Ftima Bosch Fernndez of Mexico was crowned Miss Universe 2025 on Friday, a dramatic victory for a 25-year-old at the center of the turbulent 74th staging of the popular beauty pageant in Bangkok who stood up to public bullying from one of the hosts.
The issues at this year's event sprang from a sharp-tongued scolding of Bosch, which sparked a controversy marked by a walkout, feminist solidarity, and a teary, melodramatic apology from the local organizer who set it all off.
When Bosch was announced as the winner, cheers and screams erupted from the audience, with Mexican flags waved by elated supporters.
Speaking to the media after her victory, Bosch said that she would like to be remembered as "a person that changed a little bit the prototype of what is a Miss Universe and a real person that gives the heart."
She also paid tribute to the pageant, describing it as "a platform that is strong because they have the space that women are searching to have a voice."
The first runner-up was 29-year-old Praveenar Singh of Thailand, and 25-year-old Stephany Adriana Abasali Nasser of Venezuela placed third. Rounding up the finishers were Ahtisa Manalo, 28, of the Philippines, and 27-year-old Olivia Yac of Ivory Coast, who came fifth.
At the livestreamed sashing ceremony for the more than 100 contestants on Nov. 4, Thai national director Nawat Itsaragrisil hectored Bosch for allegedly not following his guidelines for taking part in local promotional activities. He called security when she spoke up to defend herself.
Bosch walked out of the room, joined by several others in a show of solidarity, including Miss Universe 2024, Victoria Kjr Theilvig of Denmark.
"What your director did is not respectful: He called me dumb," an unbowed Bosch told Thai reporters. "If it takes away your dignity, you need to go."
Nawat insisted that he did not call her "dumb."
The Miss Universe Organization president, Mexican businessman Ral Rocha Cant, released a statement condemning Nawat's conduct as "public aggression" and "serious abuse."
Even Mexico's first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum, piled on, saying at a news conference in her country's capital that she wanted to give "recognition" to Miss Mexico for voicing her disagreement in a "dignified" way.
"It seems to me that it is an example of how women should raise our voices," Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum recalled being told in the past that "women look more beautiful when they keep quiet."
"We women look more beautiful when we raise our voice and participate, because that has to do with the recognition of our rights," she said.
Nawat later apologized for his actions, appearing both tearful and defiant at the same time.
"If anyone (was) affected and not comfortable it happened, I am so sorry," he said in front of the contestants. He then turned to them and said, "It's passed. OK? Are you happy?"
Bosch's official Miss Universe biography says she studied fashion in Mexico and Italy and has focused on creating sustainable designs and working with discarded materials. It says she has volunteered with sick children, promoted environmental awareness, and engaged in supported migrants and mental health issues.
This year's competition also saw a report that two judges had quit, with one of them suggesting that there was an element of rigging to the contest. The allegation was denied. Separately, Thai police investigated the alleged illegal promotion of online casinos as part of the event's publicity.
Mishaps and controversies are not rare for the pageant. The 2021 event attracted criticism because it was held in Israel, to the dismay of supporters of the Palestinian cause.
An example of a minor misstep literally occurred Wednesday when Miss Universe Jamaica, Gabrielle Henry, fell off the stage during the evening gown competition. She was not badly hurt.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine has to confront the possibility of losing its dignity or risking the loss of a key partner as it figures out how to respond to a U.S. peace proposal to end Russia's war with his country.
"This is one of the most difficult moments in our history," Zelenskyy said in a video address to the nation. "Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner."
He said Ukraine would "work calmly with America and all partners," as he vowed to work constructively.
Zelenskyy spoke earlier by phone with the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, who assured him of their continued support, as European officials scrambled to respond to U.S. peace proposals that apparently caught them unawares.
The U.S. plan contains many of Russian President Vladimir Putin's longstanding demands, including Ukrainian territorial concessions, while offering limited security guarantees to Ukraine.
Wary of antagonizing U.S. President Donald Trump, the European and Ukrainian responses were cautiously worded and pointedly commended American peace efforts.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer assured Zelenskyy of "their unchanged and full support on the way to a lasting and just peace" in Ukraine, Merz's office said.
The four leaders welcomed U.S. efforts to end the war. "In particular, they welcomed the commitment to the sovereignty of Ukraine and the readiness to grant Ukraine solid security guarantees," the statement added.
"They agreed to continue pursuing the aim of protecting vital European and Ukrainian interests in the long term," the statement said. "That includes the line of contact being the point of departure for an agreement and that the Ukrainian armed forces must remain in a position to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine effectively."
Starmer said the right of Ukraine to "determine its future under its sovereignty is a fundamental principle."
European countries see their own futures at stake in Ukraine's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion and have insisted on being consulted in peace efforts.
"Russia's war against Ukraine is an existential threat to Europe. We all want this war to end. But how it ends matters," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in Brussels. "Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded. Ultimately, the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide."
The plan foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, something Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out, reduces the size of it army and blocks its route to NATO membership.
Zelenskyy said the leaders discussed the plan and appreciated the efforts of Trump and his team, although he added that they are "working on the document."
"We are closely coordinating to ensure that the principled positions are taken into account," Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post.
The proposals come at a difficult time for Zelenskyy, who is grappling with a push on the battlefield by Russia's bigger army and a major domestic corruption scandal.
A European government official said that the U.S. plans weren't officially presented to Ukraine's European backers.
Many of the proposals are "quite concerning," the European government official said, adding that a bad deal for Ukraine would also be a threat to broader European security.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the plan publicly.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she also would call Zelenskyy to discuss the 28-point plan.
"Important is a key principle we have always upheld, and that is nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," she said at a G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
European Council President Antonio Costa in Johannesburg said of the U.S. proposals: "The European Union has not been communicated (about) any plans in (an) official manner."
Ukraine examines the proposals
Ukrainian officials said they were weighing the U.S. proposals, and Zelenskyy said he expected to talk to Trump about it in coming days.
"We are fully aware that America's strength and America's support can truly bring peace closer, and we do not want to lose that," Zelenskyy said on Telegram late Thursday.
The Kremlin offered a reserved reaction, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Moscow has not officially received the U.S. peace plan.
"No, we haven't received anything officially. We're seeing some innovations. But officially, we haven't received anything. And there hasn't been a substantive discussion of these points," Peskov told reporters without elaborating further.
He claimed U.S.-Russian diplomatic contacts are "ongoing," but "nothing substantive is currently being discussed."
A U.S. team began drawing up the plan soon after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Rustem Umerov, a top adviser to Zelenskyy, according to a senior Trump administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that Umerov agreed to most of the plan, after making several modifications, and then presented it to Zelenskyy.
Umerov on Friday denied that version of events. He said he only organized meetings and prepared the talks.
He said technical talks between the U.S. and Ukraine were continuing in Kyiv. Ukrainian officials are "carefully studying all the partners' proposals, expecting the same respectful attitude toward the Ukrainian position."
"We are thoughtfully processing the partners' proposals within the framework of Ukraine's unchanging principles sovereignty, people's security, and a just peace," he said.
Russian glide bomb hits Ukraine homes
Meanwhile, a Russian glide bomb slammed into a residential district in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing five people, officials said Friday, as Moscow's forces continued to hammer civilian areas of Ukraine. The overnight attack also injured 10 people, including a teenage girl.
The powerful glide bomb damaged some high-rise apartment blocks for the third time since the war began and also wrecked a local market, according to the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov.
A Russian drone assault on the southern city of Odesa also struck a residential area during the night, injuring five people, including a 16-year-old boy.
The attacks came two days after a Russian drone and missile barrage on Ukraine's western city of Ternopil killed 31 people, including six children, and injured 94 others, including 18 children.
Emergency services say 13 people are still unaccounted for after the attack crushed the top floors of apartment blocks and started fires.
President Donald Trump has further loosened tariffs on Brazil as part of his effort to lower consumer costs for Americans. The decision, released Thursday, affects coffee, fruit and beef, among other goods.
The White House said last week that Trump was rolling back some worldwide tariffs that were originally announced in April.
However, Brazil said that didn't affect levies that Trump had enacted in July to punish the country for prosecuting his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Thursday's decision harmonizes Trump's plans, ensuring that neither the April nor July tariffs apply to certain products.
Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva have been negotiating over trade, which could further reduce tariffs.
ESPN and Major League Baseball appeared headed for an ugly separation after the network opted out of its rights deal in February.
Nine months later, it appears to be the best thing to happen to both parties.
ESPN has a reworked deal that includes out-of-market streaming rights while NBC and Netflix will air games as part of a new three-year media rights agreement announced by MLB on Wednesday.
I think its really important that we manage to continue a relationship with ESPN. Theyve been kind of the bedrock of our broadcast program for a long time, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said.
NBC/Peacock will become the new home of Sunday Night Baseball and the Wild Card Series while Netflix will have the Home Run Derby and two additional games.
The three deals will average nearly $800 million per year. ESPN will still pay $550 million while the NBC deal is worth $200 million and Netflix $50 million.
How ESPN benefits
ESPN, which has carried baseball since 1990, loses postseason games and the Home Run Derby but gains something more valuable for its bottom line by becoming the rights holder for MLB.TV, which will be available on the ESPN app.
