Maduro and wife to appear in US federal court today facing drug and weapons charges

Nicolas Maduro, the dethroned Venezuelan dictator indicted on major drug trafficking and weapons charges in the United States, is expected in a federal court in New York Monday for his arraignment, days after American forces captured him in his own presidential palace.

The hearing, in which Maduro will be formally told the charges against him, is set for noon. His wife, Cilia Flores, was arrested in the raid and is also due in court. Like her husband, she was a high-level official in Venezuela’s socialist regime.

Maduro faces four charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

“For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,” federal prosecutors wrote in a superseding indictment unveiled over the weekend.

IRAN AND MADURO TIES SUFFER MAJOR BLOW FOLLOWING US OPERATION AND CAPTURE OF VENEZUELAN DICTATOR

Flores faces three: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Similar proceedings are usually short. There won’t be any witness testimony, the defendants will have a chance to enter their pleas, and the judge will set the next court date and address the subject of pretrial release.

Bail is highly unlikely, according to legal experts.

VENEZUELAN LEADER MADURO LANDS IN NEW YORK AFTER BEING CAPTURED BY US FORCES ON DRUG CONSPIRACY CHARGES

“I think I have a better chance of winning the next Power Ball,” David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney, told Fox News Digital. “When [former Panama dictator Manuel] Noriega was arraigned, he didn’t get bail.”

Noriega was similarly deposed by U.S. forces in 1989 on racketeering and drug trafficking charges.

Maduro is being held in the same federal jail in Brooklyn as accused assassin Luigi Mangione.

JONATHAN TURLEY: WHY CAPTURE OF MADURO DIDN’T REQUIRE APPROVAL FROM CONGRESS

“Years ago, he was indicted in U.S. federal court for narco-terrorism,” said Royal Oakes, a Los Angeles-based lawyer and legal analyst.

Federal prosecutors secured a grand jury indictment in 2020. More recently, the government placed a $50 million bounty on his head as President Donald Trump urged him to step down.

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The selection of New York’s Southern District Court to handle the case could have a significant impact on how it plays out, Oakes said.

New Yorkers just elected an openly socialist mayor, but he said the success of Maduro’s capture without any American casualties could also play a role.

“The outcome of the mission could also shape public opinion and thus a jury verdict,” Oakes said.

Rubio fires back as ABC host repeatedly questions US authority over Venezuela

Secretary of State Marco Rubio sparred with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday as the “This Week” host repeatedly pressed Rubio over whether the U.S. was going to run Venezuela.

After extracting Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, President Donald Trump said during a press conference that the U.S. was now “going to run the country” until there can be a safe transition of power.

Stephanopoulos asked Rubio what authority the U.S. had to run Venezuela.

RUBIO DEFENDS VENEZUELA OPERATION AFTER NBC QUESTIONS LACK OF CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL FOR MADURO CAPTURE

“Well, first of all, what’s going to happen here is that we have a quarantine on their oil,” Rubio said. “That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interest of the Venezuelan people are met. And that’s what we intend to do. So, that leverage remains. That leverage is ongoing. And we expect that it’s going to lead to results here.”

Rubio added that the goal was to ensure Venezuela would no longer be “a narco-trafficking paradise” that aids U.S. adversaries and to give Venezuelans a better future.

“Let me ask the question again,” Stephanopoulos repeated. “What is the legal authority for the United States to be running Venezuela?”

KRISTI NOEM DELIVERS TRUMP’S ULTIMATUM TO VENEZUELA’S VICE PRESIDENT FOLLOWING MADURO CAPTURE OPERATION

“Well, I explained to you what our goals are and how we’re going to use the leverage to make it happen,” Rubio said. “As far as what our legal authority is on the quarantine, very simple. We have court orders. These are sanctioned boats and we get orders from courts to go after and seize these sanctions. So, I don’t know, is a court not a legal authority?”

Stephanopoulos then asked if the U.S. was currently running Venezuela.

