This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on the debate over DHS funding amid a partial government shutdown. House Speaker Mike Johnson also gives analysis on ‘Fox News Sunday.' A pair of Senate Republicans are pushing their House counterparts to reject the Trump-backed shutdown deal unless it includes Homeland Security funding and election integrity legislation. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, are calling on House Republicans to push back against the Senate-passed funding package, which includes bills to fund five agencies, including the Pentagon, as a partial government shutdown continues. They contended that the package needs to be retooled, and must include a modified version of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, dubbed the SAVE America Act, and the Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, which was stripped out after Senate Democrats threatened to blow up the government funding process. Sen. Rick Scott demanded that his House Republican colleagues reject the Senate-passed funding package unless it included DHS spending and voter ID legislation. Doing so could extend what was expected to be a short-term shutdown. "If House Republicans don't put the DHS bill back in, add the SAVE America Act and remove the wasteful earmarks, Democrats win," Scott said. Sen. Mike Lee wants House Republicans to push back against the Trump-backed government funding deal, and demanded that it include DHS funding and his voter ID legislation. He also agreed with Scott, and pushed for his SAVE America Act, which he introduced alongside Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, to be included. "To my friends in the House GOP: Please put DHS funding back in, then add the SAVE America Act," Lee wrote on X. The updated version of the SAVE Act would require that people present photo identification before voting, states obtain proof of citizenship in-person when people register to vote and remove noncitizens from voter rolls. But their demands run counter to the desire of President Donald Trump, who brokered a truce with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to strip the DHS bill following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti during an immigration operation in Minneapolis in order to ram the funding package through the Senate. That would create a back-and-forth between the chambers that would further prolong what was meant to be a temporary shutdown. Their demands also place House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in a precarious position, given that several House Republicans want to extract concessions from congressional Democrats. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is already leading a charge to include the SAVE Act in the funding package. Johnson will have to shore up any resistance among his conference, given that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., made clear to the speaker that any attempt to fast-track the legislation on Monday, when the House returns, would fail. Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Bob Walker traveled from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Arbroath, Scotland, and back again, just to spend a few hours with his friend Peter Gould, 82, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in December, news agency SWNS reported. The two men have been friends for more than four decades, first meeting while working as aircraft engineers in Papua New Guinea in the 1980s. Despite living in different countries for much of their lives, they stayed in close contact over the years. Gould and Walker pictured together, drinking a beer for the final time after Walker traveled to see Gould following his cancer diagnosis. The two later crossed paths again in the U.K., where they both worked at Manchester Airport, and their families grew close. "There's not many opportunities where you can actually say goodbye to people, so I really wanted to do the journey," Walker said. On Jan. 16, the friends sat together in Gould's hometown, sharing cans of their favorite beer, and reminiscing about their years working, traveling and raising families. Gould said he was deeply moved by the gesture. Walker, pictured when he was younger; traveled 14,000 miles to see his longtime friend and drink a beer together. "I'm very grateful for what Bob did," he said. "He didn't have to do it." Walker said he made a special effort to bring along South Pacific Lager, a beer the pair used to drink together years ago while working overseas. "The lager took us right back to 40 years ago when I went down there to work," Walker said. Gould's daughter, Amanda, said the visit came as a surprise, adding that she hadn't been sure the trip would actually happen given the distance and logistics involved. She said seeing her father reunited with his longtime friend brought comfort to the family and gave them a moment they will always remember. Walker returned to Indonesia the following day. He said the distance and travel time were insignificant compared to the chance to be there in person. "He's great company — a straight shooter," Walker said. Kelly McGreal is a production assistant with the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. A look at the top-trending stories in food, relationships, great outdoors and more. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Mary Neilis, a New York mom of seven, shares a behind-the-scenes look at preparing a birthday dinner for her family, highlighting how advance planning and realistic routines help her manage cooking on most weeknights. With a single takeout meal for her family of nine costing more than $200, home-cooked meals became a necessity. Over the past year or so, the 36-year-old Westchester, New York, mother of seven has turned nightly family dinners into a full-time job and a viral following on TikTok and Substack, where she goes by "7kidskitchen." Neilis shares realistic, "healthy-ish" meals designed for busy households. "It's a real house," she told Fox News Digital. "There's chaos going on — but I'm cooking dinner either way." Neilis partners with her sister, Bernadette O'Donnell, who records and edits the content, while her husband, a New York City firefighter, helps manage the finances for 7kidskitchen. Mary Neilis cooks dinner at home for her family of nine and shares the nightly meals online. In her videos, which often draw tens of thousands of views, Neilis' children — ranging in age from 2 years old to 14 — are perched on the countertop or on her hip. They don chef's hats, help stir, ask for drinks in the background, make requests like "no tomatoes," sneak tastes — and run through the house. Neilis isn't just serving up one-pot weeknight dinners. She takes special birthday requests from her children and cooks extra when they have friends over. Some meals are guaranteed hits, she said. "If I put chicken cutlets with any side, everyone will eat that," she said. "I don't mind getting in the kitchen every night and cooking." Favorites also include chicken francese, steak and mashed potatoes, as well as tacos and homemade Chipotle-style bowl nights. She keeps it fresh with other dishes, including burger bowls, takeout-inspired chicken fried rice, shepherd's pie, coconut curry salmon, chili, pulled pork sliders, pot roast — even Swedish meatballs. "I don't see it as a chore," she said. "I don't mind getting in the kitchen every night and cooking." She and her husband, both New York natives, were already accustomed to a full house of mouths to feed. "When I became a mom, my husband was in the military, so he would sometimes be out for weeks at a time," she said. She'll whip up pancakes or homemade sourdough muffins on the weekends — and sometimes gets a break with Chinese food or pizza delivery for dinner. Taco night and Chipotle-style bowls are favorites, said a New York mom who cooks most of her large family's meals. "During the week, it's a bagel or cereal for breakfast. School lunches are often sandwiches and a bag of cookies or chips. Her dinners typically follow a simple structure, Neilis said. "I'm never going to lie," she said. Neilis said staying organized and cleaning as she goes is essential. Italian wedding soup, she added, got a mixed reaction. "If I'm being honest, only about half my kids liked this one," she said in a TikTok video. That straightforward approach extends to how she prepares meals for nine. "You have only minimal things to work with. Budgeting plays a major role as well, she said. Neilis plans five dinners each week and prioritizes sales to help manage grocery costs. Fridays are for meal planning and online grocery orders, she said. Neilis also shares recipes on Substack — plus, for subscribers, meal plans. "I need to come up with new recipes and make sure they're good," she said. Deirdre Bardolf is a lifestyle writer with Fox News Digital. A look at the top-trending stories in food, relationships, great outdoors and more. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. The son of college football coaching legend Lou Holtz on Sunday shared an update on his father after he was admitted to hospice care earlier in the week. Skip Holtz wrote on social media that his father was "still fighting the fight." "Cherishing the time we still have together in Orlando." Former Notre Dame Fighting and Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Lou Holtz holds a press conference prior to the game at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Sept. 27, 2025. Kevin Holtz confirmed on Saturday that Lou was in hospice care. "While this is a challenging time, our focus is on maintaining his comfort, quality of life and care in his Orlando home. "As family has always been the highest importance to Coach, we are holding to each other and focusing on making every moment and day count. The whole family appreciates your thoughts, prayers, and support but ask for privacy as we navigate this journey. He was the head coach of the Fighting Irish for 11 seasons from 1986-1996, where he finished with a 110-30-2 record. Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Lou Holtz on the field prior to the game against Stanford Cardinal at Foster Field at Stanford Stadium on Oct. 2, 1993. In 1988, Notre Dame finished with a perfect 12-0 record and claimed the Fiesta Bowl, which remains their last national championship. Holtz rose to even further prominence during his time as a college football analyst on ESPN. He played at Kent State before moving into coaching as an assistant in 1960, then got his first head coaching job in 1969 at William & Mary. Holtz later left for N.C. State, spending four seasons in Raleigh, before giving the NFL a shot. That stint didn't work out, though, as the Jets went 3-10 and he stepped down. In recent years, Holtz has been a stern supporter of President Donald Trump. (Republican National Convention via USA Today Network) Holtz, who spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention, was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Trump in 2020, shortly after former President Joe Biden defeated Trump in the election. Fox News' Ryan Morik contributed to this report. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter. Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts during the men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a forehand to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. Novak Djokovic of Serbia braces himself after playing a shot to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz is 22, he's the youngest man ever to win all four of the major titles in tennis, and he had to achieve what no man previously has done to complete the career Grand Slam in Australia. “It is a dream come true for me.” Djokovic had won all 10 of his previous finals at Melbourne Park and, despite being 38, gave himself every chance of extending that streak to 11 when he needed only two sets to win. He scrambled to retrieve shots that usually would be winners for Djokovic, and he kept up intense pressure on the most decorated player in men's tennis history. There were extended rallies where each player hit enough brilliant shots to usually win a game. Djokovic has made an artform of rallying from precarious positions. Despite trailing two sets to one, he went within the width of a ball in the fourth set's ninth game of turning this final around. When Djokovic earned a breakpoint chance — his first since the second set — he whipped up his supporters again. A short forehand winner, a mis-hit from Alcaraz, clipped the net and landed inside the line to give him game point. Alcaraz responded with a roar, and sealed victory by taking two of the next three games. After paying tribute at the trophy ceremony to Djokovic for being an inspiration, Alcaraz turned to his support team. He parted ways with longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero at the end of last season and Samuel Lopez stepped up to head the team. “Nobody knows how hard I've been working to get this trophy. I just chased this moment so much,” Alcaraz said. “You were pushing me every day to do all the right things,” he added. Djokovic joked about this showdown setting up a rivalry over the next 10 years with Alcaraz, but then said it was only right to hand the floor over to the new, 16 years his junior, champion. “What you've been doing, the best word to describe is historic, legendary,” he said. 3 Alexander Zverev on Friday; Djokovic's win over two-time defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner ended after 1:30 a.m. Saturday — yet showed phenomenal fitness, athleticism and stamina for just over three hours in pursuit of their own historic achievements. Djokovic won the last of his 24 Grand Slam singles titles at the 2023 U.S. Open, his push for an unprecedented 25th has now been blocked by Alcaraz or Sinner for nine majors. Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played some epic matches, including the longest match ever at the Australian Open that lasted almost six hours in 2012. To complete the career Slam “in front of him, it made even more special.” Djokovic, addressing Nadal directly as the “legendary Rafa,” joked that there were “too many Spanish legends” in Rod Laver. At 22 years and 272 days, Alcaraz is the youngest man to complete a set of all four major singles titles. He broke the mark set by Don Budge in the 1938 French championships, when he was 22 years and 363 days. He's the ninth man to achieve the career Grand Slam, a list that also includes Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer. Alcaraz now has seven major titles — his first in Australia along with two each at Wimbledon and the French and U.S.

NASA's Artemis II mission is set to launch as early as February 6, putting human spaceflight to the moon back in the spotlight after a 50-plus year hiatus which may inspire future filmmakers to explore the possibilities of space travel in their own work. In celebration of our IRL return to the drama and wonder of space, we asked 11 astronauts to share their favorite space films that capture the thrill of leaving Earth behind. Directed by Ridley Scott and adapted from a book by Andy Weir, “The Martian” is at turns funny and perilous. “It shows the dedication of NASA's workforce, working together, sometimes at huge personal sacrifice, to get the job done,” he said. Having completed a 152-day tour of duty in orbit, Anderson knows how essential that collaboration is. “That job starts with protecting the crew, the vehicle and mission objectives, with all three defining mission success,” he said. Dr. Kate Rubins, who logged nearly 300 days in space and became the first person to sequence DNA beyond Earth, praised the Oscar-nominated film for its scientific realism. “It does a great job of showing how biology and chemistry can be used to make what you need from what you have on hand,” she said. Scenes in which Damon's character must grow his own food felt especially authentic. For astronauts, resourcefulness isn't cinematic flair — it's mission-critical. Having to utilize what you are given is “critical during space missions, like growing food or making essential materials, instead of relying upon resupply from Earth,” Rubins added. Four retired astronauts praised its realism, emotional impact and tribute to NASA's professional collaborations. Nicole Stott, who flew two space shuttle missions and spent more than 100 days aboard the International Space Station, said the best picture nominee embodied lessons she learned early in her career as a NASA engineer. The film's attention to detail left a lasting impression on Michael Massimino, who flew multiple shuttle missions and performed spacewalks to service the Hubble Space Telescope. “Ron Howard directed it to be as close to reality as he could, even using the real dialogue between the wounded Apollo capsule and Mission Control,” said Chris Hadfield, who commanded the ISS in 2013. “It intensely dramatizes the urgent, high-stakes, life-or-death reality of spaceflight.” Even knowing how the story ends, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, another retired astronaut and educator who emphasizes STEM outreach, said, “it still makes me hold my breath every time I watch it.” Not every astronaut's favorite film is grounded in realism. “Galaxy Quest,” staring Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman and Tim Allenigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman and Tim Allen, earns its place in space-lovers' hearts by capturing camaraderie, humor and the joy of exploration — even while poking fun at sci-fi tropes. “It might not have the verisimilitude of ‘Apollo 13,' the gold standard for technical accuracy in a space movie, but it captures the wonder of space exploration … and it's very funny,” Garrett Reisman, a retired astronaut who flew on Space Shuttles Endeavour, Discovery and Atlantis, said. Stott also said she gravitates toward films that focus on relationships over physics. “The human interaction between the characters, which felt so familiar to me,” she said of 1999's “Galaxy Quest” and another favorite of hers, 1997's “RocketMan,” starring Harland Williams. The movie is not only Massimo's favorite but also a turning point in his career. Leroy Chiao, who spent more than 6 months in space and commanded Expedition 10 aboard the ISS, points to Stanley Kubrick's “2001: A Space Odyssey” for the visuals that were considered groundbreaking when it was released in 1968. He recommends reading the book, by Arthur C. Clarke, before watching the film, noting it can be difficult to follow otherwise. “Once you understand it, wow!” he wrote in an email. Dr. Sylvain Costes, a scientist at NASA Ames research center, lauded the film for showing how, in deep space, “time becomes a resource more precious than fuel.” The film, she added, “masterfully transforms the cold equations of General Relativity into a visceral human tragedy.” Michael Wong, who studies planetary atmospheres and habitability, said his brain was filled with “the grandeur of space exploration — a collective human endeavor both extremely difficult and uniquely fulfilling.” The film, he said, balanced “furthering science and art, at once.” Caltech astro-visualizer Robert Hurt called “Interstellar” the “2001: A Space Odyssey” of our time, saying “it's ultimately about humanity taking charge of its own future.” Of course, not all great space films need to rely on fiction. “It has amazing newly discovered IMAX-quality footage, a great soundtrack, and when they showed the launch sequence,” Virts said, “my heart was racing faster than when I actually launched into space.”

