Israel orders military to step up preparations for a possible attack on Iran, as Tehran says will retaliate if attacked.

Some young people could see reductions to the benefits they are entitled to, under a radical overhaul of the system to be recommended by a government-commissioned review.

Alan Milburn’s year-long report, which will be published on Tuesday, will recommend moving under-25s off the main sickness and disability benefits, the Times reported, external.

Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, has been tasked by the government with helping reduce the one in eight 18- to 24-year-olds in the UK who are not in education, employment or training – or “Neet”.

He said on Wednesday night that his plans would not be “pain-free” and would affect both existing and new claimants.

His report is expected to recommend that under-25s are no longer able to claim the health element of universal credit or personal independence payment (Pip).

Instead, they would receive an allowance on the same basic rate as universal credit.

Some could be eligible for a new “additional cost allowance” to cover day-to-day costs related to their conditions.

But many claimants would receive less under the plans, which the government is set to take forward into legislation in the new year.

Milburn, a Labour MP from 1992 to 2010, is also expected to recommend an investment of billions into more employment support for young people, including work placements, job subsidies and one-to-one personal advisers.

Those with more severe disabilities and unable to work would get a new benefit paid at a higher rate.

Speaking to the Times about his report, Milburn said: “Candidly, it could mean that some people will get less financial support at the beginning of their benefit claim than under the current system.

Actor Irma P. Hall, the former educator who pivoted to acting in her late 30s to star in films including “Soul Food,” “The Ladykillers” and “Meet the Browns,” has died. She was 91.

Hall died Tuesday in Dallas surrounded by her loved ones, her family announced Wednesday in a statement. Her family said the actor leaves behind a “remarkable legacy” that spans from her memorable characters on screen, her time as a teacher early in life and her role as a church leader in Dallas in her final years. A cause of death was not revealed.

“She started as a teacher in the classroom but ended up being a teacher to the world,” Hall’s daughter Irma Hall Crayton said in the statement. “My mom used to always say, ‘To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.’ And she was just that to many people.”

Hall, who was born in Texas and raised in Chicago, is best known to film fans for portraying scene-stealing, elderly types. She was Big Mama, the matriarch of the central Joseph family, in George Tillman Jr.’s 1997 “Soul Food,” starring Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox and Nia Long as her three daughters. That same year she shared the screen with Kevin Spacey and John Cusack as witchy healer Minerva in Clint Eastwood’s Savannah-set “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” In the Coen brothers’ “The Ladykillers,” Hall was the religious and aging widow who rents a spare room to a deceiving “professor” (Tom Hanks) and his band of criminals posing as musicians (Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma and Ryan Hurst).

She earned numerous accolades for her work, including an NAACP Image Award for her work in “Soul Food” and a jury prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for “The Ladykillers.”

“I’ve always found older women extremely interesting. In fact, as a child I’d be playing outside and when they couldn’t find me, they’d just start knocking at all the old people’s doors,” Hall recalled to The Times in 1996. “My mother used to say I was probably the only child that was born wanting to be old.”

Hall’s acting career spanned from the mid 1970s to the 2010s and also included roles in the 1998 film adaptation of Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” starring Oprah Winfrey, 1996’s “A Family Thing” with James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall, the TV series “Hap and Leonard” alongside “The Wire” star Michael K. Williams and Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns.”

She sharpened her ability to play older in TV, film and theater by channeling the women in her life and studying elders’ behavior, she told The Times in 1996. She made it a habit to visit nursing homes, speak with their residents and study their physicality from their gestures to their gaits.

“I practice little things like that all the time because I love to play old people and I don’t ever want them to be embarrassed or ridiculed by my performance,” she recalled at the time.

Irma Dolores Player was born June 3, 1935, in Beaumont, Texas. Her father was a saxophonist during the big-band era and her mother was a housekeeper. She returned to Texas for college, graduating from Texas College in Tyler. She remained in her birth state to work as a teacher in poor, segregated schools before her unexpected pivot to acting in her late 30s. She taught foreign languages and ultimately taught theater.

Actor-director Raymond St. Jacques discovered Hall after hearing her read poetry and cast her in his 1973 film “Book of Numbers,” paving the way for a decades-long career that would endear her to generations of TV and film audiences.

“I want to tell their stories so profoundly that no one will ever forget these characters,” she told the Dallas Morning News of her characters in 2017. “I don’t care if they don’t know who Irma P. Hall is.”

Hall later lived in Chicago, where she cared for her parents and pursued an award-winning theater career. She also dedicated her efforts toward nurturing upcoming talent in her home state, co-founding the Dallas Minority Repertory Theatre, and served as a longtime member of and church mother at Inspiring Body of Christ Church in Dallas.

Hall’s survivors include her daughter. A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.

Major earnings expected before the bell on Thursday include:

• Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS)
• Aurora Cannabis (ACB)
• Ondas (ONDS)
• Intuitive Machines (LUNR)
• Stratasys Ltd. (SSYS)

Other earnings slated for release before Thursday’s open include:

• ABSI, AIRO, ALLT,

JACKSON, Miss. — Democratic nominee Scott Colom has defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s closely contested U.S. Senate race after a prolonged ballot counting process, giving the state its first Black U.S. senator since post-Civil War Reconstruction.

Colom’s narrow victory is a seismic shift in Mississippi, which has been controlled mostly by white conservatives for generations, and it will echo through the country as well. The outcome adds to a decisive midterm rebuke of President Trump, whose party suffered defeats in several Republican-controlled states, and it will bolster some Democrats’ argument that their future runs through the American South.

The Associated Press called the contest Wednesday in Colom’s favor after local elections officials spent several days processing absentee and provisional ballots, called affidavit ballots in Mississippi.

The last time Mississippi chose a new Democratic senator was 1947, and the winner then was a staunch segregationist. Colom, a 43-year-old local prosecutor, capitalized on the state’s large Black population, discontent with the economy and Hyde-Smith’s missteps as she sought a second full term.

“They actually deserve a senator that will listen to them, that actually cares about what they think, actually cares about what they’re going through,” Colom said in the campaign’s closing stretch.

Colom said during the campaign that he could represent all of Mississippi, a state where racial divisions have long defined its politics and society.

“It’s got to be about having a party that represents rural America again, suburban America, urban America — a party that makes sure we actually deliver for voters in ways that make their lives better, and we don’t come up with excuses as to why we can’t do it,” he said.

A race Washington once viewed as a longshot

The contest was a latecomer to the national spotlight, drawing attention from Democrats who belatedly infused cash into Colom’s candidacy. The son of a onetime Republican who worked for President Reagan, Colom garnered attention for his aggressive campaign as Democrats widened the Senate battleground map and Hyde-Smith’s vulnerabilities crystallized.

Colom attracted particular notice for some of the year’s most widely circulated ads. After Hyde-Smith, 67, seemed to brush off high beef prices by saying consumers could choose other proteins, Colom cut a 30-second spot depicting incredulous voters saying they’d “pick another senator instead.”

When Trump went to Corinth, Miss., in late October for a rally with Hyde-Smith, Colom walked the line of Trump supporters as they waited outside the gates. He introduced himself, asked about their concerns and explained his priorities.

Later that evening, when Trump called Hyde-Smith to the stage, she said nine words in six seconds: “Is this not the best president in our lifetime?”

Then she stepped away.

“I love that,” Trump replied when he continued his 80-plus minutes at the microphone. “Sometimes they get up and they talk for 10 minutes.”

