News Desk

THEY say the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but it appears it is when you look over the fence of Mark Wright’s Essex mansion.

The former Towie star has come under fire from fans for his very healthy looking lawn – despite the region’s new hosepipe ban after multiple heatwaves.

Essex and Suffolk Water introduced a hosepipe ban earlier this month as a result of a lack of rain this summer.

Under a temporary use ban, customers cannot use a hosepipe, sprinkler, or pressure washer for various activities, such as watering plants or filling up hot tubs.

However, Mark took to Instagram earlier this week to share a video of himself relaxing in his outdoor pool, with his green garden grass seen behind him.

As he sipped on cocktails in the clip, Mark was sharing his at-home drinks recipe with fans.

top cook

Romeo Beckham shows off pizza making skills – as fans mock Brooklyn’s ‘grim’ pasta

‘CAN’T BEAR IT’

Vogue Williams savages Katie Price’s hubby Lee & rants ‘he’s taking p**s’

However, fans were more confused over his garden than his homemade mojito.

One user commented below the video: “Amazing grass considering a huge hose pipe ban and much of Essex not have basic water access ATM. Man of the people I see”.

“The grass is looking nice and green 😂,” said a second.

A third wrote: “FYI everyone else has a hosepipe ban?! ?”

“Picture of your house with luscious green grass going around social media while every surrounding bit of land is dead?

“Let all the farmers put their cattle on your land and eat the grass!! They are struggling,” slammed another.

Mark and his wife Michelle moved into their £3.5 million mansion in 2022, after spending years building it into their dream home.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on Wednesday approved a $15.5 billion budget for Dulles International Airport, setting the stage for renovations proposed by President Donald Trump.

The board approved the proposal for the Revitalizing Washington Dulles International Airport Project, an initiative launched by the Department of Transportation in December.

The approval includes $3.75 billion for new underground tunnels which will replace the airport’s shuttle system, the renovation of Concourses C and D, and $6.2 million for the reconstruction of the main terminal.

The project is slated to begin in late 2027.

Trump said during a briefing at the White House last month that more than 5 million square feet will be either new or renovated space at the airport. He called the airport in its current state “a terrible place to be.”

The president said in July that the estimated cost of the project is more than $20 billion.

About $14.2 billion of the funding will come from new bond issuances, $200 million from grants and $1.1 billion in Passenger Facility Charges: fees that travelers pay for using the airport.

New expenditures included in the budget amount to about $48 million, MWAA’s report says.

The longtime publisher of Stars and Stripes, a newspaper focused on the United States military, has resigned amid what he described as disagreements with the Defense Department‘s leadership.

Max D Lederer Jr announced his retirement in a memo to staff on Tuesday, as well as in an interview with Stars and Stripes.

The memo suggested that Lederer clashed with the administration of President Donald Trump over government efforts to seek greater editorial control over the publication, The Associated Press reported.

In the memo, Lederer wrote that it has “become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction the leadership of the Department of Defence has for the organization”.

The announcement comes after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth accused the publication of promoting “woke distractions”.

The Trump administration has also slammed the outlet for bringing attention to poor conditions and declining morale on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, involved in the war on Iran.

Founded in 1861, Stars and Stripes has been an institution in the US military for well over a century.

While the newspaper receives a significant portion of its funding from the US government, it has sought to maintain editorial independence from the various administrations in power.

Critics, however, say the threats to the news outlet have increased in recent years.

During the first Trump presidency, from 2017 to 2021, the Pentagon sought to eliminate funding for the newspaper, though Trump pledged not to cut its budget “under my watch”.

“It will continue to be a wonderful source of information to our Great Military,” he said at the time.

In January, though, Trump’s second-term Defense Department announced that it would seek to bring the paper into greater alignment with the government’s priorities.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell framed the move as “returning Stars and Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters”.

The Pentagon also fired Jacqueline Smith, the newspaper’s ombudsman, who was charged with protecting its reporting from political interference. The move prompted outcry about eroding press freedoms, including from Smith herself.

“No one should be surprised that they’re kicking out the one person charged by Congress with protecting Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence,” Smith wrote in a column responding to her termination.

Hegseth has overseen efforts to restrict access to the Pentagon for journalists across the board.

In June, for instance, reporters were banned from the Defense Department’s press office, which was abruptly designated as a classified area.

That same month, a judge paused a policy requiring journalists to have escorts to access the Pentagon, a rule that news agencies warned could violate their First Amendment freedoms.

Other policies have been struck down in the courts, including a set of rules that would have barred journalists from engaging with materials not explicitly authorised by the Pentagon.

Hegseth has also cracked down on policies he considers part of the “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” movement, or DEI.

Dismissing them as evidence of “wokeness” – a vaguely defined concept – Hegseth has argued that DEI hinders military effectiveness.

The Pentagon is currently embroiled in an ongoing war on Iran, which the US launched with Israel on February 28.

The war remains deeply unpopular in the US, and reports have emerged that the military offensive has strained US forces and munition supplies.

Stars and Stripes was one of two military publications to report on flagging morale and suicide attempts by US service members on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, one of the aircraft carriers participating in the war.

The USS Lincoln has broken the US Navy record for the length of its deployment without a port stop. It left port in November and was sent off the coast of Venezuela before being redirected to the region near Iran.

Trump and his allies have lashed out at critical reporting about the war, with the president suggesting that journalists who highlight the troubles faced by the military are traitors who want to see their country fail.

Skins star Mike Bailey has left fans stunned with his dramatically different appearance

The actor recently made a rare public appearance.

