NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani’s throwing program has stalled, with the Dodgers star canceling a bullpen session the team had tentatively scheduled for Saturday.

“Just doesn’t feel 100%,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani’s left knee. “And because I think that the last ‘pen that he had, there was a little bit of regression. So we want to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

It was going to be Ohtani’s second bullpen since receiving an orthovisc injection in his knee on July 12. He threw a roughly 30-pitch side session on Wednesday.

It’s unclear when he’ll throw off the mound next. But Roberts said he’s still optimistic that Ohtani will return to the rotation sometime in August.

“It was obviously not ideal, him throwing his last bullpen and going backwards, essentially,” Roberts said. “So obviously that’s disappointing because you throw a bullpen to continue to build up. So that was disappointing. But as far as worry, concern, we don’t have any of that.”

Roberts described a “fluid” process, with plenty of input from Ohtani, as he and Dodgers continue to navigate the knee issue. Because only pitching seems to be aggravating the injury, Ohtani will continue to play at designated hitter.

“From his words, the hitting, the running, as he has done the last couple nights, doesn’t affect him,” Roberts said. “So I can only go by what he and the training staff are telling me. So, unless I hear otherwise, that hitting compromises his health, then I’m going to keep putting him in the lineup.”

The Dodgers had initially hoped the injection and time off leading up to the All-Star break would allow him to get past the discomfort in his knee and not have to worry about managing it for the rest of the season.

Though Ohtani feels better than he did before the break, according to Roberts, the team wasn’t envisioning this kind of start-and-stop buildup.

The schedule does the Dodgers some favors. The off day Monday allows them to get through this coming week without filling Ohtani’s spot in the rotation. But in order to keep all their starters on a six- to seven-day rotation, they’ll have to find a replacement — whether that be a bullpen day or another starter — by the first week of August.

Starting pitcher Blake Snell (arthroscopic elbow surgery) is on track to be close to a return from the injured list by then. In his second rehab start this month, he threw 2⅔ innings (49 pitches) for triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday.

He’ll be targeting four innings in his next start, according to Roberts. When asked if he’d need another rehab outing after that, Roberts said: “Let’s just get through that next one. Get through four innings and kind of read and react from there.”

Injury updates

Dodgers teammates Kiké Hernández, left, and Shohei Ohtani laugh after a win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium on May 29.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers are set to welcome back utility player Kiké Hernández (strained left oblique) and closer Edwin Díaz (arthroscopic elbow surgery) from the injured list early in next week’s homestand.

Hernández is set to be activated Tuesday, as the Dodgers open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners, Roberts said. And Díaz likely will return Wednesday, sliding back into the closer role that Tanner Scott has held in his absence.

Tyler Glasnow (back spasms) threw about 25 pitches in a one-inning live batting practice session Friday, Roberts said. He’s scheduled to throw to batters again next week.

Right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro attracts foreign support, but struggles in polls ahead of matchup with President Lula.

Flavio Bolsonaro has inaugurated the official beginning of his Brazilian presidential campaign, touting support from right-wing figures such as Argentinian President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro and long considered the presumptive candidate of Brazil’s political right, launched his formal bid challenging President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday.

“This is more than a party convention,” Bolsonaro said in remarks to his father’s Liberal Party.

“This is the beginning of the toughest battles of our life. A fight between good and evil.”

Recent polls have shown Bolsonaro trailing the left-wing Lula, as his bid for the presidency struggles to right itself after a number of setbacks and scandals.

While Saturday’s event included endorsement remarks from right-wing heavyweights such as Milei and Netanyahu, few prominent Brazilian politicians were in attendance.

Centre-right parties have largely kept their distance, and Flavio’s father – currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for a coup attempt following his loss to Lula in 2022 – was present at the convention only in the form of a video made with AI.

Milei delivered ‌a fiery speech criticising Lula and declaring that Bolsonaro can “save” Brazil from socialism.

The Argentinian president flew to Brazil the night before the event and met on Saturday with Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas.

“We will continue offering our testimony everywhere against the lies of socialism,” Milei said.

Netanyahu offered support via a short video message.

“Flavio, my friend, I want to congratulate you on the official launching of your campaign,” Netanyahu said in the recording, according to the Brazilian outlet Metropoles. “You’re a great champion of Brazil, you’re a great champion of the friendship between our peoples.”

Lula’s Workers Party is set to hold its own convention on August 2, confirming the 80-year-old president’s re-election bid.

Bolsonaro and his allies have also suffered from criticisms that they have tried to use their ties to the administration of US President Donald Trump to boost his campaign, inviting US intervention in a variety of issues that many Brazilians see as a form of foreign meddling.

Like his father, Flavio has also raised alarm by repeating false claims about the reliability of Brazil’s election infrastructure, seen as a pretext for possible efforts to deny the legitimacy of the voting process in the event of a loss to Lula.

The AFP news agency reported on Saturday that Brazil had denied visas to a pair of Trump administration officials who sought to meet with the country’s election authorities to discuss “freedom of expression related to the elections”.

The U.S. Navy is pumping $70 million into the development of a ground-launched version of CoAspire’s Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile-Extended Range (RAACM-ER) cruise missile. RAACM-ER was unveiled just earlier this year. Continued work on the design will now be done under a program aimed primarily at giving U.S. allies and partners a new, lower-cost way to strike moving targets at sea and on land.

CoAspire announced today that it had received what is known as an Other Transactional Agreement (OTA) in support of the Navy’s Coalition Heterogenous Affordable Offensive Strike (CHAOS) program. The OTA process is a contracting mechanism that U.S. government agencies use to help speed up advanced research and development and prototype efforts.

“Under a $70m Prototype Other Transactional Agreement (OTA) with CMG Networks on behalf of Naval Aviation Systems Consortium, CoAspire will design, build, test, and deliver to Program Acquisition Executive for Munitions and its program office, PMX-201, an affordable, ground-launched, mid-range, cruise missile system that can attack both land-based and moving maritime targets,” according to a press release from CoAspire. “The end-use Foreign Military Sale (FMS) customers are allies and coalition partners needing an affordable yet highly effective maritime strike weapon that can be easily manufactured at scale.”

Whether or not the Navy has also selected other companies to move ahead with their designs under CHAOS is unknown, and TWZ has reached out to the service for more information.

RAACM-ER is a turbojet-powered cruise missile. It has a body with a trapezoidal shape that is reminiscent, in very broad strokes, of Lockheed Martin’s stealthy AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and derivatives thereof.

“Physics is physics,” Doug Denneny, founder, CEO, and owner at CoAspire, told TWZ‘s Jamie Hunter at the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space exhibition earlier this year. “When people look at shapes, they look similar, but just like an Airbus looks like a Boeing, but what they have different inside is really what matters, and that’s how we differ in many ways.”

CoAspire’s missile has a GPS-assisted navigation system and a long-wave infrared seeker in the nose. The guidance package allows for the engagement of moving targets, as well as static ones based on fixed target coordinates. Passive infrared seekers are immune to radiofrequency countermeasures, such as jammers or decoys. They also do not pump out signals that could alert a target to the incoming danger. All of this creates advantages over active radars for terminal homing.

When RAACM-ER made its public debut, the company said the design could be fired from ground-based launchers or ones on ships, as well as be employed by aircraft. However, an air-launched version was the only one on display. Surface launch requires the addition of a rocket booster to the tail of the missile, as seen on the model in the picture at the top of this story. That booster falls away after launch.

As an aside, CoAspire is also now developing what it says is a separate surface-launched version of RAACM-ER, called GHOST, for the U.S. military’s Low-Cost Containerized Missiles (LCCM) program. The core RAACM-ER design also evolved conceptually from an earlier missile simply called RAACM, but they are entirely different. The original RAACM was developed under a U.S. Air Force program called the Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM), which has also been aimed primarily at supporting allies and partners, starting first with Ukraine.

When designing RAACM-ER, “our engineers came to us and said, ‘Hey, if we’re going to make a bigger one, should we make it look just the same?’ I mentioned earlier that RAACM was made that shape just to ease integration,” Denneny also told Jamie Hunter at Sea-Air-Space. “We’re an engineering company, so we said, ‘Let’s optimize fuel volume, let’s optimize survivability features, let’s optimize physics so that this thing can go as far as possible and take the sensors needed. That’s why it’s in this slightly different shape.”

