NEW YORK: Big-serving Ben Shelton overpowered US compatriot Frances Tiafoe in four sets on Friday to reach the first Grand Slam final of his career, booking a US Open title showdown with Alexander Zverev.
Eighth-seeded Shelton blasted 20 aces on his way to a thrilling 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Top seed Zverev held off 50th-ranked Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6) to reach his third straight Grand Slam final – a run that delivered his maiden major at the French Open and saw him finish runner-up at Wimbledon.
Shelton – who took down defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals – will now have the chance to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam title since 2003, when Andy Roddick triumphed at the US Open.
“It’s a lot of emotion,” Shelton said in an on-court interview. “My dad, my mom have sacrificed a lot for me to be in this position today. My dad lost his mom earlier this year, and she’s the reason that he was able to play tennis.
“Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So this one is for her. And I’m gonna need you guys on Sunday to bring the energy. I’m going for it. I’m gonna leave it all on the court.”
Zverev is eager for the chance to play spoiler.
“Hopefully I can not make the American dream come true on Sunday,” the German said.
The pulsating all-American semi-final played out in front of a star-studded crowd, with tennis legends including Serena Williams, Stan Smith and Lindsey Davenport on hand along with actors Ben Stiller and Rami Malek and New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
Tiafoe claimed the first set after Shelton uncharacteristically double-faulted to trail at 5-4.
They traded breaks early in the second, but Shelton took advantage of Tiafoe’s increasingly erratic serve to break for a 5-3 lead and level the match.
The momentum was all with Shelton, who broke for a 3-2 lead then seized the set with a break in a marathon ninth game that went to deuce seven times.
The tension was mounting in the fourth set, but Shelton kept his composure as Tiafoe raised his level and gained the crucial break in the final game.
On Sunday he’ll be up against an experienced opponent in Zverev, who after laboring through two five-setters to open the tournament has steadily upped his game.
‘Anything but straightforward’
Zverev doused Khachanov’s hopes of reaching a first Grand Slam final, although the Russian – who fell to Zverev in the Olympic gold medal match in Tokyo in 2021 – put up a spirited challenge in the second and third sets.
“Straight-set win, but anything but straightforward,” Zverev said. “He played incredibly well, fought incredibly well.”
Khachanov denied Zverev on two set points in the second set tiebreaker with a thumping forehand and a brilliant backhand down the line before Zverev closed out the set.
Neither player mustered a break point in a tense third set. But when Khachanov took a 6-4 lead in the tiebreaker he surrendered both set points with forehand errors. Zverev came up with his 15th ace and sealed the win when Khachanov sent a forehand long.
“Second and third set I think it’s more than obvious that they could have gone both ways,” Zverev said. “I just played a few points better here and there.”
A somber note was struck during the national anthem ceremonies of both the day and night sessions on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.
“It’s a difficult day to be out here playing,” Shelton said in his remarks to the crowd. “My thought and payers go out to all the families affected by 9/11.”
The women’s final is on Saturday, when Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina will try to deny Aryna Sabalenka a third straight title just days after ending the Belarusian’s near two-year reign atop the world rankings by reaching the semi-finals.
Saudi Arabia has closed a critical oil pipeline after it was attacked by drones launched from Iraq, as conflict in the Middle East widens.
Iraq said it had fired a military commander and launched an investigation after admitting the drone attack on its neighbour’s East-West pipeline had originated in one of its provinces bordering Iran.
The 1,200km (745 mile) pipeline has helped Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest crude oil exporter – bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The incident comes amid a major advance by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, putting more pressure on global oil shipping routes as the US-Iran war stretches into its seventh month.
Riyadh on Friday said it had shut the pipeline as a precaution, as satellite images of scorched ground and smoke near the site emerged.
The foreign ministry said the attack resulted in some injuries and damage, which was still being assessed.
The pipeline has been moving 4% to 5% of global oil supply, news agency Reuters has reported, citing ship tracking companies and analysts.
Saudi Arabia has chosen not to retaliate at this stage, its foreign ministry says, following a call from Iraq’s prime minister.
It said the kingdom would “support the efforts of the Iraqi government” to “prevent attacks” launched from the country against neighbouring states.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirms that it reserves its right to take all necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and security, protect its facilities, and ensure the safety of its citizens and residents,” the statement added.
The Iraqi prime minister’s office in its own statementsaid the operations commander in the Maysan governorate – a province which borders Iran – had been removed from his post following confirmation the drone attack had been launched from that region.
THE daughter of late actress Dame Diana Rigg has admitted to an unusual tribute of eating her ashes prior to live shows.
Rachael Stirling, 49, followed in her acclaimed mother’s footsteps by becoming an actress.
Diana Rigg’s daughter has revealed an unusual tribute to her late motherCredit: GettyRachael Stirling followed in her mother’s footsteps by also becoming an actressCredit: Steve Meddle
Viewers may have seen Rachael pop up in shows including The Bletchley Circle, Detectorists and an episode of Doctor Who alongside Diana.
In her new book, All About My Mother, Rachael opened up about a surprising pre-show ritual.
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She wrote, as quoted by Daily Mail: “I would love to have a nightly glass of champagne before going on stage, but these days it would equate to a drinking problem.”
Rachael’s alternative on a new play’s opening night, however, is “a grain or two of my mother’s ashes“.
RIYADH: Perched atop Mount Munikh west of Al-Majmaah, the historic Munikh Observatory offers a striking example of how traditional Najdi builders used natural terrain and local materials to defend settlements and monitor the surrounding landscape.
Rising about 25 meters above the mountain, the watchtower commands panoramic views of Al-Majmaah and the surrounding farms. Its elevated position once allowed guards to watch approaches to the settlement through narrow openings built into its thick walls.
Historical sources, including writings by Al-Hamdani, associate the name “Munikh” with an ancient town near the mountain. The observatory’s origins are traditionally dated to the 15th century, with the watchtower at the summit specifically dated to 820 AH, or 1417 CE.
What was once a military outpost overlooking a Najdi settlement has been transformed into a year-round cultural destination.
The site was traditionally known as a marqab, or observation post, and formed part of a broader defensive network surrounding the settlement. A stone wall once encircled Al-Majmaah, following the mountain’s natural ridges and incorporating three defensive bastions.
Much of the ancient outer wall was absorbed by modern urban development, but the section on Mount Munikh remains preserved. Its features include thick, tapering stone foundations and strategically placed firing slits designed for defense and surveillance.
The main structure consists of two cylindrical towers, one nested within the other, rising about 12 meters. Local stone was used for the lower sections, while the upper levels were built of mud brick. Tamarisk wood was used for ceilings and lintels, reflecting the builders’ reliance on materials readily available in the Najd environment.
Five projecting defensive balconies strengthened the structure, with four positioned to protect the flanks and another covering the main entrance. The towers are topped with traditional Najdi crenellations, while specialized openings allowed defenders to monitor and respond to threats.
Rising about 25 meters above the mountain, the watchtower commands panoramic views of Al-Majmaah and the surrounding farms
The observatory originally served as an early-warning post, with night-fire beacons used to signal approaching danger. Following the unification of the Kingdom, its vantage point was also used to monitor trade caravans, seasonal floods and pilgrim routes.
Mount Munikh occupies a strategic position in the historic Sudair region of the Najd plateau, about 180 kilometers northwest of Riyadh. Al-Majmaah was once known as “Baldat Munikh,” reflecting the mountain and its importance to the settlement.
The Heritage Commission has in recent years restored the observatory and sections of its fortified walls, adding visitor paths, stone staircases and lighting to improve access while preserving the site’s historic character.
Much of the ancient outer wall was absorbed by modern urban development, but the section on Mount Munikh remains preserved. (SPA)
A Visitor Center now provides an introduction to the history of Al-Majmaah, Mount Munikh and the watchtower. Bilingual interactive exhibits and guided stations offer visitors a closer look at the region’s architectural and defensive heritage.
What was once a military outpost overlooking a Najdi settlement has thus been transformed into a year-round cultural destination, linking Al-Majmaah’s modern visitors with the landscape and traditions that shaped its past.
Within the increasingly specialized field of peptide and metabolic signaling inquiry, AICAR has emerged as a particularly intriguing molecular subject due to its theorized relationship with cellular energy regulation, mitochondrial communication pathways, and adaptive biochemical signaling environments. Although often associated with metabolic research discussions, AICAR occupies a broader scientific position believed to extend beyond simple energy-oriented investigation. Research literature increasingly suggests that the compound may participate in highly nuanced intracellular processes connected to stress adaptation, nutrient sensing, enzymatic communication, and molecular resilience mechanisms across diverse research models.
AICAR, formally known as 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide, is structurally related to naturally occurring intermediates involved in purine biosynthesis. Because of this relationship, the molecule has attracted considerable attention in biochemical research environments focused on cellular metabolism and signaling coordination. Investigations purport that AICAR may function as an indirect activator of AMP-activated protein kinase, commonly abbreviated as AMPK, a regulatory enzyme frequently theorized to operate as a cellular energy sensor within the system.