Former Skins star Mike Bailey has left fans gobsmacked after appearing virtually unrecognisable during a rare public appearance, and it’s not just his looks that have changed dramatically.

Gone is Sid Jenkins’ trademark floppy brunette hairstyle, replaced by a cropped blonde look on the now 38-year-old actor.

Fans of the show were left astonished by how different Bailey appeared during an appearance on the NSN podcast in March.

One fan remarked: “Took me some time to figure out this was Sid, ahahah,” while another concurred: “I can hear Sid but I can’t see him.”

A third person observed: “bro that is NOT the same person,” with another commenting: “So odd seeing him w blonde hair and not swoopy brown bangs a beanie and glasses lol.”

A final viewer remarked: “Can’t tell if I cant recognise him because it’s been nearly 20 years, or because he doesn’t have his hat on.”

Bailey first captured audiences’ attention back in 2007 when he portrayed the much-loved Sid in the cult teen drama. Mike, then just a teenager himself, featured in the opening two series of the show’s seven-season run.

His co-stars included Nicholas Hoult, Dev Patel and Daniel Kaluuya, who have all since carved out stellar Hollywood careers. Yet Mike opted for a completely different path, stepping away from the entertainment industry entirely.

The Bristol native traded acting for teaching, discussing his career change during a 2017 Radio Times chat.

“I kind of thought ‘what the f**k am I doing with my life?’ and ended up getting in a conversation with the wife a couple of years ago and decided that those who can’t act teach,” he revealed, reports OK!.

“10 years ago I never thought I’d still be talking about it, but [Sid] still does pop up every now and again.”

While his acting stint was relatively brief, Mike did appear in several productions, including the documentary 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth and the film We Are the Freaks. He now looks back fondly on his Skins experience as “a collective positive memory”.

But it’s his teaching role that truly resonates with him. During his appearance on the NSN podcast, he enthused: “I love it, it’s the best job I’ve ever had.”

Mike reflected on his varied career, saying: “It’s one of those things, you know those cliché things, I go into work each day and it’s completely different. It literally is.”

Skins is available to stream on Disney+

Aug. 19 (UPI) — A study released Wednesday shows that the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea are far hotter than normal, threatening ecosystems and coastal communities.

Parts of the oceans around Europe reached more than 42 degrees Fahrenheit above average this week in a marine heat wave hitting the area.

Climate change is the cause, said the World Weather Attribution consortium in the study.

This summer has been especially brutal in Europe, which has seen multiple heat waves with extreme temperatures and worsened by wildfires. Western Europe recorded its hottest summer on record.

In the water, the high temps harm marine life, raise jellyfish populations and increase the risk of stronger storms later in the year.

“This summer, we’ve seen some really exceptional ocean temperatures around Europe,” said Catherine Gregory, a climate scientist at the University of Bern who contributed to the study, Politico reported.

“By July, the average temperature of the entire Mediterranean Sea was just over 27C [80.6 degrees Fahrenheit], which was the highest July value on record,” she added. “We’ve had a buoy reading to the west of Mallorca measuring more than 33C [91.4F] in open water … and we’ve seen similarly extreme conditions in the North Atlantic.”

The scientists analyzed four regions: the Eastern and Western Mediterranean; the Atlantic around the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Peninsula; and the seas around Ireland and western Britain.

“We find it’s the most extreme July marine heat wave conditions in the record for the Western Mediterranean, the Celtic region and for the Bay of Biscay-Iberian Peninsula region,” Gregory told Politico.

The scientists found that climate change raised temperatures in both Mediterranean regions by 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and Iberian waters increased by 34.52 degrees. The Irish seas rose by 34.34 degrees.

Oceans absorb most of the excess heat from burning fossil fuels. The warming waters push some species to search for cooler water, while those that can’t move, such as corals or seagrasses, could see mass die-offs.

“We have what we call winners and losers. So a lot of species wane in abundance or completely disappear while others bloom and proliferate,” said John Bruno, an ecologist from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one of the study’s co-authors.

The transfer is the first from Lebanon involving a Syrian military officer who fled after al-Assad’s government was toppled in 2024.

Lebanon has handed over a former senior Syrian army officer to Damascus to face charges related to murder and torture, the first such transfer since former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in 2024.

The transfer involved Major-General Adel Issa, a former commander of the Syrian army’s 17th Division who later led ground forces in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zur.

Syria’s Ministry of Interior confirmed his delivery into Syrian custody in a statement on Wednesday.

“Today, Syrian authorities received from the Lebanese authorities the former officer in the defunct regime army, Major-General Adel Issa,” the ministry said.

It added that a Syrian arrest warrant had accused Issa of charges including intentional homicide, facilitating a felony, killing more than two people, torture leading to death, and crimes aimed at inciting civil war and sectarian strife.

A Damascus referral judge will hear his case, which could then be sent to a criminal court for trial, the ministry added.

Issa, 67, has denied the accusations, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two people familiar with his arrest and extradition.

He was detained on August 8 after going to the Syrian embassy in Beirut to complete paperwork.

Embassy officials alerted the prosecutor’s office in Lebanon that he was wanted in Syria, and Lebanese investigators took him into custody, Reuters reported.

His transfer follows months of pressure by Damascus for Lebanon to act against former government officers, as well as security and military officials, who sought refuge in Lebanon after the Assad regime collapsed in December 2024.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former rebel leader, has led the country since.

In January, Syrian authorities gave Lebanese security officials a list of more than 200 former senior officers wanted by Damascus.

Earlier this month, a Damascus court sentenced al-Assad to death in absentia on charges including murder, arbitrary detention and torture. Al-Assad lives in exile in Moscow.

