Most of New Mexico can expect to see cool temperatures, but the biggest changes will be along the eastern border. Today the Eastern border of the state is expected to make it up to a high temperature in the 40s and 30s (depending on where you are located). However, tomorrow, they warm back up into the 60s. Pockets of the state will be breezy. Winds will shift from the west to the east as we go later into the evening.
GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. THE TIME NOW 623 WE ARE TAKING A LOOK AT DOWNTOWN ALBUQUERQUE, GETTING THAT TEMPERATURE COMING IN AT 28 DEGREES. THIS IS OFFICIAL TEMPERATURE COMING OUT OF THE SUNPORT. NOW, AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE WEATHER HEADLINES, YOU’RE GOING TO NOTICE THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THE COLD MORNING STARTS. ALBUQUERQUE CONFIRMS THAT WITH THAT 28 DEGREE TEMPERATURE. AND WE’RE ALSO GOING TO SEE SOME BREEZY CONDITIONS AT TIMES. AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO STILL REMAIN DRY. PROBABLY BE UNTIL NEXT WEEKEND BEFORE WE FINALLY GET SOME MOISTURE INTO THE FORECAST. BUT RIGHT NOW WE ARE ONCE AGAIN OFF TOWARDS THAT COLD START. A LOT OF AREAS SEEING TEMPERATURES DOWN TO THE 20S AND 30S, AND THEN WE’LL CONTINUE TO PUSH AHEAD AND WE’LL SHOW YOU WHERE THE BIGGEST TEMPERATURE CHANGE IS TAKING PLACE. SO IN THE BIGGEST TEMPERATURE CHANGE IN THE LAST 24 HOURS HAPPENS TO BE THE EASTERN BORDER. THEY WERE A LITTLE BIT WARMER THAN WHAT THEY WERE YESTERDAY. SO AS WELL THEY WERE A LITTLE BIT WARMER YESTERDAY. TODAY THEY’RE A LITTLE BIT COOLER. BUT OTHER THAN THAT YOU ALSO HAVE THE NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS AREA WHERE THEY’RE SEEING A LITTLE BIT MORE WARMTH. COME ON THROUGH THERE. AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THESE HIGH TEMPERATURES. LIKE I SHOWED YOU. THE EASTERN BORDER IS BASICALLY SEEING A COOLER DAY TODAY THAN WHAT THEY WERE YESTERDAY. AND YOU CAN NOTICE THAT BY THE HIGHS THAT THEY’RE EXPECTED TO MAKE IT UP TO, THEY’RE GOING TO BE UP INTO THE 30S AND 40S TODAY. AND THEN OTHER PORTIONS OF THE STATE ARE GOING TO MAKE IT UP INTO THE 40S AND THE 50S, AND THEN EVEN THE 60S AS WE GO FURTHER TOWARDS THE SOUTH. BUT THEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE EASTERN BORDER TOMORROW, AND THEN THEY BEGIN TO GET SIGNIFICANTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES INTO THE UPPER 50S, LOW 60S, JUST DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU’RE LOCATED. SO TODAY YOU’RE DEFINITELY GOING TO NEED THE COATS, BUT TOMORROW YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO JUMP INTO THE LIGHT JACKETS. NOW WHAT THE REASON WHY, AND ONE OF THE OTHER CHANGES THAT ARE GOING TO COME THROUGH HAPPENS TO BE THAT BIG COLD FRONT RIGHT THERE IN BLUE. IT’S GOING TO PUSH ITS WAY THROUGH THE STATE. AND THEN EVEN ONCE WE GO OVER INTO MONDAY, THIS IS GOING TO BE MLK DAY. YOU NOTICE THAT THE EASTERN BORDER JUST WENT FROM THE 60S BACK DOWN TO THE 40S AND THE 30S ONCE AGAIN. SO THIS IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT CONTINUOUSLY CHANGES. THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE THE WARMEST POCKET OF THE STATE DOWN THERE IN THE SOUTHWEST. AND THEN WE’RE JUST GOING TO CONTINUE TO PUSH AHEAD AND SHOW YOU YOUR FORECAST FOR MLK DAY. ALBUQUERQUE EXPECTED TO MAKE IT UP INTO THE TEMPERATURES. TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO WARM UP INTO THE 50S MID 50S JUST DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU’RE LOCATED. AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THAT ONCE AGAIN, TEMPERATURES ARE TRENDING ABOVE AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. WE’RE ALSO GOING TO BE DEALING WITH BREEZY CONDITIONS TODAY. WE’RE GOING TO START OUT BREEZY AROUND 9:00. AND THEN AS WE GO DEEPER INTO THE DAY, WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN TO SEE SOME OF THOSE WINDS BEGIN THIS IS GOING TO STOP AT