NEO NEWS

HAVANA - Garbage has begun to pile up on street corners in the Cuban capital of Havana, attracting hordes of flies and reeking of rotten food, in one of the most visible impacts of the U.S. bid topreventoil from reaching the Caribbean's largest island.

State-run news outlet Cubadebate reported this month that only 44 of Havana's 106 rubbish trucks were able to keep operating due to fuel shortages, slowing garbage collection.

Cardboard boxes, used bags, plastic bottles and rags have piled up on street corners across the seafront capital, as some residents sorted through the waste looking for scraps they could re-use, while motorists, pedestrians and bikers are forced to circumvent the imposing heaps.

"It's all over the city," said Jose Ramon Cruz, a local resident. "It's been more than 10 days since a garbage truck came."

In other towns on the island - home to around 11 million people - residents took to social media to warn of the risks to public health.

Cuba's communist government has implemented rationing measures toprotect essential servicesin a country that was already suffering from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine.

The national oil supply has fallen off dramatically in two months.

Advertisement

Venezuela - once Cuba's top supplier - effectively stopped sending shipments in mid-December. Mexico's government also said it was halting shipments after Washington threatened tariffs against countries that send supplies to Cuba.

A Russian newspaper last week reported that Russia was preparing to send crude and fuel cargoes to Cuba in the near future, without giving a specific date.

The U.S. has maintained an embargo on Cuba since 1960, but in recent months PresidentDonald Trump's administration has hardened its stance, sanctioning vessels shipping oil to the island and threatening tariffs on suppliers.

The U.S. administration argues the measures will increase pressure forpolitical changein Cuba. The United Nations has long voted for the U.S. to end its embargo, and leaders from Mexico and Venezuela said blocking fuel could have serious humanitarian impacts.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "very concerned" about the situation, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Feb. 16, adding that U.N. teams were working with the Cuban government to help support humanitarian relief efforts.

"The secretary-general would like to see all parties pursue dialogue and respect for international law yet again," he said.

(Reporting by Alien Fernandez and Mario Fuentes; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Dave Sherwood, Nick Zieminski and Paul Simao)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trash piles up in Havana as US oil chokehold halts garbage trucks

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gives a speech during the World Governments Summit in Dubai on February 3, 2026. Credit - Fadel Senna—AFP/Getty Images

The Spanish government has called for an investigation into social media giants X, Meta, and TikTok over their alleged role in producing and spreading AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

"The Council of Ministers will invoke Article 8 of the Organic Statute of the Public Prosecution Service to request that it investigate the crimes that X, Meta and TikTok may be committing through the creation and dissemination of child pornography by means of their AI," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchezwroteon X on Tuesday. Sánchez accused the platforms of "attacking the mental health, dignity and rights of our sons and daughters," saying that "the impunity of the giants must end."

The call comes as Spain moves to crack down on social media more broadly. While speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai earlier this month, Sánchezannouncedplans to ban social media for kids under the age of 16, among a series of other measures aimed at social media platforms. The proposed ban, which still needs parliamentary approval, comes after Australia became thefirst country in the worldto implement such a prohibition in December, and as other nations including France and Denmark have made moves to enact similar measures.

Read more:Where Efforts to Ban Social Media for Kids are Taking Place

Sánchez criticized tech giants at the time for failing to censor—or even generating—illegal sexualized content, and called social media "a failed state, a place where laws are ignored, and crime is endured, where disinformation is worth more than truth, and half of users suffer hate speech."

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who owns X, has called the efforts to ban social media for users under a certain age "madness" anddescribedSánchez as "a tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain" following his remarks in Dubai.

Meta declined to comment on Sánchez's call for prosecutors to investigate the companies, but told TIME that its AI tools are trained not to comply with requests to generate nude images; that it prohibits so-called "nudify" apps, which can be used to create explicit images of individuals, from advertising on its platforms; and that it has strict policies against child exploitation.

A spokesperson for TikTok said in a statement to TIME: "[Child sexual abuse material] is abhorrent and categorically prohibited on our platform. TikTok has robust systems in place to thwart attempts to exploit or harm young people, and we continue to prioritize and invest in advanced technologies to stay one step ahead of bad actors."

