World
Ex-White Sox Trainer’s Sexual Discrimination Lawsuit Restored
An Illinois appellate court last Friday reversed the dismissal of a discrimination lawsuit brought by the team’s former head trainer, Brian Ball, who contends he was let go in 2020 because of his sexual orientation.
Ball v. White Sox suggests that employment termination agreements for team personnel, who are paid in exchange for relinquishing potential claims, might not extinguish the risk of litigation for teams.
Writing for himself and Justices Carl A. Walker and Celia Gamrath, Justice Michael B. Hyman wrote, “allowing an employer to conceal discriminatory motives while inducing an employee to waive statutory protections undercuts the very purpose of anti-discrimination statutes.”
Ball joined the White Sox in 2000 as an assistant trainer. He was promoted to head trainer in 2018. In July 2020, Ball was the victim of a violent carjacking when two men beat him and then stole his car.
The White Sox placed Ball on medical leave and instructed him to see a psychologist before returning to work. Ball claims that team executives assured him his job would be waiting for him, but after being cleared by the psychologist to return to work, and eager to do so, he was fired in October 2020; Ball asserts he was told he did not “fit in” to the club’s plans. At the time, Ball, like other non-uniform White Sox employees, was employed on a month-to-month basis consistent with a COVID-19 pandemic employment policy.
The White Sox then presented Ball with a termination agreement that offered one year of salary and health insurance premiums, with Ball separately receiving health care coverage through an MLB policy. The agreement required Ball to release the White Sox for any legal claims, including those that could be raised through the Age Discrimination in Employment Law, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act. Ball was given 21 days to sign but contends he was urged to sign it within a week. Ball signed the agreement.
A couple of months later, Ball contends a White Sox management-level employee told him the real reason he was fired was because he’s gay. Ball then filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC, which later issued Ball a right-to-sue letter. Ball sued the White Sox, which disputed his allegations and stressed that Ball contractually waived claims in consideration for the termination provisions that called for a year of pay and benefits.
Cook County (Ill.) Circuit Court Judge Thomas M. Donnelly dismissed Ball’s case in 2023 on grounds Ball contractually relinquished claims and had failed to provide “clear and convincing evidence” to establish the White Sox committed any fraud. Ball appealed, arguing (among other things) the termination agreement was borne through fraudulent concealment and that the trial court erred by requiring more of him than necessary in a motion to dismiss.
Hyman agreed. He reasoned that Ball’s allegations “directly challenge the validity of the termination agreement” and namely whether the White Sox “procured his signature by concealing the truth.” The case should not have been dismissed, Hyman wrote, since key points are in dispute.
The judge also noted there are “several factors” that “weigh against enforcing the waiver.” They include that when Ball signed the waiver, the U.S. unemployment rate had climbed to nearly 15% due to the COVID-19 pandemic and he had reason to worry about continued access to health care just “months after the violent carjacking.” Hyman also noted that Ball appears to have lacked “business experience or legal knowledge” about the agreement and it doesn’t seem he consulted with an attorney.
But most significant, Hyman reasoned, is that “nowhere” in affidavits or during oral argument did “the White Sox refute” Ball’s contention he was misled about why he was let go. The White Sox pushed back against that point, arguing, as Ball’s employer, it “had no duty to provide Ball a reason for terminating him.” Also, the White Sox maintained, even if there was a duty that the team failed to meet, Ball would have cured that problem by retaining the compensation from the agreement.
Hyman disagreed, writing “the law does not condone deception.” As to the legal impact of Ball keeping the severance pay and medical benefits, Hyman explained the trial court did not address that issue and thus it is not for the appellate court to decide at this juncture. The case returns to the trial court level, and it’s possible the parties could reach a settlement at any point.
World
Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Stone and ‘Hamnet’ Win at Irish Film and TV Awards With Indie Drama ‘Christy’ Taking Top Prize
Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Stone and the independent Irish drama “Christy” were among the winners at the 2026 Irish Film and Television Awards, announced in Dublin on Friday.
