Coronation Street has shared new spoiler for next week episodes with two villains under the spotlight, while an iconic character faces grave danger after a revenge twist
It’s a really big week on Coronation Street next week, with danger, bombshells and discoveries(Image: ITV)
It’s a really big week on Coronation Street next week, with danger, bombshells and discoveries that could change everything.
One soap legend could be left fighting for his life after a deliberate act of arson. Details are being kept under wraps in terms of what unfolds, but recent hints suggest Roy Cropper’s life will be at risk.
There’s also a killer bombshell for one character, while a villain is finally exposed by his victim for their cruel and abusive behaviour. More than one baddie’s true colours come to light, very much paving the way for the dramatic murder episode airing later this month.
It’s certainly a week to watch as things become clearer, motives for the shock death grow and we see multiple characters taking centre stage. Kicking things off, Summer questions Theo about Billy’s last moments, but she’s shocked by Theo and Todd’s plans to move to Belfast.
Summer tells Todd her fears that Theo killed Billy, while George and Sarah try to stop Todd leaving. At the flat, Todd makes his bid for freedom, but will he get away?
Todd finally speaks out, standing up to Theo in a special episode before reporting the abuse to Lisa and Kit. Theo is desperate to flee, but will he make his escape or will he be stopped?
Sarah vows to find video evidence of the abuse Todd has endured, while Todd struggles to return to normality. Roy is in grave danger when Mal takes revenge, as the café is set on fire.
With everyone thinking Roy is out, they have no idea he’s unconscious in the smoked out flat upstairs, so will he be saved? Debbie sees Carl’s true colours when Summer tells her about Carl’s offer to give her information about Billy’s death, in exchange for his life insurance payout.
Debbie kicks Carl out, while Ronnie makes him an offer. Mal reports Kit for assault, but Kit plays it down to Lisa, claiming Mal is unhinged. Later, Lisa misplaces her police badge as she sets off for work.
Elsewhere, Jodie’s latest actions spark a rift with the family, and Ben quizzes Steve about their dad Jim. George confides in Glenda that he might have to sell the business, and Eva tries to get the Driscolls on good terms again.
Liverpoolare on red alert with Real Madrid now open to selling France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, 23, who is a long-term target for the Reds. (L’Equipe – in French), external
Barcelona and Juventus are among the clubs who want to sign Manchester Cityand Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva, 31, on a free transfer this summer. (Sky Sports), external
If Brazil forward Vinicius Jr, 25, elects to leave Real Madrid, only Paris St-Germain or the Premier League remain as realistic options. (ESPN), external
Borussia Dortmund are interested in Strasbourg and Belgium’s Diego Moreira, 21, but Chelsea have a buy-back clause for the left-sided player. (Florian Plettenberg), external
Roma are keen on Midtjylland duo Dario Osorio, 22, and Franculino, 21, with the Chile winger and Guinea-Bissau forward valued at a combined 55m euros (£48m). (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external
After gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Askar Akayev became President.
In 2005, a popular uprising known as the “Tulip Revolution”, forced President Akayev’s resignation in April of that year. Opposition leaders formed a coalition, and a new government was formed under President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
On April 6th 2010, civil unrest broke out in the town of Talas after a demonstration against government corruption and increased living expenses.
On April 7th 2010, the unrest had spread and mass anti-government protests in Bishkek turned violent, with over 84 people being killed and many hundreds injured in clashes with security forces.
A transition government took control and Bakiev fled the country soon afterwards.
The day has been a public holiday since 2016.
To mark the events of 2010, hundreds of people attend a special ceremony at a memorial site near Bishkek, including top government officials and the relatives of victims who died during the revolution. People laid wreaths and flowers and held prayers for the deceased.
The WHO has warned of ‘catastrophic’ risks if radioactive release occurs.
Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant has been targeted four times since the United States-Israel war on Iran began more than a month ago.
And the World Health Organization (WHO has warned of “catastrophic” risks if a radioactive release occurs.
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Tehran has accused the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog of inaction – an allegation that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rejects. But it does acknowledge that the situation is of deep concern.
Why are the attacks happening, and what risks do they pose?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Tariq Rauf – Former head of verification and security policy coordination at the IAEA
Abas Aslani – Senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies
Alicia Sanders-Zakre – Head of policy at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Todd Meadows, a deckhand on one of the fishing vessels featured on the Emmy-winning reality series “Deadliest Catch,” died after he fell overboard into the Bering Sea.
The official cause of death listed on the crew member’s death certificate, which was obtained by TMZ, states that Meadows died from drowning with probable hypothermia and submersion of his body in cold water. The death has been ruled an accident by the Alaska Department of Health.
Meadows, a rookie deckhand who joined the production in May 2025, had not yet been featured on the long-running reality series at the time of his death. “Deadliest Catch” was reportedly wrapping production on Season 22 when the incident occurred, and cameras were rolling.
Meadows’ mother, Angela Meadows, has since asked that the show not air footage of her son’s death. “No parent would want the world to watch their child die,” Meadows told Alaska News Source.
Rick Shelford, the captain of the Aleutian Lady, announced in a social media post that Meadows died Feb. 25. He called it “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea.”
“We lost our brother,” Shelford wrote in his lengthy tribute. “Todd was the newest member of our crew, he quickly became family. His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyone’s respect right away. His smile was contagious, and the sound of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs or over the deck hailer is something we will carry with us always.
“He worked hard, loved deeply, and brought joy to those around him,” he added. “Todd will forever be part of this boat, this crew, and this brotherhood. Though we lost him far too soon, his legacy will live on through his children and in every memory we carry of him.”
A GoFundMe set up in Meadows’ name described the deckhand from Montesano, Wash., as a father to “three amazing little boys” who died “while doing what he loved — crabbing out on Alaskan waters.”
The fundraiser has since raised more than $59,000.
According to the Associated Press, Meadows was reported to have fallen overboard around 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
“He was recovered unresponsive by the crew approximately 10 minutes later,” Chief Petty Officer Travis Magee, a spokesperson with the Coast Guard’s Arctic District, told the AP.
The incident is still being investigated by the Coast Guard.
Times staff writer Tracy Brown contributed to this report.
Vitor Matos has said players like Liam Cullen are the “soul and heart” of Swansea City as he insisted the club cannot be dragged down by the weight of history.
After the game, Matos was asked about Cullen’s unfamiliar starting role on the right flank against Boro – and responded by launching a passionate defence of the versatile Wales international.
Swansea academy product Cullen has been consistently praised by managers for his attitude and contribution for club and country.
However, that has not stopped the 26-year-old from facing social media criticism on a regular basis.
The latest example of that came following Wales’ World Cup play-off semi-final defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina last month, when Cullen featured as a substitute.
Matos has drawn comparisons between Cullen and Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni, who was sent off in Italy’s play-off final loss to the Bosnians four days later.
“I really don’t know what is, how do I say, how everyone feels so much in doubt when it’s Liam or someone similar, because I just give this example,” the Swansea head coach said.
Samsung announced that it is ending its Samsung Messages texting app in July when it will stop working and become unavailable for download, and is encouraging users to switch to Google Messages for their texting purposes. File Photo by Erdem Sahin/EPA-EFE
April 6 (UPI) — Samsung said on Monday that it will discontinue its messages app and told users to upgrade to Google Messages as their default method for sending texts.
The move is being billed as an upgrade, as Google Messages includes spam and scam filters, RCS-enabled messaging, artificial intelligence features because the app is integrated with Google’s Gemini, and the ability to continue chats across multiple devices without interruption.
