchers estimate that in 2022, about 15% of U.S. heterosexual men ages 18 to 65 were already using cosmetics and makeup, while another 17% said they would consider it, according to Ipsos. Industry experts say those figures are likely higher in 2026.
Openness to cosmetics has grown, as the share of U.S. men who say they never wear makeup has fallen from more than 90% in 2019 to about 75% in 2024, Statista survey data show.
Beauty conglomerates and startups alike are responding to the growth in men's beauty.
Ulta Beauty and and Sephora have begun integrating men's complexion products into gender-neutral, skin care-first displays rather than having "Men's" aisles. Those gender-specific displays can feel intimidating or stigmatizing to some men, Horvath said.
Big-box retailers like Walmart and Target have also expanded their men's cosmetics or grooming offerings.
For example, in 2025, Target partnered with online streaming collective AMP, Any Means Possible, to launch TONE. The men‑forward personal care brand debuted in Target stores nationwide in July, leveraging AMP's massive Gen Z male following across YouTube and Twitch.
Online — where much of the growth and discovery is happening — many beauty brands are pouring money into influencer partnerships to increase engagement and sales on TikTok Shop and Amazon.
"So many brands are now putting most of their marketing budget into influencer marketing to meet people where they already are online and make it easier to click 'buy,'" said Janet Kim, a vice president at K-beauty brand Neogen.
Others are leaning into digital education to teach men what different items do.
The brand War Paint sells makeup products like concealer pens, tinted moisturizers and anti-shine powders that feature QR codes on the packaging. Scanning them launches video tutorials explaining what each product does — without forcing customers to ask questions in a store.
"The biggest barrier isn't price, it's uncertainty," Dang said. "Men want to know what a product does and how to use it without feeling awkward."
But the path to mass adoption isn't guaranteed.
Industry analysts warn that social stigma remains high and inflation threatens to curb spending on experimental, nonessential goods. Retailers also face a steep learning curve: It is difficult to scale a market when the core customer doesn't know how to use the product.
While men have worn makeup for centuries, from ancient Egypt to Elizabethan England, the modern commercial men's makeup movement traces its roots to the mid-2010s.
In 2016, CoverGirl made history by appointing then 17-year-old YouTuber James Charles as its first-ever "CoverBoy," placing a male face on a mass-market cosmetics brand for the first time.
Still, beauty conglomerates largely focused on women until recently, Sukoshi's Dang said. Now, a broader cultural reset around masculinity is taking place and companies are racing to monetize it, FIT's Horvath said.
Social media has been the single biggest accelerant, Dang said.
On TikTok and Instagram, male creators post step-by-step makeup routines, product breakdowns and before-and-after results that often emphasize subtle changes rather than dramatic looks. Hashtags tied to men's grooming and makeup have amassed billions of views, with #mensgrooming alone surpassing 26 billion views on TikTok.
"TikTok democratized the 'how-to,'" said Dang. "You don't have to ask your sister or guess anymore. You just scroll, see a guy who looks like you fixing his acne in 30 seconds, and click 'buy.' It removed the gatekeepers."
Gen Z men are also more comfortable rejecting rigid gender categories and more skeptical of marketing that frames products as inherently masculine or feminine, Horvath said.
At the same time, makeup has increasingly been folded into a broader wellness and optimization culture — sometimes referred to as "looksmaxxing" — that includes fitness tracking, supplements, hair-loss prevention and longevity routines.
"Many men have started framing grooming and, for some, makeup as maintenance, not vanity," Horvath said. "That reframing removes stigma and unlocks spending."
Celebrity influence has further accelerated adoption, with stars like Harry Styles, Brad Pitt and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson launching their own skin care and makeup brands, mirroring the trend of celebrity saturation largely seen in spirits.
Johnson's brand Papatui, which launched at Target in 2024 and spans skin, hair, body and tattoo care, was created in response to ongoing questions about his grooming regimen. It now competes directly with legacy names like Clinique, L'Oréal and Kiehl's.
As the market matures, a debate is forming: Do men want "men's makeup," or do they just want makeup?
Horvath said there is a "bifurcation" in how companies are marketing their products.
Brands like War Paint and Stryx argue that men need products designed for their thicker, oilier skin, and packaged in masculine, tool-like containers that feel at home in a gym bag.
But Gen Z consumers are increasingly gravitating toward gender-neutral brands like LVMH co-owned Fenty Beauty, The Ordinary and Haus Labs. For them, labels that say "For Men" can feel outdated or even patronizing, Horvath said.
"In ten years, I don't think we'll be talking about 'men's makeup' anymore," Horvath said. "We will just be talking about makeup. The gender binary in beauty is dissolving, and the sales data is finally catching up to the culture."
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Leading U.S. oil executives told President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday that Venezuela will need major reforms to attract investment.
Trump said Friday the industry would invest at least $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela's energy sector with U.S. security guarantees. But the CEOs of big oil companies like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips did not commit at the meeting to quickly re-enter Venezuela.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods told Trump that the Venezuelan market is "uninvestable" in its current state. Venezuela seized Exxon's and Conoco's assets in 2007, and Caracas owes the companies billions of dollars in outstanding claims from arbitration cases.
"We've had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we've historically seen here," Woods told Trump at the White House. "If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it's uninvestable."
Exxon is prepared to send a technical team to evaluate the current state of Venezuela's oil industry and assets, Woods said.
ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance congratulated Trump on ousting former President Nicolás Maduro. He said the banking sector will need to help restructure Venezuela's debt and provide billions of dollars in financing for the restore the country's infrastructure.
Lance also called for the restructuring of state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
"As we think that big and bold, we need to be also thinking about even restructuring the entire Venezuelan energy system including PDVSA," Lance told the president.
Trump told the Conoco CEO that the U.S. government is not looking at recovering the assets the company lost during the 2007 nationalization.
"We're not going to look at what people lost in the past, because that was their fault," Trump said. "That was a different president. You're going to make a lot of money, but we're not going to go back."
Chevron is the only U.S. oil major operating in Venezuela through joint ventures with PDVSA. Vice Chairman Mark Nelson said Chevron has a way forward to rapidly ramp up its production, which currently stands at about 240,000 barrels per day.
"We have a path forward here very shortly to be able to increase our liftings from those joint ventures 100% essentially effective immediately," Nelson told Trump. "We are also able to increase our production within our own disciplined investment schemes by about 50% just in the next 18 to 24 months."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated Thursday that the U.S. might rely more on smaller oil companies, rather than the majors, to invest in Venezuela.
"The big oil companies who move slowly, who have corporate boards, are not interested," Bessent said Thursday at the Economic Club of Minnesota.
"I can tell you that the independent oil companies and individuals, wildcatters – our phones are ringing off the hook," Bessent said. "They want to get to Venezuela yesterday."
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(This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.)
Greg Abel's annual cash salary for 2026 as the new CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is $25 million, a 19% increase from the $21 million he got in 2024 as the company's vice chairman for non-insurance operations. (Abel's 2025 salary has not yet been publicly disclosed.)
Berkshire's filing this week doesn't say anything about additional compensation for Abel, but the company has said it will never use its stock to pay employees.
After crunching a lot of proxy numbers from MyLogIQ, The Wall Street Journal reports Abel's salary "would be the highest a chief executive running a current S&P 500 company has earned in any single year between 2010 and 2024."
The real money for CEOs, however, comes in the form of stocks, stock options, and other noncash awards.
When those are included, Abel still tops 2024's median of just over $16 million for S&P 500 chief executives.
But the Journal says, "Most of the top 100 best-paid executives received more than $25 million, when stock and other noncash awards are added."
Glenview Trust's CIO Bill Stone tells the newspaper that since Abel is leading one of the S&P's 10 largest companies, "One would expect his compensation to be commensurate with that level of CEOs."
While not unusual for the CEO of a very large American corporation, Abel's paycheck is a striking departure from Buffett's annual salary of $100,000 (plus another $300K or so for personal and home security services provided by Berkshire. He also typically repaid half of his salary to cover personal expenses paid for the company.)
Unlike Abel, however, Buffett was, in effect, the founder of what is now a giant conglomerate, with virtually all of his current net worth of almost $150 billion generated by enormous gains for his Berkshire shares over the decades. (He's also given away shares now worth $200 billion.)
He could afford a symbolically small salary over the years as the "billionaire next door."
According to the 2025 annual meeting proxy, Abel owns Berkshire shares currently valued at around $171 million.
That's a "fair amount" according to investor Jonathan Boyar, but he recently told Yahoo Finance Abel should "buy an extremely large amount of Berkshire stock personally and really put his money where his mouth is."
At the 2017 annual meeting, Buffett suggested his then-unknown CEO successor might be so rich "they might even wish to perhaps set an example by engaging for something far lower than ... their true market value."
Or, he thought, you could "pay them a very modest amount" in cash and, unlike standard CEO option packages with a fixed strike price, give them an option with annual strike price increases to account for retained earnings, "because why should somebody retain a bunch of earnings and then claim they've actually improved the value simply because they withheld the money from shareholders."
(You can watch and/or read his entire response in "Highlights from CNBC's Buffett Archive" below.)
Professor Randall Peterson at the London Business School focuses on organizational behavior.
He told me that when founders leave, or become less involved, with the distinctive companies they've created, those companies "start to do more things the way other people do them."
Abel's big salary looks like a step toward "normalization." If Berkshire does eventually become indistinguishable from its corporate peers, however, he thinks it will be a very long process that probably won't accelerate until Buffett dies.
Even though Abel has already been getting big paychecks, Buffett told CNBC last May the Iowa resident is not a "distorted individual" and "lives what would look like a normal life."
Professor Peterson notes that while he can't predict Abel's specific future, there are many examples of people who start out "normal" but don't stay that way after experiencing years of great wealth.
Buffett's previously unseen May interviews with CNBC will be featured in a special two-hour program, "Warren Buffett: A Life and Legacy," next Tuesday, January 13 at 7 pm ET.
Berkshire Hathaway shares gained slightly during Greg Abel's first full week as CEO but lagged behind the S&P 500 by roughly one percentage point.
For the year-to-date, which includes last Friday's BRK declines, the S&P is around 2 1/2 percentage points ahead, with or without the index's dividends included.
Last year, the S&P with dividends, Buffett's standard metric, outperformed Berkshire's A shares by 7.0 percentage points.
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More than eight years ago, when it was not yet known who Berkshire Hathaway's next CEO would be, Warren Buffett shared his thoughts on how much that person should be paid, given his own famously small annual salary of $100,000 (plus personal protection services.)
ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Three years ago, you were asked at the meeting about how you thought we should compensate your successor.
You said it was a good question, and you would address it in the next annual letter.
We've been patiently waiting. (Laughter)
Can you tell us now, at least philosophically, how you've been thinking about the way the company should compensate your successor, so we don't have to worry when the paid consultants arrive on the scene?
WARREN BUFFETT: There's a couple of possibilities, actually, and I don't want to get into details on them.
But you may have, and I actually would hope that we would have somebody, A) who's already very rich, which they should be, if they've been working a long time and have got that kind of ability, that's very rich, and really is not motivated by whether they have ten times as much money than they and the families can need or a hundred times as much.
And they might even wish to perhaps set an example by engaging for something far lower than, actually, what you could say their true market value is.
And that could or could not happen, but I think it'd be terrific if it did. But I can't blame anybody for wanting their market value.
And then, if they didn't elect to go in that direction, I would say that you would probably pay them a very modest amount and then have an option which increased in value by — or increased in striking price annually — nobody does this hardly. Graham Holdings has done it. The Washington Post company did a little bit — but would increase because it's assuming that there were substantial retained earnings every year.
Because why should somebody retain a bunch of earnings and then claim they've actually improved the value simply because they withheld the money from shareholders.
So it's very easy to design that, and in private companies people do design it in that way. They just don't want to do it in public companies, because they get more money the other way.
But they might have a very substantial one that could be exercised but where the ... shares had to be held for a couple years after retirement so that they really got the result over time that the majority of the stockholders would be able to get and not be able to pick their spots as to when they exercised and sold a lot of stock.
It's not hard to design. And it really depends who you're dealing with in terms of actually how much they care about money and having money beyond what they can possibly use.
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Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly traded stocks in the U.S. and Japan, by market value, based on the latest closing prices.
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The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.
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CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday that investors shouldn't read too much into uneventful unemployment data, arguing that a lack of surprises on the labor front is actually giving the market room to reveal the real story: a broad-based rally spreading well beyond last year's winners.
"When you get an employment report that's basically uneventful, it allows you to focus on what's really happening in the market," Cramer said.
In his view, money is rotating aggressively into overlooked corners of the market, with data storage stocks among the biggest beneficiaries. Companies tied to that theme have delivered what he called breathtaking rallies, even as some of the market's former leaders struggle to gain traction.
That includes Apple and Nvidia, two stocks that have failed to lift despite strong underlying businesses. Cramer rejected the idea that the trade is over for either name. Instead, he said both companies are still humming along, but have become sources of funds as investors sell winners to buy newer opportunities.
Looking ahead, Cramer said next week will be packed with catalysts, starting with the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, where he plans to interview a dozen pharmaceutical executives. Historically, the event has been a hotbed for dealmaking, and Cramer said investors should expect a wave of merger-and-acquisition headlines.
On the economic front, Tuesday's December consumer price index will matter far more than the latest labor data. Cramer said strong signs from forwarding holiday spending suggest inflation may remain sticky, setting up tension between a president eager to contain prices and consumers who have borne the brunt of inflation.
Earnings season also kicks off Tuesday with JPMorgan Chase. Cramer said he expects an excellent quarter but warned that CEO Jamie Dimon is known for emphasizing risks on conference calls — a tone that has knocked the stock down before. His strategy: wait for any cautious commentary, then buy on weakness.
Later in the week, Cramer expects strong results from Delta Air Lines, and sees banks as the early stars of earnings season. He highlighted Citigroup as a potential standout, while reaffirming confidence in Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Cramer also said BlackRock could post strong numbers, though expectations may already be high.
On the tech side, he's watching Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, whose report could finally shake sellers out of Nvidia. In the meantime, he said money continues to flow into storage and equipment plays like Western Digital, SanDisk, Micron, Seagate and Applied Materials.
Cramer also flagged transport stocks, saying a solid report from J.B. Hunt would reinforce his bullish stance on FedEx. By Friday, with PNC rounding out bank earnings, Cramer said investors should have a clearer sense of the tone for the rest of the season.
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Ethereum's staking landscape has shifted sharply over the past month as institutional investors, led by BitMine and new ETFs, have saturated the network.
This influx has created a logistical bottleneck, forcing new participants to wait roughly a month before their staked assets begin earning returns.
On January 9, blockchain analyst Ember CN reported that BitMine has moved more than 1 million ETH (over $3.2 billion) into Ethereum's proof-of-stake system over the past 30 days.
This single allocation, comprising roughly a quarter of BitMine's total corporate treasury, has swollen the entry queue to 1.7 million ETH, its highest level since 2023.
Meanwhile, this surge was also fueled by the arrival of regulated US financial products in the staking ecosystem.
Over the past week, the Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF and 21Shares' TETH ETF distributed their first rounds of rewards. The payouts demonstrated that traditional investment vehicles can successfully pass protocol-level earnings to shareholders.
Notably, this institutional momentum comes even as the network's staking rewards have compressed significantly.
According to validator queue data, ETH's staking annual percentage rate (APR) dropped to an all-time low of 2.54% earlier this year before recovering slightly to 2.85% as of press time. Over the past year, the APR had averaged over 3.0%.
This data highlights that investors remain willing to stake their assets despite significantly lower returns.
Despite the influx of regulated US entities, ETH's staking control remains concentrated among a few incumbents.
According to data from Dune Analytics, decentralized autonomous organization Lido DAO retains dominance with 24% of all staked Ether, followed by Binance at 9.15% and Ether.fi at 6.3%. Coinbase, the largest US-based crypto trading platform, controls 5.08%.
Perhaps most significant is the persistence of anonymous actors. The Dune Analytics data also shows that untagged entities control about 27% of the network's total stake.
This leaves a significant share of Ethereum's security infrastructure in the hands of unidentified operators who face none of the compliance requirements that bind firms like BitMine.
Read original story Ethereum Staking Hits Choke Point as Institutions Pile in Despite Low Yields by Oluwapelumi Adejumo at beincrypto.com
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Altcoins now account for 50% of crypto trading volume as Bitcoin trades near $90,600 and capital rotates into higher-beta assets.
Bitcoin traded around $90,600 as of writing, posting a slight weekly gain of 1.05% while remaining locked in a narrow $89,000–$94,000 range. Price stability at these levels has coincided with a sharp change in trading behavior across the crypto market.
As Bitcoin paused, traders redirected activity toward alternative cryptos, driving a notable surge in altcoin trading volume.
Market data as of January 10 shows that altcoins now account for roughly 50% of total cryptocurrency trading volume. Bitcoin represents about 27% of activity, while Ethereum contributes close to 23%. This marks the first time in several months that altcoins have exceeded the combined trading share of the two largest digital assets.
Source: CryptoQuant
The shift reflects rotation rather than capital flight. Total market participation remains elevated, yet liquidity has moved toward higher-volatility assets that tend to outperform during consolidation phases.
Historical patterns show similar volume rotations when Bitcoin trades sideways after a strong rally. What stands out this time? The speed of the transition has caught traders' attention.
Source: X
Several altcoins have posted outsized gains during this period. Polygon rallied more than 50% on the week following its Open Money Stack launch, drawing fresh speculative interest. Solana-based memecoins also gained traction, with BONK rising 28% as decentralized exchange activity surged.
Binance ecosystem tokens participated as well. BNB advanced about 3.4% over seven days amid reports of Binance expanding operations across Asia. These moves helped lift the Altcoin Season Index from December lows, signaling increasing momentum toward non-Bitcoin assets.
Despite the volume surge, Bitcoin dominance by market cap remains elevated at 58.51%. This divergence between volume and market cap suggests short-term trading activity rather than a structural leadership change. Is this rotation tactical rather than transformative? Current data points in that direction.
Ethereum continues to act as the liquidity backbone for altcoin markets. Daily trading volume near $15.2 billion still exceeds Solana's $2.1 billion by a wide margin. However, ETF data reveals a contrasting trend. On January 9, U.S. spot ETH ETFs recorded $93.82 million in net outflows, marking the third consecutive day of withdrawals.
Source: X
Grayscale's ETHE shed another $10 million, while BlackRock's ETHA led exits with nearly $85 million. These flows align with profit-taking following Ethereum's 113% rebound from April 2025 lows. ETF assets under management now sit about 7.6% below their December peak, which has limited near-term price discovery.
On-chain data from CoinCodex shows altcoins outperforming Bitcoin in the short term, supported by rising volumes in DeFi, memecoins, and infrastructure tokens. At the same time, institutional exposure remains concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum through regulated products.
The Fear and Greed Index sits near 41, signaling neutral sentiment rather than euphoria. Bitcoin trades below its 200-day simple moving average and shows muted momentum despite price stability. These conditions often encourage traders to seek higher returns elsewhere, reinforcing the current volume imbalance.
Trading volume dominance has historically preceded broader capital rotation phases, yet it has not guaranteed sustained altcoin rallies. Analysts note that Ethereum often leads these cycles, followed by large-cap altcoins before smaller tokens participate.
For now, volume concentration remains selective, not broad-based.
If Bitcoin breaks decisively from its range, the balance could change quickly. Until then, altcoins appear to hold the trading spotlight, even as Bitcoin retains its market cap crown. How long can this split dynamic last? Market structure over the coming weeks may provide the answer.
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Enos is a Financial Markets analyst, Day trader, and a Journalist with extensive experience covering everything related to the digital asset industry, from market analysis to blockchain innovation. Mwangi has contributed research and analysis across top crypto-focused platforms and independent publications. He has a strong interest in macro trends, market structure, and regulatory developments shaping the future of digital assets worldwide.
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House Financial Institutions Committee members listen to experts testify on HB 1116 on Tuesday. Virtual currency kiosks are often the catalyst for cryptocurrency scams. Photo by Wynn Wellington, TheStatehouseFile.com.
Hoosiers lost more than $125 million at cryptocurrency kiosks in 2024. Technology allows scams to run rampant—“particularly, they are on steroids because of cryptocurrency,” said Sergeant Nathan VanCleave of the Evansville Police Department, who spoke Tuesday at the House Financial Institutions Committee.
It met at the Statehouse to hear House Bill 1116, which aims to increase the regulation of these kiosks and specifically targets and prevent fraud.
Virtual currency kiosks, commonly known as Bitcoin ATMs, have been around for over 10 years and have grown in popularity. These kiosks offer an in-person way to buy and sell digital currency with cash, credit cards and debit cards. They can be found in many convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores.
People can insert a card or cash into the machine, and their selected amount of money is transferred to a digital wallet as cryptocurrency. Someone may choose to use cryptocurrency as a way to invest their money, make secure online payments or hold their money outside a centralized bank.
Cryptocurrency kiosks provide an opportunity for money investment without the need for a bank account. But transactions are often irreversible, making it easier for scammers to take advantage of vulnerable populations.
“We are currently living in a scam-demic,” said VanCleave, who works in the Financial Crimes Unit and has specialized training and certificates in cryptocurrency and tracing cryptocurrency.
Scammers contact people in a variety of ways, such as through phone calls, text messages and emails, claiming that the victim must transfer money at a specified virtual currency kiosk and creating a false sense of urgency.
HB 1116, authored by Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville, aims to strengthen the protection of consumers when using virtual currency kiosks and focuses on scam prevention. The bill would provide additional regulations for kiosk operators, such as requiring them to be licensed in Indiana as money transmitters and imposing a daily $1,000 transaction limit and 3% fee cap.
Operators fall under federal regulation but have very little oversight by the state. Nine people, including two advocates from different kiosk companies, shared their support for the regulations outlined in the bill.
clara
Clara Wulfsen, associate director of government affairs for CoinFlip, said she agrees with 95% of the bill and believes state regulation is needed, but she called for amendments regarding transaction limits and fee caps.
The manager of governmental relations for Bitcoin Depot, Michael Geiselhart, also emphasized her concerns, stating that a 3% cap would be an “eviction notice” for kiosk companies.
Because the kiosks are privately owned, their upkeep incurs costs that regular ATMs do not have. The 3% cap would significantly decrease the profit margin for operators in Indiana, potentially forcing them to remove their machines.
Regardless of the disagreements around fee caps, the testifiers all agreed that some change is needed.
“We need something on a statewide level matching what 20 other states have already done,” said VanCleave.
Further discussion of the bill will take place in the committee next week.
Wynn Wellington and Avery Tays are reporters for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
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Stablecoins are going mainstream, and Ethereum is positioning itself as the place those dollars ultimately settle.
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Stablecoins used to be a crypto convenience, a way to park dollars between trades without touching fiat. However, the industry has matured enough that BlackRock now treats them as foundational rails for the market.
In its 2026 Global Outlook, the BlackRock Investment Institute argued that stablecoins are widening beyond exchanges and becoming integrated into mainstream payment systems. It also said they could expand in cross-border transfers and day-to-day use in emerging markets.
That framing matters because it shifts the question investors ask, especially when it comes from a name as big as BlackRock.
The point here isn't whether stablecoins are good for crypto. The question is whether they're on track to become a settlement rail that sits beside, and sometimes inside, traditional finance.
If they do, which blockchains will end up acting like the base layer for final settlement, collateral, and tokenized cash?
BlackRock puts the stakes bluntly. “Stablecoins are no longer niche,” the report quotes Samara Cohen, BlackRock's global head of market development.
They're “becoming the bridge between traditional finance and digital liquidity.”
Stablecoins began thriving on crypto volatility. Markets swing, banks close on weekends, and exchanges rely on a patchwork of fiat rails for redemptions.
Dollar-pegged tokens solved that operational problem by giving traders a 24/7 unit of account and settlement asset.
BlackRock's emphasis is that stablecoins have now outgrown that niche. The firm said integration into mainstream payment systems and cross-border payments is a natural next step, especially where latency, fees, and correspondent banking friction remain stubbornly high.
One reason the timing feels right is regulatory. In the US, the GENIUS Act was signed into law on July 18, 2025, creating a federal framework for payment stablecoins, including reserve and disclosure requirements.
The law is signed, but the real fight starts in rulemaking and phased rollouts through 2026–27. Here's the timeline, the winners, and how flows could reroute crypto rails.
That kind of legal clarity doesn't guarantee mass adoption. But it changes the risk calculus for banks, large merchants, and payment networks that have to answer to compliance teams and regulators.
The market's scale is also no longer theoretical. Total stablecoin value stood around $298 billion as of Jan. 5, 2026, with USDT and USDC still dominating the stack.
BlackRock's report, using CoinGecko data through Nov. 27, 2025, notes stablecoins hit record highs in market cap even as crypto prices fluctuated. It highlights their role as the system's primary source of “dollar liquidity and on-chain stability.”
That combination of legal recognition and sheer size is why stablecoins have started to show up in places they never used to, like the back office of global payments.
Visa offered a concrete example in December 2025. The company said it had launched USDC settlement in the US, allowing issuer and acquirer partners to settle with Visa in Circle's dollar stablecoin.
Visa said initial banking participants settled over Solana. It framed the move as a way to modernize its settlement layer with faster movement of funds, seven-day availability, and resilience across weekends and holidays.
Stablecoins are moving into the part of finance that's usually invisible until it breaks: settlement.
If stablecoins are now effectively digital dollars, the next question is where those dollars live as the system scales.
As stablecoins move toward more complex uses, such as collateral, treasury management, tokenized money-market funds, and cross-border netting, the base layer matters more than marketing. That layer needs predictable finality, deep liquidity, robust tooling, and a governance and security model institutions can trust for decades, not just a cycle.
This is where Ethereum could step in.
Ethereum's value proposition in 2026 isn't that it's the cheapest chain for sending a stablecoin. Plenty of networks compete there, and Visa's Solana pilot is a reminder that high-throughput chains have a seat at the table.
The case for Ethereum is that it has become the anchor layer for an ecosystem that treats execution and settlement as separate functions.
Ethereum's own documentation makes that explicit in the context of rollups, where Ethereum acts as the settlement layer that anchors security and provides objective finality if disputes occur on another chain.
So when users move fast and cheap on L2s, the base chain still plays referee. The more valuable the activity being settled, the more valuable the referee role becomes.
BlackRock's stablecoin section is also a tokenization story. The report describes stablecoins as a “modest but meaningful step toward a tokenized financial system,” where digital dollars coexist with, and sometimes reshape, traditional channels of intermediation and policy transmission.
Tokenization turns that abstract idea into a balance-sheet reality. It means issuing a claim on a real-world asset, such as a Treasury bill fund, on a blockchain.
Stablecoins then serve as the cash leg for subscriptions, redemptions, and secondary-market trading.
On that front, Ethereum is still the center of gravity. RWA.xyz shows Ethereum hosting about $12.5 billion in tokenized real-world assets, roughly a 65% market share as of Jan. 5, 2026.
BlackRock itself helped build that gravitational pull. Its tokenized money-market fund, BUIDL, debuted on Ethereum and later expanded to multiple chains, including Solana and several Ethereum L2s, as tokenized Treasuries became one of the clearest real-world use cases for on-chain finance.
Even on a multi-chain footprint, the institutional pattern is telling: start where liquidity, custody integrations, and smart contract standards are most mature, then extend outward as distribution channels develop.
JPMorgan has been moving in the same direction. The bank launched a tokenized money-market fund with shares represented by digital tokens on Ethereum.
It accepted subscriptions in cash or USDC and tied the push partly to the stablecoin regulatory shift that followed the GENIUS Act.
This suggests stablecoins don't just need a fast network for payments. They also need a credible settlement fabric for tokenized collateral, yield-bearing cash equivalents, and institutional-grade finance.
Ethereum has become the default answer to that need, not because it wins every benchmark, but because it has become the settlement court where the most valuable cases are heard.
BlackRock's outlook includes caution embedded in the opportunity. In emerging markets, it notes stablecoins could broaden dollar access while challenging monetary control if domestic currency use declines.
That's a political economy problem, not a tech problem. It's also the kind that can trigger restrictive policy responses in exactly the places where stablecoins have product-market fit.
There are also issuer risks. Stablecoins aren't all the same, and market structure can turn on trust.
S&P Global Ratings downgraded its assessment of Tether's reserves in November 2025, citing concerns about limited transparency. It was a reminder that the stability of the system can hinge on what sits behind the peg.
Despite a downgrade from S&P, Tether's gold and Bitcoin stockpile is seen as strength by crypto markets.
Ethereum also isn't guaranteed to be the only settlement layer that matters. Visa's USDC settlement work shows large players are willing to route stablecoin settlement over other chains when it fits their operational needs.
Circle positions USDC as natively supported across dozens of networks, a strategy that makes stablecoin liquidity portable and reduces dependence on any single chain.
But portability cuts both ways. As stablecoins spread, the premium shifts to layers that can provide credible settlement, integration with tokenized assets, and a security model strong enough to persuade institutions they can park real cash and real collateral on-chain without waking up to a governance surprise.
That's why ETH is a likely wager on the settlement standard for tokenized dollars. If stablecoins are becoming what BlackRock says they are, a bridge between traditional finance and digital liquidity, the bridge still needs bedrock.
In the current architecture of the crypto market, Ethereum is the bedrock most institutions keep returning to.
Armed with a classical education and an eye for news, Andjela dove head deep into the crypto industry in 2018 after spending years covering politics.
Also known as "Akiba," Liam Wright is the Editor-in-Chief at CryptoSlate and host of the SlateCast. He believes that decentralized technology has the potential to make widespread positive change.
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Ethereum is an open source smart contract platform and decentralized network that underpins a large share of the global crypto economy.
USDC is a fully reserved stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, issued by Circle Internet Financial Ltd.
Launched in 2014, Tether is a blockchain-enabled platform designed to facilitate the use of fiat currencies in a digital manner.
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As of January 10, trading volume data shows that altcoins now account for more than 50% of all cryptocurrency trading activity. The trading volume of altcoins has surpassed the combined share of Bitcoin at 27% and Ethereum at 23%.
On-chain data from CoinMarketCap indicate that altcoins are currently outperforming Bitcoin in the short term. The change suggests that traders are shifting toward riskier assets in an effort to increase profits.
Altcoins have experienced significant market gains over the past month. Ripple's UK FCA registration drove XRP to a 5.01% weekly gain. XRP is currently trading at $2.09, representing a 4.52% increase from the previous month. The digital asset has a 24-hour trading volume of $3.02 billion, down 25.06%.
Solana-based memecoins, such as WHITEWHALE, gained 250% despite record DEX volumes. Currently, the WHITEWHALE memecoin is trading at $0.1459, up 17,354.97% in the last month. The memecoin has a 24-hour trading volume of $45.77 million, which is up 32.92%.
Additionally, BONK memecoin recorded a 28% weekly increase, and SHIB reached a 15% rise, capturing speculative interest.
Binance ecosystem tokens, such as BNB, performed better last week, driven by news of the company's expansion in Asia. On-chain data from CoinGecko show that BNB is currently trading at $902.51, up 1.4% in the last 24 hours and 3.4% in the previous seven days, and outperforming the broader crypto market's 0.35% dip.
High-beta alternatives are attracting capital due to regulatory clarity and the memecoin frenzy.
Polygon (POL) had a weekly increase of 52.4%, following the introduction of its Open Money Stack for fiat-crypto transactions. The framework is designed to help financial institutions and fintech businesses move money on-chain more efficiently by providing a comprehensive yet adaptable system for payments and settlements.
In the last 24 hours, Polygon's price increased by 2.78% to 0.21. Its trading volume increased by 144.94% to $1.27 million.
Other high-beta tokens also gained, highlighting strong speculative interest across DeFi markets.
DeFi aggregator Beefy (BIFI) saw a gain of 29.7% in the last seven days. This demonstrated sector movement into utility-driven alternatives, in contrast to Bitcoin's +1.11% weekly return.
BIFI is currently trading at $193.20, representing a 9.1% increase over the previous 24 hours. The DeFi aggregator reached a 24-hour trading volume of $43,804,596.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, the CMC Altcoin Season Index increased to 38/100 (from 27 the previous week), indicating rising altcoin momentum but remaining in neutral territory, while Bitcoin dominance remained at 58.51%.
Capital rotation into alternative assets is reflected in this change, with ASI's 37% weekly increase representing the quickest improvement since September 2025.
Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at approximately $90,534.18, representing a 0.6% increase over the last day. Despite the rise, momentum is still muted. The Fear and Greed Index is at 41 (Neutral), a rise from 38 last week and 30 last month.
BTC is also trading below its 200-day simple moving average and is down approximately 7% year-over-year.
The market cap dominance of Ethereum dropped to 12.05%, down 0.71% month-over-month.
In the midst of constant Bitcoin prices in $89–$94K range, traders are pursuing higher-beta trades. Ethereum remains the liquidity anchor for alternative markets, even as it controls liquidity and potentially restricts its own growth. Its 24-hour volume of $15.24 billion still surpasses Solana's $2.1 billion.
