News Desk

A former Emmerdale actress is apparently returning to the ITV soap for a mystery new storyline.

Former Emmerdale actress Ali Mylon is making a comeback – years after her previous stint. The actress’ management team have let slip that the actress is filming with the ITV soap very soon.

She was on the soap briefly back in 2017 as a hotel guest who had a row with Eric Pollard. Her character was furious when she accused Eric of spying on her while she was getting dressed in her hotel room.

Now, it’s been revealed Ali is heading back to the show. It’s not known if she will play the same character or a new one. Her management posted on Facebook and Instagram: “NEWS Non stop client @alimylon is to make a return @emmerdale. She begins filming this month.

“Ali recently appeared @callthemidwife.official Her credits include @coronationstreet, Just Act Normal (The Forge Entertainment), We Are Not Alone (Big Talk Productions), and Peaky Blinders (Tiger Aspect).”

Her other credits include stints in Coronation Street, Peaky Blinders and Call the Midwife.

Meanwhile, spoilers for next week on the ITV soap reveal Serena Sugden’s [Casey Al-Shaqsy] taken aback by DS Thea Ramsden’s [Chelsea Edge] plan. In the police interview room, Ramsden relishes in the emotional pain she’s inflicting on a villager. A flashback soon reveals there is more going on.

An arrival in the village brings accusations with devastating consequences. Elsewhere, Sarah Sugden [Katie Hill] and Charity Dingle [Emma Atkins] keep up their lie about Dr. Todd’s murder, but Sarah spirals as she feels guilty about her crime.

As the day of Dr. Todd’s [Caroline Harker] funeral arrives, Sarah’s guilt spikes, especially when Ds Ramsden arrives to speak with Charity about some anomalies in her statement about Dr. Todd’s death.

As Charity is escorted to the police station, Sarah is wracked with guilt. At the station, Charity panics when her account of fighting off Todd is questioned.

Sarah decides it’s time to confess, and Serena fears this will lead to them both being locked up. Also next week, Vinny Dingle [ Bradley Johnson ] tells Kev Townsend [Chris Coghill] he’s decided to postpone proposing to Lewis Barton [Bradley Riches].

Vinny is soon worried when he’s left thinking Kev may have overheard his private conversation with Gabby Thomas [ Rosie Bentham ]. Kev swears secrecy, leading to Vinny opening up to him.

But when Kev reacts angrily about Vinny’s confession, Vinny thinks he’s made a big mistake in speaking to Kev. Finally, something is clearly weighing heavily on Gabby’s mind.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Meta, parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is on trial over claims it sought to hook young users on its platforms despite mental health concerns.

The top executive at Instagram has admitted that few teenagers have used a feature meant to counter addiction before it was turned on by default, as hearings in a landmark trial against its parent company, Meta, continue in the United States.

Adam Mosseri testified on Tuesday as Meta’s trial – over accusations that it designed its platforms, including Facebook, to be addictive to young people – entered its second week.

Mosseri, who has led Instagram since 2018, denied any suggestion by US states suing Meta that Instagram had stalled by not making the “Take a Break” feature the default setting for teenagers until September 2024, nearly three years after its launch.

“Most teens didn’t want it,” Mosseri said. “We decided to push forward with it anyway.”

Mosseri is a central witness in the lawsuit brought by 29 US states, in what experts call the biggest legal test yet of social media’s effects on young users.

Four of the states – California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey – have accused Meta of designing the platforms to hook young users, driving anxiety, depression and even suicide, while misleading consumers about the platforms’ safety.

All 29 states say Meta violated US federal law by improperly collecting and employing the personal data of children under 13 while they used its platforms.

The states are seeking approximately $200bn in damages from Meta.

‘Designed to fail’

Meta has rejected accusations that it sought to addict children, saying its research showed no clear link between adolescents’ social media use and a lack of wellbeing.

Under questioning from Jason Slothouber, a lawyer for Colorado, Mosseri acknowledged that the percentage of teenagers using Take a Break was in the low single digits before Instagram made it ⁠the default.

Take a Break encourages teenage users to close the app after a certain amount of time. Mosseri had estimated in a December 2021 blog post that more than 90 percent of teenagers who turned the feature on kept it on.

That number, however, referred to the number of those who had turned on the feature.

When asked whether Meta had disclosed its low adoption, which had reached only 1 or 2 percent of accounts, Mosseri admitted the company had not, but said the safety features were later turned on by default in Teen Accounts, which launched in 2024 and have parental controls.

Former Meta employees have said that features such as Take a Break and Quiet Mode were difficult to find and not widely used, casting doubt on whether they represented a serious effort by the company to limit screen time for young users.

“In my experience, Take a Break is a feature that’s designed to fail,” Arturo Bejar, a former Meta engineering director, testified last week.

George Volichenko, a data scientist who worked on safety features at Instagram in 2022 and 2023, likewise stated on Monday that adoption rates of such features were “very low” and that company leadership had declined to approve turning on Quiet Mode by default for young teenagers.

He added that turning on such features automatically would have had a “notable negative impact” on user engagement.

The trial could last six weeks.

Jurors are expected to issue an advisory verdict. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will decide whether Meta is liable and, if so, determine any civil penalties and changes to Facebook and Instagram.

McCartney reflected on his history with Parton, which began when he met her in Nashville at the Grande Ole Opry right before starting her solo musical career.

“She was so bubbly and full of life, it is difficult to take in the news that she has passed,” he said. “Her songwriting, her singing and her philanthropy were unrivaled in the world of country music and it is hard to imagine living in a world without Dolly.”

John said he was “shocked and devastated” over the news. “A giant of an artist – unique and irreplaceable, with the kindest heart”.

Swift, who began her professional career in country music as a teen after moving to Nashville, has paid tribute to Parton’s “true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person”.

“A world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right,” the singer said in a statement shared with the BBC. “But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one.”

As well as “melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest of hearts,” Swift acknowledged “the millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did”.

She thanked Parton “for the tightropes she walked so that young girls like me could grow up dreaming of joining the circus too”.

Beyoncé said Parton was the “barometer” and the “north star”.

“Bold and brilliant. Talented and tenacious. You taught so many lessons on how to be uniquely oneself. I am grateful for your art, your heart, your generosity, your humor, your entrepreneurship,” Beyoncé wrote.

Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s 2024 country album, famously featured a rendition of Parton’s song Jolene.

Former talk-show host Winfrey wrote that one of her fondest memories with Parton was “having a hoot and a holler while wearing Bob Mackie gowns on her show Dolly”.

“This girl from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee dreamed a life and then lived a life bigger than she could have ever imagined, giving so generously to others in ways we saw and ways we didn’t.”

Dolly Parton had reportedly been battling cancer before her death.

A spokesperson for Parton’s estate confirmed the cause of death to the New York Times.

In a statement, also shared with People, a representative for the country music icon said: “After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”

The type of cancer was not specified. TMZ had previously reported that Parton had been hospitalized early Friday for kidney and autoimmune issues.