The Samsung Messages app will not be available to download and will stop functioning in July, Samsung said in an end-of-service announcement.
Samsung Messages was the pre-installed, default texting app on all the company’s smartphones until 2021, CNET reported.
In 2024, it stopped pre-installing it and gradually started to motivate users to switch to the Google service with the release of its Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 phones, and the Galaxy S26 — the newest version of its flagship smartphone — is not able to download the app.
“Once the Samsung Messages app is discontinued, sending messages via Samsung Messages on your phone will no longer be possible, except for emergency service numbers or emergency contacts defined on your device,” Samsung said in the announcement.
In the announcement, Samsung said that depending on the operating system on the device, some users may receive a notification in Samsung Messages about migrating to Google Messages, if the user opts for it.
For some users, the company said, Google Messages will not instantly be set as the default texting app and may not appear in the home screen doc, with Samsung providing instructions for accomplishing both.
It also noted in the announcement that watches launched before the Galaxy Watch4 do not support Google’s texting app, and that Samsung devices released before 2022 will require users on both ends of a text conversation to switch to Google Messages for full RCS conversations to be available.
RCS, or Rich Communication Services, is a SMS/MMS standard that has been adopted by most messaging apps, including the iMessage app on iPhones, that provides end-to-end encryption, ensuring a “more dynamic and secure conversation,” according to Google.
President Donald Trump speaks during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on April 6, 2026. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Grammy winner Lil Nas X is another step closer to potentially resolving his felony police battery case.
A Los Angeles judge on Monday granted the “Industry Baby” and “Old Town Road” singer’s motion for diversion, ordering the 26-year-old musician to enter a two-year mental health program, according to multiple outlets. TMZ reported that Lil Nas X — birth name Montero Hill — will be cleared of his four felony counts if he complies with treatment and commits no other crimes.
A legal representative for the rapper-singer, who was naked when he was arrested in Studio City last August, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Lil Nas X, who returned to Van Nuys Courthouse for a hearing, told media he was feeling “thankful” and echoed a previous comment that he misses his fans.
“I’m just going through the flow of life,” he said outside the courthouse, according to video published by Rolling Stone reporter Nancy Dillon.
The singer received treatment at a nearby hospital for a possible overdose but was accused of assaulting police officers. He was charged with four felony counts: three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer. Police allege the singer assaulted the officers who were trying to take him into custody. Lil Nas X had pleaded not guilty to all those counts.
Days after his Studio City episode, Lil Nas X reassured fans on social media he would be all right. “That was terrifying,” he recalled of his arrest,”that was a terrifying four days but ya girl’s gonna be all right.”
Rolling Stone reported that during Monday’s hearing Judge Alan Schneider said the singer’s behavior in August was “aberrant from his normal conduct” and related to his bipolar diagnosis. Schneider also observed that the artist “appears to be doing very well” and “when treated, he is much better off, and society is much better off,” the outlet said.
Middlesbrough, who went into the Easter weekend in the top two, still had the opportunity to end it there with victory at Swansea City in the 17:30 BST game.
Alex Bangura set them on their way with a 12th-minute goal but, after two Zan Vipotnik penalties put the Swans in front, Boro needed a Tommy Conway spot-kick to rescue a point.
Boro are floundering with two wins in their past 10 matches and while they scored more than once for the first time in five games, the feeling remains they are a frustrating and inconsistent proposition in front of goal.
Manager Kim Hellberg said after the match there would be more “twists and turns” to come in the fight for promotion – after a day of such similar rollercoaster emotions.
“You’ve got three teams on 72 points – Ipswich have some games in hand, so they’re in a better position than the other two, but we are in a better position than Millwall because of our better goal difference,” he told BBC Radio Tees.
“There will be twists and turns. No team will just go and win games. It’s difficult and you need to just try in this period to get those points and wins.
“We have to keep fighting. It’s tough we didn’t win, because we thought we were good enough in the game to win, but then you have to do it.
“The easy answer at the moment is that we’re not being clinical enough or smart enough in different ways.”
With a four-point deficit to Ipswich, and a vastly inferior goal difference, plus the games in hand the Tractor Boys hold, Hull can be considered the outsiders in this race.
But the Tigers showed against Coventry they can match anyone in the division and once again reaffirmed the fantastic job Sergej Jakirovic has done in his first season in English football under a transfer embargo.
Although when asked about what that point means in terms of the wider context of Hull’s season, Jakirovic was talking more play-offs than automatic promotion.
“Somebody said it is 73, 74, 75 [to reach the play-offs] but God knows how many. Until we are in this position we will just look at ourselves and try to take points in every game,” Jakirovic told BBC Radio Humberside.
“Norwich are coming, Derby is there, Southampton… but, no matter, we must look at ourselves.”
US president says Washington, as the ‘winner’ of the war, has a ‘concept’ for charging a toll in strategic waterway.
Published On 6 Apr 20266 Apr 2026
President Donald Trump has suggested the United States may be looking to charge a toll in the Strait of Hormuz after the war, a move that would likely require direct US military control over the strategic waterway.
Asked on Monday whether he would accept a deal that would allow Iran to take fees from ships to traverse the strait, the US president said: “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them. Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner. We won.”
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Trump reiterated that Iran has been militarily defeated, a claim that he has been making since the early days of the war, despite Iran’s sustained drone and missile attacks across the region and its continuing blockade of Hormuz.
“The only thing they have is the psychology of, ‘Oh, we’re going to drop a couple of mines in the water.’ All right, no, I mean, we have a concept where we’ll charge tolls,” Trump told reporters.
Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean, lies mostly within Omani and Iranian territorial waters. About 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passed through the strait before the war.
Trump’s latest comments came as he issued what he called a “final” ultimatum to Tehran to reopen the strait and agree to Washington’s terms or face attacks against Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants.
The US president told reporters on Monday that any deal with Iran must include reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be, we want free traffic of oil,” he said.
Reports have suggested that Iran is already charging a toll for some of the few ships it is allowing to pass through the strait.
“The Strait of Hormuz situation won’t return to its pre-war status,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X last month.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also called for “new arrangements” to manage the waterway after the war, ensuring safe passage for ships and protecting Iran’s interests.
“I believe that after the war, the first step should be drafting a new protocol for the Strait of Hormuz,” he told Al Jazeera in March. “Naturally, this should be done between the countries that lie on both sides of the strait.”
The White House said last week that Trump is considering asking Arab countries to pay for Washington’s expenses in its war on Iran.
In the midst of the escalation of the Gaza conflict that has been going on since 2023, the world is once again witnessing the heartbreaking reality of women crying among the ruins of their homes and the burning of property, mothers who have lost children, and families separated by military attacks. Global media were quick to point to this event as a symbol of the suffering of civil society. But behind the empathy shown, there is also a question that is rarely asked: how exactly can Palestinian women be represented, and who can shape that narrative?
For decades, women in conflict zones, such as the Middle East, have often been portrayed in the same framework, as passive victims who need to be rescued and protected. In the context of Gaza, this pattern has resurfaced. Global media coverage often only highlights women’s plight without giving enough space for their voices, perspectives, and agency in conflict. This narrative does look humanistic, but it also contains an element of simplification that makes the world unaware of the more complex reality behind it.
This is where postcolonial feminism offers a sharper critique and helps us to look further at this issue as a form of epistemic violence. This perspective emphasizes that in understanding women’s experiences, it cannot be separated from considerations about the history of colonialism and global power relations. In the context of the Gaza conflict, this means that violence is experienced by women. Not only a patriarchal problem but also supported by aspects of colonialism, militarization, and inequality politics (Enloe, 2014).
