Thousands of displaced Palestinians have begun returning to their abandoned and mostly destroyed homes, as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes hold, with Israeli forces withdrawing from parts of Gaza.

Families started moving from western residential areas on Friday back towards Gaza City’s main districts, areas from which they were previously forced to flee.

Several Israeli military brigades and divisions have pulled out from central Gaza regions as well.

At the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, families have begun travelling northward, though many remain waiting to enter areas in the Netzarim Corridor, where Israeli forces were stationed. They are holding there until the final Israeli tank departs the area.

Concerning developments include heightened activity of Israeli drones, fighter jets, and warships since early morning. Multiple attacks were reported in the morning at locations where people were gathering to return home.

A huge procession of displaced Palestinians moved northward through dust-filled roads towards Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban centre, which had experienced intense Israeli military operations just days earlier.

“Thank God my house is still standing,” said Ismail Zayda, 40, in the Sheikh Radwan area in Gaza City. “But the place is destroyed, my neighbours’ houses are destroyed, entire districts have gone.”

The Israeli military announced the ceasefire agreement took effect at noon local time (09:00 GMT). Israel’s government ratified the ceasefire with Hamas early Friday, setting in motion a partial troop withdrawal and complete suspension of hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours.

Israeli captives are scheduled for release within 72 hours afterwards, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

The first phase of United States President Trump’s plan to end the two-year Gaza conflict requires Israeli forces to withdraw from major urban centres, though they will maintain control of approximately half the enclave’s territory.

Once the agreement takes effect, aid trucks carrying food and medical supplies will enter Gaza to assist civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom have been living in tents after their homes were destroyed and entire cities reduced to rubble.

“Any misperceptions, missed deadlines or misinterpretations can scupper this whole [ceasefire].”

Lecturer in International Security, Robert Geist Pinfold says things will “get complicated” now that the Gaza ceasefire has been agreed between Hamas and Israel.

Starting Sunday, actor Jason Ritter will be back onscreen as attorney Julian Markston in Season 2 of the CBS legal drama “Matlock,” loosely inspired by the 1980s and ’90s Andy Griffith show of the same name. He still gets a thrill when he thinks about the cast he gets to work with, which includes Skye P. Marshall, Beau Bridges and Oscar winner Kathy Bates.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

“You almost, but not quite ever, forget that you’re working with an absolute acting legend,” Ritter says. “Kathy is so sweet and so kind and such a team player and collaborator that it helps to sort of stop that voice in your head from going like ‘It’s Kathy Bates!’ every time it’s a scene with her.”

The 45-year-old L.A. native, part of an entertainment family that includes his late father, sitcom legend John Ritter, didn’t offer up many details about the new season but did say viewers can expect more on-the-edge-of-your-seat episodes. (If you need a refresher of last season, episodes of “Matlock” are available on Paramount+.)

“It has the same pace and fun mystery as the first season, but now my character’s secrets have been revealed,” says Ritter, who regularly posts about the show and his fellow actors on Instagram along with humorous bits.

At home with actor-wife Melanie Lynskey, whom he married in 2020, and their 6-year-old daughter, there aren’t any great mysteries that need to be solved, but there is work to do before bed.

“When midnight starts,” Ritter says, “we’re probably finishing up the jobs, as we call them — you know, the dishes and the chores and cleaning everything up, which is a lovely habit that I’ve gotten into from [my wife]. I always used to just wake up to the nightmare from the night before and I’ve learned to really appreciate waking up to a clean area.”

After lights out and some sleep, his ideal Sunday picks up hours later and is filled with plenty of coffee, some miniature golf or a nature walk and more.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

7 a.m.: A different kind of call time
I will wake up usually at 7. If our daughter is going to school, then I have to wake up at 7 so I can start making her lunch and getting stuff ready. But if she’s having a bit of a sleep-in [on the weekend], then I still have to wake up at 7 to make sure everything times out. And then I’ll make her little lunch and her breakfast. While she’s eating breakfast, she usually gets to watch an episode of something. That’s my prime scrolling through social media time.

9:30 a.m.: Time for more coffee
We would all pile in the car, and our first stop would probably be a coffee stop. We are a big coffee family — not our daughter. We always make a pot of coffee in the morning. And even though we’ve had several cups already, we’ll stop at Go Get Em Tiger, one of our favorite coffee places in L.A. We’ve come to know a lot of the baristas there, so we get to chat about life and everything. And then we’ll be back on the road.

10 a.m.: Miniature golf or a ‘beauty’ walk
Our daughter and I will go to Castle Park, which is the miniature golf place in Sherman Oaks. My daughter and I have really bonded over miniature golf, and that’s sort of our little thing. Any miniature golf course has a real special place in my heart, but Castle Park is the place that I went to as a kid. The course is basically the same. It’s just so fun to watch [our daughter] get better and better at golf; even though, recently she’s become obsessed with par.

If mini golf didn’t take up so much time, my daughter and I like to go on these little beauty walks where she gets on her scooter and puts her helmet on. We just walk around the neighborhood, and she can’t pick any flowers. But we can pick up little flowers or leaves off the ground. So anything that she sees that’s beautiful, she picks up, and we make a little bouquet. And what’s so amazing about it for me is to see what she finds beautiful on those walks.

1 p.m.: A chopped salad and fries for lunch
There’s a place called Angelini Osteria that has a salad that I really enjoy. It’s called the Alimentari Chopped Salad. It’s got avocado and chicken and bacon and currants and almonds. It comes with two dressings, but I usually just do the sort of lemony kind of oily dressing. And it is just so delicious. I am the only meat eater in my family. At some point, maybe my conscience will get the better of me, and I’ll switch over to their diet. Angelini also has very good french fries. When we’re on the road and the lunch that I’ve packed hasn’t been enough for [my daughter], french fries is one of those safe things that if we’re in a bind, we can pick them up from almost anywhere.

2 p.m.: Time for the Museum of Jurassic Technology
Another favorite thing that I would do is go to the Museum of Jurassic Technology. I just love that place. It’s so fascinating. It’s one of those places that if someone’s coming in from out of town, I love showing them. I love taking them there without telling them anything about it and just watch them kind of explore. And it’s just such a mysterious, magical place.

5 p.m.: Fresh escape room fun
Then I would see if I could get a bunch of my friends together, and we would go do an escape room somewhere in town. It’s just one of my favorite things to do, and they’re all over the place in Los Angeles. I would go to maybe 60out or Maze Rooms or one that I had never heard of. There’s an app called Morty that helps find escape rooms and keep track of the ones you did if your memory is poor like mine. If I can’t convince my friends to do another one right after in the same location, then we would be done by 6. It would be time to go back home and make our daughter’s dinner and get her through the entire dinner-bath time-bedtime phase.

9 p.m.: Dinner and “The Bachelor” before bed
My favorite thing is when Melanie and I order in from a place called Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen. It has these incredibly delicious hot wings. Our daughter will be asleep in the other room. And we get to eat some delicious Thai food and watch some silly show or some serious show.

If our daughter has gone to sleep around 8, this will usually be maybe 9, 9:30 depending on if I’ve fallen asleep in the bed next door. This is also why sometimes it gets so late and bleeds into the next day. Because by the time we get to have our alone fun, dinner and watching time, it’s 9:30, 10, and some of those “Bachelor” episodes are two hours long.

And yes, I promise that somewhere in this day, I have showered. [Laughs] That is another very important element of our day. It’s the one that can go by the wayside. But we always try to check in with each other. Like, “Have you showered today? Have you showered? OK, you go and then I’ll go.”

I’ve been a big fan of high-yield savings accounts these past couple of years. Earning over 4.00% APY on completely safe, FDIC-insured cash has been a gift. But after the Federal Reserve’s September rate cut, and with another one likely coming at the end of this month, I’m starting to move a chunk of my money elsewhere.

Not because I don’t love high-yield savings accounts. I do. But because I hate watching my returns fall month after month when I could easily lock in today’s higher rates instead.

