Another senior U.S. Army officer has spoken out about the service’s need for Shahed-136 like long-range, expendable drones. The need for the U.S. to procure exactly these kinds of relatively simple, comparatively very cheap and adaptable drones, built at scale, is something that TWZ has recently made a detailed case for.

When asked by Howard Altman of TWZ about a possible Army requirement for Shahed-like drones, the answer from Maj. Gen. James (Jay) Bartholomees, commanding general of the Hawaii-based 25th Infantry Division, was unequivocal.

“Absolutely,” Bartholomees said, speaking this week at the Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) annual symposium. “We are behind on long-range sensing and long-range launched-effect strike.”

Bartholomees confirmed that the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), the unified combatant command responsible for the Indo-Pacific region, is “learning from what is happening in Ukraine,” where the Pentagon’s tardiness at widely adopting lower-end drones for its own offensive operations has been highlighted.

The Iranian-designed Shahed-136 long-range one-way attack drone, which is being mass-produced in Russia as the Geran, has become Moscow’s primary standoff weapon with which it bombards Ukraine on a daily basis.

While the U.S. military is lagging behind, Bartholomees said there’s good news on this front, too.

“I think we can catch up very rapidly,” Bartholomees said. “The formations that we built are ready for those capabilities to land.” Those formations include a launched effects company that the 25th Infantry Division is currently standing up. This will join the launched effects platoon that already exists within its multifunctional reconnaissance company.

As an initial experiment, the launched effects company will be created within the 25th Infantry Division’s artillery unit.

“We absolutely need to build this capability quickly,” Bartholomees continued. “We need to test it in our region; we also need to work with our allies and partners to do the same.”

Referring again to the Shahed, Bartholomees noted that, because this kind of drone “is very cheap, easy to produce, and easy to put together,” it makes it “exactly the type of capability that we would love to have for our allies and partners in the region.” Not only would long-range, expendable drones of this kind help regional allies and partners protect their sovereign territory, but they would also be relevant to defend their maritime spaces, something Bartholomees described as “a unique problem set.”

When asked where the U.S. Army was in relation to Russian efforts in the field of long-range one-way attack drones, Bartholomees admitted that “We are behind in that sense, we need to push faster, all the services, frankly, are on this chase to move faster.”

He did, however, note that there are some “defeat mechanism concerns” that have put something of a brake on the development of at least certain types drones.

Bartholomees identified the importance of the work being done within divisional innovation labs, specifically the work on a nascent long-range one-way attack capability.

“We’re building our own drones,” Bartholomees said. “We’re already starting to produce one-way attack, fixed-wing [but] the longer range obviously gets harder and harder to do, that’s where you need more airworthiness expertise.”

It should be noted that, with its focus on long range and cost effectiveness, a drone in the mold of the Shahed is of particular relevance to a future contingency in the Indo-Pacific theater in which the 25th Infantry Division would likely be engaged.

The Shahed-136 has a range of around 1,000 miles, depending on variant and payload. The extreme challenges of the Pacific call for strike weapons with long range. In fact, TWZ has advocated in the past for an extended-range one-way attack drone, which would be especially useful for reaching from the Second Island Chain to the Chinese mainland — a one-way trip of roughly 2,000 miles.

Bartholomees said he agreed with Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commander of the Army’s V Corps, which has a presence on NATO’s eastern flank, who also discussed drones and counter-drone capabilities at AUSA before talking further with Howard Altman of TWZ.

“We aren’t moving fast enough,” Costanza continued. “And it really took Russia’s invasion of Ukraine [in 2022], and the way they’re innovating, and Ukrainians are innovating, to realize, hey, we need to move fast.”

When asked specifically if the U.S. military needed a capability broadly in line with the Shahed drone, Constanza responded: “I think we do.”

Returning to Bartholomees, he argued that the rapid pace of drone development in the Ukrainian war is, in no small part, due to the result of an existential threat, which means the Ukrainian industrial base is “pushing incredibly hard for the sovereignty of their entire nation.”

“I have no doubt that we can push further, faster to get there,” Bartholomees, pointing to the partnership the Army is forging with the Marine Corps and Air Force, in this regard.

Of course, as we have argued repeatedly in the past, the United States could also find itself facing an existential threat, including an adversary that has a much larger arsenal of long-range, expendable drones. Namely, China.

At the same time, the need for huge numbers of long-range guided weapons that can pierce China’s anti-access bubble is coming to the forefront at a time when existing stockpiles are clearly below the required threshold. This is a reality that is meanwhile driving the development of a wide array of lower-cost, long-range weapons. These include low-cost jet-powered cruise missiles, but these are still significantly more expensive and complex than a Shahed-136 clone and/or they lack range in comparison.

Currently, there are a handful of smaller companies in the United States that are pitching a Shahed copy, or something very similar. While this is a useful starting point, it should be recalled that Russia is already mass-producing these kinds of weapons and is now understood to be building 5,000 a month.

Thankfully, we are finally seeing some much-needed change when it comes to the U.S. military’s plans for fielding its own lower-end drones.

With senior officers like Bartholomees and Costanza making the case for long-range one-way attack drones, we might also start to see some more urgency here, too.

Contact the author: [email protected]

For those who know of the spectacle that is Juan Gabriel there is no explanation necessary, for those who don’t, no explanation will suffice.

A new Netflix docuseries attempts to capture the magic of the frequently bedazzled genre- and gender-defying showmanship of “El Divo de Juárez,” who died at 66 of natural causes in 2016, while also investigating the internality of the man behind Gabriel — Alberto Aguilera Valadez.

Juan Gabriel was known for his epic stage performances, where he was often accompanied by an orchestra, dancers and dozens of mariachis dressed in tight jackets and sombreros, while belting out such hits as “Hasta Que Te Conocí,” “El Noa Noa” and “Amor Eterno.”

His colorful outfits and flamboyant dance moves drew speculation about his sexuality, but he famously preferred to remain coy on the issue and to this day remains a queer icon throughout the Latin American world.

“Juan Gabriel: I Must, I Can, I Will,” which premieres Oct. 30, utilizes a goldmine of hundreds of thousands of personal and never-before-seen voice recordings, photos and videos of one of Mexico’s most revered singer-songwriters, giving audiences a holistic look at the pain, joy, contradictions, artistry and genius that informed Gabriel’s worldview and perception of himself.

The project is director María José Cuevas’ second production with the streaming giant — her 2023 documentary feature “The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders” recounted the story of famous Mexican serial killer Juana Barraza, who was sentenced to 759 years in prison for killing 16 elderly women and the suspected killing of dozens more.

Cuevas’ implementation of the juxtaposed duality of Juan Gabriel and Alberto Aguilera Valadez was inspired by his insistence that the two entities were distinct yet symbiotic, as was shown in a 2014 filmed self-interview the singer conducted.

“In order to understand the greatness of Juan Gabriel, I had to know Alberto. He always played with that duality,” she said. “From a very young age he would say in interviews that he invented Juan Gabriel to shield Alberto, he invented an idol in order to protect his private identity.”

In an interview with The Times, Cuevas spoke about her personal connection to the famed singer, the overwhelming archives she had access to and the ways in which Juan Gabriel united and continues to unite people to this day.

This interview was translated and edited for length.

What was your relationship to Juan Gabriel before taking on the task of directing this documentary?

I remember clearly turning on the TV [when I was young] and seeing video clips of Juan Gabriel with his red sweater and white jeans. I later had the opportunity to go to his first performance at the Palacios de Bellas Artes in 1990 with my parents. One is accustomed to going to Bellas Artes for opera, ballet, classical music and the concert began with that formal tone, but there reached a moment where audience members couldn’t keep up the facade of elegance and everyone let their hair down.

For me that moment was incredibly revelatory, I finally noticed that he was a whirlwind in every sense of the word. I didn’t realize at the time that I was present at a such an important cultural milestone. When I watched it in retrospect, from all the camera angles we were privy to for this documentary, I got goosebumps and I wish I could go back to being 18 years old and experience it with the intensity that I have for his music now.

I think that Juan Gabriel always transports us to something personal, but also to something collective. In Mexico, Juan Gabriel’s death was a very collective experience. You would go out into the street and you would hear his music in cars, the corner store, coming out of neighbors’ houses.

How did you gain access to the vast collection of archived materials that are present in the documentary?

