Month: July 2026

July 9 (UPI) — An Argentine court convicted former Navy Capt. Claudio Villamide and sentenced him to three years of suspended prison time for his role in the 2017 sinking of the submarine ARA San Juan, the country’s deadliest peacetime naval disaster.

The sinking killed all 44 crew members. The submarine was located in late 2018 at a depth of roughly 3,000 feet in the South Atlantic. It has not been recovered.

According to Argentine media reports, the court in Río Gallegos found Villamide guilty Wednesday of aggravated negligence and failing to fulfill the duties of a public official. In addition to the suspended sentence, he was barred from holding public office for six years.

Prosecutors argued that Villamide, who commanded the Argentine Navy’s Submarine Force at the time of the disaster, authorized the patrol mission despite knowing the vessel had serious maintenance deficiencies. The submarine had pending post-repair tests and was subject to a technical diving restriction that was ignored, prosecutors said.

Villamide maintained his innocence throughout the trial, arguing the submarine met operational requirements, and that investigators had not conclusively determined the physical cause of the disaster.

Because the sentence was suspended, Villamide will not serve time in prison.

In a unanimous decision, the court acquitted three other former naval officers charged in the case: former Rear Adm. Luis Enrique López Mazzeo, former Capt. Héctor Aníbal Alonso and former Capt. Hugo Miguel Correa.

Relatives of the victims expressed outrage over the ruling and what they described as the leniency of the only conviction.

According to Argentine newspaper Página/12, many family members believe the verdict fell short of delivering justice because it did not hold the Navy’s top commanders or senior government officials from the time accountable.

Lawyers representing the victims’ families said they will appeal the ruling before Argentina’s Federal Court of Cassation beginning Aug. 21, seeking to overturn the acquittals and increase Villamide’s sentence. At the same time, they described the decision as an unprecedented institutional milestone, according to La Nación.

For the first time, an Argentine court ruled that the loss of a military vessel during peacetime was not solely the result of weather conditions, but also of serious human failures and omissions.

Villamide’s defense also rejected the verdict.

His attorneys called the conviction “unusual and unjust,” arguing the trial established there was no direct causal link between the orders issued by naval command and the submarine’s final collapse in the South Atlantic, according to La Opinión Austral.

The defense said it also plans to appeal in an effort to obtain a full acquittal.

The ARA San Juan reported flooding and an electrical fire caused by seawater entering its battery compartment on Nov. 15, 2017. After contact with the submarine was lost, its wreckage, crushed by an implosion, was found about a year later nearly 3,000 feet below the surface of the South Atlantic.

England defender Jarell Quansah has been given a two-match ban for his red card against Mexico.

Quansah was sent off in the 54th minute of the 3-2 win following a high challenge on Jesus Gallardo.

It was classed as serious foul play, meaning the Bayer Leverkusen player was handed an extra match on top of the automatic one-game suspension by Fifa’s disciplinary committee.

Former Liverpool man Quansah will miss Saturday’s quarter-final with Norway (22:00 BST) and a potential semi-final against Argentina or Switzerland.

Quansah, 23, will be available if England reach the final in New Jersey on 19 July.

The Football Association (FA) was considering whether to appeal, but under the tournament regulations there is no avenue to contest the ban.

However, BBC Sport has been told the FA made very strong representations to Fifa over the process that reached the Quansah red card decision, arguing that the referee was shown a still image of the tackle and slow-motion replays before being shown the incident in real-time on the pitchside screen, and that this could have resulted in ‘outcome bias’.

In the Premier League, officials are always shown incidents at full speed first – though England’s top flight is an outlier.

The ban complicates matters for head coach Thomas Tuchel at right-back.

Quansah filled in against Mexico while England were without the injured Reece James, with Djed Spence only used as a substitute after a minor fitness issue.

However, Tuchel has said he expects James to be available against Norway after missing games because of the hamstring injury he sustained in the second group match against Ghana.

Tuchel’s assistant coach Anthony Barry said the Quansah news was “disappointing”.

“Disappointing, not with the decision, just the fact that we lose a good player,” he added.

“He was excellent in training, and of course we have some injuries in that position, so it looked like a space had opened up for Jarell.

“But the decision’s been made, we won’t waste any more energy on it. Overall for us, we lose a good player for two games, but it’s just another hurdle that we have to overcome.”

Winger Bukayo Saka said the ban was “incredibly frustrating for us, and for him”.

“But it is what it is. We have to adapt and pick a team to win against Norway,” he added.

Fifa has announced that French referee Clement Turpin, who took charge of England’s 4-2 win over Croatia, has been appointed to officiate the Norway game.

Luke Wilson has reportedly welcomed his first child with girlfriend Kendall Yates.

The new parents were spotted with their baby at a Tuesday press event for Wilson’s upcoming Netflix series, “The Hawk,” according to People and Page Six. The “Bottle Rocket” actor and his partner brought their newborn daughter in a carrier to the Newport Beach reception and introduced her to Wilson’s castmates and other attendees, per the outlets’ sources.

Representatives for Wilson did not immediately respond on Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.

Wilson, 54, and Yates, 24, have reportedly been linked since at least 2023. They have mostly kept their relationship away from the spotlight, but attended an afterparty for the Los Angeles premiere of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” together in 2024.

The “Idiocracy” actor has addressed his desire to have kids and his role as an uncle over the years. In a 2007 People interview, Wilson — then single — mentioned he “definitely want[ed] [kids] at some point.” In 2023, while promoting “Merry Little Batman,” Wilson spoke about being “a pretty good uncle” to brother Owen Wilson’s kids.

“They’re great little kids,” Wilson said of his nephews in an interview with Conan O’Brien in 2020. “The kind that make me want to have some kids of my own, which I should get on sooner rather than later.”

“I just don’t want to be one of those dads that has to pay somebody in the neighborhood to throw the football with his kid because I can’t,” he joked.

Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson is not facing charges related to his arrest last month on suspicion of domestic violence, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office confirmed.

“Charges are not filed against the respondent at this time, however, the case stays open throughout the length of the statute of limitations. It can be re-evaluated if there are further developments,” said Ivor Pine, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

Pine said the matter has been assigned for a City Attorney hearing, a pre-filing diversion that is an alternative to misdemeanor prosecution.

Jackson was arrested on June 9 after police responded to a call at a West Hills home involving Jackson and a pregnant woman.

Jackson, 27, could still face discipline from the NFL if the league determines that he violated its personal conduct policy for the second time.

In 2024, Jackson served a two-game suspension. If the league finds he committed another violation, Jackson could face a six-game suspension or possible banishment for at least one year.

The Rams are scheduled to report to training camp on July 25 in preparation for their Sept. 10 season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia.

Staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this report.

July 9 (UPI) — More than a dozen news organizations asked a court to sanction OpenAI for withholding evidence in lawsuits filed against the company for copyright infringement.

The New York Times, New York Daily News, The Intercept and 14 other news organizations asked a federal court on Thursday for sanctions against the artificial intelligence company for lying about its ability to provide data showing how it has used copyrighted material to train its models.

The companies had sued OpenAI for violating copyright law by using their content to create a secondary product — its AI models — without paying for it, The New York Times and Variety reported.

In court, the AI company had said it could not search training datasets and output data, but earlier this year one of the company’s employees said during a deposition that the data could be accessed.

“The evidence is in OpenAI’s training data sets and ChatGPT output logs,” the organizations said in the court filing.

“But instead of just producing that evidence at the start of the case and focusing on the merits of its fair use defense, OpenAI chose obstruction,” they said.

In addition to accusing OpenAI of lying about searching for the organizations’ content in its data, they allege that the company deleted data logs, which would violate a court order to preserve relevant evidence.

An attorney for the organizations said in a statement that OpenAI had claimed that searching its ChatGPT outputs was “infeasible, burdensome and invasive of users’ privacy” but then lied about having already done searches.

OpenAI called the news organizations’ allegations in the filing “blatantly false,” and said that its use of their content falls under “the long-established principles of fair use.”

Quansah will miss England’s quarterfinal against Norway after being sent off for a sliding studs-up ​tackle.

England defender Jarell Quansah has been suspended for two matches following his red card in the team’s World Cup last-16 victory over Mexico, leaving manager Thomas Tuchel short of back-line options for the latter stages of the tournament.

The two-match ban, confirmed on Thursday, means that Quansah will miss England’s quarterfinal against Norway on Saturday in Miami and a potential semifinal should they advance.

Quansah was sent off after a video review determined that he made a sliding studs-up tackle in the round-of-16 match against the cohosts.

Jude Bellingham’s goal and a Harry Kane penalty double inflicted a rare defeat on Mexico at their Estadio Azteca as 10-man England won a nerve-racking World Cup classic 3-2 to reach the quarterfinals.