The appearance tracked Colom’s tactic of criticizing Trump’s policies — especially the Iran war and tariffs that he said were especially hard on Mississippi farmers — without taking personal jabs at the president or people who voted for him.

Instead, he consistently put the onus on Hyde-Smith, framing her as a non-entity in Washington — a critique that resonated in a state that has been accustomed to long-serving senators like Thad Cochran, Trent Lott and John Stennis, who all rose to powerful posts and routed federal money back to Mississippi.

There is some irony to Hyde-Smith finding herself flat-footed against Colom. In 2022, then-President Biden nominated Colom to be a U.S. District Court judge in the Northern District of Mississippi. Mississippi’s senior Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and former Gov. Haley Barbour, who is also a former national Republican chairman, backed the nomination.

Hyde-Smith, however, blocked Colom’s confirmation under the Senate tradition that members can spike a president’s choices for federal judicial positions in their home state.

Colom said his Senate bid was never about getting even with Hyde-Smith.

Colom called on Mississippi’s history

The senator-elect concluded his campaign with an ad that featured him at the Jackson home of Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader who, in 1963, was gunned down in his driveway by a white supremacist and died in front of his family.

“In Mississippi, no one is above the law, and no one should be outside its protection,” Colom said, telling the story of Evers’ military service at Normandy in World War II, his voter registration efforts in Mississippi, his assassination and the three decades it took to win a conviction.

“He was killed for helping Mississippians vote,” Colom said. “On Tuesday, use your vote and honor everyone who died for that right.”

Black Democrats, including Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, highlighted Colom’s bid early. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer helped Colom raise money, and he drew financial support from other outside players, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire and potential presidential candidate.

Former President Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned on Colom’s behalf in the campaign’s closing weeks.

Despite Republicans’ domination, the path was always there

With the largest share of Black voters of any state, Mississippi’s general elections have been closer for years than its immediate Southern neighbors. Trump won by double digits in each of his three presidential contests, but in 2023, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves managed to win reelection by a margin of just 3 percentage points.

Colom and other Black party leaders and strategists insisted throughout 2026 that he could narrow the gap with strong Black turnout, Republican voter discontent and an uptick in Democrats’ usual share of the white vote in Mississippi.

Results showed strong turnout in the Mississippi Delta and its concentration of majority Black counties. But nearly all of the state moved leftward from the 2024 election, when Trump carried Mississippi by nearly 23 points.

Then-Gov. Phil Bryant first appointed Hyde-Smith, who was state agriculture commissioner, to the Senate in 2018 when Cochran resigned. She won a special election runoff in 2018 and a full term in 2020. Both times she defeated Democrat Mike Espy, a former U.S. agriculture secretary who’d also been Mississippi’s first Black congressman since Reconstruction.

During the extended vote count, Colom acknowledged the historic nature of doing what Espy could not. But he said he sees his place more in terms of other Mississippians, especially its youngest residents, than his individual story.

“My job is to do well enough as the next United States senator that the next time some young black boy or girl has the work ethic, the vision, and the values,” he said, “and they want to be United States senator, that nobody says because of anything I’ve done that they shouldn’t get a chance.”

Barrow and Bates write for the Associated Press.

Elina Svitolina says she “got a bit angry at myself” to inspire a comeback victory over Karolina Muchova at the WTA Finals and keep her semi-final hopes alive.

Ukraine’s Svitolina lost 6-4 6-0 in her first group match against Mirra Andreeva on Monday and made an equally poor start against Muchova.

It looked as though things were getting worse for Svitolina when she took a medical timeout for a right hip injury after losing the first set, before finding herself an early break point down.

However, the sixth seed saved it and then gradually wore down Wimbledon runner-up Muchova to win 3-6 6-2 6-2.

Muchova hit 39 unforced errors throughout the match – the majority of which came from her forehand – as Svitolina ground her down.

The Czech could not recover from giving up an early break in the third set and handed over another with her eighth double fault of the match.

Svitolina made no mistake, with the 32-year-old tipping her head back and roaring in celebration after securing the win.

“I was really angry at myself after the first match and the first set,” Svitolina told Sky Sports.

“Sometimes it [channelling frustration] happens in a good way and sometimes in a bad way.

“I tried to direct my anger towards the ball and I found my game in the end.”

It is Svitolina’s ninth victory over a top-10 player this year, and her first at the WTA Finals since she won the title in 2019.

Svitolina can still qualify for the last four in California – but she will not know what she needs to do until after Aryna Sabalenka’s match against Andreeva.

At the Stockholm Open, Britain’s Cameron Norrie fell 7-5 6-3 to world number 10 Taylor Fritz.

Denmark’s Holger Rune reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, a year after he ruptured his Achilles at the same event.

Rune only made his return to the ATP Tour in October after a gruelling 12 months recovering from the injury, but beat Miomir Kecmanovic 2-6 6-1 6-4 to advance.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

The historic victory delivers an eighth US Senate seat to Democrats after last week’s pivotal midterm election.

Democrat Scott Colom has won Mississippi’s closely watched United States Senate race, giving his party a rare, historic victory in a Republican stronghold that has eluded them for decades.

Colom, a prosecutor who will become the state’s first Black senator in more than 140 years, garnered a narrow victory on Wednesday over incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in one of the US midterms’ biggest upsets.

The win builds on Democrats’ success after the party delivered an electoral drubbing last Tuesday, winning at least eight US Senate seats that are currently held by Republicans. A US Senate race in Alaska remains uncalled.

For more than a week, the Mississippi contest has remained too close to call as election officials worked to count more than 100,000 mail-in ballots. Thousands of other residents, who could not confirm their registration at voting sites, cast provisional ballots that required confirmation of their eligibility.

Colom and Hyde-Smith took markedly different approaches as remaining ballots were counted.

Hyde-Smith, who was not seen publicly until she returned to Washington this week as the Senate returned to session, had expressed confidence she would win after “every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted”. But after the election, Colom continued to hold a series of public events where he castigated his opponent.

“Ultimately, at some point, the senator needs to speak out. Where is Cindy Hyde-Smith?” Colom told reporters on Friday in Jackson, Mississippi. “We want to hear from her. She needs to answer questions. What is her path to victory? She doesn’t have one”.

The US Senate race also was not the first time the two had crossed political paths.

Hyde-Smith, citing concerns about Colom’s position on transgender athletes, previously blocked him from serving as a federal judge in 2023 after he was nominated by former US President Joe Biden. The position had required Senate approval.

Colom’s win defies political gravity in a state that US President Donald Trump won by just over 22 points in the 2024 presidential election.

The last Democrat to win a US Senate race in Mississippi was 1982, when John Stennis claimed victory over Republican challenger Haley Barbour, who later became governor of the state.

Colom, who has been a proponent of raising the minimum wage, increasing protections for rural hospitals and ending the US war in Iran, will be sworn in next January. He will be the chamber’s seventh Black lawmaker.

Caracas, November 10, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan National Assembly approved on Tuesday a reform of the Organic Law of the Electrical System and Service to open the electrical grid to the private sector amid a crisis of rising demand and recurring blackouts.

The new legislation stipulates that power generation, transmission, distribution, and commercialization can now “be carried out by the state-owned operating company, as well as by mixed-ownership and private companies holding the corresponding authorization.”

“The reform will allow private entities to provide electricity services,” National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez told reporters after the legislative session. “It will make self-generation possible, allowing private companies to generate and supply electricity to businesses, industries, shopping centers, etc. This will help increase supply.”

