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About a year after her husband's death, Kouri Richins published a children's book to help her three sons cope with their grief.
“Just because he's not present here with us physically, that doesn't mean his presence isn't here with us,” Richins said during an interview promoting the book on a local news program in April 2023. “Dad is still here, it's just in a different way.”
A month later, the Utah mother was arrested and accused of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, with a lethal dose of fentanyl in 2022.
On Monday, a jury will hear opening statements as Richins goes on trial for the murder of her husband of nine years. Prosecutors allege she killed him for financial gain and to start a new life with the man with whom she was having an affair. She is also accused of attempting to poison her husband on Valentine's Day, weeks before his death.
Richins, 35, has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, insurance fraud and forgery. If convicted of the most serious charge, she could face up to life in prison.
Richins faces additional financial charges in a separate case. Court records indicate she has yet to enter a plea.
In a statement to CNN, Richins' attorneys said their client was eager to have her day in court.
“Kouri has waited nearly three years for this moment: the opportunity to have the facts of this case heard by a jury, free from the prosecution's narrative that has dominated headlines since her arrest,” her defense attorneys said in the statement. “Now the state must prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Eric Richins, 39, was found dead in the couple's bedroom in the early morning hours of March 4, 2022.
Earlier that night, Kouri Richins brought cocktails up to their room to celebrate a success with her real estate business, according to an account she gave to investigators outlined in court records.
Richins told authorities one of their sons was having bad dreams, so she went to sleep in his room around 9:30 p.m., charging documents said. When she returned to the master bedroom roughly six hours later, she said she found her husband dead in their bed.
“I turned over, like to put my arm around Eric and he was just cold,” she told investigators in April 2023, according to court documents. “Like it was like a – like putting your arm over a cement brick.”
Richins called 911 at 3:21 a.m., and first responders arrived at the home in Kamas, outside Salt Lake City, shortly after. They noted it seemed like Eric Richins had been “dead a while,” the charging documents said.
Richins told investigators she left her cellphone in the master bedroom and called 911 immediately after she found her husband dead. Prosecutors, however, said a forensic analysis of her phone showed it was unlocked six times in the 15 minutes before she made the emergency call at 3:21 a.m.
The autopsy revealed Eric Richins died from a fentanyl overdose, with about five times the lethal dose in his blood.
Kouri Richins told investigators her husband would sometimes take THC gummies before bed – and that she believed they could have contained fentanyl. The night of his death, she told authorities she didn't think he had eaten one. A year later, Richins said she thought he did eat a gummy that night, prosecutors said in charging documents.
The medical examiner did not detect THC in Eric Richins' system, and prosecutors said the gummies in his home did not test positive for fentanyl.
A woman who cleaned Richins' houses told investigators that Kouri Richins asked for fentanyl in early 2022, charging documents said. The woman said she bought more than 15 pills she thought to contain fentanyl from a drug dealer on February 11, 2022, which she then gave to Richins.
A few days later, on Valentine's Day, Richins left her husband a sandwich and a note before leaving to meet up with her “paramour,” prosecutors said in charging documents. Later that day, Eric Richins texted his wife: “I'm gonna go lay down for a bit if I don't start getting better I'm gonna head to the hospital.”
Hours later, Eric Richins told two friends he felt like he was going to die after eating the sandwich, according to charging documents. “I think my wife tried to poison me,” he said to one.
Eric Richins told the other friend he broke out in hives, then injected himself with an EpiPen and drank a bottle of Benadryl. “You almost lost me,” he said, according to prosecutors.
Eric Richins did not have any food allergies, but fentanyl and other opioids can sometimes cause “pseudoallergic reactions,” prosecutors said. His wife's attorneys have said in court records that Eric Richins believed he was having an allergic reaction, and that there is no evidence to show he ingested drugs that day.
In late February 2022, Richins allegedly asked the woman for more fentanyl, saying the previous drugs were not strong enough. Richins asked for “some of the Michael Jackson stuff,” the woman told authorities, but she couldn't remember if the Jackson reference was made during Richins' first alleged request or the second. Jackson died in 2009 from an overdose of propofol.
Prosecutors said the woman bought more drugs from the same dealer on February 26, 2022. Her phone records, outlined in charging documents, show contact with Richins around the time she met with the dealer.
Within a week, Eric Richins was dead.
Kouri Richins manually deleted more than 800 messages with the woman from January to mid-March 2022, as well as a “significant amount” of cellphone data from that time period, prosecutors said. After Richins was informed of her husband's cause of death, her phone's internet history allegedly included visits to websites about women's prisons in Utah, life insurance payments, and how police recover deleted cellphone data.
By that summer, Richins' phone had been used to make various internet searches, including one that read, “if someone is poisned (sic) what does it go down on the death certificate as,” according to charging documents.
A defense attorney who no longer represents Richins previously said the searches were merely a response to the investigation at the time and not indicative of guilt.
Shortly after her arrest, Richins told her family she asked the woman for pain pills that her husband wanted, but he threw them out because they weren't strong enough, according to court documents. Her former defense attorney said Eric Richins was known as a “partier” who would “consume alcohol and THC in any form.”
Prosecutors said Richins repeatedly told law enforcement that her husband didn't take drugs other than the occasional THC gummy.
Prosecutors allege Kouri Richins killed her husband to profit off his lucrative business and life insurance policies – funds she could then use to support her struggling real estate business.
“She also did so because she planned a future with her paramour, and divorcing Eric Richins would leave her without any proceeds from his business and possibly without custody of their children,” prosecutors wrote in court filings.
Richins told a friend in December 2021 that she felt trapped in her marriage and it would be better if her husband was dead, according to charging documents.
On the day of Eric Richins' death, his estate was worth roughly $5 million and his wife was “spiraling toward total financial collapse,” prosecutors said. Eric Richins' life was insured for more than $2 million through several life insurance policies, one of which prosecutors allege his wife fraudulently applied for weeks before he died.
However, Eric Richins met with a lawyer in the fall of 2020 to implement various estate planning methods that excluded his wife, charging documents said.
“Eric Richins informed his lawyer that he wanted to protect himself in the short-term from recently discovered and ongoing abuse and misuse of his finances by the Defendant, and to protect his three children in the long-term by ensuring that the Defendant would never be able to manage his property after his death,” prosecutors wrote.
Eric Richins appointed his sister to manage his trust and removed his wife as the beneficiary of a $500,000 life insurance policy, which Kouri Richins did not realize until after his death, according to prosecutors.
Utah woman accused of killing her husband with fentanyl claims a letter in her jail cell is part of a fictional book she's writing, prosecutors say
In 2023, the drug dealer who allegedly provided the pills to Richins' housecleaner confirmed he sold her fentanyl, according to court documents. Last year, however, he told investigators he had given the woman a different drug, not fentanyl, Richins' defense attorneys said in a motion last fall.
“If the state cannot place fentanyl in the hands of the defendant, the state has no case,” Richins' lawyers wrote. “(The dealer's) statement doesn't just poke holes in their case, it throws a grenade in the middle of it.”
Prosecutors argued in their own court filing that the dealer's recent claim isn't credible. However, even if the jury did take the dealer's recent statement into consideration, prosecutors said the panel could “still easily convict the Defendant.”
In their statement to CNN, Richins' defense attorneys said they believe the evidence at trial will support their client's claim of innocence.
“Kouri is a mother who wants to go home to her children,” her attorneys said. “We are confident this jury will make that possible.”
CNN's Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.
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People walk in Nuuk, Greenland on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Sunday “no thanks” to U.S. President Donald Trump's idea of sending a hospital ship to Greenland, a territory that Trump has repeatedly said he wishes to take over.
Trump said on Saturday on social media he was working with Louisiana Governor and special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, to send a hospital boat to Greenland.
“President Trump's idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted. But we have a public health-care system where treatment is free for citizens. It is a deliberate choice,” Nielsen said in a post on Facebook.
Nielsen said Greenland remained open to dialogue and co-operation, also with the U.S.
“But talk to us instead of just making more or less random outbursts on social media,” he said.
Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. late last month launched diplomatic talks to resolve the crisis between the parties, following months of tension within the NATO defence alliance over Trump's threats against the Arctic territory.
Trump's post on the ship came hours after Denmark's Joint Arctic Command said it had evacuated a crew member who required urgent medical treatment from a U.S. submarine in Greenlandic waters, seven nautical miles outside of Greenland's capital, Nuuk. It was unclear if the post had any connection to the evacuation.
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An aerial view of U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.Steve Helber/The Associated Press
An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida, as another vehicle was exiting before being shot and killed early Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service.
The man, who was in his early 20s and from North Carolina, had a gas can and a shotgun, according to Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman. He had been reported missing by his family a few days ago, and investigators believe he headed south and picked up the shotgun along the way.
Guglielmi said a box for the weapon was discovered in the man's vehicle after the incident, which took place around 1:30 a.m.
The man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation.
Trump has faced threats to his life before, including two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign. Although the president often spends weekends at his resort, he and first lady Melania Trump were at the White House when the breach at Mar-a-Lago occurred.
After entering near the north gate of the property, the man was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a brief press conference. The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”
The FBI asked residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.
In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said that the bureau would be “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation.
Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile and a motive is still under investigation. Asked whether the individual was known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said “not right now.”
On Sunday afternoon, vehicles blocked the entrance to a property listed in public records as an address for Martin at the end of rugged and sandy private road in Cameron, North Carolina.
The incident comes as the United States has been rocked by spasms political violence.
The incursion at Mar-a-Lago took place a few miles from Trump's West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate him while he played golf during the 2024 campaign.
A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.
Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.
Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that “the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump's home.”
Leavitt used her post to blame Democratic lawmakers in Congress for the partial government shutdown affecting the Homeland Security department that began Feb. 14 after Democrats demanded changes to the president's deportation campaign.
The Secret Service is among the agencies where the vast majority of employees are continuing their work but missing a paycheque.
“Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans,” Leavitt said. “It's shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department.”
The White House referred all questions to the Secret Service and FBI. Both Trump and his wife posted statements on social media after the incident, but they were unrelated to the shooting.
There have been other recent incidents of political violence as well.
In the last year, there was the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife; and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he sprinted towards the west side of the U.S. Capitol.
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US Secret Service agents and Palm Beach County law enforcement shot and killed an armed man who unlawfully entered the secure perimeter at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida on Sunday morning, the Secret Service said.
The president and first lady were at the White House in Washington, DC, at the time of the incident.
The incident comes amid a backdrop of heightened political violence in the US. In July 2024, Trump survived an assassination attempt while campaigning for his second term in Pennsylvania. Another man who planned to assassinate the president at his Florida golf course in September 2024 was sentenced this month to life in prison.
Political violence has targeted Republican and Democratic figures alike. Last summer, Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband were shot and killed, and conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in September.
A White man in his early 20s entered the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago around 1:30 a.m. ET before he was shot by agents and a deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, authorities said. The man appeared to be carrying a shotgun and a fuel can, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday.
The man entered Mar-a-Lago through the north gate as an employee was walking out. He made it about 20 or 30 yards before he was confronted by law enforcement, officials said.
When a deputy and two Secret Service agents encountered the man, they ordered him to drop the items. The man dropped the gas can and “raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said.
The deputy and agents then fired their weapons at him and he was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff said. He added that the officers involved were wearing body cameras.
The man is from North Carolina and was reported missing Saturday by his mother, law enforcement officials said. His name is being withheld until his family is notified of his death.
The FBI is leading the investigation, with teams collecting evidence and looking into his background and motive.
No law enforcement officials were harmed in the incident, authorities said.
The Secret Service agents involved will be placed on administrative leave during the investigation “in accordance with agency policy,” a Secret Service statement said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt praised the quick action of the Secret Service agents involved in the incident in a statement on X Sunday.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said she has been in touch with Trump about the incident and is coordinating with federal partners on the investigation.
The agency is asking residents in the area of the shooting to check their exterior cameras and contact authorities if they notice anything suspicious.
Trump spends most weekends during the winter at his Mar-a-Lago club. He is spending this weekend in Washington, where he hosted a dinner for governors at the White House on Saturday night.
As Mar-a-Lago has increasingly become the setting for official presidential activity under Trump, security has been a concern for intelligence officials. While the Secret Service screens guests before they enter, it does not determine who can access the site, as paying club members may enter alongside world leaders.
Recent security enhancements include snipers, bomb-sniffing dogs and boats patrolling the Intracoastal Waterway, along with miles of secure telephone and internet cables.
CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
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Spain's Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal by a father seeking to halt his 25-year-old daughter's access to euthanasia, effectively upholding her right to die under the country's legislation.
Spain is one of several EU nations where active euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal. The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg also allow both practices under strict conditions, while Austria and Germany permit assisted dying or assisted suicide in limited circumstances.
The latest case involves a 25-year-old woman from Barcelona named Noelia, who was left paraplegic with chronic pain after a 2022 suicide attempt in which she overdosed on medication and jumped from a fifth-floor window, according to court documents cited by Spanish media. Her injury resulted in paralysis of both legs and what is described as ongoing suffering.
In 2024, a specialized medical commission approved the woman's request for euthanasia, and a procedure was scheduled for August 2. However, her father opposed the decision, arguing that her mental illness and disabilities impaired the ability to make an informed choice, having filed an appeal. Several lower courts backed the woman's decision.
In its ruling on Friday, the Constitutional Court said it found no violation of fundamental rights in the earlier decisions that cleared the paralyzed woman's path to assisted death, effectively ending the domestic legal battle. After the rejection of the appeal, lawyers for the family announced plans to take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.
“We are taking Noelia's case to the Strasbourg Court,” Christian Lawyers, a Catholic group acting as the legal representatives of Noelia's father, said, commenting on the ruling. “We will defend her life until the end.”
Spain legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in June 2021, allowing adults with serious or incurable conditions to seek a medically facilitated death. According to government data, 426 people underwent euthanasia in 2024, a nearly 48% rise compared with the first full year after legalization in 2022.
Despite broad public support for assisted dying in Spain, the law's adoption was contentious and sparked debate between liberal reformers and opponents, including conservative political parties and the Catholic Church, who argue it devalues life.
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Authorities say agents confronted a white male in his early 20s carrying shotgun and gasoline can early Sunday
The US Secret Service shot and killed an armed intruder who breached the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's Florida residence and private club in Palm Beach, early on Sunday.
Although the US president often spends weekends at the oceanfront resort, he was at the White House in Washington during this incident, as was first lady Melania Trump.
At a press conference on Sunday morning, Ric Bradshaw, the sheriff of Palm Beach county, said two Secret Service agents and one of his deputies went to the north gate of the property at about 1.30am ET after a security detail alerted them that a person was within an inner perimeter.
There, they confronted a white male carrying a shotgun and a gasoline can, Bradshaw said.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him, at which time he put down the gas can [and] raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” the sheriff said.
“At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat. He is deceased at the scene.”
Bradshaw said none of the law enforcement personnel were injured, and was unable to say if the man's shotgun was loaded. He distributed to reporters a photograph of the shotgun and fuel canister.
He did not immediately identify the intruder, and answered “not right now” when a journalist asked if the person was previously known to law enforcement.
However, on Sunday afternoon the Associated Press reported that the man killed had been identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, citing a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation.
The incident took place just inside Mar-a-Lago's main entrance gate on South Ocean Boulevard, the coastal Atlantic road that remained closed to traffic on Sunday morning. The gate at the north end of the sprawling estate opens to a driveway leading directly to the main building's entrance lobby.
The Trump family's private quarters are in a separate building on the other side of the resort and the president has visited Mar-a-Lago most weekends during the winter season. More widely it operates as a private members' club for the wealthy elite of Palm Beach society and it is also common for Trump to host world leaders and political operatives and events there, and he is a frequent glad-handing presence among dinner guests.
Separately, the Secret Service said the suspect was in his early 20s and from North Carolina. He was reported missing a few days ago by his family.
Investigators believe he left North Carolina and headed south, picking up a shotgun along the way, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
The box for the gun was recovered in his vehicle, Guglielmi said. The man drove through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was exiting, and he was confronted by Secret Service agents and was fatally shot.
Investigators are now working to compile a psychological profile and uncover a motive.
Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami field office, told the press conference that the bureau's evidence response team was processing the site of the shooting and collecting evidence, and would “continue to work the scene for as long as it takes”.
Skiles asked residents who live near the sprawling resort on the exclusive Palm Beach island to check exterior cameras for any footage from Saturday night or early Sunday for “anything that looks suspicious or out of place”.
Sunday's episode has parallels with a 2019 incident in which a Chinese woman carrying multiple cellphones and a computer thumb drive bearing malware gained access to the main lobby of Mar-a-Lago, having evaded security.
That was one of a number of incidents during Trump's first term in office that drew accusations of lax security at the club, which he has often called his “winter White House”.
In July, 2024, Trump was wounded during an assassination attempt as he spoke at a rally for supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania, during the presidential election campaign. A bullet grazed his ear and some spectators were killed.
Then on 15 September of the same year a man with a rifle was captured after waiting near Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach while the president played a round. He appeared to be pointing the weapon through a perimeter fence. He was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.
Last Wednesday, police in Washington arrested a man from Georgia who was armed with a loaded shotgun and sprinted towards the west side of the US Capitol building.
The White House did not immediately respond on Sunday to a message seeking comment.
Associated Press contributed reporting
Authorities say agents confronted a white male, who has not been identified, carrying shotgun and gasoline can
The US Secret Service shot and killed an armed intruder who breached the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's Florida residence and private club in Palm Beach, early on Sunday.
Although the US president often spends weekends at the oceanfront resort, he was at the White House in Washington during this incident, as was first lady Melania Trump.
At a press conference on Sunday morning, Ric Bradshaw, the sheriff of Palm Beach county, said two Secret Service agents and one of his deputies went to the north gate of the property at about 1.30am ET after a security detail alerted them that a person was within an inner perimeter.
There, they confronted a white male carrying a shotgun and a gasoline can, Bradshaw said.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him, at which time he put down the gas can [and] raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” the sheriff said.
“At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat. He is deceased at the scene.”
Bradshaw said none of the law enforcement personnel were injured, and was unable to say if the man's shotgun was loaded. He distributed to reporters a photograph of the shotgun and fuel canister.
He did not identify the intruder, and answered “not right now” when a journalist asked if the person was previously known to law enforcement.
The incident took place just inside Mar-a-Lago's main entrance gate on South Ocean Boulevard, the coastal Atlantic road that remained closed to traffic on Sunday morning. The gate at the north end of the sprawling estate opens to a driveway leading directly to the main building's entrance lobby.
The Trump family's private quarters are in a separate building on the other side of the resort and the president has visited Mar-a-Lago most weekends during the winter season. More widely it operates as a private members' club for the wealthy elite of Palm Beach society and it is also common for Trump to host world leaders and political operatives and events there, and he is a frequent glad-handing presence among dinner guests.
Separately, the Secret Service said the suspect was in his early 20s and from North Carolina. He was reported missing a few days ago by his family.
Investigators believe he left North Carolina and headed south, picking up a shotgun along the way, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
The box for the gun was recovered in his vehicle, Guglielmi said. The man drove through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was exiting, and he was confronted by Secret Service agents and was fatally shot.
Investigators are now working to compile a psychological profile and uncover a motive.
Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami field office, told the press conference that the bureau's evidence response team was processing the site of the shooting and collecting evidence, and would “continue to work the scene for as long as it takes”.
Skiles asked residents who live near the sprawling resort on the exclusive Palm Beach island to check exterior cameras for any footage from Saturday night or early Sunday for “anything that looks suspicious or out of place”.
Sunday's episode has parallels with a 2019 incident in which a Chinese woman carrying multiple cellphones and a computer thumb drive bearing malware gained access to the main lobby of Mar-a-Lago, having evaded security.
That was one of a number of incidents during Trump's first term in office that drew accusations of lax security at the club, which he has often called his “winter White House”.
In July, 2024, Trump was wounded during an assassination attempt as he spoke at a rally for supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania, during the presidential election campaign. A bullet grazed his ear and some spectators were killed.Then on 15 September of the same year a man with a rifle was captured after waiting near Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach while the president played a round. He appeared to be pointing the weapon through a perimeter fence. He was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.
Last Wednesday, police in Washington arrested a man from Georgia who was armed with a loaded shotgun and sprinted towards the west side of the US Capitol building.
The White House did not immediately respond on Sunday to a message seeking comment.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
In the world being ushered in by Trump, power will prevail over cooperation. We will come to rue having taken this path
The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, inspired a wave of enthusiastic nodding among the cosmopolitan crowd gathered in Davos last month when he took to the podium and proclaimed that the world order underwritten by the United States, which prevailed in the west throughout the postwar era, was over.
The organizing principle that emerged from the ashes of the second world war, that interdependence would promote world peace by knitting nations' interests together in a drive for common security and prosperity, no longer works. The US blew it up.
Donald Trump came to believe that every other country treated the US as a chump, free riding on its security guarantee and abusing its open market – no matter that the United States set most of the rules underpinning the postwar architecture, and broke them when it suited its interests, or that the rules enabled an era of remarkable American prosperity.
In an act of bravery not often experienced among the jet setters in the Swiss Alps, the Canadian prime minister challenged every other country to accept the loss of American leadership and build an alternative global architecture that might bypass the great powers intent on bending everybody else to their will.
“Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited,” he said. “You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination.”
The analysis is catching like wildfire. A couple of weeks after Carney's speech, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, opened the Munich Security Conference arguing that “the international order based on rights and rules is currently being destroyed”. He warned that the “leadership claim of the US is being challenged, perhaps already lost”.
The report prepared for the gathering in Munich articulated well the general feeling of America's (erstwhile) friends. “For generations, US allies were not just able to rely on American power but on a broadly shared understanding of the principles underpinning the international order,” it noted. Washington has betrayed that understanding. “As a result, more than 80 years after construction began, the US-led post-1945 international order is now under destruction.”
European leaders seem to have accepted they must face the world alone. “Europe has to learn to become a geopolitical power,” the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said in Munich. Europeans, said the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, “must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age. We must be able to deter aggression, and yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight.”
But if the old order is behind us, what comes next? Is it possible to create an alternative order that's liberal, multilateral, rules-based and resilient enough to withstand pressure from the US and China as they struggle for supremacy?
Carney posited the choice thus: “Compete with each other for favor, or combine to create a third path with impact.”
But things aren't looking great for a third path. It is likely to prove extraordinarily onerous, if not impossible, to build the institutions needed to support an alternative liberal order based on values, where durable alliances are worth more than ad-hoc deals.
What's likelier is that foreign policy will become harder in a world of hodgepodge dealmaking, as countries join potentially competing coalitions built around specific goals. Pragmatism, rather than ideological alignment or shared values, will be the main driver of international relations. Alliances will be less solid, more transactional.
And potential American aggression will loom over it all.
I asked Jorge Castañeda, Mexico's former foreign minister, for his view on the potential for countries to follow that third path. “What Carney proposes is not viable,” he said. He doesn't think there are too many countries with the wherewithal to join an endeavor that explicitly decouples from Washington's preferred trajectory.
But some are trying, by engaging in a variety of uncoordinated efforts to build defenses against this more dangerous world, stalked by a newly aggressive America. New trade pacts and “strategic” agreements of uncertain scope or stability are sprouting up everywhere. Talk of financial decoupling from the dollar abounds, with Brussels and Beijing eager for the world to consider the euro or the yuan as alternatives.
Countries from Canada to south-east Asia, Brazil and South Africa have turned to China as a potential counterbalance to the United States. Korea and China have traded state visits since last fall. A few days before his speech in Davos, Carney was in Beijing. And Starmer visited a couple of weeks later.
Mistrust of Trump's America is providing incentives for other potential alliances, too. In January the specter of Trump's tariffs encouraged the European Union and India to sign a free-trade agreement that had been stuck in limbo for 20 years.
But despite the recent activity, even like-minded countries may have a hard time building concrete alliances. Last month, days after the European Union finally signed the trade agreement it reached in 2019 with the four founding members of South America's trading bloc Mercosur, lawmakers in the European parliament bowed to opposition from the farm lobby, which fears competition from South America's imposing agricultural industry, and challenged it in court, potentially derailing the deal.
And eager though Canada and other countries may be about the prospect of a world order that sidesteps the United States, losing America means losing a lot.
It's true that the so-called rules-based western order the United States did so much to build over the last 80 years or so might have been hypocritical. In Latin America and beyond, the American commitment to market liberalism often took a back seat to its imperative to keep the red scare at bay by whatever means necessary. Much of its project was imposed at the point of a gun.
Still, the American-led order did provide a number of valuable public goods. They included a set of rules and dispute settlement mechanisms to undergird a liberal global economy that generated enormous prosperity. The US offered the dollar, a global means of exchange. It provided low-risk, liquid treasury bonds for governments and investors around the world to store their wealth. And it offered a regime of collective security – which helped manage conflict from the Balkans to the South Pacific.
Japan, still one of the world's largest economies, is probably too dependent on America's security guarantees to be able to truly annoy Washington. Even the European Union – which by some measures has as big an economy as the United States – may not be able to move out of Washington's shadow, especially given its dependence on the US to thwart Russia's ambitions to take Ukraine (and perhaps more).
Nato chief Mark Rutte, who is Dutch, probably didn't make many friends when he argued that “if anyone thinks here, again, that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can't. We can't. We need each other.”
The fact is that French dreams of strategic autonomy will need military hardware that Europe, today, does not make. As became evident with the recent turmoil over a planned Franco-German fighter jet, developing such hardware will require perhaps an unrealistic amount of political will.
Even Canada may not be able to pull it off. Two-thirds of Canada's exports go to the United States, down from three-quarters a couple of years ago. It may rely less on American military protection. But its prosperity is tightly linked to the economy next door.
Given what's at stake, it's unsurprising that some world leaders still want to cling to the hope that the old order can be restored in some shape or form. Wolfgang Ischinger, the chair of the conference in Munich, said he hoped the event would help build a “constructive transatlantic reset”.
Merz challenged Trump to reconsider the value of the alliances he seems so keen to trash. “In the era of great power rivalry,” he said, “even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone.” European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas argued that “the vast majority of countries also want the same thing: stability, growth, and prosperity for their people. The best way to get there is to go together.”
Democrats in the United States are also eager to push the idea that the Trump administration represents just a momentary lapse in American sense. “Donald Trump is temporary – he'll be gone in three years,” Gavin Newsom, the California governor and potential Democratic 2028 presidential candidate told the Munich gathering. “It's important for folks to understand the temporary nature of this current administration.” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another potential presidential contender, said that Democrats colleagues were “ready for the next chapter” and wanted to deepen relationships with allies.
And yet, Carney is probably right that Trump represents a “rupture not a transition.” The toothpaste can't be pushed back into the tube. Whatever emerges from this moment will look less like a new order and more like a mess, where power will prevail over cooperation.
An alternative superpower is not about to enforce an alternative arrangement. China, the other power comparable to the United States, shows little interest in taking the mantle of global hegemony to protect some liberal multilateral order.
The Asian giant played a part in bringing us to this moment. Its wave of exports to the United States contributed to build the sense of grievance that turned American voters against the liberal, globalized order and into Trump's embrace.
Its persistent mercantilistic tactics, from undervaluing its currency to subsidizing exporting firms even as it closes its market to imports from abroad, make clear it has no interest in making the sacrifices needed to be a global leader. From Europe to Latin America, countries swamped by Chinese exports will have a hard time trusting Beijing to lead.
It is also unclear whether it wants to confront the US at this stage, likely preferring to wait and see what it can salvage from the present global order that has brought it such prosperity. But it is probably not worried about the implosion of the postwar international institutional architecture – built by the western democracies under the aegis of the United States – that it perceives as hostile to its form of government and national interests, from the South Pacific to Taiwan.
In the absence of a leader capable of providing tools with which to build a new international architecture and draw others into some new global understanding, the world risks being pulled apart by many uncoordinated efforts as countries cut ad-hoc deals to gain markets and buy insurance against the riskier global environment. Such deals won't be based on any sense of shared values and principles, but on narrow calculations of costs and benefits. Alliances will be transactional, fluid, prone to be reassessed and jettisoned at the flip of the coin. This is a world ripe for the taking.
Alexander Stubb, president of Finland, has emerged as a leading thinker about the world's present quandary, cited approvingly in Carney's speech as providing inspiration for Canada's new principled yet pragmatic approach to the world. “We live in a new world of disorder,” Stubb argues, on the level of other historical watersheds – the first and second world wars, and the end of the cold war.
Each of these ushered in a new world order, which lasted for a few decades until the next inflection point. The next five to 10 years, Stubb thinks, will shape the world order over the next 30 to 50.
Stubb would prefer a world order based on values and multilateral rules, perhaps one less hypocritical than the one we are abandoning, but which affirms dialogue and cooperation as the main tool to address global challenges.
Achieving that, Stubb says, will require rebuilding many of the global institutions erected after the second world war – from the United Nations to the IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization – to reduce the dominance of the United States and other western powers, and give more voice to nations from the global south such as Brazil, India and Indonesia.
But that will be hard to build without the United States. Success will depend on whether Washington wants to preserve a multilateral world order in which it would not exercise power as freely as it has over the last 80 years. The odds for that look very long.
Even if were Trump succeeded three years from now by a reasonable human being with some decency and an understanding of the value of win-win international relations, eager to mend the global institutions and the trust he has done so much to destroy, it would be extremely difficult to convince countries which will have spent four years trying to protect themselves from American aggression to simply accept Washington's word and walk happily back into a US-led global tent.
A more likely outcome, at this stage, seems to be that the multilateral, globalized order we are leaving behind will be replaced by no order at all – a system with no agreed upon guidelines to conduct trade or international finance and no common legal understanding to guarantee rights like states' sovereignty, let alone things like asylum or human rights.
Perhaps this splits the world into competing spheres of influence, with weaker countries shoehorned, whether voluntarily or less so, into rival blocks, likely revolving around the two great powers, China and the United States. Or maybe we get a free for all in which the mighty wander the world imposing their will on the relatively weak.
It is unclear where the European Union or other rich countries like Japan, South Korea or Australia would fit in this arrangement. They are most likely to try to restore a multilateral architecture – supporting efforts to consolidate a dispute settlement mechanism without the US under the umbrella of the WTO. They will try to maintain trade and financial links to both China and the United States.
Some bigger nations in the global south – like Brazil and India and maybe even Indonesia – may have the heft to maintain their independence, playing off the rival powers against each other, taking what's best from relationships with either. But many developing nations will have no choice but become some sort of vassal state, with limited policy autonomy.
Brazil may have the heft – and the distance from the United States – to protect its vigorous trade with China, which buys much of its iron ore, beef and soya beans. Others won't – Mexico just raised tariffs up to 50% on imports from China, a move largely believed to be about placating Trump. Panama's supreme court just invalidated the longstanding contract with Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to run ports at either end of the Panama canal.
This new world will be very different from that which emerged from the second world war, when the United States promoted a vision in which economic interdependence would tie countries together in the pursuit of shared prosperity.
The cost-benefit analysis has changed for good. Over coming decades, the search for new opportunities will be met with the fear of new vulnerabilities. This will stunt trade and temper investment, raising costs for businesses and consumers, and limiting entrepreneurs to opportunities close to home. The world will lose economies of scale and forfeit common insurance against risk, forcing each country to seek protection against the many threats the future will bring – economic, environmental, about health or security – largely on its own.
We will come to rue having taken this path. History seems pretty clear that a world of roaming great powers is not particularly safe nor prosperous. For all the flaws and the hypocrisy in the postwar order, rules-based multilateralism and cooperative problem-solving provide a better way for organizing the world's affairs.
That ship seems to have sailed, though. Whatever institutional architecture emerges from this moment, it will be hard to escape the world lamented by Carney, ascribed to Thucydides, in which “the strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must”.
Eduardo Porter is a journalist focused on economics and politics. He is a Guardian US columnist and writes the newsletter Being There on Substack
Spot illustrations by Ryan Chapman
MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Russia will defend its national interests in diplomatic confrontations regardless of how this may affect its adversaries, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview with TASS.
Asked whether the dialogue with the US and efforts by European countries to promote talks with Russia indicate that Moscow has effectively defended its interests, the diplomat replied: "I think these are two different issues, two different topics. We defend our national interests regardless of how it affects our enemies in any part of the world."
"When we talk to our friends, we defend our interests too. When we negotiate on controversial issues, we defend our interests again. When we stand up for our position, fighting our enemies, including through diplomacy, we also defend our positions," Zakharova added.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Sunday he would summon the US ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, over comments made about the death of a French far-right activist earlier this month, which he labeled as “interference.”
Quentin Deranque, 23, died two days after suffering severe head injuries in a brawl in the city of Lyon on February 12, drawing criticism from the Trump administration which described the death as the result of left-wing violence.
“We are summoning the US ambassador to France because the embassy issued a commentary on this event which concerns the national community. We reject any interference in this event,” Barrot said in an interview with radio station France Inter.
On Friday, the US embassy in France shared an X post from the US State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau which said reports that Deranque “was killed by left-wing militants, should concern us all.”
“Violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque's death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety,” the X post said.
The fatal brawl was caught on video, which showed several masked people kicking and punching a man on the ground, causing widespread shock and anger in France.
Authorities have charged two people with murder in connection with Deranque's death, and altogether 11 have been arrested.
The incident has also sparked a diplomatic spat between France and Italy, after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Deranque's death was caused “by groups linked to left-wing extremism” and condemned “a climate of ideological hatred sweeping several nations.”
This is not the first time that Kushner has been summoned amid criticism from the French authorities.
In August 2025, the Foreign Ministry summoned Kushner after he accused the French government of a “lack of sufficient action” in confronting antisemitism.
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Battle-tested Ukrainian startup that advertises a ‘Killbox' drone recruited Prince as non-executive chair
After multiple sources previously told the Guardian that Erik Prince – Maga ally and founder of the now defunct mercenary company Blackwater – was looking to work with Ukraine's invaluable drone sector, recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents confirm he now is.
Swarmer, which bills itself as a battle-tested Ukrainian startup specializing in autonomous drone software, filed for an initial public offering and has recruited Prince to help sell the company as non-executive chair.
“Swarmer is a software-first defense technology company focused on collaborative autonomy and intelligent swarming, originating from the cauldron of modern combat in Ukraine,” said Prince in a letter to prospective stockholders in the filing, released earlier this month.
“Since April 2024, Swarmer's platform has been deployed in Ukraine with more than 100,000 real-world missions in active combat environments, informing the software and machine-learning models that feed into it.”
Defense industry hawks have eyed the battlefield intelligence the Ukrainian military has accrued in over four years of combat with Russia. The war has caused close to 2m casualties, but global military elites, like Prince, are also seeing glimpses of what a future war between world powers might look like and what products the US or its geopolitical rival China will need to buy.
Drones, which now account for roughly 70% of all combat casualties in Ukraine, are top of the list.
On its website, Swarmer lauds endorsements from the newly installed Ukrainian defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who is aggressively lobbying the US and other Nato allies to buy into his country's weapons industry. Swarmer products, powered by artificial intelligence, are on the cutting edge of the future of war, with software enabling pilots to control drone swarms.
Swarmer mentions the potential profits in drone warfare in the same filing, noting to investors that “defense forces, including the US Department of Defense [and] Nato allies”, see “autonomous drone operations” as “requiring immediate investment”.
In a July announcement on the grounds of the Pentagon, the US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, declared that the US was “Unleashing US Military Drone Dominance” in a memorandum calling for the mass production, purchase and adoption of all unmanned vehicle platforms.
“Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year's casualties in Ukraine,” he said.
Prince has made drones a central focus of his recent business. Last year he was involved in a controversial drone assassination program in Haiti, while recent reporting puts his mercenaries in the employ of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as drone operators.
“Erik is trying to network with companies here, for Congo,” said an executive at a multinational defense contractor with business in Ukraine. “He poached some operators who served here too.”
Through a spokesperson, Prince declined to comment on his work in Ukraine and about recruiting drone operators from there to serve in the DRC. Swarmer did not respond to a request for comment regarding its relationship with Prince.
In the fall, Swarmer, which advertises several “mission templates” for drones ranging from surveillance to something it calls a “Killbox”, secured millions in investment.
Prince and a legion of Silicon Valley executives, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, have descended on Kyiv in recent years looking to score government contracts and access to both the software powering combat drones and the Ukrainian operators pioneering their flight.
But even as a frontman, Prince comes to Swarmer as a highly controversial figure who is also a known associate of Donald Trump's longtime adviser Steve Bannon. Blackwater – Prince's former company that made millions in contracts with the Pentagon and the CIA – has become synonymous with the corruption and failures of the war in Iraq. A 2007 massacre in Baghdad at the hands of some of Prince's mercenaries led to prison sentences, congressional inquiries and the company changing its name.
Prince eventually resigned as the CEO in 2009, but hung around the defense contracting world and pursued ventures in China, the United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, South Sudan and Ukraine, where in 2020 he pitched Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a multibillion-dollar private army to help settle what was a frozen war in the eastern Donbas region.
In September, multiple sources described to the Guardian how Prince was making several trips to Kyiv, courting Ukrainian drone makers who might be eager to sell him into their business – Swarmer fitting the profile of the type of company with which he was looking to do business.
“I guess he finally found the company to invest in, in Ukraine,” said a former American special forces soldier with experience in Ukraine and knowledge of the defense companies operating there.
Swarmer has featured in western media since its founding in 2023, along with several other Ukrainian tech companies emerging from the flurry of Pentagon and Nato weapons transfers to Ukraine and the rush to continue resisting Russia's full-scale invasion by any means necessary.
Mostly outgunned against the Kremlin's vast arsenal and coffers, Ukraine has turned to drones and homegrown solutions as asymmetric equalizers. Recent remarks by Zelenskyy puts Swarmer among hundreds of other Ukrainian drone companies that are now active in the country.
“As of today, we have 450 companies producing drones, 40 to 50 of which are top-tier,” said Zelenskyy in a recent speech. “Everyone wants to invest, so 2026 will be a year of investment in our technologies, primarily in drones.”
On the surface, the Supreme Court's massive decision shutting down Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs was a case about the president's power to pursue a global economic agenda and levy what the majority said amounted to a $134 billion tax on American consumers.
But just below the court's bottom-line repudiation of Trump's tariffs, a testy debate unfolded among the court's conservative justices about a little understood — and often criticized — legal theory known as the “major questions doctrine.” It is a fight that could have enormous consequences for the remainder of Trump's term, and beyond.
In an opinion running more than twice as long as the 21 pages Chief Justice John Roberts used to resolve the case, Justice Neil Gorsuch took his colleagues on the left and the right to task for their views of the doctrine, which stipulates that Congress “speak clearly” when it is granting a president power to deal with matters of “major” economic or political significance.
The Supreme Court, therefore, may say that presidents can't find a specific and significant power in an ambiguous law.
John Roberts ends Trump's big Supreme Court winning streak
Roberts also pushed back on an idea raised by Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas that Congress intended to give presidents flexibility with broad language. It is precisely in cases dealing with major issues, the chief justice wrote, that the court should be skeptical of sweeping claims of presidential power.
“There is,” Roberts wrote, “no major questions exception to the major questions doctrine.”
The spirited back-and-forth may explain why the tariffs case took months for the court to resolve, and it exposed rifts that could prove meaningful for Trump and for future presidents.
Conservatives seemed united about how the major questions doctrine worked when they were applying it to a Democratic president. They cited it to invalidate President Joe Biden's policies — including his student loan forgiveness program, environmental policies and his responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But those same justices were nevertheless deeply divided Friday about its use when it came to Trump's tariffs.
Three conservatives in dissent claimed it didn't apply, three liberals in the majority said it wasn't needed and two conservatives spent dozens of pages debating what, exactly, it is.
“Past critics of the major questions doctrine do not object to its application in this case,” Gorsuch, who was Trump's first nominee to the high court yet voted against the president Friday, wrote of the three-justice liberal wing that also declared the tariffs illegal.
“Still others who have joined major questions decisions in the past dissent from today's application of the doctrine,” he wrote of the three conservative justices who would have allowed Trump to continue his tariffs. “It is an interesting turn of events.”
In the end, a combination of conservative and liberal justices concluded that the 1977 emergency powers law Trump relied on to impose his sweeping tariffs did not give him the authority to do so. The president has other authorities to levy those duties and made clear in a combative press conference hours after the court's decision that he would quickly turn to those other laws.
“When Congress grants the power to impose tariffs, it does so clearly and with careful constraints,” Roberts wrote. “It did neither here.”
The doctrine has long been criticized, especially from the left, as a judge-invented theory that can be applied inconsistently. The bickering in Friday's decision about how — and whether — the theory applied to Trump will do little to ease that skepticism.
“The internal division among the Republican appointees over just how powerful a tool it is,” said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at Georgetown University Law Center, “is likely to matter even more for presidents after Trump than for the rest of this administration — assuming that presidents of both parties continue to have to rely upon old statutes to implement their domestic agendas rather than new ones.”
In 2023, the court relied on the doctrine to block Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. The Democrat had attempted to forgive student loans via a law that allowed the Education Department to “waive or modify” rules tied to financial assistance programs. That language, the court ruled with six conservatives in the majority, wasn't clear enough to authorize the cancellation of $430 billion in debt.
Two years earlier, the court ruled that a 1944 public health law that allows the government to impose quarantines did not empower the Biden administration to enforce a nationwide eviction moratorium during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the tariffs decision, Gorsuch embraced the most robust view of the doctrine, accusing fellow conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett of putting a “gloss” on it that would render it unworkable. He blamed the three dissenting conservatives of carving out exceptions that would lead to outcomes “hard to reconcile with the Constitution.”
Gorsuch also said that the court's three liberals had repeatedly criticized the doctrine's use during the Biden administration but that their reasoning for opposing Trump's tariffs seemed suspiciously similar.
Supreme Court gives Trump — and the rest of the GOP — a gift in disguise
Barrett — who also voted against Trump — fired back that Gorsuch was targeting a “straw man” and suggested his approach might “veer beyond interpretation and into policymaking.”
Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court's three-justice liberal wing, balked at Gorsuch's hint of hypocrisy.
“Given how strong his apparent desire for converts, I almost regret to inform him that I am not one,” Kagan wrote in a footnote.
“But that,” she said, “is the fact of the matter.”
The skirmishes among conservatives are particularly fascinating because it was the modern conservative legal movement that brought the major questions doctrine to the forefront.
When the majority relied on the theory in a 2022 decision that kneecapped Biden's ability to regulate power plant emissions, Kagan lamented in dissent that “canons like the ‘major questions doctrine' magically appear as get out-of-text-free cards.” Kagan's point was that justices who proclaim to rely on the clear text of a law, in her view, would use the doctrine to get their desired result.
Stephanie Barclay, a Georgetown law professor who clerked for Gorsuch, said the debate among the justices showed they were “doing the hard work of theorizing” the major questions doctrine. That kind of sustained engagement, she said, is a sign of a legal approach that is “maturing and deepening.”
And in the end, she noted, the doctrine was key to Roberts' majority opinion.
“One of the most important things about this decision is what it tells us about the major questions doctrine's neutrality,” Barclay said. “The major questions doctrine is not about who occupies the White House; it is about whether the person who occupies the White House can claim powers that Congress never clearly granted.”
On the other hand, six of the justices — three conservatives and three liberals — claimed the doctrine didn't apply at all.
Writing for the dissenters, Kavanaugh found an exception from the major questions doctrine because the case implicated foreign policy, an area where courts have often deferred to a president's authority.
“The court has never before applied the major questions doctrine in the foreign affairs context, including foreign trade,” Kavanaugh wrote. In those cases, Trump's second nominee to the high court said, “courts read the statute as written and do not employ the major questions doctrine as a thumb on the scale against the president.”
Kavanaugh, more than any other justice, drew heavy praise from Trump on Friday for his approach to the tariffs case. The president applauded Kavanaugh's “genius and his great ability” and said he was “very proud of that appointment.”
Trump's other nominees to court who voted against him, Gorsuch and Barrett, the president said, were an “embarrassment to their families.”
Still, at times Kavanaugh's position sounded like the same arguments Biden made to defend his policies. Kavanaugh said that federal trade law Trump used was intended to “provide flexibility” to the president “to address the unusual and extraordinary threats specified in a declared national emergency.”
Former Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, defending the Biden administration's eviction moratorium during the pandemic, wrote that the law at issue in that case was designed to provide “flexibility needed to address new threats to public health as they emerge.”
But as both conservative and liberal justices often suggest in their writing, the most dependable way for Congress to grant power to a president — regardless of that president's party — is to enact a law that makes their intentions clear.
“If history is any guide,” Gorsuch wrote, “the tables will turn and the day will come when those disappointed by today's result will appreciate the legislative process for the bulwark of liberty it is.”
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MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Russia does not threaten Estonia or other countries, but it will always do what is necessary to ensure its own security. If Estonia has nuclear weapons aimed at Russia, Moscow will aim its own nuclear weapons at Estonia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a journalist from Vesti.
"Estonia is very close to us, and we don't threaten Estonia, just like any other European country. However, if there are nuclear weapons on Estonian territory aimed at us, our nuclear weapons will be aimed at Estonian territory, and Estonia must clearly understand it. Russia will always do what it must to ensure its own security, especially when it comes to nuclear deterrence issues," he said when asked a respective question.
Earlier, the Baltic republic's Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, stated that Estonian authorities did not rule out the deployment of nuclear weapons on the country's territory if such a decision was made within the framework of NATO defense plans.
MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Peace can be achieved through dialogue, Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the Russian president and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said.
"Peace will prevail through dialogue," he wrote on his X page.
This was his comment on Special US Envoy Steve Witkoff's remarks about his meeting with Vladimir Putin. Witkoff noted that the Russian president had been straight with him.
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The Yomiuri Shimbun
12:37 JST, February 22, 2026
OKAYAMA — Six participants of the annual Saidaiji Eyo Festival, known as Hadaka Matsuri (naked festival), at Saidaiji Kannonin temple in Okayama City, were injured and taken to a hospital at about 10 p.m. Saturday.
Three of the six were unconscious when they were taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Okayama prefectural police are investigating the details of the incident.
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In the festival, about 10,000 half-naked men wearing only fundoshi, a traditional Japanese undergarment, fiercely fight for two Shingi (God's sticks) inside the temple's main hall. Whoever can grab one of the sticks by the end of the festival is believed to be blessed with good luck.
The festival has been designated as a Japanese Important Intangible Cultural Property.
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A U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter flies toward the Castle Peak area during search efforts for a group of missing skiers in Truckee, Calif., on Saturday.Godofredo A. Vásquez/The Associated Press
Crews recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed by an avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada, authorities said Saturday, concluding a harrowing operation that was hindered by intense snowfall.
A search team reached the bodies of eight victims and found one other who had been missing and presumed dead since Tuesday's avalanche on Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe. The ninth person who was missing was found “relatively close” to the other victims, according to Nevada County Sheriff's Lieutenant Dennis Hack, but was impossible to see due to whiteout conditions at that time.
Earlier: Eight backcountry skiers dead, one missing after avalanche in California
At a news conference, Sheriff Shannon Moon praised the collective efforts of the numerous agencies that helped recover the bodies – from the California Highway Patrol to the National Guard to the Pacific Gas & Electric utility company – and 42 volunteers who helped on the last day of the operation.
“We are fortunate in this mountain community that we are very tight-knit, and our community shows up in times of tragedy,” Moon said.
Crews recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed in a California avalanche four days ago, authorities said Saturday, concluding a harrowing operation hindered by intense snowfall.
The Associated Press
The sheriff named for the first time the three guides from Blackbird Mountain Company who died: Andrew Alissandratos, 34, Nicole Choo, 42, and Michael Henry, 30.
According to biographies on the company's website, Alissandratos was originally from Tampa, Florida, and moved to Tahoe roughly a decade ago. He enjoyed a wide array of adventure activities, from backcountry exploration to rock climbing.
Henry moved to Colorado in 2016 and then to Truckee three years later. He was described as “laid back” and devoted to sharing his knowledge and love of the mountains with others.
There was no bio for Choo on the website.
“This was an enormous tragedy, and the saddest event our team has ever experienced,” Blackbird Mountain founder Zeb Blais said Wednesday in a statement.
“We are doing what we can to support the families who lost so much,” he said, “and the members of our team who lost treasured friends and colleagues.”
The six other fatal victims were women who were part of a close-knit group of friends who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the Sierra Nevada wilderness, their families said this week.
They were identified as Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, all in their 40s. They lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, Idaho and the Lake Tahoe area.
“We are devastated beyond words,” the families said in a statement. “Our focus right now is supporting our children through this incredible tragedy and honoring the lives of these extraordinary women. They were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors.”
The families asked for privacy while they grieve and added that they “have many unanswered questions.”
Two of the friends got out alive and were rescued along with four others, including one guide, after Tuesday's avalanche. Their names have not been released.
A Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team vehicle outside Truckee Airport during the search operation on Saturday.Stephen Lam/The Associated Press
The avalanche struck on the last day of the 15 skiers' three-day tour, when the group decided to end the trip early to avoid the impending snowstorm. Officials have said the path they took is a “normally travelled route” but declined to specify what that meant.
At around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, the six survivors called for help, describing a sudden and terrifying slide that was approximately the length of a football field. In the aftermath they discovered the bodies of three fellow skiers, according to Hack.
Rescuers were not able to reach them until roughly six hours after the initial call for help, Hack said, and took two separate paths to arrive. They found five other bodies, leaving only one person unaccounted for.
But it was immediately clear to rescuers that it was too dangerous to extract the bodies at that time due to the heavy snowfall and threat of more avalanches. Those conditions persisted on Wednesday and Thursday.
Authorities used two California Highway Patrol helicopters, with the help of Pacific Gas & Electric Company, to break up the snow and intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the avalanche risk.
Crews were then able to recover five victims that evening before it got too dark to access the last three.
Rescuers used helicopters and ropes to hoist the last four bodies from the mountain the following morning, fighting through severe winds that forced them to make multiple trips. The bodies were then taken to snowcats – trucks that are outfitted to drive on snow – for further transport.
“We cannot say enough how tremendously sorry we are for the families that have been affected by this avalanche,” Moon said.
Initial reports indicated that at least two of the surviving skiers were not swept away by the avalanche, Hack said. The others were standing separately and relatively close together and were hit.
Hack declined to offer information about what might have set off the avalanche.
The terrain will be off-limits to visitors until mid-March, said Chris Feutrier, forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest. Officials intended to restore public access once the investigation is complete.
“This is the public's land, and they love to recreate on it,” Feutrier said. “The Forest Service doesn't close public land for every hazard or every obstacle. We trust the American people to use their best judgment when recreating.”
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One man was killed after Russia launched a large-scale combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine in the early hours of Feb. 22.
Fifty missiles and 297 long-range kamikaze drones targeted the country, most of them at Kyiv and its suburbs. The Ukrainian Air Force reported downing 33 missiles and 274 drones.
Wall-shaking explosions first took place in Ukraine's capital at around 4:00 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. More blasts were heard at approximately 4:30 a.m. local time and continued intermittently throughout the early morning.
The attack caused a building to collapse in the town of Fastiv, 60 kilometers southwest of Kyiv, killing a 49-year-old man and injuring seven others, according to Kyiv Oblast governor Mykola Kalashnyk. A total of 17 people were injured across the oblast as a result of the attack, including four children, he said.
Kyiv city mayor Vitali Klitschko also reported that a woman and a child were injured in the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early on Sunday afternoon that the attack not only targeted energy facilities, but also water supply and railway infrastructure.
"This week alone, Russia launched more than 1,300 attack drones against Ukraine, over 1,400 guided aerial bombs, and 96 missiles of various types, including dozens of ballistic ones," he added.
Since October, Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure, as the country goes through one of its coldest winters in years.
The attack also targeted seven other oblasts, according to Zelensky, including the coastal region of Odesa in the south of Ukraine. Kamikaze drone attacks caused damage and fires to energy infrastructure, according to the oblast governor's, Oleh Kiper.
Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, reported that Russia hit an electrical substation in the attack on Odesa. The strike inflicted "severe damage," DTEK Spokesperson Pavlo Bilodid told the Kyiv Independent.
Crews are already on the ground working to repair the facility, he said.
In response to Russia's strikes, the Polish Air Force said it had deployed fighter jets to protect Polish airspace overnight.
"On-duty fighter pairs and an early warning aircraft were scrambled, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems were brought to the highest level of alert," the statement read.
Russia regularly strikes Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and energy infrastructure, as it continues to wage its war.
A Russian drone attack in northeastern Ukraine's Sumy Oblast killed two brothers and a married couple, while a missile strike damaged a production facility belonging to U.S. multinational company Mondelez, authorities reported Feb. 21.
The two brothers were first injured by an explosive device dropped by a drone and taken to the hospital, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported.
"On the way to the hospital, the Russians deliberately attacked the emergency vehicle with a strike drone," he added. The second Russian strike killed the siblings.
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A woman has been arrested in connection to a suspected terrorist attack that killed a police officer and injured 25 others in the Western city of Lviv in the early hours of Sunday morning, Ukrainian authorities said.
Several rounds of explosions were reported in Kyiv overnight on Feb. 22, leaving a mother and her child injured as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine.
Twenty drones were shot down en route to Moscow during the afternoon of Feb. 22, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed.
The factory, located in Trostianets in Sumy Oblast, was struck by a missile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. The plant has operated since the 1990s, and produces a range of well-known products, including Oreo and Milka.
Hungary said it would block the EU's new sanctions package against Russia over halted oil deliveries through Ukraine, the latest development in a deepening spat between Ukraine and its neighbors, Slovakia and Hungary, over Russian oil imports.
In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent's Anna Belokur examines how global support for Ukraine has shifted four years into Russia's full-scale invasion.
The number includes 890 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Russia launched a large-scale combined drone and missile attack in the early hours of Sunday, firing 50 missiles and 297 long-range kamikaze drones, predominantly towards Kyiv and its suburbs.
Ukraine struck an oil depot in Russian-occupied Luhansk overnight on Feb. 22, Telegram news channel Exilenova+ reported.
A Russian drone attack in northeastern Ukraine's Sumy Oblast killed two brothers and a married couple, while a missile attack damaged a production facility belonging to U.S. multinational company Mondelez, authorities reported Feb. 21.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as "ultimatums and blackmail" from Hungary and Slovakia after the two countries threatened to halt emergency electricity supplies.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Feb. 21 that Ukraine is imposing new sanctions targeting the captains of Russia's shadow fleet.
The final extent of the damage on the Crimean Peninsula is still being assessed, the General Staff said.
The Votkinsk Plant is a strategic, state-owned defense enterprise and one of the most important missile factories in Russia. It produces Iskander ballistic missiles — used in attacks against Ukraine — and nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.
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NEW YORK, February 22. /TASS/. US intelligence agencies believe that China is developing a new generation of nuclear weapons and has already conducted at least one test as part of the process to upgrade its nuclear arsenal, CNN reported citing its unnamed sources.
According to the sources, granted investments in the nuclear arsenal will enable China to be allegedly able to have technical capabilities that none of the dominant nuclear powers currently possess.
"China secretly conducted an explosive nuclear test in June 2020 at the Lop Nur facility, in the country's northwest - despite a self-imposed moratorium on such activity that has been in place since 1996 - and was planning to do more in the future, according to the sources and recent statements from US officials," CNN stated in its report.
"Evidence collected as part of a subsequent review of the June 2020 event, has led US officials to conclude the test was motivated by China's pursuit of next-generation nuclear weapons," the US-based broadcaster continued citing sources familiar with the situation.
"That includes efforts to develop additional weapons systems capable of delivering multiple, miniaturized nuclear warheads from a single missile… China also appears to be developing low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons - something the country has never previously produced…," CNN added.
Earlier, Russian envoy to international organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov pointed out at his meeting with CTBTO (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization) Executive Secretary Robert Floyd that US attempts to accuse China of conducting nuclear tests are groundless.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Houses are seen near the coast of a sea inlet of Nuuk, Greenland, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Northern Lights over the Church of Our Saviour in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday Feb. 21, 2026. (Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he would deploy a hospital ship to Greenland, alleging that many people there are sick and not receiving care, even though both of the U.S. Navy's hospital ships are currently docked at a shipyard in Alabama.
Trump's announcement prompted a defense of Denmark and Greenland's health care system from their leaders, and it was the latest point of friction with the American leader who has frequently talked about seizing the massive Arctic territory.
“It's a no thank you from here,” said Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Trump's reference to a hospital ship came after Denmark's military said its arctic command forces on Saturday evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine off the coast of Greenland for urgent medical treatment.
The Danish Joint Arctic Command, on its Facebook page, said the crew member was evacuated some 7 nautical miles (8 miles; 13 kilometers) off Nuuk — the capital of the vast, ice-covered territory — and transferred to a hospital in the city. The crew member was retrieved by a Danish Seahawk helicopter that had been deployed on an inspection ship.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday night, referred to his special envoy for Greenland and said, “Working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, we are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there. It's on the way!!!”
Nielsen said it wasn't necessary.
“We have a public health care system where treatment is free for citizens. That is a deliberate choice — and a fundamental part of our society,” Nielsen said. “That is not how it works in the USA, where it costs money to see a doctor.”
He added, in a note of exasperation, that Greenland is always open to dialogue and cooperation. “But please talk to us instead of just making more or less random statements on social media,” he said.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, speaking to public broadcaster DR, said Danish authorities had not been informed that the U.S. ship was on its way.
The Pentagon referred questions about the status of the U.S. Navy's two hospital ships, the USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, to the White House. The White House did not immediately respond to repeated requests for more information.
Both ships are currently at a shipyard in Mobile, Ala., according to social media posts from the shipyard, which also posted photos of them next to each other.
When asked about the status of the ships and the president's post, the Navy referred questions to the White House.
The historically strong bilateral ties after World War II between NATO allies Denmark and the United States have come under severe strain in recent months as Trump ratcheted up talk of a possible U.S. takeover of the mineral-rich and strategically located Arctic island.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen defended Denmark's health care system on Sunday, writing on Facebook that she was “happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health for all. Where it's not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get proper treatment.”
“You have the same approach in Greenland,” she said, before adding: “Happy Sunday to you all” in front of a blushing, smiling emoji.
Aaja Chemnitz, one of the two Greenlandic politicians in the Danish parliament, wrote on Facebook that “Donald Trump wants to send a poorly maintained hospital ship to Greenland. It seems rather desperate and does not contribute to the permanent and sustainable strengthening of the health care system that we need.”
“Another day. Another crazy news story,” she wrote in front of a smiley face emoji.
___
Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this story.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Live Updates
• Potentially historic snow: A high-impact bomb cyclone is hours away from crippling parts of the Northeast with blizzard conditions. Two feet of snow is possible, with well over a foot forecast in Philadelphia, New York City and Boston the most in years for some.
• Impossible travel: Treacherous whiteout conditions will threaten over 40 million in the region starting Sunday, prompting warnings to stay off roads, public transit pauses and travel bans. Around 7,500 flights have already been canceled, according to FlightAware.
• State of emergency in NYC: A citywide travel ban will go into effect Sunday evening as it stares down blizzard conditions and what could be its biggest snowstorm in years. The city also canceled school Monday, its first proper snow day since 2019.
The storm is starting to kick into gear with some places along the East Coast beginning to change over from rain to snow.
Portions of Delaware started reporting heavy snow in the last 30 minutes. That trend will likely start to stretch north into New Jersey in the next hour or two.
Light snow is already underway in parts of northern New Jersey and New York City.
[1:47 pm Update]: The major winter storm is taking shape to our south. Conditions will rapidly deteriorating late this afternoon into the evening with snow accumulations ramping up from south to north. Travel should be restricted to emergencies only this evening into Monday. pic.twitter.com/nFzfyqxRpc
Several Broadway shows are canceling evening performances today as New York City braces for the storm.
Broadway matinee performances are expected to proceed as planned, according to a statement from the Broadway League.
“Due to anticipated travel impacts from the impending blizzard and evening travel bans already announced for our surrounding areas, Broadway theatre owners and producers have come to the consensus that evening performances (curtain times at 6pm or later) tonight (Sunday, February 22) will be cancelled,” the statement read.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a citywide travel ban will go into effect Sunday evening.
Shows that have canceled performances include “Operation Mincemeat” and “Wicked.”
Variety reports productions of “Chess,” “The Lion King” and “Aladdin” have also canceled evening shows.
Connecticut has joined Delaware, New Jersey and Rhode Island as states that are entirely covered by blizzard warnings.
The weather service just added a warning for northwest Connecticut, making it the fourth state to be fully under this type of alert.
Blizzard warnings are now in effect for over 40 million people in parts of 11 states, from the mid-Atlantic's DelMarVa Peninsula to coastal Maine.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has signed a disaster declaration in advance of the winter storm, a move aimed at mobilizing state resources and coordinating response efforts across affected regions.
Speaking at a news conference Sunday, Shapiro warned forecasters are calling for “very, very significant snowfall” in the Philadelphia region, adding that substantial accumulation is also expected in the Lehigh Valley and throughout the Poconos.
“I ask you to stay off the roads, particularly when the snow begins, so that the plows can get out there, clear the roads and get you back moving as quickly as possible,” Shapiro said. “We anticipate there may be some restrictions during the heaviest periods of snow.”
The disaster declaration allows the state to streamline emergency response operations, deploy personnel and equipment more quickly and support local governments as conditions deteriorate.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency and activated National Guard troops ahead of tonight's storm.
“First of all, I'm declaring a state of emergency effectively in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This enables us to respond to conditions. It helps us to deploy necessary resources and to support our residents' safety,” Healey said during a news conference from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency bunker.
Healey also activated 200 members of the Massachusetts National Guard, she said.
“They are going to be ready to assist with rescue response, with debris removal and the like.”
The governor also ordered the activation of the State Emergency Operations Center.
Powerful winds in the intensifying storm will push ocean water onshore into low-lying areas on the coast like storm surge in a hurricane.
Moderate to locally major coastal flooding is expected from the Delaware and New Jersey coasts to Long Island and southern New England, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
Peak water levels are expected with high tide either late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
One of the locations expected to hit major flood stage is Lewes, Delaware. An inundation of ocean water at this level can start to cause structural damage and widespread road flooding in the coastal communities of Sussex County, Delaware, the NWS says.
Large waves will also slam into the coastline and erode beaches that have already been hammered by multiple storms this winter.
As a massive winter storm threatens to bring feet of snow across the Northeast, around 7,500 flights within, into and out of the US have been canceled today and tomorrow, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
In all, 3,182 flights have been canceled for Sunday, as of early afternoon, and 4,327 have been canceled for Monday.
Airports in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia are the most affected.
The storm is expected to peak overnight, snarling air travel over the next 48 hours.
The storm is forecast to strengthen significantly and become a bomb cyclone overnight, bringing powerful winds to millions on top of intense snow.
Coastal areas will bear the brunt of the strongest wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph, but locations farther inland will not escape windy conditions.
These winds could knock down trees and power lines on their own, but add in heavy, wet snow weighing everything down and outages could be significant.
Sunday night into early Monday morning will see the strongest winds from eastern Maryland through New Jersey. New York City and Long Island up through much of coastal southern New England will feel the strongest winds Monday.
Parts of the Massachusetts Cape could endure gusts of 70 mph or more at times Monday.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed an emergency order prohibiting commercial vehicles from traveling on all limited-access highways in the state beginning at 5 p.m. ET Sunday ahead of a powerful winter storm expected to impact the Northeast.
The governor also declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm.
The vehicle travel ban will remain in effect until further notice.
“Everyone statewide is strongly urged to avoid all unnecessary, non-essential travel,” Lamont said in a news release. “Plan ahead, get to where you need to be by early Sunday evening, and remain there throughout the duration of the storm.”
The emergency order does not apply to emergency response vehicles, public safety vehicles, utilities vehicles and those carrying essential personnel or supplies, the governor's office said.
New Jersey's governor isn't mincing words when it comes to the historic potential of this storm.
“This is likely to be the worst storm that we have seen since 1996,” governor Mikie Sherrill said at a Sunday news conference. said, referencing the historic blizzard that saw over 2 feet of snow fall on Trenton.