How far RAACM-ER, now described as a “mid-range” missile, can go in any of its configurations is unclear. When it was first unveiled, the missile looked to be well suited for the Family of Affordable Mass Missiles-Beyond Adversary’s Reach (FAMM-BAR) effort, which is seeking lower-cost designs with maximum ranges of 1,000 nautical miles or more. This is roughly the same reach as is offered today by variants of the surface-launched Tomahawk cruise missile.

However, at Sea-Air-Space, Denneny separately told Naval News that RAACM-ER had roughly twice the reach of the original RAACM, which would be around 485 nautical miles (900 kilometers) based on previously stated ERAM program requirements. This would put the design more in the category, at least range-wise, of the air-launched AGM-158B JASSM-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) land-attack cruise missile. An extended-range version of the JASSM’s Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) cousin that is now in development is expected to have similar reach.

“CoAspire hasn’t discussed range capabilities of our products, so any assumptions/estimations would be speculation,” a representative for the company told TWZ today when asked for further clarification.

Even with a range of 485 nautical miles, RAACM-ER would offer a notable boost in capability over many other anti-ship cruise missiles in service today with U.S. allies and partners, as well as the U.S. military itself. For example, the reported maximum reach of extended-range variants of the Harpoon is in the 150-mile realm. Current-generation versions of the increasingly popular Naval Strike Missile (NSM) have a stated range of at least 162 miles.

In more general terms, extended reach expands the total area that a single launch platform can hold at risk, while also keeping it further away from potential threats. Longer-range munitions also offer additional flexibility to respond to targets that might emerge suddenly or other changing developments in the battlespace.

How large a warhead RAACM-ER carries is unclear. Trading warhead weight and bulk for fuel, as well as reducing total payload weight, would help extend range. A smaller warhead would have impacts on the missile’s effectiveness. At the same time, certain targets would also not necessarily require something like the 1,000-pound-class warheads found on many Tomahawk variants to achieve the desired effect. When it comes to ships, especially, destroying or even just severely damaging key systems on a ship can achieve a mission kill that substantially reduces the vessel’s combat effectiveness or might even force it back into port for a protracted period of time.

See Tomahawk missile strike a ship

Providing increased capability at a cheaper price point is also a key aspect of the CHAOS program. It was also top of mind for CoAspire in the development of RAACM-ER, though an estimated unit price for the missile has yet to be released. Current-generation Harpoons can range in price from $1.4 to $2.25 million, depending on variant, based on publicly available cost data. NSMs are also in the roughly $2 million price range. The latest versions of the Tomahawk are even more expensive.

“The most important thing is affordable mass. [This] means keeping the cost down, so that the nation and our allies can purchase these at scale. That’s number one,” CoAspire’s Denneny told us at Sea-Air-Space. “Number two is to use as many commercial off-the-shelf parts, so that we are not locked into a single supplier for anything. The final thing is to have something that can survive enemy countermeasures, and also hit the target, whether it’s stationary or moving. Those are the main requirements.”

“An additive approach also allows for rapid modifications and a reduction in tooling and touch labor that results in cost reductions and program improvements without breaking a production line for re-tooling,” CoAspire’s press release today also notes. “It also allows for the development of new variants in months compared to years needed by other missile manufacturing methods.”

Providing new standoff strike weapons in mass to allies and partners would have knock-on benefits for the U.S. military in future coalition operations. This would distribute an additional tier of capability across more friendly forces, helping to reduce reliance on American forces and foreign militaries that field higher-end munitions.

All of this could make the ground-launched version of RAACM-ER, and any other missiles developed under the Navy’s CHAOS program, attractive to the U.S. military, as well. As already noted, the GHOST version of RAACM-ER is already under development now as part of the LCCM program, which is a U.S. Army effort.

As TWZ regularly draws attention to, munitions expenditures in recent operations against Iran and other conflicts globally in the past few years have underscored the increasingly critical need for new designs that are both cheaper and easier to produce. This is vital for ensuring sufficient stockpiles of key munitions, including stand-off strike weapons, at the start of a conflict and making sure that the arsenal can be replenished as fighting continues. It is important to note that lower-cost types are not expected to supplant more expensive and exquisite capabilities now or in the future, but instead complement them.

Just in the past few months, the U.S. military has moved to lay the groundwork for the acquisition of tens of thousands of new, lower-cost stand-off munitions over the next three to five years. CoAspire is one of several companies to have received framework deals as part of these efforts. These agreements cover surface and air-launched designs being developed in support of the aforementioned LCCM and FAMM programs, respectively. It’s also worth noting here that the ERAM program, which was also foreign-focused at the outset, has already been feeding into FAMM.

With all this in mind, today’s announcement regarding CHAOS is another important win for CoAspire. This also underscores U.S. military-wide efforts to reduce reliance on traditional prime contractors and do more to leverage small and non-traditional firms for new major weapon system programs.

With the new vote of confidence from the Navy, along with the previous LCCM framework deal, CoAspire’s RAACM-ER continues to emerge as a particularly notable development for the U.S. military and its allies and partners.

Update: 2:25 PM ET –

The U.S. Navy has now provided TWZ with some additional details regarding today’s announcement about the CHAOS program.

The Navy awarded an Other Transaction Authority agreement to CoAspire for Phases 1 and 2 of the Coalition Heterogenous Affordable Offensive Strike (CHAOS) prototype effort, July 17, marking PAE Munitions’ direct investment in the emerging low-cost cruise missile market,” according to a Navy spokesperson. “The award is a significant milestone in developing an affordable maritime strike capability for security assistance partners while expanding the defense industrial base through competition and accelerating a new entrant into the Navy’s precision strike portfolio.”

“The Navy has requested appropriated funds to begin integration of this low-cost maritime capability on Navy platforms as part of the FY27 budget request,” they added. “PAE Munitions expect[s] at least one more industry agreement on CHAOS as part of its competitive strategy.”

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The BBC aired a special tribute to Bonnie Tyler on Saturday, July 25, just weeks after the Welsh singer’s death at the age of 75, leaving fans in floods of tears

BBC viewers have been left devastated and in floods of tears following a heartfelt tribute to Bonnie Tyler.

The iconic Welsh singer died aged 75 on July 8 at a hospital in Portugal, with a statement from her family and team saying they were “heartbroken” to announce her “unexpected” death, reports Wales Online.

The star, who split her time between South Wales and her home in Faro, Portugal, had been due to embark on a European tour later this year but was hospitalised in May.

Bonnie was initially said to be stable and recovering well from her surgery, but less than 24 hours later, she was placed into an induced coma.

In the wake of her passing, the BBC announced a special tribute programme would broadcast on Saturday, July 25. It showcased highlights from her 50 year career, including interview segments and electrifying performances.

Tuning in to the show on BBC Two, viewers were moved to tears. One fan wrote: “What a distinctive voice Bonnie Tyler had. It’s a heartache is a banger. Even if I can only hear it’s a hard egg.”

Another said: “Bonnie Tyler was brilliant.” A third wrote: “Crying at Bonnie Tyler at the BBC, RIP Queen.”

The BBC had earlier announced: “This special tribute compilation celebrates the great Bonnie Tyler’s incredible 50 year career, as fans come to terms with the sad news of her death earlier this month.

“The only Welsh performer to have a US Number 1, Bonnie’s distinctive husky vocals and powerful performances made her one of Britain’s best-loved and most enduring artists.

“This collection from the BBC archive showcases some of her biggest and very best moments from over the decades.”

Bonnie Tyler’s funeral and celebration of live service will also be available for fans to watch in an online broadcast. The service will be held at St Mary’s Church in Swansea on August 17, and will be streamed on the singer’s website.

Bonnie Tyler at the BBC is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Anthony Joshua suffered two knockdowns – the first happening after just 20 seconds – before recovering to dramatically stop Kristian Prenga in the second round of his comeback fight in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The British heavyweight was fighting for the first time since surviving the December car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele.

He was sensationally rocked by a huge uppercut from underdog Prenga in the opening round, and then hit the canvas again later in the round.

At that point he looked on the verge of one of the biggest shock defeats in heavyweight history, with the long-awaited Tyson Fury fight hanging by a thread.

But Joshua produced one of the greatest escapes of his career, and now that fight is on.

