ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)— Albuquerque’s animal welfare director was surprised on Tuesday with a national award. Carolyn Ortega received the “Service Member Patriot Award” from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a organization of retired military members within the U.S. Department of Defense. The award celebrates patriotic employers across the country. Ortega was nominated by […]
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María Corina Machado, the leader of Venezuela’s opposition party, said interim president Delcy Rodríguez was “one of the main architects” of Nicolás Maduro’s oppressive regime in Venezuela.
“Everybody in Venezuela and abroad knows perfectly who she is and the role she has played,” in the country’s oppressive regime, Machado said in an interview with Tony Dokoupil airing Tuesday night on “CBS Evening News.”
Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president, was sworn in as the interim president on Monday after Maduro was captured and taken to the United States. The Venezuelan military has expressed their support for Rodríguez, 56.
Machado, who has been in hiding since Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election, emerging only to claim the Nobel Peace Prize in December, criticized those who believe Rodríguez should lead the country. She described Rodríguez as one of the architects of Maduro’s brutal regime, and the leader of torture sites in Venezuela. Former hostage negotiator Roger Carstens told “60 Minutes” that the Maduro regime had held and tortured Americans who had been arrested in Venezuela for minor offenses.
Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty 
Rodríguez was sanctioned during Mr. Trump’s first term for her role in helping the Maduro regime “maintain power and solidify his authoritarian rule.” She has not been indicted on any criminal charges in the U.S. for her role in Maduro’s government.
Machado said that she believes the U.S. has “instructed (Rodríguez) to take certain actions regarding further dismantling of the criminal structure as a path towards a complete transition to democracy in Venezuela.” But Machado said “nobody trusts her,” which may complicate her new role as the country’s president.
Machado alleged that Rodríguez had been “the main link” in communications with Russia and Iran as well as “other countries that have … criminal activities” in Venezuela. Despite the tumultuous circumstances, Machado said she still has faith in the Venezuelan people.
Watch more of María Corina Machado’s interview with Tony Dokoupil on tonight’s “CBS Evening News” at 6:30 p.m. ET.
You don’t need an accounting degree to watch Season 2 of Landman but yeesh — it’d sure help.
The first eight episodes have been light on violence and heavy on math. To truly understand the main plot line you need to watch and rewatch and then maybe have a conversation with a friend to make sure you get it.
Ep. 8 (Jan. 4) was no different.
We finally figure out why Gallino (played by Andy Garcia) is eager to loan money to Cami Miller (Demi Moore). He’s not driven by altruism, but he’s not looking to maximize pain and suffering either. A full explanation boils it down to this one question:
Who is the villain of Season 2 of Landman?
During Season 2, Ep. 1 of Landman, Cami Miller is served a lawsuit from an insurance company wondering why the $400 million settlement they paid wasn’t put toward rebuilding a gas well in the Gulf of America. Some tactful and aggressive negotiation ensues and she is left trying to figure out how to pay her late husband’s debt.
Read More: One Landman Season 2 Death That Everyone Sees Coming
Enter Dan Morrell, who Landman fans know as Gallino, the drug cartel leader who saved Tommy Norris’ (Billy Bob Thornton) life at the end of Season 1. He’ll loan the $400 million to Cami but Tommy is — understandably — hesitant.
For a few moments it seems like they’ll just face off with the insurance company in court but last week Cami decides she wants the big payday despite being told there is only a 10 percent chance of hitting a gas well.
If her crew can’t find gas, she’s got nothing to show for Gallino’s $400 million.
Emerson Miller/Paramount+
So why would Gallino make the loan? He understands the risks but also understands that he wins either way. Technically, he invested in M-Tex, which means if the well hits, he gets even richer.
If it doesn’t?
This part is critical. Cami secured the loan with royalties on all or some portion of M-Tex’s existing wells. Royalties in the oil business is money paid to a landowner in exchange for an ability drilling on their land. It’s typically a few bucks per gallon, in perpetuity.
Imagine you own 50 acres and discover oil. An oil company may say “Cool, let us drill and we’ll cover all costs and give you a few bucks a gallon.” If 10,000 to 20,000 gallons is produced each month, that’s an easy $500,000 yearly.
Now let’s say you spy bigger money across the way and decide to drill yourself, but you need financing. So you use those royalties as collateral to get the money. If your new well hits you win. If it misses you’re broke but the lender (i.e. Gallino) gets rich either way because he’ll get that $50K monthly in perpetuity instead.
In fact it’s better for Gallino if Cami fails. M-Tex will go belly up but he’ll be a billionaire in a decade.
landman season 2
There’s nothing illegal or even shady about what Gallino is doing and Tommy knows it. As a viewer, I can’t even hate him for shorting Cami’s position — he’s not really the antagonist we all thought he’d turn out to be.
Related: Landman Star Guy Burnet Talks About Charlie’s Relationship With Rebecca
The bad news is that, knowing this, it’s hard to imagine a season finale as dramatic as last year’s. The most likely outcome is a death elsewhere (Landman fans have strong feelings about that) and Garcia’s character continuing to be a thorn in Season 3.