The entire state is under a blizzard warning for the first time in 30 years.
“It will be incredibly dangerous,” she warned. “Do not travel tonight. It's time to stay home.”
Sherrill announced that a commercial vehicle ban will take effect at 3 p.m. ET on all New Jersey highways, except the Turnpike.
New Jersey Transit buses, light rail and access link will also be suspended starting at 6 p.m, the governor said. Trains are expected to run into the evening, but train service will likely be suspended “sometime tonight,” she said.
“This storm is too serious to have people and workers out on public transit,” she said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reminded property owners Sunday it is their legal responsibility to keep sidewalks accessible during the blizzard.
“Additional operational agencies will be clearing fire hydrants, crosswalks and bus stops on or around their property to aid residents with mobility challenges,” the mayor said. A minimum 4-foot-wide path must be cleared across all sidewalks to accommodate wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
During the last storm, the city's Department of Sanitation issued more than 4,000 violations to property owners who failed to comply, according to Mamdani.
“The focus here is not on punishment or penalty; the focus, rather, is on compliance,” Mamdani said.
To support compliance, the city has activated over 1,000 emergency snow shovelers to preemptively clear sidewalks and streets before the storm reaches its peak. An additional shoveling shift begins tonight at 8 p.m. ET with 300 shovelers deployed using 33 New York City Department of Sanitation vans and two agency buses to reach priority areas quickly.
The department has also mobilized its 700 salt spreaders and 2,200 plowing vehicles, working across the five boroughs.
We're still in the early hours of this storm before it's forecast to explode in strength, but flakes are already flying.
It's snowing in New York City and northern New Jersey, along with other parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Some snow is also swirling into parts of the Great Lakes and Midwest.
It's still raining in much of Delaware, southern New Jersey and along the Washington, DC, to Philadelphia Interstate-95 corridor as temperatures there remain above freezing for now.
Here's the latest satellite image of the storm:
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a citywide travel ban beginning Sunday evening as the city prepares for the impact of the blizzard.
During a Sunday news conference, Mamdani declared a state of emergency and said the travel ban takes effect at 9 p.m. ET Sunday and will remain in place until noon Monday.
“We have enacted a travel ban … to ensure that we are keeping New Yorkers safe, keeping them warm and keeping them at home,” Mamdani said.
The measure is intended to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles, snow crews and essential services while the storm dumps heavy snow across the city.
“The state of emergency closes the streets, highways and bridges of New York City for all traffic, cars, trucks, scooters and e-bikes, with some specific exemptions for essential and emergency,” Mamdani said. “We are asking New Yorkers to avoid all non-essential travel. Please, for your safety, stay home, stay inside and stay off the roads.”
Essential workers, such as first responders, are exempt from the travel ban.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Sunday all New York City public schools will be closed Monday due to the ongoing blizzard.
“While the continuity of our children's education is of the utmost importance, the safety of students, parents, and teachers comes first,” Mamdani said. This marks the city's first traditional snow day since 2019. “The state requires us to conduct 180 days of education in the calendar year. However, we believe that there are a unique set of extenuating circumstances for tomorrow's education.”
Mamdani also made the announcement in a heartwarming moment on X, posting a screen recording of a FaceTime call with a New York City student named Victoria. In the video, he greeted her with a cheerful “Hi, Victoria,” and shared the news.
“No online school, no remote learning, full classic snow day,” he told her as she cheered. “My only ask to you is that you just stay safe, stay indoors during the height of the storm. Once that has passed, feel free to go out and sled.”
In addition to schools, other nonessential city offices and services, including libraries, will also be closed to the public.
Transportation will also be affected: Staten Island and New York City ferry service will be suspended starting 5 p.m. Sunday and is expected to resume late Monday morning.
Satellite imagery should reveal a spectacular view of this storm by sunrise Monday after it explodes into a bomb cyclone overnight.
This “future satellite” from a computer model shows it will have the classic comma-shaped cloud canopy that many strong nor'easters have exhibited in the past.
The clouds are spinning counterclockwise around the storm's intense low-pressure system, which is the light blue area in the middle. Shadings of green and yellow over the Northeast depict higher clouds tops — an indication of where its heaviest snow will be Monday morning.
Thundersnow is a rare, localized snowy thunderstorm that happens with a larger, very powerful winter storm or intense lake-effect snow.
Typical thunderstorms are fueled by atmospheric instability. Heat and moisture generate this instability, so that's why thunderstorms are more common during warmer parts of the year.
But very powerful storms, like this budding nor'easter, can generate plenty of atmospheric instability on their own because they're so energetic and chaotic.
Thundersnow's lightning typically flashes within the storm itself, but some bolts have been known to strike the ground.
It also doesn't quite have the same loud boom as a regular thunderstorm because heavy snowfall muffles the sound. Instead it sounds like a low, ominous rumble.
The 1 a.m. run of the American GFS model predicted it would be snowing in Washington, DC, by 7 a.m. As of around 11:30 a.m., it's still raining there, which give us an indication the model was running much colder than reality. This means the GFS snow forecast is likely too high.
The Euro, on the other hand, predicts rain changes to snow in the late afternoon, early evening.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had an early start on Sunday preparing the city for a historic blizzard.
“NYC has over 100 step streets — many in the hills of the Bronx — and NYC DOT works hard to keep them safe,” Mamdani shared on X.
“Grateful to the crew at the DOT Brush Avenue Yard for walking me through their salting operation as the first snow starts to fall. Public service in action,” he said.
Mamdani also visited the New York City Department of Sanitation shed in Flushing, Queens, while they prepared their fleet of snowplows.
“New York's Strongest adds snow chains to over 2,200 vehicles and loads over 700 salt spreaders to treat and clear our streets,” he said.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is urging residents to stay home and keep roads clear ahead of a significant winter storm set to begin tonight.
Wu said the city is declaring a snow emergency and is implementing a parking ban starting at 2 p.m. ET today. “Starting at that time, all vehicles parked along snow emergency arteries will be towed,” she said.
Workers are already out pretreating the roads, and the city will have “more than 900 spreaders, plows and other pieces of equipment on the roads for the storm,” the mayor said.
“Please make plans to stay inside. Stay warm. Do not be on the roads,” Wu said, citing potential whiteout conditions. “Let the plows do their work,” she said.
Wu also announced that all Boston Public Schools will be closed tomorrow, February 23. Central offices and all BPS extracurricular activities are canceled today and Monday, she added.
Boston City Hall and all municipal buildings will also be closed tomorrow, as well as Boston Library branches.
Westchester County in New York will institute a “complete road ban” overnight, officials announced on X.
“The road ban is being implemented due to hazardous winter weather conditions expected overnight, including heavy snowfall and wind,” reads the X post. “Roads are closed to all but essential travel (police, fire and ambulance).”
The ban will start at 9 p.m. ET tonight and end at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow morning.
Westchester County is in southeastern New York state, bordering Connecticut.
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Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Houses are seen near the coast of a sea inlet of Nuuk, Greenland, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Northern Lights over the Church of Our Saviour in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday Feb. 21, 2026. (Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark's military said its arctic command forces evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine off the coast of Greenland for urgent medical treatment.
The Danish Joint Arctic Command, on its Facebook page, said the crew member was evacuated on Saturday some 7 nautical miles (8 miles; 13 kilometers) off Nuuk — the capital of the vast, ice-covered territory — and transferred to a hospital in the city. The crew member was retrieved by a Danish Seahawk helicopter that had been deployed on an inspection ship.
Also late Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy a hospital ship to the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland, alleging that many people there are sick and not receiving care — prompting a defense of Denmark's health care system from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
“Working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, we are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there. It's on the way!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, referring to his special envoy for Greenland.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, speaking to public broadcaster DR, said Danish authorities had not been informed that the ship was on its way.
The Pentagon referred questions about the status of the U.S. Navy's two hospital ships, the USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, to the White House. The White House did not immediately respond to repeated requests for more information.
The historically strong bilateral ties after World War II between NATO allies Denmark and the United States have come under severe strain in recent months as Trump ratcheted up talk of a possible U.S. takeover of the mineral-rich and strategically located Arctic island.
Frederiksen defended Denmark's health care system on Sunday, writing on Facebook that she was “happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health for all. Where it's not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get proper treatment.”
“You have the same approach in Greenland,” she said, before adding: “Happy Sunday to you all” in front of a blushing, smiling emoji.
Aaja Chemnitz, one of the two Greenlandic politicians in the Danish parliament, wrote on Facebook: “Donald Trump wants to send a poorly maintained hospital ship to Greenland. It seems rather desperate and does not contribute to the permanent and sustainable strengthening of the healthcare system that we need.”
“Another day. Another crazy news story,” she wrote in front of a smiley face emoji.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
The latest development came days after a suicide bomber, backed by gunmen, rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a security post in Bajaur district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
Local residents and civil defense workers look on as a bulldozer clears the rubble of a house hit by a cross-border Pakistani army strike in the Behsud district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Hedayat Shah)
A bulldozer clears the rubble of a house hit by a cross-border Pakistani army strike in the Behsud district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Hedayat Shah)
A man inspects a damaged car at the site of a cross-border Pakistani army strike in the Behsud district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Hedayat Shah)
Local residents gather as bulldozer clears the rubble of a house hit by a cross-border Pakistani army strike in the Behsud district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Hedayat Shah)
Local residents stand next to a damaged car at the site of a cross-border Pakistani army strike in the Behsud district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Hedayat Shah)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Pakistan's military killed at least 70 militants in strikes along the border with Afghanistan early Sunday, targeting what it described as hideouts of Pakistani militants it blamed for recent attacks inside the country, the deputy interior minister said. Kabul rejected the claim.
Talal Chaudhry, Pakistan's deputy interior minister, offered no evidence for his claim in an interview with Geo News that at least 70 militants were killed in the strikes. Pakistan's state-run media later reported that militant fatalities jumped to 80.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement that “various civilian areas” in the provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika in eastern Afghanistan were hit, including a religious madrassa and multiple homes. The statement called the strikes a violation of Afghanistan's airspace and sovereignty.
Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on X the attacks “killed and wounded dozens, including women and children.” He said Pakistan's claim of killing 70 militants was “inaccurate.”
Mawlawi Fazl Rahman Fayyaz, the provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Nangarhar province, said 18 people were killed and several others wounded.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan's ambassador to Kabul to protest the Pakistani strikes. In a statement, the ministry said protecting Afghanistan's territory is the Islamic Emirate's “Sharia responsibility” and warned that Pakistan would be responsible for the consequences of such attacks.
On Sunday, villagers cleared rubble in Nangarhar following airstrikes, while mourners prepared for funerals of those killed. Habib Ullah, a local tribal elder, said those killed in the strikes were not militants. “They were poor people who suffered greatly. Those killed were neither (the) Taliban, nor military personnel, nor members of the former government. They lived simple village lives,” he told The Associated Press.
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that the military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, and its affiliates. He said an affiliate of the Islamic State group was also targeted.
Tarar said Pakistan “has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region,” but added that the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remained a top priority.
Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent years, much of it blamed on the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. The TTP is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistan's Taliban. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating from inside Afghanistan, a charge both the group and Kabul deny.
Hours before the Pakistani strikes, a suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in the border district of Bannu in Pakistan's northwest, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel. Pakistan's military warned after the attack that it would not “exercise any restraint” and that operations against those responsible would press on.
Another suicide bomber, backed by gunmen, rammed an explosives-laden vehicle last week into the wall of a security post in Bajaur district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, killing 11 soldiers and a child. Pakistani authorities later said the attacker was an Afghan national.
Tarar said Pakistan had “conclusive evidence” that the recent attacks, including a suicide bombing that targeted a Shiite mosque in Islamabad and killed 31 worshippers earlier this month, were carried out by militants acting on the “behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”
He said Pakistan had repeatedly urged Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to take verifiable steps to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan, but alleged that no substantive action had been taken. Tarar also asked the international community to press Afghanistan's Taliban authorities to uphold their commitments under the Doha agreement not to allow their soil to be used against other countries.
In Islamabad, security analyst Abdullah Khan said the Pakistani strikes suggest that Qatari, Turkish and even Saudi-led mediations have failed to resolve tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “These strikes are likely to further escalate the situation,” he said.
The Qatari-mediated ceasefire between the two countries came about after deadly border clashes in October, killing dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. The violence followed explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad, at the time, conducted strikes deep inside Afghanistan to target militant hideouts.
The truce between Islamabad and Kabul has largely held, but several rounds of talks in Istanbul in November failed to produce a formal agreement, and relations remain strained.
____
Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
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Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel reacts to a new study showing one in three American teenagers have prediabetes.
Some surveys find that about 75% of U.S. adults have used supplements, while federal survey data shows that 58% used one in the past 30 days — but some groups should exercise caution, experts say.
There are many different supplements — including vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids and probiotics — designed to fill nutrient gaps and support overall wellness. Some target specific functions, such as immune support, muscle recovery and bone health, according to multiple medical sources.
Unlike prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, supplements usually aren't FDA-approved before they are marketed, but the FDA does regulate them and can take action against unsafe or misbranded products.
POPULAR WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS LINKED TO RARE 'PIRATE DISEASE,' RESEARCHERS WARN
For people with diabetes, the following supplements could pose serious health risks, as they can affect blood glucose levels or interact with medications, per the National Institutes of Health.
Unlike prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, supplements usually aren't FDA-approved before marketing. (iStock)
Dawn Menning, a California-based registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist with Nutu, a healthy lifestyle app, says people with diabetes should avoid taking St. John's Wort as a supplement.
Primarily touted as a natural remedy for mild to moderate depression, St. John's Wort could have additional benefits for anxiety, sleep issues, and menopausal or PMS-related symptoms.
THE ZERO-CALORIE SUGAR SUBSTITUTE YOU'RE USING MAY DO MORE THAN SWEETEN FOOD, STUDY SAYS
"This herbal remedy can interfere with many diabetes medications by affecting the way the body breaks them down," Menning told Fox News Digital. "This can make medications less effective and blood sugar management more difficult."
This supplement is often marketed for its ability to improve blood sugar regulation in people with type 2 diabetes, Menning noted, but there is limited evidence and the research is "mixed."
"Taking this supplement with insulin or oral diabetes medications may increase the risk of hypoglycemia," she cautioned. This condition can increase the risk of dizziness, fatigue and fainting, according to Healthline.
For people with diabetes, some supplements could pose health risks, as they can affect blood glucose levels or interact with medications (iStock)
These are often taken to help with reducing blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, Menning noted.
GLP-1 WEIGHT-LOSS MEDICATIONS LINKED TO IMPROVED CANCER SURVIVAL IN CERTAIN PATIENTS
"It contains compounds such as polypeptide-p, which may act like insulin," she said. "Taking this with diabetes medications could increase the risk of hypoglycemia."
This supplement is sometimes used to help manage cholesterol levels — but in people with diabetes, it may also raise blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
SIMPLE DAILY HABIT COULD HELP PEOPLE WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MANAGE BLOOD SUGAR
"I would caution against using high-dose niacin supplements because it can noticeably raise blood sugar levels and make it harder to keep A1c in an optimal range," Michelle Routhenstein, preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com in New York, told Fox News Digital.
Asian ginseng has been linked to a boost in energy, focus and immune system health. It also contains antioxidants, which can provide cellular protection, according to Cleveland Clinic.
While it has also been linked to improved cardiometabolic factors for those with prediabetes and diabetes, some evidence suggests that ginseng could lower blood sugar levels when combined with diabetes medications.
This supplement is primarily used as an antioxidant and a source of vitamin A to support vision, immune function, and overall eye and skin health.
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"The American Diabetes Association recommends against β-carotene supplementation for people with diabetes because of its association with increased lung cancer and cardiovascular mortality risk," Jordan Hill, a registered dietitian with Top Nutrition Coaching in Colorado, told Fox News Digital.
Cinnamon is often promoted as a supplement for diabetes management and weight loss, as some research has shown it can help to reduce blood sugar and lower insulin resistance.
For most supplements, one expert said, "there isn't evidence to support a beneficial effect on diabetes or its complications." (iStock)
However, consuming large amounts of cinnamon can enhance the effects of diabetes and cause blood sugar levels to fall too low, which can cause hypoglycemia, Healthline warns.
Cinnamon also includes a compound called coumarin, which can cause liver damage if consumed in large amounts.
This supplement can help to promote healthy digestion, skin and nervous system function, according to Mayo Clinic.
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High doses of nicotinic acid (a form of niacin) can raise blood sugar levels and interfere with the effectiveness of diabetes medications, warns the National Institutes of Health.
"These doses can even raise blood sugar levels in people who don't have diabetes," the NIH states.
Oral aloe vera is often promoted for diabetes, weight loss and inflammatory bowel disease.
However, when paired with diabetes medications, it could cause blood sugar levels to dip and increase the risk of hypoglycemia with medications, according to the National Institutes of Health. It can also cause gastrointestinal side effects.
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For most supplements, Menning noted, "there isn't evidence to support a beneficial effect on diabetes or its complications."
"The primary concern with most supplements is not direct harm, but rather the lack of regulatory oversight."
The American Diabetes Standards of Care state: "Without underlying deficiency, there are no benefits from herbal or nonherbal (i.e., vitamin or mineral) supplementation for people with diabetes."
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinology advises caution with all unregulated nutritional supplements due to "inconsistent composition, quality and potential for harm," Hill said.
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"The primary concern with most supplements is not direct harm, but rather the lack of regulatory oversight," he told Fox News Digital.
Experts recommend speaking with a doctor before starting any supplement to understand how it could affect blood sugar levels, medications or overall diabetes management.
Melissa Rudy is senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.
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Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson reports on the latest in nuclear talks between the United States and Iran on 'Fox Report.'
Exiled Iranian Princess Noor Pahlavi made an impassioned plea for President Donald Trump's help this weekend, saying the Iranians had never been so close to overthrowing the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Pahlavi made the statement during an interview with The California Post, saying her "heart breaks" over Iran despite the fact that she has never stepped foot there. Her grandfather, the former Shah of Iran, was deposed roughly 47 years ago.
"Imagine if this were happening to you and your country," she said, referencing a crackdown on regime protesters. "It's happening at the hands of the government, the government that's meant to protect them.
"It's literally a government waging war on its own citizens. It's just incredibly painful to watch, to hear about. And it's hard for people here to see and hear about. But it's our responsibility not to look away," she added.
IRAN'S PRESIDENT STRIKES SOFTER TONE ON NUCLEAR TALKS AFTER TRUMP'S WARNING THAT 'BAD THINGS WOULD HAPPEN'
"It's never been this close, and the regime has never been this weak," Noor Pahlavi said. (MJ Photos/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)
"It's never been this close, and the regime has never been this weak," she continued.
"The people really listened when the president told them that help was on the way and that they should continue taking to the streets. They've named streets after him. They're holding up signs with his face on them. They're begging him to come in and help them because they're fighting this government empty-handed," she added.
The Trump administration has been building up U.S. military strength near Iran for weeks.
Potential U.S. military strikes on Iran could target specific individuals and even pursue regime change, according to a new report.
GLOBAL PROTESTS CALL FOR IRAN REGIME CHANGE IN MAJOR CITIES WORLDWIDE AFTER BLOODY CRACKDOWN
The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, next to senior military official in Iran. (Getty Images)
Two U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity reportedly said those are options that have emerged in the planning stage, if ordered by President Donald Trump. They did not say which individuals could be targeted, but Trump, notably, in 2020 ordered the U.S. military attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force.
Trump already said Friday that he is "considering" a limited military strike on Iran to pressure its leaders into a deal over its nuclear program, when asked by a reporter at the White House.
Last week, when questioned if he wanted regime change in Iran, the president said, "Well it seems like that would be the best thing that could happen."
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Trump on Thursday suggested the window for a breakthrough is narrowing in talks with Iran, indicating Tehran has no more than "10, 15 days, pretty much maximum" to reach an agreement.
"We're either going to get a deal, or it's going to be unfortunate for them," he said.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on X: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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Survivor of Mao's Cultural Revolution Xi Van Fleet warns against China's influence over online audiences as the House Ways and Means Committee investigates reports of foreign adversaries on 'Fox & Friends First.'
For those who speak of the global perils to democracy, a grim milestone deserves their rapt attention and full-throated condemnation: The Feb. 9 sentencing in a Chinese court of Hong Kong dissident Jimmy Lai.
In the imagination of the Chinese Communist Party, Lai's sentencing closes the book on a troublesome man: a Catholic, a publisher, a democrat. Lai, 78 and in failing health, was condemned under the elastic logic of the Beijing-imposed National Security Law, and is meant to disappear quietly into history.
We must hope that Lai's story instead endures as an indictment of China's regime.
Not for violence, espionage or corruption. Lai's crime was to have run a newspaper, Apple Daily, that gave coverage to Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and reported critically on the city's Beijing-appointed overseers.
MYSTERIOUS 2020 EXPLOSION IN CHINA HAD HALLMARKS OF NUCLEAR TEST, US OFFICIAL ALLEGES
The U.S. urged China to reverse what Secretary of State Marco Rubio called an "unjust and tragic" sentence against Hong Kong publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)
Lai's severe 20-year sentence is designed to teach a lesson: that in today's Hong Kong, conscience is subversion; that loyalty to truth is treason; that even peaceful dissent will be crushed without apology.
Lai came to Hong Kong as a penniless refugee. He began life as a child laborer before eventually becoming a garment tycoon. He gave away his successful business, the popular Giordano retail brand, to build a newspaper to defend the liberties that made his life possible. Lai could have fled China's takeover of Hong Kong, but chose to stay, reasoning: "If I don't stand up, who will?"
The manner in which Lai's case has been conducted is morally obscene. He has been denied the right to choose his own legal counsel. His lawyers have been harassed. His newspaper was shuttered by force. His staff were arrested, his assets frozen. The sentencing merely formalizes a persecution that has been ongoing for some time.
US OLYMPIAN ALYSA LIU WAS ONCE TARGETED BY CHINESE SPIES – HERE'S WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT
Jimmy's daughter, Claire, shared with me a list of the books Jimmy has been reading in custody. They are not light diversions. They are dense, demanding theological works—Augustine, Aquinas, Guardini, Ratzinger, Francis, Van Thuan (himself a prisoner of communist Vietnam). These are the companions of a man seeking not comfort, but endurance.
Jimmy's relationship with Claire reminds me of another imprisoned conscience: St. Thomas More, locked in the Tower of London for refusing to betray his faith and flatter an autocrat. More's letters to his daughter Meg are among the most luminous prison writings in Western tradition — tender, playful, disciplined and utterly free.
More, of course, became one of history's most enduring symbols of resistance to despotic repression. We must hope the same becomes true of Jimmy Lai.
TAIWAN 'WILL NOT ESCALATE, BUT WILL NOT YIELD' TO CHINESE INTIMIDATION, FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS
The Chinese Communist Party insists that Lai's case is an internal matter, beyond the concern of the international community. But Hong Kong's autonomy was guaranteed by treaty. Its freedoms were promised to the world. The destruction of its rule of law is not domestic housekeeping; it is a breach of trust with global consequences.
And its chilling effect will extend far beyond Lai's prison cell. Journalists and teachers will self-censor. Priests will wonder which homily might cross an invisible line. Students will learn not how to argue, but how to survive.
The manner in which Lai's case has been conducted is morally obscene. He has been denied the right to choose his own legal counsel. His lawyers have been harassed. His newspaper was shuttered by force.
This is the logic of totalitarianism: it does not need to imprison everyone. It only needs to imprison the right people — publicly, brutally and decisively, so the rest internalize the lesson.
RUBIO BLASTS CHINA OVER 'UNJUST AND TRAGIC' 20-YEAR SENTENCE FOR HONG KONG DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST JIMMY LAI
That is why protest against Lai's sentence cannot be ritualistic or half-hearted. It must be sustained and morally vigorous. Western governments cannot content themselves with statements of "concern." They must treat this as a defining test and respond accordingly: public, high-level advocacy. Real diplomatic pressure. Support for Hong Kong's exiled journalists and institutions.
There is reason — however fragile — for hope. President Donald Trump has taken a vocal interest in Lai's case and is expected to meet with China's President Xi Jinping in April. Place not one's trust in princes, the Psalms tell us, but history often unexpectedly turns on such moments.
In my conversations with Jimmy over the years, what always struck me was not anger, but joy. Not bitterness, but gratitude. He spoke about freedom as a gift. He spoke about faith as a relationship. He never imagined himself a hero. He simply refused to betray what he had seen.
Jimmy Lai taking a photo with Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. (Fox News)
History is full of such figures: men and women whom regimes tried to bury, only to discover they had planted seeds.
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The sentence imposed on him should not be remembered as an act of strength, but as a confession of weakness.
Because if Jimmy Lai is remembered — if his name is spoken, his case defended, his courage honored — then a prison cell cannot contain his legacy.
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But if Jimmy Lai is forgotten, Hong Kong could be finished as a symbol of hope for future democracy in China.
The regime will write its sentence. History will write the verdict.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM FR. ROBERT SIRICO
Rev. Robert Sirico, author of The Economics of the Parables and of Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy, is co-founder and president emeritus of the Acton Institute.
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Fox News senior strategic analyst Ret. Gen. Jack Keane discusses Turkish actions against U.S.-backed Kurds in Syria on 'Life, Liberty & Levin.'
Turkey's massive military, trade, Islamic diplomacy and education expansion into Africa is, some analysts say, undermining U.S. goals, as Ankara capitalizes on wars and conflicts on the continent.
Experts claim Turkey's military sales appear to be based on maximizing profit, without worrying about what the arms sold do to the balance of power, particularly in Jihadist areas such as the Sahel.
Recently, multiple reports claimed Turkish companies have sold military drones to both sides in the three-year-long conflict in Sudan.
TURKEY SAYS SYRIA USING FORCE IS AN OPTION AGAINST US-BACKED FIGHTERS WHO HELPED DEFEAT ISIS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu shake hands after a joint press conference in Ankara on Jan. 27, 2026. (Ercin Erturk/Anadolu via Getty Images)
"Turkey is really capitalizing on all these conflicts in Sudan, in Ethiopia, in Somalia, to strengthen its military presence, its diplomatic and economic engagements," Turkey analyst Gönül Tol, told an American Enterprise Institute seminar in Washington last week. Tol, founding director of the Middle East Institute's Turkey program, added that the country is "one of the top, top weapons providers to Africa. So if there is more chaos, that will only help Erdogan strengthen his hands."
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in October that overall trade volume with the African continent has shot up from $5.4 billion in 2003, to $41 billion in 2024. He told a business and economic forum in Istanbul that the state-backed carrier Turkish Airlines is literally leading the way into African countries for Turkish companies, now flying to 64 African destinations.
Erdogan told the forum that over the past two decades, "we have advanced our relations hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, and most importantly, heart-to-heart, to a level that could not even be imagined."
Somalis celebrate the victory of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he won the presidential runoff election, in Mogadishu, on May 29, 2023. (Hassan Ali Elmi AFP via Getty images)
Drone sales to Sudan's warring partners would only prolong the war, conduct which is directly against U.S. policy. Just last month, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that "the U.S. is working with allies and others to bring an end to external military support to the parties, which is fueling the violence."
RISING ISIS THREATS TO US HOMELAND DRIVE AFRICOM AIRSTRIKES AGAINST TERRORISTS IN SOMALIA
"Turkish drones, marketed as cost-effective and politically low-friction alternatives to U.S. or European systems, have proliferated across African conflict zones," Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.
"Reporting that Turkish firms supplied drones to both the Sudanese (government) Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (the opposing militia in the conflict) underscores Ankara's transactional approach: access and influence take precedence over stability, civilian protection or alignment with Western policy objectives," she said.
Bayraktar Akinci unmanned aerial vehicles at Flight Training and Test Center in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 5, 2022. (Baykar/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))
In a 2025 FDD report, Sinan Siddi, senior fellow and director of the organization's Turkey program, wrote, "The deal between Baykar and SAF is worth $120 million, resulting in the sale of six TB2 drones, three ground control stations, and 600 warheads." Siddi claimed the deal took place after the U.S. placed sanctions on such sales.
Although Turkish drones are also claimed to have been sold to Sudan's RSF militia, the company said to have been involved is reported to have publicly denied making the sale. The company did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
A State Department spokesperson, when asked by Fox News Digital about the allegations said, "We refer you to the Government of Turkey for comment on reports related to any Turkish firms operating in Sudan."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Turkish government but received no response.
TRUMP OVERHAULS US ARMS SALES TO FAVOR KEY ALLIES, PROTECT AMERICAN WEAPONS PRODUCTION
A Turkish Airlines flight arrives in Mogadishu in Oct. 2022. (Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The TB2 drone reportedly sold to the Sudanese government is made by a company said to be owned by Erdogan's son-in-law. Experts say the TB2 is one-sixth the cost of a U.S. Reaper drone. Fox News Digital reached out to the company, but received no response.
The U.S. Africa Command's Africa Defense Forum recently reported it "typically costs between $2 million and $5 million per aircraft, though total system packages — including ground control stations, communication systems, and training — often cost significantly more, sometimes reaching $5–$15 million per system depending on the contract. The TB2 is recognized for its high cost-efficiency, with operational costs estimated at only a few hundred dollars per hour."
Particularly in Africa's Sahel region, the FDD's Wahba claimed Turkey is trying to return to the principles of its Ottoman Empire, which ruled for centuries and promoted the culture of imposing caliphates – areas where Islamic law is strictly enforced.
Wahba said, "On the whole, this is a worrying development that risks undermining U.S. interests. In addition to backing Islamist movements such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which does not bode well for its ideological orientation, Ankara is pursuing a neo-Ottoman foreign policy that is already taking concrete shape across parts of Africa."
"Turkey's arms sales across Africa are best understood", the FDD's Siddi told Fox News Digital, "not as ad hoc commercial transactions, but as a deliberate strategy to expand Ankara's political, military and economic footprint on a continent increasingly contested by global and middle powers."
Gambia's President Adama Barrow welcomes Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Banjul, Gambia, Jan. 27, 2020. (Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool)
He said, "By exporting drones, small arms and security services to fragile states such as Sudan… the Erdogan government positions Turkey as a low-cost, low-conditionality alternative to Western partners, while simultaneously opening new markets for its rapidly growing defense industry. These weapons transfers are designed to buy diplomatic leverage, secure access to ports, bases and contracts and cultivate client relationships with regimes and militias that can advance Turkey's regional ambitions."
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The number of embassies Turkey operates in Africa has rocketed from 12 in 2002, to 44 today. Wahba said the 64 African destinations Turkish Airlines flies to is a useful indicator. "As a state-backed carrier, its rapid expansion of direct routes into African capitals mirrors Turkey's diplomatic and security priorities. The airline functions as a soft-power and access enabler for Ankara's broader agenda."
Wahba claimed this all should matter for Washington, "because Ankara's model increasingly competes with, and in many cases directly undercuts, U.S. priorities on conflict mitigation and stability."
Paul Tilsley is a veteran correspondent who has reported from four continents for more than three decades. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he can be followed on X @paultilsley.
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Fox News correspondent Alexis McAdams and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro discuss the attack at an ice rink where 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who also went by Roberta, killed his ex-wife and son before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
As Americans grapple with yet another mass shooting perpetrated by a transgender individual, a broader national debate is unfolding over whether warning signs are being ignored and whether institutions charged with preventing violence are falling short.
A retired FBI agent says years of behavioral threat assessments reveal a troubling constant: in case after case, there was a point where someone could have stepped in — but the system failed to act.
The Rhode Island shooting has also fueled fresh debate over violent crime and gender identity, with several high-profile commentators questioning whether a pattern is emerging.
"Why are there so many violent trans shooters, and is #BigPharma fueling the violence?" Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy asked on X, framing her question around whether federal health officials are adequately studying mental health treatment, pharmaceutical use and hormone therapy in cases involving transgender suspects.
SURVIVORS IN RHODE ISLAND HOCKEY GAME SHOOTING 'FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES' AFTER GUNMAN KILLS EX-WIFE, SON
Campos-Duffy said she pressed Calley Means and the Department of Health and Human Services on what research, if any, is being conducted and what policies could be implemented "to find answers and end the carnage."
Radio host Clay Travis similarly cited several recent attacks and argued the "trans violence rate is off the charts."
2018 – Aberdeen, MarylandSnochia Moseley, a transgender man, killed three co-workers at a Rite Aid distribution center before dying by suicide, authorities said.
2019 – Highlands Ranch, Colorado (STEM School Highlands Ranch)Alec McKinney, a transgender student, and Devon Erickson carried out a school shooting that left one student dead and eight injured. McKinney told investigators bullying over gender identity was a factor.
2022 – Colorado Springs, ColoradoAnderson Lee Aldrich, who authorities said identified as nonbinary, opened fire inside a LGBTQ+ nightclub, killing five people.
2023 – Nashville, Tennessee (Covenant School)Audrey Hale, who police identified as a transgender man, killed six people, including three children.
Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale walks past the Children's Ministry desk. (1:57) (Twitter @MNPDNashville)
2025 – Minneapolis, Minnesota (Annunciation Catholic Church)Robin Westman, who authorities said identified as a transgender, killed two children during a church service before dying by suicide.
2026 – Tumbler Ridge, British ColumbiaJesse Van Rootselaar, who police say identified as trans, allegedly killed eight people, including five students and one teacher, before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
2026 – Pawtucket, Rhode IslandRobert Dorgan, who police say identified as a transgender, also known as Roberta Esposito, killed three people, including family members, before taking his own life.
HOCKEY RINK SHOOTING SUSPECT WARNED ABOUT GOING 'BERSERK' IN X POST DAY BEFORE ATTACK
Screenshots from a YouTube video posted by Robin M. Westman, 23, show the suspect police identified as the gunman in the Aug. 27, 2025, Minneapolis church school shooting. (Obtained by Fox News)
Advocacy groups strongly reject claims that transgender identity is linked to mass violence.
GLAAD says there is "no evidence of escalating violence committed by LGBTQ people," citing Gun Violence Archive data showing that of 5,748 mass shootings recorded between Jan. 1, 2013, and Sept. 15, 2025, five confirmed perpetrators were transgender — representing less than 0.1% of incidents.
"Accusing people from a small and vulnerable community of mass shooting crimes is an effort to further dehumanize, demonize and promote fear about transgender and nonbinary people," the organization states.
MULTIPLE PEOPLE SHOT AT RHODE ISLAND ICE RINK, SUSPECT DEAD: REPORT
Retired FBI agent Jason Pack cautioned against framing recent acts of violence through a political or demographic lens, instead urging a focus on systemic breakdowns in intervention.
"Whatever your views on gender identity, and Americans hold strong, sincere views on all sides of this, I think most people agree that every human being in crisis deserves intervention before tragedy strikes," Pack said.
From a law enforcement standpoint, he stressed that identity alone is not what threat assessment teams evaluate.
"Law enforcement and behavioral threat assessments don't look at groups by identity alone. They never have. What they look at is individual behavior, individual history, individual warning signs," he explained.
RHODE ISLAND ICE RINK SHOOTING VICTIMS CONFIRMED AS SHOOTER'S DAUGHTER ALLEGES 'VENDETTA' AGAINST FAMILY
Families reunite outside the police barricades after a shooting at Annunciation Church, which is also home to an elementary school, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Aug. 27, 2025. (Reuters/Ben Brewer)
According to Pack, investigators often uncover missed opportunities for intervention: warning comments that went unreported, mental health contacts that weren't followed up, family members unsure where to turn, or school flags that stalled inside bureaucratic systems.
"That's the pattern worth examining," he said. "Not who these individuals were demographically, but what failed them and what failed the public before they ever picked up a weapon."
Pack pointed to what he described as a recurring "crossing point" — a moment when authorities, schools or families could have acted but didn't, whether due to underfunded threat assessment teams, unused red flag laws or crisis hotlines that failed to connect callers with help.
"The answer lies in fixing the pipeline that keeps failing and that protects everybody," he said.
RHODE ISLAND ICE RINK SHOOTING SUSPECT'S GENDER IDENTITY WAS SOURCE OF PAST FAMILY CONFLICT: DOCS
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman said there are often identifiable psychological patterns that precede acts of mass violence.
"The shooter's trajectory to mass violence begins with having had a dysfunctional childhood, where they were abused or neglected," Lieberman said. She added that many later become isolated or bullied, immerse themselves in violent media, abuse substances or develop a belief that "no one likes them," which can deepen resentment and hatred toward others.
In her view, the tipping point often comes after a destabilizing life event.
"After they sink ever deeper into their own world, a traumatic event occurs that sets them off — such as a rejection, a breakup, the death of someone they care about, being fired from a job or another sudden event that shakes up their world and causes them to believe ‘the time is now' to punish others," she said.
Lieberman echoed concerns about missed intervention opportunities, saying warning signs are often visible long before violence occurs.
"The first potential intervention is from parents who notice that their child is displaying unusual behavior, such as retreating into a shell with grades going downhill," she said. "Unfortunately, too many times, even when a person is brought to a mental health professional, the depth of their mental problems is missed and they are not treated sufficiently."
She argued that stronger early-intervention systems in schools, including increased access to school psychologists and continued crisis counseling, could help identify at-risk students before they escalate.
"There needs to be intervention systems set up in schools to identify kids with problems early on," Lieberman said.
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When asked about public discussion surrounding suspects' gender identity in some recent cases, Lieberman said she believes identity-related distress may play a role for some individuals.
"There is an increasing trend for some mass shooters to be trans," she said, attributing that in certain cases to what she described as intense self-loathing and anger — a view disputed by LGBTQ advocacy groups who cite national data showing transgender perpetrators represent a fraction of overall mass shooting cases.
George Brauchler, the district attorney for Colorado's 23rd Judicial District who prosecuted the 2019 STEM School Highlands Ranch case, said the focus should remain on prevention — not politics.
"We must avoid sensationalism on each side of this issue and engage in a sober effort to assess if there are any common threads that precede mass casualty crimes," he said. "Victims yet-to-be deserve a sincere effort to minimize their numbers free of political posturing."
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.
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During President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress last March, he triumphantly declared, “America is back.”
Although it wasn't an official State of the Union speech, he attempted to offer the nation his vision for the next year of his term, akin to the usual annual address presidents give to Congress.
The more than 90-minute event, the longest in presidential history, featured Trump claiming he would renew the American Dream, usher in a new era of America First priorities, and unleash sweeping policies to revamp the nation after four years under former President Joe Biden.
Ahead of his first official State of the Union address on Tuesday, the Washington Examiner evaluated which promises Trump delivered on from his remarks last year and which promises he came up short on.
EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT THE 2026 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
One of Trump's biggest wins since the address last year is his efforts to crack down on the U.S.-Mexico border. During his address, he touted that he “declared a national emergency on our southern border, and deployed the U.S. military and Border Patrol to repel the invasion of our country.”
Last month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection released operational statistics that showed an eighth consecutive month of zero release of illegal immigrants and a record low number of encounters at the border in December 2025.
In October, illegal border crossings hit their lowest level in more than half a century, at fewer than 9,000, according to CBS. The illegal immigration crackdown “would probably be the one that he has delivered on the most,” said GOP strategist Ford O'Connell about Trump's promises.
Trump also promised to freeze federal hiring and order federal workers back to in-person work, which he did through executive action. Through the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, about 317,000 federal workers left their jobs by the end of 2025, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Many were fired, laid off through reduction-in-force notices, or retired or quit due to the increasing pressure of the Trump administration to trim the federal workforce.
“We found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud. And we've taken back the money and reduced our debt to fight inflation and other things. Taking back a lot of that money, we got it just in time,” Trump said during his speech.
The president also fulfilled his promise to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the federal government. He has signed executive orders that barred federal contractors from implementing DEI, ended DEI programs in the federal government, and directed the Pentagon to end DEI in the military.
He also withdrew the U.S. from the “unfair Paris Climate Accord,” dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, and slashed U.S. funding for “woke” foreign assistance, as well as slashed wasteful government spending.
“We've ended the tyranny of so-called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be woke no longer,” Trump boasted.
Trump declared he had “won affordability” during an economic address in Rome, Georgia, on Thursday. But the reality of lowering everyday prices is much harder for Trump, who last year repeatedly claimed he would fix the economy.
The economy grew at a 1.4% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis's estimate of gross domestic product on Friday. The rate was far below economists' forecasts of a 3% increase in the fourth quarter.
Furthermore, Trump's sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court on Friday, in a significant setback for the president's signature economic agenda item that Trump regularly touts as bringing in billions of dollars in new revenue.
A defiant Trump quickly imposed a new global 10% tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 during a press briefing that same day. He also claimed he wouldn't ask Congress to approve of his wide-sweeping tariffs. “I don't have to,” Trump said. “I have the right to do tariffs, and it's all been approved by Congress, so there's no reason to.”
A Wall Street Journal poll published last month showed that 49% of participants said the economy had gotten worse, compared with 35% who said it had gotten better. The poll also showed that 54% said they disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy, while said 44% they approve. Even more worrying for Trump is that 58% said the Trump administration was more responsible for the state of the economy, while just 31% said the Biden administration was responsible.
Skyrocketing electricity prices have also undermined Trump's promise to rapidly reduce energy costs. Between January 2025 and January 2026, the price of electricity rose 6.3%, while piped natural gas increased by 9.8%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although, to Trump's defense, the price of gasoline dropped 7.5%.
Trump was able to muscle through the “Big Beautiful Bill,” the landmark tax and spending cuts bill, last summer. The legislation includes language that fulfills Trump's promise to eliminate a tax on tips. But the GOP has faced raucous town halls from voters furious over Medicaid cuts and other policies within the sweeping legislation.
Still, Trump can point to the fact that overall GDP growth in 2025 came in at 2.2%, beating predictions made at the end of the year.
In his speech last year, Trump also previewed his desire to acquire Greenland as a U.S. territory, a wish that he recently ratcheted up last month. But given Greenland's status as an autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO member, it was always going to be hard for Trump to fulfill this goal.
European leaders expressed outrage at Trump's remarks in the aftermath of the stunning capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3. Ultimately, Trump agreed to a “framework of a future deal” between the United States and NATO regarding Greenland, but it's not clear when, if ever, the European nation will become a U.S. territory.
In his address to Congress, the president reiterated his desire to reclaim the Panama Canal to curb China's influence in the region. But a year later, the canal remains under Panama's control, not the U.S.
TRUMP TO GET DHS SHUTDOWN ‘BULLY PULPIT' WITH STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Trump has pressured China to sell the Chinese-based company that operates ports in the canal to a U.S. consortium that includes BlackRock. The administration did score some victories when Panama's Supreme Court ruled last month that contracts under which a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison operates over the canal are unconstitutional.
Trump also pushed for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine during his speech. “It's time to stop this madness. It's time to halt the killing. It's time to end this senseless war,” he said.
But negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been “tough,” Trump conceded during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace.
“I thought this would be easy, because I have a very good relationship with President Putin,” said Trump.
Pakistan said Sunday it carried out airstrikes on militant camps across the border in Afghanistan, in a serious test of an uneasy peace between the neighbors.
Pakistan's information ministry said its military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps belonging to militants it blames for a recent series of deadly attacks on its soil. The strikes targeted the Pakistani Taliban – also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – and its affiliates, as well as a group associated with the Islamic State.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense confirmed the strikes in a statement, calling them a “blatant violation of Afghanistan's national sovereignty” and a “clear breach” of international law.
The strikes took place in civilian areas in the eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika, targeting a religious seminary and “multiple civilian homes,” the ministry said.
Women and children were among the 18 people killed, Sayed Tayeb Hamad, a senior police official in Nangarhar, said on Afghan state television. The bodies of the victims were still being dug out from under the rubble on Sunday morning, according to state media reports.
The airstrikes came after a month of deadly attacks within Pakistan, the most recent being the killing of two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, by militants in the country's northwest on Saturday, officials said.
Earlier this month, dozens of people were killed by a suicide blast in a Shia mosque in Pakistan's capital Islamabad.
Pakistan's information ministry said on Sunday that the country had “conclusive evidence” that the February attacks were carried out by militants at the “behest of their Afghanistan based leadership and handlers.”
This new escalation will test the delicate ceasefire that has been in place between the neighboring countries since last October, after they traded their deadliest fire in years.
The US wants these critical minerals, but militants with American weapons stand in the way
Dozens of civilians were killed and wounded in the skirmishes that broke out along their disputed, 1,600-mile border. It culminated in Afghanistan launching retaliatory attacks after Pakistan conducted airstrikes on its capital Kabul.
Islamabad has long accused Kabul of harboring the TTP, which Kabul denies.
In a November interview with CNN, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan wanted to “take out” the TTP's leadership in Afghanistan, stating that it would employ “whatever means are available to us.”
CNN's Masoud Popalzai and Saleem Mehsud contributed reporting
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Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
FILE State Sen. Scott Wiener speaks during the San Francisco Congressional District 11 candidate forum in San Francisco on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, chairman of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, watches as the Senate votes on measure to reduce the state budget deficit at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday,, April 11, 2024.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, file)
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, right, prepares to announce his proposed measure to provide legal refuge to displaced transgender youth and their families during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., on March 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California state lawmaker favored to succeed Nancy Pelosi in the U.S. House has already been thrust into the national spotlight as the force behind headline-grabbing policies like a ban on masks for federal agents and protections for transgender youth.
Now Scott Wiener is expected to win the California Democratic Party's endorsement on Sunday, giving his candidacy an extra boost in a competitive primary. Once in Washington, he could swiftly become a fresh symbol of San Francisco politics, derided by conservatives as an example of extreme liberalism while occasionally clashing with progressives.
Wiener has practice with that balancing act after 15 years in city and state politics.
“Sen. Wiener only does the tough bills,” longtime Sacramento lobbyist Chris Micheli said. “He never shies away from a significant political battle.”
Wiener's challenge of navigating modern Democratic politics was on display in January, when he changed his language on the war in Gaza. Days after declining to align with his progressive opponents in describing Israel's actions as genocide, he said he agreed with that term. The shift angered some Jewish groups and led Wiener to step down as co-chair of the state Legislative Jewish Caucus.
“For a period of time I chose not to use the word ‘genocide' because it is so sensitive within the Jewish community,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But ultimately I decided I had been effectively saying ‘genocide' for quite some time.”
Wiener, known for his calm demeanor, is often at the center of California's most divisive issues, from housing to drug use. His backers and critics alike describe him as someone who advocates relentlessly for his bills.
“If you're willing to risk people being mad at you, you can get things done and make people's lives better,” Wiener said.
He wrote laws requiring large companies to disclose their direct and indirect climate emissions and ramp up apartment construction near public transit stops.
But he doesn't always win.
Wiener authored a first-in-the-nation law banning local and federal law enforcement agents from wearing face coverings after a wave of immigration raids across Southern California last summer. A judge blocked it from taking effect this month — a rare loss in the state's legal battles with the Trump administration that had Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's office blaming Wiener.
He also failed to pass high-profile bills to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms and hold oil and gas companies liable for damage from climate-caused natural disasters.
His critics come from both parties.
Republicans have blasted many of his policies aimed at defending LGBTQ+ people, sometimes calling Wiener, who is gay, offensive names.
Aaron Peskin, a former San Francisco supervisor and outspoken progressive, said a law Wiener wrote inadvertently stifled local housing and affordability efforts.
“It was screwing my government's ability to deliver goods and services to the people that we represent,” he said.
Wiener said he supports Israel's right to defend itself but grew horrified by the scale of its attacks on Gaza and blocking of humanitarian aid. More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in late 2023, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. He had harshly criticized Israel's actions but avoided using the word “ genocide.”
At a candidate forum in January, he refused to say “yes” or “no” after the Democratic hopefuls were asked whether Israel was committing genocide, which angered pro-Palestinian advocates. His opponents, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan and former tech executive Saikat Chakrabarti, said “yes.”
Days later he released a video saying Israel had committed genocide, triggering backlash from Jewish and pro-Israel groups who said his words lacked “moral clarity.”
It was a representation of the difficult political terrain many Democrats are navigating as polls show views have shifted on Israel. American sympathy for Israel dropped to an all-time low in 2025, particularly among Democrats and independents, while sympathy for Palestinians has risen.
“Do I think he wins or loses based on this issue? Not necessarily, but it could become a problem for him,” San Francisco Bay Area political consultant Jim Ross said, adding that some voters might fear he will equivocate on issues important to them.
Just two Jewish members of Congress — Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Rep. Becca Balint, both of Vermont — have publicly used the word “genocide” to describe Israel's actions. Only a small percentage of congressional Democrats have used the term, according to the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
Wiener grew up in New Jersey in a family that was Conservative Jewish, a sect of Judaism that is moderately traditional, and his only friends until high school were from his synagogue, he said. He later joined a Jewish fraternity at Duke University and was surprised by how supportive his brothers were when he told them he was gay.
“A lot of Jews just intuitively understand what it means to be part of a marginalized community,” he said.
Pelosi, a former House speaker, has not made an endorsement in the race.
If elected, Wiener said, he will work to bring down San Francisco's notoriously high cost of living. His opponents are running on a similar promise and say he has failed to prioritize affordable housing.
Chan and Chakrabarti, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., say they are fresher faces better positioned to bring sweeping change after Pelosi. Wiener, they say, is a moderate with establishment ties. Chan has been elected twice by voters in the city's Richmond District, while Chakrabarti has never been on the ballot.
Ross, the political consultant, said it's impossible to compare anyone to Pelosi given the sheer size of her political influence. But like her, Wiener has proved to be a strong networker who can raise money and pass ambitious bills.
“They're both about the politics of what they can get done,” Ross said.
___
Associated Press writer Janie Har contributed.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
At least one person was killed and dozens more wounded in explosions that hit the western Ukrainian city of Lviv early Sunday, in what authorities have labeled a “terrorist attack.”
A 23-year-old policewoman was killed in the attack, while a patrol car and a civilian vehicle were damaged, the prosecutor's office said. About two dozen people were wounded, police said.
The blasts took place as police responded to an emergency phone call about a break-in at a store near the city center, according to Lviv's regional prosecutor's office.
The first occurred after police arrived at the scene, it said, and was followed by another after the arrival of a second crew.
Homemade explosive devices were used in the attack, which had been planted in rubbish bins, according to the Ukrainian National Police, citing preliminary investigations.
Lviv's regional prosecutor's office said it had launched an investigation into “a terrorist act that caused serious consequences.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that several people had been detained, including an individual suspected of carrying out the attack.
Police said a 33-year-old woman had been detained in the western city of Staryi Sambir, near the border with Poland. They said the woman was suspected of carring out the attack on the instruction of a handler in Russia.
Viktoria Shpylka was named by police as the officer who was killed in the attack.
“Her colleagues remember her as sensitive, bright and sincere. She knew how to support, listen and find a kind word even on the hardest of days,” police said. Shpylka, 23, had married a patrol officer last year, the statement said.
Zelensky said Sunday that Russia had used 50 missiles and nearly 300 drones in a widespread barrage against locations across Ukraine overnight.
The strikes targeted the capital Kyiv and six regions, from Sumy in the north to Odessa on the Black Sea. One person was killed in the Kyiv area, Zelensky said, and eight injured.
It was the largest number of missiles fired in one night since February 3.
CNN reporters in Kyiv said there had been multiple detonations around the capital overnight.
Zelensky said the Russian strikes were focusing on the country's energy infrastructure, as well as railway and water supply networks.
Ukraine is becoming a nation of widows and orphans as it confronts a demographic ‘catastrophe'
“This week alone, Russia launched more than 1,300 attack drones against Ukraine, over 1,400 guided aerial bombs, and 96 missiles of various types, including dozens of ballistic ones,” Zelensky said.
“We need systems that effectively counter ballistic threats,” he added.
One Russian missile strike targeted a factory in northern Ukraine owned by US multinational Mondelez that makes snacks and chocolate.
“This is not a military target, but a factory that has operated since the 1990s, producing globally known brands, employing Ukrainians, contributing to our and American economy,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a X post.
Four Moscow airports briefly restricted flights, Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia said Sunday. The restrictions came as Moscow's mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the city was targeted by a wave of Ukrainian drones – a claim Kyiv has not publicly commented on.
CNN's Billy Stockwell contributed reporting.
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Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) will not attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address next week, joining a growing list of congressional Democrats skipping the annual speech.
In a video posted to X explaining his decision, Schiff vowed not to give Trump the “audience he craves for the lies that he tells.”
“Donald Trump is violating the law and Constitution. He is ignoring court orders. He has weaponized the Justice Department to go after his enemies. He is letting loose ICE troops in our streets that are getting people killed. I will not be attending the State of the Union,” he said. “I've never missed one. I have always gone, both to inaugurations and to States of the Union. But we cannot treat this as normal. This is not business as usual.”
Schiff will instead join some of his colleagues at a counter rally on the National Mall, dubbed the “People's State of the Union,” to protest Trump's second term. The event is being hosted by MoveOn and left-wing media outlet MeidasTouch.
Schiff is now the latest Senate Democrat skipping Trump's speech slated for Tuesday night. So far, at least seven of his colleagues have also announced plans to ditch the address.
ABIGAIL SPANBERGER TO GIVE DEMOCRATIC REBUTTAL TO TRUMP'S STATE OF THE UNION
Those include Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Patty Murray (D-WA).
In the lower chamber, meanwhile, House Democrats have been urged by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to either sit in “silent defiance” or not attend at all. At least 20 House Democrats so far will be skipping the address, according to NOTUS.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said the federal government must refund the money the public lost from President Donald Trump's global tariffs, arguing that it was “stolen” from American consumers.
Warren's remarks on CNN's The Source with Kaitlan Collins on Friday came after the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to impose his “Liberation Day” tariffs.
“The Supreme Court unequivocally said that Donald Trump does not have that power, and that means the money that he has collected has been stolen from the American people,” Warren said.
Warren said the Trump administration should've prepared a refund plan in preparation for the ruling. Other Democrats have also called for this, including Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL), who sent an invoice to Trump for refunds to Illinois taxpayers.
The refunds for the tariffs could amount to $175 billion, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan research group Penn Wharton Budget Model.
Friday's ruling did not explicitly address refunds or outline that the federal government could keep the money it has already collected from the tariffs.
Warren said the money the Trump administration got from the tariffs was “not legally taken.”
“I'm sorry, when somebody takes money from you illegally, that's called stealing in the United States, and the first rule is you've got to give the money back,” Warren said when asked if the money should be refunded. “That money was not legally taken from the American people. It was stolen by Donald Trump.”
“Make no mistake, that it has been the American consumer is the one that has paid,” Warren added. “It's time for American families to get their money back, and it's up to the Trump administration to make that happen.”
Trump slammed the court's decision as “ridiculous” and announced Saturday he is raising the 10% global tariff imposed Friday to 15%.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that Americans “won't see” a tariff refund and that a “payout” would be “ultimate corporate welfare,” hours after the Supreme Court decision was released.
“As the president said, the Supreme Court was very discombobulated on this. They didn't give any guidance on it,” Bessent said on Fox News's The Will Cain Show. “This could take years to litigate and get to a payout.”
Warren criticized Bessent, saying it is his job to figure out a way for the American people to get their money back that was “illegally taken” from them.
‘A BIG MESS': MAJOR UNCERTAINTY OVER WHETHER TRUMP HAS TO REFUND TARIFFS
“That is Scott Bessent's job,” Warren said. “For him to sit there and put his fingers together, and smirk about the fact that the American people have lost on average somewhere around $1,500, $1,800, $2,000 per family, and that that's just OK with him because he sure doesn't intend to send it back, that is fundamentally wrong.”
“Scott Bessent is not there just to lick the boots of Donald Trump. He is there to represent the people of the United States of America and to give them back their money,” she added.
President Donald Trump has withdrawn his endorsement for Rep. Jeff Hurd's (R-CO) reelection bid in Colorado‘s 3rd District, expressing fury over Hurd's recent vote for repealing his tariffs on Canada.
“Based on a lack of support, in particular for the unbelievably successful TARIFFS imposed on Foreign Countries and Companies which has made America Richer, Stronger, Bigger, and Better than ever before, I am hereby WITHDRAWING my Endorsement of RINO Congressman Jeff Hurd, of Colorado's 3rd District,” the president posted on Truth Social. “Congressman Hurd is one of a small number of Legislators who have let me and our Country down. He is more interested in protecting Foreign Countries that have been ripping us off for decades than he is the United States of America.”
In the same breath, Trump endorsed Hurd's challenger, Hope Scheppelman, a Navy veteran and former Vice Chairwoman of the Colorado Republican Party. He touted Scheppelman as a “Highly Respected Patriot” who “knows the America First Policies required, and will do everything necessary to Defend our Country, Support our Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”
“Hope Scheppelman has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Colorado's 3rd Congressional District and, unlike RINO Jeff Hurd, HOPE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump added.
The reversal from Trump comes after Hurd crossed the aisle last week in voting to repeal the president's tariffs on Canada that were imposed under a national emergency. The measure ultimately passed, in what was a rebuke of his tariff agenda.
That vote stoked Trump's ire, with the president vowing retaliation against any Republican who voted against the tariffs, warning they would “seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!”
TRUMP RAISES NEW ‘WORLDWIDE TARIFF' TO 15% IN WAKE OF ‘ANTI-AMERICAN' SUPREME COURT RULING
But Trump's move also follows an even larger setback for the president's tariff authority on Friday, when the Supreme Court ruled against his “Liberation Day” levies. Trump blasted the ruling after it dropped, fuming at some of the justices he appointed.
While those tariffs have been tossed, Trump quickly moved to impose a new global tariff under a different provision, one he raised to 15% earlier Saturday.
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President Donald Trump has demanded that Netflix remove former US ambassador and national security advisor Susan Rice from its board, stepping up his criticism of the streaming giant as it seeks to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery amid antitrust scrutiny.
Rice, who served in senior roles in the Obama and Biden administrations, recently warned companies against aligning with Trump. Speaking on the "Stay Tuned with Preet Bharara" podcast published Thursday, she said corporations that "take a knee" to the president and skirt the law should expect consequences, predicting an "accountability agenda" if Democrats take back power.
"There is likely to be a swing in the other direction," and these companies are "going to be caught with more than their pants down," Rice said." They're going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box."
Rice, a Democrat, has a long career in US foreign and domestic policy, working under Democratic presidents.
She served in the Clinton administration from 1993 to 2001, including roles at the National Security Council and as assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
Under Obama, Rice served as US ambassador to the UN, becoming the second-youngest person at 44 and the first Black woman to represent the US at the UN. She later served as head of the Domestic Policy Council under Biden.
She was born in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Stanford with a degree in history. She worked in management consulting for McKinsey and Company before entering government.
Rice has previously faced criticism from the right. In her 2019 memoir, "Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For," she wrote that she was a frequent "villain" for conservative media.
After the 2012 killing of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, Republicans accused her of misleading the public in interviews discussing the attacks. She was later cleared by subsequent investigations.
She also faced scrutiny by Trump and his allies for "unmasking" senior Trump officials to understand why the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates was in New York in 2016.
Unmasking is when senior government officials ask to learn the identity of a US citizen whose name has been withheld in intelligence reports about communications, such as intercepted calls. In some situations, national security officials argue that knowing the person's identity is necessary to interpret and assess the intelligence information.
As UN Ambassador, Rice supported US intervention against Muammar Gaddafi.
Rice has written op-eds supportive of the Biden administration and accusing Trump of undermining democracy. In a 2025 column in The New York Times, Rice accused members of Trump's national security team of "reckless negligence" after they discussed sensitive national security matters on Signal.
Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Business Insider's parent company, is a Netflix board member.
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Federal officials said they suspended TSA PreCheck and Global Entry Sunday morning at 6 a.m. ET, but in many US airports, the lanes remained open past the deadline.
The Department of Homeland Security said on Saturday night that it would shut down the expedited airport security and immigration lanes due to the partial government shutdown, which left the department without funding.
The Transportation Security Administration, which operates PreCheck and is an agency of DHS, said it was evaluating the situation on "a case-by-case basis."
"At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public," a TSA spokesperson said Saturday morning. "As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly."
Los Angeles International Airport said Saturday on social media that it was diverting all TSA PreCheck customers to general screening lanes. It later removed the post. San Francisco International Airport said on X that all TSA PreCheck and Global Entry "remain operational."
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Travel chaos at airports is often an impetus to end government shutdowns. TSA and customs agents are considered essential employees and are working without pay during the partial shutdown, as they did for 43 days during the full shutdown in October.
Last year's shutdown ended after air traffic controllers began to call out after several $0 paychecks. The 2019 shutdown ended soon after mass callouts temporarily halted travel in New York.
Social media posts showed that PreCheck lanes were still operating at major airports on Sunday, including Minneapolis, Washington, DC, and Orlando, hours after the 6 a.m. cutoff.
The injection of confusion comes on an already stressful travel weekend, with many flights canceled as the country prepares for a blizzard in parts of the Northeast. Airlines like JetBlue and Delta have preemptively said some flights in the region will be canceled and have offered travel waivers to affected flyers.
TSA PreCheck allows approved travelers to keep shoes and jackets on and leave laptops and liquids in bags, while Global Entry provides expedited passport control when returning to the US from abroad.
Both programs are widely used by frequent flyers and business travelers and are designed to help agents handle more travelers more efficiently through facial recognition and automation. If the lanes close, wait times at airports could increase significantly.
TSA PreCheck costs $76.75 per traveler for a five-year pass (renewals start at about $58); Global Entry, which includes PreCheck, costs $120. DHS said passengers with active memberships will be able to fly using standard security or immigration lines.
CLEAR, a separate, privately run expedited checkpoint, appears to be operating.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the agency is "making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions" and prioritizing the "general traveling population" at airports.
"Without appropriations, TSA simply cannot afford to risk overstretching our staff and weakening our security posture," she added.
The lanes would reopen once the agency secures funding, DHS said.
Jump to
Authorities fatally shot a man who was carrying a shotgun and a gas cannister as he tried to enter President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida early Sunday morning, the Secret Service said.
Trump was at the White House at the time of the incident. The president maintains a residence at Mar-a-Lago, and frequently dines and hosts events at the Palm Beach club.
The man, who was in his early 20s, was shot by Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff deputy at around 1:30 a.m. ET after entering the secure perimeter around Mar-a-Lago near its north gate and then raising the shotgun at an officer, authorities said.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw told reporters at a press conference on Sunday that "a deputy and two Secret Service agents on the detail went to that area to investigate."
"They confronted a white male [who] was carrying a gas can and a shotgun," Bradshaw said. "He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him, at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position."
"At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat," Bradshaw said.
The FBI is investigating the incident.
"Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump's home," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X.
She also knocked Democrats over the partial government shutdown, which impacted the Department of Homeland Security, which houses the Secret Service.
"It's shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department," Leavitt said.
DHS has been shuttered for more than a week. Democrats are demanding changes to how the department conducts immigration enforcement operations before agreeing to fund the agency, after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Trump narrowly avoided assassination in July 2024 when a gunman shot at him from a roof overlooking a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A Secret Service sniper killed the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Two months after that attempt, another would-be assassin, Ryan Routh, was arrested less than an hour after a Secret Service agent fired at Routh as he lay in wait with a rifle outside a golf course where Trump was playing.
Routh was convicted of trying to kill Trump. He was recently sentenced to life in prison.
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The Transportation Security Administration said on Sunday that its PreCheck airport screening lanes are operational, hours after the Department of Homeland Security said the faster security checkpoint services would be paused amid the partial government shutdown.
"At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public," TSA officials said in a statement. "As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly. Courtesy escorts, such as those for Members of Congress, have been suspended to allow officers to focus on the mission of securing America's skies."
The pause in the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs was initially scheduled to take effect at 6 a.m. ET on Sunday, DHS said.
The move comes as the U.S. Northeast braces for a massive winter storm that could disrupt airline flights for days.
"TSA and CBP are prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry and suspending courtesy and special privilege escorts," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
TSA PreCheck has more than 20 million active members, according to an agency count in 2024.
"PreCheck members accounted for 34 percent of passengers screened at airport checkpoints," The New York Times reported in August 2025, citing a TSA spokesman. The program is available at more than 200 U.S. airports, the newspaper noted.
