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  • Request for Jesse Jackson to lie in honor at Capitol denied

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    WASHINGTON — The late Rev. Jesse Jackson will not lie in honor in the United States Capitol Rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office due to past precedent.

    What You Need To Know

    • House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office has denied a request to have the late Rev. Jesse Jackson lie in honor in the United States Capitol Rotunda due to precedents that such honors are usually only designated for presidents

    • Johnson’s office said it received a request from the family to have Jackson’s remains lie in honor at the Capitol

    • The Jackson family has announced scheduled dates for memorial services to honor the civil rights icon in Chicago, South Carolina and Washington, DC

    • No locations or times have yet been outlined for the events in South Carolina and Washington

    Johnson’s office said it received a request from the family to have Jackson’s remains lie in honor at the Capitol, but the request was denied, because of the precedent that the space is typically reserved for former presidents, the military and select officials.

    The civil rights leader died this week at the age of 84. The family and some House Democrats had filed a request for Jackson to be honored at the U.S. Capitol.

    Amid the country’s political divisions, there have been flare ups over who is memorialized at the Capitol with a service to lie in state, or honor, in the Rotunda. During such events, the public is generally allowed to visit the Capitol and pay their respects.

    Recent requests had similarly been made, and denied, to honor Charlie Kirk, the slain conservative activist, and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

    There is no specific rule about who qualifies for the honor, a decision that is controlled by concurrence from both the House and Senate.

    The Jackson family has announced scheduled dates for memorial services beginning next week that will honor the late reverend’s life in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and South Carolina. In a statement, the Jackson family said it had heard from leaders in both South Carolina, Jackson’s native state, and Washington offering for Jackson to be celebrated in both locations. Talks are ongoing with lawmakers about where those proceedings will take place. His final memorial services will be held in Chicago on March 6 and 7.

    Typically, the Capitol and its Rotunda have been reserved for the “most eminent citizens,” according to the Architect of the Capitol’s website. It said government and military officials lay in state, while private citizens in honor.

    In 2020, Congressman John Lewis, another veteran of the Civil Rights movement, was the first Black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda after a ceremony honoring his legacy was held outside on the Capitol steps due to pandemic restrictions at the time.

    Later that year, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allowed services for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Capitol’s Statuary Hall after agreement could not be reached for services in the Capitol’s Rotunda.

    It is rare for private citizens to be honored at the Capitol, but there is precedent – most notably Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks, in 2005, and the Reverend Billy Graham, in 2018.

    A passionate civil rights leader and globally-minded humanitarian, Jackson’s fiery speeches and dual 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns transformed American politics for generations. Jackson’s organization, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, became a hub for progressive organizers across the country.

    His unapologetic calls for a progressive economic agenda and more inclusive policies for all racial groups, religions, genders and orientations laid the groundwork for the progressive movement within the Democratic Party.

    Jackson also garnered a global reputation as a champion for human rights. He conducted the release of American hostages on multiple continents and argued for greater connections between civil rights movements around the world, most notably as a fierce critic of the policies of Apartheid South Africa.

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    Associated Press

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  • British royal family faces its worst crisis in generations

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    LONDON — King Charles III’ s brother was under arrest. Police were searching two royal properties, and news commentators were endlessly discussing the details of a sex scandal with tentacles that stretched to the gates of Buckingham Palace.

    What You Need To Know

    • The British royal family sought to carry on with their normal duties in the hours after the former Prince Andrew was arrested

    • The king attended the first day of London Fashion Week

    • Queen Camilla attended a lunchtime concert, and Princess Anne visited a prison

    • The decision to continue their usual activities was more than just an example of British stoicism in the face of the monarchy’s biggest crisis in almost a century

    So how did Britain’s royal family spend Thursday afternoon? The king sat in the front row on the first day of London Fashion Week. Queen Camilla attended a lunchtime concert, and Princess Anne visited a prison.

    The decision to continue normal royal duties was more than just an example of British stoicism in the face of the monarchy’s biggest crisis in almost a century. It was the opening act of the House of Windsor’s fight for survival as the arrest of the former Prince Andrew threatens to undermine public backing for the monarchy.

    After pledging to support the police investigation into his brother’s friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the king stressed his intentions.

    “My family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all,” he said in a statement signed “Charles R.,” using the abbreviation for Rex, the Latin word for king.

    Biggest crisis since 1936 abdication

    The simple fact that Charles made the statement showed the scale of the problem created by the arrest of the king’s 66-year-old sibling, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was held for 11 hours and then released under investigation, meaning he was neither charged nor exonerated.

    The event was so unprecedented that commentators had to reach back to the 1640s and the arrest and execution of King Charles I during the English Civil War to find a parallel.

    Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office is shaping up to be the monarchy’s biggest crisis since Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 to marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson.

    That scandal weakened public support for the monarchy, which did not fully recover for 15 years. The turnaround came only after Edward’s successor, King George VI, refused to flee Britain during World War II, demonstrating his solidarity with a nation ravaged by Nazi bombs.

    Even before she ascended the throne, Queen Elizabeth II followed her father’s lead and publicly pledged her life in service to Britain.

    But while the impact of Edward’s abdication lingered for years, the crisis reached a crescendo in a few days. And the solution in that case was relatively simple: Edward stepped aside, and his oldest brother took his place.

    By contrast, the drama surrounding Mountbatten-Windsor is ongoing, with no end in sight.

    No ‘clear route forward’

    The current crisis stems from revelations about the relationship between the former prince and Epstein that were uncovered when the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of documents last month from its investigation into Epstein.

    Police have previously cited reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent trade information to Epstein, a wealthy investor, in 2010, when the former prince was Britain’s special envoy for international trade.

    At least eight U.K. police forces have said they are looking into issues raised by the documents.

    Compared with previous royal scandals, “this time there doesn’t seem to be any clear route forward,” said Ed Owens, author of “After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?” “There’s no blueprint to follow” in terms of how the monarchy and associated organizations deal with the allegations.

    The last time the monarchy had to manage these kinds of questions was after the death of Princess Diana, Charles’ ex-wife. Elizabeth and Charles were criticized for failing to respond to the outpouring of public grief as tens of thousands of people swarmed to Kensington Gardens to lay flowers outside the late princess’ home. Some even called for Charles to step aside as heir to the throne in favor of his son William.

    The queen later commissioned focus groups to better understand the public mood and determine why people felt so strongly about a person they never met. The crisis forced the royals to recognize that Diana’s common touch had connected with people in ways that had not yet occurred to the House of Windsor.

    Those lessons have since inspired other royals, including Diana’s sons, Princes William and Harry, to be more informal and approachable.

    But this moment is different, in part because it is taking place in a rapidly changing media environment at a time when people are demanding transparency from their leaders.

    Family could face uncomfortable questions

    Moving forward also means facing uncomfortable questions about what the institution — and the family members themselves — may have known about Mountbatten-Windsor’s activities. The palace has sought to draw a bold line separating the former prince and the rest of the monarchy by stripping him of his titles, including the right to be called a prince.

    In another blow for the former prince, the British government is considering formally removing him from the line of succession to the crown. Despite losing his status and his honors, Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne. That can only be changed with legislation.

    Charles is the first monarch “that has to meet our expectations of figures in public life, which is to be accountable and to explain yourself,” said Craig Prescott, a royal expert at Royal Holloway, University of London. “And you always have to work to earn the support of the public. And that is a particular challenge when you’re facing a controversy such as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.”

    Critics argue that the monarchy was slow to respond to the pressure, given that Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to Epstein have been discussed for more than a decade.

    The best outcome for the monarchy is for the police investigation to focus solely on the information in the Epstein files and how that relates to Mountbatten-Windsor, said Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent. The worst outcome would be if police expand their inquiries to what the broader institution might have known and when.

    “Were questions raised about his behavior as a trade envoy over those 10 years? Were they answered? What did people do about them?” Hunt said on the BBC.

    And perhaps there’s more to learn.

    “Will there be files?” he asked.

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    Associated Press

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  • Trump says he’ll enact additional 10% tariff after Supreme Court decision

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    Hours after the Supreme Court struck down many of President Donald Trump’s far-reaching tariffs in a 6-3 decision, the president said Friday he plans to sign an excecutive order imposing 10% global import duties “over and above our normal tariffs already being charged,” citing a different statute. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Hours after the Supreme Court struck down many of President Donald Trump’s far-reaching tariffs in a 6-3 decision, the president said he planned to impose a 10% global import duties through another statute

    • The country’s top court issued its long-awaited decision Friday, ruling the president does not have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, passed in 1977

    • “We claim no special competence in matters of economics or foreign affairs. We claim only, as we must, the limited role assigned to us by Article III of the Constitution. Fulfilling that role, we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion

    • Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson all sided with Roberts in invalidating many of Trump’s import taxes levied on U.S. global trading partners; yhree justices –– Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito –– dissented from the majority opinion

    During a news conference at the White House after the ruling, Trump quoted Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s dissenting opinion as the president justified pressing on with his tariffs. “Although I firmly disagree with the Court’s holding today, the decision might not substantially constrain a President’s ability to order tariffs going forward,” Kavanaugh wrote.