AROUND THE DINNER HOUR. YOU CAN SEE ONCE AGAIN, WINDS ARE STILL GOING TO BE A LITTLE STRONG IN AREAS LIKE FARMINGTON. BUT AS WE GO INTO THE NIGHT, WINDS BECOME A LITTLE BIT STRONGER FURTHER OUT TOWARDS THE EAST. AS WE PUSH AHEAD, WE ARE ALSO GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR ZONE FORECAST AND SHOW YOU WHAT’S GOING TO BE TAKING PLACE WHERE YOU LIVE. CORTEZ AND DURANGO EXPECTED TO MAKE IT UP TO 4751 DEGREES. MEANWHILE, CHINLE, ARIZONA IS GOING TO MAKE IT UP TO 46 DEGREES. AND THEN FARMINGTON. YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE IT UP TO 48 TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO BE REMAINING IN THE 40S UNTIL WE GET ALL THE WAY OVER INTO THURSDAY. THEN EVENTUALLY YOU’LL HIT THE 50S, LETTING GO, HEADING OVER TO THE SOUTHWEST WHERE WE DO HAVE SILVER CITY. THEY’LL MAKE IT UP TO 57 DEGREES. THEY HAVE TEMPERATURES IN THE 50S THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK, HEADING OVER TO ROSWELL, WHERE THEY’RE LOCATED IN THE SOUTHEAST. GOING TO BE A COLD DAY FOR THEM TODAY, 46 DEGREES, BUT YOU’LL WARM UP INTO THE 60S BY THE TIME WE GO OVER INTO TOMORROW. THEN TEMPERATURES BACK DOWN INTO THE 50S BEFORE YOU EVENTUALLY CLIMB BACK INTO THE 60S. ONCE WE MAKE IT OVER INTO WEDNESDAY, LAS VEGAS GOING TO MAKE IT UP TO 39 DEGREES. THEN TOMORROW WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT WARM UP, MAKING IT ALL THE WAY UP INTO THE 60S BEFORE DROPPING BACK DOWN INTO THE 30S AND THEN TAKING A LOOK AT SANTA FE. THEY’LL MAKE IT UP TO 42 DEGREES. TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO REMAIN INTO THE 40S UNTIL WE GET OVER INTO WEDNESDAY. YOU’LL MAKE IT INTO THE 50S. AND THEN JUST TAKING A LOOK AT THE METRO AREA, WE’LL HAVE TEMPERATURES UP INTO THE 50S FOR MOST OF US, 51 DEGREES. THE FORECAST HIGH FOR ALBUQUERQUE TODAY. AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TEMPERATURES THAT WILL BE CLIMBING ALL THE WAY UP TO MLK DAY. AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE’RE JUST GOING TO REMAIN
Cool temperatures with breezy conditions today.
Most of New Mexico can expect to see cool temperatures, but the biggest changes will be along the eastern border. Today the Eastern border of the state is expected to make it up to a high temperature in the 40s and 30s (depending on where you are located). However, tomorrow, they warm back up into the 60s. Pockets of the state will be breezy. Winds will shift from the west to the east as we go later into the evening.
SAN BARTOLOME DE PINARES, Spain — Hundreds of Spaniards watched horses gallop through towering flames, hours before pet owners in Madrid on Saturday took their dogs and cats to church to be spritzed by a priest as a blessing.
The contrasting Spanish traditions take place every January to honor St. Anthony the Abbott, the patron saint of domestic animals. And despite criticism from animal rights groups, the horse-and-fire spectacle draws loyal crowds ever year.
Las Luminarias is a centuries-old tradition that takes place in the Spanish village of San Bartolome de Pinares — population 500 — about 100 kilometers (60 miles) outside Madrid. Riders guide horses through bonfires in the middle of the street in an act believed to purify the animals in the coming year.
“In the old days it was held because it was believed that the branches and the smoke blessed the horses and donkeys, which were used for farming, as a form of healing to prevent them from getting sick and to ensure they continued working in the fields,” said attendee Antonio Patricio, 62.
Festivities started around nightfall Friday as giant stacks of tree branches are placed on the side of the street, while locals mull about sharing wine, beer and sweets. Hours later, the stacks are lit and become the menacing fires that the animals must jump through — or around.
Animal rights groups have long criticized Las Luminarias, but locals say the horses are rarely, if ever, injured.