AMPK itself has become a major point of interest in contemporary molecular science because of its proposed involvement in maintaining energetic equilibrium under fluctuating environmental conditions. Research indicates that when energetic stress signals accumulate within cellular systems, AMPK-associated pathways might influence a wide range of downstream biochemical activities involving glucose handling, lipid signaling, mitochondrial turnover, and protein synthesis coordination. Due to AICAR’s theorized interaction with this signaling network, the compound has become deeply integrated into experimental metabolic frameworks.
One of the most discussed properties of AICAR involves its potential relationship with mitochondrial biology. Mitochondria, frequently characterized as central energetic regulators within cellular systems, remain heavily studied due to their possible participation in longevity-associated signaling, oxidative balance, and adaptive cellular responses. Scientific literature suggests that AICAR exposure in controlled research settings may correlate with shifts in mitochondrial biogenesis signaling pathways. It has been hypothesized that this relationship might involve transcriptional regulators such as PGC-1α, a coactivator frequently examined in mitochondrial adaptation research.
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Because mitochondrial functionality intersects with numerous branches of biochemical inquiry, AICAR has gradually entered investigative discussions involving endurance-associated metabolic adaptation, cellular resilience environments, and nutrient-sensing systems. Researchers have theorized that the peptide-related compound may provide insight into how cells adapt under resource-limited conditions, particularly in environments characterized by altered energetic availability.
Another area of increasing scientific curiosity involves the potential relationship between AICAR and glucose metabolism pathways. Research indicates that AMPK-associated signaling networks may influence glucose transporter activity and intracellular glucose utilization mechanisms. Within these frameworks, AICAR has been explored as a molecular research tool with the potential of assisting investigators in mapping the biochemical hierarchy involved in carbohydrate-associated signaling environments.
Importantly, these investigations do not merely focus on isolated metabolic reactions. Instead, contemporary scientific inquiry increasingly examines metabolic signaling as part of a larger communication network connecting cellular stress responses, inflammatory mediators, redox balance systems, and transcriptional regulation mechanisms. Within this broader perspective, AICAR may represent more than a singular metabolic modulator. It might instead serve as a biochemical bridge connecting energetic signaling to adaptive cellular communication networks.
Research literature has also explored the possibility that AICAR-associated pathways may intersect with autophagy-related signaling. Autophagy, a tightly regulated intracellular recycling mechanism, remains a prominent topic within longevity-oriented and degenerative-condition research domains. Investigations suggest that AMPK-associated activation environments might influence autophagic coordination through interactions with mTOR-related signaling pathways. Because AICAR appears connected to AMPK-associated activity, scientists have theorized that the molecule may help researchers better understand the balance between anabolic and catabolic cellular states.
The relationship between AICAR and mTOR signaling has generated considerable attention in molecular biology discussions. mTOR, or mechanistic target of rapamycin, is widely recognized as a nutrient-responsive regulatory complex associated with growth-related cellular processes. Research models suggest that energetic stress signaling may suppress certain mTOR-associated activities while promoting cellular conservation mechanisms. Within this context, AICAR has become increasingly valuable as an investigative compound for studying how systems prioritize energetic resources during fluctuating environmental conditions.
Beyond metabolism-centered inquiry, AICAR has also entered conversations surrounding cardiovascular signaling research. Investigations purport that AMPK-associated pathways may participate in vascular regulation, endothelial communication, and oxidative stress adaptation. Some researchers hypothesize that AICAR-related signaling environments could assist in clarifying how cellular systems respond to energetic strain within circulatory tissues. Although many mechanistic questions remain unresolved, the peptide-associated molecule continues to attract interest in biochemical discussions involving cellular oxygen utilization and stress-response coordination.
Neurological research domains have likewise shown growing interest in AMPK-associated signaling pathways. Cellular energy regulation within neurological tissue remains a major focus of contemporary investigation due to the substantial energetic demands associated with neural communication. Scientific discussions increasingly propose that metabolic imbalance, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired energetic adaptation might intersect with neurodegenerative signaling environments. Within these frameworks, AICAR has occasionally been examined as a research compound with the potential of illuminating relationships between energetic sensing pathways and neuronal maintenance mechanisms.
Another compelling dimension of AICAR research involves inflammatory signaling environments. Chronic inflammatory activity has become increasingly recognized as a contributing factor across multiple degenerative conditions and longevity-associated biological shifts. Research indicates that AMPK-associated pathways may interact with inflammatory mediators and oxidative stress regulators. Consequently, AICAR has entered exploratory discussions focused on how energetic signaling networks may influence broader cellular communication systems tied to inflammation-associated processes.
Interest in oxidative stress biology has further expanded AICAR’s research relevance. Oxidative balance remains essential for maintaining stable intracellular environments, particularly under metabolically demanding conditions. Some investigations suggest that AMPK-associated signaling might influence antioxidant regulatory pathways and mitochondrial stress adaptation responses. Within these experimental contexts, AICAR has been hypothesized to serve as a useful molecular tool for studying how cells attempt to preserve equilibrium when exposed to fluctuating energetic or oxidative conditions.
Although many mechanistic uncertainties remain unresolved, AICAR persists as a compelling molecular subject whose properties may contribute to a deeper understanding of how energetic regulation influences cellular coordination across complex biological systems. In modern scientific inquiry, where interconnected signaling pathways increasingly define research priorities, compounds such as AICAR may remain valuable tools for exploring the sophisticated architecture underlying metabolic adaptation and cellular communication throughout the system. Researchers interested in more useful peptide data are encouraged to visit www.corepeptides.com.
References
[i] Hardie, D. G. (2011). AMP-activated protein kinase: An energy sensor that regulates all aspects of cell function. Genes & Development, 25(18), 1895–1908. https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.17420111
[iii] Corton, J. M., Gillespie, J. G., Hawley, S. A., & Hardie, D. G. (1995). 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside. A specific method for activating AMP-activated protein kinase in intact cells? European Journal of Biochemistry, 229(2), 558–565. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1432-1033.1995.tb20498.x
[iv] Narkar, V. A., Downes, M., Yu, R. T., Embler, E., Wang, Y. X., Banayo, E., Mihaylova, M. M., Nelson, M. C., Zou, Y., Juguilon, H., Kang, H., Shaw, R. J., & Evans, R. M. (2008). AMPK and PPARδ agonists are exercise mimetics. Cell, 134(3), 405–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2008.06.051
[v] Jäger, S., Handschin, C., St-Pierre, J., & Spiegelman, B. M. (2007). AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) action in skeletal muscle via direct phosphorylation of PGC-1α. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(29), 12017–12022. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0705070104
South Korea said it boosted its surveillance posture and was closely exchanging information on the launches with the US and Japan.
Published On 12 Sep 202612 Sep 2026
North Korea has fired ballistic missiles towards the sea off its eastern coast, according to South Korea’s military.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that it detected several missiles launched from North Korea’s eastern coastal area of Wonsan about 5:20am on Saturday (20:20 GMT on Friday), which flew about 250 kilometres (155 miles). It added that it is closely exchanging information on the launches with the United States and Japan.
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South Korea’s presidential National Security Office said it held an emergency security meeting with the Defence Ministry, the JCS and other relevant agencies following the launch.
The US Pacific Command said North Korea’s launch event does not pose an immediate threat to US territory or to its allies, adding that Washington remains committed to the defence of South Korea and its other allies in the region.
The missiles were launched a day after South Korea concluded five days of joint maritime drills with the US and Japan that were focused on North Korea.
Hours after the exercises began on Monday, North Korea’s defence minister, Kim Song Gi, criticised the exercise and warned North Korea was capable of taking “strong and reflective countermeasures from the standpoint of power”.
Late last month, North Korea slammed plans for the so-called Freedom Edge exercises in international waters off South Korea as a “threat” to Pyongyang and other countries in the region.
The North also fired a barrage of missiles into the sea on August 20, despite an overture from US President Donald Trump, who said he planned to meet this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
US President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that the war with Iran could end before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, a day after predicting it would conclude immediately afterward.
“I don’t know that they’re gonna be able to hold out. But it’ll get settled after the elections. Or maybe sooner,” Trump reportedly told broadcaster NewsNation over the phone, referring to mounting US economic pressure on Iran.
Trump also denied reports that Iran’s latest retaliatory strikes on a US base in Jordan damaged US aircraft in the region. “Nope… None whatsoever. No damage. No nothing.”
On Wednesday, Trump had said the war would “end immediately” after the midterms.
“I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” he told reporters ahead of a trip to Dallas, Texas.
His comments contrast with a Wall Street Journal report hours later that senior White House advisers have privately warned the conflict could continue through the remainder of his term.
