The News

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Trump issuing ‘emergency 25% tariffs’ against Colombia after country turned back deportation flights

January 26, 2025 0

 





President Donald Trump is issuing tariffs on Colombia after two repatriation flights of undocumented migrants were not allowed to land in Colombia, according to a Sunday post from the president on his Truth Social network. It’s the first retaliatory action the Trump administration has taken against another country over immigration issues.

Trump said he enacted a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the US from Colombia, which will be raised to 50% in one week.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Sunday that he is halting US deportation flights, stating the US “can’t treat Colombian migrants like criminals.”

According to a flight tracker, two US military flights bound for Colombia were turned back overnight after Petro publicly declared that he was denying entry to American planes carrying Colombian migrants.

Trump condemned Petro’s actions as a threat to US national security and public safety, asserting that Colombia’s denial of the flights violated international obligations to accept criminals being repatriated.



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Super Bowl 2025: Where and when it will be played, halftime show, how to watch and everything you need to know

January 26, 2025 0

 he 2024-25 NFL regular season has come to an end and you know what that means: Super Bowl LIX is just around the corner. This weekend, four teams continue on to the conference titles where we'll see the Philadelphia Eagles play the Washington Commanders, and the Buffalo Bills take on the Kansas City Chiefs. Kendrick Lamar will be performing at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show. Super Bowl LIX will be played at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA on Sunday, Feb. 9. The big game will air on FOX this year (and stream live for free on Tubi!).



Are you ready for Super Bowl 2025? Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch the Super Bowl.

Date: Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025

Time: 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT

Location: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA

TV channel: FOX

Streaming: Tubi, DirecTV, Fubo, Fox Sports app and more

The 2025 Super Bowl will be held on Sunday, Feb. 9.

Super Bowl LIX kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

Super Bowl 59 will air on FOX.

DirecTV Stream's new MySports package gets you access to all the usual football suspects: NFL Network, ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS and, of course, FOX, 

Right now, you can try all this out free, and then get your first three months for just $50/month. After that, the cost of this sports streaming package rises to $70/month (still cheaper than its competitors). So if you're interested in trying out a live TV streaming service for watching football, but aren't ready to commit or drop a TON of money, we recommend starting with DirecTV Stream. 

You'll also get unlimited Cloud DVR storage included in whatever DirecTV package you choose. 

Tubi will host a free livestream of FOX's game day coverage of the 2025 Super Bowl! If you don't have cable and aren't looking to spend a dime to watch the big game, Tubi is a great free option to tune in. 

For sports fans looking to catch every moment of the game, it should be noted that this will be Tubi's first big live event — the FOX-owned platform sees most its views from content in its on-demand library. 

Beyond the Super Bowl, Tubi has a range of ad-supported on-demand content available totally free. They also have Tubi original programming including last year's streaming standout: Sidelined: The QB and Me.

Fubo TV gives you access to ESPN, NFL Network, NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS and 100+ more live channels. At $80/month, the live TV streaming service is definitely a big investment for football fans. But it offers nearly every channel you'll need to watch the NFL, and still leaves you with major savings compared to a traditional cable package. Fubo subscribers also get unlimited cloud DVR storage. You can try Fubo free right now. 

The 2025 Super Bowl will be held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This game will mark the 8th time Caesars Superdome has hosted the Super Bowl. The last time was in 2013 when the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.

Kendrick Lamar is headlining Super Bowl LIX.

We don’t know for sure who is going to be playing for the Vince Lombardi trophy this February, but here are the teams competing in the 2025 NFL Playoffs:

AFC Playoff bracket:

  1. Kansas City Chiefs

  2. Buffalo Bills

  3. Baltimore Ravens

  4. Houston Texans

NFC Playoff bracket:

  1. Detroit Lions

  2. Philadelphia Eagles

  3. Los Angeles Rams

  4. Washington Commanders

All times Eastern.

Saturday, January 18

  • AFC Divisional Playoff: Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN, ABC, ESPN+)

  • NFC Divisional Playoff: Washington Commanders vs. Detroit Lions, 8 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, January 19

  • NFC Divisional Playoff: L.A. Rams vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 3 p.m. (NBC, Peacock)

  • AFC Divisional Playoff: Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills, 6:30 p.m. (CBS, Paramount+)

Sunday, Jan. 26:

  • NFC championship game: 3 p.m.

  • AFC championship game: 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 9:

  • Super Bowl 59

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Ohio State football offers Jim Knowles extension that would make him highest-paid DC

January 26, 2025 0

 Ohio State has offered Jim Knowles a contract that would make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football, a source told The Dispatch.

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles talks to media shortly after the team arrived in Dallas for the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 8, 2025.Michigan’s Wink Martindale was the highest-paid defensive coordinator in 2024, earning $2.5 million. His contract calls for him to make $2.75 million next year.

Knowles signed a three-year extension last January with an annual base salary worth $2.2 million that is eligible for annual increases. The contract expires on an. 31, 2027.

