SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Stars have been front-and-center at Super Bowl 60, from Chris Pratt and Jon Bon Jovi introducing the teams to a series of soaring pre-game performances.

Highlights from Levi’s Stadium include Blue Ivy Carter leaping in an end zone before the game and Green Day delivering a tribute to the NFL championship game’s 60th anniversary.

Brandi Carlile kept it sincere and simple for “America, the Beautiful,” Charlie Puth made “The Star-Spangled Banner” big and soulful and Coco Jones brought a bit of the elements of both to “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Bad Bunny’s upcoming halftime performance is a highly anticipated moment to come.

Green Day brings Bay rock — and an f-bomb — to an MVP parade

San Francisco Bay Area punk-pop vets Green Day took the pre-game stage and performed a snippet of their song “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” to a parade of former Super Bowl MVPs.

Local heroes Steve Young, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice were among those who walked out during the song meant to celebrate 60 years of Super Bowls.

Billie Joe Armstong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool then blasted into the harder and less sentimental stuff, including “Holiday,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “American Idiot.”

Armstrong did not censor the f-word in the lyrics of “American Idiot.” The word was muted on the NBC telecast but drew loud cheers inside the stadium.

Carlile and Puth deliver patriotic moments ahead of kickoff

Singer-songwriter Charlie Puth delivered a sweeping and soulful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The 34-year-old from New Jersey stood at a Rhodes electric piano as he sang and was backed by a choir and horn section.

His delivery felt slow and deliberate but it took him 1 minute, 56 seconds to sing, which is slightly faster than average for a Super Bowl anthem.

Before that, Brandi Carlile gave an earnest acoustic rendition of “America, the Beautiful.”

The 44-year-old folk and country rocker wore a black suit and was backed by a violin and cello on the field at Levi Stadium.

The Grammy winner told the AP this week that she’d use no prerecorded tracks, saying “the people deserve to have you live.”

After the song Carlile, who is from Ravensdale, Washington, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) outside Seattle said she was “relieved, and so excited for the Seahawks baby let’s go!”

Coco Jones opens Super Bowl 60 performances with ‘Lift Every Voice’

Coco Jones, a 28-year-old singer-songwriter and actor from Columbia, South Carolina wore a white gown and was backed by a string octet as she performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song that has become known as the unofficial Black national anthem.

“I feel really amazing, I hope that I did my ancestors proud, and I hope that I inspired the nation to come together,” Jones told the AP just after the song.

She FaceTimed with her mom on the sideline ater the performance while her fiance, Cleveland Cavaliers player Donovan Mitchell, held the phone.

Written by James Weldon Johnson, the song has been performed at the Super Bowl each year since 2021, the first Super Bowl after the protests surrounding the killing of George Floyd, when Black Lives Matter sentiment, and the song, became especially prominent.

Celebrities spotted at Super Bowl 60

Chris Pratt rocked a Seahawks jersey while attending the Super Bowl and gave a rousing introduction to the team before they ran out onto the field.

On the opposite side of the field, Jon Bon Jovi delivered the Patriots’ intro.

Stars including Travis Scott and Jay-Z were on the sidelines ahead of the game. Jay-Z’s daugther, Blue Ivy, leaped in one of the end zones to take a photo.

Bad Bunny awaits his big moment

Bad Bunny will look to distill a 10-year career and a heavy load of cultural expectations into a 13-minute halftime show when he takes the stage at halftime.

The 31-year-old has been rising to every moment in a monumental year. A week ago he won the Grammy for album of the year for “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” a love letter to his native Puerto Rico that was the most streamed release of 2025.

Now, he takes on a performance that by its very existence is a landmark for Latino culture.

He said this week that fans didn’t need to learn Spanish to enjoy his set — but they should be prepared to dance.

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Dalton reported from Los Angeles.

Morgan McSweeney resigned Sunday as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, stepping down amid mounting criticism over his role in advising the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States.

In a resignation statement obtained by The Guardian, McSweeney said the decision to appoint Mandelson was “wrong” and accepted full responsibility for recommending it, calling his departure the “only honourable course” under the circumstances.

“He [Mandelson] has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself,” the former chief of staff wrote, noting the decision to resign wasn’t easy.

McSweeney said the controversy had damaged public trust and called for a fundamental overhaul of the government’s vetting and due-diligence process, while pledging his continued support for Starmer and the Labour government’s agenda.

UK PRIME MINISTER SUGGESTS FORMER PRINCE ANDREW SHOULD TESTIFY IN EPSTEIN INVESTIGATION

Emails and documents made public by the Justice Department in January show Mandelson maintained contact with Jeffrey Epstein after his 2008 conviction on two felony counts of soliciting prostitution, one of which involved a minor.

The Associated Press reported that newly surfaced documents indicate Mandelson may have passed along sensitive government information to Epstein in the period following the 2008 global financial crisis.

The outlet also cited documents and financial records indicating Epstein transferred a total of $75,000 in 2003 and 2004 to accounts connected to Mandelson or his husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva.

