PHOENIX — For 24-year-old Alex Freeland, the time is now.
After the switch-hitting middle infielder enjoyed a cup of coffee in the big leagues last season, he’s trying to break camp with the Dodgers and get increased playing time at second base with veteran Tommy Edman expected to be on the injured list as he works his way back from right ankle surgery.
Freeland, who played 29 games with the Dodgers last season, and second-year utility man Hyeseong Kim, who played 71 games and was on the postseason roster, are among those vying for playing time at the start of the season, with veteran Miguel Rojas and and nonroster invite Santiago Espinal also in the mix.
Kim, who started Cactus League games at second base and center field, recently departed for the World Baseball Classic as he competes for Team South Korea, opening a door for Freeland to get more reps in the heart of the Cactus League season.
“Opportunity is present, so I’m trying to make the most of it,” Freeland said. “It sucks that Tommy’s not ready and he won’t be ready for the beginning of the season. He’s a big part of this team, so I wish him a super speedy recovery and I hope that he gets out there as quickly as possible. But yeah, with Hyeseong being gone, I am getting more reps at second and short, so I’m just trying to make the most of them.”
Freeland entered last season as MLB Pipeline’s No. 45 overall prospect. Though he posted a .190/.292/.310 slash line at the big league level, prospect analyst Jim Callis still has high hopes for Freeland.
“Freeland doesn’t have a wow tool but he does a lot of things well,” Callis said. “His best attribute is probably his defense at shortstop and versatility to play other positions. He’s a switch-hitter who draws a lot of walks and has some sneaky pop. He’s just an average runner, but his instincts allow him to play quicker than that.”
As a switch-hitter, Freeland has had more success from the left side than the right. He worked on his swing from both sides of the plate over the offseason and feels he’s in a good place.
“My right-handed hitting could be better,” Freeland said. “I mean, part of my game is walking, so I felt like I wasn’t patient at the right times last year. Sometimes I was too patient, just taking pitches down the middle. Walking is a big part of my game, so I’m looking to walk, and I feel like I’ve done that this spring training.”
Freeland has drawn eight walks in 24 plate appearances in Cactus League play, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has been impressed with what he has seen this spring.
“Maturity,” Roberts said. “Playing both sides of the baseball really well. The bat, right-handed looks really good. Lefty is typically his strong side, but I like the right-handed at-bats. Just playing with a lot of real confidence.”
If it weren’t for the Dodgers’ star-studded roster, Callis believes Freeland’s chances at playing time would be better.
“On a lot of teams, Freeland would be getting a chance to compete for the starting shortstop job, but he’s blocked on the Dodgers,” Callis said. “He’s probably looking at more of a utility role than starting in Los Angeles, and he could be attractive to other clubs in trade talks too.”
Freeland, however, is embracing his role and hopes to earn his stripes. He’s tried to soak up as much as he can from the veteran stars he’s been able to spend time with.
“Miggy Ro has always got something good to say. Muncy, Freddie, I mean they’ve been around so long, they’ve seen so many different things, so it’s like whatever I have a question about, like I can easily go and talk to one of them, and they’ve got an answer for me,” Freeland said of Rojas, Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman. “And it’s great to have guys like that in the clubhouse.”
Freeland grew up an Atlanta Braves fan and admired Freeman for years. Freeland never imagined he one day would share a locker room with the nine-time All-Star first baseman, who spent the first 12 years of his career in Atlanta.
“I watched Freddie growing up and Mookie,” Freeland said of Freeman and Betts. “So, I mean, it’s kind of like a full-circle moment, like I watched Freddie a lot when he was with the Braves, coming up, because I lived in Georgia, so like I’d go and watch minor league games and see him in Gwinett.”
March 4 (UPI) — The House Oversight Committee voted Wednesday to subpoena U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify on the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Five Republicans joined the Democrats on the committee voting in favor of the subpoena by a 24-19 count.
The vote was forced by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., during a full committee business meeting that was not related to the Epstein investigation. Republicans joining Mace in voting for the subpoena were Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Michael Cloud, R-Texas.
“AG Bondi claims the DOJ has released all of the Epstein Files,” Mace posted on social media. “The record is clear: they have not.”
Potential dates for Bondi’s testimony have not been announced.
While some Republicans joined Democrats in voting for a subpoena of Bondi, they did not do the same on a subpoena for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. A motion to subpoena Noem for her handling of immigration enforcement failed.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed on Tuesday to testify before the House Oversight Committee about his relationship with Epstein. Lutnick’s relationship with the sexual abuser and trafficker came under further scrutiny after a photo of him with Epstein was posted on the Justice Department’s Epstein files database.
Lutnick previously downplayed his ties to Epstein.
Israel is no longer concealing its intention to forcibly displace Palestinians from their homeland, as it now announces this plan more openly than ever before through official rhetoric at the highest levels, said Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor in a report issued today.
Through actions on the ground and institutional measures designed to reframe the crime as “voluntary migration”, explained Euro-Med Monitor, Israel has attempted to implement its displacement campaign by exploiting the international community’s near-total silence, which has enabled the continuation of the crime and Israeli impunity despite the unprecedented nature of humanity’s first livestreamed genocide.
“Israel is now attempting to carry out the final phase of its crime, and its original goal: the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Palestine, specifically from the Gaza Strip. For a year and a half, Israel has carried out acts of genocide, killing and injuring hundreds of thousands of people, erasing entire cities, dismantling the Strip’s infrastructure, and systematically displacing its population within the enclave. These actions aim to eliminate the Palestinian people as a community and as a collective presence.”
The current plans for forced displacement, said the Geneva-based rights group, are a direct extension of Israel’s long-standing, settler-colonial project, aimed at erasing Palestinian existence and seizing land. What distinguishes this stage, it added, is its unprecedented scale and brutality.
“Israel is targeting over two million people who have endured a full-scale genocide and have been stripped of even the most basic human rights, under coercive, inhumane conditions that make living any sort of a normal life impossible. Israel’s deliberate objective is to pressure Palestinians into leaving by making it their only means of survival.”
Having succeeded in revealing the weak principles of international law, such as protections for civilians based on their perceived racial superiority or lack thereof, Israel is now reshaping the narrative once again.
“Armed with overwhelming force and emboldened by the international community’s abandonment of legal and moral responsibilities, Israel seeks to portray the mass expulsion of Palestinians as ‘voluntary migration’,” said the group. “This is a blatant attempt to rebrand ethnic cleansing and forced displacement using dishonest language — like ‘humanitarian considerations’ and ‘individual choice’ — and is a direct contradiction of legal facts and the reality on the ground.”
Euro-Med Monitor emphasised that forced displacement is a standalone crime under international law, because it involves the removal of individuals from areas where they legally reside, using force, threats, or other forms of coercion, without valid legal justification.
“Coercion, in the context of Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip, goes beyond military force. It includes the creation of unbearable conditions that render remaining in one’s home practically impossible or life-threatening.” A coercive environment includes fear of violence, persecution, arrest, intimidation, starvation or other forms of hardship that strip individuals of free will and force them to flee.
“Israel has already committed the crime of forced displacement against Gaza’s population, having driven them into internal displacement without legal grounds and in conditions that violate international legal exceptions, which only permit evacuation temporarily and under imperative military necessity, while ensuring safe areas with minimum standards of human dignity,” said Lima Bustami, Director of Euro-Med Monitor’s Legal Department.
“None of these standards have been met. In fact, Israel has used this widespread and repeated pattern of displacement as a tool of genocide, aimed at destroying and subjecting the population to deadly living conditions.”
Bustami added that although the legal elements of the crime are already fulfilled, Israel is further escalating it to a more lethal level against the Palestinian people, manifesting its settler-colonial vision of expulsion and replacement. “Now it is attempting to market the second phase of forced displacement — beyond Gaza’s borders — as ‘voluntary migration’: a transparent deception that only a complicit international community — one that chooses silence over accountability — would accept.”
Today, the people of the Gaza Strip endure catastrophic conditions that are unprecedented in recent history, said Euro-Med Monitor. “Israel has obliterated all forms of normal life; there is no electricity or infrastructure, and there are no homes, no essential services, no functioning healthcare or education systems, and no clean water services.”
Indeed, the group’s report notes that around 2.3 million Palestinians are confined to less than 34 per cent of the Strip’s 365 square kilometres. Approximately 66 per cent of the territory has been turned into so-called “buffer zones”, or areas that are completely off-limits to Palestinians and/or that have been forcibly depopulated through Israeli bombings and displacement orders. “Most of the population is now living in tattered tents amid the spread of famine, disease and epidemics and an accumulation of waste, conditions symptomatic of the near-complete collapse of the humanitarian system.”
Moreover, Israel continues to systematically block the entry of food, medicine and fuel; destroy all remaining means of survival; and obstruct any efforts aimed at reconstruction or restoring even the minimum conditions for a healthy life.
“These conditions in place are not the result of a natural disaster,” the Euro-Med report says pointedly. “They have been deliberately engineered by Israel as a coercive tool to pressure the population into leaving the Gaza Strip. The absence of any genuine, voluntary alternative for Palestinians in the enclave renders this situation a textbook case of forcible transfer, as defined under international law and affirmed by relevant jurisprudence.”
According to Bustami, “While population transfers may be permitted in certain humanitarian contexts under international law, any such justification collapses if the humanitarian crisis is the direct consequence of unlawful acts committed by the same party enforcing the transfer. It is impermissible to use forced displacement as a response to a disaster one has created, a principle clearly upheld by international tribunals, particularly the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.”
Framing this imposed reality as a “voluntary” migration and an option not only constitutes a gross distortion of truth, said Euro-Med Monitor, but also undermines the legal foundations of the international system, erodes the principle of accountability, and transforms impunity from a failure of justice into a deliberate mechanism for perpetuating grave crimes and entrenching the outcomes of such crimes.
“Repeated public statements from the highest levels of Israel’s political and security leadership have escalated in intensity over the past year and a half, and expose a clear, coordinated intent to displace the population of the Gaza Strip. In a blatant bid to enforce a demographic transformation serving Israel’s colonial-settler agenda, senior Israeli officials — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — have publicly called for the expulsion of Palestinians from the Strip and for the settlement of Jewish Israelis in their place.”
Netanyahu expressed full support in February 2025 for US President Donald Trump’s plan to resettle Palestinians outside of the Gaza Strip, describing it as “the only viable solution for enabling a different future” for the region. Likewise, Smotrich announced in March that the Israeli government would back the establishment of a new “migration authority” to coordinate what he termed a “massive logistical operation” to remove Palestinians from the Strip.
Ben-Gvir, meanwhile, has openly advocated for the encouragement of “voluntary migration” coupled with calls to resettle Jewish Israelis in the territory.
