Germany Is Now Airdropping Its Tiny Wiesel ‘Tankettes’
The German military has revealed details of tests in which its tiny Wiesel armored personnel carrier has been airdropped under parachutes from A400M transport aircraft. While the diminutive Wiesel (German for weasel) is already notably mobile, including fitting into a CH-53 helicopter, this appears to be the first time that it has been airdropped, marking an initial step toward a significant new capability for Germany’s airborne forces.
The German Army posted a video showing the airdrop trials, which involved, among others, the German Armed Forces’ Technical and Airworthiness Center for Aircraft (WTD 61) and the 1st Airborne Brigade (Luftlandebrigade 1).
The video shows the tracked Wiesel first being loaded into the hold of an A400M within its ‘cage,’ the ATAX parachute system from the British manufacturer IrvinGQ. The load is then rolled off the aircraft’s rear ramp and descends under three parachutes. Reusable shock-attenuating airbags under the cage provide a softer touchdown. Soldiers then drive the vehicle directly off the pallet, without any significant preparation.
According to the German Army, the aim is to deliver the vehicle within 200 meters (650 feet) of the designated landing zone.
As for the Wiesel, as you can read about here, this vehicle already offers some unique capabilities.
60 Sekunden Bundeswehr: Wiesel
The German Army first began development of the vehicle in the 1970s to give added firepower to its airborne units. Initially led by Porsche, work on the project continued after the German Army abandoned its plans for the vehicle in 1975.
Ultimately, the German Army returned to the Wiesel and bought its first batch in 1985, becoming the only country to adopt the type. Rheinmetall took over series production and built more than 340 examples up until 1993. In 2001, Germany purchased around 180 lengthened Wiesel 2s.
In a drive toward simplicity, the Wiesel uses a standard four-cylinder diesel car engine from Volkswagen. The vehicle can reach a top speed of over 40 miles per hour and travel around 120 miles on one tank of gas, which is relatively impressive when you consider its diminutive size.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the Wiesel is its weight. There are more than a dozen variants in total, and the heaviest of them weighs less than five tons. For comparison, the latest examples of up-armored Humvees weigh around six tons.
The Wiesel’s modest size means two of the standard variants fit inside a CH-53 series helicopter and at least one into a CH-47. Heavy helicopters can carry more slung below their fuselages, too. An A400M typically carries four of the vehicles, but it’s unclear how many can be airdropped by a single A400M, after they have been rigged up.
Considering its capabilities, it is perhaps surprising that Germany has waited so long to test the airdropping of the Wiesel. In fact, until now, the modern German Army has had no means of airdropping vehicles into the theater of operations.
Instead, airborne operations have required paratroopers to first secure landing strips before vehicles can be delivered by tactical transport or heavy-lift helicopter. Until those vehicles arrive, the troops have only limited direct tactical fire support.
With the ability to airdrop the Wiesel, paratroopers and their combat vehicles can be delivered directly to their objective, without the need for any supporting infrastructure. While the Wiesel doesn’t offer the highest level of armor protection, it does at least shield its occupants against shrapnel, rifle, and light machine gun fire. On the other hand, since it was first fielded, it now faces the threat of battlefield drones and loitering munitions, although its small size and maneuverability could help mitigate that threat in some respects. Overall, like all armored vehicles, it would still be vulnerable.
Once on the ground, the Wiesel offers a significant amount of capability for its size. The most common version is a reconnaissance vehicle with a 20mm automatic cannon and a 7.62mm machine gun, more firepower than many American light armored vehicles. Another type packs a Spike anti-tank missile launcher, the Israeli weapon having replaced the earlier TOW anti-tank missile.
There is also the Leichtes Flugabwehr System, or Light Air Defense System, which includes a command post Wiesel 2 variant and another one of the vehicles with a small radar. This last component of the system is known as Ozelot, or ocelot, and features a launcher containing four FIM-92 Stinger heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles. This is a level of small, mobile, but still somewhat protected short-range air defense capability that few nations have.
Other Wiesel ‘families’ include a mobile mortar section, including a vehicle with a computerized 120mm mortar. There are also different command post versions for unit headquarters, along with ambulances and engineering support types. In the past, there have also been studies for an uncrewed ground combat vehicle variant.
Once again, it’s not clear which of these versions might be cleared for airdropping, considering their different weights, dimensions, and the relative resilience of their equipment.
Should the trials prove successful, the ATAX parachute system would also allow the German Army to airdrop other vehicles. According to the German-language hartpunkt defense publication, these could include the airmobile Caracal, other light utility vehicles as used by both regular forces and special operations units, and uncrewed ground vehicles. Ultimately, airdropping with ATAX would also extend to the Wiesel’s designated successor, now being developed under the Luftbeweglicher Waffenträger, or Airmobile Weapon Carrier program.
These tests come as the German Armed Forces undergo their biggest transformation since the Cold War in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. As well as increased defense spending, there is a broader attempt to move from a low-readiness, expeditionary force to a high-readiness, territorial military focused on operations on NATO’s eastern flank. With that in mind, these latest airdrop tests for the Wiesel could be the start of a significant new phase for the airborne troops and their capabilities.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
BBC poised to offer ‘heir apparent’ Sara Cox the Radio 2 Breakfast Show job after Scott Mills was sacked
BBC bosses are poised to offer Sara Cox the Radio 2 Breakfast Show job after Scott Mills’s sacking, insiders told The Sun.
Sources said veteran broadcaster Sara, 51, was seen as the “heir apparent” for the role — which is widely regarded as the best job in radio.
Mills, who had hosted the show since January 2025, was dismissed last month.
It came after new information about a police investigation over alleged sex offences with a boy aged under 16 in 2018 came to light at the BBC. OJ Borg and Gary Davies have filled in since Mills left the station.
Insiders said they expected Sara, who joined the BBC in 1999 as a Radio 1 DJ, to be offered the job this summer.
A source said: “Sara is the heir apparent for the Breakfast Show job.
“Since Scott left, she has been the name which has been discussed as the best candidate and everyone at Radio 2 is saying she will be offered it.
“Sara has made a huge success of her drivetime slot and is hugely popular at the station, plus she’s hosted the Breakfast Show as a stand-in before.
“The BBC won’t be rushing this through as they want the dust to settle. But Sara is the one in line and, as far as her colleagues are concerned, she is the best person for the job.”
Sara, who began a TV career in the 90s, featured on Radio 2 as a cover host for various shows in 2012 while still working for Radio 1.
The mum-of-three landed her first permanent Radio 2 show, hosting Sounds of the 80s on Saturday nights, the following year.
She went on to replace Simon Mayo as the drivetime presenter in 2019 and stood in on the Breakfast Show in 2025.
That year, she was chosen to complete a Children in Need challenge and raised over £11.5million after walking and running 135 miles in five days.
She said of working for Radio 2: “It’s sort of my dream job.”
SCOTT SPOTTED
SCOTT Mills is seen for the first time since being sacked by the BBC.
The star, who was axed as Radio 2 Breakfast Show host, was out walking walked his dog with his husband Sam Vaughan.
Mills, 53, confirmed he was quizzed by police in 2018 following an allegation of a historical sexual offence against a boy under 16.
The case was dropped due to a lack of evidence.
But Mills was sacked last month after new information came to light, the BBC said.
He was allowed to keep his job for almost a decade despite the BBC being made aware in 2017 of an ongoing probe.
Harry Potter: A Hogwarts Express Adventure to open at SoCal museum
Don’t worry if your Hogwarts acceptance letter got lost in the mail — a new “Harry Potter” experience will soon let you hop aboard the Hogwarts Express anyway.
Harry Potter: A Hogwarts Express Adventure will open at the Southern California Railway Museum this summer for guests to experience the Wizarding World rite of passage aboard a real moving train in the Inland Empire. The experience will run from July 24 through Sept. 27. Yes, that includes Back to Hogwarts Day on Sept. 1.
A Hogwarts Express Adventure will include a Platform 9¾-themed preboarding experience as well as House competitions and chants, spell-casting challenges and other interactive activities aboard the train. Guests will also be able to grab some themed treats from the trolley. The train ride will end at a Hogsmeade-inspired village where more food, beverages and merchandise will be available.
The Rail Events Inc. press release also teases a possible encounter with “a dark and mysterious force.” The company, also known for the Polar Express Train Ride, developed A Hogwarts Express Adventure along with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences.
This is a big year for “Harry Potter” fans. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” a new television series based on author J.K. Rowling’s popular book series, is set to debut on HBO Max on Christmas Day. The show will introduce audiences to a new Golden Trio, portrayed by Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley) and Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger), as they embark on their Hogwarts journey. (Rowling remains controversial for her views on trans women.)
Ticket sales for A Hogwarts Express Adventure will begin April 28, with prices starting at $77 for adults and $67 for children ages 2 to 11, depending on departure time.
Jessica Govea Thorbourne, 58; Organizer for UFW Sounded Alarm on Pesticides
Jessica Govea Thorbourne, a charismatic organizer for the United Farm Workers union, who raised early alarms about fieldworkers’ exposure to dangerous pesticides and led table grape boycotts in Canada that helped win acceptance for the union at home, died Jan. 23 of breast cancer at a rehabilitation center in West Orange, N.J. She was 58.
Govea Thorbourne worked closely with UFW co-founder Cesar Chavez for 16 years, beginning when she was 19. Two years later she was directing crucial boycotts in Canada that helped the union win one of its first contracts with a California grape grower and ultimately settle with the entire industry.