He unleashed his right hand in the second round, with the final shot sending Albanian Prenga crashing down and forcing the referee to halt the contest.

“It’s more than punch power. That was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina, that was the families. It hurts to even talk about it. It has been tough,” Joshua, 36, said.

He choked up and stepped away from the microphone, before adding: “It’s my brothers. I don’t want to talk about it.”

There had been speculation fellow Briton Fury might make a appearance despite insisting he would not attend.

But the master of mind games stayed true to his word, with Fury nowhere to be seen barely 24 hours on from his own warm-up win over Mariusz Wach in Thailand.

“I respect everything he has done and everything that he has achieved, but as a fighting person, we’re here now. I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat,” Joshua said about the prospect of fighting Fury.

Contracts have been signed, but the venue and date for a fight more than a decade in the making are still unknown.

This chaotic night, however, belonged to Joshua in a victory forged through adversity during the most difficult months of his life.

Tehran summons Ukrainian envoy over the attack, which it says killed one sailor and wounded another.

Tehran has accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, causing an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to protest what it described as a “hostile and criminal” attack on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported.

The ministry claimed the attack had been acknowledged by the Ukrainian leadership and said it reflected Kyiv’s continued “irrational and hostile approach” towards Iran. It warned Iran would defend its national interests.

It also described the incident as a violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter and said it could further inflame and expand the Russia-Ukraine war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also discussed the matter in a phone call with the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, his office said in a statement.

Araghchi strongly condemned Ukraine’s military attack on the vessel in the Caspian Sea, and reportedly “called for a firm response from the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and the international community, and for the perpetrators and supporters of this criminal act to be held accountable”, according to the statement shared on Telegram.

‘Pressure’

“The Iranians are not really happy with [the attack], while they’re also dealing with a US blockade on the southern coast,” said Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran.

He explained that the attacks on Iran’s northern coast are “putting extra pressure” on Iran’s maritime trade.

In its condemnation, Iran’s Foreign Ministry reiterated that Tehran has never intervened in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The incident came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in a post on X that Kyiv had achieved “very strong results” with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea, hitting “vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship.” He did not identify the commercial vessel named by Tehran as a target.

Zelenskyy separately alleged that Russia had been passing satellite imagery of Gulf states and US military sites to Iran. He said surveillance on July 19 and 20 covered airbases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

Iran and Ukraine have been at odds since 2022, when Iran sold Russia the Shahed drones that Moscow has since adapted and launched in their thousands at Ukrainian cities.

Kyiv says it has shot down more than 44,000 of the Iranian-designed drones since Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine has also offered its drone interceptors and expertise to governments in the Gulf that have come under Iranian attack during the US-Iran war, deploying anti-drone specialists to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

BAE Systems revealed the Brontanax today, a new collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) loyal wingman drone designed for use by the U.K. Royal Air Force. Its unveiling comes less than a week after the service launched its new CCA program, named Storm Fighter, as it seeks to build what it describes as “Europe’s first sixth-generation air force.”

The Brontanax prototype was presented today at the Farnborough International Airshow in England, during an event attended by the United Kingdom’s newly appointed Defense Secretary Wes Streeting. The prototype — rather than a technology demonstrator — was built in secret at BAE Systems’ facility in Warton, Lancashire.

The aircraft is now being prepared for ground-based testing at Warton prior to flight testing within U.K. airspace, and there are reports that it could take part in a NATO exercise as early as next year.

The appearance of the Brontanax also comes a day after BAE Systems revealed details of how it’s exploring using the Eurofighter Typhoon to control CCAs as part of a broader effort to roll out new capabilities for the jet. Ultimately, however, it appears that the Brontanax effort will also, at the very least, inform the kinds of drones that will also accompany the U.K. F-35 and the future Tempest combat jet into battle.

BAE Systems says the Brontanax is roughly the size of its Hawk advanced jet trainer, which is around 41 feet long, with a wingspan of approximately 33 feet. The manufacturer did not, however, provide details of its planned performance, nor of its critical autonomy system, and the degree to which it will be able to perform missions and functions, absent from human control.

The name Brontanax means “thunder king” in ancient Greek.

We had already gotten a look at the outward appearance of the Brontanax when BAE Systems published a rendering of a pair of the drones when the Storm Fighter program was launched last week.

As we stated at the time, the notably stealthy aircraft has some features reminiscent of renderings of the Tempest, including large-area trapezoidal wings and cropped outward-canted vertical stabilizers. There is a prominent chine line and a faceted fuselage. It also features a shovel-like nose plus low-observable apertures. The drone has a wedge-shaped ventral air intake, partially shrouded by a prominent ‘lip,’ and this feeds a serpentine inlet. The end result is not likely to be a very low observable (VLO) overall design, but certainly low observable (LO) one.

Now that we have seen the finished Brontanax, it is also apparent how deep the fuselage is, suggesting generous internal space for fuel and stores. The landing gear, with a twin-wheel nose unit and substantial mains, looks notably robust to deal with heavier loads, likely with an eye toward carrier launch and recovery and austere airfield operations.

A front view of the drone reveals a blister in the nose, likely housing a camera for flight testing, and there are data probes for the same function. It looks like there is a low-observable aperture behind that blister, which could accommodate an infrared search and track system, or other sensor, in an operational configuration.

Initially, the Brontanax prototype is fitted with a Williams turbofan engine, but thought is also being given to using Rolls-Royce’s Orpheus powerplant family.

In terms of missions, BAE Systems says the Brontanax is intended to provide electronic warfare, precision strike, and air-to-air capabilities. Previously, Luke Pollard, the U.K. minister for defense readiness and industry, had said that the Storm Fighter program would “deliver guardian angel and attack dog drones.”

BAE Systems has also described an experimental scenario in which CCAs armed with very long-range Meteor air-to-air missiles extended the reach, effectiveness, and the combat mass of Typhoons in the air defense role. BAE Systems officials confirmed today that the Brontanax drone’s internal weapons bay is compatible with all weapons currently in service with the Royal Air Force.

The focus on electronic warfare reflects growing U.K. interest in this area, with other examples including Storm Shroud, which will provide the Royal Air Force with a new uncrewed electronic warfare drone that will enter service this year. Last week, the Royal Air Force announced another new EW drone, named Storm Chrome.

StormChrome is likely to be a longer-range stand-in electronic warfare drone with similar capabilities to the current Tekever AR3-based StormShroud, but much longer range – able to support deep strike missions by crewed aircraft and drones. Leonardo BriteStorm payload is likely. pic.twitter.com/JNzCXk4Pri

— JamesFennell MBE (@FennellJW) July 18, 2026

Surprisingly, the ability of the Brontanax, or a variant of it, to operate from aircraft carriers is not referenced beyond a short clip in a BAE Systems video. Under Project Vanquish, the Royal Navy plans to demonstrate a fixed-wing, short takeoff and landing autonomous collaborative platform (ACP) from a Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier before the end of 2027. The ACP terminology has been used in the United Kingdom in the past and is broadly equivalent to CCA, and BAE Systems may well plan to adapt the Brontanax for this naval requirement, or a follow-on one, too.

Simon Barnes, the group managing director of BAE Systems’ Air sector, provided more details about the Brontanax, including the fact that, as well as being operated by a Typhoon pilot, the drone can be controlled by a mission commander on the ground.

An open architecture and modular design are intended to future-proof the Brontanax, making it easier to adapt to meet evolving threats, while maintaining operational relevance.

Although it hasn’t commented on its level of ‘attritability,’ BAE Systems is clearly looking to offer a lower-cost air combat platform that can also be produced at scale, if required. According to The Telegraph, the company says the Brontanax will come with a price tag around a quarter of that of the Typhoon. The unit cost of a Typhoon varies dramatically depending on where you look and from what time period. If using a general figure of $115M each, the drones would cost around $28.5M each. This is in line with the cost of CCAs being developed in the U.S., for instance. Still, all this depends on how the cost of the Typhoon is being calculated, and the price range can be pretty vast.

“We recognize armed forces are being challenged to meet the demands of speed, adaptability and scale,” Barnes said. “Our collaborative combat aircraft will provide the ability to extend the reach of crewed aircraft, generating greater combat mass at lower cost, while keeping pilots out of harm’s way.”

