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A presenter and explorer had to move fast to avoid a potentially dangerous animal encounter

Steve Backshall had a “dangerously close encounter” as he filmed a series about hippos.

The naturalist and explorer got up close to the animals while making Hippo Watch with Steve Backshall, which can be viewed on Channel 5. But a clip shared on Instagram showed some of the hippos getting a bit too interested in the camera crew as they shot scenes in South Africa, with Steve exclaiming: “They’re coming our way!”

The clip, captioned “Dangerously close encounter with hippos”, showed Steve and his crew in the water, filming a group of hippos nearby.

“Even on waters where hippos are familiar with boats and people, beware of hippos who break away from their group,” the voiceover warned.

Looking over at the animals, Steve spotted some movement and told viewers: “Oh, he’s standing up and having a good close look at me. Look at that! Spy hopping right up out of the water.

“OK guys, keep a very close eye on him, yeah? Two of them are splintered off from the pod, and they’re looking right at me. Three. Three of them now. And definitely curious.”

As the hippos started to move through the water, he exclaimed: “I think those two are coming our way. No? Yeah, they are. Look, they’re coming our way!”

Someone in the film crew was then heard telling the team: “OK guys, they’re moving now, come on.”

Steve waded hastily back to the boat, admitting: “We’re getting very close.”

The voiceover noted that it was “definitely time to leave”, continuing: “You can never get complacent around these animals, and should always err on the side of caution.”

The Instagram caption said: “Wrong place. Wrong time. @backshall.steve finds himself dangerously close to a hippo that’s broken from the pack… One wrong move could be fatal.”

The series has gone down a storm with viewers, with one posting on Instagram: “Phenomenal documentary.” “Fantastic, thoroughly enjoyed this,” said someone else, as another said it was “incredible” viewing.

“Very interesting,” posted another impressed viewer. “Steve, you’re quite literally my childhood role model,” commented another fan, adding: “So awesome to see all of this content.”

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website.

Hippo Watch is available on Channel 5.

Ella Bruccoleri looks unrecognisable from her days at Nonnatus House as she takes on the leading role in new BBC period drama

Call the Midwife star Ella Bruccoleri has landed the leading role in new BBC period drama The Other Bennet Sister.

The 10-episode series, which is based on Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name, follows the “overlooked” character of Mary Bennet, played by Ella, who looks unrecognisable from her days at Nonnatus House, where she featured as Sister Frances until 2022.

The series begins at Longbourn, where the Bennet family’s five unmarried daughters navigate the rigid expectations of Regency society.

“Her journey sees her leave her family home for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention,” the synopsis says.

“The series follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose, finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way,” it goes on.

Fans don’t have long to wait for the show to drop as it had since been confirmed that it will premiere on BBC One at 8pm on Sunday ( March 15) and all episodes will be available to stream on iPlayer.

Speaking to the BBC about her new role, Ella explained: “Mary’s not your typical period drama heroine.

“She lives in a world where, particularly for women, appearance is everything, and she doesn’t understand that value system at all.

“Instead, she turns to literature that offers a different viewpoint. Her favourite book is Fordyce’s Sermons to Young Women, because it argues that women shouldn’t have to be beautiful — they should be intelligent and pious.”

Giving fans further insight on her character, she added: “Mary Bennet has been written off by many members of her family, and as a result she’s written herself off too. When we meet her at the beginning of the series, she’s living with her family in a small village and has never really left that world.

“These are the only people she knows, and she understands herself through the values they impose on her. We know these characters from Pride and Prejudice, but it’s fascinating to see the impact they have on someone like Mary.”

Giving her thoughts on the new adaptation, the star said: “When I read Jane Austen, I’m always struck by how witty it is so witty, with humour in every line.

“Sarah Quintrell really brings that into the scripts, and Janice Hadlow’s book does the same. The novel is very different in style from Austen, but it feels like a genuine extension of Pride and Prejudice.

“Sarah’s scripts tread the line between comedy and drama better than anything I’ve ever read. It feels like a tragicomedy – it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s also not afraid to delve into emotionally weighty material. That feels very true to Jane Austen.”

The Other Bennet Sister debuts on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday (March 15) at 8pm

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website.

A passenger onboard Southwest Airlines was removed from their flight after their call to prayer was mistaken for a ‘bomb threat’. Officials later called the incident a ‘misunderstanding’ after finding no credible threat, following the Florida-bound flight’s emergency landing in Georgia.

As expected, Iran has repeatedly targeted prized missile defense radars across the Middle East in retaliation for the joint U.S.-Israeli air campaign that is ongoing. Iran’s attacks on high-value radars that enable the region’s missile defense capabilities appear to have succeeded on multiple occasions. The irony that lower-end long-range kamikaze drones are perhaps the biggest threat to extremely advanced radars capable of providing telemetry for intercepting targets traveling at hypersonic speeds, sometimes in space, is glaring. The losses of the radars and/or damage to their facilities should finally serve as a stark wake-up call regarding the vulnerability of these critical but largely static assets.

Based on the information at hand, it appears that Iran has been able to destroy one U.S. AN/TPY-2 radar in Jordan and damage the massive American-made AN/FPS-132 phased array radar in Qatar, prompting immediate concerns about available radar coverage to help respond to further barrages. There are strong indications that a number of other similar systems have been destroyed or damaged, as well.

For over a decade, TWZ has drawn attention to the threat of drones to America’s critical military capabilities and infrastructure. And more recently, we specifically discussed the glaring vulnerability of strategic radar systems after a Ukrainian drone attack nearly two years ago on a Russian early warning radar site, as well as after being first to report drone incursions over a U.S. missile defense site on Guam back in 2019.

For some general context to start, Iran and/or its regional proxies have hit targets in a total of 12 countries since the start of the current conflict. Iranian retaliatory attacks utilizing ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as long-range kamikaze drones, have significantly declined in recent days, but are still being carried out. Countries in the region are so far claiming very high interception rates of incoming threats, but some missiles and drones are clearly making it to their targets.

Iran has attacked a wide array of different targets, military and non-military, but there has been a clear concerted effort to go after air and missile defense radars in the region as part of the retaliatory campaign. This is to be expected given that the loss of key radars, even temporarily, risks degrading further efforts to intercept Iranian missiles and drones, hence these weapons can succeed at a higher rate. Taking out missile defense radars at very high-value sites can leave those areas far more vulnerable to follow-on attacks, as well. Striking these radars also reduces their user’s general situational awareness in the region, and can even have strategic implications beyond the region, too.

It’s also worth noting that these radars are extremely expensive and take years to replace.

Iran’s attacks on radars so far

This past week, CNN obtained imagery from Planet Labs showing an AN/TPY-2 radar damaged, or even possibly destroyed, following an Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Muwaffaq Salti has long been a major regional hub for U.S. operations, and is being very actively utilized in the current conflict. It has the greatest concentration of U.S. tactical aircraft in the region, and thus is an extremely important target, where even one ballistic missile landing on an apron could destroy multiple prized fighter aircraft and take the lives of U.S. service members.

NEW: The radar for a THAAD system was struck and apparently destroyed in Jordan while two other THAAD radar systems may have been hit in the UAE, satellite images show – w/ @ThomasBordeaux7 https://t.co/qiuWVQgyda

— Gianluca Mezzofiore (@GianlucaMezzo) March 5, 2026

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the U.S. military was rushing to replace the AN/TPY-2 at Muwaffaq Salti, lending credence to the assessment that damage from the Iranian attack was at least substantial. There is a picture, seen below, circulating on social media that is said to show the AN/TPY-2 at Muwaffaq Salti having been clearly knocked out, but it remains unverified and, in an age of increasingly impressive AI fakes, should be treated as such.

Photos have now confirmed the destruction of a AN/TPY-2 Forward Based X-band Transportable Radar operated by the U.S. Army, following an Iranian drone attack earlier this week targeting Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. The AN/TPY-2 is the primary ground-based air surveillance… pic.twitter.com/54QyQCxNVW

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 7, 2026

The active electronically-scanned array AN/TPY-2 is primarily associated with the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile system, but it also has a demonstrated ability to feed data to Patriot surface-to-air missile systems. THAAD is a key upper-tier defensive system deployed to the Middle East that is capable of swatting down Iran’s most capable missiles from the end of their midcourse stage of flight and through their terminal stage. AN/TPY-2 radars can also be deployed as standalone sensors in a larger integrated air defense network. The radar is trailer-mounted and technically road mobile, but is not designed to be used on the move or very rapidly relocated from one place to another.

CNN has reported that additional Planet Labs imagery indicates that AN/TPY-2 and their infrastructure were also at least targeted and possibly damaged in Iranian attacks on THAAD batteries belonging to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one at Al Ruwais and another at Al Sader, and another one in Saudi Arabia near Prince Sultan Air Base. The New York Times also obtained satellite imagery showing that the site at Al Ruwais had at least come under attack. The full extent of the damage at any of these sites remains unclear.

A compound was damaged on Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE. Sat dishes were visible at the site as recently as mid-June of last year. It is unclear if they were still there when strikes occurred, but Iran struck the same area again on Monday. pic.twitter.com/nRyb7c6Kj5

— Devon Lum (@devonjlum) March 4, 2026

A satellite image taken on March 1 shows smoke rising from a radar site near the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where dozens of American planes are stationed.

At the site, a tent previously used to shelter a radar system for a nearby THAAD battery was badly charred and… pic.twitter.com/rSbEdtOvwf

— Gianluca Mezzofiore (@GianlucaMezzo) March 6, 2026

Satellite imagery from Planet Labs, obtained by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, has also confirmed that the very large, fully static AN/FPS-132 radar in Qatar was damaged in an Iranian attack on the first day of the conflict. At least one of the radar’s three arrays was hit, and there are also signs of a possible fire.

Confirmed the AN/FPS-132 phased array radar in Qatar was damaged by Iran, thanks to an incredible image from our friends @planet

Debris from the damaged face has fallen on the roof of the main building and there is water runoff from the firefighting effort pic.twitter.com/AxzteEug7P

— Sam Lair (@sam_lair) March 3, 2026

There are multiple versions of the giant AN/FPS-132, all of which are fixed-site solid-state phased array radar systems primarily to provide early warning of incoming ballistic missile strikes. As noted, the one in Qatar has three faces, offering 360-degree coverage, but there are also variants with only two faces. The AN/FPS-132 is part of a larger group of broadly related strategic early warning types that are also in U.S. military service at multiple sites in the United States, as well as in Greenland. The Royal Air Force (RAF) in the United Kingdom operates another one of these radars at its RAF Fylingdales base.

Since the first day of the current conflict, claims have been circulating that Iran was able to at least damage a U.S. AN/TPS-59 active electronically-scanned array ballistic missile defense radar in Manama, Bahrain. This appears to be based on the video below, showing a kamikaze drone hitting a large spherical radome at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, a U.S. Navy facility in the country that is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

Footage of an Iranian attack drone slamming into the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain moments ago. pic.twitter.com/wHbje3eiiy

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) February 28, 2026

However, Planet Labs imagery that The New York Times subsequently obtained has been assessed to instead show damage to what are understood to be large satellite communications terminals at NSA Bahrain. Like larger radars, these terminals also often sit inside spherical radomes. There are clear signs that communications arrays like this have been a major target of Iranian retaliation strikes on bases across the Middle East, as well.

A tent surrounded by satellite dishes was destroyed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Some of the dishes were most likely damaged as well. Al Udeid is the regional headquarters for the US Central Command, and was similarly struck by Iran last June. pic.twitter.com/TyuqZWHUL3

— Devon Lum (@devonjlum) March 4, 2026

Yesterday, Iran’s PressTV claimed that the Iranian Navy had launched a kamikaze drone attack targeting “strategic carbon-based radar installations at the Sdot Micha facility.” While TWZ cannot independently confirm whether such an attack was launched, let alone was successful, it does highlight continued Iranian targeting of key missile defense radars. Sdot Micha Air Base in Israel hosts Arrow-series anti-ballistic missile defense systems. Elta’s Green Pine, which is analogous in some very broad respects to AN/TPY-2, is the main radar associated with these anti-missile systems.

