Several dozen presidential briefing documents declassified Friday, the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, detail intelligence government officials had gathered about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda leading up to the hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people and upended American national security.
The documents illustrate security analysts’ tracking of Bin Laden’s movements and support system, as well as concerns about possible threats to U.S. targets.
Proclaiming “an act of exceptional transparency,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the documents were the agency’s single largest release of declassified presidential daily briefs — the highly classified briefing prepared by the nation’s intelligence community for the government’s most senior leaders.
The documents range from a February 1998 file — prepared for then-President Clinton — titled “Terrorists seeking WMD capability” and mentioning “bin Ladin and other Islamic extremists” to a Sept. 12, 2001, report in which a source indicated the attacks had been planned for two years and had also targeted the U.S. Capitol.
Another, from just weeks before the attacks, details how Al Qaeda’s “flexible operational decision making and broad definition of acceptable targets enable the group to adjust plans to changing conditions.”
Asked for comment on the release, the White House noted the release of another batch of documents by the National Archives, also Friday. That batch, including interviews with national security officials in the Clinton and Bush administrations, was a product of the commission that probed the attacks from 2002 to 2004.
These will be the final tickets available for the 2026 events and there will also be tickets to the Golden Experience available.
Tickets will be available for both Lapland Ascot and Lapland Manchester – which has more availability of the two.
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Fans can also nab tickets to The Golden Experience – a VIP experience with a personal guide, private check in, a meal in Pumpernickel’s secret pantry in the Eleven Village, priority seating and access, honorary elf hats, Golden Explorers pin badge, onsite currency, a signed Lapland storybook and a 2026 bauble.
It’s an exciting time for Southern California coaster fans. Universal Studios Hollywood is on the verge of officially openingFast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, and Knott’s Berry Farm this summer unveiled the refurbished Montezooma: The Forbidden Fortress. Now Six Flags’ Magic Mountain is getting in on the coaster action.
Coming in 2027 to the Valencia park will be Thrill Glider, a first of its kind thrill ride designed by coaster manufacturer Vekoma exclusively for Magic Mountain.
Magic Mountain in a release describes Thrill Glider as introducing a new coaster category, one that combines a motorbike-like seating arrangement with suspended coaster technologies. Riders will board what the park is referring to “hoverbikes,” essentially bike vehicles designed to simulate a flying sensation by being suspended from the track. Riders will be seated in a prone, face-forward position that will hang from the track above.
Concept art for Thrill Glider, which will boast bike-like vehicles and a sci-fi backstory.
(Six Flags Magic Mountain)
The ride will feature 20 different coaster elements and is slated to last 80 seconds. Speeds will reach 50 mph, and the coaster will boast five inversions that will take guests upside down. The various inversions will include a barrel roll, a zero-g roll and an overbanked stall turn, hinting at a heavily twisted track that will create drifts and swinging. There will be at least 12 moments, Six Flags promises, in which riders will experience airtime lifts.
“It is the latest milestone in Six Flags Magic Mountain’s renaissance and a reflection of the park’s enduring role as an industry innovator,” said Brian Oerding, park president of Six Flags Magic Mountain in a release.
The ride will come with a heavy sci-fi-inspired narrative. The story: The ride is a new technology from a fictional inventor, Rebecca Silva, who will introduce guests in the waiting area to what is described as a “Futurist Pavilion.” Throughout the queue, riders will encounter “holographic presentations and scientific exhibits,” culminating in the discovery of a new energy source, detailed by illuminated blue energy lines, that will power the ride.
The goal, says Six Flags, is to provide an optimistic view of the future, albeit with many sudden dives and weightless moments. The ride will feature multiple launches, reach a height of 107 feet and traverse 3,380 feet of track, which is more than a half mile.
Concept art of Magic Mountain’s new Thrill Glider, which will reach a top height of 104 feet.
(Six Flags Magic Mountain)
A specific opening window has not been detailed, but the ride is currently under construction. It will be located on the former site of the Golden Bear Theatre and will overlook the recently refurbished kiddie area, Looney Tunes Land.
Thrill Glider is arriving at a moment when Six Flags has been garnering national attention. Magic Mountain’s X2 remains shut down while state safety officials continue an investigation involving the attraction.
