Month: July 2026

IT’S everybody’s worst nightmare bumping into their ex-partner, let alone when they are with their new girlfriend – But we can reveal that Laura Hamilton is said to be bracing herself for just that.

Yesterday, The Sun told how her former husband had moved on with a stunning PR girl and now, insiders tell us how the A Place in the Sun presenter really feels about it  – and why their two worlds could collide. 

Laura, who split from Alex Goward in 2022 after 13 years together, is understood to be unhappy about his new romance with stunning PR guru Becky Knowles – a relationship we can reveal has actually been quietly underway for more than a year.

Alex, 45, and Becky, who bears a striking resemblance to his ex-wife, went public with their relationship this week.

However, Alex does in fact appear on Becky’s social media as far back as June last year, with the couple also enjoying a romantic holiday together last September.

The pair are said to have kept things low-key out of respect for Laura and the children she shares with Alex – Rocco, 12, and 11-year-old Tahlia – but felt that after a year together, it was the right time to make things public.

However, Laura is said to be worried about coming face-to-face with her ex’s new girlfriend as they move in similar showbiz circles.

She is also said to be uncomfortable with Becky’s high-profile friendship group, which includes Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts, Louise Redknapp and singer Cheryl.

“Becky has always moved in fabulous circles – even more so than Laura!” a source said.

“She has lots of showbiz friends and her sister Emma Lucy is a famous crystal healer who regularly appears on This Morning and is best friends with Holly Willoughby. Becky was also very close to Caroline Flack.

“One person not so happy about it all is Laura. She’s had a while to come to terms with it all privately, but now it’s out in the open; it’s opened old wounds – nobody wants to see their ex with someone younger and more beautiful, let alone so successful.

“Laura is also very worried about bumping into them because Becky moves in the same showbiz circles. She attends the premieres, celebrity launches and has lots of A-list friends, so she’s dreading bumping into her ex and Becky in public. It will be incredibly difficult and awkward for her.”

Becky and Alex went Instagram official this week, sharing snaps of the pair enjoying a date night together.

In one photo, he rested his hand on Becky’s leg as she, dressed in a short black skirt and heels, posed alongside him at a bar. A second image showed the couple holding drinks, with Becky kissing him on the cheek.

Stunning Becky uploaded the snaps with the caption: “Us” and a love heart emoji, before Alex reposted them to his story.

Friends say she is “smitten” and that it’s the happiest they’ve ever seen her.

One said: “We all knew this was very serious as soon as she posted him on her Instagram – everyone was like ‘omg who’s this guy’? Because Becky has been single for years and years and years!

“She’s very confident, outgoing, smart and has got extremely high standards. She’s also so incredibly beautiful. She has always had admirers, but she is far too driven and busy with work and her friends to be tied down to just anyone – so we knew that he must be the one.

“They’ve actually been together for over a year now, but kept things low-key out of respect for Laura and his children. It felt like the right time to go Instagram official this week – they are so in love and the happiest they’ve ever been.”

Laura has also been trying to move on following her split – but has found Alex’s news hard to take.

Our source said: “Laura wants her ex to be happy, but she can’t help feeling a bit irked by Becky and all this. The last thing she wants to see is him draped all over his beautiful new girlfriend in the press. That’s her world!”

In 2023, Laura opened up about her “tough” divorce from Alex, saying she had to stay strong for their children.

She said: “You say content, but I have moments when I feel this is tough, this is hard, this is not what I expected my life to be. But I’m a glass-half-full person, and I have to be positive. I have to be strong. Am I making the best of the situation as I can right now? Yes, 100 per cent.

“But I do get sad because things went the way they did. I might look like everything is fine all the time, and that’s how things come across on social media, but no, I’d be a robot if I didn’t have those emotions.

‘Do I let myself cry? Yes, all the time. And I encourage Rocco and Tahlia to always share their feelings. It is better to talk and let the emotions out than bottle up.”

Two years after their divorce, Laura was linked to married businessman James Pettigrew, who was said to also be going through a divorce at the time, and the pair were seen kissing in her car.

But she later refused to be drawn on the relationship.

She said at the time: “I’m dating. I’m having fun. No, I don’t have the apps. I’ve tried those in the past three years. I went on Raya and thought: ‘This is not for me.’ I like to meet people organically.

“People do look at me and say: ‘I know you from somewhere…’ and that starts a conversation.

“I did go out on a date with somebody, and the only thing he wanted to talk about was buying a property in the sun. I’m not here to be your property consultant!

“But it’s quite difficult for me to date when you look at my life and how busy I am. I’ve got two children and I’m abroad every other week.” 

But while dating has been difficult for Laura, it seems it’s not been quite so much of a struggle for her ex.

Why Milos is unforgettable

We first noticed Milos as we travelled home from Crete, flying directly above it and deciding that was where we must go next. It didn’t disappoint. The island was calm, peaceful and strikingly beautiful. Milos isn’t well known, but it should be; the true home of the Aphrodite of Melos, displayed in the Louvre, Paris as the Venus de Milo. The northern coast was spectacular, shaped by volcanic activity and particularly picturesque. Sarakiniko is the perfect stop for photographs with its white rock. Truly an unforgettable trip.
Chris Rimell

Chasing waterfalls on the Pelion peninsula

We visited the incredibly beautiful Pelion peninsula in east, central Greece, and based ourselves in the tiny town of Damouchari, staying at the Kastro Studios above the village shop with a prime position overlooking the harbour and a one-minute walk to the white pebble beach. We swam in the harbour and off the beach, snorkelling with interesting fish and crustaceans, and took a very hot walk (take plenty of water) along the coast to the Fakistra beach where we cooled off under a waterfall and my daughter spent the afternoon doing handstands in the sea. Our walks included eating home-cooked meals at tiny roadside restaurants and drinking very strong coffee under a 1,000-year-old plane tree in a village square. A perfect, slow and really memorable trip full of exploration and fun.
Layla Astley

Beach boat trips on Symi

Getting the ferry from hectic Rhodes, we had heard that something special was waiting for us on Symi. Tucked away just off the Turkish coastline, this hidden little island in the Dodecanese was the perfect place to switch off for a week. Every day was a different boat trip to a new beach, such as Marathounda Bay, with its free-ranging goats searching for scraps between the sunbeds and stones. However, the true highlights were the shaded tavernas found on the edge of each shore where we refreshed ourselves to our hearts’ content with seafood, salad and a cold Mythos.
Steve

Strolling around Venetian palazzos on Syros

Syros – the administrative capital of the Cyclades – is a wonderful place. Between relaxed strolls around Venetian palazzos (large houses) and swimming off the rocks in Ermoupoli, we got a bus to the other side of the island to Galissas beach. Here, after asking locals, we made an anecdotal map and hiked to Agios Stefanos, a chapel in a cave almost in the sea. Watching the sunset there was a magical experience. The story goes that a fisher was saved here from being dragged under the sea by a giant octopus, after praying to Saint Stephen, and so he built this chapel to thank him.
Rosie

The healing power of Hydra

After my mum, June, died, our family decided to go somewhere warm of heart and chose Hydra in the Saronic Gulf, off the east coast of the Peloponnese. Still rumpled from our flight, we took a ferry from Piraeus and sailed off towards a kindly family hotel, the Hydroussa. A tiny, car-free island with a long history was explored in an afternoon. We mostly just took dips (in the clearest seas I’ve ever swum in), read, ate, remembered and gently healed.
Dawn

An archaeological gem near Preveza

The little-known archaeological site of ancient Kassopi was one highlight of our visit to the charming little port of Preveza, on the central west coast. The mountainside was drowning in wildflowers, and the bees, butterflies and lizards were our only companions – apart from the warden who seemed agreeably surprised to see us. We had the entire site to ourselves and wandering through the remains of the city and its third-century BC theatre, with an azure sea in the background, was an unforgettably romantic and quintessentially Greek experience. Later that day, we went dolphin-watching in the Ambracian Gulf, followed by wonderful Preveza prawns for dinner.
Gerald Willmore

