Sidney Crosby scored two goals while moving into sole possession of sixth place on the NHL’s career scoring list, and the Pittsburgh Penguins ended their skid at four games with a 5-2 victory over the Kings on Saturday night.
The 39-year-old Crosby broke his tie with Kings great Marcel Dionne by scoring his 1,772nd point when Evgeni Malkin’s one-timer deflected in off him in the second period. Crosby added a late empty-net goal, diving face-first on the ice to tip it home.
Tommy Novak got two goals in the first six minutes and Egor Chinakhov also scored for the Penguins (6-9-2), who moved Crosby and the 40-year-old Malkin onto their top line before the game in an effort to spark their struggling lineup. Sergei Murashov made 26 saves as Pittsburgh opened a three-game California trip with just its third win in 11 games.
Corey Perry and Alex Laferriere scored and Darcy Kuemper stopped only 14 shots for the Kings (5-8-2), who have lost two of the last three during their seven-game homestand.
Novak put the Penguins ahead less than two minutes after the opening faceoff after controlling a rebound in front. Less than 3½ minutes later, he carried the puck into the zone and followed behind Ben Kindel to cash in another rebound for his seventh career multi-goal game.
Perry scored midway through the first when Mikey Anderson’s high shot off the end boards ricocheted down toward the crease, where he slapped it out of mid-air for the second goal of his 22nd NHL season.
Chinakhov scored on a power play late in the first to put the Penguins up 3-1, but Laferriere scored on a power play early in the second.
Artemi Panarin appeared to score a tying rebound goal for the Kings late in the second period, but it was disallowed after a video review determined the Kings’ zone entry had been offside. Moments later, Erik Karlsson’s backhand pass set up Malkin’s shot off Crosby.
Up next for the Kings: vs. Nashville at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.
CALGARY, Canada — Cutter Gauthier broke a tie with 1:34 left to extend his goal streak to five games and help the Ducks beat the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
The Ducks are the first team since the 1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins to score at least five goals in seven consecutive games.
Gauthier one-timed a pass from Mikael Granlund. He has scored 10 of his 12 goals this season during the five-game streak.
Jeff Malott, Tristan Luneau, Leo Carlsson and Nikita Nesterenko, into an empty net, also scored for the Ducks (9-7-1). Granlund and Beckett Sennecke each had two assists.
William Stromgren, Joel Hanley and Joel Farabee scored for Calgary. Morgan Frost and Zayne Parekh each had a pair of assists as the Flames’ five-game home winning streak ended.
Lukas Dostal started for the Ducks, but was chased after giving up three goals on 11 shots in the first period. Ville Husso, who gave up seven goals in his last appearance, came on in relief and stopped all 10 shots he faced. He improved to 2-3-0.
Dustin Wolf, making his third straight start, had 24 stops for Calgary (7-9-1).
The Flames took a 3-2 lead to the third period, but when Matt Coronato was sent off for delay of game 17 seconds in, the Ducks’ red-hot power play took advantage with Carlsson tying it at 55 seconds.
The Ducks’ Jackson LaCombe had an assist to extend his points streak to nine games, the longest in franchise history for a defenseman. He passed Scott Niedermayer (2006-07) and Oleg Tverdovsky (1999-00) on the team list.
Up next for the Ducks: vs. Pittsburgh at Honda Center on Sunday.
EDMONTON, Canada — Cutter Gauthier became the first Ducks player with nine goals over a four-game span, scoring and adding an assist in a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
Gauthier — coming off consecutive hat tricks — has seven power-play goals in the four-game span. Dating to 1933-34, the only other NHL players to accomplish the feat are Dave Andreychuk (eight, Nov. 7-14, 1992) and Teemu Selanne (seven, Oct. 25-31, 2008).
Pavel Mintyukov and Beckett Sennecke each had two goals and an assist for the Ducks, and Laurent Brossoit made 23 saves. They have three in a row to improve to 8-7-1.
Connor McDavid, Evan Bouchard, Kasperi Kapanen and Leon Draisaitl scored for Edmonton. The Oilers (11-3-3) have lost two in a row.
Fourth-string goalie Matt Tomkins made 16 saves with Tristan Jarry out because of illness and both Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen injured. The Oilers became the first team in the NHL to dress a full-time emergency backup goalie, with Brett Epp sitting on the bench.
McDavid had three assists to extend his season-opening points and assists streaks to 17 games and give him an NHL-best 44 points. He’s tied for the fourth-longest points streak to start a season in league history.
Up next for the Ducks: at Calgary on Friday night.
Angel City heads into this weekend’s NWSL playoffs with the youngest starting lineup in the league. And with a 10-game unbeaten streak, it has the hottest team in the league as well.
On Thursday, that team got a little younger and potentially a bit better when it announced the signing of 17-year-old Maddie DiMaria, the leading scorer in the U-17 women’s World Cup. Financial terms of the four-year deal were not released.
“This person is special,” sporting director Mark Parsons said of DiMaria, who signed with Angel City before scoring 12 goals in four games in the age-group World Cup. “But she also represents what Angel City football is about and what Angel City is trying to do over the so many years, which is win.
“And she’s a winner.”
Maddie DiMaria, second from right, accepts the Gatorade National Players of the Year award during the ESPY Awards in July.
(Mike Coppola / Getty Images)
A two-time Gatorade girls’ national soccer player of the year, DiMaria scored 24 times in 23 appearances with the U-17 team, with her 12 goals in Morocco breaking Michelle Akers’ 35-year-old American record for most goals in a World Cup. Before graduating from Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, she scored 67 goals and had 25 assists as a junior, leading her team to a 25-0 season and a state championship.