The next morning, on St. Anthony’s Day, pet owners in some churches across Spain take their furry companions to to be spritzed with holy water. That ritual blessing is also believed to bring the animals health and protection for the year — although there is less objection to the dogs and cats getting sprayed by water as compared to horses braving the flames.
Pet owners waited patiently Saturday outside the entrance of St. Anthony’s church in central Madrid, where Catholic priests blessed the passing animals. Many of the dogs were wrapped in winter vests, while the cats looked a little more bewildered.
“I’m happy to be able to do it,” Madrid resident Rosa Gomez said, holding up her pointy-eared dog. Kia. ”She is a little dog that was given to us six years ago by a family that couldn’t take care of her, so we adopted her, and since then she has kept us great company.”
Hours before the start of Las Luminarias, riders wrap their horses’ tails in fire-resistant tape and braid their manes. Some apply a glaze on the animals’ mane to prevent them from burning as they leap through the flames. Others beautify them, tightly braiding their manes, tying pink and red ribbons to their tails wrapped in tape, and adorning them with decorative headpieces.
Livestock and farming were common livelihoods in San Bartolome and scores of other central Spanish villages and towns that now stand empty for much of the year. Locals say Las Luminarias started after a mysterious illness swept through the village’s animals centuries ago, after which people started to believe that smoke could purify and heal the horses.
Going to Las Luminarias means returning home in the early hours the next day with clothes and hair that reek of smoke. In Spain’s emptying countryside, locals welcome that the tradition brings family, friends and onlookers to the village for one night each year.
GO AHEAD, CALL the Seattle Seahawks boring. They’ll thank you for it. The God-given right to a drama-free existence is the first article of their constitution. They are deeply, magnetically dull. Mike Macdonald, the head coach, speaks as if he pre-scans every sentence through an algorithm that removes any trace of personality. Macdonald’s motto, enthusiastically adopted on T-shirts throughout the locker room, is M.O.B. — Mission Over Bulls—. The B.S. part precludes any player from saying anything that even approximates controversy. Every mouth travels with its own chaperone.
The quarterback, Sam Darnold, is so aggressively bland that it’s become endearing. Before his weekly news conference the Thursday before the Seahawks’ final regular-season game against the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold stopped at backup quarterback Drew Lock‘s locker and asked if he would help him choose that week’s game balls “after I get through with this media deal.” Darnold proceeded to answer questions pleasantly and without elucidation for 10 minutes before moving on to the fun work of choosing between presumably identical footballs. The mission, indeed.
The concerted effort to exude a lack of excitement is everywhere. It’s like they all signed an NDA. But seven or so times per game, something happens that peels back the layers and exposes the weakness at the heart of the Seahawks’ quest for a bland, mission-driven existence.
On those seven or so moments in every game, Darnold throws the ball to the best receiver in the NFL, and whatever happens next is out of their control.
JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA carries himself with the ease and nonchalance reserved for those of supreme talent. His personality nests perfectly within the Seahawks’ ethos; an antidote to the stereotypical diva hood of many star receivers, Smith-Njigba comports himself without the aid of sideline histrionics, or public spats, or hours spent inhaling from the glue bag of social media.
It seems to have grown organically. Throughout a storied high school career in Rockwall, Texas, Smith-Njigba played wide receiver, was the Wildcat quarterback, played defensive back in long-yardage situations and served as the holder for field goals and extra points. His high school coach, Rodney Webb, jokes with Smith-Njigba that he “walks like he has blisters on his feet,” and yet when the ball is snapped and Smith-Njigba accelerates off the line, it’s more of a glide than a run. “He looks like a hockey player,” Seahawks tight end AJ Barner says. “He’s in and out of his breaks like he’s on ice. So effortless.”
Speed is the glory hound, soaking up all the attention at the scouting combine and the draft, but what if football’s stealth superpower is the ability to stop? Watch Smith-Njigba run a simple out route, the cornerback backpedaling as if staring at an oncoming tsunami. Suddenly, Smith-Njigba stops, like a cartoon roadrunner, and turns to catch a pass from Darnold. The cornerback — no doubt a man whose physical skills fall within the top 0.2% of the world’s population — is still 10 yards away. There’s something unique about the movements, the ability to go from full speed to full stop and then full speed all over again. The man they call JSN might have the best brakes in the NFL. “It’s all about the power of illusion,” he says. “It’s a chess match out there. I’m putting it into the DB’s mind that I’m going fast even when I’m not. I can stop on a dime. I can change speed. Keep ’em guessing.”
I asked Rashid Shaheed, the Seahawks’ second-leading receiver, to recall a play or a moment that explains why, in his opinion, JSN became the first player in NFL history to lead the league in receiving yards for the team that passes the least. Within seconds, he points me to a 63-yard touchdown catch Smith-Njigba made on a pylon route in Week 12 against Tennessee.
