Latest news with #Bless
New York Post
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Ozzy Osbourne's rarely seen children Jessica and Louis react to their dad's death
Two of Ozzy Osbourne's six children subtly reacted to the music icon's death at age 76. Louis Osborne and Jessica Osborne, both of whom Ozzy shared with his first wife, Thelma Riley, honored their late father on social media Tuesday. Louis, 50, changed his Facebook profile picture to a black square. Advertisement 10 Ozzy Osbourne's son, Louis. LinkedIn/Louis Osbourne 10 Louis Osbourne changed his Facebook profile picture after Ozzy's death. Facebook/ Louis Osbourne The comments became filled with people offering their condolences to Louis. Advertisement Jessica, 45, reposted a tribute to her dad Ozzy from the 'On With Mario Lopez' podcast on her Instagram Stories. The post featured a black-and-white picture of Ozzy with the years he was born and died. Jessica wrote, 'RIP OZZY,' on her post, which played her dad's 1980 hit 'Crazy Train.' 10 Ozzy Osbourne's daughter Jessica in a selfie. Instagram/ Jessica Osbourne 10 Jessica Osbourne's tribute to Ozzy after his death. Instagram/ Jessica Osbourne Ozzy's family confirmed his passing in a statement to The Post on Tuesday. Advertisement 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,' they said. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.' 10 Ozzy Osbourne with wife Sharon and kids Aimee, Jack, Kelly and Louis at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony in 2002. AP Ozzy's son Elliot Kingsley, who was adopted by the rocker during his first marriage, were excluded from the statement. Ozzy welcomed his three older, lesser-known kids during his marriage to Riley, which lasted from 1971 to 1982. Advertisement 10 Ozzy Osbourne with his son Louis in 2009. FilmMagic Jessica, who is an actress, reflected on having 'a very erratic childhood' with Ozzy in 2011. 'My recollection from my childhood with dad is that he'd be away for very long periods of time, and there'd always be a period of adjustment when he came home, and then it'd get to normality and then he'd go again,' she revealed in the documentary, 'God Bless Ozzy Osbourne.' 10 Ozzy Osbourne with his kids Jessica and Louis in 1978. Getty Images 10 Ozzy Osbourne with his son Louis in 1981. Getty Images Just a few months after Ozzy and Riley finalized their divorce, the Prince of Darkness married Sharon, 72, on July 4, 1982 in Hawaii. Ozzy and Sharon went on to welcome daughters Aimee, 41, and Kelly, 40, and son Jack, 39. The family, sans Aimee, appeared on the MTV reality show 'The Osbournes' from 2002 to 2005. 10 Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne were married for over 40 years. Juan Rico / BACKGRID Advertisement The Black Sabbath frontman faced several ailments in the years leading up to his death, including Parkinson's disease and a severe spinal injury. He performed for the last time on July 5 during the 'Back to the Beginning' concert at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. 10 Ozzy Osbourne performing in 2015. Brazil Photo Press / Ozzy and Sharon also witnessed Kelly, 40 get engaged to her boyfriend Sid Wilson backstage at the farewell concert. Advertisement Black Sabbath posted a tribute to Ozzy on social media after his death, sharing a photo of the star onstage at his final show. Other music legends including Elton John, Billy Idol, Pearl Jam and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong have also honored Ozzy since his passing.