LILY Allen has described herself as a ‘porn enthusiast’ in a very candid new interview.

The singer, who split from her husband David Harbour last year, also revealed she suffered an awkward blunder with her new boyfriend when it came to X-rated sites.

In February, Lily confirmed she’s in a new relationship with Jonah Freud.

And while she is hesitant to speak about the romance publicly, Lily has opened up on her bedroom preferences in a very open new interview.

Talking about her opinions on porn, she told Perfect Magazine: “There have been times when I’ve been a porn enthusiast. I’m not currently in one of those periods.”

Admitting she recently had a blunder with new beau Jonah about porn, Lily continued: “However, I did try to get on to Pornhub the other day because my phone was connected to the Bluetooth speaker [backstage at a show] and I thought it would be really funny while everyone was getting ready to go to the toilet and put porn on and everyone would think I was secretly watching it in the toilet.

NOT WRIGHT

Mark Wright branded ‘selfish’ as fans spot very green lawn at Essex mansion

LOW PRICE

Inside the £60 UK hotel loved by Katie Price who usually opts for 5-star holidays

“But the wifi wouldn’t allow me to go on any restricted sites, so I couldn’t do it.

“And then I was in bed with my boyfriend later and when he asked me to Google something, Pornhub came up on my search history and I tried to explain but it just didn’t sound very believable.”

Lily added that she wasn’t embarrassed but was “annoyed” her other half didn’t believe her.

The singer confirmed her relationship in February after being spotted with Jonah several times.

After being asked who the last person she texted was in an interview, she replied: “My boyfriend.”

However, she didn’t expand further on the romance.

It comes after she split from husband David Harbour last year.

It is reported Lily turned detective after growing suspicious that her hubby was cheating and caught him out on Raya — the same app where she met him in 2019.

Social media giant Meta is facing a landmark trial that could impact its future.

Opening statements began on Tuesday in a US federal court case brought by 29 state attorneys general, who have accused Facebook and Instagram’s parent company of designing platforms to encourage infinite scrolling and keep their youngest users hooked, despite allegedly knowing they could fuel addictive behaviour. The company is also accused of collecting data on minors.

The case is expected to last as long as six weeks. If the attorneys general get their way, the Silicon Valley-based tech company might have to make structural changes to its platform and pay as much as $1.4 trillion in fines.

While Meta denies the allegations, the potential consequences of this case could be significant for the company, which is already facing low employee morale, waves of layoffs and a series of lagging investments.

Significant financial impact

The potential exposure to Meta is significant. State penalties could reach as high as $1.4 trillion, Meta has said, although that is unlikely, as the coalition of states said it is seeking $200bn in damages.

To put that in context, the amount is roughly the equivalent of Meta’s revenue last year. In 2025, the tech giant generated nearly $201bn in revenue, and it had $83.2bn in operating income.

The $200bn ask is significantly higher than any penalty the company has had to face so far. In March, a jury in a separate New Mexico lawsuit ordered Meta to pay $375m in civil penalties, and another $567m was ordered by a judge earlier this month.

At the time of the March penalty, financial services firm Morningstar said it was not overly concerned about the impact of the looming court cases on Meta’s valuation, even if governments around the world use these cases as a reason to push for structural changes to the business.

“We think that any algorithmic changes imposed on the firm via legislation are also a manageable risk, given the firm’s monetizable user base, which is overwhelmingly adult, thereby insulating the firm against such legislation,” a Morningstar analyst note said.

While no one can predict which way the coalition case will go, Meta’s problems extend to concerns about significant financial exposure in some of its investments and business units.

For instance, Reality Labs, the division responsible for Meta’s virtual and augmented reality tools and software like the metaverse, has lost $70bn since 2020.

Meta has also ramped up spending to build out AI infrastructure as growing concerns about an AI bubble loom over the sector.

Cash flow for the business fell significantly, from $12bn in the first quarter to $784m in the second quarter, although it did not go into negative territory as some analysts had expected.

“I think it’s [Meta] in an unenviable spot, because it’s facing pressure from multiple fronts,” Aleksandar Tomic, associate dean for strategy, innovation, and technology at Boston College, told Al Jazeera.

“These verdicts are going to put pressure on their advertising business. The AI development seems to have stalled, and the virtual reality thing seems to be dead on arrival, at least for now. So the only bright spot is that they might be able to get into the AI infrastructure game, but that is no guarantee.”

Meta itself is worried about the financial strain. “There can be no assurances that a favorable final outcome will be obtained in all our cases, and defending any lawsuit is costly and can impose a significant burden on management and employees,” the company said in a January Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Can the lawsuit impact its core product?

While financial penalties might be a strain, a legal requirement to fundamentally alter the machinery that makes Instagram and Facebook so valuable to advertisers would be much harder for Meta to absorb.

The lawsuit calls for changes to its business model, including eliminating the infinite scroll that allows users to continually look at new posts. Meta’s advertising business is dependent on impressions, or the number of times a content appears on a user’s screen. The longer someone is on the app, the more impressions they can see.

“Our financial performance has been and will continue to be significantly determined by our success in adding, retaining, and engaging active users of our products that deliver ad impressions, particularly for Facebook and Instagram,” the company said in an SEC filing.

“User growth and engagement are also impacted by a number of other factors, including competitive products and services, such as TikTok, that have reduced some users’ engagement with our products and services,” the filing added.

In 2025, Meta reported 12 percent more advertisement impressions than in 2024, while the average price per advertisement jumped by 9 percent.

