In New York City, where some communities have limited access to fresh produce, a unique classroom program is teaching students how to grow their own food and improve their eating habits. Aron Ranen has more on how gardening is shaping healthier futures for kids.
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За попередньою інформацією, армія РФ вдарила по мешканцях Токарівки та Гоптівки з FPV-дронів
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У звʼязку з загибеллю 10 людей, завтра, 19 листопада, в Одесі та області оголошено день жалоби
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Manila, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States signed on Monday a military intelligence-sharing deal in a further deepening of defense ties between the two nations facing common security challenges in the region.
Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed the agreement with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, at Manila’s military headquarters where both officials also broke ground for a combined coordination center that will facilitate collaboration between their armed forces.
Called the General Security of Military Information Agreement or GSOMIA, the pact allows both countries to share classified military information securely.
“Not only will this allow the Philippines access to higher capabilities and big-ticket items from the United States, it will also open opportunities to pursue similar agreements with like-minded nations,” said Philippines’ defense ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong.
Security engagements between the United States and the Philippines have deepened under President Joe Biden and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China’s aggressive policies in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.
The two countries have a mutual defense treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea.
“I want to start by underscoring our ironclad commitment to the Philippines,” Austin said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the coordination center.
Austin said the coordination center should enable real-time information sharing between the two defense treaty allies and boost interoperability.
‘’It will be a place where our forces can work side by side to respond to regional challenges,” Austin said.
The Philippines has expressed confidence the alliance will remain strong under incoming U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.
Both the Philippines and the United States face increasingly aggressive actions from China in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship-borne commerce, which it claims almost entirely as its own.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said China’s claims had no legal basis, siding with the Philippines, which brought the case.
But China has rejected the ruling, leading to a series of sea and air confrontations with the Philippines that have turned the highly strategic South China Sea into a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.
“The United States’ presence in the Indo Pacific region is essential for maintaining peace and stability in this region,” Teodoro said during the inauguration, echoing previous remarks made by Marcos.
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«Пріоритетом є зараз боронити країну. Ми дивимося, що ворог збільшує кількість особового складу» – Рустем Умєров
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Spirit Airlines said Monday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue.
Spirit, the biggest U.S. budget airline, has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces looming debt payments totaling more than $1 billion over the next year.
Spirit said it expects to operate as normal as it works its way through a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and that customers can continue to book and fly without interruption.
Shares of Miramar, Florida-based Spirit dropped 25% on Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the airline was discussing terms of a possible bankruptcy filing with its bondholders. It was just the latest in a series of blows that have sent the stock crashing down by 97% since late 2018 — when Spirit was still making money.
CEO Ted Christie confirmed in August that Spirit was talking to advisers of its bondholders about the upcoming debt maturities. He called the discussions a priority, and said the airline was trying to get the best deal it could as quickly as possible.
“The chatter in the market about Spirit is notable, but we are not distracted,” he told investors during an earnings call. “We are focused on refinancing our debt, improving our overall liquidity position, deploying our new reimagined product into the market, and growing our loyalty programs.”
People are still flying on Spirit Airlines. They’re just not paying as much.
In the first six months of this year, Spirit passengers flew 2% more than they did in the same period last year. However, they are paying 10% less per mile, and revenue per mile from fares is down nearly 20%, contributing to Spirit’s red ink.
It’s not a new trend. Spirit failed to return to profitability when the coronavirus pandemic eased and travel rebounded. There are several reasons behind the slump.
Spirit’s costs, especially for labor, have risen. The biggest U.S. airlines have snagged some of Spirit’s budget-conscious customers by offering their own brand of bare-bones tickets. And fares for U.S. leisure travel — Spirit’s core business — have sagged because of a glut of new flights.
The premium end of the air-travel market has surged while Spirit’s traditional no-frills end has stagnated. So this summer, Spirit decided to sell bundled fares that include a bigger seat, priority boarding, free bags, internet service and snacks and drinks. That is a huge change from Spirit’s longtime strategy of luring customers with rock-bottom fares and forcing them to pay extra for things such as bringing a carry-on bag or ordering a soda.
