Displaced Survivors of Kwara Massacre Recount a Night of Terror
Hauwa Abdulkarim was inside her house when the violence began.
As evening settled over Woro, a village in Kaiama Local Government Area (LGA) of Kwara State, North Central Nigeria, on Feb. 3, the terrorists descended on motorcycles like a sudden storm. What began as a seemingly ordinary evening quickly turned into chaos, with about 170 people killed, their homes set ablaze, celebrations interrupted, and families forced to flee.
“Most of the youths were at the field playing football [on a school field close to the house]. Then we saw people running back home with the news that kidnappers had entered the town,” Hauwa recounted.
At first, she did not panic. The terrorists had sent word days earlier, a letter to the district head saying they were coming to “preach”. When the motorcycles rolled in, there was confusion and fear.
Then the shooting started.
“Upon entering the village [around 5 p.m.], they started shooting at people,” she said. The football field emptied in seconds. Inside her house, Hauwa and her husband tried to gather their children, counting them quickly and realising some were still outside.
“We were thinking about some of our children who were outside and those that went to the football field. The shooting continued until 5 a.m., the next day,” Hauwa added.
But the terror was not continuous. It came in waves.
“When it was time for the call to prayer, they suddenly stopped,” she recalled. “They made the call to prayer for Maghrib and called out people to pray.”
The silence was almost as frightening as the gunfire. After the prayer, the shooting resumed. “They did the same for the late-night prayer, stopping briefly to make the call to prayer and observe it. Afterwards, they resumed shooting through the night,” Hauwa told HumAngle.
Later that night, everything suddenly became quiet: the gunshots stopped. That was when the residents began to hear the call to come out and extinguish the blazing fires.
Many were confused and afraid, unsure whether to come out to help put out the flames, flee, or stay hidden.
Hauwa and her husband came out with other residents, but they were ambushed. “We thought they had gone, so we came out with buckets to save our homes. That was when they opened fire again. It was a trap and my husband was almost killed in that encounter. He hid in a ditch, as I ran inside to stay with my children,” she recounted.
By dawn, the village was scarred by destruction — dead bodies with gunshot wounds to the head and cuts to their necks, houses reduced to ashes, the district head’s residence consumed by fire, and families shaken by the night’s events.
The alternating rhythm of violence and prayer created a chilling atmosphere that has left Hauwa to grapple with both physical loss and psychological trauma. She described the ordeal as a mix of terror and deception, designed to lure people into vulnerability.
The attack on Woro and neighbouring Nuku communities has displaced at least 941 persons and exposed glaring intelligence failures, despite prior warnings, and the growing influence of terror groups operating from the Kainji Lake National Park axis. HumAngle met with some of the survivors in Wawa, a town in nearby Niger State.
Ibrahim Ismail Dan’umar, a community leader in Wawa who serves as the coordinator of the displaced persons, told HumAngle that the community has been providing the families with relief materials and accommodation, as there is no designated camp for them.
“On our records, we have people from Plateau, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger,” he noted. “We decided to organise a breakfast for them and announced that anyone offering shelter to the displaced should bring them to the gathering. On the first day, we had 381 people, even though we only projected for 200.”
“The next day, we distributed food items, and by the third day, the Emir of Borgu and representatives of Kaiama Local Government came with support, which we shared among them. Now, we have 941 displaced persons — adults and children — here in Wawa,” he explained.
Amnesty International, a global human rights organisation, described the killings as evidence of systemic neglect of rural communities. In a statement, the organisation condemned the attacks as “vicious” and criticised the Nigerian government for leaving rural communities at the mercy of rampaging terrorists.
Following the deadly attacks, the Nigerian military has formally launched a multi-agency offensive in Kwara and Niger states, code-named ‘Operation Savannah Shield’, designed to dismantle terrorist networks and restore security in the region.
The initiative was flagged off on Thursday, Feb. 19 at Sobi Barracks in Ilorin by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, and the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Unmasking those behind the terror
This attack is one of the deadliest this year.
In the weeks leading up to the Woro massacre, Sadiku’s faction of Boko Haram had already reached out to the community.
According to the village head, Salihu Umar, a letter dated Jan. 8 — written in Hausa and bearing the signature of JAS (Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’adati wal-Jihad) — was delivered to him. The message requested a “private” meeting with local leaders for preaching and assured residents that no harm would come to them.
Umar said he made copies of the letter and forwarded them to both the Kaiama Emirate and the Department of State Services (DSS) office in Kaiama. Despite this warning, no preventive measures were taken, raising questions about Nigerian security intelligence.
However, security sources revealed that the killings are part of a jihadist campaign commanded by Malam Sadiku, a notorious terrorist whose influence has steadily expanded across multiple parts of Nigeria’s North Central region.
HumAngle has extensively documented how Sadiku, once closely aligned with Boko Haram founder Muhammad Yusuf and later Abubakar Shekau, has re-emerged at the forefront of a dangerous wave of insurgency.
After a stint with the Darul Islam sect, he returned to Boko Haram with renewed zeal, positioning himself as one of Shekau’s most loyal comrades. Sadiku’s financial windfall from the infamous Kaduna train abduction gave him the means to expand his influence, strengthen his network, and spread Boko Haram’s radical ideology across Niger State and neighbouring states.
With resources and reputation firmly behind him, Sadiku built a growing base of followers and fighters. Under his leadership, extremist teachings were not only revived but embedded into local communities, turning quiet rural villages into recruitment and indoctrination centres.
His trajectory, security analysts such as Yahuza Getso of Eagle Integrated Security note, reflects a long-term strategy of territorial control and ideological entrenchment, with this latest attack underscoring both the scale of his operations and the devastating impact on local communities.
But he is not alone.
Malam Mahmuda, the leader of the Mahmudawa (an Ansaru faction), has also turned the Kainji Forest into a safe haven for his fighters. Despite previous arrests of their leaders, the group has replenished its ranks and rearmed its foot soldiers.
According to Ahmad Salkida, HumAngle’s founder, who is one of the foremost experts on the protracted Boko Haram insurgency and the complex conflicts in the Lake Chad region, “The relocation of Sadiku and Umar Taraba, both veteran jihadist operatives, to the Kainji axis in 2024 marked a shift. Their presence injected technical expertise into a space previously dominated by loosely organised armed groups.”
He added that they are fragmented into smaller camps: some closer to the Benin border, acting as brokers linking criminal networks of jihadist actors. The Mahmudawa are said to facilitate training, arms movement, ransom negotiations, and sanctuary for fighters arriving from outside the region.
“Official claims regarding the arrest of their leader, Malam Mahmuda, remain unconfirmed in border communities, where continued attacks and coordinated leadership are still attributed to the group,” he noted.
“If the Mahmudawa are brokers, the Lakurawa are enforcers. With an estimated 300 fighters, they have become one of the most active jihadist–terrorist hybrids affecting […] border communities. Operating from within and around Kainji Lake National Park, they routinely launch incursions into Bagudo and Suru LGAs, combining attacks on military targets with ideological messaging aimed at delegitimising the Nigerian state.”
Security sources and community accounts indicate that Sadiku’s group and Mahmudawa, linked to jihadist networks across West Africa, have long operated in the dense Kainji Lake National Park and Borgu Reserve, straddling Niger and Kwara states. According to the sources, this is an attempt to create another Sambisa: a hotbed for Boko Haram in the North East.
Local residents have repeatedly warned authorities about the presence of terrorist camps in the forest, but responses have been slow. Between September and December 2025, the Federal Government carried out aerial and ground operations in the area, yet the group remains influential. The forest’s vast terrain and porous borders have provided cover for training, recruitment, and staging raids.
Getso believes that Sadiku’s Boko Haram has rebranded and reorganised remnants of Ansaru and JNIM cells, consolidating them into a formidable force in North Central Nigeria. He also revealed that the Woro massacre underscores the growing threat posed by Sadiku’s network.
“Nigeria’s current counter-terrorism strategy is insufficient. There is a need for a comprehensive review of military doctrine and intelligence operations,” Getso noted.
A dream on hold
At just 22 years old, Ibrahim Ishaq Woro had recently graduated from the School of Health in New Bussa, Niger State. He had only returned home to Woro a year earlier and was in the process of applying for jobs when the attack shattered his community.
On the day of the assault, Ibrahim was sitting at a tea stall when he spotted the terrorists approaching. Recognising them from a previous encounter, he fled — but minutes later, gunfire erupted across the village.
That day was meant to be joyous, with three weddings taking place, including his cousin’s. Instead, the celebrations turned into a massacre.
“The wedding was taking place at our house. Yahaya, my cousin, was killed. His wife and children were abducted and taken to the forest,” Ibrahim recalled.
Like Hauwa, who described how false calls to prayer lured residents into ambushes, Ibrahim witnessed the same deception. “Those who hid inside were warned: ‘you either come outside or burn in your houses.’ Those who opened their doors out of fear were kidnapped,” he said.
By dawn, Ibrahim returned to find the bodies of women, children, and men scattered across the community. His closest friends — Zakari, Habib, and Shamsudeen — were among the dead.
His mother, three siblings, and several family members who came for the wedding were taken captive. “Personally, we lost 20 people from my extended family and about 50 are still missing,” he said quietly, while looking away.
Like Hauwa, Ibrahim and other survivors fled Woro to Wawa and other neighbouring communities, with their belongings in wheelbarrows and on their heads, trekking for about 42 kilometres with swollen feet in search of refuge.
Now displaced, their only plea is for the government to secure the release of kidnapped women and children, and restore safety so families can return home.
“For those we have lost, we can only pray for eternal peace. But we need our loved ones back. That is why we are afraid to even return home,” Ibrahim said.
Officials in Wawa town, speaking on condition of anonymity, said discussions are ongoing with the district head to facilitate the safe return of displaced residents. The move, they explained, would allow survivors to access federal and state-level interventions more effectively once back home.
Frieze Projects’ ‘Body & Soul’ stages site-specific work across L.A.
“If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.”
James Baldwin’s quote about the artist’s role in society is emblazoned on billboards across Los Angeles this winter. Created by artist Patrick Martinez, the purpose of the signage is two-fold: to promote Frieze Los Angeles and, in the case of neon signs at the art fair’s entrance, to stand as a discrete work of art on its own.
Martinez, an East Los Angeles-based artist, has long translated protest language into storefront-style neon, a strategy he now extends into a broader campaign tied to Frieze, which runs Feb. 26 through March 1 at the Santa Monica Airport and features more than 100 galleries.
This year, however, some of the fair’s most compelling work may be happening outside the tent. Frieze Projects’ “Body & Soul” features eight installations staged across Santa Monica’s Airport Park and beyond. The initiative is intended, organizers say, to broaden the fair’s reach beyond its art world audience — positioning Frieze as a civic platform rather than a purely commercial event.
In addition to Martinez’s creations, “Body & Soul” brings together site-specific works including Amanda Ross-Ho’s durational performance rolling a 16-foot inflatable Earth around the perimeter of a nearby soccer field; Cosmas & Damian Brown’s interactive fountain installation incorporating ceramic heads, incense and water; and Shana Hoehn’s first large-scale public sculpture, fabricated from a fallen tree sourced through Santa Monica’s Urban Forest program. Off campus, Kelly Wall extends the program to a former Westwood Village newsstand, where glass “magazines” will be displayed — 136 in all, priced at $300, with 15 given away.
Martinez’s billboards bearing 2024’s “If I Love You (James Baldwin)” serve as the most highly visible part of the fair’s public outreach. His neon installations respond to ICE raids and immigrant rights, placing protest at the literal threshold of one of Los Angeles’ most visible art events.
L.A. artist Patrick Martinez’s work is featured on billboards around the city, as well as at the entrance to Frieze Los Angeles.
(David Butow / For The Times)
The public art program acts as “a way that we can bring in people who may not be just the ticket goers or the VIP,” said Christine Messineo, Frieze’s director of Americas.
It also serves to amplify the city’s cultural temperature.
“Our job is to represent what’s happening in our community,” Messineo said, adding that immigration and social impact are not anomalies at the fair but part of its foundation.
Some of Martinez’s neon entrance signs — including “Abolish ICE” (2018), “No Body Is Illegal” (2021) and “Then They Came for Me 2” (2025) — predate the current political moment. Instead, they emerge from years of observation and protest.
The artist credits Messineo with approaching him last summer to utilize what he calls his “urgent warning signs” as the face of the fair. Demonstrators also carried signs bearing Martinez’s imagery last June during protests against ongoing federal immigration crackdowns in downtown Los Angeles.
Those events, Martinez says, are not experienced evenly across the city — particularly by the well-heeled audience that attends Frieze and spends $85 to $106 for weekend general admission tickets.
Patrick Martinez, “If I Love You (James Baldwin),” 2024.
(artwork Patrick Martinez / photo Paul Salveson)
Martinez wants his signs to unsettle viewers who are insulated from the city’s unrest.
“The Westside people aren’t even going to see any of that, right? So it’s bringing that kind of mindfulness to that space.”
“It felt prescient then,” Messineo said of engaging Martinez last year, “and I think even more so now.”
Frieze has integrated public art into its Los Angeles fair since its 2019 debut. But the works in “Body & Soul,” produced with the nonprofit Art Production Fund, lean into the particular conditions of public space.
The exhibition brings together Los Angeles artists exploring ideas of memory, community and collective experience — often in quieter ways than Martinez’s overt messaging.
Additional participants include Dan John Anderson, Polly Borland and Kohshin Finley.
Casey Fremont, Art Production Fund’s executive director, said most of the works are newly commissioned.
The program is designed to prioritize innovation over sales. “It isn’t transactional. It’s really just about experimenting and giving the public the opportunity to experience art like they’ve never experienced before.”
Artists scale up — and slow down
“Body & Soul” marks several participants’ first ventures into public work, including Hollywood artist Finley, whose “The Piano Player” will be installed near the corner of Airport Avenue and Donald Douglas Loop. Finley’s piece arranges ceramic vessels inside shadow-box shelving that the artist describes as containers for memory — some “you love to take out and peek into,” others that “should just stay shut forever.”
Kohshin Finley’s “The Piano Player” arranges ceramic vessels inside shadow-box shelving that the artist describes as containers for memory.
(Micaiah Carter)
The title references the film “Casablanca,” and its piano player, Sam, whose music stirs up memories of the central love story.
Finley said the public setting creates an unusually direct encounter as he, like many of his fellow artists, will be standing with his work.
“A lot of people have never seen a living artist,” he said.
Ross-Ho takes visibility even further with her inflatable soccer ball Earth, which weighs 78 pounds. The familiar “blue marble” image will no doubt draw spectators at the Airport Park Soccer Field outside the Frieze tent.
Amanda Ross-Ho is creating a durational performance on a soccer field by Frieze Los Angeles.