Back in time on Antiparos

Most guidebooks recommend doing a day trip to Antiparos from Paros, its much bigger neighbour, but we stayed for five days – the best decision of our trip to the Cyclades. Like stepping back decades into a much less-touristed Greece, the island has a modest beauty and peaceful aura that charmed and calmed us. We stayed in Statheros Garden and enjoyed morning dips in the turquoise waters at Panagia beach, just a few metres away. Paros is only a few minutes away by ferry so there’s plenty of scope for exploring beyond beautiful Antiparos Town and Sifneiko bay.
Alice

Amorgos is as epic as in the Big Blue

The Big Blue is a film I have watched countless times and seeing the 11th-century monastery of Amorgos rise out of the rock face as Eric Serra’s soundtrack kicks in has stayed with me. Seeing it in real life when I travelled to this most charming of Greek islands was truly unforgettable.
Ed Simpson

A true adventure on Kefalonia and Ithaca

As a boy, I went to Kefalonia with my parents and stayed in the fishing village of Fiskardo in the north. Beautiful beaches, fantastic food and sun aplenty, yet a highlight for me was hiring a small motorboat with my father and darting across the bay to the island of Ithaca. We may have got a little carried away exploring, leading to us running out of fuel and having to be rescued! Nevertheless, it was a true adventure. My father passed in 2022, and our speedboat adventure is a memory I hold dear to this day.
Dan Law-Jones

Winning tip: wildlife deep in the Vikos gorge

We’ve just returned from a road trip in beautiful northern Greece, a highlight of which was the awe-inspiring Vikos gorge – the deepest gorge in Europe by ratio of depth to width. We frequently saw tortoises trundling along on our hiking route through the gorge, and also had a brief encounter with a horned viper (one of Europe’s most venomous snakes), underlining the array of wild creatures that are resident here, which include brown bears, wolves, Egyptian vultures and wild boar. We enjoyed the tranquility of the Voidomatis Springs, a crystal clear pool at the bottom of the gorge. It’s a perfect place for a dip if you’re feeling brave – the water is a bracing 4-7C year round!
Beatrice

From its famous monthly markets to artisan boutiques, this charming town should be on your radar

The UK is brimming with stunning towns and villages, and I’ve been fortunate enough to explore quite a few. One aspect that has consistently struck me is how distinct they all are, even when they’re situated close together.

Some are bustling and contemporary, while others seem stuck in the past. That’s precisely why I adore discovering the UK, as you’re never quite sure what you’ll encounter.

Frome in Somerset is one of those destinations that genuinely lingers in your memory afterwards. It isn’t one of those household-name tourist hotspots like Bath or Wells, but that’s part of what makes it special.

Nestled in eastern Somerset near the Wiltshire border, Frome wasn’t particularly high on my list of places to visit, but I’m absolutely delighted I made the trip.

Frome, pronounced Froom, is positioned in a valley along the River Frome, roughly 13 miles from Bath. Historically, it flourished as a wool and textile town, and you can still spot remnants of its heritage in the architecture and street patterns today.

What made the town particularly memorable for me was its blend of historic and contemporary elements, which seemed to resonate with virtually everyone.

There are twisting medieval lanes, Georgian terraces, and former industrial structures sitting alongside modern cafes and independent retailers.

It has long been a market town, and that heritage remains central to its character, which is largely why I chose to visit after spotting it on TikTok.

The highlight is the Frome Independent Market, held on the first Sunday of each month. The entire town centre essentially transforms for the day.

Streets become packed with stalls offering everything from artisan food and freshly baked bread to handcrafted goods, antiques and clothing. There’s frequently live music and street food on offer too.

Even when the big monthly market isn’t on, smaller regular markets maintain that community atmosphere throughout the week.

Its high street has also been recognised as one of the finest in the UK on multiple occasions, and it was easy to see why.

Beyond markets and shopping, one of the most enjoyable aspects of Frome is simply wandering around it. It’s compact enough to navigate with ease, yet packed with hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.

Catherine Hill is arguably the most iconic street in the town. It’s steep and cobbled, lined with independent shops.

But it’s also among the finest vantage points, offering views back across the town’s rooftops.

There’s also a thriving arts and culture scene there. Galleries, studios and numerous creative venues are dotted throughout the centre, and the Frome Festival in July brings the town alive with music.

If you’re after something more peaceful, there are numerous riverside walks, as well as being far from open fields and rolling hills. The town is ideal for anyone and everyone.

SEATTLE — Bryce Miller took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Seattle Mariners edged the Angels 1-0 on Thursday night to finish a three-game sweep.

Cal Raleigh coaxed a bases-loaded walk from rookie starter Walbert Ureña with two outs in the sixth to force home the only run. Seattle stayed tied with the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West at 45-43.

Andrés Muñoz pitched a shaky ninth for his 16th save. Muñoz gave up a leadoff walk and two singles but retired Wade Meckler on a grounder with two runners aboard to end it.

Zach Neto walked to begin the inning but got picked off at first base attempting to steal second.

Seattle center fielder Julio Rodríguez was removed in the top of the third, two innings after being hit in the back of the helmet by a thrown ball while running the bases. He was replaced by Victor Robles, who got hit by a pitch on the right wrist in the bottom of the third and was lifted in favor of Weston Wilson in the fifth.

Miller (4-2) struck out eight and walked none in seven splendid innings. He lost his no-hit bid when Nolan Schanuel blooped a leadoff single to right-center in the seventh. Denzer Guzmán followed with a single, but Miller retired the next three batters to preserve the lead.

Eduard Bazardo struck out two in a perfect eighth.

The Angels’ lone baserunner through six innings came when Guzmán reached second on a throwing error by Mariners third baseman J.P. Crawford with two outs in the fourth.

Crawford, playing his 1,000th career game, doubled to start the bottom of the sixth for the first hit of the night. Dominic Canzone and Randy Arozarena walked to load the bases with one out before Josh Naylor struck out swinging. Raleigh fell behind 0-2 in the count but worked a nine-pitch walk that scored Crawford and chased Ureña (5-7).

Up next for the Angels: Host the Boston Red Sox for a three-game series beginning Friday night. LHP Reid Detmers (3-5, 3.88 ERA) starts the opener against LHP Jake Bennett (2-3, 3.27).

July 3 (UPI) — A man, identified by Tibetan exile media as a Tibetan activist, died Thursday evening after setting himself on fire outside the United Nations’ headquarters in Manhattan, authorities said.

Video of the incident posted online shows the man dressed in robes and holding a Tibetan flag, which he places on a pole that keeps it erect, before he is seen flicking an apparent fire starter and becoming engulfed in flames.

Responders arrived with extinguishers more than a minute later and putting out the fire. The man had crumpled to the ground.

Voice of Tibet, a Tibetan exile media outlet, identified the man as Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen who self-immolated after “a live appeal for Tibetan independence and unity.”

Gonpo Dhundup, a Tibetan exile parliamentarian, said in an online statement that the man made “the ultimate sacrifice through self-immolation to protest China’s occupation of Tibet and its repression of the Tibetan people.”

Rangzen was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police, the New York Post reported.

UPI has contacted the New York Police Department for comment.

China has controlled Tibet since 1951 and views the region as having been an integral part of Chinese territory since ancient times. The Chinese Communist Party considers the Tibetan independence movement to be one of the so-called Five Poisons that threaten its territorial claims, along with Taiwanese independence and Chinese democracy movement.

The International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington, D.C.-based human rights group, called Rangzen “a tireless advocate for Tibet who devoted himself to peacefully raising awareness of the human crisis in Tibet.”

The organization said in a statement that Rangzen had in his final statement warned that “China’s policies threaten the very survival of Tibetan identity, language and culture, and called on all Tibetans to be united in their fight for the cause of the Tibetan struggle.”

Self-immolation is not an unprecedented form of Tibetan protest.

According to the International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington, D.C.-based human rights group, 159 Tibetans have self-immolated in Tibet, China and in exile since 2009.

