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Tag: Associated Press

  • Warriors Agree to Send Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield to Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis, AP Source Says

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    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Golden State Warriors found their dependable big man by acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from Atlanta and granted forward Jonathan Kuminga his wish to be traded while also dealing guard Buddy Hield to the Hawks, according to a person with knowledge of the swap.

    The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the trade had not yet been approved by the league.

    Kuminga sat out Tuesday night’s 113-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers because of a bone bruise in his left knee, his fifth straight missed game.

    The Hawks had listed Porzingis — who has recently missed time with an Achilles tendon injury — as questionable for Thursday’s game against Utah because of an illness. Atlanta also acquired center Jock Landale from the Jazz, a person with knowledge of the trade told the AP.

    In mid-January, Warriors coach Steve Kerr spoke with Kuminga about being out of the rotation for more than a month and the expectation that he would be traded. However, general manager Mike Dunleavy said on Jan. 20 after Jimmy Butler’s season-ending knee injury that there wasn’t an immediate indication other teams were interested in Kuminga.

    “As far as the demand, I’m aware of that,” Dunleavy said, referencing Kuminga’s trade request. “I think when you, in terms of demands, when you make a demand, there needs to be a demand on the market. So we’ll see where that unfolds.”

    Kerr discounted any issues between him and Kuminga as the reason the high-flying forward requested a trade after not being used in 17 of 18 games — though he has been listed as injured for nine games this season.

    A 23-year-old from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Golden State’s seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft, Kuminga appeared in 20 games this season with 13 starts, averaging 12.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

    On Sept. 30, he agreed to a two-year contract that could be worth up to $46.5 million if the team were to exercise its option for 2026-27. Kuminga had a $7.9 million qualifying offer in hand since June 29 but was also weighing other options and he missed the team’s media day.

    Kuminga missed much of last season with a right ankle injury. He averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24.3 minutes over 47 games with 10 starts. He also scored 15.3 points per game over eight playoff games while shooting 48.4% from the floor and making 40% of his 3-point attempts. That included a career-best 30-point performance in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves last May.

    The 7-foot-2 Porzingis is averaging 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The Warriors will be the sixth team in 10 seasons for the 30-year-old Latvian nicknamed “The Unicorn” for his combination of length and outside shooting touch.

    AP Sports Writer Charles Odum in Atlanta contributed to this report.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Montana’s Hauck Says He’s Retiring Because He Doesn’t Like Dealing With the Changes in College Game

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    MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Bobby Hauck, coach of perennial FCS power Montana and the Big Sky Conference’s all-time wins leader, announced his sudden retirement Wednesday, saying he didn’t enjoy his job anymore because of the changes in college football in recent years.

    Bobby Kennedy, who finished his first season as receivers coach, will succeed Hauck. Kennedy and Hauck had worked together as assistants at Washington in 2002, and Kennedy also has been on staffs at Texas and three other power conference schools.

    Hauck, 61, had two stints totaling 14 years with the Grizzlies and led the team to eight Big Sky championships, 13 playoff appearances and four national championship games. The 2025 team was 13-2 and reached the national semifinals.

    The Missoula native and Montana graduate was 166-92 in 19 seasons as head coach at Montana and UNLV. He was the winningest active FCS coach with a 151-43 record with the Grizzlies.

    “I want to enjoy my career and my job, and a lot of the head coach stuff in current-day Division I college football is not enjoyable,” Hauck said at a news conference. “I just think it’s the appropriate time.”

    Hauck said he didn’t know what he would do next. He said he doesn’t want to be a head coach again, though.

    Hauck returned to Montana in 2018, and in 2021 new NCAA rules took effect allowing players to transfer without sitting out a season at their new school and to be compensated for their name, image and likeness. Revenue sharing with athletes began last year.

    “Dealing with agents and the transient nature of this and the lack of forward thinking by young people, which has never been a strong suit for centuries for young people. … But now when they’ve got adults pushing them and pulling them in different directions, I kind of got tired of that.”

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Mickey Lolich, Hero of the 1968 World Series for the Detroit Tigers, Dies at 85

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    DETROIT (AP) — Mickey Lolich, who had three complete-game victories for the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 World Series, the last Major League Baseball pitcher to post the incredible feat, died Wednesday. He was 85.

    The Tigers said Lolich’s wife told them that he died after a short stay in hospice care. An exact cause of death was not provided.

    Denny McLain was the star of Detroit’s pitching staff in 1968, winning 31 regular-season games. But Lolich was the Most Valuable Player of the Series, with a ERA of 1.67 and a Game 7 road victory over Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals.

    Bill Freehan threw off his catcher’s mask and caught a foul pop-up by Tim McCarver for the final out. Lolich jumped into Freehan’s arms — an iconic image of Detroit’s championship season.

    He is No. 23 in career strikeouts with 2,832, ahead of many others who, unlike Lolich, are in the Hall of Fame, and fifth among all lefties, according to baseball-reference.com.

    Lolich was an unlikely hero in 1968. During a reunion of the World Series team, he recalled how manager Mayo Smith had sent him to the bullpen for much of August. He returned to the Tigers’ starting rotation and was 6-1 in the final weeks.

    “I was having a few problems, but I had been a starting pitcher ever since 1964,” said Lolich, who was upset about the bullpen move. “I remember telling him, ‘If we win this thing this year it’s going to be because of me.’ But I was only talking about the season. I wasn’t talking about the World Series.

    “I got my revenge back in the World Series,” he said.

    Lolich pitched Game 7 after only two days of rest. He figured he would get a Corvette from General Motors for being the Series MVP but had to settle for a Dodge Charger GT because Chrysler was the sponsor in 1968.

    “Nothing against Chargers, nothing at all,” Lolich said in his book, “Joy in Tigertown.” “It’s just that I already had two of them in my driveway.”

    Since Lolich, only Arizona’s Randy Johnson in 2001 has won three games in a World Series, though Johnson pitched about 10 fewer innings and was a relief pitcher, not a starter, in Game 7.

    Lolich had a record of 220-192, including the postseason, over a 16-year career, all but three with Detroit. He left baseball after playing for the New York Mets in 1976 but returned with San Diego in 1978-79.

    The left-hander was 25-14 in 1971, striking out 308 batters over 376 innings and finishing second in AL Cy Young award voting. He followed that up with a 22-14 record and 250 strikeouts in 1972.

    After his baseball career, Lolich, a native of Portland, Oregon, was in the doughnut business in suburban Detroit, making and selling them for 18 years.

    “I doubt any other ballplayer has ever made that transition — from the diamond to doughnuts. But I did,” he wrote in his book.

    AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • IOC Open to Earlier Dates for Future Winter Olympics and Paralympics Because of Warmer Temperatures

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    MILAN (AP) — Staging future Winter Games as early as January and the Paralympic Winter Games in February is a possibility because of the effects of warmer temperatures, the International Olympic Committee said Wednesday.

    Every Winter Games medal was won in February since the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics opened Jan. 29, and moving to January would likely disrupt scheduling of storied World Cup races and events. It also would more directly clash with NFL and NBA schedules.

    “Maybe we are also discussing to bring the Winter Olympics a little bit earlier,” the IOC member overseeing the sports program review, Karl Stoss, told reporters. “To do it in January because it has an implication for the Paralympics as well.”

    The Milan Cortina Paralympic Winter Games will be held March 6-15.

    “(March) is very late because the sun is strong enough to melt the snow,” said Stoss, whose home country Austria is a traditional power in Alpine skiing and ski jumping.

    “Maybe the Paralympics will be in February and the other edition will be in January. That would also be a part of our discussion,” he said on the sidelines of the IOC’s eve-of-Olympics meeting in Milan.

    The 100-plus IOC members should meet again in June to make decisions about the Olympic reviews, in a program called “Fit For The Future,” and whether to add new sports and events to the 2030 French Alps Winter Games.

    The French Alps edition is currently expected to run Feb. 1-17 and the 2034 Utah Winter Games from Feb. 10–26.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Backyard vegetable gardens are healthy for people, planet. Here’s how to start

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    OHIO — If you want healthy food, experts say to eat what’s local, organic and in-season. Those foods benefit the planet too, because they are less taxing on the soil and they don’t travel as far.

    It doesn’t get more local, organic and in-season than a backyard vegetable garden.

    What You Need To Know

    • At this time of year, many backyards across the country are still covered in snow

    • Vegetable gardens benefit the surrounding ecosystem by adding diverse plant life, especially where they replace grass or cover a deck or patio

    • Homegrown vegetables and fruits are responsible for fewer emissions than their store-bought counterparts
    • Gardening promotes physical health because it requires a lot of movement

    At this time of year, many backyards across the country are still covered in snow. But it’s the perfect time to start planning for a garden because you’ll want to have supplies ready to start planting just after the last frost date in your area.

    Below are some tips on how to plan a backyard garden and reasons why you should do it.

    Homegrown vegetables have fewer emissions

    Vegetable gardens benefit the surrounding ecosystem by adding diverse plant life, especially where they replace grass or cover a deck or patio. They also can provide flowering plants for pollinators.

    The plants capture and store carbon in the soil, promote healthy soil by preventing compaction and can make the air cooler on rooftops and patios, according to Ellen Comeau, who chairs the advisory council for the Cuyahoga County Master Gardener Volunteers with the Ohio State University Extension program.

    Homegrown vegetables and fruits are responsible for fewer emissions than their store-bought counterparts because grocery store produce typically travels long distances on trucks.

    “There’s this whole idea of a zero-kilometer meal, that I don’t have to travel anywhere, except my backyard, to make food. That certainly helps the climate,” said Carol Connare, editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

    Gardening has health benefits

    The health benefits from gardening are multifaceted, “social, emotional, nutritional, physical,” said Katherine Alaimo, an associate professor of food science and human nutrition at Michigan State University.

    Gardening promotes physical health because it requires a lot of movement. The food is typically picked at the height of ripeness and eaten fresh so it tends to have more nutrients than grocery store produce.

    Alaimo said most gardeners don’t use pesticides and grow their food organically. And of course, when you grow more produce, you eat more produce.

    “That’s going to reinforce people eating more fruits and vegetables even in the off season when they’re not growing food. So they try new foods, they potentially increase creativity and their cooking skills,” she said.

    Alaimo said gardening also connects people with nature, provides a sense of responsibility and accomplishment and encourages sharing harvests with friends. All of that can contribute to reduced stress, lower blood pressure and higher energy, she said.

    Picking the right spot and budgeting

    Sunlight is the biggest factor in choosing where to put your garden. Most produce wants at least six hours of sunlight per day. If sunny spots are few, save them for fruiting plants because leafy greens can tolerate more shade.

    It also helps to have a nearby water source because you’ll get more food for less effort if you’re not lugging buckets of water a long way.

    If you’re growing in the ground, Comeau said to start with a soil test to determine its acidity and nutrient makeup. Soil samples, once bagged or boxed, can typically be sent to a cooperative extension office at a university. The Old Farmer’s Almanac offers a list of extension offices by state. The results will give you an idea of what to grow and whether you need fertilizer or other amendments.

    If you have barren soil or a concrete patio, you can buy or build raised beds with purchased soil. Connare said raised beds have advantages such as controlling the soil, but the disadvantages include the cost and the likelihood of compacting soil and eventually needing to replace it.

    After finding the right spot, Comeau said the next step is figuring out how much you have to spend. That determines how big the garden is, whether you sow seeds or buy baby plants known as starts and how many supplies you can afford.

    Another major investment: fencing for pests. That means digging fences into the soil to stop burrowing animals like groundhogs, making them tall to deter deer or installing netting for climbing critters.

    Choosing what to grow and when to start

    What you can grow depends on what falls into your region’s plant hardiness zone. Californians can grow olives more easily than Ohioans, for example.

    Connare recommends finding out what plants are working for your neighbors.

    “They might be able to tell you, ‘I can’t grow a Cherokee tomato here to save my life, but these tie-dye ones do great,’” she said.

    Once you’ve narrowed down what can grow, pick what appeals to you. Kevin Espiritu, founder of Epic Gardening, said he used to advise people to focus on what grows the fastest and easiest, but now he also emphasizes choosing what you like to eat.

    Connare also recommends adding flowers to attract pollinators. Local garden centers are good sources of knowledge about what native plants will attract beneficial insects.

    Espiritu said to figure out the last frost date in your area and plan around that. Many fruits and vegetables are best planted after the frost threat has passed, but some can go in earlier. Cool-season crops like leafy vegetables can tolerate slightly colder temperatures. Seeds can get started indoors weeks before the last frost date.

    Comeau said seed packet labels often provide instructions.

    “The label will tell you when you can start it and when it can go into the ground. Some obviously go right into the ground and some can be started ahead of time,” she said.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • 17 former N.C. State athletes join lawsuit alleging abuse by ex-head trainer

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    RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Seventeen additional former N.C. State male athletes have joined a state lawsuit alleging sexual abuse under the guise of treatment and harassment by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine, pushing the total number to 31 in a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete more than three years ago.