In a highly unusual move, Spirit plans to cut its October-through-December schedule by nearly 20%, compared with the same period last year, which analysts say should help prop up fares. But that will help rivals more than it will boost Spirit. Analysts from Deutsche Bank and Raymond James say that Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest would benefit the most because of their overlap with Spirit on many routes.
Spirit has also been plagued by required repairs to Pratt & Whitney engines, which is forcing the airline to ground dozens of its Airbus jets. Spirit has cited the recall as it furloughed pilots.
The aircraft fleet is relatively young, which has made Spirit an attractive takeover target.
Frontier Airlines tried to merge with Spirit in 2022 but was outbid by JetBlue. However, the Justice Department sued to block the $3.8 billion deal, saying it would drive up prices for Spirit customers who depend on low fares, and a federal judge agreed in January. JetBlue and Spirit dropped their merger two months later.
U.S. airline bankruptcies were common in the 1990s and 2000s, as airlines struggled with fierce competition, high labor costs and sudden spikes in the price of jet fuel. PanAm, TWA, Northwest, Continental, United and Delta were swept up. Some liquidated, while others used favorable laws to renegotiate debts such as aircraft leases and keep flying.
The last bankruptcy by a major U.S. carrier ended when American Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 protection and simultaneously merged with US Airways in December 2013.
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За повідомленням, Ольга Гейко стала першою жінкою лауреаткою премії від України. Українці отримують нагороду вже третій рік поспіль
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U.S. President Joe Biden began a historic trip to Brazil Sunday, becoming the first sitting American president to visit the Amazon rainforest to mark his efforts on fighting climate change. He will attend the summit of the 20 largest economies, the G20, Monday in Rio de Janeiro, where climate, poverty reduction and other global clauses will be discussed. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara is traveling with the president and has this report from Rio.
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U.S. officials would allow increased logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest in the name of fighting wildfires and boosting rural economies under proposed changes to a sweeping forest management plan that’s been in place for three decades.
The U.S. Forest Service proposal, released Friday, would overhaul the Northwest Forest Plan that governs about 99,000 square kilometers in Oregon, Washington and California.
The plan was adopted in 1994 under President Bill Clinton amid pressure to curb destructive logging practices that resulted in widespread clearcuts and destroyed habitat used by spotted owls. Timber harvests dropped dramatically in subsequent years, spurring political backlash.
But federal officials now say worsening wildfires due to climate change mean forests must be more actively managed to increase their resiliency. Increased logging also would provide a more predictable supply of trees for timber companies, officials said, helping rural economies that have suffered after lumber mills shut down and forestry jobs disappeared.
The proposal could increase annual timber harvests by at least 33% and potentially more than 200%, according to a draft environmental study. The number of timber-related jobs would increase accordingly.
Harvest volumes from the 17 national forests covered by the Northwest Forest Plan averaged about 445 million board feet annually over the past decade, according to government figures.
Cutting more trees would help reduce wildfire risk and make communities safer, the study concluded. That would be accomplished in part by allowing cuts in some areas with stands of trees up to 120 years old — up from the current age threshold of 80 years.
The change could help foster conditions conducive to growing larger, old growth trees that are more resistant to fire, by removing younger trees, officials said.
A separate pending proposal from President Joe Biden’s administration aims to increase protections nationwide for old growth trees, which play a significant role in storing climate change-inducing carbon dioxide.
“Much has changed in society and science since the Northwest Forest Plan was created,” Jacque Buchanan, regional forester for the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region, said in a statement. He said the proposal would help the agency adapt to shifting conditions, as global warming increases the frequency of droughts and other extreme weather events.
The proposed plan also calls for closer cooperation between the Forest Service and Native American tribes to tap into tribal knowledge about forest management. Tribes were excluded when the 1994 plan was crafted.
Environmentalists greeted the proposal with skepticism. The group Oregon Wild said it was “deeply troubling” that the Forest Service would release the proposal just ahead of a change in presidential administrations.