Her father, Jeff DiMaria, played briefly for the Colorado Rapids in MLS and her mother, Sara, played college soccer, as did both of her older siblings. DiMaria trained with Angel City for a week this summer and Parsons, who has been scouting her for nearly two years, said the team was impressed by what it saw.
“She had a big impact,” Parsons said. “Not just on the field by being super fun and talented, but as a senior player [told] me, ‘we love Maddie. She’s got great vibes. We really liked her as a person.’”
Angel City (15-8-7), which set franchise records for wins, goals, points and goal differential this season, makes its second appearance in the NWSL playoffs Saturday when it travels to Kansas City to meet the Current in the quarterfinals.
Adrian Kempe had a hat trick and an assist, Quinton Byfield scored two goals, and the Kings routed the San José Sharks 7-2 on Wednesday night.
Erik Haula and Joel Armia also scored for the Kings and Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves. Artemi Panarin had four assists.
It was the 37th multigoal game Kempe has had with the Kings, moving him past Dustin Brown for sole possession of ninth place in the history of the franchise. Kempe returned to the lineup after missing a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday because of an undisclosed injury.
Macklin Celebrini and Ivar Stenberg scored power-play goals and Yaroslav Askarov made 20 saves for the Sharks, who have now lost three games in a row. Erik Gustafsson assisted on both goals.
Kempe scored his first goal just 1:23 into the game and added a second later in the first period as the Kings jumped to a 3-0 lead after one. Kempe completed the hat trick with a power-play goal with 4:09 left in the second period. The Kings were three for five on the power play.
The game marked the NHL debut for San Jose defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, called up from the AHL before the game.
VANCOUVER, Canada — Cutter Gauthier scored a hat trick for the second game in a row and the Ducks held on for a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.
Mikael Granlund added a goal and two assists for the Ducks, while Leo Carlsson put away a short-handed tally and Beckett Sennecke had four assists.
Laurent Brossoit stopped 19 shots for the Ducks.
The Ducks (7-7-1) came into the game with the league’s second-best power play (34%) behind only the Utah Mammoth and went three for three with the man advantage. Two of Gauthier’s goals came on the power play and the Ducks have 10 power-play goals on 12 chances over its last three games.
The Canucks got two goals from Jake DeBrusk, and one each from Liam Ohgren and Linus Karlsson. Elias Pettersson notched a pair of assists. Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen made 17 saves.
Granlund opened the scoring with a power-play tally just over four minutes into the first period. Vancouver replied on a man advantage two minutes later. Marco Rossi fed Ohgren just above the crease for the goal.
The Ducks took a 2-1 lead into the intermission when Gauthier fired a shot in on his team’s second power play of the night at the 17:07 mark of the first.
Gauthier also scored three in the Ducks’ 6-3 comeback victory over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, and is the first player in team history with back-to-back three-goal games.
The 22-year-old American has eight goals in his last three games after going the previous nine without finding the net.
Gauthier was in the penalty box midway through the third when DeBrusk scored his fourth of the season to put the score at 5-3.
DeBrusk breathed new life into Rogers arena with just over 10 minutes left on the game clock, blasting a point shot in to cut Vancouver’s deficit to a single goal.
Cutter Gauthier had his second career hat trick, scoring the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the Ducks overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Sunday night.
Judd Caulfield scored twice, rookie Roger McQueen added another and Leo Carlsson had three assists to help the Ducks win for the second time in nine games. The Ducks went four for five on the power play.
Laurent Brossoit made 20 saves in his Ducks debut. Brossoit played his second NHL game in three seasons after being recalled from San Diego of the AHL on Saturday.
Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist as the Senators lost for the third time on a five-game trip. Thomas Chabot and Michael Amadio also scored first-period goals while Jonas Johansson made 27 saves.
After the Ducks rallied to tie it at 3 in the second period, they took advantage of a two-man advantage at 1:50 of the third when Gauthier scored from a sharp angle past Johansson. While still on a man advantage, Gauthier scored 36 seconds later for a two-goal cushion.
Up next for the Ducks: at Vancouver on Tuesday night.
It has been a week since Angel City qualified for the NWSL playoffs. On Sunday, the team found out who and where it would be playing.
With a 4-1 victory over Boston Legacy, Angel City finished the regular season fifth in the standings and will travel to Kansas City on Saturday to meet the Current in its second-ever trip to the postseason. And it will enter the playoffs as the hottest team in the NWSL, riding a league-best 10-game unbeaten streak.
The goals Sunday came from Nealy Martin in the first half and Evelyn Shores, Sveindis Jonsdottir and Claire Emslie in the second. Boston’s only score came from Brazilian striker Amanda Gutierres just before intermission.
Angel City began the final game of the regular season with a chance to finish as high as third in the table, earning the right to open the playoffs at home. But to do that it, it needed a win and it needed the two teams directly ahead of it, Kansas City and Washington, to lose.
Neither the Current nor Spirit cooperated, leaving the standings mostly frozen where they were at the start of the week. Not that it really mattered, attacker Ally Sentnor said before the game.
“You have to beat the best to win a championship. You have to beat everyone, so doesn’t really matter who you play at the beginning,” she said. “Every team in the playoffs is a great team, so I think we are just focused on us and what we’re doing on the field and what we are going to produce on the field.
“We just take every game as it comes.”
Although Sunday’s match was a home game for Angel City (15-8-7), it wasn’t played at home. LAFC is the primary tenant at BMO Stadium and when MLS moved the team’s game with Minnesota United from Saturday to Sunday to avoid competing with USC’s football game at the Coliseum, Angel City was forced to relocate 12 miles down the freeway to Dignity Health Sports Park.
