Sept. 11, 2026 9:56 PM PT

A look at how the top 25 high school football teams in the Southland fared this week:

Rk. School (record) result; Next game

1. SANTA MARGARITA (3-0) vs. Sacramento Inderkum at San Juan Hills, Saturday; vs. Norco at Saddleback Coll., Friday

2. CORONA CENTENNIAL (1-2) lost to Mater Dei, 10-9; vs. Rancho Cucamonga, Friday

3. ST. JOHN BOSCO (3-1) def. Kahuku (Hawaii), 49-3; at Honolulu St. Louis, Sept. 19

4. SIERRA CANYON (3-0) def. Honolulu St. Louis, 52-0; vs. Orange Lutheran, Friday

5. ORANGE LUTHERAN (3-1) def. Gardena Serra, 35-0; at Sierra Canyon, Friday

6. MATER DEI (4-0) def. Corona Centennial, 10-9; vs. Bishop Gorman at Santa Ana Bowl, Friday

7. MISSION VIEJO (3-1) def. San Diego Lincoln, 49-0; vs. Pittsburg, Friday

8. SAN CLEMENTE (4-0) def. La Costa Canyon, 31-21; at Murrieta Valley, Sept. 25

9 . CHAMINADE (4-0) def. Beaumont, 42-24; vs. St. Bonaventure, Friday

10. PALOS VERDES (4-0) def. Huntington Beach Edison, 28-3; at Wilmington Banning, Friday

11. JSERRA (3-1) def. Oak Hills, 63-0; at Bishop Amat, Friday

12. YORBA LINDA (4-0) def. Esperanza, 42-7; at Huntington Beach, Friday

13. CREAN LUTHERAN (2-2) lost to El Dorado Hills Oak Ridge, 28-21; at Oakdale, Friday

14. SERVITE (2-2) def. St. Paul, 69-14; at Damien, Sept. 25

15. CORONA DEL MAR (4-0) def. Newport Harbor, 16-6; vs. La Serna, Thursday

16. BISHOP AMAT (5-0) def. Culver City, 65-13; vs JSerra, Friday

17. RANCHO CUCAMONGA (2-2) lost to Chaparral, Friday; at Corona Centennial, Friday

18. CHAPARRAL (2-2) def. Rancho Cucamonga, 20-13; vs. Herriman (Utah) Mountain Ridge, Friday

19. CARSON (3-1) def. Long Beach Poly, 17-14; at North Torrance, Friday

20. DAMIEN (2-2) lost to Tustin, 21-10; at Salesian, Friday

21. OXNARD PACIFICA (4-0) def. Palmdale Highland, 35-7; at Sierra Canyon, Sept. 25

22. GARDENA SERRA (2-2) lost to Orange Lutheran, 35-0; vs. Oaks Christian, Friday

23. WESTLAKE (4-0) def. Laguna Beach, 28-23; vs. Tustin, Friday

24. ST. BONAVENTURE (3-1) lost to Modesto Central, 28-19; at Chaminade, Friday

25. LA SERNA (3-0) def. Northview, 45-6; at Corona del Mar, Thursday35-0

The latest developments on the ground in Yemen are so significant that their seriousness cannot be understated. Iran now has an arm on the vital Bab Al-Mandab Strait through its proxy, the Houthi militia, which has seized the port of Mokha and the Yemeni islands in the southern Red Sea.

The Houthis’ aggressive military activities leading up to the attack pointed to one of three possibilities: either they were targeting Saudi areas bordering Yemen to the north, oil facilities in Yemen’s Marib province or the port of Mokha, from which they could go on to threaten international shipping.

The battles of the past few days ended with the seizure of the port of Mokha, Perim Island at the mouth of the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the islands of Hanish and Zuqar. This confirmed that the operation is an extension of Iran’s activities in the waters of the Gulf. Iran can now halt oil shipping through both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab Al-Mandab. This comes in the decisive weeks leading up to the US midterm elections, meaning that if the Iranians are seeking to resume negotiations with the Trump administration, they will do so under conditions that strengthen their demands.

The issue also has implications for regional security that extend beyond Yemen’s borders. The Houthis now control a port and islands that enable them to threaten shipping and cooperate with Iran-aligned terrorist militias in Somalia.

As for the dynamics of the Yemeni war itself, the Houthis have certainly made significant gains but they have also expanded the front against themselves by seizing areas around Mokha. This vast area will require further confrontations with the Houthis, in addition to forcing them to devote resources to defending the many fronts that have opened for the first time since their defeats in 2018.

The Middle East is going through a dangerous period of turmoil and its flashpoints are interconnected.

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

In fact, what happened this week resembles what happened nearly a decade ago. Houthi fighters reached the port of Mokha and even pushed beyond it to Dhubab, the last point in southwestern Yemen. It is considered the narrowest point separating Asia from Africa, lying only about 30 km across the sea from Djibouti.

After roughly three years of militia control, coalition forces were able to defeat the Houthis and liberate Mokha, Dhubab and the islands, including Perim and Zuqar.

Yemen’s government forces are going through a period of rebuilding and consolidating their various national forces. This is a difficult task as they work to liberate areas controlled by the Houthis, which are the country’s most densely populated and most rugged regions, amid extremely difficult political and economic conditions. Securing Yemen goes beyond the country’s borders. It also serves regional security and the security of global maritime trade. This requires international support for Yemen, not just support from Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region.

The Middle East is going through a dangerous period of turmoil and its flashpoints are interconnected. We see this in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere, and these challenges require collective cooperation to contain them. Many people underestimate the Yemeni Houthi movement, believing it to be a local problem that can easily be contained militarily or politically. In reality, the Houthis resemble Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Stopping or containing the threat posed by such armed groups requires a joint effort. The fall of the Assad regime in Syria had consequences that extended beyond its borders, weakening Hezbollah in Lebanon and dismantling part of the region’s network of weapons, drugs and terrorism. Yemen’s forces will not be able to fight the Houthis alone. Regional and international efforts must come together to accomplish the task.

• Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a Saudi journalist and intellectual. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, where this article was originally published.

X: @aalrashed

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat. Twitter: @aalrashed

More from Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Earlier this year, an Iran-linked actor used Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence model to scrape and analyze data with the aim of helping target U.S. naval forces in the Middle East. A group in Yemen – very likely Iranian-backed Houthi militants – also used Claude to assist with work on guidance systems for ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

These are just some of the revelations about how adversaries and other malign actors have been using one of the premier pieces of AI software being developed in the United States that were contained in a new report Anthropic released late yesterday. The 154-page document also details instances where Claude was used directly and indirectly to support intelligence gathering and surveillance, cyberattacks, influence operations, and even worrisome biological research over the past eight months. In addition to Iran and Yemen, the human actors behind these activities were based in Russia, China, and a host of other countries.

Anthropic has shared details about what it calls the “misuse” of its models in the past, but describes the new report as its “most detailed” to date. The company has clearly been cataloging these case studies, and has assigned each one a control number. Though the entire contents of the report are cause for concern, the explicit attempt to use Claude to target American forces, as well as to develop new higher-end missiles and other military technology, are particular standouts and signs of what’s to come, as we will highlight below.

GTG-30005: Military reconnaissance

GTG-30005 is the case study dealing with the targeting of U.S. naval forces, and the summary is as follows:

“In another investigation, we identified and disrupted an Iran-nexus threat actor that used Claude to collect and analyze publicly accessible data to develop targeting recommendations against US naval forces in the region. The threat actor used Claude to compile targeting handbooks, through a Python pipeline the threat actor built with Claude’s assistance, to identify and track naval positions based on open-source information. The compiled material included a roster of US personnel scraped from captions on public military photographs; publicly accessible ship and aircraft transponder identifiers; commercial satellite-imagery query scripts; and an inventory of public websites that exposed US naval movements. The threat actor also directed Claude to compile vulnerability research on shipboard systems, cataloging known CVEs in maritime VSAT terminals, Cisco communications equipment, and industrial control products.”

“We banned the actor’s account, developed detections to reduce the risk of future misuse, and shared threat intelligence with government authorities to disrupt the threat.”