    What You Need To Know

    • Seventeen additional former N.C. State male athletes have joined a state lawsuit alleging sexual abuse under the guise of treatment and harassment by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine

    • That pushes the total number to 31 in a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete more than three years ago

    • The complaint filed in Wake County Superior Court late last week expands a case alleging years of misconduct by Robert L. Murphy Jr.

    • Allegations include improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing


    The complaint filed in Wake County Superior Court late last week expands a case alleging years of misconduct by Robert L. Murphy Jr., including improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing.

    All but two of the 31 athletes are “John Doe” plaintiffs to protect anonymity, while two former men’s soccer players are named.

    One is Benjamin Locke, who filed the original complaint in August 2022. The other is one of two athletes who filed their own federal lawsuits in February 2023 and April 2023. The Associated Press typically doesn’t identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless the person has spoken publicly about it, which Locke has done.

    Durham-based attorney Kerry Sutton, who has represented plaintiffs in each lawsuit, filed to dismiss those pending Title IX lawsuits before moving the case to state-level jurisdiction in September. That complaint added 11 new athletes to bring the total to 14 — and now the case has more than doubled with the latest filing.

    “While it is never good news to hear there are other men that have been suffering in silence due to what they experienced, I am encouraged by the bravery, vulnerability, and willingness of these men to come forward against injustice,” Locke said Monday in a statement released by Sutton.

    In a separate statement, Sutton said: “I hate to say it, but I expect to hear from more men in coming days who were sexually harassed or assaulted by Mr. Murphy.”

    Seth Blum, a Raleigh-based attorney who has represented Murphy, didn’t immediately return an email from The Associated Press on Monday. He has forcefully defended Murphy in past comments, saying he has been falsely accused and there has yet to be “one scrap of credible evidence he assaulted anyone.”

    “Put simply, Robert Murphy did not do this,” Blum said in a statement after the September lawsuit.

    Murphy, at N.C. State from 2012-22, is among nine defendants named individually. Others are school officials accused of negligence in oversight roles.

    The lawsuits outline similar allegations of Murphy’s conduct and the school’s response in failing to stop it, even when concerns reached senior levels of the athletic department. The latest filing describes the 31 former athletes as “victims of sexual assaults, sexual exploitation and sexual harassment” while saying Murphy “violated his position of trust to abuse rather than treat.”

    The allegations from 17 new plaintiffs largely centered on Murphy’s handling and observation of drug testing. Those allegations centered on athletes being instructed to raise their shirt above their chest and lower their shorts or pants to their ankles while Murphy stared at their genitals from a few feet away and sometimes from within the same bathroom stall.

    One athlete described feeling “uncomfortable and vulnerable,” while another was left “feeling humiliated,” according to the lawsuit. In another case, an athlete was so uncomfortable that he couldn’t urinate “even after consuming three Diet Cokes” and had return a day later “to repeat the same invasive process,” the lawsuit said.

    Roughly a half-dozen of the 17 also alleged Murphy improperly touched their genitals during massage or other rehabilitation treatments amid injuries. One athlete dealing with an Achilles tendon injury to his lower leg alleged Murphy began massage treatments but gradually moved higher until reaching the athlete’s groin; that athlete asked Murphy to stop and refused to let Murphy treat him again, according to the complaint.

    Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.

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  • Greek Rescuers Search for Potential Missing People After Deadly Migrant Boat Collision

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    ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek coast guard patrol boats and a helicopter were searching for potential missing people off an eastern Aegean island Wednesday after an overnight collision between a patrol vessel and a speedboat carrying migrants that left at least 15 people dead.

    Twenty-four migrants, including 11 children, were injured and were hospitalized on the island of Chios following the collision late Tuesday night. Two coast guard officers were also injured, with one remaining hospitalized Wednesday, the coast guard said.

    The bodies of 11 men and three women were recovered from the sea shortly after the collision and one woman died later in a hospital, authorities said.

    The number of people who had been on the speedboat was not clear. Four patrol boats, two helicopters and divers began the search overnight, which continued Wednesday morning with a helicopter and five patrol vessels.

    Details of exactly what happened were unclear. According to a coast guard statement Wednesday, one of its patrol boats came across the speedboat late Tuesday night making its way towards Chios without its navigation lights on. The speedboat refused to stop despite sound and visual signals by the patrol boat crew and changed direction, colliding with the patrol boat and capsizing, the statement said.

    Photos posted by the coast guard showed signs of abrasion on the patrol boat’s right side. The coast guard’s account could not be independently verified.

    Michalis Giannakos, the head of Greece’s public hospital workers’ union, said Tuesday night that staff at the hospital in Chios were placed on alert overnight to handle the sudden influx of injured and dead. Speaking on Greece’s Open TV channel, Giannakos said several of the injured required surgery.

    Greece is a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Fatal accidents are common. Many undertake the short but often perilous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the eastern Aegean, often in overcrowded inflatable dinghies. Others use high-speed vessels piloted by smugglers who deposit them on the island and then return to Turkey. But increased patrols and allegations of pushbacks — summary deportations without allowing for asylum applications — by Greek authorities have reduced crossing attempts.

    Greece, along with several other European Union countries, has been tightening its regulations on migration. In December, the European Union was overhauling its migration system, including streamlining deportations and increasing detentions.

    There has long been a fierce debate among EU members about migration. Since a surge in asylum-seekers and other migrants to Europe a decade ago, public debate on the issue has shifted and far-right parties have gained political power. EU migration policies have hardened, and the number of asylum-seekers is down from record levels.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • José Ramírez will get final payment from Guardians in 2051

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    CLEVELAND — José Ramírez will receive his final payment in 2051 under the third baseman’s $175 million, seven-year contract with the Cleveland Guardians.

    What You Need To Know

    • He gets a full no-trade provision and a hotel suite on road trips

    • Ramírez’s deferred money from each season will be payable in 10 equal installments each Dec. 15 starting in the 10th year after it was earned

    • The 33-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has played his entire 13-year big league career in Cleveland

    His deal, announced Friday, includes annual salaries of $25 million, of which $10 million annually will be deferred.

    Ramírez’s deferred money from each season will be payable in 10 equal installments each Dec. 15 starting in the 10th year after it was earned. His 2026 money will be paid from 2036-45 and his 2032 money from 2042-51.

    He gets a full no-trade provision and a hotel suite on road trips.

    Ramírez earned $72 million from 2022-25 under a $141 million, seven-year deal that had $69 million remaining: $21 million this year, $23 million in 2027 and $25 million in 2028.

    The 33-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has played his entire 13-year big league career in Cleveland.

    A seven-time All-Star, Ramírez had a career-high 44 stolen bases last season and became the fourth player with multiple seasons of at least 30 home runs and 40 steals. He had a .283 batting average.