An enthusiastic crowd of approximately 15,000 followed the team to Carson for the “Decision Day” match.
But the move left Angel City playing a home game on the road in an effort to avoid the road and play at home in the playoffs. Not that the home-field advantage has meant much to the team this season: Angel City was 6-5-3 at BMO Stadium this season — the worst home record for an NWSL playoff team —- and 9-3-4 everywhere else.
However four of those five home losses came under former coach Alexander Straus. Interim manager Leif Smerud said this is a different Angel City team.
“We are good both home and away,” he said. “If I can choose, I would of course play at home in front of a fantastic crowd. And all the logistics would be a bit simpler as well.
“But that’s not up to me to decide and control.”
Ariadina Alves Borges of Angel City dribbles the ball against Alba Caño of Boston in the first half Sunday.
(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
It’s unlikely Angel City would be playing anywhere in the postseason if not for the June coaching change that saw it replace Straus.
The team won just one of its final eight games under Straus and was 12th in the 16-team NWSL table at the time of the change. It has lost just twice in 19 games since, setting franchise records for wins (15), goals (54), points (52) and goal differential (a league-best plus-22).
Martin opened the scoring with the first goal of her six-year NWSL career in the 17th minute. Given tons of time and space just outside the penalty area, she settled a short pass from Sentnor, then patiently chipped forward a right-footed shot that Boston defender Deja Davis inadvertently headed into the net.
Boston (9-15-6) pulled that back in the 37th minute on a blistering right-footed strike from the edge of the box by Gutierres, her 11th goal of the season. That ended a 144-minute scoreless streak for Angel City keeper Angelina Anderson.
But Angel City went ahead to stay eight minutes into the second half when Shores headed in a long cross from Jonsdottir for her fourth goal of the season. Jonsdottir put the game away with her franchise-record 10th goal of the year on a breakaway in the 72nd minute and Emslie closed the scoring 12 minutes later with her first goal since September 2024. Taylor Suarez assisted on both goals.
NWSL playoff pairings
Quarterfinals
Friday
No. 2 San Diego Wave, 18-8-4 vs. No. 7 Utah Royals, 14-11-5, 5 p.m., Prime Video
Saturday
No. 4 Kansas City Current, 16-9-5 vs. No. 5 Angel City, 15-8-7, 9 a.m., CBS/Paramount+
Sunday
No. 1 Gotham FC, 18-5-7 vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign, 14-11-5, 9:30 a.m., ABC
No. 3 Washington Spirit, 17-9-4 vs. No. 6 Portland Thorns, 14-8-8, noon, ABC
Tage Thompson had three goals and two assists, Zach Benson added a goal and two assists, and the Buffalo Sabres scored six consecutive goals during a 7-6 victory over the struggling Ducks on Thursday night.
Thompson’s 10th career hat trick tied him with Alexander Mogilny and Danny Gare for the third-most in Sabres history. One night before his 29th birthday, Thompson scored twice in 15 seconds in the second period, skating around the Ducks’ inert defense for a breakaway third goal that sent a dozen hats flying onto the Honda Center ice.
Tyson Kozak, Noah Ostlund and Jack Quinn also scored and Colten Ellis made 28 saves for the Sabres, who roared back from an early two-goal deficit and then hung on to improve to 2-0-1 on their four-game trip.
Roger McQueen scored his first NHL goal and Cutter Gauthier ended his nine-game drought with two goals for the Ducks, who led 3-1 in the first period before getting blitzed 6-0 by Buffalo over the next 35 minutes.
Tristan Luneau and Beckett Sennecke scored for the Ducks (5-7-1) in the final 1:08 with Ville Husso pulled for an extra attacker, but the Sabres survived.
Captain Mikael Granlund scored and Leo Carlsson had three assists in the Ducks’ seventh loss in eight games. Husso stopped 23 shots for Anaheim, which is without injured defensemen Pavel Mintyukov and Ian Moore on its already shallow blue line.
After Granlund and Gauthier got power-play goals 57 seconds apart, McQueen put the Ducks up 3-1 with a rebound goal from the slot. The 6-foot-5 center made the Ducks’ roster out of training camp at 20 years old, but hadn’t yet scored an NHL point.
But Ostlund scored only Buffalo’s fifth power-play goal of the season midway through the first before Thompson tied it with his sixth goal. The Sabres (6-4-3) dominated the second period, and Thompson finally put them ahead with a one-timer off a faceoff win by Peyton Krebs, who had three assists.
Up next for the Ducks: vs. Ottawa at Honda Center on Sunday.
In California, fuel prices often are higher than anywhere else in the country, a reflection of the state’s high cost of living that voters want their next governor to address.
The two candidates running to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom — Democratic former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra and Republican former Fox News host Steve Hilton — have vastly different views on climate and energy policy.
Here is where they stand on gas prices, electric vehicle mandates and California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project.
California is the most expensive gasoline market in the nation, according to AAA, with an average price of $6.01 per gallon. Nationally, the average price was $4.28 per gallon, and this month was expected to become the most expensive for gas prices on record, according to AAA.
Becerra and Hilton both blame the high costs on the opposing political party — Becerra says President Trump’s war in Iran has increased prices by $2 per gallon, while Hilton blames California’s prices on policies pushed by Newsom and Democratic lawmakers.
Hilton has made the promise of $3 a gallon gasoline at California’s pumps a central plank of his affordability campaign. He argues he can achieve the target by repealing “outdated” environmental regulations and issuing more drilling permits in California.