Wes Moore struggles to describe how he'd feel if he falls short in his push to gerrymander another Democratic seat in his state and the US House of Representatives ends up staying Republican. The Maryland governor is so popular in his solidly blue state that former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who'd been eager to take another run at his old job, preemptively pulled the plug on a comeback campaign. Oprah Winfrey spoke at Moore's 2022 inauguration, candidates around the country are already putting in requests for him to join them, and George Clooney keeps saying he wants Moore to run for president, even hosting the governor on his yacht off the coast of Italy last Labor Day. Ferguson is blocking Moore's push to redraw the state's US House maps and try to eliminate the only Republican-held seat out of eight, rejecting even holding a vote on a proposal that moved easily through the state House of Delegates. Ferguson warns that going for an 8-0 map could backfire in court, potentially letting judges draw a map that costs Democrats a seat. He cautions against bowing to anger at President Donald Trump and his launching of the national battle to redraw maps ahead of the midterms. For all that he can tout about bringing crime down and economic development up, the redistricting fight will be one measure of what Moore can deliver as a governor with full party control of his state heading into a potential 2028 White House run. “If we end up with a Republican House and part of the reason is because Maryland did not move, none of that — forget politically, right?” Moore told CNN in an interview giving his most extensive comments about his own role in the redistricting battle. In part, what's happening in Maryland is a well-worn tale of state legislators rebuffing a governor from their own party whom they brush off as not knowing history or the way things really work around the capital. There are parallels to the Republican state senators in Indiana who rejected Trump's pushing them on redistricting last year. But Moore also allowed Ferguson to get out in front of him to oppose Maryland redistricting, letting momentum and time dissipate. He waited to formally launch his redrawing effort until the morning after Gov. Gavin Newsom's big gerrymandering win in November's California ballot proposition. Moore argues his delays were only about getting the process right. “When I hear people say, ‘Don't worry about it, because we're going to win overwhelmingly anyway,' my answer always back is, ‘Says who? A single seat in Maryland takes on heightened importance for Democrats, who are three seats behind Republicans in the redistricting battles, according to CNN's analysis. Those maps would then go before voters via ballot proposition to hold until the next regularly scheduled redistricting, after the 2030 census and Trump's second term is finished, with other measures about holding back state courts from overturning future maps also included. He laughs off being called the most hated Democrat in America or having his manhood insulted by Virginia Senate Pro Tem L. Louise Lucas, who recently tweeted that Ferguson needs to “grow a pair and stand up to this President.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stood next to Moore in Statuary Hall in the Capitol, saying that Maryland needed to help stop the “scheme” to “artificially maintain the extremism that we see here from Republican members of Congress.” Ferguson's response was to tell local reporters, “I appreciate their thoughts and advice.” He has advised Moore and anyone else who will listen that he, unlike the governor, was in Annapolis in 2021 when an attempt at a different 8-0 gerrymander was stopped by the state Supreme Court and the current map of 7-1 was created by legislative compromise. Push forward with trying to go 8-0 and the five Hogan-appointed judges out of seven on the state Supreme Court could strike it down, Ferguson's team argues. They could be left with a map that's 6-2, instead giving Republicans an additional seat. Moore “sees the same threat as Bill does, but he thinks it's worth the risk and we don't,” Ferguson's communications director, David Schuhlein, told CNN. In a recent private meeting with the governor and Peña-Melnyk, Ferguson said again that he wouldn't move. He brushed off former state attorney general Brian Frosh – who is backing Moore in the effort – telling him in a closed hearing about the maps that his stated concerns about how courts, “if that argument was made in a law class, I'm sorry to say it wouldn't get an A, or even a B,” according to a person on the call. Ferguson held his own press conference, repeating that he isn't interested in putting up for a vote a bill that he knows will fail. Moore's allies reject that: “We are moving redistricting legislation, immigration legislation and energy affordability all in one week,” said David Moon, the majority leader in the House of Delegates. “I feel like we can walk and chew gum at the same time.” Like many legislative leaders in Annapolis and other state capitals, Ferguson has also made clear that he expects members dependent on him for their own power and bonuses to stick with him. He already pulled a chairmanship from one of the most pro-gerrymandering state senators, a move that was followed by his fellow Democratic state senators unanimously reelecting him to another term as leader. Just let a vote happen, Moore and his allies have turned to saying. And listen, my thing is this, prove me wrong,” he said. As for Ferguson, Moore said, “I have not tried to psychoanalyze why he does not see the assault that I'm seeing or the urgency of this.” Right now, though, Moore doesn't have the votes. State senators involved say the most generous current count gives Moore's side 10, maybe 11. As of this weekend, “nothing has changed on the Senate side. Last fall, Moore made a little news by ruling out running for president. Most observers figure he'll get through what, without Hogan, is looking like a glide-path reelection in November and be ordering new campaign signs by early next year. Newsom retaliated against Texas Republicans by creating five more likely Democratic seats via a ballot proposition that he pushed through and won. “We've been discussing his unique circumstances — including the fact (that) his calendar (is) different than ours,” Newsom told CNN in a text. “Bottom line: Trump is just winding up (on November vandalism). Caught between saying he just wants fair maps that under the new proposal would make every district more competitive and that he's doing this to help Democrats, Moore accuses Trump of “political redlining” and describing the special burden he feels as the only current Black governor in America. He waves away those who argue Maryland's moving forward would prompt other Republicans to retaliate, given that Gov. “I am not wondering or hoping anymore that somehow others will see better angels. “And so I don't see how this idea that, ‘Oh, if we just sit quiet, the beatings will stop. Moore says he gets why people talk about him running in 2028, but that he still doesn't look in the mirror and see a president. That has never been part of his thinking, he insists. With the story he tells of his beginnings, his military service in Afghanistan and the work he's been doing as governor, Moore says he knows that there are those who see him as the potential vessel for that hope. I want to feel that, you know what, this is going end up becoming just a really bad chapter of a really good book,” Moore said. “When you hear people say, ‘Thank God I'm in Maryland,' I kind of love that, because it means that we're taking this moment seriously.