“Well, I’ve explained once again. I’ll do it one more time,” Rubio said. “What we are running is the direction that this is going to move moving forward. And that is we have leverage. This leverage we are using, and we intend to use. We started using already.”

The ABC host then asked if Rubio himself was currently running Venezuela, leading the secretary to again repeat that the U.S. was focused on its “leverage” against the country. However, he said he was “very intricately involved” with some law enforcement operations involving the U.S. Coast Guard.

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“We are hopeful that there are people in place now. We’re going to find out. The proof will be in what they do or fail to do that will start making some of these changes that will ultimately lead to a Venezuela that looks substantially and dramatically different from what’s been in place for 15 years,” Rubio said.

During the interview, Rubio also expressed doubts that Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was the current leader of the country and whether she should remain in office.

“This is not about the legitimate president. We don’t believe that this regime in place is legitimate via an election,” Rubio said. “And that’s not just us. It’s 60-something countries around the world that have taken that view as well.”

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He said he believed a legitimate leader would come after a period of transition and elections.

Former US hostage envoy disputes portrayal of Maduro as ‘bloodthirsty’ drug trafficker

Former Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that he doesn’t necessarily consider Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro a “bloodthirsty drug dealer” despite the Trump administration’s image of the man.

Carstens, who previously served under former President Joe Biden and the first Trump administration, told the news program that he “wasn’t shocked” at the news that Maduro had been captured by U.S. military forces on Saturday.

Host Scott Pelley asked Carstens whether he agreed with the current Trump administration’s violent depiction of Maduro.

RUBIO DEFENDS VENEZUELA OPERATION AFTER NBC QUESTIONS LACK OF CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL FOR MADURO CAPTURE

“I don’t think so,” Carstens said. “And yet— let me answer that by this way. In one way, I could say I’m not naïve to the crimes that were committed by the regime writ large. And if you’re the president of a country, you, of course, have responsibility for what’s being happen — what’s happening — in your government.”

He continued, “On the flip side, I would say that being the person in the room with President Maduro my job was to get Americans back and that’s best done by building a very human relationship. And in doing so, I didn’t find him to be a bloodthirsty maniac. I found him to be — a practical person, someone who wanted to find ways to solve the problems — that was — were faced by his country.”

GREENE HITS TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES, ARGUES ACTION ‘DOESN’T SERVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’

Carstens added that he wouldn’t describe Maduro as an international drug dealer based on the knowledge he had received about the political leader during his time in office.

“I think the — the country clearly touched drugs — and there’s information — I always have to be very — clear that I might see certain amounts of information and there’s always a treasure trove of information that I’ve never seen or never will see due to classification or compartmentalization. But what I witnessed was not someone who’s necessarily hard-core in the drug business. And I’ll be interested to see in how the prosecution goes about proving their case,” Carstens said.

UN AMBASSADOR WALTZ DEFENDS US CAPTURE OF MADURO AHEAD OF SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING

During his time in the Biden administration, Carstens took part in several hostage exchange deals with Venezuela, including one in 2022 that exchanged seven Americans for two nephews of Maduro’s wife.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

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President Donald Trump confirmed U.S. military strikes against Venezuela on Saturday. He has since said that until a legitimate leader replaces Maduro, the U.S. is “going to run” the country.

Supreme Court’s 2026 rulings could define America for decades to come

As the Supreme Court heads into the new year, its docket makes clear that the justices aren’t easing into a quiet second half of the term. This winter, we’ll get hearings in a series of cases that go to the core of federalism, equal protection, executive power and even the meaning of citizenship itself. And looming behind the argument calendar is the anticipation of major opinions — some of them likely to arrive well before the traditional end-of-June finale — that will shape the legal and political landscape for years to come.  

The January calendar opens with Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish, a case the court should use to put an overdue stop to the abuse of state tort law as a weapon against nationally significant industries. At issue is whether energy companies sued by Louisiana parishes over decades-old oil-and-gas activity may remove those cases to federal court. That question may sound technical, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. 