ESPN also gets the in-market streaming rights for the six teams whose games are produced by MLB: San Diego, Colorado, Arizona, Cleveland, Minnesota and Seattle.
Even though ESPN no longer has Sunday Night Baseball, it will have 30 exclusive games, primarily on weeknights and in the summer months.
Were excited to have a midweek package back out there, Manfred said. This is an evolution of a relationship. Long relationships go through these things, and its an evolution that I think is significant. I think it is consonant with ESPNs focus on streaming going forward.
Baseball is the second league that has its out-of-market digital package available in the U.S. on ESPNs platform. The NHL moved its package to ESPN in 2021.
Welcome back, NBC
NBC, which celebrates its 100th anniversary next year, has a long history with baseball, albeit not much recently. The network carried games from 1939 through 1989. It was part of the short-lived Baseball Network with ABC in 1994 and 95 and then aired playoff games from 1996 through 2000.
Its first game will be on March 26 when the defending two-time champion Los Angeles Dodgers host the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 25 Sunday night games will air mostly on NBC with the rest on the new NBC Sports Network. All will stream on Peacock.
The first Sunday Night Baseball game on NBC will be April 12 with the next one in May after the NBA playoffs.
The addition of baseball games gives NBC a year-around night of sports on Sunday nights. It has had NFL games on Sunday night since 2006 and will debut an NBA Sunday night slate in February.
NBC will also have a prime-time game on Labor Day night.
The Sunday early-afternoon games also return to Peacock, which had them in 2022 and 23. The early-afternoon games will lead into a studio Whip-Around Show before the Sunday night game.
NBC/Peacock will also do the Major League Futures game on the day before the Home Run Derby and coverage of the first round of the amateur draft on the Saturday heading into the All-Star break.
Netflix and baseball
Netflix's baseball deals are in alignment with its strategy of going for big events in a major sport. The streamer will have an NFL Christmas doubleheader this season for the second straight year.
Besides the Home Run Derby, Netflix will have the first game of the season on March 25 when three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees visit the San Francisco Giants. It also has the Home Run Derby and the Field of Dreams game at Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 13, when Minnesota faces Philadelphia. Netflix will stream a MLB special event game each year.
Don't forget the others
The negotiations around the other deals were complicated due to the fact that MLB was also trying not to slight two of its other rights holders. MLB receives an average of $729 million from Fox and $470 million from Turner Sports per year under deals which expire after the 2028 season.
Foxs Saturday nights have been mainly sports the past couple years with a mix of baseball, college football, college basketball and motorsports.
Apple TV has had Friday Night Baseball since 2022.
The deals also set up Manfred for future negotiations. He would like to see MLB take a more national approach to its rights instead of a large percentage of its games being on regional sports networks.
The U.S. and Russia have drawn up a plan aimed at ending the war in Ukraine that calls for major concessions from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the matter, including granting some demands the Kremlin has made repeatedly since the full-scale invasion began nearly four years ago.
It was not clear what, if any, concessions the proposal asks of Russia. The same person confirmed that promises from Moscow of no further attacks are part of the framework.
In other developments, Russias chief military officer, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, announced that Moscows forces had taken full control of Kupiansk in Ukraines Kharkiv region, although he also said that some Ukrainian troops remained in the city.
The general staff for Ukraines armed forces denied Gerasimovs claims and said that Kyivs forces remained in control of Kupiansk.
An aggressive timeline for peace
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff have been quietly working on the peace plan for a month, receiving input from both Ukrainians and Russians on terms that are acceptable to each side, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday.
She declined to comment on details of the emerging proposal, but she said U.S. President Donald Trump has been briefed on it and supports it.
"It is a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe it should be acceptable to both sides. And we are working hard to get it done, Leavitt said.
The latest Trump administration push for peace has piled more pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is marshaling his countrys defenses against Russias bigger army, visiting European leaders to ensure they continue their support for Ukraine and navigating a major corruption scandal that has caused public outrage.
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was also in Kyiv on Thursday to give a new push to peace efforts and assess the reality on the ground in Ukraine. Zelenskyy confirmed that he had met with Driscoll and discussed options for achieving real peace.
Our teams of Ukraine and the United States will work on the provisions of the plan to end the war. We are ready for constructive, honest and swift work, he wrote in a post on X.
Zelenskyys office also said in a statement that the Ukrainian president expected to talk to Trump in coming days about diplomatic opportunities.
European diplomats urge wider consultations
As reports of the Russia-U.S. peace plan emerged, blindsided European diplomats insisted they and Ukraine must be consulted.
European leaders have already been alarmed this year by indications that Trumps administration might be sidelining them and Zelenskyy in its push to stop the fighting. Trumps at-times conciliatory approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin has fueled those concerns, but Trump adopted a tougher line last month when he announced heavy sanctions on Russia's vital oil sector that come into force Friday.
For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the start of a meeting in Brussels of the 27-nation blocs foreign ministers. She added: We havent heard of any concessions on the Russian side."
German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul said he talked by phone Thursday with Witkoff and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss our various current efforts to end Russias war of aggression against Ukraine and thus finally put an end to the immeasurable human suffering.
The conversations also focused on specific ideas that are currently being discussed, Wadephul said in a statement. He did not elaborate.
It was not clear whether the foreign ministers had seen the peace plan, which was first reported by Axios. The proposal was drawn up by U.S. and Russian envoys, and was said to include forcing Ukraine to cede territory, a prospect Zelenskyy has ruled out.
The Trump administrations diplomatic efforts this year to stop the fighting have so far come to nothing.
The proposal, which could still be changed, calls in part for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia and to abandon certain weaponry, according to the person who had been briefed on the contours of the plan but was not authorized to comment publicly. It would also include the rollback of some critical U.S. military assistance.
Russia, as part of the proposal, would be given effective control of the entire eastern Donbas region, Ukraines industrial heartland made up of the Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk regions, even though Ukraine still holds part of it. Putin has listed the capture of the Donbas as the key goal of the invasion.
Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev, a close adviser to Putin, have been key to drafting the proposal, according to the person familiar with the matter.
But a peace deal that requires Kyiv to hand over territory to Russia would not only be deeply unpopular with Ukrainians, it also would be illegal under Ukraines constitution. Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out such a possibility.
Rubio said on social platform X late Wednesday that American officials are and will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for a lasting peace agreement which will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that there there are no consultations per se currently underway with the U.S. on ending the war in Ukraine. There are certainly contacts, but processes that could be called consultations are not underway, he told reporters.
EU accuses Russia of insincerity
Though the European diplomats appeared caught by surprise, reported elements of the plan were not new. Trump said last month that the Donbas region should be cut up, leaving most of it in Russian hands.
EU diplomats have accused Putin of being insincere in saying he wants peace but refusing to compromise in negotiations while sustaining Russias grinding war of attrition in Ukraine.
Kallas, the EUs chief diplomat, chided Putins forces for continuing to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, a day after a strike on the western city of Ternopil killed 26 people and wounded 93 others. About two dozen people were still missing.
Kallas said that if Russia really wanted peace, it could have agreed to (an) unconditional ceasefire already some time ago.
Trump has stopped sending military aid directly to Ukraine, with European countries taking up the slack by buying weaponry for Ukraine from the United States. That has given Europe leverage in talks on ending the conflict.
Russia reports gains in two regions
In a video released by the Kremlin, Gerasimov told Putin, who attended the meeting dressed in combat fatigues, that Russian troops had taken Kupiansk and that they continued to destroy Ukrainian forces encircled on the left bank of the Oskil River.
He also said Russian troops had taken 80% the Ukrainian city of Vovchansk, also in the Kharkiv region, and 70% of the fiercely contested city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian military denied all of Gerasimov's claims. In a statement issued late Thursday, the general staff said Kupiansk remained under Kyiv's control and that efforts were underway to eliminate the enemy presence in the city and its suburbs.
The city of Kupiansk and the territories around it were under Russian occupation from early in Russias invasion in February 2022 until September 2022, when Ukrainian forces conducted a rapid offensive operation that dislodged the Kremlins forces from nearly the entire Kharkiv region.
The retaking of those areas strengthened Ukraines arguments that its troops could deliver more stinging defeats to Russia with additional armament deliveries.
Jarring swings keep rocking Wall Street, and U.S. stocks erased a big morning gain to drop on Thursday as the market remains skittish following weeks of doubts and erratic moves.
After initially soaring toward what seemed like its best day since May, with an early surge of 1.9%, the S&P 500 erased all of it and fell 1.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 386 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.2%.
The sharpest losses again hit what used to be the markets biggest winners. Nvidia, cryptocurrencies and other areas that had soared with nearly relentless momentum, as traders feared missing out on more gains, forced the market lower. Bitcoin dropped below $87,000, down from nearly $125,000 last month.
The market had been shaky coming into Thursday, largely because of twin worries: Nvidia and other superstar stocks caught up in the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology may have simply shot too high, and the Federal Reserve may be done delivering the invigorating cuts to interest rates that Wall Street loves.
Nvidia initially appeared to tamp down the worries about a bubble for AI stocks after reporting a big profit for the summer, along with a forecast for coming revenue that easily cleared analysts expectations. By delivering strong profits and indicating more are coming, Nvidia can justify its stocks price gains and make it look less expensive.