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters. At Vox, our mission is to help you make sense of the world — and that work has never been more vital. But we can't do it on our own. We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today? He's teaching some dangerous lessons to China and Russia. It's no secret that President Donald Trump has global aspirations — despite his promises of focusing on “America First.” The past few weeks have seen US action in Venezuela; threats to Greenland, Europe, and Iran; and Trump's open solicitation of a Nobel Peace Prize. With its billion-dollar lifetime membership fee, the new body has been labeled a minor bid to replace the United Nations. So far the countries who have joined are relatively minor players on the world stage, including Belarus, Azerbaijan, and El Salvador. But whether or not the board ends up successful in its mission to create “a more nimble and effective international peace-building body,” it's Trump's latest attempt to exert a new kind of international power, especially over America's neighbors. “He's trying to reestablish the US sphere of influence, its control over the Western Hemisphere,” said Monica Duffy Toft, professor of international politics at Tufts' Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and director of the Center for Strategic Studies. Today, Explained co-host Noel King spoke with Toft about where our idea of a “world order” came from and where it may be headed after Trump's shakeup. Below is an excerpt of their conversation, edited for length and clarity. There's much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify. It is unbelievably still January of 2026, and we have had really significant events in Venezuela, over Greenland, with the EU and NATO. And all of this is leading people to say President Donald Trump is trying to remake the world order. And what they were trying to do is set up a system of law — international law, norms, and rules in order to prevent a third world war. And a sphere of influence, it's best understood as control without rule. But their strategic choices are restrained by the great power, and in this case, it's the United States.What [the US] is doing is saying, under President Trump and his administration, [countries within its sphere] can't freely choose alliances, trade partners without crossing lines or without getting agreement from the United States. We clearly want to have a lot of influence in Venezuela. Greenland, the president has been very clear there as well. But what other nations and regions do we see Trump wanting to have influence over? We know that he wants the Western sphere under US control. You can look at what is done in Venezuela, where it just said Venezuela can no longer have [formal trade] relations with China and with Russia. But paradoxically, [the Trump administration] also wants to have global reach. And so now we're seeing the tensions. And then also the United States wants to maintain its leverage in Asia. So on the one hand, it's really pressing its case in the Western Hemisphere, but then it's also insisting that it should have some leverage in these other regions. Because of course if the United States can have pointy elbows in its own sphere, China could make the argument, then why can't we? This makes me wonder then: Who are the other great powers? The top two are probably the Russian Federation, of course, which invaded Ukraine in 2014 and then again in 2022. And [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's made it very clear that he wants to determine Ukrainians' foreign policy so much so that it doesn't want to join in the EU or NATO, and it doesn't want NATO expanded. And of course, the other one is China, whose economy is booming, as a huge population and a large landmass. This makes me think of the way [China's leader] Xi [Jinping] and Putin talk about their objectives in the world. Let's go back to early January, after the United States spirited [Venezuelan President] Nicolas Maduro out of Venezuela. Stephen Miller got on television and he said to CNN's Jake Tapper, “We live in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. Noel, that is a great way to put it. But what I would say is we were already there. And so what's paradoxical here is that we did not need to use force to do that. Now we're using force, but at a time in history when we're finding that it's not as effective in securing our national strategic goals. What's kind of a shame here is that the United States is, under President Trump — he seems to like this muscular foreign policy. You get the quick victories, [like] Venezuela. And over the longer term, it's actually undermining our interests. What you're going to see is a balancing against the United States. You're already seeing the hedging, where you've got [Prime Minister] Mark Carney of Canada declaring,“We know the old order is not coming back. You said the United States is using force, and I wonder to what degree you think that's true. So Venezuela, yes, we did go in. Greenland, we did not actually do anything, nor did we even end up levying tariffs on Europe over the whole Greenland fight. You're not talking boots on the ground, right? The Trump administration did say with the Greenland operation, before it deescalated, thankfully, that they wouldn't discount putting American forces in there and reestablishing those bases. And I'm pretty sure the Europeans feared that the US was going to take that step. We love sanctions and Trump loves tariffs, and we're using them not only against adversaries, but against allies. Is that we're threatening our allies, and because the United States is so quick with the trigger, we can't be trusted that we're not going to use force. It feels like we are barreling toward something in this moment. We've talked about the international norms that are being upended. What do you think we are barreling toward? What's unnerving is that it really does seem to be one individual within this administration that has a lot of say about where we're headed. And my concern, Noel, is that [bombing] Iran [in June 2025] was a successful operation. At least, they've sold it as that. These mini successes may embolden them a little bit more. And the question is: How are our allies going to respond? They're saying, we've got to keep this together because the United States is now not a reliable partner. They feel as if they're fighting for that Western liberal order and that Ukraine is the front line. China under President Xi is kind of thumping [its] chest and saying, “I'm the big boy in the room,” right? We're not going to use force.” And then Putin is looking at this smirking, thinking, “Great, if the United States can get away with these shenanigans, then I can too” — right? We're in kind of a Wild West situation. A MAGA diehard on ICE in Minneapolis, the Epstein files, and what Trump must do before the midterms. Why are we so nostalgic for it? The sport feels unstoppable — yet also doomed. Technology is rotting our brains — but there are ways to stop it.