The plaintiff states want the company to make other changes, including getting rid of algorithms and AI models made from data compiled from minors. The states are also asking the court to compel the company to promote the wellbeing of its users and set time restrictions for its youngest consumers.

Meta has introduced features that have reminded teens of their time use on their platforms. In January 2023, it gave teens ways to manage the kinds of advertisements they could see on Instagram and Facebook. In June 2023, it introduced a feature to notify teen users that they have spent more than 20 minutes on the platform and to set daily time limits.

“We stand by our record of creating strong protections for teens, and look forward to making our case in court,” Stephanie Otway, a Meta spokesperson, told Al Jazeera.

But the lawsuit says that is not enough, alleging that teens could easily dismiss the notification and continue scrolling.

How will this impact future lawsuits?

Meta is currently facing lawsuits from more than 100,000 different parties, according to its SEC filings, including individuals, cities, states, and school districts around the US.

“These first few cases going out are really going to set the standard,” Tre Lovell, a Los Angeles-based media law and entertainment lawyer, told Al Jazeera.

Lovell predicted that, ultimately, there will be a combined settlement.

“We’re going to get close to some type of global settlement, a global resolution. I think, ultimately, that’s where this is going to end.”

Snap, TikTok, and Google’s YouTube have also faced litigation amid allegations that their products are built to encourage compulsive use by young people, Tomic told Al Jazeera. The claims could open the floodgates to the type of litigation that challenged the tobacco industry in the late 1990s, he said.

“This is the tobacco litigation of the information age. They [the plaintiffs in the Meta lawsuit] have identified this addiction component of social networks. Now that there is a judgement against Meta, I would be shocked if we don’t see everybody else getting sued, and once they get sued, it will be pretty much the same,” Tomic said.

In 1998, 46 states settled lawsuits with major cigarette makers over health costs and forced the companies to impose restrictions on advertising, especially targeting younger audiences.

LITTLE Mix star Perrie Edwards has revealed that her beloved dog has died after 14 years.

The singer, 33, took to her Instagram to pay tribute to her sweet “fury baby” Hatchi that she adopted back in 2012 with ex Zayn Malik.

Perrie shared a number of sweet snaps of herself and the adorable Pomeranian as she confessed that her heart was “completely broken”.

The pooch helped her through some of the “hardest moments”, celebrated “every milestone” with her and even went on tour with the Little Mix girls.

Perrie wrote: “My Hatchi. 14 years with you, and somehow it still could never have been enough.

“You weren’t just my dog. You were my fur baby, my little shadow, my companion and one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given.

BEND & SNAP

Perrie Edwards puts on leggy display in just a T-shirt as she squats down low

Band rift

Why Perrie snubbed Jesy from wedding as sources say band are ‘ganging up’ on her

“You were there beside me through every chapter and every milestone of my life.

“Through the happiest moments and the hardest ones. You licked away my tears when I cried, made me laugh when I needed it most, and every morning you would look at me with that little smile that made me feel like I was your whole world.

“And you were such a huge part of mine.

“We lived so much life together. You came on tour with Little Mix, travelled the world with me, came on our holidays to Portugal, sat in the best restaurants eating steak like the little prince you were.

“Wherever life took me, you were part of it.

“I hope you knew how loved you were, Hatchi.

“I hope you knew that everything I ever did for you was because I wanted to give you the happiest, fullest, most beautiful life I possibly could.

“You gave me 14 years of unconditional love, loyalty and memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

“My heart is completely broken knowing I won’t see your little face in the morning, hear your footsteps, cuddle you or have you following me around anymore.

“The house and my heart already feel emptier without you.

“Thank you for growing up with me. Thank you for being there for every version of me.

“Thank you for licking my tears, for making me smile, for loving me so completely and for being my best little friend for 14 years.

“I would choose you in every lifetime.

“Sleep peacefully my beautiful boy. I hope wherever you are, there’s endless steak waiting for you.

“I will love you and miss you forever, Hatchi. My first baby, my fur baby, my little companion. A piece of my heart went with you.”

Many rushed to the comments section to share their loving thoughts with Perrie.

Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall said: “Oh Hatchi.”

Love Island’s Chris Hughes wrote: “ahhhh man so sad, rest up Hatchi.”

Comedian Alan Carr added: “So sorry!!”

Perrie has owned a number of pets over the years.

She adopted Travis the French Bulldog in lockdown, and she also owns a Golden Retriever called Polo.

Some of her other pets include Prada the cat, Benji the cat and Teddy the Teacup Yorkshire Terrier.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will buy back about twice the usual amount of its bonds in a move to prevent rising interest rates on mortgages and consumer loans.

The department, which is led by Secretary Scott Bessent, said it will target the 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year portion of the market. Those bonds have faced a buyers’ strike since late June, CNBC reported.

Treasury said it will at least double the maximum size of its usual buyback, from $2 billion to “at least” $4 billion, an announcement from the department said. The buyback operation will be from Sept. 9 through Nov. 4.

The yields on longer-term debt have been at their highest levels since 2007, pushed up by war with Iran and other concerns, such as growing competition for financing with borrowers and growing federal deficits, Politico reported.

After the announcement, yields plummeted, while stock market futures spiked, CNBC reported.

The 10-year note dropped 6 basis points to 4.647% and the 30-year bond plunged 9 basis points to 5.196%. A basis point equals 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions.

It’s the latest move by Bessent to affect treasury yields.

The department conducted a joint operation with Japan to boost the yen, which was trading at its weakest against the dollar in about 40 years. He had warned in January that Japanese government bonds were causing issues in the U.S. treasury market.

