GEAR MAG

BIG SUR, Calif. (AP) — A 90-mile (145-kilometer) section of California's Highway 1 along the famous Big Sur coast fully reopened Wednesday after three years of closures and repairs following a series of landslides and a roadway collapse that hampered tourism on the scenic route.

The reopening around midday came three months ahead of schedule, and business owners say that should give travelers plenty of time to plan their spring and summer road trips. The highway is famously a must for California visitors traveling between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

"Today is a monumental milestone for us," said a relieved Colin Twohig, general manager of the Big Sur River Inn. "We're hitting the light at the end of the tunnel after three long years."

The first shutdown came in January 2023 when a series of powerful atmospheric rivers triggered a major landslide. The highway was buried by mud and rocks again the following year during another wet winter, and a lane also collapsed down a cliff near the Rocky Creek Bridge.

The traffic stoppage between Carmel and Cambria cut off access to Big Sur, an isolated stretch of the state's central coast where misty, forested mountains rise up from the ocean. What used to be a short drive between the southern and northern sections — with tiny Big Sur Village roughly in the middle — became an eight-hour trek inland and then back toward the seashore.

The isolated area, home to fewer than 2,000 residents, is known for its panoramic hiking trails along high cliffs and craggy beaches where seals and sea lions sometimes sprawl out. The late "Tropic of Cancer" author Henry Miller lived there for nearly two decades starting in the 1940s, and there's now a library devoted to his work.

There were multiple closures at various locations throughout the past three years, and the last stretch that remained shut was a 7-mile (11-kilometer) span near Lucia, according to the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the opening on social media, thanking Caltrans for the speedy work in "reviving a vital economic lifeline for local business owners and residents affected by the closure."

Caltrans, which has called Highway 1 the jewel of the state highway system, deployed remotely operated bulldozers and excavators to safely remove tons of debris in steep terrain. Then crews drilled 4,600 steel bars into the slopes in a grid to patch layers of the hillside together and reduce the risk of future slides, the department said.

California Assemblymember Dawn Addis, a Democrat whose district includes Big Sur, said the restoration will provide a much-needed fiscal boost to the region.

"This turning point will help restore revenue, access to our state parks, support jobs, public safety, and economic stability for many of our residents," Addis said in a statement.

Twohig said he looks forward to seeing tourists in cars and motorhomes back on the road.

He estimated that his inn, with 22 guest rooms, a large restaurant and a general store, saw a 20% drop in business. He said the road closure directly following COVID-19 restrictions was a one-two punch. The inn spent the down time making improvements and marketing heavily to entice California residents to visit during the off-seasons.

"When you have a hospitality business, you really rely on the busy season, and when there is no busy season, it can be a hard pill to swallow," he said. "Having that lifeline back is huge."

A top Trump administration lawyer pressed a federal judge Wednesday to block a newly enacted California law that bans most law enforcement officers in the state from wearing masks, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Tiberius Davis, representing the U.S. Department of Justice, argued at a hearing in Los Angeles that the first-of-its-kind ban on police face coverings could unleash chaos across the country, and potentially land many ICE agents on the wrong side of the law it were allowed to take effect.

"Why couldn't California say every immigration officer needs to wear pink, so it's super obvious who they are?" Davis told U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder. "The idea that all 50 states can regulate the conduct and uniforms of officers ... flips the Constitution on its head."

The judge appeared skeptical.

"Why can't they perform their duties without a mask? They did that until 2025, did they not?" Snyder said. "How in the world do those who don't mask manage to operate?"

The administration first sued to block the new rules in November, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the No Secret Police Act and its companion provision, the No Vigilantes Act, into law. Together, The laws bar law enforcement officers from wearing masks and compel them to display identification "while conducting law enforcement operations in the Golden State." Both offenses would be misdemeanors.

Read more:Trump claims crime is rampant in California. Newsom counters with stats showing historic lows

Federal officials have vowed to defy the new rules, saying they are unconstitutional and put agents in danger. They have also decried an exception in the law for California state peace officers, arguing the carve out is discriminatory. The California Highway Patrol is among those exempted, while city and county agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, must comply.

"These were clearly and purposefully targeted at the federal government," Davis told the court Wednesday. "Federal officers face prosecution if they do not comply with California law, but California officers do not."

The hearing comes at a moment of acute public anger at the agency following the fatal shooting of American protester Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis — rage that has latched on to masks as a symbol of perceived lawlessness and impunity.