The war, now in its seventh month, has killed 18 US servicemembers and raised concerns over military resources and disruptions to global energy markets.
US gasoline prices averaged $4.22 a gallon Wednesday, up from $4.01 a month earlier and $3.19 a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire for a quick resolution while supporting a broader economic campaign against Tehran.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has described the strategy, dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast,” as an alternative to major combat operations.
GEMMA Collins’ fiancé Rami Hawash has admitted to having a drinking problem.
Gemma, 45, has revealed viewers will see how Rami’s alcohol dependency impacted their relationship in Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once.
Gemma Collins’ fiancé Rami Hawash has opened up about his alcohol dependencyCredit: Instagram/@rami_hawash_Her reality series Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once debuts on September 15Credit: Getty
The upcoming reality series officially debuts on Sky and NOW on September 15.
Speaking at the show’s launch, Rami shared: “I drink, I’ve got a drink problem and I don’t want to hide it.
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“I wanted people to know it is a problem. I’ve got a problem and life is not that great.
“I don’t know why, but I find the drink, it was like, kind of my friend. You know, I have a few drinks and I’m forgetting everything.”
The couple originally met in 2011 and got engaged in 2013, but this was later broken offCredit: InstagramThe couple are thought to have gotten back together in 2023Credit: Getty
Meanwhile, Gemma said of her experience in the documentary: “You can see I’m unwell.
“You can see I’m not in my best, and life just got progressively worse as I let the cameras in. It was hell.
“But you know, one thing my mum taught me wasresilience, I’m resilient to get through all this really.
“It can get better. So let’s hope everything starts to get better now because I can’t take any more. I need a break.”
Participate in a range of activities and games, including rope and ninja courses, soft play, interactive rooms, water play, free-fall experiences, slides, and karting. For booking details, visit webook.com .
Saudi Arabia on Friday announced it had to temporarily shut down the key east-west pipeline after drone attacks on Thursday from an Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq. As we have explained in the past, the Kingdom has diverted millions of barrels of oil per day through pipelines to its Yanbu port on the Red Sea in an effort to minimize the energy shortages due to hostilities near the Persian Gulf that have closed the Strait of Hormuz.
The pipeline was shut down a day after the Houthi rebels of Yemen increased their control over the crucial Bab al-Mandab Strait (BAM), a narrow body of water separating the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden. Combined with Iran vastly curtailing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, this gives Tehran significant control over two of the world’s most crucial passageways for the flow of oil.
3. The Houthis have reportedly attempted to seize ROYG-controlled islands in the Red Sea from which Houthi fighters could launch attacks on international shipping. Houthi forces reportedly landed on the Hanish Islands in the southern Red Sea on the morning of September 10 after… pic.twitter.com/tiFPgNDOHZ
“The East-West pipeline, in the regions of Riyadh and Medina, was subjected to several attacks on Thursday morning, September 10, 2026,” Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry posted on X. “The line was shut down as a precaution. The attacks resulted in some injuries, and medical care has been provided to those injured.”
“Emergency teams and specialized technical teams began work immediately after the attacks occurred, and took the necessary measures to secure the line and verify its safety, in accordance with approved safety procedures and emergency plans, and in coordination with relevant authorities,” the ministry added. “Any updates will be announced in due course.”
A before and after of the East-West Pipeline pumping station showed that it wasn’t just “hit”, it was absolutely MANGLED.
The past 24 hours have been nothing short of catastrophic for the global energy markets, but the harsh reality?
Showing the complexity of this situation and the high degree of coordination among various Iranian-backed proxies, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Iranian proxies in Iraq of carrying out the attack. The Kingdom subsequently said it would hold off on responding to “give the brotherly Iraqi government an opportunity to take the necessary measures to prevent attacks launched from Iraqi territory against the Kingdom and neighboring countries,” according to the Arab News.
Officials in Baghdad quickly responded to that request, firing a regional commander overseeing operations where the attack was launched from.
“The Prime Minister, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Ali Falih Al-Zaidi, directed the formation of an investigative committee regarding the Maysan Operations Command,” the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office announced on X. “His Excellency ordered the dismissal of the Operations Commander from his position, following confirmation that the attacks targeting the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were launched from one of the sites within the province.”
وجّه رئيس مجلس الوزراء، القائد العام للقوات المسلحة، السيد علي فالح الزيدي بتشكيل مجلس تحقيقي بحق قيادة عمليات ميسان.
وأمر سيادته بإعفاء قائد العمليات من منصبه، على خلفية ثبوت انطلاق الاعتداءات التي طالت الأشقاء في المملكة العربية السعودية من أحد المواقع داخل المحافظة.…
On Friday, the Houthis acknowledged that they captured new stretches of Red Sea coast from the Saudi-backed factions they’ve been battling. This includes the port of Mokha and the key islands of Perim (also known as Mayun) and Zuqar.
The Bab al-Mandab Strait and the islands of Perim (Mayun) and Zuqar. (Google Earth)
In a quick recap of what’s changed, the port provides a potential new surveillance and launching point for the Houthis. From here they can deploy mines, standoff weapons, as well as uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) that can be used to attack shipping. The islands give the Houthis a presence in the middle of shipping lanes. This is especially true for Perim, which sits in the narrowest part of the BAM, less than two miles west of Yemen and about 13 miles east of Djibouti, giving the Houthis a commanding presence at the mouth of the Red Sea. Its position could even allow Houthis to launch attacks on shipping using lower-end munitions, such as anti-tank guided missiles and even rocket artillery.
However, maintaining a major military presence on these islands would be a challenge logistically, especially should the U.S. or its allies attack positions there. You can read more about how the fall of the islands unfolded in our report here.
As they swept through the coastal region, the Houthis captured a treasure trove of U.S.-made Oshkosh M-ATV mine-resistant vehicles, pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons, artillery pieces, and large quantities of ammunition and small arms abandoned by retreating National Resistance and Giants Brigade forces.
Videos show the scale of equipment the Houthis captured during the western coast offensive.
The “booty” footage from Mokha and surrounding positions includes U.S.-made Oshkosh M-ATV mine-resistant vehicles, pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons (technicals), armored… pic.twitter.com/n3VPyoSmHk
Houthis Display Vehicles and Weapons Seized in Mocha
Yemen’s Houthis have displayed vehicles, weapons and military supplies they say they captured in the Red Sea port city of Mocha after Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies withdrew from the city.… pic.twitter.com/JmTMNY6wIS
Iran, which has held off on getting the Houthis directly involved during Epic Fury, has now played its hand and is putting the Houthis in a better position to close the strait than ever before. This was always a ‘sum of all fears’ scenario for oil exports from the Middle East and now Iran could put maximum pressure on the United States and the world to end the conflict in their favor, with oil potentially being cut off from both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
Houthis are likely preparing to close the strait with a much better position than they had before. Having both straits closed has long been a ‘sum of all fears’ middle east energy crisis. Been writing about this exact scenario for over a decade. U.S. stretched thin, especially in…
Still, on Friday, the Houthis tried to allay those concerns, promising they would limit their control of the BAM to just Saudi vessels.
“The Yemeni armed forces confirm that maritime navigation is safe for all companies, except for Saudi Arabian ships, which have previously been placed under a ban,” Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree proclaimed. “We are continuing to uphold the equation of blockade with blockade, striking enemy Saudi Arabian troop concentrations, and escalating in response to their actions, until the aggression ceases and the blockade is lifted from our dear people.”
Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree. (Houthi Telegram)
Their rationale is that this campaign is all about defending against attacks by the Saudis and their proxies.
The conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis grew out of a civil war in Yemen that erupted in 2014. It expanded a year later when a Saudi-led coalition joined forces with the government ousted by the Houthis and raged on until the parties reached a tenuous ceasefire in 2022. Tensions, however, reignited after that conflict ended when the Houthis joined the U.S.-Iran conflict on the side of their major supporter. In addition to a blockade on Saudi shipping, the Houthis began striking Saudi refineries and other oil infrastructure, including pipelines near the coast.
Houthi assurances about their intentions have meant little in the past. In 2023, when they launched their earlier campaign against Red Sea shipping, the Houthis also claimed a narrow rationale. They said they were doing so on behalf of Palestinians being killed during the Israel-Hamas war. The reality turned out to be that the Houthis were striking even ships not connected to Israel. This ultimately led to the U.S. and allies deploying warships to protect commercial vessels, battles with the rebel group on the water and a campaign of airstrikes on Houthi land targets.
It should be noted that the Saudis held off on getting involved that fight.
The Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Carney fires a surface-to-air missile at Houthi threats on October 19, 2023. U.S. Navy
Amid all this, the per-barrel price of Brent crude rose to more than $109 yesterday, but was back down to $104 today, according to OilPrice.com.
We have long suggested that the U.S. could get pulled back into a new conflict with the Houthis. Now the rebel group’s rapid defeat of the Saudi-backed forces has reportedly already led to an American role in that fight.