Costly losses of key capabilities

Concerns have been raised about the immediate impacts from the loss of the AN/TPY-2 and damage to the AN/FPS-132, given that Iranian retaliatory attacks have significantly slowed, but not stopped. There are claims now, said to have originated from a report from Channel 14 in Israel, that malfunctioning and/or damaged U.S. radars have caused delays in early warning alerts about incoming Iranian missiles. TWZ has been unable to find an original source for these assertions, and they remain very much unconfirmed at this time. Regardless, it is hard not to see how losses of these systems could cause at least some degradation in total coverage, even if other land based and sea-based systems (Aegis BMD) can help with filling in some coverage.

The United States, Israel, and Gulf Arab states do have other air and missile defense radars positioned in the Middle East, or that could otherwise help fill any resulting gaps. At the same time, there are only a small number of systems that are at all equivalent to the AN/TPY-2, let alone the AN/FPS-132. Only 16 AN/TPY-2s are understood to have been produced to date, in total, for all customers. The current cost of one of those radars is generally pegged at around $250 to $300 million. When the U.S. government approved the sale of the AN/FPS-132 radar, as well as various ancillary items and services, to Qatar in 2013, that entire package had an estimated value of $1.1 billion, or just over $2.1 billion today when adjusted for inflation. Any of these systems takes years to procure.

🇺🇸 PSA: Fast Facts on AN/TPY-2 (radar system used by THAAD)

16 produced to date, 13 US Army, 2 UAE, 1 KSA, 6 more pending for KSA, none on order for US Army.

8 deployed as part of US THAAD batteries, 5 Forward Based Mode (deployed/operated by US Army in Japan [2], Israel,… pic.twitter.com/bD7gHpA3ib

— Colby Badhwar 🇨🇦🇬🇧 (@ColbyBadhwar) March 7, 2026

Furthermore, the U.S. military and its allies have spent years (and billions of dollars) building a regional missile defense shield, with AN/TPY-2s and the AN/FPS-132 in Qatar being core components thereof. Though Iran and its expanding ballistic missile arsenal have been the driving factors behind those efforts, the U.S. government also sees these assets as being a key element of its global missile defense architecture. As noted, the Qatari AN/FPS-132 provides 360-degree coverage that is not limited to scanning for threats emanating from Iran. Houthi militants in Yemen to the south, long backed by Iran, have amassed a substantial arsenal of ballistic missiles, as well as cruise missiles and long-range kamikaze drones, and have used it to attack Gulf Arab states in the past. As an aside, the UAE was the first to employ THAAD in combat back in 2022, using the system to knock down an incoming Houthi ballistic missile.

More serious ramifications

Strategic air and missile architectures, in general, exist in a world now where the threats they face are not limited to very-long-range standoff capabilities possessed only by peer or near-peer adversaries.

It used to be, generally, that you had to fire a ballistic missile or high-end cruise missile in an attempt to strike one of these systems. Now, long-range one-way-attack drones, as well as increasingly capable cruise and ballistic missiles, continue to proliferate steadily, including to smaller nation-state armed forces and even non-state actors. An attack could even come from a small drone with a C4 charge launched from a fishing trawler 10 miles away from one of these critical radar installations. The threat of these kinds of near-field attacks has largely been overlooked for years, even as the low-end drone threat has exploded and ‘democratized’ precision-guided weaponry, as they did not fit the established aerial threat matrix and the countermeasures used to repel those threats.

Though we have not seen it yet in the course of the current conflict with Iran, the threat of more localized attacks by smaller weaponized drones, in particular, is very real and only set to grow. This was definitely shown by Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb’s unprecedented covert attacks on multiple airbases across Russia last year. Israel also employed near-field drone and missile attacks to destroy Iranian air defenses in the opening phases of the 12 Day War last June. These operations were massively successful and knocked out Iran’s most critical air defenses, allowing for long-range munitions to strike their targets unimpeded. TWZ had been calling attention to this issue for years beforehand, including back in 2019 after drones were reportedly spotted over the U.S. Army THAAD site, with its AN/TPY-2 radar, on Guam.

СБУ показала унікальні кадри спецоперації «Павутина», у результаті якої уражено 41 військовий літак стратегічної авіації рф

➡️ https://t.co/OSxqEsI9CD pic.twitter.com/aGSZNEsoX3

— СБ України (@ServiceSsu) June 4, 2025

CBS News also reported this past week that quadcopter-type drones may have been surveilling the Shuaiba port in Kuwait before all-out hostilities erupted. Six U.S. service members were killed, and more were wounded, in an Iranian retaliatory attack on a U.S. logistics operations center at Shuaiba on March 1.

Iranian intelligence utilized various means to track service members after they left the base.

➡️ In anticipation of the offensive and expected retaliation to include strikes on Camp Arifjan, the Tactical Ops Center (TOC) was moved to the same facility at the port used during… https://t.co/R8VcPGIESm

— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) March 6, 2026

Large, high-value, static and semi-static radars are fragile, to begin with. Domes and other structures can be built around them to help protect them from the elements, but they still need to allow for signals to be sent out and received. This inherently limits options for more physical hardening. Since these radars are typically fixed in place permanently or semi-permanently, their locations are also easier to determine and then target using a set of basic map coordinates. This is highlighted by how quickly news outlets have been able to locate these sites and then assess damage to them from commercially available satellite imagery.

The fragility of large radars also means that what might seem to be minor damage to the casual observer could actually be enough for a mission kill that takes the system offline, or at least degrades its functionality greatly, for a protracted period of time. Depending on the radar, it might not take a very large munition at all to cause a sufficient degree of damage. Just a small drone packing a grenade-sized explosive can punch a hole in one of these fragile arrays, putting it out of action for a very long period of time.

As TWZ wrote back in 2019 in the context of reported drone incursions over Guam:

“With that said, America’s preeminent adversaries in the entire region would make taking out the THAAD battery on Guam a top priority during a conflict or even as part of a limited demonstration of force. Why barrage it with ballistic missiles or attempt a cruise missile launch from a forward-deployed submarine or even a clandestine commando raid when you can just fly a drone loaded with explosives into it? And no, you don’t need some high-end drone system to do this as real-world events have highlighted many times over. Drug cartels are now whacking their enemies with off-the-shelf drone-borne improvised explosive devices and even U.S. allies are actually manufacturing hobby-like drones just for this purpose. Somewhat more sophisticated types can be launched from longer distances and can even home in on radar or other RF emissions sources, like THAAD’s powerful AN/TPY-2 Radar and data-links, autonomously, beyond just striking a certain point on a map.”

“Simply put, ‘shooting the archer,’ in this case an advanced anti-ballistic missile system that protects America’s most strategic base in the entire region, via a relatively cheap drone is both an absurdly obvious and terrifyingly ironic tactic—the U.S. can shoot down ballistic missiles, but the critical systems used to do so remain extremely vulnerable to the lowliest of airborne threats—cheap drones.”

The scale and scope of Iran’s retaliatory attacks so far, while clearly threatening, pale in comparison to what one would expect to see in a major high-end fight between the United States and China in the Pacific. The overall ramifications would also be more severe.

Beyond the more immediate impacts of losing this kind of strategic radar coverage, there are far larger implications. In some cases, these radars are designed to provide critical early warning and verification of incoming nuclear strikes, or other large-scale attacks by a major adversary, targeting a nation’s home soil. They are critical parts of the nuclear deterrent. As such, losing these sensors can have major downstream impacts on strategic decision-making cycles based on concerns about what suddenly is not being seen. Fewer radars also means fewer ways to double-check that a track is not a false positive in a scenario where the total available decision-making time could be seriously truncated, to begin with. These are concerns TWZ explicitly highlighted after Ukraine’s attack on the Armavir Radar Station in Russia in 2024.

A need for deeply layered defenses

It should be clear at this point that threats to strategic radar systems that Iran’s attacks in the past week have thrust into the public eye are not new. Similarly, this highlights how the United States, and others globally, remain behind the curve when it comes to establishing deeper, layered defenses to better protect these prized assets. This was already evidenced by Ukraine’s attack on the Armavir Radar Station in Russia in 2024.

A notable exception is Taiwan’s Leshan radar station, which houses an AN/FPS-115 Pave Paws phased array early warning radar that would be a top target for Chinese forces during any cross-strait conflict. It is protected by an array of defensive capabilities, including a ground-based Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS), which is more typically found on warships. Even so, Iran’s attacks on radars this past week have still notably resonated in Taiwan.

Even a layered defense posture might not be enough, especially in the face of a large volume and/or complex attack involving multiple types of missiles and/or drones. Those threats could also be coming from very different vectors at once, and fired from very disparate launch points on land, at sea, or in the air. Achieving overmatch against fixed defenses is also a glaring vulnerability. An enemy can calculate how many munitions, and what mix of munitions, are required to overwhelm known defenses at a key location. This is especially true for largely static defensive arrangements. Once critical terrestrial sensors are taken out, attacking other targets that were under the defensive umbrella they helped enable can become far easier.

New eyes in space

Perhaps the biggest takeaway here is that the combat actions by Iran this week provide heft to the arguments for migrating missile tracking capabilities outside of the atmosphere. While advanced and resilient missile tracking layers in space may not replace all their terrestrial counterparts, they would provide much-needed redundancy and augmentation of their capabilities.

The U.S. military does have space-based early warning sensors that are integrated into its existing ballistic missile defense architecture, and have been for decades. But these warn of launches, they don’t track a weapon throughout its flight cycle. For some years now, work has been underway to substantially expand on those capabilities, to include the start of the fielding of a new satellite constellation to help track ballistic missiles, as well as hypersonic boost-glide vehicles and other threats, during the mid-course portion of their flights.

The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force are also very eager to move most, if not all, of the airborne target warning sensor layer into orbit, and to do the same when it comes to persistent tracking of targets on the ground and at sea. Relevant space-based capabilities are still years away from becoming a reality, at least at the required scale.

Shifting the focus to sensors in orbit is not without its own risks, either. U.S. officials regularly highlight ever-growing threats to assets in space, and are now openly talking about the need for satellites to be able to fight back, as you can read more about here. As part of its work on new space-based sensor infrastructure, the U.S. military has been investing heavily in new distributed constellations with large numbers of smaller satellites to increase resiliency to attacks.

Regardless, the Pentagon is very bullish in moving missile tracking into orbit, and doing so with more resilient constellations than with a handful of traditional satellites. Work is deeply underway in proving out this technology, which would enable the entire missile defense architecture globally. President Trump’s Golden Dome initiative will need this capability in order to accomplish its lofty goals. But accelerating the development and deployment of this kind of capability is very costly and we may see a major boost in funding for it after this war ends.

Overall, more details about the scope and scale of damage to radars and other assets from Iranian retaliatory attacks are likely to continue to emerge. What we’ve already seen points to a need for a further reassessment of the vulnerabilities of critical strategic air and missile defense radars and what is needed to adequately defend them, including moving them outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

March 5 (UPI) — Argentina’s main business organizations issued an unusual public warning to President Javier Milei’s government, calling for “respect” for the private sector and warning about the difficult situation facing the country’s industrial base.

The statements followed remarks by Milei during the opening of the legislative year in Congress, when the president sharply criticized industrial business leaders and accused them of benefiting for years from a protectionist and corrupt economic system.

The reactions came mainly from the Argentine Industrial Union, known by its Spanish acronym UIA, and the Argentine Business Association, or AEA, two of the most influential groups representing the country’s private sector.

Under the premise that “without industry there is no nation,” the UIA defended the productive sector in a statement responding to the president’s comments and expressed concern about the situation of factories across several provinces.

“In this stage of transformation, we want to be clear: respect is a basic condition for development. Respect for those who produce, invest and create jobs across the country. Respect is the starting point to rebuild the confidence Argentina needs, both domestically and internationally,” the organization said, according to a report by Argentine newspaper Perfil.

The UIA also said business leaders should not be blamed for economic distortions accumulated over decades and called for clear rules to guide the transition toward a more open economic model.

Industrial representatives warned that many companies, especially small and medium-sized firms, are facing a difficult period marked by falling consumer demand, heavy tax pressure and financial constraints.

The group said Argentina’s industrial sector produces about 19% of the country’s gross domestic product and contributes 27% of national tax revenue. It also generates 19% of formal employment, with about 1.2 million workers, and supports another 2.4 million indirect formal jobs throughout the production chain.