This is a developing story.

Back in November 2024, TWZ broke a story about a series of incursions over U.S. bases in England by drones of mysterious origin. While the source of these uncrewed aerial vehicles does not appear to have been officially determined, a new report suggests they were launched by Russian ships. 

Produced by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the report investigated a spate of drone incursions across Europe that began in August 2024 and found that “it is highly likely that the Kremlin conducted a UAV campaign over Europe.”

“We assess it is likely that Russian-linked vessels and the ‘shadow fleet’ were used as launch/recovery platforms for UAVs as part of the Kremlin’s wider unconventional war on Europe,” the report added.

Investigators rely heavily on circumstantial evidence and open-source information. TWZ cannot independently confirm these findings, which offer new insights, if not concrete answers, about who could have been behind the flights.

The drone incursions over the bases we were the first to write about were among the earliest in the wave over Europe investigated by IISS. Around this same time, there were also flights over Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the report notes. We covered those incidents as well.

As we reported at the time, drones of an unknown origin were first spotted over RAF Lakenheath and then over RAF Fairford, RAF Feltwell, and RAF Mildenhall.

The report makes particular note of the importance of RAF Lakenheath, which is being readied to host nuclear weapons, a topic we previously covered.

“A public appeal for information drew roughly 170 reported sightings, about half of which were deemed credible, either corroborated by multiple witnesses or backed by imagery that couldn’t be explained away as ordinary air traffic.”

“Operational security appeared sophisticated,” IISS posited. “The UAVs entered the airspace around the RAF bases at low altitude with their lights visible and departed at higher altitudes. Arrival and departure directions varied across the incident period.”

Witness reports “indicate more than one platform type may have been involved,” the report proffers. “Some observations were consistent with multirotor UAVs; others with fixed-wing platforms. The propulsion noise of the UAVs was inconsistent across accounts, with some observers describing sounds more typical of petrol engines than electric motors.”

“Notably, the Hav Dolphin, a vessel later linked to a 2025 drone incident in Germany, happened to be docked in the UK at the time,” the investigators found.

That vessel was one of many either operated by Russia as part of its so-called “dark fleet” of sanctioned ships, or those connected to Russia, that the report goes into great detail to link to drone incursions throughout Europe after the incidents at U.S. bases there. The report describes these vessels as “Russian-linked commercial vessels, including shadow-fleet tankers, coastal freighters, and smaller craft.”

IISS suggested that the Russian Orlan-10 drone could have been one of the platforms used during the incursions.

“Orlan-10, a compact, multi-purpose UAV in service with Russian Armed Forces since 2010, has a range and payload profile consistent with stand-off collection against coastal and inland targets and fits the deck space of a mid-sized commercial vessel,” IISS stated. 

“Commercial specifications for the platform, including those published by Russian geospatial firms using the Orlan-10 for civilian aerial survey operations, document an operational range of 500 kilometers, endurance of up to 12 hours, and speeds of 90–130 km/h, performance parameters consistent with maritime launch from a vessel operating well beyond visual detection range of the European coastlines in question.”

Moreover, “the Orlan-10’s power is an internal combustion engine, a detail that may be relevant in light of witness accounts from November 2024 incidents at RAF Lakenheath, where propulsion noise was described by some observers as more characteristic of petrol engines than the electric motors typical of consumer and first-person view (FPV) drones.”

In addition, the Orlan-10’s available payloads “include a satellite navigation spoofing module and a Global System for Mobile Communications network monitoring module alongside optical and thermal sensors, indicating the Orlan-10 family has active electronic warfare capability as well as passive ISR.”

The Orlan-10 has been widely used as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone by Russia in its ongoing war on Ukraine. Given that, however, using it for a clandestine operation like this seems very strange. The report critically recognizes this, stating “the use of identifiable Russian UAV platforms carries inherent attribution risk.”

“An alternative, and operationally credible, hypothesis is that commercially available or modified platforms were used precisely to preserve deniability, including long-range [first-person view] FPV systems, home-built fixed-wing aircraft or commercial UAVs modified to use cellular rather than radio frequency (RF) communications,” IISS added.

Russia uses ‘Orlan-10’ drones to help detect and attack Ukrainian military positions

The think tank acknowledges that its maritime-launch hypothesis “rests on a convergence of opportunity, demonstrated capability and a consistent geographic pattern — but no European government has yet publicly tied a specific shadow-fleet vessel to a specific incident, despite officials suggesting privately that they could. The rest of this report treats the maritime-UAV link as the most plausible explanation for where and when the incidents occurred, while acknowledging that confirming it will require evidence that isn’t yet public.”

This is not the first time Russia was accused of being behind the drone incursions.

In February 2025, the U.K.-based The i Paper made similar allegations in its investigation, however, they suggested the flight could have been carried out by Russian operatives on the ground.

That investigation spurred some politicians to call for further investigation.

“Julian Lewis, the former Tory Chair of the Defense Select Committee said: ‘When the US and British authorities detected the drone intrusions at both airbases last November, they stated that investigations were underway,’” the outlet reported. “‘Meanwhile, there is credible evidence here of the possible presence of GRU-linked operatives near Lakenheath and Mildenhall. I shall be asking Ministers to consolidate the findings of all these investigations and to make a Statement in the Commons as soon as possible.’”

Tom Tugendhat, the former Security Minister, told The i Paper that the findings “demand urgent investigation by the MOD and UK intelligence services.”

Still, the MoD investigation into the RAF Lakenheath incidents concluded with no suspects identified, according to the Bury Mercury newspaper.

Less clear are results from investigations into the other three bases involved.

“The UK takes the security of military bases seriously and works closely with allies, law enforcement partners and other authorities to protect Defense people, sites and capabilities,” the U.K. MoD told us Thursday morning when we asked about the allegations made by IISS that the Russians were likely behind the drone incursions and for their assessment of who was operating them.

“Through the Armed Forces Bill, we’re giving our defense personnel greater powers to defeat drones threatening our bases and we have invested significantly in counter-drone capabilities. We continue to strengthen our ability to detect, deter and respond to potential threats,” MoD added.

MoD declined to provide further details, saying it “does not comment on intelligence matters or on the specific security arrangements at Defense sites.”

We also asked U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa (USAFE) whether the IISS allegations about Russian involvement in these events were accurate.

“We can confirm small Unmanned Aerial Systems activity took place over several of our UK installations in 2024,” a spokesperson told us. “These events were monitored, and it was determined there was no impact on personnel or operations.”

“Due to operational security, we cannot speak to intelligence matters,” the spokesperson added. “We continue to work closely with our UK partners to ensure the safety and security of our installations.”

The command said it is working on a response to our question about who was behind these incursions, but that it would not be ready before the July 4 holiday.

The issue of drone incursions is not unique to Europe, as we have frequently reported. There have been numerous incursions at military installations across the U.S., including some near the water, like Langley Air Force Base in December 2023 that The War Zone was the first to report. More recently, Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, home of B-52 strategic bombers and nuclear weapons, experienced a similar series of very troubling incursions. Off the cost of California, American warships were swarmed sporadically for days in the summer of 2019. There are many other examples, as well, and as is case in Europe, it remains publicly unknown who operated those drones in all those instances.

The IISS report does not go into any of the cases outside of Europe. It does, however, clearly point the finger at Russia as the culprit behind the drone overflights that have bedeviled Europe, including U.S. bases in England and Germany.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com 

In an era hallmarked by what experts call a “sex recession,” Six Sex is a symbol of liberation.

The Argentine baddie fashions herself as a baby-voiced, bikini-clad fembot, beamed in from the clubs of Buenos Aires — and has become known for cheeky, instructive celebrations of desire. Her songs are designed to galvanize like-minded club rats into Dionysian revelry, or, in the case of the song “How to Make Your Ass Bigger,” squats.

To a certain subset of the Latine underground, she represents a pure-hearted hypersexuality. Yet, for the artist behind the persona, Francisca Agustina Cuello, this wasn’t always the intention.