She also led voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives for a number of Democratic candidates, including presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy during his California Democratic primary campaign, Gov. Jerry Brown, Sen. Alan Cranston and Art Torres, who served 20 years in the California Legislature before becoming the first Latino chairman of the state Democratic Party.
She later moved to the East Coast and spent the last two decades as a labor educator, teaching organizing skills at Rutgers and Cornell universities.
Govea Thorbourne’s contributions to the farmworker movement have been largely unheralded, but stories such as hers “are really the true history of the union,” Jerry Cohen, the UFW’s general counsel from 1967 to 1981, told The Times this week. “She is like the heart and soul of the union when it was at its best.”
Born in Porterville, Calif., Govea Thorbourne went to work in the fields with her parents when she was only 4. She spent every summer until she was 15 in backbreaking toil, filling bags with cotton bolls, scrambling on her knees to pick up prunes that been shaken from trees, and clipping bunches of grapes from row after row of vines while trying to avoid the wasps that hovered over the fruit.
A childhood photo of her shows a smiling, pigtailed girl in a white shirt and denim pants leaning on a shovel, but Govea Thorbourne’s memories of those days were far from sunny. Her skin would itch and burn, which she at first thought was caused by the heat but later attributed to the pesticides that covered the plants she touched every day. “The thing I hated most, though, was that there was no toilet. I just had to find a place and hope no one could see,” she said in the 2001 book “We Were There, Too,” which profiles reformers whose activism took root during their youth.
Her father, Juan Govea, was a respected leader of the Mexican American community in Bakersfield when Cesar Chavez and Fred Ross Sr. recruited him to help organize local workers for their Community Service Organization, a precursor of the UFW. Govea Thorbourne accompanied her father as he went door to door, listening to people’s stories of the struggles they encountered in their jobs, at government offices and in their children’s schools.
“My father never talked down to people. He listened carefully and spoke respectfully,” she said. “I learned a lot about organizing just from listening to these conversations.”
By age 9 she was helping her father turn out leaflets about the Community Service Organization meetings and reciting patriotic poems at rallies. At 12, she was president of the Junior CSO and led other farmworker children in a successful petition drive for a neighborhood park after her best friend was killed by a speeding truck while taking her siblings to a park three miles away. “That was the first time she led an organizing campaign,” said Fred Ross Jr., a fellow organizer who worked for the UFW from 1966 to 1977.
After she graduated from Bakersfield High School, Govea Thorbourne joined the National Farm Workers Assn. (later renamed the United Farm Workers), which Chavez had formed in 1962. She was a caseworker helping union families when three women came to her for help dealing with rashes, headaches and dizzy spells. They were told their problems were caused by heat exhaustion, but Govea Thorbourne believed the cause was pesticide poisoning.
At first, union leaders did not pay much attention to the alarms she was trying to raise, but she persisted until they “finally made pesticides an issue,” Cohen said.
The adverse effects of pesticide exposure became a central part of the story UFW organizers told to build support for the boycotts. The issue received national attention when then-Sen. Walter F. Mondale (D-Minn.) made pesticides a focus of Senate hearings on migrant workers in 1969.
“When we won contracts with the grape industry,” Cohen said, “we put in clauses to protect farmworkers from pesticide. Jessica was the first to raise the issue in an insistent manner.”
Govea Thorbourne was only 21 when she and Marshall Ganz were sent to Canada in 1968 to enlist consumers there in the union’s fight against growers.
“She earned a real following up there,” said Ganz, now a lecturer in public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
“She was a gifted speaker … and she could sing [the farmworkers’ story] as well as speak it,” he added, recalling songs she sang that conveyed the longing and sadness in the workers’ lives.
By winning broad-based support among students, labor and churches, Govea Thorbourne and Ganz drew millions of Canadians in Toronto and Montreal — then among the top five markets for California table grapes — into the boycott, which gave the UFW critical leverage in its fight for recognition at the bargaining table.
“The boycott they led was one of the most effective and key in settling the grape strike,” said Eliseo Medina, a former UFW board member who is now a national officer of the Service Employees International Union. “Mind you, when the boycott began, there was no formula for how to do a boycott. Marshall and Jessica invented the formula, and many of us learned from that.”
Govea Thorbourne would later serve as national director of organizing for the union and in 1977 became a member of the UFW’s executive board. Years later, as an educator, she would often tell the young union workers she was training that she was not even sure where Canada was when she volunteered to go there.
“People who were thinking they could never do something like this drew strength from hearing her talk. She was very humble,” said Ken Margulies, who worked closely with her as director of training programs for labor organizers at Cornell’s School of Industrial Labor Relations.
At Cornell she worked extensively with Chinese-speaking members of Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents healthcare workers. She also helped train coffee-processing workers in El Salvador in the early 1990s.
Although she could not prove the connection, she believed that her cancer, which was diagnosed in 1993, was caused by her exposure to pesticides as a youth working in the fields, according to her husband, Kenneth Thorbourne Jr., whom she married in 1987.
She also is survived by her mother, Margaret Govea; two sisters; and two brothers.
Her husband said that, despite her suspicions about the origins of her illness, she was never bitter about her fate and continued to work until last fall, when the cancer spread to her brain.
Dodgers Dugout: The most important day in baseball: Jackie Robinson Day
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and today is a very special day, so it’s time for the annual Jackie Robinson newsletter.
On April 15, 1947, Robinson made his major league debut at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field in front of crowd of 26,623. He walked and scored a run in the Dodgers’ 5–3 victory. Thus began one of the most amazing careers in sports history. Robinson broke the color barrier and faced challenges few major leaguers ever had to endure.
Some players on his team didn’t want to play alongside him, starting a petition saying they would rather not be his teammate. Manager Leo Durocher’s response: “I don’t care if the guy is yellow or Black, or if he has stripes like a … zebra. I’m the manager of this team, and I say he plays. What’s more, I say he can make all of us rich. And if any of you can’t use the money, I will see that you are traded.”
Players on other teams called him every racial insult. Some opposing managers were worse. Fans, some of them little kids parroting what their parents were saying, called him vile names. And Robinson had, and could have, only one response: No response. Give in and lose his temper, then the racists would say “See, his kind aren’t strong enough to play in the majors.” It would be used as leverage to kick him out and keep the majors “pure.” For a good example of what Robinson endured, watch “42” starring the late, great Chadwick Boseman.
So, Robinson took it. But he not only had to take it, he also had to play at a high level to prove Black people could play in the majors. He ran the bases with abandon. He excelled as a fielder no matter where they put him. He led the Dodgers to victory after victory, including their first World Series title in 1955.
And let’s not forget his wife, Rachel, who will turn 104 in July. She was a source of strength for Jackie and underwent verbal abuse and threats herself. She is an amazing woman and deserves full credit for her role in all of this. I think it’s safe to say that Jackie wouldn’t have been the same without her.
Robinson was a standout player at whichever position the Dodgers played him. On the bases, he was a terror. He stole home 19 times in his career, tied with Bobby Bragan for the most since 1920.
Robinson was drafted into the Army in 1942. Stationed at Fort Riley, Kan., he was not allowed to play on the segregated camp baseball team. He was appointed morale officer for the Black troops at Fort Riley and later was re-assigned to Ford Hood, Texas. On July 6, 1944 he refused when a white bus driver told him to move to the back of the bus. The base provost marshal and military police supported the driver, and Robinson was subject to court-martial. He won the hearing and the Army decided to kick him out with an honorable discharge.
In 1945, Robinson joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, which is where Branch Rickey found him and signed him. The rest is history.
After he retired from baseball, Robinson became a leader in the Civil Rights movement. He was hired to serve as a vice president for Chock Full O’Nuts, the first Black man to be named a vice president of a major American company. In 1964, he co-founded Freedom National Bank of Harlem, created to financially help Black communities. In 1970, he founded the Jackie Robinson Construction Company, which built housing for low-income people.
In perhaps the most famous steal of home in history, Jackie Robinson steals home in Game 1 of the 1955 World Series. For the rest of his life, Yankees catcher Yogi Berra said Robinson was out.
(John Rooney / Associated Press)
But let’s go back to his baseball career.
Imagine trying to do your job every day with thousands of people surrounding you, hurling racist taunts. Imagine going on the road and not being able to stay in the same place as your co-workers, but being forced to room with someone across town. Imagine having a wife and child who have to go through the same thing. Imagine a policeman coming into your workplace and threatening to arrest you and shut down your business unless you left, because they don’t appreciate “your kind” in their city. Imagine getting death threats every day in the mail.
Most people would not be able to do what Robinson did. He set the example that players such as Larry Doby of Cleveland, who broke the color barrier in the American League, were able to follow.
It’s sad that sometimes I will hear fans of other teams complain that Robinson’s No. 42 is retired and listed alongside the numbers of the legends from their team, because “he didn’t play for their team.”
Even now, some people try to find flaws that Robinson had to cut him down. What they don’t realize is that pointing out whatever flaws he had doesn’t make him seem less impressive — but even more impressive. It shows he was an imperfect man who performed one of the most perfect human achievements of all time.
But words don’t adequately describe what Jackie Robinson did or what he went through. They can’t. It’s embarrassing to even try.