EDITOR'S NOTE: CNN is using first names only in this story at the family's request to protect their privacy. Her 3-year-old in tow, Franyelis stepped out of the repurposed budget hotel, its blue awning faded where the “Days Inn” logo once was. Heading out of the shelter to pick up the family's oldest son from school, toddler Emmanuel – Emma, for short – ran circles around his mom, seven months pregnant with her third child. “Es un varón,” she said in Spanish, smiling shyly. Nor did the toddler seem to sense his mom's anxiety. None of it was supposed to happen like this. He was the one who'd spurred their move two years ago from Venezuela, bolstered by a new, smoother path to requesting asylum under the Biden administration. We'll be fine,” he'd told her, echoing the hopes his sister and other stateside relatives had stoked: “Come! You can get a better future for the boys here.” A supportive, hardworking partner, Franyelis had gone along. But since then, President Donald Trump had changed not only the immigration rules of her new country but the political landscape of her native one, snagging Franyelis in a strange subplot of the US immigration enforcement crackdown. Born and raised in Zulia state, along Venezuela's border with Colombia, Franyelis had met Yonquenide when she was 17. It was he who, when their first two children were old enough, decided it was time to dream bigger for their family. In my childhood, I never… What they gave me was given to me with a lot of effort by my parents. I wanted it to be easier for me with my children.” Extreme poverty, runaway inflation and political turmoil also gripped Venezuela, with nearly 8 million residents fleeing from 2014 to 2025, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The United States extended Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans to live and work legally in the US while their home country faced instability “due to the enduring humanitarian, security, political, and environmental conditions.” When Franyelis and Yonquenide's eldest, Yoneifer, was 7 and Emma just 2, they set out on what turned into a three-month journey to the US-Mexico border. Like most Venezuelans, they had no passports – which can be ultraexpensive to get or renew – so the adults took their national ID cards, along with the boys' birth certificates. To cover the roughly $20,000 trip – much of it paid to smugglers – Yonquenide had sold a home he owned in Colombia, then worked along the way, he says. With a cousin's help, they applied for entry via the CBP One app, a Biden-era tool that let undocumented immigrants schedule appointments for asylum claims at legal ports of entry. “We came in on the bridge, not crossing the river or anything like that,” she says, referring to the Rio Grande that migrants often wade through or swim – an endeavor that killed one of her cousins in 2023 – to sneak into the United States. After a month in Texas, Franyelis and Yonquenide bought flights for themselves and their sons to New York City, where his sister hosted them for a few weeks before their first immigration court appointment that November, the same month US voters re-elected Donald Trump. The couple rented space in a shared home, and after their temporary work papers came through, Yonquenide worked to cover their rent and other costs. Even if you are new to a job, at one point, you figure it out.” He made deliveries and used his work van to moonlight as a mover. “Having another child wasn't in the cards,” Yonquenide says. But by mid-2025, he and Franyelis were expecting their third. And the surprise pregnancy fit their surprising new life. Joy and wonder fill photos the couple took around that time: touristy shots at the Brooklyn Bridge and Times Square, candids by a lake in summer, just a few months before the kids would see their first snow. Unseen were political winds that had begun to shift in this country they now called home. Just as Trump began his oath last January, the CBP One app was effectively shut down and appointments made through it canceled as part of what would become a nationwide immigration enforcement crackdown. Franyelis and Yonquenide did not get orders to self-deport, they say. Then, in early September, the United States initiated a bombing campaign against what it claimed were Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. By then, reports were multiplying of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detaining asylum seekers as they left hearings like this one; federal officials didn't reveal how immigrants' names land on agents' lists. “I wanted to live a comfortable life here,” she recalls, “and that meant doing the right thing, legally, for our children.” So, mom and dad, with their two sons, reported that morning to Reingold's courtroom. They left around 9:40 a.m. with a letter confirming their next court date: July 2029. “They showed us no mercy,” her partner says. The agents forced Emma out of his father's arms. Father Eduardo Fabian Arias, a Lutheran priest who supports Spanish-speaking families in the courthouse, stepped in to help them make sense of what was happening. “My husband started crying, begging for them not to separate him from his children,” Franyelis remembers, still not sure why she and the boys were spared. He became one of at least 14,822 Venezuelans arrested by ICE between January and mid-October 2025, according to an analysis by the Deportation Data Project, an academic effort that analyzes federal data; they were the fourth-most-targeted nationality of Trump's immigration enforcement push, and a large percentage of the latest wave of migrants to arrive under his predecessor. After a 10-day transit through ICE facilities, Yonquenide landed in North Louisiana's Jackson Parish Correctional Center and was able to call Franyelis, who by then had connected with a lawyer via Fabian Arias' Manhattan parish, St. Peter's Church. They began to help Yonquenide build a case for his next court hearing in December. Once in detention, asylum seekers' cases restart on a separate track called detained court, where justice is notoriously more expeditious and harsher, with much lower asylum approval rates. After a Sunday Mass in Spanish last October at St. Peter's, Franyelis joined hundreds of immigrants and their families at the church's free legal clinic. “It's hard, but I have to keep going. When I am, I try not to show them,” Franyelis said, nodding toward her children as they played with her phone in a corner of the room. “Nothing, we haven't eaten today,” the boy replied. “Your mom is tough,” Yonquenide joked on the line. “She doesn't give you anything to eat.” The call was brief, much like – at least in Franyelis' mind – this whole episode: just an interruption, a sad glitch in their new American life. Yonquenide would be released soon, she figured, and since her and the boys' next court hearing wasn't until 2029, they would have plenty of time to keep building their dream. “We just have to wait until they release him,” she thought, “because we cannot go back to Venezuela.” Yonquenide's court hearing was moved up by a month, and the judge ruled on the spot: an immediate deportation order. “I don't wish it upon anyone,” he tells CNN of being detained. The next day, he signed his deportation papers. “My love, they're going to transfer me,” Yonquenide told her. From there, the same White House that for months had insisted Venezuela was a dangerous country run by drug cartels dispatched him on yet another of last year's 76 deportation flights back to South America. For two days, Franyelis had no news of Yonquenide. “Honey, we descended from the cloud, and in the blink of an eye, I was back in Venezuela,” said her partner, now among at least 10,072 Venezuelans deported from January to mid-October 2025, according to the Deportation Data Project. Back in New York, Franyelis was starting to think differently now that Yonquenide was a continent away: “I can't stay. When his deportation flight landed, “they removed the chains from our hands and feet,” Yonquenide recalls. Children and their mothers got toys as they exited a plane, one video showed. Men wearing gray jumpsuits from ICE detention smiled and thanked then-President Nicolás Maduro, showed another. Detainees with no criminal record got door-to-door rides to their desired destinations. Yonquenide was dropped off at his brothers' home in Maracaibo, some 430 miles by road east of the capital, but he slept at Franyelis' mother's house: “He gets scared being alone at night,” she says, smiling. “You don't earn a good living here,” he admits to CNN by phone. And he missed his children: “They are my inspiration for moving forward.” “But, you know, I settled back in my country… Us Venezuelans, we are not bad people.” But just as Yonquenide was finding stability again in his homeland, Venezuela was on the verge of its most volatile, course-altering weeks in at least three decades. Then, on January 3, US forces executed a dramatic, nighttime capture of Maduro and his wife in their home before transferring them to the United States, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and other alleged crimes. Officials split over how to interact with the United States. Yonquenide wouldn't discuss any of it, not even the monthly hyperinflation of some 20% to 30% that made his small income almost worthless. “I'm going to tell you something: I can't talk much about it because here they record the calls and all that,” he said. Though CNN had no indication Venezuelan authorities were listening, reports of authorities searching civilians' phones for government criticism increased amid the state of emergency. Franyelis knew the political situation in Venezuela was bad. She knew of the hours-long supermarket lines and electricity blackouts. But she had just spent Christmas and New Year's Day alone with her children at the shelter they moved into after Yonquenide's income vanished. If she and the boys left without a judge's approval, the court would issue their removal orders in absentia when they failed to show up to her next asylum hearing. Leaving the country without authorization could trigger a lengthy ban on re-entering the United States – a possibility she wanted to avoid. Through the request, Franyelis renounced her claim to seek asylum in the United States and asked Reingold to let her self-deport. The move surprised even her lawyer, given they weren't due back in immigration court until 2029 and could work and receive social services until then. “Most people want to stay,” says Saverio Lo Monaco, who has seen only three or four clients wish to self-deport among the roughly 250 asylum claims he's litigated. “Most people would say, ‘Beautiful, I have another three years to go, there will be another (presidential) administration by then.' Immigrants who wanted to go needed a valid