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A Michigan man and former studio engineer is facing the music for his theft of rapper Eminem’s unreleased works.

Joseph Strange, a 48-year-old Michigan resident, pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement and will be sentenced to prison in January, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. He faces up to five years in prison. Federal prosecutors accused Strange in March 2025 of stealing and selling unreleased work by Eminem (legal name Marshall Mathers III).

An attorney for Strange did not immediately respond Friday to The Times’ request for comment, but told Variety in a statement that his client is a “good” man and his “children have suffered greatly in all of this.” The attorney said the case is “far more complicated and nuanced matter” beyond the theft.

“Nevertheless, my client has taken accountability for what he has done, has tremendous remorse for what has happened to his family,” the attorney reportedly added, “and has great faith, as do I, in the judges of our district to see this case for what it is.”

A spokesperson for 15-time Grammy winner, maker of hits “The Monster” and “Lose Yourself,” did not comment.

Strange was charged in 2025 with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods, federal prosecutors announced. Investigators said at the time that more than 25 songs had been played or distributed online without permission from Eminem or the group that owns his music, Capitol Labels Group. Investigators discovered the music on password-protected hard drives stored in a safe at Eminem’s studio in Ferndale, Mich., an FBI affidavit said. At the time, an attorney for Strange denied the “untested allegations.”

The charges against Strange arose after studio employees alerted the FBI of the theft in January 2025, alleging the unfinished releases were shared to a number of online platforms. Files from a hard drive in a safe were transferred to an external hard drive in October 2019 and January 2020, around the time when Strange was working at the studio.

A Canadian resident informed investigators that he purchased 25 unreleased Eminem songs from Strange for about $50,000 in Bitcoin and that he raised the funds through the support of a group of Eminem fans. He also claimed Strange also put some of Eminem’s handwritten lyrics up for sale.

The affidavit says a federal search of Strange’s home in January 2025 led to the discovery of numerous lyric sheets and notes handwritten by Eminem, a VHS tape of an unreleased video and hard drives with about 12,000 audio files.

“Joseph Strange abused a position of trust to unlawfully copy and sell unreleased music belonging to Eminem, profiting from works that were not yet authorized for public distribution,” said A. Tysen Duva, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice Criminal Division. “His conduct undermined both legal and artistic rights.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LAS VEGAS — The Strip is broiling on a recent afternoon, but it’s cool and dark inside Mary J. Blige’s dressing room at the Park MGM.

As a humidifier moistens the dry desert air, the 55-year-old R&B star sits on a sofa wearing a brown jumpsuit and matching gaucho hat; through the walls we can hear Blige’s band sound-checking for her My Life, My Story residency, which launched in May and will pick up again Friday night for shows through Oct. 31.

In some ways, Las Vegas is a funny fit for the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, who’s been transforming pain into music since her 1992 debut, “What’s the 411?” Yet her stay in this glittering showbiz mecca comes amid a season of flower-getting for Blige: Two years ago, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; two years before that, she played the Super Bowl halftime show and landed a nomination for album of the year at the Grammy Awards.

“It definitely feels like people are taking notice of the fact that Mary J. Blige is one of the most important performers in R&B history,” she says. “I opened up a lane that hasn’t been closed yet. Female after female after female after female continue to do what Mary J. Blige has done and still does.”

Who opened that lane with you?
Back in the ’90s, when we first came out, it was myself and SWV that were really, really strong. Then there was 702, then Jazmine Sullivan and SZA and Beyoncé, and now right down to Summer Walker, who’s singing her truth.

That’s how you define what you do.
I’m not a great singer because I can sing better than everyone — I’m a great singer because I sing from my heart. Bono gave me that jewel. When Hurricane Katrina happened, we were doing [U2’s] “One,” and Bono was like, “Don’t worry about singing on key — people aren’t moved by you singing on key. What makes you a great singer is how you make them feel.” Not all of us are like the eighth wonders of the world — Aretha Franklin or Chaka Khan or Whitney Houston. They have pitch-perfect and they have emotion.

I saw Chaka Khan the other night and was thinking about how, even now, you never know where her voice is about to go.
She’s Chaka Khan — there’s nothing else you could say, really.

Why’d you cover “Sweet Thing” on “What’s the 411?”
First of all, when I was growing up, my mother played “Sweet Thing” all the time — it was our favorite song. So when I got to Uptown Records, Andre Harrell, the CEO, he was like, “You should do ‘Sweet Thing.’” I was like, “I don’t wanna do ‘Sweet Thing’! Chaka Khan could really sing — I can’t sing like that.” But he said I could do it, so I went and did the song and they all went crazy over it. My fans who didn’t know Chaka Khan, they thought it was my song. Same with Rose Royce’s “I’m Going Down” — to this day, a lot of people don’t know that’s a remake. I was afraid of both those songs. But I wanted to sing “I’m Going Down” all my life because I heard the song when I was 5 years old from the “Car Wash” soundtrack.

Tell me about your routine in Vegas. You stay on the Strip or you have a house somewhere?
I have a house out here. I’m not staying here — this is a lot. So I go home after I finish my performance, and I get ready for my performance tomorrow: I rest, I drink water, I do whatever I need to do. Then it’s the same thing: I come here, go into glam, do my meet and greet.

Get the humidifier going.
I got a steamer that I actually pull on over my mouth. Then I do my warmups, relax, keep my mind clear of any nonsense.

How do you think about doing your thing in a town built on glitz?
Mary is not the slickest Vegas person. But you can let people see that you’ve evolved — that you wear gowns now.

Would 19-year-old Mary be surprised to see her future self in a gown?
Hundred percent. Nineteen-year-old Mary was all tomboy — all baggy everything. Right now, I barely want to wear a gown, this Mary right here. But I’ve actually grown to like some of it when it looks good.

Did you look at anyone else’s residency when you were putting yours together?
I saw two people’s shows, and I said, “That’s not it.”

Shows in Vegas tend to be on the shorter side. The casino wants people back out there gambling.
I got 90 minutes — it’s a lot of time. People are very happy, but they’re standing there like they want more. I’m like, “I did 90 minutes! I don’t know how much more y’all want from me.”

Silk Sonic’s residency here was a no-phones show, which Bruno Mars told me was his attempt to preserve the freedom to make mistakes. Does it bum you out as a performer to know that everything winds up on the internet?
I don’t care about that at all. Social media, it’s bull—. You know what’s gonna happen — you know they’re gonna say, “Oh, her jaw is swollen.” Whatever. As long as you live truthfully, what they’re recording doesn’t matter.

In a recent interview with Fat Joe and Jadakiss, you talked about keeping your romantic partner a “mystery man” to the world. I wondered how you came to the decision not to make everything available to the public.
Because for so many years it has all been available. What you know already is what you know — I’ll elaborate on that. But what you don’t know, you will never know. I think I’ve given a lot, and it’s important to have something for myself. Nowadays, people just take things and ruin it for you. So if you have something beautiful, hold onto it, keep it to yourself. You have to protect the person that you’re with as well, because they don’t deserve to get beat up for something someone else did. I protect the ones I love — I’m not having anybody speaking ill about my family or the man that I love. I’m too old for that. Early in my life, if social media was around in 1991, I’d have been on that s— all day, cursing and going nuts on people.

Mary J. Blige performs during halftime of Super Bowl LVI at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium in 2022.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

We were talking before about your accolades. Did the Rock Hall mean anything in particular to you?
It was important to me because those things don’t happen to us.

To Black women.
Yes. It happens to rock ’n’ roll stars every day, and they’re in their grave — there were people in their grave that they were honoring when I went. So when it happens to Mary J. Blige or Chaka Khan or Aretha Franklin, we have to honor that and raise it up. That’s a big deal.

Did Las Vegas feel like a place open to Black women?
I’m trying to think of what Black females I’ve seen do Vegas.

Mariah Carey was here. Toni Braxton had a show.
Yeah, but like me? But you know what I love? It’s time. And how I know it’s time is because my fans went up. When I made the announcement, they was going crazy — they still going crazy. I’m probably the first to open this door, and next it’ll be somebody else. You better believe they on their way. “Oh, Mary doing Vegas? I’m doing Vegas too.” That’s how it goes: “Mary did her hair blonde? I’m dying my hair blonde too.” That’s how my whole life has been, even actually before the music business.

Nosy question, but what’s an aspect of financial comfort that you especially enjoy?
Flying private — that’s the best one for me.

Getting to bypass the grind of travel.
That’s what I love about Vegas, because it’s not like tour. Tour, it’s a lot.

Are you soft now?
Probably a little spoiled.

Last one: Name an artist that meant a lot to you when you were young that might surprise people.
There were so many. I mean, Earth, Wind & Fire —

Everybody loves Earth, Wind & Fire.
But that “Way of the World” song — that really does something to me. We loved George Michael — George Michael was always one of our favorite artists. Duran Duran, come on. Oh, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” — Tears for Fears. And Hall & Oates! [Sings] “Private eyes, they’re watching you.” Ambrosia. The Eagles. I could keep going.

I didn’t expect you to hit me with Ambrosia.
They were so soulful — I just got goosebumps. And Queen. That’s one of my favorite movies — “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Who should play you in a movie about Mary J. Blige?
She wasn’t born yet.

Speeding effortlessly towards the slopes by train, you might wonder why you ever flew to a ski resort. On paper, it seems a short hop by plane; in reality, airport queues, cramped flights and long transfers can mean the journey eats up a whole day.

Measured door-to-door, daytime rail travel from London can be as fast as flying, while taking a sleeper train gets you extra time on the slopes. And with Alpine glaciers suffering significant loss of snow cover as global temperatures rise, rail travel constitutes the biggest emissions saving a skier can make.

An exciting recent development is the arrival of a dedicated sleeper train for skiers, the Travelski Night Express (TNE), launched last winter and with an additional new route for the coming one. Each carriage has couchette berths, but the train’s crowning glory is its large, speakeasy-cafe-bar-restaurant, with retro decor, soft lighting and music – you get the romance of overnight rail travel with the potential for two extra days’ skiing thrown in.

The TNE has two routes: one from Paris, the other from Amsterdam and Brussels, going out on Fridays and returning on Saturdays. Both routes access Moûtiers, Aime-la-Plagne and Bourg-Saint-Maurice – stations in the popular Tarentaise region of the French Alps. UK-based skiers can connect to the TNE by Eurostar to Paris or Brussels.

Overnight journeys to Austria are also possible, with a Eurostar to Paris or Brussels and then a Nightjet sleeper train to the Salzburgerland region; or, for Innsbruck and the Tirol, a Nightjet from Amsterdam and Cologne.

An array of resorts in France and beyond can be reached every day of the week by taking the Eurostar to Paris Nord, getting a taxi or the RER for the short transfer to Gare de Lyon, and from there catching a fast TGV train south.

The most direct daytime option is Eurostar’s flagship ski service, Eurostar Snow, which carries snowboards and skis free of charge on top of the usual luggage allowance. Skiers take it from London to Lille, then switch to an adjacent platform for the onward train to Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

Unfortunately, the final outbound departure for this coming season is on 20 February, leaving the ski industry frustrated. Eurostar’s explanation is that it needs to “deploy rolling stock to where it best meets customer demand. Historically, March has not always been the strongest period for Eurostar Snow.”

Iain Martin, founder of sustainable ski-travel campaign Ski Flight Free, says: “It’s ridiculous for Eurostar to curtail their flagship service and blame lack of demand. If Eurostar worked effectively with the ski industry and ski tour operators to market the train, they could sell it out many times over.”

Ski tour operators are certainly hungry for more train seats. “We’re keen on promoting rail travel to the French Alps and we know clients want this,” says Alison Willis, managing director of French ski specialist Peak Retreats. “While changing in Paris is straightforward, we know that direct services are an even more compelling alternative for those who usually fly. March ski holidays, with longer days and excellent conditions, are really popular. So, we’d welcome more direct rail options across as much of the ski season as possible.”

It’s a view echoed by ski tour operator Inghams, which has increased its range of rail-inclusive packages to include 75% of its French destinations, as well as some in Switzerland, Italy and Austria. “There’s a genuine appetite among skiers to travel to the mountains by train,” says head of sustainability Krissy Roe.

Here are 12 resorts you can reach easily by rail.

St Anton am Arlberg, Austria

“The cradle of skiing”, St Anton is consistently ranked among the best resorts in the world. While its slopes are known for being challenging and exhilarating (the mighty Valluga being the pinnacle), there are plenty of gentler areas, too. St Anton isn’t just about skiing, either: this delightful village offers a host of activities, including swimming, bowling, indoor rock climbing and some of the best toboggan runs in the Alps. Completing its ski-hard, party-hard image, the resort is renowned for its après-ski, with a long list of celebrated terraces where visitors can dance to live music while knocking back schnapps.

By train: 10h 30min

Depart London St Pancras on the 07.31 Eurostar to Paris Gare du Nord; transfer to Paris Gare de Lyon and take the 12.22 TGV to Zurich; then the 16.40 Railjet to St Anton, arriving at 19.01.

Where to stay

Ski Solutions offers seven nights at the Hotel Post from £1,870pp half-board, including return rail travel.

Alpbach, Austria

Comprising antique, chocolate-box chalets, Alpbach is perhaps the prettiest village on this list, with fantastic skiing to boot. Despite its low altitude, the resort’s north-facing slopes protect fresh powder, with the best off-piste and snowboarding terrain being on the far side of the Wiedersbergerhorn. Alpbach has gone to great lengths to preserve its rustic character. The main lifts are a short shuttle ride away from the village, and you’ll find gorgeous Tyrolean dishes at mountain hut restaurants such as Böglalm, torchlit walking trails, horse-drawn carriage rides and an Alpine coaster. Pick up a free Alpbachtal Card for access to local activities.

By train: 16h 49min

Depart London St Pancras on the 15.04 Eurostar to Brussels-Midi; then catch the 18.25 ICE to Cologne; get on the 21.45 Nightjet to Jenbach, arriving at 08.53. From there, it’s 20 minutes by bus or taxi.

