COPENHAGEN, Denmark

Creators of mobile apps designed to help shoppers identify and boycott American goods reported a surge of interest in Denmark and beyond, following heightened tensions over US President Donald Trump’s expressed interest in purchasing Greenland.

Ian Rosenfeldt, the creator of the free “Made O’Meter” app, said it was downloaded around 30,000 times in just three days at the height of the diplomatic crisis in late January.

Since its launch in March, the app has surpassed 100,000 downloads.

By James Kisoo

LOS ANGELES

Brad Arnold, the Grammy-nominated frontman of the rock band 3 Doors Down, died Saturday at his home after a battle with cancer. He was 47.

Arnold passed away peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement from the band. He had announced a diagnosis of Stage 4 kidney cancer earlier this year.

The band, which formed in Mississippi in 1995, rose to fame with its 1999 breakout hit “Kryptonite,” a song Arnold wrote in math class at age 15. The track earned the group its first Grammy nomination.

Their debut album, The Better Life, sold over 6 million copies, and they received a second Grammy nomination in 2003 for “When I’m Gone.”

In their statement, the band credited Arnold with helping “redefine mainstream rock music, blending post-grunge accessibility with emotionally direct songwriting and lyrical themes that resonated with everyday listeners.”

By James Kisoo

TUCSON, Ariz.

In a public appeal, Savannah Guthrie told her mother’s potential kidnappers Saturday that the family is prepared to pay for her safe return, as a frantic search for the 84-year-old Arizona resident entered its seventh day.

The “Today” show host, flanked by her siblings in a video posted on social media, said the family had received a message from those holding Nancy Guthrie.

“We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” she said. “This is the only way we will have peace.

This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

The plea references a message sent Friday afternoon to Tucson-based television station KOLD, according to Kevin Smith, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Phoenix office.

KOLD confirmed it received an email related to the case but declined to share details as the FBI investigates.

The station was among several news outlets that received alleged ransom letters this week.

At least one letter made monetary demands and set Thursday evening and the following Monday evening as deadlines.

By James Kisoo

A federal appeals court has affirmed the Trump administration’s policy of detaining certain immigrants without bond hearings, a significant legal victory for the federal immigration agenda that counters several lower court rulings.

On Friday evening, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Department of Homeland Security’s practice of denying bond hearings to immigrants arrested nationwide is consistent with the Constitution and federal immigration law.

In a 2-1 majority opinion, Circuit Judge Edith H. Jones wrote that the government correctly interpreted the Immigration and Nationality Act, asserting it mandates that “unadmitted aliens apprehended anywhere in the United States are ineligible for release on bond, regardless of how long they have resided inside the United States.”

This ruling upends a long-standing practice. Under previous administrations, most noncitizens with no criminal record who were arrested away from the border had an opportunity to request a bond hearing while their cases proceeded.

Historically, bond was often granted to those without criminal convictions who were not deemed flight risks, with mandatory detention typically reserved for recent border crossers.

By James Kisoo

WASHINGTON

In a notable reversal, President Donald Trump on Saturday praised Nexstar Media Group’s proposed $6.2 billion purchase of the broadcast rival Tegna, a deal he had previously criticized.

“We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” Trump wrote on social media. “Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar — Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition. … GET THAT DEAL DONE.”

The acquisition, announced by Nexstar in August and pending regulatory approval, would unite two major players in local broadcast media.

Nexstar oversees more than 200 owned and partner stations in 116 markets, and also runs networks including The CW and NewsNation.

Tegna owns 64 news stations across 51 markets.

Trump’s endorsement marks a shift from his stance in November, when he questioned the deal: “If this would also allow the Radical Left Networks to ‘enlarge,’ I would not be happy.”

However, Nexstar and Tegna operate independently of major national broadcast networks like ABC and NBC. Nexstar has previously demonstrated a willingness to challenge those networks, having joined with the right-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group in September to suspend the airing of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for a week following the host’s comments about a conservative activist.

By James Kisoo

Zambia’s president has weighed into a cultural debate that has erupted online after the president of Ghana arrived in Zambia wearing a traditional outfit called a fugu. Some Zambians mockingly called it a “blouse”.

But Zambia’s leader hit back by sharing his love for the design, saying he would be “ordering more of that stuff” for himself, in a video posted on X from the Ghana–Zambia Business Forum held in Lusaka this week.

Ghana’s foreign minister said the social media buzz was a sign that young people were keen to reclaim their cultural roots.

In Ghana itself, a move to encourage traditional outfits has led to “Fugu Friday”, which sees people wear African clothing.

Following days of online back and forth between netizens of the two countries, President Hakainde Hichilema expressed his admiration for the Ghanaian outfit.

“We’ll be ordering more fugu from Ghana following the social media conversations,” Hichilema said on Friday in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka.

When Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama arrived for a three-day State Visit on Wednesday, he was proudly sporting a fugu – a traditional northern Ghanaian outfit made from hand‑woven, narrow strips of thick cotton fabric stitched together to form a structured, poncho‑style garment.

By Anthony

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order threatening to impose additional tariffs on countries that continue to trade with Iran.

The order, issued on Friday, does not specify the rate that could be imposed, but uses 25% as an example. It says the tariff could apply to goods imported into the US from any nation that “directly or indirectly purchases, imports, or otherwise acquires any goods or services from Iran”.

Trump has not directly commented on the order but reiterated “no nuclear weapons” for Iran when speaking from Air Force One on Friday night.

It comes as talks continue between senior US and Iranian officials in Oman, following several weeks of threats from both sides.

Trump threatened a 25% tariff of countries doing business with Iran earlier this year, in a post to Truth Social.

On 12 January, he wrote: “Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America.”

At the time, no further detail was provided on how the tariffs would work in practice.

By Anthony Solly