“Watch that one,” he says. “You’ll see.”
The play starts with JSN going in motion from wide left to slot right. When the ball is snapped, he hits the seam as fast as a thought. Down the field, he wins a hand fight with safety Amani Hooker at the 22-yard line and hauls in a perfect Darnold pass at the 19. Hooker goes down and watches Smith-Njigba sidestep into the end zone. It’s a solid play, but it doesn’t have the look of the best play in a 119-catch, 1,793-yard, 10-touchdown season. But that’s the beauty of it, Shaheed says: the way JSN’s arms stay free of Hooker’s body while their hands bicker; the way JSN’s eyes remain fixed on the ball no matter what else is happening; and the way JSN separates from Hooker at precisely the right moment. It’s the utter and complete lack of tension at the tensest moments.
“It’s how deceptive he is in his routes, and his ball skills when the ball is in the air,” Shaheed says. “He might have the best ball skills I’ve ever seen. The ability to not panic when a DB is on him — he’s the best I’ve ever seen at that. Oh, and what separates him is his ability to get open when the defense knows we’re going to him.”
It seems Smith-Njigba is a connoisseur’s version of an All-Pro receiver, someone whose greatness arrives by whisper and requires a jeweler’s eye. Late in the third quarter against the Niners, he ran a shallow cross and caught a pass that was thrown a bit behind him. The play is not memorable on the first watch. He reaches back to catch the ball, runs for a few extra yards and is tackled. “Not an easy play to make,” Troy Aikman says on the broadcast. First down, move the chains. You see it all the time.
But wait. There’s something about it that demands a closer look. The throw from Darnold is close to two feet behind Smith-Njigba. It is a bullet, thrown hard and high. Watch it again, from the end zone camera: JSN catches the ball over his right shoulder and allows the ball to take his body with it. Instead of making the catch and clumsily reclaiming his path, he creates a new one that necessitates a 180-degree pivot. It’s difficult to see live, or even after a replay, but what he does is snatch the ball out of the air the way a bird in flight might snag a bug and proceed on its way to somewhere more important. He’s not so much defying the laws of physics as creating new ones.
“It’s not one miraculous play,” wide receiver Cooper Kupp says, “it’s the body of work he’s put in this year.”
IF YOU STUDY something hard enough, eventually it will appear to come naturally. Darnold and Smith-Njigba began studying each other’s skill sets and tendencies during minicamps in April after Geno Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders and Darnold signed with Seattle. They talked in the cafeteria — some football, more life — and began forming a connection that became the best in the NFL.
How did it happen so quickly? “It’s just Sam being around a lot of ball,” Lock says. “He’s been in a few different offenses, a few different teams, trying to figure out Justin Jefferson [in Minnesota], the guys with the Jets and now here. I think it’s a skill he’s developed over time. Plus, it helps to have a really good receiver like Jax. Jax knows how to speed up the chemistry process. Sam knows how to speed up the chemistry process. It worked.”
Smith-Njigba was standing in the visitors locker room in Santa Clara inside a cloud of cigar smoke so thick and acrid that only happiness could overcome it. The Seahawks were celebrating the No. 1 seed in the NFC, home-field advantage and, maybe most of all, a week off. The music was loud enough to turn everybody’s ribs into tuning forks. Darnold, fresh off another pleasantly non-illuminating trip to the podium, was going about the real work of quarterbacking by stopping at every smoke-filled locker and shaking the hand of the man creating plumes in front of it.
Smith-Njigba nodded toward Darnold and said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to turn my head and the ball is right there. I’ve been missing that for some years. For us to be on the same page for him to trust that I’m going to be in my spot and he can throw without me even looking at him, that’s the elite-level ball.”
The word most commonly employed to describe Darnold — resilient — can be interpreted as a backhanded compliment. It’s an acknowledgment that he’s had some stuff to overcome, some B.S. that overrode the mission.
Darnold’s B.S. came clothed in Jets green. He struggled on a team that struggled, and for some that was proof that he would never escape it, that his blood would forever circulate his past. Most famously, Darnold was caught on a sideline microphone telling Jets coaches, “I’m seeing ghosts” in the first half of a loss to the New England Patriots in 2019. It became the one thing people who knew nothing about Sam Darnold suddenly knew; he was the guy who saw ghosts. The fact that he was quarterbacking the Jets — a team that specializes in conjuring all manner of unclean spirits — became secondary. For a certain segment of the sporting public, he would remain ossified in that moment, on that bench, his red hair poofing a bit and his expression one of pure, innocent confusion.