The Venezuelan parliament had preliminarily approved the reform in June. A commission incorporated adjustments to the text, which deputies reviewed across several parliamentary debates before Tuesday’s final vote. The final text, seen by Venezuelanalysis, will be published in the National Gazette in the coming days.

The updated law puts an end to the state monopoly over electricity established by former President Hugo Chávez. A 2007 law identified the sector as “strategic for the nation” and merged several companies into the National Electric Corporation (CORPOELEC). 

Under the new rules, private companies can set up new power plants, build transmission infrastructure and charge a fixed toll, or receive distribution and commercialization rights in specific areas.

In addition, they can also receive concessions of state assets for a maximum of 25 years, with the responsibility of returning them to CORPOELEC or another designated state entity at the end of the period. The state will retain exclusive control over all hydroelectric generation in the Caroní basin as well as transmission and distribution responsibilities in “strategic” areas.

The law also provides that disputes or disagreements of any kind that cannot be settled amicably by the parties may be brought before Venezuelan courts or resolved “through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.” US licenses allowing Western corporations to deal with Venezuela have demanded that disputes be settled in the US, the UK, France, or Singapore.

Regarding oil companies, the law stipulates that they must “ensure a reliable and stable supply of electricity for the execution of primary activities” through self-generation, cogeneration, or third-party contracts designed to secure operational autonomy. Oil and independent power generation firms will also not require state authorization to generate electricity for their internal networks, unless they connect to the national grid.

Rodríguez stressed that the changes do not to amount to privatizing electricity services but rather constitute an “expansion.”

“An appropriate sanctions framework has been established, along with guarantees for private entities to participate. This is not privatization, but an expansion that allows private companies to provide services, particularly to large consumers,” he stated.

The head of the legislature added that electricity consumption tariffs will be computed in foreign currency and converted using the official exchange rate set by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV). He also disclosed a policy of subsidies intended to shield vulnerable sectors.

“This will primarily benefit people who, because of their income level, cannot afford the full tariff, unlike industries or major retailers,” he concluded.

The legislation also establishes a National Electric System Superintendency, empowered to establish tariffs, initiate administrative investigations, and impose penalties on those who violate the law. Operators may face fines of up to 2 percent of their gross revenue for failing to comply with regulations governing electrical installations, disregarding instructions issued by competent authorities, refusing to provide requested information, or obstructing inspections.

Consumers, meanwhile, may be fined between US $50 and $10,000 for unauthorized use of electricity, with similar penalties for unauthorized consumption, and ten times larger ones for connecting equipment that causes disturbances. The same range of fines applies to tampering with, damaging, or modifying meters and supplying electricity to third parties without authorization, among other violations.

The new law also allows the Venezuelan government to grant tax breaks to private corporations at its discretion to “promote the expansion, efficiency, or environmental sustainability” of the electric system.

The electricity reform, which follows major legislative pro-business overhauls to the mining and energy sectors, comes amid a persistent electricity crisis that sees most of the country face daily blackouts, sometimes lasting up to 12 hours.

Residents have staged recurring protests. On Monday, a crowd blocked the Argimiro Gabaldón highway connecting Barcelona and Puerto La Cruz in Anzoátegui State for several hours.

The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict (OVCS) registered 531 protests related to electricity services nationwide in September. For her part, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has criticized the demonstrations, affirming that “burning tires does not add a single megawatt to the electric grid.”

Venezuela currently produces only around 12,000 MW, roughly 40 percent of its installed capacity, and faces a generation deficit of over 4,000 MW. Venezuelan authorities have pledged to add 1,300 MW to the grid before the end of the year and have negotiated agreements with GE Vernova, Siemens, and IMPSA to bring paralyzed power plants back online.

Targeting short-term improvements, CORPOELEC recently signed an agreement with Turkish company Karpowership to lease two power-generating vessels that would add 200 MW to the grid in western Zulia State, one of the states hardest hit by electricity shortages. 

However, Venezuelan officials have not provided additional details on the contract, including its cost, duration, and fuel supply.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Ozzy Osbourne was rock ‘n’ roll’s Prince of Darkness — and also a much-beloved bumbling reality show dad. Inventive bassist Geezer Butler put words into Ozzy’s mouth as Black Sabbath’s main lyricist, his muscular playing anchoring the quartet’s rhythm section alongside drummer Bill Ward.

But it’s guitarist Tony Iommi whose iconic riffs built the Sabbath sound. The hugely influential aural architect found his signature style after a horrific accident at a sheet-metal plant when he was just 17. The teen was about to quit the factory, but on his last day, the tips of his middle and ring fingers of his right hand were sliced off in a piece of machinery. As a left-hander, Iommi used his right for fretting, and for creating a song’s mood and melody.

From the ominous timbre of the first song in their 1970 debut LP, “Black Sabbath,” to legendary cuts including “N.I.B.,” “Paranoid” and “Iron Man,” Iommi’s self-made fingertip “thimbles” and adaptive way of playing created unforgettable and hugely influential riffs. The guitarist’s instantly recognizable style and tone are as vital and memorable more than 50 years later on his new solo album, “From the Dark.”

Via phone from his home in the Cotswolds, England, a day before the London premiere of the concert documentary film “Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning,” Iommi is humble, low-key and congenial. While he’s excited about “From the Dark,” he’s still stunned by the 2025 loss of his longtime friend and bandmate Osbourne.

He speaks with slight trepidation about his upcoming viewing of the concert documentary, which chronicles Osbourne’s final live performance and Sabbath reunion.

Tony Iommi’s amputated fingertips could have ended his guitar career. Instead, homemade thimbles and a new playing style helped create Black Sabbath’s defining, generations-shaping riffs.

(Ross Halfin)

“It’s weird for me,” Iommi says. “In my own heart, I don’t particularly really want to see it because it brings back so many memories with Oz of course. For me, on that last gig, seeing him not being able to move wasn’t particularly the way I’d seen him — all the years he’s been running around the stage. That’s how I know him, and then to see him sitting down on a throne…”

However, for most of the four-song final performance, which saw Sabbath reuniting with drummer Ward for the first time in more than two decades, Osbourne was not in the guitarist’s sights. “I stood at the back because Bill wanted me to stand by him. We hadn’t played live with Bill for 20 years, so Bill said, ‘Would you stand by me, if I forget anything or miss anything?’ I don’t know what I could have done, but I did do that,” Iommi says.

“[The event] was a very strange experience. It’s great for all the other bands who came to the show and supported Sabbath. That was fantastic, and they were all really nice and no egos. It was a great setup, and I was really proud of everybody coming along to be involved in it and tip their hat towards us. It was lovely, of course, for the fans.”

In rehearsal, while Osbourne was joking around, “you could see he was in pain,” recalls Iommi. “Basically, he was carried in, and we were all shocked. We just didn’t know what to say. It was a strange, strange feeling.”

When the singer died only 17 days after the concert, even his bandmates were shocked by the suddenness. “I spoke to him the night before he passed, and he said to me, ‘Oh, God, I’ve been really tired, I feel really tired. I can’t stay awake. I’m exhausted.’ I said to him, ‘You’re bound to feel it.” We’ve been rehearsing the show, it’s been a bit stressful. We’ve had a lot of things to do.’ Ozzy said, ‘But I just can’t.” I just feel tired.’ And of course, the next day he’d gone. Really, it was such a shock.”