What’s a good way to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day? Find anyone you know under the age of 18 and make sure they know who Jackie Robinson was and what he did. Don’t let his memory be forgotten. Show them the movie “42.” Give them a book on Robinson. Or sit down and talk to them about him. It’s the best gift you can give them.
In his own words
Some of the best quotes from Jackie Robinson:
“Plenty of times I wanted to haul off when somebody insulted me for the color of my skin, but I had to hold to myself. I knew I was kind of an experiment. The whole thing was bigger than me.”
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me. All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.”
“Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you’re wasting your life.”
“There’s not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.”
“During my life, I have had a few nightmares which happened to me while I was wide awake.”
“I’m grateful for all the breaks and honors and opportunities I’ve had, but I always believe I won’t have it made until the humblest Black kid in the most remote backwoods of America has it made.”
“Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.”
“Negroes aren’t seeking anything which is not good for the nation as well as ourselves. In order for America to be 100% strong — economically, defensively and morally — we cannot afford the waste of having second- and third-class citizens.”
“Blacks have had to learn to protect themselves by being cynical but not cynical enough to slam the door on potential opportunities. We go through life walking a tightrope to prevent too much disillusionment.”
“It kills me to lose. If I’m a troublemaker, and I don’t think that my temper makes me one, then it’s because I can’t stand losing. That’s the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first.”
Jackie Robinson joins a picket line in Cleveland in 1960 to protest discrimination against Black people at southern lunch counters.
(Associated Press)
“When I am playing baseball, I give it all that I have on the ball field. When the ballgame is over, I certainly don’t take it home. My little girl who is sitting out there wouldn’t know the difference between a third strike and a foul ball.”
“Pop flies, in a sense, are just a diversion for a second baseman. Grounders are his stock trade.”
“I guess you’d call me an independent, since I’ve never identified myself with one party or another in politics. I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves, no matter what the party label.”
“How you played in yesterday’s game is all that counts.”
“I think if we go back and check our record, the Negro has proven beyond a doubt that we have been more than patient in seeking our rights as American citizens.”
“Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he’s losing; nobody wants you to quit when you’re ahead.”
“The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity.”
In the words of others
”A credit to baseball and to America.”
—Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers
“To do what he did has got to be the most tremendous thing I’ve ever seen in sports.”
—Pee Wee Reese, teammate of Jackie Robinson
“The greatest moment in the history of baseball.”
—MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
“He gave the Black community a sense of hope, a sense of pride.”
—John Lewis, civil rights leader
”I didn’t know baseball from pingpong. But the point was that he had broken in. I grew inches that day. I puffed out my chest. A Black person had made it against the most tremendous odds.”
—Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“Jackie’s character was much more important than his batting average.”
—Hank Aaron
”Jackie Robinson made his country and you and me and all of us a shade more free.”
—Roger Kahn, author of “The Boys of Summer”
“There’s a direct line between Jackie Robinson and me.”
—former President Barack Obama
“He knew he had to do well. He knew that the future of Blacks in baseball depended on it. The pressure was enormous, overwhelming, and unbearable at times. I don’t know how he held up. I know I never could have. He was the greatest competitor I have ever seen.”
—Duke Snider, teammate
”There was never a man in the game who could put mind and muscle together quicker than Jackie Robinson.”
—Rickey
“After the game, Jackie Robinson came into our clubhouse and shook my hand. He said, ‘You’re a helluva ballplayer and you’ve got a great future.’ I thought that was a classy gesture, one I wasn’t then capable of making. I was a bad loser. What meant even more was what Jackie told the press, ‘Mantle beat us. He was the difference between the two teams. They didn’t miss DiMaggio.’ I have to admit, I became a Jackie Robinson fan on the spot. And when I think of that World Series, his gesture is what comes to mind. Here was a player who had without doubt suffered more abuse and more taunts and more hatred than any player in the history of the game. And he had made a special effort to compliment and encourage a young white kid from Oklahoma.”
—Mickey Mantle, on the 1952 World Series
”Jackie, we’ve got no army. There’s virtually nobody on our side. No owner, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I’m afraid that many fans may be hostile. We’ll be in a tough position. We can win only if we can convince the world that I am doing this because you’re a great ballplayer, and a fine gentleman.”
—Rickey
“Every time I look at my pocketbook, I see Jackie Robinson .”
—Willie Mays
“Give me five players like Robinson and a pitcher and I’ll beat any nine-man team in baseball.”
—former Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen
“He led America by example. He reminded our people of what was right and he reminded them of what was wrong. I think it can be safely said today that Jackie Robinson made the United States a better nation.”
—American League president Gene Budig
”Jackie Robinson is the best I’ve seen. Robinson is the perfect blend of ballplayer. He has creativeness and imagination. Every move he makes from the minute he steps onto the field is designed to beat the other club. He’s constantly asking himself, at bat or on the bases, ‘what can I do to beat the other guy?’ That’s the kind of ballplayer that wins pennants.”
—Fresco Thompson, assistant farm director for the Dodgers when Robinson played his first game
“If I were in Jackie Robinson’s shoes, I probably never would have made it.”
—Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson
”Today we must balance the tears of sorrow with the tears of joy. Mix the bitter with the sweet in death and life. Jackie as a figure in history was a rock in the water, creating concentric circles and ripples of new possibility. He was medicine. He was immunized by God from catching the diseases that he fought. The Lord’s arms of protection enabled him to go through dangers seen and unseen, and he had the capacity to wear glory with grace. Jackie’s body was a temple of God. An instrument of peace. We would watch him disappear into nothingness and stand back as spectators, and watch the suffering from afar. The mercy of God intercepted this process Tuesday and permitted him to steal away home, where referees are out of place, and only the supreme judge of the universe speaks.”
—Jesse Jackson, delivering a eulogy for Robinson
For more on Robinson, I recommend visiting jackierobinson.org, where several of the above quotes and much more can be found.
And finally
Jackie Robinson is interviewed by Dick Cavett. Watch and listen here. And you can watch “42” for free on Youtube. Watch and listen here.
Until next time….
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Pakistani army chief in Tehran amid bid to restart US talks | News
Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, has arrived in Iran for high-level talks aimed at reviving negotiations between Tehran and the United States. The visit comes as Iran warns it could halt trade across key waterways if a US naval blockade on its ports continues.
Published On 15 Apr 2026
Pakistan army chief in Tehran to advance next round of US-Iran talks | US-Israel war on Iran News
Sources tell Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are hopeful about a breakthrough on Iran’s nuclear programme.
A high-level Pakistani delegation has travelled to Iran to hold talks focused on arranging a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, a week before their fragile truce is due to expire.
Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir is heading the delegation that arrived in Tehran on Wednesday evening, according to Iranian state media. It said he came with a new message from the US and plans to coordinate a second round of US-Iran talks, after an initial round in Islamabad ended on Sunday without a deal to end the war.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is also joining mediation efforts in Tehran, while Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Saudi Arabia for the first stop in a four-day Gulf tour.
Pakistan’s diplomatic blitz comes as competing US and Iranian sea blockades strain tensions – and the global economy – but amid indications of progress towards a deal to end the war, which has killed 3,000 people in Iran and spiralled across the Middle East.
“The urgency is being driven by the ceasefire expiring on April 22, and Pakistani officials are hoping they can get that extended,” said Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett from Islamabad. “Sharif will try and convince regional partners to also use their leverage to convince the US to participate in new talks with Iran and make sure there is no diplomatic line-crossing.”
Washington ‘feels good’ about potential deal
The latest mediation appears bolstered by optimistic comments from US President Donald Trump, who said the world should brace for an “amazing two days” as the war with Iran is close to over.
Trump also said his negotiators were likely to return to Pakistan, thanks largely to the “great job” Munir was doing to moderate the talks.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later reiterated that additional talks with Iran would likely go forward in Islamabad. “We feel good about the prospects of a deal,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
Nevertheless, the US military said its naval blockade on all Iranian ports was still in effect, with US forces “present, vigilant and ready to ensure compliance”.
The blockade, which Iran’s military slammed as a violation of the ceasefire, turned nine ships away as of Wednesday, according to US Central Command.
The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the US did not lift its blockade. He also warned Iran would retaliate by blocking trade through the Red Sea along with the Gulf and Sea of Oman.
‘Detractors on all sides’
Mediators in the conflict are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points – Iran’s nuclear programme, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and compensation for wartime damages.
Iran’s Foreign Minister spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country “based on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment”, according to Iranian state media.
Sources told Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are optimistic about a potential major breakthrough on the nuclear front, which is the reason for Munir’s rare diplomatic trip.
“It looks like there is some agreement in the making, but we’ve been cautioned by sources [close to the mediation effort] that there are detractors on all sides,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid from Doha.
He said the detractors include elements “in Tehran, in Washington, DC, and biggest of them all, according to Pakistani sources, is Israel, which does not want a peace deal and wants a perpetual war in the region”.
Coronation Street fans in tears as ‘most distressing scenes ever’ air on soap
Coronation Street viewers were left in tears as the “most distressing scenes ever” aired on Wednesday night as a long-running abuse plot finally began to unravel
Todd opened up about the abuse he has faced on Wednesday’s Coronation Street(Image: ITV)
Coronation Street fans were left in tears as the “most distressing scenes ever” aired on Wednesday night. The world’s longest-running TV soap has been exploring another abuse storyline for several months now, which has seen Todd Grimshaw become the victim of coercive control at the hands of Theo Silverton.
