President Trump honored two storied military veterans during his State of the Union address, including 100-year-old veteran Royce Williams of Escondido, who survived what is believed to be the longest dog fight in military history.
The former Navy fighter pilot, who was seated next to First Lady Melania Trump in the Capitol during the president’s address Tuesday night, flew more than 220 missions in World War II as well as the wars in Korea and Vietnam.
Trump called Williams “a living legend” before describing his war-time heroics.
“In the skies over Korea in 1952, Royce was in the dogfight of a lifetime, a legendary dogfight,” Trump said. “Flying through blizzard conditions, his squadron was ambushed by seven Soviet fighter planes.”
Despite being outnumbered, Williams took down four of the jet fighters as his plane was hit more than 260 times and he was severely injured.
The incident was kept confidential because the Soviet Union was not officially a combatant in the Korean conflict, and American officials feared that if the air battle became known, it could compel the Soviets to formally enter the war.
Williams didn’t speak about the details of the encounter — even with family members — until records about the dogfight were declassified in 2002.
“His story was secret for over 50 years. He didn’t even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew,” Trump said. “Tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”
Trump then announced that Williams would receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. Melania Trump placed the blue-ribboned medal around his neck.
Williams was the guest of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall), a fellow veteran.
“My friend, constituent, and lifelong hero Royce Williams is a Top Gun pilot like no other, an American hero for all time, and now, a recipient of the highest honor in the land,” Issa said in a statement. “It was many years in the making, but it is my honor to have fought all these years for Royce to gain a recognition that he has not sought, but so richly deserves.”
Trump also announced that the Medal of Honor would be awarded to Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, an Army helicopter pilot who was gravely wounded in the 2026 raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“While preparing to land, enemy machine guns fired from every angle, and Eric was hit very badly in the leg and hip. One bullet after another, he observed four agonizing shots shredding his leg into numerous pieces,” Trump said.
Despite the gunshot wounds to his legs, with blood flowing through the helicopter he was piloting, “Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat, turn the helicopter around so the gunners could take care of business, saving the lives of his fellow warriors from what could have been a catastrophic crash deep in enemy territory,” Trump said.
Trump added, “Chief Warrant Officer Slover is still recovering from his serious wounds, but I’m thrilled to say that he is here tonight with his wife, Amy. Eric and Amy, come on in.”
Slover, with the aid of a walker, entered the gallery. “In recognition of Eric’s actions above and beyond the call of duty,” Trump said, “I would now like to ask Gen. Jonathan Braga to present Chief Warrant Officer Slover with our nation’s highest military award.”
Trump added that he too hopes to one day receive a Medal of Honor.
“But I was informed I’m not allowed to give it to myself,” Trump said. “But if they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday.”
Long before he had a $15-million bounty on his head as the leader of Mexico’s ruthless Jalisco New Generation cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes was a scruffy-haired kid trying to eke out a living on the streets of San Francisco.
He crossed the border illegally sometime before he turned 20, making the migrant’s journey north from the avocado and lime orchards that surround his family’s small town in the state of Michoacán. He was picked up first on meth charges on May 14, 1986, according to news reports and a San Francisco police booking photo, which shows him in a blue hoodie scowling into the camera. He was arrested twice more, finally for selling $9,500 worth of heroin to two undercover officers at a bar in 1992.
He went to prison, got deported and, despite his record, became a local police officer back home.
So began the criminal career of one of the most infamous figures in the world of international drug trafficking. It ended in spectacular and violent fashion Sunday, with Mexican authorities announcing that the kingpin nicknamed “El Mencho” had been killed in a shootout with government forces in Jalisco, the state his group, known as the CJNG, has long dominated.
The killing unleashed shock waves of violence across the swaths of Mexico where the CJNG holds sway. Flights into some Jalisco airports were grounded and cartel gunmen blockaded highways by setting fire to vehicles in 20 states, according to Mexican authorities. The country’s top security official said 25 members of the National Guard were killed Sunday in reprisal attacks. President Claudia Sheinbaum called on the public to remain calm and maintained that most territory in the country was in a state of “complete normality.”
The discord between the president’s remarks and the images circulating on social media of torched cars billowing dark plumes of smoke — along with swirling rumors over the degree of U.S. involvement in the operation — has added a murky coda to Oseguera’s violent and tumultuous life. He rose from small-time California drug peddler to the head of an organized crime group with tentacles that stretch around the globe, an ascension that tracks with the broader evolution of Mexico’s cartels.
Oseguera, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, is shown with his son Ruben Oseguera Gonzalez, known as El Menchito, in an evidence photo used by federal prosecutors.
(U.S. District Court)
Once almost solely dedicated to moving illicit substances to meet the demand of American consumers, the groups have diversified their business to include human smuggling, extortion, fuel theft and even, according to recent U.S. Treasury Department filings against the CJNG, a timeshare fraud scheme that targeted tourists in Puerto Vallarta.
The narco-blockades that have upended life in parts of Mexico since Sunday also reflect the CJNG’s fearsome power as a paramilitary organization. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimated in 2023 that the cartel employs nearly 20,000 “members, associates, facilitators and brokers” in various countries. Cells in Mexico are armed to the teeth with military-grade weaponry, including drones that drop explosives, improvised land mines and .50-caliber rifles that fire carrot-sized armor-piercing bullets. The Trump administration designated the CJNG as a terrorist group last year, escalating the pressure that U.S. officials have long exerted on Mexican authorities to dismantle the group and take out its founder.
Although experts said his death was a major blow to the CJNG, they also cautioned that Oseguera’s creation has metastasized beyond the point where decapitating the primary head will cause the hydra-like infrastructure to collapse.
Paul Craine, the former head of the DEA in Mexico, said Oseguera pioneered a sort of franchise system, where local criminal groups are co-opted and allowed to fly the CJNG banner — as long as they pay tribute.
With various factions controlled by key lieutenants, some of them close relatives, Oseguera’s moniker has been invoked to instill terror and keep subordinates in line, Craine said. The group — accused of assassinating politicians, journalists, environmental activists, police officers and anyone else who dares stand in their way — has frequently issued menacing communiques, usually delivered by masked gunmen who say they are speaking on behalf of El Mencho.
“Mencho’s name and Mencho’s aura carried a lot of legend, it sowed fear,” Craine said. “He was the end-all, be-all figurehead.”
Oseguera’s connections to California extend beyond his early days in the Bay Area. The DEA’s office in Los Angeles has led the agency’s case against him and his close relatives, and the family’s ties to the region have spilled out in court filings.
In 2024, federal authorities arrested a suspected high-ranking cartel member who was accused of faking his death and hiding out in Riverside, where he enjoyed a life of luxury. Authorities said Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa began working for the CJNG around 2014, and later married El Mencho’s youngest daughter, identified in court records as a U.S. citizen who owns a coffee shop in Riverside. Gutierrez-Ochoa pleaded guilty last year to money laundering conspiracy charges and was sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.
It’s unclear exactly when Oseguera left his job as a local police officer and continued his life of crime, but at some point in the 1990s, Mexican authorities have said he began working as an enforcer for Los Cuinis and what was then known as the Milenio cartel. He gained a reputation for his love of cockfights, also calling himself “El Señor de Los Gallos” — the lord of the roosters.
Pedestrians walk past a bus burned on the highway in Cointzio, Michoacán, on Sunday after Mexico’s president announced the death of Oseguera.
(Armando Solis / Associated Press)
A former cartel associate, Margarito “Jay” Flores, who grew up in Chicago and, along with his twin brother, Pedro, became a high-level trafficker moving large drug shipments from Mexico, recalled his first encounter with El Mencho in 2007 in Puerto Vallarta. Flores, who eventually left the cartel life and has since cooperated extensively with U.S. authorities, told The Times that he and his brother, along with their wives, were detained by Mexican federal police officers after a night out partying.
Flores said he dropped the names of several top capos trying to secure his release, but it wasn’t until he mentioned knowing El Mencho that his captors showed any reaction.
“When I said that name, all their eyes lit up,” Flores said.
Flores said that after a series of phone calls, El Mencho and a large contingent of cartel gunmen arrived and ordered the Mexican authorities to release their captives. Oseguera was small — standing barely 5 feet 6 with “the build of a jockey,” Flores said, but “confident and fearless.”
In a brief standoff with Mexican law enforcement, Flores said, Oseguera had told the chief Mexican official: “We’re all going to do this the right way, or we’re all going to die.”
The twins were released, and Oseguera sent them on their way with a convoy of sicarios — hitmen — for safekeeping. At that time he was only a local chieftain, but Flores said was not surprised that Oseguera later went on to form his own cartel.
“He ruled with violence and fear,” Flores said. “He didn’t just want to be the boss, he wanted the world to know he was the boss.”
Times staff writers Kate Linthicum and Patrick McDonnell contributed to this report.
One cannot deny the value that the young Shingi Male has provided us with over the past two years in terms of some incredible sightings. Although sightings of him and his mother have become less frequent, he still roams safely within her territory.
The impressive size of the Shingi Male next to his mother
The last surviving cub of a litter of three, he is on the cusp of independence.
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Londolozi’s most viewed leopard and prolific mother. This gorgeous female has raised multiple cubs to independence.
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Young leopards are often agile, enthusiastic and playful, frequently running to climb trees and termite mounds as they navigate their environment, and the Shingi Male is no exception.
The enthusiastic change of direction as the Shingi Male quickly climbed this marula tree
One afternoon, after unsuccessfully trying to find his mother, the Nkoveni Female, another vehicle found the Shingi Male not too far away, lying in a marula tree. My guests and I had been hoping throughout their stay to capture a sighting of a leopard in a tree, and this seemed like it might be our moment.
Unfortunately, it was not. As we made our way there, we could see him resting in the tree from a distance, but just as we came into full view, he descended into the long grass below. A minor moment of disappointment as the sun began to set, we realised we had missed the opportunity.
We continued to follow him as the sky shifted from yellow and orange hues to soft pinks and blues. Suddenly, he ran off, stopped abruptly, and leapt into the long grass. Two Harlequin Quails (small ground birds) flushed as he pounced in their direction. It seemed that his rest in the tree had given him renewed energy, as he continued to hunt several of these birds—unsuccessfully, but very entertaining to watch.
With the grasses being lush and long this time of year, the leopards can stalk effectively by getting down low.
As the light continued to fade, he walked through the clearings ahead of us. A fallen marula tree in the distance appeared to guide his path, and with the long grass surrounding him, we looped ahead and waited. Soon, we were delighted as he came bounding onto the fallen marula tree.
He then continued to climb way up to the upper reaches of this tree.
He climbed way up to the upper parts of this fallen Marula and appeared to have picked up the scent of something.
As we watched him, something incredible was brewing behind us, and with that we spun around, and to be honest, I could not quite believe my eyes…
It looks almost too good to be true, but with all the moisture and clouds around this time of year and the glimmers of the fading sun, this is a sighting I will always remember.
He then rubbed his face on the end of the branch before turning back and climbing back down.
Combing his whiskers on the branch beneath him, he then spun around and climbed down the marula tree.
He walked through the long grass once more before settling on a termite mound, scanning the nearby herd of impala as the last of the sun set faded behind him. We left him here and journeyed home with an exceptionally memorable moment that we were fortunate enough to share together.
The last light of a spectacular afternoon spent with this young male leopard.