At 78, the Birmingham-born guitarist is releasing From the Dark, a solo album built around his signature heavy sound and a new lineup of collaborators.

(Ross Halfin)

At that time, Iommi had the seeds of the songs that would become “From the Dark.” It began with a scent: “I did a couple of instrumental tracks for a perfume [ad campaign]. Then I thought, ‘I’ll start writing some instrumentals for an album,’ and I did three or four. Then I changed my mind and thought, ‘I want to do one with a vocalist.’ ”

If Tony Iommi were a perfume, he’d smell like cinnamon, patchouli and leather. In fact, he is one, with three unisex fragrances by Italian luxury brand Xerjoff under his name. One — with notes of rum, bergamot and Ambergris, is called Monkey Special, named after his 1964 Gibson SG guitar. “It’s not a cheap perfume, I might say,” Iommi says. “In England, they stock it in Harrods and Selfridges. It’s been very successful and very different for me to do something like that.”

Following his perfumey instrumentals, the songwriter began collaborating with journeyman Norwegian vocalist Jørn Lande, bassist Becky Baldwin and drummer Karl Brazil, who has worked with pop icons Robbie Williams and James Blunt. The latter two hail from Iommi’s and Sabbath’s hometown, Birmingham, England.

“I met Jørn years ago when I was going to do another album, and it ended up with [former Deep Purple bassist/singer] Glenn Hughes on it. But I’d done a track with Jørn, and I liked the idea. But at the time, the record company wanted to use somebody a bit more known, so I did the album with Glenn.”

Lande ended up singing on a 2010 live show following the death of second Black Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio, stepping into the frontman’s shoes for the band, which was then going by the name Heaven & Hell. “I was really pleased with what he’d done, and I always had it in mind to use him somewhere along the line, doing an album together, and that’s how it worked out.”

Born 78 years ago, in Birmingham — the town where Sabbath first formed and later performed its final show in 2025 — Iommi remains defined by his signature look. It is hard to imagine the guitar legend without his trademark black shirt, large silver cross, blue-tinted glasses and leather coat. His playing — down-tuning his guitar to lower the pitch for a menacing and heavier sound — may have morphed very slightly over the years, but “I think you just do it naturally without even thinking about it. My writing ideas are still the same. I still come up with miserable stuff,” he says, chuckling. “I like to do riffs and whatnot, so I enjoy that.”

Tony Iommi with his band vocalist Jørn Lande (far right), bassist Becky Baldwin, and drummer Karl Brazil and producer Mike Exeter

(Tina Korhonen)

On “From the Dark,” lyrics are all Lande; Iommi has no interest in telling his own stories using words. Yet a new tune like “Beyond the Dead” seems as if it could be about Iommi’s 2011 diagnosis and treatment for early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Not so, the guitarist affirms, while acknowledging that the lyrics could be read that way.

“It was about beyond the living, beyond the dead, and coming back. Really deep, but that’s good. I do love what he’s done. When somebody like Jørn comes in, as with Dio, they’d write their own lyrics, and I prefer that because they’re going to sing them,” Iommi explains. “It’s like somebody saying to me, ‘Play this and play that.’ I want to play what I feel and what’s coming from me.”

There was a time when Sabbath did take a slightly different approach to writing and recording, but it wasn’t at their own initiative. In 2001, the band recorded “13,” Sabbath’s 19th and final studio album. It was the first studio record with Osbourne since 1978’s “Never Say Die,” and producer Rick Rubin was on board for the reunion.

What did Iommi learn from Rubin?

“I learned not to use a producer again,” he quipped. “It was strange because Rick wasn’t there most of the time. He’d be there for a certain recording, then he’d disappear. I’d written a lot of the stuff, and then we’d play it, and he go, ‘I don’t like that bit, I don’t like that part,’ and then disappear.

“One Friday he phoned me up — because he wouldn’t talk to the others [Osbourne, Butler]. He wanted me to relate what he’d said to the others. He said, ‘Could you write a song over the weekend that’s like “Planet Caravan,” so we can record it on Monday?’ I went, ‘What?!!’ But it happens that I did do it.” The end result was “Zeitgeist.”

Iommi is still processing Ozzy Osbourne’s death, just 17 days after Black Sabbath’s final performance, and says watching the concert film will bring back painful memories.

(Ross Halfin)

Iommi’s key plans for his new lineup and record were to make sure the players brought a healthy dose of enthusiasm. Baldwin is the first female he’s been in a band with. Iommi has a comfort zone, so he’d originally wanted Butler on the new album, which didn’t work out logistically. “Becky happened to be a big fan of Geezer, so we got Becky over to my home studio, and I did throw her in the deep end a bit,” admits Iommi. “I gave her the first track, which was ‘World Alone.’ I said, ‘Play that.’ She listened to it a bit and started playing it. It was really good. I just wanted to see what she’d be like straight away, just to see what she came up with, which was a bit horrible of me, I suppose.

“She worked out really good. The other thing is enthusiasm,” he continued. “I wanted people involved in this that really love what they do and really enjoy playing, and she constantly wants to play and be involved in the music, and it’s a great attitude.”

Another Brit superstar who also opts to play with relatively unknown, ardent players is Zeppelin’s Robert Plant. “He’s the same,” Iommi acknowledges. “We spoke about this, myself and Planty, because obviously we’ve known each other a long time. He could have easily done Zeppelin, but he wanted to do what he wanted to do.”

What a collaboration Iommi and Plant would be.

“I did say to him one time about doing something together, but again, he got his own thing, and I did [too]. Who knows? We’ve talked about it a couple of times, but he’s into a certain flavor of music that he likes to play, which is different to what I play, really. I don’t discard anything that way. If something comes up that’s a good idea and somebody’s into it, then I’m going to have a go.”

It’s been 26 years since Iommi’s debut, a self-titled solo album with a roster of guest vocalists including Osbourne, Dave Grohl, Henry Rollins and Pantera’s Philip Anselmo. “How fast it goes,” Iommi says with a chuckle. “Twenty-one years ago was my last solo album. And that’s long enough, isn’t it? But I was just busy with the Sabbath thing and then other things, including the Sabbath ballet.”

While fans would adore a tour, Iommi says he’d only do the occasional “one-off.” He will allow a moment of supposition, if pressed. “I suppose if I did something like that, I’d probably do some Dio stuff and maybe [one-time Sabbath vocalist] Tony Martin and maybe ‘Paranoid,’ ‘Iron Man.’ I haven’t really thought about it. Again, it’s not Sabbath,” he concludes. “It would be an Iommi thing, but it is part of my background. So I suppose I would play some of the old ones.”

The son of former NBA dunk contest runner-up Chris Carr, Lakers rookie Cameron Carr envisioned his first NBA points coming on a lob. When asked before the draft in April, the first-round pick knew that if not on a sky-high alley-oop his first bucket would at least be something athletic.

He now gives himself half-credit for calling his shot.

The 21-year-old Lakers guard scored his first NBA points on a fastbreak dunk Monday in Atlanta, making the most of his opportunities during the Lakers’ hot start.

Carr had two points and three rebounds in seven minutes and 19 seconds in the Lakers’ win over the Atlanta Hawks in the first significant playing time of his professional career. The Lakers, who finish a three-game, four-day road trip in Milwaukee on Wednesday, have the top record in the NBA at 10-2 with a six-game winning streak.

