Plus, the race against the clock to fix a power-grid meltdown.
Source link
The Agonizing Decline of One of Europe’s Core Industries
Australian Open live: Alcaraz and Djokovic set to face off in blockbuster final
MELBOURNE, Australia — World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will battle it out in a heavyweight Australian Open final on Sunday evening.
Both Alcaraz and Djokovic are chasing history at Melbourne Park. Should the Spaniard prevail, he would become the youngest man in history to complete the career Slam — winning all four Grand Slam titles. For Djokovic, a record-extending 11th Australian Open crown would break the tie for most major titles he currently shares with Margaret Court.
Yesterday, world No. 5 Elena Rybakina came from 0-3 down in the third set to defeat top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. The victory earned her a second Grand Slam title and avenged her defeats to Sabalenka in the 2023 Australian Open and 2021 Wimbledon finals.
Stay tuned as ESPN’s team of reporters bring you all of the latest news, results, highlights, and more from the men’s Australian Open final.
Online portal launched for radiation exposure claims
RIGHTS AND WHAT’S NOT PROTECTED AT ACLU. DOT. A NEW ONLINE PORTAL, WAS JUST CREATED FOR PEOPLE IN NEW MEXICO TO SUBMIT CLAIMS THROUGH THE RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT, ALSO KNOWN AS RECA. THIS FEDERAL PROGRAM PROVIDES ONE-TIME PAYMENTS TO PEOPLE WHO DEVELOP SPECIFIC CANCERS OR DISEASES FROM RADIATION EXPOSURE. BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENT’S TESTING OF ATOMIC WEAPONS, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SAYS THIS PORTAL WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE IMPACTED, INCLUDING THOSE WHO WORKED IN THE URANIUM INDUSTRY. WE WANT EVERYBODY THAT’S ENTITLED TO RECEIVE $100,000, A ONE TIME PAYMENT OF $100,000 ON BEHALF OF THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY’VE BEEN SICK OR ON BEHALF OF A LOVED ONE THAT’S BEEN SICK. WE WANT EVERYONE WHO SHOULD RECEIVE THAT MONEY TO RECEIVE IT, AND WE WANT TO BRING BACK $5 BILLION TO THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO AND PUT IT IN THE HANDS OF PEOPLE WHO’VE BEEN SUFFERING A LONG TIME. THE DOJ BELIEVES THERE COULD BE AS MANY AS 50,000 NEW MEXICANS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR
Online portal launched for radiation exposure claims
Tina Cordova of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium said it will make the process much easier.
It’s been a long time coming, but finally, compensation will be coming to New Mexicans and their families who were exposed to radiation from the testing of atomic weapons in the 1940s.Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), who was instrumental in getting Congress to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched an online portal for people to apply for RECA claims.Lujan, along with Sen. Martin Heinrich and Representatives Melanie Stansbury, Terese Leger Fernandez, and Gabe Vasquez, sent an open letter to New Mexico’s holders of health care records, birth and death records, tax records and school records. and all necessary documents, asking for their full cooperation in helping compensate New Mexican exposed to radiation.Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, said early reports from people applying for claims on the portal said it will make the process much easier.”Our hope is that the Department of Justice actually has enough staff to handle all the claims that will now be submitted through the online portal,” Cordova said. “We want everybody that’s entitled to receive a one-time payment of $100,000 on behalf of themselves because they’ve been sick or on behalf of a loved one that’s been sick.”Cordova said she knows at least a dozen people who filed through the mail and have already received a direct deposit of $100,000. She also cautioned about bad actors using the online address of downwinders.com, pretending to be her organization, are saying they will file claims for them in exchange for a slice of whatever they get.”They say, by simply contributing 6% of your claim to the downwinders organization, we will file the claim on your behalf, and we’ll get you to the front of the line, and we can guarantee results,” Cordova said. “And all of that is fraud.”
It’s been a long time coming, but finally, compensation will be coming to New Mexicans and their families who were exposed to radiation from the testing of atomic weapons in the 1940s.
Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), who was instrumental in getting Congress to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched an online portal for people to apply for RECA claims.
Lujan, along with Sen. Martin Heinrich and Representatives Melanie Stansbury, Terese Leger Fernandez, and Gabe Vasquez, sent an open letter to New Mexico’s holders of health care records, birth and death records, tax records and school records. and all necessary documents, asking for their full cooperation in helping compensate New Mexican exposed to radiation.
Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, said early reports from people applying for claims on the portal said it will make the process much easier.
“Our hope is that the Department of Justice actually has enough staff to handle all the claims that will now be submitted through the online portal,” Cordova said. “We want everybody that’s entitled to receive a one-time payment of $100,000 on behalf of themselves because they’ve been sick or on behalf of a loved one that’s been sick.”
