Heidi Klum and daughter Leni posed together for the new Intimissimi campaignCredit: IntimissimiThe pair previously caused controversy for posing in lingerie togetherCredit: Intimissimi
The mother and daughter duo wore long sleeve pyjama tops and pants from the new range.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
NATO member Lithuania today authorized the shooting down of balloons that cross the border from Russia’s ally Belarus, after as many as 66 balloons were spotted by Lithuanian radar overnight. The Lithuanian government has described the balloon incursion as a “hybrid attack” and has closed its border with Belarus — temporarily, for now. The balloon incident is the latest airspace incursion on NATO’s eastern flank, as tensions between the alliance and Russia grow against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
Lithuania has also said it is considering calling for talks under NATO’s Article 4, which discusses a response when “the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any of the parties is threatened.”
Lithuania spent much of last week battling balloons — literally.
– For 4 days over the last week, smuggling balloons from Belarus disrupted air traffic and shut down airports. – Officials call it a “crisis” and “psychological operation” meant to test Lithuania’s resilience. – In… pic.twitter.com/O8uoUFp2T5
Some of the helium balloons involved were assessed by Lithuanian authorities to weigh between 110 and 130 pounds, making them a significant threat to aircraft operating in Lithuanian airspace. Initially, it was reported that at least some of them were being used to smuggle goods — primarily cigarettes — across the border. These would typically be recovered once landed, using location tags to find them.
While the cigarette cargoes may well be true, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that the balloons were sent as a deliberate provocation, with, at the very least, Moscow’s approval. It may also be the case that Belarus is simply turning a blind eye to the contraband balloons, knowing they will drift into the airspace of its NATO neighbor.
The Lukashenka regime continues its hybrid war against 🇪🇺 — last night, more “weather balloons” crossed into Lithuania.
We support 🇱🇹’s firm response, while calling to keep the borders open for honest Belarusians.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė pledged to shoot down any further balloons disrupting the Lithuanian airspace.
This would likely involve Lithuania’s Air Defense Battalion, which is equipped with the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), the shorter-range RBS 70 and Avenger systems, as well as various man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). The stocks of some of these systems have been depleted by transfers of equipment to Ukraine after the full-scale invasion.
A Lithuanian Air Defense Battalion NASAMS launcher deployed in defense of Vilnius Airport. Lithuanian Armed Forces
Lithuania does not operate fighter jets, but is protected by NATO’s Baltic Air Policing detachments, with Hungarian Air Force Gripens and Spanish Air Force Typhoons currently stationed at Šiauliai, in Lithuania. Ground-based air defense systems from other NATO members are similarly deployed to Lithuania on a rotational basis, too.
Spanish Air Force Typhoons take part in Operation Eastern Sentry, while deployed to Šiauliai in Lithuania, as the ‘Vilkas’ detachment. Spanish Air and Space Force
However, as we have discussed in detail in relation to balloons in U.S. airspace in 2023, even when these are very large targets, they are by no means easy to bring them down.
Lithuania has also now closed its roughly 400-mile eastern border with Belarus in what is currently described as a temporary move enacted by the country’s border force. The government is meanwhile discussing whether the border closure will be extended indefinitely, something that is expected to be approved during a government meeting planned for Wednesday. Belarus has described the temporary border closure as “a provocation.”
A map showing the border between Lithuania and Belarus, including the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. GoogleMaps
“No hybrid attack will be tolerated,” said Prime Minister Ruginienė at a press conference today. “We will take the strictest possible measures to stop such actions.”
Autocrats are once again testing the resilience of EU and NATO against hybrid threats.
In recent days, dozens of helium balloons from Belarus have entered our airspace – drifting toward major airports and disrupting civil aviation.
Deividas Matulionis, a senior advisor to the Lithuanian president, said the balloon incursions were part of a “hybrid psychological operation” seeking to disrupt the everyday life of Lithuanians. “We very much hope that immediate action will be taken, but there should also be very strong diplomatic action and certain legal measures, which should be approved … as soon as possible,” he said.
Without mentioning Russia directly, Ruginienė and Matulionis were pointing to the growing threat posed to NATO and the European Union by a variety of unorthodox types of warfare, ranging from sabotage of critical infrastructure to manipulation of the information space in an effort to undermine Western democracies. In such incidents, Russia has always denied any responsibility, but Western suspicions generally center around potential Kremlin motives, especially after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Europe stands in full solidarity with Lithuania in the face of the persistent incursions of helium smuggling balloons into its airspace.
This is destabilisation. This is provocation.
We call it by its name: a hybrid threat. We will not tolerate it.
Ruginienė explained that, if the border is closed indefinitely, there will be only very limited exceptions for Lithuanian and EU citizens, as well as diplomatic mail. “All other movement will be halted,” she confirmed.
The incursions overnight were the latest in a string of similar disruptions over the course of last week. Vilnius Airport, Lithuania’s biggest hub, was closed on four separate occasions. In total, more than 170 flights were disrupted by cancellations, diversions, and delays over the course of the week, the airport operator said.
This evening air traffic at Kaunas and Vilnius Airports was temporarily suspended. According to initial reports, the decision to restrict the airspace was caused by meteorological balloons. The airspace restrictions are in effect until 10:00 p.m.
Last Thursday, Lithuania summoned a Russian diplomat to protest what it says was the entry of two Russian military aircraft into its airspace.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense said a Russian Su-30 Flanker fighter and an Il-78 Midas tanker flying from Kaliningrad passed through Lithuanian airspace for around 2,300 feet before leaving after 18 seconds, probably during aerial refueling training.
The Russian SU-30 and IL-78 aircraft crossed about 700 metres into Lithuanian territory near Kybartai, staying in our airspace for 18 seconds.
This incident once again shows the reality of our region. Together with our Allies, we must keep strengthening our defence capabilities. https://t.co/njpFxMUoMM
Russia’s defense ministry denied the incursion had taken place. “The flights were conducted in strict compliance with the rules for using airspace above Russian territory. The aircraft … did not violate the borders of other states,” it said.
As to what comes next, Lithuania has said it is not ruling out Article 4 talks over the balloons. The procedure has only been used nine times in the alliance’s history. Most recently, it was triggered by Poland and Estonia after Russian airspace violations in September.
“Our response will determine how far autocrats dare to go,” Ruginienė said.
There have also been suggestions that Lithuania might extend the border closure to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, to the west, or at least restrict transit across the frontier.
The incursions in Lithuanian airspace follow an incident last month, during which three Russian MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors spent 12 minutes in Estonian airspace, as you can read about here.
Following a violation of Estonian air space, Swedish JAS 39 fighters intercepted and monitored three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets over the Baltic Sea today. Sweden is always ready to ensure the safety, security and integrity of our airspace together with our allies.#WeAreNATOpic.twitter.com/gpTbmngiKc
Ahead of that, Polish authorities counted 19 Russian drones that entered the country’s airspace, in what Polish authorities described as “an attempt to test our capabilities and responses.” Some of those drones were shot down by Polish and Dutch combat aircraft. You can catch up to our reporting on the incident in our story here.
Last night, Poland’s airspace was breached 19 times by drones manufactured in Russia. Our assessment is that they did not veer off course but were deliberately targeted.
Poland, EU and NATO will not be intimidated and we will continue to stand by the brave people of Ukraine.… pic.twitter.com/prAEqrIUKX
Overall, the last few months have seen unprecedented chaos for European civil aviation, with Russia being widely suspected as the main culprit. Other drone incursions have disrupted the airports in Copenhagen, Munich, and the Baltic region.
With the latest incidents in Lithuania, there’s a growing consensus in NATO and the EU that these airspace violations are not isolated incidents. Instead, in the words of Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, they are “calculated provocations designed to destabilize, distract, [and] test NATO’s resolve.”
Lithuania says balloons disrupting air traffic are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes from Belarus into the EU.
Published On 27 Oct 202527 Oct 2025
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Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene has said Lithuania will start to shoot down smuggler balloons crossing from Belarus and also shut its border crossings with the neighbouring country following repeated interruptions to its air traffic.
“Today we have decided to take the strictest measures, there is no other way,” Ruginiene told a news conference on Monday, saying the crossings will be closed except for travel by diplomats and by European Union citizens leaving Belarus.
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NATO and European Union member Lithuania closed Vilnius Airport four times last week after balloons entered its airspace. Each time, it temporarily shut its Belarus border crossings in response to the incidents.
Calling the incidents “hybrid attacks”, Ruginiene said her cabinet will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to prolong the closure of the Belarus border crossings, the BNS news agency reported.
She also said it may also discuss Lithuania invoking NATO Article 4, which states any member country can request a consultation with others whenever it believes its “territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened”.
European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.
Lithuania has said balloons are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes from Belarus into the EU, but the country also blames Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not stopping the practice.
There was no immediate comment from Belarus.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania, said in written comments to The Associated Press news agency that the balloon incidents were “yet another sign that the regime is using cigarette smuggling as a tool of hybrid aggression against Europe”.
On Thursday, Lithuania said two Russian military aircraft entered its airspace for about 18 seconds, prompting a formal protest and a reaction from NATO forces, while Russia denied the incident.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said recent airspace violations should not be regarded as isolated incidents.
“These are calculated provocations designed to destabilize, distract (and) test NATO’s resolve,” Budrys wrote on X.
1 of 2 | Atlanta police chief Darin Schierbaum briefs reporters Monday on the arrest of Billy Cagle. Cagle was taken into custody and charged with threatening to shoot up a terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after his family alerted police. Photo by Atlanta Police Department.
Oct. 20 (UPI) — A Georgia man was arrested Monday inside a terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after allegedly threatening on social media to “shoot it up.”
Atlanta Police arrested Billy Cagle, 49, at the airport and found an AR-15 assault rifle with 27 rounds of ammunition inside his pickup truck, which was parked at the airport, according to police chief Darin Schierbaum. Schierbaum said it was Cagle’s family who alerted officers that he had been making threats on social media and had a gun.
Cartersville Police Capt. Greg Sparacio told reporters the family alerted them Monday morning that the suspect was “en route to somewhere in the Atlanta area,” likely the airport, and he “had the intention to do harm to as many people as he could.”
The family provided information about the vehicle Cagle was traveling in, as well as a photo. Cagle was taken into custody after entering the airport terminal at 9:31 a.m. EDT. He did not have any weapons on him, but police found the rifle in his truck.
“I do believe he was likely to use that weapon inside the crowded terminal,” Schierbaum told reporters. “Because of the community — in this case, the family — as well as the joint collaboration of law enforcement, a tragedy was indeed averted.”
Cagle is facing multiple charges, including terroristic threats, criminal attempt to commit aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was convicted of possession of marijuana 20 years ago, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Reality television production in Los Angeles declined sharply this summer, leading to a nearly 21% drop in overall TV shoot days, a new report shows.
The total number of shoot days in the greater L.A. area from July to September was 4,380, down 13.2% compared to a year ago, according to data from FilmLA, a nonprofit that handles film permits for the Los Angeles region.
Projects that received an incentive have 180 days to start production after notice of their award, and it often takes time to commence filming.
Because of that, FilmLA executives were not surprised to see on-location production continue to slip during the summer months.
“Fortunately, we’ve already begun to see early signs of these incentives having their desired effect,” he said. “We’re excited to be taking calls from productions looking to line up their locations and pull permits,” FilmLA Vice President Philip Sokoloski said in a statement.
TV production totaled 1,441 shoot days, down 20.7% compared to the same time period last year. The decline is especially significant because TV is the region’s main driver of production.
Reality TV dropped to 649 shoot days, down 31.4% compared to last year. Other genres of TV production also saw a downturn — drama (down 19%) and pilots (down 34.5%). Production of television comedies, however, was a bright spot with 79 shoot days, up 41.1%.
Feature film production in L.A. also ticked up with 522 shoot days, an increase of 9.7% compared to last year. But commercial production, which does not receive a tax incentive, was down 17.9% to 668 shoot days.
The report’s “other” category, which includes student films, still photo shoots and documentaries, saw a decrease of 9.9% to 1,749 shoot days.
A shoot day represents one crew’s permission to film at a single location in a 24-hour period.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
In the wake of mysterious drone incursions that forced the recent shutdowns of the Munich Airport, the German cabinet approved a measure to give police the authority to shoot down uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) posing a danger. The moves mark a big difference in how German authorities approach counter-drone defense, which has previously been limited to detection, not taking them down. The changes come as several European nations have been experiencing a rash of drone incursions, which Germany’s chancellor says are part of Russia’s ramped-up hybrid war efforts, a claim Moscow denies.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took to social media on Wednesday to explain the need to update German law to meet the new drone threats.
“Drone incidents threaten our safety,” said Merz. “We will not allow that. We are strengthening the powers of the federal police so that drones can be detected and intercepted more quickly in the future.”
Die Drohnen-Vorfälle bedrohen unsere Sicherheit. Das lassen wir nicht zu. Wir stärken die Kompetenzen der Bundespolizei: Damit Drohnen künftig schneller aufgespürt und abgewehrt werden können. Das haben wir heute im Kabinett beschlossen.
— Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (@bundeskanzler) October 8, 2025
The new law would give police permission to take down drones that “violated Germany’s airspace, including shooting them down in cases of acute threat or serious harm,” Reuters reported. The measure awaits parliamentary approval.
In addition to kinetic counter-drone measures, the new law gives German authorities permission to use “lasers or jamming signals to sever control and navigation links,” the news outlet noted. The measure extends to all domains.
“In order to combat a threat posed by unmanned aerial systems on land, in the air or on water, the federal police may deploy appropriate technical means against the system, its control unit or its control connection if other means of combating the threat would be futile or otherwise significantly more difficult,” the new law states.
After a series of recent incidents, the German government wants to boost police powers to shoot down drones.
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said a new law would equip authorities to use state-of-the-art technology to combat drone threats: pic.twitter.com/nvyIlsJxWl
All this comes as Germany has seen a 33% percent increase in the number of drone-related air traffic disruptions this year. There were 172 such events between January and the end of September 2025, up from 129 in the same period last year and 121 in 2023, according to data from Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS).
The new authority to take out drones is one of several measures Germany is taking in the wake of the incursions.
German police are creating a new counter-drone unit to deal with the problem. To build up the expertise of this unit, German officials will talk to countries like Israel and Ukraine that have significant experience creating and fighting off drones.
“Police would deal with drones flying at around tree-level, whereas more powerful drones should be tackled by the military,” Dobrindt said.
A sign indicates a no-drone-zone as flights resumed at Munich Airport after temporary suspensions due to drone sightings. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images) Johannes Simon
Discussion about how to defend against drones in many ways mirrors concerns expressed in the U.S., where current federal law restricts actions and collateral damage concerns limit how the military can respond. As a result, the U.S. military is not currently pursuing the use of lasers, microwaves, missiles or guns. The recent expiration of drone interception authorities provided to the departments of Homeland Security and Justice adds further restrictions to the ability of U.S. agencies to mitigate incursions.
For Germany, the issue is even more challenging, because by law, its military is a defensive force “whose role is explicitly limited to protecting the state from external military threats in war-like scenarios,” the German DW news outlet noted. Even in the case of the current drone problems, it is unclear if any pose a military threat or create a situation akin to war. Given concerns that a wider war could erupt, German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is awaiting a multi-billion-dollar order from the German Armed Forces for its Skyranger anti-aircraft gun system, which has major counter-drone capabilities.These systems could also be used to actively defend sites from drone incursions during peacetimes under the new law, although their use would have to be tightly controlled and it would be only be applicable at all in certain situations. Regardless, the Skyranger deal is indicative of how serious Germany is beginning to take the drone problem.
(RHEINMETALL)
As with the U.S., there are huge concerns in Germany about civilian harm from counter-drone systems, especially in heavily populated areas. Following reports of drone incursions over several European nations, Germany dispatched the German frigate FGS Hamburg to Copenhagen to help protect European Union meetings. It was one of several deployments of European counter-drone measures to the Danish capital.
Though the Hamburg is armed with missiles and guns, a spokesperson of the Bundeswehr joint force command told us prior to the EU meetings that the ship’s responses to any drone incursions would be limited to detection efforts by its sensors.
“The principle of proportionality and to minimize collateral damage are two important aspects we always keep in mind,” the spokesperson said in response to our questions about the Hamburg’s rules of engagement for its weapons systems, should a drone or drones be detected.
The German Navy frigate FGS Hamburg docked in Copenhagen, Denmark to provide anti-drone protection for the EU summit. (Photo by Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto) Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg
The increasing concern about protecting NATO’s skies began after more than a dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace last month, with some being shot down. A flight into Estonian airspace by three Russian MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors further increased tensions, which have already been high with a brutal war raging in Ukraine and concerns that it could spill over its borders. The drone incursions over a number of European countries ramped up considerably around this time.
The latest wave of drone incursions began late last month when two Nordic airports were temporarily closed. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the airspace violation over the Copenhagen Airport was “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date.”
As we have explained in the past, it is quite possible that many, if not most of these sightings are mistaken identity. It is a pattern that emerged last year when thousands of people claimed to see drones in the New Jersey region of the U.S. The overwhelming majority of those sightings were airplanes, planets and other benign objects in the sky.
Still, just like in the New Jersey case, we do know that a significant number of the sightings over military bases were confirmed by the government. The reality is that these drone incursions over critical facilities in Europe have been happening for years, but just how much it has exploded in recent weeks is blurred by media reports and sightings not supported by independent analysis or corroborated by sensor data.
Regardless, German leaders say they are working to bring the nation’s law in line with other European countries, “such as France, Britain, Romania and Lithuania, which have extended the powers of their security forces to take out drones that are unlawfully in their airspace,” the Guardian pointed out.
“Today we are creating a strong law for the federal police,” proclaimed Dobrindt, introducing the new counter-drone measures. “We are reacting decisively, effectively and technically at the cutting edge.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, pictured in June in the Oval Office, said drone incidents “threaten our safety” as his government put forward legislation to allow the shooting down of drones after a series of in recent weeks disrupted flights across Europe. File Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 8 (UPI) — Federal authorities in Germany were granted permission to shoot down drones following a series of recent sightings of unknown drones spotted near Munich.
The German government’s cabinet on Wednesday signed-off on the new reform package that now awaits approval of the Bundestag, the country’s parliament.
The move came after drones were seen at Munich Airport last week, which led to air traffic control suspensions and thousands of flights impacted directly.
“Drone incidents threaten our safety,” said Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Germany now joins Britain, France, Romania and Lithuania in extending police powers to down the flying objects.
“We will not allow that,” Merz, leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party, said Wednesday on social media.
“We are strengthening the powers of the federal police so that drones can be detected and intercepted more quickly in future,” he added.
In addition, other rogue drones have been detected in Denmark, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, Poland and Romania that have interrupted air traffic on the continent in recent weeks.
Officials in Denmark purport it to be a “professional” act by an unknown actor but other European Union leaders, including Merz, have pointed to Russia as the culprit.
Moscow, however, has denied the allegations.
It followed a similar pattern of unexplained drone flights earlier this year in the United States.
Meanwhile, authorities announced Wednesday that Russian drones attacked and seriously damaged a Ukrainian thermal power plant overnight in Russia’s escalating war in Ukraine and eastern Europe.
Lorraine Kelly strips off as part of ground-breaking Change + Check campaign raising awareness of breast cancer
00:00, 01 Oct 2025Updated 00:03, 01 Oct 2025
Lorraine Kelly has stripped off for her Change + Check campaign
TV star Lorraine Kelly has stripped off Calendar Girls-style for the first time – with only a pair of strategically-placed buns covering her modesty. Speaking to the Mirror about her first topless shoot, she joked how she worried her team would be “traumatised” by the sight of her bare flesh.
The shoot was all in aid of the show’s National Check Your Boobs Day initiative within its Lorraine’s Change + Check campaign. Lorraine admits: “I just loved this idea. It’s cheeky and funny and is a nod to the wonderful Calendar Girls.
“It also gave me the chance to say the iconic line “we’re going to need considerably bigger buns”.
Opening up about stripping off, Lorraine adds: “I didn’t feel in any way vulnerable or uncomfortable as I was with my team who are my friends, and our amazing photographer had also gone through breast cancer herself. My editor Victoria asked if I was comfortable being filmed and I told her I was fine, but to check with the crew in case they would be traumatised!!
“It was all very light-hearted, and after all it’s all about getting the Change + Check message across.” The photograph was taken by photographer Sally Mais, a survivor of breast cancer.
The new day will take place today which show bosses hope will serve as a crucial reminder for everyone to make self-checking a regular monthly habit. Lorraine is even after an official endorsement from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to establish the day on the national calendar. It comes as the The Change + Check campaign is now officially endorsed by the NHS.
Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Ashley Dalton said: “It’s so incredibly important to check for the signs of breast cancer because we know early diagnosis leads to better outcomes. The Change + Check campaign is a brilliant way for people out and about shopping on their local high street to quickly check themselves as they get changed, knowing the advice is accurate and officially supporting the NHS.”
Asda will also be selling specially created Change + Check ‘iced busty buns’ in their stores throughout the month of October, and the Change + Check sticker will now be visible in Boots pharmacies across the country. Lorraine says the campaign is one of the things she is most proud of in her 40 year career. She said: “Every year the campaign just gets bigger and bigger, and I am so proud of the work we’ve done and the lives we’ve helped to save.
“Launching Britain’s first ever ‘National Check Your Boobs Day’ is a huge step forward and will hopefully be a crucial reminder for everyone to prioritise their breast health. This is something that truly matters to me, and I’m so grateful for all the support we receive from the public and our partners to get this vital message out there.”
Founded by Lorraine producer Helen Addis MBE and host Lorraine Kelly CBE in 2019, the campaign aims to destigmatise conversations around breast cancer. Over the past seven years, more than 100 women and one man have contacted the show to report that they have received a breast cancer diagnosis as a result of seeing the campaign.
San Diego shot and killed a man Tuesday morning outside of an elementary school. File Photo Justin Lane/EPA
Sept. 24 (UPI) — San Diego police fatally shot and killed a man on Tuesday who was reportedly found armed outside of an elementary school.
The California Attorney General’s Office has since launched an investigation into the incident under a police accountability law. But the involvement of the attorney general raises additional questions about the incident.
Police received a call at around 6:43 a.m. PDT that a man was sitting on the campus of Fay Elementary School who had a “gun next to him” and was holding a knife, according to department spokesperson Lt. Travis Easter, who described the incident in two brief videos posted to Facebook.
Officers contacted the man and used de-escalation techniques that included firing less-lethal bean bag rounds and using and an officer K-9, Easter told KNSD.
However, police opened fire on the man after their efforts were unsuccessful. Officers performed life-saving measures on the wounded man, but he died at the scene. No officers were injured.
Police have not offered details on the incident, including how many officers were involved, the number of shots fired, the name of the man and his possible motive. Easter said in a video that the incident will be investigated by the California Department of Justice.
“I was having my coffee this morning and then I heard like nine shots and usually people are popping off fireworks but it didn’t sound like that,” resident David Corpus told KNSD. “I went to the top of the alley and then I saw a body at the top of the street.”
“As soon as I was coming in, I just got a call from the prime time teacher there just stating not to bring the kids, that an incident happened,” parent Johanna Vargas told the station. “And I asked her, ‘What happened?’ And she just said that a homeless man came in through the door where the parents have access, and had, like, a sharp object. I don’t know if she said it was a knife or what, but that he was making signs, like, if he was going to stab someone.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta confirmed the investigation in a press release. It stated that the investigation was being pursued under Assembly Bill 1506, a 2020 state law that mandates state prosecutors investigate when police fatally shoot an unarmed civilian and bring charges against the officer if justified.
Police said the man was fleeing from the school and the time of the shooting, reported Uptown News. Neither police nor Bonta’s office responded to the news outlet’s questions about why the investigation was launched when the man was reportedly armed.
However, KFMB-TV reported that a gun that appeared to have an orange tip was found near the man’s body. The state’s definition of “unarmed” can include someone with a fake weapon, according to the station.
Sept. 8 (UPI) — Police on Monday shot and killed a man they believe is a suspect who had evaded capture for more than 3 1/2 years after he disappeared into rural New Zealand with his three children.
Police have been hunting Tom Phillips since December 2021 when took his three children — Ember, Maverick and Jayda — into the New Zealand bush, with only brief sightings reported since.
Phillips faced a range of charges including aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Police shot and killed Phillips early Monday following a reported burglary in Piopio, a North Island town home to around 400 people located about 280 miles north of the capital Wellington. One officer was seriously injured in the shooting, and was undergoing surgery, authorities said.
“The formal identification of this male has yet to take place but we believe him to be Tom Phillips,” acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers with New Zealand Police told reporters during a press conference.
One of his three children was with him, and is receiving care, Rogers said, adding that they “hold serious concerns” for the welfare of his other two children.
“We are making urgent inquiries to locate Tom Phillips’ other children,” she said.
“Our focus is finding them.”
Ember is now 9 years old, Maverick is 10 and Jayda 12.
An early morning burglary of a rural supply store in Piopio was reported to police at around 2:30 a.m. NZST, authorities said.
The member of the public reported to authorities that the store was being burgled by a man wearing a headlamp and farm clothing and “a shorter person” also wearing a headlamp, police said.
The two suspects loaded their all-terrain vehicle with the alleged stolen wares and fled the scene at about 2:45 a.m., authorities said.
A statement from New Zealand Police states that based on the descriptions provided, officers believed that man was likely Philips, and additional resources were called in.
Police laid spikes at an intersection at about 3:20 a.m., with the suspect driving over them minutes later, and coming to a stop shortly after.
The suspect then fired multiple rounds at the responding officer, who was shot as he was exiting his police vehicle and fell to the ground, Rogers said.
A statement from New Zealand Police said the officer was struck twice, once in the head and once in the shoulder.
The suspect was then fired upon by a second police unit that arrived at the scene, “incapacitating him,” the statement said.
First aid was provided to the suspect, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The injured officer was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition at about 4:50 a.m. and was undergoing surgery as Rogers was speaking to reporters. She said he would require multiple surgeries.
“This has been a deeply traumatic incident this morning for those involved,” she said. “It has been confronting and challenging in a small rural, isolated location.”
Rogers said multiple firearms were located on and near the all-terrain vehicle. Though she would not state the number nor specify what type of firearms were retrieved, she did say the wounded officer had been shot with a high-powered rifle.
Phillips had initially disappeared into the New Zealand bush with his children in September 2021, but then emerged two weeks later.
Then they disappeared again in December of that year. An arrest warrant was issued for Phillips after he failed to appear in court in January 2022.
Other birthdays have included trips to Lisbon and Sicily.
Meanwhile, Madonna has spent the past few years working on a movie about her life.
ActressJulia Garnerwas lined up to play the Hung Uphitmakerin the film before it appeared to be left on the shelf over two years ago.
Now it seems that plans have been re-imagined with Julia confirming last month she is still lined up to play the iconic popstar in a Netflix miniseries about her life.
Madonna and Julia are working with filmmaker Shawn Levy on the project, which is in the early stages of development.
Confirming that the project was still happening, despite the uncertainty, Julia told the SmartLess podcast: “Yeah, I mean, that’s supposed to still happen.”
However, she did appear to hint that the project may still be far off hitting screens as she affirmed that “anything that’s great, takes time”.
Madonna, 66, shows off bra under sheer top as she gyrates with boyfriend Akeem Morris at his 29th birthday party
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Madonna turns 67 in just over a weekCredit: Instagram
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The singer is working on her 15th studio albumCredit: Instagram
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Madonna is expected to go on hols with boyfriend Akeem Morris next weekCredit: Instagram
A Palestinian teenager, shot in the eye by Israeli forces while desperately seeking food for his family near a United States and Israeli-backed GHF site in Gaza, is unlikely to regain sight in his left eye, doctors treating him have said, as the population of the besieged and bombarded enclave suffers from forced starvation.
Fifteen-year-old Abdul Rahman Abu Jazar told Al Jazeera that Israeli soldiers kept shooting at him even after he was struck by a bullet, making him think “this was the end” and “death was near”.
Relaying the harrowing chain of events from a hospital bed with a white bandage covering one eye, Abu Jazar said he went to the site around 2am (23:00 GMT).
“It was my first time going to the distribution point,” he said. “I went there because my siblings and I had no food. We couldn’t find anything to eat.”
He says he moved forward with the crowd until he reached al-Muntazah Park in the Gaza City environs about five hours later.
“We were running when they began shooting at us. I was with three others; three of them were hit. As soon as we started running, they opened fire. Then I felt something like electricity shoot through my body. I collapsed to the ground. I felt as though I had been electrocuted … I didn’t know where I was, I just blacked out. When I woke up, I asked people ‘Where am I?’”
Others near Abu Jazar told him he had been shot in the head. “They were still firing. I got scared and started reciting prayers.”
A doctor at the hospital held a phone light near the boy’s wounded eye and asked him if he could see any light. He could not. The doctor diagnosed a perforating eye injury caused by a gunshot wound.
Abu Jazar underwent surgery and said, “I hope my eyesight will return, God willing.”
Hospitals receive bodies of more aid seekers
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Sunday that 119 bodies, including 15 recovered from under the rubble of destroyed buildings or other places, and 866 wounded Palestinians have arrived at the enclave’s hospitals over the past 24-hour reporting period.
At least 65 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid, and 511 more were wounded.
Israeli forces have routinely fired on Palestinians trying to get food at GHF-run distribution sites in Gaza, and the United Nations reported this week that more than 1,300 aid seekers have been killed since the group began operating in May.
Palestinians carry bags as they return from a food distribution point run by the US and Israeli-backed GHF group, in the central Gaza Strip on August 3, 2025 [Eyad Baba/AFP]
Gaza’s famine and malnutrition crisis has been worsening by the day, with at least 175 people, including 93 children, now confirmed dead from the man-made starvation of Israel’s punishing blockade, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
More than 6,000 Palestinian children are being treated for malnutrition resulting from the blockade, according to the Global Nutrition Cluster, which includes the UN health and food agencies.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, says, “There’s a very, very small amount of trucks coming into Gaza – about maybe 80 to 100 trucks every single day – despite the fact that this “humanitarian pause” was for more aid to enter the Gaza Strip.
“Palestinians are struggling to get a bag of wheat flour. They’re struggling to find a food parcel. And this shows the fact that this pause and all the Israeli claims are not true because on the ground, Palestinians are starving, ” she added.
Khoudary noted that the entire population had been relyiant on UN agencies and other partners to distribute food.
“More Palestinians die every single day due to the forced starvation and malnutrition … Since the blockade started, those distribution points have not been operating, and now nothing’s back to normal. Palestinians are still struggling, and not only that, they’re being killed now for the fact that they’re approaching trucks, the GHF, because they want to eat,” she said.
An unusual alliance of Republican lawmakers and animal rights advocates, together with others, is creating storm clouds for a plan to protect one threatened owl by killing a more common one.
Last August, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved a plan to shoot roughly 450,000 barred owls in California, Oregon and Washington over three decades. The barred owls have been out-competing imperiled northern spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest, as well as California spotted owls, pushing them out of their territory.
Supporters of the approach — including conservation groups and prominent scientists — believe the cull is necessary to avert disastrous consequences for the spotted owls.
But the coalition argues the effort is too expensive, unworkable and inhumane. They’re urging the Trump administration to cancel it and lawmakers could pursue a reversal through special congressional action.
Last month, The Times has found, federal officials canceled three owl-related grants to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife totaling roughly $1.1 million, including one study that would remove barred owls from over 192,000 acres in Mendocino and Sonoma counties.
A female barred owl sits on a branch in the wooded hills, Dec. 13, 2017, outside Philomath, Ore.
(Don Ryan / Associated Press)
Two were nixed before federal funding was allocated and never got off the ground, Peter Tira, a spokesperson for the state wildlife agency, said. Another, a collaboration with University of Maryland biologists to better understand barred owl dispersal patterns in western forests, was nearly complete when terminated.
“Under President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, we are eliminating wasteful programs, cutting unnecessary costs and ensuring every dollar serves a clear purpose,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement when asked whether the grants had been terminated.
Another lever would be for Congress to overturn the owl-kill plan altogether using the Congressional Review Act.
The Government Accountability Office concluded in a late-May decision that the plan is subject to that act, sometimes used by new presidential administrations to reverse rules issued by federal agencies in the final months of prior administrations. Both chambers of Congress would need to pass a joint resolution to undo it.
In the months leading up to the GAO determination, bipartisan groups of U.S. House members wrote two letters to the secretary of the Interior laying out reasons why the owl-cull plan should not move forward. In total, 19 Republicans and 18 Democrats signed the letters, including seven lawmakers from California — David Valadao (R-Hanford), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles), Gil Cisneros (D-Covina), Josh Harder (D-Tracy), Linda T. Sánchez (D-Whittier), Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and Adam Gray (D-Merced).
Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-Texas), an ardent Trump supporter, signed the initial letter, and is “currently exploring other options to end this unnecessary plan, which prioritizes one species of owls over another, and wastes Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” communications director Emily Matthews said.
Kamlager-Dove said also said earlier this year that she objected to killing one species to preserve another. “And as an animal lover, I cannot support the widespread slaughter of these beautiful creatures,” she said.
If a resolution is introduced, passed and signed by President Trump, the plan will be over. The Fish and Wildlife Service would not be allowed to bring forward a similar rule, unless explicitly authorized by Congress.
Tom Wheeler, executive director of the Environmental Protection Information Center, which supports reducing the barred owl population, called the specter of the Congressional Review Act “very scary.”
It’s “an intrusion by Congress into areas where we’re relying on high agency expertise and scientific understanding,” he said. “It’s vibes versus science.”
A California spotted owl is shown inside the Tahoe National Forest in California on July 12, 2004.
(Debra Reid / Associated Press)
Wheeler said he believed it was more likely the program would be deprioritized amid budget cuts than eliminated through the Act.
“If we don’t move forward with barred owl removal, it will mean the extinction of the northern spotted owl, and it will likely mean the extinction of the California spotted owl as well,” he said.
Science is on its side, he said. A long-term field experiment showed that where barred owls were killed, the population of spotted owls stabilized.
For animal welfare activist Wayne Pacelle, who has galvanized opposition to the owl-cull plan, it’s a hopeful turn of events.
“Even if they had full funding for this, we don’t think it could possibly succeed,” said Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy. The land area where the barred owls need to be controlled is just too vast, he said. And barred owls from elsewhere, he said, will simply fly in and replace those that are felled.
As few as 3,000 northern spotted owls are left on federal lands. The brown raptors with white spots are listed as threatened under both the California and federal Endangered Species Act.
The two sides of the fierce debate agree that barred and spotted owls compete for nesting sites and food — such as woodrats and northern flying squirrels.
Barred owls and spotted owls are similar in appearance and can even interbreed. But barred owls are more aggressive and slightly larger, in addition to being more generalist when it comes to what they’ll eat and where they’ll live, allowing them to muscle out their fellow raptors.
Federal wildlife officials and some conservationists consider barred owls invasive.
As Europeans settled the Great Plains, they suppressed fire and planted trees, allowing barred owls to expand westward from their origin in eastern North America, biologists believe.
“I would call this an invasion, and I would call these non-native species,” Wheeler said.
On the flip side, some see the owl arrival along the West Coast as natural range expansion.
There are also conflicting views of the cost of exterminating so many owls.
Opponents estimate it will cost about $1.35 billion, extrapolated from a $4.5-million contract awarded to a Northern California Native American tribe last year to hunt about 1,500 barred owls over four years.
A 2024 research paper, however, concluded that barred owl removal in the range of the northern spotted owl would cost from $4.5 million to $12 million per year in its initial stages, and would likely decrease over time. At $12 million a year, the 30-year plan would run $360 million.
Pacelle’s Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy have also sued the Fish and Wildlife Service in U.S. District Court in Washington state over the plan. Friends of Animals, another animal welfare group, filed suit in Oregon.
Wheeler’s Environmental Protection Information Center has intervened in the suits in defense of the plan, and those cases continue to advance.
Kenyan President William Ruto said anyone looting or vandalising businesses should be shot in their legs and dealt with by the courts afterwards. These were his first remarks after Monday’s anti-government protests in which at least 31 people were killed.
enya’s Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen has been caught on video appearing to authorise police to shoot protesters. Murkomen made the comments after at least 16 people were killed during protests over police brutality on Wednesday.
Israeli soldiers have deliberately shot at unarmed Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza after being “ordered” to do so by their commanders, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports.
Israel ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over the allegations by some soldiers that it revealed on Friday, Haaretz said.
At least 549 Palestinians have been killed and 4,066 injured while waiting for food aid distributed at sites run by the Israeli-and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the Gaza Government Media Office said on Thursday. The GHF has been a source of widespread criticism since its establishment in May.
According to the Haaretz report, which quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers, troops were told to fire at the crowds of Palestinians and use unnecessary lethal force against people who appeared to pose no threat.
“We fired machineguns from tanks and threw grenades,” one soldier told Haaretz. “There was one incident where a group of civilians was hit while advancing under the cover of fog.”
In another instance, a soldier said that where they were stationed in Gaza, between “one and five people were killed every day”.
“It’s a killing field,” that soldier said.
Method of ‘control’
According to Haaretz, the Military Advocate General has told the army’s General Staff’s Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism, which reviews incidents involving potential violations of the laws of war, to investigate suspected war crimes at these aid sites.
One of the authors of the report, Nir Hasson, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli directive to fire on civilians is part of a method to “control” the aid seekers.
“It’s actually a practice of … controlling the crowd by fire, like if you wanted the crowd to run off [from] a place, you shoot them at them, even though you know they are unarmed … You use fire to move people from one point to another,” he said from West Jerusalem.
While the journalist and his colleagues do not know the name of the commander who might have issued such a directive, Hasson said that he would likely hold a position high up in the army.
Despite this practice at these sites, most Israelis and the army’s troops still believe the war on Gaza is just, even while some cracks are emerging in this understanding, the journalist said.
“[There are] more and more people who are asking themselves if this war is necessary, but also what is the humanitarian price the Gazan population is [paying] for this war,” he said.
‘A death trap’
Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said the Haaretz report is “shocking”.
“People in Gaza have said these distribution centres have now become a death trap for Palestinians,” Salhut said.
“Aid groups have said that Palestinians are left with no choice – to either starve to death, or die seeking the very little food that is offered in the distribution centres run by the GHF,” she added.
The GHF operates four food distribution sites in Gaza – one in the centre and three in south.
Since an Israeli blockade was lifted on the entry of humanitarian goods at the end of May, attacks on aid seekers in Gaza have increased.
On Friday, medics said six people were killed by gunfire as they tried to get food in southern Gaza.
But the GHF has come under intense condemnation by aid groups, including the United Nations, for its “weaponisation” of vital items.
On Friday, Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials, MSF, called the GHF’s aid distribution sites “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid”.
Since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, at least 56,331 people have been killed, with 132,632 wounded in Israeli attacks, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported.
Security forces and hundreds of men armed with whips and clubs clashed with protesters in Kenya, with a police officer’s shooting of an unarmed bystander triggering widespread anger.
Tensions were already high in the East African country as it marked a year since massive Gen Z-led protests over the state of the economy, and the latest demonstrations were sparked by the death of a man in police custody earlier this month.
In Nairobi’s business district, the epicentre of last year’s demonstrations, small groups of protesters gathered on Tuesday, initially peacefully, to call for an end to police brutality.
But they were quickly attacked by hundreds of men on motorbikes, known in Kenya as “goons”, armed with makeshift weapons.
As shop owners hastily closed their businesses, police actively protected the armed men and fired tear gas at protesters, who responded by throwing stones and burning at least two of their motorbikes.
There was outrage after videos circulated of a police officer shooting a bystander at point-blank range in the head.
The man, who had been selling face masks, was still alive despite the severe injury.
“We handed him over to Kenyatta National Hospital, and he was taken to the ICU. He was very critical. He was still breathing,” said Vincent Ochieng, a disaster recovery officer for the Kenya Red Cross.
While the police did not directly deny any cooperation with the armed “goons”, it said in a statement it “does not condone such unlawful groupings”.
It also said the officer who shot the man in the head “using an anti-riot shotgun” had been arrested.
The government had been eager to avoid unrest this year, with its latest finance bill avoiding the tax rises that led to weeks of protests in June and July 2024.
Protesters are demanding the resignation of a senior officer they blame for the death.
Last year’s protests peaked when thousands stormed Parliament on 25 June, where MPs were debating the unpopular finance bill.
Rights groups say at least 60 people were killed during the protests in June and July 2024, and dozens more were illegally detained by security forces in the aftermath.
Israeli soldiers have killed dozens of Palestinians and wounded hundreds as they sought aid in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.
The soldiers fired at the crowds on Tuesday morning as they gathered along the main eastern road in the southern city of Khan Younis. It was the latest in a string of killings since the Israel- and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) launched operations to distribute food in the enclave three weeks ago.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that at least 51 civilians were killed. However, the death toll is expected to rise as many of the injured are in a critical condition, according to medics at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties were being treated.
Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal added that more than 200 people were injured although reports concerning the number of casualties varied.
“Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded,” the spokesman said, noting that the crowd had assembled in the hope of receiving flour.
Israel did not immediately comment on the incident.
‘Shredded to pieces’
Survivors described horrific scenes.
“Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed, and no one could help or save lives,” survivor Saeed Abu Liba, 38, told Al Jazeera.
Yousef Nofal, who called the event a “massacre”, said he saw many people lying motionless and bleeding on the ground. The soldiers continued to fire on people as they fled, he said.
“I survived by a miracle,” said Mohammed Abu Qeshfa, who mentioned both heavy gunfire and tank shelling.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balal in central Gaza, quoted medical sources at Nasser Hospital as saying many victims were “unidentifiable” because they had been “shredded to pieces” in the attack.
Palestinians injured by Israeli fire receive care at Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip on June 17, 2025 [AFP]
The incident on Tuesday is the latest in a string of killings around GHF food distribution centres.
The private organisation began distributing aid at the end of May after Israel partially lifted an almost three-month blockade of food and other essential items that has put Gaza’s 2.3 million people at risk of famine.
The United Nations and other major humanitarian groups have refused to work with the GHF, saying it cannot meet the level of need in Gaza and it breaks humanitarian principles by giving Israel control over aid access.
After previous shootings, which have been a near-daily occurrence since the aid centres opened, the military has said its soldiers had fired warning shots at what it called suspects approaching their positions although it did not say whether those shots struck anyone.
The death toll of more than 50 people made Tuesday the deadliest day around the GHF sites so far. Previously, that record was set on Monday, when 38 people were killed, mostly in the Rafah area south of Khan Younis.
Reports indicated more than 300 people have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded while trying to collect aid from the GHF.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has hit out at Israel over the killings of Palestinians near the aid delivery points.
“I urge immediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks on desperate civilians to reach food distribution centres,” he said on Monday.
THIS is the moment a TV journalist was shot live on air as she reported on the violent immigration riots in Los Angeles.
Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi was covering the protests for Nine News when she was blasted at close range by a rubber bullet, collapsing in agony mid-broadcast.
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Lauren Tomasi was reporting live from the streets of LA amid the violent protests in the city
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The Australian reporter was shot with a rubber bullet by riot police live on airCredit: X
“The LAPD are moving in on horseback and firing rubber bullets at protesters,” Tomasi told viewers, as loud bangs echoed across Downtown LA.
Suddenly, a police officer swung his weapon towards her, and a cloud of smoke erupted near the correspondent. Caught on camera, Tomasi doubled over in pain, live on air.
“You just f***ing shot a reporter!” a furious protester screamed at police, as others rushed to help the injured Aussie.
Despite the shocking moment, Tomasi managed to yell back, “I’m good, I’m good.”
More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.
