DJ LeMahieu was cut by the New York Yankees with almost $22 million remaining on his contract, one day after the two-time batting champion got demoted to the bench.
“It’s been a tough couple days. Some hard conversations,” manager Aaron Boone said before New York’s 9-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners. “But in the end, feel like this is the right thing to do at this time.”
LeMahieu, who turns 37 on Sunday, was designated for assignment Wednesday and fellow infielder Jorbit Vivas was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
New York released LeMahieu on Thursday, owing $21,612,903 from the $90 million, six-year deal he signed with the Yankees prior to the 2021 season: $6,612,903 for the rest of this year and $15 million in 2026.
Any team can sign him for a prorated share of the $760,000 minimum.
“Tough decisions,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “It ultimately comes down to how this roster sits and what’s best. You want to provide your manager with enough chess moves.”
LeMahieu, a three-time All-Star, was batting .266 with two homers, 12 RBIs and a .674 OPS. He made his season debut May 13 after recovering from a left calf strain and had a .310 average in his last 31 games since June 1.
A versatile defender in the past, LeMahieu has made all 35 of his starts at second base this year — even though he’s got plenty of experience at third and the Yankees essentially have a hole there.
Going back to the winter, LeMahieu expressed a preference to play second or first because third base “had become an issue physically” at this stage of his career, Cashman said.
So that’s why LeMahieu played second exclusively throughout his minor league rehab assignment and was inserted there when he came off the injured list.
All-Star infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. began the season at second base, his most natural position, after playing third for the Yankees last year. But he got hurt in late April and when he returned in early June from a right oblique strain, he moved back to the hot corner for a while as LeMahieu stayed at second.
“We gave him runway to see what he looked like, to see if this dimension with the current setup was going to be workable,” Cashman said. “At some point, you make some tough decisions.”
LeMahieu won three Gold Gloves at second with Colorado from 2014-18 — and another one in a utility role with the Yankees in 2022. But his range has been diminished by toe, foot, hip and calf injuries in recent years.
DJ LeMahieu makes a play at second base during a game against the Athletics on June 27.Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire via AP
The athletic Chisholm, meanwhile, has made some wild throws from third base lately while hindered by a sore shoulder. So on Tuesday, Boone moved Chisholm back to second and put LeMahieu on the bench.
Boone said LeMahieu didn’t ask for his release and was willing to start working out at other positions — including third base — to provide options.
But a day later, after multiple meetings with Boone and Cashman this week, LeMahieu’s 6 1/2-year tenure with the Yankees came to an unceremonious end.
“Looking at what the next few weeks could unveil, kind of Cash and I decided today like, it was probably the day to go ahead and do it,” Boone said. “I just feel like now and how our roster’s built, maybe this gives us some more flexibility in the short term.”
Boone said third base going forward will be “some kind of combination” between Vivas and light-hitting Oswald Peraza, who started at the hot corner for the second consecutive night Wednesday.
Boone also said backup catcher J.C. Escarra could even “figure into that mix.”
Regardless, Cashman will be looking for a third baseman as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.
New York added depth by signing infielder Nicky Lopez and third baseman Jeimer Candelario to minor league contracts this month.
LeMahieu won his first batting title in 2016 with the Rockies and his second with New York in 2020, when he hit .364 with 10 homers and 27 RBIs in 50 games during the pandemic-shortened season.
“As widely respected a player as we’ve had — and understandably so,” Boone said. “He’s earned that with just his professionalism, his toughness, his play on the field and just kind of the quiet way he goes about things. There’s a lot of guys that have an immense amount of respect for DJ.
“Sometimes you have to make hard decisions.”
In another move, the Yankees opened a roster spot for right-hander Cam Schlittler by designating reliever Geoff Hartlieb for assignment. Schlittler was selected from Triple-A to start Wednesday night against Seattle in his major league debut.
The European confectionary company Ferrero has agreed to buy WK Kellogg Co., the manufacturer of iconic American cereals, for $3.1 billion.
The acquisition is set to bring the publicly traded maker of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies under the privately owned Italian manufacturer of Nutella, Tic Tacs and Kinder chocolates.
WK Kellogg, based in Battle Creek, Michigan, was spun off from Kellogg’s in 2023, splitting the company’s North American cereal business from its other snack products like Pringles and Pop-Tarts, a unit that is now owned by the publicly traded conglomerate Kellanova. WK Kellogg, one of North America’s largest cereal makers, saw its shares surge more than 30% Thursday on the news of the deal.
The agreement comes after years of slowing demand for sugary breakfast cereals as many consumers look for healthier options. WK Kellogg came under fire last year when CEO Gary Pilnick said on CNBC that households squeezed by food companies’ price hikes should consider eating “cereal for dinner” to save money, part of a marketing pitch the company was making as an answer to inflation.