    The country’s top court issued its long-awaited decision Friday, ruling the president does not have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, passed in 1977.

    “IEEPA’s grant of authority to ‘regulate . . . importation’ falls short. IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. “The Government points to no statute in which Congress used the word ‘regulate’ to authorize taxation. And until now no President has read IEEPA to confer such power.” 

    Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson sided with Roberts in invalidating many of Trump’s import taxes levied on U.S. global trading partners. Three justices –– Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito –– dissented from the majority opinion.

    “We claim no special competence in matters of economics or foreign affairs. We claim only, as we must, the limited role assigned to us by Article III of the Constitution. Fulfilling that role, we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” the opinion concluded.

    In his news conference, Trump called the ruling “deeply disappointing” and condemned the Supreme Court majority who struck down the IEEPA duties, accusing the justices of being “swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think.”

    Trump pledged to employ “very powerful alternatives.”

    “We’ll take in more money, and we’ll be a lot stronger for it,” he said. “We’re taking in hundreds of billions of dollars. We’ll continue to do so.”

    Separate tariffs that Trump had previously imposed, including ones on goods such as aluminum, steel, lumber and automobiles through Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, were not part of the case considered by the Supreme Court and still remain in place. During his remarks Friday, the president also highlighted several additional methods to levy tariffs, including Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits import duties of up to 15% to be imposed for 150 days. 

    “I can do anything I want with IEEPA, anything. I just can’t charge anybody for it,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”

    In November, the nation’s top court heard oral arguments for a consolidated challenge from several Democratic-led states and a handful of small businesses over the president’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, as well as ones he levied on China, Mexico and Canada over what his administration described as “the flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl to the United States.” 

    In both, Trump contended that the situations constituted national emergencies and relied on IEEPA as the justification for imposing tariffs. 

    During nearly three hours of oral arguments before the justices late last year, attorneys for the plaintiffs insisted that only Congress has the power to tax and argued that tariffs are not included in the scope of IEEPA. They were followed by U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who contended that tariffs fell under the president’s authority to “regulate foreign commerce.”

    Liberal and some conservative justices at the time seemed to express skepticism about the Trump administration’s arguments.

    One of the plaintiffs in the case –– Rick Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources and hand2mind –– praised the ruling in a statement Friday.

    “With today’s decision, we will continue to pursue our mission through innovation, investment, and hard work supporting educators, families, and children around the world, without the burden of unlawful tariffs,” Woldenberg wrote.

    What will happen with the tariffs that have been paid?

    Barrett had asked during oral arguments about logistics of giving refunds to importers if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and remarked that the process may be “a mess.”

    During that exchange, Neal Katyal, who was representing small-business plaintiffs, contended that only the companies that were party to the suit would be entitled to receive their money back, and other businesses would have to individually seek repayment.

    To protect their right to request refunds, retail giant Costco and hundreds of other businesses have launched legal challenges. 

    It was not immediately clear from the ruling what would happen, regarding potential refunds.

    Kavanaugh in his dissent Friday echoed Barrett’s comments, writing that the U.S. “may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others.” 

    “As was acknowledged at oral argument, the refund process is likely to be a ‘mess,’” Kavanaugh contended, adding that the Supreme Court’s ruling could also “generate uncertainty” about trade agreements Trump reached with other countries to lower the import duties. 

    On Friday, Trump criticized the Supreme Court majority for not addressing the issue in its opinion, suggesting that the refunds will be subject to a lengthy legal fight.

    “We’ll end up being in court for the next five years,” the president said.

    A coalition of roughly 800 small businesses, We Pay the Tariffs, called on the federal government to expeditiously refund tariff payments to U.S. companies. 

    “But a legal victory is meaningless without actual relief for the businesses that paid these tariffs,” the group wrote in a statement. “The administration’s only responsible course of action now is to establish a fast, efficient, and automatic refund process that returns tariff money to the businesses that paid it.” 

    Customs and Border Protection estimated in December it collected more than $200 billion from new tariffs last year. Of that figure, approximately $133.5 billion was brought in from IEEPA import duties through Dec. 14, 2025, but that number is believed to have ticked up in the weeks since. Reuters reported Friday that more than $175 billion in tariffs may need to be refunded if the Supreme Court rules against Trump, citing an estimate from Penn-Wharton Budget Model economists.

    Trump had previously speculated that the amount would be even higher.

    “The actual numbers that we would have to pay back if, for any reason, the Supreme Court were to rule against the United States of America on Tariffs, would be many Hundreds of Billions of Dollars,” he said Jan. 12 on social media. 

    In a statement, the Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget called on lawmakers to address the lost tariff revenue.

    “With the national debt already the size of the entire U.S. economy and interest on the debt costing more than $1 trillion this year, this is very bad news,” the nonpartisan think tank wrote. “Congress should work quickly to fill that hole.”

    Before Trump’s tariffs took effect last year, the U.S. saw a surge of imports of foreign goods in the first few months. The trade-gap then narrowed for most of the rest of the year, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. 

    But, while the overall trade deficit of goods and services fell to $901 billion last year, the gap between the amount of goods imported versus exported rose to a record-high $1.24 trillion in 2025, the report found, meaning the U.S. ultimately brought in more foreign products than American exporters sent overseas.

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    Christina Santucci

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  • Jesse Jackson, who led Civil Rights Movement for decades after King, has died

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    CHICAGO — The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader’s assassination, died Tuesday. He was 84.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson has died at the age of 84

    • Jackson was a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King and became a leader of the Civil Rights Movement for decades after King was assassinated in 1968

    • A two-time presidential candidate, Jackson led a lifetime of political crusades, advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues from voting rights and job opportunities to education and health care

    • He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders and channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, using his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to pressure executives to make America a more open and equitable society

    • His family confirmed he died Tuesday




    As a young organizer in Chicago, Jackson was called to meet with King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, shortly before King was killed, and he publicly positioned himself thereafter as King’s successor.

    Jackson led a lifetime of crusades in the United States and abroad, advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues from voting rights and job opportunities to education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

    And when he declared, “I am Somebody,” in a poem he often repeated, he sought to reach people of all colors. “I may be poor, but I am Somebody; I may be young; but I am Somebody; I may be on welfare, but I am Somebody,” Jackson intoned.

    It was a message he took literally and personally, having risen from obscurity in the segregated South to become America’s best-known civil rights activist since King.

    Santita Jackson confirmed that her father died at home in Chicago, surrounded by family.

    “Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement posted online. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.”

    Fellow civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton said his mentor “was not simply a civil rights leader; he was a movement unto himself.”

    “He taught me that protest must have purpose, that faith must have feet, and that justice is not seasonal, it is daily work,” Sharpton wrote in a statement, adding that Jackson taught “trying is as important as triumph. That you do not wait for the dream to come true; you work to make it real.”

    Despite profound health challenges in his final years including a rare neurological disorder that affected his ability to move and speak, Jackson continued protesting against racial injustice into the era of Black Lives Matter. In 2024, he appeared at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and at a City Council meeting to show support for a resolution backing a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

    “Even if we win,” he told marchers in Minneapolis before the officer whose knee kept George Floyd from breathing was convicted of murder, “it’s relief, not victory. They’re still killing our people. Stop the violence, save the children. Keep hope alive.”

    U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson and NAACP President Derrick Johnson march across the Edmund Pettus bridge during the 60th anniversary of the march to ensure that African Americans could exercise their constitutional right to vote, March 9, 2025, in Selma, Ala. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

    Calls to action, delivered in a memorable voice

    Jackson’s voice, infused with the stirring cadences and powerful insistence of the Black church, demanded attention. On the campaign trail and elsewhere, he used rhyming and slogans such as: “Hope not dope” and “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it,” to deliver his messages.

    Jackson had his share of critics, both within and outside of the Black community. Some considered him a grandstander, too eager to seek out the spotlight. Looking back on his life and legacy, Jackson told The Associated Press in 2011 that he felt blessed to be able to continue the service of other leaders before him and to lay a foundation for those to come.

    “A part of our life’s work was to tear down walls and build bridges, and in a half century of work, we’ve basically torn down walls,” Jackson said. “Sometimes when you tear down walls, you’re scarred by falling debris, but your mission is to open up holes so others behind you can run through.”

    In his final months, as he received 24-hour care, he lost his ability to speak, communicating with family and visitors by holding their hands and squeezing.

    “I get very emotional knowing that these speeches belong to the ages now,” his son, Jesse Jackson Jr., told the AP in October.

    A student athlete drawn to the Civil Rights Movement

    Jesse Louis Jackson was born on Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, the son of high school student Helen Burns and Noah Louis Robinson, a married man who lived next door. Jackson was later adopted by Charles Henry Jackson, who married his mother.

    Jackson was a star quarterback on the football team at Sterling High School in Greenville, and accepted a football scholarship from the University of Illinois. But after he reportedly was told Black people couldn’t play quarterback, he transferred to North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, where he became the first-string quarterback, an honor student in sociology and economics, and student body president.

