Category: News
Nobel Foundation Says Prize Can’t Be Passed On To Others After Trump–Machado Meeting
Nobel Foundation Says Prize Can’t Be Passed On To Others After Trump–Machado Meeting
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The Nobel Foundation said Sunday reiterated its prestigious Nobel Peace Prize cannot be passed on to another person after a Venezuelan opposition leader gifted the prize that she won to President Donald Trump last week.
During a meeting at the White House on Jan. 15, the leader, Maria Corina Machado, gave her Peace Prize medal to Trump, which the president accepted.
However, the Nobel Foundation weighed in on the matter on Sunday, asserting that the prize can’t be transferred.
“One of the core missions of the Nobel Foundation is to safeguard the dignity of the Nobel Prizes and their administration. The Foundation upholds Alfred Nobel’s will and its stipulations,” it said in a statement, referring to the Swedish chemist and inventor of dynamite who started the foundation in the late 19th century.
The will of Nobel had said that the prizes should be given to people who “have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind,” the statement said, adding that his will also “specifies who has the right to award each respective prize.”
“A prize can therefore not, even symbolically, be passed on or further distributed,” the foundation said.
After the prize was awarded to Machado last year, she said she would give it to Trump. She also backed the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan socialist leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, although Trump has said that he would not support installing Machado as the leader of Venezuela and instead suggested that Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, be in charge of the country.
In a social media post on Jan. 15, Trump wrote that “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!”
Machado last week said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people. The White House later posted a photo of Trump and Machado with the president holding up a large, gold-colored frame displaying the medal.
Text of the statement that she wrote said: “To President Donald J. Trump In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength.” She labeled the gesture as a “Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People.”
Trump had openly campaigned for the prize before Machado was awarded it, saying that he was snubbed after having ended wars around the world, including in the Middle East, and is seeking to end more armed conflicts.
Asked on Wednesday if he wanted Machado to give him the prize, Trump told the Reuters news agency: “No, I didn’t say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize.”
In October 2025, Trump said that Machado had called him, telling him she was “accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it.“
After his capture, Maduro and his wife appeared in a federal courtroom in New York and pleaded not guilty to a range of charges, including drug trafficking. The Trump administration said that he was heavily involved in the smuggling of narcotics, namely cocaine, sourced from neighboring Colombia to other countries, including the United States.
The U.S. military under the Trump administration, meanwhile, has seized roughly a half-dozen oil tankers that officials say were trying to evade U.S. sanctions, including a vessel that was flying a Russian flag.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 01/19/2026 – 13:50
Actress Taraji P. Henson, who starred in ‘Empire,’ sells condo in Streeterville high-rise for $1.7M
Academy Award-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson on Friday sold a three-bedroom, 2,540-square-foot condominium on the 36th floor of a Streeterville high-rise for $1.7 million, completing her nearly $3 million sale of condos in the building.
Henson, 55, has had a long career in show business, both on film and on TV. She starred in the Fox drama “Empire,” which was filmed in Chicago from 2015 until it ended its run in 2020.
Through her Appian Trust, Henson in 2017 paid $1.925 million for the 36th-floor unit in Streeterville that she just sold. Then, in 2019, she paid $1.554 million for a smaller, 2,159-square-foot unit on the same floor.
In August 2024, Henson listed both units combined for $3.379 million. She concurrently listed the two condos individually, including first asking $1.9 million for the unit she just sold. She cut her asking price for that unit to $1.85 million in March and then to $1.7 million in September. She finally struck a deal it in December. Public records do not yet identify the buyer.
Separately, Henson sold the smaller unit in October for $1.225 million. In all, Henson took a $554,000 loss on the two condos, which she had bought for a combined amount of $3.479 million and now has sold for a combined total of $2.925 million.
The unit that Henson just sold is in the northeast corner of the building and has 3-1/2 bathrooms, Lutron motorized shades, custom wall treatments, custom built-ins, custom closets, electric fireplaces in the living room and the primary bedroom suite and a kitchen with granite countertops, a Bosch refrigerator and microwave, a Fisher Paykel dishwasher, GE Profile double ovens, a GE Profile cooktop and a wet bar with quartz countertops, custom shelving, a glass backsplash and a beverage refrigerator.
Listing agent Sharon O’Hara did not respond to a request for comment.
The unit that Henson just sold had a $26,039 property tax bill in the 2024 tax year. It also comes with $1,883-a-month homeowners association fees.
Henson continues to own a 3,188-square-foot house in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills area, which she purchased in 2016 for $6.45 million.
Also, Henson previously owned a 38th-floor unit in the building at 600 N. Lake Shore, which she had bought in 2015 and sold in 2018 for $1.429 million.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/19/taraji-henson-streeterville-condo/
Guehi se une al Manchester City tras dejar el Palace en ambiciosa renovación de la plantilla
Por STEVE DOUGLAS
Manchester City completó el fichaje del defensor inglés Marc Guehi procedente Crystal Palace por un monto que ascendería a las 20 millones de libras (26,7 millones de dólares), reforzando las opciones del equipo en medio de una serie de grandes lesiones que han golpeado el centro de la zaga.