I’m OK with that as Garcia is very good opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Moore. Great acting and chemistry trumps traditional story arcs in this case, albeit barely.
Ali Larter says she wanted the role of Angela Norris on Landman because the character is so colorful. She expresses all her emotions with volume but has a big heart beneath it all.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
Jacob Lofland plays Cooper Norris on Landman, now streaming on Paramount+.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
The company behind the Grok large language model said that investors in the funding round included the Qatar Investment Authority, Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, MGX and Baron Capital Group, and Fidelity Management & Research Company.
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Greg Wyshynski
The NHL Awards races this season have been anything but predictable, given some of the chaotic variables.
Florida Panthers star Aleksander Barkov won the past two Selke Trophies as the NHL’s best defensive forward. He has yet to play a game this season after a preseason injury required knee surgery. Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck has won the past two Vezina Trophies as the NHL’s top netminder, as well as the Hart Trophy as league MVP last season. He sat out around a month this season because of surgery, and hasn’t hit his usual stats standards.
Perhaps the biggest X factor of all? The 19-year-old star in San Jose who has announced his arrival among the NHL’s superstars and in the MVP race.
Welcome to the NHL Awards Watch for January. We’ve polled a wide selection of Professional Hockey Writers Association voters anonymously to get a sense of where the wind is blowing for the current leaders. We’ve made sure it’s a cross section from the entire league, trying to gain as many perspectives as possible.
Keep in mind that the PHWA votes for the Hart, Norris, Calder, Selke and Lady Byng finalists, broadcasters vote for the Jack Adams and general managers vote for the Vezina.
All stats are from Hockey-Reference.com, Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.
Jump ahead:
Ross | Richard | Hart
Norris | Selke | Vezina
Calder | Byng | Adams
Click here for the updated point-scoring standings.
Click here for the updated goal-scoring standings.
Leader: Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
Finalists: Macklin Celebrini, C, San Jose Sharks; Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers
MacKinnon leads the MVP race for the second straight month, because what hasn’t he led this season? Entering Monday, MacKinnon had a significant lead in the NHL goals race and was slightly ahead of McDavid in the points race. Most importantly, he has been the driving force behind the Avalanche’s record pace this season, with an .841 points percentage and only three regulation losses in 41 games.
MacKinnon won the Hart in 2023-24 and was fourth for the award last season. His vote share fell from 82% last month to just over 50% of the first-place votes this month. “Just a ridonkulous season,” one MacKinnon voter declared.
“MacKinnon is just too critical to the Avs’ success and he’s been the league’s best offensive player all season. Until that changes, he’s got this on lock,” another voter noted.
“No matter how historically absurd Connor McDavid’s offensive output in December was, it will take something really severe for MacKinnon not to be at the top of my ballot at this point, assuming the Avalanche continue rolling,” another MacKinnon backer revealed.
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Nathan MacKinnon tallies goal vs. Hurricanes
Nathan MacKinnon nets goal for Avalanche
Calling McDavid’s December “historically absurd” might be underselling it. McDavid had 34 points in 15 games. That was the most points by an NHL player in a single calendar month since Mario Lemieux in December 1995 (34 points in 14 games). McDavid moved the Oilers from sixth to first place in the Pacific Division.
The Oilers star is seeking his fourth MVP trophy, having last won in 2022-23. He didn’t receive a first-place vote last month and wasn’t prominently featured down our voters’ ballots. But now that he’s threatening MacKinnon’s points lead, he’s second for the Hart, with 30% of the first-place votes.
Many of our McDavid voters framed their support as being just slightly ahead of MacKinnon — although some MacKinnon voters also acknowledged that McDavid was “right there” for MVP.
“McDavid proving again that the Oilers go as he goes,” one voter argued.
“I was firmly championing MacKinnon until this point, I’m now sashaying over to backing the Oilers captain as the league’s most valuable to his team,” another voter explained. “No chance Edmonton is anywhere near first place in the Pacific without him. At this rate, Colorado’s elite power forward won’t be leading the scoring race much longer.”
The only other player to receive first-place votes was Celebrini. A young phenom winning the Hart has historic precedence: Wayne Gretzky won the Hart at 19 years old in 1979-80. McDavid won the Hart at 19 years old in 2016-17. That’s some rather exclusive company Celebrini’s keeping in vying for MVP honors in his second NHL season. But he has been that good.
The Sharks center was third in the league in points entering Monday night. He has been an impact player on offense and defense.
Everyone defines “value” differently when it comes to the Hart Trophy. One methodology: Looking at a player’s offensive totals within context of those of his teammates. That’s essentially what won Taylor Hall the Hart in 2017-18, finishing 41 points ahead of the New Jersey Devils‘ second-leading scorer.
