Immigrant pursued by federal agents before Alex Pretti's killing speaks out

Jose Huerta Chuma is a man in hiding — and he's also a man in distress. He's been replaying the fatal shooting of Minneapolis residentAlex Prettiover and over again in his mind, wondering if he could have done something differently and if there's something that "would have saved that life."

The 41-year-old immigrant from Ecuador, who said he has been in the U.S. for over two decades, described witnessingthe shootingafter hiding inside a local business. The Department of Homeland Security has described Huerta Chuma as a criminal living in the U.S. illegally who was the target of the Border Patrol operation that led to the encounter with Pretti on Saturday, Jan. 24.

"I think, maybe if I hadn't gone to that place, or I don't know, a little later or a little earlier, I mean, that never would have happened," Huerta Chuma told CBS News during a phone interview conducted in Spanish.

Asked if he feels some sense of guilt, he said, while crying, his voice fraught with emotion: "I do feel guilty, I do feel bad. I saw stories about the man and I saw a very good person."

DHS officials havedescribedHuerta Chuma as a "violent criminal illegal alien" on the loose. Documents reviewed by CBS News indicate Huerta Chuma's record includes traffic violations, and that he pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct misdemeanor offense in 2018. The New York Timesreported, citing Minnesota court documents, that the plea was linked to a domestic violence arrest, and that the offense was later expunged.

Huerta Chuma said the domestic violence case stemmed from an argument with his partner at the time. The Minnesota Department of Corrections said ina statementthat Huerta Chuma has never been in the state's prison system and that it did not find felony convictions in his case.

CBS News reached out to representatives for DHS seeking comment about Huerta Chuma's record and whether officials are still pursuing him.

A shooting witnessed from a hiding spot

In his first public comments, Huerta Chuma told CBS News he immigrated from Ecuador in the early 2000s, in his twenties. Before Pretti's shooting upended his life, he was raising his American-born children while working as a rideshare driver.

"I'm not a criminal. I just was working that day," he said. "I was going to pick up the delivery."

Huerta Chuma said he was on his way to pick up a delivery order around 8:18 a.m. on Jan. 24 in south Minneapolis. (He showed CBS News screenshots of the route from that morning indicating he was in the area where the shooting happened.) It was a routine delivery, similar to the almost 20,000 rides he had done over nearly six years.

As he was driving down Nicollet Avenue, Huerta Chuma said he passed a car driving in the opposite direction.

"One agent was staring at me, but I just blinked my eyes and said, 'God, they're immigration,'" Huerta Chuma recalled.

"So, when I looked in the mirror, they turned around immediately."

Huerta Chuma said the agents, who were in a red car without license plates, started to follow him.

"I didn't run or anything, I left very calm," he said. "I saw they were with ICE. I knew in my head they were ICE because they turned around so quickly when they [saw] my face."

Huerta Chuma said he parked his car, got out, and left the vehicle running. He said federal agents started to follow him, and a man at a local business let him inside, locking the door behind him. Huerta Chuma said he hid there for about 4 hours.

Huerta Chuma said he saw Pretti show up and start filming, and he saw a Border Patrol agent push a woman nearby. He said he sawthe agentstackle Pretti to the ground and take his gun.

"It all happened so fast," he said, noting he did not see Pretti trying to hurt the agents or reach for his firearm.

Then he described the rapid-fire shots: "Tac, tac, tac, tac, tac, tac."

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Huerta Chuma said he watched the ambulance arrive, but knew it was too late. He said he saw federal agents write down his license plate. Then he left.

"It felt horrible. To be watching and not being able to do anything," Huerta Chuma said. "I don't know how long I will be like this."

Initial public statements at odds with evidence, official report

Immediately after the shooting Huerta Chuma witnessed, DHS officials made sweeping statements about Pretti and his actions, some of which have since beendirectly contradictedby videos, witness accounts and a preliminary government report.

DHS initially said one Border Patrol agent fired "defensive shots" after Pretti "approached" agents with his firearm. The department suggested, without citing concrete evidence, that Pretti intended to "massacre" federal agents.

A report to Congress obtained by CBS News earlier this week found thattwo U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fired their weaponsduring the Jan. 24 shooting. The report, based on a "preliminary review" by CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility, also did not mention Pretti reaching for his firearm.