Guehi, quien habría sido agente libre al final de la temporada, casi se unió a Liverpool durante la ventana de transferencias de verano, pero el acuerdo se colapsó.
El City se ha adelanto para ficharlo con un contrato de cinco años y medio. Completó el traspado el lunes justo cuando el técnico Pep Guardiola acusa las bajas de los defensas centrales Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias y John Stones debido a lesiones.
Guehi, quien era el capitán del Palace, es el segundo fichaje de City este mes. El primero fue el extremo Antoine Semenyo, quien llegó procedente de Bournemouth por un monto que alcanzaría los 87 millones de dólares.
Producto de la academia de Chelsea, Guehi ha jugado para el Palace desde que se unió procedente de Swansea en 2021 y ahora es titular habitual con la selección de Inglaterra.
“Este traspado se siente como la culminación de todo el trabajo duro que he puesto en mi carrera”, dijo el jugador de 25 años. “Ahora estoy en el mejor club de Inglaterra y soy parte de un increíble grupo de jugadores. Se siente bien poder decir eso”.
El director de fútbol de City, Hugo Viana, dijo que el club estaba fichando a “uno de los mejores defensores del fútbol inglés desde hace bastante tiempo” y a un jugador que “está entrando en los mejores años de su carrera”.
“Siento que hemos fichado a un gran talento que nos ayudará a mejorar. Solo tiene 25 años, pero ya ha demostrado que es un líder, un profesional brillante y alguien desesperado por mejorar”, añadió.
Guehi no jugó el sábado con el Palace en la derrota 2-1 ante Sunderland debido a su inminente traspaso al City.
El momento de la venta enfureció al entrenador del Palace, Oliver Glasner, quien dijo que su equipo se siente “abandonado” por la directiva del club.
Reconstrucción de City
La llegada de Guehi continúa la costosa reconstrucción de City en los últimos 12 meses mientras el club espera el veredicto de un caso legalde larga duración con la Liga Premier.
El City gastó alrededor de un estimado de 200 millones de dólares en cada una de las ventanas de transferencias de invierno y verano en 2025, y ya lleva más de 100 millones de dólares este mes.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
El presidente de la Fed asistirá a audiencia de la Corte Suprema sobre caso Cook
Por CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
WASHINGTON (AP) — El presidente de la Reserva Federal, Jerome Powell, asistirá el miércoles a la audiencia oral de la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos en un caso que involucra el intento de destitución de la gobernadora de la Fed, Lisa Cook, una inusual muestra de apoyo por parte del jefe del banco central estadounidense.
La corte está considerando si el presidente Donald Trump puede destituir a Cook, como dijo que haría a finales de agosto, en un intento sin precedentes de remover a uno de los siete miembros de la junta de gobierno de la Fed. Powell planea asistir a la sesión del miércoles, dijo una persona familiarizada con el asunto que habló bajo condición de anonimato.
Es la muestra de apoyo más pública del presidente de la Fed hacia Cook. La semana pasada, Powell dio a conocer que la administración Trump ha enviado citaciones a la Fed, amenazando con una acusación criminal sin precedentes contra el presidente de la Reserva. Powell —nombrado por Trump en 2018— parece estar dejando atrás la respuesta más moderada del último año a los repetidos ataques de Trump al banco central en favor de una confrontación más pública.
Powell emitió una declaración en video el 11 de enero condenando las citaciones como “pretextos” para los esfuerzos de Trump de forzarlo a bajar drásticamente la tasa de interés clave de la Fed. Powell supervisó tres recortes de tasas a finales del año pasado, reduciendo la tasa a aproximadamente 3,6%, pero Trump dice que debería bajar hasta 1%, una posición que pocos economistas apoyan.
La administración Trump acusó a Cook de fraude hipotecario, denuncia que ella rechaza. No se han presentado cargos contra Cook. Ella demandó para mantener su trabajo, y la Corte Suprema emitió el 1 de octubre una breve orden permitiéndole permanecer en la junta mientras consideran su caso.
Si Trump logra destituir a Cook, podría nombrar a otra persona para ocupar su lugar, lo que daría a sus designados una mayoría en la junta de la Fed y mayor influencia sobre las decisiones del banco central sobre tasas de interés y regulación bancaria.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
As faith in the US fades a year into Trump 2.0, Europe tries to end a reliance on American security
BRUSSELS — “Intimidation,” “threats” and “blackmail” are just some of the terms being used by European Union leaders to describe U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning that he will slap new tariffs on nations opposing American control of Greenland.
European language has hardened since Trump returned to the White House 12 months ago. Now it’s in reaction to the previously unthinkable idea that NATO’s most powerful member would threaten to seize the territory of another ally. Trade retaliation is likely should Trump make good on his tariff announcement.