The pause in TSA PreCheck and Global Entry security programs is a result of the partial government shutdown that began on Feb. 14, following congressional lawmakers' failure to reach a deal to fund DHS.
Airlines have canceled more than 6,000 flights through Monday and waived cancellation and change fees for airports spanning Virginia to Maine ahead of the East Coast blizzard.
Travel industry members sharply criticized the move, which comes just months after last year's federal government shutdown affected air travel and dented bookings, according to executives.
"A4A is deeply concerned that TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs are being suspended and that the traveling public will be, once again, used as a political football amid another government shutdown," said Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu. The group represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and other major carriers.
"The announcement was issued with extremely short notice to travelers, giving them little time to plan accordingly, which is especially troubling at this time of record air travel," he added.
The government shutdown in the fall, the longest ever, cost the travel industry and other sectors $6.1 billion, the group said. Those disruptions affected about 6 million travelers.
The U.S. Travel Association, which represents major hotel chains and many other businesses in the industry, called DHS's move "extremely disappointing."
"We are disgusted that over the last 90 days, Democrats and Republicans have used air traffic controllers, TSA, CBP and the entire travel experience as a means to achieve political ends," it said in a statement.
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The Transportation Security Administration said on Sunday that its PreCheck airport screening lanes are operational, an about-face hours after the Department of Homeland Security said the faster security checkpoints were paused amid the partial government shutdown.
Travel industry leaders said they received little, if any, warning of the changes to PreCheck, a program that allows its 20 million pre-screened members to pass through airport security faster than at standard lanes. Industry members spoke with DHS officials in the past few hours and expressed alarm about the sudden decision, people familiar with the matter said.
"At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public," TSA officials said in a statement. "As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly. Courtesy escorts, such as those for Members of Congress, have been suspended to allow officers to focus on the mission of securing America's skies."
DHS early Sunday said that PreCheck and Global Entry and other program suspensions were scheduled to take effect at 6 a.m. ET on Sunday. As of 12:40 p.m. ET, its updated statement still included a suspension of Global Entry but it had removed its mention of PreCheck.
"We are glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and avoid a crisis of its own making," Geoff Freeman, chief executive of U.S. Travel, an industry group whose members include major airlines, hotel chains like Hyatt and Marriott International and tourism boards around the country.
The move comes as a partial U.S. government shutdown that has left thousands of DHS workers, including TSA airport screeners, working without pay since it started on Feb. 14.
"TSA and CBP are prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry and suspending courtesy and special privilege escorts," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
DHS did not say whether it expected to reverse its suspension of Global Entry or what prompted the change. The White House didn't immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
Travel industry experts sharply criticized the move before it was reversed, which comes just months after last year's record federal government shutdown cost airlines millions of dollars and hurt bookings, according to executives. The sector's leaders have repeatedly complained about how air travel has ended up at the center of repeated shutdowns and have pushed lawmakers to ensure that essential government workers are paid during funding lapses.
The government shutdown in the fall, the longest ever, cost the travel industry and other sectors $6.1 billion, the group said. Those disruptions affected about 6 million travelers.
"A4A is deeply concerned that TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs are being suspended and that the traveling public will be, once again, used as a political football amid another government shutdown," said Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu. The group represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and other major carriers.
"The announcement was issued with extremely short notice to travelers, giving them little time to plan accordingly, which is especially troubling at this time of record air travel," he added.
The U.S. Travel Association said earlier: "We are disgusted that over the last 90 days, Democrats and Republicans have used air traffic controllers, TSA, CBP and the entire travel experience as a means to achieve political ends," it said in a statement.
The measures come as a massive winter storm bears down on the Northeast U.S., which could disrupt airline flights for days.
Airlines have canceled more than 6,000 flights through Monday and waived cancellation and change fees for airports spanning Virginia to Maine ahead of the East Coast blizzard.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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Investors have been grappling with volatility amid fears of artificial intelligence disruption in a range of sectors, but attractive opportunities abound if they can look beneath the surface.
Ignoring the ongoing noise, investors with a long-term horizon can track the recommendations of top Wall Street analysts, who take several aspects into account and conduct in-depth research before assigning a buy rating to a stock.
Here are three stocks favored by some of Wall Street's top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Artificial intelligence-powered observability and security platform Datadog (DDOG) is this week's first pick. Following the company's Investor Day event on Feb. 12, Baird analyst William Power reiterated a buy rating on Datadog stock with a price target of $180. The analyst stated that while Datadog didn't provide any new long-term forecasts at the event, it continues to target an adjusted operating margin of over 25%, reflecting a balanced approach between investing for future growth and near-term profitability.
Power noted solid demand for Datadog's existing products and growing opportunities in AI, logs, developer tools and security. He added that given Datadog's notable advantage in contextual data compared to rivals, the company is well-positioned to help enterprises as AI is increasing complexity within IT stacks.
The five-star analyst believes that Datadog has the ability to address enterprises' security needs, supported by its broad observability platform and significant data insights. Power highlighted that while the company currently has about 8,500 security customers, including 70% of customers with over $1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), security makes up only 2% of total ARR from these large customers, reflecting that vast expansion opportunity.
"We remain positive on the company's leadership position in the observability market, the continued success of its land and expand motion, and long-term opportunities across new products (especially security)," said Power.
Power ranks No. 459 among more than 12,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 55% of the time, delivering an average return of 15.8%. See Datadog Ownership Structure on TipRanks.
AI infrastructure company Vertiv Holdings (VRT) provides power and cooling solutions to data centers. VRT recently rallied after reporting upbeat results for the fourth quarter of 2025, with organic orders surging 252%.
Citing solid order growth and insights from Vertiv's 10-K filing, Bank of America analyst Andrew Obin reiterated a buy rating on VRT stock and raised his price target to $277 from $250.
Obin highlighted that the company expects the strong momentum in its orders to continue in 2026. "To grow on top of 2025's $17.8bn in orders (+81% y/y organic) would be an impressive feat," said the analyst.
He noted CEO Giordano Albertazzi's commentary that the pipeline was not depleted even after many large orders in the fourth quarter of 2025. Obin expects Vertiv's 2026 orders to grow by 5% to $18.6 billion. The analyst explained that even this modest year-over-year growth will result in significantly favorable backlog statistics. Specifically, a 5% order growth would add $5 billion to backlog (up 33% year over year). For Q1 2026, Obin projects $4.3 billion of orders (+52% year-over-year organic growth).
Among the key takeaways from the 10-K filing, Obin highlighted that aside from tariff and economic uncertainty, AI, and thermal product expansion, Vertiv mentioned three new trends: strengthening services capabilities, strategic deals with Nvidia (NVDA) and Caterpillar (CAT), and prefabricated product development.
Obin ranks No. 87 among more than 12,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 70% of the time, delivering an average return of 19.2%. See Vertiv Holdings Statistics on TipRanks.
Finally, we look at Arista Networks (ANET), which provides networking solutions to large AI and data center environments. The company impressed investors with market-beating Q4 results and issued strong guidance.
Following the decline in ANET stock in reaction to the announcement that Nvidia will supply Meta Platforms (META) GPUs, CPUs, and networking solutions, Needham analyst Ryan Koontz said that he expects the deal to have "little to no impact" on Arista's solid supplier position with Meta. Koontz reiterated a buy rating on ANET stock with a price target of $185. It is worth noting that the analyst had recently raised his price target for Arista stock to $185 from $165.
Koontz highlighted that the Meta Platforms-Nvidia deal sparked concerns as Arista is a major networking supplier to the social media company. The analyst estimates that Meta accounted for 16% of Arista's 2025 revenue. Based on several industry checks following the deal's announcement, Koontz continues to view ANET as a "dominant" supplier to Meta Platforms for its AI back-end spine and scale-across applications.
"Our checks indicate that the bulk of NVDA networking sales to Meta have been and will continue to be NICs [network interface cards] that bridge NVDA xPUs to a first layer of Spectrum-X switches, which are backed by the ANET spine and scale-across networks," noted Koontz.
The five-star analyst added that the announcement doesn't reflect anything notably new in networking, and is in fact a follow-up to a similar announcement in October 2025 from the Open Compute Project (OCP) conference, when Nvidia announced that Meta would deploy Spectrum-X.
Koontz ranks No. 277 among more than 12,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 51% of the time, delivering an average return of 24.7%. See Arista Networks Financials on TipRanks.
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Former Apollo executive and longtime New Yorker Gregory Beard says he wouldn't have left the private sector for just any job. But opportunity came knocking in the form of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who tapped Beard to run the Office of Energy Dominance Financing.
Previously known as the Loan Programs Office and part of the Energy Department, the EDF is the largest energy lender in the world, with some $289 billion in loan authority currently.
Beard first joined the EDF as a senior advisor in April 2025 from bitcoin miner Stronghold Digital Mining, before officially taking over as director on Jan. 29.
"If I didn't feel passionately about Secretary Wright's message and why the president chose him, I'd still be in the private sector," Beard said in an exclusive conversation with CNBC.
Beard has only been at the helm for a few weeks, but he has big plans for the agency, including dispensing capital at a record rate. And at a time when the energy complex is seeing a generational shift and natural resources increasingly drive geopolitics, the EDF can be a key tool in shaping the future of energy in the U.S.
Beard says the first order of business was to reexamine the loans granted during the Biden administration, the majority of which were approved in the months between Election Day 2024 and the inauguration. The result of the "turnaround job," as he called it, impacted more than 80% of the Biden-era portfolio, or about $83.6 billion worth of loans, according to the Department of Energy. Most were focused on emissions-reducing projects.
The review process included making sure projects that stayed in the portfolio align with the Trump administration's energy goals, Beard said. All told, roughly $30 billion in conditional loan commitments were either canceled or withdrawn by the applicant, with about $53 billion worth of loans restructured, the DOE said.
The goal was to protect taxpayers, and to focus on affordability and reliability, Beard said. "This is not a reversal of policies — it's a protection of dollars," he said.
The EDF dates back to 2005. The agency has acted as a bridge of sorts for U.S. companies that might struggle to secure financing via traditional capital markets due to perceived risks. In theory, the rigorous process to secure an EDF loan could be seen as a stamp of approval from the government, opening up additional funding to help nascent companies and technologies get off the ground. Over its more than 20 years there have been hits — including a 2010 loan to Tesla — and misses, most notably backing solar manufacturer Solyndra, which ultimately went bankrupt.
Under President Joe Biden and his climate-focused administration, the agency was supercharged, acting as a green bank of sorts. Staff quadrupled, and the Inflation Reduction Act grew available funds by tenfold.
But with the new administration, the office has changed course, shedding the green angle that President Donald Trump has called a scam. In addition to an official name change, the agency is now focused on six areas: nuclear; coal, oil, gas and hydrocarbons; critical materials and minerals; geothermal; grid and transmission; and manufacturing and transportation.
"Every project that we do will make energy more affordable for Americans, will help us win AI and will bolster the grid and get us out from under the China strategy to dominate certain critical minerals," Beard said. "Everything we do will have a very specific focus."
During the first Trump administration, the EDF was largely dormant. But now, Beard said, the office is ready to get going. "We have direction. We are open for business. … We will, I think, invest this capital in America's future in record time," he said.
The office has about 80 active loan applications in its pipeline, according to Beard. It's a mix of new projects as well as those that have been reframed to meet the administration's priorities, he said.
The reorganized EDF has dispensed three loans to AEP, Constellation Energy and Wabash Valley Resources. All three originated during the prior administration. But Beard said the pace will soon pick up, hinting that an upcoming announcement could be the agency's largest-ever loan.
"The initial quarters were really a turnaround job for fixing what this office had done in the past," he said. "Now we're focused on the future."
The first soup-to-nuts loan from the EDF will likely act as a starting point for a "wave of loans around affordability, reliability and increased generation on the grid," Beard said, adding that a "big portion of capital" will end up focusing on power costs.
Affordability is becoming a bigger issue as the midterms approach. Electricity prices are rising faster than overall inflation, becoming a pain point for consumers who are feeling pinched on all sides.
For years, power demand grew at a steady clip, giving utilities, which plan sometimes decades in advance, visibility into future needs. But that's changing. Power demand is rising for a few reasons, including the voracious power needs of artificial intelligence, reshoring of manufacturing and broader electrification.
Reliability is also a key issue. A lack of accessible power is seen as one potential bottleneck in the AI arms race with China. Increasingly frequent and severe storms, attributed to climate change, are another source of stress on the power grid.
The Trump administration has announced a host of initiatives it says will help meet the demand, including earlier in February ordering the Defense Department to purchase coal power and keep coal-fired plants running. U.S. coal use has been declining for years thanks to competition from cheaper gas and renewables.
Beard hopes his EDF can address the supply crunch. One avenue is to focus on maximizing existing generation, he said.
"We need to refurbish and refresh existing generation, not shut if off. And not make the hill that's already a mountain that much tougher to climb," he said.
Newbuilds are also part of the picture, he said. "We need to remember again how important it is to do it and to build. So that's really what we're pushing," he said.
Permitting delays can challenge new projects. Many regions in the country have a yearslong backlog of projects that want to connect to the grid.
Amid the supply crunch, some have criticized the administration's decision to cancel several offshore wind projects that were more than 90% complete. (Judges have since ordered construction to resume.) Critics think the administration should be more open to wind and solar, which can be produced at lower costs and in some cases connect to the grid faster.
One way to compare costs across energy sources is by looking at the levelized cost of energy, or LCOE. According to widely cited data from Lazard, new utility-scale solar ranges in cost from $38-$78 per megawatt-hour. Onshore wind is $37-$86/MWh, gas combined cycle is $48-$109/MWh and coal is $71-$173/MWh.
However, the LCOE fails to take into consideration the value of dispatchable resources as well as capacity factor, or the amount of time an asset is producing at its maximum output. Nuclear has the highest capacity factor at over 90%, according to the Energy Information Administration. Combined-cycle gas is at roughly 69%, with coal at 43%. Wind and solar are at 34% and 23%, respectively.
The EDF has traditionally been an important backer of capital-intensive nuclear projects, which have at times come in over budget and behind schedule. And now, with the Trump administration throwing its weight behind nuclear and calling to quadruple U.S. capacity by 2050, nuclear is a priority for the agency.
"We can't lean in any harder," Beard said, adding that more activity in the space is expected in coming months and quarters. The agency is willing to lend up to 80% of the project cost, he said.
Tech companies also have turned to nuclear to power their data centers given it's the only source of emissions-free baseload power. Hyperscalers have signed power purchase agreements with the likes of Constellation and Vistra at above-market prices, indicating how desirable nuclear power is — reactors are online 24/7, unlike wind and solar power. Big tech has also backed small modular reactor companies, or SMRs, which promise faster timelines and controlled costs.
The EDF in November finalized a $1 billion loan to Constellation Energy to restart its shuttered reactor at Three Mile Island, now known as the Crane Clean Energy Center. The agency previously provided $12 billion to Southern Company to build reactors 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle, as well as a $1.5 billion loan guarantee to Holtec to restart the Palisades nuclear plant in Covert Township, Michigan. At present there are no commercial-scale reactors under construction in the U.S., although Westinghouse — maker of the AP1000 reactor — said it plans to build 10 large reactors, with construction beginning in 2030.
Beard pointed to Trump's extension of the investment tax credit as advantageous for the industry. He said the EDF plans to support these long lead time projects.
"We spent the last year costing out and creating the incentive structures to let this industry flourish again," he said. "Our view is everything that is required to restart this industry is on the table."
Another key focus for the EDF will be critical minerals, as part of a broader push for the U.S. to shore up domestic supplies and move away from foreign dependence. China has weaponized metals in the past by restricting exports of rare earths, and given it dominates metal supply chains — especially when it comes to refining — there's fear they could curb other exports.
Beard said that the Department of Defense is working on solving "crisis-level issues," but that EDF plans to back companies seeking to break China's chokehold on metals key for everything from consumer products to the power grid and AI.
"If China is in year 10 of a 20-year plan, we will intervene and support those projects and companies that interrupt that strategy," he said.
Although the agency's reorganization meant a reduction in staff, Beard said it won't slow the pace of loans or hurt the quality of projects it backs. Instead, he said, fewer people will be needed because the EDF will focus on projects that can be replicated, rather than one-of-a-kind projects that don't make economic sense.
"I'm only really a professional investor and a new government guy," he said. "The discipline is make sure we are doing projects that benefit Americans and will be repaid."
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The U.S. Supreme Court is set to explore legal questions arising from the fraught history of U.S.-Cuban relations when it considers the scope of a 1996 law that lets U.S. nationals seek compensation for property confiscated by the communist-led Cuban government.
The justices hear arguments on Monday in two cases centered on the federal law called the Helms-Burton Act, one involving U.S. oil major ExxonMobil and the other involving the cruise lines Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises.
One of the law's provisions, called Title III, allows for lawsuits in U.S. courts against entities that "traffic" in property confiscated by the Cuban government after the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959.
While the two cases focus on distinct legal issues, both raise the question of just how powerful a remedy Congress intended Title III to be. In both cases, the Supreme Court has the opportunity to eliminate barriers that claimants face in bringing Helms-Burton Act lawsuits.
The justices have never before interpreted Title III, which Congress authorized the U.S. president to suspend if deemed "necessary to the national interests of the United States."
Title III was long dormant due to presidential decisions to suspend it. But President Donald Trump, who has taken a hard line toward Cuba, lifted that suspension during his first term in office, unleashing a wave of about 40 lawsuits filed in 2019 and 2020 that have slowly made their way through the courts.
Trump's administration has declared Cuba "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security, cutting off the flow of Venezuelan oil to the Caribbean island nation and threatening to slap tariffs on any country supplying it with fuel.
Following the revolution, Cuba's new communist government nationalized U.S. property that now is worth billions of dollars, including factories, sugar mills, oil refineries and power plants.
The Helms-Burton Act formalized the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba that had been in effect by presidential order since President John F. Kennedy's administration in the 1960s.
Title III created a legal remedy for U.S. nationals whose property was confiscated. Such plaintiffs can seek enhanced damages in federal courts from entities that knowingly use the property, including both Cuban state-owned entities and multinational companies.
Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all suspended Title III, seeking to avoid diplomatic conflicts with allies like Canada and Spain whose companies have invested in Cuba, before Trump lifted the suspension in 2019. The State Department said at the time that Trump's move would "ratchet up pressure on the Cuban government" and "penalize those who benefit from the rightful property of Americans."
In one of the Supreme Court cases, Exxon is seeking more than $1 billion in compensation from CIMEX, a Cuban state-owned firm, for oil and gas assets seized in 1960. In the other case, a small company that built docks in Havana's port prior to the revolution is seeking compensation from the four cruise lines, whose ships have used the terminal.
Exxon, which filed its suit in Washington in 2019, has asked the justices to reverse a lower court's 2024 decision finding that Cuban state-owned enterprises facing Helms-Burton Act claims can raise the defense of foreign sovereign immunity. That legal doctrine generally shields foreign governments and their agents from being sued in U.S. courts.
The lower court's decision "imposes yet another in a long line of barriers to recovery for victims of the Castro government's illegal confiscations," Exxon's lawyers said in a 2024 court filing.
CIMEX has argued in court filings that the 2024 decision should be upheld because it "both respects and safeguards congressional judgment in this sensitive area."
Legal experts said the 2024 decision and other rulings interpreting Helms-Burton have made it costly and time-consuming for U.S. businesses to seek compensation from Cuban entities.
"The amount of time and resources that has been required is overwhelming for a lot of claimants," said Washington lawyer Jared Butcher, who represents clients in commercial litigation.
The other case being argued on Monday does not implicate sovereign immunity because the cruise company defendants are private companies, rather than state-owned entities. At issue in that case is whether a Helms-Burton Act claimant must establish that it would have a present-day property interest in the assets at issue if they had not been nationalized.
Havana Docks, a U.S. corporation that built docks in Havana's port prior to the revolution, sued the cruise lines in federal court in Florida in 2019. Castro revoked the company's legal right to the docks shortly after coming to power.
The four cruise operators used the docks from 2016 to 2019, after Obama eased travel restrictions on Cuba. In a joint court filing, the companies said it defies common sense that they "should pay hundreds of millions of dollars for following the executive branch's lead in reopening travel to Cuba."
A federal judge found the cruise companies liable for a combined $440 million, saying they had trafficked in confiscated property. An appeals court threw out those judgments last year, highlighting the difficulties Helms-Burton Act claimants face.
"Plaintiffs are having a hard time recovering under the Helms-Burton Act for a wide variety of reasons, and it's probably more difficult to recover than Congress had anticipated when it passed the act in 1996," said Vanderbilt Law School professor Ingrid Brunk. "But that's not an argument that means every plaintiff should win."
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India's trade negotiators will reschedule their planned visit to Washington, D.C., aimed at firming up an interim trade deal with the U.S., a person familiar with the development told CNBC.The development comes after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs as illegal on Friday. Within hours, Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to first impose a 10% global import tariff, before increasing that to 15%.The "meeting will be rescheduled at a mutually convenient date," the source told CNBC Sunday. India and the U.S. are of the view that the visit "be scheduled after each side has had the time to evaluate the latest developments and their implications."
CNBC has reached out to India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry for a comment.India's chief negotiator, Darpan Jain, and his team were scheduled to start the three day-meeting in the U.S. later this week.India is currently facing a 25% reciprocal tariff, which was due to be cut to 18% after the two sides agreed to an interim deal earlier this month, with room for alterations."In the event of any changes to the agreed-upon tariffs of either country, the United States and India agree that the other country may modify its commitments," read the joint statement issued on Feb. 6, by the U.S. and India.At this stage, it appears that India, like other countries, will be facing a 15% tariff in addition to the most-favored-nation status rates (usually around 2-3%), said Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative and a former Indian trade negotiator.
Since the Feb. 6 announcement, both sides had been meeting virtually to discuss the path forward, according to a local media report. The in-person meetings, planned for this coming week, with the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, were seen as the precursor to the finalization of the legal text of the agreement between India and the U.S.India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Friday that the interim trade agreement between the two nations would likely be signed in March and implemented in April."The 18% tariff negotiations were based on a certain premise of some benefits which is now gone. Now, both sides have to rethink their strategy, and the U.S. has to deal with more pressing issues," Srivastava said.
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Job searches are taking longer, and some Americans' savings aren't keeping up.
At one point, during Michele Wilke's post-layoff job search, she had less than $2,000 in her bank account — and was worried about being evicted from her studio apartment in Chicago.
To stay afloat, Wilke launched a GoFundMe that raised nearly $3,000 and borrowed money from friends, eventually accumulating more than $20,000 in personal debt. Last September, after eight months of searching, she landed a catering sales manager role.
"My goal is to make some money and pay off my debt," said Wilke, who's in her 60s. "I want a fresh start."
Wilke's experience underscores how quickly a prolonged job search can unravel someone's finances — especially for workers without much savings to fall back on. Nearly half of Americans don't have three months' worth of expenses set aside in an emergency or "rainy day" fund, according to the latest Federal Reserve survey data from 2024.
Those facing joblessness are in an ever-more precarious position; the typical unemployment stint is getting longer as US companies are hiring at one of the lowest rates since 2013. At the same time — though inflation has eased — costs for housing, food, and other essentials are squeezing household budgets.
Over the past year, I've spoken with dozens of laid-off workers. Many were surprised not just by the layoffs themselves, but by how difficult the job market they entered proved to be. Some have since felt significant financial strain, including several who had built emergency savings.
"Even with a job, it'll take a lot to climb out of my financial hole," Wilke said.
Business Insider is speaking with workers who've found themselves at a corporate crossroads — whether due to a layoff, resignation, job search, or shifting workplace expectations.
Share your story by filling out this form, contacting this reporter via email at jzinkula@businessinsider.com, or via Signal at jzinkula.29.
As unemployment spells lengthen, the financial risks of a prolonged job search are rising for many Americans.
The median unemployment duration for US job seekers was over 11 weeks (nearly three months) as of January, up from as low as eight weeks in 2022. Some job seekers are having an even harder time: As of January, a quarter of unemployed Americans had been looking for work for 27 weeks (nearly seven months) or more, up from below 18% in 2023.
The typical jobless period in 2026 could weigh on many Americans' finances. Fifty-five percent of US adults said they had set aside money to cover at least three months of expenses in an emergency fund, according to Federal Reserve survey data. That leaves 45 percent without a dedicated three-month cushion.
Among adults who reported not having a three-month cushion, some said they could cover expenses by borrowing, selling assets, or drawing on other savings — but the majority said they would be unable to cover that amount by any method.
While layoffs remain low by historical standards, an uptick could leave many Americans struggling to cover expenses — even if severance or unemployment benefits offer temporary relief.
When Clair Todd was laid off from her site reliability engineer role at Oracle in November 2023, she was initially optimistic about her job prospects. More than two years later, she was still looking for work.
When Todd made a mid-career pivot to tech, family members who worked in the industry warned her that layoffs were fairly common. So she made an effort to build a "just-in-case" savings fund over the years.
That fund, along with her severance pay and unemployment benefits, helped her stay afloat initially. But after going through more than $50,000 in savings, she's found herself in a tougher financial position.
Todd said she's managed to cover her mortgage and student-loan payments by dipping further into savings or selling stocks. Her only source of income is between $500 and $1,000 a month reselling antiques she finds and refurbishes — including old instruments, electronics, and collectibles purchased on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.
"When my washer and dryer broke last year, I had to buy a new set on a payment plan — something I'd never done before," said Todd, who's in her 40s and lives in New Hampshire. "In the past, I would've just paid for it outright."
Last year, Todd decided to scale back her job hunt and began focusing on launching a website development business.
"I don't want to say I've given up, but my search has been extremely discouraging," she said.
Joanelle Cobos is earlier in her job search, but she's bracing for a prolonged period of unemployment.
When she started at Amazon as a design manager in 2021, she had just spent nine months unemployed, which had taken a toll on her finances. Determined not to be caught off guard again, she set out to build a financial buffer against another potential layoff.
"I'd started planning my life around the possibility of losing my job," said Cobos, who's in her 30s and lives in Las Vegas.
By the time she was laid off last October, her emergency fund had grown to about $25,000. Those savings, along with her severance, helped her feel well-positioned after the layoff. But if her job search stretches on, she knows that sense of security will gradually fade. She estimates she has a little under a year before her funds run dry.
"My job search feels like a ticking time bomb," she said.
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Iran and the United States have differing views over sanctions relief in talks to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, adding that new talks were planned in early March as fears of a military confrontation grow.
Iran and the U.S. renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme as the U.S. builds up its military capability in the Middle East, fuelling fears of a wider war.
Iran has threatened to strike U.S. bases in the Middle East if it is attacked by U.S. forces.
"The last round of talks showed that U.S. ideas regarding the scope and mechanism of sanctions relief differ from Iran's demands. Both sides need to reach a logical timetable for lifting sanctions," the official said.
"This roadmap must be reasonable and based on mutual interests." Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.
While rejecting a U.S. demand for "zero enrichment" - a major sticking point in past negotiations - Tehran has signalled its readiness to compromise on its nuclear work.
Washington views enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and wants its right to enrich uranium to be recognised.
Washington has also demanded that Iran relinquish its stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU). The UN nuclear agency last year estimated that stockpile at more than 440 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, a small step away from the 90% that is considered weapons grade.
The Iranian official said Tehran could seriously consider a combination of exporting part of its HEU stockpile, diluting the purity of its most highly enriched uranium and the establishment of a regional enrichment consortium in exchange for the recognition of Iran's right to "peaceful nuclear enrichment".
"The negotiations continue and the possibility of reaching an interim agreement exists," he said.
Iranian authorities have said that a diplomatic solution delivers economic benefits for both Tehran and Washington.
"Within the economic package under negotiation, the United States has also been offered opportunities for serious investment and tangible economic interests in Iran's oil industry," the official said.
However, he said Tehran will not hand over control of its oil and mineral resources.
"Ultimately, the U.S. can be an economic partner for Iran, nothing more. American companies can always participate as contractors in Iran's oil and gas fields."
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Centerview Partners and former junior banker Kathryn Shiber have reached a settlement, ending a closely watched lawsuit about Wall Street work culture that was set to go to trial in Manhattan federal court on Monday.
The case centered on allegations that the boutique investment bank violated disability discrimination laws when it fired Shiber in 2020 after she said she needed eight to nine hours of sleep each night because of an underlying mood and anxiety disorder.
Court filings and depositions in the case offered a rare look into the grueling demands placed on first-year analysts, including testimony that they typically work between 60 and 120 hours a week and that "in some projects, you are working 24 hours a day." Emails between Shiber and her higher-ups highlighted the unpredictable nature of the job, with her associate saying in one exchange that "there will always be more for you to do."
Centerview has denied wrongdoing.
"Centerview has said all along that Ms. Shiber's legal claims have no merit," a Centerview spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement. "We were ready to prove that in court, and are confident we would have prevailed at trial. But we are nonetheless happy to put this distraction behind us and focus on delivering for our clients."
The resolution means a jury will not weigh in on questions about Wall Street's long hours and workplace accommodations, and that top bankers won't have to take the witness stand. Tony Kim, the co-president of the investment bank, was among those expected to testify.Junior bankers, more formally known as investment banking analysts, tend to be recent graduates starting at the bottom rung of Wall Street's high-stakes dealmaking operations. They are often charged with grunt work, such as reformatting pitch decks or gathering data for a more senior coworker.Shiber joined Centerview in July 2020 and was assigned to an active deal nicknamed "Project Dragon." After working till about 2 am for several days in a row, she logged off at around 1 am on a Friday without first communicating her plans to the team leads, court filings said. After she reached out to human resources, the bank granted her a work accommodation from midnight to 9 am, but dismissed her weeks later.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Lawyers for Shiber did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
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Ethereum traders are seeing something unusual beneath the surface.
On Feb 20, options flow across two Ethereum-linked ETFs told very different stories. One reflected institutional accumulation, the other showed retail caution. When flows diverge like this, it often matters more than the headline sentiment label.
Let's break it down. But first, the backdrop music from investingLive.com: recent market activity shows the cryptocurrency sector is grappling with significant technical hurdles, as Bitcoin compresses below key resistance following multiple failed attempts to sustain a breakout above the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level. This lack of directional conviction has led to a period where the price of Bitcoin is consolidating in a narrow range with a lower bias, remaining trapped below key hourly moving averages while traders eye critical support near $66,926. This theme of cautious stabilization is also evident in the Ethereum analysis today, where Ether futures are showing early signs of buyer responsiveness near $1,943, though the broader market remains sensitive to macro headwinds and overhead supply.
Now let's look at something interesting I identified in the options flow of Friday (last closed trading day as I write this on the weekend).
The iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) closed Feb 20 with:
Net option delta volume: +118,115 shares equivalent
Bullish pressure: +402,704 shares
Bearish pressure: -284,588 shares
Imbalance: 58.6% bullish
Option delta vs stock volume: 2.6%
Largest delta contributor: Large institutional trades (~+97K deltas)
This was not retail-driven speculation. The largest delta volume came from institutional-sized trades.
Importantly, the bullish weighted average entry was $14.80, slightly below the closing price near $14.89. That suggests measured positioning rather than emotional chasing.
Implied volatility remained moderate, not elevated. This was controlled directional exposure, not panic hedging.
The technical backdrop still shows a broader downtrend, but institutional flow leaned into the weakness rather than accelerating it.
Contrast that with the Grayscale Ethereum Mini ETF session:
Net option delta volume: -12,255 shares
Bearish pressure: -18,839 shares
Bullish pressure: +6,584 shares
Imbalance: 74% bearish
Option delta vs stock volume: just 0.5%
Largest delta contributor: Retail traders net short (~-7,546 deltas)
This was clearly retail-led and net bearish. But participation was light.
When option delta equals only 0.5% of stock volume, it is sentiment — not structural positioning.
Institutions were:
Net long
Deploying meaningful delta
Participating at size
Retail was:
Net short
Lightly positioned
Not supported by institutional flow
When institutional buying occurs while retail leans bearish, it often reflects a slow accumulation phase, not capitulation.
That does not guarantee upside. But it reduces the probability of immediate downside acceleration.
CME Ether futures remain:
Below weekly Bollinger basis
Below daily Bollinger basis
In a broader post-breakdown digestion regime
Key structural zones to watch:
$1,965–$1,975: Current short-term acceptance zone
$1,945: Base-defense level
$2,000: Psychological pivot
$2,060–$2,075: First major supply band
$2,300+: Daily basis reclaim zone
As long as price holds above the $1,945–$1,965 region, the institutional accumulation narrative remains viable.
A clean acceptance above $2,075 would materially improve structure.
A loss of $1,945 with expanding volume would invalidate the accumulation thesis.
The options tape is not screaming breakout.
But it is not confirming breakdown either.
Instead, it suggests (not promises!):
Institutions are quietly building exposure
Retail is leaning the other way
Volatility is compressing
Futures are stabilizing inside a base
That combination often precedes a directional move. The key is which side gains acceptance first.
Ethereum traders should focus less on sentiment labels and more on price confirmation at the levels above.
Why is it a possible "tell" and not a "promise"?
First, there are no promises in the investing and trading game.
Second, the above analysis of the options market of 2 Ethereum instruments is not a promise of upside because positioning alone does not determine outcome; institutions can be early and continue building exposure even as price drifts lower, their delta can represent hedged or spread structures rather than outright conviction, and retail bearishness is not automatically wrong in a broader downtrend.
Also, volatility compression simply signals energy building, not direction, and futures remain below key higher-timeframe reclaim levels, meaning structural acceptance has not yet shifted (but it may soon). Accumulation is a condition, not a trigger, only sustained acceptance above supply converts positioning into trend. Until price proves itself through value migration and follow-through, this setup represents probability and preparation, not inevitability.
As always, this is decision support, not financial advice. Have a good week, crypto traders and investors. See you later this week at investingLive.com
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by Alex Billington February 22, 2026Source: YouTube
"Your NFTs are coming back from the dead to get you." Remember NFTs? Did anyone waste their money on them? That short-lived, incredibly stupid, sell-images-online-for-crypto gimmick that has completely died and everyone has already forgotten about it. Yep, those things. Well, someone made a bad horror movie revolving around NFT images and how they're cursed or haunted or whatever. It looks as bad as this stupid crypto trend. But hey - it's finally coming out if anyone wants to watch it. Chroma has released an official trailer for NFT: Cursed Images, an indie horror set in London about a group of friends being killed off by demons inside the haunted NFTs. Ugh. Seven friends invest in a cursed NFT collection, but when the digital monsters escape into reality, their get-rich-quick scheme becomes a deadly fight for survival. It was made in only 9 days for $20K – unfortunately it looks like it, too. Starring Najarra Townsend, David Wayman, Mariah Nonnemacher, Durassie Kiangangu, and Amelie Edwards. I'm all for fun indie horror with innovative concepts & low budget thrills, but this looks cheesy and forgettable and just plain dumb. Skip it.
Here's the full trailer (+ poster) for Jonas Odenheimer's horror film NFT: Cursed Images, from YouTube:
"You are NGMI." In London, seven friends discover a highly coveted NFT collection called Crypto Horrors, promising profit, status, and social clout. But the collection is cursed. Soon, the digital monsters depicted begin to manifest in the real world, stalking & attacking their owners one by one. As the friends struggle to survive, they find that conventional methods, deleting, reselling, or destroying the NFTs, fail. The curse is bound to ownership itself, transferring to anyone who holds the images. Panic spreads not only among the group but across online communities, where others begin to report strange phenomena linked to the cursed NFTs. The friends must race against time to understand the rules of this curse. They must confront moral dilemmas, realizing that their survival may come at the cost of condemning another. Tensions rise, friendships fracture, and paranoia escalates as the line between the digital and physical worlds collapses.
NFT: Cursed Images, also called CryptoHorrors or just Cursed Images, is written and directed by up-and-coming Brazilian-British genre filmmaker Jonas Odenheimer, making his second feature after directing Classroom 6 and a few other short films previously. It's also produced by Jonas Odenheimer. This initially premiered at the 2025 British Horror Film Festival last year. Chroma releases Odenheimer's NFT: Cursed Images horror film direct-to-VOD starting March 6th, 2026 coming soon. Any interest? Want to watch?
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Blockchain Apps Have Failed to Win Over the Masses, Ethereum Builders Admit
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Crypto built the plumbing, but it still hasn't built the products. This was a common theme at the annual Ethereum development conference ETH Denver last week, as attendees attempted to shift the focus away from a continually down market and to building better Web3 products.
Two prominent voices at the event, ETH Denver founder John Paller and Aztec Foundation founder Zachary Williamson, delivered a blunt assessment of why blockchain has yet to win over mainstream users.
“When you look at what we've accomplished in 10 years, we have built an amazing amount of technology and architecture and scaffolding and plumbing systems that power this revolution,” Paller told Decrypt. “But what we've actually been epically bad at is getting regular people to use regular things.”
Crypto built the infrastructure, but not the products people actually want to use
“When you look at what we've accomplished in 10 years, we have built an amazing amount of technology and architecture and scaffolding and plumbing systems that power this revolution,” ETH Denver… pic.twitter.com/57IgmxwuQN
— Decrypt (@DecryptMedia) February 20, 2026
Paller said Web3 has not meaningfully replaced everyday digital tools with better decentralized alternatives. It's not for a lack of trying, but even Web3 apps that have drawn substantial attention have failed to supplant their established, centralized rivals.
“That was the original vision of Web3—we're going to decentralize all the things,” he said. “Well, it turns out that coordinating is very difficult when you make things more difficult to coordinate.”
Because of this lack of coordination, Paller said Web3 has failed to meet the most basic expectations consumers have for new technology.
“The rule of thumb is typically cheaper, better, faster in terms of technology, but blockchains are not cheaper, they're not really faster, and the user experience is not better,” Paller said. “So we're basically asking people to trade off what is absolute human certainty of cheaper, better, or faster in terms of what they want for an ethos.”
Zac Williamson, co-founder of the Aztec Foundation, a privacy-focused organization that supports the Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Aztec, offered a similar critique and tied it to crypto's broader reputation problem.
“Crypto is hated—hated, capital H—by regular people,” Williamson told Decrypt. “People are not in this industry because of the scammers, because of the casino games, and because of the lack of real-world adoption that improves their lives.”
Beyond the continued stigma of crypto's use in crime, Williamson also pointed out that the industry has yet to produce apps that outperform Web2 alternatives in terms of user experience.
“We need to actually build compelling applications that are better than the Web2 alternatives that offer a better experience,” Williamson said. “Farcaster doesn't really offer a better experience than Facebook. Web3 crypto payment rails offer a terrible user experience compared to Web2. And until these issues are fixed, we're not going to see adoption.”
Williamson said a major barrier is technical, with crypto apps requiring users to understand wallets and private keys before they can use them. That's a barrier for most people.
“You have to know about crypto to use a crypto app, because the UX sucks,” he said. “You need a wallet. You need to fund that wallet, which means you need an on-ramp, and on-ramps are painful.”
He argued that mainstream adoption will not look like users consciously “moving to Web3,” but rather crypto infrastructure operating invisibly beneath familiar applications.
“The success case for blockchain is you don't have blockchain,” Williamson said. “You just have apps that use the blockchain.”
Paller drew a parallel to the early internet, when conferences focused on protocol layers rather than consumer products.
“We don't talk about that stuff anymore,” he said. “Now we just talk about which apps you're using.”
He added that artificial intelligence could speed up that shift by removing much of the complexity users currently face.
Both founders framed the current market downturn as a turning point for Web3 builders. Williamson said the industry must prioritize products that deliver clear value, while reducing the activity that has come to define crypto in the public eye.
“There's the volume of bullshit, and then there's the volume of good things,” he said. “Right now, the problem is that the bullshit massively dominates the good things.”
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In the event that quantum computers one day become capable of breaking Bitcoin's cryptography, roughly 1 million BTC attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of the Bitcoin network, could become vulnerable to theft.
At today's price of about $67,600 per bitcoin, that stash alone would be worth approximately $67.6 billion.
But Satoshi's coins are only part of the story.
Estimates circulating among analysts suggest that roughly 6.98 million bitcoin may be vulnerable in a sufficiently advanced quantum attack, Ki Young Ju, the founder of CryptoQuant, recently wrote on X. At current prices, the total amount of coins currently exposed represents roughly $440 billion.
The question that is now becoming increasingly prevalent in and outside bitcoin circles is simple and, at times, quite controversial
The vulnerability is not uniform. In Bitcoin's early years, pay-to-public-key (P2PK) transactions embedded public keys directly on-chain. Modern addresses typically reveal only a hash of the key until coins are spent, but once a public key is exposed through early mining or address reuse, that exposure is permanent. In a sufficiently advanced quantum scenario, those keys could, in theory, be reversed.
For some, freezing those coins would undermine bitcoin's foundational neutrality.
“Bitcoin's structure treats all UTXOs equally,” said Nima Beni, founder of Bitlease. “It does not distinguish based on wallet age, identity, or perceived future threat. That neutrality is foundational to the protocol's credibility.”
Creating exceptions, even for security reasons, alters that architecture, he said. Once authority exists to freeze coins for protection, it exists for other justifications as well.
Georgii Verbitskii, founder of crypto investor app TYMIO, raised a relevant concern: the network has no reliable way to determine which coins are lost and which are simply dormant.
“Distinguishing between coins that are truly lost and coins that are simply dormant is practically impossible,” Verbitskii said. “From a protocol perspective, there is no reliable way to tell the difference.”
For this camp, the solution lies in upgrading cryptography and enabling voluntary migration to quantum-resistant signatures, rather than rewriting ownership conditions at the protocol layer.
Others argue that intervention would violate Bitcoin's core principle: private keys control coins.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, suggested that allowing old coins to reenter circulation, even if through quantum breakthroughs, may be preferable to altering consensus rules.
"Any bitcoin in lost wallets, including Satoshi (if not alive), will be hacked and put back in circulation," he continued. "Any inflationary effect from lost coins returning to circulation would be temporary, the thinking goes, and the market would eventually absorb it.”
Under this view, “code is law”: if cryptography evolves, coins move.
Roya Mahboob, CEO and founder of Digital Citizen Fund, took a similar hardline stance. “No, freezing old Satoshi-era addresses would violate immutability and property rights,” she told CoinDesk. “Even coins from 2009 are protected by the same rules as coins mined today.”
If quantum systems eventually crack exposed keys, she added, “whoever solves them first should claim the coins.”
However, Mahboob said she expects upgrades driven by ongoing research among Bitcoin Core developers to strengthen the protocol before any serious threat materializes.
Jameson Lopp said that allowing quantum attackers to sweep vulnerable coins would amount to a massive redistribution of wealth to whoever first gains access to advanced quantum hardware.
In his essay Against Allowing Quantum Recovery of Bitcoin, Lopp rejects the term “confiscation” when describing a defensive soft fork. “I don't think ‘confiscation' is the most precise term to use,” Lopp wrote. “Rather, what we're really discussing would be better described as ‘burning' rather than placing the funds out of reach of everyone.”
Such a move would likely require a soft fork, rendering vulnerable outputs unspendable unless migrated to upgraded quantum-resistant addresses before a deadline — a change that would demand broad social consensus.
Allowing quantum recovery, he adds, would reward technological supremacy rather than productive participation in the network. “Quantum miners don't trade anything,” Lopp wrote. “They are vampires feeding upon the system.”
While the philosophical debate intensifies, the technical timeline remains contested.
Zeynep Koruturk, managing partner at Firgun Ventures, said the quantum community was “stunned” when recent research suggested fewer physical qubits than previously assumed may be required to break widely used encryption systems like RSA-2048.
“If this can be proven in the lab and corroborated, the timeline for decrypting RSA-2048 could, in theory, be shortened to two to three years,” she said, noting that advances in large-scale fault-tolerant systems would eventually apply to elliptic curve cryptography as well.
Others urge caution.
Aerie Trouw, co-founder and CTO of XYO, believes “we're still far enough away that there's no practical reason to panic,”
Frederic Fosco, co-founder of OP_NET, was more direct. Even if such a machine emerged, “you upgrade the cryptography. That's it. This isn't a philosophical dilemma: it's an engineering problem with a known solution.”
In the end, the question is about governance, timing and philosophy — and whether the Bitcoin community can reach consensus before quantum computing becomes a real and present threat.
Freezing vulnerable coins would challenge Bitcoin's claim of immutability. Allowing them to be swept would challenge its commitment to fairness.
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An area of blockchain-based finance focused on increasing fans' engagement with sports teams, SportFi uses tokens to grant access to privileges such as limited voting rights and exclusive rewards.
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Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.
From a distance, this publication maps a fast-maturing corner of global finance. The citi gps report on bitcoin frames the asset's role in global markets and provides clear insight for investors and institutions seeking a practical perspective.
Contrary to the dismissive takes of years past, this analysis is rigorous and carefully argued by a six-person team with deep subject knowledge, complemented by input from leading operators — BitGo's Nick Carmi and BlockFi's Zac Prince among others. That blend of bank-grade research and industry experience gives the report a balanced view across business needs and market dynamics.
Serving as both primer and roadmap, Bitcoin at the Tipping Point recounts cypherpunk roots, the design choices attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto, and watershed moments that shaped adoption. Early traction, the authors note, leaned on resistance to censorship and open access — qualities that drew libertarian communities, security researchers, and, in a small share, bad actors. Today, transactions tagged as illicit are estimated at under one half of one percent, and the broader message is unambiguous: ignoring this technology can carry strategic and financial costs as the economy evolves.
Before roughly 2016, participation largely clustered around niche circles and high-risk traders. The boom spanning 2017–2018 introduced large swaths of retail through easier on-ramps, and, over the subsequent stretch, the infrastructure matured enough to welcome institutions into the market.
The authors emphasize that a new asset class only draws institutional capital once a dependable backbone can support efficient price discovery and liquidity. They highlight three pillars driving this shift.
1) Data — Two streams now matter: pricing feeds from venues and onchain indicators. Access to robust pricing and analytics expanded via specialized firms like Coin Metrics alongside more reliable exchange APIs. Onchain metrics, accelerated by the need to economize on rising network fees, have also advanced, aiding management decisions and investor focus.
2) Exchange and Trade Offerings — Modern platforms increasingly adopt the FIX messaging standard long used in traditional finance. The latest venues bear little resemblance to the fragile early sites. Listed derivatives at CME, Bakkt, and peers continue to grow in size and open interest, supplying familiar tools such as futures or options for risk management. A notable proxy for many investors has been Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, whose assets moved from about $2 billion at the end of 2019 to roughly $36 billion by April 2021 — an indicator of capital inflow and wealth allocation trends.
3) Custody — Regulatory frameworks often require qualified safekeeping before an institution can hold digital assets. Dedicated providers — BitGo, Anchorage, and Unchained Capital — helped bridge the gap, and the decisive turn arrived when incumbent trust banks entered the field. Northern Trust, Bank of New York Mellon, Nomura, Standard Chartered, BBVA, and DBS rolled out institutional custody solutions across 2020–2021, giving compliance teams and account management a direct path to adoption.
Source: Bitcoin at the Tipping Point, p.38.
Another drag on participation had been unclear rules. Over the last three years, guidance and agency statements reduced ambiguity across the financial sector. A pivotal U.S. development was the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's interpretive letter allowing banks to use blockchain networks and certain stablecoins for payments — a green light that opens new payment solution designs within regulated banking.
As to who is supplying institutional flows, the authors distinguish two profiles:One cohort targets pricing inefficiencies, compressing volatility and improving day-to-day liquidity; another brings large, patient capital, supporting pullbacks while building positions for long-horizon strategies.
One cohort targets pricing inefficiencies, compressing volatility and improving day-to-day liquidity; another brings large, patient capital, supporting pullbacks while building positions for long-horizon strategies.
The first group rarely grabs headlines but is essential for market microstructure and smoother rate discovery. The second — high-conviction allocators such as MicroStrategy and Tesla — has amplified the “store-of-value” frame and helped lead a narrative shift.
While value preservation matters in today's policy landscape, the report argues that a second monetary role is within reach: acting as an international medium for payment and settlement across global markets.
Source: Bitcoin at the Tipping Point, p.5.
Looking ahead, perceptions may converge on two attributes: border-transcending reach and neutrality, both attractive in cross‑jurisdiction business.
Source: Bitcoin at the Tipping Point, p.83.
The central theme culminates in a trade narrative: over time, views progressed from “new payment rails” to “internet-native money,” then to “digital gold,” and now toward a possible worldwide value exchange network. That evolution reflects a broader market shift and the potential for a scalable settlement layer.
The case for this reframing rests on several points:
1) Borderless design — With no single government in control, neutrality can be decisive amid intensifying geopolitical frictions. For contracts spanning multiple countries, especially where local currencies are volatile, a neutral unit could streamline settlement and reduce business friction.
2) Reduced FX exposure — When parties agree on a common unit, multi-currency deals need not juggle exchange-rate swings, making complex arrangements simpler to manage across institutions.
3) Faster and, in many cases, lower-cost movement — Finality on the base network typically arrives within about ten minutes when fees are set appropriately, which is practical for larger transfers where total cost still compares favorably. On top of that, the Lightning layer enables near-instant routing with tiny charges for smaller payments — a flexible solution matching different transaction sizes.
4) Payment assurance — Once confirmations begin to accrue, reversals are not an option, and senders must control funds before initiating. That design removes chargeback risk and failed-payment uncertainty from the settlement process.
5) Transparent auditability — Every transfer is recorded on a public ledger, enabling analysis and programmable flows, from conditional disbursements tied to previous clears to triggers aligned with goods moving through a supply chain. The full business impact of this traceability is still emerging.
The authors also stress practical hurdles that must be addressed: capital efficiency limitations, questions around insurance and enterprise-grade custody, security management, and concerns about energy consumption — all of which require measured solutions.
From a fringe experiment to a cornerstone of a growing industry, progress has been swift — fast enough that central banks now evaluate their own digital currency initiatives. Given that trajectory, envisioning a meaningful role in world trade no longer feels far-fetched within the broader economy.
Yet “tipping point” implies two diverging paths. One leads to mainstream adoption; the other ends in a speculative unwind. A macro reset — for example, tighter policy and shifting risk appetite — combined with heavy-handed oversight that dissuades top builders could trigger the latter outcome. The balance will depend on investor behavior, market structure, and policy clarity.
As early as 2010, the project's creator set expectations in stark terms:Two decades out, activity would either be massive or effectively nonexistent — little room in between.
Two decades out, activity would either be massive or effectively nonexistent — little room in between.
So far, transaction counts and value transferred have trended upward, and major banks such as Citi now track the space with sharper focus and more actionable insight.
Consider the network itself: it operates without borders, never pauses for holidays or weekends, and has no single owner. Unlike legacy payment systems housed on private servers, the ledger lives on thousands of nodes worldwide, and anyone can maintain a synchronized copy and verify their own payments and settlement.
Source: Bitcoin at the Tipping Point, p.17.
For the complete analysis and detailed takeaways, read the full Citi GPS report.
Bitcoin slid back toward $67,000 in Sunday trading as trade uncertainty resurfaced, with investors weighing fresh tariff escalation against a shifting legal backdrop in the U.S.
BTC was trading around $67,526, down about 1.4% over the past 24 hours and roughly 2.1% on the week. The move follows President Donald Trump's decision to raise the worldwide tariff rate to 15% from 10%, despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that invalidated earlier emergency trade measures.
The court's decision had briefly appeared to limit Washington's ability to deploy sweeping tariffs ahead of Trump's planned March 31 visit to Beijing. Instead, the administration responded by lifting the global rate, keeping pressure on trade partners even as the legal footing remains contested.
China now faces the same 15% levy applied to U.S. allies, with that rate set against a 150-day window. Markets are left navigating both escalation and ambiguity, a combination that tends to dampen appetite for risk.
Losses were broad acorss crypto majors. Ether slipped 1.8% to $1,951 and is down 2.5% over the past week. XRP fell 4.4% on the day and 8.4% across seven days to $1.39. Solana dropped 3.8% in 24 hours to $83.25, while Dogecoin shed nearly 5% on the day and more than 11% on the week. Cardano declined 4.3%, and BNB eased 2.3%.
Trade friction is not confined to Asia. European lawmakers are signaling hesitation over advancing the so-called Turnberry Agreement, saying they want clearer commitments from Washington on trade policy before moving forward.
For now, crypto remains tightly linked to macro headlines. Until tariff policy finds firmer footing, digital assets are likely to move with broader risk sentiment rather than on purely crypto-native catalysts.
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XRP falls 4% as network sees biggest realized loss spike since 2022
Past capitulation waves have preceded sharp recoveries, but this time price is still fighting technical resistance even as ledger activity surges.
What to know:
Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.
SBI Holdings is issuing a 10 billion yen ($64.5 million) blockchain-based bond targeted at individual investors in Japan, blending traditional fixed-income features with onchain settlement and crypto-linked incentives.
The product, branded as the SBI START Bonds, will be fully managed onchain using BOOSTRY's “ibet for Fin” platform, an enterprise blockchain system built for security token issuance. The three-year bonds carry an indicative annual interest rate of 1.85% to 2.45%, with interest paid semiannually.
Secondary trading is expected to begin on March 25 through the Osaka Digital Exchange's proprietary “START” trading system, bringing the instrument into a regulated digital securities environment rather than a crypto-native venue.
While blockchain-based bond issuance is no longer experimental in Japan, the retail focus and token-based reward structure give this deal a distinct profile compared with institutional tokenization pilots seen in recent years.
In addition to fixed coupon payments, eligible investors can receive XRP rewards. Retail residents and companies that invest more than 100,000 yen (around $650) and hold an account with SBI VC Trade qualify for token distributions.
According to SBI, investors will receive XRP “in an amount corresponding to their subscription amount.” The product page specifies 200 yen worth of XRP for every 100,000 yen invested. These bonuses are distributed at issuance and again on each interest payment date through 2029.
This structure effectively overlays a crypto incentive on top of a standard bond framework. The XRP rewards are separate from the coupon, meaning the base yield remains fixed while token exposure fluctuates with market prices.
By tying eligibility to SBI VC Trade accounts, the company also channels participants into its digital asset ecosystem, creating a direct link between traditional securities distribution and its crypto platform.
SBI has long been associated with Ripple and XRP. The group formed a partnership with Ripple in 2016, leading to the creation of SBI Ripple Asia and the rollout of XRP-based remittance corridors between Japan and the Philippines.
A subsidiary has previously distributed XRP directly to shareholders. The company's chairman and CEO, Yoshitaka Kitao, has said SBI owns roughly 9% of Ripple Labs, giving it one of the largest corporate stakes in the blockchain firm.
The bond's reward design reflects that relationship. Rather than using a stablecoin or loyalty-style token, SBI chose XRP, reinforcing the asset's role within its broader financial and payments strategy.
Japan has been among the more active jurisdictions in tokenized securities, with established frameworks allowing security tokens to be issued and traded on regulated digital exchanges. By using BOOSTRY's platform and the Osaka Digital Exchange, SBI keeps the structure within that regulated perimeter.
The deal also reflects how financial groups are experimenting with hybrid models. Rather than replacing bonds with purely crypto-native instruments, firms are combining conventional fixed-income mechanics with blockchain settlement and token incentives.
SBI's broader digital strategy includes partnerships with Circle to launch USDC in Japan and a memorandum of understanding with Ripple to distribute the RLUSD stablecoin. The blockchain bond adds another layer, linking traditional funding tools with digital asset exposure under a regulated framework.
Whether retail investors view the XRP component as a bonus or as additional risk will depend on market conditions. What is clear is that the offering moves token incentives from trading platforms into mainstream securities distribution, expanding the overlap between Japan's capital markets and its crypto infrastructure.
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Ethereum is experiencing another day of price consolidation. The price of ETH has been down by 0.13% in the last 24 hours. Although the indicators are pointing towards “strong sell”, large holders are using this opportunity to accumulate ETH at lower prices. This will help in strengthening the support zone near $1900.
For the past few days, Ethereum prices have been caught in a tug-of-war. The ETH market has been seeing ups and downs instead of showing a steady rise or fall. However, in the last couple of days, Ethereum has struggled to maintain the $2000 mark. The market sentiment remains bearish, expressing extreme fear.
The market cap was pulled down to $235.88 billion, coinciding with the Altcoin Season Index falling to 8.33%. Extreme fear sentiment has resulted in moving to a perceived safer option, Bitcoin, instead of altcoins like ETH. This has reduced ETH's market cap from 10.3% to 10.17%.
Despite the institutional accumulation, Ethereum has shown an underperformance in a slightly positive broader market.
Key Market Metrics
Despite a 0.13% dip to $1,956.49 over the last 24 hours, ETH is slowly bouncing back today after a sharp decline towards the $1900 floor yesterday. Today, the Etherium price is expected to rise upto $1983.24.
The following table predicts that the Ethereum prices will attempt to rise above the $2000 resistance zone, before a gradual decline towards the $1900 floor. There are chances for the prices to go lower than this support zone for a short period before a potential recovery.
Disclaimer: This price analysis is based on market data, technical indicators, and predictive modeling. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile. Always conduct individual research before making investment decisions.
One of the significant technical events this week is the Death Cross for Ethereum, with the 50-day SMA crossing below the 200-day SMA, and the market remain Bearish. Other technical indicators, such as EMA trends and MACD, are also pointing towards this Bearish sentiment.
On-chain data indicates that the whales are accumulating Ethereum at lower prices through limited orders and maintaining the $1,900 floor. While some long-term holders are offloading ETH to take profits.
The Ethereum Foundation has released its 2026 roadmap, planning to push the network's gas limit to 100 million from 60 million, which can increase the transaction capacity.
After a significant market volatility in the past few days, Ethereum ETFs are showing stability in institutional ownership. Bitmine has purchased 10,000 more ETH valued at approximately $19.49 million. Major entities such as BitMine and SharpLink holding substantial amounts of Ethereum are reinforcing the long-term conviction.
🚨LATEST: TOM LEE-TIED BITMINE BUYS 10,000 MORE ETH@BitMNR, linked to Tom Lee (@fundstrat), acquired 10,000 more $ETH.The purchase was valued at approximately $19.49 million.The transaction occurred on the @krakenfx exchange. pic.twitter.com/V7TmQeDVrg
Furthermore, ETH is moving in the same direction as the Nasdaq 100, most of the time, as it is often grouped with the “Tech Stocks” after the institutionalization of crypto.
Ethereum is facing an unfavorable “yield gap” with Uthe .S. 10-year Treasury yield as it pfferes 4.08% yield compared to the 3% yield of ETH. Investors are choosing a rather safer government bonds over cryptocurrencies.
The public sentiment regarding Ethereum is reflecting the extreme fear from the Fear & Greed Index. @TedPillows is expressing his concern about ETH struggling to reach the $2000 level.
$ETH is forming a bearish pennant here.A daily close above $2,100 will invalidate this and could also push Ethereum towards the $2,400 level.In case of a daily close below $1,850; ETH will dump to new lows. pic.twitter.com/xMZ8hVgfls
Ethereum prices are in a continuous battle of prices going up and down between $1900-$2000, not finding a firm footing at any level. There has been a constant struggle in crossing the $2000 level in the last few days. However, the whales are accumulating ETH through strategic limited orders and defending the $1900 floor. Although the market remains in a bearish consolidation phase, the strengthening on-chain fundamentals are maintaining a positive outlook.
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Altcoins are beginning to break out against Bitcoin, and historical precedent suggests the move could carry significant implications if the structure holds.
According to market observers tracking charts that measure the total altcoin market cap excluding Bitcoin, the last two confirmed breakouts against Bitcoin led to extended periods of outperformance.
In 2016, altcoins outpaced Bitcoin for 574 days. In 2019, that stretch extended to 770 days. Now, in 2026, the weekly trend has broken to the upside once again, with five consecutive green weekly candles printed against Bitcoin.
This type of behavior has not historically occurred during traditional bear markets. In every prior bear phase since the “OTHERS” index's inception, the chart has entered a steep, aggressive downtrend relative to Bitcoin. Yet, the current setup diverges from that pattern.
Instead of accelerating lower as Bitcoin weakens, altcoins have consolidated and begun pushing higher while Bitcoin has pulled back. Analysts argue this structural shift suggests underlying rotation rather than defensive positioning.
A separate ALTS versus BTC dominance chart reinforces the outlook. The structure continues to respect a long-term ascending channel that previously preceded major expansions in 2018 and 2021. Some traders contend that 2026 could mark the largest breakout yet, driven by the recurring cycle of capital rotating from Bitcoin into higher beta assets.
Meanwhile, CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index reads 32 out of 100 at press time, still classified as Bitcoin Season but rising steadily from 27 a month ago. The yearly high stands at 78, recorded on September 20, 2025, while the low of 12 was set on April 26, 2025.
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Ripple's closest Asian partner and long-term XRP bull SBI Holdings has announced a plan to issue around $65 million worth of onchain bonds.
The bonds will pay their owners a fixed interest rate of between 1.85% and 2.45%, to be paid half-yearly. And the bonds will provide their owners with $1.29 worth of XRP for every $645 worth of the bonds they own.
The company said the bonds will be issued in March and will mature in early 2029.
Both Ripple and consulting firms like the Boston Consulting Group have spoken of “exponential” mid-term growth in tokenised financial products. Advocates have talked up “a best-case scenario” that could see the market grow to $68 trillion by 2030.
In Japan, securities and financial firms are scrambling to enter the tokenised securities market. Last year, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, one of the biggest financial firms in the world with a market cap of $226 billion, announced its imminent entry into the sector.
Its closest rivals, such as Nomura, have already embarked on their own journeys. Last year, Nomura announced a $52 million securities token issuance for venture capital fund managers.
SBI, by contrast, says its XRP-paying bonds are primarily designed for retail investors.
The firm said the leading Japanese financial group Mizuho Bank will act as its bond administrator and register administrator.
SBI's CEO Yoshitaka Kitao recently dismissed claims that his firm holds $10 billion worth of XRP, but admitted to owning a 9% stake in Ripple Labs.
Regardless of these claims, SBI does appear to have not inconsiderable XRP holdings. In 2020, the firm's e-sports subsidiary announced it would be paying its players in XRP.
The firm also began offering its shareholders XRP dividends in 2020, and has made six XRP dividend payments to date.
SBI said it will make its new bond issuance via the ibet for Fin platform, which was developed by the blockchain startup Boostry.
The same startup also provided Nomura with similar services for its own December 2025 offering.
SBI said that only account holders at its crypto exchange subsidiary, SBI VC Trade, will qualify for its XRP rewards program.
Major European financial players are also making tokenisation moves this month. The French banking firm and asset manager recently used the Ethereum blockchain network to issue a pilot tokenised share class of a domestic money market fund.
US-based firms like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have also begun on their own tokenisation journeys, using networks like Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Avalanche to tokenise funds.
Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tdalper@dlnews.com.
The word "bitcoin" or any other mention of crypto will get you banned from the OpenClaw Discord. Not for spam, not for shilling, but just for saying it.
Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent framework that has surged past 200,000 GitHub stars since its release in late January, has enforced a blanket no-crypto rule on the project's community server.
A user who recently mentioned bitcoin in passing — in the context of using block height as a clock for a multi-agent benchmark, not promoting a token — was blocked immediately.
Got blocked from @openclaw Discord for saying 'bitcoin' 🦞CLASHD27 is multi-agent benchmark where Bitcoin block height is just a clock (mod 27). No tokens.Hypothesis: can we pre-weigh intent? If attention is measured we bring trust to OpenClaw agents.@steipete Unblock 🙏
Steinberger was clear about the ban in a follow-up reply to the X post.
The rule comes after what happened in late January, when crypto nearly destroyed the project from the inside.
The trouble started after AI powerhouse Anthropic sent Steinberger a trademark notice over the project's original name, Clawdbot, which the AI company argued was too close to Anthropic's own "Claude." Steinberger agreed to rebrand.
But in the brief seconds between releasing his old GitHub and X handles and securing the new ones, scammers seized both accounts and began promoting a fake token called $CLAWD on Solana.
That token hit $16 million in market capitalization within hours. When Steinberger publicly denied any involvement, it crashed over 90%, wiping out late buyers. Early snipers walked away with profits, and Steinberger was left fielding harassment from traders who blamed him for not endorsing the token.