Parton’s death at age 80 was announced earlier Tuesday by her nephew Bryan Seaver in a news release and in a video shared to the singer’s Instagram page. Tributes from entertainment luminaries, politicians and others immediately followed.

An entertainer and philanthropist, Parton had previously had a series of health issues that led her to postpone several public appearances and performances. She missed the announcement of a Dollywood attraction to recover from a kidney stone in September 2025. Later that month, she delayed her residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for unspecified “health challenges.”

“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched,” the statement from her representatives read. “Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.

“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.”

Aug. 25 (UPI) — The U.S. military killed four people Tuesday in its latest strike targeting an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean, the second strike in a matter of days after a two-month pause.

U.S. Southern Command has killed at least 227 people in 68 publicly acknowledged strikes targeting alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since the first strike on Sept. 2, according to UPI’s tally, which is based on SOUTHCOM press releases.

As with previous strikes, SOUTHCOM said intelligence confirmed the boat it struck Tuesday was involved in narco-trafficking and that it was “operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean.”

As it has done with previous strikes, SOUTHCOM did not provide proof.

A seven-second aerial video of the strike published online by SOUTHCOM shows a boat driving along the water before it is enveloped in a flash.

“We will hunt, disrupt and defeat these narco-terrorist networks,” Gen. Francis Donovan, commander of SOUTHCOM, said Tuesday in a statement.

“SOUTHCOM is resolved to neutralizing cartel terror and violence throughout the region and into the U.S. homeland.”

Earlier this month, SOUTHCOM replaced Joint Task Force Southern Spear, which had carried out Operation Southern Spear, with the broader Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, a new command intended to provide unified command and control at the tactical and operational levels while integrating military capabilities with 18 partner nations of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, according to the Defense Department.

The Trump administration has said the task force’s purpose is to “synchronize” U.S. military operations with Caribbean and Latin American allies, such as Trinidad and Tobago.

Tuesday’s strike was the second by the joint task force after it killed two people SOUTHCOM accused of being narco-terrorists on Sunday.

The Sunday strike was the first since June 21. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data conflict monitor told UPI in an emailed statement that Sunday’s strike ended the longest interruption in U.S. strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels since the campaign began.

The cause of the lapse was not immediately clear and UPI has contacted SOUTHCOM for an explanation.

The strikes have been widely criticized by legal and civil rights advocates as well as United Nations experts as illegal extrajudicial killings under international law. The Trump administration has argued that it is in “armed conflict” with the drug cartels, though a Justice Department legal memo justifying the strikes against people allegedly affiliated with a secret list of designated groups remains classified.

Despite the Trump administration’s claims that all those killed are narco-terrorists, evidence suggests that at least some of them were fishermen. A lawsuit filed against the U.S. government by the American Civil Liberties Union states that two people killed in the same strike in September were returning to their homes in Trinidad and Tobago after working as farmers and fishermen in Venezuela.

Earlier this month, Sen. Tim Kaine echoed this sentiment after reviewing classified documents on the operation.

In a letter to Trump, the senior Democratic lawmaker from Virginia and a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees urged him to examine whether military leaders had exceeded his order by targeting people the Justice Department did not say in its memo could be legally targeted and killed.

Perez Hilton’s family has revealed new details about the blogger’s health before and after his mental health crisis earlier this month.

On Monday, Hilton’s brother-in-law, Tom (who did not provide a last name), appeared on “The Perez Hilton Podcast With Chris Booker” to talk about the 48-year-old’s self-harming incident that occurred Aug. 4 on a TikTok livestream.

Tom — who is married to Perez’s sister, Barbara Lavandeira — shared that the celebrity gossip columnist was now in a “lucid” state after receiving treatment for his physical injuries and his care would be “transitioning into the mental side of things.”

“He’s going to be going into a facility that is going to focus on his mental recovery,” he said on the podcast. “I don’t think you’re going to see him pop up in a few days.”

On Aug. 4, Miami police responded to calls around 9 p.m. concerning a TikTok livestream where Hilton harmed himself repeatedly with a box cutter and knife and expressed suicidal intent. After authorities safely recovered Hilton, he was placed in a 72-hour hold under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows for detention to assess mental health.

“There was some broken bones,” his brother-in-law said of Hilton’s physical injuries from his self-harming incident. “There [were] some other things stemming back from his sepsis.”

In March, Hilton was hospitalized in Las Vegas for 21 days due to severe sepsis, he shared a video, in which he said God presented himself to him and that he was a changed man. After recovering from the life-threatening illness, Hilton made the decision to relocate his family to Miami in June.

His brother-in-law — who said he had known the blogger for more than 20 years — did not believe the abrupt move was a red flag, considering past relocations to New York City in 2016 and to Las Vegas in 2023, though he did call it “a little surprising.”

“He can be a little impulsive at times; that’s part of his personality,” said Tom. “[But] we’ve never had a situation with him as serious as we’ve ever seen medically with that sepsis situation.”

Born Mario Lavandeira, the Cuban American has been a pop culture personality since the mid-2000s, running a popular online entertainment site. Originally from Miami, Hilton has a large familial support system in the area, which was one of the primary reasons for the move earlier this summer, according to his brother-in-law.

“That part made sense,” said Tom. “There is that structure of support there [in Miami] and he did just go through that near-fatal health scare.”

However, Tom revealed that Perez was not happy with his decision from the moment he landed in his new city.

“Mario, the moving truck isn’t even in Arizona yet,” Tom told Perez. “You’ve been to the airport and the house and you’ve now come to the decision in your head that this was a bad idea.”

Following the mental health crisis, Hilton’s mother, Teresita Lavandeira, filed a petition Aug. 7 for temporary custody of his three minor children, according to the Miami-Dade court case database.

Earlier reporting by The Times stated that Hilton was granted supervised visits with his children, but his brother-in-law said he had not had any contact. “They were not allowed in that section of the facility,” he said, “and eventually we’ll segue them back in.”

To deal with the fallout — and any misinformation out there — the family has hired a public relations team, said Tom. “We were concerned about what bad information was getting out there that [Child Protective Services] may be reading that was just simply not true,” he said.

While Perez undergoes treatment, the family is trying to figure out what could have triggered the mental health crisis.

As for whether Perez Hilton will continue being the saucy online personality the world has come to know — and criticize — Tom seems to have no doubts about that: “He does what he does because he loves doing it. He got into this because he loves celebrity gossip.”

Time staff writer Emily St. Martin contributed to this report.

Aug. 25 (UPI) — An internal government watchdog said Tuesday that a Federal Emergency Management Agency crew violated the Hatch Act when it skipped houses with signs supporting President Donald Trump during Hurricane Milton recovery efforts in 2024.

The report comes from the inspector general’s office of the Department of Homeland Security. Officials determined that crew skipped 11 homes in Florida with Trump signs.

This “eroded public trust in FEMA’s ability to treat everyone impartially, offer unbiased and consistent assistance and ensure equal access to resources and tools,” the report said.

The Hatch Act, first passed in 1939, limits certain political activities by federal employees to make sure they’re administered in a nonpartisan way.