The human rights organisation referred to the 23 March decision of the Israeli Security Cabinet to establish a dedicated directorate within the Ministry of Defence, to manage what it calls the “voluntary relocation” of the Gaza Strip’s residents to third countries. “This is evidence that this displacement is not a by-product of destruction or political rhetoric, but an official policy,” it noted. “This policy is being implemented through institutional mechanisms, directed from within Israel’s own security apparatus, with full operational powers, executive structures, and strategic goals.”
Furthermore, current Defence Minister Israel Katz’s statement on the new directorate confirmed that it would “prepare for and enable safe and controlled passage of Gaza residents for their voluntary departure to third countries, including securing movement, establishing movement routes, checking pedestrians at designated crossings in the Gaza Strip, as well as coordinating the provision of infrastructure that will enable passage by land, sea and air to the destination countries.”
The true danger of establishing such a directorate, said Euro-Med Monitor, lies not only in its institutionalisation of forced transfer, but in the new legal and political reality it seeks to impose. “It rebrands displacement as an ‘optional’ administrative service while stripping civilians of their ability to make free, informed decisions, therefore cloaking a war crime in a veneer of bureaucratic legitimacy.”
Any departure from the Gaza Strip under current circumstances cannot be considered “voluntary”, it added, but rather constitutes, in legal terms, forcible transfer, which is strictly prohibited under international law. “All individuals compelled to leave the Strip retain their inalienable right to return to their land and property immediately and unconditionally. They also have the full right to seek compensation for all damages and losses incurred as a result of Israeli crimes and rights violations, including the destruction of homes and property, physical and psychological harm, the assault on human dignity, and the denial of livelihood and basic rights.”
Under its obligations as an occupying power responsible for the protection of the civilian population, Israel is prohibited from forcibly transferring Palestinians and bears full legal responsibility to ensure their protection from this crime.
The rules of international law, particularly customary international law and the Geneva Conventions, require all states not to recognise any situation arising from the crime of forcible transfer and to treat it as null and void. States are also obligated to withhold all material, political and diplomatic support that would contribute to the entrenchment of such a situation.
“International responsibility goes beyond mere non-recognition,” said the rights group. “It includes a legal duty for states to take urgent effective steps to halt the crime, hold perpetrators accountable, and provide redress to victims. This includes ensuring the safe, voluntary return of all displaced persons from the Gaza Strip, and providing full reparations for the harm and violations they have suffered. Any failure to act in this regard constitutes a direct breach of international law and complicity that could subject states to legal accountability.”
Euro-Med Monitor said that the international community must move beyond deafening silence and abandon paltry rhetorical condemnations, which have come to represent the maximum response it dares to make in the face of the livestreamed genocide unfolding before its eyes. “It must act swiftly and effectively to halt Israel’s ongoing project of mass displacement in the Gaza Strip and prevent it from becoming an entrenched reality. This action must be based on international legal norms, a commitment to justice and accountability, and an honest reckoning with the root structural cause of the crimes: Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1967.”
Endorsing or remaining silent about Israeli plans to forcibly transfer Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip not only exonerates Israel but rewards it for its illegal conduct by granting it gains secured through mass killing, destruction, blockade, and starvation, said the organisation. “This is not just a series of war crimes or crimes against humanity, it embodies the legal definition of genocide, as established by the 1948 Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”
All states, individually and collectively, must uphold their legal obligations and take all necessary measures to halt Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip.
This includes taking immediate, effective steps to protect Palestinian civilians and to prevent the implementation of the US-Israeli crime of forcible transfer that is openly threatening the Strip’s population.
“The international community must impose economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel for its systematic and grave violations of international law. This includes halting arms imports and exports; ending all forms of political, financial and military support; freezing the financial assets of officials involved in crimes against Palestinians; imposing travel bans; and suspending trade privileges and bilateral agreements that offer Israel economic advantages that sustain its capacity to commit further crimes.”
The rights group insisted that states must also hold complicit governments accountable — chief among them the United States — for their role in enabling Israeli crimes through various forms of support, including military and intelligence cooperation, financial aid and political or legal backing.
“The ethnic cleansing and genocide taking place right now in the Gaza Strip would not be possible without Israel’s decades-long unlawful colonial presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This is the root structural cause of the violence, oppression, and destruction in the besieged enclave,” concluded Euro-Med Monitor. “Any meaningful response to the escalating crisis in the Strip must begin with dismantling this colonial reality, recognising the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, and securing their freedom and sovereignty over their national territory.
“As Israel and its allies must be compelled to abide by the law, international intervention is the only path to ending the genocide, halting all forms of individual and collective forcible transfer, dismantling the apartheid regime, and establishing a credible framework for justice, accountability, and the preservation of human dignity.”
Universal Studios Hollywood has begun peeling back the curtain — or opening the garage? — on its new “Fast & Furious”-inspired coaster coming to the park this summer.
The coaster will feature four heavily detailed miniature cars as ride vehicles. These four-seaters — mimicking a Dodge Charger, Mazda RX-Y, Nissan Skyline GT-R and Toyota Supra, all complete with pull-down lap-bars and working taillights — were unveiled at a media event Wednesday.
But perhaps the most exciting news out of the event is just how meaty of a coaster Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift looks to be.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will launch this summer at Universal Studios Hollywood and boast ride vehicles that are miniatures of actual cars. The show building is themed like a warehouse with a vibrant, spray-painted mural.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
The attraction, the second outdoor coaster at the park after the more kid-focused “Harry Potter” ride Flight of the Hippogriff, was timed at running about two minutes around the track, which goes over and under the park’s famed hillside escalators. Hollywood Drift will reach a top speed of 72 mph.
While a representative for the company said the coaster is intended to reach that 72-mph milestone at various points on the ride, it’s worth noting that it’s still in testing mode and the final speeds and run-time may change. Still, the fact that Universal has been able to pack such a mighty experience into a tight piece of real estate should be positive news for coaster enthusiasts.
By comparison, the family coaster Flight of the Hippogriff is only about a minute, whereas Disney California Adventure’s Incredicoaster comes in at more than 2 and a half minutes. It’s not uncommon for modern coasters today, due to their increasing emphasis on speed and thrills, to last only about a minute.
A look at the ride vehicles and inside mural in the passenger load area of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
Though packing storytelling into a fast-moving outdoor ride is always a theme park challenge, Universal is doing what it can to make guests feel as if they’re sitting in actual tiny, authentic cars. Check, for instance, the brightly orange Supra, or the black, vintage-style Charger. Each car will be equipped with onboard audio and has unique details, right down to the different placement of the odometers on the dashboard.
One question: Do those odometers actually work and measure speed? A Universal rep declined to answer, but no matter, as most guest will likely be focused on the scenery outside the vehicle, such as the next-door golf course or bird’s-eye views of the park.
An artist rendering of Universal Studios Hollywood’s Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, the park’s first high-speed outdoor coaster.
(Universal Studios Hollywood)
The coasters will board two at a time inside the red brick, warehouse-themed show building, which features spray-painted murals from artist Tristan Eaton. Each coaster train holds four cars. There will be a single rider line for solo guests, and the coaster will boast 360-degree rotation, which is meant to create the sensation of a car drifting. The track is 4,100 feet and will take guests on a hillside journey between the park’s upper and lower lots.
The “Fast & Furious” saga spans 11 films, and will soon be recognized with an exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum. “A Fast & Furious Legacy: 25 Years of Automotive Icons” opens March 14 and will feature various movie-used vehicles and stunt cars. Among the cars on display will be an early ‘90s Supra driven by Paul Walker’s character Brian O’Conner, one of the vehicles Universal mimicked for the roller coaster.
Andrew Gunn, a film producer on live-action Disney favorites including “Freaky Friday” and “Sky High,” has died. He was 56.
Gunn died Monday at his Toronto home following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, according to an obituary.
“He was a courageous and modest man always doing for others before himself. His love of family, friends, motorcycles and tattoos will long be remembered by those who knew him,” his wife Jane Bellamy Gunn said in a statement to USA Today. She told the outlet that Andrew had been diagnosed with Bulbar-onset ALS, a form of the neurodegenerative disease affecting the neck and face, in September 2025 after experiencing symptoms for more than two years.
The Canadian film producer was best known for his work on family friendly Disney comedies starting in the 2000s. Gunn launched his own production company, Gunn Films, in 2001 and had an exclusive first-look deal with Walt Disney Pictures.
Among his earliest hits was the 2003 body-swap comedy “Freaky Friday,” starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother-daughter duo who wake up one morning in each other’s bodies. The remake was made after Gunn had pitched the movie to then-studio president Nina Jacobson.
Andrew Gunn, center, with director Mark Waters, left, and Jamie Lee Curtis on the set of “Freaky Friday” in 2003.
(Ron Batzdorff / Disney Entertainment)
“Andrew Gunn … was a producer with great passion and emotionality which added so much to what makes those movies special,” Curtis wrote in her tribute posted to Instagram on Wednesday. “His legacy lives on, and he will be missed.”
Gunn was also the producer on the 2005 superhero comedy “Sky High,” as well as films based on iconic Disney theme park attractions, including “The Country Bears” (2002) and “The Haunted Mansion” (2003). His most recent credits include “Cruella” (2021), the fashion-forward origin story of “101 Dalmations” villain Cruella de Vil, as well as the next-gen sequel “Freakier Friday” (2025).
Born July 15, 1969, in Toronto, Gunn moved to L.A. to earn a master’s degree from the Annenberg School at USC, according to Deadline. He began his Hollywood career in the late 1990s, working at John Hughes’ Great Oaks Entertainment where he contributed to the development of films such as “101 Dalmatians” (1996), “102 Dalmatians” (2000) and “Flubber” (1997).
Gunn is also credited with helping establish the Disney Writers Program in 2001, where he championed and mentored up-and-coming writers.
“Andrew Gunn took a chance on a very green 29 year old from nowhere and gave him a screenwriting career and more than that…a family in my adopted city,” said “Clifford the Big Red Dog” writer and Disney Writers Program alum Blaise Hemingway in his Instagram tribute.
“Andrew fostered a fraternity of writers who did EVERYTHING together,” Hemingway added. “Lunches, Friday movies, happy hours at Mo’s, kid’s birthday parties. Alongside Andrew, we rewrote, roundtabled, did triage on productions in crisis…you name it. It was crazy, unhinged, and so [f—] fun. And despite the leather jackets and tattoos, Andrew was a softy who got a kick out of his writers’ knuckle-headed antics. He was a great mentor.”
Gunn is survived by his wife Jane; his children Isabelle and Connor Gunn; mother Anne Gunn; and siblings Hilary Knight, Graeme Gunn and Cameron Gunn.
