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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Friday that it has carried out anotherdeadly strike on a vesselaccused of trafficking drugs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

U.S. Southern Command said on social media that the boat "was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations." It said the strike killed three people. A video linked to the post shows a boat floating in the water before bursting into flames.

Friday's attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration's strikes on alleged drug boats to at least 148 people in at least 43 attacks carried out since early September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

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President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in "armed conflict" with cartels in Latin America and hasjustified the attacksas a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing "narcoterrorists."

Criticshave questioned the overall legalityof the strikes as well as their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the U.S.over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.

The boat strikes alsodrew intense criticismfollowing the revelation that the military killed survivors of the very first boat attack with a follow-up strike. The Trump administration and many Republican lawmakers said it was legal and necessary, while Democratic lawmakers andlegal experts saidthe killings were murder, if not a war crime.

ASSISI, Italy (AP) — The bones ofSt. Francis of Assisi, the medieval friar who inspiredPope Francisand generations of Christians before him, are going on public display for the first time, giving his hilltop Umbrian hometown yet another reason to welcome pilgrims.

Italy St. Francis

That's a mixed blessing for Assisi Mayor Valter Stoppini, residents and the Franciscan friars who are organizing the monthlong display of relics to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the saint's death this year.

Already, nearly 400,000 people have registered to pray before the relics and Stoppini estimates the number could well reach a half-million before the bones go back into their tomb March 22.

A small army of 400 volunteers have been recruited to herd them through the medieval city's cobblestone streets and into the lower Basilica of St. Francis to view the bones, which are held in a bulletproof glass box.

That will put enormous strain on the city's center, with its narrow souvenir-lined streets and limited services. But it will also test the patience of Assisi's residents, who are no stranger to mass influxes of pilgrims, but usually just for limited celebrations.

"We're used to this kind of event, but that lasts for one, two or three days," Stoppini said. "This is something prolonged, for a month, so I'm a bit worried, but calm."

A saint who inspired a pope and many more

As it is, Assisi is one of the world's most popular Christian pilgrimage destinations, located on a hill in the Umbrian countryside and built with a pink-tinged limestone that gives it its unique glow, especially at sunset.

Millions of pilgrims flock here each year thanks to the presence of St. Francis' tomb and the spectacular basilica, decorated with Giotto's frescoes illustrating the saint's life, that rises over it.

St. Francis was born into a wealthy family in 1182, but renounced his wealth to live as a mendicant friar after receiving what he said was a vocation to rebuild and reform the church.

He is best known for his message of peace, his love of creation and attention to the poor -- teachings that strongly inspired Pope Francis, the first pope to name himself after the saint.

While St. Francis' remains have been periodically inspected over the years by the Franciscan friars to ensure their conservation, this is the first time they are going on display publicly.

The decision to remove them from the crypt and welcome pilgrims for a month is a means to keep his message alive and give Christians a chance to pray before them, officials said.

Stoppini said a monthlong exhibition was the maximum he could ask of Assisi's residents given the strain on the city that already saw a massive influx of pilgrims in 2025.

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Assisi has a new saint, too

While Assisi is famous for St. Francis, a new saint is drawing a new generation of pilgrims:Carlo Acutis, who was canonized last year by Pope Leo XIV as the Catholic Church'sfirst millennial saint.

Acutis, who died at age 15 of leukemia, is buried in a different Assisi basilica, but his wild popularity especially among young Latin Americans has turned Assisi into a new religious destination for Catholic youth groups visiting Italy.

"When we go out onto the piazza, we find many people who ask us 'Where's Carlo? Where's Carlo?'" said Brother Marco Moroni, the custodian of the convent of St. Francis.

Last year alone saw a 30% increase in the number of pilgrims, though that was likely due to both Acutis' canonization and the Holy Year, which brought some 33 million pilgrims to Rome, many of whom also traveled on to Assisi.

"The beautiful thing is that saints don't go to war against one another, thanks be to God," he added.

"Many who come to the basilica go to see Carlo, and many who go to Carlo Acutis come to the basilica, creating an osmosis and a growing movement that does though create some problems for the city."

For the locals, religious tourism is necessary

For the souvenir merchants of Assisi, who make their living off religious tourists and pilgrims who flock to the picturesque town, a monthlong event is welcome.