What started as cutting Todd off from his friends turned into bizarre forms of abuse, like making him eat his dinner cold and then coercing him into getting married. Theo caused the death of Todd’s friend Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) in the programme’s crossover with Emmerdale, leaving him to die in an explosion following a multi-car pileup.
Things came to a horrifying head earlier in the week when Theo, who had been making plans to move himself and Todd away to Ireland, attacked Todd so badly that he stumbled over to his best friend Sarah Platt’s (Tina O’Brien) flat, where, with a bloodied face and barely able to walk, she knew immediately what had happened.
READ MORE: Where is Coronation Street’s Kirsty actress now 13 years after exit for abusing TyroneREAD MORE: Coronation Street spoilers: Character killed off, villains exposed and Swarla wedding
As the events unfolded in a special mid-week episode of the programme, Todd was at the police station for an interview, where he promptly broke down in tears and spoke of everything he had been put through. Back on the street, Gary caught Theo (James Cartwright) trying to make an escape, but had taken his keys out of his van to stop him, and made sure that he had no option but to go to the police station.
Sarah set about taking Todd (Gareth Pierce) to the hospital once his police interview had finished, but he collapsed in the car park. She later confirmed to George Shuttleworth, who has become a father figure to Todd, that he had suffered a lacerated spleen and internal bleeding as he and the other residents of Weatherfield wondered how they could ever let it get this far.
Through tears, Todd’s daughter Summer said: “I hate him. How could he do this to Todd? I’ll kill him. I swear I will!” Police then confirmed that Theo’s devices would be searched, and he was ordered into a cell.
To wrap up the episode, DS Lisa Swain, who has wrongly arrested most of the street during her time in Weatherfield and once failed to realise her wife had faked her own death, was given the honour of delivering a powerful monologue to tackle the issue head-on.
Viewers immediately took to social media to share their reactions, with one writing: “Oh my Days I think I’ve just used a full box of tissues. One of the most distressing, moving and amazing acting I’ve ever seen on Corrie! Well done for bring Domestic violence to the forefront.”
Another said: “Spoilers, but tonight’s episode is so powerful. It’s heartbreaking but so important. I hope this helps people to reach out for help. The last few minutes were so moving, it really got to me. I don’t think Theo will be killed, it’s too obvious, I hope he goes to prison.”
A third wrote: “Excellent episode tonight. It reminded me so much of how I felt 20 years ago. How I was scared to stay, but scared to leave. And I’m glad they mentioned honour abuse because that badly needed saying. WELL DONE.”
A fourth said: “Absolutely Heartbreaking & a hard watch[heartbroken emoji] but today’s episode was brilliant. Gareth pierce, the actor you are truly a fantastic performance throughout this storyline he has been outstanding and Lisa’s monologue at the end, was powerful what a scene!”
Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
British tourist swindled into paying £1,500 for kebab on popular beach
A brazen scammer allegedly charged a British tourist a staggering £1,500 for a kebab – and police near Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeirom said the man was arrested
A British holidaymaker was charged £1,500 for a kebab (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)
An unsuspecting tourist was hit with an eyewatering £1,500 charge for a kebab on a hugely popular tourist beach.
A scammer was arrested on the world famous Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after he and another person allegedly changed the price on a payment terminal and overcharged the victim by a staggering amount. The Brit reportedly ended up paying £1,480 (10,000 reais) for the meaty treat that should have set her back just £15 (100 reais). Police said the machine was allegedly tampered with and ended up charging the victim a much higher price than what she was told.
This comes as a wave of brazen conners have hit the popular Brazilian beaches in shallow attempts to swindle visitors. Brazilian police, in a statement, said: “We have arrested a criminal that carried out a card machine scam against a British female tourist in Copacabana.”
The detained man was reportedly part of an organised fraud scheme that targeted foreigners, mostly in Rio’s famous Ipanema and Copacabana areas, according to O Globo.
The head of Rio’s tourist police, Patricia Alemany, said her team (named DEAT) were working to find and detainee the people trying to con tourists out of their money, she told the Brazilian site.
She said: “DEAT has been repeatedly arresting these criminals. However, there is no oversight of street vendors on the beach, which creates an environment of public disorder and greatly facilitates this type of crime.”
Another woman was charged nearly £3,000 (20,000 reais) for corn on the cob which had been smothered in margarine. The woman, from Argentina, should have just paid £3 (20 reais) for the food. She said: “I don’t understand numbers in Portuguese. I don’t speak Portuguese.”
Another tourist, from Colombia, was shockingly charged about £400 (2,500 reais) for a caipirinha – a Brazilian cocktail made with a spirit, sugar and lime.
This comes after another shocking scam hit some tourists in Brazil. Last year, cases of “Goodnight Cinderella” spiking scams were reported, where holidaymakers fall for glamorous looking women, especially in Brazil, before they put powerful sedatives in victims’ drinks and then rob them once they pass out.
The scams led to several Brits finding themselves with money, belongings and passports taken by the women who often work in gangs in popular tourist locations like Rio da Janeiro.
Police in Brazil said that British tourists are seen as “easy prey” as they could be unaware to the dangers, often have expensive items on them as well as cash, and do not know the local area well.
A 21-year-old Brit spoke out about how he passed out after taking just a few sips of a drink on his holiday. He was later recorded collapsing unconscious on a Brazilian beach but was rescued by a Good Samaritan. The student revealed he was offered a Capriahna cocktail by a trio women before the incident.
Rally Round the Counties : Resisting a Sacramento money drain-off
The deep cuts proposed in Gov. Pete Wilson’s new state budget surely would hurt Los Angeles and Orange counties. That’s because both the Republican governor and some legislative Democrats want to balance Sacramento’s budget by taking state funds from the counties. The outlook is especially grim for large counties. There must be a better way.
THE CUTS: Although L.A. County has only about a third of the state’s population, it would endure more than half of the total cuts in statewide county funding that Wilson is proposing, according to Chief Administrative Officer Sally R. Reed. Altogether, L.A. County would lose $362 million in health care funds and property taxes.
Under the proposed diversion of property taxes, Los Angeles and 11 other counties would lose $500 million; Los Angeles would be hit with a reduction of more than $100 million.
A Senate-Assembly conference committee is offering an alternative budget plan, but it does not offer much relief for the counties. In fact, the alternative plan adds a new headache for counties–a proposed cut of $32 million in annual subsidies to county probation camps. The result would be a Los Angeles cutback of as much as $19 million.
Until his latest budget revisions, Wilson largely had spared counties of any further cuts in state funds. This new round of proposed reductions in state funding could not come at a worst time. Los Angeles County–already reeling from budget problems caused in part by previous state cutbacks–has yet to agree on a new county budget. The proposed state cuts make this task a torture.
Orange County, too, would suffer from the Democratic proposal to end the annual subsidies to the county probation camps. But Orange County’s loss of funds due to the shift of local property tax revenues would, it is hoped, be partially offset by projected increases in interest earnings on county investments.
THE COUNTERATTACK: Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) has scheduled an emergency meeting Monday in Sacramento with Los Angeles County representatives, legislators, the Department of Finance and others to review the magnitude of the proposed reductions in state funding to counties. The participants will try to identify alternatives to the proposed county budget cuts or find ways to raise revenue to avoid the reductions.
The emergency meeting should put all plausible options on the table. There’s been some talk in Sacramento of even a temporary salary cut for all public employees, legislators included.
Los Angeles County is still grappling with the aftereffects of the defense downsizing, recession and the Northridge earthquake. With the recent defeat of state bonds to finance earthquake repair, residential rebuilding efforts have already suffered one major setback. Trying to balance Sacramento’s budget on the backs of counties exacts an unfair toll on Los Angeles and California’s other densely populated areas, and that cannot be good for the future economic life of this state. All Assembly and state Senate members who care about their communities must rally around the counties.
Shaky Sparks attempting to rebuild future with the past
Amid a glittering sports celebration, a team from Los Angeles dominated the WNBA draft.
But it wasn’t Los Angeles’ WNBA team.
The Sparks couldn’t hold a candle to UCLA.
At a Monday event during which six Bruins were drafted among the first 18 picks — a WNBA record — the Sparks didn’t have their first pick until No. 20 in the second round.
Two years earlier, they had traded away their first-round pick for the rights to draft the exciting Rickea Jackson.
Whom they recently traded to Chicago for somebody named Ariel Atkins.
You can see where we’re going with this…
One of the WNBA’s founding franchises, the failure-ridden Sparks enter the league’s 30th season attempting to break a five-year playoff drought with an understandable yet unremarkable game plan.
They’re going old. They don’t have a choice. Five years of lottery missteps have produced exactly one current Sparks player, Cameron Brink, a social media star who’s been an injured basketball bust.
While the national champion Bruins spent Monday dancing across the league from Toronto to Chicago, the Sparks didn’t get a chance to acquire any of them, and wound up with three late picks who will raise no eyebrows and play few minutes.
So, yeah, old.
When the Sparks open the season by hosting defending champion Las Vegas May 10, their fans are going to say, “Oh yeah!” followed by a resounding chorus of, “Oh no!”
Oh yeah, they’re bringing back longtime Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike, a bruising inside force for 14 seasons. She played well for Seattle last year, but, oh no, she’ll be 36 during the season, and one wonders when the physicality will take its toll.
Oh yeah, they’re bringing back Erica Wheeler, who played strong minutes here several years ago. But, oh no, she played for three teams in the last four years and will be 35 during the season.
