The credit-card company said higher-income clients are spending on restaurants and luxury items, and that they continue to seek out its premium cards.
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American Express Revenue Rises as High-Income Consumers Keep Spending
Teofimo, Shakur went from sparring as princes to fighting to be boxing kings
It was the early spring of 2016, and a particularly busy day at Herman Caicedo’s gym in Miami. There were all manner of champions, contenders and aspiring Olympians from Asia to the Americas. But the star of that session was an amateur bantamweight from Newark, New Jersey: a dimpled 18-year-old babyface — I use the term literally, as he might have shaved once, but only in the hope that it would cause something to finally grow. That would be Shakur Stevenson.
“He did 40 rounds of sparring, at least — nonstop, didn’t get out of the ring,” recalls Caicedo, the veteran trainer. “He did eight or 10 rounds with my champ, Juan Carlos Payano.”
Then he gave Claudio Marrero — 19-1 as a junior lightweight — another eight. Chucky Flores? — Moises Flores, out of Guadalajara, Mexico, 24-0 at the time — and Yenifel Vicente, a nine-year vet at super bantamweight with 27 wins, at least eight with each of them, too.
“Weren’t there also a couple of guys from Kazakhstan?” I ask.
“Yes,” Caicedo says. “Gave them good work, too. And didn’t even look tired.”
Though just a kid against hardened men, Stevenson inevitably gave as good or better than he got. But the last fighter he faced that day was a babyface like him, from Florida by way of Brooklyn, New York, and also vying for a spot on the Olympic team. Teofimo Lopez Jr. was a lightweight, just 32 days younger. How it went that day depends on whom you ask (not unlike boxing judges, actually). The friend who tipped me to this epic session — four-minute rounds with 30 seconds of rest in between — recalls Stevenson getting the better of Lopez. But Caicedo, who’s on the record, remembers otherwise: “Look, it was good work, not some kind of drag out fight. Shakur had just done 40 rounds and Teo was fresh. But it was probably Teo who had the better performance. Shakur was very well-rounded, well-schooled, no mistakes. But Teo seemed a little faster, more athletic, more explosive, more Roy Jones-y, you know what I’m saying? I left impressed with both of them.”
One gleans lessons from sparring at one’s peril. I know that. The most courageous fighters I’ve ever seen — Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield — were each notoriously underwhelming in the gym. Still. A decade hence, that day in Miami says something about each fighter, about what they’ve become and how they’ll emerge from their 140-pound title fight Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. If they were princes back then, they’re fighting to be kings now, to be seen as the successor (at least in this hemisphere) to Terence Crawford and the ever-present ghost of Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“We signed both guys thinking they could be great,” says Carl Moretti, the Top Rank vice president who signed them each coming out of the 2016 Olympics. “But the truth is, they’re even better than we thought.”
That they’re no longer considered Top Rank fighters is another story, a sad one at that. But the larger point remains. All the talk earlier this decade of another Four Kings era (or was it five?) proved to be a typical boxing hoax. But Stevenson and Lopez, now each 28, represent the best of their generation, the most accomplished fighters with the deepest résumés. “Two guys in their prime willing to face each other,” Lopez tells me. “It helps the sport. It sets an example.”
I’m obliged to note that such examples are subsidized and made possible by the Saudi financier, Turki Alalshikh. But the compelling element here is the fighters themselves — not merely their talent, but the great disparity in their temperaments and career arcs that seem diametrically opposite.
Stevenson is not unlike the kid of 2016. If there’s something almost heroic about his sparring, it’s based on his undiminished obsession with the sport. “His life is boxing,” says Antonio Leonard, Stevenson’s co-promoter from the beginning. “He’ll go anywhere, never turns down work. I’ve seen him spar [Gervonta] ‘Tank’ Davis — twice — in Baltimore. Tank couldn’t do nothing with Shakur. I remember when he first started sparring Terence.”
Crawford, he means. “I said, ‘Terence, you taking it easy on him, right?”‘
“Hell, no,” Crawford said. “I’m trying to kill him.” Stevenson, unlike Crawford, is not an especially violent fighter. He won’t take you out with a single punch. And if you still want to criticize his lackluster win over Edwin De Los Santos, understand that he still won easily despite injuries to his power hand, the left, and shoulder. Understand, too, that he comprehends distance as Albert Einstein grasped physics. He’s the best defensive fighter of his generation, and because of it, the most avoided. Fighters don’t fear a beating; they fear being humiliated, looking silly and helpless. That’s what makes Stevenson a great fighter.