"To all crypto folks: please stop pinging me, stop harassing me," he wrote on X at the time. "I will never do a coin. Any project that lists me as coin owner is a SCAM."
"You are actively damaging the project."
To all crypto folks: Please stop pinging me, stop harassing me. I will never do a coin.Any project that lists me as coin owner is a SCAM.No, I will not accept fees.You are actively damanging the project.
Security researchers at blockchain firm SlowMist and independent auditors found hundreds of OpenClaw instances exposed to the public internet with no authentication, partly because the tool's localhost trust model breaks when run behind a reverse proxy.
Separately, a researcher found 386 malicious "skills" — add-on scripts for OpenClaw agents — published on the project's skill repository, many targeting crypto traders specifically.
Steinberger has since joined OpenAI to lead its personal agents division, with OpenClaw moving to an independent open-source foundation. The project is thriving.
But the crypto ban on Discord stays, leaving a scar from a weeks-long episode that showed how fast speculative token culture can engulf a legitimate software project and nearly bury it.
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Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.
The word "bitcoin" or any other mention of crypto will get you banned from the OpenClaw Discord. Not for spam, not for shilling, but just for saying it.
Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent framework that has surged past 200,000 GitHub stars since its release in late January, has enforced a blanket no-crypto rule on the project's community server.
A user who recently mentioned bitcoin in passing — in the context of using block height as a clock for a multi-agent benchmark, not promoting a token — was blocked immediately.
Got blocked from @openclaw Discord for saying 'bitcoin' 🦞CLASHD27 is multi-agent benchmark where Bitcoin block height is just a clock (mod 27). No tokens.Hypothesis: can we pre-weigh intent? If attention is measured we bring trust to OpenClaw agents.@steipete Unblock 🙏
Steinberger was clear about the ban in a follow-up reply to the X post.
The rule comes after what happened in late January, when crypto nearly destroyed the project from the inside.
The trouble started after AI powerhouse Anthropic sent Steinberger a trademark notice over the project's original name, Clawdbot, which the AI company argued was too close to Anthropic's own "Claude." Steinberger agreed to rebrand.
But in the brief seconds between releasing his old GitHub and X handles and securing the new ones, scammers seized both accounts and began promoting a fake token called $CLAWD on Solana.
That token hit $16 million in market capitalization within hours. When Steinberger publicly denied any involvement, it crashed over 90%, wiping out late buyers. Early snipers walked away with profits, and Steinberger was left fielding harassment from traders who blamed him for not endorsing the token.
"To all crypto folks: please stop pinging me, stop harassing me," he wrote on X at the time. "I will never do a coin. Any project that lists me as coin owner is a SCAM."
"You are actively damaging the project."
To all crypto folks: Please stop pinging me, stop harassing me. I will never do a coin.Any project that lists me as coin owner is a SCAM.No, I will not accept fees.You are actively damanging the project.
Security researchers at blockchain firm SlowMist and independent auditors found hundreds of OpenClaw instances exposed to the public internet with no authentication, partly because the tool's localhost trust model breaks when run behind a reverse proxy.
Separately, a researcher found 386 malicious "skills" — add-on scripts for OpenClaw agents — published on the project's skill repository, many targeting crypto traders specifically.
Steinberger has since joined OpenAI to lead its personal agents division, with OpenClaw moving to an independent open-source foundation. The project is thriving.
But the crypto ban on Discord stays, leaving a scar from a weeks-long episode that showed how fast speculative token culture can engulf a legitimate software project and nearly bury it.
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After five months of steady selling pressure, Bitcoin could be ready to rebound.
As many analysts are slashing their 2026 price targets for Bitcoin (BTC 1.63%), one top Wall Street investment firm is not. According to Bernstein, Bitcoin could still hit $150,000 by the end of the year.
Obviously, a lot needs to go right for Bitcoin for that to happen. But the world's top cryptocurrency is capable of soaring in price by 120% this year. Here's why.
Throughout its history, Bitcoin has experienced a number of boom-and-bust cycles. Typically, three years of boom are followed by one year of bust. Almost like clockwork, the price of Bitcoin collapses by more than 50% every four years. It happened in 2014, 2018, and 2022. And it now looks like it is happening in 2026. That helps to explain why market sentiment is so low on Bitcoin right now.
But Bernstein sees it differently. According to the firm, this is the "weakest bear case in history." During previous crypto collapses, there have been insolvencies, bankruptcies, spectacular failures, and blow-ups. None of that has happened in 2026.
That's why Bernstein describes the current situation as a "crisis of confidence," and nothing more. And, to a large degree, the numbers bear this out. For example, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index recently dipped below 10 (out of a possible 100), indicating wide-scale panic in the market. Once the index moves out of "extreme fear" territory (a reading of 20 or higher), Bitcoin could soar in value.
Institutional adoption of Bitcoin remains on track. Large asset managers and institutional investors continue to add Bitcoin to their portfolios. Large Wall Street firms continue to push out new Bitcoin-related products. Net inflows have returned to the spot Bitcoin ETFs. And Bitcoin treasury companies continue to buy Bitcoin (albeit at a scaled-back rate).
Image source: Getty Images.
All this suggests that the core investment thesis for Bitcoin remains valid. Now is no time to give up on Bitcoin, which has been the top-performing asset in the world for much of the past decade. It has routinely delivered triple-digit returns, and the price of Bitcoin has grown exponentially over the past 15 years.
It's also undeniable that Bitcoin has lost some of its luster as "digital gold." Just 12 months ago, hedge fund managers were extolling the virtues of Bitcoin as a potential safe-haven asset. Some even compared it to gold as a long-term store of value.
Bitcoin / U.S. dollar chart by TradingView
But ever since October, the price of gold -- as measured by the performance of the iShares Gold Trust (IAU +1.94%) -- has skyrocketed in value, while Bitcoin has nosedived. The two assets are now moving in completely opposite directions, and it's easy to see why money is moving out of Bitcoin and into gold. Even Bernstein acknowledges that Bitcoin is now trading like a "liquidity-sensitive risk asset."
But that's what's needed for Bitcoin to break out and deliver truly explosive upside potential. By the halfway point of 2026, I fully expect market sentiment on Bitcoin to shift. As long as Bitcoin can tread water for the next few months, it's capable of doubling in value to hit $150,000 by the end of the year.
Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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indica News Bureau-
India is aggressively pursuing currency diversification and new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to safeguard its economy against the U.S. administration's retreat from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). A new report from Think China reveals that New Delhi is prioritizing economic self-reliance to reduce dependence on the US dollar and American-led trade blocks.
India has accelerated FTA negotiations to diversify markets and concluded deals with the UK, New Zealand, Oman, and the EU. In recent years, the country signed trade agreements with Australia, the UAE, and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) group, while FTAs with Israel, Chile, and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries are under negotiation.
The report from Think China said, “currency diversification is a key determinant for national economic security at a time when reducing external dependence and increasing self-reliance are non-negotiable goals.”
India's sovereign digital currency, the e‑rupee, “is being used in retail transactions and is picking up traction among customers,” the report said.
The report noted that greater acceptability of e-rupee and interoperability between digital currencies of the BRICS could lead to its greater use in trade. This could happen between countries piloting their own sovereign digital currencies, including China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Indonesia, and the UAE, most of which are members of BRICS, it suggested.
“Apart from safeguarding supply chains and entering multiple FTAs, India's efforts to reduce economic dependence have motivated it to settle more trade in its local currency,” it said. Apart from the economic benefits, India is pursuing FTAs for geopolitical gains due to “political confidence-building mechanisms between countries.”
FTAs help enlarge strategic influence by cultivating a bigger group of global allies, “at a time when the global order is fragmenting fast,” the report said.
U.S. President Trump's second term in office was marked by a noticeable lack of interest in the IPEF, and as a result, the China plus one diversification strategy has lost some momentum, the report noted. It added that unilateral trade restrictive measures from the U.S. in 2025 made India and other major economies realise the importance of diversifying away from the U.S.
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At indica, we will be following up on news for the South Asian community – without fear or favor.
Transaction volume under Project mBridge surged over 2,500-fold from the early 2022 pilot levels to more than US$55 billion by November 2025
Deeper regulatory ties and a shared push for new growth sectors are expected to give fresh impetus to cross-border investment flows between China and the Middle East, according to industry players and a United Arab Emirates (UAE) regulator.
Hong Kong would benefit from the increased China-Middle East cooperation as the city develops into “a key hub for Middle Eastern capital to deploy in Asia and an important gateway for Chinese capital to go global to the Middle East,” said Linda Cai, inbound and outbound leader and head of China corporate finance at PwC China.
Transaction volume under Project mBridge, which makes settlements more direct and efficient between mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, surged over 2,500-fold from the early 2022 pilot levels to more than US$55 billion by November 2025, according to the US think tank Atlantic Council. Digital yuan, or e-CNY, accounted for over 95 per cent of the tally.
The January announcement to promote digital yuan's cross-border payment role would “greatly facilitate bilateral economic and trade activities and personal exchanges”, according to Cai.
Combined with the mBridge project, China and the Middle Eastern countries would have formed a “multilevel financial cooperation framework of ‘currency-fund-digital assets', laying a foundation for the mutual recognition of more cross-border products, such as exchange-traded funds and green bonds, in the future”, she said.
As the population grows older and diabetes becomes more common, chronic wounds are affecting more people than ever. These slow healing injuries significantly raise the risk of infection, tissue damage, and amputation. Researchers at UC Riverside have developed a new oxygen delivering gel designed to help wounds heal before they progress to limb loss.
A wound that remains open for longer than a month is classified as chronic. Worldwide, about 12 million people experience chronic wounds each year, including roughly 4.5 million in the United States. Approximately one in five of these patients will ultimately face an amputation.
Oxygen Deprivation and Delayed Healing
The research team focused on what they see as a central cause of chronic wounds, a shortage of oxygen deep within damaged tissue. When oxygen levels are too low, wounds stay trapped in a prolonged inflammatory phase. This environment encourages bacterial growth and tissue breakdown instead of repair.
"Chronic wounds don't heal by themselves," said Iman Noshadi, UCR associate professor of bioengineering who led the research team.
"There are four stages to healing chronic wounds: inflammation, vascularization where tissue starts making blood vessels, remodeling, and regeneration or healing. In any of these stages, lack of a stable, consistent oxygen supply is a big problem," he said.
When oxygen from the bloodstream or surrounding air cannot reach the deeper layers of tissue, a condition called hypoxia develops. Hypoxia disrupts the body's normal healing process. The team described its oxygen targeting gel approach in Nature Communications Material.
How the Oxygen Generating Gel Works
The soft and flexible gel is made with water and a choline based liquid that is antibacterial, nontoxic, and biocompatible. When connected to a small battery similar to those found in hearing aids, the material acts like a miniature electrochemical device. It splits water molecules and steadily releases oxygen over time.
Unlike treatments that supply oxygen only at the surface, this gel adapts to the exact shape of a wound. Before it solidifies, it fills small gaps and uneven areas where oxygen levels tend to be lowest and infection risk highest.
Continuous oxygen delivery is critical. The formation of new blood vessels can take weeks, and short bursts of oxygen are not enough to support lasting repair. This system can maintain oxygen flow for up to a month, helping a stalled wound resume a more typical healing pattern.
Promising Results in Diabetic and Older Mice
To test the technology, researchers studied diabetic and older mice because their wounds resemble chronic wounds in older adults. In untreated animals, injuries failed to close and were often fatal. When the oxygen producing patch was applied and replaced weekly, wounds healed in about 23 days and the animals survived.
"We could make this patch as a product where the gel may need to be renewed periodically," said Prince David Okoro, UCR bioengineering doctoral candidate in Noshadi's lab and paper co author.
Balancing Inflammation and Immune Response
The gel may offer more than oxygen support. Choline, one of its main ingredients, helps regulate immune activity and reduce excessive inflammation. Chronic wounds often contain high levels of reactive oxygen species, unstable molecules that damage cells and extend inflammation. By supplying stable oxygen while calming this overactive response, the gel helps restore healthier conditions for tissue repair.
"There are bandages that absorb fluid, and some that release antimicrobial agents," said Okoro. "But none of them really address hypoxia, which is the fundamental problem. We're tackling that directly."
Beyond Wound Care
The potential applications extend past treating chronic wounds. Oxygen and nutrient shortages are major barriers in efforts to grow replacement tissues and organs, which is a long term goal of the Noshadi laboratory.
"When the thickness of a tissue increases, it's hard to diffuse that tissue with what it needs, so cells start dying," Noshadi said. "This project can be seen as a bridge to creating and sustaining larger organs for people in need of them."
Addressing a Growing Health Challenge
Some of the forces behind rising chronic wound rates cannot be solved with a medical device alone. Along with aging and diabetes, lifestyle factors also play a role.
"Our sedentary lifestyles are causing our immune responses to decrease," said UCR bioengineer and co author Baishali Kanjilal. "It's hard to get to societal roots of our problems. But this innovation represents a chance to reduce amputations, improve quality of life, and give the body what it needs to heal itself."
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Triceratops and other horned dinosaurs had exceptionally large nasal cavities compared to most animals. To better understand what filled that space, researchers including a team from the University of Tokyo analyzed CT scans of fossilized Triceratops skulls. They compared those scans with the snout anatomy of living animals such as birds and crocodiles. By combining direct examination with informed reconstruction, they mapped out how nerves, blood vessels, and air passages likely fit inside the skull. Their findings suggest these dinosaurs used their noses for more than smell. The oversized nasal passages may also have helped regulate body temperature and moisture.
If you were to encounter a Triceratops in the wild, you might first ask, "Aren't they extinct?" and then wonder, "Why does it have such an enormous head?" Project Research Associate Seishiro Tada from the University of Tokyo Museum found himself focused on that second question while studying a specimen (a fossilized one). "I have been working on the evolution of reptilian heads and noses since my master's degree," he said. "Triceratops in particular had a very large and unusual nose, and I couldn't figure out how the organs fit within it even though I remember the basic patterns of reptiles. That made me interested in their nasal anatomy and its function and evolution."
Dinosaurs came in many shapes and sizes, and their skulls were especially diverse. Horned dinosaurs, known as Ceratopsia, had some of the most dramatic head structures, and Triceratops stands out as one of the most recognizable. Yet despite its fame, scientists still know relatively little about what the inside of its skull looked like. Tada and his colleagues set out to reconstruct the soft tissues hidden within the fossilized bone.
CT Scans Reveal Unusual Nasal Wiring
"Employing X-ray-based CT-scan data of a Triceratops, as well as knowledge on contemporary reptilian snout morphology, we found some unique characteristics in the nose and provide the first comprehensive hypothesis on the soft-tissue anatomy in horned dinosaurs," he said. "Triceratops had unusual 'wiring' in their noses. In most reptiles, nerves and blood vessels reach the nostrils from the jaw and the nose. But in Triceratops, the skull shape blocks the jaw route, so nerves and vessels take the nasal branch. Essentially, Triceratops tissues evolved this way to support its big nose. I came to realize this while piecing together some 3D-printed Triceratops skull pieces like a puzzle."
The team discovered that the structure of the skull forced nerves and blood vessels to follow a different pathway than in most reptiles. Instead of entering through the jaw, they traveled through the nasal region. This rearranged internal layout appears to have evolved to accommodate and support the dinosaur's exceptionally large nose.
Evidence of Respiratory Turbinates and Heat Control
Researchers also identified signs of a structure known as a respiratory turbinate inside the nose of Triceratops. Very few dinosaurs show evidence of this feature, although birds, which are living descendants of dinosaurs, have them, as do mammals. Respiratory turbinates are thin, scroll shaped bones inside the nasal cavity that increase surface area, allowing blood and air to exchange heat more efficiently.
Triceratops was likely not fully warm blooded, but these structures may still have played an important role in controlling temperature and retaining moisture. Given the size of its skull, managing heat would have been a challenge. The presence of respiratory turbinates suggests its nose helped stabilize internal conditions.
"Although we're not 100% sure Triceratops had a respiratory turbinate, as most other dinosaurs don't have evidence for them, some birds have an attachment base (ridge) for the respiratory turbinate and horned dinosaurs have a similar ridge at the similar location in their nose as well. That's why we conclude they have the respiratory turbinate as birds do," said Tada. "Horned dinosaurs were the last group to have soft tissues from their heads subject to our kind of investigation, so our research has filled the final piece of that dinosaur-shaped puzzle. Next, I would like to tackle questions around the anatomy and function of other regions of their skulls like their characteristic frills."
Funding: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI, 24KJ1879; JSPS Overseas Challenge Program for Young Researchers.
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In their natural condition, peatlands rank among the planet's most important carbon reservoirs. The soil is saturated with water and contains very little oxygen, which slows the breakdown of dead plants. Instead of fully decomposing, plant material builds up layer upon layer over thousands of years, forming deep deposits of peat that lock away carbon for the long term.
That balance changes when peatlands are drained for farming. Lowering the water table allows oxygen to enter the soil, speeding up microbial activity. As microbes break down the previously preserved plant matter, carbon that has been stored for centuries is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2).
Northern Peatlands Remain Understudied
Large areas of peatland across Europe and the Nordic region have been drained since the 1600s. Scientists have closely examined how drainage and shifting water levels affect greenhouse gas emissions in many of these regions.
Far less is known about the northernmost peatlands used for agriculture. These areas experience cold temperatures, short growing seasons, and extended daylight during summer months.
"From studies in warmer regions, we know that raising the groundwater level in drained and cultivated peatland often reduces CO2 emissions, because the peat decomposes more slowly," explains NIBIO researcher Junbin Zhao.
"At the same time, wetter and low-oxygen conditions can increase methane, since the microbes that produce methane thrive when there is almost no oxygen in the soil."
Nitrous oxide can also increase under certain moisture conditions. When soil is damp but not completely waterlogged, nitrogen breakdown may stop midway, producing nitrous oxide instead of harmless nitrogen gas.
"Because each greenhouse gas reacts differently to changes in water level, one gas can go down while another goes up. That's why it's important to look at the overall gas balance," says Zhao.
"We need to measure CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide at the same time and throughout the whole season to understand the real net effect in the northernmost agricultural areas."
Two Year Arctic Field Study in Northern Norway
To answer these questions, Zhao and his colleagues carried out a two year field study in 2022 and 2023 at NIBIO's Svanhovd research station in the Pasvik Valley of Northern Norway. Automated chambers tracked CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions multiple times per day throughout the growing season.
"The experiment included five plots that together reflected typical management conditions found in a drained agricultural field -- with different groundwater levels, different amounts of fertiliser, and different numbers of harvests per season," Zhao explains.
The team focused on three key questions:
Higher Groundwater Levels Cut CO2 Emissions
When the Pasvik peatland was heavily drained, it released large amounts of CO2, comparable to cultivated peatlands farther south. But when researchers raised the groundwater to between 25 and 50 cm below the surface, emissions dropped sharply.
"At these higher water levels, methane and nitrous oxide emissions were also low, giving a much better overall gas balance. Under such conditions, the field even absorbed slightly more CO2 than it released," says Zhao.
This suggests that maintaining higher groundwater levels in Arctic farmland could serve as an effective climate strategy.
"Our findings are especially interesting because emissions were measured continuously around the clock. This meant we captured short spikes of unusually high emissions and natural daily fluctuations, details often missed when measurements are taken only occasionally."
Why Cold Arctic Climates Amplify the Effect
Raising the water table makes the soil wetter and reduces oxygen around plant roots. Plants become somewhat less active and absorb less CO2 under these conditions.
Even so, overall CO2 emissions from the field decline.
"This is because wet conditions mean that the field needs less light before it starts to absorb more CO2 than it releases. When this threshold is reached earlier in the day, you get more hours with net carbon uptake," Zhao explains.
"Our calculations show that this effect is especially strong in the north, due to the long, light summer nights. These provide many extra hours where the system remains on the positive side, which can increase total CO2 uptake significantly."
Temperature turned out to be another crucial factor. Once soil temperatures climbed above about 12°C, microbial activity intensified.
"At higher temperatures, microorganisms break down organic material faster, and both CO2 and methane emissions rise," says Zhao.
"This means that the effect of high water levels is greatest in cool climates -- and that future warming could reduce the benefit. In practice, this means water levels must be considered together with temperature and local conditions."
Fertilization and Harvesting Shape the Carbon Balance
Farm management practices also played a role. Adding more fertilizer boosted grass growth.
"More fertilizer produced more biomass but did not lead to noticeable changes in CO2 or methane emissions in our experiment," says Zhao.
Harvesting had a clearer impact. When grass was cut and removed, the carbon stored in plant material left the system.
"If harvesting is very frequent, more carbon can be taken out than is built up again over time. The peat layer may gradually lose carbon even when water levels are kept high," Zhao explains.
For that reason, Zhao emphasizes that water management, fertilizer use, and harvesting schedules must be evaluated together. Steps that lower emissions in the short term could reduce long term carbon storage, potentially weakening soil quality.
"One solution could be paludiculture, i.e. growing plant species that tolerate wet conditions so that biomass can be produced without keeping the soil dry."
Local Differences Matter for Climate Accounting
The researchers also observed significant variation within the same field. Some areas absorbed CO2, while nearby sections released substantial amounts.
"Such local variation can greatly influence national climate accounting and how measures are designed, because one standard emission factor may not reflect reality everywhere," Zhao says.
"The results from our study show a clear need for more detailed measurements and more precise water-level management in practice, especially where soils and farming conditions vary significantly between locations."
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THIS is the takeaway. These tools are allowing *adjacency* to become a powerful guiding indicator. You don't need to be a reverser, you can just understand how your software works and drive the robot to be a fallible hypothesis generator in regions where you can validate only some of the findings.
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I had been searching for a good benchmark that provided some empirical evidence of this sycophancy, but I hadn't found much. Measuring false positives when you ask the model to complete a detection related task may be a good way of doing that.
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This is detecting the pattern of an anomaly in language associated with malicious activity, which is not impressive for an LLM.
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I've been using Ghidra to reverse engineer Altium's file format (at least the Delphi parts) and it's insane how effective it is. Models are not quite good enough to write an entire parser from scratch but before LLMs I would have never even attempted the reverse engineering.I definitely would not depend on it for security audits but the latest models are more than good enough to reverse engineer file formats.
I definitely would not depend on it for security audits but the latest models are more than good enough to reverse engineer file formats.
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They can make diagrams for you, give you an attack surface mapping, and dig for you while you do more manual work. As you work on an audit you will often find things of interest in a binary or code base that you want to investigate further. LLMs can often blast through a code base or binary finding similar things.I like to think of it like a swiss army knife of agentic tools to deploy as you work through a problem. They won't balk at some insanely boring task and that can give you a real speed up. The trick is if you fall into the trap of trying to get too much out of an LLM you end up pouring time into your LLM setup and not getting good results, I think that is the LLM productivity trap. But if you have a reasonable subset of "skills" / "agents" you can deploy for various auditing tasks it can absolutely speed you up some.Also, when you have scale problems, just throw an LLM at it. Even low quality results are a good sniff test. Some of the time I just throw an LLM at a code review thing for a codebase I came across and let it work. I also love asking it to make me architecture diagrams.
I like to think of it like a swiss army knife of agentic tools to deploy as you work through a problem. They won't balk at some insanely boring task and that can give you a real speed up. The trick is if you fall into the trap of trying to get too much out of an LLM you end up pouring time into your LLM setup and not getting good results, I think that is the LLM productivity trap. But if you have a reasonable subset of "skills" / "agents" you can deploy for various auditing tasks it can absolutely speed you up some.Also, when you have scale problems, just throw an LLM at it. Even low quality results are a good sniff test. Some of the time I just throw an LLM at a code review thing for a codebase I came across and let it work. I also love asking it to make me architecture diagrams.
Also, when you have scale problems, just throw an LLM at it. Even low quality results are a good sniff test. Some of the time I just throw an LLM at a code review thing for a codebase I came across and let it work. I also love asking it to make me architecture diagrams.
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Are people sharing these somewhere?
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Still, Ghidra's most painful limitation was extremely slow time with Go Lang. We had to exclude that example from the benchmark.
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So I don't have a clear idea of what the comparison would be but it worked pretty well for me!
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That said, it should be easier to use as a human to follow along with the agent and Claude Code seems to have an easier time with discovery rather than stuffing all the tool definitions into the context.
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It would be interesting to have an experiment where these models are able to test exploiting but their alignment may not allow that to happen. Perhaps combining models together can lead to that kind of testing. The better models will identify, write up "how to verify" tests and the "misaligned" models will actually carry out the testing and report back to the better models.
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Oh, wait, we have had that for a hundred years - somehow it's just entirely forgotten when generative models are involved.
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Perhaps it would make sense to provide LLMs with some strategy guides written in .md files.
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But when we're trying to share results, "a talented engineer sat with the thread and wrote tests/docs/harnesses to guide the model" is less impressive than "we asked it and it figured it out," even though the latter is how real work will happen.It creates this perverse scenario (which is no one's fault!) where we talk about one-shot performance but one-shot performance is useful in exactly 0 interesting cases.
It creates this perverse scenario (which is no one's fault!) where we talk about one-shot performance but one-shot performance is useful in exactly 0 interesting cases.
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Even where it works, it is quite hard to specify human strategic thinking in a way that an AI will follow.
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Open-source GitHub: https://github.com/QuesmaOrg/BinaryAudit
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I wonder if a hybrid approach would work better: use AI to flag suspicious sections, then have a human reverser focus only on those. Kind of like how SAST tools work for source code - nobody expects them to catch everything, but they narrow down where to look.
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Your approach, however, makes a lot of sense if you are ready to have your own custom or fine-tuned model.
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A bad actor already has most of the work done.
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The code is open-source; you can run it yourself using Harbor Framework:git clone git@github.com:QuesmaOrg/BinaryAudit.gitexport OPENROUTER_API_KEY=...harbor run
--path tasks
--task-name lighttpd-*
--agent terminus-2
--model openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
--model openrouter/google/gemini-3-pro-preview
--model openrouter/openai/gpt-5.2
--n-attempts 3Please open PR if you find something interesting, though our domain experts spend fair amount of time looking at trajectories.
git clone git@github.com:QuesmaOrg/BinaryAudit.gitexport OPENROUTER_API_KEY=...harbor run
--path tasks
--task-name lighttpd-*
--agent terminus-2
--model openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
--model openrouter/google/gemini-3-pro-preview
--model openrouter/openai/gpt-5.2
--n-attempts 3Please open PR if you find something interesting, though our domain experts spend fair amount of time looking at trajectories.
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=...harbor run
--path tasks
--task-name lighttpd-*
--agent terminus-2
--model openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
--model openrouter/google/gemini-3-pro-preview
--model openrouter/openai/gpt-5.2
--n-attempts 3Please open PR if you find something interesting, though our domain experts spend fair amount of time looking at trajectories.
harbor run
--path tasks
--task-name lighttpd-*
--agent terminus-2
--model openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
--model openrouter/google/gemini-3-pro-preview
--model openrouter/openai/gpt-5.2
--n-attempts 3Please open PR if you find something interesting, though our domain experts spend fair amount of time looking at trajectories.
Please open PR if you find something interesting, though our domain experts spend fair amount of time looking at trajectories.
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Email me. The address is in profile.
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e.g. an intentional weakness in systemd + udev + binfmt magic when used together == authentication and mandatory access control bypass. Each weakness reviewed individually just looks like benign sub-optimal code.
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Is there code that does something completely different than its comments claim?
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Or put another way, each of these three through three hundred applications or services by themselves may be intended to perform x,y,z functions but when put together by happy coincidence they can perform these fifty-million other unintended functions including but not limited to bypassing authentication, bypassing mandatory access controls, avoiding logging and auditing, etc... oh and it can automate washing your dishes, too.
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depending on the length of the piece of code,is probably the most honest answer right now.
is probably the most honest answer right now.
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Optimising a model for a certain task, via fine-tuning (aka post-training), can lead to loss of performance on other tasks. People want codex to "generate code" and "drive agents" and so on. So oAI fine-tuned for that.
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A/D seems to be somewhat less affected.
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They may have not noticed an improvement, but it doesn't mean there isn't any.
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That reaction maintains support for the movement, but at the same time disruption does not stop: the movements growing popularity enable new recruits to replace those arrested (just as with insurgent recruitment) rendering the state incapable of restoring order. The state's supporters may grow to sympathize with the movement, but at the very least they grow impatient with the disruption, which as you will recall refuses to stop.As support for state repression of the movement declines (because repression is not stopping the disruption) and the movement itself proves impossible to extinguish (because repression is recruiting for it), the only viable solution becomes giving the movement its demands.”https://acoup.blog/2026/02/13/collections-against-the-state-...
As support for state repression of the movement declines (because repression is not stopping the disruption) and the movement itself proves impossible to extinguish (because repression is recruiting for it), the only viable solution becomes giving the movement its demands.”https://acoup.blog/2026/02/13/collections-against-the-state-...
https://acoup.blog/2026/02/13/collections-against-the-state-...
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This interpretation reeks of Western naivete. Students were not merely arrested — they were gunned down en masse in the streets and even in hospitals. They were provoked by the U.S. president, who promised support to take on the institutions, but that support never materialized. The likely endgame of this current gunboat diplomacy is similar to Venezuela: the U.S. secures resource access while leaving the existing system intact, and the student protesters are hunted down. In other words, nothing changes for the people demanding reform.
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The author is "an ancient and military historian who currently teaches as a Teaching Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University" [1].> Students were not merely arrested — they were gunned down en masse in the streets and even in hospitalsNon-violent doesn't mean peaceful.People died in our Civil Rights protests. People died in the Indian independence and the Phillipines' People Power Revolution. Each of their leaders were gunned down, and the last won in an autocracy. (Even if you only read the blurb, the state's violent overreaction is part of the parcel.)> They were provoked by the U.S.Lots of Americans think the world revolves around us. The truth is we have less influence than we think. We didn't provoke these protests, though we did give them false hope.> the U.S. secures resource access while leaving the existing system intact, and the student protesters are hunted downWhich opposition figure is being hunted down in Venezuela under Rodriguez?[1] https://acoup.blog/about-the-pedant/
> Students were not merely arrested — they were gunned down en masse in the streets and even in hospitalsNon-violent doesn't mean peaceful.People died in our Civil Rights protests. People died in the Indian independence and the Phillipines' People Power Revolution. Each of their leaders were gunned down, and the last won in an autocracy. (Even if you only read the blurb, the state's violent overreaction is part of the parcel.)> They were provoked by the U.S.Lots of Americans think the world revolves around us. The truth is we have less influence than we think. We didn't provoke these protests, though we did give them false hope.> the U.S. secures resource access while leaving the existing system intact, and the student protesters are hunted downWhich opposition figure is being hunted down in Venezuela under Rodriguez?[1] https://acoup.blog/about-the-pedant/
Non-violent doesn't mean peaceful.People died in our Civil Rights protests. People died in the Indian independence and the Phillipines' People Power Revolution. Each of their leaders were gunned down, and the last won in an autocracy. (Even if you only read the blurb, the state's violent overreaction is part of the parcel.)> They were provoked by the U.S.Lots of Americans think the world revolves around us. The truth is we have less influence than we think. We didn't provoke these protests, though we did give them false hope.> the U.S. secures resource access while leaving the existing system intact, and the student protesters are hunted downWhich opposition figure is being hunted down in Venezuela under Rodriguez?[1] https://acoup.blog/about-the-pedant/
People died in our Civil Rights protests. People died in the Indian independence and the Phillipines' People Power Revolution. Each of their leaders were gunned down, and the last won in an autocracy. (Even if you only read the blurb, the state's violent overreaction is part of the parcel.)> They were provoked by the U.S.Lots of Americans think the world revolves around us. The truth is we have less influence than we think. We didn't provoke these protests, though we did give them false hope.> the U.S. secures resource access while leaving the existing system intact, and the student protesters are hunted downWhich opposition figure is being hunted down in Venezuela under Rodriguez?[1] https://acoup.blog/about-the-pedant/
> They were provoked by the U.S.Lots of Americans think the world revolves around us. The truth is we have less influence than we think. We didn't provoke these protests, though we did give them false hope.> the U.S. secures resource access while leaving the existing system intact, and the student protesters are hunted downWhich opposition figure is being hunted down in Venezuela under Rodriguez?[1] https://acoup.blog/about-the-pedant/
Lots of Americans think the world revolves around us. The truth is we have less influence than we think. We didn't provoke these protests, though we did give them false hope.> the U.S. secures resource access while leaving the existing system intact, and the student protesters are hunted downWhich opposition figure is being hunted down in Venezuela under Rodriguez?[1] https://acoup.blog/about-the-pedant/
> the U.S. secures resource access while leaving the existing system intact, and the student protesters are hunted downWhich opposition figure is being hunted down in Venezuela under Rodriguez?[1] https://acoup.blog/about-the-pedant/
Which opposition figure is being hunted down in Venezuela under Rodriguez?[1] https://acoup.blog/about-the-pedant/
[1] https://acoup.blog/about-the-pedant/
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But how does he explain the failure of peaceful revolutions in Belarus or China?My understanding of social dynamics is that being peaceful only works as long as it gains you more supporters than you lose by government action against the movement. Some governments give in but if not, at some point, the scale tips and violence or surrender are your only options.In Belarus, I knew they were fucked as soon as I heard that police support the protests by putting down their guns and joining the protesters.They gave up their ability to use violence and therefore became as irrelevant as the other protesters. They should have kept their guns. They should have tried to use their openly armed protest to incite other armed people to also join. At some point, the potential violence would materialize but hopefully at that point, enough of the armed people would be on the side of the protest.Maybe the dictator would give up if he saw the situation spiraling out of control (and hopefully be executed as punishment anyway).Maybe the dictator would try to flee and get caught and executed ("gunned down"). Maybe his bunker would get overrun.Maybe someone close to him would try to get favor from the protesters and kill him.But all of those potential outcomes were closed off if people opposing him didn't have enough guns.
My understanding of social dynamics is that being peaceful only works as long as it gains you more supporters than you lose by government action against the movement. Some governments give in but if not, at some point, the scale tips and violence or surrender are your only options.In Belarus, I knew they were fucked as soon as I heard that police support the protests by putting down their guns and joining the protesters.They gave up their ability to use violence and therefore became as irrelevant as the other protesters. They should have kept their guns. They should have tried to use their openly armed protest to incite other armed people to also join. At some point, the potential violence would materialize but hopefully at that point, enough of the armed people would be on the side of the protest.Maybe the dictator would give up if he saw the situation spiraling out of control (and hopefully be executed as punishment anyway).Maybe the dictator would try to flee and get caught and executed ("gunned down"). Maybe his bunker would get overrun.Maybe someone close to him would try to get favor from the protesters and kill him.But all of those potential outcomes were closed off if people opposing him didn't have enough guns.
In Belarus, I knew they were fucked as soon as I heard that police support the protests by putting down their guns and joining the protesters.They gave up their ability to use violence and therefore became as irrelevant as the other protesters. They should have kept their guns. They should have tried to use their openly armed protest to incite other armed people to also join. At some point, the potential violence would materialize but hopefully at that point, enough of the armed people would be on the side of the protest.Maybe the dictator would give up if he saw the situation spiraling out of control (and hopefully be executed as punishment anyway).Maybe the dictator would try to flee and get caught and executed ("gunned down"). Maybe his bunker would get overrun.Maybe someone close to him would try to get favor from the protesters and kill him.But all of those potential outcomes were closed off if people opposing him didn't have enough guns.
They gave up their ability to use violence and therefore became as irrelevant as the other protesters. They should have kept their guns. They should have tried to use their openly armed protest to incite other armed people to also join. At some point, the potential violence would materialize but hopefully at that point, enough of the armed people would be on the side of the protest.Maybe the dictator would give up if he saw the situation spiraling out of control (and hopefully be executed as punishment anyway).Maybe the dictator would try to flee and get caught and executed ("gunned down"). Maybe his bunker would get overrun.Maybe someone close to him would try to get favor from the protesters and kill him.But all of those potential outcomes were closed off if people opposing him didn't have enough guns.
Maybe the dictator would give up if he saw the situation spiraling out of control (and hopefully be executed as punishment anyway).Maybe the dictator would try to flee and get caught and executed ("gunned down"). Maybe his bunker would get overrun.Maybe someone close to him would try to get favor from the protesters and kill him.But all of those potential outcomes were closed off if people opposing him didn't have enough guns.
Maybe the dictator would try to flee and get caught and executed ("gunned down"). Maybe his bunker would get overrun.Maybe someone close to him would try to get favor from the protesters and kill him.But all of those potential outcomes were closed off if people opposing him didn't have enough guns.
Maybe someone close to him would try to get favor from the protesters and kill him.But all of those potential outcomes were closed off if people opposing him didn't have enough guns.
But all of those potential outcomes were closed off if people opposing him didn't have enough guns.
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The article discusses "efforts, in a sense, directed against the state itself, both violent approaches (what we might call ‘terroristic insurgency') and non-violent approaches (protest)" (Id.).> Maybe he addresses it somewhere in the article but I have yet to read it"The ‘center of gravity' – the locus of the most important strategic objective – for most insurgencies thus often becomes the political support that sustains a government, be that a body of key supporters in non-democratic regimes or the voters in democratic ones. That body of key voters or supporters, of course, is often not even located in the theater of operations at all: the Taliban ultimately won their insurgency in Afghanistan because they persuaded American voters that the war was no longer worth the cost, leading to the election of leaders promising to pull the plug on the war" (Id.).> how does he explain the failure of peaceful revolutions in Belarus or China?"All that said, there are very obviously regimes in the world that have rendered themselves more-or-less immune to non-violent protest. This isn't really the place to talk about the broader concept of ‘coup proofing' and how authoritarian regimes secure internal security, repression and legitimacy in detail. But a certain kind of regime operates effectively as a society-within-a-society, with an armed subset of the population as insiders who receive benefits in status and wealth from the regime in return for their willingness to do violence to maintain it. Such regimes are generally all too willing to gun down thousands or tens of thousands of protestors to maintain power.The late Assad regime in Syria stands as a clear example of this, as evidently does the current regime in Iran. Such regimes are not immune to an ‘attack on will,' but they have substantially insulated themselves from it and resistance to these regimes, if it continues, often metastasizes into insurgency or protracted war (as with the above example of Syria) because the pressure has nowhere else to go" (Id.).
> Maybe he addresses it somewhere in the article but I have yet to read it"The ‘center of gravity' – the locus of the most important strategic objective – for most insurgencies thus often becomes the political support that sustains a government, be that a body of key supporters in non-democratic regimes or the voters in democratic ones. That body of key voters or supporters, of course, is often not even located in the theater of operations at all: the Taliban ultimately won their insurgency in Afghanistan because they persuaded American voters that the war was no longer worth the cost, leading to the election of leaders promising to pull the plug on the war" (Id.).> how does he explain the failure of peaceful revolutions in Belarus or China?"All that said, there are very obviously regimes in the world that have rendered themselves more-or-less immune to non-violent protest. This isn't really the place to talk about the broader concept of ‘coup proofing' and how authoritarian regimes secure internal security, repression and legitimacy in detail. But a certain kind of regime operates effectively as a society-within-a-society, with an armed subset of the population as insiders who receive benefits in status and wealth from the regime in return for their willingness to do violence to maintain it. Such regimes are generally all too willing to gun down thousands or tens of thousands of protestors to maintain power.The late Assad regime in Syria stands as a clear example of this, as evidently does the current regime in Iran. Such regimes are not immune to an ‘attack on will,' but they have substantially insulated themselves from it and resistance to these regimes, if it continues, often metastasizes into insurgency or protracted war (as with the above example of Syria) because the pressure has nowhere else to go" (Id.).
"The ‘center of gravity' – the locus of the most important strategic objective – for most insurgencies thus often becomes the political support that sustains a government, be that a body of key supporters in non-democratic regimes or the voters in democratic ones. That body of key voters or supporters, of course, is often not even located in the theater of operations at all: the Taliban ultimately won their insurgency in Afghanistan because they persuaded American voters that the war was no longer worth the cost, leading to the election of leaders promising to pull the plug on the war" (Id.).> how does he explain the failure of peaceful revolutions in Belarus or China?"All that said, there are very obviously regimes in the world that have rendered themselves more-or-less immune to non-violent protest. This isn't really the place to talk about the broader concept of ‘coup proofing' and how authoritarian regimes secure internal security, repression and legitimacy in detail. But a certain kind of regime operates effectively as a society-within-a-society, with an armed subset of the population as insiders who receive benefits in status and wealth from the regime in return for their willingness to do violence to maintain it. Such regimes are generally all too willing to gun down thousands or tens of thousands of protestors to maintain power.The late Assad regime in Syria stands as a clear example of this, as evidently does the current regime in Iran. Such regimes are not immune to an ‘attack on will,' but they have substantially insulated themselves from it and resistance to these regimes, if it continues, often metastasizes into insurgency or protracted war (as with the above example of Syria) because the pressure has nowhere else to go" (Id.).
> how does he explain the failure of peaceful revolutions in Belarus or China?"All that said, there are very obviously regimes in the world that have rendered themselves more-or-less immune to non-violent protest. This isn't really the place to talk about the broader concept of ‘coup proofing' and how authoritarian regimes secure internal security, repression and legitimacy in detail. But a certain kind of regime operates effectively as a society-within-a-society, with an armed subset of the population as insiders who receive benefits in status and wealth from the regime in return for their willingness to do violence to maintain it. Such regimes are generally all too willing to gun down thousands or tens of thousands of protestors to maintain power.The late Assad regime in Syria stands as a clear example of this, as evidently does the current regime in Iran. Such regimes are not immune to an ‘attack on will,' but they have substantially insulated themselves from it and resistance to these regimes, if it continues, often metastasizes into insurgency or protracted war (as with the above example of Syria) because the pressure has nowhere else to go" (Id.).
"All that said, there are very obviously regimes in the world that have rendered themselves more-or-less immune to non-violent protest. This isn't really the place to talk about the broader concept of ‘coup proofing' and how authoritarian regimes secure internal security, repression and legitimacy in detail. But a certain kind of regime operates effectively as a society-within-a-society, with an armed subset of the population as insiders who receive benefits in status and wealth from the regime in return for their willingness to do violence to maintain it. Such regimes are generally all too willing to gun down thousands or tens of thousands of protestors to maintain power.The late Assad regime in Syria stands as a clear example of this, as evidently does the current regime in Iran. Such regimes are not immune to an ‘attack on will,' but they have substantially insulated themselves from it and resistance to these regimes, if it continues, often metastasizes into insurgency or protracted war (as with the above example of Syria) because the pressure has nowhere else to go" (Id.).
The late Assad regime in Syria stands as a clear example of this, as evidently does the current regime in Iran. Such regimes are not immune to an ‘attack on will,' but they have substantially insulated themselves from it and resistance to these regimes, if it continues, often metastasizes into insurgency or protracted war (as with the above example of Syria) because the pressure has nowhere else to go" (Id.).
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One, we have no evidence they did. The claim that kids put themselves in front of guns forty days ago and again today because of Trump's tweets is extraordinary.Two, if they did, it's because they're desperate. I can't imagine Iranians actually want the shah back. But they know rallying around the shah's image pisses off the regime. In that way, it's actually smart to wave his flag around if it means someone on the other side missteps.
Two, if they did, it's because they're desperate. I can't imagine Iranians actually want the shah back. But they know rallying around the shah's image pisses off the regime. In that way, it's actually smart to wave his flag around if it means someone on the other side missteps.
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Not in the sense that it was viewed as a war by the protestors, but in the sense that the logistics, training, and operations of the Civil Rights movement were a well oiled machine that looked like a well organized, but nonviolent, army (including counterexamples where there was no organization).One of the most memorable details is how James Lawson trained in nonviolence under Ghandi and came over to train protestors in nonviolent tactics. They gathered in church basements to scream insults and spit on each other to prepare for the restaurant sitins and other ops.
One of the most memorable details is how James Lawson trained in nonviolence under Ghandi and came over to train protestors in nonviolent tactics. They gathered in church basements to scream insults and spit on each other to prepare for the restaurant sitins and other ops.
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(1) Secession. This was used for evil in the form of slavery. But it is the most powerful check of federal power by the states we had. The fact it could be used for evil did not mean it is better to get rid of it.(2) Expansion of the interstate commerce clause to mean basically anything. A main argument for why this can't be reversed is that it would destroy the civil rights acts, which acts upon even intrastate business. Rather what should have happened is 15th amendment should have been written to apply to private entities as well, instead of blasting away the interstate commerce clause.
(2) Expansion of the interstate commerce clause to mean basically anything. A main argument for why this can't be reversed is that it would destroy the civil rights acts, which acts upon even intrastate business. Rather what should have happened is 15th amendment should have been written to apply to private entities as well, instead of blasting away the interstate commerce clause.
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https://www.britannica.com/money/commerce-clause/Interpretat...
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Many times here on HN I have debated people who were well versed on constitutional law, and when I mention rolling back the interstate commerce clause one of their main go to is that they're afraid I will destroyed the CRA and that's why they can't do it. And they're right -- a nearly identical on many points CRA happened in 1875 as the one passed in 1964. The 14th and 15th amendment existed at both times, and the relevant points of the constitution stayed the same. Yet the latter was found constitution and the former was not, in large part due to the change in the meaning of the interstate commerce clause.
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I'll be honest, I've literally never seen this argument in any hall of power. And I know quite a few folks who believe in overturning Wickard.The CRA, as currently interpreted, is more than fine on equal-protection grounds.
The CRA, as currently interpreted, is more than fine on equal-protection grounds.
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The Reconstruction era ended with the resolution of the 1876 presidential election, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was the last federal civil rights law enacted until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. In 1883, the Supreme Court ruled in the Civil Rights Cases that the public accommodation sections of the act were unconstitutional, saying Congress was not afforded control over private persons or corporations under the Equal Protection Clause. Parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 were later re-adopted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, both of which cited the Commerce Clause as the source of Congress's power to regulate private actors.[]
of particular note: both of which cited the Commerce Clause as the source of Congress's power to regulate private actors.[] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1875
[] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1875
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Taiwan's GDP/capita is 2.6x China's [1]. It grew faster, for longer, in large part through high technology.Counterfactuals are always hard in history. But we literally have the nationalist government's democratic, capitalist successor kicking in way above its weight class economically and technologically. It's fair to say that if the '89 protest hadn't been massacred, the 21st century would currently be undoubtedly China's to rule. (I'd also put even odds on Taiwan having peacefully reunified by now.)[1] https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/taiwan/china?sc...
Counterfactuals are always hard in history. But we literally have the nationalist government's democratic, capitalist successor kicking in way above its weight class economically and technologically. It's fair to say that if the '89 protest hadn't been massacred, the 21st century would currently be undoubtedly China's to rule. (I'd also put even odds on Taiwan having peacefully reunified by now.)[1] https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/taiwan/china?sc...
[1] https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/taiwan/china?sc...
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Armed Baloch and Kurdish groups have been boasting of firing on Iranian police. The police are firing back. Hard to call them non-violent when they openly boast about armed attacks. Who knows where they are getting their weapons, with western countries also openly declaring their intent to destabilize Iran.
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Two things that can both be true: the Iranian regime is fundamentalist and authoritarian and massively abusive to its people, and also western countries are continuing their long history of meddling and funding separatist and terrorist groups with the goal of regime change and establishing a client state (because that worked out so well with the Shah).
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“…it is important to note that while the overall framework of these two approaches is the same their tactics are totally different and indeed fundamentally incompatible in most cases. Someone doing violence in the context of a non-violent movement is actively harming their cause because they are reducing the clear contrast and uncomplicated message the movement is trying to send. Likewise, it is relatively easy to dismiss non-violent supporters of violent movements so long as their core movement remains violent, simply by pointing to the violence of the core movement. It is thus very important for individuals to understand what kind of movement they are in and not ‘cosplay' the other kind” (Id.).The core protest is strategically and factually a non-violent protest. It is ringed by armed insurgencies. They undermine each other.> Who knows where they are getting their weapons, with western countriesNobody has a monopoly on weapons supply to the Middle East. If you want to seriously interrogate this line of questioning, try to learn what weapons they're using.
The core protest is strategically and factually a non-violent protest. It is ringed by armed insurgencies. They undermine each other.> Who knows where they are getting their weapons, with western countriesNobody has a monopoly on weapons supply to the Middle East. If you want to seriously interrogate this line of questioning, try to learn what weapons they're using.
> Who knows where they are getting their weapons, with western countriesNobody has a monopoly on weapons supply to the Middle East. If you want to seriously interrogate this line of questioning, try to learn what weapons they're using.
Nobody has a monopoly on weapons supply to the Middle East. If you want to seriously interrogate this line of questioning, try to learn what weapons they're using.
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The Kurds had their own state at the end of World War II - the US and UK forced them to dissolve and integrate with Iran.Actually the US just abandoned the Kurds in Syria two weeks ago as it signed deals with Syria's former al Qaeda leader.Kurds are people the West foments to armed rebellion, and then quashes, for decades, depending on western material needs at the minute.
Actually the US just abandoned the Kurds in Syria two weeks ago as it signed deals with Syria's former al Qaeda leader.Kurds are people the West foments to armed rebellion, and then quashes, for decades, depending on western material needs at the minute.
Kurds are people the West foments to armed rebellion, and then quashes, for decades, depending on western material needs at the minute.
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The Kurds were also supposed to have their own state at the end of World War 1, but western countries abandoned them and didn't force Turkey to honour its obligations, leaving Turkey free to genocide them just like it did the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks.
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As opposed to standing idly by when the regime 'stabilizes' the country by murdering thousands of people? It's well past the stage where non violent protest or resistance stopped being a viable option..
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The problem with your stance is that too many people want it both ways: They don't want the US to intervene, but then also want support in terms of money and special treatment for people emigrating from these countries (and blame the US for the deaths that occur for a terrible government).
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Do you demand an invasion of Israel? Because your moral principles seem to demand an invasion and subjugation of Israel.
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There is absolutely no requirement for consistency in geopolitics. Advocating for a position on e.g. Gaza or Iran isn't undermined because that person isn't expending equal efforts on injustice in another theatre.
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There is in morality, though. The US is a state, but you are a person.
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Africa is tricky due to historical reasons, though. Any western power that would intervene there without the explicit invitation of the local government would be accused of neo-colonialism etc.
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And all while making "death to america" part of their national slogan.
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At a certain point there ceases to be a middle path between violent resistance and complete surrender.> Protesters which foreign states (China or Russia)This type of relativism is dishonest. Of course US is speed running the path to authoritarianism but its not quite there. e.g. morally it would be perfectly acceptable to support weapons to protestors in Russia and not the other way around.The Iranian regime is objectively evil, period. Regardless of what honest or dishonest motives foreign actors might or might not have.
> Protesters which foreign states (China or Russia)This type of relativism is dishonest. Of course US is speed running the path to authoritarianism but its not quite there. e.g. morally it would be perfectly acceptable to support weapons to protestors in Russia and not the other way around.The Iranian regime is objectively evil, period. Regardless of what honest or dishonest motives foreign actors might or might not have.
This type of relativism is dishonest. Of course US is speed running the path to authoritarianism but its not quite there. e.g. morally it would be perfectly acceptable to support weapons to protestors in Russia and not the other way around.The Iranian regime is objectively evil, period. Regardless of what honest or dishonest motives foreign actors might or might not have.
The Iranian regime is objectively evil, period. Regardless of what honest or dishonest motives foreign actors might or might not have.
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The statement 'The USA regime is objectively evil, period' is much more justifiable. Measured, e.g. by the number of people it has killed (both directly, and indirectly by sanctions and support for brutal dictators - e.g. Pinochet, but also Saddam while he was waging war with Iran).Meddling in internal affairs of other countries has a terrible track record, the world would be so much better off without it.Armed resistance most often leads to a damn bloody affair in which everybody is worse off, unless the state is already so rotten that it has no will to fight for itself. Supporting such resistance just means more life losses, both on the resistance and on the state side (typically, much more on the resistance side). Hence, the true aim is not to help the resistance, but to weaken the state. No consideration for the life of the local people, the show (the grand game) must go on!
Meddling in internal affairs of other countries has a terrible track record, the world would be so much better off without it.Armed resistance most often leads to a damn bloody affair in which everybody is worse off, unless the state is already so rotten that it has no will to fight for itself. Supporting such resistance just means more life losses, both on the resistance and on the state side (typically, much more on the resistance side). Hence, the true aim is not to help the resistance, but to weaken the state. No consideration for the life of the local people, the show (the grand game) must go on!
Armed resistance most often leads to a damn bloody affair in which everybody is worse off, unless the state is already so rotten that it has no will to fight for itself. Supporting such resistance just means more life losses, both on the resistance and on the state side (typically, much more on the resistance side). Hence, the true aim is not to help the resistance, but to weaken the state. No consideration for the life of the local people, the show (the grand game) must go on!
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Wishing away "meddling" is on par with wishing away war. Nice in theory. Practically impossible in practice. (Sovereignty has a Schrödinger's element to it. You really only know you have it when you test its boundaries. And the only test of sovereignty is against another sovereign. The world is littered with sovereigns meddling in each others' affairs and those who aren't sovereign.)
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The US is evil because of who it supports? Tell me about Iran.And at least the US didn't murder thousands of anti-government demonstrators so far this year.You're right in this: The US is not the shining example of goodness and purity that we wish it to be. But when you condemn the US compared to Iran, using those metrics, it looks suspiciously like motivated reasoning.
And at least the US didn't murder thousands of anti-government demonstrators so far this year.You're right in this: The US is not the shining example of goodness and purity that we wish it to be. But when you condemn the US compared to Iran, using those metrics, it looks suspiciously like motivated reasoning.
You're right in this: The US is not the shining example of goodness and purity that we wish it to be. But when you condemn the US compared to Iran, using those metrics, it looks suspiciously like motivated reasoning.
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What circumstances has Iran created that demand armed rebellion?
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Just to name a few.
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This would seem to suggest that sinking an aircraft carrier and frigate or two would actually be justified according to your principles?
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Are your principals that a government should only focus on self preservation?What would be better for the people of Iran, sinking an American aircraft carrier or just disbanding their nuclear and long range ballistic missile programs?
What would be better for the people of Iran, sinking an American aircraft carrier or just disbanding their nuclear and long range ballistic missile programs?
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Which were imposed for work on atomic bomb. These sanctions didn't come out of the blue.
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Sanctions-wise... When you sanction a society to the degree that Iran has been sanctioned, you force that society to turn to smuggling, black markets, and forces operating outside of usual law and norms, in order for the society to prevent its collapse. That naturally causes corruption to spread because you are involving outlaws in fundamental processes of your economy. This is one of intended consequences of such harsh sanctions, in order to maximize the negative sentiment of the general populace of the targeted country towards their government. It impoverishes the country and makes the populace more likely to accept when approached by foreign agents offering monetary rewards for help in bringing the government down.Obviously the commenter I responded to is not arguing in good faith so I don't expect anything but an NPC talking point response, so I wish to note that my answer is for a curious passerby.
Obviously the commenter I responded to is not arguing in good faith so I don't expect anything but an NPC talking point response, so I wish to note that my answer is for a curious passerby.
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There is no reason whatsoever to enrich uranium beyond like 20% if its not for military purposes in such quantities.Saying that others are NPCs is interesting. How do you know that you are not an NPC?
Saying that others are NPCs is interesting. How do you know that you are not an NPC?
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I dunno. Is the United States required to bake them a cake if it offends our religious principles?
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The result: nothing of consequence happened because the faction they supported eventually won and was/is legitimately popular
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Jaish al-Adl would continue bombing Iranian police stations regardless of who's in power in Tehran as long as India maintains operational control of Chabahar Port, Chabahar-Zahedan Railway, and INSTC.Similarly, the BLA and BNA would continue bombing Pakistani police stations regardless of who's in power in Islamabad/Pindi as long as China maintains operational control of Gwadar Port, the Western Alignment expressway, and CPEC.Iran is de facto non-existent in much of Sistan-ve-Balochistan. Heck, Urdu/Hindi fluency remains the norm in much of Iranian Balochistan as a large portion of Iranian Baloch continue to have family ties across the border in Pakistan, work with their brethren in the Gulf as migrant workers, or travel to Karachi, Quetta, or India for medical, religious (most Iranian Baloch are Deobandi), and education services.
Similarly, the BLA and BNA would continue bombing Pakistani police stations regardless of who's in power in Islamabad/Pindi as long as China maintains operational control of Gwadar Port, the Western Alignment expressway, and CPEC.Iran is de facto non-existent in much of Sistan-ve-Balochistan. Heck, Urdu/Hindi fluency remains the norm in much of Iranian Balochistan as a large portion of Iranian Baloch continue to have family ties across the border in Pakistan, work with their brethren in the Gulf as migrant workers, or travel to Karachi, Quetta, or India for medical, religious (most Iranian Baloch are Deobandi), and education services.
Iran is de facto non-existent in much of Sistan-ve-Balochistan. Heck, Urdu/Hindi fluency remains the norm in much of Iranian Balochistan as a large portion of Iranian Baloch continue to have family ties across the border in Pakistan, work with their brethren in the Gulf as migrant workers, or travel to Karachi, Quetta, or India for medical, religious (most Iranian Baloch are Deobandi), and education services.
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Heck, one of our old neighbors growing up was a Iranian Baloch-Pakistani Baloch couple and according to them Baloch marriage across the border was extremely common. And Uzair Baloch had ties to both Iranian and Indian intelligence [0].The Iran-Pakistan and the Iran-Afghanistan border is very porous because of how isolated Sistan-ve-Balochistan and much of Khorasan is from the rest of Iran.[0] - https://herald.dawn.com/news/1153754
The Iran-Pakistan and the Iran-Afghanistan border is very porous because of how isolated Sistan-ve-Balochistan and much of Khorasan is from the rest of Iran.[0] - https://herald.dawn.com/news/1153754
[0] - https://herald.dawn.com/news/1153754
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But anyhow, the entire thing has become a quagmire after CPEC was announced in 2015, because that forced India to confront the very real possibility of being enricled by China during a war.This is what lead to India's quiet and now overt diplomacy with the Taliban, continued investment in Iran despite the sanctions, and building Saudi and UAE cofinanced megaprojects on the Indo-Pak border in GJ and RJ as well as in JK.
This is what lead to India's quiet and now overt diplomacy with the Taliban, continued investment in Iran despite the sanctions, and building Saudi and UAE cofinanced megaprojects on the Indo-Pak border in GJ and RJ as well as in JK.
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Like for example supporting Russia genocide in Ukraine? As far as I know Ukraine had no qualms with Iran, why is Iran helping it's destruction?
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> Who knows where they are getting their weapons, with western countries also openly declaring their intent to destabilize Iran.When I fought in the YPG (Kurdish militia in Syria), almost all the weapons were Russian / USSR block type weapons, though the AK were stamped with the symbol of many soviet block countries.
When I fought in the YPG (Kurdish militia in Syria), almost all the weapons were Russian / USSR block type weapons, though the AK were stamped with the symbol of many soviet block countries.
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The Khomeini government is not going to just say "oh, you're right" and change. Neither will the Kim or Putin governments. Sometimes - sadly - violence is the least worst answer.
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"All that said, there are very obviously regimes in the world that have rendered themselves more-or-less immune to non-violent protest. This isn't really the place to talk about the broader concept of ‘coup proofing' and how authoritarian regimes secure internal security, repression and legitimacy in detail. But a certain kind of regime operates effectively as a society-within-a-society, with an armed subset of the population as insiders who receive benefits in status and wealth from the regime in return for their willingness to do violence to maintain it. Such regimes are generally all too willing to gun down thousands or tens of thousands of protestors to maintain power.The late Assad regime in Syria stands as a clear example of this, as evidently does the current regime in Iran. Such regimes are not immune to an ‘attack on will,' but they have substantially insulated themselves from it and resistance to these regimes, if it continues, often metastasizes into insurgency or protracted war (as with the above example of Syria) because the pressure has nowhere else to go" (Id.).
The late Assad regime in Syria stands as a clear example of this, as evidently does the current regime in Iran. Such regimes are not immune to an ‘attack on will,' but they have substantially insulated themselves from it and resistance to these regimes, if it continues, often metastasizes into insurgency or protracted war (as with the above example of Syria) because the pressure has nowhere else to go" (Id.).
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It is a tool, it cannot be good or bad. States are the most prolific users of violence (even more when you also count potential/threatened, not yet materialized). Anyone who wants to claim that violence is bad has to oppose the existence of states.Violence is risky, dangerous, unpredictable, costly, etc. But those are practical and legal, not moral, concerns.Violence is also necessary, as you say, against governments or other actors which cannot be deterred, stopped or punished using other means.Violence is also most effective when it's certain and overwhelming/indefensible. If we lived in a world where dictators and their flying monkeys get regularly shot or droned to death, we wouldn't have dictators. Not because they'd all end up dead but because nobody would dare try becoming or supporting one.This is why we have to publicly support _proportional_ punishment of dictators and their supporters, both now and after they've been removed from power. Good people have to use the same tools as bad ones (after all, they are just tools, not good or bad).
Violence is risky, dangerous, unpredictable, costly, etc. But those are practical and legal, not moral, concerns.Violence is also necessary, as you say, against governments or other actors which cannot be deterred, stopped or punished using other means.Violence is also most effective when it's certain and overwhelming/indefensible. If we lived in a world where dictators and their flying monkeys get regularly shot or droned to death, we wouldn't have dictators. Not because they'd all end up dead but because nobody would dare try becoming or supporting one.This is why we have to publicly support _proportional_ punishment of dictators and their supporters, both now and after they've been removed from power. Good people have to use the same tools as bad ones (after all, they are just tools, not good or bad).
Violence is also necessary, as you say, against governments or other actors which cannot be deterred, stopped or punished using other means.Violence is also most effective when it's certain and overwhelming/indefensible. If we lived in a world where dictators and their flying monkeys get regularly shot or droned to death, we wouldn't have dictators. Not because they'd all end up dead but because nobody would dare try becoming or supporting one.This is why we have to publicly support _proportional_ punishment of dictators and their supporters, both now and after they've been removed from power. Good people have to use the same tools as bad ones (after all, they are just tools, not good or bad).
Violence is also most effective when it's certain and overwhelming/indefensible. If we lived in a world where dictators and their flying monkeys get regularly shot or droned to death, we wouldn't have dictators. Not because they'd all end up dead but because nobody would dare try becoming or supporting one.This is why we have to publicly support _proportional_ punishment of dictators and their supporters, both now and after they've been removed from power. Good people have to use the same tools as bad ones (after all, they are just tools, not good or bad).
This is why we have to publicly support _proportional_ punishment of dictators and their supporters, both now and after they've been removed from power. Good people have to use the same tools as bad ones (after all, they are just tools, not good or bad).
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Fundamentally though I'm not sure I agree with you. Violence is often an emotional reaction. When violence is used as a tool it is usually (always?) used by bad people.If it helps you reconcile my worldview, I absolutely oppose the existence of states.
If it helps you reconcile my worldview, I absolutely oppose the existence of states.
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Keep in mind this needs to be judged separately in the legal, practical and moral dimension. For example a state might determine that a person _legally_ deserves to spend 10 years in prison. But the same state will attack you in turn if you abduct that person and hold them for 10 years in similar conditions to prison because _practically_, it weakens the state's monopoly on violence, even if _morally_ that action can be justified (i.e. because if a punishment is just there is no moral reason why it should matter who carries it out).> often ... usually (always?)I think the crux lies in how we quantify this. If you live in a western democracy, almost all of the violence you come into contact with or hear about is in fact used by bad individuals (thiefs, gang members, drunks, etc.) or the mentally ill. But even then you have the right (moral and usually legal) to defend yourself.If you live in other places, that violence might more often be used be institutions (such as states or religions) and might not be materialized (it is potential/threatened/implied). E.g. what happens to a muslim woman who refuses to cover her face - the violence usually never happens because she knows it would and therefore doesn't break the rule. It is still violence used to achieve a goal though and she has the same (moral but usually not legal) right to defend herself - even if any practical defense is beyond her ability to do so because the aggressors are too numerous and dispersed.I would argue that billions of people live in countries where violence is used against them every day because it is a threat which for example stops them from freely accessing information.In that regard you're right that it is usually used by bad people. But it says nothing about its morality. The way I see it, violence being used by bad people is a stable equilibrium but it can be used by good people during a transition to a different stable state. It is usually not used by good people in a prolonged because materialized violence tends to reduce the number of people on both sides and cannot be sustained forever.