TIME has reached out to X for comment.

xAI's Grok, an AI chatbot that can be used to generate and alter images, has in particular faced mounting scrutiny in recent months over the proliferation of sexualized AI-generated images. Following an update to the chatbot in December, theCenter for Countering Digital Hatefound that Grok had generated an estimated 3 million sexualized images, including 23,000 that seemed to show minors. X announced in January that it had introduced measures to prevent Grok from editing images of real people to show them in "revealing clothing." ButReutersreported earlier this month that Grok was still generating sexualized images of people in response to prompts from users, including when users explicitly told the chatbot the people in question did not consent. xAI repeatedly responded to requests for comment on that finding that "Legacy Media Lies," according to Reuters.

Other European countries have also launched probes into X over Grok's reported creation of sexually explicit content.

Advertisement

Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC)announcedon Tuesday that it had formally opened an investigation into X for the apparent use of people's personal data—including that of children—to produce "potentially harmful, non-consensual intimate and/or sexualised images." X's European headquarters is located in Dublin, which means the DPC acts as the lead supervisory body over the company for the European Union.

The DPC stated in its press release that X had been notified of the investigation on Monday.

DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said that the regulator "has commenced a large-scale inquiry" into X's "compliance with some of their fundamental obligations" under the the General Data Protection Regulation, a sweepingEU data privacy law.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, alsoopenedan investigation into Grok's alleged dissemination of illegal sexualized content on Jan. 26.

The previous month, the EU separately fined X roughly 120 million euros—the equivalent of roughly $140 million—for violations to its Digital Services Act, a landmark law that requires companies to regulate illicit content and disinformation on their platforms. Regulators said X's blue checkmark system and ad database had been found to breach the law's transparency requirements, and that the company imposed "unnecessary barriers" to researchers accessing public data.

Read more:'This Is a Political Attack': Musk Responds After French Prosecutors Raid X Offices and Summon Him for Questioning

On Feb. 3, French authoritiesraided the Paris offices of Xin an escalation of another ongoing investigation into the company over allegations involving Grok-generated content and suspected algorithm abuses. Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino have been summoned for "voluntary interviews" in the French investigation on April 20.

X lambasted the raid in a statement, calling it a "politicized criminal investigation" and denying any wrongdoing.

"The Paris Public Prosecutor's office widely publicized the raid—making clear that today's action was an abusive act of law enforcement theater designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives rather than advance legitimate law enforcement goals rooted in the fair and impartial administration of justice," X's Global Government Affairs teamwrote.

On the same day as the raid in Paris, the United Kingdom Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)announcedthat it was formally investigating X and xAI for "covering their processing of personal data in relation to the Grok artificial intelligence system and its potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content." The ICO cited reports of the tool's use in generating non-consensual sexual imagery, including of children.

The United Kingdom's Office of Communications, or Ofcom, the country's independent online safety watchdog, previouslyopened an investigationinto X on Jan. 12 following reports that Grok was being used to "create and share undressed images of people – which may amount to intimate image abuse or pornography – and sexualised images of children that may amount to child sexual abuse material."

TikTok and Meta have not faced the same degree of official scrutiny over AI-generated imagery in recent months, though both companies have been rebuked by the EU over separate matters this month. The European Commission issued a preliminary finding in aprobeinto TikTok on Feb. 5 determining that the platform was in violation of the Digital Services Act for its "addictive design." Days later, the commission said it had notified Meta of a "preliminary view" that the companybreached EU antitrust rulesby excluding third-party AI assistants from being accessed by or interacting with users on WhatsApp.

Contact usatletters@time.com.

TOKYO (AP) — Last week Japanese Prime MinisterSanae Takaichiwon a landslideelectionthat she hopes will allow her to move her nation's policies hard right. On Wednesday she will be reappointed as prime minister by the parliament and form her second Cabinet.

Japan Election

It's a formality, but Takaichi will look to use the symbolism of the day to further boost her Liberal Democratic Party as it looks to capitalize on a two-thirds supermajority in the lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two parliamentary chambers.

Her goals include an increase in military power, more government spending and strengthened conservative social policies.

The power of a supermajority

Having two-thirds control of the 465-seat lower house allows Takaichi's party to dominate top posts in house committees and push through bills rejected bythe upper house, the chamber where the LDP-led ruling coalition lacks a majority.

Takaichi wants to bolsterJapan's militarycapability and arms sales, tightenimmigration policies, pushmale-only imperial succession rulesand preserve a criticized tradition that pressures women into abandoning theirsurnames.

Her ambition to revise the U.S.-drafted postwar pacifist Constitution might have to wait, for now, as she is facing pressure to deal with rising prices, a declining population and worries about military security.