A year into Trump 2.0, Europe’s faith in the strength of the trans-Atlantic bond is fading fast. For some, it’s already disappeared. The flattery of past months has not worked and tactics are evolving as the Europeans try to manage threats from an old ally just as they confront the threat of an increasingly hostile Russia.
Trump’s first term brought NATO to the brink of collapse. “I feared that NATO was about to stop functioning,” former Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote in his recent memoir, after the U.S. president had threatened to walk out of a 2018 summit.
Now, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is warning that should he try to annex Greenland, a semiautonomous part of Denmark, “then everything stops … including our NATO.”
“We are at the very early stage of a rather deep political-military crisis,” said Maria Martisiute, a European Policy Centre analyst. “There is a greater realization, even though political leaders will not like to admit it, that America has abandoned NATO.”
Reading the riot act
In January 2025, U.S. allies at NATO were waiting to hear Trump’s plans for Ukraine.
Europe’s biggest land war in decades was about to enter its fourth year. The Europeans believed that President Vladimir Putin would pose an existential threat to their territory should Russia win.
Few thought that Biden administration policies would continue. But within weeks, any lingering hopes for the U.S. commitment to Ukraine dissolved. American arms supplies and funds began to dry up. Europe would have to fill the gap and pay for U.S. help.
In a speech at NATO headquarters in February, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth read the riot act to European allies and Canada. The United States had priorities elsewhere and Europe must handle security in its own backyard.
Ukraine would not join the alliance. Its territory seized by Russia would not be returned. The Europeans could pull together a force to help Ukraine if they wanted, but they wouldn’t get U.S. help if they went into the country and got attacked.
Trump has since blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the invasion, notwithstanding visits with royalty in the U.K. and the Netherlands meant to mollify him.
Days later that February, in Munich, Vice President JD Vance met the leader of a far-right party during election campaigning in Germany. He claimed that Europe’s main threat was internal, not Russia. Free speech is “in retreat” across the continent, Vance warned.
But after winning the poll, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said that “in view of the increasing threat situation,” Germany and Europe “must now very quickly make very big efforts, very quickly,” to strengthen their defense capabilities.
Europe’s security independence
Over the course of last year, European leaders and Zelenskyy flew to Washington to try to keep Trump onside. A 28-point plan to end the war that he floated would acquiesce to many Russian demands.
The plan was reworked. Talks continue, but without Putin. Few expect him to accept. Trump mostly blames Zelenskyy for the stalemate.
Meanwhile, Europe pressed ahead with new defense measures, even as Trump waged a global tariff war, including against U.S. allies, roiling their economies.
The EU created a multibillion-euro fund to buy arms and ammunition, with the emphasis on sourcing them from European companies and weaning nations off U.S. suppliers.
Debt rules were eased for security spending. Money was funneled into Ukraine’s defense industry. In December, European leaders agreed to pay for most of its military and economic needs for the next two years as Kyiv teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.
A new U.S. national security strategy further soured trans-Atlantic relations. It paints European allies as weak, offers tacit support to far-right political parties, and criticizes European free speech and migration policy.
European Council President Antonio Costa warned the U.S. against interfering in Europe’s affairs. Merz said that the U.S. strategy underscores the need for Europe to become “much more independent” from the United States.
Work has since begun on Europe’s own security strategy. It aims to respond to “the geopolitical changes in our world and to give an appropriate answer to that,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
Part of it is to make Europe even more autonomous.
As France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands sent troops to Greenland last week — small in number but highly symbolic in the message of resolve sent to the White House — French President Emmanuel Macron said that it’s important “to stand at the side of a sovereign state to protect its territory.”
“Europe is being shaken from some of its certainties,” he told French military chiefs. “It sometimes has allies that we thought were predictable, fearless, always by our side, who are now causing us to doubt a lot, or are even turning against those who expected it the least.”
For now, the eight European countries targeted by Trump’s tariff threat say they “stand firmly behind” the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. “Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/19/trump-europe-reliance-american-security/
Europa evalúa opciones ante amenazas de Trump sobre Groenlandia
Por SAM McNEIL
BRUSELAS (AP) — Las amenazas del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump sobre Groenlandia han desatado indignación y una oleada de actividad diplomática en toda Europa, mientras los líderes consideran posibles contramedidas, incluyendo aranceles de represalia y el uso por primera vez del instrumento anti-coerción de la Unión Europea.
Trump declaró el sábado que impondría un impuesto de importación del 10% a partir de febrero sobre bienes de ocho naciones europeas debido a su oposición al control estadounidense de Groenlandia.
Dinamarca, Noruega, Suecia, Francia, Alemania, el Reino Unido, Holanda y Finlandia enfrentarían el arancel, dijo Trump en una publicación en redes sociales mientras estaba en su club de golf en West Palm Beach, Florida. La tasa aumentará al 25% el 1 de junio si no se llega a un acuerdo para “la compra Completa y Total de Groenlandia” por parte de Estados Unidos, escribió en redes sociales.
