shooting

Joint attacks by the United States and Israel have severely reduced Iran’s capacity to fire missiles and drones, experts say, but Iran retains enough capabilities to inflict significant damage.

“Iran’s ballistic missile capacity is functionally destroyed. Their navy assessed combat ineffective. Complete and total aerial dominance over Iran,” the White House said on Saturday. “Operation Epic Fury is yielding massive results,” it said in reference to the war launched by Israel and the US on February 28.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump said US forces had decimated Iran’s drone manufacturing capacity.

Still, on Monday afternoon, Qatar announced it had intercepted the latest in a series of missiles fired from Iran towards the country. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also issued alerts. A missile landed on a car in Abu Dhabi, killing a person.

So are Iran’s missile capabilities severely reduced? And how is it still firing projectiles at its neighbours and Israel?

Is Iran firing fewer missiles now?

Indeed, the number of retaliatory missiles and drones that Iran has fired towards Gulf countries, Israel and other nations in the region has seen a steep decline since the start of the war.

In the first 24 hours of the conflict, Iran had fired 167 missiles (ballistic and cruise) and 541 drones at the United Arab Emirates, for instance. By contrast, on day 15 of the conflict, it had shot four missiles and six drones, according to a tally compiled by Al Jazeera based on the emirate’s Defence Ministry statements.

The barrage against Israel has also decreased, from nearly 100 projectiles over the first two days to a single-digit number in the past few days, according to Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.

Last week, the Pentagon said missile launches were down 90 percent from the first day of fighting and drone attacks were down by 86 percent.

How big is Iran’s missile arsenal – and how much has it been hit?

Iran has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the region, the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed in 2022. While there are no official accounts on how many missiles it has, Israeli intelligence reports suggest it counted around 3,000 missiles, a figure that dropped to 2,500 following the 12-day war last June.

Key to the US-Israel strategy has been hunting down Iran’s launchers. Each missile launch generates a signature, such as a large explosion, that can be picked up by a satellite and radar systems.

According to a senior Israeli military official cited by the Institute for the Study of the War, Israel has put up to 290 launchers out of service, out of an estimated 410 to 440 launchers.

But Iran is a vast country, and without boots on the ground, it will be hard to completely eliminate Iran’s capacity to shoot despite the US and Israel having nearly full control of the country’s airspace, said David Des Roches, an associate professor at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.

“It is not obvious to identify launchers,” Des Roches told Al Jazeera. “What we see are missiles that were put in hidden places or places not associated with the military before the war, when there was less observation”.

According to Des Roches, the slowdown in launches is due to Iranian forces having lost the capacity to launch volleys. As a result, Iran has been firing one or two missiles at a time towards civilian and commercial infrastructure, especially in Gulf countries, instead of aiming volleys at military targets. Iran insists that it is targeting only US interests in the region.

“Militarily speaking [Iran’s action] is not significant – this is what is called harassment fire to exhaust alert systems in nearby countries and scare people off,” Des Roches said.

What’s Iran’s strategy?

According to Hamidreza Azizi, an expert on Iran and visiting fellow with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWB), Tehran’s central calculation is that the Gulf and Israel may run out of their defensive capabilities before Iran runs out of missiles.

“There might be some interest in making this a war of attrition,” he said, pointing at the lower, yet constant, number of weapons launched from Iran each day.

“Although the US and Israel have been successful in taking out some of the launchers and major missile bases, the Iranians have decentralised the missile bases and missile command and they have been increasingly relying on mobile launchers which makes it more difficult for the other side to detect and target,” Azizi said. “This is a race about time.”

And in that race, Iran believes it has a chance, say experts.

“It does not matter how many you launch as long as you maintain a credible threat,” Muhanad Seloom, an assistant professor in critical security studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera. “It takes one successful drone to shatter a sense of security.”

Iran has long experience in producing cheap yet effective drones. The Shahed 136 can be made quickly and in large numbers in relatively simple factories, and several of them can be fired at once, overwhelming defences. It also doesn’t need complex launchers that can be targeted in air strikes. With a speed of just 185km/h (115mph), Shaheds can be shot down by helicopters. Still, many have managed to get through US and Gulf air defence systems.

Just on Monday, a fire broke out near the UAE’s Dubai International Airport in a drone-related incident that temporarily disrupted flights; another drone attack caused a fire at the Fujairah industrial area, also in the UAE; air sirens sounded in central Israel due to a missile fired from Iran; and in the Strait of Hormuz – a key waterway through which 20 percent of global energy supplies are shipped – hundreds of vessels remain paralysed over fear of being struck despite few attacks on ships. Since the start of the war, a maritime tracker has reported 20 incidents related to vessels.

This, say experts, is part of Iran’s defensive doctrine of asymmetric warfare against militarily superior powers, such as the US and Israel. The weaker party, Iran in this case, turns to unconventional methods of warfare, wearing down the enemy by targeting key infrastructure to inflict economic pain.

Tehran has already pushed oil prices to higher than $100 a barrel and sent global markets into panic mode. The second-biggest exporter of natural gas, Qatar, continues to keep shut its production; Bahrain’s state oil company has declared force majeure on its shipments, and oil production from Iraq’s main southern ⁠oilfields has plunged 70 percent.

If Iran can keep raising global oil prices, “it will inflict equal or more damage to the US than American bombs in Iran,” said Vali Nasr, a professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University.

In late November, Gabriela Jaquez scored 29 points against Tennessee. It wasn’t her career high; that came when she tallied 30 points two years prior.

But that game, when Tennessee had no answers for a player who was then the UCLA women’s basketball team’s fifth offensive option, felt like Jaquez’s coming-out party after years as a quieter cog in the Bruins’ rotation. It changed the way teams had to defend her. Previously known more for attacking the rim than for shooting from outside, Jaquez showcased a different dimension.

Against the Volunteers, Jaquez made five three-pointers, her most ever.

Suddenly, one of the best teams in the nation had one of the best breakout stars. Entering the NCAA tournament, the 31-1 Big Ten champion Bruins are relying on Jaquez as one of their super seniors to guide them back to the Final Four.

UCLA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker hugs teammate Gabriela Jaquez, who led the Bruins in scoring during a win over Tennessee on Nov. 30 at Pauley Pavilion.

(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)

“I do think she’s always been that player,” said senior guard Kiki Rice, who has played four seasons with Jaquez. “But I do think she’s had a lot more opportunity to demonstrate that, and you saw that in the beginning of the year. She just started off such a hot shooter, and the way that she’s developed every single year, gotten better and just found a way to impact the team.”

Though she hasn’t reached that same scoring peak again, Jaquez has quietly buoyed UCLA’s dominant run this season as the Bruins have emerged as one of the favorites to win a national title. She ranks second on UCLA (among players with at least 30 attempts) in field-goal percentage at 54.3%, second in three-point shooting at 41.1% and third in scoring.

Jaquez has gotten attention for being part of a family legacy at UCLA and spending an offseason with the Bruins’ softball team. But in the background, even when she hasn’t been the leader for the UCLA women’s basketball team, Jaquez has honed herself into one of just 25 Power Four conference players shooting better than 40% from deep this season.

Jaquez, who tallied her 1,000th career point early this season, is having a career-best season with 13.6 points per game, has added double-digits in 25 of her 31 games this season.

“There’s so much depth to her,” said guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, who often dances alongside Jaquez in videos posted on social media and Leger-Walker’s YouTube video series. “Getting to understand her off the court, I think has really helped our connection on the court, and kind of how her personality is so outgoing. She likes to bring people along. You can see that on the court.”

Jaquez came in as a 5-foot-11 freshman who played primarily as an undersized forward and would crash the net and collect rebounds.

The shooting, though, has been the biggest change this season.

“I think of her as someone who, especially early on, like she doesn’t need to have the ball on hand, she doesn’t need to have plays run for her to impact the game,” Rice said. “But then she’s been shooting so well too.”

Early in the season, teams doubled Lauren Betts, who leads the team with 16.4 points per game as a center, which opened Jaquez to shoot from deep, establishing herself as someone who needed to be keyed on.

UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez shoots the ball under pressure from Oregon’s Katie Fiso on Dec. 7 at Pauley Pavilion.

(Luke Hales / Getty Images)

Her 107 three-point attempts are a career-high this season, with her shot selection jumping to 32.4% coming from behind the arc. That’s come with a career-high 2.2 assists per game and an 85.2 defensive rating, ranked in the top 20% of the nation.

“She can shoot the ball, she can finish, she defends,” shooting guard Gianna Kneepkens said. “I love playing with Gabs. Sometimes I get caught watching her because she’s just so amazing.”

Now, Jaquez projects as a first-round WNBA pick, in large part because of her versatility on offense. She is listed as a guard on the Bruins’ roster, but often starts at forward, where she can stretch the floor. Her 5.4 rebounds per game are third on the team, thanks in large part because of her ability to fill positions one through five.

During UCLA’s Big Ten semifinal win over Ohio State, Jaquez shot four for 12 but Bruins coach Cori Close noted Jaquez’s importance when her shooting isn’t on target.

“What I liked about that the most is that she struggled a little bit in the middle of the second half,” Close said. “It just showed a lot of her mental toughness that, when we needed her the most, she was going to be there for us on the defensive end and on the rebounding end.”

While all five starters have been mentioned as possible WNBA first-rounders, Jaquez has perhaps made the biggest leap, two WNBA scouts not authorized to publicly discuss prospects said.

UCLA senior Gabriela Jaquez celebrates with the Big Ten tournament trophy after the Bruins beat Iowa in the finals on March 8 in Indianapolis.

(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

When Rice and Leger-Walker are on the bench, Jaquez has taken on point guard duties.

“She does all those little hustle plays,” Leger-Walker said. “She will score if you need her to, she’ll cut, she’ll rebound, like, she’s so versatile. You know what you’re getting from her, and she’s kind of that person who’s the engine of our team.”

Jaquez hasn’t thought much about what happens after this season. This year’s mantra of joy has resonated after last year’s crushing Final Four loss to Connecticut.

“It’s been fuel,” Jaquez said. “That started [last] spring and into the offseason, knowing exactly what to work on, how to prepare…. But I just love the team aspect of basketball, I love this group of girls specifically and I think having so much fun out there has [been the most important thing] and winning has made it even better.”

The night Jaquez hit five three-pointers against Tennessee may have felt like her arrival. But for the teammates who have watched her develop for four years, it looked less like a breakthrough and more like the rest of the country finally catching up.

The rest of the country may have only noticed this season. But inside UCLA’s locker room, Jaquez has been that player all along.

“Gabs is an extremely confident person, so I feel like if you’d asked her this freshman year, she would have believed that she’d become just the incredible player that she is,” Rice said. “Just the opportunity, her experience at this level these past few years has really helped her develop into what she is.”

DALLAS — A federal jury Friday convicted nine people — eight on terrorism charges — over a shooting at a Texas immigration facility that federal prosecutors tied to antifa, the decentralized far-left movement that has become a target of the Trump administration.

One person was also found guilty of attempted murder after prosecutors say he opened fire last summer outside the Prairieland Detention Center outside Fort Worth, wounding a police officer. The Justice Department called the violence an attack plotted by antifa operatives, but attorneys for the accused denied that characterization, saying there were no antifa associations and that there was merely a demonstration with fireworks before gunshots broke out.

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of President Trump, presided over the nearly three-week trial in Fort Worth. It was closely followed by legal experts and critics who called the proceedings a test of the lengths the government can go to punish protesters.

FBI Director Kash Patel had said the case was the first time charges of providing material support to terrorists had targeted people accused of being antifa members.

“Today’s verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally halts their violence on America’s streets,” U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said in a statement.

Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not an organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

Protesters denied having antifa ties

Defense attorneys told jurors that there was no plan for violence on July 4 outside the facility in Alvarado.

Of the nine defendants on trial, eight faced the charge of providing material support to terrorists, among other charges. The ninth defendant, Daniel Sanchez Estrada, was charged with corruptly concealing a document and conspiracy to conceal documents. He was found guilty of both.

Sanchez Estrada’s attorney, Christopher Weinbel, said he can’t believe jurors “came to this conclusion.” Weinbel said his client had deployed as a member of the U.S. Army several times and he’d hoped what he sacrificed for the country “meant something.”

“But I feel like it turned its back on justice with this. … The U.S. lost today with this verdict,” Weinbel said.

Prosecutor Shawn Smith told jurors during closing arguments that the group’s actions — including bringing firearms and first aid kits and wearing body armor — were all signs of nefarious intent. He said they practiced “antifa tactics” and were “obsessed with operational security.”

Attorneys for the defendants have said that there was no planned ambush and that protesters who brought firearms did so for their own protection — in a state with very lenient gun laws.

A test of 1st Amendment rights

The terrorism charges followed Trump’s order last fall to designate antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. Those charges did not require a tie to any organization, and there is no domestic equivalent to the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations. That’s in part because organizations operating within the United States are protected by broad 1st Amendment rights.

Critics of the Justice Department’s case have said the outcome could have wide-reaching effects on protests.

“That opposition is something that the government wants to squash, so a case like this helps the government kind of see how far they can go in criminalizing constitutionally protected protests and also helps them kind of intimidate, increase the fear, hoping that folks in other cities then will think twice over protesting,” said Suzanne Adely, interim president of the National Lawyers Guild, a progressive legal group.

Trial focused on shots fired

Attorneys for the defendants have said most protesters began leaving when two guards from the center came outside. That was before any shots were fired.

Prosecutors said Benjamin Song, a former Marine Corps reservist, yelled, “Get to the rifles,” and opened fire, striking one police officer who had just pulled up to the center.

Though it was Song who opened fire, prosecutors charged several other protesters with attempted murder of an officer and discharging a firearm, but they were found not guilty. The prosecution had argued that from the group’s planning, it was foreseeable to those others that a shooting could happen.

The officer who was shot, Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross, testified that when responding to the scene he saw a person clad in all-black with their face covered and carrying a rifle. He told jurors he was shot with a round that went into his shoulder and out of his neck.

Song’s attorney, Phillip Hayes, told jurors during closing arguments that there wasn’t a call to arms before Gross arrived on the scene and “aggressively” pulled out his firearm. Hayes suggested that Song’s shots were “suppressive fire” and that a ricochet bullet hit the officer.

Leading up to the trial, several people pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists after being accused of supporting antifa. They face up to 15 years in prison at sentencing.

Some of them testified for the prosecution, including Seth Sikes, who said he went to the detention center because he wanted to bring some joy to those held inside.

“I felt like I was doing the right thing,” he said.

Stengle writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

A fatal shooting near TPC Sawgrass meant spectators were delayed entering the course before day three of the Players Championship.

St Johns County Sheriff’s Office said two people were shot and killed at 22:30 local time on Friday, less than a mile from the course in Florida.

The suspect, who has been named as Christian Barrios, fled on to the course before being arrested in Nassau County at about 08:00 on Saturday after a car chase, according to police.

Sheriff Robert Hardwick said Barrios “made contact” with employees at TPC Sawgrass during his attempted escape.

“He picked up – we believe it was a radio that belonged to the PGA Tour, not one of our radios and we know he dropped it after that. Our canines used it as a scent when they came in there,” Hardwick said.

Gates at Sawgrass were due to open for fans at 07:30 but entry was delayed until 09:00, with the PGA citing “operational considerations” as the reason for their decision.

Third-round play at the PGA Tour’s flagship event began on time.

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg led the tournament after two rounds having shot a nine-under-par 63 on Friday.

Benvenuti a The Times Lakers newsletter, where, after a month in Italy, we are so back.

The Lakers are largely in the same situation as when I left. They’re still safely in the playoff race with a 39-25 record, but flirting with the play-in. LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are still searching for their three-man chemistry. Deandre Ayton hasn’t dyed his hair again.

But the tl;dr version of February does have one major change for the Lakers.

Hot hand Luke

Lakers guard Luke Kennard reacts after making a three-pointer against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 7.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

JJ Redick always knew how good of a shooter Luke Kennard was. This former Duke sharpshooter wouldn’t expect anything less from another Blue Devils star. But Kennard’s influence since joining the Lakers in a February trade has gone beyond his league-leading three-point percentage.

The Lakers are 5-1 in the past six games with Kennard shooting a blazing 56.7% from three-point range. He jump-starts the Lakers’ offense with his constant motion and elite floor spacing, making the transition from midseason acquisition to integral bench piece look effortless.

“It all comes down to, like, the point-five decision making,” Redick said. “… That’s where we try to focus a lot of the development [on] being able to recognize when there has been an advantage created, and then playing off that and not giving up the advantage. And we have some guys that have to grow in that area.

“Luke,” Redick added, “that’s what he does.”

The Lakers were shooting 34.9% from three before the trade, 21st in the league. Since acquiring Kennard, the Lakers are shooting 39.2% from three-point range, ranking second in the NBA during that stretch.

Kennard, shooting 50% from the three-point line, is on track to become just the sixth NBA player to shoot 50% or better from three over an entire season. There are some players in the NBA who couldn’t hit 50 out of 100 three-pointers in an empty gym, Redick said.

Redick has known Kennard for more than a decade. Not only was he comfortable with the coaching staff, Kennard also has history with former Memphis teammates Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart and being in L.A., playing with the Clippers from 2020 to 2023. Kennard said he “lit up inside,” when he heard he would be heading to the Lakers, who sent Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick to Atlanta in the deal.

The organization is “the biggest stage you can play on in basketball,” Kennard said. And he gets to share it with generational talents.

Playing with Doncic and James has created some of the most open three-point shots Kennard has had in his career, he said. When he gets one wide-open three early, that only helps his rhythm. Then teams start to help too much on his shooting and that opens the paint. It’s the type of chain reaction Kennard watched with envy from the opposite sideline when Doncic, then with Dallas, was slicing up the Clippers in the playoffs.

“It’s definitely something you think about like, ‘Man, I wish that was me there getting those open looks,’” Kennard said. “But now it’s a reality.”

Kennard marvels at his new reality sometimes. When Doncic was in his peak, “Luka Magic” form Friday, banking line-drive step-back threes off the backboard in the Lakers’ rout over the Indiana Pacers, Kennard said he caught himself just gawking at his teammate a few times.

But Doncic, who scored 44 points in the win, was quick to credit the team’s bench contributions. Kennard had 15 points on three-of-five three-point shooting, and Doncic said he has encouraged Kennard to shoot more.

A smile broke across Kennard’s face when he was told of the praise.

“Especially coming from a guy like that,” Kennard said, “one of the best scorers ever to play the game, it just builds confidence in you as a player to play off of him.”

Catching Kareem

Lakers star LeBron James shoots over Denver’s Zeke Nnaji to set the all-time NBA record for most successful field goals on Thursday.

(Chris Swann / Clarkson Creative / Getty Images)

He used it to break the NBA’s most iconic record. It seemed fitting that James used a midrange fadeaway shot to claim another record from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Already the leader in NBA seasons played, minutes played and points scored, James added another record to his resume last week by passing Abdul-Jabbar for most made field goals in NBA history. His record-breaking 15,838th made shot came against Denver on Thursday, and, with a 180-degree pirouette added, looked similar to the shot he used to claim the scoring record from Abdul-Jabbar in 2023.

“At the end of the day, just to be able to link my name to being mentioned with some of the greatest to ever play this game has always been humbling and a pretty cool thing,” James said after the Lakers lost. “I grew up watching, reading [about], idolizing a lot of the greats and if I ever was able to be part of the NBA, I wanted to put myself in position that I can be named with some of the greats by doing something right.”

The record is a true testament to James’ staying power. He established the regular-season scoring record in the same 20 seasons as Abdul-Jabbar played, but the field-goal record would have been well out of reach had James not continued into his historic 23rd season. When comparing their NBA careers, Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 10.15 made field goals per game across his career to James’ 9.86, made more shots than James in 16 of 20 seasons. Abdul-Jabbar had two 1,000 field goal seasons while James’ highest total was 875 in his third year. Michael Jordan, in 1989-90, was the last NBA player with more than 1,000 made field goals in a season (1,034).

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

James’ longevity and productivity at the twilight of his career is so unmatched that even the idea that the James era could end soon barely even registers for some competitors.

“I think he can play forever,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said when asked if he thinks about how any game could be the last he coaches against James. “That’s just my personal opinion. I know he won’t, but the shape that he is in and how he takes care of his body is just amazing.”

James, who is ineligible for postseason awards for the first time in his career because he missed more than 17 games, is questionable for Tuesday’s game with a right hip contusion and left foot arthritis. He has missed the last two games with a left elbow contusion he sustained in the final minutes against Denver. He did not practice Monday.

The next personal milestone for James may be career games played, where he trails Robert Parish’s 1,611 by five.

On tap

Records and stats current before Monday’s games.

Tuesday vs. Timberwolves (40-24), 8 p.m.

With two October wins that feel like a lifetime ago, the Lakers already own the head-to-head season tiebreaker against the Timberwolves, meaning that a win Tuesday could vault the Lakers to third place in the West.

Thursday vs. Bulls (26-38), 7:30 p.m.

This is the only should-win game of the week against a team well outside of the playoff race. The Bulls added Collin Sexton at the trade deadline, but the former Charlotte guard left Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings with a leg injury.

Saturday vs. Nuggets (39-26), 5:30 p.m.

This game will decide the season series tiebreaker between the Lakers and Nuggets, who split their first two games.

Monday at Rockets (39-24), 6:30 p.m. PDT

The Lakers and Rockets have consecutive games in Houston on Monday and Wednesday. The Rockets are not the same team that dominated the Lakers on Christmas Day, though. Steven Adams has been out since Jan. 20 with a season-ending ankle injury, and a team that was on pace to be the best rebounding squad in a generation is seventh over the last 15 games with a 51.5% rebounding rate.

Favorite thing I ate this week

Gnocchi with spider crab and tomato sauce and black spaghetti with tuna tartare in Venice, Italy.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

I’ve been back from Italy for a week, but I didn’t share any meals from my post-Olympic vacation. We definitely saved the best for last in Italy.

Possibly my favorite of my entire month was in Venice at Oniga, a cozy restaurant we found away from the otherwise crowded narrow streets. Staying true to Venetian seafood tradition, we began with an appetizer of mussels and clams in a tomato sauce that had me wiping the bowl with our fresh baked bread. Our mains (pictured) were fresh gnocchi with local spider crab and tomato sauce and black spaghetti with tuna tartare and garlic oil. For dessert, we had salted caramel panna cotta and pistachio tiramisu. Squisito!

In case you missed it

Lakers prove against Knicks they can achieve gritty defensive wins

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves carry LeBron-less Lakers to win over Knicks

Luka Doncic joins elite Lakers company with 44-point effort in win over Pacers

Luka Doncic is one technical foul away from an automatic suspension

LeBron James breaks another Kareem Abdul-Jabbar record, but hurts his elbow in loss

Swanson: The Lakers are the wrong kind of interesting amid relentless fan scrutiny

Lakers hope comeback win over Pelicans gives the team a timely boost

All five starters score in double figures as Lakers defeat the Pelicans

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com, and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

The three F-15Es shot down over Kuwait yesterday met their demise at the hand of a Kuwaiti Air Force F/A-18 Hornet, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal’s Lara Seligman. While it was rumored to have been a ground-based air defense system that took the aircraft out, it does make sense that the friendly fire incident was the result of a series of air-to-air engagements, based on the damage to one of the aircraft. That being said, we cannot independently confirm the report at this time.

Seligman’s story is based on three sources “familiar with initial reports of the incident.” Just one Hornet was supposedly involved, launching three missiles and taking down the three Strike Eagles. Thankfully, the crews all survived. The report goes on to state that the ‘blue-on-blue’ incident occurred as multiple Iranian drones were penetrating Kuwaiti airspace. One of these impacted a base that resulted in the death of six Americans.

As we have recently explored in detail, mistaking friendly tactical aircraft for real threats in a very complex and quickly morphing battlespace isn’t unprecedented, as it has happened multiple times before, including in relation to Kuwait on two past occasions. The air-to-air aspect of the story is certainly intriguing and would help explain how the crews survived the shoot-downs. We saw one F-15E spin into the ground with its vertical tails missing and its engines on fire. While this is catastrophic damage, it is not typically what you would see in most engagements from heavier surface-to-air missiles, although every engagement is different, so we can’t rule it out. But three shoot-downs and everyone made it out alive sounds like tail-aspect shots made by smaller yield weapons.

Also, if the Super Hornet employed passive heat seeking missiles (AIM-9 Sidewinder), the F-15E pilots would not have known they were being engaged until the weapon detonated. There are caveats to this, including if the Hornet had used its radar to assist in the Sidewinder lock. But Kuwaiti Hornets were clearly in the airspace at the time defending against drones, so even being painted by their radar may not have indicated how serious the situation was about to become.

We will continue to report as the investigation into this bizarre friendly fire event unfolds.

Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived at a Senate oversight hearing Tuesday ready to spar with Democrats in her first Capitol Hill appearance since federal agents fatally shot U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

But some of the sharpest comments from the Judiciary Committee came from fellow Republicans, who questioned her leadership, criticized her spending practices and called on her to admit that she was wrong to call Pretti and Good “domestic terrorists.”

“What we’ve seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms. Noem, a disaster,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said. “The fact is you can’t even admit to a mistake. It looks like an investigation is going to prove that Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti probably should not have been shot in the face and in the back.”

Tillis hardly questioned Noem on specifics, choosing instead to deliver a blistering, high-volume “performance evaluation,” of the Homeland Security secretary. He accused Noem and Trump advisor Stephen Miller of prioritizing deportation quotas instead of investigating the “vicious” ICE agents involved in the Minnesota shootings.

“We’re not going after the people who did that damage at the expense of running numbers that Stephen Miller wants out of the White House,” he said. “We just want numbers. We want 1,000 a day, 6,000 a day, 9,000 a day. Because numbers matter, right? No, they don’t matter. Quality matters.”

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) also brought up Pretti and Good: “Did you determine whether there was any basis for the sensational claim, a claim that proved to be utterly false, that these two victims were engaged in domestic terrorism?” he asked.

Noem used the hearing to defend a series of decisions now under bipartisan scrutiny. She said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers face “serious and escalating threats” due to what she called “deliberate mischaracterizations” of their work.

She called the Minneapolis deaths “tragic situations,” and said the phrase “domestic terrorists” was based on early information she received from the agents from the city. “It was a chaotic scene,” Noem said. She did not apologize for using the phrase or say it was inaccurate.

Noem stood behind President Trump’s mass deportation agenda and said ICE is focusing on the “worst of the worst.” Recent reporting by the Cato Institute found that just 5% of ICE detainees have been convicted of violent offenses, and three-fourths have no criminal convictions at all.

The hearing came amid a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, triggered last month when Senate Democrats blocked funding in a standoff over immigration enforcement practices. As tensions mount in Iran, lawmakers are increasingly concerned about the security risks of leaving the department unfunded.

In her opening statement, Noem decried the shutdown as “reckless” and “unnecessary,” and accused Democrats of putting U.S. security posture at risk.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) pointedly asked about a $200-million ad campaign promoting immigration enforcement — a campaign that features Noem and was awarded to a firm led by a friend. Such spending “troubles me,” he said, adding, “I just can’t agree with that, Madam Secretary. My research shows you did not bid this out.”

Noem maintained that Trump directed the messaging strategy and argued it has been “extremely effective” in deterring illegal immigration. She said she “didn’t have anything to do with picking those contractors.”

The back-and-forth became increasingly heated as Kennedy also peppered Noem for characterizing Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists.

“What got my attention was that you blamed those statements on Mr. Stephen Miller,” Kennedy said, referencing an Axios report quoting Noem.

She dodged the line of questioning, saying the sources Axios used in the report were “anonymous,” and, by her logic, not credible.

“This wasn’t anonymous. It was you,” Kennedy said. “They’re quoting you on the record saying it was Stephen.”

On numerous occasions throughout the hearing, the secretary was asked about her purchase of two luxury Gulfstream G700 jets at a combined cost of $200 million in taxpayer funds.

Reportedly designed by New York designer Peter Marino, the planes include private bedroom suites with queen-size beds, bathrooms with stand-up showers and electric bidets, and a lounge with a wet bar and wine chiller, according to images obtained by NBC.

Noem argued the purchases were authorized by Congress for executive travel and deportation operations.

In another testy exchange, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons pressed Noem over recent statements that she planned to station ICE officers at polling locations in November, to “make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders.” She said her department had no such plan in place but fell short of committing to ruling it out.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) endorsed investigations into ICE shootings, though his statements were largely designed to cast Noem in a favorable light.

“I’d like to make sure if there was a bad shooting as documented as such, and people pay a price. But I will not apologize to anybody in this room to try to clean up the mess that Biden started, and you empowered,” he said.

Democrats, meanwhile, accused Noem of presiding over “thuggish” and “illegal” enforcement tactics and demanded independent investigations into several incidents throughout the U.S.

Accusing Noem of routinely making false statements about ICE shooting victims while impeding state, local, and independent investigations, Schiff cited an episode in which immigration agents shot U.S. citizen and Chicago resident Marimar Martinez. In November, a federal judge raised concerns that agents mishandled or destroyed key physical evidence in the case.

“Our internal investigations are following the same policies as they always have,” Noem responded.

“Will you take some responsibility?” Schiff said. “How is the public supposed to believe anything your agency says or finds?”

Over 180 lawmakers have co-sponsored articles of impeachment against Noem. Tillis and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski last month called for Noem to resign or face impeachment by Congress.

On Tuesday, Tillis said her responses to the committee amounted to stonewalling. “That’s a failure of leadership, and that is why I’ve called for your resignation,” he said.

The search for sustained consistency remained a focus for the Lakers on Sunday against a Sacramento Kings team with the NBA’s worst record.

And it helped that the Lakers were completely healthy against the Kings, something that has eluded them nearly all season.

Behind strong efforts from Luka Doncic and LeBron James, the Lakers defeated the struggling Kings 128-104 at Crypto.com Arena in their second straight blowout win.

Doncic, one of five Lakers to score in double figures, scored 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting. He made four three-pointers and had nine assists and five rebounds.

James, who played after initially being listed as questionable because of arthritis in his left foot, scored 24 points in 27 minutes on eight-for-15 shooting. He made a trio of threes and had five assists.

Deandre Ayton and Austin Reaves both had 12 points and Luke Kennard had 11 points off the bench. Rui Hachimura played 22 minutes off the bench and had eight points and two rebounds after missing the previous two games because of illness.

Nique Clifford led the Kings (14-48) with 26 points and had seven rebounds.

The Lakers are 3-3 since the All-Star break with 28- and 24-point wins after three straight losses.

“Again, just the world is falling for us 19 times (after double-digit losses this season),” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “ It’s just part of the nature of this cycle and our guys. … Our guys bounced back and responded well throughout the season. Tied in the lost column for fifth (with Denver in the Western Conference) and a couple games out of third with a number of these teams coming up that are right there with us. So, we just are going to keep plugging away.”

Lakers forward Jake LaRavia, top, and Sacramento forward Precious Achiuwa battle for the ball during the Lakers’ win Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Just as in Saturday’s win at Golden State, the Lakers (36-24) benefited from strong shooting. They shot 50% from the field and 46% from three-point range.

One of the most exciting plays happened in the first quarter when Marcus Smart dived for a loose ball and, while prone on his back, passed to James. The Lakers star then passed to a hustling Austin Reaves, who took a few dribbles to get a Kings defender to commit before making an alley-oop pass to James for a two-handed, rim-hanging dunk.

The crowd was whipped into a frenzy. The Kings called a timeout, allowing the Lakers and their fans to soak in the moment.

Lakers star Luka Doncic celebrates after a three-pointer by teammate Rui Hachimura against the Kings on Sunday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

There was another play in the third quarter in which Doncic slipped and almost fell down, losing control of the ball. But Doncic regained his balance and the ball before shooting an off-balance three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 24-point lead.

“Ah, yeah, it was on purpose,” Doncic said about falling down. “I tripped on purpose and it was, how do you say, the ‘And-1 Mixtape,’ that’s what they said on the bench. So, I did it on purpose.”

Doncic smiled.

It was that kind of night for the Lakers, a game full of highlights and fun that allowed Redick to empty his bench in the fourth quarter.

“Yeah, obviously it was two great wins, but we just got to go game by game,” Doncic said. “Obviously there’s a lot of noise outside, but like tonight, we can’t pay attention to that. … I thought we played great.”

Maxi Kleber was another standout for the Lakers, making all three of his shots for six points. He also had six rebounds and a block.

His two lob dunks left his Lakers teammates celebrating from the bench.

“Every time I do something, you know, you look to the bench, everybody’s celebrating,” Kleber said. “So, obviously it’s a good push for me, a good push for the team.”

Sunday marked Senior Night for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.

Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.

Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.

It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 16 times.

Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.

Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with a game-high 20 points for the Bruins while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.

UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA (28-1, 18-0) held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC (17-12, 9-9) shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.

UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.

USC opened the second half on an 11-2 run.

New South Wales Police has charged four teenagers over the drive-by shooting of former NRL player Matt Utai and the alleged arson attacks targeting his family in Sydney.

Utai sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and shoulder during a drive-by shooting in Sydney suburb Greenacre on Tuesday.

A 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man have both been charged with “accessory after the fact to shoot at with intent to murder”.

A 18-year-old and another 19-year-old have both been charged with damaging property by fire, while the latter was also charged with supplying prohibited drugs.

Utai, 44, remains in a serious condition after undergoing surgery for his injuries.

Police said the shots had been fired from a white SUV, which was later found burned out in nearby Wiley Park.

On Wednesday, police attended a further incident after shots were fired at a house in St Clair. A woman in her 50s was at home but was not injured.

A short time after they found a car on fire in Colyton and later the same day a house and vehicle were found ablaze in Guildford West.

New South Wales Police department said a task force was assembled to investigate the incidents – all of which are believed to have been targeting the same family.

Feb. 16 (UPI) — The lone surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach shooting, in which 15 Jewish people were killed and 40 were injured, made his first court appearance in Sydney on Monday on murder and terrorism charges.

Naveed Akram, 24, appeared in court via video-link from Goulburn supermax prison to face 59 charges related to the Dec. 14 attack on a gathering to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, including 15 counts of murder and one of carrying out a terror attack.

Akram is accused of carrying out the attack alongside his 50-year-old father, Sajid Arkram, who was shot dead at the scene by police who also shot Naveed, seriously injuring him.

Naveed Akram did not enter a plea and was asked only to confirm he understood the extension of a court order suppressing the identities of survivors of the attack who do not wish to be named in court.

After the brief hearing at Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court, criminal defense attorney Ben Archbold refused to answer questions as to how his client would plead, saying it was too early to say.

Court documents detail several videos, including one taken on one of their mobile phones in which the pair are allegedly seen undergoing firearms training at a rural location somewhere in New South Wales. Police allege the footage shows them “firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner.”

Another video on Naveed Akram’s phone shows the pair allegedly posing with an Islamic State flag and long-arm firearms, in which they are allegedly heard making “a number of statements regarding their motivation for the Bondi attack and condemning the acts of ‘Zionists.'”

The documents allege the attack was “meticulously” planned over a period of months with CCTV footage also showing the pair carrying out a reconnaissance mission to Bondi on Dec. 12, in which they scoped out the footbridge from which they are alleged to have opened fire on around 1,000 people gathered in Archer Park two days later.

The pair is also alleged to have thrown several IEDs at the crowd, including a “tennis ball bomb,” but none of them detonated, according to the court documents.

Naveed and Sajid Akram spent most of November in an area of the southern Philippines known for Islamist militants, but authorities have said their investigations thus far indicate they acted alone and did not receive training or “logistical preparation” assistance there, as originally feared.

Naveed Akram is next scheduled to appear in court in April.

Feb. 14 (UPI) — Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are on administrative leave after investigators said evidence does not match their stories after one shot a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis.

The suspended agents’ names have not been released, and they might be fired and charged with crimes for allegedly lying about the circumstances leading up to the shooting on the night of Jan. 14 after investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota finish their review of the incident.

“A joint review by ICE and the Department of Justice of video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements,” McLaughlin said in an email to Fox News Digital.

“Both officers have been immediately placed on administrative leave pending the completion of a thorough internal investigation,” she said, while referring to the agents’ statements as “false.”

An ICE agent shot Sosa-Celis in the thigh after he allegedly fled an attempted traffic stop and eventually exited his vehicle at an apartment complex.

The agent and Sosa-Celis were treated at a nearby hospital, and Sosa-Celis, Aljorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma were arrested.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen on Thursday filed a motion to dismiss criminal charges filed against Julia Cesar Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, both of whom are Venezuelan and were accused of beating a pursuing ICE agent with a snow shovel and the handle of a broom.

The agents’ statements were “materially inconsistent” with evidence that recently was discovered, Rosen said.

A federal judge agreed and granted the motion to dismiss on Friday.