Israel, Iran, ICE, dyslexia, single moms and a pet otter named Potter were among the subjects discussed Tuesday evening at California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tour stop in Los Angeles to promote his new book, “Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery.”
Speaking to a sold-out crowd of around 1,300 at L.A.’s historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre, the hourlong Q&A hosted by Writers Bloc and moderated by “Pod Save America” hosts John Favreau and Tommy Vietor was equal parts a get-to-know-the-man-behind-the-mask chat and a timely discussion about challenges facing the country.
The engaging discussion was clearly geared toward dispelling the image of Newsom as “that slick guy” (his own words), by covering his journey from an insecure, cocky young man trying to impress those around him to an adult who, through his successes and follies, has become comfortable in his own skin.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and moderators Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor promoting Newsom’s new book, “Young Man in a Hurry.”
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
He described his young, pre-politician self as posing in a suit: “I was thinking I was Pierce Brosnan in ‘Remington Steele.’ I just discovered hair gel,” Newsom joked. He said in those early years he was often overcompensating for his own feelings of inadequacy as the son of a single mom who struggled to pay the rent. As a kid with learning differences, whose undiagnosed dyslexia put him behind in school. Whose “broke and broken” father neglected his family while hobnobbing with wealthy San Francisco families, including the heirs of the Getty oil fortune.
A chatty, relaxed and sometimes free-associating Newsom rarely needed prompting from the moderators when speaking about his childhood, his family’s strange choice of pet (the aforementioned otter) or far more serious matters. He said that Democrats need to “fight fire with fire” and be more “ruthless” in their fight to win back the country.
Newsom’s politician-speak was evident in some of his more rehearsed efforts to convince the crowd that he’s a regular guy (he may not have changed many diapers with his first daughter, but he got better at his dad duties with his next three kids). But those instances were matched by unvarnished comments that appeared genuine, and risked alienating some of his base.
One such instance came early in the conversation, when Newsom was asked about where he stood on President Trump’s new Iran war, and the administration’s changing rationales on why it launched the military operation without consulting Congress.
“[The Trump administration’s] first rationale was we’ve got to make sure that they’re not armed with nuclear [weapons]. But I thought that was resolved, that we had completely ‘obliterated’ it,” Newsom said, using Trump’s claims against him. “Then maybe that wasn’t the case, so now it’s about their missiles, and they can perhaps hit the United States, and then it’s wait, that’s a decade plus away. So that’s BS. Then it’s about their militias, it’s about their proxy. Then it’s no, it’s about their navy. And then no, it’s a response to the likelihood that Israel was going to [go in] so we had to go in ourselves. God help us … this is Keystone Cops.”
Newsom was then asked if the United States should perhaps consider rethinking its military support for Israel, and he said that would be reasonable.
“The issue of Bibi [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is interesting because he’s got his own domestic issues,” Newsom said. “He’s trying to stay out of jail. He’s got an election coming up. I mean, to say this is in America’s interest, at a time when affordability is at crisis levels, where you had an administration who literally got elected saying this is exactly the opposite of what they would ever consider doing. The fact that we are in this now, regional war.…”
He also said Netanyahu was “potentially on the ropes. He’s got folks, the hard line, that want to annex the West Bank.” Newsom suggested that some critics have “appropriately” described Israel as sort of an “apartheid state.” His comments caused a stir Wednesday from pro-Israel advocates who felt Newsom was turning on their interests.
But most of the conversation was about the book, and domestic issues. Newsom has been a fierce critic of Trump and his policies, positioning himself as part of the resistance, one of the few high-profile leaders to hit back with policy (Proposition 50) and a strong media presence with his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” and his Trump-trolling social media accounts.
“Nothing goes to the heart of who [Donald Trump] is than his press conference yesterday, where he was lamenting [that] four Americans had died,” Newsom said. “He mentioned them in passing. And then went on, in great detail, about the drapes and the Imperial Palace in the East Wing [of the White House] that he’s building. He talked about [it] with real passion and conviction. It says everything about Donald Trump, the uncertainty in the world, to the fact that we have allies under threat, UAE, we’ve got proxy war with, once again, with Hezbollah and Lebanon. We’ve got all the anxiety as relates to 20% of the world’s oil flow, issues related to oil prices and stocks.”
Though Newsom was speaking to an auditorium of blue state supporters, his tour kicked off last week in the South, with stops in Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. His efforts to relate to his audience were seized upon when, during a conversation with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, he addressed the audience, saying, “I’m like you,” before bringing up his low SAT scores. He was called out for his comment, which was labeled as racist by critics, particularly those from right leaning media outlets.
In Los Angeles on Tuesday, he was asked how he felt about the California Democratic Party chair’s recent suggestion that some party candidates drop out of the governor’s race, to avoid a Republican potentially winning. “I confess. I agree. With all the promise and peril that marks this moment in California, the most un-Trump state in America,” we can’t risk a Republican winning, he said.
The California Highway Patrol and a private security firm deployed officers and agents around the venue for a tight security presence (no bags or purses allowed). On at least three occasions, one or more protesters interrupted the discussion with shouts from the balcony and floor seats, demanding Newsom do something about privatized prisons and the ICE sweeps of immigrants.
After they were removed by security, Newsom said he understood the “escalation of stress” over the last ten years or so, and defended his record, mentioning he signed the first bill banning private prisons and was a “fierce opponent” of what’s happening on American streets.
Attendees of the event applauded Newsom’s record, and just about everything else he said. They were, after all, folks who had paid up to $80 a seat to hear the conversation and receive a copy of his book. He walked into the crowd afterward and spent nearly a half hour chatting with audience members, posing for selfies and signing copies of his memoir. Newsom was not in a hurry.
A 12-year-old boy died Thursday after collapsing during soccer practice following a hot day in San Bernardino.
Adriel Enriquez collapsed on the soccer field on Feb. 26, while practicing with the Platinum IE soccer club, said his uncle, Joshua Gutierrez in a social media post.
“What started as a normal afternoon doing what he loved turned into every parent’s worst nightmare,” Gutierrez wrote in a GoFundMe launched by the family to help cover funeral costs and expenses.
Paramedics were sent to the scene at about 8:40 p.m., said San Bernardino County Fire Department Capt. Eric Sherwin. Adriel was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“Adriel had no medical issues that we were aware of, and his passing was unexpected and an absolute shock,” Gutierrez wrote on Facebook, alongside a video memorializing his nephew.
Adriel played for Platinum IE since May 2024. Coaches and teammates remembered him as someone who left a mark.
“He was the sweetest most gentle and shy soul with a quiet strength that touched everyone around him,” the club said in a social media post. “Forever our #23.”
The post was liked thousands of times with almost 200 people sharing their condolences in the comments.
Adriel died during a spell of unusually warm winter weather in Southern California. Temperatures peaked at 88 degrees the day he collapsed, according to the National Weather Service.
A cause of death has not yet been determined by the county coroner.
Why Iran’s Islamic Republic is more prepared than Washington expected.
With Iran’s supreme leader killed and retaliation unfolding, the US and Israel appear to be testing the durability of the Islamic Republic. But Iran’s political system was designed to survive leadership loss and outside pressure. What does Washington misunderstand about Tehran’s structure, and how far is Iran prepared to go?
In this episode:
Ali Hashem, Al Jazeera Correspondent
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Sarí el-Khalili, David Enders, and Tamara Khandaker, with Spencer Cline, Catherine Nouhan, Tuleen Barakat, Maya Hamadah, Noor Wazwaz, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses Ukraine of carrying out a ‘terrorist attack.’
Published On 4 Mar 20264 Mar 2026
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A Russian tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) has sunk in the Mediterranean between Libya and Malta, as Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking the vessel.
The Libyan port authority said the tanker was hit by “sudden explosions followed by a massive fire, which ultimately led to its complete sinking” on Tuesday night north of the port of Sirte, Libya.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of attacking the gas carrier.
“This is a terrorist attack. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of thing,” Russia’s Putin told a reporter from Russian state television on Wednesday, accusing Kyiv of responsibility.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Russia’s Transport Ministry said that the Arctic Metagaz, which had been carrying LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, was attacked by Ukrainian naval drones launched from the coast of Libya.
It said the 30 crew members, all Russian nationals, were safe, and thanked Maltese rescue services.
“We qualify what happened as an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy, a gross violation of the fundamental norms of international maritime law,” the ministry said.
According to an advisory from Libya’s maritime rescue agency, the Arctic Metagaz sank in waters between Libya and Malta after catching fire on Tuesday night.
It warned vessels to avoid the site where the carrier sank and asked them to report any pollution in the area.
The Libyan port authority said the ship was carrying an estimated 62,000 metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on its way to Port Said, Egypt.
Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry has denied any connection with the tanker.
“The tanker is not listed under any contracts to supply or receive LNG cargoes to Egypt,” the ministry said.
The Arctic Metagaz has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union as part of Russia’s fleet of ageing tankers that carry oil and gas exports around the world, skirting Western restrictions.
Ukraine has frequently targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in an attempt to deprive Russia’s war machine of funding.
In December, Ukraine said it had hit a Russian tanker with aerial drones in the neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea, in what was the first such strike there in Russia and Ukraine’s more than four-year war.
Here’s the story…of how a seemingly non-descript home in the San Fernando Valley turned into an L.A. landmark.
The L.A. City Council voted to designate the “Brady Bunch” house as a historic-cultural monument on Wednesday, enshrining the Studio City Midcentury as a piece of the city’s history.
“Long before it became a pop‑culture pilgrimage site and backdrop for countless photo ops, the Brady Bunch House helped shape America’s vision of family life in the late 1960s and early ’70s — especially the idea of a blended family,” said Adrian Scott Fine, president of the L.A. Conservancy. “We’re thrilled to see it now designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument, ensuring the Brady Bunch — and their iconic home — remain part of Los Angeles’ story.”
The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission unanimously voted to recommend the house, located at 11222 Dilling St. in Studio City, as a landmark on Jan. 15. The Planning and Land Use Commission approved the designation a month later, sending final say to the City Council.
“I look forward to seeing this memorialized in the appropriate way as part of San Fernando Valley television history,” Councilmember Adin Nazarian said during the Planning meeting.
The landmark status protects the home from demolition, but doesn’t prohibit it. If the owner ever wants to destroy the home, the Cultural Heritage Commission can delay the process for up to a year to find preservation solutions. The commission also gets more oversight on proposed alterations.
“The Brady Bunch” was filmed in a studio for the entirety of its iconic run from 1969 to 1974. So how does a house that was merely for exterior shots wind up as a landmark?
Through painstaking renovations and a bit of reality TV magic.
The house was built in 1959 by architect Harry M. Londelius, who gave the contemporary ranch a shake roof, cathedral ceilings and heaps of Palos Verdes stone. After starring in the show, the home became a symbol for Southern California’s suburban, single-family charm.