England had been weighing a possible appeal after FIFA overturned a one-match suspension imposed on United States striker Folarin Balogun earlier in the tournament.

The defender would only be available again for selection if England reach the World Cup final.

The suspension is a setback for Tuchel as England attempt to continue their run in the tournament, with the team’s defensive problems compounded by injuries.

England midfielder Jordan Henderson had surgery on his left wrist following an injury sustained after tripping over an advertising board during the team’s celebrations for the win over Mexico. He rejoined the team at its camp in Kansas City and has been ruled out for the remainder of the World Cup.

A day earlier, France coach Didier Deschamps revealed that an appeal against a yellow card shown to Michael Olise in the World Cup last-16 win over Paraguay had been rejected by FIFA.

“The yellow card has not changed. We were notified by FIFA this morning; it has been maintained,” Deschamps told reporters in Foxborough on Wednesday, on the eve of France’s quarterfinal showdown with Morocco at the Boston Stadium.

After Strictly Come Dancing announced Love Island winner and dancer Cach Mercer as the fifth contestant for 2026’s line-up, several fans of the BBC show were angered to discover he already has dance experience

Strictly Come Dancing have announced Love Island winner Cach Mercer as part of their 2026 line-up – but some fans are up in arms because he already has dance experience.

Cach, who won Love Island last year, was the fifth contestant announced for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. But, according to charity Young Minds, of which Cach is an ambassador, the star is a “professional dancer from East London”.

The Love Island star appears to have training in Hip Hop and Afrobeats and regularly posts videos of himself dancing online. In many of these videos, he has choreographed his own dance moves. He has also taught a dance classes for places such as dance event Move It and Platinum Performing Arts.

After discovering that the latest Strictly celeb had dance experience several fans were upset. One wrote on Instagram: “Had to google who he was, and the first thing that came up was ‘professional dancer’!!!”

Another added: “A professional dancer? How is he getting on as a celeb then?” A third said it gave “such an advantage when they’re already dancers” and that it was “extremely unfair to the other contestants”.

A fourth hilariously thought Strictly’s post about Cach joining the show was intended to announce a new pro dancer. “Oooh he’s a professional dancer!” they wrote. “So we are get getting some new pros this year!” The fan quickly added: “Oh wait no, this says celebrity reveal. He’s a Love Islander and professional dancer. I might just delete all this.”

But, other fans defended Cach, pointing out that many celebs who have competed on the show had dance experience and that Cach’s training was not in ballroom or latin.

“He’s trained in hip-hop and afrobeats. He’s never done ballroom or latin, never been to a stage school and never danced with a partner,” one said. “So he’s well within the rules of the show.”

Another continued: “When so many contestants have been to stage school and done musical theatre etc, it is well past time that we stopped calling people out for having previous dance experience.”

Every year there seems to be at least one celeb contestant who fans say should not be on the show due to their prior dance experience and/or training. Last year, both Emmerdale star Lewis Cope and Love Island winner Amber Davies came under fire for doing the show whilst having dance training.

Amber, who dances in musical theatre shows, responded to the backlash with: “We see the same thing over and over again and I feel like it doesn’t matter what I say or how I feel, if I’m struggling, people will of course have things to say because I do musical theatre.

“I have worked my a**e off to be taken seriously in the musical theatre world, and I feel like I have been working so hard. The musical theatre world is actually quite small so once you work hard, you are committed, consistent in your job and are a good company member, you can build your reputation quite quickly within the industry.”

Meanwhile, Lewis, who danced as a child and got to three dance world championships, said to Metro: “I don’t really know where all that came from, to be honest. I trained as an actor, I danced a bit when I was a teen, but haven’t since. It’s only ever really been acting for me for a long, long time – so I don’t really know where that came from. I don’t really take notice of it, though – everyone’s so strong, and anyone can pull out a brilliant performance at any point.

“To call me professionally trained or a professional dancer seems a bit bizarre, especially now that I’m working with these pros on the show. It’s kind of an insult to them, really, to suggest I’m on their level when they’ve dedicated their lives to becoming as brilliant as they are.”

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SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens is spending the closing weeks of Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary making a simple case: she’s the candidate who wins.

Stevens flipped a Republican-held House seat in suburban Detroit in 2018 and hasn’t lost since, including surviving a bruising primary against a fellow Democratic incumbent after redistricting in 2022. She says it’s what sets her apart from her opponent in the Aug. 4 primary, progressive Abdul El-Sayed.

“It is not a hypothetical that I beat Republicans,” Stevens told The Associated Press after a campaign stop in West Michigan this week. “I win tough races. I have had Republicans throw everything at me and still managed to win.”

Holding Michigan’s Senate seat is essential to any Democratic path back to the Senate majority this fall. That imperative only grew this week after Democrats’ nominee in Maine, Graham Platner, said he planned to drop out after he was accused of sexual assault, threatening another seat the party had hoped to keep competitive. While no Republican has won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan since 1994, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers came within 20,000 votes of doing so in 2024.

That calculation has led Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and influential Michigan Democrats, including former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, to rally behind Stevens, arguing she gives Democrats their strongest chance in November against Rogers, who is running again.

But if electability is the party establishment’s top priority, it’s an open question whether Democratic primary voters agree.

“Democratic leadership should think more in terms of what we want to accomplish, and less about, ‘We’ve got to make it appeal to everybody,’” said Dave Burdick, 71, of Douglas, Michigan. He’s backing El-Sayed, who has surged by arguing that Democrats don’t have to run to the middle to win.

El-Sayed has built his campaign around bold policy proposals, rejecting corporate PAC money and casting himself as an alternative to the status quo of the Democratic Party.

“People don’t want a moderate. They want somebody who’s going to come in and effect change,” Burdick added.

Stevens makes the case for retail politics

On a summer afternoon in South Haven, a community along Lake Michigan, Stevens walks into a pet supply store with the ease of a seasoned campaigner. Within minutes, she’s chatting with the owner about the area, greeting reporters by first name and striking up conversations with customers. She slips easily between small talk and campaign mode, asking about customers’ lives before mentioning legislation she’s championed and asking for their vote.

“I thought she was great fun,” said owner Roxanne Leder. “She was energetic and had a positive outlook.”

It’s the kind of campaigning Stevens’ allies say has defined her political career. They acknowledge she lacks the viral progressive moments that have fueled El-Sayed’s rise, but say she’s at her best in small rooms, union halls and local businesses — which they say is where elections are won.

Stevens has leaned into that contrast herself.

“Unlike my opponent, I’m not running at the first mic or camera I see,” Stevens said during a debate Tuesday. “We do not need a celebrity senator. We need a workhorse.”

It’s also a style familiar to Michigan Democrats. From former Gov. Jennifer Granholm to current-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, successful statewide candidates have often paired an upbeat, personable campaign style with a pragmatic message centered on economic issues.

But unlike Granholm or Whitmer, Stevens has yet to generate the kind of broad grassroots enthusiasm that defined their statewide campaigns. El-Sayed, meanwhile, has packed rallies with progressive supporters and high-profile endorsers.

Stevens has leaned more heavily on tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, which could become one of Stevens’ biggest liabilities in the primary. Outside groups have spent more than $30 million to boost her candidacy, dwarfing the spending behind El-Sayed. The largest spender, United Democracy Project, the super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has spent more than $13 million on Stevens’ behalf and reserved another $7 million before the primary.

For Burdick, the 71-year-old El-Sayed supporter, that spending is disqualifying. He said he would not vote for Stevens in the general election because of her support from AIPAC.

Leder, by contrast, said she expects to vote for Stevens in August because she’s far more familiar with the congresswoman than with El-Sayed. She said she still plans to do more research before making a final decision.

“I’m just a Democrat,” said Leder. “Please, please no Mike Rogers.”

Michigan has a populist streak

El-Sayed is running on Medicare for All, campaign finance reform, abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and ending all U.S. weapons sales to Israel. He’s also a Muslim who has never held elected office.

To many Democratic leaders in Washington, that makes him a risky nominee in a battleground state often viewed as moderate and centered on manufacturing.

But Michigan has repeatedly rewarded candidates who cast themselves as outsiders challenging the political establishment. In 2016, Sen. Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton in the state’s Democratic presidential primary by running against party leaders. Donald Trump later built his own anti-establishment coalition, carrying Michigan in 2016 and again in 2024.

Burdick, a self-described “old white guy living in rural Michigan” who is a democratic socialist, said Trump and Sanders resonated with voters because they were upset.

“Well, you know what? They’re still mad,” he said. “They portray people like Abdul as unrealistic, but I think it’s unrealistic to think that we can continue the way that we’re heading.”