Ethereum is currently trading at $3,087.74, representing a 3.85% decrease from last month.
On January 9, SoSoValue data revealed that there were $93.82 million in net withdrawals from U.S. spot ETH ETFs, marking the third consecutive day. Grayscale's ETHE lost an additional $10 million, while BlackRock's ETHA led exits (-$84.69 million).
Early investors are collecting profits following ETH's 113% recovery from its April 2025 lows. Price discovery is hindered by the $17.91 billion ETF AUM, which remains 7.6% below its December peak.
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The crypto market has just found its feet in 2026 but the tune has already shifted. It can be felt by any person who follows crypto conversation on the internet: the optimistic air of the previous year is quickly wearing out. Shareholders are becoming impatient with concepts that have good sound but slow delivery. What matters now is proof.
Top experts note that speculative tokens are now losing investor attention as volatility increases, commodities like Silver spearhead new bull runs and regulations become stricter. Capital is shifting to systems that address actual issues, in particular, linking crypto tools to daily financial services.
With crypto becoming increasingly closer to mainstream usage, utility-oriented platforms are taking over the dialogue, and the disparity between promise and performance is becoming too difficult to overlook. Let's do a deep dive into two emerging altcoins: Bitcoin Hyper and Remittix that are currently at the forefront of every watchlist today.
On one side of the ring, we have Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER). Late last year, this project was everywhere, promising to revolutionize blockchain technology with a Layer-2 solution designed to make Bitcoin faster and cheaper. It followed a classic high-hype presale model, and for a moment, it looked like the Best Crypto To Buy Now.
However, as we settle into 2026, the cracks are starting to show. While the concept of boosting Bitcoin's utility is sound, market sentiment can be fickle. The presale price has been creeping up, but on-chain activity suggests that whale interest is cooling off.
Analysts are concerned that without a concrete product launch to match Remittix's February rollout, HYPER might be relying too heavily on the “Bitcoin” brand name rather than its own merit.
Bitcoin Hyper remains a high-risk, high-reward play. If the crypto bull run goes parabolic, HYPER could certainly catch a bid. But with crypto regulation looming and investors demanding transparency, the lack of a live app or confirmed platform launch date makes it a riskier bet compared to its utility-focused competitors.
Let's be real, most presales are smoke and mirrors. Remittix (RTX) is breaking that mold by positioning itself as a legitimate financial ecosystem rather than just another speculative token. The biggest piece of crypto news hitting the wires this week is the official confirmation that the Remittix Crypto-to-Fiat PayFi platform launches on February 9th, 2026.
This isn't a “coming soon” tease. The RTX wallet is already live on the App Store (with Android dropping any day now), proving the developers are executing ahead of schedule. This move toward actual utility, allowing users to bridge digital assets to real-world bank accounts, is exactly what analysts look for when determining the Best Crypto To Buy Now.
For crypto investors tired of waiting for “the next big thing,” Remittix is delivering it next month.
The biggest news the Remittix community is talking about as we enter the New Year fully, is a significant update on the part of the team: the much-desired 200% bonus that sold out in just a couple of days last time it was offered has just come back.
The offer made this time is limited however, since it is estimated that only 5,000,000 tokens are assigned to the New Year round so one should start early in their participation or else there are chances of going into the year 2026 without momentum. The bonus will be activated with the help of the promo code RTX2026 once the investor checks out, but it will have no extensions or reopenings as soon as the allocation is filled, the opportunity is lost.
Discover the future of PayFi with Remittix by checking out their project here:
Website: https://remittix.io/
Socials: https://linktr.ee/remittix
Bitcoin Hyper may appeal to investors bullish on Bitcoin scaling solutions, but it carries higher risk and depends heavily on execution, adoption, and broader market conditions.
It will be based on your objectives, but utility-based initiatives such as Remittix, which have already been confirmed to launch products (Feb 9th) and have bonuses running will currently be ranking higher than speculative coins.
They have the potential to be very profitable when you are early enough, but they are risky; you should seek audited teams (such as CertiK audits) and working products.
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Investors dump Bitcoin for Ethereum and altcoins. | Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.
Key Takeaways
Crypto investors didn't retreat in 2025; they repositioned.
Despite market volatility and shifting narratives, billions of dollars continued to pour into digital assets, with capital rotating away from Bitcoin (BTC) and toward a small group of dominant altcoins.
New data from CoinShares shows how investor priorities evolved over the year—and which networks captured the lion's share of that shift.
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Bitcoin inflows declined 35% year over year to $26.9 billion, even as price corrections drove $105 million into short-Bitcoin products, indicating more sophisticated hedging strategies.
Rather than exiting the market, investors increasingly rotated capital into newly launched altcoin investment products, including Solana (SOL) and XRP ETFs, which debuted in the third quarter of last year.
This shift suggests that Bitcoin is no longer viewed as the sole anchor of crypto portfolios, as investors seek higher growth opportunities across alternative networks.
Ethereum (ETH) led the rotation, recording $12.7 billion in inflows, a 138% year-over-year (YoY) increase, driven by continued ecosystem upgrades, staking demand, and expanding DeFi use cases.
XRP followed with a 500% YoY surge to $3.7 billion, supported by legal clarity and renewed enterprise adoption.
Solana posted the sharpest growth, with inflows jumping 1,000% YoY to $3.6 billion, reflecting strong interest in high-throughput applications, NFTs, and gaming.
In contrast, the broader altcoin category outside these major tokens saw inflows fall 30% YoY to $318 million, pointing to a selective, “winner-takes-most” environment where capital concentrates around proven networks.
Overall, the data suggests a maturing market where investors favor utility-driven blockchains rather than speculative breadth.
The United States remained the powerhouse of crypto investments, capturing $47.2 billion in inflows, though this marked a 12% YoY decline from 2024.
This dominance reflects the U.S.'s robust ETF ecosystem and regulatory clarity, but the slowdown hints at potential saturation or shifting global sentiments.
Notably, Europe showed signs of revival as Germany shifted from $43 million in outflows in 2024 to a substantial $2.5 billion in inflows, signaling a renewed investor appetite that may have been fueled by improving economic conditions or favorable policy shifts.
Canada mirrored this turnaround, moving from $603 million outflows to $1.1 billion inflows, while Switzerland posted a steady $775 million, up 11.5% YoY, highlighting its role as a stable hub for crypto products.
These regional shifts suggest a broadening of the investor base beyond North America, with Europe emerging as a key growth area in 2025.
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Ethereum co-founder says "PeerDAS" and zk-proofs have finally broken the scaling ceiling, leaving Bitcoin's conservative design looking intentionally slow.
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
A few years ago, the easiest way to explain Bitcoin to a newcomer was to keep it simple, slow, and sturdy.
Ten-minute blocks. Limited space. Everyone checks everything. Nobody gets special treatment.
That design is a feature. It is what makes Bitcoin feel like bedrock.
It is also why every bull market ends up replaying the same argument. Block space gets tight, fees jump, users complain, and builders promise solutions that live somewhere above the base layer.
This week, Vitalik Buterin showed up with a very different claim about Ethereum's future, one that lands directly on Bitcoin's turf.
In a post on X, he argued the blockchain “trilemma” is solved by pairing PeerDAS on mainnet with zkEVMs reaching “alpha” performance, while security work continues.
He sketched a 2026–2030 path where proofs increasingly replace re-execution as the way Ethereum validates blocks.
He also pointed to a third pillar: more distributed block building over time, so transaction inclusion is harder for a small club of builders to capture.
Vitalik Buterin outlines how Ethereum's world computer roadmap aims to challenge the subscription-based internet model
If you mostly live in Bitcoin land, it is tempting to shrug. Ethereum always has a roadmap, always has a new acronym, and Bitcoin keeps doing what it does.
This one deserves a closer look. It is less about another upgrade and more about shifting what a “decentralized network” can do, at least in theory, with code already shipping.
Ethereum's Fusaka upgrade activated on Dec. 3, 2025, at a specific mainnet slot. The Ethereum Foundation published the exact slot timing, and the headline feature was PeerDAS.
PeerDAS is one of those ideas that sounds abstract until you reduce it to a single question.
When a rollup posts data to Ethereum, how do we know that data is actually available to the network without requiring every node to download every byte?
PeerDAS answers with sampling.
Nodes subscribe to a small slice of the blob data. They check enough random pieces that the network gets a high-confidence guarantee the whole thing is there.
The math behind it uses erasure coding, so missing pieces can be reconstructed if enough of the full set exists.
The plain-English point is that Ethereum is trying to raise throughput while keeping the “regular node” workload from exploding.
Ethereum.org's own explanation says a default node receives roughly one-eighth of the original blob data under PeerDAS, because it listens to eight of 128 subnets, and blobs are extended for sampling.
That matters because bandwidth is one of the quiet killers of decentralization.
When the cost of staying synced climbs, home operators drop off. The network can look distributed while behaving like a handful of professional operators.
Fusaka also introduced something that feels small but can become huge over time: blob parameter-only forks.
These are preprogrammed mini-upgrades that adjust blob targets and maximums without the full drama of a traditional hard fork.
The idea is to let Ethereum raise blob capacity in steps as the network proves it can handle it.
The Ethereum Foundation published a schedule where BPO1 raised the blob target and max to 10 and 15 on Dec. 9, 2025. BPO2 is set to raise the target and max again to 14 and 21 on Jan. 7, 2026.
Coin Metrics framed this as the start of Ethereum treating blob throughput like a dial it can turn.
The report also notes that blobs had been running near the prior six-blob target and that blob fees often sat at 1 wei, a polite way of saying the market was barely charging for the resource.
That “barely charging” issue is why another EIP keeps showing up in the background.
It sets a reserve price so blob base fees do not collapse to near zero relative to execution costs.
If you are a Bitcoiner, this should already sound familiar.
Block space in Bitcoin is expensive because it is scarce, and scarcity is the point. Ethereum is trying to grow blob space for rollups without turning it into a free lunch that invites spam and centralizes validation.
The Fusaka upgrade cements Ethereum's modular vision: L1 as settlement, L2 as the user layer.
PeerDAS is live today. The zkEVM claim is about what happens next.
In December, the Ethereum Foundation published a second “Shipping an L1 zkEVM” update that is blunt about the shift in priorities: speed is no longer the main question. Provable security is.
The Foundation laid out milestones through 2026. That includes a target of 100-bit provable security by the end of May 2026 and 128-bit by the end of 2026, along with proof-size caps.
Here is why that matters for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin's base-layer security story is simple enough to explain at a dinner table. Miners hash, nodes verify, invalid blocks get rejected, and the network moves on.
Ethereum's story is trending toward a world where the network can accept far more activity because validators verify succinct proofs instead of replaying every step of execution themselves.
That is a different kind of trust. It is still decentralized in the sense that anyone can verify, but it leans more on cryptography, implementation correctness, and the economics of who produces proofs.
And it comes with a timeline.
Vitalik's post sketches 2026 as the year of big gas-limit increases driven by other upgrades, and the first real chances to run a zkEVM node.
He frames 2027–2030 as the window where zkEVM validation becomes the primary path for block validation.
Bitcoin does not need to “win” throughput. It needs to keep winning credibility.
For a long time, Bitcoin's strongest competitive edge has been decentralization plus a base layer that stays understandable, conservative, and brutally hard to change.
Ethereum's edge has been flexibility and a willingness to scale through new primitives, then lean on rollups to carry most user activity.
Those roads are now colliding.
If Ethereum can scale data availability while keeping node requirements bounded, and push proof-based validation without breaking trust assumptions, the market gets a second credible “settlement-style” network.
It would be able to handle high-bandwidth activity without looking like a permissioned data center.
That impacts Bitcoin in three ways.
Bitcoin fees spike when demand spikes. That is normal, and it is the market signal.
Ethereum is trying to make the rollup fee experience feel more like the internet: steady, cheap, and boring, by expanding blob capacity and smoothing the fee market.
If Ethereum succeeds, Bitcoin's block space remains premium. But the use cases that demand premium settlement may narrow toward high-value transfers, long-term custody moves, and settlement of layered systems.
A lot of crypto's “real world” pitch, tokenized dollars, on-chain equity, supply-chain settlement, lives or dies on cost and throughput.
Base's scaling write-up says its median fees fell from about $0.30 to fractions of a cent during frequent capacity increases. It also points to Ethereum's data availability roadmap, including PeerDAS and further blob increases, as the next unlock.
When that kind of user experience exists at scale, capital and builders follow. Bitcoin's role becomes more clearly monetary and less general-purpose.
Some Bitcoiners will call that a win. Others will see it as Ethereum absorbing the parts of crypto that attract mainstream users.
Bitcoin's risks concentrate in mining pools, ASIC supply chains, and regulation touching custodians and large intermediaries.
Calls for decentralization grow as Bitcoin's transaction security is challenged by central mining pools.
Ethereum's next risks concentrate in prover markets and block building, which Vitalik acknowledged by talking about distributed block building and mechanisms like inclusion lists.
On the Ethereum roadmap, the tools that show up here include enshrined proposer-builder separation, fork-choice-enforced inclusion lists, and block-level access lists. The goal is to keep scaling from handing control to a small set of professional actors.
Bitcoiners have seen this movie.
Scaling often shifts power somewhere else. The hardest part is keeping the system neutral when the tooling gets expensive.
Nobody gets to declare victory in crypto without a few “if” statements, and Ethereum's own sources are clear that zkEVM safety is still the main work.
So the honest way to cover this is with scenarios. The impact on Bitcoin changes depending on which path plays out.
Scenario one: slow and careful, fewer surprises. PeerDAS keeps expanding blob capacity through scheduled parameter forks. zkEVM security milestones take time, and proof-based validation remains optional longer than enthusiasts want.
In this world, Ethereum improves the fee experience for rollups. The market gradually treats ETH as the most scalable “credible neutral” settlement network outside Bitcoin.
Bitcoin remains the most conservative monetary base. The competitive tension stays ideological and investor-driven.
Scenario two: demand pulls the roadmap forward. Rollups soak up blob capacity quickly, usage stays high after each BPO step, and Ethereum keeps turning the dial upward.
In this world, the “cheap crypto UX” narrative consolidates around Ethereum's rollup stack. Bitcoin becomes even more clearly a settlement and savings layer.
The market starts asking whether Bitcoin's L2 ecosystem can offer a similar experience while retaining Bitcoin's social and technical conservatism.
Scenario three: zk proofs become normal, and the argument changes. Ethereum hits its security targets, proof verification becomes the default for validators, and higher gas limits become more feasible without raising hardware requirements for everyone.
In this world, Ethereum's claim to “high-bandwidth decentralization” becomes harder to dismiss. Bitcoin's differentiation leans harder on simplicity, immutability, and monetary policy.
The investor conversation shifts toward two base layers with different philosophies, rather than one base layer and a crowd of alt chains racing for speed.
The planned jump in capacity relies on a fragile shift to ZK-proof verification that could buckle under network stress.
Most users do not wake up excited about data availability sampling.
They wake up frustrated that moving money costs too much, or that a swap fails, or that a memecoin mint chews up a paycheck in fees.
Bitcoiners know this pain too, especially when the mempool gets crowded, and fees price out casual users.
Ethereum's promise here is a future where the base layer stays decentralized enough for ordinary validators, while the user experience happens on rollups with costs that feel like app fees, not settlement fees.
If that happens, it does not kill Bitcoin. It clarifies Bitcoin.
Bitcoin becomes the thing you trust when you want to exit the casino.
Ethereum becomes the network that tries to make the casino scale without collapsing into a single operator.
The risk is that Ethereum's path requires more moving parts, more cryptography, more sophisticated markets for building and proving blocks, and more chances for concentration to sneak in through the back door.
Vitalik all but says so when he highlights distributed block building as unfinished business.
Bitcoin's risk is different. It stays slow, it stays scarce, and it stays expensive when demand rises.
The industry keeps trying to rebuild the world on layers above it.
Vitalik's “trilemma solved” line is a headline. The substance is a roadmap, with real code already deployed on the data side and a hard security push on the proof side.
Bitcoin should care because the strongest argument for Bitcoin as crypto's only credibly neutral base layer weakens if Ethereum can scale without pricing out regular validators.
Bitcoin should also stay calm. Bitcoin's value proposition is not throughput.
It is restraint, predictability, and a base layer that remains legible under stress.
The more Ethereum evolves toward a high-bandwidth settlement fabric, the more Bitcoin's role as the conservative monetary anchor looks intentional rather than outdated.
That is the kind of competition crypto needs: two networks pushing different definitions of trust, and forcing the rest of the market to stop confusing speed with decentralization.
Also known as "Akiba," Liam Wright is a reporter, podcast producer, and Editor-in-Chief at CryptoSlate. He believes that decentralized technology has the potential to make widespread positive change.
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Stablecoins are going mainstream, and Ethereum is positioning itself as the place those dollars ultimately settle.
Vitalik says Ethereum's “game” isn't convenience or marginal yield boosts; it's worst-case survivability and permissionless access.
WSJ, Barron's, and MarketWatch will run Polymarket probabilities while definitional chaos and resolution drama keep resurfacing.
ZachXBT tracked $107,000 drained from hundreds of wallets through fake MetaMask emails. Here's how to spot phishing, revoke approvals, and segregate holdings before attackers strike.
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Ethereum is an open source smart contract platform and decentralized network that underpins a large share of the global crypto economy.
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Vitalik Buterin is a Russian-Canadian programmer, writer, and co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), the leading smart contract blockchain that underpins much of today's decentralized finance (DeFi), NFT, and Web3 ecosystem.
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As the US Congress gears up to mark up the long-awaited crypto market structure bill on January 15, industry representatives are actively engaging in discussions regarding the critical elements of this legislation.
Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, highlighted important points concerning the state of the bill and the ongoing negotiations among lawmakers in a recent social media post on X (formerly Twitter).
Mersinger described the upcoming markup as a pivotal moment for digital asset legislation, emphasizing the significance of the moment for US leadership in the crypto space.
While she expressed gratitude to Senate leadership for their efforts, she underscored the necessity of addressing several “non-negotiable issues” to ensure that the bill remains durable, workable, and supportive of innovation.
One of the primary concerns Mersinger raised was the need for developer protections. She argued that the builders of peer-to-peer (P2P), open-source technologies should not be classified as financial intermediaries, making it essential for the inclusion of the BRCA (Blockchain Regulatory Compliance Act) in the market structure bill.
Additionally, Mersinger highlighted the need to amend “outdated laws,” which she alleges poses risks of meritless criminal prosecutions for developers simply writing code for non-custodial technologies.
Another critical point made by Mersinger is the preservation of decentralized finance (DeFi). She emphasized that DeFi must not be legislated out of existence, stating that open and decentralized innovation is vital for US competitiveness in the global market.
She stressed that more than 110 organizations and companies have voiced similar sentiments, as illustrated by an August 2025 letter sent to the Senate advocating for developer protections.
Stablecoin policy also emerged as a significant topic in Mersinger's remarks. She urged Congress to safeguard a bipartisan compromise established in the GENIUS Act, warning against measures that would impose yield bans, which could constrain lawful rewards and favor large banking institutions over new entrants to the market.
Mersinger stressed that market structure reforms should facilitate competition between emerging players and legacy institutions, rather than entrench existing advantages.
Mersinger's statement comes on the heels of insights shared by crypto journalist Eleanor Terret who recently disclosed that the Senate Banking Committee plans to pass the bill next week, after which it will be merged with the Senate Agriculture Committee's portion before heading to the Senate floor for a full vote.
Should this process proceed smoothly, the bill could reach President Trump's desk for signing, with Terret estimating that this could happen as early as March. However, she cautioned that if the House decides to make amendments to the Senate's version, the timeline could extend into the summer.
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Ethereum is struggling to reclaim the $3,100 level as price action tightens and the market braces for a decisive move. After weeks of choppy trading, ETH remains caught between fading bullish attempts and persistent overhead resistance, leaving analysts sharply divided on what comes next. A minority still expects Ethereum to regain strength and eventually challenge its all-time highs, while the dominant narrative points toward a bearish 2026 marked by weaker demand and tighter liquidity conditions.
Amid this uncertainty, a CryptoQuant report offers a longer-term perspective that cuts through short-term noise. The analysis focuses on Ethereum's Accumulating Addresses Realized Price, a metric that tracks the average cost basis of addresses that consistently accumulate ETH rather than trade it actively. Unlike momentum indicators, this measure reflects where long-term participants are willing to commit capital over extended periods.
Notably, this accumulation cost has trended steadily higher since 2020. Even during the severe 2022–2023 drawdown, when ETH price corrected sharply, long-term holders largely held their ground instead of capitulating. That behavior established a durable foundation beneath the market.
Today, this realized price has stabilized in the $2,700–$2,800 range, effectively forming a structural cost zone for Ethereum. As ETH hovers just above this area, the market faces a critical question: whether this long-term support continues to anchor price, or if shifting macro conditions finally challenge a regime that has held for years.
Ethereum Long-Term Accumulation Regime Faces a Critical Test
The report argues that the debate around Ethereum is shifting. The key issue is no longer whether the $2,700–$2,800 accumulation zone holds in the short term, but whether this long-standing accumulation regime can persist indefinitely. According to data from CryptoQuant, Ethereum stands out sharply from the broader altcoin market when viewed through this lens.
Since 2022, most altcoins have suffered deep drawdowns without ever forming a durable accumulation cost base. That absence of consistent long-term buying helps explain why recoveries across the altcoin complex have been weaker and more fragile. Ethereum, by contrast, has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to retain long-term holder conviction through multiple stress periods, including 2018, 2020, 2022, and even the volatility seen in 2025.
However, markets evolve, and structural regimes do not last forever. Periods of apparent stability are often when underlying assumptions are most vulnerable to change. From a forward-looking perspective, two scenarios stand out.
As long as ETH price trades near or above its accumulation cost, it signals that long-term buyers remain engaged, reinforcing Ethereum's relative resilience compared with most altcoins. On the other hand, a sustained break below this cost zone would imply a meaningful behavioral shift among long-term holders—one that could challenge the idea that Ethereum has permanently escaped its pre-2020 valuation framework.
In today's environment, short-term price swings dominate attention, but it is this structural battle beneath the surface that may ultimately define Ethereum's next major cycle.
Price Consolidates as Bulls Defend the $3,000 Zone
Ethereum is currently consolidating around the $3,100 level after failing to reclaim higher resistance zones, reflecting a market caught between stabilization and continuation risk. The chart shows ETH trading below its short- and medium-term moving averages, with the 50-day and 100-day averages now acting as dynamic resistance rather than support. This shift confirms that the broader structure remains corrective following the rejection from the $4,000–$4,200 region earlier in the cycle.
Notably, the $3,000–$3,100 area has emerged as a critical pivot. Price has repeatedly defended this zone, suggesting the presence of demand and short-term accumulation. However, upside momentum remains limited, as each bounce has been met with selling pressure near descending moving averages. This behavior is typical of markets attempting to form a base after a prolonged drawdown rather than initiating a clean trend reversal.
From a structural perspective, ETH remains above the long-term moving average, which continues to slope upward. This indicates that the broader macro trend has not fully broken down, even though short-term momentum is weak. Volume has also declined during recent rebounds, reinforcing the idea that buyers lack conviction.
For bulls, a sustained reclaim of the $3,300 level would be required to shift momentum and challenge the bearish structure. Until then, Ethereum appears locked in a consolidation phase, with downside risks persisting if the $3,000 support fails to hold.
Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Select market data provided by ICE Data Services. Select reference data provided by FactSet. Copyright © 2026 FactSet Research Systems Inc.Copyright © 2026, American Bankers Association. CUSIP Database provided by FactSet Research Systems Inc. All rights reserved. SEC fillings and other documents provided by Quartr.© 2026 TradingView, Inc.
January 10, 2026
1 min read
NASA Announces Return Date for Evacuating ISS Astronauts
Four ISS crew members are set to touch down on Thursday after NASA announced the first medical evacuation in the space station's history
By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron
The International Space Station, as seen from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft on November 8, 2021.
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NASA has revealed the return date for four International Space Station (ISS) crew members who are being evacuated from the station after one fell ill with an unknown condition.
The crew are set to begin their return to Earth no earlier than 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 14. The SpaceX capsule is then expected to splash down off the coast of California at about 3:40 a.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 15.
The announcement follows the space agency's Thursday decision to cut the Crew-11 mission short after an unidentified member of the crew experienced an undisclosed “medical concern.” The medical evacuation marks a first in the space station's 25-year history.
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The exact timing for the return depends on weather and could change. In a statement, NASA said mission managers are monitoring sea conditions in the spacecraft recovery area. “NASA and SpaceX will select a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-11 spacecraft undocking,” the agency said in a statement.
NASA has not revealed the extent of the sick crew member's medical issue. When revealing the decision to return the crew early on January 8, Isaacman said the problem was a “serious medical condition” but described the affected crew member as “stable.”
Crew-11 includes two NASA astronauts, the mission's commander Zena Cardman and its pilot Mike Fincke,as well as Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. They had been expected to remain on the ISS until mid-February, when the replacement crew, Crew-12, are still anticipated to arrive.
Jackie Flynn Mogensen is a breaking news reporter at Scientific American. Before joining SciAm, she was a science reporter at Mother Jones, where she received a National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications in 2024. Mogensen holds a master's degree in environmental communication and a bachelor's degree in earth sciences from Stanford University. She is based in New York City.
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The human gut replaces its cells faster than any other tissue in the body. Every few days, fresh cells are produced by specialized stem cells that keep the intestinal lining healthy. Over time, however, these stem cells begin to accumulate epigenetic changes. These are chemical tags attached to DNA that work like on and off switches, controlling which genes stay active and which are turned down.
A new study published in Nature Aging shows that these changes follow a clear pattern rather than appearing at random. The international research team was led by Prof. Francesco Neri of the University of Turin in Italy. The scientists identified a process they call ACCA (Aging- and Colon Cancer-Associated) drift, a gradual shift in epigenetic markers that becomes stronger as people age. "We observe an epigenetic pattern that becomes increasingly apparent with age," says Prof. Neri, formerly a group leader at the Leibniz Institute on Aging -- Fritz Lipmann Institute in Jena.
Aging Patterns Linked to Cancer Risk
The genes most affected by this drift are those that help maintain normal tissue balance. Many of them are involved in renewing the intestinal lining through the Wnt signaling pathway. When these genes are altered, the gut's ability to repair itself begins to weaken.
Researchers found that the same drifting pattern appears not only in aging intestinal tissue but also in nearly all colon cancer samples they analyzed. This overlap suggests that aging stem cells may create conditions that make cancer more likely to develop.
A Patchwork of Aging Inside the Gut
One striking finding is that aging does not affect the intestine evenly. The gut is made up of tiny structures called crypts, each formed from a single stem cell. If that stem cell develops epigenetic changes, every cell within the crypt inherits them.
Dr. Anna Krepelova explains how this process unfolds. "Over time, more and more areas with an older epigenetic profile develop in the tissue. Through the natural process of crypt division, these regions continuously enlarge and can continue to grow over many years."
As a result, the intestines of older adults become a mix of younger and much older crypts. Some regions remain relatively healthy, while others are more likely to produce damaged cells, increasing the chances of cancer growth.
Iron Loss Disrupts DNA Repair
The researchers also uncovered why this epigenetic drift happens. As intestinal cells age, they take in less iron while releasing more of it. This reduces the amount of iron (II) available in the cell nucleus. Iron (II) is essential for the proper function of TET (ten-eleven translocation) enzymes, which normally help remove excess DNA methylations.
When iron levels drop, these enzymes no longer work efficiently. As a result, excess DNA methylations remain in place instead of being broken down.
"When there's not enough iron in the cells, faulty markings remain on the DNA. And the cells lose their ability to remove these markings," says Dr. Anna Krepelova. As TET activity declines, DNA methylations build up, key genes are switched off, and they "fall silent." This chain reaction further speeds up epigenetic drift.
Inflammation Speeds Up the Aging Process
Age-related inflammation in the gut makes the problem worse. The team showed that even mild inflammatory signals can disrupt iron balance inside cells and place additional stress on metabolism. At the same time, Wnt signaling weakens, reducing the ability of stem cells to stay active and healthy.
Together, iron imbalance, inflammation, and reduced Wnt signaling act as an accelerator for epigenetic drift. Because of this, aging in the intestine may begin earlier and progress faster than scientists previously believed.
Can Gut Aging Be Slowed?
Despite the complexity of these processes, the findings offer some hope. In laboratory experiments using organoid cultures, miniature intestinal models grown from stem cells, researchers were able to slow or partly reverse epigenetic drift. They achieved this by restoring iron uptake or by directly boosting Wnt signaling.
Both approaches reactivated TET enzymes and allowed cells to start clearing excess DNA methylations again. "This means that epigenetic aging does not have to be a fixed, final state," Dr. Anna Krepelova says. "For the first time, we are seeing that it is possible to tweak the parameters of aging that lie deep within the molecular core of the cell."
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Astronomers analyzing fresh observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and several ground-based observatories have uncovered clear signs that a recently identified companion star is shaping the environment around Betelgeuse. The study, led by researchers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), shows that the companion star, called Siwarha, is generating a dense stream of gas as it moves through Betelgeuse's enormous outer atmosphere. This newly observed structure helps explain the unusual and long-running changes seen in the giant star's brightness and atmospheric behavior.
The findings were announced at a news conference during the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix and have been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.
Eight Years of Observations Reveal a Stellar Wake
Researchers identified the influence of Siwarha by carefully measuring subtle changes in Betelgeuse's light over nearly eight years. These long-term observations revealed the effects of a companion star that had previously been suspected but not confirmed. As the companion moves through Betelgeuse's outer layers, it disrupts the surrounding gas, producing a trail of denser material.
This detection resolves one of the most enduring puzzles surrounding Betelgeuse. By confirming the companion's presence, astronomers can now better explain how the star behaves and changes over time. The discovery also provides valuable insight into the later stages of evolution for other massive stars approaching the ends of their lives.
Betelgeuse is located about 650 light-years from Earth in the constellation Orion. It is a red supergiant of extraordinary size, large enough to contain more than 400 million Suns. Because it is both enormous and relatively close to Earth, Betelgeuse is one of the few stars whose surface and surrounding atmosphere can be directly studied, making it a key target for understanding how giant stars grow older, lose material, and eventually explode as supernovae.
Multiple Telescopes Confirm the Companion's Impact
By combining data from Hubble with observations from the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory, the team identified repeating patterns in Betelgeuse's behavior. These patterns provided strong evidence of the long-suspected companion star and revealed how it affects the red supergiant's outer atmosphere.
Scientists observed changes in the star's spectrum, meaning the specific colors of light produced by different elements, along with shifts in the motion of gas in the outer atmosphere. These changes are linked to a dense wake formed by the companion star. The wake appears shortly after the companion passes in front of Betelgeuse approximately every six years, or about 2,100 days, in agreement with earlier theoretical predictions.
"It's a bit like a boat moving through water. The companion star creates a ripple effect in Betelgeuse's atmosphere that we can actually see in the data," said Andrea Dupree, an astronomer at the CfA and lead author of the study. "For the first time, we're seeing direct signs of this wake, or trail of gas, confirming that Betelgeuse really does have a hidden companion shaping its appearance and behavior."
Decades of Strange Variability Explained
Astronomers have monitored Betelgeuse for decades, tracking changes in its brightness and surface features in an effort to understand its unpredictable behavior. Interest surged in 2020 when the star unexpectedly dimmed after what was described as a stellar "sneeze." Scientists identified two major cycles in Betelgeuse's variability: a shorter 400-day period linked to pulsations inside the star, and a much longer cycle lasting about 2,100 days.
Before this discovery, scientists explored many explanations for Betelgeuse's long-term changes. These included massive convection cells, clouds of dust, magnetic activity, and the potential influence of a hidden companion. Recent studies suggested that the longer cycle was best explained by a low-mass star orbiting deep within Betelgeuse's atmosphere. Although one group reported a possible detection, there was no definitive evidence until now.
The newly detected wake provides the strongest proof yet that a companion star is actively disturbing the atmosphere of this red supergiant.
"The idea that Betelgeuse had an undetected companion has been gaining in popularity for the past several years, but without direct evidence, it was an unproven theory," said Dupree. "With this new direct evidence, Betelgeuse gives us a front-row seat to watch how a giant star changes over time. Finding the wake from its companion means we can now understand how stars like this evolve, shed material, and eventually explode as supernovae."
Looking Ahead to Future Observations
From Earth's perspective, Betelgeuse is currently eclipsing its companion star. Astronomers are planning additional observations when the companion becomes visible again in 2027. Researchers say this discovery could also help solve similar mysteries involving other giant and supergiant stars.
Hubble's Continuing Contributions
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for more than 30 years and continues to produce discoveries that deepen our understanding of the universe. Hubble is a collaborative project between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, oversees mission operations, with additional support from Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, manages Hubble's scientific operations for NASA.