Local governments, backed by well-funded activist groups, have pursued environmental claims designed not to remedy concrete harms, but to use sympathetic state courts to impose sweeping policy change. Allowing such suits to proceed in venues hostile to manufacturers and producers invites inconsistent legal standards and massive verdicts untethered from federal policy. A ruling for Chevron wouldn’t immunize companies from accountability; it would prevent state courts from becoming shadow regulators of national energy policy. 

And that theme will reappear if the justices take up the Colorado climate-tort case brought by Boulder, which I’ve discussed elsewhere. These lawsuits attempt an end-run around Congress and the EPA by using state nuisance law to regulate global emissions. The Supreme Court needs to take this case because allowing 50 states (and thousands of municipalities) to impose their own climate regimes through litigation would be unworkable, unconstitutional and economically disastrous.

TRUMP’S SIGNATURE TARIFFS HANG ON KEY QUESTION ABOUT CONGRESS’ POWER BEFORE SUPREME COURT

Also in January, the court will hear West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, cases challenging state laws that limit girls’ and women’s sports to biological females. These cases shouldn’t be hard. For decades, Title IX has existed precisely to ensure that women and girls have equal educational opportunities (including in sports). Allowing biological males to compete in female sports undermines that guarantee, regardless of good intentions or fashionable rhetoric. 

West Virginia and Idaho are drawing commonsense, biologically grounded lines to protect competitive fairness and safety. The Constitution doesn’t require states to ignore reality, and Title IX doesn’t mandate the elimination of women’s sports as a distinct category. The court should say so plainly — and resist efforts to constitutionalize a social experiment that an overwhelming majority of Americans firmly reject. 

The court’s January arguments also include Trump v. Cook, a case that raises important questions about presidential removal power. This case involves the attempted removal for cause of a Federal Reserve governor, not the at-will dismissal of a typical “independent” agency head, as is at issue in the recently argued Trump v. Slaughter. Slaughter challenges a 90-year-old precedent that opened the door to the modern administrative state. Cook is narrower and turns on whether the statutory “for cause” standard has actually been met. 

Regardless of what happens in Cook, if the Trump administration wins in Slaughter as is expected, that ruling may be paired with a loss in the tariffs case, the outcome of which is eagerly awaited by the political and economic worlds. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has repeatedly said that the administration has alternative ways of levying similar tariffs should the court block the statutory avenue it pursued this year.

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The justices will also hear Wolford v. Lopez, a 2nd Amendment case testing Hawaii’s attempt to declare most privately owned but publicly accessible property off-limits to lawful concealed-carry permit holders unless owners explicitly consent. States hostile to gun rights have tried to nullify the court’s Bruen ruling by turning entire cities into “sensitive places” by default. 

Later this winter, the court will hear Trump v. Barbara, which addresses President Donald Trump’s executive order removing birthright citizenship for children of tourists and illegal aliens. Does that violate the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof?” This is among the most consequential constitutional questions of our time, forcing the court to grapple with the text, history and original public meaning of a clause that has enormous implications for immigration policy and national sovereignty.

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And hovering over all of this are the other opinions yet to be released from the current term — cases involving elections, executive power, and agency authority that could arrive at any moment. 

Taken together, the Supreme Court’s upcoming work reflects a federal judiciary charged with resolving the hardest questions of our constitutional order. Whether it’s climate lawfare, women’s sports, gun rights or citizenship itself, the justices are being asked to draw lines that the political branches have blurred or abandoned. How they respond will determine not just the outcomes of individual cases, but whether the court remains a stabilizing force in an era of institutional strain.  

Helicopter crash kills Arizona man and 3 nieces on wedding day after canyon collision

A helicopter crash in a remote Arizona canyon killed a local man and his three nieces on his wedding day after the aircraft apparently struck a slackline strung across the terrain, authorities said.

FOX 10 in Phoenix reported that the victims of the crash, which happened Friday, were identified by family members.