(Jennelle Fong for ILY2)
Ross-Ho’s performance, “Untitled Orbit (MANUAL MODE),” functions as an endurance test that is a response to what she calls “the temporal container of the art fair” — and to the pressures of contemporary life.
“Gesture and duration are the ways that I could achieve scale rather than something that was materially constrained like a giant sculpture,” she said.
Designing for gathering
Brown’s installation, “Fountain: Sources of Light,” invites guests to congregate. Positioned between the Airport Park playground and dog park, it combines running water, ceramic vessels, incense and sound.
“I really wanted to make a fountain because I thought that [it’s] something that … people tend to gravitate to,” he said.
The work will incorporate metal plates and bowls created by participants in the youth workshop Art Sundae, taking place Feb. 28 at Airport Park.
Near Brown’s fountain, Echo Park artist Hoehn will present “Deadfall,” a massive fallen fig tree embedded with carved cheerleader legs and skirts — imagery drawn from her Texas upbringing.
Shana Hoehn with one of her carved wooden sculptures.
(Josh Cohen)
“I’ve been working with cheerleading iconography for the past few years,” she said, linking the imagery to what she calls an omnipresent football culture layered with “American patriotism and militaristic qualities.”
Hoehn acknowledged that the fair’s four-day window and limited nearby parking may keep the audience closer to fair-goers than the broader public the program aims to reach.
Beyond the airport fence
A few miles away in Westwood Village, Mar Vista artist Wall will extend the program beyond the airport campus with “Everything Must Go,” installed at a defunct newsstand and on view from 5:48 p.m. (sunset) to 8 p.m. during the fair.
Where magazines and newspapers once were, glass stand-ins bearing skyline imagery will occupy illuminated lightbox shelves. As the glass “magazines” are removed, glowing silhouettes mark their absence.
Kelly Wall, ‘Everything Must Go’.
(Kelly Wall)
Wall’s related project will appear on the Frieze campus with found newspaper boxes transformed into lightbox displays for her glass publication.
“In things coming to an end, there is no real end … there’s transformation,” she said. “How you might see [the piece] may differ depending on different times — or where you’re personally at in your life.”
Tuesday 24 February Independence Day in Estonia
This article explores the historical significance and modern celebration of Estonian Independence Day, observed annually on February 24th. It chronicles the nation’s journey from its 1918 declaration of sovereigntyto its eventual re-establishment of freedom in 1991 following decades of Soviet occupation. The text highlights how Estonians utilize patriotic rituals, such as flag-hoisting ceremonies, military parades, and the “Singing Revolution,” to honor their cultural resilience. Beyond official state events, the source details how citizens engage in local traditions, including sharing a classic sprat sandwich known as kiluvõileib. By focusing on both the capital of Tallinn and the wider countryside, the narrative illustrates a d …
Why are emerging markets rallying in 2026?
Emerging markets are roaring back in 2026, staging a rally that has surprised investors not only for its speed — unmatched in decades — but also for the broader global context in which it is unfolding.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
While US software stocks reel from artificial intelligence disruption fears and the S&P 500 remains broadly flat year-to-date, emerging markets are decoupling.
In a reversal of long-standing market dynamics, the asset class is briefly playing an unexpected role: that of a relative safe haven.
The rally is broad, persistent and increasingly supported by flows, macro conditions and structural shifts in global trade.
Emerging markets dominate global performance rankings
Data from CountryETFTracker show that the five best-performing country-specific exchange traded funds so far this year all belong to emerging markets.
Leading the rally is South Korea’s iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), up 43.28% year-to-date after a 96% surge in 2025.
The gains reflect the dominance of chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which are benefiting from strong global demand for AI-related memory and advanced semiconductors, lifting exports and corporate earnings.
It is followed by Peru’s iShares MSCI Peru ETF (EPU), which has gained 25.31%, Brazil’s iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) at 22.03%, Thailand (THD) at 21.38% and Turkey (TUR) at 21.32%.
The broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index, tracked by the iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund (EEM), is up nearly 13% year-to-date.
Two elements stand out here: the scale of the relative strength and the remarkable consistency of the rally.
Over the past two months, EEM has achieved the strongest relative surge against the S&P 500 since 2008. Over 12 months, the performance gap has widened to 25 percentage points — the largest divergence since January 2010.
Emerging markets have also recorded 13 positive months out of the last 14 and closed higher for nine consecutive weeks — a streak not seen since 2005.
There is, unmistakably, a structural trend under way.
Record inflows toward geographic capital reallocation
The rally is not only price-driven but also flow-driven.
The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF attracted more than $4bn (€3.7bn) in January 2026, its strongest month for inflows since 2015.
South Korea alone drew $1.6bn (€1.5bn) in January and over $1bn (€0.9bn) in February, while Brazil attracted nearly $1bn (€0.9bn) in January.
The surge in allocations suggests that institutional investors are actively increasing exposure to emerging markets.
Importantly, flows appear broad-based rather than concentrated in a single thematic trade.
While Asia-focused markets have benefited from AI supply-chain positioning, Latin American funds have drawn support from commodities and cyclical exposure.
Why is this happening?
1) Rotation away from crowded US tech
Much of 2026’s market narrative has centred on artificial intelligence disruption, particularly in long-duration US software stocks.
After years of heavy concentration in mega-cap American technology names, investors are reassessing exposure as valuations look stretched and volatility rises.
Emerging markets, by contrast, began the year trading at sizeable discounts to developed peers.
Capital is rotating away from crowded US growth trades into cyclicals, commodities and regions directly exposed to AI hardware demand.
Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research highlighted that while the US economy still remains exceptional, emerging economies benefit from expanding middle classes, rising industrial output and export growth that increasingly outpaces advanced economies.
2) Dollar weakness supports emerging markets
Currency dynamics are reinforcing the move towards emerging markets.
Jeff Buchbinder, Chief Equity Strategist at LPL Financial, indicates that the US Dollar Index is close to breaking its long-term uptrend, with expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts adding pressure.
Central banks’ gradual diversification away from the US dollar towards gold, alongside a persistent US trade deficit that continues to expand the global supply of dollars, is also exerting downward pressure on the greenback.
For emerging markets, a softer dollar eases financing conditions and improves relative returns.
Bank of America strategist David Hauner describes the near-certainty of the next Fed move being a cut as a ‘volatility compressor’ — a backdrop that has historically supported EM assets.
3) AI hardware boom supports Asia
While AI concerns weigh on US software, the hardware backbone of artificial intelligence is largely produced in Asia.
Taiwan dominates advanced semiconductor production, and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics remains a global leader in memory chips.
In Taiwan, technology-related goods now account for roughly 80% of exports and the bulk of recent growth. Revenue at TSMC continues to track the island’s export momentum, with analysts expecting another year of solid expansion in 2026.
4) Commodities and cyclicals add further support
The strength is not confined to technology exporters. Commodity-linked economies such as Brazil and Peru are benefiting from firm metals and agricultural demand, while Thailand and Turkey are gaining from improved financial conditions and cyclical recovery dynamics.
Against a backdrop of stabilising global growth and easing US monetary policy expectations, emerging markets combining export momentum with improving external balances are regaining investor attention.
Why this matters
The resurgence of emerging markets is more than a short-term performance story.
After a decade dominated by US exceptionalism, the current rally points to a potential broadening of global leadership — driven by currency dynamics, shifting capital flows and the geography of AI-driven production.
If sustained, the move could reshape portfolio allocations and challenge the long-standing concentration of global equity returns in a narrow group of US mega-cap stocks.
Essay: Gavin Newsom: They told me it was political suicide. I did it anyway
This essay is excerpted from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery.”
On January 20, 2004, I took a seat in the gallery of the House of Representatives to hear President Bush deliver his State of the Union address. The seat came courtesy of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Ten months earlier, Bush had made the decision to invade Iraq after his administration’s historic campaign of lies convinced the American people that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. We would not extricate ourselves from that costly conflict for another seventeen years. Much of his speech that night was a further attempt to sell to the nation the justification for his war. “Had we failed to act, the dictator’s weapons of mass destruction programs would continue to this day,” Bush said. He characterized the Patriot Act, which had unleashed a new magnitude of spying on American citizens, as “one of those essential tools” in the war on terror.
“Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery” by Gavin Newsom
(Penguin Press)
On the Shelf
Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery
By Gavin Newsom
Penguin Press: 304 pages, $30
If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.
The rest of his speech was standard fare, ho-hum really, until he reached a section near the end about American values and the need for us to “work together to counter the negative influences of the culture and to send the right messages to our children.” He said he was troubled by activist judges in activist states who were threatening to undo the Defense of Marriage Act signed into law by his predecessor, President Bill Clinton. We had to “defend the sanctity of marriage” as the union of one man and one woman, he said. If need be, he would seek a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
As I was leaving the chamber, a middle-aged couple next to me was talking about how pleased they were that their president was finally confronting the “homosexual agenda.” The word homosexual came out of their mouths bent by contempt. I was supposed to head downstairs for a reception with Congresswoman Pelosi and a delegation of California Democrats, but I needed a breath of fresh air. Outside the Capitol, I kept walking and muttering to myself. “These are my people Bush is attacking. My constituents. My staff. My closest advisers.” In the cold and dark of Washington, I called one of my aides back in San Francisco and pledged that I was “going to do something about it” as soon as I returned home.
The law in our state was no different from the law in every other state. Same-sex unions could not be recognized by the local assessor-recorder’s office. They were illegal. As I explained to aides my willingness to now defy that law, I held up a copy of the California Constitution. In Article I, the first section promises that “all people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights.” Among these rights are pursuing and obtaining “safety, happiness and privacy.” It was not until Section 7.5 that these rights were then abridged: “Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” This not only contradicted the first section but was discriminatory on its face.
My top staff didn’t disagree with my reading, but almost to a person they were opposed to my taking on the issue. Steve Kawa, my chief of staff, a gay Bostonian whose accent cut through all nonsense, pulled me aside and spoke from his heart. His father had renounced him for being gay, and he wanted nothing more than to live in an America where homophobia was no longer the norm. But swinging open the doors to the city clerk’s office and inviting gay men and lesbian women to the marriage altar was political suicide, he argued. We were new to office, for one thing. And polls showed that less than one third of Californians supported gay marriage.
The “go it slow” admonition was the mother’s milk of Democratic politics. In the endless battle for the hearts and minds of moderates, it seemed the only feasible way for a Democrat to get elected and govern. But this was San Francisco, and we were talking about equal protection under the law for a class of people whose ostracism by family, friends, and community had brought them to San Francisco in the first place. If not here, where? Eric Jaye, one of my campaign consultants, could see my quandary. I was caught between my conscience and the sound political advice of the people closest to me. We had several late-night conversations on the phone. “What the f— are you doing here? Why did we work so hard to win if you can’t do something bold?” he asked. “This is a short life, Gavin. Your time as a politician to get things done is just a blip.”
I thought back to my model for the wine store. The entire purpose was to turn the staid on its head and create a new reality. I called Joyce Newstat, my policy director, who was also gay. “We need to do this,” I told her. She could hear in my voice that I had made up my mind. “OK, but we can’t afford to take a wrong step,” she said. “Gays and lesbians have a history of being blindsided, and you don’t want to become part of that narrative. Give me a week or two to reach out to the community.” Joyce sat down with Kate Kendell, the brilliant executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, based in San Francisco. “Who is this guy?” Kendell wondered. “He can’t just come waltzing in here and upset the delicate balance we’ve taken years to achieve.” Joyce told her I couldn’t be talked out of it, that it had become internalized after I had gone to Washington and heard the words of bigotry ring out in the Capitol. “Well, OK. But if he’s going to do it, he has to do it right,” Kendell said. She directed her attorneys at the center to work with our team on fashioning a plan.
I then went to Mabel Teng, my former colleague on the board of supervisors who was now the assessor-recorder of San Francisco. I asked her what complications would be presented to her official duties if we allowed same-sex marriages at city hall. Mabel, who began her career in politics as an activist with Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition, did not surprise me with her reply. “It would be no problem at all, Mayor.” The marriage of a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, would require hardly any change to the paperwork. Rather than “man and wife,” they would show up in her computer as “Applicant One” and “Applicant Two.”
Alarmed by my plans, my father and Uncle Brennan and their close friend Joe Cotchett — each one steeped in law and politics but only Joe standing six foot four and a former Special Forces paratrooper —attempted a last-minute intervention. They lured me to the Balboa Cafe for dinner and wine. They weren’t the kind to beat around the bush. Did I realize that I was about to torpedo my political career?
Joe got right in my face. “Why are you doing this, Gavin?”
“I’ll tell you why I’m doing this,” I said defiantly. “Because it’s the right thing to do.”
I could not have given him a more simple and true answer, and it seemed to hit Joe, who had built his career out of representing the underdog, right in the gut.
“OK,” he said in a different voice. “Then let’s do it.”
With that, my father and uncle went quiet. Not another word was said about it. I left there that night thinking that even my Newsom kin, the ones who had my best interests at heart, could get it wrong from time to time. While I was open to skepticism and second-guessing, indeed I welcomed such a process, in the end I had to trust my own gut. On the matter of civil rights for all Californians, there was no turning back. As for big Joe Cotchett, he ended up joining the ranks of lawyers fighting for the legal right to same-sex marriage.
From “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery” by Gavin Newsom, published by Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2026 by Gavin Newsom.
Winter Paralympics: Davy Zyw battles MND to make history
Wine merchant Zyw explained that injury denied him the able-bodied snowboarding career he had craved since taking up the sport at the dry slope in the north of Edinburgh.
“I’ve been a snowboarder all my life,” he said. “Me and my twin brother, we started on a Hillend dry slope when we were 12 or 13.
“I’ve been obsessed with snowboarding my entire life. A knee injury took me away from the slopes and into a career in wine.
“But the fact my diagnosis of being with an incurable degenerative neurological condition has brought me back to my childhood dream of being a snowboarder.”
Zyw only decided to put himself forward for the Games in winter 2024 and has financed competing through crowdfunding and support of his employer.
“There’s like a tragic beauty in this situation,” he added.
“Above all, what I love about being on my board, being on the slopes, being in that competition mind zone is, you know, the disability, the daily challenges of MND, of living with this disease are gone and there’s so much freedom in there.
“When I’m dropping in, when I’m strapping, when I’m in the starting gate, MND is, it might be the reason I’m there, but it couldn’t be further removed from what I’m thinking about in that moment.
“I’m thinking about the course in front of me and how I’m going to rip down it the best I can.”