Now there’s a photograph circulating on the internet: Mayweather, Andre Ward, Crawford and Stevenson. It’s crystallized the perception that he’s next in line, an all-timer, a pound-for-pound No. 1. That might well be true, but only if he performs as the oddsmakers expect him to and beats Lopez. And that in itself — predicting Teofimo — is the most confounding of propositions.
Lopez is about a 2-1 underdog to Stevenson, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. In other words, Stevenson is a bigger favorite against Lopez than Lopez was in his last fight against Arnold Barboza Jr. Now consider this: Lopez was a 4-1 dog in his signature win over Vasiliy Lomachenko.
“He kept asking for Loma when nobody thought he had a chance — so what does anybody really know?” asks Lopez’s manager, Keith Connolly. “The truth is, we’ve beaten the unbeatable southpaw twice.”
In 2020, it was Lomachenko. In 2023, it was the best (or so thought) 140-pounder in the world, the much-tested former Olympian, Josh Taylor. I’ll always remember the lead-up to that fight, Teofimo telling me his low-key fantasy of dying in the ring. Then he got into it with his father/trainer, Teofimo Lopez Sr., on camera. I thought he was coming apart and sure to lose. Then he made easy work of Taylor.
Therein lies the difference between Lopez and Stevenson. Where Stevenson is rational, ever-calculating and all about boxing, Lopez is performative, charismatic and always with a whiff of family drama. Stevenson wants more than anything to be a great fighter. Lopez wants that, too, but even more to be loved and adored.
Some years back, Stevenson lost his belts on the scales. He had been urinating blood for hours and reached a point where merely trying to make weight was endangering all that he loved. Lopez, by contrast, endured a horrific weight cut that could have easily killed him, and lost his title (albeit narrowly) in the ring against George Kambosos Jr. Then he bragged about it.
“Best thing that could’ve happened to me,” he told me.
Given Lopez’s undeniable talent for making things difficult for himself, it’s worth noting that he turned down what was widely considered an easier and even more marketable fight against Devin Haney. As Haney is also trained by a voluble father, it could’ve gone down as the Super Bowl of boxing dads. But that would’ve made Lopez a favorite.
“It was just timing,” Lopez told me Wednesday afternoon. “I was dealing with personal stuff, as you know happens in my career: marriage, family stuff. It worked out like it worked out.”
It worked out — not coincidentally, I believe — with Lopez as the underdog.
Now I remind him of that day in Miami a decade ago. “I remember,” he says. “We were both very smart, high-IQ fighters and very selective with our punching. But you can’t win in sparring. It was just three rounds.”
This one is forever.
Freezing Fog in parts of New Mexico before warmup
Good morning and welcome to the weekend! A backdoor cold front is passing through eastern New Mexico this morning leading to reduced visibility and patchy freezing fog for several counties. The National Weather Service has a Freezing Fog Advisory in place for parts of Colfax, Mora and Union Counties until 8 am for reduced visibility […]
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Canada’s Conservatives keep Poilievre as leader despite election loss
TORONTO — Members of Canada’s Conservative opposition party voted to keep Pierre Poilievre as their leader despite his election loss last year and recent defections.
Poilievre received 87.4% support in a leadership review vote announced early Saturday at the party’s convention in Calgary, Alberta.
Poilievre lost the last election to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals in April and even his own seat in Parliament, but has since rejoined the House of Commons.
More recently two Conservative lawmakers have defected to the Liberals, leaving Carney’s Liberals one seat shy of a majority government and being able to pass any bill without the support of an opposition party.
In a speech to party members before the party vote, Poilievre did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump’s name despite the president’s ongoing threats to Canada’s economy and sovereignty.
Poilievre did talk about supporting Carney’s efforts to remove U.S. tariffs and diversify Canada’s exports.
“In this dangerous and uncertain world Canadians must stand united so we can stand on our own two feet. United and strong Canadians will bow before no nation anywhere on earth,” Poilievre said before the party vote.
Until last year Poilievre was seen as a shoo-in to become Canada’s next prime minister and shepherd his Conservative Party back into power for the first time in a decade. Then, Trump declared economic war on the U.S.’s neighbor to the north and even threatened to make Canada the 51st state.
Trump has continued to threaten Canada, which has infuriated Canadians and led to a sharp decline in Canadian visiting the U.S.
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, noted some political commentators and even former Conservative cabinet minister and Alberta premier Jason Kenney are already criticizing Poilievre “for not addressing the US presidential elephant in the room, which is currently such a key issue for so many Canadian voters of various partisan and ideological stripes.”