    Arriving on the historically Black campus in 1960 just months after students there launched sit-ins at a whites-only diner, Jackson immersed himself in the blossoming Civil Rights Movement.

    By 1965, he joined the voting rights march King led from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. King dispatched him to Chicago to launch Operation Breadbasket, a Southern Christian Leadership Conference effort to pressure companies to hire Black workers.

    Jackson called his time with King “a phenomenal four years of work.”

    Jackson was with King on April 4, 1968, when the civil rights leader was slain. Jackson’s account of the assassination was that King died in his arms.

    With his flair for the dramatic, Jackson wore a turtleneck he said was soaked with King’s blood for two days, including at a King memorial service held by the Chicago City Council, where he said: “I come here with a heavy heart because on my chest is the stain of blood from Dr. King’s head.”

    However, several King aides, including speechwriter Alfred Duckett, questioned whether Jackson could have gotten King’s blood on his clothing. There are no images of Jackson in pictures taken shortly after the assassination.

    In 1971, Jackson broke with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to form Operation PUSH, originally named People United to Save Humanity. The organization based on Chicago’s South Side declared a sweeping mission, from diversifying workforces to registering voters in communities of color nationwide. Using lawsuits and threats of boycotts, Jackson pressured top corporations to spend millions and publicly commit to diversifying their workforces.

    The constant campaigns often left his wife, Jacqueline Lavinia Brown, the college sweetheart he married in 1963, taking the lead in raising their five children: Santita Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson Jr., and two future members of Congress, U.S. Rep. Jonathan Luther Jackson and Jesse L. Jackson Jr., who resigned in 2012 but is seeking reelection in the 2026 midterms.

    The elder Jackson, who was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1968 and earned his Master of Divinity in 2000, also acknowledged fathering a child, Ashley Jackson, with one of his employees at Rainbow/PUSH, Karen L. Stanford. He said he understood what it means to be born out of wedlock and supported her emotionally and financially.

    Presidential aspirations fall short but help ‘keep hope alive’

    Despite once telling a Black audience he would not run for president “because white people are incapable of appreciating me,” Jackson ran twice and did better than any Black politician had before President Barack Obama, winning 13 primaries and caucuses for the Democratic nomination in 1988, four years after his first failed attempt.

    Democratic presidential primary candidate Jesse Jackson speaks to a group of his supporters at a rally held at a Baptist Church in Dayton, Ohio, April 14, 1984. (AP Photo/Rob Burns, File)

    Democratic presidential primary candidate Jesse Jackson speaks to a group of his supporters at a rally held at a Baptist Church in Dayton, Ohio, April 14, 1984. (AP Photo/Rob Burns, File)

    His successes left supporters chanting another Jackson slogan, “Keep Hope Alive.”

    “I was able to run for the presidency twice and redefine what was possible; it raised the lid for women and other people of color,” he told the AP. “Part of my job was to sow seeds of the possibilities.”

    U.S. Rep. John Lewis said during a 1988 C-SPAN interview that Jackson’s two runs for the Democratic nomination “opened some doors that some minority person will be able to walk through and become president.”

    Jackson also pushed for cultural change, joining calls by NAACP members and other movement leaders in the late 1980s to identify Black people in the United States as African Americans.

    “To be called African Americans has cultural integrity — it puts us in our proper historical context,” Jackson said at the time. “Every ethnic group in this country has a reference to some base, some historical cultural base. African Americans have hit that level of cultural maturity.”

    Jackson’s words sometimes got him in trouble.

    In 1984, he apologized for what he thought were private comments to a reporter, calling New York City “Hymietown,” a derogatory reference to its large Jewish population. And in 2008, he made headlines when he complained that Obama was “talking down to Black people” in comments captured by a microphone he didn’t know was on during a break in a television taping.

    Still, when Jackson joined the jubilant crowd in Chicago’s Grant Park to greet Obama that election night, he had tears streaming down his face.

    “I wish for a moment that Dr. King or (slain civil rights leader) Medgar Evers … could’ve just been there for 30 seconds to see the fruits of their labor,” he told the AP years later. “I became overwhelmed. It was the joy and the journey.”

    Exerting influence on events at home and abroad

    Jackson also had influence abroad, meeting world leaders and scoring diplomatic victories, including the release of Navy Lt. Robert Goodman from Syria in 1984, as well as the 1990 release of more than 700 foreign women and children held after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. In 1999, he won the freedom of three Americans imprisoned by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

    In 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor.

    “Citizens have the right to do something or do nothing,” Jackson said, before heading to Syria. “We choose to do something.”

    In 2021, Jackson joined the parents of Ahmaud Arbery inside the Georgia courtroom where three white men were convicted of killing the young Black jogger. In 2022, he hand-delivered a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, calling for federal charges against former Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke in the 2014 killing of Black teenager Laquan McDonald.

    Jackson, who stepped down as president of Rainbow/PUSH in July 2023, disclosed in 2017 that he had sought treatment for Parkinson’s, but he continued to make public appearances even as the disease made it more difficult for listeners to understand him. Earlier this year doctors confirmed a diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy, a life-threatening neurological disorder. He was admitted to a hospital in November for nearly two weeks.

    During the coronavirus pandemic, he and his wife survived being hospitalized with COVID-19. Jackson was vaccinated early, urging Black people in particular to get protected, given their higher risks for bad outcomes.

    “It’s America’s unfinished business — we’re free, but not equal,” Jackson told the AP. “There’s a reality check that has been brought by the coronavirus, that exposes the weakness and the opportunity.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Jordan Stolz wins second speedskating gold of Olympics

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    MILAN — For a while now, Jordan Stolz’s talent and dominance as a speedskater, and his much-anticipated potential for Olympic success, prompted many to repeatedly mention his name — prematurely, no doubt — alongside that of Eric Heiden. Now they really do belong in the same sentence, at least in one regard.

    What You Need To Know

    • Jordan Stolz has won his second speedskating gold medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics by finishing first in the 500 meters in an Olympic-record time. Saturday’s race was the American’s second of the Winter Games

    • The 21-year-old from Wisconsin was coming off a victory in Wednesday’s 1,000, the first of his four individual events in Milan

    • He came to these Games as someone considered a contender for gold in all four

    • The men’s record for most speedskating titles at one Olympics is the five for Eric Heiden at Lake Placid in 1980

    Stolz established himself as a two-time Olympic gold medalist, halfway to his goal of four at the Milan Cortina Games, by winning the 500 meters on Saturday to follow up his victory in the 1,000. Those twin triumphs allowed Stolz, a 21-year-old from Wisconsin, to join Heiden as the only men to complete the 500-1,000 double in speedskating at one Olympics.

    Heiden, of course, did it as part of his record sweep of all five individual events at the 1980 Lake Placid Games for the U.S., taking everything from the 500 to the 10,000, and all in Olympic-record time.

    Stolz finished the 500 in an Olympic-record time of 33.77 seconds, after also setting a Games mark in his win in the 1,000 on Wednesday. Both times, the silver went to Jenning do Boo of the Netherlands, who clocked 33.88 in the shortest speedskating event. Both times, they raced head-to-head in the same heat.

    Stolz was leading Wednesday as they came out of the final curve, then they were even entering the last stretch. But Stolz, who overcame a deficit in the 1,000, turned on the speed and leaned across the line first again in the 500. De Boo slipped and fell into the wall afterward, while Stolz skated past and shook his right fist overhead.

    Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil got the bronze in 34.26.

    The last American to win Olympic gold in the men’s 500 was Casey FitzRandolph in 2002.

    The soft-spoken Stolz acknowledges that, yes, his aims are high, and, sure, he is flattered by the comparisons to Heiden. But Stolz, who isn’t entered in the 5,000 or 10,000 in Milan, also knows he isn’t trying to recreate the same sort of unprecedented and all-encompassing performance turned in by Heiden.

    Still, Stolz does have a real shot at the four medals, maybe even four golds, he is seeking at his second Winter Games.

    At Beijing in 2022, just 17 years old, Stolz finished 13th in the 1,000 and 14th in the 500. In the time since, though, he has established himself as the best in the world at his sport, including two world titles each at the 500, the 1,000 and the 1,500. And right now, Stolz is so far living up to the outsized expectations and accompanying pressure that follow his every stride on the ice at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, a temporary facility created for this event.

    Two races, two golds, two Olympic records.

    Now there are two more to go for the six-time world champion: the 1,500 meters on Thursday, and the mass start on Feb. 21.

    The last man with three gold medals in speedskating at one Winter Games was Norway’s Johann Olav Koss, who won the 1,500, the 5,000 and the 10,000 at the 1994 Lillehammer Games

    Stolz took to the ice to warm up Saturday about 2 1/2 hours before his race. He paused at one point to plop himself down for a seat on the low boards along the ice, retying his black-and-green skates and smiling while chatting with his coach, Bob Corby.

    No sign of nerves. None at all.

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  • U.S. military reports series of strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria

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    WASHINGTON — The U.S. military on Saturday reported a series of strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria in retaliation for the December ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter.