One of the few people who remained faithful throughout three rough seasons with the Jets and two roughish campaigns with the Panthers was Darnold himself, maybe the only person who mattered. He took what amounted to a redshirt year with the 49ers, every quarterback’s favorite rehab clinic, and has won 14 games, thrown for 4,000 yards and made the Pro Bowl in each of the past two seasons, with the Vikings and now the Seahawks. Once the wick gets lit, provided it remains dry, who knows?
“When I got drafted in New York,” Darnold says,” I thought of myself as a guy who could potentially change the franchise, and win games, win playoff games. When that didn’t happen, a little doubt can creep in. But I think it was great to lean on my family, my close friends from back home and the teammates I’ve grown with over the years. As a quarterback, it can seem lonely at times, but it’s a team sport.”
Lock calls the hyperfocus on the quarterback position “a fetish — that’s a good word for it.” And Darnold says, “It can eat you up if you let it.” He says this with a shrug, standing amid that smoky celebration in Santa Clara.
“The system and the people you’re surrounded by plays such a huge role,” Kupp says. “And I think Sam is better now than he was, but what happens if Sam starts here, or with the Niners, or in Minnesota? If he starts in a place where the system fits him and teaches him the things he needs to learn, what happens to his career then? How do we talk about Sam now? It’s a difficult thing, because guys get eaten up and told, ‘Well, you can’t do it.’ He’s proven he can.”
Hurdles remain. Darnold the Viking played the first playoff game of his eight-year career last year and was sacked nine times while compiling a QBR of 12 in a blowout loss to the lower-seeded Rams in the wild-card round. Ghosts can be exorcised to make room for new ones.
“I want to do it for Sam, to prove to all the doubters,” Smith-Njigba says. “My job is to make his life easier. He’s taught me how to be a professional. How to overcome. How to stay even. How to lead these guys. How not to give up. Don’t care what people say, just keep going. I know in my heart he’s a winner.”
SOMETIMES THE ABILITY to summon a proper grievance, to unearth motivation from the darkest depths, is its own talent. A cursory run through Smith-Njigba’s résumé doesn’t indicate much in the way of outside disrespect: a storied high school career at 6A Rockwall High School outside of Dallas; a three-year stay at Ohio State that ended with an almost comical 347-yard receiving game in the Rose Bowl; chosen in the first round (20th) by the Seahawks in the 2023 draft; a 1,000-yard receiver in two of his first three seasons, including nearly 1,800 yards this season.
But Webb, the Rockwall coach who predicted JSN would be an NFL player the first week of summer workouts before his freshman year, says there were always mini dramas within the broader narrative. “In his case, it’s well-founded,” Webb says. “There have been legitimate questions about how good he’s been since high school.”
Texas and Texas A&M weren’t interested in Smith-Njigba — something about his unimposing size or lack of speed — until receiver-rich Ohio State made an offer and caused everyone else to see him in a different light. JSN believed he should have been drafted higher than 20th after his showing in that Rose Bowl game, when he got his first chance to be the No. 1 receiver after fellow first-rounders Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave opted out.
“Coming out of the draft, I’ll put my hand up: I didn’t think he was going to be as good as he is,” Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said before the teams met in the regular-season finale. “I mean, he’s freaking unbelievable. Super talented kid, great body control, great strength at the catch point, can go up and get it.”
Saleh’s words would seem to indicate that JSN’s personal mission — “make them respect me,” he says — has been at least partly achieved. “There are always questions,” Smith-Njigba says. “I’ve had high hopes for myself, and I’ve seen it all come crashing down. Trials and tribulations: That’s partly why Sam and I click.”
EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT home-field advantage looks like for the Seahawks: 68,000 crazed fans wearing No. 12 jerseys, perhaps the only fan base that can’t be convinced it’s not on the roster. Lumen Field under steel-wool skies, throbbing like a 30-acre toothache, a wall of noise from beginning to end.
Even though the Seahawks have been statistically better on the road in each of Macdonald’s seasons in charge, and even though just two of the six home teams won over wild-card weekend, the Seahawks are perceived to hold a massive home-field advantage.
It’s mainly a style thing. The Seahawks are the masters of grinding a game, mortar and pestle, into a fine paste. The defense plays with a keen level of acceleration and violence, even by the standards of its fast and violent peers. The Seahawks can make a 13-3 win feel like a blowout, as they did in Week 18 against the Niners, and they’ll get a chance to do it again Saturday, against a rapidly thinning Niners’ roster in front of all the beholders who see nothing but beauty.