> often ... usually (always?)I think the crux lies in how we quantify this. If you live in a western democracy, almost all of the violence you come into contact with or hear about is in fact used by bad individuals (thiefs, gang members, drunks, etc.) or the mentally ill. But even then you have the right (moral and usually legal) to defend yourself.If you live in other places, that violence might more often be used be institutions (such as states or religions) and might not be materialized (it is potential/threatened/implied). E.g. what happens to a muslim woman who refuses to cover her face - the violence usually never happens because she knows it would and therefore doesn't break the rule. It is still violence used to achieve a goal though and she has the same (moral but usually not legal) right to defend herself - even if any practical defense is beyond her ability to do so because the aggressors are too numerous and dispersed.I would argue that billions of people live in countries where violence is used against them every day because it is a threat which for example stops them from freely accessing information.In that regard you're right that it is usually used by bad people. But it says nothing about its morality. The way I see it, violence being used by bad people is a stable equilibrium but it can be used by good people during a transition to a different stable state. It is usually not used by good people in a prolonged because materialized violence tends to reduce the number of people on both sides and cannot be sustained forever.
I think the crux lies in how we quantify this. If you live in a western democracy, almost all of the violence you come into contact with or hear about is in fact used by bad individuals (thiefs, gang members, drunks, etc.) or the mentally ill. But even then you have the right (moral and usually legal) to defend yourself.If you live in other places, that violence might more often be used be institutions (such as states or religions) and might not be materialized (it is potential/threatened/implied). E.g. what happens to a muslim woman who refuses to cover her face - the violence usually never happens because she knows it would and therefore doesn't break the rule. It is still violence used to achieve a goal though and she has the same (moral but usually not legal) right to defend herself - even if any practical defense is beyond her ability to do so because the aggressors are too numerous and dispersed.I would argue that billions of people live in countries where violence is used against them every day because it is a threat which for example stops them from freely accessing information.In that regard you're right that it is usually used by bad people. But it says nothing about its morality. The way I see it, violence being used by bad people is a stable equilibrium but it can be used by good people during a transition to a different stable state. It is usually not used by good people in a prolonged because materialized violence tends to reduce the number of people on both sides and cannot be sustained forever.
If you live in other places, that violence might more often be used be institutions (such as states or religions) and might not be materialized (it is potential/threatened/implied). E.g. what happens to a muslim woman who refuses to cover her face - the violence usually never happens because she knows it would and therefore doesn't break the rule. It is still violence used to achieve a goal though and she has the same (moral but usually not legal) right to defend herself - even if any practical defense is beyond her ability to do so because the aggressors are too numerous and dispersed.I would argue that billions of people live in countries where violence is used against them every day because it is a threat which for example stops them from freely accessing information.In that regard you're right that it is usually used by bad people. But it says nothing about its morality. The way I see it, violence being used by bad people is a stable equilibrium but it can be used by good people during a transition to a different stable state. It is usually not used by good people in a prolonged because materialized violence tends to reduce the number of people on both sides and cannot be sustained forever.
I would argue that billions of people live in countries where violence is used against them every day because it is a threat which for example stops them from freely accessing information.In that regard you're right that it is usually used by bad people. But it says nothing about its morality. The way I see it, violence being used by bad people is a stable equilibrium but it can be used by good people during a transition to a different stable state. It is usually not used by good people in a prolonged because materialized violence tends to reduce the number of people on both sides and cannot be sustained forever.
In that regard you're right that it is usually used by bad people. But it says nothing about its morality. The way I see it, violence being used by bad people is a stable equilibrium but it can be used by good people during a transition to a different stable state. It is usually not used by good people in a prolonged because materialized violence tends to reduce the number of people on both sides and cannot be sustained forever.
It's not just a tool, it's also a human action. An action that exacts consequences on its victim and its wielder. Necessary and regrettable aren't exclusive.
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What are the input variables which dictate the morality of an action (generally or in this particular case)?
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I always find it useful to ask "why", whenever someone tells me their beliefs. Children do it and adults sometimes tend to find it annoying because they realize they cannot justify their beliefs but being children, they are easy to dismiss. Harder to dismiss an honest question from an adult.
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Ideally we'd live in a society where laws are a complete and consistent description of a valid (also complete and consistent) moral system. That's not the reality.(If it's possible at all because morality operates on reality while legality operated on provability - a subset of reality which can be proven to a neutral third party.)
(If it's possible at all because morality operates on reality while legality operated on provability - a subset of reality which can be proven to a neutral third party.)
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The least worst for whom?! For normal Iranian people who just want to leave their life?I hate my current government. Do I think an armed uprising or a USA bombing campaign would would improve things? Heck NO!
I hate my current government. Do I think an armed uprising or a USA bombing campaign would would improve things? Heck NO!
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Like the ones who are protesting? Idk, when people put themselves in front of a gun I'm inclined to listen to what they're demanding, not folks in their armchairs a world away.
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Hitler was so bad that anybody is willing to publicly talk about killing him, there are movies glorifying it, people talk about going back in time and killing baby Hitler. He was so bad that the very strong taboo against killing does not work on him.So, when _exactly_ did it become OK to kill him? Think about it.What cumulative sum of his actions between 1889 and 1945 tipped the balance?Now, do those same rules apply to current dictators or people in the process of becoming dictators even if the taboo is still strong there?
So, when _exactly_ did it become OK to kill him? Think about it.What cumulative sum of his actions between 1889 and 1945 tipped the balance?Now, do those same rules apply to current dictators or people in the process of becoming dictators even if the taboo is still strong there?
What cumulative sum of his actions between 1889 and 1945 tipped the balance?Now, do those same rules apply to current dictators or people in the process of becoming dictators even if the taboo is still strong there?
Now, do those same rules apply to current dictators or people in the process of becoming dictators even if the taboo is still strong there?
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It seems like a consequence is that publicity outside Iran is only going to be effective to the extent that it mobilizes people inside Iran?(With the possible exception of getting Trump's attention, but I don't think air strikes are going to do it?)And the government of Iran seems very willing to kill people.I don't see this ending well.
(With the possible exception of getting Trump's attention, but I don't think air strikes are going to do it?)And the government of Iran seems very willing to kill people.I don't see this ending well.
And the government of Iran seems very willing to kill people.I don't see this ending well.
I don't see this ending well.
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Or Tel Aviv, Rihyadh, New Delhi or any other one of the hosts of Iran's adversaries and enemies.> the government of Iran seems very willing to kill peopleI find it helpful to decompose states as monoliths in these cases. Besides attracting an intervention, the purpose of such a protest would also include motivating state elements to attempt a coup.
> the government of Iran seems very willing to kill peopleI find it helpful to decompose states as monoliths in these cases. Besides attracting an intervention, the purpose of such a protest would also include motivating state elements to attempt a coup.
I find it helpful to decompose states as monoliths in these cases. Besides attracting an intervention, the purpose of such a protest would also include motivating state elements to attempt a coup.
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TLV (already know) and Islamabad are lobbying the US in favor of striking the regime, as can be seen with the prominence Asim Munir, Muhammad Aamer, and Asim Malik in acting as a backchannel and unofficial advisers to the US on Iran under the Trump admin as well as Netanyahu's continued lobbying for a stronger response to Iran for decades.
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Nobody wants missiles flying over their homelands. At the same time, both goverments have been supportive of America's non-proliferation work in Iran.My broad point is there are plenty of folks who may be open to covertly supporting the protesters beyond America blowing blowing god knows what up.
My broad point is there are plenty of folks who may be open to covertly supporting the protesters beyond America blowing blowing god knows what up.
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Absolutely> My broad point is there are plenty of folks who may be open to covertly supporting the protesters beyond America blowing blowing god knows what up.Makes sense. And yes that's true!Also, despite all the bots on this page and any other Iran page on HN (pro-protest accounts in Iran please, please, please follow OpSec best practices and remove any personal references of yourself on HN), the reality is a large portion of Iranians do want the regime to end.They most likely do not want the Shah, but they are tired of the incumbent regime as well. And unlike during the Green Movement, Iran is much more isolated.
> My broad point is there are plenty of folks who may be open to covertly supporting the protesters beyond America blowing blowing god knows what up.Makes sense. And yes that's true!Also, despite all the bots on this page and any other Iran page on HN (pro-protest accounts in Iran please, please, please follow OpSec best practices and remove any personal references of yourself on HN), the reality is a large portion of Iranians do want the regime to end.They most likely do not want the Shah, but they are tired of the incumbent regime as well. And unlike during the Green Movement, Iran is much more isolated.
Makes sense. And yes that's true!Also, despite all the bots on this page and any other Iran page on HN (pro-protest accounts in Iran please, please, please follow OpSec best practices and remove any personal references of yourself on HN), the reality is a large portion of Iranians do want the regime to end.They most likely do not want the Shah, but they are tired of the incumbent regime as well. And unlike during the Green Movement, Iran is much more isolated.
Also, despite all the bots on this page and any other Iran page on HN (pro-protest accounts in Iran please, please, please follow OpSec best practices and remove any personal references of yourself on HN), the reality is a large portion of Iranians do want the regime to end.They most likely do not want the Shah, but they are tired of the incumbent regime as well. And unlike during the Green Movement, Iran is much more isolated.
They most likely do not want the Shah, but they are tired of the incumbent regime as well. And unlike during the Green Movement, Iran is much more isolated.
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Some internal factor opaque to western media. Their economy's in the shitter, perhaps. Or the so-called water shortage. Though what it could be exactly, that western intelligence wouldn't be willing to trumpet from the mountaintops, I could not say.
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Germany used to have great Middle Eastern intel, but they either lost it or got better about leaks. American HUMINT in the Middle East is notoriously awful, so I'd err on the side of us being as confused as everyone else.
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That recipe is the theory of the ideal case. If it were that simple authoritarian regimes would be a thing of the past. But those regimes have played the game longer than most protesters have been alive. That's why these movements barely make a dent even with covert outside support.
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Public support for the Iranian state has been around zero among the population for years now, the problem is that the Iranian government has probably 2-3 million of armed governmental agents (from police over regular military to IRGC/Basij) [1] and is just about as willing to compromise as the CCP was and is ever since Tiananmen.In fact, I would say what we've seen from Iran the last weeks (credible sources say around 35k deaths) is even more deaths than in the 1989 China protests which had a death toll of (worst case estimated) 10k.Against that level of fanatical, money- and religion-driven bloodlust, there is no chance of successful protests, not without serious external aid shifting the power balance. And in the case of Iran, that is the US and Israel wiping the mullahs out of this world, or causing them enough trouble so that the leadership accepts an offer to escape to Moscow alive.Let me be clear: I despise both Trump and Netanyahu. But this is, IMHO, the one and only chance these two men have to assist a just and rightful cause for once.[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46884956
In fact, I would say what we've seen from Iran the last weeks (credible sources say around 35k deaths) is even more deaths than in the 1989 China protests which had a death toll of (worst case estimated) 10k.Against that level of fanatical, money- and religion-driven bloodlust, there is no chance of successful protests, not without serious external aid shifting the power balance. And in the case of Iran, that is the US and Israel wiping the mullahs out of this world, or causing them enough trouble so that the leadership accepts an offer to escape to Moscow alive.Let me be clear: I despise both Trump and Netanyahu. But this is, IMHO, the one and only chance these two men have to assist a just and rightful cause for once.[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46884956
Against that level of fanatical, money- and religion-driven bloodlust, there is no chance of successful protests, not without serious external aid shifting the power balance. And in the case of Iran, that is the US and Israel wiping the mullahs out of this world, or causing them enough trouble so that the leadership accepts an offer to escape to Moscow alive.Let me be clear: I despise both Trump and Netanyahu. But this is, IMHO, the one and only chance these two men have to assist a just and rightful cause for once.[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46884956
Let me be clear: I despise both Trump and Netanyahu. But this is, IMHO, the one and only chance these two men have to assist a just and rightful cause for once.[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46884956
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46884956
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But I agree, maybe at least westerners could find the courage to simply just make the Epstein class at least pay all the costs, including compensatory damages for all the wars they constantly instigate, orchestrate, and perpetrate upon humanity because they profit from them instead of it costing them anything at all.America/the west should demand that all war must be led by the ruling class charging into battle, leading the troops into war and that all costs, including any associated money printing fraud and restitution to innocent people is paid by them through direct taxation on their income and their wealth.Since the wars they always instigate and orchestrate are so very important, they will surely have no problem paying for them instead of making everyone else pay while they profit and benefit.What we currently have is de facto aristocracy akin to the 19th century, where the aristocrats did exactly the same thing and they had weaseled themselves out of charging into the melee while sending millions to die. We need to fix all those perverse incentives so humanity can survive.
America/the west should demand that all war must be led by the ruling class charging into battle, leading the troops into war and that all costs, including any associated money printing fraud and restitution to innocent people is paid by them through direct taxation on their income and their wealth.Since the wars they always instigate and orchestrate are so very important, they will surely have no problem paying for them instead of making everyone else pay while they profit and benefit.What we currently have is de facto aristocracy akin to the 19th century, where the aristocrats did exactly the same thing and they had weaseled themselves out of charging into the melee while sending millions to die. We need to fix all those perverse incentives so humanity can survive.
Since the wars they always instigate and orchestrate are so very important, they will surely have no problem paying for them instead of making everyone else pay while they profit and benefit.What we currently have is de facto aristocracy akin to the 19th century, where the aristocrats did exactly the same thing and they had weaseled themselves out of charging into the melee while sending millions to die. We need to fix all those perverse incentives so humanity can survive.
What we currently have is de facto aristocracy akin to the 19th century, where the aristocrats did exactly the same thing and they had weaseled themselves out of charging into the melee while sending millions to die. We need to fix all those perverse incentives so humanity can survive.
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Iranians are related to Arabs at the end of the day and we've seen how they get treated in Gaza/West Bank heck even Epstein and co said the quiet part out loud.
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Oof, this is a catastrophic screw-up and very offensive. I think you have some serious homework to do. Iranians are very distinct from Arabs in many ways; different language, different sect of Islam (which many of the civilians - particularly the youth - privately denounce), different culture. Iranians are about as much Arab as they are British. The country has been significantly invaded by many other countries throughout the ages, but the ethnicity remains distinct.
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Maybe tell your children tonight when you get home that "I support that children like you be blown up and their families and communities be destroyed".They may ask you "why would you support something like that, dad?" and you will only be able to say "because the colonial puppet Shah regime used to have good relations with the country founded by terrorists (the Haganah, the Irgun (ETZEL), the Stern and the LEHI) we call Israel today, you know, the ones that supported Epstein that liked raping children like you, which has manipulated me into caring more about killing other people children because I cannot think for myself or realize what awful things they have me supporting!" ... "Good night children. May there not ever be someone as awful as me in the world that decides to bomb you or your children in the future for others who have manipulated them to be awful."
They may ask you "why would you support something like that, dad?" and you will only be able to say "because the colonial puppet Shah regime used to have good relations with the country founded by terrorists (the Haganah, the Irgun (ETZEL), the Stern and the LEHI) we call Israel today, you know, the ones that supported Epstein that liked raping children like you, which has manipulated me into caring more about killing other people children because I cannot think for myself or realize what awful things they have me supporting!" ... "Good night children. May there not ever be someone as awful as me in the world that decides to bomb you or your children in the future for others who have manipulated them to be awful."
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The average Israeli doesn't hate the average Iranian. Israeli social media is full of posts about how people hope to one day visit Tehran. No, not as an occupier, get over yourself.Your hate blinds you.[1] https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2014/sep/24/report-arab-min...
Your hate blinds you.[1] https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2014/sep/24/report-arab-min...
[1] https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2014/sep/24/report-arab-min...
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EDIT: Nvm.
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It is going to be quite interesting when the midterms put the Democrats into power. I don't expect it to change anything, because the whole system is just a fake democratic ruse, a facade, but it will surely introduce even more volatility when the blue team starts also realizing that it's just lies and the agenda of the parasitic Epstein Class continues unabated regardless of "our democracy".
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Would organising an armed resistance be more effective? The state dissappears people. Have them organise and dissappear the leaders of the revolutionary guard or at the very least help another state (like Israel) to target them.Non violence works only in democracies and other systems where the rulers care about what people think.
Non violence works only in democracies and other systems where the rulers care about what people think.
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Would armed resistance be more effective? How many guns can they get their hands on? I don't know the answer to that, but my expectation is, not many. (I am open to correction.)
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I mean, with dictators, that's usually what it comes down to. But it often takes years or decades of unrest and repression before someone with enough guns decides they want to be on the right side of history.It's a fascinating if morbid process we go through every now and then... sort of, building consensus by sacrificing livelihoods and lives.Iran is one of the most oppressive regimes remaining on this planet, so I really hope this does it. The problem is that revolutionary governments are usually not dumb and do their best to make sure that another revolution can't overthrow them too easily - hardline loyalists with benefits in the military, etc. So this probably ends with a military intervention by other countries or some other sequence of events that will spell even more misery.The whole history of the Iranian revolution is pretty wacky. It's easy to take a knee-jerk position that "the West did it", and we definitely set some pieces in motion, but Iran wasn't really hurting prior to the revolution, which is why it caught everyone by surprise. The shah made a number of political missteps, there was some sentiment against the UK and the US, and people wanted change... but almost no one wanted a theocratic dictatorship instead. And yet...
It's a fascinating if morbid process we go through every now and then... sort of, building consensus by sacrificing livelihoods and lives.Iran is one of the most oppressive regimes remaining on this planet, so I really hope this does it. The problem is that revolutionary governments are usually not dumb and do their best to make sure that another revolution can't overthrow them too easily - hardline loyalists with benefits in the military, etc. So this probably ends with a military intervention by other countries or some other sequence of events that will spell even more misery.The whole history of the Iranian revolution is pretty wacky. It's easy to take a knee-jerk position that "the West did it", and we definitely set some pieces in motion, but Iran wasn't really hurting prior to the revolution, which is why it caught everyone by surprise. The shah made a number of political missteps, there was some sentiment against the UK and the US, and people wanted change... but almost no one wanted a theocratic dictatorship instead. And yet...
Iran is one of the most oppressive regimes remaining on this planet, so I really hope this does it. The problem is that revolutionary governments are usually not dumb and do their best to make sure that another revolution can't overthrow them too easily - hardline loyalists with benefits in the military, etc. So this probably ends with a military intervention by other countries or some other sequence of events that will spell even more misery.The whole history of the Iranian revolution is pretty wacky. It's easy to take a knee-jerk position that "the West did it", and we definitely set some pieces in motion, but Iran wasn't really hurting prior to the revolution, which is why it caught everyone by surprise. The shah made a number of political missteps, there was some sentiment against the UK and the US, and people wanted change... but almost no one wanted a theocratic dictatorship instead. And yet...
The whole history of the Iranian revolution is pretty wacky. It's easy to take a knee-jerk position that "the West did it", and we definitely set some pieces in motion, but Iran wasn't really hurting prior to the revolution, which is why it caught everyone by surprise. The shah made a number of political missteps, there was some sentiment against the UK and the US, and people wanted change... but almost no one wanted a theocratic dictatorship instead. And yet...
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This was promoted by Israel and the US itself. So even if we do not trust those other journalists, there is strong evidence that we are seeing propagandized news.We also know that Iran has been a target of Israel and the US since 2001. The political situation has become far less extreme over time. But the news is manipulated to make us think that it is as bad as Saudi Arabia.Israel is far more extreme. They do have nuclear weapons. Their president is kept in power with eternal war. And they have an Apartheid system. And they are actively depopulating the original population. Israel is openly manipulating politicians and creating fake news to start this war with Iran.
We also know that Iran has been a target of Israel and the US since 2001. The political situation has become far less extreme over time. But the news is manipulated to make us think that it is as bad as Saudi Arabia.Israel is far more extreme. They do have nuclear weapons. Their president is kept in power with eternal war. And they have an Apartheid system. And they are actively depopulating the original population. Israel is openly manipulating politicians and creating fake news to start this war with Iran.
Israel is far more extreme. They do have nuclear weapons. Their president is kept in power with eternal war. And they have an Apartheid system. And they are actively depopulating the original population. Israel is openly manipulating politicians and creating fake news to start this war with Iran.
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This was true in the beginning. Now every protest chants “Javid Shah”, “death to Khamenei”, etc, which are political chants.> And they have an Apartheid system.The only apartheid system that allows the minority they discriminate against to achieve highest positions as judges, academics, celebrities, etc.> And they are actively depopulating the original population.This is not true. You can simply check how number of Arabs grew, and in many cases, outpaced in their growth the Jewish population.
> And they have an Apartheid system.The only apartheid system that allows the minority they discriminate against to achieve highest positions as judges, academics, celebrities, etc.> And they are actively depopulating the original population.This is not true. You can simply check how number of Arabs grew, and in many cases, outpaced in their growth the Jewish population.
The only apartheid system that allows the minority they discriminate against to achieve highest positions as judges, academics, celebrities, etc.> And they are actively depopulating the original population.This is not true. You can simply check how number of Arabs grew, and in many cases, outpaced in their growth the Jewish population.
> And they are actively depopulating the original population.This is not true. You can simply check how number of Arabs grew, and in many cases, outpaced in their growth the Jewish population.
This is not true. You can simply check how number of Arabs grew, and in many cases, outpaced in their growth the Jewish population.
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Have you seen a dead body in your life? Have you seen a street stained with blood being washed with high pressure water? Have you seen parts of the brain of a fellow citizen on the sidewalk, the same guy who was standing next to you 30 seconds ago? 36'000 people were killed in just two nights. It was like 5 battles of D-Day, but in a shorter amount of time.And you are conveniently forgetting the fact that most of the people came out when Reza Pahlavi requested a mass protest.And then you portray it as if the people had no agency in this, they didn't know that 1500 were killed in the 2019 protests. And a similar number in 2022-2023 over Mahsa Amini, for protesting the actions of the "ethics police" killing a young girl over a few strands of her hair.In the end, everyone is responsible for this other than the actual tyrants running the régime and the blood thirsty mullahs doing the actual killing.
And you are conveniently forgetting the fact that most of the people came out when Reza Pahlavi requested a mass protest.And then you portray it as if the people had no agency in this, they didn't know that 1500 were killed in the 2019 protests. And a similar number in 2022-2023 over Mahsa Amini, for protesting the actions of the "ethics police" killing a young girl over a few strands of her hair.In the end, everyone is responsible for this other than the actual tyrants running the régime and the blood thirsty mullahs doing the actual killing.
And then you portray it as if the people had no agency in this, they didn't know that 1500 were killed in the 2019 protests. And a similar number in 2022-2023 over Mahsa Amini, for protesting the actions of the "ethics police" killing a young girl over a few strands of her hair.In the end, everyone is responsible for this other than the actual tyrants running the régime and the blood thirsty mullahs doing the actual killing.
In the end, everyone is responsible for this other than the actual tyrants running the régime and the blood thirsty mullahs doing the actual killing.
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Balance cannot be restored until a whimsy Show HN appears Monday afternoon followed by an LLM EDC by a high profile FOSS developer the following day and then rounded out by a “cozy web elegy” come Hump Day.
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Not that I'm a political activist, but I'm constantly disturbed that all my friends who posted non-stop about supporting Palestine have NEVER made one mention of supporting the Iranians protesting that regime.I get that they were in theory protesting the US support of Israel, and the Iran situation is different, but... it seems like western liberals refuse to speak up against any Islamic regime. Or something like that.Why are they always taking the side of the most oppressive, conservative cultures? I say this as a disaffected democrat, not a MAGA person.
I get that they were in theory protesting the US support of Israel, and the Iran situation is different, but... it seems like western liberals refuse to speak up against any Islamic regime. Or something like that.Why are they always taking the side of the most oppressive, conservative cultures? I say this as a disaffected democrat, not a MAGA person.
Why are they always taking the side of the most oppressive, conservative cultures? I say this as a disaffected democrat, not a MAGA person.
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There are many extremely significant differences between the situations Iranians and Palestinians have been in. The only similarity you're looking at is the number of deaths, it seems. But Iranians and Palestinians have emphatically not been in even remotely comparable situations for the past half-century.Not claiming a bias is necessarily absent or present. Just that there are many rather obvious explanations for the discrepancy you're noting besides that.
Not claiming a bias is necessarily absent or present. Just that there are many rather obvious explanations for the discrepancy you're noting besides that.
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What exactly do you want to happen here? In your view, am I taking the side of the Ayatollahs because bombing isn't enough and we should be nuking Tehran instead?It's telling that perceived tacit support of an Iranian regime — which America is more hostile to perhaps more than any other nation on the planet — is more disturbing to you than the deaths of 20k+ children in Gaza.
It's telling that perceived tacit support of an Iranian regime — which America is more hostile to perhaps more than any other nation on the planet — is more disturbing to you than the deaths of 20k+ children in Gaza.
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And this is not a "why focus on this thing when there are other things" fake argument. These protests were engineered by people with the intention of intervening, and a lot of that engineering the involved manipulation of western media narratives and the creation of fake organizations to become sources of information. It's not coincidence or luck that you're focused on Iran; people were sitting around planning an invasion of Iran and part of their planning was "How can we get the public to focus on Iran enough to give Congress cover to ignore another Executive war?"The actual narrative, undisputed by even the people involved, is that1) a currency crash was intentionally instigated in Iran by the West, which caused protests. We have bragged about this.2) Many of the educated Iranian middle class joined these protests to argue against the regime in general, which they always do.3) US and Israeli-supported terrorist organizations took advantage of those protests (like a black bloc) to start burning down buildings and burning cops alive, armed by the west and networked through smuggled Skylink terminals,4) the US and Israel bragged that the protests were materially supported by covert western intelligence in order to push the crackdown to atrocity levels, and to eliminate even the general public's support for the protests (which would be some restraint to the government.) They literally said that many of the protesters were Mossad agents. You might as well be saying "please kill them." It's as if Al Qaeda announced that they were materially supporting and completely infiltrating BLM protests, and when many BLM activists were arrested, they were carrying Al Qaeda satellite terminals and arms smuggled from Pakistan.(The Iranian middle class was even out, because they aren't traitors, they just don't want to live in a theocracy. The West are who turned Iran into a dictatorship by replacing Mossadegh with the Shah. The West helped Iraq use chemical weapons against Iran. We care nothing about Iranians, we just want to steal from them. We're thieves, and we're consciously moving to a economic strategy of piracy in order to take advantage of our navy.)5) The US moved as much navy to bear on Iran as it did when it invaded Iraq, and said that unless some magic words were said that nobody knows, it would invade.You might be comfortable being manipulated like this, but I am not.
The actual narrative, undisputed by even the people involved, is that1) a currency crash was intentionally instigated in Iran by the West, which caused protests. We have bragged about this.2) Many of the educated Iranian middle class joined these protests to argue against the regime in general, which they always do.3) US and Israeli-supported terrorist organizations took advantage of those protests (like a black bloc) to start burning down buildings and burning cops alive, armed by the west and networked through smuggled Skylink terminals,4) the US and Israel bragged that the protests were materially supported by covert western intelligence in order to push the crackdown to atrocity levels, and to eliminate even the general public's support for the protests (which would be some restraint to the government.) They literally said that many of the protesters were Mossad agents. You might as well be saying "please kill them." It's as if Al Qaeda announced that they were materially supporting and completely infiltrating BLM protests, and when many BLM activists were arrested, they were carrying Al Qaeda satellite terminals and arms smuggled from Pakistan.(The Iranian middle class was even out, because they aren't traitors, they just don't want to live in a theocracy. The West are who turned Iran into a dictatorship by replacing Mossadegh with the Shah. The West helped Iraq use chemical weapons against Iran. We care nothing about Iranians, we just want to steal from them. We're thieves, and we're consciously moving to a economic strategy of piracy in order to take advantage of our navy.)5) The US moved as much navy to bear on Iran as it did when it invaded Iraq, and said that unless some magic words were said that nobody knows, it would invade.You might be comfortable being manipulated like this, but I am not.
1) a currency crash was intentionally instigated in Iran by the West, which caused protests. We have bragged about this.2) Many of the educated Iranian middle class joined these protests to argue against the regime in general, which they always do.3) US and Israeli-supported terrorist organizations took advantage of those protests (like a black bloc) to start burning down buildings and burning cops alive, armed by the west and networked through smuggled Skylink terminals,4) the US and Israel bragged that the protests were materially supported by covert western intelligence in order to push the crackdown to atrocity levels, and to eliminate even the general public's support for the protests (which would be some restraint to the government.) They literally said that many of the protesters were Mossad agents. You might as well be saying "please kill them." It's as if Al Qaeda announced that they were materially supporting and completely infiltrating BLM protests, and when many BLM activists were arrested, they were carrying Al Qaeda satellite terminals and arms smuggled from Pakistan.(The Iranian middle class was even out, because they aren't traitors, they just don't want to live in a theocracy. The West are who turned Iran into a dictatorship by replacing Mossadegh with the Shah. The West helped Iraq use chemical weapons against Iran. We care nothing about Iranians, we just want to steal from them. We're thieves, and we're consciously moving to a economic strategy of piracy in order to take advantage of our navy.)5) The US moved as much navy to bear on Iran as it did when it invaded Iraq, and said that unless some magic words were said that nobody knows, it would invade.You might be comfortable being manipulated like this, but I am not.
2) Many of the educated Iranian middle class joined these protests to argue against the regime in general, which they always do.3) US and Israeli-supported terrorist organizations took advantage of those protests (like a black bloc) to start burning down buildings and burning cops alive, armed by the west and networked through smuggled Skylink terminals,4) the US and Israel bragged that the protests were materially supported by covert western intelligence in order to push the crackdown to atrocity levels, and to eliminate even the general public's support for the protests (which would be some restraint to the government.) They literally said that many of the protesters were Mossad agents. You might as well be saying "please kill them." It's as if Al Qaeda announced that they were materially supporting and completely infiltrating BLM protests, and when many BLM activists were arrested, they were carrying Al Qaeda satellite terminals and arms smuggled from Pakistan.(The Iranian middle class was even out, because they aren't traitors, they just don't want to live in a theocracy. The West are who turned Iran into a dictatorship by replacing Mossadegh with the Shah. The West helped Iraq use chemical weapons against Iran. We care nothing about Iranians, we just want to steal from them. We're thieves, and we're consciously moving to a economic strategy of piracy in order to take advantage of our navy.)5) The US moved as much navy to bear on Iran as it did when it invaded Iraq, and said that unless some magic words were said that nobody knows, it would invade.You might be comfortable being manipulated like this, but I am not.
3) US and Israeli-supported terrorist organizations took advantage of those protests (like a black bloc) to start burning down buildings and burning cops alive, armed by the west and networked through smuggled Skylink terminals,4) the US and Israel bragged that the protests were materially supported by covert western intelligence in order to push the crackdown to atrocity levels, and to eliminate even the general public's support for the protests (which would be some restraint to the government.) They literally said that many of the protesters were Mossad agents. You might as well be saying "please kill them." It's as if Al Qaeda announced that they were materially supporting and completely infiltrating BLM protests, and when many BLM activists were arrested, they were carrying Al Qaeda satellite terminals and arms smuggled from Pakistan.(The Iranian middle class was even out, because they aren't traitors, they just don't want to live in a theocracy. The West are who turned Iran into a dictatorship by replacing Mossadegh with the Shah. The West helped Iraq use chemical weapons against Iran. We care nothing about Iranians, we just want to steal from them. We're thieves, and we're consciously moving to a economic strategy of piracy in order to take advantage of our navy.)5) The US moved as much navy to bear on Iran as it did when it invaded Iraq, and said that unless some magic words were said that nobody knows, it would invade.You might be comfortable being manipulated like this, but I am not.
4) the US and Israel bragged that the protests were materially supported by covert western intelligence in order to push the crackdown to atrocity levels, and to eliminate even the general public's support for the protests (which would be some restraint to the government.) They literally said that many of the protesters were Mossad agents. You might as well be saying "please kill them." It's as if Al Qaeda announced that they were materially supporting and completely infiltrating BLM protests, and when many BLM activists were arrested, they were carrying Al Qaeda satellite terminals and arms smuggled from Pakistan.(The Iranian middle class was even out, because they aren't traitors, they just don't want to live in a theocracy. The West are who turned Iran into a dictatorship by replacing Mossadegh with the Shah. The West helped Iraq use chemical weapons against Iran. We care nothing about Iranians, we just want to steal from them. We're thieves, and we're consciously moving to a economic strategy of piracy in order to take advantage of our navy.)5) The US moved as much navy to bear on Iran as it did when it invaded Iraq, and said that unless some magic words were said that nobody knows, it would invade.You might be comfortable being manipulated like this, but I am not.
(The Iranian middle class was even out, because they aren't traitors, they just don't want to live in a theocracy. The West are who turned Iran into a dictatorship by replacing Mossadegh with the Shah. The West helped Iraq use chemical weapons against Iran. We care nothing about Iranians, we just want to steal from them. We're thieves, and we're consciously moving to a economic strategy of piracy in order to take advantage of our navy.)5) The US moved as much navy to bear on Iran as it did when it invaded Iraq, and said that unless some magic words were said that nobody knows, it would invade.You might be comfortable being manipulated like this, but I am not.
5) The US moved as much navy to bear on Iran as it did when it invaded Iraq, and said that unless some magic words were said that nobody knows, it would invade.You might be comfortable being manipulated like this, but I am not.
You might be comfortable being manipulated like this, but I am not.
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To the extent that the protests are being "engineered", certainly there are elements of that, but why wouldn't there be and why would that be bad a priori? The regime is uniquely terrible in the world, and if you listen to Iranian ex-pats who fled it seems clear a lot of the kids that supported the revolution in 1979 quickly realized that it was a mistake, and that they underestimated the extent to which the new regime would prioritize regressive islamism over actually addressing what were at the time legitimate economic inequality issues.
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Washington has an easier way to do that: namely, to use its navy and the Sentinel Islands (controlled by Washington ally India) to prevent the transit of tankers from Iran to China.
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That crowd only seems to care if they can actively oppose Israel or the current administration. They don't consistently care about any particular type of human suffering. Just opposing Zionists, colonizers, capitalists, and whatever current keywords are activated.
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> I'm saying if you were a very vocal pro-Hamas activistPalestine ≠ HamasPro-Palestinian ≠ Pro-HamasIf you genuinely don't believe a significant number of people support the former but not the latter, I... don't even know what to tell you. It certainly says a lot that you can neither distinguish these two nor believe anyone else sees a distinction.> They don't consistently care about any particular type of human suffering. Just opposing ZionistsPeople are not numbers for your narrative.Whether on a population chart or on a death chart.Again: you're ignoring more than half a century of history and extremely relevant differences regarding how each got into their current situations, whom the involved parties were, what the current situations even are, and what their futures might look like... and more.Just because the number of deaths appears to have reached a similar order of magnitude that does not mean anyone who fails to display the same reaction to the situations the two groups of people have been in is a hypocrite.
Palestine ≠ HamasPro-Palestinian ≠ Pro-HamasIf you genuinely don't believe a significant number of people support the former but not the latter, I... don't even know what to tell you. It certainly says a lot that you can neither distinguish these two nor believe anyone else sees a distinction.> They don't consistently care about any particular type of human suffering. Just opposing ZionistsPeople are not numbers for your narrative.Whether on a population chart or on a death chart.Again: you're ignoring more than half a century of history and extremely relevant differences regarding how each got into their current situations, whom the involved parties were, what the current situations even are, and what their futures might look like... and more.Just because the number of deaths appears to have reached a similar order of magnitude that does not mean anyone who fails to display the same reaction to the situations the two groups of people have been in is a hypocrite.
Pro-Palestinian ≠ Pro-HamasIf you genuinely don't believe a significant number of people support the former but not the latter, I... don't even know what to tell you. It certainly says a lot that you can neither distinguish these two nor believe anyone else sees a distinction.> They don't consistently care about any particular type of human suffering. Just opposing ZionistsPeople are not numbers for your narrative.Whether on a population chart or on a death chart.Again: you're ignoring more than half a century of history and extremely relevant differences regarding how each got into their current situations, whom the involved parties were, what the current situations even are, and what their futures might look like... and more.Just because the number of deaths appears to have reached a similar order of magnitude that does not mean anyone who fails to display the same reaction to the situations the two groups of people have been in is a hypocrite.
If you genuinely don't believe a significant number of people support the former but not the latter, I... don't even know what to tell you. It certainly says a lot that you can neither distinguish these two nor believe anyone else sees a distinction.> They don't consistently care about any particular type of human suffering. Just opposing ZionistsPeople are not numbers for your narrative.Whether on a population chart or on a death chart.Again: you're ignoring more than half a century of history and extremely relevant differences regarding how each got into their current situations, whom the involved parties were, what the current situations even are, and what their futures might look like... and more.Just because the number of deaths appears to have reached a similar order of magnitude that does not mean anyone who fails to display the same reaction to the situations the two groups of people have been in is a hypocrite.
> They don't consistently care about any particular type of human suffering. Just opposing ZionistsPeople are not numbers for your narrative.Whether on a population chart or on a death chart.Again: you're ignoring more than half a century of history and extremely relevant differences regarding how each got into their current situations, whom the involved parties were, what the current situations even are, and what their futures might look like... and more.Just because the number of deaths appears to have reached a similar order of magnitude that does not mean anyone who fails to display the same reaction to the situations the two groups of people have been in is a hypocrite.
People are not numbers for your narrative.Whether on a population chart or on a death chart.Again: you're ignoring more than half a century of history and extremely relevant differences regarding how each got into their current situations, whom the involved parties were, what the current situations even are, and what their futures might look like... and more.Just because the number of deaths appears to have reached a similar order of magnitude that does not mean anyone who fails to display the same reaction to the situations the two groups of people have been in is a hypocrite.
Whether on a population chart or on a death chart.Again: you're ignoring more than half a century of history and extremely relevant differences regarding how each got into their current situations, whom the involved parties were, what the current situations even are, and what their futures might look like... and more.Just because the number of deaths appears to have reached a similar order of magnitude that does not mean anyone who fails to display the same reaction to the situations the two groups of people have been in is a hypocrite.
Again: you're ignoring more than half a century of history and extremely relevant differences regarding how each got into their current situations, whom the involved parties were, what the current situations even are, and what their futures might look like... and more.Just because the number of deaths appears to have reached a similar order of magnitude that does not mean anyone who fails to display the same reaction to the situations the two groups of people have been in is a hypocrite.
Just because the number of deaths appears to have reached a similar order of magnitude that does not mean anyone who fails to display the same reaction to the situations the two groups of people have been in is a hypocrite.
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While I agree with you that Hamas and the Palestinians are not one thing, Hamas would not be able to operate the way it did (and still does to an extent), without broad support from the population.[1] https://www.pcpsr.org/
[1] https://www.pcpsr.org/
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I never made the statements you're suggesting I did to begin with.> Hamas would not be able to operate the way it did (and still does to an extent), without broad support from the population.Leaving aside whatever "still broad, to an extent" means: I never claimed otherwise, regardless. Certainly they have their share of supporters.What I'm pointing out is that the parent's "friends who posted non-stop about supporting Palestine" are (probably? at least in their view, hopefully?) not pro-Hamas or pro-genocide.
Heck, I imagine they're probably not local Palestinians or in the surveyed population here to begin with. And the rest of the people around the world supporting Palestinians clearly aren't, either.> I agree with you that Hamas and the Palestinians are not one thingThat was literally my point.
> Hamas would not be able to operate the way it did (and still does to an extent), without broad support from the population.Leaving aside whatever "still broad, to an extent" means: I never claimed otherwise, regardless. Certainly they have their share of supporters.What I'm pointing out is that the parent's "friends who posted non-stop about supporting Palestine" are (probably? at least in their view, hopefully?) not pro-Hamas or pro-genocide.
Heck, I imagine they're probably not local Palestinians or in the surveyed population here to begin with. And the rest of the people around the world supporting Palestinians clearly aren't, either.> I agree with you that Hamas and the Palestinians are not one thingThat was literally my point.
Leaving aside whatever "still broad, to an extent" means: I never claimed otherwise, regardless. Certainly they have their share of supporters.What I'm pointing out is that the parent's "friends who posted non-stop about supporting Palestine" are (probably? at least in their view, hopefully?) not pro-Hamas or pro-genocide.
Heck, I imagine they're probably not local Palestinians or in the surveyed population here to begin with. And the rest of the people around the world supporting Palestinians clearly aren't, either.> I agree with you that Hamas and the Palestinians are not one thingThat was literally my point.
What I'm pointing out is that the parent's "friends who posted non-stop about supporting Palestine" are (probably? at least in their view, hopefully?) not pro-Hamas or pro-genocide.
Heck, I imagine they're probably not local Palestinians or in the surveyed population here to begin with. And the rest of the people around the world supporting Palestinians clearly aren't, either.> I agree with you that Hamas and the Palestinians are not one thingThat was literally my point.
> I agree with you that Hamas and the Palestinians are not one thingThat was literally my point.
That was literally my point.
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Polling Israeli or US citizens on the extremist groups they support would be similarly dishonest; organizations like ICE, Blackwater and Irgun cannot be fairly conflated with their respective populations regardless of how the majority feels.
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I don't know why you insist on acting like that's not happening.
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One, is it actually? (EDIT: I don't think it is [1]. This seems to be another case where American pro-Palestinian activist culture may be getting confused with actual Palestinian culture.)Two, I'm going to be almost everyone in America wearing one doesn't know that. (We're not the most internationally-literate population. I can't even begin to imagine what fraction of #StopKony posters in the early 2010s could have placed Uganda on a map.)[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_keffiyeh#Appropria...
Two, I'm going to be almost everyone in America wearing one doesn't know that. (We're not the most internationally-literate population. I can't even begin to imagine what fraction of #StopKony posters in the early 2010s could have placed Uganda on a map.)[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_keffiyeh#Appropria...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_keffiyeh#Appropria...
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> very vocal pro-Hamas activist> Wearing the kaffiyeh is explicitly pro-Hamas and Genocidal towards Israel. It's pretty simple.OK, simple enough. And you said you are friends with such pro-Hamas, pro-genocidal people?> I know know why you insist on actingYou clearly neither know what I'm doing (certainly it's not acting), nor why, but feel free to believe as you wish.> like that's not happening.Nobody said that's that's not also happening. What I said is there are many, many pro-Palestinians who emphatically do not support Hamas, and you're lumping them together with people who support both (yes, they also exist).If anyone is insisting on anything, it's you insisting on not making the distinction between these positions or groups, for some reason. And apparently on keeping said pro-Hamas/pro-genocide people as your friends (?!) but I'll avoid speculating why; I imagine you must have extremely compelling reasons.
> Wearing the kaffiyeh is explicitly pro-Hamas and Genocidal towards Israel. It's pretty simple.OK, simple enough. And you said you are friends with such pro-Hamas, pro-genocidal people?> I know know why you insist on actingYou clearly neither know what I'm doing (certainly it's not acting), nor why, but feel free to believe as you wish.> like that's not happening.Nobody said that's that's not also happening. What I said is there are many, many pro-Palestinians who emphatically do not support Hamas, and you're lumping them together with people who support both (yes, they also exist).If anyone is insisting on anything, it's you insisting on not making the distinction between these positions or groups, for some reason. And apparently on keeping said pro-Hamas/pro-genocide people as your friends (?!) but I'll avoid speculating why; I imagine you must have extremely compelling reasons.
OK, simple enough. And you said you are friends with such pro-Hamas, pro-genocidal people?> I know know why you insist on actingYou clearly neither know what I'm doing (certainly it's not acting), nor why, but feel free to believe as you wish.> like that's not happening.Nobody said that's that's not also happening. What I said is there are many, many pro-Palestinians who emphatically do not support Hamas, and you're lumping them together with people who support both (yes, they also exist).If anyone is insisting on anything, it's you insisting on not making the distinction between these positions or groups, for some reason. And apparently on keeping said pro-Hamas/pro-genocide people as your friends (?!) but I'll avoid speculating why; I imagine you must have extremely compelling reasons.
> I know know why you insist on actingYou clearly neither know what I'm doing (certainly it's not acting), nor why, but feel free to believe as you wish.> like that's not happening.Nobody said that's that's not also happening. What I said is there are many, many pro-Palestinians who emphatically do not support Hamas, and you're lumping them together with people who support both (yes, they also exist).If anyone is insisting on anything, it's you insisting on not making the distinction between these positions or groups, for some reason. And apparently on keeping said pro-Hamas/pro-genocide people as your friends (?!) but I'll avoid speculating why; I imagine you must have extremely compelling reasons.
You clearly neither know what I'm doing (certainly it's not acting), nor why, but feel free to believe as you wish.> like that's not happening.Nobody said that's that's not also happening. What I said is there are many, many pro-Palestinians who emphatically do not support Hamas, and you're lumping them together with people who support both (yes, they also exist).If anyone is insisting on anything, it's you insisting on not making the distinction between these positions or groups, for some reason. And apparently on keeping said pro-Hamas/pro-genocide people as your friends (?!) but I'll avoid speculating why; I imagine you must have extremely compelling reasons.
> like that's not happening.Nobody said that's that's not also happening. What I said is there are many, many pro-Palestinians who emphatically do not support Hamas, and you're lumping them together with people who support both (yes, they also exist).If anyone is insisting on anything, it's you insisting on not making the distinction between these positions or groups, for some reason. And apparently on keeping said pro-Hamas/pro-genocide people as your friends (?!) but I'll avoid speculating why; I imagine you must have extremely compelling reasons.
Nobody said that's that's not also happening. What I said is there are many, many pro-Palestinians who emphatically do not support Hamas, and you're lumping them together with people who support both (yes, they also exist).If anyone is insisting on anything, it's you insisting on not making the distinction between these positions or groups, for some reason. And apparently on keeping said pro-Hamas/pro-genocide people as your friends (?!) but I'll avoid speculating why; I imagine you must have extremely compelling reasons.
If anyone is insisting on anything, it's you insisting on not making the distinction between these positions or groups, for some reason. And apparently on keeping said pro-Hamas/pro-genocide people as your friends (?!) but I'll avoid speculating why; I imagine you must have extremely compelling reasons.
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Can you think of any motivating reasons for the crowd to focus on Israel specifically? Last I checked, the American government isn't sending billions of dollars of weaponry and political cover to the Iranian government, so that is one massive reason why protesting Israel makes more sense.>have not made a peep about the thousands of Iranians recently murdered by their regimeI don't protest to signal my moral outrage, I do it to effect change in my elected leaders. It's not my responsibility to devote an equal amount of attention to every injustice — ignoring the cause and effects in that injustice with direct connection to politicians beholden to me — because people like you will find it "disturbing".
>have not made a peep about the thousands of Iranians recently murdered by their regimeI don't protest to signal my moral outrage, I do it to effect change in my elected leaders. It's not my responsibility to devote an equal amount of attention to every injustice — ignoring the cause and effects in that injustice with direct connection to politicians beholden to me — because people like you will find it "disturbing".
I don't protest to signal my moral outrage, I do it to effect change in my elected leaders. It's not my responsibility to devote an equal amount of attention to every injustice — ignoring the cause and effects in that injustice with direct connection to politicians beholden to me — because people like you will find it "disturbing".
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> I'm saying if you were a very vocal pro-Hamas...See how quickly things have turned from the first post manufactured to seem reasonable? No more "Curious" and "just asking questions".How many pro-Hamas friends can a person have?! I don't know a single pro-Hamas person myself.I believe you are being taken for a ride friend.
See how quickly things have turned from the first post manufactured to seem reasonable? No more "Curious" and "just asking questions".How many pro-Hamas friends can a person have?! I don't know a single pro-Hamas person myself.I believe you are being taken for a ride friend.
How many pro-Hamas friends can a person have?! I don't know a single pro-Hamas person myself.I believe you are being taken for a ride friend.
I believe you are being taken for a ride friend.
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You just make these claims to avoid any accountability of your actions. That tracks because the HAMAS narratives completely do the same, so its easier for you to accept.PS Most of the videos that swayed you were AI generated.
PS Most of the videos that swayed you were AI generated.
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This is an absolutely insane and downright insulting claim to make about anyone. You should feel ashamed of saying something as utterly indefensible as this.
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How'd that work out for you?
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You really think if the US wasn't supporting Israel, no one would have cared about Gaza?
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I don't want that. I want them to stop paying Israelis with our money to kill Palestinians. If they want to do atrocities, they can do it on their own dime.
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Do you care about those people or not?Sorry, unless I'm missing something, what you said just sounds like a cop out.
Sorry, unless I'm missing something, what you said just sounds like a cop out.
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"Pro hamas activist" has become the calling card of deeply committed western and israeli islamophobes.Much like their close cousins, the holocaust denying anti semite, they almost universally refuse to recognize the UN recognized genocide in gaza.>That crowd only seems to care if they can actively oppose Israel or the current administrationIm sure if the current administration backed a genocide in another country they would passionately oppose that too. Unlike dedicated islamophobes, anti racists are consistent.
Much like their close cousins, the holocaust denying anti semite, they almost universally refuse to recognize the UN recognized genocide in gaza.>That crowd only seems to care if they can actively oppose Israel or the current administrationIm sure if the current administration backed a genocide in another country they would passionately oppose that too. Unlike dedicated islamophobes, anti racists are consistent.
>That crowd only seems to care if they can actively oppose Israel or the current administrationIm sure if the current administration backed a genocide in another country they would passionately oppose that too. Unlike dedicated islamophobes, anti racists are consistent.
Im sure if the current administration backed a genocide in another country they would passionately oppose that too. Unlike dedicated islamophobes, anti racists are consistent.
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Which are the actual groups calling for genocide? Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, etc. (basically Iran and their proxies)
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What Israel has been doing for decades at this point is completely unacceptable. Hamas is a bunch of terrorists, but in context they are the inevitable outcome of Israel's continuous mistreatment and ongoing antagonism against all of their neighbors stretching on for fifty years.You really have to wonder what the hell is wrong with the Israelis that they can't stop being aggressive towards literally everyone around them.
You really have to wonder what the hell is wrong with the Israelis that they can't stop being aggressive towards literally everyone around them.
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You've let your true colors show through...People were angry at the world allowing a genocide to occur and at their own countries actively supporting that genocide.It was also a genocide going on for several years allowing momentum to build and anger to grow. The most recent Iranian uprising lasted a few weeks.I would be more upset that Trump told the poor Iranians to protest and that he would support them if violence was used against them - and he let them die by the thousand. He told them "help is on the way". It wasn't.
People were angry at the world allowing a genocide to occur and at their own countries actively supporting that genocide.It was also a genocide going on for several years allowing momentum to build and anger to grow. The most recent Iranian uprising lasted a few weeks.I would be more upset that Trump told the poor Iranians to protest and that he would support them if violence was used against them - and he let them die by the thousand. He told them "help is on the way". It wasn't.
It was also a genocide going on for several years allowing momentum to build and anger to grow. The most recent Iranian uprising lasted a few weeks.I would be more upset that Trump told the poor Iranians to protest and that he would support them if violence was used against them - and he let them die by the thousand. He told them "help is on the way". It wasn't.
I would be more upset that Trump told the poor Iranians to protest and that he would support them if violence was used against them - and he let them die by the thousand. He told them "help is on the way". It wasn't.
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But Central Africa, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, etc? Extreme suffering. But the activists don't activate.
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Did they? It was occasionally in the news but that's about it.
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The people taking a dump on those activists for how they "allocate" their activism not only dont care about the suffering their government participates in, they usually cheer it on.This can be seen the most clearly in the case of the gazan genocide.
This can be seen the most clearly in the case of the gazan genocide.
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=20T6XrrLdiA&pp=ygUYbG9zIGFuZ2V...Edit: Also, the Left seems to more often pick sides when its one ethnic group oppressing another, as identity politics is prominent in their messaging
Edit: Also, the Left seems to more often pick sides when its one ethnic group oppressing another, as identity politics is prominent in their messaging
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Of course then the right would be protesting foreign interventions.
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If Biden repeatedly shot boats that he alleged carried drugs without evidence and then shot survivors again for good measure until he eventually went and captured Venezuela's de facto head of state, people would support him a lot more? Really?
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Same goes the other way of course. Republicans would be much more against it.
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> democrats would support that much more, Republicans would be much more against it.People ≠ Democrats
People ≠ Democrats
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I, and many I know, would love to see the Iranian regime fall, just not via US regime change which tends to make things worse.
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I think it's just an instinct to oppose anything the current administration supports. Same with Cuba and Venezuela.But it consistently aligns them with some of the most suppressive regimes.Venezuelans are glad Maduro is gone. Iranians want the US to do something. Lots of Cubans as well.
But it consistently aligns them with some of the most suppressive regimes.Venezuelans are glad Maduro is gone. Iranians want the US to do something. Lots of Cubans as well.
Venezuelans are glad Maduro is gone. Iranians want the US to do something. Lots of Cubans as well.
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Any external meddling would have probably made it much bloodier.You can be assured most Iranians do NOT want US to intervene. How many Americans want China/Russia to intervene to 'help' you get rid of Trump?Get off your high horse and use a bit of empathy and common sense.
You can be assured most Iranians do NOT want US to intervene. How many Americans want China/Russia to intervene to 'help' you get rid of Trump?Get off your high horse and use a bit of empathy and common sense.
Get off your high horse and use a bit of empathy and common sense.
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Also you seem to not grasp that the current regime are viewed as invaders forcing Islamic rule which I'm pretty sure is very very different from the scenarios your mentioning. And even in your scenario, if Trump really succeeds in destroying American democracy and takes everyone's guns away and closes the internet to the world and starts killing every and all opposition and terrorizes America for 40 years I'm pretty sure you'd like who ever the duck is capable of removing that to intervene. And it's not like I'm making it up, i happen to have many Iranians in my family, and many of them living in Iran still and i can assure you that the vast majority in the big cities want the US to kill off the regime. I'm sure there's some kind of rural population that loves sharia like the us has maga, but i don't think they are the majority any more.
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Empathy means that you understand that what YOU consider terrorism might mean 'supporting self-determination of oppressed and occupied people' by somebody else. Is it so difficult to understand that ordinary Iranians do not see their government as international supporters of terrorism?I was 19 in 1989. While I do not claim to understand geopolitical realities in their entirety, I was old enough to distinctly remember how surprising the fall of communism felt. Despite almost all people I knew being (low-level, passive) anti-communists, nobody saw it really coming until the last few months. In fact, in June 1989, I had a choice to make - either to go to a competition to West Germany, or go with friends hiking to Caucasus. The choice was obvious - go to West Germany, who knows when will be the next chance to see The West. On the other hand, I could go to Caucasus anytime.... we know how that turned out to be.
I was 19 in 1989. While I do not claim to understand geopolitical realities in their entirety, I was old enough to distinctly remember how surprising the fall of communism felt. Despite almost all people I knew being (low-level, passive) anti-communists, nobody saw it really coming until the last few months. In fact, in June 1989, I had a choice to make - either to go to a competition to West Germany, or go with friends hiking to Caucasus. The choice was obvious - go to West Germany, who knows when will be the next chance to see The West. On the other hand, I could go to Caucasus anytime.... we know how that turned out to be.
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Not saying that what's happening with ICE is okay. But it's a very sheltered view to think that is at all equivalent to what happens in those countries if you actively protest against the govt.
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For Iranians, USA is strong foreign country that is hostile to them.For Americans, Russia/China are (relatively) strong foreign countries that (they think) are hostile to them.As Americans would NOT like if Russia/China was influencing their internal matters (Russia gate ?), so would Iranians NOT like if USA was deciding who is going to govern over them.First, they are a proud nation with long history. Second, they have a very good reason (many historical precedents) to believe USA will not act in the interests of Iranian people, but in their own (and Israel's) interests.
For Americans, Russia/China are (relatively) strong foreign countries that (they think) are hostile to them.As Americans would NOT like if Russia/China was influencing their internal matters (Russia gate ?), so would Iranians NOT like if USA was deciding who is going to govern over them.First, they are a proud nation with long history. Second, they have a very good reason (many historical precedents) to believe USA will not act in the interests of Iranian people, but in their own (and Israel's) interests.
As Americans would NOT like if Russia/China was influencing their internal matters (Russia gate ?), so would Iranians NOT like if USA was deciding who is going to govern over them.First, they are a proud nation with long history. Second, they have a very good reason (many historical precedents) to believe USA will not act in the interests of Iranian people, but in their own (and Israel's) interests.
First, they are a proud nation with long history. Second, they have a very good reason (many historical precedents) to believe USA will not act in the interests of Iranian people, but in their own (and Israel's) interests.
It's exactly because we compare against a just a corrupt government directly over a short period of time that our experience is fairly unique in the world.
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People that ask "where are all the students on campus that were protesting Gaza" do so because taking action on injustice, in a way that demands accountability from their leaders, is an uncomfortable idea. For them, the purpose of taking action is largely to signal moral outrage, and making an aggrieved post on social media is the beginning and end of praxis on an issue. And if that is your mindset, why wouldn't you make an equal amount of posts about Iran as you would for Gaza? Since they are both Things That Are Morally Bad.What they don't understand is that for people that e.g. protest in person, protesting isn't a quaint, feckless action merely meant to signal one's care about an issue to the right people. Rather, it is an action with a goal to effect specific change of behavior on a particular issue from a specific group of people (usually leaders in power that are beholden to the protesters). If you are American and protesting US military support for Israel based on the conflict in Gaza, there are practical, material, direct cause-and-effect reasons to make that argument towards your elected representatives; the same is simply not true for the Iran situation (which the majority of the US government is already aligned with bombing yet again).It's just such a strange point of view to interpret lack of action on a particular issue as tacit support.
What they don't understand is that for people that e.g. protest in person, protesting isn't a quaint, feckless action merely meant to signal one's care about an issue to the right people. Rather, it is an action with a goal to effect specific change of behavior on a particular issue from a specific group of people (usually leaders in power that are beholden to the protesters). If you are American and protesting US military support for Israel based on the conflict in Gaza, there are practical, material, direct cause-and-effect reasons to make that argument towards your elected representatives; the same is simply not true for the Iran situation (which the majority of the US government is already aligned with bombing yet again).It's just such a strange point of view to interpret lack of action on a particular issue as tacit support.
It's just such a strange point of view to interpret lack of action on a particular issue as tacit support.
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A coup is... not even remotely the same thing. How many coups do you know of that helped the local population?
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Then you will say things like: but it was 80 years ago!!
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But my larger point is that I don't trust the current US administration to engage in regime change in a beneficial way as perhaps the US admin in 1945 did. You're right that those examples and some others are good ones. But I believe the odds are that this situation would be one of the worse ones.Do I support the Iranian regime? Hell no! I just also don't think the US invading is a solution that would bring long term peace and prosperity.
Do I support the Iranian regime? Hell no! I just also don't think the US invading is a solution that would bring long term peace and prosperity.
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It is always the same story: Look how poorly the regime manages the country!Never said: The country is under such sanctions/blockade that any western country would have already folded long ago.
Never said: The country is under such sanctions/blockade that any western country would have already folded long ago.
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How do you know that? Is it just your general assumption "Westerners weak, must fold, third-worlders stronk, they endure"?Under what conditions would you say that sanctions are OK? Or are they never? In that case, there still might be white minority rule in Rhodesia or South Africa.
Under what conditions would you say that sanctions are OK? Or are they never? In that case, there still might be white minority rule in Rhodesia or South Africa.
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At that time, there were two strong anti-shah factions in Iran. Islamists and communists. Guess which one was helped by USA? :-)
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Neither was helped by the USA. The Shah was helped by the USA.What the USA did is the same thing it does in all of the Islamic dictatorships that it props up - it used its intelligence and its cash to help its dictator exterminate all of his secular opposition. Actually kill. What was left was religious fundamentalist opposition that it couldn't touch, and that the Shah himself partially relied on to stay in power. That meant that when the general population was finally at the point of exasperation, the only institutions that were 1) prepared to be the vehicle of that exasperation and 2) had an government in waiting that could take charge after the government had fallen were the religious ones.Same thing that happened in Egypt after decades of helping Mubarak kill members of the secular opposition and destroy their organizations. When the government was overthrown spontaneously by a public driven to their limit, the only people prepared to take over, and supported by the public, were fundamentalists. The US saw another Iran coming and quickly stepped in to destroy the popular will and install another dictator that they could control.
What the USA did is the same thing it does in all of the Islamic dictatorships that it props up - it used its intelligence and its cash to help its dictator exterminate all of his secular opposition. Actually kill. What was left was religious fundamentalist opposition that it couldn't touch, and that the Shah himself partially relied on to stay in power. That meant that when the general population was finally at the point of exasperation, the only institutions that were 1) prepared to be the vehicle of that exasperation and 2) had an government in waiting that could take charge after the government had fallen were the religious ones.Same thing that happened in Egypt after decades of helping Mubarak kill members of the secular opposition and destroy their organizations. When the government was overthrown spontaneously by a public driven to their limit, the only people prepared to take over, and supported by the public, were fundamentalists. The US saw another Iran coming and quickly stepped in to destroy the popular will and install another dictator that they could control.
Same thing that happened in Egypt after decades of helping Mubarak kill members of the secular opposition and destroy their organizations. When the government was overthrown spontaneously by a public driven to their limit, the only people prepared to take over, and supported by the public, were fundamentalists. The US saw another Iran coming and quickly stepped in to destroy the popular will and install another dictator that they could control.
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What happened is that Khomeini consolidated power after the revolution and eliminated these people.
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Turns out, however, that he really enjoys money. And that the US has a lot of it.
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HN'ers hopefully arent stupid to fall for obvious propaganda?
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The US and its allies have attacked the currency and the availability of goods for the common Iranian. This is how regime change works. This is what is happening in Cuba as well. You starve and disenfranchise the average person to make regime change by internal bad-actors more successful.Therefore many citizens protest against their conditions, not against their government. The misconstruing of this reality is intentional and an essential part of war mongering.We understand this and we are smarter than the BBC thinks we are. Now ask yourself why must young Americans in the armed forces put their lives on the line for this?
Therefore many citizens protest against their conditions, not against their government. The misconstruing of this reality is intentional and an essential part of war mongering.We understand this and we are smarter than the BBC thinks we are. Now ask yourself why must young Americans in the armed forces put their lives on the line for this?
We understand this and we are smarter than the BBC thinks we are. Now ask yourself why must young Americans in the armed forces put their lives on the line for this?
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On the other hand, without being on the ground, we cannot really say what the real balance of grievances are.
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And sanctions don't actually work. Not against enemies anyway. Just like Cuba has endured 60+ years of sanctions and Russia has endured Ukraine-related sanctions, enemies have or build an economy to be resilient to the sanctions to the point that the regime survives, even thrives in the face of perceived exteranl threats.Probably the only successful use of sanctions was South Africa. Why? Because apartheid South Africa was an ally so the BDS movement crippled the economy.And most of the time sanctions have no other reason than the affected country dared to not be exploited by the West and Western companies.[1]: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79R00904A0008000...[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iFYaeoE3n4
Probably the only successful use of sanctions was South Africa. Why? Because apartheid South Africa was an ally so the BDS movement crippled the economy.And most of the time sanctions have no other reason than the affected country dared to not be exploited by the West and Western companies.[1]: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79R00904A0008000...[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iFYaeoE3n4
And most of the time sanctions have no other reason than the affected country dared to not be exploited by the West and Western companies.[1]: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79R00904A0008000...[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iFYaeoE3n4
[1]: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79R00904A0008000...[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iFYaeoE3n4
[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iFYaeoE3n4
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They didn't, for instance, mess up the building of water infrastructure which is causing the taps to run dry in their capitol. Oh wait, they did. But since that has nothing to do with sanctions, you didn't hear about it because it doesn't fit a specific political narrative.Also, apparently everyone in the world has the right to trade with the west, even if they are doing everything in their power to destroy the west.PS Iran funds the Russian war in Ukraine.