"Other people will see what we see every day," with Francis' spirit imbuing the town, said shopkeeper Arianna Catarinelli, who works in a souvenir shop in the main drag of town leading to the basilica.

The shop features Assisi-emblazoned sweatshirts, pens featuring Acutis' photo, St. Francis-themed coffee mugs and neon rosaries.

"For residents, finding parking isn't easy. But for businesses, I think it's positive that there are so many people," she said.

To cope with the influx, city hall has created new parking lots outside the city center and runs a shuttle service to bring people into town.

Assisi resident Riccardo Bacconi, who works in a local bank branch, said he hoped the extra parking lots will be the legacy of the exposition that will continue to make life easier for locals.

Speaking after he went for a morning run Saturday, Bacconi acknowledged the town lives from tourism and anyone who chooses to live here has to put up with it.

"I don't judge it negatively, economically it's important," he said. "There are more advantages than disadvantages."

The eight friends found joy in the mountains, skiing together across the untracked powder of the hushed, pristine wilderness of California's Sierra Nevada – their close friendship standing out against a rugged, unforgiving terrain.

The trip had been planned well in advance: A three-day expedition that began at Frog Lake Backcountry Huts – a hard-to-reach but cozy oasis 7,600 feet high in the Tahoe National Forest area, accessible only by ski, snowboard or snowshoe.

The group – mothers, wives and passionate, skilled skiers – came from different parts of the country for a professionally guided backcountry tour over President's Day weekend. With four guides and three other people accompanying them, they glided on skis near the frozen lake and snow-capped cliffs, under the shadow of a ridge dotted with red firs and Jeffrey pines.

The biggest winter storm of the new year loomed over the picturesque mountains, meanwhile, as dire warnings from forecasters echoed on social media.

It was the last day of a perilous backcountry odyssey. And, as predicted, the blizzard arrived, delivering blankets of unstable powder. They were headed home when the fresh snow, light and soft, suddenly descended from the slopes as one of the most ferocious forces of nature.

"Avalanche!" one of them yelled.

Within seconds, a tsunami of ice, snow and debris the size of a football field careened downhill around them, thick enough to nearly bury a house, authorities said, citing the accounts of survivors.

"It overtook them rather quickly," Nevada County Sheriff's Capt. Rusty Greene later told reporters.

The first call for help was a silent text message from an emergency beacon, mobilizing a small army of rescuers dispatched from different directions.

"Medical for avalanche in the area of Castle Peak," a voice on a fire department dispatch channel said at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday.

"Nine to ten people buried, three others attempting to dig them out," someone said in the audio as emergency responders were heard coordinating search and rescue efforts, noting no air support was available because of the storm.

An hours-long fight for survival was beginning. Some members of the group dug desperately into the snow for friends and partners as the powder began to turn into a freezing, concrete-like crust.

Six of the close friends and three guides are among the nine people killed or presumed dead in theavalanche near California's Lake Tahoe- the nation's deadliest in 45 years. Six skiers survived and were rescued.

A grueling trek to reach survivors

Sisters Liz Clabaugh and Caroline Sekar were among the dead. The others were identified by their families as Carrie Atkin, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse and Kate Vitt. A spouse of a Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue team member – who responded to the disaster – was also among those killed.

The families of the six women who perished said in a statement that they still have "many unanswered questions." The sheriff's office said it is investigating whether criminal negligence contributed to the incident.

"We are devastated beyond words," the families said. "Our focus right now is supporting our children through this incredible tragedy and honoring the lives of these extraordinary women."

The families asked for privacy as they grieve a "sudden and profound loss." The friends – from Idaho, the Bay Area and the nearby Truckee-Tahoe region – were "passionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountains." They had trained for the backcountry, trusted their guides and carried and were familiar with avalanche safety equipment, according to the statement.

The bodies of the eight dead skiers remain on the icy mountainside because of the treacherous conditions, the sheriff's department said. One other person is unaccounted for and presumed dead, according to Moon.

"We are heartbroken and are doing our best to care for one another and our families in the way we know these women would have wanted," the families said.

Only two members of the friends' group survived, as well as a guide and two other skiers on the tour.

In the end, one man and five women made it out, taking cover for hours under a tarp – "doing everything they can" until rescuers onsnowcatsand skies could reach them, according to Greene.