Cordova said she knows at least a dozen people who filed through the mail and have already received a direct deposit of $100,000.
She also cautioned about bad actors using the online address of downwinders.com, pretending to be her organization, are saying they will file claims for them in exchange for a slice of whatever they get.
“They say, by simply contributing 6% of your claim to the downwinders organization, we will file the claim on your behalf, and we’ll get you to the front of the line, and we can guarantee results,” Cordova said. “And all of that is fraud.”
Power outages hit Ukraine and Moldova as Kyiv struggles against the winter cold
KYIV, Ukraine — Emergency power cuts swept across several Ukrainian cities as well as neighboring Moldova on Saturday, officials said, amid a commitment from the Kremlin to U.S. President Donald Trump to pause strikes on Kyiv as Ukraine battles one of its bleakest winters in years.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the outages had been caused by a technical malfunction affecting power lines linking Ukraine and Moldova.
The failure “caused a cascading outage in Ukraine’s power grid,” triggering automatic protection systems, he said.
Blackouts were reported in Kyiv, as well as Zhytomyr and Kharkiv regions, in the center and northeast of the country respectively. The outage cut water supplies to the Ukrainian capital, officials said, while the city’s subway system was temporarily suspended because of low voltage on the network.
Moldova also experienced major power outages, including in the capital Chisinau, officials said.
“Due to the loss of power lines on the territory of Ukraine, the automatic protection system was triggered, which disconnected the electricity supply,” Moldova’s Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu said in a post on Facebook. “I encourage the population to stay calm until electricity is restored.”
The large-scale outage followed weeks of Russian strikes against Ukraine’s already struggling energy grid, which have triggered long stretches of severe power shortages.
Moscow has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat, light and running water over the course of the war, in a strategy that Ukrainian officials describe as “weaponizing winter.”
While Russia has used similar tactics throughout the course of its almost four-year invasion of Ukraine, temperatures throughout this winter have fallen further than usual, bringing widespread hardship to civilians.
Forecasters say Ukraine will experience a brutally cold period stretching into next week. Temperatures in some areas will drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.
Trump said late Thursday that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to a temporary pause in targeting Kyiv and other Ukrainian towns amid the extreme weather.
“I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this … extraordinary cold,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. Putin has “agreed to that,” he said, without elaborating on when the request to the Russian leader was made.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a query seeking clarity about the scope and timing of any limited pause.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Friday that Trump “made a personal request” to Putin to stop targeting Kyiv until Sunday “in order to create favorable conditions for negotiations.”
Talks are expected to take place between U.S., Russian and Ukrainian officials on Feb. 1 in Abu Dhabi. The teams previously met in late January in the first known time that officials from the Trump administration simultaneously met with negotiators from both Ukraine and Russia. However, it’s unclear how many obstacles to peace remain. Disagreement over what happens to occupied Ukrainian territory, and Moscow’s demand for possession of territory it hasn’t captured, are a key issue holding up a peace deal, Zelenskyy said Thursday.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on social media Saturday that he was in Miami, where talks between Russian and U.S. negotiators have previously taken place. Russian state news agencies later reported that he was meeting with an “American delegation” but did not provide further details.
Russia struck Ukrainian energy assets in several regions on Thursday but there were no strikes on those facilities overnight, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday.
In a post on social media, Zelenskyy also noted that Russia has turned its attention to targeting Ukrainian logistics networks, and that Russian drones and missiles hit residential areas of Ukraine overnight, as they have most nights during the war.
Trump has framed Putin’s acceptance of the pause in strikes as a concession. But Zelenskyy was skeptical as Russia’s invasion approaches its fourth anniversary on Feb. 24 with no sign that Moscow is willing to reach a peace settlement despite a U.S.-led push to end the fighting.
“I do not believe that Russia wants to end the war. There is a great deal of evidence to the contrary,” Zelenskyy said Thursday.
In the streets of Kyiv Saturday, many Ukrainians shared Zelenskyy’s skepticism.
On the banks of the Dnipro River in the northern part of the city, several hundred people gathered to unwind and enjoy a DJ set. The river is frozen solid enough for people to run, dance and ride sleds across its surface. Some have brought their dogs, while others have set up picnics and lit grills. At the same time, their homes remain cold, often without water or electricity.
Speaking with The Associated Press, Serhii Kupov, 57, said he did not believe peace could be achieved through negotiations as Russia was “putting forward unrealistic demands.” Gathered around a small camping table, Kupov and his friends raised glasses of alcohol and said they were ready to endure the temporary lack of heating in their homes.
Albina Sokur, 35, has also been without heating for nearly three weeks. She is the mother of six-year-old Tymur and is originally from Donetsk, a city Russia occupied in 2014 at the start of its military aggression against Ukraine. She says that despite the constant instability, she still tried to live life “to the fullest.”