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When bacteria in the mouth break down sugars from food, they release acids that gradually erode tooth enamel and cause cavities. These bacteria do not live alone. They form dense, plaque-like structures known as "dental biofilms" that cling to the surface of teeth. Within these biofilms, acid production can accelerate tooth damage.
Researchers have found that arginine, an amino acid naturally present in saliva, plays an important role in reducing tooth decay. Certain beneficial bacteria use an arginine deiminase system (ADS) to convert arginine into alkaline compounds that help counteract harmful acids. When more arginine is available, these protective bacteria tend to grow more easily, while acid-producing bacteria struggle to thrive. Earlier laboratory studies conducted outside the human body also suggested that arginine can change the overall makeup of dental biofilms.
Testing Arginine Inside the Human Mouth
To confirm whether these effects also occur in real mouths, a research team led by Post.doc. Yumi C. Del Rey and Professor Sebastian Schlafer at Aarhus University in Denmark carried out a clinical study. Their findings were published in the International Journal of Oral Science.
The study included 12 participants who had active tooth decay. Each person received specially designed dentures that allowed researchers to collect intact dental biofilms from both sides of the jaw. Participants were asked to dip the dentures into a sugar solution for 5 minutes, followed immediately by either distilled water (as placebo) or arginine for 30 minutes. One treatment was applied to one side of the mouth, and the other treatment to the opposite side. This routine was repeated three times daily, with arginine always applied to the same side.
"The aim was to investigate the impact of arginine treatment on the acidity, type of bacteria, and the carbohydrate matrix of biofilms from patients with active caries," explains Sebastian Schlafer, professor at the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health. After 4 days, once the biofilms had fully formed, the dentures were removed for detailed examination.
Arginine Reduces Acid Levels After Sugar Exposure
To measure acidity inside the biofilms, researchers used a pH-sensitive dye known as "C-SNARF-4." This dye allowed them to assess acidity in different areas of the biofilm. Biofilms that received arginine treatment showed noticeably higher pH levels, meaning lower acidity, at 10 and 35 minutes after exposure to sugar.
"Our results revealed differences in acidity of the biofilms, with the ones treated with arginine being significantly more protected against acidification caused by sugar metabolism" says the first author, Yumi C. Del Rey.
Changes in Biofilm Structure and Sugary Components
The team also examined structural components of the biofilms using fluorescently labeled lectins, which are proteins that bind to specific carbohydrates. Two major carbohydrate components were studied: fucose and galactose. These sugars make up a large portion of dental biofilms and are thought to contribute to the formation of "acidic pockets" that trap damaging acids.
Biofilms exposed to arginine showed an overall decrease in fucose-based carbohydrates, which may reduce their ability to cause harm. Researchers also observed a structural shift in the biofilms. Galactose-containing carbohydrates became less abundant near the base of the biofilm and more concentrated toward the top, suggesting a reorganization that may limit acid buildup near tooth surfaces.
Shifting the Balance of Mouth Bacteria
To identify which bacteria were present, researchers analyzed bacterial DNA using "16S rRNA gene sequencing." Biofilms treated with either arginine or placebo were largely dominated by Streptococcus and Veillonella species. However, arginine treatment led to a significant reduction in the mitis/oralis group of streptococci. These bacteria produce acid but are weak at generating alkali.
At the same time, arginine slightly increased the presence of streptococci that are better at metabolizing arginine. This shift helped raise pH levels inside the biofilm. Taken together, the findings show that arginine made dental biofilms less harmful by lowering acidity, altering carbohydrate composition, and reshaping the microbial community.
A Safe and Promising Strategy Against Tooth Decay
Tooth decay affects people of all ages around the world. The researchers suggest that adding arginine to products such as toothpaste or oral rinses could help protect people who are especially prone to cavities. Because arginine is a naturally occurring amino acid produced by the body and found in many dietary proteins, it is considered safe and could even be suitable for use in children.
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On Saturday, Indonesia, the fourth most populous country on Earth, apparently issued a temporary block of the the Grok chatbot, with Meutya Hafid, Indonesia's minister of communication and digital affairs saying in a statement, “The government views the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space.” As of this writing, it was not readily apparent what if anything was actively blocked in Indonesia. Local X accounts in Indonesia were still able to communicate with the source of the headline-grabbing deepfakes: the Grok X account. The bot at that account was, however, replying to users in Indonesian, saying it was restricted, and that it was obeying the restrictions. Grok's images were still available on X with my location set to Indonesia with a VPN, and when I tried to access Grok.com from Indonesia—again, via VPN—the page still loaded. Assuming this block has some actual effect, Indonesia is the first, and so far only, country to take action against Grok over deepfakes. According to one report, countries and regions where government agencies have taken steps to publicly scrutinize, caution about, or condemn Grok's recent spate of non-consensual sexual images—including images of underage people—includes the EU, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, India, Malaysia, and Australia.About a day earlier, Elon Musk's X provided a slight tweak to Grok following the global deepfake backlash: whereas Grok had formerly generated images in response to X posts from anyone who tagged @grok, it now only provides this level of convenience to paying X users, although free users can still generate images at the Grok website. Grok is the flagship product of Elon Musk's xAI, which is technically the parent company of the X social media platform. Indonesia is sometimes called “the world's third-largest democracy,” particularly by people closely tied to U.S. diplomats, since it typically has close ties to the US. The current administration is on friendly terms with President Trump. In addition to ranking fourth in raw population, it also ranks fourth in number of internet users. The Guardian notes that the Indonesian digital affairs ministry has invited X to discuss the Grok ban.
When reached for comment, Grok parent company xAI replied, as it does to all emails, “Legacy Media Lies.”
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"We're in the singularity. We're at the top of the roller coaster, and it's about to go down."
It's a smokescreen solution to a problem that isn't going away.
It would be deeply embarrassing if the law has to go into effect before X acts.
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I would advocate for banning all non-necessary body modification on small children. And before anyone tells me "it's better to do it when they are small, then they won't remember it": no remembering the source of a trauma makes is even worse. That's like saying date rape drugs are no big deal because the victim can't remember it.
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That's revolting in a way. Identity OF THE PARENT, not of the baby who definitely doesn't know.And maybe the teenager doesn't want to have that identity, but now it's too late
And maybe the teenager doesn't want to have that identity, but now it's too late
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Male genital mutilation on minors for non-medical reasons should also be made illegal. It is amazing Medicaid still pays for it in many states. The American Academy of Pediatrics is failing the United States.
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However this practice has become deeply culturally ingrained, whether through religion or other custom, so it is going to be a hard slog to eradicate it worldwide.
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And my question to you: what gives you the right to impose your worldview on someone elses *body* Just because you think it's better?
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Babies don't have a religion.
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Who have no way to know whether they would prefer to not have it done.It's not FGM, but it's in the realm of it relative to reduced sensory ability.
It's not FGM, but it's in the realm of it relative to reduced sensory ability.
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I think your claim proves too much:If you pick a different religion (my siblings and their kids are religious - not Jewish), you could similarly say "even though they're happy being raised in their religion, they have no way to know whether they would prefer to have been raised agnostic/atheist" (or some other religion)Of course that's true for many decisions parents make on behalf of their children.I am curious if folks in this thread are similarly incensed by young children having their ears pierced? It's obviously different, but it still seems like a cultural decision.To my knowledge (having only learned about it incidentally during the pregnancy/birthing process since it wasn't a relevant decision) it didn't seem like circumcision had strong medical recommendations for or against
If you pick a different religion (my siblings and their kids are religious - not Jewish), you could similarly say "even though they're happy being raised in their religion, they have no way to know whether they would prefer to have been raised agnostic/atheist" (or some other religion)Of course that's true for many decisions parents make on behalf of their children.I am curious if folks in this thread are similarly incensed by young children having their ears pierced? It's obviously different, but it still seems like a cultural decision.To my knowledge (having only learned about it incidentally during the pregnancy/birthing process since it wasn't a relevant decision) it didn't seem like circumcision had strong medical recommendations for or against
Of course that's true for many decisions parents make on behalf of their children.I am curious if folks in this thread are similarly incensed by young children having their ears pierced? It's obviously different, but it still seems like a cultural decision.To my knowledge (having only learned about it incidentally during the pregnancy/birthing process since it wasn't a relevant decision) it didn't seem like circumcision had strong medical recommendations for or against
I am curious if folks in this thread are similarly incensed by young children having their ears pierced? It's obviously different, but it still seems like a cultural decision.To my knowledge (having only learned about it incidentally during the pregnancy/birthing process since it wasn't a relevant decision) it didn't seem like circumcision had strong medical recommendations for or against
To my knowledge (having only learned about it incidentally during the pregnancy/birthing process since it wasn't a relevant decision) it didn't seem like circumcision had strong medical recommendations for or against
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Circumcision removes nerve endings and results in an exposed glans, which thickens the skin and further dulls its nerve endings. This is a 1-way reduction in sexual capacity, which the child doesn't have any say in. Comparing it to ear piercing isn't the same, which, while cartilage doesn't heal easily, there's no sexual sensation interaction and leaving piercings empty tends to reverse them over time.
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That's still seven deaths too many for a surgery (without anesthetics!) which has no medical necessity. Tonsillectomy is also a very safe procedure, yet we don't just do them willy-nilly because any form of surgery carries its own risk, no matter how small.
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I think it would be better to have the debate on circumcision in the legislature/parliament, but I am not opposed to outlawing it.
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It is mutilation.Also, this issue is how the left gets men back to vote for it again. If the left is unwilling to throw men a bone with this issue, they will lose men as a majority left wing voting bloc forever.
Also, this issue is how the left gets men back to vote for it again. If the left is unwilling to throw men a bone with this issue, they will lose men as a majority left wing voting bloc forever.
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What Trump has proven is that millions of single issue voters can be created on any issue if a political party desires it.Underestimating this reality will only keep political parties that depend on unwritten rules of decorum from winning more and more elections.There are now new unwritten rules of election issue decorum now. Which is to say there are no longer any unspoken rules of election issue decorum. I'd strongly urge everyone to acclimate themselves to that reality sooner rather than later.
Underestimating this reality will only keep political parties that depend on unwritten rules of decorum from winning more and more elections.There are now new unwritten rules of election issue decorum now. Which is to say there are no longer any unspoken rules of election issue decorum. I'd strongly urge everyone to acclimate themselves to that reality sooner rather than later.
There are now new unwritten rules of election issue decorum now. Which is to say there are no longer any unspoken rules of election issue decorum. I'd strongly urge everyone to acclimate themselves to that reality sooner rather than later.
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I looked up "SCP object", and boy that was a rabbit hole. Interesting and entertaining, sure. But if you "fully believe" in anything on that website, please try to confirm your reality with observations or lived experience rather than text from the internet.Here's an excerpt from SCP's "Guide For Newcomers"[1]:> This is the SCP Foundation Wiki, a collaborative writing site based around the premise that… in essence, magic is real. It's not exactly like the traditional fantasy style magic you've come to know, but that's the best way we can describe the stuff we have here - Anomalies; items and critters that do not follow the rules of nature as we know them. Staircases that go on forever, mechanical gods from the beginning of time, otherwise regular humans who reshape reality with their mind: these are the kinds of things that, if known to the public, could cause mass hysteria and start wars on scales unprecedented. Due to that, there exists an organization called the SCP Foundation, whose job is to research paranormal activity, keep these creatures and objects concealed from the public, and protect humanity from the horrors of the dark.[1] https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/guide-for-newcomers
Here's an excerpt from SCP's "Guide For Newcomers"[1]:> This is the SCP Foundation Wiki, a collaborative writing site based around the premise that… in essence, magic is real. It's not exactly like the traditional fantasy style magic you've come to know, but that's the best way we can describe the stuff we have here - Anomalies; items and critters that do not follow the rules of nature as we know them. Staircases that go on forever, mechanical gods from the beginning of time, otherwise regular humans who reshape reality with their mind: these are the kinds of things that, if known to the public, could cause mass hysteria and start wars on scales unprecedented. Due to that, there exists an organization called the SCP Foundation, whose job is to research paranormal activity, keep these creatures and objects concealed from the public, and protect humanity from the horrors of the dark.[1] https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/guide-for-newcomers
> This is the SCP Foundation Wiki, a collaborative writing site based around the premise that… in essence, magic is real. It's not exactly like the traditional fantasy style magic you've come to know, but that's the best way we can describe the stuff we have here - Anomalies; items and critters that do not follow the rules of nature as we know them. Staircases that go on forever, mechanical gods from the beginning of time, otherwise regular humans who reshape reality with their mind: these are the kinds of things that, if known to the public, could cause mass hysteria and start wars on scales unprecedented. Due to that, there exists an organization called the SCP Foundation, whose job is to research paranormal activity, keep these creatures and objects concealed from the public, and protect humanity from the horrors of the dark.[1] https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/guide-for-newcomers
[1] https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/guide-for-newcomers
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It's an analogy for the INSANITY of the current acceptance of mass circumcision uncritically by the masses.
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by Todd Bishop & John Cook on Jan 10, 2026 at 8:23 amJanuary 10, 2026 at 8:34 am
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OpenAI is asking third-party contractors to upload real assignments and tasks from their current or previous workplaces so that it can use the data to evaluate the performance of its next-generation AI models, according to records from OpenAI and the training data company Handshake AI obtained by WIRED.
The project appears to be part of OpenAI's efforts to establish a human baseline for different tasks that can then be compared with AI models. In September, the company launched a new evaluation process to measure the performance of its AI models against human professionals across a variety of industries. OpenAI says this is a key indicator of its progress towards achieving AGI, or an AI system that outperforms humans at most economically valuable tasks.
“We've hired folks across occupations to help collect real-world tasks modeled off those you've done in your full-time jobs, so we can measure how well AI models perform on those tasks,” reads one confidential document from OpenAI. “Take existing pieces of long-term or complex work (hours or days+) that you've done in your occupation and turn each into a task."
OpenAI is asking contractors to describe tasks they've done in their current job or in the past and to upload real examples of work they did, according to an OpenAI presentation about the project viewed by WIRED. Each of the examples should be “a concrete output (not a summary of the file, but the actual file), e.g., Word doc, PDF, Powerpoint, Excel, image, repo,” the presentation notes. OpenAI says people can also share fabricated work examples created to demonstrate how they would realistically respond in specific scenarios.
OpenAI and Handshake AI declined to comment.
Real-world tasks have two components, according to the OpenAI presentation. There's the task request (what a person's manager or colleague told them to do) and the task deliverable (the actual work they produced in response to that request). The company emphasizes multiple times in instructions that the examples contractors share should reflect “real, on-the-job work” that the person has “actually done.”
One example in the OpenAI presentation outlines a task from a “Senior Lifestyle Manager at a luxury concierge company for ultra-high-net-worth individuals.” The goal is to “prepare a short, 2-page PDF draft of a 7-day yacht trip overview to the Bahamas for a family who will be traveling there for the first time.” It includes additional details regarding the family's interests and what the itinerary should look like. The “experienced human deliverable” then shows what the contractor in this case would upload: a real Bahamas itinerary created for a client.
OpenAI instructs the contractors to delete corporate intellectual property and personally identifiable information from the work files they upload. Under a section labeled “Important reminders,” OpenAI tells the workers to “remove or anonymize any: personal information, proprietary or confidential data, material nonpublic information (e.g., internal strategy, unreleased product details).”
One of the files viewed by WIRED document mentions a ChatGPT tool called “Superstar Scrubbing” that provides advice on how to delete confidential information.
Evan Brown, an intellectual property lawyer with Neal & McDevitt, tells WIRED that AI labs that receive confidential information from contractors at this scale could be subject to trade secret misappropriation claims. Contractors who offer documents from their previous workplaces to an AI company, even scrubbed, could be at risk of violating their previous employers' nondisclosure agreements or exposing trade secrets.
“The AI lab is putting a lot of trust in its contractors to decide what is and isn't confidential,” says Brown. “If they do let something slip through, are the AI labs really taking the time to determine what is and isn't a trade secret? It seems to me that the AI lab is putting itself at great risk.”
The documents reveal one strategy AI labs are using to prepare their models to excel at real world tasks. Firms like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are hiring armies of contractors who can generate high-quality training data in order to develop AI agents capable of automating enterprise work.
AI labs have long relied on third-party contracting firms such as Surge, Mercor, and Scale AI to hire and manage networks of data contractors. In recent years, however, AI labs have required higher-quality data in order to improve their models, forcing them to pay more for skilled talent capable of producing it. That has created a lucrative sub-industry within the AI training world. Handshake said it was valued at $3.5 billion in 2022, while Surge reportedly valued itself at $25 billion in fundraising talks last summer.
OpenAI appears to have explored other ways of sourcing real company data. An individual who helps companies sell assets after they go out of business told WIRED that a representative of OpenAI inquired about obtaining data from these firms, providing that personally identifiable information could be removed. The source, who spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity because they did not want to sour any business relationships, said the data would have included documents, emails, and other internal communications. The source said they chose not to pursue the idea because they were not confident that personal information could be completely scrubbed.
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A former SandboxAQ executive filed a wrongful termination suit last month filled with such scandalous allegations against the company's famed CEO, Jack Hidary, that the plaintiff himself redacted the most salacious details.
On Friday, the company's lawyers filed a blistering response, calling the former employee a “serial liar” and stating his lawsuit “asserts false claims for improper and extortionate purposes.”
Even the visible portions of the lawsuit — which TechCrunch has obtained — contain eyebrow-raising allegations, should a court find them valid. (A copy of the lawsuit is available here.)
The case offers a rare inside look at how employee lawsuits can become a public airing of dirty laundry from otherwise opaque internal happenings, thanks to the ubiquitous private arbitration clauses in Silicon Valley employee agreements.
The suit was filed by Robert Bender in mid-December. Bender worked as Chief of Staff to Hidary from August 2024 through July 2025, the complaint states. He contends in his suit that he was wrongfully terminated after raising concerns about a number of alleged incidents, some of which, he said, involved “sexual encounters” and others, he claims, that involved misleading financial information presented to investors.
For its part, SandboxAQ vehemently denies the allegations. The company's lawyer Orin Snyder, a well-known partner at white shoe law firm Gibson Dunn, tells TechCrunch: “This case is a complete fabrication. We look forward to debunking these baseless allegations and exposing the lawsuit — as detailed in our answer — for what it is — an opportunistic and extortionate abuse of the judicial process.”
What makes the case particularly notable is the number of Valley heavy hitters involved in SandboxAQ. The company is an AI quantum computing startup that began as a moonshot unit of Google parent company Alphabet, led at Google by Hidary. Hidary is also well-known in Silicon Valley as a longtime X Prize board member.
SandboxAQ was spun out of Alphabet into an independent company in March 2022 with Hidary as CEO and soon attracted big-name investors, including billionaire and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who invested and became the startup's chairman. Other billionaire investors include Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, and Bridgewater hedge fund founder Ray Dalio.
Bender's attorneys say in another court document that the redacted sections “describe sexual encounters and the physical condition of non-party individuals observed by Plaintiff during business travel.” In other words, the alleged incidents involve people who Bender is not suing. This is an unusual move — typically, it's the party being sued that requests redactions, not the person making the allegations.
Various explanations exist for such a tactic, and TechCrunch couldn't ascertain what the motivations are in this case. Generally speaking, the possibilities range from protecting innocent third parties who aren't accused of wrongdoing, to a shakedown strategy — signaling that more damaging details could emerge if the defendants don't offer an acceptable settlement.
The unredacted portion of the suit provides a few more general details of the allegations that were hidden: Bender is alleging that Hidary used company resources and investor funds to “solicit, transport, and entertain female companions.” In an attached exhibit of a text message from Bender, he mentions prostitutes.
Bender further alleges in his suit that Hidary sold tens of millions of dollars worth of his stock at a premium price based on what Bender says were misleading figures presented to potential investors. He contends in the suit that revenue figures presented to the board were 50% lower than the figures shown in presentations to prospective investors.
SandboxAQ's lawyers vigorously contest all of the above. “The Company did not make fraudulent disclosures to investors regarding its tender offer or otherwise. The CEO did not misuse corporate assets. Plaintiff invented these inflammatory allegations to manufacture statutory claims and to insulate himself from the consequences of his own misconduct.”
Bender, for his part, alleges that the company has been trying to smear him. His complaint asserts that he brought his lawsuit, “only because his termination was followed by a malicious scorched earth campaign to destroy his reputation.”
While the validity of any of these allegations is for a jury to decide, many of his claims echo an investigative report on SandboxAQ published by The Information in July.
Sources told The Information that Hidary was using company resources to fly women he was dating on corporate jets, and that the company's revenues were far below its projections. Bender references The Information story in his lawsuit but denies he was a source for it. SandboxAQ claims he was a source and is lying about his involvement. (A copy of SandboxAQ's full corporate response, including more allegations about the employee, can be found here.)
Despite any controversies, big-name investors were eager to invest in the company last year. In April, SandboxAQ raised over $450 million in a Series E funding round from Ray Dalio, Horizon Kinetics, BNP Paribas, Google, and Nvidia.
SandboxAQ also announced a $90 million secondary sale. SandboxAQ has raised $1 billion total, it says, and is valued at $5.75 billion, according to PitchBook estimates.
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Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a suite of algorithms to automate the counting of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in chromosomes under the microscope. Conventional analysis requires trained personnel and time, with variability between different people. The team's machine-learning-based algorithm boasts an accuracy of 84% and gives a more objective measurement. This could be a game changer for diagnosing disorders tied to abnormal numbers of SCEs, like Bloom syndrome.
DNA, the blueprint of life for all living organisms, is found packaged inside complex structures called chromosomes. When DNA is replicated, two identical strands known as sister chromatids, each carrying exactly the same genetic information, are formed. Unlike in meiosis, sister chromatids do not need to undergo recombination during mitosis, and in most cases they are transmitted intact to the daughter cells. However, when some form of damage occurs in DNA, the organism attempts to repair the lesion by using the remaining undamaged DNA as a template. During this repair process, it often happens that specific segments of the sister chromatids are exchanged with each other. During this repair process, it often happens that specific segments of the sister chromatids are exchanged with each other. This "sister chromatic exchange" (SCE) is not harmful itself, but too many can be a good indicator for some serious disorders. Examples include Bloom syndrome: affected people can have a predisposition to cancer.
To count SCEs, normal methods involve experienced clinicians looking at stained chromosomes under the microscope, trying to identify the telltale "swapped" segments of sister chromatids. Not only is this labor intensive and slow, but it can also be subjective, dependent on how the human eye perceives features. A fully automated analysis of microscope images would save time and give objective measures of the number of SCEs, for more consistent diagnoses across different clinical environments.
Now, a team led by Professors Kiyoshi Nishikawa and Kan Okubo from Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a suite of algorithms using machine learning to count SCEs in images. They combined separate methods, one to identify individual chromosomes, another to tell whether there are SCEs, and finally, another to cluster and count them, giving an objective, fully automated measurement of the number of SCEs in a microscope image. They found an accuracy of 84.1%, a level which is enough for practical applications. To see how it performed with real data, they collected images of chromosomes from cells with an artificially knocked out BLM gene, the kind of suppression seen in Bloom syndrome patients. The team's algorithm was able to give counts for SCEs which were consistent with those given by human counters.
Work is currently under way to use the vast amounts of available clinical data to train the algorithm, with more refinements to come. The team believes that replacing manual counting with full automation will help realize faster, more objective clinical analysis than ever before, and that this is only the beginning for what AI can bring to medical research.
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 22H05072, 25K09513, and 22K12170.
Tokyo Metropolitan University
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-22608-9
Posted in: Device / Technology News | Medical Condition News | Histology & Microscopy
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Aston Sci. Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering next-generation therapeutic cancer vaccines, announced today that it has implemented CDD Vault®, the secure, cloud-based research informatics platform from Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD). The system will support Aston Sci.'s rapidly expanding research programs enabled by its advanced Th-Vac® epitope-screening platform, which is bolstered by the Antigen Structure-Based Epitope Prediction (ASEP) program.
Aston Sci. is developing innovative mRNA-, DNA-, and peptide-based cancer vaccines by leveraging the Th-Vac® platform, an AI-driven in silico ASEP program followed by precise immunological selections that identify highly selective MHC class II-specific epitopes known to elicit robust and durable CD4⁺ T-cell immunity. By integrating multi-omics datasets with machine learning, Th-Vac® overcomes key hurdles in the development of off-the-shelf vaccines encoding TAAs (tumor-associated antigens) or TSAs (tumor-specific antigens) as well as personalized neoantigen vaccines, including tumor heterogeneity, lengthy production timelines, and limited patient applicability.
As Aston Sci.'s data volume and collaboration needs grow, CDD Vault will provide a unified environment for securely managing biological datasets, streamlining workflows, and supporting both internal teams and external partners.
Our AI-driven discovery efforts generate increasingly complex datasets that require a secure, flexible, and collaborative informatics platform. CDD Vault delivers exactly what we need to scale our research and accelerate the development of transformative cancer vaccines.”
Wonil Kim, CSO, Aston Sci
“We are excited to support Aston Sci. as they advance groundbreaking AI-enabled immunotherapies,” said Barry Bunin, CEO of CDD. “Our system is designed to empower innovative teams like Aston Sci. with intuitive, secure, and configurable data management tools.”
Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc.
Posted in: Drug Discovery & Pharmaceuticals
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Most of us know the feeling: maybe it is making a difficult phone call, starting a report you fear will be criticized, or preparing a presentation that's stressful just to think about. You understand what needs to be done, yet taking that very first step feels surprisingly hard. When this difficulty becomes severe, it is known medically as avolition. People with avolition are not lazy or unaware: they know what they need to do, but their brain seems unable to push the "go" button. Avolition is commonly seen in conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease, and it seriously disrupts a person's ability to manage daily life and maintain social functions.
Research in neuroscience and psychology has suggested that before we act, the brain weighs how much effort a task may cost. If the cost feels too high, motivation drops. But until now, it has been unclear how the brain turns this judgment into a decision not to act. To explore this question, a research team at WPI-ASHBi applied an advanced genetic technique called chemogenetics to highly intelligent macaque monkeys, allowing them to adjust communication temporarily and precisely between specific brain regions and identify a circuit that acts like a brake on motivation.
The monkeys were trained to perform two types of tasks. In one, completing the task earned a water reward. In the other, the reward came with an added downside: an unpleasant air puff to the face. Before each trial, the monkeys saw a cue and could freely decide whether to start or not. The researchers focused not on which option the monkeys chose, but on something more fundamental: did they take the first step at all? As expected, when the task involved only a reward, the monkeys usually got started without hesitation. But when the task involved an unpleasant air puff, they often held back, even though a reward was still available.
The researchers then temporarily weakened a specific brain connection linking two regions involved in motivation: the ventral striatum (VS) and the ventral pallidum (VP). In the reward-only task, suppressing this pathway had little effect on monkey behavior, and the monkeys initiated the task normally. In contrast, in tasks involving an unpleasant air puff, the mental brake to starting had eased: the monkeys became much more willing to start. Importantly, the monkeys' ability to judge rewards and punishments did not change. What changed was the step between knowing and doing.
The researchers took a closer look at what was actually happening in these brain regions during this process. Neural activity in the VS increased during the stressful task, suggesting it helps the brain register when a situation feels stressful. In contrast, activity in the VP gradually fell as the monkeys became less willing to start the task, showing that these two regions play different roles. Together, these findings show that the VS to VP pathway functions as a "motivation brake" that suppresses the internal "go" button, particularly when facing stressful or unpleasant tasks.
This discovery of the VS–VP "motivation brake" may shed light on conditions such as depression and schizophrenia, where severe loss of motivation is common. In the future, interventions such as deep brain stimulation, non-invasive brain stimulation, or new drug strategies might aim to fine-tune this brake when it becomes too tight. But this "brake" exists for a reason. While an overly tight brake can lead to avolition, a brake that is too loose could make it harder to stop, even in excessively stressful situations, potentially leading to burnout. In other words, the VS–VP circuit may help keep motivation within a healthy range. "Over weakening the motivation brake could lead to dangerous behavior or excessive risk-taking," said Ken-ichi Amemori, lead author of the study. "Careful validation and ethical discussion will be necessary to determine how and when such interventions should be used."
In modern society, especially at a time when burnout is at an all-time high, these findings invite us to rethink what "motivation" really means. The brain can actively dampen the drive to act when tasks are unpleasant or stressful, so getting started is not simply about willpower. Rather than trying to forcibly boost motivation, the focus should shift toward how society can better support people in coping with stress. This is a question that warrants broader societal dialogue.
Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi), Kyoto University
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.12.035
Posted in: Medical Science News | Medical Research News
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Environmental antimicrobial resistance is turning rivers, soils, and even the air into hidden highways for "superbugs," according to a new review that calls for urgent, coordinated action across human, animal, and environmental health. The authors argue that protecting people from drug resistant infections now depends as much on wastewater plants and farms as it does on hospitals.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria and other microbes evolve the ability to survive medicines that once killed them, making common infections harder or impossible to treat. The World Health Organization already lists AMR as one of the most serious global health threats of this century, with some estimates warning of tens of millions of deaths and massive economic losses if action fails.
The new study shows that the environment is not just a passive backdrop. Rivers, lakes, soils, oceans, and even air can carry resistance genes and resistant bacteria that move between wildlife, livestock, and people, helping create a truly global network of AMR.
The review highlights several major environmental "hotspots" where resistance builds up and spreads.
Hospital and city wastewater treatment plants act as central mixing hubs, collecting antibiotic residues, resistant pathogens, and mobile genetic elements from homes and clinics. Conventional treatment often fails to fully remove these contaminants, allowing resistance genes to persist in effluent water and sewage sludge.
Livestock farms and aquaculture systems use large quantities of antibiotics, enriching resistance genes in animal gut microbes and manure that then reach soils, crops, and surrounding waters.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities can discharge extremely high levels of both antibiotics and resistance genes, raising the risk that dangerous resistance traits spread downstream.
Across these sites, resistance genes can hitchhike on mobile genetic elements such as plasmids, making it easier for bacteria to "swap" resistance traits and create multidrug resistant strains.
Most AMR surveillance still focuses on clinical samples, but the authors argue that environmental monitoring needs to catch up. Classic culture based tests remain important because they measure whether bacteria actually survive antibiotics, and they provide live isolates for further study. However, many environmental bacteria cannot be grown easily in the lab, and these methods can miss most of the resistance present.
Newer tools are rapidly changing the picture:
Phenotypic methods such as flow cytometry and Raman spectroscopy can track resistant cells and gene transfer in complex samples within hours, without requiring cultivation.
Genotypic methods such as high throughput quantitative PCR, CRISPR based assays, and metagenomic sequencing can detect hundreds of resistance genes at once, and identify which bacteria carry them.
Long read sequencing now allows researchers to reconstruct entire mobile genetic elements and see exactly how resistance genes are organized and move between hosts.
"The message is clear" said lead author Huilin Zhang. "No single method can capture the full story of environmental resistance. What we need is integrated surveillance that links what bacteria can do to what genes they carry, and where they are spreading."
The review is framed within the One Health concept, which emphasizes that human, animal, and environmental health are tightly connected. The authors propose tackling AMR on two fronts source control to reduce the amount of antibiotics, resistant bacteria, and resistance genes entering the environment, and process control to intercept them along key pathways such as wastewater treatment.
Source control measures include stricter antibiotic stewardship in medicine and agriculture, better regulation in low and middle income regions, and cleaner production in pharmaceutical industries. The authors also highlight emerging "green" solutions, such as enhanced biodegradation of antibiotics, design of more biodegradable drugs, and alternative antimicrobials like peptides and phages.
On the process side, improved wastewater treatment and waste management are crucial. Conventional disinfection can reduce many resistant bacteria but may leave resistance genes intact, especially in solid waste streams. More advanced approaches such as hyperthermophilic composting, advanced oxidation, membrane processes, nanomaterials, bacteriophage based treatments, engineered DNA scavenging bacteria, and CRISPR based tools show promise but require further research, safety evaluation, and cost reduction.
Instead of simply counting how many resistance genes exist, the authors argue that surveillance and policy should prioritize traits that really drive health risk. Three stand out:
Mobility: how easily genes move between bacteria and environments.
Host pathogenicity: whether the bacterial hosts are capable of causing disease in humans or animals.
Multi resistance: whether genes and their hosts resist multiple key antibiotics, limiting treatment options.
"Environmental AMR is not just about how many resistance genes we can find" said corresponding author Feng Ju. "What matters most is which genes are mobile, which pathogens carry them, and how they evolve in real world ecosystems. That is where surveillance must focus, and where mitigation will have the biggest impact."
The authors call for global, standardized protocols that make environmental AMR data comparable across countries and over time. Without such standards, they warn, the world will struggle to spot emerging threats early enough and to design effective One Health interventions that protect both people and the planet.
Shenyang Agricultural University
Zhang H, Luo Y, Zhu X, Ju F. 2025. Environmental antimicrobial resistance: key reservoirs, surveillance and mitigation under One Health. Biocontaminant . https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/biocontam-0025-0023
Posted in: Medical Research News | Disease/Infection News | Healthcare News
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Earthworms could become unexpected allies in the global fight against antibiotic resistance, by helping farmers turn manure into safer, high-value organic fertilizer through a process called vermicomposting. Researchers report that this low energy, nature-based technology can remove antibiotic resistance genes far more consistently than conventional composting, while also improving soil health and supporting sustainable agriculture.
