Holiday travelers will see a more modern look with brighter lighting at Terminal 1 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The largest interior renovation of the terminal has been completed, according to the Metropolitan Airports Commission and Delta Air Lines. The two worked together on a $242 million project managed by Delta to create a “unified and modern design” for six of the airport’s seven concourses and 75 Delta gate hold rooms. Renovations began in the fall of 2023.

The airline has its second largest hub at MSP with a 70% passenger market share at the airport.

“In a matter of two years, we have witnessed a major transformation of the post-security areas of Terminal 1 that elevates the passenger experience — from the checkpoints to the gate areas,” said Brian Ryks, CEO of the MAC, which owns and operates MSP Airport, in a statement. “Delta has been a tremendous partner helping to deliver more modern spaces that enhance MSP’s award-winning customer service.”

Among the improvements — a new terrazzo or carpet flooring, wall finishes, LED lighting fixtures and other changes.

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Delta’s gate areas underwent “a full refresh, including new seating, carpeting, counters and signage,” according to MAC officials. The addition of “dynamic gate signs” will allow travelers to see flight and destination information quickly and from farther down the concourse.

The renovations began while the final phases of another, 10-year effort were underway to expand and modernize all the pre-security areas, according to MAC officials, including the makeover of checkpoints, ticketing and baggage claim. These improvements — known as the Airport Modernization Program — were finished this fall. The MAC invested $182.5 million in the Airport Modernization Program, and Delta contributed $60 million.

Minnesota United has made its first move of the offseason.

The Loons have traded with New York Red Bulls for midfielder Peter Stroud, the Athletic reported Wednesday. MNUFC will give Red Bulls $475,000 in General Allocation Money, Tom Bogert reported.

Stroud, 23, played 1,720 MLS minutes last year, contributing three assists. He played 844 minutes in 2023 and 1,020 in 2023. Stroud is a homegrown player from Red Bulls and also played two years within London club West Ham’s youth system at the Under-18 and U23 levels.

The New Jersey native has also played fo U.S. youth national teams.

At 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds, Stroud will be an option to play as a central or defensive midfielder for the Loons, helping fill roles after the exit of Hassani Dotson to free agency after the 2025 season.

Stroud’s contract with Red Bulls had club options for 2026 and 2027 and he earned $145,003 in guaranteed compensation during the 2025 season, per the MLS Players Association. Dotson was at $625,800 a year ago.

Stroud played three seasons at Duke, where he was the first player to win two ACC Midfielder of the Year awards and was the 2022 runner-up for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which is given to the best college soccer’s player in the country.

Stroud’s older brother Jared Stroud plays midfield for D.C. United; the 29-year-old has previously been with St. Louis, Austin and Red Bulls.

By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreigners who are allowed to come to the United States without a visa could soon be required to submit information about their social media, email accounts and extensive family history to the Department of Homeland Security before being approved for travel.

The notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register said Customs and Border Protection is proposing collecting five years worth of social media information from travelers from select countries who do not have to get visas to come to the U.S. The Trump administration has been stepping up monitoring of international travelers and immigrants.

The announcement refers to travelers from more than three dozen countries who take part in the Visa Waiver Program and submit their information to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, which automatically screens them and then approves them for travel to the U.S. Unlike visa applicants, they generally do not have to go into an embassy or consulate for an interview.

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DHS administers the program, which currently allows citizens of roughly 40 mostly European and Asian countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for three months without visas.

The announcement also said that CBP would start requesting a list of other information, including telephone numbers the person has used over the past five years or email addresses used over the past decade. Also sought would be metadata from electronically submitted photos, as well as extensive information from the applicant’s family members, including their places of birth and their telephone numbers.

The application that people are now required to fill out to take part in ESTA asks for a more limited set of questions such as parents’ names and current email address.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed changes before they go into effect, the notice said.

CBP officials did not immediately respond to questions about the new rules.

The announcement did not say what the administration was looking for in the social media accounts or why it was asking for more information.