The Brendan Canty-directed “Christy” (not to be confused with the Sydney Sweeney boxing drama of the same name) entered the night as the top-nominated title with 14 mentions and delivered in key races, winning best film, director and casting, along with editing and a supporting actor prize for Jamie Forde. The film follows a young man seeking independence after leaving the foster system.
Elsewhere in the film categories, “Hamnet” notched wins for best international film, lead actress for Oscar frontrunner Jessie Buckley, supporting actor for Paul Mescal and script for Maggie O’Farrell and Chloé Zhao. Other Oscar hopefuls that received notices in the international lead acting races ahead of Sunday’s BAFTA ceremony were Leonardo DiCaprio’s work as a former revolutionary in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” and Emma Stone, for her work as an executive who may or may not be an alien, in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia.”
At the same time, Éanna Hardwicke took lead actor for “Saipan” while the double-nominated Kerry Condon prevailed with a supporting actress prize for Joseph Kosinski’s “F1.”
On the television side, “Blue Lights” won best TV drama, while Ailbhe Keogan won script for “Trespasses.” Anthony Boyle took lead actor in drama for “House of Guinness,” and Lola Petticrew won lead actress for “Trespasses.” Chris Walley won supporting actor for “The Young Offenders,” and Alison Oliver was named supporting actress for “Task.” Louisa Harland won the Rising Star Award.
“Christy” and “Saipan” led the nominations heading into the ceremony, with “Saipan” earning 12. The ceremony also marked a record number of women nominated in directing categories, with seven across film and TV.
This year, Ciarán Hinds is set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The list of winners is below.
Best Film
- “Aontas”
- “Blue Moon”
- “Christy” (WINNER)
- “Four Mothers”
- “Saipan”
- “Steve”
Director – Film
- Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn — “Saipan”
- Brendan Canty — “Christy” (WINNER)
- Myrid Carten — “A Want in Her”
- Lorcan Finnegan — “The Surfer”
- Ruán Magan — “Báite”
- Edwin Mullane, Adam O’Keeffe — “Horseshoe”
Script – Film
- Sarah Gordon, Damian McCann — “Aontas”
- Maggie O’Farrell, Chloé Zhao — “Hamnet” (WINNER)
- Alan O’Gorman — “Christy”
- Sheena Lambert — “Báite”
- Darren Thornton, Colin Thornton — “Four Mothers”
- Enda Walsh — “Die My Love”
Lead Actor – Film
- Steve Coogan — “Saipan”
- Daniel Day-Lewis — “Anemone”
- Colin Farrell — “Ballad of a Small Player”
- Éanna Hardwicke — “Saipan” (WINNER)
- Cillian Murphy — “Steve”
- Daniel Power — “Christy”
Lead Actress – Film
- Jessie Buckley — “Hamnet” (WINNER)
- Carolyn Bracken — “Horseshoe”
- Carrie Crowley — “Aontas”
- Fionnula Flanagan — “Four Mothers”
- Eleanor O’Brien — “Báite”
- Fiona Shaw — “Hot Milk”
Supporting Actor – Film
- Liam Cunningham — “Palestine 36”
- Jamie Forde — “Christy”
- Paul Mescal — “Hamnet” (WINNER)
- Diarmuid Noyes — “Christy”
- Seán T. Ó Meallaigh — “Aontas”
- Andrew Scott — “Blue Moon”
Supporting Actress – Film
- Brid Brennan — “Aontas”
- Kerry Condon — “F1” (WINNER)
- Kerry Condon — “Train Dreams”
- Sarah Greene — “Trad”
- Dearbhla Molloy — “Four Mothers”
- Emma Willis — “Christy”
International Film
- “Bugonia”
- “Hamnet” (WINNER)
- “One Battle After Another”
- “Palestine ’36”
- “Sentimental Value”
- “Sinners”
International Actor