The AEA, which represents owners of some of the country’s largest companies, adopted a more moderate tone.

The organization acknowledged progress by Milei’s administration in stabilizing the economy, but said relations between the state and the private sector must be based on respect and cooperation to facilitate new investment.

Despite the critical tone, the business statements avoided a direct confrontation with the government and stressed the need for cooperation, digital outlet Infobae reported. Both organizations said economic stabilization must be accompanied by policies that encourage productive investment and support the industrial sector.

Although much of Argentina’s business community initially supported Milei’s economic reforms, the episode marks one of the first public criticisms by major companies since he took office.

A growing number of factory closures and a slowdown in industrial activity have begun to trigger concerns within the private sector.

KATIE Price reportedly had a phone call with her husband Lee Andrews’ ex before tying the knot with the Dubai businessman.

Alana Percival, who was with Lee for nine months, has claimed that the former glamour model, 47, had “reservations” and was told by Alana to “run for the hills”, but ignored the warnings.

“Katie reached out to me via a friend. We spoke on the phone. She was saying, ‘I don’t know what to believe’ and I told her it’s black and white,” Alana told MailOnline.

She added: “I told her I would show her everything; I said I was happy to meet her. I told her he was going to break her down and ruin her. 

“I told her he doesn’t have money, he has scammed loads of people, I said to her, ‘Come and sit with me for an afternoon’.”

However, Alana says Lee has painted her as a “crazy ex” and convinced Katie she is lying.

‘I’m not stupid’

Katie Price insists hubby Lee’s NOT a conman & she’s seen proof of wealth

family fury

Katie Price says family were ‘p***ed off & angry’ at her for whirlwind marriage

Alana was with Lee last year and says she got engaged to him in September in a proposal identical to the one he used on Katie in January,

Last month, Lee was exposed by The Sun as a fantasist businessman who faked celebrity links using AI-generated photos and recently talked about marrying two other women.

However, in her first interview since the shock romance and wedding, Katie assured she has seen proof of his fortune.

The star, who refused to get a pre-nup before marrying Lee, told The Sun: “So yes, I can reassure everyone at home that I haven’t gone for a con man.

“I haven’t gone for a scammer. There was no love bombing.

“I’ve gone for a beautiful human being who genuinely makes me happy, who I’m so in love with.”

Katie declared “I’m not stupid” – and said that Lee has shown her documents attesting to his wealth.

During the interview, she even showed The Sun his passport, Dubai residency card and, incredibly, what appears to be a real estate proof of purchase for his new property worth an astonishing £36mn – paid in cash.

Following Katie and Lee’s wedding, Alana told The Sun that Katie should “run”

She said: “Katie should run for the hills. Lee is a liar, a narcissist and I think he’s a manipulator. 

“Once I tried to leave him, he told me had a heart condition and was living on borrowed time. 

“Lee doesn’t know what’s fact and what’s fiction. 

“It’s worrying because I think he believes his own lies.” 

Who is Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews?

KATIE Price tied the knot with Lee Andrews in January 2026. Yet who is he?

• Katie Price has married businessman fiancé Lee Andrews in a whirlwind wedding
• It is the fourth time Katie, 47, has been a bride. She has also been married to Peter Andre, Alex Reid and Kieran Hayler
• Katie and Lee met just after being introduced on social media
• Lee claimed he is a billionaire in a failed clip from his acting career
• He now claims to be a Dubai-based businessman
• Yet The Sun has unmasked him as a fantasist who faked celebrity links using AI-generated photos and recently talked about marrying two other women
• Failed actor is just another title to add to Lee’s questionable CV, after he claimed to have once worked as the Director of Philanthropy at The Prince’s Trust (now The King’s Trust)
• Lee also shared images – since proven to be AI – of him working with Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian
• It’s been revealed shameless Lee told former girlfriends that he had studied at Cambridge University, and has a PhD in biotechnology science
• But The Sun has seen a response from the university explaining it could not find a record of Lee being registered as a student with a date of birth they had provided
• His LinkedIn profile says Lee has been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015
• Lee was also mocked for repeating the exact same wedding proposal on Katie – that he did for another woman just four months ago.

The killing of prominent Iraqi women’s rights activist Yanar Mohammed has fuelled an outpouring of grief and calls for justice, with advocates from around the world remembering Mohammed as a “courageous” voice.

Mohammed, 66, was killed earlier this week after unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire outside her home in the north of Iraq’s capital, Baghdad.

“Despite being rushed to the hospital and attempts to save her life, she succumbed to her wounds,” the Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, a group that Mohammed co-founded, said in a statement shared on social media.

“We at the Organisation for Women’s Freedom in Iraq condemn in the strongest terms this cowardly terrorist crime, which we consider a direct attack on the feminist struggle and the values of freedom and equality.”

Several international rights groups also condemned Mohammed’s killing, with Amnesty International on Wednesday decrying the deadly attack as “brutal” and “a calculated assault to stifle human rights defenders, especially those defending women’s rights”.

The organisation, which said Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al‑Sudani ordered an investigation into the killing, also called on the Iraqi authorities to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

“Yanar Mohammed … dedicated her life to defending women’s rights,” Amnesty’s Iraq researcher, Razaw Salihy, said in a statement. “The Iraqi authorities must stop this pattern of targeted attacks in their tracks, and take seriously the sustained smear campaigns designed to discredit and endanger activists.”

Mohammed was one of Iraq’s most prominent women’s rights activists, working since the early 2000s “to protect women facing gender-based violence, including domestic abuse, trafficking, and so-called ‘honour killings’”, Front Line Defenders said.

Her work included the establishment of safe houses, which sheltered hundreds of women experiencing exploitation and abuse.

In a 2022 interview with Al Jazeera, Mohammed described her organisation’s efforts to support Iraqi women who survived violence at the hands of ISIS (ISIL), which had seized control of large swathes of the country.

“Muslim-Arab women who were enslaved by ISIL and have not found a place to go back to, they are still living in the shadows of the society,” she said at the time.

“Not less than 10,000 women were the victims of ISIL attack[s], and this femicide is not really acknowledged by the international community or dealt with in a way that keeps the dignity or the respect [of], or compensates, those who were the victims.”

Years of threats

Mohammed had been the target of death threats for decades, “aimed at dissuading her from defending women’s rights”, Front Line Defenders said. “Yet she remained defiant in the face of threats from ISIS and other armed groups.”

In 2016, she was awarded the Rafto Prize “for her tireless work for women’s rights in Iraq under extremely challenging conditions”.

The Rafto Foundation, the Norway-based nonprofit group that administers the award, said it was “deeply shaken” by her killing. “We are deeply shocked by this brutal attack on one of the most courageous human rights defenders of our time,” the foundation said in a statement.

“The assassination represents not only an attack on Yanar Mohammed as a person, but also on the fundamental values she dedicated her life to defending: women’s freedom, democracy, and universal human rights.”

Other activists and human rights groups also paid tribute to Mohammed this week, with Human Rights Watch describing her as “one of Iraq’s most courageous advocates for women’s rights” for more than two decades.

“Yanar was a dear colleague and friend to so many of us in the women’s rights and feminist community, one of our icons. She spent her life standing up for women’s rights in the most dangerous environment,” said Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International.

“She faced constant threats, but she never stopped. And today we cry and mourn her energy, her commitment, her profound humanity, her amazing courage.”

Call the Midwife fan favourite Helen George has revealed why BBC viewers can resonate with the hit period drama as the latest series comes to an end

Helen George has made a heartfelt admission as the countdown to the final episode of Call the Midwife series 15 begins.

The last episode of the current season airs this Sunday (March 8) before the BBC drama is rested to make way for a Second World War spin-off prequel and a film.

Ahead of the farewell before the residents of Poplar take a well-deserved break, Helen, who stars as Trixie Aylward, revealed how the believes programme is so popular because it shows the “truthful” side to real-life which many viewers relate too.

She told Radio Times: “It’s ugly and it’s dirty and it’s painful and it’s hard – it’s f***ing hard -and all that is shown on Call the Midwife. Not grotesquely glamorised and not sensationalised. Just truthfully.”

Helen added the period drama, which follows a group of midwives working in the East End of London around the 1950s and 60s and now early 70s “won’t be the same” when the series returns.

The 41-year-old actress added: “It is just a pause, because we know it’s coming back but it won’t be the same, with different characters leaving and whatever.”

Writer Heidi Thomas previously told Yours last month: “I don’t think it’s the last series in the classic form but we are going to take a break from it for a couple of years.”

“We’re going to do a film that involves most the current cast, set in 1972, possibly 1973.

“We’re going to do that first, then we’ll return to the current style.

“Series 16 will have a slightly different setting because of changes in NHS. It’ll still be in the East End of London but possibly something like a small community hospital or a GP practice, but that’s something I’ll be working on later this year.”

The synopsis for the final episode of series 15 teases: ““Sister Veronica must decide her future now she is not currently a nun, but not fully part of the world either.

“The Maternity Home prepares to close its doors, but Dr Turner is determined to preserve equipment and resources for his patients until the last possible moment. The Mullucks fight for the rights of all Thalidomide victims, while Cyril and Rosalind prepare for their wedding.”

The BBC has also released a photo of Sister Monica Joan lying in bed, eyes closed, with her hands by her side.

Is this the end for the adored sister? Viewers will have to wait and see what lies ahead for Sister Monica Joan.

Call the Midwife continues Sunday, March 8 at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer

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The BBC show about midwives at Nonnatus House is taking a break after its latest series

Call The Midwife will not be back for a Christmas special this year.

The much-loved BBC period drama about midwives working in the East End is currently in its 15th series, but that is set to end on March 8 and show creator Heidi Thomas has previously confirmed the programme is then taking a break.

While it is due to return for a 16th run in the future, that will not be in January as usual, with the series on hiatus.

It has also been confirmed that its usual festive special – which is a usually a highlight of the Christmas TV schedule for viewers – will not air this December.

“We have made 15 series in 15 years – I’ve known for a couple of years that that situation won’t go on for ever,” Heidi told Radio Times.

“The sets need repair. The nuns’ habits are worn out. It takes 14 months to make every series.”

The show creator said that for two months of each year she and producer Annie Tricklebank work on two series at the same time and that the workload is “immense” and can only be sustained for “so long”.

During the Call The Midwife interlude, audiences will be treated to a wartime prequel series instead.

It commences on Christmas Day and will showcase 1940s incarnations of Sister Monica Joan, Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter), and the late Sister Evangeline, who was previously portrayed by Pam Ferris.

A film featuring the regular cast set in the Commonwealth, probably Australia, in the year 1972 is also in the pipeline.

So far it isn’t known when the 16th series of the show will air.

But Heidi told Radio Times that it will return “slightly recalibrated”. “Changes will have taken place, but the change itself is not destructive,” she said. “It’s nourishing.”

Call The Midwife – which stars Helen George as Nurse Trixie Franklin – started in 2012 and has aired 15 series set between the 1950s and 1970s, as well as several festive specials.

The current series about the midwives of Nonnatus House started in January and is set in 1971.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source.** Click here to activate**** or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.**

Call The Midwife airs at 8pm on BBC One on Sunday March 8

At least one NBA player objects to the Atlanta Hawks paying tribute to the famous Magic City adult entertainment club during their game Monday against the Orlando Magic.

San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet posted a statement on Medium asking the Hawks to call off the promotion “as to ensure that the NBA remains a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment for everyone involved.”

“The NBA should desire to protect and esteem women, many of whom work diligently every day to make this the best basketball league in the world,” Kornet wrote. “We should promote an atmosphere that is protective and respectful of the daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, and partners that we know and love.

“Allowing this night to go forward without protest would reflect poorly on us as an NBA community, specifically in being complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women in our society. Regardless of how a woman finds her way into the adult entertainment industry, many in this space experience abuse, harassment, and violence to which they should never be subjected.”

The Hawks announced its “Magic City Monday” promotion last week. Hawks principal owner Jami Gertz was a producer on the docuseries “Magic City: An American Fantasy” that aired last year on Starz. Atlanta-based artist T.I. will perform at halftime. A collaborative hoodie will be available for purchase, and some of the club’s well-known wings will be served — including the lemon-pepper wings named after former Hawks player Lou Williams.