Entering Monday night, Celebrini had 63 points in 41 games. The next highest scorer on the Sharks was Will Smith, with 29 points. Celebrini has dragged this Sharks team to the playoff bubble. If San Jose makes it, he could win the Hart.
“Macklin Celebrini has absolutely and very credibly entered the conversation with what he accomplished last month,” one voter concluded.
“Celebrini has a real shot to overtake MacKinnon if Sharks make the playoffs,” a MacKinnon voter predicted.
“It’s still MacKinnon, but I’m looking forward to the possibility of putting Macklin Celebrini on my ballot,” another quipped.
Other names listed by voters down the ballot included Brad Marchand of the Florida Panthers, Cale Makar of the Avalanche, Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild and Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens.
Leader: Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Finalists: Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars; Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings
Makar was a unanimous choice for the Norris last month, and nearly repeated the feat this month, securing all but two first-place votes.
Through 41 games, he had 47 points and skated to a plus-32 with the juggernaut Avalanche, averaging 25 minutes, 3 seconds. That includes 16 power-play points. He won the Norris last season for the second time, and he has been a finalist for the award for five consecutive seasons.
“Easiest pick of the bunch,” one voter indicated.
“Makar is a freakshow this season at both ends of the ice,” another voter pointed out.
“Makar remains on his own planet with how he impacts the game,” another voter declared.
“Makar has a similarly significant lead over the field compared to what MacKinnon has for Hart,” another voter expressed.
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Cale Makar nets goal for Avalanche
Cale Makar scores goal vs. Blues
The only other defensemen who received first-place votes were Heiskanen and Seider.
The Stars’ franchise blueliner has 36 points in 42 games, skating 26:01 per game. His highest finish in the Norris voting was seventh in 2022-23.
Seider, meanwhile, is having perhaps his finest season with the Red Wings, with 31 points in 43 games, skating 25:12 on average. “Seider has taken a big step and it’s making a difference in Detroit,” one voter mentioned.
Two names to watch who were cited with frequency down the ballot for our voters: Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild and Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blues Jackets. Hughes has 35 points in 37 games, including 12 points in his first 11 games in Minnesota.
“It’s Makar and then a giant gap to Werenski and Hughes, whose impact has unsurprisingly improved since moving to Minnesota,” one voter explained.
“Zach Werenski is having a great season with Columbus that isn’t getting enough attention,” another argued.
Jakob Chychrun of the Washington Capitals earned a mention, as did Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens. Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets, a finalist last month, wasn’t mentioned, which is probably a symptom of the Jets’ diminished place in the standings.
Leader: Matthew Schaefer, D, New York Islanders
Finalists: Ivan Demidov, RW, Montreal Canadiens; Jesper Wallstedt, G, Minnesota Wild
Shoutout to the voter who listed their Calder Trophy leader as “C’mon …”
That’s how much Schaefer has made NHL rookie of the year a foregone conclusion just over halfway through the season. The 18-year-old blueliner leads all rookie defensemen in points (28) and goals (12), placing in the top three in those categories for all rookies. He leads all rookies in average ice time (23:50), as the Islanders continue to give him more responsibility and Schaefer continues to meet the moment.
Few rookies, if any, can claim to have had the transformative effect on their teams as Schaefer has had with the Islanders, who are second in the Metro Division. That goes for his play and his undeniable charisma.
“We throw the term ‘generational talent’ around too often. It’s not hubris in Schaefer’s case. To do what he’s doing at that age is quite something,” one voter beamed.
“Nearly named to an elite Olympic blue line featuring some of the best in the NHL biz, Schaefer might still end up representing Canada if someone else falls injured before early February. As an 18-year-old defender. Which is ridiculous,” another declared.
Schaefer received just over 85% of the first-place votes.
0:24
Matthew Schaefer lights the lamp to give Islanders OT win
Matthew Schaefer scores to gives the Islanders an epic 4-3 overtime win vs. the Maple Leafs.
The only other players to receive first-place votes were Demidov and Wallstedt. The Canadiens winger led all rookie scorers with 36 points in 42 games, including 10 goals. He’s making the most of his 15:14 on average per game.
“Demidov is gaining ground,” one voter pointed out.
The problem with Demidov is that he’s not Schaefer.
“I know Habs people are going to scream about Demidov, but let’s get real here,” one voter concluded.
“Demidov has improved and is in the nomination conversation, but he’s not playing tough matchups, and his overall value is not close to that of Schaefer who plays much tougher minutes,” another voter explained. “The notion that he is the best rookie is buoyed by the market he plays in.”
Also in the mix at forward is Beckett Sennecke, who led all rookies with 13 goals through 41 games. “It’s been fun watching Ivan Demidov and Beckett Sennecke enter the conversation,” one voter revealed.
Wallstedt, meanwhile, is part of a robust group of rookie netminders this season that includes Montreal’s Jakub Dobes and San Jose’s Yaroslav Askarov, the latter of whom was in the top three for the Calder last month but wasn’t mentioned by any voters this month.