Béland said Poilievre and his party are facing an uphill battle.
“Many members of the base like him but, as far as the broader Canadian electorate is concerned, he’s much less popular than Mark Carney, who recently shined on the world stage at Davos and has recentred the Liberal Party of Canada ideologically in ways that even some moderate conservative voters like,” Béland said.
Carney used a high-profile speech last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to condemn economic coercion by great powers on smaller countries. The prime minister received widespread praise and attention for his remarks, upstaging Trump at the gathering.
These Country Singers Are Having Babies in 2026
The country music family is growing in 2026 with some new bundles of joy on the way!
Country Singers Who Are Having Babies in 2026
The year has hardly just begun, but thanks to some late announcements at the end of 2025, we know this year will bring some new additions.
While some artists are just getting their families started, others are becoming seasoned veterans.
In fact, Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren are adding a fifth child to their brood this spring. That means they’ll have five kids under the age of 10 after this one arrives.
Country Music’s Growing Families
Others who made announcements in 2025 are Luke Combs and Parker McCollum.
While McCollum and his wife Hallie Ray are looking forward to playing man-to-man coverage with their second child on the way, Combs and his wife Nicole will have to move into a zone defense. They’re expecting their third baby in winter 2026.
Then there’s Alan Jackson, whose number of grandchildren is doubling and then some.
How Many Grandchildren Does Alan Jackson Have?
Jackson is already a grandfather to two grandsons — Jackson and Wesley — and the family portrait is about to get seriously crowded. All three of his daughters are pregnant.
The country veteran shared a photo on Christmas Day 2025 with Mattie, Ali and Dani all cradling their baby bumps and smiling for the camera. By fall 2026, he will have five grandchildren.
Country Babies Born in 2025
It’s a semi-slow start for the year compared to last year. In 2025, a whopping 18 country singers welcomed babies!
Some were first-time parents, like Hardy and his wife Caleigh and Lauren Alaina with her husband Cam Arnold, while others added to their roster.
Shay Mooney and his wife Hannah are now parents to four children while Hillary Scott of Lady A and her husband Chris Tyrell welcomed their third child.
Keep scrolling to see which country singers are having babies in 2026!
Country Artists Who Are Having Babies in 2026
The country music family is growing once again! 2026 will bring new additions to several artists and their families.
Keep scrolling to see which artists will be welcoming bundles of joy this year.
Gallery Credit: Jess Rose
The CEO Steering Hyundai’s $26 Billion U.S. Bet—and Its Push Into Robots
In an interview, José Muñoz, the automaker’s first non-Korean leader, says he wants to build factories in the U.S. faster.
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Kansas vs. BYU prediction, odds, time: 2026 college basketball picks from proven model
The potential top two picks in the 2026 NBA Draft square off on Saturday as Darryn Peterson and No. 14 Kansas host A.J. Dybansta and No. 13 BYU. Both teams are 5-2 in the Big 12, while Kansas is 15-5 and BYU is 17-3 overall. Peterson, who averages 21.6 points per game, is expected to play despite missing the last game with an ankle injury. Dybansta averages 23.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Tipoff from Allen Fieldhouse is set for 4:30 p.m. ET. The Jayhawks are 4.5-point favorites in the latest Kansas vs. BYU odds, while the over/under is 158.5. Before making any BYU vs. Kansas picks, check out the men’s college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
New users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $300 in bonus bets if your $5+ bet wins:
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times and it enters Week 13 on a sizzling 10-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and it is on a 6-0 roll on college basketball side picks. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.
Now, the model has simulated Kansas vs. BYU 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted men’s college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball betting lines for BYU vs. Kansas:
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Kansas vs. BYU spread: |
Kansas -4.5 |
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Kansas vs. BYU over/under: |
158.5 points |
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Kansas vs. BYU money line: |
Kansas -195, BYU +161 |
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Kansas vs. BYU picks: |
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Kansas vs. BYU streaming: |
Fubo (Try for free) |
New users can check out the latest bet365 bonus code to get $200 in bonus bets after placing a $5 bet:
How to make BYU vs. Kansas picks
After 10,000 simulations of Kansas vs. BYU, SportsLine’s model is going Under on the total (158.5 points). Kansas has seen four straight games go Over the total as none of their opponents have hit 70 points during that span. Kansas is 14-6 to the Under all season, while BYU is 11-9 to the Under, so the trends clearly point to this side of the total.