That’s really the treasure of the project. Juan Gabriel’s story has already been told, but what makes this project unique is that it’s a story told by [the recordings and photos] he left behind. One of the first things he did after reaching success wasn’t just to buy his mom a house, but also to buy himself a Super 8 camera. From then on he picked up the habit of recording his everyday activities as Alberto Aguilera and later on he always had a camera following around as Juan Gabriel.

From our first meetings with Netflix, I figured we should ask Gabriel’s family if they had anything to share with us. I thought maybe it would be a photo album that was laying around, maybe a box of memorabilia or a few cassettes. So it was to our great surprises when they sent us over a photo of a warehouse with shelves full of every different kind of film. It was crazy. And that’s when I remembered that Juan Gabriel’s close friend and actor Isela Vega was helping him catalog all of his videography.

I never imagined that within those videos that we’d find the public persona of Juan Gabriel and the private persona of Alberto Aguilera. Another elucidating moment was that Juan Gabriel reached a moment where he became conscious of the level of his celebrity and that it wasn’t a coincidence that he recorded most of his life. And there reached a moment where I realized he saved all these recordings so that one day people could revisit all his saved materials and they could reconstruct his personal story through what he left behind.

There’s a moment in the documentary where we’re at one of his concerts and there are men of all orientations in the crowd that are asking JuanGa to marry them. That seemed particularly powerful to me because in that moment the veil of machismo seemed to fall.

Yeah, I think an important part of making this portrait of Juan Gabriel was understanding the context of Mexico in the ‘80s. It was very conservative, very machista and then all of a sudden this guy drops in with all this talent and charisma and he says, “Here I come, get out of the way because I’m gonna conquer everyone.” And that wasn’t so simple at that time. He showed his greatness at any and every stage he was put on. He was able to win over people in every social class in a very elitist Mexico. He won over everyone from the most macho man to women.

Even greater than the achievement that was his performance at Bellas Artes were his performances in palenques when he was young. Palenques being these circular stages where you can’t hide because you’re standing right in the middle of everything. And he would take the stage late at night when everyone was already drunk and they were audiences that were, in general, very machista.

Suddenly a very young Juan Gabriel would appear to perform rancheras. I always say he was a provocateur, but also a seducer because of his ability to win over a crowd. There were audiences that would yell derogatory things at him and that’s when he’d really play with the audience.

It feels almost impossible not to be moved by the music as you watch your documentary.

He’s really magnificent. I remember throughout the whole process of making the doc and I was watching the intimate home videos of Alberto Aguilera and it really reminded me that Juan Gabriel was a human like everyone else [not just this grand entertainer]. I’d put any concert of his and I was bowing at the altar of a star. It’s amazing what a powerful character he was up on that stage.

And how have you seen JuanGa’s legacy represent something very specific in the U.S.?

For Latinos in the U.S. he’s such an important figure because his work pulls people back to their roots. One of his greatest accomplishments as a performer was when he filled the Rose Bowl in 1993. In that moment he showed his influence and strength within the Latino world. He’s absolutely one of the key figures in Latin music.

WASHINGTON — In his final hours as president, Bill Clinton on Saturday granted pardons to 140 Americans, including Patricia Hearst, an heiress kidnapped in the 1970s; his half-brother, Roger, who was convicted on drug charges; and Susan McDougal, who spent 18 months in jail rather than testify about the Clintons’ role in the Whitewater scandal.

Former Housing Secretary Henry G. Cisneros, ex-CIA Director John M. Deutch and former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington also received last-minute pardons.

But Clinton chose not to pardon financier Michael Milken, who pleaded guilty in 1990 to six counts of securities fraud. Milken’s request for a pardon had been championed by influential business and political figures.

In the end, strong opposition from law enforcement and the investment community–including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. attorney in New York–convinced the president that Milken did not deserve a pardon, according to a former administration official who asked not to be identified.

“A lot of influential people on Wall Street weighed in against the pardon,” the official said. “The press obsession with Milken and whether he was going to get a pardon was out of proportion.”

Milken, who heard of the decision early Saturday at his Encino home, is optimistic that one day he will be pardoned, said his spokesman, Geoffrey Moore.

“This man is never bitter,” Moore said. “He’s been through a lot worse than this. I’m sure he would have preferred another decision, but he never looks back.”

Ari Swiller, a spokesman for Ron Burkle, the Los Angeles grocery magnate who spearheaded Milken’s pardon efforts, would not comment on whether a campaign for a Milken pardon will continue. Burkle, who heads the Yucaipa Management Co., is a close friend of Clinton and one of his early campaign contributors.

“We don’t want to judge the process,” Burkle said. “On the good side, this has provided the opportunity for more people to know of Mike’s philanthropic efforts.”

The White House had been expected to announce its final pardons Friday, but Clinton was preoccupied with a more pressing issue–a deal with Whitewater independent counsel Robert W. Ray in which he acknowledged making false statements about his affair with Monica S. Lewinsky. In return, Ray promised not to prosecute Clinton.

During his eight-year term, Clinton pardoned 395 people, about the same as President Reagan, and commuted the sentences of 61 prisoners. Former President Bush pardoned 74 people during his four-year term.

McDougal learned of her pardon while watching the inauguration on television with friends in Arkansas.

“I have carried this burden with me since I was convicted,” said McDougal, who has repeatedly proclaimed her innocence. “I never realized how heavy the burden was until today. Now all of that has gone away.”

Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos, who defended McDougal, said her pardon was one of a handful that Clinton wanted to sleep on before making a final decision Saturday morning.

“Susan is a very polarizing figure, and [Clinton] didn’t want to give the perception that a deal was cut,” Geragos said. “This is the final vindication for her.”

As part of the pardon, McDougal also avoids repayment of about $300,000 in court-ordered restitution plus interest, Geragos said.

Kenneth W. Starr, the former independent counsel who charged McDougal with civil contempt, did not return phone calls Saturday.

The pardon for Hearst ends a saga that began in the 1970s, when the newspaper heiress was kidnapped by revolutionaries of the so-called Symbionese Liberation Army and then joined them as “Tania.” She served a prison term for bank robbery.

Former President Carter, who commuted Hearst’s prison sentence, and his wife, Rosalynn, were strong advocates of a pardon for her.

“The Carters weighed in, and the president took their advice seriously,” the former Clinton official said. “She’s reformed and deserves a chance to vote.”

But Sarah Jane Olson, a former SLA member who was captured in 1999 after being a fugitive for nearly 25 years, said Saturday that Hearst fabricated much of her account of the kidnapping.

“Just because Clinton pardoned Patty Hearst does not mean that her story is true,” said Olson, who is scheduled to face trial this spring for allegedly planting bombs under two police cars. “Money, access to power and friends in high places have once again–as with her earlier commutation–influenced presidential prerogative in favor of Patricia Hearst.” Hearst could not be reached for comment.

Symington, a Republican, was convicted in 1997 of bank and wire fraud stemming from his days as a Phoenix real estate developer. The conviction was later thrown out when an appeals court ruled that one of the jurors had been improperly dismissed.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles had been attempting to restore criminal charges against Symington.

“Obviously, that’s not going to happen now,” said Thom Mrozak, spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. He said prosecutors had no comment on the pardon.

Cisneros resigned in 1996 amid controversy over his statements to the FBI about paying “hush money” to a former mistress. Formerly head of Univision, he now is chairman of American CityVista, an affordable housing venture at Kaufman & Broad Home Corp..

Former CIA Director Deutch, who was accused of transferring classified information to his home computer, had been discussing a possible plea deal to settle his case.

Roger Clinton pleaded guilty in 1985 to conspiring to sell cocaine.

In addition to Milken, Clinton declined to grant pardons to Jonathan Jay Pollard, convicted of spying for Israel; Native American activist Leonard Peltier, convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975; and Webster L. Hubbell, a former law partner of Hillary Rodham Clinton who was convicted in a Whitewater-related trial. He had not requested a pardon.

The ability to grant pardons is a uniquely presidential power designated by the Constitution.

The purpose of a pardon is to grant official forgiveness of a crime. It does not expunge a person’s criminal record, but it can have the effect, depending on the state in which the person lives, of restoring some of the civil rights that a criminal conviction takes away, such as the right to vote, to run for office and to carry a firearm.

Clinton also acted Saturday to commute the prison sentences of 36 Americans. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not imply forgiveness of the underlying offense but merely shortens the punishment.

Among those granted clemency were Peter MacDonald Sr., former leader of the Navajo Nation, who was imprisoned for his role in a 1989 riot that resulted in two deaths; and former Chicago-area Democratic Rep. Mel Reynolds, sent to prison for having sex with an underage campaign worker and for bank fraud.

