investigates

A dispute between a producer and Netflix over a missing copy of a World War II spy drama starring Nicolas Cage has now reached the Los Angeles Police Department.

A law firm representing producer Simon Afram filed a report with the Hollywood Community Police Station, accusing Netflix of losing a drive with a copy of his WWII film, “Fortitude,” last month and not providing information on the streamer’s investigation into the issue.

“This report is being made on an emergency basis, as there is reason to believe that Netflix, Inc. and its employees are suppressing and/or spoliating evidence of the theft of an asset with a cost of $45 million to create and a likely sale value of over twice that amount,” according to Afram’s report, which was viewed by The Times. The report, filed July 15, asks for law enforcement to investigate the movie’s theft and “identify all responsible parties, preserve all relevant evidence, and press charges against the responsible parties.”

An LAPD spokesman confirmed it is investigating the report.

Netflix declined to comment on Afram’s report to police.

Afram and his production company sued Netflix last month for at least $105 million in economic damages for the missing drive that contained “Fortitude,” a movie starring Cage and Ben Kingsley. The film, described as “Ocean’s Eleven” meets “Inglourious Basterds,” is based on Operation Fortitude, an effort during World War II in which double agents set a trap for Adolf Hitler and his armies.

On June 15, Daniel Haido, an associate producer of “Fortitude,” dropped off an unencrypted copy of the movie for Netflix to view, according to the lawsuit. On June 25, Netflix informed Haido the drive had been stolen, the lawsuit said.

“Unfortunately, someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week,” Sean Berney, a director for original film at Netflix, wrote in a June 25 email, according to the lawsuit. “We’ve been working through this with our security teams to no luck.”

Berney in his email offered to reimburse Afram’s company for the missing drive or create a new digital cinema package, but Afram said the damage was much greater than that, according to the lawsuit.

“It is not fathomable that a sophisticated buyer would invest tens of millions of dollars to acquire the Film — and tens of millions more to market it — while facing the constant risk that it could appear online to be viewed widely for free at any time,” Afram’s lawsuit said.

Netflix said in a statement last month that it is conducting an investigation and is offering to monitor piracy sites for any unauthorized distribution or sale of the film.

“Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards,” the company said in a statement last month. “While we do not own the rights to ‘Fortitude,’ we take content security seriously and have taken extra measures to support the filmmaker and his team.”

The streamer said it has not shared information on its investigation with Afram’s law firm, accusing the firm of “hostile attempts to extort money from Netflix over this situation — including immediately demanding $165 million for the film rather than work with us in good faith.”

Earlier this month, Afram added a defamation claim to his lawsuit against Netflix.

“Netflix’s statement that Mr. Afram and his attorneys attempted to extort money from Netflix is entirely false, as are the purported facts on which Netflix based this false statement,” according to his amended lawsuit.

Staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.

Video obtained by The Times shows Royal High football coach Adam Brubaker kicking a football toward a student and hitting him in the groin area, which has resulted in the school beginning an investigation on the eve of the team opening its season on Friday.

Brubaker is no longer coaching the team, with the existing coaching staff taking over and the team still planning to play Monroe on Friday, according to a Simi Valley Unified School District official.

Brubaker, a former Panorama coach, took over as head coach at Royal in the middle of the 2025 season.

Ruby Franke is at the heart of tonight’s BBC true crime doc The Devil in the Family.

A BBC true crime doc investigates the truth behind the case of Ruby Franke.

The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke aired this evening, Thursday, August 6, on BBC Two, with the three-part special investigating the life and crimes of Franke.

Speaking to those who knew the 44-year-old best, this third episode delves into the truth which “proves far worse than anyone imagined”.

Who is Ruby Franke?

Ruby Franke is an American former family vlogger who ran the controversial YouTube channel 8 Passengers.

She started the channel in 2015 and ran it with her then-husband Kevin, documenting their lives with their six children with 8 Passengers attracting almost three million subscribers.