Trump has called for abolishing FEMA, later trying to downsize it and providing limited aid to states. The Office of the Special Counsel also found in 2025 that the same 2024 actions violated the Hatch Act.

Christopher Logan, FEMA associate administrator, said it no longer takes part in “FEMA-led door-to-door outreach efforts” and that agency staff now provides support “from fixed locations determined by state and local officials,” The Hill reported. Logan also said that after the 2024 case, FEMA gave staff mandatory Hatch Act and ethics training.

Michael Cohen, FEMA’s chief of staff at the time, told The Hill that the report reinforces that the “violations were not systematic and were isolated.” He said FEMA took appropriate action.

The Trump administration has also been accused of making disaster aid related to political leanings. Politico reported in March that it’s three times more difficult for Democrat-led states to obtain disaster aid for residents under the Trump administration.

The administration has also been accused of violating the Hatch Act, including in messaging on government websites.

Celebrity Hunted aired a dramatic finale as four ‘fugitives’ successfully managed to outrun the hunters

The winners of Celebrity Hunted have been confirmed in a dramatic end to the series, while one fugitive was sent home.

On Tuesday evening (August 25), the grand finale of the Channel 4 show kicked off with five celebrities still on the run from the Hunters. Former EastEnders star Brian Conley and his daughter Lucy were still a team, remaining undetected, along with Strictly Come Dancing pros Amy Dowden and Carlos Gu. It comes as disability advocates JJ Chalmers and Sophie Morgan were caught on Monday’s episode.

And on Tuesday’s episode, television presenter Scarlette Douglas was on her own after her brother Stuart was caught in a previous episode, yet the end was in sight, and she made a bid for the extraction point. As she headed to the motorway in a car being driven by her friend, the Hunters were hot on Scarlette’s heels, and after she tried to run away on foot, she was captured moments later.

“I’m gutted that I didn’t get all the way to the end. But I managed to do three days without my brother, and that has made me super proud”, Scarlette said as she was eliminated from the series.

Across the country, the two remaining teams headed to Birmingham train station to retrieve details of the extraction point from a left luggage facility, and the Hunters wasted no time in following them.

Carlos and Amy tried to dress up in hopes of not being caught on CCTV, while Brian waited in a pub as his trusty daughter headed over to retrieve the information, but they were all captured on camera, and the Hunters closed in.

With details of the extraction point stored on a burner phone, the teams headed to Black Rock Sands beach in North Wales, where they stayed overnight in local B&Bs before heading for the checkpoint.

Amy, Carlos, Brian and Lucy concealed themselves in the sand dunes while they waited for extraction, which came in the form of a small aeroplane that could land directly on the beach.

The teams sprinted to the aircraft as the Hunters raced across the beach on foot and by car, with help from a helicopter.

Amy and Carlos jumped through the doors of the plane, followed by Lucy, but Brian struggled to run across the sand and was seen holding his lower back.

Thankfully, the 65-year-old made it into the aircraft, which began moving down the sand, ready to take off and complete the extraction.

The Hunters made one final push to cut them off, racing alongside the plane in their car, but they failed as the plane took off, leaving Brian, Lucy, Amy, and Carlos as the show’s winners and the Hunters at HQ annoyed.

Celebrity Hunted is available to stream on Channel 4

Trump says all mines have been cleared from Strait of Hormuz’s international waters and that Tehran received warnings that ships laying new mines will be ‘destroyed’.

Sudan’s war is showing signs of a changing dynamic. Sudanese armed forces (SAF) have made a series of gains in North Kordofan state; the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is facing a new wave of defections; and army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is opening a political track while insisting the military campaign will continue.

Army advances are putting pressure on RSF supply lines; defections are raising questions about the force’s cohesion; and al-Burhan, who also heads the Transitional Sovereignty Council, is seeking to shape a political process from a position strengthened by developments on the battlefield.

But the wider battlefield remains contested. Together, the military pressure, defections and political outreach point to a potentially important shift: battlefield developments may be starting to affect the political balance.

What has the army gained?

The clearest recent gains have come in North Kordofan, a state in central Sudan that links the capital, Khartoum, with the country’s western regions.

In late July, the army announced that it had retaken Bara, Jabra al-Sheikh and Umm Sayala, along with other positions in the state. Al Jazeera reported that the advances also secured the national Exports Road, a key route linking Khartoum, through Omdurman, with el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan.

The gains do not amount to control of the wider Kordofan region. But they have significance beyond the territory captured.

The army’s control of the Exports Road has strengthened its position in North Kordofan and added pressure on RSF supply lines. Al Jazeera reported on August 21 that the army was continuing efforts to cut those supply lines as fighting expanded across Kordofan, Darfur and the Blue Nile region.

What do the RSF defections mean?

The battlefield pressure has coincided with a marked increase in defections from the RSF.

On August 20, the army announced that about 318 people, including four officers, had joined its ranks, arriving in Northern state in about 50 combat vehicles before moving to Omdurman. Al Jazeera also reported separate groups from Kordofan and Khartoum, including 270 people, among them 21 field commanders, as well as 45 fighters and commanders from the Bara area who surrendered to the army.

The numbers alone do not tell the story. The timing does.

Al Jazeera’s August 21 analysis links the growing defections to several factors, including battlefield developments, internal problems within the RSF, social and tribal dynamics, and pressure created by the army’s advances and efforts to disrupt RSF supply lines. It also notes that the trend does not by itself mean the RSF is collapsing.

If the trend continues, it could become increasingly significant, particularly if more commanders and fighters conclude that the battlefield balance is shifting against the RSF.

For now, the more cautious conclusion is that battlefield pressure may be affecting the RSF’s cohesion without yet amounting to a broader breakdown of the organisation.

Why is al-Burhan opening a political track?

The SAF chief’s political initiative is unfolding alongside these military developments.

On August 15, he announced that the state would provide temporary immunity and legal, political and security guarantees to participants in a national dialogue managed by an independent national mechanism. Criminal proceedings against participants facing charges would be suspended during their involvement in the dialogue, without removing the rights of those who had filed complaints.

Al-Burhan said the initiative came from a group of Sudanese who had approached him with a proposal for dialogue. He said the group would independently manage the process and that the state would not determine its agenda or outcomes. He also said he had begun engaging with national forces that had supported the state and its institutions, with the aim of involving them in completing state institutions, including a legislative council.

But this is not a move away from the war.

Al-Burhan said he would not accept what he called a “peace without substance” that would bring RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, and his supporters to power. He also said the path to peace begins with the RSF leaving cities and being gathered in designated areas.

On August 21, Al Jazeera reported that al-Burhan said the fighting would continue until what he described as the rebellion was ended, while the army was working to cut RSF supply lines. He also rejected a truce that would allow the RSF to reorganise, while saying he remained open to a just peace and national dialogue that excluded the RSF.

Al-Burhan is therefore not choosing between war and politics. He is pursuing both, maintaining military pressure while opening a political process he says should preserve the state and its institutions.

What does Malik Agar’s position reveal?

