While Birmingham is an important industrial and cultural centre, and the UK’s second-largest city with a population of around 1.2 million.
The proposed plans are on track to deliver up to 130 extra train services each week, which would provide around two million additional passenger seats a year.
Andy Clark, rail programme lead at Midlands Connect, said: “This would be a real boost for passengers.”
The first phase of the scheme is also expected to create nearly 13,000 jobs nationwide.
Swindon North MP Will Stone welcomed the development, saying it would boost the local economy and reconnect communities that have long relied on slower, indirect services.
Currently, there are no direct services between Swindon and Birmingham, meaning passengers must change at Cheltenham, Gloucester, or Reading stations.
The revived route would re-establish a direct connection between the two cities.
Mr Stone said: “It’s fantastic that Swindon could be benefiting from the Midlands Rail hub expansion.
“We’re a town built on connection via the railways, and so it’s great to see Swindon getting an hourly service between a fellow industrial town like Birmingham.”
Once home to the Great Western Railway works, Swindon has a proud railway heritage that shaped the town’s identity.
The project has secured government backing following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending review and forms part of the government’s 10-year infrastructure strategy.
Mr Stone added: “Innovative projects like the Midlands Rail hub prove that investments in our railways, fully funded by the Chancellor, are transformative for communities, bringing new jobs and skills to areas across the country.”
BBC viewers have been urged to look out for any clues as the broadcaster is reportedly gearing up to announce the return of one of its biggest shows very soon
23:45, 05 Nov 2025Updated 23:45, 05 Nov 2025
Line of Duty could be making a comeback very soon(Image: BBC)
A huge BBC drama is set to announce its comeback within a matter of days. Fans have been waiting on tenterhooks to see if another series will be released, and now the cast have finally aligned their schedules to make it happen.
The BBC are said to be gearing up to confirm Line of Duty will be back on screens for a seventh series. Fans have been urged to keep an eye out for any online announcements that will be followed by TV teaser trailers.
Now, it seems fans won’t have long to wait for an official announcement as a source said: “Although this has been discussed at length since the unsatisfactory ending of series six in 2021, it’s still going to create huge excitement when the Beeb makes the announcement.
“It’s one they’ve been preparing to make for weeks, but they’ve been trying to pick the right moment, since The Celebrity Traitors has been hogging quite a lot of limelight recently.” They added to Sun: “And the BBC very much view Line Of Duty as one of the jewels in its crown that they want to deliver with some fanfare.”
The BBC declined to comment when approached by the Mirror. Back in July, Actor Adrian said: “We’re really excited about getting our hands on a Line of Duty script, to see what happens to us.”
The Ridley star even teased what is to come on the programme, which could air in 2026, as he told The Times: “It is down to the BBC to make an announcement, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that next year we’ll be working on a new series. No doubt Jed will think of some interesting twists and turns.”
Martin Compston played DS Steve Arnott in the show, which came to an end when his character and his team discovered the identity of “H”. He also shared details on whether viewers can expect more from the series.
“We’re always talking about possibilities and schedules and whatnot,” he said to The Sun. Martin didn’t dare share more and added: “Everybody’s got stuff going on at the minute, so I think anything, unfortunately, would be a way off.”
Before Martin discussed a potential new series, a source told the same publication that Adrian, Vicky McClure and Martin will reunite to film six new episodes. They said at the time: “This is the news Line of Duty fans have been waiting for since the sixth season left them deflated when it aired back in 2021.
“The BBC almost immediately requested more episodes to continue the story, but the success of the show meant Vicky, Martin and Adrian were instantly snapped up for other projects. But after several meetings with Jed [Mercurio, creator and writer] and the production team, they’ve finally managed to clear space in their calendars next year to commit to making the show.”
While last August, Adrian said that he was desperate to get back into character for another series. He told Good Housekeeping: “We all want another series.
“We filmed our last series in lockdown, which meant we didn’t get to do anything other than work, so we’re really keen to get together for one last hurrah.”
TORONTO — Tyler Glasnow threw seven, maybe eight, pitches in the bullpen. There was no more time to wait. The red emergency light was flashing.
For 14 years, Glasnow has made a nice living as a pitcher. He has thrown hard, if not always durably or effectively.
There is one thing he had not done. In 320 games, from the minors to the majors, from the Arizona Fall League to the World Series, he never had earned a save.
Until Friday, that is, and only after the Dodgers presented him with this opportunity out of equal parts confidence and desperation: Please save us. The winning run is at the plate with no one out. If you fail, we lose the World Series.
No pressure, kid.
He is not one of the more intense personalities on the roster, which makes him a good fit in a situation in which someone else might think twice, or more, at the magnitude of the moment.
“I honestly didn’t have time to think about it,” Glasnow said.
In Game 6 on Friday, the Dodgers in order used a starter to start, a reliever to relieve, the closer of the moment, and then Glasnow to close. In Game 7 on Saturday, the Dodgers plan to start Shohei Ohtani, likely followed by a parade of starters.
Glasnow, who said he could not recall ever pitching on back-to-back days, could be one of them.
“I threw three pitches,” he said. “I’m ready to go.”
The Dodgers had asked him to be ready to go in relief on Friday, so he moseyed on down to the bullpen in the second inning. He didn’t really believe he would pitch. After all, Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto had thrown consecutive complete games. If Yamamoto could not throw another, Glasnow did not believe he would be the first guy called.
He was not. Justin Wrobleski was, protecting a 3-1 lead, and he delivered a scoreless seventh inning. Closer Roki Sasaki was next, and the Dodgers planned for him to work the eighth and ninth.
Glasnow said bullpen coach Josh Bard warned him to be on alert. Sasaki walked two in the eighth but escaped. He hit a batter and gave up a double to lead off the ninth, and the Dodgers rushed in Glasnow.
“I warmed up very little, got out there,” Glasnow said. “It was like no thinking at all.”
The Dodgers’ scouting reports gave Glasnow and catcher Will Smith reason to believe Ernie Clement would try to jump on the first pitch, so Glasnow said he threw a two-seam fastball that he seldom throws to right-handed batters. Clement popped up.
The next batter, Andrés Giménez, hit a sinking fly ball to left fielder Kiké Hernández. Off the bat, Glasnow said he feared a hit.
If the ball falls in, Giménez has a single and the Dodgers’ lead shrinks to one run. If the ball skips past Hernández, the Blue Jays tie the score.
Glasnow said he had three brief thoughts, in order:
1: “Please don’t be a hit.”
Hernández charged hard and made the running catch.
2: “Sweet, it’s not a hit.”
Hernández threw to second base for the game-ending double play.
3: “Nice, a double play.”
Wrobleski tipped his cap to his new bullpen mate.
“He’s a beast, man,” Wrobleski said. “To be able to come in in that spot, it takes a lot of mental strength and toughness. He did it. I didn’t expect anything less out of him, but it was awesome.”
Wrobleski was pretty good himself. The Dodgers optioned him the maximum five times last year and four times this year. He did not pitch in the first three rounds of the playoffs, and his previous two World Series appearances came in a mop-up role and during an 18-inning game.
Dodgers reliever Justin Wrobleski reacts after striking out Toronto’s Andrés Giménez to end the seventh inning in Game 6 of the World Series on Friday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
On Friday, they entrusted him with helping to keep their season alive. They got three critical outs from Wrobleski, who is not even making $1 million this season, and three more from Glasnow, who is making $30 million.