"It's obvious why these laws are in the public interest," California Department of Justice lawyer Cameron Bell told the court Wednesday. "The state has had to bear the cost of the federal government's actions. These are very real consequences."

She pointed to declarations from U.S. citizens who believed they were being abducted by criminals when confronted by masked immigration agents, including incidents where local police were called to respond.

"I later learned that my mother and sister witnessed the incident and reported to the Los Angeles Police Department that I was kidnapped," Angeleno Andrea Velez said in one such declaration. "Because of my mother's call, LAPD showed up to the raid."

The administration argues the anti-mask law would put ICE agents and other federal immigration enforcement officers at risk of doxing and chill the "zealous enforcement of the law."

"The laws would recklessly endanger the lives of federal agents and their family members and compromise the operational effectiveness of federal law enforcement activities," the government said in court filings.

Davis also told the court that ICE's current tactics were necessary in part because of laws across California and in much of the U.S. that limit police cooperation with ICE and bar immigration enforcement in sensitive locations, such as schools and courts.

California contends its provisions are "modest" and aligned with past practice, and that the government's evidence showing immigration enforcement would be harmed is thin.

Bell challenged Department of Homeland Security statistics purporting to show an 8,000% increase in death threats against ICE agents and a 1,000% increase in assaults, saying the government has recently changed what qualifies as a "threat" and that agency claims have faced "significant credibility issues" in federal court.

Read more:Attacks on ICE up 1,000%? Trump administration claim not backed up by court records

"Blowing a whistle to alert the community, that's hardly something that increases threats," Bell said.

On the identification rule, Snyder appeared to agree.

"One might argue that there's serious harm to the government if agents' anonymity is preserved," she said.

The fate of the mask law may hinge on the peace officer exemption.

"Would your discrimination argument go away if the state changed legislation to apply to all officers?" Snyder asked.

"I believe so," Davis said.

The ban was slated to come into force on Jan. 1, but is on hold while the case makes its way through the courts. If allowed to take effect, California would become the first state in the nation to block ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officers from concealing their identities while on duty.

A ruling is expected as soon as this week.

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This story originally appeared inLos Angeles Times.

There are plenty of places I would expect to see turtles, like pet stores, in the wild, and as they appear on television as everyone's favoriteTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, the one place I would absolutely never expect to see a turtle, let alone 5,000 of them, is stuffed into a suitcase inan airport in India.

That's exactly what customs officials found when they discovered two women were smuggling an invasive species of turtle into the country through theirchecked baggage. Now, the women face possible jail time while the turtles will hopefully be returned to their natural habitats, where they belong. Here's what we know.

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5,000 turtles rescued from a smuggler's suitcase in India

The Air Intelligence Unit had an unusual day when they came face-to-face with 5,000 red-eared slider turtles that had been packed tightly into a series of plastic containers and hidden inside of the suitcases of a pair of women.

The alleged smugglersflew into Tiruchy International Airport, according toTimes of India. They arrived there from Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. The publication says thatauthorities were alteredto the possible situation via a tip, which prompted them to check the bags once the duo arrived. The women were taken into custody due to violations of the Wildlife Protection Act.

A team of officials from the forest department then arrived to examine the turtles, which were identified as the invasive species, before sending them back to Kuala Lumpur. According to theTimes of India, the investigation is ongoing.

Related: United Airlines passenger flabbergasted over how seatmate behaved—alleging no flight attendants stepped up to help

Trafficking exotic animals through the airport is a big problem

As unusual as this news sounds, it's hardly out of the ordinary. In fact, aUnited News of Indiareport from 2024 said that4,967 small green turtlesand 19 yellow turtles were seized at the Anna International airport. Once again, the flight originated from Kuala Lumpur and contained a massive collection of turtles, but they are hardly the only ones caught up in these crimes.

According toan extensive reportfrom the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, turtles and tortoises made up only 4 percent of the illegally trafficked animals between 2015 to 2021. The group that sees the most international trafficking are corals, which make up 16 percent of all seizures, then the list breaks down further, like this:

• Crocodilians at 9 percent

• Elephants at 6 percent

• Bivalve mollusks at 6 percent

• Carnivores at 5 percent

• Parrots and cockatoos at 4 percent

• Orchids at 4 percent

And then the list goes on. You can get a full accounting of the report by visiting the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's website. While some people may think of these as victimless crimes—after all, many of these creatures are sold at a very high price to people who desperately want to keep and care for them—that's hardly the case.