How exactly Anthropic defines the term “nexus” here is not immediately clear, and other entries in its new report also use “state-nexus” in addition to country-based variations. However, in this specific case, an addendum is added to the entry that explicitly says that the same account was separately tied to “domestic mass surveillance” software development work “for Iranian state systems,” clearly pointing to an actor directly linked to the regime in Tehran.

Whether or not any of the data collected and analysed here was directly used to subsequently carry out attacks on U.S. forces is unknown. However, there have been media reports just in recent weeks that Iran has been increasingly trying to strike American warships. Those same reports have raised questions about how the country has been prosecuting those operations given its limited capabilities and capacity to track maritime targets far from its shores. The possibility that Russia or China could be supplying targeting data has been put forward.

The use of AI technology by nation-state armed forces to develop target sets and engage them is already known to be growing globally. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been a pioneer in this regard, but the U.S. military, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and others are also known to be developing and fielding these capabilities.

U.S. military officials have also voiced increasing concern in recent years about the ability to track the movements and disposition of U.S. military assets and personnel using publicly available pictures and other data. There has been much talk, in turn, about how to balance transparency and operational security.

GTG-87001: Disrupting a Yemen-based guided weapons engineering cell using Claude to develop guidance software

Anthropic’s new report details an instance where an individual in Yemen used Claude as part of missile guidance work, which is given the control number GTG-87001.

“We identified a cell of threat actors based in northern Yemen running three weapons development programs: a guided rocket that used a commodity phone-class flight computer with final-phase homing guidance; a multi-stage ballistic missile with a stated range goal above 2,000 km; and a multi-variant missile (referred to as the “R2000” set) that included a hypersonic glide vehicle variant.”

“The actors used Claude Code in place of human software engineers to develop the guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) software that steers and stabilizes a flying vehicle. For example, they used Claude to integrate an open-source autopilot onto a phone-class flight computer, writing the control and position estimation software, tuning the control settings, running a firmware build pipeline, and performing a flight simulation. The actors managed several Claude instances at once, assigning each one a role, much as a lead would delegate work on a small engineering team: the actors tasked one instance with writing the code, another with research, and a third with reviewing the code the first instance produced.”

“Our safeguards blocked many of their requests, but not all of them. The actors used a variety of tactics to evade our safeguards, including hiding their goals and the products the software was meant for, and they split their work across multiple sessions so no single session revealed their full intent.”

“These actors carried out a sustained effort to develop guided weapons, including using Claude to design guidance software. We do not have evidence the actors succeeded in fielding an operational device; but they did test-fire a guided rocket. This field test appears to have failed: within hours, the actors returned to Claude to work out why it failed.”

“We identified this activity as part of our internal investigations into suspected weapons development. We banned accounts associated with the actors and shared threat information with public- and private-sector partners to mitigate risks posed by the actors. Nevertheless, we have evidence that the actors had already built an offline simulation toolkit that does not rely on Claude or other engineering computing environments such as MATLAB.”

As mentioned earlier, the report does not name the Houthis, but that group has historically been based primarily in the northern end of Yemen. It is also the only entity in the country known to have active missile development programs, which are conducted with critical support from Iran.

Whether this particular work directly resulted in any new capabilities is unknown. Anthropic notes that there looked to be at least one failed test launch before the accounts were banned, which would have occurred sometime after the beginning of this year, based on the stated cutoff dates for the report. By the end of 2025, the Houthis had already amassed a wide array of very real ballistic missiles, including types with at least claimed ranges of 2,000 kilometers (approximately 1,242 miles). The group also has a variety of cruise missiles and one-way attack drones that it has employed operationally.

Still, being able to leverage Claude could only have helped any domestic missile development efforts in Yemen, which might help reduce dependency on Iran, at least to a degree. Furthermore, developing functional hypersonic glide vehicles capable of prolonged stable flight has historically been notoriously difficult, even for entities with extensive relevant knowledge bases on an organizational level.

GTG-17001: Disrupting a China-based operation using Claude to draft a fire control specification and acquisition documents for undersea warfare

Use of Claude in foreign military endeavours goes beyond the Middle East, as evidenced by case study GTG-17001. This involved a Chinese actor conducting work related to a naval counter-torpedo defense system.

“We identified a China-based threat actor who used Claude to advance three parallel tracks of work on an anti-torpedo weapons system:”

• “First, the actor used Claude to draft a Chinese-language specification for an anti-torpedo fire control system (the core logic that aims and times an anti-torpedo weapon’s response). The document was written to win approval from a Chinese defense manufacturer, which would move the work on to technical certification and operational testing.”
• “Second, the actor used Claude to produce a Chinese-language technical proposal of more than 200 pages, accompanied by an executive briefing deck.”
• “Third, the actor used Claude to benchmark their own system against specific US anti-torpedo and anti-submarine programs based on publicly accessible information. They then generated a Chinese-language briefing on US Navy systems derived from open-source reporting.”

“The actor presented themselves as an original equipment manufacturer in the US defense sector. We assess the actor was associated with a Chinese defense industry manufacturer aiming to produce a weapons specification and acquisition proposal for the People’s Liberation Army Navy.”

“The actor used Claude to write the acquisition proposal, refining it over many drafts. After each draft, the actor instructed Claude to role-play a hostile expert reviewer to critique the proposal, then used that feedback to sharpen the next version. In parallel, the actor used Claude to build pieces of the anti-torpedo weapons system’s fire control software and a test matrix to validate them.”

“The operational lift the actor achieved was a function of using Claude to automate complex technical outputs. The actor leveraged the model to compress the development timelines for the certification registry, compliance documentation, and automated fire control logic. The actor also accelerated the traditional human review cycle by having Claude critique the acquisition proposal across multiple rounds of review while role-playing a persona.”

“We uncovered this activity as part of our internal investigations into suspected weapons development. We cannot attribute the activity to a specific entity or actor. But we have banned the account for violating our Supported Regions Policy and our Usage Policy, which prohibits weapons design and development, and incorporated our investigative findings into our safeguards to mitigate the risk of future misuse.”

Anthropic’s report does not name the U.S. programs leveraged here, but does note the information in question was publicly available. Anti-torpedo systems for surface warships and submarines have been an area of significant interest for the U.S. Navy for years now. Those developments have also produced compact torpedo designs for use in other applications.

The PLAN’s interest in these same kinds of capabilities is not at all surprising. Underwater threats and countermeasures to them, broadly speaking, would play a central and vital role in any future conflict between the United States and China across the broad expanses of the Pacific.

GTG-27005: Disrupting a Russia-based operation using Claude to engineer an autonomous military drone swarm

Another case study, GTG-27005, details the use of Claude by Russian actors working on drone swarming technology.

“We identified likely freelance Russia-based threat actors who set out to build a full-stack autonomous first-person-view (FPV) kamikaze drone swarm. The actors used Claude Code to write and test the code and save it directly into the actors’ own project files. In addition to Claude Code, the actors used a software-in-the-loop simulation stack and a rented graphics processing host for model training. They called the operation ‘DronDoc’ or ‘Serafim.’”

“The actors used Claude to build the core software system, including the drones’ shared swarm memory and fault-tolerant coordination logic (FTCL); an onboard small language model to govern attack, observe, and return-to-base behaviors; a terminal guidance software system to steer drones to their target (using the onboard camera) and issue the call to detonate; a control-link geolocation module to find opposing drone operators; a passive acoustic detection layer; and low-level logic for the drones’ programmable chips. The actors designed the platform for autonomous lethal engagement; the onboard model could select targets (including a ‘person’ target class) and issue detonation commands without a human in the loop. The actors’ activity—including flashing the low-level firmware to live development boards, provisioning single-board computers, and wiring up a simulation environment over a mesh network—confirmed that they were using real hardware-in-loop testing within their sessions.”

“The actors trained a computer vision classifier on scraped Ukrainian combat footage, splitting the target classes into “enemy” and “friendly,” and allow-listing Russian systems. They also repeatedly used a fixed coordinate in Donetsk Oblast as the demonstration strike point, with front-line cities and corridors in Ukraine as the mission geography.”

“The actors created their accounts between late 2025 and early 2026 and started the operation in mid-May 2026. The actors circumvented our geographic access controls by routing traffic through commercial virtual private servers.”