“We got a lot of guys that aren’t making what everybody thinks they’re making, especially down in that bullpen,” Wrobleski said. ”We were talking about it the other day. There’s a spot for everybody. If you keep grinding, you can wedge yourself in.”
He did. He was recruited by Clemson out of high school, then basically cut from the team.
“They told me to leave,” he said.
Did a new coach come in?
“No, I was just bad,” he said. “I had like a 10.3 ERA.”
Glasnow signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Hart High in Santa Clarita. In the majors, the Pirates tried him in relief without offering him a chance to close. Did they fail to recognize a budding bullpen star? “I never threw strikes,” he said. “I just wasn’t that good.”
We’ve all heard stories about the kid who goes into his backyard with a wiffle ball, taking a swing and pretending to be the batter who hits the home run in the World Series.
Glasnow doesn’t hit.
“I’ve had all sorts of daydreams about every pitching thing possible as a kid — relieving, closing out a game, starting in the World Series,” he said. “I thought about it all the time. So it’s pretty wild. I haven’t really processed it, either. I think going out to be able to get a save in the World Series is pretty wild.”
The game-ending double play was reviewed by instant replay, so Glasnow missed out on the trademark closer experience: the last out, immediately followed by the handshake line. Instead, everyone looked to the giant video board and waited.
Eventually, an informal line formed.
“I got some dap-ups,” he said. He smiled broadly, then walked out into the Toronto night, the proud owner of his first professional save. For his team, and for Los Angeles, he had kept the hope of a parade alive.
Mater Dei trailed 24-3. The Trinity League title appeared destined to belong to St. John Bosco, another win to cap an undefeated for the consensus No. 1 team in the nation.
Until Chris Henry Jr. emerged for two touchdowns and 214 yards on five receptions.
“He could be a track star,” said Mater Dei coach Raul Lara, referencing Henry’s 70-yard touchdown catch near the end of the second quarter.
Until Kayden Dixon-Wyatt took over alongside his teammate — both Ohio State commits — and turned on the burners for three second-half scores.
“I wish I could be the quarterback,” Lara joked about his senior wide receivers.
Testing the wide receiver corps of Mater Dei — who outpowered the Braves’ impressive trio of Division I-committed receivers — left St. John Bosco hapless on Friday night in Bellflower. Mater Dei (7-2, 4-1) finished on a 33-7 run, Ryan Hopkins tossing five touchdowns in that span to help the Monarchs defeat St. John Bosco 36-31 in comeback fashion.
Mater Dei High’s CJ Lavender Jr. leaps high to make an interception during the game against St. John Bosco on Friday night.
(Craig Weston)
Hopkins finished 13-of-21 passing for 295 yards and the five touchdowns.
All of the doubts over the Monarchs’ regular-season campaign could be close to washed away as the second-half domination confirmed another year when Mater Dei at least owns a share of the Trinity League title.
Since Santa Margarita (7-3, 4-1) also won Friday — defeating JSerra 41-14 — the Eagles, along with Mater Dei and St. John Bosco (9-1, 4-1) earned a share of the Trinity League crown.
Defensive stands set up plays such as Henry’s 70-yard touchdown grab to cut the Braves’ lead to seven with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter. Mater Dei defensive back CJ Lavender Jr. forced and recovered a fumble in the first quarter to set up the Monarchs’ first points: a field goal.
Lavender then intercepted St. John Bosco sophomore quarterback Koa Malau’ulu twice more.
One pick created a silver-platter touchdown for Dixon-Wyatt, who finished with four receptions for 46 yards and three touchdowns, while the other turnover allowed Mater Dei to seal the game on fourth and 10 from its own 10-yard line.
“Anything he threw, I was going to go get it,” said Lavender, who now has a team-high seven interceptions on the season.
Mater Dei receiver Chris Henry Jr. hauls in a pass over his shoulder ahead of two St. John Bosco defenders on Friday night.
(Craig Weston)
Before the final interception — which came with 1:34 remaining in the game — St. John Bosco was driving. An unsportsmanlike penalty even provided the Braves at first and inches from the goal line.
But a bad snap to Malau’ulu pushed the Braves backward to the seven-yard line. A run for a loss brought St. John Bosco to the 10-yard line that then led to an interception.
Henry, who hadn’t played since Oct. 10 against Orange Lutheran, said he was itching to get back out on the field to play St. John Bosco.
“It was really difficult,” Henry said of his time off the field. “But I was ready for a game like this.”
Henry will have plenty more opportunities upcoming in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs, starting next week.
The trio of Trinity League teams likely will see Sierra Canyon (10-0) — which finished its Mission League-winning campaign with a 52-3 victory over Loyola — among the teams they could face off against in the playoffs.
A STUNNING UK railway route has officially welcomed back passengers for their journeys – following a £1.4m revamp.
Although this route spans only 26 miles, the overall stretch takes approximately an hour to complete.
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The UK’s ‘most scenic railway route’ has welcomed back passengersCredit: AlamyThe journey includes stunning scenery like rolling hillsides and waterfallsCredit: Alamy
The Conwy Valley Line runs across Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog, showcasing breathtaking Welsh scenery including waterfalls and rolling hillsides.
On Monday, October 27, the popular railway line welcomed back its passengers.
Network Rail carried out four weeks worth of intensive engineering work.
This forms part of a £1.4million scheme, intended to strengthen the railway’s resilience during harsh weather conditions.
Furthermore, crews have cleared 600,000m2 of vegetation and removed dangerous trees along a track spanning 54 miles.
It is hoped that this will stop fallen trees obstructing the line in the event of a future storm.
In addition to this, Network Rail also tested out an innovative new rail treatment for the Conwy Valley Line.
A gel solution was applied to the rails, which is hoped to break down leaf contamination.
Overall, this gel remains effective for up to seven days before then reactivating with rain.
Network Rail said in a statement: “The Conwy Valley line is one of the most picturesque in Wales, but also one of the most weather-exposed.
“In the past decade, storms have forced the line to close for more than 500 days – disrupting passengers and the transportation of freight goods.”
Describing the rail line, an enthusiastic passenger wrote on TripAdvisor: “It’s utterly spectacular and crams more into an hour than the ECML does into four.
“One of the nicest little tours you can do in the UK is a loop of Chester-Llandudno Jn-Blaenau-Porthmadog-Machynlleth-Shrewsbury-Chester, though you’ll probably need to use a bus rather than the FfR for the middle bit at present.”
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Earlier this month, Brits planning to head home for Christmas were warned to brace for weeks of rail chaos.
Commuters and holidaymakers will face more than a fortnight of disruption fromChristmasDay through to the New Year.
This will see major stations all caught in the crossfire of an engineering shutdown.
Network Railsays the work will boost thepowersupply to trains and strengthen the railway’s foundations, but passengers can expect plenty of pain before the gain.
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that a new £2.7million train station is coming to the UK – in a huge boost for a tiny mining town.
A revised plan tomodernise train travelin the north of Newcastle-under-Lyme was completed and awaiting council approval.
Developed by East Midlands Railway and National Rail – the £2.7m project is backed by Kidsgrove Town Deal Board.