Malik Agar, deputy chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, has made the government’s position even clearer.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on August 22, Agar said the current option was military resolution unless serious conditions for negotiations emerged. He said the RSF would have to withdraw from cities and residential areas before negotiations could begin, stressing that the government remained open to initiatives that preserve Sudan’s unity and state institutions.

In a separate Al Jazeera interview published on August 23, Agar said the army would win but that the war would ultimately end through negotiations.

He argued that Sudan’s crisis was rooted in deeper problems, including the weakness of the state and the failure of political elites to manage the country’s ethnic, cultural, religious and geographic diversity.

His position reflects the government’s broader calculation: maintain military pressure while leaving the door open to negotiations from a stronger position on the battlefield.

Can al-Burhan turn battlefield pressure into political leverage?

The army’s gains in North Kordofan have strengthened its position along a strategically important route. The growing defections from the RSF are raising questions about the force’s cohesion. At the same time, the RSF remains active on several fronts, and the wider battlefield remains contested.

That combination gives the recent developments significance beyond individual battles or defections. The changing military balance may now be beginning to shape the terms of Sudan’s next political phase.

For al-Burhan, the potential advantage is not simply territorial. If military pressure continues to produce defections and weaken RSF cohesion, it could give the SAF greater room to shape who participates in a political process and the conditions under which future negotiations take place.

For the RSF, the challenge is therefore not only to hold territory. It is to prevent battlefield pressure from becoming an internal crisis of cohesion.

That has not happened yet. Military setbacks do not automatically translate into political marginalisation.

The army’s recent gains are best understood not as evidence of a decisive victory, but as a shift in the conditions under which the next phase of the war may be fought, and eventually negotiated.

Can the RSF contain the defections and preserve its bargaining position, or will continued military pressure give al-Burhan greater leverage in Sudan’s next political phase?

DOLLY Parton’s cause of death has been revealed as the country music superstar died following a “brief battle with cancer”, aged 80.

The Queen of Country passed away on Tuesday after suffering from a number of health issues in recent months.

It has now been revealed that Dolly died “surrounded by loved ones” in Nashville after a “brief battle” with cancer, reports People.

Representatives revealed the news in a statement to the outlet which did not reveal the type of cancer Dolly had been battling.

The statement read: “Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched.

“Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.

BITTERSWEET GOODBYE

Dolly Parton’s funeral plans revealed after family announces her death

‘A TRUE LOSS’

American flags to be lowered for a week to honor Dolly Parton, Trump says

It comes as:

“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.

“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”

Dolly’s nephew Bryan Seaver announced her death in a heartbreaking statement on her official Instagram page Tuesday afternoon, shocking her fans worldwide.

Dolly had been struggling with her health for some time before her passing and was forced to bow out of numerous gigs.

She told PEOPLE on Friday: “I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.”

Her beloved husband of 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, died last March after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2019. He was 82 years old.

After cancelling a slew of shows in December, the Tennessee native admitted she needed to go through “a few procedures”.

Last October, Dolly’s sister Frieda had pleaded with her fans to pray for her sibling due to fears around her health.

It was only earlier this month that she shared an update with fans on social media saying she had a “few little health issues”.

She added that “sometimes I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated”, saying her doctors had banned her from traveling to the opening of Dollywood’s latest ride.

But during her last public appearance, Dolly appeared upbeat at the unveiling of her new Nashville truck stop.

And just one week before her death, she shared about her excitement to open a new museum in her very last post.

Dolly has no children but leaves behind her legacy in music.

Across her illustrious career, Dolly became one of the most-honored female country performers of all time.

Dolly Parton’s Career Highlights

Dolly Parton is one of the most well-known country stars in the business, and her career has continued to flourish. Here’s a look at the highlights of the music legend’s decades-long career.

• Dolly wrote and released her first single, Puppy Love, including the B-track Girl Left Alone, on Goldband Records when she was 11 years old.
• Although her single wasn’t a big hit, she ended up performing at Nashville, Tennessee’s Grand Ole Opry for the first time at 13 years old and was introduced by Johnny Cash.
• Dolly made the Billboard country charts in January 1967 with two singles from Monument Records: Dumb Blonde and Something Fishy.
• The singer earned her first number-one hit in 1971 with her single Joshua.
• In 1974, Dolly’s arguably most well-known song, Jolene, reached number one on the country charts.
• Her music continued to succeed, and she was awarded the Female Vocalist of the Year award at the CMAs in 1975.
• Dolly’s track, Here You Come Again, achieved platinum status in 1978, and the album earned her a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
• In 1980, Dolly starred in her first film, 9 to 5, alongside Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda and released her hit song of the same name.
• The star opened her famed amusement park, Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in 1986.
• Later that year, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
• At 75 years old, Dolly recreated her 1978 Playboy Cover for her husband Carl Dean’s birthday.
• In May 2022, it was announced that Dolly would officially be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Eminem, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, and Pat Benatar.

A total of 25 of her singles or albums became Gold, Platinum or Multi-Platinum records. 

She had 26 songs reach number one on the Billboard country charts – a record for a female artist – and 42 career top 10 country albums.

As of 2012, she had written more than 3,000 songs and sold more than 100 million records.

She also boasts a whole host of awards including 11 Grammy Awards alongside 55 nominations.

Dolly is also in several halls of fame across the US including the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 2023, she was even ranked at number 27 on Rolling Stone‘s 2023 list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

The human rights situation in Myanmar has “plummeted to a new low”, the United Nations has said, citing the “ever-worsening brutal abuse” of the Rohingya minority and the devastating impact of illicit economies, including illegal mining for rare earths.

In a new report, published on Tuesday, the UN’s human rights office said the quest for control and legitimacy by Myanmar’s military – which seized power in a coup in 2021 – has only deepened the suffering of civilians in the country.

The military has deployed tactics such as “airstrikes, arson attacks, displacement and denial of assistance” against civilians as it battles ethnic armed groups and militias for control of the vast resource-rich country, the report said.

An estimated 8,075 civilians, including 1,074 children, have been killed since the coup, with at least 1,241 of them occurring in the past year, it said.

The toll is likely higher, the report cautioned, noting that open sources indicate that as many as 15,731 civilians may have been killed since the coup and 3,102 in the last year.

The violence has also resulted in the number of internally displaced people rising to 3.6 million, it said. Some 12.4 million people were facing acute hunger, while 400,000 young children and mothers were suffering from acute malnutrition.

In western Rakhine State, the military and the Arakan Army – a powerful ethnic armed group they are fighting against – have continued to commit widespread and systematic violations and abuses against the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority, it said.

The continuing violence, which comes nine years after a brutal crackdown that forced some 700,000 Rohingya to flee into Bangladesh, has caused renewed displacement, it said.

The report went on to accuse the Arakan Army of carrying out arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, forced labour and recruitment, and destruction of villages and religious sites.

When Rohingya try to escape forced recruitment, they are detained and “routinely subjected to ill-treatment”, with former detainees describing beatings, the removal of fingernails, and chilli being applied to genitals.