For decades, it was owned by Violet and George McCallister, who bought it for $61,000 in 1973. Once they died, their children sold it in 2018 for $3.5 million — nearly twice the original ask.
The bloated sale price was the result of a bidding war, as offers poured in from TV enthusiasts and celebrities, including ‘N Sync’s Lance Bass. In the end, cable network HGTV emerged as the winner.
The channel had big plans for the property, announcing a $1.9-million remodel that would recreate the interiors exactly how they looked in the show. The entire process was documented in a four-part miniseries titled “A Very Brady Renovation.”
The show featured the actors who played the Brady kids taking sledgehammers to the interiors while “Property Brothers” stars Drew and Jonathan Scott reshaped the living spaces.
An inside look at the “Brady Bunch” house in Studio City.
(Ryan Lahiff for Eklund | Gomes)
The final result was a near picture-perfect replica of the Brady abode: the floating staircase, the groovy orange kitchen counters, even the famous vase destroyed by a stray basketball during a famous episode. (“She always says don’t play ball in the house.”) To make space for the throwback bedrooms, the crew added 2,000 square feet to the rear of the house, as well as a second story — which they hid from the street by lowering the foundation by a foot.
The renovation nearly doubled the square footage, featuring five bedrooms and five bathrooms across more than 5,000 square feet.
After the miniseries, HGTV took a bath on the sale. They flipped it for $3.2 million in 2023 — $300,000 less than they paid for it five years earlier and $2 million less than the asking price.
The house was bought by historic-home enthusiast Tina Trahan and her husband Chris Elbrecht, former chief executive of HBO. It came with a few Brady-themed furniture throw-ins such as a green floral couch and credenza complete with a 3-D printed horse sculpture.
Fans still flock to the house to take photos from the street, but Trahan and Elbrecht opened it to the public for the first time in November, offering a limited run of tours for $275.
On the day news broke that Kyler Murray had been informed his services would no longer be needed in Arizona, the longtime Cardinals quarterback sent out a message to the team and its fans that was more than just heartfelt.
It was heart-wrenching.
“I wanted nothing more than to be the one to end the 77 year drought for this organization,” Murray wrote Tuesday on X. “I am sorry I failed us. I wish this community and my brothers nothing but the best.”
A person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that the Cardinals have told Murray they are letting him go at the beginning of the new league year on March 11. The team has not publicly announced the decision.
The Cardinals have won two NFL championships, both in the pre-Super Bowl era (1925, 1947). Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner led the team to its lone Super Bowl appearance, a 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers following the 2008 season.
Murray won the 2018 Heisman Trophy with Oklahoma and was drafted by Arizona at No. 1 overall the following spring. He was named the offensive rookie of the year in 2019 and made the Pro Bowl in each of the next two seasons.
Also in 2021, the Cardinals had their only winning season (11-6) and playoff appearance (a 34-11 loss to the Rams in the wild-card round) of Murray’s tenure. Before the 2022 season, Murray signed a $230.5-million, five-year contract extension with the Cardinals that included $160 million guaranteed.
Murray missed at least six games because of injury in three of the last four seasons. In 2025, a foot injury in Week 5 ended up keeping him out for the rest of the season, with backup Jacoby Brissett playing well in his place to create a quarterback controversy.
Murray compiled a record of 38-48-1 over seven seasons, completing 67.1% of his passes for 20,460 yards with 121 touchdowns and 60 interceptions. He has also rushed for 3,193 yards and 32 touchdowns.
“To everyone that supported me and showed kindness to my family and I during my time in AZ, from the bottom of my heart, thank you,” Murray wrote.
Brissett has one season left on his two-year, $12.5-million contract with the Cardinals. Murray, who is owed $36.8 million in guaranteed money next season, joins a free-agent quarterback class that also could include Malik Willis, Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Marcus Mariota and others.
“I am no stranger to adversity,” Murray wrote. “I am prepared for whatever’s next. I trust in God and my work ethic. I truly believe my best ball is in front of me and I look forward to proving it.”
Trump has launched strikes on Iran while Congress debates war powers.
Inside the Washington bubble, we look inside the chaos shaping the US-Israeli war on Iran, from celebrations at DC power dinners and the Secretary of State admitting US defense of Israel to the Epstein files fading from public view. With low popular support for the war, can American voters do anything to stop it?
In this episode:
Patty Culhane (@PattyCulhane), Al Jazeera English Correspondent
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Sari el-Khalili, and Catherine Nouhan, with Spencer Cline, Tuleen Barakat, Maya Hamadeh, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Special thanks to James Hamilton.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones at U.S., Israeli, and other allied targets in the Middle East has been severely degraded, two top American military leaders said Wednesday morning. Partly as a result, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also downplayed concerns about the magazine depth of U.S. offensive and defensive munitions.
You can catch up with our latest coverage of ongoing operations against Iran here. All of the other latest updates can be found lower on the page.
“Iran’s theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting, with a 23% decrease just in the last 24 hours, and their one-way attack drone shots are down 73% from the opening days,” Caine told reporters, including from The War Zone, at a Wednesday morning press conference. “This progress has allowed CENTCOM to establish localized air superiority across the southern flank of the Iranian coast and penetrate their defenses with overwhelming precision and firepower. We will now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory and creating additional freedom of maneuver for U.S forces.”
Caine did not break down the numbers of Iranian missiles and drones fired. However, on Tuesday, the head of CENTCOM provided some statistics.
“The Iranian regime has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones,” Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video message.
As we have previously mentioned, one of the big concerns about Epic Fury is whether Iranian missile and drone barrages would outlast the ability of the U.S. and allies to defend against them. Despite four days of intensive attacks, Tehran still possesses thousands of missiles and drones, though a significant number of these weapons and their launchers — specifically the longer range ballistic missile types —have been destroyed or prevented from being accessed by crews.
In a closed-door Congressional hearing on Tuesday, Hegseth and Caine “told lawmakers…that Iran’s Shahed attack drones represent a major challenge and US air defenses will not be able to intercept them all, according to a source in the briefing,” CNN reported.
Trump admin officials acknowledged during a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill Tuesday that Iran’s Shahed attack drones represent a major challenge and US air defenses will not be able to intercept them all. The drones, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint…
However, both military leaders also “made an attempt to downplay concerns about the drones and noted that Gulf state partners had been stockpiling interceptors,” CNN reported.
During Wednesday’s press conference, both Caine and Hegseth stated that the U.S. has the weapons it needs.
A night vision picture of a B-2 bomber supporting Operation Epic Fury. CENTCOM
“We used more exquisite standoff munitions at the start, but no longer need to,” the secretary proclaimed. “Our stockpiles of those, as well as Patriots [air defense interceptors], remain extremely strong. The enemy can no longer shoot the volume of missiles they once did. Not even close.”
Another big factor in the reduction in Iranian missile launches could be how CENTCOM has concentrated striking command and control (C2) nodes, degrading Tehran’s ability to communicate and direct fires.
Iranian (C2) “structures in a bad way,” Caine posited. “Admiral Cooper has been continuing to pressure the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC C2 and other military elements, and will continue to do so.”
A graphic the Pentagon released today offering details about the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury against Iran. US Military
As a result of how the operation has unfolded, “CENTCOM is now shifting in day four already from large deliberate strike packages- using standoff munitions at range outside an enemy’s ability to shoot at us – now into stand-in precision strikes overhead Iran.”
Caine said the U.S. is now using “joint direct attack munitions [JDAMs], which are GPS-aided free-fall weapons and other things like [AGM-114] Hellfires, etc. This will allow the joint force to deliver significantly increased precision effects on the target.”
A USAF MQ-9 Reaper fires a AGM-114 Hellfire at a Iranian ballistic missile TEL, which had just revealed its position by firing. pic.twitter.com/gWP4sdxrzh
TWZ has frequently described how important it is for the U.S. to move as quickly as possible from standoff to direct attacks on Iranian targets, which will significantly increase the number of strikes that can occur and widen the range of effects that can be realized via the employment of more varied weaponry. This is especially true for going after fortified targets with bunker buster munitions.
The U.S. Air Force continues to execute a high volume of airstrikes into Iran. The two most powerful air forces in the world (🇺🇸+🇮🇱) are dominating the skies over the world’s largest state sponsor of terror. pic.twitter.com/0nfwY3zdCL
Hegseth further explained that “we moved the vast majority of American troops – over 90% of Americans that were on our bases – off the X out of the range of Iranian fire. Our defensive shield is equally formidable. The most sophisticated air and missile defense network ever fielded. Thousands of Iranian missiles and drones have been intercepted and vaporized, tens of thousands of American allied lives protected. We have pushed every counter-UAS [uncrewed aerial systems] system possible forward, sparing no expense or capability.”
“I know there have been a lot of questions about munitions,” Caine acknowledged. “We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense, but I want to tell you teammates, as a matter of practice, I don’t want to be talking about quantities, and I know there’s been a great debate about that, and I appreciate the interest, but just know that we consider that an operational security matter.”
Regardless of the public stance taken by Hegseth and Caine, the Trump administration “plans to meet with executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production, as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies after strikes on Iran and several other recent military efforts,” Reuters reported, citing “five people familiar with the plan.”
(Reuters) – The Trump administration plans to meet with executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production, as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies after strikes on Iran and several other recent…
Still, Trump has gone out of his way to present a problem he has mentioned as being concerning many times before, as a non issue:
“The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better,” Trump said Tuesday on his Truth Social platform. “As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. Wars can be fought “forever,” and very successfully, using just these supplies (which are better than other countries finest arms!). At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be. Much additional high grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries…”
Following reports from various media outlets that stockpiles of U.S. munitions, including air defense interceptors for Patriot and THAAD systems, were running low, President Trump posted to TruthSocial that the U.S. has a “virtually unlimited supply” and that “wars can be fought… pic.twitter.com/7m6xEjVnfM
So, as it sits today, there is still a race against who will run out of munitions first when it comes to Iran’s long-range strike capabilities, but it seems as if the tide is turning in favor of the U.S., Israel, and the Arab Gulf states based on the information we are seeing. With direct attacks now ramping up on Iranian targets deeper and farther east in Iran, the momentum will more likely than not continue in that direction. This does not address the stockpile’s concerning state in regard to a potential conflict with China or even Russia. It is in a far worse state than it was at the start of this war, and these weapons take years and huge sums of money to build.
The two military leaders also discussed several other topics, including:
“Yesterday, the leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed,” said Hegseth. “Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh.”
“Over the next 24 to 48 hours, CENTCOM will continue to strike infrastructure and naval capability and will continue to assess our progress against the military objectives,” said Caine.