“We assess the actors were a small, specialized freelance team doing a mix of civilian and military work, not a Russian state entity. We identified nine accounts associated with this group; eight were used only for ordinary freelance work, not weapons-related software development. Based on our investigation, we assess the actors had ties to a regional university with a federal research center associated with the Russian Academy of Sciences. The actors claimed to have received funding from Russia’s Advanced Research Foundation, National Technology Initiative, and Ministry of Defence, though we cannot verify those claims. We identified this activity as part of our internal investigations into suspected weapons development, we banned accounts associated with the actors, and have incorporated our investigative findings into safeguards to reduce the risk of future misuse.”

Anthropic’s report included a table, reproduced below, detailing different types of drones and other capabilities that were fed into the model as part of this work.

Also, while Anthropic said it could not confirm any direct ties in this instance to the Russian government, the work described here is fully in line with capabilities that have already been demonstrated to varying degrees in Ukraine in the past few years. TWZ has been very closely tracking developments on both sides of the conflict when it comes to new automated targeting and swarming capabilities for shorter- and longer-ranged kamikaze drones. In 2024, we also published a detailed feature outlining a coming revolution in drone warfare, signs of which were already emerging then, thanks to AI and the ever-lowering barrier to entry for leveraging that technology.

GTG-17002: Disrupting a China-based operation using Claude to build targeting software for electronic warfare and air defense suppression

The last case study in the Conventional Weapons section of Anthropic’s new report, GTG-17002, covers electronic warfare-related work by a Chinese actor, with a particular focus on potential air defense targets in Taiwan.

“We identified a China-based actor who used Claude’s chat, coding, and agentic work tools to design, build, and iterate on a Chinese-language suite of about 16 modules for electronic warfare, using the electromagnetic spectrum to detect, jam, or deceive an opponent’s radar and communications, and for suppressing an opponent’s air defenses.”

“The actor used Claude to build the software system, from the underlying logic to the user interface, and iterated through 12 versions. This included implementing and optimizing the system’s radar detection and jamming physics, generating a vulnerability analysis module, and drafting Chinese-language targeting instructions. The software suite the actor built analyzed an opponent’s radars, surface-to-air missile sites, command posts, and communications nodes, then computed their detection coverage, assessed the effectiveness of jamming, ranked targets by value and vulnerability, including which to suppress first, and determined how best to assign jammer sorties to targets across multi-day campaigns. The suite also ranked which of an opponent’s assets to suppress first, and modeled specific engagement envelopes, including those of Patriot and THAAD-class [Terminal High Altitude Area Defense] systems.”

“Mid-project, we observed the actor change the simulation’s default scenario to 12 targets in Taiwan. The targets included a command bunker in Taiwan, an early warning radar site, Patriot and Tien Kung [surface-to-air missile] batteries, major air bases, and a regional combatant command headquarters.”

NCSIST – Tien Kung III Air Defense Missile & Hsiung Feng III Anti-Ship Missile Live Firing [480p]

“The actor also ran a self-hosted model on an internal network alongside Claude and connected the software suite to this model through a tool-use integration.”

“Based on our investigation, we assess the actor is a China-based defense and military-industrial researcher. Account-level metadata and content flagged by our safeguards indicated the actor was linked to PRC research institutions, including the PLA Academy of Military Sciences. We detected this activity as part of our internal investigations into suspected weapons development, we banned accounts linked to the actor, and have incorporated our investigative findings into our safeguards to reduce the risk of future misuse.”

An accompanying table, seen below, mentions several specific types of U.S.-made air defense radars, as well as the Link-16 datalink network, as having come up in the course of this work. Electronic warfare variants of the Chinese Y-8 and Y-9 aircraft, as well as the J-16D electronic warfare jet, and what appears to be a reference to the Golden Eagle drone helicopter, are also mentioned.

China’s J-16D Shows Versatility Across Reconnaissance, Attack, Defense: Designers

The suppression of enemy air defenses is an essential part of any modern air campaign, whether conducted independently or as a part of a larger operation. This would be no less critical in any military intervention against Taiwan from the mainland, or any other larger-scale conflict the PLA might find itself in.

Guardrails and ethics

Beyond the details in any of the specific case studies, Anthropic’s new report underscores growing broader concerns about guardrails for the use of AI and general ethics surrounding the technology. As noted in the instances above, Anthropic has also implemented various safeguards to try to block access to Claude from certain regions and/or to prevent the model from conducting certain types of work. At the same time, what the company has now shared makes clear that those protections can still be circumvented to a significant degree, at least for now.

For its part, Anthropic has been publicly supportive of transparency laws and regulation, at least within the United States. The company also notably made tweaks to certain Claude models earlier this year to address U.S. government cybersecurity concerns.

Starting in December 2025, Anthropic has also been very publicly embroiled in a dispute with the Pentagon over the potential use of Claude to support mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapon systems. This subsequently led to the company being designated a supply chain risk, and limitations being imposed on the use of that model within the U.S. military and elsewhere across the U.S. government. Anthropic is continuing to fight that action in court. However, just yesterday, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael said the U.S. military had scaled back the use of Anthropic’s products in support of classified work by 90 percent.

The concerns about ‘misuse’ outlined in Anthropic’s new report apply, in general terms, to publicly accessible models being developed by other companies, too. There have already been publicly disclosed instances of AI agents themselves engaging in hacking and other malign behavior in order to complete assigned tasks, raising additional questions about security and public safety, not to mention ethics.

TWZ has noted in the past that America’s adversaries are likely to be less worried about ethics, in general, when it comes to AI. Anthropic’s new report also shows there are few bounds to what state-aligned or even non-state actors might seek to use this technology for, including the development of potential weapons of mass destruction.

At the same time, AI models like Claude are not going away, and developments continue to advance at an ever-quickening pace, opening the door to further proliferation. Developments are rapidly intermingling globally, with companies in China notably leveraging models created in the U.S. to further their own work, which is then released publicly. The technology will increasingly become more integrated and critical to most aspects of military operations and weapons development, alongside its commercial and civilian applications. It is just as much a superweapon as anything else, and the country with the more capable models, and the willingness to deploy them, will have a major edge in future conflicts.

With all this in mind, it seems very plausible, if not probable, that the case studies described in Anthropic’s new report are just the tip of an approaching iceberg that will need a concerted effort to tackle.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

THEY were the cool Brit pop duo that broke onto the music scene in 2007 with a number one album and chart-topping smash hit.

And almost two decades later, the husband-and-wife pair are still releasing new music – though their look is worlds away from their noughties heydey.

The Ting Tings, comprised of married couple Katie White and Jules De Martino have taken to TikTok to share a clip of them singing their brand new song Home.

In the video, rock chick turned boho babe Katie can be seen showing off her impressive vocals, while hubby Jules plays guitar.

They look world’s away from their earlier rock and roll vibe with Katie in particular then known for her heavy eye make-up and platinum blonde Debbie Harry-esque locks.

They wrote over their new video: “Hey, we’re Katie & Jules from a band called The Ting Tings and you might remember us from our song That’s Not My Name.

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“This is us, 18 years on singing Home from our latest album with our daughter. A lot has changed since 2008.”

The caption read: “18 years & 5 albums later… we are back in the studio, song writing and working on our 6th record.”

The iconic band made a shock comeback to the music industry back in January 2024.

In a cute video posted to Instagram, they added the caption: “Where have we been? Here, making the record of our lives. Get ready. J K x”

The scenes showed a blonde-haired toddler strolling around, leading one fan to quiz: “Is that a baby Ting Ting?”

During a chat with the BBC in 2022, they confirmed their happy news – with the tot dubbed “mini Ting” aged one at the time.

Katie admitted: “We never particularly spoke about it.

“We always wanted to keep it quite separate from the music, but it’s quite hard when you have literally a mini person.

“We’ve been together a long time now.”

The Salford-based duo formed in 2007, with their debut album We Started Nothing topping the UK charts just a year later.

Their iconic track That’s Not My Name became a huge success and has been streamed more than 1.1million times.

The group then fine-tuned their material in New York, yet a tour scheduled for three years later was scrapped after Katie suffered a hand injury.