They’ll go about their business believing all that matters is this play, and then the next play, and then the play after that. Every team pretends to believe in this stuff, but these guys seem convinced of its divine provenance. And so Macdonald will continue to proclaim Wednesday as “Football Thursday” because the game is on Saturday and not Sunday, and he will say it in a way that makes it sound important. He will apologize every few sentences, as if obeying an internal alarm, for the quality of his answers. He’ll emphasize that nothing matters but preparation and attention to detail, and everyone in the locker room will wear an M.O.B. tee unironically.
But no matter how hard the Seahawks try, they remain vexed by an insoluble problem: Anywhere from seven to 10 to 12 times a game — seriously, the more the better — they have no choice but to ditch their boring ways. The mission demands it.
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A Santa Fe man will spend the next decade behind bars for a deadly hit-and-run more than a year ago. In 2024, 43-year-old Monique Maes was walking with her kids on Paseo de Nopal in Santa Fe when Mario Israel Mendez hit them and fled. Mae’s two children were injured. Police […]
The prospect of a nine-figure paycheck was supposed to spur CEOs to deliver outstanding results, but few of these Elon Musk-like experiments are working out that way.
The phrase “opposites attract” has commonly been used in reference to the dating world, but it also applies to NFL head-coaching searches. Over the years, NFL teams have shown a track record of targeting head-coaching candidates with backgrounds opposite those of the coaches they fired. In the spirit of that idea, CBSSports.com explores what that candidate would look like in each coaching search.
The trend in recent years has been hiring young offensive minds who may have shared a cup of coffee with Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan, so teams may overcorrect this offseason.
The New York Giants are finalizing a deal with former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, which is a unique case. Aside from a year as defensive backs coach with the Eagles, Harbaugh’s entire NFL coaching résumé came on special teams, a phase of the game often underrepresented in head-coaching searches. The Giants fired Brian Daboll, a former offensive coach and first-year head coach, to hire a veteran head coach with some defensive experience, so the “opposites attract” theory is already being affirmed in this coaching cycle.
Here is what that would look like for each of the other eight coaching vacancies:
Previous position (Smith):Steelers offensive coordinator
When Arizona last conducted a head-coaching search, it hired a first-year coach with a defensive background. Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Smith are two candidates who fit the criteria of the experiment, and both have interviewed.
Smith previously served as the Falcons‘ head coach and garners significant respect across the league. Nagy’s tenure in Chicago ended unceremoniously, but he is getting a second chance to interview with teams.
Raheem Morris ➡︎Klint Kubiak
Current position (Kubiak):Seahawks offensive coordinator
The Falcons fired Raheem Morris, who not only had previous head-coaching experience but also served as the organization’s interim coach in 2020. He had also been Tampa Bay’s head coach from 2009-11. Morris spent 24 consecutive seasons in the NFL, with the exception of one year as Kansas State’s defensive coordinator.
A first-year offensive head coach would be the opposite of the coach Atlanta fired. Kubiak is the only candidate linked to the Falcons who fits that description. The son of Gary Kubiak has been an offensive coordinator with the Vikings, Saints and now the Seahawks. He has orchestrated an offense that enabled Jaxon Smith-Njigba to lead the league in receiving, with veteran Sam Darnold serving as the facilitator.
Baltimore has not made a head-coaching hire in two decades, making this projection more difficult. John Harbaugh was new and exciting when he was hired in 2008, but the franchise may be seeking a fresh start after a situation that had grown stale.
In the spirit of the exercise, the parameters indicate Baltimore would be looking for a retread offensive mind. The Ravens have interviewed four candidates who fit that criteria: former Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Stefanski. Stefanski served six years as Browns’ head coach and has strong familiarity with the division.
Kevin Stefanski ➡︎ Jim Schwartz
Previous position (Schwartz): Browns defensive coordinator
There have been rumors about ownership’s desire to keep Schwartz in some capacity, whether by promoting him to head coach or by hiring a young offensive coach open to defensive input while building his first staff.
Current position (LaFleur):Rams offensive coordinator
The Pete Carroll era lasted one season in Las Vegas. Carroll, a former defensive coordinator for the Jets and 49ers, logged 28 years of head-coaching experience with the Jets, Seahawks, Raiders and USC.
Las Vegas has been linked to 10 candidates, including Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase and LaFleur. LaFleur is the younger brother of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. He is in his third year as offensive coordinator under Sean McVay and previously held the same role with the Jets.
Mike McDaniel ➡︎Robert Saleh
Current position (Saleh): 49ers defensive coordinator
Miami gambled on an offensive-minded coach associated with Shanahan and decided to move on after four seasons.
