His brother confirmed he died peacefullyCredit: UnknownThe actor also played in the film MercyCredit: Alamy Stock Photo
“It is with a heavy heart Im here to inform everyone of the very sad passing of Beau Starr. [Mike Starr] asked me to make the announcement,” wrote Christopher Serrone, who starred alongside Starr in the 1990 mob film.
“Beau enjoyed a rich a meaningful life. He was a son, brother, father, grandfather, actor and NFL/CFL player. Please take a moment to help me remember a great guy. RIP.”
Fans were also left devastated, flooding social media with memories of his most iconic roles.
“He was a great actor, your scene with him in Goodfellas is still a scene I will never forget, he was also good in Halloween 4-5, May he rest in peace,” one fan wrote.
“He was a great actor & good man in person. Very sad to read this news. I am sorry for his family loss,” another wrote.
Before finding fame on screen, Beau Starr lived a very different life – starting out as a professional football player.
After several years on the New York Jets practice squad in the late 1960s and two seasons in the Canadian Football League, Beau got his break in entertainment on Bizarre – a half-hour sketch comedy show starring Bob Einstein and featuring comedians like Howie Mandel.
He landed his first film role in 1982’s Hanky Panky, starring Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner, before going on to play Sheriff Ben Meeker in Halloween IV and Halloween V.
Fans of director Martin Scorsese will remember Starr for his role as Henry Hill’s father in Goodfellas, with co-star Christopher Serrone.
Starr also became a familiar face on TV, starring in 66 episodes of Due South between 1994 and 1999.
His long list of credits includes films such as Born on the Fourth of July, Speed, Angels in the Infield, The Cactus Kid and Cinderella Man, as well as TV shows including Wings, T.J. Hooker and Doc.
His former manager, Timothy Beal, said Starr always appreciated his fans, especially those of the Halloween franchise.
Beal said he only ever had positive experiences with the late star and wished they had worked together more.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ron DeSantis was once the future of the Republican Party, a battle-tested conservative twice elected as governor of Florida. Then Donald Trump steamrolled him on his way back to the White House.
Now, more than two years after DeSantis ended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump, the governor has called a special legislative session on redistricting and other issues that will put him back in the national spotlight and maybe remind Republicans that he could lead the party one day.
But there are also plenty of risks involved for the 47-year-old governor, and they became immediately apparent after lawmakers convened Tuesday.
DeSantis is pushing state lawmakers to redraw Florida’s congressional map as part of a coast-to-coast redistricting battle ahead of November’s midterm elections. His proposal, released the day before the session began, would make it easier for Republicans to win up to four more seats, equivalent to Democrats’ potential gains from last week’s referendum in Virginia.
The governor also wanted lawmakers to adopt new regulations for artificial intelligence and loosen vaccine requirements. However, his proposals quickly hit a roadblock when House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Republican but not a DeSantis acolyte, told members that he would not advance any legislation on those issues.
Perez said the governor’s maps are on a fast track, with a House vote expected Wednesday, but some Republicans are worried that a gerrymandered map will backfire and make it easier for Democrats to pick up seats, something that would be a black eye for DeSantis.
He already faces tough prospects on the national stage, even with Trump constitutionally barred from running for a third term in 2028. DeSantis has had a relatively low profile during Trump’s second presidency and would likely have Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, another Floridian, to contend with in a Republican primary.
“The window for Ron looks reasonably narrow at this point,” said Whit Ayres, who served as DeSantis’ pollster in his first campaign for governor in 2018.
DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. But the governor has at least embraced the national redistricting fight. When House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) last week dared Florida Republicans to go ahead with their special session, the governor punched back with the kind of aggressiveness he showed in the early days of his failed White House bid.
“I will pay for you to come down to Florida and campaign,” DeSantis said of Jeffries. “I’ll put you up in the Florida governor’s mansion. We’ll take you fishing.”
DeSantis wants four more Republican seats
DeSantis unveiled his proposed congressional map to Fox News on Monday even before it had been widely circulated among lawmakers. He argued that the 2020 census shortchanged the state’s population, making it necessary to redraw the lines.
The governor’s map, if approved, would reshape districts in Democratic areas around Orlando, Tampa Bay, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The changes could cost Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, among others, their seats.
The current maps yielded a 20 to 8 Republican tilt in 2024. DeSantis’ version would aim for an advantage of 24 to 4.
DeSantis first announced the special session in January, months after Trump started pushing Republican-run states to redraw their congressional boundaries. What followed has been a tit-for-tat battle, with each party looking for an edge in the midterms.
The Virginia referendum celebrated by Democrats is facing a court challenge. Another legal battle is playing out in Wisconsin, where Democrats also hope to pick up another seat or two.
There’s no guarantee that new maps will play out the way parties hope. For example, Texas based its revised lines largely on Trump’s performance in 2024, theoretically redistributing the president’s voters across more districts to pull them into the Republican column. But Trump’s popularity has waned since his reelection, including among Latino voters who figure prominently in the state.
Florida could face a similar conundrum. Creating more majority-Republican districts but with thinner margins could dilute GOP advantages and give Democrats more opportunities to win seats, especially if there’s an anti-Trump backlash at the polls this year.
Karl Rove, a former top political advisor to President George W. Bush, warned that if Florida Republicans get too aggressive, “they may lose a seat or two.”
Brian Ballard, an influential Florida lobbyist who has been DeSantis’ top fundraiser, said it’s worth remembering that DeSantis was the muscle behind the current map that expanded Republicans’ advantage in the state.
“He’s incredibly smart and capable,” Ballard said. “And he doesn’t get enough credit for that map. He’s done this before.”
Florida legislative leaders are not rubber stamps for DeSantis
As it did Tuesday, the Florida House has grown more willing to buck the governor in recent sessions. Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton made clear for weeks that they were not drawing their own proposals and would react only to what DeSantis put forward.
Albritton sent multiple memos to senators reminding them of Florida’s state constitutional limits on redistricting and the requirement that it not be done as a blatantly partisan act.
Perez sidestepped questions Tuesday about whether the maps violate those requirements, which Florida voters approved by a nearly 2-to-1 margin in 2010. Democrats and political advocates have promised legal challenges.
Beyond redistricting, DeSantis was effectively asking House members to approve AI and vaccine proposals that they refused even to advance out of committee earlier this year.
On AI, DeSantis wanted to require tech companies to ensure children cannot interact with chatbots without parental permission. He also wanted to prevent AI from generating harmful material for minors. That proposal put DeSantis at odds with Trump, who wants the federal government to be the regulator of AI technology. Perez said he sides with the president, calling AI a “national security issue” that is “bigger than just one state.”
On vaccines, DeSantis wanted to add a conscience-based exemption to public school vaccine requirements, similar to the existing religious exemption. That aligns him with the anti-vaccine portion of the Trump base that was instrumental in making Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the U.S. Health secretary.
Perez countered that vaccine requirements in the U.S. “have been working for decades” and said he remains uncomfortable with “children being in school without measles and mumps and polio and chickenpox vaccines.”
Political observers are watching — even at the White House
Ballard downplayed any political concerns for DeSantis. What may seem to some as strained relations with certain Republican legislative leaders, he said, is simply measuring DeSantis against the opening years of his tenure.
“I mean, he went from batting a thousand to maybe batting .600,” Ballard said, using a baseball analogy for the governor who played the sport while attending Yale. “That isn’t failure.”
During the last Republican presidential primary, DeSantis initially gave conservative establishment figures and key donors an option other than Trump, who grew frustrated by the challenge and mocked the governor as “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
But Trump seemingly forgave DeSantis when he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump following his victory in the Iowa caucuses. He even promised to call DeSantis by his actual name.
There’s more bad blood within the White House, though. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, a Floridian, managed DeSantis’ razor-thin 2018 victory, only for the governor to have a falling-out with her.
Wiles did not respond to a request for comment. But Ayres said he’s certain she’s paying attention.
“Donald Trump has a long memory, and Susie Wiles has a longer one,” he said. “And that doesn’t bode well for Gov. DeSantis to be Donald Trump’s Republican successor.”
Barrow writes for the Associated Press. Scott Bauer contributed to this report from Madison, Wis.
Actor David Jason has reflected on the highs and secrets of Open All Hours as he took on one of the most iconic comedy roles on television in the 1980s
David Jason and Ronnie Barker were a perfect comedy duo(Image: BBC)
Sir David Jason famously landed two iconic comedy roles in the 1980s. One was the lead in Only Fools and Horses as wheeler dealer Del Boy Trotter.
The other was playing second fiddle to Ronnie Barker as unlucky-in-love errand boy Granville in Open All Hours. With such a workload, some actors might have ditched the co-star role and concentrated solely on being ‘the star of the show. But not Sir David.
Looking back on Open All Hours’ 50 th anniversary, he says he would never have turned his back on the loveable put-upon corner shop assistant. He says: “I was never grand about ‘Oh I’m above playing Granville.. I have got my own series.’ No, I was just happy to be doing another character which was so different. I had this character that was the total opposite. The leading man, the driving force, the wheeler dealer.”
Open All Hours is regarded as one of Britain’s top classic sitcoms. Viewers fell in love with penny-pinching stuttering shopkeeper Albert Arkwright (played by the late Ronnie Barker) and his endless efforts to woo ‘the lust of his life’ – the very buxom Nurse Gladys Emmanuel (the late Lynda Baron) while a string of regular customers would pop in and out of the shop in Yorkshire often being conned by his latest crafty tricks.
Added into the mix was Arkwright’s over-worked shy and awkward nephew Granville played by Sir David. The show was made for Ronnie in 1973 as one of seven new comedy pilots by the BBC who had lured him away from LWT to work for them.
Sir David, who is now 86, was excited to be among its cast as it meant working with the comic genius. Their paths had crossed when he appeared in his sketch show Hark at Barker in 1969 and he claims he learned so much from him over their years together.
In a new TV special called Open All Hours: Inside Out marking its 50 th anniversary this year, Sir David pays a fond tribute to the legendary funny man saying: “I couldn’t wait to work with him to see what I could learn from him.
“When we first started to work together he was a big star and I was in his shadow for years. Ronnie was at the top of his trade if you like. The rest of us crawled about underneath desperately trying to learn how to be as clever as Ronnie B but with that came the generosity of spirit he was so wonderful to work with he was good fun and he was respectful.
“It was a huge learning curve in my career to work with Ronnie B. It was a great journey to have travelled with him and learned his respect for showbiz and what it meant to be in it and to entertain people. A brilliant man.”
Audience research for the pilot of Open All Hours was very positive but the BBC wanted Ronnie for another show called Prisoner and Escort (which became Porridge). It meant Arkwright and Granville stayed on the shelf for three more years as the comedy was not fully commissioned until 1976.
But there was unrest about its scheduling on BBC Two on a Friday at 9pm. Writer Roy Clarke calls it ‘terrible’ and adds: “That was the equivalent of burying it.”
Even Sir David comments: “BBC One would have had the kudos over BBC Two but at least it was going out I suppose.”
Ratings for series one topped more than six million each week but, remarkably, the BBC went cold on the show. They wanted Ronnie to do more Porridge and more of The Two Ronnies with his pal Ronnie Corbett and writer Roy busied himself penning more episodes of Last Of The Summer Wine.
Meanwhile, Sir David landed the lead role in a new ITV sitcom called A Sharp Intake of Breath in 1977 and then in 1981 he was cast as Del Boy in a new BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.
It was an immediate hit.
But at the same time, the Beeb decided to revive Open All Hours for a second series. This time it was scheduled to go out on BBC One. Sir David had no hesitation in juggling both roles as he loved playing Granville and knew fans loved the character too.
He says: “Granville appealed to the viewers as people saw a bit of themselves in him – a dreamer who wanted to see the world. Granville was wistful and a bit romantic. I was so happy to be working with that sort of personality.”
Ratings for the sitcom soared with an average of 13 million viewers tuning in. In addition to its main stars, the shop’s badly behaved till became a character in its own right. And the Carry On style humour appealed to the masses especially when Nurse Gladys used to comfort Granville in her ample breasts – something which always made Arkwright jealous.
Sir David now recalls those scenes with a chuckle: “She was so padded everywhere you couldn’t get any pleasure about being pulled into her bosoms.”
Open All Hours bowed out in 1985 after 26 episodes and even beat Corrie in the ratings. It always remained popular whenever it was repeated but fans never expected to see the corner shop again especially since Ronnie passed away in 2005 aged 76.
However, in 2012, Sir David went to the BBC head of comedy with an idea for a sequel. He says: “I always wondered what would have happened to Granville if Arkwright left the shop to him.. and the rest is history as they say.”
And in 2014, Still Open All Hours was launched with the actor reprising the role. However, the new twist was that Arkwright had died and left the shop to Granville who had turned into a miser just like his uncle and was now tormenting his errand boy son Leroy played by James Baxter.
James says: “I had the toughest role. I was nervous at the beginning but I was in very safe hands with David. He built this world, him and Ronnie and Roy so I never felt too scared. Arkwright and Granville are icons of British comedy. I will stand in that shadow. That is fine by me.”
Some characters from the original made appearances too including Lynda Baron, Stephanie Cole and Maggie Ollerenshaw. It was a huge hit and ran for six series. A seventh was planned but ended up being cancelled when the Covid-19 pandemic struck and the series was shelved for good.
Sir David – who has also starred in The Darling Buds of May, A Touch Of Frost and A Bit Of A Do – comments: “I always felt it would be nice to see how we round it all up so that we the audience would go ‘Oh that’s lovely, you know’.”
His wish is granted in the new TV special as he gets to dust down his old shopkeeper overcoat one more time as Granville for a final sketch penned by Roy Clarke. And he jokes about the script: “It might be rude. Knowing Roy Clarke it might be very rude.”
On the show’s 50 th anniversary he concludes: ““It’s as much as that? 50 years? Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun? I was so lucky to work with such lovely people who were so good at their job and had a wonderful sense of humour because this is what it is all about.”
*Open All Hours: Inside Outairs onU&OriginalsonThursday 7 Mayat8pm.
This photo, released by Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday, shows South Korea’s special envoy, Chung Byung-ha (L), meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran. Photo Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran
South Korea’s special envoy to Iran has met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran and called for efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and the safety of Korean nationals, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Thursday.
Chung Byung-ha, special envoy for South Korea’s foreign minister, has been in Iran since March 11 as Seoul seeks to secure the safety of its vessels and seafarers stranded in the vital waterway blocked by both Iran and the United States amid the Middle East crisis.
“Special envoy Chung requested Iran’s continued support for the safety of 40 South Korean nationals remaining in Tehran, and 26 Korean vessels and crew on board,” ministry spokesperson Park Il said in a press briefing. The meeting took place late Wednesday (Iran time).
A total of 173 Korean crew members remain aboard the stranded ships.
South Korea has been in talks with Iran and neighboring countries to ensure their safety, sharing details of the vessels and crew with relevant parties, including Iran and the U.S.
Chung expressed hope in his meeting with Araghchi that peace talks between Iran and the United States will resume so as to restore regional peace and stability, the ministry said in a press release.
Chung also noted the importance of developing bilateral relations between Seoul and Tehran.
Echoing Chung’s remark on their ties, Araghchi expressed Iran’s readiness to cooperate in that regard, adding that Tehran will continue to pay attention to Korean nationals staying in the country.
Seoul’s decision to dispatch a special envoy to Iran has sent a positive signal to Tehran in terms of bilateral relations and is seen as contributing to potential future talks with Tehran on the ships and nationals, according to sources familiar with the matter.
South Korea is among a handful of countries that still maintain their embassy operations in Iran. Seoul also recently provided humanitarian aid to the war-hit country through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Regarding Iran’s blockade of the strait, Araghchi defended the measure as an effort to safeguard its national security and interests, saying that “responsibility for any resulting consequences lies with the parties carrying out the aggression,” Iran’s foreign ministry said on a social media post.
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Alex Higgins and baby daughter Lauren in 1982. Dennis Taylor wagging his finger in ’85. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s five-minute maximum. White the exasperated nearly man. The dominant Davis and Stephen Hendry decades.
Rob Maul covers snooker for the Sun and Shane McDermott has been a mainstay of the media room for the Mirror.
As Maul says: “You can’t ignore the history. It’s a pilgrimage I’ve done since 2018 and I feel honoured to do it, but there are people in that building who have done it for decades and decades and decades.
“That’s the unique thing about snooker: they’ve kept the Hendrys in the sport, and they’re still working. John Parrott’s commentating. And that legacy is something you don’t throw away lightly.
“When you walk around the city, you see Steve Davis, and Jimmy White will come by if he’s working. And so much has changed in other sports, but snooker’s fundamentally the same game that these legends were playing.”
McDermott says: “You see the same faces year on year, people who have been coming every year since 1977. Sadly some of them are coming less and less because of age.
“I can remember after matches perhaps nipping out of the press room for a minute and bumping into John Virgo as he left the commentary box. You’d have a little nod and say hello. That’s one thing everyone will miss this year.”
Faces in the crowd, faces in the commentary box, faces at the table. Here one year, gone the next.
In recent times, snooker has lost Virgo,Ray Reardon,Willie Thorne and Terry Griffiths, among others. Broadcaster and journalist Clive Everton and Bafta-nominated former BBC snooker executive producer Nick Hunter have left us too.
The booming voice and laughter of Thorne, the gentle humour of Griffiths, the wisdom of Everton, the dry wit of Virgo.
They were part of the fixtures and fittings.
And in their own particular ways, they each played a telling role in the Crucible becoming what it was never built to be: snooker’s home.
“To go and get promotion automatically as a non-parachute [payment] team with three games to go… these boys have managed to achieve something special and unique,” Lampard told Sky Sports.
“This is what it’s about. Coming here and getting a point at this stage isn’t easy.”
He added: “Doing this after 25 years… wow.
“The resilience to come back after losing in the play-offs (last season to Sunderland). We spoke in the summer about what we could do this season and whether we could finish third or fourth to get a home play-off in the second game which we didn’t do last year.
“It’s such a good feeling that the boys have managed to get it over the line.”
The former Chelsea and England midfielder, 47, took over at the CBS Arena in November 2024 for his first job outside the top flight since a season at Derby in 2018-19.
An emotional Lampard, who also credited the “incredible” job his predecessor Mark Robins had done, said he had “fallen in love” with the club during his time in the Midlands and ranked leading Coventry back to the top flight alongside his many accolades as a player.
“I’m proud of myself and the staff,” he said.
“We came into a bit of an unknown 15 or so months ago when we arrived in a people carrier.
“We’ve fallen in love and this is right up there with what I have achieved.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis makes remarks at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 8, 2025. On Wednesday, he delayed plans for the state legislature to hold a special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo
April 16 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has delayed a special session he called for the state legislature to work on redrawing the state’s U.S. congressional districts.
The session was scheduled to take place next week, but DeSantis said Wednesday it would now happen on April 28 to give the governor’s office more time to work on its proposal, The New York Times reported.
He also called legislators back to work to vote on a bill to give parents more freedom to opt out of giving their children school-mandated vaccines and one to protect minors from artificial intelligence, Politico reported. DeSantis called on lawmakers to return to Tallahassee from April 28 to May 1.
DeSantis issued a proclamation in January calling for the special session to reconsider the state’s congressional map.
“Every Florida resident deserves to be represented fairly and constitutionally,” he said at the time.
DeSantis said the redistricting would better ensure that race was not a predominant factor in determining congressional districts. He referenced a Supreme Court case in which Louisiana lawmakers were accused of creating a congressional district comprising mostly racial minorities.
Florida has 28 seats in the U.S. House, gaining one in 2022 after the 2020 census. Republicans hold 20 seats and Democrats have 8.
First lady Melania Trump speaks during a House Ways and Means Committee roundtable discussion on protecting children in America’s foster care system in the Longworth House Office Building near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. The bipartisan group of lawmakers are looking to address challenges children in foster care face, including barriers to education and educational advocacy, housing, employment opportunities, financial independence, and technology. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
BBC The Capture’s long-awaited season three finale has almost arrived with fans already on tender hooks.
The Capture is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. (Image: BBC)
The Capture season three is nearly over and the BBC has now confirmed what’s going to take its place next week.
BBC fans were shocked when the revelation around Simon’s true identity was discovered in last week’s episode of The Capture season three and are desperate to find out how it ends.
But with the grand finale airing tonight, Sunday, April 12, at 9pm, many have already turned their attention to what they will watch next week when it’s all over.
The BBC has since announced that The Capture season three’s time slot on Sunday, April 19, is going to be taken over by a “powerful” royal special.
To mark what would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday, BBC One will be airing a one-off film that explores the life and legacy of the country’s longest-reigning monarch.
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Country won’t be one to miss as it is going to feature “powerful” old and new interviews with global icons including Dame Helen Mirren, Barack Obama, Sir David Attenborough and her daughter-in-law, HM Queen Camilla.
Describing what else to expect, its official synopsis reads: “Spanning an era that saw the nation move from the age of Empire to the rise of celebrity culture — from the Blitz to the 2012 London Olympics — Queen Elizabeth II lived through extraordinary change.
“More than a witness to history, she became an enduring symbol of continuity in a rapidly evolving world.
“Through the prism of her life, the documentary tells the story of modern Britain in a richly historical and emotionally resonant exploration of both The Queen and the people she served.”
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Country won’t be the only way the BBC will be marking what would have been the late Queen’s centenary year either.
Ahead of the one-off special airing, BBC One will be showing Antiques Roadshow : Royal Special at 8pm with Fiona Bruce visiting Windsor Castle for the episode.
She will be taking a closer look at some of the late Queen’s more cherished items, childhood clothes and her coronation gown.
Bruce is also going to be given access to a selection of Queen Elizabeth II’s clothes which are set to go on display in a special exhibition at the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Country airs on Sunday, April 19, at 9pm on BBC One.
Wrexham came agonisingly close to earning a shock win over the Saints on the opening day of the campaign.
Josh Windass opened the scoring from the penalty spot for the visitors at St Mary’s Stadium but last-gasp goals from Ryan Manning and Jack Stephens earned the hosts victory.
Despite that triumph, the Saints struggled under Will Still and parted company with the head coach in early November.
They have drastically improved under German boss Eckert, winning nine of their past 12 league fixtures.
But Lewis O’Brien, who netted his side’s second goal at West Brom last time out, feels Wrexham’s improvement since the first fixture between the sides is evident.
“We were a pretty new team. There were a lot of signings and we were trying to understand how everyone played,” the midfielder said of the August contest.
“We’ve now got three games at home and three away and hopefully we can pick up as many points as we can.”
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The rescue of the F-15E weapon systems officer (WSO) missing in Iran after his fighter was shot down was one of the most complex and dangerous missions the U.S. military can undertake. These kinds of operations can come in many forms. In this case, before the WSO was finally recovered from the mountain crevice where he was hiding, a forward arming and refueling point (FARP) deep inside enemy territory had to be rapidly set up and secured so that it could act as a staging area for the aircraft, equipment and troops taking part in the mission. This is an exact mission set U.S. special operations forces train for extensively.
To get more insights about how such a FARP would be set up and operated, we reached out to Kyle Rempfer, a former Special Tactics Squadron (STS) airman who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. STS units are an elite cadre of operators who work to control aircraft in the air, including from airfields they establish deep inside contested territory, and direct airpower onto the enemy, among other duties, including rescuing personnel trapped behind enemy lines. They are often paired with special operations units, such as SEALs, Delta Force and Rangers, to bring their unique skills to their missions.
Air Force Special Tactics – the Air Force’s ONLY Special Operations Ground Force
Rempfer, a journalist and former colleague of the author at Military Times, offered unique insights into the process as someone who trained for these missions.
Some of the questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
Q: What happens in the Special Tactics Squadron level when the word comes out that there’s an aircraft down deep into enemy territory?
A: By this point in the campaign, Air Force Special Tactics teams – which are made up of combat controllers (CCTs) and pararescue jumpers (PJs) – would have surveyed or identified scores of Iranian runways and austere airfields that can be used for landing zones or drop zones down the line. Even if CCTs hadn’t set foot on these sites, they’d have pulled imagery of the locations and started using tools like AutoCAD, a surveying and mapping software, to sketch out the dimensions of an airfield and identify what type of aircraft could land there. Is this a site that could only work for a light short take off and landing (STOL) aircraft, or could we land something bigger like a C-17? Those types of questions are on their minds. And since this event appears to have happened near the Isfahan nuclear facility, it can be assumed that Special Tactics has been scoping out landing zones in that area since at least this war started, maybe far earlier.
Kyle Rempfer in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. (Courtesy photo)
For this mission, the Special Tactics team just needed someplace to land a couple of MC-130J Commando IIs. Those are designed to infiltrate and exfiltrate special operations troops into and out of the hinterlands, so an agricultural runway intended for crop-spraying planes would fit the bill in terms of dimensions. But on the ground, the soil strength might not hold up for repeat landings, or perhaps the recent weather has eroded the area or left it muddy. That can have an impact, and there are tools like dynamic cone penetrometers that Special Tactics teams use to assess soil strength. They’ve used those and a host of other tools to scout airfields all around potential conflict zones in Africa, northern Iraq, Syria, etc., but given the tight security in Iran, that probably was not feasible to do in advance here. So the soil strength might have been a known-unknown going in.
Q: What would happen once the FARP is set up?
A: They can do these fast. Everything is prestaged, even inside the MC-130. AH-6 Little Bird helicopters were probably offloaded and taking off within minutes, not hours, and beaming toward the WSO’s beacon. At that point, the team at the FARP site is pulling security and talking to all the aircraft overhead. Those pilots and aircrews are using sensors to monitor all the roadways that plausibly lead to the site, and potentially even putting warheads on those roadways to make them unusable. We know there were some diversionary bomb drops as part of the rescue, so they could also take that time to put big potholes in the roads.
Airbus satellite images show major road damage in Iran’s Isfahan near where U.S. forces conducted a rescue mission Sunday to recover a crew member from a downed F-15E.
Q: Can you talk about what systems, personnel and equipment would have secured the site?
A: The people who are surveying and setting up the landing zone and FARP are probably CCTs [Combat Control Teams] from the 24th Special Tactics Squadron. They would have had imagery to look at ahead of the mission, but you might not know what level of stress the ground can take until you physically get there. CCTs are trained to inspect that, blow up obstacles on the runway if needed, scan enemy activity around the landing site, etc., and then set up the austere airfield to start accepting planes and helos. They might not have had time to do a full-on reconnaissance mission, of course.
CCTs have dirt bikes, something like a Kawasaki KLR 250, that they can drive up and down the airstrip for quickly setting up lights and visually inspecting the terrain. The lights they’d use to create the airstrip would be set up to infrared mode so only people with night vision devices can see them. This isn’t the early days of Afghanistan, though, and night vision devices have proliferated to such a degree that infrared lights are no longer the game changer they once were. However, it still prevents civilians from seeing the operation at night, and that is important given reports that Iranian state media was mobilizing the population to look for the downed airman.
A 320 STS combat controller waits for the location point of a role player in Exercise Teak Knife on Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Sept. 13, 2021. Utilizing various equipment and resources helped these special operators to hone a range of unique skills during the exercise to maximize unit readiness. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Capt. Kim Chatto) Capt. Kimberly Chatto
Q: Who would be brought in for force protection?
A: The CCTs of course are not alone at the landing zone. They had DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6) for security and dozens of aircraft backing them up with an absolutely jarring amount of aerial firepower. CCTs are usually also certified JTACs so they can manage the aircraft stacks not just for landing the MC-130s and AH-6s returning from the WSO rescue, but also the dozens of aircraft overhead that can fire at targets as necessary.
Q: Reports indicate that the WSO climbed up a 7,000 foot crevice and hid out there with intermittent communications while the Iranians were looking for him. How does that complicate things? And what would the team on the ground be doing?
A: I imagine that all the communications would have been encrypted – not anything that the Iranians could listen in on. For the guys on the ground, the biggest situation is monitoring to make sure that other forces aren’t approaching the area and protecting that forward arming and refueling site, because while it’s not a base, for all intensive purposes it is the center of mass of the most U.S. forces, the safest zone you have. So basically probably just protected that site.
A Latvian Special Operations Unit Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) and U.S. Air Force Special Forces Combat Controller guide an incoming MC-130J Commando II assigned with the 352nd Special Operations Wing as part of a bilateral exercise in Riga, Latvia October, 25 2021. The aircraft was transporting a platoon in charge of the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) demonstrating the rapid, ready response capabilities that special operations enable for conventional forces in austere environments. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Patrik Orcutt) Warrant Officer Patrik Orcutt
Q: What would be happening in the air?
A: You would have ISR assets that would be scanning the area, and not just the immediate area, but probably any roads and highways leading up to where that FARP site was set up. They would be watching anyone who could possibly be approaching.
That whole area would just be soaked with ISR assets, and I know the Iranians knocked out two Reaper drones during the operation. So presumably, there was plenty of ISR.
There would be a mix of attack and surveillance aircraft. There would be dozens of aircraft available for this mission. That is great for the team on the ground, but just like an air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Airport in DC can be overburdened, so will the JTAC who’s on the ground controlling all these different pilots and aircrews calling in to report threats they’ve spotted, relay their fuel or munitions status, report radio chatter they’re picking up from the ground, etc. This could require multiple JTACs on the ground, and probably also pilots in A-10s or F-35s who can act as an extra layer of forward air control in the sky, handling aircraft check-ins and keeping track of specific assets so the JTACs on the ground aren’t losing their minds mind handling a massive air stack behind enemy lines.
Most CCTs also have a JTAC certification, so they can help call in airstrikes as needed to protect the FARP site. And attack aircraft, like A-10s, or multi-role fighters, like F-35s, also have pilots who are certified as Forward Air Controller (Airborne) — or FAC(A). The E-3 can also provide a command and control function to help manage this complex battlespace.
A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 2, 2026. (U.S. Air Force Photo) U.S. Central Command Public Affa
Q: How difficult is a mission like this? What are the dangers?
A: This would have been a hot refueling site, with engines running refueling, and you’re doing all that blacked out, and you have to probably keep the amount of radio chatter on the ground to a minimum because you don’t know if maybe Iran does have something where they can break through the encryption.
So I would imagine that the danger is even more than just the IRGC coming in and shooting at you. The danger is the technicalities that you’re dealing with, with the forward arming and refueling sites and all these aircraft moving around under night vision in blacked out conditions in a tight area. It’s a small airfield, you have to keep your signature low.
A U.S. Airman assigned to 21st Special Tactics Squadron, 24th Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command, guides a UH-1Y Venom during an assault basics exercise during Weapons and Tactics Instructor course 1-26 at K-9 Village, Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona, Oct. 4, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Castro) Lance Cpl. Christopher Castro
Thankfully, they were able to get more aircraft in to usher everyone out. But that just shows how even what they were dealing with, the runway probably wasn’t built to handle these kinds of aircraft, or not maintained.
Clearly this kind of operation – where you’re coming in, setting up an airfield, whether it’s for a follow-on parachute jump or even just air landing more troops and supplies – would be repeated in most of the other scenarios people are talking about. For instance, going in and digging out Iran’s enriched uranium. I think it would have to be pretty similar. You would send in a special tactics team with some Ranger recce guys, and the Ranger reconnaissance company would maybe parachute in, and check out the airfield, and they would start bringing in the MC-130s. It’s going to be a remote, austere airfield. It’s not going to be easy to land aircraft there, it’s not going to be well maintained, and you’re going to run into a lot of problems on the ground with aircraft.
In addition to the fixed-wing planes, the U.S. also destroyed a reported four Little Birds on the way out. Imagine if you’re trying to do sustained operations bringing aircraft in, that all those aircraft are wearing down that obscure runway as you’re coming in, and you’re having more and more troops flow in. Your signature is going to be bigger and it’s going to be there for a longer time.
So this is how you create a window into a country to conduct follow-on operations. In this case, it was just to look for one guy and pick him up. But, they’re obviously looking at runways and airfields all across the country, whether they’re actual runways that are in use by the Iranian government or municipal governments, or if they’re just like roads that they can use or dirt fields that they think they can land on. So this rescue mission was probably a snapshot into larger operational planning.
Here we see a destroyed Little Bird on the right, with the hulk of a C-130 to the left. (Via X)
Q: After the rescue of the pilot, the search for the WSO seemed to turn fairly quickly from a traditional PJ mission to a Tier One rescue operation. Can you talk about that transition and how those two fit together?
A: That’s right. From my understanding, there were two missions. The first was a traditional CSAR mission that was launched in daylight immediately after the F-15E went down. This likely involved the PJs from a rescue squadron that was on standby. They were aboard HH-60W Jolly Greens and had refueling support from an HC-130J. That mission is obviously very risky and time sensitive. They’re flying low and slow, in daylight, and vulnerable to ground fire. We saw people shooting at them with small arms, which probably won’t do much barring really lucky shots, but the crews are still exposed to man portable air defense systems (MANPADS).
You can see Iranians firing small arms at the CSAR aircraft in the following video.
This initial CSAR package successfully recovered the F-15E pilot, who would have had a beacon and survival radio. But obviously the WSO was still at large. Perhaps they knew his location but couldn’t get to him before the region came alive like a bees’ nest – with everyone from locals to actual security forces scouring the scene. At that point, it appears the mission shifted from a more traditional CSAR operation conducted by a rescue squadron to something we’re actually more familiar with from Afghanistan and Iraq – Tier One raids into denied territory. This makes sense to me because this was the single most important mission going on, and it makes sense to flood this with assets to successfully pull off a second pick up. In a bigger war, I doubt downed aircrew can expect JSOC rescue parties every time one of them goes down.
A lot of people were surprised that MC-130s and AH-6s were used for this, but it actually reminds me a lot of the early Afghanistan missions Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) conducted in fall 2001, before the Taliban fell. At least one of these involved Air Force Special Tactics CCTs parachuting into a remote part of Afghanistan, setting up a dirt airstrip, landing two MC-130s, off-loading a couple of Little Birds and then flying those around all night striking Taliban targets.
An AH-6 Little Bird is rolled off an MC-130. (DoW) Airman 1st Class Joseph Pick
This rescue raid isn’t too different. It sounds like Air Force Special Tactics CCTs surveyed the airfield in advance – maybe in person, maybe just using satellite imagery – and then brought in the MC-130s that held the AH-6s to actually conduct the rescue that grabbed the WSO. This sort of scheme makes sense given the distance inside Iran. The MC-130s can bring extra fuel and ammunition to set up a mini-special ops refueling and re-arming site.
One thing to note here is why the commandos reportedly blew up the MC-130s on the way out. If the government’s version of events is accurate, this might have been because the runway was not suitable for the MC-130s and those planes got stuck or damaged landing there. The CCTs may have known this was a possibility but determined it was the least bad option. There’s also the possibility the aircraft were more damaged by enemy fire than we’ve been told. We may never know.
An image taken at the airstrip showing burned-out wrecks of an MC-130 and Little Birds.
Q: What would be the biggest danger from the Iranians? Indirect fire like artillery? Drones?
A: Hard for me to say. If the team had the element of surprise, which it seemed to, then the Iranians would have been caught off guard enough that they didn’t have time to stage artillery or have drones already scanning the area. In that case, I could see the biggest threat being local police or civilians stumbling upon the site early in the mission. As the operation gets underway, the noise signature would probably attract more and more attention. And then you have IRGC teams speeding to the scene. If they’re moving fast, they might only have small arms, maybe some belt-fed machine guns, small caliber mortars, and potentially MANPADs. The longer the U.S. team was on the ground, the more time Iran had to rush forces to the scene and that’s when things appeared to get dicey, the Army’s Delta Force reportedly had to blow in place the MC-130s and call in a quick reaction force (QRF) for pickup.
Because people keep asking, the WSO was extracted on little birds flying STS and DEVGRU. Smoke checked 9 EKIA on tgt. The QRF that got called in for the FARP was from Delta. https://t.co/mmCbzrRjys
This is also why having so many aircraft overhead would be useful. Not only are those planes there to strike targets, they can listen to enemy communications and local civilian radio chatter, they can use their sensors to scan all the routes leading up to the airfield, and they can use jamming and spoofing to befuddle the Iranian response. All that helps buy time.
Q: What kinds of geospatial tools would have been used to find and prep the site and carry out the mission?
A: I imagine in advance of this mission the airfields and runways in this area were pre-scouted using satellite imagery. I’m probably too out of date to go into specifics even if I wanted to, but we have very high resolution satellite imagery that’s available in the commercial space and is very impressive. Additionally, aircraft can fly over sites and scan the terrain using LIDAR to build 3D maps of the environment. Suffice to say, the CCTs would have a great picture of the environment before going in, but being physically on the ground shows new problems — can the soil hold up to landing an MC-130? How fine is the sand? When the AH-6s take off, are they creating a brown-out environment?
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob Logsdon, 66th Weapons Squadron (WPS) combat controller, communicates with pilots of a C-130J Super Hercules prior to takeoff from a dirt runway during a U.S. Air Force Weapons School mission at Red Devil Landing Zone, Colorado, Oct. 3, 2025. The 29th and 66th WPS conducted an airdrop and evacuation in high-altitude mountain conditions, challenging students to coordinate across air and ground elements and plan complex objective areas that support joint mission success. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt) Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt
In an ideal scenario, the CCTs could parachute in before the main mission, conducting a high-altitude, high-opening (HAHO) jump and then confirming on the ground that the site will work to land an MC-130. We don’t know if that’s what happened, but if the reporting is accurate that an MC-130 got stuck and had to be blown up in place, then perhaps they made a mistake or – my bet – they knew the runway was rough and accepted the risk.
Bayern Munich are waiting on the fitness of “very special” Harry Kane to see if he can lead their challenge to overcome Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final.
The 32-year-old England captain took part in training in Munich on Monday morning, before travelling to Madrid with the rest of Bayern’s squad after the “minor issue” – believed to be an ankle knock – that kept him out of England’s friendly defeat against Japan at Wembley.
Kane was also missing for Bayern’s 3-2 victory against Freiburg, and coach Vincent Kompany was playing his cards close to his chest about his involvement at The Bernabeu.
Kompany said a final decision on whether Kane starts will be made on Tuesday, but speaking on Monday evening, he said: “Harry’s part of the team so that’s positive for us. We have to wait until tomorrow (Tuesday) to get the final information, then we will make our decision.
“It was important that he did a lot of training today (Monday). I don’t think he’s lost his rhythm.”
Kane is a key part of Bayern’s plans for the quarter-final first leg, having scored 10 goals in the Champions League this season. He is also the Bundesliga’s leading scorer with 31 this season.
Bayern team-mate Joshua Kimmich underlined Kane’s importance, as he said: “How many goals has he scored? How many assists does he have? Forty or 50 this season?
“This shows how important he is – apart from all the goals – extremely vital for our game.
“We are glad he is here with us. He is not only a poacher or a selfish goalscorer just trying to score as many goals as he can for us.
“He is an absolute leader who is always trying to have the maximum success for the team. This is a very special mindset for an attacking player. He’s a role model.”
Kimmich added: “It is important to have Harry on the pitch with us with all his qualities of leadership.”
Kompany fielded several questions on Kane’s fitness, saying: “Harry Kane knows how important this game is, but it is important to take a decision with each player.
“You keep asking about Harry Kane and to be honest I like it. I don’t mind but I don’t give you an answer.”
Slegers described an “unbelievable performance” in the second leg because of the fightback Arsenal knew Chelsea would give.
Goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar returned to the starting XI and put in a stunning performance, denying Sam Kerr on several occasions in the second half.
England defender Lotte Wubben-Moy was a rock at the back in the absence of Leah Williamson and Arsenal were not shaken when fellow centre-half Steph Catley went off with a calf injury at the end of the first half.
In-form striker Alessia Russo was full of tricks and flicks. The England international usually keeps touches on the ball to a minimum but she did what it took to escape tricky situations when pressure was building.
Slegers said her team were prepared to “suffer” in order to get what they wanted and it paid off in the end.
“It’s suffering for something you love. I think that’s what the team did really well. They were prepared for a difficult scenario and for momentum shifts,” she added.
“In the first 15 minutes, potentially at the end of the game when things changed again, they just stayed in the ‘controlled middle’, as we call it.
“They stayed in the game and were constantly in control of whatever scenario or momentum swing. They did their job. Mentally we were in control.
“Of course, we wanted to stop them getting chances and in an ideal world there are no shots but it was two really good teams going against each other.”
Former England captain Steph Houghton said Arsenal were “better in big moments” and deserved to progress on the balance of the tie.
Brighton forward Fran Kirby added: “Arsenal allowed Chelsea to have the ball, they were comfortable in their block and defensively worked really hard.
“With the opportunities that they had, they could even have gone on and won the game, so they will be really proud of the performance.
“It showed a different side to Arsenal. It showed what they can do when they have to defend.”
Arsenal will hope to book their place in the final when they take on the winner between Lyon and Wolfsburg – who play each other on Thursday night.
Call The Midwife bosses will replace the much loved festive episode with a prequel show of the historical BBC drama series as it attempts a ‘temporary pause’
Call The Midwife bosses remove the BBC show from the Christmas TV schedule(Image: BBC)
Call The Midwife bosses have decided to shake up the Christmas schedule by removing the much loved historical drama from the winter TV schedule. Now, viewers will be treated to a prequel episode titled Sisters In Arms which is said to be replacing the coveted prime time slot.
The prequel is set in the period of World War II and it seems it will feature the younger versions of the older characters, who have become fan favourites. The characters may include Fred Buckle, Dr Turner, Sister Julienne, Sister Evangelina and Sister Monica Joan.
It has been speculated that the prequel could also focus on Nurse Trixie Franklin’s story, who is played by the highly acclaimed actress Helen George. In the upcoming show, Helen George’s character will be played another actress reportedly in her teens or early twenties.
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The show creator and writer Heidi Thomas confirmed plans of the shake-up, according to The Sun. She previously said: “No, there won’t be a Christmas special this Christmas, not in the traditional mould.” She added: “This is really just a very temporary pause in the usual pattern.”
Showrunner Heidi previously explained: “The opening of new doors at Nonnatus House feels profoundly emotional, and yet just right. I have never run out of stories for our midwives, and I never will.”
She added: “But having wept, laughed, and raged my way from 1957 to 1971, I found myself yearning to delve into the deeper past. The Blitz years in the East End were extraordinary – filled with loss, togetherness, courage and joy.”
Heidi continued: “The bombs fell, the babies kept on coming, and the Sisters kept on going. There will be so much in the prequel for our wonderful, loyal fans, including the appearance of some familiar (if much younger!) faces.
Series 15 of the show took viewers on an emotional journey as Sister Monica Joan died. The character was played by Judy Parfitt since the show first aired in 2012. The plot follows the lives of a group of nurses and midwives in East London, who made it their mission to care for the people of the East End.
Not only is there a prequel to be aired later this year but the hit show will also become a film, set overseas in 1972. However, a release date for the movie has not yet been confirmed.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Heidi said the film is about “strong women above all else.” She then admitted: “Everything changes and nothing changes,” she observed, recognising its connections to the most recent series.”
Ranting about the decline of comedy specials while releasing a new one at the same time feels a bit like an oxymoron. But somehow it still makes sense coming from alt-comedy pioneer David Cross, who isn’t just complaining; he’s finding his own route to making specials feel special again. The only way to do that is by putting one out in the manner he’d like to see more often — starting by making the whole crowd stand up too.
Capturing the energy of a concert at the famous 40 Watt Club in Athens, Ga., was the first step in differentiating “The End of the Beginning of the End” from the typical hour you watch on a big streamer. And, with this new special, Cross is able to get back to his own beginnings of touring across the country with love bands as his openers, performing for crowds for as long as he could until he had to run offstage to pee.
Premiering the special earlier this month on his website (and on April 7, it will be available on YouTube via production company 800 Pound Gorilla), Cross is hoping the special connects with comedy fans in a way that we’ve forgotten specials could.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Your new special is called “The End of the Beginning of the End.” What does that title mean to you as it relates to the impending doom of what we’re all living right now.
David Cross: Well, you can look at it in a couple different ways. To me, it signifies that the beginning of the end has occurred. And we are now at the end of the beginning of the end. And from where you go with that, that’s for you to decide.
One of the things I love about the special is the fact that you shoot it at a club in the style of a live–music concert.
I’ve shot specials in theaters and it’s just different, not that one is better than the other, but they’re just different. You have a different relationship with the audience. When I first started touring, I would go to music venues and I’d have a band open for me and then I would just go up and pretty much [perform] as long as I could until I had to pee. Sometimes I’d have a band playing, sometimes two bands, then I’d go out. And I did that a couple of times, and then stopped doing that and did theaters, and I decided for the last two specials I’m going to go to, when I shoot it, I’ll go to a music venue, and I was at the 40 Watt Club in Athens this last time, I was at the Metro in Chicago before that, both places I played on earlier tours, and, you know, it’s not seated. People are standing there at the stage, and I prefer it. It’s more fun. It’s not as lucrative but, to me, a more fun show to do.
Comedian David Cross
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
The ambience of it was great.You can hear people shouting and drinking and having a good time, and the crowd work is also a little more spontaneous and fun than it would be in a regular venue.
Yeah, well, there’s more opportunity for that. But my thing has never been about crowd work. I like engaging with it, it’s kind of a nice distraction from the set that you’ve been doing 100 times, 150 times at that point. So it’s always fun to have that thing happen and that feeling of spontaneity. And like the guy [who I talk to in the crowd during the special], I could not have asked for [someone better]. I mean, even if it was scripted, it wouldn’t have been as good. The guy who [I talk to] during the stuff about hiking Machu Picchu [with Bob Odenkirk], that’s just… [chef’s kiss].
Speaking of Bob Odenkirk, you guys have this long relationship. How would you describe the dynamic of working with Bob and just how you guys bounce ideas off each other?
I mean, it’s great. We have an inordinate amount of respect for each other, both as people and as creative partners. And so there’s never any real issues. There’s things we will definitely disagree with, but we’re both decent people. So you know somebody backs off and says, “OK, let’s do it that way.” But even then, there aren’t that many of those [issues]. We just have really worked well at building something or molding it, creating it and shaping it. And our aforementioned hike to Machu Picchu, we have a documentary about that, that will be premiering at a fancy festival at some point in the near-future. And so we got that doc and we’ve been working on that. And for the way we work now, because he lives in L.A. and I live in New York, and it’s been like that for a while, he’ll write a bunch of stuff, I’ll make notes, I’ll write my things, send it back. And so we’re able to do that and not necessarily have to be in the same room because we’ve had 30-plus years of working with each other.
It’s a kind of like an unspoken language you guys probably have in terms of comedy, which is super important, I imagine, just for collaborating.
Yeah, and it’s something we discovered very early on … before there was even “Mr. Show,” what would ultimately become “Mr. Show,” when we got together to write sketches for this bigger kind of comedy collective thing, and these shows that we would all do with each other, for each other, and the stuff that we would write together was just, like, really good, easy writing — again, one person adding this thing and one person saying here’s a switch yeah and another person adding this thing in. It was fun, it’s cool, still is. One thing he doesn’t get credit for is he’s a really decent human being. And with all the awfulness in the world that’s magnified, every sense is bombarded with it — it’s just good to be hanging with somebody whose energy is a good person, a decent person and an equitable, nice guy, so that’s good as well.
Comedian David Cross poses for a portrait ahead of his comedy special “The End of the Beginning of the End.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
One thing you guys also have in common is you both have kids, and he has a comedy show for kids called “The Appropriate Show.” Have you taken your daughter to see it?
It’s a sketch show [in which] all the sketches are appropriate for kids to watch. And the sketches have been done in other sketch shows onstage, live. And he puts together this thing once, twice a year here in L.A. And I took my daughter to it last year. It’s just sketches that kids can [understand]. At least if they don’t understand the actual references they get the archetype. “Oh, that’s the boss, that’s that uh… And it’s great, it’s a really cool idea uh… “ And would an ass— think of [a show like] that? No, one good decent person; a good man. But listen, this interview isn’t about me, it’s about Bob Odenkirk, so let’s get back to that.
Well, speaking of having comedy geared toward kids, your daughter’s at an age where she’s probably consumed or seen some of your comedy at this point.
Not, not really. No, no.
Do you shield her from your stuff, or are you not so concerned about it?
I don’t actively shield her, but I don’t introduce her to anything. So I was a little bummed out, and I got over it pretty quickly, but when I found out that she had seen a little bit of “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” and only because I don’t want to spoil the enjoyment of what movies are and what kids’ movies are and how things work. And I feel like that would introduce an element of reality that I want her to be able to just enjoy these things without — she’s seen “Kung Fu Panda”when she was younger, like, I don’t know, three, four, five times, has no idea that I’m in that, that my voice is in there. She knows I do stand-up, she gets that now. And when she was younger, she’d say, “Daddy’s silly for a living.” … I’m just trying to ride the balance of letting her have those childhood joys and experiences.
Comedian David Cross.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Does having a kid make you think about what’s coming up in the future of comedy, or what kids are gonna maybe find funny, or what they find funny now? Do you have any thoughts on kid comedy in general?
Not really. I mean, I can see that she and her friends, who are kind of like-minded, are naturally funny, and then that’s kind of encouraging and heartwarming and they’re silly, but I’ll be long gone when that generation is is providing comedy. And I’m still, although I’ve kind of given up, I’m still trying to grasp what works now. I mean, it’s short-term TikTok, Instagram stuff. There are some amazing, like really, really great things being done as far as film sketches for YouTube channels. “Almost Friday,” they’ve got genius-level stuff. I mean, really good. And where the sketch goes in a place, you’re never ahead of it, goes in a place where you’re not expecting. It’s really well written and well performed.
What are your thoughts on what a comedy special is nowadays or what it should be?
I mean, that’s a great question. I think anybody who plays with the form, whether I think it’s that funny or not, is different. But I’m happy when anybody kind of tries at least to play with a form. I just went to Rory Scovel‘s taping last week of his latest special. I don’t know when that’ll air, but if you’ve seen the beginning to his first special, stuff like that where you’re like, “Wait, what’s happening? What’s going on?” I love stuff like that.
I still get excited to watch specials by some of my favorite comics, but there’s a quality that’s missing. And these are stand-ups I love, and they’re not that great. They’re not bad but they’re not special, you know? And all those guys I mentioned, and more, have great specials. Like, you can go back and they’re great. And I don’t know why that is. I mean, there’s still funny stuff, but I don’t ever want to get to that place where its just feels a little phoned-in a little bit… that is, in part, why the last two specials were shot in this more intimate setting that feels special. And … as I said, the energy’s different, it’s a little bit different, and it’s less slick. It feels like you’re in the moment. You don’t need a million dollars to shoot a special. You don’t 28 camera angles, it‘s just bull—. And it takes something away.
Comedian David Cross
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
It all should feel the right amount of unsafe as well, I think.
That’s never gonna happen at a theater show. You’re never gonna feel that. And I don’t know, it really does feel almost like maybe we peaked in a sense, like there’s too much, and because of that, these things aren’t special. They’re not revelatory, they’re not unique. I dunno, can 18,000 people in an arena really relate to a … billionaire talking about how they’re gonna get canceled. I mean, is that a thing I guess? Those other big, slick specials that are shot in, like, a 3,200-seat, 3,500-seat theater, it just feels like, “Oh this person is up there and I’m listening to their jokes.” There’s nothing wrong with that. They’re often very funny jokes, but it doesn’t go beyond that. It’s just like, “All right, tell me your joke.” It might as well be an audio thing, you know?
Well, hopefully the robots aren’t coming for your job anytime soon.
Absolutely not. I mean, this could be naive, but I feel 100% safe that you are never going to replicate an evening of stand-up at a nigtclub like that. And not sitting down at tables while you’re having drinks and waitresses are coming by. I’m talking about everybody’s up on the stage, sold-out, maximum capacity; everybody’s there, focused, we’re all sharing that thing. You can’t. AI’s not going to be able to do that.
Yeah, the robots can’t do that, Terminator can’t do that..
Oh, I forgot about Terminator. He could do that. G— it.
March 23 (UPI) — A sheriff in Riverside, Calif., has seized more than 650,000 ballots from a 2025 state election that allowed the state to redistrict to gain five congressional seats.
Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is running for California governor, said Friday that he is investigating allegations by an activist group that alleged the reported tallies don’t match the ballots.
“This investigation is simple,” he said at a press conference. “Physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes reported.”
The election Bianco is investigating is the special election for Proposition 50, asking voters for endorsement to redraw the congressional districts in response to other Republican-led states, like Texas, redrawing their districts to pick up seats.
Californians voted to redistrict, and it was not a close election: 7.4 million in favor to 4.1 million.
A group called Riverside Election Integrity Team called for the investigation saying its examination of records shows about 45,000 more ballots were counted than received, Bianco said.
Local election officials said those allegations were based on a misunderstanding of how ballots are officially counted, the Palm Springs Desert Sun reported.
“County election staff follow detailed procedures established by state and federal law to protect the integrity of the vote and to ensure that every eligible ballot is processed and counted in accordance with those legal requirements,” Riverside County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen said in a statement.
Bianco seized the ballots with two warrants signed by a judge. California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent Bianco a letter March 6 alleging, “my office has serious concerns as to whether probable cause existed to support the issuance of the warrants and whether your office presented the magistrate with all material evidence as required by law.”
Bonta also alleged that Bianco’s office is not qualified to count ballots and the investigation “sets a dangerous precedent and will only sow distrust in our elections.”
Bianco replied: “A judge approved the warrant, so Bonta’s opinion means absolutely nothing.”
Bianco also said Friday that he would give the investigation to a judge-appointed special master.
Democrats and Republicans in the state have said the investigation is baseless.
“It looks to me like it’s a politically motivated effort,” Jon Fleischman, former executive director of the California Republican Party, told The New York Times. “It’s awfully coincidental that he would be taking this high-profile and extreme of an action literally two months before he’s facing a statewide election.”
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, said Bianco’s claims are not supported by the evidence.
“The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office has taken actions based on allegations that lack credible evidence and risk undermining public confidence in our elections,” Weber said in a statement on Friday.
“Investigations into election processes must be conducted by those with the appropriate legal authority and subject matter expertise. Similar claims raised in other states by individuals without election administration experience have been thoroughly reviewed and debunked.”
Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat running for governor, said Bianco is trying to gain national exposure.
“What we’re seeing from Chad Bianco is a dangerous abuse of power and no different from what we’re seeing from Donald Trump and the extreme Republican efforts to disenfranchise voters nationally,” Villaraigosa said in a statement.
“Seizing hundreds of thousands of ballots without credible evidence is an attack on the very foundation of our democracy. If you’re willing to undermine free and fair elections for MAGA stardom, you have no business holding public office.”