Following their comeback, they went on to release their fifth album Home and are now gearing up for their sixth offering.

DUBAI: American singer Pink used a long Instagram statement this week to explain why she shared a message attacking rapper Macklemore over his support for Palestinians at an Ed Sheeran concert, after a week of criticism online.

Macklemore opened for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sept. 4 and 5. He appeared in a keffiyeh, said Gaza and the West Bank were not forgotten, and performed “Hind’s Hall,” his 2024 song about the war, while footage from Gaza ran across the stadium screens.

Addressing Jewish members of the audience, he said criticism of Israel “in no way is a criticism of you.”

The message Pink shared, from the group StopAntisemitism, called the set “anti-Israel propaganda” and said ticket holders were owed apologies and refunds. She posted a run of sarcastic memes as the criticism built, and was accused of prejudice.

“A repost isn’t a statement, and a meme isn’t a spine,” Pink wrote, adding that the post she shared used language she would not have picked herself. She said she was born Jewish, does not speak for Israel or any government, and repeated a position she took in October 2023 that Hamas is a terrorist organization.

Her objection, she wrote, was to Macklemore deciding on Jewish fans’ behalf that his remarks were not aimed at them. She described the week as a lonely one.

The spot has been hailed by holidaymakers as the best beach on the White Isle, and with warm 23°C temperatures in October and November it’s the perfect spot for an autumn break away from the crowds

Tucked between pine-covered hills, the sheltered cove has a mix of golden sand and pebbles, while its clear waters are ideal for swimming and snorkelling. But it is the dramatic scenery that really sets the European spot apart.

Off the coast sits Cap Bernat, a distinctive rock formation often nicknamed the “Finger of God”. It has become an iconic part of the skyline and provides a spectacular backdrop as the sun sets over the water.

Cala Benirràs is one of the most famous coves in northern Ibiza, but it offers a very different experience from the island’s glamorous beach-club hotspots.

The beach is particularly famous for its bohemian atmosphere and stunning sunsets, with visitors gathering to watch the sun disappear behind the rocky coastline.

Benirràs has also long been associated with drumming at sunset, which has become part of the cove’s identity.

However, visitors should be aware that the traditional large-scale Sunday drumming sessions have been restricted in response to the huge crowds they attract.

Smaller, informal drumming sessions can still take place, but it is best to check the arrangements before travelling if this is a key reason for your visit.

Despite its popularity, Cala Benirràs retains a relatively natural and rustic feel compared with some of Ibiza’s more polished beach destinations. The seabed is rocky in places, adding to its appeal for snorkellers, while the sheltered bay usually offers calm, clear water.

There are also several places to eat and drink around the cove, including Elements Eivissa Beach Club, which sits directly on the beach, alongside more casual dining options nearby.

For visitors looking to experience a quieter, more bohemian side of Ibiza, Cala Benirràs offers a combination of clear waters, pine-covered hills, spectacular sunsets and its famous rock formation that makes it well worth a visit, reports the Express.

Best time to visit

Autumn breaks offer quieter beaches and warm, sunny weather, with package holiday prices often considerably cheaper than during the pricier summer period. Holding out just a few weeks for an October escape could see travellers discovering hidden gems in some of Europe’s most sought-after destinations like Spain or Portugal for a fraction of the cost.

When experts at Wizz Air pinpointed the best under-the-radar coastal destinations in Europe for the shoulder season, Cala Benirrás in the north of the island earned top marks for tranquillity.

The airline previously carried out an analysis of beaches across more than 50 European countries, evaluating crowd levels, average temperatures, and daylight hours throughout September, October, and November.

By calculating beach space per visitor, Wizz Air ranked destinations according to the amount of room available to unwind and bask in the late-season sunshine.

‘Hidden gem’

This Ibizan ‘hidden gem’ has been hailed as the “best beach on Ibiza, especially in October” by Tripadvisor user Debra H. Captivated by their visit to this tranquil corner of the White Isle, the traveller went on to say: “It’s not just a beach for a day trip or the Sunday drumming it’s a place to come early in the morning and get to know. We really liked Elements cafe, nice food sitting and chilling on the sofa as with music. Lovely family friendly and I love the rock there like a giant goddess. Highly recommend. Most favourite beach in Europe.”

Another late-season visitor, Emily S, shared the same enthusiasm, describing it as a “beautiful bohemian feeling beach, perfect place for sunset”.

They added: “We visited Ibiza at the end of October. End of season, so this beach was lovely. Not too busy, with a relaxed, friendly, safe feel. Beautiful sheltered cove with stunning views out to sea, and amazing clear waters with lots of fish.”

Ibiza boasts average temperatures of around a balmy 23°C (73°F) throughout October and November, making it ideal for those looking to soak up the last of the summer sunshine.

Cala Benirrás is just a 10-minute bus ride from the nearest town of Port De San Miguel, which is home to hotels, villas and a broad range of amenities.

Two unbeaten high school football teams, San Pedro and Bell, played on an old-school unmowed grass field on Friday night at Bell. The football disappeared at times when placed among the thick grass before the snap.

“Hey coach, do you need me to bring my lawn mower,” a Bell player joked.

San Pedro assistant coach Andres Srsen was pulling grass before the game to clear an area so kicker Dylan Moreno could practice field goals. “This is crazy,” Srsen said.

No one showed up to mow the field this week, coach Noel Padilla said.

It was the perfect environment for two blue-collar communities: San Pedro, known for its bustling port and dock workers, and Bell, known as a densely packed working class industrial city.

San Pedro (4-0) had little trouble navigating the thick grass, rolling to a 49-7 victory behind quarterback Seth Solorio, who completed 13 of 17 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns.

Braeden Villegas caught touchdown passes of 52 and 17 yards. Solorio rarely faced defensive pressure because of strong blocking from his offensive line. He was 10 of 11 for 175 yards in the first half when San Pedro led 35-7.

If any player proved he was in shape, it was San Pedro punt returner Chazz Fugatti, who returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown and easily ran through the thickest part of the grass. The only question was how tired he felt pumping his legs as the grass got thicker.

“Yeah, I was pretty exhausted after the touchdown,” he said. “Honestly, it was surreal. I was just excited to be out here and excited to play. It does feel like a corn field. It was fun.”

Another player having no issues running was tight end Joaquin Fernandez, who took a screen pass and ran 94 yards for a touchdown.

Solorio, who has 14 touchdown passes in four games, said of his team’s progress: “We’re really building chemistry. I love my guys. I love my receivers.”

Jaxon Brown and Villegas were Solorio’s primary targets.

San Pedro is considered a strong contender to be one of the final four teams in the City Section Open Division playoffs but will be gearing up for its annual Marine League rivalry game at defending champion Carson on Oct. 23, when the Pirates will really find out where they stand.

San Pedro players hoist Braeden Villegas after his touchdown reception against Bell.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

San Pedro had too much size and strength on its offensive and defensive lines for Bell (3-1), which hopes to offer competition to Garfield in the Eastern League. The Eagles’ only touchdown came on a 15-yard Aaron Hernandez touchdown reception in the first quarter after the Pirates lost possession by touching a punt and not recovering the ball. Or maybe they couldn’t find the ball?

Bell has five baseball players playing football, including quaterback/pitcher Manuel Pasillas, who showed off his toughness, being sacked only once in the first half by San Pedro’s Jaxon Moore.

Bell is supposed to get a new field and new scoreboard, with construction scheduled to begin as early as this month for a two-year project. Until then, the Eagles will need someone to keep cutting the grass.

TOKYO: Japan strongly condemned the attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia and reiterated its call on them to refrain from escalating the situation both inside and outside Yemen.

“The Houthis’ continued military attacks have resulted in numerous casualties, including among civilians. Japan renews its strong denunciation of the recent series of attacks by the Houthis. Attacks on civilians and civilian facilities, as well as any actions that impede the free and safe navigation of vessels, cannot be tolerated,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday night.

The ministry stressed that stability in Yemen is directly linked to the stability of the entire Middle East, and Japan reiterates the importance of achieving peace in Yemen. It also noted that peace and stability in the Middle East, including ensuring free and safe navigation through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, are of the utmost importance to the entire international community, including Japan, from the perspective of energy security.