All the celebrities who showed up at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Well, Hannah Percy, can you believe you’re here? No, I can’t believe it at all. What’s the most surreal thing that’s happened so far? Meeting Snoop Dogg. Yeah, that was pretty surreal. That was very surreal. What was that like for you? Uh, I’ve never met *** celebrity before, so definitely *** unique experience. Like he’s just *** regular guy, but like he’s famous. But yeah, he was as cool as I’ve ever imagined, and there’s so much like attention on you guys when you get here too. Is that *** little different? Yeah, I’ve never had this many people like wanna video me ever in my life, so many cameras. What does it feel like that something has such *** big goal is actually happening? I can’t believe I’m reaching this humongous goal in my life at only 18. I, I feel like I’m like the youngest person on the bordercross team here, and so it’s just, it’s very surreal, and I don’t even, I haven’t even taken time to process how I’m feeling yet. I think you’re having *** good time. I’m definitely having *** good time. I will remember this forever.
All the celebrities who showed up at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Jesse Jackson’s life was defined by *** relentless fight for justice and equality. I was born in Greenville, South Carolina, uh, in rampant radical racial segregation. Had to be taught to go to the back of the bus or be arrested. In 1965, he began working for Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. I learned so much from him, such *** great source of inspiration. Both men were in Memphis in April 1968 to support striking sanitation workers. King and other civil rights leaders were staying at the Lorraine Motel. He said, Jesse, you know, you don’t even have on *** shirt and tie. You don’t even have on *** tie. We’re going to dinner. I said, Doc, you know it does not require *** tie. Just an appetite and we laughed. I said, Doc, and the bullet hit. With King gone, his movement was adrift. Years later, Jackson formed Operation Push, pressuring businesses to open up to black workers and customers and adding more focus on black responsibility, championed in the 1972 concert Watt Stacks. Watts. The Reverend set his sights on the White House in 1984. 1st thought of as *** marginal candidate, Jackson finished third in the primary race with 18% of the vote. He ran again in 1988, doubling his vote count and finishing in 2nd in the Democratic race. At the time, it was the farthest any black candidate had gone in *** presidential contest. But 20 years later when President Barack ran, we were laying the groundwork for that season. In 2017, Jackson had *** new battle to fight, Parkinson’s disease, but it did. It stop him. Late in life, he was still fighting. He was arrested in Washington while demonstrating for voting rights. His silent presence at the trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers prompted defense lawyers to ask that he leave the courtroom. Jackson stayed from the Jim Crow South through the turbulent 60s and into the Black Lives Matter movement. Jesse Jackson was *** constant, unyielding voice for justice.
Children of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson honor his legacy as memorial services set for next week
From jokes about his well-known stubbornness to tears grieving the loss of a parent, the adult children of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. gave an emotional tribute Wednesday honoring the legacy of the late civil rights icon, a day after his death.Jackson died Tuesday at his home in Chicago after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his ability to move and speak. Standing on the steps outside his longtime Chicago home, five of his children, including U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, remembered him not only for his decades-long work in civil rights but also for his role as spiritual leader and father.“Our father is a man who dedicated his life to public service to gain, protect and defend civil rights and human rights to make our nation better, to make the world more just, our people better neighbors with each other,” said his youngest son, Yusef Jackson, fighting back tears at times.Memorial services were set for next week, with two days of him lying in repose at the Chicago headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization he founded. A public memorial dubbed “The People’s Celebration” was planned for Feb. 27 at the House of Hope, a South Side church with a 10,000-person arena. Homegoing services were set for the following day at Rainbow PUSH, according to the organization.Jackson rose to prominence six decades ago as a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., joining the voting rights march King led from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. King later dispatched Jackson to Chicago to launch Operation Breadbasket, a Southern Christian Leadership Conference effort to pressure companies to hire Black workers.Jackson was with King on April 4, 1968, when the civil rights leader was killed.Remembrances have poured in worldwide for Jackson, including flowers left outside the home where large portraits of a smiling Jackson had been placed. But his children said he was a family man first.“Our father took fatherhood very seriously,” his eldest child, Santita Jackson, said. “It was his charge to keep.”His children’s reflections were poetic in the style of the late civil rights icon — filled with prayer, tears and a few chuckles, including about disagreements that occur when growing up in a large, lively family.His eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., a former congressman, said his father’s funeral services would welcome all, “Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing — because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.”The family asked only that those attending be respectful.“If his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse, amen,” he said. “His last breath is not his last breath.”
CHICAGO —
From jokes about his well-known stubbornness to tears grieving the loss of a parent, the adult children of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. gave an emotional tribute Wednesday honoring the legacy of the late civil rights icon, a day after his death.
Jackson died Tuesday at his home in Chicago after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his ability to move and speak. Standing on the steps outside his longtime Chicago home, five of his children, including U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, remembered him not only for his decades-long work in civil rights but also for his role as spiritual leader and father.
“Our father is a man who dedicated his life to public service to gain, protect and defend civil rights and human rights to make our nation better, to make the world more just, our people better neighbors with each other,” said his youngest son, Yusef Jackson, fighting back tears at times.
Memorial services were set for next week, with two days of him lying in repose at the Chicago headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization he founded. A public memorial dubbed “The People’s Celebration” was planned for Feb. 27 at the House of Hope, a South Side church with a 10,000-person arena. Homegoing services were set for the following day at Rainbow PUSH, according to the organization.
Jackson rose to prominence six decades ago as a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., joining the voting rights march King led from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. King later dispatched Jackson to Chicago to launch Operation Breadbasket, a Southern Christian Leadership Conference effort to pressure companies to hire Black workers.
Jackson was with King on April 4, 1968, when the civil rights leader was killed.
Remembrances have poured in worldwide for Jackson, including flowers left outside the home where large portraits of a smiling Jackson had been placed. But his children said he was a family man first.
“Our father took fatherhood very seriously,” his eldest child, Santita Jackson, said. “It was his charge to keep.”
His children’s reflections were poetic in the style of the late civil rights icon — filled with prayer, tears and a few chuckles, including about disagreements that occur when growing up in a large, lively family.
Scott Olson
The children of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson Sr., Jesse Jackson Jr., Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Sanita Jackson, Ashley Jackson, and Yusef Jackson speak about their father outside their parents’ home on February 18, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois. Jesse Jackson Sr. died early yesterday morning. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
His eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., a former congressman, said his father’s funeral services would welcome all, “Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing — because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.”
The family asked only that those attending be respectful.
“If his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse, amen,” he said. “His last breath is not his last breath.”
MR. HARRIS. ROSEN. YES. GOOD GIRL. MEET LITTLE ROSEN, A SIX MONTH OLD GOLDEN RETRIEVER FULL OF SPUNK, LIFE, AND A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE. THERE YOU GO. SHE’S NAMED AFTER SOMEONE WHO ALSO BROUGHT A LOT OF LOVE TO ANYONE WHO CROSSED THEIR PATH. MR. HARRIS ROSEN, THE LONGTIME ORLANDO PHILANTHROPIST AND ENTREPRENEUR WHO DIED IN 2024 AT THE AGE OF 85, ONE OF THE MANY, MANY ORGANIZATIONS HE SUPPORTED WAS CANINE COMPANIONS. NEARLY 30 YEARS. WE’VE HAD A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ROSEN HOTELS AND RESORTS, AND MR. ROSEN REALLY STARTED THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH CANINE COMPANIONS. AND AS A WAY TO HONOR HIM THIS YEAR, WE NAMED A PUPPY ROSEN. AND REALLY, IT NOT ONLY SIGNIFIES THE RELATIONSHIP WITH MR. ROSEN, BUT THE ENTIRE ROSEN FAMILY, MUCH LIKE MR. ROSEN, LIVED A LIFE OF SERVICE PUPPY. ROSEN WILL DO THE SAME. SHE’S TRAINING AT CANINE COMPANIONS TO BECOME A SERVICE DOG. WAIT. LET’S GO. YES. GOOD GIRL. ADELE MOSES IS ONE OF THE STAFF MEMBERS RAISING ROSEN UNTIL IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON TO PROFESSIONAL TRAINING. SHE’S JUST STARTING TO LEARN HER BASIC OBEDIENCE AND STARTING TO GO OUT INTO PUBLIC TO LEARN HOW TO JUST BE CALM AND HAPPY IN ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS AROUND PEOPLE AND NOVEL THINGS IN THE WORLD. AND SHE’S DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB SO FAR, ROSEN. SHAKE. IT’LL TAKE ABOUT TWO YEARS BEFORE ROSEN GRADUATES AND MATCHES WITH SOMEONE WHO LIVES WITH A DISABILITY. CANINE COMPANIONS DOES AN EXTENSIVE INTERVIEW PROCESS WITH ALL OF OUR CLIENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MEET THE NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE WITH ONE OF OUR DOGS. AND THEN WE ALSO KNOW ABOUT THE DOG FROM BIRTH UNTIL ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF. SO WE LOOK AT THE DOG STRENGTHS, WE LOOK AT THE PERSON’S STRENGTHS AND THEIR NEEDS AND TRY TO MATCH THE BEST DOG FOR THAT PERSON. AND THE ROSEN FAMILY SAYS IT MEANS A LOT TO KNOW THIS ADORABLE PUP WILL BRING JOY TO SOMEONE’S LIFE, JUST LIKE MR. ROSEN DID. MR. ROSEN’S LEGACY IS STILL ALIVE, AND IT’S GOING TO CONTINUE THROUGH LITTLE PUPPY, ROSEN AND CANINE COMPANIONS AND ALL THE OTHER GREAT WORK THAT THEY’RE DOING. AND PUPPY ROSEN IS JUST THE SWEETEST LITTLE THING. THANK YOU TO CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INVITING WESH 2 AND ME TO GO OUT THERE AND MEET HER AND HEAR ABOUT HOW SHE’
Canine Companions honors legacy of Harris Rosen with service dog in training
Harris Rosen supported Canine Companions for three decades.
One four-legged friend is working on becoming a service dog through Canine Companions, and she is doing so while carrying on the legacy of a philanthropic giant in Central Florida.Puppy Rosen, a lively 6-month-old golden retriever, is named after Harris Rosen, the Orlando philanthropist and entrepreneur who died in 2024 at the age of 85. Harris Rosen supported Canine Companions for many years. “Nearly 30 years, we’ve had a partnership with Rosen Hotels and Resorts, and Mr. Rosen really started that partnership with Canine Companions. And as a way to honor him this year, we named a puppy Rosen. And it not only signifies the relationship with Mr. Rosen, but the entire Rosen family,” said Cathy Rodgers, executive director of Canine Companions.Much like how Harris Rosen lived a life of service, puppy Rosen will do the same when she becomes a service dog.Adele Moses, a staff member at Canine Companions, is raising Rosen until she moves on to professional training. “She’s just starting to learn her basic obedience and starting to go out into public to learn how to be calm, happy in all sorts of different environments around people and novel things in the world, and she’s doing a really good job so far,” Moses said.It will take about two years before Rosen graduates and matches with someone who lives with a disability. “Canine Companions does an extensive interview process with all of our clients to make sure that we can meet the needs that they have with one of our dogs. And then, we also know about the dog from birth until about a year and a half. So, we look at the dog’s strengths, we look at the person’s strengths and their needs, and try to match the best dog for that person,” Moses explained. The Rosen family says it means a lot to know the adorable pup will bring joy to someone’s life, just like Harris Rosen did. “Mr. Rosen’s legacy is still alive, and it’s going to continue through little puppy Rosen and Canine Companions and all the other great work that they’re doing,” said Amanda Kruse with Rosen Hotels and Resorts.
CENTRAL FLORIDA, USA —
One four-legged friend is working on becoming a service dog through Canine Companions, and she is doing so while carrying on the legacy of a philanthropic giant in Central Florida.
Puppy Rosen, a lively 6-month-old golden retriever, is named after Harris Rosen, the Orlando philanthropist and entrepreneur who died in 2024 at the age of 85.