Where to stay

STC Ski offers the four-star Hotel Alphof, with doubles from £955pp for seven nights’ half-board.

Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise, France

LONG BEACH, Wash. — Tourist dollars are drying up in this small town at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Foot traffic is down. Visitors have less to spend on souvenirs.

And beachgoers now bring packed lunches instead of stopping at Captain Bob’s Chowder Sisters, said Melissa Huddleston, waiting for customers at her sister-in-law’s shop on Sunday.

Huddleston, 60, is depressed about the state of the country, and while she’s planning to vote in the Nov. 3 midterms, she hasn’t decided who she’ll vote for. This swing district, Washington’s 3rd, is home to a tight congressional race that will help determine the balance of power in the U.S. House.

Huddleston doesn’t think anyone in Congress can really do what she wants: Bring decorum back to the national discourse and bring the economy back to life. She isn’t a particular fan of Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, the independent-leaning Democratic incumbent, nor is she persuaded by state Sen. John Braun, the Trump-endorsed Republican challenger.

“I don’t know which one is better,” Huddleston said, shaking her head. “I really don’t.”

Melissa Huddleston waits for customers at Captain Bob’s Chowder Sisters in Long Beach, Wash.

(Justine McDaniel/Los Angeles Times)

As the battle to persuade midterm voters intensifies in the election’s final stretch, its fever pitch is evident in places like this largely rural stretch of southwest Washington — a rare three-time Trump-voting district with a Democratic incumbent.

Republican-aligned groups are pouring money into flipping the district red, considering it one of the GOP’s best chances to gain a House seat in an increasingly unfavorable environment, while Democrats see retaining the district as urgent to their effort to secure control of the chamber.

The contest offers a glimpse into a purple region a time when both parties are testing strategies for winning voter loyalty — not just in the midterms but looking ahead to 2028. And the dynamic in the candidates’ race to capture swing voters reflects the national debate gripping both parties about how moderate to be.

As Democrats debate whether progressives or centrists should chart the party’s path, Gluesenkamp Perez has modeled an independent streak that has helped her win two elections but disappointed some in her own party. And as Republicans grapple with low public support for Trump, Braun has packaged his conservatism as balanced while assuring supporters that he’s rowing in the same direction as the president and party leaders.

Interviews with more than 30 voters across the district revealed a mix of support for the two candidates, largely based on partisan politics, views about Trump and concern with which party controls the House.

“This is a very pivotal time, and this area has a history of being more of a swing [district],” said Mark Maxwell, 46, of Vancouver, Washington, who planned to vote blue. “It’s a chance for our voice to be heard.”

A sign for Washington State Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, is displayed among other campaign signs near I-5, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Ridgefield, Wash.

(Lindsey Wasson/Associated Press)

The number of congressional battlegrounds nationwide has shrunk with gerrymandering and political polarization, making the district one of about two dozen races that will decide the House majority. The West’s other highly competitive contests include three in California — those of Republican Rep. David Valadao and Democratic Rep. Adam Gray in the Central Valley and the open seat of retiring Republican Rep. Darrell Issa in the San Diego area.

In southwest Washington, polling has indicated the congressional race may be essentially tied. A late September poll commissioned by Oregon Public Broadcasting had Braun up by one point. A July Emerson College poll showed the same. Earlier this month, election forecaster Cook Political Report moved the race from a toss-up rating to lean-Democrat.

‘Stubborn loyalty’

Across the district last week, left-leaning voters said they were backing Gluesenkamp Perez — some precisely because of her maverick streak.

“She’s voted against the Democrats and I know she’s voted against the Republicans, which is what one would hope,” said Helios Ovando, 69, of Battle Ground, Wash., who decided this year to volunteer for Gluesenkamp Perez’s campaign for the first time. “She’s more about the local scene.”

Ovando has been turned off by what he sees as Republicans’ adherence to the party line; Gluesenkamp Perez’s willingness to “buck the system” gives him more confidence in her integrity, he said.

July 2026 photo of Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA)at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.

(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Gluesenkamp Perez, 38, who ran an auto shop with her husband before being elected to Congress, frames her mission as one built around the practical needs of her district. She argues that Democrats should break the Republican hold on rural districts and talks about reestablishing voters’ confidence that the Democratic Party is “listening to and reflective of working people.”

“When you have people come to Congress with a very stubborn loyalty to their communities, you get better federal policy,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in an interview.

“That’s the value of breaking up the monopolization of politics in rural America,” she added. “It gets you to a better place from a policy lens.”

She points to funding wins and work to mitigate pressures on public schools and housing costs in Congress. On Saturday evening, she talked to a crowd at a brewery about restoring shop class to junior high schools and creating measures that facilitate repairing rather than replacing electronics and appliances.

Gluesenkamp Perez’s independence has also earned her critics. She twice helped House Republicans advance their legislative agenda in September, angering Democratic leaders, and voted to fund the Department of Homeland Security in January. In each case, she said the packages contained secondary measures that aligned with her constituents’ values.

At a “No Kings” protest last weekend in Vancouver, the district’s urban center, several Democratic voters said they weren’t happy with Gluesenkamp Perez but still planned to back her.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., speaks during an interview at a canvass launch at Recreation Park Penny Playground, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in Chehalis, Wash.

(Lindsey Wasson/Associated Press)

“I will vote for her even though I don’t like her policies,” said Carol Rochat, 71, of Vancouver. “We need all the Democrats we can get, at least to get the majority, and then we’ll still work on her to try to be a little bit more progressive.”

‘Win their trust’

Gluesenkamp Perez ran against a hard-right candidate in her first two races, but this time she’s facing a less-polarizing and better-funded opponent in Braun, 59, a business owner and former Navy captain who has represented a slice of the district in the state Legislature for 13 years.

He made his pitch to a group of supporters at Long Beach’s historic train depot, framing his mission as balancing out the state’s Democratic voices in Congress and helping government “get out of the way” of its citizens.

“That’s sort of the American dream,” he said. “Government doesn’t create success for each of us, but we can set the framework for each of us to go out and find whatever success means for us.”

Braun talks about reforming tax and energy policy, funding infrastructure improvements and backing the military. He argues for balancing the federal budget, envisioning doing detailed, line-level work to find cuts that will reduce the national debt.

“He’s in line with my thinking,” said Liz Glenn, 63, of Raymond, Wash., listing Christian values, support for law enforcement and “protecting children” as some of her top concerns. A retired bookkeeper who is concerned about immigration and wants to see the House seat turn red, Glenn said she viewed maintaining a Republican majority as critical.

“It’s the only way to protect our country’s growth,” she said, adding, “Without the Republicans fighting against the perversions of the world, there’s so much non-American value being brought in.”

May 2023 photo of Washington state Sen. John Braun speaking in Olympia, Wash.

(Karen Ducey/Associated Press)

Braun told supporters that Trump’s endorsement had helped bring in financial support for his campaign. But, like other Republicans across the country, he has tried to appear independent on issues such as the war in Iran, which Braun has said the United States needs a plan to end.

“This district is a very independent district. I think it gives an opportunity to go make your case directly with the voters and win their trust … regardless of what the national picture is,” Braun said in an interview.

Pattie Gray, 66, who chairs the county Republican Party and watched Braun stump at the train depot, said Braun’s legislative and military experience made her view him as a “natural fit” for the seat.

“We need somebody who’s representing us the way we want to be represented,” Gray said. “He sees what this state needs.”

Gray, who is running for a Pacific County commissioner seat, has been door-knocking for Braun and other local Republican candidates. She’s optimistic about the chances to flip the seat, though it’s not “a shoo-in,” she said.

“We have to work really hard,” Gray said of turning out voters. “We’ve only got a couple more weeks.”

Huddleston, at the chowder shop, didn’t cast a ballot in 2024, unable to stomach supporting either party. She is motivated to vote this time because she wants to back a local Republican sheriff, whose campaign sign hung on the shop door.

But she’s upset with Trump’s brand of political divisiveness and where it has taken the country. She would prefer a Democratic majority in Congress, she said, to see if they can help fix the economy.

That might, Huddleston mused, lead her to support Gluesenkamp Perez when she fills out her ballot. But if so, it won’t be with gusto.

“Our country is horrible now,” Huddleston said. “How can you be enthusiastic about an election?”

SoFi Stadium is going strong. The deal that built it is in a smoldering heap.

A decade ago, Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. happily dug ceremonial shovels into the dirt at Hollywood Park, celebrating the impending construction of the world’s most expensive stadium.

Electronic billboards are seen along Century Boulevard in Inglewood on Tuesday, Oct. 20.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Now they’re on opposite sides of a court fight that has spilled onto the Nov. 3 ballot and threatens further development on the nearly 300-acre site.

The feud started over billboards. Last year, Inglewood signed a deal with WOW Media to put electronic advertising all around the city — 60 digital signs carrying 108 screens. Some are bus-shelter-sized kiosks, while others are street displays up to 22 feet tall and positioned on sidewalks and medians.

Those present problems for SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome and the Forum because they have their own advertising deals and sponsors who paid for exclusivity. Those venues collectively sued Inglewood and WOW Media to block the deal, raising this scenario in a court filing: “Will Pepsi want to sponsor the Super Bowl, knowing Coca-Cola could pay WOW to put up full-motion billboards next to the stadium?”

Skip Miller, lead attorney for the city, said the kiosks are “quite nice and blend in with the surrounding areas,” and that they are connected to a network that provides critical traffic and safety information to thousands of drivers and pedestrians.

Electronic billboards are seen on along Century Boulevard on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 in Inglewood, CA.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

A judge sided with Inglewood, and an appeal is under way.

In the meantime, those opposed to the billboards are taking it to the voters. On the ballot is Measure BB — as in “Billboard Blight” — which would restrict billboard advertising on public property. Miller said the city will challenge it in court if it passes, calling it free-speech discrimination.

The signs generate as much as $7.4 million a year, according to Inglewood budget records.

A consultant hired by the Yes on BB campaign estimated the city’s digital kiosk deal with WOW Media would generate $280,000 to $1.1 million a year, roughly 0.1% to 0.5% of Inglewood’s $238-million general fund.

John Shallman, a Los Angeles-based political strategist managing the “Yes on BB” campaign, also pointed to the unusual length of the billboard deal, which is 20 years plus two 10-year options.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke, right, talks to team president Kevin Demoff before a game against the New York Giant at SoFi Stadium on Sept. 21.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“It’s biblical in length,” Shallman said. “You go back 40 years. We didn’t even have the Internet. We didn’t have cellphones.”

The billboards are part of the fight, but there’s a lot more. Back when the development agreement was signed in 2015, the deal was that Hollywood Park — interchangeable here with Kroenke’s companies — would pay up front for all the improvements around SoFi Stadium and eventually be reimbursed by the city. That means all the road upgrades, water lines, streetlights and the like. Same for event-day police and emergency services.

Over the years, that ran up a significant bill. Kroenke’s companies now want $448 million from the city. Inglewood, which last year wired Kroenke $20 million, is demanding that money back.

So how could that chasm be so wide? A turning point came last month when Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David K. Reinart ruled the 2015 development agreement “void from the beginning and unenforceable.”

To understand why the judge ruled that way, it’s important to go back a decade and examine how the agreement was constructed.

One of the appealing aspects of building an NFL stadium in Inglewood was the speed with which a development agreement could be assembled and approved. Los Angeles went 20 years without an NFL franchise, during which all sorts of stadium ideas were proposed and eventually died. One of the stumbling blocks for those was the environmental-review process, which could take months or even years.

But at that time in California, there was an opportunity for Inglewood to fast-track the process. Instead of negotiating a new development agreement — there was one from 2009, when Hollywood Park was still a racetrack — supporters of the NFL stadium could bring it to the Inglewood City Council as a voter initiative.

People cross Century Boulevard near an electronic billboard in Inglewood.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The council then had the choice to either adopt the initiative word for word, or send it to voters. No new environmental review required. Sure enough, in February 2015, the council approved the initiative, 5-0.

Now Kroenke had an approved stadium plan and not just fancy renderings to bring to fellow NFL owners, who 11 months later gave the thumbs up to a state-of-the-art venue at Hollywood Park. There was a competing stadium plan in Carson backed by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders that was taking the same fast-track approach with its city.

Regardless, the Hollywood Park plan won and the stadium was ultimately constructed, a $5-billion marvel that in February will play host to its second Super Bowl. It has also played host to the World Cup, major concerts by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, and will be the swimming venue for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. The Chargers moved to Los Angeles as tenants in the stadium.

“Inglewood loves SoFi Stadium,” said Miller, the city’s attorney. “Nothing is ever going to happen to SoFi Stadium. … As far as the rest of Hollywood Park, the developer has to follow the law, just like any other developer. This developer, who’s a very powerful, very wealthy person, has to follow the law just like anybody else.”

That’s not something you would have heard in 2015 when Kroenke and the city were pulling in the same direction. Something happened in 2018 that changed the landscape in California, and gave Inglewood an argument for why it shouldn’t be required to reimburse the developer for nearly half a billion dollars in public improvements.

It was a court decision involving Moreno Valley, a city about 75 miles east of Inglewood that planned to build a major development through the same approval process that was used in Inglewood. But environmental groups challenged that in court and won. A judge determined that type of development agreement requires negotiations and public hearings, not just a voter initiative. The agreement was voided.

SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, home of the Los Angeles Rams, hosts events throughout the year.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Meanwhile, everything was moving forward in Inglewood. SoFi Stadium was constructed. The big events rolled in. Promises made, promises kept.

All the while, there was the outstanding issue of the city paying back Hollywood Park for all those improvements, but that arrangement was configured to ensure Inglewood could do so without going into the red. The deal said the city could keep the first $25 million in tax revenue from the stadium every year, then use the revenue generated beyond that to reimburse Kroenke’s companies.

In May 2025, Inglewood made a payment of $20 million.

Two months later, pointing to the Moreno Valley decision, the city deemed the development agreement invalid and demanded its money back.