Video analyzed by CBS Newsshows an agent had removed the gun from Pretti's waistband one second before another agent fired the first shot.

Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, who has sincebeen reassignedfollowing the bipartisan backlash triggered by Pretti's killing, described Huerta Chuma as an "illegal alien" during a press conference hours after the deadly shooting. Pointing to a booking photo, Bovino said Huerta Chuma's record included "domestic assault," "disorderly conduct" and "driving without a license."

In a statement two days later, DHS branded Huerta Chuma a "violent criminal illegal alien" who remained "at large," asking the public to call a government hotline with any tips regarding his whereabouts.

Huerta Chuma said the government was displaying an older picture from after he was arrested in 2018 during an altercation with his wife.

Out of work and on the run

Huerta Chuma did not reveal his whereabouts to CBS News. He said he was worried about his safety, his work and what would happen to his three children born in the U.S. Huerta Chuma said he has two children, ages 11 and 15, who live with him, and another child, a 3-year-old, who lives with the mother. CBS News attempted to reach the children's mother but did not receive a response.

Information accessed through the Justice Department's immigration court system says Huerta Chuma's deportation case was administratively closed in May 2022. The immigration court records do not list a deportation order. Huerta Chuma said he has since applied for a "U visa," designed to protect immigrants who are victims of crimes and who have assisted law enforcement investigations.

It's unclear exactly when and how Huerta Chuma first entered the U.S. Huerta Chuma said he has another child living in Ecuador. Court records indicate that Huerta Chuma does not have a criminal record in his native country.

Huerta Chuma said he started working as a rideshare driver so he could have a flexible schedule and be available for his children. But since the shooting, he said, he hasn't worked, and is rarely eating or sleeping. He said he is continuing to hide.

Though he's scared about getting arrested, Huerta Chuma said the main source of his consternation is Pretti's death.

"I'm very devastated, spiritually. Why did they kill the man? He didn't do anything," he said. "I was there. I was there. I saw everything."

José Diaz contributed to this report.

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byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

January 31, 2026

Immigrant pursued by federal agents before Alex Pretti's killing speaks out

Jose Huerta Chuma is a man in hiding — and he's also a man in distress. He's been replaying the fatal shooting of...

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Judge rejects Minnesota bid to block federal immigration agent surge

A federal judge on Saturday denied Minnesota's emergency request to halt a surge of federal immigration enforcement agents in the Twin Cities region.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez said her ruling does not make a final determination on the state's claim that the federal government has overstepped its authority. She also stressed the decision was not a ruling on the legality of specific actions taken by federal agents.

Menendez wrote that granting the injunction would "harm the federal government's efforts to enforce federal immigration laws."

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"The Court must view plaintiffs' claims through the lens of the specific legal framework they invoke, and, having done so, finds that plaintiffs have not met their burden," she wrote.

The judge noted Minnesota officials did not explain how to draw a clear line between what is constitutionally permissible and what is not.

State officials alleged the Trump administration targeted Minnesota as "political retribution" and gave the state unequal treatment, saying other states with larger undocumented populations could see bigger surges in enforcement activity.

But Menendez ruled the state failed to show how the executive branch's discretionary decisions violate the law.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

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January 31, 2026

Judge rejects Minnesota bid to block federal immigration agent surge

A federal judge on Saturday denied Minnesota's emergency request to halt a surge of federal immigration enforcement a...

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How a trans woman's removal from a restroom tore the world of competitive pinball apart

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Some of the best women's pinball players in North Carolina had a dilemma: Though it was an honor to be among the 16 invited to compete for the state title in January and a shot at nationals, they wondered whether they should skip the tournament in protest.

Kat Lake considered declining to send a message of support to her fellow trans pinball players amid a painful rift. But Lake, one of the top women in the country, also didn't want to give up on years of hard work climbing the ranks.

She ultimately decided to go, and on an unusually cold and rainy Sunday this month, she drove to the Coastal Hemp Company, a joint hemp shop and arcade. She greeted her competitors with hugs.

"These are the people that got me into pinball, that helped me become who I am, and I don't want to throw any of that away," she said.

Competitive pinball is a surprisingly intense sport with an inclusive culture, a niche pursuit that has long been safe from the spotlight — and from national politics. Then, at a tournament in November, an arcade employee insisted that a transgender competitor couldn't use the women's bathroom. The incident — and how it was handled by the sport's governing body, the International Flipper Pinball Association — tilted a friendly community into turmoil.