Harris Rosen supported Canine Companions for many years.
“Nearly 30 years, we’ve had a partnership with Rosen Hotels and Resorts, and Mr. Rosen really started that partnership with Canine Companions. And as a way to honor him this year, we named a puppy Rosen. And it not only signifies the relationship with Mr. Rosen, but the entire Rosen family,” said Cathy Rodgers, executive director of Canine Companions.
Much like how Harris Rosen lived a life of service, puppy Rosen will do the same when she becomes a service dog.
Adele Moses, a staff member at Canine Companions, is raising Rosen until she moves on to professional training.
“She’s just starting to learn her basic obedience and starting to go out into public to learn how to be calm, happy in all sorts of different environments around people and novel things in the world, and she’s doing a really good job so far,” Moses said.
It will take about two years before Rosen graduates and matches with someone who lives with a disability.
“Canine Companions does an extensive interview process with all of our clients to make sure that we can meet the needs that they have with one of our dogs. And then, we also know about the dog from birth until about a year and a half. So, we look at the dog’s strengths, we look at the person’s strengths and their needs, and try to match the best dog for that person,” Moses explained.
The Rosen family says it means a lot to know the adorable pup will bring joy to someone’s life, just like Harris Rosen did.
“Mr. Rosen’s legacy is still alive, and it’s going to continue through little puppy Rosen and Canine Companions and all the other great work that they’re doing,” said Amanda Kruse with Rosen Hotels and Resorts.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for the fatal stabbing of Deante Watts in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood last year.
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Marshall sentenced Jesse James Herold on Tuesday after convicting him of second-degree murder. Under Oregon law, Herold will be eligible for a parole board review after serving 25 years.
Watts, 32, was killed on the morning of Jan. 12, 2024.
According to prosecutors, Herold stalked Watts for several blocks after he left Blanchet House, a nonprofit that provides meals and services in Old Town. At approximately 7:45 a.m., Herold attacked Watts under the Steel Bridge on Southwest Naito Parkway, stabbing him multiple times.
Herold was later arrested in Bellingham, Washington. Six weeks after the killing, a Portland detective interviewed him. During that interview, prosecutors said, Herold admitted to stalking and stabbing Watts and provided details that corroborated the investigation.
According to court records, Herold told police he changed clothes after the attack, receiving free clothing from someone distributing items from a car. He also said he disposed of his bloody jacket in a portable toilet.
Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Kevin Demer, who prosecuted the case along with Deputy District Attorney Sam Wilton, said the sentence brings a measure of accountability.
“Mr. Watts was only 32 years old when he was murdered,” Demer said after the sentencing. “His family worried about him knowing that he was houseless and struggling while living on the streets. I hope the anguish and heartache that this family went through is softened by knowing that Mr. Herold received the maximum possible sentence.”
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office credited the Portland Police Bureau’s Homicide Detail for its work on the investigation, specifically Detectives Sean Macomber and Eric McDaniel. The office also recognized its victim advocates for providing support to Watts’ family throughout the case.
Herold will remain in custody serving his life sentence under the supervision of the Oregon Department of Corrections.
Project R.I.D.E in Elk Grove has been connecting riders and horses across the greater Sacramento area since 1979, offering equine therapy to people of all ages with special needs. “It’s hard to put in words unless you experience it,” Danny Ford, director of operations at Project R.I.D.E., said of the program’s impact. “I think it’s the happiest place on Earth. It’s better than Disneyland, in my opinion.”The nonprofit and therapeutic riding facility offers recreational riding to individuals with diagnosed physical, emotional and intellectual disabilities. The organization has a list of some of the diagnoses it accepts listed on its website.Five-year-old Rahi Parekh uses a wheelchair. KCRA 3 joined him for his lesson at Project R.I.D.E. late last month. He said he enjoys playing games while horseback riding and visiting with the barn cats, who also call the facility home.“I feel happy. Yeah. Happy. I feel happy,” he said.Ford noted horses have a special ability to connect with their riders.”They know completely how you’re feeling when you’re sitting in the saddle. They can actually sense and feel your heartbeat as well,” he said. “They will kind of match your senses, the way you’re feeling.”Ford began his work with the organization as a volunteer, but he first came through the barn doors as a dad. His son started riding at the facility as a toddler.”He’s now 21, has Down syndrome,” Ford said. “The sense of independence and that sense of control in life, I think, completely changes his life for 30 minutes, at least, every week.”For individuals who are unable to ride, Project R.I.D.E also has a fully interactive simulated horse, fondly named Buster Brady. “It’s hard to put into words exactly everything that we can do here, but it’s easy to see on the faces of our participants, I think, what the outcome of it all is,” Ford said.Project R.I.D.E. instructors are accredited through PATH International, the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship.”Come and sit in the stands, watch a lesson, and it’ll completely change your life to see the joy and the reward that some of these people get from the time that they spend with us,” Ford said.The organization is currently preparing for its annual steak dinner fundraiser on April 18. It relies on donations and a team of dedicated volunteers to keep the program active.As part of our 70 Years of Service initiative, we’re highlighting organizations that are making a difference all year long. See more stories in the series here.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
ELK GROVE, Calif. —
Project R.I.D.E in Elk Grove has been connecting riders and horses across the greater Sacramento area since 1979, offering equine therapy to people of all ages with special needs.
“It’s hard to put in words unless you experience it,” Danny Ford, director of operations at Project R.I.D.E., said of the program’s impact. “I think it’s the happiest place on Earth. It’s better than Disneyland, in my opinion.”
Five-year-old Rahi Parekh uses a wheelchair. KCRA 3 joined him for his lesson at Project R.I.D.E. late last month.
He said he enjoys playing games while horseback riding and visiting with the barn cats, who also call the facility home.
“I feel happy. Yeah. Happy. I feel happy,” he said.
Ford noted horses have a special ability to connect with their riders.
“They know completely how you’re feeling when you’re sitting in the saddle. They can actually sense and feel your heartbeat as well,” he said. “They will kind of match your senses, the way you’re feeling.”
Ford began his work with the organization as a volunteer, but he first came through the barn doors as a dad. His son started riding at the facility as a toddler.
“He’s now 21, has Down syndrome,” Ford said. “The sense of independence and that sense of control in life, I think, completely changes his life for 30 minutes, at least, every week.”
For individuals who are unable to ride, Project R.I.D.E also has a fully interactive simulated horse, fondly named Buster Brady.
“It’s hard to put into words exactly everything that we can do here, but it’s easy to see on the faces of our participants, I think, what the outcome of it all is,” Ford said.
Project R.I.D.E. instructors are accredited through PATH International, the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship.
“Come and sit in the stands, watch a lesson, and it’ll completely change your life to see the joy and the reward that some of these people get from the time that they spend with us,” Ford said.
The organization is currently preparing for its annual steak dinner fundraiser on April 18. It relies on donations and a team of dedicated volunteers to keep the program active.
As part of our 70 Years of Service initiative, we’re highlighting organizations that are making a difference all year long. See more stories in the series here.
The Western Amputee Golf Association (WAGA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing golf and its community to amputees and golfers with special needs across eleven Western states, including California.”Sometimes life throws you a par. Sometimes a bogey,” said Tim Healea, the association’s president. “It’s therapeutic. It’s self-driven. It’s self-competitive.”Healea has found parallels between life and golf over his many years of play. Circumstances in both, he says, can change in an instant.“I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I’ve always been a competitor,” he said. “In 2001, rheumatoid arthritis started eating my ankles and had to have my right leg amputated in January. And then the following year in January, had to have the left leg done.”Despite having both legs amputated, golf remained constant for Healea. Now he’s focused on bringing adaptive golf to others facing a wide range of physical and mental challenges.”It was five weeks and I had my prosthetic on and I was swinging the golf club,” he said.WAGA supports adaptive golfers with more than a dozen disability classifications, ranging from limb differences to neurological conditions, like Down Syndrome.Established in 1968, it provides support to adaptive golfers through tournaments, workshops, and events.”We all love the game and if we haven’t discovered the game, when we do, they love it,” Healea said.The organization relies on community support to continue its mission.Golfers who have lost a limb or the use of a limb are encouraged to get involved.This April, WAGA is teaming up with the United States Adaptive Golf Alliance for a tournament and public golf clinic at Sierra View Country Club in Roseville from April 19 to 21. Registration for adaptive golfers is still open.As part of our 70 Years of Service initiative, we’re highlighting organizations that are making a difference all year long. See more stories in the series here.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
ROSEVILLE, Calif. —
The Western Amputee Golf Association (WAGA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing golf and its community to amputees and golfers with special needs across eleven Western states, including California.
“Sometimes life throws you a par. Sometimes a bogey,” said Tim Healea, the association’s president. “It’s therapeutic. It’s self-driven. It’s self-competitive.”
Healea has found parallels between life and golf over his many years of play. Circumstances in both, he says, can change in an instant.
“I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I’ve always been a competitor,” he said. “In 2001, rheumatoid arthritis started eating my ankles and had to have my right leg amputated in January. And then the following year in January, had to have the left leg done.”
Despite having both legs amputated, golf remained constant for Healea. Now he’s focused on bringing adaptive golf to others facing a wide range of physical and mental challenges.
“It was five weeks and I had my prosthetic on and I was swinging the golf club,” he said.
WAGA supports adaptive golfers with more than a dozen disability classifications, ranging from limb differences to neurological conditions, like Down Syndrome.
Established in 1968, it provides support to adaptive golfers through tournaments, workshops, and events.
“We all love the game and if we haven’t discovered the game, when we do, they love it,” Healea said.
The organization relies on community support to continue its mission.
Golfers who have lost a limb or the use of a limb are encouraged to get involved.
This April, WAGA is teaming up with the United States Adaptive Golf Alliance for a tournament and public golf clinic at Sierra View Country Club in Roseville from April 19 to 21. Registration for adaptive golfers is still open.
As part of our 70 Years of Service initiative, we’re highlighting organizations that are making a difference all year long. See more stories in the series here.