Pumps in the McKittrick oil field, just north of the town of McKittrick on State Route 33.
(Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
“We could be producing most of it here in California, [in] Kern County, and sending it to the refineries in a nice clean pipeline,” Hilton said during an August town hall in Modesto. “Instead of that, we’re shipping it halfway across the world, and giant super tankers spewing out carbon emissions. It’s insane.”
While he has expressed a desire to lower costs, Becerra has released scant details about how he would do it.
He took heat from fellow Democrats during the primary for defending Chevron after the oil producer donated half a million dollars to a committee supporting his campaign. He clarified that his statements were about keeping oil refineries in California, especially since several have shut down in recent years.
“We need to continue to have refineries so that we can process the petroleum, so we can have gasoline, so we don’t have prices that are even higher than what they are right now,” Becerra said during an August event with Politico.
The next governor will decide whether to continue Newsom’s ambitious plan to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles by banning the sale of new gas cars in California by 2035.
While Becerra supports transitioning away from gas-powered vehicles, along with California’s broader carbon neutrality goals, he has raised concerns about costs.
“The goal is great. What we have to do is make sure that goal matches the reality of our families,” he told CalMatters this year. “And if our families can’t afford to keep pace with the goal, then what good is the goal?”
Becerra would be open to revising or delaying the goals to prioritize affordability.
Hilton would end the state’s climate goals, which he blames for driving up energy and other costs.
A car charges at an EV station.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“I’m not against reducing carbon emissions,” Hilton said during a town hall with The Times and LAist this month. “I just want to do it in a way that both helps with the fight against climate change, but doesn’t hurt working people and small businesses.”
He argued that increasing domestic oil production and overhauling vegetation management to reduce the risk of megafires would reduce emissions more effectively than decades of heavy-handed climate rules.
Hilton has railed against “nanny-state” regulations, including new fuel efficiency standards for car tires.
“We are gonna shut it all down, rein it in, merge all of these regulators so we have common-sense regulation instead of this out of control, costly bureaucracy,” he said, standing outside a state office building in August to protest the tire regulations. He also has pledged to abolish the Department of Motor Vehicles and reduce registration fees to $73.
The Tied Arch Bridge construction site, which will take high-speed trains over State Route 43 in Fresno County.
(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
Hilton would “cancel” all high-speed rail funding, which he said would save more than $3.7 billion per year.
While supportive of high-speed rail, Becerra is concerned by the project’s delays and cost overruns. He would “clean shop” at the authority, which signed off on hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses that should not have been approved, according to a recent audit.
“If we build, it’s gonna be because we can get this done the right way. We’re not gonna have this overspending, we’re not gonna have this misspending,” he said during a recent campaign stop in Sacramento. “California is the fourth-largest economy, with the most innovation. We can get it done too, but it won’t be done this way.”
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The Pentagon is reportedly aiming for U.S. military installations to be able to continue essential operations for at least 90 days, or roughly three months, without any external support. The installation of new small nuclear reactors and other infrastructure is key to this part of a larger plan called Fortress America. The main intent is to ensure America’s armed forces can remain functional and ready to protect the homeland in the face of any massive disruptions to power grids and other supply chains due to major conflicts or other crises. For years, TWZ has been sounding the alarm about the glaring vulnerabilities of America’s critical civilian energy infrastructure, including to drone swarms and cyberattacks, which could cripple key military capabilities right where they live.
Fox News was first to report on the 90-day base resiliency goal yesterday, citing documents it said it reviewed. This is part of the extremely wide-reaching Fortress America initiative the Pentagon announced last month, which covers everything from improved physical and cyber defenses at facilities to securing reliable access to critical defense industrial resources. The “Fortress” in Fortress America is technically an acronym that stands for Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy Supply, and Survivability.
Today, at Secretary Hegseth’s direction, the Department of War is announcing FORTRESS America—a national insurance policy for the American homeland.
Every major military installation in America will generate its own power.
We are bringing our critical supply chains home.
We… https://t.co/2kMQtw2r81 pic.twitter.com/Ptu8VQ5pv3
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) September 30, 2026
“Under FORTRESS [sic], every major military installation in the continental United States would be expected to sustain essential operations independently for at least 90 days, including access to electricity, water, fuel and communications,” according to Fox.
Fox News’ story also includes comments about Fortress America from Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell, but it is unclear if he explicitly confirmed the 90-day target. TWZ has reached out for more information.
Parnell did put particular emphasis on the importance of reducing reliance on civilian power generation as part of the larger Fortress America plan. Previous reports have said that Parnell was key to formulating this initiative. He has also been discussed as a potential frontrunner to become the next Secretary of the Army.
“Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures,” Parnell told Fox. “We don’t want to rely on standard civilian municipal infrastructure to run our national defense. We just simply can’t. It’s an intolerable risk.”
It should be pointed out here that some U.S. military bases do have their own power plants now, but this is not something that is far from universal across the board.
Secretary Pete Hegseth made similar comments when he first unveiled the Fortress America initiative during a speech to service members at the U.S. Marine Corps’ base in Quantico, Virginia, in September.
“We are launching Fortress America, a national insurance policy for the American homeland,” Hegseth said at that time. “Every major military installation in America is going to generate its own power, independent of the civilian grid. If an adversary takes down the grid by cyber attack, by sabotage, or by any means, our bases stay lit, our aircraft keep flying, our command centers never go dark.”
Fox News’ report says that “portable nuclear reactors,” as well as “large-scale battery storage and microgrids capable of disconnecting military installations from the civilian electrical grid,” are key elements of the plan to achieve this independence when it comes to generating electricity.
