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Local meteorologists could face layoffs amid new initiative with The Weather Channel : NPR

Local meteorologists could face layoffs amid new initiative with The Weather Channel : NPR


Byron Allen speaks at the Allen Media Group upfront presentation at Avra on April 26, 2023 in New York City.

Allen Media Group Founder Byron Allen speaks at the Allen Media Group upfront presentation on April 26, 2023, in New York City.

Chance Yeh/Getty Images for Allen Media Group/The Weather Channel


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Chance Yeh/Getty Images for Allen Media Group/The Weather Channel

Meteorologists at 27 local TV news stations are facing uncertainty about their jobs after Allen Media Group announced a new local weather initiative with The Weather Channel.

The group, which owns TV stations in 21 markets across the country, said Saturday it is rolling out a new format for weather coverage that will have “additional visual storytelling capabilities” across its stations in 2025.

The move comes as the broadcast industry, particularly television, seeks new ways to engage audiences as it navigates waning viewership amid cord cutting and the rise of streaming platforms.

The plan involves meteorologists at The Weather Channel in Atlanta producing content for local stations across the country. The team under the new initiative will be led by Carl Parker, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel, and include some meteorologists from local TV stations moving to Atlanta, the media group said in a statement.

Severe weather will remain a priority, the group said, and the new format will “improve reporting capabilities, especially in high-stakes weather situations.” It will also ensure “the most accurate, timely, and engaging forecasts for communities across the country,” according to the release.

The company would not publicly detail how the change would affect meteorologists at local TV stations.

Meteorologists at some stations say they expect to be impacted by the decision. There are also stations facing ongoing layoffs that were announced in early 2024.

“By now most of you have probably seen the chatter about Allen media letting local meteorologists go, well I am one that will be affected by this,” Amber Kulick, a meteorologist with WAAY-TV in Huntsville, Ala., a station owned by the media group, wrote in a social media post. “For now I am still at the station but I am looking for my next career opportunity.”

Josh Franson, a meteorologist with KWWL-TV in Iowa, said he is among those facing layoffs at his station.

“Hey guys, If you haven’t heard the recent news about the layoffs, I wanted to share that our station is one of those impacted,” Franson wrote in a post on X. “To my viewers and those of you who have been on Frannys Report since day one, thank you.”

Zach Stanford, a former state coordinator for crisis information and disaster intelligence for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said local meteorologists are the “obvious choice for life-saving local weather information” and serve critical roles in sharing other information such as wildfire perimeters and evacuations.

“Local meteorologists on TV are a trusted face, not only because they know their science, but also because they’re a member of that community,” Stanford told NPR. “The community component has to be thought through to make sure that that critical service is not lost.”

Allen Media Group took ownership of The Weather Channel in 2018.



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Vivek Ramaswamy Plans to Bail on MAGA Pal Musk at DOGE – The Daily Beast

Vivek Ramaswamy Plans to Bail on MAGA Pal Musk at DOGE – The Daily Beast


  1. Vivek Ramaswamy Plans to Bail on MAGA Pal Musk at DOGE  The Daily Beast
  2. Vivek Ramaswamy expected to depart DOGE  CBS News
  3. Jon Husted, Ohio’s lieutenant governor, tapped to replace JD Vance in Senate  ABC News
  4. DeWine Names Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to Fill JD Vance’s Senate Seat  The New York Times
  5. DOGE bro Ramaswamy likely to announce Ohio governor run by month’s end: sources  Fox News



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First Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners freed in ceasefire deal with Hamas : NPR

First Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners freed in ceasefire deal with Hamas : NPR


The three released Israeli hostages, who had been abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Palestinian militants, exit a van before boarding an Israeli Air Force military transport helicopter near Reim in southern Israel on Jan. 19 as part of a ceasefire deal.

The three released Israeli hostages, who had been abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Palestinian militants, exit a van before boarding an Israeli Air Force military transport helicopter near Reim in southern Israel on Jan. 19 as part of a ceasefire deal.

Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images


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Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images

Around 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were freed from Israeli jails and into the occupied West Bank on Sunday, as part of an exchange under ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel that went into effect Sunday morning. Their release comes hours after three Israeli women were set free by Hamas-led Palestinian militants who held them hostage in Gaza for 471 days.

This was the first of several hostage and detainee exchanges set to take place during the planned six-week ceasefire in Gaza that’s aimed at ending the 15-month war. Negotiations to extend the deal are expected to begin in coming weeks.