The UN human rights office said the absence of the rule of law in Myanmar has resulted in a booming illicit economy, with illegal rare earth mining in northern Kachin and northeastern Shan state strengthening the expansion of transnational criminal networks.

Satellite imagery confirmed Kachin state as the primary rare-earth mining area, with 302 new sites since 2021 – a 149 percent increase.

Mining runoff, meanwhile, has caused environmental contamination, which, in turn, has affected maternal and reproductive health, it said, citing sharp surges in miscarriages and other pregnancy complications tied to heavy metal and chemical exposure.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called the findings deeply troubling.

“This report depicts a picture of suffering, misery, and cruelty on multiple levels and across the country that is heartbreaking,” Turk said.

The high commissioner urged states, companies and investors to reconsider their involvement with the state.

“I call on all states, companies and investors to undertake serious soul-searching with respect to their actions – or inaction; to ask: is this fair and just for the people of Myanmar?”

Ukrainian drone attacks on targets deep inside Russia have spurred President Vladimir Putin to allow the government to temporarily seize what it deems commercial critical infrastructure that is not sufficiently protection against such strikes. This follows Russia’s move earlier this year to allow private companies to purchase their own air defense systems to protect their own facilities. Beyond calling for increased defenses, the decree signed by Putin also warns that the government will take over facilities that don’t make needed repairs quickly enough once they have been hit.

These actions come as Russia’s economy is reeling after repeated Ukrainian drone hits on its oil refineries and other energy facilities. A more recent Ukrainian campaign against Russian Amazon-like e-commerce distribution centers has added to the financial woes and growing public frustration.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that “often business owners do not pay enough attention to taking measures to ensure safety, anti-drone safety.”

Given the threat to vital economic infrastructure, “we must take measures, we must ensure our own safety,” he added.

Putin’s decree does not specify what actions these facilities are required to take to provide better protection against Ukrainian drone attacks. As we have written about frequently, due to the demands of the battlefield and repeated Ukrainian attacks across a growing portion of Russia, the Russian military already has a shortage of air defense systems. So it’s not clear how much equipment, and of what capabilities, is even available for private firms to purchase. However, the civilian counter-drone industry in Russia is flourishing. Back in May, Russian authorities authorized private companies “to purchase heavy weaponry to defend industrial facilities against drone attacks,” the RBC news website reported at the time, citing sources linked to the Defense Ministry.

“The new system will allow companies to procure anti-aircraft artillery systems, turrets, radar equipment, specialized vehicles and electronic warfare systems,” the outlet added. “In order to promptly provide newly formed mobile fire groups with everything they need, the relevant decisions were recently adopted at the state level.”

In addition, some refineries have already built metal cages around their facilities to help protect against drone attacks.

Russia Puts Cope Cages on Oil Storage Tanks

The Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia’s oil refineries and Black Sea ports are having a dramatic effect on the Russian economy.

“In the four weeks through Aug. 23, overseas crude flows fell to 3.46 million barrels a day,” Bloomberg news reported, citing tanker-movements data it compiled. “Shipments had previously risen as the strikes on Russia’s refineries left more crude available for export, but that increase is now unwinding, after drone hits on oil tankers cut shipments from the Black Sea.”

“Meanwhile, strikes on Russian oil and gas processing plants continue to be an almost nightly occurrence, sending crude processing rates tumbling and creating domestic gasoline supply issues,” Bloomberg explained. “Falling Russian crude shipments come on top of Kremlin-imposed bans on overseas shipments of key refined products, including most gasoline, diesel and jet fuel supplies, which are further reducing inflows to Moscow’s war chest.”

Ukraine, as we noted earlier, has also targeted Russian logistics infrastructure belonging to major online retailers, such as Amazon-style retail giant Wildberries, to increase the financial pain on other sectors of the Russian economy. 

“Ozon, Russia’s second-largest online retailer, is now next in Ukraine’s crosshairs,” CNBC reported. “Shares of the company plunged nearly 30% on the Moscow Exchange on Monday after it reported drone strikes in southern Russia, which brought the number of facilities targeted in the last three days to six.”

Overnight on Monday, Ukraine continued striking inside Russia, attacking the Afipsky Refinery and Gas Separation Units at the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff. The extent of the damage is still being clarified.

“Afipsky Refinery is one of the large oil refining facilities in the Krasnodar region,” the general staff noted. “The project capacity is 6.25 million tons of oil per year. The plant produces, among other things, diesel, gasoline components, and is involved in supplying the Russian occupation army.”

The governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratiev, acknowledged the attack.

“Debris from a drone fell on the territory of the Afipskaya railway station,” he stated on Telegram. “Sadly, two people were killed. I express my deepest condolences to the families. Two more people were injured, and I wish them a speedy recovery. In addition, at least 10 private homes were damaged in the village of Afipsky. A fire broke out in one of them. A fire also occurred on the territory of a refinery. Firefighters and emergency services are currently working at the scene.”

Russia isn’t alone in worrying about Ukrainian drone strikes. Financial Times reporter Christopher Miller noted on X that the Trump administration asked Kyiv not to strike Moscow, St. Petersburg or northern regions of Russia Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, “when the U.S. would send a plane carrying a senior-level official to the Russian capital.”

On Tuesday, a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter arrived in Moscow, reportedly ferrying CIA Director John Ratcliffe. You can read more about that in our initial story here.

Ratcliffe was visiting as the U.S. struggles to end Russia’s full-on invasion of Ukraine and the Iran war, though “the reason for the visit wasn’t immediately clear,” The Wall Street Journal noted. “The U.S. has collected intelligence showing Russia’s early preparations for a possible military mobilization in Ukraine and plans for testing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s resolve.”

Analysts said Ratcliffe could meet with Putin to deliver a warning, the newspaper noted.

“It could be to say, ‘We know what you are thinking about doing, and you better not,’” Beth Sanner, a former U.S. deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration, told the Journal. “It could also be about the Iran ceasefire and putting someone else in the discussion,” she said, adding Ratcliffe might also touch upon the Kremlin’s support for Iran following a new U.S. sanctions campaign against the regime.

The Latest

Ukraine is making some small advances in the southern section of the front while Russia continues to put heavy pressure on the Donetsk region in the east. Here are some key takeaways from the latest Institute for the Study of War assessment.

• Sumy: Russian forces continued offensive operations in northern Sumy Oblast on August 23 and 24 but did not make confirmed advances.
• Kharkiv: Russian forces continued offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast, near Borova, Kupiansk and in the Velykyi Burluk direction on August 23 and 24 but did not advance as Ukrainian forces counterattacked.
• Donetsk: Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Slovyansk direction. Russian forces continued attempts to isolate Ukrainian forces in Mykolaivka (east of Slovyansk), and attacked in the Dobropillya tactical area, the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area, Pokrovsk, Novopavlivka, and Oleksandrivka on August 23 and 24 but did not advance.
• Zaporizhia: Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Hulyaipole direction and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
• Kherson: Neither Russian nor Ukrainian forces reported ground activity in the Kherson direction on August 24.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered some positive news Tuesday about badly needed air defense systems and interceptors.