On an industrial level, the new CCA has been designed and built by BAE Systems’ FalconWorks, its rapid prototyping team, paid for using the company’s own research and development budget.

Cognizant of the fact that other companies, including more established CCAs, will also be competing for the Royal Air Force’s Storm Fighter requirement, BAE Systems is stressing the homegrown nature of its Brontanax.

“This capability represents a significant company investment in the U.K.’s future of air power and builds on our long-standing commitment to innovation,” Barnes explained. “Alongside supporting defense priorities, it will strengthen the U.K.’s sovereign defense ecosystem by creating opportunities for SMEs, suppliers and partners across the country.”

Competition is still likely to come from the United States, in particular, including the Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat, in which BAE Systems is also involved, and the British firm is also working in collaboration with Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division, which is also heavily involved in CCAs. Other U.S. pitches could come from Northrop Grumman, Kratos, or General Atomics, which has pitched to the United Kingdom a carrier-capable member of its highly modular Gambit drone family.

In its Defense Investment Plan, published last month, the U.K. government confirmed a $406-million investment in the Storm Fighter CCA program.

Since BAE Systems is already working alongside the Royal Air Force on its CCA effort, the Brontanax would appear to be well placed to win a domestic order, if the U.K. government is serious about fielding a sovereign loyal wingman capability as well as supporting local industrial capability. When it comes to low observable capabilities and stealthy drones, BAE Systems’ experience dates back many years, including a proof-of-concept UCAV testbed called Taranis.

BAE Systems – Taranis Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) First Flight [1080p]

Speaking today, Defense Secretary Streeting heralded the Brontanax as“a testament to the extraordinary talent and innovation across our sovereign defense industry.”

The Chief Of The Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, described the Brontanax as “a major step” toward the Royal Air Force’s ambition to become Europe’s first “sixth-generation air force.” He also said that the Brontanax prototype is expected to fly next year.

At this stage, the “sixth-generation air force” rubric is somewhat unclear, although Smyth described it in terms of an ecosystem in which “uncrewed air systems integrate seamlessly with our crewed platforms, exponentially increasing our survivability, our lethality, and ultimately our conventional deterrence.”

Whether the Brontanax ultimately enters Royal Air Force service remains to be seen. BAE Systems is entering an increasingly crowded field where other CCA developers already have years of flight-testing and autonomy work behind them, while integrating uncrewed aircraft with crewed fighters remains a major technical challenge. Australia, China, the United States and even Russia are ahead in terms of actual flight testing collaborative drones for fighter aircraft, so the pressure is on for the United Kingdom, especially as it grapples with fighter fleet-size constraints, which could be at least partially alleviated with the introduction of CCAs. At the same time, this drone could give the UK a banner sovereign airframe to export to allies around the globe, which could be extremely lucrative in the years to come.

All told, the appearance of the Brontanax is the clearest sign yet of Britain’s ambition to field a sovereign collaborative combat aircraft capability, underscoring the central role uncrewed systems are expected to play in the Royal Air Force’s future airpower vision.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

ITV has issued an apology after accidentally airing an unedited clip of Gordon Ramsay swearing on a repeat of Food Stars USA more than 12 hours before the watershed

ITV has issued an apology after accidentally airing an unedited clip of Gordon Ramsay swearing on a repeat of Food Stars USA more than 12 hours before the watershed. The TV chef, 59, is well known for his use of profanity but in an edition that was broadcast at 8:25am on ITV2 in May, a blunder with the subtitles saw that the bad language had not been edited out and appeared in text form on the screen.

The swearing had been removed from the audio of the programme and replaced with the typical bleep sound but the censoring had not made it as far as the closed captions, The Sun reports.

The channel claimed that the subtitles were created before the “the implementation of new checking processes,” which now includes “steps to ensure that any mismatch” between versions within the scheduling system is “apparent and corrected” ahead of broadcast.

According to the outlet, the mistake was found to be “a clear breach” of Ofcom guidelines, which strictly prohibits the airing of swearing before 9pm. Viewers with the subtitles on would have realised that heavy use of the F-word from Gordon, and the Ofcom had to take into account that ITV2 did not apologise after the programme has finished.

A ruling from the broadcast read: “In this case, the broadcast of the words at 08:25 was a clear example of the most offensive language being broadcast before the watershed.

“This was a pre-recorded programme, which ITV2 would have had the opportunity to check prior to broadcast, and that it included two instances of the most offensive language before the watershed.

“Further, we considered there was no on-air apology made by ITV2 following the broadcast. Ofcom took into account the steps that the Licensee said it had taken since being notified of the incident to prevent future recurrence.

“However, in Ofcom‘s view, these steps would not have impacted on the offence caused to viewers as a result of this particular broadcast.”

Earlier this year, This Morning’s Ben Shephard had to issue an apology after Gordon swore during a live cooking segment while bickering with his daughter Tilly on the set of the ITV Daytime show.

The chef had been talking about his daughter Holly’s wedding to Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty and arguing with his eldest Tilly on This Morning when he knocked over a container of soy sauce.

“Oh s**t,” he said, while Ben quickly jumped in: “Just in case that spilled into the classic Ramsay work, apologies. We are live. I’m just pre-empting a strike.” Gordon argued back: “I said shoot! Ben – come on, Ben!”

The Mirror has contacted ITV for comment.

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The arrow shoots through the air, past the trunks of the towering pines and straight into the wild boar’s bottom.

My son Raffy, four, spins around with a gleeful shriek.

The animals may be made of foam, but scrambling up the mountainside to search out our prey before taking aim is proving thrilling, and both Raffy and his seven-year-old sister Poppy have hit the target within minutes of picking up their crossbow and arrows.

Soon, even I’m becoming a half-decent Katniss Everdeen. 3D archery costs from £15 per adult, £7 for under-10s (Riarco.eu).

We’re in the Dolomites in South Tyrol, an autonomous German/Italian-speaking province of northern Italy, staying at family-owned Parkhotel Holzner.

And both archery and rock climbing are the kind of things children will try on excursions with the kids’ club, alongside tennis lessons on the clay courts.

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There’s even a mini farm with alpacas and rabbits.

With its fairy-tale-like architecture and art nouveau decor, it feels as if we’re stepping into a story book, but there’s also a sleek extension built into the mountain, which is home to contemporary suites and the Liberty spa.

One afternoon, I find myself joining a naked sauna ritual, which involves a half-nude man whipping a towel at each participant to disperse the scent of oils he’s poured over the hot coals.

It certainly leaves my skin glowing. There are also classes, such as morning yoga on the lush lawn, to join, plus guided hikes and bike rides.

Stays also include RittenCards – guest passes that give you free public transport and admission to numerous museums and cultural sights.

One morning, we take a gentle hour’s hike along Route 26. Following the remains of an old Roman road, we cross streams and amble through woodland and alpine meadows to Beekeeping Museum Plattner Bienenhof, a house dating back more than 600 years.

Downstairs, the walls are black with soot and the rooms filled with rustic furniture, showing how families once lived. It’s now also a place to buy local honey and, after tasting several, we settle on a jar of the cherry blossom variety, £8 (Museo-plattner.com).

We hop on the historic Ritten Railway, opened in 1907, which trundles us back to the gates of Parkhotel Holzner, where its glorious outdoor pool with views of the majestic surrounding peaks awaits, alongside a family sauna and numerous arcade games, an indoor hockey pitch and a foam tenpin bowling alley.

Also on our doorstep is the cable car to the historic city of Bolzano, just a 12-minute ride away.

We grab an alfresco Aperol spritz, £6, at buzzing Fischbänke, then feast on perfectly cooked beef tagliata, £25, at chic Bogen opposite (Bogen.bz), before snapping pictures of the Waltherplatz fountain and gothic 14th-century cathedral. Scoops of stracciatella gelato, £1.75, from Mary’s Ice Cream truck in Piazza del Grano are a win, too.

Back in Oberbozen, the Bauern pizza topped with local speck and pickled red garlic, £14, on Antigo’s terrace also scores top marks (@Antigoritten), while breakfast and dinner on the hotel’s flower-laden terrace are plentiful.

Evening meals are a la carte, but with a bonus salad bar and cheese buffet, while a huge ornate teapot with an eye-popping range of teas greets us at brekky.

Also on site is Restaurant 1908, which has been awarded a green Michelin star for its delicate, locally sourced creations – kids are welcome, too, and can eat from the hotel’s bistro menu.