The only candidate who has interviewed and meets the criteria — a veteran head coach with a defensive background — is Saleh. Ironically, Saleh and Mike McDaniel previously served together on Shanahan’s staff. The former Jets head coach has drawn praise for his work with a revamped 49ers defense.
Mike Tomlin ➡︎Brian Flores
Current position (Flores): Vikings defensive coordinator
Pittsburgh and head coach Mike Tomlin parted ways after 19 seasons. The Steelers should be looking for an experienced head coach with an offensive background. However, the only candidate with prior NFL head-coaching experience is Flores, who served as the Dolphins’ head coach from 2019-21 and more recently worked as the Steelers’ senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2022.
The Steelers have had three head coaches in nearly six decades. Each had a defensive background, so it stands to reason the franchise may again seek a defensive coach who will bring a physical style consistent with its established culture.
NFL head coach matchmaker: Kliff Kingsbury to Ravens, Brian Flores to Steelers and other top pairings
Tyler Sullivan
Brian Callahan ➡︎Vance Joseph
Current position (Joseph): Broncos defensive coordinator
Buzz out of Nashville suggests the Titans are looking for an offensive-minded head coach to work with last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Cam Ward. Tennessee recently fired first-year offensive-minded head coach Brian Callahan, so a veteran head coach on the other side of the ball would fit the criteria.
The organization has interviewed five coaches who meet that description: Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon. Joseph served as Denver’s head coach from 2017-18.
OpenAI says it will soon start showing advertisements to ChatGPT users who aren’t paying for a premium version of the chatbot.The artificial intelligence company said Friday it hasn’t yet rolled out ads but will start testing them in the coming weeks.Related video above: Safety concerns rise as teens chat up chatbotsIt’s the latest effort by the San Francisco-based company to make money from ChatGPT’s more than 800 million users, most of whom get it for free.Though valued at $500 billion, the startup loses more money than it makes and has been looking for ways to turn a profit.“Most importantly: ads will not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you,” said Fidji Simo, the company’s CEO of applications, in a social media post Friday.OpenAI said the digital ads will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT’s answers “when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation.”The ads “will be clearly labeled and separated from the organic answer,” the company said.Two of OpenAI’s rivals, Google and Meta, have dominated digital advertising for years and already incorporate ads into some of their AI features.Originally founded as a nonprofit with a mission to safely build better-than-human AI, OpenAI last year reorganized its ownership structure and converted its business into a public benefit corporation. It said Friday that its pursuit of advertising will be “always in support” of its original mission to ensure its AI technology benefits humanity.But introducing personalized ads starts OpenAI “down a risky path” previously taken by social media companies, said Miranda Bogen of the Center for Democracy and Technology.“People are using chatbots for all sorts of reasons, including as companions and advisors,” said Bogen, director of CDT’s AI Governance Lab. “There’s a lot at stake when that tool tries to exploit users’ trust to hawk advertisers’ goods.”OpenAI makes some money from paid subscriptions but needs more revenue to pay for its more than $1 trillion in financial obligations for the computer chips and data centers that power its AI services. The risk that OpenAI won’t make enough money to fulfill the expectations of backers like Oracle and Nvidia has amplified investor concerns about an AI bubble.“It is clear to us that a lot of people want to use a lot of AI and don’t want to pay, so we are hopeful a business model like this can work,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a post Friday on social platform X. He added that he likes the ads on Meta’s Instagram because they show him things he wouldn’t have found otherwise.OpenAI claims it won’t use a user’s personal information or prompts to collect data for ads, but the question is “for how long,” said Paddy Harrington, an analyst at research group Forrester.“Free services are never actually free and these public AI platforms need to generate revenue,” Harrington said. “Which leads to the adage: If the service is free, you’re the product.”
SAN FRANCISCO —
OpenAI says it will soon start showing advertisements to ChatGPT users who aren’t paying for a premium version of the chatbot.
The artificial intelligence company said Friday it hasn’t yet rolled out ads but will start testing them in the coming weeks.
Related video above: Safety concerns rise as teens chat up chatbots
It’s the latest effort by the San Francisco-based company to make money from ChatGPT’s more than 800 million users, most of whom get it for free.
Though valued at $500 billion, the startup loses more money than it makes and has been looking for ways to turn a profit.
“Most importantly: ads will not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you,” said Fidji Simo, the company’s CEO of applications, in a social media post Friday.
OpenAI said the digital ads will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT’s answers “when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation.”
The ads “will be clearly labeled and separated from the organic answer,” the company said.