passport to travel by air – the only option Franyelis could see now, in her third trimester and with little kids. And after the United States and Venezuela severed diplomatic ties in 2019, there had been no way for her to get one in the States. Venezuelans in need of consular support in the US typically had to travel to a third country, like Canada or Mexico, with another acceptable form of documentation to get it; that's even what the International Organization for Migration advised. The Homeland Security Department did not respond to CNN's questions about options for Venezuelans with no passport who wish to self-deport. “The best-case scenario is that they approve her request (to self-deport.) Then, she would have to leave the country. Franyelis turned the problem over and over in her mind as she came and went from the New York shelter, almost always with Emma. On a Friday afternoon in January, the two headed out to Yoneifer's public school a few blocks away, where they stood at the gates in a herd of hooded parkas speaking softly in English and Spanish. The toddler danced around, incapable of containing his energy. Franyelis' coat just barely fit over her midsection, stretching at the waist. “It's not that big, really,” she said, stroking her belly. When a school attendant unlocked the iron gates, parents and siblings walked onto the blue playground turf, scanning children grouped mostly by class. Franyelis walked slowly, smiling shyly at the teachers she recognized. Emma spotted his brother first, then sprinted at him, arms outstretched, into a waist-high bear hug that Yoneifer – now a mature 9 – returned awkwardly, half-smiling. Together, the trio walked back toward the street, Franyelis calling out to Emma as he zigzagged among adults and older children. She was too pregnant to run after him. Yoneifer wished all four of them could be reunited. “He is the one who would take them out to play soccer in the park or on a soccer field.” With the temperature below freezing, she couldn't take them to the park, but it wasn't far to the public library, with books in Spanish and a row of computers with games in English or Spanish. It was easy to keep Emma entertained with books, coloring and toys, but Yoneifer was more despondent, often on his mom's phone or playing computer games. Unable to work a traditional job and with a toddler to care for, money also was a constant concern for Franyelis, making her return to Venezuela all the more urgent. A photographer who saw Yonquenide get detained had set up a GoFundMe account for her, and the $2,100 or so it had collected bought Emma a haircut and both boys new off-brand sneakers, plus clothes and other necessities, their mom says. Franyelis also started babysitting three times a week, earning $50 per shift watching the children of a friend who worked nights, along with her own kids, at their place. For now, she could keep her boys safe, Franyelis knew. But the clock was ticking to her April due date. “I can't give birth here,” in the United States, she said. “Who would take care of my two oldest when I'm in the hospital?” With immigration cases backlogged by the millions, Franyelis knew she might not get a response soon to her request for voluntary departure. “That's what bothers me,” she said, touching her belly. Yonquenide understood why his partner wanted to leave. “Like this, 7 months pregnant, I would do it. “It takes a long time, and she doesn't have enough money to get here by land,” Yonquenide says. “The problem is new,” says her lawyer, Lo Monaco. “She is the first Venezuelan I encounter that wants to return. Does the government have a system for that? So, as her due date approached, Franyelis remained in geopolitical limbo: living with her young sons in the United States while longing to be back in Venezuela, where her growing family could be together.

In the wake of a horrific shooting that shocked the nation, President Donald Trump starkly broke with pro-gun groups in off-the-cuff remarks: “Take the guns first, go through due process second,” Trump said during a televised meeting with lawmakers. Trump floated stronger laws for background checks and raising the minimum age to purchase certain firearms. But after the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups objected, he backed down. Last week, Trump once again put gun groups on the defensive when he said Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti should not have had a gun when he was fatally shot by federal agents. You can't walk in with guns. You just can't,” Trump told reporters outside the White House, seeming to blame Pretti for having a gun on his waistband when he was shot and killed. Trump, who has called himself “the best friend gun owners have ever had in the White House,” received a swift rebuke from gun-rights advocates, who argued that Pretti had a clear Second Amendment right to protest while carrying a gun. “The NRA unequivocally believes that all law-abiding citizens have a right to keep and bear arms anywhere they have a legal right to be,” the NRA wrote on X last week. Trump's comments were all the more notable because they came after pushback from pro-gun groups against top Trump officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who suggested in the immediate aftermath that Pretti was a threat because he had a gun. It was just the latest instance in which the president's actions and rhetoric have put him at odds with gun-rights groups — even if his administration's record is largely on the side of gun rights — scrambling the politics over firearms and sometimes creating strange bedfellows. “Trump has always been a bit of a moving target when it comes to gun rights,” said Rob Doar, president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Law Center, who has pushed back against Trump officials' claims that Pretti was violating Minnesota law by carrying a gun. “I think advocates are always a little bit tepid to trusting Trump as a strong mouthpiece for the Second Amendment. His administration, on the other hand, has done some really strong things,” Doar told CNN. Trump's views on guns have shifted from supporting an assault weapons ban in 2000 to a 2016 presidential campaign in which the NRA spent millions to help him get elected. But a lot has changed since Trump's first election. The NRA is no longer the lobbying powerhouse it once was, having been weakened by financial scandals and years of internal conflict that led to the 2024 resignation of President Wayne LaPierre. A Republican strategist who works directly with multiple lawmakers on Capitol Hill described the NRA's self-insertion in the conversation around Pretti's shooting as the organization's attempt to stay relevant. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that Trump “supports the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens. “While Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms, Americans do not have a constitutional right to impede lawful immigration enforcement operations,” Leavitt said. Of course, pro-gun groups still have plenty of influence in the Trump administration, which they've flexed knocking down several proposals over the past year — including some opposed by liberal groups. Trump has reversed Biden-era gun regulations and cut funding for gun-violence research over the past year, but the Trump administration also crossed gun-rights groups with a proposal to merge the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into the Drug Enforcement Administration. Pro-gun groups feared such a move would empower the agency's gun-related efforts, not weaken them, and the idea was quietly abandoned. And while Trump officials and Republicans rushed to cast blame on Pretti — even as video evidence contradicted them — Democrats defended his right to carry a gun at a protest under Minnesota law. “It feels like we're in a bizarro world,” said University of California, Los Angeles, law professor Adam Winkler, an expert on constitutional law and the Second Amendment. “Republicans are saying, ‘Don't bring your guns to protests,' after 10 years of saying, ‘Of course you can bring guns to protests.' Some Republicans have relished the fact that gun-control advocates like Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom are defending Pretti's right to protest while carrying a gun. Newsom, who accused the Trump administration of not believing in the Second Amendment, has signed legislation in California restricting where guns can be legally carried (though a federal appellate court ruled against California's gun control laws last month). “It's been great to watch all these Democrats crying out for gun rights,” one Republican congressman told CNN with a smirk. Kris Brown, president of Brady, a gun violence prevention group, acknowledged that the politics of the fatal shooting in Minnesota were “a little bit upside-down.” But she argued Pretti's killing pierced the NRA's narrative that guns are a “risk-free value proposition” — and its long-held warnings that Democratic administrations would trample on the rights of gun owners. “The reality here is the NRA also warned gun owners for years and years about ‘jack-booted thugs' coming for their guns,” Brown said. When Trump first ran for president, the NRA was considered one of the strongest lobbying forces in Washington. “It's not clear exactly how much behind-the-scenes influence they have with the White House.” A MAGA-aligned Republican operative told CNN the NRA is among many “legacy GOP groups” that no longer hold the same sway in Washington. The NRA did not respond to a request for comment. In Trump's first term, he broke with gun-rights advocates several times in response to mass shootings, though he often didn't follow through with policy changes. But while campaigning in the 2024 GOP primary, Trump touted the fact that no significant gun laws were changed during his first administration. And there was great pressure on me having to do with guns. We didn't yield,” Trump said in February 2024 at an NRA expo. They point to his appointees like Harmeet Dhillon at the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and provisions in Trump's “Big Beautiful Bill” to cut fees on some firearms equipment like silencers. Gutowski wrote last August about objections from gun-rights groups over the deployment of dozens of ATF agents in Washington, DC, as part of Trump's law enforcement crackdown in the city. But Robert Spitzer, a professor at the State University of New York at Cortland and author of several books on guns and politics, said Trump's splits with pro-gun groups tend to be short-lived, even if his latest comments about the Minnesota shooting are particularly notable. “I think in the long term, he's not going to really have any problems with the gun-rights side. But this is a pretty disruptive moment.”