Hollywood Park found that especially galling because four times over the past decade the city signed assurances to Kroenke’s lenders that the money would be paid back — and three of those times were after the Moreno Valley decision.

In the view of Hollywood Park, Inglewood welcomed the jobs, tax revenue, increased property values and heightened prestige for a decade, then walked away from the deal when the bills came due.

“Now that it’s time for the city to essentially uphold its end of the bargain, now that it’s received all the benefits, it’s saying, ‘Well, actually, we consider this agreement void. Thank you for the stadium, thank you for everything else, but we’re not going to uphold our end of the deal,’” said John Quinn, outside counsel for Hollywood Park in the matter.

An electronic billboard on Century Boulevard in Inglewood.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood Park’s argument is that it followed the rules in 2015 in getting the development agreement unanimously approved by the City Council, and the results — a bustling stadium district and development around it — speak for themselves.

The city’s side said it connected the dots on the Moreno Valley case only after the lawsuit was filed against Inglewood and WOW Media last year.

And the city is backing a ballot initiative of its own, Measure AT, which would eliminate a $15-million cap on the 10% admission tax on ticket sales the stadium pays. Venues with fewer than 20,000 seats, including Intuit Dome, would for the first time be charged a 2.5% admission tax on ticket sales.

The ballot measure could generate an additional $47 million to $50 million annually, a city of Inglewood impact report states. Olympic events at both venues in 2028 could be especially lucrative for the city.

Hollywood Park sees that as punishment for challenging the billboard deal.

Also on the ballot, the contentious Inglewood mayor’s race. Butts is running for a fifth term, and his main challenger is Gloria Gray, an Inglewood City Council member.

Meanwhile, Hollywood Park’s legal losses are stacking up. The judge last month rejected the argument that because Inglewood is a charter city, one that operates under its own constitution, it should abide by the original development agreement.

The city is billing the fight as a billionaire versus the people. Those representing Kroenke’s interests say Inglewood should honor its commitment and provide the reimbursements it long promised.

An attorney representing Hollywood Park says changing the rules midstream could have a chilling effect on future developments in California.

“It’s going to seriously discourage new development throughout the state, and we’re not just talking about stadiums,” said Quinn, chairman and founding partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. “We’re talking about all kinds of planning and zoning decisions — including affordable housing projects.

“This just creates a really damaging cloud of legal uncertainty over all development in California.”

Zone 5 Technologies has shared with TWZ the first photos of its latest Block 40 Rusty Dagger low-cost cruise missile in a surface-launched configuration. The images offer a new look at a weapon developed first with air-launched applications in mind, and for export to Ukraine. It is now being adapted for use from land and sea, including by U.S. and other allied forces.

Zone 5 has not disclosed where or when the pictures were taken, or which programs, specifically, the ground-based launches were conducted under. The images do not offer a clear view of the trailer-mounted launcher, either. A spokesperson for the company did stress to TWZ that versions of Rusty Dagger have now been selected for separate U.S. Army and Navy programs, in addition to its initial development through the U.S. Air Force.

In May, Zone 5, as well as Anduril, CoAspire, and Leidos, received framework agreements from the Pentagon under the Low-Cost Containerized Missile (LCCM) program. The U.S. Army’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive Fires (PAE Fires) is running LCCM in cooperation with the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW R&E). The aim of this program is to procure more than 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles, in total, over three years, beginning in 2027.

Then there is also the Consolidated Affordable Ordnance System (CHAOS) effort from the U.S. Navy’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Munitions (PAE Munitions). CHAOS is focused on low-cost anti-ship cruise missiles, particularly for U.S. allies and partners. CoAspire is also on contract for CHAOS with a version of its Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile-Extended Range (RAACM-ER) design.

“We designed a surface-launch Rusty Dagger to be the foundation of U.S. and allied mass-produced affordable precision deep strike weapons,” Tom Kanewske, chief strategy officer at Zone 5, told TWZ in a statement.

“Our team went from design to demonstration in less than three months, bringing Rusty Dagger from pylons and pallets to ground launcher and shipping containers,” added Kyle Maxhimer, Zone 5’s president.

Zone 5 says the Block 40 version of Rusty Dagger can accommodate warheads in the 100-to-250-pound classes. It can still be configured for air-launch, either from pylons under the wings of aircraft or via palletized munitions systems. In order to be fired from launchers on the ground or at sea, the new version of the missile is fitted with a solid-fuel booster rocket at the tail end.

More specific details about the Block 40’s capabilities compared to the preceding air-launch-only version, also referred to as the Block 20, remain limited. From what we can see now, the two variations appear outwardly similar in many respects, at least broadly speaking. Earlier variations had a distinctive tail configuration with four squared-off fins, two facing upward and two more angled to either side. The shaping of the fins on the Block 40 does look to be more rounded. It’s also possible the missile may have a new cruciform tail fin arrangement, but this could also be a trick of the angle from which the missile is being viewed, coupled with the low resolution of the available images.

Previous reports have said that Rusty Dagger has a range of 300 nautical miles when delivered at low altitude, which is increased to 500 nautical miles when launched by aircraft at medium altitudes and flying at higher speeds. In general, surface-launched versions of missiles typically have shorter maximum ranges compared to their air-launched counterparts.

Regardless, the Block 40 version is an important further evolution of the Rusty Dagger design. The initial air-launched version of the missile, now designated the AGM-188A, has already been in development for several years, in part now under the U.S. Air Force’s Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) program. This has included live-fire tests conducted at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida in January 2025. We now know that Rusty Dagger has been cleared for use on four different types of fighters, including the F-16. Development of CoAspire’s Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile (RAACM) was also conducted as part of the ERAM effort.

Like the Navy’s CHAOS effort, ERAM has been focused primarily on supporting allies and partners, starting first with Ukraine. A Zone 5 spokesperson told TWZ that, as things stand, Rusty Dagger remains the only publicly reported operational missile in its class fielded by the Ukrainian military.

It appears that the AGM-188A “Rusty Dagger” cruise missile has undergone field testing in Ukraine.

Russian sources are publishing photos of an unknown 8-element CRPA antenna. On the back side of the unit there is a circuit board with a large heatsink, which carries the CAGE code… pic.twitter.com/phZeOJfHJ0

— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝕯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝕯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱🎻🇬🇪🇺🇦🇺🇲🇬🇷 (@TheDeadDistrict) June 7, 2026

ERAM has also been feeding into the Air Force’s own Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM) plans. The service wants to acquire 28,000 FAMM munitions in pylon-launched and palletized configurations over the next five years.

As we reported earlier this year, Rusty Dagger is now part of a broader portfolio under Norwegian defense company Kongsberg, which acquired a 90 percent stake in Zone 5. Kongsberg has positioned the missile alongside its stealthy Joint Strike Missile (JSM), with the two weapons serving different, complementary roles.

Rusty Dagger is designed around affordability and volume, while JSM offers a sophisticated, low-observable strike capability. The concept gives customers a mix of weapons suited to different targets and mission requirements, rather than relying exclusively on expensive, high-end missiles.

Zone 5 says it is now expanding manufacturing in the United States. Production is established in San Luis Obispo, California, with production beginning in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas. A franchised facility is also being developed in Miamisburg, Ohio, with Hawthorn Aero, a company that describes itself as specializing “in high-rate airframe manufacturing, offering scalable solutions from design to full vehicle integration for aerospace industries.”

The company says each site is designed to reach a capacity of more than 2,500 missiles annually by the end of 2027. If all three reach that level, combined annual capacity would exceed 7,500 missiles.

The expansion reflects the growing emphasis on affordable weapons that can be manufactured in large quantities and replenished quickly, something that is considered especially critical if the United States is to face China in a future high-end conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

The ground-launched Rusty Dagger shown in the photos underscores how far the missile family is moving beyond its original air-launched role. With production expanding and multiple U.S. military programs in the picture, the surface-launched variant adds another potential route to getting the weapon into service.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Even as recently as a decade ago, Las Vegas hotel concierges and plenty of locals would have described the gap between the Strip and Fremont Street as something of a dead zone. This was a ragged corridor of old warehouses and auto shops, with more boarded-up storefronts than open doors.

“You couldn’t park your car and not worry,” remembers artist Gem Jaxx, who moved to Vegas in 2006 from Monterey County, Calif. “You couldn’t even walk the streets.”

Yet the idea of an arts district had been taking shape since the early ’90s, when the city identified an 18-block area south of downtown as ripe for creative development. Loosely framed by Hoover Avenue to the north and Colorado Avenue to the south, with Commerce Street and Fourth Street marking its west and east edges, this region became known as the 18b Arts District. First Friday, launched by a small group of artists and gallery owners in 2002, started pulling crowds into the neighborhood. Sometimes tens of thousands at a time, if only once a month.

The regular influx of visitors (combined with cheap rents and plenty of retail space) drew a wave of interesting tenants: antique dealers, secondhand clothing boutiques, microbreweries, cocktail bars. As the mix of businesses grew, 18b began to matter less as a set of boundaries and more as an identity.

“Very quickly it changed,” says Josh Kellman, president of the Arts District board. “Businesses here were saying, ‘Hey, I want to be in 18b.’ No one wants to feel like they’re outside the neighborhood.”

Today, the Las Vegas Arts District is a low-key alternative to the Strip for dining, drinks, art, shopping and beyond. Centered on Main Street, but with plenty to explore on neighboring Commerce Street and Casino Center Boulevard, it’s easy to spend an afternoon browsing vintage shops and gallery spaces, catch live music or a stage show, grab dinner, coffee and craft beer — and still have money left for tomorrow.

But the neighborhood is at a crossroads. After a tragic shooting happened earlier this month during First Friday, the monthly arts festival is now on hold as organizers and city officials consider how to move forward. Meanwhile, a proposed Business Improvement District intended to fund additional safety measures and neighborhood services has stirred debate over how to improve the area while preserving the independent spirit that made it a destination in the first place.

As questions swirl, fans of the Arts District hope it holds on to what makes it such a distinctive place. At a time when Las Vegas can feel increasingly engineered around sky-high bottle service, celebrity-chef tasting menus and cocktails edging toward $30, the neighborhood remains one of the places locals actually hang out and where tourists can experience Sin City beyond the slot machines. Here are 11 worthwhile stops on a visit to the creative hub.

When William Jackson Harper moved to Los Angeles to star in NBC’s “The Good Place” a decade ago, he himself felt out of place.

“As an actor, I was like I don’t know if this is where I’m supposed to be,” says Harper, who earned an Emmy nomination for his role as Chidi Anagonye, the show’s endearingly panicked and indecisive professor.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

“People felt more finished there,” he says of L.A. “I felt like people had sort of come into their appearance, they knew what they were selling. And I was like, you know, I’m much more of a theater guy, New York is probably where I’m going to land.”

He adds, “So I had this idea that I was going to get to L.A. and everyone was just going to laugh at me.”

Quite the opposite happened. Harper leaned into the L.A. experience, exploring the sprawling city, particularly its nature, and connecting with old friends on a deeper level. He soon grew to appreciate it — so much that he continues to split his time between L.A. and New York alongside his wife, Ali Ahn, who is also an actor.

Harper now stars in the dramatic anthology series “American Hostage,” which re-creates the true story of Tony Kiritsis, an Indianapolis man who, in 1977, kidnapped a mortgage broker whose family Kiritsis blamed for his own financial hardships. During a 63-hour standoff, Kiritsis demands that Fred Heckman, a beloved radio reporter played by Jon Hamm, interview him live on air.

“When that script came across my desk, I was like ‘This is insane,’” Harper says of the show, now streaming on MGM+. He was excited to portray Ben Hairston, a reporter and Heckman’s mentee, who attempts to help him navigate the challenging situation.

Harper says he’d been interested in being part of the show set in the late 1970s. Another draw? “I was looking forward to just rocking a mustache,” he says with a laugh. “I was looking forward to just looking like my uncles.”

Here’s how Harper would spend his perfect Sunday in L.A., from a morning hike at Griffith Park to shopping for more French tour jackets at a vintage store in Silver Lake.

7 a.m.: Start with an intense workout

Even though I typically don’t work out on Sundays, sometimes I get a wild hair and do it anyway because I enjoy it. I’ll go to a class around 7 or 8 a.m. I go to Training Mate a lot because the instructors are fun. They’re all, like, beautiful people, but they are dorks, which I find really endearing. They’re really sweet and encouraging. So we’ll do a really tough 45-minute workout an I’ll probably want to go for a hike after that. Griffith Park is one of my favorite places anywhere, so I’d kind of march around there for a couple of hours. I don’t always do the hard [route], I’m already kind of cooked. I just want to be in nature a little bit.

11 a.m.: Bond with friends over breakfast

Then it would be time to eat. I have this tradition whenever I’m in L.A. of meeting with a couple of friends of ours at Fred 62 on Vermont [Avenue]. I’ll get a tofu breakfast enchilada and then we’ll just sit there and talk for a couple of hours. The waiters remember my order even if it’s been months. Or my friends and I will go to some place like All Time, which is really good. There’s always a line and everyone is very done up and I feel really dirty and underdressed when I go, but f— it. It’s like deal with it. I’m old. I can’t be out here flexing.

2 p.m.: Nap to recharge for a shopping spree

All those things make for a powerful wave of sleepiness, so I’ll take a nap. Usually when I have days off like this, I have a shopping addiction, so there’s a few stores that I’ll probably wind up hitting. One of them is this place called Golden Age that has all these old French tour jackets. I have so many [laughs]. I rock those a lot. So I’ll go there, look around and abuse my bank account a little bit. Then there’s this other place on La Brea called General Quarters. It’s got a bunch of work wear stuff.

6 p.m.: Watch a movie at an old-school theater

After that, I might go see a movie at Los Feliz 3. It just reminds me of the movie theaters I grew up going to. I love an old-school, no frills theater that shows cool stuff.

8:30 p.m.: Have a delicious pescatarian dinner

If we are not cooking, we’re going out to eat somewhere. There’s this place in Eagle Rock that we like a lot called Little Beast. One of my favorite restaurants is Bavel. Every time I go there, I’m just like I don’t deserve this meal. I don’t deserve these cocktails. I’ve ordered something different every time. My wife and I are both pescatarian, so we usually load up on the veggies and pick whatever fish dish they have.