The crash happened near Superior in Pinal County, east of the Phoenix area, shortly after the helicopter took off from Pegasus Airpark. All four people on board were killed when the aircraft plunged to the canyon floor.

Family members said the pilot was David McCarty, a Queen Creek man originally from Oregon, who was flying his nieces – Katelyn Heideman and sisters Rachel and Faith McCarty, all in their early 20s – to see the sights before his wedding ceremony.

DEADLY HELICOPTER COLLISION IN NEW JERSEY KILLS ONE, CRITICALLY INJURES ANOTHER

Eyewitnesses told family members they saw the helicopter’s blades detach moments before it plunged to the canyon floor.

Relatives said McCarty was an experienced pilot who owned multiple helicopters and had flown the canyon numerous times without incident, adding that the short flight was meant to be a joyful outing ahead of what was supposed to be a celebratory day.

DEADLY MIDAIR HELICOPTER COLLISION IN NEW JERSEY KILLS 2

“The families lost 50% of their children on the wedding day, which was supposed to be a celebration,” a family member told FOX 10 Phoenix. “It’s extremely tough. Nobody ever anticipates this sort of thing to happen, and it’s just heart-wrenching.”

The loss has rippled through the family’s hometown of Echo, Oregon, where relatives said the close-knit community is struggling to cope with the deaths of three young women at once.

MIDAIR PLANE CRASH KILLS ONE PERSON NEAR COLORADO AIRPORT AS BOTH PLANES CATCH FIRE

“They’re just struck with grief,” a relative told the station. “When they say it takes a village to raise a child, that’s the epitome of these communities. Everybody had a hand in raising these girls.”

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are currently investigating the crash to determine the official cause.

Minnesota fraud, explained: How millions allegedly slipped through state programs

Here is what is known so far as Minnesota and the administration of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz continue to grapple with a burgeoning fraud scandal that has metastasized into a series of different, costly alleged money laundering operations at times tied to the Somali community in the Twin Cities.

With so many moving parts, the following will present a summary of what has transpired so far in terms of each branch of alleged scandal in Minnesota since the stories first made front-page news one month ago — as potentially upward of $1 billion being lost collectively, with some monies in one respect being remitted overseas and potentially into the hands of Islamic terrorists.

For his part, Walz eventually took responsibility for his state’s safety net allegedly being bilked out of millions, saying in December, “This is on my watch, I am accountable for this and, more importantly I am the one that will fix it.”  

Walz said his administration had been taking action to stop some suspected fraudulent payments over the summer, and that his office referred some for prosecution.

INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST SAYS HE’S GOTTEN DEATH THREATS, TOLD HE’LL BE ‘KIRKED’ OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD VIRAL VIDEO

However, Walz said that a figure of $9 billion in lost taxpayer monies due to fraud stated by a federal prosecutor was “sensationalized” and invented by the White House, according to the Minnesota Reformer.

President Donald Trump also labeled Walz a slur for developmentally disabled people shortly before the fraud story blew up in earnest, leading to the governor firing back at critics driving by his home and shouting the slur at the edifice.

FEEDING OUR FUTURE

By mid-December the Justice Department announced at least 78 people had been charged in what became dubbed the “Feeding Our Future” scandal, so named for the Somali-linked nonprofit whose alleged bilking of St. Paul’s and Washington’s coffers brought the case to the fore. Nearly 40 people had by then pleaded guilty.

Defendants charged in the larger scheme were accused of faking invoices, attendance records and distribution of meals in low-income and other affected areas around Minnesota — utilizing COVID-era waivers the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted for requirements in child nutrition programs that allowed for, in some cases, food distributors for children not be necessarily linked to an accredited school.

FBI Director Kash Patel pegged one figure at $250 million stolen “from hungry kids during a pandemic to fund mansions and luxury cars,” calling the fraud “as shameless as it gets.”

Documents allege about 300 registered food-distribution “sites” served little or no food, while the vendors cited used the program to launder money meant for the kids.