An Illinois doctor indicted on murder charges in the December shooting deaths of his ex-wife and her dentist husband in their Columbus home pleaded not guilty to the killings in an Ohio courtroom on Friday.Michael David McKee, 39, appeared remotely on camera from jail for his arraignment in Franklin County, where he faced four aggravated murder counts and one count of aggravated burglary while using a firearm suppressor in connection with the Dec. 30 double homicide of Monique Tepe, 39, and Dr. Spencer Tepe, 37. He was garbed in prison attire and did not speak during the brief hearing. Defense attorney Diane Menashe waived a request for bond, at least for now.The mystery that first surrounded the case — which featured no forced entry, no weapon and no obvious signs of theft, additional violence or a motive — drew national attention. McKee, of Chicago, was arrested 11 days later near his workplace in Rockford, Illinois. He was returned to Ohio on Tuesday to face the charges against him.Who is Michael David McKee?McKee attended Catholic high school in Zanesville, a historic Ohio city about 55 miles (89 kilometers) east of the capital, according to the Diocese of Columbus. He enrolled at Ohio State University in September 2005 — the same semester that his future wife, then Monique Sabaturski, enrolled, university records show. Both graduated with bachelor’s degrees in June 2009. Sabaturski earned a master of education degree from Ohio State in 2011, and McKee earned his medical degree there in 2014.Sabaturski and McKee married in Columbus in August 2015 but were living apart by the time Monique filed to end in the marriage in May 2017, court records show. Their divorce was granted that June. McKee was living in Virginia at the time, court and address records show. He completed a two-year fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center in October 2022, according to the school.McKee also lived in and was licensed to practice medicine in both California and in Nevada, where he was among doctors named in a personal injury lawsuit in a Las Vegas court in 2023. OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Illinois, where McKee was working at the time of his arrest, declined to provide specific information on the dates of his employment. His Illinois medical license became active in October 2024.What is McKee accused of?An Ohio grand jury indicted McKee in the double homicide last week.McKee is accused of illegally entering the Tepes’ home with a firearm equipped with a silencer, shooting the Tepes — whose bodies were found in a second-floor bedroom — and leaving the property along a dark alley alongside the house.Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant has said that McKee was the person seen walking down that alley in video footage captured the night of the killings. She also said a gun found in his Chicago apartment was a ballistic match to evidence at the scene and that his vehicle’s movements were tracked from Columbus back to Illinois.A message seeking comment was left with McKee’s attorney.McKee is charged with two aggravated murder counts for each homicide, one for prior calculation and design and one for committing the crime, as well as facing the aggravated burglary count. If convicted, he faces a minimum of life in prison with parole eligibility after 32 years and a maximum term of life in prison without parole.How were the killings discovered?Columbus police conducted a wellness check on Spencer Tepe at around 10 a.m. on Dec. 30, after his manager at a dental practice in Athens, Ohio, reported that he had not shown up to work on that day, saying tardiness was very worrying and “out of character” for Tepe, according to a 911 call.Someone else called to request a wellness check before a distraught man who described himself as a friend of Spencer Tepe called police and said, “Oh, there’s a body. There’s a body. Oh my God.” He said he could see Spencer Tepe’s body was off the side of a bed in a pool of blood.The Franklin County Coroner’s Office deemed the killings an “apparent homicide by gunshot wounds.”Who were the Tepes?Family members said the Tepes were “extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy and deep connection to others.”They have described Monique as a “joyful mother,” avid baker and “thoughtful planner.” According to their obituaries, which were issued jointly, the pair were married in 2020.Spencer Tepe got his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University in 2012 and earned his doctor of dental surgery degree in 2017, according to school records. He was a member of the American Dental Association and had been involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.They had two young children. Both were home at the time of the killings and left unharmed, as was the family dog.
COLUMBUS, Ohio —
An Illinois doctor indicted on murder charges in the December shooting deaths of his ex-wife and her dentist husband in their Columbus home pleaded not guilty to the killings in an Ohio courtroom on Friday.
Michael David McKee, 39, appeared remotely on camera from jail for his arraignment in Franklin County, where he faced four aggravated murder counts and one count of aggravated burglary while using a firearm suppressor in connection with the Dec. 30 double homicide of Monique Tepe, 39, and Dr. Spencer Tepe, 37. He was garbed in prison attire and did not speak during the brief hearing. Defense attorney Diane Menashe waived a request for bond, at least for now.
The mystery that first surrounded the case — which featured no forced entry, no weapon and no obvious signs of theft, additional violence or a motive — drew national attention. McKee, of Chicago, was arrested 11 days later near his workplace in Rockford, Illinois. He was returned to Ohio on Tuesday to face the charges against him.
Who is Michael David McKee?
McKee attended Catholic high school in Zanesville, a historic Ohio city about 55 miles (89 kilometers) east of the capital, according to the Diocese of Columbus. He enrolled at Ohio State University in September 2005 — the same semester that his future wife, then Monique Sabaturski, enrolled, university records show. Both graduated with bachelor’s degrees in June 2009. Sabaturski earned a master of education degree from Ohio State in 2011, and McKee earned his medical degree there in 2014.
Sabaturski and McKee married in Columbus in August 2015 but were living apart by the time Monique filed to end in the marriage in May 2017, court records show. Their divorce was granted that June. McKee was living in Virginia at the time, court and address records show. He completed a two-year fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center in October 2022, according to the school.
McKee also lived in and was licensed to practice medicine in both California and in Nevada, where he was among doctors named in a personal injury lawsuit in a Las Vegas court in 2023. OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Illinois, where McKee was working at the time of his arrest, declined to provide specific information on the dates of his employment. His Illinois medical license became active in October 2024.
What is McKee accused of?
An Ohio grand jury indicted McKee in the double homicide last week.
McKee is accused of illegally entering the Tepes’ home with a firearm equipped with a silencer, shooting the Tepes — whose bodies were found in a second-floor bedroom — and leaving the property along a dark alley alongside the house.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant has said that McKee was the person seen walking down that alley in video footage captured the night of the killings. She also said a gun found in his Chicago apartment was a ballistic match to evidence at the scene and that his vehicle’s movements were tracked from Columbus back to Illinois.
A message seeking comment was left with McKee’s attorney.
McKee is charged with two aggravated murder counts for each homicide, one for prior calculation and design and one for committing the crime, as well as facing the aggravated burglary count. If convicted, he faces a minimum of life in prison with parole eligibility after 32 years and a maximum term of life in prison without parole.
How were the killings discovered?
Columbus police conducted a wellness check on Spencer Tepe at around 10 a.m. on Dec. 30, after his manager at a dental practice in Athens, Ohio, reported that he had not shown up to work on that day, saying tardiness was very worrying and “out of character” for Tepe, according to a 911 call.
Someone else called to request a wellness check before a distraught man who described himself as a friend of Spencer Tepe called police and said, “Oh, there’s a body. There’s a body. Oh my God.” He said he could see Spencer Tepe’s body was off the side of a bed in a pool of blood.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office deemed the killings an “apparent homicide by gunshot wounds.”
Who were the Tepes?
Family members said the Tepes were “extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy and deep connection to others.”
They have described Monique as a “joyful mother,” avid baker and “thoughtful planner.” According to their obituaries, which were issued jointly, the pair were married in 2020.
Spencer Tepe got his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University in 2012 and earned his doctor of dental surgery degree in 2017, according to school records. He was a member of the American Dental Association and had been involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.
They had two young children. Both were home at the time of the killings and left unharmed, as was the family dog.
Federal immigration authorities removed a Maryland father to El Salvador on Tuesday despite two court orders saying not to.During an emergency hearing Thursday at federal court in Baltimore, a federal judge examined what happened to Jose Serrano-Maldonado.Federal authorities admitted they made a mistake, conceding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement violated court orders filed in the system, even with a banner in Serrano-Maldonado’s file that said, “Do not remove.”But the feds couldn’t say why they did it anyway.The judge called this a very bad situation and demanded to know, in writing, exactly who took what steps, when and why.Serrano-Maldonado’s immigration attorney, Anna Alyssa Tijerina, is fighting for his immediate return to the United States, telling the judge that her client’s life is in danger.”He told me he is going to try and remain in his house as much as possible until this is resolved. He told me he wants to come back to the United States, even if it’s back to the detention center,” Tijerina told sister station WBAL-TV.Assistant U.S. Attorney Beatrice Thomas offered no comment outside the court when asked questions by WBAL. In court, Thomas told the judge that the government is working to fly Serrano-Maldonado back on “ICE Air” but that there’s a lot of red tape and it could take many days.The judge ordered status updates to be filed daily until Serrano-Maldonado is returned to the U.S. It’s unlikely that those daily status updates will be accessible publicly because the government said it plans to file the updates under preliminary seal.”I can’t imagine being in (the family’s) position of knowing, not knowing. At least, ‘There’s no new update today,’ is an update, right? They know something, they know that nothing was done today, but something will be done tomorrow,” Tijerina told WBAL. “For the sake of my client, for the sake of my client’s life in El Salvador, and for the sake of his family, I hope that this gets resolved quickly.”Thursday’s hearing was the first of three immigration hearings for this sole judge in the single courtroom on just one day.
Federal immigration authorities removed a Maryland father to El Salvador on Tuesday despite two court orders saying not to.
During an emergency hearing Thursday at federal court in Baltimore, a federal judge examined what happened to Jose Serrano-Maldonado.
Federal authorities admitted they made a mistake, conceding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement violated court orders filed in the system, even with a banner in Serrano-Maldonado’s file that said, “Do not remove.”
But the feds couldn’t say why they did it anyway.
The judge called this a very bad situation and demanded to know, in writing, exactly who took what steps, when and why.
Serrano-Maldonado’s immigration attorney, Anna Alyssa Tijerina, is fighting for his immediate return to the United States, telling the judge that her client’s life is in danger.
“He told me he is going to try and remain in his house as much as possible until this is resolved. He told me he wants to come back to the United States, even if it’s back to the detention center,” Tijerina told sister station WBAL-TV.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Beatrice Thomas offered no comment outside the court when asked questions by WBAL. In court, Thomas told the judge that the government is working to fly Serrano-Maldonado back on “ICE Air” but that there’s a lot of red tape and it could take many days.
The judge ordered status updates to be filed daily until Serrano-Maldonado is returned to the U.S. It’s unlikely that those daily status updates will be accessible publicly because the government said it plans to file the updates under preliminary seal.
“I can’t imagine being in (the family’s) position of knowing, not knowing. At least, ‘There’s no new update today,’ is an update, right? They know something, they know that nothing was done today, but something will be done tomorrow,” Tijerina told WBAL. “For the sake of my client, for the sake of my client’s life in El Salvador, and for the sake of his family, I hope that this gets resolved quickly.”
Thursday’s hearing was the first of three immigration hearings for this sole judge in the single courtroom on just one day.
President Trump seemed angry after the Senate voted last Thursday to pass a war powers resolution to the next stage, where lawmakers could approve the measure and seek to curb the president’s ability to wage war in Venezuela without congressional authorization.
Trump said that day that five Republican senators who supported bringing the measure to a vote — Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rand Paul (Ky.), Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Todd Young (Ind.) — “should never be elected to office again.”
Why should he get so riled up about this, to the point where he could put his own party’s control of the Senate at risk in November? Even if this resolution were to pass both houses of Congress, he could veto it and ultimately be unrestrained. He did this in 2019, when a war powers resolution mandating that the U.S. military cease its participation in the war in Yemen was passed in both the Senate and the House. Many people think that such legislation therefore can’t make a difference.
But the president’s ire is telling. These political moves on the Hill can get results even before the resolution has a final vote, or if it is vetoed by the president.
The Trump administration made significant concessions before the 2019 resolution was approved by Congress, in an attempt to prevent it from passing. For instance, months before it was approved, the U.S. military stopped refueling Saudi warplanes in midair. These concessions de-escalated the war and saved tens of thousands of lives.
A war powers resolution is an act of Congress that is based on a 1973 law of the same name. That law spells out and reinforces the power that our Constitution has allocated to Congress, to decide when the U.S. military can be involved in hostilities.
The U.S. military raid in Caracas that seized Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, is illegal according to international law, the charters of the Organization of American States and the United Nations, as well as other treaties to which the United States is a signatory. According to our own Constitution, the government violates U.S. law when it violates treaties that our government has signed.
None of that restrained the Trump administration, which has not demonstrated much respect for the rule of law. But the White House does care about the political power of Congress. If there is an expanded war in Venezuela or anywhere else that Trump has threatened to use the military, the fact that Congress took steps to oppose it will increase the political cost to the president.
This is likely one of the main reasons that the Trump administration has at least promised to make concessions regarding military action in Latin America — and who knows, possibly he did make some compromises compared with what had been planned.
On Nov. 5, the day before the Senate was to vote on a war powers resolution to halt and prevent hostilities within or against Venezuela by U.S. armed forces, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and White House counsel had a private briefing with senators.
They assured lawmakers that they were not going to have a land war or airstrikes in Venezuela. According to news reports, the White House counsel stated that they did not have a legal justification for such a war. It is clear that blocking the resolution was very important to these top officials. The day after that meeting, the war powers resolution was blocked by two votes. Two Republicans had joined the Democrats and independents in support of the resolution: Murkowski and Paul. That added up to 49 votes — not quite the needed majority.