This phenomenon cannot be separated from the thoughts of Lila Abu-Lughod, who mentioned “politics of saving” in her work entitled Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Abu-Lughod (2013) criticized how the Western world portrays Muslim women as an oppressed group in need of rescue. This narrative is not only a form of simplifying women’s representation but can also be used as a legitimacy for political, cultural, and even military intervention from external actors. Such as the concept of militarization of daily life raised by Enloe (2014), who explains that militarization does not only occur on the battlefield but also enters into the reality of daily life, including in how the media frames conflicts. Where in this context the representation of Palestinian women as passive victims is used to affirm certain narratives about war, security, and the legitimacy of power.
The term “security politics” in the Gaza conflict appears in a more subtle form. Palestinian women are positioned as a universal form of suffering but are rarely seen as political subjects with diverse experiences and aspirations. The suffering they experience in conflict becomes a global consumption, while structural contexts, such as colonialism and power inequality, are often ignored.
An important question then arises: who really has the right to speak on behalf of Palestinian women? This is where Spivak’s (2009) thoughts on the concept of the subaltern become relevant. Spivak himself argues that the subaltern group is a group that is in a marginalized position so that its voice is not heard in the dominant discourse. Even when they are “represented,” their voices are often mediated or even filtered by stronger actors.
In many news narratives about Gaza, Palestinian women rarely appear as the main narrator of their own experiences. Brand awareness is often told by foreign journalists and international organizations. Or humanitarian institutions as “representatives.” As a result, the narrative that is born is not a complete reflection of the reality they face, but rather a form of representation that has been framed according to the logic and direction of global media reporting.
This issue becomes more complex when we look at how the media tends to ignore the agency dimension. Palestinian women not only live in the shadow of conflict but also have active agency in various forms of resistance, both as activists, journalists, medical personnel, and community leaders. They have the capacity to build solidarity and even contribute to political struggles as well as peace. However, aspect II rarely gets the same spotlight as the narrative of suffering.
This disregard of agency can create an imbalance of representation. Palestinian women are only seen as passive victims, which makes them look like they also have no capacity as active actors. This inequality is not only a question of representation but also a question of power regarding who has the right to define reality for a particular purpose.
In the digital era, this is certainly starting to change. Social media provides a space for Palestinian women to be able to speak directly to a global audience. Through various social media platforms, they can share experiences and aspirations that are often not featured in the mainstream media. This ultimately opens up the possibility of a more authentic and diverse counternarrative.
However, the digital space is still full of limitations. Certain narratives can easily go viral, while others sink and disappear without a trace. In other words, while social media can offer opportunities, the space is not completely free from the influence of broader power structures.
Rereading the narrative of Palestinian women in the era of the Gaza conflict is a form of recognition that representation is not neutral. It is always related to interests, ideologies, and power relations. The narrative of “rescue” may seem like a form of concern from the surface, but if you look further, it can also be a form of control over the other party’s representation. Looking at the Gaza conflict through the lens of feminism is to question basic assumptions in global reporting. Do we really see them as individuals? Do we really hear their voices, or just voices about them?
Therefore, it is important to change our perspective. Instead of seeing Palestinian women as victims who need to be saved, we need to recognize them as subjects who have the capacity to speak, form agencies, and share their experiences in the form of real reality. This is not to ignore the real suffering but to place Palestinian women’s experiences in armed conflict in a broader, fairer, and closer context to reality. As Abu-Lughod (2013) reminds us, the more important question that arises is not how to save Muslim women, but how to understand the conditions and realities that shape their life experiences.
Ultimately, the lens of feminism, particularly postcolonial feminism, invites us to not only have empathy but also to be more critical. By looking further at how the narrative is formed, who can benefit, and which voices are ignored.
Perhaps the more relevant question is not whether Palestinian women need protection and rescue, but whether the world is ready to hear and see them as subjects who have the capacity to speak and move. Because what needs to change is not them, but the way we understand them.
A five-year grassroots campaign to spur the reopening of one of the crown jewels of moviegoing in Los Angeles is on indefinite pause following an incident at the theater Friday night.
Ben Steinberg, a 26-year-old film student at Cal State Northridge, has long been a vocal and active proponent of reopening Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome, which has been closed since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. A Change.org petition started by Steinberg has more than 31,000 signatures asking the Decurion Corp., longtime owners of the venue, to reopen or lease the property to someone else who would. Across social media platforms, Steinberg has nearly 12,000 followers.
From across Sunset Boulevard on Friday night, Steinberg — along with a projectionist and a privately-hired security guard — had been projecting images of two members of the Forman family, who own Decurion, onto the front of the Dome along with the slogan “Mr. Forman REOPEN THE DOME!” After about two-and-a-half hours, LAPD officers arrived in response to a radio call received around 9 p.m.
“They came to us and they informed us that the property owner considers it harassment and that it’s an escalation and that we have to shut down,” said Steinberg in an interview with The Times on Sunday afternoon. “So we just shut down immediately. We didn’t contest anything.”
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Decurion on Monday. The LAPD confirmed details of the incident.
The Cinerama Dome originally opened in 1963 with its white tiled design and distinctive marquee. In April 2021 it was announced by Pacific Theatres that the venue would not be reopening. That brief statement regarding the closure of Pacific Theatres and ArcLight Cinemas, which operated the Dome and were also owned by Decurion, said in part, “This was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward.”
Since then there have been sporadic signs of life regarding the venue, mostly to do with liquor licensing and permit requests, such as last October when a company called Dome Center LLC filed an application for a conditional-use permit.
Particularly since it became part of the larger ArcLight Hollywood multiplex in 2002, the Dome had been a vital part of the community of moviegoers in Los Angeles, home to many notable premieres and events. The front of the theater made a memorable appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning 2019 film “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.”
For now Steinberg considers his Save the Cinerama Dome campaign, which began in April 2021, paused but he hopes to resume it as soon as possible. The complaint made to the police Friday was the first reaction of any kind Steinberg has received from Decurion.
“I think it definitely tells what their intentions are,” said Steinberg. “This is the only sign that they’ve given us that they don’t want us to continue and it’s definitely a threat.”
For Steinberg, the campaign has grown beyond just wanting to see movies again in a favorite venue and into something about who truly owns the cultural capital of the city.
“I think it’s extremely important to the community of Los Angeles and it represents the city,” said Steinberg of the Cinerama Dome. “And just personally, I have so many good memories of the theater. I would hope that I’d be able to go back in again and watch movies. I think the whole city deserves the movie theater. I don’t think it would be fair for them to keep it abandoned.”
While Decurion may be operating within its rights as owner of the property, its secretive and mysterious business practices have increasingly angered film fans concerned about the future of moviegoing in the city.
“When I first posted about it, I thought people wouldn’t care,” said Steinberg. “But it seems like the whole world cares about the Cinerama Dome. And I think too it’s more than the Cinerama Dome at this point. I think it just kind of represents the overall landscape of L.A. and America and how these large corporations can own historic buildings and keep them abandoned and then sort of push away people who want [them] to reopen.”
WASHINGTON — The Education Department said Monday it has terminated agreements that previous administrations reached with five school districts and a college aimed at upholding rights and protections for transgender students.
The decision means the department will no longer play a role in enforcing those agreements, which called for schools to take steps to comply with federal civil rights law. The districts affected are Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware, Fife School District in Washington, Delaware Valley School District in Pennsylvania, and La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, Sacramento City Unified and Taft College in California.