Sokur said that she hoped peace could be achieved through negotiations, but said she did not believe that she would ever be able to return home.
“I think there could just be a freezing of the front line, like it was before 2022 … It would only give the other side time to build up strength. This needs to be finished once and for all,” she said.
____
Associated Press writers Kamila Hrabchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England, contributed.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Vans Warped Tour Returns In 2026 With Global Expansion & Five Two-Day Festivals
The Vans Warped Tour officially returns in 2026, ushering in a bold new era with expanded dates, international growth, and a refreshed vision for the next generation of fans.
Following last year’s three sold-out U.S. events, Vans Warped Tour will present five two-day festivals across Washington, D.C., Long Beach, CA, and Orlando, FL, while launching two brand-new international editions in Montreal, Canada, and Mexico City, Mexico.
Partnering with Insomniac, the powerhouse event creators behind some of the world’s largest festivals, Warped Tour is being reimagined while staying true to its roots. The updated format honors the festival’s legacy of discovery, inclusivity, and community while evolving its scale, production, and cultural reach.
Each two-day event will feature over 100 artists, spanning rock, pop punk, alternative, emo, hip-hop, ska, and more, alongside appearances from elite skateboarders and action-sports athletes.
In the lead-up to the festivals, Vans Warped Tour has launched its signature artist-reveal campaign, with multiple artists announced daily over the next 30-ish days, exclusively on Warped Tour social platforms. The staggered rollout reinforces the festival’s fan-first ideology and commitment to artist discovery.
Last year’s campaign generated over 3.8 billion impressions, more than one million monthly engagements, and measurable career growth for participating artists. Once fully unveiled in mid-March, the lineup will again be listed alphabetically, keeping the spotlight on the collective experience rather than headliners — a long-standing Warped tradition.
Warped Tour will also host intimate pop-up events in each market throughout the artist-announcement period. These city-specific activations may include surprise performances, community engagement moments, and potential artist reveals, strengthening the festival’s local connections.
True to its legacy, Warped Tour continues its commitment to social impact. As part of its Charity Circle, last year’s events collected over 134,000 pounds of canned food, raised more than $100,000 in fan donations, and delivered $200,000 to nonprofit organizations.
Founder Kevin Lyman shared: “Warped has always been about a sense of discovery — learning about brands, nonprofits, and bands. By releasing the lineup the way we do, each band gets their moment to introduce or reacquaint themselves to you. For those who get Warped, they get this. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you in the pit.”
Founded in 1995, Vans Warped Tour became the largest traveling music festival in U.S. history and the longest-running touring festival in North America. More than just a concert series, it served as a proving ground and cultural crossroads where emerging artists shared stages with future icons.
Past performers include Blink-182, Green Day, No Doubt, Sublime, Eminem, Bad Religion, NOFX, Limp Bizkit, Katy Perry, Beck, Black Eyed Peas, and countless others. Get your tickets here.
Want More Metal? Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter
Enter your information below to get a daily update with all of our headlines and receive The Orchard Metal newsletter.
VSE to Acquire Precision Aviation Group for $2 Billion
VSE plans to acquire Precision Aviation Group for about $2.03 billion in cash and equity.
Source link
UFC 325 results: Benoit Saint Denis scores brutal knockout of Dan Hooker
Benoit Saint Denis might be the most consistent offensive force in the lightweight division. Dan Hooker is no stranger to tough fights, but he melted under the sustained pressure that Saint Denis brought at UFC 325.
Saint Denis’ evolution was a talking point heading into Saturday’s event. Old habits die hard, however, as his technical advancements sometimes took a backseat to his aggressive instincts. Hooker offered serious resistance early with body kicks that visibly hurt Saint Denis. Ultimately, Saint Denis’ relentlessness forced critical errors from “The Hangman.”
“I had to resort to old Saint Denis,” the Frenchman said in Saturday’s post-fight interview. “Seek and destroy shit.”
Follow live updates on UFC 325: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes as event debuts on Paramount+
Hooker worked hard to negate Saint Denis’ wrestling by hunting guillotine chokes and not settling for bottom position. Amid the chaos, Hooker mistakenly pursued his own takedown. Saint Denis landed in a terribly advantageous position. Saint Denis, from the beginning stages of a mounted triangle, trapped Hooker’s arm and reigned down elbows. Hooker eventually freed his arm, only to fend off a tight arm triangle choke. Through grit and a narrow airway, Hooker survived the submission attempt.
Saint Denis abandoned what little caution he exercised in the fight, posturing up and throwing an elbow barrage that busted Hooker open. Referee Herb Dean gave Hooker every chance to escape, but the veteran lightweight only managed to cover up. The fight was ruled a TKO victory for Saint Denis at 4:45 of Round 2.