“Our partners are answering the call to defend themselves right alongside us,” Caine noted. “Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, are all defending their people with their own combat capability, with precision and restraint.”
“We’ve got a lot of autonomous systems, or systems that are that – drones and others incorporated with smart AI aspects to them, but a lot of which I can’t talk about here,” Hegseth stated.
Hegseth addressed Iranian claims that the U.S. struck a girl’s school in southern Iran, killing more than 175 people. “All I can say is that we’re investigating that,” he avowed. “We. of course, never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look at investigating.”
“I am not going to comment on U.S. boots on the ground,” Caine said. “I think that’s a question for policymakers, and I don’t make policy. I execute policy.”
The rest of our ongoing coverage of the conflict continues below, with the latest updates at the top.
UPDATE: 4:12 PM EST –
U.S. Central Command has issued another set of denials regarding claimed U.S. losses in the ongoing conflict, including that U.S. naval vessels and aircraft have been destroyed by enemy fire.
More fake news from the Iranian regime: 🚫The regime claims U.S. forces are withdrawing. 🚫They say they sank a U.S. destroyer. 🚫IRGC claims to have taken down U.S. fighter aircraft. 🚫The regime says they killed 100 U.S. Marines. ALL LIES.
In another new data point about the apparent slowing pace of Iranian missile launches, the IDF’s Home Front Command says it is easing restrictions on public gatherings and movements imposed at the start of the conflict. Another reassessment is now set to occur on Saturday, which could lead to further easements.
As the rate of Iran’s ballistic missile fire on Israel slows, the IDF Home Front Command says it is easing restrictions that were imposed on the Israeli public at the start of the conflict.
Following a fresh assessment, the Home Front Command says that from tomorrow at noon, the… pic.twitter.com/xYGj9EbZhx
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026
Iranian-backed militants in Iraq have threatened to attack the interests of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other NATO nations if they “interfere in Iraq or the region,” according to Reuters. Pro-Iranian militants also reportedly carried out a drone attack on a majority Christian neighborhood in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdish autonomous region.
IRAQ’S ISLAMIC RESISTANCE SAYS ANY ENTITY THAT AIMS TO INTERFERE IN IRAQ OR THE REGION, INCLUDING NATO, FRANCE, GERMANY AND BRITIAN, WOULD HAVE ITS INTERESTS AS ‘LEGITIMATE TARGETS’ FOR THE GROUP
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed Operation Epic Fury on Tuesday.
“Well, they’re not part of the plan for this operation at this time, but I certainly will never take away military options on behalf of the president of the United States or the commander in chief, and he wisely does not do the same for himself,” she said in response to a question about whether the U.S. military could commit ground troops to the operation. “I know there’s many leaders in the past who liked to take options off of the table without having a full understanding of how things could develop. So again, it’s not part of the current plan, but I’m not going to remove an option for the president to act that is on the table.”
“I don’t want to commit to a timeline, but certainly it’s something that is being calculated actively by both the Department of War and the Department of Energy. They’re working very closely. Both secretaries are in all of the briefings on this subject with the president, and this is again something they’re monitoring,” she also said when asked when U.S. Navy ships might begin escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. “And if and when necessary, the United States Navy will provide assistance to escort oil tankers through the Strait.”
“Obviously, as the president has said numerous times, do we want to see Iran being led by a rogue terrorist regime? No, of course, not,” she said on the topic of regime change. “So any day the United States of America is taking out a terrorist is a good day for our country and a good day for our people.”
When it comes to what role the United States could have after the conflict ends, “I think it’s something the president is actively considering and discussing with his advisors and his national security team,” she added. “But again, right now, the focus minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, is on ensuring the quick and effective success of Operation Epic Fury.”
Q: Has the president considered how he views a US role in Iran post-conflict?
“I don’t have any updates for you on congressional asks from the president. As you know, under this president, we have significantly increased our defense budget, which is a good thing for the United States, for our national security and for protecting our homeland,” when asked about concerns about stocks of anti-air interceptors. “With respect to munitions, ammunition, weapons stockpiles, the United States of America has more than enough capability to not only successfully execute operation Epic Fury, but to go much further. And we have weapons stockpiles in places that many people in this world don’t even know about.”
Leavitt: “With respect to munitions, the United States has more than enough capability to not only successfully execute Operation Epic Fury but to go much further. We have weapons stockpiles in places that many people in this world don’t even know about. Unfortunately we had a… pic.twitter.com/qNHmQLp1Gc
“I will also add, President Trump has rightfully been calling on defense contractors in this country to rapidly and aggressively produce American-made weapons because they are the best in the world,” she added.
The Israeli Air Force has released pictures showing F-16I jets heading out for strikes on Iran carrying stand-in munitions.
The IDF continues to target Iranian ballistic missile capabilities in the central and western parts of the country.
An “extensive” wave of Israeli airstrikes in central and western Iran earlier today destroyed dozens of Iranian ballistic missile launchers and air defense systems, the military says.
According to the IDF, some of the missile launchers were armed and they were struck while… pic.twitter.com/GeBw8bNYda
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026
The IDF has pushed back on the suggestion that attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon today were directly coordinated.
“It is true, there was fire at the same time, more or less, you can say simultaneously, from Iran and Lebanon,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said at a press conference, according to The Times of Israel. “I don’t possess any intelligence information that says this was coordinated.”
IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says the military has no intelligence indicating that today’s concurrent fire from Iran and by Hezbollah in Lebanon was a coordinated effort.
“It is true, there was fire at the same time, more or less, you can say simultaneously, from Iran…
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026
New satellite imagery from Planet Labs shows damage resulting from strikes on an Iranian missile base in Kermanshah.
Planet imagery shows airstrike related damage at the Kermanshah missile base (North), Iran, most of the buildings associated with the site have been destroyed, strikes also extend to the underground tunnel entrances pic.twitter.com/9XfPW1rkbu
Axios has reported that the White House denied reports of back-channel communications with the regime in Iran in response to queries from Israeli authorities.
🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇷Netanyahu sought clarifications from the White House earlier this week after intelligence suggested Trump administration officials might be communicating with Iran. The White House told him no such talks had taken place. My story on @axioshttps://t.co/RRvVnXrPEF
“We need to act with clarity, with purpose, and with a cool head. The protection of U.K. nationals is our number one priority,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said today. “American planes operating out of British bases, that is the special relationship in action… hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not.”
Has the PM’s “dithering” response to the week’s events made the UK-US “relationship stronger or weaker?” Tory MP Gareth Bacon asks
Spanish authorities have denied White House claims that they agreed to support current U.S. operations in the Middle East following economic threats from President Donald Trump. Yesterday, Trump had threatened to cut off all trade with Spain after authorities in Madrid blocked the use of bases in the country to support strikes on Iran.
“I categorically deny it. I heard about these statements on my way here, and I’ve had time to look into them and listen to them a little,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said. https://t.co/TS7xwBCyOr
French President Emmanuel Macron has issued a statement after speaking with the leaders of Israel and Lebanon. Macron called on Hezbollah to cease attacks on Israel and for Israel to preserve Lebanon’s territorial integrity.
Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar has written that his service’s “special units are currently carrying out extraordinary missions that could ignite the imagination” in a letter, according to Ynet News. No further details about the letter’s origins or how it was obtained are provided. This comes amid other unconfirmed reports of unusual military activity in the Najaf Desert in Iraq. Israeli special operations forces have conducted spectacular raids in the past, including one targeting an Iranian-linked underground missile production facility in Syria in 2024. TWZ noted at the time that this sent a signal to Iran that its critical underground facilities were not untouchable.
MORE: Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar said today that IAF special forces are currently carrying out “extraordinary missions that could ignite the imagination.”
Israeli Air Force operates elite special units such as Shaldag (Unit 5101) and Unit 669, which conduct… https://t.co/S0Yvx4kZYe
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they have now dropped 5,000 munitions on targets in Iran since the start of the current conflict, and that operations “continue to deepen air superiority throughout Iran, with an emphasis on the Tehran area.” The IDF also continues to release footage from those strikes.
The Israeli Air Force has dropped over 5,000 bombs during strikes in Iran since the start of the conflict, the military says.
The military says that IAF fighter jets “continue to deepen air superiority throughout Iran, with an emphasis on the Tehran area.”
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026
An armed Iranian ballistic missile launcher in the Kermanshah area was destroyed by an Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet today, the military says. pic.twitter.com/W9BihQbtPI
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026
The IDF has also released the video clip below showing a strike on what looks to be one of Iran’s Russian-made Mi-17 Hip helicopters. However, there are questions about whether it may have been a decoy.
Looks like the Israeli Air Force struck a decoy of an Iranian Mil Mi-17 helicopter painted on the ground. pic.twitter.com/mtEznE308A
— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) March 4, 2026
The IDF has also provided details about targets struck during another round of strikes on Iran’s capital, Tehran.
🎯STRUCK: A large Iranian terror regime military compound in eastern Tehran.
Struck command centers in the compound include:
* The IRGC headquarters * The Intelligence Directorate headquarters * The ‘Basij’ headquarters * The ‘Quds Force’ headquarters * The Internal Security… pic.twitter.com/XBvXqks29R
The Israeli Air Force says it carried out “large-scale” airstrikes in Tehran targeting a massive Iranian military compound, which housed headquarters and personnel from across Iran’s security apparatus.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026
Israeli forces are also continuing to conduct ground operations in southern Lebanon, ostensibly targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.
The IDF publishes footage of its new deployment in southern Lebanon, after Hezbollah began attacking Israel.
Troops have pushed deeper into southern Lebanon in recent days, with the IDF saying it assumed “forward defensive positions to establish an additional defensive layer to… pic.twitter.com/cnsKfLXgfB
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026
The IDF says Lebanese civilians in all of southern Lebanon should evacuate to north of the Litani River, amid the ongoing fighting against Hezbollah. pic.twitter.com/d9eTOzSo92
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026
U.S. Central Command also continues to release footage from strikes on targets in Iran.
While the Iranian regime indiscriminately targets civilians with missiles and drones, U.S. forces continue to aggressively hunt and destroy Iranian missile launchers with precision. pic.twitter.com/1RIhMcg0Jm
CENTCOM has also now explicitly confirmed the use of Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missiles in strikes on Iran. This detail had already emerged, as TWZ previously reported.
In a historic first, long-range Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs) were used in combat during Operation Epic Fury, providing an unrivaled deep strike capability.
“I just could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform leveraging innovation to create dilemmas for the enemy.”… pic.twitter.com/bydvIv5Tn5
Israeli authorities are still planning around one to two more weeks of operations against Iran, at least, according to the Times of Israel.
The Israeli military is planning for at least one or two more weeks of operations in Iran, during which it aims to hit thousands more Iranian regime targets, The Times of Israel has learned.
