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By Monica Haider, CNN

(CNN) — NBA legend Kobe Bryant – who became a larger-than-life figure both on and off the court – has left a lasting impact within the basketball community and beyond.

“There are days I know it’s real, and then there are days where it feels like there are pieces of him that are still here,” his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Derek Fisher told CNN’s Elex Michaelson in Los Angeles in an interview marking the sixth anniversary of Bryant’s shocking death.

“It’s always strange when we get to this date each year.”

Bryant died on January 26, 2020, when a helicopter he boarded along with eight other people – including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna – crashed on a hillside in Calabasas, California. None of the passengers survived.

Fisher, who’s now a coach and NBA analyst, spent over a decade playing alongside the “Black Mamba.” He shed light on Bryant’s aspirations, adding that his relentless ambition motivated the other players daily.

“He had already programmed himself to want to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever touch the ball,” Fisher said. “He knew that about himself from day one.”

Bryant’s ascent wasn’t always smooth sailing, but the star guard remained focused even during the rough patches. There were moments during this time that helped shape Bryant into more than a skilled player, Fisher explained.

“It took losing to the (Boston) Celtics in 2008 to also learn how to become a better leader on a championship-caliber team,” he said, referencing how – even after winning a three-peat with Shaquille O’Neal from 2000-2002 – Bryant always improved.

Family man

Bryant’s athletic talents and drive are just some of the standout qualities that continue to inspire young generations of athletes. The five-time NBA champion and later philanthropist and film producer is also remembered by his devotion to his family.

Michaelson asked Fisher about a particular conversation between the two former Lakers that still stirs strong emotions for the 18-year NBA veteran.

The two girl dads were traveling and chatting about a number of topics – including being fathers – and Bryant’s response to a question Fisher asked about how his teammate is “viewing his life, his career, his business,” struck a chord.

“He started a statement – (then) he stopped and he said, ‘You know what? I’ll just say it like this. I had to start thinking, how is this decision going to impact my daughters 20 years from now?’” Fisher said.

“In a split second, you get it. It was a pretty profound moment of just kind of sharing and vulnerability and a look into how his heart was on the inside around his girls, his family and his wife.”

Michaelson then asked Fisher how fatherhood changed Bryant.

“Anybody that has girls (knows) you’re changed forever,” Fisher responded. “No matter how tough you are or where you’re from, your daughters change you forever.”

For Bryant, Fisher said, “I thought it helped him come outside of his own exper

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By Bryan Mena, CNN

Washington (CNN) — America’s economic mood deteriorated in January to its lowest level in more than a decade as consumers fretted about geopolitical tensions, affordability and President Donald Trump’s unrelenting trade war.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for January, released Tuesday, declined 9.7 points to a reading of 84.5, the lowest since 2014, surpassing the lows of last year when Trump unveiled stiff tariffs and the depths of the pandemic recession in 2020.

January’s reading came in much lower than the 91.1 reading economists projected in a poll by data firm FactSet.

The survey’s indexes for how Americans feel about current economic conditions and their expectations for the US economy’s future both fell sharply this month.

“All five components of the Index deteriorated, driving the overall Index to its lowest level since May 2014 (82.2) — surpassing its Covid-19 pandemic depths,” Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said in a release. “References to prices and inflation, oil and gas prices, and food and grocery prices remained elevated.”

“Mentions of tariffs and trade, politics, and the labor market also rose in January, and references to health/insurance and war edged higher,” she added.

Over the past month, the Trump administration has captured Venezuela’s former leader; threatened massive tariffs on Canada and European countries; declared its intentions to purchase Greenland; and has continued to pile pressure onto the politically independent Federal Reserve.

US consumers also remain frustrated with the country’s higher cost of living these days, especially with employers hiring at a weak pace and people insured through the Affordable Care Act seeing their premiums skyrocket.

“Americans are frustrated with rising prices for groceries and electricity, and they are fearful of the hiring recession that’s underway right now,” Heather Long, Navy Federal Credit Union’s chief economist, said in commentary issued Tuesday. “The K-shaped economy is great for the top 20%, but many middle-class and moderate-income Americans are barely keeping up.”

What it means for economic growth and spending in early 2026

In recent years, pessimism among Americans hasn’t translated into weaker spending, which may remain the case this time around, especially with tax filers expected to receive bigger refunds.

In the summer of 2022 as inflation reached a four-decade high and consumer confidence tanked, Americans continued to spend in the following months. The same was true last year, when Trump’s tariffs caused Americans to sour on the economy.

“While spending held up through the holidays, the latest plunge in the survey readings flashes a warning sign for weaker activity over the first quarter of 2026,” Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide, said in an analyst note Tuesday. “Still, we expect that larger tax refunds and additional fiscal stimulus will provide a shot in the arm for many households worried about a softening labor market and rising prices.”

The tax-filing season has officially begun and the Treasury Department projects tax refunds will increase by an average of $1,000 this year per household.

But weak job growth is expected to persist throughout the year, according to most economists. That’s especially a problem for recent college graduates and people who have been laid off.

According to the latest Conference Board survey, more than 55% of respondents said that it was difficult to land a job, the highest share since the pandemic. Respondents also indicated they’re pessimistic about the path of the labor market.

Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, echoed that sentiment in a note Tuesday, writing: “Expect t

By Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — As the US military began launching strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean last year, a young Trinidadian man who was in Venezuela for work was searching for a way home, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

Chad Joseph, 26, had been in Venezuela for months fishing and doing farm work when he began looking for a boat to hitch a ride back to Las Cuevas in Trinidad and Tobago, where his wife and three children lived. But as the US began targeting vessels officials said were carrying drugs destined for American streets, Joseph “became increasingly fearful” of making the journey, court documents say. The concerns became so real that in early September, his wife recalled, he called to assure her that he had not been aboard a vessel just hit by the US, pledging to be home soon.

The last call home was on October 12, when Joseph told his wife he’d found a boat to bring him back to Trinidad, and he would be seeing her in a matter of days, according to court documents. Two days later, however, on October 14, the US struck another target — a boat Joseph’s family believes he was in.

“Mr. Joseph’s wife repeatedly called Mr. Joseph’s cellphone, but the line was dead,” a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the US government says. “The line remains dead to this day.”

Joseph’s family, and the family of another Trinidadian man, 41-year-old Rishi Samaroo, who had been working with Joseph in Venezuela and who is also believed to have been on the boat, filed a lawsuit against the US government on Tuesday for wrongful death and extrajudicial killing of the two men. The complaint calls the strikes “unprecedented and manifestly unlawful,” and says they have carried out “premeditated and intentional killings” with no legal justification.

CNN asked the Justice Department for comment but did not immediately receive a response before publication. The Defense Department declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

The complaint says that, despite claims by President Donald Trump and other administration officials that all the men killed on board were “narcoterrorists,” neither Joseph nor Samaroo had any affiliation to drug cartels.

The lawsuit marks the first opportunity for a judge to rule on the legality of the strikes which are part of the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific — dubbed Operation Southern Spear — that has killed at least 117 people. The most recent strike was carried out last week in the eastern Pacific, killing two and leaving one survivor who was being searched for by the Coast guard.

The lawsuit points specifically to the Death on the High Seas Act, which allows family members to sue over wrongful deaths on the high seas, and the Alien Tort Statute, which lets foreign nationals sue in federal courts over violations of international law.

The families are suing for compensatory and punitive damages and they are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Jonathan Hafetz with the Seton Hall Law School.

The administration has publicly presented little evidence that those killed in the ongoing campaign are affiliates of drug cartels, or that each of the vessels had drugs on them. When pressed by lawmakers during congressional briefings, military officials have acknowledged they do not know the identities of everyone on board the boats they have destroyed.

The legality of the strikes has come under intense scrutiny in Congress since the operations began in September, including particular interest in the very first strike, when the military Read more

By Dana O’Neil, CNN

(CNN) — Duke quarterback Darian Mensah is free to go.

The second-team All-ACC quarterback has reached a settlement with the university that will allow Mensah to transfer elsewhere, his representatives and Duke said in separate statements.

Mensah, who led the Blue Devils to their first ACC championship since 1962, declared his intention to enter the transfer portal on January 16 but Duke filed a lawsuit on January 20, arguing that Mensah had broken his contract with the school. The two sides were scheduled for a preliminary injunction hearing on January 29.

Instead the two sides have reached an undisclosed settlement.

“Through close collaboration and principled negotiation, we have successfully navigated an unprecedented path, one that has now reached a fair and agreeable solution,’’ Mensah’s agency, Young Money APAA Sports, said in its statement.

While Duke acknowledged the settlement, the school stood firm on its principles.

“We are committed to fulfilling all promises and obligations Duke makes to our student-athletes when we enter into contractual agreements with them, and we expect the same in return,’’ the athletic department said in a statement.

“Enforcing these agreements is a necessary element of ensuring predictability and structure for athletic programs. It is nonetheless a difficult choice to pursue legal action against a student and teammate; for this reason we sought to resolve the matter fairly and quickly.’’

Mensah transferred to Duke from Tulane, signing to a lucrative NIL deal that Duke said in its lawsuit extended through December of this year. Mensah threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns this season and led Duke to a victory in the Sun Bowl. Despite pledging his loyalty in an Instagram post as recently as December, Mensah reversed course and declared his decision to transfer on the last day the portal was open.

A reported front-running suitor: ACC rival Miami, which is shopping for a quarterback now that Carson Beck is out of eligibility.

Duke, however, pushed back and filed the suit in Durham County Superior Court, arguing that Mensah had violated his agreement by “disclosing its monetary terms, seeking to license his NIL in football to another institution, seeking his enrollment at another institutions … and/or acting in a way that has now harmed his image and the image of Duke University by ignoring the terms and conditions of his contract.’’

Athletes’ contracts have been a bone of contention since the House settlement. Coaches and administrators have argued that they should be binding but that idea runs square into the freedom of the transfer portal, which allow athletes to swap schools without penalty.

“Contracts mean something,’’ Duke wrote in its lawsuit, contending that Mensah should be required to at least go through the arbitration process as written in his deal.

A judge later denied Duke’s request to keep Mensah out of the portal but he still was not able to enroll at another school until the legal process was completed.

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