- Leonardo DiCaprio — “One Battle After Another” (WINNER)
- Ethan Hawke — “Blue Moon”
- Michael B. Jordan — “Sinners”
- James McArdle — “Four Mothers”
- Sean Penn — “One Battle After Another”
- Jesse Plemons — “Bugonia”
International Actress
- Chase Infiniti — “One Battle After Another”
- Jennifer Lawrence — “Die My Love”
- Margaret Qualley — “Blue Moon”
- Renate Reinsve — “Sentimental Value”
- Emma Stone — “Bugonia” (WINNER)
- Teyana Taylor — “One Battle After Another”
George Morrison Feature Documentary
- “A Want in Her” (WINNER)
- “The Essence of Eva”
- “Listen To The Land Speak”
- “Sanatorium”
- “Testimony”
- “Útoipe Cheilteach”
Rebbreast Short Film Award
- “The Ban”
- “No Mean City”
- “No Time Wasters”
- “Nostalgie” (WINNER)
- “Punt”
- “Three Keenings”
Animated Short
- “Éiru”
- “Inside, The Valley Sings”
- “Rerooted”
- “Retirement Plan” (WINNER)
Cinematography
- “Bugonia” — Robbie Ryan
- “Christy” — Colm Hogan
- “Die My Love” — Seamus McGarvey (WINNER)
- “Saipan” — Piers McGrail
- “Severance” — Suzie Lavelle
Casting
- “Christy” — Amy Rowan (WINNER)
- “Four Mothers” — Louise Kiely
- “The Rainmaker” — Emma Gunnery
- “Ready Or Not” — Maureen Hughes
- “Saipan” — Aine O’Sullivan
Costume Design
- “Blue Moon” — Consolata Boyle (WINNER)
- “Christy” — Hannah Bury
- “Four Mothers” — Joan O’Cleary
- “Saipan” — Lara Campbell
- “Video Nasty” — Joanne O’Brien
Editing
- “Blue Lights” — Helen Sheridan
- “Christy” — Allyn Quigley (WINNER)
- “House of Guinness” — Ben Yeates
- “Saipan” — John Murphy, Gavin Buckley
- “The Surfer” — Tony Cranstoun
Make-up & hair
- “Blue Moon” — Linda Gannon, Liz Byrne
- “Christy” — Jennie Readman, Edwina Kelly
- “Saipan” — Polly McKay
- “Trespasses” — Natalie Reid (WINNER)
- “Wednesday” — Lynn Johnston
Original Music
- “Aontas” — Daithí Ó Drónaí
- “Báite” — Eimear Noone, Craig Stuart Garfinkle (WINNER)
- “Christy” — Daithí Ó Drónaí
- “Saipan” — David Holmes, Brian Irvine
- “Video Nasty” — Die Hexen
Production Design
- “Blue Moon” — Susie Cullen, Kevin Downey
- “Christy” — Martin Goulding
- “Saipan” — John Leslie
- “Wednesday” — Philip Murphy, Neville Gaynor (WINNER)
- “Video Nasty” — Tara O’Reilly
Sound
- “Anemone” — Steve Fanagan (WINNER)
- “Blue Moon” — Hugh Fox
- “Saipan” — Tim Harrison, Andrew Graham, Paul Maynes
- “The Surfer” — Aza Hand
- “Video Nasty” — Patrick Downey
VFX
- “Anemone” — Tom Fagan
- “Foundation” — Ed Bruce, Andrew Barry
- “House of Guinness” — Eoin O’Sullivan, David Sewell (WINNER)
- “One Battle After Another” — Ed Bruce, Amrei Bronnenmayer
Television Categories
Best TV Drama
- “Blue Lights” (WINNER)
- “Leonard and Hungry Paul”
- “Trespasses”
- “The Walsh Sisters”
- “Wednesday S2”
- “The Young Offenders”
Director — Drama
- Rachel Carey — “Obituary” (WINNER)
- Megan K. Fox — “Video Nasty”
- Oonagh Kearney — “The Au Pair”
- Mia Mullarkey — “Hidden Assets”
- Hugh O’Conor — “Showkids”
- Aisling Walsh — “Miss Austen”
Script Drama
- Peter Foott — “The Young Offenders”
- Ailbhe Keogan — “Trespasses” (WINNER)
- Declan Lawn, Adam Patterson — “Blue Lights”
- Cara Loftus — “Hidden Assets”
- Stefanie Preissner — “The Walsh Sisters”
- Hugh Travers — “Video Nasty”
Lead Actor – Drama
- Anthony Boyle — “House of Guinness” (WINNER)
- Pierce Brosnan — “MobLand”
- Domhnall Gleeson — “The Paper”
- Martin McCann — “Blue Lights”
- Aaron Monaghan — “Hidden Assets”
- Alex Murphy — “The Young Offenders”
Lead Actress – Drama
- Niamh Algar — “The Iris Affair”
- Caitriona Balfe — “Outlander”