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  • Brothers of Renee Good, Woman Killed by Immigration Officer, Call for Action in Congress

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — The brothers of Renee Good, one of two U.S. citizens killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, called on Congress to do something about the violence on American streets as a result of immigration operations, warning Tuesday that the scenes playing out are “changing many lives, including ours, forever.”

    Brothers Luke and Brett Ganger spoke during a hearing held Tuesday by congressional Democrats to highlight use-of-force incidents by officers from the Department of Homeland Security as they arrest and deport immigrants. The mood was somber as the brothers spoke, often comforting each other as they talked and listened to others speaking.

    Luke Ganger, speaking of the “deep distress” the family felt at losing their sister in “such a violent and unnecessary way,” didn’t specify what they wanted from Congress but painted his sister’s death as a turning point that should inspire change in operations such as those going on in Minneapolis.

    “The completely surreal scenes taking place on the streets of Minneapolis are beyond explanation. This is not just a bad day, or a rough week, or isolated incidents,” he said. “These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives, including ours, forever.”

    The forum was put on by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., to spotlight use-of-force complaints against Homeland Security officers tasked with carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

    Trump administration officials said Good tried to run over an officer with her vehicle. State and local officials in Minneapolis, as well as protesters, have rejected that characterization.

    The two brothers didn’t delve into the details of their sister’s death or what the administration has said about her. Instead, they spoke about her life.

    Luke Ganger said the most important thing the brothers could do was to explain to those listening “what a beautiful American we have lost. A sister. A daughter. A mother. A partner and a friend.”

    Brett Ganger shared some of the eulogy he had written for his sister’s funeral service. He compared her to dandelions that grow and bring beauty in unexpected places.

    “She believed tomorrow could be better than today. She believed that kindness mattered. And she lived that belief,” he said.

    The panel also heard from three other U.S. citizens who detailed their treatment by Homeland Security officers.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Musk vows to put data centers in space and run them on solar, experts doubt

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk vowed this week to upend another industry just as he did with cars and rockets — and once again he’s taking on long odds.

    The world’s richest man said he wants to put as many as a million satellites into orbit to form vast, solar-powered data centers in space — a move to allow expanded use of artificial intelligence and chatbots without triggering blackouts and sending utility bills soaring.

    To finance that effort, Musk combined SpaceX with his AI business on Monday and plans a big initial public offering of the combined company.

    “Space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale,” Musk wrote on SpaceX’s website Monday, adding about his solar ambitions, “It’s always sunny in space!”

    But scientists and industry experts say even Musk — who outsmarted Detroit to turn Tesla into the world’s most valuable automaker — faces formidable technical, financial and environmental obstacles.

    Here’s a look:

    Feeling the heat

    Capturing the sun’s energy from space to run chatbots and other AI tools would ease pressure on power grids and cut demand for sprawling computing warehouses that are consuming farms and forests and vast amounts of water to cool.

    But space presents its own set of problems.

    Data centers generate enormous heat. Space seems to offer a solution because it is cold. But it is also a vacuum, trapping heat inside objects in the same way that a Thermos keeps coffee hot using double walls with no air between them.

    “An uncooled computer chip in space would overheat and melt much faster than one on Earth,” said Josep Jornet, a computer and electrical engineering professor at Northeastern University.

    One fix is to build giant radiator panels that glow in infrared light to push the heat “out into the dark void,” says Jornet, noting that the technology has worked on a small scale, including on the International Space Station. But for Musk’s data centers, he says, it would require an array of “massive, fragile structures that have never been built before.”

    Floating debris

    Then there is space junk.

    A single malfunctioning satellite breaking down or losing orbit could trigger a cascade of collisions, potentially disrupting emergency communications, weather forecasting and other services.

    Musk noted in a recent regulatory filing that he has had only one “low-velocity debris generating event” in seven years running Starlink, his satellite communications network. Starlink has operated about 10,000 satellites — but that’s a fraction of the million or so he now plans to put in space.

    “We could reach a tipping point where the chance of collision is going to be too great,” said University at Buffalo’s John Crassidis, a former NASA engineer. “And these objects are going fast — 17,500 miles per hour. There could be very violent collisions.”

    No repair crews

    Even without collisions, satellites fail, chips degrade, parts break.

    Special GPU graphics chips used by AI companies, for instance, can become damaged and need to be replaced.

    “On Earth, what you would do is send someone down to the data center,” said Baiju Bhatt, CEO of Aetherflux, a space-based solar energy company. “You replace the server, you replace the GPU, you’d do some surgery on that thing and you’d slide it back in.”

    But no such repair crew exists in orbit, and those GPUs in space could get damaged due to their exposure to high-energy particles from the sun.

    Bhatt says one workaround is to overprovision the satellite with extra chips to replace the ones that fail. But that’s an expensive proposition given they are likely to cost tens of thousands of dollars each, and current Starlink satellites only have a lifespan of about five years.

    Competition — and leverage

    Musk is not alone trying to solve these problems.

    A company in Redmond, Washington, called Starcloud, launched a satellite in November carrying a single Nvidia-made AI computer chip to test out how it would fare in space. Google is exploring orbital data centers in a venture it calls Project Suncatcher. And Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin announced plans in January for a constellation of more than 5,000 satellites to start launching late next year, though its focus has been more on communications than AI.

    Still, Musk has an edge: He’s got rockets.

    Starcloud had to use one of his Falcon rockets to put its chip in space last year. Aetherflux plans to send a set of chips it calls a Galactic Brain to space on a SpaceX rocket later this year. And Google may also need to turn to Musk to get its first two planned prototype satellites off the ground by early next year.

    Pierre Lionnet, a research director at the trade association Eurospace, says Musk routinely charges rivals far more than he charges himself —- as much as $20,000 per kilo of payload versus $2,000 internally.

    He said Musk’s announcements this week signal that he plans to use that advantage to win this new space race.

    “When he says we are going to put these data centers in space, it’s a way of telling the others we will keep these low launch costs for myself,” said Lionnet. “It’s a kind of powerplay.”

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  • Shaquille O’Neal Calls 2006 Miami Heat Title His Favorite, as Team Celebrates 20th Anniversary

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    MIAMI (AP) — Shaquille O’Neal played for four NBA championship teams. And now, 20 years after his last title, he has one that he can call his favorite.

    It was the one he got with the Miami Heat.

    The Heat brought back their 2006 title team for a two-day, 20th anniversary celebration this week, with a gala on Monday followed by an on-court event for fans to see at their home game against Atlanta on Tuesday. Most of the team was in attendance, including O’Neal — who offered what may be a mildly surprising assessment of that championship run.