Washington Post
29-06-2025
- Washington Post
Olympian Fred Kerley is at a troubling juncture after allegations of violence
Shortly after the new year, Fred Kerley walked with his girlfriend down a famous street in a glitzy section of Miami Beach, the kind of place that once had seemed so distant. Before Kerley sprinted in two Olympics and became one of the world's fastest men, he was raised by his aunt in a Texas home that at various points housed more than two dozen people. To remind himself of how far he had come, he had the word 'Bless' tattooed on his right arm, an identifying mark that would later appear in an arrest affidavit. Kerley and his girlfriend were returning to his car. They found it roped off behind a police scene. An argument with police erupted into a scuffle, body-cam footage shows, and quickly four police officers were on top of him, delivering blows to his head and ribs. 'Damn, I tried to get away from this life,' Kerley later said on the podcast 'The Pivot.' 'And this life got in front of me.' The altercation led to the first of a string of charges this year against Kerley, who has maintained his innocence while finding himself at a crossroads. Kerley transcended a tumultuous early life and became one of the most significant sprinters of his era, at one point carrying the unofficial title of world's fastest man. He now faces potential time behind bars in Florida. The charges include two misdemeanors and a felony stemming from an altercation with police that included him being Tasered; an allegation of domestic violence made in 2024 by his now-estranged wife, the mother of his three children, who said in an interview she feared for her life during the alleged incident; and a battery charge in connection with allegedly punching an Olympian ex-girlfriend at a hotel in Miami before a track meet from which he subsequently was expelled. 'I do feel bad for him,' said his wife, Angelica Kerley. 'We worked so hard for you to build this career, and him building his own image, for you to wait until you're 30 years old and destroy it.' Kerley has pleaded not guilty in all three cases, and his lawyer said in an interview that he believes all of the charges will be dismissed. Kerley, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has showed little outward concern, competing in professional races on three continents this season and posting frequently on social media. In one recent post, he accepted compliments for wearing Nike sneakers and a Louis Vuitton belt on a ranch. 'Legendary,' he wrote. 'I just don't think that someone gets to this level of athletic performance by being a quitter or by being someone that wallows in their suffering,' said Richard Cooper, Kerley's Miami-based attorney. 'He's focus-driven. He's going to continue doing what he does best.' In a statement, USA Track & Field indicated that Kerley remains eligible to compete in its national championships, which will begin July 31 in Eugene, Oregon. The U.S. championships are considered a 'protected competition,' which means the eligibility of athletes is covered by the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act and USOPC bylaws. 'USATF is monitoring Fred Kerley's ongoing legal situation carefully and although he faces serious allegations, he also has the right to compete in certain track and field meetings (protected competitions),' the statement read. 'USATF is determined to provide a safe environment for all our community with a zero tolerance policy on any form of violent behavior.' World Athletics, track and field's global governing body, did not provide any specific rationale for its decision to allow Kerley to compete in Diamond League events. When Kerley won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in the 100 meters last summer, a probable cause for his arrest on domestic violence charges sat in a law enforcement database. Back home, Angelica Kerley tried to avoid the race. People congratulated her, unaware of their separation, her allegations and her subsequent petition for divorce. She finds it odd that Kerley is still allowed to run. 'It's triggering to me even now,' Angelica said. 'Knowing that the type of person he is, people are still publicly praising him.' Kerley's rise to the Olympics began in hardship. His father was imprisoned, and his mother, Kerley previously said in interviews, fell victim to drug addiction by the time he turned 2. Kerley moved from San Antonio to Taylor, Texas, where his aunt, Virginia, took in him and his siblings. He lived at times under a roof with 26 people. Two of his brothers, records show, have been either charged with or convicted of felony drug crimes. If not for track, Kerley said on 'The Pivot' in April: 'I don't know what I'd be doing. I definitely wouldn't be doing nothing legal.' His high school track coach recommended Kerley to South Plains College, a junior college in Levelland, Texas. Christopher Beene, the South Plains coach, watched Kerley at the Texas state meet his senior year. When he saw Kerley walk to his mark for the 4x400 relay, all long limbs and bulging muscles, Beene turned to his assistant and said, 'We're signing that kid.' In his telling, Kerley joined South Plains as a walk-on. Technically, that's true. But Beene was eager to offer Kerley a scholarship. He just didn't have to. Kerley was deemed a ward of the state, which meant Texas would pay for Kerley's room and board, tuition, books, everything. Kerley met a teammate then named Angelica Taylor. Over a year of Kerley's pursuit, she fell for him. He was persistent, she said. He was respectful when they were alone together. He had a generous heart. Another teammate, with whom he was not friendly, once asked Kerley to buy her a bag of chips. He obliged. 'Why would you do that if you don't like her?' Angelica asked Kerley. 