The U.S. military, in cooperation with the Department of Energy, has already been heavily investing in the development and installation of so-called microreactors at bases across the country. In August, the U.S. Army, in partnership with the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), notably cut new deals with five companies as part of a plan to install more than 20 microreactors at bases, starting in 2028. This effort, called the Janus program, is not limited to Army installations.
The video below offers an overview of one of several microreactor designs the U.S. military is currently pursuing.
Introducing Kaleidos, a Portable Microreactor from Radiant
Establishing new microgrids and other supporting energy infrastructure has also been an important focus for the U.S. military in recent years.
Details about how bases are expecting to maintain supplies of water and fuel, as well as communications connectivity, for 90 days or more are, as yet, still not entirely clear. All branches of the U.S. military have already been exploring new and novel options for ensuring the availability of water and fuel in future contingencies, though generally with more of an eye toward tactical operations. Relevant developments, including the possibility of using a process called carbon transformation to turn ambient air into fuel, could easily be applicable in a homeland defense scenario.
Fox News’ story also makes no mention of how sufficient food for personnel at these facilities would be sustained, but that would have to be part of the equation. In his remarks in September, Secretary Hegseth also made clear that making sure supply chains delivering munitions, medicine, and even blood would be unbroken in any future crisis was part of the Fortress America vision. As already mentioned, the initiative also extends much more broadly into matters of physical force protection, cyber defense, and the resilience of America’s defense industrial base.
“For decades, we built the most powerful military in the world,” Hegseth said at Quantico. Then we “regrettably made it dependent on foreign mines for rare earths, on overseas factories for microchips, on foreign supply chains for weapons, and on a civilian power grid to keep the lights on at our bases.”
“We’re bringing our critical supply chains home: the rare earths, the specialty metals, the semiconductors, the propellants, mined in America, refined in America, built in America by American workers,” he added at the time. “We are building long-overdue strategic reserves, deep enough to fight through disruption.”
More specific details about how the Pentagon now intends to pursue these aims have yet to be more fully defined.
“The Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment is directed to stand up the FORTRESS America Program Office within thirty (30) days,” according to a memo dated September 30, which was released after Hegseth’s September speech. “The Program Office shall report directly to the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment who will appoint a member of the Senior Executive Service to lead the day-to-day operations, assisted by a two-star Military Advisor, and shall begin as a lean core cell that scales to full operating capability within months – delivering results in weeks, not years”
There is also a question of how much of the Fortress America initiative will actually be new. As mentioned, just when it comes to increased energy resiliency, including through the installation of new microreactors, this is something that has already been top of mind for the U.S. military for years now. In 2022, the U.S. Army had a publicly stated goal for every one of its bases to have its own microgrid by 2035 as part of a larger plan to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. In 2024, the Department of the Air Force rolled out its own Installation Infrastructure Action Plan (I2AP) that included a target to have new microgrids in place at 16 bases by Fiscal Year 2030. In May, the U.S. Navy announced plans to demonstrate the ability of the supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford to act as a floating nuclear power plant as part of broader “energy resilience and mission assurance” plans.
The U.S. military has also already been heavily engaged in efforts to secure access to critical resources, especially rare Earth elements in light of China’s continued dominance in that market globally, and otherwise expand America’s domestic defense industrial base. Physical hardening of bases, especially against emerging drone threats, has been more of a heated debate, as TWZ has been following closely for some time now. However, even before Fortress America was unveiled last month, there had been signs that institutional attitudes were shifting.
“The [Fortress America] program aligns basing and infrastructure projects to ensure they are collectively advancing toward greater independence,” the aforementioned September 30 memo itself notes.
There are additional questions to be answered as to how the U.S. military expects to fund its expansive Fortress America ambitions and the schedules for implementing them. This will all be heavily influenced by how much the initiative leverages efforts that were already ongoing. At the same time, concerns about underinvestment in infrastructure modernization, in general, across America’s armed forces, and the worrisome cascading impacts thereof, are hardly new.
There are still key elements of the Fortress America initiative that have yet to be fully proven out. This is particularly visible when it comes to microreactors, which hold the promise of being simpler and safer to build and operate compared to traditional nuclear power plants. Despite significant progress with this technology just in recent years, environmental, proliferation, and other concerns continue to be raised. You can read more about all of this can read more about here.
Today, the Department of War will execute Operation Windlord, the first C-17 airlift of a nuclear reactor, in partnership with the Department of Energy and Valar Atomics.
Three C-17s Globemasters carrying the 8 modules of the Ward250 reactor will fly from March ARB to Hill AFB. pic.twitter.com/uIL7LMxACQ
— Isaiah Taylor – making nuclear reactors (@isaiah_p_taylor) February 15, 2026
On top of all this, it should be noted here that the U.S. military and the rest of the U.S. government already have mechanisms in place to ensure the key functions can continue, even in the midst of the gravest of crises, such as a limited nuclear attack. This is known as continuity of government planning, and includes a network of hardened and otherwise resilient facilities designed to support continued military operations and other activities in those ‘doomsday’ scenarios. But these facilities are few in number and are focus on strategic capabilities compared to what the Fortress America plan envisions.
At the same time, the dangers posed to civilian power grids in the United States, in particular, are only growing in scale and scope, both in the physical and cyber domains. Existing domestic U.S. energy infrastructure is aging and has been increasingly strained to meet routine day-to-day demands for decades now.