The World Health Organization has named antimicrobial resistance one of the most serious threats to modern medicine, and livestock production is a major part of the problem. When animals receive antibiotics, resistance genes accumulate in their manure, and if that manure is spread on fields without proper treatment, those genes can move into soil, water, crops and eventually the human gut. Conventional composting helps, but its performance is unstable and in some cases key resistance markers can even rebound during the composting process.
Vermicomposting uses earthworms and their associated microbes to transform raw manure into a stable, crumbly product known as vermicast. Under carefully controlled moisture, temperature and nutrient conditions, this mesophilic process not only recycles waste into fertilizer but also achieves multi pathway reduction of antibiotic resistance genes. Studies summarized in the new review show that vermicomposting can reduce the total abundance of resistance genes by roughly 70 to 95 percent and mobile genetic elements by up to 68 percent, often outperforming traditional compost piles.
"Earthworms are not just passive decomposers, they are active engineers of a safer microenvironment," says corresponding author Fengxia Yang of the Agro Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China. "By reshaping microbial communities and disrupting gene transfer, they help cut the chain of antibiotic resistance spread from farms to people."
The authors describe vermicomposting as an integrated physical, chemical and biological barrier against antibiotic resistance. As earthworms burrow and feed, they increase porosity and aeration in the manure, maintaining oxygen rich conditions that suppress many anaerobic bacteria that often carry resistance genes and support faster breakdown of residual antibiotics. Inside the earthworm gut, mechanical grinding, digestive enzymes and a specialized microbiome further damage resistant bacteria and disturb both intracellular and extracellular DNA.
A key advantage lies in how earthworms restructure the microbial community. Their activity shifts the system away from fast growing opportunistic bacteria that frequently host resistance genes toward more stable, functionally beneficial groups involved in decomposition and nitrogen fixation. At the same time, vermicomposting lowers the abundance of mobile genetic elements such as plasmids and integrons, which are the vehicles that shuttle resistance genes between bacteria through horizontal gene transfer.
Beyond the gut, earthworm epidermal mucus and coelomic fluid act as a biochemical interface in the composting mass. This mucus contains carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and bioactive molecules including antimicrobial peptides, lysozymes and DNases that can damage bacterial cell membranes, generate reactive oxygen species and directly degrade resistance genes. Laboratory studies cited in the review show that coelomic fluid can cut multidrug resistant Escherichia coli populations by several orders of magnitude within hours and remove over 90 percent of extracellular resistance genes through DNA cutting activity.
Mucus also alters microbial behavior by interfering with bacterial communication systems and gene expression. In one mechanistic study, exposure to earthworm coelomic fluid led to thousands of bacterial genes being up or down regulated, disrupting pathways that bacteria rely on for coordination and conjugation. Network analyses indicate that after earthworm processing, the statistical links between resistance genes and their bacterial hosts weaken, suggesting that vermicomposting ecologically decouples resistance traits from the microbes that carry them.
Performance improves further when vermicomposting is combined with functional materials such as biochar, zeolite or clay minerals. These additives can adsorb antibiotics and heavy metals, easing stress on earthworms and microbes while stabilizing pollutants and reducing the selective pressure that favors resistant bacteria. In trials summarized by the authors, pairing earthworms with biochar or mineral amendments increased earthworm growth, accelerated organic matter degradation, improved humification and raised removal rates for both resistance genes and heavy metal resistance markers.
Together, earthworm activity, mucus derived biochemistry and tailored additives create a multi level containment system that acts from molecules to whole ecosystems. The result is a more robust, stable reduction of antibiotic resistance genes than is typically achieved in conventional composting alone, while producing a high quality organic fertilizer that can improve soil structure, water retention and plant nutrition.
Despite these advantages, the authors caution that significant challenges remain before vermicomposting can be deployed widely as an antibiotic resistance control strategy. Different earthworm species vary in their tolerance to antibiotics and environmental conditions, and key operating parameters such as stocking density, feedstock composition, temperature and moisture must be fine tuned for each type of agricultural waste. Large scale systems must also address climate sensitivity, reactor design, automation and the logistics of maintaining healthy earthworm populations at industrial scale.
Another open question is the long term fate of any resistance genes that remain in vermicompost once it is applied to fields. The review calls for multi year field studies and realistic risk assessments to understand whether residual genes can be reactivated under new stresses such as heavy metals or additional antibiotic use. The authors argue that future work should integrate multi omics tools, artificial intelligence models and engineered treatment trains that combine thermal pretreatment, vermicomposting and targeted polishing steps such as enzyme or phage applications.
"Antibiotic resistance is a complex, system wide problem and no single technology will solve it," Yang notes. "But by harnessing earthworms and modern biotechnology together, vermicomposting offers a practical pathway to make manure recycling safer for farmers, consumers and the environment."
Shenyang Agricultural University
Li B, Zeng Y, Li Z, Cheng S, Hu S, et al. 2025. Mechanisms and challenges in reducing antibiotic resistance genes by vermicomposting. Biocontaminant. https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/biocontam-0025-0021
Posted in: Life Sciences News | Biochemistry
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Professor Zhaohui Tang and Associate Professor Zhilin Liu from the team of Professor Xuesi Chen at the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed ultrasound-responsive in-situ antigen nanocatchers (S-nanocatchers), achieving precise spatiotemporal capture of tumor antigens and controllable acquisition of in-situ vaccines. This system solves the key problems of traditional antigen-capturing nanocarriers, such as their tendency to non-specifically bind to serum proteins during systemic circulation and their low antigen capture efficiency, providing a novel strategy for personalized tumor immunotherapy. The article was published as an open access Research Article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.
The high heterogeneity of tumor antigens in cancer patients is a key limiting factor for improving the efficacy of tumor vaccines, with significant differences in antigen characteristics among different patients and even different lesions within the same patient. In situ tumor vaccine strategies, by directly utilizing endogenous antigens in the tumor microenvironment, eliminate the need for complex antigen separation processes, effectively overcoming this heterogeneity challenge. Currently used antigen release methods such as phototherapy and radiotherapy have limitations, including shallow tissue penetration and potential damage to normal tissues. Ultrasound technology, with its deep penetration and high biocompatibility, has become an ideal stimulus for in situ vaccine development. However, ultrasound-mediated antigen release alone faces challenges such as poor antigen stability and insufficient dendritic cell (DC) presentation, limiting immune activation. Achieving efficient acquisition and precise capture of in situ antigens has become a breakthrough in improving the efficacy of in situ vaccines.
This study designed ultrasound-responsive antigen catchers, S-nanocatchers, with polyglutamic acid (PLG) as the main chain, bonded with a thioether-containing antigen-catching group (S-ACG) and the sonosensitive agent pyrophyllofoetate a (PPA). After self-assembly, the hydrophobic S-ACG and PPA are encapsulated in the nanoparticle core, avoiding non-specific interactions with serum proteins during systemic circulation. When subjected to ultrasound therapy, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by PPA not only induce immunogenic death (ICD) of tumor cells to release antigens, but also oxidize the thioether to hydrophilic sulfones or sulfoxides, exposing the antigen-catching group on the nanoparticle surface, achieving efficient capture of thiol-containing small molecules, peptides, and tumor antigens.
The control group (C-nanocatchers) had its thioether replaced with a carbon chain, and showed no significant antigen-binding ability regardless of whether it was sonicated, confirming the sulfur oxidation-dependent switching mechanism. This system efficiently activates dendritic cell (DC) maturation and migration. Combined with the TLR7/8 agonist IMDQ, it achieved a 93.4% primary tumor inhibition rate and a 60% complete distant tumor regression rate in a B16F10 melanoma mouse model, with no significant systemic toxicity. By enhancing CD8-positive T cell infiltration and the release of cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α, it reshapes the anti-tumor immune microenvironment, providing a universal and precise personalized immunotherapy platform.
This study combines ultrasound-guided antigen capture with in situ vaccine synthesis, achieving precise spatiotemporal capture of tumor antigens through a "smart switch" mechanism of thioether oxidation, effectively solving the non-specific binding problem of traditional nanocarriers. Ultrasound-responsive antigen catchers (S-nanocatchers) can not only efficiently induce local tumor immune responses but also activate systemic anti-tumor immunity through combination with immune adjuvants, providing a new solution for overcoming tumor heterogeneity and distant metastasis.
Chinese Chemical Society
DOI: 10.31635/ccschem.025.202506686
Posted in: Device / Technology News | Medical Science News | Medical Condition News
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A new study suggests that the immune checkpoint inhibitor, durvalumab, may offer new treatment options for patients living with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, its cost raises questions about sustainability, prevention and access. The findings, published in the Dec. 19, 2025, issue of JCO Global Oncology, are accompanied by an editorial, titled "Durvalumab in Limited-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer: Clinical Triumph and Toward Sustainable Value."
SCLC is among the most aggressive forms of lung cancer, accounting for about 15% of cases. Known for its rapid progression and poor prognosis, it has long been treated with a standard regimen of chemotherapy and radiation-a formula that has barely changed in decades. Five-year survival rates hover around 25% to 30%, leaving patients and families with limited hope.
Now, immunotherapy is rewriting the narrative. Durvalumab has emerged as a promising addition to the treatment landscape for limited-stage disease. Backed by the ADRIATIC trial, this therapy offers something patients have desperately needed: more time.
"Durvalumab represents a turning point in maintenance therapy for SCLC," said Chinmay Jani, M.D., first author on the study and chief fellow in hematology and oncology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "We're seeing survival gains that were unimaginable just a few years ago."
The ADRIATIC trial evaluated durvalumab as maintenance therapy following chemoradiation. Results were striking: overall survival extended to 66.1 months, compared with 57.8 months for standard care. Progression-free survival also improved-40.2 months versus 31.8 months.
But hope comes at a steep price. The study revealed that durvalumab therapy costs $163,722, compared with $25,816 for standard care. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) reached $383,069 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY)-far above the U.S. willingness-to-pay threshold of $150,000/QALY.
"Cost-effectiveness isn't just a metric-it shapes real-world access," said Gilberto Lopes, M.D., chief of the Division of Medical Oncology and associate director for global oncology at Sylvester. "We need strategies that make innovation sustainable."
Interestingly, the analysis found that for patients with extrathoracic progression, durvalumab nearly met cost-effectiveness standards, with an ICER of $151,137/QALY. This suggests that precision medicine-tailoring therapy to specific patient profiles-could optimize both outcomes and affordability.
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
DOI: 10.1200/GO-25-00225
Posted in: Drug Trial News | Medical Condition News
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Planning to save time by doing your shopping online? If so, it's possible you're not doing your well-being any favors. A study from Aalto University in Finland has found that online shopping is more strongly linked to stress than reading the news, checking your inbox or watching adult entertainment. The internet can be both a source and a reliever of stress though, according to research –– so do we scroll because we're stressed, or are we stressed because we scroll?
It's a complex problem to unravel, according to doctoral researcher Mohammed Belal.
'Previous studies have shown that social media and online shopping are often used to relieve stress. However, our results show that a rise in social media use or online shopping is linked to an increase in self-reported stress across multiple user groups and across devices,' he says.
The study found that users of YouTube and streaming services, as well as online gamers, also reported increased stress levels. For people experiencing high-stress, time spent on social media was twice more likely to be linked to stress as compared to time spent on gaming. Meanwhile, across many user groups, those who spent more time reading emails and news, or watching adult entertainment, reported lower stress-levels –– although the researchers note that they looked only at the time spent on news sites, not their content.
'Somewhat surprisingly, people who spent a lot of time on news sites reported less stress than others. On the other hand, those who already experienced a lot of stress didn't spend much time on news sites –– and that's consistent with previous research that shows that stress can reduce news consumption,' Belal says.
Overall, the study found a strong connection between internet use, in general, and heightened stress, especially among those who already experienced a lot of stress in daily life. Women reported more stress than men, and the older and wealthier the participant, the less stress they experienced. The de-stressing effect of adult entertainment may be explained by the fact that it was usually consumed in small doses, acting as a short-term stress or boredom reliever.
The study, to be published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research on 9 January 2026, recorded the internet usage of nearly 1,500 adults over a seven-month period. After that, data from nearly 47 million web visits and 14 million app usages was combined with users' self-reported stress.
The research comes at a time when the effects of social media on well-being are under increasing scrutiny. For example, a recent ban in Australia on social media for children has the rest of the world watching closely. Yet despite the increasing influence of the internet on our lives, our scientific understanding of the impacts of its use on well-being is remarkably limited, says Belal.
'It leaves a huge critical gap in understanding how online behaviors impact stress and well-being,' Belal points out.
With the aim of closing this gap, the study is among the first to use a tracking programme installed on users' devices, rather than asking subjects to self-report their usage, explains assistant professor Juhi Kulshrestha. The long duration and large sample size of the research also make the findings particularly significant.
However, she points out that further research is needed to disentangle the relationship between stress and well-being and internet usage.
'Are people more stressed because they are spending more time online shopping or on social media, or are such sites offering them an important support in times of duress? It's really crucial that we study these issues further so we can solve that chicken and egg problem,' says Kulshrestha. 'Putting a blanket ban or upper limits on certain kinds of internet usage may not actually end up solving the issues, and could even take away a vital support for people who are struggling.'
Either way, the researchers see practical applications for the results in the development of well-being and online services. In future, they plan to examine the consumption of different types of news, such as political, entertainment, or sports news, and how it relates to stress and other well-being variables. The hope is that better data will lead to helping internet users maintain a healthy balance.
'As we gain increasingly accurate information about people's internet usage, it will be possible to design new kinds of tools that people can use to regulate their browsing and improve their well-being,' says Kulshrestha.
Aalto University
DOI: 10.2196/78775
Posted in: Medical Research News | Healthcare News
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Scientists have made a discovery that helps explain why humans and animals are so susceptible to contracting tuberculosis(TB) – and it involves the bacteria harnessing part of the immune system meant to protect against infection.
Despite more than 100 years of research, tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest bacterial infections in humans, resulting in 1.5 million deaths each year.
Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Infection occurs when the bacteria are inhaled and taken up by specialist immune cells, such as macrophages, which recognise MTB and trigger a range of cellular and immune responses. These responses are mediated by receptors – molecules on the surface of immune cells that can recognise microbes. One such receptor is Dectin-1, which is best known for its role in anti-fungal immunity.
However, MTB has evolved a range of strategies to overcome these defences, manipulating host cells so they can survive and replicate. Now, an international research collaboration co-led by the University of Exeter has discovered that MTB survives within the cells of its host by targeting Dectin-1. Published in Science Immunology, the finding gives new insight into how TB takes hold to cause disease.
Dr. Max Gutierrez, of the Francis Crick Institute said: "TB is a major killer worldwide, yet we still know very little about how it is so effective at causing infections, in both humans and in animals. Our discovery of a new mechanism by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis is able to subvert host immunity is a key step in understanding the basis of susceptibility to TB."
In work supported by Wellcome and the Medical Research Council, the team showed that instead of protecting against infection, as occurs during fungal infection, MTB utilizes the responses triggered by Dectin-1 to drive its own survival. When this Dectin-1 pathway was absent, both human and mouse cells could control MTB infection. Indeed, mice lacking Dectin-1 were much more resistant to MTB infection.
The team, made up of Osaka University, the University of Cape Town and the Francis Crick Institute and others, also discovered that the bacteria produces a unique molecule called alpha-glucan to target Dectin-1 to induce these determinantal immune cell responses.
Professor Sho Yamasaki, Osaka University, said: "Our results are surprising, because Dectin-1 is a key part of the body's defence system to protect against fungal infections, yet we've shown it's detrimental for MTB infections and actually promotes bacterial survival."
Associate Professor Claire Hoving, UCT, said: "This research is a true international collaboration, with each institution bringing a distinct area of expertise. It's a fantastic example of the global partnerships required to tackle some of the greatest health challenges of our time."
Professor Gordon Brown, of the University of Exeter's MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, said: "This discovery is the first step – and opens the door to exciting new prospects including, for example, if we could knock out this receptor in cattle to make them more resistant to infection."
The study is titled 'Mycobacterial α-glucans hijack Dectin-1 to facilitate intracellular bacterial survival', and is published in Science Immunology.
University of Exeter
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.adw0732
Posted in: Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Disease/Infection News
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Two Manchester United players faced off in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals on Friday, with Noussair Mazraoui's Morocco knocking out Bryan Mbeumo's Cameroon 2-0. Despite the disappointment for the former Brentford forward, Cameroon's elimination provides a timely boost for the Red Devils, who will be pleased to once again be able to call on Mbeumo's services.
Morocco took the lead in under half an hour when former Manchester City midfielder Brahim Diaz bundled in from close range. The Real Madrid man got onto the end of an Ayoub El Kaabi header from an Achraf Hakimi corner to nudge past the goalkeeper and make it five goals in as many games.
The tournament hosts and favourites dominated much of the game and were able to double their lead and put the game beyond doubt on the 74th minute. Abde Ezzalzouli's free-kick evaded everyone in the box and fell to Ismael Saibari, who drilled low and hard into the bottom corner.
At Mbeumo's expense, Morocco will take on either Algeria or Nigeria, who face each other on Saturday afternoon, in the semi-finals on Wednesday. This means that Mazraoui's absence from United will be prolonged until at least late next week, but Mbeumo will likely be heading back to Manchester this weekend.
The return of their major summer signing will mark a relief for United, who are in the midst of turmoil on and off of the pitch. The Red Devils had Mbeumo, Mazraoui and Amad Diallo head off to represent their respective nations this winter and have seen their options, particularly on the right-hand side of the pitch, depleted significantly.
Mbeumo will return to Carrington this week, but will find a new man in charge of the Red Devils. When the forward left for international duty, Portuguese tactician Ruben Amorim was still in the dugout and, in spite of a mixed season, appeared to be relatively secure in his position as head coach.
However, last weekend, Amorim kicked up a fuss at a post-match press conference after a 1-1 draw with rivals Leeds United and was strangely insistent that he saw himself as a 'manager', not a head coach at the club. The comments, which offered shades of former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca's own press conference meltdown, were the final straw for the United hierarchy who called time on the ex-Sporting CP boss' stint at the club.
United and Scotland legend Darren Fletcher has been named as the interim boss and will oversee their game against Brighton on Sunday. The FA Cup third round will come too soon for Mbeumo, but the attacking player will have his eyes locked on the Manchester derby next weekend and his return to the pitch at Old Trafford will be just what Pep Guardiola's side will have hoped to have avoided.
City will be frustrated to have to come up against the Cameroon forward next weekend and would have fancied their chances against a weakened United. Guardiola's team have squandered their slender pre-Christmas lead over Arsenal and now sit six points behind the Gunners.
City have drawn their last three games in the Premier League, handing Mikel Arteta a significant advantage and a little bit of breathing room at the top of the table. Yet, they will be boosted by the introduction of their own marquee forward signing with Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo completing his move to the Etihad on Friday.
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It is unclear who will take the role as the next permanent head coach in the United dugout. The current availability of elite managers is slim pickings and given United have been so poor at recruiting managerial staff, they will be determined to avoid yet another disaster,
Amorim clung on to the position for just over a year and United forked out millions upon millions of pounds to help bring in players suitable for his rigid 3-4-3 formation. Mbeumo was one of the big-money signings for the Portuguese coach and Fletcher, as well as the succeeding person in the dugout, will have to find a way get the best out of the Cameroon forward.
How to watch the Africa Cup of Nations match between Egypt and Ivory Coast, as well as kick-off time and team news.
Two of Africa's most storied football nations meet in a high-stakes quarter-final at the Africa Cup of Nations in Agadir, Morocco, today. Egypt, record seven-time AFCON champions, meet Ivory Coast, defending champions, in a titanic clash at the Stade Adrar.
Here is where to find English-language live streams of Egypt vs Ivory Coast, as GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch the game today.
If you are abroad, you may need to use a virtual private network (VPN) to watch games using your usual streaming service. A VPN, such as NordVPN, allows you to establish a secure connection online when streaming. If you are not sure which VPN to use, check out GOAL's guide to the best VPNs for streaming sport.
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Today's game between Egypt and Ivory Coast will kick off at 2 pm ET and 7 pm GMT.
The Pharaohs are the tournament's most successful nation, having won the most titles, and they are on the hunt for what would be a record-extending eighth crown. However, their route to the last eight has been far from straightforward. Hossam Hassan's charges were pushed to their limits in the Round of 16, needing extra time to overcome Benin in a tense encounter.
Getty Images
They eventually prevailed as 3-1 winners to book their spot in the quarter finals, with their star man, Mohamed Salah, scoring a late winner. The Liverpool man has been pivotal with 3 goals so far in AFCON, and will continue to shoulder much of the scoring duties alongside Manchester City's Omar Marmoush. Coach Hassan has kept a resilient but sometimes unconvincing run going, with Egypt not considered top favourites by some, despite advancing to this stage.
Getty Images
In contrast, the Ivory Coast have looked more comfortable in the knockout rounds so far and will not be short of confidence after some solid performances. Emerse Fae's side arrives as defending champions, determined to prove that their triumph two years ago on home soil was no one-off.
They cruised to a 3-0 win over Burkina Faso to reach the quarter-finals, with Manchester United's Amad Diallo starring with a goal and assist. As reigning champions, the Elephants have shown strong attacking balance and overall control of games; however, this might not be easy to achieve against Egypt. Nevertheless, they are expected to dominate possession, using their powerful midfield to dictate tempo and stretch the pitch with the likes of Franck Kessié and Seko Fofana.
4-3-1-2
4-3-3
4-3-3
M. El Shenawy
R. Rabia
A. Abou El Fotouh
M. Hany
Y. Ibrahim
E. Ashour
H. Abdelmaguid
H. Fathi
M. Ateya
O. Marmoush
M. Salah (C)
K. Sobhi
M. Shehata
M. Ismail
M. Saber
I. Adel
M. Fathi
S. Mohsen
Zizo
A. El Shenawy
O. Faisal
M. Mohamed
M. Shobeir
Trezeguet
M. Lasheen
A. Eid
H. Hassan
Y. Fofana
E. N'Dicka
G. Konan
O. Kossounou
G. Doue
F. Kessie (C)
I. Sangare
C. Inao Oulai
Amad
Y. Diomande
E. Guessand
W. Zaha
S. Fofana
O. Diakite
A. Lafont
C. Operi
E. Agbadou
A. Zohouri
J. Gbamin
J. Seri
V. Bayo
O. Diomande
W. Boly
J. Krasso
B. Toure
M. Kone
E. Fae
M. Hamdi
For Egypt, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet remains a doubt, but has shown positive signs and could well be fit enough to take to the field. Mohamed El-Shenawy, the goalkeeper of Al Ahly and the Egyptian national team, is expected to be fit, despite rumours of an injury.
Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae has a clean bill of health and will be able to pick his best team for this important match.
Egypt
3
-
1
Benin
W
Angola
0
-
0
Egypt
D
Egypt
1
-
0
South Africa
W
Egypt
2
-
1
Zimbabwe
W
Egypt
2
-
1
Nigeria
W
Ivory Coast
3
-
0
Burkina Faso
W
Gabon
2
-
3
Ivory Coast
W
Ivory Coast
1
-
1
Cameroon
D
Ivory Coast
1
-
0
Mozambique
W
Oman
0
-
2
Ivory Coast
W
Last 5 matches
3
Wins
1
Draw
1
Win
Ivory Coast
0
-
0
Egypt
Ivory Coast
4
-
2
Egypt
Ivory Coast
1
-
4
Egypt
Ivory Coast
0
-
0
Egypt
Egypt
0
-
0
Ivory Coast
Goals scored
Historically, Egypt have the edge in head-to-head ties, winning more encounters than the Ivory Coast. Recent AFCON meetings have included tight contests, including a penalty shoot-out win for Egypt in 2021. Egypt last defended their own AFCON title in 2010; Ivory Coast are the first defending champs to reach this stage since then.
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Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce was the hero as 10-player Manchester United clung on to steal a 0-0 draw away at Arsenal in the first WSL game of the new year. The visitors were reduced to 10 midway through the second half when Jayde Riviere was sent off, but held firm to keep a clean sheet and ensure the Gunners do not pull further away from them at the top of the table.
The eagerly-awaited return of the WSL and a clash between third and fourth began in a rather stop-start manner, with a number of players going down injured and impacting the flow of the game. United had started the brighter and Arsenal's Anneke Borbe was forced into an incredible fingertip save to push Fridolina Rolfo's header from a Jessica Park cross onto the bar after just five minutes.
It was the wake-up call the hosts needed, and the Gunners held the lion's share of possession, albeit without creating too many chances, for much of the game. Tullis-Joyce made one fine stop from Olivia Smith from close range following a six-yard box scramble in Arsenal's best chance of the half.
The second period began in an equally scrappy manner with neither side seizing the initiative. Sloppy passes and individual errors plagued the players who at times looked like they were still on their winter break. With 25 minutes to go, United right-back Riviere was sent off for a ridiculous lunge which earned her a deserved second yellow card.
With United shutting up shop and determined to cling onto a point, Arsenal turned up the heat on the Red Devils. The Gunners' forwards had chances: Alessia Russo pounced upon a loose ball to fire low and Stina Blackstenius produced a clever flick, but both were denied by the USWNT goalkeeper. The hosts pushed and pushed for a late winner, the 37,000-strong crowd willing them on, but were unable to find a way past the giant in the United net.
GOAL rates Manchester United's players from the Emirates Stadium...
Phallon Tullis-Joyce (9/10):
Was a dominant presence in her penalty area and came up with a series of strong stops to keep the Gunners at bay.
Jayde Riviere (3/10):
The right-back earned herself a yellow card early in the second half and made a thoughtless lunge to pick up a second caution and a sending off. A moment of madness for the 24-year-old who almost cost her side.
Maya Le Tissier (7/10):
The Manchester United skipper stood up to the test and led her defence well, especially when reduced to 10 players.
Dominique Janssen (8/10):
The former Arsenal player was the standout performer in the United backline, cutting out a number of crosses and giving Russo little change up front.
Anna Sandberg (6/10):
Sandberg was good up and down the left flank and kept Beth Mead quiet.
Hinata Miyazawa (7/10):
A reliable figure at the heart of the Red Devils' midfield, Miyazawa rarely set a pass astray and helped relieve pressure on her team.
Julia Zigiotti Olme (6/10):
Similarly tidy to Miyazawa, the Sweden international played in a double pivot and allowed Park the freedom to roam.
Jessica Park (6/10):
A bright spark and did her best to drive the visitors up the pitch, but struggled to showcase her talent with the Gunners so dominant in possession.
Fridolina Rolfo (6/10):
Came close with a great header, but was denied by a better save from Borbe. The former Barcelona star was taken off in a quiet second half.
Elisabeth Terland (5/10):
Terland was a passenger for much of the hour she was on the pitch and replaced by Lea Schuller.
Melvine Malard (6/10):
The French forward worked hard for the away side, but did little in attack.
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Lea Schuller (5/10):
The new signing from Bayern Munich made her debut for the club, but was isolated up front with United trying to hang on for a point.
Simi Awujo (N/A):
The midfielder was brought on after an hour, but subbed off 10 minutes later after Riviere was given her marching orders.
Hanna Lundkvist (6/10):
Brought on to add an extra defender for the final 20 minutes and plug the gap left by the Canadian right-back.
Lisa Naalsund (N/A):
Came on late in the game.
Marc Skinner (7/10):
Set up to soak up pressure and hit the Gunners on the break, the United boss will be happy with a point at the Emirates – particularly with 10 players.
A split between Jason Wilcox and Ruben Amorim led to the latter's sacking at Manchester United after the Portuguese coach took issue with a comment made by the director of football. Amorim was sacked as the Red Devils coach last week after he exploded in a post-match press conference and made a number of pointed comments aimed at the club's hierarchy.
After the Red Devils struggled to a 1-1 draw against Premier League rivals Leeds United, Amorim came out in his conference with a point to make. He made a series of claims in a wild outburst which criticised the club's executives. It is now understood this was aimed towards Wilcox, who had been initially hesitant to appoint Amorim in November 2024.
When asked if he still has the board's backing, Amorim said: “To start with that, I noticed that you received selective information about everything. I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United. And that is clear.”
He continued to say that he is not Thomas Tuchel, Antonio Conte or Jose Mourinho – three managers known for their hands on approach when it comes to recruitment and club management – but added that: “I'm the manager of Manchester United.
“And it's going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change. That was my point. I want to finish with that. I'm not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me.”
It is now being reported that the relationship between Wilcox and Amorim had broken down before the Leeds game. The Sunreport that training ground sources have told them that Wilcox billed himself as “like a manager” and stressed that Amorim was the coach.
This will have irked Amorim, who had been demanding more support from the club in the transfer market. The Portuguese coach was supposedly unhappy that a move for Antoine Semenyo was not sanctioned, with the Ghanaian moving to Manchester City instead.
The deep factions and rifts continue to plague United. The club have long suffered with poor recruitment of both coaching and playing staff, creating a mixed bag of a squad and even more inconsistent results.
Amorim was deeply wedded to his 3-4-3 formation and demanded signings which suited his formation. This created huge scrutiny on the former Sporting CP man who was accused of being too risk averse and predictable.
The Portuguese boss was able to spend significantly in the summer and added an entire new-look frontline including Mathues Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. Amorim also brought in wing-backs to suit his formation which relied heavily of pace and energy down the flanks.
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Darren Fletcher has taken temporary charge of the Red Devils and oversaw a 2-2 draw with Burnley earlier this week. He will be in the dugout when Brighton travel to Old Trafford in the FA Cup third round. The Seagulls have a mightily impressive record at Old Trafford and will fancy their chances against the inconsistent Red Devils.
It is unclear if and when a permanent appointment will be made, with some reports suggesting that they will wait until the summer to name a new boss. This could mean that Fletcher will welcome rivals Manchester City to their home with a chance to deal a hammer blow to their rivals' title chances in the derby on January 17.
Pep Guardiola's men are currently six points behind league leaders Arsenal, but will be determined to hunt down that gap. They have drawn their first three games of 2026 to fall away in the title race, being held by Brighton, Chelsea and Sunderland.
United States international Jenna Nighswonger looks to be finally set for some regular game time after completing a loan move away from Arsenal. The full-back has found opportunities hard to come by since joining the Women's Super League club last January but has now secured a temporary switch that should change that - one which also includes an option to buy.
After making just one substitute appearance for Arsenal all season, it was announced on Saturday that Nighswonger has joined Aston Villa until the end of the 2025-26 campaign, with the deal also including an option to buy that could permanently end the USWNT star's nightmare spell in north London.
"Everyone at Aston Villa is extremely excited to welcome Jenna to the club," Marisa Ewers, Villa's director of women's football, said upon the announcement of the news. “We have been tracking her for some time and are delighted that she has bought into our exciting project. This signing forms part of our growing ambitions as we continue to build an exciting and competitive squad, and we believe Jenna will add real quality to the group and support our goals moving forward."
Nighswonger appeared to be a good signing for Arsenal 12 months ago. Arriving shortly after Renee Slegers was given the head coach role permanently, following an impressive spell as interim, the feeling was that she represented the slight shift in style from previous coach Jonas Eidevall to Slegers, as a full-back who suited the demands of the latter more.
However, the 25-year-old has made just six appearances for Arsenal in the time since, with just two of those starts. Five of those appearances came last season, too, with the full-back only getting onto the pitch once so far in the 2025-26 season. That was as a substitute in the win over Leicester as she replaced Taylor Hinds, another full-back whose arrival in the summer window has further limited the American's game time.
More concerning has been that Nighswonger, who The Athletic understands cost Arsenal a $100,000 (£75,000) fee, has regularly struggled to even make the matchday squad under Slegers, something which has impacted her international career, too. The full-back hasn't been called up by USWNT boss Emma Hayes since last February, something she will hope changes with this loan switch.
However, despite her struggles at Arsenal, it's clear that Nighswonger is a talented player and one that Villa will now hope to make the most of. Part of a Gotham side which won the NWSL Championship in 2023 and on the USWNT roster which won gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the 25-year-old is a dynamic full-back who can be an asset on both sides of the ball.
She's got plenty of experience, too, which Villa will hope can help them kick on. The club are currently eighth in the WSL table but have picked up some impressive results since Natalie Arroyo's arrival as head coach this month, with wins over Arsenal and Manchester United. It's consistency that the team needs and bringing in top players like Nighswonger can help in that regard, both in terms of the quality she adds and the depth she can help provide.
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Nighswonger is Villa's first signing of the January window but reports, which surfaced shortly after her transfer was confirmed, suggest it certainly won't be the last, or indeed the biggest. That's because BBC Sport understands that the club are also set to sign Chelsea midfielder Oriane Jean-Francois on a permanent deal worth £450,000 ($603,000), which would represent a record sale for the Blues' women's side.