“I don’t know if it was because I still had to keep my innocence or what, but I didn’t envision the project that way,” she said, calling from a hotel room in Barcelona. “That response sort of came about from the people, towards me. So, I said OK, I’m making it my own.”

In doing so, Cuello has churned out six thumping EPs as Six Sex, a campy character that she describes as a “fable” — a mix of “fantasía y hedonismo.”

That dynamic is taken to extremes on her debut album, “Ultra”, released June 6. It’s a dark and propulsive journey through decades of electronic dance music, best described by its own opening words portending “ultra terrorific fantasy.” (The phrase conjures up images of grandeur, but really, it evokes that “Blades of Glory” quote: “no one knows what it means, but it’s provocative.”)

“I feel like nothing I say is all that serious,” she said about her lyrics. “It’s a thing about my personality to be silly and goof around.”

“Ultra” centers Cuello’s winking, suggestive sense of humor. “Not Your Mom” features a conversation with a garbled, omnipotent voice akin to the parents in Charlie Brown; “FUchi!” features schoolyard taunts about “low dickie energy;” the album ends with “No More Porn,” a playful yet powerful subversion of sexual expectations.

“At the same time, for me, that acts as a filter,” she added with a laugh. “Weeding out the people who get scandalized by it, and identifying the people who get it and say: ‘Yas, yo también quiero tener cuatro novios.’”

Earlier this year, Cuello took the stage at Don Quixote, performing in front of a sold-out crowd for her Los Angeles debut. The smell of sweat permeated the air as she ripped through several of her hits — including collaborations with Reysha Rami and German producer MCR-T. Every single one of her signature ponytail flips sent the room into hysterics. The audience screamed every word at the top of their lungs; it was the loudest, most raucous show I’d been to in years.

Cuello took a breather in the middle of her world tour to chat with De Los over Zoom about all things Six Sex: her new record, her writing style and how it feels to connect with fans spun into febrile intensity.

This interview has been condensed for clarity and was translated from Spanish to English.

“[I’m] weeding out the people who get scandalized,” says Six Sex of her provocative music.

(Catalina Jacobo)

I was really taken by the “Ultra” album cover. You’re wearing a white bikini and in this “come to Jesus” pose. What was the goal?
[laughs] It was hard, because I wanted the cover to represent what the entire journey of the album meant to me. I was looking for something strong and heavy in visual terms, because with “Ultra”, this is the first time I’ve finished a long, heavy project and I see the start of something. It’s like something new was unlocked. I found a new way to convey feelings, and a new way to create as well. It’s not like I just finished, and it is what it is. Rather, it is the beginning of something bigger.

Is there an element of separation at all between the artistry and you as a person?
I think they’re pretty close. It’s as if Six Sex was sort of a fable, or like a hentai or comic [version of] my life. It’s also happened that things I wrote as a joke later became reality. But generally, I draw inspiration from things that actually happened to me.

Is it weird to put those intimate experiences on an album?
No, not for me. Because I’m not speaking so seriously, I don’t feel exposed. Even though my persona and my character are very close to one another, I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I’m not trying to make you believe in something. The songs stop being about me as soon as someone else listens to them. There are certain things we can all see ourselves represented in, and I think my music aims for that, too.

I want to ask about your performance style. I saw you live in Los Angeles and was really taken by the energy exchange between yourself and the crowd. How do you approach live performance?
Nowadays, I’m in a balance between performance and being a human being that connects with people and can pause to look in the eyes of the audience to register how they feel. I like being in a showgirl role, and at the same time, knowing when to step out of it.

Sometimes I go up there after having a crappy day, thinking that I’m gonna screw it up. And when I get up there and connect with the people, everything flows in a perfect way.

Does the music transform when it’s performed live, versus on a record? A lot of your music seems designed to be played in the club.
I think it’s very personal. For me, I’m a bit autistic; sometimes when I’m at a show, I get different sensations. It really depends on the person. I like seeing people’s reactions live when I start playing these songs for the first time. People were super hyped. They were enjoying them and jumping around a lot. It feels really fresh.

You reference ‘90s club classics all over “Ultra,” including by U.K. band the Prodigy on “Bitch Up.” How did these sounds come into your life?
These sounds evoke a special kind of nostalgia for me. Even though I hadn’t been listening to them lately, they sounded like something I wanted to bring back to the table — songs my uncle used to listen to when I was really young. Like a CD [of] pirated songs that somehow ended up at my house, and at the time I was like, “Wow, what is this music?”

There’s an element of Six Sex that gives “fembot,” like a female, sexy robot. I’m curious if you feel that playing out in your work.
[laughs] I didn’t know about the fembot thing. I don’t use Twitter. I [keep] a bubble… against some things that I don’t know. But I’ve always liked the idea that people have that perception of me, to some extent.

How do you feel about the rise of AI as a musician, especially considering your persona adopts that perception?
I mean… I don’t have a formed opinion on the matter. I do think that, I don’t know, it’s all very relative. For one thing, I obviously feel like it strips away the human value, but at the same time, it’s also a tool for humans. So it’s kind of contradictory. I feel weird about it…. I don’t know.

Zooming out, I’ve noticed Argentina has been having a musical moment over the last few years between yourself, Ca7riel y Paco Amoroso, Juana Rozas… How do you feel Argentina being represented or even challenged in your music?
I feel that culturally, Argentina is a very rich country. However, I do feel like, over generations, a paradigm was broken, and new sounds have been created that don’t necessarily abandon the roots of our music, but were created out of counterculture.

That same kind of counterculture is what makes Argentina be in such turmoil. It’s also the context of our country. Economic, political, social. The key Argentinian figures we refer to nowadays are constantly changing. And that allows you to listen to a variety of genres from Argentina, from people doing different things, and at the same time raising the flag and saying: “Yo soy argentino.” And we love that.

Pembina Pipeline (PBA) has signed a preliminary agreement with Canadian federal and provincial governments, alongside Trans Mountain, to participate in a major nation-building energy infrastructure initiative aimed at expanding global market access for Canadian crude oil.

The multi-stakeholder partnership aims

“Write an excuse for school and let them watch.”

That was England coach Thomas Tuchel’s advice for parents on whether children should be allowed to stay up to support England in their early morning World Cup match against Mexico on Monday.

The time difference means the round of 16 clash against the co-hosts in Mexico City will not kick off until 01:00 BST – and would not finish until closer to 04:00 should it go to penalties.

Speaking to the media after the Three Lions’ victory over DR Congo on Wednesday, a smiling Tuchel said: “There’s so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch.”

But some parents and teachers are concerned about the knock-on impact.

In the past, some schools have suspended lessons to allow children to watch games in the knockout stages of tournaments – but the awkward timing of the Mexico match poses some tricky logistical questions.

Let children stay up and risk a wasted school day on Monday – or force young fans to miss what could be a vital victory on the way to World Cup glory?

Unsurprisingly, parents are divided.

One mum, from Epping in Essex, said of the prospect of her two young children staying up: “They couldn’t even if they wanted to.

“They struggled to make it to the 21:00 kick off for the Ghana match.”

Another parent said they would allow the kids to watch the match live, but expected them to be ready for school the next morning.

They wrote on X: “Mine will be watching and still going into the school the next day.

“What’s the big deal? The recent thunderstorms woke then up at 2am and kept them awake for hours and they were fine the next day going to school.”

A third parent praised Tuchel’s comments and called for every pupil to be given Monday off of school.

A rebel group of Roman Catholics has ordained its own bishops in direct defiance of Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican order. The Society of Saint Pius crisis has caused fears the Church could rupture. Soraya Lennie breaks it down.

A US pilot has been killed in Indonesia’s Papua region after separatist rebels said they shot him and set his aircraft on fire. The attack highlights the decades-long independence struggle, which has displaced more than 122,000 people since 2022.

A-LIST celebrities have begun to arrive for Taylor Swift’s rumored rehearsal dinner on Thursday ahead of her lavish wedding.

Taylor and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are expected to tie the knot at Madison Square Garden on Friday in front of around 1,000 guests.