Israel’s goal is a systematic degradation of the Iranian regime and its military sites.…
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026
Imagery continues to emerge, said to show strikes on targets in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
Massive clouds of smoke rising over several neighborhoods of the capital of Iran, Tehran, following continued American/Israeli strikes on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/ksuZvvFiZh
— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) March 4, 2026
US/Israeli airstrike this morning in Tehran, targeting an Iranian site in the government and military-heavy District 4. pic.twitter.com/uWKAM0aj9n
The video below is said to show the crew of a commercial vessel somewhere in the Middle East watching as U.S. Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles pass overhead toward targets in Iran.
The Telegraph newspaper in the United Kingdom has reported that U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers could soon be flying strikes on Iran from RAF Fairford in that country, as well as Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. There were reports in the lead-up to the current conflict, that British authorities had denied use of those same bases to support any future operations against Iran.
BREAKING: American B-2 stealth bombers are expected to land at British military bases “in a matter of days” to join attacks on Iran. Bases at Diego Garcia and at RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, are being prepared for their arrival, Western officials said today.
“Based on analysis of [the] latest available satellite imagery, IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] sees no damage to facilities containing nuclear material in Iran and therefore no radiological release risk at this time,” according to a new statement from the Agency today. “Near [the] Isfahan nuclear site, damage is visible at two buildings. No additional impact detected at Natanz after previously reported damage at entrances, and no impact at other nuclear sites, including [the] Bushehr NPP [nuclear power plant].”
Based on analysis of latest available satellite imagery, IAEA sees no damage to facilities containing nuclear material in Iran and therefore no radiological release risk at this time. Near Isfahan nuclear site, damage is visible at two buildings. No additional impact detected at… pic.twitter.com/boUtjRTpAk
— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) March 4, 2026
CNN has reported again on the possibility of armed Iranian Kurdish groups launching a ground incursion in support of the current U.S.-Israeli operation, citing an unnamed source. That outlet has also reported that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has been working to arm those groups.
Asked about this today, Hegseth told reporters that “none of our objectives are premised on the support of the arming of any particular force. So what other entities may be doing, we’re aware of, but our objectives aren’t centered on that.” https://t.co/76MI2irOKE
Saudi Arabian authorities say they intercepted two Iranian cruise missiles in the vicinity of Al Kharj, a city situated near Prince Sultan Air Base. That base has been a major hub for U.S. air operations in the current conflict.
BREAKING: Saudi Ministry of Defense says two cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed in Al-Kharj, a town near Prince Sultan Airbase
The New York Times says satellite imagery that it has reviewed shows damage to several radars, as well as communications systems and other facilities, at multiple military bases in the region as a result of Iranian retaliatory attacks.
A tent surrounded by satellite dishes was destroyed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Some of the dishes were most likely damaged as well. Al Udeid is the regional headquarters for the US Central Command, and was similarly struck by Iran last June. pic.twitter.com/TyuqZWHUL3
Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait sustained damage to at least eight buildings or structures adjacent to satellite communications infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/oToNYRLTQg
An AN/TPY-2 radar system appears to have been stationed next to a building at a military installation outside of Al Ruwais, UAE since June of last year. Sat imagery from Sunday shows a building adjacent to it had been damaged (unclear if radar was hit) pic.twitter.com/Bp80VxDdU1
While this analysis is not comprehensive (as evidenced by what appears to be yet another radar system damaged during the strikes visible in newly released sat imagery!), it does suggest Iran has been aiming to disrupt US communication and coordination https://t.co/cb2ToNwP9p
Qatar has reportedly fully halted gas liquefaction in the country, according to Reuters. It could take up to a month for production to return to normal levels once the decision is made to do so, as well.
NEW: Qatar will fully shut gas liquefaction, two sources say. Initial estimates suggest it would take about two weeks to restart operations and at least another two weeks to return to full capacity – Reuters
The United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization, which is managed by the Royal Navy, says it has received reports of another ship coming under attack in the Strait of Hormuz.
Dutch authorities are reportedly considering a request from France to deploy military assets to help safeguard commercial shipping, according to The New York Times. There are also reports that a Dutch warship could take up station in the Eastern Mediterranean to bolster defenses against Iranian threats.
The Netherlands is weighing a request from French President Emmanuel Macron to use its military to help secure international shipping routes, according to the New York Times.
The Netherlands is preparing to send HNLMS Evertsen (F805) with France’s CSG to the Eastern Mediterranean as part of a defensive deployment against Iranian attacks.
Notably, Evertsen will be able to provide ballistic missile tracking and engagement data. pic.twitter.com/0wWxZuOcSN
“EUNAFOR [European Naval Forces] ASPIDES assets in the area of operation monitors the situation, remain on high alert and stand ready to contribute within means and capabilities to protect lives at sea, contributing to freedom of navigation and enhancing Maritime Security through one of the most vital and vulnerable sea trade corridors,” a spokesperson for the European Union-led Operation Aspides has told TWZ. “ASPIDES conducts daily assessments of potential risks, making necessary operational adjustments where required.”
In the event of a resumption of Houthi attacks – which remains a possibility – we are present and ready to implement our mandate,” they added, referring to Iranian-backed militants in Yemen. “There [is] no such tasking (escort ships through or near the Strait of Hormuz) for ASPIDES.”
“We expect significantly higher costs i.e. for bunker, insurance, container storage at different ports due to closed or unreachable ports” and “delays have to be expected especially in the Middle East, but also in other trades,” German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has also told TWZ. “All ports within [the] Persian Gulf can not be served. This is why we need to find alternates [sic] in the region. Many other ports [are] not being served as well. We have a booking stop for all import/export cargo in the region.”
Danish shipping company Maersk is also “suspending most cargo bookings in and out of the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia until further notice,” according to Reuters.
COPENHAGEN, March 4 (Reuters) – Maersk said on Wednesday it is temporarily suspending most cargo bookings in and out of the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia until further notice.
All of this follows comments yesterday from U.S. President Donald Trump about the possibility of U.S. Navy ships escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, which you can read more about here.
The American Jewish Committee has compiled data from open sources regarding total Iranian ballistic missile launches at countries in the region. Though the full tallies may be incomplete, the indication is that the United Arab Emirates has been most heavily targeted so far.
Nearly 50% of the missiles and UAVs fired by the Iranian regime have been aimed at the UAE.
Tehran’s actions threaten U.S. partners across the region and put broader Middle East stability at risk. pic.twitter.com/s581ZmMAjl
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) March 3, 2026
Turkish Authorities say that “NATO air and missile defense elements” intercepted a “ballistic munition” that had been tracked passing over Iraq and Syria in the direction of the Eastern Mediterranean. Debris subsequently fell inside Turkish territory.
There are reports that the weapon was aimed at Cyprus, but went off course. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan subsequently spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and warned against “any steps that could lead to the spread of the conflict.”
A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been “aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course”. https://t.co/Q7rj2j3OSB
A ballistic missile from Iran crossing Iraq and Syria was intercepted by NATO in the Eastern Mediterranean before entering Turkish airspace. No casualties reported. Türkiye summoned Iran’s ambassador and called for restraint.https://t.co/JTBeeYVDKx
Local media in Cyprus has reported that Greek F-16 fighters now operating in the country intercepted two incoming drones earlier today.
The New York Times has reported that there have been back-channel, indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials, including members of the respective intelligence services, about possible off-ramps to the current conflict. That report also says that American authorities are so far skeptical. Iran’s quasi-official Tasnim News Agency says the country’s Intelligence Ministry has denied that any such talks are taking place.
NEW: The Secret Channel Between Iran and the US
In public, Iran’s surviving leaders have defiantly refused to negotiate with President Trump to end the American and Israeli assault on their country. But a day after the attacks began, operatives from Iran’s Ministry of…
Iran denies that its Intelligence Ministry reached out to the CIA for talks, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports, citing a ministry source.
“Iran’s future must not be decided outside its borders” and the international community’s support should “go to the people, not to geopolitical calculations,” Farah Pahlavi, widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, has said in an interview with AFP in France.
She has also said that the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “a moment of historic significance,” but “does not automatically mean the end of a system.”
➡️ Elle estime aussi que la mort du guide suprême Ali Khamenei constitue “un moment d’une portée historique” mais “ne signifie pas automatiquement la fin d’un système”.
“The government of the Republic of Korea, with grave concern, is closely monitoring the developments in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, and is actively undertaking multifaceted efforts to ensure the safety and protection of Korean nationals currently in the region, as well as to safeguard our economic security, including the stable supply of energy resources,” that country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said in a statement.
The government of the Republic of Korea, with grave concern, is closely monitoring the developments in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, and is actively undertaking multifaceted efforts to ensure the safety and protection of Korean nationals currently… pic.twitter.com/iyhfpjvOhc
The Hollywood star was on the BBC programme’s sofa on Wednesday (March 4) to promote her latest television project The Madison, in which she stars alongside Kurt Russell, reports Wales Online.
However, whilst she was talking to the show’s presenters Alex Jones and Clara Amfo, viewers found themselves distracted by her timeless beauty. Many took to X, which was previously known as Twitter, expressing disbelief at how young the 67-year-old actress appeared.
One viewer wrote on the platform: “Dang Michelle Pfeiffer is still hot even at almost 70.”
“Michelle is unreal I mean look at her,” another enthused, whilst a fellow admirer noted: “I’m amazed how beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer looks on The One Show tonight x.”
“How does Michelle still look so amazing,” questioned one fan, whilst another revealed: “Michelle Pfeiffer in Grease 2 was my first crush oof!”
“Michelle Pfeiffer is so great and beautiful!” gushed another fan, as one viewer noted that the star “still looks great”.
“Love her,” said someone else, as another fan posted: “I b***** adore Michelle Pfeiffer.”
Another fan wrote: “Michelle Pfeiffer looks amazing. She looks so at ease on the sofa and interviews really well. I bet she’s great to work with. A seasoned professional.”
Her new series The Madison centres on the Clyburn family, who relocate from New York to Montana following a tragedy in the family.
Hollywood star Michelle opened up about the role and the show as she appeared on The One Show, explaining: “I play Stacy Clyburn, and I am the matriarch of the family based in New York, and a tragedy fractures the family, and then actually pulls it back together in ways that were unexpected.”
The star went on: “And, you know, it’s a story about, you know, it’s tender and visceral and actually unexpectedly funny at times, and it is a story about self-discovery and the messy and profound work to rebuild everything that you knew that has fallen apart.”
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website
The head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power stepped down Wednesday as part of a “planned leadership transition,” Mayor Karen Bass’ office announced.
Janisse Quiñones, who took the helm at DWP in 2024, is returning to Puerto Rico, where she is from, to help modernize the island’s electric grid.