*

Rosenblatt reported from Washington and Vrana from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Edmund Sanders and Alissa J. Rubin in Washington and Ann O’Neill and Richard Winton in Los Angeles contributing to this story.

The Milwaukee Brewers have no chance.

Neither will the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays.

The clear truth emerged from the Dodger Stadium shadows late Thursday amid a downtown-shaking roar of delight and disbelief.

This is ridiculous. This is simply ridiculous, how well the Dodgers are playing, how close the history books are beckoning, and how an ordinary summer has been followed with unbelievable days of the extraordinary.

The Dodgers are not going to lose another game this October. Write it down, bet it up, no major league baseball team has ever played this well in the postseason, ever, ever, ever.

With their 3-1 victory over the Brewers Thursday in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers take a three-games-to-none lead with a sweep likely in the next 24 hours and coronation coming in the next two weeks.

The Dodgers are going to win this NLCS and follow it with a four-game whitewash of the World Series because, well, you tell me.

How is anybody going to beat them?

Match their aces-flush rotation? Nope. Equal their hot closer and revived bullpen? Sorry. Better than their deep lineup? Nobody is even close.

The Dodgers are more than halfway to finishing the most dominant postseason in baseball history, it’s all there in the numbers.

The only team to go undefeated through the playoffs since the divisional era began was the 1976 Cincinnati Reds. But the Big Machine only had to win seven games. Since the playoffs were expanded and the test became tougher, the greatest October streaks have belonged to the 2005 Chicago White Sox and 1999 New York Yankees, both of whom went 11-1.

These Dodgers were forced into that early wild-card series, so if they end this postseason without another loss, they will finish 13-1.

The last time a team in this town had such a dominating postseason was the champion 2001 Lakers, who went 15-1 in the postseason with only one stumble against Philadelphia on the night Allen Iverson famously stepped over Tyronn Lue.

Those Lakers were legendary. These Dodgers will be soon.

They are currently 8-1 in the playoffs and have won 23 of their previous 29 games and again, who’s going to beat them?

Start with that rotation. Tyler Glasnow followed gems by Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto Thursday by twirling 5 ⅔ innings of swing and miss, holding the Brewers to one run with eight strikeouts, and in three games the Brewers have scored two runs in 22 ⅔ innings against Dodger starters.

And perhaps their best pitcher hasn’t even taken the mound yet, that being Friday’s starter Shohei Ohtani.

Now for their deep lineup. Ohtani is still mired in a career-worst slump, but his one hit Thursday was a leadoff triple that led to him scoring the first run, and seemingly everybody else chipped in. Mookie Betts had the first RBI, Tommy Edman knocked in Will Smith with the go-ahead run in the sixth, a hustling Freddie Freeman scored on a wild pickoff attempt, and on and on..

Finish with their bullpen, which is actually finishing. Taking over for Glasnow with a runner on first and two out in the sixth Thursday, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Anthony Banda and Roki Sasaki shut the Brewers down the rest of the way, and their regular-season weakness has become their strength.

Incidentally, Sasaki’s ninth-inning shutdown was aided by a brilliant in-the-hole putout by shortstop Betts, and that’s just one more way the Dodgers can beat you.

All this, and as Thursday confirmed, they have arguably the best home-field advantage in baseball.

No place is bigger. No place draws more fans. And no place is louder, from the bleacher-rattling roar to the cover-your-ears sound system.

“This place has an aura about it,” Max Muncy said of Dodger Stadium. “It’s the biggest capacity in baseball. Everybody talks about it when you come here. The lights seem a little brighter. The music seems a little louder — that might actually be because it is a little louder.”

Yeah, fans, you might hate the otherworldly stadium volume, but the players like it.

“That’s part of the perks of being at Dodger Stadium, we have that sound system,” said Muncy. “It sounds silly to say something like a sound system could be an advantage. But it really is. When the speakers in the center field are cranking and the crowd is going absolutely nuts and you feel the field shaking beneath your feet, it’s a really big advantage. And that’s something we’ve always had here.”

The stadium rose to the occasion Thursday as it always does this time of year, filling up despite the weird mid-afternoon starting time, constantly standing and screaming by the game’s end.

“When we’ve had those big moments, there’s arguably no place that can get louder than Dodger Stadium, especially in the postseason,” Muncy said. “When you have 56, 57,000 people screaming all at the same time in a big moment, it’s pretty wild. That’s an advantage that we’ve always had here, and the guys love it.”

There’s a lot to love.

Oct. 16 (UPI) — The Columbia, S.C., field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has established a digital tip website seeking information about a bar shooting in St. Helena Island on Sunday that killed four people.

“Anyone with cellphone video or any other multimedia recordings of the incident is encouraged to upload media to www.fbi.gov.sthelenamassshooting,” a release from the FBI field office said.

The release said the incident remains under investigation, and that the FBI field office is offering assistance, including video analysis.

The shooting occurred at Willies Bar and Grill on St. Helena Island at about 1 a.m. Sunday during an after-party attended by between 500 and 700 people, many of whom sought shelter in nearby businesses and buildings, a statement from the sheriff’s office said.

Local police said in an update Wednesday that investigators “have lots of information” about the people involved, but will not name suspects until forensic work is completed.

The sheriff’s office is conducting DNA analysis and the State Law Enforcement Division is reviewing firearms and ballistics evidence.

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner could not confirm whether the incident was gang related, but did say all of the victims knew each other, and that all 20 had been identified.

Who: Fulham vs Arsenal
What: English Premier League
Where: Craven Cottage in London, United Kingdom
When: Saturday, October 18, at 5:30pm (16:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 2:30pm (13:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.

Premier League leaders Arsenal will be the heavy favourites when they travel to Fulham on Saturday, but London derbies usually give the underdogs more than a fighting chance, as former Gunners manager Arsene Wenger always used to bemoan.

The Gunners, who have finished second in the table for the last three seasons, have not won the league since Wenger’s era. Fulham, meanwhile, have hit a blip and languish in 14th position.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at a game where the west Londoners will hope to upset the formbook against their north London visitors.

How have Arsenal fared this season?

Arsenal opened their season with an unconvincing 1-0 win at a surprisingly dominant Manchester United, and have rarely looked back. The Gunners have won eight of their 10 matches in all competitions this season; the only times they have failed to win in the league were the narrowest of 1-0 defeats at defending champions Liverpool and a 1-1 home draw with Manchester City, although that did require a 90th-minute leveller from Gabriel Martinelli.

The Gunners are yet to concede more than one goal in a game this season, and have only conceded twice in their last seven games. At the other end, 20 goals have been scored in their 10 games.

How have Fulham fared this season?

After a bright start, the west Londoners have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Premier League. One defeat and four wins in their seven games so far, continued the feel-good factor that manager Marco Silva has brought to the Cottagers. Two of the four wins this season have come in the League Cup, but back-to-back league wins, either side of the latest cup win, had appeared to kickstart Fulham’s season.

Both recent defeats, by Aston Villa and Bournemouth, did come on the road, and Fulham remain unbeaten in five matches on home soil this season, where they have only dropped points once – and that after a fine second-half display against Manchester United in their first home game of the campaign.

When did Arsenal last win the Premier League?

The Gunners last lifted the Premier League trophy in 2004 when Wenger’s side were dubbed the “Invincibles” as they went unbeaten through the English top-flight season.

How many times have Arsenal won the Premier League?

The Gunners have lifted the league title in England on 13 occasions, with their first top-flight trophy coming in 1931. They would go on to win the title three times in the four seasons that followed. Wenger’s era was the most successful thereafter, with the Premier League trophy lifted in 1998, 2002 and 2004.

Premier League action returns this week 🤩@Arsenal are currently on top of the table, for the first time since April 2024 📈 pic.twitter.com/02Tkxse4Aq

— Premier League (@premierleague) October 13, 2025

Have Fulham ever won the Premier League?

Fulham have never lifted the English top-flight title and are one of a limited number of teams in the two top divisions in England to have never lifted a major trophy. The highest domestic title the Cottagers have claimed is the second-tier title, which has been won on three occasions – the last being in 2022. Fulham have also been runners-up in the FA Cup and UEFA Europa League in 1975 and 2010, respectively.

What happened the last time Fulham played Arsenal?

Title-chasing Arsenal beat Fulham 2-1 at Emirates Stadium in the Premier League in April in the last meeting between the clubs. Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka gave the Gunners a two-goal lead before Rodrigo Muniz’s 90th-minute strike set up a nervy finish.