A few celebrities were spotted in New York ahead of the couple’s big day, where roughly 100 guests are expected to attend the rehearsal dinner on Thursday evening.

Beloved actor Adam Sandler was seen outside of Madison Square Garden with his family on Thursday afternoon in an exclusive video capture by The U.S. Sun.

The comedian was dressed in his signature casual style, wearing shorts, a baggy shirt and sneakers and appeared to be joined by his wife, Jackie, and their daughters, Sadie and Sunny.

Travis joined the big screen alongside Adam in the sequel to the classic film Happy Gilmore and invited the movie star to his podcast, New Heights, which he hosts with his brother Jason Kelce.

SWIFT EXIT

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On the podcast, Adam talked about taking his two daughters to the Eras Tour concert film premiere.

“What a girl … She means so much to our house,” Adam said of Taylor.

Selena Gomez shared a video on her Instagram story on Thursday of her in a floral lace black dress applying one of her Rare Beauty lip products, possibly on her way to the rehearsal dinner, although it has not yet been confirmed.

She paired the dress with a pair of Flicker earrings, featuring 1.92 carats of pear-cut diamonds totaling $29,000 and an $11,000 Flicker ring, according to Page Six.

Selena and Taylor met in 2008 and were first spotted together stepping out to dinner with Nick and Joe Jonas, whom they were respectively dating at the time.

In a 2020 interview with WSJ Magazine, the duo opened up about their friendship, which Taylor compared to “sisterhood.”

“I knew from when I met her I would always have her back. In my life, I have the ability to forgive people who have hurt me. But I don’t know if I can forgive someone who hurts her,” Taylor said of Selena.

Jack Antonoff, Taylor’s close friend and main musical collaborator who recently worked on The Tortured Poets Department, was also spotted in New York City, dressed in a white-collared shirt and dark blazer.

His sister Rachel was also spotted in New York City, dressed in a long pink frilly gown and a red purse.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and his wife Claire were spotted in New York City ahead of the wedding.

The fellow NFL player will apparently not be attending the rehearsal dinner, but will attend the wedding, which he told ExtraTV he plans to give Travis an old coin despite the couple saying “absolutely no gifts.”

Supermodel Gigi Hadid and actor Bradley Cooper were seen heading to the rehearsal dinner, with Bradley in a formal suit and vest, in photos obtained by Page Six.

The rehearsal dinner is reportedly scheduled to run from 6pm to 10:30pm, with fresh lobster possibly on the menu.

The main wedding ceremony is expected to take place on Friday, although it remains unclear if it will be a legal wedding or a lavish celebration as rumors circulate that the pair are already married.

Some others said to be attending the rehearsal dinner include Taylor’s childhood best friend Abigail Anderson, her publicist Tree Paine and Travis’ manager, Amanda Santa, per Page Six.

Travis’ longtime friend Reggie “Regrunt” King and his wife, Sarah, are also expected to attend in addition to several people in sports media, like sports commentator Charissa Thompson and sports reporter Erin Andrews along with her husband, former NHL player Jarret Stoll.

Celebrities close to Taylor have been spotted around New York City, including Suki Waterhouse, who opened for one of Taylor’s Eras Tour shows in London.

Suki told Variety in an interview published in May that she will be attending and hopes to gather inspiration for her wedding to her fiancé Robert Pattinson.

“I’m gonna go to Taylor’s wedding, and maybe I’ll get some inspiration It will be amazing,” she said.

Graham Norton, an Irish comedian and actor who made a cameo in Taylor’s music video for her song Opalite, touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport alongside his husband Jono McLeod.

Taylor’s pal, English actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge, was also seen in New York City with her family ahead of the celebration.

Taylor and Travis’ full guest list has not yet been revealed, but some eagle-eyed fans speculated singer Katy Perry may not be in attendance as she is set to perform in the UK on their rumored wedding day.

Some other famous faces are expected not to be attending, such as Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Charli XCX and Matty Healy following past fallouts.

Military command issues threat a day after Qatari mediators hailed ‘positive progress’ in indirect US-Iranian talks.

Iran’s military command has threatened ships that attempt to cross the Strait of Hormuz using unapproved routes with a “forceful response,” casting new doubt over trade flows in the critical conduit for global energy supplies.

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued the threat on Thursday, a day after Qatari mediators hailed indirect negotiations between US and Iranian officials as making “positive progress” towards a peace deal.

“Any failure to comply with and depart from the designated route or disregard for the navigation protocols of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with an immediate and forceful response from the armed forces, and will endanger the security of the offending vessels,” the military command said in a statement carried by the country’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

While Tehran did not specify what prompted the warning, it came after US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday said it had presided over a security dialogue in Bahrain during which regional leaders expressed their commitment to the “free flow of commerce” in the strait.

Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi hit out at CENTCOM’s statement on Thursday, saying the forum “cannot establish legal order and security for the Persian Gulf”.

“The region’s security will be ensured through the end of interventions and the US withdrawal from the area, respect for countries’ sovereignty, and acceptance of new geopolitical realities – not under the military umbrella of America,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X.

The Strait of Hormuz, which facilitated about one-fifth of the global trade in oil and liquefied natural gas before the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February, has become a major sticking point in Washington and Tehran’s talks aimed at turning their fragile ceasefire into a lasting peace.

While Iran agreed to make its “best efforts” to arrange the safe passage of ships in the strait in the memorandum of understanding it signed with the US on June 17, Tehran has repeatedly threatened to attack ships that do not use its preferred route close to the Iranian shoreline.

At least 49 attacks on commercial vessels have been recorded in the strait since the start of the war on February 28, according to MarineTraffic.

Most of those incidents, including drone attacks on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship and Panama-flagged merchant vessel on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, have been blamed on Tehran.

While transits through the waterway have risen since US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed their MoU on June 17, they remain far below the roughly 130 daily crossings that took place before the conflict.

At least 45 vessels crossed the strait on Wednesday, up from 34 on Tuesday, according to MarineTraffic data.

After dropping to pre-war levels on Thursday on reports of productive talks in Doha, oil prices largely held steady as markets opened in Asia on Friday.

Brent futures for August delivery stood at $72.07 per barrel as of 02:30 GMT, after dropping below $71 for the first time since the war the previous day.

Until not so long ago Latin America had been considered a quiet region, located far from the world’s superpower main strategic confrontations, with sporadic but crucial moments that helped to shape the international order as we know it today. The Cuban Missile Crisis is the clearest example: it became the starting point for a series of agreements and treaties on nuclear and strategic security, involving both the US and the Soviet Union at first, and later extending to other actors of the international community, from Europe, Asia and Latin America, which became the first region free from nuclear weapons after the signing of the Treaty of Tlatelolco in 1967, 5 years after the crisis. After this episode, the region’s relevance seemed to fade, and Latin American countries appeared condemned to a destiny of surfing between weak political cohesion internally and relatively stable economies, even as most of its governments remained closely aligned with Washington on foreign policy matters.

It was precisely during this period of perceived irrelevance that China began building its presence in the region, very gradually and over the course of a little more than two decades. Washington largely ignored this process, even as it became clear that the Asian giant was becoming the largest trading partner for several South American countries, such as Peru and Brazil, and in many cases also the main investor in their economies. This neglect was not born of ignorance: it reflected, instead, a confidence that local governments would remain compliant regardless of who was investing in them. President Trump’s first term illustrates this well. Despite isolated clashes with the governments of Mexico and Venezuela, these episodes looked minor when compared to the “tariff wars” waged against the EU and China. In fact, the only time Trump ever set foot in the region during his entire first term was in November 2018 when he attended the G20 Forum in Buenos Aires. Significantly, there was a planned short visit in Colombia after this event, but I was cancelled. This was widely read at the time as a confirmation that Latin America remained a low priority for Washington’s foreign policy agenda, more due to the expectable compliance of local governments than ignorance of the importance of the region as a resource base capable of fueling US power projection in other regions.