Jean-Francois joined Chelsea in the summer of 2024 from Paris Saint-Germain but has been competing for a starting spot with England star Keira Walsh and, as such, she has struggled for regular game time. That's no slight on the 25-year-old, who has looked sharp and talented when given opportunities. As with the Nighswonger move, it is smart for Villa to be shopping in the deep squads of the WSL's top clubs and they now look set to pick up Jean-Francois this month in another move which could help the club rise up the table.
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The campaign features messaging and ads on billboards, transit shelters and at stations emphasizing vigilance and help options for victims.
One of two NJ Transit buses wrapped in anti-human trafficking messaging that is touring the state, in recognition of January being National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. (Courtesy NJ Transit)
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With several FIFA World Cup soccer matches taking place in New Jersey this summer, NJ Transit has launched a “Safe Passage” antihuman trafficking awareness campaign.
New Jersey is often considered a hub for human trafficking because of its proximity to several major metropolitan areas, including New York City and Philadelphia, as well as for its dense and diverse population, and the extensive transportation routes that connect the state to the entire Northeast.
There is little empirical evidence that ties an increase in human trafficking to major sporting events. Korin Arkin, the director of survivor care and outreach at Polaris, a nonprofit organization that works to combat human trafficking, said that the state playing host to World Cup games does raise a red flag. The tristate area will welcome more than 1 million visitors for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which begins at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford on June 13.
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“It does create opportunities for trafficking in the construction industry, in the hospitality industry,” she said. “Obviously when you have a lot of people gathering in one place, there could be a lot more exploitation opportunities that occur.”
Arkin said human trafficking is an underreported crime across the nation. She said in 2024, which is the most recent data available, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 884 calls, emails, texts and webchats from individuals in New Jersey.
“It does indicate people in New Jersey were reaching out to the hotline quite a bit,” she said. “It is significant.”
The ‘Safe Passage' campaign
The campaign will focus on public safety and awareness with billboards, transit shelter ads and station signage signs emphasizing protection, vigilance and help options. The agency will also distribute victim-support materials targeted at moments of potential separation from traffickers.
For the rest of this month, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, two NJ Transit buses wrapped in antihuman trafficking messaging will operate statewide.
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
With several FIFA World Cup soccer matches taking place in New Jersey this summer, NJ Transit has launched a “Safe Passage” antihuman trafficking awareness campaign.
New Jersey is often considered a hub for human trafficking because of its proximity to several major metropolitan areas, including New York City and Philadelphia, as well as for its dense and diverse population, and the extensive transportation routes that connect the state to the entire Northeast.
There is little empirical evidence that ties an increase in human trafficking to major sporting events. Korin Arkin, the director of survivor care and outreach at Polaris, a nonprofit organization that works to combat human trafficking, said that the state playing host to World Cup games does raise a red flag. The tristate area will welcome more than 1 million visitors for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which begins at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford on June 13.
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“It does create opportunities for trafficking in the construction industry, in the hospitality industry,” she said. “Obviously when you have a lot of people gathering in one place, there could be a lot more exploitation opportunities that occur.”
Arkin said human trafficking is an underreported crime across the nation. She said in 2024, which is the most recent data available, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 884 calls, emails, texts and webchats from individuals in New Jersey.
“It does indicate people in New Jersey were reaching out to the hotline quite a bit,” she said. “It is significant.”
The ‘Safe Passage' campaign
The campaign will focus on public safety and awareness with billboards, transit shelter ads and station signage signs emphasizing protection, vigilance and help options. The agency will also distribute victim-support materials targeted at moments of potential separation from traffickers.
For the rest of this month, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, two NJ Transit buses wrapped in antihuman trafficking messaging will operate statewide.
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
New Jersey is often considered a hub for human trafficking because of its proximity to several major metropolitan areas, including New York City and Philadelphia, as well as for its dense and diverse population, and the extensive transportation routes that connect the state to the entire Northeast.
There is little empirical evidence that ties an increase in human trafficking to major sporting events. Korin Arkin, the director of survivor care and outreach at Polaris, a nonprofit organization that works to combat human trafficking, said that the state playing host to World Cup games does raise a red flag. The tristate area will welcome more than 1 million visitors for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which begins at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford on June 13.
WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor
“It does create opportunities for trafficking in the construction industry, in the hospitality industry,” she said. “Obviously when you have a lot of people gathering in one place, there could be a lot more exploitation opportunities that occur.”
Arkin said human trafficking is an underreported crime across the nation. She said in 2024, which is the most recent data available, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 884 calls, emails, texts and webchats from individuals in New Jersey.
“It does indicate people in New Jersey were reaching out to the hotline quite a bit,” she said. “It is significant.”
The ‘Safe Passage' campaign
The campaign will focus on public safety and awareness with billboards, transit shelter ads and station signage signs emphasizing protection, vigilance and help options. The agency will also distribute victim-support materials targeted at moments of potential separation from traffickers.
For the rest of this month, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, two NJ Transit buses wrapped in antihuman trafficking messaging will operate statewide.
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
There is little empirical evidence that ties an increase in human trafficking to major sporting events. Korin Arkin, the director of survivor care and outreach at Polaris, a nonprofit organization that works to combat human trafficking, said that the state playing host to World Cup games does raise a red flag. The tristate area will welcome more than 1 million visitors for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which begins at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford on June 13.
WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor
“It does create opportunities for trafficking in the construction industry, in the hospitality industry,” she said. “Obviously when you have a lot of people gathering in one place, there could be a lot more exploitation opportunities that occur.”
Arkin said human trafficking is an underreported crime across the nation. She said in 2024, which is the most recent data available, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 884 calls, emails, texts and webchats from individuals in New Jersey.
“It does indicate people in New Jersey were reaching out to the hotline quite a bit,” she said. “It is significant.”
The ‘Safe Passage' campaign
The campaign will focus on public safety and awareness with billboards, transit shelter ads and station signage signs emphasizing protection, vigilance and help options. The agency will also distribute victim-support materials targeted at moments of potential separation from traffickers.
For the rest of this month, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, two NJ Transit buses wrapped in antihuman trafficking messaging will operate statewide.
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
“It does create opportunities for trafficking in the construction industry, in the hospitality industry,” she said. “Obviously when you have a lot of people gathering in one place, there could be a lot more exploitation opportunities that occur.”
Arkin said human trafficking is an underreported crime across the nation. She said in 2024, which is the most recent data available, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 884 calls, emails, texts and webchats from individuals in New Jersey.
“It does indicate people in New Jersey were reaching out to the hotline quite a bit,” she said. “It is significant.”
The ‘Safe Passage' campaign
The campaign will focus on public safety and awareness with billboards, transit shelter ads and station signage signs emphasizing protection, vigilance and help options. The agency will also distribute victim-support materials targeted at moments of potential separation from traffickers.
For the rest of this month, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, two NJ Transit buses wrapped in antihuman trafficking messaging will operate statewide.
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
Arkin said human trafficking is an underreported crime across the nation. She said in 2024, which is the most recent data available, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 884 calls, emails, texts and webchats from individuals in New Jersey.
“It does indicate people in New Jersey were reaching out to the hotline quite a bit,” she said. “It is significant.”
The ‘Safe Passage' campaign
The campaign will focus on public safety and awareness with billboards, transit shelter ads and station signage signs emphasizing protection, vigilance and help options. The agency will also distribute victim-support materials targeted at moments of potential separation from traffickers.
For the rest of this month, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, two NJ Transit buses wrapped in antihuman trafficking messaging will operate statewide.
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
“It does indicate people in New Jersey were reaching out to the hotline quite a bit,” she said. “It is significant.”
The ‘Safe Passage' campaign
The campaign will focus on public safety and awareness with billboards, transit shelter ads and station signage signs emphasizing protection, vigilance and help options. The agency will also distribute victim-support materials targeted at moments of potential separation from traffickers.
For the rest of this month, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, two NJ Transit buses wrapped in antihuman trafficking messaging will operate statewide.
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
The campaign will focus on public safety and awareness with billboards, transit shelter ads and station signage signs emphasizing protection, vigilance and help options. The agency will also distribute victim-support materials targeted at moments of potential separation from traffickers.
For the rest of this month, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, two NJ Transit buses wrapped in antihuman trafficking messaging will operate statewide.
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
For the rest of this month, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, two NJ Transit buses wrapped in antihuman trafficking messaging will operate statewide.
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
During a press conference at Newark Penn Station on Thursday, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency's most important obligation is to be a good community partner.
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
“What we're talking about is making sure we're protecting our fellow human beings, that's what this is about,” he said. “I think of no greater calling or privilege to make sure we protect our fellow human beings.”
World Cup final will be an afternoon match at MetLife Stadium, allowing prime-time viewing in Europe
FIFA revealed matchups for the new round of 32 and other stages.
FIFA revealed matchups for the new round of 32 and other stages.
1 month ago
NJ Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo said human trafficking often occurs in plain sight anonymously, in situations when people are distracted by getting from point A to point B, so law enforcement needs to be vigilant.
“That is why here at New Jersey Transit, every police officer is trained in the signs and indicators of human trafficking,” he said.
According to Trucillo, 1,500 frontline employees are receiving training, but he stressed that members of the traveling public are often the first to notice when something doesn't look right.
“Maybe you don't want to get involved, you're worried about being mistaken, don't feel that way. Don't be shy about reporting. Your eyes and ears matter too,” he said.
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The National Human Trafficking Hotline number is 1-888-373-7888.
How trafficking works
According to Polaris, labor trafficking most often involves a simple job offer. The website indicates:
Anyone can be victimized by a labor trafficker, but certain people are far more vulnerable than others. Economic need is a key risk factor and immigrants – including immigrants who are in this country legally – are particularly vulnerable to labor trafficking.
“It becomes trafficking when pay or working conditions are abusive and the worker cannot quit or complain because the boss is threatening them or exploiting their desperate economic circumstances. Kidnapping or physical force are rarely part of how labor trafficking situations begin,” Polaris said.
Traffickers can be business owners, bosses or other workers with a managerial role in a formal business. Traffickers can also be victims' families or legal guardians, including parents, spouses and intimate partners.
Signs of trafficking
According to the Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the safety of all children, there are indicators suggesting a child may be at risk of, or already is being trafficked:
Sudden changes in behavior: Unexplained shifts in personality, increased secrecy or involvement with questionable associates.
Physical indicators: Bruises, burns, tattoos, which are often used for branding, or multiple cellphones.
Unusual access to money or luxuries: Items outside a child's means, unexplained absences from school or new, expensive belongings.
Online solicitations: Communication with unknown adults or receipt of inappropriate content.
Officials said mass transit passengers can send an anonymous text message to NJTPD or call 911 if they believe something is wrong.
“That is why here at New Jersey Transit, every police officer is trained in the signs and indicators of human trafficking,” he said.
According to Trucillo, 1,500 frontline employees are receiving training, but he stressed that members of the traveling public are often the first to notice when something doesn't look right.
“Maybe you don't want to get involved, you're worried about being mistaken, don't feel that way. Don't be shy about reporting. Your eyes and ears matter too,” he said.
WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor
The National Human Trafficking Hotline number is 1-888-373-7888.
How trafficking works
According to Polaris, labor trafficking most often involves a simple job offer. The website indicates:
Anyone can be victimized by a labor trafficker, but certain people are far more vulnerable than others. Economic need is a key risk factor and immigrants – including immigrants who are in this country legally – are particularly vulnerable to labor trafficking.
“It becomes trafficking when pay or working conditions are abusive and the worker cannot quit or complain because the boss is threatening them or exploiting their desperate economic circumstances. Kidnapping or physical force are rarely part of how labor trafficking situations begin,” Polaris said.
Traffickers can be business owners, bosses or other workers with a managerial role in a formal business. Traffickers can also be victims' families or legal guardians, including parents, spouses and intimate partners.
Signs of trafficking
According to the Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the safety of all children, there are indicators suggesting a child may be at risk of, or already is being trafficked:
Sudden changes in behavior: Unexplained shifts in personality, increased secrecy or involvement with questionable associates.
Physical indicators: Bruises, burns, tattoos, which are often used for branding, or multiple cellphones.
Unusual access to money or luxuries: Items outside a child's means, unexplained absences from school or new, expensive belongings.
Online solicitations: Communication with unknown adults or receipt of inappropriate content.
Officials said mass transit passengers can send an anonymous text message to NJTPD or call 911 if they believe something is wrong.
According to Trucillo, 1,500 frontline employees are receiving training, but he stressed that members of the traveling public are often the first to notice when something doesn't look right.
“Maybe you don't want to get involved, you're worried about being mistaken, don't feel that way. Don't be shy about reporting. Your eyes and ears matter too,” he said.
WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor
The National Human Trafficking Hotline number is 1-888-373-7888.
How trafficking works
According to Polaris, labor trafficking most often involves a simple job offer. The website indicates:
Anyone can be victimized by a labor trafficker, but certain people are far more vulnerable than others. Economic need is a key risk factor and immigrants – including immigrants who are in this country legally – are particularly vulnerable to labor trafficking.
“It becomes trafficking when pay or working conditions are abusive and the worker cannot quit or complain because the boss is threatening them or exploiting their desperate economic circumstances. Kidnapping or physical force are rarely part of how labor trafficking situations begin,” Polaris said.
Traffickers can be business owners, bosses or other workers with a managerial role in a formal business. Traffickers can also be victims' families or legal guardians, including parents, spouses and intimate partners.
Signs of trafficking
According to the Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the safety of all children, there are indicators suggesting a child may be at risk of, or already is being trafficked:
Sudden changes in behavior: Unexplained shifts in personality, increased secrecy or involvement with questionable associates.
Physical indicators: Bruises, burns, tattoos, which are often used for branding, or multiple cellphones.
Unusual access to money or luxuries: Items outside a child's means, unexplained absences from school or new, expensive belongings.
Online solicitations: Communication with unknown adults or receipt of inappropriate content.
Officials said mass transit passengers can send an anonymous text message to NJTPD or call 911 if they believe something is wrong.
“Maybe you don't want to get involved, you're worried about being mistaken, don't feel that way. Don't be shy about reporting. Your eyes and ears matter too,” he said.
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The National Human Trafficking Hotline number is 1-888-373-7888.
How trafficking works
According to Polaris, labor trafficking most often involves a simple job offer. The website indicates:
Anyone can be victimized by a labor trafficker, but certain people are far more vulnerable than others. Economic need is a key risk factor and immigrants – including immigrants who are in this country legally – are particularly vulnerable to labor trafficking.
“It becomes trafficking when pay or working conditions are abusive and the worker cannot quit or complain because the boss is threatening them or exploiting their desperate economic circumstances. Kidnapping or physical force are rarely part of how labor trafficking situations begin,” Polaris said.
Traffickers can be business owners, bosses or other workers with a managerial role in a formal business. Traffickers can also be victims' families or legal guardians, including parents, spouses and intimate partners.
Signs of trafficking
According to the Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the safety of all children, there are indicators suggesting a child may be at risk of, or already is being trafficked:
Sudden changes in behavior: Unexplained shifts in personality, increased secrecy or involvement with questionable associates.
Physical indicators: Bruises, burns, tattoos, which are often used for branding, or multiple cellphones.
Unusual access to money or luxuries: Items outside a child's means, unexplained absences from school or new, expensive belongings.
Online solicitations: Communication with unknown adults or receipt of inappropriate content.
Officials said mass transit passengers can send an anonymous text message to NJTPD or call 911 if they believe something is wrong.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline number is 1-888-373-7888.
How trafficking works
According to Polaris, labor trafficking most often involves a simple job offer. The website indicates:
Anyone can be victimized by a labor trafficker, but certain people are far more vulnerable than others. Economic need is a key risk factor and immigrants – including immigrants who are in this country legally – are particularly vulnerable to labor trafficking.
“It becomes trafficking when pay or working conditions are abusive and the worker cannot quit or complain because the boss is threatening them or exploiting their desperate economic circumstances. Kidnapping or physical force are rarely part of how labor trafficking situations begin,” Polaris said.
Traffickers can be business owners, bosses or other workers with a managerial role in a formal business. Traffickers can also be victims' families or legal guardians, including parents, spouses and intimate partners.
Signs of trafficking
According to the Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the safety of all children, there are indicators suggesting a child may be at risk of, or already is being trafficked:
Sudden changes in behavior: Unexplained shifts in personality, increased secrecy or involvement with questionable associates.
Physical indicators: Bruises, burns, tattoos, which are often used for branding, or multiple cellphones.
Unusual access to money or luxuries: Items outside a child's means, unexplained absences from school or new, expensive belongings.
Online solicitations: Communication with unknown adults or receipt of inappropriate content.
Officials said mass transit passengers can send an anonymous text message to NJTPD or call 911 if they believe something is wrong.
According to Polaris, labor trafficking most often involves a simple job offer. The website indicates:
Anyone can be victimized by a labor trafficker, but certain people are far more vulnerable than others. Economic need is a key risk factor and immigrants – including immigrants who are in this country legally – are particularly vulnerable to labor trafficking.
“It becomes trafficking when pay or working conditions are abusive and the worker cannot quit or complain because the boss is threatening them or exploiting their desperate economic circumstances. Kidnapping or physical force are rarely part of how labor trafficking situations begin,” Polaris said.
Traffickers can be business owners, bosses or other workers with a managerial role in a formal business. Traffickers can also be victims' families or legal guardians, including parents, spouses and intimate partners.
Signs of trafficking
According to the Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the safety of all children, there are indicators suggesting a child may be at risk of, or already is being trafficked:
Sudden changes in behavior: Unexplained shifts in personality, increased secrecy or involvement with questionable associates.
Physical indicators: Bruises, burns, tattoos, which are often used for branding, or multiple cellphones.
Unusual access to money or luxuries: Items outside a child's means, unexplained absences from school or new, expensive belongings.
Online solicitations: Communication with unknown adults or receipt of inappropriate content.
Officials said mass transit passengers can send an anonymous text message to NJTPD or call 911 if they believe something is wrong.
According to the Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the safety of all children, there are indicators suggesting a child may be at risk of, or already is being trafficked:
Sudden changes in behavior: Unexplained shifts in personality, increased secrecy or involvement with questionable associates.
Physical indicators: Bruises, burns, tattoos, which are often used for branding, or multiple cellphones.
Unusual access to money or luxuries: Items outside a child's means, unexplained absences from school or new, expensive belongings.
Online solicitations: Communication with unknown adults or receipt of inappropriate content.
Officials said mass transit passengers can send an anonymous text message to NJTPD or call 911 if they believe something is wrong.
Officials said mass transit passengers can send an anonymous text message to NJTPD or call 911 if they believe something is wrong.
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Human trafficking, sex and forced labor is a growing problem in N.J. An elite police unit is working 24/7 to save victims
Human trafficking is a growing problem in New Jersey. Many teen runaways are lured, manipulated and controlled by ruthless traffickers.
Human trafficking is a growing problem in New Jersey. Many teen runaways are lured, manipulated and controlled by ruthless traffickers.
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In the rough: Felony convictions could cost Trump liquor licenses at 3 New Jersey golf courses
The state's attorney general's office is looking into whether Trump's recent felony convictions make him ineligible to hold liquor licenses at his three N.J. golf courses.
The state's attorney general's office is looking into whether Trump's recent felony convictions make him ineligible to hold liquor licenses at his three N.J. golf courses.
2 years ago
Suit: Workers lured to N.J. from India paid $1.20 per hour for years
The lawsuit filed in federal court accuses the leaders of the organization known as BAPS of human trafficking and wage law violations.
The lawsuit filed in federal court accuses the leaders of the organization known as BAPS of human trafficking and wage law violations.
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It's a valid question, but so is a truth that Europe's chattering class doesn't like admitting. Very few European clubs are truly at a high enough level to be right for elite U.S. talent.
Although some of Lindsey Heaps' games in Europe aren't easy for American fans to watch, the chances that do come along show why she's so comfortable there.
The 31-year-old midfielder plays for her club, France's OL Lyonnes, as more of a facilitator than the do-it-all general she's often been cast as with the United States — not just by fans, but by coaches over the years.
It's easy to focus on Heaps not scoring, especially given that she started her career as a forward before moving into midfield. But her last game for OL, against Spain's Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, showed a different side of Heaps.
She completed 42 of 44 passes that night, continuing a pace of a 90% pass completion rate in Champions League games this season, and had eight defensive recoveries. The players around her did most of the creating, especially midfielder Melchie Dumornay and wingers Tabitha Chawinga and Kadidiatou Diani.
Any team would dream of having OL's squad of superstars. The club was the standard-bearer in Europe long before American businesswoman Michelle Kang bought it in 2023 (she also owns the NWSL's Washington Spirit and England's London City Lionesses), and it has remained at that level.
No team in France comes close to OL's 18 league titles, all won in the last 19 years — as in, every season except one. Nor is any team in Europe close to OL's eight Champions League triumphs from 2011-22, even though Barcelona is the continent's top team right now.
» READ MORE: The USWNT will return to north Jersey in March to play Colombia
Heaps has three league winners' medals and one from the European Cup, and could add to both totals this season. OL is running away with the French league, and earned a round-of-16 bye in the Champions League thanks to an unbeaten group stage run.
“It's unbelievable, I think this year especially,” she told The Inquirer. “New coach, new culture a bit, standards, competitiveness. The training is unbelievable in everything that we're doing, and obviously you see it on the pitch as well. But we take each game at a time, and we just keep rolling.”
That new coach is a familiar name: Jonatan Giráldez, who joined OL from the Washington Spirit in the summer. It was a controversial move, since Kang was accused of taking from one of her teams to boost another.
But that claim is above Heaps' pay grade.
“Honestly, I think I speak for everyone on the team: he is such a quality coach,” Heaps said. “You just learn so much, and even for me, I want to continue learning, or looking at the game in a different way, or tactical adjustments, or things like that. … He wants us to win so badly, and he wants us to do so well as players, and he cares about us — he cares about how we do and how we perform, but also us as people.”
» READ MORE: A look back at Jonatán Giráldez's time with the Washington Spirit
Giráldez returned the praise.
“A very, very important player,” he said of Heaps. “Her role on the field is beyond the tactical, because she's able to understand a lot of situations on the field — when the team has the ball, when the team doesn't have the ball. … I'm very happy to have her in the team.”
Heaps mentioned the team's “training environment” a few times in the interview, praising the high standards there. That counts for a lot, especially among U.S. national team stalwarts.
For lack of a better way to put it, the top American players have long relished getting their butts kicked on a daily basis, whether by the NWSL's competitive balance or the famed ferocity of U.S. practices.
» READ MORE: The USMNT, USWNT, and your kid's youth team are all different. U.S. Soccer is fine with that.
Heaps is the latest in a lineage from Mia Hamm through Abby Wambach, Heather O'Reilly, Julie Ertz, and Carli Lloyd, all of whom spoke just as bluntly (and sometimes more so). Now Heaps wants to pass it on to a new era.
She gets to do that in Lyon, not just with the national team. The club's squad includes 22-year-old American midfielder Korbin Shrader and 18-year-old Lily Yohannes, the latter of whom is starting to meet the hype as a generational talent.
Unfortunately, Yohannes hasn't gotten to play much in the Champions League this season. She didn't play at all against Atlético Madrid, where the tactical matchup would have been a great lesson.
Heaps also wanted that, but she preached patience.
“We all need to remember that she's 18 years old,” she said. “At the end of the day, she needs to keep doing her thing, because she's been playing so well — she's been playing well with the national team, she's training well here. And like I said before, it is just such a competitive environment.”
» READ MORE: Lily Yohannes and Alyssa Thompson have arrived at their star turns with the USWNT
But Heaps is not immune to the buzz around Yohannes, and didn't mind indulging in some.
“I know these games mean a lot for her, but her ceiling is so, so high,” she said. “I just said to her that no matter what, in a few years from now, you're going to remember games like this that maybe you don't come into. But you're going to be a starting player and a non-stop player, and I believe the best midfielder in the world soon to come.”
Yohannes has played her entire career in Europe, and Heaps has played eight of her 14 professional years there. The American contingent across the Atlantic keeps growing, with Penn State product Sam Coffey soon to join it at England's Manchester City.
Will playing overseas fit other Americans as well as it does Heaps? The question is always on the table, but it's in bright lights above Trinity Rodman's head right now. Her standoff with the NWSL over getting paid what she's worth — with Kang on her side, trying to structure a contract within the league's salary rules — has naturally led to European suitors chasing her.
» READ MORE: Trinity Rodman returns to the USWNT for January camp even though she isn't with a club right now
It might also reveal a truth that Europe's chattering class doesn't like admitting. Very few European clubs are truly at a high enough level to be right for elite U.S. talents.
Lyon is one for sure, but there would be an even bigger uproar if Rodman moves there. Barcelona is another, but the Spanish giants don't sign Americans. Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea measure up in England, but Chelsea's roster looks too loaded to have room for Rodman right now.
Beyond them? Paris Saint-Germain was in that class, but has fallen hard this year. Germany's Wolfsburg is far from its past glories, and Bayern Munich still has a ways to rise. Real Madrid and Manchester United have stars, but their ownerships aren't trusted to build truly top programs.
The highest tier is really just the first five clubs you read above, and that's not much.
Then add in Rodman's huge commercial impact, which would be diminished going abroad — less so in England, but still notably.
» READ MORE: The U.S. launches a continent-wide bid for the 2031 women's World Cup, and Philadelphia wants in
Many clubs outside England also have poor attendances. OL averages just over 5,000 in a 59,000-seat stadium despite all its stars. PSG plays almost all its French league games at a 1,500-seat field within the bigger club's practice facilities, far out in the Paris suburbs. Both are a far cry from the 15,259 that Washington averaged this year, or the even bigger crowds in Los Angeles and Portland.
Not for nothing, then, did U.S. legend Tobin Heath — who played for PSG, Manchester United and Arsenal amid many years in American leagues — recently say Rodman should stay in the NWSL.
“I advise a lot on players going or staying, and 95% of the time, I will usually say go,” she said in an interview on fellow former superstar Megan Rapinoe's podcast. “I think that her game will be 1000% louder here. I think she can be the face of the league.”
At the time Heaps was asked, the NWSL was still putting together its new High Impact Player rule. She had heard about it, but the details hadn't all been published yet — including the controversial rules on how players qualify. So Heaps chose her words carefully, but she had plenty of them.
“I don't think it's a bad idea,” she said, tying in what she has seen over the years from MLS's Designated Player rule. (Her husband Tyler is San Diego FC's sporting director.). “If you want some of the best players in the world to come and play in the NWSL, some things do have to change. … We want to continue growing the league. So, what's the best way of doing that? We've got to get the best players there.”
» READ MORE: USWNT star Tierna Davidson visits Kensington to inspire a new generation of young soccer players
It was also easy to think Rodman's situation would be settled by now. Heaps wondered if it might not just come down to salary, but she encouraged Rodman to do what she feels is right.
“Trinity needs to do what's best for her,” Heaps said. “The money is kind of on the side of it — obviously, that's a big thing for us professionals. But Trinity, she's going to make the decision that's best for her, and I think that's the most important.”
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to kick off in June, with a record-breaking 48 nations heading to the USA, Canada and Mexico to compete. Four countries - Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan - will be making their first appearances at the prestigious tournament, where they will face formidable competition.
England and Scotland have already secured their places at the World Cup. Meanwhile, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are all eagerly awaiting the play-off rounds, hoping to clinch their spots. Thousands of supporters will be making the journey over for various stages of the tournament and will be looking to secure tickets for their nation's group stage matches and potentially beyond. Here's all the information on the World Cup 2026 ticket prices and how you can get your hands on them.
Grabbing tickets for the FIFA World Cup 2026 involves navigating several sales phases, as FIFA is using a lottery system to distribute tickets. To purchase official entry into the World Cup 2026, you'll need to access the FIFA ticketing portal and register for a FIFA ID.
The registration window for tickets closes on January 13, so fans must act swiftly if they want a chance to secure their seat. Until this date, fans can submit an application for the matches and categories they're interested in but it's not on a first-come, first-served basis.
If your application is successful (or partially so), you'll be informed in late January, with automatic charges applied in February 2026. Any leftover tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis from spring onwards. Those who aren't lucky enough to secure tickets initially can turn to the official FIFA resale marketplace to find tickets that original buyers no longer want.
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Ticket prices fluctuate greatly depending on the stage of the match and the category of the seat. Category 1 seats are usually pitch-side, while Category 4 offers the most budget-friendly options.
These seats are often reserved for residents of the host nations or supporter groups from each country. FIFA has also introduced a supporter entry tier ticket, priced at roughly £45 ($60), available for all 104 matches.
These are specifically for fans of qualified teams and are distributed through national football associations. The prices, converted from US dollars, are as follows:
Group Stage: Category 4/Supporter £44-£104, Category 3 £104-£160, Category 2 £231-£346, Category 1 £305-£461.
Opening Matches: Category 4/Supporter £55+, Category 3 £149+, Category 2 £298+, Category 1 £447.
Round of 32: Category 4/Supporter £78, Category 3 £130-£186, Category 2 £260-£335, Category 1 £409-£558.
Round of 16: Category 4/Supporter £126, Category 3 £164-£223, Category 2 £335-£447, Category 1 £521-£730.
Quarter-finals: Category 4/Supporter £204, Category 3 £372-£521, Category 2 £596-£819, Category 1 £893-£1,322.
Semi-finals: Category 4/Supporter £313, Category 3 £670-£894, Category 2 £1,117-£1,639, Category 1 £1,862-£2,455.
Final: Category 4/Supporter £1,512, Category 3 £2,079, Category 2 £3,137, Category 1 £5,016.
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Two Manchester United players faced off in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals on Friday, with Noussair Mazraoui's Morocco knocking out Bryan Mbeumo's Cameroon 2-0. Despite the disappointment for the former Brentford forward, Cameroon's elimination provides a timely boost for the Red Devils, who will be pleased to once again be able to call on Mbeumo's services.
Morocco took the lead in under half an hour when former Manchester City midfielder Brahim Diaz bundled in from close range. The Real Madrid man got onto the end of an Ayoub El Kaabi header from an Achraf Hakimi corner to nudge past the goalkeeper and make it five goals in as many games.
The tournament hosts and favourites dominated much of the game and were able to double their lead and put the game beyond doubt on the 74th minute. Abde Ezzalzouli's free-kick evaded everyone in the box and fell to Ismael Saibari, who drilled low and hard into the bottom corner.
At Mbeumo's expense, Morocco will take on either Algeria or Nigeria, who face each other on Saturday afternoon, in the semi-finals on Wednesday. This means that Mazraoui's absence from United will be prolonged until at least late next week, but Mbeumo will likely be heading back to Manchester this weekend.
The return of their major summer signing will mark a relief for United, who are in the midst of turmoil on and off of the pitch. The Red Devils had Mbeumo, Mazraoui and Amad Diallo head off to represent their respective nations this winter and have seen their options, particularly on the right-hand side of the pitch, depleted significantly.
Mbeumo will return to Carrington this week, but will find a new man in charge of the Red Devils. When the forward left for international duty, Portuguese tactician Ruben Amorim was still in the dugout and, in spite of a mixed season, appeared to be relatively secure in his position as head coach.
However, last weekend, Amorim kicked up a fuss at a post-match press conference after a 1-1 draw with rivals Leeds United and was strangely insistent that he saw himself as a 'manager', not a head coach at the club. The comments, which offered shades of former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca's own press conference meltdown, were the final straw for the United hierarchy who called time on the ex-Sporting CP boss' stint at the club.
United and Scotland legend Darren Fletcher has been named as the interim boss and will oversee their game against Brighton on Sunday. The FA Cup third round will come too soon for Mbeumo, but the attacking player will have his eyes locked on the Manchester derby next weekend and his return to the pitch at Old Trafford will be just what Pep Guardiola's side will have hoped to have avoided.
City will be frustrated to have to come up against the Cameroon forward next weekend and would have fancied their chances against a weakened United. Guardiola's team have squandered their slender pre-Christmas lead over Arsenal and now sit six points behind the Gunners.
City have drawn their last three games in the Premier League, handing Mikel Arteta a significant advantage and a little bit of breathing room at the top of the table. Yet, they will be boosted by the introduction of their own marquee forward signing with Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo completing his move to the Etihad on Friday.
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It is unclear who will take the role as the next permanent head coach in the United dugout. The current availability of elite managers is slim pickings and given United have been so poor at recruiting managerial staff, they will be determined to avoid yet another disaster,
Amorim clung on to the position for just over a year and United forked out millions upon millions of pounds to help bring in players suitable for his rigid 3-4-3 formation. Mbeumo was one of the big-money signings for the Portuguese coach and Fletcher, as well as the succeeding person in the dugout, will have to find a way get the best out of the Cameroon forward.
A photo of Akron Stadium, a 2026 FIFA World Cup venue, in Guadalajara, Mexico, as seen on Oct. 16, 2025 [AP/YONHAP]
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Yang Min-hyeok to head to Frank Lampard's Coventry City on loan
Mexico sweep top trophies as Homeless World Cup wraps up in Seoul
2024 Homeless World Cup kicks off Saturday in Seoul
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Korea coach sees Mexico friendly as good test before World Cup
[VIDEO] All you need to know: Mexico vs Poland
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Will it be a case of third time lucky for Team Poland when they contest the United Cup final in Sydney on Sunday?