“Japan will continue to make every diplomatic effort, in cooperation with the international community, including Yemen and Saudi Arabia, toward an early de-escalation of the situation,” the statement said.

Aryna Sabalenka was fully aware she would have to win the US Open to stand any chance of stopping Elena Rybakina overtaking her as world number one.

Even that would not necessarily be enough. And as the pair prepare to meet in Saturday’s final, Sabalenka knows her 99-week stay at the top of the world rankings is at an end.

Kazakhstan’s Rybakina is assured of replacing Sabalenka at the top of the rankings, guaranteeing that by reaching the semi-finals.

Having also beaten the Belarusian to win this year’s Australian Open title, Rybakina now has the opportunity to inflict further damage.

But that provides extra motivation for Sabalenka before their fourth meeting of the year.

“It is going to be red rag to a bull for her – she is not going to be happy,” said former British number one Annabel Croft on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Now she has the opportunity to end this year on a high.”

Sabalenka, who has beaten Rybakina in Indian Wells and Miami since the Melbourne final, still has history in her sights as she bids to become only the third woman in the Open era to win the New York singles title three years in a row.

The four-time Grand Slam champion’s victory over American third seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals was her finest display in months, playing with a fire and freedom that had been missing previously.

Afterwards, Sabalenka played down the significance of losing her ranking, joking she did not care about it.

But she clearly does. Sabalenka’s coach Anton Dubrov said as much when he spoke about how the issue has been hanging over her.

“I actually like this [losing the ranking] happened. It’s ended and it’s extra fuel,” Dubrov said.

“There is no more extra draining [of mental energy] or thinking about it.

“There’s a next chapter right now. You have to chase again. It’s extra motivation for you. Just go and get it.”

OLIVIA Attwood has hit back after being accused of lying about her successful booze brand.

This summer the Love Island legend, 35, launched her range of Savano canned cocktail drinks.

However, there had been some criticism of her involvement, after Olivia called the company her “baby”.

But not taking this lying down, the successful businesswoman has now hit back and set the record straight.

“My brand, Savano, my baby. It was acquired by my partners, it existed as Tom Savano, and then with me, we relaunched it,” Olivia told her fans in her latest Instagram video.

“We remarketed it, we renamed it, we repackaged it, and we developed signature flavours. For example, my Moscow Mule. Guys, do you even understand how many Moscow Mules I had to drink to get that right? And it’s perfect.”

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“With me as the majority stakeholder and my team working seven days a week on my baby, in a matter of months, we have made Savano a household name.”

Meanwhile, despite this upset, Olivia has had a good week and is riding high after her NTA appearance with boyfriend Pete, 37.

The new couple went down a storm when they presented an award at the glitzy bash, marking their first live TV appearance together.

Olivia and Pete have been friends for eight years, but earlier this year their connection turned romantic.

The new couple had been trying to keep their relationship under wraps for months, but recently hard launched their new love.

Since going Instagram official, Olivia and Pete have been giving fans snippets about their romance.

The duo were first spotted together in March kissing during a night out at rooftop bar Flute.

Their smooch came just weeks after Olivia’s split from husband Bradley Dack became public.

After months of speculation, Pete then hard-launched their romance with a loved-up black and white shot in July.

PARIS: Investigators suspect that a train derailment in northwest France which injured 44, one gravely, was the result of sabotage, a police source told AFP on Saturday.

A fragment of rail was found on the track, with the possibility of a malicious act being treated as the main line of inquiry as a result, the source said.

Carrying 186 passengers, the train was running between the Normandy cities of Rouen and Caen when it derailed around 7:45 pm (1745 GMT) Friday.

Authorities activated a mass-casualty response plan, with 130 firefighters, five medical teams and 80 vehicles drafted in.

Rouen prosecutor Sebastien Gallois said 44 people were injured including an 18-year-old woman evacuated “in a critical condition”, while tests for drugs and alcohol on the train driver had come back negative.

SNCF Reseau, which controls the French rail network, told AFP that traffic on the line has been suspended and power to the tracks cut to allow emergency services to operate.

HOPPING from place to place in a motorhome may not sound a particularly relaxing way to spend a week, compared to lying on a sun lounger at a resort.

But there’s a sense of excitement with a road trip that no fly-and-flop holiday could ever match.

The sheer adventure, access to off-grid locations and freedom to move wherever the wind takes you are something money can’t buy.

That’s why I dragged my wife and two kids (aged six and three) away from the beach for our first ever campervan voyage, through the West Midlands, rural Shropshire and the North Welsh countryside.

And it beat all of our beach holidays, hands down.

We were in a Swift Trekker 584, a beast of a motorhome that’s nicer than my house, with sleeping space for four people, a roomy bathroom and mini kitchen complete with oven and hob.

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From day one my boy fully embraced #vanlife, becoming a key helper in the not-so-glam, but necessary, daily tasks as we moved between driving, eating and sleeping — hooking up the electricity and water, ensuring things were properly stowed away and always making sure the toilet hatch was closed.

We cheated a little by switching out motorhome staples like spag bol or soup for the occasional restaurant but, by the end, we’d fully mastered road-trip life.

Our first base was Llanberis, a stunning village at the foot of Snowdon offering brilliant hiking in the surrounding mountains and watersports at two lakes on its doorstep.

Ahead of arrival, we’d booked a pitch with Morris Leisure, a highly rated camping operator specialising in motorhomes and caravans, with parks across North Wales, Herefordshire and Shropshire.

Its Llanberis Touring Park is ideally located, with direct footpaths to Snowdonia and a five-minute walk to the village centre.

Some pitches have electricity and wifi while others have fresh water, plus there’s a shower block and a laundry area.

And the best thing is, if you are motorhome novices like us, there’s an on-site shop crammed with anything you may have forgotten, plus caravan accessories and essentials.

After Wales, we made our way to the market town of Oswestry and Park Hall Farm (make sure to watch one of the hilarious pig races), then it was on to the Shropshire town of Shrewsbury.

Its high street is frequently named one of the best in the UK, so we had high hopes.

It didn’t disappoint. Rather than being overrun with vape shops, bookies and barbers, the main stretch was littered with Tudor architecture and chock-full of independent shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants, ­museums and galleries.

The place is buzzing and a pleasure to walk around.

Kids will love the Quarry Park for the splash zone, while budding young artists may prefer to get stuck into one of the workshops at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery.

Or you can ditch the road for the water and book a trip along the river Severn with Sabrina Boat.

Prefer to travel by train? The ­Severn Valley Railway is a delightful experience and offers day trips through the rolling countryside, as well as special themed events.

Those visiting during October half-term will be able to book ­Halloween-inspired journeys from Kidderminster station, with scare trains for little ones as well as those aged 18 and over.

Our only regret was missing out on a film at Old Market Hall cinema, an independent screen sitting in a beautiful building dating from 1596.

It’s not just the destinations themselves that make a motorhome trip so magical, though.

Journeying along the A4086 and the A5 offered gorgeous scenery and rolling hills that kept us entertained for hours.

When we eventually dropped off the van, our home for the week, it was with a very heavy heart.

No motorhome trip will ever be stress-free and it does require a level of planning and organisation beyond your average resort holiday.

But the freedom can’t be matched.

And the memories from our motorhome will long outlive those from a Spanish sun lounger.

This source provides a comprehensive look at the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, highlighting its multifaceted significance as a time of judgment, remembrance, and celebration. It explains the traditional customs associated with the New Year, including the blowing of the shofar and the consumption of sweet foods to symbolize a positive year ahead. Beyond the festivities, the text emphasizes the Days of Awe, a period dedicated to introspection and repentance for past transgressions. Additionally, the digest includes brief mentions of current global events, such as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and debates regarding Jewish identity and legislation. Overall, the document … 

United States President Donald Trump has made no secret of his hostility towards BRICS.

Last year, he threatened an additional 10 percent tariff on any country aligning itself with what he called the bloc’s “anti-American policies”. Since then, his administration has continued to wield tariffs aggressively against trading partners, including BRICS members such as Brazil, India and China.

The message appears straightforward: Countries that challenge US economic power should expect to pay a price.

But coercion has consequences. And as BRICS leaders meet in New Delhi today, Trump may be strengthening the very incentives that made the bloc attractive in the first place. The more Washington demonstrates its willingness to use access to its markets, its financial system and the dollar as instruments of political leverage, the more reason other countries have to reduce their exposure to them.

This does not mean BRICS is becoming an anti-US alliance. Far from it.

The bloc’s 11 members – Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates – have enormous political and economic differences. Together, they account for nearly half the world’s population and about 40 percent of global gross domestic product, but they do not share a common ideology, security policy or even geopolitical orientation.

Recent events have made those divisions impossible to ignore. Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE find themselves on opposite sides of a growing regional conflict. In May, Iranian and Emirati representatives clashed during a foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi. India and China have had a heated border dispute that led to deadly skirmishes in 2020-2021; only in the past two years have their relations gradually stabilised.

So Trump is not producing a united geopolitical front against Washington.

He may, however, be giving countries with otherwise divergent interests a common reason to cooperate economically: Protection against vulnerability to US power.

For countries outside the Western core, dependence on US-centred economic infrastructure carries risks.

The dollar’s centrality gives the US enormous structural advantages. International transactions pass through financial institutions subject to US jurisdiction; access to US markets can be restricted; sanctions can isolate governments and companies from parts of the global financial system.

BRICS’s efforts to diminish dependence on the US financial system do not mean the dollar is about to lose its position as a global reserve currency. This claim is often made around BRICS summits, usually accompanied by breathless predictions of a new BRICS currency. The evidence does not support it.

The dollar remains overwhelmingly dominant. According to the International Monetary Fund, it accounted for 57.1 percent of global foreign-exchange reserves in the first quarter of 2026. The Chinese renminbi accounted for just 2 percent. Indeed, the dollar’s share rose slightly during the quarter.

But replacing the dollar and reducing dependence on it are two very different things.

BRICS countries are already experimenting with the latter. South Africa has connected to China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, allowing transactions with China to be settled directly in renminbi. Brazil and China are increasingly using their own currencies in bilateral trade, while India and the UAE have settled transactions in rupees and dirhams. China and Russia have shifted much of their bilateral trade into their national currencies.

BRICS itself is also moving cautiously towards greater financial connectivity.

Last year, its leaders called for continued work on a cross-border payments initiative and greater interoperability among members’ payment systems. In August, Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra confirmed that BRICS countries are discussing linking their fast-payment networks and potentially their central bank digital currencies. India itself is also encouraging greater use of the rupee in international trade.

The New Development Bank offers another example. Established by the original BRICS countries as an alternative source of development finance, it has made lending in members’ currencies an explicit strategic objective. Its current strategy targets 30 percent of financing in local currencies, partly to reduce borrowers’ exposure to foreign-exchange risks and costly currency swaps; the number could increase to 40-50 percent for the next cycle, 2027-2031.

None of this amounts to a rival global financial system. Much of it remains experimental, bilateral or limited in scale.

But that is precisely why the fixation on whether BRICS can “replace” the dollar misses what is happening. The more significant development is the gradual construction of options that allow governments and businesses to conduct a number of transactions without relying on the dollar and Western-dominated financial infrastructure.

Trump’s policies give this process additional urgency.

Consider Brazil. Washington imposed a new 25 percent tariff on a range of Brazilian products in July, affecting billions of dollars in exports, despite running a trade surplus with the country. The Trump administration has also scrutinised Brazil’s hugely successful Pix instant-payment system, which competes with established card-payment networks.

Sanctions demonstrate the same vulnerability more dramatically. Russia and Iran have been pushed towards alternative payment and trading arrangements precisely because their access to Western financial networks has been restricted. Washington is now considering further measures that could penalise countries heavily reliant on Russian energy, including China and India.

No BRICS member needs to sympathise with Moscow or Tehran to understand what this implies.

US financial power depends not simply on possessing the world’s largest economy or issuing its dominant currency. It also depends on other countries continuing to regard participation in a US-centred system as more advantageous than the alternatives.

The more frequently Washington turns that system into an instrument of coercion, the stronger the incentive to construct escape routes from it.

That said, most BRICS countries do not appear eager to exchange dependence on Washington for dependence on Beijing.

India maintains extensive relations with the US while buying Russian energy and pursuing closer economic cooperation within BRICS. Brazil has long sought greater autonomy without becoming a Chinese satellite. Saudi Arabia and the UAE remain deeply intertwined with Western economies while expanding their relationships with China.

Their objective is less likely to be replacing one hegemon with another than increasing their ability to manoeuvre between competing centres of power.

That distinction matters. A trade transaction settled in rupees, a loan denominated in renminbi or rand, or a payment made through a system that does not depend on the same Western intermediaries will not overthrow dollar dominance.

But multiply such arrangements across countries and over time, and they begin to reduce the costs of saying no to Washington.

This is why portraying BRICS simply as an anti-US threat risks becoming self-defeating. Punishing countries for seeking alternatives gives them another reason to develop those alternatives.

Trump wants to make challenging US power costly. Instead, he may be making dependence on US power costlier still.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

A SEASIDE funicular is set to finally reopen next year – after being closed for a decade.

Folkestone’s Leas Lift first opened in 1885, but was forced to close back in 2017.

However, a long campaign has finally see restoration works start, with it planning to reopen by 2027.

The £6.6million works will restore the main systems, which connects the top of the cliff to the beach.

Not only that but the cafe is also being restored, along with the waiting room and addition of an outdoor terrace.

It remains one of the oldest in the UK, and one of just three of its kind left, being a water-balance funicular.

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It has since carried more than 36million people since it opened.

It had hoped to reopen by this summer, although this has since been delayed to next year.

But its great new for families visiting the seaside town, as it makes the cliff and beach much more accessible.

Chair of the Leas Lift Build Committee Jo Streeter said in regards to works starting: “We wanted to be absolutely sure that as well as getting value for money – which is vital for our funders and supporters – we selected a company that understands what the Lift means to Folkestone.”

Folkestone even had two other lifts – The Metropole Lift and the Sandgate Hill Lift – although these no longer exist.

And the seaside town has recently surged in popularity, with it being less than an hour from London.

It was even named one of the best places to live in the UK.

But the Leas Lift is not the only funicular reopening in the UK.

Saltburn Tramway recently reopened after an eight month closure.

The 142-year-old funicular – the oldest of its kind in the UK – is open to the public with tickets from £1.50

President Donald Trump is making himself the centre of the Republican Party’s campaign for the 2026 midterm elections, but growing concerns within his own party are raising questions about whether a Trump focused strategy can attract the independent voters Republicans need to retain control of Congress.

At the Republican Party’s first ever midterm convention in Dallas this week, Trump urged voters to “pretend that I’m on the ballot” as he sought to recreate the enthusiasm and turnout that helped him win the presidency in 2016 and 2024.

The strategy is designed to energise Trump’s loyal supporters, but it comes with significant risks. Trump’s approval ratings have fallen sharply among independents, while inflation and the war with Iran have created vulnerabilities for Republicans seeking to defend their congressional majorities.

Trump Puts Himself at the Centre

Trump’s message at the convention was straightforward: the midterms should be treated as a referendum on his presidency.

Rather than allowing individual Republican candidates to campaign primarily on local issues, the party is seeking to nationalise the election around Trump’s agenda and political brand.

The approach reflects Trump’s continued dominance within the Republican Party. His most committed supporters remain highly loyal, and party activists believe his presence can motivate voters who might otherwise stay home during a midterm election.

But the strategy also exposes Republicans to Trump’s weaknesses.

A president who is popular among Republican voters but significantly less popular with independents could become an obstacle for candidates fighting in competitive districts and states.

The Independent Voter Problem

The divide between Republican voters and independents is particularly important.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in late August found Trump’s overall approval rating at 33%, the lowest level of his presidency. His approval among Republicans stood at 82%, while among independents it had fallen to 22%.

That creates a difficult electoral calculation.

Republicans need Trump’s supporters to turn out, but they also need to persuade voters who are not firmly aligned with either party.

Five of the 15 Republicans interviewed at the convention expressed doubts about whether Trump was the party’s strongest messenger for reaching independents.

Even those who supported putting Trump at the centre of the campaign acknowledged that the strategy carried risks.

The Economy Could Be Trump’s Biggest Vulnerability

The convention also highlighted a gap between Trump’s political messaging and voters’ economic concerns.

The high cost of living remains one of the most important issues facing American voters, but Trump devoted relatively little attention in his convention speeches to addressing those concerns.

He instead claimed that food prices were rapidly declining, despite government data indicating otherwise.

Trump also promised a $5,000 “Trump dividend” for every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress, without explaining how the payments would be financed.

The economic issue presents a particular challenge because Republicans cannot rely solely on Trump’s popularity with their base if voters are dissatisfied with their personal financial circumstances.

Republicans Still See Trump as Their Best Option

Despite the concerns, most Republicans at the convention supported the strategy.

Ten of the 15 Republicans interviewed said putting Trump front and centre was the party’s best approach. They argued that his ability to energise Republican voters outweighed the risks created by his lower support among the broader electorate.

For many Republicans, the alternative may appear even less attractive.

Trump remains the party’s most powerful political figure, and his supporters are among the most engaged parts of the Republican electorate.

The question is whether that enthusiasm can be converted into the broader coalition required to win competitive races.

Democrats Welcome the Strategy

Democrats have little incentive to discourage Republicans from making the election a referendum on Trump.

The Democratic Party can use the president’s economic record, approval ratings and handling of foreign policy to argue that voters should reject Republican candidates as a way of rejecting Trump’s agenda.

Republicans are attempting to counter that strategy by portraying Democrats as increasingly radical and warning that a Democratic victory would threaten American values and way of life.

For Republican activists, the argument is that concerns about the Democratic Party could ultimately outweigh dissatisfaction with Trump.

But that calculation may be more difficult in closely contested districts where voters are less ideologically committed.

Vulnerable Republicans Keep Their Distance

The tension between Trump’s national strategy and individual candidates’ electoral needs was visible at the convention itself.

Some of the Republican Party’s most vulnerable candidates did not attend the Dallas gathering, instead remaining focused on their own districts.

For candidates representing competitive areas, distancing themselves from the national political environment could allow them to emphasise local concerns and avoid becoming entirely associated with Trump’s approval ratings.

That creates a potential contradiction within the Republican campaign.

The party leadership wants Trump at the centre of the election, while some candidates may have more to gain by keeping their own campaigns focused on local voters.

What Comes Next?

Trump is likely to remain heavily involved in the Republican campaign as the midterms approach.

His political organisation can provide candidates with fundraising, publicity and access to a highly motivated voter base.

But Republican candidates will have to decide how closely they want to associate themselves with him, particularly in competitive districts.

The party’s success may ultimately depend on whether it can combine Trump’s ability to mobilise his core supporters with messages that address the economic concerns of independent and moderate voters.

Implications and Analysis

The Republican Party’s dilemma is fundamentally about the difference between mobilising voters and persuading voters.

Trump is highly effective at the first. His political brand can generate enthusiasm among Republicans and give supporters a reason to participate in an election in which he himself is not on the ballot.

The harder question is whether he can do the second.

Midterm elections are not presidential elections, and congressional candidates often need to build broader coalitions than those required to win a party’s presidential nomination. If Republican candidates make the election entirely about Trump, they may benefit from stronger turnout among his supporters but also inherit his weaknesses among independents.

The Dallas convention therefore represents a calculated gamble.

Republicans appear to believe that Trump’s ability to energise their base is more valuable than the potential cost of alienating voters outside it. Democrats, meanwhile, are likely to welcome any strategy that allows them to make the election a referendum on a president whose approval among independents has fallen sharply.

The Republican Party’s challenge will be to ensure that Trump remains an electoral asset rather than becoming the only issue voters are asked to consider.

If his political machinery succeeds in bringing disengaged Republicans back to the polls, the strategy could strengthen the party’s position.

But if economic dissatisfaction and concerns about Trump’s broader record dominate among independents, putting him at the centre of the campaign could give Democrats exactly what they want: a national election in which every Republican candidate is forced to defend a president who is not actually on the ballot.

With information from Reuters.

Judy Judge is hanging up her robe.

Nearly 30 years after Judy Sheindlin launched a career that made her TV’s most widely recognized judge — first on the syndicated small claims series “Judge Judy,” which premiered in 1996 and ran for 25 seasons; then on Amazon Prime’s streaming show “Judy Justice” starting in 2021 — she’s passing her gavel to a fitting successor: her son, Judge Adam Levy.

The 83-year-old Sheindlin told People magazine that when “Judy Justice” wraps in October, she’s moving away from on-camera work to focus on other endeavors, including afternoon naps and developing the animated series “Judyverse” based on the “Baby Judge Judy” videos circulating social media.

Created with AI, the videos feature a toddler version of Judge Judy overseeing cases with her signature New York accent and no-nonsense barbs.

“I don’t want to do hair and makeup anymore, but I still want my message to get out there,” she told the outlet.

Sheindlin will also produce her son’s syndicated court TV show, “Adam’s Law,” which debuts Monday.

“There aren’t a lot of people who can carry a half-hour on their own, unscripted,” Sheindlin continued, adding that Levy has what it takes.

The 58-year-old earned his law degree from Hofstra Law School in 1992. This isn’t his first foray into TV, as he joined a panel of judges on Prime’s “Tribunal Justice” in 2023. After three seasons, Sheindlin said he’s ready for his close-up.

On Sept. 22, CBS will air a 30th anniversary special looking back on Sheindlin’s career, “Judge Judy: Unfiltered, Unforgettable.”

“I don’t think that I’ve ever been this content before,” she told People of entering the next era of her life. “I don’t have to prove anything else. I did it.”

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s consumer spending held steady at SR15.8 billion ($4.2 billion) in the week ending Sept. 5, even as education-related transactions pulled back following the previous week’s back-to-school surge, official data showed. 

The Kingdom’s point-of-sale transactions edged up 0.2 percent from the previous week, while the number of transactions rose 4.8 percent to 267.75 million, according to figures from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA.

The largely flat overall spending masked a sharp correction in education-related transactions, which fell 31 percent week on week to SR755.97 million, after climbing well above SR1 billion as the new academic year got underway. 

Talking to Arab News, economist Talat Hafiz said the pattern suggests that Saudi consumer demand is becoming broader, more normalized, and more resilient, rather than being driven mainly by seasonal spikes such as back-to-school spending. 

“The rise in transactions even as education spending normalizes indicates that households are continuing to spend across a wider range of goods and services,” he added.  

“Overall, this points to solid underlying household spending capacity heading into the last quarter of the year, particularly as inflation remains contained and employment and income conditions continue to support consumption,” said Hafiz. 

Sectoral spending 

According to SAMA, spending on food and beverages amounted to SR2.69 billion, representing a weekly increase of 3.9 percent. 

Transactions in restaurants and cafes stood at SR1.81 billion, up 1.9 percent, while spending on apparel, clothing and accessories totaled SR1.28 billion, down 9.6 percent. 

The transportation sector witnessed POS transactions worth SR1.15 billion, followed by spending at gas stations at SR1.1 billion. 

Across healthcare, the value of transactions stood at SR964.71 million, up 7.9 percent, while spending on professional businesses and services amounted to SR906.1 million, up 3.8 percent. 

Jewelry stood out as the week’s biggest gainer, with transactions surging 25.4 percent week on week to SR345.61 million, while books and stationery reversed course, falling 8.6 percent to SR182.49 million after the previous week’s back-to-school jump. 

Geographic breakdown 

Riyadh dominated POS transactions, with spending in the capital reaching SR5.53 billion, marking a 0.6 percent increase compared with the previous week, as the number of transactions climbed 5.6 percent to 88.2 million. 

Jeddah witnessed transactions amounting to SR2.14 billion, up 1.4 percent, while the total number of transactions stood at 29.68 million. 

In Dammam, consumer spending totaled SR762.42 million, roughly flat from the week before, followed by Makkah at SR614.20 million, down 1.9 percent, and Madinah at SR592.46 million, down 4.1 percent. 

Alkhobar recorded SR427.12 million in transactions, down 2.3 percent, while spending in Buraidah rose 2.9 percent to SR403.31 million.

Abha posted the sharpest citywide decline at 7.5 percent, with transactions falling to SR199.18 million. 

That was a strange game. There were 22 accepted flags for 211 yards in penalties, fumbles galore and three turnovers in total. There was a safety and a missed field goal. Ultimately, Mater Dei (4-0) won 10-9 over Corona Centennial (1-2) in a game where it only converted two out of 10 third down attempts.

Beyond the weirdness, however, a solution at the quarterback position might have emerged for the Monarchs — in the form of a freshman, no less. Head coach Raul Lara has cycled through three players in the position so far this season, and the standout against Corona Centennial on Friday was Paytyn Guess.

“The young kid is dynamic, no doubt,” Lara said before the game. “But he’s young and he’s still learning the program and playbook. Once he learns, we’ll get him in the game a little bit more.”

Friday night’s game showed that Guess might be ready to be the starter.

Santa Ana Stadium has played host to Mater Dei football games for many decades, but the fans in its stands might not have seen a better pass than what the freshman conjured during the second quarter. Running away from oncoming rushers, Guess threw the ball back against his body — something most coaches advise against — and found heavily recruited senior wideout Gavin Honore at the one-yard line.

It was a dot. Right on the money. Professional players 10 years Guess’ senior would be excited to make that kind of play.

Mater Dei High freshman quarterback Paytyn Guess.

(Caleb Otte / For The Times)

The only hesitation to not start Guess was shown on the very next snap. Under center, Guess fumbled the snap and Centennial recovered the ball in the end zone. It was an unfortunate low after such a triumphant high.

Ultimately, though, Guess made the key throw after being entrusted to lead the final drive. With Mater Dei in their own half of the field on a third down, he found Honore along the sideline to pick up a first down and effectively end the contest.

That came after Mater Dei junior quarterback Russell Sekona tied the score, 9-9, midway through the fourth quarter with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Jerry Shifman converted the point-after kick for the winning margin.

Centennial had a chance to reclaim the lead with 2:30 left in the game, when its last drive ended in a missed field goal.

As far as Guess, he can make plays and had multiple downfield passes that fell just incomplete. But in that moment, the kid showed true composure. There might be growing pains, but the raw talent is on display.

Guess finished the nightcompleting four of nine passes for 56 yards, while rushing for 19. Lara had no worries about putting the freshman in the fire and letting him secure the victory.

“Coach Lara’s trust in me means everything,” Guess said after the win. “It shows me what I can accomplish on the field.”

He has a lot of time to develop, but aGuess said he needs to acclimate to this new stage.

“High school football moves quicker,” Guess said “I also need to be louder in my cadence because this was my first game in front of a big crowd.”

His skills directly resembled that of his counterpart on the night, senior Jaden Jefferson. The Hawaii commit might be ending his high school career just as Guess is starting, but both have a slippery and slinking style of play that excites fans just as much as it moves their teams down the field.

Jefferson had a solid game, going 14 for 23 through the air with 205 yards and tacked on 65 on the ground. The play that defined the night, however, was a blemish on his record. Backed behind its own 10-yard line, Centennial looked to Jefferson for another magic moment. His flip pass to a running back bounced off his teammate and into the waiting arms of a Mater Dei defender, setting up Sekona’s run.

Centennial’s defense was top notch all night, only allowing two third-down conversions. Mater Dei’s run game was shut down, gaining less than 100 yards, and it looked like the Monarchs would be stifled for the entire four quarters.

The game started out with a jet sweep touchdown from Kennie Leggett, a former Mater Dei player, and it seemed as though Centennial would beat the Monarchs as it did twice last season when building a 9-0 lead in the first quarter. The home team’s defense ratcheted up the pressure, however, not giving up another score. The Huskies only scored again on the freak safety in the first quarter.

Centennial has dealt with a lot of injuries to the offensive line this season, which allowed Mater Dei to get multiple sacks and hurries on Jefferson. Before the game, head coach Matt Logan said that his team has been treating every game in the same way regardless of the opponent. Three tough Trinity League matchups to start the season, however, have left them with a losing record.

Centennial played better, and Logan was right by saying it can go toe-to-toe with any opponent, but the scoreboard favored Lara’s men on a weird night in Santa Ana.

Caracas, September 11, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela’s oil industry recovery has stagnated in recent months, notwithstanding pro-business reforms and rising global prices.

OPEC’s latest monthly report placed the Caribbean nation’s August production at 1.145 million barrels per day (bpd), up 23,000 bpd from the previous month, according to secondary sources.

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA reported an August output of 1.201 million bpd, virtually unchanged from July. Direct and secondary measurements have differed over time due to disagreements over the inclusion of condensates and natural gas liquids.

The strong first-trimester recovery that followed Washington’s lifting of its naval blockade petered out by mid-year. Since May, output has grown by only 7 percent despite the acting Delcy Rodríguez government conducting a pro-investor overhaul of hydrocarbon legislation and signing deals with several multinational corporations.

Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump White House has seized control over Venezuela’s energy sector. Venezuelan crude export revenues are currently deposited in a US Treasury account, an arrangement confirmed by PDVSA President Héctor Obregón, before US officials decide when and how much of the proceeds should be returned to Caracas.

Washington and Caracas recently announced a major oil deal that will further boost US access to Venezuelan hydrocarbons under favorable conditions. The acting Rodríguez government has granted long-term concessions of 17 prime oilfields, holding 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, to US-controlled NABEP, a company led by Venezuelan oil mogul Alejandro Betancourt.

The oilfields transferred to NABEP, several of which were previously run by joint ventures between PDVSA and Chinese partners, are split among extra-heavy-crude projects in the Orinoco Oil Belt and mature light- and medium-crude ones in the Lake Maracaibo basin. Production in the latter can be ramped up faster as Trump seeks to replenish the US strategic reserve.

After initially hailing the deal as “the biggest in history,” US officials have dampened expectations, lowering a US $100 billion investment pledge to “over $10 billion.” Caracas and Washington announced a 1.5 million bpd target, but NABEP disclosed to Bloomberg only a modest projected increase in the near future.

Venezuela’s loss of sovereignty over its flagship industry has prevented the country from reaping the benefits from surging global energy prices, with the Brent benchmark surpassing $100 per barrel for the first time in four months this week. The Trump administration has sought to leverage its long-term access to Venezuelan oil resources to minimize the fallout from the interrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz resulting from its war on Iran.

Since January, Trump officials have worked closely with the Rodríguez administration to grant decades-long energy concessions to Western corporate players and most recently local Latin American conglomerates such as Colombia’s Gilinski Group. 

On September 4, Acting President Rodríguez signed a 25-year deal granting a concession of the heavy crude Bare block to GeoPark, a company belonging to Gilinski. Previously operated by PDVSA, Bare was one of the most productive fields in the Orinoco Oil Belt, with output surpassing 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2011.

At a ceremony in Caracas, Colombian banking mogul Jaime Gilinski thanked Rodríguez for the confidence in awarding a major oilfield to his conglomerate. GeoPark set an 85,000 bpd target and vowed to invest more than $300 million.

The Gilinski Group began in manufacturing before expanding into finance, purchasing multiple Colombian banks and later acquiring positions in other Latin American countries, the US, and Italy. Investigations have implicated the Gilinski Group in parallel banking and tax evasion, including being named in the 2021 Pandora Papers leak alongside other leading members of the Colombian elite. The conglomerate has also ventured into other sectors such as food and media, with Jaime Gilinski currently the richest man in Colombia according to Forbes.

Of Lithuanian-Jewish descent, the Gilinski family is additionally known for its close ties to Israel. Jaime Gilinski’s father, Isaac, served as ambassador to Tel Aviv in 2010-2013, and his sister, Tania, was recently appointed to the same post by Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella. Jaime’s son, Gabriel, traveled to Tel Aviv in 2025, meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu and evaluating business opportunities between Israeli and Colombian firms.

Edited and with additional reporting by Lucas Koerner in Philadelphia, USA.