A two-person race changes the calculus

On Sunday, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign. It prompted establishment Democrats to jump off the sidelines and back Stevens, including Democratic group EMILY’s List and Attorney General Dana Nessel.

“Haley is wicked smart, has won multiple highly competitive races, and she connects with people on a level so sincere and genuine that everyone who meets her feels truly seen and heard,” Nessel said in a statement.

El-Sayed has also built support among labor groups that have played an influential role in Democratic politics, including an endorsement from the United Auto Workers.

Fems for Dems, an influential Democratic grassroots group in the state, is not endorsing in the primary. But its founder, Lori Goldman, told AP in an interview that she planned to vote for El-Sayed.

“I personally am not going to have business as usual when I go to the ballot box. I want to vote for people, candidates that are going to go there and fight on our behalf,” she said.

Goldman, who founded the group 10 years ago in the politically important Oakland County, acknowledges the changing dynamics of Democratic primaries.

“Who would the natural choice be 10 years ago? Haley Stevens, right? Because we just followed the party line,” she said.

“People are breaking away from the party line. People want change.”

Cappelletti writes for the Associated Press.

The Ducks have matched the Philadelphia Flyers’ offer sheet for center Leo Carlsson, keeping their rising young star at an extraordinary cost.

The Ducks announced their decision Thursday on the 21-year-old Carlsson, who is now the NHL’s highest-paid player under the five-year, $90-million deal extended by the Flyers one week ago.

Carlsson signed the Flyers’ offer sheet as a restricted free agent after a year of fruitless negotiations with Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek, whose typical hardline approach in contract talks with his restricted free agents backfired tremendously this time.

Carlsson’s new contract is worth much more than the league expected he would get as a restricted free agent, and the $18 million average annual value is significantly more than he had already indicated he would accept. The deal surpasses the salary of Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov, who would have been the NHL’s highest-paid player at $17 million.

The Flyers failed to land their long-sought No. 1 center in unusual fashion by swiping Carlsson, but the attempt showed general manager Danny Briere’s determination to improve his roster at all costs. The Ducks would have received four first-round draft picks from Philadelphia if they hadn’t matched the offer sheet.

Future negotiations will reveal whether Briere significantly skewed the NHL’s valuations of young talent by offering more than nearly all observers thought Carlsson could get. The structure of Philadelphia’s offer sheet also front-loaded Carlsson’s contract with costly signing bonuses in another departure from many NHL contracts.

Although the Ducks retained their most important young player, Verbeek’s inability to get a deal done before he was forced into it by Philadelphia will compromise Anaheim’s roster-building efforts this season and for years to come. The embattled general manager has had a rough summer immediately after the Ducks ended their seven-season playoff drought with a second-round run that had stamped them as a future contender in the Western Conference.

After keeping the Ducks’ payroll well under the salary cap during his tenure, Verbeek will be spending owner Henry Samueli’s money at the limit of the cap next season after making anachronistic decisions and signaling vulnerability to the league while he managed his crop of young talent.

The league’s salary cap is currently at $104 million and is expected to rise in the coming years.

Verbeek still hasn’t signed 41-goal scorer Cutter Gauthier, a restricted free agent who is not eligible to receive an offer sheet. He signed defenseman Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year, $36 million deal last week, again going well over the expected market rate for a restricted free agent who isn’t on Carlsson’s level of talent, but was widely rumored to be on the verge of signing an offer sheet.

Verbeek also parted ways with four key defensemen from last season’s team — Jacob Trouba, captain Radko Gudas, Olen Zellweger and late-season rental John Carlson — and hasn’t replaced them with any significant signings beyond journeyman Nick Jensen. The Ducks also traded Mason McTavish, a key component of their team for several seasons, to St. Louis for draft picks after the center regressed last season.

With this pricey deal for Carlsson, the Ducks’ history of antagonistic negotiations with their free agents has become the defining feature of Verbeek’s front office.

Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale and McTavish all held out of training camp in recent years when they couldn’t get a deal done with Verbeek, who eventually signed all three — and later traded them all away. Verbeek did two of those deals with the Flyers, gaining praise for sending Drysdale in a package for Gauthier, but getting criticism from Ducks fans for giving up on the high-scoring Zegras last summer.

Carlsson was the No. 2 choice in the 2023 draft behind Connor Bedard, and he has emerged as one of the NHL’s top young playmakers.

Although he didn’t produce points at a rate commensurate with his new salary during his first three seasons, almost everyone believes Carlsson can become one of the best centers in hockey, so his deal might eventually look downright affordable.

He scored 67 points in 70 games last season despite being limited for a lengthy stretch by a leg injury, and he added 11 points in 12 games during his first postseason experience.

Carlsson is expected to be an unrestricted free agent when this contract ends in 2031, putting him in line for another massive payday at just 26 years old.

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.

Iranian officials say US strikes across Bushehr province damaged civilian infrastructure, including areas near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, airports, logistical facilities and fishing wharfs where several fishing boats caught fire. The US says strikes were aimed at military targets.

A French court ruling allows the leader of the far-right National Rally to run for president next April. It reduced and suspended Marine Le Pen’s prison sentence and ban on seeking public office, while upholding her conviction over a European Parliament jobs scam.

She will have to wear an electronic monitor for a year while on house arrest. Le Pen has said it will prevent her from campaigning and plans to challenge the decision in France’s highest court. But she is leading in opinion polls.

Will her candidacy take her all the way to the Elysee Palace? Or will voters who are wary of Le Pen’s nationalist, anti-migrant policies unite around a common rival, as they have in the past?

Presenter: Tom McRae

Guests:

Bruno Cautres – Professor at the Centre for Political Research at Sciences Po

Rim-Sarah Alouane – Legal scholar specialising in civil liberties and constitutional law

Victor Mallet – Senior editor and former Paris bureau chief at The Financial Times and author of the book Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe

THEY survived Geordie Shore together for more than a decade, weathering explosive rows, chaotic nights out and everything that came with reality TV fame. When Nathan Henry first walked into the house in 2015 and bravely opened up about his sexuality, Scotty T was one of the first castmates to embrace him into the group.

Which is why friends tell The Sun they are “absolutely sickened” to see Scotty accused of turning on the very community he once publicly stood beside, leaving Nathan feeling “blindsided”.

Their friendship became one of the constants of the MTV series, surviving cast shake-ups, years away from the cameras and countless personal milestones.

But after more than a decade of standing side by side, those closest to Nathan say the pair’s bitter public clash is about far more than a handful of tweets – it’s watching someone he trusted seem to turn his back on the community Nathan has spent years proudly representing.

The fallout unravelled after Scotty, 37, posted a string of controversial messages about Pride celebrations in London that many accused of being openly homophobic, causing backlash online.

He wrote: “If you’re ever a parent – and you took your child to the Pride event in London… You should have your kids taken off you. Simple.”

He continued: “Forcing them to see some of the state I’ve seen, and the stands with merch about being horny and ‘f*** me’. What sort of disgusting animal even does that to their child.”

One source close to Nathan told The Sun: “We’re absolutely sickened that Scotty has lashed out at the gay community. They’ve been friends for so many years and gone through so much together. Referring to parents who bring their children to Pride events as ‘animals’ is heartbreaking.

“Nathan was blindsided given how supportive Scotty was to him in the past and it has really struck him.”

For Nathan the comments were deeply personal.

After all, this was the same Scotty who had stood beside him when he came out on Geordie Shore and built one of the show’s most genuine friendships.

Which is exactly why, pals say, Nathan decided he couldn’t let the comments pass without saying something publicly.

He wrote: “I think you should delete this… I don’t know if this is you or management but it stinks of hypocrisy just saying.”

Scotty replied that he loved Nathan “to bits” but doubled down on his position, insisting children should not be exposed to explicit displays at Pride events.

He later added: “Can us straight people have a month where we walk about with our cock and balls out?”

And in another post wrote: “Be gay, bi, gender fluid, camp, manly, whatever the f*** you want – just don’t force it into everyone else’s faces. Especially children.”

But those close to Nathan say the comments left him stunned because Scotty had relied on him to help promote his own OnlyFans account.

Our insider told us: “Scotty was desperately begging Nathan to take those pictures to promote his OnlyFans. He used him to make cash.”

The source said that only made Scotty’s public comments feel even more hypocritical to Nathan, prompting him to hit back publicly.

Nathan, not letting his behaviour slide, responded again but this time on his Instagram.

He shared an old photograph which Scotty himself had asked him to take in order to help promote his OnlyFans account – pointing to what he believed was a glaring contradiction between Scotty’s past behaviour and his current narrative.