Carr helped extend the Lakers’ streak by bolstering a shorthanded lineup against the Hawks. The Lakers needed the rookie Monday when they were without Austin Reaves (illness) and Quentin Grimes (right finger sprain).

Three weeks into his NBA career, Carr, the 24th overall pick the Lakers traded up to acquire from the New York Knicks, said he is still nervous any time he subs into a game. Getting the first of what he hopes will be many NBA points helped settle his nerves.

“Over time it’s only going to grow, it’s only going to get better,” Carr said. “I’m only going to get more and more confident, so every time I get a chance to step out there, just show what I can do and of course show my talents through God’s work.”

The 6-foot-5 guard is a skilled scorer and an athletic marvel. He couldn’t even touch the rim when, one summer, he begged his father, who was the runner-up in the 1997 dunk contest to Kobe Bryant, to teach him to dunk. He just needed one summer to master it. Carr set a single-season sophomore scoring record at Baylor last season and his 642 points rank fifth in program history regardless of class. An efficient shooter (37.4% from three in his final college season), Carr also led Baylor with 45 blocked shots.

Now in the NBA, defense is still where Carr can improve most, Lakers coach JJ Redick said. Although Carr is a talented offensive player, it is still difficult for young players to find their rhythm with limited playing time, Redick said. The Lakers staff has encouraged Carr to take advantage of stay-ready games against coaches and make the most of G League opportunities to get more reps. Carr had 13 points and four rebounds during the Coachella Valley Lakers’ season opener on Friday.

“Just being patient, man,” Carr said of his approach to the beginning of the season, “just putting my head down, working every day, knowing that I can be the best person I can be. And when my time, my name is called, just be ready.”

Carr subbed into Monday’s game with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter. The Lakers, trailing by two, soon flipped the game with 13 unanswered points to end the quarter. A steal by Luka Doncic with 1:44 remaining fueled the streak and the star point guard threw an outlet pass to Carr in transition, who collected the ball for an emphatic two-handed dunk.

Doncic dished out another assist after the game when he rushed to secure the game ball for Carr. The superstar said he wanted the rookie to remember his first NBA bucket.

“That’s big time,” Carr said Wednesday of Doncic’s kind gesture. “Especially coming from him, that says a lot about who he is as a person and how he views this team.”

Redick handed the game ball to Carr in the locker room after the win as teammates cheered. Carr broke the team huddle on the word “together.” He plans to have everyone sign the ball before keeping it in a trophy case.

“There’s no price on it,” Carr said. “It’s forever.”

Lakers sign two-way center

The Lakers swapped out two-way centers Tuesday, waiving Lawson Lovering and signing Carson Cooper, the team announced. Both previously played in the Memphis Grizzlies organization and Cooper made one NBA appearance for the Grizzlies after signing a two-way deal with the team.

Cooper didn’t become a regular starter in college until his senior season, when he started all 35 games for Michigan State. The four-year Spartan averaged 11.1 points on 58.4% shooting with 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and one block in his final season.

Lovering, who signed a two-way deal with the Lakers on Oct. 28, appeared in Lakers blowouts against Miami and Sacramento with a rebound and a block.

EXCLUSIVE

Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator says Tehran is waiting for an official US response to its seven conditions for ending war.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator, has told Al Jazeera that the Strait of Hormuz will “never return” to its status prior to the US-Israel war on Iran.

In an exclusive interview published on Wednesday, Ghalibaf said Iran and Oman reached an understanding to oversee the critical waterway as part of Tehran’s seven-point proposal to end the eight-month conflict.

“There are no ‘free waters’ [international waters] there, and the 1982 [UN Convention on the Law of the Sea] does not apply to the strait … The regulations within the Strait of Hormuz are governed by the laws of the two littoral states that border it,” he said.

Seven conditions

Ghalibaf said Tehran provided a clear response to the US through a Qatari mediator that included its seven conditions for peace talks, adding that Iran is waiting for an official response.

“The ball is now in the American court,” he said.

Iran’s conditions, as outlined by the chief negotiator, include lifting the US-imposed naval blockade and sanctions, the release of Iranian frozen funds, ending fighting on all fronts, and an explicit announcement of an end to the war.

He said these demands were part of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed in June and their implementation was necessary before entering negotiations with the US.

“If America limits itself to what has been agreed upon without making excessive demands or engaging in behaviour that breeds distrust, then, naturally, reaching an agreement is possible,” he said.

“What stands in the way of an agreement is our lack of trust in the United States.”

Renewed conflict

Ghalibaf said US officials asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to mediate direct negotiations with Tehran during a visit to Moscow.

He warned against new US attacks against Iran, saying that US President Donald Trump will face another defeat and political pressure from the new Congress that takes office in January.

Iran is determined to move beyond a state of “no war and no peace”, he said, urging a sustainable deterrent capability, including military capabilities.

Yemen mediation

On the ongoing fighting in Yemen between the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government forces and the Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for “Supporters of God”), Ghalibaf said that “no one should interfere” in it.

“If both the government in Yemen and Saudi Arabia were to ask for our help, we would certainly offer our assistance to help resolve their conflict,” he said.

Iran has previously offered to facilitate talks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi group in October following a series of deadly attacks on the kingdom.

Poundland looks set to avoid immediate collapse after its US owners told MPs on Wednesday they were in favour of extending a deadline to find a rescue deal.

The discount chain, which has 11,000 employees, has been edging towards administration after being blocked by Gordon Borthers from accessing cash in its bank accounts.

A deadline to secure a buyer for the business is set to expire at midnight, but sources close to the situation told the BBC they expect more time will be given, thanks to the release of £10m in funding.

A committee of MPs questioned Gordon Brothers following accusations that the investment firm hopes to profit from selling off Poundland’s 600 stores and stock piecemeal.

Gordon Brothers – which bought the chain for just £1 last year – is accused of forcing that outcome by restricting Poundland’s access to available cash needed to restock stores and pay wages and rent, ahead of the crucial Christmas trading period.

The investment firm, which specialises in buying and restructuring distressed companies, has denied the claims.

But pressure remains on Poundland’s owners after a takeover bid was rejected. The decision prompted calls for answers from politicians, including Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

About £50m had been frozen by Gordon Brothers, the BBC understands, meaning Poundland bosses were unable to restock shelves across its 600 shops.

However, sources close to the matter told the BBC on Tuesday that a release of £10m by its owners, while “small in the scale of things” could help at least postpone the chain’s collapse while a longer term solution was explored.

Longtime “Days of Our Lives” actor James Reynolds revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Reynolds, who has portrayed Abe Carver on the long-running daytime soap for 45 years, discussed his experiences with the disease and the decision to incorporate his diagnosis into Abe’s storyline in an interview Tuesday with Entertainment Tonight.

“Well, it kind of goes back to when I thought I was hiding it,” Reynolds said in his sitdown with the outlet’s Nischelle Turner. “The writers also wanted to incorporate it because it was obvious. It was obvious. We play life here [on ‘Days’], and there are many other characters who have gone through real-life issues that then are mirrored on the show.”

The interview includes clips of Abe navigating his Parkinson’s diagnosis. While Reynolds admits the storyline is one born a bit out of necessity, he believes his character is well-suited for it.

“I feel like the the value of Abe [is] as a character who overcomes a lot, has tremendous amount of strength, deals with a lot of things with with humor as well as understanding,” the actor said.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. Symptoms can include problems with balance, uncontrollable shaking of one’s hands and stiffness.