'Because I know what it's like to go without eating,' Angelica recalled Kerley saying. 'And I don't want anyone else to have to feel like that.' Kerley treated track and field as a way out of his circumstances. He rarely spoke with coaches unless he had a question. 'If you told him, 'Let's go run through this wall,' Fred would say, 'Okay, how many times?'' Beene said. 'He would run until he'd fall down on the track. Then he'd get back up, and if he had another rep, he'd get it done.' An incident early in his sophomore year at South Plains threatened Kerley's career before it blossomed. According to Beene, Kerley went with a group of South Plains sprinters and basketball players to a dance club in a rough part of Lubbock. The South Plains athletes squabbled with another group of men. The basketball team's point guard escalated matters, Beene said, charging one of the other guys. Kerley grabbed the point guard and held him back. Once Kerley released him, the point guard channeled his anger at Kerley: He grabbed a piece of glass off the ground and slashed Kerley over the eye, according to Beene. 'Fred literally could have killed that guy right there,' Beene said. 'And Fred stopped, took a deep breath, trying to keep the blood from running into his eye. The other guys from the track team said, 'Come on, Fred, let's go.' So he backed off and walked away. That's the kind of person we were so proud of.' When the incident reached the South Plains administration, Beene said, he fought to maintain Kerley's place at the school. If he had been suspended, Kerley probably wouldn't have accumulated enough credit hours to transfer to a four-year school. 'He saved himself by acting right, and he allowed me a chance to save him later,' Beene said. With Beene's support, Kerley transferred to Texas A&M, a powerhouse where he set the collegiate record in the 400. The first time Angelica Kerley saw a violent streak in her future husband, she said, came shortly after they moved into their first apartment together in College Station, when their daughter was 1. Angelica recalled trying to help Kerley with an iPad. He snatched it away, and Angelica smacked it out of his grasp. Kerley stood up, Angelica said, and wrapped his hands around her neck. 'I got up, and I shoved him into the wall, and I told him he better never do that again,' Angelica said. It was not the only red flag. Angelica Kerley said that after the couple moved to Miami, while she was pregnant with their second child, they argued one morning about Kerley not walking their dog. She said Kerley grew upset and 'smacked' her in the back of her head. When provided a list of specific allegations made by his now estranged wife, Fred Kerley's lawyer said his client never abused Angelica Kerley. 'It's unsurprising that Mrs. Kerley is continuing with her slanderous fabrications but nevertheless disappointing,' Cooper wrote in a text message. 'Fred is an imperfect man, husband, and father, as we all are. However, my client categorically denies in the strongest way that he was ever physically, emotionally, or financially abusive to his family.' By 2019, Kerley had won the U.S. title in the 400. He entered the Tokyo Olympics cycle among the gold medal favorites, then sprained his ankle before the U.S. Olympic trials. Swelling prevented him from turning, but Kerley could still sprint straight. To the shock of track observers, Kerley announced he was switching from the 400 to the 100, the sport's marquee event. Kerley further stunned the track world when he captured the silver medal in the 100 in Tokyo. He left Nike, then his top sponsor, and signed a lucrative contract with Asics. Kerley's career continued its upward trajectory. His apex came at the world championships in 2022, where he won the 100 and earned the unofficial title of world's fastest man. 'I know today opened up many doors for me,' Kerley said that night. 'I'm thankful for that.' In Paris last summer, Kerley crossed the line in the final of the 100 near the front of a frenzied pack. He claimed bronze after a photo finish, making him the only man to medal in both post-Usain Bolt Olympic 100 races. It seemed he had fully separated himself from the difficulties of his childhood. Back in the United States, Angelica tried not to watch. 'People kept congratulating me,' she said, 'because nothing had hit the fan.' After 11 p.m. Jan. 2, Kerley walked with his girlfriend, Cleo Rahman, a musical artist known as DJ Sky High Baby, near Miami Beach's famed Ocean Drive. He discovered his car had been roped off inside a police scene and approached four Miami Beach police officers with 'an aggressive demeanor,' according to an arrest affidavit. Kerley argued with them, body-camera footage shows. One placed his hand on Kerley's chest, body-camera footage shows, which the arrest affidavit described as an attempt to create space from Kerley. Kerley slapped the hand away, then shoved the officer. A fracas ensued. Four officers wrestled Kerley to the ground and pummeled Kerley, according to the affidavit, with 'hammer fists toward the defendant's upper head area' and 'multiple diversionary strikes toward his rib cage, which were unsuccessful.' After roughly a minute, the officers backed off Kerley. When he stood, one officer Tasered Kerley for five seconds in his lower back. 'Full neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI) was achieved,' the affidavit reads. Body-camera footage shows Kerley falling onto his stomach. Kerley was arrested and charged with battery against a police officer, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct. At a bond hearing the next day, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer found no probable cause for the disorderly conduct charge and lightly admonished a Miami Beach police sergeant who appeared via videoconference. 