Yet snack demand, too, has flagged recently, with The Campbell’s Co. and General Mills each warning this year of slower sales as customers prioritize square meals.
Ferrero, perhaps best known for its namesake Ferrero Rocher chocolates in gold foil, originated in Alba, Italy, after World War II and is now a multinational food maker headquartered in Luxembourg. The company reported revenue of €18.4 billion last fiscal year, up nearly 9% from the one before.
Ferrero executive chairman Giovanni Ferrero described the acquisition Thursday as “a key milestone” in an effort to grow its footprint in North America, where the closely held company sells an array of popular candies.
The deal is among a series of high-profile Ferrero acquisitions in recent years. The firm bought Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and other U.S. candy brands from Nestle in 2018, then acquired Kellogg’s bakery business, including Famous Amos and Keebler’s, in 2019 along with the manufacturer of Halo Top ice cream in 2022.
After the transaction closes, WK Kellogg will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and become a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrero. The deal is expected to close later this year.
Sweden’s national security service said it was investigating reports that data shared by bodyguards on a fitness app had exposed the private locations of some of the country’s most powerful figures.
“The Swedish Security Police take the information very seriously,” a spokesperson for Säkerhetspolisen (SÄPO) wrote in a statement shared Thursday. “This is a matter of data that could be used to gather information about the activities of our Service.”
“We are now in the process of investigating what effect this might have had,” the spokesperson said.
It comes after the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported earlier this week that seven members of the security service were sharing details of their running and cycling routes on the fitness app Strava, inadvertently revealing the locations of the king and queen’s personal vacations.
That included trips to a private island in the Seychelles, the mountain village of Storlien in northern Sweden and, most recently, to a luxury villa on the French Riviera in June.
Earlier reports from the newspaper also found that the guards’ workout data on the fitness app had revealed the private details of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on at least 35 occasions, including his running routes, trips abroad and private address.
Other information uploaded to Strava was also linked to former Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and the leader of the Sweden Democrats party, Jimmie Åkesson.
“Dignitaries that our Service is responsible for protecting are subject to several layers of protection, where their close protection by bodyguards is one layer,” the SÄPO spokesperson said in their statement, adding that the security agency was aware of the risks presented by the leaked information.
“Our Service is now taking the necessary steps to ensure that our procedures are followed closely, so that this does not happen again,” the statement said.
The Swedish Royal Court declined to comment on the reports, citing official policy on security-related matters.
This is not the first time that publicly available data on Strava has breached official security protocols.
An earlier investigation by the French newspaper Le Monde in October 2024 also found the app had revealed the movements and locations of other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and then-President Joe Biden.
A spokesperson for Strava, whose name means “strive” in Swedish, told NBC News that there was no leak or breach of user data in the latest instance.
“Users can also control the visibility of their activities, their routes, and whether each activity is public or private,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We expect Strava users working in sensitive professions to leverage the privacy settings available.”
We’re officially in uncharted territory: day three of Prime Day. Amazon made what’s usually a 48-hour sale into a four-day event this year, which means Prime members still have plenty of time to take advantage of exclusive discounts across tech, beauty, home essentials, kitchen and more.
Because I’m sure you’re wondering, yes, deals are just as good today as they’ve been so far — in some cases, we’ve seen prices drop even more. Plus, Amazon is constantly adding new discounts, including fresh Lightning Deals. Just don’t wait too long to shop. Some of the most popular items are already selling out, and with many deals lasting only a day or two, prices can jump without warning.
I’ve covered Prime Day for the past six years, and I can tell you: not every deal is worth your time. As a shopping reporter, I get an early look at what’s coming, and I’ve spent weeks combing through it all to find the offers I’d personally recommend. Every deal below is at least 20% off, highly rated and at its lowest price in at least three months. I’ll update this list live throughout Prime Day so you don’t miss a thing.
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Best Prime Day deals 2025
Lowest Price Ever
Stocking up on essentials during Prime Day is one of the best ways to save long-term. These dishwasher detergent pods, which you constantly need to buy more of, are made with Dawn soap to remove grease and other ingredients to break down dried food and residue. You don’t need to pre-rinse your dishes since this detergent is so powerful, according to the brand. There’s 71 pods in a pack.
The snail secretion filtrate in this essence, one of our favorite K-beauty products, can help soothe damaged skin, repair dark spots, reduce the appearance of fine lines and moisturize, according to the brand. It has a lightweight feel and quickly absorbs into the skin.
You’ll eventually need more garbage bags, so you might as well buy them on sale. This box comes with 110 13-gallon trash bags, which have two layers for added leak protection and a Febreeze scent.
LifeStraw’s personal filter can remove over 99% of bacteria, parasites and microplastics from water, making it ideal to bring with you while camping or hiking, or pack in an emergency kit. The tool can filter up to 1,000 gallons of water before you need to replace it. It has a cap to protect the part you sip from, and a layard so you can put it around your neck.