Rescuers trudged through the heavy snow, combatting gale force winds under white-out conditions and mindful that another avalanche could potentially barrel down from above, Sheriff Moon said.

Rescuers were 2 miles from the skiers when their machinery got stuck, forcing them to ski the rest of the way until they reached the avalanche site around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the sheriff said. The survivors used avalanche beacons and iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite to text emergency services.

An emergency official communicated with a guide for more than four hours, relaying critical information to sheriff's deputies, according to Don O'Keefe, chief of law enforcement at California's Office of Emergency Services.

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Buried in an avalanche, few people are able to dig themselves out, according to experts. Within minutes, breathing creates an ice mask around the face. The snow eventually hardens like a concrete entombment.

If pulled out within 15 minutes, theUtah Avalanche Centersays, 93% of avalanche victims live. After 45 minutes, only 20% to 30% survive. Few make it after two hours under the snow.

Survivors assemble tent-pole-like probes and stick them into the snow in hopes of striking buried skiers, according to experts.

That Tuesday morning, they frantically poked through the hardening snow for their ski partners and friends. Eventually they dug out three people who were no longer alive, the sheriff said.

"Uncovering people who are deceased, that they know and probably cared about, is just horrible," Nevada County Undersheriff Sam Browntold CBS News.

A 'magical place' beset by tragedy

Kurt Gensheimer was on a three-night trip at Frog Lake Backcountry Huts and left Sunday, just hours before the moms and the other skiers arrived. They never crossed paths.

He had been there four times in the last four years and understood the pull of the dangerous yet beautiful surroundings.

"It's a magical place," Gensheimer told CNN affiliate KCRA. "It's one of the best places to backcountry ski in the country and Frog Lake Huts are the nicest amenities, possibly in North America, for backcountry skiing."

He considered the huts a safe place to ride out a storm but his group decided to leave before the blizzard.

"The discussion in the huts was, this is a big storm coming… It's going to be falling blizzard conditions. You either should get out by Monday or plan to be there till Thursday, Friday," Gensheimer said.

The tour company that organized the ill-fated trip, Blackbird Mountain Guides, said the tour leaderswere highly trainedand certified in avalanche education.

It was also aware of the avalanche danger.

On Sunday morning, the same day the group embarked on their journey, the company warned on Facebook of a big snow storm approaching and urged skiers to monitor to the Sierra Avalanche Center and "use extra caution this week!"

That morning, the Sierra Avalanche Center issued anavalanche watchthat was elevated to awarning at 5 a.m. on Tuesday: "HIGH avalanche danger exists in the backcountry.

The most dangerous time for avalanches is after a rapid snowfall, according to experts. Tuesday's avalanche wasclassifiedas a D2.5 on a five-level scale that measures the destructive potential of moving debris, according to Moon.

The allure of backcountry skiing endures despite the risks.

Nate Greenberg, who lives in the Eastern Sierra Mountains and said he survived an avalanche in 2021, advised against rushing to judgment. Backcountry skiing, he said, involves multiple "micro decisions."

Ian McCammon, an engineer and avalanche researcher, also stressed the difficult decision making process on the slopes.

"There's usually a lot more than meets the eye to those accidents," McCammon told CNN. "Once you start getting into the specifics, you start understanding. It's easy to say that the people are foolish, or it's easy to say that people have taken a lot of risks, but sometimes they're in situations where it's not obvious to see how they came to the decision that they did."

Sara Boilen, a clinical psychologist and backcountry skier in Montana who specializes on human factors in avalanche terrain, said: "We're all desperate to understand what happened."

"As a researcher, I want to understand so that we can deepen our sense of what is hard about decision making in the backcountry," she told CNN. "As an educator, I want to understand so I can help others learn. As a backcountry user, I want to strengthen my own decision making by learning from others. And as a human I want answers - how could something like this happen? And we may never get all of the answers. That's the thing about a wicked learning environment."

She added, "Imagine losing somebody you love and simultaneously losing the relationship you have to the place you go to feel better. So, when you lose somebody in an avalanche and the mountains are the place that you feel most whole, most alive, it's where you go for healing, what do you do?"