While it was popular, 8 Passengers received plenty of online criticism as it promoted strict parenting rules and harsh disciplinary tactics. When the channel started to decline, and was eventually suspended, Franke teamed up with mental health counsellor Jodi Hildebrandt.

Together, they launched their joint Instagram profile and podcast Moms of Truth which similarly talked about extreme parenting but also the idea that children who didn’t follow their rules were possessed or acting under dark influences.

Franke and Hildebrandt were also business partners who ran an online life-coaching service named ConneXions.

In August 2023, Franke was arrested after her 12-year-old son escaped a home in Utah, now known to be Hildebrandt’s, and asked a neighbour for help.

Police discovered that her two youngest children were extremely malnourished with physical injuries and bondage wounds.

Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse and was sentenced to four prison terms of one to 15 years each to run consecutively.

This means she will serve a total prison sentence of four to 30 years which was the maximum penalty under Utah law. Hildebrandt also received this sentence for her involvement in the abuse.

The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

An airport employee spotted the drone carrying what authorities described as ‘an unknown explosive device’.

German authorities have launched an investigation after police removed the detonator from an explosive device attached to a drone found at Leipzig/Halle airport.

The airport’s north runway reopened on Wednesday after being closed for about two hours, while the south runway remained out of use due to scheduled maintenance.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

Several flights, including a passenger aircraft, were diverted to other airports after a flying object was reported near the airport shortly before midnight. Police deployed an explosives-disposal robot to examine the object.

Authorities later said an airport employee discovered the drone near the runway carrying what they described as “an unknown explosive device”. Police examined it and removed its detonator, but did not provide further details about the nature of the device.

The probe is being led by prosecutors in the eastern state of Saxony who are responsible for politically motivated and “extremist” crimes, although authorities have not identified any suspects or attributed responsibility.

Meanwhile, an apparent second flying object collided with a freight aircraft after it aborted its landing because the runway was closed.

The aircraft diverted to Hannover airport, where officials found slight damage during an inspection. Authorities have not said whether the second object was connected to the drone found near the runway.

Authorities said there was no danger to travellers or airport employees, and flights were operating normally on Wednesday.

Photos from the scene showed police technicians working with an explosives-disposal robot near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft parked at the airport, although authorities have not indicated the aircraft was the intended target.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi attends a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on June 26. On Sunday, he said the IAEA plans to investigate reports U.S. airstrikes hit an Iranian nuclear power plant under construction. Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo

July 19 (UPI) — The United Nations’ nuclear energy agency said Sunday it’s investigating Iran’s allegation that the U.S. military struck a nuclear power plant under construction as part of renewed fighting after the deaths of two U.S. service members.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it reached out to the Iranian government about the reported attacks on the Darkhovin Power Plant in southern Iran on Sunday morning. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said U.S. forces hit the site, which was under construction.

“The facility is in the very early stages of construction and contained no nuclear material when last visited by the IAEA,” the agency said in a post on X.

“While the reported attack is not believed to pose any radiological risk, [IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi] reiterates call for military restraint in the vicinity of all nuclear-related sites.”

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization first began work on the Darkhovin Power Plant in 2022, but construction didn’t officially start until March 2026, CNN reported, citing the World Nuclear Association.

The United States ordered fresh airstrikes on Iranian targets Saturday after two U.S. service members were killed in Iranian attacks Friday in Jordan. A third service member was missing.

The U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, warned U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the international airport or seaport in Aqaba, and all military bases in Jordan. Jordan’s military said Sunday afternoon it intercepted three Iranian missiles, and a third landed in a remote area.

Aqaba is situated on Jordan’s southern coast, within a few miles of the border with Israel. The Israeli military warned of potential spillover of Iranian attacks into Israel, The Times of Israel reported Sunday morning.

“There may be spillover into Israeli territory as a result of the fire,” the military said.