The ride, first opened in 2002 as X, has been the subject of controversy and at least one high-profile lawsuit stemming from a 22-year-old man’s death. Six Flags bills the ride as “a right of passage for the ultimate daredevil” that goes up to 76 mph. A CNN report recently took a look at other, more recent injuries allegedly stemming from the attraction.
WASHINGTON — Lonnie Bunch is stepping down from the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution following a tumultuous year in which President Trump tried to remake the portrayal of U.S. history by the Smithsonian museums and other cultural entities.
Bunch said in a news release Tuesday that he was departing the position he had held since 2019 “with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude.” The Smithsonian said he would leave the post at the end of the year.
Bunch’s departure comes two months after a White House report branded the leaders of the Smithsonian Institution, especially at the National Museum of American History, as radical activists who cannot be trusted, an indication that Trump could be preparing to install his own team.
Anthea M. Hartig, the first female director of that museum, faced growing scrutiny from Trump and other Republicans over the summer after the White House Domestic Policy Council’s report saying the museum’s leadership doesn’t tell history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”
Three weeks after the report’s release, Trump ordered his administration to install signs in front of the U.S. history museum telling visitors that some of the exhibits are inaccurate. Hartig pushed back, telling lawmakers during congressional hearings that the report “does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.”
There had been speculation that firings were in the offing. Trump doesn’t have the power to fire leaders at the Smithsonian with the swiftness he’s managed at other top cultural institutions in Washington, most notably the Kennedy Center, where a board of his supporters named him chairman.
The Smithsonian operates outside the executive branch and museum directors report to Bunch, who is subject to oversight from a Board of Regents that includes Vice President JD Vance, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and so-called citizen regents.
Roberts, who serves as Smithsonian’s chancellor, said in a release that Bunch had “pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story.”
The White House did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The Smithsonian has been under examination by the Trump administration since 2025 as it has focused on the images and messages presented to the public as the nation approached its 250th anniversary.
A March 2025 executive order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, led to signs being changed at federal parks, exhibits being altered or in some cases removed, and military bases being renamed. Trump specifically cited the National Museum of African American History and Culture and argued that the Smithsonian as a whole was engaging in a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history.”
Several months later, the White House ordered a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian museums and exhibitions before the country’s 250th birthday, with a goal of aligning the institution’s content with Trump’s interpretation of American history.
In a letter sent to Bunch at the time, the White House detailed the steps it expected the organization to take as part of the announced review. The examination is of all public-facing content, including social media, exhibition text and educational materials, to “assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals,” according to the letter.
That review initially focused on eight museums — the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Kinnard and Fields write for the Associated Press. Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.
One could say that I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment.
It’s a musical event some might have thought unlikely or impossible — but to me, it wasn’t a matter of if Beyoncé would ever release a collaboration with Selena but when. And on Thursday night, with the release of the special anniversary edition of Beyoncé’s sophomore album, “B’Day,” it finally happened.
Alongside an expanded track list that includes remastered versions of the 2006 album’s original songs, plus new remixes and collaborations, there’s “Irreemplazable (Como La Flor),” a mashup of Beyoncé’s first Spanish-language release and one of Selena’s most beloved hits.
In her tragic absence, Selena’s estate gave a rare blessing to Beyoncé for the collaboration. A press release for the album noted that this “resounding approval” from the Quintanilla family “made it possible for this timely and meaningful duet.”
“Two women from Texas. Two unmistakable and irreplaceable voices that broke down and continue to break down barriers,” read the statement.
But not everyone was happy about the remix. Some fans viewed the collaboration cynically, criticizing it as a way for Beyoncé to capitalize on Selena’s legacy, or to court more Latino fans. Some voiced their dissatisfaction under a post from Selena’s husband, Chris Pérez, on Instagram — but he was quick to shut them down.
“Shout out to Beyoncé for showing respect to an ICON,” wrote Perez on Instagram. “In my opinion, nobody will ever, CAN ever, top Selena’s performance. But, dammit … can’t you just appreciate that another iconic/amazing artist chose to highlight Selena in this way?”
For those who need reminding: This isn’t Beyoncé’s first foray into Spanish-language music — and it’s not even her first tribute to Selena.
Long before Beyoncé reached superstardom, she was a girl from Houston who grew up listening to Selena on the radio. In 2007, she credited the “Queen of Tejano” with inspiring her to release “Irreemplazable,” a Spanish-language companion album to “B’Day.”