CNN's Nouran Salahieh, Elizabeth Wolfe, Chris Boyette, Cindy Von Quednow, Alisha Ebrahimji, Chris Dolce, Mary Gilbert, Martin Goillandeau, Chimaine Pouteau, Stephanie Elam, Diego Mendoza, Karina Tsui, Danya Gainor, Briana Waxman, Andi Babineau and Brad Parks contributed to this report.

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COVER STORY: How safe is America from polio?After decades of American children routinely receiving polio vaccines, the virus that had doomed many to paralysis was nearly eliminated in the United States. But vaccine avoidance today may allow the crippling disease to return. CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jonathan LaPook talks with David Oshinsky, author of "Polio: An American Story," and with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, who contracted polio as a child, about how parents opting out of vaccinations for their children could affect polio rates here.

For more info:

Itzhak Perlman (Official site)The Juilliard School, New York CityDavid Oshinsky, professor, New York University Grossman School of Medicine"Polio: An American Story"by David Oshinsky (Oxford University Press), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback eBook and Audio formats, available viaAmazon,Barnes & NobleandBookshop.orgPolio Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)Poliomyelitis (polio) (World Health Organization)

ALMANAC: February 22"Sunday Morning" looks back at historical events on this date.

ARTS: The legacy of the Studio Museum in HarlemIn 1968, a group of artists, activists, and community members founded the Studio Museum in Harlem. It was a space not just for displaying works celebrating the contributions of African-American artists, but also to foster up-and-coming artists through a residency program. Now, following a seven-year, $160 million renovation, the Studio Museum has reopened. Nancy Giles pays a visit.

For more info:

Studio Museum in Harlem, New York CitySculptor Simone Leigh on Instagram

SPORTS: The Winter Olympics wraps upSeth Doane reports.

PASSAGE: Remembering Jesse Jackson, an American originalMark Whitaker looks back on the life of The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Baptist minister, civil rights leader and social justice activist, whose trailblazing presidential campaigns, built on a message of economic support and faith-based compassion, fostered his so-called "Rainbow Coalition."

Photographs courtesy of:

USA Today Network via Imagn ImagesBob Fitch Photography Archive, Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Library

PASSAGE: In memoriam"Sunday Morning" remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week.

JOURNALISM: Seymour Hersh's role as a reporter: "To find out secrets and facts"For six decades, Seymour Hersh's reporting for such publications as The New York Times and The New Yorker has changed public opinion and government policy – from documenting the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, to uncovering torture by American service members at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl talks with the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist about his career exposing corruption, and where he believes America stands now. She also talks with Laura Poitras, co-director of a new documentary on Hersh, "Cover-Up," about putting the reporter with a reputation for crankiness on camera.

To watch a trailer for "Cover-Up," click on the video player below:

FROM THE ARCHIVES:Seymour Hersh - The life of a "Reporter"|Watch VideoA memoir by the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist recounts a blockbuster career from the Golden Age of journalism. David Martin reports.

For more info:

The documentary"Cover-Up"is now streaming on Netflix

HEADLINES: Andrew's arrestElizabeth Palmer reports.

MOVIES: Rose Byrne on playing a woman at the end of her rope in "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You"Australian-born actress Rose Byrne earned an Academy Award nomination for her powerful performance in the drama "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You," playing a mother stretched to the limits. She talks with correspondent Tracy Smith about playing a woman losing all sense of control. Byrne also discusses her early years in Hollywood and the help she received from fellow Aussie Heath Ledger; and how she branched off from working in dramas like the TV series "Damages," to comedies like "Bridesmaids."

To watch a trailer for "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" click on the video player below:

For more info:

"If I Had Legs I'd Kick You"(A24) is available via VOD and is streaming onHBO MaxThanks toSwingers Diner, Los Angeles

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BOOKS: Norah O'Donnell on "We the Women," about the unsung heroines of AmericaIn her new book, "We the Women," CBS News' Norah O'Donnell tells the overlooked stories of women who have helped shape our nation, from the single female whose name appears on the Declaration of Independence, to the first Black woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court. O'Donnell talks with correspondent Mo Rocca about being shocked by how much she didn't know of these women's contributions; the role of women in journalism today; and why she is optimistic about the future.

READ AN EXCERPT:"We the Women" by Norah O'Donnell

For more info:

"We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America"by Norah O'Donnell with Kate Andersen Brower (Ballantine Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available February 24 viaAmazon,Barnes & NobleandBookshop.orgMuseum of the American Revolution, PhiladelphiaIndependence National Historical Park, Philadelphia (National Park Service)

HEADLINES: Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffsJo Ling Kent reports.