Lowest Price Ever
It’s always a good idea to have extra batteries at home, especially to put in your emergency kit and power kids toys, remotes and flashlights. This pack comes with 32 AA alkaline batteries, which last up to 10 years if they’re unused, according to the brand.
Lowest Price Ever
Our team tested 100 face sunscreens this year and Round Lab’s came out as our number 1 winner. “This sunscreen feels like a moisturizer and leaves my skin hydrated,” says NBC Select editorial projects manager Rebecca Rodriguez. “It blends in seamlessly and doesn’t leave behind that sticky sunscreen feeling.” The broad-spectrum SPF is oil-free, making it suitable for acne-prone skin, too.
Once you plug devices like fans, air purifiers and small kitchen appliances into this smart plug, you can control them via the Amazon Alexa app or voice commands. The plug is compact, so it won’t block your second outlet. Using the app, you can set up schedules, timers and routines for your devices.
Lowest Price Ever
As someone who doesn’t have a dishwasher, I’m very picky about dish soap, and Dawn’s Platinum Powerwash Spray is my all-time favorite option. The sprayer helps me cover a lot of dishes with soap at once, and it comes out foamy, so I don’t need to turn the faucet on until it’s time to rinse.
Out of all the teeth whitening strips we’ve tested, these are our favorite because they’re easy to use and highly effective. Strips are coated in a layer of hydrogen peroxide to remove stains, and they’re flexible, so they mold to the shape of your mouth. There’s 44 strips in the box, which is enough for 22 treatments — 20 are 45-minute standard treatments, and two are 60-minute express treatments.
Lowest Price Ever
These are our all-time favorite wireless earbuds for listening to music, taking calls and exercising. You can use them in active noise cancellation to completely block out sounds, transparency mode to hear the world around you or adaptive audio, which automatically swaps between the two depending on your environment. The headphones, which come with four pairs of silicone tips to customize your fit, are water-resistant, according to the brand.
Bring these protein shakes to work or school, or keep them in the refrigerator at home to drink after a workout or when you need a quick snack. They have a smooth, creamy texture and 30 grams of protein per bottle; they’re shelf-stable until you open them. The shakes come in packs of 12 and are available in flavors like chocolate, vanilla, cafê latte and caramel.
Lowest Price Ever
I use this kitchen gadget to make fresh popcorn at home or the office. There’s a built-in cup on its lid to help you measure kernels, and you can also put butter inside so it melts over your snack. The glass, dishwasher-safe popper also doubles as a bowl once you remove the lid and let it cool down.
Lowest Price Ever
You can fill 100 of these refillable balloons up in just 60 seconds, according to the brand, and they self-seal, so you don’t need to spend time tying each one individually. You’ll get more than 300 balloons (in a range of bright colors) in this pack. (Note: This is a limited-time Lightning Deal.)
Once you plug this Fire Stick into your TV’s HDMI port, you can enjoy your favorite shows, movies and music via streaming services or cable. It comes with an Alexa Voice Remote, and you can bring the device with you on trips to use in hotels or rental homes.
Lowest Price Ever
I’m tossing my decade-old, stained, ripped oven mitts and buying this pair from KitchenAid. They’re covered in soft, ribbed silicone that’s grippy, heat-resistant up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and water-resistant, according to the brand. The oven mitts also have a cotton cuff that feels soft against your skin.
Lowest Price Ever
You’ll wake up with smooth, moisturized lips when you leave this mask on overnight, says NBC Select updates editor Mili Godio. “I use Laneige’s lip mask on days when my lips are super dry and it makes my nighttime routine so much more luxurious,” she says. “My lips feel so soft after I apply it, and I love using the little included spatula.” The lip mask is made with hydrating ingredients like vitamin C, murumuru seed and shea butters, antioxidants and coconut oil.
Lowest Price Ever
This is one of my favorite water bottles — I actually like it better than Stanley’s popular Quencher because it doesn’t leak and is more convenient to travel with. It has a 30-ounce capacity, a flip-up straw, a large handle and a tapered bottom so it fits in most cup holders. The dishwasher-safe water bottle is made from stainless steel and has double-wall vacuum insulation — it can keep your beverages chilled for up to 12 hours, according to the brand.
Vital Proteins’ collagen peptide powder, which I’ve used for years, helps support hair, skin, nail, bone and joint health, according to the brand. One serving has 20 grams of collagen peptides, as well as vitamin C and hyaluronic acid. The unflavored powder seamlessly blends into hot or cold liquids once you scoop it in. (Remember to consult your doctor before taking anything.)