In the West Bank, the freed Palestinians arrived in a bus to scenes of cheering and celebration. Hundreds of people were there to greet them at the release site, in a traffic circle in a suburb of Ramallah. Families were bundled up in winter coats and waving Palestinian flags while waiting for hours in the cold.

Several young men, wearing what appeared to be Israeli prison uniforms, were hoisted onto the shoulders of friends and family.

According to the Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs, the Palestinians released in the exchange were women and minors.

Hours earlier, Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher crossed into Israel on a military transport after being driven out of Gaza City in a Red Cross vehicle on Sunday, Israel said. Hamas fighters stood on the roof of the car they were in, surrounded by crowds of Palestinians trying to get a look at the hostages, against a cityscape of war-ravaged buildings.

33 hostages are expected to be released by Hamas as part of a ceasefire with Israel

The Red Cross handed the women over to Israeli forces. As night fell, they were driven across the border in a military convoy to a reception center set up for the hostages to be released in the coming weeks. Israel said the women were reunited with their mothers there.

Israel said doctors and psychologists were also on hand to give the women an initial medical assessment, before being transferred to a hospital near Tel Aviv, for further treatment and to see the rest of their families.

Under the ceasefire agreed to between Israel and Hamas in Qatar last week, Hamas is set to release 33 hostages over the next six weeks, while Israel agreed to release some 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The agreement was reached with the help of mediators from several countries and including representatives of both the incoming and outgoing U.S. administrations.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the government is committed to the return of all 94 remaining hostages, most of whom were captured on the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught on southern Israel, and many of whom Israel says are no longer believed to be alive.

These are the U.S. citizens held hostage in Gaza

Israeli authorities published a list of names of Palestinians detained after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, including Khalida Jarrar of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who has been in and out of Israeli prisons, and Abla Sa’adat, the wife of PFLP leader Ahmad Sa’adat.

In Charleston, S.C., President Biden spoke on Sunday about the many rounds of often tense negotiations that produced the ceasefire deal.

“The deal that I first put forward last May for the Middle East has finally come to fruition,” he said, adding that hundreds of trucks are entering the Gaza Strip “as I speak,” carrying assistance to people there. “Today the guns in Gaza have gone silent,” he said.

He said the negotiations over the deal took a long time, and “this is one of the toughest negotiations I’ve been part of.”

Palestinians celebrate after US President-elect Donald Trump's announcement of hostage deal between Israel and Hamas , in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, Gaza on January 15, 2025.

Biden also defended broader U.S. support for Israel under his administration, saying the U.S. led a “principled and effective policy” that led to the ceasefire deal and helped to weaken Hamas’ allies in the region, including Hezbollah and Iran.

Speaking on Sunday at a rally in Washington, D.C., ahead of his inauguration on Monday, President-elect Donald Trump took credit for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

“Perhaps most beautiful of all this week, we achieved an epic ceasefire agreement as a first step toward lasting peace in the Middle East. And this agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November,” Trump said.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff went to the Middle East with Biden’s team as the final details of the ceasefire were worked out. He thanked Witkoff, who was in the audience.

Smoke rises after an explosion in northern Gaza, before a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas goes into effect, as seen from Israel, January 19, 2025.

Smoke rises after an explosion in northern Gaza, before a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas goes into effect, as seen from Israel on Sunday.

Maya Levin for NPR


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Maya Levin for NPR

The ceasefire faced an initial delay of a few hours

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect at 11:15 a.m. local time (4:15 a.m. ET) — around three hours after the originally scheduled time for hostilities to cease. It was supposed to have gone into effect at 8:30 a.m., but the Israeli prime minister insisted that Israel did not consider the terms of the agreement valid and enforceable until Hamas had handed over a list of the names of hostages to be released on Sunday.

Under the agreement, Hamas was supposed to hand them over on Saturday. The group did eventually, and the ceasefire appeared to be holding throughout the day.

Gonen, 24, was kidnapped at the Nova music festival as part of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7; Damari, 28, a British-Israeli citizen, was abducted the same day by militants attacking Kfar Aza, a small Israeli community — known as a kibbutz — close to Gaza; and Steinbrecher, 31, was also taken from Kfar Aza.

According to a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Gonen “loves dancing, traveling, and enjoying life. Friends and family describe her as energetic, funny, family-oriented, and full of life.”