In a statement, Bass said that Quiñones brought “steady leadership and engineering expertise to LADWP.”
“During her tenure, LADWP reinforced electric grid and water system reliability, enhanced coordination during wildfire events, and advanced investments to strengthen resilience amid increasing climate pressures,” the statement said.
Quiñones’ hefty salary of $750,000, which drew attention when she was hired, was meant to be competitive with private utility companies. She previously was a senior vice president of electric operations at Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Quiñones managed the DWP through the Palisades fire, when a key reservoir was empty as firefighters battled the blaze.
Some argued that the reservoir, which had been drained to repair its cover, led to lower water pressure and hampered the firefight.
The DWP has pushed back, saying the repairs were necessary to protect public health and that even if the reservoir had been full, there still would have been water pressure issues, considering the extraordinary demand on the system during the fire.
A state investigation found that even if the reservoir had been full, the flow rate in the pipes “would have been a limiting factor in maintaining pressure and the system would have been quickly overwhelmed.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the sinking of a Russian gas tanker in the Mediterranean Sea was the result of a terrorist attack by Ukraine. The tanker sank between Libya and Malta after explosions and fire were observed by Libyan port officials. File Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
March 4 (UPI) — A Russian liquefied natural gas tanker sank in the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday after catching fire from what Russian officials said was an attack by Ukrainian drones.
Libyan port officials said there were explosions on the ship and it ultimately erupted in flames between Libya and Malta. The tanker was carrying about 62,000 metric ton of liquefied natural gas.
Thirty crew members were rescued and no deaths have been reported, TASS Russian News Agency reports.
Ukraine‘s security service has not commented on the incident.
The Russian Transport Ministry said in a statement that the tanker was attacked by unmanned Ukrainian boats.
The tanker was about 130 nautical miles north of the Sirte, Libya, port when it sank. It departed from the port of Murmansk, Russia.
“We qualify what happened as an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy, a gross violation of the fundamental norms of international maritime law,” the Russian Transport Ministry said in a statement.
“Such criminal actions, carried out with the connivance of the authorities of European Union member states, must not remain without assessment by the international community.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin echoed the statement of the transport ministry, calling it a “terrorist attack.”
The ministry adds that the tanker was operating in “full compliance with all international regulations.”
As part of its sixth-anniversary celebrations, HumAngle, Africa’s leading conflict and humanitarian crises reporting newsroom, held a training session on “ethical dilemmas in conflict reporting” on Tuesday, March 3, in Abuja, North Central Nigeria.
The session, which brought together HumAngle editors and reporters, was led by award-winning journalist Sally Hayden and focused on the challenges and responsibilities of reporting from conflict zones.
Founded in 2020, HumAngle has been at the forefront of covering insurgency and mass displacement, publishing investigations and exposés on state failure, human rights violations, climate vulnerability, abductions, disappearances, and systemic corruption.
According to Ahmad Salkida, Founder and CEO of HumAngle, the training is part of its bold agenda to transform the newsroom into a lasting knowledge institution.
“The initiative reflects our commitment to equipping journalists with skills that align with global standards, ensuring they are prepared to navigate the complexities of reporting in conflict-affected regions while maintaining professional integrity,” he said.
Ahmad Salkida, Founder and CEO of HumAngle. Photo: Al’amin Umar/HumAngle
Ahmad also revealed that over the last six years, HumAngle has consistently shifted the world’s gaze to underreported stories, fought for accountability, and demanded justice. “When we started HumAngle, we knew the road would be tough, but we also knew it was necessary. We set out to create a platform that would not only report the news but transform it into a tool for change,” he added.
The CEO also highlighted plans to strengthen digital security and newsroom resilience by expanding the scope and quality of fellowships and investing in capacity-building initiatives. He added that a key part of this vision is establishing permanent institutional infrastructure, which he described as critical to sustaining HumAngle’s mission and impact in the long term.
“Going forward, our newsroom focus will be on scaling investigative capacity across the Sahel, expanding immersive and data-driven storytelling, and deepening transitional and reparative justice and reporting,” he noted.
Through interactive discussions, Sally unpacked the ethical grey zones that define conflict reporting: access negotiated under restrictive conditions, the burden of bearing witness, and the solitude of decision-making in volatile environments. Drawing on years of reporting from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Palestine, Nigeria, and beyond, she shared practical frameworks for risk assessment, personal safety, and editorial judgement.
Sally Hayden, during a training with HumAngle journalists on Tuesday, March 3. Photo: Al’amin Umar/HumAngle
“Sometimes, you face situations that no one has ever faced because you’re the only one in that specific place at that specific time, so sharing experiences helps other journalists who may be there some day,” she reflected.
Drawing on her years of experience covering conflict-affected regions such as Iraq, Syria, and Sudan, among others, risk assessment and decision-making were also central to the discussions, equipping attendees with frameworks to evaluate personal and organisational safety in volatile contexts.
One such moment came in 2025, when she reported from a Syrian prison housing suspected Islamic State members. The access was conditional.
“We were told we could go to the prison as long as we followed certain rules. We could not ask how the prisoners were or about other things. Most importantly, we could not tell them about current events. We were told this was for security reasons.”
Sally and the attendees further discussed how ethical reporting in conflict zones demands constant negotiation between access, accuracy, and accountability.
Equally pressing was the psychological toll of the work. She spoke candidly about trauma, burnout, and the importance of self-awareness. In conflict reporting, she stressed, it does not merely document suffering; it absorbs it.
“When you’re constantly surrounded by insecurity, it can be helpful to find something to do rather than constantly be lost,” she advised, urging journalists to cultivate routines and boundaries that protect their mental health.
HumAngle journalists during the training session with Sally Hayden. Photo: Al’amin Umar/HumAngle.
According to Saduwo Banyawa, HumAngle’s Adamawa and Taraba Correspondent, the conversation made her realise that “it is okay to feel stuck as a journalist at times and when one gets unnecessarily pressured or has their mental health strained, they should prioritise self-care.”
Over the years, HumAngle has prioritised the mental well-being of reporters and other team members through an Employee Assistance Programme, which offers confidential, one-on-one counselling sessions with our in-house licensed clinical psychologist.
Recently, the newsroom introduced an Anti-Burnout Work Policy that has embedded a three-month rest period into newsroom staff contracts while still providing full annual pay.
“HumAngle’s reporters routinely work in and around conflict zones, camps for displaced people, and communities living with violence and trauma. This kind of journalism demands not just technical skill but emotional stamina and deep empathy, and the costs are often borne silently,” the CEO noted.
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Reflecting on the training, Sabiqah Bello, Multimedia Reporter, described it as both relevant and validating to the experiences of conflict reporters.
“It was particularly insightful because it came from a journalist with extensive, cross-regional experience covering conflict and war, and who has had to confront the realities of that work firsthand. It was especially valuable that we explored ethical dilemmas faced in conflict reporting,” she added.
As part of its sixth-anniversary celebrations, HumAngle, a leading African conflict and humanitarian crisis reporting newsroom, held a training on “ethical dilemmas in conflict reporting” in Abuja, led by journalist Sally Hayden.
The session gathered HumAngle editors and reporters to discuss the challenges of reporting in conflict zones and emphasized maintaining professional integrity. Founded in 2020, HumAngle aims to transform its newsroom into a lasting knowledge institution and is investing in digital security, quality of fellowships, and capacity building.
Ahmad Salkida, HumAngle’s Founder, highlighted the organization’s role in spotlighting underreported stories, accountability, and justice, with plans to enhance investigative reporting and storytelling. Sally Hayden shared frameworks for risk assessment and editorial judgment based on her extensive experience in conflict areas like Iraq, Syria, and Sudan. The session also addressed the psychological toll on journalists and the importance of self-care. HumAngle supports its team with an Employee Assistance Programme and an Anti-Burnout Work Policy, ensuring their reporters are both technically skilled and emotionally resilient.
By day, you’d be forgiven for walking past the newest theater in downtown L.A.
It isn’t hidden in an alley or obscured via a nameless door. No, this performance space is essentially a theater in disguise, as it’s designed to look like an electrical box — a fabrication so real that when artist S.C. Mero was installing it in the Arts District, police stopped her, concerned she was ripping out its copper wire. (There is no copper wire inside this wooden nook.)
Open the door to the theater, and discover a place of urban enchantment, where a red velvet door and crimson wallpaper beckon guests to come closer and sit inside. That is, if they can fit.
With a mirror on its side and a clock in its back, Mero’s creation, about 6 feet tall and 3 feet deep yet smaller on its interior, looks something akin to an intimate, private boudoir — the sort of dressing room that wouldn’t be out of place in one of Broadway’s historic downtown theaters. That’s by design, says Mero, who cites the ornately romanticized vibe and color palette of the Los Angeles Theatre as prime inspiration. Mero, a longtime street artist whose guerrilla art regularly dots the downtown landscape, likes to inject whimsy into her work: a drainage pipe that gives birth, a ball pit for rats or the transformation of a dilapidated building into a “castle.” But there’s just as often some hidden social commentary.
With her Electrical Box Theatre, situated across from the historic American Hotel and sausage restaurant and bar Wurstküche, Mero set out to create an impromptu performance space for the sort of experimental artists who no longer have an outlet in downtown’s galleries or more refined stages. The American Hotel, for instance, subject of 2018 documentary “Tales of the American” and once home to the anything-goes punk rock ethos of Al’s Bar, still stands, but it isn’t lost on Mero that most of the neighborhood’s artist platforms today are softer around the edges.
Ethan Marks inside S.C. Mero’s theater inside a fake electrical box. The guerrilla art piece is near the American Hotel.
“A lot of galleries are for what can sell,” Mero says. “Usually that’s paintings and wall art.”
She dreamed, however, of an anti-establishment place that could feel inviting and erase boundaries between audience and perfomer. “People may be intimidated to get up on a stage or at a coffee shop, but here it’s right on street level.”
It’s already working as intended, says Mero. I visited the box early last week when Mero invited a pair of experimental musicians to perform. Shortly after trumpeter Ethan Marks took to the sidewalk, one of the American Hotel’s current residents leaned out his window and began vocally and jovially mimicking the fragmented and angular notes coming from the instrument. In this moment, “the box,” as Mero casually refers to it, became a true communal stage, a participatory call-and-response pulpit for the neighborhood.
Clown Lars Adams, 38, peers out of S.C. Mero’s theater inside a fake electrical box. Mero modeled the space off of Broadway’s historic theaters.
A few days prior, a rideshare driver noticed a crowd and pulled over to read his poetry. He told Mero it was his first time. The unscripted occurrence, she says, was “one of the best moments I’ve ever experienced in making art.”
“That’s literally what this space is,” Mero says. “It’s for people to try something new or to experiment.”