Lowest Price Ever
See, hear and speak to visitors with Blink’s Video Doorbell. It runs on AA batteries, has a two-year battery life and doesn’t require wiring, according to the brand. The camera gives you a head-to-toe view when you livestream footage through the Blink app, which also sends you real-time notifications when it detects people at your door.
The Little Green Machine helps you get stains out of upholstered furniture, carpets, area rugs, car seats and more. It has two 48-ounce tanks to separate cleaning solution from dirty liquid, and the head on the end of its long hose lets you spray cleaner on messes, scrub and suction them. You get a bottle of Bissell’s Oxy Formula with your purchase, as well as a tough stain tool, self-cleaning hose tool and spraying crevice tool.
Lowest Price Ever
Mielle’s hair oil targets thinning hair and dry scalps with biotin and essential oils like rosemary, mint, tea tree and peppermint oil. The ingredients work to strengthen your strands, improve circulation and nourish skin to reduce flaking, according to the brand. The oil is suitable for all hair types and textures, and you use it pre-wash, post-wash or as a 10-minute treatment with a shower cap.
If it weren’t for these little trackers, I’d lose everything I own. I keep them in my wallet and bag, attach one to my keys and always put one in my suitcases while traveling. The AirTags pair with the Find My app on iPhones and iPads, which shows you where they are and gives you directions to locate them. You can also make trackers play a sound through the app, and share them each with up to five people if needed so everyone can track items.
This organizer comes with three bins to separate different items. The handle allows you to remove each bin from the turntable base. The bottom has non-slip feet to keep the Crazy Susan sturdy while you rotate it.
I use a pair of these under-eye masks almost every day to depuff and refresh my skin. They’re soaked in a serum made with hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and glycerin, and made from a gel-like material that has a cooling effect. There’s 24 pairs of individually-wrapped patches in each pack.
Each laundry detergent pod in this 76-pack is filled with soap that has a built-in color protector, odor fighter and stain remover. The pods are HE-compatible and dissolves even in cold water.
Lowest Price Ever
You get three boxes of 10 mini granola bars with this pack, and they come in three flavors: caramel almond and sea salt, dark chocolate nuts and sea salt, and peanut butter dark chocolate. Each gluten-free, low-sugar bar has three grams of protein.
La Roche-Posay’s fragrance-free moisturizer is a top-pick among those on our team with dry skin, myself included. It’s made with hydrating ingredients like ceramides, niacinamide and thermal water, and has a lightweight texture. It sits nicely under makeup, so I typically apply it in the morning, but you can wear it at night, too.
This kit comes with everything you need to collect a saliva swab and send it to Ancestry’s lab. Then, six to eight weeks later, you’ll get your results online, which includes information about your origins across the world, ethnicity estimate and genetic traits you may have a propensity for.
Lowest Price Ever
This travel adapter is compatible with plugs in over 200 countries, according to the brand. It has AC, USB-A and USB-C ports so you can charge five devices simultaneously, and its pins are foldable and retractable, making it compact.
I’ve been a loyal Orgain customer for years and its protein powder is the only one I’ll buy. There’s 21 grams in each serving, and less than one gram of sugar, plus it blends into my smoothies almost instantly, making them extra creamy. The powder is also gluten-free and vegan.
This mini Bluetooth speaker connects to music, audiobook and podcast platforms, letting you play entertainment throughout your home. It also has Amazon Alexa built-in — you can ask the personal assistant to set alarms and timers for you, check the weather, give you traffic updates, control compatible smart home devices and more. I have an Echo Pop in my bedroom, and since it’s so small, I easily hid it on my dresser.
Dermatologists we’ve talked to say Differin Gel is one of the best acne treatments. It’s an over-the-counter retinoid made with 0.1% adapalene, and it works best if you apply it to your entire face once daily, according to the brand.
This corded vacuum can clean dirt, pet hair and other messes on all floors in your home. It has a detachable pod and long nozzle, letting you clean hard-to-reach areas like above door frames, on stairs and under furniture. The vacuum is built with a HEPA filter to trap allergens like dust and pollen, and it comes with crevice and upholstery tools.
You can massage Sol De Janiero’s highly rated body cream onto your butt, legs, arms and stomach area to moisturize and tighten skin, according to the brand. The viral scented formula has notes of salted caramel, pistachio and vanilla, and once you run out, you can refill the container instead of throwing it out.
Lowest Price Ever
This rechargeable device diffuses mosquito repellent to keep bugs away, creating a 20-foot protection zone around you in about 15 minutes, according to the brand. It works for about nine hours on a full battery. This pack comes with a repeller and one refill — you can buy additional refills separately.
This rechargeable electric toothbrush has all of the features dentists told us to look for while shopping: a pressure sensor, a two-minute timer and brush head change alert. You can also choose from three cleaning modes. The toothbrush comes with a travel case and two extra brush heads.
