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The once rock-solid relationship between Washington and Seoul is being rocked by the detention of South Korean workers in a United States immigration swoop.

The controversy is the latest jolt in the alliance. There has been turbulence over tariffs and military spending as well.

Is the raid a one-off, or a sign of deeper trouble between the two nations?

Presenter:

Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Se-Woong Koo – founder of Korea Expose, an online magazine based in Seoul, specialising in Korean news

Jenny Town – senior fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC, and director of its Korea programme and 38 North

Youngshik Bong – visiting professor at Yonsei University, Seoul

ANTHONY JOSHUA looks ready to fight right now as he showed off his shadow boxing and hulking physique.

The two-time heavyweight world champion has been out since September 2024 when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois.

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But he posted a video online – showing off his incredible shape – shadow boxing outside.

Elbow surgery in May also kept Joshua sidelined – meanwhile shock talks to face YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul progressed behind the scenes.

Paul has since announced a November 14 exhibition bout against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis – who is FIVE STONE lighter.

AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn is still in talks with Paul’s promotional partner Nakisa Bidarian over a fight in 2026.

He told iFL TV: “They want to move forward with the Joshua fight around March 2026.

“But I said to him, ‘If you get chinned by Gervonta Davis, I can’t possibly make the fight with AJ.’

“Gervonta’s a 135lber. Obviously, they don’t think that’s going to happen but I don’t know too much about it.

“It’s an exhibition with bigger gloves? I don’t know. But they definitely want to go from Gervonta Davis to AJ.

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CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

“The issue is, I don’t think we can wait till November to see how he gets on against Gevonta Davis.

“AJ is back in training with the view to fight in early 2026 so it’s very likely we’ll do our own thing. But we’ll see. We’re still talking.

“We do realise it’s a massive event. If he was to go in there and bash up Gervonta Davis, it wouldn’t be nothing much to boast about.

“It’s a cruiserweight vs a lightweight but at least he’s in there with a pound-for-pound fighter.”

Joshua, 35, is now set to return in January or February in a warm-up bout before turning his attention again to Tyson Fury, 37.

Fury retired in January following two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, 38, last year but has teased a comeback in 2026.

Paul, 28, meanwhile made a heavyweight fight in November when Mike Tyson controversially made a comeback aged 58.

And over 100 MILLION watched Tyson lose his first professional fight in 20 years over eight shorter rounds of two minutes.

Paul then followed it up by beating ex-middleweight world champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 39, in June to earn himself a No14 WBA cruiserweight ranking.

But his next fight against Davis is not set to count towards his official record with the exhibition unable to be professionally sanctioned.

Paul fights in the 14st 4lb cruiserweight limit of 200lb while Davis is a champ in the 9st 9lb lightweight division of 135lb.

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Where: Carpenter Performing Arts Center
When: Nov. 8, 8 p.m.
Price: Starting at $38.75

THIS is the heartstopping moment when a child walks 100ft up along a holiday park monorail track.

The terrifying clip shows the kid strolling along the heights at Hersheypark after getting separated from his parents.

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In jaw-dropping footage, the child can be seen teetering along the edge of the rail track.

Shocker onlookers gathered around as the horrifying events unfolded.

It happened at the park in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Visitors frantically waved at the kid as he walked along the lofty monorail tracks.

“Go to him now!”, someone can be heard shouting as a man jumps from a roof onto the tracks.

The kid had already been reported missing by his parents at around 5pm.

He had entered a secure area for the monorail ride, Hersheypark said according to ABC 7.

The kid was reportedly at the monorail station for some 20 minutes before walking onto the track.

One of the park guests eventually got onto the tracks and rescued the child.

Park officials reunited the kid with his parents at around 5.30pm.

A statement reads: “We are grateful for the vigilance of our guests and the swift response of our team, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest levels of guest safety throughout Hersheypark.”

It comes after a tourist died at Disneyland after passing out on its Frozen ride next to his wife.

The 53-year-old man from the Philippines lost consciousness on the beloved Frozen Ever After ride at the theme park in Hong Kong on Friday.

His wife noticed that he had fallen into a coma on the ride and immediately notified staff.

First-aid responders rushed to the scene as the ride returned to its starting point and performed CPR.

The holidaymaker was taken to North Lantau Hospital but sadly was pronounced dead shortly after at 11:30am local time.

A spokesperson for Disneyland Hong Kong said: “The resort deeply regrets the passing of the guest and will do its utmost to provide necessary assistance to his family.

“The initial investigation has shown the incident is not related to ride safety.”

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The S&P 500 has risen about 10% this year and is hovering near its all-time highs. That rally was largely driven by the tech sector’s robust growth rates, big buybacks, earnings beats across the market, easing trade tensions, and hopes for deeper interest rate cuts. But with a price-to-earnings ratio of 30, the S&P 500 also looks historically expensive. However, some of the S&P 500’s top stocks are outperforming the benchmark index by a wide margin but still trading at reasonable valuations.

One of those stocks is Meta Platforms (META -1.69%), the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Meta’s stock has rallied nearly 30% year to date but trades at just 27 times its trailing earnings. Let’s see why it crushed the market — and why it might soar even higher through the end of 2025.

Image source: Getty Images.

The world’s biggest social media company keeps growing

Meta is the world’s largest social media company. It served 3.48 billion daily active people (DAP) across its entire family of apps in the second quarter of 2025. That’s nearly two-thirds of the world’s adult population. But over the past year, Meta still gained new users, increased its total ad impressions, and raised its ad prices.

Data source: Meta Platforms. YOY = Year-over-year.

That growth was driven by its new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered algorithms and ad targeting systems, which attracted more users and monetized them more effectively. Those upgrades countered Apple‘s privacy changes on iOS, which throttled its ad sales three years ago. Meta’s short-video platform, Reels, kept pace with ByteDance’s TikTok and locked more users into Facebook and Instagram. It’s also been rolling out more ads on Threads, which is gradually gaining momentum against X in the microblogging market.

Since Meta reaches so many users and holds a near duopoly in the digital advertising market with Alphabet‘s Google, it yields tremendous pricing power. That advertising ecosystem also serves as a firm foundation for building new products and services.

Its margins are expanding, and its profits are soaring

Meta continues to subsidize the expansion of its unprofitable Reality Labs segment (which creates its virtual and augmented reality products) with its higher-margin ad sales as it ramps up its investments in its own AI infrastructure. Yet its operating margins still expanded at a healthy clip over the past year as its earnings per share (EPS) grew by the high double digits.

Data source: Meta Platforms. YOY = Year-over-year.

That robust earnings growth can be attributed to Meta’s surging sales of AI-driven ads, its higher ad prices, its prior workforce reductions (especially in 2023 as it weathered Apple’s iOS changes), the classification of its cloud and data-center costs as capital expenditures (instead of immediate operating expenses), and its ongoing buybacks.

Simply put, Meta can afford to keep pouring its cash into unprofitable or loss-leading projects to expand its ecosystem. While many of those projects might flop, some of them might stick and strengthen Meta’s defenses against Google and its other AI-driven competitors.

Why will Meta’s stock rally through the end of the year?

For 2025, analysts expect Meta’s revenue and EPS to grow 19% and 18%, respectively. From 2024 to 2027, they expect Meta’s revenue and EPS to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% and 13%, respectively. It doesn’t look expensive relative to those growth rates, and it could command a higher valuation if the trade tensions wane and the Fed cuts its benchmark rates again. Assuming Meta matches analysts’ expectations and trades at a slightly more generous 30 times forward earnings by the end of 2025, its stock price would rise about 20% to nearly $900. That’s why I expect Meta to keep outperforming the S&P 500 through the end of the year.

UNICEF says “famine is absolutely ravaging Gaza City,” as aid workers at a nutrition centre warn parents have run out of options to feed their children. Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud visited the centre, where “the signs of famine are everywhere.”

Sri Lanka is undergoing one of the most complex economic recoveries in its history. The country’s financial collapse in 2022 was precipitated by a toxic mix of unsustainable borrowing, poor fiscal management, and external shocks.

Mass protests erupted under the banner of Aragalaya, a broad-based citizens’ movement demanding accountability, economic justice, and an end to political corruption.

The uprising ultimately forced the resignation of the sitting president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. However, following his resignation, the administration of Ranil Wickremesinghe recaptured power.

Delaying calls for new elections, in 2023 the Wickremesinghe administration negotiated $3bn of support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under its New Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. Later that year, to unlock a second instalment of this bailout package, Sri Lanka also reached a debt restructuring agreement with a group of creditors including China, India, and Japan.

Even though, by September 2024, the Sri Lankan people elected a progressive government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, with a historic mandate, the new administration has since been trapped within the constraints imposed by the IMF and the previous political establishment.

The mainstream neoliberal narrative has been quick to highlight the arrangement with the IMF, known as the 17th IMF program, as a sign of stabilisation, praising the debt restructuring agreement and compliance with IMF conditions.

But what of the human cost of this “recovery”?

The punitive structural adjustment process includes privatising state-owned enterprises, disconnecting the Central Bank from state control, curtailing the state’s capacity to borrow, and subordinating national development aspirations to the interests of creditors. It has placed the burden of its Domestic Debt Optimisation on working people’s retirement savings, specifically the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), raising concerns among salaried workers whose current real incomes have already been cut by high inflation and higher taxes.

Public sector hiring has been frozen, major rural infrastructure projects in transport and irrigation have been delayed or cancelled, and funding for health and education has stagnated even as costs rise. The reforms undertaken to achieve macroeconomic stability, including interest rate hikes, tax adjustments, the removal of subsidies, increased energy pricing, and the erosion of workers’ pensions, have demanded a great deal from citizens.

The IMF program has also ushered in neoliberal legal reforms that erode the public accountability of the Central Bank, limit the government’s fiscal capabilities, and encourage the privatisation of land, water, and seeds through agribusiness.

To meet IMF targets – most notably, the goal of achieving a 2.3 percent primary budget surplus by 2025 – the Sri Lankan government has introduced sweeping austerity measures. Where else will that surplus come from if not from the money pots of the poor? Bankers may welcome this austerity, but for those living and working in rural areas and coastal villages, it spells hardship and fear. The imbalances within the debt restructuring program prioritise investor profit over the public interest, shrinking the fiscal space needed to rebuild essential services.

Civil society groups estimate that 6.3 million people are now skipping meals, and at least 65,600 are experiencing severe food shortages.

In a noteworthy move, newly elected President Anura Dissanayake has instructed the treasury to reinstate subsidies for the agricultural and fishing sectors. While welcome, this may not be enough. Fishermen report that fuel costs remain steep, eating into their incomes.

Farmers, many locked into chemical input-intensive production, are struggling with rising costs, climate catastrophes, and reduced state support.

Sri Lanka’s 2025 public health allocation accounts for just 1.5 percent of its gross domestic product – five times smaller than the amount allocated to service the interest on public debt. This stark disparity highlights the fiscal constraints placed on basic social spending.

But this is not just a Sri Lankan story.

It is part of a broader global debt emergency draining public finances across the Global South. A vast number of countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and Central Europe have been forced to cede national policymaking autonomy to international financial institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

A recent United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report reveals that half of the world’s population – approximately 3.3 billion people – now live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health or education. In 2024 alone, developing countries paid a staggering $921bn in interest, with African nations among the hardest hit.

UNCTAD warns that rising global interest rates and a fundamentally unjust financial architecture are entrenching a cycle of dependency and underdevelopment.

Developing countries routinely pay interest rates several times higher than those charged to wealthy nations, yet existing debt relief mechanisms remain inadequate – ad hoc, fragmented, and overwhelmingly tilted in favour of creditors. The demand for a permanent, transparent debt resolution mechanism – centred on justice, development, and national sovereignty – is gaining momentum among Global South governments.

This issue is also drawing serious attention from global grassroots movements.

In September this year, more than 500 delegates from around the world will convene in Kandy, Sri Lanka, for the 3rd Nyeleni Global Forum for food sovereignty. The gathering will bring together small-scale food producers, Indigenous peoples, trade unions, researchers, and progressive policy think tanks. One of the key themes will be the global debt crisis and how it undermines basic rights to food, education, health, and land.

The forum is expected to serve as a space to chart alternatives. Rather than relying solely on state-led negotiations or technocratic financial institutions, movements will strategise to build grassroots power.

They aim to link local struggles – such as farmers resisting land grabs or workers organising for living wages – with global campaigns demanding debt cancellation, climate reparations, and a transformation of the international financial system.

It is clear to those of us in the Global South that a just recovery cannot be built on fiscal targets and compliance checklists alone. We demand the reclaiming of public space for investment in social goods, the democratisation of debt governance, and the prioritisation of people’s dignity above creditors’ profit margins.

For Sri Lanka – and for countless other countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America – this may be the most urgent and necessary restructuring of all.

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

WASHINGTON — The street, normally quiet, was abuzz. The block lit up with flashing police cruisers and officers in tactical vests. Some had covered their faces. Neighbors came out of homes. Some hurled insults at the police, telling them to leave — or worse. Dozens joined in a chant: “Shame on you.”

Aaron Goldstein approached two officers. “Can you tell me why you couldn’t do this at 10:30 or 9:30, and why you had to terrorize the children in our neighborhood?” the man asked the officers as they turned their gazes away from him. Both wore dark sunglasses against the morning sun.

They said nothing.

The arrest shattered the routine of the neighborhood around Bancroft Elementary School, a public school where more than 60% of students are Latino. It came on the third day of a new school year, and immigration fears had already left the neighborhood on edge. Groups of residents had started escorting students to school from two nearby apartment complexes.

It was just another morning in Washington, D.C., in Summer 2025 — the summer of President Trump’s federal law-enforcement intervention in the nation’s capital.

A confrontation that was one among many

Some interludes unfold calmly. During others, nothing happens at all. But the boil-over Wednesday morning was one among many that have erupted across the city since Trump’s police takeover, offering a glimpse into daily life in a city where emotions have been pulled taut. Sightings of police activity spread quickly, attracting residents who say the federal infusion is unwelcome.

Families and children had been making their way toward a bilingual elementary school in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood when federal and local police officers descended on an apartment building just blocks from the school. Neighbors had been on high alert amid fears of increased immigration enforcement.

Now officers were flooding the street, some in plainclothes and face coverings. Some carried rifles or riot shields. Neighbors gathered outside and began yelling at the police to leave. Blocks away, as word spread, an assistant principal waiting to greet students sprinted to the scene.

In an interview, Goldstein, the Mount Pleasant resident, said it felt like a violation of the neighborhood, which he described as a “peaceful mix of white professionals and migrant neighbors, with a lot of love in it.”

“People are on Signal chats and they’re absolutely terrified, and everyone is following this,” said Goldstein, 55, who had just dropped off his third-grade daughter at Bancroft. “It’s distressful. We feel invaded, and it’s really terrible.”

The standoff continued after police arrested a man who they said is accused of drug and firearm crimes. Dozens of residents trailed officers down a side street and continued the jeers. “Quit your jobs.” “Nobody wants you here.” “You’re ruining the country.”

Asked about the episode later at a news conference, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said it attracted “a significant number of protesters” but “we were able to maintain calm.” Said Bowser: “I know there’s a lot of anxiety in the District.”

One officer, in the middle of it all, tries to talk

The conflict was punctuated by a remarkably candid conversation led by a Metropolitan Police Department sergeant who took questions from neighbors in what he described as “not an official press conference.”

“This is just me talking to community members,” Sgt. Michael Millsaps said, leaning back against the rear bumper of a cruiser.

Millsaps said the city’s police department was carrying out a planned arrest of a “suspected drug dealer” with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The suspect was taken into custody and a search of his apartment uncovered narcotics and an illegal firearm, Millsaps said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers joined only as a distraction to prevent protesters from disrupting the operation, he said.

“The immigration folks were parked over there to get y’all to leave us alone,” he said. ICE officials did not immediately comment.

Residents told Millsaps that their trust of the city’s police had been broken. They said they felt less safe amid Trump’s crackdown. Millsaps said he was sorry to hear it. “I hear your frustrations. My job is to take it.”

Still, he described a different response from residents east of the Anacostia River, in some of the city’s highest crime areas. “I go on the other side of the river now, it’s the opposite. People come outside and thank us,” he said.

Mount Pleasant resident Nancy Petrovic was among those yelling at city and ATF officers after the arrest. Petrovic, a lifelong resident of the area, rushed out of her home when she heard yelling shortly after 8 a.m. She counted at least 10 police cars lined up across the block.

“Kids are going to school, they’re walking to school, and it’s frightening to them and their parents,” said Petrovic, who said the street is usually quiet and has no need for more police. “We want them to go away.”

Asked about the timing of the arrest, Millsaps said it was a planned operation similar to countless others.

“I’ve been doing this for 14 years, serving these warrants at the same time of day,” he said. “The only difference is you’ve got a big crowd here, which added even more police presence. But this was just a normal police operation.”

Binkley writes for the Associated Press.

The One Show hosts Roman Kemp and Clara Amfo spoke to England Lioness Lucy Bronze and Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts on Thursday’s show.

BBC The One Show hosts Roman Kemp and Clara Amfo welcomed two special guests onto Thursday evening’s programme (August 28).

The show, which recently featured JB Gill chatting with two EastEnders stars about an upcoming on-screen reunion, saw the BBC presenters invite England Lioness Lucy Bronze and Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts onto the famous green sofa.

But before the interviews got underway, Roman didn’t hesitate to pose a unique question to Lucy from a viewer – something he revealed had never happened before.

He explained: “I’ve got to say, we’ve been inundated with questions, I actually- this is probably a first. I’ve never been asked this question to a guest straight from a viewer.

“Gillian has gone straight in. How is your leg? I don’t think that’s ever been asked on here before! But how is it?”

Chuckling, the football star quipped that there was a first time for everything, reports Wales Online.

She responded: “Yeah, it’s doing better. Obviously, playing with it wasn’t going to help it, it wasn’t going to heal it. So, time is a healer isn’t it? I’m giving myself a few weeks to get better.”

Roman explained her injury to audiences – a fractured tibia – which he admitted sounded like ‘hell on earth’.

He questioned the England star about how severe the pain was during matches and how she managed to persuade boss Sarina Wiegman to let her continue playing.

Lucy revealed there was no convincing needed as she was determined to feature in the match.

She said: “It was like, ‘Ok, we need to look after you Lucy, we ned to make sure that you’re doing the right things’.

“I was like, I will, I know what I’m doing. So it was a lot of pain to manage and things like that but, our medical team are fantastic.

“Serena was really good, yeah I’ve had pain in my body for a number of years because of other injuries so what’s one more thing? Just get on with it.”

During their conversation, Lucy was stunned by a video message from teammate Chloe Kelly, who commended her for battling through her injury.

The One Show is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Republican and Democratic voters share common ground when it comes to the University of California: Both sides express widespread support for UC, its research, medical centers and ability to elevate the lives of students, a statewide poll shows.

Strong majorities of registered voters across demographic groups — urban and rural, racial, education levels — said UC research was good for their communities, including 62% of Californians with only high school diplomas. Voters in their 20s have the most favorable view of research.

The survey results, from the nonpartisan UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, come as the university system faces major battles with the Trump administration over deep research funding cuts and President Trump’s demand of a $1-billion fine to resolve federal charges of antisemitism at UCLA.

“In an era where the benefits of public higher education are being questioned, the polling results suggest that California’s residents see the value in a UC education and recognize the many different ways the UC system contributes positively to the state,” said G. Cristina Mora, the institute’s co-director .

For months, the University of California has been enveloped in the nationwide drive by Trump to reshape higher education, which he sees as a bastion of liberalism hostile to conservative thinking. The 10-campus UC system has faced hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to federal research support that the Trump administration derided as wasteful spending. Last month federal officials suspended more than half a billion dollars in medical study grants to UCLA. Negotiations with the federal government to restore the grants are ongoing.

The Berkeley poll of 6,474 registered California voters showed a more nuanced political picture between Democrats and Republicans against the backdrop of White House invective that accuses selective universities of being hotbeds of race- and gender-based discrimination rooted in diversity, equity and inclusion movements that Trump says don’t match the will of the American people.

UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine have been accused by the Trump administration of illegally using race in admissions. The entire UC system is also under federal investigation for allegations that it has discriminated against Jewish employees and practiced sex- and race-based hiring discrimination.

Berkeley pollsters found strongest support for UC from Democrats, people with college degrees and state residents who are not white.

But majorities of Republicans also showed support for UC across the board:

• 58% of Republicans agreed or strongly agreed that UC “produces important research that benefits communities in California,” compared with 78% of Democrats.

• 75% of Republicans agreed or strongly agreed that UC academic health centers, such as UCLA Health, are “important to the communities they serve,” while 80% of Democrats said the same.

• 54% of Republicans agreed or strongly agreed that the UC system is “important for helping students to get ahead.” Among Democrats, 74% gave the same responses.

Mora said it was “surprising” that Californians appeared to know enough about UC research to support it.

“Usually, you may think of the UC system as one about teaching and giving degrees. But there was strong approval of research and medical centers.”

The university has six academic health centers and, in Los Angeles County alone, more than a dozen UCLA Health locations. Mora, a UC Berkeley sociology professor, said she thought people’s personal experiences with UC doctors in local communities may have contributed to positive views of UC health programs throughout the state.

IGS co-director Eric Schickler said the data were starkly different from national surveys on higher education.

“If you look at national polling, the story is pretty clear: Republican confidence in higher education has gone down a lot and there’s even some erosion among Democrats in terms of confidence or approval,” said Schickler, a UC Berkeley political science professor. “What you are seeing in California is very strong support in despite those trends.”

One prompt that showed a large gulf between the parties was on taxpayer funding for UC.

Asked whether California should give more or less money to the system, 74% of Democrats said UC should get more. Only 30% of Republicans agreed. UC gets about 9% of its budget from the state, a percentage that has declined over the years amid state budget crunches and payment deferrals.

The institute did not ask Californians about Trump or his education agenda. Instead, the questions were framed in apolitical terms focused on how respondents valued different parts of the UC experience.

Schickler said the Institute of Governmental Studies, while contained within a UC campus, does not take sides in the current political conflict over colleges and universities.

“Our philosophy has always been that the IGS poll is a nonpartisan poll,” he said. “The sample and survey has the same process as any survey we do. This is not a survey UC asked us to do.”

The poll also asked whether Californians would tell a close friend who was admitted to a UC school to enroll or not. In total, 70% of respondents said they would advise enrolling. However, there was a political split: 82% of Democrats said they would share such advice, compared with 51% of Republicans.

Researchers conducted most of the polling in early June, months into cutbacks to U.S. campus grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other federal agencies as the government curtailed research into racially diverse groups as well as LGBTQ+ populations, among other areas.

The surveying largely took place before the Trump administration’s conflict with UC came to a head this month, when the White House demanded $1 billion and sweeping campus changes to restore more than $500 million in research grants at UCLA.

Pollsters asked an additional question in mid-August to a separate set of 4,950 voters who were UC degree recipients. That survey took place after Trump’s latest cuts to UCLA.

It asked UC degree holders whether, “considering the costs of getting your degree from a UC school versus the benefits to you personally, in your opinion was getting your degree worth it or not?”

In response, 82% of Democrats said a UC degree was worth the money, compared with 64% of Republicans.

SO far, everything she’s touched has been TV gold – but one of Alison Hammond’s shows is now heading to the TV scrapyard.

Over the past few years the This Morning presenter has landed a string of big programmes including ITV’s For The Love Of Dogs, Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off and her Big Weekend chat show for the BBC.

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But I can reveal that after just two series, the axe is falling on Rob Beckett’s Smart TV, the Sky panel show which featured her as a team captain alongside host Rob and fellow captain Josh Widdicombe.

A TV insider said: “It’s a surprise, given the show was well received.

“But Sky are increasingly turning their focus towards talent-led shows.

“They’ve already announced they’re bringing to an end another hugely popular stablemate, the sports panel contest, A League of Their Own.

“It’s part of a pivot towards shows which don’t just feature talent but are fronted by them on a personal level — for example Danny and Danni Dyer‘s upcoming show where they operate a caravan park, as well as the new Gemma Collins documentary following her getting married and having IVF.”

Alison was being talked about as a major signing for Sky in 2022, which was before details of Smart TV had even been confirmed.

Bosses heralded her as “a brilliant addition”, saying they hoped to give her more projects, adding: “We don’t really golden handcuff any of our entertainment talent, but we do keep them busy so they sort of feel ‘a bit Sky’.”

A spokeswoman for Sky said yesterday: “After two brilliant series testing the telly knowledge of the nation, it is time for us to roll the credits on Rob Beckett’s Smart TV.

“Our huge thanks to the TV quizzing trio, Rob Beckett, Alison Hammond, and Josh Widdicombe who brought all the laughs to screen.

“We look forward to working together again.”

STEEL IN TEST OF METTLE

STEEL the Gladiator’s heart is as big as his biceps.

The BBC muscle man – real name Zack George – heads into the final stages of his 13 Days Fighting challenge for a baby-loss charity.

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He has so far raised more than £25,000 for Leo & Friends, to honour his son Leo who died at 13 days old.

Since August 18, Zack has completed a mile of burpees every day, with a stage in Cambridge today, followed by Loughborough later this week.

Pals including Gladiator Legend and fitness guru Joe Wicks have joined him along the way.

Zack said yesterday: “Extremely tired, body is sore and can hardly walk with the calf – but we’re getting it done.

“I wanted a challenge where I had to fight, like Leo did for 13 days.”

For more details and to support, see Zack’s Instagram page @zackgeorge.

SHERIDAN SHOCK AT KATE JOB

MANY will recall the bizarre moment on This Morning when Gyles Brandreth wrongly claimed Sheridan Smith was going to play Kate Middleton in a new drama.

But not Sheridan, who was blissfully unaware of the clanger 17 months ago.

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She was shown the clip during an interview on Capital Radio yesterday and seemed as stunned as the rest of us.

The actress said: “How have I missed that?

“They actually announced that like it was real?

“Oh stop it, this is getting out of hand.

“That’s hysterical.”

Strangely, Sheridan’s pals often send her clips and memes, but didn’t pass on the one from This Morning.

A BLUE PETER BADGE? THAT’S F.A.B., ANTHEA

HERE’S one that Anthea Turner wishes she made earlier.

The veteran TV presenter has finally been awarded the top Blue Peter badge, more than three decades after her two-year stint on the children’s TV show ended in 1994.

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She picked up a highly-coveted Gold badge to mark the BBC series’ new era as HACKER T DOG joins cast members Abby Cook, Joel Mawhinney and Shini Muthukrishnan.

Anthea said: “I have coveted the golden Blue Peter badge for so many years and never got one – and now they’ve put this right.

“All these years I’ve been without one, and at every Blue Peter event I’ve hoped I would get one.

“It’s now even become a standing joke. So this is my proudest moment and I won’t forget it.”

Meanwhile, I’ll always remember her as the brains behind Blue Peter’s most famous “make” – a loo roll Tracy Island from The Thunderbirds.

Totally F.A.B.

DANNY’S RIVALS LIFELINE

DANNY DYER was “thrown a lifeline” when Rivals show boss Dominic Treadwell-Collins gave him the role of Freddie Jones in the Disney+ bonkbuster.

The actor and director had worked together on EastEnders.

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But after Danny left in 2022, it’s fair to say his career was a bit patchy.

Talking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Angellica Bell recalled speaking to him behind the scenes when he was a guest on The One Show and she was hosting.

She said: “I took him to one side and I said, ‘Oh my gosh you are insane in Rivals, and he was almost brought to tears.

“I saw him again and he sat down and he said to me, ‘Dominic gave me a lifeline, he saw something in me and it is like a renaissance.’

“He said not many people have given him an opportunity where he can grow in his art.

“It was really moving.”

CARLOS ALCARAZ has unveiled a radical new look for the US Open – he has shaved off all his HAIR.

The five-time Grand Slam champion rocked up at Flushing Meadows on day two.

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And fans were left shocked when they spotted him on the practice courts.

The Spaniard, 22, normally has thick, black hair and certainly did when he played in the Mixed Doubles Championship.

That was last Tuesday with Emma Raducanu on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Yet ahead of his first-round encounter with lanky American Reilly Opelka on Tuesday evening, he turned up with a fresh skinhead.

It was a surprising look that was captured by US Open cameras and footage was posted on their Instagram channel.

The former US Open champion wore a white Nike Total 90 Dri-FIT soccer jersey, which was a sleeveless top.

It is perhaps a wise choice given the heat and humidity of playing in the Big Apple at this time of the year.

Nonetheless, the decision to chop off his locks was a recent one.

That was given that a video was posted on Monday of him attending St Patrick’s cathedral off Fifth Avenue.

The world-renowned tennis player was given a blessing from a Catholic priest – and in the footage, he has a full head of hair.

Alcaraz is one of the biggest sportsmen on the planet and will be hoping for a deep run at the last Slam of the year.

In their last four tournaments together, Alcaraz and world No.1 Jannik Sinner have met in the final.

They battled it out in Rome, Paris, Wimbledon and Cincinnati.

Assuming he has not lost his magical powers like biblical hero Samson did following a hair cut, then there is a great chance Alcaraz and Sinner could meet again in the final on Sunday September 7.

How to watch the 2025 US Open

THE tennis world has descended upon New York City for the fourth and final slam of the year.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows will have the eyes of the sporting universe upon it.

The 2025 US Open takes place from Sunday 24 August to Sunday 7 September.

And there is a standalone mixed-double competition as well as qualifying taking place in the week beforehand.

ESPN is showing every moment live for fans in the United States, and you can sign up below.

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Fans flocked to social media after his new look was revealed.

And they compared him to English soccer legend’s look back in the early 2000s.

“He looks like early 2000s David Beckham,” said one.

Another said: “Thats not him no way.”

A third added: “Who is this person?”

A fourth commented: “Jesus Christ, Carlos knows how to shock his fans on and off the court.”

And one said: “That’s not Carlos!”

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Asked about Carlos Alcaraz’s new haircut, Frances Tiafoe said: “Yeah, it’s horrible. It’s terrible.

“He’s my guy though. It’s funny. I looked at him and I was like: ‘I guess you’re aerodynamic.’

“Juan Carlos ‘Mosquito’ was laughing. He was like: ‘Yeah, he’s faster than he already was.’ I was like: ‘Well, that’s a problem.’

“I don’t know who told him that it’s good. I don’t know who told him to do that, but it’s terrible.

“From a guy who gets haircuts week-in, week-out, and prides myself on good haircuts, it’s horrendous.

“At the end of the day, it’s Carlos, and that’s my guy. But yeah, he needs to get with me. He needs to get with me for sure.”

Looks like whoever called the cops on Lil Nas X last week wasn’t exaggerating when they reported the Grammy winner as a “nude man walking in the street.”

Initial video posted last week by TMZ showed the performer wearing only tighty-whities and white cowboy boots, strolling and posing on an L.A. street just before sunrise — and just before his arrest on suspicion of charging at a police officer. But it turns out that’s not the exact condition he was in when law enforcement took him in.

In new video TMZ posted over the weekend, the “Old Town Road” singer can be seen walking down the middle of a street fully naked, having shed the boots and underpants that had barely covered his modesty. (That he disrobed explains how a concerned citizen-slash-amateur videographer was able to snatch his boots up from off the street and list them for sale on EBay, seeking $10,000 — or best offer.)

In the new footage, Lil Nas X recites some Nicki Minaj lyrics from the Kanye West tune “Monster” as he struts runway-style toward the person shooting the video, who appears to be in the driver’s seat of a car.

“And if I’m fake, I ain’t notice ‘cause my money ain’t / So let me get this straight, wait, I’m the rookie? / But my features and my shows 10 times your pay? / 50K for a verse, no album out,” Lil Nas X says in the video.

An LAPD spokesperson told The Times last week that the 26-year-old, who was arrested around 6 a.m. Thursday, initially was taken to a hospital for a possible overdose. Lil Nas X was booked a little over five hours later and ultimately spent the weekend in a Van Nuys jail pending a court date Monday to set bail.

Both the LAPD and Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene on Thursday. LAFD did not give The Times additional information about the singer’s condition.

The performer, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, was arrested on suspicion of battery on a police officer after he allegedly charged at officers who responded to the call. Although TMZ reported that he was being held on a misdemeanor, online arrest records list him as being held on a felony count.

Representatives for Lil Nas X did not respond immediately to The Times’ request for comment Monday.

His arrest came soon after he apparently wiped his Instagram grid of old photos and posted a couple dozen new ones, including a selfie posted Tuesday of himself wearing a fur coat, bright red lipstick and both a cowboy hat and crown. “OH NO sHES GONE MAD! CRAZY I TELL U!,” he captioned the post.

In another photo, Lil Nas X posed in front of a backlit mirror in a gold gown, white cowboy boots and a tiara.

“And just like that she’s back,” he wrote in that caption. “We’ve all waited so long. When dreamworld needed her the most.”

Times staff writers Alexandra Del Rosario, Christopher Buchanan and Richard Winton contributed to this report.

This fall, there are more than a few mysteries to be uncovered, whether it’s by a group of retired amateur sleuths, an FBI task force, a group of children living in small-town Maine or the only unhappy woman in the world — trust us, the last isn’t as dour as it seems (there are donuts). If you would rather stay grounded in reality, streaming documentaries with subjects ranging from Sarah McLachlan to Martin Scorsese to the American Revolution will do just the trick while giving you perspective about the music and film industries and America’s Founding Fathers. But if you prefer to detach and have some laughs, there are several comedies and dramedies that will do just that. And that’s the democratic nature of television — there’s something for everyone.

‘The Thursday Murder Club’

(Netflix, Aug. 28)

Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan in Netflix’s “The Thursday Murder Club.”

(Giles Keyte / Netflix)

The first of Richard Osman‘s wonderful series of novels concerning a group of British retirees who recreationally solve murders has become an almost-straight-to-Netflix feature with a cast that in olden times would have guaranteed a long theatrical ride. Helen Mirren plays Elizabeth, with a background in intelligence; Pierce Brosnan is Ron, a combative ex-trade unionist; Ben Kingsley plays Ibrahim, a shy former psychiatrist; and Celia Imrie is Joyce, the chirpy newcomer, with Naomi Ackie as Donna, the bored police officer who falls under their collective spell. (Plus David Tennant, Richard E. Grant and Jonathan Pryce, if that isn’t enough British thespian firepower for you.) As a fan of the books, I will approach it with some trepidation, but I will absolutely approach it. — Robert Lloyd

‘Task’

(HBO, Sept. 7)

Mark Ruffalo leads HBO’s “Task,” created by Brad Ingelsby of “Mare of Easttown.”

(HBO)

Crime dramas are a dime a dozen, but sometimes one stands out from the crowd and keeps you hooked. The latest HBO series from Brad Ingelsby, who famously brought us Kate Winslet in a Delco accent in “Mare of Easttown,” may well do that. Like “Mare,” it is also set in Pennsylvania, but this time the story revolves around an FBI agent named Tom played by Mark Ruffalo, who is charged with leading a task force to uncover who is behind a string of robberies. Parallel to his story is that of Robbie (Tom Pelphrey) and his best friend Cliff (Raúl Castillo), sanitation workers who are trying to make ends meet. Secrets, twists and turns lie ahead that bridge their stories together and make you question the gray areas between good, bad, wrong and right. — Maira Garcia

‘Black Rabbit’

(Netflix, Sept. 18)

Jason Bateman stars opposite Jude Law in Netflix’s “Black Rabbit.”

(Netflix)

Between TV series (“Ozark”), films (“Carry-On”), podcasts (“SmartLess”) and commercials (State Farm Insurance), Jason Bateman is one of the busiest performers in Hollywood. He returns to Netflix in a limited series, “Black Rabbit,” which teams him with Jude Law. The project features Law as Jake Friedkin, the owner of New York’s popular Black Rabbit restaurant and VIP lounge who runs into trouble when his brother Vince (Bateman) returns years after going on the lam after running up a mountain of gambling debts. Bateman also directs the first two episodes, and is an executive producer along with Law. — Greg Braxton

‘Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery’

(Hulu, Sept. 21)

Paula Cole on stage at Lilith Fair. Hulu’s “Building a Mystery” takes a look back at the pivotal music festival.

(Merri Cyr / Hulu)

Sweet nostalgia. Lilith Fair was the first music festival I ever attended as an awkward, introverted teen, and it was the first time I was surrounded by thousands of (mostly) women who I knew felt absolutely free to be themselves. Of course I’d want to relive that. For those who need a refresher, Lilith Fair was a traveling music festival founded by Sarah McLachlan and others to prove the sexist standards that existed in the music industry in the 1990s were morally and financially wrong. Featuring artists like Sheryl Crow, Liz Phair, Queen Latifah, Sinéad O’Connor, the Indigo Girls and many others, the festival made more than 130 stops over its original three-summer run. Directed by Ally Pankiw and touting Dan Levy as one of its producers, “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery” mined over 600 hours of never-before-seen footage and features interviews with the festival’s organizers, musicians and fans. — Tracy Brown

Fall Preview 2025

The only guide you need to fall entertainment.

‘The Lowdown’

(FX, Sept. 23)

Ethan Hawke and Ryan Kiera Armstrong in FX’s “The Lowdown.”

(Shane Brown / FX)

Sterlin Harjo, who last gave us “Reservation Dogs,” is back with another Oklahoma-set series, a noir excursion loosely based on citizen journalist Lee Roy Chapman. Ethan Hawke, here called Lee Raybon, is a Tulsa amateur “truthstorian” and rare book dealer, working and living in a store where the cool people hang out. His yen to cure civic rot in the light of day brings him into the orbit of a powerful family, including a suicide (Tim Blake Nelson), a widow (Jeanne Tripplehorn), and a candidate for governor (Kyle MacLachlan). Kaniehtiio Horn, the Deer Lady on “Rez Dogs,” plays his ex-wife because in a show like this, any wife is bound to be an ex, with Ryan Kiera Armstrong as their Nancy Drew of a teenage daughter, and Keith David bringing his formidable Keith David-ness. — R.L.

‘Slow Horses’

Season 5 (Apple TV+, Sept. 24)

Gary Oldman and his Slough House misfits are back for Season 5 of “Slow Horses.”

(Jack English / Apple TV+)

The long, and for some of us agonizing, wait is over for the best spy drama on TV. Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) and his MI5 Slough House misfits are at it again, bumbling into all manner of international and inner-departmental intrigue, with their signature results of mess and mayhem. Computer-genius man-child Roddy Ho (Christopher Chung) plays a central figure in this year’s race against time, River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) continues to agonize over the plight of his aging grandfather (Jonathan Pryce) and his own determination to get back to the Park, where Second Desk Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) remains under the authority of twitchily incompetent First Desk Claude Whelan (James Callis, having a grand old time.) Pulling everyone’s strings is, of course, Lamb — whether goading his assistant Catherine Standish (Saskia Reeves), locking horns with Taverner or talking his way out of virtually any situation, Lamb is the most noisome, flatulent, stringy-haired super spy ever to grace any screen and it is impossible to imagine a world without him. — Mary McNamara

‘House of Guinness’

(Netflix, Sept. 25)

Louis Partridge in Netflix’s “House of Guinness.”

(Ben Blackall / Netflix)

Arthur Guinness, the founder of the world’s most iconic beer, had 21 children. Only 10 of them survived to adulthood and only four represent the family in this Netflix series. But in the hands of creator Steven Knight, best known for “Peaky Blinders,” four appear to be quite enough. Following their father’s death, Arthur (Anthony Boyle), Edward (Louis Partridge), Benjamin (Fionn O’Shea) and Anne (Emily Fairn) must navigate all manner of tensions and threats, including the draconian terms of their father’s will, violent Fenian protests (Guinness senior was a Protestant who believed in Catholic rights but not Irish self-rule) and various affairs of the heart — Anne smolders early on at the sight of brewery overseer Sean Rafferty (James Norton). Many creative liberties were taken, no doubt, but the inevitable “Succession” meets “Peaky Blinders” (by way of “Rebellion”) description is apt enough. As the adverts for the black stuff say, it is a lovely day for Guinness. — M.M.

‘IT: Welcome to Derry’

(HBO, October)

Mikkal Karim-Fidler, Clara Stack and Jack Molloy Legault in HBO’s “IT: Welcome to Derry.”

(HBO)

You just can’t put a terrifying clown down. Almost 40 years have passed since Stephen King terrified readers with “IT,” his massive novel about a vicious clown named Pennywise who targets the children of Derry, Maine. A 1990 miniseries and two theatrical films followed. “Welcome to Derry” continues the “IT“-verse as a prequel set in the 1960s before the “IT” and “IT Chapter 2” films. Bill Skarsgård reprises his portrayal of Pennywise as the series unveils the origins of the menacing clown, while also spotlighting a group of residents wrestling with their own fears and demons. Andy Muschietti, who directed the “IT” films, helped develop the series and is one of the executive producers. The cast includes Jovan Adepo and Taylour Paige. — G.B.

‘Boots’

(Netflix, Oct. 9)

Liam Oh, left, and Miles Heizer in Netflix’s “Boots.”

(Alfonso “Pompo” Bresciani / Netflix)

Choosing to join the military can be construed as a major act of patriotism, but oftentimes it is a very personal decision that involves a lot of a sacrifice — choices like where you will live, what you do on a day-to-day basis and who you work with are dictated. Enter Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer), a gay, bullied high school graduate who isn’t sure what’s next until his best friend Ray McAffey (Liam Oh) — the only person he’s come out to — suggests they join the Marines. Cameron imagines the military to be like summer camp, until reality sets in. This dramedy is set in the ‘90s, when being gay in the military was still grounds for discharge, so not only does Cameron have to endure the brutality of boot camp, he has to keep his sexual orientation a secret. The series is based on “The Pink Marine,” a memoir by Greg Cope White, who serves as a writer. — M.G.

‘DMV’

(CBS, Oct. 13)

Molly Kearney, Gigi Zumbado, Tony Cavalero, Alex Tarrant, Harriet Dyer and Tim Meadows star in CBS’ “DMV.”

(Matt Barnes / CBS)

Your local department of motor vehicles may seem like the very last place to get a laugh, but CBS has managed to pull it off. Its new workplace comedy centers on a ragtag group of employees who work at an East Hollywood DMV: Gregg (Tim Meadows), a former English teacher; Colette (Harriet Dyer of “Colin From Accounts”), a driving examiner with few boundaries; Vic (Tony Cavalero), a former bouncer; Cici (Gigi Zumbado), an outspoken photographer; and Noa (Alex Tarrant), a handsome surfer whom Colette has her eye on. They’re led by newly minted manager Barbara (“SNL” alum Molly Kearney, delightful to see onscreen again), who becomes dismayed when some consultants arrive — no matter where you work, that’s never a good sign. Despite work and interpersonal turmoil, they make a fun and funny team that should be a welcome addition to CBS’ fall lineup. — M.G.

‘Mr. Scorsese’

(Apple TV+, Oct. 17)

“Mr. Scorsese” is a five-part documentary directed by Rebecca Miller.

(Brigitte Lacombe / Apple TV+)

Among the biggest challenges for documentary filmmakers of major figures is figuring out not only how to gain access but also the trust of your subject. The ability to get them to open up can turn an interesting documentary into a great one. And when the subject is Martin Scorsese, one of America’s great auteurs, you want the full portrait of a director who helped shape cinema with iconic films like “Taxi Driver,” “Goodfellas,” “Gangs of New York” and, most recently, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Director Rebecca Miller (“She Came to Me,” “Personal Velocity”) seems up for the task, having created a five-part docuseries that’s billed as the definitive portrait of 82-year-old Scorsese and will premiere at New York Film Festival this fall. — M.G.

‘Nobody Wants This’

Season 2 (Netflix, Oct. 23)

Justine Lupe, Kristen Bell and Jackie Tohn return for Season 2 of “Nobody Wants This.”

(Erin Simkin / Netflix)

There will inevitably come a time when the drip-drop of wholesome, rom-com-level video content of Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson on their “Naked Gun” promotional tour will loosen its grip on my social media algorithms, and I’ll return to longing for a fictional romantic comedy to fill the void. That’s where Adam Brody — who really propelled the art of the neck-hugging smooch combo — and Kristen Bell come in. The first season made millennial hearts squeal with its pairing of Brody and Bell — two decades after they rose to fame in the early aughts on teen dramas “The O.C.” and “Veronica Mars,” respectively — in a delightful will they/won’t they set in L.A. Bell is Joanne, a woman who often regales about her single life on the podcast she co-hosts with her sister Morgan (Justine Lupe), while Brody’s Noah is a progressive rabbi who is newly single. But can their relationship make it past hurdles that include their careers, family and religion? The first season ended with a showstopping kiss that suggested they’re willing to give it a try. The sophomore outing promises to unpack what that looks like. Let’s just hope no one in this couple-with-obstacles is proposing a five-year waiting period to deal with personal matters before really giving it a go. (IYKYK.) Plus, “Gossip Girl” alumnus Leighton Meester, Brody’s wife IRL, joins the fun, playing Joanne’s childhood nemesis. — Yvonne Villarreal

‘Star Wars: Visions’

Vol. 3 (Disney+, Oct. 29)

Sevn and IV-A4 in a scene from the “Star Wars: Visions” Vol. 3 short “The Bounty Hunters.”

(Lucasfilm Ltd. / Disney)

Dave Filoni’s rise at Lucasfilm is proof enough that some of “Star Wars’” best storytelling has happened in animation. My favorite has been “Star Wars: Visions,” an anthology series where international animation houses have been given the freedom to explore their ideas about the Force and the galaxy far, far away outside of the constraints of the franchise’s existing canon. For the first season, Lucasfilm tapped Japanese anime studios for nine shorts, which featured a range of stories including those that centered an ex-Sith ronin, a Jedi Padawan turned lead singer of a rock band and even a Force-wielding droid. The series went even more global for its second season, with studios from Europe, Asia and South America being among those that were enlisted for their takes. The upcoming third season brings the focus back to Japanese anime, with sequels to three of the shorts from Season 1 — including my favorite, “The Village Bride” — among the lineup. — T.B.

‘Last Samurai Standing’

(Netflix, November)

Netflix’s “Last Samurai Standing” is based on the historical novel series “Ikusagami.”

(Netflix)

When I saw this series described as “‘Shōgun’ meets ‘Squid Game,’” I had two competing reactions. There was the part of me that was slightly skeptical seeing a logline that leaned on two of the biggest Asian-led shows ever, but the part of me that grew up on a steady diet of chanbara is excited by the idea of a battle royale with samurai — and that part has completely won out. Based on the historical novel series “Ikusagami” by Shogo Imamura, the Meiji-era set “Last Samurai Standing” will involve 292 warriors assembled at a temple in Kyoto for a deadly game with a massive cash prize. Considering the Meiji period was when the samurai became obsolete, the potential for social commentary mixed in with high-stakes combat seems pretty high. — T.B.

‘Pluribus’

(Apple TV+, Nov. 7)

Rhea Seehorn stars in Apple TV+’s “Pluribus,” her upcoming series from Vince Gilligan.

(Apple TV+)

If you thought the grainy footage of Ariana Grande surreptitiously licking a doughnut inside an L.A. shop a decade ago sent shivers down your spine — health codes matter, people! — the first teaser for Vince Gilligan’s new TV opus is just as chilling to behold. Ditching “Better Call Saul’s” signature cinnamon roll pastry for the hole-y American staple, the trailer for the new series takes place in the dead of night at an office building and settles on a woman, in a pink uniform, licking the tops of doughnuts one by one — ASMR at its eeriest — before placing them back in their box as a sign that reads “Help yourself!” with a smiley face comes into focus. Uh, what? The series reunites Gilligan with “Better Call Saul’s” Rhea Seehorn, who was the show’s beating heart with a ponytail as Kim Wexler, a skilled lawyer who gets caught up in the antics and schemes of Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman. In this genre-bending sci-fi drama, she is the most miserable person on Earth who must save the world from happiness — it’s the sort of TV premise that feels like it was tailor-made for my 2025 fatigue. In addition to Seehorn, the series stars Karolina Wydra (“Sneaky Pete”) and Carlos-Manuel Vesga (“The Hijacking of Flight 601”), and guest stars Miriam Shor (“American Fiction”) and Samba Schutte (“Our Flag Means Death”). It’s already been picked up for a second season so you can go in knowing there are no commitment issues. — Y.V.

‘The American Revolution’

(PBS, Nov. 16)

John Trumbull’s “The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.” Ken Burns’ latest PBS docuseries will focus on the American Revolution.

(Yale University Art Gallery/PBS)

The combination of PBS and Ken Burns (with co-directors Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt and writer Geoffrey C. Ward) returns again to improve your mind and remind you that history is not something that can be edited to suit the whims of a king or dictator, but also that it is made up of a variety of stories from a spectrum of participants. In these parlous times, when conspiracy theories are mistaken for truth and experts for enemies, those who might most profit from “The American Revolution” are perhaps least likely to watch it, but in the course of this six-part, 12-hour foundational tale, anyone is bound to learn something. It will certainly have things to say about how Black and Indigenous people participated in this long moment. And if you have it, send money to your local public broadcaster, who needs it more than ever. — R.L.

Most California voters strongly disapprove of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies and believe that raids in the state have unfairly targeted Latinos, according to a new poll.

The findings, released Sunday, reflected striking emotional reactions to immigration enforcement. When voters were asked to describe their feelings about news reports or videos of immigration raids, 64% chose rage or sadness “because what is happening is unfair.”

Among Democrats, 91% felt enraged or sad. Conversely, 65% of Republicans felt hopeful, “like justice is finally being served.”

Such divisions were consistent across 11 questions about the administration’s overall immigration strategy and specific aspects of the way enforcement is playing out in the state, with divisions along partisan lines. The UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll was conducted for the Los Angeles Times.

Democrats almost unanimously oppose President Trump’s tactics on immigration, the poll showed. Most Republicans support the president, though they are not as united as Democrats in their approval.

“It was essential to show the strength of feelings because Democrats are strongly on the negative side of each of these policies,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Berkeley IGS Poll. “That struck me. I don’t usually see that kind of extreme fervor on a poll response.”

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The poll found that 69% of respondents disapprove of the way immigration enforcement is being carried out in the state.

Among Democrats, 95% disapprove, as well as 72% of voters with no party preference or others not affiliated with the two major parties, whereas 79% of Republicans approve.

The poll was completed online in English and Spanish from Aug. 11-17 by 4,950 registered voters in California.

A question that showed the least unified support among Republican voters asked respondents whether they agree or disagree that federal agents should be required to show clear identification when carrying out their work. The question comes as immigration agents have carried out raids using face coverings, unmarked cars and while wearing casual clothing.

Some 50% of Republicans agreed that agents should have to identify themselves, while 92% of Democrats agreed.

G. Cristina Mora, IGS co-director and a sociology professor at UC Berkeley who studies race and immigration, helped develop the poll questions. She said the poll shows that Republican voters are much more nuanced than Democrats. They also split on questions about due process, birthright citizenship and immigration enforcement in sensitive locations.

“Republicans are much more fractured in their thinking about immigration across the state,” Mora said.

Mora said she developed the question about agent identification in response to the recent bill led by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) that would require immigration officers to display their agency and name or badge number during public-facing enforcement actions, similar to police and other local law enforcement.

Padilla also spearheaded a letter last month to Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons seeking information about the agency’s policies regarding the identification of agents while on duty. ICE has justified the tactics by stating that agents are at risk of doxxing and have faced increased assault on the job.

“The public has a right to know which officials are exercising police power, and anonymous enforcement undermines both constitutional norms and democratic oversight,” Padilla and 13 other Democrats wrote in the letter.

Another poll question that garnered mixed support of Republicans asked respondents to agree or disagree with the statement, “ICE agents should expand immigration enforcement into schools, hospitals, parks and other public locations.”

Among Republicans, 53% agreed with that statement, though fewer than 1 in 3 agree strongly. Meanwhile, 94% of Democrats disagreed.

Shortly after Trump took office, his administration rescinded a 2011 memo that restricted immigration agents from making arrests in sensitive locations, such as churches, schools and hospitals. Since then, agents have been filmed entering locations that were previously considered off limits, putting immigrant communities on edge.

Schools in Los Angeles reopened this month with “safe zones” in heavily Latino neighborhoods and changed bus routes with less exposure to immigration agents. An 18-year-old high school senior, Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, was walking his family’s dog in Van Nuys when he was taken into federal immigration custody.

Mora said the varied responses illustrate how California Republicans view the Trump administration’s immigration tactics with “degrees of acceptability.” They might feel strongly that immigrants with violent criminal histories should be deported, she said, but the takeover of MacArthur Park, when a convoy of immigration agents in armored vehicles descended there in a show of force, or the enforcement actions outside of public schools “might have been a step too far.”

Mike Madrid, a GOP political consultant who wrote a book about how Latinos have transformed democracy, said the split among Republicans is consistent with national polling. The trend is problematic for Trump, he said, because it means he is losing big swaths of his base.

“This is becoming viewed as overreach more than it is immigration control,” he said. “The idea sets a frame for it, but the actual implementation is widely unpopular.”

Republicans were largely united in response to other questions. Asked about the Trump administration’s proposal to do away with birthright citizenship — which confers citizenship to all children born in the U.S. regardless of their parent’s legal status — 67% of GOP respondents approved, and most of them strongly approved. By contrast, 92% of Democrats disapproved, and as did seven in 10 respondents overall.

Mora said she was surprised by the fact that Latinos didn’t stand out as substantially more opposed to Trump’s actions than voters of other racial and ethnic groups. For example, 69% of Latino voters said ICE raids have unfairly targeted Latinos, just five percentage points higher than the 64% of white non-Latino voters who agreed.

“You would imagine Latinos would be through the roof here, but they’re not,” Mora said. She said this reminded her of research around the tendency for Latinos to individualize their experiences instead of seeing them as racially unjust.

Broadly, 72% of Latinos disagree with the way the Trump administration is enforcing immigration laws in California, while 25% approve and 3% have no strong opinion.

Among Latino voter subgroups, older men and third-generation (or beyond) women are the more likely to support the way immigration enforcement is being handled in California, with 38% of Latino men over age 40 in agreement compared to 11% of Latinas ages 18-39, although among both groups majorities disapprove.

Madrid said that’s consistent with national polling showing a decrease in support for Republicans among Latinos after record gains in the last presidential election. The question, he said, is whether Trump’s approval ratings among Latinos could regress substantially enough to flip control of Congress in the midterms.

“We’re not there yet,” he said.

Newly published footage shows an ADM-160 Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) fitted to a Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flanker fighter. The video confirms that the store is used by both the Su-27 and Ukraine’s MiG-29 Fulcrum jets, and also that it is carried on the same specially adapted underwing pylon that is used for various Western-supplied guided munitions.

While the MALD — a small cruise missile-like weapon designed to stimulate, confuse, and distract enemy air defenses, not attack them kinetically — has been seen on several occasions before this, including mounted on a MiG-29, it has never been seen in such detail in Ukrainian hands.

The new evidence appears in an official video released by the Ukrainian Air Force in which aircrews discuss Su-27 operations in the current conflict against the backdrop of the jets being prepared for combat and in flight. A Su-27 is seen on a flight line, with a single MALD carried on each of its inboard underwing hardpoints.

As we observed in the past, the fact that MALD can be loaded with the target data before launch means that it shouldn’t have been a huge challenge to integrate it on Ukrainian platforms — first the MiG-29, now the Su-27. At the same time, we can see that it’s mounted on the same specialized pylon that has been seen in the past loaded with the French-made Hammer rocket-boosted precision-guided bomb and U.S.-supplied JDAM-ER glide bombs, for example. As TWZ has explained in the past, this pylon is understood to help cue GPS-assisted guidance systems. The pylon transfers the precise location to the weapon at launch, since the Soviet-era jet lacks the databus or embedded GPS to provide that information, which is critical to the weapon’s navigation system. The same kind of pylon can be assumed to have a direct utility in support of the MALD as well.

In addition to specialized pylons, new cockpit displays have also helped expand the operational flexibility of Western-supplied weapons. They likely also help support MALD missions, too.

The Flanker in the new video is also seen in the air. Interestingly, it doesn’t carry any other disposable weapons aside from the two MALDs. This is in accordance with the MiG-29 that we have seen in the past with a pair of MALDs. Whether this is because a training mission is being shown is unclear. Certainly, with a weight of around 300 pounds each, a Su-27 would be able to carry several air-to-air missiles or air-to-ground weapons alongside the decoys, if required.

The first evidence of the MALD being in Ukrainian service came in May 2023, when wreckage from one of the decoys was found after an apparent airstrike in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, as you can read about here.

By the end of 2023, more wreckage had appeared, on this occasion when one of the decoys was discovered, reportedly somewhere in the Kherson region, in southern Ukraine.

Since its introduction, MALD has played an important role for the Ukrainian Air Force, providing a new way of distracting and confusing Russian air defenses, which means that Ukrainian missiles and strike packages have a better chance of getting to their targets.

Each MALD is powered by a small turbojet, which can be seen covered with a cap in the new video. This falls away once the decoy is launched, after which it flies along a pre-programmed route. The store is also able to loiter over target areas, maximizing its effect on air defenses in the area.

For long, we have known that MALD is of particular value during Ukrainian air-launched cruise missile strikes, which primarily involve the Storm Shadow (supplied by the United Kingdom and Italy) as well as its French equivalent, the SCALP EG. The MALD is well-suited to this mission, offering a range of around 500 miles, which also gives it significant loiter time.

As one Su-27 pilot explains in the new video:

“These missiles [sic] are designed to bear the brunt of the air defenses, to provide distractions. This missile is a decoy for the air defense systems. At the same time, at another airfield, our comrades are programming Storm Shadow or SCALP missiles to strike the enemy. In cooperation with the strike groups during such operations, we use HARM anti-radar missiles.”

A Ukrainian MiG-29 firing a HARM anti-radiation missile:

It’s no coincidence that MALD began to appear in the conflict around the same time that the first Storm Shadow attacks occurred, and in the same areas. In support of cruise missile strikes, the decoy offers a more obvious radar signature than the weapon, drawing the fire from enemy air defenses and protecting the missile.

MALD is just one factor that can help ensure the success of a Storm Shadow or SCALP EG strike. These missiles also have low-observable features, meaning that many air defense sensors will only detect them once it’s too late — if at all. Air force planners will also carefully prepare routes for the missiles to better avoid known enemy air defense positions.

As well as providing direct support for particular air-launched cruise missile strikes, the presence of MALD helps the Ukrainian military more generally. By employing it against Russian air defenses — especially some of the newest and most capable systems — valuable intelligence can be gained. This can then be fed back to mission planners and electronic warfare specialists. Almost certainly, this information will be fed back to the United States, too.

The appearance of MALD on the Su-27 may not be a surprise, but it’s certainly interesting to see this rather secretive store in hitherto unseen detail while in Ukrainian hands. At the same time, the video underscores the huge value of this weapon as the Ukrainian Air Force continues to press home its attacks on a vastly numerically superior enemy.

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For the first time in more than half a century, immigrants leaving the U.S. outnumber those arriving, a phenomenon that may signal President Trump’s historic mass deportation efforts are having the intended effect.

An analysis of census data released by Pew Research Center on Thursday noted that between January and June, the United States’ foreign-born population had declined by more than a million people.

Millions of people arrived at the border between 2021 and 2023 seeking refuge in America after the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, which ravaged many of their home countries. In 2023, California was home to 11.3 million immigrants, roughly 28.4% of the national total, according to Pew.

In January, 53.3 million immigrants lived in the U.S., the highest number recorded, but in the months that followed, those who left or were deported surpassed those arriving — the first drop since the 1960s. As of June, the number living in the U.S. had dropped to 51.9 million. Pew did not calculate how many immigrants are undocumented.

Trump and his supporters have applauded the exodus, with the president declaring “Promises Made. Promises Kept,” in a social media post this month.

“Seven months into his second term, it’s clear that the president has done what he said he’d do by reestablishing law and order at our southern border and by removing violent illegal immigrants from our nation,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a USA Today column on Thursday. “Both actions were necessary for Americans’ peace and prosperity.”

But some experts caution that such declines will have negative economic effects on the United States if they continue, resulting in labor shortages as America’s birth rate continues to drop.

“Looking ahead in the future, we’re going to have to rely on immigrant workers to fulfill a lot of the jobs in this country,” said Victor Narro, project director at UCLA Labor Center. “Like it or not, the demographics are going to be changing in this country. It’s already changing, but it’s going to be more pronounced in the future, especially with the decline in native-born workers.”

The Pew analysis highlights several policy changes that have affected the number of immigrants in the country, beginning during then-President Biden’s term.

In June 2024, Biden signed a proclamation that bars migrants from seeking asylum along the U.S. border with Mexico at times when crossings are high, a change that was designed to make it harder for those who enter the country without prior authorization.

Trump, who campaigned on hard-line immigration policies, signed an executive order on the first day of his second term, declaring an “invasion” at the southern border. The move severely restricted entry into the country by barring people who arrive between ports of entry from seeking asylum or invoking other protections that would allow them to temporarily remain in the U.S.

Widespread immigration enforcement operations across Southern California began in June, prompting pushback from advocates and local leaders. The federal government responded by deploying thousands of Marines and National Guard troops to L.A. after the raids sparked scattered protests.

Homeland Security agents have arrested 4,481 undocumented immigrants in the Los Angeles area since June 6, the agency said this month.

Narro said the decrease in immigrants outlined in the study may not be as severe as the numbers suggest because of a reduction in response rates amid heightened enforcement.

“When you have the climate that you have today with fear of deportation, being arrested or detained by ICE — all the stuff that’s coming out of the Trump administration — people are going to be less willing to participate in the survey and documentation that goes into these reports,” Narro said.

Michael Capuano, research director at Federation for American Immigration Reform, a nonprofit that advocates for a reduction in immigration, said the numbers are trending in the right direction.

“We see it as a positive start,” Capuano said. “Obviously enforcement at the border is now working. The population is beginning to decrease. We’d like to see that trend continue because, ultimately, we think the policy of the last four years has been proven to be unsustainable.”

Capuano disagrees that the decrease in immigrants will cause problems for the country’s workforce.

“We don’t believe that ultimately there’s going to be this huge disruption,” he said. “There is no field that Americans won’t work in. Pew notes in its own study that American-born workers are the majority in every job field.”

In 2023, the last year with complete data, 33 million immigrants were part of the country’s workforce, including about 10 million undocumented individuals. Roughly 19% of workers were immigrants in 2023, up from 15% two decades earlier, according to Pew.

“Immigrants are a huge part of American society,” said Toby Higbie, a professor of history and labor studies at UCLA. “Those who are running the federal government right now imagine that they can remove all immigrants from this society, but it’s just not going to happen. It’s not going to happen because the children of immigrants will fight against it and because our country needs immigrant workers to make the economy work.”

The United States experienced a negative net immigration in the 1930s during the Great Depression when at least 400,000 Mexicans and Mexican Americans left the country, often as a result of government pressure and repatriation programs. Not long after, the U.S. implemented the bracero program in 1942 in which the U.S. allowed millions of Mexican citizens to work in the country to address labor shortages during World War II.

Higbie predicts the decline in immigration won’t last long, particularly if prices on goods rise amid labor shortages.

“You could say that there’s a cycle here where we invite immigrants to work in our economy, and then there’s a political reaction by some in our country, and they kick them out, and then we invite them back,” he said. “I suspect that the Trump administration, after going through this process of brutally deporting people, will turn around and propose a guest worker program in order to maintain a docile immigrant workforce.”

Trump’s investments include Meta, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and T-Mobile, according to filing.

United States President Donald Trump has bought more than $100m in company and municipal bonds since his return to the White House, financial disclosures show, providing a window into the management of the billionaire’s wealth in office.

The filings released by the US Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday detail nearly 700 financial purchases made by Trump from his January 21 inauguration to August 1.

The purchases include bonds issued by the financial giants Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, as well as those from corporate household names such as Meta, UnitedHealth, T-Mobile and The Home Depot.

Dozens of US states, including Texas, Florida and New York, are represented in the purchases of municipal bonds, with Trump’s investments spanning hospitals, schools, airports, ports and gas projects.

The documents do not provide the value of each transaction, only broad ranges, such as $100,001-$250,000 and $1,000,001-$5,000,000.

Trump did not report any sales during the period.

A type of fixed-income investment, bonds are a loan to a government authority or company in exchange for a specified rate of interest.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but US media cited administration officials as saying that Trump and his family were not directly involved in the transactions.

Under legislation passed in 1978 in the wake of the Watergate scandal, US presidents are required to disclose a broad accounting of their finances, but they are not obligated to divest from assets that could potentially raise conflicts of interest.

Before Trump, all US presidents going back to 1978, set up a blind trust or committed to limiting their investments to diversified mutual funds upon taking office.

Trump controversially dispensed with that tradition, instead passing control of his business empire to a trust managed by his children.

Government ethics experts have for years raised concerns about the intersection between Trump’s governance and his personal fortune.

Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer in the administration of former President George W Bush, noted that Trump’s bond holdings stand to rise in value if the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates as he has demanded.

“When interest rates go down, bond prices go up,” Painter told Al Jazeera. “No wonder he’s leaning on the Fed for a rate cut!”

While Trump’s exact net wealth is unclear, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index last month estimated the US president to be worth $6.4bn.