“The Wall of St. Paul” is 11-2-4, with a .928 save percentage and a 2.30 goals-against average.
But at the moment, it’s Schaefer’s Calder to lose.
Note: The NHL’s general managers vote for this award.
Leader: Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals
Finalists: Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild; Scott Wedgewood, Colorado Avalanche
As mentioned earlier, not having some of the NHL Awards’ perennial contenders performing at their peaks has thrown a couple of these races into chaos. Hellebuyck sitting out time because of surgery — and not putting up standard Hellebuyck numbers this season — has left the back-to-back Vezina winner outside of the field for the award this season. Hellebuyck didn’t make a single ballot.
Earning the most first-place votes was Thompson, who finished fourth in the voting last season. He doesn’t have last season’s bonkers record (31-6-6) but his overall numbers have been stronger this season than in his breakout 2024-25 campaign. Thompson had a .915 save percentage and a 2.37 goals-against average with two shutouts through 30 games. Money Puck (15.9 goals saved above expected) likes him better than Stathletes (2.72), but Thompson’s analytics case is strong, too.
“Hard to give it to one of the Colorado goalies given the injuries and that the Avs have two of the best players in the world at their positions on an absolute tear. Thompson is holding the Capitals together,” one voter explained.
But one of the Avalanche goalies is right there with Thompson, and it’s probably not the one may would have predicted before the season: Wedgewood, 33, playing on his fifth team since 2021.
“I can’t believe this is my vote,” one voter quipped.
He backstopped Colorado during its historic start while Mackenzie Blackwood was on the mend, and had an 18-2-4 record through 26 games, with a .918 save percentage and a 2.17 goals-against average. Wedgewood was one first-place vote behind Thompson for the Vezina lead, with both significantly clear of the field. Wedgewood also had some passionate backers.
“Easy to look at the team in front of him and say he’s a product of his environment, but his save percentage so far says otherwise,” one voter pointed out.
“It’s time to start giving Scott Wedgewood his flowers. His impressive season has gotten even better of late, and that’s nothing to sneeze at, even for the powerhouse Avalanche,” another voter argued.
0:33
Scott Wedgewood makes big-time save vs. Mammoth
Scott Wedgewood makes big-time save vs. Mammoth
But Wedgewood might have a Mackenzie Blackwood problem. Through 16 games, Blackwood has a 13-1-1 record with a .924 save percentage.
“Blackwood might have 2023 Linus Ullmark numbers when all is said and done,” predicted one voter who had Blackwood atop their ballot.
“Wedgewood is still deserving, but he’s not making as many starts with Blackwood back,” a Thompson voter noted.
The next highest total of first-place votes went to Wallstedt, the Wild’s brilliant rookie. The problem right now for him is sample size — entering Monday’s action, there were 36 goalies that had more games played than Wallstedt.
“Not enough starts for the ‘Wall of St. Paul,’ but he’s been outstanding,” one Thompson voter admitted.
“I’m sure he’ll cool off eventually, but maybe he goes ‘full Barrasso,'” added another voter, referencing Hall of Famer Tom Barrasso’s Vezina win as a Buffalo Sabres rookie in 1983-84.
Other goalies to receive first-place votes from our panel were Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders, Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“I think Igor Shesterkin has been the best starter in hockey, and continues to cover up the extent of the Rangers’ struggles significantly,” one voter declared, though Shesterkin left Monday’s game with a leg injury.
Vasilevskiy made the top three here last month.
“Vasy is back to being Vasy, in case anybody thought otherwise,” another voter stated.
Not making any of our ballots: Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins, who was top three in the balloting last month.
Leader: Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
Finalists: Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning; Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
Barkov was seeking his third straight win as the NHL’s best defensive center and fourth Selke overall, but a preseason injury ended that campaign before it started. That opened the door for someone else to grab the throne, and right now that’s Suzuki.
The Canadiens center earned 30% of the first-place votes, the clear leader halfway through the season. He was anointed early as the Selke favorite, and topped this category in last month’s Awards Watch.
Montreal averages 2.05 goals against per 60 minutes with Suzuki on the ice, with a 57% goals-for percentage. He has been great at puck recovery, blocks shots and is one of the better players in the league at intercepting opponents’ passes.
“Nick Suzuki. That’s the list,” one voter declared.
“Big fan of his two-way game this season. Shows growth and likely earned him that Olympic nod,” another voter surmised.
If there are knocks on Suzuki, it’s his faceoff percentage (48.8%) and the fact that he’s not one of his team’s primary penalty killers — but it’s not as if he sets the lineup.
0:38
Nick Suzuki wins it in OT for Habs
Nick Suzuki tallies an overtime goal on a power play to deliver the Canadiens a win vs. the Panthers.
The next highest total of first-place votes belongs to another Canadian Olympian: Cirelli, the Lightning’s versatile forward. He leads Tampa Bay forwards in average shorthanded ice time (2:56 in 37 games). Like Suzuki, he’s not killing it in the dot (48.4%) but the Lightning average 1.97 goals against per 60 minutes with him on the ice. Cirelli earned 20% of the first-place Selke votes.