Lowest Price Ever
“The Kindle really is impossible to live without once you try it,” says NBC Select editor Lindsay Schneider, who’s used a number of models over the years, courtesy testing samples from Amazon. “It makes it a whole lot easier to read on the go and outside. The battery is quite impressive too. I feel like I never have to charge it.”
The Kindle Paperwhite gives you 12 weeks of battery life on a single charge, according to the brand, and it’s thin and lightweight, making it easy to travel with. It also has a 7-inch glare-free screen and an adjustable warm light so you can clearly see text in any environment. The e-reader is water-resistant, too — you can use it at the beach, by the pool or in the bath without worrying about splashes.
“This shower oil completely soothes my skin and gives me that silky soft effect,” says Schneider. “It lathers really nicely and never feels oily despite its initial consistency. The formula, while scented, is quite subtle.” You can use the shower oil as a body wash or to prep your skin before shaving, plus it doubles as a soak when you pour it into warm bath water.
Thanks to its internal organization system, my Samsonite luggage holds an impressive amount of clothes, and it never breaks down despite how much I beat it up during my travels. This set comes with a hard-sided carry-on and a medium checked bag. Both suitcases have built-in TSA locks, expandable storage, 360-degree spinner wheels, and adjustable handles.
“I’ve been using ColorWow’s Dreamcoat Spray for over two years and I don’t remember what it was like to blow dry my hair without it,” says associate commerce social editor Caitlin Cusack. “I have super frizzy hair and this product makes a noticeable difference in frizz and leaves my hair feeling soft for days between washes.” The brand recommends reapplying it every three to four shampoos, and there’s also a version for curly hair that I swear by.
Track workouts, daily activity, sleep, health metrics like heart rate and more with this smartwatch. It’s water-resistant, so you can swim with it, and it connects to your phone, letting you answer calls and texts. The watch’s battery lasts for about 18 hours when it’s fully charged, and 30 minutes in the included charger gives you about 80% battery, according to Apple.
These food storage containers come in a pack of five, and each has a 2.85-cup capacity with two compartments. They’re made from a clear stain- and odor-resistant material, so you can always see what’s inside. The containers’ lids have an airtight seal and secure latches, and if you flip the latches up, they act as vents — that means you can keep the lid on while microwaving to avoid splatters.
Keurig makes some of our favorite coffee makers, and this one is compact, so it won’t take up much room on your counter. You can brew 8-, 10- or 12-ounces of coffee at a time and remove the 48-ounce water reservoir to refill it.
Lowest Price Ever
The Dyson Airwrap simultaneously dries and styles your hair, letting you create curly, wavy and straight styles without causing heat damage, according to Dyson. It comes with three interchangeable attachments: a smoothing dryer, round volumizing brush and long barrel. The Airwrap also has a cool shot button.
Lowest Price Ever
The camera built into this bird feeder livestreams video to an app so you can watch critters visit for a snack. The water-resistant feeder has a 1.5-liter container you fill with feed, and there’s a wide perch on the front you can add accessories to as you learn what the birds in your area like. The app stores videos for up to 30 days so you can download and share them.
Best Prime Day Lightning Deals
These limited-time deals are live until stock runs out, so make sure you checkout before they’re gone.
BaubleBar: Save up to 20% off sitewide through Jul. 11
Frequently asked questions
Most Prime Day deals last through the duration of the sale (it ends on Jul. 11), but some are limited-time offers. For example, Lightning Deals are typically a few hours long — once a product sells out, the deal is over. Amazon is adding new deals each day of the sale, so make sure you’re constantly browsing. It’s also important to check out as soon as you see something you want since prices can go up any time.
For the first time ever this year, Amazon Prime Day is four days long. It’s typically a 48-hour event, so you have double the amount of time to shop this year.
Prime Day 2025 ends on Friday, Jul. 11 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (2:59 a.m. ET on Saturday, Jul. 12).
Amazon has not announced when the next Prime Day is. For the past few years, the retailer hosted its Prime Big Deal Days in October, which is nearly identical to July’s sale with slightly different products on sale to focus more on the holiday shopping season.
How I found the best Prime Day deals
All of my recommendations above are based on NBC Select’s previous coverage and reporting. I also included products the NBC Select staff tested, including Wellness Award and Giftable Tech Award winners. I ran each deal through price trackers like CamelCamelCamel to ensure products are at their lowest price in at least three months. All the products I recommend are 20% off or more, and highly rated with at least a 4.0-star average rating from hundreds of reviews.
Why trust NBC Select?
I’m a reporter for NBC Select who has covered Amazon Prime Day since 2020. In addition to writing about the best deals, I also wrote about what’s included in a Prime membership, the history of Prime Day and what to buy and skip this year. Prior to Amazon’s flagship sale, I previewed a list of deals from the retailer and sorted through them to find worthwhile sales you should know about.