Alongside it he wrote: “B***h I know you lying when you asked me to take this and used it to promote your OF implying gay s**t. The math ain’t mathing.”

Those close to Nathan said he couldn’t sit back without saying anything.

One pal said: “He couldn’t understand the contradiction between what Scotty had asked of him in the past and what he was now saying publicly.”

For fans who have followed Geordie Shore over the past decade, the public fallout marks a remarkable turn for two castmates whose friendship appeared to survive almost everything the show threw at them.

When Nathan first joined the series, he initially came out as bisexual before later identifying as gay. Scotty was among those who publicly accepted him, and the pair went on to film multiple series together, including the recent reunion seasons and the milestone Thailand trip that marked Scotty’s return to the franchise.

Away from the cameras, however, life has taken both men in very different directions.

Nathan, now 35, has largely stepped away from the party-boy image that first made him famous. He recently revealed he has been in a private relationship for three years and has deliberately kept it away from the spotlight.

He also opened his life to viewers in an emotional four-part MTV documentary alongside his father Glen, who is living with terminal cancer. The series explored family, illness and LGBTQ+ acceptance within Caribbean culture, earning widespread praise for its honesty.

Scotty’s recent years, meanwhile, have been considerably more turbulent.

Best known for starring on Geordie Shore between 2012 and 2019 before winning Celebrity Big Brother, he has faced a series of financial and legal difficulties since leaving the show.

Earlier this year, court proceedings heard that he now earns money through club appearances and OnlyFans after admitting an offence relating to unlawful financial promotions on Instagram. During the hearing, it was also stated that he received financial support from his mother, while he had previously been declared bankrupt after his company went into liquidation.

Last October, Scotty announced he had become a father, describing his baby son as “the most important thing” in his life.

Whether the pair can repair more than ten years of friendship now remains to be seen.

But friends fear this will cause a big obstacle in their future.

One pal said: “Nathan feels like someone who supported him and his life for so many years has changed his views so much.

“It feels like an attack on the community he’s proud to be part of. That’s why this has hurt so much.”

The Sun has contacted reps for Nathan and Scotty T for comment.

It’s a Tuesday evening, just before sunset, and I am in a meadow thrashing an air guitar with a dozen strangers in Griffith Park.

We take the lyrics to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” literally as we gyrate and bend to the song’s iconic guitar solo, which lasts almost 45 seconds. Huffing and puffing, we leave the meadow, laughing together at the beautiful end of the hourlong “silent disco” hike we completed along one of the park’s dirt trails.

I stay for an extra 45 minutes, talking to two other dancers whom I hope become future friends — and that we all dance together again soon.

That night, I participated in Dance Quest’s silent disco hike, a new way to experience Griffith Park where participants shimmy and shake on a trail alongside L.A. improviser and comedian Kristen Smith.

For a suggested donation of up to $25 — Smith emphasizes that no one will be turned away for lack of funds — participants don headphones and hike as they listen to a playlist that Smith has curated. That Tuesday night’s playlist included Donna Summer, Madonna and Carly Rae Jepsen (whom Smith unapologetically stans).

Smith plans to host at least two night hikes a month, but will schedule more if those events sell out. She’s taking a brief pause, though, because her wife gave birth to their second child last Thursday.

Dance Quest leader Kristen Smith pumps her fists in the air on an overlook along a trail in Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

I’m kind of an experiential purist when it comes to hiking — never headphones, never music. I love putting my phone away and just being there with the trees and bees. I couldn’t help but wonder: Would this silent disco ruin or enhance the outdoors experience?

I was pleasantly surprised by the answer, but I think it largely depends on who leads the dancing.

Smith, a tribal member of the Chickasaw Nation who identifies as two spirit and uses she/they pronouns, said they were inspired to start Dance Quest while on a trip to Scotland in 2024 to celebrate their mother’s 70th birthday.

Kristen Smith of Dance Quest leads hikers on a silent disco trek through Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

While out and about, Smith and her mom spotted Guru Dudu, a character created by Melbourne-based performer David Naylor, leading a silent disco through the streets of Edinburgh.

“That looks fun,” Smith’s mom said.

They both signed up for a tour, led by Dudu, who wore a purple sequin jumpsuit.

“We danced through the very crowded streets of Edinburgh, and it was the most fun I’d had in such a long time,” Smith said.

L.A. artist Heidi Neilson, center, dances alongside other silent disco hikers in Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Smith, who’d spent years performing on stages throughout L.A., had been stuck inside and away from people for much of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In summer 2021, just as vaccines were becoming available and it was becoming safer to gather with groups indoors, Smith was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Smith’s summer was soon full of surgeries and tests until they started chemotherapy that September, receiving a dose every three weeks until early 2022, when their doctors switched Smith to chemotherapy every three months.

Smith’s treatment was going well, but that didn’t mean an immediate return to normalcy was on the horizon. Her doctors said Smith and her family needed to assume Smith’s COVID-19 vaccine didn’t give her immunity to the virus.

As Smith watched her friends return to a semblance of their pre-pandemic lives, she worked inside at her Nickelodeon job, grateful for health insurance and employment in the entertainment industry, but missed the joy and connection that comes with performing.

Kristen Smith of Dance Quest is surrounded by silent disco dancers in Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Smith kept wondering how they could find a way to remain active and connect with others. Plus, being outside remains the safest option for Smith to be around people, as the type of cancer they have is not considered curable and is managed like a chronic illness.

“I know that one of the things that I offer to the world is joy and sparkly effervescence,” Smith said. “I was like, ‘What can I do to be my own boss, is something that’s of service to people in this time of darkness and is also good for me as well?’”

During the silent disco in Edinburgh, Smith realized as they danced alongside others that they felt like they were performing and letting go in a way they hadn’t been able to do in a long time. “When we finished, I was like, ‘I can do this,’” Smith said.

Smith told their mentor at Nickelodeon about their idea to start Dance Quest and they immediately encouraged them to give it a shot. Smith bought the equipment the next week and launched Dance Quest, her company that hosts the silent disco hikes, earlier this year. After doing a test run with friends and family, they started hosting events in the park.

When I arrived to the silent disco, I quickly met my fellow dancers, a welcoming group of people ages 5 and older. I liked that I could adjust the volume on my headphones rather than listen to music all at the same volume.

Holly Gray, an L.A. event planner, throws her arms in the air alongside other dancers in Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

We took a wide dirt path in the park that’s not as popular as other routes, which allowed us to spread out and really do whatever we wanted. I quickly realized this was primarily going to be a lot of frolicking to a good beat, which was exactly what I wanted.

Along the way, Smith pointed out invasive plants like black mustard and native plants and animals that live in the park. Whenever a hiker headed our way, we made a tunnel of “spirit fingers” for them to pass through, which I detected 95% of people actually enjoyed. In today’s fast-paced and often negatively focused world, it’s kind of nice to turn a corner and find strangers cheering for you.

Smith, who taught improv to children, teenagers and business professionals, will not force participants to dance. That isn’t the purpose of Dance Quest.

Kristen Smith of Dance Quest, center, leads two children along a dirt path in Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Rather, it’s to find joy with others and escape the harsh political environment that queer and BIPOC people face on a daily basis.

“When you put on the headphones, you forget how you look, and hopefully I provide a no-pressure environment where, however your body tells you to move, you move that way,” Smith said. “And there’s strength in numbers with the silent disco.”

3 things to do

Families play volleyball at an L.A. County overnight camping event at a local park.

(Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation)

1. Camp with family and friends around L.A.
Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation will host family campouts on weekends in July and August at five of its parks. That includes campouts at Castaic Lake Recreation Area at 6 p.m. Friday; Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas at 6 p.m. Friday; Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area at 6 p.m. July 17; and 6 p.m. July 24 at Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area. Those parks, along with Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, will host additional family campouts in August. General admission is $15. Children age 13 and younger are free. To register, visit anc.apm.activecommunities.com.

2. Clear out streambeds in L.A.
Friends of Griffith Park needs volunteers from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday in the park’s Fern Dell hiking area. Participants will clean streambeds and trails, yanking weeds and restoring habitat. Learn more at friendsofgriffithpark.org.

3. Kayak the L.A. River near Van Nuys
L.A. River Expeditions will host a two-hour kayak tour at multiple times Saturday through the Sepulveda Basin, a lush area of the Los Angeles River. Paddlers will move through the tree-lined, mud-packed riverbanks, observing local fish and birds. Trips are at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $53.74. Register at eventbrite.com.