In 2020, while he was playing for the Clippers during the pandemic, Williams made headlines for visiting Magic City during an excused absence for personal reasons to return home to Atlanta. The NBA was finishing its season in a so-called bubble in Orlando meant to protect against COVID-19. Williams has said he was at the club just to pick up food.

In expressing his objection to the promotion, Kornet stressed that NBA teams should be held “to a higher standard of what they find worthy of promoting.”

“I and others throughout the league were surprised by and object to the Hawks’ decision,” Kornet wrote. “We desire to provide an environment where fans of all ages can safely come and enjoy the game of basketball and where we can celebrate the history and culture of communities in good conscience. The celebration of a strip club is not conduct aligned with that vision.”

Early in Michael McIndoe’s shift on Jan. 2, 2025, his crew got their marching orders: Pick up hoses left overnight at the scene of the Lachman fire.

McIndoe, a captain at Fire Station 69 in Pacific Palisades, didn’t think the plan was a good idea, he said in sworn testimony obtained by The Times. He had read the National Weather Service’s forecast for the day — temperatures were expected to be warmer — and handling any lingering hot spots would be easier with hoses in place.

While he was still at the station, he said, he relayed his concerns by phone to Battalion Chief Mario Garcia, who was in charge of the operation.

Garcia “said something along the lines of, ‘OK. Let me go check it out, and then I’ll get back to you,’ ” McIndoe testified last month.

Despite the warning, Garcia’s orders never changed, and McIndoe spent a couple hours or so that morning rolling up hose lines.

At one point, McIndoe said, he came across a smoldering ash pit. He retrieved a backpack with water from his engine, sprayed into the ground with a couple gallons of water and dug up the dirt with his hand tool until he was satisfied it was cool.

Days later, amid high winds, embers from the Lachman fire ignited into the Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

McIndoe was one of a dozen Los Angeles firefighters deposed in January in a lawsuit filed by Palisades fire victims against the city and the state. Transcripts and videos of the testimony were released Thursday and Friday, backing up earlier reporting by The Times that crews were ordered to pack up their hoses despite signs that the Lachman fire was not completely out.

One firefighter, Scott Pike, testified that he informed a captain of hot spots and ash pits in the area but that he never received orders to take care of the hazards.

Garcia testified that no one informed him of any concerns about picking up the hoses and that he believed the decision was made before his shift.

The testimony raises questions about why LAFD officials did not address concerns expressed to them about weather conditions and potentially dangerous hot spots that could flare up into another fire. With Pike and McIndoe saying they were following directions from above, and Garcia and the battalion chief from the prior shift appearing to pass the buck to others, it is unclear who made the decision to leave the Lachman fire.

LAFD spokesperson Stephanie Bishop declined to answer the question of who decided to pull the hoses, citing an ongoing investigation. She also would not answer whether officials had identified the captain whom Pike spoke with or determined what the captain did with his concerns.

Pike said he did not know the captain’s name but believed the captain was from Engine 69.

McIndoe testified that he was the captain on Engine 69 that day. In an email Saturday, McIndoe said he was not authorized to speak with the media but wanted to correct the record: “I did not speak to, nor do I recall seeing, Firefighter Pike the day that we picked up hose at the Lachman fire.”

Garcia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pike did not respond to a request for comment.

That day, McIndoe testified, he saw Garcia on the hill picking up hoses and brought up their earlier conversation.

“I just went up to him, and I said, ‘Hey, I hope you don’t think I’m just trying to get out of work,’ ” McIndoe said. “And he said, no, that’s — that’s fine. Something along those lines, and that that’s all I can really recall.”

He said he was trying to clarify with Garcia that he believed “that the hose should stay up a little bit longer.”

Garcia testified that when he got to the burn scar, no one raised any concerns about the hose pickup, nor did he see any need to leave the equipment at the site.

He said he thought the decision to pick up the hoses was made before his shift — though he was “not 100 percent sure” — and that it was a “collaborative decision, based off all the information that was received.”

By the time he got up to the burn area, Garcia testified, half the hose had already been picked up. He walked the perimeter to ensure there was a line cut around it and that it was cold, and did not see any smoke or any sign that the fire was not fully extinguished.

“Came across several members,” he said. “Nobody mentioned anything about there being any concerns of any sort.”

Battalion Chief Martin Mullen, who was on duty before Garcia, testified that he walked the perimeter four times and left the hose lines in place overnight as a precaution, keeping two assistant chiefs, Vinny Alvarado and Joseph Everett, in the loop. Mullen said they informed another top chief, Phillip Fligiel.

The hoses could be hooked up again quickly “if something were to happen,” Mullen testified.

Mullen testified that he also notified Garcia: “I told him I left him hose lines in place overnight, you need to walk that and make sure there’s nothing going on up there.”

Mullen, who said he was not involved in deciding when to pick up the hoses, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an email Sunday, Everett said: “I was not present or assigned to that incident. As a result I made no command decisions nor do I have information as to anyones testimony.”

Text messages obtained by The Times through a public records request in December show that Fligiel, Alvarado and Everett were making plans to remove the equipment on Jan. 1. The Lachman fire, which federal prosecutors believe was deliberately set, flared up shortly after midnight on Jan. 1, 2025. A few hours later, at 4:46 a.m., the LAFD announced that it was fully contained at eight acres.

“I imagine it might take all day to get that hose off the hill,” Fligiel said in a group chat early the morning of Jan. 1. “Make sure that plan is coordinated.”

At 1:35 p.m. on Jan. 2, Garcia texted Fligiel and Everett: “All hose and equipment has been picked up.”

Earlier that day, Pike was making troubling observations that led him to think that the entire area needed to be re-investigated. He saw about five smoky areas and ash pits, including one he remembered vividly that was too hot to touch with his gloved hand.

“So I just kicked it with my boot to kind of expose it, and there was, like red hot, like, coals,” he testified. “And I even heard crackling.”

Pike, a 23-year LAFD veteran based at a station in Sunland, was working an overtime shift at Fire Station 23, the LAFD’s second outpost in the Palisades, that day. He relayed his observations to a captain and two firefighters.

“That’s how I approached him, is like, ‘Hey, Cap … We have hot spots in general. We have some ash pits,’ ” Pike testified about his conversation with the captain. “That’s an alert to double-check the whole area and maybe we need to switch our tactics.”

Pike testified that it was not his job “to overstep and tell him what to do. He earned that rank.”

The captain, he said, suggested possibly bringing hand tools or a backpack filled with water up the hill to extinguish any hot spots. Pike went back to picking up the hose while awaiting new orders, which never came.

Pike testified that he felt his colleagues — the captain and two firefighters — blew him off.

“It kind of sits heavy with me that nobody listened to me,” he said.

In his deposition, McIndoe did not recall details about other conversations he had that day.

He was asked by a plaintiffs’ attorney: “Any dialogue with anyone else that you haven’t told me about concerning any of the work that was being done up there at the Lachman fire site, in terms of checking for smokers? Making sure that you got all the hose? Anything like that?”

McIndoe responded: “I don’t recall specific conversations. I think I may have had a conversation with one or two of the other captains that were on scene before we left.”

McIndoe testified that he told that captain — whom he said was from Fire Station 37 — that he thought it would be a good idea to leave the hose out because the warm weather could preheat the ground and bring up smokers, “and it would be nice to have the hose lines in place to address those.”

The Times reported in October that crews were ordered to leave the Lachman fire, even though the ground was still smoldering and rocks were hot to the touch.

In a text message reviewed by The Times, a firefighter who was at the scene wrote that Garcia had been told it was a “bad idea” to leave because of the visible signs of smoking terrain, which crews feared could start a new fire if left unprotected.

“And the rest is history,” the firefighter wrote.

Feb. 28 (UPI) — While congressional reaction to the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran overnight was largely split along party lines, Democratic and some Republican lawmakers expressed concern that President Donald Trump ordered the strikes without first seeking congressional approval.

Lawmakers — who had already been pushing to limit Trump’s ability to carry out lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean — said they would renew their efforts to pass a war powers resolution.

Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said he was “opposed to this war” in a post on X Saturday morning.

“When Congress reconvenes, I will work with [Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.] to force a congressional vote on war with Iran,” he wrote.

“The Constitution requires a vote, and your representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.”

NBC News reported that Massie and Khanna together wrote a war powers resolution ahead of the Iran attack. Under Article 1 of the Constitution, Congress, not the executive branch, has the power to declare war on another country.

NPR reported that the White House notified the top eight leaders in Congress — known collectively as the Gang of Eight — shortly before the attack.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson showed his support for Trump’s actions to limit Iran’s nuclear program.

“Today, Iran is facing the severe consequences of its evil actions,” Johnson said in a statement posted on X. “President Trump and the administration have made every effort to pursue peaceful and diplomatic solutions in response to the Iranian regime’s sustained nuclear ambitions and development, terrorism and the murder of Americans — and even their own people.”

Johnson said the Gang of Eight received a briefing earlier in the week about the potential military action.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, meanwhile, called on the Trump administration to brief the Senate on the threat. He said he had asked Secretary of State Mark Rubio to be transparent with Congress and the American people about the objectives of the strikes and the subsequent steps.

“The administration has not provided Congress and the American people with critical details about the scope and immediacy of the treat,” he said on X.

“Confronting Iran’s malign regional activities, nuclear ambitions and harsh oppression of the Iranian people demands American strength, resolve, regional coordination and strategic clarity.

“Unfortunately, President Trump’s fitful cycles of lashing out and risking wider conflict are not a viable strategy.”

PHOENIX — It is never too early for hyperbole.

No major league team has won more than 116 games. The Dodgers had yet to play an exhibition game last spring when former Times columnist Dylan Hernández declared they could win 120.

Not to be outdone, the Dodgers were one week into the season when Bill Plaschke posted a column with this headline: “Who says the Dodgers can’t go 162-0?”

The Dodgers won 93 games. They also won the World Series, becoming the first back-to-back champions in 25 years.

One week into spring training, the Dodgers are the only undefeated team.

Reality check: The Dodgers are not going to win every game, yet they play in a market where everybody expects them to win every game.

“They do,” manager Dave Roberts said.

What would be a realistic number of wins?

“I don’t know what’s realistic,” he said. “We win a lot of games. Honestly, we showed last year that the regular season certainly does matter but, at the end of the day, you’ve got to be playing your best baseball at the right time.”

During the Dodgers’ 13-year playoff run, they‘ve won 100 games five times. When doing that, they‘ve made it to the World Series once, losing to the cheating Houston Astros. In 2023, they won exactly 100 games in the regular season and exactly zero in the playoffs.

It is one of baseball’s eternal verities that wins and losses in spring training do not matter.

“It’s always fun to win,” said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations. “That is always way more fun than losing. But so much of spring training is, just don’t get a call from our trainer. Keep guys healthy.

“That is far and away the biggest priority: get guys ready for the season and keep them healthy.”

Noah Miller runs the bases during a spring training game against the Angels on Feb. 21.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

If winning in spring training is not predictive, neither is it irrelevant. For an organization that would rather prime a pitcher for the postseason than dare use him for 200 innings in the regular season, and juggle a roster spot all summer so Kiké “Mr. October” Hernández can be available in the postseason, depth is critical.

“While there is no direct correlation between that and how you are going to do in the regular season, I do think it is some kind of proxy for the depth that you have,” Friedman said. “After three or four innings, there is a line change, and minor league players are coming in. I think being able to maintain a high level of play in these back-side innings speaks to depth.”

Friedman is no great fan of the Cactus League grind.

“So much of spring training, it feels like, is just downside,” he said. “You’re just waiting for that phone call [from the trainer]. You’re doing everything you can to stave that phone call off.”

The upside is on the business side. As of Thursday, tickets for Saturday’s exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs started at $97. The starters are likely to play half the game. Shohei Ohtani is in Japan, preparing for the World Baseball Classic.

So, to the point: It does not matter that the Dodgers are undefeated in spring training, and they’ll probably win somewhere around 100 games. They did, after all, repair their two glaring weaknesses by committing $300 million to All-Stars in the prime of their careers: outfielder Kyle Tucker and closer Edwin Díaz.