Given Nvidias forecasts, it is very hard to see how this stock does not keep moving higher from here, according to analysts at UBS led by Timothy Arcuri. They also said the AI infrastructure tide is still rising so fast that all boats will be lifted.
Nvidia jumped to an early gain of 5% but then dropped to a loss of 3%. Because its the biggest company in the U.S. market by value, Nvidias stock has more pull on the S&P 500 than any other companys.
Despite Nvidias big numbers, worries about a potential AI bubble arent gone. The concern among investors is that all the dollars pouring into AI chips and data centers may not ultimately produce the big profits and productivity for the economy that proponents have been promising.
Yes, Nvidia expects to sell another $65 billion of chips in the coming three months, which is more than analysts expected. But will all those chips actually create much bigger profits for Amazon and other companies using them? That question whether all the investment in AI will prove to be worth it in the end is still unanswered.
The most recent survey of global fund managers by Bank of America showed a record percentage of investors saying companies are overinvesting.
Amazon went from an early gain of 2.1% Thursday to a loss of 2.5%. Palantir Technologies swung from a jump of 5.5% to a loss of 5.8%.
The last time the overall stock market had swings in one day as wild as Thursdays was in April, when President Donald Trump shocked the world with his stiff Liberation Day tariffs.
For the second worry thats been dogging Wall Street, interest rates, Thursdays jobs report from the U.S. government came in mixed and offered some relief. Financial markets initially seemed to pick the data apart for encouraging signals, according to Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.
The report showed hiring by U.S. employers was stronger in September than economists expected, which may suggest the economy remains solid. But it also said the unemployment rate worsened slightly, which could give the Fed reason to cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in December.
Traders still see a December rate cut as relatively unlikely, giving it a roughly 40% probability, according to data from CME Group. But thats better than the 30% chance they saw a day earlier.
What the Fed does is critical for the stock market because prices ran to records in part because of expectations for continued cuts to rates. The Fed has already cut rates twice this year to shore up the slowing job market. But lower rates can worsen inflation, which has stubbornly remained above the Feds 2% target.
On the winning side of Wall Street was Walmart, which rallied 6.5% after the retailer delivered another standout quarter. It reported strong sales and profits that blew past Wall Street expectations as it continues to lure cash-strapped Americans nervous about the economy and prices.
That wasnt enough to drown out the losses for Nvidia and tech. Companies enmeshed in the crypto industry also tumbled, as bitcoin dropped to its lowest price since April. Robinhood Markets fell 10.1%, and Coinbase Global sank 7.4%.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 103.40 points to 6,538.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 386.51 to 45,752.26, and the Nasdaq composite sank 486.18 to 22,078.05.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.09% from 4.13% late Wednesday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.
Japans Nikkei 225 jumped 2.6%, and South Koreas Kospi rose 1.9% for two of the bigger gains.
The Trump administration announced on Thursday new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades, advancing a project that critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems, as President Donald Trump seeks to expand U.S. oil production.
The oil industry has been seeking access to new offshore areas, including Southern California and off the coast of Florida, as a way to boost U.S. energy security and jobs. The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama, since 1995, because of concerns about oil spills. California has some offshore oil rigs, but there has been no new leasing in federal waters since the mid-1980s.
Since taking office for a second time in January, Trump has systematically reversed former President Joe Bidens focus on slowing climate change to pursue what the Republican calls U.S. energy dominance in the global market. Trump, who recently called climate change the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world," created a National Energy Dominance Council and directed it to move quickly to drive up already record-high U.S. energy production, particularly fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.
Meanwhile, Trumps administration has blocked renewable energy sources such as offshore wind and canceled billions of dollars in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects across the country.
Even before it was released, the offshore drilling plan has been met with strong opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is eyeing a 2028 presidential run and has emerged as a leading Trump critic. Newsom pronounced the idea dead on arrival in a social media post. The proposal also is likely to draw bipartisan opposition in Florida. Tourism and access to clean beaches are key parts of the economy in both states.
Plans to allow drilling off California, Alaska and Florida's coast
The administrations plan proposes six offshore lease sales off the coast of California.
It also calls for new drilling off the coast of Florida in areas at least 100 miles from that state's shore. The area targeted for leasing is adjacent to an area in the Central Gulf of Mexico that already contains thousands of wells and hundreds of drilling platforms.
The five-year plan also would compel more than 20 lease sales off the coast of Alaska, including a newly designated area known as the High Arctic, more than 200 miles offshore in the Arctic Ocean.
All offshore areas with the potential to generate jobs, new revenue and additional production to advance Americas energy dominance should be considered for inclusion, the American Petroleum Institute and other groups said in a joint letter to the Trump administration in June.
The groups cited Californias history as an oil-producing state. Undiscovered resources could be readily produced given the array of existing infrastructure in the area, particularly in southern California, the letter said.
Opposition from California and Florida
Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican and Trump ally, helped persuade Trump officials to drop a similar offshore plan in 2018 when he was governor. Last week, Scott and fellow Florida Republican Sen. Ashley Moody co-sponsored a bill to maintain a moratorium on offshore drilling in the state that Trump signed in his first term.
As Floridians, we know how vital our beautiful beaches and coastal waters are to our states economy, environment and way of life, Scott said in a statement. I will always work to keep Floridas shores pristine and protect our natural treasures for generations to come.
A Newsom spokesman said Trump officials had not formally shared the plan, but said expensive and riskier offshore drilling would put our communities at risk and undermine the economic stability of our coastal economies."
California has been a leader in restricting offshore oil drilling since the infamous 1969 Santa Barbara spill that helped spark the modern environmental movement. While there have been no new federal leases offered since the mid-1980s, drilling from existing platforms continues.
Newsom expressed support for greater offshore controls after a 2021 spill off Huntington Beach and has backed a congressional effort to ban new offshore drilling on the West Coast.
A Texas-based company, with support from the Trump administration, is seeking to restart production in waters off Santa Barbara damaged by a 2015 oil spill. The administration has hailed the plan by Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp. as the kind of project Trump wants to increase U.S. energy production as the federal government removes regulatory barriers.
Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term reversing former President Joe Bidens ban on future offshore oil drilling on the East and West coasts. A federal court later struck down Bidens order to withdraw 625 million acres of federal waters from oil development.
Environmental and economic concerns over oil spills
Democratic lawmakers, including California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff and Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, warned that opening vast coastlines to new offshore drilling "would devastate coastal economies, jeopardize our national security, ravage coastal ecosystems, and put millions of Americans health and safety at risk.''
Oil spills not only cause irreparable environmental damage, but also suppress the value of coastal homes, harm tourism economies and weaken coastal infrastructure,'' the lawmakers said in a letter signed by dozens of Democrats. One disastrous oil spill can cost taxpayers billions in lost revenue, cleanup costs and ecosystem restoration, they said.
Joseph Gordon, campaign director for the environmental group Oceana, called the Trump administration's latest plan an oil spill nightmare.
Coastal communities depend on healthy oceans for economic security and their cherished way of life,'' he said. We need to protect our coasts from more offshore drilling, not put them up for sale to the oil and gas industry. Theres too much at stake to risk more horrific oil spills that will haunt our coastlines for generations to come.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to end its monthslong deployment of National Guard troops to help police the nation's capital.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb concluded that President Donald Trump's military takeover in Washington, D.C., violates the Constitution and illegally intrudes on local officials' authority to direct law enforcement in the district. She put her order on hold for 21 days to allow for an appeal, however.
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued to challenge the Guard deployments. He asked the judge to bar the White House from deploying Guard troops without the mayor's consent.
Cobb found that the president only has the power to call up the Guard "through the exercise of a specific power outlined in state law," not for "whatever reason" he sees fit.
In August, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington. Within a month, more than 2,300 National Guard troops from eight states and the district were patrolling the city under the command of the Secretary of the Army. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents to assist in patrols.
It's unclear how long the deployments will last, but attorneys from Schwalb's office said Guard troops are likely to remain in the city through at least next summer.
"Our constitutional democracy will never be the same if these occupations are permitted to stand," they wrote.
Government lawyers said Congress empowered the president to control the D.C. National Guard's operation. They argued that Schwalb's lawsuit is a frivolous "political stunt" threatening to undermine a successful campaign to reduce violent crime in the district.
"There is no sensible reason for an injunction unwinding this arrangement now, particularly since the District's claims have no merit," Justice Department attorneys wrote.
Trump's Guard deployments have led to other court challenges, including in Portland, Chicago and Los Angeles.
In Washington, the Trump administration deputized Guard troops to serve as special U.S. Marshal Service deputies. Schwalb's office said out-of-state troops are impermissibly operating as a federal military police force in D.C., inflaming tensions with residents and diverting local police resources.
"Every day that this lawless incursion continues, the District suffers harm to its sovereign authority to conduct local law enforcement as it chooses," his office's attorneys wrote.
The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious, The Associated Press has found.
The predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took. Federal agents, in turn, may then flag local law enforcement.
Suddenly, drivers find themselves pulled over often for reasons cited such as speeding, failure to signal, the wrong window tint or even a dangling air freshener blocking the view. They are then aggressively questioned and searched, with no inkling that the roads they drove put them on law enforcement's radar.