'Sergeant,' she said, 'this could have been handled a different way.' Kerley's jail booking triggered an automatic alert to a detective with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office who had been looking to arrest Kerley in connection with an unrelated incident six months earlier: Kerley's wife had called police and alleged he had strangled her. On May 7, 2024, according to an arrest affidavit, the couple got into an argument that, Angelica said, was far different from the violent flashes she had experienced in the past. 'I thought that the man was going to kill me,' Angelica said. Kerley began approaching Angelica in an 'aggressive demeanor,' according to the affidavit, and she told him to step back. Kerley did not, the affidavit reads, and out of fear Angelica punched him in the face. 'He took his arm, and he put it around my neck,' Angelica said. 'He's strangling me with his arm from behind. I couldn't even get out of it. He lifted up the top half of my body, squeezed in between his arms, where the frontside of your elbow is, and he choked me. He strangled me.' Their three children, now 9, 3 and 1, were in the room at the time, Angelica said. She still didn't know whether she should contact police. 'You don't want to call the cops on somebody that you love,' Angelica said. Ultimately she did, swayed by her daughter's account of what she had experienced. When officers arrived, according to the arrest affidavit, Kerley had fled. Because Kerley was no longer at the scene, the detective entered a notice into a law-enforcement database that Kerley was to be arrested on a charge of domestic battery, a sheriff's department spokesman told the Miami Herald in January. Kerley was aware of the complaint as he trained for and competed in the Olympics last summer. Cooper, his lawyer, said Kerley had been led to believe was in the clear. A detective 'even told me to tell Fred to break a leg in Paris,' Cooper said. Cooper called the allegation 'very serious' and expressed confidence Angelica's account will be proven false. 'I have no reason to lie,' Angelica said. 'I don't have any personal gain or publicity I'm trying to gain from this situation. It's domestic violence. Who wants to talk about that? Who wants that to be their image?' In January, Angelica filed for divorce in Florida. In her petition, she alleged Kerley had been unfaithful. She also asked for a restraining order, alleging Kerley 'has been harassing and/or abusing wife and her family, friends and acquaintances and wife fears that husband will irreparably harm wife unless restrained by this court.' Angelica Kerley claimed he has refused to financially support her and their children. She filed for child support in November, and she said Kerley refused to attend mediation. The divorce case is still pending in Miami-Dade court. Kerley's legal trouble expanded this spring. On May 1, he traveled to the Le Meridien hotel in Dania Beach, about 25 miles north of Miami Beach. He was preparing for the second event of Grand Slam Track, a new league started by Olympic legend Michael Johnson. It had made Kerley one of its stars, featuring him on its website. Olympic hurdler Alaysha Johnson, who dated Kerley for six months in 2024, according to a Broward County Sherriff arrest affidavit, also planned to compete in the Miami Grand Slam Track meet. She ran into Kerley at the hotel, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit, and they began to argue. According to the affidavit, Kerley shouted something along the lines of 'I'm going to f--- everyone up in here.' Kerley struck Johnson in the face, according to the affidavit, causing her nose to bleed. The affidavit noted that photographs showed injuries consistent with Johnson's telling. In a statement Kerley released days later, he acknowledged there had been a physical altercation but said he was arrested only because he chose not to talk with police without his attorney present. 'Frankly, Kerley is a little nervous around law enforcement given the absolute beating that he received at the hands of the Miami Beach police early this year,' Cooper said. 'He did the right thing. He invoked his rights immediately. Without a rebuttal story, the police arrested him.' Kerley's account differs from the affidavit, Cooper said. Cooper said that another man was present and that the fight occurred between him and Kerley. Johnson, Cooper said, was there 'instigating' the fight and was struck inadvertently. 'The idea that Fred would punch someone if he didn't have this nonsense domestic violence allegation, no one would even buy that for a second, that he would punch a random woman, an ex-girlfriend he saw in the hallway of a hotel,' Cooper said. 'That's so out of character, frankly. But because he has this other nonsense allegation, it does lend some credence in the eyes of the public, which is unfortunate. 'Eventually, that case will be dismissed. His case in Miami Beach will be dismissed. And this Broward case will be the outlier and will be considered outlier alleged conduct and will once again seem ridiculous. We've got to crush all these one at a time.' Through her track and field agent, Johnson declined to comment. Kerley's legal issues haven't stopped his career, but they have affected it. Since the most recent allegations, he has run in Diamond League meets in Morocco and, in early June, in Rome, where he finished fifth in the 100. The May altercation left Kerley suspended from Grand Slam Track until the conclusion of the legal case, a league spokesman said. It cost him a potential financial windfall: Kenny Bednarek, promoted to be his main rival in a video still on Grand Slam Track's website, won $100,000 in each of the two meets Kerley missed, plus another $100,000 season-long bonus. In March, Beene ran into Kerley at the Texas Relays. He had not seen his old junior college sprinter in years. When he saw Kerley, he hugged him and told him, 'If you ever need anything, I'm still here.' Beene had read media reports about Kerley's altercation with police in Miami Beach but not the domestic violence allegation. He wondered whether fame had brought malign influences into Kerley's life. But he also remembered the kid who came from nothing and backed away from a fight with blood trickling into his eye. 