Under the Biden and Obama administrations, the department interpreted Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, to include protections for transgender and gay students.
The Trump administration has penalized schools that have made efforts to accommodate students based on their gender identity. It has filed lawsuits in California and Minnesota over state policies permitting transgender students to participate in interscholastic sports, and opened civil rights investigations into schools and universities over their policies on transgender students.
But the announcement Monday appeared to involve the first known cases of the administration terminating civil rights settlements that had been negotiated with schools.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the action reflects the administration’s efforts to keep transgender students from participating in girls’ and women’s sports teams and accessing shared locker rooms.
“Today, the Trump Administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior Administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda,” she said in a written statement.
Her players, though, were as excited for their coach as they were for themselves after defeating South Carolina 79-51 to claim the first NCAA national title in program history.
“I’m super proud of her as well, the way she responded as a leader last year,” UCLA senior guard Gabriela Jaquez said. “We responded well. Obviously we’re here now. I think it started with Coach Cori and the way she wanted to make a change in our program and get us back here, get this result.”
Close, who has been with the Bruins since 2011, got UCLA close last season, when the Bruins reached the Final Four and were blown out by Connecticut in the semifinal.
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But they turned the tables on South Carolina on Sunday, and Close said the best feeling was knowing that her process could work.
“This has been a calling, not a job,” Close said. “I’ve been saying it all day, but I don’t even know how else to say it, it’s immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine. I’m really grateful.”
UCLA coach Cori Close points across the court and talks with guard Kiki Rice during a win over South Carolina in the NCAA national title game Sunday in Phoenix.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
At times during her career, Close was viewed as an excellent recruiter and strong motivational speaker, but her tactical decisions were easy to question every time her team faltered during big moments. During the course of UCLA’s win over South Carolina, Close demonstrated every weakness her team showed during the past four years had been corrected. The result, was a lopsided victory that announced her arrival as one of women’s college basketball’s top coaches.
WNBA star Caitlin Clark on posted on X, “Not many care about the game as much as Coach Close … couldn’t be happier for her!!”
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said Close and her Bruins deserved all the praise.
“Cori is one of those people who really works at making our game better. Not just UCLA, but our entire game,” Staley said. “She’s always speaking out, uplifting our game in so many areas that it’s hard to continue to do that while maintaining the job that you have to do every day. But she finds the time.
UCLA coach Cori Close hugs South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley before their teams faced off for a national title Sunday in Phoenix.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“Although we didn’t win, I can swallow it because we lost to a really good human being and a good team that represent women’s basketball well.”
Close will have to face a rebuild and likely have to work the transfer portal hard in the coming weeks to replace her six seniors and graduate students. But now, it might be a little bit easier since she’s proven her players bought in and she can win.
“Coach Cori really stayed patient with me,” said senior Lauren Betts, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. “She wanted to see me accomplish everything that I’d ever dreamed of. They just continued to remind me, they want me to see myself the way they all see me. I feel like now at this point I can finally truly do that. I think that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Not only win, either, but in such joyous fashion that it kept many of the players committed to the program and each other. Close’s approach ultimately carried them to a national championship.
UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez dribbles under pressure from South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards Sunday in Phoenix.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“It’s about their work and their habits yielding,” Close said while tearing up. “We say this, we want to recruit courageous. There were a lot of times we wondered if it could be true. I said I wanted to find uncommon, courageous women that were willing to make uncommon choices that maybe possibly could yield an uncommon result, and today it did.”
More love for the national champions
The UCLA women’s basketball team’s win sparked celebrations throughout the country.
UCLA two-sport star Megan Grant, who spent part of the fall practicing and playing on the Bruins’ basketball team, helped the softball team sweep Indiana before catching a flight to Phoenix. She greeted the basketball team at its hotel and joined the celebration, getting decked in UCLA national championship gear and receiving a piece of the title net from Close.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, a proud UCLA alum, recorded a video congratulating the team on its title win from one champion to another. “You guys made the entire Bruin nation so proud,” he said.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson, former U.S. Soccer star Abby Wambach, former President Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Karen Bass and many others congratulated the Bruins on social media. The state capital was lit in UCLA colors Sunday night in honor of the Bruins’ win. Fans greeted the team when the Bruins’ bus from the airport arrived on campus Sunday night.
UCLA is inviting fans to a national title celebration at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night. The official start time has not yet been announced.
Gymnastics advances to NCAA championships
The UCLA gymnastics team was locked in a tight battle Sunday in Corvallis, Ore., for a spot in the national championship meet.
The Bruins, however, were confident their super-power event — the floor exercise, their final rotation — would keep alive their goal of winning a national title.
Ciena Alipio scored a 9.875; Mika Webster-Longin, Sydney Barros and Ashlee Sullivan all scored a 9.900; and Tiana Sumanasekera added a 9.925.
Then it was time for senior Jordan Chiles to close out the meet for the Bruins.
Chiles delivered the same dynamic floor routine that has earned high scores all season, bursting into tears as soon as she stuck the final landing. She was rewarded with her eighth perfect 10 of the season and clinched the regional victory for the Bruins.
It was UCLA’s 25th NCAA regional title and the program’s first since 2019.
UCLA’s final team score was 197.725. Minnesota was next in line with 197.625 and will join the Bruins as the teams advancing to the national title meet.
Longtime UCLA rival Utah placed third with 197.500 and Alabama was fourth with 197.175.
Louisiana State, Stanford, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Arkansas are the other six teams that advanced to the national championships, which will be held April 16 and 18 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
No. 1 UCLA baseball sweeps No. 12 USC
The No. 1 UCLA baseball team completed a three-game sweep of No. 12 USC at Jackie Robinson Field, rolling to a 10-4 victory.
With the score tied 3-3 in the fifth inning, Will Gasparino hit a two-run homer. Mulivai Levu added a two-run homer in the sixth, and Roch Cholowsky tacked on a three-run blast in the eighth.
UCLA earned a 12-4 win over USC on Friday, then had to rally for a 9-8 win Saturday.
The Bruins (29-2, 15-0 Big Ten) are riding a 23-game win streak. The Trojans (27-6, 10-5) started the season on a 19-game win streak but have been challenged by Big Ten competition.
The UCLA football team kicked off spring workouts this past week. We’ll get our first chance to talk with players this week and promise to have more football coverage in the newsletters to come.
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
April 6 (UPI) — A cruise ship in Fiji ran aground at Monuriki Island, a small, uninhabited island off the coast of Fiji where the movie Cast Away was filmed.
The ship is the 180-foot Fiji Princess, part of Blue Lagoon Cruises. It ran aground on a reef while visiting the island. All 30 passengers and 17 of its 31 crew were taken off the boat on the same day, and there were no injuries reported.
“Initial checks confirmed that the vessel has suffered serious damage to its rear left side, including the area where the steering equipment is located. Part of the vessel underneath has also been damaged,” a spokesperson for the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji said.
“The vessel also experienced engine failure and was reported to be taking in water following the grounding. Due to rough seas and strong waves, officers were unable to safely inspect the vessel underwater at the time,” the MSAF said.
The main priority is protecting the environment, a spokesperson said.
The ship was carrying about 5,300 gallons of diesel fuel. The spokesperson said authorities had taken oil spill equipment to the area “as a precaution” but that the sea was too rough to use it.
“At the time of inspection, there were no signs that the fuel tanks had been damaged,” the spokesperson said.