Friends of Damari describe her as “well-loved and popular, a friend to everyone. Emily enjoys barbecuing, karaoke nights, and loves hats,” according to the same statement. She was abducted along with her friends Gali and Ziv Berman, who remain in captivity.

Steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse, according to the group’s statement, and “has cared for animals since childhood, when she helped at the school’s petting zoo. She loves sports, especially running, and goes for early morning runs around the kibbutz every Saturday.” The group said her family considered her a devoted aunt to her nephews.

Throughout the morning, surveillance drones flew over Gaza and the Israeli military reported strikes in the territory. NPR confirmed that a jeep belonging to the Al Qassem Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, was struck.

The spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense, Mahmoud Basal, said Israeli attacks killed 19 people across various parts of the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.

Gazan health authorities said a total of 46,913 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and close-quarter fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants in this war. The Israeli military says 405 soldiers have been killed in the war, in addition to around 1,200 people in Israel killed on Oct. 7, 2023.

On Sunday, the Israeli military also said it carried out a special operation alongside the country’s domestic intelligence service that helped recover the body of infantry soldier Oron Shaul. He had been killed during clashes with Hamas in 2014.

Hamas militants are still holding 94 hostages inside Gaza. Most of those were seized on Oct. 7, 2023, but others were taken hostage in the preceding decade, and a substantial number are no longer alive.

In Jerusalem, the far-right Otzma Yehudit party released a statement saying its leader, former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, was making good on his threat to leave Netanyahu’s governing coalition, and he would take his party’s ministers with him. The statement called the ceasefire deal a “victory for terrorism.”

Jerome Socolovsky reported from Tel Aviv. Kat Lonsdorf is in the West Bank.



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Catatumbo, Colombia: At least 80 people killed in country’s northeast as peace talks fail

Catatumbo, Colombia: At least 80 people killed in country’s northeast as peace talks fail



BOGOTÁ, Colombia
AP
 — 

More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend following the government’s failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.

Twenty others were injured in the violence that has forced thousands to flee as Colombia’s army scrambled to evacuate people on Sunday, according to William Villamizar, governor of North Santander, where many of the killings took place.

Among the victims are community leader Carmelo Guerrero and seven people who sought to sign a peace deal, according to a report that a government ombudsman agency released late Saturday.

Officials said the attacks happened in several towns located in the Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela, with at least three people who were part of the peace talks being kidnapped.

Thousands of people are fleeing the area, with some hiding in the nearby lush mountains or seeking help at government shelters.

Displaced people from recent clashes between armed groups arrive in the municipality of Tibu, Norte de Santander Department, Colombia, on Saturday.

“We were caught in the crossfire,” said Juan Gutiérrez, who fled with his family to a temporary shelter in Tibú after they were forced to leave behind their animals and belongings. “We had no time to grab our things. … I hope the government remembers us. … We are helpless here.”

Colombia’s army rescued dozens of people on Sunday, including a family and their pet dog, whose owner held a pack of cold water against the animal’s chest to keep it cool as they evacuated by helicopter.

Defense Minister Iván Velásquez traveled to the northeast town of Cúcuta on Sunday where he held several security meetings and urged armed groups to demobilize.

“The priority is to save lives and guarantee the security of communities,” he said. “We have deployed our troops throughout the entire region.”

Officials also prepared to send 10 tons of food and hygiene kits for approximately 5,000 people in the communities of Ocaña and Tibú, the majority of them having fled the violence.

An aerial view of the Tarra River, which divides Colombia and Venezuela, as seen from Tibu, Norte de Santader Deparment, Colombia, on Sunday.

“Catatumbo needs help,” Villamizar said in a public address on Saturday. “Boys, girls, young people, teenagers, entire families are showing up with nothing, riding trucks, dump trucks, motorcycles, whatever they can, on foot, to avoid being victims of this confrontation.”

The attack comes after Colombia suspended peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, on Friday, the second time it has done so in less than a year.

Colombia’s government has demanded that the ELN cease all attacks and allow authorities to enter the region and provide humanitarian aid.

“Displacement is killing us here in the region,” said José Trinidad, a municipal official for the town of Convención, located in the North Santander region. “We’re afraid the crisis will worsen.”

Trinidad called on insurgent groups to sit down and hammer out a new agreement so “us civilians don’t have to suffer the consequences that we’re suffering right now.”

The ELN has been clashing in Catatumbo with former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a guerrilla group that disbanded after signing a peace deal in 2016 with Colombia’s government. The two are fighting over control of a strategic border region that has coca leaf plantations.