Panama seizes control of two ports operated by Hong Kong subsidiary
A general view of cargo containers at the Port of Balboa in Panama City, Panama, on Monday, February 23, 2026. The Panamanian government has taken control of two ports near the Canal whose concessions, held by a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate CK Hutchison, were annulled by a final court ruling. Photo by Bienvenido Velasco/EPA
Feb. 24 (UPI) — Panama authorities have taken control of two ports operated by a subsidiary of a Hong Kong company, assets that came under scrutiny after President Donald Trump claimed China exerted too much influence over their operation.
Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings condemned the Monday takeover in a statement on Tuesday that said the actions of Panama were “unlawful” and raised risks to the operations, health and safety of the Balboa and Critobal terminals that its subsidiary, Panama Ports, has been operating for decades.
“None of the actions by the Panama State were advised to or coordinate with PPC,” Hutchison Holdings said.
“The Panama State is responsible for harm and damage caused by the confiscatory actions it has taken.”
On Monday morning, Panama’s official gazette published a late-January Supreme Court ruling that made final the court’s decision that the contract law granting Panama Ports Company’s concession extension to operate the ports was unconstitutional.
The ruling came in a pair of lawsuits filed challenging the contract, which was issued by the Maritime Authority of Panama on June 23, 2021. According to a statement from the Panama presidency’s office, the contract was found unconstitutional because it gave a foreign-based company broad rights that limited the state’s control over the use and management of its resources.
After the gazette was published, Panama authorities arrived at the two ports and informed representatives of the Panama Ports Company that it must cease operations, and that those who do not comply with their orders will be prosecuted.
“PPC and CKHH will continue to consult with their legal advisors regarding the ruling and forceful takeover, the purported termination of PPC’s concession and all available recourse, including additional national and international legal proceedings against the Republic of Panama and its agents and third parties colluding with them,” CK Hutchison Holdings said.
The two ports and their Hong Kong connection were thrust into the spotlight on the first day of Trump’s second presidency, when in his inaugural address he said the United States has been “treated very badly” by Panama and that “China is operating the Panama Canal.”
Trump has repeatedly made the claim since, drawing attention to the Hong Kong-based conglomerate that has operated the two ports since 1997.
UK to be as hot as Barcelona tomorrow with 17C highs
PLENTY of sunshine and highs of 17C – the UK is finally set to bask in some long-awaited warmth.
After weeks of rain and dingy skies, tomorrow the capital city is set to bask in high temperatures that make it on par with Barcelona.
So if you’re stuck with what to do – here are some of our top suggestions for all ages…
Beer gardens
When the sun shines, why not do what us Brits do best? Head over to a beer garden.
London has plenty so you’re really spoiled for choice, but one of the most popular is The Duke of Edinburgh over in Brixton.
Last year it was named London’s best beer garden by Barratt London who ranked them on reviews, price, and the amount of sun each one gets.
It also happens to be the favourite of former radio presenter, Roman Kemp.
Talking to Sun Travel, he said: “I’ve had so many amazing times in the Duke of Edinburgh in Brixton.
“And it’s got the best pub garden, I haven’t seen a better one in London, it’s absolutely massive and it’s the perfect place to be in the summer.
“When I go there to watch the football, there’s a particular table that I have to sit at.”
Here you can get a glass of wine for as little as £4.70 and cocktails from £11.
Other popular spots around the city include The Pear Tree Cafe – there’s one at Battersea Park, another in Clapham Common and Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Or head to The Terrace at Alexandra Palace which is open all year round – and you don’t get many views as good as this one.
At the beer garden you can order stone-fired pizzas by Fuoco’s and drinks from the Phoenix Bar.
Parks
If you want to spend time outdoors, just without the lively beer banter, then head to one of the city’s many parks.
The eight Royal Parks of London have beautiful spaces, lots with ponds and plenty of greenery.
The biggest is Richmond Park which lends itself well to a relaxing stroll or bike ride.
For a sit down to bask in the rare February sun, head to the likes of Greenwich Park or St James’s.
In Regent’s Park, make sure to head over to Japanese Island which has a waterfall and is accessed on a wisteria-covered footbridge.
When it comes to families, tomorrow will be a great day to let kids loose in the great outdoors.
Playgrounds
And London has lots of playgrounds ready to be explored.
Paddington Recreation Ground has recently been revamped and has a ship playframe with rope ladders and slides.
It even has its own mini Paddington Rec Station with a wooden train, and swings too.
There’s also an adventure play section with a wooden play structure, rope bridges and a zip line.
In central London, head to the National Maritime Museum to explore The Cove – it has a play ship, Kraken, and even its own shark – it’s also free entry.
Exploring the world’s largest botanical garden is something that is better when it’s hot.
Attractions
Kew Gardens holds the Guinness World Record for its massive living plant collection, which includes over 50,000 plants.
Of course many of the exhibits are indoors and climate-controlled, but outside there are lots of trails and even more plants to see.
Travel Reporter Cyann Fielding went along late last year and said: “The gardens appear to sprawl on for miles and miles, with numerous different attractions and features to be explored.
“Another spot that is great for kids, is Kew Gardens’ new Carbon Garden. Having only opened in summer of this year, it is a great new spot to explore for returning visitors and children alike.
“The garden shows the essential role plants and fungi play in tackling climate change and in the centre is a pavilion that was created using low-carbon, natural materials.
“Elsewhere in the gardens, visitors will find the Treetop Walkway, which allows you to walk level with the tree canopy and even see London‘s skyline.”
Peak tickets cost from £24 online or £27 at the gate for adults.
Restaurants
In the evening, you can enjoy the last of the sun (for a little while at least) while tucking in to a riverside meal.
Time Out has revealed their top riverside restaurants in London – and here are best ones that you can go to tomorrow.
Ombra sits on the banks of the Regent’s Canal and is the perfect spot to sip on a spritz and indulge in some pasta.
The bright pop art Darcie Green barge actually sits on the water on Regent’s Canal and brings a taste of Australia to the city.
You can enjoy a ‘Bondi Brunch’ in mid-morning, or tuck into a tasty lunch of tuna steak, chicken parmigiana or sirloin steak.
It also has an extensive cocktail list – with an Aussie twist of course.
For more fun slightly further out from the city, here are our favourite cheap days out that are under an hour from London – from trendy seaside towns to historic cities.
And here are the Sun Travel team’s 30 best experiences around the world that everyone should do this year.
Trump Threatens Higher Tariffs on Countries That Back Out of U.S. Trade Deals
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned countries against backing away from recently negotiated trade deals with the U.S. after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency tariffs, saying that if they did, he would hit them with much higher duties under different trade laws.
Trump, in a series of social media posts, said he also may impose license fees on trading partners as uncertainty over his next tariff moves gripped the global economy and sent stocks lower.
“Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to. BUYER BEWARE!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said that despite the court’s decision to invalidate his tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), its decision affirmed his ability to use tariffs under other legal authorities “in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty, than the Tariffs as initially used.”
He suggested that the U.S. could impose new license fees on trading partners but did not provide further details. A spokesperson for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump’s plans.
EU Trade Deal on Hold
In Brussels, the European Parliament decided on Monday to postpone a vote on the European Union’s trade deal with the U.S. after Trump said he would impose a new temporary import duty of 15% on imports from all countries.
EU goods under the deal would face a 15% U.S. tariff, with exemptions for hundreds of food items, aircraft parts, critical minerals, pharmaceutical ingredients, and other goods, while the EU would remove duties on many imports from the U.S., including industrial goods.
Trump initially announced the temporary duty under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 at 10% but promised on Saturday to raise it to 15%, the maximum allowed under the statute. An initial 10% tariff came into effect at a minute past midnight on Tuesday, though it is unclear when the 15% rate would take effect, as Trump has only signed an executive order for the 10% tariff so far.
Markets React
Wall Street stocks ended lower on Monday as renewed tariff uncertainty following the Supreme Court decision, coupled with concerns about AI-fueled disruption, unnerved investors.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.65%
- The S&P 500 fell 1.02%
- The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.01%
The dollar weakened against the euro and the yen, reflecting market anxiety over potential trade escalation and economic uncertainty.
Global Trade Uncertainty
The path forward for Trump’s foreign trade deals remains unclear:
- China has urged Washington to scrap tariff measures.
- The EU has frozen its approval process.
- India delayed planned talks.
The U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, said the administration expects to open new Section 301 unfair trade practices investigations on several countries, potentially paving the way for new tariffs.
Meanwhile, a group of 22 Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation to force the Trump administration to issue refunds for all now-illegal IEEPA-based tariffs within 180 days, although the bill faces an uncertain path to a vote.
Trump also criticized the Supreme Court justices who ruled against him, including two he appointed, and expressed concern that the Court could rule against his administration in a forthcoming birthright citizenship case.
Analysis
Trump’s latest moves reflect his ongoing use of tariffs as a negotiating tool and political messaging device, rather than a targeted economic strategy. By threatening higher tariffs and potential license fees, he is signaling to trading partners that backing away from deals could carry immediate financial consequences.
However, the approach carries multiple risks:
- Market Volatility: Investors are already responding with caution, as uncertainty over tariffs can disrupt supply chains, raise costs for U.S. companies, and weigh on stock prices.
- Diplomatic Strain: Allies such as the EU, as well as emerging partners like India, may view the moves as destabilizing, complicating future trade negotiations.
- Legal Vulnerabilities: Section 122 of the Trade Act has rarely been invoked, and using it in place of IEEPA may invite further litigation, leaving Trump’s administration open to judicial challenges.
- Global Trade Ripple Effects: A 15% tariff on broad imports could increase prices for U.S. consumers, provoke retaliatory tariffs, and shift global supply chains, particularly in sectors like tech, automotive, and pharmaceuticals.
Economists suggest that while Trump’s threats may pressure trading partners, the overall economic rationale is weak, since the U.S. is not in a balance-of-payments crisis, and broad-based tariffs risk collateral damage to U.S. businesses and consumers.
In sum, Trump’s tariff strategy highlights a blend of economic pressure and political signaling, but it comes with high uncertainty and potential unintended consequences for both the U.S. and global markets.
With information from Reuters.
Silent Witness confirms Jack’s future as he makes teary admission to Nikki
Rumours David Cave’s character Jack Hodgson is leaving Silent Witness have been rife
David Caves plays Jack Hodgson in Silent Witness(Image: BBC)
Silent Witness viewers have been left questioning whether David Caves is leaving the show after his character Jack ran into some trouble in the latest episode.
The much-loved forensic scientist, who joined the BBC drama back in the sixteenth series when he replaced Harry Cunningham, has struggled throughout season 29.
The new series has seens Jack, Emila Fox’s Dr. Nikki Alexander and the team relocate to Birmingham from London, where a new enviroment and fresh set of cases has seen Jack “more affected by the trials and tribulations of his work,” as he struggles to find balance.
In the latest episode, called Grace of God, Jack gets himself into a drunken bar brawl as pressure mounts, but things turn from bad to worse when the man he was fighting, Scott Ashton played by Chris Coghill, later winds up dead on Nikki’s examination table.
Consumed with guilt, Jack turns himself in and ends up in prison, with Nikki on the outside trying to keep her husband safe. With his career as a forensic scientist hanging in the balance, many have wondered whether the latest instalment is setting David Caves up for a Silent Witness exit. Warning: The below contains spoilers for Grace of God Part Two.
However, viewers will be pleased to know it looks like Jack is remaining where he is for now, after the second part of Grace of God clears him of the Scott’s murder.
The episode, which is already available on BBC iPlayer, reveals that Jack’s brawl was part of a wider investigation and he was simply a pawn, with Nikki confirming Scott died of injuries sustained after his fight with Jack.
In the instalment, which will air on BBC One on Tuesday, February 23, Jack and Nikki have a teary heart to heart as Jack tells his wife: “The reason I didn’t tell you about the fight is because you trust me and I let you down.”
Responding, Nikki tells him: “And you might do it again. And I might do it to you,” pointing to her wedding band she adds: “That’s what this is. We make mistakes but we come back to each other. We always come back.”
“I’m sorry,” he tells her before they share an emotional embrace and head back home. The episode ends with Jack opposite his therapist as he explains: “We deal with violence almost every day. I experienced the results of violent acts first-hand. And I fool myself that I can separate them from my own life. I grew up being told that strong was the thing. Strength would get you through, no matter how bad.”
“And now?” the therapist asks. “It’s okay to ask for help from time to time, right?” Jack says smiling.
His final reflection seems like a good omen that Jack is returning to work and remaining on the show, as he shares: “Someone once said life is understood backwards but lived forwards. I want to be there… for all of it. I’m ready.”
It’s also worth noting that Jack is scheduled to appear in the final two episodes of Silent Witness season 29 which aire next week on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Silent Witness is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website.
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Pat Riley is looking positively statuesque
From Bill Plaschke: The fans never got an opportunity to give a grateful goodbye, Pat Riley resigning on an early summer afternoon 36 years ago after the end of a lost season.
Everyone will have that chance now.
When Riley left town at the wrong end of grumblings from players and fans, he was the greatest coach not only in Lakers history but also in basketball history, his .730 winning percentage and 102 playoff victories both NBA records at the time.
Everyone will understand now.
He has been Showtime’s forgotten kingpin, its lost leader, its missing warrior, a stylishly distant legend who had been overshadowed by the seven Lakers whose statues stand watch over the plaza outside Crypto.com Arena.
Make that eight Lakers.
Riley finally is coming home, returning Sunday with the unveiling of a long overdue statue in whose bronze reflection a couple of wistful realizations can be found.
Riles has been terribly, terribly missed.
The Showtime era seems terribly, terribly distant.
Riley hasn’t been with the Lakers in 36 years. The Lakers haven’t won an asterisk-free NBA title in 16 years. Maybe because Shaquille O’Neal spoke only via video Sunday, the greatness of this organization never felt further away.
Mark Walter, were you watching?
Statue outside Lakers’ arena is another first for Pat Riley, the consummate coach
————
From Broderick Turner: All of the current Lakers realized that playing against the Boston Celtics on national television really was more than just one of 82 games on the schedule.
It was crystallized even more because iconic former Lakers coach Pat Riley sat courtside after a celebration for the unveiling of his statue on the Star Plaza outside Crypto.com Arena. He was the first Lakers coach to beat the hated Celtics for an NBA championship after eight failed attempts.
So, yes, on this Sunday afternoon, this game meant more if only because it was another game in the long rivalry, a game the Lakers lost, 111-89.
Luka Doncic had 25 points for the Lakers but he was just nine for 22 from the field. LeBron James had 20 points but was just nine for 21 from the field.
Clippers lose to Magic
Desmond Bane scored 36 points and Paolo Banchero added 16 points and eight assists as the Orlando Magic held on for a 111-109 victory over the Clippers on Sunday night.
Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and 14 rebounds and Tristan da Silva scored 13 for the Magic, who improved to 5-2 since Feb. 5.