Addressing rising prices

Her first urgent task is to address rising prices and sluggish wages and pass a budget bill to fund those measures, delayed by the election.

Takaichi proposes a two-year sales tax cut on food products to ease household living costs.

Experts caution that her liberal fiscal policy could drive up prices and delay progress on trimming Japan's huge national debt.

Courting Trump

Takaichi is maneuvering for a crucial summit next month with U.S. President Donald Trump, who will visit Beijing in April.

The U.S. president endorsed Takaichi ahead of the Japanese election, and hours before Takaichi's reappointment as prime minister, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced Japan will provide capital for three projects under a$550 billion investment packagethat Japan pledged in October.

Japan is committed to the $36 billion first batch of projects — a natural gas plant in Ohio, a U.S. Gulf Coast crude oil export facility and a synthetic diamond manufacturing site.

Japan is also under pressure to increase annual defense spending.

Advertisement

"Japan will keep spending more and more for the U.S. ... The question is whether the public wants her to speak out against Trump or be obedient to ensure Japanese security," said Masato Kamikubo, a Ritsumeikan University professor of policy science. "For China, it's simple. Japanese people want her to be tough."

A hawk on China

Takaichi in November suggested possible Japanese action if China makes a military move against Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own. That has led toBeijing's diplomatic and economic reprisals.

Many Japanese, frustrated by China's growing assertiveness, welcomed her comments on Taiwan.

Emboldened by the big election win, Takaichi could take a more hawkish stance with China, experts say.

Takaichi, soon after the election, said she is working to gain support for a visit to Tokyo's controversialYasukuni Shrine. Visits to the shrine are seen by Japan's neighbors as evidence of a lack of remorse for Japan's wartime past.

A stronger military that spends more and sells more

Takaichi has pledged torevise security and defense policiesby December to bolster Japan's military capabilities, lifting a ban on lethal weapons exports and moving further away from postwar pacifist principles. Japan is also considering the development of a nuclear-powered submarine to increase offensive capabilities.

Takaichi wants to improve intelligence-gathering and establish a national agency to work more closely with ally Washington and defense partners like Australia and Britain.

She supports a controversial anti-espionage law that largely targets Chinese spies. Some experts say it could undermine Japanese civil rights.

Stricter on immigration and foreigners

Takaichi has proposed tougher policies on immigration and foreigners, something that resonates with a growing frustration in Japan.

Her government in January approved tougher rules on permanent residency and naturalization as well as measures to prevent unpaid tax and social insurance.

Promoting traditional family values

Takaichi supports the imperial family's male-only succession and opposes same-sex marriage.

She is also against a revision to the 19th-century civil law that would allow separate surnames for married couples so that women don't get pressured into abandoning theirs.

In a step that rights activists call an attempt to block a dual-surname system, Takaichi is calling for a law to allow the greater use of maiden names as aliases instead.

The nation's No. 1 team faced one of its toughest tests of the season in a road game against No. 7 Purdue on Tuesday.

It passed with no issue. Michigan opened up a 16-point halftime lead and went on to a 91-80 win over a Purdue team that entered Tuesday's game with two wins over top-10 opponents and riding a four-game win streak.

But the Boilermakers were no match for a Michigan team that continues to look like the best in the nation. The win will bolster Michigan's case for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, a path that was cleared last week when previously undefeated Arizona lost two straight games.

Tuesday's game was close for only the opening minutes. The Wolverines turned an 11-10 deficit at the 13:36 mark of the first into a 26-11 lead with 9:28 remaining and never looked back.

They extended the lead to 48-28 before halftime and entered the break with a 48-32 advantage despite the best efforts of a raucous Mackey Arena crowd.

Purdue whittled its deficit to single digits late in the second half, but never got any closer than 86-78. Michigan's lead was never in peril.

This story will be updated.

The PGA Tour returns to one of its most iconic venues at Riviera Country Club, while the LPGA Tour tees off its "Asia Swing" and the DP World Tour hits Kenya.