Officials from the right-leaning public policy group Manhattan Institute also purported to discover the remittance of monies allegedly being bilked in Somali-heavy Minneapolis and entities in Somalia itself, including the terrorist group al-Shabab.

Statistics cited by the institute showed that 40% of Somali households in Africa received remitted funds from abroad, of which $1.7 billion overall in 2023 were sent from the U.S. That reported figure is larger than the Mogadishu government’s budget.

GOP LAWMAKER DEMANDS MINNESOTA FRAUD BE TREATED AS ‘ORGANIZED CRIME’ SCHEME

While some in the mainstream media kept mum about the burgeoning fraud reports — including only seconds on broadcast network nightly news shows, according to the Media Research Center — The Washington Post’s editorial board scorched Walz for “refusing to take responsibility for the welfare fraud that happened in plain sight during the pandemic.”

“Residents, mostly of Somali descent, targeted established Medicaid programs. They opened fake food distribution centers and autism centers to funnel resources away from the neediest. The numbers alone made clear what was happening,” the Post wrote.

The FBI’s Minnesota lead, Alvin Winston Sr., told Fox News Digital that “the egregious fraud unveiled in the Feeding our Future case epitomizes a profound betrayal of public trust.”

“The magnitude (of the fraud) cannot be overstated,” added U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson, who added that the overall network of fraudulent behavior is “swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we know about our state.”

HOUSING SUBSIDIES & AUTISM SERVICES

As the Feeding Our Future scandal enveloped the news cycle, federal prosecutors in mid-December announced yet another Minnesota program that had been taken advantage of by fraudsters — including outside the state itself — to the tune of millions once more.

Thompson quipped Dec. 19 that every time his office “looks under a rock,” another “$50 million” scheme pops up, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

At least five people have been charged for allegedly defrauding the state’s Housing Stabilization Services program, which helps Minnesotans find and upkeep housing, or for allegedly bilking an early-autism services program, according to the paper.

MINNESOTA FRAUD COMMITTEE CHAIR CLAIMS WALZ ‘TURNED A BLIND EYE’ TO FRAUD WARNINGS FOR YEARS

In the case of the autism services program, invoices allegedly were submitted for services allegedly never rendered, an allegation that was backed up by congressional findings later in the month.

Of those charged, Thompson’s office leveled allegations against Anthony Jefferson and Lester Brown of Philadelphia, who, according to the Reformer, heard that the housing subsidy was “easy money.”

The men went to Minnesota, enrolled their companies in the program, then filed fraudulent claims from Pennsylvania amounting to $3.5 million in Medicaid payments through what Thompson called “fraud tourism,” the paper said.

MINNESOTA’S NEW MEDICAID FRAUD PREVENTION FIX WON’T MAKE ‘ANY DIFFERENCE,’ FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS

In October, Walz’ office also had paused payments in as many as 14 state programs viewed as “high risk,” according to the Reformer.

By December, the House Oversight Committee honed in on the alleged fraud, launching its own probe and faulting Walz for inefficient oversight.

“The Committee has serious concerns about how you as the Governor, and the Democrat-controlled administration, allowed millions of dollars to be stolen. The Committee also has concerns that you and your administration were fully aware of this fraud and chose not to act for fear of political retaliation,” Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to the governor in relation to the fraud’s larger scope, as federal dollars were likely involved.

DAY CARE FRAUD

The latest wrinkle in the burgeoning fraud scandal enveloping the Land of 10,000 Lakes involves numerous alleged day cares — many linked to or owned by members of the Somali community in the Twin Cities.

Entities who registered their day care with the state were reportedly billing for care that was not provided. The state’s agency responsible for childcare oversight were already dealing with integrity issues within the social services bureaucracy, but did have mechanisms in place to stop payments or cut off provider-companies found to be ineligible or fraudulent.

Months before blogger Nick Shirley began visiting addresses of Somali-run alleged day cares, local media reported on at least 62 active state probes into providers.

