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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,456 | Russia-Ukraine war News
These are the key developments from day 1,456 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Published On 19 Feb 2026
Here is where things stand on Thursday, February 19:
Fighting
- Russian forces launched multiple attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, killing one person and injuring seven others over the past day, the region’s military administration said on the Telegram messaging platform.
- The attacks involved 448 drones as well as 163 artillery strikes, causing damage to 136 homes, cars and other structures, the military administration said.
- Russian forces also continued shelling Ukraine’s Donetsk region, forcing 173 people, including 135 children, to evacuate front-line areas over the past day, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
- A 54-year-old man was killed in a Russian attack in the Nikopol district of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
- Russian attacks also left many people without electricity across Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Energy, including more than 99,000 households in the Odesa region.
- In Russia, one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the village of Aleynikovo in the country’s Bryansk region, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.
- Russia’s Ministry of Defence said that Russian forces seized the village of Kharkivka in Ukraine’s Sumy region and Krynychne in the Zaporizhia region, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.
- Ukrainian battlefield monitoring site DeepState said that Russian forces advanced in Nykyforivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
- Russian forces shot down 155 Ukrainian drones, 11 rocket launchers, and two guided aerial bombs in a 24-hour period, Russia’s Defence Ministry said, according to TASS.
Peace talks
- Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine concluded the second of two days of US-mediated talks in Geneva, with both sides describing the negotiations as “difficult”.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that although “progress has been made … for now, positions differ because the negotiations were difficult”.
- President Zelenskyy later told the Piers Morgan Uncensored current affairs show that Russia and Ukraine were close to defining terms for how a potential ceasefire would be monitored, but progress on “political” issues had been slower, including on the most divisive issue of control of territory.
- In Washington, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said there was “meaningful progress made” with pledges “to continue to work towards a peace deal together”, and more talks are expected in the near future.
- Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s top negotiator, said the two days of talks in Geneva were “difficult but businesslike,” telling reporters that further negotiations would be held soon, without specifying when.
- Rustem Umerov, the head of Kyiv’s negotiating team, said that the second day had been “intensive and substantive” and that both sides were working towards decisions that can be sent to their presidents, he said.
Politics and diplomacy
- Ukraine imposed sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, promising to “increase countermeasures” against Minsk for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, including through providing relay stations for Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on social media.
- United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire along with three other US senators from the Democratic Party visited Kyiv.
- Shaheen told reporters that she “would hope that we would see a stronger effort and some real work when we get back to put pressure on Putin”.
Sport
- Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a post on Telegram that “allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Milano-Cortina Paralympics while Russia continues its full-scale war against Ukraine is a disgrace”.
- Estonian Public Broadcasting company Eesti Rahvusringhaaling announced it would not broadcast the games in protest at the decision to allow the Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flags.
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Carrie Underwood booed by ‘American Idol’ audience amid political fury
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Carrie Underwood faced unexpected backlash during a recent “American Idol” moment, igniting a social media firestorm over politics and being “on the right side of history.”
On Monday, the 42-year-old “American Idol” judge revealed on X, formerly Twitter, that she had received a less than warm reception from the audience during the long-running reality competition show’s Hollywood Week.
“Spoiler alert…I get booed A LOT from our Hollywood Week audience,” Underwood wrote, adding a flushed face emoji and tagging the show.
Carrie Underwood revealed that she was booed by the audience during “American Idol’s” Hollywood Week. (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)
Social media users quickly flocked to the comments section to vent their fury over Underwood’s perceived conservative leanings, with many referring to her performance during President Donald Trump 2025 inauguration ceremony.
‘AMERICAN IDOL’ JUDGE CARRIE UNDERWOOD BREAKS DOWN IN TEARS OVER TEEN’S EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE AUDITION
Some shared their opinions that the booing was an expression of disapproval from the audience over her purported politics.
“Lol. You bet. You sang for a mad man,” one social media user wrote, as others chimed in to share their agreement and accuse Underwood of being “MAGA.”
Some social media users slammed Underwood over her perceived conservative leanings after she sang “America The Beautiful” at Trump’s inauguration. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Amen,” one X user replied.
MAREN MORRIS SAYS SHE ‘LOST A LOT OF FANS’ BECAUSE OF HER POLITICAL VIEWS
“100%” another added.
“Indeed,” one X user wrote, with another commenting, “Exactly.”