But on Thursday, there were three additional Republicans who voted for the new resolution, so it will proceed to a final vote.
The war powers resolution is not just a political fight, but a matter of life and death. The blockade involved in the seizure of oil tankers is, according to experts, an unlawful use of military force. This means that the blockade would be included as a participation in hostilities that would require authorization from Congress.
Since 2015, the United States has imposed unilateral economic sanctions that destroyed Venezuela’s economy. From 2012 to 2020, Venezuela suffered the worst peacetime depression in world history. Real (inflation-adjusted) GDP, or income, fell by 74%. Think of the economic destruction of the U.S. Great Depression, multiplied by three times. Most of this was the result of the sanctions.
This unprecedented devastation is generally attributed to Maduro in public discussion. But U.S. sanctions deliberately cut Venezuela off from international finance, as well as blocking most of its oil sales, which accounted for more than 90% of foreign exchange (mostly dollar) earnings. This devastated the economy.
In the first year of Trump sanctions from 2017-18, Venezuela’s deaths increased by tens of thousands of people, at a time when oil prices were increasing. Sanctions were expanded even more the following year. About a quarter of the population, more than 7 million people, emigrated after 2015 — 750,000 of them to the United States.
We know that the deadly impact of sanctions that target the civilian population is real. Research published in July by the Lancet Global Health, by my colleagues Francisco Rodriguez, Silvio Rendon and myself, estimated the global death toll from unilateral economic sanctions, as these are, at 564,000 per year over the past decade. This is comparable to the worldwide deaths from armed conflict. A majority of the victims over the 1970-2021 period were children.
The Trump administration has, in the last few days, been moving in the direction of lifting some sanctions to allow for oil exports, according to the president’s stated plan to “run Venezuela.” This is ironic because Venezuela has for many years wanted more investment and trade, including in oil, with the United States, and it was U.S. sanctions that prohibited it.
Such lifting of sanctions would be a big step forward, in terms of saving lives of people who are deprived of food, medicine and other necessities in Venezuela, as a result of these sanctions and the economic destruction that they cause.
But to create the stability that Venezuela needs to recover, we will have to take the military and economic violence out of this campaign. There are members of Congress moving toward that goal, and they need all the help that they can get, before it’s too late.
MEXICO CITY — Andrea Paola Hernández has one sister in Ecuador and another in London. She has cousins in Colombia, Chile, Argentina and the United States.
All fled poverty and political repression in Venezuela. Hernández, a human rights activist and outspoken critic of the country’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, eventually left, too.
Since 2022 she has lived in Mexico City, working odd jobs for under-the-table pay because she lacks legal status. She cries most days, and dreams of reuniting with her far-flung relatives and friends. “We just want our lives back,” she said.
One of Maduro’s darkest legacies was the exodus of 8 million Venezuelans during his 13-year rule, one of the largest mass migrations in modern history. The flight of a third of the country’s population ripped apart families and has shaped the cultural and political landscape in the dozens of nations where Venezuelans have settled.
The surprise U.S. operation to capture Maduro this month has prompted mixed feelings among the diaspora. Relief, but also apprehension.
From Europe to Latin America to the U.S., those who left are asking whether they finally can go home. And if they do, what would they return to?
‘An ounce of justice’
Hernández was distressed by the U.S. attack, which killed dozens of people and is widely seen as illegal under international law. Still, she celebrated Maduro’s arrest as “an ounce of justice after decades of injustice.”
Andrea Paola Hernández, 30, an Afro-Indigenous, queer, feminist activist and writer from Maracaibo, Venezuela, stands for a portrait on the roof of her building on Friday in Mexico City. Hernández left Caracas in 2022.
(Alejandra Rajal / For The Times)
She is wary of what is to come.
President Trump has repeatedly touted Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, saying little about restoring democracy to the country. He says the U.S. will work with Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who has been sworn in as Venezuela’s interim leader.
Hernández doesn’t trust Rodríguez, whom she believes is as responsible as anyone else for Venezuela’s misery: the eight-hour lines for food and medicine, the violent repression of street protests and the 2024 election that Maduro is widely believed to have rigged to stay in power.
Hernández blames the regime for personal pain, too. For the death of an aunt during the pandemic because there was no electricity to power ventilators; for the widespread hunger that caused her mother to tell her children: “We can have dinner or breakfast, but not both.”
Hernández, who believes she was being surveilled by Maduro’s government, says she will return to Venezuela only after elections have been held. “I’m not going back until I know that I’m not going to be killed or put in jail.”
‘Our identity was shattered’
Many in the diaspora are trying to reconcile conflicting emotions.
Damián Suárez, 37, an artist who left Venezuela for Chile in 2011 and who now lives in Mexico, said he was surprised to find himself defending the actions of Trump, a leader whose politics he otherwise disdains.
“We were fragmented and demoralized, and then someone came along and imprisoned the person responsible for all of that,” Suárez said. “When you’re drowning, you’re going to thank the person rescuing you, no matter who it is.”
Damián Suárez at his studio in the Condesa neighborhood on Friday in Mexico City. He arrived from Venezuela in 2011 and works as an artist and curator.
(Alejandra Rajal / For The Times)
Many countries have denounced the attack on Caracas and Trump’s vow to “run” the country in the short term as an unacceptable violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty.
For Suárez, those arguments ring hollow. For years, he said, the international community did little to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.
“A cry for help from millions of people went unanswered,” Suárez said. “The only thing worse than intervention is indifference.”
One of the first embroidery art works made by Damián Suárez as a child on display in his studio, in la Condesa in Mexico City. To this day, he uses string as his primary material, a form of resistance and defiance rooted in the hand-labor traditions of the community he comes from.
(Alejandra Rajal / For The Times)
Suárez, who is organizing an art show about Venezuela, blames Maduro for what he sees as a “spiritual void” among migrants who lost not just their physical home but also the people who gave meaning to their lives.
“Our identity was shattered,” he said, comparing migrants with “plants ripped from their soil.”
And though Maduro now sits in a jail in Brooklyn facing drug trafficking charges, Suárez said he will not go back to Venezuela.
He has a Mexican passport now and helped his family migrate to Mexico City. After years of feeling stateless, he’s finally planted roots.
Building lives in new countries
Tomás Paez, a Venezuelan sociologist living in Spain who studies the diaspora, says that surveys over the years show that only about 20% of immigrants say they would return permanently to Venezuela. Many have built lives in their new countries, he said.
Paez, who left Venezuela several years ago as inflation spiraled and crime spiked, has grandchildren in Spain and said he would be loath to leave them.
“There isn’t a family in Venezuela that doesn’t have a son, a brother, an uncle, or a nephew living elsewhere,” he said, adding that 50% of households in Venezuela depend on remittances from abroad. “Migration has broadened Venezuela’s borders. We’re talking about a whole new geography.”
Migrants left Venezuela under diverse circumstances. Earlier waves left on flights with immigration documents. More recent departees often take clandestine overland routes into Colombia or Brazil or risked the dangerous journey across the Darien Gap into Central America on their way north.
The restriction of immigration law across Latin America has made it harder and harder for migrants to find refuge. One fourth of Venezuelan migrants globally lack legal immigration status, Paez said. And a majority don’t have Venezuelan passports, which are difficult to acquire or renew from abroad.
‘So tired of politics’
Throughout the Western Hemisphere, enclaves of Venezuelans have sprouted up, such as one in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, a Mexican town near the border with Guatemala.
Richard Osorio ended up there with his husband after a stint living in Texas. Osorio’s husband was deported from the U.S. in August as part of Trump’s crackdown on Venezuelan migrants. Osorio joined him in Mexico after a lawyer told him that U.S. immigration agents might target him, too, because he has tattoos, even though they are of birds and flowers.
The pair are undocumented in Mexico and work for cash at one of the Venezuelan restaurants that have sprung up in recent months.
On the day of the U.S. operation that resulted in Maduro’s arrest, hundreds of Venezuelans cheered the news in a local square. Osorio was working a 14-hour shift and missed the party. It was fine. He didn’t have the energy to celebrate.
“I’m so tired of politics, of these ups and downs that we’ve experienced for years,” Osorio said. “At every turn, there’s been suffering.”
Richard Osorio poses for a portrait in Juarez, Mexico, in July.
(Alejandro Cegarra / For The Times)
He had a hard time conjuring warm feelings for Trump given the U.S. president’s war on immigrants, including the deportation of more than 200 Venezuelans that he claimed were gang members to an infamous prison in El Salvador.
Maduro and Trump, he said, are more alike than many people admit. Neither cares for human rights or democracy. “We felt the same way in the U.S. as we did in Venezuela,” Osorio said.
He said he wouldn’t return to Venezuela until there were decent jobs and protections for the LGBTQ+ community. Life in southern Mexico was dangerous, he said, and he wasn’t earning enough to send money to relatives back home.
But returning to Venezuela didn’t feel like an option yet.
Daring to dream
Hernández, the writer and activist, said many in the diaspora are too traumatized to imagine a future in Venezuela. “We’ve all been deprived of so much,” she said.
But when she dares to dream, she pictures a Venezuela with free elections, functioning schools, hospitals and a vibrant cultural scene. She sees members of the diaspora returning, and improving the country with the skills they’ve learned abroad.
“We all want to go back and build,” she said. The question now is when.