Líderes europeos desde Dublín hasta Helsinki condenaron rápidamente el anuncio como coerción económica y enviaron representantes a Bruselas el domingo para una reunión de emergencia.
Si la diplomacia falla, han señalado una nueva disposición para ejercer el poder económico de la Unión Europea de 27 naciones.
“Nuestra prioridad es el diálogo, no escalar. A veces, la forma más responsable de liderazgo es la moderación”, indicó el lunes el portavoz de la Comisión Europea, Olof Gill. “La UE tiene herramientas a su disposición y está preparada para responder si se imponen los aranceles amenazados”.
El valor del comercio de bienes y servicios entre la UE y Estados Unidos ascendió a 1,7 billones de euros (2 billones de dólares) en 2024, o un promedio de 4.600 millones de euros al día, según la agencia de estadísticas de la UE, Eurostat.
¿Qué sigue para la UE?
Trump, la presidenta de la Comisión Europea Ursula von der Leyen, y otros líderes mundiales están viajando ahora a Davos para el Foro Económico Mundial anual. Aún no hay reuniones programadas entre los líderes europeos y Trump.
Después de Davos, los 27 líderes de la UE se reunirán en Bruselas el jueves por la noche para una reunión de emergencia sobre las relaciones transatlánticas.
El presidente del Consejo Europeo, António Costa, señaló que los líderes de la UE coinciden en que “los aranceles socavarían las relaciones transatlánticas y son incompatibles con el acuerdo comercial UE-Estados Unidos”.
Los líderes expresaron su “disposición a defendernos contra cualquier forma de coerción”.
El secretario del Tesoro de Estados Unidos, Scott Bessent, hablando el lunes con periodistas en Davos, Suiza, sugirió que los funcionarios de la UE habían estado contactando a la administración tras la amenaza de Trump, diciendo que “evidentemente hay muchas entradas”.
Preguntado sobre la posibilidad de medidas de represalia por parte del bloque europeo, Bessent respondió: “Creo que sería muy imprudente”.
¿Qué opciones están sobre la mesa?
Europa tiene muchas herramientas a su disposición, pero un camino complicado por delante, explicó Penny Naas, vicepresidenta senior del German Marshall Fund, un grupo de expertos con sede en Washington.
“Es difícil para los europeos encontrar ese espacio donde puedan demostrar fuerza sin incurrir en represalias significativas. Y mientras no estén dispuestos a aceptar represalias, tendrán problemas para proyectar fuerza”, dijo.
La UE tiene tres herramientas económicas principales que podría usar para presionar a Washington: nuevos aranceles, suspensión del acuerdo comercial con Estados Unidos y la llamada “bazuca”, el término no oficial para el Instrumento Anti-Coerción del bloque que podría sancionar a individuos o instituciones que estén ejerciendo presión indebida sobre la UE.
La UE y Estados Unidos acordaron en junio un marco para un acuerdo comercial. Iba a ser ratificado por el Parlamento Europeo esta semana, pero el sábado, el líder del grupo más grande en el Parlamento, el legislador alemán de centro-derecha Manfred Weber, sostuvo que la aprobación “no es posible en estos momentos”.
La UE también podría imponer aranceles sobre bienes estadounidenses por valor de 93.000 millones de euros (108.000 millones de dólares) que suspendió después del acuerdo de julio. Sin embargo, el portavoz de la comisión, Gill, sostuvo que a menos que esa suspensión se extienda, esos aranceles entrarían en vigor el 7 de febrero si Estados Unidos sigue adelante con su amenaza de aranceles.
El ministro de Finanzas de Irlanda, Simon Harris, advirtió contra la escalada de tensiones que podría arruinar ese acuerdo tan difícil de alcanzar.
“Este es un momento para mantener la calma”, apuntó antes de una reunión de los ministros de finanzas de la UE en Bruselas.
“Hemos trabajado muy duro a nivel de la UE para tener un acuerdo comercial en vigor con Estados Unidos, un acuerdo comercial que garantizará que la actividad económica pueda seguir fluyendo a través del Atlántico, un acuerdo comercial que es bueno para Estados Unidos, bueno para Europa, bueno para Irlanda. Cualquier cosa que ahora se aleje de eso, o se desvíe de eso, podría tener consecuencias potencialmente muy, muy significativas”.
Las mayores exportaciones de Europa a Estados Unidos son productos farmacéuticos, automóviles, aviones, productos químicos, instrumentos médicos y vinos y licores.
En 2021, la Comisión Europea estableció el Instrumento Anti-Coerción después de que Beijing restringiera el comercio con Lituania, que ha establecido lazos con Taiwán, reclamado por China como su territorio.
“El objetivo principal del Instrumento Anti-Coerción es la disuasión. Por lo tanto, el instrumento tendrá más éxito si no hay necesidad de usarlo”, según un comunicado de la comisión.