Led by Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek, the two-time runners-up face Team Switzerland with a new champion guaranteed. Switzerland's charge has been driven by Belinda Bencic, who has been flawless across both singles and mixed doubles, with playing captain Stan Wawrinka providing leadership and experience in what is the three-time major champion's final season on Tour.
Proceedings at Ken Rosewall Arena begin at 5:30 p.m. with Bencic meeting Swiatek, before Wawrinka takes on Hurkacz. The Pole won their lone Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter, which came at the United Cup in 2023.
A message from your Finalists 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AzXPYLBove
Swiatek, the reigning Wimbledon champion, holds a 5-1 advantage in her head-to-head with Bencic, though the Swiss has been in inspired form throughout the competition in both Sydney and Perth. Unbeaten in four singles outings, the 28-year-old — mother to 21-month-old daughter Bella — has been the cornerstone of her team, while Swiatek will be eager to respond after her straight-sets semi-final defeat to Coco Gauff.
“Stan pushes me through in my singles, then he tries to push himself through in his singles, then he pushes us over the line in the mixed,” Bencic said of playing captain Wawrinka. “I don't know what to say. It's just amazing.”
Wawrinka faces a daunting task against the powerful-serving Hurkacz, particularly on return. The 40-year-old has broken serve just once across his four matches and has leaned on a more defensive game plan, yielding a single win. Hurkacz, by contrast, has unleashed 77 aces en route to the final.
“It's going to be a fun match against Stan,” Hurkacz said. “He's shown some amazing tennis throughout this tournament. Obviously it's his last year on Tour. It's really inspiring to watch him play, watch him compete. It's going to be a fun challenge. Lots of positive emotions. So happy we're in the finals again.”
After a seven-month injury layoff that required knee surgery, Hurkacz has looked sharp in Sydney. The former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has already notched victories over Top 10 opponents Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz, who edged him in a final-set tie-break to secure last year's United Cup title.
You May Also Like: Why Stan Wawrinka's last dance will be more salsa than slow waltz
With both teams evenly matched, the final could hinge on mixed doubles. Switzerland's Bencic and Jakub Paul are unbeaten in four matches, while Poland's Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski boast an identical record.
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Wawrinka faces a daunting task against the powerful-serving Hurkacz, particularly on return. The 40-year-old has broken serve just once across his four matches and has leaned on a more defensive game plan, yielding a single win. Hurkacz, by contrast, has unleashed 77 aces en route to the final.
“It's going to be a fun match against Stan,” Hurkacz said. “He's shown some amazing tennis throughout this tournament. Obviously it's his last year on Tour. It's really inspiring to watch him play, watch him compete. It's going to be a fun challenge. Lots of positive emotions. So happy we're in the finals again.”
After a seven-month injury layoff that required knee surgery, Hurkacz has looked sharp in Sydney. The former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has already notched victories over Top 10 opponents Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz, who edged him in a final-set tie-break to secure last year's United Cup title.
You May Also Like: Why Stan Wawrinka's last dance will be more salsa than slow waltz
With both teams evenly matched, the final could hinge on mixed doubles. Switzerland's Bencic and Jakub Paul are unbeaten in four matches, while Poland's Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski boast an identical record.
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The American outdid the former world No. 1 in the semifinals of the United Cup in Sydney on Saturday night, 6-4, 6-2.ByJohn BerkokPublished Jan 10, 2026 copy_link
Published Jan 10, 2026
© 2026 Robert Prange
Coco Gauff continued her recent mastery of Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the United Cup on Saturday night, scoring her fourth straight win over the Pole with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the team event.And not only has she beaten her four straight times now, she's beaten her four straight times in straight sets—the first player ever to do that.Only one other player has beaten Swiatek four times in a row at all—that would be Jelena Ostapenko, who's 6-0 lifetime against her. The third, fourth and sixth of those meetings were three-setters, though.
And not only has she beaten her four straight times now, she's beaten her four straight times in straight sets—the first player ever to do that.Only one other player has beaten Swiatek four times in a row at all—that would be Jelena Ostapenko, who's 6-0 lifetime against her. The third, fourth and sixth of those meetings were three-setters, though.
Only one other player has beaten Swiatek four times in a row at all—that would be Jelena Ostapenko, who's 6-0 lifetime against her. The third, fourth and sixth of those meetings were three-setters, though.
Coco Gauff keeps Team USA's hopes alive after earning her FOURTH consecutive win over Iga Swiatek 🤯 United States vs. Poland will be decided in the mixed doubles 🔥 #UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/lFUbuHJ3lu
Swiatek once dominated her head-to-head with Gauff, 11-1, but over the last year and a half that gap has closed in to 11-5.SWIATEK VS GAUFF HEAD-TO-HEAD MEETINGS:Swiatek won in '21 Rome SFs, 7-6, 6-3Swiatek won in '22 Miami 4th Rd, 6-3, 6-1Swiatek won in '22 Roland Garros F, 6-1, 6-3Swiatek won in '22 San Diego QFs, 6-0, 6-3Swiatek won in '22 WTA Finals RR, 6-3, 6-0Swiatek won in '23 Dubai SFs, 6-4, 6-2Swiatek won in '23 Roland Garros QFs, 6-4, 6-2Gauff won in '23 Cincinnati SFs, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4Swiatek won in '23 Beijing SFs, 6-2, 6-3Swiatek won in '23 WTA Finals RR, 6-0, 7-5Swiatek won in '24 Rome SFs, 6-4, 6-3Swiatek won in '24 Roland Garros SFs, 6-2, 6-4Gauff won in '24 WTA Finals RR, 6-3, 6-4Gauff won in '25 United Cup F, 6-4, 6-4Gauff won in '25 Madrid SFs, 6-1, 6-1Gauff won in '26 United Cup SFs, 6-4, 6-2
SWIATEK VS GAUFF HEAD-TO-HEAD MEETINGS:Swiatek won in '21 Rome SFs, 7-6, 6-3Swiatek won in '22 Miami 4th Rd, 6-3, 6-1Swiatek won in '22 Roland Garros F, 6-1, 6-3Swiatek won in '22 San Diego QFs, 6-0, 6-3Swiatek won in '22 WTA Finals RR, 6-3, 6-0Swiatek won in '23 Dubai SFs, 6-4, 6-2Swiatek won in '23 Roland Garros QFs, 6-4, 6-2Gauff won in '23 Cincinnati SFs, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4Swiatek won in '23 Beijing SFs, 6-2, 6-3Swiatek won in '23 WTA Finals RR, 6-0, 7-5Swiatek won in '24 Rome SFs, 6-4, 6-3Swiatek won in '24 Roland Garros SFs, 6-2, 6-4Gauff won in '24 WTA Finals RR, 6-3, 6-4Gauff won in '25 United Cup F, 6-4, 6-4Gauff won in '25 Madrid SFs, 6-1, 6-1Gauff won in '26 United Cup SFs, 6-4, 6-2
This point from @CocoGauff left us speechless 🫢 ... it also earned our title of @BetMGM Shot of the Day 🥵 🦾 #UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/saC9PmmgQq
Things looked dicey at the very beginning for Gauff on Saturday, as she had to rally from triple break point down—and save a fourth break point at ad-out—just to hold serve in the opening game of the match.But once she got past that she settled in, opening up a 4-1 lead—to which Swiatek retaliated, getting the break back and evening it at 4-all.That's when Gauff caught fire, though, reeling off seven straight games to build a 6-4, 5-0 lead, and after Swiatek held and got one of the breaks back to close to 5-2, Gauff broke her right back to seal the win.“I didn't let the opportunities that I had the first two times I had match point get away from me,” Gauff said about closing it out.“She played well—maybe there was one error on the backhand, but other than that she played the better tennis at the end. But I knew how I was playing the whole match that I would get it done.”That victory also kept Team USA in contention in the semifinal clash, after Hubert Hurkacz's earlier 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) victory over Taylor Fritz.It all came down to the mixed doubles, with Gauff coming back on court with Christian Harrison to face Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa.
But once she got past that she settled in, opening up a 4-1 lead—to which Swiatek retaliated, getting the break back and evening it at 4-all.That's when Gauff caught fire, though, reeling off seven straight games to build a 6-4, 5-0 lead, and after Swiatek held and got one of the breaks back to close to 5-2, Gauff broke her right back to seal the win.“I didn't let the opportunities that I had the first two times I had match point get away from me,” Gauff said about closing it out.“She played well—maybe there was one error on the backhand, but other than that she played the better tennis at the end. But I knew how I was playing the whole match that I would get it done.”That victory also kept Team USA in contention in the semifinal clash, after Hubert Hurkacz's earlier 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) victory over Taylor Fritz.It all came down to the mixed doubles, with Gauff coming back on court with Christian Harrison to face Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa.
That's when Gauff caught fire, though, reeling off seven straight games to build a 6-4, 5-0 lead, and after Swiatek held and got one of the breaks back to close to 5-2, Gauff broke her right back to seal the win.“I didn't let the opportunities that I had the first two times I had match point get away from me,” Gauff said about closing it out.“She played well—maybe there was one error on the backhand, but other than that she played the better tennis at the end. But I knew how I was playing the whole match that I would get it done.”That victory also kept Team USA in contention in the semifinal clash, after Hubert Hurkacz's earlier 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) victory over Taylor Fritz.It all came down to the mixed doubles, with Gauff coming back on court with Christian Harrison to face Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa.
“I didn't let the opportunities that I had the first two times I had match point get away from me,” Gauff said about closing it out.“She played well—maybe there was one error on the backhand, but other than that she played the better tennis at the end. But I knew how I was playing the whole match that I would get it done.”That victory also kept Team USA in contention in the semifinal clash, after Hubert Hurkacz's earlier 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) victory over Taylor Fritz.It all came down to the mixed doubles, with Gauff coming back on court with Christian Harrison to face Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa.
“She played well—maybe there was one error on the backhand, but other than that she played the better tennis at the end. But I knew how I was playing the whole match that I would get it done.”That victory also kept Team USA in contention in the semifinal clash, after Hubert Hurkacz's earlier 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) victory over Taylor Fritz.It all came down to the mixed doubles, with Gauff coming back on court with Christian Harrison to face Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa.
That victory also kept Team USA in contention in the semifinal clash, after Hubert Hurkacz's earlier 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) victory over Taylor Fritz.It all came down to the mixed doubles, with Gauff coming back on court with Christian Harrison to face Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa.
It all came down to the mixed doubles, with Gauff coming back on court with Christian Harrison to face Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa.
Poland advanced to their third straight United Cup final, avenging their 2025 championship loss to the United States. Despite Iga Swiatek's defeat to Coco Gauff, Hubert Hurkacz's win in men's singles as well Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski's heroics in mixed doubles sent the Polish through.
SYDNEY, Australia -- The United Cup has its second finalist, and Poland will return to the final for the third consecutive year after it avenged its 2025 final defeat to the United States with a 2-1 victory in Saturday's semifinal.
Poland, which got wins from Hubert Hurkacz in singles as well as Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski in mixed doubles, will face first-time finalist Switzerland. World No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who fell to Coco Gauff 4-6, 2-6, will have a chance to redeem herself against Belinda Bencic, while Hurkacz encounters Stan Wawrinka.
United Cup: Scores | Standings
Kawa and Zielinski were the heroes, knocking off the previously unbeaten American duo of Gauff and Christian Harrison. Kawa and Zielinski won their second straight deciding mixed doubles following a win over Australia in the quarterfinals Friday.
In the loss to Poland, Gauff earned her fourth straight victory over her rival Swiatek in their 16th overall meeting on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. That streak includes a 6-4, 6-4 win in last year's United Cup, as well as wins at Madrid and the 2024 WTA Finals.
"I thought I did everything well, served well, returned well" Gauff said to the WTA on her match vs. Swiatek. "I thought it was a great match for me. I was hoping to get through in the mixed but overall there's a lot of positives to take from today."
The two rivals traded a few holds initially as Gauff, who served first, took a 2-1 lead before notching the match's first strike. She broke Swiatek and backed it up with a hold, amassing to a 4-1 advantage, but the Pole swiftly found herself back in the set.
Swiatek won 12 consecutive points to win three straight games and level the set at 4-4. She had the momentum, but Gauff remained calm and composed for the remainder of the 43-minute first set. She held serve, and on the ensuing Swiatek service game, the American No. 1 needed just one set point to close it out.
That momentum carried its way into the second, where Gauff bolted out to a 5-0 lead -- Swiatek saved three match points to prevent the second set bagel to get two games back.
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In the second and fourth games, Gauff needed three and four break point chances, respectively, to secure the game as each went into a long deuce. In the fourth, Swiatek even had multiple game points of her own, but the final two points saw Swiatek's shots go long and wide, a common occurrence Saturday evening.
"I feel like Coco has improved stuff. It's quite visible. The matches we played couple years back where most of them were kind of one-sided," Swiatek said. "She's also growing in age, more experienced as well.
"She's a top player for many years now, even though she started with she was, like, 16, much earlier than most of us do. Yeah, congrats to her basically."
It wasn't the same Swiatek that defeated Maya Joint 6-1, 6-1 a day prior, but she'll have a chance to get her 16th overall singles win at the tournament against Bencic.
As for Hurkacz, the Pole continued his dream start to his comeback with a 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) win against Fritz.
"Obviously playing Taylor is such a big challenge and it's a very difficult match, especially this court, it's quite fast. He's serving very powerfully. Also, his forehand is really big, so if you leave anything short, he's going to come after it," Hurkacz told ATP No. 1 Club Jim Courier. "I felt like I played actually quite solid myself. I tried to be more aggressive."
Hurkacz has now beaten Alexander Zverev, Tallon Griekspoor and Fritz in Sydney, claiming all three of those victories in straight sets. Hurkacz saved the two break points he faced against Fritz, which doubled as set points at 4-5 in the opening set, to earn the lead for his country in one hour and 35 minutes.
"Coming back from such a long period the first time in my life, you never know what to expect," Hurkacz said. "I was putting so much work outside of the court so, I give myself time to get back to my level, to an even better level and maybe a little bit less expectations coming into this week helped as well.”
Fritz led Hurkacz 4-2 in their head-to-head series, including two previous wins at the United Cup. But the Pole and his booming serve proved too much for the American.
Poland advanced to their third straight United Cup final, avenging their 2025 championship loss to the United States. Despite Iga Swiatek's defeat to Coco Gauff, Hubert Hurkacz's win in men's singles as well Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski's heroics in mixed doubles sent the Polish through.
Wang Xinyu came from a set down and saved a match point to defeat Alexandra Eala in a three-set thriller to reach the Auckland final. There she'll be joined by Elina Svitolina, who grinded out a first-set battle against Iva Jovic before running away with a straight-sets win in Saturday's second semifinal.
It was a long Saturday night in Auckland, where the two semifinal matches stretched a combined 4 hours and 22 minutes and wrapped around 10:30 p.m. local time.
Auckland: Scores | Draws | Order of play
The night opened with a three-set rollercoaster between No. 4 seed Alexandra Eala and No. 7 seed Wang Xinyu. Wang came from a set down, saved a match point in the second set and ultimately prevailed 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in just under three hours.
“It was a crazy battle from the start to the end, for sure,” Wang said after the match. “She's an absolute fighter, and to be honest, I feel more pressure when I'm up 5-0 than when we were love-love. I'm just really happy that I got through this one today and through to my first ever final (here).”
The match swung wildly as both players chased a spot in just their second WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz final. Wang raced ahead 4-0 and then 5-1 in the opening set, only for Eala to reel off six straight games to steal it.
Wang again broke to start the second set and built a 2-0 lead. Down 3-2, Eala responded with three straight games for a 5-3 advantage. She held match point in that game, but a string of unforced errors opened the door for Wang, who swept the next four games to force a decider.
Wang carried that momentum into the third set, winning the first four games for a commanding lead. Eala clawed back to trim the deficit to 5-4, but Wang closed out the match with one final hold, securing victory thanks to timely shot making and help in the form of more untimely errors off Eala's racket.
Here are some numbers from Wang's semifinal win:
1: Match point saved by Wang. It came on Eala's serve at 7-5, 5-3, when Eala pushed a forehand long. Two more forehands sailed long later in the game, giving Wang a break point. Another unforced error by Eala handed Wang the break -- the first of four straight games she won to take the second set.
2: Second career final for Wang. Her lone previous final came on grass at the WTA 500 in Berlin last June, where she fell to Marketa Vondrousova in three sets. She entered Saturday's match with a 1-10 record in semifinals in her career.
10: Aces for Wang on Saturday. She has 23 for the tournament, the most of any player.
Outstanding battle 👏 #XinyuWang is into her first Auckland final after defeating Eala 5-7, 7-5, 6-4. #ASBClassic26 pic.twitter.com/lKx0mp5D01
34: Combined break points in the match. Eala earned more chances (19 to 15), but Wang converted at a higher rate (7-for-15 compared with Eala's 6-of-19).
95: Points played after Eala held her match point. Wang won 54 of them; Eala won 41.
The match that followed between No. 1 seed Elina Svitolina and No. 3 Iva Jovic was equally chaotic, at least in the opening set.
The 18-year-old American jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the 31-year-old Ukrainian rallied to claim the set in a tiebreak. The second set proved more straightforward: Svitolina dropped the opening game, then won six of the last seven en route for a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory in 1 hour and 34 minutes to reach the ASB Classic final and set up a meeting with Wang.
No stopping @ElinaSvitolina 😎Elina Svitolina defeats Jovic to secure her spot in the final 💥#ASBClassic26 pic.twitter.com/aiZ3fchSGu
In the process, she denied Jovic the chance to compete in her second WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz final but still took a moment to praise the teenager after the match.
“We practiced together before the tournament, so I knew what to expect from her,” Svitolina said in her on-court interview. “Even then, she's really surprised me with the way she's striking the ball and moving really well.
“Many, many more titles for her to come, definitely in the future.”
While many agree Jovic has a bright future, she has plenty of ground to make up before matching the résumé of the former WTA Finals champion. Svitolina will be seeking title No. 19 when she faces Wang on Sunday.
But first, here are some numbers pertaining to Svitolina's semifinal victory:
2: Second Auckland final for Svitolina, who last reached the final at the event in 2024, when she lost to Coco Gauff in three sets.
Sunday's final will also be her second meeting with Wang; she won their previous matchup in straight sets in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2024, dropping just three games.
3: Aces for Svitolina. The number may not jump off the page, but two of them came in the final game of the match.
4: Svitolina entered the tournament on a four-match losing streak. With wins over Varvara Gracheva, Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Jovic, she has flipped that into a four-match winning streak and will look to extend it to five on Sunday.
23: Career finals for Svitolina. She owns 18 titles in her previous 22 finals, a winning percentage of nearly 82%.
65: Percentage of first-serve points won by Svitolina, who outpaced Jovic by 10 percentage points. She had an even larger edge in second-serve points won (49% to 35%).
Wang Xinyu came from a set down and saved a match point to defeat Alexandra Eala in a three-set thriller to reach the Auckland final. There she'll be joined by Elina Svitolina, who grinded out a first-set battle against Iva Jovic before running away with a straight-sets win in Saturday's second semifinal.
Belinda Bencic kept her undefeated start to the season intact at the United Cup, delivering in both singles and mixed doubles to send Switzerland into its first final. Bencic outlasted Elise Mertens in singles and then teamed with Jakub Paul to clinch the mixed doubles against Belgium.
Switzerland advanced to its first United Cup final after Belinda Bencic delivered a pivotal performance in challenging conditions Saturday in Sydney against Belgium. Bencic improved to 8-0 at the tournament, with four singles victories and four wins alongside Jakub Paul in mixed doubles.
Bencic gave Switzerland the early lead by defeating Elise Mertens 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (0). She then teamed with Paul to clinch the tie in mixed doubles, holding off Mertens and Zizou Bergs 6-3, 0-6, [10-5] in their third deciding mixed-doubles match of the event.
United Cup: Scores | Standings
"He's so brave it's unbelievable,” Bencic said of Paul on court. "I tell him to go [for it] and he actually goes. It's crazy.
"The team spirit is amazing and it starts with the captain (Stan Wawrinka). He's supporting all throughout my match and then he goes out to play his own match and then he's back to support the doubles. It starts with him but then with all the energy from our bench it gives us such a spirit to win."
Switzerland will await the winner of the second semifinal tie between the United States and Poland, both finalists from the 2025 edition. Regardless, Bencic will have her first top 5 opponent, either against No. 2 Iga Swiatek or No. 4 Coco Gauff.
Bencic outlasted Mertens in 2 hours and 37 minutes to put Switzerland up 1-0 in the semifinalz. Mertens had beaten Bencic in their only previous meeting, back in 2021, but the 28-year-old Bencic came into the tilt in more impervious form, with a 6-0 record across Switzerland's first three ties.
While Mertens had back-to-back tough tussles against Victoria Mboko and Barbora Krejcikova after a straight-sets win over Zhu Lin, Bencic hadn't come close to losing a set against Leolia Jeanjean, Jasmine Paolini and Solana Sierra to lead Switzerland to the final four.
Bencic was two games away from an uncomplicated 6-3, 6-4 victory before Mertens pushed the match the distance. The Belgian denied her Swiss opponent two chances to knot the second set at 5-5 before breaking serve, claiming a set in which she previously saw a 3-1 lead erased.
Switzerland captain Stan Wawrinka wears a "Belinda's World" T-shirt on the bench during Bencic's match vs. Elise Mertens. Wawrinka received the shirt in Perth following a team trip to Kings Park. (Jimmie48/WTA)
That set the stage for a dramatic third set, in which Mertens came from 3-1 down, saved a pair of break points that would've given Bencic a 4-1 lead, and was two points away from the win with Bencic serving at 30-30, down 6-5.
But Bencic won the last nine points of the match following an in-the-moment decision to change her racquet to a freshly-strung one at that stage, wrapping up the victory.
"I think today was really overcoming myself. It was a bit weird. You're still in the same tournament, you play semifinal, but it feels like a first-round match again because it's a different site," Bencic said to reporters. "It's very special. It never happens normally in a normal tournament. I think it felt a little bit that way. I think I was just a little bit off maybe for the whole match with myself, with my thoughts.
"I'm really happy also some days like this where you are maybe more anxious on the court or more nervous, I felt at one point I had to let all my emotions out."
In men's singles, backing up his consecutive wins over World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 18 Jakub Mensik, Bergs rallied from 40-0 on Stan Wawrinka's serve at 4-3 in the third set to take the decisive break. The match had featured just six break points to that stage.
Wawrinka, the 40-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion in his 25th and final season, has played inspired tennis to kick off his farewell season, breaking serve just once across four matches has proved costly as he slipped to 1-3 in singles matches during the tournament.
"Stan played really well and I really had to battle it out today," said Bergs, who won 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3. "It was hard to control the ball on return and he served very good; it was very hard for me. To get rhythm is very tough. I'm just happy I found the solution."
Bergs erased the heartache of his last outing in the Davis Cup semifinals, when he let slip seven match points against Italian Flavio Cobolli while attempting to send the tie to a deciding doubles, but it would be the Swiss who emerged victorious.
Belinda Bencic kept her undefeated start to the season intact at the United Cup, delivering in both singles and mixed doubles to send Switzerland into its first final. Bencic outlasted Elise Mertens in singles and then teamed with Jakub Paul to clinch the mixed doubles against Belgium.
Marta Kostyuk defeated Jessica Pegula in straight sets to reach the Brisbane International final against Aryna Sabalenka. Kostyuk's victory marked her third consecutive win over a top-10 player and is eyeing her second title.
Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk delivered a masterclass to advance to the Brisbane International final, routing No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula and setting up a championship matchup with World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Kostyuk was sharp throughout, defeating Pegula -- ranked No. 6 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz -- 6-0, 6-3 in just under an hour. Earlier Saturday, Sabalenka booked her place in the final with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Karolina Muchova in the other semifinal.
Saturday's victory marked Kostyuk's third consecutive win over a top-10 ranked opponent. The Ukrainian defeated No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (7), 6-3 in the quarterfinals and No. 2 seed Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 16.
Firing on all cylinders 🙂↕️@marta_kostyuk | #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/XfbmwC1O4D
It was only Kostyuk's second win in six career meetings with Pegula. The American entered the match with a 4-1 lead in their head-to-head series, winning both of their encounters in 2025. Kostyuk's previous victory over Pegula came in San Diego in 2024.
The win was also Kostyuk's 12th career victory over a top-10 player and the second time she has beaten three top-10 opponents in the same tournament, having previously achieved the feat in Stuttgart in 2024.
In the first semifinal of the day, Sabalenka ended a three-match losing streak against Muchova. She had won their first meeting in Zhuhai in 2019 but lost their next three encounters, including a heartbreaking three-set defeat in the 2023 Roland Garros semifinals.
On Saturday, Sabalenka proved too strong, firing nine aces and saving all four break points she faced to advance to the final.
The final is calling ☎️@SabalenkaA | #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/USklCJuO9R
On Saturday, Sabalenka proved too strong, firing nine aces and saving all four break points she faced to advance to the final.
Sabalenka and Kostyuk have met four times previously, with Sabalenka winning all four matches in straight sets. Three of those encounters were played on clay, including two in 2025. Sabalenka is chasing her 22nd career singles title on Sunday, while Kostyuk will be aiming for her second (Austin 2023).
Marta Kostyuk defeated Jessica Pegula in straight sets to reach the Brisbane International final against Aryna Sabalenka. Kostyuk's victory marked her third consecutive win over a top-10 player and is eyeing her second title.
The world No. 1 advanced to the final in Brisbane for the third year in a row.ByAssociated PressPublished Jan 10, 2026 copy_link
Published Jan 10, 2026
© Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka has advanced to the Brisbane International final for the third year in a row after a 6-3, 6-4 win Saturday over Karolina Muchová.Sabalenka clinched the semifinal at Pat Rafter Arena on her fourth match point to advance to Sunday's final against the winner of a later semifinal between fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula and Marta Kostyuk.Read More: Aryna Sabalenka passes Madison Keys test to book Brisbane semifinal spotOn Friday, in a rematch of last year's Australian Open final, Sabalenka broke Madison Keys' in five straight service games on the way to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Last year at Melbourne Park, Keys beat Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam singles title.The Brisbane International is a tuneup event for this year's Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18.
Sabalenka clinched the semifinal at Pat Rafter Arena on her fourth match point to advance to Sunday's final against the winner of a later semifinal between fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula and Marta Kostyuk.Read More: Aryna Sabalenka passes Madison Keys test to book Brisbane semifinal spotOn Friday, in a rematch of last year's Australian Open final, Sabalenka broke Madison Keys' in five straight service games on the way to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Last year at Melbourne Park, Keys beat Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam singles title.The Brisbane International is a tuneup event for this year's Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18.
Read More: Aryna Sabalenka passes Madison Keys test to book Brisbane semifinal spotOn Friday, in a rematch of last year's Australian Open final, Sabalenka broke Madison Keys' in five straight service games on the way to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Last year at Melbourne Park, Keys beat Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam singles title.The Brisbane International is a tuneup event for this year's Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18.
On Friday, in a rematch of last year's Australian Open final, Sabalenka broke Madison Keys' in five straight service games on the way to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Last year at Melbourne Park, Keys beat Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam singles title.The Brisbane International is a tuneup event for this year's Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18.
The Brisbane International is a tuneup event for this year's Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18.
Read More: Aryna Sabalenka's Australian Open outfit is a stylish nod to Serena Williams and SharapovaAlthough three match points slipped away amid a late flurry of pressure from the Czech player, Sabalenka sealed victory when a Muchová shot sailed long.“I always try to stay in the present,” Sabalenka said. “I worked really hard and each match against her is just another opportunity to get the win and I'm super happy that today was the day when I was able to get the win. She is such a great player and I always enjoy battles against her.”With 32 winners and all four break points saved, Sabalenka will look to carry that momentum into her 13th WTA 500-level final on Sunday.In the men's tournament at Brisbane, top-seeded Daniil Medvedev will play Alex Michelsen of the United States in a later semifinal. Two Americans feature in the other semi, with Aleksandar Kovacevic playing Brandon Nakashima.
Although three match points slipped away amid a late flurry of pressure from the Czech player, Sabalenka sealed victory when a Muchová shot sailed long.“I always try to stay in the present,” Sabalenka said. “I worked really hard and each match against her is just another opportunity to get the win and I'm super happy that today was the day when I was able to get the win. She is such a great player and I always enjoy battles against her.”With 32 winners and all four break points saved, Sabalenka will look to carry that momentum into her 13th WTA 500-level final on Sunday.In the men's tournament at Brisbane, top-seeded Daniil Medvedev will play Alex Michelsen of the United States in a later semifinal. Two Americans feature in the other semi, with Aleksandar Kovacevic playing Brandon Nakashima.
“I always try to stay in the present,” Sabalenka said. “I worked really hard and each match against her is just another opportunity to get the win and I'm super happy that today was the day when I was able to get the win. She is such a great player and I always enjoy battles against her.”With 32 winners and all four break points saved, Sabalenka will look to carry that momentum into her 13th WTA 500-level final on Sunday.In the men's tournament at Brisbane, top-seeded Daniil Medvedev will play Alex Michelsen of the United States in a later semifinal. Two Americans feature in the other semi, with Aleksandar Kovacevic playing Brandon Nakashima.
With 32 winners and all four break points saved, Sabalenka will look to carry that momentum into her 13th WTA 500-level final on Sunday.In the men's tournament at Brisbane, top-seeded Daniil Medvedev will play Alex Michelsen of the United States in a later semifinal. Two Americans feature in the other semi, with Aleksandar Kovacevic playing Brandon Nakashima.
In the men's tournament at Brisbane, top-seeded Daniil Medvedev will play Alex Michelsen of the United States in a later semifinal. Two Americans feature in the other semi, with Aleksandar Kovacevic playing Brandon Nakashima.
A warrant has reportedly been issued in New Mexico for actor and director Timothy Busfield, with the thirtysomething and West Wing performer facing charges on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. The allegations, per People, stem from Busfield's time on Fox's now-canceled crime drama The Cleaning Lady, where he served as an executive producer and periodic episode director during its third and fourth seasons. The accusations have been levied by the family of two now-11-year-old boys, who told parents and mental health professionals that Busfield had touched them inappropriately when they were working on the series at the ages of 7 and 8.
The boys' mother reportedly filed a police report in October of 2025, telling Child Protective Services that “her children both disclosed that there was sexual abuse by Timothy from around November 2022 to Spring 2024.” Quotes from the warrant state that Busfield had befriended the family during his time as a producer and director on the show, including spending time with them outside of filming, and states that the parents apparently became worried after hearing allegations that the actor had been “handsy” on past sets. (Busfield was accused of sexual assault in 1994, by a 17-year-old extra he'd appeared with in Little Big League, eventually settling the suit.) When the parents asked the children if they'd ever been touched in a way that made them feel uncomfortable on the set of the show, they allegedly responded “You mean like Uncle Tim?” One of the children, who was diagnosed with moderate post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, eventually told a therapist that Busfield “had touched and rubbed his penis 3 or 4 times.” The police warrant alleges that Busfield “exploited the hectic film sets to tickle and touch [the child] on his penis and buttocks, masking it as play.”
The warrant also quotes police interviews with Busfield, who told investigators that Warner Bros. Television, producer on The Cleaning Lady, had launched a third-party investigation into the allegations. In the interviews, Busfield reportedly acknowledged that it was “highly likely” he had picked up or tickled the children on the set, in the interest of maintaining “a playful environment,” and that he had a relationship with the family outside of work. The warrant also states that Busfield told police that he had been told the family “wanted revenge” after the children's part on the series was re-cast.
Busfield, also known for roles in films like Field Of Dreams and as a regular on the TV directing circuit, has so far neither commented on the charges, or reportedly been detained. Warner Bros. Television has issued a statement in response to the news, saying, “The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action… [We] have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
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A resurfaced podcast interview with Rob Reiner's son, Nick, that was recorded in September 2016 sheds new light on what Nick's relationship with the famed director was really like. Nick is charged with the murders of his parents Rob and Michele Reiner, and currently being held at the Twin Towers jail in Los Angeles.
The 32-year-old, who has struggled with mental health and addiction issues since his teenage years, was an open book on Episode 45 of the addiction recovery-themed podcast “Dopey.” During the interview, he talked about the pressure of being involved with “Being Charlie,” the semi auto-biographical movie he co-wrote with his dad. It was released four months before Nick spoke on the podcast.
“The movie wasn't big, but I think the topic was big. It was just released in like a couple theaters,” he said.
When asked by the podcast host whether he liked the project, he admitted, “I feel like I didn't get to express how I truly felt in it.” He said he had one-third creative control “technically, but one-eighth realistically.”
The co-host pointed out, “In order to promote the movie, you kind of have to be sober. You kind of have to be a poster boy for recovery. And you didn't wanna be that.”