Marks jumped at the chance to perform for free inside the theater, his brassy freewheeling equally complementing and contrasting the sounds of the intersection. “I was delighted,” he says, when Mero told him about the stage. “There’s so much unexpectedness to it that as an improviser, it really keeps you in the moment.”
A downtown resident for more than a decade, Mero has become something of an advocate for the neighborhood. The area arguably hasn’t returned to its pre-pandemic heights, as many office floors sit empty and a string of high-profile restaurant closures struck the community. Mero’s own gallery at the corner of Spring and Seventh streets shuttered in 2024. Downtown also saw its perception take a hit last year when ICE descended on the city center and national media incorrectly portrayed the hood as a hub of chaos.
Artist S.C. Mero looks into her latest project, a fake electrical box in the Arts District. Mero has long been associated with street art in the neighborhood.
“A lot has changed in the 13 years when I first got down here,” Mero says. “Everybody felt like it was magic, like we were going to be part of this renaissance and L.A. was going to have this epicenter again. Then it descended. A lot of my friends left. But I still see the same beauty in it. The architecture. The history. Downtown is the most populous neighborhood in all of L.A. because it belongs to everybody. It’s everybody’s downtown, whether they love it or not. And I feel we are part of history.”
Art today in downtown ranges from high-end galleries such as Hauser & Wirth to the graffiti-covered towers of Oceanwide Plaza. Gritty spaces, such as Superchief Gallery, have been vocal about struggles to stay afloat. Mero’s art, meanwhile, remains a source of optimism throughout downtown’s streets.
At Pershing Square, for instance, sits her “Spike Cafe,” a mini tropical hideaway atop a parking garage sign where umbrellas and finger food props have become a prettier nesting spot for pigeons. Seen potentially as a vision for beautification, a contrast, for instance, from the nature intrusive barbs that aim to deter wildlife, “Spike Cafe” has become a statement of harmony.
Elsewhere, on the corner of Broadway and Fourth streets, Mero has commandeered a once historic building that’s been burned and left to rot. Mero, in collaboration with fellow street artist Wild Life, has turned the blighted space into a fantastical haven with a knight, a dragon and more — a decaying castle from a bygone era.
“A lot of times people are like, ‘I can’t believe you get away with that!’ But most people haven’t tried to do it, you know?” Mero says. “It can be moved easily. It’s not impeding on anyone. I don’t feel I do anything bad. Not having a permit is just a technicality. I believe what I’m doing is right.”
Musician Jeonghyeon Joo, 31, plays the haegeum outside of S.C. Mero’s latest art project, a theater in a faux electrical box.
After initially posting her electrical box on her social media, Mero says she almost instantly received more than 20 requests to perform at the venue. Two combination locks keep it closed, and Mero will give out the code to those she trusts. “Some people want to come and play their accordion. Another is a tour guide,” Mero says.
Ultimately, it’s an idea, she says, that she’s had for about a decade. “Everything has to come together, right? You have to have enough funds to buy the supplies, and then the skills to to have it come together.”
And while it isn’t designed to be forever, it is bolted to the sidewalk. As for why now was the right time to unleash it, Mero is direct: “I needed the space,” she says.
There are concerns. Perhaps, Mero speculates, someone will change the lock combination, knocking her out of her own creation. And the more attention brought to the box via media interviews means more scrutiny may be placed on it, risking its confiscation by city authorities.
As a street artist, however, Mero has had to embrace impermanence, although she acknowledges it can be a bummer when a piece disappears in a day or two. And unlike a gallerist, she feels an obligation to tweak her work once it’s out in the world. Though her “Spike Cafe” is about a year old, she says she has to “continue to babysit it,” as pigeons aren’t exactly known for their tidiness.
But Mero hopes the box has a life of its own, and considers it a conversation between her, local artists and downtown itself. “I still think we’re part of something special,” Mero says of living and working downtown.
And, at least for now, it’s the neighborhood with arguably the city’s most unique performance venue.
Minnesota’s governor and attorney general on Wednesday defended their efforts to combat fraud and told a U.S. House committee that their efforts have been hampered by President Trump’s immigration crackdown in the state.
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee accused Gov. Tim Walz and Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison of stalling to fight fraud in government programs, saying they put politics ahead of rooting out abuse instead of pausing payments.
“You have not been good stewards of the taxpayer dollars,” said Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, chair of the committee. “And the Democratic position is keep the money flowing. The American taxpayers have had enough.”
Walz said he wanted to work with the federal government to help with fraud investigations, but the immigration surge was making that more difficult.
“The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for political retribution at an unparalleled scale,” Walz said. “We’re going to prosecute, as we have, every single person that’s involved in fraud, but we can’t do it alone.”
Walz and Ellison defended their efforts on fraud, while also trying to turn the focus of the hearing to the surge of 3,000 federal agents in Minnesota that began in December. The Trump administration cited fraud as one justification for its enforcement action. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified Tuesday that about 650 investigators remain in Minnesota as part of a broader fraud probe.
“Operation Metro Surge did nothing to address fraud in our state,” Ellison said. “It harmed our economy and it scarred our people and it dealt a devastating blow to fraud enforcement in Minnesota.”
Ellison noted the series of resignations of lawyers in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, leaving those who remain “drowning in immigration-related petitions” instead of prosecuting fraud. On Tuesday, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota appeared before a judge for a contempt hearing related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement not returning personal property of detainees.
Ellison said his office has “punched above our weight” in winning 300 Medicaid fraud convictions and recovering more than $80 million for taxpayers.
Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana called on Ellison to resign, accusing him of not leading investigations into criminal fraud activity.
Last week, Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” $243 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Minnesota sued on Monday to stop the money from being withheld, warning it may have to cut healthcare for low-income families if the money is held back.
Comer on Wednesday accused Walz of not stopping Medicaid payments despite knowledge of fraud because he “didn’t want to rock the boat.”
Comer and other Republicans accused Walz of lying about when he first found out about fraud in a $250-million scheme known as Feeding Our Future and stalling to act in order to protect the Somali American community. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio asked Walz if he know how many of those who had been indicted were Somali Americans.
“Their ethnicity is not my concern,” Walz said.
Somali Americans make up 82 of the 92 defendants charged so far in the Feeding Our Future case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota.
Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of Long Beach, as part of the effort to focus the hearing on the immigration crackdown, held up images of children detained by federal officers and a picture of the blood-stained car seat of Renee Good who was killed by an officer. Federal officers also killed another Minnesota resident, Alex Pretti, who had been filming enforcement operations.
“This violence does not make us safer,” Garcia said. “It does not address fraud, waste and abuse.”
As the Chicago Bears were rocketing toward an NFC North title and playoff run, quarterback Caleb Williams made a comment on social media about his Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman that has proven prophetic.
“He’s the brains behind all of it.”
Dalman informed the Bears on Tuesday that he will retire. Now. At age 27. After only five NFL seasons. After playing every snap in 2025, the first year of a three-year, $42 million contract.
Initial reaction around the league was that the decision was bonkers. Upon further review, however, it might be the most rational, reasoned move made this offseason.
Not long ago, most NFL players — linemen, certainly — couldn’t up and quit at the peak of their earning potential because their earnings weren’t enough to ensure a lifetime of financial stability.
Instead, they did what football players do — button their chin strap and play as long as their name remained on a roster. The risk of serious injury — including concussions — was simply the price of staying in the business.
Today, it doesn’t take a mechanical engineering major to recognize that the equation has changed. Dalman, who happened to study mechanical engineering at Stanford, has yet to articulate why he is retiring.
But it is safe to presume that considerations included the roughly $24 million he banked in four years with the Atlanta Falcons and one with the Bears as well as the well-chronicled list of former players whose brains or other body parts no longer function properly because of the violent nature of the sport.
One of those players was Chris Dalman, an offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers from 1993-1999. He retired at 29 after suffering a neck injury during training camp in 2000 that left him temporarily paralyzed.
Chris is Drew’s father. He also graduated from Stanford and now is president of the private school in Salinas, Calif., that he and his son attended. This is what Chris told reporters when he retired in 2000:
“When I first got hurt and I couldn’t move, laying on the field for about 30 seconds, I knew it was probably over,” he said. “Still, it’s strange to think that this part of your life is over.”
Abruptly ending a career prematurely can’t be easy. It likely was as difficult for Drew Dalman as it was for his father. Yet the mountain of information regarding the link between repeated helmet-to-helmet hitting and CTE is irrefutable.
A 2023 Boston University study found that 345 of 376 (91.7%) post-mortem brains of former NFL players contained CTE, a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma. This condition is linked to dementia, cognitive decline and increased suicide risk among former players.
It remains to be seen whether more players will retire while at the top of their game. Already, several have done so, most prominently linebacker Luke Kuechly at 28 and quarterback Andrew Luck at 29.
Losing Dalman shocked the Bears, but they should be OK. The $10 million in salary cap space freed by his retirement can be spent on one of the several available free-agent centers.
That means Williams — the former USC Heisman Trophy winner and blossoming NFL quarterback — must adjust to a new center a year after he was thrilled that the Bears signed Dalman.
Williams’ words in December about Dalman’s exceptional brain, however, were followed by something less prophetic. While showering the Bears center with praise, Williams said, “And he’s the right guy for the job for my future and our future here.”
Dalman apparently prioritized his own future health instead.
March 4 (UPI) — NATO air and missile defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran heading toward Turkish airspace on Wednesday.
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced that the ballistic missile had crossed Iraqi and Syrian airspace before being neutralized by NATO air defenses posted in the Mediterranean Sea. There were no casualties or injuries.
“Our resolve and capacity to ensure the security of our country and citizens are at the highest level,” the Ministry of Defense said in a press release translated from Turkish. “While Turkey supports regional stability and peace, it is capable of ensuring the security of its territory and citizens, regardless of who or where the threat comes from.”
The ministry did not say what it believed the intended target of the missile to be.
The Iranian missile is the first fired toward NATO territory since the conflict began. It followed a warning from Tehran that European countries supporting the United States and Israel would face retaliation from Iran.
Iran has launched missiles and drones toward countries in the Middle East that have a U.S. military presence in response to the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
“NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Turkey, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region,” Allison Hart, NATO spokeswoman, said in a statement. “Our deterrence and defense posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defense.”
After being intercepted, debris from the missile fell in the Turkish province Hatay in south-central Turkey near the Syrian border.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a social media post on Tuesday that he wishes to see a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict.
“We do not wish to witness conflict, war, tension and massacre right next door,” Erdogan said. “Our stance on the illegal attacks targeting Iran is also in this direction.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela speaks to reporters outside of the White House in Washington on October 21, 1999. Mandela was famously released from prison in South Africa on February 11, 1990. Photo by Joel Rennich/UPI | License Photo