Savings account rates are heading south

When the Fed cuts rates, banks follow fast. That 4.00% APY you see on your savings account right now? It’ll probably be closer to 3.75% by November, and possibly under 3.50% by early next year if the Fed continues cutting rates.

And unlike a CD, there’s no way to “lock in” that rate. Your yield floats with the market. So while you might feel safe sitting in cash, your earning power is shrinking quietly in the background.

I’m not draining my savings completely. I still keep three to six months of expenses in a high-yield account for emergencies. But for the extra cash I won’t need soon I’m taking action before the next cut hits.

Where I’m moving the money

I’m shifting part of my savings into certificates of deposit (CDs). CDs let you lock in a guaranteed rate for a set period, typically anywhere from six months to five years.

To keep some flexibility, I’m using a CD ladder. That means splitting my money across multiple CDs with different maturity dates. A few months from now, one CD will mature, giving me access to some cash, while others keep earning higher locked-in yields. It’s a great balance between liquidity and security. Lock in a guaranteed 4.00%+ APY before the next Fed cut.

The math says it all

Let’s say you’ve got $20,000 parked in a savings account.

• At 4.25% APY, that earns about $850 over the next year.
• If rates slide to 3.50%, you’re suddenly earning just $700.

That’s $150 gone just for waiting. And the larger your cash balance, the more those small percentage drops sting.

Acting before the next cut

The Fed’s next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28–29, and markets are already pricing in another 0.25% rate cut. Once that happens, banks won’t wait to slash their APYs.

That’s why I’m locking in my rates now. High-yield savings accounts have been incredible for the past two years, but this window of 4.00%+ returns is closing fast.

I’ll always keep my emergency fund in a liquid savings account. But for money I don’t need right away, I’d rather secure guaranteed returns than watch them disappear week by week.

Compare today’s top CD rates and lock in before they drop again.

I was in San Francisco on election day and the fine Democrats I met could sense Arnoldism on the march and said they felt embarrassed by it all and I had to reassure them: A recall election is a beautiful thing. Chaos? What chaos? The voters got a chance to fast-forward to 2006 and click on Arnold. Why wait three years if you can cut to the chase?

Government can be such a dreary, drawn-out business, and an election is swift and dramatic. A few weeks of foofaraw and bluster and warmed-over wisdom and then the blessed day arrives and all the sweet rituals of voting and then, whammo, come the results, the shock and disbelief, the grinning and waving, and the next morning we’re on to something new.

Here in Minnesota we’re pleased that California has an action-hero governor, though there isn’t much similarity between Arnold and our man, Jesse (The Body) Ventura. Jesse was a lone ranger, a man on a horse, and Arnold is a whole posse of Republicans. He doesn’t look any more like a Republican than Barbara Boxer does, but the Republicans embraced him because he smelled like a winner, just as Time Warner embraced AOL. A merger — like the lady who went for a ride on the tiger and came back inside.

Arnold stretches the bounds of Republicanism so that it simply means the unDemocrats, the We Who Are Not Responsible for the Mess Party. This was good enough to get a man elected, but now comes the deluge. Now Arnold is saying that the state’s budget crisis may be worse than he had thought. Welcome to government. Success in this line of work is short-lived. Politics consists of mostly all gas, and gas evaporates or it cools, and the beautiful balloon gets wrinkly and descends. Arnold will need to act fast lest the crisis worsen and he be held responsible for it.

Californians are like anybody else in that they want a great four-course dinner for $8.95. They want to live in the Greatest State (Fine Roads, Excellent Hospitals, Best Parks, Great Schools in which All Children are Above Average), and they also want low taxes. God bless them. People in hell want ice water.

Arnold is going to have to put through an enormous tax increase while the bloom is still on his cheek, meanwhile decrying big government for all he’s worth. This is a good strategy for Republicans and has worked in the past. They have created a fine reputation as fiscal conservatives so that if they get lightheaded and throw money out the window, nobody holds them responsible. Leadership is not for the fainthearted. Sometimes a good leader has to charge courageously forward in full retreat. You get elected to office by telling wonderful stories and then you do what you have to do.

When Arnold takes office, he should do exactly what he promised not to do, and then smile and say that he didn’t really do it, and if he did do it, which he didn’t, he didn’t mean to do it, the thing that was not done, and will never do it again. We eat the cake and after we eat it, there is even more cake. Yes, we have no bananas, but we do have apples, which also are oranges. And if Arnold can be a Republican, then we’re all Republicans, and we Democrats are even more so.

Garrison Keillor’s latest novel “Love Me” (Viking Press) was published in August.

All Odafe Oweh had known was Baltimore. The 2021 first-round selection had made a home there as part of the perennial AFC title contender’s edge rush.

A year ago, Oweh posted career highs for sacks (10), tackles for loss (nine) and quarterback hits (23). But a contract extension didn’t come his way, raising uncertainties about his future with the Ravens.

“I was really trying to get an opportunity to be in a new system and prove what I can to people that are really trying to see that,” Oweh said Wednesday, “so I have a little animosity on my back.”

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound outside linebacker got his wish Tuesday when the Chargers acquired him and a 2027 draft pick in exchange for safety Alohi Gilman and 2026 draft selection.

Entering the season in prove-yourself territory after the Ravens picked up his fifth-year option, Oweh has 12 games to show the Chargers he deserves to stay. His season has been mixed so far — he has yet to record a sack despite ranking 42nd in the NFL with 12 pressures.

With Khalil Mack on injured reserve, the Chargers were boasting a one-man show on the edge — Tuli Tuipulotu leading the team in pressures with 27. Odeh likely will slot into the rotation against Miami on Sunday, coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters earlier this week.

“I expect him to be a really good player who gets the run and a really good player who gets the pass, and super excited about, you know, his pass rush ability,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said. “The ability to run people down, run quarterbacks down. It’s something that, you know, we’ve struggled with at times.”

Minter pointed to Oweh’s higher pressure rate — which ranks second on the Chargers behind Tuipulotu — as a reason to be excited, even comparing him to Tuipulout as a player who could “all of a sudden” strike for multiple sacks.

Oweh said he believes that the results will come, especially with increased playing opportunities in Los Angeles.

“I don’t attribute it to me not having the moves — [or] me not winning. I was winning,” Oweh said. “I know that the fact that I have a lot of pressures, that’s going to translate at some point. … Production is going to come.”

Oweh said the Chargers have a reputation for being the “L.A. Ravens,” and he’s not far off.

Harbaugh’s brother, John Harbaugh, leads the operation in Baltimore. Greg Roman, the Chargers’ offensive coordinator, held the same position with the Ravens from 2019 to 2022. Minter spent time in Charm City, holding numerous coaching roles from 2017 to 2020.

Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz was involved in the Ravens’ decision to draft Oweh during his time as Baltimore’s director of player personnel. Hortiz even attended Oweh’s pro day at Penn State.

Safety Derwin James Jr., who had the same agent as Oweh, got the chance to train with him during the offseason.

“A lot of speed,” James said when asked about what Oweh adds to the defense. “I know what he can bring to the table.”

His familiarity with multiple people in the Chargers’ organization, Oweh said, makes the “fresh start” easier to handle despite the “shocking” end to his tenure with the Ravens.

“This is a perfect place for me to have a different experience but at the same time have some similarities,” Oweh said.

Oct. 9 (UPI) — The Charlie Kirk-co-founded Turning Point USA is planning to host an alternative musical performance called “The All-American Halftime Show” for Super Bowl LX.

Officials for the conservative non-profit announced the planned alternative halftime show on social media but did not say which musical acts and others would perform.

“It’s true, Turning Point USA is thrilled to announce The All-American Halftime Show,” it said in a post on X on Thursday, as reported by Fox News.

The post says the event will celebrate faith, family and freedom.

Turning Point USA has created a website to present the halftime show and asked online visitors to choose which musical genres they would like to see perform.

Survey results so far show support for country, rock, hip hop and “anything in English,” The Hill reported.

The event would air while rapper Benito Antonio Martiniz Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, performs during the Super Bowl’s halftime show headliner.