TRUMP SLAMS WALZ AND NEWSOM AS ‘CROOKED GOVERNORS,’ ASSERTING THEIR STATES ARE AWASH WITH FRAUD

The cases received national attention after Shirley visited a storefront labeled “Quality Learing Center” (sic), whose owner later defended it and quickly had the viral spelling error corrected.

Shirley and his partner, known only as “David”, spent 45 minutes filming themselves visiting several childcare addresses only to find an assortment of vacant or non-operational storefronts, closed businesses, or angry Somali occupants who refused to answer questions or entertain the pair’s mock efforts to “register” a child with the supposed daycare.

Minnesota’s DCYF, the childcare agency, later said they take all allegations seriously and its administrator, Tikki Brown, said that her team regularly inspects such addresses.

The ensuing firestorm briefly crashed the state’s childcare licensing lookup site, including part of the time that Fox News Digital attempted to access it. The number listed in licensing documents for the “Learing” center was disconnected.

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At another allegedly fraudulent day care site, the owner called a press conference to reveal purported vandalism in which burglars stole his application and registration information, while online sleuths claimed the position of broken drywall made such claims impossible, beside critics’ incredulity at bandits strictly targeting licensing documents.

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Ravens’ season ends in heartbreak as missed field goal sends Steelers to playoffs

The final game of the 2025 NFL regular season may have been the best one, and it came down to the final seconds.

Twenty-seven points were scored in the fourth quarter instead of 30, as Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop missed what would have been a walk-off field goal to send the Ravens to the playoffs.

Instead, the AFC North title went to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had their fair share of miraculous efforts in the fourth quarter, while the Ravens’ season ended in heartbreak.

It’s no secret the face of the Ravens, Lamar Jackson, had not been himself this entire season, but he made his best play of the campaign — and maybe his career — midway through the fourth quarter. On third-and-4 from midfield and trailing by three, Jackson evaded a sack and let one fly to Zay Flowers, who caught it in stride for the long touchdown to give the Ravens a 17-13 lead. The Steelers weren’t sweating, though, as they responded with an eight-play drive that ended with a touchdown by Kenneth Gainwell to take a 20-17 lead with 3:49 to go. But apparently, Jackson saved his best for last, finding Flowers again, this time for 64 yards to go up 24-20 with 2:20 remaining.

The Steelers quickly got across midfield, and on third-and-10, Aaron Rodgers found Calvin Austin wide open for a score with 55 seconds to go. However, Chris Boswell missed the extra point, and it was just a two-point lead. The Ravens took the kickoff to their own 47-yard line and had three timeouts — a golden opportunity.

RAIDERS’ JAMAL ADAMS, GIANTS’ JAMEIS WINSTON GET IN SCREAMING MATCH DURING HEATED MOMENT ON SIDELINE

Jackson completed his first pass, but after an illegal formation and two incompletions, he faced a fourth-and-7. Jackson threw up a prayer, and Isaiah Likely high-pointed it for an unbelievable catch. Jackson took a knee to set up the field goal unit in the middle of the hashes with two seconds left, but it was for naught, as the Steelers were the ones celebrating a wide-right kick.

The scoring got started from an unlikely source, as Lamar Jackson found Devontez Walker for a 38-yard touchdown to take the early lead. Both teams then exchanged punts before the Steelers turned the ball over on downs, and the Ravens took advantage by kicking a field goal to go up 10-0 early in the second quarter. Pittsburgh answered with a field goal of its own for its first score.

In the final seconds of the first half, the Steelers benefited from a defensive penalty that put them at the 2-yard line with two seconds left. They opted to go for the touchdown instead of a field goal, but the decision backfired, as Kenneth Gainwell was stuffed as the clock hit zero.

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Thankfully for them, the Steelers got the ball to start the second half, and they did not let their opening drive go to waste, finding the end zone to tie the game at 10. Then, in his first game back from a collapsed lung, T.J. Watt caught a batted ball at the line for an interception. Pittsburgh then added a field goal for its first lead of the game.