'Unless he's changed a lot toward the negative, the Fred Kerley I know would not have done it the way they said he did it,' Beene said. Angelica said she is not in love with Kerley anymore but has love for him because he is the father of their children. She is leaning against testifying against him at a potential trial. 'I really don't want Fred to be in prison because of our kids,' Angelica said. 'I had a dad that was in prison, and he missed some of our lives.' Angelica wonders now whether Kerley was ever really the kind, generous person she met at South Plains. 'Honestly, I'm just tired,' she said. '… I understand he moves these certain ways because of things he has had to go through in his past, as a child. I understand why he's this way. But it's not fair to me to have to deal with that.' David Ovalle contributed to this report.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘Give up and go home': UF student's self-deportation highlights ICE's harsher enforcement
The self-deportation of a University of Florida student reveals the new reality for many immigrants — any brush with the law can set off a chain of unfortunate events. Felipe Zapata-Velásquez, 27, a student at the University of Florida, self-deported to his home country of Colombia after Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him following his arrest for driving with a suspended license. Zapata-Velásquez entered the U.S. on an F-1 student visa on Feb. 12, 2023, to attend Santa Fe College, a small public college in Gainesville, according to ICE. But on October 3, 2024, after failing to enroll, his student status was terminated on SEVIS, the portal that tracks students' immigration compliance. Experts noted to the Miami Herald that under past administrations, Zapata-Velásquez would likely have been released and placed into deportation proceedings, but not sent to an immigration facility. Although he let his status as a student lapse and was subject to deportation, people in his position would typically not be detained, said Jesse Bless, an attorney that has specialized in immigration for two decades and worked for the Department of Justice. 'Many people who are in removal proceedings are not detained,' said Bless. 'They would only detain him to try to get him to give up and go home.' Zapata-Velásquez was arrested in Gainesville on March 28 for driving with a suspended license and for driving a car with a license plate not assigned to that vehicle, according to court records. He was charged with a second-degree misdemeanor. According to court records, Zapata Velásquez had also been charged in 2023 with driving with a suspended license and for operating a motor home with an expired registration. Zapata-Velásquez was booked into jail in Alachua County, a short drive from the University of Florida, where he was a third-year student majoring in Food and Resource Economics in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences department. ICE took Zapata-Velásquez into custody after Gainesville police released him. After a stop at the Jacksonville office, he was transported to Krome Service Processing Center in Miami, a facility that has come under fire in recent weeks for overcrowding and poor conditions. The Miami Herald reported that detainees are sleeping on cement floors amid the stench of body odor and raw sewage. Paul Chavez, an attorney that spoke to the Herald, said the conditions at Krome are the worst he's seen in 20 years of being an attorney and have 'risen to the level of being an international human rights disaster.' After nine nights in custody, six of them in ICE detention, Zapata-Velásquez opted to leave the United States for his home country of Colombia. 'The problem is the threat of detention,' said Bless, of students and other immigrants who chose to self-deport. Read more: 'Inhumane:' Overcrowding strains Krome detention center amid Trump's immigrant crackdown Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, reported that Zapata Velásquez told the officer who stopped him that he was in the process of filing an I-20 form, a document that certifies a student's eligibility to study here. But despite his student status technically ending, he continued to attend classes at the University of Florida. The International Center at UF is in charge of ensuring their foreign students have the proper documentation to enroll, but did not respond to a request for comment about whether the office was aware that his legal status had ended in October. A representative from the school declined to comment, citing privacy policies. School officials are required to report whether an active student with a visa has enrolled within a month of classes starting. If the student fails to enroll in a full course of study in the next session the student is expected, the student's status is terminated. Since Zapata-Velásquez's arrest, detention and self-deportation, students, and elected officials have come out to make public statements decrying his situation. 'If the university administration had cared about its international and immigrant students, it would have expanded access to immigration services for students at UF proactively, long before ICE was given the opportunity to kidnap Felipe and hold him at Krome,' said the UF Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter in a statement. Miami Herald immigration reporter Syra Ortiz Blanes contributed to this report.