Kawhi Leonard shrugged off an ankle injury to score 37 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Clippers, who are 4-5 since Feb. 2. Mathurin missed a three-point attempt to win the game at the buzzer.
Jordan Miller had 14 points for the Clippers (27-30).
UCLA women win 21st in a row
From Felicia Keller: The No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball team beat Wisconsin 80-60 on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion and became outright regular season conference champions for the first time in their history.
“I’m so fortunate to coach incredible young women as people and that we’re willing to believe in a vision that we could create together and to be the first team in UCLA history to win a conference championship outright in the regular season,” coach Cori Close said. “It’s just humbling to be a part of.”
Lauren Betts recorded a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds — including three in quick succession in the fourth quarter — as the Bruins celebrated their six graduates on Senior Day by winning their 21st game in a row. Five Bruins — all seniors — scored in double digits.
“That’s the reason we all came here is to do things UCLA has never done before and to win a lot of games and win championships, and so super proud of everyone on this team for really putting in the work,” Gabriela Jaquez said.
Jazzy Davidson scores 32, but USC loses
Jaloni Cambridge scored 33 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, and No. 10 Ohio State used a 15-0 run to rally for an 88-83 victory over USC on Sunday.
It was Cambridge’s fifth 30-point game this season. The sophomore was 12 for 21 from the field and eight for nine from the line as the Buckeyes (23-5, 11-4) snapped a two-game losing streak.
Cambridge also had three steals and helped force USC to commit a season-high 25 turnovers as the Trojans (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten) had their six-game winning streak come to a close.
USC’s Jazzy Davidson scored a season-high 32 points, including six three-pointers, before fouling out with 1.1 seconds left. The freshman also had six rebounds and four assists.
Galaxy plays to draw in opener
Nicolás Fernández scored on a penalty kick in the second half and New York City FC tied the Galaxy 1-1 in a season opener on Sunday before a sellout crowd of 30,510 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Newcomer João Klauss needed 90 seconds to win the hearts of Galaxy fans, scoring with assists from Marco Reus and Joseph Paintsil for a 1-0 lead. L.A. worked a cash-for-player trade with St. Louis City to acquire Klauss on a one-year deal, hoping he’ll ease the loss of superstar Riqui Puig for a second straight season after complications from a torn ACL.
Los Angeles maintained the lead until Emiro Garces was sent off the field for a second yellow card, setting up a successful PK for Fernández that tied it in the 66th minute and left the Galaxy a man short. Fernández scored five goals in 19 appearances with L.A. last season.
Jacob Bridgeman wins Genesis Invitational
From Steve Galluzzo: On one of the most historic golf courses in the world, Jacob Bridgeman made some history of his own Sunday afternoon at Riviera Country Club.
Two months and three days after getting married, the 26-year-old from South Carolina has another memory to last a lifetime after winning for the first time on the PGA Tour and threatening the tournament scoring record at the Genesis Invitational.
“To do it against this field is way, way better than I’ve ever dreamt,” said Bridgeman, who prevailed by a single shot over Kurt Kitayama and Rory McIlroy. “Fans were super supportive all day and winning at this course is a dream come true. I grew up watching this on TV.”
Beginning the final round with a six-stroke lead, Bridgeman birdied the first and third holes to take a seven-shot lead and send an early message to the other 50 players that he would be tough to catch. He carded a one-over-par 72 to finish at 18 under for a four-day total of 266 — two off the 72-hole standard achieved at the 1985 Los Angeles Open by Lanny Wadkins, who won by seven shots with rounds of 63, 70, 67 and 64.
Genesis Invitational leaderboard
Dalton Rushing looks for redemption
From Jack Vita: Dalton Rushing’s first year in the big leagues with the Dodgers didn’t go quite as planned.
Over 53 games after his May call-up, the highly regarded prospect batted .204 with a .258 on-base percentage, .582 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, four home runs and 24 RBIs. It was the only time in his baseball life — aside from his freshman year at the University of Louisville — that Rushing was not a regular fixture in his team’s lineup.
“It was very, very up and down,” Rushing said. “It was some good, some bad, some ugly. A lot of things were new to me; the scattering [of] playing time was tough. It was a little tough being able to stay on top of compete mode, keep the swing in a good spot.”
But it still yielded a satisfying end result.
”I got to win a World Series with this team,” Rushing said. “And it’s hard to look back and think, ‘I’d take this back or I’d take that back.’ It went exactly how it was planned.”
With three-time All-Star catcher Will Smith in front of him, Rushing’s role is clear: He is the Dodgers’ backup catcher. Manager Dave Roberts feels good about Rushing’s progression.
This day in sports history
1935 — George “The Iceman” Woolf makes history, riding Azucar to victory in the inaugural Santa Anita Handicap. Azucar beats such greats as Equipoise and Twenty Grand in the first $100,000 horse race.
1938 — Joe Louis knocks out Nathan Mann in the third round to defend his world heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York.
1960 — Carol Heiss captures the first gold medal for the United States in the Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, Calif., winning the figure skating event.
1968 — Wilt Chamberlain becomes first player to score 25,000 points in the NBA.
1980 — Eric Heiden wins his fifth gold medal and shatters the world record by six seconds in 10,000-meter speed skating at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. His time is 14:28.13.
1985 — Indiana coach Bob Knight is ejected five minutes into the Hoosiers’ 72-63 loss to Purdue when he throws a chair across the court. Knight, after two fouls called on his team, is hit with his first technical. While Purdue was shooting the technical, Knight picks up a chair from the bench area and throws it across the court, earning his second technical.
1987 — Seattle’s Nate McMillan sets an NBA rookie record with 25 assists to lead the SuperSonics over the Clippers 124-112.
1991 — North Carolina becomes the first team in NCAA basketball history to win 1,500 games with a 73-57 victory over Clemson.
2002 — The Americans end nearly a half-century of Olympic frustration for the U.S. men’s bobsled team, driving to the silver and bronze medals in the four-man race at the Salt Lake Olympic Games.
2007 — Tiger Woods’ winning streak on the PGA Tour, which began in July, comes to a shocking end. Woods fails to notice a ball mark in the line of his 4-foot birdie putt that would have won his third-round match against Nick O’Hern. Woods misses, then loses in 20 holes when O’Hern saves par with a 12-foot putt at the Accenture Match Play Championship.
2013 — Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche makes history just by stepping into the UFC cage. Rousey wins the UFC’s first women’s bout, beating Carmouche on an armbar, her signature move, with 11 seconds left in the first round of their bantamweight title fight at UFC 157.
2014 — Canada defends its Olympic men’s hockey title with a 3-0 victory over Sweden. Canada becomes the only repeat Olympic champ in the NHL era and the first team to go unbeaten through the Olympic tournament since the Soviet Union in Sarajevo in 1984.
2014 — Russia, the host country of the Winter Olympics, finishes with 33 medals overall and 13 gold. It’s the first time Russia topped both medals tables since the breakup of the Soviet Union. The U.S. wins 28 total, including nine gold.
2014 — Jason Collins becomes the first openly gay athlete in the United States four major pro leagues, playing 10 scoreless minutes with two rebounds and five fouls in the New Jersey’s 108-102 victory of the Lakers.
2014 — Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins a rain-delayed Daytona 500, a decade after his first victory in the “Great American Race.” Earnhardt snaps a 55-race winless stretch that dated to 2012. It also ends a frustrating sequence at Daytona International Speedway that had seen him finish second in three of the previous four 500s.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Historic English lido to finally reopen this summer after four year closure
A HISTORIC lido that has been closed since 2022 will reopen in time for summer.
Hilsea Lido in Portsmouth has undergone a major facelift, costing around £7.75million.
And now the lido has announced that it will reopen on May 2, in time for the summer season.
Last year, Sea Lanes Brighton announced that they would be taking on the site and working with South Downs Leisure.
The upgraded lido now includes a refurbished pool, new changing rooms, benches, tables and a fountain.
There will also be a food and drink pop-up on site.
Read more on travel inspo
The pool will be the Olympic standard 2.6metres deep and remain 67metres in length and 13metres wide.
Ahead of the launch, visitors can purchase a ‘Founder’ membership for £40 per month, which allows locals to swim and use the sauna as much as they like.
This membership is only available to the first 500 people though.
Normal membership fees are then £52 a month on a rolling contract for swim and sauna or £48 a month on a 12 month contract.
If you just want to swim, this will be £34 a month on a rolling contract or £32 a month on a 12 month contract.
Swim and sauna sessions are each £8, but if you fancy both you can pay to do both for £12.
The lido will be open between 6am and 9pm Mondays to Thursdays, 6am to 8pm on Fridays and 7am to 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
According to Portsmouth News, Judit Kollat, general manager at Hilsea Lido, said: “It is more than a pool, it’s a place with history and heart.
“We aim to create a vibrant hub for the local community, a centre for both mental and physical wellbeing.”
Councillor Steve Pitt at Portsmouth City Council added: “The reopening of Hilsea Lido will transform the north of the city, following the successful launch of the KGV Football Complex and ahead of the North Portsea Coastal Scheme finishing this year.”
The announcement about Hilsea Lido comes as the lido celebrates its 90th birthday.
Many people have taken to social media to express their excitement for the reopening.
One person said: “Can’t wait so many memories and I was a life guard there.”
Another added: “We’ll be over as soon as possible, we’ve watched the project from the beginning.”
The lido first opened in 1935 and at the time was known as the deepest lido in the UK, with a depth of 4.6 metres.
And over the years the lido has welcomed many celebrities including former James Bond, Sean Connery.
In other lido news, a new ‘floating park’ with sauna and lido to open in popular London district – in huge £5billion upgrade.
Plus, an English lido forced to close after 50 years set to finally reopen next year.
Nancy Guthrie abduction puts focus on ‘kidnap and ransom’ insurance
ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 24 (UPI) — The high-profile abduction of Nancy Guthrie is focusing new attention on a little-known, but quickly growing, segment of the insurance industry known as “kidnap and ransom” in which underwriters cover clients at risk from criminals at home and abroad.
While “K&R” insurance has traditionally been seen the domain of business executives whose travels take them to hot spots across the globe where abduction risk is high, the Guthrie case shows that even within the relatively safe United States, anyone can be subjected to kidnapping or extortion, industry leaders told UPI.
As of Monday, the fate of Nancy Guthrie remained unknown. The 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie has been missing from her home in Tucson since Jan. 31. Police were notified after she failed to show up to watch a live stream of a church service at a friend’s house.
Her family has been cleared in her disappearance and the case is still being treated as a kidnapping. The FBI describes the prime suspect as a male between 5 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches in height with a medium build and carrying a 24-liter black Ozark Trail Hiker Pack.
An unknown person’s DNA was recovered at the crime scene, authorities said.
Meanwhile, reports have indicated the Guthrie family received a ransom demand of millions of dollars to be paid in cryptocurrency.
As the search has dragged on for weeks without any substantial breaks in the case, the costs to the Guthrie family are likely mounting quickly, even excluding the potential payout of a multimillion-dollar ransom.
This has led to speculation over whether Savannah Guthrie — who has a reported net worth of $50 million — owns a kidnap and ransom insurance policy covering herself and family members.
But, if she is like the vast majority of high-net worth Americans such as top business executives, media figures, politicians, athletes and celebrities, it’s probable she does not have a K&R policy.
This is because kidnappings-for-ransom have always been rare in the United States and, as a result, the worldwide market for such policies has remained relatively small at an estimated at $2 billion in 2025.
But that figure is expected to nearly double by 2033 as buyers’ perceptions of the threat levels evolve.
“Glaring gap”
The Nancy Guthrie case, as well as a recent rash of kidnappings targeting holders of large amounts of cryptocurrency, is shining a light on what some have described as a “glaring gap” in the security measures typically taken by wealthy families, media personalities and others.
Insurers don’t want to talk about the cost of K&R policy premiums. However, according to independent estimates, basic policies can cost as little as $500 per year, but quickly rise in price as coverage expands and risks increase.
If, for instance, the policyholder is planning to travel to kidnapping “hotspots” such as Mexico, the cost will increase. Insurance for high-profile CEOs, regardless of where they travel, can ruin $10,000 or more per year, industry estimates indicate.
One of the world’s largest providers of K&R insurance is the French company AXA and its specialized division for complex risks, AXA XL. Denise Balan, the firm’s senior vice president and head of U.S. security risks, told UPI the need for these policies is evolving beyond business people traveling into risky global hotspots, although that remains a core customer base.
“You’d be surprised how many entities and individuals actually do carry this insurance, because it is a ‘duty of care’ product,” she said, meaning it is provided by businesses as part of their legal duty to protect their employees.
“So, most companies that have a significant number of employees who either travel internationally or have CEOs or board members who have concerns about threats to their physical safety or extortion, they do tend to carry this insurance.”
There are basically two elements to a typical K&R policy, Balan explained, including the obvious benefit: reimbursement of expenses and costs up to and including the ransom payment.
“But the more important aspect of the policy that you get is the service,” she said. “And that’s in the form of a security consultant. I’m sure you’ve heard a number of different security consultants who have been interviewed recently about the Savannah Guthrie case. Each insurance company that offers kidnap-for-ransom policies also offers a security service.”
The cost of the consultants, usually drawn from a small pool of well-known providers such as London-based S-RM Intelligence and Control Risks Group, is entirely absorbed by the insurer and doesn’t erode the policy limit — rather, it is in addition to the limit.
“It is a wonderful service that will give you not only response in a crisis, but will also give you preventative assistance,” Balan said. “It’s useful if a company wants to set up a crisis management plan or to do an exercise so they’d know how to react if, for instance, they get a call on a Sunday night from someone who says one of their products is going to be tampered with unless they get a million dollars.”
The provided security consultant can offer expert advice on “everything from how to speak to a kidnapper to how much ransom might be an appropriate amount to pay. They might know, for instance, that the going rate for kidnapping in Mexico is $2,500, and they can help with the negotiation, although they never speak directly to the kidnapper.”
One reason that K&R policies are generally little-known is that they’re highly confidential in nature and the potential for their abuse is high.
“You can’t be out there talking about how you have an insurance policy that pays in the event of a kidnap because there’s just so much potential for fraud,” Balan said. “So, it’s a very under-the-radar product that’s been around since probably the early 1920s.”
Another indication that threats are expanding beyond the traditional business travel sector is evident with a new phenomenon dubbed “crypto-kidnapping,” in which organized gangs utilize leaked data to locate and target high-net-worth cryptocurrency holders.
The latest such incident came Feb. 12 outside of Paris when masked assailants targeted Binance France CEO David Prinçay in a failed home invasion and kidnapping attempt — an attack that has put the entire cryptocurrency industry on high alert.
Matthew Humphries, head of crisis management at Lockton Cos., the world’s largest privately held independent insurance broker, said such incidents show the universe of who should have K&R policies is expanding.