The potential for uncrewed aerial attacks on power plants and power lines has been real for years. The basic barrier to entry when it comes to weaponized drones, including converted commercial types, is also already low. Drone threats, broadly speaking, are only set to expand as swarming technology and artificial intelligence-driven capabilities continue to proliferate, as you can read more about this in this past TWZ feature. A well-informed enemy could concentrate a small number of resources on highly critical points in the grid to have vastly outsized effects, using drones or any other kinetic means.
The threat of various types of cyberattacks is also no longer limited to blockbuster movies and other popular media. This was made clear all the way back in 2021 with the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, a key American oil pipeline system, and has only become more evident since then, including in the course of the war in Ukraine. U.S. authorities have run major exercises to help prepare for exactly these kinds of threats in the past. These are also capabilities where the barrier to entry has been steadily lowering over the years. Increasingly open access to powerful artificial intelligence agents with the ability to overwhelm networks and software to find critical vulnerabilities faster than humans can react is perhaps the most concerning layer of risk.
We have been reporting on this coming together for some time, it’s incredibly important. More so than a new fighter or an additional destroyer every couple years. Absolutely critical, and becoming more so with each passing day. Yes it’s scary, but it’s far scarier not doing this https://t.co/u09x0PeHZ7
— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) October 25, 2026
If a major conflict with a global competitor like China were to break out, physical and cyberattacks on energy infrastructure would be an extremely attractive avenue to hobble U.S. military forces, including airpower, before they can even leave their bases. The capacity to threaten grids in the United States, at least to certain degrees, has become worryingly within reach of smaller nation-states, as well as non-state actors and even lone wolf attackers, too. Firmly attributing cyberattacks to a nation-state, at all, can be challenging.
There is also a secondary component to all of this for responding to major natural disasters, which are another way U.S. grids can end up being knocked out for extended periods of time. These same circumstances could easily leave military bases, as well as their surrounding communities, without access to fresh water and other supplies. The U.S. military routinely plays a key role in responding to such crises.
“This is not a wait-and-see kind of a thing. We want to move out pretty quickly to get to that energy [resilience]. Those solutions can include investments in microgrids, battery backup storage,” a senior U.S. defense official said last week at a Defense Writers Group roundtable, according to a separate report from Air & Space Forces Magazine. “First and foremost, it’s doing the assessments of the installations to make sure we understand power generation and where we’re going to go with that, and then getting those deployed.”
The Pentagon is certainly making a new push now to make sure that, as Secretary Hegseth put it last month, “America cannot be starved out, shut down, or cut off.” However, there is clearly still work to be done to meet a goal of bases being able to go three months without outside help and the many other aims of the Fortress America plan.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
Kylian Mbappe scores twice for Real Madrid as they beat Barcelona 2-1 at the Camp Nou in the first El Clasico of the season.
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Leo Walta scored the tying goal in the 62nd minute, and LAFC clinched a playoff spot by rallying from two goals down in the second half for a 2-2 draw with the Galaxy on Sunday night.
Joseph Paintsil scored his first two goals since August as the Galaxy hung on impressively for a point, but endangered their own playoff hopes by blowing the lead in another thrilling El Tráfico derby.
The final seconds of injury time were breathtaking: Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and defender Justin Haak both made spectacular stops on LAFC chances before Denis Bouanga scored on a redirection of Tyler Boyd‘s bicycle kick — only for the play to be ruled offside.
Bouanga scored the first goal for LAFC, which is headed to the MLS playoffs for the eighth time in its nine seasons of existence. LAFC is currently sixth in the Western Conference standings, while the Galaxy sit ninth.
The El Tráfico series remains even at 10 wins and 10 losses apiece with eight draws.
LAFC has produced one win and three draws from four matches since interim head coach Xavi Tamarit took over for the fired Marc Dos Santos on Oct. 1.
Son Heung-min thought he had scored on a rebound of Bouanga’s shot midway through the first half, but the play was ruled offside and confirmed by a lengthy video review. Moments later, the Galaxy’s Robert Taylor intercepted a pass and set up Paintsil to hammer home his first goal in a competitive match since Aug. 19.
Paintsil doubled the Galaxy’s lead in the 51st minute when Hugo Lloris spilled a rebound directly to him. LAFC fans threw drinks at the celebrating Galaxy players after both of their goals.
But just two minutes later, LAFC’s Armindo Sieb ripped a shot off a counterattack and Bouanga chipped home the rebound for his 18th goal in 30 MLS matches this season.
LAFC remained on the attack and tied it when Emiro Garces’ defensive misplay allowed Walta to score his second goal in the Finnish international’s four matches with the club.
The Galaxy played without star German midfielder Marco Reus, a late scratch due to illness. Striker Hirving “Chucky” Lozano is also out with a hamstring injury that occurred during international duty with Mexico.
Beacham writes for the Associated Press.
PHILADELPHIA — Leo Carlsson scored a goal and set up the game-winner against the team that tried to sign him away from Anaheim last summer, as the Ducks overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 on Saturday.
Philadelphia signed Carlsson to a five-year, $80-million offer sheet as a restricted free agent last July, only to have the Ducks match it and retain him. He scored the Ducks’ first goal at 8:38 of the second period on a pass from Cutter Gauthier, who continued to hear vitriolic chants from Philadelphia fans for forcing his way out of Philadelphia three years ago.
Carlsson later assisted on a power-play goal by Beckett Sennecke in the third period, firing a pass toward the net that Sennecke tipped past Flyers goalie Joseph Woll.
Carlsson leads the Ducks in scoring with 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists).