    “I’m going to throw a word out there that’s probably going to shock the basketball world,” O’Neal said. “It’s my favorite one because we were not supposed to win and it was one that I was pressured to win. I needed to get it done before the other guy got his fourth.”

    “The other guy” that O’Neal was referring to was Kobe Bryant. He and Bryant won three titles together with the Los Angeles Lakers, then the relationship went south and the Lakers traded O’Neal to Miami in the summer of 2004.

    Bryant eventually got his fourth and fifth titles to pass O’Neal, and the two teammates-turned-rivals mended fences to a certain extent before Bryant — along with his daughter Gianna and seven others — died in a helicopter crash six years ago.

    But at that time, O’Neal felt a ton of pressure to get one without Bryant. And the Heat, in those days, were a bit of a powderkeg that found a way to buck the odds.

    “We were a bunch of misfits that used to argue and fight and do things very untraditionally,” said O’Neal, who estimated the Heat had about 40 internal fights that season and all of them blew over almost immediately. “But we never not got along and that’s what made it special.”

    That’s the way the 2006 Heat were wired, which is why O’Neal didn’t take it personally when Miami lost the first two games of that season’s finals to the Dallas Mavericks. O’Neal told the story Tuesday of how Gary Payton — a guard on that Miami team — cursed him out after Game 2, saying Dwyane Wade needed the ball more if the Heat were going to win the series.

    “I decided to ruffle some feathers,” Payton said, confirming that he went to coach Pat Riley and asked for changes, then told O’Neal it was time for Wade to carry the torch for the Heat.

    Wade dominated the next four games. Payton made a huge shot to help Miami win Game 3. The Heat won the title in six games. The fights led to a parade. It was all worthwhile.

    “We had a perfect eight-man rotation,” Riley said. “I apologize to numbers 9 through 15, but they used to whip (butt) every day in practice on these guys, I can tell you that. Made them better.”

    So, O’Neal’s last of his four titles was his favorite.

    And for Wade, the first of his three titles was his favorite.

    “I never won in high school, I didn’t win in college — I got to the Final Four. I was that guy that got close,” Wade said. “AAU, I got to the final four, I went to the championship, but I never won one. So, that was the first time in my life that I showed myself that I can actually lead a team to help win the championship because I didn’t know. And so, it would be my favorite because of that.”

    Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, an assistant under Riley on that 2006 team, said having most of the team back together for two days was a thrill. He, Riley, the ownership group led by managing general partner Micky Arison and CEO Nick Arison, executive vice president and general manager Andy Elisburg and a slew of other executives (including 2006 players Alonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem) and team officials are still in Miami — which Spoelstra thinks sets the Heat apart.

    “Other teams that have won championships, they try to bring back a group (and) it’s probably a different ownership group, different management, different coaching staff, a lot of different things,” Spoelstra said. “But this, it just brings you back. It’s like an instant time machine. It was an amazing run and it kind of put our franchise on a different kind of map in this league.”

    Coaches, executives and all but three of the players from that 2006 team were introduced at halftime for an on-court ceremony Tuesday, all wearing custom jackets to celebrate that championship.

    “This will forever be everyone’s favorite because it was the first one and this is the one that really set whatever standard that we’re still living by here,” Wade said. “This set the standard of that because without this championship, (there) ain’t no culture. And so, that’s how we can even stand on ‘Heat Culture’ and the words that we say because of the championship that was brought here in ’06.”

    And O’Neal, ever the jokester, paid off a 20-year bet with Wade and Haslem. He said he would get them Bentleys if the Heat won that title. He presented them with the Bentleys at halftime Tuesday — toy versions, but Bentleys nonetheless.

    “Are you not entertained?” O’Neal asked, as the crowd roared.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Complaint Accuses Gabbard of Playing Politics With Intelligence, Which Spy Agency Rejects

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — A complaint made about Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard months ago relates to an allegation that she withheld access to classified information for political reasons, according to a memo sent to lawmakers by the inspector general’s office and obtained by The Associated Press.

    That allegation in the complaint filed in May appeared to not be credible, according to the former watchdog for the intelligence community that initially reviewed it. It has become a flashpoint for Gabbard’s critics, who accuse her of withholding information from members of Congress tasked with providing oversight of the intelligence services.

    Copies of the top-secret complaint are being hand-delivered this week to the “Gang of Eight” lawmakers — a group comprised of the House and Senate leaders from both parties as well as the top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate intelligence committees.

    Gabbard’s office has denied the allegations and disputed that it withheld the complaint, saying the delay in getting it to lawmakers was due to an extensive legal review necessitated by the complaint’s many classified details, as well as last year’s government shutdown.

    Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia told reporters that he had not seen the complaint as of Tuesday but that he expected to see it within a couple days, following what he called a protracted effort by lawmakers from both parties to pressure Gabbard to send the report as required by law.

    “It took the Gang of Eight six months of negotiation with the director of national intelligence to share that whistleblower complaint,” Warner said. “This is in direct contradiction to what Gabbard testified during her confirmation hearings — that she would protect whistleblowers and share the information of timely matter.”

    The author of the complaint, in a second allegation, accused Gabbard’s office of general counsel of failing to report a potential crime to the Department of Justice. The IG’s memo, which contains redactions, does not offer further details of either allegation.

    In June, then-inspector general Tamara Johnson found that the claim Gabbard distributed classified information along political lines did not appear to be credible, according to the current watchdog, Christopher Fox, in the memo to lawmakers. Johnson was “unable to assess the apparent credibility” of the accusation about the general counsel’s office, Fox wrote.

    Federal law allows whistleblowers in the intelligence services to refer their complaints to the Gang of Eight lawmakers even if they have been found non-credible, as long as their complaint is determined to raise urgent concerns.

    In his memo, Fox wrote that he would have deemed the complaint non-urgent, meaning it never would have been referred to lawmakers.

    “If the same or similar matter came before me today, I would likely determine that the allegations do not meet the statutory definition of “’urgent concern,’” Fox wrote.

    Andrew Bakaj, attorney for the person who made the complaint, said Monday that while he cannot discuss the details of the report, there is no justification for keeping it from Congress since last spring.

    The referral of the complaint to lawmakers isn’t simple because it contains classified details that necessitate it being hand-delivered, resulting in a process that is likely to take a few days.

    The inspector general’s office confirmed that some lawmakers and their staff were allowed to read copies of the complaint on Monday. Representatives for the inspector general plan to meet with the remaining lawmakers who had not seen it on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the office said.

    Gabbard coordinates the work of the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies. She has recently drawn attention for another matter — appearing on site last week when the FBI served a search warrant on election offices in Georgia that are central to Trump’s disproven claims about fraud in the 2020 election.

    That unusual role for a spy chief raised additional questions from Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees.