Just over an hour’s drive away, past vineyards, apple orchards and baroque churches – and around hairpin turns on roads carved into the mountainous landscape – is Falkensteiner Family Resort Lido.

Walking into the family spa here, you’d think it was an adults’ one, with its plush double day beds, if it wasn’t for the mini cocoon swings, a baby pool and two indoor water slides, including South Tyrol’s longest, which gives you the illusion of gliding through flames.

This place is set around a lake, so errant dragonflies visit the outdoor pool, and the view from the family sauna is gorgeous, too.

On the roof, we find a trampoline park, where our bouncing selves become players on-screen competing for jewels in tombs and in slam-dunk contests.

We also battle for the highest reaction scores by jumping to hit lit-up discs.

I’m thrilled to beat a super-toned French lady in a game of the latter – though she undoubtedly leaps with a lot more grace! Finally, we toboggan down the artificial ski slope and hit the sports court for games of basketball and footie.

Despite enjoying the serenity of the adults’ spa tucked into the hillside, we book a family spa experience, £24 per person, where for 90 minutes we indulge with a private steam room, whirlpool bath, massage beds and dishes of natural scrub, clay and lotion to smother over ourselves.

Chocolates, cookies, prosecco and juices, plus various pirate and princess toys, make it both decadent and fun.

At the classy buffet-style restaurant, chefs serve beautifully crafted mains.

The memory of a truffle, parmesan and lime linguine will make my mouth water for months to come, and home-made bakes, including apple strudel, are served at afternoon tea. Soft drinks are included at meals, but the hotel also has an impressive prosecco spritz menu – our fave being the Marlene, with its delicious apricot twist, £6.50.

The resort sits on the 110km Val Pusteria Cycleway, so we hop on ebikes with kids’ trailers, £60 for four hours, and cruise alongside the Rienza river to Rio di Pusteria.

At first, the village seems deserted – it is a Sunday, after all – but, once we roll into the market square, we find Olivia Dean’s Man I Need blasting out and crowds of fellow cyclists soaking up the sunshine.

We join them with bottles of Sanbittèr, £3.50, and speck and gorgonzola pizzettes, £6.50, from Weisse Lilie cafe, and it feels like stumbling across a secret party.

South Tyrol may have only become part of Italy in 1919, but it is very much la dolce vita.

After tears in Paris, tears again in Glasgow.

It leaves even the great Adam Ramsay-Peaty wondering how much of this is worth it.

“I work a lot harder than what it says on the scoreboard,” the Englishman said after taking 100m breaststroke bronze at the Commonwealth Games, his eyes and cheeks red with emotion.

“It hurts too much. I have got to approach training differently now because it hurts too much.”

Ramsay-Peaty has done it all in this sport.

Three Olympic gold medals. Eight world titles. The 14 fastest times in history.

But after taking a break from swimming amid a wave of mental health issues in 2023, he is still searching for that winning feeling again on the big stage.

He was pipped to Olympic gold in Paris two years ago. In Glasgow, despite coming into the final as the fastest qualifier, he had to settle for bronze.

He was beaten by Australia’s Sam Williamson but also Jersey’s history-maker Filip Nowacki, the 18-year-old he has taken under his wing.

Ramsay-Peaty was third at halfway and could not close the gap.

“It took a lot of courage to get back into the sport, so we should be happy with everything we get, but then that contradicts the athlete inside me and what I work for,” he said.

“I just think I deserve more. I know sport isn’t about what you deserve or even what you work for – it’s who gets it on the day.

“I just know I’m a better athlete than that. It’s very disappointing.”

Ramsay-Peaty has spoken about the difficult decisions that come with being an elite athlete. The time away from his son, whom he held in his arms after the Paris silver. The events at home he has to miss.

“They are not even sacrifices; they are choices,” he said.

“It’s like getting knocked out in the group stages in the World Cup for a very good team. You know you’re better and it hurts because you know you have to wait for a very long time for the next championships.

“This is probably – realistically – my last Commonwealth Games and I thought I’d trained for better. I could do better. I’ve been faster this season. That’s where the frustration is.”

Ramsay-Peaty has made no secret of the fact he is still competing in the quest for Olympic gold.

He considered retirement again after Paris, but committed to another four years when the 50m race was added to programme for Los Angeles 2028.

This 100m breaststroke is his event – the one in which he went unbeaten in eight years – but there may be a time when he has to let it go.

The 50m race – a dash down one length of the pool – would be less taxing on the body, and Ramsay-Peaty is due back in the pool for that event on Sunday morning.

“Is the 100 even viable any more? I don’t know,” he said.

“When it hurts like this, the 50 is probably my super strength with my power.

“With the Olympics, that’s probably going to be more realistic, but it’s too early to tell.

“I just feel like I couldn’t have given more this cycle. If I had given less, would it have even equalled more?”

Given the emotion, there are times you wonder how close Ramsay-Peaty is to walking away entirely.

He appeared to walk to the edge but always turned back, insisting the drive for LA remains.

“Of course,” he said.

“I know I’m a sprinter. I know I can do very well because I’ve done it. It doesn’t disappear overnight.

“It requires me to look at the formula and see how I can get to that speed again.”

July 25 (UPI) — The lieutenant governor of Hawaii was indicted this week for allegedly being bribed by a lobbyist aiming to help a company receive a contract for COVID-19 testing.

A grand jury on Friday indicted Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, a former state representative and the lobbyist, among others, for setting up a scheme to contribute $70,000 to Luke’s campaign in exchange for the contract, the Aloha State Daily reported.

The lobbyist, Tobi Solidum, offered the to Luke to retain a contract with the state, and allegedly was looking to bribe her in the future after she accepted two $5,000 checks at the beginning of the scheme.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told Fox News that, in light of the indictment, Luke should depart from office.

“The attorney general announced significant developments in her department’s corruption investigation and has provided an update on their findings,” Green said.

“The lieutenant governor needs to consider formally resigning to address this matter and so that the state of Hawaii can move forward,” he said.

Luke, Solidum, former state Public Utilities Commission chair Leodoloff Asuncion Jr., and state Department of Transportation airports administrator Ford Fuchigami all were indicted for involvement in the scheme.

The indictment alleges that that Luke accepted two checks for $5,000 in January 2022 at a Morton’s Steakhouse, with the promise of two more payments of $35,000 each.

Although Luke has acknowledged accepting the $5,000 checks, she I miss that she never received additional money and never acted on what she was paid for.

At least one person was killed and several injured when Israeli drones hit a group of Palestinians near Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Hospital. Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum was outside the hospital as the attack happened. Here’s his report.

In 2007, for the first time in recorded history, more humans were living in urban spaces than rural ones. The animal kingdom has followed suit. In our cities, we are surrounded by synanthropes — wild animals that have adapted to human-modified environments and have learned to thrive in them — yet most of us are unaware of the biodiversity of this urban wildlife and how it functions along a parallel track with its human brethren.

Dan Werb’s latest book “Our Wild Familiars” explains how these “soil churners … epidemic vectors and ecosystem partners” have a crucial role to play in the future sustainability of our communities. I talked to Werb about coyotes, the health benefits of birdsong and seagulls with junk-food issues.

✍️ Author Chat

You are an epidemiologist.

I was trained as a social epidemiologist — somebody who can look at how societal factors influence the health of populations. I study how society determines who lives and dies, who is sick and who is healthy.

I’m wondering if it was your interest in Zoonotic viruses that led you to this subject?

The last book I wrote was called “The Invisible Siege.” It is an overview of the history of coronavirus science, starting in the ‘80s, braided with the much longer history of the coronavirus family. And it ends with this scientist who is describing being in northern Thailand and moving through Myanmar and Yunnan Province in China in the ‘90s. And he stumbles upon this exotic animal market near the Shan Autonomous state, which is an ethnic enclave in northern Myanmar that’s been at war with the junta there forever. And this market’s got cloud leopard skins, civets and every crazy, exotic animal that you can imagine. And they were all being sent directly into China. And it’s exactly this kind of trafficking that is carrying all these viruses, like this superhighway of exotic animals into urban areas.

But not all urban animals are vectors for disease. In fact, we have fostered very cushy urban environments for many different species. Pigeons, for example, who don’t have to fly in cities because they have no natural predators.