“We received confirmation regarding several Crotale air defense systems and missiles for them. And AIM missiles, which we use to shoot down enemy missiles. And a little more Patriot missiles have arrived,” Zelensky told reporters. He did not offer specific figures.

Zelensky added that Ukraine had received confirmation from the United Kingdom regarding the production of SCALP long-range missiles.

He added that “French President Emmanuel Macron had confirmed the unblocking of SCALP missiles and the necessary licenses,” the Kyiv Post reported. You can read more about that effort in our story here.

“We will act. I believe this is a strong positive and a strong decision,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky also said Ukraine expects to receive a schedule for the Freya domestic air defense interceptor initiative within seven to 10 days, including information on meetings and areas where cooperation with defense companies is currently blocked.

Earlier this month, we told you about two drone-related incidents at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany that represented the most serious threats yet in the wave of small drone incursions that have plagued Europe for the past few years. German police said an explosive-laden drone was located on the ground near a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Condor cargo jet and that there was a midair collision between an object and another cargo aircraft.

More news about that situation emerged today.

German investigators uncovered a third drone and suspected military explosives thought to be connected to the attempted attack on Leipzig airport, the Guardian reported, citing local media.

“The drone was discovered in Kabelsketal, just to the west of the airport, along with about 50g (1.8oz) of a suspected military explosive on 14 August, 10 days after the unsuccessful sabotage,” the publication stated. The office of the prosecutor general, which is leading the investigation, declined to comment on Tuesday. But the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the government would soon provide information about who it believed was behind the drone attacks.

“They will pay for this,” Merz said, stopping short of naming a suspect, before a cabinet meeting in Brandenburg. He added that the government was “working intensively on this together with the security authorities and we will present our findings and comment on them shortly.”

“Intelligence sources cited by the broadcasters NDR and WDR and the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung said they suspected the involvement of Russian intelligence in the attempted attack,” the Guardian added. Moscow has denied involvement.

Leipzig airport is a cargo and military logistics hub used by NATO and Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines for transporting military supplies. As we noted in our initial piece, the Condor, in particular, represents an unsurprising target for Russia. Ukraine’s An-124s are a source of national pride and a big flying symbol of the country’s defiance and survival. They also provide much-needed revenue to Ukraine and strategic airlift to support the conflict. Ukraine’s An-124s have long provided charter cargo services for western militaries, companies and NGOs. Since the war began, Antonov Airlines An-124s have been used to deliver war materiel bound for Ukraine.

Britain has signed a partnership with Ukraine to jointly develop artificial intelligence tools for defense and security, ​”giving British researchers access to a Ukrainian battlefield data platform ‌used to train military AI systems,” Reuters reported.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Zelensky signed the agreement in Kyiv, making Britain the first international partner to access Ukraine’s ​Avengers AI Labs, a government statement said.

Avengers Labs “was built ​around an annotated dataset of 5 million battlefield images, Ukraine’s ⁠Defense Ministry said earlier in August, largely drawn from the military’s DELTA ​combat system – a domestically developed battlefield management and situational-awareness system,” the outlet added. “The platform uses ​data collected from cameras and sensors across Ukraine’s battlefield, including information on tanks, artillery systems, drones and other military targets.”

The Ukrainian ministry said “AI models trained on ​the data were already being used in an automated target-detection system that ​analyses more than 100,000 drone video feeds each month and can identify about 70% ‌of ⁠enemy targets in real time,” Reuters noted.

In early 2023, donated tanks began arriving in Ukraine with great fanfare and hopes that additional armor would help turn the tide against Russia.

Fast forward to today and many of those tanks that survived combat “now mostly sit idle, hidden in forests and collecting cobwebs,” according to a New York Times report. “The $10 million machines, procured with great fanfare, proved no match for cheap drones that now dominate the battlefield. Yet Ukraine still maintains them and trains soldiers to use them, while trying to imagine new ways to deploy them.”

“We’re making virtually no use of armored vehicles,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, who until last month was Ukraine’s top general, said recently, the newspaper noted. “This raises the question: How can we neutralize this advantage enjoyed by drones and give our armor a new lease on life?”

The situation has changed so drastically that tanks are being used largely as tractors to tow damaged equipment, the Times proffered. Some of the troops are now more involved with drones than tanks. Newer recruits to a unit that was among the first to receive donated armor “have never even touched a tank. Among them was Korzhyk, 33, who joined the brigade in 2025 and spends his days repairing ground drones in a dark workshop,” the publication added.

Video emerged on social media of a Ukrainian MiG-29MU1 Fulcrum fighter dropping U.S.-made GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs (SDB) toward enemy drone operators inside Russia’s Belgorod region.

Ukraine’s mid-range drone attacks against Russian logistics have proven quite successful; however, the following picture shows not every that not every strike resulted in complete destruction. As you can see, a Hornet one-way attack drone got stuck in the windshield of a truck in occupied Crimea.

That’s it for now.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

In a brief online elegy for Dolly Parton, with whom she’d worked on the women-empowering film “9 to 5,” actor and famed liberal activist Jane Fonda made it a point to note that Parton cared about her queer fans.

“To her gay and trans fans, I want you to know that she loved you,” Fonda wrote. “You know that without me telling you.”

Indeed, we do.

Dolly meant something special to the LGBTQ+ community, in part because she represented an America where we are accepted — not just in big blue cities, but in one-room cabins in East Tennessee and in every rural, American-flag-flying corner of this big country.

Dolly was colorful and vivacious and unapologetic, and had more than a bit of drag queen in her. But she was also an unabashed ally with a country twang — a friend from the part of America where many queer people still instinctively put their guard up.

Of course, a country twang and queer acceptance can go hand in hand, and often do.

The Human Rights Campaign just last week cited a new U.S. Census Bureau analysis showing a record-high 12% of U.S. adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or gender diverse.

That’s more than 25 million people, and they live all across the country. Many sound like Dolly. Many are surrounded by loving, supportive family too.

Yet it remained important, particularly as LGBTQ+ rights have come under increasing attack, that Dolly — big, beloved, down-home Dolly — had our back too.

She wrote and sang the Oscar-nominated song “Travelin’ Thru” from the 2005 movie “Transamerica,” about a transgender woman and her son. She collaborated with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus on “Rainbowland,” a tribute to gay pride. And she made no secret of where she stood.

“I have some of everybody in my own immediate family and in my circle of employees. I’ve got transgender people. I’ve got gays. I’ve got lesbians,” she said in 2023. “I know and love them all, and I do not judge.… That’s who they are. They cannot help that any more than I can help being Dolly Parton.”

The LGBTQ+ community has watched in recent years as corporations and other supposed allies have backed away and gone quiet amid shifting politics and the Trump administration’s war on diversity, equity and inclusion and the transgender community.

But not Dolly. We saw her stand her ground, next to us. And that meant something. Dolly showed that you can appeal to the whole of America without throwing LGBTQ+ people under the bus.

She showed that you can stand behind LGBTQ+ people without twisting into socially awkward or politically damaging positions, no matter your audience. Sometimes it just takes plain language about accepting everyone as they are.