The model projects that both stars — Peterson and Dybantsa — are held under their season average as the teams combine for 153 points and the Under hits 66% of the time.
The model also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Kansas vs. BYU, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of thespread to back, all from the advanced model that has simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.
Partial government shutdown over immigration enforcement
A partial government shutdown began just after midnight as the debate in Congress over reining in immigration enforcement continues. It’s the second federal funding lapse in less than three months, but this one may be short-lived. The Senate voted Friday to fund most of the federal government through the end of September, coupled with a temporary, two-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security. Funding lapsed regardless, because the deal struck between President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats earlier this week still needs to go back to the House for approval. They’re not expected to return to Capitol Hill until Monday. In the meantime, federal agencies included in that spending package, like the Departments of Defense, Education, Transportation, Health, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development, are expected to start implementing shutdown contingency plans. Essential services will continue, including Social Security, Medicare and various public safety functions. Other services could face disruptions, but the impact should be limited if the House passes the package early next week. If the lapse drags on longer, federal workers, some of whom will be furloughed, would be at risk of paycheck delays.Unlike the last government shutdown, SNAP benefits won’t be affected because the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food aid program, was among the agencies funded last year. The big question moving forward is whether Congress will pass new restrictions on immigration enforcement, amid widespread protests over the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. “Senate Democrats will not support a DHS bill unless it reins in ICE and stops the violence,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after Friday’s vote. Democratic demands include ending so-called roving patrols, tightening warrant requirements, mandating body cameras and prohibiting masks for ICE agents. “When you look at the substance rather than the slogans, the demands all converge on a single outcome: robbing us of the power to enforce our immigration laws,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri. Some GOP lawmakers have expressed a willingness to negotiate on accountability measures, but a compromise is far from guaranteed. Republicans have floated other proposals, like cracking down on sanctuary cities and increasing federal penalties for assaulting ICE agents. The first question facing the House is whether to advance the Senate’s revised spending package with a two-week extension of DHS funding, which is designed to allow more time for negotiations. The House has a very narrow Republican majority, and some GOP lawmakers have already raised concerns about carving out DHS funding. Trump has publicly urged Republicans to support the legislation.Democratic votes could be needed to get the package across the finish line, particularly on an expedited basis. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries didn’t immediately commit to supporting the effort after the Senate vote on Friday night. “The House Democratic Caucus will evaluate the spending legislation passed by the Senate on its merits and then decide how to proceed legislatively,” Jeffries said in a statement.Despite the funding lapse, immigration enforcement is expected to continue due to the surge of funding Congress approved for ICE last year. The Trump administration suggested in previous comments that FEMA’s response to the recent snowstorm would be affected by the partial shutdown, but the Associated Press reports that the Disaster Relief Fund still has billions of dollars on hand. Experts told the AP that the remaining balance should be sufficient to limit impacts on the response, at least in the short term.The partial shutdown isn’t welcome news at the nation’s airports, where TSA agents will be required to come to work without pay until the funding lapse is over. Air traffic controllers, who are in the same boat, expressed frustration in a statement overnight.“A government shutdown places real and unnecessary strain on the air traffic control workforce and the aviation system as a whole,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). “We have been through this too recently and endured the stress of the previous shutdown for far too long. Congress needs to fund the government as soon as possible and put an end to this disruption.”
WASHINGTON —
A partial government shutdown began just after midnight as the debate in Congress over reining in immigration enforcement continues. It’s the second federal funding lapse in less than three months, but this one may be short-lived.
The Senate voted Friday to fund most of the federal government through the end of September, coupled with a temporary, two-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security.
Funding lapsed regardless, because the deal struck between President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats earlier this week still needs to go back to the House for approval. They’re not expected to return to Capitol Hill until Monday.
In the meantime, federal agencies included in that spending package, like the Departments of Defense, Education, Transportation, Health, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development, are expected to start implementing shutdown contingency plans.
Essential services will continue, including Social Security, Medicare and various public safety functions.
Other services could face disruptions, but the impact should be limited if the House passes the package early next week. If the lapse drags on longer, federal workers, some of whom will be furloughed, would be at risk of paycheck delays.
Unlike the last government shutdown, SNAP benefits won’t be affected because the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food aid program, was among the agencies funded last year.
The big question moving forward is whether Congress will pass new restrictions on immigration enforcement, amid widespread protests over the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
“Senate Democrats will not support a DHS bill unless it reins in ICE and stops the violence,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after Friday’s vote.
Democratic demands include ending so-called roving patrols, tightening warrant requirements, mandating body cameras and prohibiting masks for ICE agents.