Chris Shell, a coyote expert from Altadena that I interviewed, pointed out that pigeons do have to worry about predators now, because there are red tail hawks and coyotes and other creatures. Our urban ecosystems are becoming more complex. There are some biologists that are describing our time right now in North America as the great urban shift. They’ve done modeling exercises showing that over the next few decades there are literally going to be thousands of species moving into urban areas. They’re increasingly going to be mega-fauna, much larger animals.

Why is that happening?

We’re seeing the continuing acceleration of the transformation of wild spaces into human modified spaces. But it’s also because of extreme weather events. If you look at the horrible fires that occurred in Los Angeles last year, one of the things that happened was hundreds of thousands, even millions, of animals had to flee those areas that were on fire, and they fled into urban areas. What do urban areas provide? Constant sources of freshwater, continual sources of food waste, and other prey. You’ve got climate change happening, and that’s causing this real shift of animals moving into different places.

Dan Werb, author of “Our Wild Familiars,” a new book about wild animals who’ve managed to survive in human communities.

(Joseph Fuda)

What about a less traditional metropolitan space, like L.A. County, which is a hodgepodge of so many different kinds of topography and terrain.

L.A. is super fascinating because lot size isn’t directly related to income. It’s very much more heterogeneous and variable, even within neighborhoods. The wealthier a neighborhood is, the higher the biodiversity is going to be, because we’re going to have larger lots, more green space, fewer fences, things like that.

We have a complicated relationship with coyotes in L.A., especially those of us who have lost pets to them. But according to your book, we have trapped them in our cities.

Coyotes need to have pathways that allow them to move in and out cities. As it is now, they move into urban environments looking for food and water, and they can’t get out. They get trapped in cities, and conflict happens. Like black bears in suburbs across large parts of North America that dig into people’s garbage.

And bears and other animals eating, say, fast food leftovers is a nutritional disaster as well.

It’s like an ecological trap. They see no reason why they would leave, even though staying is actually more dangerous for them. And there are all kinds of ecological traps across cities that manifest in different ways. One that I always think about is seagulls at the seashore that have evolved over tens of millions of years to be able to hunt fish and shellfish. And the fish are right there, yet they’re eating french fries because it’s slightly less work.

You mention the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing that spans the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills, the first animal crossing of its kind in America, as a potential solution to this problem.

I think it’s great. One hopes there will be more projects like that undertaken in other cities around the world.

We’ve discussed all the rotten things that are going on with animals in cities. Why is it a wonderful thing that animals have come into our cities and our lives?

If we hear birdsong, we’re less stressed. If we hear additional birdsong, it multiplies the stress-relieving effect. Being close to animals is biologically beneficial for us. It’s really about connection. I look at AI, and there’s this kind of sense that an AI chat bot can decrease loneliness. But it’s just an echo chamber. I think a true connection is bridging some kind of divide in the way that you think or perceive the world. And in that sense, being aware of an animal who is aware of you takes you out of yourself in a way that I think is really, really special.

This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.

📰 The Week(s) in Books

Book jacket for “You Won’t Get Free of It: Stories of Mothers and Daughters” by Rachel Aviv

(Los Angeles Times illustration; book jacket from Knopf)

The ostensible topic of Rachel Aviv’s new essay collection, “You Won’t Get Free of It,” is mothers and daughters, but according to Julia M. Klein, Aviv’s sparkling, sharp-eyed pieces “involve the slipperiness of truth and the crushing inadequacy of our mental-health system and social safety net.”

“Cool Machine,” the final volume of Colson Whitehead’s Harlem trilogy, is an “American epic disguised as a heist novel,” writes Leigh Haber. “Whether or not New York is your jam, or a place you have escaped from or to, Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy is destined to live on as an American classic.”

Whitney Friedlander profiles Jessica Knoll, one of America’s most successful authors of sexy thrillers that “depict the absolute worst things one person could do to another — but in such a sensational, tongue-prickling-sour-candy kind of way that her books come off as devilishly evil beach reads.”

Finally, Dan Tana’s book about his legendary, eponymously-named restaurant in West Hollywood, “Everybody Came to Tana’s,” has been posthumously published. Sixty-two years after the restaurant’s opening, it’s still a tough reservation to snag. “In a town that’s always trying to be something that it’s not, it’s not trying to be anything,” his daughter Katerina tells Maddie Connors. “Dan Tana’s is longevity in the midst of ephemera.”

📖 Bookstore Faves

The Philosophical Research Society is a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument in Los Feliz.

(Philosophical Research Society)

There is nothing else in L.A. like the Philosophical Research Society. The nonprofit was founded by scholar Manly Hall in 1934 as a place for the curious to explore wisdom, philosophy, mysticism and mythology across all cultures. Its visually striking Mayan Revival Los Feliz campus, a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument, features an auditorium, a gallery and a library of 30,000 volumes. The PRS bookshop is its own gem, a well-curated miscellany of books for spiritual seeking and enlightenment.

In a joint email exchange, PRS staffers dama, Jarrett Schaefer, Kelly Carmena and Amanda Brass explain what makes the store a sui generis experience.

How does the bookshop tie in thematically with the Philosophical Research Society?

The PRS Bookstore is a reflection of all that we do here at PRS. It is an extension of the library created by Manly Hall where you will find foundational texts in alchemy, mythology, philosophy, astrology, and art. You will also find a selection of books based on themes explored in our talks and screenings and from recommendations made by the team at PRS.

It’s a very well-curated inventory of new and secondhand books — I assume you’re very careful about what you stock on the shelves.

We select works that are meaningful to us and hope that they will resonate with everyone too. We highlight works by mystics and visionaries. In our staff recommendations section, you’ll find titles like Ben Caldwell and Robeson Taj Frazier’s “Kaos Theory,” art books by Penny Slinger, Betye Saar and Remedios Varo, Yoko Ono’s “Grapefruit,” “Red Tarot” by Christopher Marmolejo, “The Bhagavad Gita,” and “Time, Myth & Matter” by LD Deutsch. We also feature items from local artists like Moss Candles, Black Willow Jewelry, and perfume by Syd Botanica. Our secondhand books are donation-only and are a kaleidoscopic bag of surprises.

The Philosophical Research Society features an auditorium, a gallery, a library of 30,000 volumes and a bookshop.

(Philosophical Research Society)

What book genres tend to sell well?

Esoteric art, mythology, tarot and divinatory practices, ancient philosophy, and hermeticism are all popular subjects. The top-selling book every year is Manly Hall’s seminal work “The Secret Teachings of All Ages,” which is an encyclopedic outline of symbolic philosophy. The used astrology books and children’s books are quite popular too.

Do you have author events?

We’ve hosted book talks with Mark Mothersbaugh, Michelle Coltrane, Mitch Horowitz and Susan Orlean. We regularly co-present events with publishers like Hat & Beard Press, Angel City Press, the Library of Esoterica, Sky Press, Ouroboros Press and Bibliomancers. There are also monthly events that are centered around the bookstore: The Manly Hall Book Club, Astro Study Group, Surrealist Study Group, Tarot Salon and an Esoteric Game Night.

Philosophical Research Society is at 3910 Los Feliz Blvd. in Los Angeles.

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

Having grown up on an island with about 100,000 inhabitants, Nowacki is rapidly become one of the best breaststrokers in the world.

He left Jersey to train at Millfield School and will move to Loughborough after the Games to continue his swimming as part of Team GB’s elite squad preparing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Nathan Jegou, who coached Nowacki as a youngster and is managing the Jersey swimming team in Glasgow, says he is excited at what the islander can do.

“It’s just the start of his journey, and the last two years for him has been phenomenal,” he told BBC Jersey.

“I’m excited to see what he does and we’re proud that he’s one of us.

“We’re such a small island, to come here and get a silver medal, it means everything to him, means everything to us, and we hope he can maybe do it again later in the week.”

July 25 (UPI) — The Trump administration admitted that it canceled nearly $8 billion in grants slated for hundreds of clean energy projects “based solely” on whether a state voted for Kamala Harris for president, it was reported Friday.

In a recent court filing, a lawyer for the Energy Department said none of the axed projects lost their funding “based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction or performance-based factor.”