Miami Herald
10-04-2025
- Miami Herald
‘Give up and go home': UF student's self-deportation highlights ICE's harsher enforcement
The self-deportation of a University of Florida student reveals the new reality for many immigrants — any brush with the law can set off a chain of unfortunate events. Felipe Zapata-Velásquez, 27, a student at the University of Florida, self-deported to his home country of Colombia after Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him following his arrest for driving with a suspended license. Zapata-Velásquez entered the U.S. on an F-1 student visa on Feb. 12, 2023, to attend Santa Fe College, a small public college in Gainesville, according to ICE. But on October 3, 2024, after failing to enroll, his student status was terminated on SEVIS, the portal that tracks students' immigration compliance. Experts noted to the Miami Herald that under past administrations, Zapata-Velásquez would likely have been released and placed into deportation proceedings, but not sent to an immigration facility. Although he let his status as a student lapse and was subject to deportation, people in his position would typically not be detained, said Jesse Bless, an attorney that has specialized in immigration for two decades and worked for the Department of Justice. 'Many people who are in removal proceedings are not detained,' said Bless. 'They would only detain him to try to get him to give up and go home.' Zapata-Velásquez was arrested in Gainesville on March 28 for driving with a suspended license and for driving a car with a license plate not assigned to that vehicle, according to court records. He was charged with a second-degree misdemeanor. According to court records, Zapata Velásquez had also been charged in 2023 with driving with a suspended license and for operating a motor home with an expired registration. Zapata-Velásquez was booked into jail in Alachua County, a short drive from the University of Florida, where he was a third-year student majoring in Food and Resource Economics in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences department. ICE took Zapata-Velásquez into custody after Gainesville police released him. After a stop at the Jacksonville office, he was transported to Krome Service Processing Center in Miami, a facility that has come under fire in recent weeks for overcrowding and poor conditions. The Miami Herald reported that detainees are sleeping on cement floors amid the stench of body odor and raw sewage. Paul Chavez, an attorney that spoke to the Herald, said the conditions at Krome are the worst he's seen in 20 years of being an attorney and have 'risen to the level of being an international human rights disaster.' After nine nights in custody, six of them in ICE detention, Zapata-Velásquez opted to leave the United States for his home country of Colombia. 'The problem is the threat of detention,' said Bless, of students and other immigrants who chose to self-deport. Read more: 'Inhumane:' Overcrowding strains Krome detention center amid Trump's immigrant crackdown Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, reported that Zapata Velásquez told the officer who stopped him that he was in the process of filing an I-20 form, a document that certifies a student's eligibility to study here. But despite his student status technically ending, he continued to attend classes at the University of Florida. The International Center at UF is in charge of ensuring their foreign students have the proper documentation to enroll, but did not respond to a request for comment about whether the office was aware that his legal status had ended in October. A representative from the school declined to comment, citing privacy policies. School officials are required to report whether an active student with a visa has enrolled within a month of classes starting. If the student fails to enroll in a full course of study in the next session the student is expected, the student's status is terminated. Since Zapata-Velásquez's arrest, detention and self-deportation, students, and elected officials have come out to make public statements decrying his situation. 'If the university administration had cared about its international and immigrant students, it would have expanded access to immigration services for students at UF proactively, long before ICE was given the opportunity to kidnap Felipe and hold him at Krome,' said the UF Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter in a statement. Miami Herald immigration reporter Syra Ortiz Blanes contributed to this report.