Baseball Prospectus projects the Dodgers to win 104 games. Fangraphs projects 99.

But this is the season of hyperbole, so the Dodgers still have a chance to go 194-0 between the Cactus League and the regular season.

I had to ask Roberts how good he thought the Dodgers’ chances would be this season if they never lost.

He chuckled.

“Pretty good,” he said.

With the U.S. Air Force now in the process of transitioning from the aging EC-130H Compass Call to the brand-new, bizjet-based EA-37B Compass Call, TWZ caught up with top executives from the two co-primes on the electronic attack aircraft program. In the process, we learnt more about its capabilities, related platforms, and other prospects for the future. We spoke with Jason Lambert, president of the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sector (ISR) at L3Harris Technologies, and Dave Harrold, who leads the Countermeasure & Electromagnetic Attack (CEMA) Solutions business area at BAE Systems.

TWZ: Can you give us a better understanding of what the EA-37B Compass Call does conceptually? There are clearly a lot of different parts to its mission, so I am just interested to hear that in your words.

Dave Harrold: This aircraft is the Department of War’s only long-range, electromagnetic spectrum aircraft. Interestingly enough, it used to be called the EC-37B until it was formally changed to the EA-37B, signifying that it is a dedicated electronic attack platform.

When I say electronic attack, what we’re talking about is really degrading, denying, and disrupting adversary communications. It’s about causing havoc in their command-and-control system, so that adversary leaders are unable to make clear decisions. So that’s about integrated air defense systems [IADS] and disruptions there. It’s about [disrupting] different communication nodes. This really is a dedicated counter-C5ISRT [command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting] platform. We’ve been doing this mission set for over 40 years with the EC-130H workhorse starring in every conflict since it was put in the inventory, particularly in the Global War on Terror.

We saw the need to be able to do that at a higher altitude, longer range, higher speed, if we were going to turn this capability toward other regions. And so the challenge was really around: how do you take all of that stuff on an EC-130H and package it down to an EA-37B? That has been a challenge of innovation and technology, for us to reimagine: how do you take that size and weight and reduce it, but not reduce the power? Because we need that power to be able to execute the kinds of techniques that we’re doing on the system. So really, it’s about controlling the electromagnetic spectrum, making sure we can enable our side and disable the other side.

Electromagnetic warfare, evolved

Jason Lambert: The EA-37B does that really on a theater level. There are other capability sets that the Department of War has in their inventory that are more of a point solution, whereas this is really a theater-level, strategic solution, dominating the electromagnetic spectrum and being able to defeat what’s happening on our adversary’s side, while our forces continue to operate in full, with what they need to do for their communications, with what they need to do with their command and control systems. Other systems out in the world are broad jammers. This is not that; this enables our assets to be able to continue to do their job in a non-degraded manner.

Dave Harrold: Yeah, this is really important. One of the strengths of the EA-37B is the simultaneity. What that means is we’ve got the power and the capability. We’re not in a one-versus-world anymore, or using a point solution: here’s a threat, here’s a technique. The threat environment is getting more and more sophisticated and challenging, and so it’s really about how many different techniques can you run at one time to neutralize or disrupt or deny how many different threats that are out there? That’s what’s important about the power and what distinguishes this platform from point solutions.

Jason Lambert: And it is all software-defined, which is a very important thing. The threats are evolving, and we’ve got the capability, and our Department of War has the capability, for some of our other platforms, our ISR platforms, specifically, to go out and collect on what those potential threats might look like and how those threats evolve over time. That information is able to be configured within the mission system that BAE Systems produces to be able to go and defeat those threats. It’s not like a one-off solution that’s going to be made obsolete. It’s a solution today that’s built for tomorrow and beyond, because it can continue to evolve based on the threats.

TWZ: Can you kind of indulge us in terms of what could it do? What’s a tangible thing this could actually go and do? Could it go and shut down a big part of an integrated air defense system [IADS] for example?

Jason Lambert: I’m gonna go back to one of the things I’ve already said: sophisticated comms networks. Our enemy adversaries have more and more sophisticated comms networks. We have to affect those comms networks in order to affect their overall capability. And, you know, you mentioned IADS, that is an original mission of the Compass Call platform, to disrupt the IADS.

Dave Harrold: Exactly, this is designed to break the kill chain. If there’s no command and control system to process the information for the kill chain, it won’t work. And you can do that significant range. That’s what it does.

TWZ: Can you explain a bit more about what you have to do to port these systems and capabilities from the EC-130H into the EA-37B?

Jason Lambert: L3Harris is the integrator. We purchase the aircraft either directly from Gulfstream or from the VIP market. Then we work with Gulfstream to do the conversion of the aircraft. We essentially time it back to what the plane was when it initially left the production line. Then we go and do the outer mold line shape; Gulfstream provides that to us at our facility in Waco, Texas. Then we do the integration of the BAE Systems mission system that Dave and his team provide.

Dave Harrold: We’re the prime mission equipment provider, so that’s our co-prime split, and we build all of that up in Nashua, New Hampshire. We build that equipment, we test it, we lay it out. We have an integration lab up there, where we actually lay it out as if it were in the aircraft, and then we ship that off to Jason’s team, who then lay it out to make sure it all fits again before they put it on the actual aircraft. It’s a very choreographed way to make sure that we’re hand in hand about building the equipment, that the cabling is all appropriate, and all that kind of stuff, so that Jason’s team can integrate it on the aircraft.

Jason Lambert: The EC-130H is still in service today, but it is obviously a very different airplane in terms of the capability set. We think about it, we think about the SWAP — size, weight, and power are three constraints or criteria that we look at. Obviously, they are very different on a business jet platform, but we’ve successfully done that integration on the new system. Now we can, of course, put that all on an aircraft that’s got a much larger range, time on station, and altitude to be able to perform this mission.

The EC-130 Crew

TWZ: Returning to the EC-130H comparison. Can you compare the performance of the two platforms? How does that affect survivability?

Jason Lambert: From a speed perspective, the EA-37B flies at Mach 0.82… versus 300 miles an hour for the EC-130H. For altitude, the EC-130H flies at 20,000 feet. The EA-37B is going to be north of 40,000 feet. So we have double the altitude. And when we think about time on station, it’s not comparable. I mean, from a range perspective, we have more than double. We have around 2,300 nautical miles on the EC-130H and 4,400 nautical miles on the EA-37B. Couple that with additional content that can be put on from defensive perspective, and it’s far more survivable, no question about it. In terms of how it operates, the altitude it operates, the standoff range it can operate at, it’s a different plane

 TWZ: Does greater altitude improve your ability to do this missions with greater standoff?

Dave Harrold: It actually does. Just the geometry of being at that higher altitude, you can get a far greater view to the horizon, and and not just on the ground, but communication at large. So think what might be above you as well as below you.

Returning to survivability, I think the other thing to remember is that the mission here is to degrade, disrupt, and deny the adversary’s ability to communicate. And so by doing that, we’re contributing to the survivability of the whole campaign, and by itself, also the platform itself, right? If I’m out there disabling different comms networks that are integral to threats actually being successful, the platform is making itself much more survivable through its actual core mission.

TWZ: Could it go and operate as an escort jammer? I mean, could it go and follow a package to a certain point to protect it?

Jason Lambert: I mean, I guess. I guess we use the word jammer. But it’s not just a simple jammer. It’s a very different mission set, a very discrete set of techniques. But it is absolutely essential to the overall strike package to make sure that that the goals of that package are achieved.

TWZ: Can we just talk a little more about some of the improvements in the EA-37B version of Compass Call? I guess one of the big improvements is the ability to rapidly insert new capabilities in the form of upgrades. Is there anything you can say about that?

Dave Harrold: I think as we move forward, the original baseline was really about just cross-decking the capability from the EC-130H. Now we’re moving into a much more software-defined radio architecture, an open systems architecture. The whole point there is that we go from SABER [BAE Systems’ Small Adaptive Bank of Electronic Resources], which is sort of what I would call Baseline 3.5, interim, the bridge, to get to Baseline 4, which is the fully open software-defined radio architecture. The whole point there is that it used to take months or longer to find a threat, get a new technique, and figure out how to put it on the hardware. Hardware now is all about adaptability and speed, and, more importantly, it’s not just about BAE Systems’ techniques that this open architecture allows for. Anybody who has the right technique can come and plug into our system. We’ve got a development kit that people can get access to, and they can write new skills that we can rapidly insert into the open architecture. As the threat environment gets more sophisticated, we have to get more sophisticated with how rapidly we can come forward with something to counter those threats.

TWZ: Just in terms of the CONOPS, does this airplane follow a scripted battle plan? Or can it do real-time adjustments, performing more dynamically?

Dave Harrold: It’s a sophisticated system that is adaptable and flexible to the combatant commanders’ needs, so it can be tasked in that way, to be used optimally, for whatever the commander needs. I also think the exploitation that the system needs to do is flexible enough to be able to change depending on if we are pre-war or at war.

TWZ: How do the mission players actually see the data? Is it processed on board, or can it be worked offboard as well?

Jason Lambert: We’ve got a crew of up to nine people on the aircraft. Of course, the pilot and co-pilot are responsible for the flying, but there are an additional seven members in the back that operate and employ the electronic attack mission system and equipment that’s permanently integrated into the mission and cargo compartment. That crew can include a mission crew commander, which would be an electronic warfare officer, and a weapon system officer. There are experienced cryptologists, linguists, analyst operators, and airborne maintenance technicians. So it’s an entire team that’s up there. The aircraft can process that work onboard, or it can send signals and content to other aircraft in the network.

BAE Systems Compass Call Jammer

TWZ: Can a ground operating team manipulate the Compass Call system? Or does it have to be done airborne?

Jason Lambert: I’m a little cautious on how to answer that question, just in terms of the nature of the classification. I’ll just say it is set up to operate in theater and on a network and so also autonomously. As we continue to evolve our solution set, not just for Compass Call, but what we’re doing on our other ISR platforms, AI is becoming a big part of that in terms of operator workload and being able to do more of the mission set with fewer individuals on the plane. That is evolving as the threat goes up.

TWZ: I think that’s an obvious thing, isn’t it, to want to have fewer operators on board?

Jason Lambert: It helps with weight. If you take out a member of the personnel and a mission crew station, now you can do the same on either a smaller platform, or you can bring more gear onto the same aircraft. There’s always that tradeoff.

TWZ: Can we go back very briefly to the point about reducing the personnel on board. How will you harness AI to do that?

Jason Lambert: It’s really through AI decision content provided to the operator. So think about it in terms of an AEW&C [airborne early waring and control] equation, and a little bit different in terms of what would happen in Compass Call. But in the AEW&C equation, your operators are looking at the number of assets to track. Think of aircraft, airborne assets. They could be ballistic threats, anything that’s been launched and in the sky. There’s a certain number per operator and that number is typically classified. But if you think about it in terms of the things that the human in the system can actually manage at any one point in time, the AI will help that human be able to do a lot more of that by giving the information, compacting the information, and the decision tools to enable them to do more. That’s really what AI does. It’s not a supplement. It’ss an enhancement for the operators.

TWZ: In terms of expandability, the nose and the tail are currently empty. Are you looking at putting anything in there? Is there a need for that? Could you add additional cooling, for example, in the future?

Jason Lambert: We have expansion options for additional content. So we’re continuing to look at that in terms of what you mentioned on the nose. In terms of cooling, there’s both air cooling and liquid cooling on the platform, and so we typically operate in both environments. More broadly, though, about expandability, we talk a lot with our customer about what a roadmap to additional capabilities might look like. Whether that’s new techniques because of emerging threats, prime mission equipment itself, or other capabilities that might take advantage of real estate on the platform. So we’re executing an existing program and at the same time talking about what incremental upgrades might look like in the future.

TWZ: Could you expand the mission set by adding new sensors?

Jason Lambert: It’s actually not so much the hardware, it’s the software, right? And it’s all software defined. The expandability in the mission packages is really designed to evolve based on what the threat package looks like. And so the threat identification is more and more about the adversary, then we can involve the system through the software integration on the platform. It’s already like it’s designed to be self-expanded. Again, that’s why this simultaneity thing is really important, it’s because as new mission sets come on board, I don’t have to sacrifice one mission for another mission and I can simultaneously execute.