The all-male leaders of the IFPA say they received threatening messages. Players accused the organization of not doing enough to back trans competitors. The group's entire Women's Advisory Board resigned. Tournament directors and players across the country have boycotted IFPA events as a show of support for trans players.

The pinball blowup occurred at a moment when trans people face an increasingly hostile environment in the United States, particularly in sports. Twenty-nine states have laws or regulations prohibiting trans student-athletes in K-12 schools or colleges from competing on teams that align with their gender identities. The governing bodies for sports ranging fromswimmingandtrackto pursuits likechessanddartshave banned trans women from women's events.

What makes this dispute unusual is that everyone, including the IFPA, agrees that trans women should be allowed to play. The division is over the aftermath of the bathroom incident and whether the trans people involved received enough support. It highlights the complexities that even the smallest and most inclusive sports organizations are struggling to navigate in a tense political climate.

'Shrinking safe spaces'

The trans woman barred from using the bathroom said pinball had, until that day, been her safe space. B., a computer programmer based in Raleigh, asked to go by an initial because not everyone in her life knows she's transgender, though her pinball community does.

B. said she started playing in a local pinball league just over a year ago, and she has come to love the sport. She likes the flow state she gets into. After she lands shots, she sometimes breaks into a celebratory dance.

She has also found acceptance through the hobby. B. said the first person she came out to in pinball was Joan McCool, 72, who has been playing pinball since 1975 and is affectionately known as "pinball mom." McCool was immediately supportive. B. also learned that there are many trans people competing in the sport.

One of them is Kaylee Campbell. She came out as a trans woman in the fall of 2020 and asked the IFPA to change her name on official records. At that point, the IFPA didn't have a clear policy on trans players, but leaders were welcoming.

"It could sound silly to some people, but before transitioning, I was worried about my family, my job and then pinball — that was the order of fears of things that I may be losing by coming out publicly," Campbell said. "It makes me really proud that I'm putting things out there and being part of something that can be a safe space in a world with seemingly shrinking safe spaces."

After President Donald Trump returned to office last year and signed policies targeting transgender people, theIFPA said in a statementthat its tournaments should be "free from homophobia, transphobia, and all other types of discrimination." By then, it hadadopted a gender inclusion policy.

Finding out that her hobby was so trans-inclusive was "a breath of fresh air," B. said, which is what made the bathroom incident so jarring.

B. traveled to Grandy, a small, conservative coastal town, in early November. She planned to compete in the Outer Banks, or OBX, Fall Flippers Pinball Tournament. The tournament venue, Flippers Convenience & Arcade, boasts the most pinball machines in the state.

On Nov. 7, the first day of the tournament, B. said, she went to the bathroom about 10 minutes before the competition. As she washed her hands, a woman who manages the arcade came in and told her that it was against the law for her to be there and that the men's room was across the hall.

"I was just dumbstruck," B. said.

She left the bathroom and immediately told Samantha Bacon, a co-director of the tournament. Bacon, an aerospace engineer from Wake Forest, is also transgender and one of the top players in the country.

Bacon began to panic. There were a lot of trans and gender-nonconforming queer players at the tournament who would need to use the restrooms, she said.

She confronted Becky Connell, the manager who had spoken to B. Connell, Bacon said, pulled out an iPad and showed her a recent North Carolina bill that she said prohibited trans women from using the women's restroom.

"She puts it in front of my face and says: 'This is the law. If it happens again, I'm calling the cops,'" Bacon said. Bacon looked up the bill and showed Connell that it hadn't been passed into law, but, she said, Connell insisted that she was the manager and that she would have anyone she thought was in the wrong restroom charged with trespassing.

In text messages with NBC News, Connell said she confronted a trans person in the bathroom and "politely told" them that "the men's restroom was next door." (Connell said the person she confronted was a different person, not B.; that player, who is nonbinary, told NBC News that Connell didn't speak to them in the bathroom.) Connell didn't respond to questions about the state bill and said she threatened to call the police only when some of the pinball players started harassing her, which the players denied. She said she later received an anonymous unsettling letter at her home.