Working alongside Cuban American composer Rudy Pérez, the songs on that record were workshopped to retain the spirit of their English lyrics without being word-for-word translations: the catchy “To the left, to the left” refrain in “Irreplaceable” became “Ya lo ves, ya lo ves / Te olvidé, te olvidé” (“Now you see, now you see/I forgot you).”
Like Selena, Beyoncé learned to sing in Spanish phonetically, and in a 2007 MTV Tr3s documentary on the making of the album, you can see her angling toward perfection as Pérez and a friend corrected her pronunciation. Some of the lyrics she was tasked with delivering were tongue-twisters, even for native Spanish speakers. Try saying “Tú creías que eras imprescindible” five times fast and in key.
“I spent a lot of time on it making sure it was perfect because I didn’t want to disrespect the language, because it’s so beautiful,” Beyoncé told People en Español that year.
At the time, Beyoncé wasn’t the only major American artist making waves in Latin music. The pop landscape was undergoing a massive shift, thanks to the work of such crossover sensations as Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, and Shakira — and artists in the States were eager to tap into the burgeoning Latino market.
And while that was certainly a part of Beyoncé’s calculus when plotting “Irreemplazable,” she has a personal attachment to Spanish music. “A lot of my family, a lot of my friends who I grew up with speak Spanish, I grew up in Texas,” she said in the MTV doc. “I just have so much respect for the culture, and I really relate to it.”
“The heart and rhythm of the music and the drums and the spiciness,” she added, in her People interview, “it all reminds me of Creole, which is my heritage, and where I come from.”
While Beyoncé’s early solo releases were built on R&B, she demonstrated a curiosity for global sounds like reggae, Latin and Arabic music. Selena’s background was in Tejano, yet she was heavily influenced by heavy-hitters in pop, disco and R&B — namely Jody Watley, Janet Jackson and Donna Summer.
The two share a similar cultural background, one forged by migration, changing borders and centuries of history. And, as second- and third-generation Texans, Beyoncé and Selena were both able to take their heritage and interpret it, while also melding it with the melting pot of influences they were surrounded by.
Twenty years after the release of “B’Day,” Beyoncé has had the luxury of growing and maturing as an artist. She’s delivered masterful musical dissertations that challenge rigid ideas of “genre” and reemphasized the Black origins of traditions like country, rock and Americana.
Selena didn’t have the benefit of time; but in the years since her death, her music has been kept alive, replayed, reinterpreted, and remixed, so that new generations continue to celebrate her Tejano roots. With “Irremplazable (Como La Flor),” Selena and Beyoncé’s artistry gets to coexist.
It’s a blending of their worlds and voices — the merging of two songs empowering women to move on from their heartbreak, as well as a union of two artists who are so different, but so very much alike.
Medical groups have released vaccine recommendations this fall in lieu of guidance from the CDC. File Photo by Javier Aparico/EPA
Sept. 2 (UPI) — A group of medical organizations has released guidance on fall vaccinations against respiratory illnesses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention usually launches a fall campaign to recommend seasonal vaccines for diseases like RSV, influenza and COVID-19. This year, however, the agency has not issued its updated recommendations for the respiratory virus season.
In March, the American Academy of Pediatrics won a lawsuit against the federal government that blocked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule.
Kennedy and President Donald Trump have said that children get too many vaccines and have reduced the number of vaccines routinely recommended. They have also linked vaccines to autism, which has been proven untrue by research.
In response, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America each issued guidelines for fall immunizations. They based those guidelines on research from the American Medical Association and the University of Minnesota’s Vaccine Integrity Project
Last year, the CDC changed the COVID-19 recommendations to say that patients should talk to their own doctors.
On Tuesday, the agency said, “the CDC states the recommendations for seasonal influenza vaccination from the July 2025 immunization schedule remain in effect for the 2026-2027 influenza season.” It doesn’t mention the new mRNA flu vaccine, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month.
“For more than 60 years, the United States has benefited from an established federal process for evaluating vaccine evidence and translating that science into recommendations for the American public. At the center of that process were the Centers for Disease Control and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the ACIP,” CNN reported Dr. Bruce Gellin, board chair of the Vaccine Integrity Project and professor of medicine at Georgetown University, said at a press briefing.
“Unfortunately today, the federal government is not fulfilling that responsibility in the way that it historically has. But the need for that work has not disappeared. Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19] and the RSV viruses will circulate again this fall and winter,” Gellin said.