From the 18th century, Kidsgrove grew around coal mining, although the pits have now closed.
The original proposals for the new railway were scrapped due to historical mining issues which would have cost up to £13 million to sort out.
A revised project to upgrade its railway station is only awaiting formal approval from Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council reported RailBusinessDaily.
Network Rail carried out four weeks worth of engineering work in the areaCredit: Alamy
The Conwy Valley Line weaves through the dramatic valleys of Blaenau Ffestiniog, skirts a wildlife-abundant estuary and traces the rolling hillsides and striking rock faces of this breathtaking corner of North West Wales
16:03, 29 Oct 2025Updated 16:04, 29 Oct 2025
Why not visit the Fairy Glen and River Conwy, near Betws y coed?(Image: chris smith / 500px via Getty Images)
One of Britain’s most picturesque railway routes has welcomed passengers back after reopening to the public.
The Conwy Valley Line weaves through the dramatic valleys of Blaenau Ffestiniog, skirts a wildlife-abundant estuary and traces the rolling hillsides and striking rock faces of this breathtaking corner of North West Wales.
Despite covering just 26 miles between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog, the journey takes over an hour. This is mainly because of the line’s winding and steep character, which snakes through the spectacular mountains and wild beauty of Snowdonia National Park.
Whilst the route primarily serves local residents and daily commuters, it has become a magnet for railway enthusiasts. One visitor praised on Tripadvisor: “The line from Blaenau Ffestiniog up to Llandudno is incredibly scenic, and if you’re looking for a rail journey in Snowdonia this is right up there with the heritage narrow gauge lines.”
During a debate about Britain’s most beautiful railway routes, one rail enthusiast commented: “How has nobody mentioned the Conwy Valley? It’s utterly spectacular and crams more into an hour than the ECML does into four. One of the nicest little tours you can do in the UK is a loop of Chester-Llandudno Jn-Blaenau-Porthmadog-Machynlleth-Shrewsbury-Chester, though you’ll probably need to use a bus rather than the FfR for the middle bit at present.”, reports the Express.
The railway line welcomed passengers back on Monday, 27 October, after a month of round-the-clock engineering work by Network Rail, forming part of a £1.4 million investment to strengthen the railway against severe weather conditions.
Throughout the past four weeks, engineering crews have been operating across the picturesque valley – felling dangerous trees and clearing 600,000m2 of overgrown vegetation spanning 54 miles of railway track. The extensive clearance work aims to stop fallen trees from obstructing the line when storms strike in future.
An innovative, cutting-edge approach to tackling the traditional issue of leaves on the line is also being tested.
Network Rail has introduced a pioneering rail treatment to the Conwy Valley line for the first time in Wales. A specialist road-to-rail vehicle has been applying a gel formula to the tracks.
The treatment dissolves leaf debris and remains active for up to seven days before being reactivated by rainfall.
“The Conwy Valley line is one of the most picturesque in Wales, but also one of the most weather-exposed. In the past decade, storms have forced the line to close for more than 500 days – disrupting passengers and the transportation of freight goods,” Network Rail wrote in a statement.
Beyond its scenic beauty, the line offers numerous attractions at various stations along the route. Visitors can:
Experience life as a Welsh slate miner at Llechwedd, where you can join a deep mine tour, go off-road in a quarry explorer, or have a go at slate splitting. From the mine, you can take a ride on Europe’s steepest cable railway as you’re brought back to the surface.
Learn about local life at Llandudno Museum and Gallery, which is located in the heart of this seaside town. It is a great place to uncover the fascinating stories of local people and how the area has developed over hundreds of years.
Discover hidden gems as you explore the Conwy Valley line on foot with Ramblers and Transport for Wales. Travel by train and explore on foot with a series of exciting walking routes with Go Jauntly and Transport for Wales.
Request a stop at Roman Bridge. The station is an ideal starting point for walkers and cyclists looking to explore the area’s breathtaking scenery. Take in the views of the secluded cwm of Blaenau Dolwyddelan before walking to Dolwyddelan Castle, the 12th-century stronghold of Prince Llywelyn the Great.
Stop off at Deganwy. The town overlooks Snowdonia, the Conwy Estuary, Puffin Island, and Anglesey. Just behind the town is the site of Castell Deganwy, once the seat of King Maelgwn Gwynedd. This much-visited attraction (rebuilt by Henry III in 1245) dates back to the 6th century and plays an important role in the history of Wales.
Frolic in the spray of a waterfall. The Conwy Falls are located near Vetws-y-Coed and cascade down a gorge in the Fairuy Glen area.
DES MOINES — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was a guest Wednesday on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” — though he seemed earlier in the day not to know that he would be crossing a picket line to appear.
Huckabee flew from Iowa to make the appearance, a day before the state’s first-in-the- nation caucuses. The candidate made no mention of the Writers Guild strike during his appearance and instead joked about having lived in a “triple-wide” trailer when he was governor of Arkansas. The amateur musician also played his guitar in Leno’s band.
Strike supporters outside the NBC studios carried signs calling Huckabee a scab. One read: “Huckabee you can’t deny this cross.”
The Leno show is among those being struck by the Writers Guild of America.
Until Wednesday, the show had been off the air since the strike began in November.
“ ‘The Tonight Show’ continues to be a stop on the campaign trail,” NBC spokeswoman Tracy St. Pierre said in a statement.
Separately, Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton made a brief taped appearance on David Letterman’s show. But Letterman, who owns his own production company, broke from other producers and reached an accord with writers last week. There is no such deal with Leno’s show.
Writers Guild strike coordinator Jeff Hermanson said there was “no doubt about it” that Huckabee would be crossing a picket line by appearing on Leno’s show, which is not part of any settlement.
Democratic candidates have vowed to honor the writers’ picket line.
Earlier Wednesday, Huckabee, while campaigning in Iowa, said he did not believe he would be crossing a picket line to appear with Leno because he thought writers had settled their differences with the late-night shows.
“My understanding is that there was a special arrangement made for the late-night shows, and the writers have made this agreement to let the late-night shows to come back on, so I don’t anticipate that it’s crossing a picket line,” Huckabee told journalists.
When reporters noted that the writers settled with only Letterman’s show, Huckabee protested: “But my understanding is there’s a sort of dispensation given to the late-night shows, is that right?”
Huckabee added that he supports the writers, “unequivocally, absolutely.”
“They’re dead right on this one,” he said.
On the show Leno asked Huckabee to explain his recent surge in the political polls.
“People are looking for a presidential candidate who reminds them more of the guy they work with rather than the guy that laid them off,” Huckabee said.
“I think that’s part of what’s going on right now.”
A Russian drone has killed two Ukrainian journalists and wounded another in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, according to their outlet and the regional governor of the Donetsk region.
Freedom Media, a state-funded news organisation, said on Thursday that Olena Gramova, 43, and Yevgen Karmazin, 33, had been killed by a Russian Lancet drone while in their car at a petrol station in the industrial city. Another reporter, Alexander Kolychev, was hospitalised after the attack.
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The Donetsk regional governor earlier announced details of the strike and posted images showing the charred remains of the journalists’ car, according to the AFP news agency.
Freedom Media said that Gramova, a native of Yenakiieve in the Donetsk region, had originally trained as a “finance specialist”, but turned to journalism in 2014, the year when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, and started arming a separatist movement in Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas.