The arcade's owner, David Shields, said in a text message that transgender participants have always been allowed to use the women's restroom since the arcade started hosting tournaments in 2012. He defended Connell, calling the November situation regrettable but "not intended to cause harm." The arcade is "committed to fostering a positive and respectful atmosphere for all," he said.

Bacon's next move on the afternoon of Nov. 7 was to message the IFPA's leadership. Josh Sharpe, the organization's president, told her she had the authority to shut the entire tournament down if necessary, because the event was in violation of its inclusion policy.

Bacon consulted Campbell, the tournament co-director, about whether to cancel.

"I was worried that they would just blame the trans people for getting the whole tournament canceled," Campbell said. She searched for an alternative solution.

News of the incident spread quickly, and about a dozen players, many of them trans, gathered outside the arcade, with most saying they didn't feel comfortable going in.

Kevin Stone, the main tournament director, told Campbell and Bacon that he didn't know what to do. Campbell suggested providing three additional hours of qualifying time to players who wanted to wait until Connell left. With that temporary solution, Bacon sent a message to IFPA leadership around 3 p.m. that said, "We got it sorted."

But the issue was far from sorted. Neither those organizing the tournament nor the IFPA initially understood the potential fallout. The fact that no one chose to cancel the tournament was part of what ultimately fractured the pinball community — which Bacon said she carries guilt about even though she feels it wasn't her fault.

Immediately after the bathroom confrontation, a friend guided B. to the arcade's back patio, where, she said, she had a panic attack and then went back to her hotel. She never returned to the arcade.

"Those first few days, it was a lot," B. said. "Being so new to being open about being trans, I think that was probably one of my first five times using a restroom labeled as women's. I've definitely, over the past few months, took a few steps back in how public about being trans I've been."

No one from IFPA leadership has reached out to her, B. said.

A painful divide

Once the IFPA's leaders fully understood what happened at the Outer Banks tournament, they agreed on the key issues: that trans women should feel safe at tournaments, including in women's restrooms, and that the bathroom incident violated the IFPA's inclusion policy, which meant the event should have been de-sanctioned, meaning the points players earned wouldn't count.

But it wasn't. The tournament continued, sanctioned, for the rest of the weekend, and that is where the fracture began. The IFPA's leadership, an all-volunteer group of men mostly responsible for developing algorithms to maintain the world pinball rankings, was suddenly thrust into an emotional debate. Many players, including trans players from North Carolina, expected the leaders to de-sanction the tournament to send a message that what happened wasn't acceptable. Some players took the IFPA's decision to mean that points were more important to leadership than trans players' inclusion and safety.

In the days afterward, Stone, the main tournament director at the event,apologized, saying he should have delayed the tournament until Connell left. He did not respond to requests for comment.

IFPA Director Adam Becker issued statements describingwhat happened as a leadership failure. He said Flippers Convenience & Arcade would be prohibited from hosting IFPA-sanctioned events for at least a year.

However, he said, the IFPAwouldn't de-sanction the eventbecause it didn't want to set a precedent that it could retroactively revoke sanctioning "based on failures of the IFPA organization." The IFPA pointed to Bacon's "We got it sorted" message specifically. Bacon felt the leaders were blaming her, and she resigned from the IFPA's Women's Advisory Board.

"If you're going to throw me under the bus like that, I'm gone," she said.

The IFPA said in a statement that the organization regretted that its handling of the situation contributed to Bacon "feeling blamed or singled out."

Over the next week, the debate over whether the tournament should remain sanctioned went national, with more than1,400 players signing a petitiondemanding that the organization reverse its decision. The four remaining members of the women's board voted to remove sanctioning, but Becker overruled them. As a result, they allresigned Nov. 19.

An online chat for IFPA players became heated, and IFPA leaders said that's when they began to receive alarming messages, with one calling them "transphobic pieces of trash," according to screenshots shared with NBC News.

The incident has especially shaken the women's pinball community, which has grown since the IFPA began recognizing women's tournaments in 2022. Players said the women's-only matchups began in part because arcades and gaming culture can be misogynistic. Men are likelier to hover over players during a game, which can be distracting and intimidating, players said.

As anger at the IFPA grew, players began boycotting events and some tournament organizers began pulling out of the IFPA. One tournament director in Oregon said players there were discussing starting their own competition circuit.