People wave national flags for Greenland Minister for Foreign Affairs and Research Vivian Motzfeldt as she arrives at the airport in Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. BRUSSELS (AP) — European allies and Canada are pouring billions of dollars into helping Ukraine, and they have pledged to massively boost their budgets to defend their territories. But despite those efforts, NATO's credibility as a unified force under U.S. leadership has taken a huge hit over the past year as trust within the 32-nation military organization dissolved. The rift has been most glaring over U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to seize Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. More recently, Trump's disparaging remarks about his NATO allies' troops in Afghanistan drew another outcry. “Even without force or sanctions, that breach weakens the alliance in a lasting way.” The tensions haven't gone unnoticed in Russia, NATO's biggest threat. Any deterrence of Russia relies on ensuring that President Vladimir Putin is convinced that NATO will retaliate should he expand his war beyond Ukraine. Right now, that does not seem to be the case. Criticized by U.S. leaders for decades over low defense spending, and lashed relentlessly under Trump, European allies and Canada agreed in July to significantly up their game and start investing 5% of their gross domestic product on defense. The allies would spend as much of their economic output on core defense as the United States — around 3.5% of GDP — by 2035, plus a further 1.5% on security-related projects like upgrading bridges, air and seaports. He recently said that “fundamentally thanks to Donald J. Trump, NATO is stronger than it ever was.” Rutte has pointedly refused to speak about the rift over Greenland. Trump's designs on Greenland attack that very principle, even though Article 5 does not apply in internal disputes because it can only be triggered unanimously. “Instead of strengthening our alliances, threats against Greenland and NATO are undermining America's own interests,” two U.S. senators, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Lisa Murkowski, wrote in a New York Times op-ed. “Suggestions that the United States would seize or coerce allies to sell territory do not project strength. Even before Trump escalated his threats to seize control of Greenland, his European allies were never entirely convinced that he would defend them should they come under attack. Trump has said that he doesn't believe the allies would help him either, and he recently drew more anger when he questioned the role of European and Canadian troops who fought and died alongside Americans in Afghanistan. The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said this week that “it has become painfully clear that Russia will remain a major security threat for the long term.” “We are fending off cyberattacks, sabotage against critical infrastructure, foreign interference and information manipulation, military intimidation, territorial threats and political meddling,” she said Wednesday. Identifying the culprits is difficult, and Russia denies responsibility. In a year-end address, Rutte warned that Europe is at imminent risk. “Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured,” he said. Meanwhile in Russia, Lavrov said the dispute over Greenland heralded a “deep crisis” for NATO. “It was hard to imagine before that such a thing could happen,” Lavrov told reporters, as he contemplated the possibility that “one NATO member is going to attack another NATO member.” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is due to meet with his counterparts at NATO on Feb. 12. A year ago, he startled the allies by warning that America's security priorities lie elsewhere and that Europe must look after itself now. It's unclear whether Hegseth will announce a new drawdown of U.S. troops in Europe, who are central to NATO's deterrence. In October, NATO learned that up to 1,500 American troops would be withdrawn from an area bordering Ukraine, angering ally Romania. A report from the European Union Institute for Security Studies warned last week that although U.S. troops are unlikely to vanish overnight, doubts about U.S. commitment to European security means “the deterrence edifice becomes shakier.” “Europe is being forced to confront a harsher reality,” wrote the authors, Veronica Anghel and Giuseppe Spatafora. “Adversaries start believing they can probe, sabotage and escalate without triggering a unified response.”

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that if any member of Congress would like to see materials in their unredacted form, they can make arrangements with the department to do so. Britain's Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. NEW YORK (AP) — Newly disclosed U.S. government files on Jeffrey Epstein have prompted the resignation of a top official in Slovakia and revived calls in Britain for a former prince to share what he knows with authorities about Epstein's links to powerful individuals around the world. The fallout comes just a day after the Justice Department began releasing a massive trove of files that offers more details about Epstein's interactions with the rich and famous after he served time for sex crimes in Florida. Lajcak wasn't accused of wrongdoing but left his position after photos and emails revealed he had met with Epstein in the years after Epstein was released from jail. The disclosures also have revived questions about whether long-time Epstein friend Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, should cooperate with U.S. authorities investigating Epstein. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday suggested Mountbatten-Windsor should tell American investigators whatever he knows about Epstein's activities. The former prince has so far ignored a request from members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee for a “transcribed interview” about his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein. President Donald Trump's Justice Department said it would be releasing more than 3 million pages of documents along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images under a law intended to reveal most of the material it collected during two decades of investigations involving the wealthy financier. “I didn't see it myself but I was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me, it's the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical left,” he told reporters Saturday night as he flew to Florida. Other documents offered a window into various investigations, including ones that led to sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019 and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell in 2021, and an earlier inquiry that found evidence of Epstein abusing underage girls but never led to federal charges. Robert Fico, Slovakia's prime minister, said Saturday that he had accepted the resignation of Lajcak, his national security adviser. Lajcak, a former Slovak foreign minister, hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, but emails showed that Epstein had invited him to dinner and other meetings in 2018. The records also include a March 2018 email from Epstein's office to former Obama White House general counsel Kathy Ruemmler, inviting her to a get-together with Epstein, Lajcak and Bannon, the conservative activist who served as Trump's White House strategist in 2017. Pressure mounted for his ouster from opposition parties and a nationalist partner in Fico's governing coalition. The FBI started investigating Epstein in July 2006 and agents expected him to be indicted in May 2007, according to the newly records released. A prosecutor wrote up a proposed indictment after multiple underage girls told police and the FBI that they had been paid to give Epstein sexualized massages. The draft indicated prosecutors were preparing to charge not just Epstein but also three people who worked for him as personal assistants. According to interview notes released Friday, an employee at Epstein's Florida estate told the FBI in 2007 that Epstein once had him buy flowers and deliver them to a student at Royal Palm Beach High School to commemorate her performance in a school play. The employee, whose name was blacked out, said some of his duties were fanning $100 bills on a table near Epstein's bed, placing a gun between the mattresses in his bedroom and cleaning up after Epstein's frequent massages with young girls, including disposing of used condoms. Epstein pleaded guilty instead to a state charge of soliciting prostitution from someone under age 18 and got an 18-month jail sentence. Acosta was Trump's first labor secretary in his earlier term. The records have thousands of references to Trump, including emails in which Epstein and others shared news articles, commented on his policies, or gossiped about him and his family. Mountbatten-Windsor's name appears at least several hundred times, including in Epstein's private emails. Mountbatten-Windsor replied that he “would be delighted to see her.” Epstein, whose emails often contain typographical errors, wrote later in the exchange: “She 26, russian, clevere beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email.” One group of Epstein accusers said in a statement that the new documents made it too easy to identify those he abused but not those who might have been involved in Epstein's criminal activity. “As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinized, and retraumatized while Epstein's enablers continue to benefit from secrecy,” it said. He said in a statement that Congress must assess whether the redactions were lawful or improperly shielded people from scrutiny. Department officials have acknowledged that many records in its files are duplicates, and it was clear from the documents that reviewers took different degrees of care or exercised different standards while blacking out names and other identifying information. The released records reinforced the Epstein was, at least before he ran into legal trouble, friendly with Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Both men said they had no knowledge Epstein was abusing underage girls. In 2021, a federal jury in New York convicted Maxwell, a British socialite, of sex trafficking for helping recruit some of his underage victims. U.S. prosecutors never charged anyone else in connection with Epstein's abuse. One victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, sued Mountbatten-Windsor, saying she had sexual encounters with him starting at age 17. The now-former prince denied having sex with Giuffre but settled her lawsuit for an undisclosed sum. Journalists from each newsroom are working together to examine the files and share information about what is in them. Each outlet is responsible for its own independent news coverage of the documents. Associated Press writer Will Weissert aboard Air Force One and journalists from around the country contributed to this report.