Oh yeah, they’re bringing in Atkins, who once won a WNBA championship with the Washington Mystics. But, oh no, that was seven years ago, and she’s bounced around with six international teams and two WNBA teams since.
Those three veterans will be joining a team with two returning starters — Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby — but little else.
The league’s celebrated new CBA made all these players rich, but did little for the Sparks, who were unable to make a dent in the league-wide free agent market and were out of decent draft picks and so must survive for one more season before getting a shot at JuJu Watkins.
So they should tank? No! Not yet! I’ve got season tickets! But you’ve got to wonder. And if this aging band gets off to a slow start, you’ve got to wonder if they’re wondering.
“I’m super excited about the roster we have,” said coach Lynne Roberts on a Zoom call Monday night. “We brought in some tremendous leadership.”
But they also lost some tremendous youth by giving up on Jackson, who averaged nearly 15 points last season and provided much-needed energy to another deadly dull squad. While the Sparks made nice with her publicly, one can read between the lines on the following Zoom quote from general manager Raegan Pebley.
”Loved having her here … she’ll be successful wherever she goes,” said Pebley of Jackson. “But we’re focused on winning a championship and finding that fit and balance and getting all those pieces locked in with each other.”
Here’s guessing Jackson, an independent spirit, was never quite locked in. And now she’s locked out of a new culture that will be solid and steady… but will they be any good?
“You have to have that balance of youth and experience and I think our roster has nailed that,” said Pebley.
Who knows? Will Brink stop trying to be an influencer long enough to be an inside presence? Will Rae Burrell take another step in her fifth season? Can the new veterans stay healthy enough to inspire the kids, who could include draft picks Ta’Niya Latson, Chance Gray and Amelia Hassett? Can Roberts, a relative WNBA newcomer who lost more than half of her games in her debut last season, actually coach?
They’ve already had one win with the ongoing construction of an $150-million El Segundo practice facility, which should open next year and serve to attract the type of stars that a Los Angeles team deserves.
They have another steady win with a Crypto.com Arena fan-friendly game experience that ranks among the best in this city’s sports landscape.
Now they just need wins on the scoreboard, lots of them, enough to restore faith in what was once one of this city’s shining basketball operations.
The odds aren’t good — going old usually means going home early — but what else can they do? No Bruins are walking through that door. For at least one more year, the Sparks have to marinate in their past mistakes and hope that their veterans can somehow lay a foundation for their future..
“This isn’t a slow roll,” said Roberts. “We want to do it.”
The rest of the league, which has greatly benefited from five years of Sparks’ bad basketball decisions, will be waiting.
Their passionate fans, who have loyally kept showing up for the last five years to watch the lousy basketball those decisions have wrought, will be wanting.
And JuJu will be watching.
What is Trump-backed SAVE America Act and what could it mean for US vote? | US Midterm Elections 2026 News
Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has been unambiguous about his desire for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a sweeping voting law that supporters say will boost election security and that detractors say risks disenfranchising millions of voters.
The push has gained new urgency, with the US Senate continuing debate on the law following a two-week recess.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The president has said the bill, which at its core would create higher documentation standards for proving citizenship when registering to vote and casting a ballot, is his top priority ahead of the midterm elections in November, which will determine which party controls the Senate and the US House of Representatives.
The bill has near-total support from Republicans, with Democrats remaining largely unified in opposition. It passed in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in February along party lines.
The measure has since remained stalled in Congress, where Republicans control 53 out of 100 seats, short of the 60 votes it will likely need to pass.
That is, unless party leaders move to change the chamber’s longstanding rules, a transformative approach considered a”nuclear” option that will reverberate for years to come.
Here’s what to know.
What would the SAVE America Act do?
The version of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act passed by the House in February would require voters to provide proof of citizenship – a birth certificate or passport – when registering to vote. It would also implement stricter voter identification requirements for individuals casting ballots, whether by mail or in person.
Under the US Constitution, states administer elections, and currently have different processes for registering voters and confirming citizenship. Voting by noncitizens is already illegal, and all people registering to vote attest they are US citizens under threat of perjury.
The bill does not provide any funding for the new verification processes, which would be effective immediately upon the bill being signed into law.
The legislation would also require all states to run their voter rolls through a US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) “Alien Verification Eligibility” system to identify potential noncitizens already enrolled.
It would include criminal penalties for election officials who register voters without the required documentation.
What has Trump said about the SAVE Act?
The US president has long maintained that elections in the country are marred by widespread fraud, including noncitizen voting, despite there being no evidence to support these claims.
Even the conservative Heritage Foundation, which has influenced many of Trump’s policies, has found only exceedingly rare instances of voter fraud over decades of US elections.
Trump’s focus on election administration dates back to his 2020 loss to former US President Joe Biden, which he continues to maintain was the result of the vote being “stolen”. Again, no evidence has emerged to back those claims.
The president has called the SAVE America Act “one of the most IMPORTANT & CONSEQUENTIAL pieces of legislation in the history of Congress, and America itself”.
In March, he vowed not to sign any other bills into law until the legislation was passed. He has further vowed not to endorse any Republicans who do not support the legislation.
Trump also told members of his party in March that passing the bill would “guarantee” their success not only in the midterm elections but in the years to come.
Several top Republicans have embraced Trump’s messaging, with US House Speaker Mike Johnson saying opponents of the legislation “want illegal aliens to vote in our elections”.
What have critics said about the SAVE Act?
Critics have said the bill would be tantamount to widespread voter disenfranchisement, creating onerous barriers to address what several studies show to be the fleetingly rare problem of noncitizens registering to vote.
Several studies have shown that about 11 percent of eligible voters do not have access to birth certificates, while 52 percent do not have valid passports. All told, a recent study by several election-monitoring groups found that about nine percent of eligible voters in the US do not have easy access to documents proving citizenship, accounting for about 21.3 million people.
Several groups, including the Bipartisan Policy Center, have argued the legislation risks doing more damage than good. Data from a USCIS voter verification system, which some states already use to identify noncitizens in their voter rolls, found that only 0.04 percent of reviewed cases were flagged as potential noncitizens.
But as noted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, evidence indicates that the rate may be considerably lower, pointing to a review by Travis County, Texas that found that a quarter of the voters flagged by USCIS had actually provided proof of citizenship.
In another example, a review of all registered voters in Utah from 2025 to 2026 found only a single instance of a noncitizen registered to vote out of more than two million voters. There were no confirmed instances of a noncitizen actually voting.
Top Democrats have echoed those criticisms, while charging that Trump is seeking to influence the outcome of the midterms as part of what they call a years-long effort to politicise voting administration.
“The only thing Republicans are trying to save with this legislation is their own skin in the next election,” Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, said earlier this week.
Could it affect women and name changes?
A main point of contention for opponents of the legislation is the additional barriers it could create for individuals, primarily women, who changed their last names after marriage or for other reasons.
An estimated 69 million women in the US lack easy access to documentation linking their current legal names to those at birth, according to the League of Women Voters, which has been a leading opponent of the bill.
The requirement for extra documentation for some married women creates inherent inequality in the system, the organisation has argued.
The law would further create extra barriers for individuals who move regularly, including members of the military, and those who have been afflicted by disruptive life changes, including natural disasters, opponents have argued.
How does this relate to the filibuster?
The so-called “filibuster” is a procedural rule in the Senate that can be used to require 60 votes to pass most bills, as opposed to a simple majority of 51 votes in the 100-seat chamber.
Parties in the minority have long used the rule to temper the party in the majority, with Republicans and Democrats rarely holding a filibuster-proof 60 seats.
Being a rule of the Senate’s own making, it could be easily scrapped by the party in power. However, doing so has long been seen as a “nuclear” option. While it would offer short-term benefits to the majority party, it would undermine the same party if it becomes the minority in future elections.
Nevertheless, Trump has heaped pressure on Republican leaders in the Senate to scrap the rule, writing on Truth Social in March, they need to “Kill the Filibuster”.
What happens next?
Debate remains ongoing in the Senate over the legislation, but major shifts in support are seen as extremely unlikely.
Republicans are unlikely to bring the legislation to a vote if they do not have the support for it to pass.
Currently, there is no plan to hold a vote to do away with the filibuster, which would require only a simple majority.
Lawmakers have also not yet pursued other, more incremental procedural manoeuvres to pass the bill without 60 votes.
Trump Downplays Chinese Concerns Over Iran War’s Impact On Its Oil Supplies
Despite Beijing’s rising anger over the war in Iran, a country upon which it relies heavily for oil, U.S. President Donald Trump insisted his relationship with his Chinese counterpart remains strong. However, in a post on his social media network, Trump also dismissed Chinese concerns that its energy situation is becoming more precarious as the result of strangulation of the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
All this comes as Trump has been telling media outlets that he believes the war could soon end. We’ll talk more about that later in this story.
“China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz,” the American leader proclaimed on Truth Social, even as the flow of oil from the Middle East has been drastically reduced by the war. “I am doing it for them, also – And the World. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran.”
“President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks,” he added. “We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting??? BUT REMEMBER, we are very good at fighting, if we have to – far better than anyone else!!!”
In a pre-taped interview that aired Wednesday morning, Trump told Fox News that the war hasn’t soured his relationship with Xi, who has expressed frustration with American actions in the Middle East.
“I don’t think it does,” Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “He’s somebody that needs oil. We don’t. He’s somebody I get along with very well. He just wrote me a beautiful letter…He responded to a letter that I wrote because I had heard that China is giving weapons to – I mean, you’re seeing it all over the place – to Iran…I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that essentially he’s not doing that.”