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“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (International Criminal Court) action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
In a post on X late on Wednesday, Albanese wrote that she stood “firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done,” without directly mentioning the U.S. sanctions. In a text message to Al Jazeera, she was quoted as dismissing the U.S. move as “mafia style intimidation techniques.”
Albanese, an Italian lawyer and academic, has called on states at the U.N. Human Rights Council to impose an arms embargo and cut off trade and financial ties with Israel while accusing the U.S. ally of waging a “genocidal campaign” in Gaza.
Palestinians mourn a 6-month-old boy, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Monday.Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP via Getty Images
Israel has faced accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the ICC over its devastating military assault on Gaza. Israel denies the accusations and says its campaign amounts to self-defense after a deadly October 2023 Hamas attack.
In a report published earlier this month, Albanese accused over 60 companies, including major arms manufacturers and technology firms, of involvement in supporting Israeli settlements and military actions in Gaza. The report called on companies to cease dealings with Israel and for legal accountability for executives implicated in alleged violations of international law.
Albanese is one of dozens of independent human rights experts mandated by the United Nations to report on specific themes and crises. The views expressed by special rapporteurs do not reflect those of the global body as a whole.
Rights experts slammed the U.S. sanctions against Albanese. Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy think tank, labeled them as “rogue state behavior” while Amnesty International said special rapporteurs must be supported and not sanctioned.
“Governments around the world and all actors who believe in the rule-based order and international law must do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect of the sanctions against Francesca Albanese and more generally to protect the work and independence of Special Rapporteurs,” Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard, a former UN special rapporteur, said.
Since returning to office in January, President Donald Trump has stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO.
His administration imposed sanctions on four judges at the ICC in June in retaliation over the war tribunal’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case into alleged war crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Superman arrived on Earth a refugee from a dying world, adopted by farmers in the American heartland. But as the Man of Steel lands in theaters with a new reboot this weekend, some conservative critics are taking issue with the superhero saga being framed as an immigrant’s story.
The outrage, primarily from right-wing commentators, began percolating in the last week, before many had even seen the film. The criticism centers around recent comments made by director James Gunn, who underscored how Superman’s immigrant identity is weaved into the film’s storyline.
“I mean, Superman is the story of America,” Gunn told The Times of London newspaper in an interview published last week. “An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country. But for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
Gunn has since repeated similar refrains during the film’s press tour, fueling sentiments from critics who say he has unnecessarily politicized the superhero.
Superhero comics have historically not shied away from political themes — Captain America, for example, famously punched Adolf Hitler on a 1941 comic cover, and Superman fought the Ku Klux Klan in a 1946 radio broadcast.
The new “Superman” film debuts Friday in theaters nationwide.Alon Amir / Warner Bros.
But the new “Superman” installment, which is being released by Warner Bros., has become the latest superhero film to become a political flashpoint for commentators who have long publicly blasted Hollywood for its perceived liberalism.
Earlier this year, some fans threatened to boycott “Captain America: Brave New World” over comments made by Anthony Mackie, the first Black man to play Captain America, about the superhero’s identity.
After Gunn’s recent comments, the popular X account “End Wokeness” stated in a post, “Hollywood literally never learns.” And in a Monday segment, Fox News labeled the movie “Superwoke.” The segment’s banner read: “Iconic hero movie to embrace pro-immigrant themes.”
“You know what it says on his cape? MS-13,” Fox News host Jessie Watters joked, referring to the international criminal gang that President Donald Trump’s administration claims it is targeting in its immigration raids.
Another Fox host, Greg Gutfeld, accused Gunn of trying to create a “moat of woke, enlightened opinion around him” after having been “canceled” and fired from Disney as a result of resurfaced tweets containing pedophilia jokes.
Fox News contributor Kellyanne Conway, a former Trump aide, similarly took issue with “Superman,” citing a recent CBS News’ “Sunday Morning” interview with star David Corenswet in which the actor didn’t mention the word “American” when referring to Superman’s slogan of “truth, justice and the American way.”
“I can’t believe that we’ve come down to that,” Conway said. “We don’t go to the movie theater to be lectured to and to have somebody throw their ideology onto us,” she said on air, speculating whether the film would “be successful.”
Representatives for Corenswet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new film, which also stars Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, has been certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes as early ratings rolled in.
It’s a pivotal release for Warner Bros., as it comes after news that its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is planning to split into two public companies. The studio has a lot riding financially on “Superman,” which reportedly had a $363.8 millionbudget. The studio is also operating in a supercharged political environment as Trump pressures media organizations to acquiesce to his demands, accusing them of political bias.
A representative for Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the Times interview, Gunn admitted that the film is about politics, but added that it’s also “about human kindness.”