NATURE: Whitetail deer in New York

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FROM THE ARCHIVES:Robert Duvall (Video)Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall died on Feb. 15, 2026 at the age of 95. In this June 25, 2006 "Sunday Morning" profile, the star of such classics as "The Godfather," "Apocalypse Now," and the TV miniseries "Lonesome Dove" talked with Rita Braver about his career, including the early days hanging out with Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman; his Oscar-winning performance as a country singer in "Tender Mercies"; and his love of westerns. He even gave a visiting reporter an impromptu tango lesson.

FROM THE ARCHIVES:Jesse Jackson's political movement (YouTube Video)Social justice activist The Rev. Jesse Jackson died on Feb. 17, 2026 at age 84. Watch these "Sunday Morning" reports from the 1980s chronicling the Chicago minister as he ran twice for the presidency, while raising a voice for those often unheard in the political process. Included:

Oct. 1983 - David Culhane reports on Jackson's decision about running for the White House as he campaigns on economic issues; talks with Andrew Young and Julian Bond July 1984 - Charles Kuralt and Bob Faw discuss Jackson's impact on the 1984 race, and his future in politics March 1988 - David Culhane reports on the Jackson campaign, his primary victories, and his appeal beyond minority voters; talks with John Lewis and political scientist Hugh HecloNov. 1988 – Just days before the election, Robert Pierpont reports on voter apathy over the Bush-Dukakis race, and how Jackson is trying to increase voter registration and participation

GALLERY:Notable deaths in 2026"Sunday Morning" looks back at the esteemed personalities who left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.

MARATHON:UFOs and aliens (YouTube Video)"The truth is out there" - maybe! Watch these "Sunday Morning" stories about the public fascination with UFO sightings and alleged alien visitations; theories about secrets hidden in Roswell, N.M.; and the search for extraterrestrial life. Featured:

Almanac: The first official UFO sighting in the U.S. in 1947 From 1995: Bill Geist visits Rachel, Nevada, the undisputed UFO Capital of the World Almanac: The 1969 closing of Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force's probe into UFO sightings From 2007: The nation's fascination with UFOs and aliens From 2021: David Pogue probes for answers to the age old-question, "Are we alone in the universe?"

MARATHON:A love letter to New York City (YouTube Video)From Manhattan to the Bronx, "CBS Sunday Morning" wanders the streets of the Big Apple.

The Emmy Award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning" is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Executive producer is Rand Morrison.

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"Sunday Morning" alsostreams on the CBS News appbeginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. (Download it here.)

Full episodes of "Sunday Morning" are now available to watch on demand on CBSNews.com, CBS.com andParamount+, including via Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon FireTV/FireTV stick and Xbox.

Follow us onTwitter/X;Facebook;Instagram;YouTube;TikTok;Bluesky; and atcbssundaymorning.com.

You can also download the free"Sunday Morning" audio podcastatiTunesand atPlay.it. Now you'll never miss the trumpet!

Do you have sun art you wish to share with us? Email your suns to SundayMorningSuns@cbsnews.com.

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Jim Henson's The Muppet Show was an uphill battle to create, but ended up being an international hit

NEED TO KNOW

• In an archived video from The Jim Henson Company, Jim's wife and co-creator, Jane Henson, talked about the Muppets' signature humor

• A new generation of fans are experiencing The Muppet Show through a new Disney+ special

Jim Henson's Muppets always had a special sense of humor.

In a video from the archives of The Jim Henson Company, the Muppets creator's wife, Jane Henson, explains how their signature snark came to be.

"The Muppet Showreally was an extension of what we began in the very beginning, because when we began, we were students out of college," Jane, who met Jim at the University of Maryland, shared.

"We had a kind of young adult kind of humor and disrespect of establishment and all that kind of thing, so the characters that we developed... we had a little family of five characters. Kermit was the main character. Then Sam, Sam was the only human and Sam never spoke. We had a monster who was kind of the beginning of all our monsters, and we had a cool musician."

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"It was camp right from the beginning, and it was that campy, somewhere between child and adult feeling that we wanted to continue. And I think, really,The Muppet Showwas a mature version of our originalSam and Friendsshow."