What happened in the corresponding fixture between Fulham and Arsenal last season?

The Premier League game at Craven Cottage last season ended in a 1-1 draw in December. Raul Jimenez gave the home side the lead in the 11th minute, but William Saliba cancelled that out seven minutes into the second half of a game short on chances but heavily dominated by the Gunners’ possession of the ball.

Head-to-head

This is the 66th meeting between the Londoners, with Arsenal winning on 43 occasions and Fulham emerging victorious nine times.

Fulham’s last win against Arsenal came at Craven Cottage in December 2023, with Raul Jimenez and Bobby De Cordova-Reid turning the game in the home side’s favour after an early strike from Bukayo Saka.

It was the second Premier League meeting between the teams that season, with the reverse fixture ending 2-2 in north London.

It also marked Fulham’s first win in 12 matches against the Gunners.

Fulham team news

Midfielder Sasa Lukic has been an ever-present for Fulham in the Premier League this season, but picked up an adductor injury in the Cottagers’ final match before the international break.

The Serbian international is likely to be out for at least two more weeks and joins Kenny Tete and Rodrigo Muniz on the sidelines, the latter pair having knee and hamstring problems, respectively.

Raul Jimenez missed the defeat at Bournemouth before the break after sustaining an injury in the defeat at Villa, and the striker is a doubt for the visit of Arsenal. Samuel Chukwueze also picked up a knock in Nigeria’s win against Benin on Tuesday, but the extent of the injury is not yet fully known.

Arsenal team news

Martin Odegaard remains sidelined with a knee injury, but it is hoped the playmaker may return to face Tottenham Hotspur next weekend.

Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke are both also expected to return from knee injuries for that game, but the Fulham match comes too soon.

Gabriel Jesus could be back before the turn of the year – he, too, has a knee problem; Ben White is a minor doubt after missing training on Thursday. Piero Hincapie is expected to return from a knock.

Fulham predicted starting lineup

Leno; Diop, Bassey, Andersen; Castagne, Berge, Cairney, Sessegnon; Wilson, Iwobi; King

Arsenal possible starting lineup

Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Eze, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard

Fulham and Arsenal Premier League form guides

Fulham’s last five EPL matches (most recent game last):

 L-W-W-L-L

Arsenal’s last five EPL matches –

D-W-W-W-W

The players are having fun getting to know each other but are proving spectacularly bad at spotting Jonathan Ross, Cat Burns or Alan Carr as The Traitors on the BBC series

Two more of the Faithful bit the dust last night in The Celebrity Traitors with Clare Balding the latest big name to exit, along with Irish actress Ruth Codd. The players have remained collectively useless at rooting out the Traitors and getting rid of them.

And Stephen Fry pointed out that if one more of the Faithful exits – leaving 12 players – the Traitors will make up a quarter of their numbers.

After being voted out at the Round Table, with seven votes, a startled Clare relished her moment of telling them that she was, in fact, a Faithful. Actor Mark Bonnar was so furious he punched the table and said “for F***’s sake” – immediately drawing attention to himself for what others perceived to be over-acting.

READ MORE: Celia Imrie’s Celebrity Traitors fart hailed as a memorable TV moment worthy of a BaftaREAD MORE: Celebrity Traitors LIVE: Faithfuls turn on one another as show favourite banished in huge blunder

Speaking after her banishment, Clare said she’d loved the digital detox while in the castle. “I think my personal highlight was being able to spend quality time with no distractions of phones or anything,” she explained.

The sports TV star, 54, was completely happy to have been a Faithful and, asked what she’d learned about herself, laughed. “I had confirmed what I already knew, which is I am a rather pathetic people pleaser. I’m not suspicious enough – but I’m quite happy being that way. I’d rather live in a world where I trust everyone, where I see good in everyone, and where the world is always bright, shiny and positive. And if that was my downfall, I’m fine with that.”

Ruth, 29, was murdered by the Traitors as part of Jonathan Ross’s audacious double bluff strategy. While rugby ace Joe Marler saw through the Traitor tactic, the chat show host received just the one vote at the round table. But afterwards Celia Imrie, 73, was kicking herself for not voting for him, saying that she’d been distracted by his “deliciousness”. Speaking afterwards Wossy, 64, admitted he had no idea how he was still in the game having had so much suspicion on him. And in the turret, he laughed to the other Traitors Alan Carr and Cat Burns: “It’s like playing chess, but with five-year-olds!”

Ruth, who became a fan favourite for her outspoken style, said that she and Clare had become friends. Admitting they made an “unlikely duo”, she joked: “I kind of look like her goth child that should be a disappointment, but she’s incredibly proud of.” Last night it emerged that the BBC1 opener last week has now been watched by 11.7million after seven days of viewing. The fourth episode will air on Wednesday (22 October) with the ninth and final instalment now scheduled for Thursday 6th November.

Meanwhile Celia Imrie’s funny fart from Wednesday has been hailed as TV gold by fans, as it helped The Celebrity Traitors to a series high of 6.9 million on Wednesday night.

The players howled with laughter when the actress, 73, let rip as host Claudia Winkleman was welcoming them to their latest mission, which she described as the “worst team-building away day experience in history”.

As the other players guffawed and Claudia asked what had happened, The Thursday Murder Club actress piped up: “I just farted Claudia. It’s nerves, but I always own up.”

Afterwards some TV experts suggesting the scene-stealer from Bridget Jones star Celia could be a contender for the next Bafta Memorable Moment award. Fans agreed, with one saying: “Her comic timing was impeccable.

I watched this over and over again and am still laughing. TV moment of the year.” Another called it “the most taboo-breaking moment in TV history”.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

I love to collect dividend income. It provides me with more cash to invest each month and a growing level of financial freedom. My goal is to eventually generate enough passive income from dividends and other sources to cover my basic living expenses.

To support my income strategy, I focus on buying high-yielding dividend stocks. Two companies in particular, Brookfield Infrastructure (BIPC -2.38%) (BIP -1.62%) and W.P. Carey (WPC), have consistently stood out. Here’s why I can’t stop buying these income stocks.

Image source: Getty Images.

A high-octane dividend growth stock

Brookfield Infrastructure currently yields nearly 4%, more than triple the S&P 500’s dividend yield (1.2%). The global infrastructure operator supports its high-yielding payout with very stable cash flows. Long-term contracts and government-regulated rate structures account for around 85% of its annual funds from operations (FFO). Most of those frameworks have no volume or price exposure (75%), while another large portion of its cash flow (20%) comes from rate-regulated structures that only have volume exposure tied to changes in the global economy. The bulk of these arrangements also either index its FFO to inflation (70%) or protect it from the impact of inflation (15%).

The company pays out 60% to 70% of its very resilient cash flow in dividends. That gives it a comfortable cushion while allowing it to retain a meaningful amount of cash to invest in expansion projects. Brookfield also has a strong investment-grade balance sheet. Additionally, the company routinely recycles capital by selling mature assets to invest in higher-returning opportunities.

Brookfield has grown its FFO per share at a 14% annual rate since its inception in 2008, supporting a 9% compound annual dividend growth rate. While its growth has slowed in recent years due to headwinds from interest rates and foreign exchange fluctuations, a reacceleration appears to be ahead. The company believes that a combination of organic growth driven by inflationary rate increases, volume growth as the economy expands, and expansion projects will drive robust FFO per share growth in the coming years. Additionally, it expects to get a boost from its value-enhancing capital recycling strategy. These catalysts should combine to drive more than 10% annual FFO per share growth.

The company’s strong financial profile and robust growth prospects easily support its plan to increase its high-yielding payout at a 5% to 9% annual rate. Brookfield has increased its payout in all 16 years since it went public.

Rebuilt on an even stronger foundation

W.P. Carey has a 5.4% dividend yield. The real estate investment trust (REIT) owns a well-diversified portfolio of operationally critical real estate across North America and Europe. It focuses on investing in single-tenant industrial, warehouse, retail, and other properties secured by long-term net leases featuring built-in rental escalation clauses. Those leases provide it with very stable and steadily rising rental income.

The REIT has spent the past few years reshaping its portfolio. It accelerated its exit from the office sector in late 2023 by spinning off and selling its remaining properties. W.P. Carey has also been selling off some of its self-storage properties, particularly those not secured by net leases. It has been recycling that capital into properties with better long-term demand drivers, such as industrial real estate.