    What You Need To Know

    • The U.S. military is reporting a series of strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria

    • The strikes were carried out in retaliation of the December ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter

    • U.S. Central Command says American aircraft conducted 10 strikes against more than 30 IS targets between Feb. 3 and Thursday

    • The strikes were on weapons storage facilities and other infrastructure

    U.S. Central Command said in a statement that American aircraft had conducted 10 strikes against more than 30 IS targets between Feb. 3 and Thursday, hitting weapons storage facilities and other infrastructure.

    At least 50 members of IS have been killed or captured, while more than 100 IS targets have been struck since the United States began its strikes after the Dec. 13 ambush, according to Central Command. That attack killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter.

    Meanwhile, the Syrian Defense Ministry said Thursday that government forces took control of a base in the east of the country that was run for years by U.S. troops as part of the fight against IS. The Al-Tanf base played a major role after IS declared a caliphate in large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014.

    The U.S. military on Friday completed the transfer of thousands of IS detainees from Syria to Iraq, where they are expected to stand trial. The prisoners were sent to Iraq at the request of Baghdad, in a move welcomed by the U.S.-led coalition that had for years fought against IS.

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  • Trump says he may put tariffs on countries opposed to U.S. controlling Greenland

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    COPENHAGEN, Denmark — President Donald Trump suggested Friday that he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump says he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland

    • Trump didn’t provide details Friday

    • Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable”

    • But the Republican president had not previously mentioned using tariffs to try to force the issue

    • Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington this week with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio

    Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable.”

    During an unrelated event at the White House about rural health care, he recounted Friday how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

    “I may do that for Greenland too,” Trump said. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that,” he said.

    He had not previously mentioned using tariffs to try to force the issue.

    Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington this week with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

    That encounter didn’t resolve the deep differences, but did produce an agreement to set up a working group — on whose purpose Denmark and the White House then offered sharply diverging public views.

    European leaders have insisted that is only for Denmark and Greenland to decide on matters concerning the territory, and Denmark said this week that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with allies.

    President Donald Trump speaks during an event to promote investment in rural health care in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

    A relationship that ‘we need to nurture’

    In Copenhagen, a group of senators and members of the House of Representatives met Friday with Danish and Greenlandic lawmakers, and with leaders including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

    Delegation leader Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, thanked the group’s hosts for “225 years of being a good and trusted ally and partner” and said that “we had a strong and robust dialog about how we extend that into the future.”

    Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said after meeting lawmakers that the visit reflected a strong relationship over decades and “it is one that we need to nurture.” She told reporters that “Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset, and I think that’s what you’re hearing with this delegation.”

    The tone contrasted with that emanating from the White House. Trump has sought to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals. The White House hasn’t ruled out taking the territory by force.

    “We have heard so many lies, to be honest and so much exaggeration on the threats towards Greenland,” said Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic politician and member of the Danish parliament who took part in Friday’s meetings. “And mostly, I would say the threats that we’re seeing right now is from the U.S. side.”

    Murkowski emphasized the role of Congress in spending and in conveying messages from constituents.

    “I think it is important to underscore that when you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, some 75%, will say, we do not think that that is a good idea,” she said.

    Along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, Murkowski has introduced bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the use of U.S. Defense or State department funds to annex or take control of Greenland or the sovereign territory of any NATO member state without that ally’s consent or authorization from the North Atlantic Council.

    Inuit council criticizes White House statements

    The dispute is looming large in the lives of Greenlanders. Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said on Tuesday that “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.””

    The chair of the Nuuk, Greenland-based Inuit Circumpolar Council, which represents around 180,000 Inuit from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia’s Chukotka region on international issues, said persistent statements from the White House that the U.S. must own Greenland offer “a clear picture of how the US administration views the people of Greenland, how the U.S. administration views Indigenous peoples, and peoples that are few in numbers.”

    Sara Olsvig told The Associated Press in Nuuk that the issue is “how one of the biggest powers in the world views other peoples that are less powerful than them. And that really is concerning.”

    Indigenous Inuit in Greenland do not want to be colonized again, she said.

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  • Authorities intensify crackdown on Iran demonstrators

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    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Protests sweeping across Iran neared the two-week mark Saturday, with the country’s government acknowledging the ongoing demonstrations despite an intensifying crackdown and as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world.

    What You Need To Know

    • Protests in Iran have continued for nearly two weeks, with the government acknowledging the unrest despite a harsh crackdown

    • The internet and phone lines were down, making it hard to gauge the situation from abroad

    • The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported at least 72 people have been killed and over 2,300 detained

    • Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei signaled a clampdown, and Tehran warned protesters could face death-penalty charges

    With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. But the death toll in the protests has grown to at least 72 people killed and over 2,300 others detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Iranian state TV is reporting on security force casualties while portraying control over the nation.

    Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has signaled a coming clampdown, despite U.S. warnings. Tehran escalated its threats Saturday, with the Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, warning that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge. The statement carried by Iranian state television said even those who “helped rioters” would face the charge.

    “Prosecutors must carefully and without delay, by issuing indictments, prepare the grounds for the trial and decisive confrontation with those who, by betraying the nation and creating insecurity, seek foreign domination over the country,” the statement read. “Proceedings must be conducted without leniency, compassion or indulgence.”

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered support for the protesters.

    “The United States supports the brave people of Iran,” Rubio wrote Saturday on the social platform X. The State Department separately warned: “Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he’ll do something, he means it.”

    State TV split-screen highlights Iran’s challenge

    Saturday marks the start of the work week in Iran, but many schools and universities reportedly held online classes, Iranian state TV reported. Internal Iranian government websites are believed to be functioning.

    State TV repeatedly played a driving, martial orchestral arrangement from the “Epic of Khorramshahr” by Iranian composer Majid Entezami, while showing pro-government demonstrations. The song, aired repeatedly during the 12-day war launched by Israel, honors Iran’s 1982 liberation of the city of Khorramshahr during the Iran-Iraq war. It has been used in videos of protesting women cutting away their hair to protest the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini as well.

    “Field reports indicate that peace prevailed in most cities of the country at night,” a state TV anchor reported. “After a number of armed terrorists attacked public places and set fire to people’s private property last night, there was no news of any gathering or chaos in Tehran and most provinces last night.”

    That was directly contradicted by an online video verified by The Associated Press that showed demonstrations in northern Tehran’s Saadat Abad area, with what appeared to be thousands on the street.

    “Death to Khamenei!” a man chanted.

    The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and one of the few media outlets able to publish to the outside world, released surveillance camera footage of what it said came from demonstrations in Isfahan. In it, a protester appeared to fire a long gun, while others set fires and threw gasoline bombs at what appeared to be a government compound.

    The Young Journalists’ Club, associated with state TV, reported that protesters killed three members of the Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force in the city of Gachsaran. It also reported a security official was stabbed to death in Hamadan province, a police officer killed in the port city of Bandar Abbas and another in Gilan, as well as one person slain in Mashhad.

    The semiofficial Tasnim news agency, also close to the Guard, claimed authorities detained nearly 200 people belonging to what it described as “operational terrorist teams.” It alleged those arrested had weapons including firearms, grenades and gasoline bombs.

    State television also aired footage of a funeral service attended by hundreds in Qom, a Shiite seminary city just south of Tehran.

    More weekend demonstrations planned

    Iran’s theocracy cut off the nation from the internet and international telephone calls on Thursday, though it allowed some state-owned and semiofficial media to publish. Qatar’s state-funded Al Jazeera news network reported live from Iran, but they appeared to be the only major foreign outlet able to work.

    Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who called for protests Thursday and Friday, asked in his latest message for demonstrators to take to the streets Saturday and Sunday. He urged protesters to carry Iran’s old lion-and-sun flag and other national symbols used during the time of the shah to “claim public spaces as your own.”

    Pahlavi’s support of and from Israel has drawn criticism in the past — particularly after the 12-day war. Demonstrators have shouted in support of the shah in some protests, but it isn’t clear whether that’s support for Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

    The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

    Airlines have cancelled some flights into Iran over the demonstrations. Austrian Airlines said Saturday it had decided to suspend its flights to Iran “as a precautionary measure” through Monday. Turkish Airlines earlier announced the cancellation of 17 flights to three cities in Iran.

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  • Greenland’s party leaders reject Trump’s push for U.S. control of island

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    NUUK, Greenland — Greenland’s party leaders have rejected President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for the U.S. to take control of the island, saying that Greenland’s future must be decided by its people.

    What You Need To Know

    • Greenland’s party leaders have rejected President Donald Trump’s calls for the U.S. to take control of the island, and they insist that Greenland’s future must be decided by its people.

    • Trump said on Friday he wants to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous region of Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from taking it

    • He mentioned doing it “the easy way” or “the hard way” without explaining further

    • The White House is considering options, including military force

    “We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said in a statement Friday night.

    Trump said again on Friday that he would like to make a deal to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous region that’s part of NATO ally Denmark, “the easy way.” He said that if the U.S. doesn’t own it, then Russia or China will take it over, and the U.S. does not want them as neighbors.