The next highest earner of first-place votes was Kopitar. He doesn’t see a ton of shorthanded time (53 seconds per game on average), but he’s dominating the faceoff circle (57.2%) and the Kings are giving up just 1.24 goals per 60 minutes with Kopitar on the ice in his 36 games.
The 38-year-old star center said this season will be his last. He has won the Selke twice previously (2016, 2018) but hasn’t been a finalist since the 2017-18 season. If he has a case, one wonders how many voters might be swayed by a “gold watch” Selke win for the Kings legend.
Eight other players received first-place votes: Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers), who was a finalist last month, along with Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota Wild), Roope Hintz (Dallas Stars), Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Brock Nelson (Avalanche), Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights) and Tom Wilson (Washington Capitals).
“I still think Dylan Larkin is being slept on here, and he remains at the top of my ballot,” one voter revealed.
On Nelson, one voter wrote: “On pace for 30-plus goals and playing an insane defensive role to allow MacKinnon to score at a 70-plus goal pace. Nelson is what the Avs have needed at 2C since [Nazem] Kadri [left].”
Other players such as Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers), Alex Tuch (Buffalo Sabres), Nico Hischier (New Jersey Devils) Mitch Marner (Vegas Golden Knights) and Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) received support down the ballots in what is a very unsettled Selke race under the leader, Suzuki.
“Boy, Aleksander Barkov’s unavailability makes this a lot more interesting,” one voter concluded.
This is the part where I mention that the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play should be voted on by the league’s on-ice officials or by the NHL Players’ Association instead of the PHWA. Traditionally, this award goes to a player with a top-20 point total and the lowest penalty minutes among those players.
How about Zach Werenski? The Blue Jackets defenseman has 44 points in 37 games and only six penalty minutes, for a defenseman who averages 26:40 per game. The last time a defenseman not named Jaccob Slavin won the Byng was Brian Campbell in 2012.
Note: The NHL Broadcasters’ Association votes on this award.
Leader: Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning
Finalists: Jared Bednar, Colorado Avalanche; Joel Quenneville, Anaheim Ducks
The top three last month remain the top three this month, setting up a fascinating philosophical showdown: The long overdue Cooper vs. Bednar, the coach responsible for one of the most dominant regular-season teams in NHL history.
“It’s a toss-up between Cooper, for what he’s done with injuries, and Bednar, for the ridiculous record,” one voter explained.
“It’s about time Cooper or Bednar get the recognition they deserve,” another declared.
Cooper, the head coach of the Canadian Olympic team, has been a finalist twice for the Adams, losing to Colorado’s Patrick Roy in 2014 and Washington’s Barry Trotz in 2019. His .639 points percentage is the second best in NHL history for coaches with at least 700 games behind the bench, trailing only Scotty Bowman (.657).
He has the Lightning near the top of the Atlantic Division despite losing key defensemen Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh to long-term injuries for portions of the season.
“Hard to argue that this isn’t the best job he’s done in his 12-plus seasons behind the bench,” one voter stated.
“I’ve become more convinced over time that this should be Jon Cooper’s year. I know the results haven’t always showed it, but Tampa Bay has been the most impressive team to watch them play in the Eastern Conference,” another voter argued.
Cooper received just over 40% of the first-place votes. Bednar was right behind him with just over 35% of the first-place votes. The Avalanche have a 31-3-7 record through 41 games for a mindboggling .841 points percentage.
“The Avs are just a wagon,” one voter concluded.
“The Avalanche had two regulation losses through 40 games. While the on-ice personnel deserve plenty of credit for what’s been an outstanding run in Denver, so does the fella running the show from behind the bench,” another voter pointed out. “Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn’t believe coaching matters all that much.”
The third-highest vote total belongs to Quenneville, in his first season behind the bench in Anaheim. He won the Adams in 1999-2000 with the St. Louis Blues. He has an advantage over Cooper and Bednar in perception: He has taken a “bad” Ducks team that was 12th in the conference last season and made it a contender for the Pacific Division title.
The other head coach who received first-place votes was Todd McLellan, who has the Detroit Red Wings vying for the top of the Atlantic Division.
“Todd MacLellan has entered the chat,” one voter announced.
Other coaches mentioned down the ballots: Glen Gulutzan (Dallas Stars), Dan Muse (Pittsburgh Penguins), Rick Tocchet (Philadelphia Flyers) and Ryan Warsofsky (San Jose Sharks).