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The originalMuppet Showaired from 1976 to 1981 and was beloved by fans around the globe. The series won four Primetime Emmy Awards and three BAFTAs during its run.

In fact, theMuppets Showhad its beginnings in the UK because American networks were iffy about the racy sense of humor coming from what looked like children's characters to most.

Bettmann Archive

"Nobody really thought that puppets could stand on their own for half an hour on TV. They knew they were fine for two-minute bites onSesame StreetorThe Ed Sullivan Show. But a half hour on their own? This was something really controversial and groundbreaking," biographer Brian Jay Jones toldSlateof the initially uphill battle.

Lew Grade eventually was willing to take a chance on the Muppets, with Jones noting, "Lou Grade and Jim were were a generation apart, but they were cut from the same cloth. Grade had come out of the UK version of Vaudeville. He was famous for jumping on an oval-shaped table and doing the Charleston."

Audio journalist Sally Herships added, "It was filmed in England and broadcast around the world. But the Muppets wasn't just a show. It was a showwithin a show:Kermit as stage manager trying to get the whole crazy whirlwind zoo on stage. Miss Piggy the star, the diva. The Muppet Show was the archetype of a stage performance—and audiences loved it."

Fast forward to 2026 and a whole new generation is ready to fall in love with the Muppets signature charm. The new iteration ofThe Muppets Showis streaming now on Disney+.

Read the original article onPeople

Singer-songwriter Barry Manilow announced Friday he needs to reschedule several more concerts as he continues to recover following surgery after he wasdiagnosed with lung cancer.

In astatementposted Friday to social media, the 82-year-old said he just had a "very depressing visit" with his surgeon, who he said told him: "Barry, you won't be ready to do a 90 minute show. Your lungs aren't ready yet."

Manilow said his surgeon said he was in "great shape considering what you've been through, but your body isn't ready," and told him: "You shouldn't do the first Arena shows. You won't make it through."

The "Copacabana" hitmaker announced in December that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and needed to reschedule his January concert dates in order to have surgery.

His upcoming arena shows were scheduled to begin Feb. 27 in Tampa, Florida, according to hiswebsite. Manilow said Friday he has to reschedule the first batch of shows from Feb. 27 through March 17.

Manilow said that "deep down, I wanted to go back—but my body knew what my heart didn't want to admit: I wasn't ready." He said that while he's been using the treadmill three times a day, he "still couldn't sing more than three songs in a row before I had to stop."

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"I'm SO, SO sorry I have to reschedule some of these first Arena shows. Again! But when I do come back, I will COME BACK!!!" he added.

Manilow said his surgeon indicated he might be able to perform in Las Vegas at the end of March and for the second leg of the arena shows scheduled to begin in April.

In December, Manilow said an MRI scan detected "a cancerous spot" on one of his lungs after he suffered a lengthy bout of bronchitis in the midst of a residency in Palm Springs, California.

"It's pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early," Manilow said at the time, adding that he was having surgery to have the spot removed.

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Steel business owner on Trump's tariffs as world awaits Supreme Court decision

Washington —The Supreme Court on Fridayinvalidated President Trump's most sweeping tariffs, finding in a 6-3 ruling that he does not have the authority to impose the levies using an emergency powers law.

The 6-3 decision included three liberals and three conservatives in the majority. The coalition included Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

The six justices found that the law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not give the president the power to impose tariffs.

Enacted in 1977, IEEPA authorizes the president to "regulate … importation" to deal with "any unusual and extraordinary threat" to national security, foreign policy or the U.S. economy. When he announced hismost sweeping tariffs on nearly every countrylast April, Mr. Trump invoked IEEPA to respond to what he said were "large and persistent" trade deficits. He also relied on the law tohit China, Canada and Mexico with leviesover what the president claimed was their failure to stem the flow of illicit fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S.

No president before Mr. Trump had used IEEPA to impose tariffs, and the law does not use that word or others like it, such as duty, levy or tax.

All six of the justices who were in the majority agreed that IEEPA does not give the president the power to impose levies.

"Our task today is to decide only whether the power to 'regulate … importation,' as granted to the president in IEEPA, embraces the power to impose tariffs," Roberts wrote for the majority. "It does not."

756.07 KBThe Supreme Court's decision in Learning Resources v. TrumpThe Supreme Court struck down President Trump's authority to impose broad tariffs under an emergency powers law.