W.P. Carey’s strategy should enable it to grow its adjusted FFO at a higher rate in the future. Its portfolio is delivering healthy same-store rent growth (2.3% year-over-year in the second quarter). Meanwhile, its investments to expand its portfolio are driving incremental FFO per share growth. W.P. Carey is on track to grow its adjusted FFO per share by 4.5% at the mid-point of its guidance range this year.

That growing income is allowing the REIT to increase its dividend. It has raised its payment every quarter since resetting the payout level in late 2023 when it exited the office sector, including a 4% increase over the past 12 months. With a strong portfolio and balance sheet, W.P. Carey has the financial flexibility to continue growing its portfolio, FFO, and dividend in the coming years.

High-quality, high-yielding dividend stocks

Brookfield Infrastructure and W.P. Carey stand out for their stable and growing cash flows, as well as high-yield dividends. Brookfield offers inflation-protected cash flows that minimize risk, while W.P. Carey generates reliable rental income from long-term leases. With lots of income and growth ahead, I just can’t stop buying these high-quality, high-yielding dividend stocks.

Hello and happy Thursday. It’s me, California columnist Anita Chabria, filling in for your usual host, Washington bureau chief Michael Wilner.

Andrea Grossman was a kid when her mother pulled her out of school to join the 1969 Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, a nationwide day of peaceful protest. They held hands while her mom walked in a knit suit and ladylike shoes, joining more than 2 million people nationwide.

Grossman, now one of the organizers of the Beverly Hills segment of the “No Kings” marches being held in more than 2,000 cities this weekend, remembers that opponents of that long-ago protest threw stinky rat poison on the lawns in Exposition Park so participants couldn’t sit on the grass. But protesters were not deterred.

“It made it all the more rebellious of us to be there,” Grossman told me. “It made us more insistent that we had to be there.”

Today, that rat poison is being metaphorically hurled by MAGA leaders such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), in the form of noxious allegations that the No Kings marches are “Hate America” rallies staged for a “rabid base” of criminal agitators.

“It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the antifa people, they’re all coming out,” Johnson said on Fox News.

Of course, that is dumb and false. It would be all too easy to write off comments such as Johnson’s as partisan jibber-jabber, but his insidious words are the kind of poison that seeps into the soil and shouldn’t be ignored.

Participants in the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam demonstrate in 1969 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

(Clay Geerdes / Getty Images)

The ‘enemy within’

Johnson isn’t the only Republican working overtime to smear everyday folks such as Grossman. Talk about organized campaigns — Trumpites are all going after No Kings with the same script.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said: “These guys are playing to the most radical, small, and violent base in the country. You’ll see them on Saturday on the Mall. They just do not love this country.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has parroted similar messaging, and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), diving into old, antisemitic conspiracies, described the events as “a Soros paid-for protest,” adding that the National Guard would probably need to be activated.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi added her two cents, apparently confusing printed signs, the kind that say, a union or organizations such as Planned Parenthood or the ACLU, might have made up, with evidence of diabolical terrorist networks.

“You’re seeing people out there with thousands of signs that all match,” Bondi told Fox News. “They are organized and someone is funding it. We are going to get to the funding of antifa, we’re going to get to the root of antifa and we are going to find and charge all of those people who are causing this chaos.”

Note to Bondi: Matching signs are not a conspiracy. Just ask Kinko’s.

But in her defense, it was a mere two weeks ago when President Trump addressed the leaders of the U.S. military at Quantico, Va. There, he warned that the use of military troops on American protesters was about to become reality, if he has any say in it.

“This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room, because it’s the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control,” Trump said.

That came on the heels of his executive order declaring antifa — a general descriptor for anyone who opposes fascism — as a terrorist organization.

So to recap: The president declares “antifa” a terrorist organization, warns military brass that they must be ready to defeat internal enemies, then MAGA Republicans begin to falsely claim No Kings rallies are full of “antifa.”

Andrea Grossman, second from left, with other activists in 2024 discussing efforts to protect a Beverly Hills abortion clinic.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Bad journalism

Grossman calls the idea that she is anti-American “preposterous.”

“We wouldn’t be out there spending our time and energy if we weren’t desperately worried for our country. Of course we love America,” she said.

Here’s where I eat my own: Media are failing miserably and unforgivably in covering this issue — this terrifying march to turn peaceful protest into a criminal offense. We shouldn’t be asking Grossman whether she hates America. We should be pushing Johnson and his ilk to defend his attack on people like her.

“We can both recognize that it’s ridiculous and also that it’s pretty sinister,” Leah Greenberg told me.

She’s the co-executive director of Indivisible, the organization behind the No Kings effort, and she’ll be at the D.C. event — the one Johnson specifically condemned. At the first No Kings rally in Philadelphia, her husband led more than 1,000 people in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, some real anti-American stuff.

“We have to see what is currently happening here, not only as Republicans desperately grasping for a message, but also of them creating a permission structure to, you know, invite a broader crackdown on peaceful dissent,” Greenberg warned.

I asked Grossman whether she felt personally at risk by taking on this organizing role at such a fraught moment, even in Beverly Hills, that hotbed of radicalism. At first, she said she didn’t. But when I asked her why not, she paused for a bit.

“We have to put ourselves out there and it takes risk sometimes,” she finally said. “I mean, I don’t consider myself a freedom fighter by any means. I consider myself a woman of a certain age, you know, who has to stand up and be loud and noisy.”

In her regular life, Grossman runs one of the preeminent literary salons in Los Angeles, drawing authors and luminaries including Rob Reiner, Rep. Jasmine Crockett and legal podcaster Joyce Vance. She was also one of the “abortion yentas” who last year fought a losing battle to protect a controversial abortion clinic in the neighborhood. So she knows risk and doesn’t shy away from it.

But this moment is different, because it’s not normal for a president to declare protests to be terrorism, or for legislators to deem them un-American. It is not normal to fear that the military will be used to silence us.

Which is why No Kings is so crucial to this moment.

It is a movement that seeks to draw the most normal, the most average, the most mild of people to highlight just how abnormal this government is. No flags are going to be burned (though that is a protected 1st Amendment right, no matter what Trump says). No Molotov cocktails will be tossed. Hamas is not invited.

Greenberg said that “anybody with eyes” can see who comes to a No Kings rally.

“You see veterans, you see members of faith communities. You see federal workers, dedicated public servants. You see parents and grandparents and kids all coming together in this joyous and defiant opposition,” she said.

Those are exactly the types that turned out in June, when somewhere between 3 million and 6 million people marched in what felt like a cross between a fall school carnival and a Fourth of July parade. People sauntered, they sat, they sang. But most of all, they showed up.

“If we’re going to be afraid and not say anything, then [they] win,” Grossman said. “The only way to stand up to oppression is to get out there in huge, great numbers.”

So like her mom, she’ll march and she’ll ignore the poison — and much to the dismay of MAGA, I suspect millions of others just like her will too.

What else you should be reading:

The must-read: Justices lean toward rejecting race in redistricting, likely boosting GOP in 2026
The what happened: Mike Johnson’s nightmare: Kevin Kiley is unhappy with the speaker and has nothing to lose
The L.A. Times special: USC finds itself in funding battle between Trump and Newsom over the campus’ future

P.S. This is another bit of propaganda from the Department of Homeland Security. “Remigrate” is a term often embraced by the far right that alludes to the forced deportation of immigrants, legal or not, especially those who are not of European origin.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

Jody Cundy claimed his 22nd world track gold medal with victory in the 1km time trial at the Para-Cycling World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.

Cundy, 47, led home a British one-two in the men’s C4 event, finishing 1.7 seconds ahead of Archie Atkinson.

It is an incredible 16th C4 1km world title in a row for the English rider.

Cundy – who has six Paralympic golds in cycling and three in swimming, first competed at the track worlds in 2006, two years after team-mate Atkinson was born.

Reigning champion Blaine Hunt was second in the MC5 1km time trial, with Matthew Robertson third in the MC2 10km scratch race.

The finals run until Sunday and are the fourth edition of the event to be held in the Olympic Velodrome in Rio, after 2018, 2021 and 2024.

Gaza is often referred to as the world’s largest open-air prison, trapped between Israel’s blockade, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

The Rafah border post is the only crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip: a strategic gateway to the outside world.

In 2007, Israel imposed an air, land, and sea blockade on Gaza.

Human Rights Watch says the closure of the Rafah crossing has devastated Gaza’s economy, contributed to the fragmentation of the Palestinian people, and enabled Israel’s system of apartheid – and that was long before Israel’s devastating war.

And despite the United States-brokered ceasefire, Israel has threatened to keep the crossing shut because of delays in returning the remains of its captives.