A federal jail with a documented history of power outages, staffing shortages and detainee complaints just got two more high-profile detainees.Former president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were moved into the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn on Saturday following their U.S. military capture in Caracas just days ago. The husband and wife face criminal charges in the U.S.The couple isn’t the only high-profile detainees to see the walls of the MDC. The building has housed several notable figures like hip-hop mogul, Sean “Diddy” Combs, singer R. Kelly, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, socialite and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, one-time cryptocurrency whiz kid Sam Bankman-Fried, drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, rappers Fetty Wap and Tekashi 6ix9ine – even former Honduras president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of drug trafficking charges before he was pardoned last year by President Donald Trump.Suspected cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia and Luigi Mangione, who pleaded not guilty to the shooting death of a UnitedHealth Group executive, are current inmates at the facility.In their first court appearance in New York Monday, Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges and chose, for the time being, not to fight their detention.Here’s a look at what life inside MDC Brooklyn looks like through the eyes of inmates, attorneys and judges:From Miraflores Palace to a ‘miserable’ placeConstructed in the 1990s to address overcrowding in New York City prisons, MDC Brooklyn is a pretrial detention facility for those charged in New York federal court. Detainees include a mix of suspects and defendants, including people accused of serious crimes, high-profile cases, and others awaiting sentencing or transfer.The Federal Bureau of Prisons operated two centers – one in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan – until 2021, when the doors to the Manhattan facility closed after it drew criticism for its management of multimillionaire financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s death there by suicide in 2019.Before his capture, Maduro lived mostly at Miraflores Palace, a sprawling presidential residence known for its neoclassical architecture, large windows, grand halls and manicured courtyards – a stark contrast to the living quarters inside the Metropolitan Detention Center.Described by attorneys and inmates alike as “disgusting” with “horrifying” conditions, the facility is the only federal correction center serving the nation’s largest city.For its more than 1,300 inmates, daily life at the federal jail can be grueling.It’s dark, overcrowded and loud, according to CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, who has been inside the building many times.While all prisons are miserable places to be, he said, “the MDC is maybe the most miserable” of all that he’s visited.Inmates in the facility’s Special Housing Unit, known as the SHU, where it’s likely Maduro is being housed for safety and security, are kept in solitary confinement under restrictive conditions, Daniel McGuinnes, a criminal defense and civil rights litigation attorney who represents several clients housed at MDC, told CNN.Inmates spend up to 23 hours locked down inside their cells with restrictive escort protocols in place when they do move outside of them and have limited access to legal phone calls, according to a DOJ report.The jail has also struggled with chronic understaffing, complaints about mold, fungus and poor food quality, McGuinnes said.Access to medical and dental care at the facility has always been “horrific,” according to McGuinnes, who noted he often has to remind his clients to thoroughly document their requests for such care.“At some point I’ll have to step in and request it on their behalf,” he said, “because it’s just not getting done.”CNN has reached out to the Bureau of Prisons for comment.‘Longstanding problem’ highlighted at aging facilityA prolonged power outage spun the correctional facility into crisis, leaving inmates in near-total darkness during a polar vortex for a week in early 2019. The outage prompted a Justice Department investigation into whether the Bureau of Prisons had adequate contingency plans to address the issue.A lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates alleged they were confined to their cells for days with nonfunctioning toilets and other unsanitary conditions. The Bureau of Prisons ultimately settled the lawsuit, compensating almost 1,600 inmates with a total of approximately $10 million for enduring frigid and inhumane conditions because of the power outage.Michael Horowitz, Inspector General for the US Department of Justice at the time, said it was determined “that heating issues had been a longstanding problem at the jail that existed before, during, and after the fire and power outage and were unrelated to these events.”Judges avoid sending defendants to MDC over worsening conditionsIn early 2024, the Bureau of Prisons appointed an Urgent Action Team “to take a holistic look at the challenges at MDC Brooklyn,” spokesperson Emery Nelson told CNN.“The team’s work is ongoing, but it has already increased permanent staffing at the institution (including COs and medical staff), addressed over 700 backlogged maintenance requests, and applied a continued focus on the issues raised in two recent judicial decisions,” Nelson said at the time.Despite the noted improvements that year, conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center seemed to worsen as the months ticked by.In June 2024, Uriel Whyte, an inmate awaiting trial on gun charges, was stabbed to death by another inmate, according to a DOJ news release.A month later, inmate Edwin Cordero died in a fight that broke out inside the prison. Cordero’s lawyer told The New York Times his client was “another victim of M.D.C. Brooklyn, an overcrowded, understaffed and neglected federal jail that is hell on earth.”Later in September, the DOJ announced five inmates were charged in those murders and a sixth was charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing another inmate 44 times with a makeshift weapon. Meanwhile, another inmate was sent to the hospital with an ice pick stuck in his back, according to the release.During a multi-agency operation, the following month – as part of a larger safety and security initiative – investigators seized “a number of electronic devices, drugs and associated paraphernalia, and homemade weapons,” the Bureau of Prisons said in a news release that year.The “charges demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment to rooting out violence and criminal behavior at federal detention facilities — a critical component of our work to improve conditions across the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at the time.The situation on the grounds became so concerning; at least two federal judges refused to sentence defendants to MDC in 2024 because of the derelict environment, The New York Times reported.Bottom line: “It’s a very difficult place to be an inmate,” Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said of the facility in 2024 and argued in court.