But the agency said it was complying with an executive order that Republican President Donald Trump signed in January that called for more screening of people coming to the U.S. to prevent the entry of possible national security threats.

Travelers from countries that are not part of the Visa Waiver Program system are already required to submit their social media information, a policy that dates back to the first Trump administration. The policy remained during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration.

But citizens from visa waiver countries were not obligated to do so.

Since January, the Trump administration has stepped up checks of immigrants and travelers, both those trying to enter the U.S. as well as those already in the country. Officials have tightened visa rules by requiring that applicants set all of their social media accounts to public so that they can be more easily scrutinized and checked for what authorities view as potential derogatory information. Refusing to set an account to public can be considered grounds for visa denial, according to guidelines provided by the State Department.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services now considers whether an applicant for benefits, such as a green card, “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” anti-American, terrorist or antisemitic views.

The heightened interest in social media screening has drawn concern from immigration and free speech advocates about what the Trump administration is looking for and whether the measures target people critical of the administration in an infringement of free speech rights.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was absent Wednesday from the ceremony in Norway in which she was to receive this year’s Nobel Peace Prize award, but confirmation that she was traveling to Europe elicited mixed feelings in her country, where many backed her precisely because she had not left her homeland.

Machado’s daughter accepted the award on her behalf in a ceremony that became a rally for democracy, and equally, an indictment of Venezuela’s government, with attendees hearing in detail documented human rights abuses carried out against real or perceived opponents of President Nicolás Maduro.

“She wants to live in a free Venezuela, and she will never give up on that purpose,” Ana Corina Sosa told the audience in Oslo before reading her mother’s prepared remarks. “That is why we all know, and I know, that she will be back in Venezuela very soon.”

Neither Machado nor her staff explained when and how she left Venezuela for Oslo, Norway, or what obstacles kept her from appearing at the ceremony.

In an audio recording of a phone call published on the Nobel website ahead of the event, Machado said she wouldn’t be able to arrive in time for the ceremony but should be in Oslo. She added that she was “very grateful” to the many people had “risked their lives” for her to travel to Norway’s capital.

Machado has not been seen in public since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. The following day, Maduro was sworn in to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election.

Machado intended to challenge Maduro in last year’s contest, but the government barred her from running for office, forcing her to endorse retired diplomat Edmundo González to her place. Before and after the election, many voters said they backed Machado — and by extension González — because she had not gone into exile while the country came undone.

On Wednesday, some Venezuelans understood her decision to depart while others questioned why she was awarded the Nobel.

“They say she left the country, if that’s true, good for her,” office worker Josefina Páez said in Caracas. “That woman has made many sacrifices to fight for democracy, and it’s time she reunites with her family, with her children, and continues fighting from abroad.”

Meanwhile, shopkeeper José Hurtado called Machado a “traitor” for her support of U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy toward Venezuela.

“Those awards are very discredited,” he said.

The ceremony took place as Trump continues a military operation in the Caribbean that has killed Venezuelans in international waters and threatens to strike Venezuela.

González, who attended the ceremony in Oslo, sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest. His son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, is among the hundreds of people who are in prison for what human rights organizations have determined to be political reasons.

Independent experts backed by the United Nations, Venezuelan nongovernmental organizations and other groups have documented extensively brutal government repression throughout Maduro’s presidency. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, told attendees about repeated instances of torture, including the experiences of children who were detained in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election.

“The United Nations documented their experience as follows: Plastic bags pulled tight over their heads, electric shocks to the genitals, blows to the body so brutal it hurt the great, sexualized violence, cells so cold as to cause intense shivering, foul drinking water teeming with insects, screams that no one came to stop,” he said.

Watne Frydnes then called on Maduro to “accept the election result and step down.”

It is unclear when and how Machado and González could return to Venezuela. An opposition plan to get González back ahead of the Jan. 10 ceremony that gave Maduro another term did not materialize.

“People are anxiously awaiting news about what will happen, about how Maria Corina receiving or not receiving the award will affect things,” Caracas teacher José Murillo said.