Also, apparently everyone in the world has the right to trade with the west, even if they are doing everything in their power to destroy the west.PS Iran funds the Russian war in Ukraine.
PS Iran funds the Russian war in Ukraine.
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When will American students stage a large scale anti-government protest against the regime? Oh right, the billionaires and zionist lobby cracked down on the encampments with the (violent) help of police and by firing three Ivy League Presidents to coerce the entire educational system to abandon whatever liberal principles remained.No war on Iran.
No war on Iran.
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Iran regime already does that, they gunned-down thousands just last month, including 100's of public hangings.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6S1AFh88PEI didn't even know about that, just that it was a beautiful place and looked it up one day to fantasize about a potential future vacation, and saw that news.So Iran may have nukes and is beating up its own people.. If the coverage keeps ramping up, the news cycle echoes of Iraq and Libya all over again. Maybe Trump's planning to make it a trilogy
I didn't even know about that, just that it was a beautiful place and looked it up one day to fantasize about a potential future vacation, and saw that news.So Iran may have nukes and is beating up its own people.. If the coverage keeps ramping up, the news cycle echoes of Iraq and Libya all over again. Maybe Trump's planning to make it a trilogy
So Iran may have nukes and is beating up its own people.. If the coverage keeps ramping up, the news cycle echoes of Iraq and Libya all over again. Maybe Trump's planning to make it a trilogy
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Or is it something else going on there?When China knocks at the door of New Caledonia - https://www.aspi.org.au/report/when-china-knocks-door-new-ca...
When China knocks at the door of New Caledonia - https://www.aspi.org.au/report/when-china-knocks-door-new-ca...
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That Iran is irrelevant?
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> Every single westerner pays more for things because of the instability Iran funds.This is simply a lie. Every single Westerner pays vastly more for things because they spend trillions propping up illegitimate middle eastern dictators in order to keep their natural resources cheap and accessible for sleazy western middlemen to mark up.
This is simply a lie. Every single Westerner pays vastly more for things because they spend trillions propping up illegitimate middle eastern dictators in order to keep their natural resources cheap and accessible for sleazy western middlemen to mark up.
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Funny how they all have spoken out against the genocide in Gaza. One would think that would be the link on why they are targeted. Maybe the problem is not humanitarian but that they are opposing US imperialism?Just like all the times before. You know when Iraq was preparing weapons of mass destruction. When Libya needed to be bombed for the good of its people so that Islamist warmongers could destroy the country. When the US brought the Taliban into power to fight the Soviets and then invaded Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban again. And then left and now the Taliban are fine again.War. War never changes. It is the same old lies.Now they want to destroy Iran.
Just like all the times before. You know when Iraq was preparing weapons of mass destruction. When Libya needed to be bombed for the good of its people so that Islamist warmongers could destroy the country. When the US brought the Taliban into power to fight the Soviets and then invaded Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban again. And then left and now the Taliban are fine again.War. War never changes. It is the same old lies.Now they want to destroy Iran.
War. War never changes. It is the same old lies.Now they want to destroy Iran.
Now they want to destroy Iran.
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They had 3 referendums since 2018. So it seems nobody is stopping them from leaving if they wanted to...
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1. https://nypost.com/2026/02/20/world-news/imprisoned-iranian-...2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayirah_testimony
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayirah_testimony
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You seem to have a massive prior for "everything is a Western/Zionist conspiracy full of puppets". Which is its own sort of gullibility, readily exploited by propagandists from the other side.
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The opinion of its 'allies' is regularly ignored in Washington...
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Every protest, every independent action, literally every single news story ... is directly due to British, American or Israeli action.
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What is your point?
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Nope, folks, people really do not like being oppressed or lied to, and will on occasion let you know that in dramatic fashion.
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https://2009-2017.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/2013/dec/218804.htmhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbjNJbjEy04https://youtu.be/L2XNN0Yt6D8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbjNJbjEy04https://youtu.be/L2XNN0Yt6D8
https://youtu.be/L2XNN0Yt6D8
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This is false, and even the moderators admit ithttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46396613
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46396613
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> Despite how dark and sinister you've made everything sound, you've mostly just rephrased what I wrote, with a lot of pejoratives. In that sense, you're right—there isn't much disagreement here. You just think we're wrong and bad to run HN the way we do, and that's fine.There's nothing wrong with someone not liking how HN is run. It's just weird to complain about it, on HN no less, when there so many other sites already run by people who share your politics, sites where you would feel welcome and you wouldn't have to invent scary stories about the ulterior motives of moderators.HN's attempt to focus makes it special, unique and valuable. Turning it into a general political free for fall like every other site would destroy that.
There's nothing wrong with someone not liking how HN is run. It's just weird to complain about it, on HN no less, when there so many other sites already run by people who share your politics, sites where you would feel welcome and you wouldn't have to invent scary stories about the ulterior motives of moderators.HN's attempt to focus makes it special, unique and valuable. Turning it into a general political free for fall like every other site would destroy that.
HN's attempt to focus makes it special, unique and valuable. Turning it into a general political free for fall like every other site would destroy that.
reply
reply
95% of the moderation at HN is just the accumulated actions of your fellow readers who upvote, downvote, flag and vouch for stories and comments. If you don't like their choices or their politics, maybe try Bluesky?
reply
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It seems that even an OEM as large as Dell isn't safe from the incendiary woes of the 16-pin connector, as it's taking extra measures to ensure safety. In a Japanese review of the company's "EBT2250" prebuilt by Chimorogu, the teardown reveals a rather interesting approach to supplying power to the GPU inside. The connector is permanently bolted on so it doesn't move even a bit.
DELLのパソコンおもしろい変換使うな、至近距離で曲げるな、とか言われる某コネクタをこういう扱いしてるでも自作PCと違うのはAmphenol製の純正金具を使って強制的に固定してるところ「12V-2x6はしっかり挿し込め」が現状の正解なんでしょう pic.twitter.com/YHgSAgfO1dFebruary 20, 2026
As the picture above shows, Dell uses genuine Amphenol metal fittings to make sure the 12V-2x6 connector is completely fixed in place, unable to accidentally come loose. Amphenol is one of the world's biggest manufacturers of interconnect products. The cable actually plugging into this female connector isn't even a native 16-pin one; rather, it's an adapter that terminates in 2x standard 8-pin PCIe plugs.
For years at this point, we've seen how the 12VHPWR and now the 12V-2x6 connectors are prone to overheating. Countless stories of meltdowns and even the GPU catching on fire are on record, and that's just the documented cases. Different companies have tried different solutions, including active monitoring tools or even building protection right into the power supply. Everything is an effort to fix an issue that simply shouldn't exist.
It's clear that if even Dell has to make sure there's not an ounce of leeway in the 16-pin connection, it's perhaps too fragile or reactive or a connector to begin with. If any of the pins inside stop making proper contact, the other pins become overloaded and start overheating. In a prebuilt that's otherwise completely shut off and has no see-through panels, this is even more of a fire hazard.
The power supply fueling this card is a proprietary unit made by LITEON, a manufacturer in Taiwan. It's a 1000W 80+ Platinum unit with standard connectors, so there's plenty of room for future upgrades. It's likely not a native ATX 3.0/3.1 power supply since it's lacking the 16-pin connectors, forcing Dell to bolt on that adapter. Speaking of which, the GPU is also a Dell-branded version of the RTX 5070 Ti, but its performance is not hindered by its OEM nature.
You can check out the original review if you're interested in the system itself — it's actually a great deal — but the main takeaway was the metal fitting on the 12V-2x6 connector. The funny thing is that the 5070 Ti doesn't even have a large enough power appetite to really require that connector, but you can't really be too cautious. Hence, Dell has also set the GPU on a sag bracket to support its weight. The prebuilt is otherwise fitted with a Core Ultra 275K and 32 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM.
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Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he's not working, you'll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.
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‘Ask Intel' rolled out to handle warranty checks and troubleshooting as part of a broader support overhaul.
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Intel has launched what it's calling “Ask Intel,” a new AI-powered support assistant built with Microsoft Copilot Studio, as it restructures its global support operations and reduces reliance on phone support. Now live on Intel's support site, the tool is designed to open cases, check warranty coverage, give troubleshooting guidance, and escalate issues to human agents when required.
The launch of Ask Intel follows changes to the company's support model that include removing inbound public phone numbers for support in most countries and directing customers and partners to initiate cases online. Intel has also ended direct support interactions through certain social media platforms, consolidating engagement around web-based case systems and community channels.
The support assistant — described by Intel VP Boji Tony as “one of the first of its kind in the semiconductor industry” on LinkedIn — is the first step in what Intel has described as a broader “digital-first experience” and is understood to be capable of guiding users through issue diagnoses, creating or updating service tickets, and providing status updates.
Intel's own support page contains a disclaimer that the accuracy of responses generated by the assistant “cannot be guaranteed” and that the tool may contain bugs or incomplete features. It also notes that chat logs may be retained and processed by Intel and third-party service providers under its privacy policy — there is no opt-out for this.
The assistant was built using Microsoft's Copilot Studio platform, a low-code tool designed for enterprises to create custom AI agents that connect to internal data sources and perform workflow actions. Microsoft has been expanding Copilot Studio's capabilities to include more autonomous task handling, including the ability to trigger actions across connected systems.
Speaking to CRN, an Intel spokesperson said that early partner response “has been positive,” and that early performance metrics show improvements in satisfaction and case resolution rates compared to prior quarters, though no specific figures were disclosed. The same spokesperson indicated that future updates will “deepen integration” with Intel.com and expand the assistant's ability to identify required driver updates and autonomously create warranty claims.
Ask Intel has been launched amid a wider restructuring effort at Intel aimed at streamlining operations and reducing overhead across non-manufacturing functions. By consolidating support intake through a centralized, AI-driven interface, Intel is reshaping how partners and customers interact with human agents, who now sit further downstream in the support process.
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I enjoyed playing a game of Chess on the 'MissPiggy' PDP-11/70 running UNIX v7.
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The Interim Computer Museum (ICM) and SDF.org have made 28 vintage computer systems accessible online for free. There's a plethora of old but gold - some legendary - systems available, so your visit should be like entering a living museum of computing.
All you have to do is point your browser at connect.sdf.org and login by typing ‘menu' to gain guest access to the systems. Typing ‘1' toggles between pages, revealing the full 28 choices.
Please be aware that choosing an option will drop you to a command prompt on the system in question. No big deal if you have experience with that particular system and are scratching a nostalgia itch. Others may find that a bit of research is required to do anything productive or fun from the blinking prompt.
You have GUEST access to 28 vintage systems in the browser at https://t.co/rAFRGXH0NvExperience vintage operating systems, architectures, programming languages and GAMES.https://t.co/ihON7y2jBE#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #retrogaming #gaming pic.twitter.com/k7XpBC4JaZFebruary 14, 2026
In the system menu, there are three columns. The first column begins with a command letter to select a system. Pressing the corresponding key, then Enter, will begin a session on the selected system. The second column shows the operating system, and the third, the ‘hardware.' We've put hardware in quotations as SDF explains,” these systems are a mix of emulation, hybrid, and vintage hardware running historical operating systems.” Which systems are real, hybrid, or emulated isn't immediately clear.
Some of the systems accessible, thanks to the efforts of SDF.org and the ICM, are legendary. The Multics (option a, page 1) operating system is a pioneering OS from 1964, designed by MIT, GE, and Bell Labs. It was a big influence on Unix and was still in use as late as 2000. Here it is available at your fingertips on a 'Honeywell 6180.'
Then there is a trio of TOPS-20 systems. These sport the iconic @ prompt and run classic PDP-10 software from the ARPANET era.
Another system with spectacular lineage is the DCD 6500 (option m, page 1) NOS 1.3. Designed for scientific computing by Seymour Cray, before Cray Research was founded, the CDC 6500 was architecturally split with a single main CPU and 10 Peripheral Processors (PPs).
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On the UNIX systems submenu, you can see UNIX V7 on PDP‑11/70 at pole position ‘MissPiggy' (option a, page 2). This system is considered by some to be the Rosetta Stone of UNIX, overflowing with the DNA of this remarkable OS.
I managed to play Chess on the UNIX v7 ‘MissPiggy' PDP-11/70 system. It wasn't the most fun I have had today, though. A chess program with graphics and a UI can give me a headache, so this command-line chess game, played without a board, quickly lost its novelty.
The SDF says that funding to run the museum and projects like this comes from BOOTSTRAP membership, sponsorship, and donations. So, if you enjoy this kind of project and want to encourage more, consider signing up for that.
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
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As prices of DDR5 memory kits set records in the U.S., in Europe they begin to show signs of descend. At least, this is what a DDR5 pricing graph published to a renowned PC enthusiasts community is meant to show. We also analyzed the pricing of several DDR5 kits from prominent suppliers in Germany, and we can certainly say that these kits cost less than they used to cost just weeks ago.
The chart allegedly depicts aggregated pricing of an 'average' 32 GB DDR5 kit across the European Union from late July 2025 to February 2026. Prices hovered around €95 (minimum, green) – €100 (average, blue) through early autumn, then began climbing sharply in October, accelerating through November and peaking in early February at roughly €430 – €470 on average, with minimum prices slightly lower. Toward the end of the period, both lines trend downward, which may either indicate a modest correction after the spike or an actual drop in prices due to certain factors.
While the graph from deserves attention, it lacks clarity and details (which kits, which countries, retailers, is VAT included, etc.), so we decided to do our own price trend checks of five popular 32 GB DDR5-6000/6400 dual-channel kits* from renowned brands like Crucial, Corsair, G.Skill, Kingston, and Patriot in Amazon Germany using the CamelCamelCamel service.
Among the 32 GB DDR5-6000/6400 kits that we checked, only two models — from Corsair and Kingston — demonstrated steep declines: from around €480 in early February to around €425 now for Corsair and from around €550 in early January to €463 at press time for Kingston. Nonetheless, all memory kits that we checked are now priced below their peaks several weeks ago. Note that all retail prices in Europe include VAT, unlike retail prices in the U.S.
We also checked price trends for the same 32 GB DDR5 kits in the U.S., and while the prices are far from where they were in September, some of them (G.Skill, Patriot) are also showing a modest correction, though we certainly cannot say that they are heading downwards.
While $400 is certainly way too high for a 32 GB DDR5-6000 memory kit in 2026, we are not going to see prices decline to normal levels due to shortages of memory chips, which is going to happen either when excessive demand for all kinds of memory drops, when new DRAM production capacities come online in late 2026 – 2027, or when DRAM makers transit to more efficient process technologies. Yet, the signs of correction clearly show that the retail DDR5 kits' prices are way too high, which affects demand significantly enough for retailers to slash their price tags.
*We used the following kits for our checks, as memory prices currently depend on supply, we did not specify based on whether the kits feature AMD Expo or Intel XMP profiles:
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We've been waiting on Nvidia's long-rumored N1X Arm chips for a while at this point. Through several leaks and official teases, the company's ARM-based consumer SoC has excited many as it's poised to open the gates of high-end Arm performance on Windows machines. Interestingly, it seems like the "Chinese Nvidia" has beaten the Green Team to the punch with its own custom Arm chip in a new laptop.
Moore Threads, the region's local darling, has just launched the "MTT AI Book" — a new thin-and-light laptop powered by an in-house "MT1000" CPU. What's special about this chip is that it's Arm-based and features 12 CPU cores clocked at 2.65 GHz (base), along with an unknown GPU that's based on its MUSA microarchitecture. The NPU is capable of delivering up to 50 TOPS of AI compute, similar to AMD's Strix Point.
MOORE THREADS MTT AIBOOK"Smart SoC" + 32GB + 1TB + 2.8K OLED =9999 CNY pic.twitter.com/XesBcEBr6gFebruary 21, 2026
The SoC as a whole is called "Yangtze" (translated) and is paired with 32 GB of LPDDR5X-7500 unified memory, meaning that's shared between the MT1000 CPU and the MUSA-based GPU. The 1 TB SSD onboard carries a Linux-based operating system called "AIOS," but the device can also run Windows. That's what makes this exciting, because now we're in N1 territory. Unfortunately, we're not looking at Windows-on-Arm here, but rather a virtualization-based approach where Windows just sits inside a VM.
The Nvidia N1 silicon is said to have a 20-core ARM CPU and an RTX 5070-level GPU because Jensen Huang himself confirmed it powers the GB10 Superchip inside the DGX Spark.
Even if we imagine for a second that Moore Thread's Arm SoC is natively running Windows and is optimized — it just doesn't stack up to what Nvidia is cooking. The Green Team's offering is supposed to open up AI and gaming in a whole new way for Windows-on-Arm. Meanwhile, Qualcomm is already trying with its own X series of SoCs.
AMD and Intel, on the other hand, don't have competing Arm products so we can't really speculate much. The Red Team's Strix Halo chips, which feature desktop-level integrated graphics, and the rumored Nova Lake-AX (cancelled?) lineups are both technically in the spot that N1X might gun for: a powerful, portable machine with strong battery life.
Moore Thread's Yangtze doesn't seem to be there yet, and that's proven by its Geekbench listing: it scores 1,127 points in the single-core test and 7,420 points in multi-core. Those numbers are very underwhelming. The most modern CPU we could find around these results was the Ryzen 3 7320U at 1,112 single-threaded points; even a recent Core i3/Core Ultra 3 SKU scores more than that.
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Apart from its intriguing silicon, the MTT AI Book features a 2.8K 14-inch OLED display running at 120 Hz. The port selection seems to be limited to just 3x USB-C ports, and the battery is rated at 70Wh. The laptop weighs 1.5 kg despite being CNC-milled out of a "6-series" aluminum alloy. It also looks very similar to a MacBook Air and is priced at 9,999 CNY on JD.com, or about $1,447 USD.
We hope to see more mainstream media coverage of this device with independent reviews that test the Arm-based SoC's capability. This was just one Geekbench listing, so there's still a chance that with the right drivers and firmware tuning, the MTT AI Book can deliver better performance. It's aimed at AI applications, though, so we may not be that impressed by its graphical prowess when it surfaces.
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Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he's not working, you'll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.
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People in the European Union are now allowed to access alternative app stores thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulation designed to foster increased competition in the app ecosystem. Like Apple's App Store, alternative app marketplaces on allow for easy access to a wider world of apps on Apple devices, but instead of the apps going through Apple's App Review process, the apps on these third-party marketplaces have to go through a notarization process to ensure they meet some “baseline platform integrity standards,” Apple says — like being malware-free. However, each store can review and approve apps according to its own policies. The stores are also responsible for any matters relating to support and refunds, not Apple.
To run an alternative app marketplace, developers must accept Apple's alternative business terms for DMA-compliant apps in the EU. This includes paying a new Core Technology Fee of €0.50 for each first annual install of their marketplace app, even before the threshold of 1 million installs is met, which is the bar for other EU apps distributed under Apple's DMA business terms.
Despite the complicated new rules, a handful of developers have taken advantage of the opportunity to distribute their apps outside of Apple's walls.
Beyond the EU, other markets are experimenting with alternative app stores, as well, like Japan. In December 2025, Apple announced its compliance with the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA), which gives developers new options to distribute apps and process payments outside of Apple's App Store.
This option also requires developers to accept new business terms, like a reduced 10% to 21% App Store commission, a payment processing fee for Apple in-app purchases of 5%, a core technology fee of 5%, and a 15% store services commission on web sales made through a link in the app.
Below is a list of the alternative app stores iPhone users in these markets can try today.
Co-created by developer Riley Testut, maker of the Nintendo game emulator app Delta, the AltStore PAL is an officially approved alternative app marketplace in the EU. The open source app store will allow independent developers to distribute their apps alongside the apps from AltStore's makers, Delta, and a clipboard manager, called Clip.
Unlike Apple's App Store, AltStore apps are self-hosted by the developer. To work, developers download an alternative distribution packet (ADP) and upload it to their server, then create a “source” that users will add to the AltStore to access their apps. That means the only apps you'll see in the AltStore are those you've added yourselves.
Some popular apps that users are adding include the virtual machine app UTM, which lets you run Windows and other software on iOS or iPad; OldOS, a re-creation of iOS 4 that's built in SwiftUI; Kotoba, the iOS dictionary available as a stand-alone app; torrenting app iTorrent; qBittorrent remote client for iOS devices called qBitControl; and social discovery platform PeopleDrop.
MacPaw's Setapp became one of the first companies to agree to Apple's new DMA business terms to set up an alternative app store for EU users. Unfortunately, this app store didn't last long — the company announced it would sunset the Setapp Mobile service on February 16, 2026. (Applications on Setapp Desktop weren't affected.) The company cited Apple's “still-evolving” and complex business terms as the reason for its decision.
The company had long offered a subscription-based service featuring a selection of curated apps for customers on iOS and Mac. Following the implementation of the DMA, it released the alternative app store for Setapp Mobile for iOS users only in the EU. Similar to its other subscription offerings, the now-shuttered app store had included dozens of apps under a single recurring subscription price, and the number of apps grew over time. The apps were free from in-app purchases or ads and are generally considered high quality. However, it didn't include big-name apps like Facebook, Uber, Netflix, and others.
Fortnite maker Epic Games launched its alternative iOS app store in the EU in August 2024, allowing users to download games, including its own Fortnite and others like Rocket League Sideswipe and Fall Guys, with more to come. The company said it's also bringing its games to other alternative app stores, including AltStore PAL, which it's now supporting via a grant, as well as Aptoide's iOS store in the EU and ONE Store on Android.
The move to launch Fortnite in alternative iOS marketplaces comes more than four years after Apple removed the game from its App Store over policy violations, ahead of Epic's legal challenge to the alleged App Store monopoly. While U.S. courts decided that Apple was not engaged in antitrust behavior, the lawsuit did pave the way for developers to link to their own websites for a reduced commission.
An alternative game store for iPhone, Lisbon-based Aptoide is an open source solution for app distribution. The company, already known for its Google Play alternative, says it scans the apps to ensure they are safe to download and install.
The iOS version of the Aptoide store launched as an invite-only beta in June 2024 before becoming available to all across the EU. As a free-to-use store, Aptoide doesn't charge its users to cover its Core Technology Fee paid to Apple, but takes a 10% to 20% commission on in-app purchases on iOS, depending on whether they were generated by the marketplace or not.
Across all platforms, including Android, web, car, and TV, Aptoide offers 1 million apps to its more than 430 million users.
A B2B-focused app store, the Mobivention marketplace allows EU companies to distribute their internal apps that are used by employees, but can't — or shouldn't — be published in Apple's App Store. The company also offers the development of a customized app marketplace for companies that want to offer employees their own app store just for their corporate apps. Larger companies can even license Mobivention's technology to more deeply customize the app marketplace to their own needs.
Last March, Skich announced the launch of an alternative app store for EU users, which differentiates itself by offering a Tinder-like interface for app discovery. That is, users swipe right to “match” with apps they might enjoy. They can also create playlists and see what apps their friends are playing. The new store will replace Skich's existing app and will see the company taking a 15% commission on all purchases. Instead of filling its app store with apps right away, the store marketed to developers at the Game Developers Conference (GDC).
Onside is an alternative iOS app store available in both the EU and, now, Japan, as of February 17, 2026, thanks to the new regulations. The company promises it will charge developers lower rates while still offering security, including keeping payment information private. The store currently supports bank card payments and Apple Pay and will later roll out support for other payment methods like iDeal, Klarna, and more.
For consumers, Onside touts a range of top apps and exclusives that can't be found on other marketplaces within a familiar interface that includes traditional app store features, like editorial collections, ratings and reviews, and automatic updates.
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by Alan Boyle on Feb 21, 2026 at 4:35 pmFebruary 21, 2026 at 4:35 pm
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says the giant rocket set to send four astronauts around the moon for the history-making Artemis 2 mission must be rolled back from its launch pad to troubleshoot a technical problem.
The 10-day mission, previously scheduled for as soon as March, is now postponed until April at the earliest. “I understand people are disappointed by this development,” Isaacman said in a posting to X. “That disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA, who have been working tirelessly to prepare for this great endeavor.”
The technical issue cropped up just days after a successful launch-pad rehearsal at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Data from the Space Launch System rocket's upper stage registered an interruption in the flow of helium, which is used to pressurize the propellant tanks and purge the engines. “Last evening, the team was unable to get helium flow through the vehicle,” Isaacman wrote today. “This occurred during a routine operation to repressurize the system.”
Isaacman said the helium pressurization system worked correctly during this week's wet dress rehearsal. For what it's worth, a problem with a helium valve cropped up during preparations for the uncrewed Artemis 1 round-the-moon mission in 2022, leading NASA managers to take corrective actions.
The current problem could be due to a failure at any of several points in the helium supply system. “Regardless of the potential fault, accessing and remediating any of these issues can only be performed in the VAB,” said Isaacman, referring to the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building where the SLS and its Orion crew capsule were stacked for launch.
With March out of consideration, the next available launch dates for Artemis 2 are April 1 and April 3-6. The mission aims to send three NASA astronauts and a Canadian astronaut on a figure-8 route around the moon — which would mark the first time humans have traveled beyond Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. A successful Artemis 2 mission would clear the way for Artemis 3's crewed lunar landing.
Several companies with a presence in the Seattle area are banking on Artemis' success.
For example, a facility in Redmond operated by L3Harris (previously known as Aerojet Rocketdyne) builds thrusters for the Orion spacecraft and is already working ahead on the Artemis 8 mission. Boeing is the lead contractor for the SLS rocket's core stage. And Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture, based in Kent, is developing a Blue Moon lander that's meant to put Artemis crews on the lunar surface starting in 2030. Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is expected to send an uncrewed cargo version of its lander to the moon sometime in the next few months.
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Scientists have developed a new imaging technique that uses a novel contrast mechanism in bioimaging to merge the strengths of two powerful microscopy methods, allowing researchers to see both the intricate architecture of cells and the specific locations of proteins-all in vivid color and at nanometer resolution.
The breakthrough, called multicolor electron microscopy, addresses a longstanding challenge in biological imaging: scientists have traditionally had to choose between seeing fine structural details or tracking specific molecules, but not both at once.
The approach opens doors for studying everything from cell signaling to the organization of molecular clusters within cells, all while seeing exactly where these processes occur within the cell's architecture. The research will be presented at the 70th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in San Francisco from February 21–25, 2026.
I've always been fascinated by developing new microscopy techniques that can image things we haven't seen before. We're building a multicolor electron microscope-a technique that combines the benefits of electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy."
Debsankar Saha Roy, a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Maxim Prigozhin at Harvard University
Traditional fluorescence microscopy works by attaching glowing tags to proteins of interest, then shining visible light on the sample to make those tags light up. This approach is excellent for locating specific molecules, but it has significant limitations. "The resolution is limited to about 250 to 300 nanometers, so you can't see individual proteins clearly," Roy explained. "But the bigger issue is that you don't see the structure of the cell. You see whatever is labeled, but you don't see everything else around it."
Electron microscopy, on the other hand, can reveal cellular structures in exquisite detail-down to a few nanometers-but hasn't traditionally been able to identify specific molecules in color. Scientists have tried combining the two approaches by taking separate images with each method and then overlaying them, but aligning the images precisely, especially in large samples like brain tissue, has proven extremely difficult.
The Harvard team's solution is elegant: instead of using two separate imaging sessions, they use a single electron beam to accomplish both tasks simultaneously.
"We're not sending in light-we're sending an electron beam," Roy said. "We have probes that you can attach to a protein that emit visible light when excited by electrons. This process is called cathodoluminescence. So from the same electron beam, you get two sets of information: the colored signal from the probes, and also the detailed structural image from the electrons."
A key advantage of the technique is that researchers can use existing fluorescent dyes that are already widely available and well-characterized. The team had previously developed lanthanide nanoparticles as probes for muticolor electron microscopy, and working to attach them to proteins.
More recently, the team made a surprising discovery when they placed some common fluorescent dyes in the electron microscope. "The most surprising thing we observed was that standard dyes used in fluorescence microscopy also emit visible light when you excite them with electrons," Roy said. "That had never been seen before. And these dyes-and their protein labelling methods-are already developed and available; you don't have to create anything new."
The team has already demonstrated the technique works in mammalian cells and biological tissues, including fungus-infected flies.
Looking ahead, the researchers aim to extend the technique into three dimensions. Currently, the method produces flat, two-dimensional images. The next frontier is adapting it for use with cryo-electron microscopy-a technique where samples are flash-frozen, preserving cells in their natural state and allowing scientists to image them from multiple angles to build 3D reconstructions.
"We want to extend this multicolor electron microscopy approach to 3D," Roy said. "To get there, we aim to implement this technique in ultrathin sections of cell embedded matrices and/or in cryo-electron microscopy-that's the next step."
Biophysical Society
Posted in: Cell Biology | Histology & Microscopy
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Scientists have uncovered an elegant biophysical trick that tuberculosis-causing bacteria use to survive inside human cells, a discovery that could lead to new strategies for fighting one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases.
Tuberculosis kills more than a million people each year and remains a major public health crisis, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The disease is caused by mycobacteria, which have evolved sophisticated ways to hijack human immune cells and avoid being destroyed.
Tuberculosis is rampant in India. I grew up in a state where tuberculosis outbreaks are a major problem, and I was always curious about how these diseases spread. That's what drew me to this research."
Ayush Panda, formerly a graduate student in the laboratory of Mohammed Saleem at the National Institute of Science Education and Research, India
The research, which will be presented at the 70th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in San Francisco from February 21–25, 2026, and was recently posted on bioRxiv, reveals that mycobacteria release tiny packages called extracellular vesicles that fuse with the membranes of immune cells. These vesicles contain specialized lipids-fatty molecules-that make the cell membrane more rigid.
Normally, when our immune cells engulf harmful bacteria, they trap them in a compartment called a phagosome, which then fuses with another compartment called a lysosome. Lysosomes contain digestive enzymes that break down and destroy the bacteria. However, the team discovered that by stiffening the phagosome membrane, mycobacteria prevent this fusion from occurring-essentially building a protective bunker around themselves inside our own cells.
"If the membrane becomes more rigid, it becomes much harder for the phagosome to fuse with the lysosome," Panda explained. "It's an elegant biophysical mechanism: the bacteria remodel the membrane architecture to escape the very process that would have killed them." The researchers also found that these vesicles are not limited to infected cells. They can affect nearby immune cells, weakening them even before they come into contact with the bacteria.
What makes this discovery particularly significant is that it represents an entirely new way of understanding how mycobacteria survive. Previous research focused primarily on proteins that the bacteria disrupt. This study takes a lipid-centric approach, showing that the introduction of bacterial lipids into host cell membranes is sufficient to induce immune dysfunction.
"The most surprising finding was when we introduced mycobacterial lipids into membranes that mimic the host phagosome, we saw remarkable physical changes-the membrane properties were completely altered," Panda said.
The researchers also observed similar extracellular vesicle-mediated membrane effects in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, suggesting an evolutionarily conserved strategy among pathogens. The findings open several promising avenues for developing new treatments. Researchers could potentially target the proteins involved in the production of these bacterial vesicles or find ways to counteract the membrane-stiffening effects.
"Now that we understand how the bacteria protect themselves, we can start looking for ways to stop them," Panda said. "If we can block the bacteria from stiffening those membranes, our immune cells might be able to do their job and stop the infection."
Biophysical Society
Posted in: Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Disease/Infection News
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As space agencies prepare for human missions to the Moon and Mars, scientists need to understand how the absence of gravity affects living cells. Now, a team of researchers has built a rugged, affordable microscope that can image cells in real time during the chaotic conditions of zero-gravity flight-and they're making the design available to the broader scientific community.
The research, previously published in npj Microgravity, will be presented at the 70th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in San Francisco from February 21–25, 2026.
We know that astronauts' cellular signaling processes-like insulin signaling-are affected by being in zero gravity. But no one had tried to look at this in a simple, stripped-down system. We wanted to watch a cell sensing and responding to a signal in zero gravity to see exactly what happens."
Adam Wollman, Assistant Professor, Newcastle University, United Kingdom
Existing microscopes designed for space research, like those aboard the International Space Station, tend to be expensive, specialized systems with limited access for researchers. Wollman's team set out to create something more accessible.
"We wanted to make something more democratic, where other researchers could do microgravity experiments that require microscopy," Wollman said. "We based our design on an open-source microscope from Stanford and made it lower cost and more accessible."
The resulting instrument, called FlightScope, was selected to fly on a European Space Agency parabolic flight-sometimes called the "vomit comet." These specially converted aircraft create brief periods of weightlessness by flying in dramatic arcs, nose-diving for about 20 seconds at a time. It's an accessible way to conduct microgravity research, but the conditions are punishing for delicate scientific equipment.
The team reinforced their microscope with rigid mountings and vibration dampeners and added a custom fluid-handling system that could rapidly switch between experiments during the repeated dive cycles. Using yeast as a model organism, they successfully captured images of cells taking up fluorescently labeled glucose molecules in microgravity-observing that the uptake appeared slower than under normal gravity conditions.
But FlightScope's potential extends beyond parabolic flights. Wollman has already taken the microscope into an old British salt mine called Boulby, which serves as an analog environment for conditions on the Moon or Mars. There, he worked with colleagues studying salt-tolerant microorganisms called archaea-research that could inform the search for life on other planets.
"We're now developing another version to go on a sounding rocket," Wollman said. "These are small rockets that fly up about 80 kilometers, then fall back to Earth, giving us about two minutes of microgravity. The bigger goal is to use this technology in zero gravity for extended periods."
Understanding how cells behave in space is crucial not only for astronaut health but also for the microorganisms that could one day power life support systems on long-duration missions, producing food, medicine, and other essential compounds. By making microgravity research more accessible, FlightScope could help accelerate discoveries that prepare humanity for life beyond Earth.
Biophysical Society
Posted in: Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Histology & Microscopy
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Natasha Bury
Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria.
Rosanna Zhang
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The Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) announces the award of a research grant to University of Denver, Denver, Colo. The grant will support a three-year study entitled, "Prenatal Massage: A Complementary Approach for Maternal Health and Mental Health," led by Primary Investigator Galena Rhoades, PhD.
The study will be conducted through a partnership between the University of Denver and Thriving Families, a Denver-based nonprofit organization serving perinatal women and birthing people from under-resourced and minority backgrounds. The project will evaluate the impact of incorporating prenatal massage into MotherWise, an evidence‑based, trauma‑informed, and culturally responsive maternal wellness program. Participants will be divided into two groups: one will receive the standard MotherWise program, while the second will receive the same program along with six 20‑minute prenatal massage sessions provided by licensed massage therapists specially trained in prenatal care. Outcomes will be compared to determine whether massage therapy provides additional benefits to the program.
Specifically, investigators aim to (1) assess potential benefits including decreasing rates of postpartum depression (primary outcome) and improving scores for anxiety, pain, sleep, stress, preterm birth, and infant birth weight, and (2) examine the implementation of prenatal massage to inform recommendations for scalability to other similar community-based contexts. For Aim 2, qualitative data from focus groups and interviews as well as quantitative data from validated measures will assess implementation processes (e.g., barriers and facilitators) and outcomes (e.g., feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, and adoption).
"Evidence suggests that prenatal massage confers meaningful health and mental health benefits, and we need rigorous research about what it looks like when prenatal massage is integrated into real-world, community programs. This grant allows us to partner with Thriving Families to evaluate whether adding brief, prenatal massage sessions to MotherWise can reduce postpartum depression and inform a scalable model for equitable maternal care," said study Primary Investigator Galena K. Rhoades, PhD.
"We are very excited to support this study, which has the potential to increase the evidence supporting the significant benefits of prenatal massage, and provide guidance for putting it into practice in community settings. The findings will be an important step in reducing disparities in maternal health and mental health outcomes for marginalized and underserved communities," said Kim Kane-Santos, MTF President.
The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), with the support of Massage Envy, is funding this groundbreaking research project. The study is part of AMTA's broader commitment of $2.5 million over the next five years to support innovative massage therapy research. These efforts advance scientific understanding in priority areas such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), pediatric sleep, trauma‑informed care, and the integration of massage therapy into health care settings.
Investing in research like this is essential to advancing our profession and demonstrating the far-reaching benefits of massage therapy. We're eager to see how this study informs new pathways for supporting maternal health in underserved and marginalized communities while improving lives across the country."
Cindy E. Farrar, AMTA National President
Massage Therapy Foundation
Posted in: Medical Research News | Women's Health News
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Natasha Bury
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Public misunderstanding about medical aid in dying in the United States falls into two distinct categories – misinformation and uncertainty – and each is driven by different forces, according to Rutgers Health researchers.
Their study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that misinformation about legality of medical aid in dying – a voluntary medical practice for terminally ill adults often abbreviated as MAID – is primarily shaped by ideology, while uncertainty is linked to structural barriers such as education level and financial strain.
Treating MAID knowledge as a single 'informed versus uninformed' issue would be a big miss. Our findings show that being wrong may reflect belief-protecting reasoning, not simply a lack of information."
Elissa Kozlov, assistant professor, Rutgers School of Public Health and study's lead author
The law allows terminally ill, mentally capable adults to self-administer prescribed medication to hasten death. The practice is legal in 13 states, including New Jersey and Washington, D.C., meaning about 1 in 4 Americans live in a jurisdiction where it is permitted.
Analyzing survey responses from more than 3,200 U.S. adults, researchers compared people who gave incorrect answers about MAID's legality with those who said they didn't know if MAID was legal or not. Individuals with strong ideological positions – those who believe that medical aid in dying shouldn't be legal or those who participate in religious activities – were more likely to be incorrect than uncertain.
The pattern suggests misinformation often reflects motivated reasoning, in which people interpret information in ways that align with their existing beliefs.
In contrast, respondents with lower educational attainment or greater financial insecurity were more likely to answer "don't know" rather than give incorrect responses.
"That distinction matters," Kozlov said. "People who don't know may benefit from straightforward education, but people who are misinformed may need tailored approaches that acknowledge their values while presenting accurate information."
As the practice becomes legal in more jurisdictions, the researchers found that legal availability doesn't immediately translate into informed or equitable access. Their findings suggest public education efforts should use a two-track approach: conventional health literacy strategies to reduce uncertainty and values-aligned messaging delivered by trusted messengers to address misinformation.
Future research will examine how confident people are in their answers, where they obtain information about medical aid in dying and how strongly they hold related beliefs. The researchers also plan to test communication-based interventions to determine whether they improve understanding of MAID regardless of an individual's moral views.
Rutgers University
Kozlov, E., et al. (2026). Understanding Incorrectness: Structural and Ideologic Predictors of Public Knowledge About MAID Legality in the U.S. Journal of General Internal Medicine. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-026-10211-1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-026-10211-1
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Lawmakers in at least eight states this year are aiming to reel in wage garnishment for unpaid medical bills.
The legislation introduced in Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington builds on efforts made in other states in past years. This latest push for patient protections comes as the Trump administration has backed away from federal debt protections, health care has become more costly, and more people are expected to go without medical coverage or choose cheaper but riskier high-deductible insurance plans that could lead them into debt.
"In the wealthiest country on Earth, people are going bankrupt, suffering wage garnishment, just because they get sick," said Colorado state Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Democrat who introduced legislation on Feb. 19 that would, among other measures, ban wage garnishment for medical debt.
That legislation is under consideration after a KFF Health News investigation found that courts approved wage garnishment requests in an estimated 14,000 medical debt cases a year in Colorado. The investigation also showed that it isn't just urban hospitals or big health care chains allowing their patients' wages to be garnished. It's also small rural hospitals, physician groups, and public ambulance services, among other medical care providers. And the reporting showed that wage garnishment can erroneously target patients. For example, one family lost wages — and subsequently power to their home, because they couldn't pay their electric bill — after an ambulance company incorrectly billed the family instead of Medicaid.
Wage garnishment is one tool creditors can use in most states to recoup money from people with unpaid bills. In many states, they can garnish someone's bank account or put a lien on their home, too. To garnish a person's wages, a creditor must typically get permission from a court to make the person's employer hand over a piece of the debtor's earnings.
"The creditor is taking the money directly out of somebody's paycheck, and so it doesn't leave people with any choice to say, 'I need to prioritize food for my children,'" said Lauren Jones, legal and policy director for the National Center for Access to Justice. The center, based at Fordham Law School, scores states and the District of Columbia on how fair their laws are to consumers who get sued over debt.
It is legal to garnish patients' wages for medical debt in all but a few states, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation based in New York focused on health care.
Now, lawmakers in additional states seek to ban the practice entirely. Others want to limit it by exempting debtors whose household income falls under a certain threshold or by upping the amount of earnings immune from garnishment.
Such policies on wage garnishment fit into a larger push around the country to address the effect of medical debt on people's lives and finances. Those efforts include barring medical debt from credit reports, prohibiting liens on people's homes, capping interest rates, and limiting the ability to file lawsuits against people with low incomes over unpaid medical bills.
Debt collectors have fought against such measures, arguing they don't solve the problem of health care affordability and hurt the ability of medical providers to continue to provide care.
"The wage garnishment process is already highly regulated at the federal and state level and includes many consumer protection measures," said Scott Purcell, chief executive of ACA International, an association of credit and collection professionals.
Even before the Colorado legislation was introduced, BC Services sent a letter warning its clients that the legislation "poses an existential threat," especially to rural health providers. And Bridget Frazier, a spokesperson for the Colorado Hospital Association, said Feb. 20 that the bill “could drive up costs and financial risk for health care providers, making it harder to keep hospitals sustainable and ensuring Coloradans have access to care when they need it most."
The pending Colorado measure would ban wage garnishment for all patients. It also would limit bank garnishments, in which a patient's financial institution must hand over a chunk of the money in the person's account. Additionally, among other things, it would prevent payment plans from exceeding 4% of weekly net income, require creditors to check whether uninsured patients are eligible for public health insurance before collecting, bar creditors from collecting on bills that are more than three years old, and leave medical care providers liable to the patient for at least $3,000 if collectors don't comply.
"No one is saying, 'Don't get paid for your services.' We're saying getting health care should not lead to financial ruin for people," said Dana Kennedy, co-executive director at the Denver-based Center for Health Progress, a health advocacy group that has been working with lawmakers on the Colorado measure.
Kennedy said that KFF Health News' investigation drove home how many kinds of Colorado health care facilities are willing to let this collection practice happen to their patients, and that the people whose wages are being garnished are often working at Family Dollar, Walmart, Amazon, or gas stations and restaurants.
"Medical debt is typically different from other forms of indebtedness," said Colorado state Sen. Mike Weissman, a Democrat co-sponsoring the legislation. "You could choose to keep driving your old car or buy a new one and take on debt for that. You could upgrade your home. You could buy consumer appliances. There's not usually that voluntary element in a health care context."
Carolyn Carter, a senior attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, said broad laws that don't require patients to jump through hoops to access protections are the most likely to be effective. Because of that, she and other consumer advocates prefer state policies that get rid of wage garnishment for all debtors and all types of debt.
"It can be hard to identify medical debt as medical debt," Carter said. "For example, if you have a medical debt and you put it on your credit card, it's not going to be easy for a court system to identify that debt as medical debt."
She said another reason is that complexity is the enemy of effectiveness. Carter pointed to a report about Hamilton County, Tennessee, showing that even though people in the state can keep $10,000 in their bank accounts safe from garnishment, few consumers take advantage of the protection. They must know the protection exists, know where to find the relevant form, get the form notarized, file it, and mail copies to creditors. The same report found that garnishments can also be burdensome for employers, who must process garnishments and can find themselves in court if they make an error.
Jones, at the National Center for Access to Justice, said outlawing wage garnishment fully, rather than limiting it, has other benefits. "It's also to protect people's jobs, because in most states, if somebody has two or more orders of garnishment, they can lose their job for it," she said.
Still, some lawmakers are pushing for the intermediate route. In Washington state, Democratic state Sen. Marko Liias is spearheading legislation to rope off a larger portion of low-wage earnings from garnishment. So, for example, a person making $1,000 a week would be able to keep their whole paycheck, as opposed to the $800 that the law would currently protect.
Mindy Chumbley, owner of a Washington-based collections company and an ACA International board member, testified against the bill on Feb. 2. "Washington has made sweeping changes to medical debt policy year after year without pausing to study the cumulative impact," she told lawmakers. "Our clients are reporting clinic closures, urgent care centers shutting down, staffing shortages, and rural facilities struggling to stay open."
The Washington State Hospital Association said it is neutral on the legislation. The American Hospital Association said it does not take positions on state policies.
Liias told KFF Health News that lawmakers need to ensure health care providers can recoup their costs while also protecting patients. "We don't want families either to be driven into bankruptcy or to be driven into under-the-table work to avoid these garnishment thresholds," he said.
Liias said his measure follows the lead of Arizona, which passed similar consumer protections in 2022. "Obviously, the health care system is still functioning in Arizona, and folks are able to make it work."
KFF Health News
Posted in: Healthcare News
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Dr. Lena Smirnova
Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling.
Natasha Bury
Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria.
Rosanna Zhang
In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research.
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Chronic pain lasts longer for women than men, and new research suggests differences in hormone-regulated immune cells, called monocytes, may help explain why.
In a new paper in Science Immunology, researchers at Michigan State University found a subset of monocytes release a molecule to switch off pain. These cells are more active in males due to higher levels of sex hormones such as testosterone, the team found.
Females, however, experienced longer-lasting pain and delayed recovery, because their monocytes were less active. Geoffroy Laumet, MSU associate professor of physiology, and Jaewon Sim, a former graduate student in his lab, discovered the same pattern in both mouse models and human patients.
These findings, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, could mean those immune cells can be manipulated into producing more signals to calm pain. While a new treatment is likely decades away, Laumet hopes this research could one day help millions of people experience relief with non-opioid treatments - and ensure women's pain is taken seriously.
The difference in pain between men and women has a biological basis. It's not in your head, and you're not soft. It's in your immune system."
Geoffroy Laumet, MSU associate professor of physiology
Pain results when neurons found throughout your body are activated by stimulation. Most of the time they're silent, but they become activated when you stub your toe or fall off a bike. But for those with chronic pain, the sensors may be activated with mild stimulation, or even no stimulation at all.
Doctors still rely on patients rating their pain on a scale of one to 10. The problem is everyone experiences pain differently. So, when more women than men complain of long-lasting or chronic pain, the difference is often chocked up to perception or reporting.
Laumet has devoted his lab to studying pain for six years. His team was researching a small pilot project when they noticed higher levels of interleukin-10, or IL-10, in males. When the second test again showed higher levels of the substance that signals to neurons to shut down pain, they realized they were onto something.
"That was the turning point for me," Sim said. "I feel extremely fortunate that we trusted those early, uncertain findings and chose to pursue them further."
Laumet's lab dove into the research using a sophisticated technique called high-dimensional spectral flow cytometry. They learned that monocytes, long thought to be precursor cells without much of a function, play an essential and direct role in communicating with pain-sensing neurons by producing IL-10. Laumet's team found that IL-10-producing-monocytes were much more active in males than females. When they blocked male sex hormones, they received the opposite result.
"This study shows that pain resolution is not a passive process," Laumet said. "It is an active, immune-driven one."
Laumet's team performed at least five types of tests on mouse models to make sure what they saw wasn't an anomaly. Each time, the results were the same.
That's when he reached out to Sarah Linnsteadt, a colleague at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was studying the psychological outcomes of people in car accidents. Her research showed a similar pattern - men had more active IL-10-producing-monocytes and resolved pain faster.
This new evidence illuminates the immune–neural pain resolution pathway, shifting the thinking from how pain starts to why pain persists. The next step is to investigate how treatments could target this pathway and boost IL-10 production. These treatments could help pain resolve faster instead of just blocking pain signals.
"Future researchers can build on this work," Laumet said. "This opens new avenues for non-opioid therapies aimed at preventing chronic pain before it's established."
Michigan State University
Sim, J., et al. (2026). Monocyte-derived IL-10 drives sex differences in pain duration. Science Immunology. DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adx0292. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.adx0292
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As the United States prepares to host the 2026 World Cup, concerns about visa cancellations and ICE being visible at sporting events are leading to fears that immigration enforcement could define the beautiful game, says Khalid Sayed of the African National Congress
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The Fifa World Cup is still months away, but the Winter Olympics offered a preview of how international sport can become entangled with US immigration policy.
In Milan, the proposed involvement of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), which was framed as routine “security”, triggered protests. But what unfolded revealed something more troubling: the normalisation of domestic immigration crackdowns inside global sporting arenas.
The next test will be the World Cup, which is being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada – a tournament that depends not just on teams crossing borders, but on millions of supporters, often from the Global South, doing the same.
President Donald Trump has already used Fifa's ceremonial stage to advance his own political image – most notably when he was awarded a “peace prize” at the World Cup draw in Washington in December. Now concerns are spreading among federations, sponsors and political leaders about how immigration enforcement might shape the tournament's atmosphere. UK MPs have urged Fifa to seek clarity. Debates in host cities have begun over how to respond to the visible presence of ICE at football events.
There have already been reports of large-scale visa cancellations linked to the summer's multi-city tournament. American officials stress these are not tourist visas. But that distinction offers little reassurance to supporters navigating unpredictable processing times, heightened scrutiny and the possibility of ICE enforcement activity around matchdays. With extended travel bans affecting countries such as Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Haiti, the World Cup increasingly revolves around a stark question: will fans be allowed to show up at all – and will they feel safe if they do?
Sport is not neutral, especially in America. When NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the pre-game national anthem, he helped ignite the Black Lives Matter movement. Today, however, it is more likely to be governments politicising the pitch. There is nothing organic about turning soft culture into a projection of state power.
The United States would hardly be the first country to harness global sport to shape international perception. The 1936 Olympics were a pure display of pro-Hitler propaganda and ideological dominance. In apartheid South Africa, authorities used sport to project normalcy abroad. Springbok rugby tours, cricket fixtures against democratic nations and “token” Black players on national teams were presented as proof of stability and legitimacy – even as the state practised brutal policing and exclusion at home.
That façade collapsed only when athletes, federations and governments refused to play along – culminating in the International Olympic Committee banning South Africa from the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games because of its racial segregation of athletes.
Since then, global football's legitimacy has rested on widening participation, particularly from regions historically excluded from the game's centres of power. When South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup, it was celebrated not just as a sporting milestone but as a symbolic opening of the global game to a continent long pushed to its margins. The tournament's energy flowed from that sense of arrival and belonging.
This principle extends beyond hosting to the ecosystems that sustain international sport. In Bangladesh, for example, sportswear manufacturer Youngone Corporation recently hosted the Bangladesh Football Federation at its Korean Export Processing Zone in Chattogram to support training for the women's national team – creating pathways for athletes from underrepresented nations to compete on the world stage.
But such investment presumes access – that players, fans and federations can travel freely. When that mobility is curtailed, decades of effort to globalise the game are quietly undermined.
For Trump and the 2026 World Cup, travel hesitancy or empty seats would undercut the image of strength the tournament is meant to project. That matters because this presidency has consistently measured success in the optics of scale – crowd size, ratings and global prestige.
That creates leverage. Coordinated international pressure – particularly from sponsors, participating nations and football federations – could push the administration to provide explicit guarantees on visa access, fan mobility and the scope of enforcement around matchdays.
A ring-fenced, fast-track World Cup visa regime with transparent criteria and guaranteed timelines would restore confidence without compromising security. Fifa and participating nations should insist on tournament-specific visa protocols insulated from broader political crackdowns. Sponsors, meanwhile, must ensure enforcement operations are not staged for symbolic effect.
Sporting access should be treated as critical infrastructure – not collateral damage in a domestic culture war. Otherwise, the United States risks eroding one of its last reservoirs of soft power.
And with the Los Angeles Olympics approaching in 2028, the precedent set now will matter far beyond a single tournament.
Khalid Sayed is the leader of the opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature for the African National Congress
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Manchester United's bid to reach a fourth-straight Women's FA Cup final was ended on Sunday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea after extra time in their fifth-round tie. Phallon Tullis-Joyce produced heroics in the Red Devils' goal but couldn't keep out strikes from Sam Kerr and Naomi Girma, while Simi Awujo's equaliser couldn't spark a come-from-behind win for Marc Skinner's side.
Both teams had chances to open the scoring in the first half as Tullis-Joyce saved from each of Alyssa Thompson, Erin Cuthbert and Lauren James - the latter two via outstanding stops - while Jess Park forced Hannah Hampton into a scrambling save at the other end before blazing a decent chance over the bar.
Chelsea largely dominated that first half, but United grew into the game after the break, and after Melvine Malard had a goal-bound header cleared off the line by Veerle Buurman, Park hit the post with a rasping, 25-yard effort.
However, it was Sonia Bompastor's side who eventually took the lead as substitute Kerr hooked a bouncing ball into the bottom corner. United were only behind for three minutes, however, as their own replacement, Awujo, poked the ball home after some pinball inside the Chelsea box to ensure extra-time.
The home side reasserted some control and took the lead when Girma was the quickest to react after her United States team-mate Tullis-Joyce tipped Buurman's header onto the post. United did push for a second equaliser, but couldn't produce any clear chances to keep their hopes of another trip to Wembley alive.
GOAL rates United's players from Kingsmeadow...
Phallon Tullis-Joyce (8/10):
Fine stop to keep out Thompson was followed by two outstanding saves to deny Cuthbert and James in the first half. Had some issues with her kicking, but had no chance with either goal, and was particularly unlucky to concede the second after another excellent stop from Buurman's header.
Hanna Lundqvist (5/10):
Struggled up against Thompson and then Baltimore. Unable to show off her attacking instincts as the home side dominated.
Maya Le Tissier (8/10):
Always seemed to be in the right place to deal with balls to the box, while she showed excellent composure when in possession. Set-piece deliveries caused problems, too - most notably in the build-up to Awujo's equaliser.
Millie Turner (7/10):
Solid alongside her captain. Swept up well on occasion while winning her fair share of headers.
Dominique Janssen (6/10):
Caught out at times by runs in behind her but recovered pretty well, albeit she did pick up a booking. In the right place to clear off the line in the first half.
Julia Zigiotti Olme (5/10):
Made a bright start as she carried the ball forward well but looked to be growing frustrated before she went off in the second half.
Hinata Miyazawa (5/10):
Showed some nice touches early on but United's lack of possession meant her influence soon waned.
Lisa Naalsund (4/10):
Found some nice pockets of space but her passing wasn't of the required level. Ended up dropping deeper to help out defensively.
Jess Park (6/10):
Looked the most likely to make something happen for United in attack. Should have done better when she blazed over in the first half but was so unlucky to see her long-range effort crash back off the post after the break.
Ellen Wangerheim (3/10):
Cut a lonely figure up front for much of the afternoon but could not make the ball stick when it did come forward. Replaced with 20 minutes to go.
Melvine Malard (5/10):
Posed something of a threat down the left but her final pass or shot was too often lacking, most notably when she fired over midway through the second half.
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Elisabeth Terland (5/10):
Offered more of a presence up front than Wangerheim but couldn't any sights of goal.
Simi Awujo (7/10):
Did well to dig out a finish for the equaliser and put herself about in midfield.
Gabby George (6/10):
Thrown on for the second half of extra time.
Lea Schuller (5/10):
Only given the final 15 minutes of extra time to try and make an impact.
Layla Drury (N/A):
On for the final 10 minutes.
Marc Skinner (6/10):
Perhaps could have made his substitutions a little earlier but given his side's lack of rest, they acquitted themselves well enough despite the final score.
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World Cup
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Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has criticised the split of matches between the three hosts of the 2026 men's World Cup and the new 48-team format.
The newly-expanded tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and will see 104 games played. The U.S. will host 78 of these matches and every fixture after the round of 16. Each of the three nations will host their own team during the group stage, with Mexico opening the tournament on June 11 against South Africa in Mexico City.
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Blatter, 89, said the disparity is “not in the spirit of developing football” and accused the relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and his FIFA president Gianni Infantino of “turning football into politics”.
“It's not right,” Blatter said in an interview released on Saturday with Radio Canada. “By putting the three (co-hosts) together, one would have thought they would have roughly the same share of the pie.”
“It's (the competition expansion to 48 teams) not good. And playing in three countries is even worse — especially since two of those countries are receiving nothing but crumbs.”
“In this World Cup, the great profiteer will be the United States, but not the spectators,” he continued. “A World Cup should not be organized in a country that does not grant visas (to everyone).”
FIFA declined to comment when contacted by The Athletic.
The U.S. has imposed a string of travel bans on nationals from designated countries, including four countries (Senegal, Ivory Coast, Iran and Haiti) that have qualified for the World Cup since Trump's re-election.
Blatter served as FIFA president between 1998 and 2015 before being banned from the sport for eight years after an investigation from the governing body's ethics committee. FIFA, and the Swiss authorities, alleged that a payment of two million Swiss francs was made as part of a plan to ensure Blatter was re-elected as FIFA president in 2011.
Blatter denied the allegations and was cleared of financial wrongdoing in March 2025 by a Swiss appeals court.
On Saturday, he criticised the relationship between Trump and Infantino, who entered a formal partnership aimed at regeneration in Gaza on Thursday. The current FIFA president attended the inaugural Board of Peace meeting and was seen wearing a red ‘USA' cap with '45-47′ on it, a reference to Trump's non-consecutive presidencies.
“(Trump and Infantino's relationship) changed the game for the World Cup,” Blatter said.
“We have never seen anything like it,” he continued when asked about Trump being awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. “We play for peace. It is not up to (FIFA) to give out a Peace Prize. Football is a social, cultural and grassroots event.
“Turning football into politics — because that is largely what is happening now — is, for me, incomprehensible.”
The International Olympic Committee cleared Infantino of alleged breaches of political neutrality on Sunday.
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Jessica Hopkins is a Staff News Editor at The Athletic. She previously contributed to features and investigations across cycling, athletics and football. Follow Jessica on Twitter @JessMCHopkins
Brazilian starlet Endrick has revealed the advice he received from Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe before he headed to Ligue 1 side Lyon on loan. The youngster has also admitted he has been surprised by the start he has made to life in France after making an instant impact in the French top flight, including scoring a hat-trick in a victory over Metz.
Endrick made the switch to Lyon in January in a bid to play more regularly after struggling for game time at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Brazilian has gone on to shine in France, with the only blemish being a red card against Nantes. Endrick has now revealed that he was encouraged to move to Lyon by team-mates Mbappe and Eduardo Camavinga. He told Telefoot: "Kylian Mbappé and Camavinga told me that Ligue 1 was a good league and that it was very competitive. They strongly recommended that I sign for Lyon because it's a great team. I appreciate their good advice.”
Endrick is set to return to Real Madrid at the end of the season and admits he is dreaming of winning titles with Los Blancos. He added: "I hope to see Vinicius and Mbappé together again someday to win the Champions League and other titles."
Before then Endrick is also hoping to continue to star for Lyon and then play for Brazil at World Cup 2026. He explained: "I really didn't expect things to go this well. But God is great and it was my destiny to be here. I am proud to play in France, it's an incredible country and I will do everything to continue to help Lyon in the coming months by working twice as hard.
"In the meantime, I'm pursuing my dream in Lyon and I hope to help the team achieve great things .It's a dream to play in a World Cup, I hope to do great things in Lyon, and to be at the World Cup to help Brazil, God willing."
Endrick was famously nicknamed 'Bobby' by Jude Bellingham and Co. during his time at Real Madrid after it was reported that Sir Bobby Charlton was one of his idols. He has now been dubbed the 'matador' by some media outlets after his move to France, although he's unsure if the new name will stick. He explained: "You can call me whatever you want. We'll see in the coming days if I stick with that little nickname,” he said.
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Endrick has been forced to serve a ban after his red card against Nantes but is due to return to action on Sunday when Lyon take on Strasbourg in Ligue 1.
Travel rules and safety concerns are making some soccer supporters think twice about attending FIFA World Cup matches.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching, concerns about costs, U.S. politics, and travel rules are shaping how some fans view the tournament.
The largest ever World Cup is expected to draw millions of visitors to North America. But travel rules and safety concerns are making some supporters think twice.
"It's a perfect storm," said Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, a network representing fans. "There's the ticket prices, there's the domestic political situation, there is the difficulty or the impossibility to enter the country for some nations."
"There are people that are simply unable to afford the tickets. And then others that are just, for ethical reasons, don't want to travel to the U.S. at the moment."
The hesitations come as travel to the United States shows signs of slowing. A U.S. Travel Association report forecast a 3.2 per cent drop in international tourism spending in 2025, a loss of $5.7 billion US from the previous year. The association largely attributed the drop to fewer Canadian visitors. But some international groups say they are reconsidering World Cup travel as well.
Three Lions Pride, England's official 2SLGBTQ+ supporters group, says it will not travel to the U.S. in an organized way, citing concerns about safety, discrimination, and human rights protections.
"At the moment, there are serious concerns about the safety and security in the U.S., especially for people that come from vulnerable groups," Evain said.
Policy changes and political rhetoric have added to the uncertainty. The U.S. State Department has paused immigrant visa processing for citizens of 75 countries, including some nations that qualified for the World Cup. The pause only applies to the issuance of immigrant visas.
In October, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to relocate matches scheduled for Boston, claiming parts of the city had been "taken over" by unrest.
Travel industry officials say demand to attend matches remains high, but travellers want clarity before booking.
Oswaldo Freitas, the CEO of Easy Time Travel, said clients are seeking reassurance about possible disruptions and shifting entry rules.
"We're hearing questions and concerns … about the possibility of disruptions in the travel experience. Travellers want to reassure that the rules won't change after they have booked," he said.
Despite hearing concerns, Freitas says interest to visit the U.S. remains strong.
"Even with all this noise ... We have been receiving a lot of inquiries and new bookings requests as well," he said.
FIFA says global excitement for the tournament has reached unprecedented levels, with more than half a billion ticket requests submitted during the Random Selection Draw phase, which ran from Dec. 11, 2025 to Jan. 13, 2026.
Evain says that enthusiasm is not reflected among many European supporters.
"The excitement [for the World Cup] isn't really there in Europe … It's very hard to see the demand in tickets that FIFA is claiming there is."
Evain said there are still fans that will travel because they don't want to miss out on the games and might be "less concerned" by U.S. politics.
In December, FIFA slashed the price of some World Cup tickets for teams' most loyal fans following a global backlash.
Canadian officials say the World Cup presents an opportunity to bring people together.
"As much as we don't all necessarily agree with the politics of what's going on in the U.S. ... we have to find a way to make this an incredible experience for everyone,” said Jesse Marsch, Canada men's national team head coach.
Marsch added that Canada's host cities are well positioned to welcome fans.
"It's going to be really nice up here [in Canada] and the venues that we have are going to be amazing."
The B.C. government estimates the matches in Vancouver will lead to more than one million additional out-of-province visitors between 2026 and 2031, generating more than $1 billion in additional visitor spending.
In January, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said he would encourage people to "decouple the love of the game" from geopolitical events.
"[The] World Cup has an opportunity to unite us and show the world that we have more in common than what divides us," said Sim.
Laurence Watt is an associate producer assigned to directing The Early Edition show in Vancouver. You can reach him at laurence.watt@cbc.ca or on Twitter @_laurencewatt.
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Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi was spotted being restrained by team-mate Luis Suarez after the team's 3-0 defeat to LAFC on Saturday in their MLS season opener. Goals from David Martinez, Denis Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz secured an emphatic win and made it a miserable start to the season for The Herons. Messi appeared furious after the final whistle and was seen trying to follow the match officials.
Messi was back from injury for the game against LAFC but unable to make an impact as Inter Miami kicked off a new season with a 3-0 defeat. It's a poor start to their title defence for the Herons and tempers flared afterwards. A visibly angry Messi was spotted trying to follow the match officials and having to be dragged back by Suarez, per TyC Sports. There are now fears that the incident could land Messi in hot water. Inter Miami reporter Franco Panizo posted on X: "Matt Miazga was suspended three games for something similar in 2023. Lionel Messi is at risk of facing a disciplinary sanction over his post-game actions last night."
Inter Miami boss Javier Mascherano shared his thoughts on the defeat after the game. He told reporters: "They beat us fair and square, that's the reality. My initial analysis gives me the feeling that it's a somewhat misleading result; the game itself didn't show that difference. Clearly, Los Angeles made the difference in terms of transitions; they hurt us a lot. We're not going to make a tragedy out of it either; we know we have to improve, we have to keep emphasizing the positive things we've done."