Two of OpenAI’s rivals, Google and Meta, have dominated digital advertising for years and already incorporate ads into some of their AI features.
Originally founded as a nonprofit with a mission to safely build better-than-human AI, OpenAI last year reorganized its ownership structure and converted its business into a public benefit corporation. It said Friday that its pursuit of advertising will be “always in support” of its original mission to ensure its AI technology benefits humanity.
But introducing personalized ads starts OpenAI “down a risky path” previously taken by social media companies, said Miranda Bogen of the Center for Democracy and Technology.
“People are using chatbots for all sorts of reasons, including as companions and advisors,” said Bogen, director of CDT’s AI Governance Lab. “There’s a lot at stake when that tool tries to exploit users’ trust to hawk advertisers’ goods.”
OpenAI makes some money from paid subscriptions but needs more revenue to pay for its more than $1 trillion in financial obligations for the computer chips and data centers that power its AI services. The risk that OpenAI won’t make enough money to fulfill the expectations of backers like Oracle and Nvidia has amplified investor concerns about an AI bubble.
“It is clear to us that a lot of people want to use a lot of AI and don’t want to pay, so we are hopeful a business model like this can work,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a post Friday on social platform X. He added that he likes the ads on Meta’s Instagram because they show him things he wouldn’t have found otherwise.
OpenAI claims it won’t use a user’s personal information or prompts to collect data for ads, but the question is “for how long,” said Paddy Harrington, an analyst at research group Forrester.
“Free services are never actually free and these public AI platforms need to generate revenue,” Harrington said. “Which leads to the adage: If the service is free, you’re the product.”
Syrian government forces entered two northern towns Saturday morning after the command of Kurdish-led fighters said it would evacuate the area in an apparent move to avoid conflict.
Two soldiers were killed and others wounded in the latest clash, state media reported. The town of Deir Hafer changed hands after deadly fighting erupted earlier this month between government troops and the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest. It ended with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from three neighborhoods taken over by government forces.
An Associated Press reporter on Saturday saw government tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles, including pickup trucks with heavy machine guns mounted on top, entering Deir Hafer after bulldozers removed barriers. There was no SDF presence on the edge of the town.
The Syrian military said its forces were in full control of Deir Hafer, captured the Jarrah air base to the east, and were in the process of clearing mines and explosives. It added that troops would move toward the nearby town of Maskana, where an AP reporter saw a military convoy rolling in hours later.
A convoy of Syrian government forces drive on a road leading to the town of Deir Hafer, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
Ghaith Alsayed / AP
The SDF said in a statement that according to an agreement, Syrian forces were supposed to enter Deir Hafer and Maskana after the Kurdish-led force ended their withdrawal. “Damascus violated the terms of the agreement and entered the towns before our fighters had fully withdrawn, creating a highly dangerous situation with potentially serious repercussions,” the SDF said.
State news agency SANA reported that SDF fighters “violated the agreement” by targeting an army patrol near Maskana, leaving two soldiers dead and others wounded. SANA added that government forces kept moving east, reaching two villages in the northern province of Raqqa.
Over the past two days, more than 11,000 people fled Deir Hafer and Maskana using side roads to reach government-controlled areas, after the government announced an offensive to take the towns.
On Friday night, after government forces started pounding SDF positions in Deir Hafer, the Kurdish-led fighters’ top commander Mazloum Abdi posted on X that his group would withdraw from contested areas in northern Syria. Abdi said SDF fighters would relocate east of the Euphrates River starting 7 a.m. local time Saturday.
The easing of tension came after U.S. military officials visited Deir Hafer on Friday and held talks with SDF officials in the area. The United States has good relations with both sides and has urged calm.
A convoy of Syrian government forces drives on a road leading to the town of Deir Hafer, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
Ghaith Alsayed / AP
Abdi was scheduled to hold talks with U.S. special special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Saturday.
The SDF’s decision to withdraw from Deir Hafer was made after Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree Friday boosting the rights of the country’s Kurds, who made up about 10% of Syria’s population of 23 million before the conflict began in 2011. Over the past decades, Syria’s Kurds had been marginalized and deprived of their cultural rights under the rule of the Baath Party that ran Syria for six decades until Bashar Assad’s fall in December 2024.
Al-Sharaa’s decree recognized Kurdish as a national language, along with Arabic, and adopted the Newroz festival, a traditional celebration of spring and renewal marked by Kurds around the region, as an official holiday.
The Kurdish-led authority in northeast Syria said Saturday that the rights of Kurds should not be protected by “temporary decrees” but by mentioning them in the country’s constitution. It added that a decree “does not form a real guarantee for rights of Syria’s ethnic groups.”