“Kidnap and ransom insurance is available for people and organizations whose profile or operations are exposed to heightened security risks, whether abroad or closer to home,” he told UPI.
“There’s a perception that kidnapping only happens in places with obvious political or security tensions, but the risk is far broader. We’ve seen kidnapping cases emerge in places few would expect, including some high‑profile incidents targeting people in the crypto sector in the U.S., France and Canada.”
Payment for expert security teams covered
Estimates indicate as many as 25,000 kidnappings occur each year worldwide, according to another leader in the industry, the U.S.-based Travelers Cos., which warns in its literature, “If you still think it could never happen, consider this: Coercive threats to you and your business can take many forms.”
The company cites two real-life examples.
In one, the president of a company was kidnapped in his parking lot and held for five days until a ransom was paid. Costs incurred included $650,000 for the ransom, $2,000 per day for an independent negotiator, $500 per day for recording equipment used to obtain the man’s release, and $200 per day for extra security guards hired to protect his family.
In the other case, a physician’s wife was attending a conference. The physician received a call that his wife had been kidnapped and that he had two hours to wire a ransom payment. He wired the funds, but realized later that his wife was never kidnapped or in any danger — and all the while the expenses, such as the ransom payment and costs for a security team, quickly added up.
What’s essential in any kidnapping scenario is the presence of experts to advise those close to the victims, which is perhaps the most important benefit of a K&R policy, said Tracey Santor, assistant vice president for financial institutions at Travelers.
Much like AXA AL’s Balan, she emphasized the policies usually come with a crisis management team to be made available to victims’ families and paid for by the carrier.
“The firm usually consists of former law enforcement officers from a number of agencies, such as the FBI, DEA and CIA, who can often determine if a kidnapping is from a specific group and what past behavior and demands have been,” she told UPI. “The crisis team may also work with local authorities on the safety and return of the kidnap victim.”
Travelers only issues commercial K&R policies for businesses rather than personal policies for individuals, for whom they recommend another U.S. provider working with the Travelers Syndicate 5000 in London.
Asked whether heavily publicized cases such as the abduction of Nancy Guthrie can drive up demand for K&R insurance, Santor responded, “Any high-profile story in the news has the ability to influence new buyers to look to purchase coverage related to the incident.”
Army helicopter crashes into Iran market, killing 2 pilots and 2 merchants | Military News
The incident in Isfahan province follows crash of fighter jet in Hamadan province less than a week ago.
Published On 24 Feb 2026
Tehran, Iran – Two military pilots and two merchants have been killed after an army helicopter crashed into a fruit market in central Iran.
The crash on Tuesday morning occurred in Dorcheh, a town in Isfahan province, where the army has a major airbase, according to state media, which said the cause was likely a technical fault in the aircraft.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Footage broadcast by state media from the scene of the crash showed the wreckage and emergency responders putting out the fire.
The Army Aviation Training Centre, in a statement, identified the killed soldiers as Colonel Hamed Sarvazad, the pilot; and his co-pilot, Major Mojtaba Kiani.
Two people working at their booths in the market were also reportedly killed on the scene after the helicopter crashed and caught fire.
The army centre said the cause of the crash is under investigation. The local judiciary chief, Asadollah Jafari, said he had also opened a case and dispatched investigators.
The crash comes less than a week after an Iranian Air Force fighter jet, reportedly an old United States-built F-4 model, crashed during a late-night training mission in the western province of Hamadan.
State media reported that one of the pilots was killed, but the other survived after successfully ejecting. The cause of that crash is under investigation, but state media said it was likely caused by a technical fault, as well.
Iran has been largely unable to upgrade its ageing fleet of aircraft, both military and civilian, as a result of decades-long sanctions imposed by the US and its allies.
Iran has purchased a number of fighter and training aircraft from Russia, and has been seeking to buy advanced Su-35 jets, but they have yet to be delivered by Moscow.
The crash of the helicopter took place amid rising tensions between the US and Iran before a new round of nuclear talks, which are set to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday.
Iranian officials have warned that the country will not “bow down” to US pressure as Washington bolsters its military presence in the region.
In recent weeks, the US military has amassed hundreds of advanced fighter aircraft, both in military bases and on two aircraft carrier strike groups, as it threatens to strike Iran if it fails to reach a deal on its nuclear and missile programmes.
Tehran has rejected negotiations about its missiles, but has said an agreement may be possible to ensure it will never possess a nuclear weapon.
The stories behind all 5 Oscar-nominated original songs
The 2026 original song contenders come from deep inside the characters singing them: a simple man wistfully looking back on his ordinary life; a budding bluesman with talent to burn down the house; a 17-time Oscar nominee; a demon-hunting K-pop star channeling the real-life singer-songwriter behind her; and a joyous expression of life from inside a documentary’s main “character,” a retirement home for musicians.
‘Dear Me’ from ‘Diane Warren: Relentless’
Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
Diane Warren in “Diane Warren: Relentless.”
(Don Holtz)
When 17-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren agreed to be in a documentary about her life, she found herself back in her childhood home in Van Nuys — specifically the bathroom where she wrote songs as an angsty teen.
“The acoustics in that bathroom were always great,” she says. “It was cool to go back and look at the bedroom window I used to sneak out of. I’m always connected to that 14-year-old me, with a guitar my dad bought me.”
Inspired by the documentary’s examination of her troubled youth, Warren wrote an “It gets better” ballad sung by Kesha: “Dear me, it’s gonna be all right, all right / Trust me, all of the pain is gonna fade.”
“I get notes from all ages; the song makes them feel like they could hug the little kid inside them,” says Warren. “It’s a love song to your younger self.”
‘Golden’ from ‘KPop Demon Hunters’
Music and lyrics by Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park
A scene from “KPop Demon Hunters.”
(Netflix via Associated Press)
Though “Golden” went to No. 1 and has been winning awards, singer and co-writer Ejae still connects “one hundred million percent” to its painful roots in her own, frustrated K-pop dreams.
She related to the film’s protagonist, Rumi, a monster-fighting singer who is secretly part monster herself. “She has this side that she’s so ashamed of, that she was born with. I struggled with my own demons that I was ashamed of, growing up in the K-pop industry, [harshly critiqued for] my physical appearance, my voice, my personality.
“Even when writing ‘Golden,’ things were just not happening. It was a really bad time.”
Yet the hit is a catchy K-pop banger.
“It was very cathartic,” she says. “I remember crying while recording the demo. I was desperate.
“Now when I sing it, it’s a different feeling. I was able to reach a dream, and it makes me feel like this is who I was meant to be.”
‘I Lied to You’ from ‘Sinners’
Music and lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson
Miles Caton, center, in “Sinners.”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” features a central moment of musical ecstasy. Emerging bluesman Sammie plays a song he wrote as a confession to his pastor father, a paean to the music he loves. As the juke joint crowd responds, he loses himself in the timeless transcendence artists hope for.
Co-writer Ludwig Göransson says, “It doesn’t happen very often, but you have those experiences when you really are getting into the music and time and space disappears. Ryan’s not a musician, but it was written like he’s been in that position.”
In cosmic communion, practitioners of Black music from many eras appear to Sammie, the joint’s roof combusting in his mind. Göransson assisted in the Dolby Atmos mix, moving the music and sound around spatially as the camera travels.
Co-writer Raphael Saadiq says, “Sammie’s father felt secular music was devil music. Even today, you have people who go to church who don’t listen to the blues [for that reason], but deep down inside, they love it because it’s something we inherited from our ancestors.”
‘Sweet Dreams of Joy’ from ‘Viva Verdi!’
Music and lyrics by Nicholas Pike
Milan’s Casa Verdi, a retirement home for musicians depicted in “Viva Verdi!”
(Viva Verdi! LLC)
Even those who know little about opera have heard of Giuseppe Verdi. What many don’t know is one of his most enduring accomplishments is Casa Verdi — a retirement home for musicians. Yvonne Russo’s documentary “Viva Verdi!” captures the vibrant life inside its walls, expressed in the aria “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” sung by soprano Ana María Martínez and composed by Nicholas Pike.
The filmmakers “sent me this 12-minute assembly, kind of like a teaser, and that’s all I saw,” says Pike. “The passion, the vitality of these residents, the mentoring of young, up-and-coming artists … I went over to the piano and wrote the song.”
He says the whole thing took about a day to craft, with its contemporary piano figures and classical vocals, imbued with the vivaciousness of Casa Verdi’s residents.
He wanted to capture the footage’s “energy and life and hope. We’ve all been to retirement homes; they can be pretty down places. This is 180 degrees from that.”
‘Train Dreams’ from ‘Train Dreams’
Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; lyrics by Nick Cave
Joel Edgerton in “Train Dreams.”
(Netflix)
When “Train Dreams” star Joel Edgerton called Nick Cave to work with composer Bryce Dessner on a song for the film, the postpunk poet and art rocker was on holiday, avoiding the “attendant agony” of songwriting. But Denis Johnson’s book happened to be a favorite of Cave’s.
Edgerton sent him the film. Cave says, “I sat up in bed and watched it with Bryce’s gorgeous score and fell asleep and had a kind of fever dream with all the images of this extraordinary film, and woke up with the lyrics fully formed, which is extremely unusual for me.”
He went to the hotel’s breakfast room, where there was a piano. “It all just sort of poured out of me. The melody and the lyrics fit perfectly to Bryce’s score.”
The song expresses “the inarticulate wonder at the world that the lead character has. There’s this chordal thing after the refrain, that rises up — an expression of that wonder, rising out of the grief.
“‘This has been going on for years … I can’t begin to tell you how that feels.’”
Women’s T20 World Cup: Hosts England to meet Scotland and Ireland
Scotland and Ireland will face hosts England at the Women’s T20 World Cup after the draw for this summer’s tournament was finalised.
Scotland and Ireland booked their place at the World Cup in the qualifying tournament in Nepal earlier this month.
They join England in Group Two, alongside West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
The game between England and Scotland at Headingley on 20 June will mark the first occasion the two countries have met in any kind of cricket World Cup fixture, men or women, in the UK.
Ireland meet England in Southampton on 16 June, while Ireland and Scotland start their campaigns against each other at Old Trafford on 13 June.
The tournament begins a day earlier when England take on Sri Lanka at Edgbaston.
Bangladesh and the Netherlands were the other two teams to come through the qualifier and join Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan in Group One.
With the 12-team field confirmed – the largest in the 17-year history of the Women’s T20 World Cup – the full groups and fixtures have been published for the first time.
New Zealand will defend the title they won in the United Arab Emirates two years ago in the first Women’s T20 World Cup to be held in England since the inaugural tournament in 2009.
As well as Old Trafford, Headingley and Southampton, group matches will be played in Bristol. The semi-finals will be at The Oval on 30 June and 2 July, with the final at Lord’s on Sunday, 5 July.
Seoul stocks rally over 2 pct to land at fresh record high above 5,900 on tech rally
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), shown on a screen in the trading room at Hana Bank in Seoul, topped a record-high 5,000 on Tuesday. Photo by Yonhap
Seoul shares surged more than 2 percent Tuesday to close at a fresh record high above the 5,900-point mark, driven by strong gains in technology shares. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 123.55 points, or 2.11 percent, to finish at an all-time high of 5,969.64.
The index has extended its upward momentum in recent weeks, surpassing the 5,000-point mark for the first time on Jan. 27 and crossing 5,500 on Feb. 12. It moved above 5,800 on Friday.
Trading volume was heavy at 1.58 billion shares worth 30.73 trillion won (US$21.3 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 465 to 407.
Institutions bought a net 2.37 trillion won worth of stocks, offsetting net sales of 199.16 billion won by foreign investors and 2.28 trillion won by retail investors.
The rally came despite overnight losses on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.66 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.13 percent.
In Seoul, investors scooped up major chip stocks ahead of an earnings report from U.S. chipmaker Nvidia later this week, while remaining cautious over U.S. President Donald Trump‘s push to impose new tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down his original sweeping duties, analysts said.
Trump signed an executive order Friday (U.S. time) authorizing new 10 percent global tariffs that took effect Tuesday. He has also threatened to raise the rate to 15 percent, though no formal order has been issued.
“Even if the global tariffs are raised to 15 percent, there will be no major impact on the local stock market because current U.S. tariffs on Korean imports already stand at 15 percent,” an analyst at IBK Securities Co. said.
Technology and automobile stocks led the gains.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics jumped 3.63 percent to 200,000 won, while chip giant SK hynix surged 5.68 percent to a record high of 1,005,000 won.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.19 percent to 524,000 won, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 4.17 percent to 412,500 won.
Among decliners, shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean fell 2.79 percent to 143,100 won, and Lotte Shopping declined 1.67 percent to 111,700 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,442.50 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 2.5 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys rose 0.4 basis point to 3.158 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds also climbed 0.5 basis point to 3.410 percent.
Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.
Nearly 20 countries slam Israel’s ‘de facto annexation’ drive in West Bank | Occupied West Bank News
Joint statement says Israeli land grab is ‘deliberate and direct attack’ on the viability of a Palestinian state.
Published On 24 Feb 2026
Foreign ministers of 19 countries, including Turkiye, Qatar, France and Brazil, have signed a joint statement condemning Israel’s moves to unlawfully extend and consolidate its control over Palestinian land.
The statement issued late Monday by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Israel’s plans to begin land registration in the occupied West Bank, which will sanction the seizure of land from Palestinians who cannot prove ownership, as “de facto annexation”.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“Changes are wide-ranging, reclassifying Palestinian land as so-called Israeli ‘state land’, accelerating illegal settlement activity, and further entrenching Israeli administration,” said the joint statement, also signed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as the heads of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Israel’s plans, signed on February 15, will see registration introduced across Area C, which makes up about 60 percent of the West Bank’s territory, according to the illegal settlement monitoring organisation, Peace Now.
The joint statement warned Israel’s moves could permanently alter the “legal and administrative status” of territory that is largely under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule, but which would constitute part of a future Palestinian state.
“Such actions are a deliberate and direct attack on the viability of the Palestinian State and the implementation of the two-State Solution,” the statement said, rejecting measures altering “the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem”.
Signatories also called on Israel to end settler violence against Palestinians, pledging to take “concrete steps, in accordance with international law, to counter the expansion of illegal settlements in Palestinian territory and policies and threats of forcible displacement and annexation”.
The foreign ministers stressed that Israeli settlements constitute “a flagrant violation of international law”, including previous United Nations Security Council resolutions and the 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The landmark ICJ ruling stated that Israel’s “abuse of its status as the occupying power” rendered its “presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful”.
According to the ICJ, approximately 465,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank, spread across some 300 settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.
Earlier this month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Israel’s land registration plan could lead to the “dispossession of Palestinians of their property and risks expanding Israeli control over land in the area”.
Signatories of the statement urged Israel to immediately release withheld tax revenues owed to the Palestinian Authority in accordance with the 1994 Paris Protocol.
They also stressed the importance of preserving the historic and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan.
J. Snow and Marlon Wayans Q&A for doc on sickle cell “You Look Fine
When Jared Snow goes to the hospital, he’s usually in serious pain, which he hopes will be assuaged soon. But living with sickle cell disease as a Black man in America often tests this hope.
The Compton born stand-up comedian and actor has been living with sickle cell disease since he was a child. Hospital visits and pain have always been part of his life. But now he’s using his latest project, a documentary film called “You Look Fine,” to show the world how he copes as an entertainer with living with sickle cell disease in an industry steeped in image and perception.
Alongside actor-comedian Marlon Wayans, Snow wanted to make the film to raise awareness about the realities of sickle cell disease and how it impacts Black communities.
In the United States, sickle cell disease affects about 100,000 people, with more than 90% of cases being among Black people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sickle cell disease occurs in about one out of every 365 Black or African American births. People living with sickle cell disease have red blood cells that are crescent shaped due to a gene mutation. Because of this, the red blood cells can block blood flow to the rest of the body and can cause chronic pain, strokes, lung problems, infections and kidney disease.
The nearly 90-minute documentary has Snow filming himself inside small hospital rooms, nurses trying to find a vein in which to stick needles, and even him trying to work on material as he lies in hospital beds. The film also includes interviews with his friends.
Snow was adamant about showing the blood and needles in the film as well as footage of himself writhing in pain on hospital beds and the frustration of waiting hours for doctors to provide adequate dosages of pain medication that can help him. He cracks jokes during his hospital stays, but in between you get a front-row look at how tiring, tearful and emotionally devastating his illness can be. Interspersed within such footage are clips from his stand-up shows and him trying to live his best life by traveling, skydiving and even experiencing New York City snowfall.
The Times caught up with Snow and Wayans to talk about the film, vulnerability, Black men’s health, and finding levity through the pain.
J. Snow in the hospital in “You Look Fine”
(J. SnowPro)
I was struck by the handwritten notes with title ideas. Tell me where “You Look Fine” comes from?
J. Snow: It’s just something I hear a lot. It’s something I’ve heard a lot during my life. It’s cultural Black gaslighting is what it is. When you’re in pain, sometimes you look fine. When you are telling people, “I’m not fine,” they’re like, “Your hair is nice.” I can’t go to the hospital with gold. I had gold beads. Sometimes you go there looking too nice. Sometimes I got to dress down just to try to get the help. But if I dress too far down, I look homeless, and they really won’t be open to helping me. So you got to find the balance. But that’s kind of where it comes from. … I wanted to throw it back into people’s face. This is something that a lot of sickle cell warriors, and people with chronic illnesses in general hear, people with mental illness hear, and so I think it’s important to highlight how that literally is gaslighting.
What was your motivation to do this documentary now?
J.S.: I wanted to show that humor lives within this and that a lot of resilience and strength are also within this, and that was really the motivator. Also, just growing up with it, not having a lot of information, not seeing a lot of men talk about it. I wanted to be different, you know.
Marlon Wayans: For me it fits on brand for several reasons. One is because I love taking the dark things in life and finding some humor in it. And I think I try to do that with my comedy. I try to do it with my specials. I try to do it because I think we need to all find smiles no matter what your situation is; laughter is always healing and always necessary. Being African American, I grew up when sickle cell was like a prominent disease, and in our culture I know even when it came to dating, my mother would ask “Who you dating? You know, because if she got the trait, and you got the trait, you know, what could happen.” So I’ve always been aware of it, and I’ve lost now four friends to sickle cell. I just lost two in the last year. It’s a long fight, and so I’m here to support them and our culture and the awareness. And you know, Jay is a friend, and you know, I want him to see fame.
For Jared, in the film, you say, “I just want to see what my body can do.” I thought that was just so deeply profound. What is your relationship like with your body now, compared with the moment you were filming that?
J.S.: When somebody sees me eating a salad, and they’re like, “Oh, you eating salad?” I’m like, “This could save my life.” When I’m stretching and doing yoga, it’s not because I want to be a yogi. It’s because it literally gets oxygen into the joints that are suffering without oxygen. It stretches my hips and I want the longevity. I see what happens in sickle cell warriors and people without sickle cell who just age without moving frequently.
J. Snow walks through the halls of a hospital while dealing with issues from sickle cell.
(Courtesy of J. SnowPro)
Black people, especially for Black men, don’t have their pain taken seriously — be it their physical pain or their emotional pain. What has it been like for you to publicly show that pain?
J.S.: It’s been challenging. It took awhile for me to get to the point where I could even talk about this publicly, especially being in entertainment and trying to maintain a certain persona and image in entertainment where like your ego clashes against your vulnerability and you feeling like you’re weak. That’s the stigma that comes with people who admit that they have illnesses and stuff like that, especially in entertainment. It makes people not want to work with you. I’ve suffered through that. I’ve lost jobs while in the hospital because of this. And so it got to a place where it just was unavoidable. The pressure built so much and the frequency of the hospital visits became so crazy that it was like, you’re either going to be viewed as this very lazy, sometime-y person, or you’re going to come clean about what you’re actually dealing with and just face it.
M.W.: I live in the pain. I live in the vulnerability. I think that’s why I create my best work. You know, my parents died. I thought it was only appropriate to talk about that thing that hurts me so much. I think part of it takes courage, but at the same time, I know it’s necessary.
What was going through your mind when you first saw that footage of [Snow] in the hospital?
M.W.: “This [man] is crazy. Why you filming?” He made sure he had a GoPro on his foot and set cameras up — dude really wants to make it. Forget this disease. He may be faking it just to make it bigger. I was proud, right? That’s because I love the resilience, I love that you still have a passion, that you still have a thing that you want to do, and you have this art and this vessel and this expression, and I know that even though he’s hurting, that he’s healing at the same time, at least, you know, emotionally and spiritually. Because to put art out there at the time that it’s happening, that you’re in pain, that takes a lot of courage from the artist, and so I was proud. That’s why I stand behind it, because I think it’s something I’ve never seen, and I think it’s something that’s necessary for the culture.
How has this film changed your relationship to your understanding of masculinity and strength?
M.W.: For me, it’s just on theme. It hasn’t changed, it just enforced how I feel. You know, I’ve never been one to hide my feelings. I go to therapy. I have two therapists, I go on my walks. I talk to God. I’m reading my Bible. I understand that life is a long journey of suffering, and you need these outlets, and this movie and art are part of that. I have the stage. I always have this thing that I’m expressing because it helps me reconcile all that’s going on with me, especially when I take this pain and make other people laugh or are entertained by it, then I go, all right, I did something good with that thing that was bad. And so this enforces what I want people to feel. I want people to watch this. That’s why I stand behind this, because it’s on theme spiritually for me.
J.S.: I think when you stand outside of that vulnerability and you’re afraid to really go into it, I don’t know, I feel like that’s orbiting your true power. The most masculine thing you can do is face your highs and lows head on and own them. And that’s where you find out who you really are. This is where you find out what you can really bring to the table for yourself, for others, and where you become fearless. And that’s exactly what this showed me, was that I can do anything, I can conquer a lot of things. I walk around with a new energy because I’ve done this. I literally had a film on hard drives, and I sat for 11 months and edited it relentlessly, and now I have my first feature film because I was fearless enough to at least try to do it and not feel, what are people going to think, or what are people going to say? That didn’t matter to me. Also with this clock over my head, you don’t got time to think about stuff like that. It’s like, what do you want to do while you’re here? And what I wanted to do was make movies, make people laugh and inspire others to do things that they want to do too. And that took letting go of whatever this masculine image was that was blocking me.
J. Snow on stage at the Hollywood Laugh Factory
(Brianna Joseph)
The whole film is endearing, but I found those moments of levity so well- timed and so thoughtful and funny. How do Black people find those moments of levity, oftentimes, during these moments of pain?
M.W.: Because Black people have been through so much trauma before we get into family trauma, just as a people. We have suffered the most trauma from being separated from our family, slavery — we’ve been through it — and yet, and still, we find that funny. And that has been, I think, our saving grace is our sense of humor. It’s been a lifesaver. It’s been a raft in a really rough ocean for us. And I think it’s beautiful that we can. I will always promote laughing when you’re in your most pain to find the funny, because that takes a little pressure off. You’re laughing and crying at the same time. It’s like the best feeling.
J.S.: It’s like oxygen, like when the air is being sucked out of the room by your circumstances, your trauma, your pain or whatever. That little laugh is like a little breath of oxygen. It gives you something to keep going forward, to continue to think, “OK, like, where’s another solution from here? What else can I do here?” It gives you that breath that you need.
Monday Southern California high school baseball and softball scores
HIGH SCHOOL SCORES
Monday’s Results
BASEBALL
CITY SECTION
Fairfax 14, VAAS 4
Fremont 16, Los Angeles 0
Grant 4, Canoga Park 1
Huntington Park 21, Collins Family 0
Marquez 10, Gardena 4
North Hollywood 7, Taft 6
San Pedro 4, South East 3
SOCES 10, King/Drew 7
South Gate 8, Port of LA 1
SOUTHERN SECTION
Adelanto 13, Riverside Notre Dame 1
Agoura 4, Mira Costa 3
Alemany 1, Culver City 0
Alhambra 1, Bosco Tech 0
Alta Loma 16, Baldwin Park 2
Anaheim 7, Godinez 2
Apple Valley 5, Knight 4
Arcadia 6, San Dimas 2
Bellflower 10, Eastvale Roosevelt 3
Bishop Amat 5, Redlands East Valley 2
Bonita 4, Damien 4
Burbank Providence 11, YULA 1
Cajon 5, Arlington 4
Calabasas 5, Rio Mesa 4
California 10, Don Lugo 4
Calvary Baptist 15, Rio Hondo Prep 2
Canyon Country Canyon 8, Glendale 0
Capistrano Valley Christian 7, Colony 5
Cerritos 13, Cerritos Valley Christian 4
Chaparral 11, Chino 5
Corona Santiago 1, San Juan Hills 0
El Modena 11, Patriot 2
El Monte 4, San Gabriel 0
El Segundo 5, West Torrance 1
Esperanza 5, Century 3
Gladstone 8, Immanuel Christian 4
Glendora 14, Littlerock 0
Golden Valley 3, Santa Clarita Christian 0
Hesperia 16, Eisenhower 4
HMSA 6, Lynwood 2
Hoover 11, Salesian 1
Indio 8, Nuview Bridge 4
La Quinta 7, Oak Hills 0
La Salle 13, West Covina 2
Los Amigos 8, Bolsa Grande 7
Magnolia 12, Whitney 7
Mark Keppel 2, Pomona 2
Millikan 6, Citrus Valley 5
Monrovia 19, Burbank 4
Moreno Valley 12, San Jacinto Valley Academy 2
Newport Harbor 8, Woodcrest Christian 7
Ontario Christian 10, Paloma Valley 5
Paraclete 4, Buena 0
Riverside King 10, Rancho Christian 3
Riverside Prep 25, Carter 1
Rosamond 15, Antelope Valley 0
Rosemead 6, Whittier 5
Rubidoux 4, Big Bear 2
Sage Hill 6, Pasadena Poly 3
San Bernardino 9, Vista del Lago 8
Santa Ana 12, Santa Ana Valley 3
Santa Ana Foothill 7, Crean Lutheran 3
Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 6, Shalhevet 3
Segerstrom 6, Portola 3
Silverado 25, CIMSA 0
Sonora 9, Orange 1
South Hills 2, Northview 0
Temple City 13, South El Monte 3
Thousand Oaks 11, Saugus 5
Torrance 12, Brea Olinda 0
Valencia 2, Oxnard Pacifica
Valley View 5, Shadow Hills 4
Villa Park 12, Downey 3
Walnut 2, South Pasadena 2
Western Christian 8, Los Alto 6
Westminster 10, Western 6
West Valley 14, Perris 1
Wiseburn Da Vinci 17, Animo leadership 0
INTERSECTIONAL
Bellflower 10, LA Roosevelt 3
Birmingham 7, Ventura 4
Buckley 17, Sun Valley Magnet 1
Castaic 4, Hueneme 0
Chaminade 9, Santa Paula 1
Cleveland 6, Camarillo 4
Compton 2, Rancho Dominguez 0
Dos Pueblos 9, Granada Hills 3
Gardena Serra 12, LA Hamilton 4
Inglewood 19, Locke 3
Newbury Park 2, El Camino Real 1
Riverside Poly 3, Upland 2
Simi Valley 6, Highland 4
South Torrance 4, Carson 1
Sun Valley Poly 2, Quartz Hill 0
Viewpoint 14, Northridge Academy 0
Westlake 9, Chatsworth 1
Yorba Linda 5, Yucaipa 4
SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION
Carson 12, Wiseburn Da Vinci 0
Chatsworth 4, Sylmar 0
Marquez 10, LA Marshall 4
Narbonne 20, Maywood Academy 9
Orthopaedic 26, Contreras 3
Rancho Dominguez 16, Santee 5
Verdugo Hills 19, LA Hamilton 0
Wilmington Banning 9, Garfield 7
SOUTHERN SECTION
ACE 11, Barstow 5
Ayala 14, Cajon 1
Baldwin Park 17, Pomona 5
Burbank Providence 10, St. Pius X-St. Matthias 0
Castaic 10, Arleta 0
Corona 10, Heritage 1
Crean Lutheran 6, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 3
Eastvale Roosevelt 5, Alta Loma 4
Eisenhower 23, Loma Linda Academy 5
Esperanza 15, Sonora 14
Etiwanda 17, Ramona 0
Faith Baptist 9, Golden Valley 5
Glendora 10, Villa Park 4
Hesperia 5, Hesperia Christian 1
Jurupa Valley 15, San Jacinto 12
Jurupa Valley 6, Miller 1
La Canada 9, Burbank 0
Lancaster 12, Serrano 6
Linfield Christian 16, Santa Rosa Academy 0
Los Amigos 11, Samueli Academy 1
Los Osos 8, Victor Valley 2
Newport Harbor 19, Laguna Hills 5
Oak Hills 16, Summit 4
Rancho Cucamonga 9, Kaiser 1
Redlands 5, San Bernardino 4
Redondo Union 12, Bishop Montgomery 0
Riverside North 10, Citrus Hill 0
Riverside Prep 5, Sultana 0
Rosamond 13, Antelope Valley 3
Santa Ana 14, Westminster La Quinta 1
Santa Ana Valley 24, Estancia 4
Santa Fe 1, Paramount 1
Santa Margarita 1, El Toro 0
Shadow Hills 15, Palm Springs 0
Silverado 7, Ridgecrest Burroughs 4
St. Bonaventure 5, Simi Valley 4
St. Paul 6, Whittier 1
Upland 7, Northview 2
Valley View 7, Chino 1
Ventura 5, Grace 4
Westlake 7, Oak Park 1
Whittier Christian 12, La Serna 5
Yucaipa 13, Rancho Verde 0
INTERSECTIONAL
Burbank Burroughs 13, Cleveland 0
Carson 12, Wiseburn Da-Vinci 0
Castaic 10, Arleta 0
Heritage Christian 13, Monroe 0
Pasadena Marshall 18, Canoga Park 5
Port of Los Angeles 16, Mary Star of the Sea 4
San Pedro 5, South Torrance 4
Venice 12, Culver City 1
Hong Kong conglomerate says Panama Canal ports seized by authorities | International Trade News
CK Hutchison says the Panamanian government has taken ‘administrative and operational control’ of its two ports on the canal.