So, if and when the crossing reopens, how will it operate and who will be in charge?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Mustafa Barghouti – Secretary-General at the Palestinian National Initiative

Tahani Mustafa – Visiting Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Rob Geist Pinfold – Lecturer of International Security at King’s College London

A prominent lawmaker in the United States has announced he will return donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), highlighting the powerful pro-Israel lobby group’s waning appeal among Democrats.

Congressman Seth Moulton distanced himself from AIPAC on Thursday, citing the group’s support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Moulton is slated to challenge progressive Senator Ed Markey in next year’s Democratic primaries, ahead of the midterm elections.

The move by Moulton, a centrist and strong supporter of Israel, shows that backing from AIPAC is increasingly becoming a political liability for Democrats after the horrors Israel has unleashed on Gaza.

“In recent years, AIPAC has aligned itself too closely with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu’s government,” Moulton said in a statement.

“I’m a friend of Israel, but not of its current government, and AIPAC’s mission today is to back that government. I don’t support that direction. That’s why I’ve decided to return the donations I’ve received, and I will not be accepting their support.”

For decades, Israel has leveraged its political connections and network of wealthy donors to push for unconditional support for its policies.

In 2022, AIPAC organised a political action committee (PAC) to exert sway in US elections, mostly using its financial might to help defeat progressive candidates critical of Israel in Democratic primaries.

Last year, the group helped oust two vocal critics of Israel in Congress – Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush – by backing their primary challengers with tens of millions of dollars.

I am returning AIPAC donations and refusing to accept any donations or support from them.

The FEC filing I made yesterday reflects that we are returning donations. pic.twitter.com/shBgHmYB1s

— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) October 16, 2025

Increased scrutiny

But Israel’s war on Gaza has led to an outpouring of criticisms, with leading rights groups and United Nations investigators calling it a genocide.

In light of that outcry, AIPAC’s role in US politics has come under greater scrutiny, particularly in Democratic circles where support for Israel has slipped to historic lows.

Moreover, AIPAC has endorsed far-right candidates like Congressman Randy Fine – who celebrated the killing of a US citizen by Israel and openly called for starving Palestinians in Gaza – which further alienated some Democrats.

AIPAC’s critics often liken it to the National Rifle Association (NRA), the once-bipartisan gun rights lobby that Democrats now reject nearly universally.

Usamah Andrabi, a spokesperson for the progressive group Justice Democrats, said AIPAC and its affiliates “are transforming from a lobby that establishment Democrats could rely on to buy a seat in Washington into a kiss of death for candidates who have their support”.

“Our movement’s work to demand the Democratic Party reject AIPAC as a toxic pariah is not only working but ensuring that the pro-genocide Israel lobby’s influence in Washington is waning,” Andrabi told Al Jazeera.

Even on the right of the ideological spectrum, some figures in President Donald Trump’s “America First” movement have been critical of AIPAC’s outsized influence.

In August, the lobby group accused right-wing Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of betraying “American values” over her criticism of Israel.

Greene shot back, saying that AIPAC serves the interests of a foreign government. “I’m as AMERICAN as they come! I can’t be bought and I’m not backing down,” she wrote in a social media post.

AIPAC is expected to target some key races in next year’s midterm elections, including the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan, where progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing off against staunch Israel supporter Haley Stevens.

In 2022, the lobby group helped Stevens defeat then-Congressman Andy Levin, who hails from a prominent Michigan Jewish family, in a House primary.

While it is one of the better-known lobby groups in the US, AIPAC is among dozens of pro-Israel advocacy organisations across the country, including some that also raise funds for candidates, such as NORPAC.

Throughout the assault on Gaza, AIPAC echoed the falsehood that there is no Israeli-imposed famine in the territory and defended the Israeli military’s genocidal conduct while calling for more US aid to the country.

AIPAC argues that it is a thoroughly American organisation with 100 percent of its funding coming from inside the US. It denies taking direction from Israel.

But the lobby group is almost always in full alignment with the Israeli government.

AIPAC members also often meet with Israeli leaders. The group also organises free trips for US lawmakers to travel to Israel and meet with Israeli officials.

‘It’s interesting’

The pro-Israel group’s unflinching support for Netanyahu’s government puts it at odds with the overwhelming majority of Democrats.

A poll this month from the Pew Research Center showed only 18 percent of Democratic respondents have favourable views of the Israeli government.

Still, Democratic Party leaders have continued to associate with AIPAC and accept its endorsement. In August, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar joined lawmakers on an AIPAC-sponsored trip to Israel.

That same month, AIPAC-endorsed House Minority Whip Katherine Clark earned the group’s praise after walking back comments where she decried the “starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza”.

California Governor Gavin Newsom – who is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2028 – also skirted a question about AIPAC in an interview this week.

Asked about the organisation on the Higher Learning podcast, Newsom said AIPAC is not relevant to his day-to-day life.

“I haven’t thought about AIPAC, and it’s interesting. You’re like the first to bring up AIPAC in years, which is interesting,” he said.

In response to Moulton’s comments on Thursday, AIPAC issued a defiant statement, accusing the Democrat of “abandoning his friends to grab a headline”.

“His statement comes after years of him repeatedly asking for our endorsement and is a clear message to AIPAC members in Massachusetts, and millions of pro-Israel Democrats nationwide, that he rejects their support and will not stand with them,” the group said in a social media post.

The lovely market town is well worth a visit – especially in the autumn.

Nestled along the gentle bends of the River Tees, Yarm is a market town overflowing with rich history and natural splendour.

Renowned for its idyllic setting, Yarm, situated in Tee’s Valley, is frequently hailed as one of the most beautiful towns in the area.

Another well-loved North Yorkshire town is York, which bears such a resemblance to Yarm that it has been dubbed a ‘mini York’.

However, this town, located just seven miles from Middlesbrough, is said to be more affordable than the bustling city of York.

Yarm’s historic past is mirrored in the town’s architecture, including the 15th-century Yarm Bridge, one of the oldest surviving bridges in England, reports the Express.

Its delightful high street is also adorned with a diverse array of independent boutiques, snug cafés, and welcoming restaurants, providing both locals and visitors with a warm, genuine experience in a truly unforgettable setting.

Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, is a favourite destination for tourists, especially during the summer months, when visitors can appreciate the town’s picturesque riverside location and historic allure.

But autumn is also an excellent time for a getaway to this quaint historic town.

Tees Valley’s parks and gardens radiate in stunning red and orange hues during the autumn months – a spectacle not to be missed.

One visitor wrote on Tripadvisor: “Beautiful village with lots of parking on wide main street but it’s very busy and can be difficult to find a parking place. We stopped at a pub on the riverside before crossing the bridge for lunch, which was very nice.

“Yarm has lots of independent shops with crafts and unusual things to buy and is worth a visit just for that. We enjoyed the shops so much we didn’t have time to go to the riverside, plus it was very hot. Plenty of eateries catering to every taste. We are definitely going back this time to the riverside.”

Another shared: “Called here Sunday afternoon and was fairly busy but just managed to get parked near [the] front but quite a few cars looking to get parked a big issue here.

“Once parked, some nice shops and eateries pubs charity shops etc some normal chains and some boutique posh shops for the footballers wags. Spent a hour or two here on a dry sunny day and had a nice stroll and a drink in Cafe Nero. Would visit again on another day but will get there early to park.”

ROOFMAN 

(15) 126mins

★★★☆☆

A NICE guy doing bad things isn’t an original premise for a comedy drama. 

But base it on the true story of an escaped felon hiding out in a toy shop and things get more interesting. 

Channing Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester, the charismatic convict from North Carolina with the “you couldn’t make it up” life story. 

An ex-military man, Manchester has been struggling financially since being decommissioned. 

So to support his family he turns to a professional life of crime. 

DULCIE PEARCE

Dwayne Johnson proves he can flex his acting muscles in The Smashing Machine

DULCIE PEARCE

Black comedy One Battle After Another is cinematic dynamite with huge stars

His first attempt at dropping through the ceiling of a McDonald’s and emptying their tills is such a success he repeats this style of heist 45 more times. 

As a non-violent robber who offers people his coat while holding them up at gunpoint, he soon earns himself the local moniker of “Roofman”. 

As police put it, he’s a genius, but also an idiot. 

When eventually caught and sentenced to four decades behind bars, Manchester swiftly escapes jail and goes on the run. 

Looking for a place to take cover he lands on a Toys R Us store and sets up home in a crate under the eaves. 

