Stranger

The Chargers bolstered their efforts to protect quarterback Justin Herbert all while diversifying their offense by agreeing to terms with veteran fullback Alec Ingold on Sunday, according to multiple reports.

Ingold’s deal with the Chargers reportedly is for two years and $7.5 million.

Ingold will be no stranger to the Chargers’ plans on offense. He played the last four seasons in Miami under coach Mike McDaniel, the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator. Last year he caught eight passes for 52 yards and ran the ball twice in 17 games.

Ingold caught 47 passes for 372 yards and rushed for 34 yards in 20 carries in four seasons with the Dolphins. He also had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.

Before his time in Miami, Ingold played three seasons with the Raiders.

The deal comes two days after the Chargers signed veteran center Tyler Biadasz to take over over for the retiring Bradley Bozeman. They agreed to terms on a one-year deal with edge rusher Khalil Mack on Saturday.

With the free agency negotiation period set to begin Monday at 9 a.m. PDT, the Chargers remain in strong position to be significant players in the free-agent market. They rank among the top-five teams in salary cap space, per Overthecap.com.

Civilian onlookers out in the street filming the air-to-air engagement rapidly unfolding in the bright blue sky above them, a trail of smoke, and the low rumble of fighter jet engines. This is the latest video to have emerged from the extraordinary incident earlier this week in which a Kuwaiti Air Force F/A-18 Hornet was responsible for shooting down three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles.

As in the previous videos of the incident and its aftermath, the usual caveats apply as to the nature of its authenticity, which remains unconfirmed. However, everything points to this being genuine, and it clearly indicates a within-visual-range air-to-air engagement, likely involving a heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder series air-to-air missile.

Check the video out here:

It was initially rumored that a ground-based air defense system, such as the Patriot, which is present in Kuwait, took the F-15Es out. However, the earlier video footage of one of the jets spiraling to the ground suggested it was an air-to-air engagement, based on the damage to the aircraft.

The new video is also in line with our original assessment of the likely cause of the shootdowns, namely, tail-aspect missile shots made by smaller-yield weapons. As we noted at the time, under certain circumstances, if the Hornet employed passive heat-seeking missiles (AIM-9), the F-15E pilots may not have known they were being engaged until the weapon detonated.

The video clearly shows one of the F-15Es after being hit, with part of its rear portion burning brightly, and the same aircraft in a flat spin toward the ground. You can also see the two crew members ejecting. The F/A-18 is also seen, toward the top of the frame.

For at least part of the engagement, the F/A-18 and F-15E are clearly in the same frame and are in close proximity.

An experienced former F/A-18 pilot TWZ talked to about the event and the new video concluded that the incident is, altogether, “very strange.”

“I have genuinely no idea how someone could make this mistake,” the ex-Hornet driver continued. “Unless it’s something procedural and GCI [ground-control intercept] has messed up, talked him on, and he’s seen what he wanted to see … but even that’s bordering on implausible.”

Undoubtedly, the challenge of deconfliction of friend from foe in a very complex war zone is a significant one, as we outlined previously. At the same time, the threat from Iranian aircraft was, at the time, real. Also this week, a Qatar Emiri Air Force F-15QA shot down a pair of Iranian Su-24 Fencer strike aircraft that were inbound to attack the sprawling air base at Al Udeid.

While the cause of the friendly-fire incident remains unclear, the chance to see such an aerial engagement is remarkable in itself, especially the very rare sight of a modern fighter firing one of its air-to-air missiles in an operational context.

A video shows a U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter jet destroying a towed target at very close range with one of its Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, during a live-fire exercise over the Atlantic Ocean on December 8, 2020:

F-15 Firing Training Sidewinder NATM-9M At Drone

The same former Hornet driver also explained exactly how a short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder missile would be fired from the jet in a WVR scenario:

“You’d be in air-to-air master mode and bring up the weapon using HOTAS [‘hands on throttle and stick’ controls]. You rock a castle switch that puts you in Sidewinder mode. From there, you can select your radar scan mode, again using HOTAS. Now you have a weapon looking for an infrared signature and a radar looking for a target. In a combat mode, the radar will latch/form a track almost immediately. The weapon system then cues the Sidewinder to the radar track, and so long as it’s within the weapon’s kinematic capabilities, you’ll get a SHOOT cue. The weapon then leaves on trigger press.”

“You can also just point and shoot with a Sidewinder, but then your radar isn’t giving you any info, so you risk a shot that can’t make it.”

In such a scenario, it is conceivable that the F/A-18 pilot might have accidentally launched a missile that then found its target, the same pilot agreed, but that would not explain the three friendly-fire kills.

“Once, yes. Twice, no way. Thrice?”

It is worth bearing in mind that there have been previous incidents of friendly-fire shootdowns, even when a visual ID had been conducted. This happened in 1994, when two U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle fighters shot down two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters over Iraq, killing 26. Perhaps the Kuwaiti pilot thought they had encountered Iranian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters, but, again, to make the same mistake three times over seems highly improbable, especially at close range.

Another fighter pilot’s analysis, seen in video below, questions whether the Kuwaiti pilot might even have gone rogue against an ally. That actually seems possible based on the evidence, but it is hard to believe.

Accident or Crime? A Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet Shot Down Three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles?

Ultimately, based on the latest video and the limited reports so far, it’s still far from clear how this costly incident happened. A friendly-fire kill involving a longer-range weapon would be more believable, but the within-visual-range nature of this engagement is bizarre, to say the least.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

STRANGER Things star Maya Hawke has married her long-term boyfriend in a surprise wedding on Valentine’s Day.

The actress, 27, tied the knot with musician Christian Lee Hutson in New York City on Saturday.

Maya’s famous Hollywood star parents, Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman were among the famous faces in attendance.

Her Stranger Things co-stars Finn Wolfhard, Natalia Dyer, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Gaten Matarazzo and Charlie Heaton attended the big day.

Photos showed Maya looking stunning in a classic sleeveless white gown paired with a veil over her head and a long trail.

Maya wore her hair in a chic updo and completed her look with subtle makeup.

Her father appeared full of pride as he walked alongside his daughter on the streets of New York while holding her bouquet of flowers.

Other snaps showed the happy couple taking photos outside the venue, while Maya’s bridal team helped rearrange her dress.

Maya and singer Christian were first romantically linked in 2023.

The pair frequently worked together on music projects. and even collaborated on Maya’s second studio album Chaos Angel in 2024.

Maya also appeared on Christian’s album Paradise Pop. 10 and joined him for a few stops on tour early 2025.

“Christian has been so encouraging to me as a musician, helping me to make the transition from a being a poet in a band to sort of being a musician,” Maya told Variety in June 2024.

In 2023, Maya and Christian were first spotted sharing a kiss in New York City.

They were seen strolling through the city and stopped at a jewellery store.

The couple went on to make their relationship red carpet official on April 2025, at the opening night of Broadway’s John Proctor Is the Villain.

Maya attended the event in support of her co-star Sadie Sink, who was starring in the play.

The pair were good friends for four years before they took things to the next level.

Maya previously said she ‘cannot recommend dating a friend enough’.

“It’s the best,” she said.

“They know you, they understand that you are a person and a human being who has dated other people … not just a piece of paper for them to project their image of a perfect girlfriend onto.”

Nicole Curtis, whose home-rehab work in Detroit and Minneapolis has been the backbone of “Rehab Addict” on HGTV, is thanking people for their support and apologizing after a video surfaced in which she used a racial slur.

“I could say more, but I shall say less,” she wrote Wednesday in a caption on an Instagram video showing her going back and forth on an airport’s moving sidewalk. “Thank you for 15 years of amazing, amazing support! Your love took me from a struggling mommy working odd jobs in Craigslist to a real estate mogul whose voice (more than face) gets recognized all over the world.

“God Bless … Set the DVR -stream it -just make sure these old houses are saved.”

In the video, you can see her riding in one direction as the text over the video states, “POV: you waiting all this time for more Rehab Addict. Then she’s going the other way with text saying, “Me: I promise” followed by another direction switch and text that reads, “Me: forgive me.”

In her Instagram Stories, she shared a text exchange with TMZ where she said, in part, “Regarding HGTV, I’m grateful for the 15-year journey we’ve shared. It’s been a meaningful chapter, but my focus isn’t on my career. My focus at this moment is rightfully on my relationships, and my community — the people who truly know my character and where my heart is. I want to be clear: the word in question is wrong and not part of my vocabulary and never has been, and I apologize to everyone.”

She followed that up with a series of screen grabs showing messages from strangers calling her profane names, insulting her and labeling her a racist. One person said he wanted her deported and “disposed of” and added, amid his all-caps profanity, “may you never have a day of peace again.” Curtis told TMZ she was focused on being a mom.

Video of the slip was captured two years ago, according to Radar Online, which posted it Wednesday.

“Why? It’s my last one,” she says in the brief clip, whining a bit as she stands on a ladder and struggles to clip some wires. Then she uses the N-word.

She immediately stops what she’s doing, turns around and says, “What the f— is that that I just said? Nick, you gotta, you gotta — can you kill that?” A worker is seen helping her at ground level. Someone can be heard laughing off camera.

“No, I’ve got 35 minutes [of footage shot], I can’t …,” her cameraman says from farther away, off-camera.

“Oh, f— my life,” Curtis says, distressed over what she just said.

HGTV said in a statement that the network had been “recently made aware of an offensive racial comment made during the filming of Rehab Addict. Not only is language like this hurtful and disappointing to our viewers, partners, and employees — it does not align with the values of HGTV.”

The network said it had removed the show “from all HGTV platforms.” The show was produced for eight full seasons from 2010 to 2018 and was in the midst of an apparently short ninth season spread over two years when it was pulled. The franchise — which also included “Rehab Addict Rescue” (2021) and “Rehab Addict Lake House Rescue” (2022) — was no longer available to stream on the HBO Max or Discovery+ platforms on Thursday.

Curtis had posted a promo for the new episodes of “Rehab Addict,” which hasn’t showed new material since last summer.

“Straight from Detroit —the new episodes drop Wednesday …was told now or never -so you get them now,” the Instagram post says. Two episodes were set to air, but did not,” she wrote in the promo caption.”And can you do me a huge show of support by sharing this. Sending it to friends, tag a friend, a stranger.”

Curtis talked with The Times about her 2016 book “Better Than New: Lessons I’ve Learned From Saving Old Houses,” where she wrote, “The best way to get through hell is to keep on moving.”

“Years ago, I was having a bad time and I was sitting there in my pajamas crying, and a friend was there and said, ‘C’mon, get up, we’re going for a walk,’” she said at the time. “Now I’ve got mascara running down my face, and I’m a mess, but she said, ‘You have to keep moving, now, let’s go!’ And that was really helpful. If I wasn’t so physically active, I probably wouldn’t get out of bed some days. You have to get fired back up — just get up and move.”

It could be time for Curtis to get up and moving again.