    Gabbard said Trump asked her to be present at the search. She defended her role in a letter to lawmakers, arguing that she regularly works with the FBI and is authorized to investigate any threat to election security.

    Warner said Tuesday that he doesn’t accept Gabbard’s explanation and that her actions are eroding longstanding barriers separating intelligence work from domestic law enforcement. He said he wants Gabbard to address his questions before the Senate Intelligence Committee soon.

    “The director of national intelligence does not conduct criminal investigations,” Warner said. “She has no role in executing search warrants. And she does not belong on the scene of a domestic FBI search.”

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • US Announces Military Team Sent to Nigeria After Recent Attacks

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    LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The U.S. has dispatched a small team of military officers to Nigeria, the general in charge of U.S. Africa Command told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday.

    General Dagvin R.M. Anderson said the move followed his meeting with Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, in Rome late last year.

    “That has led to increased collaboration between our nations, to include a small U.S. team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years,” Anderson said.

    It is unclear when the team arrived in Nigeria.

    The military officers are the latest step since the U.S launched airstrikes against a group affiliated with the Islamic State last year on Dec. 25.

    Nigeria has been in the diplomatic crosshairs of the U.S. following threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to attack the country, alleging the West African nation is not doing enough to protect its Christian citizens. Following the allegations, the West African country was designated as a Country of Particular Concern, a congressional designation in the U.S. for countries responsible for religious oppression.

    The diplomatic dispute has led to increased military cooperation between the two countries. The terms of the cooperation have been unclear. The U.S has supplied Nigeria with military equipment and carried out reconnaissance missions across Nigeria.

    Nigeria has been battling several armed groups across the country. The groups include Islamist sects like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Nevada Fake Elector Case Resumes With Debate Over Intent Behind 2020 Pro-Trump Ceremony

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    The criminal case against Nevada’s six so-called “fake electors,” who tried to falsely award the state’s 2020 electoral votes to President Donald Trump, returned to Clark County on Monday after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled it was a proper jurisdiction to hear the case.

    During Monday’s hearing, lawyers for the fake electors challenged the legality of the two charges facing their clients: offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument. Although no ruling was issued, Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus was skeptical of the prosecution’s arguments for the second charge because it requires an “intent to defraud.”

    Holthus called that intent “impossible” to prove.

    “They’re not really thinking that they’re going to pull one over, that … ‘we’re going to sign this document and make everybody think that Trump was elected when he wasn’t elected,’” Holthus said. “That’s my real battle. It’s almost nonsensical to me that they would have done that, prepared it and filed it with the intent to fraud. I don’t know how it would ever get there.”

    State prosecutors had previously argued there was an intent to defraud because the documents were sent to the state’s top federal judge, secretary of state’s office, vice president and National Archives.

    Holthus requested that prosecutors prepare a brief by early March with evidence on the electors’ intent to defraud. The next hearing is scheduled for April 10.

    The hearing came more than five years after the six Republican electors convened an illegitimate ceremony in Carson City, where they purported to be the state’s true electors and signed documents awarding the Silver State’s votes to Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence, even though Joe Biden had won the popular vote in Nevada, and Biden electors, who are legally bound to cast a ballot for the candidate who garnered the most votes, held a separate, legitimate ceremony.

    The Republican electors included Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, Nevada GOP Vice Chair Jim Hindle and Republican National Committeeman Jim DeGraffenreid. The other three defendants are then-Clark County GOP Chairman Jesse Law, Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice.

    Fake elector cases are slowly continuing in other states, where prosecutors have faced myriad hurdles, including case dismissals. States still seeking convictions for the GOP electors include Arizona and Wisconsin.

    Holthus had dismissed the case in 2024 on the grounds that Clark County was the incorrect venue to consider the case, but the state’s Supreme Court overturned the decision in November. A jury in Clark County is likely to be less favorable to the electors than redder rural areas.

    In the event the high court had ruled against the state, prosecutors brought forward a winnowed down case in Carson City. State law allows two prosecutions to be ongoing at the same time, as long as a jury has not been impaneled.

    Monday’s hearing centered around an element of the case that was unresolved when Holthus first dismissed it. Lawyers for the fake electors had argued that prosecutors had provided incomplete evidence to a Clark County grand jury and that the actions in question do not relate to the charges facing their clients.

    Attorneys for the fake electors said the document in question was not false, but rather “a genuine document that contains false information.”

    “There’s no evidence that defendants were doing anything other than exercising their First Amendment rights to preserve their future First Amendment rights to petition the government and challenge the results of that election,” Maggie McLetchie, the lawyer for Jesse Law, testified during the hearing.

    Prosecutors disagreed, arguing the document was false because it contained knowingly false information.

    “They wanted those documents to be considered, because those documents themselves were forged documents,” Alissa Engler, a prosecutor for the state, argued during the hearing.

    The other element of the arguments centered around evidence provided to a Clark County grand jury, which was responsible for bringing forward the charges in 2023.

    The electors’ lawyers had argued that prosecutors failed to demonstrate to the grand jury that the intent behind the signing ceremony was to prepare for the possibility that future legal challenges would overturn Nevada’s election results. The Nevada Supreme Court had rejected electoral challenges before the signing ceremony occurred, but an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was still possible (though it never materialized).

    Defendants’ lawyers also later accused the state of not showing the grand jury certain correspondence from Kenneth Chesebro, the architect of the fake elector plot and a key witness, that it said would exonerate certain defendants.

    This story was originally published by The Nevada Independent and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Russia bombards Ukraine with drones and missiles a day before planned peace talks

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    KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia carried out a major attack on Ukraine overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, a day before representatives of the two countries were due to attend U.S.-brokered talks on ending the 4-year-old all-out war.

    At least 10 people were wounded in a bombardment of at least five regions of Ukraine that comprised 450 long-range drones and 70 missiles, including a record number of 32 ballistic missiles. It specifically took aim at the power grid, Zelenskyy said, as part of what Ukraine says is Moscow’s ongoing campaign to deny civilians light, heating and running water during the coldest winter in years.

    “Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said. Temperatures in Kyiv fell to minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit) during the night and stood at minus 16 C (minus 3 F) on Tuesday.

    NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv in a show of support. Zelenskyy met him and urged allies to send more air defense supplies and bring “maximum pressure” to bear on Russia to end its full-scale invasion.

    Officials have described recent talks between Moscow and Kyiv delegations as constructive. But after a year of efforts, the Trump administration is still searching for a breakthrough on key issues such as who keeps the Ukrainian land that Russia’s army has occupied, and a comprehensive settlement appears distant. The Abu Dhabi talks are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

    NATO show of support

    Rutte addressed the Ukrainian parliament during his visit and said that countries in the military alliance “are ready to provide support quickly and consistently” as peace efforts drag on.