For six months he sleeps undetected, surviving on stolen M&M’s, while watching jobsworth boss Mitch (Peter Dinklage) on CCTV for entertainment and ultimately falling for employee Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mum. 

The tale of how their romance blossoms — as Manchester increasingly risks his chances outside the store’s four walls — would seem utterly far-fetched, if it wasn’t for the fact that in 2004 it all actually happened. The chemistry between the leads is convincing. 

Dunst as Leigh, the church-going single mum falling in love while being unknowingly duped, reminds you that no matter how outwardly likeable Manchester seems, he continually hurt people with his odd mix of arrogance, immaturity and intelligence.

He wants it all to be real, while knowing that it can’t be. 

Director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) periodically lightens things up with various meme-worthy set pieces involving Tatum barely clad in feather boas, or wearing roller blades or completely starkers with only a fan to protect his modesty. 

But it is the pondering over how decent a person, or not, Manchester really was that will keep you gripped. 

GOOD FORTUNE 

(15) 97mins       

★★★☆☆

KEANU Reeves is at his Bill and Ted-esque best in this silly, but very funny, light-hearted bromance about a guardian angel who can’t quite get a grip on his ­heavenly duties. 

Written by Aziz Ansari (Master Of None) Reeves is Gabriel, a rookie winged protector limited to saving people from “texting while driving” catastrophes. 

He’d like to rescue lost souls too but his boss Martha (Sandra Oh) thinks he’s not ready to be promoted. 

One of his celestial charges is Arj (Ansari) who despite being well qualified, can’t catch a break and is sleeping in his car while doing gig economy work in LA for an odd-jobs app. 

A stint as assistant for billionaire Jeff (Seth Rogen) – who spends his days shopping for Rolexes and sitting in his sauna – only makes him feel more of a failure. So Gabriel steps in to help by facilitating a life swap between the two, which he hopes will make Arj appreciates what he already has. 

The script lacks the ­substance it was probably aiming for, and there’s far too much chatting about chicken nuggets, but this comedy does deliver lots of laughs. 

AFTER THE HUNT 

(15) 139mins  

★★☆☆☆

SET in the academic enclaves of a rarefied American Ivy League University, this affected campus tale from director Luca Guadagnino could do with a tutorial to discuss what its own discourse is. 

Julia Roberts plays Alma Imhoff, a Yale philosophy professor and feminist who is idolised by her students. 

Imhoff and husband Frederick (Michael Stuhlbarg) host bourgeois soirees in their art-filled pad where favourite students including Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), and Hank (Andrew Garfield) gather to muse and debate. 

But when Maggie accuses Hank of sexual assault and turns to her tutor for guidance, beliefs, boundaries and loyalties blur for both women. 

Roberts is exceptional as Imhoff but the pace is so laboured and the ostentatious dialogue so pleased with itself it feels like a dull self-congratulatory lecture. 

OMAZE-ING

I went from council flat to winning £4m house… But this is why I’m selling up

BOTTOMS UP

Wetherspoons reveals opening dates of 5 new pubs starting next week

A repetitive ticking pendulum only emphasises the plodding pace and a subplot about stomach ulcers adds little. Some valid social commentary around generational divides is quickly drowned out by more droning. The many lingering close-ups are stylistically credible yet still dull. 

• Laura Stott         

CHICAGO — Since the Trump administration announced its intention to accelerate and forcefully detain and deport thousands of immigrants here, the Chicago area is a split screen between everyday life and a city under siege.

As many people shop, go to work, walk their dogs and stroll with their friends through parks, others are being chased down, tear-gassed, detained and assaulted by federal agents carrying out immigration sweeps.

The situation is similar to what occurred in Los Angeles in summer, as ICE swept through Southern California, grabbing people off the street and raiding car washes and Home Depots in predominantly Latino areas, while leaving large swaths of the region untouched.

Take Sunday, the day of the Chicago Marathon.

Some 50,000 runners hailing from more than 100 countries and 50 states, gathered downtown to dash, jog and slog over 26.3 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and city streets.

The sun was bright, the temperatures hovered in the upper-60s, and leaves of maple, oak, aspen and ginkgo trees colored the city with splashes of yellow, orange and red.

Demonstrators march outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Ill., on Oct. 10.

(Kayana Szymczak/For The Times)

It was one of those rare, glorious Midwestern fall days when everyone comes outside to soak in the sunlight, knowing the gloom and cold of winter is about to take hold.

At 12:30, Ludwig Marchel and Karen Vanherck of Belgium strolled west along East Monroe Street, through Millennium Park. They smiled and proudly wore medals around their necks commemorating their marathon achievement. They said they were not concerned about coming to Chicago, despite news stories depicting violent protests and raids, and the Trump administration’s description of the city as “war torn,” a “hellhole,” a “killing field” and “the most dangerous city in the world.”

“Honestly. I was mostly worried that the government shutdown was somehow going to affect my flight,” said Marchel. He said he hadn’t seen anything during his few days in town that would suggest the city was unsafe.

Another man, who declined to give his name, said he had come from Mexico City to complete the race. He said he wasn’t concerned, either.

“I have my passport, I have a visa, and I have money,” he said. “Why should I be concerned?”

At that same moment, 10 miles northwest, a community was being tear-gassed.

Dozens of residents in the quiet, leafy neighborhood of Albany Park had gathered in the street to shout “traitor” and “Nazi” as federal immigration agents grabbed a man and attempted to detain others.

According to witness accounts, agents in at least three vehicles got out and started shoving people to the ground before throwing tear gas canisters into the street. Videos of the event show masked agents tackling a person in a red shirt, throwing a person in a skeleton costume to the ground, and violently hurling a bicycle out of the street as several plumes of smoke billow into the air. A woman can be heard screaming while neighbors yell at the agents.

Last week, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order requiring agents to issue two warnings before using riot control weapons such as tear gas, chemical sprays, plastic bullets and flash grenades.

Witnesses told the Chicago Sun-Times that no warnings had been given.

Deirdre Anglin, community member from Chicago, takes part in a demonstration near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Ill., on Oct. 10.

(Kayana Szymczak/For The Times)

Since Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz” was initiated more than six weeks ago, roughly 1,000 people have been arrested or detained.

At the ICE detention facility, in Broadview — a suburb 12 miles west of downtown — there have been daily protests. While most have been peaceful, some have devolved into physical clashes between federal agents or police and protesters.

In September, federal agents shot pepper balls and tear gas at protesters peacefully gathering outside the facility. On Saturday, local law enforcement forced protesters away from the site with riot sticks and threats of tear gas. Several protesters were knocked to the ground and forcefully handcuffed. By the end of the evening, 15 people had been arrested.

Early Sunday afternoon, roughly two dozen protesters returned to the site. They played music, danced, socialized and heckled ICE vehicles as they entered and exited the fenced-off facility.

In a largely Latino Chicago neighborhood called Little Village, things appeared peaceful Sunday afternoon.

Known affectionately by its residents as the “Midwestern capital of Mexico,” the district of 85,000 is predominantly Latino. Michael Rodriguez, a Chicago city councilman and the neighborhood’s alderman, said 85% of the population is of Mexican descent.

On Sunday afternoon, traditional Mexican music was being broadcast to the street via loudspeakers from the OK Corral VIP, a western wear store.

Demonstrators protest near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Ill., on Oct. 10.

(Kayana Szymczak/For The Times)

Along East 26th Street, where shops and buildings are painted with brightly colored murals depicting Mexican folklore, history and wildlife — such as a golden eagle and jaguar — a family sat at a table eating lunch, while two young women, in their early 20s, laughed and chattered as they strolled west toward Kedzie Avenue.

Rodriguez said that despite appearances, “people are afraid.”

He said he spoke with a teacher who complained that several of her elementary-school aged students have stopped coming to class. Their parents are too afraid to walk them or drive them to school, hearing stories of other parents who have been arrested or detained by ICE agents at other campuses in the city — in front of their terrified children.

Rodriguez’s wife, whom he described as a dark-skinned Latina with degrees from DePaul and Northwestern universities, won’t leave the house without her passport.

At a barber shop called Peluqueria 5 Star Fades Estrellas on 26th, a coiffeur named Juan Garcia sat in a chair near the store entrance. He had a towel draped over the back of his neck. He said his English was limited, but he knew enough to tell a visitor that business was bad.

“People aren’t coming in,” he said. “They are afraid.”

Victor Sanchez, the owner of a taco truck parked on Kedzie Road, about a half-mile south of town, said his clientele — mostly construction workers and landscapers — have largely disappeared.