TWZ: The first export customer for the EA-37B is Italy, with two jets on order. Can you talk about those aircraft?

Jason Lambert: They will be the same. Italy may use a different nomenclature when the aircraft are delivered, but they will be EA-37B aircraft. We both co-prime this program for the U.S. Air Force. We also do that for Foreign Military Sales [FMS]. Italy is our first international customer, and there is some additional interest beyond that.

TWZ: So you are going to build additional sets of the Compass Call kit to go in that?

Jason Lambert: We are. That particular contract, and the way we execute these programs on an international basis, is we do a hybrid contract. We do a direct commercial sale, typically on the airplanes, and then the mission system and integration are done on an FMS case through the U.S. Air Force. Of course, this has to go through U.S. government approvals with the State Department in terms of policy release and whatnot, for the technology, which has been approved for Italy. There are additional customers that are also interested on the international front.

TWZ: Presumably the benefit there is that the Italians already have G550s and the associated infrastructure?

Jason Lambert: We have an ISR program known as JAMMS [Joint Airborne Multi-Mission Multi-Sensor System]. When you think about a country that wants to go take on an electronic attack capability, the precursor to that is, typically, an ISR capability. They’ve got an aircraft known as JAMMS. We have a legacy program called SPYDR that we’ve done with the Italians. Understanding the signals that you want to go and eventually exploit and get dominance over in terms of the electromagnetic spectrum, having that understanding of them first through the ISR path is typically the starting point. In recent news you might have seen we have also successfully delivered MC-55A Peregrine to the Australians. That’s their foray into this space as well. And they’ve got interest in potentially looking at the EA-37B Compass Call downrange. But to start right now, it’s the ISR capability that’s been delivered.

TWZ: And so do other export customers for the EA-37B get a U.S.-standard Compass Call, or is it going to be a slightly different standard? How will they work alongside the U.S. Air Force jets?

Jason Lambert: It’s all subject to releaseability in the U.S. Air Force. But they will be getting the same capability. It’s helpful for the United States, because you want to have your partners involved in this. In an unclassified realm, right now, the need from the U.S. Air Force is over 20 planes. We’re currently under contract, in terms of the mission system, for 10. There are congressional plus-ups that have been looked at for FY 26. The budget’s been increased, and it looks like there’s going to be another two aircraft placed on order for this fiscal year. We’re excited about that. As industry, we’re always looking at how we can expand capacity to go address that need. But you think about a need of 20-plus aircraft in an unclassified space with 10 under contract, soon to be 12. Partners are a big part of how we can go address that global challenge, for the global threat. Italy is the foray into doing that in the EUCOM theater, and what could be done in the eastern realm of NATO. Now, potentially, we’re working with partners from PACOM.

Dave Harrold: The RC-135 Rivet Joint is another aircraft in the U.S. Air Force asset base. That is our intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance asset employed by the United States and United Kingdom. Again, that works hand in hand and collaboratively with the EA-37B feet. They will combine, and they can also provide information to each other.

TWZ: In terms of the airframes, the G550 program has come to an end. Where will you source new aircraft from?

Jason Lambert: The G550 is currently out of production. Right now, on any given day, there are roughly a dozen aircraft that are available for sale. Think of it as high-net-worth individuals or corporations that want to trade up or trade in their business jet fleet. So we would go procure those aircraft as they were looking to go buy another asset from Gulfstream or another partner, and we would take those aircraft and work with Gulfstream to do that modification work and get ready to go host the BAE Systems mission kit. That’s how we grow the current G550 base with the used assets on the market.

Additionally, the U.S. Air Force has got 16 C-37 or G550 aircraft that they operate. There are discussions right now on a recap program. Not all those aircraft are a perfect fit for the mission system. They have to be above a certain serial number in terms of how they were produced. Five of the 16 are potential candidates that could be converted to Compass Call. That’s incremental, of course, on top of dozen or so the VIP market. But there are planes available for us to do the expansion. When Dave and I look out and we get the question from Air Force about how do we grow and expand, industry is ready to go do that. We know the need is for greater numbers and we have plans to be able to go execute that.

TWZ: So the extra two EA-37Bs for the Air Force will be existing airframes that you will harvest from somewhere else?

Jason Lambert: We will purchase those from the market. We’ve already identified owners and tail numbers. We’re ready to go.

We want to thank Jason Lambert and Dave Harrold for taking the time to answer our questions about the EA-37B and share their passion for the aircraft with our readers.

Contact the editor: thomas@thewarzone.com

THE daughter of a 63-year-old grandmother who was kidnapped from her home and held for ransom three years before Nancy Guthrie was snatched has branded the investigation a “circus.”

Zoe Lopez, whose mother Maria was taken in 2023 and never returned, has also offered advice to heartbroken Today Show host Savannah Guthrie and her family.

It’s been three weeks since Savannah’s mom was snatched from her home in Arizona, and police are begging the public for help after releasing disturbing doorbell footage of an armed, masked man at the front door minutes before the kidnapping.

The FBI is working with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which had been criticized for its handling of the case, and has received more than 21,000 tips.

Savannah announced the family is offering a $1million reward on Tuesday, as they are desperate to bring Nancy home.

In an emotional exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun, Zoe said her heart aches for the Guthrie family: “You kind of just go numb. You feel like, ‘This isn’t really happening.’

“My heart sank when … I believe it was her first statement, somebody had sent me.

“I was hesitant to post anything or to comment on it, but unfortunately, I do know her pain. 

“I understand the confusion, and I understand the anger, and the sadness, and the heartbreak that she has to deal with every single day, and every single minute. It’s devastating. 

“She might feel like, ‘Well, nobody understands.’ I do.

“It’s been three years, and absolutely nothing is normal about my life. You lose a part of yourself that very day.”

Zoe also slammed the Guthrie investigation and public ransom notes, saying the authorities need to get things under control and “reset” the case.

She said, “This is being handled in a very careless [way]. A circus, a complete circus. And this is something so sensitive.

“I am baffled that so much information is just being brought out in real time. 

“It’s been three weeks of chaos. There’s still time for them to get it under control. I think that they should be private about this.

“The loss of control. I can’t imagine how damaging it is to them [the family] emotionally.”

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has reportedly “locked down” the case, and there is reported tension between his team and the FBI.

They have faced backlash for many decisions made amid the search for Nancy, including sending DNA samples to be tested at a facility in Florida, instead of letting the FBI use their lab in Quantico, Virginia.

Sheriff Nanos also admitted he likely released the Guthrie home as a crime scene too early.

This allowed reporters to access the property, where they discovered and photographed blood droplets on the front steps that investigators had reportedly not yet addressed publicly.

Zoe said, “They’re missing a lot of steps, and getting to a lot of important stuff days later, [it] is extremely concerning.

“It’s scary, because it makes you think, well, ‘Who are these agents, and how much experience do they have to be handling a case of this magnitude?’ It’s a kidnapping. It’s absurd.”

Similar to her mom’s case, she believes those responsible for taking 83-year-old Nancy were not professionals or cartel-related.

She said, “They saw an opportunity. They’re driven by money.”

Pain & paranoia

Zoe’s mom, Maria, a US citizen, was kidnapped on February 9, 2023, in Pueblo Nuevo, in the Mexican state of Colima, where she had returned to retire with her husband.

She was alone at home watering her garden after shopping when she was approached by “four or five individuals” who bundled her into a white van.

An eyewitness told authorities that at one point she was seen on the ground after either being struck or fainting during a struggle.

But the kidnappers eventually got her into the vehicle and fled the scene.

Zoe and her family received multiple ransom calls demanding large amounts of money, with the first call coming within 24 hours, and setting deadlines they had to meet.

She is unable to reveal whether they paid the kidnappers amid the ongoing investigation.

Zoe, who worked in road management for professional boxers when her mom was taken, believes Savannah has a long road ahead and might end up giving up her role as a host on the Today Show.

She said, “It took me months to go get groceries, to be honest. I was so scared. And although the kidnapping happened in Mexico, I was afraid.

“I was always scared that somebody was following me. People did recognize me once it went public.

“I couldn’t be out because people [would say], ‘Oh, you’re the daughter of the lady that got kidnapped.’ So it’s just safer to be home. 

“It took about a year and a half before I decided to take a different role, still in the boxing world, but more on a quieter level, where I’m designing outfits for certain boxers.

“I’m going back into production, working with special teams and stuff, traveling.

“She [Savannah] might not be a reporter after this. She might not want to be in the public eye, or it might give her purpose and make her say, ‘I’m supposed to be here. I have to continue to advocate for my mom.’

‘Survivor’s guilt’

“My heart aches for the family. When we were going through the uncertainty daily, not knowing… and then you come to a point, at least for them, they’re weeks in now, where you just feel alone, like nobody understands how bad this aching pain is. It’s a fear.

“Your body is in shock day in and day out.

“There has to be a way I can say, ‘Hey, make yourself some tea.’ You know? ‘Hug each other. Cry.’

“I think that’s another thing, too: it’s okay to fall apart. It’s okay not to be okay. Forcing yourself to be strong for the public, or forcing yourself to be strong for others, is going to be damaging to you.

“You need to find the energy, find that strength from deep down inside, but you also need to take those small moments, even if it’s 20 or 30 minutes. It’s okay, just hold on to each other.”

Heartbreakingly, Zoe says Savannah may learn that she can’t trust everyone around her, as some people who reach out to see how she is may not have good intentions.

“It’s really hard to even say this, but tune out the noise from the outside because she is a reporter and she is in the public eye,” she advised.

“But try to understand that not everybody is going to reach out to be there for you.

“They will reach out to get information, to see where you’re at, and that could be extremely damaging to you.”

She went on, “Her life is gonna change completely. And it’s probably gonna be the best thing for her to take some time just for her.

“It’s been three years for me, and I’m still learning. I feel like I’m learning how to walk again in the normal world and not feel guilty because I think that we carry that. 

“That’s where I guess they call it like survivor’s guilt, you know? Like, why do I get to go to work? Why do I get to go out and have fun? Why do I get to put it aside for a little bit when I don’t know where she is?”

Mexico rumors

Zoe said she and her family struggled to work with Mexican authorities and the FBI, as both tried to take control, mirroring the situation in Guthrie’s case.

“We reached out to the White House so many times through phone calls. She’s going to have to become relentless in pursuing other government officials as well,” she said.

“She [Nancy] is a U.S. citizen. If they did cross the border, then there should be coordinated searches, with federal agencies in Mexico working together with federal agencies here.

“You don’t know if you can fully trust the authorities there or whether they’re going to work together. Are they going to want to work with the FBI? Unfortunately for us, we learned quickly that they weren’t that open to working with them.

“They feel, ‘Well, it happened in our territory. This is our case. We will handle it.’ It’s kind of like a rivalry.

“At the end of the day, you’re looking for the same victim.

“It doesn’t matter whether it was across the border or here. The fact that you have these kinds of power struggles makes no sense.”

She explained that Mexican authorities are willing to allow families to pay a ransom, whereas the FBI tries to negotiate with kidnappers.

“We were definitely put in the middle because we didn’t know, ‘Do we follow the advice of the FBI and not pay the ransom, or do we pay the ransom and hope for the best? And how do we do that when we’re across borders?’

“It’s just constant torture — one phone call after another with different demands: ‘Do this now,’ or ‘If not…’ They set time frames, and more than anything, you need proof of life.

“You need to know, ‘Okay, you’re telling me you want this amount of money and that you have her. I need to speak to her.’ And that took a long time.”

Zoe and her family received what appeared to be a recording of Maria begging them to meet the kidnappers’ demands.

She said, “You live with the uncertainty of, ‘Where is she? How is she? What have they done to her? Is she alive? Is she dead?’

“As far as my situation, you lose everything, you really do.”

Zoe Lopez on the kidnapping of her beloved mom

“And then you have the speculations of everyone. You have the criticism on top. You have the heartache, the pain, your family, how do you wake up today and just try to be normal? You can’t, there isn’t no normal anymore. 

“As far as my situation, you lose everything, you really do.”

Zoe, 42, has been with her husband for 25 years and has two children, much like Savannah, while Maria, a mother of seven, has 21 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. 

Discussing how the kidnapping affected her personal relationships, Zoe admitted, “They are all damaged, at least with my children; they’re dealing with the pain of losing their grandmother.

“So whenever your children hurt, you hurt with them. I feel it’s been trauma over trauma and pain over pain. I’m witnessing my kids are devastated over their grandmother. 

“And in return, they’re seeing me falling apart over my mother. And having to find that strength of, ‘What would my mom do? How would my mother handle this situation with me? How do I handle the situation with my children?’

“Although it’s been 3 years, we have not given up. We hold on to hope.

“So for Nancy.. stay strong. Know that you’re loved, and that you’re being looked for, although it seems like a lot is going on, the people who matter, are hanging on to hope as well.

“For the bad guys who do have her, please give her up. She’s an elderly person. She deserves to be home.”

Two men were arrested in connection with another kidnapping in Mexico and have since been linked to Maria’s disappearance through DNA evidence from the crime scene.

However, authorities have not publicly confirmed any direct charge or prosecution in her case.

The FBI and Mexican prosecutors have been working jointly on the investigation, and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office has offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to her physical location.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has admitted that Savannah and her family could also be waiting “years” for answers about Nancy’s whereabouts.

“It’s exhausting, these ups and downs. But we will keep moving forward,” he told The New York Times.

“Maybe it’s an hour from now. Maybe it’s weeks or months or years from now. But we won’t quit. We’re going to find Nancy. We’re going to find this guy.”

Call the Midwife has confirmed Timothy Turner is set to face challenges in episode seven of series 15

Timothy Turner is headed for a difficult ride in the forthcoming episode of Call the Midwife, and his parents will not be able to help.

The latest season of the BBC period drama is set to conclude on Sunday, 8 March, but before the season finale, it appears trainee doctor Timothy, played by Max Macmillan, will face challenges as he takes up work in Poplar.

The 25-year-old actor first appeared on the much-loved BBC period drama in 2012 when his character was introduced during the first-ever festive episode as Doctor Patrick Turner’s (Stephen McGann) mischievous, though kind-hearted, son.

In his first scenes on the show, Timothy is a young schoolboy who waits in a car whilst his dad attends to an older lady in dire need of medical attention. He was also a Boy Scout who got involved in Nurse Chummy’s (Miranda Hart) Christmas nativity, giving his dad a look of pride as he performed the violin in a memorable, heart-warming moment.

In the recent series of Call the Midwife, Timothy is sometimes absent due to his study commitments in Edinburgh as he trains to become a doctor. However, Timothy returns to Poplar on Sunday (March 1) for an exciting storyline, the BBC show confirmed on Tuesday.

Taking to Instagram, the show shared a string of photos of the trainee doctor, ranging from his upcoming scenes to him as a young boy.

Besides the nostalgic snaps, they wrote: “Countdown to Call the Midwife Episode 7: Timothy Turner steps up. In Sunday’s episode, we see the eldest Turner child put through his paces as a trainee doctor in the East End. And – without revealing too much – he has plenty to do…

“For actor Max Macmillan, the journey from a 12-year-old boy in Series 2 to a fully-grown medic has been unique in the history of our programme. What does it feel like to grow up on the set of such an iconic programme? And how does Max feel about the full role he’s now able to take in the drama?”

Max shared his excitement about his new plot after growing up on the show. He said: “It’s really exciting, because I’ve been in this show for over half my life – I was 12 when I started, and now I’m 25 – and a lot of it was just the wonderful shifting dynamic we had within the Turner family.

“But now, suddenly, Timothy has all these new responsibilities! I’m getting to explore a side of acting that I’ve always observed but never been a part of.”

Laura Main, who plays Shelagh, added: “I am so proud to be Max’s fake mum! There are strong bonds between us all, which have naturally changed and deepened over the years as everyone has grown up. Max has always been brilliant with the newer and younger additions to the Turner family, but to now see him carrying huge storylines as one of the adult actors is wonderful.

“He has a great relationship with Renee and Natalie, who are similar ages. He’s graduated into being a full member of the adult company, but he’s still the kind, funny, thoughtful, caring and intelligent person he always was.”

While Doctor Turner star Stephen McGann explained, “Watching Max grow up has been a real privilege. I have a son of my own, a little older than Max, and I think this helped me create a bond with both Max and his character of Timothy in the drama. But sadly for poor Max, he’s had to put up with my terrible dad jokes and wind-ups on set for years and years!”

The post concluded: “Sunday will see Timothy challenged where no parent is there to help. Will he be equal to it?.”

Taking to the comments, Call the Midwife fans shared their admiration for watching Timothy grow up on-screen, with one person writing: “It’s been wonderful watching Tim/Max grow up!”

A second pointed out: “He’s all grown up now!”, while a third chimed in: “The Boy becomes a Man (loveheart)”.

“From scout to doctor. He has grown from an adorable child to a young man”, penned one fan while another echoed the sentiment: “It’s been a privilege to watch Max grow up on screen as Timothy Turner.”

Call the Midwife airs Sunday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer

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Call the Midwife sees the comeback of popular characters as the nun’s health continues to spiral following her recent diagnosis.

Call the Midwife is welcoming back one much-loved family, and fans will be ecstatic.

In recent episodes of the BBC One drama, Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) has been rapidly declining in health, leaving her loved ones at Nonnatus House very concerned. On Sunday, 15 February, Doctor Patrick Turner (Stephen McGann) confirmed that the nun’s loss of appetite and exhaustion are the result of a chronic kidney disease.

The GP then devastatingly added, “Unless we can persuade her to accept what treatment there is, she’ll progress to end-stage renal failure fairly quickly”, as he also implied her deterioration has been rapid.

In the past, Sister Monica Joan has made miraculous recoveries from her medical issues, but this time, a subtle comment from her, “Maybe I do not care to go on for a long time”, appeared to seal her fate.

In forthcoming scenes airing during episode eight on Sunday, 8 March, Sister Monica Joan reunites with Bernie Mullocks (Christopher Reilly). The much-loved Mullocks’ family were introduced during series five before returning in series six as part of the ongoing Thalidomide story.

Who are the Mullucks family in Call the Midwife?

In 2016, Rhoda Mullucks (Liz White) gave birth to a daughter, Susan, who was born with birth defects after taking medication prescribed by Doctor Turner. During birth, the nurses immediately realised Susan was born without properly developed arms and legs as the newborn struggled to breathe.

Rhoda and her partner Bernie were left surprised by the developments but dedicated themselves to being the best parents they could.

The show tackled the Thalidomide scandal again in series six, catching up with the Mullucks family 18 months after Susan’s birth, as Dr Turner helped fit her with prosthetic limbs before enrolling in nursery school. Bernie found Susan’s condition hard to comprehend, and even walked out of a meeting as tears filled his eyes.

Over the years, Bernie went from despising his child he once cruelly called a “monster”, to being terrified into over-protectiveness, afraid she would be the object of ridicule.

In 2022, the Mullocks family returned as Rhoda and Bernie welcomed another baby into their beautiful family. Their story continued as the parents’ mental health was also explored.

In an advance glimpse of the Call the Midwife episode, Bernie sits beside his wife, Rhoda, as she lies in a hospital. The couple hold hands as they look dishevelled, though it is unclear why Rhoda was admitted to the hospital.

In another sneak peek, Bernie is seen pushing a frail Sister Monica Joan in a wheelchair through the streets of Poplar, carrying a bouquet of white flowers.

Bernie and Sister Monica Joan also visit a church together, though it is currently unknown what brings the two back together.

The BBC drama has also released a photo of Sister Monica Joan lying in bed, eyes closed, with her hands by her side. Is this the end for the adored sister? Viewers will have to wait and see what lies ahead for Sister Monica Joan.

Call the Midwife airs Sunday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer

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Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source.** Click here to activate**** or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.**

WASHINGTON — A trio of Senate Democrats is calling for the government to start refunding roughly $175 billion in tariff revenues that the Supreme Court ruled were collected because of an illegal set of orders by President Trump.

Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are unveiling a bill on Monday that would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to issue refunds over the course of 180 days and pay interest on the refunded amount.

The measure would prioritize refunds to small businesses and encourages importers, wholesalers and large companies to pass the refunds on to their customers.

“Trump’s illegal tax scheme has already done lasting damage to American families, small businesses and manufacturers who have been hammered by wave after wave of new Trump tariffs,” said Wyden, stressing that the “crucial first step” to fixing the problem begins with “putting money back in the pockets of small businesses and manufacturers as soon as possible.”

The bill is unlikely to become law, but it reveals how Democrats are starting to apply public pressure on a Trump administration that has shown little interest in trying to return tariff revenues after the Supreme Court announced its 6-3 ruling on Friday.

Because of the ruling, going into November’s midterm elections for control of Congress, Democrats have begun telling the public that Trump illegally raised taxes and now refuses to repay the money back to the American people.

Shaheen said that repairing any of the damage caused by the tariffs in the form of higher prices starts with “President Trump refunding the illegally collected tariff taxes that Americans were forced to pay.” Markey stressed that small business tend to have ”little to no resources” and a “refund process can be extremely difficult and time consuming” for companies.

The Trump administration has asserted that its hands are tied, because any refunds should be the responsibility of further litigation in court.

That message could put Republicans on the defensive as they try to explain why the government isn’t proactively seeking to return the money. GOP lawmakers had planned to try to preserve their House and Senate majorities by running on the income tax cuts that Trump signed into law last year, saying that tax refunds this year would help families.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN on Sunday that it’s “bad framing” to raise the question of refunds because the Supreme Court ruling did not address the issue. The administration’s position is that any refunds will be decided by lawsuits winding their way through the legal system, rather than by a president who has repeatedly stressed to voters that he has the ability to act with speed and resolve.

“It is not up to the administration — it is up to the lower court,” Bessent said, stressing that rather than offer any guidance he would “wait” for a court opinion on refunds.

Trump has defended his use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose broad tariffs on almost every U.S. trading partner, saying that his ability to levy taxes on imports had helped to end military conflicts, bring in new federal revenues and apply pressure for negotiating trade frameworks.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model released estimates that the refunds would total $175 billion. That’s the equivalent of an average of $1,300 per U.S. household. But determining how to structure reimbursements would be tricky, as the costs of the tariffs flowed through the economy in the form of customers paying the taxes directly as well as importers passing along the cost either indirectly or absorbing them.

The president has previously claimed that refunds would drive up U.S. government debt and hurt the economy. On Friday, he told reporters at a briefing that the refund process could be finished after he leaves the White House.

“I guess it has to get litigated for the next two years,” Trump said, later amending his timeline by saying: “We’ll end up being in court for the next five years.”

Boak writes for the Associated Press.

Despite the string of storms that have hit the Los Angeles region in recent days, the skies cleared up long enough on Wednesday for thousands of aspiring actors to swarm a beachfront in Marina del Rey and take their shot at landing a role in the upcoming “Baywatch” reboot.

The open casting call brought old Hollywood magic to Los Angeles, as the show intensified its search for raw and local talent, reminiscent of how original “Baywatch” stars were discovered, said Brittainy Roberts, the vice president of casting at Fox.

The soapy drama series, which premiered in 1989 and ran for 11 seasons, followed the lives and relationships of lifeguards who patrolled L.A. County beaches (and later Hawaii). It was not only a hit stateside — internationally it was a success, becoming the most-watched show in the world at the time. A film adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron was released in 2017, and despite negative reviews, it was considered a commercial success, signaling an appetite for more.

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The casting team has “big bathing suits to fill,” Roberts said. The show famously created a slew of stars, including Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra, who got their start on the show, and catapulted David Hasselhoff to new heights of fame.

Uncommon in a post-pandemic era of self-tape auditions, the open and in-person auditions attracted actors hungry for their big break and locals hoping to leave with a fun story to tell. Many donned “Baywatch” visors and sweaters while others sported bright red bathing suits, popularized by the original show. It was “an opportunity to really get people in the room in a large-scale way,” and allow “people an opportunity that maybe they aren’t getting in this new landscape of auditioning,” Roberts said.

The casting team saw live auditions from about 2,000 “Baywatch” hopefuls, and about 14,000 applications were submitted, said Joseph McGinty Nichol, known as McG, the reboot’s executive producer who will direct the first episode. His past projects include the “Charlie’s Angels” movie and “The O.C.”

Pat “The Jaguar” Uland, 31, of San Francisco, on the red carpet at the “Baywatch” open casting call.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Beach-ready candidates filed in and out of a Marriott hotel in Marina del Rey for the in-person auditions. The casting call, which ran late into the night, embodied the joy of Hollywood, McG said.

Bri Ana Wagner, a 29-year-old living in Los Angeles, has been pursuing acting for around a decade. The open casting call was a reminder that the Hollywood “dream is alive,” she said.

“It’s like the way it used to be and the way it should be,” McG said. “You can come to a Marriott in Marina del Rey and change your life and blow it wide open.”

Hopefuls try to catch a break

David Chokachi hadn’t acted much before auditioning for “Baywatch” in the 1990s. Douglas Schwartz, one of the show’s original creators, and his wife, Deborah, had seen just about a thousand auditions for the role of Cody Madison. None of the actors matched the couple’s vision for the character, until Chokachi strolled in.

“It’s one of the most surreal things that’s ever happened in my life,” said Chokachi, the only actor from the original series confirmed for the reboot.

David Chokachi, who was on the original “Baywatch,” is reprising his role as Cody Madison.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The aspiring actors who auditioned Wednesday hoped to get their chance at a big break similar to the one Chokachi got decades ago. Casting for the reboot began late last year, Roberts said, and people “have come out of the woodwork” since, with some messaging her directly on social media.

“The fact that we’re shooting in L.A., it’s certainly ignited a flame for a lot of agents and managers in town hoping to get their clients working here,” Roberts said.

The casting executive was hopeful that Wednesday’s auditions would bring together a talented pool of actors that the show can continue to pull from.

Massiel Taveras was among the many in attendance at the casting call: “I belong to this group. I belong to the show. I just feel it.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Massiel Taveras was crowned Miss Dominican Republic in 2007 and has pursued acting since, finding success in the Latino market. She arrived to the Marriott hotel sporting a bright red sports bra and leggings, paired with a large fur coat to shield her from the beach chill.

“I just love the show so much … It’s iconic. It’s something that everybody loves,” Taveras said. “I belong to this group. I belong to the show. I just feel it.”

Meanwhile, Dominique Lopez, a broadcast student from Monrovia, had never been to an audition before her boyfriend Colin Bolick, an actor, convinced her to attend the casting call together. The experience was “super easygoing” and intimate, she said as she walked out of the audition room.

“It’s making the industry exciting again. It’s putting people in the mind space of … ‘Let me put myself out there,’” said Lopez, 25. “Just for that, I feel like a better person, that I went and did something new.”

Could ‘Baywatch’ could help revive Hollywood?

Marko Dobrasinovic, 24, who made the trek from Chicago to audition, bumped into an old high school classmate, Alyssa Frey, while in line to check in. The pair attended the same high school as Hasselhoff, who played Mitch Buchannon on “Baywatch,” one of the actor’s best-known roles.

The impromptu reunion felt like a full-circle moment, said Frey, who moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting about two years ago. She landed in the city just as the actors’ and writers’ strikes froze Hollywood. Wednesday’s casting call was “one of the few opportunities to get in front of someone,” she said.

It was one that almost slipped away from the city. Showrunners were eyeing Australia as an alternative to filming in L.A., until Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators granted the production, along with 16 others, California’s film and TV tax incentive in November. Hollywood has struggled to return to its former status as a production mecca after the COVID-19 pandemic and 2023’s dual strikes. The wildfires early last year, coupled with studio spending cuts, added another blow to L.A.‘s waning film and TV industry.

The open casting call was a rare event in Los Angeles, as the TV and film industry struggles to recover.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Chantal Groves left a stable job in international relations around two years ago, setting her sights set on Los Angeles. The 25-year-old, originally from the Dominican Republic, said acting was always her true passion. The career change has been fulfilling, but navigating such a fraught industry is difficult, she said.

“It’s basic laws of supply and demand,” Groves said. “There’s not a lot out there. There’s not a lot casting, and so just in general, it’s a really hard time to start in the industry.”

The “Baywatch” reboot received a $21-million credit, aimed at revamping the state’s entertainment industry.

“This was about keeping an iconic, world-famous brand right here in L.A.,” said Traci Park, a councilmember for District 11 who helped lead efforts to secure the tax incentive and attended the event. “We have the talent, we have the resources, we have the sets … it is exactly why we are fighting so hard to keep these productions in Los Angeles.”

A love letter to Los Angeles

“Baywatch” showrunner Matt Nix was in the middle of fighting off the wildfire that ravaged his Altadena neighborhood and got dangerously close to his home when he first got the call to lead the reboot. His house survived the fires, and he says a show like “Baywatch” felt like exactly what the city needed after such tragedy.

“This is a show about paradise and the people who keep it that way,” Nix said. “There’s something fundamentally earnest and positive about ‘Baywatch,’ the idea of heroes on the beach taking care of each other and the people that they protect.”

Others can relate to that sentiment. “Baywatch” was “right up my alley,” said Ava Cherlyn, a 19-year-old from Newport Beach. The aspiring actor, who moved to Hollywood six months ago, was a lifeguard growing up and played water polo competitively.

“I’m surprised that I haven’t been nervous,” Cherlyn said as she posed for photos in a red bathing suit.

Aspiring actor Ava Cherlyn, 19, in a red swimsuit made iconic in “Baywatch.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The original show attracted a worldwide audience because of its focus on “heroic people with complicated and interesting lives” while still feeling like an easygoing “hour-long vacation,” Nix said.

That nostalgic magic won’t be lost in the upcoming season, which Nix said is more of a continuation rather than a reboot. It will follow Hobie Buchannon, Mitch’s son, a character featured in the original series, played by “Arrow” protagonist Stephen Amell.

Hobie’s life will be derailed when he meets Charlie, a 21-year-old daughter he never knew he had who’s eager to continue the family’s legacy by becoming a Baywatch lifeguard. Hobie, now a Baywatch captain, will navigate the familial troubles throughout the season, Nix said.

“I don’t want to imply that ‘Baywatch’ is going to save the world or save America,” Nix said. “But, at the same time, I think it’s a good time for an unapologetically heroic show about people who care about each other and the people that they’re trying to save.”

PHOENIX — Flashing bleached hair under his cap as he settles in with his new team, Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz threw his first pitch of Thursday’s live bating practice session to Freddie Freeman. It was called a strike. As Díaz got set for his next pitch, Freeman tapped on his helmet in a playful attempt to challenge the call.

In response, Díaz tapped his cap twice.

These gestures will become the norm in major league baseball this season, starting this weekend, thanks to the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System.

Each team will begin games with two challenges, initiated by a pitcher, hitter or catcher tapping their head within seconds of the call — no dugout consultation allowed. The moment it’s challenged, a graphic will show the result of the challenge on the video board and once the call is confirmed or overturned, the game will go on.

Teams retain challenges when they’re successful and lose them when they’re not.

The added layer of strategy intrigues Stephen Nelson, the Dodgers’ radio play-by-play voice.

“As humans we are naturally resistant to change, especially baseball fans, and I say that as a baseball fan,” Nelson said this week at the team’s Camelback Ranch training facility. “So there’s definitely going to be that early period where everybody’s probably going to hate it, but you got to get through that.”

In recent years, MLB has tweaked the game — implementing a replay system to challenge calls on the field, placing a runner on second base to start extra innings, using a pitch clock. The ABS system has been tested in the minor leagues since 2022, and major leaguers got a taste of it during spring training last year and also in the All-Star Game.

In 288 spring games last year, there was an average of 4.1 challenges per game, adding an average of 57 seconds to it. Pitchers and catchers successfully overturned calls more often than hitters.

So who will be in charge of making challenges during at-bats?

“I will let the catcher dictate if he [wants] to challenge or not,” Díaz said this week. “I won’t do it … he’s been there all day long, they know the strike zone for the umpire.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was hesitant to say the club will have a hard rule on who can call for challenges. He feels more comfortable with his catcher doing it than a hitter or pitcher, but if a catcher decides to challenge, he expects them to be right.

“He better be right,” Roberts said Friday.

“It’s good that we’re practicing in spring, but we’re having conversations about leverage and how to use it to our advantage,” he added.

Roberts said if hitters want to make a call, they need to be honest with themselves about their personal knowledge of the strike zone and their baseball IQ and understand when to challenge a call and when not to.

“There’s no perfect science to it, but we’re just going to keep talking about it, trying to educate our guys,” he said.

Luis Cruz, a former player and now a Spanish-language announcer for the Dodgers, said hitters don’t need to be thinking about challenging a call.

“I don’t want to have another thing in my mind … then you lose your focus on your at-bat,” he said.

Jackson Ferris to start Sunday’s game

Left-hander Jackson Ferris, the Dodgers’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2024, will start Sunday’s game against the San Diego Padres at the Peoria Sports Complex.

Ferris, acquired along with outfield prospect Zyhir Hope from the Chicago Cubs for Michael Busch two years ago, logged a 3.86 ERA and 1.46 walks plus hits per inning pitched across 26 games and 126 innings at double-A Tulsa last season.

“I like Jackson,” Roberts said. “I like the player. He’s a good kid. A lot of talent. I think for me, it’s just trying to harness his arsenal. It’s a good fastball. He needs to continue to get ahead, be able to put hitters away with the secondary pitches, be efficient with his pitches per inning, but I like Jackson. He’s really talented. He’s scratching the surface, but he’s gotta go out there and perform, so I’m excited to see him on Sunday, and throughout the spring.”

A prequel to one of the most acclaimed sci-fi films of all time has just been added to Netflix and fans are already eating it up

A sci-fi film directed by Ridley Scott that’s been praised by fans as a “masterpiece” is available to stream now in the UK. Prometheus (2012) is the fifth instalment in the iconic Alien franchise, and follows scientists who uncover startling clues that humanity may have been created by an ancient alien race, and journey to a remote world to investigate.

However, in their quest to solve the mystery they stumble upon a terrifying discovery that could spell the end of the human race. The psychological thriller boasts an all-star ensemble cast, including Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, and Charlize Theron.

The film acts as a prequel to the first film in the franchise, Alien (1979) which was also helmed by Scott, and generated a number of successful sequels directed by Hollywood titans including James Cameron and David Fincher, as well as a cross-over franchise, Alien vs. Predator.

Mere hours after its release on the platform and it has already reached the number two spot on Netflix’s top 10 films.

One fan, writing on Rotten Tomatoes, called Prometheus a “masterpiece”. “This movie expands the Alien world and lore,” they added.

“The acting is top notch. The sci-fi horror element is incredible. Very existential. Watch it with commentary,” reports the Express.

Another described simply as the “Best movie of all time”.

Not everyone was impressed by the prequel, with one writing whilst Prometheus “looks phenomenal” its “strong visuals cannot hide weak writing”.

“The dialogue feels stiff and unnatural, making it hard to connect with the characters.”

Another commented: “It’s frustrating how amazing this film could’ve been. Solid cast, beautifully shot, original story. Scott should’ve either made a film about our creators or an Alien prequel; instead the two elements get too muddled together and neither gets full service.”

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However, others believed it matched the high benchmark established by the franchise’s stronger entries.

One remarked: “This was a perfectly cast movie. It gave excellent insight into the origins of the Alien lore. Excellently tied in with the existing movies. Not too many Aliens ripping people apart but plenty of action. Truly a great movie.”

Another rejected criticism of the picture, claiming it’s “gripping, thought provoking, visually stunning and entertaining from start to finish”.

A third branded it an “incredible and impactful film that deserves to be seen multiple times”.

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A fourth described it as “massively underrated in the Alienverse”, boasting a “strong script, amazing cast”, and visual effects that are “on point”.

The film carries a 15 certificate and features strong violence, gore, alongside threat and horror – so viewer discretion is recommended.

Prometheus arrived on Netflix in the UK on Monday (February 16). It’s also accessible to stream on Disney+, and available to rent or purchase on various platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Sky Store.