Hay una negativa generalizada a usar el instrumento en las capitales europeas por temor a que escale las cosas, pero Francia y Alemania, los dos gigantes económicos del bloque, han señalado su apoyo.
“Las amenazas de aranceles son inaceptables y no tienen lugar en este contexto”, aseguró el presidente francés Emmanuel Macron en una publicación en redes sociales. “Los europeos responderán de manera unida y coordinada si se confirman. Nos aseguraremos de que se mantenga la soberanía europea”.
Indirectamente, la UE ha buscado mudar sus economías de Estados Unidos a otras partes del mundo.
Bruselas firmó un gran acuerdo comercial la semana pasada con las cinco naciones del Mercosur, así como acuerdos separados con Indonesia y Japón. Los funcionarios de la UE están trabajando en acuerdos de libre comercio similares con los Emiratos Árabes Unidos e India, donde von der Leyen estará a finales de enero para finalizar las negociaciones.
Gill, el portavoz de la comisión, aseveró que el acuerdo con India cubriría a casi 2.000 millones de personas, y junto con el acuerdo del Mercosur, proporciona una clara victoria para la UE tras el caos económico global desatado por la segunda administración de Trump.
“Podemos ver muy claramente que el liderazgo responsable y maduro en el escenario global está dando sus frutos en términos de la agenda comercial de la UE, en términos de nuestros esfuerzos por diversificar nuestros socios comerciales y darnos el máximo potencial económico de nuestras asociaciones en todo el mundo”, manifestó.
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El corresponsal Jamey Katen en Davos, Suiza, contribuyó con esta nota.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Nigerian King Must Pay $72k Restitution For Defrauding NC Medicaid During Pandemic
Nigerian King Must Pay $72k Restitution For Defrauding NC Medicaid During Pandemic
Authored by Stephen Horn via The Triangle Trumpet,
Ekelekamchukwu Alphonsus Ngwadom, 61, received a suspended sentence requiring three years probation and $72,014.66 in restitution after pleading guilty to twenty-seven felonies in regards to hundreds of Medicaid claims for children’s therapy he fraudulently filed in 2020 and 2021 at his Raleigh practice, Almarch Counseling. (¹, ², ³)
Mugshot: Ekelekamchukwu Alphonsus Ngwadom
It was during this same period that Ngwadom was crowned King or “Eze” of the Mbubu-Amiri kingdom in Nigeria’s Imo State, according to a local news source which also identified him as the Chairman of African Diaspora Coalition of North Carolina and Professor of Psychology and Sociology at the University of Mount Olive. (There are many such “traditional rulers“ recognized by and holding limited power under the Federal Republic of Nigeria).
Ngwadom is listed as the Director of Partnerships and Development for Nigerian Mental Health Practitioners USA and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria-American Institute for Mental Health.
Records show Ngwadom resides at a Garner address and has voted in Johnston County since 2008.
Investigation and prosecution
According to a search warrant obtained by the Medicaid Investigation Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice, Ngwadom’s practice was flagged by Alliance Health, the manager of the NC Medicaid plan for counties including Wake, Johnston, and Durham.
Ngwadom’s fraud was revealed when a legitimate claim for therapy was submitted for one of the children for which he had filed fraudulent claims, and it was discovered that the family had never received services from Ngwadom or Almarch Counseling.
In the ensuing investigation into the “overlapping services,” a total of 210 fraudulent claims were identified involving children from three families who never receiving services from Ngwadom or Almarch Counseling:
fifty-two claims for two minor children for a total of $3,037.28
one hundred and three claims for three minor children for a total of $8,476.88
fifty-five claims for two minor children for a total of $3,529.46
At sentencing, the state prosecutor explained that Ngwadom had met these families through an after-school program in the years prior to the pandemic, as reported by the News & Observer.
Although the search warrant was obtained and executed in 2022, the charges were not filled until January 2025.
The total amount of fraudulent claims submitted by Ngwadom totaled $72,014.66 across 27 Medicaid recipients between February 18, 2020, and March 18, 2021, according to a press release by Attorney General Jeff Jackson.
Ngwadom plead guilty to twenty-seven counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, a Class H felony, and received a sentence of 6-17 months incarceration, which was suspended with the following conditions:
three years probation
ninety days house arrest
surrendering professional license
one hundred hours community service
$72,014.66 in restitution
Zero stars: state inspections find repeat deficiencies at adult care facility
Outside of his counseling practice, Ngwadom’s five-bed adult residential care facility Almarch Family Care in Rocky Mount has racked up numerous statements of deficiency and penalties from the NC Division of Health Service Regulation which licenses and inspects such facilities, which assigned AFC a rating of zero out of four stars at seven out of the last eight inspections.
The NCDHSR website only lists penalties for the past 36 months, in which time AFC has racked up $35,200 in penalties, with $16,700 paid in full and the most recent $18,500 under appeal.