The must-read

Mary Saba Tehran takes part in a Mindful Archery class at the Woodley Park Archery Range in Van Nuys.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Times staff writer Deborah Vankin recently learned via a bow and arrow the importance and freedom that can come with literally letting go. Vankin wrote about her experiencing at Mindful Archery, a course led by spiritual counselor and archer Angie Fadel at Woodley Park Archery Range in Van Nuys. Fadel said her goal is to help female and BIPOC participants release something holding them back or take aim at a goal. “An archery range can be a very white, male-dominated space,” she said. “And the stance, with a bow and arrow in your hand, shooting — it’s very male. And [men] don’t have any problem, most of the time, taking up space. So it is a practice to remind ourselves, as a queer woman, a trans person, nonbinary person, anybody that’s kind of othered in our society, to be able to take up space. To adopt a power stance and be, like, ‘I’m allowed to be here.’”

Happy adventuring,

P.S.

Great news! State lawmakers have selected the California State Library park pass to receive ongoing funding in future budget cycles. Previously, lawmakers had to approve funding every year for the program to be added into the state’s budget, according to the California State Parks Foundation. This development means Californians will be able to check out a state parks pass for free at their local library for the foreseeable future, unless a governor or the Legislature announces otherwise. In L.A. County, participating parks include the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, Leo Carrillo State Park, L.A. State Historic Park and Malibu Creek State Park. You can find out which library near you offers the pass by visiting this interactive map. Have fun out there!

For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.

MADISON, Wis. — Over the last month, Democratic socialists have notched victories in the liberal strongholds of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Denver.

Now Francesca Hong, a single mother who has worked as a dishwasher and line cook, is trying to do the same with her campaign for governor in Wisconsin, a swing state known for razor-thin election margins where winning over moderate, independent voters is crucial.

Hong’s candidacy has turned the Democratic primary on Aug. 11 into the latest test of just how far left voters are willing to go in the November midterms.

“We do this in Wisconsin, we’re going to change politics across the country,” the 37-year-old Hong said as she headed into the final month of campaigning. “People who are frustrated and have a lot more to lose — and I’m one of those people — are ready to coalesce around someone they can believe in.”

John Ravdabaugh, an undecided independent voter, came away impressed after hearing Hong speak at the retirement home where he lives. Even though the democratic socialist label concerns him, Ravdabaugh said he would consider voting for Hong.

“Every system reaches a point where change is necessary,” he said.

Whoever wins the primary will advance to almost certainly face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, one of the most conservative members of the House, who has President Trump’s endorsement. Tiffany has only token opposition in the primary.

The governor’s race is integral to Democrats’ hopes of earning full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010, and it will send a signal about where the country’s politics are headed by shaping a key political battleground that helps decide presidential campaigns.

Trump-backed Republican derides Democratic rivals as ‘crazy’

Tiffany has focused much of his criticism on Hong and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, another Democratic candidate for governor.

“This November, the choice is common sense or crazy,” Tiffany posted on social media in June. Tiffany included screenshots of a Barnes post where he voiced support for cutting prison populations by half and Hong’s posts where she advocates for defunding and abolishing the police.

As a candidate, Hong has not backed away from her calls to defund and abolish the police. Hong also supports increasing taxes on the wealthy and creating a state-owned bank to help pay for free health care and free child care, a $20 minimum wage, and a moratorium on data center construction.

Hong dismisses concerns that she’s too liberal to win over key independent voters in a state Trump carried twice and narrowly lost a third time.

“I worry that’s a miscalculation of where voters are at in our state, that we’re underestimating what people want,” Hong said in an interview.

There’s a history of socialism in Milwaukee

Last month, democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, setting herself up to clinch the office in November.

Then three congressional candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, another democratic socialist, defeated establishment-backed politicians.

And just last week, democratic socialist Melat Kiros beat U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in the Colorado primary, a stunning victory for the 29-year-old, first-time candidate against an incumbent who took office before she was born.

But those victories have been in either congressional or mayoral races in large urban centers, a far different landscape than Wisconsin.

In 1910, during socialism’s heyday in the United States, Milwaukee sent the first socialist to Congress and was the first major American city to elect a socialist mayor. Milwaukee elected two more socialist mayors before 1960.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, perhaps the best known democratic socialist, won all but one county in Wisconsin in the 2016 Democratic primary. In 2023, two state lawmakers from Milwaukee revived the socialist caucus in the Legislature, which had been dormant since 1935.

Hong, the first Asian American elected to the state Assembly in 2020, is one of four members of that caucus.

Barnes, 39, served four years in the state Assembly before his four years as lieutenant governor under Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. In 2022, Barnes came within 27,000 votes of ousting Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.

“I’ve been around longer than anybody fighting these fights,” said Barnes, who grew up in Milwaukee and is vying to become Wisconsin’s first Black governor.

He played down the idea that democratic socialists are surging.

“People aren’t looking for labels, necessarily,” he said. “People are looking for bold solutions.”

Longtime Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki, who is not working for any of the Democrats running this year, said Barnes has an advantage as the most well-known candidate in the race.

“I have believed from the day since Mandela Barnes got into the race, he’s the favorite,” Zepecki said. “It is his race to lose.”

Hong rival leans into electability argument

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a former nurse and health care executive who is also running for the Democratic nomination, said she’ll have broader appeal in November. She cites her experience in the private sector and her flipping of a state Assembly seat in a conservative Milwaukee suburb, and she emphasizes her ideas for lowering costs for working people.

“I’m not worried about other candidates in this race,” Rodriguez said in an interview. “What I’m worried about is making my argument to Wisconsinites about why I’m the best person to lead the state, how I am going to fight for them.”

She launched a $1 million television ad campaign this week that features her in nursing scrubs talking about taking on Tiffany and lowering health care costs.

Other Democratic candidates are state Sen. Kelda Roys, who has the endorsement of the statewide teachers union, and Joel Brennan, a former top aide to Evers.

Missy Hughes, the state’s former economic development director, dropped out of the race in June and endorsed Rodriguez. David Crowley, the top elected official in Milwaukee County, dropped out this week and also backed Rodriguez.

Mainstream Democrats worry about winning in November

More moderate Democrats worry that nominating Hong could hurt them in the general election, especially in Wisconsin where independent voters are key in statewide races that are often decided by tiny margins.

Neera Tanden, who leads the Center for American Progress, said “it’s especially important in the age of Trump” to select viable candidates.

“In Wisconsin, whoever wins the general election will be the person overseeing elections in 2028 and whether people are seated in 2029.”

Evers won his two races for governor by just over 1 percentage point in 2018 and just over 3 points in 2022. Trump won Wisconsin by less than a point in 2024, and lost by less than a point in 2020.

Dave Smith, 72, a retired doctor from Madison who heard Hong speak Tuesday, said the democratic socialist label will be tough for voters of his generation to accept.

“The platform, much of that resonates well,” said Smith, who is undecided whom he will vote for in the Democratic primary. “My vote will likely go to who is the most electable in the fall.”

Bauer writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

A series of unforced errors and a double fault saw Gauff drop serve early on in a one-sided first set, and she shanked a forehand wide when handed the chance to break back.

More misses on her forehand gifted Muchova a double-break lead and the Czech kept her level consistently high to serve out the first set with an ace.

Having taken a bathroom break before the second set, a re-energised Gauff returned with more aggression, and she eventually found a way past Muchova on her ninth break point with a sublime cross-court backhand winner.

The momentum stuck and Gauff flew through the next four games to force a deciding set to the delight of the crowd – the majority of whom appeared to be backing the seventh seed.

The tension rose as the third set unfolded and the pair entertained the 15,000-strong crowd on Centre Court with top-quality groundstrokes and sensational quickfire play at the net.

It was fitting, then, that the match was decided with a tie-break, and from 4-1 down, Gauff somehow found a way to move level at 6-6.

The twists and turns continued as Muchova received a warning for a time violation at 8-8 on serve – and she immediately fired long to hand Gauff the first match point.

But the crowd were left gasping in anguish as Gauff, approaching the net, swiped the ball into the tape.

To add to the drama, Muchova slipped when she had the chance to convert her first match point, and Gauff produced a clean cross-court winner to cling on.

But the young American could not salvage the next one, planting a low forehand into the net after an extraordinary two hours and 35 minutes.

Muchova, who had clutched her ankle and gestured towards her side in pain during the final set, looked drained as she raised her arms in celebration.

A wrist injury sidelined her for almost 10 months from September 2023, but she has rediscovered her finest form this fortnight to beat three former Grand Slam champions on her way to the final.

July 9 (UPI) — Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez said she will send a formal letter to King Charles III, seeking release of the country’s gold reserves at the Bank of England, asserting the assets are needed to finance recovery efforts after the deadly June 24 earthquakes.