A federal jail with a documented history of power outages, staffing shortages and detainee complaints just got two more high-profile detainees.
Former president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were moved into the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn on Saturday following their U.S. military capture in Caracas just days ago. The husband and wife face criminal charges in the U.S.
The couple isn’t the only high-profile detainees to see the walls of the MDC. The building has housed several notable figures like hip-hop mogul, Sean “Diddy” Combs, singer R. Kelly, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, socialite and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, one-time cryptocurrency whiz kid Sam Bankman-Fried, drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, rappers Fetty Wap and Tekashi 6ix9ine – even former Honduras president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of drug trafficking charges before he was pardoned last year by President Donald Trump.
Suspected cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia and Luigi Mangione, who pleaded not guilty to the shooting death of a UnitedHealth Group executive, are current inmates at the facility.
In their first court appearance in New York Monday, Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges and chose, for the time being, not to fight their detention.
Here’s a look at what life inside MDC Brooklyn looks like through the eyes of inmates, attorneys and judges:
Constructed in the 1990s to address overcrowding in New York City prisons, MDC Brooklyn is a pretrial detention facility for those charged in New York federal court. Detainees include a mix of suspects and defendants, including people accused of serious crimes, high-profile cases, and others awaiting sentencing or transfer.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons operated two centers – one in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan – until 2021, when the doors to the Manhattan facility closed after it drew criticism for its management of multimillionaire financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s death there by suicide in 2019.
Before his capture, Maduro lived mostly at Miraflores Palace, a sprawling presidential residence known for its neoclassical architecture, large windows, grand halls and manicured courtyards – a stark contrast to the living quarters inside the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Described by attorneys and inmates alike as “disgusting” with “horrifying” conditions, the facility is the only federal correction center serving the nation’s largest city.
For its more than 1,300 inmates, daily life at the federal jail can be grueling.
It’s dark, overcrowded and loud, according to CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, who has been inside the building many times.
While all prisons are miserable places to be, he said, “the MDC is maybe the most miserable” of all that he’s visited.
Inmates in the facility’s Special Housing Unit, known as the SHU, where it’s likely Maduro is being housed for safety and security, are kept in solitary confinement under restrictive conditions, Daniel McGuinnes, a criminal defense and civil rights litigation attorney who represents several clients housed at MDC, told CNN.
Inmates spend up to 23 hours locked down inside their cells with restrictive escort protocols in place when they do move outside of them and have limited access to legal phone calls, according to a DOJ report.
The jail has also struggled with chronic understaffing, complaints about mold, fungus and poor food quality, McGuinnes said.
Access to medical and dental care at the facility has always been “horrific,” according to McGuinnes, who noted he often has to remind his clients to thoroughly document their requests for such care.
“At some point I’ll have to step in and request it on their behalf,” he said, “because it’s just not getting done.”
CNN has reached out to the Bureau of Prisons for comment.
A prolonged power outage spun the correctional facility into crisis, leaving inmates in near-total darkness during a polar vortex for a week in early 2019. The outage prompted a Justice Department investigation into whether the Bureau of Prisons had adequate contingency plans to address the issue.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates alleged they were confined to their cells for days with nonfunctioning toilets and other unsanitary conditions. The Bureau of Prisons ultimately settled the lawsuit, compensating almost 1,600 inmates with a total of approximately $10 million for enduring frigid and inhumane conditions because of the power outage.
Michael Horowitz, Inspector General for the US Department of Justice at the time, said it was determined “that heating issues had been a longstanding problem at the jail that existed before, during, and after the fire and power outage and were unrelated to these events.”
In early 2024, the Bureau of Prisons appointed an Urgent Action Team “to take a holistic look at the challenges at MDC Brooklyn,” spokesperson Emery Nelson told CNN.
“The team’s work is ongoing, but it has already increased permanent staffing at the institution (including COs and medical staff), addressed over 700 backlogged maintenance requests, and applied a continued focus on the issues raised in two recent judicial decisions,” Nelson said at the time.
Despite the noted improvements that year, conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center seemed to worsen as the months ticked by.
In June 2024, Uriel Whyte, an inmate awaiting trial on gun charges, was stabbed to death by another inmate, according to a DOJ news release.
A month later, inmate Edwin Cordero died in a fight that broke out inside the prison. Cordero’s lawyer told The New York Times his client was “another victim of M.D.C. Brooklyn, an overcrowded, understaffed and neglected federal jail that is hell on earth.”
Later in September, the DOJ announced five inmates were charged in those murders and a sixth was charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing another inmate 44 times with a makeshift weapon. Meanwhile, another inmate was sent to the hospital with an ice pick stuck in his back, according to the release.
During a multi-agency operation, the following month – as part of a larger safety and security initiative – investigators seized “a number of electronic devices, drugs and associated paraphernalia, and homemade weapons,” the Bureau of Prisons said in a news release that year.