SAINT JOHN’S PROGRAM FOR REAL CHANGE HAS IMPROVED THE LIVES OF SACRAMENTO AREA WOMEN AND CHILDREN. THE NONPROFIT PROVIDES A SAFE PLACE TO LIVE AND AN ARRAY OF SERVICES FOR FREE. IT ALSO OFFERS A REAL COMMUNITY FOR WOMEN WHO ARE WORKING TO STABILIZE THEIR LIVES. KCRA 3’S LEE ANNE DENYER INTRODUCES US TO A LOCAL WOMAN WHO SAYS SAINT JOHN’S NOT ONLY KEPT HER FROM LIVING ON THE STREETS OF SACRAMENTO, BUT ALSO TRANSFORMED HER ENTIRE WAY OF THINKING. GET YOURSELF SET UP. EVEN WITH HER RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE KITCHEN AND HER CLASSES, THERE’S TIME FOR REFLECTION. SO WE ALL MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT STORIES, AND WE ALL ARE DIFFERENT PLACES AT DIFFERENT TIMES. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ALL KIND OF HAVE ENDED UP HERE AND WE ALL HAVE. THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING IN COMMON. LAUREN LOUDERMILK SAYS IT WASN’T ONE THING THAT LED HER HERE. I WAS PROBABLY ENTERING LIKE A MENTAL BREAKDOWN. I WAS ABOUT TO LOSE EVERYTHING. CHALLENGES WITH HER MENTAL HEALTH, HER PHYSICAL HEALTH AND EVICTION. BEING A SINGLE MOM WERE MOUNTING AND SHE HAD NOWHERE TO GO. AND I HAD MY CAT ON A HARNESS, AND I WAS TRULY PREPARED TO LIVE ON THE STREET OF SACRAMENTO IF I WERE NOT SAINT JOHN’S, I WOULD BE ON THE STREET. I WOULD BE. AND IT’S IT’S SCARY TO THINK, BECAUSE I WOULD NOT BE HEALTHY. THERE’S NOWHERE YOU CAN BE ON THE STREET AND BE HEALTHY. BUT A FAMILY MEMBER, SHE SAYS, CONNECTED HER WITH SAINT JOHN’S PROGRAM FOR REAL CHANGE IN SACRAMENTO. WHEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE STAYING HERE, WE PROVIDE ALL THE WRAPAROUND SERVICES THAT THEY WOULD NEED AS THEY’RE WORKING TOWARDS RECOVERY AND THEIR GOALS. SO THAT INCLUDES BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, EDUCATION, CHILDCARE, JOB TRAINING, FAMILY SERVICES, ALL OF THOSE THINGS KIND OF TOGETHER. THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION HAS HELPED WOMEN FOR DECADES, GIVING THEM A SPACE TO LIVE, HEAL AND REBUILD WITH SUPPORT AND AT THEIR OWN PACE. THIS IS A PLACE WHERE YOU DO SOME HARD WORK. YOU REALLY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHERE YOU’RE AT, WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOUR FAMILY. CHANGE WAS EXACTLY WHAT LOUDERMILK NEEDED. SO MANY THINGS HERE TO REALLY HELP US LEARN TO TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES AND REALLY HELP US DIVE DEEP AND FIGURE OUT, LIKE WHAT WE’VE HAD THAT’S, YOU KNOW, CAUSING TRAUMA AND WHAT WE HAVEN’T HEALED FROM TO SOMEONE ELSE. MORE TASKS AFTER AN AFTERNOON LUNCH RUSH MIGHT BE SOMETHING ELSE THAT JUST NEEDS TO GET DONE. FOR LOUDERMILK, IT’S JOB TRAINING, IT’S STRUCTURE. IT’S A WAY TO GIVE BACK. AND THAT ALL STARTED WHEN SHE ASKED FOR HELP. WE ALL HAVE TO BE READY ON OUR TIME, BUT DO NOT BE ASHAMED TO ASK FOR HELP. DO NOT BE ASHAMED. THERE IS. THERE IS STRENGTH IN ASKING FOR HELP. SHE’S FINDING HER STRENGTH AND LOOKING FOR EMPLOYMENT AS SHE CONTINUES HER PROGRAM WITHIN SAINT JOHN’S. GRATEFUL TO BE A PART OF THIS COMMUNITY OF WOMEN BECAUSE LIFE HAPPENS ON LIFE’S TERMS AND YOU ARE RESILIENT FOR FOR MAKING THE CHOICE TO GET YOURSELF THROUGH IT. IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY, LEE ANNE DENYER KCRA THREE NEWS. FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN GETTING INVOLVED IN THE WORK THAT THEY’RE DOING THERE AT THE SAINT JOHN’S PROGRAM FOR REAL CHANGE, YOU CAN TAKE A TOUR, VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME, OR DONATE MONEY. PEOPLE CAN SUP
Saint John’s Program for Real Change offers hope to Sacramento women and children
Saint John’s Program for Real Change in Sacramento provides wraparound services and a supportive community to help women and children rebuild their lives.
For more than 40 years, Saint John’s Program for Real Change has been a lifeline for women and children in Sacramento, offering safe housing and a wide range of services to help them stabilize their lives.“The idea behind real change is that we are looking for people that really want to work towards change, for themselves and for their families,” said CEO Scott Richards. Lauren Loudermilk, 35, said she was on the verge of “breakdown”, had been evicted and was preparing to live on the streets of Sacramento when a family member connected her to Saint John’s.“I was about to lose everything,” she said. “If I were not at Saint John’s, I would be on the street. I would be. And it’s scary to think, because I would not be healthy. There’s nowhere you can be on the street and be healthy.”Loudermilk said, for the first time in her life, she’s felt able to combat the inner and outer challenges she has faced over the years. “What’s most beneficial to me here is the testimonies,” she said. “There are so many things here to really help us learn to take care of ourselves and really help us dive deep and figure out, like, what we’ve had that’s causing trauma, what we haven’t healed from.”Services offered to the women participating in the program range from behavioral health, to education, job training, and family services. Childcare and housing are also provided. “We provide the space to allow people to figure out where they want to go, help them give the resources and skills development that they need so they can reach those goals,” Richards said.As she continues her program within Saint John’s, Loudermilk is continuing to build her strength and resiliency — and looking for employment.“We all have to be ready on our time, but don’t be ashamed to ask for help. Do not be ashamed. There’s, there’s strength in asking for help,” she said.For those interested in supporting the work at Saint John’s Program for Real Change, opportunities are available to take a tour, volunteer, or donate to support individual clients, families, and specific programs.Saint John’s Program for Real Change is a nonprofit organization whose programming is possible due to city, county and state partnerships as well as private and corporate donations. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
For more than 40 years, Saint John’s Program for Real Change has been a lifeline for women and children in Sacramento, offering safe housing and a wide range of services to help them stabilize their lives.
“The idea behind real change is that we are looking for people that really want to work towards change, for themselves and for their families,” said CEO Scott Richards.
Lauren Loudermilk, 35, said she was on the verge of “breakdown”, had been evicted and was preparing to live on the streets of Sacramento when a family member connected her to Saint John’s.
“I was about to lose everything,” she said. “If I were not at Saint John’s, I would be on the street. I would be. And it’s scary to think, because I would not be healthy. There’s nowhere you can be on the street and be healthy.”
Loudermilk said, for the first time in her life, she’s felt able to combat the inner and outer challenges she has faced over the years.
“What’s most beneficial to me here is the testimonies,” she said. “There are so many things here to really help us learn to take care of ourselves and really help us dive deep and figure out, like, what we’ve had that’s causing trauma, what we haven’t healed from.”
Services offered to the women participating in the program range from behavioral health, to education, job training, and family services. Childcare and housing are also provided.
“We provide the space to allow people to figure out where they want to go, help them give the resources and skills development that they need so they can reach those goals,” Richards said.
As she continues her program within Saint John’s, Loudermilk is continuing to build her strength and resiliency — and looking for employment.
“We all have to be ready on our time, but don’t be ashamed to ask for help. Do not be ashamed. There’s, there’s strength in asking for help,” she said.
For those interested in supporting the work at Saint John’s Program for Real Change, opportunities are available to take a tour, volunteer, or donate to support individual clients, families, and specific programs.
Saint John’s Program for Real Change is a nonprofit organization whose programming is possible due to city, county and state partnerships as well as private and corporate donations.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan and a conservative commentator, has died. He was 80.Video above: Remembering those we lost in 2025The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced his death in a post on the social platform X on Tuesday, calling him “a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy.”“Michael Reagan lived a life shaped by conviction, purpose, and an abiding devotion to President Reagan’s ideals,” the foundation said.His cause of death was not immediately announced.Reagan was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax television network and was known for his talk radio program, “The Michael Reagan Show.”Reagan was born to Irene Flaugher in 1945 and adopted just hours after his birth by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife, actor Jane Wyman.The young Reagan followed in his parents’ footsteps.After attending Arizona State University and Los Angeles Valley College, Reagan took up acting, built his syndicated radio show and authored several books, including two about his personal journey titled “On the Outside Looking in” and “Twice Adopted.”Throughout his life, Reagan also focused his time on several charities, raising money in powerboat racing and serving as chair of the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation board for three years.Ronald Reagan, who was known for trying to scale back government and devoting his presidency to winning the Cold War, died in 2004 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Michael Reagan pushed his father’s ideas forward as chair of the Reagan Legacy Foundation.Michael Reagan’s second marriage was to Colleen Stearns, with whom he had two children.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan and a conservative commentator, has died. He was 80.
Video above: Remembering those we lost in 2025
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced his death in a post on the social platform X on Tuesday, calling him “a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy.”
“Michael Reagan lived a life shaped by conviction, purpose, and an abiding devotion to President Reagan’s ideals,” the foundation said.
His cause of death was not immediately announced.
Reagan was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax television network and was known for his talk radio program, “The Michael Reagan Show.”
Reagan was born to Irene Flaugher in 1945 and adopted just hours after his birth by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife, actor Jane Wyman.
The young Reagan followed in his parents’ footsteps.
After attending Arizona State University and Los Angeles Valley College, Reagan took up acting, built his syndicated radio show and authored several books, including two about his personal journey titled “On the Outside Looking in” and “Twice Adopted.”
Throughout his life, Reagan also focused his time on several charities, raising money in powerboat racing and serving as chair of the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation board for three years.
Ronald Reagan, who was known for trying to scale back government and devoting his presidency to winning the Cold War, died in 2004 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Michael Reagan pushed his father’s ideas forward as chair of the Reagan Legacy Foundation.
Michael Reagan’s second marriage was to Colleen Stearns, with whom he had two children.
FROM TOWSON. A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION IS I HAVE A TWIN SISTER, SO OUR GOAL IS TO ACCOMPLISH ALL OUR FITNESS GOALS, BE DISCIPLINED AND THAT’S WHY KARISMA GREEN IS UP EARLY AT PLANET FITNESS IN TOWSON. FOR TYRA WHEELER. CONSISTENCY HERE HASN’T JUST HELPED HIM CHANGE HIS BODY, IT’S CHANGED HIS LIFE. WITH MY CAREER, MY SCHOOLING, MY FAMILY, IT JUST MAKES ME WANT TO GO HARDER IN EVERY ASPECT OF MY LIFE. REALLY. ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, ON NEW YEAR’S DAY, IN FACT, TYRELL SET OUT TO GO FROM FROM EXTREME BEING TO, YOU KNOW, A MEAN GREEN. AND BY NOT GIVING UP, HE’S GONE FROM THIS TO THIS. PUTTING ON NEARLY 30 POUNDS OF MUSCLE. AND ONCE YOU START TO SEE A CHANGE IN YOUR BODY, IT’S NO STOPPING THERE. PLANET FITNESS GENERAL MANAGER QUINTIN DAILEY SAYS THE KEY TO MAKING SURE YOU DON’T GIVE UP WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH, LIKE SO MANY PEOPLE DO, IS IT’S FINDING YOUR WHY, FINDING WHY YOU WANT TO DO THIS. IT MIGHT BE FOR HEALTH, IT MIGHT BE FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. IT MIGHT BE FOR TO YOUR FAMILY CAN SEE YOU A LITTLE LONGER SO YOU CAN MOVE A LITTLE BIT BETTER SO YOU CAN GET A LITTLE STRONGER. ONCE YOU FIND YOUR WHY IT BECOMES A LOT EASIER. GETTING FIT IS A NUMBER ONE RESOLUTION ACCORDING TO YOUGOV.COM. ALSO ON THE LIST. BEING HAPPY, EATING HEALTHIER AND SAVING MORE MONEY. ADULTS UNDER 45 ARE ALSO ABOUT TWICE AS LIKELY AS OLDER AMERICANS TO SAY THEY WILL MAKE A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION. DO YOU HAVE A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION? NO, I DON’T HAVE A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION. I BELIEVE IN MAKING PLANS EVERY DAY AND CARRYING THEM OUT EVERY DAY, INSTEAD OF JUST SAVING THEM UP FOR ONE DAY A YEAR. IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO IT, DO TODAY. MY NEW YEAR RESOLUTION IS TO BE AT THE BE AT PEACE WITH THE WORLD. THE FIRST ONE IS FINISH COLLEGE. THAT’S THAT’S LIKE BOTTOM LINE, WORK IN THE FIELD WOULD BE THE SECOND GOAL AND JUST KEEP GROWING. IF YOU HAVE RESOLVED TO GET OUTDOORS MORE, WHY NOT JUST TAKE A HIKE? FIRST DAY HIKES IS A NATIONWIDE INITIATIVE THAT THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES IS TAKING PART IN. SO YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND GO ONLINE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN DO A SELF-GUIDED TOUR OR A RANGER LED TOUR. AND IT RUNS THROUGH JANUARY THE 2ND H
Getting fit, healthy is a common New Year’s resolution. Here’s how to actually find success
People typically consider setting goals at the new year, so how does one find success?When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, many people got up early Thursday morning with a goal of getting fit in 2026.At Planet Fitness in Towson, Maryland, Tyrell Wheeler said consistency helped him change more than his body — it changed his life.”With my career, with my schooling, with my family, it just makes me want to go harder in every aspect of my life,” Wheeler said.On New Year’s Day about three years ago, Wheeler set out to “(go) from a string bean to a mean green.” And, by not giving up, he put on almost 30 pounds of muscle.Quintin Dailey, the gym’s general manager, said the key to making sure you don’t give up within the first month, as he sees most people do, is to find your why.”Once you start to see a change in your body, there’s no stopping there,” Dailey said. “(Find) the why you want to do this: It might be for health, it might be for your mental health, it might be so your family could see you longer, move a little bit better, so you can get stronger. Once you find your why, it becomes a lot easier.” Getting fit is the No. 1 resolution, according to a YouGov survey. Also on the list: Being happy (23%), eating healthier (22%) and saving more money (21%).The survey found adults under 45 are about twice as likely as older Americans to say they will make a New Year’s resolution (43% vs. 21%).”I don’t have a New Year’s resolution. I believe in making plans every day, carrying them out every day, (not) just saving them up for one day a year. If it’s the right thing to do, do it today,” said Bernie Simon, a gym patron.”The first one is finish college, bottom line. Second would be to work in the field. And then, just keep growing,” said Dylan Johnson, a gym patron.