She showed that holding onto faith, patriotism and the American way of life doesn’t mean you can’t also hold space for LGBTQ+ people to live their own happy lives.

She showed that we are all more alike than we are different, and that it’s easier to see eye to eye when you aren’t looking past one another.

Dolly showed that a country star and all-American icon, beloved as much in rural dive bars as big city queer clubs, could transcend the bogus narrative that LGBTQ+ lives are a political issue rather than a part of our collective humanity — and that all of us can too.

Dolly represented the America that LGBTQ+ people love and remain loyal to, the open-armed, diverse, compassionate, take-people-as-they-come version of America that is still all of ours to enjoy if we just work for it a little — just like Dolly did.

Dolly loved LGBTQ+ people, and we loved her — in part because she showed us that our country still loves us too.

Aug. 25 (UPI) — A federal judge on Tuesday denied Ghislaine Maxwell’s attempt to overturn her conviction and prison sentence, slamming the petition as “demonstrably meritless.”

In the the ruling, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said the petition by Maxwell, a co-conspirator of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was “generally based on speculation, distortions and/or outright falsehoods.”

“There is no fact that Maxwell fairly puts in dispute that has any potential to disturb the outcome of her trial,” Engelmayer wrote.

Maxwell sought to overturn her five felony convictions on the stance that her due process rights were violated, claiming the documents released by the Department of Justice this year supported this. She also made claims of juror misconduct, inaccurate evidence and “selective prosecution” on the part of the Justice Department.

Engelmayer wrote that Maxwell’s claim “incriminates her or reinforces the correctness of the legal rulings Maxwell challenges.”

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022. She had been found guilty of conspiring to lure underage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse. She is serving time in a minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas.

Epstein, already a convicted sex offender, was awaiting trial in 2019 when he died by suicide while in jail. Earlier this year, the Department of Justice released many documents related to Epstein’s activities under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by Congress in November 2025.

The U.S. government has been criticized for the limited release of some of the files, in which names of alleged perpetrators were heavily redacted while many victim names were not.

In 2022, a satellite image emerged showing unusual fighter-like ‘shapes’ with a very loosely similar appearance to the stealthy J-20 at a remote Chinese airbase. Three years later, another image appeared showing a broadly similar, but also distinctly different-looking object at a different airport in China. The mystery of these ‘airframes’ now seems to be at least partially solved with new pictures of a mock-up being used for airfield firefighting training.

Images of the aircraft fire trainer in question are now circulating on social media, but where or when they were taken is not immediately clear. Markings seen on the tarmac are different from what is present on the aprons at Lintao Air Base, where the ‘shapes’ were spotted back in 2022, as well as at Jining Qufu Airport, where the other object was spotted in 2025.

The overall design of the vaguely J-20-like aircraft fire trainer also aligns more with the object that previously appeared at Jining Qufu Airport. Both share a distinct modified diamond-like delta planform, as well as canards, and twin vertical tails. It is worth noting that the ground-level images we have now also show a cockpit configuration that is more representative of the newer J-35. Regardless, the articles seen at Lintao had differently shaped wings and longer, more slender noses.

In general, aircraft fire trainers can be anything that loosely represents a desired class of aircraft – fighter, airliner, etc – and can range from specially built systems to repurposed old aircraft hulks. Training aids of this kind are designed to offer a readily reusable way to add realism to airfield firefighting drills. They are in widespread use globally by national militaries and civilian fire departments. The shapes previously seen at Lintao could still serve some other purpose as full-scale mock-ups, or decoys, as well.

The emergence of the firefighting trainer also comes as the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) fleet of real J-20s continues to expand, something TWZ explored in detail earlier this year. The PLAAF may have some 500 J-20s in service now, with examples assigned to at least 14 operational units and three training bases, according to one estimate. There are projections that the total fleet could grow to 1,000 airframes by 2030 if production of the jets continues apace. This is inclusive of all variants, including a two-seat version that first broke cover in 2021.

The growing size of China’s fleets of J-20s, as well as other more modern fighters, can only increase demands for training, both for pilots and ground crew, as well as maintenance and sustainment requirements. Ever larger numbers of routine day-to-day sorties raise the risk of crashes and other accidents just as a matter of course.

Also, while the object spotted at Jining Qufu Airport in 2025 now seems pretty definitively to have been a firefighting trainer, a steady stream of new, real advanced aircraft designs have been emerging in China in recent years. This includes crewed and uncrewed types with a multitude of shapes and sizes, ranging from the J-36 and J-XDS next-generation fighters to various sleek combat drones to several types of pilotless flying wings. New Chinese aviation developments do have a history of emerging suddenly, as TWZ has often been the first to report.

As China’s fleets of more advanced operational aircraft continue to expand in scale and scope, we can expect to see similar growth in the infrastructure and other assets necessary to support their operations, including new aircraft fire trainers.

Special thanks to Andreas Rupprecht, an expert on Chinese aviation and contributor to this website, who goes by @RupprechtDeino on X, for bringing this to our attention.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The Justice Department’s latest salvo in the battle over the future of the Kennedy Center claims President Trump’s “efforts and prestige provide the sole hope for the Center’s financial survival, and structural renewal,” according to a Monday court filing, which also threatens a possible demolition of the historic building.

Without the president’s interventions, says the filing, “the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site.”

The filing by the administration’s lawyers came in response to the efforts of Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) to block the Kennedy Center board from adding the president’s name to the building. The 21-page document argues that the “prestige” afforded by such an addition is both necessary and warranted.

“The Board also underscores, and the undisputed evidence demonstrates, that without the prominent recognition of The Trump Administration, and President Trump’s efforts, the donors will not contribute, and the Center will continue to be in a financial and structural death spiral,” the filing reads. “The Trump Administration, and President Donald J. Trump, should, therefore, be given the respect and dignity of acknowledgement.”

The filing also suggests what could replace the center if the building were to be torn down: “a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River … has been proposed, by some, for many years.”

“Such a replacement will fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy, but would be simpler and more economical to build, operate, and maintain,” the administration’s lawyers wrote in the filing.

Such a tear down would face enormous legal pushback, but preservation groups are already on high alert after Trump’s swift demolition of the White House’s East Wing, which was completed before a challenge could be fully mounted.

The Kennedy Center has been mired in controversy since Trump fired its board and had himself appointed chairman in the early months of his second term. Artist and staff defections became common after that, but the question of the center’s survival came into stark relief in early February when Trump declared his intention to shutter the center for two years of renovations.

That decision came after the Kennedy Center board voted in December to add Trump’s name to the building. Both the closure and the renaming were halted in a May ruling by Federal District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper who is still overseeing the legal back-and-forth over the center’s fate.

Cooper originally gave the administration until mid-June to remove Trump’s name from the building. The administration complied by placing a tarp over the sign, which has remained ever since.

This month the board again voted to move forward with the renovation, and also to add Trump’s name to the building with the words, “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”

The most recent court filing claiming the center’s survival rests with Trump is in stark contrast to a recent Washington Post investigation that found the center’s revenue plunged after Trump’s name was added to the building.