THIS WEEK: The Genesis Invitational, Pacific Palisades, Calif., Feb. 19-22

Course: The Riviera Country Club (Par 71, 7,383 Yards)

Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)

Defending Champion: Ludvig Aberg (At Torrey Pines)

FedEx Cup Leader: Chris Gotterup

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 4-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-7 p.m. (CBS); Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS)

Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 10:15 a.m.-8 p.m. ET; Saturday: 10:15 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday: 9:45 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

X: @theGenesisInv

NOTES: This is the 100-year anniversary of the event, which returns to Riviera after being moved to Torrey Pines in San Diego last year due to the devastating Pacific Palisades wildfires. ... The second of eight signature events in 2026 features an elevated purse and 700 FedEx Cup points available. It's one of only three signature events to include a 36-hole cut to the low 50 players and ties along with any players within 10 strokes of the 36-hole lead. ... Tournament host Tiger Woods selected Sahith Theegala as his Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption into the field. The other sponsor exemptions are Tony Finau, Max Homa, Tom Kim and Adam Scott. ... Woods (back surgery) is one of four eligible players not competing this week along with Justin Thomas (back surgery), Sungjae Im and Chris Kirk. ... The 72-player field includes 27 of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. ... Riviera will play host to this year's U.S. Women's Open as well as the men's and women's golf competitions in the 2028 Summer Olympics. ... Lanny Wadkins holds the tournament scoring record of 264 set in 1985.

BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+320 at DraftKings) has won seven of his past 16 worldwide starts. He has also tied Tiger Woods (twice) as the only players to post eight consecutive top-4 finishes on the PGA Tour in the modern era. ... Rory McIlroy (+1300) is coming off a T14 at Pebble Beach following a T3 and T33 on the DP World Tour to begin 2026. ... Xander Schauffele (+2100) showed signs of finding his form with a T19 last week and is a San Diego native who typically plays well in California. ... 2024 Genesis winner Hideki Matsuyama (+2200) has followed up his Hero World Challenge victory with four consecutive finishes of T13 or better to begin 2026. ... Tommy Fleetwood (+2200) has improved his finishing position in each of his previous five appearances in the event. ... Collin Morikawa (+2800) broke his 46-event drought at Pebble Beach and is a California native with a pair of top-10s at Riviera. ... Chris Gotterup (+3300) is already a multiple-time winner this year

Last Tournament: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Collin Morikawa)

Next Tournament: Cognizant Classic, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Feb. 26-March 1

THIS WEEK: Honda LPGA Thailand, Pattaya, Chonburi, Feb. 19-22

Course: Siam Country Club, Old Course (Par 72, 6,649 Yards)

Purse: $1.8M (Winner: $270,000)

Defending Champion: Angel Yin

Race to the CME Globe Leader: Nelly Korda

HOW TO WATCH

TV: Wednesday-Thursday: 10 p.m.-3 a.m. ET (Golf Channel); Friday-Saturday: 10:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. (GC)

NOTES: Yin birdied the 72nd hole last year to beat Akie Iwai by one stroke while setting the tournament scoring record of 28-under-par. ... The tournament dates back to 2006, and is the first leg of the three-event Asia swing that also includes stops in Singapore and China before the tour returns to the United States for the Ford Championship in Arizona March 26-29. ... Korda is skipping the Asia swing for the third consecutive year, but the field does include World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul. Former major champion Danielle Kang, who has fallen to No. 634 in the world, is in the field on a sponsor exemption. ... This week's field includes eight players from Thailand.

Last Tournament: Tournament of Champions (Nelly Korda)

Next Tournament: HSBC Women's World Championship, Singapore, Feb. 26-March 1

DP WORLD TOUR

THIS WEEK: Kenya Open, Nairobi, Feb. 19-22

Course: Karen Country Club (Par 70, 7,056 Yards)

Purse: $2.75M (Winner: $458,425)

Defending Champion: Jacques Kruyswijk

Race to Dubai Leader: Patrick Reed

HOW TO WATCH

TV: Thursday-Friday: 5-10 a.m. ET; Saturday: 4:30-9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 3:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel)

X: @DPWorldTour

NOTES: The event returns to the Karen Country Club for the first time in five years. ... This is the fifth of seven events on the tour's International Swing, with the final three all taking place in Africa. The winner of the International Swing will earn a $200,000 bonus and a spot in the Scottish Open if not otherwise exempt. ... Nigerian Francis Epe will make his DP World Tour debut after the 37-year-old won the CIO Golf Classic in November. ... Kruyswijk will play in a featured group alongside fellow South African Thriston Lawrence and Freddy Schott for the first two rounds. Lawrence (No. 80) is the only top-100 player in the field. ... The 144-player field includes 17 Kenyans, five of whom are amateurs.

Last Tournament: Qatar Masters (Reed)

Next Tournament: South African Open Championship, Stellenbosch, South Africa, Feb. 26-March 1

LIV GOLF LEAGUE

THIS WEEK: OFF.