    Since last summer, NATO members have provided 75% of all missiles supplied to the front, and 90% of those used for Ukraine’s air defense, he said.

    European countries, fearing Moscow’s ambitions, see their own future security as being on the line in Ukraine.

    “Be assured that NATO stands with Ukraine and is ready to do so for years to come,” Rutte said. “Your security is our security. Your peace is our peace. And it must be lasting.”

    Power grid attacks

    A Kremlin official said last week that Russia had agreed to halt strikes on Kyiv for a week until Feb. 1 because of the frigid temperatures, following a personal request from U.S. President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the bitter cold is continuing and so are Russia’s aerial attacks.

    Ukrains says Russia has tried to wear down Ukrainians’ appetite for the fight by creating hardship for the civilian population living in dark, freezing homes.

    It has tried to wreck Ukraine’s electricity network, targeting substations, transformers, turbines and generators at power plants. Ukraine’s largest private power company, DTEK, said that the overnight attack hit its thermal power plants in the ninth major assault since October.

    In Kyiv, officials said that five people were wounded in the strikes that damaged and set fire to residential buildings, a kindergarten and a gas station in various parts of the capital, according to the State Emergency Service.

    By early morning, 1,170 apartment buildings in the capital were without heating, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. That set back desperate repair operations that had restored power to all but 80 apartment buildings, he said.

    Russia also struck Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, where injuries were reported, and the southern Odesa region.

    The attack also damaged the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, at the foot of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv, Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna said.

    “It is symbolic and cynical at the same time: The aggressor state strikes a place of memory about the fight against aggression in the 20th century, repeating crimes in the 21st,” Berezhna said.

    ___

    Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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  • Speedskater Erin Jackson, Bobsledder Frank Del Duca Picked as US Flagbearers for Winter Olympics

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Speedskater Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca have been chosen as the U.S. flagbearers for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.

    Jackson, 33, is the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal at a Winter Games. Del Duca, a 34-year-old Army sergeant, is the first bobsledder in 70 years to carry the flag into an opening ceremony.

    The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced the names on Tuesday. It’s the third Olympics for Jackson, the second for Del Duca.

    “Being chosen to represent the United States on the world stage is a tremendous honor,” Jackson said. “It’s a moment that reflects far more than one individual — it represents my family, my teammates, my hometown, and everyone across the country who believes in the power of sport. The Olympics remind us of the power of sport to connect and inspire, and I’m proud to carry that forward on the Olympic stage.”

    Del Duca, with deep Italian roots, finds the opportunity especially meaningful as the games are in Italy. The opening ceremony will be unique, with events spread across several Italian cities.

    U.S. bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor was picked to carry the American flag into the opening ceremony at the 2022 Beijing Olympics but tested positive for COVID-19 — forcing the postponement of her flag-carrying chance until the closing ceremony of those Winter Games. She was replaced at the Beijing opening by speedskater Brittany Bowe, and this time, it’s Jackson’s turn to have that moment.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Disney parks chief D’Amaro named to succeed Bob Iger as CEO

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    FLORIDA — Disney has named its parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as the entertainment giant’s top executive.

    What You Need To Know

    • Disney has named its parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as the entertainment giant’s top executive

    • D’Amaro has been Disney Experiences Chairman, spearheading efforts for the company’s theme parks, cruises and resorts

    • The decision on the next chief executive at Disney comes almost four years after the company’s choice to replace Iger went badly, forcing Iger back into the job

    D’Amaro has been Disney Experiences Chairman, spearheading efforts for the company’s theme parks, cruises, and resorts.

    The decision on the next chief executive at Disney comes almost four years after the company’s choice to replace Iger went badly, forcing Iger back into the job.

    Only two years after stepping down as CEO, Iger returned to Disney in 2022 after a period of clashes, missteps, and a weakening financial performance under his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek.

    Chapek had been viewed by many as too gruff and buttoned up, focusing intently on business and not taking enough care with the creative and imaginative elements that have helped Disney flourish over decades.

    Iger, for his part, strengthened the Disney brand through his acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, oversaw the expansion of the company in China and India, and had a laser-like focus on technology that both made the Disney product better and more accessible. Iger, at the same time, is approachable, media savvy, and has deftly managed a company that is like no other.

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  • Jazz sending ex-Florida, UCF stars to Grizzlies in blockbuster deal for All-Star

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    All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. has been traded to the Utah Jazz in what will be an eight-player, multiple-pick deal with the Grizzlies that results in former Florida Gator and 2025 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Walter Clayton Jr. and former UCF forward Taylor Hendricks also heading to Memphis.

    Utah is also sending Georges Niang and Kyle Anderson and three future first-round picks to the Grizzlies.

    Jackson, Jock Landale, John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. will be going to Utah with Jackson Jr.

    In the offseason, Memphis previously had traded guard Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for multiple draft picks and a pick swap. He apparently was the first shoe to drop.

    Memphis has been engaged in talks about trading star guard Ja Morant as well. For now, the Grizzlies decided to part with Jackson, a former defensive player of the year.

    Jackson averaged 19.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season for Memphis, the team that drafted him No. 4 overall in 2018. He was a two-time All-Star for the Grizzlies, the 2023 defensive player of the year, a two-time blocked shot champion and a three-time all-defensive team pick.

    Of the four Utah players moving to Memphis in the deal, none averaged more than 7.1 points per game this season. Niang has yet to play because of injury; he was with the Atlanta Hawks last season, got traded to the Boston Celtics in July and then sent to Utah in August.

    Clayton Jr. was selected No. 18 overall by the Jazz in the 2025 NBA Draft. Hendricks, picked No. 9 overall in the 2023 draft, was in his third season with the Jazz, but he missed all but three games last season after fracturing his right fibula and dislocating his ankle.

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  • Where Is Evo Morales? Bolivia’s Ex-Leader Vanishes From Public View for Nearly a Month

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    LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The nearly monthlong disappearance from public view of Bolivia’s towering socialist icon, ex-leader Evo Morales, shortly after the Jan. 3 U.S. seizure of former Venezuelan president and his close ally Nicolás Maduro, is alarming his supporters, roiling his enemies and galvanizing the internet.

    On Monday, he missed a ceremony that he typically attends welcoming students back from summer break. On Sunday, Morales was a no-show for the fourth straight weekly broadcast of his political radio show, which he has hosted without interruption for years.

    Since early January, he has skipped scheduled meetings with members of his coca-leaf growing union in Bolivia’s remote Chapare region and his daily stream of social media content has all but dried up.