“More than 100 US military advisers are on the ground in Saudi Arabia providing intelligence and targeting support to the Kingdom in its military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen,” CNN reported on Thursday, citing multiple sources familiar with the effort. “The US military personnel are working as part of a newly-established joint forces command, which was formed in recent weeks amid signs Iran was ramping up its own efforts to aid Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, one of the sources, a US official, said. That official put the total at roughly 200 troops.”
Still, there are limits on the U.S. role.
“The US is sharing intelligence with Saudi Arabia — as it routinely does already — but it is not participating directly in strikes,” CNN noted. “The US is also not helping refuel Saudi warplanes or providing other operational support, as it has in past fighting with the Houthis.”
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper “flew to the kingdom overnight Thursday as Yemen’s Riyadh-backed forces crumbled in the face of a lightning Houthi offensive southward along Yemen’s western coast this week,” Al-Monitor reported. “He was expected to meet with top Saudi officials as they seek to consolidate the battered military effort by forces aligned with Yemen’s government.”
Trump, as we noted at the top of this story, has already declined to intervene kinetically.
“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) called President Trump twice Thursday, urging him to launch strikes against the Houthis as the Iran-backed group closed in on a vital Red Sea chokepoint,” Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials. “Trump declined, and U.S. officials stressed the administration has no plans to intervene directly against the Houthis for now.”
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meets with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Win McNamee
Asked if the U.S. would take direct military action against the Houthis, a senior White House official didn’t rule it out but said it is currently relying on regional partners to carry the burden.
“The United States is focused on protecting our core national security interests—such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea—while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges,” the senior official told us. “We are in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen Government regarding regional stability.”
The war against Iran and the ongoing mission to try to protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz have already strained the U.S. military. There have been 18 troops killed, more than 800 wounded and wide scale destruction of U.S. bases and equipment. U.S. commanders have warned that the ongoing conflict is unsustainable without deeply degrading America’s ability to respond to other contingencies. How much the U.S. could commit to a fight against the Houthis is an open question, especially if the Iran war spun-up again. During the Red Sea operation, at times two carrier strike groups and many other assets in the air and on the sea, were needed to sustain that operation.
“A second front potentially adds more U.S. military risk as we try to sustain a military that has been involved in a protracted deployment to support our economic pressure-focused strategy,” former CENTCOM commander Joseph Votel told us on Friday. “The U.S. can do just about anything, but it will be a choice that will impact sustainment, create longer-term deployments and impact other national security priorities.”
Former Little Mix star is reportedly in talks to appear on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! and bosses are “thrilled” that the singer could be about to appear in the jungle
22:14, 11 Sep 2026Updated 22:14, 11 Sep 2026
Jesy Nelson is said to be “in talks” to appear on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
Prior to that, Jesy gave birth prematurely to their twin daughters Ocean and Story in March 2025, and both of them were born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) type 1, and neither of them are likely to ever walk.
Jesy then successfully lobbied the government and joined with the Mirror to campaign to have all newborns tested for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) when her twin girls were diagnosed too late after irreversible nerve damage.
Now, though, it’s thought that Jesy is up for a new challenge and could be about to head Down Under to take part in the upcoming series of Ant and Dec’s reality survival show.
A source said: “Jesy has been negotiating with ITV for weeks and now the talks are at a very promising stage. For Jesy, doing I’m A Celebrity would be a huge boost for her professionally as well as personally.
Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “Continuing to raise awareness around SMA for her girls is something Jesy is very keen to do, and she knows she can use a platform like I’m A Celebrity to reach millions.”
Jesy is said to be a “big fan” of the show to begin with and wants to show the “public a different side to her” if she makes it onto the show.
The source said: “She has been open about how she has struggled with anxiety in the past — and there’s no better way to challenge herself than going on a show like I’m A Celebrity. She’s had a really hard time in the last couple of years but she’s ready to grab life by the horns and get on with things.”
The insider then added that a “complete change of scene and a fresh start” is what Jesy needs right now. Even though it would be “hard” for her to be away from her children for up to three weeks, it’s said that she just wants to do them proud.
According to the outlet, bosses are hopeful that Jesy will be signing her contract in a matter of weeks and are “thrilled” that they have got this far. It’s reported that producers would be keen for her to speak about her time in Little Mix and her decision to suddenly quit in 2020 when she is in the jungle.
The hit reality show, which began in 2002, usually airs for three weeks in November and sees Ant and Dec broadcast live from the Gold Coast in Australia. A spokesperson said: “Any names suggested for I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here! are just speculation.”
Her friends and fans flocked to the comments, with Saffiya Vorajee writing: “so so happy for you.” While another wrote: “so happy for you!! you deserve all the happiness in the world xx” A third commented: “Wow u look incredible and what a stunning couple.”
RIYADH: Gulf and Muslim organizations on Saturday condemned a drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, expressing solidarity with the Kingdom and warning that the strikes represented a dangerous escalation threatening regional security and vital infrastructure.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Muslim World League (MWL), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Qatar and Bahrain issued statements early Saturday after several drones originating from Iraqi territory targeted the pipeline in the Riyadh and Madinah regions, causing injuries and material damage.
GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi condemned the attack “in the strongest terms,” describing it as “a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable threat” to Saudi Arabia’s security, territorial integrity and vital installations. He said the attack was also a “flagrant violation” of international law.
Albudaiwi reiterated the GCC’s categorical rejection of actions targeting Saudi Arabia’s security, stability and national assets. He called on the Iraqi government to intensify its efforts and take “necessary, decisive measures” to prevent its territory from being used as a launchpad for attacks, stop such operations and deter their recurrence.
He reaffirmed the GCC’s “complete and steadfast solidarity” with Saudi Arabia and its support for measures the Kingdom takes to protect its security, sovereignty, facilities, citizens and residents.
Qatar likewise condemned the attack “in the strongest terms,” saying the targeting of civilian and economic facilities was a “flagrant violation of international law” and a dangerous escalation that could undermine regional security and stability.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry commended what it described as Saudi Arabia’s responsible approach in supporting the Iraqi government’s efforts to prevent its territory from being used to launch attacks against Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries. It expressed full solidarity with the Kingdom and support for measures to protect its sovereignty, security and facilities.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry also strongly condemned the attack, describing it as a flagrant violation of international law, the UN Charter and the principles of good neighborliness. It said the targeting of vital civilian facilities threatened the security of energy supplies.
Bahrain affirmed its full solidarity with Saudi Arabia, stressing that the Kingdom’s security and stability were “an integral part” of Bahrain’s own security and stability. It also recognized Saudi Arabia’s right to take all necessary measures under international law to protect its sovereignty, security, facilities, citizens and residents, and expressed wishes for a speedy recovery for those injured.
The Bahraini ministry called for preventing the territory of any country from being used as a launching pad for attacks against neighboring states. It voiced support for Iraq’s efforts to prevent a recurrence and urged the international community to assume its responsibilities in confronting attacks aimed at harming energy security and destabilizing regional security and stability.
The map illustrates alternative long-term routes for exporting Gulf crude oil, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting existing, planned, and under-discussion pipelines across the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, and Syria.
The Muslim World League also strongly condemned the strikes. Its secretary-general, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, described the attacks as “treacherous criminal attacks” that violate religious values, laws, international norms and humanitarian principles.
Al-Issa said the league, its bodies and global councils, as well as Muslims under its umbrella, stood in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia in measures taken to deter the attackers, preserve its security and sovereignty, and protect citizens and residents.
The OIC also strongly condemned the attack, Al-Ekhbariyah said in a post on X.
Temporary shutdown
The Saudi Energy Ministry said Friday that the pipeline had been temporarily shut down as a precaution after multiple attacks Thursday morning. Several people were injured and received medical treatment, while emergency and specialized technical teams were deployed to secure the pipeline and assess its condition.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the drones were launched from Iraq and that Riyadh had decided not to retaliate at this stage following a request from Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi.
Saudi Arabia said it would give the Iraqi government an opportunity to take the necessary measures to prevent attacks launched from Iraqi territory against the Kingdom and neighboring countries, while reserving the right to take all measures necessary to protect its sovereignty, security, facilities, citizens and residents.
Iraq condemned attacks threatening Saudi security and stability and ordered an urgent investigation into the militia responsible and parties supporting it. Baghdad said its territory and airspace would not be allowed to serve as a launchpad for attacks against any country.
The pipeline shutdown comes as the East-West route has assumed greater importance amid the wider regional conflict and threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The roughly 1,200-kilometer pipeline carries Saudi crude from fields in the Kingdom’s east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, providing an alternative route that bypasses Hormuz.
The attack also followed a series of strikes by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen against Saudi civilian and energy infrastructure. Earlier in the week, attacks targeted Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, causing fires at oil facilities and temporarily disrupting some operations, according to the Saudi Energy Ministry. Those attacks wounded 73 civilians, including women and children.