It was only during Trump’s second term that American foreign policy has shifted towards the Western Hemisphere, attributing strategic importance to the region and setting the objective to maintain a near-absolute dominant presence, involving both economic and military dimensions, as is stated in the latest National Security Strategy of 2025.

By the time this shift was formalized, China’s footprint in the region was already deep and country-specific. In Brazil, China had been the largest trading partner since 2009; bilateral trade hit a record $171 billion in 2025, with China accounting for 27.2% of Brazil’s total foreign trade, besides, EV plants and a still planned bi-oceanic railway linking Brazil to Peru’s Pacific coast were being negotiated as part of the Chinese investment strategy in both countries. In Argentina, China became the primary supplier of mobile network infrastructure, part of a broader Chinese push into Latin American 5G and data-center markets. And in Peru, China invested around $1.3 billion in the strategic port of Chancay, a deepwater facility that entered full operation stage in November 2024, and set a new phase for trade between China and South America, bypassing the traditional deepwater ports located in the US, like the ports of Oakland and Stockton. Reinforcing this, China pledged in May 2025, at the CELAC forum ministerial meeting in Beijing, to ramp up its regional engagement even further. These were not isolated transactions but a structural presence, one that the 2025 National Security Strategy now identifies strictly as the rival foothold it intends to dislodge.

Now, within this context in 2026 the declared shift of interests proved it wasn’t merely rhetorical. The year started with the launching of Operation Resolve, when a group of American special military forces conducted a military raid and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas, transporting them to New York to face narcoterrorism charges. Trump declared that the US was now “in charge” of Venezuela until a transition takes place. This meant in practice that the US would hold control over the country’s oil exports, which during the first four months after Maduro’s capture were estimated at $8 billion, but the data on how much oil has been sold, the revenue from it and the use given to those funds remains secret. The main importers of Venezuelan oil during this period were the United States (43 percent), India (26 percent, part of the strategy to reduce Indian import of Russian oil), and Spain (8 percent). This episode, condemned by critics as a return to the old days of imperialism, set the tone for the rest of the year: a hemisphere where Washington would use military force, tariffs, and other mechanics for pressuring countries to sign economic deals where American core interests prevail.

An example of this is the new and controversial Trade and Investment agreement signed by the United States and Argentina in February of this year. According to the text, Argentina shall adapt the regulatory framework to implement US trade standards and prioritize American direct investment in the country, while the counterpart shall “try to review its tariffs” and “consider supporting investment financing”. Milei’s government has justified this as the price for ideological loyalty and continued financial support after the $20 billion credit line that helped to stabilize the local currency (peso) last year.

On the other hand, Brazil took the opposite path: rather than just seeking accommodation to this policy, the government of Lula da Silva accelerated diversification, finalizing the long-delayed EU-Mercosur agreement in January, deepening trade with China and signing a memorandum of understanding with aims for further strategic partnership with Russia. Notably, the US has implemented another mechanism of pressure here, condemning the imprisonment of former president Jair Bolsonaro and holding a meeting with his son Flavio Bolsonaro, who will participate in the presidential elections this October. This gives clear signs of indirect support for this far-right candidate, following the regional trend with Milei in Argentina and Keiko Fujimori in Peru.

Peru, meanwhile, illustrates a third pattern and an interesting case, because alignment here is imposed less by negotiation than by sheer state fragility. Amid a presidency turning over for the ninth time in a decade, the US State Department warned in February that China’s control over the Chancay megaport threatens Peru’s sovereignty, following a Peruvian court ruling that exempted the port from national oversight. Peru’s case pictures a scenario where both counterparts keep pushing for concessions and more privileges. Under the government of José María Balcázar, the ninth president in 10 years, the country has been involved in the controversial purchase of 12 F-16 jetfighters with a cost of around $3.5 billion. On April he postponed the official ceremony where this deal was supposed to be signed arguing that it would have to be the responsibility of a new president, the decision was met with pushback, both internally, with declarations from the Ministry of Defense and in the US Embassy, with ambassador Bernardo Navarro declaring “If you deal with the U.S. in bad faith and undermine U.S. interests, rest assured, I, on behalf of [President] Trump and his administration, will use every available tool to protect and promote the prosperity and security of the United States and our region.” After this, with both internal and diplomatic pressure, the deal was signed on the 17th of April.

Taken together, these cases suggest the current US approach to Latin America is not fueled by a single ideological logic, but by transactional calculations that value compliance and heavily punishes resistance, exploiting weaknesses here and there and aiming to these policy goal indifferently to whether the country in question is led by a right, left or ideologically undefined government. What seems quite clear is that the decades of quietness in Latin America have ended, not necessarily because the region has changed, many of the deep challenges for development are still present, but because the rivalry that once defined the Cuban Missile Crisis has returned, this time fought over trade tariffs, infrastructure and technology access rather than missiles.

Cut to a seedy alley behind a Chinese restaurant in Rome: A dozen mobsters menace a slight young man who suddenly pulls out a pair of nunchucks. He swings the traditional stick-and-chain weapons and makes quick work of his enemies, who fall one by one, groaning in pain.

The comedic, legendary action scene is from the 1972 film “The Way of the Dragon,” written, directed and starring Bruce Lee. The martial arts star was a trailblazer, allowing Asian Americans to see themselves represented in a strong, positive light on-screen.

And now he has secured a place in California history, becoming the first Chinese American in state history to have a day designated in his honor.

Lee was born in 1940 in San Francisco. His mother was of European descent and his father was a Cantonese opera star who was on tour in the city, affording his son birthright citizenship.

Lee grew up in Hong Kong, where he followed his father’s path as a performer, acting in more than a dozen films as a child and studying the close-quarters southern Chinese martial art Wing Chun.

On May 17, 1959, an 18-year-old Lee returned to San Francisco and eventually made his way to Hollywood. He went on to influence an industry that was at the time bereft of Asian American talent, and helped to popularize the genre of martial arts films and ignite Western interest in Hong Kong action cinema.

In recognition of his contributions, state Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill designating May 17 as “Bruce Lee Day” in California. The bill, signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, encourages schools and communities to honor Lee’s life and cultural impact.

Haney has described Lee as a “symbol of pride, resilience and possibility for generations who rarely saw themselves reflected with strength and dignity.”

Lee, who saw himself not only as an actor but also as a poet and philosopher, encountered repeated barriers. Up for the main role in the 1970s television series “Kung Fu,” for example, he was rejected in favor of white actor David Carradine.

In 2020, filmmaker Bao Nguyen sought to show how Lee dispelled anti-Asian sentiment and long-held stereotypes of emasculated Asian men in his ESPN documentary “Be Water.”

“The Asian male was the face of the enemy to many Americans,” Nguyen told The Times in 2020. “It was this vicious cycle of society reflecting media and culture, and media and culture reflecting society. There had to be some kind of intervention there and Bruce, in a way, was that intervention. He was the hero that we hadn’t seen before.”

Lee learned much about the systemic oppression that Black Americans faced from his first student, Jesse Glover, who had been a victim of police brutality.

And scholars have pointed out that, although his films had far-from-perfect politics, they touched on themes of fighting oppression. The 1971 movie “The Big Boss” showed Lee battling alongside laborers. “Fist of Fury” saw him opposing Japanese colonialism and discrimination.

Lee died young in 1973, at age 32 — before he was able to witness the full extent of his stardom. He died just one month before the release of “Enter the Dragon,” which was a box-office sensation and is considered a masterpiece of martial arts filmmaking.

On the eve of his unofficial NBA debut, first-round draft pick Cameron Carr signed his Lakers rookie contract, the team announced Thursday.

The Lakers acquired Carr, a 6-foot-5 guard, in a swap of picks with the New York Knicks. Carr will play for the Lakers in summer league games beginning Friday in San Francisco.

Terms were not announced, but the standard rookie contract for the 24th pick this season is about $16.9 million over four seasons with team options in the third and fourth seasons, according to Spotrac.