The musical artist from Puerto Rico has won three Grammy Awards since his career took off in 2016.

He also is slated to be named Billboard’s Latin Artist of the 21st Century during the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Oct.23.

Bad Bunny is undertaking a world tour but has refused to perform in the United States, other than during the Super Bowl.

He has cited concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might target his U.S. shows and detain audience members, according to Axios.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently dismissed such concerns and said there are no plans in place to raid Bad Bunny concerts.

Despite Leavitt’s denial, DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski recently suggested ICE agents would attend Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance.

Lewandowski made the claim while appearing on “The Benny Show” podcast on Oct. 1.

“There is nowhere that you can provide a safe haven to the people in this country illegally,” he told podcast host Benny Johnson.

The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

However, Shore said R360, which organisers say has attracted investment from a variety of funds and individuals, is fundamentally different to PWR, which supports the rest of the game.

“Our league houses just over 500 players, and they go from 18-year-olds up to players in their 30s with 100 caps for their country,” Shore said.

“Our job is not just the athlete with 100 caps, though.

“Our clubs have invested millions in schools, in colleges, in university partnerships, in building out their pathway projects and work with the Rugby Football Union, who are doing the same.

“If R360 are a private, limited company they don’t have to do that. Their purpose is to do something that’s innovative and exciting at the top of the game.

“The one thing that you do read consistently is that they plan to break even in year two. So the goal is to make money for the people who invest in it.”

The unions said in their joint statement that R360 was “designed to generate profits and return them to a very small elite, potentially hollowing out the investment that national unions and existing leagues make in community rugby, player development and participation pathways”.

Yann Roubert, the head of the French club game, said, external on Wednesday that “you don’t build a sport by bypassing those who build it”.

R360 said it will put “players first” and offer the highest standards of support, and that the investment and attention it will attract can help the sport as a whole.

Betty Brown, from County Durham, ran a Post Office with her late husband and was affected by the scandal

Betty Brown, 92, believed to be the oldest victim of the Post Office scandal said she was “disgusted” at the treatment of sub postmasters as she pledged to continue her fight.

Betty from County Durham, operated the Annfield Plain Post Office with her late husband. She has previously revealed that she spent thousands of pounds of her own savings covering shortfalls that never actually existed after faulty data made it appear money was missing from the branch.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Friday (October 10), she discussed the “heartbreak” the victims had suffered, reports Wales Online.

“Totally disgusted that a government could treat their own people in the manner that they have treated the sub postmasters,” she said.

“Every one of us, not only me, every one of us. They’ve killed a lot of them.”

Betty told the ITV programme’s presenters Kate Garraway and Adil Ray: “They haven’t taken the one iota of care to any of the people left on their own, the families left, the struggles that they’ve had to go through and all the heartbreak and everything associated with it.

“And they’ve stood back, not our fault, we don’t want anything to do with it and if, when they’re forced to do with it, it’s as little as possible and how they can turn it over upside down so that the blame doesn’t go on to them, it’s all the postmasters.”

Viewers at home were moved by Betty’s comments, with one writing on X: “Get a government minister on at the same time as Betty so she can get them told!!”

“I’m so sorry for Betty,” another person penned on the platform, previously known as X. “Another person let down by government after government like so many.”

The scandal and its magnitude have come to light in recent years, with the Post Office later expressing regret to those affected, stating they were “deeply sorry for the suffering caused to so many people by Post Office’s past actions”.

In a statement, the Post Office further added that “we will continue to learn from past mistakes and are committed to continuing to transform today’s Post Office, rebuild trust, and move forward for our current postmasters and the 10 million customers who rely on us each week”.

This week the government announced that all victims of the scandal who are claiming compensation will be entitled to free legal advice to help with appeals.

Good Morning Britain airs on ITV.

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Rare earth stocks climbed in the US after Beijing tightened its control over these critical materials, used in the vast majority of electronic devices, from smartphones and cars to ballistic missiles.

Across the Atlantic, European markets opened in a mixed mood while the Middle East peace deal progresses, brokered by US President Donald Trump.

With investors also watching political uncertainty in France, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up around 0.1% at 11.45 CEST, and Paris’ CAC 40 also gained 0.1%.

Frankfurt’s DAX and London’s FTSE 100 both slipped 0.1%, after an earlier rise for the DAX.

“The FTSE 100 was stuck in the mud as the rest of Europe ploughed ahead at the end of the trading week,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Strength in consumer stocks and utilities was offset by weakness in miners and healthcare,” he said — adding: “it was also notable that defence stocks were being sold down, including Babcock, which has rocketed this year.”

In other news, oil prices were down on Friday morning. The US benchmark crude cost around 0.4% less than at the previous close, and traded at $61.26 per barrel at around 11.45 CEST. The international benchmark Brent lost 0.49% and cost $64.90 per barrel at the same time.

Gold prices also rose after hitting new records recently, trading at $4,018.00 on Friday morning in Europe.

US futures were up slightly, the euro gained against the dollar at $1.1575, and the greenback slipped against the Japanese yen, to ¥152.7950. The British pound also fell against the dollar and cost $1.3290.

Rare earths companies gained overseas

As mining stocks led losses in Europe on Friday amid developments in Beijing, the STOXX Europe Basic Resources index shed 0.78%.

This follows a rally in the US, where rare earth stocks rose considerably after China announced that it would tighten control over its exports of these materials.

The country is dominating the market for rare earths. The world’s second-largest economy accounts for 70% of the global supply of these assets that are hugely significant for defence and technological infrastructure.

Following the news, investors in the US placed their hopes on American alternatives. US rare earth and critical mineral miners’ share prices surged on Thursday, partially due to market speculation that Washington will invest more in building out a domestic supply chain.

Many of these companies have seen their prices increase for months now, with several doubling or tripling since the beginning of the year.

USA Rare Earth Inc., a firm building a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain, gained nearly 15% on Thursday. Since January, it has risen 151%.

MP Materials Corp, an American rare-earth materials company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, also gained more than 2.4% on Thursday, while it is up 341% since January.

Another company, Denver-based Energy Fuels Inc., gained 9.4%, bring its year-to-date rise to 284%.

NioCorp Developments, which benefits from Pentagon support, gained more than 12%, Rare Element Resources Ltd gained more than 10%, and Texas Mineral Resources Corp. gained 9.6% on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Australian rare-earth mining company Lynas Rare Earths lost nearly 3.8% in the Asian trade, and Australia’s Iluka Resources lost 3.22%.

Chinese Shenghe Resources, a partly state-owned rare earths mining and processing company listed on the Shanghai stock exchange, lost 5%.

Beijing’s measures mean that companies need to apply for a licence to export products containing certain Chinese-sourced rare earth metals.

WASHINGTON — It has been four months since Elon Musk, President Trump’s bureaucratic demolition man, abandoned Washington in a flurry of recriminations and chaos.

But the Trump administration’s crusade to dismantle much of the federal government never ended. It’s merely under new management: the less colorful but more methodical Russell Vought, director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget.

Vought has become the backroom architect of Trump’s aggressive strategy — slashing the federal workforce, freezing billions in congressionally approved spending in actions his critics often call illegal.

Now Vought has proposed using the current government shutdown as an opportunity to fire thousands of bureaucrats permanently instead of merely furloughing them temporarily. If any do return to work, he has suggested that the government need not give them back pay — contrary to a law Trump signed in 2019.

Those threats may prove merely to be pressure tactics as Trump tries to persuade Democrats to accept spending cuts on Medicaid, Obamacare and other programs.

But the shutdown battle is the current phase of a much larger one. Vought’s long-term goals, he says, are to “bend or break the bureaucracy to the presidential will” and “deconstruct the administrative state.”

He’s still only partway done.

“I’d estimate that Vought has implemented maybe 10% or 15% of his program,” said Donald F. Kettl, former dean of the public policy school at the University of Maryland. “There may be as much as 90% to go. If this were a baseball game, we’d be in the top of the second inning.”