The department also recently alluded to possibly issuing less longer-term debt in the future, Politico reported.

“This increase in buyback operation sizes reflects Treasury’s desire to provide greater liquidity support in longer-dated nominal sectors where there is consistent strong sponsorship from market participants, as evidenced by the significant volume of high-quality offers Treasury routinely receives in longer-dated buyback operations,” the department’s press release said.

The move “can help crowd in potential buyers tempted by the prior run-up in yields and force some near-term short-covering, while discouraging investors from going max short in the future for fear of being ambushed again,” Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI, said in a client note, CNBC reported.

“But the operation changes almost nothing in terms of the fundamentals, in particular the unchanged need to finance the tidal wave of hyperscaler debt in addition to very large government deficits,” Guha added.

It could actually end up making the Federal Reserve‘s job of getting inflation back to 2% more difficult, said RSM Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas.

The buyback could artificially suppress yields and make controlling inflation more challenging.

“Bessent is a political actor. His interest is purely short-term and is organized around the upcoming election and not a return to price stability,” Brusuelas wrote.

HAYDEN Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has been spotted for the first time since her shocking death.

Brian, 37, looked solemn as he stepped out on Wednesday in a hat, sunglasses and hoodie in his native Greenville, South Carolina – close to where his on-off girlfriend Hayden died on Sunday at just 36.

Brian has been keeping a low profile in recent days, and has not made a public statement since her death.

Brian and his brother Zach were at the Greenville rental apartment when Hayden was discovered unresponsive in a “possible overdose” on Sunday afternoon.

In a police report obtained by The U.S. Sun, cops said Zach walked into the apartment after 1 pm to find Hayden unconscious on a chair in the living room.

Brian was apparently asleep in another room at the time of the horrific discovery.

One of the brothers called 911, and an emergency medical team rushed to the scene.

While police said Zach was extremely emotional as the first responders attempted to save her life, Brian apparently did not shed a tear until Hayden was officially declared dead an hour later.

Brian told cops Hayden regularly took a “bag of medication,” and a long list of redacted prescription names were included in the police report.

Now, the tragedy’s fall-out is unfolding for Brian and his family.

Police arrived to Brian’s grandmother’s home on Wednesday morning.

“Greenville Police officers responded to a call for a welfare check at a home belonging to Brian Hickerson’s family on Wednesday morning,” police told The U.S. Sun in a statement.

“The call is unrelated to the Hayden Panettiere death investigation and did not require an incident report.”

But TMZ reported earlier on Wednesday that a criminal investigation has been launched into the death.

According to the outlet, the investigation was triggered because Hayden’s death was “unexpected.”

Hayden and Brian have a long, tumultuous history since first meeting in 2018.

In May 2019, Brian was arrested for domestic violence.

According to the LAPD, cops were called to Hayden’s Los Angeles home after a heated altercation on May 2 at 2:30 am.

“Right off the bat, I noticed that she had bruising on her eyelids, a swollen face. She did have marks on her neck, the left side. When I continued to talk to her she removed the sweater that she had on. I saw bruising on both her arms,” the responding officer said.

The case was ultimately dismissed.

But on Valentine’s Day 2020, Brian was arrested again for domestic violence while the pair was vacationing in Wyoming.

Hayden told officers he threw her and then punched her in the face.

Soon after this arrest, Hayden released a statement to fans.

“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she said.

“I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”

Brian ultimately was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Despite her harsh words, the couple was spotted back together again in 2021, with Hayden insisting she “forgave” him.

Three months before her death, Hayden said she was happy and healthy, and it was reported Brian was in her rear-view mirror.

A source told TMZ the pair was secretly together during this time.

An Israeli attack on a Syrian airbase has been widely condemned.

The United States envoy warns the incident could have caused a direct confrontation with Turkish forces.

So why did Israel attack the base? And what are the implications?

Presenter: Anna Burns-Francis

Guests:

Murat Yesiltas – Director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) think tank

Haid Haid – Consulting fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House

Michael Mulroy – Former US deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East

Coronation Street fans are worried for Brody Michaelis amid his dodgy dealings with Idris Nazir after a violent scene on Wednesday, with fans predicting a sad fate for the teen

Fans fear a death twist is on the way for one Coronation Street teen, after they crossed baddie Idris Nazir on Wednesday.

After some dodgy dealings with Idris over recent weeks, Brody Michaelis exposed Idris to his love interest Leanne Battersby. Revealing all about the poker night and the fact he’d risked her money in the process, Brody left Idris furious.

Idris had hosted a poker night at Leanne’s restaurant in secret. He then used the £5,000 she leant him, which he claimed was a loan for something, on the poker game. With the help of Ollie Driscoll, Idris fixed the poker game so that Ollie won, and dodgy businesswoman Fiona lost.

With Ollie winning thousands of pounds, most of it went to Idris. But the fact he’d chosen Ollie for this task and not Brody, who is keen to impress his boss, left Brody upset, and he got drunk.

As Brody confronted his boss about Ollie, Idris realised he’d had alcohol. Idris called Brody “sloppy” and a “bad liar”, saying this is why he chose Ollie. A rejected Brody then took his revenge.

As Leanne showed up at the restaurant after the clean-up, Brody dropped Idris in it by confirming the poker night. He told Leanne about the winnings too, making it clear that Idris had used her money.

A furious Leanne told Idris not to bother joining her later before storming out. As Brody laughed, Idris went over to him and attacked him. Pinning him against a wall, he grabbed him before slapping and then grabbing his face.