“We cannot allow the breakdown of a federal process to create a vacuum in evidence-based vaccine guidance,” he added.
Dr. Sarah Nosal, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said in the news briefing that insurance companies have indicated they will cover the vaccines.
“Vaccines are one of medicine’s greatest success stories. They prevent serious illness, reduce hospitalizations and long-term complications and save lives,” Nosal said in a press release. “As federal guidance evolves, the science behind vaccines remains strong. These recommendations are grounded in the latest evidence, informed by public health experts and shaped by what family physicians are seeing every day in their patients.”
Channel 4 will air part two of ‘The Ambush’ in a matter of days
24 Hours in Police Custody aired the first episode of its two-part special last night (Image: Channel 4)
24 Hours in Police Custody fans are being forced to wait days for a new episode.
The Channel 4 hit show kicked off its new two-part special, The Ambush, last night (August 30) and fans were instantly hooked. The harrowing episode centres on the case of a teenage boy who was found by the road with serious head injuries.
Viewers follow as the police try to uncover if the young man was the victim of a random incident or something more sinister. An official synopsis reveals: “A 17-year-old boy is found by the roadside with catastrophic head injuries. His twin says the boy had gone to meet a girl. But was it a trap?”
Those who tuned into part one were eager to discover how the case ended tonight (August 31), but they couldn’t find a new episode on the broadcaster’s schedule.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one fan questioned: “When’s the next episode? I can’t find it anywhere on the planner and Sky doesn’t have the next episode planned despite there apparently being one #24hoursinpolicecustody.”
Someone else shared their excitement to tune in, posting: “Tonight’s episode should provide us with more information.” But their hopes were quickly squashed as they learned that Channel 4 doesn’t have an episode scheduled until Sunday.
The furious fan shared: “What it’s not on tonight!!! You are joking me[…].” So exactly how long do viewers have to wait for the next instalment?
When does Part 2 of the 24 Hours in Police Custody special come out?
Channel 4 will air part two of 24 Hours in Police Custody ‘The Ambush’ next Sunday (September 6) at 9pm, meaning there is a week between part one and part two.
Part one is currently available to stream on the broadcaster’s on-demand service. Some viewers were already aware of the wait between the two episodes, but that hasn’t stopped them from issuing complaints.
Also writing on X, one viewer fumed: “Why are they making us wait a week for the conclusion? That’s really not on #24hoursinpolicecustody.”
Someone else added: “Are you serious @Channel4? We wait over 6 months for a new #24hoursinpolicecustody and now we’ve to wait a week for part 2?!.”
The two-part special comes after a long spell of the channel airing re-runs.
24 Hours in Police Custody’s The Ambush returns for part two next Sunday (September 6).
Pakistan have responded to their series defeat by England by taking the extraordinary step of dropping seven players, calling up five uncapped players and releasing their head coach.
After two one-sided defeats in the first two Tests, the tourists have revamped their squad and backroom staff for the third and final match of the series at Edgbaston.
Five of the players dropped – Muhammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman and Khurram Shahzad – have featured in the series so far, while Aamir Jamal and Muhammad Awais Jafar have been sent home without playing.
A total of seven players have been called up. Batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal have previous Test experience and join the quintet of uncapped newcomers.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas, left-arm seamer Mohammed Imran Jr, wicketkeeper Said Baig and all-rounders Mohammad Imran and Razaullah have all received call-ups.
In addition, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and his assistant Umar Gul have been released to be replaced by Pakistan white-ball coach Mike Hesson and former Australia seamer Ashley Noffke.
The third Test in Birmingham begins on 9 September.
Pakistan have been abject in the opening two Tests, losing the first at Headingley by an innings and the second at Lord’s by 194 runs. They have been bowled out for less than 200 in each of their four innings.
The response is remarkable. For a touring team to send home seven players and the head coach mid-series is unprecedented.
Pakistan have a history of making eccentric decisions in the wake of defeats. On England’s last tour of Pakistan in 2024, the hosts responded to losing the first Test, when England made a total in excess of 800, by playing the second Test on the same pitch in Multan.
On that occasion, Pakistan used garden heaters and fans to dry the surface, to assist their spinners. The home side won the next two Tests to win the series 2-1.
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A federal judge on Wednesday refused to order Texas to extradite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with shooting a man and lying about it during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
Christian Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Minnesota authorities have sought his extradition since his arrest, but he remains in custody in Brownsville, Texas, a city bordering Mexico.
Under Texas law and barring extradition, Castro must be released after 90 days of detention, which is Thursday.
Minnesota Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison filed a request for a temporary restraining order last week, asking a federal judge to prevent the sheriff in Cameron County, Texas, from releasing Castro, and to order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to sign his extradition warrant.
Minnesota officials believe Castro could flee the country, citing calls he made from jail to a woman in Mexico, talking “about marrying her and buying a house in Mexico when he is released,” according to the lawsuit.
Castro is accused of firing a gun through the front door of a Minneapolis home, shooting Sosa-Celis in the leg. Prosecutors say Castro also falsely accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.
At a federal hearing in Brownsville on Tuesday, attorneys with the Minnesota attorney general’s office argued it would be hard to compel Castro to face charges in their state if he was released, and they fear Castro may flee the country, citing his phone conversations.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said last week he would not respond to the extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota, which President Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there.
Mass kidnappings highlight Nigeria’s security crisis in the north as elections approach.
Published On 24 Aug 202624 Aug 2026
Kidnappers have released a video of what appears to be a large group of people being held captive by armed men in a forested area in Nigeria.
The video emerged on Sunday, two days after gunmen abducted as many as 600 worshippers during Friday prayers at a mosque in Dekera village in Nigeria’s north-central Niger state.
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The incident comes as Nigeria prepares for presidential elections in January, with security likely to be high on the agenda due to a wave of mass kidnappings for ransom across the north of the country.
In the video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp and circulating widely, children can be heard crying. A gunman speaking in the Hausa language speaks directly to families of the captives, telling them to identify relatives.
“These are all your people,” the gunman says.
News agencies reported that they could not verify the exact date or location where the video was filmed. However, no older version of the video has been found posted online before Sunday.
Residents, including Abdulmutallib Muqaddas Dindi, were able to confirm the identities of some of the hostages.
“We have identified our elders, relatives, and some of us have seen their wives and children in the video,” he said.
Police and state authorities have not responded to requests for comment.
Amnesty International has urged Nigerian authorities to secure the release of the worshippers, warning of the growing threat posed by mass abductions in northern Nigeria.
State Commissioner for Information and Orientation Obed Nana told the Anadolu news agency that an operation is under way to “assess the situation, track the attackers, and facilitate the rescue of the abducted worshippers”.
Mass abductions for ransom have become common in parts of northwestern and north-central Nigeria, with armed gangs frequently raiding villages, schools and highways and holding abductees until the gangs are paid large sums of money.
Increasingly, the gunmen are targeting communities further south, beyond hot spots in the north.
As he prepares for the election, President Bola Tinubu has faced growing criticism over lax security.
The two men, detained in the western city of Herat on August 9, were released on Thursday morning and appear to be in good health, says the UN.
Published On 21 Aug 202621 Aug 2026
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have released two United Nations staff members who were detained more than a week ago, though the reason for their detention remains unclear, the UN said.
The two men were detained in the western city of Herat on August 9. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said they were released on Thursday morning and appeared to be in good health.
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“UNAMA has not been formally notified of the reasons for their arrest and detention and continues to follow up with the de facto authorities,” the UN said in a statement, adding it understood that charges against the two had been dropped.
It said the organisation was also following up “to ensure respect for the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, as well as the safety, security and freedom of movement of United Nations and associated personnel throughout the country”.
The arrests were the latest in a series of detentions by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities. Last week, Human Rights Watch said six staff members of a local organisation working on women’s and children’s rights had been “forcibly disappeared” for more than a month.
“For us, we’re just delighted that [the two staff members] have been released, they’re in good health, and they face apparently no more judicial legal issues,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the organisation’s headquarters in New York.
Afghan authorities did not immediately comment on the release.
Multiple UN agencies operate across Afghanistan in a range of areas, including health and humanitarian response. The country has been hit hard by international aid cuts and faces numerous challenges, including the return of millions of its citizens from Iran and Pakistan in recent years.
The UN mission’s mandate from the UN Security Council includes promoting and supporting humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, as well as promoting human rights, equality for women and girls, inclusive governance and economic stability.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, as the United States and NATO forces withdrew from the country after two decades of war.
Shortly after, they barred girls from education beyond primary school and banned women from nearly all employment, effectively excluding women and girls from public life. They have also removed minimum-age protections for girls’ marriage and made domestic violence punishable only in cases in which a woman has suffered visible injuries or broken bones.
Netflix’s latest reality show centres on Harry Jowsey’s hunt for a wife. You’ll probably recognise the Australian bachelor from his string of dating show appearances on the likes of Too Hot to Handle and Perfect Match.
But he takes an entirely new approach to romance in Let’s Marry Harry, which is now available to stream in full.
After years of struggling to find ‘The One,’ Harry handed over his love life to those who know him best. He asked his closest friends to help him vet a house of 20 potential brides.
Together, they carefully decided who stayed in the running and who was sent home, guiding Harry to find the future Mrs Jowsey.
After several rounds of ring ceremonies, Harry selected five women to take to Las Vegas. He ultimately whittled them down to his final three picks: Amber Mozo, Dannelle Davidson and Sam Kruse.
Sam later decided to leave the show after discovering that Harry hadn’t been entirely honest about being intimate with Amber.
With just two women left, Harry took Amber and Dannelle to New Zealand, where they met his sisters. In the series finale, Harry finally said ‘I do’ to Amber in a romantic ceremony surrounded by their loved ones.
Although fans watched the pair get married, some believe they have already split up. Rumours began swirling after viewers discovered that the couple didn’t get legally married, which sparked questions about the authenticity of their romance.
Harry has addressed rumours, explaining that there were real marriage certificates involved in their big day but they didn’t officially get submitted to avoid spoiling the show’s outcome.
The truth of Harry and Amber’s relationship will be revealed once and for all in the upcoming Netflix reunion special.
When does the Let’s Marry Harry reunion come out?
Let’s Marry Harry: The Reunion will be available to stream on Netflix from next Wednesday, August 26. It will be hosted by content creator Haley Baylee.
Amber, Harry, and his ex fiancées will return to “answer any lingering questions, share life updates, and spill on the drama that comes with living in a house with 20 women and one bachelor”.
Let’s Marry Harry’s reunion special airs on Netflix next Wednesday, August 26. The rest of the series is available to stream now
Marvel Studios’ “Ghost Rider” reboot has an official release date. The movie, which will star Ryan Gosling as the eponymous fiery, supernatural motorcyclist, will hit theaters July 28, 2028. The project was first announced during Marvel’s Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con in July.
“Ghost Rider” will be directed by “Deadpool & Wolverine’s” Shawn Levy from a script written by Jonathan Tropper. Levy and Gosling are currently working together on “Star Wars: Starfighter,” the upcoming Lucasfilm title starring the “Barbie” actor as Kade Auberon — a mysterious starfighter pilot “from the wrong side of the galaxy.” “Starfighter,” which will debut May 28, 2027, was also written by Tropper.
Marvel’s 2028 slate also includes “X-Men,” which is scheduled to hit theaters May 5, and “Black Panther 3” for Dec. 15.
As confirmed during Disney’s D23 fan event, the “X-Men” cast includes Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Christopher Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Maya Boyd as Storm and Adam Driver as Nathaniel Milbury, also known as Mr. Sinister. Jake Schreier will direct the movie.
“Black Panther 3,” meanwhile, will introduce David Jonsson as the new King of Wakanda. In addition to filmmaker Ryan Coogler, actors Letitia Wright and Winston Duke are returning for the third “Black Panther” installment.
The three 2028 titles offer a glimpse into the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future in the aftermath of “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.”
Marvel’s superhero multiverse is set for a massive shakeup in the mega crossover that will see heroes from multiple dimensions — including members of the Fantastic Four, X-Men and Avengers — facing a powerful new threat. “Doomsday” will bow Dec. 18, followed by “Secret Wars” on Dec. 17, 2027.
In the beginning of 2025, Taylor Olin had decided she’d seen enough of Echo Park and decided to relocate to a cozy ranch up in Altadena. There, she’d begun to plant her roots in an artistic community, spending most of the last year and some change nestled in with her new flock of bohemian neighbors.
It would be the perfect sanctuary for the Something Specials frontwoman, that doubled as a creative space.
By the first week of January, she moved her belongings into a rented stationary camper situated on a ranch owner’s sprawling land, that they’d lived on for more than 25 years. In the shadow of the San Gabriel Mountains, her L.A. chronicle would continue, as dreamed.
But within a week of settling down, she’d receive a knock on her door, step out of her home, and see flames burning a nearby hillside. When she saw the fire she knew to leave, packing as much as she could before making a run for it.
“Every successive update we would get from her was just unbelievably surreal,” said Josh Augustin, who plays drums and keys and does production for the band.
She didn’t know it yet, but all that was left of her camper was its frame; it’s burned, twisted metal was another casualty of the L.A. wildfires. For the next couple of weeks, she’d couch surf until ultimately sleeping in her van, waking up early to wait tables at an oyster bar on Sunset Boulevard.
The remains of Olin’s rented camper.
(Taylor Olin)
“From there, I went back to Florida, and I put on a benefit show for some specific people in Altadena that I wanted to give some funds to,” Olin said.
She’d then relocate to Europe and start fresh with aid from a GoFundMe created by a friend. Roughly a year and a half later, she’s still there and has had time to reflect on the experience.
“As much as I was directly affected, I really have held the space in my heart for those who have been there for their entire lives,” she said.
“My commitment to the community had only been a year … whereas they had invested so much and lost so much.”
But something fascinating was happening behind the scenes, coinciding with the disaster that had sent Olin overseas and left her bandmates, Augustin and Nathan Slone — located in New York City — shocked.
One year earlier, the band had released “Love,” a pleasantly sweet, folky, country-adjacent tune that melts easily into eardrums. Though it hadn’t received much attention at the time, it began to gain some traction on social media right after Olin settled down in Europe, frequently appearing in short-form videos across Instagram.
“We had no idea where we were getting it from,” she said of the new listeners. “It was picked algorithmically and put at the top of recommended songs on stories and reels, and so we started seeing thousands of reels being used with its intro.”
The band unwittingly stumbled into virality.
“We would get maybe a few hundred listeners in a day across our entire discography,” Slone, guitarist and bassist, said. “It’s … come to life, die, come back to life, and died. Now our whole discography seems to be in a ‘high tide lifts all ships’ moment.”
At that time, “Love” was floating around 1 million listeners on Spotify. Today, it sits at nearly 20 million, with the band’s average monthly listeners at 1.2 million. Small highlights include being featured in a Reese Witherspoon carousel and Ashley Tisdale French gardening video on Instagram, the latter containing their other hit, “Aces.”
Now, the trio is gearing up to release its debut album, “Somewhere Up There,” on Friday. At just shy of an hour, the project is split almost evenly between new music and previously released tunes.
Album art for “Somewhere Up There.”
(Taylor Olin / The Something Specials)
Impressively, the band has met in person only three times, one of which was when they first agreed to work together. Better yet, when Olin and Slone first met, it was shaking hands on stage at the Echoplex before the band’s first show.
They’re all skilled musicians, having done their due diligence in different music groups, but nothing has clicked like the parasocial success that is the Something Specials.
“We need each other all the way through — we each bring a different thing to the project,” Slone said.
“I’ll go and write the bass of the song, and a riff if there’s a riff. Josh helps with keyboards and drums. We refine it a little bit together. We send it to Taylor. Taylor records over it. We get it back. We might add a part or two. We mix it. All say yes. Send it for mastering and upload it.”
In a modern world, it’s not unusual to hear of music production being done in such a way, but it’s the group’s limited personal relationship that makes it shine.
The plan is to keep being nonchalant about the whole thing, and hopefully their fan base will continue to grow. On Oct. 28, they’ll play the Sultan Room in New York City, their third time together as a band.
“It’s bizarrely easy,” Slone adds.
“With very few exceptions, if things are flowing well, we can wrap something up in a week or two,” Augustin adds about the outfit’s remote recording process.
They’re still winging it at this point, unsigned and with no representation, but “winging it has served us well,” Olin said.
“We’ve been approached many times [by labels],” Slone continues. “But we do pretty darn well on our own, and record labels don’t really have much to offer us, frankly.”
Olin says that in a time where the use of artificial intelligence is so prevalent, and particularly in creative spaces, doing things “DIY” is the best approach. They’re starting with an initial run of around 500 vinyl records, with plans to release the album on CD and cassette later down the line.
“With this kind of band — with our sound, with our aesthetic— I think that as old-school as possible feels best,” she said.