Along the way, Vought (pronounced “vote”) has chipped relentlessly at Congress’ ability to control the use of federal funds, massively expanding the power of the president.

“He has waged the most serious attack on separation of powers in American history,” said Elaine Kamarck, an expert on federal management at the Brookings Institution.

He’s done that mainly by using OMB, the White House office that oversees spending, to control the day-to-day purse strings of federal agencies — and deliberately keeping Congress in the dark along the way.

“If Congress has given us authority that is too broad, then we’re going to use that authority aggressively,” Vought said last month.

Federal judges have ruled some of the administration’s actions illegal, but they have allowed others to stand. Vought’s proposal to use the shutdown to fire thousands of bureaucrats hasn’t been tested in court.

Vought developed his aggressive approach during two decades as a conservative budget expert, culminating in his appointment as director of OMB in Trump’s first term.

In 2019, he stretched the limits of presidential power by helping Trump get around a congressional ban on funding for a border wall, by declaring an emergency and transferring military funds. He froze congressionally mandated aid for Ukraine, the action that led to Trump’s first impeachment.

Even so, Vought complained that Trump had been needlessly restrained by cautious first-term aides.

“The lawyers come in and say, ‘It’s not legal. You can’t do that,’” he said in 2023. “I don’t want President Trump having to lose a moment of time having fights in the Oval Office over whether something is legal.”

Vought is a proponent of the “unitary executive” theory, the argument that the president should have unfettered control over every tentacle of the executive branch, including independent agencies such as the Federal Reserve.

When Congress designates money for federal programs, he has argued, “It’s a ceiling. It is not a floor. It’s not the notion that you have to spend every dollar.”

Most legal experts disagree; a 1974 law prohibits the president from unilaterally withholding money Congress has appropriated.

Vought told conservative activists in 2023 that if Trump returned to power, he would deliberately seek to inflict “trauma” on federal employees.

“We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,” he said. “When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work.”

When Vought returned to OMB for Trump’s second term, he appeared to be in Musk’s shadow. But once the flamboyant Tesla chief executive flamed out, the OMB director got to work to make DOGE’s work the foundation for lasting changes.

He extended many of DOGE’s funding cuts by slowing down OMB’s approval of disbursements — turning them into de facto freezes.

He helped persuade Republicans in Congress to cancel $9 billion in previously approved foreign aid and public broadcasting support, a process known as “rescission.”

To cancel an additional $4.9 billion, he revived a rarely used gambit called a “pocket rescission,” freezing the funds until they expired.

Along the way, he quietly stopped providing Congress with information on spending, leaving legislators in the dark on whether programs were being axed.

DOGE and OMB eliminated jobs so quickly that the federal government stopped publishing its ongoing tally of federal employees. (Any number would only be approximate; some layoffs are tied up in court, and thousands of employees who opted for voluntary retirement are technically still on the payroll.)

The result was a significant erosion of Congress’ “power of the purse,” which has historically included not only approving money but also monitoring how it was spent.

Even some Republican members of Congress seethed. “They would like a blank check … and I don’t think that’s appropriate,” said former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

But the GOP majorities in both the House and Senate, pleased to see spending cut by any means, let Vought have his way. Even McConnell voted to approve the $9-billion rescission request.

Vought’s newest innovation, the mid-shutdown layoffs, would be another big step toward reducing Congress’ role.

“The result would be a dramatic, instantaneous shift in the separation of powers,” Kettl said. “The Trump team could kill programs unilaterally without the inconvenience of going to Congress.”

Some of the consequences could be catastrophic, Kettl and other scholars warned. Kamarck calls them “time bombs.”

“One or more of these decisions is going to blow up in Trump’s face,” she said.

“FEMA won’t be capable of reacting to the next hurricane. The National Weather Service won’t have the forecasters it needs to analyze the data from weather balloons.”

Even before the government shutdown, she noted, the FAA was grappling with a shortage of air traffic controllers. This week the FAA slowed takeoffs at several airports in response to growing shortages, including at air traffic control centers in Atlanta, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.

In theory, a future Congress could undo many of Vought’s actions, especially if Democrats win control of the House or, less likely, the Senate.

But rebuilding agencies that have been radically shrunken would take much longer than cutting them down, the scholars said.

“Much of this will be difficult to reverse when Democrats come back into fashion,” Kamarck said.

Indeed, that’s part of Vought’s plan.

“We want to make sure that the bureaucracy can’t reconstitute itself later in future administrations,” he said in April in a podcast with Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was slain on Sept. 10.

He’s pleased with the progress he’s made, he told reporters in July.

“We’re having fun,” he said.

Foreign Office has issued a ‘severe’ Spain alert

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has issued a fresh warning to Brits planning to travel to Spain or those who are already there. The FCDO, which is responsible for providing updated travel information for over 200 countries worldwide, issued a new alert on Friday morning (October 10).

It warned of “severe” weather conditions in parts of Spain, said: “Severe weather warnings are in place today in Murcia and Valencia, including the province of Alicante. Disruptions to travel are likely. If you are in the affected areas, follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local weather updates. If you are planning to travel, check for messaging from your travel provider or airline.”

This update comes ahead of significant changes to travel rules for Spain and other European destinations, set to come into effect on Sunday (October 12). The much-anticipated new Entry/Exit System (EES) will commence on October 12, requiring UK travellers to provide additional details.

The EES is an automated IT system that will register UK travellers, including short-stay visa holders and those exempt from visas, each time they cross an EU external border. This system will record the traveller’s name, type of travel document, biometric data (fingerprints and facial images), as well as the date and place of entry and exit, all while respecting fundamental rights and data protection.

Once the EES is launched, holidaymakers will need to create a digital record on their first visit to the Schengen area at the port or airport. This will involve submitting fingerprints and having a photo taken at dedicated booths.

There’s no need for travellers to provide any information before jetting off to a Schengen area country. However, if they’re flying to a country within the Schengen area, they should brace themselves for longer queues upon arrival.

I’m sitting on the ground with seven others, huddled around a mass of lumpy, grey matter that quickly turns to powder under the pounding of hammers. Beside us are a small dipping pool, some mulberry trees and a whitewashed house crawling with purple bougainvillaea, from which two dogs drift in and out to inspect our work.

“This is pretty therapeutic, isn’t it?” someone says above the clattering of tools, as flower-dappled light dances on a canopy that’s shielding us from the hot Andalucían sun.

We’re on a four-day wild clay ceramics retreat at Las Mecias, a regenerative farm in Spain’s Alpujarras, an idyllic valley just over an hour and a half south-east of Granada in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The course is a collaboration between Las Mecias’s Dutch owners, Laura and Nina, and Spaniards Milena and Julia from Tierra de Arcillas, a local ceramics studio. They connected through Instagram and things evolved from there.

The aim is to teach guests how to find, forage, process and fire ceramics from locally sourced wild clay in a more sustainable approach to pottery. They run a handful of workshops in spring and autumn when temperatures are more bearable.

I found Las Mecias while looking for pottery retreats in Spain, already hooked after one wheel-throwing workshop months earlier. That class came towards the end of a debilitating bout of depression and anxiety that had left me unable to work or function properly for months. At the wheel, I felt the dark cloud lift temporarily and anxious ruminations evaporated like water on a hot stove.

This time I’d be hand-building pottery for the first time. Las Mecias is located in exactly the kind of place those tired of the city long to escape to. Set off a dusty track, a few minutes from the picturesque mountainside pueblo (village) of Cástaras, the 2-hectare (5-acre) off-grid organic farm and retreat space is a natural haven dotted with olive and fruit trees, wildflowers and vegetable gardens.

The accommodation comprises a tiny home (a dinky caravan with a sundeck), a good-sized Mongolian-style yurt, and a minimalist Mediterranean two-bedroom casita (small house) with a kitchen, living room and terrace. All have spellbinding views over the low Sierra de la Contraviesa, which is speckled with vines and cortijos (farmhouses).