Carr does not play the position most thought the Lakers would target in the draft. Desperate for a big man, the Lakers instead traded to get the shooting guard out of Baylor.

But Carr fits the bill with his athleticism and length. He recorded a 7-foot wingspan and 8-8 standing reach at the NBA combine, where he also impressed scouts during the five-on-five scrimmage with 30 points and seven rebounds on six-for-12 shooting from three-point range. At Baylor, he averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season.

Carr’s father, Chris, played six seasons in the NBA, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the 1997 NBA dunk contest.

The winner was Kobe Bryant.

With a chance to make his own NBA legacy, the 21-year-old Carr has found inspiration from his father.

“He was a good outlet for me because he’s been where I want to go, and he’s been down the road I want to go,” Carr told reporters at his introductory news conference. “He’s been a heck of a person to stand next to. Especially in tough times where sometimes I don’t know where I want to go. Man, I can lean on him and ask him. He’s been a lot of help for me.”

Dramatic video shows the moment an explosion rocked a building in Tacoma, sending flames and debris toward firefighters as they were investigating reports of smoke rising from an electrical room within the residential complex. No injuries were reported.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says concerns it raised last year about the U.S. Navy’s E-130J Phoenix II program “have morphed into realities.” The timeline for moving from the development of the aircraft to putting it into actual production has already slipped by approximately one year. The E-130Js are set to supplant aging E-6B Mercury jets in support of the Take Charge And Move Out (TACAMO) mission. This involves providing aerial command and control support for nuclear ballistic missile submarines, including the ability to send them orders to launch strikes while they are submerged. Platforms tasked with nuclear support missions like TACAMO are commonly called ‘doomsday planes.’

GAO has provided a new update on the E-130J effort in its latest annual assessment of multiple high-profile U.S. military procurement programs. The Congressional watchdog released this report earlier today.

In last year’s iteration of this report, GAO explicitly called into question the choice of C-130J-30 Hercules aircraft, a four-engine turboprop transport plane, as the basis for the E-130J, warning that it might “not meet operational availability requirements.” The existing 16 E-6B aircraft are based on the larger, jet-engined Boeing 707 airliner, which is now long out of production. It is important to note that the Mercury fleet also supports a U.S. Air Force nuclear mission set called the Airborne Command Post (ABNCP), and more commonly known by the nickname Looking Glass. In that role, the planes provide aerial command and control support to nuclear-capable bombers and silo-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. They are equipped to initiate the launch of Minuteman IIIs while in flight. The forthcoming Phoenix IIs will only be tasked with the TACAMO mission, something we will come back to later on.

“As we reported in last year’s assessment, the Navy awarded its contract despite significant technical risks it acknowledged the E-130J program faced. A September 2024 independent technical risk assessment highlighted the complexity associated with the program’s planned integration effort, which officials acknowledged could increase as they integrate additional technologies,” per GAO’s latest assessment. “Since our 2024 report, the program has delayed its low-rate production decision by approximately a year as these system integration risks have morphed into realities.”

“For example, program officials said that contractors are now focused on modifying already-existing mission systems to reduce their weight, which the independent assessment anticipated would be necessary to accommodate them on the C-130J-30 airframe,” the report released today adds.

“The program office stated that the E-130J program remains on track to recapitalize TACAMO capability through developing an MVP [minimum viable product], iterating system capabilities through software improvements, and establishing digital frameworks,” according to GAO. “The program office also stated that it is aligned with Secretary of Defense guidance through an acquisition approach that allows for tradeoffs and implementation of a modular open systems approach. The program office did not provide any documentation to substantiate any of these claims, which run counter to our own analyses of E-130J program documentation.”

In its annual assessment last year, GAO said the Navy “acknowledges technical risk,” but also that the service had highlighted “risk reduction contracts with subcontractors to address obsolescence and size, weight, and power-cooling risks.”

The Navy’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request provides some additional context about the suite of systems the E-130J will need to perform the TACAMO mission.

“A dedicated communications platform, TACAMO aircraft features the ability to communicate on virtually every radio frequency band from very low frequency (VLF) up through Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) using a variety of modulations, encryptions and networks, maximizing the likelihood an emergency message is received by U.S. strategic forces,” per the Navy’s budget documents. “Included in these efforts are Government and Contractor Systems Integration Laboratories, Contractor System Test Integration Laboratory, Government Furnished Property (National Security Agency approved encryption devices, Ultra High Frequency modems), High Frequency and the Advanced Extremely High Frequency solutions, Top Secret network development and building required infrastructure includes power generation systems, cooling, flight deck avionics, Electric Magnetic Pulse (EMP) hardening, cyber hardening, and structural modifications to support integration of E-130J mission system equipment.”

A particularly notable and critical capability found on the existing E-6Bs is the ability to extend a five-mile-long antenna to communicate with submerged submarines. The E-130J will have a very similar, if not identical, antenna system to support the TACAMO mission.

As it stands now, the Navy plans to acquire six pre-production E-130Js in Fiscal Year 2027 to support different aspects of the aircraft’s ongoing development. At least one initial example is already being built. Some portion of those test aircraft might eventually take on operational roles. In its latest report, GAO says a critical design review is expected to come at the end of next year. With the aforementioned delay, the decision to then move into low-rate initial production (LRIP) is now projected to occur in April 2029. The initial LRIP lot is expected to be between three and six aircraft, but the total expected size of the E-130J fleet is unclear.

It is worth remembering that the Navy did previously operate modified C-130s in the TACAMO role before the first E-6A arrived in 1989. The Navy subsequently upgraded those aircraft in the late 1990s and early 2000s to the E-6B standard.

TWZ has previously explored the pros and cons of going back to a C-130-based platform for this critical Navy mission set, writing:

“It’s certainly worth pointing out that the E-6Bs, conversions of what were some of the last and most modern 707 airliners built, were larger and higher performance platforms than the EC-130Qs. The C-130J-30 is certainly a more capable aircraft than the C-130H on which the EC-130Q was based, but it won’t have the base speed and altitude capabilities of an airliner-sized multi-engine jet. Compared to the Mercuries, any TACAMO-configured C-130J-30 would not be able to get on station as quickly, or fly as high, limiting its ability to get above bad weather or establish a better line of sight for its communications systems.”

“At the same time, as the Navy itself has noted, the C-130J-30 platform does immediately open up the ability to use a larger number of air bases, airports, and airfields, including austere ones that the E-6B cannot operate from. This could be very useful in a contingency scenario where an opponent may have destroyed or otherwise rendered unusable many well-established bases, as well as larger secondary dispersal sites, which include large commercial airports. Being able to fly from smaller, tertiary locations could help to ensure that the TACAMO mission continues without significant disruption under such circumstances. This is also true during peacetime as targeting the TACAMOs on the ground would be much harder if they could easily operate from and sit alert at a much larger number of airports.”

“A C-130J-30 configured for the TACAMO mission would certainly have a mid-air refueling capability and the Hercules is already a platform that has demonstrated the ability to loiter over particular areas for long periods of time. Unlike the Boeing 707, the C-130J is still in production, as well, meaning that TACAMO aircraft based on this plane would be inherently easier to maintain and support logistically, and may also be easier to convert to this specialized configuration begin with. As time goes on, the J looks set to increasingly become the default base C-130 model across the U.S. military, as well. Compared to the long out of production 707-based E-6, support for the C-130J is already distributed across the U.S., and beyond. Training C-130J crews is even an easier proposition.”

The issue increasingly looming now is the age of the existing E-6Bs, which are becoming increasingly more challenging to operate and sustain. As noted, the Mercury fleet represents some of the very last 707s ever built before Boeing shuttered that line for good in 1991. The Navy’s plans to phase out the E-6Bs as the E-130Js arrive to help avoid any capacity gaps, which means the Mercury fleet will have to soldier on until that happens.

Last year, the Navy confirmed that it had scrapped plans to convert an ex-Royal Air Force E-3D Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft, another Boeing 707-based type, into a dedicated TE-6B crew trainer, something TWZ was first to report. The TE-6B was explicitly intended to help relieve strain on operational E-6Bs. The Navy is now utilizing a contractor-owned, but government-operated (COGO) Boeing 737NG airliner to help meet pilot training demands.