During a videoconference Wednesday with officials overseeing 87 temporary camps established for earthquake survivors, Rodríguez said she had begun direct international efforts to recover frozen Venezuelan assets and use them to respond to the disaster.

“That gold belongs to our people and should be used to address the terrible, tragic consequences of these twin earthquakes,” Rodríguez said, according to TeleSur.

She also renewed calls for an end to sanctions against Venezuela, arguing the country has financial resources frozen abroad that could be used to fund reconstruction after the disaster, which has killed 3,800 people.

In addition to appealing directly to the British monarch, Rodríguez said she is also in talks with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

She said the goal is to unlock about $3.568 billion in Special Drawing Rights held by Venezuela at the IMF.

Venezuela’s gold reserves remain in custody at the Bank of England. According to Deutsche Welle, U.K. courts previously rejected transferring control of the assets to Nicolás Maduro’s administration after determining it was not the country’s legitimate government.

Rodríguez became interim president in January after Maduro was captured by U.S. military forces.

Separately, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Iván Gil called Wednesday for the release of Venezuelan state assets frozen abroad during a virtual meeting with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“We have accounts belonging to the Venezuelan state in different parts of the world that have been frozen as a result of illegal sanctions,” Gil said, according to NTV24.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, who is in Venezuela, said the scale of the disaster prompted the United Nations to launch an urgent appeal for $296 million to support relief operations after the earthquakes.

According to multiple media reports, tracked international financial assistance pledged or delivered to Venezuela has exceeded $600 million through multiple donors and aid channels.

The U.S. State Department said it has committed more than $386 million in direct humanitarian assistance. The aid includes more than 400 metric tons of supplies, including hygiene kits, emergency shelter materials and food.

The assistance is being distributed through the Red Cross, UNICEF and the U.N. World Food Program rather than through Venezuela’s central government.

Despite those contributions, the financial challenge remains immense. U.N. estimates place total physical damage to homes, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure at about $37 billion, meaning the international aid received so far covers only the initial emergency response, including medical care and temporary shelter for displaced residents.

For its upcoming Los Angeles venue, experiential art firm Meow Wolf will focus on the art of storytelling, with a specific eye toward spoofing our city’s moviemaking magic. To help bring that vision to life, Meow Wolf has entered into a creative partnership with Titmouse, one of L.A.’s most renowned independent animation houses.

The Hollywood-based studio behind popular series such as “Big Mouth” and “Star Trek: Lower Decks” will create animation that will be shown throughout the West L.A. venue, which is on target for a late 2026 opening at the Howard Hughes entertainment complex.

It’s a move that represents a shift for Santa Fe, N.M.-based Meow Wolf. Over the last decade-plus, the art collective has grown beyond its anything-goes, punk-meets-psychedelic roots into an organization with full-scale, maximalist installations in its hometown, Denver, Las Vegas, Houston and the Dallas suburbs. In the past, Meow Wolf kept most of its media in-house.

As part of its larger-than-life participatory art installations, Meow Wolf L.A. will feature a mix of live action and animation, the former filmed by Meow Wolf in its Santa Fe studio. Meow Wolf’s James Stephenson, a senior VP with the company and its creative director of emerging media, said the degree to which the L.A. exhibition will lean into various animation styles necessitated an outside partner. Titmouse’s work, in development by a number of directors with contrasting tones, will be shown on a variety of formats, ranging from cinema screens to full-room projections.

“I really believe in animation as an art form, and I know the Titmouse folks do too,” Stephenson says. “Animation is made by artists. It’s made by artists with their own hands. It’s something that is still very rooted in craft.”

Meow Wolf’s L.A. space is set in a former cinema complex, and will champion its location, taking guests on a journey through a converted movie house and beyond, into a sci-fi-inspired fantasyland with sentient spaceships and a 30-foot-tall mushroom tower. Meow Wolf creatives have spoken of the fantastical movie theater as one that will feature animated, self-aware candy before attendees enter the main exhibition space, making Titmouse’s work some of the first art guests will encounter. Titmouse co-founder Chris Prynoski has said the studio has lined up at least six directors for the exhibit.

An in-progress art installation destined for Meow Wolf L.A. at the art collective’s Santa Fe, N.M., headquarters. The L.A. exhibition will feature animation from Titmouse.

(Gabriela Campos / For The Times)

Titmouse, says Stephenson, is the right partner because “they’re known less for a house style, and more for a house vibe.” Over the years, Titmouse has been behind such diverse shows as “Scavengers Reign,” owning a Jean Giraud influence rooted in French and Spanish surrealism, the lively “Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld,” with an unique color palette that took inspiration from anime and Chinese mythology, the exaggerated comic book feel of Adult Swim’s “Metalocalypse,” and the approachable yet expressive tone of “Star Trek: Lower Decks.”

“Meow Wolf’s vibe is similar to Titmouse’s vibe,” Stephenson says. “It’s artist-first, artist-driven, independent and kinda edgy. They are always trying to find the edge of what’s possible. They try to see how far they can go, and it’s done for fun and in the spirit of taking risks.”

Prynoski says working with Meow Wolf will give Titmouse a sense of artistic freedom it doesn’t always have when delivering content for more traditional Hollywood partners. He says the multi-director approach is a callback to the early days of Warner Bros. Animation, when individual creators put their own stamp on Looney Tunes material.

“I use Bugs Bunny as an example,” Prynoski says. “You’ve got a Friz Freleng Bugs Bunny short. You’ve got a Chuck Jones Bugs Bunny short. You’ve got a Tex Avery Bugs Bunny short. They’re all different versions of Bugs Bunny, and people who are really paying attention can tell which director directed each one. Even though to the layman, these are all Bugs Bunny, but if you lined them up, they are drawing in different styles, sensibilities and techniques.”

Prynoski says that was a centerpiece of his pitch to Meow Wolf, noting that characters will reappear in multiple installations, each handled by a different artist. Meow Wolf L.A., in fact, will be the firm’s most character-driven exhibition, as guests will follow the storylines of three main protagonists throughout the space.

In announcing the partnership, Meow Wolf and Titmouse released an image from an animated work directed by Luca Vitale. It features a key character having a moment with a hummingbird and it’s done in an elegant, slightly anime-influenced style. It’s an image full of movement, reflecting a character in transition with inviting pastels and bold dashes.

“I like that image because I think it captures some of the sense of wonder that we want people to feel,” Stephenson says. “The character is having an encounter with the elusive nature of creativity and reality in a way that makes them have a different perspective of what’s possible.”

Other contributing animation directors to Meow Wolf L.A. include Space Dawg, Felix Colgrave, Alexander Vanderplank and Philémon Martin, and Jun Ioneda.

Titmouse’s partnership with Meow Wolf will extend beyond the L.A. exhibition. The two will be working on the development of Meow Wolf New York, which is slated to open some time after Los Angeles, and are collaborating on a planned animated series, which Prynoski is spearheading.

Meow Wolf exhibits are the result of sometimes hundreds of disparate artists coming together in a shared space. Distilling that into a signature, singular style for a series could be a challenge. Stephenson pinpoints some guiding principles.

“You really need to feel the hand of the artist,” he says. “You need to feel a DIY aesthetic. You need to feel the materiality. Those are very specific to what we are.”

Berlin says it has agreed a deal with the United States to buy U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, providing a significant boost to Germany’s long-range strike capabilities. The move comes after the United States appeared to renege on its plan to deploy a long-range fires battalion in Germany, and as NATO allies in Europe race to enhance their conventional standoff missile deterrent against Russia.

An agreement on the sale of Tomahawk missiles to Germany was reached with U.S. officials on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced after his return from Turkey.

“This will close an important strategic gap in our defense, and at the same time, we will work to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” Merz told the Bundestag lower house of parliament in Berlin today.

Citing German government sources, Reuters reports that a letter of intent for the procurement was signed Tuesday.

Germany had previously sought to buy Tomahawks, but these efforts had been rebuffed by Washington.

Specifically, Berlin wanted to acquire the ground-launched version of the system, with up to 400 of the latest Tomahawk Block Vb missiles, valued at more than $1 billion, according to reports.

All Block V Tomahawks are provided with a two-way datalink, allowing them to receive course correction and other targeting updates, as well as be entirely re-tasked, during flight. The Block Vb subvariant is fitted with a joint multi-effects warhead that makes it suitable for striking a wider variety of land targets.

The Tomahawk Block V has a range exceeding 1,000 miles depending on the exact configuration.

Currently, the longest-range indirect fires capability fielded by the German Army is the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), known in German service as the Mittleres Artilleriraketensystem II (MARS II). The longest-range artillery rockets currently available for the system can hit targets out to around 43 miles. Germany has not received the far larger Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles that can engage threats out to 186 miles depending on the variant.