- Siobhán Cullen — “Obituary”
- Louisa Harland — “The Walsh Sisters”
- Nora-Jane Noone — “Hidden Assets”
- Lola Petticrew — “Trespasses” (WINNER)
Supporting Actor – Drama
- Jack Gleeson — “House of Guinness”
- Cal O’Driscoll — “Video Nasty”
- Dónall Ó Héalai — “Hidden Assets”
- Fionn O’Shea — “House of Guinness”
- Aidan Quinn — “The Walsh Sisters”
- Chris Walley — “The Young Offenders” (WINNER)
Supporting Actress – Drama
- Cathy Belton — “Hidden Assets”
- Ruth Bradley — “Slow Horses”
- Katherine Devlin — “Blue Lights”
- Danielle Galligan — “House of Guinness”
- Alison Oliver — “Task” (WINNER)
- Genevieve O’Reilly — “Andor”
Rising Star Award
- Carolyn Bracken (Actor, “Horshoe,” “Oddity”)
- Brendan Canty (Director, “Christy,” “Gealtra”)
- Myrid Carten (Director, “A Want in Her”)
- Louisa Harland (Actor, “The Walsh Sisters,” “Derry Girls”) (WINNER)
World
Potential US military strikes on Iran could target specific individuals, pursue regime change: report
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Potential U.S. military strikes on Iran could target specific individuals and even pursue regime change, a report said.
Two U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity reportedly said those are options that have emerged in the planning stage, if ordered by President Donald Trump. They did not say which individuals could be targeted, but Trump, notably, in 2020 ordered the U.S. military attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the Department of War for comment.
Trump already said Friday that he is “considering” a limited military strike on Iran to pressure its leaders into a deal over its nuclear program, when asked by a reporter at the White House.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. Trump said Friday he is “considering” a limited military strike on Iran. (Allison Robbert/AP)
Last week, when questioned if he wanted regime change in Iran, the president said, “Well it seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.”
Trump on Thursday suggested the window for a breakthrough is narrowing in talks with Iran, indicating Tehran has no more than “10, 15 days, pretty much maximum” to reach an agreement.
“We’re either going to get a deal, or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,” he said.
TRUMP GIVES IRAN 10-DAY ULTIMATUM, BUT EXPERTS SIGNAL TALKS MAY BE BUYING TIME FOR STRIKE
The USS Gerald R. Ford is heading to the Middle East as the U.S. is building up its military presence there, amid talks with Iran. (U.S Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 6th Fleet / Handout via Reuters)
A Middle Eastern source with knowledge of the negotiations told Fox News Digital this week that Tehran understands how close the risk of war feels and is unlikely to deliberately provoke Trump at this stage.
However, the source said Iran cannot accept limitations on its short-range missile program, describing the issue as a firm red line set by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iranian negotiators are not authorized to cross that boundary, and conceding on missiles would be viewed internally as equivalent to losing a war.
In 2020, the Pentagon said President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, left, in Iraq. (Getty Images)
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The source indicated there may be more flexibility about uranium enrichment parameters if sanctions relief is part of the equation.