Knowles directed a defense that enabled Ohio State to win the national title on Monday with a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game. That earned him $770,000 in bonus pay.

The Buckeyes had the top-ranked defense in college football in most significant categories, including points per game (12.2) and yardage allowed (251.1 per game).

Even before the title game, rumors swirled that Oklahoma was pursuing Knowles. Knowles coached at Oklahoma State before Ohio State coach Ryan Day hired him in 2022 to revamp the Buckeyes' struggling defense.

Asked about his future immediately after the game, Knowles told The Dispatch, “I’m coaching at Ohio State.”

Penn State reportedly also is pursuing Knowles. The Nittany Lions’ coordinator, Tom Allen, left for Clemson a week ago.

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Saturday, January 25, 2025

Could Elon Musk Tear MAGA Apart?

January 25, 2025 0

 Elon Musk appears to go out of his way to antagonize prominent MAGA figures, but experts suggest this could be beneficial for the movement in the long term as the tech billionaire seeks to impact President Donald Trump's second term


.

Newsweek has contacted the White House and X, the social media platform owned by Musk, formerly known as Twitter, for comment via email.

There have been concerns about how much influence Musk wields over Trump and within the administration. He apparently played a key role in Trump loyalist Vivek Ramaswamy stepping away from co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency, according to Politico.

But any fallout between Musk and figures of the MAGA movement risks straining his relationship with the president.

Elon Musk is, by nature, a contrarian," political strategist Denny Salas told Newsweek. "He will oppose a person's stance to compel them to make a persuasive argument for their position. Will it run afoul of the MAGA ethos? Sure, but it'll ensure President Trump receives the best information."

Donald Trump and Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorses Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds on October 05, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

'Trump Expects Competing Voices'

This was never so clear as when Trump sided with Musk over the H1-B visa debate.

In late December, Musk had voiced support for H-1B visas, which allows skilled foreign workers to work in the U.S. Musk, whose companies have benefited from the H-1B visa program, faced criticism from MAGA figures, including Bannon and far-right activist Laura Loomer, known for her hard-line views on immigration.

In a post on X, Loomer accused tech executives like Musk of "throwing around money at Mar a Lago trying to buy influence in the White House so they can determine tech policy, limit regulation on China, and control our immigration policy."

"The reason I'm in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceXTesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B...I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend," Musk had replied to critics.

Loomer has since accused Musk of "egregious retaliatory censorship," saying he censored her X account.

"I represent a lot of people in MAGA and break many important stories," she wrote in a January 22 post on X. "It's outrageous and un-American that a TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL is deliberately trying to harm my livelihood by cutting off my subscriptions and shadow-banning my account. This egregious retaliatory censorship needs to end. The assault on President Trump's base NEEDS TO END NOW!"

'Out of Control'

But Loomer's feud with Musk is not what has raised the most eyebrows within the MAGA movement this week. His criticism of Trump's backing of a multibillion-dollar artificial intelligence investment did.

Musk drew the ire of historic MAGA figure Steve Bannon after he criticized the $500 billion joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank to improve artificial intelligence infrastructure in the U.S, which was announced, not to mention backed, by Trump on Wednesday.

Writing on X, Musk said the companies lacked the funds to complete such a project, saying "SoftBank has well under $10B secured."

In an interview, Bannon, a former Trump White House chief strategist, criticized Musk for publicly opposing the Trump-endorsed AI initiative.

"I've never seen action like this in my life. I've never seen someone on another aspect of the government that has been deputized by the president himself come in and openly criticize him," he told Politico.

Bannon also told reporters on Wednesday Musk was "out of control" for speaking out against the president.

"I think someone who actually is a friend of Elon Musk needs to do an intervention because I think he's becoming Icarus," conservative radio host Erick Erickson said in a Wednesday broadcast. "Icarus flew so high and so close to the sun, the wax began to melt, the feathers began to drop off, and he plummeted to the earth and died. Donald Trump doesn't like people to be more exposed than him, and [Musk's] headed that way. He needs to be careful—if he wants to have a real impact, he needs to stay behind the scenes and not in the spotlight."

'Calculating, but Not Diabolical'

For Republican communications specialist T.J. McCormack, this constitutes the regular ebb and flow of power struggles at the top, especially with someone as disruptive as Musk leading the Department of Government Efficiency.

"Will there be skirmishes along the way? Absolutely, but such is life among the generals. During WWII, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, and MacArthur all famously battled within their ranks, with one or two being temporarily sidelined by their boss, Eisenhower. In the end, despite all that, the Allies won bigly." McCormack told Newsweek.

"While Elon Musk is certainly a wily creature, he is not wild," he added. "He's calculating, but not diabolical. Musk won't destroy his marketplace, which at his level, is the entire damn planet—if not the universe. Musk feeds off the aspirational positivity that characterizes MAGA."