The actor had kept his diagnosis private for “more than a few years,” telling only a few people including his wife and son. So Reynolds previously found himself apologizing as he tried “all these different ways” to unsuccessfully hide his symptoms.

“You could see my hand shaking. You could see different things,” Reynolds said. “You’re playing that game with yourself.”

Reynolds said that his “Days” colleagues have been “super, super just extraordinarily helpful and supportive” since he’s opened up about his diagnosis.

“It couldn’t be a better atmosphere. People are just so wonderful and that makes it a lot easier,” he said. “I do have more energy when I’m at work than in any other place.”

Raducanu made a gradual return to training in early September – and four months is a long time to train without any competitive action.

She may also not play any exhibitions between now and the end of the year but a spell of warm weather training is anticipated, with the Middle East a popular destination for players in the run-up to the Australian Open.

Recent practice sessions in London with head coach Andrew Richardson and LTA national coach Alex Ward have been increasing in intensity, according to observers.

But by the time Raducanu returns, she will have been on the sidelines for over six months. Playing a few tournaments in Asia would have helped her regain some match sharpness, and perhaps allowed for a faster start to 2027.

Her fellow Briton Sonay Kartal is a fine example, having enjoyed considerable success since returning from six months out with a stress fracture of the back in September.

After reaching the third round of the China Open in her first WTA Tour event back, she beat world number six Elina Svitolina and then world number 12 Belinda Bencic on her way to the Wuhan Open final.

Kartal says there were a “lot of conversations” about where she should make a return.

“I think I wanted to just go straight in. I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn’t know how quickly,” the 25-year-old said.

“But I still think there is a long way to go. I can produce the level, but can I sustain it?

“Rehab is draining, and the body is not used to a lot of matches on the tour, so I do feel the aches and the pains from that.”

There will only be 24 candles on Raducanu’s birthday cake later this week, but there is no escaping the amount of time she has missed since her stunning New York victory as a teenage qualifier.

She has averaged just 31 matches a season in the five years since that triumph. Players with aspirations to be inside the world’s top 20 would hope to play around twice that number.

Elena Rybakina, for example, played 68 matches across 20 tournaments this year as she rose to the top of the world rankings for the first time.

By contrast, Raducanu played just 21 matches, losing in the second round of the Australian Open and the first round at Roland Garros.

Last year, Raducanu contested a career-best 50 matches, and earlier this year rose to 23 in the rankings shortly after reaching the final in the Romanian city of Cluj.

But her early preparation was affected by bone bruising of the foot, and she did not play for two months between March and May because of a post-viral illness picked up in Cluj.

Raducanu said a stress fracture of the shin was only confirmed after a final scan on the night before Wimbledon. But in her desperation to play, she had continued to train at times in the run-up to the championships, when medical advice had suggested that might be unwise.

Saudi Arabia has boosted crude outputs to their highest levels since before the Iran war disrupted supplies in February, triggering a global energy and shipping crisis.

An OPEC report issued on Wednesday said the world’s biggest oil exporter pumped 10.563 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in October, up by over two million bpd from its September output.

That is the highest level since the United States and Israel launched the war on Iran in late February, when Saudi Arabia produced 10.882 million bpd.

Rising oil production by Saudi Arabia and Russia helped increase outputs for the OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other nations including Russia.

OPEC+ pumped 41.23 million bpd in October, up by about 2.04 million bpd from September, according to its monthly report. Russia’s output increased as US President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Russian energy and announced an “energy ceasefire” between Ukraine and Russia in mid-October.

Fuel prices ease

Riyadh sharply increased its production in February ahead of US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Saudi Arabia’s reported increase in oil production “could help ease some of the inflationary pressure facing American consumers”, Umud Shokri, an energy strategist and senior visiting fellow at George Mason University, told Al Jazeera.

“When more oil enters the global market, prices generally come under downward pressure, which can eventually translate into lower gasoline, transportation, and production costs in the United States,” he said. “However, higher Saudi production does not automatically mean lower prices at American gas stations.”

While US prices for petrol or gasoline fell below $4 a gallon for the first time in months this week, concerns over the stubbornly high cost of living drove the Democratic Party’s sweeping victories in US midterm elections last week.

Inflation has spiked since February, when it stood at 2.9 percent. Annual personal consumption expenditures (PCE) shot to a three-year high of 4.1 percent in May, when energy prices soared as the conflict closed off roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

Other producers managed to regain their supply positions, including the US.

However, the report noted a decline in imports by one of the world’s largest economies – Japan – where “crude imports fell sharply in September amid renewed disruptions to trade flows”.

The report data, while based on secondary sources, indicate that Gulf oil producers are recovering exports by using workarounds such as ship-to-ship transfers to bypass disruptions caused by the conflict.

“The UAE regained its position as the top supplier in September with a share of 49 percent, compared with 25 percent the previous month. The US was second with 28 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia with 14 percent,” the OPEC report noted.

The report indicated that Saudi Arabia’s exports have stabilised despite a secondary oil supply route – Saudi’s East-West Pipeline – coming under attack by Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen. The Houthis, who are fighting the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government in Aden, continued to target the pipeline this week.

Shokri explained that “one reason Saudi Arabia has been able to recover some of its exports is its East-West Pipeline, which allows crude oil to move across the country to the Red Sea port of Yanbu without passing through the Strait of Hormuz”.

While no longer an OPEC member, the United Arab Emirates remains a major supplier and “has a similar advantage through its pipeline to Fujairah, located outside the strait”, he said.

“The bigger picture is that Gulf countries are learning how costly dependence on a single maritime chokepoint can be,” Shokri warned. “They are looking for ways to make their exports more resilient, but Hormuz remains too important to the global energy market to be easily bypassed.”

Oil forecasts unchanged

Oil output in October was equivalent to 97 percent of the 42.72 million bpd produced by OPEC+ in February, according to Reuters.

OPEC left its forecasts for global oil demand growth unchanged after cutting them for six straight months, and made no changes to its 2027 outlook.

The producer group expects global oil demand to rise by 2.55 million bpd next year to an average of 108.3 million bpd. It forecasts growth of 180,000 bpd in 2026.

The report also forecasted that Qatar, Canada, Brazil and Argentina will drive growth in energy-related liquids production in 2027.

The report offered an optimistic outlook for the Middle East’s economic performance in the near term.

“In 2027, the region’s economy is expected to rebound and economic activity to recover, supported by a resilient non-oil sector and robust domestic demand,” it said.

AMERICANS planning to travel for Christmas and New Year’s are cautioned to book flights now to avoid higher prices as the holidays approach.

New data has revealed the best days and times for customers to buy tickets, so they can take advantage of deals and snag the lowest prices before the holiday rush, especially as fuel prices keep rising.

Google data shows travelers should buy their tickets as soon as possible to save money, particularly if they are headed to destinations in Mexico or Europe.

An analysis from the previous five years found that Christmas prices typically reach their peak around 56 days prior to departure for domestic flights.

Fortunately for travelers, several major airlines are offering holiday-season deals to help customers save on their travel plans.

While not Christmas-specific, Southwest Airlines is one of the few companies promoting sales this time of year, as most airlines look to capitalize on increased spending.

Southwest currently offers one-way flights for as low as $59, but customers must act quickly, as these deals run only from November 10 through the 12th.

Elsewhere, American Airlines is also offering vacation deals, with some advertised flights targeting the week of Christmas itself, such as Dallas to Los Angeles for $247 round trip.