The Trump administration attorney added, “The 284 terminated grants had a recipient location and/or at least one place of performance in a state that awarded its electoral votes to Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and has two Democratic-caucusing senators.”

The government’s admission, first reported by The New York Times, came out as part of a July 15 court filing in a class action lawsuit over the slashed grants.

The Department of Energy selected 600 grants for cancellation and sent the list to the Office of Management and Budget, which terminated 284 of them in October.

“Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled,” OMB Director Russell Vought wrote on X.

Despite also being recommended for cancellation from energy officials, the OMB left untouched hundreds of projects in places that voted for Trump, court documents show.

“The inclusion of grants in the October notice tranche was based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state, i.e., whether the recipient’s location and/or place of performance was in a Blue State or a non-Blue State,” Trump administration lawyers wrote.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, called the move “unprecedented Trumpism and something we should never become numb to.”

“Trump admits he’s ripping the rug out from under hardworking families so he can get revenge on the Americans who didn’t vote for him,” the New York democrat added. “It’s sick and deranged. His ego is so fragile, he’ll punish families already struggling to put food on the table for a little bit of vengeance.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said, “This mass partisan retribution is appalling, outrageous, dangerous, lawless, unconstitutional, unpatriotic and a massive offense against the Republic.”

“Every elected official must denounce this imbecilic deep betrayal of America,” Raskin added in a statement. “And the illegally impounded funds must be restored and released immediately to the blue states.”

Raytheon has touted a new domestic order for PAC-2-series interceptors for the Patriot surface-to-air missile system. This is the first time the U.S. military has bought any new PAC-2s in more than 30 years, according to the company. This comes amid persistent concerns about the sufficiency of American stockpiles of high-end anti-air interceptors and other critical munitions, with alarm bells now ringing very loudly due to the conflict with Iran. Global demand for Patriot systems and interceptors for them, in general, is at a high point, driven heavily by fighting in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Patriot has been seeing a broader renaissance in recent years amid an evolving threat ecosystem, emanating especially from Russia and China.

Patriot was an important topic of discussion during a Raytheon quarterly earnings call this morning. Raytheon is the prime contractor for the Patriot system and the PAC-2 interceptor. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the separate PAC-3 family of interceptors for Patriot.

“Raytheon booked nearly $20 billion of awards, resulting in a book-to-bill [ratio] in Q2 [second quarter of the 2026 fiscal year] of 2.4[%],” Christopher Calio, President and CEO of Raytheon (now formally called RTX), said on today’s call. “These bookings included over $5 billion of GEM-T Patriot effectors, driven by international customers, and our first domestic GEM-T production order in over 30 years.”

Calio did not elaborate on the domestic order, but this appears to be a reference to a contract the U.S. Army quietly awarded back in April. That deal was valued at $441.6 million and was said to be in support of Operation Epic Fury against Iran.

GEM-T stands for Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical. The GEM-T configuration, which has received various upgrades over the years, is the only version of PAC-2 still in production today.

Before the contract in April, it’s not entirely clear when the U.S. Army last ordered any new-production PAC-2 series interceptors, and the nomenclature here can be a little confusing. Raytheon began production of the baseline Guidance Enhanced Missile (GEM) variant, also designated the MIM-104D, in the mid-1990s. Compared to earlier versions of the PAC-2, GEM had improved engagement capability against smaller targets or ones otherwise with smaller radar cross-sections thanks to a new seeker. Changes were also made to the missile’s fuze to improve effectiveness against fast-moving ballistic missiles. A GEM+ configuration was subsequently developed, offering even better accuracy, performance, and reliability.

The U.S. Army subsequently sent stocks of baseline GEM and other older PAC-2 interceptors back to Raytheon to be brought up to the GEM+ standard. The resulting missiles were collectively designated MIM-104Es, with deliveries starting in the early 2000s. The GEM-T moniker was originally applied to MIM-104Es rebuilt from MIM-104Ds, which were further optimized against tactical ballistic missiles in the process. You can read more in detail about the PAC-2 lineage, as well as that of the separate PAC-3 series, in this previous TWZ piece.

Whether or not the new U.S. order for GEM-T interceptors is entirely for American military use, or includes purchases on behalf of allies and partners, is unclear. GEM-T remains in active U.S. Army service, as well as with other Patriot operators globally, even as newer PAC-3 interceptors have arrived. Current-generation trailer-mounted Patriot launchers can be loaded with mixtures of PAC-2 and PAC-3-series missiles at the same time, increasing their flexibility against different threats. PAC-2 missiles are distinctly larger than PAC-3 types.

However, as Raytheon has highlighted today, the U.S. military had not placed any orders for new-production GEM-Ts in decades. Members of the House Armed Services Committee notably questioned this logic just in June, in a report accompanying a draft of the annual defense policy bill, or National Defense Authorization Act, for Fiscal Year 2027.

“The committee supports the Army’s continued investment in Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) to address the spectrum of current and future aerial threats and notes the ongoing efforts to address munitions production capacity within the domestic defense industrial base,” per that report. “The committee further notes that the Army’s procurement of Patriot interceptors in recent budget requests has been for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE), and not for the PAC-2 Guided Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T), which has complemented the MSE in real-world engagements.”

At that time, the House Armed Services Committee also asked for the Secretary of the Army to provide a briefing, no later than March 1, 2027, on Patriot interceptor inventories. Lawmakers specifically asked for the briefing to include the following:

• “An overview of the capabilities and limitations of both PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors against current and emerging theater ballistic missile and air breathing threats.”
• “Current stockpile levels for PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors, planned deliveries of both types across the Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP), and an assessment of inventory sufficiency relative to approved force growth, and remaining shelf-life.”
• “A description of the Army’s Total Munitions Requirement for the Patriot family of interceptors.”
• “Any recommendations to address shortfalls in inventory, to include additional procurement of PAC-2 interceptors, modernization of the PAC-2 missile, and development of a new interceptor for the Patriot system.”

Whether or not the committee was aware at that time of the GEM-T contract earlier this year is unclear. When missiles from that order are expected to start arriving is also unknown. PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors are long-lead-time items, and it typically takes years for deliveries to come after a contract award.

All of this speaks to the larger issues around Patriot interceptor stockpiles, which become something of a poster child for munitions supply chain concerns more broadly. Questions surrounding munitions expenditures in the course of fighting against Iran this year were front and center at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing just yesterday. The Trump administration is currently seeking $67.1 billion in supplemental funding to help cover the costs of the conflict, including replenishing stockpiles of critical munitions.

Just how many Patriot interceptors the U.S. Army has expended in the course of operations related to Iran this year is unknown. A detailed report the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank published in May estimated the figure to be somewhere between 1,060 and 1,430. Those numbers were not further broken down between PAC-2 and PAC-3 variants.

SINGER Charli XCX shows off her glamorous side as her new album is released.

The Brit hitmaker, 33, shared a photo of her holding a copy of her latest studio album Music, Fashion, Film.

It features cultural icons John Cale, Marc Jacobs and Martin Scorsese on the cover, and comes two years on from Brat.

That album sparked the brat summer phenomenon, celebrating messy, party-loving fun.

Charli, also at home on the red carpet, declared it over in September 2024, posting: “Goodbye forever brat summer.”

Recently Charli got in front of the lens for the music video to her new track Camera.

PROUD MUM

Denise Welch shares unseen pics of son Matty Healy’s wedding

STAGE RETURN

Charli XCX announces huge new Music, Fashion, Film tour ahead of album release

It is from her upcoming seventh album Music, Fashion, Film.

Dressed in a plunging blue shirt, Charli filmed a dramatic storyline with French actor Vincent Cassel.

The action-packed scenes looked like they were in a desert but were actually filmed in a quarry in Kent.

Vincent’s character had a gunshot wound to his abdomen.

In footage that could rival a Hollywood blockbuster, Charli stood in front of an overturned grey car that had ploughed into a sand dune, and was also seen crawling on all fours.

The singer took over London’s Scala nightclub on Tuesday for an intimate performance of tracks from her forthcoming album, including Camera.

In the lyrics, she sings: “It makes me question what I’m doing.

“Do I wanna make music? Am I being f*****g stupid. If I try to be a girl on the screen when I’m turning thirty-four?”

Ezola Foster, Pat Buchanan’s running mate on the Reform Party ticket, collected workers’ compensation payments for nearly a year for a mental disorder she now says she did not have.