2026 Season Leaders: Individual: Jon Rahm; Team: Ripper GC

Last Event: LIV Golf Adelaide (Individual: Anthony Kim; Team: Ripper GC)

Next Event: LIV Golf Hong Kong, March 5-8

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

THIS WEEK: OFF.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink

Next Tournament: James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, Boca Raton, Fla., March 6-8

--Field Level Media

Folarin Balogun picked the ideal time to break out of his slump.

The Monaco striker scored two goals within the first 18 minutes against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

With his double in the playoff round first leg, Balogun became the first U.S. men's national team player to score more than one goal in a Champions League knockout stage game.

Only one other USMNT player has scored more than a goal in any Champions League game: Malik Tillman, who pulled off the feat just last month with Bayer Leverkusen.

The two goals took Balogun's season total to 10, five of which have come in the Champions League.

With his fifth goal, Balogun also broke Christian Pulisic's USMNT record for goals in a single Champions League season.

Balogun came into Tuesday's game with just one goal in his past 12 games, but found the net less than a minute into Tuesday's game at Stade Louis II.

The 24-year-old found some space in the six-yard box, getting on the end of Aleksandr Golovin's cross to head home from close range.

AIR BALOGUN ✈️Folarin Balogun buries his header to give Monaco the perfect start against PSG🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/yojklteZm3

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo)February 17, 2026

Less than 20 minutes later, Balogun played a neat one-two with Maghnes Akliouche and buried a low finish past PSG goalkeeper Matvei Safonov.

FOLARIN BALOGUN AT THE DOUBLE 🇺🇸💥Less than twenty minutes in and the USMNT striker has the European champions stunned in Monaco 😤pic.twitter.com/eKJmu6APom

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo)February 17, 2026

PSG would quickly strike back after going two goals down, leveling the game by halftime through goals from Désiré Doué and Achraf Hakimi.

Doué would score again midway through the second half, taking advantage of Golovin's red card earlier to give PSG a 3-2 win and a major advantage heading home for next week's second leg.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Monaco star Folarin Balogun scores two goals vs. PSG in Champions League

By Nate Raymond

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Two major medical groups filed lawsuits on Tuesday accusing the U.S. Federal Trade Commission of launching investigations into them concerning their support of gender-affirming care for transgender youth ‌as part of an effort by President Donald Trump's administration to retaliate against them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics ‌and the Endocrine Society filed separate lawsuits in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenging demands the FTC made last month that they turn over ​an array of information as part of what the groups called an unconstitutional effort to punish them for their support for treating transgender youth and to silence them.

The groups called the FTC's document demands overbroad and said they were issued to intimidate them in violation of the U.S. Constitution's protections against government abridgment of free speech after earlier disagreements with the Trump administration.

"Unable ‌to prevail in the marketplace of ideas, ⁠the FTC has resorted to burdening AAP with an intrusive and expensive investigation that is unconstitutional and outside the scope of the FTC's statutory authority," AAP alleged in its lawsuit, which ⁠seeks a judicial order blocking the document request as unconstitutional.

The FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FTC is a federal agency that enforces various antitrust and consumer protection laws.

It issued a civil investigative demand, akin to a subpoena, on ​January ​15 to AAP as part of a probe into whether it ​made false claims or engaged in unfair practices ‌in connection with the marketing and advertising of "pediatric gender dysphoria treatment," according to court papers.

Gender dysphoria is the clinical diagnosis for significant distress that can result from an incongruence between a person's gender identity and sex at birth.

The Endocrine Society, which represents doctors who specialize in conditions related to hormones, said it received a similar civil investigative demand on January 20.

The FTC's demands came nearly a year after Trump in January 2025 signed executive orders that declared the United States ‌would recognize only two sexes, male and female, and directed agencies ​to end all federal funding or support for gender-affirming care for minors.

In ​its Tuesday lawsuit, AAP said the FTC was ​targeting it to punish it for a 2018 policy statement the group issued related to gender-affirming ‌care, stating its backing for appropriate medical interventions ​to support transgender youth.

Three days ​before the FTC's document demand, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from terminating nearly $12 million in grant funding awarded to the AAP that was canceled after it clashed with Health Secretary ​Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his ‌changes to vaccine policy.

AAP is pursuing a separate lawsuit challenging efforts by federal health regulators under Kennedy ​to reshape vaccine policy in ways it says will lower immunization rates, harming public health.

(Reporting by Nate ​Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham and Ethan Smith)