Salvage teams, with the help of an Australian salvage specialist, were working to remove the fuel and oil from the ship.
”Msaf’s main concern at this time is the safety of all personnel, the protection of Fiji’s marine environment, and ensuring that response efforts continue safely,” a spokesperson said. “Msaf will continue to work closely with the vessel operator and all response teams, and will provide further updates as necessary.”
Monuriki Island is where the 2000 movie “Cast Away,” starring Tom Hanks, was filmed. It is part of the Mamanuca Island chain, on which “Survivor” has been filmed since 2016.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Iran has rejected a ceasefire proposal from the United States, but says it sees a need for a permanent end to the war, its official news agency has reported. As of Monday, the United States and Iran were considering a framework aimed at ending their five-week conflict, as Tehran stressed its desire for a durable resolution and resisted pressure to quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a temporary ceasefire.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Iran delivered its response to the U.S. proposal via Pakistan, rejecting the idea of a ceasefire and underscoring the need for a permanent conclusion to the war.
The response outlined 10 provisions, including ending regional hostilities, lifting sanctions, and supporting reconstruction efforts, IRNA reported.
According to a report from Axios that cites “four U.S., Israeli, and regional sources with knowledge of the talks,” the two-tier plan was to start with a 45-day ceasefire, planned to lead into a longer-term peace deal.
A senior Iranian official confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Tehran had received the ceasefire plan from Pakistan.
April 6 (Reuters) – Iran and the U.S. have received a plan to end hostilities that could come into effect on Monday and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a source aware of the proposals said on Monday.
A framework to end hostilities has been put together by Pakistan and exchanged…
Pakistan has been playing a leading role in negotiations, with its Army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, reportedly in contact throughout the night with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was in contact “all night long” with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, a source told Reuters.
One major sticking point appears to be Iran’s refusal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a “temporary ceasefire.” Around a fifth of the world’s oil supply usually passes through the strait, which Iran has effectively blocked.
The same Iranian official told Reuters that the United States is not ready for a permanent ceasefire. Tehran will not be pressured into accepting deadlines and making a decision, the official added.
Iran and the United States have received a plan to end hostilities that could come into effect on April 6 and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a source aware of the proposals said https://t.co/i98nhEFDcr
Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to obliterate Iranian power plants and bridges if it doesn’t agree to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8:00 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Eastern Time). “If they don’t come through, if they want to keep it closed, they’re going to lose every power plant and every other plant they have in the whole country,” Trump said in an eight-minute interview with The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
Today, Trump reiterated that the Tuesday deadline is final.
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the Tuesday deadline he has set for Iran to make a deal is final, adding that Iran’s proposal was significant but not good enough.
Trump also issued an expletive-laden warning on his Truth Social website: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump reiterates his demands to Iran: “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell” pic.twitter.com/aZb8sSjGBU
Iran’s parliament speaker responded with a warning that the US president’s “reckless moves” would mean “our whole region is going to burn”.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said that those threats could amount to war crimes. “The American president, as the highest official of his country, has publicly threatened to commit war crimes,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on X, citing provisions of international law.
“The threat to attack power plants and bridges (civilian infrastructure) is a war crime under Article 8(2)(b) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” he said, cited by AFP. Gharibabadi also warned that Iran would “deliver a decisive, immediate and regret-inducing response to any aggression or imminent threat.”
Iran has itself attacked civilian infrastructure on the Arabian Peninsula, including desalination plants critical to providing water to people living there.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, condemned Trump’s threats and argued that he was being misled by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living HELL for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn because you insist on following Netanyahu’s commands,” Qalibaf posted on X.
Iran’s central military command also responded to the latest threats, promising “much more devastating” retaliation if the U.S. military starts to hit civilian targets.
According to Barak Ravid, global affairs correspondent for Axios, the 45-day ceasefire is “one of many more ideas” being discussed.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷A White House official told me the plan for a 45-day ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is “one of many ideas” being discussed at the moment. “The President has not signed off on it. Operation Epic Fury continues. President Trump will speak more at 1pm”, the White House… https://t.co/gKzZ30ZMaL
Author’s note: We will be updating our readers on what we know about the F-15E WSO recovery in a separate piece.
UPDATE: 4:15 PM EDT –
A recent post on X by the U.S. Central Command shows U.S. Marines preparing an example of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during Operation Epic Fury.
UPDATE: 4:10 PM EDT –
Reutersreports that four Iranian army ground force officers were killed on Sunday during an operation to counter U.S. aircraft in Isfahan, citing the semi-official Fars news agency. It is unclear if this is connected to the F-15E WSO recovery operation, which was taking place in the same region at that time.
Four officers of the Iranian army’s ground forces were killed during clashes with US aircraft in the central Isfahan province on Sunday, the state-affiliated Fars news agency reports, saying they died while engaging attacking warplanes, helicopters and drones. pic.twitter.com/l46hpCwyKr
Temporary markings in the form of Easter eggs appeared on the nose of this U.S. Air Force U-2S spy plane, seen departing RAF Fairford, in England, for a mission this morning.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says the United States will step up its strikes on Iran under Trump’s orders.
“Per the president’s direction, today will be the largest volume of strikes since day one of this operation. Tomorrow, even more than today. And then Iran has a choice.”
UPDATE: 3:40 PM EDT –
Trump today repeated his familiar assertions about the success of the war and the performance of the U.S. military (it has performed “unbelievably well,” he said), while also praising the “very historic” rescue of the second crew member from the Air Force F-15E shot down over Iran last week.
Shifting to his latest deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz (8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday), he added:
“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.”
Trump warned that if Iran failed to meet his deadline, it would be left with “no bridges” and “no power plants,” saying the country would be reduced to “the Stone Ages,” reiterating his previous threat to send Iran “back to the Stone Ages.”
He later reinforced that warning, saying strikes on Iran’s bridges and power plants could begin from 8:00 p.m. ET tomorrow and suggesting the operation could be completed in as little as four hours.
“Every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again … I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock. And it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to. We don’t want that to happen.”
.@POTUS: “We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business…it’ll happen over a period of 4hrs if we want it to. We don’t want that to happen.” pic.twitter.com/965HCIV9HB
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 6, 2026
UPDATE: 3:45 PM EDT –
In a surprising disclosure, Trump today suggested that Washington armed (Kurdish) Iranian opposition groups during the January demonstrations.
Trump:
We sent some guns; they were supposed to go to the people of Iran. You know what happened? The people we sent them through kept them.
I am very upset with a certain group of people, and they will pay a big price for that. pic.twitter.com/dACg5aZyMS
“President Trump told me the United States sent guns to the Iranian protesters,” Trump told Trey Yingst on the Fox News channel.
“He told me, ‘We sent them a lot of guns. We sent them to the Kurds.’ And the president says he thinks the Kurds kept them. He went on to say. ‘We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them.’”
As well as lending credence to Iran’s claims that the protests were foreign-inspired, the disclosure would appear to put Kurds in an even more dangerous position. For their part, Kurdish groups have denied the claims.
This puts Kurds in such a dangerous position, particularly with the threat at the end. (Kurdish groups have denied Trump’s claims.) Yesterday, a lot of people blamed the journalist who reported Trump’s comments, hard to do that in this case. https://t.co/Wz6ogQbnCf
Trump today implied that the widening rift between the United States and NATO began when he floated the idea of taking over Greenland.
“It all began with, if you want to know the truth, Greenland. We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us. And I said, ‘bye, bye.’”