The disability claim, which was contested by her employer, the Los Angeles Unified School District, capped a checkered career in which Foster struggled financially as a result of bad business deals and twice resigned as a teacher after becoming embroiled in controversy, according to court records and interviews.

Foster applied for workers’ compensation in 1996, shortly after refusing to return to her job as a typing teacher at Bell High School.

“I have two choices to survive,” Foster said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “Since it wasn’t physical, they make it mental, don’t they? If I don’t have a broken leg or they don’t see blood, or I’m not dead, they said I have to be crazy. And I would have been to go back there.”

The real reason she could not return to work, she said, was that her outspoken opposition to illegal immigration had made her a target of what she claimed was hatemongering and physical threats at an overwhelmingly Latino school.

The diagnosis of a mental disorder–which she declined to specify–was worked out “between my doctor and my attorney. . . . It’s whatever the doctor said that, after working with my attorney, was best to help me,” she said.

But although she claimed a mental disorder to receive the benefits, she strongly asserted that she has no mental problems and never did.

“I am perfectly sane,” Foster said.

Queried further about the matter, Foster asked whether a story was being done about her. She then told a reporter that it was his decision “if you want to put down there I pretended to be crazy when I’m not.” Shortly afterward, she hung up.

In a statement, Bay Buchanan, the candidate’s sister and executive co-chairwoman of the campaign, said: “Ezola Foster is an outstanding individual. Pat could not be more proud of his choice for vice president. As for her personal life from many years ago, we have no comment or concern.”

Buchanan, a conservative commentator and former speech writer for Richard Nixon, is battling a rival Reform Party faction for $12.6 million in federal campaign financing that goes to the party’s nominee. The party was founded in 1992 by billionaire industrialist Ross Perot.

When Buchanan picked Foster, his aides hailed her as a proponent of family values. Commentators saw the choice of Foster, an outspoken black conservative, as a smart political stroke that gave Buchanan an ideological soul mate and a buffer against charges that his rhetoric is racially inflammatory.

Records obtained from the state Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board show that Foster applied for benefits based on a mental condition. The precise claim, however, was blacked out of the public records, and attorneys for Foster have opposed a request by The Times to obtain the complete file. The appeals board has scheduled a hearing for Monday. She collected benefits until becoming eligible for retirement at age 60.

The disability claim was the final act in a long-running saga of Foster’s difficulties with the Los Angeles school district. District records show that in 1984 she resigned her teaching job at Jordan High School in South-Central Los Angeles. Her record there included one incident in which she filed a complaint with the teachers union charging a colleague with spreading rumors about her.

“It was so bizarre,” said Don Baer, a retired teachers union official who investigated the complaint, which he found merited no action. “I tried to drop it out of my memory bank.”

As Foster tells it, she fell out of favor because she stuck up for students who were being failed based solely on absences, a practice she contends violates state law.

After fighting off a forced transfer, Foster said, she faced so much hostility that she had to demand a transfer. It was denied.

“The only way I could get a transfer was to leave the district,” she said.

She returned to teaching in less than a year when she got the job at Bell.

After about a decade at that school, she filed suit against the district. According to the suit, two teachers inflamed the school against her after she appeared on the nationally televised “McNeil/Lehrer News Hour” in 1996 to argue for legislation that would have allowed states to prohibit schools from enrolling illegal immigrants.

On the show, Foster said she believed that illegal immigration was the primary cause of overcrowding in the Los Angeles school system.

“They called me a racist, a liar,” Foster said. “They called me a Nazi.”

Foster also charged that students under the supervision of a teacher threatened her with death and threw frozen soda cans in her direction when she spoke at an anti-immigration rally sponsored by Voice of Citizens Together. The group contends that Mexican political leaders and agitators in the U.S. are conspiring to reclaim Mexican sovereignty over the Southwest.

Despite her entreaties, Foster said, school officials took no action to investigate the threats or protect her.

Her suit sought damages for “serious physical ailments, emotional distress, fear, anxiety, depression and loss of self-esteem.” A Superior Court judge dismissed the suit without a trial.

Court records and other documents show that other aspects of Foster’s life have been complicated.

For example, court records show that Foster filed for divorce from her husband, Charles, in 1983, shortly after he had completed the adoption of her son by a previous marriage. The petition indicated the couple were separated for about a year and cited irreconcilable differences.

But in the interview, Foster laughed off the notion that she had wanted to divorce.

“We’ve never had that kind of problem,” she said.

“I have had some bad advice given to me legally in the past,” she said. “Maybe that was part of it.”

Real estate records trace two transactions in which the Fosters fared badly.

In 1986, the Fosters ran into trouble with a small house in South-Central they owned as an investment. The couple eventually sold out, receiving only the value of their debts.

A second real estate investment turned out worse. The Fosters bought a Long Beach duplex in 1993, intending to live in one unit and rent the other. Three years later, they defaulted on their mortgage.

“We didn’t realize that it was in a gang-infested area,” Foster said. “When we were taken there, you couldn’t tell. We went in the day, not at night when all the activity and the shooting went on.”

Foster said the gangs targeted her because of her prominence in the media. “With my speaking out against gang activity it was very unsafe for us,” she said. “We had to get out of there quickly.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Profile:

Ezola Foster

* Age: 62; born Aug. 9, 1938, in Texas.

* Education: Bachelor’s degree in business education, Texas Southern University, 1960; master’s degree in school management and administration, Pepperdine University, 1973.

* Career highlights: Founder and president of Black-Americans for Family Values, 1987 to present; teacher in Los Angeles school system, 1963-1996; ran unsuccessfully for California Assembly, 1984 and 1986.

* Religion: Member of a Congregationalist church.

* Family: Married to Chuck Foster; three children.

* Quote: “We all know the American nation is the most compassionate on Earth, but we have opened up our homes to immigrants and we have welcomed more immigrants than all other countries combined. How much more compassionate can we be? We want to be compassionate, but we want to cease being stupid.”

With four fourth places in Birmingham in 2022, Richards was looking for his first Commonwealth medal to complete the set of Olympic, world and European podium positions.

Wales opted for an entirely different quartet in the pool in the final after Kieran Bird, Harry Milne, Medi Harris and Meghan Higgs had qualified fourth fastest in the heats.

Sutton and Taylor had qualified for their respective individual semi-finals in the 100m backstroke and 100m breaststroke, but both pulled out with a full focus on the relay.

The policy paid off and Taylor, 17, brought Wales back from fifth to third with a brilliant final leg.

Earlier, Rose Williams finished fourth in the women’s S14 200m freestyle final.

The S14 category covers swimmers who have an intellectual impairment, which typically leads to the athletes having difficulties with regard to pattern recognition, sequencing, and memory, or having a slower reaction time, which impact on sport performance in general.

Tyler Melbourne-Smith finished sixth in the 400m freestyle final, while Lewis Fraser qualified for the 100m butterfly final to be staged on Sunday evening.

Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma sets up 90-run win over Zimbabwe as India takes 2-0 lead in T20 series.

India ‌inflicted another heavy defeat on Zimbabwe when they ⁠won the ⁠second Twenty20 international at Harare Sports Club by 90 runs to secure their three-match ⁠series.

Ishan Kishan scored 81 and Tilak Varma an unbeaten 60 as India amassed a formidable total of ⁠219-5 after being put into bat before dismissing Zimbabwe cheaply for 129 to secure the victory on Saturday.

Kishan, whose runs came off 44 balls, and Tilak, who took 29 balls to get ‌to 60, accelerated the scoring in the middle overs, taking advantage of bowling that was often too full.

They put on 94 off 44 balls for the fourth wicket before Ishan was caught in the deep mistiming a slog at a wide delivery.

Zimbabwe faced ⁠a record run chase and, although ⁠opener Brian Bennett offered some early hope, they were always up against it and were dismissed in 17.5 overs.

Bennett played an array of ⁠strokes for 32 runs off 19 balls before falling to Yash Thakur, who ⁠finished with 2-30 on his T20 ⁠international debut.

Once Bennett had been dismissed, there was a steady fall of wickets, with the slow left-arm bowling of Abhishek Sharma producing the ‌best figures of 3-17.

India won the opening match of the three-game series at the Harare Sports Club by ‌seven ‌wickets with 40 balls to spare.

The last clash is on Sunday.