Our group includes a model from Taiwan, a Spanish project manager, a French yoga teacher, a Polish AI expert and a clarinettist from High Wycombe. My girlfriend and I are staying off-site at El Huerto de Lobras – a collection of bucolic apartments run by an endearing abuela (grandmother) named Ana.

The first day begins with introductions followed by a lesson on clay theory and a foraging mission led by Milena and Julia. The warm, spirited couple, who met in Barcelona and now live together in Almería, run Tierras de Arcillas in the foothills of the Alpujarras Almeriense.

Sick of being stuck behind a screen, Julia, a graphic designer, took a ceramics course in Barcelona where she became fascinated with the origins of clay. Lighting designer Milena was converted later when trawling the hills of Almería, charmed by the earth’s colours and textures.

Armed with pick-spades, we all set off to roam the marbled hills, searching for good clay. “See those cracks? That’s a good sign,” Julia says, leading us to a jagged, light-grey shard of mountain. We test the quality by removing stones, adding a drop of water, making a ball, then a tiny sausage, then a ring. The ring is the goal as it means the clay is 70% pure. After a positive test, we hack away frantically in clouds of dust, filling buckets like middle-class miners.

Back at the farm, Laura and Nina prepare dinner. Between them, the couple have worked in kitchens across the UK, Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands, so meals at Las Mecias are exceptional. For breakfast, there’s freshly made sourdough loaves, homemade quince, strawberry and plum jams and plates of watermelon, mango and loquat. Lunches feature Ottolenghi-worthy salads, while dinners span Indonesian, Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern cuisine – served with their own olive oil and natural wine.

Between meals, we wander the grounds, flop in deck chairs and hammocks staring out to snow-capped peaks, and work on our pieces. One of the group – me – makes an ugly olive dish, which looks like a flower that’s been stamped on. Others craft impressive vases, plates, cups, trays and bird feeders.

The workshop is well structured and flows naturally. Each part feels like a therapeutic technique. Foraging becomes my grounding ritual. Processing clay by removing impurities echoes filtering out negative beliefs. Deep discussions replace the rawness of therapy. And nutritious meals, quality sleep and abundant nature restore the soul.

Over the days, my mind quietens. It’s not a resounding silence. I’m not cured from the mental health issues that have plagued me for two decades, but I feel calmer. I’m attuned to the hum of bees and the crunch of stones underfoot. Inconveniences morph into joyful moments: getting stuck behind a farmer herding goats on a winding mountain road, having no phone signal anywhere, and being woken by the local church choir.

The four-day workshop culminates in a final ritual, where we fire up the handbuilt kiln and load it with our pieces. Between shifts gathering sticks and stoking the fire, we take turns dipping in the pool.

After sunset, Laura makes a pizza while Nina glides around with homemade wine and jugs of shrub – a refreshing drink made from fruit and vinegar.

Perching on hay bales, swigging wine and sharing stories, we cheer as the kiln’s temperature hits its century milestones, before reaching a high of 917F (492C). Sealing the oven, Milena and Julia chant a symbolic blessing, “protectora, ponle lo que falta y quitale lo que le sobra”, roughly translated to, “protector, provide us with what we lack and remove what isn’t needed”, before we retire to bed.

The next morning, we gather around the kiln and remove bricks, one by one. There’s no telling what’s survived: the fire decides. Perhaps a final reminder that acceptance and letting go is part of the process. Cheers erupt and compliments are exchanged as the first pieces emerge intact.

As we say our goodbyes, one member of the group leaves us with a final moment of reflection. “Honestly, I didn’t really care what mine turned out like. It didn’t matter if it cracked or exploded. I just enjoyed the process and would’ve accepted whatever happened.”

The retreat was provided by Las Mecias and Tierra de Arcillas, which offer three-night, four-day introduction to wild clay workshops, including accommodation, three dinners, three breakfasts and two lunches, and over 15 hours of theory and practical instruction. Prices from €580, based on a shared stay in a yurt with an outside bathroom. The next workshop is 16-19 October; 2026 dates to be announced late in October

Islamabad, Pakistan – A series of explosions and bursts of gunfire rattled Afghanistan’s capital late Thursday evening, according to local media. The cause of the blasts and the extent of casualties remain unclear.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that an explosion had been heard in Kabul, saying the cause was under investigation.

“An explosion was heard in Kabul city,” he posted on social media platform X in Pashto. “But don’t worry, it’s all good and well. The accident is under investigation, and no injuries have been reported yet. So far there is no report of any harm done.”

The incident came amid worsening relations between Afghanistan and its western neighbour Pakistan, which has accused the Taliban government – in power since August 2021 – of providing safe havens to armed groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad blames for a surge in attacks on its security forces.

The explosions also coincided with the arrival of the Taliban administration’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in India for a six-day visit, the first such trip since the Taliban’s return to power.

Following the Kabul explosions, speculation swirled on social media that Pakistan was behind the attack, allegedly targeting senior TTP leaders, including its chief, Noor Wali Mehsud.

However, the Taliban have not levelled any accusations yet. Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media, neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the Kabul explosions. “We have seen the media reports and statements from Afghan officials about explosions in Kabul. However, we have no further details on this,” one official told Al Jazeera.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also did not respond to Al Jazeera’s queries.

While neither the Taliban nor the TTP has commented on Mehsud and whether he is safe, Mujahid’s comments suggest that no one was killed in the explosions.

Once seen as heavily backed by Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban have been trying to recalibrate their foreign policy, engaging regional powers such as India, their former adversary, in a bid to secure eventual diplomatic recognition.

Pakistan, meanwhile, has accused India of supporting armed groups operating on its soil, a charge New Delhi denies.

Fragile thaw between Kabul and Islamabad

After a bloody 2024, one of Pakistan’s deadliest years in nearly a decade, with more than 2,500 people killed in violence, both countries tried to reset their relationship.

Pakistan’s deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar visited Kabul in April, with senior leadership on both sides holding a series of meetings, often mediated by China. That process led to upgraded diplomatic ties and a brief lull in violence over the summer.

Yet, according to the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, violence in the first three quarters of 2025 nearly matched the entire toll of 2024.

TTP remains the singular cause for the increasing attacks since 2021, according to US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED).

“Our data show that the TTP engaged in at least 600 attacks against, or clashes with, security forces in the past year alone. Its activity in 2025 so far already exceeds that seen in all of 2024,” a recent report by the ACLED pointed out.

And in recent days, Pakistan has witnessed a further escalation in violence. A string of assaults has killed dozens of soldiers, mostly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a long and porous border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani military on Friday said it killed more than 30 fighters involved in a recent attack in the tribal district of Orakzai.

In September alone, at least 135 people were killed and 173 injured. After visiting wounded soldiers following raids that killed 19 personnel, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a stark warning to Afghanistan.

“Choose one of two paths. If they wish to establish relations with Pakistan with genuine goodwill, sincerity and honesty, we are ready for that. But if they choose to side with terrorists and support them, then we will have nothing to do with the Afghan interim government,” Sharif said on September 13.

On Thursday, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif also accused Afghanistan of enabling violence in Pakistan while speaking on the floor of the parliament

“Despite years of negotiations with the Afghan government and delegations coming and going to Kabul, the bloodshed in Pakistan has not stopped. Daily funerals of military personnel are being held. We are paying the price of 60 years of hospitality to 6 million Afghan refugees with our blood,” he said.

Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees since the 1980s, first after the Soviet invasion, then during the Taliban’s initial rule in the 1990s, and again after their 2021 takeover.

Since November 2023, Islamabad has been carrying out a mass expulsion campaign, forcing Afghans – many of whom have lived in Pakistan for decades – to return home. Government figures say nearly a million have been sent back so far.

Deepening mistrust

The tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban in recent years have also escalated into military clashes.

The Pakistani military has previously conducted airstrikes inside Afghan territory, the most recent one in December 2024.

Analysts say that if the latest explosions were indeed linked to Pakistan, the implications could be serious.