The latest pipeline attack has heightened concerns over the security of Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure at a time when regional hostilities are threatening multiple routes for Gulf oil exports.
25 years later, it’s still somber waking up on 9/11. Thinking about all those we lost on that terrible day and in the years of war that followed.
Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.
If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you.
If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like.
Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.
So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on.
Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.
Stars and directors visit the L.A. Times Studio at RBC House during opening weekend at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Check back regularly for new additions.
NEW YORK: An Iranian American jeweler from New York has been released from prison in Iran, but he is prohibited from leaving the country, according to his family and federal officials.
Kamran Hekmati was let out of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on Sept. 5 after completing about half of a two-year sentence, his family recently wrote on a website advocating for his release.
The family said they are also “desperately afraid for his health and well-being” as he requires regular medical checkups to ensure his bladder cancer doesn’t relapse.
“The Iranian regime couldn’t care less,” the family wrote of Hekmati’s medical challenges. “Much like other wrongful detention cases in Iran, Kamran appears to be caught up in Iran’s traditional approach of detaining Americans to obtain political concessions from the US.”
Representatives for the family and the federal government didn’t say where Hekmati, who turned 62 in August, is currently staying in Iran.
But Shohreh Nowfar, Hekmati’s cousin in California, said Friday that the family is “excited” and hopeful that his passport can be returned soon so he can leave the country, which has been at war with the US and Israel for more than six months now.
“We continue to hope this is a signal from the Iranian side as to their willingness to send Kamran home,” added Kieran Ramsey, chief investigative officer at Global Reach, a US nonprofit working on Hekmati’s case.
The Iranian American, who is also Jewish, owns a jewelry business in Manhattan’s Diamond District and has lived with his family for years in Great Neck Estates, on suburban Long Island.
He was arrested by Iranian authorities last July after having his passport seized while trying to fly out of the airport in Tehran that May.
Hekmati’s family says he was charged under an Iranian law that bans Iranian citizens from visiting Israel within the last 10 years. But they maintain his last trip to Israel was 13 years ago — prior to the passage of the law — for his son’s bar mitzvah.
“Mr. Hekmati did nothing wrong,” said US Rep. Thomas Suozzi, a Long Island Democrat who advocated for the State Department to officially designate Hekmati as wrongfully detained earlier this year. “We cannot rest until he is reunited with his family.”
The State Department similarly called on Iran to lift its so-called exit ban so Hekmati can return to the US It also said the country should “immediately release” Iranian American journalist Reza Valizadeh and other Americans “unjustly detained in Iran.”
Valizadeh and Hekmati are the two Americans so far officially designated as wrongfully detained in Iran, while up to eight others who have not been publicly named are prohibited from leaving the country, according to Ramsey.
Valizadeh’s lawyer, Ryan Fayhee, declined to comment Friday, citing the risks his client could face behind bars.
But in recent months, the journalist has sent voice messages describing conditions inside Evin prison, a high-security facility that holds many of the Islamic Republic’s political prisoners.
In an August recording, Valizadeh, who has been imprisoned since 2024, said prison officials have not allowed his family to visit for the past five months. He also said medical care is “almost non-existent,” save for the most basic medications.
“Diseases that were eradicated decades ago have returned inside the prison, including pulmonary and gastrointestinal tuberculosis,” he said in the voice message, which was shared by CBS.
Valizadeh also said that prior to his release, Hekmati had been granted a medical furlough for cancer treatment but was ordered back to prison after about a month, rather than being allowed to begin chemotherapy.
Valizadeh is among at least nine reporters currently jailed in Iran, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
He was arrested after returning to Iran to visit his elderly parents and charged with collaborating with the US government.
Valizadeh obtained US citizenship in 2022 while working in Washington, D.C., for Radio Farda, the Persian-language arm of Radio Free Europe, which receives US government funding.
On Tuesday morning, 12-year-old Sundus al-Hamamdeh left her home in the Masafer Yatta village of Khirbet al-Fakhit, and went to school.
It was the third day of the new school year in the occupied West Bank.
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But when the sixth-grade student at al-Fakhit Secondary School returned from her classes, the house she had left behind was gone.
Israeli forces had carried out a large-scale demolition operation in Khirbet al-Fakhit, destroying homes, livestock shelters, water infrastructure, and solar-power installations.
For al-Hamamdeh, her house was more than four walls and a roof. It was her safe space, the place she came back to every day.
For children in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the spectre of demolition is always present.
Much of Masafer Yatta lies in Area C of the West Bank, where Israel has control over planning and construction. Israeli authorities justifies the demolition orders by saying that the structures were built without permits; Palestinians, backed by the United Nations, note that such permits are nearly impossible for them to obtain.
And it’s not just their homes that are under threat, but their schools.
On August 4, Israeli forces surrounded Shaab al-Butum school, according to Bassam Jabr, the director-general of education in Masafer Yatta.
An Israeli military bulldozer then demolished two rooms used by teachers and administrators, and a storage room.
The UN independently documented the demolition of the rooms, saying Israeli authorities had cited the lack of an Israeli-issued building permit.
Things could still get worse; the main school building remains under a demolition order.
Focus of attacks
Established in 2015, the school serves about 60 students from kindergarten through 11th grade. Its remote location makes transferring students to other schools particularly difficult, Jabr said.
Education officials have appealed to Israeli courts, and called on the United Nations and foreign governments to intervene.
But the schools remain under threat. Even as the Israeli military and settlers’ pogroms against Palestinians continue across the West Bank, Masafer Yatta is especially targeted.
The remote communities there have little ability to defend themselves and conditions are harsh. In addition, the Israeli military has designated large parts of the area a military firing zone, another justification for forcing out the Palestinian population.
Masafer Yatta’s schools are a central part of the effort to keep Palestinians here – ensuring that families do not have to travel far for their children to be educated. Palestinians argue that is why the schools have been particularly targeted.
Intisar Omar Abu Sabha, an administrative director at the Masafer Yatta Directorate of Education, says schools in the communities of Zif, ar-Rifaiyah, Umm Qussa, Umm al-Kheir, Jinba, Shaab al-Butum, Khirbet al-Daba, and al-Majaz are among those facing demolition orders.
In addition to the threats to their schools, students and teachers also have to navigate road closures, checkpoints, and the presence of settlers to reach their classrooms.
Abu Sabha said schools have also faced damage and settler incursions or harassment in and around their grounds. She describes a cycle in which children risk losing both their homes and their schools.
“Imagine a student who is at school, then returns home and finds their home demolished … and comes back the next day to find their school demolished,” she said.
Yasmeen Sallaq, a Palestinian lawyer, says the threat to the Masafer Yatta schools directly undermines children’s right to education.
But Sallaq says that Israeli restrictions on movement, military raids, arrests, displacement, and attacks affecting students and education workers make that right increasingly difficult to exercise.
“We face the demolition of schools every day, making the continuation of the educational process almost impossible,” Sallaq said.
It first received a demolition notice in 2016. Years of legal proceedings followed, but an appeal against demolition was dismissed this year, with efforts continuing to obtain an interim injunction.
The uncertainty has already taken a toll. Some girls are experiencing fear and anxiety, while others have transferred to different schools, al-Salameen said.
“The school is not just a place for education,” she said. “This school is the students’ only outlet.”
She fears the school’s demolition could push some girls out of education altogether if alternative schools are too far away or require them to travel along unsafe roads.
At Zif, 10th-grade student Rabiha Yousef Jibril described the school’s importance.
“I am growing up in this school, and my dreams are growing with me day by day,” Jibril said, adding that while students fear its demolition, they insist they will continue to attend.
“Even if they demolish the school, we will continue to study, even under the trees,” she said. “Even if they confiscate the books, we will keep them in our hearts, as well as our minds.”
What do you do when a creative team mounts an acclaimed production of a beloved play, breaking box office records as one of the most successful shows in your theater’s more than 100-year history? For the Pasadena Playhouse, the answer was clear. You get them back on the boards as soon as possible — say, six months later.
Which is how it came to pass that more than a dozen creatives behind Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus,” including director Darko Tresnjak and actor Jefferson Mays, have returned to the historic theater for a new production of Swiss dramatist Fredrich Dürrenmatt’s revenge tragicomedy “The Visit,” running through Oct. 4.
“It feels like we just cleaned out our dressing rooms and we’re moving back in,” notes Mays.
The cast and crew of the adaptation of Friedrich Durrenmatt’s “The Visit,” at the Pasadena Playhouse. Many have returned to the venue after helping stage the hit production of “Amadeus” there in April.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
“Amadeus,” which ended its run in April, was a critical and box office hit, so popular that after tickets were gone, additional shows were added — which also quickly sold out. Danny Feldman, producing artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse, puts it simply: “Theater is a team sport, and when you’ve got a winning team, you want to keep playing together.”