The court said tariffs are different from the other authorities laid out in IEEPA and, unlike those, they "operate directly on domestic importers to raise revenue for the Treasury." The majority said that under the government's interpretation of the phrase "regulate … importation," the president could impose duties "of unlimited amount and duration, on any product from any country."

"When Congress grants the power to impose tariffs, it does so clearly and with careful constraints," Roberts wrote in a portion of his decision joined by the other five colleagues in the majority. "It did neither here."

While the six justices agreed that the president does not have the authority to impose tariffs under IEEPA, there were notable divisions over their reasoning.

Major questions doctrine

The three conservative justices — Roberts, Gorsuch and Barrett — applied what's known as the major questions doctrine, which says that broad assertions of power claimed by the executive on issues of political or economic significance must be clearly authorized by Congress.

The Supreme Court's conservative wing has relied on that doctrine in past cases testing the legality of major policies from the executive branch, including when itstruck downPresident Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan andblocked an eviction moratoriumduring the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only Gorsuch and Barrett joined the section of Roberts' opinion that invoked the major questions doctrine.

The president, Roberts wrote, "must 'point to clear congressional authorization' to justify his extraordinary assertion of power to impose tariffs. He cannot."

Congress would not be expected to "relinquish its tariff power through vague language" or without constraints, the chief justice wrote.

"When Congress has delegated its tariff powers, it has done so in explicit terms, and subject to strict limits," Roberts said.

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He also said that the economic and political consequences of the tariffs implemented under IEEPA are "astonishing."

"The Government points to projections that the tariffs will reduce the national deficit by $4 trillion, and that international agreements reached in reliance on the tariffs could be worth $15 trillion," Roberts wrote. "In the President's view, whether 'we are a rich nation' or a 'poor' one hangs in the balance. These stakes dwarf those of other major questions cases."

Statutory interpretation

On the other side of the majority, the liberal justices — Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson — agreed that IEEPA doesn't give the president the power to impose tariffs, but reached the conclusion using what Kagan said were the "ordinary tools of statutory interpretation."

"IEEPA gives the President significant authority over transactions involving foreign property, including the importation of goods. But in that generous delegation, one power is conspicuously missing," Kagan wrote in a concurring opinion joined by Sotomayor and Jackson. "Nothing in IEEPA's text, nor anything in its context, enables the President to unilaterally impose tariffs. And needless to say, without statutory authority, the President's tariffs cannot stand."

All six of the justices in the majority agreed that IEEPA is silent on the power to impose tariffs, and no president before Mr. Trump understood the law to authorize duties.

"Each president read the statutes as Congress wrote them, with IEEPA enabling him to regulate imports and Title 19 enabling him — in confined situations — to tax those foreign goods," Kagan wrote, referring to the portion of the U.S. Code that covers customs duties. "None, as far as anyone has suggested, even considered doing otherwise."

The dissenters

The principal dissent came from Kavanaugh, who wrote that the president's authority under IEEPA to "regulate … importation" encompasses tariffs. There is a long tradition of presidents imposing duties as a way of regulating importation and commerce, he said. Thomas and Alito joined his dissent.

"Like quotas and embargoes, tariffs are a traditional and common tool to regulate importation," Kavanaugh said.

He wrote that IEEPA allows the president to impose quotas or embargoes on foreign imports, which he said are more severe tools than tariffs. The law, he said, does not draw distinctions between those actions and instead "empowers the president to regulate imports during national emergencies with the tools presidents have traditionally and commonly used, including quotas, embargoes, and tariffs."

Regarding the major questions doctrine, Kavanaugh said it is satisfied in this case because the "statutory text, history and precedent constitute 'clear congressional authorization' for the president to impose levies under IEEPA." Plus, presidents throughout history have imposed tariffs as a way to "regulate … importation," he continued.

Kavanaugh also argued that the Supreme Court has never applied the major questions doctrine to matters of foreign affairs, including foreign trade.

"In foreign affairs cases, courts read the statute as written and do not employ the major questions doctrine as a thumb on the scale against the president," Kavanaugh said.

He noted, however, that the ruling may not significantly constrain a president's ability to set tariffs moving forward, since there are many other statutes that can be used to justify the tariffs at issue in the case.

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