Aug. 25 (UPI) — A man is facing federal charges for forging the signature of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and impersonating a federal agent.

Joshua M. Culver was indicted Friday in the Northern District of Indiana on four counts of falsely impersonating an officer of the United States and one count of forging the signature of a judge and court seal.

He was arrested in Colorado and has been assigned a public defender there.

The indictment alleges that Culver identified himself as a National Security Agency agent on at least two occasions in September 2025. He allegedly did so at the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office trying to get information about the location of a family member. The indictment also alleges that he made phone calls to someone at their employer threatening them and accusing them of breaking the law.

In January 2026, Culver allegedly claimed to be a “Special Master enforcing orders of the United States Supreme Court” to get a Lake County, Ind., judge to dismiss criminal cases and judgments against him.

He’s accused of forging Roberts’ signature and using a counterfeit seal on an order in September that told a Grant County, Ind., court to drop theft charges against him.

The amended law was an attempt by state Republicans to crack down on unproven claims of voting by noncitizens.

A United States federal court has temporarily blocked an Ohio law that required proof of US citizenship from residents who wanted to register to vote while they obtained a driver’s license.

In his ruling on Tuesday, US District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr granted a preliminary injunction against the law, saying it likely violates the US National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) because it requires more information than necessary to determine a resident’s eligibility to vote.

“Election officials do not need documentary proof of citizenship to assess a voter registration applicant’s citizenship because signed attestation of citizenship is enough,” Oliver wrote.

The judge also pointed to a clause in the act that says each US state’s driver’s license application “shall serve as an application for voter registration with respect to election for Federal office unless the applicant fails to sign the voter registration application”.

Oliver said that Ohio must offer applicants the opportunity to register once they’ve submitted their driver’s license application, not after it’s been approved by the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV).

“To interpret this section of the NVRA otherwise would allow States to make registering to vote at the BMV more onerous, and could result in fewer voter registrations because the opportunity to apply was not proactively offered to otherwise eligible citizens,” Oliver added.

In 1995, Ohio passed a so-called “motor-voter” law that allowed residents the opportunity to register to vote when they applied for a driver’s license

But that law was amended last year by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature in an attempt to crack down on unproven claims, pushed in part by US President Donald Trump, that noncitizens were voting in the state’s election. US law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

The ruling marks a victory for voting rights advocates like Red Wine & Blue, which sued Ohio’s secretary of state, Frank LaRose, over claims that the law disenfranchised eligible voters and violated the NVRA.

One of the group’s lawyers, Ben Stafford, praised the ruling, calling it “a win for Ohio voters.”

“With the registration deadline just weeks away, eligible Ohioans will now have the opportunity to register to vote at the BMV without having to produce unnecessary paperwork that is not required by federal law,” Stafford, an attorney at Elias Law Group, said in a statement.

LaRose said his office disagrees with the decision and will appeal.

Dolly Parton was the last star in music everyone in America could agree on. Her brilliant career as a carefully-sculpted backwoods icon (one with unmatched insight into the human heart) told the nation stories it craved to hear about itself — songs about resilience and dignity under poverty and labor, how to hold conflicting feelings of devotion and loss. None of the canon of extras — the charmingly ramshackle Dollywood theme park, the purehearted children’s literacy initiatives, the rhinestone cowgirl aesthetics — would be possible without one of the most emotionally attuned, beautifully performed and broadly reaching catalogs in American music.

She is one of the finest singer-songwriters this country ever produced, and it’s inconceivable to sum up her catalog in just an LP’s worth of tunes. But Parton — the songwriter, the vocalist, the instrumentalist, the collaborator — only ever wanted to invite a listener in, wherever they arrive from. Here are 10 songs to start with.

Coat of Many Colors (1971)

The foundational text of Parton’s career, this 1971 single lovingly details her mother’s make-do resilience, stitching a fall coat from scraps of cloth in the spirit of a beloved Bible story. Its storytelling economy is just as crafty, finding splendor with humble tools, and distills Parton’s whole persona into one perfect song.

Touch Your Woman (1972)

You could spend tens of thousands on couple’s therapy and never get as good advice as “We can’t always both be right, we sometimes disagree / But you’ve got the right to speak your mind and it’s the same with me / When the anger’s at an end, and you want inside my arms again / All you have to do to make it right is just / Touch your woman.”

Jolene (1974)

Try to forget how ubiquitous this song is in pop culture, even though it’s been covered by Beyoncé (who laced her own domestic strife into a version), the White Stripes and Parton’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus. Listen to how eerie the thing actually is, how the harmonies capture the desperation, panic and preemptive grief of losing a love to someone whose appeal is undeniable. Nothing that haunted can ever be overplayed.

I Will Always Love You (1974)

Any songwriter should be so lucky — to have one of your hallmark tunes be lovingly swept out from under you and become one of the definitive ballads of pop music. Whitney Houston’s powerhouse version stands alone, but Dolly’s quieter, mournful ode to her collaboration with Porter Wagoner is the artful, formative sketch to a colossal mural.

The Bargain Store (1975)

Taking the themes of “Coat” in intimate new directions, there’s a pained, darker tang to lines like “Take these old, used memories from the past / And these broken dreams and plans that didn’t last / I’ll trade them for a future, I can’t use them anymore.” A perfect distillation of Parton’s themes and craftsmanship, where melancholy and resilience fight it out in the empty spaces.

Two Doors Down (1977)

One of Parton’s first forays into purer pop, this single has the stomp and shuffle of funk and could easily be retrofitted into disco DJ sets. Soul horns and synths liven the production up, but it all underlines how far her writing and vocal performances could travel through genres.

9 to 5 (1980)

The song that made Parton a true pop crossover, a movie star with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin and an Oscar nominee. But don’t let the relatable career-girl pluck of the movie dilute the fact that this song is pissed off about capitalism, even as its hooks make the grind of working life more bearable.

Old Flames (Can’t Hold A Candle To You) (1980)

Dolly chose her covers carefully, but even she couldn’t have known how full-circle this would come around. A take on songwriter Pebe Sebert’s ballad that went to No. 1 on the country charts in 1980, Sebert’s daughter Kesha would eventually return the favor with a version decades later, two women who turned an act playing ditzy into resonant, affecting music.

To Know Him Is To Love Him (1987)

Parton’s pen and persona had no equals, but she was an enthusiastic collaborator as well, from her early partnership with Porter Wagoner up to her 2023 hard rock LP. She was at her best with the women of Trio, a supergroup with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, and this regal single of nascent, unrequited commitment is as lovely as they come.

Smoky Mountain Memories (Live – 1994)

Parton was a virtuoso at staying, if not apolitical, at least a neutral zone of relatability for conservatives and leftists alike, each of whom had ways to read their lives into her storytelling. A song like “Smoky Mountain Memories,” a gut-wrenching live rework of an earlier song, lent dignity to her family’s toil and loneliness, while raging against the circumstances that created it — “It takes all I’ve got to give what life demands / Oh, you go insane if you give into it.”