It was during tech for “Amadeus” that Tresnjak told Feldman of his love for “The Visit,” which he first directed in college. “I quite literally found my calling in life because of it,” says Tresnjak.
Feldman was also a fan — of both the play and working with Tresnjak — and quickly scheduled the show for the new season.
“Our job is to give artists a home where they can stretch and take risks,” says Feldman. “Audiences got to experience this artistic synchronicity during ‘Amadeus,’ and we’re so excited they get to deepen their relationship with these artists as they watch ‘The Visit.’ ”
The respect is mutual. Mays, who has won almost every major theater award in existence including a Tony and an Obie, says the Playhouse is one of the best he’s ever worked at. “It’s certainly the most healthy,” he notes. “They are unabashed theater fans and lovely people.”
Only days earlier, Mays had given what could be perceived as a backhanded compliment. “I said, ‘You don’t run a theater at all, you run a high school drama club,’ ” Mays recalls. “I meant that in the way it’s infused with joy and a sense of play and support and that we can do anything with impunity and embarrass ourselves and they will be there to pick us up and dust us off. It’s just a gorgeous feeling.”
While Mays brought Tresnjak to “Amadeus,” this time the director asked the actor to join “The Visit.” Mays admits he wasn’t very familiar with the text. Tresnjak’s production, which utilizes the 1956 adaptation by Maurice Valency, centers on the small town of Güllen, which is facing financial ruin.
Actors Jefferson Mays and Melinda Page Hamilton star in an adaptation of Friedrich Durrenmatt’s “The Visit,”at Pasadena Playhouse.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
The townspeople are preparing to welcome back former resident and potential patron Claire Zachanassian (Melinda Page Hamilton), who has become the richest woman in the world since leaving. It turns out, Claire is more than happy to help. But there is one condition: Someone must kill her former lover Anton Shill (Mays), who impregnated and abandoned Claire in their youth.
Audiences expecting an easy villain and a clear case of right and wrong will be surprised as the narrative unfolds with an examination of community, complicity and corruption within institutions of power.
Tresnjak says “The Visit” can’t be described as one thing. “I don’t want to call it a feminist revenge fantasy because that belittles it,” he says. “It’s also an inversion of a medieval mystery play where the Earth Mother is not benevolent. It’s also a fun, nifty stage thriller.”
And as relevant as the day it was written, Tresnjak adds. Dürrenmatt penned “The Visit” as a critique of Switzerland’s neutrality after World War II, which he saw as an abandonment of ethics driven by capitalism.
Tresnjak says he recently directed a scene where one townsperson urges the others to hold out against Claire’s proposition of murder, on the same day news broke that the U.S. Department of Education had pressured the American Bar Assn. to end Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. “It made me think how in some ways, the citizens of Güllen are better off than we are,” Tresnjak says
“It really is more timely than ever,” agrees Mays, who wonders if that might keep audiences away. In 2007, he starred in the World War I drama “Journey’s End,” which went on to win a Tony Award for best revival. “It was a beautiful play, but nobody came,” he says. “We were at war with Afghanistan and Iraq, and people had enough of war. Sometimes you hold the mirror up to the world, and it reflects it too well.”
Mays jokes he said yes because “it was only fair after I hornswoggled Darko into ‘Amadeus.’ ” The actor is known not just for his versatility but for displaying it in rapid succession. He won the 2004 Tony Award for playing more than 40 characters in “I Am My Own Wife,” and his 2022 adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” saw him take on more than 50 characters.
Mays admits the role of Anton is “a strangely passive and reactive role that I’m still not sure I’m entirely right for,” even going so far as to say, “I can name 10 actor friends who would be better.” But he was bowled over by the director’s passion. “It’s so thrilling when someone approaches you with something they are burning about, and I couldn’t say no.”
Indeed, Anton has a lot to react to; Hamilton’s Claire is the proactive role, forcing the action at every turn. Hamilton is known to TV audiences for her roles on “Mad Men” and “Desperate Housewives,” but she previously worked with Tresjnak on “Bell, Book and Candle” and “Rear Window” and is a big admirer of his work.
Melinda Page Hamilton plays Claire in an adaptation of Friedrich Durrenmatt’s “The Visit.” She is one of a handful of cast and crew that didn’t appear in “Amadeus” this spring.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
“I also tried to see ‘Amadeus,’ but I couldn’t get tickets,” she says with a laugh. She was thrilled to get a call from Tresnjak, who felt it was important to cast L.A. actors and enjoys working with previous collaborators — to the point where he didn’t hold auditions.
“I think traditionally Claire has been portrayed as crazy and evil, and that didn’t interest Darko,” Hamilton says. “I also think post-Epstein, post-#MeToo, post sheer volume of terrible behavior that men get away with, it has a different resonance today.”
Tresnjak says the role of Claire has long been special to him. “This is a woman who owns everything she is, who never tells a single lie or tries to obscure what she wants,” he says. “She is simply making society look at itself.”
Tresnjak’s upbringing was largely influenced by his mother, Maria, an immigrant from Yugoslavia (now Serbia) who served as a military skydiver in World War II. “My mother was a very strong woman, a woman who fought for what she believed in,” he says. “I have no interest in doing something like ‘Streetcar,’ where a woman is being driven out of her mind. I enjoy characters with agency.”
Director Darko Tresnjak has long wanted to stage a production of Friedrich Durrenmatt’s “The Visit,” a play dear to his heart for many years.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
And he’s thrilled to have found a home that supports his vision, praising Feldman and associate artistic director Jenny Slattery, who was his student when he taught at UC San Diego. “They’re not afraid of big swings and of taking chances, and not only do people seem to appreciate that, they’re coming to see it,” he says.
With two productions in a year, is it too early to hope that this team has found a recurring home at the Pasadena Playhouse? Tresnjak demures, “I wouldn’t want to put that pressure on Danny and Jenny,” but admits he would be thrilled to return. “Of course, I’m very happy here.”
Mays is equally game. “It’s such a rare and wonderful thing in this country to have a sense of company,” he says. “To have so many actors and designers back from ‘Amadeus’ and to return to a place of such support; it feels like something that rarely exists anymore.”
The Visit
Where: Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; 7:30 pm Sept. 22; and 7 p.m. Oct 4. Ends Oct. 4.
A powerful movement is happening in farming today—farmers are reconnecting with their roots to fight climate change.
For one woman, that’s meant learning her tribe’s history to help bring back the buffalo. For another, it’s meant preserving forest purchased by her great-great-uncle, among the first wave of African Americans to buy land.
Others are rejecting monoculture to grow corn, beans, and squash the way farmers in Mexico have done for centuries. Still others are rotating crops for the native cuisines of those who fled the “American wars” in Southeast Asia.
In “Healing Grounds,” Liz Carlisle tells the stories of Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian American farmers who are reviving their ancestors’ methods of growing food.
Lockheed Martin and a team made up of Boeing and Anduril are now facing off head-to-head to supply a new middle-tier surface-to-air missile to the U.S. Army. The service wants a second interceptor for its new Enduring Shield system, which can already fire AIM-9X Sidewinders, to expand its capabilities, especially against incoming cruise missiles.
Boeing and Anduril announced their offering had been selected to move ahead to the next phase of the competition to develop what is formally called the Integrated Fires Protection Capability Increment 2 (IFPC Inc 2) Second Interceptor on Wednesday. The Army subsequently confirmed to Breaking Defense that Lockheed Martin advanced to phase 2 of this program. Rafael Systems Global Sustainment, a U.S. subsidiary of Israeli defense contractor Rafael, had also been in the running, but was not down-selected.
The Army’s search for a second interceptor for Enduring Shield traces back to at least 2023. The system, developed by Leidos’ subsidiary Dynetics, is entering operational service now paired with the AIM-9X. It is designed to provide short-to-medium range defense against a variety of aerial threats, including drones. The Army has not had any kind of mid-range air defense capability since it retired its Hawk surface-to-air missile systems in the 1990s.
A US Army Enduring Shield launcher seen deployed in South Korea. USAF Pfc. Sang Woo Choi
A model of the missile Boeing and Anduril have put forward was only shown publicly for the first time earlier this year. Boeing says it is a clean-sheet design and it uses a solid-fuel rocket motor provided by Anduril.
A model of the Boeing/Anduril interceptor seen on display at the 2026 Space & Missile Defense Symposium in August of this year. Jamie Hunter
In its announcement about the Army’s down-selection, Boeing shared a previously unreleased rendering of the design, which notably had two sets of fins toward the tail end of the body. The model that has been shown so far only has one set of fins at the very rear of the body. Whether the rendering reflects a newer or older version of the design is unclear. What is seen in the rendering may also be an additional booster rocket motor not seen on the model, which could be necessary for ground-launched applications.