Sixteen statements of deficiencies are listed for the nineteen inspections since 2015, with the most recent statement consisting of eighty-four pages detailing how the facility violated at least nine rules, including by failing to have certified staff, failing to meet health care needs, failing to properly store and administer prescribed medication, and failing to implement an activity program.
AFC is located at an 1825 sq. ft. home in a residential neighborhood in east Rocky Mount; although Ngwadom’s lawyer cited his need to take out a second mortgage in order to pay the $72k restitution, Edgecombe County records show that Ngwadom and his wife Ngozichukwuka Mary Ngwadom sold the AFC property for $10 to a “Chukwuebuka Michael C Ngwadom” less than two months before his sentencing. (The property has a tax valuation of $113,866.00).
Raleigh provider recruited refugees for Medicaid scam
Although perhaps not as prevalent as the recently publicized Somali scams in Minnesota, Ngwoma is not the only Nigerian to be charged with Medicaid fraud relating to “therapy” services in the Raleigh area, with a recent case matching a pattern of fraud enabled by modern immigration and welfare policy.
An investigation into the billing practices of “Our Treatment Center,” a Medicaid provider in Raleigh, resulted in the conviction of seven “mental health practitioners,” according to a June 2025 press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina, with at least three of the fraudsters appearing to have African origins:
Pius Ondachi (Kenya), Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor
Ifeoma Ezugwu (Nigeria), Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate
Queensly Onuzulike (Nigeria), Licensed Clinical Social Worker
The charging documents allege that OTC recruited “refugees” in North Carolina in order to fraudulently bill Medicaid for providing “social assistance” to the “indigent” foreigners for services not covered by the welfare program, including:
assistance with reading and understanding mail
understanding the American legal system
assistance with English as a second language
transportation to grocery stores, the Division of Motor Vehicles, and other appointments
Ondachi and Onuzulike are alleged to have helped recruit the refugees, obtaining Medicaid Identification Numbers and personally identifiable information from entire households of refugees with the promise of this “assistance with social needs.”
The scheme then involved fraudulently billing these services to Medicaid as “psychotherapy,” with Ondachi, Ezugwu, and Onuzulike each being accused of fabricating psychotherapy notes to justify billing for these non-psychotherapy services, and altering the dates/times of the services provided to meet the Medicaid coverage limitation of only one hour of psychotherapy per patient per day.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 01/19/2026 – 13:00
Muere en Roma el diseñador de moda Valentino a los 93 años
Por JENNY BARCHFIELD y COLLEEN BARRY
ROMA (AP) — Valentino Garavani, el diseñador italiano del jet-set cuyas glamorosas prendas de alta costura, a menudo en su característico tono de “rojo Valentino”, fueron un elemento básico de los desfiles de moda durante casi medio siglo, ha fallecido en su hogar en Roma, anunció su fundación el lunes. Tenía 93 años.
La fundación afirmó en un comunicado publicado en redes sociales: “Valentino Garavani no solo fue una guía constante e inspiración para todos nosotros, sino una verdadera fuente de luz, creatividad y visión”.
Su cuerpo reposará en la sede de la fundación en Roma el miércoles y jueves. El funeral se llevará a cabo el viernes en la Basílica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri en la Piazza della Repubblica de Roma.
Universalmente conocido por su primer nombre, Valentino fue adorado por generaciones de realeza, primeras damas y estrellas de cine, desde Jackie Kennedy Onassis hasta Julia Roberts y la Reina Rania de Jordania, quienes aseguraban que el diseñador siempre las hacía lucir y sentirse de lo mejor.
“Yo sé lo que las mujeres quieren”, comentó una vez. “Quieren ser hermosas”.
Nunca fue para la moda atrevida o de declaración, Valentino cometió muy pocos errores a lo largo de su carrera de casi medio siglo, que se extendió desde sus primeros días en Roma en la década de 1960 hasta su retiro en 2008.
Sus diseños infalibles hicieron de Valentino el rey de la alfombra roja, el hombre al que recurrían las celebridades para sus necesidades en ceremonias de premios. Sus suntuosos vestidos han adornado innumerables Premios de la Academia, notablemente en 2001, cuando Roberts usó una columna vintage en blanco y negro para aceptar su estatuilla de mejor actriz. Cate Blanchett también vistió de Valentino, un modelo de un solo tirante en seda amarillo mantequilla, cuando ganó el Oscar a la mejor actriz de reparto en 2004.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/19/muere-en-roma-el-diseador-de-moda-valentino-a-los-93-aos/
The Sundance Film Festival prepares to bid farewell to Park City, and Robert Redford
The Sundance Film Festival may be a little bittersweet this year. It will be familiar in some ways as it kicks off on Thursday in Park City, Utah. There will be stars, from Natalie Portman to Charli XCX, and breakout discoveries, tearjerkers, comedies, thrillers, oddities that defy categorization and maybe even a few future Oscar nominees. The pop ups and sponsors will be out in full force on Main Street. The lines to get into the 90 movies premiering across 10 days will be long and the volunteers will be endlessly helpful and cheery in subfreezing temperatures.