Fox News’ Emma Bussey and Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
Tehran, Iran – The Iranian government has again blamed “terrorists” for the killings of thousands during last month’s nationwide protests after United States President Donald Trump and human rights experts weighed in.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the government has released a list of 3,117 people, whom he described as “victims of recent terrorist operation”, including about 200 security personnel.
list of 3 itemsend of listRecommended Stories
“If anyone disputes accuracy of our data, please share any evidence,” the diplomat, who has previously stated that 690 people on the list were “terrorists” armed and funded by the US and Israel, wrote on X.
Araghchi’s comments come hours after the US president told reporters that 32,000 people were killed during the protests, adding that “the people of Iran have lived in hell” under the theocratic establishment.
The Iranian foreign minister has also been speaking with multiple US media outlets to advocate for a “fair” agreement with Washington over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The threat of war looms increasingly large over the country and potentially the region, with Serbia on Saturday becoming the latest country to call on all its citizens to immediately leave Iran.
‘Majority of those killed are ordinary people’
Mai Sato, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, has said more than 20,000 civilians may have been killed, but information remains limited amid heavy internet filtering by the state, six weeks after a nationwide communications blackout was imposed.
The US-based HRANA says it has documented more than 7,000 people killed during the nationwide protests, and is investigating nearly 12,000 more cases.
Sato was among 30 special rapporteurs and international human rights experts who signed a joint statement on Friday calling on Iranian authorities to fully disclose the fate and whereabouts of tens of thousands arrested, forcibly disappeared or missing in the aftermath of the nationwide protests, and to halt all related death sentences and executions.
“The true scale of the violent crackdown on Iranian protesters remains impossible to determine at this point,” the experts said. “The discrepancy between official figures and grassroots estimates only deepens the anguish of families searching for their loved ones and displays a profound disregard for human rights and accountability.”
The international experts added that “the vast majority of those detained or killed are ordinary people, including children, from all provinces and diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as Afghan nationals”, in addition to lawyers representing protesters, medical professionals who treated the wounded, journalists and writers, artists and human rights defenders.
Iranian state media were accused of regularly broadcasting what the experts said are “widely regarded as forced confessions”.
The latest such incident came on Saturday, when the official Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary released footage from a court session for three men who said they regret setting fire to motorcycles, a mosque and copies of the Quran in Tehran during the unrest.
Also on Saturday, some students in Tehran and across the country returned to university campuses for the first time, as authorities kept universities closed and took some classes and exams online in the aftermath of the protests.
In Tehran’s Sharif University, one of the most prestigious in the country, students clashed after two separate demonstrations. Videos circulating online showed students shouting “dishonourables” at a group of paramilitary Basij students affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who chanted back in favour of the establishment.
The clashes come amid a heightened security atmosphere in Iranian schools and university dormitories. Teachers and schools in a number of cities near the capital went on strike last week to protest the killing of at least 230 children and teenagers, as well as increased presence of security forces in classrooms.
Families dance in defiant grief
The Iranian government held mourning events on Tuesday and Wednesday in Tehran, with some officials in attendance.
Culture Minister Reza Salehi-Amiri announced on Saturday that the government has decided to call the upcoming ceremonies around Newroz, the new Iranian year starting in late March, an exercise in “unity and empathy” with the aim of “getting past the grief” of thousands killed.
But numerous families have been holding defiant commemoration events of their own over the past week to mark 40 days since the killing of their loved ones during the anti-establishment protests.
Footage from many ceremonies across the country this week showed family members, and large crowds gathered to support them, proudly holding up images of those killed and celebrating their shortened lives.
Many chose to clap, play traditional drums and cymbals, and even dance in symbolic shows of resistance and defiance that heavily clash with religious rituals favoured by the theocratic state.
“May your pen break, O fate, if you do not write about that which befell us,” the father of Abolfazl MirAeez, a 33-year-old killed in the city of Gorgan in the northern province of Golestan, told crowds gathered at a ceremony on Thursday.
“My son was neither a rioter, nor an embezzler nor an aghazadeh [child of an elite]. He was the son of a farmer.”
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