Trump was referring to reports that U.S. intelligence determined Beijing was providing military support to Tehran.
Before his Truth Social Post and the Fox interview aired, Financial Times reported that Iran “secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite that gave the Islamic republic a powerful new capability to target US military bases across the Middle East during the recent war.”
“Leaked Iranian military documents show the satellite, known as TEE-01B, was acquired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force in late 2024 after it was launched into space from China,” according to the outlet. “Time-stamped coordinate lists, satellite imagery and orbital analysis show that Iranian military commanders later tasked the satellite to monitor key US military sites. The images were taken in March before and after drone and missile strikes on those locations.”
As we have previously reported, Iranian strikes on U.S. military facilities killed U.S. troops and caused damage to bases and equipment. However, it should be noted that Iran has also beenreceiving Chinese commercial satellite imagery and Russia is likely providing it as well. At the same time, U.S. commercial satellite companies like VANTOR and Planet Labs are now refraining from sharing imageryof the Middle East and elsewhere at the Pentagon’s behest.
Meanwhile, China continues to push back against accusations that it is helping Iran and repeated previous assertions that it will respond should Trump go through with his threat to impose a 50% tariff.
“Media reports accusing China of providing military support to Iran are purely fabricated,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated on X. “If the U.S. goes ahead with tariff hikes on China on the basis of these accusations, China will respond with countermeasures.”
Lin did not offer details about those countermeasures.
Regardless, Iran’s use of commercial space imagery to strike U.S. and allied targets “will force the Pentagon to adjust, the head of U.S. Space Command said,” according to Defense One.
“We have to recognize that the rest of the world can now see the entire planet transparently and almost 24/7 and so we have to be able to operate in that environment successfully,” Gen. Stephen Whiting, the head of U.S. Space Command told reporters Tuesday during the Space Symposium conference.
UPDATES
UPDATE: 2:24 PM EDT –
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the U.S. requested an extention to the ceasefire.
She also thanked Pakistan for its help in the negotiations.
Trump, as we noted earlier, is saying that he believes the war could soon be concluded.
“I think it’s close to over,” Trump posited. “I mean, I view it as very close to over. You know what? If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we’re not finished. We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.”
Trump also told Sky News that the end of the war may be nigh.
When asked by Sky whether a deal could happen before King Charles visits the U.S. at the end of the month, Trump said: “It’s possible. Very possible. They’re beaten up pretty bad.”
U.S. and Iranian negotiators made progress in talks on Tuesday, moving closer to a framework agreement to end the war, two U.S. officials said, Axios reported on Wednesday.
“U.S. officials and sources familiar with the mediation cautioned that a deal is not guaranteed, given the substantial differences between the two sides,” the news outlet noted.
“Let’s wait and see if we can get a deal. We are hopeful and accordingly trying to push with both sides,” a Pakistani official told Axios.
In another step toward potential future negotiations, Pakistan’s Army Chief of Staff Asim Munir arrived in Tehran today for talks.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said that during the visit, “the views of both sides are likely to be discussed in detail.”
Baghaei, however, said Iran would not capitulate.
“If a negotiation is based on one side imposing conditions on the other, that is not negotiation; it is dictation and imposition, and you know that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian nation will never accept such imposition,” he stated.
In an X post, CENTCOM on Wednesday said that during “the first 48 hours of the U.S. blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports, no vessels have made it past U.S. forces. Additionally, 9 vessels have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or coastal area.”
Late Tuesday night, Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, took to X to announce that the “blockade of Iranian ports has been fully implemented as U.S. forces maintain maritime superiority in the Middle East.”
“An estimated 90% of Iran’s economy is fueled by international trade by sea,” Cooper noted. “In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea.”
Senior IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi claimed the Islamic Republic would consider it a prelude to the breach of the ceasefire if “the aggressive and terrorist America” continues the blockade.
Abdollahi “threatened that the powerful Iranian armed forces would not allow any export and import to keep going in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea region, in the face of the US maritime aggression,” the official Iranian IRNA news agency stated on Wednesday.
His comments suggested that the Houthi rebels of Yemen, an Iranian proxy, could resume their attacks on Red Sea shipping, something we previously examined as a possibility.
Meanwhile, the Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I became the first crude carrier to head west through the Strait of Hormuz since the US blockade on Iran’s ports came into force, according to MarineTraffic.
Though another round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran is being discussed, the Pentagon continues to pour resources into the Middle East, something we have been reporting about for weeks.
“The forces moving into the region include about 6,000 troops aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and several warships escorting it, said current and former officials,” according to The Washington Post, citing anonymous officials. “About 4,200 others with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and its embarked Marine Corps task force, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, are expected to arrive near the end of the month.”
During the pause in fighting, Iran appears to be using the time to reopen entrances to underground missile cities damaged during the war, according to CNN. The network published footage showing engineering equipment at the Tabriz South missile base and the Khomein missile bases.
The network also noted that, according to U.S. intelligence estimates, about half of the Iranian missile launchers remained intact after a month of fighting, and that many of these launchers could have been buried in underground storage facilities as a result of strikes on the entrances.
A day after negotiations took place in Washington between the U.S., Israel and Lebanon, Hezbollah issued a veiled threat to Beirut. Considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel, Hezbollah was not a party to the talks.
“The Lebanese authorities must reconsider their actions and return to the embrace of the people,” said Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah in a statement. “The authorities withdrew the army from the south, leaving it vulnerable to occupation and giving the enemy [Israel] free rein.”
Meanwhile, Israel is continuing to bombard Hezbollah.
“In the past 24 hours, the IDF struck over 200 Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon,” it claimed. “Among the targets struck: terrorists, military structures, approximately 20 launchers, including those recently used to fire towards the State of Israel.”
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
Rochelle Humes reveals she made more cash in S Club Juniors than in The Saturdays
SINGER Rochelle Humes made jaws drop as she confessed she made more cash from being in S Club Juniors than she did in The Saturdays alongside stars Frankie Bridge and Una Healy.
The businesswoman launched her career as a singer in 2001 when she joined S Club Juniors after being selected for the band on the reality TV show S Club Search.
The juniors, who released their first single One Step Closer in 2002, accompanied S Club 7 on their huge tour as the supporting act.
After just three years in the girl band, Rochelle joined The Saturdays in 2008 and despite their chart topping success, the star revealed she made more money at the beginning of her career.
Speaking on the Great Company with Jamie Lang podcast, Rochelle said: “When I look back on it I made more money from S Club Juniors than I did in The Saturdays.”
Made In Chelsea star Jamie was so baffled by Rochelle’s revelation that she jokingly asked him to call Frankie Bridge, who was also in both bands, to confirm their experience.
Read More on Rochelle Humes
Explaining why she thought she made more money from S Club Juniors, Rochelle said: “The music industry… the money just went out of it.
“It wasn’t the same space to be in anymore.”
The star added: “At the time your the chosen one, you never want to rock the boat because your like do you know how many girls would be whipping these extensions out ready to put them in their hair.
Rochelle joined S Club Juniors in the early noughties, when she was just 12-years-old, alongside Frankie Bridge, Aaron Renfree, Jay Asforis, Stacey Franks, Calvin Goldspink, Daisy Shelvey and Hannah Richings.
While the girl band was successful, The Saturdays were huge with 11 top 10 singles including All Fired Up and What About Us.
The 37-year-old explained that when she was part of The Saturdays she was paid a “salary” and was expected to live a certain type of lifestyle.
But, most of her money actually came from brand deals and touring rather than the group’s singles.
“When someone says your record deal is X amount of money, that doesn’t mean that’s what we’re making. That means they’ll put this money into the album, pay these producers, the marketing budget,” she said.
Rochelle continued: “The tours and the brand deals was where you would make your money. The records weren’t for us. So we’d be the face of a shampoo and all have our own scent – that’s where we’d make our money.
“But then record labels changed their whole strategy…they would then also take a cut of the brand [deals], and then take a cut of the live performances. You’ve got to remember everything you earn, split that in half, basically with tax and an agent. And then there’s five of you. You’re expected to live a lifestyle that you can’t always prop up.”
During her candid interview with Jamie, Rochelle also revealed her uncle is an England footie legend.
Her uncle is none other than Paul Ince, who had 53 caps for England and played most notably for Premier League teams West Ham and Man United.
Paul was the first black player to ever captain the England team and later the first black British manager to coach in the highest tier of English football.
Prosecutors sought access to Federal Reserve building as Trump threatens to fire Powell
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a construction site at Federal Reserve headquarters that is the focus of an investigation into a $2.5-billion renovation project, according to two people familiar with the visit.
Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro’s office were turned away on Tuesday by a building contractor and referred to Fed attorneys, one of the people said. The two people familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation.
The visit underscores that the Trump administration is not backing down from its investigation of the Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, even though the probe has delayed the confirmation of a new chair nominated by President Trump. The investigation is focused on cost overruns and brief testimony about the project last summer by Powell. Trump confirmed in an interview that aired Wednesday on Fox Business that he wants to continue the probe.
Last month, during a closed-door hearing before a federal judge, a top deputy from Pirro’s office conceded that they hadn’t found any evidence of a crime in their investigation of the headquarters project.