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Inter Miami will have to wait and see if the Argentina international does subsequently face any disciplinary action for his behavior after the game. In the meantime, Inter Miami and Messi will go in search of their first win of the new season next time out against Orlando City.
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has been quizzed on Nicolas Jackson's future at the club amid speculation he will return to Chelsea at the end of the season. Jackson moved to the Bavarian giants on a season-long loan in the summer but his contract includes a buy option. However, it has been reported that Bayern do not plan to sign Jackson permanently and that he will head back to the Blues at the end of the season.
Jackson's time at Chelsea appeared to be up in the summer after he moved to Bayern on loan. The Bavarian giants can make the transfer permanent if he plays at least 45 minutes in 40 appearances this season but that is looking unlikely. Jackson has only played 22 times this season in total for Bayern and the Bavarian giants are now "unlikely" to pursue a permanent transfer, according to The Times. Kompany has now been quizzed on Jackson's situation at the club but refused to give too much away.
He told reporters after Saturday's 3-2 Bundesliga win over Eintracht Frankfurt: "We enjoy having Nicolas Jackson with us. Any decision about the summer will be discussed with Nicolas himself and between the clubs. I don't have an answer now. The only thing I know is that we're very happy to have him."
Jackson did not feature in the game against Frankfurt, with Harry Kane once again stealing all the headlines after bagging a brace in the game.
It's unclear currently if Jackson would have a future at Chelsea if he does return. Liam Rosenior already have Joao Pedro, Marc Guiu and Liam Delap in his squad, while Emmanuel Emegha is set to arrive in the summer from sister club Strasbourg.
Pedro has 14 goals so far this season for the Blues, while Delap has struggled and has only netted twice. However, Rosenior has backed his striker despite his lack of goals since joining in the summer.
He told reporters: "All strikers want to score goals, of course, that's why they play the game and what they love to do. But there's a lot more you need [to win games]. You need 11 attackers and 11 defenders at all times and Liam defends from the front amazingly well, so does Joao. They have contributed to what has been a good record for us recently, and it has to continue. If you look at most players' careers, after they have joined a club, it's the second season they really take off. For Liam, he's had some really, really good performances, but also his rhythm has been interrupted by injury. I'm really happy with Joao and really happy with Liam. I think Marc Gu"u, when we've called upon him, has been very good, and that needs to continue for us to be successful.'
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Jackson's last start for Bayern came at the end of the January and it remains to be seen how much game time he will see between now and the end of the season with Bayern. The Bundesliga champions are back in action next weekend against Dortmund, while Chelsea face Arsenal at the Emirates in their next Premier League encounter.
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Harry Kane has reacted to a surprising transfer claim from Barcelona presidential candidate Xavi Vilajoana, with the prolific Bayern Munich striker seeing a shock move to Camp Nou speculated on. The England international is maintaining remarkable individual standards in German football, with contract extension talks being lined up at the Allianz Arena.
The 32-year-old frontman is tied to terms with the reigning Bundesliga champions through to the summer of 2027. It has been suggested that he could be freed from that agreement in the next recruitment window, with Bayern needing to decide whether they should cash in.
A switch to Spain has been mooted, with Vilajoana saying as part of his bid to seize control of La Liga giants in Catalunya: “We've already made some contact, and I think he's a player who would be a great fit, pending his contractual situation: it's Harry Kane.
“Kane is a centre-forward who would fit in perfectly with our style of play. He's a striker who is capable of dropping back to link up with his team-mates. He is also capable of playing as a pure No.9, a killer, a finisher. He is a player who brings mobility. He also performs well when teams sit deep. He would add a lot of value to Barcelona's game.”
Kane claims to be unaware of any discussions taking place with the Blaugrana. He is pleased to hear that his skill set is so highly regarded by another European heavyweight, but insists that no transfer plans have been drawn up.
He said when asked about links to Barca: ”I haven't heard anything about it. My father and brother handle everything, but they haven't said anything to me. As I've already said, I'm very happy here at Bayern. I'm focused on this season and my time at Bayern. I take it as a compliment.”
It was revealed at one stage that £57 million ($77m) release clauses exist in Kane's contract. Bayern's supervisory board member Uli Hoeness has since told Bild: “I'd like to make that clear. Harry is a stroke of luck for us. Because his release clause for the summer of 2026 has now expired and his contract runs until summer 2027, we are currently under no pressure.”
Senior figures in Munich have revealed that contract talks are being planned with Kane. Sporting director Christoph Freund has said: “He still has a year-and-a-half left on his contract. He feels extremely comfortable here. We're not stressing about it. He should continue as he is and continue to feel so comfortable with his family in Munich. Then he can stay in Munich for a long time.”
Bayern legend Lothar Matthaus believes that a deal will be done. He has told Sky Sports Deutschland: “I don't believe he'll leave Bayern. Money isn't his top priority; it's feeling comfortable – with the coaches, his team-mates, and his family.
“He's settled in well with his children. Bringing his family along is a huge step. I have the feeling that money isn't what matters to him. In Saudi Arabia, he'd probably earn three or four times as much. I'm convinced that Harry Kane will extend his contract with FC Bayern.”
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Kane's fellow former Tottenham and England star, Danny Murphy, told GOAL recently when asked whether a move away from Bayern should be considered: “The thing that is always difficult when you get older is to think too far ahead because we've all been there when the body doesn't work the same. If I was around Kane and had any influence on him, I wouldn't be encouraging him to go anywhere because at the moment, in this Munich team, they look like they have got a real chance in the Champions League. He is playing as well as we have ever seen him play. Why would you want to upset that?”
Kane bagged a brace in his latest appearance for Bayern - a 3-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt - and has now recorded 28 Bundesliga goals across the 2025-26 campaign. He is chasing down Robert Lewandowski's single season record of 41 efforts and has 11 games left to take in this term.
Cristiano Ronaldo has addressed the speculation surrounding his future in the Saudi Pro League. The Portuguese GOAT recently went on strike, amid frustration at how transfer funds are distributed in the Middle East, but has returned to action and is back among the goals. He claims to be happy with Al-Nassr and offered no indication that he will be breaking the most lucrative contract in world football.
Serious questions were asked of Ronaldo's future after he ruled himself out of contention for selection in Riyadh. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner ended up missing three games, with it revealed that exit clauses in his Al-Nassr deal can be triggered in the summer transfer window.
A return to Europe has been mooted for the evergreen 41-year-old, while a stunning move to join eternal rival Lionel Messi in MLS has also been speculated on. Ronaldo is, however, back to doing what he does best at Al-Nassr.
He bagged a brace in a crushing 4-0 victory over Al-Hazem on Saturday that has lifted Jorge Jesus' side back to the top of the Saudi Pro League. CR7 is chasing down the first major honour of his spell in the Middle East.
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus superstar is also working his way towards 1,000 career goals. He claims to be relishing those challenges and is delighted to see Al-Nassr leading the way in a thrilling title race.
He told reporters after netting twice against Al-Hazem: “We created so many chances, in my opinion. We should score more, but we won - that is the most important thing. Without conceding goals, again. I'm very happy with the result and, of course, for the goals.”
Ronaldo is looking to land a third consecutive Golden Boot in Saudi Arabia, having maintained remarkable individual standards in the latter stages of his iconic career. He has reached 20 goals again this term, leaving him one behind Julian Quinones and three adrift of England World Cup hopeful Ivan Toney in a congested race for top scorer honours.
Ronaldo was left dancing on the field, alongside his team-mates, after firing Al-Nassr to a welcome win on home soil. Afterwards he was quizzed on his plans for the immediate future, having extended his contract through to 2027.
He said: “Yeah, I'm very happy. As I say so many times, I belong to Saudi Arabia. It's a country that welcomed very well to me and my family and my friends. I'm happy here. I want to continue here.
“And the most important thing, it's we keep pushing. We are there in the top. Our job is to win, make pressure [on our title rivals], and let's see. We are on track. We're back; we are good; we are confident. Game by game. We are in good shape. Let's see what's going to happen.”
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After going on strike, Ronaldo was reminded that no player - even one of his standing - is bigger than the game. A statement from governing bodies in the Middle East read: “The Saudi Pro League is structured around a simple principle: every club operates independently under the same rules.
“Clubs have their own boards, their own executives and their own football leadership. Decisions on recruitment, spending and strategy sit with those clubs, within a financial framework designed to ensure sustainability and competitive balance. That framework applies equally across the league.
“Cristiano has been fully engaged with Al Nassr since his arrival and has played an important role in the club's growth and ambition. Like any elite competitor, he wants to win. But no individual - however significant - determines decisions beyond their own club.
“Recent transfer activity demonstrates that independence clearly. One club strengthened in a particular way. Another chose a different approach. Those were club decisions, taken within approved financial parameters.
“The competitiveness of the league speaks for itself. With only a few points separating the top four, the title race is very much alive. That level of balance reflects a system that is working as intended.
“The focus remains on football - on the pitch, where it belongs - and on maintaining a credible, competitive competition for players and fans.”
Ronaldo appears to have heeded advice when it comes to keeping his focus locked on football matters. Rumours regarding his future will rumble on, into and beyond the 2026 World Cup, but for now he is thrilling audiences in the Saudi Pro League once more.
By taking out a draw of top-tier talent at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Jessica Pegula showed us that her late-career peak is the result of a relentless pursuit to refine her craft.
In the 2008 fantasy/romance drama film, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Brad Pitt's character ages in reverse.
And while that is, of course, biologically impossible, Jessica Pegula seems to be doing it in real time in the real world of professional tennis.
On Saturday, on the cusp of 32, Pegula was the winner of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after a surgically precise 6-2, 6-4 victory over Elina Svitolina.
Pegula didn't finish in the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz year-end Top 10 until 2022, at the age of 28. Now she's done it four years in a row and is seriously contemplating the possibility of a fifth.
“Honestly, every year I surprise myself,” Pegula told Cole Bambini of wtatennis.com. “Because tennis is really hard. It's so week-to-week. And you have to be able to go through each week as a new week and not have a lot of highs and a lot of lows.
“i think I'm really, really good at that. My personality, I've been able to find a really good niche of how to carry myself throughout the weeks, not to take losses too deeply. And when I do well, I'm able to get right back to work and move on to the next thing. It's something I've been able to figure out over the last couple of years.”
Pegula finished it with an ace in a tidy 73 minutes.
After she executed a happy hop, skip and a jump on the court, Pegula walked to her team's box, where coach Mark Knowles sat, head down, texting madly. With all eyes in the stadium on her (with Knowles the lone exception), Pegula shrugged comically and waited. After a few moments, Knowles sheepishly looked up and moved to embrace her.
Everything -- everything -- she's been working on seemed to work. Tennis Channel analyst Andrea Petkovic was impressed.
“That forehand down the line,” Petkovic said jokingly toward the end, “I hope she takes it out to dinner tonight. Maybe some wine and candles.”
Coming into the tournament, Pegula had a feeling she might go deep. Because of the awkward travel logistics of playing in Australia, wanting to go home to Florida afterward, and playing the Middle East events, Pegula opted to skip Doha after reaching the semifinals in Melbourne.
“I'm glad I gave myself some extra time to regroup, to reset after a really great Grand Slam,” Pegula said. “I had a semifinal result the year before, so I knew it was possible. Just really happy with the way I was able to flip the script this week. To be able to come here for just one tournament -- that's something I don't usually do -- it shows the confidence I have in my game.
“I kind of know what I need to do to win matches right now.”
This was Pegula's fourth WTA 1000 title, following Guadalajara (2022), Montreal (2023) and Toronto (2024). In defeating Svitolina, Amanda Anisimova, Clara Tauson and Iva Jovic, Pegula beat four Top 20 players in a single event for only the second time.
Credit to Svitolina, who also happens to be 31 years old. Understandably, she looked tired after Friday's three-hour semifinal win over Coco Gauff that ended past 11 p.m. Svitolina was playing her first WTA 1000 final in nearly eight years (Rome 2018), the longest such gap since the format was introduced in 2009.
In 1971, Clairol ran a memorable television commercial for a women's hair-coloring product called “Loving Care.” The catch phrase: You're not getting older, you're getting better.
It was a clever piece of marketing, but it would be surprising if any of the consumers believed it.
Pegula is actually proving that adage to be true.
“I'm obsessed with becoming a better player,” Pegula said. “That's something that's kept me at the top of the game -- that I always want to improve. I love to compete and I love to win tournaments, but at the end of the day what really motivates me is becoming a better player -- every single day.
“I think with the depth we have in women's tennis that is something that is key to be able to stay at the top. And I think I've really embraced that.”
Here's more of Pegula's interview:
All four of your WTA 1000 titles have come on hard courts. For the benefit of the casual tennis fan, why is your game so well-suited to hard courts?
I take the ball very early. Hard court, I like the footing on hard. I like that there's no bad bounces, things that can go wrong. There's a very true bounce so I can get into a good rhythm pretty easily. I hit pretty hard, deep and flat, so I think my ball kind of skids through the court. When I can find my rhythm on a hard court, that's when I start playing my best tennis. I think tonight, even last night [against Anisimova] I found it at the end and was able to carry it into today. I was taking the ball early, hitting my forehand really well, taking away time and changing direction.
People always focus on “weapons” -- the big serve, the big forehand. To your point, Andrea Petkovic said on the Tennis Channel broadcast that nobody disguises and changes the direction of the shot from both sides better than you … How has that skill evolved in recent years?
I think that's something I've always been able to do really well. It's funny, sometimes people ask me, 'I don't know how you hit the ball so hard but it looks like you're just sitting there, chilling. All of a sudden it just springs off your racket.' I think one of my traits that makes me a good player is I have good timing and really good hand-eye coordination.
Over the past six months, that's something we've kind of embraced. It's been like, `OK, this is how you play tennis. How do we make this even more efficient? How do we get your footwork to evolve into how good your hands are?' So I've really worked on footwork, worked on spacing, worked on flowing through my shots a little bit.
A first title in Dubai 😍@JPegula | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/eecF3lwxpB
It's not the way everybody plays but I think it's showcased what's made me really efficient. So I give a lot of credit to my coaches. We kind of went back to the drawing board with that and really evolved it, kind of believed that this is how I have to play. Do that in practice and execute it into a match.
That's one of my strengths is that I'm able to pick up things really, really fast. I'm not the fastest or the strongest or the tallest, but I think as an athlete my ability to adapt, to pick up on things very quickly, execute them in matches -- I'm all for that. It's about embracing the things that I do well as a tennis player.
What were some of the specific things you worked on in the offseason?
Actually, my preseason was terrible [laughing]. I got a couple of injuries and barely played. I didn't even think I was going to be able to play Brisbane. But I was able to play Brisbane and make the semis, and obviously, went to AO and played great tennis. I think at the end of the year, after US Open and Asia, I kind of knew what I needed to do. Very beginning of offseason, we really emphasized it.
It was kind of interesting … we weren't that concerned about the injuries and movement and stuff because we knew how I needed to play, what we were really going to hone in on and focus on. I think that relaxed me, even though I didn't have a great preseason. I knew how I needed to play tennis and, luckily, I was able to find that in Australia. After the swing of the year, after [WTA] Finals, I was excited because I knew how I needed to play and I knew what I could still get better at. That was working at the end of the year, and I was able to build off that.
As early birthday presents go, the Dubai trophy is a pretty good one! 🎁@JPegula | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/NncheLrzIh
On the cusp of 32, is it possible that you're playing the best tennis of your life?
[Laughing] I'm old, you can say it. I don't feel that old because I had so many injuries in my early 20s that I don't think I've built up the wear and tear on tour yearly. I was hurt a lot. I was able to mature and find my game and believe in what I needed to do through the ups and downs.
I hope I can inspire girls to show that you don't have to be 20 years old. You can still play really good tennis if you take care of your body and keep improving. So, yeah, I'm really proud of myself that I can do that as a player at 32 now. I don't think that's necessarily the norm, but we saw that on the men's tour and women, too. It's a different age now. You don't have to be 18 to do well. Playing someone like Elina, she's doing the same thing. There's a different crop of us that have done well at later stages, but you can always get better.
In your mind, what has to happen for you to take the final step and win a Grand Slam singles title?
I think matches like this week really help. Building confidence on how I need to play and things I still want to get better and improve. Just keep chipping away and building that. Maybe a little luck [laughing]. I think again, keeping that mindset every day in practice and the gym and at these tournaments, I'm hoping it's going to get me there in the end.
By taking out a draw of top-tier talent at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Jessica Pegula showed us that her late-career peak is the result of a relentless pursuit to refine her craft.
The American reached his first tour-level final since 2025 Adelaide.ByTENNIS.comPublished Feb 22, 2026 copy_link
Published Feb 22, 2026
© Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Sometimes, the wrong word simply rolls off the tongue and creates an unexpected moment.That's exactly what happened when Sebastian Korda was asked a question on Saturday at the Delray Beach Open.The American booked his first ATP final since January 2025 when he defeated Flavio Cobolli, 7-6 (1), 6-1, in 77 minutes. Taking part in a customary on-court interview, Korda listened as emcee Michelle Yu inquired about his undefeated record against the Italian.
That's exactly what happened when Sebastian Korda was asked a question on Saturday at the Delray Beach Open.The American booked his first ATP final since January 2025 when he defeated Flavio Cobolli, 7-6 (1), 6-1, in 77 minutes. Taking part in a customary on-court interview, Korda listened as emcee Michelle Yu inquired about his undefeated record against the Italian.
The American booked his first ATP final since January 2025 when he defeated Flavio Cobolli, 7-6 (1), 6-1, in 77 minutes. Taking part in a customary on-court interview, Korda listened as emcee Michelle Yu inquired about his undefeated record against the Italian.
Her fumble on one word in particular left little room for recovery, however.“You've played Flavio three times and you've had sex—success all three times. Why is it….,” Yu said she tried to hold back laughter while Korda broke into a wide smile.The 25-year-old then played ball with his comedic response.“He's a good looking guy, so you know…”
“You've played Flavio three times and you've had sex—success all three times. Why is it….,” Yu said she tried to hold back laughter while Korda broke into a wide smile.The 25-year-old then played ball with his comedic response.“He's a good looking guy, so you know…”
The 25-year-old then played ball with his comedic response.“He's a good looking guy, so you know…”
“He's a good looking guy, so you know…”
Korda has seemingly put a disappointing start to the season behind him. When he spoke with TENNIS.com ahead of his runner-up finish at an ATP Challenger Tour event in San Diego, he expressed, “I think especially with how many times I've been injured, you kind of lose that competitiveness when you're not really inside of a tournament. I think that's something that I'm lacking sometimes.”The former world No. 15 has since posted six tour-level wins, following up his Dallas Open quarterfinal showing with a pair of Top 20 wins this week en route to championship Sunday (he ousted Casper Ruud ahead of his victory over Cobolli).Korda is bidding to lift his first trophy since triumphing at 2024 Washington, an ATP 500 event. Five years ago, it was in Delray Beach where Korda contested his first tour-level final. The Bradenton, Fla. native awaits the winner of fourth seed Learner Tien and fifth seed Tommy Paul.
The former world No. 15 has since posted six tour-level wins, following up his Dallas Open quarterfinal showing with a pair of Top 20 wins this week en route to championship Sunday (he ousted Casper Ruud ahead of his victory over Cobolli).Korda is bidding to lift his first trophy since triumphing at 2024 Washington, an ATP 500 event. Five years ago, it was in Delray Beach where Korda contested his first tour-level final. The Bradenton, Fla. native awaits the winner of fourth seed Learner Tien and fifth seed Tommy Paul.
Korda is bidding to lift his first trophy since triumphing at 2024 Washington, an ATP 500 event. Five years ago, it was in Delray Beach where Korda contested his first tour-level final. The Bradenton, Fla. native awaits the winner of fourth seed Learner Tien and fifth seed Tommy Paul.
Weeks after returning to the spotlight at the Australian Open, where he caught up with countryman Carlos Alcaraz following the final, Rafael Nadal traded the Rod Laver Arena for snow-covered peaks.
The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings revealed on Saturday that he has gone skiing for the first time in 26 years, sharing the moment with fans on Instagram. Posting photos from the slopes, Nadal wrote: “After 26 years… what an incredible feeling to ski again!”
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The Spaniard spent more than two decades carefully managing his body due to the demands of the Tour, meaning skiing was firmly off limits. Now in retirement, the Spaniard is enjoying the freedom to explore new experiences.
The 22-time major champion's latest outing offers a contrast to his career. In February 2014, Nadal captured ATP Tour titles in Doha and Rio de Janeiro, thriving in the heat and intensity of competition. This time, the setting was cooler and the objective purely recreational.
Among those to respond to Nadal's post was Olympic gold medallist Lindsey Vonn, who commented: “We have to ski together when I'm healthy!”
The American skier Vonn has regularly engaged with the sport and its stars, praising Jannik Sinner in recent years and even drawing comparisons between the Italian's composure and that of Roger Federer.
Nadal is the latest star to have hit the slopes, after Andy Murray went on a ski trip with his family in 2025 before he coached Novak Djokovic at the 2025 Australian Open.
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The Spaniard spent more than two decades carefully managing his body due to the demands of the Tour, meaning skiing was firmly off limits. Now in retirement, the Spaniard is enjoying the freedom to explore new experiences.
The 22-time major champion's latest outing offers a contrast to his career. In February 2014, Nadal captured ATP Tour titles in Doha and Rio de Janeiro, thriving in the heat and intensity of competition. This time, the setting was cooler and the objective purely recreational.
Among those to respond to Nadal's post was Olympic gold medallist Lindsey Vonn, who commented: “We have to ski together when I'm healthy!”
The American skier Vonn has regularly engaged with the sport and its stars, praising Jannik Sinner in recent years and even drawing comparisons between the Italian's composure and that of Roger Federer.
Nadal is the latest star to have hit the slopes, after Andy Murray went on a ski trip with his family in 2025 before he coached Novak Djokovic at the 2025 Australian Open.
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The No. 9 men's singles player in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings aims to continue making history this season—on his terms.ByTakashi WilliamsPublished Feb 21, 2026 copy_link
Published Feb 21, 2026
© Courtesy of the Forbes family
On Court 4 of the US Open grounds, Matt Forbes radiated confidence and charisma synonymous with his game. A game characterized by a pronounced “venga” after a blistering forehand winner that leaves opponents frozen in time; a bellowed, repeated “yeah” following a supersonic serve blasted clean down the T; and now, with Michigan State, a prideful “Go Green” after clinching match wins at the NCAA Singles Championship—as just a sophomore.Yet before even arriving in East Lansing, Forbes already made history for the Spartans. The 2024 USTA Boys' 18s National Champion earned a spot in the US Open men's draw and became the first active Spartan to compete at Flushing Meadows.“I think that was probably the best thing that's happened to me,” Forbes told TENNIS.com when reflecting on his 2024 US Open first-round match against Roman Safiulin.With big groundstrokes and booming grunts, an 18-year old Forbes pushed the former world No. 36 to a second set tiebreaker in the blistering New York City heat, before eventually falling in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-2.
Yet before even arriving in East Lansing, Forbes already made history for the Spartans. The 2024 USTA Boys' 18s National Champion earned a spot in the US Open men's draw and became the first active Spartan to compete at Flushing Meadows.“I think that was probably the best thing that's happened to me,” Forbes told TENNIS.com when reflecting on his 2024 US Open first-round match against Roman Safiulin.With big groundstrokes and booming grunts, an 18-year old Forbes pushed the former world No. 36 to a second set tiebreaker in the blistering New York City heat, before eventually falling in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-2.
“I think that was probably the best thing that's happened to me,” Forbes told TENNIS.com when reflecting on his 2024 US Open first-round match against Roman Safiulin.With big groundstrokes and booming grunts, an 18-year old Forbes pushed the former world No. 36 to a second set tiebreaker in the blistering New York City heat, before eventually falling in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-2.
With big groundstrokes and booming grunts, an 18-year old Forbes pushed the former world No. 36 to a second set tiebreaker in the blistering New York City heat, before eventually falling in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-2.
After the match, Forbes went viral on social media—not for his valiant effort against a professional nearly a decade his senior, but for a celebration after securing a break. On court, Forbes made a gesture to emphasize just how big his “confidence” was, a not-so-subtle reference to a certain body part.“I watched the match for the first time maybe a month or two ago. It was probably the hardest thing I had to watch, like I couldn't,” Forbes said.The celebration didn't come from a place of impulsivity or immaturity. Forbes prides himself on playing with loud aggression, but what fans witnessed on court was an added layer of frustration that had been building months before his appearance in the Big Apple.Forbes was in the midst of a rough stretch in his career. Before the National Championship in Kalamazoo, the No. 5 ranked prospect in his class failed to string together more than two wins at a single event. That summer, he also made the difficult decision to decommit from UNC Chapel Hill–where he had been committed since 2023– and joining MSU. The string of disappointing results, narratives around his college decision, and a feeling of being overlooked led to a newfound anger he carried with him on court.“It brought tears to my eyes,” Matthew's older sister, Abigail, said. “When people say that Matthew is cocky and arrogant, I call that a cop out. You're making a judgment based off of who you want him to be, because what [they] don't want to see is a person who is confident in themselves while being Black.”
“I watched the match for the first time maybe a month or two ago. It was probably the hardest thing I had to watch, like I couldn't,” Forbes said.The celebration didn't come from a place of impulsivity or immaturity. Forbes prides himself on playing with loud aggression, but what fans witnessed on court was an added layer of frustration that had been building months before his appearance in the Big Apple.Forbes was in the midst of a rough stretch in his career. Before the National Championship in Kalamazoo, the No. 5 ranked prospect in his class failed to string together more than two wins at a single event. That summer, he also made the difficult decision to decommit from UNC Chapel Hill–where he had been committed since 2023– and joining MSU. The string of disappointing results, narratives around his college decision, and a feeling of being overlooked led to a newfound anger he carried with him on court.“It brought tears to my eyes,” Matthew's older sister, Abigail, said. “When people say that Matthew is cocky and arrogant, I call that a cop out. You're making a judgment based off of who you want him to be, because what [they] don't want to see is a person who is confident in themselves while being Black.”
The celebration didn't come from a place of impulsivity or immaturity. Forbes prides himself on playing with loud aggression, but what fans witnessed on court was an added layer of frustration that had been building months before his appearance in the Big Apple.Forbes was in the midst of a rough stretch in his career. Before the National Championship in Kalamazoo, the No. 5 ranked prospect in his class failed to string together more than two wins at a single event. That summer, he also made the difficult decision to decommit from UNC Chapel Hill–where he had been committed since 2023– and joining MSU. The string of disappointing results, narratives around his college decision, and a feeling of being overlooked led to a newfound anger he carried with him on court.“It brought tears to my eyes,” Matthew's older sister, Abigail, said. “When people say that Matthew is cocky and arrogant, I call that a cop out. You're making a judgment based off of who you want him to be, because what [they] don't want to see is a person who is confident in themselves while being Black.”
Forbes was in the midst of a rough stretch in his career. Before the National Championship in Kalamazoo, the No. 5 ranked prospect in his class failed to string together more than two wins at a single event. That summer, he also made the difficult decision to decommit from UNC Chapel Hill–where he had been committed since 2023– and joining MSU. The string of disappointing results, narratives around his college decision, and a feeling of being overlooked led to a newfound anger he carried with him on court.“It brought tears to my eyes,” Matthew's older sister, Abigail, said. “When people say that Matthew is cocky and arrogant, I call that a cop out. You're making a judgment based off of who you want him to be, because what [they] don't want to see is a person who is confident in themselves while being Black.”
“It brought tears to my eyes,” Matthew's older sister, Abigail, said. “When people say that Matthew is cocky and arrogant, I call that a cop out. You're making a judgment based off of who you want him to be, because what [they] don't want to see is a person who is confident in themselves while being Black.”
Self-belief is a hereditary trait in the Forbes family.Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, Abigail first picked up a tennis racquet inspired by the tennis game-mode on Wii Sports. Shortly thereafter, a Wii remote became an actual tennis racquet.Abbey soon began taking formal tennis lessons, with her little brother following her on court. Out of boredom, Matt picked up a racquet for the first time at the age of two and swung it around aimlessly in an attempt to imitate his big sister.Aside from the gaming console, the Forbes siblings' love and appreciation for tennis was inspired by their late grandmother, Theresa Hamilton. She arrived in the United States from Jamaica with “$1,000 and a dream,” and her introduction to the sport came through frequent trips to the U.S. Open, thanks to perks from her job at J.P. Morgan, a sponsor of the Grand Slam event.Having picked up a racquet herself many years ago, Hamilton not only fell in love with tennis but also understood the opportunities it could provide for a Jamaican immigrant and her family in the United States. Growing up in predominantly white, suburban spaces, tennis provided confidence and a sense of belonging for both her grandchildren in environments that were not always made for them to be a part of.“We definitely experienced unconscious bias, maybe a little bit of indirect racism. However, it was never an internal feeling of anxiety around ‘Well, should I be here? Should I not?' We always felt like we belonged and that our racquets could do the talking,” Abbey said.
Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, Abigail first picked up a tennis racquet inspired by the tennis game-mode on Wii Sports. Shortly thereafter, a Wii remote became an actual tennis racquet.Abbey soon began taking formal tennis lessons, with her little brother following her on court. Out of boredom, Matt picked up a racquet for the first time at the age of two and swung it around aimlessly in an attempt to imitate his big sister.Aside from the gaming console, the Forbes siblings' love and appreciation for tennis was inspired by their late grandmother, Theresa Hamilton. She arrived in the United States from Jamaica with “$1,000 and a dream,” and her introduction to the sport came through frequent trips to the U.S. Open, thanks to perks from her job at J.P. Morgan, a sponsor of the Grand Slam event.Having picked up a racquet herself many years ago, Hamilton not only fell in love with tennis but also understood the opportunities it could provide for a Jamaican immigrant and her family in the United States. Growing up in predominantly white, suburban spaces, tennis provided confidence and a sense of belonging for both her grandchildren in environments that were not always made for them to be a part of.“We definitely experienced unconscious bias, maybe a little bit of indirect racism. However, it was never an internal feeling of anxiety around ‘Well, should I be here? Should I not?' We always felt like we belonged and that our racquets could do the talking,” Abbey said.
Abbey soon began taking formal tennis lessons, with her little brother following her on court. Out of boredom, Matt picked up a racquet for the first time at the age of two and swung it around aimlessly in an attempt to imitate his big sister.Aside from the gaming console, the Forbes siblings' love and appreciation for tennis was inspired by their late grandmother, Theresa Hamilton. She arrived in the United States from Jamaica with “$1,000 and a dream,” and her introduction to the sport came through frequent trips to the U.S. Open, thanks to perks from her job at J.P. Morgan, a sponsor of the Grand Slam event.Having picked up a racquet herself many years ago, Hamilton not only fell in love with tennis but also understood the opportunities it could provide for a Jamaican immigrant and her family in the United States. Growing up in predominantly white, suburban spaces, tennis provided confidence and a sense of belonging for both her grandchildren in environments that were not always made for them to be a part of.“We definitely experienced unconscious bias, maybe a little bit of indirect racism. However, it was never an internal feeling of anxiety around ‘Well, should I be here? Should I not?' We always felt like we belonged and that our racquets could do the talking,” Abbey said.
Aside from the gaming console, the Forbes siblings' love and appreciation for tennis was inspired by their late grandmother, Theresa Hamilton. She arrived in the United States from Jamaica with “$1,000 and a dream,” and her introduction to the sport came through frequent trips to the U.S. Open, thanks to perks from her job at J.P. Morgan, a sponsor of the Grand Slam event.Having picked up a racquet herself many years ago, Hamilton not only fell in love with tennis but also understood the opportunities it could provide for a Jamaican immigrant and her family in the United States. Growing up in predominantly white, suburban spaces, tennis provided confidence and a sense of belonging for both her grandchildren in environments that were not always made for them to be a part of.“We definitely experienced unconscious bias, maybe a little bit of indirect racism. However, it was never an internal feeling of anxiety around ‘Well, should I be here? Should I not?' We always felt like we belonged and that our racquets could do the talking,” Abbey said.
Having picked up a racquet herself many years ago, Hamilton not only fell in love with tennis but also understood the opportunities it could provide for a Jamaican immigrant and her family in the United States. Growing up in predominantly white, suburban spaces, tennis provided confidence and a sense of belonging for both her grandchildren in environments that were not always made for them to be a part of.“We definitely experienced unconscious bias, maybe a little bit of indirect racism. However, it was never an internal feeling of anxiety around ‘Well, should I be here? Should I not?' We always felt like we belonged and that our racquets could do the talking,” Abbey said.
“We definitely experienced unconscious bias, maybe a little bit of indirect racism. However, it was never an internal feeling of anxiety around ‘Well, should I be here? Should I not?' We always felt like we belonged and that our racquets could do the talking,” Abbey said.
I really do believe that Matthew will change the sport of tennis forever. Abbey Forbes on brother Matthew Forbes
And do the talking they did.Abbey, like her brother, was a Blue Chip recruit as a junior and won the 2019 Wimbledon girls' doubles title. She carried that success into college, playing for both UNC and UCLA, where she became a two-time All-American and a 2023 national champion with the Tarheels, the same season she was pursuing an MBA.And although Abbey chose to conclude her competitive tennis journey at the collegiate level, Matt's aspirations go far beyond. His goal is to become a Top 10 player in the world, and at this rate, that goal seems increasingly within reach.As the highest-ranked true freshman in the 2024 Fall season, Forbes posted a 20-12 singles record, finished 2-0 against opponents inside the top 100 of ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings and received MSU”s first-ever Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.Now as a sophomore, Forbes competed in his first-ever NCAA Singles Championship and continued to make history in Spartan Green—alongside Ozan Baris—by both earning individual All-American status in the same season. His highlight-ridden performances this past Fall placed him at No.3 in the ITA rankings coming into the current Spring season, earning him the No. 1 spot at Michigan State in only his second collegiate season.“I mean, [Abbey] was two in the country, unfortunately, so she has me beat by one spot,” Matt joked.
Abbey, like her brother, was a Blue Chip recruit as a junior and won the 2019 Wimbledon girls' doubles title. She carried that success into college, playing for both UNC and UCLA, where she became a two-time All-American and a 2023 national champion with the Tarheels, the same season she was pursuing an MBA.And although Abbey chose to conclude her competitive tennis journey at the collegiate level, Matt's aspirations go far beyond. His goal is to become a Top 10 player in the world, and at this rate, that goal seems increasingly within reach.As the highest-ranked true freshman in the 2024 Fall season, Forbes posted a 20-12 singles record, finished 2-0 against opponents inside the top 100 of ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings and received MSU”s first-ever Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.Now as a sophomore, Forbes competed in his first-ever NCAA Singles Championship and continued to make history in Spartan Green—alongside Ozan Baris—by both earning individual All-American status in the same season. His highlight-ridden performances this past Fall placed him at No.3 in the ITA rankings coming into the current Spring season, earning him the No. 1 spot at Michigan State in only his second collegiate season.“I mean, [Abbey] was two in the country, unfortunately, so she has me beat by one spot,” Matt joked.
And although Abbey chose to conclude her competitive tennis journey at the collegiate level, Matt's aspirations go far beyond. His goal is to become a Top 10 player in the world, and at this rate, that goal seems increasingly within reach.As the highest-ranked true freshman in the 2024 Fall season, Forbes posted a 20-12 singles record, finished 2-0 against opponents inside the top 100 of ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings and received MSU”s first-ever Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.Now as a sophomore, Forbes competed in his first-ever NCAA Singles Championship and continued to make history in Spartan Green—alongside Ozan Baris—by both earning individual All-American status in the same season. His highlight-ridden performances this past Fall placed him at No.3 in the ITA rankings coming into the current Spring season, earning him the No. 1 spot at Michigan State in only his second collegiate season.“I mean, [Abbey] was two in the country, unfortunately, so she has me beat by one spot,” Matt joked.
As the highest-ranked true freshman in the 2024 Fall season, Forbes posted a 20-12 singles record, finished 2-0 against opponents inside the top 100 of ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings and received MSU”s first-ever Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.Now as a sophomore, Forbes competed in his first-ever NCAA Singles Championship and continued to make history in Spartan Green—alongside Ozan Baris—by both earning individual All-American status in the same season. His highlight-ridden performances this past Fall placed him at No.3 in the ITA rankings coming into the current Spring season, earning him the No. 1 spot at Michigan State in only his second collegiate season.“I mean, [Abbey] was two in the country, unfortunately, so she has me beat by one spot,” Matt joked.
Now as a sophomore, Forbes competed in his first-ever NCAA Singles Championship and continued to make history in Spartan Green—alongside Ozan Baris—by both earning individual All-American status in the same season. His highlight-ridden performances this past Fall placed him at No.3 in the ITA rankings coming into the current Spring season, earning him the No. 1 spot at Michigan State in only his second collegiate season.“I mean, [Abbey] was two in the country, unfortunately, so she has me beat by one spot,” Matt joked.
“I mean, [Abbey] was two in the country, unfortunately, so she has me beat by one spot,” Matt joked.
After the US Open, Forbes prioritizes not only his wins but the way those wins manifest as well. The 19-year-old is aware that he's not only representing himself, his family and his school when stepping on to a tennis court, but a deeper reputation for players that look like himself at the highest levels of the sport.While Forbes feels that many in the tennis world view Black players as “loud” and “ignorant”, he hopes to display the many positives players that look like him truly bring to the sport.“I feel like the sport could use more people that look like me, for sure,” Forbes said. “Ben[Shelton], Coco [Gauff], [Frances] Tiafoe, even college with me, Stiles Brockett…we all bring a fire [with] us that I think tennis was missing for like 10 years.”
While Forbes feels that many in the tennis world view Black players as “loud” and “ignorant”, he hopes to display the many positives players that look like him truly bring to the sport.“I feel like the sport could use more people that look like me, for sure,” Forbes said. “Ben[Shelton], Coco [Gauff], [Frances] Tiafoe, even college with me, Stiles Brockett…we all bring a fire [with] us that I think tennis was missing for like 10 years.”
“I feel like the sport could use more people that look like me, for sure,” Forbes said. “Ben[Shelton], Coco [Gauff], [Frances] Tiafoe, even college with me, Stiles Brockett…we all bring a fire [with] us that I think tennis was missing for like 10 years.”
Luke Forbes, pictured in the middle of both Abbey and Matt.© Courtesy of the Forbes family
© Courtesy of the Forbes family
Forbes' own fire spurs from something even greater than tennis: his older brother, Luke. In 2019, Luke was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia at just the age of 15. Matt was only 13.Luke completed chemotherapy treatment in August of 2022, and his cancer went into remission the following year, but the treatment was long and grueling, made even more challenging by Luke's moderate-to-severe Autism Spectrum Disorder. Through monthly checkups and a primary round of treatment that caused his older brother to lose 70 pounds, Matthew was by his side the entire time.“The reason why Matthew cares so much is because he watched his brother look death in the face and say, ‘No, thanks,'” Abbey explains. “Matthew truly just loves tennis for tennis and he cares so much because his ‘Why?' is so big. He puts his heart and soul into this because he knows that absolutely nothing could compare to the pain that his brother went through. Absolutely nothing.”And for a kid that shows how much he cares on court the way Matt does, assistant coach Mike Flowers of Michigan State University wouldn't want him to act any other way. Forbes credits Flowers as one of the two most pivotal coaches he's had in his life and in return, Flowers is grateful for a conversational and productive relationship with a player-the way he has with Forbes-but also having a person like Forbes in his program.
Luke completed chemotherapy treatment in August of 2022, and his cancer went into remission the following year, but the treatment was long and grueling, made even more challenging by Luke's moderate-to-severe Autism Spectrum Disorder. Through monthly checkups and a primary round of treatment that caused his older brother to lose 70 pounds, Matthew was by his side the entire time.“The reason why Matthew cares so much is because he watched his brother look death in the face and say, ‘No, thanks,'” Abbey explains. “Matthew truly just loves tennis for tennis and he cares so much because his ‘Why?' is so big. He puts his heart and soul into this because he knows that absolutely nothing could compare to the pain that his brother went through. Absolutely nothing.”And for a kid that shows how much he cares on court the way Matt does, assistant coach Mike Flowers of Michigan State University wouldn't want him to act any other way. Forbes credits Flowers as one of the two most pivotal coaches he's had in his life and in return, Flowers is grateful for a conversational and productive relationship with a player-the way he has with Forbes-but also having a person like Forbes in his program.
“The reason why Matthew cares so much is because he watched his brother look death in the face and say, ‘No, thanks,'” Abbey explains. “Matthew truly just loves tennis for tennis and he cares so much because his ‘Why?' is so big. He puts his heart and soul into this because he knows that absolutely nothing could compare to the pain that his brother went through. Absolutely nothing.”And for a kid that shows how much he cares on court the way Matt does, assistant coach Mike Flowers of Michigan State University wouldn't want him to act any other way. Forbes credits Flowers as one of the two most pivotal coaches he's had in his life and in return, Flowers is grateful for a conversational and productive relationship with a player-the way he has with Forbes-but also having a person like Forbes in his program.
And for a kid that shows how much he cares on court the way Matt does, assistant coach Mike Flowers of Michigan State University wouldn't want him to act any other way. Forbes credits Flowers as one of the two most pivotal coaches he's had in his life and in return, Flowers is grateful for a conversational and productive relationship with a player-the way he has with Forbes-but also having a person like Forbes in his program.
At the 2024 US Open on Court 4, Flowers didn't see an arrogant, loud player. He just saw a kid “having fun on a tennis court.”“He's got a big heart. What you see in a split second for sure isn't indicative of the kind of person he is,” Flowers said. “He's a good dude. He's one of the good guys, that's for sure.”This spring, Forbes and the Spartans have quite a task ahead of them. After underachieving in the prior season with four first-years on the team, much was learned. Now, the team enters the season less focused on the big picture and results, and more on the small details they can control to get the most out of a team that Forbes believes has “top-five talent.”But regardless how this season goes for her brother and the Spartans, Abbey is sure of one thing, and one thing only.“Yes, his stats are absolutely incredible. The fact that he reached No. 3 in the country as a sophomore is quite literally insane and should be talked about—but I can also look all of that up on Google,” Abbey said.“The amazing person that Matthew is. The mentor that Matthew has become to so many young black boys who look up to him. I get messages from them all the time. I really do believe that Matthew will change the sport of tennis forever.”
“He's got a big heart. What you see in a split second for sure isn't indicative of the kind of person he is,” Flowers said. “He's a good dude. He's one of the good guys, that's for sure.”This spring, Forbes and the Spartans have quite a task ahead of them. After underachieving in the prior season with four first-years on the team, much was learned. Now, the team enters the season less focused on the big picture and results, and more on the small details they can control to get the most out of a team that Forbes believes has “top-five talent.”But regardless how this season goes for her brother and the Spartans, Abbey is sure of one thing, and one thing only.“Yes, his stats are absolutely incredible. The fact that he reached No. 3 in the country as a sophomore is quite literally insane and should be talked about—but I can also look all of that up on Google,” Abbey said.“The amazing person that Matthew is. The mentor that Matthew has become to so many young black boys who look up to him. I get messages from them all the time. I really do believe that Matthew will change the sport of tennis forever.”
This spring, Forbes and the Spartans have quite a task ahead of them. After underachieving in the prior season with four first-years on the team, much was learned. Now, the team enters the season less focused on the big picture and results, and more on the small details they can control to get the most out of a team that Forbes believes has “top-five talent.”But regardless how this season goes for her brother and the Spartans, Abbey is sure of one thing, and one thing only.“Yes, his stats are absolutely incredible. The fact that he reached No. 3 in the country as a sophomore is quite literally insane and should be talked about—but I can also look all of that up on Google,” Abbey said.“The amazing person that Matthew is. The mentor that Matthew has become to so many young black boys who look up to him. I get messages from them all the time. I really do believe that Matthew will change the sport of tennis forever.”
But regardless how this season goes for her brother and the Spartans, Abbey is sure of one thing, and one thing only.“Yes, his stats are absolutely incredible. The fact that he reached No. 3 in the country as a sophomore is quite literally insane and should be talked about—but I can also look all of that up on Google,” Abbey said.“The amazing person that Matthew is. The mentor that Matthew has become to so many young black boys who look up to him. I get messages from them all the time. I really do believe that Matthew will change the sport of tennis forever.”
“Yes, his stats are absolutely incredible. The fact that he reached No. 3 in the country as a sophomore is quite literally insane and should be talked about—but I can also look all of that up on Google,” Abbey said.“The amazing person that Matthew is. The mentor that Matthew has become to so many young black boys who look up to him. I get messages from them all the time. I really do believe that Matthew will change the sport of tennis forever.”
“The amazing person that Matthew is. The mentor that Matthew has become to so many young black boys who look up to him. I get messages from them all the time. I really do believe that Matthew will change the sport of tennis forever.”
By Greg Evans
NY & Broadway Editor
While today's Broadway matinees are expected to go on as planned, performances scheduled for tonight have been canceled due to the anticipated blizzard and evening travel bans.
The announcement was made by the Broadway League just before 11 a.m. ET today.
The statement reads: “Due to anticipated travel impacts from the impending blizzard and evening travel bans already announced for our surrounding areas, Broadway theatre owners and producers have come to the consensus that evening performances (curtain times at 6pm or later) tonight (Sunday, February 22) will be canceled.”
The League noted that as of 10:30 a.m., Operation Mincemeat has not cancelled its 7:30 p.m. evening performance. (Deadline confirmed that as of 11:30 a.m. tickets were still being sold for the musical.) Tonight's performance will be the final featuring the production's original British cast.
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Broadway matinee performances (curtain times at 3 p.m. or earlier) are proceeding as planned. (Evening performances have curtain times of 6 p.m. or later).
For questions about exchange or refund policies, theatregoers should contact their point of purchase directly.
The Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway production of Bug announced a “$45 snow sale” for all remaining seats for today's 2 p.m. matinee at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. (MTC's Off Broadway The Monsters, at New York City Center, Stage II, was offering $39 snow sales for all remaining seats at today's 2:30 p.m. matinee).
Sidewalk and curbside snow piles, grimy and discolored from car exhaust and pet waste, had just begun to melt away this week a month after New York's last big winter storm.
The National Weather Service has issued blizzard and winter storm warnings for New York City and surrounding areas, with the worst expected to arrive Sunday evening into Monday. A light, wet snow began falling in the city before noon with little if any accumulation.
The winter storm will strengthen later in the day, with a whopping 12 to 18 inches of snow expected across most of the region throughout the night and early Monday morning hours. Travel in the region is expected to grow increasingly difficult with the heavier snow.
The storm could bring the biggest snowfall to the region since January 2016, when New York City was socked by its worst snowstorm on record. The last blizzard warning was in March 2017. Weather forecasters are warning that conditions are such that the storm could resemble a winter hurricane. The phrase “bomb cyclone” is also being used.
Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are likely, with wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph near the coast. Whiteout visibility and widespread power outages due to downed trees and lines are a real possibility.
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Prince William and Kate Middleton looked stunning at the 2026 BAFTA Awards as they made their first joint appearance following ex-Prince Andrew's arrest earlier this week.
The royal couple put on a brave face for the cameras as they walked the red carpet on Sunday.
The Prince of Wales, 43, looked dapper in a Giorgio Armani burgundy velvet evening jacket and black pants as he smiled for photographers.
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Middleton, meanwhile, wore a blush Gucci gown that she previously wore a gala dinner for the100 Women in Finance's Philanthropic Initiatives in 2019. For accessories, the 44-year-old wore earrings and carried a small clutch. She styled her hair in loose curls.
William, who is the president of the British Academy Film Awards, and Middleton did not stop to speak to press as they made their way into the Royal Festival Hall.
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While this is the couple's first joint appearance after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was detained, the Princess of Wales, who is a Patron of the Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football League, attended the England vs Ireland Six Nations game in London on Saturday.
She was spotted sporting a big smile as she sat next to injured English player Fin Baxter in the stands.
Photos showed the mother of three wore an an England scarf over a blue suit and styled her hair in loose curls for the event.
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Mountbatten-Windsor brought in his 66th birthday from jail on Thursday after he was arrested over his ties to accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
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He was detained on suspicion of misconduct in public office for allegedly forwarding confidential trade documents to Epstein while working as a British trade envoy.
The arrest was made nearly one month after he was reported to the Thames Valley Police over his alleged misconduct by anti-monarchy campaigner Graham Smith.
If convicted, the former prince could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Hours later, the terrified disgraced royal was caught attempting to hide from cameras in the backseat of a car following his release from Aylsham Police Station.
King Charles — who was allegedly not informed ahead of time regarding his brother's detainment — reacted to the news of his brother's arrest on Thursday with the “deepest concern” as he released a statement addressing the scandal.
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“I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office,” he began in a statement issued by Buckingham Palace.
“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation.”
“Let me state clearly: the law must take its course,” the monarch added. “As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”
By Zac Ntim, Nada Aboul Kheir
Prince William and Kate Middleton made an appearance this afternoon at the BAFTA Film Awards, marking their first joint public showing since the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The pair arrived right at the end of the BAFTA red carpet. Their attendance was not confirmed by BAFTA or Kensington Palace before the event, which is unusual. The Palace usually confirms whether royal visitors plan to skip or attend.
Prince William and Kate Middleton skipped last year's ceremony. William made an in-person appearance at the 2024 gala by himself shortly after it was announced that Middleton had undergone surgery, before revealing she was undergoing cancer treatment the next month. It was in 2023 when Prince William and Middleton last attended the BAFTAs together.
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Prince William and Princess Kate of Wales arriving at the #BAFTA Film Awards pic.twitter.com/IBrGjqVKXK
The future king of England has been the president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 2010, and has been a regular guest at the show. But it's been an unprecedented week for Prince and the wider royal family, as his uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. This is the first time a modern Royal has been arrested and represents a watershed moment.
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Andrew's association with the pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has dominated headlines for weeks, and BBC News reported that Thames Valley Police said they were assessing a complaint over the alleged sharing of confidential material by the former Prince with late sex offender Epstein.
King Charles III responded to the unprecedented arrest of his brother in a short statement.
“The law must take its course,” the King said in a statement. He added that he “learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office.”
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Shia LaBeouf was spotted packing on the PDA with a mystery woman in New Orleans on Saturday, just days after his recent arrest.
His flirty night out also comes after Page Six broke the news that he and wife Mia Goth quietly split nearly a year ago.
In video and photos obtained by TMZ, the 39-year-old was seen kissing and holding hands with the unidentified brunette beauty inside a bar just off Bourbon Street.
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While hanging out on an upstairs balcony overlooking the bar, the duo also smiled at and whispered to each other.
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The “Transformers” star “was drinking and seemed a little tipsy, but in great spirits,” witnesses told TMZ.
The PDA-filled outing comes after the actor's arrest on Tuesday morning following a tense physical altercation with two men.
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While celebrating Mardi Gras in the Big Easy, the “Peanut Butter Falcon” actor allegedly hurled gay slurs at the two men he was fighting with, according to the police report revealed Thursday.
He's since been charged with two counts of simple battery for the incident.
Video of the brawl showed the actor head-butting one of the men, who, according to the report, was left with a possibly dislocated nose.
Hours after his arrest, the Disney Channel alum continued partying and at one point, even made light of his legal troubles by dancing with his jail paperwork in his mouth.
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Following his release, Page Six obtained exclusive photos of the actor going on a run and then attempting to attend church on Ash Wednesday.
After Page Six broke the news of the “Disturbia” star and Goth's split, TMZ revealed that police were called multiple times to the couple's LA home before they called it quits.
Goth, 32, who shares 3-year-old daughter Isabella with LaBeouf, reportedly wants him to go to rehab after his arrest.
The pair tied the knot in 2016, four years after first meeting in 2012 on the set of Nymphomaniac: Vol. II.”
By Jake Kanter, Baz Bamigboye, Nada Aboul Kheir
Ted Sarandos has flown into London with a message for Paramount as both studios chase the prize of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
Speaking to Deadline on the red carpet of the BAFTA Film Awards, the Netflix co-CEO said: “We have a signed deal with Warner Bros., they're trying to circumvent it.
“The one thing I would like in this process is: ‘If you wanna try and outbid our deal … just make a better deal. Just put a better deal on the table. Don't make up stories, don't [spread] misinformation about market share. Just put a better deal on the table and see if you can win.'”
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In agreement with Netflix, WBD reopened its sales process last week, giving Paramount seven days to make its best and final offer. The deadline for this process ends February 23.
Watch on Deadline
In conversation with Deadline's Baz Bamigboye, Sarandos had one other message for Paramount: “I like Landman,” he laughed.
Netflix Chief Ted Sarandos chats to Deadline on the #BAFTAs red carpet about the Warner Bros. Discovery deal and tells us his message to Paramount: “Put a better deal on the table” pic.twitter.com/Ku2C3oso8O
Sarandos added that he had total confidence in getting Netflix's deal over the line and is confident of assuaging the concerns of antitrust authorities. “We want to help them win,” he added of Warner Bros.' movie division and the theatrical experience.
The Netflix boss was less forthcoming when asked if he had a message for Donald Trump, sidestepping the question and stating that the sales process will be assessed by the Department of Justice and other regulators, not least in Europe.
Bamigboye joked that the takeover saga could one day make a movie. “Who's going to play you, Baz?” Sarandos asked. “I'll get my agent to talk to you,” came Bamigboye's reply.
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As the search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, approaches the three-week mark, former FBI agent, Jonny Grusing, believes that investigators should explore a new possible angle in the case of her disappearance.
Grusing worked in the FBI's Denver Division for 25 years, investigating violent crimes, missing persons, serial killers and more. He is also the author of “The Devil I Knew: Unmasking a Serial Killer,” about the true crime case of Scott Kimball. Grusing is only operating off information that has been made public in the case, and he's positing a new theory in case it might jog the memory of a member of the public who could help solve the case, according to Fox News.
“It's hard to be an expert in human behavior because it's so unique to that person,” Grusing said. “You know, I'm just trying to use the experiences of different cases and trying to apply any sort of logic to this in the hopes that someone from the public who has thought it might be someone they know whether it's his family or whether now it's a coworker or friend or associate or whatever, to put that one puzzle piece together that says, ‘Yes, and now I think it could be him.'”
“The first thing he does is with his glove, and with his glove, it doesn't look like he's trying to take [the camera] off,” Grusing said. “It looks like he's trying to cover it with his right hand. And then he looks down, he looks around, and he gets the branches, and he puts the branches up in front of it.”
“Is there a chance, since we don't have audio, that he is either knocking on the door loudly or that he has pressed the ring doorbell, [that] he's trying to get Nancy to answer the door, and he's shielding himself from being seen as a masked person, so she will, in her confusion, open the door?” Grusing asked rhetorically.
If that's the case, Grusing said, the suspect likely wasn't there to rob the home. Since Guthrie lives in a sprawling residential area, the former FBI agent also believes it is unlikely that the suspect was a robber who accidentally showed up at the wrong address. Rather, he said, the suspect might have been there because he had a personal grievance against Guthrie, and might have lured her out of the home onto her porch.
Grusing said that the possibility makes even more sense when considering that blood was found spattered on Guthrie's front porch and down the driveway, and authorities have not released any information about whether there was blood found inside the home.
The suspect also wore a gun in what is believed to be a cheap Walmart holster, and wore it on the front of his body, which Grusing described as not “tactically sound.” He also believes that the gunman would have had trouble firing that gun with the gloves he was wearing, and that the gun may have just been a prop used to instill fear in Guthrie.
“So, if the gun's a prop, if he's shielding himself from being seen, if he's actually ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door, getting her to come, he wants to confront her about something in my opinion,” Grusing said.
He has always believed that in whatever interaction Guthrie had with the suspect, something went wrong, causing him to remove her from the house. Perhaps, he said, Guthrie identified him, causing a panic. He also says the kidnap-for-ransom theory doesn't add up, given that alleged kidnappers never reached out to the Guthrie family directly.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News that there's a snag with mixed DNA that was sent to a lab in Florida. He also said there are no names his team is currently looking into, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department said detectives and agents are back in the Guthrie neighborhood canvassing as part of the investigation.
“Detectives and agents have collected multiple gloves from the area, and analysis is part of the investigation. Specific details about these pieces of evidence will not be shared publicly, as this remains an active investigation.
There may be fluctuations day to day based on investigative leads. Several hundred law enforcement personnel remain dedicated to this case. This will remain an active investigation until Nancy Guthrie is found or all leads are exhausted.”
All crime scene evidence and search warrant scenes have been submitted for analysis. “As with any biological evidence, there can be challenges separating DNA, etc.”
Separately, NBC News reports that on the morning of Feb. 21, sheriff deputies “placed new street barricades outside Guthrie's home” in order to help “regulate the flow of traffic around the news crews” as well as “true crime fans.”
Guthrie was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31, when she was dropped off at home shortly before 10 p.m., according to a timeline provided by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.
Her doorbell camera disconnected at 1:47 a.m. on Feb. 1. Her pacemaker disconnected from her phone less than an hour later. Her family reported missing later that day.
Nanos has said investigators believe she was taken in the middle of the night. Authorities have not identified a possible motive, nor have they identified any possible suspects.
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When Baz Luhrmann was directing his 2022 film “Elvis,” he heard about some mythical missing reels from the 1970 documentary “Elvis: That's the Way It Is.” Luhrmann was intrigued, mainly because he thought he could use the footage in his film for an elaborate showroom sequence and thus avoid building a huge set and employing hundreds of extras. When he sent an associate into the Kansas City salt mine where MGM keeps its negatives, he discovered that there was something even more valuable hidden in the studio's collection.
“It was a little bit ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,' Luhrmann told IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, describing the room that housed the missing reels. “There were 65 boxes, some with stuff stolen or missing, and all rotting.” Luhrmann had the boxes shipped back to Warner Bros. and realized the footage was all disintegrating in the film cans; he also realized it was a treasure trove of “That's the Way It Is” outtakes, 16mm behind-the-scenes footage of Elvis' concert tour, and even some rare 8mm, none of which had sound. The material didn't work for “Elvis” — Luhrmann ended up building that showroom after all — but it was too valuable for Luhrmann to ignore.
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“At the end of [‘Elvis'], my editor Jonathan Redmond and I were like, ‘What are we going to do? We've got to do something with this,” Luhrmann said. The answer came when Luhrmann discovered a tape of Elvis Presley speaking in his own voice about his life, completely unguarded. “I cannot overstate how rare this is. That was a sort of light bulb moment: what if we just got out of the way and let Elvis tell us his story and sing us his story in a dreamscape? That was a liberation and the beginning of an epic journey.”
The result of that journey is “EPiC: Elvis Presley Live in Concert,” a gloriously exuberant celebration of The King that's unlike any concert film or music documentary ever made. It's an impressionistic and immersive portrait of Elvis at a peak moment in his artistry, when he was performing up to three shows a night in Las Vegas and interpreting everything from his own classics to Simon and Garfunkel's “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” and The Beatles' “Get Back.” The Beatles song is only one connection between “EPiC” and Peter Jackson's 2021 docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back”; Luhrmann worked with Jackson's Park Road Post to employ the same technology that was used to restore the old Beatles footage to save those vinegar syndrome-afflicted film cans from the salt mine.
First, however, Luhrmann had to find the missing sound for all the material in MGM's archives. Because “Elvis” was a success, Luhrmann was able to hire a researcher who he said was really more of a full-time detective to track down the audio, which often involved shady exchanges in parking lots with people selling a few minutes of sound at a time on the black market. In some cases Luhrmann had to convince collectors who didn't want to part with their material that his intentions were pure, meeting with them multiple times until they trusted him with crucial footage.
Once Luhrmann had all of the material, he took it to Jackson's Park Road so they could restore the footage to its original glory. Luhrmann was intent on presenting Elvis and his music as they were, so the idea was to preserve the footage without altering it. “There's not a frame of AI in this film,” Luhrmann said. “There's not a visual effect. What Peter and his team do is take the negative and take the abrasions out of it and reproduce it at its highest quality. Then we take it back for color grading, which is a very sensitive art. It's just spending hours and hours, which I did with our colorist.”
The rigorous work pays off in “EPiC,” which looks and sounds like it was shot yesterday. “The pictorial resolution is achieved through painstaking love,” Luhrmann said. “Peter and his team have this love and there's no one like them on the planet. Think of what they did with that first World War picture [‘They Shall Not Grow Old']. Think of what they did with The Beatles.” The restoration work and the enveloping sound design by Wayne Pashley make “EPiC” an extraordinarily visceral experience that not only brings the viewer inside Presley's perspective but gives a sense of what it would have been like to attend one of his concerts.
“We wanted to make it as much as possible like you're actually at a concert with Elvis,” Luhrmann said, which is why he encourages audiences to see it on the biggest screen available — preferably IMAX. Although the movie is a typically maximalist Baz Luhrmann spectacle, its production was much smaller than he's used to, and that made it particularly pleasurable. “I'm not saying I don't enjoy [making other films], but everything is usually fraught with labor and complexity and is a mountain climb. Here we were a tiny little team and it was probably the most enjoyable thing I've ever made.”
“EPiC: Elvis Presley Live in Concert” is currently in theaters. To hear the entire conversation with Baz Luhrmann and make sure you don't miss a single episode of Filmmaker Toolkit, subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.
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By
Keith O'Brien
Larry Bird should have been excited about attending Indiana University in the late summer of 1974. The man who had recruited him to come there, Dave Bliss, had been chasing him for more than a year, convinced of Bird's greatness. Bliss, a young assistant coach at Indiana with blond hair and blue eyes, recorded his thoughts about Bird in his journal again and again. “Guy is going to be really good,” Bliss wrote. “Bird's better… Bird's better than all.” Bliss didn't even care who else the Hoosiers signed that year. “As long as Bird is one!” he noted. And most importantly, Bliss had convinced his boss, Hoosier head coach Bobby Knight, to at least consider the possibility of Larry Bird.
Knight, just 33 years old at the time, had already developed a habit that he would carry with him for the rest of his life: He didn't like to listen to others, especially not his critics. He had just led Indiana to its first Final Four in two decades in only his second season in Bloomington. He knew what he was doing. But Knight was inclined to listen to Bliss. The two men had been together since the late 1960s, when Knight was the head coach at Army and Bliss was a newly commissioned Private First Class, working on the coaching staff. In a lot of ways, Knight had taught Bliss how to recruit and Bliss had proven himself to be good at it. If Bliss wanted Knight to drive an hour south to French Lick — to watch some kid who most college coaches had never heard of, in a place that most people had never visited, in a tiny gym in one of the poorest counties in the state — Knight would do it. And so, there he was on at least three occasions in the winter and spring of 1974: Bobby Knight was in French Lick to see Larry Bird.
It was a big deal in a small town. At one game that Knight attended at Springs Valley High School in late January 1974, a crowd of some four thousand people tried to pack inside the gym — twice the legal capacity of the building and double the population of French Lick itself. Springs Valley lost that night. In his frustration afterwards, Bird reportedly flipped off opposing fans outside. And the next visit from Knight didn't go much better. This time, they met inside the home of Bird's longtime mentor, his former high school coach Jim Jones, on Skyline Drive, on the hill behind the high school, and Knight seemed frustrated that he couldn't connect with Bird or get him to talk much at all.
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“The very best of Knight was there,” recalled Jim Jones' wife, Joyce. On this evening, Knight was humble, kind, and invested in Bird. Still, it didn't matter. Bird seemed to be torn between Indiana and Indiana State, a small program that was playing in the hinterlands of Division I basketball, in danger of being banished to Division II, about to fire its head coach, and incapable of filling its new arena in Terre Haute. It made no sense to Knight that Bird would even consider Indiana State, and according to people who were there in Jim Jones' living room on that visit in 1974, Knight finally expressed this thought out loud. “If you're thinking about going to Indiana State,” he told Bird, “I don't know if you can play for me.”