He made the comments ahead of a scheduled visit to the White House later this week by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte — whom Trump, for what it’s worth, describes as a “wonderful guy” and a “great person.”
“NATO is a paper tiger. We didn’t need them, obviously, because they haven’t helped at all.”
Trump on NATO:
It all began with Greenland. We want Greenland, and they don’t want to give it to us, and I said, “Bye-bye!” pic.twitter.com/Jhp0izwfht
Earlier today, U.S.-Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Major General Majid Khademi, the powerful and educated head of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was martyred in the criminal terrorist attack by the American-Zionist enemy… at dawn today,” said the Guards in a post on their Telegram channel.
BREAKING: Majid Khademi, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Organisation, has been killed, according to state media. pic.twitter.com/NaMHbNx6Hm
The IDF has continued airstrikes against Iranian targets, including further attacks on Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, a major hub for commercial flights, which is also used by the government of Iran, and is one of the bases of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF). A video released by the IDF shows multiple Mi-8/17 Hip-series helicopters being targeted on the ground at Mehrabad. The IDF claims that “dozens” of aircraft were hit.
The IDF says it destroyed dozens of Iranian aircraft during strikes on three airports in the Tehran area overnight.
According to the military, the strikes were aimed at causing a blow to the Iranian air force and IRGC air force.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 6, 2026
U.S. forces located on Bubiyan Island, Kuwait, were targeted by Iran, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a video statement shared by state media on Monday. Bubiyan is the largest of Kuwait’s coastal island chain, located in the northwest of the Gulf. Zolfaghari said that Iran targeted satellite equipment and munitions on the island with drones, adding that U.S. forces had relocated there from Arifjan camp in Kuwait after that base was repeatedly struck by Iran.
BREAKING: Iran targeted US forces relocated on Kuwait’s Bubiyan island, the spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Ebrahim Zolfaghari said in a video statement shared by state media. pic.twitter.com/GLwEkjLJFX
Israeli rescue teams were searching through debris on Monday for two people still missing after a missile strike in the northern city of Haifa, authorities said. The projectile, reportedly launched from Iran, hit a residential building, killing two people.
Officials said the direct impact on the seven-storey structure caused severe damage, leaving parts of it partially collapsed. Videos showed rescuers combing through the rubble with flashlights, navigating broken concrete and debris as the search continued.
“We have a major destruction site,” said Elad Edri, chief of staff of Israel’s home front command. Israel’s fire and rescue services said later that two of four people trapped under the rubble had been found dead.
A senior Home Front Command search and rescue officer describes the 18-hour effort to recover the four bodies at the site of an Iranian ballistic missile impact in Haifa as one of the “most complex” rescue operations of the war.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 6, 2026
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that strikes near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant pose a serious risk to nuclear safety and must cease.
Located in the country’s south, the facility, which is home to a 1,000-megawatt reactor, has reportedly been targeted four times since the start of the latest conflict.
Rafael Grossi, director of the IAEA, said that any strikes around the area “could cause a severe radiological accident with harmful consequences for people and the environment in Iran and beyond.” He added that one strike hit just 250 feet from the plant perimeter. “A nuclear facility and surrounding areas should never be struck,” he said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it can confirm recent impacts of military strikes close to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, but said that the plant itself was not damaged https://t.co/REx5AQ76kr
Israel has struck a major petrochemical facility at Iran’s massive South Pars natural gas field, according to multiple news agencies.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, confirmed what he described as “a powerful strike on the largest petrochemical facility in Iran,” which accounts for roughly half of the country’s petrochemical output. Meanwhile, Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said there would be “no immunity” for Iran as negotiations continue.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz:
The IDF forcefully struck Iran’s largest petrochemical plant. This key facility accounts for about 50% of Iran’s petrochemical output. This follows an attack on Iran’s second-largest facility last week.
Katz’s remarks followed an earlier report from the FarsNews Agencystating that “several explosions” were heard at the South Pars petrochemical complex in Asaluyeh.
The development raises doubts about ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire between the United States and Iran. The field, which Iran shares with Qatar, is the largest natural gas reserve in the world and lies beneath the Persian Gulf. The latest strikes come just weeks after widespread international criticism of Israel’s March 18 attack on the same South Pars gas field.
Airstrikes hit petrochemical facilities at Iran’s South Pars gas field a short while ago, Iranian state media reports.
The Fars news agency says there was an “enemy attack” on “South Pars Petrochemical in Asaluyeh.”
Israel bombed gas infrastructure in the area last month.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 6, 2026
Iran widened its attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure over the weekend, carrying out drone and missile strikes on petrochemical sites in Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. The Revolutionary Guards also said they had targeted an Israeli-linked vessel at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port.
BREAKING: Iran’s IRGC has claimed it fired a missile at an Israel-linked ship in a channel leading to Dubai’s Port of Jebel Ali, causing it to catch fire.
There was no immediate confirmation from Emirati authorities.
Authorities in the emirate of Sharjah said on Sunday that they were responding to an incident involving Khor Fakkan Port, one of the United Arab Emirates’ largest container hubs. No injuries were reported, and officials provided no additional details in a statement released by the Sharjah media office.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that the captain of a container ship at the port had observed several splashes from unidentified projectiles landing close to the vessel.
A container ship at the UAE’s Khor Fakkan Port reported several projectiles were fell in the water near the ship while conducting loading operations, UKMTO reports. pic.twitter.com/HvvWGUCA7Q
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) April 5, 2026
An Indian-flagged, Japan-owned tanker has crossed the Strait of Hormuz. A spokeswoman for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines told AFP that the Green Asha, owned by its subsidiary, had passed through the strait and was en route to India. The vessel, a liquefied petroleum gas tanker, is the third Japan-linked ship to transit the strait. “Both the crew and the cargo are safe,” the spokeswoman said.
Two more Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas tankers, Green Asha and Green Sanvi, have exited the Gulf carrying the fuel for the South Asian nation, according to ship tracking data on LSEG and Kpler.https://t.co/DDCq4ZWgwh
North Korea appears to be stepping back from its longstanding ties with Iran and is carefully shaping its public messaging to keep open the possibility of improved relations with the United States after the Iran conflict, South Korean lawmakers told Reuters on Monday, citing intelligence officials.
North Korea appears to be distancing itself from longtime partner Iran and carefully managing its public messaging to preserve the possibility of a new relationship with the US after the Iran war, South Korean lawmakers said, citing the spy agency https://t.co/0Ju5su12yR
There are unconfirmed reports, based on publicly available flight-tracking data, that a U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter flying in an area in southern Iraq, close to the Kuwaiti border, has squawked 7700. This is the universal, international transponder code used by aircraft to immediately alert Air Traffic Control (ATC) of a general emergency.
A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II declared an emergency while flying over Iraq about two hours ago, squawking 7700.
That code is the universal signal for a general in-flight emergency, indicating the crew is dealing with a serious situation. pic.twitter.com/qa4Dh54JTo
While we had previously seen Iranian satellite imagery that purported to show the extent of the Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia that occurred on March 27, the destruction of an aircraft maintenance shelter now appears to have been verified by commercially available Sentinel-2L imagery. The attack also destroyed a prized E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) as well as damaging other aircraft and injuring several American service members, as you can read more about here.
Iranian satellite imagery has once again been confirmed as authentic.
Sentinel-2L imagery confirms the destruction of the Large Area Maintenance Shelter (LAMS) used by U.S. forces at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, likely as a result of an Iranian attack that occurred… https://t.co/VFQXcho2UNpic.twitter.com/B1RLeyvZom
An IDF spokesperson disclosed recently that an Iranian underground complex used for storing ballistic missiles had been targeted.