TOWSON, Md. —
People typically consider setting goals at the new year, so how does one find success?
When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, many people got up early Thursday morning with a goal of getting fit in 2026.
At Planet Fitness in Towson, Maryland, Tyrell Wheeler said consistency helped him change more than his body — it changed his life.
“With my career, with my schooling, with my family, it just makes me want to go harder in every aspect of my life,” Wheeler said.
On New Year’s Day about three years ago, Wheeler set out to “(go) from a string bean to a mean green.” And, by not giving up, he put on almost 30 pounds of muscle.
Quintin Dailey, the gym’s general manager, said the key to making sure you don’t give up within the first month, as he sees most people do, is to find your why.
“Once you start to see a change in your body, there’s no stopping there,” Dailey said. “(Find) the why you want to do this: It might be for health, it might be for your mental health, it might be so your family could see you longer, move a little bit better, so you can get stronger. Once you find your why, it becomes a lot easier.”
Getting fit is the No. 1 resolution, according to a YouGov survey. Also on the list: Being happy (23%), eating healthier (22%) and saving more money (21%).
The survey found adults under 45 are about twice as likely as older Americans to say they will make a New Year’s resolution (43% vs. 21%).
“I don’t have a New Year’s resolution. I believe in making plans every day, carrying them out every day, (not) just saving them up for one day a year. If it’s the right thing to do, do it today,” said Bernie Simon, a gym patron.
“The first one is finish college, bottom line. Second would be to work in the field. And then, just keep growing,” said Dylan Johnson, a gym patron.
The first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby, Diane Crump, has died.She was 77.”Mom passed away peacefully tonight. She ended her life surrounded by friends and family. Thank you for being the best support system. We have been truly blessed by your generosity and kindness. I hope my mom’s legacy of following dreams and helping others continues through those that were touched by her amazing life,” said Crump’s daughter, Della Payne, in a GoFundMe post on New Year’s Day.In the player up top: Diane Crump’s Kentucky Derby boots on display at Kentucky Derby MuseumCrump had been battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.For the first 95 years of the Kentucky Derby’s existence, only male jockeys were allowed to compete. But that all changed in 1970 when Crump became the first woman to ride in the Derby.She received her jockey license just one year prior and would go on to finish 15th in the 96th Run for the Roses.Through 1,682 starts, Crump amassed 228 wins and collected more than $1.2 million in earnings during her jockeying career.“Diane Crump was an iconic trailblazer who admirably fulfilled her childhood dreams. As the first female to ride professionally at a major Thoroughbred racetrack in 1969 and to become the first female to ride in the Kentucky Derby one year later, she will forever be respected and fondly remembered in horse racing lore. The entire Churchill Downs family extends our condolences to her family and friends,” Churchill Downs said in a statement.Following her career as a jockey, Crump started Diane Crump Equine Sales as a way to connect buyers and owners in the sporthorse world. She also volunteered at hospitals and nursing homes with her dachshunds to provide animal-assisted therapy.
The first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby, Diane Crump, has died.
She was 77.
“Mom passed away peacefully tonight. She ended her life surrounded by friends and family. Thank you for being the best support system. We have been truly blessed by your generosity and kindness. I hope my mom’s legacy of following dreams and helping others continues through those that were touched by her amazing life,” said Crump’s daughter, Della Payne, in a GoFundMe post on New Year’s Day.
In the player up top: Diane Crump’s Kentucky Derby boots on display at Kentucky Derby Museum
Crump had been battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
For the first 95 years of the Kentucky Derby’s existence, only male jockeys were allowed to compete. But that all changed in 1970 when Crump became the first woman to ride in the Derby.
She received her jockey license just one year prior and would go on to finish 15th in the 96th Run for the Roses.
Through 1,682 starts, Crump amassed 228 wins and collected more than $1.2 million in earnings during her jockeying career.
“Diane Crump was an iconic trailblazer who admirably fulfilled her childhood dreams. As the first female to ride professionally at a major Thoroughbred racetrack in 1969 and to become the first female to ride in the Kentucky Derby one year later, she will forever be respected and fondly remembered in horse racing lore. The entire Churchill Downs family extends our condolences to her family and friends,” Churchill Downs said in a statement.
Following her career as a jockey, Crump started Diane Crump Equine Sales as a way to connect buyers and owners in the sporthorse world. She also volunteered at hospitals and nursing homes with her dachshunds to provide animal-assisted therapy.
A woman was arrested after deputies caught her in the process of an apparent murder-suicide with her great-granddaughter Monday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said the woman, Deborah Collier, 69, was charged with attempted first-degree murder. It all started when Collier’s family found a suicide note. Deputies began looking for her after she left her home in the Daytona Park Estates area of DeLand and left behind a suicide note.A VSO deputy spotted her vehicle and conducted a traffic stop for a well-being check. Collier was located behind the wheel, while her 13-year-old great-granddaughter was unconscious in the passenger seat, according to the VSO. Deputies said the child had white pill residue on her and found her totally unresponsive. Inside Collier’s purse, authorities found prescription pills and a typed note explaining she was ending her and her great-granddaughter’s lives to spare the family further stress.Detectives learned that the victim requires 24-hour care due to her disabilities. Collier and her husband were her sole guardians since birth. VSO said the demands of caretaking have contributed to significant stress in the family.Because Collier opposed placing the victim in an assisted living facility, she acted out of desperation and decided to end both her great-granddaughter’s life and her own, according to deputies. Collier believed that no one would care for her like family.Deputies said she was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail and is currently being held without bond.If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. —
A woman was arrested after deputies caught her in the process of an apparent murder-suicide with her great-granddaughter Monday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the woman, Deborah Collier, 69, was charged with attempted first-degree murder.
It all started when Collier’s family found a suicide note.
Deputies began looking for her after she left her home in the Daytona Park Estates area of DeLand and left behind a suicide note.
A VSO deputy spotted her vehicle and conducted a traffic stop for a well-being check.
Collier was located behind the wheel, while her 13-year-old great-granddaughter was unconscious in the passenger seat, according to the VSO.
Deputies said the child had white pill residue on her and found her totally unresponsive.
Inside Collier’s purse, authorities found prescription pills and a typed note explaining she was ending her and her great-granddaughter’s lives to spare the family further stress.
Detectives learned that the victim requires 24-hour care due to her disabilities. Collier and her husband were her sole guardians since birth.
VSO said the demands of caretaking have contributed to significant stress in the family.
Because Collier opposed placing the victim in an assisted living facility, she acted out of desperation and decided to end both her great-granddaughter’s life and her own, according to deputies.
Collier believed that no one would care for her like family.
Deputies said she was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail and is currently being held without bond.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.
KCRA.COM, AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION. TONIGHT WE ARE LEARNING A SKI PATROLLER CAUGHT IN AN AVALANCHE ON MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN HAS DIED FROM HIS INJURIES. 30 YEAR OLD COLE MURPHY IS BEING REMEMBERED BY HIS FAMILY FOR HIS KINDNESS AND DEVOTION, SAYING THE MOUNTAIN IS WHERE HE FELT MOST ALIVE. THE SKI RESORT SAYS TWO OF THEIR PATROLLERS WERE PERFORMING AVALANCHE MITIGATION WORK FRIDAY MORNING, WHEN THEY WERE CAUGHT IN THAT SLIDE. ONE OF THEM WAS BEING ASSESSED FOR INJURIES, BUT WE DO NOT KNOW THEIR CONDITION AT THIS POINT. MURPHY WAS HOSPITALIZED AND DIED FROM HIS INJURIES. THE RESORT WARNS ANY SKIERS TO BE MINDFUL OF DEEP SNOW
Avalanche on Mammoth Mountain kills 30-year-old ski patroller
A man died after getting caught in an avalanche at Mammoth Mountain on Friday, according to the ski resort. Cole Murphy, a 30-year-old ski patroller, was out with another patroller performing avalanche mitigation work when the avalanche happened on Lincoln Mountain. Mammoth Mountain said the two of them were immediately taken to a nearby hospital.Murphy died in the hospital on Friday, Mammoth said. The resort described him Sunday as “an experienced patroller with a deep passion for the mountains and love for his career.” Murphy’s family provided the following statement: With hearts that are aching and full of love, we share the passing of our beloved son, Cole Murphy, who was involved in a tragic accident at Mammoth Mountain. He was just 30 years old. In these tender days, he is held close by the family and friends who cherished him deeply. Cole moved through the world with kindness, intention, and a wholehearted devotion to the life he chose.The mountain was where Cole felt most alive. It was his place of purpose, his community, and his second home. Serving on ski patrol wasn’t just a role for him—it was a calling. To his ski patrol family, the ones who worked beside him, had confidence in him, and shared a bond shaped by snow, service, and unwavering camaraderie: thank you for loving him as one of your own. That brotherhood meant more to him than words can ever express.At the center of Cole’s heart was Hayley—his partner, his joy, his steady place in the world. Their love was built on adventure, laughter, and a connection that ran deep. She is forever a part of who he was, and always will be. Cole also held his family close, meeting life with an easy smile, a generous spirit, and a warmth that drew people in wherever he went.We find ourselves without the right words, but never without love. We are profoundly grateful for the compassion, tenderness, and support that have surrounded our family during this unimaginable time. As we begin to navigate the path ahead, we carry with us the memories, the love, and the bright, enduring light that Cole brought into all of our lives.This was the second second ski patroller death on the mountain this year.Mammoth Mountain’s ski area was closed after the avalanche on Saturday and reopened on Sunday. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
A man died after getting caught in an avalanche at Mammoth Mountain on Friday, according to the ski resort.
Cole Murphy, a 30-year-old ski patroller, was out with another patroller performing avalanche mitigation work when the avalanche happened on Lincoln Mountain. Mammoth Mountain said the two of them were immediately taken to a nearby hospital.
Murphy died in the hospital on Friday, Mammoth said. The resort described him Sunday as “an experienced patroller with a deep passion for the mountains and love for his career.”