10:30 p.m.: Time for bed

After that, we’ll go back home, give our dog Chico another walk and watch Netflix until we fall asleep. My wife falls asleep first. When we are together, I’ll fall asleep earlier between like 11 p.m. and midnight. When I’m by myself, I’m up till 2 or 3 in the morning. I’m just up.

New footage of Australia’s Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (XL-AUV) provides the first look at how the vehicle launches aerial drones, while also revealing a pair of deployable masts not previously seen on the platform. The video comes soon after we got a glimpse of some of the payloads that the Royal Australian Navy plans to integrate on the new uncrewed submarine, as you can read more about in our coverage here.

Published by manufacturer Anduril, the footage shows a Ghost Shark surfacing before doors on the top of its hull slide open. A launcher consisting of 12 angled tubes then emerges from a drone sub. Another launcher is seen in the other upper payload bay, but is not raised in the video. While it appears to be of the same type, the second launcher could also have a different arrangement of tubes.

The footage subsequently cuts to an ALTIUS-type drone being launched from one of the tubes, with Ghost Shark itself remaining surfaced.

The sequence provides a much more concrete look at the aerial-drone deployment concept — or one of them — than the photographs released previously, which offered the first public view inside Ghost Shark’s side payload bay.

The Australian government has said the vehicle is being developed for missions including persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and strike, but the precise configuration and operational capabilities of its weapons and how they are launched had not previously been disclosed.

The video does not identify which ALTIUS variant is being launched. However, Ghost Shark has previously been displayed at the Altus factory in Australia alongside derivatives of the ALTIUS-600 family. This includes the ALTIUS-600 for ISR, as well as the ALTIUS-600M, which is designed for strike missions. You can read more about this family of drones here. As we noted before, unarmed variants of the ALTIUS-600 are designed to be optionally expendable, and can be reused, although in many scenarios that isn’t possible. In terms of capabilities, the ALTIUS-600 has a maximum range of around 275 miles and can remain airborne for at least four hours, according to Anduril.

ALTIUS-600M Loitering Munition

Ghost Shark can clearly deploy a substantial number of aerial drones — two dozen in this case – in a single sortie, enabling swarms to be launched far from an adversary’s coastline. Depending on the drones carried and how they are employed, such a swarm could provide broad-area surveillance, wreak havoc on enemy air defenses via electronic warfare, or attack targets.

The concept could also have value below the threshold of open conflict. A mass launch of relatively inexpensive drones could be used to probe or stimulate an adversary’s air defenses, prompting them to reveal their locations, signatures and operating procedures for collection by other intelligence assets or even some of the drones themselves. There is a precedent for exactly this going back to the early Cold War years, which you can read all about here.

Ghost Shark could carry these capabilities deep into contested waters clandestinely without putting a crew at risk, unleashing their payload even at standoff distances or right next to the shore to give the drones maximum penetration and loitering time over target, depend on the risk profile.

At the same time, while the 12-tube launchers fit neatly into Ghost Shark’s hull architecture, the modular nature of the design means that the same space can accommodate many other payloads, which might include alternative types of aerial drones. This could be fewer larger, more capable types, or far more plentiful smaller, less capable ones.

The other notable development in the video is the appearance of two deployable masts. Their presence is particularly interesting given Anduril’s emphasis on designing uncrewed underwater vehicles without the kinds of protruding mast arrangements associated with traditional submarine designs. On UUVs, masts like these are generally used to support sensors, communications, and propulsion systems.

“We don’t have big masts running down the backbone of our vehicle that a lot of other designs do that then preclude the ability for the payloads to come out in different directions… of the payload module itself,” Dr. Shane Arnott, Senior Vice President for Engineering at Anduril and the company’s maritime lead, told TWZ back in 2024.

“So we have… in effect, unlimited flexibility in this design, just the way that we’ve configured the vehicle and the payload bay itself could be almost anything within a size configuration that you can dream up,” Arnott added. “We haven’t encountered a crazy idea yet from a customer that … we can’t fit.”

The larger mast that lies flat is actually a fairly traditional one for large UUVs. It lies along the centerline of the hull when stowed, between the upper payload bays. It then deploys upward in an arm-like motion and carries an antenna. The smaller mast is located farther aft and rises vertically from its own housing. Potentially, the tall mast supports a line-of-sight datalink to the drones, while the other being a satcom array, such as one connected to Starlink/Starshield, sends drone feed to controllers anywhere in the world. It’s also worth noting that Ghost Shark could just launch the drones and send them on their missions autonomously, without needing to stay surfaced at all. Other arrangements could exist, as well, such as Ghost Shark launching a dozen drones and one larger one capable of carrying its own satcom terminal. This would allow direct control of the drones by operators anywhere in the world without Ghost Shark remaining present near the surface.

Ghost Shark also has a lower-profile swept-back sail on top of its nose section, not visible in the video. Overall, the vessel would retain a very small signature above the waterline while connected to the drones, making it hard to detect by radar and electro-optical imaging systems.

The new video follows the recent disclosure of three payload concepts for the Royal Australian Navy’s Ghost Shark: the deployment of up to 12 sea mines in a mission, the placement of supply caches on the seabed, and the launch of aerial drones. Those capabilities expand the vehicle beyond conventional underwater surveillance into a broader range of undersea warfare missions.

The mine-delivery option could support operations in strategically important maritime areas, while seabed caches could provide a means of positioning equipment and supplies for later retrieval. The aerial-drone capability, as seen in the new video, would allow Ghost Shark to extend surveillance beyond the reach of its own sensors or potentially deliver strike effects without exposing crewed platforms to the same risks. Having 12 ALTIUS drones ready to launch (and potentially the same number in the adjacent upper payload bay) would allow multiple missions to be undertaken.

The modular design is central to Ghost Shark. As we have discussed, the payload section can be configured using different hull sections and mission-specific systems, allowing the same underlying vehicle design to accommodate different requirements. The newly revealed launcher provides a first look at how at least one of those payload concepts may be implemented in practice.

Australia has committed substantial resources to autonomous and uncrewed undersea warfare capabilities, with a planned fleet of Australian-designed and built Ghost Shark vehicles serving alongside the Speartooth large uncrewed underwater vehicle (LUUV) and the BlueBottle uncrewed surface vessel (USV). The Ghost Shark program is also part of the broader AUKUS effort to develop advanced maritime technologies alongside the United Kingdom and the United States.

The new footage provides a clearer picture of the practical design choices behind that effort. Most notably, how the underwater vehicle can operationalize its aerial drone launching capability and the quantity of those systems it could potentially deploy very quickly before slipping back below the waves.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

The Pride of Britain Awards 2026 air on ITV1 and ITVX tonight, Thursday, October 22, from 8pm until 10.05pm. Carol Vorderman returns as host for the 27th year running alongside co-host Ashley Banjo.

The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, in partnerhsip with P&O Cruises, returns to screens tonight to celebrate the nation’s most extraordinary, selfless unsung heroes.

While the glittering ceremony took place took place at London’s Grosvenor House earlier this week, viewers across the country will finally get the chance to experience every emotional standing ovation, surprise, and tear-jerking triumph from their living rooms this evening.

Established by late Mirror editor Peter Willis, the awards have become a cherished fixture in the national calendar, honouring everyday people who show astonishing bravery, tireless dedication, and boundless compassion. Key honours handed out tonight include the This Morning Local Hero Award, the Emergency Services Award, Child and Teenager of Courage, and the P&O Cruises Inspiration Award.

How to watch The Pride of Britain Awards on TV

The Pride of Britain Awards 2026 air tonight – Thursday, October 22 on ITV1 and ITVX from 8pm until 10.05pm.

This year’s ceremony from London’s Grosvenor House Hotel sees a star-studded line up including Jack Grealish, Davina McCall, PM Andy Burnham, and Alan Carr celebrating the nation’s unsung heroes.

Hosted by Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo, expect plenty of emotion and surprises along with inspirational stories of bravery, achievement and selflessness. Plus, stepping off their 25th Anniversary Tour for a special performance are boyband Blue.

Who is hosting The Pride of Britain Awards?

Telly legend Carol Vorderman, 65, has returned to front the ceremony for her 27th consecutive year, once again joined by co-host Ashley Banjo.

“Pride of Britain is needed now more than ever,” she told the Mirror. “We’re incredibly divided as a nation. And there are plenty of reasons to be miserable: the cost of living crisis, global uncertainty. But through it all, one thing unites us – and that is hope. And the goodness of people.”

Since the inaugural ceremony in 1999, royalty, prime ministers, worldwide icons and massive stars have flocked to celebrate the winners, including King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Diana Ross, Sir Paul McCartney, Sharon Stone, Harry Styles, Janet Jackson, David Beckham, Taylor Swift, Anthony Joshua, Sir Mo Farah and Ant and Dec..

One of Hollywood’s legendary music recording studios is for sale as its owner prepares to end his half-century run immortalizing many of the biggest acts.

The list of household names who have recorded at Conway Recording Studios spans generations and genres. Burt Bacharach, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder, U2, Guns N’ Roses, Daft Punk, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar are just a few of the artists who have recorded there.

While many studios have struggled, the unique space has attracted big names for decades.

Digital production tools and home studios have eliminated much of the need for traditional recording space, allowing artists to produce professional-quality music almost anywhere, real estate data provider CoStar said.

The digital revolution rocked the analog world of art, media and communication on a scale the industrial revolution did to agrarian and handicraft economies more than a century ago. The advent of Pro Tools recording software in the 1990s and the rise of music streaming services in the early aughts irrevocably changed the business.

Yet industry veterans say surviving facilities with expansive live rooms, vintage gear and decades of recording history may be becoming more valuable as they become harder to replicate. U.S. recorded-music revenue rose 7% to $6 billion in the first half of 2026, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America. Streaming, physical formats and licensing all posted gains.

Conway Recording Studios is a jungly hideaway on bustling Melrose Avenue created by a transplant from chilly Buffalo, N.Y., who arrived in the 1970s with a vision to create an L.A.-style oasis in the middle of the city where he could pursue his craft as a sound engineer.

“I moved to California to be outside in the warm,” Buddy Brundo said. “I like sunlight.”

He defied recording studio conventions by bringing in natural light through large, soundproof windows instead of working in chambers sealed on all sides.

“You kind of feel like you’re in Hawaii or somewhere else,” at Conway studios, said entertainment real estate broker Nicole Mihalka of CBRE. “That’s what’s kept Conway so busy over the years.”

Among the musicians who came to work there lately was Korean pop group BTS, the subject of a Netflix documentary released in March that followed the young men as they recorded their comeback album “Arirang” after completing their military service.

Brundo appears in the film.

1

2

1. “You kind of feel like you’re in Hawaii or somewhere else,” a real estate broker said of the studios. “That’s what’s kept Conway so busy over the years.” 2. Conway’s clients have included Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, U2 and Counting Crows. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Taylor Swift is a regular and once created a run on company merchandise by wearing a Conway Recording Studios sweatshirt in public.

People have asked Brundo for years when he might sell the studio he has operated since 1976, said Mihalka, who has the listing.

“Ten years ago I wouldn’t even think about this,” Brundo said. Now, “I’m 83, and how long can I keep this up? It’s best to walk away while I still can.”

He works out three times a week and appears fit, jumping up to play air guitar to Mötley Crüe’s “Girls, Girls, Girls” while showing off the powerful sound system in Studio B. The band recorded the hit 1987 album of the same name at Conway Studios, where members arrived by motorcycle.

Brundo is asking $15 million for the property that spans more than an acre on the edge of Melrose Hill, a niche neighborhood at Melrose and Western avenues known for its trendy restaurants.

It includes three studios, offices, tons of recording equipment, including two grand pianos, lounges, and a kitchen that pointedly lacks a stove.

“Every studio I worked with had a stove, and the kitchen was a mess,” Brundo said.

“Ten years ago I wouldn’t even think about this,” Conway’s Buddy Brundo said. Now, “I’m 83, and how long can I keep this up? It’s best to walk away while I still can.”

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Not that he hasn’t gone out of his way to accommodate his clients. Years ago he shrank his own office to enlarge a lounge for a singer-songwriter who needed space to camp out.

“Courtney Love wanted to book a bunch of time,” but also wanted a place to unwind outside the studio. “We lived here for two months with the kids and the clothes.”

One of his studio innovations was an air-conditioning and filtration system that whooshes out smoke and neutralizes it with charcoal filters and blue lights that kill bacteria, because the official smoking policy is “whatever they want,” he said. On a recent afternoon, a strong scent of cannabis came from Studio A.

To create his rambling California oasis in the middle of a busy neighborhood, Brundo acquired house after house on the south side of his lot over the years so he could keep expanding. He bought and tore down 10 of them.

“Each house was a battle,” he said, particularly one where the owners had an issue with guitarist and outdoorsman Ted Nugent, who accidentally shot an arrow into their yard.

While the property could be used for other purposes, Buddy Brundo hopes to find a buyer who will keep the music going.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Brundo had set up a Styrofoam deer and a bear on the back of his property to entertain archer Nugent. The musician missed a shot and his arrow passed through the fence and came close to striking a neighbor in her backyard as her husband stood nearby.

“He was really pissed off,” Brundo said of his neighbor. It took Brundo another year to buy the neighbors’ house “because the price went up,” he said.

Today, the foliage a full-time groundskeeper tends has grown tall and thick. Sleek cats roam the grounds.

The parking lot is large for the studio’s size, and its 59 striped spaces have accommodated about $2 million worth of fancy cars at a time, Brundo estimated. It’s also big enough for basketball games, and Brundo recently painted a full court on the asphalt so singer The Weeknd could play ball during downtime.

While the property could be turned to other uses such as stores and housing, Brundo hopes to sell it to someone who will keep the music going even as times change.

The recent backlash against AI-generated music has prompted “a reversion back to the real” with bands using more instruments and needing more space to record, Mihalka said. “There are fewer studios now where you can actually do this.”

On the balcony of a pink dockside building in San Pedro, a neon sign reading “Saturday Morning Fish Market” glows in the darkness. There’s a quiet stillness in the harbor — the only sounds are of the occasional gull and car whirring by. That is, until 1 a.m. rolls around.

Doors open at 1:30 a.m. at the Saturday Morning Fish Market.

This is when people begin to gather outside the roll-up door, some carrying backpacks ready to be filled.

At 1:30 a.m., a man in an orange apron lifts the door, releasing rays of white light onto the customers. They file inside, stepping onto the wet floor, eager to see the night’s beauties: freshly caught fish, filleted, deboned, washed and thrown onto thick mountains of crushed ice.

Shellfish, sardines, squid, mackerel and a market favorite, glowing salmon filets, sit on display. One employee pulls out crabs with a small net before letting a customer take their pick of the lot. Machines whir in an adjacent room, where fish are processed. Out back, sea lions bark, hoping for scraps.

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The Saturday Morning Fish Market, more formally known as J Deluca Fish Co., has existed for some time — owner John DeLuca claims a variation of the business began operating as early as the late ‘60s. As a child, DeLuca would greet his grandfather when he’d return to the San Pedro port with his catch, perhaps a fresh tuna or a bass to sell. For decades, the wholesale seafood distributor would open its market to the public just once a week — from 1:30 to 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays — usually seeing a smattering of mostly locals, the seafaring type, who might be shopping around after a late-night shift.

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1. Harikrishnan Babuchandran holds up his fresh fish. 2. Customers can watch their fish be processed. 3. The fish that’s for sale changes from week to week. (Linnea Stephan / For The Times)

The Saturday Morning Fish Market in San Pedro has existed in some form since the late ‘60s but thanks to social media, flocks of new customers are wanting in on the late-night seafood-buying adventure.

Neither DeLuca nor his son and co-owner, Chris, could have predicted the San Pedro institution would experience the boom in popularity it’s seeing now, especially in an industry that’s struggled over the past two decades.

Thanks to social media, the market is witnessing an unprecedented revival. At its pre-pandemic peak, it would get around 800 to 1,000 customers on a typical Saturday morning. Nowadays, up to 2,000 people walk through the doors, according to Chris, many of whom are visiting for the first time.

Owners John and Chris DeLuca.

Regarding Instagram and TikTok, where posts giving a glimpse of the late-night fish market have gone viral, John, 73, says, “I know absolutely zero.”

To his credit, he does exhibit some understanding of its effect. And he’s glad for it. “People that live within walking distance never knew we existed. Now they do, and it’s got nothing to do with me,” he says, grinning.

What’s most notable is the number of young people roaming around the market well before the crack of dawn, Chris says. The business has changed a lot since his “father’s generation,” and social media unlocked access to a new audience.

“I think people like those hidden gems and people like that fresh seafood experience,” he says.

Between rows of sea bass and salmon, the energy is buzzing. Abdul Fahwami, dressed in jeans and flip-flops, visits the fish market at least once or twice a month, depending on how many people he‘s having over at his house that week.

“Every time we come here, we buy a minimum of between 100 and 200 pounds,” he says. “Red snapper is one of the best fish.”

Branzino is a favorite among customers and employees.

He smiles as he watches employees process his fish on a long table. First, blades run against the fish scales, removing them in quick fashion. Then, there’s a swift slice across its belly, starting at a hole near the tail and ending up near the gill plate. Finally, the guts are removed and filets are cut, skin optional.

Prices change week in and week out, and depend on supply. While prices are typically 10% to 40% less than at stores, market representative Joe Castelao says the team values the “quality of our products” over “trying to cater to bargain finders.” Another advantage for customers is the ability to buy seafood in bulk, which often isn’t possible at your standard, local grocer.

On this day, there wasn’t much branzino, the fish Fahwami came early to look for. “I found only 11 pieces,” he says. “I took all of it!”

Not far away, a man named Terry Jackson waits in line; he’s wearing black overalls and swaying side to side, eager to advance.

Customer Terry Jackson at the Saturday Morning Fish Market.

“It’s definitely worth waking up a little late — or a little early, you could say,” he says. “The quality of the fish is good, plus the pricing.”

His fish of choice? “Tuna, my new favorite is tuna!” he says, proudly raising a plastic bag full of bright red filets.

Briskly pacing across the market floor are team members Mike and George Stahl, a father-son duo both wearing orange aprons and gloves.

Mike got into the seafood business about two decades ago. At the time, he lived in Florida and often purchased products from J Deluca Fish Co. By 2018, he’d moved his family out to California and started working at the market.

He says his favorite part is the variety of duties. “No two days are the same,” he says. “One day I could be selling a couple containers of squid, the next day I could be meeting face to face with someone at a conference on the other side of the country.”

Staff member George Stahl helps a patron.

He brought in his son George during the pandemic. As George explains, “We were bored and didn’t have anything to do at home so my dad said, ‘Why don’t you come down and put some boots on and start working?’”

George has become somewhat of a micro-celebrity around the market, frequently appearing in its Instagram posts. However, his time with the company might be temporary — he’s currently in school and plans to be a physical therapist at some point.

While the market is riding a wave of success, John doesn’t gloss over the grim outlook of the fishing and seafood industry as a whole. He says the industry has taken a hit over the years, between restrictions, overfishing and changing regulations.

“It’s a dying business,” John says, bleakly. “There’s very few seiners down here because it’s very difficult to make a living [fishing].

But for now, they’re able to survive. They watch as customers walk out of the market into the wee hours of the morning, proudly grasping their bags of the day’s freshest catch.

“A lot of things have gone the opposite direction,” John says. “But we’re still here.”

The fish market’s blue neon sign shines through the night.

Dodger Stadium was eerily quiet on Wednesday, as a light rain fell over the already-yellowing grass. A crow perched on an empty seat. Scattered lights flickered in mostly-dark hallways.

Before the World Series had begun, the stadium was closed down for the season, hosting just one last event before officially wrapping up the 2026 slate.

In the interview room, tucked away at the entrance to the clubhouse, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes took their seats at the podium for their end-of-season press conference.

There was the usual end-of-season checklist. Are you expecting any changes to the coaching staff or front office? “I expect status quo,” Friedman said. Is Shohei Ohtani going to undergo offseason surgery? “That’s not on the table,” Friedman said.

But from that emerged a persistent throughline.

The Dodgers had fallen short of their goal of a three-peat. But considering the age of the position-player core, the scrutiny owner Mark Walter is under, and MLB owners’ insistence on a salary cap in their early CBA proposals, was the Dodgers’ dynasty over?

“I welcome it,” Friedman said of such claims. “For us, and we’ve talked about this a lot, even after successes and we winning a World Series and then winning back to back, everything we do is for our fans. And there’s a lot of noise around us in general. We don’t really pay much attention to it. It’s a partnership we feel with our fans, and so people saying that we’re done and we’re on the downside of this run — it’s just more noise to us because everything for us is about the motivation we have to have a parade in the streets of Los Angeles next November.”

Friedman also didn’t seem to anticipate any trickle down from Walter’s outside ventures — Walter’s insurance companies are under federal investigation and face several lawsuits — affecting the Dodgers’ offseason budget.

“It’s been business as usual for us,” Friedman said. “We talked to Mark after we lost, and he was obviously really disappointed. But so much of his focus was on, ‘OK, what can we do? What are our plans? What are our thoughts for the off season?’ And our brains weren’t quite there yet, but so much of his focus was how do we put ourselves in the best position to win in ‘27?”

How will the Dodgers go about picking themselves up from their NLCS exit?

The Dodgers’ 2026 season wasn’t exactly a failure. They won 100 games in the regular season and lost in the playoffs to the only team that won more than that — the Brewers. But the Dodgers, with their star power and payroll, aren’t in the business of accepting moral victories.

Though plenty went wrong in the postseason, from Ohtani’s struggles following hisinjured list stint, to stalwart Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s surprising short start in Game 2 of the NLCS, the overarching theme in the Dodgers’ four straight losses to the Brewers was a lack of offensive execution, especially with runners in scoring position.

“Obviously throughout the latter part of the year, it was stuff we were talking about and trying to put our finger on,” Friedman said of the offense. “And in a lot of ways, it’s a little bit of a game of whack-a-mole, where it can be one thing for some period of time, and then it’s something else, and then it’s something else. Sometimes it’s noise, and sometimes it’s real. And what’s important for us is to be able to sift out the noise and isolate what’s real and what things we can improve upon. We’ll spend a lot of time really focusing on that in the off season.”

Asked if the age of the lineup could be a contributing factor, Friedman pointed to the strong finishes of some of the more veteran players on the roster.

“I don’t think it’s as easy as to paint it with that broad of a stroke,” he said.

Friedman, in an effort to continue to extend the Dodgers’ run of success, has kept in mind the cliff that successful veteran teams can fall off of, if the roster isn’t properly backfilled.

“This isn’t something that we just woke up and were like, ‘Oh wow, the age of our position player group,’” Friedman said. “We knew what things were going to look like in ‘26, ‘27, but also how talented these guys are, the way they prepare. And so much of our long-term contract bats are betting on the human — betting on the person, betting on the work ethic, betting on them doing everything they can to keep themselves in the best position to have success. But when you couple the core talent that we have at the major league level with the position-player strengths that we have in our farm system, that’s what makes us excited, is the art of how to onboard some of these young, talented minor league players.”

The Dodgers had the No. 1 ranked farm system as of mid-August, according to MLB Pipeline. But many of those prospects, including the three outfielders who the Dodgers’ Top 3 (Josue De Paula, Eduardo Quintero and Mike Sirota), are blocked by veteran players.

“For us, it’s just about having as many many talented players as we can, and things tend to sort themselves out,” Friedman said.

This offseason, the Dodgers will also have to figure out what to do about their soon-to-be free agents, a group headlined by left-hander Tarik Skubal. The two-time Cy Young winner was not only the best pitcher available on the trade market when the Dodgers acquired him from the Tigers at the trade deadline, but he’s in line to be the best pitcher available this offseason as well.

“It’s not easy for a guy to get traded in the middle of a season to come to a new city, new clubhouse,” Friedman said. “You have set routines, and you have to make those adjustments. It’s not easy. The way he was able to seamlessly transition, not just in terms of on the field, but in the clubhouse, I can’t say enough good things about the impact that he made in such a short period of time.

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for him on and off the field. … He’s put himself in this position to go out and be a free agent. And for us, it’s, continue to talk to [his agent, Scott Boras]. But he and his family have to make a choice over where they want to spend the next X number of years, and obviously we wish him nothing but the best.”

When asked about negotiations, however, Friedman spoke generally, saying the Dodgers were still “wrapping [their] arms around” their offseason strategy.

The impending lockout, which is expected to go into effect on Dec. 1 as soon as the current CBA expires, and uncertainty over changes in the next CBA, will certainly affect the free agent and trade markets this offseason. And though MLB navigated a lockout just five years ago, the owners’ push for a salary cap has many around the industry bracing for a longer work stoppage and murkier landscape on the other side.

“I never have any feel for how a market’s going to play out,” Friedman said. “We’ve kidded ourselves in the past that, like, ‘Hey, we think this is going to happen,’ and it just takes on its own life form. So for us, it’s just about being as prepared as we possibly can be, and pouncing on opportunities.”

LEWISTON, Maine — Maine Republican Susan Collins has promoted her reputation as one of the most independent U.S. senators and she is using the waning days of the election season to sell that message to voters by campaigning with a former colleague who has endorsed her.

Collins is trying to fend off a challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson, a onetime state Senate president, and on Wednesday she made appearances with Joe Manchin III, a West Virginian who was a Democrat then became an independent late in his career before retiring.

After stopping for breakfast at Simones’ Hot Dog Stand in Lewiston, Collins spoke of how she and Manchin were “part of every piece of bipartisan legislation that passed and became law” during their time together in office.

Manchin said to lose Collins would be “to lose the soul of the Senate.” He praised her independent streak, her willingness to buck Republican President Trump and her record of fighting for Maine’s interests.

“This is a true blue-blooded Maine person who knows exactly where she came from,” Manchin said.

They planned a stop later at a New Balance shoe facility in Norway. Jackson, 58, is scheduled to campaign Thursday in Portland with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive congresswoman from New York.

Collins, 73, is in what may be her toughest reelection fight as she seeks her sixth term.

It’s only the second time that she has sought reelection in a midterm with a sitting Republican president, and the national trends are much less favorable to the GOP than they were the last time she did so, in 2002. Trump’s approval has fallen well below where it was when he took office last year, and a recent poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a strong majority of voters want change in Washington.

Collins has been working to persuade voters that she is independent of Trump and willing to break with him. In Manchin, she enlisted a politician who was one of the most moderate voices in the Senate. Manchin said in 2023 that Trump would “ destroy democracy in America” if he was elected to a second term.

Among the few dozen Collins supporters at the Lewiston event was Mike Marcotte.

“I may not have always been a fan of her complete package of votes, but when I look at the vitriol that’s in the U.S. Senate right now, we need more people like Susan Collins,” he said.

Jackson got a late start on campaigning after the party’s initial nominee exited the race but trails Collins in the money race by less than $3 million after an aggressive quarter in which he raised more than $20 million. Jackson has campaigned relentlessly and his events have drawn hundreds. Collins has largely stuck to smaller appearances.

Some of Jackson’s backers demonstrated across the street from the hot dog stand. A few held signs bearing the face of Brett M. Kavanaugh, the U.S. Supreme Court justice whom Collins voted to confirm and whose vote eventually helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion.

“Someone needs to stand up and be a check on Donald Trump and his harmful policies,” said David Sysko.

Collins has broken with Trump and Republicans over the years. She voted to convict him at his impeachment trial in 2021. Increasingly during the campaign, she has worked to distance herself from the president as Democrats argue that she is too close to him.

Collins said in early October that she is “not exactly his favorite senator,” and that she did not expect Trump to campaign in Maine. He has steered clear of the state with the Nov. 3 election nearing.