A soldier stands guard as people unload humanitarian aid for displaced people from recent clashes between armed groups in Tibu, Norte de Santader Deparment, Colombia, on Sunday.

In a statement Saturday, the ELN said it had warned former FARC members that if they “continued attacking the population … there was no other way out than armed confrontation.” The ELN has accused ex-FARC rebels of several killings in the area, including the Jan. 15 slaying of a couple and their 9-month-old baby.

Army commander Gen. Luis Emilio Cardozo Santamaría said Saturday that authorities were reinforcing a humanitarian corridor between Tibú and Cúcuta for the safe passage of those forced to flee their homes. He said special urban troops also were deployed to municipal capitals “where there are risks and a lot of fear.”

The ELN has tried to negotiate a peace deal with the administration of President Gustavo Petro five times, with talks failing after bouts of violence. ELN demands include that it be recognized as a political rebel organization, which critics have said is risky.



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Los Angeles Braces For Another Santa Ana Event With Gusts To 100 MPH

Los Angeles Braces For Another Santa Ana Event With Gusts To 100 MPH


As residents impacted by the Eaton and Palisades Fires were slowly returning to their homes — or where their homes used to be — another dangerous Santa Ana wind event is forecast to begin Monday that is expected to bring isolated gusts as high as 100 mph.

Firefighters have continued to benefit from a break in the weather, thanks to low clouds and good humidity levels. Containment of the Palisades Fire has grown to 52% while containment of the Eaton Fire has grown to 81%. But the National Weather Service warned that this week’s expected winds mean that “conditions are favorable for extreme fire behavior and rapid fire growth, which would threaten life and property.”

A familiar Red Flag Warning was issued for Los Angeles County from 8 a.m. Monday morning through 2 p.m. Tuesday. Per the NWS, “A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. Use extreme caution with anything that can spark a wildfire. Residents near wildland interfaces should be prepared to evacuate if a wildfire breaks out.” 

Forecasters took the rare step of issuing a “particularly dangerous situation warning,” an extreme designation beyond a Red Flag Warning, for a large portion of Los Angeles and Ventura counties Sunday afternoon due to damaging Santa Ana winds and very low humidity. That region is outlined in purple below and skirts along the edges of both existing fires.

California Governor Gavin Newsom last week sought to put the designation into star relief last week, noting that such warnings had been issued four times in the past three months. The first preceded the Mountain Fire in Ventura in which 243 structures were destroyed. The second preceded the Franklin Fire in Malibu in December where 20 structures destroyed. The third preceded the Palisades and Eaton Fires which have destroyed close to 15,000 homes and counting. The fourth was the second round of winds last week that fanned those fires.

The particularly dangerous situation warning is in effect from noon Monday until 10 a.m. Tuesday for the Santa Clarita Valley, San Fernando Valley including Calabasas and Agoura Hills, Malibu coast, western Santa Monica Mountains recreation area, the Interstate 5 corridor, San Gabriel Valley and north of the 210 Freeway including Altadena and Glendora.

Here’s a portion of the NWS Forecast Discussion:

NE winds will start in the mtns a few hours before dawn. During the morning hours after sunrise the winds will accelerate and move out of the mtns into the vlys and then the coast. Gusts will start increase and will reach warning levels during the day. Max gusts across the csts/vlys will be between 55 and 65 mph and the mtns will see frequent 60 to 70 mph gusts with local ridgetop winds reaching 70 to 90 mph. These winds will be oriented in the typical NE Santa Ana direction. This direction will bring the greatest mtn wave potential to the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Vlys.

The winds will peak Monday evening and overnight and will extend into Tuesday morning before the upper support wanes and the sfc grads begin to relax.

PREDICTED WINDSPEEDS FOR MONDAY EVENING:

Forecasters say Isolated gusts of 80 to 100 mph are expected in most wind-prone mountain locations, such as the San Gabriel, western Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains.

And that won’t be the end of it.

Per the NWS:

Gusty offshore winds and widespread very low humidities will continue later Tuesday night through Thursday in much of these same areas. The strongest winds during this period are expected Wednesday night into Thursday morning with gusts in the 40 to 55 mph range. Minimum humidities are forecast to be in the 3 to 13 percent range overall, with very poor overnight recoveries. Due to the potential for continued red flag fire conditions, a Fire Weather Watch is also in effect for most of these areas from late Tuesday evening through Thursday evening.