Tameem Bahiss, a security analyst based in Kabul, said the Taliban have consistently denied harbouring TTP fighters, and any formal acknowledgement of strikes inside the capital could inflame tensions.

“We’ve seen before those previous Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan yielded no concrete results. Instead, they only deepened mistrust and made cooperation on countering the TTP more difficult. This latest incident will likely harden positions further, making dialogue and coordination even more complicated,” he told Al Jazeera.

The last major targeted strike in Kabul took place in 2022, when al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a US drone attack.

Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, an Islamabad-based security analyst, said that if Pakistan was involved in the attacks, they may have been intended as a warning following recent attacks on Pakistani soil.

Mehsud, who co-founded The Khorasan Diary, a security-focused news outlet, said the explosions could signal Pakistan’s intent to pursue high-value targets across the border.

“Pakistan could try and target individuals in Kabul, which is the political capital, as well as those in Kandahar, which is seen as the spiritual capital of Taliban, in case security situation in Pakistan remains dire and Afghan Taliban don’t rein in the TTP,” he cautioned.

Bahiss, however, warned that any cross-border strikes could backfire.

“If Pakistan continues to expand its strikes inside Afghanistan, more Afghans may begin to sympathise with the TTP. This sympathy could translate into new recruits, funding, and possibly even quiet support from some segments within the Afghan Taliban,” he said.

He added that if Pakistan indeed was targeting TTP leaders inside Afghanistan, that could provoke the group into escalating attacks inside Pakistan.

“If TTP leaders have indeed been targeted or killed inside Kabul, that would also serve as a warning to the group, showing that they are not safe even in the capital,” Bahiss said. “The TTP will likely adapt by tightening its security measures, relocating its leadership, and possibly retaliating through more aggressive attacks in Pakistan.” 

Northrop Grumman has been doing detailed design work that lays a path to air-launching its Lumberjack loitering one-way attack drone from Kratos’ stealthy XQ-58 Valkyrie uncrewed aircraft. Multiple crewed and uncrewed aircraft are being eyed as potential platforms for employing Lumberjack, which is already being tested in surface-launched modes and will have the ability to drop its own smaller precision munitions.

In a statement to TWZ today, Northrop Grumman confirmed that “Valkyrie is one of the multiple platforms we’re doing detailed design work for to ensure compatibility with Lumberjack” and that “Valkyrie is a good representation of a possible use case.” The XQ-58 is prominently featured in the Lumberjack product card available on Northrop Grumman’s website at the time of writing. It also depicts a Lumberjack launching a Hatchet miniature precision-guided glide bomb, which the company also produces, and that we will come back to later on.

Our own Howard Altman also recently had a chance to talk with Michael Bastin, Northrop Grumman’s director of programs for Lumberjack, to get a broader update on its ongoing development. The new one-way attacker was first unveiled in April at this year’s Modern Day Marine conference.

Since then, Lumber has “participated in both of the T-REX events this year. So, those are the technology, readiness, and experimentation events hosted by OUSD(R&E) [the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, also now referred to as the Office of the Undersecretary of War for Research and Engineering],” Bastin said. “Those are really valuable for us. We got a chance to get operators to look and engage with the system, [and] actually do an end-to-end simulated mission in a relevant type of environment with a lot of capabilities that people were looking for.”

At the T-REX events, Northrop Grumman also demonstrated Lumberjack’s “ability to launch from two different styles of [ground-based] launchers, the electric rail launcher and the pneumatic launcher,” both provided by other companies, he added. “We are launcher agnostic. So we don’t really develop the launchers ourselves. We just show up to the ride.”

Bastin declined to elaborate further on the mission scenarios and the capabilities demonstrated at the T-REX events. He also acknowledged that the same kinds of launchers could be employed in shipboard scenarios, but said that Northrop Grumman’s current focus in terms of the surface-launched mode is on ground-based applications.

When it comes to current plans for air-launched applications, “Lumberjack is the size, the length anyway, of the Small Diameter Bomb. So, we’re looking to be compatible with a wide variety of aircraft, [fixed-]wing and rotorcraft, manned and unmanned,” Bastin said. “Effectively, we’re looking at anything that could carry a Small Diameter Bomb.”

“We’re designing that [Lumberjack] for multiple BRUs. So, a couple different BRU installations are compatible against that sort of Small Diameter Bomb length,” he continued, using the U.S. military-standard abbreviation for Bomb Rack Unit. “We are working with two different customer communities right now, working through large plans and experimentation for next year. So that’s part of our flight test plan that we’re developing for next year.”

The GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is a 250-pound-class precision-guided glide bomb that is just under six feet (1.8 meters) long. Northrop Grumman’s website says Lumberjack has a very similar form factor, but has a maximum gross weight of around 290 pounds.

Lumberjack’s weight is payload-dependent, which Northrop Grumman’s website says could include a “combination of kinetic and non-kinetic sub-munitions, or ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] sensors.” Without any payload or fuel for its small jet engine, the core system, with its composite material structure, only tips the scales at around 79 pounds, according to the product card.

How heavy a Lumberjack might be would also impact its range in both air and surface-launched modes. So far, Northrop Grumman has only said that the system is expected to be able to fly “several hundred” nautical miles. The company has also said that it will be able to cruise at around Mach 0.3 (some 230 knots) at an altitude of 20,000 feet.

“We have done testing with both kinetic and non-kinetic [payloads],” Bastin said. “Hatchet is certainly a candidate. It’s not the only type of kind of sub-munition that we’d be interested in being able to deploy. So, as I said, if customers come with whatever kinetic effect they want, as long as it fits on the center bay, we’re capable of integrating it.”

Hatchet is a roughly six-pound precision glide bomb that Northrop Grumman currently offers with one of three guidance options: a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS), INS-only, and dual-mode GPS/INS and semi-active laser guidance. Versions that use GPS-assisted INS and INS-only can only be employed against static target coordinates. Laser guidance allows for the engagement of moving targets as long as they can be lazed either by the launching platform or another offboard source.

Each Hatchet has a three-pound high-explosive warhead, which Northrop Grumman claims is of an advanced type that is 50 to 80 percent as lethal as a 500-pound-class bomb, depending on the target type. Point-detonating, delayed, and air-bursting fuze options are available.

From the start, Hatchet has been presented as particularly well-suited as an armament option for drones because of its size. Multiple uncrewed aircraft have already been demonstrated as launch platforms for these munitions.

When it comes to munition options for Lumberjack, “there’s a variety [of other options] out there. I mean, everything from things like Hatchets to integrating existing artillery shells or custom kinetic effects,” Bastin noted. “So different customers have different interests in terms of what their target is and what their payload would want to be in terms of the kinetic effectiveness against their target.”

Lumberjack is being developed with modularity and adaptability, potentially even under field conditions, in mind. Another company, Palantir, is providing an artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) infused software backend to help with the rapid integration of now payloads and other capabilities, as well as help with “maintenance and reducing operator burden.”

In any configuration, Lumberjack already offers the ability to reach target areas at standoff distances. Its ability to launch unpowered gliding payloads like Hatchet, or even potentially small powered ones, only extended its operational reach. This would all be further magnified by pairing it with an aerial launch platform like the XQ-58. The Valkyrie has its own internal payload bay, said to be able to carry at least two SDB-sized stores, and can also carry payloads under its wings. Lumberjack’s range would also help keep the launching platform further away from threats. A full operational scenario might see a Valkyrie or similar launch platform use its own survivability to get close to an especially high-threat part of the battlespace before launching a Lumberjack, which then delivers munitions into the highest risk area. This could even involve taking out hostile air defense assets that threaten the launching aircraft.

Lumberjack can also make use of its range for other purposes, including launching kinetic or non-kinetic attacks on geographically separated targets during a single sortie, as well as just loitering in a particular area. Equipped with a stand-in jamming capability and/or sensor packages, the drones could be used to form temporary force protection picket lines, and do so rapidly.

There is also a cost factor, with Lumberjack’s design being focused on a low unit cost and producibility, with a heavy emphasis on commercial and modified commercial components. Another firm, ESAero, which specializes in rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing, is also working with Northrop Grumman on this design.