Related: Delta passenger who recently lost 60lbs spots seatmate's body-shaming text: 'I can't stop crying'

According to the World Wildlife Fund W(WF), poaching and the associated trafficking that comes along with it causes untold harm to the environment. "Populations of species on earthdeclined by an average 40 percentbetween 1970 and 2000—and the second-biggest direct threat to species survival, after habitat destruction, is wildlife trade," a statement on their website reads. And, that doesn't take into consideration the lives lost when non-native species are introduced into new habitats, either by those who purchased them illegally and realized they could no longer care for them, or by smugglers who decided to release them when they became too much of a liability to keep.

My personal opinions about animal smuggling aside, it's clear that the trafficking of wild animals continues to be a big problem. Hopefully, as more high profile cases like this come to light, future smugglers will think twice about taking part in the trade and leave the animals in their natural habitats where they belong.

This story was originally published byTravelHoston Jan 14, 2026, where it first appeared in theAirlinessection. Add TravelHost as aPreferred Source by clicking here.

And then there three.

No. 10 Vanderbilt left the ranks of the undefeateds on Wednesday with an 80-64 loss to unranked Texas. Their record is now 16-0 (3-1 in SEC play).

That leaves three unbeaten teams left among 365 Divison I men's college basketball: No. 1 Arizona, No. 8 Nebraska and unranked Miami (OH). There were six left at the start of the week, but thenMichigan went down in a comeback loss to WisconsinandIowa State got steamrolled by Kansas.

This article will be updated with more information.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was considered a top-two quarterback prospect ahead ofthis year's NFL Draft, but the 20-year-old is pressing pause on his pro career.

Moore revealed Wednesday that he's returning to Eugene for the 2026 season. He made the announcementon SportsCenter.

"I feel like I could have been excited going into there and wherever I got drafted, being blessed to be where I am," Moore said. "But I kind of feel like coming back is the best thing for me, to make sure that when that day does happen, that I'm fully prepared and I'm able to go and play my best ball."

"Of course, I'll be coming back to Oregon for one more year."Dante Moore tells SportsCenter that he's running it back with the Ducks to chase a national championship next season 😤pic.twitter.com/8YpwVafPjJ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter)January 14, 2026

Following adisappointing 56-22 loss to top-seeded and undefeated Indianain the Peach BowlCollege Football Playoff semifinalthis past weekend, a game in which Moore committed three turnovers,he said he hadn't decidedif he was going to enter his name in this year's draft or return to Oregon for another season.

Yahoo Sports had theNew York Jets taking Moore second overallin its latest mock draft andranked him as the class' No. 18 prospect at midseason.

A quick scouting report from Yahoo's Nate Tice:

Moore has shown much improvement this season. He is accurate and can put the ball where he wants when kept clean. He's a solid athlete and can create enough as a player, but he's best when operating from the pocket and on plays he has spent time on.

Tice also mentioned, though, that Moore could stand to add some bulk to his frame. And now the 6-foot-3, 206-pound signal-caller has a chance to do so at Oregon, wherehe'll be joined by former Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola.

Raiola, the Rivals industry ranking's No. 3 QB in the 2024 recruiting class, started 22 games at Nebraska over the past two seasons. He took a big step during the 2025 campaign, posting an 18:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio, along with a 72.4% completion rate, while leading the Cornhuskers back to the AP Top 25 and then to a 6-2 start. His sophomore season was cut shortwhen he suffered a a broken fibula during the third quarter of a 21-17 loss to then-No. 23 USCin the Huskers' ninth game of the year.

He eventually hit the portal andcommitted to Oregon on Monday.

Raiola is expected to back up Moore, much like Moore backed up Dillon Gabriel in 2024. Before redshirting that season, Moore transferred in after having started as a true freshman at UCLA.

"He's a great dude," Moore said of Raiola during his SportsCenter interview Wednesday. "We haven't talked much, but just seeing him and how he just competes, I know when he comes here that he's going to be a great guy for the quarterback room.

"I want to make sure that I give him my ideas, my thoughts that Dillon Gabriel did for me and make sure that I just give him the resources to make sure he's better on his game. But I know when he comes here, he's not going to fall and not push me."

Moore added: "I know he's going to push me in order to compete and have fun. I'm glad to be able to see him."

Moore threw for 3,565 yards, in part thanks to three 300-yard games, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for the Ducks this season. He completed 71.8% of his passes, a steep increase from his 53.5% completion percentage with the Bruins in 2023.