As well as the Tomahawk missiles, Germany will need to buy the Typhon launchers to deploy them. Reports in the German media suggest that a request for the launchers was already made in July 2025.

Germany had also been looking at the possibility of acquiring the naval version of the Tomahawk, to arm its planned Type 127 frigates, although these have since been canceled.

Regardless, acquisition of the Tomahawk would be a big deal for Germany.

Outside of the United States, only Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom currently use the Tomahawk. All of these export operators use the naval version of the missile, making the German development all the more significant.

Washington’s approval to sell the Tomahawk/Typhon combination to Berlin would seem to confirm that the United States won’t, after all, be sending a U.S. Army long-range fires battalion to Germany.

In May, amid something of a breakdown in relations between Berlin and Washington, triggered by German criticism of the U.S. war in Iran, the United States announced it would reduce its ⁠military presence in Germany by 5,000 soldiers.

At the same time, it was reported that the Pentagon had also decided to abandon plans to deploy the Army’s 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force (2MDTF) to Germany.

German officials moved to try to smooth things over, stating that there had been no “definitive cancellation” of the missile deployment by the United States.

First announced under the Biden administration, the 2MDTF was to start “episodic deployments” to Germany in 2026, followed by “longer-term stationing” of various types of long-range missiles in the same country. As well as Tomahawk, 2MDTF’s Typhon launchers can fire the SM-6 multi-purpose missile. In the future, they are also intended to be armed with “developmental hypersonic weapons,” like the Dark Eagle, and potentially others like the Operational Fires (OpFires) hypersonic missile and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missile.

With that in mind, Germany’s Typhon launchers could potentially receive some of these missiles in the future, too.

For Germany, however, the Tomahawk procurement is seen as a temporary solution until domestically (or European) developed long-range weapons become available.

For the longer term, Germany is part of the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA). The initiative, led by France and also involving Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, aims to develop a new long-range strike capability, potentially in the form of a cruise missile, a ballistic missile, or a combination of both.

Earlier announcements indicated that ELSA is intended to deliver a missile with a range of 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers (621–1,243 miles), with entry into service planned for the 2030s.

Separately, Germany and the United Kingdom have also unveiled plans to jointly develop a deep precision-strike weapon with a range exceeding 2,000 kilometers. However, the project remains at an early stage, with no industrial framework yet agreed.

Together, these initiatives underscore the growing determination among European NATO members to develop long-range strike capabilities in response to the increasing Russian threat along the alliance’s eastern flank.

Germany’s planned procurement of ground-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles reflects a dramatically altered European security environment following the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Signed in 1987 at the height of the Cold War, the accord prohibited the United States and the Soviet Union — and later Russia — from deploying ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles, whether nuclear or conventionally armed, with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (310 and 3,420 miles).

Ironically, one of the weapons outlawed by the INF Treaty was an earlier ground-launched version of the Tomahawk cruise missile, the U.S. Air Force BGM-109G Gryphon, which was also deployed in Germany, not without controversy.

The treaty effectively unraveled after the United States withdrew in 2019 during President Trump’s first term, citing Russia’s deployment of the prohibited 9M729 (SSC-8 Screwdriver) ground-launched cruise missile, an allegation Moscow has consistently denied. Russia formally suspended its own participation in the agreement in 2023, removing the last legal barriers to the deployment of intermediate-range land-based missiles in Europe.

Since then, both Russia and NATO have moved to rebuild capabilities that had been absent from the continent for more than three decades. Even before its formal withdrawal, Moscow had signaled its intention to field new INF-range missiles in response to comparable U.S. deployments, while repeatedly using nuclear signaling — including high-profile exercises and explicit threats — in an effort to deter greater Western support for Ukraine.

Russia has also used the war in Ukraine to demonstrate and refine its expanding missile arsenal. In November 2024, it employed the new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile in combat for the first time. Although the version used against Ukraine carried conventional warheads, perhaps even inert ones, a nuclear-armed Oreshnik would be capable of striking most major Western European capitals and critical NATO military infrastructure.

At the same time, there are indications that Russia has employed the 9M729 operationally in Ukraine, while continuing work on additional intermediate-range strike systems, including a reported ground-launched hypersonic missile that could be based on the Zircon naval missile, or an enhanced Iskander-M ballistic missile. Russia has also reinforced its forward posture by deploying nuclear-capable Iskander missiles and  MiG-31 Foxhound aircraft armed with Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles to Kaliningrad in the Baltic, while transferring tactical nuclear weapons, or at least their delivery infrastructure, to neighboring Belarus.

Against this backdrop, Germany’s decision to acquire ground-launched Tomahawks is part of a broader effort to restore NATO’s long-range conventional deterrence and strike capabilities. The missiles are part of a wider European push to counter Russia’s growing inventory of intermediate-range weapons and reestablish a more credible balance of long-range conventional firepower on NATO’s eastern flank. This has become all the more important since the previous security guarantees provided to the continent by the United States are increasingly being questioned.

While we don’t yet know the numbers of Tomahawks involved, they will still likely be divorced from the reality of a high-intensity conflict. Ukraine is now striking Russia with long-range cruise missiles regularly. The numbers needed across NATO for a sustained engagement will be very high, so collectively Europe will likely only accelerate and broaden its long-range missile capabilities based on these lessons learned.

Germany’s Tomahawk procurement reflects a fundamental shift in NATO’s approach to deterrence in Europe, where long-range conventional strike capabilities are once again viewed as essential rather than escalatory. With Russia fielding new intermediate-range missiles, NATO’s relations with the United States under strain, and European allies launching their own development programs in this area, a new missile race is accompanying the changing security environment on the continent.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Obsidian Entertainment, a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox, has canceled multiple projects and will begin working on a new game in the popular Fallout franchise as part of the division’s broader restructuring, according to people familiar with the matter.

The video-game studio, based in Irvine, California, also laid off around a quarter of its workforce, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

As part of the shake-up, Obsidian has canceled a planned sequel to the 2025 roleplaying game Avowed along with other unannounced projects.

Under the new plan, studio design director Josh Sawyer will lead a new title in the Fallout universe — a series of roleplaying games that take place in an alternate history in which the U.S. has been ravaged by nuclear war. The emerging strategy is still in flux, the people said, and could still change.

Previously, Sawyer had been directing a roleplaying game that was similar structurally and thematically to Fallout but was not part of the franchise.

An Xbox spokesperson declined to comment.

The shifts take place as Xbox Chief Executive Officer Asha Sharma executes what she has called a “reset” of the organization. On Monday, Sharma announced plans to cut 3,200 jobs and divest five studios. She’s said she’ll invest more in the company’s biggest franchises, including Fallout, which has sold tens of millions of copies and led to a hit show from Amazon.com Inc. that is currently filming its third season.

Despite its critical and commercial success, the Fallout video-game series has not seen a new entry since 2018’s online title Fallout 76 because its primary developer, Xbox’s Bethesda Game Studios, has been focused on other projects. Bethesda has also regularly updated and created new content for Fallout 76, which has reached more than 23 million players.

The only Fallout game in the last two decades to not come from Bethesda was 2010’s Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian and directed by Sawyer. Although New Vegas has become a fan favorite, Bethesda has maintained control over the franchise. The Rockville, Maryland-based studio will work with Obsidian on the new project, the people said.

Obsidian released three games last year, two of which did not meet sales expectations, including Avowed, the company told Bloomberg Businessweek. The studio had been hoping to build on Avowed by developing a sequel in a shorter timeframe using the world and technology that it had already created.

Progress on the sequel was going well, and it was on track to be announced within the next year. But in the end, it did not fit into Sharma’s overall strategy, according to people familiar with the game’s development.

Some Obsidian employees will continue working on the Avowed sequel as they wait for new projects such as Fallout to be ready, perhaps in hope of one day reviving the game, the people said.

Obsidian will also continue to develop downloadable content for last year’s The Outer Worlds 2, the people said, and will also still work on its live-service multiplayer survival game, Grounded 2.

Schreier writes for Bloomberg.

SCARBOROUGH, Maine — The Maine Democratic Party has voted to hold a convention now that Democrat Graham Platner has announced he’ll drop out of the state’s U.S. Senate race after a former girlfriend accused him of sexual assault.

Platner, who denies the allegation, faced considerable pressure from his own party to quit the race. The first-time candidate also was accused of trying to influence how his replacement is selected — a claim he also denied. He announced his decision to leave the race Wednesday.

His exit leaves a crucial U.S. Senate race unsettled just months before the November midterm elections. The Maine Democratic Party, which by law is responsible for naming a replacement, announced it’ll move forward with holding a nominating convention to choose a new nominee. Meanwhile, potential contenders have already begun teasing their interest.