    “If we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said, without explaining what that entailed. The White House said it is considering a range of options, including using military force, to acquire the island.

    Greenland’s party leaders reiterated that “Greenland’s future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”

    “As Greenlandic party leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States’ contempt for our country ends,” the statement said.

    Officials from Denmark, Greenland and the United States met Thursday in Washington and will meet again next week to discuss the renewed push by the White House for the control of the island.

    Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an American takeover of Greenland would mark the end of NATO.

    The party leaders’ statement said that “the work on Greenland’s future takes place in dialogue with the Greenlandic people and is prepared on the basis of international laws.”

    “No other country can interfere in this,” they said. “We must decide the future of our country ourselves, without pressure for quick decision, delay or interference from other countries.”

    The statement was signed by Nielsen, Pele Broberg, Múte B. Egede, Aleqa Hammond and Aqqalu C. Jerimiassen.

    While Greenland is the largest island in the world, it has a population of around 57,000 and doesn’t have its own military. Defense is provided by Denmark, whose military is dwarfed by that of the U.S.

    It’s unclear how the remaining NATO members would respond if the U.S. decided to forcibly take control of the island or if they would come to Denmark’s aid.

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  • U.S. intercepts fifth tanker as it exerts control over Venezuelan oil

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    WASHINGTON — U.S. forces boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Friday, the U.S. military said, as the Trump administration targets sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela as part of a broader effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

    What You Need To Know

    • The U.S. military says U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration continues to target sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela

    • The pre-dawn action was carried out by U.S. Marines and the Navy, taking part in the monthslong buildup of forces in the Caribbean, according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared “there is no safe haven for criminals” as it announced the seizure of the vessel called the Olina on Friday

    • The Olina is the fifth tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to control the distribution of Venezuela’s oil products globally

    The pre-dawn action was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, part of the extensive force the U.S. has built up in the Caribbean in recent months, according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared “there is no safe haven for criminals” as it announced the seizure of the tanker called the Olina. The Coast Guard then took control of the vessel, officials said.

    Southern Command and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem both posted unclassified footage on social media of a U.S. helicopter landing on the vessel and U.S. personnel conducting a search of the deck and tossing what appeared to be an explosive device in front of a door leading to inside the ship.


    In her social media post, Noem said the ship was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” and it had departed Venezuela “attempting to evade U.S. forces.”

    The Olina is the fifth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products following the U.S. ouster of President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.

    Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document that at least 16 tankers left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships from conducting trade. The Olina was among that flotilla.

    U.S. government records show that the Olina was sanctioned for moving Russian oil under its prior name, Minerva M, and flagged in Panama.

    While records show the Olina is now flying the flag of Timor-Leste, it is listed in the international shipping registry as having a false flag, meaning the registration it is claiming is not valid. In July, the owner and manager of the ship on its registration was changed to a company in Hong Kong.

    According to ship tracking databases, the Olina last transmitted its location in November in the Caribbean, north of the Venezuelan coast. Since then, however, the ship has been running dark with its location beacon turned off.

    While Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law, other officials in the Trump administration have made clear they see it as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

    In an early morning post on his social media network, Trump said the U.S. and Venezuela “are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure.”

    The administration said it expects to sell 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, with the proceeds to go to both the U.S. and Venezuelan people. But the president expects the arrangement to continue indefinitely as he meets on Friday with executives from 17 oil companies to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution.

    Vice President JD Vance told Fox News this week that the U.S. can “control” Venezuela’s “purse strings” by dictating where its oil can be sold.

    Madani estimated that the Olina is loaded with 707,000 barrels of oil, which at the current market price of about $60 a barrel would be worth more than $42 million.

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  • Nick Reiner’s arraignment in parents’ killing is delayed until February

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    LOS ANGELES — The high-profile private attorney for Nick Reiner resigned from his case Wednesday for reasons he said he could not reveal, and he later told reporters that under California law his client is definitely not guilty of murder in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.

    What You Need To Know

    • Jackson would not specify what he meant and took no questions at the brief news conference, but it was the first direct statement from a Nick Reiner representative about his guilt or innocence in the 3 1/2 weeks since the killings
    • After meeting with the Judge Theresa McGonigle in chambers, Jackson, at his own request, was replaced by a public defender and the plea hearing was postponed to Feb. 23

    • A Reiner family spokesperson said in a statement after Wednesday’s hearing that “They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings”

    • Reiner, 32, the third of Rob Reiner’s four children, has been held without bail since his arrest hours after his parents were found dead on Dec. 14

    “Circumstances beyond our control and more importantly circumstances beyond Nick’s control have dictated that, sadly, it’s made it impossible to continue our representation,” lawyer Alan Jackson said as he stood with his team outside a Los Angeles courthouse.

    But, Jackson added, after weeks of investigation, “what we’ve learned, and you can take this to the bank, is that pursuant to the laws of this state, pursuant to the law of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder. Print that.”

    Jackson would not specify what he meant and took no questions at the brief news conference, but it was the first direct statement from a Nick Reiner representative about his guilt or innocence in the 3 1/2 weeks since the killings.

    He spoke after a hearing where Reiner was supposed to be arraigned and enter a plea to two charges of first-degree murder. Instead, after meeting with the Judge Theresa McGonigle in chambers, Jackson, at his own request, was replaced by a public defender and the plea hearing was postponed to Feb. 23.

    Jackson does not say why he has to quit case

    Jackson said that for legal and ethical reasons, he could not reveal why he had to resign. He first appeared in court representing Nick Reiner at a hearing a few days after the beloved actor-director and his wife of 36 years were found dead with stab wounds in their home in the upscale Brentwood section of Los Angeles. Jackson did not say how he was hired — or who hired him. Generally, defendants use public defenders when they can’t pay for a private attorney.

    Jackson has become one of the most prominent defense attorneys in the nation in recent years after his defense of clients including Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Karen Read at her intensely followed trials in Massachusetts.

    Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene took over as Reiner’s attorney during the hearing.

    “The Public Defender’s Office recognizes what an unimaginable tragedy this is for the Reiner family and the Los Angeles community,” LA County Public Defender Ricardo D. Garcia said in a rare public statement on a case from the office. “Our hearts go out to the Reiner family as they navigate this difficult time. We ask for your patience and compassion as the case moves through the legal process.”

    A Reiner family spokesperson said in a statement after Wednesday’s hearing that “They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings.”

    Nick Reiner appears in jail clothes, without suicide prevention smock

    During Wednesday’s hearing, Reiner stood behind glass in a custody area of the courtroom wearing brown jail garb and with his hair shaved. Two deputies stood behind him. Jackson and his team stood in front of him on the other side of the glass. At one point, Reiner stood on his tiptoes to peer over the lawyers’ heads to look at the audience. He spoke only to agree to the delayed arraignment.

    McGonigle approved the use of cameras inside the courtroom but said photos and video could not be taken of the defendant. Reiner did not wear the suicide prevention smock he had on at his initial court appearance on Dec. 17.

    Reiner, 32, the third of Rob Reiner’s four children, has been held without bail since his arrest hours after his parents were found dead on Dec. 14.

    Jackson says he ‘dropped everything’ to represent Reiner

    Jackson, a former LA County prosecutor, had given no indication of the plans for his defense.

    He said that just hours after Nick Reiner’s arrest, he and his team were in New York when they got a call about representing him. He did not say who called him.

    “We dropped everything,” Jackson said. “For the last three weeks, we have devoted literally every waking hour to protecting Nick and his interests. We’ve investigated this matter top to bottom, back to front.”

    He said they remain “deeply, deeply committed” to him and said, “We’re not just convinced; we know that the legal process will reveal the true facts.”

    Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were killed early on the morning of Dec. 14, and they were found in the late afternoon, authorities said. The LA County Medical Examiner said in initial findings that they died from “multiple sharp force injuries.” A court order has prevented the release of more details. Police have said nothing about possible motives.

    Prosecutors have said they have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty for Nick Reiner.

    Rob Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and ’90s. His credits included “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “A Few Good Men,” and “When Harry Met Sally …,” during whose production he met Michele Singer, a photographer, and married her soon after.

    A decade ago, Nick Reiner publicly discussed his struggles with addiction and mental health after making a movie with his father, “Being Charlie,” that was very loosely based on their lives.

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  • Trump: U.S. to get 30 to 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela

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    CARACAS, Venezuela —  President Donald Trump said Tuesday on his social media site that “Interim Authorities” in Venezuela would be providing 30 million to 50 million barrels of “High Quality” oil to the U.S. at its market price, an announcement that came after officials in Caracas announced that at least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed in the dead-of-night U.S. military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro and spirit him to the United States to face drug charges.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump said Tuesday on his social media site that “Interim Authorities” in Venezuela would be providing 30 million to 50 million barrels of “High Quality” oil to the U.S. at its market price
    • The announcement came after Venezuelan officials said least 24 of the country’s security officers were killed in the dead-of-night U.S. military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro and spirit him to the United States to face federal drug charges

    • Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Tuesday that “dozens” of officials and civilians were killed and that prosecutors would investigate the deaths in what he described as a “war crime”

    • The death toll for Venezuelan security officials comes after Cuba’s government on Sunday announced that 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela had died in the operation, prompting two days of mourning on the Caribbean island

    Trump posted on Truth Social that the oil “will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.” He said the money would be controlled by him as president but it would be used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.