“It appears that the Forest Service wants to abandon the fundamental purpose of the Northwest Forest Plan–protecting fish and wildlife and the mature and old-growth forests they need to survive,” John Persell, an attorney for the group, said in a statement.
During former President Donald Trump’s first term, administration officials sought to open millions of acres of West Coast forest to new logging by stripping habitat protections for the imperiled spotted owl. The move was opposed by government biologists and reversed under Biden.
A draft environmental study examined several potential alternatives, including leaving the existing plan’s components in place or changing them to either reduce or increase logging.
A timber industry representative who co-chaired an advisory committee on the Northwest Forest Plan said the proposed plan resulted from discussions involving committee members, the Forest Service and others.
“We want to see a modern approach to federal forest stewardship that protects us from catastrophic wildfires, reduces toxic smoke, meaningfully engages tribes, and delivers for our rural communities and workers,” said Travis Joseph, president of the American Forest Resource Council.
The publishing of the proposal begins a 120-day public comment period. The Forest Service’s environmental review is expected to be completed by next fall and a final decision is due in early 2026.
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NEW ORLEANS — Two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands on Sunday, authorities said. There were no immediate arrests.
Officers responding to reports of gunfire shortly after 3:30 p.m. on an avenue in the city’s St. Roch neighborhood found eight victims with gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the New Orleans Police Department. All eight were taken to hospitals in unknown condition. Police later said a ninth wounded person arrived at a hospital via a private car.
About 45 minutes later, police received another report of gunfire as revelers were crossing the Almonaster Avenue Bridge, just over .8 km to the north. One person died at the scene and another died at a hospital, police said. A third victim was driven to a hospital in a private vehicle and is in stable condition, police said.
No arrests were announced and no suspect information was released. The St. Roch neighborhood is outside the city’s French Quarter that is popular with tourists, located several blocks northeast of the quarter.
Thousands had gathered for the annual outing of the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club in the 9th Ward, organizer Oscar Brown told NOLA.com.
“It is a wonderful event, and we want to keep it a wonderful event,” Kirkpatrick said.
The Almonaster Bridge was closed in both directions during the investigation.
Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said detectives didn’t immediately know if the incidents were related.
“They were … different kinds of approaches,” she said of the shootings, which occurred in the area where a “second line,” a celebration following a parade, was taking place.
It was the second major shooting in the South since gunfire marred a homecoming weekend at Tuskegee University in Alabama on Nov. 10, leaving one person dead and injuring 16 others, a dozen of them by gunfire, authorities said.
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Washington — President Joe Biden has for the first time authorized the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.
The decision is a major U.S. policy shift and comes as Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to send thousands of troops to Russia in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to one of the people.
The people were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Memes, inspirational quotes, and even dance videos have brought President-elect Donald Trump to a new height of fame on Chinese social media since his election.
On Xiaohongshu, a media platform most similar to Instagram, the search term “Trump” shows more than 200,000 posts on the topic and 880 million views, with recent top posts each accruing more than 72,000 views and thousands of comments.
Videos of the president-elect dancing to the song YMCA by the band Village People have been circulating in Chinese cyberspace.
Many commenters find the content funny, calling him a jokester or comedian, while others view it as inspirational, seeing the older soon-to-be two-time American president as a role model.
Trump’s popularity stems from a kind of vitality and enthusiasm that he displayed throughout his campaign, analysts said, attracting many young Chinese who grew up looking up to more somber and rigid communist idols within their own country.
Videos of Elon Musk at a pre-election Trump rally have also made an impression on Chinese social media platform users. On these posts, commenters describe him as “a good kind of capitalist” and “someone who will make America strong.”
‘They need an idol’
These impressions come amidst a general malaise facing the Chinese economy that has sparked the young Chinese people to ‘lie flat’, meaning to cease striving for a better life in face of a competitive job market and other pressures.