Officials are urging residents to review their evacuation plans and make sure emergency kits are stocked with needed items should they have to evacuate.

The city of Los Angeles declared that red-flag parking restrictions would go into effect at 8 a.m. Monday and remain in effect until further notice.

Ironically, the latest National Weather Service forecast also posits “a 60 to 70 percent chance of rain next weekend with about 40 percent of the ensembles showing rainfall accumulations over half and inch for most of the coast and valleys.”

That could present yet another challenge to recovery efforts as well as potentially create mudslides in the recent burn scars and, as Los Angeles Public Works Department chief Mark Pestrella warned earlier this week, potentially toxic flows.

“Both areas suffered watershed damage burned to such a significance that we expect massive debris-laden flows when it rains,” he cautioned. “In an event that we have major rain, we do expect that all of the street areas and all of the communities will be impacted by debris flows that could be hazardous to human health. In order to address this, we are developing plans to capture and hold this debris back as much as we can during a rain event.”

Pestrella said his department was “assessing impact to the flood control system” in both the Palisades and Altadena areas. He reported his department is “already deploying labor forces into the area in order to ensure that the flood control system is ready — as well as our street system is ready — as much as possible for that rain event.”

City News Service contributed to this report.



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Trump Border Czar Denounces Leak On Chicago Immigration Raids, Says No Decision Made Yet

Trump Border Czar Denounces Leak On Chicago Immigration Raids, Says No Decision Made Yet


CHICAGO — Incoming President Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan is hesitating to carry out a leaked plan to flood Chicago with immigration officers during the president-elect’s first week in office, he said in an interview with the Washington Post Saturday.

Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told the Washington Post he “hasn’t made a decision yet” regarding a plan first reported by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times to send 150-200 ICE officers to the city as soon as Tuesday.

“We’re looking at this leak and will make a decision based on this leak,” Homan told the Washington Post. “It’s unfortunate because anyone leaking law enforcement operations puts officers at greater risk.”

He went on to say he didn’t know “why Chicago was mentioned specifically” and explained the incoming administration’s intended scope was far broader than just Chicago.

The “Operation Safeguard” plan was slated to launch the day after Trump’s inauguration and run until the following Monday, according to two unnamed current federal agents and a former official who spoke with the New York Times. Now, Homan wants to make it clear that ICE’s commitment to specifically target undocumented immigrants with criminal records or who have evaded deportation in the past will be a “nationwide thing,” he said to the Washington Post.

“ICE will start arresting public safety threats and national security threats on day one,” he said. “We’ll be arresting people across the country, uninhibited by prior administration’s guidelines. … We’re not sweeping neighborhoods. We have a targeted enforcement plan.”

The Trump administration is gearing up for what it says will be the largest mass-deportation operation in United States history. An executive order declaring a state of emergency on the southern border will most likely be signed on Monday, Trump’s first day in office, according to Politico.

Previous announcements of big raids by the Trump administration created panic, but did not lead to mass deportations. In 2019, 2,000 migrants were targeted in raids across the country, but only 35 were actually arrested, the Times reported.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus released a statement Sunday denouncing the Trump administration’s “unconstitutional” deportation aspirations, saying ICE raids violate a person’s Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful searches and seizures.

“We recognize the profound anxiety, fear and apprehension these actions bring to our communities,” the caucus said. “The CHC is committed to serving as a resource and advocate for all families impacted by the unconstitutional actions of the incoming administration, and we will continue to fight for the rights, safety and the dignity of all communities.”

Meanwhile, Homan condemned the people who leaked the operation and declined to comment on whether or not there was a specific plan to send ICE agents to Chicago, opting to defer to regional ICE officials.

Just last month, Homan announced mass deportations efforts would “start right here in Chicago” at an event on the Northwest Side, prompting widespread backlash across the city.

Mayor Brandon Johnson was absent from a Saturday morning press conference addressing the Trump administration’s targeting of Chicago, but touted his administration’s dedication to progressive values in an X post on Sunday.

“Chicago stands strong: regardless of the circumstances, our commitment to protecting and supporting this city remains unwavering. We will continue to fight for the justice and safety of all who call this place home,” he said.

The back-and-forth frenzy comes after Chicago stood by its Sanctuary City status in a 39-11 City Council vote against changes on Wednesday, meaning local law enforcement still cannot assist ICE officials with deportations or raids. That doesn’t mean ICE agents can’t conduct operations within Chicago city limits, though.