Pinning Collins to Trump is central to the Democrats’ strategy. In one ad, a nurse says the state is in a healthcare crisis “because of Susan Collins and Donald Trump,” citing Collins’ vote for Trump’s push for Medicaid cuts. Collins did vote to advance the bill but ultimately voted against it.

Trump also was a major focus of four contentious debates between the candidates this month, where Collins sought to distance herself from the president and Jackson repeatedly accused her of doing Trump’s bidding.

Asked at the final debate to name a time in which she bucked her own party and succeeded, Collins gave the example of rallying support against Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth, who was confirmed as Defense secretary.

Democrats seized on the moment and released a statement that said the exchange “underscores a central question in the Maine Senate race: Does Collins, a Republican in a state that disapproves of President Donald Trump and has grown bluer in recent years, stand up to her party enough to earn the independent streak she has staked her career on?”

Jackson has characterized Collins as out of touch with the struggles of working-class people in Maine. He has described Collins as a “rubber stamp” for the president and criticized her votes on Kavanaugh and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s second-term Health secretary. Collins has said she does not regret either vote.

Republican ads against Jackson, a logger from northern Maine, have focused more on accusations of his having a volatile personality and behaving like a bully with female colleagues. Jackson has denied those accusations.

Collins distanced herself on Wednesday from a Republican super PAC attack ad that she said “should be taken down.”

The senator was a top target of Democrats in 2020 when she defeated challenger Sara Gideon by nearly 9 percentage points. Collins is the only Republican senator from New England, a distinction she has had since January 2013.

Whittle writes for the Associated Press.

Eric Dangerfield is surrounded by senior citizens.

After a packed set at Riot Fest the previous weekend, the 25-year-old lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the Paradox welcomed the quiet of his boomer-dominated neighborhood.

“I’m a suburban dude,” he said, smiling from his home in metro Atlanta, his cropped two-toned dreads bobbing as he spoke.

The Paradox spent much of the summer on the festival circuit, powering through a growing discography of pop-punk gems, so Dangerfield and the three other band members are taking a brief breather before their Proceed With Caution Tour starts this month — their first as headliners.

It’s peaceful. That is, “Except when the boys come over,” he adds.

On a late morning in September, the boys are here and accounted for: patching in to a video call, minutes apart, from their homes, also in suburban ATL. Dangerfield, born with the perfect stage name, has ideas that flow faster than he can seem to get them out. Then there’s Donald Bryant on bass. Yin to Dangerfield’s yang, with a quiet, commanding presence.

Percy “PC3” Crews has been playing drums since he was 3, and his vicious skills on the drum kit contrast with a cheery, relaxed demeanor. Finally, there’s Christopher Bernard, a.k.a. Xelan — the lead guitarist and Dangerfield’s vocal complement.

Dangerfield likens the four to musical superheroes from a Marvel series. But not so much the “Earth’s mightiest heroes” variety.

On their first headlining tour, the band brings its new EP, “Proceed With Caution,” to Los Angeles while claiming space in a historically white genre and weaving social commentary into its pop-punk sound.

(Shorefire Media)

“I’m like Mister Fantastic and Donald’s my Invisible Woman. Xelan’s the Thing, and Percy is John Storm,” he says of his partners in musical mischief. “If I’m ugly, just say that,” quips Xelan, the band’s oldest member at 30. “Yeah. Because you’re strong, bro,” reassures Eric.

By this time, the interview has devolved into fun-loving chaos.

They finish each other’s sentences and switch up their Google Meet backgrounds, cracking up as an awkward graduation portrait pops up. At some point, Bernard decides to give a bedroom tour, showing off his collection of Blink-182 and Fall Out Boy posters.

A photo of him with Travis Barker hangs next to a framed Billboard plaque on a nightstand. Barker was featured on the Paradox’s 2025 single “Bender” and performed with the group at Vans Warped Tour the same year.

The Billboard plaque commemorates the band’s song “Get the Message” from its debut EP, “NSFW,” reaching No. 1 on the Alternative Airplay chart in January — a great achievement for any rock artist — but the Paradox also happens to be the first all-Black band to do so.

The success, although rapid, didn’t come from nowhere. All of the members have been working toward music in some form for years.

Dangerfield had a deal with a small label where he was originally making a go of it as a pop and R&B soloist. He also put out his music online. Looking for something different, he remembered his passing interest in pop-punk from his days growing up in Palm Coast, Fla. It was the “Fat Lip” video by Sum 41 that sealed the deal.

Yearning to be in a band, he started working with Bernard, whom he met online and shared his passion for the genre. Bryant was Dangerfield’s childhood friend from Palm Coast who had also moved to Atlanta, while Crews had been a fixture on the local music scene. And the name? It came from Dangerfield’s love of quantum physics.

Shortly after the group officially formed in June 2024, Dangerfield’s then-girlfriend — now wife and band “momager” Lexi Dangerfield — opened Instagram and TikTok accounts filming and posting their homey videos. The band’s song “Kaitlyn” and some covers blew up. The artists’ perspective, filtered through a Gen Z lens, struck a multigenerational nerve.

Attention came so quickly that Dangerfield felt the need to defend against online detractors who were convinced the group was an industry plant.

From there, the fairy-tale plot thickened. Billie Joe Armstrong followed Dangerfield on Instagram, and the two struck up a friendship that led to the Paradox opening for Green Day on the Atlanta stop of its Saviors Tour. But this was, of course, after Jack White’s people called — who the group ended up opening for at Basement East in Nashville.

Things haven’t slowed down in the two years since, with opportunities coming fast and furious. In the spring of last year, the band signed a deal with Hundred Days Records, a subsidiary of Virgin Music Group, and teamed up with producers Mike Pepe and Robopop to work on “NSFW.”

“Bender,” the group’s collaboration with Barker, and “Do Me Like That” are featured on Madden NFL 27 and NBA 2K26 video game soundtracks. Last month, the musicians streamed a concert from Twitch superstar Kai Cenat’s house. And now, instead of opening for their idols, they are inviting them up on stage as guests. For their second Warped Tour in Long Beach, that meant Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 and Logan Henderson from Big Time Rush.

The embrace from established musicians has definitely helped the band navigate its rise. In a moment of doubt, Crews said Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden, in particular, came through with sage advice.

“He asked me a question: ‘How does it feel being where we were?’ And I was like, ‘It feels like a dream.’ It felt like I was gonna wake up on my desk sophomore year with drool on my f— table. And I was telling him that, and he was like, ‘You know, it may feel that way, but it is real … It’s real, and it’s you … you belong in these rooms.’”

The irony of being embraced in a mostly white subgenre of punk rock while Black American culture formed its foundation is not lost on the group. Had the band come about during one of Dangerfield’s favorite eras of music, the ’50s and ’60s — there would likely have been rooms in which they weren’t welcomed.

While the band members understand the impact their visibility has — especially for non-white kids who grew up in the suburbs as they did: skating, riding BMX, building Legos, watching anime, dreaming of a life onstage — it does require some balance. “They’re not asking Taking Back Sunday this stuff,” Dangerfield acknowledged when asked if they might tire of the representation mantle. “Or Blink, but … We are a minority in this space and in this country, and I think that you know the stuff that comes with being Black should definitely be talked about. I think those conversations are important.”

He said as much in August, when the group made its Tiny Desk debut in celebration of NPR’s Black Music Month. “Now, like they said, we made history,” he said, leaning into the mic after the first song. “And the Paradox is in the business of bringing rock ’n’ roll back to the originators.”

A glance at the comment section under the video makes clear the group’s authenticity resonates with those who haven’t felt seen or heard in certain spaces.

“I’m a black girl from the suburbs of Metro ATL,” wrote @rainjojo. “And I’m glad to see representation of people who are like me indulging in punk rock. I got into this genre from childhood shows like “16,” “Stoked”, and other early 2000 to 2010 shows, and I remember being bullied for being whitewashed. Please keep making more music like this.”

The tour is named after “Proceed With Caution,” the band’s sophomore EP released on Oct. 2. Across six tracks, it continues in the same vein as “NSFW,” with sharp melodies and a dash of humor thrown in. But on “That’s Not Fair,” the group wades deeper into social commentary. It was also the most difficult to record, cut raw with no click track.

“We were just trying to think of things that were not fair, [from] small and trivial like losing your keys to, I don’t know, using it as a bridge to talk about larger issues and things like that,” Dangerfield says of the song. “I think a big thing for me personally, it’s not political … is kind of the fact that everything is getting so expensive. The price of everything is rising so rapidly, and the salaries that people are being paid are not really growing to match that.”

The Paradox perform at The Moroccan Lounge on Thursday, Oct. 22.

(Hunter Lyon)

“And it’s like, we got very lucky, but the thing is, most people don’t,” he continued. “If you’re gonna sacrifice all your time, slaving away working for big corporations and stuff like that, you should at least be able to, you know, buy a candy bar or something.”

So far, the musicians aren’t taking anything for granted and are trying to enjoy the in-between moments.

Dangerfield and his wife took their daughter on a Disney cruise for her second birthday — she’s spent much of her young life traveling with the band.

With some of his publishing money, Bernard indulged his love of vintage Japanese fashion and has a 2000s-era Tuscan house on his vision board. Crews stays healthy, listens to lots of Snarky Puppy, and looks forward to the relaxed cannabis laws of L.A. when the tour stops at the Moroccan Lounge on Oct. 22 and 23. If time allows, he might even have time to surf in Malibu.

Bryant, who counts Mike Dirnt, Mark Hoppus and James Jamerson among his biggest influences, balances a dream of seeing his band play for thousands with looking forward to a life lived like his older brother: a chiropractor with a nice family.

But some dreams will have to wait as the band goes back to making music, hopefully with lasting impact. The members want to become household names, “like Nirvana,” with music people will play for hundreds of years. Why not?

Anything is possible when you are a fantastic foursome.

Published on
21/10/2026 – 11:49 GMT+2

French yields have been rising for weeks as lawmakers wrangle over a 2027 budget that calls for billions of euros in spending cuts to reduce a debt pile that now stands at around 120% of France’s GDP – one of the highest levels in the eurozone and well above the EU limit of 60%.

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The French Treasury’s OAT bond is also used to set interest rates across a wide swath of the economy, meaning borrowing costs could begin rising for businesses and households.

The last time it was that high was during the dot-com financial crisis.

The spread between the 10-year yield and the German 10-year bond, considered the European benchmark of creditworthiness, also surged to nearly 160 basis points.

The bond selloff puts further pressure on the government ahead of a decision Friday by the ratings agency Moody’s on France’s sovereign credit rating, with most economists expecting a downgrade that would automatically raise the government’s borrowing costs.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is trying to get a 2027 budget approved in parliament despite not having a political majority for the €43 billion ($48bn) in spending cuts he seeks.

Even if approved, the budget would bring France’s deficit down to only 5% of GDP next year, well above the 3% limit for EU members.

Meanwhile, protests over the weekend calling in part for more spending on schools and other public services, degenerated into the worst street violence seen in years.

Additional sources • AFP

WASHINGTON — Xavier Becerra was dubbed a “rising star” before he even entered the halls of Congress.

His June 1992 Democratic primary victory over Los Angeles school board member Leticia Quezada in California’s 30th Congressional District earned the 34-year-old candidate that description in The Times.

When the boyish, affable congressman became the first Latino lawmaker appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in his second term, national outlets took notice.

Thirty years later, in the final weeks of his gubernatorial race with Republican Steve Hilton, Becerra now finds himself poised to lead the most populous state in the country.

An examination of Becerra’s more than 25 years in Washington shows a politician who was skilled at building important alliances and amassing power on Capitol Hill, but had some stumbles along the way and faced criticism for his performance in his highest profile role.

Becerra built his reputation as a diligent consensus-builder — a workhorse rather than a show horse, to use an analogy favored by political scientists — but also revealed himself to be an ambitious political operator in key moments.

“He’s an affable person who’s not afraid to pull out a knife in politics while smiling,” said Christian Grose, a political science professor at USC.

Becerra’s campaign declined to comment on his time in Washington.

Becerra’s origin story traces back to his youth in Sacramento, and a moment when a high school friend was about to throw out a blank, unused application to Stanford University. The elite university was only 125 miles away, but it might as well have been across the ocean from the working-class world Becerra was raised in. Still, he applied.

Becerra — whose parents spent their early years in Mexico — became the first in his family to graduate from college when he earned a degree from Stanford in 1980.

He earned a law degree there four years later, and it was at Stanford that he met his wife, Carolyn Reyes, who became a physician.

After living in Boston while Reyes attended Harvard Medical School, Becerra moved to Los Angeles to work for state Sen. Art Torres. Within a few years he was tapped by Henry Lozano, then chief of staff to trailblazing Latino Rep. Edward Roybal, to run for state Assembly in 1990; and then, two years later, to succeed Roybal, who was retiring after 30 years in Congress.

Roybal endorsed Becerra, whose victory in the heavily Latino district that included Central and Eastside Los Angeles communities, was seen as a passing of the torch to the next generation.

Frank Villalobos, the founder and president of Barrio Architects, was among the leaders in East L.A. who encouraged Becerra to run for political office, and he said he was impressed early on by Becerra’s genuine commitment to the community and his ability to unite the area’s sometimes divided political factions.

“I thought if we kept this going, someday he’ll become the governor,” Villalobos said.

Becerra was part of a wave of young Latino lawmakers entering Congress, and his growing power within Democratic ranks helped him escape Roybal’s long shadow. Soon after Becerra’s barrier-breaking appointment to the Ways and Means Committee — which writes tax legislation — Becerra became chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a position he held from 1997 to 1999.

An early test

He put his growing stature to the test a few years later when he decided to enter the L.A. mayor’s race in 2001.

It didn’t go well.

Former state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa was also running, and Becerra — who had slept on Villaraigosa’s couch when he first ran for Congress — faced criticism for potentially splitting the Latino vote.

Becerra performed poorly, winning only 6% of the vote in the Democratic primary. His nice-guy reputation took a hit when his campaign was found to have been behind automated phone calls attacking Villaraigosa by a woman who falsely gave the impression that she was county Supervisor Gloria Molina, whose endorsement had been crucial in Becerra’s first run for Congress.

Becerra also faced criticism for his role in contacting White House staffers as part of an effort to push for the release of convicted L.A. cocaine dealer Carlos Vignali, whose father was a political contributor to Becerra. Vignali’s sentence was commuted by President Clinton on his last day in office; Becerra acknowledged calling the White House several times to discuss the possibility of Vignali’s release. Villaraigosa also wrote a letter on Vignali’s behalf.

Becerra told The Times in 2001 that he wasn’t lobbying for Vignali’s release, but merely asking White House officials to review the details of the conviction on behalf of the family.

“If I was going to try to put pressure on, I would have tried to call the president,” Becerra said at the time.

Villaraigosa fared better than Becerra but ultimately lost the 2001 election to City Atty. James Hahn, then rebounded to win the first of two terms as mayor in 2005.

Becerra got the better of Villaraigosa in their rematch this year in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, and won Villaraigosa’s support after.

“We’ve been friends a long time and, yes, we’ve been adversaries as well, but most of the time we’ve been friends,” Villaraigosa told The Times. “He’s got the experience and the wherewithal to lead this state.”

As for Becerra as a house guest during his first run for Congress?

“He makes his bed. He was neat,” said Villaraigosa. “He was pretty inconspicuous.”

Capitol Hill climbing

After his mayoral defeat, Becerra’s focus returned to Washington, where an alliance with another powerful Californian was a boon to his career on Capitol Hill.

Becerra was a close ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), serving as assistant to the speaker from 2007 to 2009.

John Lawrence, Pelosi’s former chief of staff, said that Becerra’s standing within the California delegation and particularly among Latino lawmakers was a big part of his appeal.

“Speaker Pelosi had set a goal of elevating minorities and women who had historically been excluded from leadership,” he said.

Their relationship took a hit after Becerra told progressive lawmakers in 2009 that he believed party leadership gave up too easily on including a public option in the Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law the following year.

“I understand I have tire tracks on my back because Xavier threw me under the bus,” Pelosi said during a Democratic Party leadership meeting in 2009, Politico reported.

And Pelosi would later question Becerra’s appointment in 2021 to be secretary of Health and Human Services. She has not endorsed Becerra in the gubernatorial race.

But any bad blood between the two didn’t stop Becerra from continuing to advance within the party ranks.

He became chair of the House Democratic Caucus in 2012, leading weekly meetings of all Democrats in the House and uniting the party’s members.

Former Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Ron Kind said Becerra was an excellent listener and skilled at building consensus.

“He could get in the room with anyone and find common ground,” Kind said.

Becerra joined several high-stakes negotiations, notably a 2013 bipartisan effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform, in the wake of the “Gang of Eight” deal struck in the Senate.

John Yarmuth, a Democratic congressman from Kentucky who was also part of the House negotiation, said Becerra was “an amazing positive force” in the process.

“I think he, more than anyone else, was focused on fixing the problem,” Yarmuth said.

Xavier Becerra bumps elbows with U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) before his Senate committee confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services secretary in 2021.

(Greg Nash / Associated Press)

The group was able to achieve a compromise, but it never saw the light of day.

Then-House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, later blamed then-President Obama, whom he accused of “poisoning the well” on an immigration compromise. Yarmuth said Republicans were spooked about potential blowback.

Several potential off-ramps appeared during Becerra’s time in Washington. He was considered by Obama for U.S. trade representative in 2008, but Becerra declined the offer. After flirting with the idea of running for outgoing U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer’s seat, Becerra declined to enter the race, ultimately won by then-California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. He was briefly floated as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, but that didn’t materialize either.

In late 2016, Becerra found himself at a crossroads.

After more than a decade on the Ways and Means Committee, he faced the possibility of becoming the top Democrat on the committee and had the endorsement of the outgoing top Democrat, Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan.

But Harris’ victory in the 2016 Senate race created a vacancy for state attorney general.

Becerra decided to return home to Sacramento to take the role and spent the next four years as the state’s top law enforcement official, serving as “defender-in-chief” of the state, as USC’s Grose put it, against the Trump administration.

Fraught second act in D.C.

Becerra returned to Washington in 2021 for a second act that would prove to be far more controversial than his first.

Despite having no background in healthcare, Becerra was nominated to be the secretary of Health and Human Services and confirmed, over significant opposition by Republicans.

He took the reins of the healthcare agency as the country was still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and struggled to establish a clear role for himself in a response effort that was centered in the White House.

In his first year in office, he was called out by reporters for failing to hold regular press briefings.

And he faced criticism when health officials under his purview offered contradictory information in late 2021 about reduced quarantine requirements for people testing positive for COVID-19.

He continued to face criticism for the disappearance of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who were supposed to be monitored by the agency’s Office of Refugee Resettlement after entering the country.

And Becerra’s chief of staff at Health and Human Services and longtime advisor, Sean McCluskie, pleaded guilty last year to participating in a scheme to use campaign funds from a dormant Becerra state political committee to pay for McCluskie’s frequent travel between Washington and California.

Dana Williamson, a longtime political consultant for Becerra and former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom, pleaded guilty earlier this year for her role in the scheme. McCluskie and Williamson are scheduled to be sentenced in December. Neither Becerra nor Newsom were accused of wrongdoing.

Democratic operative Xochitl Hinojosa, who served as the spokesperson for the Department of Justice in the Biden administration, earlier this year offered a blunt assessment of Becerra’s performance.

“He was not effective in government, and I think that a lot of people in the Biden administration are talking about this because they realize that he was not an effective HHS secretary,” Hinojosa said on CNN in May.

While other members of the Biden administration have defended Becerra’s performance, his time at the helm highlighted an issue that even allies concede has bedeviled Becerra in the past, his tendency to sometimes recede into the background.

Loretta Sanchez, a former Democratic congresswoman from Orange County who credits Becerra with encouraging her to run for Congress, put it simply.

“Will Xavier be bold?” she said. “I hope he takes those bold moves, because California needs it.”

New photos provide an interesting first public look inside the payload bay of Australia’s Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (XL-AUV), and a glimpse of the highly modular concept at the heart of the Royal Australian Navy’s emerging undersea warfare capability. Australian authorities had said in the past that they plan to use Ghost Sharks to conduct “persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike” missions, but without any real elaboration.

The photographs were taken during a recent visit to the Anduril Australia factory in Sydney, New South Wales, by Pat Conroy, Australia’s Minister for Defense Industry. They emerged as the Australian government announced new details of payload development for Ghost Shark, the Speartooth large uncrewed underwater vehicle (LUUV), and the BlueBottle uncrewed surface vessel (USV), on October 19. While the announcement described the payloads in very broad terms, the photos plus additional details from the Anduril event reveal a more concrete picture of the missions Ghost Shark is being designed to perform.

The three previously undisclosed payload options include deploying up to 12 sea mines in a mission, leaving supply caches on the seabed, and launching Anduril’s ALTIUS aerial drones for reconnaissance or strike missions.

“Ghost Shark now has teeth, and will have the ability to inflict damage on any potential adversary,” Conroy said.

The payload bay image is significant in its own right. Ghost Shark’s modular design is intended to accommodate different mission-specific systems, allowing the Royal Australian Navy to configure the same underlying platform for different operational requirements. Ghost Shark was designed to be extremely modular, flexible, and readily reconfigurable. As part of this, the overall payload portion can be readily configured in different ways using different-sized modular hull sections. Since the nose and the tail are different pieces, with an expandable section in the middle, there is plenty of scope for different payloads as well.

Seeing the internal bay for the first time provides a more tangible look at that approach than earlier photographs of the submarine’s exterior.

Inside the bay of one of the Ghost Sharks on display, there appear to be cylindrical spacers, formed in segments, rather than operational stores. These spacers, and other areas inside the bay, look as if they are fabricated from plywood or similar. Overall, this means it is not entirely clear if they represent the kind of ballast that would be loaded to take the place of actual payloads during trials, or whether they are part of a mockup.

Of the three payload options, the ability to deploy ALTIUS aerial drones is particularly noteworthy. An underwater vehicle capable of releasing aerial systems could extend a naval force’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) reach beyond the submarine’s own sensors. Depending on the drone variant and mission configuration, it could also provide a means of delivering effects at a distance without putting personnel directly in harm’s way. Other roles could include stimulating enemy air defense networks, perhaps even responding to pop-up air defence threats as they appear and attacking them. The ability to put miniaturized satcom terminals, as well as AI, on small drones also greatly opens up the possibilities for UUV-launched aerial drones.

Which ALTIUS variants the Ghost Shark will be able to deploy has not been publicly disclosed. The models displayed at the Altus factory are all derivatives of the ALTIUS-600 family. Notable versions include the ALTIUS-600 for ISR, as well as the ALTIUS-600M, which is designed for strike missions. As you can read here, the basic drone has an overall weight of between 20 and 27 pounds, depending on its payload, which typically weighs between three and seven pounds. The ALTIUS-600 has a maximum range of around 275 miles and can remain airborne for at least four hours, according to its developer. Unarmed variants of the ALTIUS-600 are designed to be recoverable and reusable, although it is unclear how practical that would be after launch from a UUV.

ALTIUS-600M Loitering Munition

There is another missing part of the payload puzzle, namely the kinds of capsules that would contain the ALTIUS UAVs for launch from the sub.

The Rheinmetall Asteria 533mm-diameter mine pictured alongside the Ghost Shark is not installed in the vehicle’s payload bay. Its appearance nevertheless provides an intriguing visual counterpart to the newly disclosed mine-delivery capability. According to the manufacturer, the Asteria can be deployed from surface vessels, aircraft, and submarines (normally via torpedo tubes). It can be remotely controlled via an acoustic link and is optimized for the defense of harbors, straits, ports, and other critical areas.

The seabed supply-cache concept points to a different operational role. Ghost Shark could position equipment and supplies underwater for later retrieval, potentially supporting forces operating in areas where conventional resupply is difficult or risky.

The notional supply cache payloads — which are under development by the Defense Science and Technology Group (DSTG) — don’t appear to be on display here. Alex Luck, a naval analyst who closely tracks submarine developments, told TWZ that the cache payloads would likely take the form of capsules, similar in shape to the Asteria mine, but containing whatever supplies need to be moved. It is not immediately clear who would use those caches. One option could be special operations forces, but if the payloads could later rise to the surface, they could be accessed by other forces, too.

It should also be noted that the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, in particular, are envisioning future fleets of UUVs and USVs that can carry out kinetic attacks and employ electronic warfare and other non-kinetic effects, as well as emplace mines, providing a direct parallel with the planned mission set for Ghost Shark.

Some of the new payload capabilities are due to be featured in Exercise Maritime Big Play Pacific in San Diego, an AUKUS Pillar II activity focused on advanced maritime capabilities and interoperability. The Australian government says the development effort involves the Royal Australian Navy, Defense Science and Technology Group, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator and defense industry.

As we have discussed in the past, Maritime Big Play has links to the U.S. military’s Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) effort and NATO’s Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping Augmented by Maritime Unmanned Systems (REPMUS) exercise series, according to the Pentagon. The U.S. Navy has also been conducting a growing number of large-scale uncrewed-focused maritime exercises and demonstration events in recent years.

Under AUKUS Pillar II, Australia is collaborating with the United Kingdom and the United States on Ghost Shark and its associated capabilities. While Pillar I centers on providing Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, Pillar II focuses on the joint development of advanced defence technologies, including artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.

Exactly how the Ghost Shark will be deployed during the Maritime Big Play Pacific exercise is unclear, but, speaking about the concept of operations, Conroy described examples of it being deployed from a shipping container or launched from the back of a small vessel using a crane. In the past, we have also seen the Ghost Shark loaded in a standard shipping container and transported in a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III airlifter.

Overall, U.S. military wargames have highlighted how uncrewed systems could shape a high-end conflict across the Pacific, particularly a fight over Taiwan. One set of Taiwan conflict simulations found that large swarms of relatively low-cost, networked drones could be decisive in helping locate and attack an invading force, while other wargaming by the Center for a New American Security has highlighted the severe challenges of defending the island against a Chinese assault. Maritime drones could also play a major role: the U.S. Navy has explored submarine-launched aerial drones that act as “flying periscopes,” extending sensor coverage and providing targeting data beyond a submarine’s own reach, while uncrewed underwater vehicles could conduct mine-laying and other asymmetric missions around key maritime chokepoints. The rapid growth and technological advances made by the Chinese submarine fleet also underscore the critical importance of anti-submarine capabilities, in which uncrewed systems can play a major role. Together, these developments underscore the potential value of autonomous systems for the Royal Australian Navy as it prepares to operate across the vast distances of the Indo-Pacific.

Australia’s 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program allocate up to A$5.8 billion (approximately $4.05 billion) over the decade to autonomous and uncrewed undersea warfare capabilities, including A$1.7 billion (approximately $1.19 billion) for a new fleet of Australian-designed and built Ghost Shark vehicles.

The newly released imagery and payload details offer the clearest picture yet of how Australia intends to expand Ghost Shark beyond a conventional underwater surveillance role. The next key milestones should provide more details of how the payloads will be integrated into the vehicle, and how they might be deployed in practice.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Come Election Day, a Quaker leader will travel from the nation’s capital to her home state of Ohio. A Christian minister and a Jewish rabbi will stand vigil outside a polling place in Arizona. A Buddhist nun will offer support to voters in Wisconsin.

In battleground states across the country, these faith leaders and hundreds of their colleagues will assume the role of poll chaplains for one day. They will deploy to nine states — Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Virginia and Texas — where contentious races are expected to raise political tensions.

Faiths United in Saving Democracy, a nonpartisan coalition of interfaith and secular partners, is helping to train and certify this volunteer force of clergy members and lay peacekeepers in time for the Nov. 3 elections.

They’ll wear identifying hats and vests, and stay outside the poll centers, with the goal of maintaining a calm, reassuring presence to encourage more voters to exercise their rights without fear or hesitation, said co-founder Barbara Williams-Skinner. As of Oct. 19, they’ve recruited 1,235 poll chaplains and peacekeepers, she said.

A non-partisan effort to take the fear out of voting

While the idea of poll chaplains has been around for several years, Williams-Skinner said “2026 is going to be different” because there is widespread concern that the presence of federal immigration agents could create a chilling effect.

“The fear is real,” she says, worrying that it could deter eligible voters in mixed-immigration-status families and communities of color. Department of Homeland Security officials have consistently said they have no plans to send immigration agents to the polls, although DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said they could show up for a specific reason, such as arresting someone if they have a warrant.

The coalition has offered training online and in person. Participants get information about immigrant rights, de-escalation techniques and phone numbers to call in tight situations, Williams-Skinner said.

The initiative, strongly rooted in the Black church, has expanded to include diverse faiths as well as non-religious people, she said.

“This is a movement built by unusual coalitions,” she said. “You have white, Mainline Protestants, Quakers, traditional Baptists, Black church leaders, imams, rabbis — all kinds of people who probably would not work together or haven’t worked together in the past.”

While most participating groups are moderate or progressive, Williams-Skinner says it is a strictly nonpartisan initiative.

“We don’t get hung up on who’s moderate or who’s conservative. People just need to be able to vote, unafraid,” she said.

Concerns about voter intimidation motivate chaplains

A Pew survey following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September 2025 showed 85% of Americans, across political lines, believe political violence is on the rise.

Polling places have been targeted by protesters in past elections. In 2022, members of a group claiming to monitor ballot drop boxes in Arizona were ordered to stay at least 250 feet away after voters complained about intimidation. In 2020, following Election Day, a crowd stormed a vote-counting center in Detroit, many incited by online conspiracy theories about election fraud.

As the mob banged on the center’s doors and windows, the Rev. Steve Bland was among several faith leaders who put their bodies between the building and the crowd. Bland, who leads Detroit’s Liberty Temple Baptist Church, is continuing that work as a poll chaplain.

The pastor says de-escalation often involves “using the right words to calm a situation” or giving intimidated voters the moral support and reassurance that they are safe to exercise their civic right. Bland said he did precisely that for an elderly, Black woman during a prior election.

“She left and came back with two of her grandsons who also voted,” he said. “Without that intervention, three people wouldn’t have voted that day.”

The Rev. Bankole Akinbinu, senior pastor of Baptist Grove Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, said training in conflict resolution and de-escalation has given him the confidence to serve as a poll chaplain. A millennial, he has sought to engage younger people by recruiting peacekeepers from college campuses.

His motivation comes from seeing voter suppression attempts in North Carolina and other states.

“I look at our forefathers and the struggle they had to endure to afford us the privilege of voting,” Akinbinu said. “I look at my children and the nation I want to hand them.”

Steven Huefner, deputy director of the Election Law Program at The Ohio State University, says poll chaplains might be able to calm the frayed nerves of a voting public that is constantly exposed to divisive rhetoric and news about political violence. While political violence has increased, he says, it’s not widespread.

“Election workers are well-trained and can run elections quite well,” he said.

Faith leaders have historically played the role of peacekeepers, said Wendy Cadge, professor of sociology at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and founder of the think tank Chaplaincy Innovation Lab.

And now chaplaincy — beyond traditional worship spaces — is attracting more clergy.

“People are feeling called to chaplaincy because they want to be with people in difficult times,” Cadge said. “They don’t want to worry about what color the carpet is in the church or if their youth programs are attracting enough people. It’s a different kind of work.”

Chaplains find inspiration in theology

Clergy deploying on Election Day say they are heeding a strong, faith-driven calling to serve as poll chaplains.

In Arizona, Rev. Katie Sexton, executive director of Arizona Faith Network, embraces the initiative as a way to reach across the political divide.

“The ballot box is a place where we’re all seen as equal,” she said, adding that it reflects the Christian belief that all humans are created in the image of God. “There is such power in that.”

On Oct. 6, Sexton and several others participated in a training session — one of the last before the midterms — at Temple Chai, a Reform synagogue in Scottsdale.

Rabbi Emily Segal, who leads the congregation, will be a poll chaplain for the first time next month. The work, she says, aligns with what the Torah and Talmud teach about a healthy and just society.

Throughout American history, interfaith coalitions have created powerful change and served as sources of inspiration, Segal said. “Any time we can come together with faith partners around our shared values for societal good is a real source of holiness for our community.”

Bridget Moix, a Quaker leader, will travel to her native Ohio on Election Day.

“In our faith tradition, we think about voting as a sacred act we want to protect,” she said.

For Reirin Gumbel, resident teacher at the Milwaukee Zen Center, it’ll be a third time, come November.

“As Buddhists, the Metta Sutra we chant says every being has the same rights, and that we should have compassion toward all,” she said.

Imam Mohammed Ali Elahi, spiritual leader of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, is considering becoming a poll chaplain for the first time. In a highly contentious campaign in Elahi’s state, Abdul El-Sayed is the first Muslim Democratic candidate to run for a U.S. Senate seat.

The imam said he is tired of anti-Muslim vitriol that has surfaced ahead of the midterms.

“As interfaith clergy, we stand for principles not personalities,” he said. “The Quran tells us to stand for what’s right — truth, justice, peace, human rights and the dignity of human beings, whoever they may be.”

Bharath writes for the Associated Press.

Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter and welcome back to real NBA games.

The regular season begins Tuesday with a triple-header. It’s the first time in eight years that the Lakers are watching the opening day action at home. That could be a small sign of where the Lakers stand in the NBA pecking order now.

Not many people know what to make of this team. There are nine new players. Another ownership change is pending. The Western Conference has two juggernauts at the top.

But within this summer of change, the Lakers managed to maintain one key partnership.

Two-headed monster

With more than half of their roster wearing the purple and gold for the first time, some Lakers might still be getting on the same page after less than three weeks of practices. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are already playing a completely different game.

“They’re always, like, playing chess out there,” guard Collin Sexton said.

After an offseason of change, it’s still the Lakers’ two most established stars who will control the season’s fate. Doncic and Reaves were 30-11 in games played together last season. In 1,092 minutes, lineups with Doncic and Reaves together outscored opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions, the third-best net rating on the team for any pair of regular rotation players. Their established chemistry gives the Lakers a strong foundation for the season.

“Austin and Luka, they kind of see things before it happens,” Sexton said. “And I feel like that allows them to be so good offensively and be able to score, but also to put us in the right situation to be successful as well.”

The duo that could be one of the most offensively potent pairings in the league proved that they could have success last season, helping the Lakers surge up the Western Conference standings during a magical March. Doncic scored 600 points during the month, despite missing one game because of a technical foul accumulation suspension. Reaves averaged 5.8 assists, his highest average for a month with more than six appearances last season. With LeBron James serving as the most heralded third option in the history of basketball, the Lakers went 15-2.

It was painful but a little poetic that Doncic and Reaves — whose wholesome friendship became the envy of NBA Twitter — suffered injuries during the same game to end the hot streak.

Doncic told Sports Illustrated this summer that he “regret[ted]” coming back into the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after he felt a twinge in his hamstring during the first half. The severity of the injury kept him out for the rest of the season.

“I thought we had a team that could compete for a championship,” Doncic said during training camp. “So I was kind of disappointed, kind of let the team down, so it’s definitely motivating for this season.”

Reaves returned during the postseason after an oblique injury, but couldn’t regain his consistency. He played in a career-low 51 games last season and missed out on what could have been his first All-Star selection.

Determined to fortify his body for another long season, Reaves hired former Lakers head strength and conditioning coach Ed Streit to work with him. He hoped that having a dedicated strength coach, which stars including James and Doncic already have, would help him take “the next step,” Reaves said.

After waiting and learning behind veterans such as James and Anthony Davis, Reaves is now an undisputed top-two player on the Lakers. He signed the richest contract ever for an undrafted player this offseason. Doncic was among his most vocal supporters.

“We talked about it even middle of last year, towards the end of last year, continuing this partnership for as long as we can,” Reaves said. “I enjoy being around him so much that coming back and being a Laker was the main thing when the season ended.”

Initially Reaves didn’t know if he would establish a close bond with Doncic after the former Dallas superstar was shockingly traded. Doncic was quiet when he first arrived in L.A. Now Reaves, who loves to hate his newest best friend, is sad to admit that they’re so similar.

They share a creative style of basketball. They’re ruthless competitors. They love golf.

The most important thing is another shared obsession.

“At the end of the day, we care about winning,” Reaves said, “and that’s all that matters.”

Survey says…

In a survey of league general managers, NBA.com found that expectations for the Lakers are tepid at best.

General managers voted on the top four teams in each conference, with four points awarded for each first-place vote, three points for second place, two for third and one for fourth, and the Lakers received 10% of fourth-place votes and 1% of total available points, which placed sixth in the total score.

The San Antonio Spurs, who were also the general managers’ choice to win the NBA title, had 53% of first-place points in the Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder were effectively tied in the survey, with both teams getting 34% of the available points. With two young, deep teams at the top of the conference, all roads seem to lead to an encore of last year’s Western Conference final.

But this league celebrates its parity. Eight champions in eight years? Almost nothing compared to more than the 40 years since a repeat Western Conference finals matchup. The West hasn’t had a conference finals sequel since the Lakers and Spurs in 1982 and 1983.

The season could turn unexpectedly for one of the top teams, opening the door for another team to crash the party. NBA general managers don’t think the Lakers would be first inside the velvet ropes, but executives believe the team could be an enigma. In response to a NBA.com survey question on which team’s success is the toughest to predict this season, the Lakers received the third-most votes.

The league can’t tell the type of team the Lakers will be. They at least have their goals clear.

“Realistically, I would say championship,” Doncic said at the Spectrum broadcast desk on media day. “If that’s not your goal, I don’t know what you’re doing here.”

Poll question

Where do you think the Lakers will finish in the Western Conference?

Top-two seed (1-2)

First-round home court (3-4)

Safely in the playoff (5-6)

Play-in (7-10)

Cancun by mid-April

Click here to vote in our survey

On tap

Wednesday vs. Warriors, 7 p.m. PDT

It’s here! The opener! The Lakers should be familiar with the Warriors after playing two preseason games against their in-state rivals. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg emerged as an immediate impact player, averaging 15.6 points and 7.4 rebounds on 56.9% shooting during the preseason.

Friday vs. Clippers, 7 p.m. PDT

Old friend Rui Hachimura returns with the Clippers, who have moved on from the Kawhi Leonard Era but begin the season without Brandon Ingram (Achilles) and Max Strus (foot). Rookie guard Keaton Wagler could be one of the few bright spots for the struggling franchise this season.

Sunday at Jazz, 2 p.m. PDT

The Lakers’ first road game is a homecoming for Walker Kessler, returning to the franchise that drafted him, and a reunion with another former Laker Jaxson Hayes. Hayes, who signed a two-year, $12-million contract with the Jazz, is in line to get significant minutes for Utah after an early injury to Jusuf Nurkic (foot).

Favorite thing I ate this week

Poke from Redondo Beach’s Jus’ Poke.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers did not bless us with a tropical training camp (looking at you, Clippers and Warriors) so a trip to Redondo Beach’s Jus’ Poke will have to be the closest I get to Hawaii for now. The poke selections are always fresh and stand out for their simplicity and execution. No superfluous toppings and sauces. Just, as the name suggests, really good poke.

In case you missed it

Lakers waive former first-round pick Dalton Knecht before season opener

Luka Doncic, JJ Redick believe revamped Lakers can contend for an NBA title

Plaschke: The new-look Lakers have much to prove and no chance of winning it all

What we learned from the Lakers’ preseason games and training camp

JJ Redick still mulling over Quentin Grimes’ role for the Lakers

Buss family asks judge to dismiss Jeanie Buss’ petition to block Lakers share sale

Ziaire Williams looks to continue providing energy boost to Lakers

Until next time…

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

The beloved TV star opened up about her difficult journey to motherhood

Loose Women star Brenda Edwards has opened up about her pregnancy loss before welcoming her first child Jamal Edwards.

The singer and presenter returned to our screens on Tuesday afternoon (October 20), alongside fellow panellists Coleen Rooney, Kaye Adams, Janet Street-Porter and Ruth Langsford.

As the ITV stars discussed their individual journeys to motherhood, 57-year-old Brenda revealed she suffered a miscarriage before the birth of Jamal., who died aged 31 in 2022.

Brenda started by explaining that she always dreamed of having two children. “I did grow up saying ‘by the time that I’m 27, I want to have a job, I want to have a husband. I want to have two children.’ It was always two children. I wasn’t going for a football [team] or anything,” she said.

She went on to admit that her excitement to become a mother was partially due to losing her own parents at just four years old. Brenda explained: “There was a little bit of me that wanted to have children [and] to raise them because I wasn’t raised by my mum and dad. I was four when my parents died but I was kind of thinking ‘I’d like to go past that age that we were.'”

The Luton-born actress went on to give birth to her late son Jamal at 21 years old, then her daughter Tanisha. However, she unfortunately miscarried before Jamal was born.

She shared: “I was 21 when I had Jamal and then Tanisha and then I did finally get married at 27,” before adding: “I did unfortunately have a miscarriage before Jamal came.

“And when that happened, it really made me think ‘Oh my god, that would have been so lovely. What would that have been like if I hadn’t [miscarried]?’ So I see children as a blessing.”

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It comes four years after Brenda’s son Jamal sadly died after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia. The Loose Women presenter recently paid tribute to him on what would have been his 36th birthday.

Posting a series of childhood photos on Instagram, she wrote: “Jamms 36 years ago today you were born, the sun was shining bright just like your beautiful smile. These photographs capture so many beautiful memories that will never be forgotten. I miss you each and every second of every day!! I love you always and forever.”

If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Sands. You can call them on 0808 164 3332 or email helpline@sands.org.uk .

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