He led Oregon to an 11-1 regular-season record, notably guiding the Ducks to a double-overtime win over then-No. 3 Penn State in Happy Valley.

Oregon earned the No. 5 seed in the College Football Playoff and rattled off wins over James Madison in the first round and Big 12 champion Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl CFP quarterfinal.

But Indiana proved to be a thorn in the Ducks' side. Moore was picked off twice in a 30-20 regular-season setback to the Hoosiers and then tossed one more interception to go along with his two lost fumbles versus Indiana in the Peach Bowl.

The Hoosiers came out on top, and so did Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza,whom BetMGM now lists as a -10000 favorite to become this year's No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Last week, before Moore's decision, Mendoza was at -550.

Moore's decision to run things back is the kind that's increasingly rare in college football. It will have a ripple effect on an already thin quarterback draft class.

It could also make the difference for an Oregon program that's still searching for that elusive national title.

"I had many great throws, many great plays, but at the end of the day, I feel like I can still learn so much more," Moore said.

"And of course, as a kid since 4 years old, I've dreamed about being in the NFL, but this team, we've been through a lot, and a lot of people are returning. So I feel like we got exciting things coming this year, and I'm excited to keep pushing my team."

John Harbaugh interviewed in person with the New York Giants fortheir head coaching vacancy, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Harbaugh was at the team facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for most of the day Wednesday, the person said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team was not announcing its interviews.

TheSuper Bowl-winning former Baltimore Ravens coachis believed to be the Giants' top candidate, but they arefar from the only NFL clubinterested in his services. Harbaugh has also spoken to the Atlanta Falcons, who recently hired retired quarterback Matt Ryan as their president of football.

Young QB Jaxson Dart, one of the biggest draws for New York coming off his impressive rookie season, was reportedly involved in meetings with Harbaugh. Dart threw for 15 touchdowns and ran for nine more in 12 starts.

Giants general manager Joe Schoensaid he would cast a wide net for the full-time replacement for Brian Daboll, whowas firedNov. 10 with the team off to a 2-8 start. Interviews of former Atlanta coach Raheem Morris and retired linebacker Antonio Pierce, who most recently coached the Las Vegas Raiders, satisfy the Rooney Rule for diverse external candidates and would allow the Giants to make any hire they choose at this point.

AP NFL:https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

By Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is suspending processing for immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries, a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday, as part of Washington's intensifying immigration crackdown.

The pause, which will ​impact applicants from Latin American countries including Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay, Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Albania, South Asian countries Pakistan and ‌Bangladesh, and those from many nations in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, will begin on January 21, the spokesperson said.

"The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ‌ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people," said Tommy Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the State Department.

"Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits," he added.

The move, which was first reported by Fox News, does not impact U.S. visitor visas, which ⁠have been in the spotlight given the United States ‌is hosting the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

The decision follows a November directive to U.S. diplomats asking them to ensure that visa applicants are financially self-sufficient and do not risk becoming dependent on government subsidies during their stay ‍in the U.S., according to a State Department cable seen by Reuters at the time.

LEGAL IMMIGRATION

Trump has pursued a sweeping immigration crackdown since returning to office in January. His administration has aggressively prioritized immigration enforcement, sending federal agents to major U.S. cities and sparking violent confrontations with both migrants and U.S. citizens.

While he campaigned on stopping illegal ​immigration into the United States, his administration has also made legal immigration more difficult - for example, by imposing new and expensive fees on the ‌applicants of H-1B visas for highly skilled workers.

"This administration has proven itself to have the most anti-legal immigration agenda in American history," David Bier, Cato's Director of Immigration Studies and The Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy, said in a statement.

"This action will ban nearly half of all legal immigrants to the United States, turning away about 315,000 legal immigrants over the next year alone," Bier said.

The State Department has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump took office, it said on Monday. The administration has also adopted a stricter policy on granting visas, with tightened social media vetting and expanded ⁠screening.

Trump, a Republican, captured the White House saying a tougher stance on immigration was ​needed after years of high levels of illegal immigration under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

In ​November, Trump had vowed to "permanently pause" migration from all "Third World Countries" following a shooting near the White House by an Afghan national that killed a National Guard member.

FULL LIST OF COUNTRIES

The list of countries that will be impacted by the suspension, ‍according to a U.S. official, are: ⁠Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, ⁠Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, ‌Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Simon ‌Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Costas Pitas, Rosalba O'Brien and Chizu Nomiyama)