Nick replied, “I said to them, ‘I'm not in the position to do this. I'm not a quote-unquote sober guy. I'm gonna have to go onto these talk shows.' They said, ‘You've got to do it. They want the whole father-son angle.' I went out there and I realized, ‘Look, I have a voice to some degree. I'm gonna say what I've got to say while I'm here.'”
The host then told Nick, “I'm sure it put you in a really bad spot,” to which he replied, “It did. It was hard. It was uncomfortable. But I felt like it was part of the job. Part of what I had to do.”
When the “Dopey” host asked Nick if he would get high after his media appearances related to his and his father's film, he replied, “Yeah, I would. I'd smoke a joint on the roof of my apartment. I would not ever go onto these things coked up or anything like that. I'd try to be straight, and use the appearance as my motivation to be straight. Do as best I could on it, and then afterwards, enjoy a joint.”
Nick said he stayed away from harder substances during at the time, and hadn't done coke “in three to four years.”
Nick said his dad knew he was “getting stoned,” but didn't get angry about it. “He's a hippie,” Nick said, before praising his parents and saying, “They're very understanding.”
“TMZ Investigates: The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened” premiered tonight, January 9, at 8 p.m. on Fox. But if you missed it, don't worry. The special investigation will be available for streaming on Hulu starting tomorrow, Saturday, January 10.
TMZ announced the special would cover Nick's “mental breakdown” after having his psychiatric medications for schizoaffective disorder rapidly changed.
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By Armando Tinoco
Staff Writer
The Love Island: All Stars villa has been evacuated and production for the Season 3 series has been halted due to wildfires in South Africa.
ITV confirmed that the premiere of the series, originally set for Monday, January 12, will need to be postponed for the safety of the Islanders and crew.
“Further to a production evacuation owing to ongoing wildfires in the area, our assessment of the location site has concluded that filming will need to be postponed,” read the statement from the British broadcaster.
The statement continued, “Health and safety is our greatest priority and will always come first, and therefore the transmission of Love Island: All Stars will be delayed until a date to be confirmed.”
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Maya Jama is set to return as host of the new season that sees former Islanders return to the villa for another shot at love.
Love Island films close to air date as the show has an interactive component with viewers at home affecting what happens inside the villa. Filming was to commence this weekend. The delay in production will also affect the premiere on Peacock in the US, which was set for Wednesday, January 14.
The Islanders returning to the villa include Whitney Adebayo (Season 10), Millie Court (Season 7), Belle Hassan (Season 5), Helena Ford (Season 12), Jess Harding (Season 10), Leanne Amaning (Season 6), Ciaran Davies (Season 11), Jack Keating (Season 8), Sean Stone (Season 11), Tommy Bradley (Season 12), Charlie Frederick (Season 4), and Shaq Muhammad(Season 9).
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Nick Reiner's weight gain and change of meds for his schizophrenia treatment was reportedly the catalyst behind his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner's brutal murders.
Sources made the revelations surrounding Nick's 2020 diagnosis and subsequent struggles with his medication regimen in TMZ's new documentary, “The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened,” which aired on Friday.
In December, the outlet reported that Nick, 32, was diagnosed with schizophrenia — and in the weeks leading up to his parents' deaths, the meds he was taking allegedly made him “erratic and dangerous.”
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Multiple sources told the outlet that Nick was under the care of a psychiatrist for mental illness and that his behavior had gotten “alarming” in the month before the murders.
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Nick reportedly received care from a Los Angeles-based rehab facility in the weeks leading up to his parents' murders.
However, sources in the documentary told the outlet that Nick complained to his doctors about the weight gain he had experienced, which is a common side effect of the medication.
As a result of his complaint, his doctors changed his meds which led him to become “more erratic.”
Insiders added that Rob and Michele Reiner were aware of the troubling updates with their son, but were unsure of what to do.
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Doctors also allegedly decided not to place Nick on a temporary psych hold to stabilize him during this time, the sources continued.
Nick's attorney, public defender Kimberly Greene, did not immediately respond to Page Six's request for comment.
Rob and Michele were found fatally stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home on Dec. 14, 2025, after having been involved in a heated argument with Nick the night before. Rob was 78 and Michele was 70.
The young filmmaker, who has had a notoriously rocky relationship with his parents and publicly struggled with drug addiction for years, was arrested hours after his parents' bodies were discovered. He is currently facing two counts of first degree murder in the stabbing death of his parents.
After changing out his representation from famed attorney Alan Jackson to Greene, it was reported that Nick doesn't understand why he's in jail.
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Sources claim Nick believes those who put him behind bars are engaged in a “conspiracy” against him. While he is aware of his alleged crime, the insiders added that he's experiencing a break from reality.
In light of his representation updates, his arraignment date was pushed back once again during his Jan. 7 appearance in court.
"The officer was in fear of his own life," the department insisted in a statement to Billboard.
By
Hannah Dailey
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is hitting back at Billie Eilish after the singer reshared a series of posts on her Instagram Story calling ICE a “terrorist group” in light of the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis earlier this week.
In a statement shared with Billboard late Friday night (Jan. 9), DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin began, “Clearly, Billie Eilish has not seen the newly released footage, which corroborates what DHS has stated all along — that this individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement.”
Sharing a link to a video on X of the Jan. 7 shooting — seemingly taken by the officer who pulled the trigger, later identified as Jonathan Ross — McLaughlin said that Ross had been “in fear of his own life [and] the lives of his fellow officers and acted in self-defense,” adding, “The American people can watch this video with their own eyes and ears and judge for themselves.”
The assistant secretary's statement aligns with previous remarks from the DHS, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who have all insisted that Ross was simply defending himself when he shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in her car during an ICE operation in Minnesota. Seconds before her death, Good had tried to drive away from the confrontation — as seen in the footage from the day — but the DHS has claimed that she'd been attempting to “run over” the officer with her vehicle.
In her statement to Billboard, McLaughlin went on to share a defense of ICE's protocols and cited an internal investigation into the alleged “increase in vehicle rammings” against immigration enforcement officers, which the DHS published one day after Ross shot Good.
“ICE does not separate families,” she said. “Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administrations' immigration enforcement. It's garbage rhetoric from the likes of Billie Eilish that is leading to a 1,300% increase in assaults and 3,200% increase in vehicle rammings against our brave law enforcement.”
Billboard has reached out to Eilish's reps for comment.
Though the singer herself did not comment on what happened in Minneapolis prior to McLaughlin's response, Eilish did share a number of posts from other creators onto her Story on Friday. One of them called ICE a “federally funded and supported terrorist group” that is “tearing apart families, terrorizing citizens, and now murdering innocent people” under the Trump administration.
Another post Eilish reshared on her Story called on the U.S. to “abolish ICE,” while a third post encouraged people to contact their representatives in Congress to demand that Ross be arrested and charged for killing Good.
The nine-time Grammy winner is far from the only person who was horrified by the footage of Good's death. Backlash to ICE's ongoing crackdown on immigrant communities has reached a fever pitch in the days since it was shared, though the agency's actions have repeatedly come under fire throughout Trump's first year back in office. Previously, artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator and more slammed the various raids that have taken place across the country.
In the aftermath of Good's death, countless Minneapolis residents have rallied together to grieve her loss and protest ICE's presence in their city. The city's mayor, Jacob Frey, also demanded that the enforcement officers “get the f—k out of Minneapolis” during a press conference on Jan. 8, adding, “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.”
And during a press meeting in the Oval Office the day prior, even Trump seemingly struggled to justify what happened after watching a video of the shooting in front of reporters, according to The New York Times. “Well … I — the way I look at it …,” the POTUS reportedly said after playback. “I think it's horrible to watch. No, I hate to see it.”
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The Jan. 17 event will feature Lainey Wilson, Vince Gill, Rhonda Vincent and others.
By
Mitchell Peters
Dolly Parton has revealed that she will not attend her 80th birthday celebration at the Grand Ole Opry.
The 79-year-old country music icon, who turns 80 on Jan. 19, shared the news in a video message posted to the Opry's Instagram page on Thursday (Jan. 8). In the clip, Parton explained that she will unfortunately miss the Nashville venue's birthday show, scheduled for Jan. 17.
“Well, hey there Grand Ole Opry family,” Parton said. “I just wanted to say how much it means to me that you're all coming together again this year to celebrate my big ol' birthday with some of my songs.”
She continued, “Some of my favorite memories happened right here onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, and I wish I could be there in person, but I'll be sending you all my love for sure. So you have the best night ever.”
The Jan. 17 event, titled “Opry Goes Dolly,” will celebrate the “9 to 5” singer's 1980s era and feature appearances by Opry members Lainey Wilson, Vince Gill, Rhonda Vincent and songwriter Trannie Anderson, with more performers to be announced.
“While Dolly is unable to attend in person, we're looking forward to honoring her through song and fun all day long,” the Opry wrote in the comments section of the post. The venue added that the event will include birthday cupcakes, a “larger-than-life” birthday card for fans to sign, photo opportunities with a Dolly impersonator, “Dolly-themed” drinks, and other tributes.
Parton's announcement comes several months after the “Jolene” hitmaker postponed her Las Vegas concert residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace due to undisclosed medical procedures. The residency, originally set to start in December, is now scheduled to begin in 2026.
The following month, she addressed her health publicly after rumors about her condition began circulating online.
“I don't think God is through with me and I ain't done workin',” the Country Music Hall of Famer said in a video on Oct. 8. “I wanted you to know that I'm not dying.” She added, “There's just a lot of rumors flyin' around and I figured if you heard it from me, you'd know that I was OK.”
See Parton's Opry announcement on Instagram below.
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Kristen Stewart doesn't love the logline to her new movie, “The Chronology of Water,” based on Lidia Yuknavitch's acclaimed memoir: “After an abusive childhood, restless Lidia escapes into competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before finding her voice through writing.”
To Stewart, the summary feels trite. It was never the plot details that drove the actress-turned-filmmaker to spend the better part of a decade adapting Yuknavitch's prose into her feature directorial debut. It was the book's unique form — capturing the reconstruction of a fractured life – that was cinematically inspiring.
“The book is just a big, huge permission slip, the keys to the castle to your own volition,” said Stewart while a guest on this week's episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “And so the movie needed to be unwieldy, or else it would've been like [in a mockingly preachy voice], ‘You should trust yourself.' It would've been an embarrassing self-help movie.'”
One of the things Stewart loved about the way Yuknavitch pieced together the memories of her life was that there was no present tense, allowing for a bold use of editing, as the juxtaposition of Lidia's memories flows like water. It's not an approach that translates to a traditional script, especially one that gets greenlit, even if you are Kristen Stewart. To which Stewart offered this piece of advice, “Don't take notes.” If she had, she “would've never made this movie.”
“I was dissuaded for many, many a year,” said Stewart. “I was convinced that the form of the novel was what was inspiring and not the detailed plot. It feels like a life flashing before your eyes, and it's really difficult to write that down, because the emotional connective tissue, it has to feel so ephemerally connected that it must be discovered.”
That discovery process was one Stewart worked on for eight years, writing 500 drafts of the screenplay – a number she insists is not hyperbole — to unlock how she would capture that emotional connective tissue.
“If you remember [when] you're seven, there are shockingly striking images and feelings that can rush back into your body as if they are present as hell,” said Stewart. “ And so, I am my 7-year-old self right now. I am every person I've ever been, if you let yourself drift into the waters of your physicalized memory, and that's hard to do sometimes – we live in a world that's so exterior, where we're concern about how we present ourselves.”
The film is an exercise in tapping into the emotional memory we store in our bodies, and sound became Stewart's most valuable tool for unlocking it. Stewart referred to the sound design, led by supervising sound editor Brent Kiser, as being akin to a “skipping record,” as the film's sonic landscape fluctuates to follow Lidia's backwards-and-forwards journey between self-soothing, self-assurance, self-hatred, and self-laceration.
“Your body emotionally connects,” said Stewart. “And so it just feels like the movie is your memory as it starts to progress, and the sound becomes more complicated.”
It is an unconventional use of sound. While there is some traditional voice-over in the film, the recordings and vocal performances (some more vocalization than voice-over) of Poots vary widely, often within the same scene, and in a way, Stewart said most sound professionals walked away from, as she struggled to find the right post-production collaborators.
“It's the eternal echo of the voices that oppress… until she finds a little bit of light at the end when she learns how to love herself,” said Stewart. “ I wanted anyone watching this movie to be able to have the whole ride with their eyes closed. It's like a haunted house, the whole movie's like an intrusive thought.”
Talking about sound is not some nerdy technical thing for Stewart, but rather how she excavated the film's ideas and emotions. She gets so excited talking about sound, she gets excited about making more films.
“I think female voiceover is [something] we are just really lacking, an externalized female perspective. I can't wait to make another movie. I can't wait to do the female ‘Taxi Driver' where we just get like a real solid slew of inner perspective that never stops.”
To hear Kristen Stewart's full interview, subscribe to the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.
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By
Daniel Kreps
Timothy Busfield has been accused of child sex abuse according to an arrest warrant issued against The West Wing actor.
Busfield will face two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse after a New Mexico judge signed off on the arrest warrant. The incidents allegedly occurred on the set of the now-canceled Fox series The Cleaning Lady, where Busfield served as executive producer and director.
According to the arrest warrant, obtained by KOAT, the investigation into Busfield began in November 2024, when staff at the University of New Mexico Hospital expressed concern that two child actors in The Cleaning Lady were possibly groomed by Busfield, who the children referred to as “Uncle Tim.” The incidents allegedly occurred when the children, identified only by their initials in the arrest warrant, were 7 and 8 years old.
While the children did not disclose any sexual contact in their initial discussions with hospital staff — only unwanted tickling — subsequent interviews with a social worker reportedly revealed that Busfield inappropriately touched the children's private areas over their clothing, the arrest warrant states.
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The initial investigation by Albuquerque police did not meet the department's acceptance criteria at the time, and a subsequent investigation by Warner Bros., which produced The Cleaning Lady, could not corroborate the allegations.
However, the mother of the two children filed a police report in October 2025, told Child Protective Services that “her children both disclosed that there was sexual abuse by Timothy from around November 2022 to Spring 2024.” One of the children told the therapist that he was “having nightmares about the director touching him and waking up scared” and claimed Busfield “had touched and rubbed his penis 3 or 4 times and appeared to be ashamed.” The child was diagnosed with moderate post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.
Busfield was later interviewed by investigators, and told them the accusations were “revenge” for The Cleaning Lady replacing the child actors in the series. “There would never be a weird moment about it. I don't really remember picking those boys up,” Busfield told investigators, per the warrant. “I remember picking up the boy who followed them. I'd pick him up, and he'd be giggling, and that would sort of get him ready to act.”
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Officer Marvin Kirk Brown, who issued the arrest warrant, wrote, “In my training and experience, pedophiles often infiltrate families under a trusted role, like Timothy, who, as a producer, exploited the hectic film sets to tickle and touch SL on his penis and buttocks, masking it as play.”
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Brown continued, “He would invite the family to off-set gatherings, with his wife buying Christmas gifts to foster closeness, making SL feel special and dependent— classic grooming to erode boundaries, isolate the victim, and silence suspicions by blending abuse into normalcy.”
Busfield has appeared in films like Revenge of the Nerds, Field of Dreams, and Little Big League, and won an Emmy for his role on the drama series Thirtysomething. In 1994, Busfield was accused in a lawsuit of sexual assault by a 17-year-old female extra on the set of Little Big League; the lawsuit was later settled.
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By Jake Kanter
International Investigations Editor
EXCLUSIVE: Buzz about the next James Bond has always existed in its own reality. Everyone's got an opinion about who should play the super spy, and — even if those views do not align with the tiny pool of tastemakers overseeing the franchise — they are whipped up by bookmakers, agents, the press, and very often the actors themselves. And why not? It's flattering to be thought of as 007.
But not all Bond rumors are created equally. And at least one rumor, which successfully entered the bloodstream of the media last year, was the result of a fairly elaborate hoax, later legitimized by the actor in question. This is the inside story of that hoax, which serves as a cautionary tale about the efforts some will go to deceive journalists and how AI is supercharging the ability to spread disinformation. Ultimately, the hoax proves an old reporting maxim: If a story is too good to be true, it often is.
It started with an email. Like many reporters, I have an encrypted email account, through which I encourage sources to send me sensitive information that could ultimately lead to a story. In August 2025, a person identifying himself as Michael Lawrence sent me an eye-catching message, in which they claimed to have evidence showing that an unknown British actor was being seriously considered as the successor to Daniel Craig.
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The actor in question was Scott Rose-Marsh, a red-headed 37-year-old whose most significant screen credit was in Yr Amgueddfa (The Museum), a Welsh-language series that last screened in 2023. “I am providing one redacted casting email (of two in my possession) that proves actor Scott Rose-Marsh has been seen by the Bond producers and is being actively considered for the role of James Bond,” the message read.
Attached was a heavily redacted screenshot of a macOS Mail account, claiming to show a casting brief for a role named “Bond/Cavalier” in a film code-named “Project Knight.” The email was purportedly sent on June 24, 2025, days before Denis Villeneuve was confirmed by Amazon MGM Studios as Bond 26's director, and months before Peaky Blinders scribe Steven Knight was officially installed as the movie's writer.
Send me an email like this, and you have my attention. But something was a little off about the message. There were inconsistencies and a peculiar focus on horsemanship, which is not something naturally associated with Bond. The email is structured in a way that resembles how AI spits out information, with subheads, bullet points, and robotic language. Indeed, when run through two artificial intelligence detector tools — which are unreliable but can provide circumstantial evidence — both indicated a high probability that the email was written using ChatGPT or similar.
Was “Michael” real or an AI-prompted illusion? I pressed him for more information, but the tipster declined to declare his identity, his connection to Rose-Marsh, or how he came into possession of confidential material. Nevertheless, Michael shared two scripts, which he claimed were read by Rose-Marsh during an audition. One was a scene from GoldenEye, the other was purportedly a scene from Knight's Bond script. Michael made repeated requests that the material not be shared or published.
The Knight script was an extraordinary claim. Such material is not freely disseminated digitally and is usually subject to strict non-disclosure agreements. The script was heavily redacted, which served to heighten its mystique and cement the impression it was being shared illicitly. It did, however, contain the somewhat ironic direction: “James Bond leaves the office in which he just found a conclusive piece of evidence.”
The script was not a conclusive piece of evidence (it was, as I would later discover, a fake), but it was enough for us to make further inquiries in an attempt to corroborate the claims. As it turned out, Hollywood sources scoffed at the tipster, indicating what my colleague Baz Bamigboye later reported: that casting for Bond would not begin in earnest until Villeneuve had completed Dune: Part Three. In other words, the Rose-Marsh audition timeline did not fit.
When you balance the words of trusted confidantes with a faceless tipster, the former should always prevail. We decided against publication on this basis, but there were other red flags, not least a failed attempt to get Michael on the phone (he wrongly claimed my Signal account was not registered). Michael also said he was speaking to other journalists, a tactic presumably designed to increase the pressure on me to beat the competition and publish.
I thought little more of the tip-off until a week later, when The Hollywood Reporter published a gossip column suggesting that Rose-Marsh tested for Bond, reading sides from GoldenEye and potential material from Knight. Citing a “well-placed source close to the production,” the report did offer a note of skepticism about Rose-Marsh's ginger hair, but ultimately sparked a flurry of follow-up stories, firmly connecting the actor with the role of a lifetime.
Amazon MGM Studios did not knock the story down (as is tradition with Bond casting rumors), and then — perhaps the most telling intervention — Rose-Marsh capitalized on the interest by granting an interview to Australian publication Man of Many, under the headline: “Meet Scott Rose-Marsh, the man who might be James Bond.” Asked if he had auditioned for Bond, the actor cryptically replied: “I can't confirm or deny.” He added: “Whether it was to be me or anybody else, I would support whoever it is.”
Over Christmas, the Bond rumors kept coming — and Rose-Marsh continued to be mentioned. Reports about Callum Turner being the frontrunner featured references to Rose-Marsh, while GQ named him among the contenders in a listicle. Bookmakers are taking bets on Rose-Marsh being Bond, with comparison website Oddschecker putting his chances at 33-1 (incidentally, there have been many reports about Rose-Marsh based on betting odds, a couple of which pre-dated efforts to plant the audition story).
So at the turn of the year, I decided to do some further digging on the story. A well-placed person eventually confirmed that the Knight “script” was a fabrication. What's more, Rose-Marsh never tested for Bond.
When I confronted Rose-Marsh, the actor said the speculation “may have arisen from a previous ‘Bond-related' audition,” but he declined to provide more information because of an NDA. Rose-Marsh did not directly answer questions about whether he was aware of the hoax or if he knew the identity of Michael Lawrence.
“I do not agree with or condone hoaxers,” he said, adding: “I don't comment on rumors, but since being in the public eye, it's humbling that people think a rising actor like me could really be James Bond — and, of course, being Bond has been the dream of many actors.”
Gregg Millard, Rose-Marsh's agent, advised his client against the Man of Many interview, telling him it would be naive. Millard said he was baffled at the level of “unfounded speculation” and that the story was not killed by Bond producers. “I know nothing about any suggested hoax,” he added.
When confronted with our evidence over email on Thursday, Michael Lawrence did not reply. Amazon MGM Studios declined to comment.
We may well find out the true identity of the next James Bond later this year. It will be a thrilling moment, injecting fresh life into one of cinema's most iconic franchises. But until that time, the Rose-Marsh hoax is a reminder not to be left shaken or stirred by rumors about 007.
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He ain't in the frame.
Likely a hoax but the writer gave more air to it and more publicity to Rose-Marsh.
Actual journalism. How refreshing.
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Yungblud's arrival in Australia ahead of the kickoff of his IDOLS World Tour has been anything but low-key.
By
Jessica Lynch
Yungblud's arrival in Australia ahead of the kickoff of his IDOLS World Tour has been anything but low-key.
The British rocker touched down in Sydney earlier this week and quickly drew massive fan attention after attending a pop-up photo gallery exhibition in Newtown, where crowds reportedly became so large that police were called to manage the situation.
The event, titled Yungblud: IDOLS, featured photography by British photographer Tom Pallant and showcased images from previous legs of the singer's ongoing tour.
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Yungblud — born Dominic Harrison — had encouraged fans to attend the gallery via social media, telling them he would be there in person. Hundreds reportedly queued for hours to catch a glimpse of the artist, with some lining up from early morning.
Though no major incidents were reported, the turnout was large enough that authorities asked the event to wrap earlier than planned.
“Yo guys, I love you so much, thank you for coming out,” Yungblud said in a voice memo shared to fans afterward. “That got a bit f—ing hectic, didn't it? The cops said we had to move on because it was just getting mad.”
The exhibition is scheduled to run through Jan. 11, with fans lining up as early as 6:30 a.m. on opening day, according to the gallery.
The day prior, Yungblud kicked off his Australian arrival with a bang—quite literally stripping down to nothing on a Sydney Harbour yacht alongside socialite Dina Broadhurst.
The back-to-back viral moments have only amplified attention around Yungblud's return to Australia, where he is set to launch the local leg of his IDOLS World Tour on Saturday (Jan. 10) at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena.
The Australian dates come after a turbulent end to 2025, when he was forced to cancel several shows following medical advice related to vocal and blood tests.
“It is in my nature to run and run until I run myself to the ground,” he said in a statement shared in November. “But this time I've been told I have to take it seriously.”
The Australian leg of the IDOLS World Tour was later confirmed to proceed as scheduled, with multiple dates selling out quickly.
The tour supports Yungblud's fourth studio album, IDOLS, released in June 2025. Yungblud's tour down under is in support of Idols, his fourth studio album which dropped in at No. 4 on the ARIA Chart last June. That effort marked his third top 10 chart appearance in these parts, after Weird! reached No. 6 in 2020, and his self-titled collection logged one week at No. 1 in 2022. Last November, the pop-punk artist released One More Time, a collaborative EP with Aerosmith.
In the months following its release, Yungblud also received multiple Grammy nominations, including Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.
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As long as we've known about him, we've heard that Robin Hood's thing is that he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. This sounds like a net positive. But The Death Of Robin Hood, the upcoming film from A24 which released its first trailer today, has a different take on the legend. “People speak of Robin Hood, tell his stories… they're all lies,” we hear early in the clip. Of course, it's Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) himself telling us these things, so perhaps he has an ulterior motive.
“Grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, Robin Hood finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last,” reads an official synopsis for the film. “In the hands of a mysterious woman, he is offered a chance at salvation.” From the looks of it, at least some of this salvation will come from Robin's relationship with a little girl whom he teaches to use a bow and arrow. This leaves him conflicted, given his new distaste for murder and pillaging, so he later promises to keep her safe.
The Death Of Robin Hood comes from A Quiet Place: Day One and Pig director and screenwriter Michael Sarnoski. Jackman stars alongside Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett, and Noah Jupe. The film is slated for a 2026 release, though there's no firm theatrical release date as of this writing.
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It's not new to note that the fortunes of America's movie theaters rest, pretty precariously, on a thick, greasy cloud of popcorn, soda, and nacho cheese dip; as the U.S. box office has seemingly plateaued in its recovery from the COVID-19 shutdowns over the last few years, theaters have had to lean more and more heavily on concessions in order to make ends meet. Even with that understanding, though, we'll admit to a bit of shock at a planned promotion that theater chain Cinemark is rolling out for this year's “National Popcorn Day,” set by the food advertising minds that cook this kind of thing up for January 18 and 19. The company's marketing has its own language for it, but if it's all the same to you, we're going to just go ahead and keep thinking of the promotion like this: Welcome, one and, all, to the “Fuck it, bring your own goddamn bucket” plan!
As noted by THR, this is the second consecutive year that Cinemark has run the FIBYOGBP, in which consumers—and the word has rarely felt more apt—are invited, for that 48-hour period, to bring in any container they like, up to 400 fluid ounces, and get it filled with popcorn for just five bucks. The twist this year (and it's a powerful one, to our mind) is that the chain has now gone one step further and struck a promotional deal with hardware company Lowe's: If you show up with a 5 gallon bucket that you bought at Lowe's, that can also be filled, netting you an extra 250 ounces of indigestion, kernels-in-teeth, and the looming specter of heart disease. The THR piece employs the phrase “Food-grade bucket liners will be available upon request,” which is the kind of thing that's going to haunt us almost as much as 5 full gallons of popcorn are bound to haunt our large intestines in the months and years to come.
Meanwhile, it's also noted that non-bucket-owners—i.e., chumps—will still be able to buy a 200-ounce “XL” popcorn for the same price, if your FIBYOGBP FOMO isn't too intense at the thought of leaving all that hot, slick salted corn on the table. Oh, and the promotion doesn't require a ticket purchase, so no reason to stay put: Wander America's decaying malls and crumbling streets with your big ol' paint bucket of popcorn clutched in your greasy mitts, fending off birds and raccoons as you go! It's National Popcorn Day, baby! Food-grade bucket liners are available on request!
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The post arrives days after a protester was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis.
By
Jessica Lynch
Neil Young has published a strongly worded new editorial criticizing Donald Trump, using his official Neil Young Archives website to address recent political unrest and reiterate his long-running opposition to the former president.
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In the editorial, titled “It's ICE Cold Here in America,” Young urges readers to “wake up” and describes what he sees as a deteriorating political and social climate under Trump's leadership.
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The post arrives days after a protester was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis, an incident that sparked demonstrations in multiple U.S. cities.
“Today the USA is a disaster,” Young wrote in the post, which was published earlier this month.
“Donald Trump is destroying America bit by bit with his staff of wannabes…He has divided us.”
Young goes on to accuse Trump of fostering instability and using fear as a political tool, warning against what he characterizes as the militarization of American cities. “Make America Great Again,” Young wrote. “It won't be easy while he is trying to turn our cities into battlegrounds so he can cancel our elections with marshal law and escape all accountability.”
The musician also calls for collective action, urging Americans to respond through nonviolent protest. “Something has to change this,” Young continued.
“We know what to do. Rise up. Peacefully in millions. Too many innocent people are dying.”
In the closing portion of the editorial, Young directs his sharpest language toward ICE, writing, “It's ICE cold here in America.”
He criticizes what he views as expanded enforcement tactics under Trump, adding, “Every move he makes is to build instability so he can stay in power.” Young concludes by encouraging readers to act from compassion rather than fear, emphasizing “love of life” and “love of one another.”
The post is the latest in a series of public rebukes Young has aimed at Trump over the years. Despite Trump's past praise of Young's music — the former president told Rolling Stone in 2008 that Young's voice was “perfect and haunting” — the artist has consistently objected to Trump's political views and use of his songs.
Young's criticism has also extended into his music.
Last summer, he released the protest song “Big Crime,” which directly references Trump and political leadership in Washington, D.C. The track includes the lyric, “There's big crime in DC at the White House,” and was later covered by Yo La Tengo.
In addition to the political commentary, Young has continued to keep fans updated on his archival projects, including progress on the upcoming fourth installment of his Archive Series box sets, which compile unreleased recordings and historical material from across his career.
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By Dominic Patten
Executive Editor, Legal, Labor & Politics
A 10-year-old New Mexico boy says Timothy Busfield “touched his ‘poop' and ‘pee' area” during production on The Cleaning Lady, an Albuquerque District Attorney-approved arrest warrant issued Friday says.
“In my training and experience, pedophiles often infiltrate families under a trusted role, like Timothy, who, as a producer, exploited the hectic film sets to tickle and touch SL on his penis and buttocks, masking it as play,” the warrant from Albuquerque Police Officer Marvin Brown asserts. “He would invite the family to off-set gatherings, with his wife buying Christmas gifts to foster closeness, making SL feel special and dependent—classic grooming to erode boundaries, isolate the victim, and silence suspicions by blending abuse into normalcy.”
Filled with accounts from two brothers of their alleged repeated experiences with the Thirtysomething alum, who was a director on the now shuttered Élodie Yung-led Fox drama from Warner Bros TV, the document charges Busfield with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and child abuse. It is unclear at this point if the Emmy winner has been arrested and booked.
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If found guilty, Busfield could face a minimum of three years behind bars.
In fact, the 68-year-old, who was accused but never charged in two previous sexual assault allegations in 1994 and 2012, could be looking at a lot longer sentence. Under New Mexico statutes, prison time in sex crimes against minors leans heavily on context and circumstances in the degrees of punishment they hand out. That time and felony class can go up substantially if the crime involves children under 13 years of age — as it allegedly does here.
Named as “SL” and “VL” in the warrant, the two 2014-born boys appeared on The Cleaning Lady over multiple seasons before being let go for having aged out of the role, I hear. However, in a November 3, 2025 phone interview with Busfield in the warrant, The West Wing actor told Brown, the investigating officer, that he “the lead actress, Elodie Young” informed him over a year ago that “the mother of SL and VL (sic) that she wanted revenge, and I'm going to get my revenge on Tim Busfield for not bringing her kids back for the final season.”
In interviews conducted with SL and VL on Halloween last year by a “forensic child interviewer,” and observed by Brown, the arrest warrant says SL told them the alleged abuse by Busfield began when he was 7 years old and on The Cleaning Lady.
“SL said that Tim touched him three to four times on his ‘poop' and ‘pee' area over his clothing,” the 12-page arrest warrant states of what is cited as a second incident with Busfield, similar to a previous incident. “SL said he was very afraid of Tim and was relieved when he was off set. SL said he was afraid to tell anyone because Tim was the director, and he feared Tim would get mad at him. SL did advise that Tim touched him while he was only on set filming in Albuquerque.”
SL now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, the warrant says. SL disclosed having nightmares about the director touching him and waking up scared,” the document adds.
It goes on: “VL explained that Mr. Tim started touching them for the first two years, and he did not want to say anything, because he did not want to be mean to him. Therefore, VL did not say anything. VL said Mr. Tim would start touching him with his hands about his body while they were filming in the ‘house'. VL advised that it was about his body, but did not disclose that he was touched on his buttocks or penis area. VL said he did not like being touched, but did not say anything because he did not want to get in trouble.”
The matter first came to the cops' attention in late 2024 when a doctor from University of New Mexico Hospital contacted the Albuquerque Police Department in regards to a “sexual abuse investigation.”
Noting that the boys' father had been advised to go to the hospital by a local law firm, today's warrant details: “Officer Osborn talked with both VL and SL, who did not disclose any sexual contact at this time. However, both boys advised that Timothy Busfield, whom they referred to as ‘Uncle Tim', would tickle them on the stomach and legs. Neither boy cared for the tickling. Officer Osborn contacted Detective Michael Brown with the Crimes Against Children Unit and determined that the case did not meet their acceptance criteria at this time.”
The matter came back to the police's attention and became a greater priority after the boys' mother “advised that on 09/02/2025, SL reported to his counselor that Timothy Busfield touched his penis and bottom.”