Post-fight, Saint Denis demanded either a lightweight or BMF title shot. Saint Denis called out Ilia Topuria, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira by name, but also had one other fighter in mind.
“Arman Tsarukyan, you say you’re the No. 1 contender? I’m here to take your f—ing spot.”
Albuquerque tamale business close to closing rebounds
Just days ago, a local tamale restaurant faced possible closure. Now, they’re selling out within hours, with lines stretching out the door.
Source link
Democrat Christian Menefee wins special election for vacant, deep-blue House seat in Texas
Former Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has won a special runoff election for a vacant, deep-blue House seat in Texas, NBC News projects, besting former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards in a Democrat-versus-Democrat contest.
Menefee will fill an 11-month vacancy in the Houston-area congressional district formerly represented by Rep. Sylvester Turner until his death in March 2025. Menefee’s partial term will only run through the end of 2026, and he is already competing for a full term in a redrawn district.
After this election, the balance in the House will stand at 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats, with another two red seats and one blue seat still vacant with special elections pending later this year.
Menefee and Edwards advanced to the runoff after earning the most votes — but falling short of a majority — in a crowded, all-party November contest for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, which includes downtown Houston and surrounding parts of Harris County.
There weren’t many issues separating Menefee and Edwards, who both made affordability their key issue. The Houston Chronicle endorsed Menefee, saying both were strong candidates but that his experience as county attorney prepared him better to take on “hostile government overreach.”
Although Menefee will take the seat for the remainder of Turner’s term, he won’t stop campaigning, with the midterm elections and Texas’ March 3 primary fast approaching.
The current version of the district is changing after Texas’ Republican-led redistricting last year. Texas’ new maps come into effect for the regular 2026 election cycle, which includes the upcoming primary election on March 3 and the general election on Nov. 3, but not the special runoff election that took place on Saturday.
The primary field for the new district includes Menefee as well as longtime Democratic Rep. Al Green, whose old 9th District was converted into a Republican-leaning seat. Edwards is also among the Democratic candidates who filed for the regular primary in March.
As of Jan. 11, Menefee had outraised Edwards and had $388,000 on hand. Edwards had $280,000. At the end of September 2025, the most recent period covered by his campaign finance reports, Green had $572,000 in the bank.
Menefee is stepping into a congressional seat that saw two sitting representatives die less than a year apart, leaving it vacant for most of the last two years. Longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s death in July 2024 left it empty until her daughter Erica Lee Carter was sworn in to complete the remainder of Jackson Lee’s term in November of that year. Turner then took office in January 2025 but died only months later.
The district has had a Black representative for more than 50 years, starting with Barbara Jordan in 1973, who was the first Southern Black woman elected to the House of Representatives.
DEFTONES Sells Majority Of Their Catalog To Warner Music Group
Alternative metal icons Deftones have reportedly cashed in on their catalog, according to a new report from Billboard, signaling one of the more significant rock catalog deals in recent years.
Citing unnamed sources, Billboard claims the California band were seeking a “mid- to high-double-digit multiple” for the rights to key portions of their catalog, with Warner Music Group ultimately closing the deal. As the publication explains:
“That multiple refers to how many times net label share and net publisher’s share (a.k.a. gross profit) can be divided into the valuation price. While publishing deals usually carry a higher multiple than master-recording royalties, that gap has been narrowing in recent years.
“Today, music assets generally trade — depending on the catalog’s heritage and the rights involved — in a 12- to 18-times-multiple range, though superstar artists and songwriters have been known to achieve above 20-times multiples.”
According to Billboard‘s reporting, the sale includes master-recording royalties, co-publishing interests, and writer’s royalties. Due to Deftones‘ long-standing relationship with Warner, the label already owned the band’s master recordings, while their publishing had also remained in-house via Warner Chappell.
Notably, Billboard adds that one member of the band chose to retain their share of both publishing and master-recording royalties, while the majority of the group opted to sell. The deal is said to have been finalized within the last two years, though the exact timing has not been publicly disclosed.
The reported sale comes amid a massive resurgence in Deftones‘ cultural and commercial profile. Over the past several years, the band’s catalog has experienced a viral renaissance fueled by TikTok, introducing Deftones to a new generation of listeners and dramatically expanding their audience.
That renewed interest has propelled the band to arena-headliner status and driven consistent chart returns for their back catalog. Last July, multiple Deftones releases were newly certified gold and platinum in the United States. As recently as December, the band’s 1997 sophomore album Around The Fur surged to No. 3 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Albums chart, underscoring the sustained momentum.
Want More Metal? Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter
Enter your information below to get a daily update with all of our headlines and receive The Orchard Metal newsletter.