By then, almost everyone in town had an opinion about where Larry Bird should go to college. And in April 1974, with everyone whispering about it, the boy finally made his choice. He walked into Jim Jones' office at the high school and declared that he wanted what everyone else wanted: He was signing with Knight at Indiana.
In the days to come, Knight drove down one last time for a small signing ceremony in the Valley gym. But it was a seemingly joyless affair. In a photograph that one of Bird's classmates snapped that day and published in the Springs Valley Herald, neither Bird nor Knight is smiling. They stand next to each other, yet miles apart, as if separated by a yawning chasm that was about to swallow Larry Bird whole.
THIS YEAR MARKS THE 50th anniversary of Bird's collegiate debut. And because of Bird's success later — his NBA titles with the Boston Celtics, his MVP awards in the 1980s, his rivalry with Magic Johnson, and his celebrated status as an American icon — it's easy to forget that he almost didn't escape French Lick at all. In this alternative reality, we don't know his name and he never plays basketball. Instead, he gets a job at the Kimball piano plant in French Lick or the cabinet factory over in Jasper, toiling as a wood finisher like his father. And the most tenuous period of Bird's life came in 1974, at the moment he threw in his lot with Bobby Knight.
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In this little window of time, Bird's parents were divorced and struggling. His mother was working two jobs and his father, a longtime alcoholic who was often unemployed, was careening toward disaster. Lots of people didn't know how hard life was for Larry, including Knight, Bliss, and everyone else in Bloomington, and Larry was about to make a series of choices that wouldn't help. It's these choices that would send Bird tumbling into that chasm, and it all begins in late August 1974 when his uncle drops him off in Bloomington outside his new home, a massive dormitory: McNutt Quad.
MCNUTT HAD A REPUTATION for two things that Bird liked — or would come to like: beer and basketball. Half of Knight's team lived at McNutt, including every freshman on the Hoosier roster and four players soon to be selected at the top of NBA drafts. That August alone, there were five future NBA players moving into the dorm rooms, 42 years of future NBA service greeting their roommates, and 37,810 future NBA points unpacking their bags. In short, Knight had placed Bird with his people. And they weren't just clumped together for companionship; they were at McNutt because it was a short walk to the gym, the arena, and a handful of outdoor basketball courts. On a sprawling campus, the players were close to what mattered most to them: basketball. And when they weren't playing, there were plenty of activities at McNutt to keep them occupied — namely, parties. The McNutt kids were known for throwing ragers, complete with kegs, eight varieties of alcohol, and women.
It should have been a good fit for Bird; he even knew people on campus, people from back home. His high school girlfriend — a cheerleader named Janet Condra, with long hair, fair skin, and a warm smile — lived in the dormitory next door, a five-minute walk away. This could have worked.
But Bird was troubled in Bloomington from the start. McNutt housed some 700 kids — about one-third of the population of French Lick — and Bird found the campus outside the dormitory walls bewildering. At any given moment that August, 30,000 students were eating in the dining halls, drinking beers on Fraternity Row, trying out for the tennis team, attending the president's welcome picnic, or piling into cars to go to the drive-in movie theater off campus. This wasn't a college. “It was more like a whole country,” Bird said later. And he felt like a foreigner in this place. He didn't even fit in with his roommate, Jim Wisman.
The two young men ended up there together for the simplest of reasons: They were the last two basketball recruits in need of a roommate, and they didn't seem all that different, at least from afar. Wisman was the son of a postal carrier in Quincy, Illinois, a small city on the banks of the Mississippi River. He was white, like Bird; Midwestern, like Bird; small-town, like Bird. And if it didn't work out between Wisman and Bird, there were other basketball players for them to befriend at McNutt. They could hang with the two other freshmen on the team, who were living down in room 386, roll with upperclassmen Quinn Buckner and Scott May, or find future NBA No. 1 draft pick Kent Benson somewhere in the same dorm. It would be fine.
But the room assignment, random as it was, revealed something important about the operation at Indiana: Bliss had recruited Bird and Knight had signed him. But Knight had failed to get to know Bird at all. And it didn't take long for people to realize that pairing Wisman with Bird was a mistake. Wisman was polite and articulate — a good kid, but also different. “He was,” Bliss realized too late, “maybe the antithesis of Larry.” Bird had one bag of clothes while Wisman had arrived on campus that August with a full wardrobe. On the day they moved in, Bird watched Wisman unpack, thinking, “Man, I don't have nothing.” Teammates who visited their room that August left with the same feeling. John Laskowski, a senior guard, remembers going there to welcome the two freshmen and seeing three things in their room that he would not forget: Wisman's full closet, Bird's empty one, and the wide gulf that seemed to exist between two new roommates. “It was just kind of two different worlds,” Laskowski said. Even Wisman's generosity didn't help. At some point, he told Bird he could borrow his clothes, and he even loaned Bird money when Bird's cash ran out. But Wisman was almost seven inches shorter than Bird; most things in that closet weren't going to fit him. And by early September, Bird began asking himself a question: “How can I keep wearing Jim Wisman's clothes and accepting Jim Wisman's money?”
In dark times like these, Bird had typically sought solace in one place — the basketball court. But Bird couldn't find any peace at Indiana. In pickup games in the Hoosiers' arena, Assembly Hall, his new teammates treated him poorly, Bird thought. He complained later than Kent Benson — the Hoosiers' 6-foot-11 center, a future two-time all-American — took his ball. Sometimes, in the schoolyard picks before scrimmages, Bird wasn't selected at all. Then, in early September, he injured his toe while playing on the outdoor courts. In addition to everything, Bird was now hobbled, limping off to class on an enormous campus that was 15 times bigger than French Lick.
It all started piling up inside of him until he began to consider a plan: Maybe he'd go home. Maybe he'd leave.
Bird said later that he told no one about his intentions. Said he kept his doubts and his darkness to himself. But folks on campus that September saw through him. And at least one person sensed Bird's frustration during the final pickup game that Bird played that month. The guys were in the locker room after a scrimmage. People were showering and Bird was angry, recalled team manager Larry Sherfick, because he wasn't playing or because people weren't passing him the ball.
As Bird stewed over these slights, Sherfick said, one of the players in the locker room made a comment loud enough for everyone to hear: “Tell us again, Larry — where are you from?” The implication, Sherfick said, was clear. Bird was a nobody from nowhere. And at this point, Sherfick recalled, Bird turned to him for help. “He looks at me,” Sherfick said. “He's pointing at me, and he says, ‘He knows where I'm from. Tell him where I'm from.'”
It was getting late by then and Sherfick was annoyed by the shenanigans. “Frankly, I don't want to get into this,” Sherfick recalled thinking. “I'm just trying to get my job done and get back before the dinner line.” So, he stayed out of it. He said nothing. He didn't come to Bird's defense — a choice he's thought about from time to time over the years. “I've felt some remorse that I didn't stick up for him,” Sherfick said, especially after he heard about what happened next. On the second Friday of September 1974, about three weeks after Bird arrived in Bloomington, Bird walked into Bliss's office, Bliss recalled, and announced that he was leaving.
Outside, it was starting to feel like autumn. Cool weather was moving in and kids on campus had big plans for the weekend. The Hoosiers were playing the Illinois Fighting Illini the next day in their first football game of the season, and students at Willkie Quad, a dorm about a mile from McNutt, were planning a big party. But Bird wasn't going to be there. Bliss could tell he was serious about leaving, and there was nothing Bliss could do to stop him. Knight was out of town that Friday. He was making an appearance at a coaching clinic at a Marriott Hotel up in Fort Wayne. People were putting down $25 at the door to meet the great coach of the Indiana Hoosiers, to hear him talk about basketball, and to laugh at his inappropriate jokes, and by the time Bliss reached Knight by phone sometime later, Bird was long gone.
He had packed his things, walked out to Highway 37, and hitchhiked home. A trucker got him as far as Mitchell, and Bird figured out the rest from there.
LARRY'S MOTHER, GEORGIA, was furious when she learned that her son was back in French Lick. His father, Joey, took a different view of things. According to Larry's recollection, Joey supported Larry's decision to leave Bloomington. “Don't look back,” the father informed the son.
But in the fall of 1974, Joey Bird wasn't in the best position to be giving advice. He had been making poor decisions for at least 30 years. He never finished eighth grade; left a good job to enlist in the military in 1944 when he was still just 17; went AWOL and got caught drinking liquor on his ship before even shipping off to World War II; re-enlisted to go to Korea; spent a miserable winter there, fighting the Communists; came home scarred by what he had seen in those frozen foxholes; took to drinking; became a presence in the local bars around French Lick; couldn't seem to hold down a job; and now seemed to be descending into darkness. Around the time that Larry returned home, his father was talking about ending his life, ending it all.
Against this backdrop, the son made a curious choice of his own. Larry enrolled at a small technical school in West Baden Springs, just north of French Lick, and joined the basketball team there. He had left Indiana University — one of the best basketball schools in the country, run by one of the most successful coaches in America — to play for Northwood Institute.
Northwood was exactly as small as it sounded. It had a total enrollment of about 250 students and a strange and singular campus. Northwood's dorm rooms, classrooms, and offices all existed inside an old domed hotel that had seen better days. The grounds outside were overrun with weeds and the upper floors of the hotel were completely vacant. There weren't enough students enrolled at Northwood Institute to fill them. For all of these reasons, members of the Northwood team were shocked when their head coach informed them that Larry Bird was joining the roster. Glen Tow, a five-foot-five guard, almost felt bad for Bird, and his teammates felt the same. They had enrolled at Northwood because they didn't have an option to play elsewhere. The team's center, Dave Earley, might have been working in the timber business with his father over in Seymour if he hadn't come to Northwood. One of the team's forwards, Kent Hutchinson, might have enrolled at a little school in Franklin, Indiana, if a Northwood coach hadn't reached out to him. In fact, basketball wasn't even the primary sport for many of the guys on the team. They were there to run track or play baseball. And now they were sitting in the windows of their rooms upstairs, watching Larry Bird walk across the atrium of the old domed hotel and wondering what he was doing there.
Bird seemed to be asking himself the same question. At one point shortly after he showed up, Northwood's head coach asked Tow to help Bird get the books he'd need for class. “So I got the list and everything and took the list to Larry,” Tow recalled, “and Larry just looked at me and said, ‘I'm not going to need these books.'” Tow wasn't sure what to make of the comment; he and all the other guys were hoping to get a degree. But for all the doubts they might have had about Bird's academic commitment, no one had questions about his work ethic in the basketball practices held that fall in a little gymnasium across the road.
The gym, called Sprudel Hall, was the last remaining relic of long-defunct West Baden High School, and it too was showing its age. At places on the floor, the ball wouldn't bounce at all. Bird's new teammates couldn't wait for practices to be over. Northwood's culinary students were always churning out great food — lasagna, chicken cordon bleu, and Cornish hens served in warm nests of baked bread — and no one wanted to miss the meals. But Bird didn't care. While everyone left for dinner, he'd stay at Sprudel Hall, shooting and shooting. Sometimes, Dave Earley, the team's best player, would drive by hours later and find the lights still on and Bird still inside, playing games against himself. He'd bounce the ball off the bleachers, retrieve the off-kilter carom, and throw up off-balance shots from 35 feet out. Or he'd drop-kick the ball off the wall, chase it down, and shoot from wherever he scooped it up again. It didn't matter if he was 10 feet from the basket or 50, Earley recalled. Bird would just turn and shoot, preparing himself for some future moment in some future game.
The Northwood guys had never seen anything like it, and Earley began to wonder: Who is this Larry Bird? He'd heard stories that Bird's father drank too much and couldn't hold down a job, and because there was nothing to do in town, Earley and a couple of other guys went out one night that fall to investigate the situation for themselves. They piled into Earley's 1968 Oldsmobile, followed the railroad tracks behind the high school, found Georgia Bird's house in the dark, and idled in front of it on the street.
They probably weren't there for more than 10 seconds, but Earley would never forget the silence that filled the car — “dead silence,” he said — as everyone eyed Bird's house. It was small, crooked in places, and not just poor. It sort of felt sad, Earley said, and he realized in that moment why Bird stayed in the gym and never seemed to go home.
“There wasn't really anything to go home to.”
SOMETIME THAT NOVEMBER, just before Northwood's first game and a couple of weeks before Bird's 18th birthday, Bird stopped coming to practice. He quit the team and dropped out of school again — developments that surprised no one at Northwood. Tow had wondered from the start if Bird would stay, and the next time Tow saw him, Bird wasn't playing basketball at all. He was working for the city, riding on a garbage truck and collecting trash.
Tow didn't say anything to Bird that day; he might have just waved, he thought later, as the garbage truck rolled by. He certainly didn't say what he was thinking: that Bird was wasting his talents, that Bird was wasting his life. It disappointed Tow, and it disappointed lots of other people, too. They'd see Bird that winter shoveling snow, fixing streets, or picking up the trash and wonder why.
But Bird liked working for the city. The job put money in his pockets and helped him buy his first car, a used Chevy. It also gave him something to do while his father unraveled even more. That December, in the county courthouse, Georgia Bird asked the court to hold Larry's father in contempt — for failure to pay child support — and according to Larry, his father went dark. By Christmas, Larry was worried about him, and by the first week of February 1975, the police were looking for him, knocking on the door of Joey Bird's parents' house in West Baden.
It was a Monday, right in the middle of the Springs Valley basketball season, and folks in town had moved on by then. No one was talking about last year's high school team. No one was talking about Larry Bird. The boy had made his choices and the father was about to make his choice, too. When the police came calling, Joey Bird grabbed a shotgun, turned the barrel around on himself, placed it against his head, and pulled the trigger.
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In an instant, he was dead. By the end of that week, Larry was at his father's funeral, the family gathering on a hill in Dubois County, south of town, and by the end of the month, Larry had bottomed out entirely. He wasn't playing basketball at Indiana anymore and he wasn't even playing for the likes of Northwood Institute. He was playing in a men's league — glorified pickup basketball — with a collection of workaday guys who had mortgages, wives, day jobs, and children. One of the greatest basketball players of all time was about to pull off a feat that's hard to imagine. Larry Bird was about to disappear.
Excerpted from the book HEARTLAND: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird, by Keith O'Brien, out March 3. Copyright © by Keith O'Brien. From Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Publishers. Reprinted with permission.
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Tim McGraw is looking back at the most “controversial” song of his career.
During a recent interview on “The Tim Ferriss Show,” the 58-year-old country singer shared which song he had to fight to include on one of his albums, and why it was such a big risk.
“‘Indian Outlaw' — because I had that song for my first album and nobody liked it,” he explained when asked for an example of a song of his he thought was “lightning in a bottle.” “The label didn't like it. [Producer] James Stroud didn't like it. Byron [Gallimore, his longtime producer and collaborator] liked it, but I couldn't talk James into letting me record it and I couldn't talk the label into it.”
According to the musician, the label told him “it was too controversial, and it was a bad song,” going as far as telling McGraw “it wasn't country music” and would not get played on the radio.
He recalled the first night he heard the song, in the Hall of Fame Lounge and Hotel in Nashville, when he bumped into songwriters Tommy and Max D. Barnes, who played the song for him live.
“I heard it that first night and I started playing it immediately,” McGraw said. “Learned it and started playing it in all the clubs around town, the honky-tonks around town, and when we would travel and play clubs all over the country, I was playing that song, and we'd end up having to play it two or three times a night, four times a night, because people loved it so much.”
Due to his love of the song and the praise it was receiving at his shows, McGraw pleaded with his record label to include it on his debut album, but because he “didn't have any say-so on the first album,” it was left off.
When it came time to cut his second album, “Not a Moment Too Soon,” the singer insisted it be included, noting, “I felt like this is either going to work in a huge way or it's going to ruin my career forever.”
“Luckily, it worked,” McGraw added. “And I think that what kept me from being just sort of a novelty act with this sort of funky, weird song that made some noise was being able to come right behind it with ‘Don't Take the Girl.' I'll forever believe that the combination of those two songs is what set my career in motion and gave me momentum that I probably couldn't have gotten any other way.”
The song went on to become McGraw's first top 10 country hit and went platinum.
McGraw touched on the controversy of “Indian Outlaw,” explaining, “I understood why it was controversial, because it was stereotypical, and it was sort of a play on Native American stereotypes. And there was a lot of controversy around it, and I understood the controversy and I wasn't upset about the controversy.”
He added, “In fact, I met with several Native American leaders. Some liked the song, some didn't like the song. And my answer was, ‘Look, I understand what your concerns are. The song's not meant to be that way, I understand your concerns. My opinion, if you need to go after me in order to raise attention and awareness, by all means, use my song for that. If you like it or don't like it, if you can make something good happen from it, then by all means, I'm not going to be offended.'”
The singer said that when he plays at Native American casinos, he offers to take the song out of his set, but “99 percent of the time, ‘That's why we hired you, is to sing that song.' So they love it. So it's been really good to me.”
In October 2025, the singer opened up about a rough patch in his career following a series of injuries, which left him wondering if he would ever perform again, adding he nearly quit his career.
“I've had four back surgeries and double knee replacements, just in the last couple of years,” he told the crowd at his concert in Highland, California at the time.
He later added, “And this spring, before I had my final back surgery, things were getting really bad, so I was seriously contemplating and figuring out how to walk away. I didn't want to, but I didn't think it was going to get better.”
McGraw later shared that he has since gotten better and that while he was recovering he wrote the song, “King Rodeo,” which explores themes of aging and the struggles that come with it.
Lyrics of the song include: “Hey, King Rodeo, You're lookin' lonely / Like you've lost your one and only / Adoring crowds are not around you / Whispers and shadows, they surround you.”
By Erik Pedersen
Managing Editor
KPop goes the Annies.
Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters flat-out dominated the 53rd annual Annie Awards on Saturday night, winning all 10 of the categories for which it was nominated including Best Feature, Direction for Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans and Voice Acting for Arden Cho as Rumi. Seems we have a front-runner for the Animated Featured Oscar next month.
See the full winners list spanning film, TV, video games and more below.
Netflix's most popular film ever took the night's first film prize, for Production Design, and then snagged — in a decided non-upset — Best Music. KPop Demon Hunters later added Best Writing, Character Design, Character Animation, FX and editorial. The film has been viewed more than 482 million times, and its soundtrack has been streamed some 11 billion times (with a capital B).
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As a result of the sweep, Disney/Pixar's Elio – which also had 10 Annie noms – went home empty-handed despite being nominated in the KPop-free Storyboarding category. That trophy went to DreamWorks Animation's The Bad Guys. Walt Disney Studios' Zootopia 2, the highest-grossing Hollywood toon of all time, also was shut out Saturday night.
Best Feature – Independent went to Neon's sci-fi/fantasy tale Acro, which premiered at Cannes and is up for the Animated Feature Oscar next month. It will face off against KPop Demon Hunters, Zootopia 2, Elio and Gkids' Little Amélie or the Character of Rain.
Since the Best Animated Feature Oscar category was launched in 2002, 14 of the 23 winners of the Annies' marquee Best Feature prize – and seven of the past 13 – went on to claim the golden statuette. But last year bucked the trend as the Academy Award went to Flow over The Wild Robot, which dominated the 2025 Annies with seven nods.
On the TV side, the first two awards of the night went to Netflix's Love, Death + Robots, and later it added a third Annie – making it 11 overall to go with 17 Emmy wins. Win or Lose, Pixar's first longform animated series, and Adult Swim's Common Side Effects had three wins each. Other TV winners included Fox's Bob Burgers voice actor Dan Mintz and Hulu's The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball Episode.
The evening's first Juried Award, The June Foray Award, went to Sandy Rabins, animation and live-action producer and the founder of the AnimAID effort to assist and support those in the animation industry who were affected by the L.A. Wildfires. The group has raised nearly $700,000 so far. Named for the Annie Awards founder, the award is presented to people who have made a positive impact on the animation industry.
The first of three Winsor McCay Awards for lifetime achievement was presented to prolific Oscar-winning filmmaker Christopher Miller and Phil Lord of the Spider-Verse and Lego Movie franchises and many other films. The second went to Oscar-winning animator, writer and director Michaël Dudok de Wit (The Red Turtle, short film Father and Daughter). The final McCay Award was four-time Oscar-nominated animation whiz and voice actor Chris Sanders, who has won five career Annie Awards including for The Wild Robot last year. The awards were presented by his fellow Lilo & Stitch actor Tea Carerre.
Wacom, manufacturer of the Cintiq graphics tablet and other products, later received the Ub Iwerks Award for technical achievement.
ASIFA-Hollywood‘s Special Achievement Award went to LightBox Expo, the annual event that brings the creative animation community of filmmakers together with animation students and fans.
The juried award winners also are listed below.
ASIFA-Hollywood previously revealed the Animation Educators' Forum Hall of Fame Class of 2026. They are Elmer Plummer, Doug Crane, Harry Love, Harold Whitaker and Nancy Beiman.
Created in 1972 by veteran voice actor June Foray, the Annie Awards recognize the animation industry's most talented artists and storytellers.
Here are the winners at the 2026 Annie Awards:
BEST FEATUREKPop Demon HuntersSony Pictures Animation for Netflix
BEST FEATURE – INDEPENDENTArcoRemembers, MountainA France, France 3 Cinéma
BEST DIRECTION – FEATUREKPop Demon HuntersSony Pictures Animation for NetflixMaggie Kang, Chris Appelhans
BEST DIRECTION – TV/MEDIACommon Side Effects Episode: Cliff's EdgeGreen Street Pictures, Bandera Entertainment and Williams Street ProductionsVincent Tsui
BEST STORYBOARDING – FEATUREThe Bad Guys 2DreamWorks AnimationAnthony Holden, Young Ki Yoon
BEST STORYBOARDING – TV/MEDIALove, Death + Robots Episode: How Zeke Got Religion Blur Studio for NetflixEdgar Martins
BEST TV/MEDIA – LIMITED SERIESWin Or LoseEpisode: Episode 8: HomePixar Animation Studios
BEST TV/MEDIA – MATURECommon Side Effects Episode: PilotGreen Street Pictures, Bandera Entertainment and Williams Street Productions
BEST TV/MEDIA – CHILDRENThe Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball Episode: The RewriteHanna-Barbera Studios Europe
BEST TV/MEDIA – PRESCHOOLWow LisaEpisode: Rainy Day
BEST WRITING – TV/MEDIACommon Side Effects Episode: PilotGreen Street Pictures, Bandera Entertainment, and Williams Street ProductionsJoe Bennett, Steve Hely
BEST VOICE ACTING – FEATUREKPop Demon HuntersSony Pictures Animation for NetflixArden Cho (Character: Rumi)
BEST VOICE ACTING – TV/MEDIABob's BurgersEpisode: Don't Worry Be Hoopy20th TVDan Mintz (Character: Tina Belcher)
BEST EDITORIAL – FEATUREKPop Demon Hunters Editorial Team
BEST EDITORIAL – TV/MEDIACommon Side Effects Episode: RaidGreen Street Pictures, Bandera Entertainment, and Williams Street ProductionsTony Christopherson, Joie Lim
BEST FX – FEATUREKPop Demon HuntersProduction Company: Sony Pictures Animation for NetflixFX Production Company: Sony Pictures ImageworksFilippo Macari, Nicola Finizio, Simon Lewis, Naoki Kato, Daniel La Chapelle
BEST FX – TV/MEDIAPrehistoric Planet: Ice Age Episode: The Big FreezeProduction Company: BBC Studios Natural History UnitFX Production Company: FramestoreEdward Ferrysienanda, Kevin Christensen, Guy Shuleman , Benedikt Roettger, Kevin Tarpinian
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – FEATUREKPop Demon HuntersSony Pictures Animation, NetflixRyusuke Furuya
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – TV MEDIAWin or LosePixar Animation StudiosAlli Sadegiana
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – LIVE ACTIONHow To Train Your DragonProduction Company: DreamWorks AnimationFX Production Company: FramestoreKayn Garcia, Jean-Denis Haas, Meena Ibrahim, Nathan McConnel, Nick Tripodi
BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – VIDEO GAMESouth of MidnightCompulsion GamesMike Jungbluth, Sebastien Dussault, Vincent Schneider, Remi Edmond
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – FEATUREKPop Demon HuntersSony Pictures Animation for NetflixScott Watanabe, Ami Thompson
BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – TV/MEDIALove, Death + Robots Episode: 400 BoysBlur Studio for Netflix
BEST MUSIC – FEATUREKPop Demon HuntersSony Pictures Animation for NetflixKPop Demon Hunters Music Team
BEST MUSIC – TV/MEDIAWin Or LoseEpisode: Episode 6, Mixed SignalsPixar Animation StudiosRamin Djawadi, Shane Eli, Johnny Pakfar
BEST SPONSOREDOlipop YetiScreen Novelties & Passion Pictures
BEST SPECIAL PRODUCTIONSnoopy Presents: A Summer MusicalWildBrain Studios in association with Apple
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATUREKPop Demon HuntersSony Pictures Animation for NetflixHelen Chen, Dave Bleich, Wendell Dalit, Scott Watanabe, Celine Kim
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – TV/MEDIALove, Death + RobotsEpisode: How Zeke Got ReligionBlur Studio for Netflix
BEST SHORT SUBJECTSnow BearThe Art of Aaron Blaise
BEST STUDENT FILMA Sparrow's SongStudent director: Tobias EckerlinStudent producer: Tobias EckerlinSchool: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
JURIED AWARDS
Winsor McCay AwardMichaël Dudok de WitChristopher Miller and Phil LordChris Sanders
June Foray AwardSandy Rabins
Ub Iwerks AwardWacom
Special Achievement AwardLightBox Expo
ASIFA-Hollywood Merit AwardJeffrey New Haley Mirren Douthit
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Now watch Zootopia 2 win the Oscar, like Toy Story 4 did.
It could start tomorrow at the BAFTAs…
BAFTA win didn't help Vengeance Most Fowl.
It WILL start tomorrow as K-Pop is not nominated for not having a cinema release before streaming.
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By
Maya Georgi
Bad Bunny paid tribute to salsa legend Willie Colón at his latest Debí Tirar Más Fotos world tour stop in São Paulo, Brazil. Colón died Saturday morning at the age of 75, his family confirmed. A cause of death has not been disclosed.
“This music is very special. It's the influence of all of us who grew up listening to salsa in the Caribbean. Today, one of the great legends who contributed to this beautiful genre passed away,” Bad Bunny said before diving into his song “NUEVAYoL,” which name-checks the salsa singer. “From me and Los Sobrinos, we wish Willie Colón rests in peace,” Bad Bunny said, referencing his own live band. “Much strength to his family,”
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Palabras de Bad Bunny sobre el fallecimiento de Willie Colón. pic.twitter.com/4aXBEuD8xm
Bad Bunny name dropped the salsa legend in the first verse of his historic, genre-defying LP Debí Tirar Más Fotos. “Willie Colón, me dicen ‘еl malo,'” (“Willie Colón, they call me the bad one,”) Benito raps, referencing the salsa singer's 1967 debut album El Malo. “NUEVAYoL” is a full homage to Nuoyorican icons like Colón. The track samples Puerto Rico's “Godfather of Salsa” Andy Montañez Rodrígue's rendition of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico's song “Un Verano en Nueva York” against a boisterous dembow beat.
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Many fans have pointed out that the salsa legend had right-wing views later in life and his social media presence across Instagram and X included criticism of Bad Bunny. Still, upon the song's release, Colón responded positively to being name-checked in a social media video. “When I heard it, I was really surprised. The push it gave to salsa and to Boricuas, it's something we all needed,” Colón said.
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Shailene Woodley joins Sterling K. Brown and Julianne Nicholson in the Dan Fogelman-created series, set in the years after a catastrophe wipes out most of the human population.
By
Angie Han
Television Critic
If Hulu's post-apocalyptic drama Paradise has a secret weapon, it's This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman's skill for provoking emotion. The new second season knows just how to get a viewer in their feelings, spilling tears over characters in the pits of despair, or joy as they rediscover lost pleasures, or warmth as lonely souls find camaraderie in dark days.
As the episodes wore on, however, I found other, less pleasant emotions starting to creep in as well. Frustration at the accumulation of little plot holes. Exasperation at intriguing storylines that fizzled into dead ends. While Paradise has always been more heart than head, the latest run prioritizes the former to such a degree that the entire thing feels out of whack.
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Paradise
The Bottom Line
Lots of heart, not enough brains.
Airdate: Monday, Feb. 23 (Hulu)Cast: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Krys Marshall, Enuka Okuma, Aliyah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV, Charlie Evans, Thomas Doherty, Shailene Woodley, Cameron BrittonCreator: Dan Fogelman
For all its ambition and enormous cast, the first season of Paradise remained anchored to a single place (a city-sized bunker underneath Colorado) and organized around a single propulsive mystery (who killed James Marsden's President Cal Bradford?). Sure, it was never as profound as it seemed to want to be — more often, it was like one of its own lugubrious covers of '80s pop songs, silly fun trying to pass itself off as Classy and Serious — but it had an addictive momentum.
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Then the finale saw Xavier (Sterling K. Brown), our Secret Service protagonist, preparing to fly out into the outside world. The narrative possibilities on both sides of the fortress walls seemed endless. What would Xavier find out there — his wife (Enuka Okuma's Teri)? A desolate wasteland? New friends, or new foes? While he was gone, what would become of the home he was leaving behind? And with so many intriguing narrative options, how would Paradise pick a new path to go forward?
I'll refrain from spoiling most of those questions, but on the last front I can tell you: It…doesn't. The seven hours (of eight) sent to critics sprawl out in every direction, scattering existing characters on disjointed journeys while adding a slew of new ones. In all, the plot in the present day covers thousands of miles, while the flashbacks — so, so many flashbacks — span dozens of years.
There are some upsides to the broadened scope. It's thrilling to get our first extended glimpse of life on the outside in the Glenn Ficarra and John Requa-directed premiere, which chronicles the experience of a tour guide (Shailene Woodley‘s Annie) riding out the end times in Elvis' Graceland. The episode takes the time to get to know the lonely rhythm of her days before piercing the quiet with a roving band of scavengers, led by the charismatic Link (Thomas Doherty). Woodley, always a sensitive performer, plays Annie's swirling emotions beautifully, as she moves from panic to resignation to bittersweet pleasure at getting to interact with other humans for the first time in ages.
Other chapters introduce a group of doomsday preppers who become a found family over years stuck in a basement and a band of orphaned children whose survival instincts have been honed at the cost of their innocence. (When an injured grown-up offers to read them a story, the shyest among them responds with a question: When the man dies, can he have his jacket?) At its most effective, Paradise‘s second season evokes the haunting beauty, though not the brutality, of HBO's The Last of Us.
It's enough to make you want to not sweat the small stuff, like, “Would it really take three years for someone to think to raid Graceland?” Or “Wouldn't a tech genius come up with a better computer password than a four-digit code?” Or “Why does this character's before-times ID have only their picture but not their name, thus defeating the entire purpose of an ID?” Who cares about such nitpicky details when we're busy tearing up at Annie feeling alive again, or Xavier's desperation to be reunited with Teri?
But as with greenhouse gases under apocalyptic clouds of ash, it's the cumulative effect that screws you. A few inconsistencies are forgivable. Too many of them will eat away at the structural integrity of a season — especially if its foundations are already shaky.
One of the major trade-offs of Paradise's newly expanded scale is a loss of focus. Without a single driving mystery, subplots like Cal's angsty son Jeremy (Charlie Evans) mounting a youth rebellion are given so little oxygen that it's easy to forget they exist at all, while compelling characters like Annie get abruptly sidelined once their utility has run out. More time is spent reminding us that we don't know what characters like billionaire mastermind Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) are really up to, than establishing why we're meant to care.
Moment to moment, Paradise remains an engrossing experience, thanks in large part to the charm of its cast. But the plot makes less and less sense upon further reflection. Meanwhile, the overreliance on flashbacks to fill in character motivations and goals stalls the momentum, so that it starts to seem that Paradise is a collection of backstories loosely connected by a shared present, rather than an ongoing thriller enhanced by deeper context.
Even Fogelman's knack for weepy emotionality turns out to have its limits. Season one managed the neat trick of humanizing the seemingly monstrous Billy (Jon Beaver) through — what else? — a tragic past. Season two tries to repeat the feat with a similarly shady character, but only manages to make her seem more alien. (This is an especially rough stretch for the female characters in general, who are treated with a “nice guy” chivalry that can look, in certain lights, a lot like condescension.)
This is a season that feels like it's constantly in motion, yet never actually seems to get anywhere. Inadvertently, Paradise seems to have adopted the same philosophy to storytelling that Xavier's son, as he explains in an overwritten but persuasively performed monologue, once took to his toys. “Maybe it's not fun to play with trains that ride smoothly along their tracks,” Xavier muses of the boy's thinking. “Maybe the thing that's interesting about trains is the possibility that these huge metal contraptions could one day crash into one another.”
In season two, whatever destination Paradise was headed for seems to have been forgotten. Whatever bigger themes it once evoked (like the greed of megalomaniacal billionaires, or the complicity of powerful men) have fallen by the wayside. It's just a collision of characters and ideas and subplots, resulting in the rubble — some of it salvageable and some of it less so — of something that used to run smoothly enough.
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By Natalie Oganesyan
Weekend Editor
Post-Harry Potter, star Daniel Radcliffe has taken on no shortage of singular projects, playing anyone from a flatulent corpse (Swiss Army Man) to a gun-toting computer programmer (Guns Akimbo), but there's one pitch that stands out as “one of the worst” he's ever heard.
While guesting on Hot Ones ahead of his Broadway return in Every Brilliant Thing and the premiere of comedy The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins, the Kill Your Darlings actor was asked about bizarre or unique pitches he's agreed to take on. The question made him call back the memory of a particularly horrendous pitch for the Harry Potter trio.
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“One of the worst ideas that I've ever heard: During Potter, somebody came to us and, I think, asked — like they wanted to cast all three of us — me, Emma [Watson] and Rupert [Grint] — in a remake of Wizard of Oz, where Emma was Dorothy, I can't remember what Rupert was and I just remember I was going to be the lion, but also, he knew karate. I was like a karate-kicking Cowardly Lion,” Radcliffe said.
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He added, “I was like 14 or 15, and I was like, ‘I don't know a lot about the world, but this is a bad idea. This should not be made.'”
Radcliffe was just seen in Sony Pictures Classics‘ December release of Merrily We Roll Along, the live-filmed version of the four-time Tony Award-winning musical revival that also starred Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez.
As filming for the new Harry Potter reboot series begins, Radcliffe has passed the baton to new actor Dominic McLaughlin, to whom he wrote a letter. He said he didn't “want to be a specter in the life of these children” but sent a note conveying: “‘I hope you have the best time, and an even better time than I did — I had a great time, but I hope you have an even better time.'”
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Perfect films like The Wizard of Oz should not be remade. Just show the originals.
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Hallmark's newest movie, “The Stars Between Us,” premieres on Saturday, February 21 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. But despite the storyline taking place in Illinois, that's not where the movie was actually shot. Read on to learn all about where the movie was filmed, and see behind-the-scenes cast stories. The new film stars Sarah Drew and Matt Long.
According to IMDb, “The Stars Between Us” was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada — not Illinois, where the storyline takes place. (Other sources also cite Victoria as a main location for the Canadian-filmed movie.)
According to Drew, the movie was filmed in August.
It appears that the working title of the movie, while it was being filmed, was “Eclipse Chasers,” according to UBCP/ACTRA. It was filmed from July 28 through August 15 near the Victoria region of Canada.
Drew wrote about the movie on Instagram, noting “We had a blast making this and I can't wait for you to see it!”
An article published in Q98.5 bemoans the fact that the movie wasn't filmed near Illinois. However, Hallmark typically chooses Canadian locations due to ease of filming and tax credits or subsidies offered.
Drew talked about how excited she is for this movie during December's Hallmark Christmas Experience.
Drew talks about the movie in a different Hallmark Christmas Experience event here, and shares that it hearkens back to some 90s rom-coms and their serendipitous moments.
Noah Paul shared some behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram.
Junnicia Lagoutin also shared photos from her trailer, and said she would share more pictures after the movie is released.
Grayson Maxwell Gurnsey also shared a series of photos on Instagram, writing: “Working with these beautiful people was da best!!”
Hallmark's synopsis reads: “Seven years ago, Kim made a connection with a stranger during an eclipse event. Now a fledgling news reporter, Kim returns to Illinois for this year's eclipse, unaware that their paths may cross again.”
Sarah Drew stars as Kim. She's well loved by Hallmark fans for her lead role in the popular “Mistletoe Murders” series. Other credits on Hallmark include “Guiding Emily,” “One Summer,” “Branching Out,” “Christmas in Vienna,” and more. Outside of Hallmark, her credits include Dr. April Kepner on “Grey's Anatomy,” Hedda in “Jimmy,” “Cruel Summer,” “Amber Brown,” and a number of Lifetime films.
Matt Long stars as Malcolm. He's perhaps best known for his role as Zeke Landon in “Manifest.” His many other credits include “Jack & Bobby,” “Private Practice” as Dr. James Peterson, “Timeless,” “The Newsroom,” and a young Johnny Blaze in the movie “Ghost Rider.” On Hallmark, we also saw him in “Christmas Joy” with Danielle Panabaker.
“The Stars Between Us” looks like it's going to be an adorable movie with a lot of feel-good moments that Hallmark viewers absolutely love.
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"The next question to Mr Cameron should be this… 'Are you also against the monopolization that a Paramount acquisition would create? Or is it just that of Netflix?'" the 'Task' actor wrote on Saturday.
By
McKinley Franklin
Mark Ruffalo has shared his thoughts on James Cameron‘s letter in opposition to Netflix buying Warner Bros. Discovery, with the filmmaker instead sharing support for Paramount to acquire the company.
“So… the next question to Mr Cameron should be this… ‘Are you also against the monopolization that a Paramount acquisition would create? Or is it just that of Netflix?'” the four-time Oscar-nominated actor wrote on Threads Saturday. “I think the answer would be very interesting for the film community to hear and one that should be asked immediately. Is Mike Lee against the Paramount sale as well? Is he as concerned about that as he is the Netflix sale?”
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Ruffalo concluded, “We all want to know .…Speaking on behalf of hundreds of thousands of film makers world wide.”
In Cameron's letter, which is dated Feb. 10 but began making headlines on Thursday and was sent to to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the Avatar director voiced concerns about the future of films being released in theaters if Netflix acquires Warner Bros.
“The business model of Netflix is directly at odds with the theatrical film production and exhibition business, which employs hundreds of thousands of Americans,” Cameron wrote “It is therefore directly at odds with the business model of the Warner Brothers movie division, one of the few remaining major movie studios.”
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos swiftly fired back against Cameron's claims on Friday. “I'm particularly surprised and disappointed that James chose to be part of the Paramount disinformation campaign that's been going on for months about this deal,” he said in an interview on Fox Business Network's The Claman Countdown.
Sarandos also responded to Cameron's claims that he plans to shift films to having a 17-day theatrical window. “I have never even uttered the words 17-day window. So I don't know where it came from or why he would be part of that machine,” he added.
“Movies go into the theaters for 45 days, a healthy, robust slate of films every year, that is going to continue,” Sarandos said. “This deal is contingent on that for us to — for it to work.”
The Netflix co-CEO additionally sent Lee a letter in response to Cameron's, where he wrote that the Titanic director “knowingly misrepresents our position and commitment to the theatrical release of Warner Bros. films.”
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Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones.
You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep."
Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant.
Comedies can fall into the trap of aging terribly, but The Good Place is not only one of the few TV sitcoms everyone should watch once, but it is aging better than most. The Good Place is a show like no other, defying genres and including romance, mystery, and supernatural elements, while evolving into a commentary on human nature.
The Good Place contains some of the best sitcom characters of all time, and begins with Eleanor, an unpleasant person who dies and finds that she has mistakenly been assigned to "the good place." While trying to become worthy of her new afterlife, she and her companions discover a game-changing twist that makes the show even better, giving The Good Place iconic status.
Comedies are often products of their time, and the humor that once appealed to a generation can become stale at best and offensive at worst. Rather than attempt to be current at all times, The Good Place relies on wordplay, wit, and absurdist humor. In decades to come, these might date, but The Good Place is currently still as funny as ever.
One major part of why the show is aging so well is that the writers were not afraid to step out of the comedy genre. The Good Place is a clever comedy show with a lot of depth, and while it may be funny, it is also unexpectedly moving, offering some extremely intelligent insights into human nature as the series progresses.
Sitcoms can be hard to end in a satisfying way, usually needing to show the characters' emotional growth, while sticking to the show's overall tone. The Good Place progresses from a laugh-out-loud comedy to an optimistic character study that ends on a bittersweet but uplifting note. This makes it one of the most rewatchable TV series, and a perfect comfort watch.
While some of the most perfect comedy scenes of all time happen in The Good Place, another key to its longevity is that it is an extraordinarily cleverly-written show. It balances humor with deep existential questions that grow more absurd over time, incorporating ridiculous puns and wordplay into high-concept philosophy, like the nature of the universe and non-linear time.
The Good Place explores the concepts of heaven, hell, and human life through a lens that appeals to any viewer, no matter their religion or life path. Its eventual conclusion is that virtually everybody has the potential to become a good person if given the chance to learn, and this is a message that feels both timeless and comforting.
The Good Place's incredible twist is nothing short of genius, and the show is endlessly rewatchable, as there are hints that can be picked up by people who know what is coming. Introducing the show to a new viewer is also a great experience, and The Good Place has had such a significant cultural impact that it is unlikely it will ever get old.
We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
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WASHINGTON- The United States is recording between 50 and 100 Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) sightings each month, according to federal investigators. The debate over extraterrestrial life has intensified following renewed political remarks and fresh calls to declassify government files.
Official reviews by the Pentagon, NASA, and the intelligence community state that there is no verified evidence of alien contact. However, rising case numbers and renewed political attention have kept the issue in focus.
The modern UAP framework began with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's preliminary assessment released in June 2021. That report reviewed 144 military encounters between 2004 and 2021 and found no evidence of extraterrestrial origin, while acknowledging that most incidents lacked sufficient data for firm conclusions, EurAsian Times reported.
In July 2022, the Pentagon established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office under the direction of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. AARO's mandate covers anomalous objects in air, sea, space, and transmedium environments.
The term UAP replaced UFO to reduce stigma and reflect the broader operational scope, including unidentified objects transitioning between air and water.
In March 2024, AARO released a congressionally mandated Historical Record Report reviewing UAP cases dating back to 1945. The report concluded that there is no evidence that the US government possesses extraterrestrial technology or has engaged in alien contact. It found that most historical cases involved misidentified ordinary objects, sensor artifacts, balloons, drones, or classified military programs.
Barack Obama on aliens: “They're real”“But I haven't seen them. They're not being kept at Area 51. There's no underground facility — unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the President of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/c6t0DYxewU
AARO stated in its 2024 update that it now receives between 50 and 100 UAP reports per month. Many are resolved through data analysis, while a smaller percentage remain open due to limited sensor information or incomplete reporting. The office emphasized that unresolved does not mean extraterrestrial.
Public attention intensified after former President Barack Obama stated during a February 14, 2026, podcast interview that while the universe statistically makes life elsewhere plausible, he saw no evidence during his presidency that aliens had visited Earth.
The remark circulated widely online before Obama clarified that his statement referred to probability, not confirmed contact.
On February 19, 2026, President Donald Trump announced that he would direct the Department of Defense and other agencies to begin identifying and releasing additional government records related to UFOs and UAPs.
Doocy: Barack Obama said aliens are real. Trump: He's not supposed to be doing that. He made a big mistake giving out classified information. pic.twitter.com/UF6DWCgcIA
As of publication, no executive order text or formal declassification schedule has been publicly released. Agencies are expected to conduct standard national security reviews before any documents are made public.
Congress has played a direct role in shaping UAP transparency. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 formally expanded investigative requirements and strengthened reporting obligations. Public hearings held by the House Oversight and Senate Armed Services Committees in 2022 and 2023 included testimony from defense officials and former military pilots.
Astronomical discoveries have strengthened the scientific case that life could exist elsewhere. Since the 1990s, astronomers have confirmed more than 6,000 exoplanets orbiting distant stars. The Milky Way galaxy is estimated to contain up to 400 billion stars, many with planetary systems.
NASA's Independent Study Team report, released in September 2023, concluded that there is no evidence suggesting UAP sightings are extraterrestrial in origin. The agency recommended improved data collection, standardized reporting, and advanced sensor calibration to reduce ambiguity.
Scientists distinguish between statistical likelihood and verified evidence. While microbial life elsewhere in the universe is considered plausible by many researchers, no physical proof of extraterrestrial organisms has been confirmed.
AARO coordinates with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the intelligence community to evaluate airspace safety risks. Civilian pilots report unusual objects through FAA channels, while military aviators report through defense systems.
One widely discussed incident occurred in November 2004 during exercises involving the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group off Southern California. Radar operators aboard the USS Princeton detected objects descending rapidly from high altitude to sea level. Navy pilots visually observed a white object later referred to as the Tic Tac. The event remains unexplained, but no confirmed extraterrestrial link has been established.
Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves testified before Congress in 2023 that aviators frequently observed unidentified objects in restricted training airspace. Investigators later attributed many similar cases to airborne clutter, sensor anomalies, drones, or classified systems.
A mid-2025 Department of Defense historical review concluded that during the Cold War, certain UFO narratives were amplified to conceal classified aircraft testing, including stealth programs such as the F-117 Nighthawk. Earlier CIA records declassified in 2013 confirmed that Area 51 was used to test aircraft such as the U-2 and SR-71, which contributed to misidentified sightings.
Public fascination with aliens has been shaped by decades of film and television. Productions such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Contact, Fire in the Sky, and Arrival influenced perceptions of extraterrestrial contact.
Early portrayals emphasized invasion and fear, while later works explored communication and philosophical implications.
Despite cultural narratives and online speculation, federal agencies maintain that no credible evidence supports claims of alien visitation or government concealment of extraterrestrial bodies or craft.
The declassification process, if formally initiated, will likely proceed through structured interagency review to protect sensitive defense capabilities. Historical precedent shows that some records can be released while technical details remain redacted.
Current official findings remain consistent across agencies. The United States continues to investigate UAP reports, records 50 to 100 sightings monthly, and acknowledges that some cases require further analysis. However, no verified evidence confirms extraterrestrial contact.
The possibility of life elsewhere in the universe remains a scientific question. The question of alien visitation to Earth remains unsupported by evidence.
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News
Aviation A2Z is one of the leading news and media publication company.
We publish latest aviation news, exclusive blogs and more.
Copyright © 2024 Aviation A2Z
Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.
WASHINGTON- The United States is recording between 50 and 100 Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) sightings each month, according to federal investigators. The debate over extraterrestrial life has intensified following renewed political remarks and fresh calls to declassify government files.
Official reviews by the Pentagon, NASA, and the intelligence community state that there is no verified evidence of alien contact. However, rising case numbers and renewed political attention have kept the issue in focus.
The modern UAP framework began with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's preliminary assessment released in June 2021. That report reviewed 144 military encounters between 2004 and 2021 and found no evidence of extraterrestrial origin, while acknowledging that most incidents lacked sufficient data for firm conclusions, EurAsian Times reported.
In July 2022, the Pentagon established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office under the direction of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. AARO's mandate covers anomalous objects in air, sea, space, and transmedium environments.
The term UAP replaced UFO to reduce stigma and reflect the broader operational scope, including unidentified objects transitioning between air and water.
In March 2024, AARO released a congressionally mandated Historical Record Report reviewing UAP cases dating back to 1945. The report concluded that there is no evidence that the US government possesses extraterrestrial technology or has engaged in alien contact. It found that most historical cases involved misidentified ordinary objects, sensor artifacts, balloons, drones, or classified military programs.
Barack Obama on aliens: “They're real”“But I haven't seen them. They're not being kept at Area 51. There's no underground facility — unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the President of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/c6t0DYxewU
AARO stated in its 2024 update that it now receives between 50 and 100 UAP reports per month. Many are resolved through data analysis, while a smaller percentage remain open due to limited sensor information or incomplete reporting. The office emphasized that unresolved does not mean extraterrestrial.
Public attention intensified after former President Barack Obama stated during a February 14, 2026, podcast interview that while the universe statistically makes life elsewhere plausible, he saw no evidence during his presidency that aliens had visited Earth.
The remark circulated widely online before Obama clarified that his statement referred to probability, not confirmed contact.
On February 19, 2026, President Donald Trump announced that he would direct the Department of Defense and other agencies to begin identifying and releasing additional government records related to UFOs and UAPs.
Doocy: Barack Obama said aliens are real. Trump: He's not supposed to be doing that. He made a big mistake giving out classified information. pic.twitter.com/UF6DWCgcIA
As of publication, no executive order text or formal declassification schedule has been publicly released. Agencies are expected to conduct standard national security reviews before any documents are made public.
Congress has played a direct role in shaping UAP transparency. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 formally expanded investigative requirements and strengthened reporting obligations. Public hearings held by the House Oversight and Senate Armed Services Committees in 2022 and 2023 included testimony from defense officials and former military pilots.
Astronomical discoveries have strengthened the scientific case that life could exist elsewhere. Since the 1990s, astronomers have confirmed more than 6,000 exoplanets orbiting distant stars. The Milky Way galaxy is estimated to contain up to 400 billion stars, many with planetary systems.
NASA's Independent Study Team report, released in September 2023, concluded that there is no evidence suggesting UAP sightings are extraterrestrial in origin. The agency recommended improved data collection, standardized reporting, and advanced sensor calibration to reduce ambiguity.
Scientists distinguish between statistical likelihood and verified evidence. While microbial life elsewhere in the universe is considered plausible by many researchers, no physical proof of extraterrestrial organisms has been confirmed.
AARO coordinates with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the intelligence community to evaluate airspace safety risks. Civilian pilots report unusual objects through FAA channels, while military aviators report through defense systems.
One widely discussed incident occurred in November 2004 during exercises involving the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group off Southern California. Radar operators aboard the USS Princeton detected objects descending rapidly from high altitude to sea level. Navy pilots visually observed a white object later referred to as the Tic Tac. The event remains unexplained, but no confirmed extraterrestrial link has been established.
Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves testified before Congress in 2023 that aviators frequently observed unidentified objects in restricted training airspace. Investigators later attributed many similar cases to airborne clutter, sensor anomalies, drones, or classified systems.
A mid-2025 Department of Defense historical review concluded that during the Cold War, certain UFO narratives were amplified to conceal classified aircraft testing, including stealth programs such as the F-117 Nighthawk. Earlier CIA records declassified in 2013 confirmed that Area 51 was used to test aircraft such as the U-2 and SR-71, which contributed to misidentified sightings.
Public fascination with aliens has been shaped by decades of film and television. Productions such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Contact, Fire in the Sky, and Arrival influenced perceptions of extraterrestrial contact.
Early portrayals emphasized invasion and fear, while later works explored communication and philosophical implications.
Despite cultural narratives and online speculation, federal agencies maintain that no credible evidence supports claims of alien visitation or government concealment of extraterrestrial bodies or craft.
The declassification process, if formally initiated, will likely proceed through structured interagency review to protect sensitive defense capabilities. Historical precedent shows that some records can be released while technical details remain redacted.
Current official findings remain consistent across agencies. The United States continues to investigate UAP reports, records 50 to 100 sightings monthly, and acknowledges that some cases require further analysis. However, no verified evidence confirms extraterrestrial contact.
The possibility of life elsewhere in the universe remains a scientific question. The question of alien visitation to Earth remains unsupported by evidence.
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News
Aviation A2Z is one of the leading news and media publication company.
We publish latest aviation news, exclusive blogs and more.
Copyright © 2024 Aviation A2Z
Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.
Is there something more out there?
President Trump pledged on Thursday "to begin the process of identifying and releasing government files related to aliens and extraterrestrial life … and unidentified flying objects."
It comes after he accused former President Barack Obama of revealing classified information when he was asked about aliens on a podcast:
Podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen: Are aliens real?
Barack Obama: they're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in, what is it?
Cohen: Area 51
RELATED NEWS | 'They're real': Obama clarifies statement on aliens
"He gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that," President Trump said.
Obama later clarified on instagram he "saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us... Really!"
The idea of life beyond earth has long fascinated the public.
In 2022, Congress held public hearings on UFOs, and later that year the Pentagon created an office to investigate them.
It published a report in 2024 saying it "has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology."
But Avi Loeb, an astrophysicist who heads a Harvard project searching for extraterrestrial life, think there's still more work to be done:
"If the government tells us that there are anomalies that they cannot figure out, it is the duty of scientists like myself to help them figure it out," Loeb said. "My guess is that the most exciting data or evidence was never disclosed."
About Scripps News
Is there something more out there?
President Trump pledged on Thursday "to begin the process of identifying and releasing government files related to aliens and extraterrestrial life … and unidentified flying objects."
It comes after he accused former President Barack Obama of revealing classified information when he was asked about aliens on a podcast:
Podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen: Are aliens real?
Barack Obama: they're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in, what is it?
Cohen: Area 51
RELATED NEWS | 'They're real': Obama clarifies statement on aliens
"He gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that," President Trump said.
Obama later clarified on instagram he "saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us... Really!"
The idea of life beyond earth has long fascinated the public.
In 2022, Congress held public hearings on UFOs, and later that year the Pentagon created an office to investigate them.
It published a report in 2024 saying it "has discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology."
But Avi Loeb, an astrophysicist who heads a Harvard project searching for extraterrestrial life, think there's still more work to be done:
"If the government tells us that there are anomalies that they cannot figure out, it is the duty of scientists like myself to help them figure it out," Loeb said. "My guess is that the most exciting data or evidence was never disclosed."
About Scripps News
Sign up for Email Alerts from KTVZ.com!
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. government agencies to release files related to alien life and unidentified flying objects. It's unclear what information the records contain or when they'll be made public.
The directive marks one of the most significant steps toward government transparency on extraterrestrial research, an issue that has long drawn speculation from both scientists and conspiracy theorists.
In a 2024 report, the Pentagon said it found no evidence of alien life, though it acknowledged investigating numerous unidentified aerial phenomena.
The renewed spotlight on extraterrestrials comes after former President Barack Obama made waves over the weekend when he told a podcaster that aliens “are real but I haven't seen them.” Obama later clarified that he was referring to the statistical likelihood of life existing elsewhere in the universe, not confirmed encounters.
Meanwhile, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said talk of a government cover-up no longer holds up given the number of people who have publicly claimed to see or study UFOs.
“Well, just consider how many people have paraded in front of Congress in the past three years,” Tyson said. “If insiders are saying they've met aliens, how much of a cover-up is that? By the time you roll out an alien, it'll be anticlimactic, because everyone would have already confessed to having seen one.”
The White House has not announced a timeline for the document release.
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For decades, the truth about UFOs—now officially called UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena)—has lived in the shadows.
Hidden behind classified briefings. Locked inside government vaults. Whispered about in conspiracy forums, military circles, and late-night documentaries.
But in 2026, that silence was shaken.
In a move that has sent shockwaves across governments, scientists, and ordinary citizens alike, President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the release of previously classified UAP and alien-related files. The announcement has reignited global curiosity and reopened one of humanity's oldest and most unsettling questions:
Are we alone?
This moment could redefine science, national security, and our understanding of reality itself.
The Order That Changed the Conversation
According to emerging reports, the directive calls for intelligence agencies, military departments, and federal organizations to declassify significant portions of their UAP archives. These include radar recordings, pilot encounters, satellite tracking data, and investigative reports that have remained hidden for decades.
Agencies such as the U.S. Department of Defense and the Pentagon are now at the center of this disclosure effort.
This isn't just another document dump.
This is potentially the largest release of UFO-related intelligence in modern history.
And it signals a dramatic shift in how governments approach transparency on unidentified aerial encounters.
Why UFO Disclosure Is Happening Now
The timing of this disclosure raises important questions.
Why now?
The answer lies in a combination of public pressure, technological advancement, and undeniable military encounters.
Over the past decade, trained fighter pilots have reported objects performing maneuvers that defy known physics:
Instant acceleration
Hypersonic speeds without heat signatures
No visible propulsion systems
Sudden disappearance from radar
These are not amateur sightings. These are observations from highly trained professionals using advanced military equipment.
Even organizations like NASA have acknowledged that many UAP encounters remain unexplained.
Technology has reached a point where hiding such data is no longer sustainable.
The public wants answers.
And now, governments are beginning to respond.
From Ridicule to Reality: How UFOs Became Serious Business
For decades, UFO discussions were dismissed as fantasy or conspiracy.
Pilots who reported sightings risked damaging their careers. Scientists avoided the subject entirely.
But something changed.
In recent years, the U.S. government officially confirmed the authenticity of UAP videos captured by Navy pilots. These objects displayed flight characteristics far beyond current human capabilities.
This forced a shift in tone.
What was once ridicule became investigation.
What was once denial became acknowledgment.
And now, disclosure.
What the Released Files Could Reveal
The classified files reportedly include several types of critical information:
1. Military Encounter Reports
Detailed accounts from fighter pilots who witnessed unknown craft during training missions and combat exercises.
These include objects that:
Outpaced advanced jets
Hovered without propulsion
Vanished instantly
2. Radar and Satellite Tracking Data
Hard data collected by military radar systems and orbital surveillance.
This evidence is especially important because radar cannot hallucinate.
It records real, physical objects.
3. Intelligence Investigations
Decades of analysis by defense and intelligence agencies attempting to determine the origin and nature of UAPs.
Some reports may explore whether these objects represent:
Advanced foreign technology
Experimental black-project aircraft
Or something not of human origin
The Area 51 Question Returns
No discussion of UFO disclosure is complete without mentioning Area 51.
For decades, this secretive military installation has been associated with alien technology rumors and classified aerospace research.
While no official confirmation has ever validated extraterrestrial claims, the secrecy surrounding Area 51 has fueled global speculation.
With new disclosure orders in place, many believe long-hidden truths could finally emerge.
Whether those truths confirm alien encounters or simply reveal advanced human technology remains unknown.
But the mystery is closer to resolution than ever before.
National Security vs. Public Transparency
UFO disclosure isn't just about curiosity.
It's about security.
Military officials must determine whether these unidentified objects pose a threat.
If UAPs represent foreign adversary technology, they could signal a major shift in global military balance.
If they represent unknown phenomena, they could challenge our understanding of physics and aerospace engineering.
This is why disclosure has historically been slow and cautious.
Governments must balance transparency with safety.
Even now, some information may remain classified.
The Role of Congress and Public Oversight
Pressure for disclosure hasn't come from the public alone.
Congress has increasingly demanded answers from military and intelligence agencies.
Lawmakers argue that citizens have a right to know what exists in their skies—especially when taxpayer funds have supported decades of investigation.
This political pressure has played a key role in accelerating disclosure efforts.
Transparency is no longer optional.
It is expected.
What UFO Disclosure Means for Science and Humanity
The implications of UFO disclosure extend far beyond government transparency.
If even a fraction of reported encounters prove non-human in origin, it would represent the most significant discovery in human history.
It would change:
Science
Philosophy
Religion
Technology
Humanity's place in the universe
Even if no extraterrestrial confirmation emerges, disclosure could still reveal revolutionary aerospace technologies.
Either outcome would reshape the future.
Why This Moment Feels Different
UFO disclosure has been promised before.
But this moment feels different for three reasons:
First, official government acknowledgment already exists. This isn't speculation—it's documented reality.
Second, political leadership is actively pushing for transparency.
Third, global awareness and technological advancement make secrecy increasingly difficult.
The world is watching.
And waiting.
The Truth May Finally Be Within Reach
For generations, humanity has looked at the sky and wondered.
What are those lights?
Who—or what—is out there?
Now, with classified UAP and alien files potentially entering public view, we stand at the edge of answers.
Whether the truth confirms extraterrestrial intelligence, advanced human engineering, or something entirely unexpected, one thing is certain:
The era of silence is ending.
And the era of disclosure has begun.
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History rarely moves in sudden leaps. It moves through people—people who stand in the storm, absorb its fury, and quietly build bridges for others to cross. Jesse Jackson was one of those rare figures. He was not merely a witness to history; he was one of its architects.
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ANI |
Updated: Feb 22, 2026 09:14 IST
Washington, DC [US], February 22 (ANI): United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has launched a scathing critique against commentator Tucker Carlson, accusing him of platforming a ''dangerous conspiracy theory'' intended to delegitimise the Jewish people.The dispute follows a sit-down interview between the two, which Huckabee claims took an unexpected turn into fringe historical theories.Taking to the social media platform X to address the fallout, the Ambassador stated, ''When I sat down with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, I was expecting a thoughtful conversation and that he would ask questions and give me the opportunity to actually respond--just like he did with the little Nazi sympathizer Nick Fuentes or the guy who thought Hitler was the good guy and Churchill the bad guy.''
When I sat down with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, I was expecting a thoughtful conversation and that he would ask questions and give me the opportunity to actually respond--just like he did with the little Nazi sympathizer Nick Fuentes or the guy who thought Hitler was the good…
The Ambassador expressed surprise at the line of questioning regarding Jewish ancestry, noting, ''What I wasn't anticipating was a lengthy series of questions where he seemed to be insinuating that the Jews of today aren't really same people as the Jews of the Bible.''Huckabee specifically targeted the ''Khazar hypothesis,'' a theory suggesting that Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of a Turkic kingdom rather than ancient Israelites.He noted that ''the discredited idea that most Ashkenazi or European Jews descended from the ancient Turkic Kingdom of Khazaria is bunk.''The Ambassador warned that this narrative is an ''odious conspiracy theory'' that has been ''weaponised by people trying to deligitimize Jews, to strip them of their history, and to call them 'imposters' or 'fake Jews.'''He added that this idea is ''peddled by the likes of Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes'' and by ''Islamist accounts that make up false smears about Israel non-stop and are run out of countries like Pakistan and Turkey.''Defending the historical and genetic lineage of the Jewish people, Huckabee asserted that ''the Jews of today can trace their lineage back thousands of years to Israel and the Jewish people of the Bible.''However, this same interview has triggered a separate international crisis, as fourteen Arab and Islamic countries, alongside the secretariats of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the League of Arab States (LAS), and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have strongly condemned statements made by the Ambassador.The joint backlash follows the televised broadcast during which Huckabee suggested that Israel possesses the right to extend its borders across significant portions of the Middle East.The discussion centred on the geographical boundaries of Israel and historical territorial claims.During the exchange, Carlson questioned the Ambassador regarding the concept of a land spanning from the Euphrates River in Iraq to the Nile River in Egypt and whether the modern State of Israel could claim that specific lineage.Responding to the enquiry, Huckabee stated, ''It would be fine if they took it all.''In a joint statement issued on Saturday night from Doha, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and the State of Palestine described these as ''dangerous and inflammatory'' remarks.They expressed ''profound concern'' and ''strong condemnation,'' noting that the comments indicate ''it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West Bank.''The signatories categorically rejected the statements, affirming that ''Israel has no sovereignty whatsoever over the Occupied Palestinian Territory or any other occupied Arab lands.''They stated that such remarks constitute a ''flagrant violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations'' and ''pose a grave threat to the security and stability of the region.''The vast territory described in the interview would encompass modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and parts of Saudi Arabia.The joint declaration warned that ''the continuation of Israel's expansionist policies and unlawful measures will only inflame violence and conflict in the region'' and ''undermine the prospects for peace.''The Ministries further stressed that these remarks ''directly contradict the vision put forward by US President Donald Trump, as well as the US Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,'' which are based on containing escalation and creating a political horizon for an independent Palestinian state.Amidst the growing firestorm, the Ambassador later appeared to moderate his position, characterising his earlier remark as ''somewhat of a hyperbolic statement.''He further noted that Israel is not seeking to enlarge its current territory and emphasised that the nation has a right to security within the land it currently holds.Despite this, the Ministries called for ''an end to these incendiary statements,'' underscoring that remarks seeking to ''legitimise control over the lands of others'' fuel tensions rather than advancing peace. (ANI)
Mike Huckabee
Tucker Carlson
US Ambassador To Israel
Khazar Hypothesis
Conspiracy Theory Controversy
Arab And Islamic Countries
Joint Condemnation
Middle East Tensions
West Bank Remarks
Diplomatic Backlash
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