Here’s what we know about the Maine Senate race and what could be next:

The clock was ticking

According to Maine law, there’s a narrow provision for replacing general election candidates. Platner needed to step aside voluntarily by 5 p.m. July 13 before other contenders could have been considered.

Once he formally withdraws, the law then says the Maine Democratic Party can choose a replacement, which must be done by July 27.

The state Democratic Party held an emergency meeting Wednesday, where more than 100 state committee members signed off on holding a nominating convention in the event of a vacancy.

“There is an unprecedented amount of energy and enthusiasm among Maine Democrats, driven in part by many of the dedicated volunteers and supporters who were inspired by Graham Platner’s campaign,” Maine Democratic leaders said in a joint statement.

It’s incredibly rare for a general election candidate to bow out of a race, in Maine or elsewhere.

Platner campaign denies trying to influence the process

A key question surrounding how Platner is replaced has come down to just how much leverage the oyster farmer and Marine veteran has in this situation.

Maine Democratic Party’s executive director, Devon Murphy-Anderson had previously released a statement accusing Platner’s campaign of repeatedly trying to “put their thumb on the scale” in determining the next Democratic nominee.

Platner’s team responded with a statement saying “at no point has the campaign tried to ‘put its finger on the scale’” but said they were trying to understand the process. Thousands of Maine residents voted and volunteered for Platner, a progressive who outlasted establishment-backed Gov. Janet Mills, which the campaign believes should count in the decision.

The sparring between Platner’s campaign and the party continued Wednesday. Murphy-Anderson said in a statement that Platner’s campaign “remains focused on distracting from the job of defeating Susan Collins in November with false accusations against us” and the party “remains hyper focused on developing a representative, transparent and inclusive process to select a new nominee when he chooses to withdraw from the race.”

Platner’s campaign sent a survey with a 48-hour deadline to supporters on Wednesday that asked recipients two questions: what message they have for the Maine Democratic Party, and what message they have for Platner.

Separately Wednesday, President Trump was asked if Democrats should be allowed to replace Platner on the Maine Senate ballot.

“So he won the primary. It’s very hard for them. So, you question whether you believe the woman. A lot of people say big falsehoods,” Trump said.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from a NATO summit in Turkey, the president added of Platner: “He’s in a bind. But, should they be able to do it? Well I guess he’s gonna lose. I’d imagine he’s going to lose.”

List of possible replacements continues to grow

One possible contender, Nirav Shah, former director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has said he was “evaluating” whether to join the race. Shah said he’s been in contact with the Maine Democratic Party about ensuring that a possible replacement process is based on “openness, transparency and robustness.”

Troy Jackson, Maine’s former state Senate president, announced Wednesday he was officially entering the race. Jackson unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for governor earlier this year with the backing of Platner and Our Revolution, the political organization started by Sen. Bernie Sanders. Jackson had filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday to launch a Senate exploratory committee.

Jordan Wood, a former U.S. Senate candidate who then switched to run for Maine’s 2nd District and lost, posted Tuesday that he was “continuing conversations” with voters about joining the race.

Other names circulating include Shenna Bellows, the current Maine secretary of state; Dan Kleban, founder of Maine Beer Co.; and Hannah Pingree, now Maine’s Democratic nominee for governor.

One name that definitely won’t be on the ballot? Actor Patrick Dempsey. The “Grey’s Anatomy” star and Maine native wrote an editorial Wednesday saying despite being asked, he’s not interested.

Voters say they are disillusioned

Platner’s campaigned galvanized hundreds of volunteers around the state. This week, they’ve been expressing disappointment about the behavior Platner is accused of and pondering the right course of action.

Many called for him to drop out.

Paul Attardo, 64, of Scarborough, said he couldn’t continue supporting Platner after the allegation, though he still has a sign promoting the candidate at the end of his driveway. He called the accusation “disappointing” as well as “indisputably sincere,” and said the party needs to get to work finding a replacement.

The scenario reminded Attardo of the hasty replacement of Joe Biden during the 2024 election campaign.

“We rally behind somebody, and not unlike the Biden administration, when everybody rallied behind Joe Biden, at the eleventh hour that failed,” he said. “I sort of feel we’re in a similar boat.”

Kruesi and Whittle write for the Associated Press. Kruesi reported from Providence, R.I. AP writer Will Weissert contributed to this report from Washington.

A vision was set out to Guimaraes when he joined a club fighting relegation.

Newcastle‘s hierarchy at the time said they did not just want to go on to qualify for the Champions League – they ultimately wanted to win it.

Newcastle have twice since sat at Europe’s top table, but they are a long way off from taking that next step.

It was rather telling that Isak pushed hard to move to Liverpool, even after Newcastle secured Champions League football in 2025.

As much as Liverpool were able to offer Isak a huge wage increase, because of far superior revenues, the Swede also wanted to compete to win the biggest trophies.

Guimaraes appears to face a similar dilemma further on in his career following a bruising domestic season for Newcastle, who finished 12th in the Premier League.

Arsenal have yet to make contact with Newcastle, who do not want to lose the Brazilian, but does Guimaraes feel this is potentially the last chance he would have to win a Premier League title or the Champions League if they do come to the table?

As loved as Guimaraes is on Tyneside, does the 28-year-old have the patience to help lead a new era at Newcastle with a young group who will take time to flourish?

Newcastle had previously managed to keep hold of their most important players, but the side who made history by ending a seven-decade wait for a major domestic trophy in 2025 has broken up.

Of the 26 players pictured in a jubilant team photograph after the EFL Cup final win against Liverpool, 11 have left the club.

Some changes were overdue, yet there is also a delicate balance to strike.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe touched upon this in one of his final news conferences of last season when he warned “the squad can’t get weaker”.

The squad, as it is now, has clear gaps, but Newcastle are understood to have made progress on a move for exciting Freiburg midfielder Johan Manzambi.

Newcastle have also completed the signings of winger Bazoumana Toure, midfielder Sean Steur and goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen.

Turning to younger players from European clubs is a strategy others have adopted successfully.

Bournemouth, who finished sixth last season, have shown how clubs can recover from the loss of key players with the help of smart recruitment and good coaching.

But experience is needed, too, and Guimaraes is priceless to Newcastle in that regard. Losing him would mean the whole project is called into question.

July 9 (UPI) — Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office formally accused former U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar of violating his diplomatic duties by allegedly misleading Mexican authorities about the 2024 capture of alleged Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.

The accusation alleges that Salazar knowingly made false statements when he said U.S. agencies had not participated in the operation that led to Zambada’s capture and transfer in July 2024.

The complaint followed reports by Mexican media outlets Milenio and Azteca Noticias that the FBI recently displayed the aircraft used in the operation at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, N.M., describing it as an FBI success.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum backed the Attorney General’s Office on Thursday, saying the former ambassador misled the Mexican government by insisting that U.S. agencies had no role in the operation.

Sheinbaum said Mexico’s consulate in New Mexico directly verified that the aircraft was on display at the museum.

“On Aug. 9, 2024, then-U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said his government did not participate in this operation, that it was not a U.S. aircraft, nor its pilot, nor its agents or personnel in Mexico, but rather an operation between cartels,” Attorney General Ernestina Godoy said.

The Attorney General’s Office also said it had identified the pilot who flew the aircraft that transported Zambada. Although authorities did not identify the person, Mexican media reported the pilot may be Mauro Núñez, also known as “El Jando,” who is described as a trusted pilot for Los Chapitos, the faction of the Sinaloa cartel led by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Mexican media reported that “El Jando” is facing proceedings in federal court in Washington.

The Attorney General’s Office also pointed to what it described as a causal link based on the close timing between judicial benefits granted in the United States to Ovidio Guzmán López, one of Guzmán’s sons, and Zambada’s alleged kidnapping on Mexican territory.

Mexican authorities contended the events were not coincidental, but rather part of a coordinated strategy and an unlawful agreement between Los Chapitos and U.S. agencies, primarily the FBI.

The formal accusations further strain relations between Mexico and the United States by directly accusing a U.S. federal law enforcement agency of violating Mexico’s sovereignty and alleging that Salazar misled the Mexican government.

However, officials from the Attorney General’s Office said that while they could establish Salazar’s responsibility for withholding information, he would not face criminal consequences because he is protected by diplomatic immunity.

Salazar rejected the allegations in a statement posted on social media, reiterating the position he maintained while serving as ambassador.

“It was not our plane, not our pilot and not our operation,” Salazar wrote.

The dispute comes as excerpts from Salazar’s forthcoming memoir, The Borders: My Fight for an Inclusive United States, have begun circulating, prompting additional friction with the Mexican government.