One comment commonly posted under many Trump-related posts reads: “He is 78 years old, was hit by a bullet in the ear and bled profusely, was convicted of a felony and nearly sent to jail, had appealed over 60 times but still continued to work hard to find a job and found the best job for himself. What excuse do you have for not working hard?”
Liu, a writer from Jiangsu province, said Trump’s difficult path back to the presidency is precisely what inspires Chinese youth when compared to the traditional Communist Party heroes. Liu only gave his surname, because talking to foreign media is dangerous, he says.
“They need an idol who represents the possibility of individual success. Trump fits this image: he gets stronger with each setback, continually fights back, and still works hard even at an older age,” Liu said, adding that “more importantly, young Chinese long for the kind of fair and just environment that has allowed Trump to succeed.”
Trump stands in direct contrast to many revered Chinese figures, such as Xi Jinping, Mao Zedong, and communist soldier Lei Feng — a model hero in China.
“Their lives seem too hard and are not the kind of lives young people in China aspire to,” Liu said, adding that Trump stands for something different: the individualistic, opportunistic ‘American Dream’
“Whether you can wear a gold bracelet before New Years is all up to you!” comments one user ‘Sleepy Orange’ under a campaign rally video, referencing gold as an important gift typically exchanged on the Chinese New Year. It is a symbol of wealth and prosperity. More than 2,000 people liked this comment.
Liu said he also appreciates Trump’s straightforwardness, as he doesn’t preach lofty ideals and morals but is practical and realistic. Liu described Chinese authorities and their political slogans as “vague and empty.”
Popularity reflects dislike of Xi, says influencer
Chen Weiyu, a Chinese media influencer living in the United States, told VOA that Trump’s popularity on Chinese social media represents a deep disdain toward Chinese leaders, calling people’s engagement with his content a form of “deprogramming.”
“Rather than admiration for Trump himself, it’s more about a rejection and opposition to Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party. By expressing their liking for Trump, they are in fact expressing their dislike and opposition to Xi Jinping,” Chen said.
She stressed that people at the bottom of society in China, struggling to survive in an economy controlled by communist elites, feel that no one is concerned about or advocating for them.
In contrast, working-class individuals facing unemployment in the United States can use their votes to elect a leader who they believe will represent their interests and create a better policy environment for them.
Chen also attributed the abundance of Trump content on Chinese platforms to the increasing prevalence of virtual private networks as a way of accessing information that is normally forbidden in China.
However, Zhou “Zuola” Shuguang, one of the first Chinese citizen journalists to relocate to Taiwan, said the popularity of Trump on Chinese social media may have the “tacit approval” of the Chinese Communist Party.
Beijing’s censorship system is consistently strict about controlling content, so the fact that Trump-related content is able to spread widely on social media suggests that the CCP is intentionally allowing the content to be seen, Zhou told VOA.
“In other words, if Trump’s content appears on Chinese social media, it means that Trump is not seen as a major threat by the CCP,” he said.
While Trump-related content is getting clicks, not all of them are positive.
“It’s not a good thing for Trump to come back, God bless China” said a netizen in one comment. Others simply poke fun at the president-elect, the color of his hair and the way his makeup makes him look on stage.
“60% of the tariffs will be given to China, how many free trade enterprises are going to be suppressed,” reads another comment liked by nearly 1,000 people.
Katherine Michaelson, Samuel Hui contributed to this report.
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NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump celebrated his election victory on Saturday night by attending an Ultimate Fighting Championship event with billionaire friend Elon Musk and cheering fans at a heavily guarded Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Known by some in the mixed martial arts world as the “Combatant in Chief,” Trump counts UFC President Dana White as a close friend and considers fans of the sport part of his political base.
Trump sat between White and Musk for much of the night and paid rapt attention to the fights, sometimes chatting with the fighters after their matches.
He entered the arena to loud music and waved to the crowd, many of whom returned the gesture. He spent hours at the event, watching five matches until past 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
The headline event in the octagon at UFC 309 was a battle for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. After Jones won, he thanked Trump in his victory speech and they shook hands.