To reiterate, the current plan is also for the E-130J to only perform the TACAMO mission. The Air Force is now in the very early stages of a separate effort to acquire what it is currently calling Looking Glass-Next (LG-N) to take over that mission from the E-6B fleet.

Part of that solution may entail integrating ABNCP-specific capabilities onto its future Boeing 747-based E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) jets. The E-4Cs are set to replace the service’s four E-4B Nightwatch aircraft, as you can read more about here. The existing E-4Bs already have a ‘doomsday plane’ role, but do not have the exact same mix of capabilities as the E-6B. The Nightwatch jets notably lack the ability to order launches of Minuteman III IBCMs while in flight.

For the Air Force, the LG-N program is tied to larger nuclear command and control modernization plans, which might see more of these functions move to space-based assets, as well. All of this is also heavily intertwined with the ongoing development of the new LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM. Sentinel suffered huge setbacks, delays, and cost overruns, but primarily with the infrastructure side of the program, not the missile, as you can read more about here.

Enabling Peace Through Deterrence

When it comes to the Navy’s TACAMO modernization plans, challenges in integrating the necessary capabilities onto the C-130J-30 platform have now set back these efforts at least by a year.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

THE White House has shared its own Taylor Swift-inspired post ahead of the popstar’s lavish wedding to Travis Kelce.

The official White House Instagram account shared a photo of “America’s Eras Tour” in the same style as Taylor’s iconic Eras Tour poster.

The image showed President Donald Trump in the middle with his fist raised, surrounded by ten photos depicting moments in American history.

The post included two additional photos of Trump in addition to Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

There were other images showing a hockey game, the moon landing, and a photo from the end of World War II showing a US Navy sailor kissing a woman in Times Square.

“It’s been a long time coming…” the caption read, a nod to Taylor’s lyrics.

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The timing of the post appeared to throw some shade toward Taylor, whose wedding extravaganza is taking place around the Fourth of July weekend and the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.

Trump and Taylor have had a longtime feud, where the president blasted the singer as “no longer hot” in a Truth Social post from 2025.

“Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I hate Taylor Swift,’ she’s no longer ‘hot?’” he wrote.

He also called out Taylor in his speech congratulating the Philadelphia Eagles on their Super Bowl win in 2025, noting how she was booed on the jumbotron at the Caesars Superdome as she cheered on Travis at the big game.

“The only one that had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift,” he wrote on Truth Social after making history as the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl.

Despite the comments, after Trump learned the news that the pair were engaged, he told reporters, “I wish them a lot of luck.”

“He’s a great player and she’s a terrific person.”

The White House’s post on Thursday came as around 100 guests are expected to be attending Taylor and Travis’ rehearsal dinner.

Several A-List celebrities were spotted in New York City ahead of the couple’s big day, including Adam Sandler and his family, who arrived outside of Madison Square Garden on Thursday afternoon.

Jack Antonoff, who recently worked with Taylor on The Tortured Poets Department album, was also spotted in formal attire alongside his sister.

Supermodel Gigi Hadid and actor Bradley Cooper were seen heading to the rehearsal dinner in photos obtained by Page Six.

The rehearsal dinner reportedly began around 6:30pm with fresh lobster possibly on the menu.

ROME — President Trump’s attacks on Italy’s premier have had an unintended consequence.

After Trump questioned Italy’s reliability as a wartime ally and claimed Giorgia Meloni had groveled for his attention, European leaders rallied to Meloni’s side, thawing what had been a frosty relationship over her hard-right political roots.

It is the latest example of how the often divisive American president is helping to draw Europe closer together.

European leaders are finding more reasons to coordinate on defense, tariffs and foreign policy as they confront wars in Ukraine and Iran, a ballooning trade deficit with China, and threats from Russia. That leaves Trump, who has often preferred to negotiate with European countries individually, with less ability to do so, analysts say.

“Most of the mainstream leaders realize that Europe is getting squeezed between China and America, and so, if not now, then when?” said Sudha David-Wilp, vice president at the German Marshall Fund. “They need to act as a bloc in order to maintain Europe’s place in the world.”

This newfound European unity could be tested next week at a NATO summit in Turkey.

European leaders rally around Meloni

Meloni’s spat with Trump has helped her strengthen ties with European leaders once wary of her party’s post-fascist roots.

A pivotal moment came in March when she wouldn’t allow U.S. bombers headed to the Middle East to use a base in Sicily without parliamentary approval.

For years before then, France and Germany often kept Meloni outside the small-group talks that helped shape Europe’s response to major foreign policy crises. That persisted into 2026 amid disagreements over the Russian war on Ukraine, including Meloni’s rejection of a proposal by Britain and France to send European troops there following a possible ceasefire.

But Trump’s escalating attacks on Meloni — who called Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo “unacceptable” — helped shift the dynamic, prompting European leaders to rally around her.

After all, they, too, have been on the receiving end of Trump’s barbs.

Meloni was firmly in the fold at a late June meeting in Berlin with the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Poland. And she met the next day with French President Emmanuel Macron in southern France — the first bilateral summit since the pandemic.

Europe’s nationalist parties are adjusting

Even nationalist parties across the continent once aligned with Trump are recalibrating their stances because his trade policies and war with Iran are proving unpopular with voters.

In France, far-right leader Jordan Bardella recently blasted U.S. actions as “foreign interference” and described Trump as “erratic” and “extremely unsteady.” Bardella had previously welcomed Trump’s brand of nationalism as a “wind of freedom.”

In Germany, leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany party have criticized the U.S. military campaign against Iran. The co-leader of the party, Tino Chrupalla, said in March he was “extremely disappointed” with Trump, whom he had viewed as a politician who would avoid new conflicts.

The changing rhetoric comes as elections approach, putting more focus on domestic issues.

“This pushes everyone to consider a European horizon more than an international one,” said Lorenzo Castellani, a political analyst and professor at Rome’s LUISS University,

Beyond Europe’s biggest powers

These dynamics are playing out beyond the European Union, from the Arctic Ocean to the Balkans.

When Trump threatened to take Greenland by force, protests erupted in its capital, Nuuk, and in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Leaders across the political spectrum bristled at the threatened infringement of European sovereignty and feared it could shatter the already stressed NATO military alliance.

In Albania, a luxury development being planned that is linked to Trump’s family business has become a major political issue, drawing protests in June.

The political risks of close alignment with Trump were perhaps most clearly illustrated in Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — long regarded as Trump’s closest ally in the European Union — was voted out of office in April despite support from the U.S. president and prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

An analysis by the consultancy Maplecroft suggested that negative perceptions of the Trump administration may have weighed on Orbán politically.

Meloni’s balancing act

Though Meloni remains closely aligned with Trump on issues like immigration and security, she has long diverged from him on Ukraine. Her steadfast support for Kyiv made her more palatable for European leaders and has been a key factor in forging a more united European front toward the U.S.

During their public spat last month, Meloni said her friendship with Trump came with a heavy political cost.

In her response to his accusation that she had “begged” to be photographed with him while at the recent G7 summit in France, she wrote on social media: “As for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you.”

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that Trump is deeply unpopular in Italy. According to the survey, 83% of Italians have no confidence in Trump’s ability to do the right thing regarding foreign affairs. His handling of a range of issues — including Iran, tariffs, and U.S. immigration policies — received a low level of support.

With a national election due by 2027 — and possibly as early as next spring — Meloni faces mounting political pressures, including fallout from the unpopular Iran war and her former ties to Trump.

Voters across Europe could hold their own politicians accountable for the actions of an American president beyond their control, said Castellani, the political analyst.

“At a certain point, when voters see the price of gasoline rising because of a war perceived as distant, they ask Meloni for the bill, not Trump.”

Zampano and McNeil write for the Associated Press. McNeil reported from Brussels. AP writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin, and Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, contributed to this report.