Based on open-source intelligence, this appears to have been a relatively new and sizable missile base, constructed within the past two years along the Tehran–Qazvin road. It features at least five large access points designed for missile transporters and launch systems.
It also seems that the site was put into operation before construction was fully completed.
לפני מספר ימים, דובר צה”ל חושף כי הותקף מתחם אחסון תת-קרקעי לטילים בליסטיים.
מדובר בבסיס טילים חדש וגדול שנבנה ממש בשנתיים האחרונות על כביש טהראן-קזוין. המתחם כולל לא פחות מחמישה פתחים רחבים עבור מובילי טילים ומשגרים. אין הרבה תשתיות עיליות בשטח, מה שאומר שהאיראנים פעלו בשנים… pic.twitter.com/rzZtWj6fFF
— Ben Tzion Macales (@BenTzionMacales) April 6, 2026
In recent days, imagery has emerged showing the reported aftermath of an Iranian drone strike on Camp Buehring in Kuwait, which appears to have destroyed at least one U.S. Army CH-47F Chinook helicopter.
Further signs of an attack on Camp Buehring are provided by infrared imagery from the NASA FIRMS portal.
More evidence has emerged of the use of cluster bombs in U.S. airstrikes on Iran. Last week, photos appeared showing Israeli Air Force F-16I Sufa fighters apparently carrying cluster munitions. Now, U.S. Air Force F-16s have also been photographed with cluster bomb units underwing. The kinds of submunitions that might be inside remain unknown. However, Iranian officials previously accused the United States of employing air-dropped BLU-91/B anti-tank mines, which are delivered via cluster bomb. This seems most likely to be part of a limited-use area denial strategy to contain long-range missile launches, as you can read about in our previous reporting here.
Armed with cluster bombs, a U.S. Air Force F-16 flies over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, April 2, 2026. U.S. Air Force photo U.S. Central Command Public Affa
Taylor Frankie Paul is breaking from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The embattled “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star announced on Easter Sunday that she’s parting ways with the religion she built her brand on.
“Born and raised Mormon (lds) and I’ll always have love and respect towards it,” she wrote Sunday in an Instagram story. “I’ll even continue to go with my family at times, with that being said, it’s time to detach myself from it.”
Paul launched her career as a Mormon mom-fluencer on TikTok before she landed “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” the reality television series that leveraged her #MomTok success.
The series offered a look at Mormon moms in Utah that subverted viewers’ expectations. Paul drank alcohol and scandalized her online following when she admitted that her social circle participated in “soft swinging” in which they swapped partners for hookups but “didn’t go all the way.” The series followed her through the aftermath of a divorce and an on-again, off-again relationship with Dakota Mortensen, all of which is frowned upon by the Mormon church.
“I strongly believe in Christ, God, the bible, the divine,” she continued in her post. “I believe we are loved whether we are praying in [a] church building or from a bathroom floor at home.”
Paul was set to lead Season 22 of ABC’s “The Bachelorette” until a leaked video of a 2023 domestic dispute between Paul and Mortensen made its way across the internet. Though the entire season had been taped, ABC nixed the premiere, and “Secret Lives” also paused production. Her casting was a break from “The Bachelorette” tradition in that she had not been a contestant on a previous season of “The Bachelor.”
Now police are investigating allegations of a second and third domestic violence incident involving Paul and Mortensen, and as a result of the inquiry Paul has temporarily lost custody of the son she shares with Mortensen. A hearing regarding the protective order is set for Tuesday and may determine whether a final protective order is granted by the Utah court.
“The last 40 days felt like hell on earth,” Paul wrote in a separate Instagram post on Sunday. The post stitched together photos of Bible scripture, Paul crying, pain relief patches and personal notes scrawled through notebooks.
“Through every panic attack I prayed for strength as I could feel my body breaking down and out from the distress of it all. … I’ve prayed since I was young and never strayed away because I believe he wants us to ask for help especially during our lowest points.”
As has been widely reported, Nicolás Maduro has moved to dismiss the criminal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons-related offenses brought against him in the Southern District of New York, because the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has not been able to pay the fees of the high-profile lawyer Maduro has chosen: Barry J. Pollack. At this point, Maduro is not asking the federal court in Manhattan to declare him innocent. What he is asking for right now is something narrower, but still potentially powerful: he wants the court to dismiss the criminal charges against him because, according to his lawyers, the United States is blocking the money he says is needed to pay the lawyer he chose to defend him.
That sounds technical, but not necessarily complicated. In a criminal case in the US, a defendant has a constitutional right to a fair chance to defend himself. Part of that right, in many circumstances, includes the right to be represented by counsel of his own choosing, so long as that lawyer is qualified and there is no conflict. Maduro says the government, through OFAC sanctions, first allowed his lawyer, Pollack, to be paid by the Venezuelan state and then quickly reversed itself, leaving him unable to fund the defense he wants. Maduro’s motion to dismiss the charges says that this kind of interference violates the Sixth Amendment and due process (protected by the Constitution of the United States).
The criminal case itself is serious and very concrete. It alleges that for years senior Venezuelan officials worked with major criminal and armed organizations to move large quantities of cocaine toward the United States. The indictment also names Cilia Flores de Maduro, Diosdado Cabello Rondón, Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, and Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores (the main leader of Tren de Aragua).
The present legal dispute is over whether the United States can prosecute Maduro while at the same time prevent the funding arrangement on which his chosen defense depends. That is why Maduro’s motion relies so heavily on the case of United States v. Stein, the Second Circuit case decided in 2006, cited as 435 F.Supp.2d 330 (S.D.N.Y. 2006), which affirmed dismissal after government pressure effectively cut off payment of legal fees by a third party. That precedent does not mean Maduro automatically wins, but it is not a frivolous citation either. It is the strongest case he has at this point.
An unusual case
Barry Pollack, Maduro’s lawyer, is not just any lawyer. He is a well-known white collar and national security defense attorney, and he represented Julian Assange and negotiated the plea agreement that secured Assange’s release. Maduro is not complaining about the quality of available appointed counsel (public defenders) in the abstract. He is claiming a right to keep the specific lawyer he retained.
Still, Maduro’s argument has an obvious weakness. The money he wants to use is not his own personal money. It is money that the current Venezuelan authorities, i.e., Delcy Eloina Rodriguez et al., say they are willing to use for his defense, and Maduro’s defense says Venezuelan law and practice require that support.
But that underlying proposition is not something the New York court necessarily has to decide in any definitive way. The judge may conclude that even if there is a dispute under Venezuelan public law about whether the Republic should pay to defend a former ruler accused of running a criminal enterprise, that is not the immediate federal constitutional question before him. The immediate question is narrower: has the United States, by its own OFAC sanctions, interfered with Maduro’s ability to have the lawyer of his choice?
Can the Executive Branch of the United States selectively block a payment source in a way that undermines the fairness of the criminal process?
That distinction is crucial. A Venezuelan lawyer, taxpayer, legislator, or court might frame the issue one way: can public money legally be used to defend a former head of state accused of crimes that, if true, look personal, corrupt, and far outside any legitimate official duty? Things could be different for acts like war crimes or crimes against humanity carried out through the use of state power, such as directing the armed forces. Those types of conduct are often treated as acts performed in an official capacity for purposes of attribution to the State, even though they can also give rise to individual criminal responsibility. Maduro is not currently being prosecuted for those.