Murphy’s family provided the following statement:
With hearts that are aching and full of love, we share the passing of our beloved son, Cole Murphy, who was involved in a tragic accident at Mammoth Mountain. He was just 30 years old. In these tender days, he is held close by the family and friends who cherished him deeply. Cole moved through the world with kindness, intention, and a wholehearted devotion to the life he chose.
The mountain was where Cole felt most alive. It was his place of purpose, his community, and his second home. Serving on ski patrol wasn’t just a role for him—it was a calling. To his ski patrol family, the ones who worked beside him, had confidence in him, and shared a bond shaped by snow, service, and unwavering camaraderie: thank you for loving him as one of your own. That brotherhood meant more to him than words can ever express.
At the center of Cole’s heart was Hayley—his partner, his joy, his steady place in the world. Their love was built on adventure, laughter, and a connection that ran deep. She is forever a part of who he was, and always will be. Cole also held his family close, meeting life with an easy smile, a generous spirit, and a warmth that drew people in wherever he went.
We find ourselves without the right words, but never without love. We are profoundly grateful for the compassion, tenderness, and support that have surrounded our family during this unimaginable time. As we begin to navigate the path ahead, we carry with us the memories, the love, and the bright, enduring light that Cole brought into all of our lives.
CHICAGO — Barely half an hour had passed since the flight landed at O’Hare International Airport, and the Army combat veteran’s palms were already sweating.
Spencer Sullivan, 38, situated himself at the front of a crowd of people waiting near the exit for international arrivals. He knew it could be hours before his friend got through customs.
Still, he said, “I’ve been waiting so long for this moment. I don’t want to miss it.”
It had been just over 13 years since Sullivan, who now works in corporate development, first began helping his former interpreter in Afghanistan petition for a visa to live in the U.S.
The process had been full of big hopes and bigger letdowns. Then, after they finally secured the visa in September, an Afghan immigrant was accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington.
In the politicized aftermath, Sullivan wondered: Would his friend get in?
Abdulhaq Sodais, left, and Spencer Sullivan have breakfast at a hotel in Skokie, Ill., a day after Sodais’ arrival in the U.S.
After the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, teenage Abdulhaq Sodais enrolled in English classes with the goal of becoming an interpreter for coalition forces. Nearly a decade later in 2010, employment records show he was contracted by Mission Essential, one of the largest companies that supplied interpreters in Afghanistan to Western forces.
Sodais, 33, and Sullivan, then a platoon leader, met two years later at a military base in the remote Zabul Province.
Together they would go on intel-gathering missions, talking to village leaders, scouting unfamiliar terrain and observing the Taliban from hilltops, where Sodais interpreted their radio transmissions for Sullivan in real time.
In December 2012, Sullivan returned to the U.S., though he and Sodais stayed in touch. The following year, the blast of an improvised explosive device left Sodais with a concussion and a bulging spinal disk. He returned to his parents’ home in Herat to recover.
After his convalescence, he said, his supervisor told him to take a dangerous road back to the Zabul base — a day’s drive for a journey commonly traveled by air. Afraid it would be a suicide mission, he declined to take the land route and was fired for job abandonment.
The denial of his first Special Immigrant Visa application soon followed.
Those visas offer a pathway to citizenship for Afghans who were employed by the U.S. government or its private contractors. In establishing the program, federal officials acknowledged a moral obligation to protect allies who risked their lives to help the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
More than 50,000 such visas have been approved since 2009, according to the State Department.
One requirement is “faithful and valuable service to the U.S. government.” Applicants denied visas are often deemed to have failed that provision, though interpreters and advocates have said the smallest inconsistency could trigger a denial. Over the next few years, Sodais said, three more visa applications would be denied.
In a Nov. 23, 2014, recommendation letter, Sullivan, by then an Army captain, wrote that granting Sodais a visa “is the least that can be done in order to express America’s gratitude for his services.”
“On multiple missions in enemy controlled villages, his life was threatened by local nationals in support of the Taliban for his assistance of [coalition] forces,” Sullivan wrote. “Abdulhaq did not cover his face while on mission, leaving him recognizable to Taliban informants, further endangering his life.”
He was rehired by Mission Essential in 2014, but fired again in 2016, with a civilian contractor writing in his file that he had an “incompatible skill set with [the] unit’s mission.” She accused him — falsely — Sodais says, of checking his personal Facebook at the office.
Mission Essential later told The Times that he was terminated by the military for poor performance but that it had no record of the incident he referred to.
Sodais said he was confronted by his local mullah, or Muslim clergy leader, in 2015 for working with Western armed forces. The mullah said he was labeled an infidel, and his death had been sanctioned by the Taliban. He went into hiding at his parents’ home.
Then, in July 2017, the Taliban killed Sayed Sadat, another interpreter who had worked with the platoon Sullivan had led. Devastated by the news, Sullivan reached out to Sodais, asking if he was OK.
Sodais had gotten a new phone and didn’t reply. Sullivan, who now wears a metal memorial band with Sadat’s name and date of death, feared Sodais also was dead.
Abdulhaq Sodais and Spencer Sullivan walk through a park in Bremen, Germany, in 2021. Sodais fled Afghanistan for Germany, and Sullivan worked for years to get him a visa to travel to the U.S.
(Peter Dejong / Associated Press)
What Sullivan didn’t know was that Sodais had fled Afghanistan and arrived in Germany in 2018 after seven months of travel with smugglers by land.
After his first German asylum claim was rejected, a lawyer told Sodais he needed more evidence to back up his claims of working for the U.S. So, that Christmas Eve, he messaged Sullivan asking for photos from their missions together. He told Sullivan that if he couldn’t find safety and stability, he would take his own life before the Taliban could.
Sullivan had been wracked with guilt since Sadat’s death and vowed to help. He sent the photos Sodais requested, wrote a letter of support and helped him navigate German bureaucracy. He even flew to Germany from his home in Virginia in 2019 to offer encouragement.
But the asylum process moved slowly. By March 2021, Sodais, overwhelmed by fear of deportation, became deeply depressed and attempted suicide. At a psychiatric hospital, medical records show, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
That August, as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, Sullivan returned to Germany to help Sodais prepare for his final asylum appeal hearing.
The verdict arrived a month later. He’d won.
Sodais found succeeding in German society difficult. He felt a palpable sense of discrimination and was laid off from various contract jobs, including as a forklift operator and an aid helping special needs children on and off school buses.
While Sullivan was happy his friend had found safety, he was disappointed that the country he had served continued to reject his requests for a visa.
“He should be in America,” he said at the time. “We failed him.”
In the meantime, life continued. Sodais married another Afghan refugee, Weeda Faqiri, in 2022. Sodais’ and Sullivan’s families met for the first time in 2022 when Sullivan, his wife and son visited Germany.
Also that year, Sodais said, he won a $15,000 legal judgment against Mission Essential over lack of medical care after the explosive device blast more than a decade earlier.
He and Sullivan decided to write a book about Sodais’ life and their friendship. “Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them” is scheduled to publish in April.
Last year, Sodais decided to make a final pitch to the U.S. government. On Feb. 4 came a reply unlike the others: “Approval of Appeal for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program.”
Abdulhaq Sodais and his wife, Weeda Faqiri, share their first meal in the United States at a restaurant in Chicago on Dec. 17.
On Sept. 25, Sodais was issued a visa valid for just over five months, until March 3. Overjoyed, he and Faqiri, 26, began planning their move.
Two months later, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was charged in the shooting that killed Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounded Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24.
Lakanwal, who pleaded not guilty, entered the U.S. in 2021 through a Biden administration program for Afghans in the wake of the military withdrawal, and his asylum application was approved in April. In Afghanistan, he served in a counterterrorism unit operated by the CIA.
After the shooting, the Trump administration enacted sweeping restrictions to legal immigration programs, including halting visa applications for Afghans and others.
Worried that further restrictions could follow, Sullian called Sodais and told him there were likely two options: stay permanently in Germany, or attempt to move immediately to the U.S.
Sodais chose the move.
Sullivan learned that RefugeeOne, a Chicago-based group that aids refugees, could help. Using money from their book advance, Sullivan booked Sodais and Faqiri flights from Munich to Chicago, arriving Dec. 17.
“Well, this confirms our decision to get them here as fast as possible,” he said that night. “This is a deliberate dismantling of the SIV program, one brick at a time.”
Then he learned the proclamation wouldn’t take effect until Jan. 1. The panic subsided a little.
A woman is taken into custody by Border Patrol agents after she was accused of using her vehicle to block their vehicles while they were patrolling in a shopping center in Niles, Ill., on Dec. 17.
(Scott Olson / Getty Images)
On the day of Sodais’ arrival, Border Patrol leaders returned to Chicago for a fresh round of immigration raids and patrolled a neighborhood near the hotel where he and Faqiri would be staying.
Sullivan said he would put himself physically between Sodais and immigration agents. He was half-joking, but it underscored the political moment.
After Sodais’ plane landed, Sullivan knew he had seen one of his WhatsApp messages because of the two blue checkmarks next to it. But others were unread. Had he been denied entry?
“After so many disappointments over the years, it’s hard to believe that anything’s going to go right,” Sullivan said, later admitting that “I was convinced they were cuffed face-down on the linoleum somewhere.”
Spencer Sullivan, left, guides Abdulhaq Sodais to a parking garage at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Dec. 17.
The arrival of three giddy RefugeeOne employees lifted the mood. After years of serving mostly Afghans, Syrians and Ukrainians, they hadn’t picked up an arriving refugee since January, said Emily Parker, who oversees contract compliance.
Parker said a private donor had paid for Sodais and Faqiri to stay a week in a hotel. They qualified for food stamps, three months of rental assistance, cash assistance and four months of Medicaid, a welcome provision because Sodais still suffers back pain from the explosion.
On the other side of the arrivals door, Sodais and Faqiri were stuck in a winding line with hundreds of other foreigners. Sodais later said they were nervous — they had been questioned for an hour in Munich and nearly just as long on their layover in Lisbon.
When they finally got to the front, the customs officer asked what Sodais did for work in Afghanistan. Sodais said he had been an interpreter for U.S. forces. Great, he recalled the agent replying, before welcoming them through.
At 5:24 p.m., Sullivan’s phone rang. Sodais had exited through a different door, so Sullivan rushed to another part of the airport and pointed excitedly when their eyes locked.
“You made it!” Sullivan said, pulling his friend in for a bear hug as they both sobbed.
Without Sullivan, Sodais told the RefugeeOne workers, he would never have made it to the U.S.
“He saved my life.”
Abdulhaq Sodais, right, listens to Adriano Gasparini, a housing manager with RefugeeOne, after viewing potential apartments in Chicago.
The next morning, Parker conducted an intake interview with Sodais to determine potential job placements and explain the services her organization would provide. She said Sodais had technically entered the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident, and his green card should arrive in the mail within a few months.
“That’s how it works with SIVs,” she said. “They’re already 100 steps ahead of any asylee or other refugee.”
Sullivan let out a deep breath. “In my mind, we were playing a long gamble on the courts challenging the executive orders, so that’s good news,” he said.
Sodais, who had applied for the visa with only Sullivan’s help and no lawyer, was also pleasantly surprised.
“This is very exciting for me, because I heard Donald Trump say he stopped everything about refugees,” he said.
Spencer Sullivan looks out of a living room window in a potential apartment for Abdulhaq Sodais and his wife in Chicago.
After dinner — the couple’s first Chicago tavern-style pizza — Sullivan offered Faqiri a box to save her last slice, and she hesitated. Sodais gently explained that in Afghanistan, it’s not cultural norm to take food home from restaurants.
“I just realized something,” Sullivan said. “You’re going to be my interpreter for the rest of our lives.”