Robert Hur, an attorney for the Federal Reserve board of governors, sent an email to Pirro’s prosecutors about their visit and their request for a “tour” to “check on progress” at the construction site. Hur’s email, which the Associated Press has viewed, noted that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg concluded that their interest in the Federal Reserve’s renovation project was “pretextual.”
“Should you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue for you; it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it,” Hur wrote.
Republican Tillis is key vote
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is a key member of the Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to vote against Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to replace Powell as Fed chair, until the investigation is dropped. With the committee closely divided on partisan lines, Tillis’ opposition is enough to block Warsh.
The Banking panel said Tuesday that it will hold a hearing on Warsh’s nomination April 21. Powell’s term as Fed chair ends May 15, but Powell said last month he would remain as chair until a replacement is named.
Powell is serving a separate term as a member of the Fed’s governing board that lasts until January 2028. Chairs typically leave their posts as governor when their terms as chair end, but they can remain on the board if they choose.
Last month, Powell said, “I have no intention of leaving the Board until the investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality.” If he remains in his seat, even after Warsh is confirmed, it would deny Trump the oppotunity to fill a seat on the seven-member board.
Late Tuesday, Tillis posted a link on social media to the Wall Street Journal’s article on the visit below an image of the Three Stooges and wrote, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. at the crime scene.”
Investigation centers on building renovations
The investigation by Pirro’s office centers on an appearance by Powell before the Senate Banking Committee last June, when he was asked about cost overruns on the Fed’s extensive building renovations. The most recent estimates from the Fed suggest the current estimated cost of $2.5 billion is about $600 million higher than a 2022 estimate of $1.9 billion.
“It is probably corrupt, but what it really is, is incompetent,” Trump said on Fox Business. “Don’t you think we have to find out what happened there?”
The president’s support for the investigation threatens a time frame set out by Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who chairs the Banking Committee. Scott said Tuesday on Fox Business that he believed the investigation would be “wrapped up in the next few weeks,” allowing Warsh to be confirmed soon after.
Threat to fire Powell
News of the unannounced visit by prosecutors comes as Trump has again threatened to fire Powell, if the Federal Reserve chair decides to stay on the central bank’s governing board after his term as chair expires next month.
“Well then I’ll have to fire him, OK?” Trump said when reminded that Powell has said he won’t leave the Fed while the Justice Department investigates a $2.5-billion renovation project at the bank. Powell has also said he will remain as chair of the Fed’s rate-setting committee until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate, following the precedent of previous chairs.
Trump has for months wanted to remove Powell as chair of the Fed, saying he has been too slow in orchestrating interest rate cuts that would give the U.S. economy a quick boost. Powell has said the investigation is a pretext to undermine the Fed’s independence to set rates.
Supreme Court weighing another Trump removal
Trump’s threat to fire Powell comes as the Supreme Court is weighing the president’s effort to remove another central bank governor, Lisa Cook. Lower courts have so far allowed Cook to remain in her job while her legal challenge to the firing continues. The Supreme Court also seemed likely to keep her on the Fed when the court heard arguments in January. A decision could come any time.
The issue in Cook’s case is whether allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied, is a sufficient reason to fire her or a mere pretext masking Trump’s desire to exert more control over U.S. interest rate policy.
The Supreme Court has allowed the firings of the heads of other governmental agencies at the president’s discretion, with no claim that they did anything wrong, while also signaling that it is approaching the independence of the nation’s central bank more cautiously, calling the Fed “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.”
Kunzelman and Rugaber write for the Associated Press. AP Writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.
Jamie Murray: British doubles legend retires from tennis
Murray will be remembered for his razor-sharp volleying skills and the preposterous angles he conjured at the net. His returns were often unorthodox and he was fond of a lobbed service return to unsettle opponents.
Alongside his triumphs, Murray has been a staunch defender of doubles players and frequently demanded they be shown more respect.
“Doubles has its place in the game – it’s not the golden ticket that singles is, but it’s undervalued by the tour,” Murray told BBC Sport.
“As these events go longer and longer they need content, and doubles supports that.”
Murray said he was proud to have represented his hometown of Dunblane and the country of Scotland at the highest level.
“There is no history of tennis and no environment of tennis [in Scotland],” Murray told BBC Sport.
“I’d imagine the odds were against us from the start but we were able to make some good things happen.”
His mother Judy thought Jamie had the better hand-eye co-ordination of her sons when young. Jamie and Andy briefly became rivals as tennis players – and also while wrestling.
Judy once recalled: “Andy’s favourite [wrestler] was The Rock and Jamie’s was Stone Cold Steve Austin, and they used to create these bouts that they saw on the television. They used to wrestle each other on the duvet and thump each other with pillows, and create these belts and make up their own rules and scoring systems.”
Jamie is 15 months older than Andy, and as his early dominance on the tennis court started to fade Andy says he quite literally bore the brunt.
“We were coming back from Solihull in the minibus and I’d beaten Jamie in the final, I think, of the under-12s, so basically I was winding him up about that and my hand was on the hand rest,” he said in 2015.
“We were sitting next to each other and he just basically punched me on the hand – I lost my fingernail and I’ve still got the scars to show for it.”
Despite some defeats against Andy, Jamie was still very much on track for a professional singles career until a negative experience at an LTA training school in Cambridge in his very early teens.
He struggled with living away from home and the elite training environment, and even though he has never sought to blame the LTA, his forehand suffered and he has said he was never quite the same player again.
Is Iran beating the US at its own propaganda game? | News
Iran has condemned a ban imposed by YouTube on a pro-Iranian group that releases Lego-style artificial intelligence videos. But as war messaging moves into
Published On 15 Apr 2026
UN experts urge member states to suspend Israel arms transfers | United Nations News
The experts call Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon on April 8 ‘a blatant violation of the UN Charter’.
Published On 15 Apr 2026
A group of United Nations experts has denounced Israel’s attack on Lebanon a day after the United States and Iran agreed a ceasefire as illegal and urged UN member states to halt all arms transfers to Israel.
The 19 experts – including special rapporteurs and independent experts across a range of human rights mandates – issued the condemnation on Wednesday as Israel continued to pound areas of southern Lebanon, killing at least 16 people, including four paramedics, Lebanese state media reported.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Referring to a devastating wave of Israeli attacks across Lebanon on April 8, which Lebanese authorities said killed more than 350 people, including 30 children, the experts said: “This is not self-defence. It is a blatant violation of the UN Charter, a deliberate destruction of prospects for peace, and an affront to multilateralism and the UN-based international order.”
They called for Israel to “cease all military operations in Lebanon” and urged UN member states to halt arms transfers to Israel while “there is credible evidence of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law”, according to the UN Human Rights Council.
Israel escalated its attacks on Lebanon on March 2 after the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in response to the US-Israel killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei two days earlier, the first day of their war on Iran.
Israel has carried out a devastating bombardment across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south, killing more than 2,000 people and forcibly displacing more than 1.2 million.
The UN experts said such forced displacement “of a civilian population constitutes crimes against humanity”. They also condemned Israel’s targeted “destruction of homes”, particularly in predominantly Shia areas of the south, as “a form of collective punishment” that “points to ethnic cleansing”.
Israel’s continuing bombardment of Lebanon has been a point of tension in US-Iran negotiations. Tehran said Lebanon should be covered in the ongoing ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire with Iran and Israel will continue to target Hezbollah “wherever required”.
On Saturday, days before Israel and Lebanon held rare, high-level diplomatic talks in the US, Netanyahu said Israel wanted long-term peace with Lebanon but on the condition that Hezbollah is disarmed.
The Reuters news agency quoted a senior Israeli official as saying Israel’s security cabinet planned to convene on Wednesday evening to discuss a possible ceasefire in Lebanon. It also quoted several senior Lebanese officials as saying ceasefire efforts were under way.
*NSYNC star admits he was so skint lights went out in his home and he had to move in with parents
AN *NSYNC star has confessed he was so skint that after failing to pay his bills the lights went out in his house on Christmas Eve.
Joey Fatone, who was one of the American group’s original members, recently opened up on how his boyband millions quickly depleted.
The singer shot to fame in 1995 alongside his fellow bandmates, Justin Timberlake, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, and Jason Galasso.
During the new docuseries Boy Band Confidential, Joey admitted he was forced to ask people for money after he was given bad advice by his accountant.
At NSYNC’s peak Joey splashed out on a huge 10,000-square-foot house on four acres of land, but not before running it past his financial advisor.
He recalled in the docuseries: “Money was coming in. I asked my accountant, ‘Hey, are we good?’ ‘Yeah, we’re great.’ ‘I’m OK to buy this house, right?’ He goes, ‘Your kids’ kids’ kids will be fine.’
“Now, he was saying that as if money was probably still coming in.”
But, ten years later was when Joey really felt the pain of being cashless.
Joey said: “I go to a new accountant, I say, ‘Hey man, can you look at my finances and what’s going on?’ And he goes, ‘You need to get out of that house or you’re gonna go bankrupt.’ I went, ‘I’m sorry, what?’”
After NSYNC went on a indefinite hiatus, Joey was nearly out of cash and was very close to filing for bankruptcy.
His money woes all came to a head on Christmas Eve when he had family around to celebrate the holidays.
Joey continued: “There was one point during Christmas they shut off the lights to my house because I didn’t pay the bill. I almost was gonna go bankrupt.
“And I have a family. This is when I am married, I have two kids. These are certain things that happen in normal people‘s lives as well, but then you have to figure out, for me, how do I do this without the public even watching of what’s going on?”