    Separately, the White House is organizing an Oval Office meeting Friday with oil company executives regarding Venezuela, with representatives of Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips expected to attend, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the plans.

    Earlier Tuesday, Venezuelan officials announced the death count in the Maduro raid as the country’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, pushed back on Trump, who earlier this week warned she’d face an outcome worse than Maduro’s if she does not “do what’s right” and overhaul Venezuela into a country that aligns with U.S. interests. Trump has said his administration will now “run” Venezuela policy and is pressing the country’s leaders to open its vast oil reserves to American energy companies.

    Rodriguez, delivering an address Tuesday before government agricultural and industrial sector officials, said, “Personally, to those who threaten me: My destiny is not determined by them, but by God.”

    Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab said overall “dozens” of officers and civilians were killed in the weekend strike in Caracas and said prosecutors would investigate the deaths in what he described as a “war crime.” He didn’t specify if the estimate was specifically referring to Venezuelans.

    In addition to the Venezuelan security officials, Cuba’s government had previously confirmed that 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela were killed in the raid. The Cuban government says the personnel killed belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the country’s two main security agencies.

    Seven U.S. service members were also injured in the raid, according to the Pentagon. Five have already returned to duty, while two are still recovering from their injuries. The injuries included gunshot wounds and shrapnel injuries, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment on the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

    A video tribute to the slain Venezuelan security officials posted to the military’s Instagram account features faces of the fallen over black-and-white videos of soldiers, American aircraft flying over Caracas and armored vehicles destroyed by the blasts. Meanwhile, the streets of Caracas, deserted for days following Maduro’s capture, briefly filled with masses of people waving Venezuelan flags and bouncing to patriotic music at a state-organized display of support for the government.

    “Their spilled blood does not cry out for vengeance, but for justice and strength,” the military wrote in an Instagram post. “It reaffirms our unwavering oath not to rest until we rescue our legitimate President, completely dismantle the terrorist groups operating from abroad, and ensure that events such as these never again sully our sovereign soil.”

    Trump grumbles about how Democrats reacted to the raid

    Trump on Tuesday pushed back against Democratic criticism of this weekend’s military operation, noting that his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden had also called for the arrest of the Venezuelan leader on drug trafficking charges.

    Trump in remarks before a House Republican retreat in Washington grumbled that Democrats were not giving him credit for a successful military operation, even though there was bipartisan agreement that Maduro was not the rightful president of Venezuela.

    In 2020, Maduro was indicted in the United States, accused in a decades-long narco-terrorism and international cocaine trafficking conspiracy. White House officials have noted that Biden’s administration in his final days in office last year raised the award for information leading to Maduro’s arrest after he assumed a third term in office despite evidence suggesting that he lost Venezuela’s most recent election. The Trump administration doubled the award to $50 million in August.

    “You know, at some point, they should say, ‘You know, you did a great job. Thank you. Congratulations.’ Wouldn’t it be good?” Trump said. “I would say that if they did a good job, their philosophies are so different. But if they did a good job, I’d be happy for the country. They’ve been after this guy for years and years and years.”

    With oil trading at roughly $56 a barrel, the transaction Trump announced late Tuesday could be worth as much as $2.8 billion. The U.S. goes through an average of roughly 20 million barrels a day of oil and related products, so Venezuela’s transfer would be the equivalent of as much as two and a half days of supply, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

    Despite Venezuela having the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, it only produces on average about one million barrels day, significantly below the U.S. average daily production of 13.9 million barrels a day during October.

    What US opinion polls show

    Americans are split about the capture of Maduro — with many still forming opinions — according to a poll conducted by The Washington Post and SSRS using text messages over the weekend. About 4 in 10 approved of the U.S. military being sent to capture Maduro, while roughly the same share were opposed. About 2 in 10 were unsure.

    Nearly half of Americans, 45%, were opposed to the U.S. taking control of Venezuela and choosing a new government for the country. About 9 in 10 Americans said the Venezuelan people should be the ones to decide the future leadership of their country.

    Maduro pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in a U.S. courtroom on Monday. U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife early Saturday in a raid on a compound where they were surrounded by Cuban guards.

    In the days since Maduro’s ouster, Trump and top administration officials have raised anxiety around the globe that the operation could mark the beginning of a more expansionist U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere. The president in recent days has renewed his calls for an American takeover of the Danish territory of Greenland for the sake of U.S. security interests and threatened military action on Colombia for facilitating the global sale of cocaine, while his top diplomat declared the communist government in Cuba is “in a lot of trouble.”

    Colombia responds to Trump

    Colombia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Rosa Villavicencio said Tuesday she’ll meet with the U.S. Embassy’s charge d’affaires in Bogota to present him with a formal complaint over the recent threats issued by the United States.

    On Sunday, Trump said he wasn’t ruling out an attack on Colombia and described its president, who’s been an outspoken critic of the U.S. pressure campaign on Venezuela, as a “sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”

    Villavicencio said she’s hoping to strengthen relations with the United States and improve cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking.

    “It is necessary for the Trump administration to know in more detail about all that we are doing in the fight against drug trafficking,” she said.

    Meanwhile, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom on Tuesday joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in defending Greenland’s sovereignty. The island is a self-governing territory of the kingdom of Denmark and thus part of the NATO military alliance.

    “Greenland belongs to its people,” the statement said. “It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”

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  • U.S. plans to ‘run’ Venezuela, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro

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    CARACAS, Venezuela — Hours after an audacious military operation that plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country, President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

    What You Need To Know

    • President Donald Trump says the United States will run Venezuela at least temporarily after an audacious military operation plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country

    • Trump on Saturday also described plans to tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves to sell to other nations

    • The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American nation and its autocratic leader and months of secret planning

    • It resulted in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq
    • Legal experts immediately raised questions about whether the operation was lawful

    The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American nation and its autocratic leader and months of secret planning resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

    Legal experts immediately raised questions about whether the operation was lawful. Venezuela’s vice president Delcy Rodríguez demanded in a speech that the U.S. free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader, before Venezuela’s high court ordered her to assume the role of interim president.

    Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.

    Maduro and his wife, seized overnight from their home on a military base, were first taken aboard a U.S. warship on their way to face prosecution for a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

    A plane carrying the deposed leader landed around 4:30 p.m. Saturday at an airport in New York City’s northern suburbs. Maduro was escorted off the jet, gingerly making his way down a stairway before being led across the tarmac surrounded by federal agents. Several agents filmed him on their phones as he walked.

    He was then flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored car, was waiting to whisk him to a nearby U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.

    A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms.

    He was expected to be detained while awaiting trial at a federal jail in Brooklyn.

    Move lacks congressional approval

    The legal authority for the incursion, done without congressional approval, was not immediately clear, but the Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

    Trump claimed the U.S. government would help run the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate signs of that. Venezuelan state TV continued to air pro-Maduro propaganda, broadcasting live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

    “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference where he boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”

    Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, that painted the regime as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.

    Trump posted a photo on social media showing Maduro wearing a sweatsuit and a blindfold on board the USS Iwo Jima.

    Early morning attack

    The operation followed a monthslong Trump administration effort to push the Venezuelan leader, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.

    Maduro had decried prior military operations as a thinly veiled effort to topple him from power.

    Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday as Trump said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights” in the capital city of Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

    Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

    “We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” Caine said. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”

    Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the U.S. of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets.

    The assault lasted less than 30 minutes, and the explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard. Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, the country’s vice president, without giving a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured but none were killed.

    Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.

    Smoke was seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, while another military installation in the capital was without electricity.

    Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodriguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she assume the interim role.

    “There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros,” Rodriguez said.

    Government supporters burn a U.S. flag in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

    Some streets in Caracas fill up

    Venezuela’s ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

    Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

    In a demonstration of how polarizing a figure Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to protest his capture and celebrate it.

    At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro’s return.

    “Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. “We are here, Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!”

    Earlier, armed people and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighborhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party.

    In other parts of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Some areas remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.

    “How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking down at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared, many families couldn’t sleep.”

    In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”

    In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, center, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)

    In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, center, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)

    Questions of legality

    Some legal experts raised immediate concerns about the operation’s legality.

    The U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning, according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting not yet made public.

    Lawmakers from both political parties in Congress have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling near the Venezuelan coast. Congress has not specifically approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

    Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

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  • Russia strikes Ukraine’s capital a day before Zelenskyy-Trump meeting

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with ballistic missiles and drones on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 27, a day before talks between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States, authorities said.

    What You Need To Know

    • Russia struck Ukraine’s capital with missiles and drones in an attack that killed at least one person

    • The barrage came a day before the leaders of Ukraine and the United States meet.

    • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack “really shows that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin doesn’t want peace”

    • Authorities said that Saturday’s assault hit residential buildings and energy infrastructure in Kyiv, and Moscow said the strike was in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.

    Explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in early morning and continued for hours.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to meet with President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday for further talks on ending the nearly four-year war. Zelenskyy told reporters that he and Trump plan to discuss several matters including security guarantees and territorial issues in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

    “This attack is Russia’s answer on our peace efforts. It really shows that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin doesn’t want peace,” Zelenskyy said after stopping in Canada to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Carney announced $1.8 billion worth of economic assistance to Ukraine that helps unlock financing from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for reconstruction and development.

    “The barbarism that we saw overnight, the attack of Kyiv, shows just how important that we stand with Ukraine during this difficult time,” Carney said.

    A rescue worker puts out a fire of a house destroyed after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

    Apartment buildings hit

    The Russian Defense Ministry said that it carried out a “massive strike” overnight, using “long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air and sea, including Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” and drones. It said it targeted energy infrastructure facilities used by Ukraine’s forces and military-industrial enterprises.

    But several residential buildings were struck.

    The ministry said the strike was in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.

    Earlier on Saturday, the ministry said air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Adygeya overnight. On Saturday afternoon, the ministry said 147 more drones were shot down over a number of Russian regions.

    Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses intercepted more than 20 drones “flying towards” the Russian capital on Saturday. He didn’t report any damage or casualties. It wasn’t immediately clear whether those were included in the Defense Ministry’s count.

    Russia claims territorial gains

    In what could be viewed as an effort to further ramp up pressure on Ukraine before the Zelenskyy-Trump talks, the Kremlin on Saturday night released a video of Putin in military fatigues receiving reports from top military officials in an unidentified military command post.

    Russia’s General Staff chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin that the Russian troops have taken full control of Myrnohrad in the Donetsk region — Russia uses the old Soviet name of the city, Dimitrov — the city of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region, and a few other settlements.

    Putin said that ”if Kyiv authorities are not willing to end the matter peacefully, we will achieve all the goals we have in the special military operation by military means.”

    Ukraine’s General Staff rejected these claims as “not supported by facts.” It said that the situation in Huliaipole is “difficult, but the defensive operation in the city is ongoing.” In Myrnohrad, the situation remains “challenging.”

    “The senior political leadership of the aggressor state has once again resorted to spreading false claims about significant ‘successes’ by the Russian army on the battlefield,” the General Staff said in an online statement.

    Poland on alert

    Poland scrambled fighter jets and closed airports in Lublin and Rzeszow near the border with Ukraine for several hours during the Russian attacks, the country’s armed forces command said on social media. There was no violation of Polish airspace, it said.

    Civil aviation authority Pansa later said the airports had resumed operations. It was unclear what caused the alert in Poland when the Russian attacks were focused on Kyiv, which is far from the border.

    Russia targeted Ukraine with 519 drones and 40 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. The main target was energy and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. In some districts of the region there is no electricity or heating because of the attacks, he said.

    Man killed in attack

    More than 10 residential buildings were damaged, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on social media.

    Olena Karpenko, 52, said she heard a man as he burned to death. “His scream is still in my ears. I can’t believe it,” she said, weeping.

    Karpenko said they heard a explosion at the nearby thermal power plant, followed by a stronger blast that shook the windows of her home. Then came the strike on her building.

    Two children were among those wounded in the attack, which hit seven locations across the capital, the head of the Kyiv Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on social media.

    A body was found under the rubble of one damaged building, he said. It wasn’t immediately clear if that person was the man who burned to death.

    A fire broke out in an 18-story residential building in the Dnipro district, and emergency crews rushed to contain the flames. A 24-story residential building in the Darnytsia district was also hit, Tkachenko said, and more fires broke out in the Obolonskyi and Holosiivsky districts.

    In the wider Kyiv region, the strikes hit industrial and residential buildings, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service. In the Vyshhorod area, emergency crews rescued one person found under the rubble of a destroyed house.

    Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said on X on Saturday evening that the Russian attack caused “extensive power outages” in Kyiv, saying that hundreds of thousands of customers remained without power.

    Security guarantees prioritized

    Zelenskyy told reporters he would aim to ensure there were “ as few unresolved issues as possible ” in talks with Trump, while respecting Ukraine’s red lines.

    Speaking by audio note in a Whatsapp chat with journalists, Zelenskyy said he would prioritize discussing security guarantees for Ukraine. He has said that in the draft peace plan, the U.S. has committed to providing guarantees that mirror the NATO alliance’s Article 5, which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the U.S. and its allies.

    But key details must be worked out in a bilateral agreement.

    Territorial concessions are the most sensitive of issues the two leaders will discuss.

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  • Zelenskyy says meeting with Trump will happen in ‘near future’

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    KYIV, Ukraine — A meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump will happen “in the near future,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, signaling progress in talks to end the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war.

    What You Need To Know

    • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump will happen soon

    • This signals progress in talks to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine

    • Zelenskyy mentioned Friday on X that a lot can be decided before the new year, and that he had a good conversation with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner

    • Trump has pushed for peace but conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv remain

    “We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level — with President Trump in the near future,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “A lot can be decided before the New Year.”

    Zelenskyy’s comments came after he said Thursday that he had a “good conversation” with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that the Kremlin had already been in contact with U.S. representatives since Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with U.S. envoys in Florida over the weekend.

    “It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue,” he said.

    Trump has unleashed a diplomatic push to end Russia’s all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, but his efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.

    Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.

    Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that there had been “slow but steady progress” in the peace talks, Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.

    In fact, Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.

    On the ground, one person was killed and three others were wounded when a guided aerial bomb hit a house in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, while six people were wounded in a missile strike on the city of Uman, local officials said Friday.

    Russian drone attacks on the city of Mykolaiv and its suburbs overnight into Friday left part of the city without power. Energy and port infrastructure were damaged by drones in the city of Odesa on the Black Sea.

    Meanwhile, Ukraine said that it struck a major Russian oil refinery on Thursday using U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

    Ukraine’s General Staff said that its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region.

    “Multiple explosions were recorded. The target was hit,” it wrote on Telegram.

    Rostov regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said that a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.

    Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple the Ukraine’s power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Ukrainian officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”

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  • Pacific moisture delivers heavy rain for holiday travelers this week

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    Whether you’re flying or driving, the weather could impact your holiday travel next week. Here’s what to expect across the country.

    What You Need To Know

    • Heavy rain is expected in California and the Pacific Northwest

    • A clipper system brings heavy snow across the Northeast and New England before Christmas

    • Temperatures are trending significantly above normal for Christmas


    Here are the weather highlights for holiday travelers. 


    A more detailed forecast for each day can be found below.

    Monday

    A prolonged period of wet weather is on tap this week across Northern California and the intermountain west. Monday evening into Tuesday morning could see some showers across the Ohio Valley and snow in the Great Lakes. Southern California remains mostly dry today, but wetter trends ramp up tomorrow.


    Tuesday

    Snow is possible across New England and the Northeast on Tuesday, with parts of Maine seeing up to 6 to 8 inches. Totals remain on the low end with only a couple inches of accumulation everywhere else. Out west, rain and snow continues, with heavy rain spilling into southern California.

    Christmas Eve

    California will see wet weather on Christmas Eve as another atmospheric river brings in Pacific moisture, leading to periods of heavy rain and mountain snow. Some strong storms are also possible across Southern California. The possibility of showers will be present through the Ohio Valley.


    Christmas

    The Rockies and areas westward see wet and wintry weather on Christmas Day, with the higher elevations seeing a white Christmas. Much of the central and eastern U.S. will be warmer than normal with mostly dry conditions.


    Friday

    The day after Christmas could finally offer a break for some areas out west, but high elevation snow chances continue. Some rain is possible across the Northeast.


    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Spectrum News Weather Staff

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  • Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.6 billion

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    The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $1.6 billion, making it one of the largest lottery prizes in U.S. history, Powerball officials said Sunday.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $1.6 billion

    • No ticket matched all six winning numbers on Saturday, setting up the fifth-largest U.S. jackpot ever for Monday’s drawing

    • The odds of winning Monday’s jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball


    No ticket matched all six winning numbers on Saturday — white balls 4, 5, 28, 52, 69 and red Powerball 20. That sets up the fifth-largest U.S. jackpot ever for Monday’s drawing, according to a news release from Powerball.

    The biggest U.S. jackpot was $2.04 billion in 2022. The winner bought the ticket in California and opted for a lump-sum payment of $997.6 million.

    The odds of winning Monday’s jackpot, which is the fourth-largest in Powerball history, are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.

    The winner can opt for a lump-sum payment estimated at $735.3 million or an annuitized prize estimated at $1.6 billion. Both prize options are before taxes.

    The annuity option offers one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year, Powerball said.

    Powerball is available in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is overseen by the Multi-State Lottery Association, a nonprofit group made up of state lotteries. Profits from ticket sales are used by states to support public education and other services.

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    Associated Press

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  • Pacific moisture delivers heavy rain for holiday travelers next week

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    Whether you’re flying or driving, the weather could impact your holiday travel next week. Here’s what to expect across the country.