Among those joining the president-elect were House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, Tesla CEO Musk, a close Trump adviser, singer Kid Rock and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he plans to nominate for secretary of health and human services.
Trump intelligence chief pick Tulsi Gabbard and country singer Jelly Roll were also in his entourage.
Trump’s visit to the storied Manhattan arena brought him back to the scene of a controversial campaign rally he held there on October 27, when a warm-up comedian mocked Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
A handful of visitors in Madison Square Garden, an arena with a seating capacity of nearly 20,000, wore red “Make America Great Again” hats.
One of them, Sean Allen, 22, traveled to the event from Monroe in upstate New York, where he lives and works for a county department.
He said he had voted for Trump and borrowed his MAGA hat from a friend after learning that the Republican president-elect, who won a decisive victory on November 5 over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, might come to the fight.
“I’d never voted before. That was my first time voting,” Allen said, adding that he could have voted at the previous election but did not care about politics.
“When I woke up, I was like, OK, wow, Trump won big.”
Nicholas Defilippo, 39, another visitor in a MAGA hat, also put it on to express his support for Trump after voting for him. Defilippo lives in New Jersey and works in law enforcement.
“He’s the most courageous man on the planet,” he said of Trump.
The president-elect’s self-styled “Trump Force One” plane left Palm Beach airport shortly after nightfall for the two-hour flight. It was only the second time Trump has left the Palm Beach, Florida, area since winning the presidential election on November 5.
The 78-year-old Republican flew to Washington on Wednesday to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House, and has otherwise been filling Cabinet positions for his incoming administration from his oceanfront Mar-a-Lago resort.
A heavy security presence was in place around Madison Square Garden.
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Sydney — Australia, Japan and the U.S. on Sunday committed to closer military cooperation in training their forces as the countries deepened their ties in a bid to counter China’s military strength.
Australia’s minister of defense, Richard Marles, hosted U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japan’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani on Sunday for the trilateral ministers’ meeting — the first to be held in Australia.
Under the new agreement, Japan’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade — an elite marine unit — will be deployed to Darwin to regularly work and train alongside Australian and U.S. forces.
“It is a very important statement to the region and to the world about the commitment that our three countries have in working with each other,” Marles said.
“This is going to build interoperability between our three countries.”
Austin said the partnership would increase intelligence “surveillance and reconnaissance activities” among the three countries, which will “advance our goals for a secure and peaceful Indo Pacific.”
The U.S. defense chief said he was proud of what his office had done to “strengthen alliances” in the region and work with “countries that share the vision of a free and open Indo Pacific.”
Canberra has drawn ever nearer to longtime ally the United States, bolstering its military in an attempt to deter the might of a rising China.
Besides rapidly developing its surface fleet, Australia plans to deploy stealthy nuclear-powered submarines in a tripartite deal with the United States and Britain known as AUKUS.
Some fear U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could jettison or try to rewrite the pact, returning to his “America first” style of foreign policy.
But Australian officials said this month they have a “great deal of confidence” that the pact will remain.
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Vientiane, Laos — Suffocating under a mountain of debt to China, communist Laos is struggling to tame rampant inflation, with food prices rising so sharply that a growing number of households are resorting to foraging.
At a market in Vientiane, traders told AFP they have never known business to be so slow, as families have seen the value of their money collapse since COVID-19.
While the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent prices around the world spiraling, Laos has found itself incapable of putting the brakes on inflation.
Prices rocketed 23% in 2022 and 31% last year, while they are on course for 25% this year, according to the Asian Development Bank.
Families in particular have been hit hard as the cost of basic staples such as rice, sugar, oil and chicken doubled last year.
A growing number of households are so desperate for food that they are now having to forage to supplement their diets, according to a World Bank household survey earlier this year.
At Vientiane’s morning market, a gold trader said that where customers used to come to buy necklaces, rings and earrings for special occasions, now all anyone wants is to sell their valuables to raise cash.
“I sometimes sit all day and nobody buys my gold,” the 45-year-old told AFP last month, speaking on condition of anonymity because talking to foreign media in authoritarian, one-party Laos is risky.