    Although Morales has spent the past year evading an arrest warrant on charges of human trafficking, his fugitive status hasn’t stopped the firebrand union leader from speaking at rallies, receiving supporters, giving interviews, posting on X — or even running an unconventional presidential campaign last year — all from his political stronghold in the Chapare. Morales rejects the statutory rape allegations as politically motivated.

    The question of Morales’ whereabouts has set off furious speculation as the Trump administration increasingly imposes its political will in South America through sanctions, punitive tariffs, electoral endorsements, financial bailouts and military action.


    Explanations range from dengue to exile

    Morales’ close associates have privately declined to provide an explanation for his absences while publicly telling supporters that the former president has been recovering from dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral illness with symptoms that typically last no longer than a week.

    “We have asked our brother Evo Morales to rest completely,” said Dieter Mendoza, vice president of an body of farmers known as the Six Federations that runs the coca-leaf trade in the tropics, declining to elaborate.

    For Morales’ rivals, the mystery has stirred resentful memories of 2019, when he resigned under pressure from the military after his disputed bid for an unconstitutional third term provoked mass protests. Morales fled to Mexico then took refuge in Argentina, only to return home when Luis Arce, his former finance minister, took the presidency in 2020.

    “Evo Morales is in Mexico,” declared right-wing lawmaker Edgar Zegarra, offering no evidence but demanding that the government prove otherwise. “He has not appeared, not even at political events, and they don’t know how to justify it.”

    Security officials within Bolivia’s first conservative government following almost 20 years of dominance by Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party, have been cryptic.

    “The former president has not left Bolivia,” said Police Commander Gen. General Mirko Sokol, “at least not through any official channels.”

    WhatsApp messages and calls to Morales went unanswered Monday.


    Morales withdraws as Bolivia veers to the right

    In the last two years, right-wing would-be saviors have come to power in countries wracked by economic crisis like Argentina and consumed by fears of violent crime like Chile. Costa Rica ‘s election of a right-wing populist Monday reinforced the trend.

    Like Maduro and his mentor and predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez, Morales was openly hostile to the United States and cozied up to its political foes during his 14 years as Bolivia’s first Indigenous president from 2006 to 2019.

    In 2008, Morales expelled the U.S. ambassador and counternarcotics officials for allegedly conspiring against his government. Russia poured money into Bolivia’s energy and lithium mining sectors. Chinese companies won contracts to build highways and dams. Iran offered the country its drone technology.

    Now Paz is trying to reverse the political direction. His government has scrapped visa requirements for American tourists, held talks with U.S. officials on securing loans to help Bolivia’s flailing economy and paved the way for the return of the Drug Enforcement Agency for the first time in almost two decades to Bolivia, a regional cocaine-trafficking hub.

    The prospect of the DEA’s return has rattled the Bolivian tropics still scarred from an aggressive U.S.-backed war on drugs in the late 1990s that forced coca farmers to eradicate their crops. The plant is the raw material of cocaine but it also holds deep cultural and spiritual significance in the country.

    Coca farmers in the Chapare say they haven’t seen Morales since Jan. 8, when they also noticed a Super Puma helicopter make a rare overflight of the region and panicked over a suspected operation to seize their leader. Deputy Social Defense Minister, Ernesto Justiniano, later clarified the flight was a data collection operation in cooperation with various foreign agencies, including the DEA.

    “State surveillance should not be a threat to anyone,” he said.


    Government critics join the frenzy

    Now, they’re seizing on uncertainty surrounding Morales’ whereabouts to ratchet up the pressure on Paz.

    “He’s playing hide-and-seek, he’s making a mockery of the state,” Quiroga said of Morales. “The country cannot speak of legal security when an arrest warrant is not executed.”

    But unlike Arce, Morales retains a strong base of support. Loyalists protecting him from arrest have vowed to resist with guerrilla tactics if security forces invade the Chapare.

    Morales could appear publicly at any time and quash all the speculation about his status. But for now his inner circle appears content to leave things a mystery.

    “Our brother president is doing very well,” said Leonardo Loza, a former senator and close friend of Morales. “He is in a corner of our greater homeland.”

    DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • FACT FOCUS: Images of NYC Mayor With Jeffrey Epstein Are AI-Generated. Here’s How We Know

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    Multiple AI-generated photos falsely claiming to show New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a child and his mother, filmmaker Mira Nair, with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and his confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, along with other high-profile public figures, were shared widely on social media Monday.

    The images originated on an X account labeled as parody after a huge tranche of new Epstein files was released by the Justice Department on Friday. They are clearly watermarked as AI and other elements they contain do not add up.

    Here’s a closer look at the facts.

    CLAIM: Images show Mamdani as a child and his mother with Jeffrey Epstein and other public figures linked to the disgraced financier.

    THE FACTS: The images were created with artificial intelligence. They all contain a digital watermark identifying them as such and first appeared on a parody X account that says it creates “high quality AI videos and memes.”

    In one of the images, Mamdani and Nair appear in the front of a group photo with Maxwell, Epstein, former President Bill Clinton, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. They seem to be posing at night on a crowded city street. Mamdani looks to be a preteen or young teenager.

    Another supposedly shows the same group of people, minus Nair, in what appears to be a tropical setting. Epstein is pictured holding Clinton sitting in his arms, while Maxwell has her arm around Mamdani, who appears slightly younger.

    Other AI-generated images circulating online depict Mamdani as a baby being held by Nair while she poses with Epstein, Clinton, Maxwell and Bezos. None of Epstein’s victims have publicly accused Clinton, Gates or Bezos of being involved in his crimes.

    Google’s Gemini app detected SynthID, a digital watermarking tool for identifying content that has been generated or altered with AI, in all the images described above. This means they were created or edited, either entirely or in part, by Google’s AI models.

    The X account that first posted the images describes itself as “an AI-powered meme engine” that uses “AI to create memes, songs, stories, and visuals that call things exactly how they are — fast, loud, and impossible to ignore.”

    An inquiry sent to the account went unanswered. However, a post by the account seems to acknowledge that it created the images.

    “Damn you guys failed,” it reads. “I purposely made him a baby which would technically make this pic 34 years old. Yikes.”

    The photos began circulating after an email emerged in which a publicist, Peggy Siegal, wrote to Epstein about seeing a variety of luminaries, including Clinton, Bezos and Nair, an award-winning Indian filmmaker, at 2009 afterparty for a film held at Maxwell’s townhouse.

    While Mamdani appears as a baby or young child in all of the images, he was 18 in 2009, when Nair is said to have attended the party.

    The images have led to related falsehoods that have spread online in their wake. For example, one claims that Epstein is Mamdani’s father. This is not true — Mamdani’s father is Mahmood Mamdani, an anthropology professor at Columbia University.

    The NYC Mayor’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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