Once limited to policing the nation's boundaries, the Border Patrol has built a surveillance system stretching into the country's interior that can monitor ordinary Americans' daily actions and connections for anomalies instead of simply targeting wanted suspects. Started about a decade ago to fight illegal border-related activities and the trafficking of both drugs and people, it has expanded over the past five years.
The Border Patrol has recently grown even more powerful through collaborations with other agencies, drawing information from license plate readers nationwide run by the Drug Enforcement Administration, private companies and, increasingly, local law enforcement programs funded through federal grants. Texas law enforcement agencies have asked Border Patrol to use facial recognition to identify drivers, documents show.
This active role beyond the borders is part of the quiet transformation of its parent agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, into something more akin to a domestic intelligence operation. Under the Trump administration's heightened immigration enforcement efforts, CBP is now poised to get more than $2.7 billion to build out border surveillance systems such as the license plate reader program by layering in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
The result is a mass surveillance network with a particularly American focus: cars.
This investigation, the first to reveal details of how the program works on America's roads, is based on interviews with eight former government officials with direct knowledge of the program who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media, as well as dozens of federal, state and local officials, attorneys and privacy experts. The AP also reviewed thousands of pages of court and government documents, state grant and law enforcement data, and arrest reports.
The Border Patrol has for years hidden details of its license plate reader program, trying to keep any mention of the program out of court documents and police reports, former officials say, even going so far as to propose dropping charges rather than risk revealing any details about the placement and use of their covert license plate readers. Readers are often disguised along highways in traffic safety equipment like drums and barrels.
The Border Patrol has defined its own criteria for which drivers' behavior should be deemed suspicious or tied to drug or human trafficking, stopping people for anything from driving on backcountry roads, being in a rental car or making short trips to the border region. The agency's network of cameras now extends along the southern border in Texas, Arizona and California, and also monitors drivers traveling near the U.S.-Canada border.
And it reaches far into the interior, impacting residents of big metropolitan areas and people driving to and from large cities such as Chicago and Detroit, as well as from Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Houston to and from the Mexican border region. In one example, AP found the agency has placed at least four cameras in the greater Phoenix area over the years, one of which was more than 120 miles (193 kilometers) from the Mexican frontier, beyond the agency's usual jurisdiction of 100 miles (161 kilometers) from a land or sea border. The AP also identified several camera locations in metropolitan Detroit, as well as one placed near the Michigan-Indiana border to capture traffic headed towards Chicago or Gary, Indiana, or other nearby destinations.
Border Patrol's parent agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said they use license plate readers to help identify threats and disrupt criminal networks and are "governed by a stringent, multi-layered policy framework, as well as federal law and constitutional protections, to ensure the technology is applied responsibly and for clearly defined security purposes."
"For national security reasons, we do not detail the specific operational applications," the agency said. While the U.S. Border Patrol primarily operates within 100 miles of the border, it is legally allowed "to operate anywhere in the United States," the agency added.
While collecting license plates from cars on public roads has generally been upheld by courts, some legal scholars see the growth of large digital surveillance networks such as Border Patrol's as raising constitutional questions. Courts have started to recognize that "large-scale surveillance technology that's capturing everyone and everywhere at every time" might be unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches, said Andrew Ferguson, a law professor at George Washington University.
Today, predictive surveillance is embedded into America's roadways. Mass surveillance techniques are also used in a range of other countries, from authoritarian governments such as China to, increasingly, democracies in the U.K. and Europe in the name of national security and public safety.
"They are collecting mass amounts of information about who people are, where they go, what they do, and who they know engaging in dragnet surveillance of Americans on the streets, on the highways, in their cities, in their communities," Nicole Ozer, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Democracy at UC Law San Francisco, said in response to the AP's findings. "These surveillance systems do not make communities safer."
'We did everything right and had nothing to hide'
In February, Lorenzo Gutierrez Lugo, a driver for a small trucking company that specializes in transporting furniture, clothing and other belongings to families in Mexico, was driving south to the border city of Brownsville, Texas, carrying packages from immigrant communities in South Carolina's low country.
Gutierrez Lugo was pulled over by a local police officer in Kingsville, a small Texas city near Corpus Christi that lies about 100 miles (161 kilometers) from the Mexican border. The officer, Richard Beltran, cited the truck's speed of 50 mph (80 kph) in a 45 mph (72 kph) zone as the reason for the stop.
But speeding was a pretext: Border Patrol had requested the stop and said the black Dodge pickup with a white trailer could contain contraband, according to police and court records. U.S. Route 77 passes through Kingsville, a route that state and federal authorities scrutinize for trafficking of drugs, money and people.
Gutierrez Lugo, who through a lawyer declined to comment, was interrogated about the route he drove, based on license plate reader data, per the police report and court records. He consented to a search of his car by Beltran and Border Patrol agents, who eventually arrived to assist.
They unearthed no contraband. But Beltran arrested Gutierrez Lugo on suspicion of money laundering and engaging in organized criminal activity because he was carrying thousands of dollars in cash money his supervisor said came directly from customers in local Latino communities, who are accustomed to paying in cash. No criminal charges were ultimately brought against Gutierrez Lugo and an effort by prosecutors to seize the cash, vehicle and trailer as contraband was eventually dropped.
Luis Barrios owns the trucking company, Paquetera El Guero, that employed the driver. He told AP he hires people with work authorization in the United States and was taken aback by the treatment of his employee and his trailer.
"We did everything right and had nothing to hide, and that was ultimately what they found," said Barrios, who estimates he spent $20,000 in legal fees to clear his driver's name and get the trailer out of impound.
Border Patrol agents and local police have many names for these kinds of stops: "whisper," "intel" or "wall" stops. Those stops are meant to conceal or wall off that the true reason for the stop is a tip from federal agents sitting miles away, watching data feeds showing who's traveling on America's roads and predicting who is "suspicious," according to documents and people interviewed by the AP.
In 2022, a man from Houston had his car searched from top to bottom by Texas sheriff's deputies outside San Antonio after they got a similar tipoff from Border Patrol agents about the driver, Alek Schott.
Federal agents observed that Schott had made an overnight trip from Houston to Carrizo Springs, Texas, and back, court records show. They knew he stayed overnight in a hotel about 80 miles (129 kilometers) from the U.S.-Mexico border. They knew that in the morning Schott met a female colleague there before they drove together to a business meeting.
At Border Patrol's request, Schott was pulled over by Bexar County sheriff's deputies. The deputies held Schott by the side of the road for more than an hour, searched his car and found nothing.
"The beautiful thing about the Texas Traffic Code is there's thousands of things you can stop a vehicle for," said Joel Babb, the sheriff's deputy who stopped Schott's car, in a deposition in a lawsuit Schott filed alleging violations of his constitutional rights.
According to testimony and documents released as part of Schott's lawsuit, Babb was on a group chat with federal agents called Northwest Highway. Babb deleted the WhatsApp chat off his phone but Schott's lawyers were able to recover some of the text messages.
Through a public records act request, the AP also obtained more than 70 pages of the Northwest Highway group chats from June and July of this year from a Texas county that had at least one sheriff's deputy active in the chat. The AP was able to associate numerous phone numbers in both sets of documents with Border Patrol agents and Texas law enforcement officials.
The chat logs show Border Patrol agents and Texas sheriffs deputies trading tips about vehicles' travel patterns based on suspicions about little more than someone taking a quick trip to the border region and back. The chats show how thoroughly Texas highways are surveilled by this federal-local partnership and how much detailed information is informally shared.
In one exchange a law enforcement official included a photo of someone's driver's license and told the group the person, who they identified using an abbreviation for someone in the country illegally, was headed westbound. "Need BP?," responded a group member whose number was labeled "bp Intel." "Yes sir," the official answered, and a Border Patrol agent was en route.
Border Patrol agents and local law enforcement shared information about U.S. citizens' social media profiles and home addresses with each other after stopping them on the road. Chats show Border Patrol was also able to determine whether vehicles were rentals and whether drivers worked for rideshare services.
In Schott's case, Babb testified that federal agents "actually watch travel patterns on the highway" through license plate scans and other surveillance technologies. He added: "I just know that they have a lot of toys over there on the federal side."
After finding nothing in Schott's car, Babb said "nine times out of 10, this is what happens," a phrase Schott's lawyers claimed in court filings shows the sheriff's department finds nothing suspicious in most of its searches. Babb did not respond to multiple requests for comment from AP.
The Bexar County sheriff's office declined to comment due to pending litigation and referred all questions about the Schott case to the county's district attorney. The district attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
The case is pending in federal court in Texas. Schott said in an interview with the AP: "I didn't know it was illegal to drive in Texas."
'Patterns of life' and license plates
Today, the deserts, forests and mountains of the nation's land borders are dotted with checkpoints and increasingly, surveillance towers, Predator drones, thermal cameras and license plate readers, both covert and overt.
Border Patrol's parent agency got authorization to run a domestic license plate reader program in 2017, according to a Department of Homeland Security policy document. At the time, the agency said that it might use hidden license plate readers "for a set period of time while CBP is conducting an investigation of an area of interest or smuggling route. Once the investigation is complete, or the illicit activity has stopped in that area, the covert cameras are removed," the document states.