The “charges demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment to rooting out violence and criminal behavior at federal detention facilities — a critical component of our work to improve conditions across the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at the time.
The situation on the grounds became so concerning; at least two federal judges refused to sentence defendants to MDC in 2024 because of the derelict environment, The New York Times reported.
Bottom line: “It’s a very difficult place to be an inmate,” Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said of the facility in 2024 and argued in court.
ISLAMABAD — ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan ’s military on Tuesday warned that Afghanistan is becoming a “hub for terrorists and non-state actors,” widening its allegations to assert that its Taliban government is patronizing al-Qaida, the Islamic State group and the Pakistani Taliban.
Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry also told a news conference, without offering evidence, that about 2,500 foreign militants recently entered Afghanistan from Syria following the ouster there of former President Bashar Assad. Chaudhry asserted that the militants were invited to Afghanistan.
“These terrorists are neither Pakistanis nor Afghan citizens and belong to other nationalities,” Chaudhry said, adding that the reemergence of international militant groups could pose security risks beyond neighboring Afghanistan’s borders.
There was no immediate comment from Kabul to Chaudhry’s claim. Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war ended with Assad’s ouster in December 2024 but left behind a patchwork of armed groups on all sides of the conflict, shaped by years of foreign intervention.
Fighters from Syria have since taken part in other wars in the region and beyond, including Turkish-backed combatants sent to Libya and militants recruited by Russia to fight in Ukraine. Foreign fighters have joined Syrian rebel factions, pro-government forces and extremist groups such as the Islamic State group.
Chaudhry’s remarks came a day after Pakistan and China called for more “visible and verifiable” measures to eliminate militant organizations operating from Afghan territory and to prevent it from being used for attacks against other countries.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent months, with tensions occasionally spilling into violence. In October, the countries came close to a wider conflict after Pakistan carried out airstrikes on what it described as Pakistani Taliban hideouts inside Afghanistan. Kabul retaliated by targeting Pakistani military posts. The fighting ended after Qatar brokered a ceasefire.
Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan and India of backing the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and the outlawed Baloch National Army. Both Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegations.
Chaudhry also said Pakistan killed 2,597 militants in 2025, up from 1,053 a year earlier. The country recorded 5,397 militant attacks, up from 3,014 in 2024.
“Yes, this is a big number,” he said of the 2025 attacks. “Why? Because we are engaging them everywhere.” He added that Afghan nationals were involved in almost all major attacks inside Pakistan last year.
___
Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.
Legendary Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has shared high praise for Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor, calling him one of the finest drummers working today and applauding his restraint, musical intuition, and world-class ability. Ward made the comments during his January 2026 radio show as part of the LA Radio Sessions, set to air on Saturday, January 10 at noon on 99.1 KLBP-FM in Long Beach, CA.
Reflecting on his first exposure to Dailor‘s playing, Ward explained that he initially connected with the Mastodon drummer through the band’s music rather than in person. “Everything about him—his orchestrations, his jazz, his rock—all of those parts that obviously live inside him are so well put together,” Ward said. “When I heard ‘The Last Baron,’ I was blown away.”
Ward noted that Mastodon’s epic Crack the Skye track has been played repeatedly on his radio show, and that it marked the moment he truly understood Dailor‘s depth as a drummer. “That’s where I really met Brann,” Ward explained. “Listening astutely to where he was going, what he was doing, how he would push, how he would retrieve, how he would give way… I thought, ‘My God, this guy’s really learned how to play drums.'”
Ward went on to stress that truly learning the instrument goes far beyond simply keeping time. “Learning to play drums is not that easy,” he said. “We can all start by banging, but Brann‘s articulation — he’s worthy of all the praise he gets.”
According to Ward, Dailor‘s greatest strength lies in his musical restraint and his ability to serve the song rather than dominate it. “I’ve never heard him overplay a part where he could take something away from another musician,” Ward said. “That’s the sign of a really good fucking drummer.”
He added that Dailor‘s intuition allows space for the rest of the band to breathe. “He knows when not to push,” Ward said. “He allows air to pass through. He allows notes to pass through the other members of the band.”
Drawing parallels to his own experience in Black Sabbath, Ward emphasized the importance of drummers adapting to their bandmates. “That’s what being a drummer is — learning to play with the other musicians,” he said. “I had to learn to play with Tony, Geezer, and Ozzy. You have to be respectful as a drummer, and Brann is respectful.”
Ward closed his remarks by expressing excitement for whatever Dailor does next (which is hopefully a new Mastodon record in 2026). “I can’t wait to hear whatever he’s going to do next. I’m a drummer that loves drummers. So anyway — thanks, Brann.”
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California’s governor plans to unveil an executive order aimed at making it easier for some businesses destroyed by last year’s Palisades fire to rebuild.
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ProRodeo Hall of Fame tie-down roper Glen Franklin, a three-time RCA World Champion, passed away Jan. 3 at his home in House, N.M. He was 89 years old.
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