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House, May 30, 2025, in Washington. Britain's Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. NEW YORK (AP) — From tech titans to Wall Street power brokers and foreign dignitaries, a who's who of powerful men make appearances in the huge trove of documents released Friday by the Justice Department in connection with its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein. None have been charged with a crime connected to the investigation. Yet some of them maintained friendships with Epstein, or developed them anew, even after he became known as a predator of young girls and registered sex offender. The man formerly known as Britain's Prince Andrew has long been dogged by questions about his relationship with Epstein, including allegations from the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre that she was trafficked by Epstein and instructed to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17. The former prince has repeatedly denied that it happened, but his brother, King Charles III, still stripped him of his royal titles late last year, including the right to be called a prince and the Duke of York. But it's not immediately clear if the island visits took place. Spokespersons for Musk's companies, Tesla and X, didn't respond to emails seeking comment Friday or Saturday. Musk has maintained that he repeatedly turned down the disgraced financier's overtures. The billionaire founder of the Virgin Group, a global conglomerate, exchanged numerous emails with Epstein in the years after he pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a minor and agreed to register as a sex offender in Florida in 2008. In a 2013 exchange, Branson invited Epstein to his own private Caribbean island, which regularly hosts large conferences, charity events and business meetings. In another message that year, he suggested Epstein rehabilitate his image by convincing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to tell the public how Epstein had “been a brilliant adviser to him” and had “more than learnt your lesson and have done nothing that's against the law since.” The company stressed in a statement Saturday that there was no wrongdoing on Branson's part and that any dealings with Epstein were “limited to group or business settings” more than a decade ago. Branson also declined a charitable donation and decided not to meet or speak with him again after his team “uncovered serious allegations,” the company said. “Richard believes that Epstein's actions were abhorrent and supports the right to justice for his many victims.” In one 2013 email exchange with the subject line “Ukrainian girl,” Epstein encouraged Tisch to contact a particular woman, whose physical beauty he praised in crude terms. Tisch, a scion of a powerful New York family that founded the Loews Corporation, has acknowledged knowing Epstein but denied ever going to his infamous Caribbean island. In a 2003 exchange, Wasserman wrote to Maxwell: “I think of you all the time. In another, Maxwell asks whether it will be foggy enough during an upcoming visit “so that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?” Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and abuse of minors. The former Israeli prime minister and his wife turn up frequently in the documents released Friday, showing they stayed in regular contact with Epstein for years, including well after his 2008 guilty plea for sex crimes in Florida. Among the correspondence are plans for a 2017 stay at Epstein's New York residence. Barak has acknowledged regularly visiting Epstein on his trips to New York and flying on his private plane, but maintains he never observed any inappropriate behavior or parties. President Donald Trump's commerce secretary visited Epstein's private Caribbean island with his family on at least one occasion, records released Friday show. But emails show Lutnick and his wife accepted an invitation to Little St. James in the U.S. Virgin Islands in December 2012 and planned to arrive by yacht with their children. The former chairman of Newmark, a major commercial real estate firm, also had drinks on another occasion in 2011 with Epstein and corresponded with him about the construction of a building across the street from both of their homes. The Commerce Department, in a statement, said Lutnick had “limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.” The billionaire Google co-founder made plans to meet with Epstein and Maxwell at his townhouse in New York years before he was publicly accused of sexually abusing underage girls, emails show. Spokespersons for Google didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday. The one-time adviser to Trump exchanged hundreds of friendly texts with Epstein, some sent months before his 2019 arrest and jailhouse suicide. The two discussed politics, travel and a documentary Bannon was said to be planning that would help salvage Epstein's reputation. One 2018 exchange, for example, focused on Trump's threats at the time to oust Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. A national security adviser to the Slovakian prime minister, Lajcak resigned Saturday after his past communications with Epstein appeared in Friday's document release. Opposition parties and a nationalist partner in Fico's governing coalition had called for him to step down. Lajcak, a former Slovak foreign minister and a onetime president of the U.N. General Assembly, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but was photographed meeting with Epstein in the years between his initial release from jail and his subsequent indictment in 2019 on sex trafficking charges. Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump has moved to pull back federal law enforcement from Democratic-run cities dealing with anti-ICE riots, saying they will only be deployed if requested by local officials. “I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help,” Trump posted on Truth Social. Those future requests would also come with one condition, according to Trump. “Therefore, to all complaining Local Governments, Governors, and Mayors, let us know when you are ready, and we will be there — But, before we do so, you must use the word, ‘PLEASE,'” he said. If there is, those people will suffer an equal, or more, consequence,” he said. Trump vowed that agents would still be “extremely powerful and tough” in dealing with rioters damaging federal property, expressing ire over recent anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and Eugene, Oregon. “We will not allow our Courthouses, Federal Buildings, or anything else under our protection, to be damaged in any way, shape, or form. I was elected on a Policy of Border Control (which has now been perfected! In Los Angeles, rioters attacked LAPD officers as they tried to break into a federal courthouse, leading to dispersal orders and multiple arrests. According to CBS News, they threw bottles and rocks at the officers, vandalized parts of the building, and later set fire to a nearby dumpster. Anti-ICE rioters also descended on Eugene, with hundreds demonstrating outside a federal building.