“For every pallet that I would ship a fixed number of Small Diameter Bombs on, we can ship the same number of lumberjacks on, but each lumberjack performs multiple effects, multiple missions, and can go on multiple vehicles,” Bastin explained. “So it helps drive down that cost, as I said, within a Lumberjack, because we designed it with open architecture and a very modular center bay.”

Northrop Grumman previously told TWZ that it is targeting between a “cost per effect” of $75,000 to $100,000 for Lumberjack, somewhat nebulous figures that factor in things beyond basic unit price. It is also worth noting here that while Lumberjack is intended to be a one-way system when used operationally, work is being done to improve its recoverability when used in training. Being able to reuse the drones for training, as well as test and evaluation activities, would also offer cost advantages.

It’s interesting to note here that the XQ-58 is at the low end of the cost range for loyal wingman-type drones, also now commonly referred to as Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Kratos is separately continuing to expand and evolve its Valkyrie family as its customer base grows. The U.S. Marine Corps notably confirmed earlier this year that it is now actively pursuing an operational capability with these drones after years of experimental work with the design.

Lumberjack otherwise reflects a flurry of development, especially in the United States, of longer-range one-way attack munitions, as well as other systems that increasingly blur the lines between traditional drones and cruise missiles, as well as decoys.

If Northrop Grumman keeps to its current test schedule, we may get actual looks at Lumberjacks launched from XQ-58s and/or other aircraft in the coming year.

Contact the author: [email protected]

BOXER Brad Rea has paid a gushing tribute to the late Ricky Hatton – and vowed to fight on to make his mentor proud.

Hatton – Britain’s most beloved fighter – sadly passed away aged just 46 in September – leaving behind an iconic legacy.

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Manchester light-heavyweight Rea was inspired to take up boxing by the legendary City fan and the two grew a formidable bond together.

Hatton befriended, coached and mentored Rea up until his sad passing.

Today, on Friday October 10, 2025, Hatton is laid to rest with his funeral at the Manchester Cathedral.

Rea – who fights Lyndon Arthur on November 1 – is in attendance and opened up on his special bond with the heroic Hitman.

He told SunSport: “I was lucky that I did have a good relationship and we were friends.

“But I think so many people, even people that maybe just met him once, maybe people that just got a picture with him once, seeing him in the pub or whatever, because of the way he was, everyone feels like they have that kind of personal connection with him.

“He was just down to earth and he was just one of us at the end of the day, no matter how big he made it.

“I think that’s why it has affected so many people and everyone does kind of feel like they know him in a way because he was so down to earth.

“So it’s been a tough one for me to take. It’s been a tough one for most of the boxing scene to take.”

Despite becoming inseparable, Rea admits the novelty of Hatton’s presence in his life never wore off.

He said: “It just kind of merged into one. I was with him so much and I’d see him so often and we’d spend so much time together in the gym kind of every day.

“You do kind of forget how big he was, how loved he was, and how many people he had an effect on.

“Then every now and again you’d be out sparring or you’d be walking down a residential street somewhere and you’d go, ‘It’s Ricky.’ You know what I mean?

“It’s not just Rick, this is the Hitman and, yeah every now and again I kind of had to pinch myself a little bit and go, ‘This is Ricky Hatton I’m sat in Nando’s with.’ It was a bit surreal.”

Despite Hatton’s superstardom and unrivalled fanfare – he dreaded ever being looked at as anything other than a working class people’s champion.

Rea said: “He was just one of the boys at the end of the day.

“He was so down to earth and that was why the other side come with it he didn’t think he was better than anyone else.

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“He didn’t think he was a superstar and I think they probably go hand in hand, kind of just being so down to earth and then still being taken back by all the support.”

Two-weight world champion Hatton would spend 12 hard weeks preparing for his fights – and the rest of his time down the pub with his friends.

Rea was fortunate enough to have socialised with the boxing great – preferring to leave some of their more chaotic tales forever untold.

He beamed: “Oh, there’s so many. There’s so many but all of them I’m just laughing, I’m smiling because it’s just stupid times, rubbish jokes, cracking rubbish jokes.

“I’m lucky that I got multiple different sides of him. I got him as a coach, I had him as part of my team in my corner. I had him as a friend.

“I’ve been to the football with him. I’ve been out for a beer with him, I’ve been on a weekend to Dublin with him, I’ve had all different sides of him.

“I’ve got many memories to kind of look back on. Some stories that I can tell and some I’ll probably keep to myself!”

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Rea was hit with the devastating news just months before his European title defence against Arthur at the Co-Op Live Arena.

And he has since returned to Hatton’s Hyde – where emotions are high.

Rea, 27, said: “I’d not been there for a while. It is a bit surreal. It is a little bit weird.

“Every time I’ve been in there, the majority of the time he’s in there, and he’s cracking jokes, you know, he’s being Rick.

“But at the end of the day there’s me, there’s a load of other lads in there that still got a job to do and he’d be disappointed if we were moping about and we weren’t training.

“He’d want us to get back at it and he want us to crack on and. So you’ve kind of just got to keep cracking on and do what you can to try and make him proud.”

And the best way to make City super-fan Hatton proud? Beat United supporter Arthur – a friend of former sparring partner – in their hometown.

Rea chuckled: “You know what it is? It’s more how we’d react if I let myself get beat by a United fan!

“He would never let me hear the end of it. He would be on my case and I can’t do that to him. I can’t let him down on that front.”

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Nvidia has been the face of the artificial intelligence (AI) race since it began in 2023. However, there’s another competitor that’s looking to take over Nvidia’s leadership role: Broadcom (AVGO -0.26%).

While Broadcom has its fingers in many parts of tech, its most promising segment is its AI chip business, and it’s growing rapidly. Broadcom is already a $1.6 trillion company, but could it find its way near the top and become the next Nvidia? Let’s take a look.

Broadcom’s custom AI accelerators are a GPU alternative

Broadcom’s AI semiconductor division gets its revenue from two primary sources: Custom AI accelerators and connectivity switches. Broadcom’s connectivity switches, like the Tomahawk3, are used in data centers to stitch workloads back together after they have been split up to be processed among multiple computing units. This makes Broadcom’s connectivity switches vital for data centers, regardless of what computing unit is being used.

This product line has seen strong growth, but it’s nothing compared to the potential of Broadcom’s custom AI accelerator chips, which it calls XPUs. Broadcom’s XPUs are designed in collaboration with end users to ensure the architecture is suited for the workloads it will see. By designing a custom chip around a specific workload for each client, XPUs can have greater performance than Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs). Additionally, because the end user is working directly with Broadcom, these units are far cheaper than anything from Nvidia.

The combination of better performance at a lower cost is a no-brainer, and that’s why companies like Alphabet and Meta Platforms have allegedly (Broadcom doesn’t reveal who its XPU clients are) invested heavily in their XPUs. Additionally, it announced that a new client placed an order for $10 billion worth of XPUs. This has been linked to OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, giving Broadcom the status of providing computing units for nearly all of the top generative AI models.

So, is Broadcom set to replace Nvidia?

Nvidia still has more to gain from the AI buildout than Broadcom does

The reality is that these AI hyperscalers know what their AI workloads will look like. However, cloud infrastructure companies, like Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft, must continue purchasing Nvidia GPUs because clients want flexibility. Furthermore, if one of the AI hyperscalers wants to try something different to run workloads in a new way, they’ll need the flexibility of a GPU.

So, Nvidia isn’t going away, but I’d expect Broadcom’s chips to become far more popular over the next few years. We’re already seeing that now, as Nvidia’s data center revenue rose 56% year over year while Broadcom’s AI semiconductor revenue rose 63%. Broadcom will need to maintain that quicker growth pace if it is to rise to be in true competition with Nvidia, but with how rapidly demand for XPUs is growing, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case.