“You took the extra step of making sure literally everyone dislikes you. Respect,” one critic wrote.
NICKI MINAJ FANS SAY THEY’RE LEAVING DEMOCRAT PARTY AS RAPPER’S POLITICS SPARK BACKLASH AND PRAISE
“Go away, has been,” another commented.
“Have you been hacked? Odd you would mention it, good to know. I stopped watching it in 2025,” another critic added.
However, fans quickly defended the country star, who sits on the “America Idol” judges panel alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. (Photo by Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)
However, Underwood’s replies were also filled with supportive comments from fans, who defended the eight-time Grammy Award winner.
ZACH BRYAN SLAMMED AS ‘HOLLYWOOD SELLOUT’ AFTER MOCKING KID ROCK’S PATRIOTIC SUPER BOWL ALTERNATIVE
“Good! The last thing you want is Hollywood thinking well of you,” fellow country star John Rich wrote.
“You are loved by all the right people,” another chimed in.
“Miss Underwood, stay with your values ma’am. You are on the right side of history & more importantly, morality,” one supporter commented.
NICKI MINAJ PRAISES TRUMP, JD VANCE AT TPUSA EVENT, SAYS SHE HAS ‘UTMOST RESPECT’ FOR THEM
“You are loved, Miss Carrie,” another wrote with a heart emoji.
“Take those boos as a compliment ! We are on the right side of history. Trust you will not lose your base, probably gain more followers. Stay strong!” a fan commented.
The singer has said she prefers to stay out of politics. (REUTERS/Harrison Mcclary)
Underwood’s performance of “America the Beautiful” took place in Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, shortly after Donald Trump took the oath of office in January 2025.
NICKI MINAJ BROKE FREE FROM IDENTITY POLITICS — AND THE LEFT CAN’T STAND IT
The singer was widely praised by fans after she continued her rendition of the patriotic anthem by singing a capella engaging the crowd after the background music failed.
However, many detractors slammed Underwood for what they saw as a public endorsement of Trump. Some fellow celebrities were also critical of the “Jesus, Take the Wheel” hitmaker.
Mandy Moore and Ariana Grande both “liked” an online meme that suggested Underwood sounded off-key during the performance.
“The View” host Joy Behar publicly questioned Underwood’s decision, calling out what she viewed as normalizing Trump’s presidency through the performance.
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“General Hospital” star Nancy Lee Grahn claimed on Threads that she can “no longer look” at Underwood following her performance at the inauguration.
Underwood was widely praised for continuing with her performance at the inauguration after the audio failed. (Saul Loeb – Pool/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, other notable names commended Underwood for continuing to sing after the audio issues and defended her involvement with the inauguration.
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Behar’s fellow “The View” host Whoopi Goldberg said Underwood had every right to perform and stood by the “American Idol” winner’s choice to sing at the inauguration, emphasizing artistic freedom.
Fellow country star Jason Aldean praised her handling of the difficult, a cappella performance and called it a “pro move.”
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Underwood has repeatedly said she prefers to avoid talking about politics. When she confirmed that she would be performing at Trump’s inauguration, the singer wrote in a statement, “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event.”
“I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future,” she added.
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Countries that do not embrace AI could be left behind, says OpenAI’s George Osborne | George Osborne
The former chancellor George Osborne has said countries that do not embrace the kind of powerful AI systems made by his new employer, OpenAI, risk “Fomo” and could be left weaker and poorer.
Osborne, who is two months into a job as head of the $500bn San Francisco AI company’s “for countries” programme, told leaders gathered for the AI Impact summit in Delhi: “Don’t be left behind.” He said that without AI rollouts they could end up with a workforce “less willing to stay put” because they might want to seek AI-enabled fortunes elsewhere.
Osborne framed the choice facing countries as one between adopting AI systems produced either in the US – such as Open AI’s – or China. The two superpowers have so far developed the most powerful AI systems.
The fourth intergovernmental AI summit, hosted by India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, follows editions in the UK, Korea and France and is focusing on harnessing AI to the benefit of countries in the global south, for example by embracing more regional languages and applying AI to improving agriculture and public health.
It is also aiming to improve safety standards, which some experts fear are falling short of addressing the potential catastrophic risks being posed by the most advanced AIs amid White House opposition to red tape.
“A lot of countries who aren’t the United States of America and who aren’t the People’s Republic of China essentially face two kind of slightly contradictory feelings at the same time,” Osborne said. “The first is a Fomo: are we missing out on this huge technological revolution? How to be part of it? How do we make sure that our companies feel the benefits of it? How do we make sure our societies feel the benefits of it?”
At the same time, he said, these countries wanted to safeguard their national sovereignty while relying on powerful AIs controlled in the US and China.
Osborne said: “There’s another kind of sovereignty, which is: don’t be left behind, because then you will be a weaker nation, a poorer nation, a nation whose workforce will be less willing to stay put.”
His comments came as the White House’s senior AI adviser, Sriram Krishnan, emphasised the Trump administration’s desire for AI supremacy, telling the summit: “We want to make sure the world uses our AI model.”
He also took a fresh swipe at the EU’s attempts to regulate AI, saying he would continue to “rant” against them.
“The EU AI Act is not really very conducive to an entrepreneur who wants to build innovative technology,” he said.
But other technologists, and AI leaders in Africa, said the case for reliance on the two AI superpowers was not so clearcut.
“The idea that countries other than China and the US won’t be able to build big things – and we [hear] that a lot – is actually a false premise,” Mark Surman, the head of Mozilla, said. “It benefits the companies within those two countries.”
“For us, it’s not a US or China thing,” said Kevin Degila, in charge of of AI and data at the Benin government’s digital agency. “We are Africans and our job is to collaborate [with each other] to build our own AI.”
He said 64 languages were spoken in his country of 15 million people and the government agency was building AIs for the public that fuse both American and Chinese AI technologies and their own large language datasets.
“Anthropic and OpenAI don’t reach the farmers,” he said.
Paula Ingabire, Rwanda’s minister of ICT and innovation, said her country was looking at partnerships with AI companies “that are going to be progressively less necessary”, with Rwanda not wishing to be “locked into very dependent partnerships”.
Also speaking at the summit was Rishi Sunak, the former UK prime minister, who now advises one of OpenAI’s main rivals, Anthropic, and Microsoft.
He urged political leaders to take bolder steps to lead the rollout of AI, saying: “If you are a prime minister you can only do a few things that you drive personally, and this has to be one of them.”
“One of my concerns is that I think some political leaders think that AI is going to be tomorrow’s issue, where I think they need to recognise that it’s an ‘action this day’ issue,” Sunak said. “AI needs to go to a centralised responsibility so we can realise the benefits.”
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Education Department changes race-based student grant eligibility rules
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The U.S. Department of Education will change race-based rules regarding federal student grants following a legal notice released on Tuesday.
In a motion to dismiss, the Young America’s Foundation (YAF) requested its ongoing case against the Department of Education be dropped citing new actions from the agency that have “resolved” the matter.
According to the organization, the department was guilty of racial discrimination in 2024 through the eligibility criteria in the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program. YAF alleges that students were only eligible to receive funding from the program if they were a “low-income first-generation college student,” a “member of a group that is underrepresented in graduate education” or a “member of a group otherwise designated as underrepresented.”
The U.S. Department of Education confirmed the change to Fox News Digital. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Current federal regulations determine “underrepresented” groups in graduate programs to be Black, Hispanic, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiians and Native American Pacific Islanders.
Now, YAF claims that the Department of Education will change the eligibility criteria in new upcoming rules.
“Finally, the U.S. Department of Education plans to rescind the race-based eligibility criteria in the McNair regulations through forthcoming rulemaking,” the motion read.
The Department of Education confirmed the changes in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Young America’s Foundation revealed the Department of Education would be changing rules in a motion to dismiss a 2024 lawsuit. (Getty Images )
“Consistent with the Department of Justice opinion, the Department of Education has agreed not to implement the racially discriminatory aspects of the McNair program, and we plan to make corresponding changes to our regulations,” press secretary for higher education Ellen Keast said.
YAF also cited President Donald Trump’s executive orders against illegal discrimination as actions that have resolved the issue.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon indicated a shift in race-based criteria for federal grants in a statement released in December after the Office of Legal Counsel reviewed the program.
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon released a statement in December condemning race-based criteria in federal programs. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“I agree with the Office of Legal Counsel opinion, which confirms that using race quotas and preferences to determine eligibility for federal education funding programs is unconstitutional,” McMahon said. “We cannot, and must not, attach race-based conditions when allocating taxpayer funding. This is another concrete step from the Trump Administration to put a stop to DEI in government and ensure taxpayer dollars support programs that advance merit and fairness in all aspects of Americans lives. The Department of Education looks forward to working with Congress to reform these programs.”
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The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program is still available on the Department of Education’s website. According to the site, “at least two-thirds” of the participants in the program “must be low-income, potential first-generation college students” while the remaining students “may be from groups that are underrepresented in graduate education.”
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Jharkhand: ‘Parallel government of goons’ in Jharkhand? BJP’s big allegation, conflict over municipal elections
In a press conference held on February 18 at a hotel in Sakchi, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand BJP state president cum Rajya Sabha MP Aditya Sahu strongly attacked the state government. He alleged that the government did not intend to conduct municipal body, city council and nagar panchayat elections from the beginning and the elections were deliberately postponed for the last three years. He said that BJP workers forced the government to bow down by agitating and demonstrating in 48 municipal bodies of the state. The government is holding elections under pressure, but its intentions are not clear.
Government is running away from party basis and EVM- Aditya Sahu
The state president alleged that in 2018, elections were held on party basis and using EVMs, but this time the government is afraid of defeat. The government knows that there has been no development in cities and villages in six years. Therefore, they are running away from conducting elections on party basis and EVMs. Holding elections again on ballot paper after 26 years is like taking democracy backward.
Election conspiracy with the help of criminals- Aditya Sahu
Aditya Sahu made serious allegations and said that the government wants to influence the elections with the help of goons and criminals. BJP had demanded the Election Commission to deploy central force and install CCTV cameras at every booth, but the government is avoiding this too.
Aditya Sahu alleged that BJP candidate Vijay Singh Gagrai in Chakradharpur has been openly threatened with death. An attempt is being made to scare by pasting posters. Women are also being threatened to stop them from election campaigning. A parallel government of criminals is running in Jharkhand.
Government silent on threat to Kadiya Munda – Aditya Sahu
The BJP President also raised the issue of threats received by senior tribal leader and former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Kadiya Munda. Said that a senior leader who was an 8-time MP and a prominent face of the Jharkhand movement is being threatened over phone and the government is silent. After all, who is safe in this state?
Aditya Sahu claimed that due to the agitation and pressure of BJP, the administration had to become active in the kidnapping case of Kairav Gandhi, son of an industrialist in Jamshedpur. If BJP workers had not taken to the streets, the recovery would not have taken place. Referring to Dhurva and other kidnapping cases, he said that hundreds of children are still missing in the state.
Giving a strong message to the administration, he said that governments come and go, but officials are not permanent. Administration should not become a toolkit, elections should be conducted in a fair manner. Officials showing bias will be taken to court.
Claim of victory on 48 seats
State President Aditya Sahu claimed that BJP-NDA supported candidates will win 48 seats and this election will prove to be a mandate against the “anti-youth, anti-women, anti-businessmen and anti-tribal” government of Jharkhand. In the end he said that this election is not just for the municipal body, it is a fight to save democracy. The public will give a befitting reply to this autocratic and inflexible government.
Input By : Neeraj Tiwari
Mazda, Nissan, Hyundai and Subaru face fines after first six months of Australia’s new emissions standards | Electric vehicles
Major auto brands including Mazda, Nissan and Subaru face the possibility of millions of dollars in penalties after failing to meet climate targets for new vehicles in Australia.
The first six months of data since the Albanese government introduced a new vehicle efficiency standard shows 40 companies – 68% of the total – beat their initial target for the average emissions efficiency of the new cars they sold.
Many of these – including BYD, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW and Polestar – were found to have sold cars that, on average across their company fleet, released less carbon dioxide per kilometre than required.
But 19 companies missed their targets and could have to buy credits or pay penalties if they do not substantially improve their performance over the next two-and-a-half years. Mazda has accrued a potential liability of about $25m, Nissan of more than $10m and Subaru $7m. Liabilities can accumulate or reduce, and become due in 2029.
Other companies to have missed their initial target include Hyundai, General Motors, Honda, Porsche, Ferrari and Jaguar.
The federal transport minister, Catherine King, said average pollution for new light passenger vehicles across the industry outperformed the target by 21%. “These results make it clear the [standard] supports both lower emissions and consumer affordability,” she said.
Electric vehicles were 12% of new sales in the second half of last year – an increase, but significantly short of what will be needed for the scheme to play its forecast role in meeting national climate targets. The remaining 88% were petrol and hybrid vehicles.
Globally, about 25% of new cars sold last year were electric. Australia has consistently trailed other developed, and many developing, countries in EV uptake. China is by far the world’s biggest EV market. Our World in Data last year reported China was home to more than 60% of global EV sales.
The Australia vehicle efficiency standard requires carmakers to supply new vehicles that meet an average per-kilometre emissions target. The target will be reduced over time to encourage cleaner cars. No cars are banned. More polluting models can still be sold and offset by EVs or low emissions vehicles.
Companies that beat their target are awarded units, or credits, that can be sold to those that miss their target and need to offset the extra pollution from their vehicles.
In the first six months, companies earned 17.2m credits for beating their targets. Those that missed their target faced a combined potential liability of 1.3m tonnes. It leaves a net surplus of 15.9 credits that can be used to meet targets in future years.
The Electric Vehicle Council said the results showed the standard was a success.
The council’s chief executive Julie Delvecchio said when the [standard] was legislated critics had warned of “supply shortages, soaring prices and market disruption”. She said the reality was emissions were coming down, the choice of new cars was expanding and EV sales were growing.
“Instead, the first performance report shows strong industry performance, healthy competition and a clear acceleration in cleaner vehicles coming to Australia,” she said. “The data confirms what we said all along: clear, predictable standards drive innovation and investment. They don’t break markets, they modernise them.”
Delvecchio said the results showed an upcoming review should lead to targets being strengthened. If they were not, there was a risk the momentum in introducing clean cars could be slowed as companies collected excess credits for beating targets that were not exacting enough, she said.
The National Automotive Leasing and Salary Packaging Association said the results were encouraging but showed Australia was likely to fall short on EV uptake and climate targets if a contentious fringe benefits tax exemption on clean cars was removed.
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5 cricketers who changed theire names: 5 cricketers of the world who changed their names, two players adopted another religion
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5 cricketers who changed theire names: In the world of cricket, have there been many cricketers whose identity suddenly changed on the field? This list includes names like Mohammad Yusuf of Pakistan and Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka, who not only changed their name but also changed their religion. At the same time, England captain Josh Butler and Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan also gave a new twist to their identity. After all, what was the real reason behind these big decisions? Know the interesting and surprising story of name change of these 5 legendary cricketers.
New Delhi. We know any cricketer in the world by his name on the field and the records made by him. But do you know that in the history of cricket, there have been many legendary cricketers who completely changed their name in the middle of their career or at a particular juncture? Some did it because of religious conversion, while others did it because of their cultural identity or personal preference. The latest name to be added to the list of these cricketers who changed their names is England’s explosive batsman Jos Buttler. Joseph Charles Butler released a video message two years ago i.e. in 2024 and changed his name from Jos Butler to Josh Butler.
Pakistan’s legendary batsman Yusuf Yohana is the most popular name in this list. Yohana was born in a Christian family and was the fourth Christian cricketer to play for Pakistan. But in the year 2005, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Mohammad Yusuf. After religious conversion, his game improved tremendously and in 2006, he made the world record of scoring the most Test runs (1788 runs) in a calendar year, which is almost impossible to break. Yusuf also holds the record for scoring the most centuries (9) and the most 150 plus scores in a calendar year. Born in Lahore, Yousuf scored 7530 runs with the help of 24 centuries in 90 Tests, 9720 runs with the help of 15 centuries in 288 ODIs and 50 runs in three T20s. Influenced by the speeches of Saeed Anwar during his cricket career, Yusuf converted to Islam and changed his name to Mohammad Yousuf.
These cricket players adopted another religion.
Tillakaratne Dilshan was born in a Muslim family
Sri Lanka’s explosive opener and father of the ‘Dilscoop’ shot, Tillakaratne Dilshan, was born in a Muslim family and his initial name was Tawan Mohammed Dilshan. His father was Muslim and mother Buddhist. After his parents’ separation, Dilshan adopted his mother’s religion (Buddhism) and changed his name to ‘Tilakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan’. After this Dilshan took Sri Lankan cricket to new heights. Dilshan, who batted aggressively, proved useful with off break bowling also. Dilshan played 87 Tests, 330 ODIs and 80 T20 International matches in his 17-year international career. Scored 5492 runs and 39 wickets in Test, 10,290 runs and 106 wickets in ODI while 1889 runs and 9 wickets in T20 International.