“When you look at the substance rather than the slogans, the demands all converge on a single outcome: robbing us of the power to enforce our immigration laws,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri.
Some GOP lawmakers have expressed a willingness to negotiate on accountability measures, but a compromise is far from guaranteed. Republicans have floated other proposals, like cracking down on sanctuary cities and increasing federal penalties for assaulting ICE agents.
The first question facing the House is whether to advance the Senate’s revised spending package with a two-week extension of DHS funding, which is designed to allow more time for negotiations.
The House has a very narrow Republican majority, and some GOP lawmakers have already raised concerns about carving out DHS funding. Trump has publicly urged Republicans to support the legislation.
Democratic votes could be needed to get the package across the finish line, particularly on an expedited basis. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries didn’t immediately commit to supporting the effort after the Senate vote on Friday night.
“The House Democratic Caucus will evaluate the spending legislation passed by the Senate on its merits and then decide how to proceed legislatively,” Jeffries said in a statement.
Despite the funding lapse, immigration enforcement is expected to continue due to the surge of funding Congress approved for ICE last year.
The Trump administration suggested in previous comments that FEMA’s response to the recent snowstorm would be affected by the partial shutdown, but the Associated Press reports that the Disaster Relief Fund still has billions of dollars on hand. Experts told the AP that the remaining balance should be sufficient to limit impacts on the response, at least in the short term.
The partial shutdown isn’t welcome news at the nation’s airports, where TSA agents will be required to come to work without pay until the funding lapse is over. Air traffic controllers, who are in the same boat, expressed frustration in a statement overnight.
“A government shutdown places real and unnecessary strain on the air traffic control workforce and the aviation system as a whole,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). “We have been through this too recently and endured the stress of the previous shutdown for far too long. Congress needs to fund the government as soon as possible and put an end to this disruption.”
A man lunges at a prominent Democrat, and bragging rights for the state home to the most Olympians: The news quiz
A Sydney Sweeney stunt gets pushback, a man gets grilled for allegedly trying to free Luigi Mangione, and a measles outbreak worsens.
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BOB DAISLEY Reflects On Being Overlooked At OZZY’s Final Concert & Rock Hall Induction
Veteran bassist and songwriter Bob Daisley, 75, who contributed heavily to Ozzy Osbourne’s early solo catalog as both a musician and lyricist, opened up in a recent interview with Loaded Radio’s Scott Penfold about being left out of Ozzy’s final Birmingham concert in July 2025 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2024.
“Hey, you’re not alone in thinking that [I should have been invited] and saying that. So many people did. It was me not being there and me not being asked to be there, was really the elephant in the room, wasn’t it?” Daisley said, reflecting on the concert.
While Daisley emphasized he wasn’t personally upset by missing the show — citing a lingering inability to fly after contracting COVID — he did express disappointment at not receiving recognition during the event: “I couldn’t have gone even if I’d wanted to, but a mention on the day, being that the whole audience was out there, thousands of people singing my lyrics, and I don’t even get a mention. It seems a bit, um, what’s the word? I don’t know.”
Daisley also highlighted being overlooked during Ozzy’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction: “People were speaking out about that. There were people putting messages up on their Instagram and on Facebook and saying, ‘What the fuck? He doesn’t even get a mention? He wrote all your fucking lyrics.'”
Asked about the deterioration of his relationship with Ozzy, Daisley described it as a complex, multi-layered situation spanning decades: “Well, really, for that, it’s so complicated and so interconnected with all the different facets and things that happened… I went back and worked with Ozzy about three or four times, when I was asked to… They got rid of me right after the recording of Diary Of A Madman.
“Then I was asked back to do the third album, and then that didn’t materialize ’cause Randy [Rhoads] was killed. But I did do the third album with Jake E. Lee. That was Bark At The Moon.”
Daisley recounted the last time he spoke with Sharon Osbourne — during legal proceedings in 2001 related to royalties and credits for Diary of a Madman: “Probably in New York in about 2001… But, yeah, that was probably the last time I spoke to her. In the early days, Sharon and I got on really well, and Ozzy and I were close mates… I got on great with both of them. And the day that I heard that Ozzy died, I actually shed tears because there was a lot of memories that came flooding back.”
Despite past conflicts, Daisley is open to reconciliation: “I would talk. I don’t hate her. If there was something to talk about, of course I’d talk. I’m not a vindictive person and I don’t hold grudges… Nobody likes to see people suffer. Well, I don’t like to see people suffer.”
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