During its third-quarter fiscal year 2025 (ending Aug. 3) announcement, Broadcom predicted that it would generate $6.2 billion in AI semiconductor revenue during the fourth quarter, up from $5.2 billion in Q3. That’s rapid quarter-over-quarter growth, but it is still slower than Nvidia’s peak growth pace last year.

Time will tell how well Broadcom’s XPUs do, but I’d wager that Broadcom’s AI semiconductor division will grow faster than Nvidia for the foreseeable future. However, because Broadcom is far more diversified than Nvidia, it won’t deliver the same explosive growth. Despite its AI semiconductor revenue growing at a 63% pace, Broadcom’s overall revenue increased at a 22% pace during Q3. Nearly all of Nvidia’s revenue comes from data centers, and its 56% data center growth pace was identical to its overall revenue growth rate.

As a result, Nvidia still looks like the better stock pick here. It’s more exposed to the AI data center buildout trend, as long as that spending holds up. With AI hyperscalers all announcing record capital expenditure for 2026, I think it’s safe to assume that this trend will continue. Although Broadcom is an excellent pick, I still think Nvidia will outperform it through 2026.

A HUGE rock band has split after a decade together – and fans are completely gutted over the news.

Irish rockers Kodaline, known for their hits such as Brother, All I Want, and Moving On, have announced that they will soon be parting ways.

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Taking to social media to share the sad news, the band, which formed in 2005, wrote: “After over a decade, it’s time to say goodbye.

“With all our love. VSMJ.”

The caption accompanied a video, which saw the band performing on stage with a voiceover that played over the top.

In the voiceover, the band members could be heard saying: “After over a decade together we’ve made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Kodaline. 

“It might come as a surprise, and it’s definitely bittersweet for us too.

“What we’ve shared has changed our lives forever. 

“From busking on the streets of Dublin to playing shows across the world, it really has been the stuff that dreams are made of.

“We want it to end on a high, so before we say goodbye, we’re heading into the studio one last time to record our fifth and final album as Kodaline. 

“We are, and always will be, forever grateful for your love and support.”

They went on: “It’s been a journey that we’ll never forget and we hope that the music stays with you long after we’re gone. 

“With all our love Vinny, Steve, Mark and Jay.”

Fans rushed to the comments to react to the heartbeaking news.

One person wrote: “Nah why you gotta ruin my week like this.”

“Please don’t,” pleaded another.

“Thank you for being there for so many of us through your songs,” added a third.

A fourth said: “Through every heartbreak and healing, your songs stayed. I’ll always love you—honestly, completely, endlessly.”

While a fifth penned: “NOOOO PLEASEEE i’ve never been to your concert wdym i’ll never have the chance to see you guys live.”

And fellow Irish musicians Jedward added: “You can never fully say goodbye to Kodaline so we’ll see ya in the year 2030 something.

“Cause your to iconic not to come back and slay once again.”

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Reporting from Washington and Honolulu — House Republican leaders, bowing to pressure from both the White House and their Senate colleagues, agreed to a stopgap measure that will forestall a tax increase on American workers that was scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

The deal is expected to come to a vote Friday under procedures that would require all members in both chambers to agree. If any members object, Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) would call the House back into full session next week for a vote, he told reporters Thursday.

In addition to keeping Social Security payroll taxes at current levels for an additional two months, the deal would maintain unemployment insurance for people who have been jobless for an extended period and would block a cut in the payments doctors receive for treating Medicare patients. After Jan. 1, congressional negotiators would meet to decide how to extend the provisions for the rest of 2012.

Accepting the deal would mark a significant defeat for House conservatives, who in past confrontations have wrested major concessions from President Obama and congressional Democrats. Those previous standoffs, however, involved efforts to reduce spending. This time, the House was in the far trickier position of appearing to oppose a tax cut, and the deal almost entirely followed the terms negotiated in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Agreement came hours after Obama and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, adversaries who rarely agree, both urged House Republicans to accept a bill to keep payroll taxes at their current level.

“This is an issue where an overwhelming number of people in both parties agree. How can we not get that done?” Obama said at a White House event, where he read letters from workers who detailed the hardships that a tax increase would cause. “Enough is enough.”

Earlier in the day, McConnell split publicly from his House colleagues and issued a statement saying Americans “shouldn’t face the uncertainty of a New Year’s Day tax hike.” The House should accept the two-month extension that passed the Senate on Saturday, McConnell said.

The Senate had approved its stopgap measure with bipartisan support, 89 to 10. But when Boehner presented it to House Republicans last weekend, conservatives rebelled.

The impasse largely concerned how to pay for extending the tax cut for a full year. The House had rejected the Democrats’ idea to increase the income tax on millionaires, instead passing a one-year extension that covered the cost by spending cuts and new revenue. The Senate’s stopgap measure would raise fees on federally backed mortgages.

As Thursday wore on, House Republicans who had previously balked began to change their stance. One statement came from Rep. Sean Duffy, a tea party-backed freshman from Wisconsin, who said that he still didn’t like the two-month plan, but that the Senate had “left us with few other options.”

Failure to pass some payroll tax bill by Dec. 31 would mean an increase for the average family of about $40 per biweekly paycheck, or about $1,000 a year.

Conservatives disliked the payroll tax proposal for several reasons. It would increase the deficit and do little to help the economy, they said. And they raised concerns that because payroll taxes fund Social Security, any reduction would hurt that program’s long-term stability, even though the deal calls for the fund to be replenished. Many argued that their constituents would regard the tax increase as acceptable and would rather see taxes go up than give in to one of Obama’s legislative priorities.

But as the reality of a New Year’s tax increase began to sink in, the unpopularity of the idea became increasingly clear. Senior Republicans began warning that their party risked the kind of political damage it suffered 16 years ago with the Christmas-season shutdown of the government — a move that helped reelect then-President Bill Clinton.

Democrats were clearly enjoying the spectacle of Republicans trying to justify opposition to a tax cut. “This is a big moment,” said Democratic strategist Stanley Greenberg, who was Clinton’s pollster. Republicans “put the spotlight on themselves” on an issue involving “money coming out of your pocket,” he said. “I don’t think it could be more powerful symbolically.”

Obama did his best to heighten Republican discomfort at his White House event, where he stood surrounded by ordinary citizens and read stories from people who had written to the White House about what a $40 cut in take-home pay would mean for them.

A teacher said she wouldn’t be able to go to the thrift store to buy pencils and books for her fourth-grade class, Obama said. A man from Rhode Island said that $40 buys three nights worth of home heating oil. A Wisconsin man wrote that he would have to give up some of the weekly 200-mile drives he makes to visit his father-in-law in a nursing home.

“What’s happening right now is exactly why people just get so frustrated with Washington,” Obama said. “This is it.”

Inside the White House, officials had believed all along that the payroll tax cut eventually would get renewed. Republicans would not be willing to be tagged as “the cause of taxes going up on 160 million Americans,” one senior White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

At the same time, “their handling of it seemed irrational, so it was hard to know what they were going to do,” the official added.

Republican officials rejected the “irrational” label, but agreed that their handling of the issue had damaged their cause. “It may not have been, politically, the smartest thing in the world,” Boehner told reporters, referring to his caucus’ opposition to the payroll tax bill. “Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing.”

In the end, however, the agreement came quickly, according to White House and congressional staff who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly.

Thursday morning, Boehner called Obama and asked him to send members of his economic team to Capitol Hill for further negotiations. Obama declined, saying that the House would have to approve the Senate-passed bill first.

With his options running out, Boehner met with senior Republicans, who gave him approval to negotiate terms with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. All agreed that the time had come, aides said.

In the afternoon, Boehner’s aides contacted Reid’s staff. They offered to accept the Senate plan if Reid agreed to two minor matters. One would amend the Senate bill to avoid new tax-reporting requirements that the Senate language might have imposed. The other was an agreement by Reid to appoint Senate members to a conference committee to work out a full-year deal.

Reid, who had orchestrated the successful Democratic negotiating strategy, ratified the agreement in a brief statement: “I am grateful that the voices of reason have prevailed,” he said.

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Kathleen Hennessey in the Washington bureau contributed to this report.