But the country’s premier showcase for independent film is also in a time of profound transition after decades of relative stability. The festival is bidding farewell to its longtime home and forging forward without its founder, Robert Redford, who died in September. Next year, it must find its footing in another mountain town, Boulder, Colorado.
Celebrating the legacy of Robert Redford and his creation
It’s no surprise that legacy will be a through-line at this year’s final edition in Park City. There will be screenings of restored Sundance gems like “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Mysterious Skin,” “House Party” and “Humpday” as well as Redford’s first truly independent film, the 1969 sports drama “Downhill Racer.” Many will also pay tribute to Redford at the institute’s fundraising event, where honorees include Chloé Zhao, Ed Harris and Nia DaCosta.
“Sundance has always been about showcasing and fostering independent movies in America. Without that, so many filmmakers wouldn’t have had the careers they have,” said “Mysterious Skin” filmmaker Gregg Araki. He first attended the festival in 1992 and has been back many times, including at the labs where Zhao was one of his students.
Quite a few festival veterans are planning to make the trip, including “Navalny” filmmaker Daniel Roher. His first Sundance in 2022 might have been a bit unconventional (made fully remote at the last minute due to the pandemic) but ended on a high note with an Oscar. This year he’s back with two films, his narrative debut “Tuner,” and the world premiere of “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist,” which he co-directed with Charlie Tyrell.
“We’re going through a weird moment in the world … There’s something that strikes me about an institution that has been evergreen, that seems so entrenched going through its own transition and rebirth,” Roher told The Associated Press. “I’m choosing to frame this year as a celebration of Sundance and the institute and a future that will ensure the festival goes on forever and ever and ever and stays the vital conduit for so many filmmakers that it has been.”
Over the past four decades, countless careers have been shaped and boosted by the festival and the Institute. Three of this year’s presumed Oscar nominees — Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler and Zhao — are among those the Institute supported early in their careers.
Jay Duplass, who first came to Sundance in 2003 with his brother, Mark, with what he calls a “$3 film” said it was the place where his career was made.
“I’d probably be a psychologist right now if it wasn’t for Sundance,” Duplass said.
While he’s been to “probably 15 Sundances” since, it hasn’t lost its luster. In fact, when a programmer called him to tell him that his new film “See You When I See You” was selected, he cried. The film is based on a memoir in which a young comedy writer (Cooper Raiff) attempts to process the death of his sister (Kaitlyn Dever). It’s one of many films that finds humor amid grim subjects.
Bold swings, comedies and Hollywood stars
As always, the lineup is full of starry films as well, including Cathy Yan’s art world satire, “The Gallerist,” starring Portman, Jenna Ortega, Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The romantic drama “Carousel,” from Rachel Lambert, features Chris Pine and Jenny Slate as high school exes who rekindle their romance later in life. Araki is also bringing a new film, “I Want Your Sex,” in which Olivia Wilde plays a provocative artist (Araki described as a cross between Madonna and Robert Mapplethorpe) who takes on Cooper Hoffman as her younger muse.
“It’s kind of a sex-positive love letter to Gen Z,” Araki said. “It’s a comedy. It has elements of mystery, thriller, murder — a little bit of ‘Sunset Boulevard’ … it’s fun, it’s colorful, it’s sexy. It’s a ride.”
Wilde also steps behind the camera for “The Invite,” in which she stars alongside Seth Rogen as a couple whose marriage disintegrates over the course of an evening. Olivia Colman is a fisherwoman looking to make the perfect husband in “Wicker,” co-starring Alexander Skarsgård. Zoey Deutch plays a Midwestern bride-to-be seeking out her celebrity “free pass” (Jon Hamm) in the screwball comedy “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass.” And Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe lead the Depression-era crime drama “The Weight.”
Pop star and noted cinephile Charli XCX will also be out and about, starring in the self-referential mockumentary “The Moment,” and appearing in “The Gallerist” and “I Want Your Sex” as well.
Documentaries about celebrities and urgent subjects
The 2026 festival features a robust lineup of documentaries too, which have a good track record of snagging eventual Oscar nominations and wins. There are a handful of films about famous faces, including basketball star Brittney Griner, Courtney Love, Salman Rushdie, Billie Jean King, Nelson Mandela and comedian Maria Bamford.
Others delve into newsy subjects past and present, like “When A Witness Recants,” in which author Ta-Nehisi Coates revisits the case of the 1983 murder of a boy in his Baltimore middle school and learns the truth. “American Doctor” follows three professionals trying to help in Gaza. “Who Killed Alex Odeh” examines the 1985 assassination of a Palestinian American activist in Southern California. “Everybody To Kenmure Street” is about civil resistance to deportations in Glasgow in 2021. And “Silenced” tracks international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson in her fight against the weaponization of defamation laws against victims of gender violence.