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Hurricane survivors who met Trump in North Carolina share president's words that stuck with them

January 25, 2025 0

 Two North Carolina locals who survived Hurricane Helene in September but suffered massive losses from the storm shared a single phrase from President Donald Trump that stuck with them during his Friday visit to hurricane-impacted areas.


"He seems like he genuinely cares, and…I'm glad that he's here, because it feels like we were forgotten or never taken care of under the other administration," Fairview resident Curtis Wright, who met Trump on Friday, told Fox News Digital.

"He said, ‘We’re here, and we're going to help you,' and I believe him," Wright added.

Wright's father lost his house and his small business, and Wright himself lost his home, as well as tractors and tools for his farm.


Trump and Melania in North Carolina

US President Donald Trump speaks while visiting a neighborhood affected by Hurricane Helene in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on January 24, 2025.  (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

"We pretty much all lost everything, and it's hard to build back when you don't have tools," he said.

The president and first lady, Melania Trump, arrived in Asheville, North Carolina, around 10 a.m. Friday and then made stops in Fletcher and Swannanoa. Trump spoke alongside local residents and politicians before heading to California to visit wildfire-impacted areas on Friday afternoon.


A Trump flag posted to a tree in Helene-devastated Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Jan. 24, 2025.

A Trump flag posted to a tree in Helene-devastated Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Jan. 24, 2025. (Fox News Digital)

"We've come to North Carolina with a simple message for all the people of this region who were hit so hard by Hurricane Helene, and that message is very simple: You are not forgotten any longer," Trump said in Swannanoa before he heard personal stories from a group of locals. 

Numerous people across western North Carolina are still sleeping in tents and campers more than 100 days after the storm hit the area in the early morning hours of Sept. 27. Most campers on private property have been donated by local and national charities, such as Samaritan's Purse and Cajun Navy, which is working with Emergency RV to donate used and new campers.

Others are staying in campers donated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on specific FEMA-designated sites.


North Carolinians living in privately donated campers in Swannanoa.

North Carolinians living in a row of privately donated campers in Swannanoa. (Fox News Digital)

Holly Cape of Emergency RV told Fox News Digital that the organization has donated 87 RVs so far, but they are expecting that number to go up to 104 by next week. 

"I promised that I'd come back to western North Carolina to help the people of the state, and today, here I am to deliver on that promise," Trump said Friday. "We have a lot of things in mind, and we're getting the … Army Corps of Engineers all set. You need your riverbanks fixed. You need a lot of roads fixed. And we're going to get it done in rapid time."

A tent and camper in Swannanoa, North Carolina.

A tent and camper in Swannanoa, North Carolina. (Fox News Digital)

The Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, told Fox News Digital on Friday that he appreciates Trump's visiting hurricane survivors.

"To have the president come today and shake their hands, talk to them, and see their homes that had been destroyed—I can’t begin to tell you what that meant to these people," he said. "They were so grateful to see the President of the United States show up for them like this. It gave people hope."

Franklin Graham Donald Trump NC visit

The Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, speaks during President Donald Trump's visit to Hurricane Helene-damaged North Carolina on Jan. 24, 2025. (Samaritan's Purse)

Much of the destroyed landscape in Swannanoa looks unchanged compared to the weeks after the storm first hit, but there are small signs of improvement: more people living in campers instead of tents or inhabitable homes destroyed by flooding, more construction on houses that were partially damaged, more debris organized in specific piles rather than outside every house, certain sections of land that have been cleared or dozed over.

The progress is happening slowly, and locals say the biggest need right now is still housing in the cold winter months. 

President Trump and Melania Trump

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave as they steps off of Air Force One upon arrival at Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, North Carolina, on January 24, 2025, to visit the region devastated by Hurricane Helene.  (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Residents hope FEMA will cut back some of its red tape under the new administration so people with urgent needs can get faster access to those necessities, whether it be money, housing or other forms of assistance. 

"It’s undeniable FEMA dropped the ball in North Carolina," Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. "My visit to Asheville with President Trump only confirmed FEMA has gotten in the way of our state's ability to rebuild and provide real assistance to the victims of Hurricane Helene. Clearly FEMA must be reformed – and I will work with President Trump in Congress to ensure Americans facing disaster get the help they need."

A Trump sign posted to a telephone pole in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Jan. 24, 2025.

A Trump sign posted to a telephone pole in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Jan. 24, 2025. (Fox News Digital)

"The way that it is, it needs to be restructured," Wright said of FEMA. "It's so hard to get any money for immediate needs…we lost everything, and…pretty much all we got was the $750.""

—  

Wright also noted that locals are upset with "billions of dollars overseas" while people have immediate housing needs in North Carolina and elsewhere impacted by Helene.

Hurricane Helene created billions of dollars worth of damage when it destroyed homes, farms and critical infrastructure like roads, bridges and power lines. Parts of highways connecting North Carolina and Tennessee have been closed since late September.

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