As with any flight, customers should always check with the airline before clicking purchase to confirm rates and see if they include baggage fees and other charges, which could increase the final charge.

Finding a good deal is half the battle when traveling for the holidays, and choosing when to fly is often just as important.

Google found departing on a Monday and returning on Tuesday or Wednesday could be 14% cheaper, with domestic travelers potentially saving as much as 20% by avoiding Sundays altogether.

For Christmas, departing closer to the holiday could also offer great savings, according to travel company KAYAK.

December 21 and December 22 offer some of the season’s best deals for domestic flights, and those flying international should aim for December 23 or even Christmas Eve.

Travelers returning immediately after Christmas should consider departing after December 27 to get the lowest price.

For Americans traveling for the holidays, waiting until the last minute could hurt your wallet in a big way.

With bookings in full swing, travelers may have little time to secure the best deal.

A woman and her daughter brought a Bible that once belonged to her grandmother Florence, who was held with her three children in an internment camp during war.

A guest on The Repair Shop has shared the devastating family history behind a treasured heirloom, and why she wanted to have it restored.

Judy and her daughter Laura appeared on the programme in an episode that originally aired in October 2025, where they brought a Bible with them, hoping to have it restored from its ‘battered and weathered’ state. It had once belonged to Judy’s grandmother Florence, and passed down to her children, including Judy’s mother.

As Judy and Laura spoke to The Repair Shop expert Chris Shaw, they detailed their family history, and the conditions that Florence and her children found themselves in, after they were hel at the Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre in Shanghai during the Second World War.

“She was living and born in China, her father was an Irishman and her mother was a local Chinese lady and at some point, Florence met her future husband, an Englishman,” Laura explained. “Unfortunately, he left her widowed in her early 30s with three children and he died just a few weeks after their son was born.”

She noted that Florence was remarkably young to lose her husband, as bookbinder Chris Shaw described the story as “terrible”, though she encountered additional hardship when conflict erupted and Japan invaded China.

Florence and her children were identified as British and sent to the internment camp, where the children, including Judy’s mum, were aged 17, 15 and 10, reports the Express.

Judy described the appalling conditions, saying: “They were all crammed in, it was hot, little food. They were having very watered down rice with added maggots. Then my grandmother caught TB and she was taken out of camp to a hospital, and they were on their own in camp for about 18 months without their mum.”

The three children found solace in the Bible throughout their four-year ordeal in the camp. Following liberation when the war ended, they were finally reunited with their mother.

Judy recalled how the camp experience stayed with her mum for the rest of her days, explaining: “The habits, if you like. We had a walk-in larder when I was a little girl and it was rammed, floor to ceiling, with tinned food, saying she’d never starve again if war broke out.”

Laura added: “She did have a terrific sense of fun. Obviously as my grandmother, she was always up to mischief, she was definitely your ally. And she was very much of the view that childhoods should be fun and lighthearted, because she felt robbed.”

Judy and Laura were hoping Chris could rescue the “battered and weathered” Bible that had endured the wet and damp conditions of the camp, disclosing that it was over a century old.

**Ensure our latest TV stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings**

After Chris restored it, Judy was left in tears, seeing the Bible brought back to life. “It represents my mum and my nan’s legacy really, and what they went through. Their strength, their endurance, and hopefully this book can survive a little bit longer, too,” she said.

“Oh gosh,” she said, after seeing it, in disbelief. “Is that the same one? It’s amazing… this is how it would have looked.”

She thanked Chris, adding: “It’s something my nana would have held, and obviously it meant a lot to my mum and her sister in camp, giving comfort when things were so bad. We’ve got it back in one piece that we can hold, it’s a lesson that not all is lost.”

The Repair Shop is available to watch on BBC iPlayer

It’s business as usual for President Trump’s deportation offensive despite the Republican wipeout in the midterm elections.

In Los Angeles, masked immigration officers in body armor blocked a hospital emergency room driveway in a heavily Latino neighborhood early Saturday. In central Alabama, twin 19-year-old brothers from Venezuela were arrested while driving back to college a day after the election.

Advocates reported arrests from California to Michigan to Massachusetts. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not released numbers.

After Democrats trounced the GOP and won control of the next Congress, Trump said his immigration crackdown may have been “too tough” and suggested it was time to sit down with the rival party.

“I’d love to do something on immigration,” he said in an interview with CBS “60 Minutes” recorded Friday.

Hours later, he named Stephen Miller, the architect of his hard-line immigration agenda, as his new chief of staff. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, meanwhile, said his orders had not changed.

“Deportations will continue,” Mullin wrote in an online post the day after the election, warning that ICE takes no days off and that “this includes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Election Day.”

María Bilbao, a campaign coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee in Miami, said she has received at least one call a day from someone detained in South Florida since the election.

“Everything remains exactly the same. The arrests have not ceased at all,” Bilbao said.

Florida Highway Patrol officers and ICE agents have detained people in their cars, as well as places including supermarkets, pharmacies and gas stations. Immigrants under supervision have also been arrested when they showed up at ICE’s Miami office for their appointments.

Officers assembled outside a Los Angeles hospital

Erick Gasca, 31, got home Friday night after an evening playing board games with friends. He lives near Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles.

An “unprecedented” number of vehicles with tinted windows and no license plates were parked near the hospital’s emergency room entrance, he said.

“I thought they were going to raid the hospital or something,” he recalled.

The Department of Homeland Security declined to explain the officers’ presence there, though Bill Essayli, the top Justice Department prosecutor in Los Angeles, said they were bringing a detainee for medical treatment. Essayli said two people were arrested for assaulting federal agents.

“ICE does not target hospitals, schools, or churches,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

The agents’ presence attracted some 30 residents and passersby. Footage shot by Gasca’s cousin, Michelle Rivera, shows protesters shouting and officers pinning someone down.

The hospital said it wasn’t involved.

“White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement,” hospital president Daniel Fontoura said in a statement, adding it would not let such activities “compromise our commitment to patient care and safety.”

A couple is arrested at the Phoenix airport

A married couple from Orlando, Fla., was arrested Saturday at the airport in Phoenix while traveling to a funeral.

Gustavo Romanello and Agustin Baccega, both from Argentina, have work permits while they seek asylum after entering the United States about six years ago, according to Jonathan Batchelor, a family friend.

Batchelor was on the phone with them at the time. A mutual friend died Friday and the couple was visiting for the funeral Saturday. As the couple left the airport, two casually dressed officers asked if one was Agustin Baccega. Batchelor heard the officer say, “Asylum seekers are not in the United States legally.”

Batchelor said he could hear Romanello walking alongside his husband during the arrest and asking the officers how to collect his things. Batchelor said they then asked what his name was, “and then the guard said, ‘Oh, do you have another set of handcuffs? This is another one.’”

The voices grew distant, and the call then ended.

Both men remain in detention centers. They worked as acrobats in Florida and had no criminal record, Batchelor said.

“This is just taking good people who have been following the rules out of their lives and out of the lives of those who rely upon them and care about them,” Batchelor said.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the arrests.

Twin brothers seized while driving back to college

The brothers were headed back to college after visiting their parents when they were stopped in a small city in central Alabama.

Luis and Carlos Orta-Santoro, 19-year-olds born in Venezuela and living in the U.S. for four years, are soccer players at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Ala.

Relatives say they have pending asylum applications, valid work permits, and no criminal records. Both are now in an immigration detention facility.

“Our family is devastated,” said their aunt, Carolina Orta.