Published On 24 Feb 2026
The government of Panama has seized control of two ports on either end of the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong conglomerate following a recent ruling by the country’s Supreme Court.
Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison said on Tuesday that Panama’s government had “made direct physical entry into the terminals at Balboa and Cristobal” and assumed “administrative and operational control” over the two ports on the Panama Canal.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The company said the “unlawful” takeover reflects the culmination of a campaign by the Panamanian state against its subsidiary, Panama Ports, following the Supreme Court ruling last month.
According to a government decree, the Panama Maritime Authority has been authorised to occupy the ports for “reasons of urgent social interest”, according to The Associated Press (AP) news agency.
The maritime authority also has the right to take over port property, including computer systems and cranes, according to the decree.
The state takeover marks the latest twist in a yearlong saga for CK Hutchison, which has been caught in a three-way fight between China, the United States, and Panama following US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year.
Starting in December 2024, Trump began to allege that the Panama Canal was being operated by China and promised to “take it back” – using military force if necessary – as part of a greater effort to reassert US dominance over the Western Hemisphere.
Last month, Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that CK Hutchison’s concession to operate the two ports was “unconstitutional” despite the company renewing its concession in 2021 for another 25 years.
The Chinese government’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) weighed in on the controversy, describing the ruling as “absurd” and “shameful”, while warning that the Latin American country would pay “heavy prices both politically and economically”.
Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino responded, saying he “strongly” rejected China’s threat against his country and that Panama was a country that upholds the rule of law “and respects the decisions of the judiciary, which is independent of the central government”.
Straight Talk On State Of U.S. Airlift Capabilities From General Who Ran Air Mobility Command
The U.S. buildup of forces in the Middle East ahead of a possible attack on Iran relies very heavily on the performance of the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC). Hundreds of its cargo jets and aerial refueling tankers have moved materiel into theater and helped tactical jets, radar planes and other aircraft deploy across oceans to places like Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, among many other locations. At the same time, the current crisis in the Middle East pales in comparison to the massive spike in demand for airborne logistics that would occur during a Pacific fight against China. Regardless, ever greater demand is being placed on an increasingly aging AMC fleet.
Few people know the nuts and bolts of AMC and its mission better than Michael “Mini” Minihan, a retired Air Force general who led the command from October 2021 to November 2024. In a 45-minute interview, Minihan offered his insights on that and a whole host of other topics. They include the current crisis and its airlift demands, challenges from China, future airframes, arming airlifters and refuelers, the connectivity issues he championed, AI and the leaked memo that put a cap on his career.
Since retiring, Minihan serves as a strategic advisor and board member to defense and technology companies, non-profits, and think tanks while continuing to write and speak on leadership, national security, and the future of air mobility and global power projection.
Some of the questions and answers have been edited for clarity.
Q: The C-17 Globemaster III heavy lifters have been supporting one crisis after another it seems. Have the hours accumulated faster on those airframes? What do you think should replace them and when?
A: All the things I was concerned about while I was in uniform, I remain concerned about right now. The options on the table are service life extension programs [SLEP] that the C-17 is already a candidate for. There was talk late last year about the KC-135 Stratotanker receiving another [SLEP]. You know, those types of things are concerning to me. At the end of the day, I think this nation needs to pay for the Air Force it needs, and the Air Force that it needs has a modern, capable mobility fleet. It’s not just old stuff that keeps getting patched up to get older. That’s the reality. So I’m concerned.
Q: Right now, a massive buildup is underway in the Middle East. AMC is doing the heavy lifting there as always. But in a crisis in the Pacific, would we have enough airlift aircraft to support moving quick enough across that vast theater, especially to respond to an invasion of Taiwan?
A: What you’re talking about is always a concern, regardless of the scenario. The reality is that America relies on the mobility fleet to project its power… So there’s not any scenario, even in the day-to-day competition, where you’re happy with the supply-demand intersection. So I think that we’ve got to work on capacity, certainly out of the entire mobility fleet, when it comes to the airlift and the air refueling. And then if you overlay that in contested environments, the concern gets bigger.
Q: Considering how long it has taken to build up forces in the Middle East, where tankers and cargo jets are flying over uncontested airspace, how concerned are you about being able to project enough power over long distances to protect Taiwan from an attack by China?
A: The alarm that I had when I was active duty exists today… So the reason I’m a civilian right now is because I was ringing the bell on the exact questions that you’re asking right now and that concern still remains. The reality is against a China or against a Russia, they’re going to challenge you in all domains, from great distances. They absolutely understand that the mobility fleet is America’s capability to project power quickly. So there’s going to be a focus on it. But once again, you’re describing concerns that I had and expressed when I was active duty, and I still have those same concerns.
Inside Taiwan’s Strategy to Counter a Chinese Invasion | WSJ
Q: What response did you receive when you expressed those concerns in a memo that was leaked to the public in 2023?
A: Well, I’m a civilian right now.
Q: Is that the reason why?
A: The leak created antibodies that would want me in another job. That memo was getting after all the things that you’re asking about right now. It was getting after capability and capacity. It was getting after readiness. It was getting after explode into theater. It was getting after the mobility fleet being able to do what it’s asked to do, despite being extremely vulnerable, despite it being extremely antiquated – all those things.
I believe that the Chief of Staff of the Air Force [Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach] now is focused on modernization and readiness. Those were 100% things that I was championing very early. And I think those things exist now, and I think we need to continue to put pressure on [those things] to get the resourcing, to get not just the Air Force, but America’s mobility fleet, to the capability and capacity that it needs to be at, so that we can not have concerns about China and not have concern about [deploying] to Europe when needed.
Q: Were you fired over the memo?
A: I was not fired. I thought for two weeks that I was going to be fired, but I was thankfully allowed to serve out the rest of my command tour. But I was asked to retire.
Q: What were the biggest lessons learned by Mobility Guardian and our readiness to meet the challenge China poses in the Pacific?
A: We’ve got to explode into theater very quickly. We’ve got to be able to explode into theater in numbers and volumes and challenges that we’ve not experienced in any of the modern…operations. We’ve got to put the entire joint force in place. We’ve got to do it quick enough that it gives an enormous deterrent value and also be able to provide that decisive victory, should it get to that.
We’ve got to transition from a deploy to an employ phase very quickly. So that’s establishing hubs and spokes. And then the last thing I’ll say – this is about maneuver. We have got to maneuver at a tempo required to win. So we got to put America’s unique and amazing capabilities in a position of advantage, and then once they’re in that position of advantage, we’ve got to be lethal, and that requires logistics, sustainment, supply maneuver, all the things that have to come together in the joint force to be lethal have to be there, and we need to work extremely hard to do that.
So Mobility Guardian was really a rehearsal, and we demonstrated that we couldn’t explode into theater. We demonstrated that we could go from deploy to employ. But we also learned some hard lessons, and to get it to the scale and the volume of the tempo that we needed to be, we’ve got work to do.
Mobility Guardian 2023
Q: What were some of these lessons?
A: The lessons are connectivity. You probably heard me say that a bunch both in uniform and out of uniform, but connectivity became my number one thing. I testified before the House Readiness Committee on that. I came up with a concept called 25% of the fleet by 2025, but the reality is that the car I rented right now driving from the airport to my hotel room has more connectivity in it than the overwhelming majority of the mobility fleet. So connectivity matters.
We’ve got to operate at a tempo required to win, which means we need to do extremely long missions. We need to have exquisite situational awareness. We need to understand the changing dynamic of the operational environment. When it comes to red forces, blue forces, threats, priority receivers, priority users. We’ve got diffuse information and logistic priorities across services, so there’s almost an unlimited amount of lessons learned. And then command relationships matter as well as command and control. All those things matter too. So plenty of lessons learned. I don’t think any of those are surprising. I think they’re accounted for in the Air Force’s readiness and modernization. But we also need to get resources so that we can be the Air Force this country needs.
(Master Sgt. Lauren Kmiec photo) Master Sgt. Lauren Kmiec
Q: How would you peg our overall readiness, realistically, to confront China in the Pacific militarily?
A: We’re ready. I like the way that [IndoPacific Command leader] Adm. [Sam] Paparo uses it. He says we’re ready, but he’ll never admit to being ready enough. This is kind of like the coaches that you love to play for – they are never satisfied. I would broaden it beyond readiness. I would say readiness, integration and agility of the joint force is what matters. And as ready, integrated and agile as we are, we need to be more. And those things have a deterrent value in themselves, and they’re also the essentials to decisive victory. So China enjoys positional advantage, but America enjoys extreme warfighting capabilities that can always get better, and it starts with readiness, integration and agility. We want to get to the point where we’re so ready that they don’t want to take us on.
Q; What were the three biggest problems you faced in your job and how did you go about solving them? Were you successful?
A: The three biggest problems I faced during my command tour at Air Mobility Command was resourcing, resourcing and resourcing – articulating the state of the mobility platforms and securing the resources necessary to get them on step to where they need to be. And so I said resourcing three times, and I mean it.
This is all about money. You can say everything you want. You can say all the things are important. You can say ‘you’re right, General Minihan, we agree with you,’ but if it’s not followed up with resourcing, then it’s meaningless, you know? So at the end of the day, this is all about resourcing. Can we decide to be the Air Force, the joint military that puts the resourcing behind what it means to decisively defeat a near peer adversary? Or do we wait until another December 7, or another September 11 event to finally get all the things pulled together that we need to pull together. So I get it. This is expensive.
We’ve got a chance of a century right now, I believe, with this administration. When you line up the executive orders, when you line up the acquisition reform, when you look up the possibility of a $1.5 trillion defense budget, you know those things come together means that we can move faster and move differently than we’ve ever done but we’ve got to be ready to do it.
We can’t apply all the opportunities over the same template of how we acquire, how we take risk, how we get our warfighters the things that they need and expect a different outcome at the end of the day. The overall statement for this, and this is big into problem statements. If I were to describe the problem statement we’re trying to solve is, can we get critical war-winning capabilities to our warfighters faster than China? At the end of the day, if we can answer yes to that question, then we’re going to be okay. If it’s a maybe or a no, then we’re going to have some significant concerns moving forward.
Trump Calls For Massive Increase To Defense Spending: $1.5 Trillion For 2027
Q: Were you successful in your efforts to solve those problems?
A: Was I successful? I would say I was successful at ringing the bell. I needed three more years to get it across the line. And I’m not comparing myself to a Gen. [Curtis E.] LeMay or a Gen. [Wilbur L.] Creech, but those two [Major Command] MAJCOM commanders – who are the fathers of the modern strategic bomber force and the father of the modern fighter force – were both MAJCOM commanders for over six years. So if I had to give myself a grade, I would say me and my teams were A-plus for effort and articulation and at the end of the day, getting the system to react quickly within three years proved extremely challenging.
Q: What was your grade for that?
A: It’s to be determined. You know, the money process takes a little time. I think there’s money for connectivity coming up in the current and the next few years, which is a great sign and a big change. If I were to grade it for what I wanted, I would have given myself a C, but I think it’s a higher grade than that, due to the circumstances, due to the realities of the budgeting and the resourcing process.
Q: What are the three biggest problems facing current interim AMC Commander Lt. Gen. Rebecca Sonkiss (formerly deputy AMC commander until Gen. John D. Lamontagne was named Air Force Vice Chief of Staff earlier this month).
A: The problems are getting resourcing across the line. Can you deliver them? Money. You know, at the end of the day, MAJCOMs don’t have the money to get the things that they need and under the current process. So how do you affect the organizations and entities above you, so that you can align the resourcing to do the things that it needs to do, and the timelines that you need to do it when that’s always a challenge for everybody.
Air Mobility Command (AMC) Change of Command Ceremony – Scott AFB
But if you’re asking what [Lamontagne] needs to worry about…if you look at the first Iran operation, if you look at the Venezuela operation, whatever is going to happen over the next short-term future for the Middle East, you can walk away saying, ‘we’re just fine.’ You can walk away saying, ‘Hey, we can project power over long distances. We can impose America’s will. We can do the things that our president and our nation asked us to do.’ And that’s right, you can do it under those circumstances.
The courage of the joint team is phenomenal. The capability of the joint team is phenomenal, but it does not compare to what will happen in a near-peer fight in the Pacific or in Europe. We are going to be contested from long distances in all domains, and the fleet that we have now is not going to be successful in that environment unless we take quick action and fix things.
Q: There is a lot of hype around Rapid Dragon and giving the airlift community a ‘shooter’ role. But in a major conflict, won’t the fleet be tasked to the max just with its core logistics mission? Do we need more airframes to really do the Rapid Dragon concept justice?
A: I hear this one a lot. So here’s the reality. I’ve got to carry the missile, the bomb anyway. Okay, I’m not trying to be Global Strike. I’m not trying to be a fighter. I’m not trying to compete with capabilities that are legit and high-end when it comes to delivering kinetic effects. But if I have to carry it anyway, and there’s an ability for C-130s, C-17s and other airlift platforms, why would you not want that capability?
So I’m not saying it can go into the high-threat areas or the medium-threat areas. I’m not saying that it needs to be a primary mission. But let’s really look at the thing – at the entire process here. I’ve got to carry that stuff anyways, so I am either gonna stop and drop it off for someone else to shoot, or I could have the ability to do it. If a combatant commander needs a demand signal, there’s a ton of C-130s. Our foreign partners and allies operate them. These aren’t complex systems. The munitions already exist. It’s essentially air-dropping it out of the airplane. And I think it has enormous viability in the Pacific. It can service medium- to low-[threat] targets all day long that need servicing and free up the other sets to get after the high-end threat environments where they need to be focused. So I think it’s something we need to consider.
Rapid Dragon
Q: That segues nicely to my next question. What are the biggest threats China poses to our tankers and airlifters during a time of war?
A: The ability to get out of town by dropping electrical grids and navigation signals. This is true for all the platforms. This is why I say we’ll be contested at great distances in all domains. Critical infrastructure matters and getting out of town – we already talked about what it means to explode into theater. So it’d be silly to think that they’re going to not take a very inexpensive way to disrupt our ability to do that. And then, the farther you get to the threat, regardless of which way you’re heading around the ocean, you know is going to increase their ability to reach out with long-range effects and stop mobility.
If you stop one tanker, you stop six fighters. That sounds like a good return on investment if you’re an adversary trying to prevent us from projecting power. I don’t think I’m saying anything I haven’t said before, and I don’t think I’m saying anything that’s inconsistent with others [are saying] about what the real environment is going to look like.
They’re students of us. They have unimpeded access to our critical infrastructure for a decade or more, and we’re going to expect them to call in on their investment and impose a cost on us a great distance.
Q: Is there any particular Chinese system or munition that worries you the most?
A: What worries me the most? I’m worried, just like I was in uniform, about the multi-domain aspect for which they’re going to go after us. I’m worrying about how those all come together. Certainly, without connectivity in the mobility fleet, it’s hard for mobility aircraft to understand where the threats are, especially the kinetic threats. So our ability to understand if you’re in a threat ring or a dynamic threat environment is extremely handicapped. And certainly the kinetic ones are of the biggest concern. Like they are in any war.
Q: We have seen interest from the DoW in multiple fronts on how to give our existing tankers better defenses, from better situational awareness to giving them mini interceptors to pairing them with [collaborative combat aircraft] CCA-like companions. What do you think the best cocktail of solutions is here?
A: The single biggest contributor to survivability in a big airplane is connectivity. The biggest contributor is not having a 12-hour-old Intel brief that you’re relying on to get you through the mission. So real-world updates, real-time updates, just like our fighters and our bombers enjoy. Battle management that gets after maneuver and not just kill chain. Those things matter.
If you were to ask me what I would want most when it comes to survivability, it would be connectivity that gives me the situational awareness to let our young crews – our captains, our lieutenants, our NCO – go out there and make great decisions as they’re operating under delegated authorities. Connectivity matters most. No doubt. Connectivity is why I put the priority on it when I was in uniform, because it’s the single biggest contributor to survivability. I just don’t think because of the size of these airplanes, in the maturity of the threat, that we’re going to be able to rely on traditional means of survivability.
Q: What about mini interceptors, or pairing these aircraft with CCA-like companions? Would that work?
A: I mean, I love it. The whole concept we came up with, the next-generation air lift [NGAL] and next-generation air refueling systems [NGAS]. I definitely see a role for CCA beyond just loyal wingman to fighter. So we can do this with everything from a CCA version of a tanker. We can do it with a stealth version of a tanker. I don’t think we need huge numbers of those. We can do stealth-like characteristics, like blended wing.
We can certainly have aircraft that are multirole, both cargo and air refueling. And so then you can have a lot of tankers that look like the tankers that we have now, the ability for small CCA and drones and other things to do electronic warfare and spoof and jam and other things like that are all on the table in my book and things that we should be exploring.
Q: What about a stealth tanker? Would we be able to afford it? Has adapting the B-21 Raider stealth bomber been looked at? What are your thoughts on that?
A: I think that we’ve got to have a family approach to air refueling, and that’s where the NGAS concept came up. It’s hard for me to believe, to think that you’re going to be able, in a highly contested environment, to get our highest capabilities into the high-threat environments without having some sort of stealth-like CCA air refueling capability. I don’t think we need big numbers of them. I understand completely that they’re expensive, but we’ve got to work through that process, and we’re doing it with NGAS. So everything I’m telling you, I’ve said for years, and I’ve got a lot on the record out there that’s getting after the questions you’re asking, and I’ve not changed since I got out of uniform.
The announcement by Northrop Grumman, the partnership with Embraer gets after this. If you go tackle that announcement, it gets after creating a family-of-systems approach to the problem, as opposed to we’re just going to field one piece of the problem at a time. We’re not going to work the integration in advance. We’re not going to work the readiness in advance. We’re not going to work the agility in advance, and I was happy to see in that announcement that they’re approaching the problem differently, because that’s the kind of approach I think we need to be successful.
Q: Have you looked at adapting the B-21 for this kind of stealth tanker role?
A: I don’t know what they’re looking at adapting, but I think there’s eloquence in the solutions that exist and that they’re working on, and then broadening their missions to beyond just the original intent for which they were designed. So I think that there’s great value in looking at those opportunities.
Q: What about an Agile Combat Employment (ACE) tanker capable of supporting small numbers of fighters from forward airfields? The KC-390 is being pitched for such a role. Do we need smaller tankers capable of operating from shorter fields?
A: We need a family of tankers that can address all the warfighter needs in all the warfighter environments. So we need tankers that look a lot like the ones we have now, that can handle the low-threat environments. We need tankers that can push into the medium-threat environments and service the big volume offloads in the abundant amount of receivers that will be out there. We need tankers that can operate in a medium- to high-threat with blended wing and stealth characteristics. And then we need stealth like tankers that can go into a higher-threat environment, as well as unmanned and CCA.
I believe there’s room in the Air Force for all in that capability. Let’s be clear, it’s what the kinetic force needs, you know. So the strike force and the bomber force are [fifth-generation] fifth-gen and [sixth-generation] sixth-gen, and yet we still operate a mobility force that’s on its best day, 2.5 Gen and in some cases, second generation. So we’ve got to catch up, not because of ego, but because of capability. At the end of the day, this is about equilibrium of the enabling force to actually do what it needs to do, so that the strike force can carry out its missions in all environments. That’s what needs to happen.
Q: Is there money to do that? Is there a will from higher headquarters and then the administration to make that happen?
A: Well, there needs to be. Like I said, I think the opportunity is here with this administration. Its executive orders, its acquisition reform, and the possibility of a significant increase in the budget. But this gets back to, are we going to pay for the Air Force that this country needs? It’s been under-invested in, especially in mobility, and we need to ensure that this president and every future president, when they call on the Air Force to support the joint force, to project America’s power to serve the national interests and impose our will when needed, that we need to develop these kind of things. We have to do this if we want to be the Air Force that this country needs.
Q: Have you talked to anybody in the current administration or the current Department of War about this, and what’s your sense of the interest there?
A: I think the conversation is turning where it needs to go. I have not talked to the current administration about this specifically, but I think there’s an appreciation, when you line up the talking points that align the priorities of where the department is going, I think that there is 100% alignment with what my priorities were when I was in uniform, what my priorities are now that I’m out of uniform, with the priorities of where this administration is going.
I realize it’s still hard. I realize there are still challenges. I realize there are no easy answers to any of this, and I realize that there’s more to modernization and readiness than just the mobility fleet. And I also realize that these are the things that we need to do.
Q: Low-end drones are a big problem, especially for big airplanes sitting idle on the ground. What do you think should be done to defend our airlift assets against lower-end drones?
A: Just like everyone else, I watched the [Operation Spider Web] attack that Ukraine carried out on Russia’s strategic forces. And the only thing that surprised me about that is that people were surprised and that it took so long for them to do it. This is a real threat. It gets down to air base defense. It’s something that we championed in Air Mobility Command during my time there, because of the drone incursions that were happening over multiple Air Mobility Command bases and multiple Air Mobility Command missions. So this isn’t a surprise to me.
This is going to have to be a joint solution, and I know the Army is working very hard on this, but there’s also going to have to be a capability of the Air Force and wings that are deploying to be able to do this on their own as well. So no easy answers here.
I feel like we’re behind, but catching up. I think it nests nicely into the Golden Dome opportunity as well. But you know, you gotta be able to handle everything from the low-cost drones all the way up to the highest capability missiles that could attack the homeland. This all fits in a spectrum of threats that we need to be concerned about.
Q: You brought up drone incursions. When and where did they happen and was the source ever found?
A: The incursions took place in late 2021 and early 2022 for Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and constantly at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey throughout my command. I’m not tracking that the source of those incursions was identified. It doesn’t mean that they weren’t. To my knowledge they weren’t. But, you know, at the end of the day, if you can’t control the airspace, including the airspace that drones are using, that’s a problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re in garrison or deployed. We’ve got to have the ability to defend at a greater capability than we have.
Q: How are the C-5M Galaxy cargo jets doing? Are readiness rates improving? Will we need a direct replacement of something its size when their time finally comes to head to the boneyard? Was the M upgrade program successful?
A: I’m a year and a half out of the conversation. The last data point I got was from U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) commander Gen. [Randall] Reed‘s congressional testimony, where he said that the mission reliability rate, I believe, had fallen to 46%. So, if that’s true, then it’s still an enormous concern. I don’t know any part of your life where you tolerate a critical capability operating less than half the time when you need it. So C-5s are an enormous concern for me.
I think there are options out there when it comes to large-volume aircraft that exist, that are being worked now, that can help us get capability quickly. And then I think there are concepts out there, like the commercialization of the C-5 fleet, that need to be taken seriously as well and apply commercial standards, commercial supply chain to increase the readiness of it. And between a combination of those two, I think that you can sustain what America needs to project large volume lift, but also get much higher than a 46% mission reliability rate.
Q: Do you see the need for a similar sized cargo aircraft to replace the C-5 when it’s finally time for them to retire?
A: I do. I think building large, colossal aircraft is one of the hardest things to do on the planet, when you think about it. I need someone to help fact check me on this, but I don’t think more than 250 large aircraft have ever been built. You know, when you include the Hughes aircraft, include the C-5, include the Russian Antonovs, the fleet has been small because it’s hard. At the same time, it does things that nothing else can do. You don’t have to condemn your cargo to sea lift only. You can move things very quickly – large volume things, critical capabilities. And so we need to have this capability.
But I don’t see the Air Force buying C-5 replacements. I see them transitioning C-5s to a different model, like commercialization. And I see the manufacturer of a large aircraft that can handle the volume being in the CRAF [Civil Reserve Air Fleet], and being a service concept that can get America the stuff we need when we need it. As opposed to developing another C-5 replacement, in addition to what’s going to have to eventually replace the C-5…
Q: Was the M upgrade on the C-5 successful?
A: I wasn’t there for when it was done, but … I would love to see what the original predictions were. When you spend all that money on that airplane and then still have a 46% mission reliability rate, it sounds like it is still challenged, like it used to be.
Q: Why hasn’t the Air Force gone big into uncrewed smaller logistics aircraft like China has? Especially considering dispersed ops in the Pacific?
A: Aviation right now is at a point of affordability and simplicity that we have got to distribute capability down to more tactical levels and have less centralization. Drones, automated aircraft 3,000 pounds or less, need to be a part of that equation. They need to be a part of the equation.
I am a big fan of drones…The problem we’re trying to solve is getting winning capabilities to our warfighters faster than China. That’s what we need to be focused on. We have got to be infatuated with automation and connectivity. We have to be infatuated with drones and automated aircraft from small to medium to large capabilities.
China’s unmanned transport aircraft completes maiden test flight
The biggest question I hear about why people don’t want small- and medium-capability is because they’re concerned about who commands and controls it and in my mind, that’s the point. You don’t have to command and control it. This is like a distributed maneuver pool, like a Jeep used to be in the Army. It’s inexpensive, it’s easy to operate, and we give it to maneuvering commanders in the field. We get TRANSCOM and Air Mobility Command out of the command and control of it. We let commanders determine their own priorities and service them, and then all we have to do is integrate them into the critical capabilities that Air Mobility, Command and TRANSCOM provide. You know those and we actually free up more of their assets to do that strategic and operational lift, as opposed to always having to get down into the capabilities that can be served by something much smaller. Does that make sense?
Q: Yes. Single pilot tanker operations, what’s your final thought on that?
A: Final thought on that is, we need to do more of it. I’m not saying we need to do more testing, but when it comes to automation, when it comes to concepts, when it comes to the tempo, the things we’re going to be required to do, we have to set ourselves up to be successful in an extremely deadly and demanding operational environment.
And to think that we’re going to apply the old dogma over this new operational environment, it’s just going to put us in a really challenging place to be successful in. So single tanker pilot ops made a comment on autonomy. It made a comment on what we need to do to win in the Pacific. It made a comment on risk taking, and it made a comment on, I think, a command team that understood how to apply real concepts over real problems and come out with an informed way forward. So there was a larger message than just single pilots in tankers.
Q: Finally, how did you see the rise of AI influencing AMC and how do you see it being used by the command in the future?
A: I’m a big fan of AI as long as commanders maintain the risk and the priority settings. You know I tried hard to get AI incorporated in Air Mobility Command, but the entire ecosystem wasn’t ready to have that conversation yet. I think AI and data are its own domain.
Like other domains we’re going to need supremacy and superiority in it. We’re going to need to fight for it and fight from it. It’s going to benefit from the other domains, but I think disproportionately it’s going to benefit the other domains. More so our ability to sense and seize opportunity, our ability to simplify, our ability to reduce variables, our ability to gain decision advantage, our ability to make better decisions, quicker, at a higher tempo than the adversary. I think all those things are AI- and data-oriented, and I’m still not certain that we see it that way. We have got to get first mover advantage in the AI domain, and that’s going to take some work. I think that we’re starting to get there, but I think we have a long way to go on it.
Boeing KC-46A Tanker Refuels Military Aircraft Using 3D
Q: Why do you think that there’s been such resistance to AI?
A: I’m not certain most people actually use it. It’s new. Certainly there’s a newness to it. But at the end of the day, this is about data. Can you trust the data? It really flips the script, if you think about it as its own domain, because then you understand the magnitude of its importance, and you understand that this is about decision making and trust, and that you’re actually not off-shooting that to the machine to do. That you’re asking the machine and the AI to reduce variables and increase simplicity.
Then you really think about, how does a commander be able to set priorities, set risk tolerances, adjust those as required, and then, at the end of the day, this is about better decision making. I think that there’s a complexity to this that just needs to play out a bit, but I know one thing, I don’t think our adversaries are downplaying AI and data as a domain. I think that they’re 100% embracing it, and I think we need to do the same. And of course, it’s American ingenuity. We’ll get better at it and dominate.
Q: Any final thoughts you want to share? Any questions I didn’t ask?
A: No, I appreciate the opportunity here. I think that the Air Force has it right when it comes to modernization and readiness. I think that the Air Force has it right, and we need to have the resourcing to be their Air Force that this country needs. I think mobility has a longer way to go than most within the Air Force. So I continue to champion that. Those things I cared about in uniform, I care about out of uniform, and I didn’t wait to retire to have an opinion on these things. So I want to be the generation of Americans that gets this straight before we get slapped like we did on December 7th and September 11th. Let’s not wait till we get slapped to get the act together. Let’s go now hard, because our sons and daughters deserve it.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com