In that same telephone conversation with Busfield in the weeks before Thanksgiving last year, the NYC-based filmmaker also dropped to Officer Brown that producer Warner Bros TV had conducted its own probe into allegations against him after SAG-AFTRA received an anonymous complaint in early 2025 of an incident on The Cleaning Lady set from December 2024. After writing up a search warrant for WB (which today's warrant seems to mistakenly say occurred on “10/03/2025”) and several correspondences with WB attorney Richard Wessling at law firm Proskauer, Brown on New Year's Eve got his hands on the March 31, 2025 external report put together by the Los Angeles office of Solomon Law.
Specifically the report, which saw Busfield suspended during the probe, looked into claims from the hotline caller that there was evidence of Busfield “tickling and caressing the head and body of minor boys” while working on the Albuquerque-filmed Cleaning Lady. Upon his own reading of the document, Brown says in Friday's warrant that Solomon investigator “Christina McGovern was not able to talk with anyone who would support evidence that Timothy Busfield engaged in this behavior.”
Working from what now seems to be limited accusations, the WBTV investigation viewed Busfield as “exonerated,” sources tell me.
In a statement to Deadline tonight, the Channing Dungey-led WBTV said: “The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. We are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
As well as speaking to the boys' mother and father (who seem to have instigated and then ceased a civil suit on the matter), plus some Cleaning Lady production assistants and make-up and hair department staffers, today's warrant also details a brief back-and-forth between Brown and the series star Yung, who was also a producer.
“On 11/5/2025, I contacted Elodie Yung to set up an interview. Elodie agreed to meet with me at the Northwest Substation on 11/7/2025,” Brown notes in a fairly comprehensive affidavit that Albuquerque Assistant DA Savannah Brandenburg-Koch signed off on today. “I did initially advise Elodie that Tim Busfield gave me her name and said that she may have information about this case. On 11/06/2025, Elodie left me a voicemail declining to speak with me and said that she does not want to be involved with the investigation and that she would not have any information that could assist in this case.”
Busfield's agents at Innovative Artists did not respond late Friday to Deadline's request for comment on the arrest warrant and the charges against their client.
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Maybe innocent before found guilty?
This one sounds bogus… but so much for due process.
If found guilty, sentence him to 30-something years.
Not good!
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By
Charisma Madarang
Mickey Rourke surrendered a shotgun to authorities this week, according to NBC4 Investigates. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said deputies responded to a call Wednesday from one of the actor's team members, who said he wanted to turn in the firearm.
The agency said deputies spoke to Rourke and that the actor told them he would be leaving the area and no longer wanted the firearm, which was legally registered to him, and that it would be held by authorities for safekeeping, per the outlet. NBC4 added that the gun will be destroyed if Rourke does not retrieve it after a year.
A representative for Rourke did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news arrives amid a fundraising fiasco involving Rourke and his manager. Back in December, The Wrestler actor was sued by his landlord, who alleged that Rourke owed nearly $60,000 in rent on his bungalow just south of West Hollywood. After the actor found himself facing eviction, Kimberly Hines, who's been Rourke's manager for over a decade, and her assistant launched a GoFundMe.
Despite more than $90,000 being raised, Rourke shared an Instagram video on Jan. 5 stating that he was not involved with the fundraiser and said, “If I needed money, I wouldn't ask for no fucking charity,” adding, “I'd rather stick a gun up my ass and pull the trigger. So whoever did this, I don't know if they did it — why they did it.”
Hines later told The Hollywood Reporter that the GoFundMe was not a “grift” and said that the actor was aware of who was behind the effort, while also acknowledging that it was possible Rourke didn't fully understand what a GoFundMe was when she presented the idea to him.
The manger also shared insight into Rourke's housing situation and said a year-and-a-half ago the residence he had been staying at was purchased by Eric Goldie, who allegedly raised the rent from $5,200 to $7,000. Goldie later sued Rourke for unpaid rent, but Hines claimed that the house was “uninhabitable,” with “black mold” and “no running water.”
Given Rourke's denouncement of the GoFundMe, Hines told fans that if Rourke didn't want the money, donors would be reimbursed. “He's calling me for money. He's calling friends for money,” claimed Hines. “A GoFund is set up for him, and now he's rejecting it? ‘OK, Mick, no problem.' But nobody here has done anything wrong.”
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In a joint Instagram post shared by Rourke and World Boxing News on Jan. 9, a statement announced that the debacle had been a “$96,000 Misunderstanding” and that “Donations for Mickey Rourke's housing fundraiser have been officially paused.”
In his own comment on the post, Rourke wrote, “Don't give any money its all fake bullshit.”
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By Glenn Garner
Associate Editor
As on of Hollywood's leading ladies, Jennifer Lawrence prefers not to know her leading men before filming.
The Oscar winner recently explained why it was “actually easier” filming her Die My Love sex scenes with Robert Pattinson than it would have been with an actor she considered a friend beforehand.
“Because Rob and I did not know each other, which is kind of better, you know?” she told Josh Horowitz, according to People. “Like in Hunger Games, like me and Josh Hutcherson would have to kiss and that's like… Imagine it. You know, it's weirder and so yeah, doing it with a stranger is preferable.”
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Lawrence explained that Die My Love director Lynne Ramsay had them take an interpretive dance lesson before filming a “naked sex tiger” scene on the first day of shooting, in which the two attack each other like jungle cats.
“We got to Calgary like three weeks before we started shooting. Rob and I both [are] embarrassed very easily, and that was mortifying. It was, I mean, I'm not…a dancer, Rob's [the] worst dancer,” she recalled.
“And it was like, now blow like a tree — like it was just so embarrassing,” added Lawrence. “So I think by the time she was like, ‘Yeah, get naked.' We were just kind of like, ‘Okay, at least it's not interpretive dance…'
In Die My Love, Lawrence plays young mother Grace, who slowly spirals into madness while locked in an old Montana house, which begins to worry her partner Jackson (Pattinson).
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Reality television star Tammy Kaye Donath, who became known when appearing on “Love After Lockup,” passed away at the age of 63 on December 31, 2025, the family announced in an online obituary. No cause of death was listed.
She is remembered for her “bright, loving soul, intelligence, honesty, and straightforward demeanor.”
She is survived by her daughter's Kristianna Miller, Terra Kaylea Sprague and her son Christopher Roth, along with her siblings Robin Donath, Linda Schoenberger (Donath), Dennis (Bud) Donath, and Rebecca Donath, as well as her grandchildren, Dethan Moore, Mackenzie Cook, Payton Cook, and great-grandchildren, Malakai Cook, Seth Fuoco Jr., Jak Moore, and Gunnar Fuoco, the obituary says.
On the same page as Donath's online obituary, there was a tribute wall where many people left comments. And that included her son.
“I miss you so much MOM,” Christopher Roth wrote. “You never judged me and we could always talk about anything and everything. You could party with the best of them and you never had a filter and told everyone exactly how you felt and what you meant. And when it was time to buckle down and get sober you did that too. You never had an addictive personality which is where I believe I gained the strong mentality from.
“You were the smartest, sweetest, most loving caring and forgiving Mother and The Best Mother any Son could ever want,” he continued. “I Love And Miss You So Much Mother. I WILL SEE YOU LATER!!! I will make you proud and become successful and never give up and never go backwards EVER AGAIN!!! When it rains I will dance in it as much as possible because I know it is your tears of joy from you and you are watching over us forever and always. Love Your Son Christopher Nicholas Roth.”
“Love After Lockup” is a show that follows couples who meet while one is incarcerated and shows their story once they are released from prison.
Donath appeared on the show while it followed her daughter, Kristianna Miller's, love story after she was incarcerated in 2020. It followed her relationship with John Miller, and the two eventually got married, but split and went through a divorce in 2022. Miller has also struggled throughout the years, having been incarcerated again in 2024 due to a probation violation, the Sun reports.
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By
Luke Cyphers
Two more former college basketball players testified Friday to being sexually abused as teens by the multimillionaire coach of New York's esteemed Riverside Church basketball program, echoing the allegations of their boyhood teammate Daryl Powell, who's suing the church in a state Supreme Court civil court trial in Manhattan.
Former Riverside players Byron Walker and Mitchell Shuler both took the stand on the trial's second day, frequently choking up as they described their experiences with Ernest Lorch, who built the church basketball program into a model for the massive modern youth sports industry — but died in 2012 with a reputation tarnished by abuse allegations.
Walker described a pair of incidents in which he alleged Lorch forced himself on the player, ostensibly to discipline him. One of the alleged assaults Walker described, detailed in a joint Rolling Stone and Sportico investigation, resulted in a criminal indictment against Lorch in Massachusetts in 2010. (Lorch never stood trial in the case because of his failing health.) On Friday, Walker told the six jurors and three alternates that during halftime of a game in Springfield, Mass., in 1977, Lorch “tried to penetrate me,” ostensibly while punishing him for being late for the team van.
The former player also went into detail about a second allegation during a tournament in Arizona, where, Walker said, Lorch threatened to prevent him from talking to a college recruiter because he broke curfew and was drinking with teammates. After issuing that threat, Walker said on the stand, Lorch forced him to pull down his pants and sexually assaulted him. “There's this back and forth motion,” the former point guard at the University of Texas-El Paso testified, “like I was being raped.”
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Walker's testimony followed that of Mitchell Shuler, who played on the same late-1970s Riverside elite high-school-age travel teams with Walker and Powell. Shuler, whose play with Riverside helped him gain a scholarship to the University of New Orleans, broke down several times when describing Lorch's use of a paddle to punish him for indiscretions ranging from not working hard in practice to struggling in a high school French class. “I got down on my knees, like a dog, and got hit,” said Shuler, who last year retired as a project manager at Harlem Hospital after a 40-year career. “My bare butt was exposed.”
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Shuler also described being stared at by Lorch while showering and enduring “jockstrap checks” in which the coach groped his testicles.
Both players were called as witnesses by attorneys for Powell, whose case is the first of 27 lawsuits filed against Riverside to go to trial under New York's 2019 Child Victims Act. He alleges that Riverside was negligent in supervising Lorch over his 40-year run at the head of the basketball program, which ended in 2002 after the first public allegations of abuse by a former player.
But Shuler and Walker are also suing Riverside, which Riverside attorney Phil Semprevivo pointed out to the jury. Earlier in the day, Powell faced tough questions on cross-examination by Semprevivo, who sought to poke holes in his case against the church — including differences in the plaintiff's trial testimony Thursday and an earlier sworn deposition in the case in 2023.
For example, Powell testified Thursday that Lorch “stroked” the player's penis as part of jockstrap checks and inserted his finger in Powell's anus. Semprevivo pointed out that Powell never used those terms or descriptions at any point in his earlier deposition.
He also questioned Powell's stated rationale for quitting basketball completely after a successful junior season at Marist College in 1982. On Thursday, Powell emphasized that he quit Marist with a year left on his full scholarship because he was “fed up” with the sport after his history with Riverside. Semprevivo pointed to other deposition testimony that Powell said he quit school to be with his future wife. Under questioning Friday, Powell said both reasons factored in his decision.
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The former player also said some discrepancies in his testimony were a result of his diminished hearing. But Semprevivo, pointing out several contradictions or inaccuracies on things like dates, said Powell had ample opportunity to correct the deposition record and failed to do so.
One such instance: Powell said in his deposition that he never mentioned being abused by Lorch to any Riverside assistant coaches, including Kenny “Eggman” Williamson, who died in 2012. But in his trial testimony, Powell gave a detailed account of telling Williamson that Lorch was looking down his shorts and paddling him. Powell testified that he remembered it vividly because, he said, he told Williamson on the day of the infamous, riot-plagued 1977 New York City blackout.
Powell said on Thursday that Williamson told him, “If you know what I know, you better not say anything, or you're not playing for this team anymore.”
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Powell continued: “I was devastated. I shut my mouth up. I wanted to stay on the team.”
Semprevivo pointed out on Friday that Powell signed a statement in 2024 that corrected some errors in his deposition, but never amended his statement that he'd never said anything to Williamson.
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Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.
By
Nancy Dillon
Legendary Los Angeles rock band Los Lobos is suing over allegedly unpaid royalties tied to soundtrack recordings for the 1987 Richie Valens biopic La Bamba and the 1995 Richard Rodriguez-directed film Desperado.
In two lawsuits quietly filed late last year and obtained by Rolling Stone, one of which surfaced Friday after being moved to federal court, the Grammy-winning Chicano band accuses Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment of breaching their contracts and failing to properly account for worldwide royalties. Los Lobos is seeking damages and a new global accounting, alleging that the unpaid amounts total at least $1.5 million and could reach as much as $2.75 million, or more.
In the first lawsuit, the band says the La Bamba soundtrack album reached double platinum status, with its rendition of “La Bamba” topping charts in at least 15 countries. Despite the album's commercial success, Los Lobos contends it has never been paid streaming royalties for the recordings outside the United States and Canada. The band says it discovered the “massive deficiency” in the royalty statements last March. According to the filing, unpaid royalties tied to the soundtrack range from $1 million to $2 million, with Sony Pictures Entertainment responsible for the payments.
The second lawsuit, which moved to federal court Friday, alleges that in 1993, Los Lobos agreed to provide several soundtrack songs for Desperado and recorded the song “Canción del Mariachi” with the movie's lead actor, Antonio Banderas. Los Lobos member Cesar Rosas “wrote the composition in its entirety,” the lawsuit states.
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In 2004, the independent record company Milan Entertainment released a compilation album entitled Robert Rodriguez's Mexico and Mariachis that included the song with liner notes that said it was included “courtesy of Columbia Pictures,” the lawsuit says. In 2018, Milan allegedly released the song again on Spotify and YouTube with the shortened title “Mexico and Mariachis.” That release purportedly garnered 150 million streams on Spotify and another 150 million streams on YouTube, the lawsuit claims.
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According to the complaint, interest in the song has skyrocketed in recent years after popular UFC fighter Ilia “El Matador” Topuria adopted it as his “walkout” song and “anthem.” Topuria's popularity purportedly caused the song to be used in TV programming in many countries, the lawsuit claims.
Still, “despite all of these millions of streams of the recording worldwide, the various uses by Topuria, and his endorsement and involvement, there has never been a single royalty statement rendered by Sony to Los Lobos that reports any streaming of the recording, as used in the 2018 Milan Streaming Release, or any licensing activity,” the band alleges. It calls the lack of accounting “egregious.”
In 2019, Sony Music Masterworks purchased Milan. Both companies were “well aware of the value of Topuria's endorsement” of the song because they allegedly changed the title of the recording on Spotify to “Canción del Mariachi (Ilia Topuria ‘El Matador' Anthem),” the lawsuit claims.
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Los Lobos says worldwide streams of the song have topped 600 million, and based on the band's contract, its revenue share of those streams would be $500,000 to $750,000. It's asking the court for a chance to determine the precise amount through discovery and, if necessary, a trial. The band also wants a 24 percent cut of net revenues collected from any licensing deals related to the song.
Lawyers on both sides did not respond to a request for comment. Los Lobos, which was formed in East Los Angeles in 1973, has been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards and won four.
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Fran Drescher has opened up about her cancer diagnosis and how it impacted her ability to have children in a deeply personal and vulnerable interview.
Drescher is 68, but when she was 42, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Her cancer diagnosis ultimately impacted her ability to have children. In an interview with People, published on Friday, January 9, the “The Nanny” actress reflected on her thoughts during this time. She also revealed she had been continually misdiagnosed.
“I had it for two years, and eight doctors misdiagnosed it,” she said of her utrine cancer diagnosis. “Next thing I knew, I had a radical hysterectomy, a full cavity wash, and was told I'd never have kids. Bada bing. But I don't really like being told what I can and can't do, so it was a bitter pill to swallow.”
She continued, “I was with a man 16 years my junior, and for the first time in my life, I was like, ‘I could have his kids.' But I only had like five minutes of fertility left, and was told I should freeze an embryo. But it quickly turned into cancer, and then that option was off the table. That was my destiny.” She shared that it would be difficult for anyone to have the surgery, but when she didn't already have children, it felt even more challenging. The actress described her feelings as “a bitter pill to swallow.”
After learning she would be unable to have children, Drescher focused her energy elsewhere. She wanted to ensure that others did not find themselves in her position. She advocated for early detection and raised awareness surrounding the disease. “Instead, I gave birth to a bestselling book about it, formed the organization Cancer Schmancer, and became a public diplomacy envoy for the State Department on family health issues,” she said.
Her hard work and dedication resulted in her getting a bill passed in Washington in 2007. She was not done there. “I was sent all over to our allied nations to speak just as I do to this day, and our military bases too, because people in the military, particularly women, aren't being screened for cancer,” she shared.
A photo from the cover of People showing Drescher discussing her cancer was shared on Instagram, and fans showed their support. “Congrats Fran. What a beautiful interview! We loved your story,” a comment reads. “Forever an icon,” another person shared.
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Apparently they used sonic weapons unlike any technology that the Venezuelan government has seen before which incapacitated both their military/military radar and men. Just goes to shows that we are in fact miles ahead of other countries in terms of the technology.
When it comes to the most convincing UFO sightings ever reported, Redditors have shared a variety of cases that stand out for their credibility, documentation, and the sheer number of witnesses involved. Here are some of the most frequently mentioned and highly regarded sightings:
Location: Ruwa, Zimbabwe
Details: Over 60 schoolchildren witnessed a craft landing in their schoolyard and several beings emerging from it. The incident was investigated by a well-known psychologist, and a documentary on YouTube provides more details. "The Ariel school incident in Africa is my favourite. Surprised it hasn't been mentioned. 60 plus children apparently witnessed a craft landing in the schoolyard and a few beings came out."
Location: Alaska, USA
Details: A JAL cargo flight crew, including the pilot and co-pilot, observed a massive UFO for over 30 minutes. The object was also tracked by ground radar. The pilot's career was significantly impacted by his decision to speak out about the incident. "JAL Flight 1628... What the pilot and co-pilot saw that day was also being tracked by ground radar as well."
Location: Suffolk, England
Details: US Air Force personnel stationed at RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters reported multiple nights of strange lights and a craft landing in Rendlesham Forest. The incident involved direct interaction with the object and detailed military testimonies. "Rendelsham Forest or Shag Harbour. When it comes to Rendelsham, I am confident in thinking a crew of military men as they were would not have mistaken a light house for a UFO."
Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Details: Thousands of people, including the then-governor of Arizona, witnessed a massive V-shaped formation of lights moving silently across the night sky. The event was widely reported and remains one of the most famous mass UFO sightings. "Phoenix lights..."
Location: Off the coast of California, USA
Details: US Navy pilots, including Commander David Fravor, encountered a Tic Tac-shaped object that displayed incredible speed and maneuverability. The incident was captured on FLIR video and corroborated by multiple witnesses and radar data. "For me, it's the eyewitness testimony of David Fraver, the fighter pilot who described his interactions with the 'tic tac' ufo off the coast of California during his training runs."
Location: Tehran, Iran
Details: Iranian Air Force pilots were scrambled to intercept a UFO that was also tracked by radar. The pilots reported instrumentation failures and communications blackouts when approaching the object. "1976 Tehran UFO incident: Nothing beats this one. Military personals, radars and civilian plane encountered the UFO."
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Details: During World War II, the military fired anti-aircraft artillery at a large object in the sky, which was illuminated by searchlights. The event was widely reported by the media and involved numerous civilian witnesses. "The Battle of Los Angeles where the military had to resort to using AA weapons against a 'weather balloon'."
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Details: Airline employees and witnesses reported a disc-shaped object hovering over Gate C17 at O'Hare International Airport. The FAA initially dismissed the reports but later acknowledged the incident. "I heard the Chicago O'Hare ufo was pretty legit but all the evidence disappeared."
Location: Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Details: Multiple witnesses reported seeing a strange creature and a UFO crash. The Brazilian military allegedly captured several creatures and covered up the incident. "Finally in the 90's what appeared to be a malfunctioning ship was sighted near Varginha, MG."
Location: McMinnville, Oregon, USA
Details: A local farmer and his wife took two photographs of a metallic, disc-shaped object in the sky. The photos have been extensively analyzed and remain a subject of debate. "Good picks. Please add the McMinnville photos."
These sightings represent some of the most compelling and well-documented cases in UFO history, supported by multiple witnesses, radar data, and official investigations. While skepticism is healthy, these incidents have left many convinced that there is something truly inexplicable happening in our skies.
For more discussions and information, consider visiting these subreddits:
r/UFOs
r/aliens
r/AskReddit
Astronomers spotted nine galaxies with characteristics that have never been seen as a collection before. It's possible this is a newly found type of star-forming galaxy.
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A new category of space objects dubbed "platypus galaxies" is defying explanation.
These nine strange cosmic objects, spotted in archival data from the James Webb Space Telescope, cannot easily be characterized by their features. They are small and compact, but they don't appear to host active supermassive black holes or to be quasars, enormous black holes that glow as brightly as galaxies, according to new research.
Researchers have dubbed the cosmic oddballs "platypus galaxies" because, like platypuses — rare egg-laying mammals — they are difficult to classify, Haojing Yan, an astronomer at the University of Missouri who led the team, said when presenting the findings at the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix this week.
"The detailed genetic code of a platypus provides additional information that shows just how unusual the animal is, sharing genetic features with birds, reptiles, and mammals," Yan said in a statement describing the research, which is available as a preprint via arXiv. "Together, Webb's imaging and spectra are telling us that these galaxies have an unexpected combination of features."
Looking at this collection of galaxy characteristics, he added, is like looking at a platypus. "You think that these things should not exist together, but there it is right in front of you, and it's undeniable," he said.
For example, typical quasars — which are extremely luminous and energetic objects — have emission lines in their spectra that look a bit like hills. The spectra also indicate that gas is circulating quickly around a supermassive black hole in the center.
Yet the nine newfound galaxies have narrow and sharp spectra, signaling that the gas is moving more slowly. Although some galaxies with narrow and sharp spectra have supermassive black holes in their centers, unlike that group, the new galaxies don't look like "points" in the images.
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So if the mysterious objects aren't quasars and they don't host supermassive black holes, what are they? One possibility is that they represent a newly found type of star-forming galaxy that populated the early universe, which JWST is optimized to see.
But even that possibility is confusing the team, co-investigator Bangzheng Sun, a graduate student at the University of Missouri, said in the same statement.
"From the low-resolution spectra we have, we can't rule out the possibility that these nine objects are star-forming galaxies," Sun said. "That data fits. The strange thing in that case is that the galaxies are so tiny and compact, even though Webb has the resolving power to show us a lot of detail at this distance."
If that's the case, it may be that JWST is looking at a type of even earlier galaxies than have ever been spotted. If that is indeed what JWST is seeing, Yan said, perhaps there is more to learn about how galaxies evolved.
—'How can all of this be happening?': Scientists spot massive group of ancient galaxies so hot they shouldn't exist
—James Webb telescope finds that galaxies in the early universe were much more chaotic than we thought
—'Puzzling' object discovered by James Webb telescope may be the earliest known galaxy in the universe
"I think this new research is presenting us with the question, how does the process of galaxy formation first begin?" Yan said. "Can such small, building-block galaxies be formed in a quiet way, before chaotic mergers begin, as their point-like appearance suggests?"
The team said they will need more galactic samples to further the research. Luckily, JWST is still early in its observing lifetime. The telescope launched in 2021 and is expected to last at least another 15 years in its deep-space position, gazing at faraway objects in the early universe.
Elizabeth Howell was staff reporter at Space.com between 2022 and 2024 and a regular contributor to Live Science and Space.com between 2012 and 2022. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.
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James Felton
James Felton
Senior Staff Writer
James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.
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Senior Staff Writer
James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile
James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.
Laura Simmons
Health & Medicine Editor
Laura holds a Master's in Experimental Neuroscience and a Bachelor's in Biology from Imperial College London. Her areas of expertise include health, medicine, psychology, and neuroscience.
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Platypus galaxies identified in JWST data.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Steve Finkelstein (UT Austin); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
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Astronomers looking at data from the JWST, humanity's most powerful space telescope, have found a number of objects in the distant universe so odd that they have been dubbed "platypus galaxies".
JWST has allowed astronomers to look back further into the past than any other infrared or optical telescope, seeing infrared light that was emitted by distant galaxies just 280 million years after the Big Bang. With the infrared telescope, we were hoping to learn more about the formation of galaxies, as well as clear up mysteries about how supermassive black holes became so large. But we have been thrown a few surprises as we look further back into the past.
One such surprise is the tiny, bright red points of light that appear to be dotted throughout the early universe, around 600-800 million years after its birth, which have come to be known as Little Red Dot (LRD) galaxies. When they were first detected and analyzed, astronomers believed they could be massive galaxies. But this was at odds with how cosmological models expect galaxies to form – as small clouds of dust and stars that grow larger over long periods of time.
The new team of astronomers from the University of Missouri was not interested in LRDs themselves, but their appearance in the JWST data got them thinking.
"It was the fact that a significant fraction of LRDs being point-like in the high-resolution JWST images inspired a simple question that we intended to address: are there any other new kinds of objects among point-like sources that we did not notice previously?" the team explains in their study, which has not yet been peer reviewed.
The team looked at 2,000 sources found in JWST surveys, whittling them down and identifying nine point-like sources in the early universe, 12 to 12.6 billion years in our past. Looking at these objects, which emitted their light when the universe was just over a billion years old, the team found they didn't fit neatly into any known category of space object.
"It seems that we've identified a population of galaxies that we can't categorize, they are so odd. On the one hand they are extremely tiny and compact, like a point source, yet we do not see the characteristics of a quasar, an active supermassive black hole, which is what most distant point sources are,” principal investigator Haojing Yan said in a NASA press release.
"I looked at these characteristics and thought, this is like looking at a platypus. You think that these things should not exist together, but there it is right in front of you, and it's undeniable."
Spectral emission lines from quasars generally look like broad hills, which is the result of high velocity gas swirling around the supermassive black hole at the center. These "platypus" objects are point-like, like quasars, but their spectral emission lines look sharp and jagged.
The team compared the sources to another class of galaxies, but there were key differences here too.
"The closest resemblances to our objects are probably the so-called 'green pea' galaxies (GPs). GPs are compact galaxies at low redshifts (z ≲ 0.4) that have extremely strong emission lines, which make them green in the color composite of optical images," the team explained in their paper.
These galaxies have been found to have star-forming regions and active galactic nuclei.
"However, there are still notable differences that distinguish our objects from GPs," the team continues. "The most obvious one is that our objects are point-like but GPs are not. While GPs appear to be unresolved in ground-based images, those that have HST images all show that the GP regions are embedded in extended hosts, which often have complex morphologies indicative of mergers."
At the moment the team believes that the observations are consistent with seeing young galaxies ∼110–170 million years old. If that is the case, we could be looking at very early galaxy formation.
“I think this new research is presenting us with the question, how does the process of galaxy formation first begin?" Yan added. "Can such small, building-block galaxies be formed in a quiet way, before chaotic mergers begin, as their point-like appearance suggests?”
"If they are confirmed to be SF [star-forming] galaxies, they likewise will constitute a new kind because of their pointlike morphologies and young ages, which will imply that they began their star formation secularly (and in isolation) from a very compact core, which is in line with a monolithic collapse," the team added in their paper.
More observations are needed to determine what these objects are, before we get too excited about seeing how galaxies begin. But, if confirmed, it is pretty exciting.
"If these objects are really a new type of galaxy, it tells us we've been missing part of the story,” Bangzheng "Tom" Sun, a graduate student in Yan's lab and co-author of the study, added in a separate statement. “And we're just beginning to uncover it."
The paper is posted to preprint server arXiv, and was presented in a press conference at the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix, Arizona.
Written by James Felton
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Partly cloudy. High 83F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: January 10, 2026 @ 12:54 pm
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal waters from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal waters from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM
state_name:
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal waters from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal waters from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal waters from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal waters from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal waters from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Charlotte County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal waters from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM
state_name:
Bulletin: ...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...
* WHAT...Dangerous rip currents expected.
* WHERE...Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.
* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.
&&
Info:
Type: Rip Current Statement
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T13:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T13:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state: FL
headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 1:00 PM EST until MON 1:00 PM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Moderate
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal Lee County
state_name: Florida
Bulletin: ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM SUNDAY TO 7 AM EST
MONDAY...
* WHAT...Northeast winds around 20 knots with gusts up to 30
knots and seas 4 to 7 feet expected.
* WHERE...Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Coastal waters
from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM and Waters from
Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 to 60 NM.
* WHEN...From 10 PM Sunday to 7 AM EST Monday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.
&&
Info:
Type: Small Craft Advisory
start_time_local: 2026-01-11T22:00:00-05:00
end_time_local: 2026-01-12T07:00:00-05:00
county_name:
state:
headline: Small Craft Advisory from SUN 10:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 AM EST
county_fips:
category: Met
url:
urgency: Expected
severity: Minor
certainty: Likely
geographicname: Coastal waters from Bonita Beach to Englewood FL out 20 NM
state_name:
A new kind of circus is captivating audiences in Fort Myers, promising a blend of horror, comedy, and classic circus acts.
A new kind of circus is captivating audiences in Fort Myers, promising a blend of horror, comedy, and classic circus acts. Paranormal Cirque II has arrived at JetBlue Park, offering a unique experience that combines laughter with chills.
"Fear and comedy, horror and comedy have a lot in common," said Steve Copeland, the host and comedian of Paranormal Cirque II. "They're both about the build-up of tension and then the release. With horror, it's a scream. With comedy, it's a laugh. So they go together very well."
Sophia Marks, a ticketholder, shared her excitement. "Last night, we found out that it was paranormal, so now we're, like, freaking out, but I'm kind of excited," she said.
Another ticketholder expressed enthusiasm about the show. "Paranormal means it's not normal, so it'll be cool. My girlfriend came a week ago, so she said it was really good," they said, adding, "No, you can't scare me."
"This is our show's first time in Fort Myers," said Copeland. "They're going to scare the heck out of you, and then they're going to amaze you during our show."
Stacy Brucci, another audience member, shared her curiosity. "I can't imagine Cirque du Soleil with all the horror. So it's gonna be interesting," she said.
Copeland explained the show's appeal, saying, "There's a little bit of everything. Here's a little bit of something for everyone. It's scary, it's sexy, it's funny, and that's paranormal Cirque."
He also reflected on the joy of entertaining. "I get to make people laugh and forget about all the terrible things going on in the world. They can come enjoy some controlled fun horror, and I get to laugh and make them forget their problems for a couple of hours," said Copeland.
Paranormal Cirque II will be at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers through Monday.
Tickets are available online at paranormalcirque.com or at the box office. The show is open to adults, with teens ages 13 to 17 allowed, but children under 13 are not permitted.
Currently in Fort Myers
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A recurring conspiracy theory which has gone viral claims that an ancient Greek statue supposedly depicting a woman “using a laptop” is “proof” of time travel. The statue once marked a grave and was created around 100 BC.
Many inventions beyond their time are associated with the ancient Greek civilization, but the laptop was certainly not one of them…until now.
Of course, historians have dismissed the theory as nonsense and provided more grounded explanations, suggesting that the object in the statue may be a box or wax tablet.
The statue that spurred on the conspiracy theory is called the “Grave Naiskos Of An Enthroned Woman With An Attendant” and is on display at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, California.
The ancient Greek statue portrays a seated woman with a slave standing in front of her, holding a slim folding container. The woman, who appears to be the mistress, touches the top of the container with her fingers while looking up towards the upper part of it with her stone eyes.
However, various conspiracy theorists believe that the container depicted is actually a laptop, complete with USB ports on the side of the device.
In one viral YouTube video, an uploader claims that the ancient Greek statue “depicts an astonishing object that bears a striking resemblance to a modern laptop or some handheld device”.
“When I look at the sculpture I can't help but think about the Oracle of Delphi, which was supposed to allow the priests to connect with the gods to retrieve advanced information,” continued the video's upload.
They dismissed more feasible explanations, arguing that the container's base is too shallow to be a jewellry box.
This is not the first time the conspiracy theory has popped up. In 2016, the Daily Mail published an article questioning whether the funerary statue was indeed proof that a time traveler had brought back a laptop to ancient Greece.
Back in 2016, archaeologist Kristina Killgrove wrote in Forbes debunking the theory that the ancient Greeks had somehow come across advanced computer technology.
“It's a typical funeral marker, depicting the deceased individual in a vibrant way, often, in the case of women, in a household scene,” explained Killgrove. “These stelai were carved in relief, and were almost always painted, although the painting doesn't survive in most cases.”
“In this stele, a woman reclines on a chair and reaches to touch the lid of an object that is held by a girl whose hairstyle and clothes indicate she is a slave. This is a rather typical trope in funeral stelai, the image of a wealthy adult woman reaching to a servant, and may have reflected her family's desire for her to retain her status into the afterlife,” continued Killgrove.
Killgrove suggested a variety of more tangible explanations for what the object held by the woman in the statue may have been, including a wax tablet or some kind of jewellery box or other container.
Rather than being USB ports, the holes on the side of the container may have originally been used to hold wooden items that have long since rotted away.
It is also possible that the holes were made during efforts to rework or copy the sculpture. Other parts of the stele are missing, so this is certainly a plausible explanation.
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