The rendering that Boeing released this week as part of the announcement of its selection to proceed in the IFPC Inc Second Interceptor competition. Boeing
Boeing has also said that the new interceptor is being developed with an emphasis on lower cost and producibility. Modularity and open-architecture systems to enable “faster, lower-cost upgrades by allowing seeker, avionics or software blocks to be swapped without redesigning the entire weapon” have also been particular focus areas, according to the company.
Other details about the missile’s design and capabilities, including how it is guided, remain limited.
“Our scalable production approach is designed to provide a reliable, affordable layer of defense against a range of aerial threats to protect the warfighter with practical, dependable capability when it matters most,” Bob Ciesla, vice president of Boeing Precision Engagement Systems, had said in a statement earlier this week.
Lockheed Martin first showed a rendering of its design last year, but has also shared relatively specific details about it since then. For what has been seen so far, it is visually reminiscent, at least in broad strokes, of a compact air-to-air missile concept called Cuda, which the company previously promoted for a time in the 2010s.
A rendering depicting Lockheed Martin’s proposed interceptor being fired from Enduring Shield launchers. Lockheed Martin
The design is “not new,” Chris Murphy, senior manager of Business Development for Integrated Air and Missile Defense Advanced Programs at Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control division, confirmed to TWZ in October 2025.
“There are technologies that we already have that we’re leveraging,” Murphy added at the time. “But the requirements for the missile are such that they’re going to be new technologies, and there’s going to be some level of development in order to get those integrated.”
“So you know that our [PAC-3] MSE missile [for the Patriot surface-to-air missile system] is a hit-to-kill system, right? We have great confidence in that technology,” he also said when asked specifically about whether the interceptor would have a traditional warhead. “We also work [on] blast-frag[mentation warheads] on other programs. So we will look at everything. That’s part of the trade space the Army has asked us to look at.”
The PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) is generally presented as a hit-to-kill weapon, meaning that it is designed to destroy its target through sheer force of impact. However, it is actually something of a hybrid design that includes a high-explosive “lethality enhancer” charge to increase its chance of scoring a hit, something you can learn more about here.
A breakdown of the PAC-3 MSE’s key features, including the “lethality enhancer.” Lockheed Martin
For its part, the Army has talked in the past about wanting its second interceptor for Enduring Shield to offer roughly comparable capabilities to the AIM-120D Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), but in the same form factor as the AIM-9X. A key driving factor behind the size requirement is retaining magazine depth. The system’s existing palletized launchers can currently be loaded with up to 18 Sidewinders in individual canisters.
“I do want to highlight a couple of things that I think are very critical gaps that we have. I don’t think – I cannot add anything to the emphasis on magazine depth for currently fielded systems, or for the need for cheaper and [a] wide-ranging mix of interceptors,” Lt. Gen. John Rafferty, head of the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), told TWZ and other attendees in a keynote address at the 2026 Space & Missile Defense Symposium last month. “That couldn’t be made more loud and clear from the highest levels of our government.”
At that time, Rafferty also stressed the need to further expand the Army’s ability to provide multi-layered air and missile defense capabilities. Enduring Shield, as the Army’s first middle-tier air defense system in decades, is already a key component of that broader effort.
The Army also more specifically sees Enduring Shield as central to reducing over-reliance on its Patriot surface-to-air missile systems. The immense strain on the service’s Patriot force and its inadequacy to meet existing operational demands are well established at this point, and have only been reinforced by the latest conflict with Iran. The Army is notably in the process of establishing its first new Patriot battalion in years, on Guam, which will actually be a composite unit also equipped with Enduring Shield. Pairing the two systems together helps free up Patriot batteries to engage higher-tier threats, especially ballistic missiles, which may themselves be targeting air defenders directly.
The Army has now at least moved to the next phase of the competition for a second interceptor for the Enduring Shield system, demand for which is already growing.
SHE described the year her father Ozzy Osbourne died and her subsequent split from fiance Sid Wilson as the “hardest” and “worst” of her life.
But things are looking up for Kelly Osbourne, as we can reveal she has been secretly dating a tattooed OnlyFans model, 13 years her junior.
Kelly Osbourne has grown close to OnlyFans star Brad NorthCredit: Amir Ravazi/The SunThe pair attended a Bon Jovi gig together before being seen cuddlingCredit: Instagram
The Sun can reveal mum-of-one Kelly, 41, has been spending time with hunky Brad, 28, for months after connecting online.
Brad, who goes by the name Uglynorth on the over-18 platform, charges fans £10 to view his racy content, telling them: “If you like a man who’s loyal, eager, and easy to please… I’m right here. Just say hi, or slip something into my tip jar.”
Other posts are much more explicit and he offers followers the chance to collaborate with him and film sexual acts together.
His big-money earner, however, is selling his used underwear to his fans. In January, he sold off 12 pairs.
Alongside another saucy snap, the model, who is also a tattoo artist, added: “If you want exclusive attention… show me you’re serious. I treat daddies very well.”
He has been described as “insanely hung” online.
His Instagram account is however much tamer, mostly showing off his tattoo work. Kelly has been showing her appreciation by liking his recent posts.
Kelly – who split from former Slipknot DJ Sid Wilson in March – was seen linking arms with Brad in a hotel lobby.
The pair looked smitten at a restaurant launch party at Manchester’s Treehouse Hotel on Wednesday night.
They then joined the boozy bash upstairs, spending time together in a private area where she placed her hands under Brad’s T-shirt and up his back.
One onlooker said: “There were hundreds of people around them but that didn’t seem to bother Kelly.
“They couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Kelly is clearly really happy with him.
Just months after splitting from Sid, Kelly is said to be unconcerned about Brad’s racy side hustle.
The onlooker added: “Some people might be snooty about dating someone who does adult work, but Kelly isn’t worried.
“It has raised a few eyebrows amongst her close friends, but she doesn’t care.
“She’s been through so much with Ozzy dying and her split from Sid, so it’s lovely to see her smiling again.”
TV star and singer Kelly spent around three hours at the party before being driven home to Buckinghamshire.
And it seems Kelly could be gearing up to hard launch her new man as last week, Kelly shared a snap online of them together watching Bon Jovi at Wembley.
Brad has built up a following on OnlyFans and sells his old pants on thereThe pair were seen being flirty on a night outCredit: Amir Ravazi/The SunKelly could be seen smiling broadly in his companyCredit: Amir Ravazi/The Sun
Sources say Kelly started chatting to Brad, from Doncaster, South Yorks, online following her split from Sid, 49, and things became flirty between them.
Kelly and Sid began dating in 2022, having been friends for more than 20 years before that.
She gave birth to their son Sidney in November of that year.
During the proposal, Ozzy jokingly told Sid: “F**k off, you’re not marrying my daughter!”
Ozzy, who had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for years, died of a heart attack 17 days later aged 76.
Kelly and Sid split earlier this year, with insiders claiming he “has a lot he needs to work through on his own”.
They also said that Kelly “doesn’t want the drama in her life right now”, and that her priority is being there for her mum Sharon, 73.
Onlookers said Kelly didn’t mind who saw themCredit: Amir Ravazi/The SunKelly looked happy and healthy at the event in Manchester this weekCredit: SplashThe hunk also works as a tattoo artist alongside his side hustleCredit: uglynorth_/ Instagram
After the split, Kelly was romantically linked to non-binary LA-based hairdresser Kiinicki, 37.
But in July of this year, the star swore off men and dating, declaring: “Dating is the last thing on my mind. I love being single.”
“I’ve got my baby. I’m ambivalent. All men are the same. It’s rough.”
She spent the summer concentrating on herself and her well-being.
Kelly sparked concern earlier this year following her drastic weight lossCredit: GettyShe split from her partner Sid Wilson earlier this yearCredit: instagram
It came at the right time – Kelly had sparked concern with her increasingly tiny frame since her father Ozzy’s death last year.
It seemed overnight the once bubbly star had drastically shrunk in size, which led to her receiving thousands of cruel comments about her appearance online.
She admitted earlier this month that she was gobsmacked when she saw a picture of herself from the Brits.
“I looked like the f****** Crypt Keeper. I said, ‘This is scary. I didn’t know I looked like this.’ My spine – you could see every single bone,” Kelly admitted.
She added: “I couldn’t see what other people saw because I was in so much pain. I just saw a broken person.”
But since then Kelly has gained weight again and is starting to look happy and healthy once more, proving there is light after the deepest grief.
She might have declared herself off men, but after a tragic twelve months, no one can blame her for her romantic U-turn, or for enjoying every second of it.”
A representative for Kelly said: “Kelly and Brad are not dating.
“They share a close friendship and their relationship is entirely platonic.”
The rapid Houthi advance down Yemen’s Red Sea coast this week is an astonishing military victory, but not quite the game-changer it is being portrayed as.
The group has been able to threaten the vitally important shipping route, but they have been doing so since 2023. This new victory consolidates that control, proving that Yemen’s government is not currently in a position to defeat them.