The Steelers, with 42-year-old Rodgers and a head coach in Mike Tomlin whom fans were ready to give up on, finished the season at 10-7 and will host the Houston Texans on Monday night in the wild-card round.

Ali Larter turns heads at awards show while ‘Sinners’ breaks nomination records

“Landman” actress Ali Larter turned heads Sunday while walking the red carpet at the 31st annual Critics Choice Awards.

Larter, 49, slipped into a black silk gown ahead of the show at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. Alicia Silverstone rocked a strapless sparkling Stella McCartney dress.

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in “Sentimental Value,” Elle Fanning hit the red carpet wearing a shimmering gold Ralph Lauren dress.

‘LANDMAN’ STAR ALI LARTER REVEALS 4:30 A.M. WORKOUT ROUTINE AND DIET SECRETS

Nominated for Best Actress for her role in “The Testament of Ann Lee,” Amanda Seyfried sported a strapless Valentino gown.

Leonardo DiCaprio skipped the red carpet, but reunited with his “One Battle After Another” co-stars Chase Infiniti and Benicio del Toro once inside the event.

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Ariana Grande continued her “Wicked: For Good” campaign, and wore a custom pink Alberta Ferretti dress complete with a cape and Swarovski jewelry.

“Sinners” director Ryan Coogler enjoyed a date night with wife Zinzi as they walked the red carpet Sunday. 

His critically acclaimed horror flick leads film contenders with 17 nominations, the Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced in a December release.

“Sinners” earned nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, among others, in addition to Best Actor nods for cast members Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, and Miles Caton.

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Caton praised God upon receiving the first award of the night for Best Young Actor.

Leighton Meester echoed spring wearing a lilac-hued Carolina Herrera gown as she smiled alongside husband Adam Brody, who is nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in “Nobody Wants This.”

“One Battle After Another” followed closely behind “Sinners,” earning 14 nominations.

“Adolescence” leads television nominees with six nominations, while Sara and Erin Foster’s “Nobody Wants This” earned five nods, including Best Comedy.

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Chelsea Handler returned for the fourth year to serve as host of ceremonies.

Major airline expands airport test holding flights to prevent missed connections

American Airlines is continuing to test an AI-powered system designed to delay departing flights, so that passengers have a better chance of making their connections.

The airline announced back in May 2025 the technology would be tested at its Dallas-Fort Worth hub.

It has since expanded the program to additional airports, including Los Angeles International Airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Miami International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

MILLIONS AFFECTED AS MAJOR AIRLINE ENDS ADVANTAGE MILES PROGRAM ON BASIC ECONOMY TICKETS

For travelers, the changes could mean fewer missed connections in some cases.

The system analyzes real-time data to identify flights that have passengers at risk of missing their next departure — and determines whether holding the flight briefly could help those travelers make their connection.

Passengers are notified by automated text when a flight is held, including details on how long the plane will wait at the gate, American Airlines’ spokesperson Luisa Barrientos Flores told Afar.

The flights will be held, on average, for 10 minutes, Flores said.

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Some travelers say they’ve already experienced the system firsthand.

In a Reddit post, one passenger described receiving a notification after the first flight was delayed. The notice said the connecting flight would wait at the gate.

The traveler described feeling especially relieved, as he or she had a tight layover and was worried about missing the connection, particularly since it was the last flight of the night.

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The user noted that the text message arrived as soon as the plane landed. 

The text detailed how long the connecting flight would be held.

United Airlines has rolled out new technology as well that’s aimed at helping passengers make tight connections. 

The updates build on technology the airline has been using for several years, according to the company.

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In a December 2025 press release, United said it rolled out personalized features that provide step-by-step directions to connecting gates, estimated walking times, real-time flight updates and guidance for longer layovers.

The updates build on technology the airline has been using for several years. 

The app also notifies passengers when United is able to hold a departing flight for travelers facing especially tight connections.

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Fox News Digital reached out to American Airlines for further comment about its program.