A.J. Greer, Judd Caulfield, and Tristan Luneau also scored for Anaheim, and Lukas Dostal made 28 saves to snap the Ducks’ five-game losing streak.
Matvei Michkov extended his point streak to five games when he scored the first of two goals for the Flyers on the same power-play opportunity. Michkov snapped a wrister through Porter Martone’s screen during a five-on-three advantage to score his seventh goal of the season. Martone followed 1:03 later to build an early two-goal lead for the Flyers.
Tyson Foerster also scored a goal and Michkov added a second goal in the third period, but Philadelphia never could draw back even, and had its three-game winning streak snapped.
Up next: The Duck begin a three-game homestand Tuesday against Vancouver; the Flyers host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
NEW YORK — Artemi Panarin had two goals, Brandt Clarke scored in overtime and the Kings won their second consecutive game, 3-2, at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
The Kings have back-to-back victories after losing their first six games. They were the final NHL team without a win before defeating Washington on Tuesday night.
The Kings were outplayed for much of the game and were outshot 43 to 26. Panarin beat rusty backup Semyon Varlamov glove side twice, and Darcy Kuemper kept making stops even as his rebound control was lacking, finishing with 41 saves.
Kuemper cracked for the first time with just under six minutes left in the second period when rookie Victor Eklund’s shot squeezed through on a power play. Matthew Schaefer wired a wrist shot past Kuemper 7:06 into the third.
Clarke scored the winner with 2:18 left in overtime after he and his teammates possessed the puck for several shifts in a row.
Varlamov, the 38-year-old making his first home start since Nov. 25, 2024, after double partial knee replacements, denied Adrian Kempe on a penalty shot and made some big-time saves after giving up the soft goals to Panarin on the Kings’ first five shots.
Panarin has four points in two games after four combined over the first six.
Kings forward Quinton Byfield was out after getting hurt against the Capitals. Byfield did not take part in the morning skate and is considered day to day with an upper-body injury.
Up next for the Kings: at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Ron Duguay, a longtime New York Rangers star who finished his NHL career with the Kings, has died of cancer. He was 69.
The Rangers announced the loss of “one of the most popular players in franchise history” on Thursday morning after being informed by Duguay’s family.
“Ron’s signature skating style — with his hair flowing as he moved down the ice — captivated The Garden Faithful, and his skill, tenacity, and charisma earned him the admiration of all New Yorkers,” the team said in a statement. “We join the hockey community in sending our condolences to Ron’s friends, family, and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who dated Duguay over the last several years, posted on social media that the one-time NHL All-Star “passed away peacefully” Thursday “after a hard-fought battle with cancer.”
“It’s with a shattered heart, but also deep peace knowing Ron is with Jesus now,” Palin wrote. “He fought so hard. Love never ends.”
On Sunday, Palin posted photos that appeared to show her holding Duguay’s hand while he was in a hospital bed. “Prayers for Ron Duguay are felt & appreciated,” she wrote.
Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Duguay was selected by the Rangers at No. 13 overall in the 1977 draft. Known for his long, curly hair and flashy lifestyle — “why, he even danced with Cher at one of Manhattan’s best-known discos,” the New York Times wrote in 1983 — Duguay became a star during the six seasons of his initial stint in New York. He helped the Rangers make the 1979 Stanley Cup Final and earned his only All-Star nod in 1982.
Ron Duguay, front left, blocks out New York Rangers’ Carey Wilson as Kings teammate Marty McSorley winds up to shoot Feb. 27, 1989, at Madison Square Garden.
(Ron Frehm / Associated Press)
Duguay was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 1983 and had the two best seasons of his career, including career highs of 89 points on 38 goals and 51 assists during the 1984-1985 season. He also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and a second time for the Rangers before wrapping up his career with the Kings from 1988 to 1989.
Overall, Duguay had 673 points (305 goals, 368 assists) in the NHL regular season and playoffs. He went on to play in the minor leagues, including two seasons with the IHL’s San Diego Gulls, and spent 12 years calling Rangers games as an MSG Network analyst.
“Ron greeted each day with the biggest smile, an incredible zest for life, and a positive outlook that shone through everything he saw, everything he did, and every life he touched,” the NHL Alumni Assn. wrote on X. “He will be remembered not only for the player he was, but for the extraordinary person he was. His warmth, his laughter, his kindness, and his beautiful spirit will forever remain in the hearts of his family, friends, teammates, and the entire NHL Alumni community.”
The Kings reposted the alumni association’s statement and added: “Our hearts are with Ron’s family & loved ones and we join them in mourning his passing.”
In 2024, Duguay was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, which had started in his colon before spreading to his liver and other parts of his body, according to a post on the GoFundMe page set up by his three adult children to help pay for his medical and travel costs. He lived in Florida but had to make regular trips to Orange County for treatment.
“Early this morning, our beloved father took his final breath after fighting a long and courageous battle. He fought with everything he had, right until the very end,” daughter Shay Thomas wrote on Thursday in a separate GoFundMe post. “Our hearts are shattered, and the world feels a little less bright without him in it. He will be missed by so many, but we find peace in knowing that he is finally free from pain and suffering.
“He fought the good fight until his very last breath, and today, Heaven gained a truly special angel.”
Andres Perea scored a goal and Matt Freese had two saves for New York City FC on Saturday night in a 1-1 tie with LAFC.
Perea slammed home a header off a corner kick played in by Nicolás Fernández to make it 1-1 in the 59th minute.
NYCFC (8-12-10) is winless, with three losses, in its last five games.
Leo Walta, acquired Aug. 31 by LAFC on loan, scored his first career MLS goal in his fourth appearance. The 23-year-old midfielder put away a straightaway free kick from 30 yards out to open the scoring in first-half stoppage time.