BILL CLINTON COMES OUT SWINGING AGAINST COMER FOR REJECTING PUBLIC EPSTEIN HEARING: ‘STOP THE GAMES’

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told the House of Commons on Sept. 11 that Starmer asked him to withdraw Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the United States after emails showed Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein was “materially different” from what was known at the time of his appointment.

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“In particular, Lord Mandelson’s suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein’s first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information,” Doughty said. “In the light of that and mindful, as we all are, of the victims of Epstein’s appalling crimes, Lord Mandelson has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.”

Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party on Feb. 1.

The European Commission has proposed a new round of sanctions against Russia in a fresh attempt to intensify pressure on Moscow’s high-intensity war economy and force concessions at the negotiating table.

“While Ukraine continues to defend itself with extraordinary courage on the battlefield, the Kremlin is doubling down on war crimes, deliberately striking homes and civilian infrastructure,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday afternoon.

“We must be clear-eyed: Russia will only come to the table with genuine intent if it is pressured to do so. This is the only language Russia understands.”

The main element inside the package is a full ban on maritime services aimed at further weakening Russia’s energy revenues, which von der Leyen says should be implemented “in coordination with like-minded partners after a decision” at the G7 level.

The blanket ban, previously advocated by Finland and Sweden, would prohibit EU companies from providing any type of service, such as insurance, shipping or port access, to vessels carrying Russian crude oil.

Until now, the EU has allowed such services to be offered – but only to tankers that comply with the G7 price cap, which has been in place since December 2022.

The cap was recently adjusted to $44.10 per barrel in an attempt to reflect market trends and tighten the screws on Russia’s war economy.

The dynamic price cap is followed by the EU, the UK, Canada, Japan and Australia, while the United States retains the original level of $60 per barrel.

In practice, the ban would mean the cap would effectively cease to apply within EU jurisdiction, as companies would be forbidden from servicing all Russian vessels without exemption, regardless of whether they sell above or below the price limit.

Finland and Sweden had argued that the prohibition would significantly drive up material costs for Russia’s oil sector, be easier to apply and prevent the spread of falsified documents, which Moscow often uses to bypass Western restrictions.

However, it is not yet clear if the other member states would be on board with the idea. Any decision would require the unanimity of the 27 capitals.

Securing the UK’s participation would be essential: the country enjoys a world-leading command of so-called Protection and Indemnity(P&I) insurance at sea.

A similar ban would apply to the maintenance and servicing of Russian tankers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and icebreakers, von der Leyen said. EU countries have already agreed to ban all imports of Russian LNG by the end of this year.

An extra 42 vessels from Moscow’s “shadow fleet”, the dilapidated ships used to evade the G7 price cap, would be blacklisted, bringing the total to 640.

Crackdown on circumvention

Besides energy, the proposed package targets 20 Russian regional banks as well as companies and platforms trading in cryptocurrency, which the Kremlin has employed to bypass sanctions and create alternative payment systems.

The EU would also restrict Russian imports of metals, chemicals and critical minerals worth “about €570 million”, according to von der Leyen, and establish a quota on ammonia, used in fertilisers. Exports of rubber, tractors and cybersecurity services would be equally blocked.

For the first time, von der Leyen added, the EU would trigger the Anti-Circumvention Tool to prohibit sales of computer numerical machines and radios to countries “where there is a high risk that these products are re-exported to Russia”.

The tool has remained untouched since its introduction in 2023, despite ample evidence of circumvention by Russia’s neighbours and political allies, namely China.

Brussels is keen to approve the 20th package of sanctions by the time the full-scale invasion crosses its fourth-year mark on 24 February.

Von der Leyen and António Costa, the president of the European Council, are set to travel to Ukraine on that date to reaffirm the EU’s continued support.

“Our sanctions work, and we will continue to use them until Russia engages in serious negotiations with Ukraine for a just and lasting peace,” she said.

“Ukraine’s security, prosperity, and free future lie at the heart of our Union.”

US weighs extra pressure

Friday’s announcement comes on the heels of two days of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi between Ukrainian, Russian and American officials. The diplomatic effort has raised hopes that the war might end sometime in 2026, even if progress has been very limited.

At the end of the meeting in Abu Dhabi, Ukraine and Russia agreed to swap 314 prisoners of war. Meanwhile, the US and Russia decided to re-establish high-level military dialogue for the first time in more than four years.

The talks were marked by the failure of an energy ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump. Just four days after Trump called the truce, Russia hit Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with 450 drones and 70 missiles. The constant barrages have plunged Ukrainians into painful blackouts at sub-zero winter temperatures.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that additional punitive measures against Russia were “under consideration” in light of recent developments.

“We will see where the peace talks go,” Bessent said.

Washington spent most of last year avoiding sanctions on Russia, hoping to strike a fast deal to end the war. But in October, the White House decided to target Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, after sensing that President Vladimir Putin’s maximalist demands remained unchanged.

Due to the dominance of the US dollar in global trade, Washington’s sanctions had an extraterritorial effect, forcing Moscow to sell its Urals crude at a larger discount.

This article has been updated with more details.