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The prior Houthi control over the northern section of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, including the major port city of Hodeidah, has allowed the Iran-allied rebel group, for years, to first attack shipping linked to Israel and the United States – and then, in recent months, Saudi Arabian-linked vessels.
That control also damaged the global economy. Long before the US war with Iran and the transformation of the Strait of Hormuz into a tool to throttle international trade, Houthi attacks around Yemen had turned Bab al-Mandeb into a similar weapon, and led to bombing campaigns against the Houthis by the US, the United Kingdom, and Israel.
Houthi officials themselves have emphasised this, with one leading official, Abdulqader al-Murtada, saying earlier this week that the group did “not need control over Bab al-Mandeb, for the blockade [on Saudi ships] is already in place”. Al-Murtada could point Saudi ships that have avoided Bab al-Mandeb since the Houthis began attacking them in July, even before their latest progress.
However, the Houthi lightning advance makes it even easier for the group to disrupt shipping. They now have access to the Red Sea’s narrow entry point and several islands in it, allowing them to use shorter-range weapons and more easily reach vessels they want to attack and board, as well as potentially using sea mines to further restrict shipping.
Not going away
The increase in the Houthi ability to target shipping – even with the caveats outlined above – does have an impact on market sentiment. Oil prices have increased as traders price in the ability for Iran and its allies to disrupt shipping in Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb, the two maritime chokepoints of the southern Arabian Peninsula.
However, the consequences of this advance are not limited to the increased ability of the Houthis to attack shipping, but to the increasing reality that the Houthi problem on the Red Sea is not going away.
For months, after Saudi Arabia backed a Yemeni government campaign against southern Yemeni separatist forces earlier this year, the mood had shifted in the country’s anti-Houthi camp.
The perception was that the Yemeni government, led by the Presidential Leadership Council, had finally gotten its act together. President Rashad al-Alimi repeatedly spoke of a unified military chain of command, allowing the military to overcome the divisions blamed for its inability to defeat the Houthis.
Yemeni and Saudi officials had hinted at an anti-Houthi campaign all year. The Red Sea coastline was a possible location: the largely flat geography suited the government, allowing Saudi Arabia to effectively use its air power; much of the population is not made up of the Houthis’ traditional support base; and prior Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping meant that there would likely be international buy-in for such a campaign.
The seizure of the Red Sea coastline has broken all of those narratives.
The momentum the Yemeni government thought it had, even at the start of this week when it claimed advances in al-Jawf, to the east of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, is now gone.
After months of projecting unity, Yemen’s anti-Houthi camp is once again turning on itself, trading accusations of blame for the defeat.
Saudi dilemma
The message the Houthis have for Saudi Arabia is clear: ‘Your partners in Yemen can’t defeat us.’
Therefore, the potential Houthi argument is that Saudi Arabia has to make a deal with them and agree to their terms, including Riyadh funding public sector salaries, access to income from Yemen’s oil and gas reserves, and no restrictions on flights and shipping to Houthi-controlled ports.
The Houthis have an incentive to lock in their gains and raise the cost of escalation before Saudi-backed Yemeni forces can reorganise.
Their attacks on Saudi Arabia, escalating in the past week, have been damaging, and the group is promising more if Riyadh increases its military support for the Yemeni government.
The risk of any such intervention is clearly there for Saudi Arabia. But so is the risk of inaction. The Houthis have repeatedly demanded more concessions when they were in positions of strength.
With the Yemen war unresolved, the Houthis may decide to escalate again in the future, even if a deal is agreed now.
And so, policymakers in Riyadh could determine that it makes more sense to make a concerted effort to deal with the problem head-on now, rather than allow it to fester into the future.
A quarter-century after the attacks on September 11, 2001, officials across the United States have taken part in tributes and memorials to honour the 2,977 victims and those who risked their lives as part of the rescue efforts.
The incident is considered the deadliest “terrorist” attack in US history.
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Four planes were hijacked. Two crashed into the World Trade Center, causing its Twin Towers to collapse. A third struck the Pentagon outside Washington, DC. And the fourth plummeted into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew rose against their attackers.
Through social media messages, public speeches and appearances at ceremonies, US leaders on Friday took different approaches to remembering the lives of the thousands who perished on the fateful day.
Here’s what they said:
US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump speaks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday [Saul Loeb/AFP]
US President Donald Trump chose to stay in Washington, DC, to observe the 25th anniversary.
During the attacks, 184 people died near the capital when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US military.
Trump opted not to attend a Friday ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York, where all his living presidential predecessors were in attendance.
His vice president, JD Vance, travelled to New York instead. The ceremony at the World Trade Center has a policy of not allowing political speeches.
In his remarks at the Pentagon, Trump described what happened as “true evil”. He also paid tribute to those who died in the attacks.
“We will honour their lives, we will cherish their beautiful memories, and we will protect this country and its freedoms for every future generation,” Trump said.
The president also praised US troops as he appeared to link the 9/11 attacks with his administration’s war against Iran.
“We will never, ever forget. That’s why we fight today. We don’t have a choice. There can only be victory,” Trump said.
“We salute the service members working right now to ensure the world’s number one sponsor of terror – the Islamic Republic of Iran – will never, ever have a nuclear weapon,” he later added.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday [Saul Loeb/AFP]
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also spoke at the Pentagon, delivering his remarks shortly before Trump’s.
He warned the audience to practice “eternal vigilance” against what he called continued threats.
“There are still enemies who hate us. Every day, enemies plot to curb our power and kill our citizens, including from Islamic terrorists abroad and at home,” he said.
He proceeded to seemingly use the 9/11 attacks as justification for the US-Israeli war against Iran, which started on February 28.
“Over the past six months, we have laid waste to the world’s most prolific state sponsor of terrorism,” Hegseth said, referring to Iran. “Our warriors have fought an Islamic theocracy that has wished us death for nearly half a century, that cheered on 9/11.”
He went on to claim that the US military has destroyed Iran’s defences and that the US controls the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for international trade.
Iran has stopped commercial traffic through the strait since the start of the war.
“We’re still sending terrorists where they belong, to hell, and tankers to the bottom of the ocean where they belong,” Hegseth said. “And we’re ensuring that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. The economic pressure tightens every day. We control the strait. We will finish this fight.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attend the 25th anniversary commemoration of the attacks on September 11, 2001, on Friday [Barry Williams/AFP]
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended the New York memorial service, alongside the city’s former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who led the city through the attacks.
Before the event started, Giuliani shook hands with the mayor, despite previously calling on Mamdani not to attend the event.
Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, had recently come under fire from some conservative politicians and victims’ family members who said his presence at the memorial would offend them.
A Change.org petition garnered more than 100,000 signatures from those who wished to express concern about Mamdani’s participation.
Like all politicians attending the service at the National September 11 Memorial, Mamdani was not permitted to speak.
Instead, the mayor released a video on social media remembering those who were killed and challenging the public to honour their memory by doing good works.
“Twenty-five years later, we have a sacred obligation to those who were stolen from us. To care for one another as they cared for strangers. To live lives worthy of the sacrifices they made. And to build a city worthy of their courage. A city where we run toward one another,” Mamdani said.
“That is how we’ll remember.”
On Tuesday, Mamdani also released a trove of previously undisclosed documents suggesting city officials tried to downplay – or even mislead – first residents about the dangerous air quality following the attacks.
US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed
Democratic candidate for US Senate Abdul El-Sayed participates in a town hall event in Waterford, Michigan [File: Emily Elconin/Getty Images via AFP]
Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed took to the social media platform X to honour the lives lost during what he described as a “cruel act of terror”.
El-Sayed is locked in a tight midterm race in Michigan against his Republican opponent, former US Representative Mike Rogers.
Michigan’s open Senate seat is considered a must-win seat for Democrats, if they hope to take back control of the US Senate.
Rogers has sought to create controversy over El-Sayed’s past comments about the September 11 attacks. He has pointed to audio of El-Sayed reportedly saying, “9/11 scarred our country in profound ways, but what we did after 9/11 scarred millions of other people.”
During the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, Rogers blasted El-Sayed, who is Muslim, for being sympathetic to terrorists. He also sought to highlight El-Sayed’s links to left-wing internet commentator Hasan Piker.
“I never imagined that, 25 years after 9/11, I would be running against somebody who campaigns with Hasan Piker, who thinks America deserved it,” Rogers said. “Yep, but here we are.”
On Friday, however, El-Sayed used his social media post to push back against Rogers’s attacks.
“Nothing can justify the murder of innocent civilians. Nothing,” El-Sayed wrote.
He also called on Americans to help build a country that was “more inclusive, more empowering, more just” in tribute to the lives lost.
“They didn’t just attack America that day. They attacked the idea of America,” El-Sayed said of the 19 al-Qaeda hijackers who participated in the attacks.
“The notion of a nation brought together by ideals where it doesn’t matter how you pray or if you pray at all. A place where freedom and commitment to justice bind us, even if at times we struggle to fully realise it.”