In response to the backlash, the IFPA has rolled out a number of policy and staff changes. It created an email address that players and tournament directors can use to report incidents that threaten player safety. It alerts the entire IFPA leadership team, which the group recently expanded toinclude Campbell and another woman. The IFPA also published a newcode of conductandinclusion policy, which tournament directors have to acknowledge that they have read before they submit new events to the IFPA.

Sharpe, the IFPA's president and one of the top players in the world, said in a phone interview that one of the key lessons the organization learned was that simply having inclusion policies on a website wasn't sufficient.

"We learned that we do have to do more, providing the organizers of these events with clear, enforceable guidance on how they can respond to these situations when they occur," he said.

The IFPA said its failure to contact B. was another communication error.

Going forward, Sharpe said, his biggest message to trans players is that they belong and that they should expect to feel safe and respected at IFPA-sanctioned events.

'I'm still going to be here'

For B., rebuilding trust is a work in progress.

She sees the IFPA's new inclusion policy as a good step but wonders whether it will actually be followed.

"What happened at Flippers was covered by the policy that they had," she said.

A week after the incident in the Outer Banks, B. said, she was shocked to play the best pinball of her life, winning eight matches in a row over two tournaments and qualifying for the North Carolina women's state championship for the first time.

That's how she found herself at the Coastal Hemp Company for the women's state tournament in January, nervously preparing to play against friends and players she looked up to. As the owners fired up a countertop popcorn machine, a disco ball hanging from the ceiling cast hundreds of shimmering reflections across the room.

She didn't reach the final round, where Bacon faced Campbell, her longtime rival, and won, with Lake coming in third. But B. said she was glad she tried. Even though she has complicated feelings about competing, she refuses to stop playing.

"F--- them, I'm still going to be here," she said. "Pinball has been such an escape," she added. "I'm not giving that up."

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

January 31, 2026

How a trans woman's removal from a restroom tore the world of competitive pinball apart

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Some of the best women's pinball players in North Carolina had a dilemma: Though it was an honor to be among the 16 ...

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Alexander Skarsgård tries on 'personalized' underwear from Stephen Colbert in front of “Late Show” audience

ColbertLateShow

Key points

• Alexander Skarsgård told Stephen Colbert that the pickles he received in a previous Late Show episode exploded in his suitcase.

• "The pickle juice was all over my clothes," the actor said, noting that his underwear were "still damp."

• To make it up to him, Colbert gave Skarsgård two pairs of Late Show underwear, which the actor proudly tried on in front of the audience.

Alexander Skarsgårdsported an unusual look during his interview withStephen ColbertonThe Late Showthis week.

TheBig Little Liesactor received an unexpected gift from the host after recounting an unfortunate incident that damaged some of his clothing.

Colbert explained that the actor's father,Stellan Skarsgård, appeared onThe Late Showand implored the host to ask his son to pick up some specialty pickles while he was in New York. The last time Alexander had been on the show, Colbert obliged, handing him a tub of pickles to bring to his father.

"I took the container. I was gonna fly back to Stockholm to deliver it to my father because he was too lazy," Skarsgård recalled. "He was obviously in New York himself [when he was onThe Late Show] — he could've picked them up, but he said they couldn't fit into his bag."

ColbertLateShow

TheMurderbotstar explained that he wrapped the container in five plastic bags and put it in his suitcase — but he didn't account for the air pressure on the plane.

"It was a plastic container, so the whole thing exploded in my suitcase," Skarsgård said, adding that the pickle juice did substantial damage to his belongings. "I got there, and I gave him the pickles, but the pickle juice was all over my clothes, basically. My suitcase was drenched. So I still kind of smell of pickle juice. My underwear is drenched. Still damp. Damp with pickle juice."

To make up for his troubles, Colbert presented his guest with a few gifts. "We got you more pickles to bring to your father, some Ziploc bags, which I'll hold onto, and we heard about the underwear, so we also got you replacement underwear," he said. "They're personalized, if you wanna open those up."

Skarsgård asked for clarification: "Did you say, 'If you want to put them on?'"

He then stood up from his chair and acted as if he was about to ditch his trousers to don his new briefs, but quickly reversed course. "We are not going to have that much fun," the actor teased.

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Skarsgård then put one pair of undies on over his pants and showed off the personalization: aLate Showlogo emblazoned on the rear end of them.

He also showed off the second pair of undies, which featured a cartoony illustration of the show's host. Skarsgård then tucked that second pair into the front of the first pair so that he had Colbert's cartoon face covering his crotch and the show's logo on his butt.

As expected, theLate Showcrowd cheered Skarsgård on with uproarious applause throughout the entire dressing segment.

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

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At the end of his interview, Skarsgård told Colbert a heartbreaking story about his childhood friend pranking him by leading him to believe that his crush was reciprocating his feelings. "I lost a girlfriend and a best friend," the actor said. "It was a rough day."

"I'm so sorry," Colbert responded. "Maybe someone will love you someday."

Colbert then leaned over his desk to write "I love you" in Sharpie on Skarsgård's underwear. He also drew a heart near his cartoon face.

Watch the fullLate Showclip above.

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

January 31, 2026

Alexander Skarsgård tries on 'personalized' underwear from Stephen Colbert in front of “Late Show” audience

ColbertLateShow Key points Alexander Skarsgård told Stephen Colbert that the pickles he received in a previou...

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Alexander Skarsgård Reveals Why He Was ‘Intimidated’ to Play a ‘Good-Hearted’ Character in the New Movie “Wicker”

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NEED TO KNOW

• Alexander Skarsgård says he was "intimidated" to play a "good-hearted" character in his new movie, Wicker

• The actor plays a man weaved from wicker in the fantasy romance, which also stars Olivia Colman and Elizabeth Debicki

• Skarsgård spoke about his experience during a Q&A following the film's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 24

Alexander Skarsgårdwas "intimidated" by his role in theWicker.

Skarsgård shared his thoughts on the romantic fantasy film — which also starsOlivia Colman,Elizabeth DebickiandPeter Dinklage— during a Q&A following theWicker's premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 24.

"I was quite intimidated when I read [the script] because I tend to be drawn toward more conflicted characters with more internal turmoil and darkness," Skarsgård, 49, explained. "And to play this good-hearted, good-natured, sweet, morally righteous character was scary to me."

He continued, "I'm not really comfortable doing that. I don't have anything to tap into when it comes to that. So it was a stretch as an actor."

Skarsgård is widely recognized for tackling dark and complex characters with nuance and authenticity, like the conflicted, abusive husband in HBO'sBig Little Liesand the power-hungry tech mogul inSuccession.

Hbo/Kobal/Shutterstock

The upcomingWicker,however, reveals a more whimsical side of the actor.

Wicker, set in a medieval-inspired village with magical elements, tells the story of a lonely woman (Colman) who asks the local basket weaver (Dinklage) to weave her a husband (Skarsgård).

Skarsgård says he was immediately drawn to the project.

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"I thought it was an incredible script and I thought it was —  it is a fable — but it's also an allegory. It's a story about our society, but without being heavy handed or didactic or preachy," he said.

He added, "It was so funny and sweet, and obviously a very interesting character to play."

TheMurderbotstar went on to admit that he sometimes felt "ridiculous" on set due to the wicker prosthetics which masked most of his face, noting that it meant he had to exaggerate "everything" about his performance during filming.

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"And that kind of contradictsyour instinct as an actor… but it was just about trusting [the creatives] ... and when they came up [and were like] … 'Can you just give us a bit more eyebrow action?' I'm like, okay," he said.

"It was definitely a new, different experience for me," he added.

Read the original article onPeople

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

January 31, 2026

Alexander Skarsgård Reveals Why He Was ‘Intimidated’ to Play a ‘Good-Hearted’ Character in the New Movie “Wicker”

Dia Dipasupil/Getty NEED TO KNOW Alexander Skarsgård says he was "intimidated" to play a "good...

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Want to watch the Grammys red carpet? How to see the stars arrive.

The most highly anticipated night in the music industry is around the corner.

Celebrities are expected to bring the glitz and the glam at the 2026 Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 1, at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena.

Major and rising stars will have fashion lovers in a frenzy as they hit the red carpet prior to the ceremony.

Here's how to catch the 2026 Grammy Awards red carpet.

As we head into the 68th annual Grammy Awards, take a look at the artists who have earned the most Grammys in history. Beyoncé has won 35 Grammys throughout her famed career, making her the most Grammy-awarded artist of all time.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Producer and songwriter Quincy Jones has won 28 Grammy Awards.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Alison Krauss of Alison Krauss & Union Station has taken home 27 Grammys. She is the second-most awarded female artist by the Grammy Awards, following Beyoncé.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez has a total of 26 Grammys earned.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Meet the artists who have taken home the most Grammys in history

As we head into the 68th annual Grammy Awards, take a look at the artists who have earned the most Grammys in history. Beyoncé has won 35 Grammys throughout her famed career, making her the most Grammy-awarded artist of all time.

How to stream the Grammys red carpet

Fans can watch the "GRAMMY Live From The Red Carpet" on live.GRAMMY.com at 6 p.m. ET, according to anews release.

The pre-show special will also be available on the Recording Academy's social media platforms, includingYouTube,Facebook, andTikTok.

E! is alsohosting its own programs. The network's "Countdown to the Grammys" starts at 4 p.m. ET. Then, "Live from E! Grammys" begins at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

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The Associated Press is also streaming a red carpet special onYouTubeand APNews.com,the outlet reported.

Grammys 2026:Our bold predictions: Who will win vs. who should win

Where to watch the Grammys

The awards ceremony will air live on CBS and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+ from 8-11:30 p.m. ET/ 5-8:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, Feb. 1.

Paramount+ subscribers with the SHOWTIME add-on can also stream the 2026 Grammys live as it airs on CBS, while Paramount+ Essential subscribers may stream it the day after it airs.

Contributing: Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Grammys 2026 red carpet: Time, livestream, how to watch

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

January 31, 2026

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Utah governor signs bill adding justices to state Supreme Court as redistricting appeal looms

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill Saturday that expands the state Supreme Court from five justices to seven as frustration has mounted among Republican lawmakers over a string of defeats before the tribunal.

Advocates for the change argued that it would help improve the court's efficiency, but legal experts said it could have the opposite effect andset a dangerous precedentat a time of tension between the branches of government. The state's judiciary did not ask for more justices on the court.

Democrats, who were united in opposition to the bill, called the timing suspicious. The Legislature has been preparing an appeal of a ruling thatgave Democrats a strong shotat picking up one of Utah's four Republican-held congressional seats in the fall.

New justices could be in place when the court decides the fate of the congressional map.

Because the bill received approval from more than two-thirds of legislators, it took effect immediately after the governor signed it, allowing him to bypass a several-month waiting period to start adding justices.

In Utah, justices are appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate. Justices in many other states are elected.

Most states have five or seven Supreme Court justices, but a few have nine. Cox, a Republican, has said the additions would put Utah in line with other states of its size. He has denied that the policy is politically motivated, noting that Republican governors and senators have made all recent appointments.

Once he fills the new seats, Cox will have appointed five of the seven sitting justices.

Last month Republican lawmakers took authority from state Supreme Court justices to select their own chief justice and gave that power to the governor.

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"Seven sets of eyes reviewing the most complex and difficult issues our state has ever faced is better than having only five sets of eyes," said House Majority Leader Casey Snider, a Republican sponsor of the bill.

John Pearce, who recently retired as associate chief justice, said this month that he doubted the change would make the court more efficient.

"The more sets of comments you have to take into account, the longer the process takes," Pearce said. "If what the Legislature is hoping to do is speed up the work of the court, it's going to be counterproductive."

Two states — Arizona and Georgia — have added justices in the past decade after making similar arguments about efficiency.

In the first few years after Arizonagrew its court in 2016, several past and present justices said it made thingsless efficientbecause more people had to review opinions before they could be published.

Arizona's court now issues slightly more rulings per year, while Georgia's issues slightly fewer than before.

Utah Chief Justice Matthew Durrant told legislators on the opening day of the 2026 session the court had "essentially no backlog" and urged them to add judges to lower courts, where the need is greater. Bill sponsors responded by adding some lower court judges and clerks.

The Utah State Bar has raised concern over the expansion and other proposals that it said would weaken the judiciary's independence. Among them is a bill that would create a new trial court with exclusive jurisdiction to hear constitutional challenges. The governor would appoint three judges who would be confirmed by the Senate.

Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

January 31, 2026

Utah governor signs bill adding justices to state Supreme Court as redistricting appeal looms

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill Saturday that expands the state Supreme Court from five justice...

Read More