Homeland Security said that while they had entered the country legally, they had “overstayed in defiance of our laws,” and their case would be heard by an immigration judge. It said pending asylum applications do not confer legal status in the U.S.

The school said in a statement, “Both young men are valued members of the Wallace State community, and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time. We sincerely hope for a positive resolution to their situation.”

A Haitian boy is taken into custody, drawing protests in San Diego

An 8-year-old Haitian boy had been living with his uncle in San Diego since his father was deported last year. The uncle, who is not a legal guardian, took him to an ICE office when the boy was summoned Nov. 4 and taken into custody.

That left the boy “without the support of their family, community and their school,” according to a letter to top administration officials from San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Fabi Bagula and school board members.

“Children should not lose access to education simply because of circumstances unfolding around them,” they wrote.

ICE has defended its actions.

Johny Oxeda, pastor of the Fairmount Haitian Community Church, which helped get legal representation for the boy, said he’ll ultimately benefit by going through legal channels.

Activists, though, were furious.

“This is not child protection,” said Guerline Jozef of Haitian Bridge Alliance, adding, “this is state-inflicted trauma.”

Gonzalez and Sullivan write for the Associated Press. AP reporters Gisela Salomon in Miami and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

A Great Britain and Wales marathon runner, who shocked the elite to win a place at the World Championships, was banned after returning a positive drugs test.

Josh Griffiths, 33, was given a three-month ban by the World Athletics’ Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after Benzoylecgonine – which is found in the body when it processes cocaine – appeared in his system following May’s Belfast City Marathon.

Griffiths, who represented Great Britain at the 2017 and 2022 Worlds and ran for Wales at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, denied ever taking cocaine or any other social drug.

He could not prove how cocaine entered his system, but in their ruling the AIU accepted that any ingestion was both out of competition and “unrelated to sport” as they imposed the ban.

Griffiths’ ban ran for three months from the hearing date of 19 June 2026. In addition his race results from the day of the Belfast Marathon – 3 May – until the end of the ban were expunged.

Following the findings, Griffiths accepted the anti-doping rule violation and the sanction.

The Carmarthenshire athlete rose to prominence when he finished as the fastest Briton as a club runner in the 2017 London Marathon, earning him a place in the GB squad for that year’s World Championships.

He went on to record an eighth-place finish in London in 2021, having turned professional after the 2017 success.

The AIU said in its report that Griffiths remarked it was “absolutely impossible” when he was told of the initial adverse finding in his sample and that “there must have been a mistake”.

Benzoylecgonine, which is found in the body when it processes cocaine, appeared in both samples of his urine provided following the Belfast marathon.

Griffiths provided details of his activities and whereabouts leading up to the 3 May race, as well as his stay at the official race hotel, stressing he did not attend any social events, consume any alcohol and that contact had been mainly with other athletes and race staff.

At a later hearing, he reiterated that he had never knowingly ingested cocaine and was not aware of anyone close to him using the drug in the lead-up to the Belfast race.

Griffiths submitted scientific data to support his claim that any ingestion was out of competition, something the AIU went on to agree with.

It has been more than a week since voters in the United States cast ballots in the midterm elections.

But the size of Democrats’ majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate remained undetermined. More than a dozen congressional races are still waiting to be called.

Democrats have already won 54 Senate seats in the incoming Congress in January, but they could pick up one or two more as votes are counted in Alaska and Mississippi.

Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, Democrats have notched their largest elected majority since 2008, with 255 seats in the 435-member chamber. But they have the potential to add to their lead with several more seats as the remaining races are decided.

Here’s a look at where things stand in some of the uncalled races:

Mississippi’s Senate seat remains too early to call

Late on Tuesday, Democrat Scott Colom was about 2,600 votes ahead of Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the race for the US Senate in Mississippi.

There are two key deadlines in the vote-counting process in Mississippi this week: Mail-in absentee ballots must be received by Tuesday, and counties are required to submit their certified election results — including tallies of provisional ballots — to the state by Friday.

It is unclear exactly how many ballots are left to count.

Unlike in some other states, there is no central vote reporting system for Mississippi, and few counties release election results online. Instead, journalists from The Associated Press and analysts communicate with each of the state’s 82 counties directly for the latest available information on vote counts.

The state will certify its results on December 3.

On Monday, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said about 14,200 provisional ballots had been processed, of which about 80 percent were accepted, and about 2,700 mail-in absentee ballots had not yet been returned.

Mississippi does not have automatic recounts or permit candidates to request a recount. Recounts in the state are held only in the event of a court order. The Associated Press may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

The vote count is ongoing in Alaska’s Senate race

Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by about 2,500 votes in Alaska’s US Senate race as of Tuesday, with an estimated 76 percent of the vote counted.

Absentee ballots are among those that continue to be counted. The final absentee ballots mailed from outside the US are accepted as late as November 18, which is 15 days after Election Day.

Ranked-choice voting could also affect the timeline. Peltola is just over one percentage point short of the majority needed to win outright. If neither candidate wins a majority, the race will proceed to ranked-choice tabulation on November 18.

The state’s “target date” for certifying the election results is November 25.

Recounts in Alaska are automatic only in the event of a tie vote. Candidates may also request a recount within five days of the state’s certification.

A dozen House races are still up in the air

In most of the US House races that have not been called, the margin between the leading candidates was less than one percentage point among votes counted, as of late Tuesday afternoon.

In North Carolina, four races remain undecided, the most of any state, and Republican incumbents were being challenged in each one. There are no automatic recounts in North Carolina, but candidates may request a recount if the margin between candidates is one percent or less of the total votes.

The state must receive the recount request by noon Eastern Time (17:00 GMT) on November 17, two business days after the county canvass in the state. The state is scheduled to certify its results on November 24.

In California, only one of the remaining House races, in the 23rd District, will affect the chamber’s balance of power. The other uncalled race is between two Democrats. Mail-in ballots must be received by Tuesday, and counties must certify their results by December 3. The state will certify its results on December 11.

In South Carolina’s 2nd District, a recount is ongoing in the race between Republican incumbent Joe Wilson and Democrat Zyon Khalifa. Wilson led Khalifa by only about 3,000 votes in the original tally by late Tuesday afternoon, when 99 percent of the votes had been counted.

In Minnesota’s 1st District, the race was still undecided late by Tuesday, with about 300 votes separating the top two candidates and an estimated 99 percent of votes counted. Recounts are not automatic in Minnesota, but a candidate can request a publicly funded recount if the margin between the winning and losing candidates is less than 0.25 percent of the vote.

In Tennessee’s 4th District, about 300 votes lay between Democrat Victoria Broderick and Republican incumbent Scott DesJarlais as of Tuesday. In that state, recounts are held only as part of a legal challenge in the courts. There are no automatic recounts, and losing candidates may not request recounts.

Two governorships remain undecided

In the race to be Kansas’s next governor, Democratic state Senator Cindy Holscher led state Republican Senate President Ty Masterson by less than one percentage point on Tuesday.

On November 4, the state announced that a close-race audit had been triggered in six close Kansas races, including the gubernatorial race.

That process requires a hand count of selected ballots, and it must be completed before November 16, the day by which counties must certify their results.

In the race for governor of Alaska, only about 76 percent of votes were estimated to have been counted by Tuesday.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Jonathan Kreiss‑Tomkins, was leading Bernadette Wilson by about 45,000 votes, 49.6 percent to 28.9 percent. The race will advance to ranked-choice tabulation if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote.