Ed Sheeran opened a concert in Philadelphia with comments about Gaza, saying what’s happening is “catastrophic and unjustifiable.” He said in the Saturday night performance at Lincoln Financial Field that he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he added he has found himself in the middle of a debate about free speech and a complex political issue. He then addressed the controversy that unfolded since his supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who was dropped from the tour after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage.

Iran's most prominent human rights activist says Iranians are suffering seven months into the war and paying the price for the conflict. Narges Mohammadi is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was released from prison with a suspended sentence earlier this year. Her memoir titled “A Woman Never Stops Fighting” was written behind bars with parts smuggled out by fellow inmates. Mohammadi said in an interview conducted by The Associated Press from outside Iran on Friday that Iranians are grappling with multiple crises but many resist.

Detainees at a now-closed immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades — known as “Alligator Alcatraz” — were held for up to two hours in small metal enclosures used as “calming areas.” That's according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General, who called it a practice that “does not meet standards for humane treatment.” The report was prepared following an unannounced visit to the South Florida Detention Facility on Jan. 21. It marks the first time a government agency has confirmed the existence of such conditions. Advocates, lawyers, families and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International had previously reported and harshly criticized the treatment of detainees.

The Trump administration this week quietly released an update to a major survey on civil rights in schools that was scrubbed of all data related to nonbinary students or bullying based on gender identity. The data comes from the Education Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection, a federal survey of nearly every public school in the nation. The release this week covers the 2023-2024 school year, when the survey included “nonbinary” as a gender category alongside male and female. However, an Associated Press analysis shows that in every column for information related to gender identity, the numbers were replaced with a code indicating “Suppressed in Compliance with Executive Order.”