Idris said: “Think you’re a big man, do you? I don’t care who your dad is. If you ever cross me like that again, you’ll regret it.” He then threw Brody over, telling him to get out.

Fans watching the scenes were worried it was a hint of what is to come for the characters. With Brody tipped to take some time away later this year, as actor Ryan Mulvey works on another project, fans are fearing he could be killed off.

While his exit is only thought to be temporary, fans believe Idris’ true colours have been shown, and Brody could get caught up in dark scenes. A fan said: “I think Idris will kill Brody.”

Another viewer theorised: “I think Brodie’s going to end up asking too many questions or double crossing Idris and that’s how he leaves.” Another fan thought he’d live, but still be facing trouble thanks to Idris.

The comment read: “I can see him going to prison for a while, if the actor is leaving.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

The U.S. Navy’s Ford class aircraft carriers have been very much in the news in the past week, with huge changes to the core design now potentially on the horizon. Whether or not radical changes to the catapults, weapons elevators, and island superstructure on future ships in the class actually materialize remains to be seen. However, the design has already been changing in various other ways. This includes adding back in a feature that had been found on all Nimitz class carriers and other Cold War-era flattops before it – dedicated radar illuminators to guide surface-to-air missiles.

The illuminators are used to guide the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSMs). The need to add this feature is intertwined with a decision to integrate a replacement for the complex and troublesome Dual Band Radar (DBR) on all forthcoming carriers in the class after the USS Gerald R. Ford. The future USS John F. Kennedy is the first of those ships.

The Mk 95 radar illuminators on John F. Kennedy were particularly visible in pictures released last week of the ship leaving port in Newport News, Virginia, to begin acceptance sea trials. The carrier, also known by its hull number CVN 79, made its maiden voyage in January, and the Navy hopes to take formal delivery of the ship before the end of the year.

The Mk 95 traces back to the 1970s and was originally designed to support the employment of surface-launched RIM-7 variants of the Sparrow missile. All versions of the RIM-7 use semi-active radar guidance, which requires the launch platform to ‘illuminate’ the target.

As an example of the mode of operation for the RIM-7, if a ship were to detect an incoming cruise missile or some other kind of aerial threat, it would cue the missile in the right direction, fire it, and then use illuminators like the Mk 95 to ‘paint’ the target in radar energy. The missile’s seeker would then passively home in on the reflected radar energy through the terminal phase of flight.

When it was first introduced, the Mk 95 was part of a larger fire control suite that also brought an important new level of automation compared to previously available capabilities. Some earlier illuminators on Navy ships even had to be manually operated by sailors on deck.

Today, Mk 95s are found on a variety of U.S. and foreign naval vessels, including the Navy’s Nimitz class carriers. Some versions of the illuminators have camera systems to further help spot and track incoming threats, which have also been upgraded over the years. Improvements in associated combat systems also mean they have become better able to manage available illuminators to allow for as many engagements simultaneously as possible.

The RIM-7 family has since been supplanted in U.S. Navy service with the improved RIM-162 ESSM. Block 1 variants of the ESSM also use semi-active radar guidance and have the same general mode of operation as their predecessors. New Block 2 versions, which began entering service in the early 2020s, have semi-active and active modes, the latter of which does not require any illumination in the terminal phase. In addition, the new missiles feature a data link, allowing them to receive targeting updates after launch, helping cue them to the target area, which further reduces the need for an illuminator in the initial phases of flight. It is also very valuable for longer-range engagements beyond the horizon, especially against low-flying cruise missiles.

At present, the defensive armament suite on Ford class aircraft carriers includes two 21-round launchers for RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM), three Mk 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) armed with 20mm Vulcan cannons, four 25mm cannons on Mk 38 mounts, and various small arms. There are also two eight-cell Mk 29 launchers, a design that also dates back to the 1970s and was originally designed to fire RIM-7 Sparrows. The Mk 29 has since been adapted to fire Block 1 ESSMs, but there were issues in integrating Block 2 versions owing to the increased weight of those missiles, at least in the past.

“CVN 79 and follow-on Ford class ships will be upgraded to a mix of new RAM variants Block 2A and 2B, plus a mix of ESSM Block 1 and Block 2,” according to an annual report from the Pentagon’s Office of the Director of Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) covering work on the program during the 2025 Fiscal Year.

The Navy’s most recent annual budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026 does note work to modify the Mk 29 launchers to support Block 2 ESSM capability, but the current state of those efforts is unclear. The service is also pursuing an entirely new launcher to replace the aging and increasingly unsupportable Mk 29, as well as a follow-on to the Block 2 ESSM.

Mk-29 Sea Sparrow Missile Launcher – RIM-162 ESSM & RIM-7P During Sea Trials

Even with integration of the Block 2 ESSM, Ford class carriers will still have to provide ‘illumination’ in order to employ Block 1 versions of the missile, which remain in active Navy inventory. As noted, Block 2 variants can be employed in a semi-active radar homing mode, as well.

This all brings us to the matter of the DBR, which was intended to be the main radar on all members of the Ford class. The DBR consists of two distinct radar systems, the AN/SPY-3, an X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) type, and the AN/SPY-4, an S-band phased array. On paper, this was set to be a powerful combination. In a defensive scenario, the SPY-3 would be used for horizon search, generating high-fidelity target tracks, and otherwise helping direct interceptors like the ESSM to their targets. The volume search SPY-4 would provide additional long-range search and tracking functionality. Being able to fuse all that data for the dual arrays together, while also leveraging the specific capabilities of the quick-scanning AESA SPY-3, would only offer even greater benefits.