But that's not how the program has operated in practice, according to interviews, police reports and court documents. License plate readers have become a major and in some places permanent fixture of the border region.
In a budget request to Congress in fiscal year 2024, CBP said that its Conveyance Monitoring and Predictive Recognition System, or CMPRS, "collects license plate images and matches the processed images against established hot lists to assist in identifying travel patterns indicative of illegal border related activities." Several new developer jobs have been posted seeking applicants to help modernize its license plate surveillance system in recent months. Numerous Border Patrol sectors now have special intelligence units that can analyze license plate reader data, and tie commercial license plate readers to its national network, according to documents and interviews.
Border Patrol worked with other law enforcement agencies in Southern California about a decade ago to develop pattern recognition, said a former CBP official who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Over time, the agency learned to develop what it calls "patterns of life" of vehicle movements by sifting through the license plate data and determining "abnormal" routes, evaluating if drivers were purposely avoiding official checkpoints. Some cameras can take photos of a vehicle's plates as well as its driver's face, the official said.
Another former Border Patrol official compared it to a more technologically sophisticated version of what agents used to do in the field develop hunches based on experience about which vehicles or routes smugglers might use, find a legal basis for the stop like speeding and pull drivers over for questioning.
The cameras take pictures of vehicle license plates. Then, the photos are "read" by the system, which automatically detects and distills the images into numbers and letters, tied to a geographic location, former CBP officials said. The AP could not determine how precisely the system's algorithm defines a quick turnaround or an odd route. Over time, the agency has amassed databases replete with images of license plates, and the system's algorithm can flag an unusual "pattern of life" for human inspection.
The Border Patrol also has access to a nationwide network of plate readers run by the Drug Enforcement Administration, documents show, and was authorized in 2020 to access license plate reader systems sold by private companies. In documents obtained by the AP, a Border Patrol official boasted about being able to see that a vehicle that had traveled to "Dallas, Little Rock, Arkansas and Atlanta" before ending up south of San Antonio.
Documents show that Border Patrol or CBP has in the past had access to data from at least three private sector vendors: Rekor, Vigilant Solutions and Flock Safety.
Through Flock alone, Border Patrol for a time had access to at least 1,600 license plate readers across 22 states, and some counties have reported looking up license plates on behalf of CBP even in states like California and Illinois that ban sharing data with federal immigration authorities, according to an AP analysis of police disclosures. A Flock spokesperson told AP the company "for now" had paused its pilot programs with CBP and a separate DHS agency, Homeland Security Investigations, and declined to discuss the type or volume of data shared with either federal agency, other than to say agencies could search for vehicles wanted in conjunction with a crime. No agencies currently list Border Patrol as receiving Flock data. Vigilant and Rekor did not respond to requests for comment.
Where Border Patrol places its cameras is a closely guarded secret. However, through public records requests, the AP obtained dozens of permits the agency filed with Arizona and Michigan for permission to place cameras on state-owned land. The permits show the agency frequently disguises its cameras by concealing them in traffic equipment like the yellow and orange barrels that dot American roadways, or by labeling them as jobsite equipment. An AP photographer in October visited the locations identified in more than two dozen permit applications in Arizona, finding that most of the Border Patrol's hidden equipment remains in place today. Spokespeople for the Arizona and Michigan departments of transportation said they approve permits based on whether they follow state and federal rules and are not privy to details on how license plate readers are used.
Texas, California, and other border states did not provide documents in response to the AP's public records requests.
CBP's attorneys and personnel instructed local cities and counties in both Arizona and Texas to withhold records from the AP that might have revealed details about the program's operations, even though they were requested under state open records laws, according to emails and legal briefs filed with state governments. For example, CBP claimed records requested by the AP in Texas "would permit private citizens to anticipate weaknesses in a police department, avoid detection, jeopardize officer safety, and generally undermine police efforts." Michigan redacted the exact locations of Border Patrol equipment, but the AP was able to determine general locations from the name of the county.
One page of the group chats obtained by the AP shows that a participant enabled WhatsApp's disappearing messages feature to ensure communications were deleted automatically.
Transformation of CBP into intelligence agency
The Border Patrol's license plate reader program is just one part of a steady transformation of its parent agency, CBP, in the years since 9/11 into an intelligence operation whose reach extends far beyond borders, according to interviews with former officials.
CBP has quietly amassed access to far more information from ports of entry, airports and intelligence centers than other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. And like a domestic spy agency, CBP has mostly hidden its role in the dissemination of intelligence on purely domestic travel through its use of whisper stops.
Border Patrol has also extended the reach of its license plate surveillance program by paying for local law enforcement to run plate readers on their behalf.
A federal grant program called Operation Stonegarden, which has existed in some form for nearly two decades, has handed out hundreds of millions of dollars to buy automated license plate readers, camera-equipped drones and other surveillance gear for local police and sheriffs agencies. Stonegarden grant funds also pay for local law enforcement overtime, which deputizes local officers to work on Border Patrol enforcement priorities. Under President Donald Trump, the Republican-led Congress this year allocated $450 million for Stonegarden to be handed out over the next four fiscal years. In the previous four fiscal years, the program gave out $342 million.
In Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Mark Dannels said Stonegarden grants, which have been used to buy plate readers and pay for overtime, have let his deputies merge their mission with Border Patrol's to prioritize border security.
"If we're sharing our authorities, we can put some consequences behind, or deterrence behind, 'Don't come here,'" he said.
In 2021, the Ward County, Texas, sheriff sought grant funding from DHS to buy a "covert, mobile, License Plate Reader" to pipe data to Border Patrol's Big Bend Sector Intelligence Unit. The sheriff's department did not respond to a request for comment.
Other documents AP obtained show that Border Patrol connects locally owned and operated license plate readers bought through Stonegarden grants to its computer systems, vastly increasing the federal agency's surveillance network.
How many people have been caught up in the Border Patrol's dragnet is unknown. One former Border Patrol agent who worked on the license plate reader pattern detection program in California said the program had an 85% success rate of discovering contraband once he learned to identify patterns that looked suspicious. But another former official in a different Border Patrol sector said he was unaware of successful interdictions based solely on license plate patterns.
In Trump's second term, Border Patrol has extended its reach and power as border crossings have slowed to historic lows and freed up agents for operations in the heartland. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, for example, was tapped to direct hundreds of agents from multiple DHS agencies in the administration's immigration sweeps across Los Angeles, more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) from his office in El Centro, California. Bovino later was elevated to lead the aggressive immigration crackdown in Chicago. Numerous Border Patrol officials have also been tapped to replace ICE leadership.
The result has been more encounters between the agency and the general public than ever before.
"We took Alek's case because it was a clear-cut example of an unconstitutional traffic stop," said Christie Hebert, who works at the nonprofit public interest law firm Institute for Justice and represents Schott. "What we found was something much larger a system of mass surveillance that threatens people's freedom of movement."
AP found numerous other examples similar to what Schott and the delivery driver experienced in reviewing court records in border communities and along known smuggling routes in Texas and California. Several police reports and court records the AP examined cite "suspicious" travel patterns or vague tipoffs from the Border Patrol or other unnamed law enforcement agencies. In another federal court document filed in California, a Border Patrol agent acknowledged "conducting targeted analysis on vehicles exhibiting suspicious travel patterns" as the reason he singled out a Nissan Altima traveling near San Diego.
In cases reviewed by the AP, local law enforcement sometimes tried to conceal the role the Border Patrol plays in passing along intelligence. Babb, the deputy who stopped Schott, testified he typically uses the phrase "subsequent to prior knowledge" when describing whisper stops in his police reports to acknowledge that the tip came from another law enforcement agency without revealing too much in written documents he writes memorializing motorist encounters.
Once they pull over a vehicle deemed suspicious, officers often aggressively question drivers about their travels, their belongings, their jobs, how they know the passengers in the car, and much more, police records and bodyworn camera footage obtained by the AP show. One Texas officer demanded details from a man about where he met his current sexual partner. Often drivers, such as the one working for the South Carolina moving company, were arrested on suspicion of money laundering merely for carrying a few thousand dollars worth of cash, with no apparent connection to illegal activity. Prosecutors filed lawsuits to try to seize money or vehicles on the suspicion they were linked to trafficking.
Schott warns that for every success story touted by Border Patrol, there are far more innocent people who don't realize they've become ensnared in a technology-driven enforcement operation.
"I assume for every one person like me, who's actually standing up, there's a thousand people who just don't have the means or the time or, you know, they just leave frustrated and angry. They don't have the ability to move forward and hold anyone accountable," Schott said. "I think there's thousands of people getting treated this way."
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Tau reported from Washington, Laredo, San Antonio, Kingsville and Victoria, Texas. Burke reported from San Francisco. AP writers Aaron Kessler in Washington, Jim Vertuno in San Antonio, AP video producer Serginho Roosblad in Bisbee, Arizona, and AP photographers Ross D. Franklin in Phoenix and David Goldman in Houston contributed reporting. Ismael M. Belkoura in Washington also contributed.
Federal investigators released dramatic photos Thursday of an engine flying off a doomed UPS cargo plane that crashed two weeks ago, killing 14 people in Kentucky, and said there was evidence of cracks in the left wing's engine mount.
NTSB issues the preliminary report for its ongoing investigation of the Nov. 4 crash of a UPS Boeing MD-11F airplane in Louisville, Kentucky. Download the report PDF: https://t.co/WS0Q629CUzpic.twitter.com/7pORlou2av
The MD-11 plane only got 30 feet (9.1 meters) off the ground, the National Transportation Safety Board said, citing the flight data recorder in its first formal but preliminary report about the Nov. 4 disaster in Louisville, Kentucky.
Three pilots on the plane were killed along with 11 more people on the ground near Muhammad Ali International Airport.
The NTSB said the plane was not due yet for a detailed inspection of key engine mount parts that had fractures. It still needed to complete nearly 7,000 more takeoffs and landings. It was last examined in October 2021.
It appears UPS was conducting this maintenance within the required time frame, but Im sure the FAA is now going to ponder whether that time frame is adequate, aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti told The Associated Press after reading the report.
A series of photos released by the NTSB shows the left engine coming off the UPS plane and flying up and over the wing as it rolled down the runway. The final image shows the plane slightly airborne with left wing ablaze.
Earlier this week, Bill Moore, president of UPS Airlines, an arm of UPS, said the company is working with investigators to determine the root cause of the crash.
Once we determine that, then theyll be able to develop an inspection plan, Moore said at a news conference in Louisville. Can we inspect it? If so, how do we repair it? How do we put it back together? And then eventually return the fleet to service. But thats not going to happen quickly.
UPS said it has grounded its fleet of MD-11s and is using other aircraft during the busy holiday season.
President Donald Trump said House Republicans should vote to release the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case, a startling reversal after previously fighting the proposal as a growing number of those in his own party supported it.
We have nothing to hide, and its time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, Trump wrote on social media late Sunday after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a weekend in Florida.
Trump's statement followed a fierce fight within the GOP over the files, including an increasingly nasty split with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had long been one of his fiercest supporters.
The presidents shift is an implicit acknowledgement that supporters of the measure have enough votes to pass it in the House, although it has an unclear future in the Senate.
It is a rare example of Trump backtracking because of opposition within the GOP. In his return to office and in his second term as president, Trump has largely consolidated power in the Republican Party.
I DONT CARE! Trump wrote in his social media post. All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT.
Lawmakers who support the bill have been predicting a big win in the House this week with a deluge of Republicans voting for it, bucking the GOP leadership and the president.
In his opposition to the proposal, Trump even reached out to two of the Republican lawmakers who signed it. One, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, met last week with administration officials in the White House Situation Room to discuss it.
The bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison. Information about Epsteins victims or ongoing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted.
There could be 100 or more votes from Republicans, said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., among the lawmakers discussing the legislation on Sunday news show appearances. I'm hoping to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote.
Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced a discharge petition in July to force a vote on their bill. That is a rarely successful tool that allows a majority of members to bypass House leadership and force a floor vote.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had panned the discharge petition effort and sent members home early for their August recess when the GOP's legislative agenda was upended in the clamoring for an Epstein vote. Democrats also contend the seating of Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was stalled to delay her becoming the 218th member to sign the petition and gain the threshold needed to force a vote. She became the 218th signature moments after taking the oath of office last week.
Massie said Johnson, Trump and others who have been critical of his efforts would be taking a big loss this week.
I'm not tired of winning yet, but we are winning, Massie said.
The view from GOP leadership
Johnson seems to expect the House will decisively back the Epstein bill.
Well just get this done and move it on. Theres nothing to hide, adding that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been releasing far more information than the discharge petition, their little gambit.
The vote comes at a time when new documents are raising fresh questions about Epstein and his associates, including a 2019 email that Epstein wrote to a journalist that said Trump knew about the girls. The White House has accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the Republican president.
Johnson said Trump has nothing to hide from this.
Theyre doing this to go after President Trump on this theory that he has something to do with it. He does not, Johnson said.
Trump's association with Epstein is well-established and the president's name was included in records that his own Justice Department released in February as part of an effort to satisfy public interest in information from the sex-trafficking investigation.
Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and the mere inclusion of someones name in files from the investigation does not imply otherwise. Epstein, who killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial, also had many prominent acquaintances in political and celebrity circles besides Trump.
Khanna voiced more modest expectations on the vote count than Massie. Still, Khanna said he was hoping for 40 or more Republicans to join the effort.
I don't even know how involved Trump was, Khanna said. There are a lot of other people involved who have to be held accountable.
Khanna also asked Trump to meet with those who were abused. Some will be at the Capitol on Tuesday for a news conference, he said.
Massie said Republican lawmakers who fear losing Trump's endorsement because of how they vote will have a mark on their record, if they vote no, that could hurt their political prospects in the long term.
The record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump's presidency," Massie said.
A MAGA split
On the Republican side, three Republicans joined with Massie in signing the discharge petition: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Boebert.
Trump publicly called it quits with Greene last week and said he would endorse a challenger against her in 2026 if the right person runs.
Greene attributed the fallout with Trump as unfortunately, it has all come down to the Epstein files. She said the country deserves transparency on the issue and that Trump's criticism of her is confusing because the women she has talked to say he did nothing wrong.
"I have no idea whats in the files. I cant even guess. But that is the questions everyone is asking, is, why fight this so hard? Greene said.
Trumps feud with Greene escalated over the weekend, with Trump sending out one last social media post about her while still sitting in his helicopter on the White House lawn when he arrived home late Sunday, writing The fact is, nobody cares about this Traitor to our Country!
Even if the bill passes the House, there is no guarantee that Senate Republicans will go along. Massie said he just hopes Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., will do the right thing.
The pressure is going to be there if we get a big vote in the House," Massie said, who thinks we could have a deluge of Republicans.
Massie appeared on ABC's This Week, Johnson was on Fox News Sunday, Khanna spoke on NBC's Meet the Press and Greene was interviewed on CNN's State of the Union.
The nation's most advanced aircraft carrier arrived in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday in a display of U.S. military power, raising questions about what the new influx of troops and weaponry could signal for the Trump administration's intentions in South America as it conducts military strikes against vessels suspected of transporting drugs.
The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford and other warships, announced by the Navy in a statement, marks a major moment in what the administration insists is a counterdrug operation but has been seen as an escalating pressure tactic against Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro. Since early September, U.S. strikes have killed at least 80 people in 20 attacks on small boats accused of transporting drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean.
The Ford rounds off the largest buildup of U.S. firepower in the region in generations. With its arrival, the Operation Southern Spear" mission includes nearly a dozen Navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and Marines.
The carrier strike group, which includes squadrons of fighter jets and guided-missile destroyers, transited the Anegada Passage near the British Virgin Islands on Sunday morning, the Navy said.
Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the strike group, said it will bolster an already large force of American warships to "protect our nations security and prosperity against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.
Adm. Alvin Holsey, the commander who oversees the Caribbean and Latin America, said in a statement that the American forces stand ready to combat the transnational threats that seek to destabilize our region.
Holsey, who will retire next month after just a year on the job, said the strike group's deployment is "a critical step in reinforcing our resolve to protect the security of the Western Hemisphere and the safety of the American Homeland.
In Trinidad and Tobago, which is only 7 miles from Venezuela at its closest point, government officials said troops have begun training exercises with the U.S. military that will run through much of the week.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobers described the joint exercises as the second in less than a month and said they are aimed at tackling violent crime on the island nation, which has become a stopover point for drug shipments headed to Europe and North America. The prime minister has been a vocal supporter of the U.S. military strikes.
The exercises will include Marines from the 22nd Expeditionary Unit who have been stationed aboard the Navy ships that have been looming off Venezuela's coast for months.
Venezuelas government has described the training exercises as an act of aggression. It had no immediate comment Sunday on the arrival of the aircraft carrier.
Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said Sunday that U.S. troops have been training in Panama, underscoring the administrations increasing focus on Latin America.
Were reactivating our jungle school in Panama. We would be ready to act on whatever Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth needed, he told CBS Face the Nation."
The administration has insisted that the buildup of American forces in the region is focused on stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S., but it has released no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats were narcoterrorists. Trump has indicated military action would expand beyond strikes by sea, saying the U.S. would "stop the drugs coming in by land.
The U.S. has long used aircraft carriers to pressure and deter aggression by other nations because their warplanes can strike targets deep inside another country. Some experts say the Ford is ill-suited to fighting cartels, but it could be an effective instrument of intimidation for Maduro in a push to get him to step down.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the United States does not recognize Maduro, who was widely accused of stealing last years election, as Venezuelas legitimate leader. Rubio has called Venezuela's government a transshipment organization that openly cooperates with those trafficking drugs.
Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S., has said the U.S. government is fabricating a war against him. On his Facebook page, Maduro wrote on Sunday that the Venezuelan people are ready to defend their homeland against any criminal aggression.
Venezuelas government recently touted a massive mobilization of troops and civilians to defend against possible U.S. attacks. Maduro and other officials in Venezuelas socialist party also have been attending rallies this weekend to back the creation of neighborhood committees that will be in charge of increasing membership in Venezuelas socialist party, and promoting the partys policies.
Trump has justified the attacks on drug boats by saying the U.S. is in armed conflict with drug cartels while claiming the boats are operated by foreign terrorist organizations.
He has faced pushback from leaders in the region, the U.N. human rights chief and U.S. lawmakers, including Republicans, who have pressed for more information on who is being targeted and the legal justification for the boat strikes.
Senate Republicans, however, recently voted to reject legislation that would have put a check on Trumps ability to launch an attack against Venezuela without congressional authorization.
Experts disagree on whether or not American warplanes may be used to strike land targets inside Venezuela. Either way, the 100,000-ton warship is sending a message.
This is the anchor of what it means to have U.S. military power once again in Latin America, said Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Groups senior analyst for the Andes region. And it has raised a lot of anxieties in Venezuela but also throughout the region. I think everyone is watching this with sort of bated breath to see just how willing the U.S. is to really use military force.
Its no magic trick: The third installment in the thieving magician Now You See Me series beat the high-profile action pic The Running Man at the North American box office this weekend. Lionsgates Now You See Me: Now You Dont pulled in $21.3 million, while Paramounts The Running Man made $17 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Now You See Me: Now You Dont, which cost a reported $90 million to produce, comes almost 10 years after the second film. Including ticket sales from 64 international territories, its worldwide opening is estimated to be around $75.5 million. Going into the weekend, it was expected to be a closer race between the two newcomers.
The first two movies in the Now You See Me series, released in 2013 and 2016, earned over $686 million worldwide. This installment, directed by Ruben Fleischer, sees the return of the original Four Horsemen, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco, and introduces three younger magicians into the mix: Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt and Justice Smith. A fourth film is already in the works.
Reviews were mixed on Rotten Tomatoes, coming in at 59%. According to PostTrak polling, audiences were a bit more positive, with 63% saying they would definitely recommend.
Audience scores were slightly less for The Running Man, which had a 58% definitely recommend. Both earned a B+ CinemaScore, but more people chose the franchise. One key difference is that women made up more of the Now You See Me audience (54%). They only accounted for 37% of The Running Man ticket buyers.
Edgar Wright directed and co-wrote The Running Man, the second adaptation of Stephen Kings novel, first published in 1982. The first film starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and was released in 1987 to mixed reviews and a tepid box office, earning only $38 million against a $27 million budget. The new version stars Glen Powell, who has had a good track record starring in box office hits, from the romantic comedy Anyone But You to Twisters.
Paramount Pictures released The Running Man in 3,400 domestic locations and 58 international markets. Worldwide, it earned $28.2 million against a reported $110 million budget.
The weekends other new opener, Keeper, the third feature from Longlegs filmmaker Oz Perkins, cratered with $2.6 million and a D+ CinemaScore. But as an acquisition title for Neon, its also not a disaster.
Third place went to Predator: Badlands with $13 million in its second weekend, followed by Regretting You in fourth with $4 million. Black Phone 2 rounded out the top five with $2.7 million, bringing its domestic total to $74.7 million after five weeks in theaters.
In anticipation of the big budget musical Wicked: For Good, which opens next week, Universal Pictures put Wicked back in 2,195 theaters, where it made $1.2 million barely missing a spot in the top 10.
The box office should pick up considerably when Wicked 2 blows into theaters, followed by Zootopia 2 before the Thanksgiving holiday. Comscore's Paul Dergarabedian said it could be one of the highest grossing five-day Thanksgiving frames of all time.
A Texas trooper who had an altercation with South Carolina's Nyck Harbor after his touchdown on Saturday was sent home from the game, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
Harbor scored on an 80-yard reception in the second quarter of the game against Texas A&M and ran into the tunnel limping following the score. As he and three other players were walking back to the field, the trooper walked in between Harbor and another player and bumped into them as they passed each other.
The trooper and Harbor turned around and the trooper pointed at Harbor with both hands and said something to him. Harbor was quickly pushed away by his teammate and they continued to the field.
The public safety department issued a statement saying the trooper was sent home.
"Our Office of Inspector General (OIG) is also aware of the incident and will be further looking into the matter. No additional information will be released at this time," the statement reads.
The video was widely shared on social media with many commenting on it, including Lakers star LeBron James.
Federal officials confirmed that a surge of immigration enforcement in North Carolina's largest city had begun as agents were seen making arrests in multiple locations Saturday.
"We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed," Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Local officials, including Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, criticized such actions, saying in a statement they "are causing unnecessary fear and uncertainty."
"We want people in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to know we stand with all residents who simply want to go about their lives," said the statement, which was also signed by County Commissioner Mark Jerrell and Stephanie Sneed of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg education board.
The federal government hadn't previously announced the push. But Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden confirmed earlier this week that two federal officials had told him that Customs agents would be arriving soon.
Paola Garcia, a spokesperson with Camino a bilingual nonprofit serving families in Charlotte said she and her colleagues have observed an increase in Border Patrol and ICE agents pulling people over since Friday.
"Basically what we're seeing is that there have been lots of people being pulled over," Garcia said. "I even saw a few people being pulled over on the way to work yesterday, and then just from community members seeing an increase in ICE and border patrol agents in the city of Charlotte."
Willy Aceituno, a Honduran-born U.S. citizen, was on his way to work when he saw Border Patrol agents chasing people.
"I saw a lot of Latinos running. I wondered why they were running. The thing is, there were a lot of Border Patrol agents chasing them," he said.
Aceituno, a 46-year-old Charlotte resident, said he himself was stopped twice by Border Patrol agents. On the second encounter, they forced him out of his vehicle after breaking the car window and threw him to the ground.
"I told them, 'I'm an American citizen," he told The Associated Press. "They wanted to know where I was born, or they didn't believe I was an American citizen."
Finally, he was allowed to go free after showing documents that proved his citizenship.
Charlotte is a racially diverse city of more than 900,000 residents, including more than 150,000 who are foreign-born, according to local officials.
Local organizations responded by having trainings, trying to inform immigrants of their rights, and considering peaceful protests. President Donald Trump's administration has defended federal enforcement operations in cities like Los Angeles and Chicago as necessary for fighting crime and enforcing immigration laws.
But Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat with a Republican-majority legislature, said Friday that the "vast majority" of those detained in these operations have no criminal convictions, and some are American citizens."
He urged people to record any "inappropriate behavior" they see and notify local law enforcement about it.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department had emphasized ahead of time that it isn't involved in federal immigration enforcement.
Acceding to President Donald Trump's demands, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday that she has ordered a top federal prosecutor to investigate sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's ties to Trump political foes, including former President Bill Clinton.
Bondi posted on X that she was assigning Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead the probe, capping an eventful week in which congressional Republicans released nearly 23,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate and House Democrats seized on emails mentioning Trump.
Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years, didn't explain what supposed crimes he wanted the Justice Department to investigate. None of the men he mentioned in a social media post demanding the probe has been accused of sexual misconduct by any of Epstein's victims.
Hours before Bondi's announcement, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he would ask her, the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate Epstein's "involvement and relationship" with Clinton and others, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman.
Trump, calling the matter "the Epstein Hoax, involving Democrats, not Republicans," said the investigation should also include financial giant JPMorgan Chase, which provided banking services to Epstein, and "many other people and institutions."
"This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats," the Republican president wrote, referring to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of alleged Russian interference in Trump's 2016 election victory over Bill Clinton's wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Asked later Friday whether he should be ordering up such investigations, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One: "I'm the chief law enforcement officer of the country. I'm allowed to do it."
In a July memo regarding the Epstein investigation, the FBI said, "We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties."
The president's demand for an investigation and Bondi's quick acquiescence is the latest example of the erosion of the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House since Trump took office.
It is also an extraordinary attempt at deflection. For decades, Trump himself has been scrutinized for his closeness to Epstein though like the people he now wants investigated, he has not been accused of sexual misconduct by Epstein's victims.
None of Trump's proposed targets were accused of sex crimes
A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson, Patricia Wexler, said the company regretted associating with Epstein "but did not help him commit his heinous acts."
"The government had damning information about his crimes and failed to share it with us or other banks," she said. The company agreed previously to pay millions of dollars to Epstein's victims, who had sued arguing that the bank ignored red flags about criminal activity.
Clinton has acknowledged traveling on Epstein's private jet but has said through a spokesperson that he had no knowledge of the late financier's crimes. He also has never been accused of misconduct by Epstein's known victims.
Clinton's deputy chief of staff Angel Urea posted on X Friday: "These emails prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing. The rest is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and who knows what else."
Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl, but was spared a long jail term when the U.S. attorney in Florida agreed not to prosecute him over allegations that he had paid many other children for sexual acts. After serving about a year in jail and a work release program, Epstein resumed his business and social life until federal prosecutors in New York revived the case in 2019. Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Summers and Hoffman had nothing to do with either case, but both were friendly with Epstein and exchanged emails with him. Those messages were among the documents released this week, along with other correspondence Epstein had with friends and business associates in the years before his death.
Nothing in the messages suggested any wrongdoing on the men's part, other than associating with someone who had been accused of sex crimes against children.
Summers, who served in Clinton's cabinet and is a former Harvard University president, previously said in a statement that he has "great regrets in my life" and that "my association with Jeffrey Epstein was a major error of judgement."
On social media Friday night, Hoffman called for Trump to release all the Epstein files, saying they will show that "the calls for baseless investigations of me are nothing more than political persecution and slander." He added, "I was never a client of Epstein's and never had any engagement with him other than fundraising for MIT." Hoffman bankrolled writer E. Jean Carroll's sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit against Trump.
After Epstein's sex trafficking arrest in 2019, Hoffman said he'd only had a few interactions with Epstein, all related to his fundraising for MIT's Media Lab. He nevertheless apologized, saying that "by agreeing to participate in any fundraising activity where Epstein was present, I helped to repair his reputation and perpetuate injustice."
Bondi, in her post, praised Clayton as "one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country" and said the Justice Department "will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people."
Trump called Clayton "a great man, a great attorney," though he said Bondi chose him for the job.
Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump's first term, took over in April as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York the same office that indicted Epstein and won a sex trafficking conviction against Epstein's longtime confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell, in 2021.
Trump suggested while campaigning last year that he'd seek to open up the government's case files on Epstein, but changed course in recent months, blaming Democrats and painting the matter as a "hoax" amid questions about what knowledge he may have had about Epstein's yearslong exploitation of underage girls.
On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released three Epstein email exchanges that referenced Trump, including one from 2019 in which Epstein said the president "knew about the girls" and asked Maxwell to stop.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt accused Democrats of having "selectively leaked emails" to smear Trump.
Soon after, Republicans on the committee disclosed a far bigger trove of Epstein's email correspondence, including messages he sent to longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon and to Britain's former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Andrew settled a lawsuit out of court with one of Epstein's victims, who said she had been paid to have sex with the prince.
The House is speeding toward a vote next week to force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein.
"I don't care about it, release or not," Trump said Friday. "If you're going to do it, then you have to go into Epstein's friends," he added, naming Clinton and Hoffman.
Still, he said: "This is a Democrat hoax. And a couple, a few Republicans have gone along with it because they're weak and ineffective." __
Bedayn reported from Denver. Associated Press writer Chris Megerian aboard Air Force One contributed to this report.
A man has been arrested after federal officials alleged that he destroyed property while trying to confront New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, Alina Habba.
Keith Michael Lisa, 51, has been arrested, FBI spokesperson Emily Molinari confirmed Saturday.
Molinari did not say when or where Lisa was arrested, what charges he might face, whether he was in jail, or when he might go before a judge. It's unclear whether Lisa is represented by a lawyer. The federal public defender in Newark didn't immediately respond to an electronic message Saturday asking whether it was representing Lisa.
The FBI on Friday had offered a reward of up to $25,000 for information about Lisa, saying he was wanted on charges of destroying government property and possession of a dangerous weapon inside a U.S. court facility. That bulletin said Lisa tried to enter a federal office building in downtown Newark on Wednesday with a bat and was turned away. Lisa returned without the bat, the bulletin said, and was admitted. He then went to the U.S. Attorney's office, where Habba works, and destroyed property, the bulletin said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a post on X on Saturday that the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations had worked together to arrest Lisa.
"No one will get away with threatening or intimidating our great U.S. attorneys or the destruction of their offices," Bondi wrote.
Habba was previously President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, representing him in various cases and acting as his spokesperson on legal matters. She served as a White House adviser briefly before Trump named her as interim U.S. attorney in March.
"We got him," Habba wrote on X on Saturday. "This Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi and our federal partners will not tolerate any acts of intimidation or violence toward law enforcement. So grateful to the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations for their tireless work to capture him. Now justice will handle him."
Bondi had vowed that federal officials would find and prosecute the person, writing earlier that "Any violence or threats of violence against any federal officer will not be tolerated. Period."
Trump formally nominated Habba as New Jersey's permanent U.S. attorney on July 1, but the state's two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim opposed it, stalling the confirmation process.
A few weeks later, as Habba's 120-day interim appointment was expiring, New Jersey federal judges moved to replace her with her second-in-command. Bondi then fired that prosecutor and renamed Habba as acting U.S. attorney.
Last month, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in a case challenging her appointment. It hasn't ruled.
A Mega Millions player in Georgia won the $980 million jackpot on Friday, overcoming abysmal odds to win the huge prize.
The numbers selected were 1, 8, 11, 12 and 57 with the gold Mega Ball 7.
The winner overcame Mega Millions' astronomical odds of 1 in 290.5 million by matching all six numbers. The next drawing will be on Tuesday.
A winner can choose an annuity or the cash option a one-time, lump-sum payment of $452.2 million before taxes. If there are multiple jackpot winners, the prize is shared.
There were four Mega Millions jackpot wins earlier this year, but Friday's drawing was the 40th since the last win on June 27, a game record, officials said.
In September, two Powerball players in Missouri and Texas won a nearly $1.8 billion jackpot, one of the largest in the U.S. The current Mega Millions jackpot isn't among the top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots but would be the eighth-largest for Mega Millions since the game began in 2002.
Other prizes
Mega Millions offers lesser prizes in addition to the jackpot. The odds of winning any of these is 1 in 23.
There were more than 800,000 winners of non-jackpot prizes from the Nov. 11 drawing.
Tickets are $5 each and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Half the proceeds from each Mega Millions ticket remains in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold. Local lottery agencies run the game in each jurisdiction and how profits are spent is dictated by law.
Gambling addictions
Sometimes, gambling can become addictive.
The National Council on Problem Gambling defines problem gambling as "gambling behavior that is damaging to a person or their family, often disrupting their daily life and career."
It is sometimes called gambling addiction or gambling disorder, a recognized mental health diagnosis. The group says anyone who gambles can be at risk.
It's National Problem Gambling Helpline, 1-800-522-4700, connects anyone seeking assistance with a gambling problem to local resources.
President Donald Trump has publicly called it quits with one of his most stalwart MAGA-world supporters, calling Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene "'Wacky' Marjorie" and saying he would endorse a challenger against her in next year's midterms "if the right person runs."
The dismissal of Greene once the epitome of "Make America Great Again," sporting the signature red cap for President Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union address and acting as a go-between for Trump and other Capitol Hill Republicans appeared to be the final break in a dispute simmering for months, as Greene has seemingly moderated her political profile. The three-term U.S. House member has increasingly dissented from Republican leaders, attacking them during the just-ended federal government shutdown and saying they need a plan to help people who are losing subsidies to afford health insurance policies.
Accusing the Georgia Republican of going "Far Left," Trump wrote that all he had witnessed from Greene in recent months is "COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!" adding, of Greene's purported irritation that he doesn't return her phone calls, "I can't take a ranting Lunatic's call every day."
In a response on X, Greene wrote Friday that Trump had "attacked me and lied about me." She added a screenshot of a text she said she had sent the president earlier in the day about releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, which she said "is what sent him over the edge."
Greene called it "astonishing really how hard he's fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level," referencing next week's U.S. House vote over releasing the Epstein files.
Writing that she had supported Trump "with too much of my precious time, too much of my own money, and fought harder for him even when almost all other Republicans turned their back and denounced him," Greene added, "I don't worship or serve Donald Trump."
Trump's post seemingly tied a bow of finality to fissures that widened following this month's off-cycle elections, in which voters in the New Jersey and Virginia governor races flocked to Democrats in large part over concerns about the cost of living.
Last week, Greene told NBC News that "watching the foreign leaders come to the White House through a revolving door is not helping Americans," saying that Trump needs to focus on high prices at home rather than his recent emphasis on foreign affairs. Trump responded by saying that Greene had "lost her way."
Asked about Greene's comments earlier Friday as he flew from Washington to Florida, Trump reiterated that he felt "something happened to her over the last month or two," saying that, if he hadn't gone to China to meet leader Xi Jinping, there would have been negative ramifications for jobs in Georgia and elsewhere because China would have kept its curbs on magnet exports.
Saying that people have been calling him, wanting to challenge Greene, Trump added, "She's lost a wonderful conservative reputation."
Greene's discontent dates back at least to May, when she announced she wouldn't run for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, while attacking GOP donors and consultants who feared she couldn't win. In June, she publicly sided with Tucker Carlson after Trump called the commentator "kooky" in a schism that emerged between MAGA and national security hardliners over possible U.S. efforts at regime change in Iran.
That only intensified in July, when Greene said she wouldn't run for governor. Then, she attacked a political "good ole boy" system, alleging it was endangering Republican control of the state. Greene embarked on a charm offensive in recent weeks, with interviews and appearances in media aimed at people who aren't hardcore Trump supporters. Asked on comedian Tim Dillon's podcast if she wanted to run for president in 2028, Greene said in October, "I hate politics so much" and just wanted "to fix problems" but didn't give a definitive answer.
That climaxed with an appearance on Bill Maher's HBO show "Real Time," followed days later by a Nov. 4 appearance on ABC's "The View." Some observers began pronouncing Greene as reasonable as she trashed Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana for not calling Republicans back to Washington and coming up with a health care plan.
"I feel like I'm sitting next to a completely different Marjorie Taylor Greene," said "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin.
"Maybe you should become a Democrat, Marjorie," said co-host Joy Behar.
"I'm not a Democrat," Greene replied. "I think both parties have failed."
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