Entertainment giant Disney has placed at least 45 Venezuelan employees on unpaid leave, the company told AFP Thursday, following the US Supreme Court’s decision to allow the revocation of a special legal status that shielded them from deportation.Shortly after returning to office, President Donald Trump revoked temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals, which shields foreign citizens from deportation who cannot safely return home — affecting about 350,000 people.The US Supreme Court has allowed that revocation to stand pending an appeal in a lower court.”As we sort out the complexities of this situation, we have placed affected employees on leave with benefits to ensure they are not in violation of the law,” a spokesperson for Disney said in a statement, however noting the leave is “unpaid.””We are committed to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of all our employees who may be navigating changing immigration policies and how they could impact them or their families,” the statement added.The entertainment giant informed workers placed on leave that their employment will be terminated if they do not find an alternate work permit within 30 days, according to the Miami Herald.It was not immediately clear where all of the employees worked, but the newspaper said it had spoken to several who work at Disney World in Orlando. One Venezuelan Disney employee, a woman in her 40s, told the Herald she was “very distressed” by the suspension.”We have bills, we just renewed our apartment lease, my son goes to college,” she told the publication.Former president Joe Biden had extended TPS for Venezuelans for 18 months just days before Trump returned to the White House in January, citing ongoing crises in the South American country under longtime ruler Nicolas Maduro.But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem moved to revoke the protections, leading to the ensuing court battle.

US rapper Kid Cudi on Thursday described having his home broken into and his car set on fire amid music mogul Sean Combs’s rage over his one-time girlfriend Casandra Ventura’s relationship with the rapper.The highly anticipated testimony from the famous rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, follows last week’s bombshell testimony in Manhattan federal court from Ventura, who said she was physically and psychologically abused for years by Combs.The once-powerful music industry figure is on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering.Mescudi described one day when Ventura called him sounding “scared” and “nervous” as she told him that Combs had found out about their fling.Mescudi said he had thought Ventura and Combs weren’t together any longer when he started seeing her, but took her to the Sunset Marquee hotel for her safety.”I just wanted to put her somewhere she’d be off the radar,” testified Mescudi, who told jurors he knew that Combs abused Ventura.As the pair hid out, Mescudi said they received a call from Combs’s assistant Capricorn Clark, who said she had been forced to ride along to Mescudi’s home where Combs had gone inside.Mescudi called Combs who said “I’m over here waiting for you.”When he arrived, he didn’t see Combs, but he did find his dog, which was usually allowed to roam free around the house, locked in a bathroom.Mescudi said his impulse was to fight Combs but instead he called the police.Shortly thereafter in January 2012, Mescudi said he received a call from his dog sitter who said the rapper’s car was on fire.Jurors were shown six photos of the mangled, ruined car that was found next to a Molotov cocktail.Asked by prosecutors how he reacted to the discovery, Mescudi, who took the stand in a black leather jacket and white tee, said simply “what the fuck.”Ventura previously testified that in his fury over the love triangle, Combs had threatened to blow up Mescudi’s vehicle.- ‘Just so angry’ -Prosecutors say Combs was the kingpin of a criminal enterprise for decades, a ring that wielded its power including through arson, bribery and kidnapping.Combs, 55, is also on trial for sex trafficking; if he is found guilty of the alleged federal crimes, he faces an effective life prison sentence.Ventura told jurors that Combs — who she says coerced her into “freak-off” sex marathons with male prostitutes for years — flew into a violent rage after he learned of her romance with Mescudi, lunging at her with a wine corkscrew and threatening to make public sexually explicit footage of her.”He was just so angry,” she said during her four days on the stand. “He told me about videos that he had that he was going to release, and how he was going to hurt Scott and I.”Mescudi corroborated testimony from Ventura saying that when confronted about the scorched car, the powerful music mogul played dumb.”I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mescudi said Combs told him.Asked by prosecutors what Mescudi took that to mean, the rapper replied: “That he was lying.”

US senators on Thursday blocked California’s landmark mandate phasing out gas-powered cars, dealing a blow to the state’s move towards electric vehicles in a pointed rebuke of Democratic climate change policies.The Republican-led Senate revoked a waiver instituted under then-president Joe Biden that allowed the Golden State to set aside national pollution standards for cars and set its own more stringent regulations.But the Senate’s rubber stamp of a House-passed bill is likely to be challenged in court, setting up a battle royale between California’s left-leaning government and President Donald Trump.California Governor Gavin Newsom warned Trump’s Republicans ahead of the vote against action that would “cede American car-industry dominance to China and clog the lungs of our children.”The West Coast state’s San Joaquin Valley and its biggest city, Los Angeles, historically tolerated persistent smog before decades of efforts to clean up the worst air pollution in the country.Part of that push was a mandate ensuring that a third of new 2026 model cars sold in the state must be zero-emission, rising to two-thirds in 2030 and 100 percent in 2035. Republicans in Washington argue that this is costly, unworkable and anathema to consumer choice.”California got special permission from the Biden administration to ban gas-powered cars. Because of their market share, this would impact the entire nation,” said right-wing Utah Senator Mike Lee.”But Gavin Newsom doesn’t get to ruin 49 other states.”Republicans argue that the Congressional Review Act gives them the right to overturn California’s carve-out on a simple majority vote.But Democrats say Thursday’s move was illegal, as nonpartisan watchdogs including the Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian said the CRA could not be applied to waivers.The Senate has only overruled its parliamentarian a handful of times in since the role was launched in the 1930s.Trump harshly criticized electric vehicles (EVs) as he sought reelection, despite significant federal funding allocated to projects in Republican districts, where thousands of jobs are expected to be created.He took aim at the sector as part of his flurry of executive orders on his first day in office in a bid to ensure what he called a “level” playing field for gasoline-powered motors.But he has not been consistent in his opposition — even taking time out of his schedule to promote former right-hand man Elon Musk’s prestige EV company Tesla at the White House.  US EV sales reached 1.3 million units last year, up 7.3 percent from 2023, according to Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book, but automakers have recently scaled back investments, pointing to slowing demand growth.