    What You Need To Know

    • Mostly dry weather is on tap across the central and eastern U.S. this weekend

    • Heavy rain is expected in California and the Pacific Northwest

    • Temperatures are trending significantly above normal for Christmas


    Here are the weather highlights for holiday travelers. 


    A more detailed forecast for each day can be found below.

    Saturday

    If you’re traveling Saturday, a weak disturbance will bring some light snow across the Great Lakes and interior Northeast during the afternoon and evening. Heavier snow accumulation should remain into Canada.  Most of the Midwest is looking at dry, sunny weather. 

    Northern California and the intermountain west will continue seeing periods of wet weather.


    Sunday

    Wet weather continues out west on Sunday, especially for parts of Northern Calfornia, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Heavy snow and rain is expected.

    Some snow showers are possible around the Great Lakes and rain across the Southeast, but activity remains light.

    Monday

    A prolonged period of wet weather is on tap into early next week across Northern California and the intermountain west. Monday evening into Tuesday morning could see some showers across the Ohio Valley and snow in the Great Lakes.


    Tuesday

    Snow is possible across New England and the Northeast on Tuesday, but totals remain on the low end with only a couple inches of accumulation. Out west, rain and snow continues.

    Christmas Eve

    California will see wet weather on Christmas Eve as another atmospheric river brings in Pacific moisture, leading to periods of heavy rain and mountain snow. The possibility of showers will be present through the Ohio Valley.


    Christmas

    The Rockies and areas westward see wet and wintry weather on Christmas Day, with the higher elevations seeing a white Christmas. Much of the central and eastern U.S. will be warmer than normal with mostly dry conditions.


    Friday

    The day after Christmas could finally offer a break for some areas out west, but high elevation snow chances continue. Some rain is possible across the Northeast.


    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Spectrum News Weather Staff

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  • Senate confirms Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be NASA administrator on Wednesday, placing him atop the agency after a monthslong saga where President Donald Trump revoked his nomination as part of a feud with tech billionaire Elon Musk.

    What You Need To Know

    • Jared Isaacman confirmed as NASA administrator by bipartisan Senate vote

    • President Trump initially revoked Isaacman’s nomination due to a feud with Elon Musk

    • Isaacman promises to bring a business-minded approach to NASA


    Isaacman, who has promised to bring a business-minded approach to the space agency, was confirmed in a bipartisan vote, 67-30.

    He will take over after an unusual confirmation process upended by the Republican president’s oscillating and at times tumultuous relationship with prominent tech leaders who backed his campaign, most notably Musk, the Tesla CEO who is a close ally of Isaacman.

    Trump picked Isaacman last year but withdrew the nomination in May after feuding with Musk over the administration’s policies on issues such as electric vehicles and the performance of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

    Musk was the largest contributor of donations to Trump’s 2024 campaign and after the administration took office, he assembled a team for DOGE that blitzed through the federal government’s departments, contracts and critical infrastructure. The monthslong operation led to major cuts to federal contracts focused on foreign aid, global health and mass layoffs of federal workers.

    But the effort did not lead to significant reductions in the federal budget deficit, the stated goal. Musk also feuded with some senior Cabinet officials and, eventually, Trump himself. Musk is also CEO of the space flight company SpaceX and has ambitions for humans to colonize space.

    Trump nominated Isaacman for the job again in November. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had been serving as NASA’s interim administrator until a permanent head was in place.

    The mysterious turnabout from Trump

    Isaacman is the founder of Shift4 Payments, a payment processing and technology solutions company based in Pennsylvania. He is also the co-founder of Draken International, a Florida-based aerospace company. He has done business with Musk’s Starlink and other ventures tied to the fellow billionaire.

    During Isaacman’s second confirmation hearing in December, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., pressed Isaacman to “explain what happened to make President Trump reconsider the decision to pull your nomination and what assurances you may have provided with Elon Musk and SpaceX would not create a significant conflict of interest in this role.”

    Isaacman replied that he “wouldn’t even want to begin to speculate why the president nominated and then renominated me.” He said he pledged to be free of conflicts of interest in his role. In a June letter, Isaacman had promised to resign from his private sector posts should he be confirmed as NASA administrator.

    Republicans have welcomed some of Isaacman’s proposals and some new senators strongly advocated for his confirmation. But many Democrats balked at Isaacman and Trump’s plans, including the proposed costs of some projects and overall priorities for the agency.

    “For nearly 70 years, the United States has been at the forefront of space exploration. President Trump knows how critical it is to reinvigorate NASA as we aim to reach new heights in the greatest frontier ever known, and that’s why he chose exactly the right man for the job,” Sen. Tim Sheehy, an aerial firefighter, former Navy SEAL and close ally of Isaacman, said in a statement.

    Sheehy, R-Mont. added that he was confident Isaacman “will work tirelessly to ensure America wins the 21st century space race.”

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  • What you need to know about keeping your pets safe over the holidays

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    NATIONWIDE — The weather outside is frightful, but there’s no need to frighten your pets this holiday season.

    “As you gear up for the holidays, it is important to try to keep your pet’s eating and exercise habits as close to their normal routine as possible. Also, please be sure to steer pets clear of the following unhealthy treats, toxic plants and dangerous decorations,” the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) said.

    ASPCA released these safety tips ahead of the holiday:

    (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)

    Christmas tree safety

    Secure your Christmas tree so it doesn’t fall onto your pet. Additionally, make sure any tree water for live trees does not spill. Pets should not be drinking water from tree stands, as it can contain fertilizers and cause an upset stomach. 

    Plus, stagnant water can be a “breeding ground for bacteria,” leading to other stomach troubles, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea

    Avoid tummy aches from greenery

    Mistletoe and holly can cause both gastrointestinal and cardiovascular problems if a furry family member eats them. Lilies can also cause kidney failure in cats. Poinsettias can cause an upset stomach. 

    To be extra safe, ASPCA suggested choosing fake plants made from materials such as silk or plastic. If you want to stick to genuine greenery, opt for a pet-safe bouquet. 

    Tinsel trouble

    ASPCA said that if you have furry family members, it’s best to skip tinsel entirely. 

    Tinsel looks like a toy to some pets. They may want to play with it or even snack on it. If animals eat tinsel, it could cause vomiting or dehydration. Tinsel may also cause an obstructed digestive tract that may require surgery to repair. 

    (AP Photo)

    Careful with candles

    Pets have been known to burn themselves on unattended lighted candles, or even start a fire if they knock them over. ASPCA recommended using appropriate candle holders on a stable surface. If you leave the room, blow out the flame. Of course, flameless candles can also brighten up a room. 

    Watch your wires

    Pets should not be able to get into wires, batteries, plastic ornaments or glass decor. 

    ASPCA said wires could shock a pet, while a battery could burn their mouth or esophagus. Breakable ornaments could also harm your pet’s mouth or digestive tract. 

    Skip these treats

    Avoid giving your pets anything fatty, spicy or sweet.

    ”By now you know not to feed your pets chocolate and anything sweetened with xylitol, but do you know the lengths to which an enterprising pet will go to chomp on something yummy?” ASPCA said. “Make sure to keep your pets away from the table and unattended plates of food, and be sure to secure the lids on garbage cans.”

    Plus, don’t give your pets any bones from your leftovers.

    Keep an eye on your drink

    If you’re indulging in alcoholic beverages, keep them in a safe place where your pets can’t get a taste. If a pet drinks alcohol, they “could become weak, ill and may even go into a coma, possibly resulting in death from respiratory failure,” ASPCA said.

    (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

    Gift guide

    If you’re gifting something special to your pet, make sure to choose toys that are “basically undestructible,” or Kongs and safe-to-digest chew treats.

    While kittens love to play with long strings like ribbon and yarn, these can get stuck in intestines. ASPCA suggested choosing “a new ball that’s too big to swallow, a stuffed catnip toy or the interactive cat dancer” instead.

    ASPCA also reminded pet owners to be mindful of wrapped gifts. Even if you can’t see what’s inside, your pet may smell it. Keep any food, even if wrapped, out of paws’ reach. 

    Visitor rules

    If your house guests want to give your pets some extra TLC, encourage petting or snuggle sessions and nice playtime.

    Ensure your medicines are locked or secured, and advise your visitors to do the same to avoid a pet ingesting medications. 

    Recharge

    The holidays can be a stressful time for humans and animals alike. Make sure your pet has their own, quiet place to relax. It should include fresh water and a place to snuggle, ASPCA said. 

    “Shy pups and cats might want to hide out under a piece of furniture, in their carrying case or in a separate room away from the hubbub,” ASPCA added. 

    New Year’s noise

    If you’re celebrating New Year’s, make sure to keep your pet’s comfort and safety in mind, too.

    ”As you count down to the new year, please keep in mind that strings of thrown confetti can get lodged in a cat’s intestines, if ingested, perhaps necessitating surgery,” ASPCA said. “Noisy poppers can terrify pets and cause possible damage to sensitive ears. And remember that many pets are also scared of fireworks, so be sure to secure them in a safe, escape-proof area as midnight approaches.”

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    Aly Prouty

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