A US federal judge, however, may frame the question entirely differently: once the United States has brought this defendant into an American courtroom, can the Executive Branch of the United States selectively block a payment source in a way that undermines the fairness of the criminal process?
Public law systems generally do not treat the treasury as an open-ended insurance policy for any conduct by any officeholder. A serious argument can be made that the state should defend officials for acts tied to the exercise of public office, but not for allegedly private criminal enterprises carried out under cover of office. If the accusation is that an official used the state as a shell for drug trafficking, bribery, or cartel protection, then the argument for mandatory public funding becomes much weaker. That does not make the issue easy. It just means it is not nearly as obvious as Maduro’s motion to dismiss suggests.
There is another layer too. The legitimacy of Maduro’s political authority matters in the background, even if it may not control this problem. The Carter Center said the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election did not meet international standards and could not be verified or corroborated. Reuters reported the same at the time. There are strong public grounds to reject the idea that Maduro’s continued hold on power after the 2024 election reflected a democratic mandate.
But even that does not end the question. US courts often care less about democratic theory than about practical recognition and real-world control. And here the geopolitical situation moved quickly. Washington recognized Delcy Rodríguez’s government in March 2026 and then lifted personal sanctions on her on April 1, 2026. That change is relevant because it undercuts any simplistic claim that all Venezuelan state funds remain equally untouchable in all contexts.
The cleanest way out for the government would be to authorize payment from a clearly identified, untainted funding source subject to tight conditions and reporting.
That is part of why Judge Alvin Hellerstein pressed the government at the March 26 hearing. Public reports show that he did not dismiss the indictment on the spot. In fact, he signaled the opposite. But he also questioned the coherence of the government’s position and wanted more explanation for why a government now being courted for commercial engagement by the Trump afdministration could not fund a criminal defense. The judge was not ready to throw the case out, but was also not fully satisfied with the prosecution’s answer.
OFAC’s public conduct cuts both ways. Sanctions law often does restrict dealings with blocked governments and blocked persons. However, OFAC publicly issued a series of Venezuela related general licenses in February 2026, including General License 47 on diluents, updated General Licenses 30B, 46A, and 48 on port and airport operations, Venezuelan origin oil, and oil and gas support, and then General Licenses 49 and 50 on contingent investments and certain oil and gas sector operations. Maduro’s lawyers use that sequence to say, in essence: if the Treasury Department can authorize business, investment, and energy transactions involving Venezuela, why can it not authorize payment for criminal defense fees that implicate an express constitutional concern?
The prosecutors, of course, have their own answer. Public reporting says they argued Maduro and Flores could use personal funds, but not Venezuelan state funds, because those public funds are tied to the sanctions framework and, in their view, to illicit proceeds or national security concerns. That position is not irrational. If the government believes the Venezuelan state under Maduro was itself part of the alleged criminal machinery, then letting that same state bankroll the defense may look, from the prosecution’s perspective, like forcing the United States to tolerate the use of tainted sovereign resources to resist prosecution in an American court.
Even so, the government’s position has vulnerabilities. The strongest is not political but doctrinal. The U.S. Supreme Court has treated wrongful denial of counsel of choice as a structural problem, not just an ordinary trial error. And Stein remains a serious Second Circuit precedent where government interference with third party fee payments led to dismissal. Maduro’s legal team is therefore not asking for some exotic new rule. It is trying to fit this unusual case into an existing line of Sixth Amendment and Due Process law.
Maduro’s case involves sanctions, foreign policy, blocked sovereign funds, and a defendant accused of using state power as part of the criminal conduct itself. A judge could reasonably decide that the Stein precedent is relevant but not controlling. A judge could also decide that the proper remedy, if there is a constitutional problem, is not dismissal now but some narrower effort to clarify what funding sources are actually available, whether untainted personal or third-party funds exist, and whether appointed counsel would eliminate any immediate prejudice. That appears to be why Judge Hellerstein has so far resisted the defense’s request for instant dismissal.
This is where the “indigent defendant” point needs to be stated carefully. If Maduro truly had no usable money at all, the court could appoint a public defender under the Criminal Justice Act. That would solve one problem, but not necessarily the one Maduro wants to litigate. His claim is not merely that he wants a lawyer. It is that the government unlawfully blocked the lawyer he picked. Those are related but different ideas. In constitutional terms, appointed counsel is not always a complete answer to an alleged denial of retained counsel of choice. At the March 26, 2026 hearing, judge Hellerstein offered Maduro’s lawyer an easy off-ramp: should Pollack quit the case, the judge would simply appoint a public defender and carry on with the proceeding. Pollack, naturally, did not take that off-ramp. And here, again, what Maduro and Delcy are saying is that they (or rather, Venezuelan taxpayers) indeed have the funds, but are being improperly prevented from using such funds.
A process under the American rule of law
So where does that leave matters? In practical terms, somewhere in the middle. Maduro has not shown, at least not yet in public, that dismissal is proper. But the government also has not made the issue disappear by pointing to the possibility of appointed counsel (a public defender). The more OFAC authorizes broad commercial re-engagement with Venezuela while continuing to refuse this narrow defense related authorization, the more uncomfortable the constitutional optics become. I do not believe that Venezuela should pay for Maduro’s legal defense; the problem, however, is that Venezuela wants to pay.
The cleanest way out for the government would be to authorize payment from a clearly identified, untainted funding source subject to tight conditions and reporting. That would preserve the prosecution, avoid turning this pretrial funding dispute into the central drama of the case, and reduce the risk that any eventual conviction is shadowed by a serious Sixth Amendment (Due Process) fight. If the government refuses to do that, it keeps feeding the argument that it wants to control not only the prosecution but also the defense.
The larger irony is hard to miss. Maduro now invokes constitutional protections that his own regime routinely denied to political prisoners, dissidents, and disappeared persons. But American courts are not supposed to ration constitutional rights according to moral sympathy. If the United States has chosen to bring him before a federal court, it must be prepared to give him the process the Constitution requires. The real question is not whether Maduro deserves indulgence.
At least for now, Judge Hellerstein seems unwilling to end the case on that basis alone. But he also seems unwilling to accept a lazy answer. And that may be the most important point of all. This is no longer just a sanctions issue or a Venezuela issue. It is a rule of law issue inside an American courtroom.
When Arsenal face Sporting in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, there will be much more riding on the game than just a knockout match in Lisbon.
For many, this is where the Gunners need to show back-to-back defeats, against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and the damaging loss to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final, will not leak into their European and Premier League campaigns.
Arsenal have been tagged as the ‘nearly men’ under Mikel Arteta with three successive second-placed finishes in the Premier League in the last three seasons.
But the Gunners have played a ruthless style of football this season, which has seen them establish a nine-point lead in the Premier League, reach the final of one cup competition and, depending what happens in two legs against Sporting, at least the quarter-final stage of the two other cup campaigns they began.
Their style of play has been questioned at times but now it is the team’s mentality that is coming under the spotlight.
The Gunners have been so impressive this season that their defeats by City and Saints are the first time they have lost successive matches this campaign, while the loss on the south coast was just the fifth of the season.
But, with the Champions League and Premier League the top prizes for the Gunners, this is where Arteta needs to show the pain of coming so close in precious campaigns is not going to overwhelm his side as they look to win their first major trophy since 2020.
“Have some perspective about how difficult it is what we have done until now,” said Arteta, when asked how he and the team prevent a longer run of defeats.
“Feel the pain, feel the emotion and use it to be better and improve.”