“This Superman does seem to come at a particular time when people are feeling a loss of hope in other people’s goodness,” Gunn added. “I’m telling a story about a guy who is uniquely good, and that feels needed now because there is a meanness that has emerged due to cultural figures being mean online.”
Fans such as Jack Deegan, who runs a YouTube channel about comic books and their film adaptations, said that the political elements of Superman’s story have been clear from the beginning: He’s an alien who grew up in Kansas as a refugee after entering the United States illegally.
“It’s such a core, foundational element of his character that I feel like you would have to be reading it completely incorrectly to miss the point of who Superman is that much, to not even notice the fact that he has all of these themes tied into his origin story,” Deegan said.
Online, fans of the superhero also expressed incredulity that critics didn’t already know he was an immigrant. Many noted that Superman has always been political, and that the comic series was also created by sons of Jewish immigrants in 1938 — as Hitler’s Nazi Germany was persecuting Jews.
Deegan said it’s “bizarre” to see the controversy that’s emerged around Superman’s supposedly “woke” politics when the character has long been described in comics as a “champion of the oppressed,” often fighting against corruption and for the working class. His primary archnemesis is Lex Luthor, a billionaire obsessed with power.
Deegan noted that many past adaptations of the DC Comics superhero have explored political themes. In 1987’s “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace,” the hero took on nuclear proliferation, for instance. Some included storylines that involve Superman’s immigration status as a direct plot point.
The TV series “Smallville,” which aired from 2001 to 2011 on WB and then CW, focuses on the teenage Clark Kent (Tom Welling) in his fictional hometown. In the sixth episode of the first season, Clark rescues another undocumented immigrant, Javier, from police.
“Was it legal when you forged my adoption papers?” Clark responds when his mother refuses to illegally harbor Javier in a clip that has been recirculated across social media. “I’m an illegal immigrant, Mom. You’ve been harboring me for over 17 years.”
In one issue of the original Superman comic series, Superman defends a group of undocumented immigrants from a hate crime when a man opens fire on them, accusing them of stealing his job. And in the recent comic adaptation “Absolute Superman,” Superman’s immigrant experience is central to the story as he lives among other immigrant workers, stateless.
At the film’s red carpet premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, Gunn responded to the mounting backlash from right-wing commentators, telling Variety that he doesn’t have “anything to say to anybody” spreading negativity around the film.
Nathan Fillion, who plays the Green Lantern in Gunn’s “Superman,” also laughed when asked for his response by Variety.
“Aw, somebody needs a hug,” Fillion told the publication. “It’s just a movie, guys. It’s just a movie.”
James Gunn’s brother Sean Gunn, who plays the supervillain business magnate Maxwell Lord, said that Superman’s being an immigrant “is exactly what the movie is about, I think: That we support our people, you know? We love our immigrants.”
“Yes, Superman is an immigrant, and yes, the people that we support in this country are immigrants and if you don’t like that, then you’re not American,” Gunn told Variety at the premiere. “People who say no to immigrants are against the American way. They’re against what the American Dream is all about.”
Hundreds of thousands of workers across India went on a nationwide strike on Wednesday in opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to privatize state-run companies and other economic reforms, partially disrupting public services and manufacturing.
A coalition of 10 major trade unions that represent laborers and several other groups that speak for farmers and rural workers called for the one-day industrial action, dubbing it Bharat Bandh,” Hindi for “Shut Down India.”
The strikes pose fresh challenges for Modi’s efforts to attract foreign companies by easing labor laws to streamline business operations and boost productivity.
Unions that helped organize the strikes say that coal mining operations were halted in several states while some trains came to a grinding halt as protestors blocked the network, and that banks, insurance companies and supermarkets were disrupted.
An Associated Press photographer in the eastern city of Kolkata saw protestors walking in a rally at a local railway station, some shouting slogans against the government and burning an effigy of Modi. Another, in the financial capital Mumbai, witnessed bank employees shouting slogans against the privatization of state-run banks.
The Press Trust of India reported traffic in eastern India’s Odisha state was halted in some areas, while in the southern state of Kerala, shops, offices and schools remained closed, with roads looking deserted.
In New Delhi, protesters carried placards demanding scrapping of the labor laws and chanted slogans like “Stop selling our railways” and “Don’t infringe upon trade unions rights.”
“You can be fired any day from work. Your labor has no value in this country and in this society,” said Aishe Ghosh, a student activist.
Ghosh said a lot of migrant laborers and workers move from their villages to work elsewhere, and they are thrown out of jobs arbitrarily. “The government never realizes how much the workers have to suffer because of this,” she said.
Maimoona Mollah, another protestor, said the government should work for the rights of workers and create more formal job opportunities than contractual.
Rajendra Pratholi, an activist from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) that is associated with key trade unions, accused the government of snatching the benefits of workers on the pretext of reforms.