“My shop used to be busy but now nobody buys gold — they all come to sell it to get money.”
After 15 years running his shop, the trader said he fears for the future of his business.
‘Unsustainable’ debt
Despite three decades of consistent economic growth, Laos remains one of the poorest countries in Asia, with limited transport infrastructure and a low-skilled workforce mostly employed in agriculture.
Life expectancy is just 69 years and the Asian Development Bank says that nearly 1 in 3 children under 5 is stunted because of malnutrition — one of the highest rates globally.
In recent years, the government has borrowed billions of dollars from neighbor China to fund a $6 billion high-speed railway and a series of major hydropower dams — aiming to become the “battery” of Southeast Asia.
The World Bank warned in a report last week that public debt — over $13 billion, or 108% of gross domestic product — was “unsustainable.”
Servicing the debt is fueling inflation by driving down the value of the kip, which lost half its value against the dollar in 2022, and nearly a fifth in the first nine months of 2024.
“Given Laos’ heavy reliance on imports, the kip’s depreciation has driven up domestic consumer prices and inflation, squeezing domestic demand and slowing economic recovery,” Poh Lynn Ng, an economist with the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, told AFP.
Interest payments totaling $1.7 billion are due in 2024 and an average of $1.3 billion for the next three years, further eroding Laos’ foreign exchange reserves.
AFP contacted the Laotian finance ministry for comment, but did not receive a response.
Response ‘too slow’
The Bank of Lao PDR has raised interest rates and in August, the government launched a plan aiming to bring inflation below 20% by December.
But Vivat Kittiphongkosol of the Joint Development Bank Laos said the government had been “too slow” to react as problems unfolded.
“To kill this economic problem, you cannot utilize a single transaction and expect it to solve everything. You need to do a lot of things,” he told AFP.
The World Bank says the government has brought some stability to its finances, but mainly through debt deferrals and limiting spending on health, education and welfare.
Alex Kremer, the World Bank Country Manager for Laos, warned these austerity measures would have damaging long-term consequences.
“Continued underinvestment in human capital will damage the country’s long-term productivity and its future ability to compete in regional markets,” he said.
Instead, the World Bank has urged the government to boost revenue by cutting tax breaks — and also to try to restructure its debt.
Though small, Laos is too important to Beijing to be allowed to fail, JDB’s Vivat said, both politically and as a key leg in the Belt and Road Initiative route that aims to connect southwest China ultimately to Singapore.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP Beijing was doing “all it can to help Laos ease its debt burden.”
But Laotians can expect more pain in the short term, with the ADB predicting inflation will stay above 20% until the end of next year at least.
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Bela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport, has died. He was 82.
USA Gymnastics said Karolyi died Friday. No cause of death was given.
Karolyi and wife, Martha, trained multiple Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the U.S. and Romania, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton.
“A big impact and influence on my life,” Comaneci, who was just 14 when Karolyi coached her to gold for Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, posted on Instagram.
Yet Karolyi’s strident methods sometimes came under fire, most pointedly during the height of the Larry Nassar scandal.
When the disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor was effectively given a life sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting gymnasts and other athletes with his hands under the guise of medical treatment, over a dozen former gymnasts came forward saying the Karolyis were part of a system that created an oppressive culture that allowed Nassar’s behavior to run unchecked for years.
While the Karolyis denied responsibility — telling CNN in 2018 they were unaware of Nassar’s behavior — the revelations led to them receding from the spotlight. USA Gymnastics eventually exited an agreement to continue to train at the Karolyi Ranch north of Houston, though only after American star Simone Biles took the organization to task for having them train at a site where many experienced sexual abuse.
The Karolyis receded from the spotlight in the aftermath after spending 30-plus years as a guiding force in American gymnastics, often basking in success while brushing with controversy in equal measure.
The Karolyis defected from Romania to the United States in 1981. Three years later Bela helped guide Retton — all of 16 — to the Olympic all-around title at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, he memorably helped an injured Kerri Strug off the floor after Strug’s vault secured the team gold for the Americans.