“Business is down 60%,” he said to a customer. “I don’t know if they have been taken, or if they are too afraid to come out. All I know is they aren’t coming here anymore.”

Rodriguez said that ICE agents have arrested people who live in his neighborhood, but those arrests took place outside the borders of his district.

“I think they know this is a well-organized and aware neighborhood,” he said. “I think they’ve cased it and decided to grab people on the outskirts.”

High school basketball in Southern California will be without one of its finest coaches this season.

Stephen Singleton, who guided Eastvale Roosevelt to state and Southern Section Open Division championships last season, announced his retirement from coaching on Thursday after 10 years at Roosevelt and 25 years in the business. He will continue as a teacher.

Singleton intends to spend more time coaching his young son.

He also won a state Division I title in 2017 with Roosevelt and won a state Division II title coaching briefly at Dominguez in Compton in 2001.

He was The Times’ coach of the year for the 2024-25 season.

With official basketball practice starting soon, Roosevelt intends to open the position to all candidates, but there’s two assistants who are teachers at the school that could possibly ease the transition if they are interested in the head coaching position.

Oct. 16 (UPI) — The Senate failed for the 10th time to approve a temporary funding bill to reopen the federal government and voted down a Defense Department appropriations bill on Thursday.

The Senate voted 51-45 in favor of a funding resolution to reopen the federal government, but the vote total was less than the 60 needed for approval.

Two Senate Democrats, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, voted in favor of the temporary government funding measure, according to CNN.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone GOP member to vote against the measure.

The Senate later in the day voted 50-44 on a year-long appropriations bill to fund the Defense Department as the government enters the 16th day of its shutdown over a stopgap funding bill.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., opposed considering the Defense Department spending bill without also considering the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill, The Hill reported.

Like the government funding measure, the defense budget needs 60 votes to pass. It also would have given a raise for military personnel.

Senate Democrats have voted consistently with no change during the 10 votes to reopen the federal government, as have GOP senators, including Paul in his funding opposition.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., responded to the legislative stalemate by offering to hold floor debates on respective spending bills to fund federal agencies for the 2026 fiscal year, Politico reported.

Thune also suggested Senate Democrats, who have proposed an alternative temporary funding measure, might have some caucus members vote for the House-approved funding resolution due to the effects of an extended government shutdown.

The House already approved the measure favored by the GOP, which simply extends the 2025 funding through Nov. 21 while continuing negotiations on a full-year funding bill.

Senate Democrats have proposed an alternative measure that would fund the federal government through Oct. 31 and extend Affordable Care Act tax credits on insurance premiums and expand Medicaid access.

Schumer blamed the GOP for the budget impasse by refusing to negotiate a proposed $1.5 trillion in additional spending over the next decade that Senate Democrats want to include in the stopgap funding.

“The Trump shutdown drags on because Republicans refuse to work with or even negotiate with Democrats in a serious way to fix the healthcare crisis in America,” Schumer said, as reported by Politico.

Thune in an interview that aired on MSNBC on Thursday morning said Senate Republicans will not negotiate the ACA tax credits until the government is open again, according to ABC News.

The fiscal year started on Oct. 1, which is the first day of the government shutdown due to a lack of funding.

Thune said his party plans to attach additional funding bills to the Pentagon measure, though it’s unclear if Democrats support the idea, CBS News reported.

The additional bills would seek to fund the Departments of Health and Human Services and Labor.

In an analysis published in September, the Urban Institute said the number of uninsured people between the ages of 19 and 34 would increase by 25% if the subsidies expire in the new year.

There would be a 14% increase among children. In all, 4.8 million people would lose health insurance coverage.

The Trump administration has said it’s against extending the ACA subsidies, and has accused Democrats at the state level of using federal tax dollars to provide undocumented immigrants with healthcare services, which Democrats have denied.

Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for health insurance under the ACA, the federal healthcare.gov website states.

In an appearance on MSNBC on Wednesday night, Thune said he told Democratic leaders he’d be willing to hold a vote on the subsidies in exchange for their help reopening the government.

“We can guarantee you a vote by a date certain,” he said. “At some point, Democrats have to take ‘yes’ for an answer.

“I can’t guarantee it’s going to pass. I can guarantee you that there will be a process and you will get a vote.”

The field of comparatively low-cost standoff munitions offerings continues to expand, with Kratos throwing its hat into the ring in the form of the Ragnarok Low-Cost Cruise Missile (LCCM).

The slender munition, which is named after the cataclysmic end of the world in Norse mythology, is capable of fitting into the bays of the XQ-58 Valkyrie drone, another Kratos product. The missile has a 500 nautical mile range and can carry an 80-pound payload, according to a release from the company. Ragnarok can also cruise at up to 35,000 feet at Mach 0.7.

While these performance figures, as least as claimed, are quite impressive, the price is perhaps more so. Kratos says the missile will cost $150,000 per unit in quantities of 100. One would imagine that number would drop further, possibly substantially so, if purchase volumes were expanded.

The performance and cost figures fit precisely with the USAF’s previously stated goals for such a weapon, which you can read about here.

Other listed features of Ragnarok’s design include a heavy use of carbon composites in its construction, an innovative wing-folding mechanism for compact storage and transport, and its ability to be deployed from weapons bays, wings, and from pallets. The fact that it is clearly built with the XQ-58 as a host in mind could prove to be a major advantage for Kratos, as the stealthy drone has extreme interest from various customers, and especially the USMC. Beyond fighters, advanced drones, bombers, and transports, its small size could see it migrate to non-traditional aircraft, including attack helicopters, if its weight allows it. U.S. Special Operations Command is also highly interested in a small cruise missile with this kind of performance, and is actively testing similar ones now.

No mention of a ground/surface launch variant is made in the release, nor are guidance packages and payload options, beyond a warhead, but we have reached out for more info on that and other aspects of the program.

Kratos has found a unique niche in the current defense acquisition environment, as its roots are primarily in target drones. The expertise built up by producing these often expendable uncrewed aircraft has ported over to the current rush toward lower-cost long-range munitions, as well as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and other affordable highly autonomous uncrewed systems.

The push for low-cost cruise missiles has exploded with companies large and small coming to the table with various offerings. Few have the pedigree of reliably building relatively advanced, but low-cost airframes like Kratos. Competition is growing rapidly in this space to meet emerging U.S. and foreign demands, which are in some cases intertwined. Ukraine is now in line to receive thousands of low-cost cruise missile-like munitions developed through a USAF program called the Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM). However, other U.S. allies and partners, and the U.S. military itself, could be on track to benefit from the ERAM effort. Whether they come via ERAM or other programs, U.S. military purchases of weapons in this general vein are clearly on the horizon as advanced munitions stockpile concerns are now making headlines.

Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems, is quoted as stating the following in the official release from Kratos:

“The Ragnarök LCCM represents our commitment to developing high-performance strike systems, for Valkyrie, that meet the evolving needs of today’s warfighter in conjunction with the budget realities that dictate what systems ultimately make it to the field… Its modular design delivers maximum combat capability for carriage and launch options. With complementary capability to the Northrop Grumman’s Lumberjack that’s recently been in the news, weapons in this new class which support unmanned and manned applications are coming to the forefront demonstrating their performance value per cost.”

As noted earlier, we reached out to Kratos with a number of questions about Ragnarok and the vision for it as it evolves, as well as its exact developmental state, although the company does say in their release that it is “ready for production.”

Contact the author: [email protected].

Ace Frehley, who played lead guitar as a founding member of the face-painted, blood-spitting, fire-breathing hard-rock band Kiss, died Thursday in Morristown, N.J. He was 74.

His death was announced by his family, which said he’d recently suffered a fall. “In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth,” the family said in a statement.

In his alter ego as the Spaceman, Frehley played with the original incarnation of Kiss for less than a decade, from 1973 — when he formed the group in New York with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss — until 1982, when he quit not long after Criss left. Yet he was instrumental to the creation of the band’s stomping and glittery sound as heard in songs like “Detroit Rock City,” “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “Strutter” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.” In the late ’70s, those hits — along with Kiss’ over-the-top live show — made the group an inescapable pop-cultural presence seen in comic books and on lunch boxes; today the group is widely viewed as an early pioneer of rock ’n’ roll merchandising.

A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Frehley rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion, then left again in 2002 to return to the solo career he’d started in the early ’80s. In 2023, Kiss completed what Simmons and Stanley called a farewell tour with a hometown show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

This obituary will be updated.