Prior to Homan’s confirmation that plans to raid Chicago weren’t set in stone yet, Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) told Block Club he and other city officials were privately doubting the Trump administration’s ability to mobilize ICE so soon after taking office.

”I don’t believe [the Trump administration] really has the resources to really amp up the way they’re starting to, but they want people to believe a big change is happening,” Vasquez explained. “It is really all about the communication and messaging.”

Anyone has the right to refuse an ICE agent entry, even undocumented immigrants. Read more about what immigrant communities should know about their rights here.

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:





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Ravens-Bills on Divisional Round Sunday: What We Learned from Buffalo's 27-25 win – NFL.com

Ravens-Bills on Divisional Round Sunday: What We Learned from Buffalo's 27-25 win – NFL.com


  1. Ravens-Bills on Divisional Round Sunday: What We Learned from Buffalo’s 27-25 win  NFL.com
  2. John Harbaugh, Lamar Jackson defend Mark Andrews after fumble and drop in Ravens’ loss  NBC Sports
  3. Bills top sloppy Ravens, will play for AFC title  ESPN
  4. Lamar Jackson on Ravens’ latest playoff frustration, fueled by turnovers and Mark Andrews’ drop — ‘Tired of this s***’  Yahoo Sports
  5. Ravens again fail to get it done on playoff stage: ‘This one is going to hurt for a while’ – The Athletic  The New York Times



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Daniel Jones watches Eagles’ win from Saquon Barkley’s box

Daniel Jones watches Eagles’ win from Saquon Barkley’s box


Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley shared a close bond during their time with the Giants, and it seems that hasn’t changed despite the two no longer being teammates. 

Jones was on hand on Sunday when Barkley rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles’ 28-22 NFC divisional round win over the Rams. He had scoring runs of 62 and 78 yards — the latter of which proved to be the winning score.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in the second half in a 2025 NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The former Giants starting quarterback was a guest in Barkley’s box at Lincoln Financial Field, along with ex-Giants receiver Sterling Shepard, according to ESPN. 

The pair were “among those in his box cheering on their close friend,” per the report. 

Barkley and Jones spent five seasons as teammates in New York and both had – what was at the time – career years for both players in 2022. 

The running back had 1,312 rushing yards – a career-best – and had 10 rushing touchdowns, while Jones put up a career-high 67.2 percent completion rate and a career-best 3,205 passing yards. 

Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles shakes hands with Daniel Jones of the New York Giants following the game at MetLife Stadium on October 20, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Philadelphia defeated New York 28-3. Getty Images

The two didn’t end up staying with the Giants, with Barkley leaving via free agency last offseason and Jones ended up being released in the middle of this season in the second year of his four-year, $160 million contract extension he signed in 2023. 

But Barkley had plenty of kind words to say after Jones and the Giants went their separate ways in November. 

Former Giants receiver Sterling Shepard was in Saquon Barkley’s box on Sunday. Getty Images

“I’ve got nothing but great things to say about him. You’re not going to find anybody who’s really got a lot of negative things to say about him,” Barkley said. “But it’s the NFL. Hopefully, wherever he ends up next, they’re gonna get a guy who will come in and work. [Coming from the Giants], I’m doing well [with the Eagles]. Hopefully, he can find the same kind of fresh start and success.”

Barkley has the chance to secure his first Super Bowl appearance next weekend when the Eagles host the Commanders in the NFC championship game. 



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Israel-Hamas ceasefire live updates: Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners

Israel-Hamas ceasefire live updates: Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners


Image

A drone photo shows humanitarian aid trucks enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

United Nations humanitarian officials say that more than 630 trucks of humanitarian aid have entered the besieged Gaza Strip, following the implementation of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

In a post on social media platform X, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said that at least 300 of the trucks are bringing humanitarian assistance into the north.

“There is no time to lose,” Fletcher wrote. “After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.”

The Gaza ceasefire deal calls for the entry into Gaza of 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief daily. Over the course of the deal’s first stage, 33 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza will also be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Aid workers have been scrambling to address Gaza’s dire humanitarian needs after 15 months of devastating war and tough Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries and the movement of convoys within Gaza. Lawlessness and looting by armed gangs have also been a major obstacle to aid distribution.

Before this latest Israel-Hamas war began, Gaza was under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade that allowed the entry of some 500 trucks a day carrying commercial supplies and humanitarian aid.





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