Karolyi briefly became the national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics women’s elite program in 1999 and incorporated a semi-centralized system that eventually turned the Americans into the sport’s gold standard. It did not come without a cost. He was removed from the position after the 2000 Olympics when it became apparent his leadership style simply would not work, though he remained around the sport after Martha took over for her husband in 2001.
While the Karolyis approach helped the U.S. become a superpower — an American woman has won each of the last six Olympic titles and the U.S. women earned the team gold at the 2012 and 2016 games under Martha Karolyi’s leadership — their methods came under fire.
Dominique Moceanu, part of the “Magnificent 7” team that won gold in Atlanta, talked extensively about her corrosive relationship with the Karolyis following her retirement. In her 2012 memoir, Moceanu wrote Bela Karolyi verbally abused her in front of her teammates on multiple occasions.
“His harsh words and critical demeanor often weighed heavily on me,” Moceanu posted on X Saturday. “While our relationship was fraught with difficulty, some of these moments of hardship helped me forge and define my own path.”
Some of Karolyi’s most famous students were always among his staunchest defenders. When Strug got married, she and Karolyi took a photo recreating their famous scene from the 1996 Olympics, when he carried her onto the medals podium after she vaulted on a badly sprained ankle.
Being a gymnastics pied piper was never Karolyi’s intent. Born in Clug, Hungary, (now Romania) on September 13, 1942, he wanted to be a teacher, getting into coaching in college simply so he could spend more time with Martha.
After graduating, the couple moved to a small coal-mining town in Transylvania. Looking for a way to keep their students warm and entertained during the long, harsh winters, Karolyi dragged out some old mats and he and his wife taught the children gymnastics.
The students showed off their skills to their parents, and the exhibitions soon caught the eye of the Romanian government, which hired the Karolyis to coach the women’s national team at a time when the sport was done almost exclusively by adult women, not young girls.
Karolyi changed all that, though, bringing a team to the Montreal Olympics with only one gymnast older than 14.
It was in Montreal, of course, where the world got its first real glimpse of Karolyi. When a solemn, dark-haired sprite named Nadia Comaneci enchanted the world with the first perfect 10 in Olympic history, a feat she would duplicate six times, Karolyi was there to wrap her in one of his trademark bear hugs.
Romania, which had won only three bronzes in Olympic gymnastics before 1976, left Montreal with seven medals, including Comaneci’s golds in the all-around, balance beam and uneven bars, and the team silver. Comaneci became an international sensation, the first person to appear on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Time and Newsweek in the same week.
Four years later, however, Karolyi was in disgrace.
He was incensed by the judging at the Moscow Olympics, which he thought cost Comaneci a second all-around gold, and the Romanian government was horrified that he had embarrassed the Soviet hosts.
“Suddenly, from a position where we’ve been praised and considered the foremost athletes in the country, I was stigmatized,” he once said. “I thought they could put me away for political misconduct.”
When he and Martha took the Romanian team to New York for an exhibition in March 1981, they were tipped off that they were going to be punished upon their return. Despite not speaking any English and with their then-6-year-old daughter, Andrea, still in Romania, they decided to defect.
“We knew what kind of risks we were taking, because nobody was guaranteeing us anything,” Martha Karolyi once said. “We started out with a suitcase and a little motel room. From there, it’s gradually improved.”
The couple made their way to California, where they learned English by watching television and Bela did odd jobs. A chance encounter with Olympic gold medalist Bart Conner — who would later marry Comaneci — at the Los Angeles airport a few months later led to the Karolyis’ first coaching job in the United States.
Within a year, their daughter had arrived in the U.S. and the Karolyis had their own gym in Houston. It soon became the center of American gymnastics, turning out eight national champions in 13 years.
Three years after the Karolyis left Romania, Retton became the first American to win the Olympic all-around title, scoring a perfect 10 on vault to claim gold at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Retton also posted the highest score in the team competition as the Americans won the silver, their first team medal since 1948.