New York Times
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Trump Had ‘Aptitude for Music' as a Child, He Told Kennedy Center Board
During his first visit to the Kennedy Center since making himself the chairman of its board, President Trump had a lot to say about Broadway shows, dancers in silk tights, the Potomac River and Elvis Presley. But in a private discussion at the start of a meeting of the center's board on Monday, Mr. Trump offered something he usually steers away from in bigger settings: a personal anecdote about his childhood. He told the assembled board members that in his youth he had shown special abilities in music after taking aptitude tests ordered by his parents, according to three participants in the meeting. He could pick out notes on the piano, he told the board members, some of whom he's known for years and others who are relatively new to him. But the president said that his father, Fred Trump, was not pleased by his musical abilities, according to the participants, and that he had never developed his talent. 'I have a high aptitude for music,' he said at one point, according to people at the meeting. 'Can you believe that?' 'That's why I love music,' he added. Mr. Trump's remarks have not been previously reported. They were not part of an audio recording of the board meeting obtained by The New York Times earlier this week. But they are a story he has told in private, according to a person with knowledge of the comments, about a period in his life before his parents sent him to the New York Military Academy at the age of 13. The anecdote came as a surprise to some of the people in the room. The country singer Lee Greenwood, known for 'God Bless the U.S.A,' confirmed in an interview that Mr. Trump had made a point of highlighting his childhood connection to music at the meeting on Monday. Mr. Greenwood, who was appointed to the Kennedy Center's board by Mr. Trump, has produced a version of the Bible with the president. He said that the two had discussed the president's abilities before. 'He's absolutely very creative and very artistic,' Mr. Greenwood said. 'I do not doubt that he has a great ear for music.' Asked about the anecdote, Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, did not directly address it but said that the president 'is a virtuoso and his musical choices represent a brilliant palette of vibrant colors when others often paint in pale pastels.' As the president and Kennedy Center chair, Mr. Cheung said, 'there is nobody more uniquely qualified to bring this country, and its rich history of the arts, back to prominence.' Mr. Trump has long shown an interest in music and theater, and he once dreamed of becoming a Broadway producer. At the meeting on Monday, he polled board members on which was better: 'The Phantom of the Opera' or 'Les Misérables.' He reminisced about attending the premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Cats' in the early 1980s. And he spoke of his love for singers like the Broadway star Betty Buckley and musicals like 'Hello, Dolly!' and 'Fiddler on the Roof.' 'So many great shows,' he said at one point, according to the recording. 'So many great shows.' Mr. Trump moved to oust the Kennedy Center's previous board chairman, the financier David M. Rubenstein, and all the board members appointed by the Biden administration last month. He had told allies for weeks that he wanted to lead the Kennedy Center, which he has occasionally incorrectly referred to as Lincoln Center, the premier arts venue in his hometown, New York City. Mr. Trump disparaged the current hit musical 'Hamilton' as he toured the center on Monday; its producers canceled a planned tour of the Kennedy Center next year to protest his takeover of the institution, which had been bipartisan for decades. Other artists also canceled engagements there. The Kennedy Center has hosted and bestowed honors on performers who have been critical of Mr. Trump's behavior as president, a fact that he and his advisers often mention. Mr. Trump's desire to influence programming at one of the leading U.S. arts centers has not surprised some of his longest-serving aides. Mr. Trump spends hours working on the playlists for his rallies, and blasting music on an iPad at his clubs, as he personally acts as a disc jockey. Some artists have repeatedly asked him to stop using their music. During his first term, Mr. Trump's advisers often found that music was a way to calm him when he was furious. On his airplanes — his private one known as Trump Force One, and on the presidential plane, Air Force One — Mr. Trump often blasts the music so loud that it pulses through the cabin. During a campaign town hall event in Pennsylvania in October, after two attendees required medical attention, Mr. Trump stunned some of his aides by pausing the event and having his team play music for more than half an hour. Mr. Trump stood onstage swaying and dancing as the music played. During a late-day meeting with aides going over his playlist in the first term, Mr. Trump had the group go through Spotify looking for songs from 'Tommy,' the Who's rock opera, for more than an hour in search of a specific song that he thought he remembered. The aides couldn't find it.