And some don’t fit into any easy category, like “The History of Concrete” in which filmmaker John Wilson takes what he learned at a “how to sell a Hallmark movie” seminar and tries to apply it to a documentary on concrete.
Saying goodbye to Main Street
There might be a bit of wistfulness in the air too, as everyone takes stock of the last Sundance in Park City and tries to imagine what Boulder might hold.
“It feels very special to be part of the last one in Park City,” Duplass said. “It’s just a super special place where, you know there are going to be movies there with giant stars and there’s also going to be some kids there who made movies for a few thousand dollars. And they’re all going to mix.”
Araki, like Redford, knew long ago that the festival had outgrown Park City. It will be strange to no longer have its iconic locations like Egyptian Theatre and Eccles and The Ray anymore, but it’s also just a place.
“The legacy and the tradition of Sundance will continue no matter where it is,” Araki said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/19/sundance-film-festival-park-city-robert-redford/
Fox Valley library district planning lots of events for its 150th birthday
The Fox River Valley Public Library District will offer an array of events in 2026 to celebrate 150 years of serving readers in the Dundee Township area.
“Our PR team and the entire library staff have been working on this milestone for more than a year, and I’m excited for our community to experience and enjoy the results of everyone’s hard work,” library district spokeswoman Corinne Vargas said.
The district’s graphic designer Dan Mitchell created a 150th anniversary logo and other staff launched a history page on the library’s website, www.frvpld.info/library-history.
Workers prepare the floors for new carpeting inside the newly built Dundee Library prior to its opening in 1975. (Fox River Valley Public Library District)
The latter traces the library from 1876, when it became one of the first in Illinois to support a library through local taxes, to current day, with the Dundee Library operating at 555 Barrington Ave. in East Dundee and a smaller branch open at the Randall Oaks Recreation Center, 500 N. Randall Road in West Dundee.
Vargas said that while an official founding date for a library does not exist, there is a handwritten document in its records dated Jan. 11, 1876, that the district considers its benchmark.
“While it may suggest an early milestone, we cannot confirm it as the exact founding date and therefore recognize 1876 as the library’s founding year,” she said.
Staff also uncovered another letter, circa 1871, in which local residents declared their intention to form a literary society under Illinois state law. This early effort marked the beginning of a shared commitment to learning, enrichment and community values that still define the library today, Vargas said.
Exterior of the Dundee Library in East Dundee. (Fox River Valley Public Library District)
The library’s social media coordinator, Lindsey Grugul, is using information like that as part of “Flashback Friday,” a yearlong series of weekly posts and videos about the district’s history.
Displays at the libraries will soon be going up to promote “Our Library’s 150-Year History: A Historical Review with Phil Aleo,” a program that will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, at the Rakow Center, 665 Barrington Ave., Carpentersville, not far from the Dundee Library.
Vargas said one of the topics Aleo will cover is how Dundee Library started with a collection of about 50 books in English and German collected through the efforts of Dr. E.F. Cleveland and Fred Haverkamp, civic leaders at the time.
Other topics will include the role alcohol played in the library’s early history, the impact of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the various spots where the library has had locations.
“The library has moved eight times over its 150-year history. Its journey has taken it from a drug store to an opera house and even to the original (now West Dundee) city hall building, among other interesting locations,” Vargas said.
Interior of the Randall Oaks Library branch in West Dundee. (Fox River Valley Public Library District)
One was at 21 Washington St. in Carpentersville. In 1895, Mary Carpenter Lord — in memory of her deceased husband J.A. Carpenter — built and donated a building to be shared by the Congregational Church and the Literary and Library Association of Carpentersville, she said. This landmark, designated a historic site by the state of Illinois in 1973 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the current Dundee Township Park District Administration Building.
To highlight such key moments, the library is creating large timeline columns that will be displayed at the Dundee and Randall Oaks locations.
This summer, the district will set up suggestion boxes through which community members can recommend items for inclusion in a time capsule, which is to be buried later this fall.
They’re also creating 150th anniversary pole banners to be displayed in the Dundee Library parking lot, East Dundee’s downtown and along Main Street in Carpentersville.
And this spring, the district will begin a large-scale renovation of its East Dundee building. The library moved into its current building in 1975. Its most recent major renovation was in 2009, when $1.7 million was spent to modernize the facility.
Two community members dive into research at the Dundee Library in East Dundee in 1990. (Fox River Valley Library District)
Planned improvements include replacement of the roof and insulation, a new HVAC system with updated duct work, a building control system, new windows and the addition of sunshades.
At a cost of about $3.5 million, the work will be paid for with money in the district’s special reserve fund and possibly with money from a federal grant. It should be completed by early summer, Vargas said.
Festivities will culminate with a celebration from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Dundee Library.
“This big celebration will invite the community to meet local partners, play games and explore everything the library has to offer,” Vargas said. “The event is a wonderful opportunity to highlight and celebrate the strong partnerships that connect the library with our community and partnering organizations. And yes, there will be birthday cake.”
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