Joey lost the power in his home before they had even got to opening their presents.
He said: “It was horrible. I had family over at my house. Good thing I had the water, but the power just went pew.”
“I was asking people for money,” he recalled.
The 49-year-old told how he was forced to “put his tail between his legs” and figure out what to do.
The producer ended up flogging his house and moving his then-wife Kelly, to whom he was married from 2004 to 2019, and their daughters, Briahna and Kloey, in with his parents for a year.
Joey made a life for himself in Las Vegas for a year, working to build back up his slowing career.
The Dancing with the Stars alum explained the situation was a “big eye-opener” and he slammed his former accountant saying, “And the one that I had was not the brightest person to help me out. They were always the ones going, ‘Don’t worry, you’re gonna be fine. You’re making so much money.’”
NSYNC won 15 music awards during their heyday and are best known for their hits Bye Bye Bye, Girlfriend and This I Promise You.
Businessman Checchi Enters Governor’s Race
SACRAMENTO — Mega-millionaire businessman Al Checchi launched the biggest takeover bid of his career Tuesday, declaring his candidacy for governor by promising a less political approach to political office.
Checchi, who built a vast personal fortune plying his financial wizardry in the corporate world, styled himself as a campaign insurgent removed from the ways of Washington and Sacramento.
“My experience outside politics is precisely why I’m running,” the 49-year-old former Northwest Airlines executive told members of a Sacramento civic group, who served as extras for his announcement. “You don’t have to be a politician to succeed in government. And the truth is that for too long, politicians leading our government have failed.”
Touting his “real-world experience,” the Democrat said, “I reject the conventional politics that evades hard choices, that obscures controversial issues and seeks to offend no one except the powerless and marginal.”
He pledged to “tell the people of this state exactly where I stand and, during the months ahead, to set forth real and specific proposals for change.”
To wit, Checchi said that as governor he would cut the state bureaucracy by 10% to raise $5 billion more for education, boost the state cigarette tax by 25 cents a pack to expand health care for the uninsured, and require statewide competency testing of both students and teachers.
Further, Checchi called for expansion of the death penalty to include serial rapists and repeat child molesters, offered a ringing endorsement of affirmative action, endorsed abortion rights and promised to outline a “major” gun control proposal in the months ahead.
“As you can see, my positions aren’t cut to fit any ideological pattern,” Checchi said in his 18-minute address to about 200 members and guests of the Comstock Club, who interrupted his speech with sporadic applause. “The test for me is simple: What will meet the needs of California and move it forward, not what will satisfy the political establishment or big campaign contributors.”
Checchi’s independence comes at no small personal expense. The former airline executive (whose name is pronounced CHECK-ee) has vowed to spend as much as $30 million of his own money to finance his campaign.
His long-expected decision to enter the contest follows a months-long period of study–a sort of California 101 crash course–in which he met with scores of experts, from civic leaders to special pleaders, to learn about everything from agriculture to the impact of welfare reform.
Venturing forth from his gated Spanish-style mansion in Beverly Hills, Checchi visited about 50 cities and met with about 350 individuals as part of his tutorial. A few of the everyday people he met–including a Central Valley farmer and a San Fernando Valley man, Blinky Rodriguez, who lost a son to gang violence–were among those who attended Tuesday’s speech and were cited in Checchi’s remarks.
Such Reagan-like theatrics aside, Checchi’s lack of political sophistication has shown through more than once.
Despite his ambitions, Checchi conceded earlier this year that he failed to vote in four of the last six statewide elections, including the last governor’s race. Tuesday, chastising himself, he said he was simply too busy.
Another time, at a spring gathering of major California water officials, Checchi acknowledged that he didn’t “know anything about water.”
“Before preparing for this meeting, I thought the delta was an airline,” the former Northwest co-chairman joked.
In his speech Tuesday, Checchi predicted that he would probably make more “rookie mistakes” like that between now and the June primary. But all such humility aside, Checchi is no political naif.
Over the years he has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to assorted candidates and political causes, occasionally tip-toeing into the gray area that shrouds the political-finance system.
He also demonstrated his ample skill moving legislative levers when he persuaded–bludgeoned, critics say–lawmakers in Minnesota to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks and other concessions to help rescue Northwest from bankruptcy in the early 1990s.
Raised in suburban Washington, the son of a high-level bureaucrat for the Food and Drug Administration, Checchi went to work for the Marriott Corp. straight out of college, putting his Harvard MBA to work in a series of creative and highly lucrative ventures.
In 1982, he joined the Bass Brothers investment firm and played a major role in helping save the then-struggling Disney Corp. Checchi and his family moved to California in 1985.
Four years later, he made his biggest financial play–and a financial killing–with a $3.65-billion takeover of Minneapolis-based Northwest.
After narrowly averting bankruptcy, the company thrived as the airline industry came soaring back from recession. Checchi’s relatively small investment–the Dutch airline giant KLM put up most of the cash for the deal–helped him build a fortune today estimated in excess of $550 million.
Checchi continued to lead Northwest as the airline’s co-chairman until stepping down in April to focus full time on preparing for the governor’s race.
He enters the contest as a mere asterisk in the polls and a phantom to most California voters. A random sampling of audience members before Checchi spoke showed that most people knew he was involved in the airline industry, had a lot of money and was interested in high office.
Beyond that–what airline, what position he held, what office he sought, even which party he belonged to–were a mystery.
“He seems to be successful and seems to have his own stash,” said Maxine Milner-Krugman, who knew that much about Checchi but confessed that she couldn’t properly pronounce his name.
More than a few compared him to Republican Michael Huffington, the former Santa Barbara congressman who narrowly lost the 1994 Senate race to Democrat Dianne Feinstein after spending $29 million of his fortune.
Asked later if he was concerned that voters would perceive him as another wealthy dilettante trying to buy his way into office, Checchi professed not to worry. “Most people don’t object to someone spending their own money,” he told reporters.
With Tuesday’s announcement, Checchi became the second declared Democrat for governor, joining Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, who made clear his intention to run a few months after taking office in 1995. Last week, state Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) launched an exploratory effort to determine whether to mount a full-blown campaign.
Feinstein, the front-runner in the polls, is still trying to make up her mind whether to run and has said a decision may be months away. Coincidentally, one of Checchi’s major co-investors in the 1989 Northwest deal was Feinstein’s husband, financier Richard Blum, who sank $100 million into the deal–five times Checchi’s personal investment.
On the Republican side, state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren is running unopposed for his party’s nomination. Gov. Pete Wilson, who has served two terms, is ineligible for reelection.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Profile: Alfred A. Checchi
Al Checchi seeks to parlay his success in business into a desk in the California governor’s office. Checchi, 49, is no newcomer to politics, having donated almost $325,000 to various political campaigns over the years. But the 1998 race for governor will mark the first bid for elective office for the Democrat.
* Born: 6/6/48, in Boston.
* Residence: Beverly Hills
* Education: Undergraduate degree in economics and American studies from Amherst. MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business.
* Career highlights: He rose through the ranks at the Marriott Corp., directing one of the nation’s largest real estate development businesses, then became a principal with the Texas-based Bass Bros. Enterprises. There, he worked on the firm’s acquisition of a major stake in Disney. In 1989, he and his longtime associate Gary Wilson engineered the purchase of Northwest Airlines. Checchi resigned as co-chairman of the airline last April to pursue his bid for governor. He retains a 10% stake in Northwest.
* Interests: Reading, golf
* Family: Married to attorney Kathryn Checchi, three children.
* Quote: “I reject the conventional politics that evades hard choices, that obscures controversial issues and seeks to offend no one except the powerless and the marginal.”
Prep talk: Oakwood is 14-0 in baseball
When you think of Oakwood School in sports, Mitchell Butler comes to mind. He put the basketball team on the map when getting a scholarship to UCLA and playing in the NBA.
Steve Smith, who coached basketball at Windward and in the WNBA, came on as athletic director and has been trying to raise the level of sports commitment at a school known for its academics and having parents in the entertainment business.
The baseball team is certainly showing passion and commitment this season with a 14-0 record, including wins over North Hollywood and Culver City.
Avery Ware, in his seventh season as coach, said, “It’s a lot of being selfless and versatile.”
Shortstop Jake Waco, who transferred from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame last season, has been effective as a fielder and hitter. He’s the son of David Waco, who was an All-City infielder for Chatsworth during the 1980s. He’s committed to Emory. The top pitcher is Trevor Jones, committed to Washington University.
If you believe Ware, the bus rides home have plenty of players singing, so someone might be capable of singing the national anthem before a game.
“We have a few kids with Hollywood ties,” Ware said.
Jones is a math whiz, also participating in competition with the STEM team. Other players are headed to Duke and Brown for academics.
“We’re making progress as a program,” Ware said. “For a lot of years, you could say baseball was a side note.”
Ware has his own celebrity ties. He and his brother, Anthony, were standouts at Hamilton. His cousins, Matt and Aaron Ware, were football stars at Loyola and Oaks Christian, respectively.
The team made an agreement to create a baseball field at North Hollywood Recreation Center next to the school.
And Ware appreciates Smith’s support.
“He’s able to create an environment of trust.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
LIVE: Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid – Champions League quarterfinal | Football News
Live MatchLive Match,
Follow the build-up and live text commentary of the game as Madrid look to come back from 2-1 first-leg defeat.
Published On 15 Apr 2026