As part of the original Ford design, DBR also serves as host of other functions, including helping to provide air traffic control in support of flight operations. This also allowed the Navy to pare down the total number of distinct radars on the ship compared to the Nimitz class. This, in turn, directly factored into the design of a smaller and more angular flight deck island on the Ford class. Just this week, TWZ published a separate detailed piece on the island, and the reasons for its location so far back on the flight deck. This followed reports this past weekend that President Donald Trump is pushing the Navy to reposition the structure on future ships in this class on aesthetic grounds.

Despite the promised benefits, and its deep integration into the Ford class design, the DBR has proved to be extremely complicated and unreliable.

“Here’s the one thing that I think I screwed up. I think I’m responsible for at least a billion-dollar cost of overrun because I wanted to reduce the number of radars,” retired Navy Capt. Tal Manvel, who served for a time as Program Manager for Future Carriers, said during a presentation at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in 2015. “I did not appreciate that the complexity of that is not just increasing scale like with a mechanical system, like in the propulsion plant, but the complexity of the software-hardware interface.

“That’s my fault. I screwed up on that because I thought that this would be significant,” Manvel continued. “It turns out to be a big cost driver up front, and that’s one of the reasons why the Ford has this challenge of cost.”

You can watch Tal Manvel’s full 2015 presentation below.

Shifley Lecture: USS Ford-class carrier design

The Navy has since made the decision to replace the DBR on Ford class carriers primarily with the AN/SPY-6(V)3, also known as the fixed-face version of Raytheon’s Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR). The AN/SPY-6(V)3 has three antenna arrays compared to the DBR’s six. John F. Kennedy and future ships in the class will also feature an AN/SPQ-9B horizon search radar and the Mk 9 Tracker Illuminator System – which includes the Mk 95 illuminators – to provide additional functionality that was originally supposed to come from the DBR.

As an aside, the DBR was originally a core component of the Zumwalt class stealthy destroyer design, and was to be deeply integrated with the ship’s unique combat system, but suffered from similar technical and reliability issues in that setting, as well. The Navy subsequently decided to eliminate the S-band arrays on those ships as a cost-cutting measure. As it stands now, the USS Gerald R. Ford is the only ship the service expects to operate with the full DBR. The Navy has plans to eventually replace the DBR on that carrier with the EASR and other radars, too. Several variants of the AN/SPY-6 are also increasingly being integrated onto a host of different Navy ships, as seen in the graphic below.

The need for the Mk 95 illuminators on the Ford class could evolve further over time, including as the Block 2 ESSM enters more widespread service and with the development of the planned follow-on missile. TWZ has previously noted that the total number of Mk 95s has been reduced on at least some Nimitz class carriers for reasons that are still not entirely clear.

John F. Kennedy is also expected to bring along other important, but less visible improvements, which are set to be carried over to future ships in the class. This includes upgrades to the ship’s combat management system and a Block II version of the Navy’s Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) networked sensor architecture.

The Ford class program, overall, continues to face major delays and cost growth due to a host of technical issues and other factors that go well beyond problems with the DBR. The Navy had originally hoped to receive John F. Kennedy in 2022. Work on the next two ships in the class, the future USS Enterprise and USS Doris Miller, is also running behind schedule.

The Navy has said it is working to mitigate these ongoing issues and incorporate lessons learned in the construction of future ships in the class. The USS Gerald R. Ford has also now supported real combat operations, mostly recently as part of the conflict with Iran.

As highlighted in John F. Kennedy‘s recent sea trials, the Ford class design is already evolving in notable ways, particularly when it comes to the radar suite.

Special thanks to user @lfx160219 on X for bringing the Mk 95 radar illuminators on the future John F. Kennedy to our attention.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

EXCLUSIVE Emmerdale’s Joe Tate actor Ned Porteous told the Mirror that the huge wedding week will impact the whole village, and could signal a new era for the ITV soap

Emmerdale’s Joe Tate actor Ned Porteous has teased the big wedding week could be a “new era” for the ITV soap.

With stunts and tragedy teased, the wedding of Joe and his bride Dawn Taylor [Olivia Bromley] is set to end in disaster. With Dawn planning to flee with her ex Billy Fletcher [Jay Kontzle], Ned told the Mirror that Billy may need to watch.

He said: “I’ve always assumed that with a character like Joe, there’s one thing that he holds closest to his heart. The one thing that you can’t buy, and that’s love and family.

“It’s the things that he holds really dear. As a man who is outwardly volatile and dangerous, and unable to regulate his emotions, if you were to take the final thing tethering him to a life of moral good, what could that man then be capable of?”

Ned warned that as the wedding arrives, Joe may have something up his sleeve. He told us: “Well, we don’t know whether Joe already knows about Dawn and Billy.

“He could be formatting some serious revenge, or he could be completely oblivious, but we do know that Joe is capable of anything. So we’ll see.” It’s safe to say the consequences of the big week will be far-reaching.

Ned said: “It’s going to affect everyone in the village.” Ned also told us what fans can expect from the week of episodes, suggesting a new era for the soap was on the way.

He commented: “It’s a higher quality version of Emmerdale. Emmerdale is already fantastic as a show, it’s the best job I’ve ever had, but the amount of work that has been put into these episodes, and on this block and on this unit.

“The episodes that we’ve all been part of, there is a feeling to it, not just in thematic vibe, but also the quality of the cameras that we’ve been using. It is going to look and sound and feel very different, and hopefully, this could be the start of a whole new era for Emmerdale.”