Karmazin was born in Kramatorsk, also in Donetsk. The outlet said he “joined Ukraine’s international broadcasting channels as a cameraman in 2021”.
“From day one, they were there, covering evacuations, war crimes, soldier stories,” said the Kyiv Post in a post on X.
A Russian Lancet drone tore through Kramatorsk, killing Ukrainian journalist Olena Hubanova and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin as they documented the war from the front lines.
From day one, they were there — covering evacuations, war crimes, soldier stories.
Kramatorsk, which had a pre-war population of about 150,000 people, is one of the few remaining civilian hubs in the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control.
Russian forces are approximately 16 kilometres (10 miles) from the city, where officials earlier this month announced the mandatory evacuation of children from some parts of the town and outlying villages.
Record numbers of journalists killed in conflict
The proliferation of cheap but deadly drones used both by Russian and Ukrainian forces has made reporting from the front-line regions of Ukraine increasingly dangerous.
Earlier in October, French photojournalist Antoni Lallican was killed by a drone near the eastern city of Druzhkivka, located in the Donetsk region.
Lallican had been killed by a “targeted strike” from a first-person-view drone, which allows operators to see their target before striking, according to Ukrainian forces cited by the European Federation of Journalists.
Precise tolls of journalists killed since the war started in 2022 vary. The Committee for the Protection of Journalists says that 17 journalists – Ukrainian and international – have been killed so far. The deaths of Gramova and Karmazin would bring that total to 19.
UNESCO said earlier this month that at least 23 media workers have been killed on both sides of the front line, including three Russian state media journalists in March. In mid-October, Russian war correspondent Ivan Zuyev was killed by a Ukrainian drone strike in the southern Zaporizhia region, according to state news agency RIA.
Recent years have seen record numbers of journalists killed in conflicts, the toll disproportionately accelerated by deaths in Gaza, where Israeli forces have deliberately targeted media workers like Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif and Mohammad Salama, Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri, and Mariam Abu Daqqa, a freelance journalist working for AP.
Again, reports on deaths since the start of the two-year Gaza war differ. The United Nations said that 242 journalists had been killed by August this year. A tally by Shireen.ps, a monitoring website named after murdered Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, said Israeli forces had killed more than 270 journalists and media workers over the same period.
Either way, more journalists have been killed in Gaza than in the United States Civil War, both World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the wars in the former Yugoslavia and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan combined, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project.
THE UK’S capital isn’t exactly short of train lines – but a completely new service is taking a step closer to getting approval.
Transport for London (TfL) is hoping that its proposed West London Orbital (WLO) line will get the green light next month.
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A new train route is hoping to get approval next monthCredit: Transport for LondonThe project is currently known as West London Orbital (WLO)Credit: Getty
Plans for the WLO launched back in 2017 and propose to create new connections to north and west London.
This would include the line travelling through Hounslow to Hendon and West Hampstead via Old Oak Common – the new rail hub created for HS2.
The proposed rail line promises to cut the journey time considerably between Harlesden and Brent Cross to just a few minutes.
Currently, travellers heading on this route need to make several changes.
In total, the project is expected to cost around £700million.
TfL is hoping that they will receive backing from the government in its autumn budget and if the project is approved, then the line will become the seventh branch of the London Overground network.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that the WLO could “transform the future of transport in the capital”.
He added: “As the West London Orbital route would be integrated into the London Overground network, it would be given its own line name, consistent with the principles of the individual line names I launched in 2024.
“The local communities along the line, the local heritage, history, and interchanges with other lines would all be taken into consideration to find a suitable name that showcases London’s rich diversity and makes sense for wayfinding and navigation.”
A number of other rail projects are proposed for the capital including the DLR extension and Bakerloo extension.
The Bakerloo Line extension would extend the tube line from its current terminus at Elephant & Castle, to Lewisham.
If plans are approved, then the route will connect boroughs in both north and west LondonCredit: YouTube
The project would involve adding a number of new stations along the route, including on Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate.
And an extension will also be carried out on the DLR to Thamesmead, veering off the current line at Gallions Reach.
This involves adding a new station at Beckton Riverside too.
Commenting on the ongoing projects in July, Sadiq Khan said: “Subject to successful funding discussions, as well as further project development, planning and public consultation, I am confident that the DLR extension could be delivered by 2032, with the Bakerloo line extension and West London Orbital following later in the 2030s.”
The funeral was held at Manchester Cathedral after a long procession around the city
The great and the good of the boxing world were among thousands of mourners who said an emotional farewell to world champion Ricky Hatton at his funeral earlier.
Hatton, whose passion, personality and skills drew huge crowds throughout his career, was found dead at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester, on 14 September at the age of 46.
“I can’t explain how much I’m going to miss you, dad, and that we won’t be making any new memories – but the ones we did I will cherish forever,” he said.
“Growing up I looked up to my dad in every aspect of life whether it be following in a career in boxing like he did or the way he carried himself out of the ring.
“But all of that was fuelled by the love I had and always will have for him.”
PA Media
The sporting world was left in shock when Hatton was found dead at his home
Hatton’s mother Carol said in a statement read on her behalf: “‘The Hitman’ was adored by his army of fans – the People’s Champion, and he would say that’s how he would want to be remembered.
“Long before this accolade he was our little champion from the day he was born.”
Among those attending were boxers Frazer Clarke and Natasha Jonas, former boxers Amir Khan, Scott Welch, Frank Bruno, Barry McGuigan and Anthony Crolla, former Manchester City footballer Mike Summerbee, pundit and former footballer Chris Kamara and Hatton’s former trainer Billy Graham.
Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen and boxers Tyson and Tommy Fury also attended the service.
They were joined by Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder and Mark “Bez” Berry, reality TV personality Calum Best, comedian Paddy McGuinness, former cricket star Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff and actor Dean Gaffney.
EPA
Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher was among the friends and family attending
PA Media
Tyson Fury was joined by his brother Tommy at the service
EPA
Former England and Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney and his wife Colleen paid their respects at the service
Hatton’s funeral cortege was led by the famous Reliant van from Only Fools And Horses.
The former boxing world champion was a big fan of the Del Boy and Rodney sitcom and once bought one of the original three-wheelers for £4,000, which he used to drive round his home city.
On the way to the service, the cortege arrived at the Cheshire Cheese pub – Hatton’s local – on Stockport Road in Hyde and was met with applause from mourners before it departed at 09:45 BST.
Reuters
Hatton’s funeral cortege was led by the famous Reliant van from Only Fools And Horses, which Hatton purchased
EPA
The coffin was carried into the cathedral by Hatton’s brother Matthew Hatton and son Campbell Hatton
PA
The funeral procession made a final stop at the home of Manchester City
Reuters
The funeral was described as “a service of thanksgiving” in the order of service
The procession then travelled to the Harehill Tavern before doves were released in the boxer’s honour at The New Inn.
There was a further pause at Hatton’s Gym, where emotional fans sang and took pictures.
Throngs of wellwishers gathered around the cathedral ahead of the service.
Afterwards, the procession made its way from the cathedral to the Etihad Stadium, home of Hatton’s beloved Manchester City.
The Stockport-born boxer won world titles in both the light-welterweight and welterweight divisions.
He quickly rose through the amateur and domestic ranks to pit his wits against the elite fighters of his generation, including Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao.
Israeli tanks and heavy combat vehicles were filmed in Gaza on Friday, reportedly withdrawing from parts of the enclave as phase one of the ceasefire plan is set to take effect.
Sam Farmer makes his picks and predictions for Week 6 of the NFL season, with the Lions defeating the Chiefs in prime time and the Seahawks improving to 4-2.
What started as musical chairs is beginning to sound like a sad trombone.
There’s only so many times you can reshuffle an offensive line before it has a ripple effect on the entire football team. The Chargers are reminded of that now as they head into Sunday’s game with the Washington Commanders hoping — as opposed to knowing — they can provide adequate protection for quarterback Justin Herbert.
After reaching a comfortable cruising altitude with victories over three consecutive AFC West foes, the team is headed for a patch of severe turbulence.
The outstanding Joe Alt, who stepped in at left tackle after Rashawn Slater’s season-ending knee injury, is nursing a high ankle sprain and will not play against Washington. Right guard Mekhi Becton is coming off a concussion and is listed as questionable. So they’re a month into the season and the offensive line is a stitched-together hodgepodge that couldn’t handle the defensive front of the New York Giants last week.
“It’s like the Cinderella story at some point,” said Duke Manyweather, widely respected offensive line expert. “You know when that clock hits midnight that carriage is going to turn into a pumpkin. You don’t have an answer. You kind of saw that against New York.”
That’s not to say the situation is hopeless. Teams have lost key offensive linemen before, and there are different ways to compensate for that. But it’s a quandary for Jim Harbaugh, maybe the biggest since taking over as coach before last season. Heading into training camp this summer, the offensive line was a strength of the team, with Slater at left tackle and Alt on the right.
The Chargers didn’t do a lot to upgrade the interior of their line, a liability in January’s playoff loss at Houston, but signing Becton was a step in the right direction. He was a solid run blocker for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles last season.
Chargers offensive tackle Joe Alt (76) will not play on Sunday because of a high ankle sprain. It’s unclear when he might return.
(Al Bello / Getty Images)
Becton sustained a concussion in the Week 3 win over Denver and missed the Giants game. He remained in the concussion protocol this week, and his status for Sunday’s game is unclear. He was back at practice Wednesday wearing a yellow no-contact jersey as a precaution.
Communication among the linemen is key.
“Especially with new guys, you have to speak it out for a while before you get to that point of unspoken communication,” right tackle Trey Pipkins III said. “Once you’ve played next to someone for a long time, you know what they want and what they’re going to do. Until then, it’s about over-communicating everything at the line so everybody’s on the same page.”
It’s unclear when Alt might return after the second-year player was carted off to the locker room against the Giants and watched the second half on the sideline in street clothes and a walking boot. The tackle wore that boot all week.
The Chargers are on their third left tackle in Austin Deculus, who bounced around the league and started one game in the past three seasons, second right tackle and second right guard.
Chargers offensive linemen, including Jamaree Salyer (68) and Bradley Bozeman (75), stand on the field during a win over the Denver Broncos on Sept. 21.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
“At some point you’re starting to play people you haven’t even prepared to really be in there, much less their physical talents,” said Andrew Whitworth, retired All-Pro left tackle and now an analyst for Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football.” “They’re still trying to figure out the offense, the terminology, and they’ve never played beside the guy they’re next to. The war of attrition really starts to take its toll.”
What that does is test the creativity of Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman to devise ways to fortify the line and protect Herbert without whittling away too many offensive options. They can keep a running back in the backfield to help out with protection, for instance, or add an extra tight end for blocking. But that also handcuffs what the offense can do.
“Sure, you can chip with a back or keep an H-back in there,” Whitworth said. “But then you’ve got fewer guys in the route, you’re holding the ball longer, and now the interior linemen are under even more pressure. You can get by for a few snaps, but you can’t live there.”
In the past two games, Herbert has been pressured in 46 dropbacks, more than any quarterback in the league, according to TruMedia.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is sacked during a win over the Denver Broncos on Sept. 21.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Herbert expressed confidence this week in some of the lesser-known players blocking for him.
“They’re guys that have seen big football games and guys that played in national championships and huge games like that,” he said. “Maybe it’s new to them for the NFL, but they’ve played in big football games before.”
It’s easy to get carried away with what all of this means. The Chargers are 3-1 and atop their division, and are coming off a 21-18 defeat to the previously winless Giants, whose pass rush is a strength of their team. What’s more, the Chargers had to make those line adjustments in the heat of the action, as opposed to having a week of practice to work with the reconfigured line.
The season is young. Teams have overcome these types of challenges before. The Rams had to reshuffle their line on multiple occasions last season and wound up coming close to knocking off the Eagles and advancing to the NFC championship game.
Still, the next few weeks will be illuminating for the Chargers.
“We’re going to learn about the depth of this team,” said Manyweather, founder of OL Masterminds, which trains offensive linemen of all levels.
“We’re going to learn about the coaching. And we’re probably going to learn even more about Justin Herbert and his ability to create and carry the team.”
We’ll also learn if a pumpkin can turn back into a carriage.
Times writer Benjamin Royer contributed to this report.
“Boring” products can make for revenue that funds riskier bets.
In January 2024, Office 365 quietly reached 400 million paid seats. Microsoft(MSFT 0.26%) products are as integrated into our professional lives as meetings that could’ve been emails, but these “boring” and decades-old tools are the fuel Microsoft is using to compete in the artificial intelligence (AI) race.
As AI progresses and automates away chunks of the professional world as we know it, the legacy suite of Microsoft 365 products shows no signs of slowing down. This ability to quietly and reliably generate revenue is funding Microsoft’s riskier AI bets.
Office products generated $54.9 billion in fiscal year 2024 (the 12 months ended in June 2024). That was 22% of all of Microsoft’s revenue. Microsoft 365 will keep the company on the leaderboard of AI innovators for years to come. This is great news for long-term Microsoft investors.
Image source: Getty Images.
Microsoft’s lagging AI strategy
Microsoft is still playing catch-up when it comes to generative AI. OpenAI leads with more than 200 million weekly active users and set the gold standard with the release of ChatGPT in 2022. Alphabet‘s Google and Meta Platforms both have models nearly equivalent to OpenAI.
Compared to these companies, Microsoft got a late start in deciding on an AI strategy. However, it has since closed the gap significantly by partnering with competitor OpenAI and, as of the end of 2024, was beginning to build models in-house.
Microsoft also purchased billions in Nvidia chips and continues to innovate on its cloud computing platform, Azure, and agentic powerhouse, Copilot. These strategic moves are, thus far, keeping pace with the other major players in the AI industry.
Microsoft requires immense amounts of capital to remain competitive in the AI landscape. Fortunately, its decades-old productivity and business lines are the stable engine propelling Microsoft into its new, automated era.
The Office moat
Normally, when one thinks of a legacy business, it’s of an outdated, shrinking portion of revenue. That is not the case with Microsoft’s Office products. Microsoft 365, including the applications Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook, is still growing by double digits year over year.
This indicates these product lines are not only here to stay, but are so universally adopted by businesses and individuals alike that it’ll be nearly impossible to dethrone them anytime soon.
These products are also mostly recession-resistant, as businesses are unlikely to cut them in an economic downturn. Microsoft also switched to a subscription model more than a decade ago, making revenue from these lines of business extraordinarily predictable and dependable.
The significant growth in the legacy products is also great news for the capital-intensive investments Microsoft will need to continue making for the next several years. Microsoft reports that it’s on track to invest approximately $80 billion to build out AI-enabled data centers for training and deploying AI models and applications.
Microsoft’s AI revenue is exploding
In its earnings call on July 30, Microsoft revealed Azure’s income for the first time: a whopping $75 billion, an increase of 34%, according to chairman and CEO Satya Nadella.
The CEO added, “Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector. We’re innovating across the tech stack to help customers adapt and grow in this new era.”
Microsoft’s market cap is approaching $4 trillion, and there seems to be quite a bit of room left for growth, particularly if the company’s big AI bets pay off.
Microsoft remains a top competitor
For investors, Microsoft remains a solid long-term play, largely because of the stable products users have known for years. With a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, investors are rewarded on both the value and growth side, though the dividend yield is under 1%. Microsoft’s burgeoning agentic and innovative technologies will continue to produce massive revenue alongside mature, reliable products.
Overall, Microsoft’s total revenue increased 18% from Q4 2024 to Q4 2025. There’s plenty of risk associated with investing in AI technologies, but thanks to Microsoft’s steady lines of business, the downside is far less than that of many competitors.
Catie Hogan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
McIlroy described the abuse as “unacceptable” and said it should be “off-limits”.
Sprague says he plans on apologising to McIlroy and his family.
“I haven’t spoken to Rory or Erica [McIlroy] but I do plan on sending them an email with my heartfelt apologies because of what occurred,” he said.
McIlroy suffered lengthy abuse before eventually snapping by swearing at a spectator that called out while he was addressing the ball.
“I chirped back because it got to me a few times, but we tried to handle everything that came our way with class and poise, and for the most part, I felt like we did that,” said McIlroy.
“It was a rough week for all of us. But at the same time, we shut them up by our performance.”
Last week, Farmer posted a 12-4 (.750) record. Through the first three weeks of the season, he is 44-20 (.688).
Using point spreads with the scores Farmer predicted, his record against the spread in Week 4 would have been 9-7 (.563). For the season, his record against the spread is 33-31 (.516).
All times are Pacific and TV reflects broadcasts in the Los Angeles area. The Falcons, Bears, Packers and Steelers are off this week.
MAFS UK’s Emma Barnes knows first-hand what it’s like to walk down the aisle towards a stranger and is ready to give her insight in her weekly Mirror column
‘Sarah’s disrespect and unwillingness to get to know Dean went over the line’(Image: Channel 4)
Welcome back to my MAFS weekly column!
Well, haven’t things heated up a tad over the last week of Married at First Sight UK? Six out of the nine brides were unhappy with their matches. I’m not sure whether we’re going to see more Julia-Ruth walk-outs by the end of the series or hear more self-penned songs (currently 3:4 on the tally, by the way). I needed half an hour to stare at a wall after last night’s explosive dinner party.
Where else to start than with the storyline of the week? I’m trying to see past the edited faces Sarah pulls, knowing she’s uncomfortable and disappointed in her experience. It’s difficult seeing fireworks around that table while you’re imagining going home, head hanging in shame after just one week and zero snogs.
Sarah’s disrespect and lack of willingness to get to know Dean went over the line. “I need to understand why the experts matched us, because you’re not what I asked for” is a quote I heard a few times during that first dinner party.
It hurts, and no one deserves that. It’s great to see the room backing Dean, and putting a mirror up to her unkind words, kudos to Davide! I genuinely hope that if they stay another week, Sarah relaxes and learns for the public to witness because the backlash (and body-shaming back) has also been over the line.
There are a few couples with real legs developing (or abs in the case of Bec- phwoar!). Maeve and Joe are cute as a button, and I’m totally team Kevide and team Grashley.
Of course, I’m rooting for the people’s princess, Nelly, and if Stephen breaks her heart, the nation won’t have it. There’s something telling me it’s not going to be sunshine and daisies for these two. Maybe it’s an ex spilling tea online about him?
There’s a debate about whether the cast should have access to social media at all to avoid leaks of the show. This is their time to shine, I say.
I used to love putting my daily pictures up and choosing my backing track. They’ve waited nine months for this! I’m trying to stay out of the gossip, but I’ve even heard some stories about a groom or two… I may or may not reveal more; you’ll just have to keep reading!
I’m now firmly in a habit of sending late-night voice notes to half the cast for their thoughts and trying to be friends.
Yes, I’m that beg from the previous seasons but I don’t care! I think the group are fantastic, I don’t get creeped out by any of the boys which is a green flag, and the fact I’ve had now two parents DM me with pride or concern shows they’re from solid foundations too.
We’re being treated to two dinner parties this week and a commitment ceremony tonight, and I fear Anita and Paul may leave. Let’s hope he takes his post-it to remember to ask how she’s feeling. I’m off to do some sit ups in hopes of getting abs like Rebecca by Christmas.
It was a particularly busy Thursday morning for the Bixby Knolls neighborhood of Long Beach.
The area, which is home to an array of independently owned businesses and small restaurants, both of which boast unique facades from storefront to storefront, saw hundreds of eager fans start lining up outside its doors as early as 8 a.m.
Many crowded around one store in particular: Fingerprints Music, which only recently began to call Bixby Knolls its home — in April — after a roughly 15-year residency in downtown Long Beach. As crowd control barricades began springing up and artist security personnel lingered outside the famed vinyl record shop, passersby and neighbors alike began to ponder what could be going on.
It was simple: Cardi B.
The “Bodak Yellow” singer managed to squeeze in a meet-and-greet event at the store to commemorate last week’s release of her sophomore album, “Am I the Drama?” A link to tickets dropped on Fingerprints Music’s website on Sept. 9, which fans barely gave a chance to breathe.
“I follow her on Instagram — I have hard notifications on every platform — so, as soon as the video went up, I rushed to the website and bought it,” said Gerardo Torres of Gardena. “I was probably one of the first few [to buy tickets], less than five minutes after she announced it I already had mine.”
Arlene Heaton, left, of Kern County and Gerardo Torres of Gardena hold a Cardi B flag.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Torres stood near the front of the line, which he joined around 10:30 a.m. Next to him was Arlene Heaton of Rosamond, who had just driven three hours from the Kern County community to arrive at the same time. The two met in line and quickly became friends — she donning a rhinestone-studded ensemble and he draping a flag depicting Cardi B around his shoulders.
“If she would’ve been three hours away, I would have been there as well!” Torres added.
“It took about 10 minutes [to sell out],” Heaton said. “I love the album and I just had to get the CD… I wanted to support her and I came all the way from Rosamond to see this happen — history, this is history.”
Though the event was scheduled for a 2 p.m. start, it wasn’t until 2:30 that Cardi arrived on the scene. A few fans trickled out from behind the store, rejoicing that they’d seen her arrive.
Moments later, security formed a human barrier around the entrance, and Cardi stepped out of the store with a megaphone. Whatever she said was rendered unintelligible among the thunderous cheers of fans who surged forward, putting her entourage to the test.
“I do music myself, I’m not a fan of many, but her? Oh, my God, there was no way. I got up at like 8 in the morning; I set my alarm for 6:30,” said Curshawn Watts, who called herself the “Queen of Compton.” “I was out here! I didn’t care how early I had to be here — I had to be here!” Watts said.
Curshawn Watts, a rapper who calls herself the “Queen of Compton,” holds a CD of Cardi B’s “Am I the Drama?” at Thursday’s meet-and-greet in Long Beach.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
She’d been waiting since 10 a.m. and said the heat didn’t bother her: “It’s worth it all, baby!” she declared.
As fans made their way into the store, they were greeted by the sound of tracks from Cardi’s new album playing on the store speakers. “Am I the Drama?” vinyl records and CDs filled out the shelves, and portraits of Cardi stood above them.
Nestled in the back corner behind a black curtain sat the woman herself, visibly pregnant, in brown snakeskin heels, denim shorts, and adorning various gold statement pieces. She had confirmed in a CBS interview last week that she and NFL star Stefon Diggs were expecting a child.
An estimated 1,200 fans arrived on the blistering day in Long Beach, though only 800 were able to secure a guest list spot to see the 32-year-old hip-hop artist. Others assembled nearby, hoping for a chance to merely lay eyes on her or, perhaps, to get lucky enough to join the meet-and-greet.
Indeed, Fingerprints Music and Cardi B accommodated around 200 to 300 more people toward the tail end of the event from among those who didn’t make the list. The event lasted until well after 5 p.m.
By that time, the somewhat chaotic nature of the meet-and-greet’s afternoon heights had settled down. Street vendors no longer camped outside, artists wrapped up their pieces for sale, and the weather began to cool.
Cardi B prepares to take a photo with a fan at the meet-and-greet.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“We don’t usually do that, but everyone seemed pretty chill,” said Rand Foster, owner of Fingerprints Music. “For somebody at that caliber to be that open was really refreshing.”
Cardi B even stayed overtime to do a surprise signing of an exclusive alternate cover of her album. Four photos from a courtroom appearance she made in August embellish that variant.
Foster said he considered Thursday’s event, the largest the store has held since moving to its new location, to be a resounding success. He noted that when the store was downtown, the store once hosted an Ozzy Osbourne meet-and-greet that had a roughly 2,300-person turnout.
At its location in Bixby Knolls, the store is still feeling out its neighborhood. Foster said not only did the event bring extra traffic to other businesses, but he “didn’t hear any neighbors put out by it.”
Cardi B could have easily opted for a location more central to Los Angeles, such as Amoeba Music, so many fans were surprised and happy to see Long Beach get some love.
One man, who called himself Mr. Boug’e and sported a uniquely curled beard, said it came down to Long Beach being “dope.”
Mr. Boug’e holds up two vinyl record variants of Cardi B’s latest album, “Am I the Drama?”
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“I call it Strong Beach,” he joked. “She got love everywhere — it don’t matter. It can be in an alley… or Alaska; they gon’ love her.”
Foster, whose shop has a long-standing relationship with its Hollywood peers at Amoeba, said the decision by Cardi B’s team to hold her meet-and-greet in Long Beach probably also came down to logistics.
“Anybody who is doing this kind of event and doing it with an eye towards longevity has to be respectful to the neighbors,” he explained. “Our line got about six blocks long; I think that would be tough on Hollywood Boulevard.”
And The Sun can reveal Helena Ford is among those on the wish list and is in early discussions for her second villa stint.
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Helena is in talks to appear in the next series of All StarsCredit: Shutterstock
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Her villa antics mean she can’t return to her day jobCredit: Getty
An insider told us: “Helena was a huge hit on the last series of the show and her on/off relationship with Harry and her deadpan jokes were a hit with viewers. She’s been in super early talks.
“Tyrique from series 10 was also in tentative talks before leaving for Love Island Games in the US.”
Helena recently revealed she won’t be able to return to her old job as a flight attendant after her time on Love Island.
Speaking the Daily Star, she said: “I don’t think they will take me back after that roast I did.
“Plus all the passengers will think, ‘Oh no, I’m going to get roasted now.’ Never say never but I’m not looking to go back at the moment, definitely not.
“I think I need take a break and to do some therapy first – I watched a lot of things back that I didn’t like in myself, so there’s that to work on first.”
Helena paired up with Harry Cooksley on Love Island, but after they split, he started dating another Love Islander Shakira Khan.
Shakira accompanied Harry to the recent NTA Awards, while Helena attended alone.
During her time on the ITV show, Helena became known for her catty comments and not taking any nonsense from fellow contestants, ensuring she became one of the more memorable cast members in recent times.
But despite believing her on-screen antics may have put a return to her old job in jeopardy, Helena is more than happy with how things have turned out.
She said: “It’s been mad since leaving the show.
“I’ve had so many new opportunities and people recognise me everywhere.
“For me, it’s about moving forwards and seeing where this crazy journey takes me.”
WASHINGTON — Early in his first term, President Trump held a modest ceremony directing NASA to return humans to the moon for the first time in 50 years. It was a goalpost set without a road map. Veterans of the space community reflected on the 2017 document, conspicuously silent on budgets and timelines, equivocating between excitement and concern.
Was Trump setting up a giveaway to special interests in the aerospace community? Or was he setting forth a real strategic vision for the coming decade, to secure American leadership in the heavens?
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It was a return to a plan first proposed by President George W. Bush in 2004, then abandoned by President Obama in 2010, asserting the moon as a vital part of American ambitions in space. Whether to return to the lunar surface at all — or skip it to focus on Mars — was a long-standing debate governing the division of resources at NASA, where every project is precious, holding extraordinary promise for the knowledge of mankind, yet requiring consistent, high-dollar funding commitments from a capricious Congress.
Eight years on, the debate is over. Trump’s policy shift has blazed a new American trail in space — and spawned an urgent race with China that is fast approaching the finish line.
Both nations are in a sprint toward manned missions to the lunar surface by the end of this decade, with sights on 2029 as a common deadline — marking the end of Trump’s presidency and, in China, the 80th anniversary of the People’s Republic.
A “What Will 2030 Look Like?” sign behind Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who chairs the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, during a confirmation hearing in April.
(Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
It is a far different race from the original, against the Soviet Union, when U.S. astronauts inspired the world with a televised landing in 1969. This time, Washington would not just plant a flag and return its astronauts home. Instead, the Americans plan to stay, establishing a lunar base that would test humanity’s ability to live beyond Earth.
China has similar plans. And with both countries aiming for the same strategic area of the surface — the south pole of the moon, where peaks of eternal light shine alongside crevices of permanent darkness, believed to store frozen water — the stakes of the race are grounded in national security. Whichever nation establishes a presence there first could lay claim to the region for themselves.
The world’s first full-scale model of the crewed pressurized lunar rover, to be used in the Artemis moon exploration program, is displayed during a press preview in July.
(Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)
Advocates of the U.S. effort, called the Artemis program, increasingly fear that delays at NASA and its private sector partners, coupled with proposed funding cuts to NASA from the Trump administration, could ensure China’s victory in a race with broad consequences for U.S. interests.
So it is a race that Trump started. The question is whether he can finish it.
While U.S. intelligence officials have assessed that Beijing is on track to meet its goals, NASA veterans say that accomplishing a manned mission before the Chinese appears increasingly out of reach.
“It’s a stretch,” said G. Scott Hubbard, a leader in human space exploration for the last half-century who served as NASA’s first “Mars czar” and former director of the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. “Bottom line, yes, it is doable. It’ll take an intense effort by the best engineers, and appropriate funding.
“It’s not inconceivable,” he added.
Visitors take photos of a space suit during an event marking China’s Space Day at the Harbin Institute of Technology in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang province.
(Wang Jianwei/Xinhua via Getty Images)
The White House said Trump is committed to making “American leadership in space great again,” noting his first-term push to return U.S. astronauts to the moon and his efforts to deregulate the U.S. space industry. But officials declined to comment on a timeline for the mission or on China’s steady progress.
“Being first and beating China to the moon matters because it sets the rules of the road,” Sean Duffy, Transportation secretary and acting NASA administrator, told The Times. “We’re committed to doing this right — safely, peacefully, and ahead of strategic competitors — because American leadership on the moon secures our future in space.”
The success of the Artemis program, Duffy said, is about ensuring the United States leads in space for generations to come. “Those who lead in space lead on Earth,” he added.
NASA officials, granted anonymity to speak candidly, expressed concern that while leadership on the Artemis program has remained relatively stable, talent on robotics and in other key areas has left the agency at a critical time in the race, with potentially less than two years to go before China launches its first robotic mission to the south pole — a scout, of sorts, for a manned landing to follow.
A proposal to cut NASA research funding by roughly 47% has gripped officials there with doubt, jeopardizing a sense of job security at the agency and destabilizing a talent pipeline that could prove critical to success.
In the 1960s, the federal government increased spending on NASA to 4.4% of GDP to secure victory in the first space race.
“There’s too much uncertainty,” one NASA official said, raising the specter of the Trump administration impounding funds for the agency even if Congress continues to fund it.
Inside NASA headquarters, Hubbard said, “the feeling right now is terrified uncertainty — everyone is walking on eggshells.”
“They’re treading water,” he added. “People want to be given clear direction, and they’re not getting it.”
A Chinese Smart Dragon-3 rocket carrying satellites lifts off from sea on Sept. 9.
(VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
China’s long march gets closer
Beijing conducted a series of tests over the last several weeks viewed in Washington as crucial milestones for China on its journey to the moon.
A launch of its Lanyue lander, equipped to carry two taikonauts to the lunar surface, “validated” its landing and takeoff system, state media reported. Two subsequent tests of China’s Long March 10, a super-heavy lift rocket designed to jump-start the mission, were a “complete success,” according to the China Manned Space Agency.
Unlike in the United States, China’s manned space flight program is housed within its military.
“We have seen them steadily progress on all of the various pieces that they are going to need,” said Dean Cheng, senior advisor to the China program at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
“You need a vehicle to launch, because current rockets simply don’t have enough throw-weight. They’re testing the lander to carry astronauts to the surface,” Cheng said. “These are key pieces, and significant advances — this is a brand new rocket and a lunar lander with new technology.”
China initially set a goal for its manned mission by 2035, but has since moved up its plans, an expression of confidence from Beijing and an unusual break from typical party protocol. Now, China aims not only to have completed that mission, but to begin establishing an International Lunar Research Station on its surface, in conjunction with Russia, by 2030.
They are expected to target the south pole.
“There’s room for two powers under schemes of coordination, but there’s not room in an uncoordinated environment. There can easily be a competition for resources,” said Thomas González Roberts, an assistant professor of international affairs and aerospace engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Landing and takeoff of spacecraft on the moon will kick up lunar dust and rocks, risking the safety of astronauts on the ground and sensitive equipment across a base site — considerations that are likely driving Beijing’s strategy to get there first. Those enjoying the benefits of first arrival could set up generous routes for rovers, equipment at dig sites for deposits, telecommunication assets, and even a nuclear reactor to assert a large area of domain.
Since his first term, Trump and his aides have sought to avoid a showdown on the lunar surface, drafting a new set of international rules to govern an otherwise untamed frontier. The Artemis Accords “set out a practical set of principles to guide space exploration,” according to the State Department. President Biden embraced and extended the initiative, growing the list of signatories to 56 nations.
But China is not one of them, prohibited by Congress during the Obama era from cooperating with the United States in space after attempting to steal U.S. technology on intercontinental ballistic missiles and thermonuclear weapons. Instead, Beijing has recruited a small list of countries to join its lunar base program, including Russia, Venezuela, Pakistan, Egypt, Nicaragua, Belarus and South Africa.
“I don’t think there will be extreme congestion on the moon, but if you really define an area of interest — and there is that, with these peaks of eternal light next to permanently shadowed regions — you could manufacture congestion,” Roberts added.
“How do you benefit from obfuscation?” he asked. “If you’re the first arrival, you spread yourself out.”
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launch pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, carrying Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft toward the International Space Station.
(Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The promise and burden of Musk’s Starship
Last month, Duffy warned NASA staff that the Trump administration suspects Beijing is planning to deliver a nuclear reactor to power a long-term presence at its lunar base by 2029.
The move, Duffy said, could allow China to “declare a keep-out zone, which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first.” He ordered the agency to collect proposals by October on delivering a U.S. reactor to the surface no later than that year.
The administration’s success relies on a man whose relationship with Trump has crashed spectacularly to Earth.
Starship, a super heavy-lift launch vehicle produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is the rocket Trump is relying on to accomplish the Artemis mission. Yet repeated setbacks in the Starship program have raised alarm at NASA over its fundamental constitution. A concerning series of tests have already delayed the U.S. manned launch, known as Artemis III, toward the end of Trump’s term.
Last month, in its 10th test flight, the rocket finally succeeded in a suborbital mission. But “Starship has yet to reach orbit,” Hubbard said, “and once it reaches orbit, they’ve got to demonstrate microgravity transfer of cryogenic propellant.”
“That’s something that’s never been done before,” he added. “So to say that they’ll be ready to do all of that in two years is a real stretch.”
Setbacks are common course in the history of the U.S. space program. But the success of China’s recent tests has shown the Trump administration that NASA and its partners have run out of time for further delays.
Duffy said that Artemis II, a manned mission to orbit the moon, will take place early next year, overcoming a separate set of design flaws that faced Lockheed Martin’s Orion spacecraft. Artemis III would keep astronauts on the surface for more than a week and deliver payloads to help begin the foundation of a base.
Whether the Trump administration will commit to the funding and leadership necessary for the mission is an open question. The White House declined to say who within the West Wing is leading the effort. Trump has not named a permanent NASA administrator for Senate confirmation.
Success on the moon is meant to provide a testing ground and a launching pad for more ambitious, challenging manned missions to Mars. But Trump’s commitment to those ventures are equally in doubt. The administration has proposed canceling funds for a landmark program decades in the making to return samples from the red planet, despite a NASA announcement last week revealed it had discovered signs of ancient Martian life.
“I’ve been on the inside of it — you waste enormous amounts of time just trying to find workarounds to get funding in to stay on schedule,” Hubbard said. “If you really, really want to beat the Chinese, give NASA the funding and some stability — because you’re not going to beat them if every day, week or month, there’s a different direction, a different budget, a different administrator.
“And China may still win,” he said, adding: “It would be another claim that they’re the dominant power in the world.”