Four years later, Phoebe Mills, another Karolyi gymnast, won a bronze on balance beam. It was the first individual medal for an American woman at a non-boycotted games. And in 1991, Kim Zmeskal — “the little Kimbo,” as Bela Karolyi called her — became the first American to win the world all-around title.
“My biggest contribution was giving the kids the faith that they can be the best among the best,” Karolyi once said. “I knew that if the Americans could understand they were not inferior … then they can be groomed like international, highly visible athletes.”
But as Karolyi’s resume grew, so did the criticism.
Other coaches were irritated by his brash personality and ability to always find his way into the spotlight. When Retton won gold, Karolyi leaped a barrier — he had an equipment manager’s credential, not a coach’s — so he could scoop Retton up in a hug — right in front of the TV cameras, of course.
He could be a harsh taskmaster, calling his gymnasts names, taunting them for their weight and pushing them to their limits.
Even those warm embraces weren’t always quite what they seemed.
“A lot of those big bear hugs came with the whisper of ‘Not so good,’ in our ears,” Retton wrote.
Yet Retton and Comaneci remained close with Karolyi, making appearances with him at gymnastics events or sitting with him at competitions. Zmeskal had her wedding at the Karolyi ranch.
Karolyi briefly retired after the 1992 Games in Barcelona, where he led the Americans to their first team medal, a bronze, at a non-boycotted Olympics in 44 years. But he kept his gym and summer camps, and by 1994 was again coaching elite-level gymnasts after Zmeskal asked him to help in her attempt to make the Atlanta Games.
Zmeskal didn’t make the Atlanta squad. But two of Karolyi’s other gymnasts, Strug and Moceanu, did, and it was Strug who provided one of the signature moments of the Olympics.
The Americans went into their final event in team finals, vault, trying to hold off Russia for their first-ever title at an Olympics or world championships. Despite injuring her left ankle when she fell on her first vault attempt, Strug went ahead with her second attempt, believing — wrongly — the Americans needed her score to clinch the gold.
With Karolyi shouting, “You can do it!” Strug sprinted down the runway, soared high above the vault and landed on both feet — ensuring it was a clean vault — before pulling her left leg up. After saluting the judges, she fell to her knees and had to be carried off the podium. Tests would later show she had two torn ligaments in her ankle.
As the rest of the Americans gathered on the podium to receive their gold medals, Karolyi carried Strug back into the arena, cradling her in his arms.
But even that drew criticism. Many said Karolyi never should have encouraged Strug to vault on her injured ankle in the first place and then should have stayed out of the spotlight rather than carrying her to the podium.
“Bela is a very tough coach and he gets criticism for that,” Strug said at the time. “But that’s what it takes to become a champion. I don’t think it’s really right that everyone tries to find the faults of Bela. Anything in life, to be successful, you’ve got to work really hard.”
The Karolyis retired again after the Atlanta Olympics. But after the U.S. women finished last in the medal round at the 1997 world championships, USA Gymnastics asked Bela Karolyi to come back.
He agreed — but only if he could implement a semi-centralized training system. Rather than a patchwork system of individual coaches who had their own philosophies, Karolyi would oversee the entire U.S. program. Gymnasts could still train with their own coaches, but there would be regular national team camps to ensure they were meeting established training and performance standards.
Though the idea was sound, Karolyi was not the right person to be in charge. Coaches who had been his equal chafed at his heavy-handedness, and were annoyed by his grandstanding. Gymnasts resented his bluster and demands.
By the time the Americans left the Sydney Olympics, about the only thing everyone agreed on was that Karolyi needed to step away.
He stepped aside and was replaced by his wife. Martha Karolyi’s standards were just as high — if not higher — than her husband’s, but on the surface, she was more willing to listen to other opinions.
“She’s more diplomatic. Absolutely,” Bela Karolyi said before the 2012 Olympics. “I’m wild. The opposite.”
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On the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima, Peru, U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in their last in-person engagement before Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports from Lima.
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