Hugo Lloris had three saves for LAFC (12-9-10).
Up next for LAFC: Hosts the Galaxy on Oct. 25.
Marat Khusnutdinov scored in the third period and the Boston Bruins beat the Kings 4-1 on Saturday night for their fifth straight victory.
With the Philadelphia Flyers winning Saturday night, the Kings (0-4-2) are the last NHL team without a win this season.
David Pastrnak had a goal, Elias Lindholm and JJ Peterka scored empty-netters, and Jeremy Swayman made 25 saves. The Bruins swept the three California teams as part of a four-game trip that ends in Dallas on Tuesday.
Alex Laferriere scored for the Kings, and Anton Forsberg made 24 saves. The Kings were held to one goal for the fourth straight contest.
Khusnutdinov put the Bruins (7-2-0) ahead 2-1 with 6:24 remaining, scoring on a backhander after Forsberg failed to cover up Morgan Geekie’s shot and Matt Poitras kept the puck alive.
The Kings got off to a quick start, scoring 31 seconds into the game. Laferriere was at the top of the crease to put in Adrian Kempe’s pass for his second goal of the season, making the most of his promotion to first-line center.
But the Bruins responded early in the second period, with Pastrnak tying it at 2:43. He pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone and took it the other way to beat Forsberg on a wrist shot from the right circle for his fourth goal.
It was Pastrnak’s 289th goal at even-strength, tying Phil Esposito for third-most in Boston history.
Bruins center Pavel Zacha did not play because of an upper-body injury he sustained in the third period against the Ducks on Friday. He is day to day, coach Marco Sturm said before the game.
Up next for the Kings: at Washington on Tuesday night.
Marco Reus had a goal and an assist to back JT Marcinkowski and the Galaxy beat the Portland Timbers 2-0 on Wednesday night at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Reus staked the Galaxy (10-11-9) to a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when he used assists from Robert Taylor and Pablo Ruiz to score his eighth goal of the campaign.
That’s where the score stood until Reus set up up Justin Haak in the 80th minute for his second goal this season and his fourth in 110 matches. It was the career-high 11th assist for Reus.
Marcinkowski finished with five saves for the Galaxy. It was his fourth clean sheet in 24 starts this season.
James Pantemis stopped three shots for Portland (9-14-6).
The clubs played to a 1-1 draw in Portland to close out March.
The Galaxy improved to 6-4-5 at home, while the Timbers fall to 2-10-3 on the road.
Portland has gone 1-4-2 since the start of September.
Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min both contributed to all three goals for LAFC in a 3-1 victory over Austin FC on Wednesday night at BMO Stadium.
Neither team found the net until Bouanga took a pass from Son seven minutes into the second half and scored to give LAFC (12-9-9) the lead.
Austin’s Brandon Vázquez scored for the second time this season, using an assist from Myrto Uzuni, to knot the score in the 66th minute.
Bouanga answered the following minute with his 17th netter off another assist from Son, his league-leading 15th of the season, and LAFC went back in front 2-1.
Bouanga returned the favor when he notched his eighth assist on Son’s sixth goal of the season in the 72nd minute for a two-score advantage. Jacob Shaffelburg picked up his career-high fifth assist.
Hugo Lloris totaled three saves for LAFC, which is 2-2-3 since the start of September.
Brad Stuver stopped 10 shots, one off his career high, for Austin (7-11-11), which has lost two straight following an eight-match unbeaten streak.
LAFC improved to 9-3-3 at home, while Austin dropped to 3-8-4 on the road.
The clubs played to a scoreless draw in Austin to close out March.
Martin Pospisil scored the tiebreaking goal with 4:22 left, Yegor Sharangovich added an empty-netter with 1:22 remaining and the Calgary Flames beat the Ducks 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Adam Klapka and Aydar Suniev added goals, and Dustin Wolf stopped 22 of 24 shots as the Flames (1-5) won for the first time this season. Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored goals, and Lukas Dostal had 32 saves for the Ducks (4-2).
Pospisil’s decisive goal came after he took a pass from Suniev at the center circle, skated down the left side, deked Ducks defenders Tyson Hinds and Tristan Luneau by faking a shot and snapped the puck past Dostal’s short side for a 3-2 lead.
Anaheim gave up the tying goal just eight seconds after killing Calgary’s five-on-three advantage — with the help of Dostal’s four saves — for two minutes of the second.
As Sennecke (tripping) and Alex Killorn skated out of the penalty box, Flames winger Ryan Strome snuck a cross-ice pass from the outside the left circle to Suniev, who snapped a shot from the inside edge of the right circle past Dostal’s blocker for a 2-2 tie at the 8:02 mark.
The Flames took a 1-0 lead 8:32 into the first when Maksim Tsyplakov intercepted a pass in the Anaheim slot and touched a pass back to Klapka, who beat Dostal.
But the Ducks tallied twice within a 1:56 span of the first for a 2-1 lead. Sennecke stole the puck at his own blue line and beat Wolf glove-side for a breakaway goal with 7:51 left, and Carlsson’s shot from the right circle went over Wolf’s left shoulder for a power-play goal with 5:55 left.
Roger McQueen, the Ducks’ first pick in the 2025 draft, made his NHL debut after being recalled from the AHL San Diego Gulls. The 20-year-old center did not find the score sheet in 11 ½ minutes of ice time.
McQueen replaced center Ryan Poehling, who suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain that will sideline him for six to eight weeks. Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier missed the game because of a lower-body injury and is day to day.