Ned also addressed Joe’s deadly feud with his uncle Caleb Miligan, which is a huge part of the big week. Asked if things would get dangerous, Ned said: “Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I mean, he’s taken his kidney, we’ll see what else he manages to take!”

Asked who may come out on top, Ned coyly revealed: “I wouldn’t mess with either of them, to be honest. But, we’ll see. Ned loves the rivalry between the Tates though.

He said: “I have only ever enjoyed playing scenes with Will Ash where we’re at each other’s throats. The character that he plays, and this power dynamic between us, has been so much fun as an actor to play. So, I’m welcoming as much of that as possible, I’m really enjoying it.”

Emmerdale’s big wedding week begins on Monday 24 August on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel has withdrawn from a high-profile libertarian summit in Argentina where he was scheduled to appear alongside President Javier Milei, days after protesters dressed as Gandalf demonstrated outside his $12 million Buenos Aires mansion.

Thiel had been scheduled as one of the central speakers at the “Vientos de Cambio,” or “Winds of Change,” summit on Sept. 1 and 2 in Buenos Aires, organized by the Libertad y Progreso Foundation. He was expected to hold a public conversation with Chilean commentator Axel Kaiser, while Milei was scheduled to close the gathering, according to Argentine news outlet elDiarioAR.

The foundation said Thiel canceled because of scheduling and logistical issues and did not connect his decision to the protest.

“Due to scheduling and logistical reasons completely unrelated to the organization of the event, Peter Thiel will ultimately be unable to travel to Buenos Aires,” Libertad y Progreso said in a statement cited by elDiarioAR. The organization said Thiel and his team had tried to reconcile the appearance with previous commitments but that travel difficulties made his participation impossible.

The summit is intended to showcase Argentina’s economic transformation under Milei and will bring together government officials, investors, academics and think tanks from Latin America, the United States and Europe. Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger are among the government officials scheduled to participate, according to La Nación.

Thiel’s withdrawal came after an unusual demonstration Monday outside his home in Barrio Parque, one of Buenos Aires’ most exclusive neighborhoods.

A group of protesters wearing gray robes, pointed hats and white beards dressed as Gandalf, the wizard from J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings, gathered outside the property carrying a banner reading, “You shall not pass,” La Nación reported.

The choice of character was a pointed reference to Thiel’s well-documented fascination with Tolkien. Thiel co-founded data analytics company Palantir Technologies, whose name comes from the “palantíri,” seeing stones in Tolkien’s fictional universe that allow their users to communicate across long distances and view faraway events.

The demonstrators protested Thiel’s growing presence and investments in Argentina, including a recently disclosed $76 million stake in oil producer Vista Energy, according to elDiarioAR.

Thiel Macro LLC reported holding 1,189,792 American depositary shares of Vista at the end of the second quarter, worth approximately $76 million and representing about 1% of the company, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing cited by La Nación. The Vista investment was the fund’s second-largest reported equity position behind Amazon and represented about 18% of its reported stock portfolio.

Vista is one of the major operators in Vaca Muerta, Argentina’s massive shale oil and gas formation, making the investment Thiel’s most significant publicly disclosed financial bet in the country.

His financial expansion has come alongside increasingly visible ties to Milei and senior members of his government.

Thiel met with Milei at the Casa Rosada presidential palace in April, part of a series of meetings between the two over the past two years. El País reported that the April meeting was their fourth since 2024, following encounters at the Casa Rosada in January 2024, at the Milken Institute conference in Los Angeles that May and another meeting in Buenos Aires.

During his latest stay in Argentina, Thiel also met with presidential adviser Santiago Caputo, while Economy Minister Luis Caputo received him at the Economy Ministry in May, La Nación reported.

Thiel temporarily settled in Buenos Aires with his husband and children in early April and purchased a six-bedroom mansion in Barrio Parque for about $12 million, according to La Nación.

His outreach has extended beyond Milei’s political circle. On June 3, Thiel held a more than three-hour meeting at his home with opposition lawmaker and social leader Juan Grabois, one of Milei’s most outspoken political opponents. Grabois later said the meeting was intended to help him understand the political and technological project of Silicon Valley’s emerging elite.

Canada official condemns Israel’s ‘invasion’ of Lebanon, calls for sovereignty as aid pledged to the crisis-hit nation.

Canada’s secretary of state for international development, Randeep Sarai, visited Lebanon to announce new humanitarian aid, condemning what he called Israel’s “unlawful invasion” of Lebanon.

During his visit, Sarai stated that Beirut should govern its own space. He also announced new programmes Canada is launching to support Lebanese families affected by the conflict, raising its total assistance to Lebanon this year to more than $50m.

“Our commitment is long-term, and we’re there for Lebanon,” said Sarai, who visited shelters housing people displaced by the war and Syrian refugees during his visit.

Amid the escalation between Israel and Lebanon in March, Canada warned on March 25 that Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity “must not be violated” and strongly condemned plans by Israeli forces to occupy southern Lebanon.

As part of the US-mediated framework agreement signed in late June, “pilot zones” were designed to return small areas in southern Lebanon from Israeli forces to the Lebanese army.

In late July, the Lebanese Armed Forces accused Israel of obstructing its efforts to take over control of security in southern Lebanon.

The war has killed more than 4,000 people and has caused widespread destruction across Lebanon. The United Nations says that about 360,000 people are displaced as a result of the latest conflict.

Home to a large Lebanese diaspora, Canada has given Lebanon about $575m in assistance in the past 10 years, Sarai said.

Sarai also met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who promised to reinstate state authority across Lebanon and to implement reforms to fight corruption.

Israeli officials said they will not pull out of Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed.