Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Bromwich Albion. The Black Country derby. A fixture that goes back to the very dawn of English footballing time itself.
Now it’s back as a league fixture for the first time in more than five years, and in front of fans at Molineux since 2012.
It was first contested as a league game in December 1888 – the very first season of the Football League – when Wolves won 2-1. However, Albion had already won their first two meetings, in 1886 and 1887, both in the FA Cup.
Since then, there have been so many derby memories, both magic and tragic at opposite ends of the emotional scale.
And, since the explosion of televised football, so many of those moments captured on video to be relived – or mentally erased depending on your allegiance – over and over again.
It’s a fixture that the Black Country never stops talking about, the first the fans look for when the sides are in the same division.
And the pre-match banter begins earlier with every staging – and every look back at all those derby highlights from the past 40 years.
Steve Bull’s first derby goal in 1989, a toothlessly grinning Iwan Roberts’ Hawthorns hat-trick in 1996, George Ndah’s double on the back of an inspired Keith Andrews performance in 2001 and two-goal Steven Fletcher’s matchwinning efforts in May 2011 to help keep Mick McCarthy’s side in the Premier League.
For Albion, there was Darren Bradley’s 35-yard screamer in 1993, Bob Taylor’s late Hawthorns clincher in 1995, Jordao’s Molineux matchwinner in December 2001, the season when Albion pipped Wolves for promotion by three points, and Carlos Vela’s injury-time equaliser in Roy Hodgson’s first game in charge in 2011.
As President Trump tries to convince voters that Democrats have let crime run amok, he’s digging into the country’s political past to cite one of the most controversial campaign advertisements that relied heavily on racist tropes.
During a campaign stop Wednesday in Gastonia, N.C., to stump for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, Trump resurrected a 1988 George H.W. Bush presidential campaign ad featuring Willie Horton, a Black man convicted of rape and assault after his release through a Massachusetts prison furlough program.
A grainy black-and-white prison photo of Horton was used in the ad targeting then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who was ahead of Bush in the polls. On Wednesday, Trump evoked the Horton ad in an effort to convince voters Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper, Whatley’s opponent in the Senate race, is soft on crime.
“Willie Horton was a bad guy, really bad guy,” Trump said, before comparing Dukakis’s release of Horton to the pretrial release of a Black man who faces a murder charge for last year’s killing of a white Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte, N.C.
But Cooper was not the governor when the man was released or when he was later charged with killing the refugee.
“Same thing as this, same as, same exact thing,” the president told the crowd in Gastonia.
It’s the second time Trump has invoked Willie Horton while campaigning for his party. Last month during a speech in Las Vegas, Trump called the Charlotte killing a “Willie Horton — modern day” tragedy.
“After the Willie Horton ad dropped, Bush established a lead in the polls and never looked back,” said Andra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University outside Atlanta. “They showed the picture, and you ascribed race onto it. It wasn’t sufficiently condemned as racism.”
A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, which organized the Gastonia campaign rally, defended Trump’s reference to Horton.
“Roy Cooper emptied prisons and released thousands of violent monsters onto North Carolina streets,” RNC National Press Secretary Natalie Baldassarre said in a statement to the Associated Press. “The results had deadly consequences, and every Democrat who supports abolishing or defunding the police, paroling criminals, and implementing lax bail policies will have to answer for their dangerous records in November.”
Trump paints North Carolina as a ‘dangerous state’
Wednesday’s rally cited the Aug. 22, 2025, killing of white 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a commuter train in Charlotte.
Decarlos Brown Jr., who is Black, faces murder and other charges in Zarutska’s stabbing, which was captured on video. Court records showed that at the time of the attack, Brown had 14 prior cases in Mecklenburg County, including serving five years for robbery with a dangerous weapon. Doctors had diagnosed him with schizophrenia.
Republicans and other influential voices in Trump’s Make America Great Again movement claimed the attack showed how Democratic elected leaders in large cities across the U.S. failed to protect residents, while some conservative commentators suggested Democrats were ignoring an unfounded “black-on-white” crime problem.
“He should have been locked up for many, many years,” Trump said Wednesday of Brown.
“Nobody used to think of North Carolina as a dangerous state, criminally dangerous,” Trump added while blaming Cooper. “It was apple pie, right? Now, it’s one of the most violent, one of the worst in the whole nation.”
According to 2024 FBI crime data, North Carolina ranked 19th for statewide violent-crime rates in a 50-state comparison.
During the Gastonia rally, a mosaic of mug shots was displayed on a large screen for the crowd. Trump claimed Cooper had cut a deal with “radical activists” to release “some of the worst criminals in the nation into North Carolina.”
“He released these people. This is just a small group of them,” the president said, pointing to the mug shots that overwhelmingly featured Black people.
Although it is unclear under what circumstances the people in the mug shots were released, state corrections officials have said Brown was not released early from prison or under Cooper’s COVID-era prisoner-release settlement that Trump referenced.
Before fatally stabbing Zarutska, according to court records, Brown had been on a pretrial release over a misdemeanor offense that was ordered by a magistrate after Cooper left office.
‘Tapping into anger’
Republicans are under pressure to win over swayable voters as the November midterms approach with Democrats pushing to gain control of the House, the Senate, or both. Some political strategists say part of the ploy of adding Horton to the North Carolina Senate campaign is to rile up Trump’s base.
“He’s tapping into the anger to remind Republican voters of what he thinks their first principles are in hopes that will be successful for Republican candidates,” Gillespie said.
“He’s doing this to try and divert attention away from criticism of how he’s governing at the moment,” she added. “Democrats want to make the story of this election Trump’s low approval numbers, the war in Iran, inflation, being preoccupied with things that don’t make a whole lot of sense when there are really serious things going on in the country.”
Dewey Clayton, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Louisville, said Trump and other Republicans may be thinking that what worked before in the 2016 and 2024 elections presumably will work again in this year’s midterms.
“It was very effective,” Clayton said. “You do not necessarily have to look at it as racial, in and of itself, although [race] clearly becomes a component. In 2026, talking about ads going back in the 1980s? I’m sure he had consultants that were basically saying this is tried and true.”
The GOP may need the push in November, Gillespie warns. “I think the motivation by going back to these old strategies is there is real concern about Republican enthusiasm and you might see lower Republican turnout,” she said.
Rhetoric attempts to divert voters’ attention from rising costs
The tactic speaks to desperation by Trump and the Whatley campaign, according to Morgan Jackson, a partner with Nexus Strategies in Raleigh.
“Trump brings up Willie Horton to stoke racial division, something he’s used for the last 10 years,” said Jackson, who is chief strategist for Cooper’s campaign. “It is very clear from the president’s speech last night their only goal is to sow division and hate and lies. Michael Whatley doubles down in support of that effort.”
Jackson also said Trump and Whatley are trying to change the election’s message of “rising inflation and the cost of everything.”
“They want to use inflammatory rhetoric, hate speech and lies to sow division in a chance to win an election,” he said. “By referencing Willie Horton, they are showing their hand very clearly.”
The AP sent an email Thursday seeking comment from Whatley’s Senate campaign.
Williams writes for the Associated Press. Williams reported from Detroit. AP videojournalist Erik Verduzco in Gastonia, N.C., contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — The House approved a resolution Wednesday holding billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress, referring the matter to the Department of Justice after he defied the Oversight Committee’s subpoenas in its investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The action was swift and without a formal vote, and now leaves it to the Justice Department to decide whether to seek criminal prosecution. Black has refused to respond to the subpoenas’ requests to appear and to turn over any potential nondisclosure agreements involving the investigation into Epstein.
Republicans and Democrats from the Oversight Committee joined in a bipartisan effort to advance the resolution forward.
“No one is above the law,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the Oversight Committee chairman, said in a statement. “We will continue to seek transparency for the American people and justice for survivors in our investigation of the federal government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell criminal cases.”
California Rep. Robert Garcia, the panel’s top Democrat, called the vote “an important step toward justice and accountability.”
Black’s lawyers have denounced the Oversight Committee’s pursuit of the former head of a private equity firm as an abuse of congressional power. They said he “had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.”
“The Committee has continued to insist on looking for information that does not exist,” attorneys Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler said in a statement. They called the action “politically motivated” and have sued the committee and asked the Office of Congressional Conduct to open a probe into Comer’s tactics.
“This an outrageous action that ignores the facts and the truth about Mr. Black,” they said.
Epstein investigation churns in Congress
Black is the latest among several prominent figures, including former President Clinton and Bill Gates, who have been asked to appear as part of the Oversight Committee’s long-running probe of Epstein. Survivors of Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse have told personal stories of being young women in a trafficking enterprise organized by Epstein and his colleague Maxwell.
In June, Black did appear for a voluntary interview at the committee. Lawmakers said later that he refused to answer their questions about the nondisclosure agreements.
The committee issued two subpoenas seeking to compel Black to produce the NDAs and to appear for a deposition July 16. The committee said it had accommodated Black’s request to delay the deposition to Sept. 3, but he refused to appear.
On Tuesday the Oversight Committee voted unanimously to approve the contempt recommendation, sending it to the full House.
Black co-founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management and stepped down in 2021 during the fallout over his ties to Epstein. Lawmakers have alleged that Black paid Epstein $180 million during their years-long relationship.
A 2021 review commissioned by Apollo found that Black paid Epstein $158 million from 2012 to 2017, after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The review said the payments were for “bona fide tax, estate planning and other related services.”
WASHINGTON — A nonprofit run by Black federal lawmakers launched a multimillion-dollar effort Tuesday to engage lower-propensity voters in key districts in the midterm elections, following years of dissatisfaction over traditional efforts to reach such voters.
The Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s “SO VOTE” campaign will seek to register and mobilize young voters, as well as voters in majority-Black and rural communities, across the South, Midwest and West. The campaign involves partnerships with dozens of local organizations, the institute said, with in-person and online outreach to voters often sidestepped by major political campaigns.
“For decades, as far as I can remember, there are those of us who have always complained about the fact that neither party spends the significant and requisite time with Black and brown and poor and rural communities,” said Marcia Fudge, a former Democratic congresswoman from Ohio who served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Biden administration.
“So we finally decided to take it upon ourselves to do something that we didn’t think anybody else in the industry was doing,” said Fudge, who is spearheading the new effort alongside former Black Caucus colleagues.
Effort blends old tactics with new technologies to boost turnout
Voter engagement efforts will cover outreach across Georgia and Mississippi, as well as target voters in 16 congressional districts that are likely to determine control of the House.
Instead of traditional television advertising, the campaign will convene local civic groups and houses of worship, as well as fraternities and sororities. The effort will also use some now-widespread techniques in political campaigns, such as geotargeting online ads and partnerships with local content creators for audiences who mainly receive their news online.
While the voter engagement efforts are officially nonpartisan, the Black Caucus’ targeted races are in many regions where Black voter turnout could prove key to whether a Democratic candidate prevails in closely divided House districts. Cedric Richmond, a former Louisiana Democratic congressman who served as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, said the effort would focus on repeatedly engaging voters in rural communities who feel alienated from Democratic campaigns.
“If you’re not happy with the way things are going, then voting is part of the solution, but it takes constant communication,” Richmond said.
The Black Caucus’ institute has raised about $1 million for the campaign, primarily from individual donors, and plans to spend at least $4.5 million in the midterm election cycle.
Campaign responds to GOP redistricting and disappointing turnout in the past
The new outreach effort follows years of disappointment and frustration among some in the Black Caucus at the broader Democratic Party’s efforts to court Black, rural and younger voters.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, an influential South Carolina Democrat who decried the lackluster voter turnout in the 2024 election, said the campaign “allows us to put to practice that which we have been proposing, and we have never had the resources to do it. But this year we do.”
The effort is also a response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in multiple states, said Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat.
“These Southern states are trying to minimize Black political participation and ultimately Black political strength,” he said. “So what we have to do is take that low-propensity voter and elevate their participation so they become an additional voice to be reckoned with.”
HELEN Flanagan has put on a busty display and risked popping out of her racy black dress on a night out.
The former Coronation Street star, 36, took to Instagram to share some new snaps as she enjoyed a meal out at Gaucho restaurant in Manchester.
Helen Flanagan has put on a busty display on a night outCredit: Instagram/hjgflanaganShe threatened to spill out of her black dressCredit: Instagram/hjgflanagan
She wore a long ribbed black dress as she showed off plenty of cleavage in the revealing outfit.
Helen threatened to spill out of her attire as she only had three small gold clasps holding her boobs in.
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The figure hugging dress perfectly cinched her waist as she displayed her hourglass figure.
She wore her blonde locks in a curly hairstyle and opted for a chic make-up look, complete with false eyelashes, eye shadow and a pink gloss.
Helen appeared to be in great spirits as she beamed from ear to ear and enjoyed some beverages.
The actress simply used a kissing lip emoji as the caption.
Her followers rushed to the comments section to compliment her as one gushed: “The most gorgeous woman ever.”
Another person enthused: “Stunning and classy.”
She’s no stranger to showing off her assetsCredit: InstagramIt comes after she joked about selling her knickers to pay for solicitor feesCredit: Instagram/hjgflanagan
Somebody else commented: “Sydney Sweeney ain’t got nothing on you.”
Yet another joked: “I mean…..come on, give the other women a chance.”
While a fifth follower added: “You are so gorgeous.”
The first naval battle between two Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) has taken place in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian Navy said on Saturday that one of its naval drones sank a Russian vessel.
A handful of aviation photographers got a suprise eyeful of a very sleek and large aircraft silhouette on Thursday night at Long Beach Airport. One of them was Ricky Schol, who saw the mysterious airframe emerge from a hangar, prompting a double take. It was the first time in his 16 years of aviation photography at the historic airport he’d ever seen anything like it.
“I was driving home past my local airport Thursday evening here in Southern California when I saw a bright light coming from a hangar I haven’t seen open in a long time, so I doubled back to check it out,” Schol told us. “I was blown away when I pulled over and saw the future in front of my eyes. I had no clue what I was looking at. I jumped out of my vehicle and started taking pictures immediately.”
“At first glance I thought it was an F-117 Nighthawk when driving by,” said Schol, a plumber by trade. “That’s why I doubled back to see. And to my surprise I saw something I’ve never seen before, having no cockpit. It left me with a very curious feeling.”
As you can see from the images below, the aircraft bears the FAA N Number N567RX, which has been reserved by Aevum to an address at the airport, but it appears to be a mockup — one we have likely seen before.
(Ricky Schol) (Ricky Schol)
A mockup of the drone was introduced online with great fanfare in 2021 and described at the time by company CEO Jay Skylus as the “mothership” for a two-stage rocket able to carry a payload of just over 1,000 pounds.
During the mockup roll-out, the company described what we noted back then was a “very ambitious, if not almost bizarre timeline” for getting Ravn X into the air. The plan was to start with “vehicle-level testing” to obtain the required airworthiness certification and launch licensing for operations, a process that should take 18 months, Skylus claimed. From there, Aevum planned to secure airworthiness certification for the first-stage drone from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Following that, the next step was to commence orbital launch tests from Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, Florida, by late 2021.
Aevum Ravn X Autonomous Launch Vehicle Rollout
It is unclear whether AEVUM achieved any of its goals. There are no details on the company website and the most recent information about RAVN X is from Gunter’s Space Page, a website that tracks launches.
“In December 2020 Aevum rolled out a mock-up of the Ravn-X carrier plane (although claimed to be a real prototype), but no further activities have been noticed so far,” noted Gunter’s Space Page. “It is doubtful, that any real hardware has been produced so far. By August 2024, all activities seem to have stopped.”
We reached out to Skylus and Aevum for more details.
(Aevum screencap) www.twz.com
Given that RAVN X has all but disappeared from public notice, Schol and a few other photographers at the airport caught a rare glimpse.
“I was there from the time they pulled it out to the time they pulled it in,” he told us. “They lined it up on the runway. It moved a little bit, but not much.”
Schol said he didn’t hear the engines or see any exhaust.
“I don’t know exactly what they were testing or trying to accomplish that night,” he proffered.
Mockups can be modified for limited ground tests and other important work, which could be the case here. Regardless, RAVN X does appear to be still alive as a program.
If we find out any details, we will pass them along.
Kristen Wiig stunned with her makeover for her spread in the latest issue of Perfect magazineCredit: Yasmine Diba/PerfectThe actress showed an edgy look in a black minidress with a super-high slitCredit: Yasmine Diba/PerfectKristen also showcased her figure in a skintight black dress with a see-through lace topCredit: Yasmine Diba/PerfectThe Saturday Night Live alum ditched her bra and shirt in another photo, covering her bare breasts with a black blazerCredit: Yasmine Diba/Perfect
Kristen, 53, looked completely transformed in her skimpy all-black outfits, which were considerably more revealing than her usual attire.
One photo captured the comedian posing in a body-hugging mini dress and a blazer.
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The dress featured beading over her chest and a matching design on the cuffs of her coat.
Meanwhile, her legs were on full display, with her dress’s super-high slit showcasing her upper thighs.
Kristen finished the look with white pointed-toe heels, heavy makeup, and her tousled blonde hair at her shoulders.
The Bridesmaids star kept the edgy style in another photo, modeling a skintight dress with a see-through lace top.
She slouched in a chair, her hair covering half her face, showing off dark eye makeup and massive gold statement earrings.
Kristen’s third outfit again showed the TV star in a different light as she rocked pants and a matching blazer, with nothing underneath.
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The Masters of the Universe star ditched her bra and a shirt to tease her bare breasts beneath the blazer.
She wore long, dangly earrings with the same messy hair-look and heavy makeup.
Kristen continued to stun in her photos, as another captured the Saturday Night Live alum standing by a pool in a bra and panty set.
She added see-through lace tights and high heels to her bottom half, keeping her abs and toned arms exposed on top.
Kristen posed in black lingerie with completely see-through black tightsCredit: Yasmine Diba/PerfectKristen flaunted her abs and toned arms in a black bra and leggings while baking in the kitchenCredit: Yasmine Diba/PerfectThe Palm Royale actress also stunned in a strapless black bra with a deep V-neckCredit: Yasmine Diba/PerfectKristen also donned a long-sleeved black sweaterdress with big fur sleevesCredit: Yasmine Diba/Perfect
The Despicable Me star concealed her eyes with a massive bucket hat, posing with her hands on her hips.
Kristen wore a similar ensemble during a baking session in the kitchen, including a tiny bra, leggings, and leather boots.
She perched one leg on a table while mixing ingredients in a bowl, oversized sunglasses covering her eyes.
A couple of other inside shots captured the Palm Royale actress in a form-fitting strapless dress with a deep V-neck, and a long-sleeved sweater dress with big fur sleeves.
It’s rare to see Kristen in such daring looks, worlds apart from her hysterical costume in her iconic Target Lady sketch on SNL.
She also wore a prim-and-proper wardrobe with bright colors and perfectly styled hairdos in her latest TV series, Palm Royale.
The Apple TV series, which follows her character Maxine Dellacorte-Simmons as she vies to become the belle of 1960s Palm Beach, was canceled earlier this year after two seasons.
WASHINGTON — Billionaire investor Leon Black refused to appear for a sworn deposition before Congress on Thursday and instead sued the House Oversight Committee, asking a federal court to block subpoenas issued as part of its investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The House Oversight Committee served Black with two subpoenas during a closed-door voluntary interview in June after lawmakers said he refused to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements. One subpoena demanded Black produce nondisclosure agreements and other documents, while the other compelled him to return for a deposition before the committee.
Black’s lawsuit argues the subpoenas exceed the committee’s authority by seeking private information unrelated to Epstein or any legitimate legislative purpose. It asks a federal judge to declare the subpoenas invalid and prevent the committee from enforcing them.
“The Committee is on a fishing expedition that oversteps its authority and completely ignores its responsibility,” Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, said in a statement. “This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein. It is about trying to destroy Mr. Black.”
Top Oversight lawmakers threaten to hold Black in contempt
The top Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the committee both criticized Black’s lawsuit and said they planned to discuss later Thursday whether they would hold him in contempt of Congress.
“This is unacceptable. We’re very disappointed,” said House Oversight Chair James Comer. “Of all the powerful billionaires and political people we’ve brought in for interview and depositions, this is the first time anyone’s filed suit.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, called the lawsuit “laughable” and that Black is “trying to slow the process down of getting us the information.”
“Today, the process of contempt has to begin,” Garcia said.
Being held in contempt opens up a witness to criminal prosecution. If the House approves a contempt resolution against Black, it would fall to the Justice Department to decide whether to bring charges against him.
Black paid Epstein over $150 million during their yearslong relationship
Black is the co-founder and former chief executive of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. He stepped down in 2021 during the fallout over his ties to Epstein.
Lawmakers have alleged that Black paid Epstein $180 million during their yearslong relationship.
A 2021 review commissioned by Apollo found that Black paid Epstein $158 million from 2012 to 2017, after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The review said the payments were for “bona fide tax, estate planning and other related services.”
Black is among a number of influential figures to appear in the investigation into Epstein and the web of wealth and influence around him. Other figures to have appeared for the investigation include former Democratic President Bill Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
Black is mentioned repeatedly in files that the Justice Department has released related to the Epstein investigation. He also appears in a collection of birthday messages sent to Epstein that were released by the House committee last year, including a poem attributed to Black that refers to “Blond, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically.”
Before the June 26 appearance before the committee, Black maintained that he was not aware of Epstein’s “nefarious activity” until 2019 and that he paid Epstein for legitimate purposes, in part due to his “unrivaled network of relationships” with influential figures.
Ukraine carried out one of its farthest uncrewed surface vessel (USV) attacks from Ukrainian shores, striking the Nefrit, a multipurpose offshore vessel, in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi. The seaside getaway is located about 350 miles on a direct line from the nearest Ukrainian-held territory, but the trip is a lot longer if originating from Ukrainian-held shores.
This marks the first known USV attack on this city that Russian President Vladimir Putin often visits. As we have reported in the past, it has been attacked several times by Ukrainian aerial drones.
The Russian Black Sea port of Sochi came under attack on Thursday. (Google Earth)
“The multipurpose support vessel, flying the Russian flag, was hit by an unmanned naval vessel of the Ukrainian Navy,” the service said on Telegram. “A powerful explosion and smoke were observed in the area of the vessel.”
“The NEFRIT is part of Russia’s maritime and energy infrastructure, providing support for oil and gas operations, servicing offshore facilities, transporting cargo and personnel, and carrying out underwater technical work,” the Ukrainian Navy explained. “Its activities directly supported the enemy’s war economy and financed the criminal aggression against Ukraine.”
“The damage to the NEFRIT is a blow to the enemy’s logistics, special capabilities, and military-economic infrastructure,” the Ukrainian Navy added. “The Ukrainian Navy continues to deprive the enemy of resources and capabilities for waging war, and once again demonstrates that even Russian territory is not a safe haven.”
🇺🇦⚓ВМС України уразили судно забезпечення рф NEFRIT у порту Сочі Багатоцільове судно забезпечення під прапором рф було уражене морським безекіпажним катером Військово-Морських Сил. У районі судна зафіксовано потужний вибух та задимлення.
There is also video of one of the USVs being destroyed before it could reach its target.
Starting at about 6 a.m. local time, Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin declared an emergency.
“ATTENTION! THREAT OF A USV ATTACK IN SOCHI,” he warned on Telegram. “All forces and resources are working to defend the city. Take shelter in a safe place, remain calm.”
Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin declared an emergency about an impending sea drone attack on Thursday. (Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin’s Telegram)
About a half hour later, Proshunin issued an all-clear notice, but did not provide any details about what happened.
Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin lifted the emergency about a half hour after it started. (Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin’s Telegram)
There was no immediate response from the Kremlin.
Ukraine has carried out long-distance USV attacks on Russian Black Sea targets in the past, including one in 2023 on theRopucha class vesselOlenegorsky Gornyak, located in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. A major Russian port on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, it sits roughly 420 miles from Ukrainian-held shores. Sochi is about 110 miles southeast of Novorossiysk, meaning the USVs in today’s attack would have had to travel an even longer distance if launched from Ukrainian-held shores. However, the launch point of the Sochi USV strike is not publicly known and there is always the possibility that a mothership could have been used.
The attack occurring during broad daylight is also interesting, as Ukraine has often taken advantage of the cover of darkness for USV strike operations on port facilities.
You can see a video of that strike below:
The strike on the Nefrit is the latest in Ukraine’s long-running drone boat campaign in the Black Sea. This onslaught has already kept Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (BSF) at bay, forcing it to retreat from Crimea to Novorossiysk. Ukrainian USVs have also damaged enemy military facilities in occupied Crimea and the Kerch Bridge.
In July, the U.S. military used USVs as combat weapons for the first time, striking Iranian targets in Bandar Abbas. The following video shows that attack.
Yesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran. Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea… pic.twitter.com/bOM2kmgRxz
It may be a day or so before we get a better picture of the extent of the damage to the Nefrit. Regardless, the attack itself is another sign that Ukraine can reach targets with sea drones far from its own shores.
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All across the battlefield, Ukrainian forces are largely holding off continued Russian attacks or are making small advances. Overall, in August, “Russian forces advanced or infiltrated into about 123.53 square kilometers — an average pace of 3.98 square kilometers per day,” according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). “Russian forces’ main territorial gains in August 2026 have been in the Fortress Belt area, Donetsk Oblast. Even there, Russian forces managed to achieve only marginal tactical gains and have thus far failed to complete the seizure of Kostyantynivka.”
Kharkiv: Russian forces continued offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast and the Velykyi Burluk direction on September 1 and 2 but did not advance. Russian forces also continued offensive operations in the Borova and Kupyansk directions on September 2 but did not advance. However, Moscow’s troops continued attempts to secure and expand the bridgehead on the left bank of the Oskil River to enable further infiltrations into Kupyansk.
Donetsk: Ukrainian forces recently defeated a Russian infiltration mission in the Slovyansk direction. They also recently maintained positions or advanced in the Dobropillya tactical area. Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Novopavlivka direction on September 1 and 2 but did not advance. Neither Ukrainian nor Russian forces reported ground activity in the Oleksandrivka direction on September 2.
Zaporizhia: Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Hulyaipole direction on September 1 and 2 but did not advance. Russian forces continued offensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast on September 1 and 2 but did not advance as Ukrainian forces counterattacked west of Orikhiv.
Kherson: Neither Russian nor Ukrainian forces reported ground activity in the Kherson direction on September 2.
MORE 🧵(1/3): ISW has observed evidence to assess that Russian forces consolidated positions in or seized about 90.35 square kilometers of territory in Ukraine in August 2026, averaging 2.91 square kilometers seized per day. Including Russian infiltrations, Russian forces… https://t.co/0RlwRfBdhspic.twitter.com/Cp2Knry2Du
Air traffic around Moscow continued to be disrupted on Thursday as Russian authorities responded to another large-scale Ukrainian drone operation, according to EU Today. The disruptions came two days after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned international airlines and insurers that Russian airspace was becoming increasingly unsafe for civilian aviation due to Ukrainian drone attacks.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 548 drones had flown towards the wider Moscow region between 8 a.m. on Wednesday and midday Thursday local time. However, Russian authorities claimed that most were intercepted before they could reach the Moscow area while 143 were destroyed on approaches to the Russian capital.
“Temporary restrictions were again imposed at Moscow’s principal airports,” EU Today noted. “Vnukovo and Domodedovo stopped arrivals and departures for periods during the operation, while Sheremetyevo handled flights under additional restrictions. The measures produced cancellations, delays and diversions extending beyond the periods in which individual airports were formally closed.”
The disruption “had already become extensive on Wednesday,” the publication added. “Flight-tracking data showed 21 cancellations and 235 delayed services at Sheremetyevo, Russia’s largest airport, while Vnukovo recorded 22 cancellations and 94 delays.”
⚡️ Moscow airports cancel flights after Zelensky’s ‘closed skies’ warning
“Temporary restrictions on the arrival and departure of aircraft have been introduced,” Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) said.https://t.co/BAlAASaDv5
Putin on Thursday said there is a chance of resolving the “Ukrainian conflict” but Kyiv’s campaign to shut down Russian airspace is “complicating the negotiation process.”
Russia and Ukraine themselves must reach an agreement, while other countries can only support and assist, the Russian leader added, according to a translation from former Ukrainian government official Anton Gerashchenko.
Russia is in contact with the White House and President Donald Trump “is committed to positive and constructive engagement,” Putin proclaimed. “Russia has many friends in the United States. One of them is Steven Seagal, the ‘best envoy of peace.’”
Putin said there is a chance of resolving the “Ukrainian conflict” but Ukraine’s threats to shut down Russian airspace are “complicating the negotiation process.”
A Russian drone strike on an Odesa apartment building injured at least 17 people, including three children, Zelensky stated on X.
In Odesa, emergency services continue working at the site of a drone strike on an apartment building. Damage to apartments from the 10th through the 17th floors left 17 people injured, including three children. Efforts are also ongoing to deal with the aftermath of the strikes in… pic.twitter.com/FWAmFNJSYp
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 3, 2026
Overall, Ukraine says its air defenses downed or suppressed 135 of 163 Russian drones launched overnight, including Shahed-type UAVs, about half of which were jet-powered. Russia also used S-8000 Banderol, Gerbera and decoy drones. Hits were recorded at 15 locations and debris fell at four.
Ukraine says air defenses downed or suppressed 135 of 163 Russian drones launched overnight, including Shahed-type UAVs, about half of them jet-powered. Russia also used S-8000 Banderol, Gerbera and decoy drones. Hits were recorded at 15 locations and debris fell at four.… pic.twitter.com/JyxTS6QBzL
Russia has been increasingly using jet-powered drones to attack Ukraine. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry released video it says shows troops from the 208th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade downing one of those drones. The jet powered Shahed-like one-way attack drones fly higher and faster than their propeller-driven cousins, making them harder to intercept by more cost effective and plentiful means, such as Ukraine’s many drone interceptors. Instead, much more expensive and increasingly scare missile must be used in some circumstances.
What appears to be the first video of Ukrainian troops using Cold War-era Leopard 1 tanks with turrets swapped out for the Rheinmetall Skyranger 35 short-range air defense system has emerged on social media. The @deaidua X account that tracks German war materiel donations to Ukraine said the 1020th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment recently took delivery of this system, designed to be a highly mobile counter to a range of aerial threats.
The Skyranger 35 “is equipped with a KDG 35/1000 revolver cannon in 35 mm x 228 caliber with a firing rate of 1,000 rounds per minute,” according to Rheinmetall, which began delivering these to Ukraine in January. “It has an effective range of up to 4,000 meters and a high degree of commonality with the Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk 3. Thanks to AHEAD technology, the Skyranger 35 is airburst-capable. In the future, it will also be possible to equip it with modern guided missiles.”
It seems that Ukraine’s 1020th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment which belongs to the Ground Forces has taken delivery of the first Skyranger 35 SPAAGs mounted on a Leopard 1 chassis made by @RheinmetallAG.
A new documentary about Ukraine’s use of the combat-proven National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) air defense system debuts tomorrow.
“Sky Defenders is a new documentary taking audiences inside the increasingly critical battle to protect the skies of Europe and Ukraine,” according to the film’s producers. “Launching globally on Apple TV and Amazon Prime on Sept. 4, the 50-minute film explores the people, technology and strategy behind modern air defense and the race to stop missiles and drones before they reach their targets.”
SKY DEFENDERS | Official Trailer
A new video shows a Russian soldier being attacked by three Ukrainian kamikaze drones simultaneously, underscoring just how dense the drone threat has become to troops near the front.
That kind of attrition is also visible around Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian kamikaze drones are increasingly coordinating strikes against individual Russian infantrymen and small assault groups.https://t.co/HfKBCW7ZOm
It’s been more than three years since the Russians captured the town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region after a long battle that incurred a tremendous toll on personnel and equipment on both sides of the fight. New drone video has emerged showing the city remains in ruins, with blocks and blocks of vacant and destroyed buildings.
A harrowing new video from Bakhmut, filmed in the summer of 2026. The Ukrainian city was captured by the Russians three years ago and has lain in ruins ever since.
In this once-vibrant city of 72,000 inhabitants, there are no longer any shops, schools, kindergartens, cafés,… pic.twitter.com/clFfLu5jkq
Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement on Thursday that deposition will move forward in the committee’s investigation into billionaire Leon Black’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein despite Black refusing to appear. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo
Sept. 3 (UPI) — Former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black is refusing to appear before the House Oversight Committee to testify on Thursday, instead filing a lawsuit against the committee over its investigation into his connections with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Black filed the lawsuit on Thursday as he attempts to block two subpoenas for him to testify. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the committee’s ranking Democrat, has called on the committee to hold Black in contempt.
The lawsuit argues the subpoenas “exceed [the Office of Government Relations’] delegated authority in seeking private information that bears no legitimate connection to OGR’s legislative purpose.”
In a letter to the committee, Black’s attorneys said “Congress is not entitled to subpoena documents from a private citizen,” calling the subpoenas “invalid.”
Garcia said in a statement on Thursday that Black “funded Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of women.”
“Black gave Jeffrey Epstein over $180 million over six years,” Garcia’s statement reads. “His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable. We must hold him in contempt immediately.”
Committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement that the deposition will move forward on Thursday and he will speak with committee members about “next steps.”
“It’s a shame Leon Black is hiding behind litigation rather than provide answers to the American people,” Comer said in a statement.
Black told members of Congress in a closed-door interview in June that he was not aware of the extent of Epstein’s criminal activity and denied being involved in abusing women or sexually abusing minors.
“We want to reiterate that Mr. Black had no awareness of the criminal activities that led to Epstein’s arrest in 2019,” Black’s attorneys said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “Mr. Black never abused a woman. He never was with an underage woman. He never engaged in sex trafficking. He never paid Epstein for access to women. He was never blackmailed by Epstein.”
President of the New York Stock Exchange Lynn Martin speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the economy at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Carlos Queiroz quit the job after leading Ghana to the World Cup Round of 32 but has returned for an interim period.
Published On 3 Sep 20263 Sep 2026
Carlos Queiroz has been reappointed Ghana coach for an indeterminate period, two months after stepping down in the wake of the country’s FIFA World Cup campaign.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) said on Wednesday the 73-year-old Portuguese coach would “embark on a new coaching mandate, commencing with the upcoming international window”.
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“The GFA believes Queiroz’s extensive international experience, technical expertise, and knowledge of the Black Stars position him strongly to lead the team into this next chapter,” the association said in a statement.
The experienced former Iran, Portugal, Colombia and Egypt coach guided the Black Stars to the round of 32 at the World Cup despite having only a couple of months to prepare them for the tournament.
Ghana were left without a coach 72 days before the World Cup kickoff after parting company with Otto Addo following friendly defeats by Austria and Germany in March.
Ghana are scheduled to play home and away group matches against Ivory Coast in qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations during the next international window, which runs from September 21 to October 6.
Queiroz led Portugal to the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup and later coached Iran in the last three editions of the tournament, recording three wins in 13 matches.
Born in Mozambique, the former goalkeeper has also held coaching positions with Egypt, Japan, Colombia and South Africa, and previously led Portugal in the early 1990s.
August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” the first of his plays to reach Broadway, catapulted the author’s playwriting career.
It’s the only drama in Wilson’s 10-play American Century Cycle not set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. But the series might never have come to fruition were it not for the way “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” heralded the emergence of a major new American dramatist.
Although it’s still one of his most produced works, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” has the hallmarks of an early piece. Wilson discovers his playwriting voice in this play, but he’s still working out his approach to dramatic structure.
I wasn’t champing at the bit to see another production of “Ma Rainey’s,” but I’m glad I didn’t miss this latest Wilson revival at A Noise Within, directed by Gregg T. Daniel. Acted with breathtaking ensemble naturalness, the play seems lived in rather than performed.
Francis C. Edemobi, from left, Amber Liekhus and CJ Obilom in August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at A Noise Within.
(Craig Schwartz)
The voices of the characters come through as though we’re eavesdropping from a discreet distance on their banter and squabbles. There’s nothing more riveting on stage than the truth, and here we have human beings in all their flagrant, unadorned and seemingly irreconcilable complications.
Set in a Chicago recording studio in 1927, the play splits its focus between the title character, a fictitious re-creation of the great blues singer Ma Rainey engaged in a power struggle with her white industry overlords, and the exchanges of her sidemen, a quartet of Black men with markedly different ambitions and sensibilities.
Levee, the role magnificently played by Chadwick Boseman in George C. Wolfe‘s 2020 film adaptation, may have more of a claim on the protagonist role than even Ma Rainey, who’s the play’s thematic center. As she throws her diva weight around in defense of a talent born out of Black suffering, she crystallizes the racial politics that Wilson powerfully illuminates.
But Levee’s role is the most dynamic in the play. A trumpeter who wants to move the band in a more musically sophisticated direction, he’s written his own arrangement of the song “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” that they’ve come to the studio to record. But Ma Rainey insists on doing it her way, even if Levee’s version is more interesting from a jazz perspective.
Overcome with anger from a traumatic childhood in which he witnessed his mother being raped by a mob of white men, he can’t tolerate slights, big or small. And his fiery temper, igniting at every possible moment with his older and more accommodating bandmates, turns this snapshot of history into genuine tragedy.
Kai A. Ealy, from left, Alex Morris, Gerald C. Rivers and Jamar Gilbert in August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at A Noise Within.
(Craig Schwartz)
The bedraggled studio has been visually renovated with the wood-slatted elegance of Tesshi Nakagawa’s scenic design. Daniel’s production demands that we experience the play in a fresh light. The period is respected but never allowed to become stiff or artificial. This isn’t a waxwork staging.
Standing microphones, placed on different tiers of the set, never let us forget that Wilson was first and foremost a conductor of voices. He bestows on his characters arias, and Daniel’s cast delivers them as though the words were expressly made for these particular actors.
Jamar Gilbert’s Levee moves through the world as if it’s a battle zone, which of course for him it has been. Conflict has dogged him his entire life, and injustice is what he’s come to expect. His focus is on himself, his music, his sensual pleasures and his determination not to be anyone’s victim. He takes as much pride in the shine of his new shoes as he does in the flirtatious giggle of a pretty woman.
Toledo (Gerald C. Rivers), the philosopher and historian of the group, tries to broaden Levee’s perspective, but the two men have a knack for getting under each other’s skin. Their antagonism is fueled in part by Levee’s immaturity, but there’s also a divide in their worldview: Levee wants society to change in time for him to make good while Toledo is more concerned with the collective spirit of his people.
Meanwhile, Slow Drag (Alex Morris) mostly wants to get on with the session, collect his money and enjoy life as it was meant to be enjoyed, with whiskey, a little reefer and good-looking women. Cutler (Kai A. Ealy) tries to be a moderating influence, but he winds up as exasperated by Levee as Toledo.
Alex Morris, from left, Amber Liekhus and Jamar Gilbert in August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at A Noise Within.
(Craig Schwartz)
The authenticity of the production encompasses the music. These actors don’t mime making music, as is often the case in revivals. They jam together, modestly but effectively enough to make their recording session real to us.
There’s nothing at all modest about Amber Liekhus’ musical talent. Indeed, Liekhus is the first actor who was able to convince me that the character of Ma Rainey really is a professional, jobbing singer. She doesn’t imitate being the mother of the blues, as her character is known. She earns the distinction through the wondrous depths of her soulful singing.
She refuses to be bulldozed by either Irvin (Bert Emmett), her manager, or Sturdyvant (Matt Foyer), the owner of the recording studio, knowing full well that they depend on her gift for their pile of money. Her insistence that Sylvester (Francis C. Edemobi), her nephew with a pronounced stutter, speaks the intro to her new record, is her way of asserting human control over corporate greed.
Liekhus’ Ma Rainey isn’t merely being temperamental, as Sturdyvant and Irvin assume. She’s using her limited leverage in whatever ways she can. There’s something touching about her imperiousness, a regal vulnerability that shines through even in her romantic interaction with Dussie Mae (CJ Obilom), whom Levee has his predatory eye on.
The honesty of the acting is so enlivening that I’m tempted to rank this production among the very best Wilson revivals I’ve seen. If there’s one slight misstep, it happens at the play’s violent climax. The moment makes perfect psychological and dramatic sense, but the confrontation needs a few more beats than Daniel allows.
But this encounter with “Ma Rainey” reveals that even early Wilson can, in the right hands, offer unadulterated playwriting greatness.
‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’
Where: A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena
A mural commemorating late Cambridge professor Jason Arday, who died after intense media coverage of plagiarism allegations, is displayed at London’s Notting Hill Carnival. It features student testimonies and challenges claims by Nathan Cofnas, who accused Arday of plagiarism.
Kaia recently claimed she was possessed as a child before undergoing an exorcismCredit: SplashHomer’s dad Richard Gere dated Kaia’s mum, supermodel Cindy, in the 1990sCredit: Getty
She told The Mitch Churi Chat Show podcast: “I do feel as though I attract beings from the other dimension, in a very casual and chill way.”
The star then revealed the bizarre way in which the ancient ritual was performed.
“They played a didgeridoo all over me.
“That’s how they did the exorcism,” Kaia revealed.
“I’ve never talked about it, but it actually did happen.