“Working hours of laborers, and the benefits they used to get in their jobs after years of struggle, all those benefits have been given away to the capitalists and industrialists by the government,” Pratholi said, without elaborating.
The government hasn’t formally commented on the strike. It usually dismisses assertions made by the unions.
The workers’ demands include higher wages, halting privatization of state-run companies, withdrawal of new labor laws and filling vacancies in the government sector. The farmers’ groups also want the government to increase the minimum purchase price for crops such as wheat and rice.
A supporter of Centre of India Trade Unions during a strike in Kolkata, India, on Wednesday.Bikas Das / AP
Modi’s government has opened some sectors of the Indian economy to foreign direct investments and offered billions of dollars in financial incentives to attract local manufacturing. It has also aimed to bridge the budget deficit with a drive to privatize loss-making state-run companies and unveiled new labor laws that promise workers higher statutory minimum wages, social security and healthcare.
However, the trade unions aren’t convinced and want the new laws to be scrapped.
“The government intends to suppress workers in the name of ease of doing business through labor reforms,” said Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary of All India Trade Union Congress, a prominent union taking part in the strike.
Tapan Sen, general secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, or CITU, which is aligned with the communist party and a key trade union that is part of the group that called for the strike, said he got reports of protesting workers blocking several national highways and rail routes.
“Coal mining operations in most states have come to a halt. Services in banking, insurance, manufacturing and petroleum refineries are impacted too,” said Sen.
A. Soundararajan, a prominent trade union leader in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, said the police detained around 30,000 protesting workers on Wednesday. Manufacturing activities at several companies have also been hit, he said.
A “click-to-cancel” rule, which would have required businesses to make it easy for consumers to cancel unwanted subscriptions and memberships, has been blocked by a federal appeals court just days before it was set to go into effect.
The Federal Trade Commission’s proposed changes, adopted in October, required businesses to obtain a customer’s consent before charging for memberships, auto-renewals and programs linked to free trial offers.
The FTC said at the time that businesses must also disclose when free trials or other promotional offers will end and let customers cancel recurring subscriptions as easily as they started them.
The administration of President Joe Biden included the FTC’s proposal as part of its “Time is Money” initiative, a governmentwide effort that was announced last year with the aim of cracking down on consumer-related hassles.
The FTC rule was set to go into effect on Monday, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said this week that the FTC made a procedural error by failing to come up with a preliminary regulatory analysis, which is required for rules whose annual impact on the U.S. economy is more than $100 million.
The FTC argued that it did not have to come up with a preliminary regulatory analysis because it initially determined that the rule’s impact on the national economy would be less than $100 million. An administrative law judge decided that the economic impact would be more than the $100 million threshold.
The court decided to vacate, or set aside, the rule.
“While we certainly do not endorse the use of unfair and deceptive practices in negative option marketing, the procedural deficiencies of the Commission’s rulemaking process are fatal here,” the court wrote.
The FTC declined to comment on Wednesday.
The agency is currently moving forward with its preparations for a trial involving Amazon’s Prime program. The trial stems from a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that accused Amazon of enrolling consumers in its Prime program without their consent and making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to take up a request from Florida to block a lower court’s decision that bars the state from enforcing parts of its new immigration law.
The one-sentence order did not say why the court denied the emergency request from Florida’s attorney general.
The case stemmed from a challenge by two immigration groups and two undocumented immigrants to legislation that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law this year making it a crime to enter Florida after having come into the United States illegally and re-entering the state after having been deported.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams temporarily blocked enforcement of the law in April, and last month she found Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in civil contempt over what she said was an effort to defy her order.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Uthmeier’s request to pause Williams’ ruling last month and expedited the appeal for consideration before the panel in October.
In documents filed with the Supreme Court, Uthmeier had said Florida was “cognizant” of the federal government’s role in immigration enforcement and argued that the state was “purposefully aligning the law with federal requirements and objectives.”
The Trump administration had similarly contended in a supporting brief that the measure “complements” federal law and that the statutes “are materially identical to the federal entry and reentry provisions.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a Supreme Court brief this month on behalf of those challenging the law, argued that courts have ruled against states that have passed similar laws over the past two years. It also cited the Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling in Arizona v. United States that said, “The Government of the United States has broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration and the status of aliens.”
Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, praised the high court’s ruling in a statement Wednesday.
“This ruling affirms what the Constitution demands — that immigration enforcement is a federal matter and that no one should be stripped of their liberty without due process,” Jackson said.
A spokesperson for Uthmeier’s office said Florida will proceed with its appeal in the 11th Circuit.
“Florida’s sovereignty cannot be left up to the whims of the next presidential administration,” the spokesperson, Jae Williams, said in a statement. “The law passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor DeSantis is important to Florida’s future, and we believe it will prevail on the merits.”