Butler changed name 2 years ago
The world knew England’s World Cup-winning captain and aggressive batsman as ‘Jos Buttler’. But in 2024, he officially changed his name to Josh Butler. In fact, people used to call him ‘Josh’ throughout his life, even his mother and official documents often used this name. To end this confusion, he shared a funny video on social media and announced to add ‘h’ to his name.
Suraj Randiv was also born in a Muslim family
Sri Lankan off-spinner Suraj Randiv, who came into limelight due to the controversy of bowling ‘no-ball’ to Indian explosive opener Virender Sehwag, also changed his name. He was born in a Muslim family and his name was Mohammad Marshuk Mohammad Suraj. During his career he changed his name to Suraj Randiv. Randiv also represented Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 World Cup, although he later left cricket and settled in Australia. During the ODI tri-series in 2010, India and Sehwag needed 1 run to win. Then Randiv bowled a no ball due to which India won the match and Sehwag remained deprived of a century. Randiv took 43 wickets in 12 Tests, 36 wickets in three ODIs and 7 wickets in seven T20 International matches.
Asghar Stanikzai to Asghar Afghan
Asghar Stanikzai, one of the most successful captains of Afghanistan cricket, decided to change his surname in 2018. To honor his national identity, he changed his name to Asghar Afghan. He said that he wants his identity to be linked to the name of his country (Afghanistan). It was under his leadership that Afghanistan played its first test match and established its dominance at the international level. Asghar Afghan played 6 Tests, 114 ODIs and 75 T20 International matches between 2009 and 2021.
About the Author
Kamlesh RaiChief Sub Editor
Active in journalism for about 15 years. Studied from Delhi University. Interested in sports especially cricket, badminton, boxing and wrestling. Covered IPL, Commonwealth Games and Pro Wrestling League events. From February 2022…read more
Chef Thomas Keller of famed restaurant French Laundry questions California housing project
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Thomas Keller, famed chef and owner of the upscale restaurant The French Laundry, has some questions about an affordable housing project for the area.
The town of Yountville, California, is planning to build up to 150 multifamily workforce housing units, with additional retail and food commercial space, according to the project’s notice of determination.
Chef Thomas Keller, in a statement to Fox News Digital, said he does support workforce housing — but added that “housing only works if it actually works for the people who live and work here.”
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“Before Yountville commits to a project of this size and cost, it’s reasonable — and responsible — to slow down and make sure the fundamentals are right,” Keller added.
“Taking a pause is not opposition. It’s responsible planning given all the unanswered questions — and the best way to give this project a real chance to succeed.”
Celebrity chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry in California is raising concerns about plans for the town of Yountville’s new 150-unit affordable housing project. (Russell Yip/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Brad Raulston, town manager, told the Press Democrat the municipality does not want to slow down the housing project — and that many workers commute to the wealthy community.
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“The reality is that local jurisdictions, if we don’t plan and lose housing — we will eventually lose local control, and we’re seeing this now throughout the state,” Raulston told the outlet.
The project would involve the demolition of a former school administration building, which was purchased by the town for $11 million in 2024.
Keller owns The French Laundry, near where the town plans to build affordable housing. The restaurant made headlines when Gov. Newsom was seen there breaking his own COVID-19 protocols in 2020. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Funds for the purchase came from a 2018 ballot measure that added a 1% increase to the town’s hotel and lodging tax, while using the revenue to fund affordable and workforce housing programs and services.
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Corrin Rankin, California Republican Party chairwoman, told Fox News Digital that California needs to support small businesses, their employees and realistic, affordable housing solutions.
The French Laundry serves a tasting menu that is reportedly more than $400 per person. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
“When The French Laundry is telling [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom and the Democrats that they are out of touch with reality, you know their policies are cooked,” Rankin said of the opposing party.
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The three-star Michelin restaurant serves a standard nine-course tasting menu that reportedly costs about $424 per person.
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The French Laundry made national headlines when Gov. Newsom was seen there breaking his own COVID-19 protocols in 2020.
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Stock Market Live Updates: Stock to buy today: Blue Dart Express (₹5,826.20)
Sensex, Nifty, Stock Prices Live Updates: The stock of Blue Dart Express has been consolidating since early last week. It has been oscillating between ₹5,720 and ₹5,890. Prior to that, it saw an upward swing in price from about ₹5,200, which began towards the end of January.